Breath of Fire

by Shahrazad

Rating: everyone
Tags: Spike, Rarity, Slice of Life, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 15812

Ponies grow up. They get bigger, stronger, smarter, and eventually they get their cutie marks. Dragons grow up too. He may not get a cutie mark, but Spike does get a talent of his own- one that can easily be abused...

Ponies grow up. They get bigger, stronger, smarter, and eventually they get their cutie marks. Dragons grow up too. He may not get a cutie mark, but Spike does get a talent of his own- one that can easily be abused. One day, he'll grow bigger than his friends. He'll grow stronger than the strongest stallion. He might even breathe real fire. That day might be a little closer than you think.

(Takes place after season 2)
Cover art by: TheNoodleFace

Published 2013-06-16 18:50:04 UTC
Last updated 2013-06-29 22:11:38 UTC

Breath of Fire chapter 1

Written by: Shahrazad
Edited by: Level Dasher
Cover art by: TheNoodleFace

Breath of Fire, chapter 1

~~~~~

squeak

“SPIKE, I’M HOME.” Twilight Sparkle walked into the Golden Oaks Library making a mental note to add “oil the hinges of the front door” to her checklist. “SPIKE?” She was glad this day was almost over. She had spent the morning helping Applejack with apple bucking and Pinkie Pie reorganize the sweets in Sugarcube Corner in the afternoon. The morning ended with sweat and a depleted magical reserve, but the afternoon session with Pinkie Pie was much worse on her brain. Getting Pinkie Pie to reorganize something was like trying to push back the tides with a broom. Just thinking about it caused the headache to return so Twilight did her best to forget the afternoon and just be glad to be home before it was too late for dinner.

Twilight hung her saddle bags on the hat rack near the door when her ears swiveled forward. She detected a faint bubbling sound, and her nose told her something was cooking. It was a powerful scent even at this distance from the kitchen, and it was making her mouth water. She trotted over to the kitchen and opened the door.

Cough Cough

A powerful, spicy smell assaulted her nose, causing her eyes to water as much as her mouth. She blinked away her tears and tried to see through the steam filling the room. Spike was standing on a stool over a bubbling pot, holding a wooden spoon. He was sweating like he was in the local sauna, dripping into his pink apron. She stifled a giggle; the pink apron still didn’t look right on the boy even after all this time, but she didn’t want to offend him so she kept that to herself.

He was stirring feverishly, trying to keep three different dishes on the stove while reading from a large cookbook. It was very difficult as he had to move the stool around to reach everything he needed. “Oh Spike, are you making dinner? That’s very thoughtful of you.” Twilight tried to keep any tears from forming in her eyes but the overpowering spice was making that a losing battle.

Spike whipped his head around, his brow furrowed and his mouth arched downward. “Um, just wait, I almost have dinner ready.” He continued to stir with one claw while reaching for the dishes with the other. His stature made the task impossible and Twilight was hungry so she levitated the dishes out and set them on the counter. “STOP! I CAN DO IT MYSELF! I mean-” Spike looked at her, Twilight’s brow went up and she backpedaled. “I’m sorry, please don’t be mad. See, I’m a good assistant. I’m making dinner, it’ll be ready in a jiffy.” Spike smiled showing his teeth but his eyes still showed concern and he began to sweat even more.

Twilight smiled, "It’s ok Spike, I’ll wait in the dining room.” She trotted out, thankful to be out of the kitchen and its overpowering smells. She propped “A Guide to Advanced Astrology” on the dining table and began to read. She studied the diagrams of the most modern star charts known to ponykind. She had read a full chapter when her stomach growled. Her ears perked up and she rubbed her stomach with a hoof. “Hmmm, he sure is taking his time.” She glanced up at the clock on the mantle; it had been an hour since she had arrived home. “Maybe I should-“

Ding ding ding

Spike came into the dining room pushing a cart with several steaming plates. His tongue was hanging out and watering. He was ringing a small dinner bell and making quite a fanfare. He stopped the cart beside the table and with a flourish set two place settings. Twilight watched with a smile on her face but kept silent for the moment. Spike seemed to be going through a ritual of some kind that she didn’t want to disturb. He set down warm bread and butter, a pitcher of water and another with carrot juice. He then set out a large steaming pot with a spicy smell emanating from under the lid along with several smaller dishes. There was even a pair of apple tarts for dessert. “Spike this is so-”

“Hold that thought,” Spike ran back into the kitchen and returned with a pair of metal salt and pepper shakers. “Sorry, I almost forgot these,” he began to serve himself with a hungry twinkle in his eyes.

“Spike, what’s the occasion? You could have just made sandwiches.” Twilight poured herself a small amount of the stew. It had carrots, asparagus, and some small diced red things she couldn’t yet identify. It smelled delicious, but also a bit dangerous. She used her magic to serve herself buttered bread and plenty of iced water in the event the stew was too much for her. Spicy food was not something she generally preferred - that was more Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie’s arena. But Spike had put so much effort into the meal she was determined to at least try it.

Spike watched her with his brow furrowed and his claws rubbing together. He could hardly keep his eyes on her. “No occasion, I’m just hungry and I wanted to make something for my best friend Twilight. Is that so wrong? I didn’t think so. I’m a big boy now I can do what I want, and I want to make dinner. You want to make it a capital offense?” He spoke so fast his words almost jumbled together. Twilight’s eyes went wide.

“It’s O-K Spike, I was just wondering if I had missed a holiday or something.”

“So do you like it?” Spike’s eyes looked like those a puppy dog would use to get adopted. Twilight wore a sheepish grin and levitated the spoon.

The liquid was still hot when it hit her tongue, and now she could identify those diced red bits. Habanero peppers, without a shadow of a doubt. Many peppers had died to bring this soup to Twilight Sparkle. Their deaths were not to be appreciated by the mare as her entire body flushed with heat. She started to sweat and stuffed a wad of the bread in her mouth. To her surprise the bread was freshly baked. Now that I think about it, we ran out of fresh bread yesterday and I didn’t give Spike any bits to go grocery shopping. She still felt a burning sensation in her mouth so she gulped down half of her glass in one go.

“Well?” Spike prodded again.

“Oh it’s…very good,” she tried not give away how hot the soup was but her body was betraying her. Spike just smiled and shoveled the soup into his mouth. It wasn’t long before he refilled his bowl for a second time. Twilight wasn’t even halfway done with hers before she had to refill her water. Spike was making loud, slurping noises, but Twilight was mostly silent. She decided that some conversation might distract Spike from the fact that her soup was likely to remain uneaten.

“What did you do today Spike? Besides cook dinner of course.”

“I did my chores. Honest! I didn’t eat too many gems either - I just had four to help me wake up and six more for lunch, that’s all.” He spoke between mouthfuls of soup and bread. “I even helped Rarity in her Boutique. I know I didn’t tell you I was going but that’s ok, right? I mean, I should have asked for permission-,” his frown and quivering eyes appeared so suddenly Twilight blinked twice to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating. “It’s ok though, I’m a big boy.” He was crying, sloppy tears leaking down his face. He was talking so fast his words almost slurred together and Twilight’s brain was having trouble keeping up. Now he was crying; it was so sudden all she could do for a moment was blink.

“I-It’s ok,” she managed to stammer out. “What’s wrong Spike? You’re not in trouble I promise.”

“R-really?” his tears were slowing to a trickle but his sobs still made his words sound like a broken record. “Y-you’re not g-going to ki-hick me out? Y-you d-don’t hate me?”

“Of course not Spike, how could I hate my number one assistant?” She used that particular title when he was feeling blue, and his outburst certainly warranted it now. “You’ve done such a good job - why don’t you let me do the dishes and you can go to bed.”

“NO! I can do it!” He sprang up, his tears gone. He snatched the dishes and piled them onto the cart so fast Twilight felt like she was caught in a whirlwind. The final dish he scooped up was Twilight’s still half full soup bowl. At the sight of it he burst into tears again, wailing about his poor culinary skills, his uselessness as an assistant, and how much he wanted to stay. All the while he kept munching from the remaining scraps from dinner while Twilight tried to comfort him.

“It’s alright Spike, I promise I won’t kick you out. Dinner was great and you are not useless.” He continued to shudder with wet sobs and the weeping took its toll on him. He began to yawn in between his tears. Twilight continued to reassure him for another hour before his eyes drooped and he fell asleep on the kitchen floor, still clutching a dirty plate.

“Finally,” Twilight breathed out. While it pained her to see Spike like this she was thankful it was over. His behavior was so odd. He was manic one moment then crying the next. She finished cleaning the dishes and used her magic to lift Spike upstairs and put him into bed. “Urrrg, Spike you ate too much - you’re getting heavy.” The strain on her magical energy was greater than she would have guessed from Spike’s size. It was as if he were made of lead. No, not lead, my little Spike just has a heart of gold. She smiled as he finally floated into bed. She pulled the cover over him gently, not wishing to rouse the dragon and face his wild emotions again.

SKNNNXXXX

Twilight’s mouth hung open; he was snoring already! He had only been asleep for a few minutes, and his snoring was loud, much louder than it had ever been before. This is going to be a long night.

~~~~~

Teehee hee

The sound of her voice made him smile; it was so soft, so melodic. He could listen to it forever. It was nighttime, and his stomach was growling. But he wanted to follow that rare voice. He walked downstairs, his footfalls making no sound on the wood. He ran a claw over his head, preening his scales. His claw came back damp. It was warm in here; it felt like a great dragon was breathing down his neck, but he was alone. His stomach growled again when he spied a pile of gems sitting on the table. He couldn’t resist.

Crunch crunch

Teehee hee

“Rarity?” That laugh pulled him away from the gems but there weren’t many left anyway. His stomach growled again. He exited the Golden Oaks Library, the starless night breathing warm air on him as soon as he stepped outside. “She must be at Carousel Boutique.” He looked down the street to see an unfamiliar Ponyville. The buildings were in the right place but something about them just didn’t seem quite right. Maybe it was the way they warped and twisted like they were made of dough, or maybe it was all of the bushes that looked like a foal had drawn them with an oversized paint brush and just made green blots. “Hmmm…that’s odd.”

Rarity’s laugh echoed from the Boutique; he just knew it was her. He literally floated towards it far down the lane. The door opened by itself and he floated inside. “Rarity?” He found a huge chest filled to the brim with glittering gems sitting in the middle of the room. His stomach growled again when he caught sight of her.

She was so beautiful, just the way he imagined her. She smiled at him and folded her legs to relax next to the chest of gems. “Is my Spikey hungry?” She plucked a large ruby out of the chest with her hoof and used it to beckon him closer. Spike floated forward and plopped down in front of the two things he wanted most in life: Rarity and gems. The room grew warmer still.

She kept giggling and feeding him gems. In no time at all, the chest was empty. His belly was so full it felt like it would burst. She leaned in closer to him. His heart beat faster but he felt so tired. It was getting downright hot in the room, and he kept sweating. The heat made him tired, and before he could lean in to get just what he had always dreamed about his eyes closed and everything became fuzzy and dark.

~~~~~

Twilight awoke the next morning still exhausted. Spike had kept her up for hours with his snoring and when he finally stopped she fell asleep instantly. She couldn’t tell just how long she had been asleep, but it wasn’t long enough. She glanced into Spike’s little basket from the mirror while brushing her hair and did a double take. She whirled around with the brush still hovering over her head. Spike was gone.

Dropping the brush, she galloped downstairs taking the steps three at a time. She bounded into the main hall. “SPIKE!” she yelled, looking around wide eyed. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard snoring. She found Spike curled up into a little ball near the pantry. Her heart was still racing but the sweat that was soaking her coat began to dry. Just like the previous night she used her magic to gently put him back to bed. She took a bath to get herself clean and release her anxiety. When she turned off the water her heart had finally stopped its work as a jackhammer on the inside of her ribcage. The lack of sleep was wearing on her mind but the morning’s little scare prevented any thoughts of returning to bed. It was only now when she began to think of her schedule did she heave herself out of the comforting bath to start the day.

She spent the morning reading “An Advanced Guide to Astrology.” She opened the library late but caught a lucky break when no pony came in for any library services until mid-morning. Her stomach told her when it was lunchtime so she checked the schedule again. Lunch with Rarity at her Boutique. She trotted upstairs, “Spike, I’m going out to lunch with-,”

SKNNNXXXX

She face-hoofed, still? It was nearly noon, and while Spike sleeping late wasn’t unusual she couldn’t recall him sleeping this long since he was a baby. She wrote him a note and left it on the dining table. With luck he would get it and start his chores before she returned. Shaking her head, she left the Golden Oaks Library.

~~~~~

Rarity was sitting in the middle of the Boutique on her haunches when Twilight arrived. Her face was sagging, as if it were melting wax. She was staring at an empty chest. “Is everything alright Rarity?”

“No, everything's NOT alright. Some ruffian broke in here last night and stole all of my gems!” She sniffled once and sucked in another breath. She stifled a tear in her eye and let out a slow breath before the normal Rarity appeared again.

Twilight gasped, “Did you report it to the guards?”

“Yes, I did. They weren’t really valuable gems, so it’s not a huge loss, but I needed them for a project later this week. It isn’t the value of the gems it’s just the thought that somepony broke in here and violated my home.” She shuddered, but her business mind took over rather than allow her to wallow in sadness, “I know Spike is busy but can I borrow him this afternoon? We need to go gem hunting again.”

“Absolutely, Rarity. You work harder than I do and I have two assistants, while you don’t have any unless Sweetie Belle tries to help you.” Rarity’s face darkened at the thought of Sweetie Belle as her gem finding assistant. “I’ll send Spike over after lunch, I’m sure he won’t mind.” The two mares trotted into the kitchen.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I invited Dash as well.” Rarity said while she began lunch. Twilight tried to help by chopping a carrot but Rarity gave her a harsh look and said, “I let my sister help with the garnish, what chance do you think I’ll let a guest do anything at all?” Twilight backed away at that point and waited patiently at the table, deciding conversation was the better part of valor.

“No, I would love to have Rainbow Dash here. I sort of need your opinion on something and I wouldn’t mind hearing her opinion as well.” Twilight’s stomach rumbled, the lunch Rarity was making smelled almost as good as the dinner last night and it had no dangerous, spicy aromas.

“You can ask me anything, dear.” Rarity continued to prepare her soup with sliced carrots dropping into the pot making it bubble. Twilight was vigilant for any habaneros, and thankfully Rarity wasn’t using any.

“Last night Spike was acting…weird.”

“How so?”

“Well, he was making dinner. That’s not so unusual but he didn’t want me to help at all.”

“That’s alright isn’t it? Foals often want to do tasks themselves. Spike really isn’t so different than a colt.”

“Yeah, but the dinner he made was kinda nice. Like something you would get at a five star restaurant. And during dinner he kept stuffing his face.”

“Well if I made a nice dinner I would want to enjoy it.” Rarity said with a grin as she craned her neck to look at Twilight. “Was it any good?”

“Yes, but it was way too spicy for me. I tried to eat some of it but I just couldn’t stuff down more than a few bites.”

“Oh dear, I hope he wasn’t offended.”

“Well he was crying one second and almost angry the next over…dumb things. I know he’s afraid I’m going to kick him out but it’s a groundless fear. I tried to tell him but he just wouldn’t listen.”

“This was all because he thought you didn’t like his dinner?”

“That’s just it, he was crying before he realized I hadn’t eaten everything. After that he just fell to pieces, going on and on about his flaws and how I was going to kick him out and every horrible thing that just isn’t true.”

“Did you notice anything else?”

“He kept eating even while collecting the plates to put the dishes away. I swear he ate three times as much as I did. I didn’t think it was even possible but I saw it with my own eyes.”

Rarity blushed a bit, “Promise me you will not repeat this…ever.”

“I promise, cross my heart hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” She did the appropriate motions. Careful with that kind of promise, Rarity thought as she looked about for anything pink bursting out of any containers. Nothing happened today however.

"I once had a bit of a problem with-"

“TWILIGHT”

Kisshhh tinkle

Shards of glass made little chimes as they skipped across the kitchen floor. Rainbow Dash had entered via the window. A closed window. Rarity’s mouth was open for a second but her brow narrowed at the rainbow colored mane before the last of the glass had finished its rendition of a skipping stone on a pond. “TWILIGHT THANK THE GODDESS YOU’RE OK!” Dash hugged Twilight swiftly and fiercely, a single tear was squeezed out from the corner of her eye.

“Umm, yes, I’m ok. Is there a reason I shouldn’t be?” She lowered her voice so only Dash could hear, “Rarity is making a good lunch, I promise. We don’t need an excuse to skip out to save her feelings.”

“WHAT?” Dash backed up and pulled the volume of her voice down, but not much. “Twilight, the Library is ON FIRE!”

Breath of Fire chapter 2

Written by: Shahrazad
Edited by: Level Dasher
Cover art by: TheNoodleFace

Breath of Fire, chapter 2

~~~~~

Twilight blinked and her face went slack. Dash was bouncing on her hooves, concern etched across her face as she waited for a reaction. Rarity was the first to speak, “What? How? Oh this is terrible! Twilight, is anypony in the-“

“SPIKE!” Twilight Sparkle’s brain parsed the situation and went to the only logical place it could go: blind terror for her companion, assistant, and friend. There was a flash of indigo light and she was gone. Dash felt relief, that’s the Twilight she knew. Dash tried to bolt out the window, only to be stopped short. Her tail was being held back keeping her in place as she flapped her wings in futility, she hated that. Looking back she found Rarity with her prismatic tail held in her magical grip, it was unlike Rarity to do such a thing.

“Hey what gives! I need to help put out the fire!”

“There’s glass all over my kitchen.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Ok I’m sorry I broke your window, but can we please do this AFTER Ponyville isn’t about to go up in smoke?” Rarity sighed and released her magic as a memory of sleepovers flashed a warning to her about priorities.

“Alright, let’s take care of Twilight and Spike first.”

~~~~~

Twilight appeared in a flash of indigo light right outside of the library. She had never teleported that far before, especially when she couldn’t see the destination. It was a supreme risk to do so but she didn’t even think about it. She just reacted and went home - all she could think about was not seeing Spike ever again. The thought made her heart pound and her breath shallow.

The library was surrounded by fire stallions, a chain gang of them passing water buckets from the well to the library. One of them was a unicorn, his horn peeking under his fire helmet. His magic was exemplary, moving liquids was always a difficult trick. But he took each bucketful of water and with a deft turn of his head floated it up to the second story balcony. That balcony was belching flames, black smoke rising from Twilight’s bedroom. The fire wasn’t huge, but it still frightened Twilight to her core. She was about to buck the front door open when one of the fire stallions stopped her by physically body checking her, making her nearly fall down. “Where do you think you’re going? Stay back, can’t you see the building is on fire?” The bucket of water sloshed as he set it down. “Let the professionals handle this.”

Tears were in her eyes and not from the smoke. There was another flash of indigo light and the purple mare was gone. The fire stallion blinked, “Where’d she go?”

Twilight appeared inside of her library, that familiar place she called home. But this wasn’t her home, at least not the one she recognized. Smoke and heat filled the room, billowing out from the second floor bedroom. Coughing, she stumbled upstairs into her bedroom, “SPIKE,” she called out. She sucked in a lungful of air trying to call his name again but all that came out was a coughing fit. Staying low she crawled on her belly trying to stay below the smoke and flames.

Her bed was on fire, the sheets turned to ashes. Her wooden bed frame was cracked, flames curling about it. Hot ashes and burning cinders floated down to dust everything. She yelped as a hot flake of ash settled on her flank. Smoke stung her eyes and lungs. She found the charred remains of a basket buried beneath a pile of ashes. SPIKE! Tears flowed freely from her eyes, she couldn’t see anything beyond the blur of tears and smoke. Her lungs burned and all she could smell was the acrid fumes of her life drifting away. She began to tear through the warm piles of ash, using her hooves more than her eyes.

SKNNNXXXX

Her heart fluttered, she dug faster. She was nearly hyperventilating when her hoof struck a warm, breathing lump. She pulled that warm purple lump towards her and held it with a strength she didn’t know she had.

“Miss? Are you in here? We gotta get you out.” She stumbled down stairs towards the source of the voice. She kept coughing and gulping air, but somehow her legs kept moving forward. “I found her!” a hoof was thrown around her. She kept coughing, her eyes useless now with all of the smoke and tears. But she kept going forward.

~~~~~

Twilight Sparkle was laying on her back on soft grass. Her friends and a fire stallion were around her. The fire stallion was a dark green earth pony with a blonde mane named Heat Wave. He kept Twilight cool with a water soaked cloth and he checked her vitals every so often. He wore a weak smile on his face that grew with each passing minute. He also shot annoyed glances at her friends and tried to shoo them away without success. Spike was sleeping next to Twilight, still snoring softly and covered in a fine layer of ash. Despite the smudge and scorch marks on him, he seemed unharmed.

Rarity was holding Spike’s head in her hooves, stroking him softly. Once she realized Spike was still in the library all thoughts of her broken window were forgotten. Fluttershy finally convinced Heat Wave to leave them alone as she could administer first aid. Heat Wave grumbled something about being a professional but left to put out the last of the fire. Fluttershy put her doctoring gear on and went to work. Her expression was calm, nothing was wrong and she could tell this within seconds. Smoke inhalation would pass before dinner time, and Twilight’s other vital signs were good. “She’s going to be alright.” Everypony breathed a sigh of relief.

They continued to stare at the ground with concerned expressions. Spike in particular drew their eyes. He was still snoring, but every time he exhaled a thin trail of smoke escaped his nostrils. Spike giggled in his sleep, and shifted in Rarity’s hooves with a smile on his face.

~~~~~

She was there, shifting closer to him in the dark. The night was warm, but the Everfree forest seemed to crowd closer to them, the trees threatening to attack at any moment. “Spike I’m scared, what ever are we going to do?” Rarity said with obvious fear in her voice.

Spike, a big strong dragon with a shining sword and shimmering scales held her close, “Don’t worry lady Rarity, I will not allow anything to happen to you.”

“Oh Spike,” she placed the back of her hoof to her forehead and swooned into him. Spike’s smile stretched wide and blush crept up his cheeks.

AWOOOO

“Timberwolves? Get behind me lady Rarity!” Spike shifted the mare behind him as she used his tail like a safety blanket. A trio of timberwolves appeared from the undergrowth, their wooden limbs creaking as they moved. They growled and started to slink in closer. “Stay back foul beasts. You will not lay a claw nor tooth on her!” Spike filled his lungs with a mass of warm air. The timberwolves got too close, one of them crouched, ready to pounce.

Spike exhaled fire with abandon and the timberwolves caught like kindling. He laughed with joy to see them run away with flames outlining their forms. They lost all semblance of stealth or courage and were little more than candle flames in the distance when Rarity hugged him from behind. “Oh Spike, I was so worried.” He knelt down near her and puckered his lips. And now for the hero’s reward he thought with glee.

~~~~~

Twilight was standing now but Applejack was always near her ready to catch her should she fall. Her legs had the occasional tremor in them but she refused to stay in bed. She demanded to see Spike the moment she could stand. Applejack and Twilight walked down the hospital ward, passing nurses and open doorways. Each room contained a tragedy that was slowly healing by the tender love and care of the staff. Their own purple tragedy was occupying room 229 at the end of the hall. Applejack and Twilight entered the brightly lit room, the sun was out and the nurses opened all of the blinds in the hospital to let the light in. It set a cheery mood for an otherwise melancholy ward.

Spike was still in bed, with Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy surrounding him with bated breath. Each time he exhaled the ponies tensed, watching for any more signs of smoke. “I’m more nervous than a long tailed cat in a room fulla rockin’ chairs.” Applejack’s drawl made the other four ponies turn to see Twilight on her own hooves.

They all smiled. Pinkie Pie bounced over to Twilight and exclaimed, “I’m going to throw a get well soon party as soon as you two are out of here. It’s going to have balloons, and cake, oh and candles! We’ll laugh in the face of fire and danger just like Twilight did. Oh-oh-oh and we can include those joke fire extinguishers too!” She turned, “Spike is going to get better just as soon as he stops eating spicy food, right?” She spoke while pointing at a mirror hanging in the open closet, her big blue eyes stared into it with a knowing look and a huge grin on her face.

Twilight laughed weakly, “Who are you talking to Pinkie? Yourself?”

Pinkie Pie laughed, “No silly I don’t talk to myself! Well not too much, and I never get a reply anyways. I was talking to-“

“Shhh, Pinkie don’t make so much noise, we’re in a hospital. Um, if that’s alright with you.” Fluttershy’s voice trailed off at the end becoming almost a whisper.

Twilight managed to get to Spike’s bedside, everypony was gazing at him waiting for something. “Is he ok? You’re all watching him like he’s about to explode.” Rarity sniffed and scrunched her nose. She blinked back tears. The other’s looked away from Twilight.

“Uh, poor choice of words egghead.” Rainbow Dash said biting her lower lip. She looked down at her own hooves and continued, “After you rescued him we watched him breathe out smoke. And once he even snorted out a little fire.”

Twilight tilted her head, “Well that’s normal, did you get the letter?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head and Rarity explained, “No Twilight, not green flames like our cute little Spike, but the red and orange kind that dragons normally breathe.”

Twilight gasped, “You mean like a full grown fire-breathing dragon? And smoke like, I’m going to take a nap and cover the town in black oily smoke, smoke?” Her friends all nodded. Twilight’s ears dropped to her head, “No, not my Spike.” Her mind slowly worked through the situation, “Wait a minute, you don’t think he started the fire do you?” She looked at all of her friends.

None of her friends could look her in the eye except for the element of honesty, “Sorry Twi, I speak for everypony when I say I reckon he started the fire.”

Twilight shook her head, “No that’s not…” but the logical part of her mind crushed her thoughts in her windpipe. “Maybe something else started the fire.”

She didn’t believe it. Neither did any of her friends and their expressions said as much. Fluttershy kept quiet, Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to say something but closed it and looked down. Even Pinkie Pie didn’t have a smile for Twilight. Rarity spoke first, “I’ll grant you that perhaps Spike didn’t cause it and this is just a coincidence. But even if he didn’t, he could cause a new fire if we leave him like this. We need to watch him for no other reason than to ensure he is unharmed.” But Twilight knew that wasn’t the only reason.

They all stared at Spike, he was lying in the hospital bed snoring quietly and each time he exhaled a little wisp of smoke trailed out. Spike started to shift in his sleep. He mumbled something about, “My lady Rarity” making all of the ponies stifle a laugh while Rarity started to blush. Spike’s face grew serious and he drew in a breath that filled his lungs and he held it there.

Everypony in the room leaned in a bit closer to watch him. When he exhaled, a bright gout of orange flame shot across the room, making Rainbow Dash yelp and dart out of the way. It hit the hospital curtains and set one on fire. Spike’s glass of water, waiting for him patiently for hours for him to wake, was sacrificed in seconds to rescue the floral curtains. Everypony’s heart was thumping wildly, Applejack just stood there with the empty glass wondering what to do. Rarity spoke up, “I hated floral patterns anyway.”

It took a moment but they all started to laugh, Pinkie Pie tore the burnt curtain down and waved it around like a streamer. “This is going to be the new party banner. I’ll give it to Spike afterwards, first curtain slain by the mighty dragon.” This made everypony laugh even more. They couldn’t help themselves; it was laugh or give in to fear.

“What is going on in here?” Nurse Redheart opened the door and trotted into the room. She glanced at Spike still snoring while she continued to scan the room. When her gaze fell on Pinkie Pie and the burnt piece of cloth in her mouth she narrowed her eyes.. “I knew it! He’s trouble - he’s not a little baby anymore. He’s a fire-breathing dragon and we have tanks of oxygen in this hospital, not to mention the injured and sick.”

Twilight tried to stop her as she spun on a hoof and headed for the door, “Wait, please, he needs help!”

“The doctors were being polite to take in an animal, but we’re not going to keep him here when he’s fit and a danger to every other patient in the building!” She trotted out.

Twilight Sparkle had never been so indignant in her life. Animal?! How dare she! Before she could march after her she turned to her friends with hope blossoming in her chest, “Wait a minute, did she say he’s ok?”

“I reckon so. The doc can’t do much for ‘im but they didn’t find anything wrong neither.” Applejack smiled, “They jus’ wanted to keep him fer ‘observation’.”

The door opened again and this time two nurses and a doctor were standing behind the doorway with stern expressions, “He’s officially discharged, take him outside where he can get some fresh air. And take the curtain with you.” Pinkie Pie bounced with joy at this, but the other ponies didn’t find it funny, especially Twilight.

~~~~~

The group found themselves outside, with Spike on Twilight’s back still snoring softly. “What do we do now? We can’t just leave him like that.” Rainbow Dash said with concern written on her face.

“Oh I know! Let’s wake him up and ask him to stop breathing fire!” Pinkie Pie bounced at her own brilliance.

Twilight stopped in her tracks, a faint breeze causing dust to flow around her hooves. The others continued for a few more paces before they realized she had stopped. They turned to face her, “That’s actually a good idea. He’s been asleep for too long anyway, it isn’t healthy.”

“YAY!” Pinkie Pie bounced in place, “I’ll get my tuba, and flute, AND BANJO!” She said this last bit with unrestrained glee. Twilight suspected she had been tricked into letting Pinkie Pie try to wake Spike with a one pony marching band.

They all trotted into the library while Pinkie Pie retrieved her instruments from various tree hollows, potted plants, and in one case another pony’s tail. Twilight set Spike down gently on the table and ducked into the basement to retrieve her own instruments (the medical kind not the musical kind). When she returned Spike was snoring loudly again, smoke escaping from his nose as he smiled in his sleep.

Fluttershy had her stethoscope out and was placing it against various spots on his chest and stomach. She must have hit a ticklish spot on Spike because he began to laugh. A bright stream of fire shot out of his right nostril and flew above Applejack’s head. Everypony in the room jumped back with a start.

“AHHHHH,” Applejack hollered as she galloped away in a panic, her precious cowpony hat had caught fire.

“Applejack, wait!” Twilight called but the farm pony was nowhere to be seen. She just shook her head, I’ll take care of that later, we need to wake up Spike first.

The faint smell of burning wood wafted from upstairs making Twilight feel out of place in her own library. Several of the books were wet, but thankfully few had been burned. Just a few of her personal books in her room, but these were far from her mind. Her three remaining friends stood around the table, torn between trying to help Spike and fear of what he might do at any moment.

Pinkie Pie burst into the room through the door covered in instruments. Without warning she trotted around the table Spike was laying on while playing every instrument on her at the same time. This included a harmonica, tuba, flute, drums, cymbals, and of course a banjo. The cacophony of noise was offensive in every way imaginable to the ears. Four sets of ears dropped and four jaws were set against the musical assault, it continued for some time before Twilight realized this “song” might not have an end.

“ENOUGH, MAKE IT STOP!” Rarity wailed. Rainbow Dash, her ears flat and her jaw clenched, hovered over Pinkie as she yanked away the banjo and the tuba.

“Not the banjo! I wasn’t finished with the symphony yet.”

SKNNNXXXX

Rainbow Dash’s ears perked up at the sound of snoring, “It didn’t work Pinkie.”

“Well it worked if you wanted to burst my eardrums,” Rarity mumbled.

“Ok it’s my turn,” Rainbow Dash said with trademark enthusiasm. She flew out the balcony and returned a moment later pushing a cloud that looked like a dark ball of cotton candy.

Twilight’s ears fell, “Please, no more water in the library, I have to replace enough books as it is.”

“Don’t worry egghead, the only one getting wet is: SPIKE!” she yelled as she bucked the cloud with all her strength. The cloud rumbled ominously for a moment before letting loose a torrent of water. It fell on Spike and soaked him in seconds. His open mouth collected rain water like a bird bath.

SKNNNXXXX-blurb-cough-cough

Spike rolled over. He wouldn’t need to wake up for a drink of water from this slumber. Rainbow Dash’s eyes went wide before she grit her teeth and glared at Spike’s sleeping form. “Gonna play tough huh? How about some thunder!” She leapt onto the cloud and treated it like a trampoline. Arcs of lightning shot around the library causing Twilight to yelp and cover some of her more precious tomes. Rarity and Fluttershy backed into the corner of the room. Pinkie Pie danced around singing in the rain.

Rumble-booOOOOMMMMmmm

Thunder rolled out of the library making the entire building vibrate. A few of the books and other small objects shook off of the shelves and tumbled onto the floor. The black cloud dissipated, it’s rain, lightning, and thunder were spent.

SKNNNXXXX

“Oh you have got to be kidding me!” Rainbow Dash was still hovering above Spike. Water, or perhaps drool, was leaking out of his mouth onto the table. Puddles of water were everywhere. Spike smacked his lips and stretched… before he rolled back over onto his other side letting out another puff of smoke. His chest began to rise and fall again in a steady rhythm. Twilight was scared but couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. She had never seen Spike sleep so well or so long before this, not even when he was a baby.

Fluttershy trotted over to the table and looked at Spike. Her eyes showed a gentleness that most ponies could only aspire to. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Fluttershy, if marching bands and thunder can’t wake him, what can we do?”

Fluttershy nuzzled Spike making him shift in his sleep and smile again. “Oh he’s so cute when he’s asleep, are you sure you want to wake him?”

“Yes, yes, YES!” Twilight said as excitement began to rise in her chest. “Do you have an idea? I’ve never had any trouble waking him up before, but if you know some special way to wake animals maybe it will work on Spike.” The thought of calling Spike an animal irked her. She considered Spike family, not a pet. But if it could work on all the little animals in Fluttershy’s care…

“Oh, um, no,” Twilight’s ears dropped. “I just wanted to try and wake him gently, um, if that’s ok with you.”

Twilight began to look around the library for books on sleep, “Sure thing Fluttershy, knock yourself out.”

“Oh no, I won’t hurt myself or Spike.” Her soft voice didn’t penetrate Twilight’s focus. She looked at Spike and sucked in a breath through her nose. Her lungs filled to capacity and she yelled as loud as she could.

“Yay.”

SKNNNXXXX-snort

Spike opened his eyes just a crack and sat up. Everypony in the room except Fluttershy had their mouth slightly open. Spike stretched with one claw in the air and the other claw rubbing his eye. He let out a huge yawn and slumped forward. He groaned, “It’s too early to be up, it must be the middle of the night.” Fluttershy smiled and nuzzle him. “Oh hi Fluttershy, when did you get here?” Spike’s eyes were now open and he took in his surroundings. “Uhhh…hi Dash, hi-“ he stuttered, “R-Rarity. What the hay is going on?

Twilight tackled Spike from his sitting position into a purple heap. Her hooves wrapped around him and her face buried in his little scales. “Spike, I was so scared. I was worried you’d never wake up.”

Spike tried to squirm out, his cheeks puffed out and his purple face turning a darker shade. He opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was a little puff of flame, squeezed out of him by Twilight’s grip. “Oh- Twilight, please don’t hurt him or smother him.” Fluttershy put a hoof in between them trying to separate them and allow Spike to breathe. She might as well have tried to pull apart a rock with her bare hooves for all of the good it did. Twilight released all of her pent up anxiety at the same time she released Spike.

GASP

“What was that for? You nearly crushed me!” sniff “Say what’s cookin’? It smells like barbeque in here. And why is everypony here anyway? Why are you all looking at me like that?” They were all looking at him, Pinkie Pie and Rarity were blinking away tears. Even Rainbow Dash had a big grin on her face. Spike's voice grew quiet as his brow furrowed and he unconsciously drew closer to Twilight, “And what did you mean about not waking up?”

“Spike, you’ve been asleep for almost a full day. And I was so scared you would get burned in the fire. I guess you were asleep for that. A fire started upstairs in the bedroom, you have no idea how scared I was.” Twilight hugged him close again.

“Yep, and you were breathing fire. Just like a real grown up super scary dragon! That means you’ll never be able to blow out the candles on your birthday cake. Which means you’ll never be able to make a wish.” Pinkie Pie’s hair lost its fluff and her eyes began to leak little waterfalls. “Oh Spike it’s so sad-“ suddenly her hair returned to its normal cotton candy like fluffiness. “I know we can just put the candles on your birthday cake unlit and you can blow them ON! Problems solved!” She bounced around Twilight and Spike singing happy birthday.

Rainbow Dash started to laugh while Rarity stepped in to correct Pinkie, “What Pinkie is trying to say is the fire upstairs,” she pointed with a hoof causing Spike to look at the blackened walls and roof at the top of the stairs. “Was probably caused by you darling. I’m so sorry.” Spike’s gaze shifted between the charred walls and Rarity several times.

“That can’t be right-“ Twilight cut him off as she glared at Rarity.

“He’s not the cause of the fire. None of you are even considering any other possibilities.” Spike looked at Rarity differently, like he was looking at her for the first time.

“I don’t know what else could have caused the fire, Twilight. But I’m not an egghead, so do you have any other ideas?” Rainbow Dash was hovering over the little group with a pleading look. Spike tried to shrink away from Dash.

“There’re lots of possibilities, like...like...” Twilight trailed off lost in thought with one hoof scratching her chin.

“C’mon Fluttershy back me up on this.” Dash dropped to the floor in front of her oldest friend and folded her wings. She nudged Fluttershy forward causing her to stumble forward a few steps.

“Oh, um, well, I think, maybe Spike could have, might have...” eeep. She bit her lips together and said no more. Twilight’s ears fell and she hung her head. Spike tried to bury himself into Twilight’s chest.

“Even Fluttershy thinks so, what can I do?” Twilight thought out loud. Spike looked at her, at the other ponies in the room. He pushed Twilight away and backed away from everyone. His chest was heaving and his eyes were wide. “Spike...?”

“Y-You’re going to kick me out aren’t you. I’m just a fire hazard, and you don’t need me to burn down the library.”

“Spike I am going to fix this.”

“HOW?” hot tears began to flow but Spike spoke clearly, “How are you going to fix this? I’m just an accident waiting to happen.”

“I-I-I, that is, we can stop this if-” Twilight’s mind worked quickly to salvage the situation and a light bulb went off. “If we just feed you something really cold. Yes, that should work. You were breathing fire because you were eating those peppers for supper. So if we feed you something cold everything will be fine.” Twilight didn’t really like using one of Pinkie’s ideas but right now the thought was so comforting that she clung to it like a lifeline.

“Oh what a good idea darling,” Rarity trotted over to Spike and ran a hoof over his head brushing his scales back. The calming effect was more powerful and more immediate than any drug. “See Spike? Everything is going to be just fine.”

Twilight looked at her friends and took command, more out of fear than anything else. “Rarity can stay here with Spike while we get what we need. I’ll draw up a list,” Twilight was already scribbling on a long sheet of parchment and the checklist formed in record time. “And each of you can get an item.” Twilight assigned Fluttershy an item and pushed her towards the door, her hooves making shallow gouges in the wood floor when she resisted. “What are you all waiting for? Let’s go!”

“Oh is it time for a scavenger hunt? I love those.” Pinkie Pie darted out without much more than a glance at the checklist and was gone before Twilight could say anything.

Rainbow Dash sighed, “Ok ok, I’ll help, c’mon Fluttershy.” Fluttershy looked down and mumbled something. “What was that?”

“Um, ok, I’ll try to help.” She began to slowly walk out the door with Twilight right behind her. Twilight tapped a hoof, impatient with her less enthusiastic friend. The door slammed closed and the galloping of muffled hooves could be heard fading away outside.

Rarity smiled at Spike, “Everything is going to be just fine darling, trust us.” She ran a hoof over his scaly head one more time. Spike yawned, the soporific power of Rarity’s voice worked on him with incredible speed. She stopped when she looked at his droopy eyes. “Now don’t fall asleep on me Spike, we worked so hard to wake you. You couldn’t possibly be sleepy now, can you?”

Spike’s eyes snapped open, “No way, I get to spend time with you while the others are away.” Rarity rolled her eyes but kept a hoof on his head. Spike played his first card, “Do you want something to eat? I’m getting to be a really good cook.”

Rarity smiled, “No thank you Spike I’m not hungry. But I hear you can make a mean habanero stew.” Spike’s grin was framed by blushing cheeks from such a compliment. “Perhaps another time darling,” Spike’s grin turned into a stretched yawn, Rarity swore she could see the air dance as it exited his fanged mouth.

“I could... give you a massage?” Rarity rolled her eyes and this time Spike didn’t miss it. Honestly, how obvious can you get? It’s not cute Spike, it’s a bit creepy. But Spike was in trouble and wasn’t acting like himself so Rarity gave him some leeway.

Rarity decided to change the subject, anything to cool Spike off. “How about I read you a book, I’m sure there are plenty of choices here.” She gestured to the surrounding library but retracted her limb when she realized she was pointing at a partially burned shelf. Several of the books, especially those on the top shelf, were little more than large flakes of ash. Spike glanced at the books but quickly looked down. “Well I’m sure Twilight’s number one assistant can find us something wonderful to read,” she said with plenty of cheer in her voice.

Spike looked up at her with a particular grin on his face, “Or maybe I can put on a little show for you.” A hint of blush came to Rarity’s cheeks. Spike began to waddle towards the door pulling Rarity along with him.

“And just what kind of show would this be?” Rarity definitely agreed with Twilight’s earlier assessment, he was acting strange indeed. Almost like he was drunk. “And why are we going outside?” She breathed an inaudible sigh of relief, at least this show won’t involve any foolishness from Spike if he’s willing to do it in public.

“Don’t you think a little light show would be awesome? If you guys are right and I can breathe fire now, it’s going to be so cool!” Rarity’s eyes grew to the size of saucers. I was wrong, this is the worst possible thing! The most foolish possible thing!

Spike lead Rarity to the park which was nearly empty at this time. It was unseasonably cold this time of year and most ponies were at home. Spike stopped under the shade of a large oak tree. Rarity noted the flammable objects nearby: one picnic table and a few dry twigs that had fallen from the tree. Spike spread his little arms wide and cleared his throat as if he were about to herald the Princess herself. Maybe he can’t breathe fire, I shouldn’t laugh if he doesn’t I should just tell him to wait and give it some time before he can-

FWOOSH

Spike opened his mouth and let loose a bright orange stream of fire. “Ha ha HA! I did it!” He seemed almost as surprised as Rarity that he could in fact breath fire on command. Rarity just stood there, her vision imprinted with the afterimage of flames. She shook her head to clear out the shock. Spike was almost doing a jig as he ran around the base of the tree laughing.

“That’s...very good Spike. But maybe we shouldn’t do that anymore until Twilight returns with-”

“You don’t like it?” Spike clutched her front leg and looked up at her with tears forming in the corner of his eyes. His lower lip quivered.

“Uh...no, I, um, LOVE it, it’s very pretty.” She couldn’t bring herself to shatter his fragile ego. The fire was pretty, but it was also quite dangerous and she knew it.

“And you want to see it again right?” Spike backed up a few paces and sucked in air.

“NO SPIKE, I don’t need-”

FWOOSH

Rarity blinked as it shot right at her. She had felt it this time the flame was so close. The heat was intense but afterwards she felt a cool breeze on her face. She blinked again, something was off. Spike’s smile drained from his face. He backed away from her slowly until his back was to the tree trunk. He unconsciously put his claws over his mouth and looked away from Rarity. Of all the expressions Rarity could see in her life, this is the one she feared the most.

“What’s wrong!” She fumbled for her mirror. “What happened?” She brought the mirror up to her face and looked at it with worry. Her mane was fine, her tail was fine, her coat was fine, her face was...no. This is the WORST POSSIBLE THING!

Her eyelashes on her left eye were singed off, giving her face a lopsided and unwholesome appearance. She had lost not only her false eyelashes but her real ones as well. Not to mention the dangerously close call she had just come to losing sight in one eye. A bit of soot was all that was left around her eye, making her look a bit clownish.

“Spike, you must stop-” She looked behind her small mirror but Spike was nowhere to be found. She checked around the tree and looked out over the park. She called out to him but the only response she got was birdsong. Horsefeathers, where has he gone now?

Breath of Fire chapter 3

Written by: Shahrazad
Edited by: Level Dasher
Cover art by: TheNoodleFace

Breath of Fire, chapter 3

~~~~~

Spike wiped the tear from his emerald eye and sniffed once. He would never again see Rarity smile, hear her laugh, or help her find gems. She hated him now. How could he blame her? He nearly burned one of her eyes out. So much for the impressive and mighty dragon. The doctors were right, he was a danger to everyone around him. He growled. He sighed and idly wondered, why am I growling? I’m not angry, I’m sad. Another growl escaped his stomach. Oh, that’s why.

He jumped down from the bale of hay and landed on both feet in a shallow puddle. Daisy happened to be walking by when she received a splatter of mud. Seeing Spike standing in the puddle near her made her nose wrinkle up and one corner of her mouth twitch. Spike backed away on the verge of tears again, “I’m sorry, I can’t do anything right.” He stammered out before he turned and ran away with smoke leaking from his nose.

Spike skidded around the street looking in every direction for something, anything, to eat. His stomach felt like a furnace running low on coal. He tiptoed into Sugercube Corner through the infrequently used side door. Thankfully Pinkie wasn’t there at the moment, at least not that he could see. Mrs. Cake was behind the counter with a short line of customers. The smell of baked goods made Spike’s mouth water and a little smile creep into his features despite his mood. Leaving three-clawed mud prints on the otherwise pristine floor, he snuck around to the back.

He found Mr. Cake busy making blueberry muffins. His stomach growled again but Mr. Cake was making quite a bit of noise himself as he mixed more flour into an oversized bowl with a wooden spoon. Spike spied a tray of muffins on the window sill, still steaming hot. He grabbed the hot tray without so much as a whimper, his scales protecting him from the heat. He was running down the ally with the entire tray as if he were being chased by Cerberus. Mr. Cake didn’t even notice.

Spike munched on another muffin. The tray had held a dozen when he started, only one remained. He was seated with his back to an empty rainbarrel in between two buildings. The sounds of the noisy market continued on the other side of the barrel as he picked up the last muffin and tossed the tray aside with a clang.

The smell of muffins had attracted a certain pegasus who was sitting on a low cloud directly above him, waiting for the chance to snatch an extra treat. He can’t eat the entire tray by himself she thought, but she was dead wrong. She watched as muffin after muffin disappeared down the fanged maw. Her mouth fell open and it nearly brought a tear to her eye.

urp

Spike tapped his claws on his swollen stomach. His burp let loose a tiny tendril of black smoke. His stomach felt full, but somehow he still felt empty. He walked slowly through the market, ponies all around him talking, laughing, living. And why shouldn’t they? They hadn’t nearly blinded the one they loved. They weren’t a danger to their friends. Spike sat on a park bench next to a fat little colt with an ice cream. The colt seemed to take no notice of him.

URRRPPP

It came without warning this time, not only was there smoke but there was fire. Enough to make the colt jump up and drop his ice cream in fright. He galloped away yelling something about fire-breathing dragons. Spike caught the ice cream just before it hit the ground. He didn’t really think about it he just reacted. He shrugged and ate it without so much as a second thought.

He staggered out of the market. He didn’t want to hear any ponies laughing or talking or doing anything joyful. His vision was blurry like someone had smeared a thin film of grease all over the world. His limbs felt like lead. He yawned, letting himself feel tired. Sleep was good, it was a way to escape from this reality for a while. The sun was so warm, and the grass under his feet was soft. He laid down, intending to just rest for a moment but before he knew it he crossed the threshold to reality’s exit.

~~~~~

Rainbow Dash was supposed to find ice water. Finding water was easy, she could simply get some from the Ponyville reservoir. Ice was harder, especially in large amounts. She didn’t have many bits and winter was already wrapped up. Flying to a nearby mountain for snowmelt was out of the question. She was about to dig into her bits when she spied a little purple dragon sleeping in a meadow just outside of Ponyville.

“Spike?” She hovered above him. “Spike! Wake up!” Nothing. She groaned inwardly, not again. I thought Rarity was supposed to watch him? Where is she? She landed next to Spike watching for any fire breath. Fortunately nothing nearby was particularly flammable. She stomped the ground in frustration. Spike started to snore. She was so frustrated he had fallen asleep again she was ready to buck something. I have to find Flutters again! Horsefeathers! AHHHH I’m so mad I could scream!

Thunk

She didn’t mean to hurt him, but it was too late. Spike was on the receiving end of a hoof to the side of the head. Dash realized what she had done when Spike groaned and a pair of claws were pressed to his temples. “Ohmygosh Spike, I’m so sorry. Are you ok?” Spike sat up and opened his eyes. “You’re awake!”

Spike yawned, “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be awake?” Spike wobbled to his feet.

Rainbow Dash scooped him up and put him on her back. “Spike, you fell asleep again. I gotta keep you awake till egghead finds a cure for you.” A mischievous grin appeared on her face. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun with your fire breath in the meantime, right?” The guilt made her grasp at straws to make him smile. Where is Pinkie Pie when you need her? Spike’s eyes lolled in their sockets and his eyelids fluttered. A hoof shaped welt appeared on the side of his head. “Spike? Are you ok? Talk to me buddy.”

“Yeah I’m fine, lets go have fun.” Spike’s voice was thick and slow. Rainbow Dash thought he wasn’t all there, but couldn’t refuse him after bucking him in the head.

~~~~~

Rarity tore through the market, her face etched with fear both for Spike and for anypony that might see her and wonder why she was wearing her hair in such a way as to cover half her face. “Spike?” She looked in empty wooden barrels and under carts. “Spike?” She checked under tables and on top of bales of hay. “Spike?” She even checked in the Golden Oaks Library, behind town hall, the spa, and inside of Sofa’s and Quills, but couldn’t see even a single purple scale.

When she checked behind the asparagus stand her patience was as frazzled as her mane. She couldn’t imagine where he could have gone and desperately didn’t want to run into Twilight Sparkle before she found him. So of course after pushing through the market crowd, right past the public fountain, that’s exactly who she found herself nose to nose with. Rarity cringed.

“Hi Rarity! Where’s Spike?” Twilight said with narrowed eyes and a stare that threatened to burn a hole in stone. Her saddle bags were straining to contain some large round object.

“I...um...” Rarity lowered her head in defeat. “Spike tried to impress me by breathing fire. It didn’t go well and I think he ran away because he was embarrassed.”

Twilight Sparkle didn’t fly off the handle, instead she put her hooves around Rarity and hugged her. “I’m so sorry Rarity. I thought he wouldn’t leave you because of his little crush. I didn't see this coming; I should have had Dash or Fluttershy watch him in case he decided to run off. Are you alright?” Her face softened and the expression told Rarity more than words.

“Oh I’ll be alright darling. We need to find him before he gets hurt, or-” Rarity left the rest unsaid because Twilight’s expression became strained and she prefered to stay in Twilight’s good graces. She absent-mindedly flipped her mane, a tick she did often when she was nervous. It gave Twilight a brief glance at her face.

“Rarity! What happened to your face?”

Rarity stuffed a hoof in Twilight’s mouth, “Shhhh, not so loud!” A few stallions passing by gave them a round of smiles. A bead of sweat appeared on Rarity’s flank as she gave them a strained smile in return. She waited until they were out of earshot before she continued, “I told you Spike tried to show me his fire breath. Well, he ran away after he caused this.” She pointed with a hoof at her mane covering half of her face.

Twilight couldn’t help but smile with a crooked mouth. She tried to contain her laughter but tears began to leak out of her eye. “Ok Rarity, I forgive you for losing Spike. After all you were keeping an EYE on him.”

Rarity’s face darkened, “That’s not funny! We need to find him!”

Twilight’s expression became serious, “You’re right, but where could he have gone?”

Just then a cross-eyed pegasus half landed, half crashed, half fell from the sky next to Twilight. She stood and dusted herself off, her eyes focusing in Twilight’s general direction. “Twilight Sparkle, you need to stop your criminal!”

Twilight looked at her and tilted her head, “What criminal? I’m not harboring a criminal!”

Derpy nodded her head, “Yes you are! You live with that criminal Spike. I saw him eating the most precious things in the world and he didn’t share them with anypony!”

Twilight blinked, “He ate foals?!” Rarity gasped.

“What? No, muffins. Blueberry Muffins. You need to teach him better Twilight. I just don’t know where you went wrong.” Her eyes were rimmed with tears at the tragedy and she looked at Twilight expectantly.

Twilight buried a hoof in her face, “Which way did he go? I’ll fix him.” Derpy brightened up, a huge smile on her face and pointed with her entire body.

~~~~~

FWOOOSH

The fire toasted the bottom of the glass tube and sent the mercury inside up to the top. Rainbow Dash and Spike snickered and hid behind a nearby bush. An elderly stallion with coke-bottle glasses opened the window. He looked at the thermostat hanging beside his window and gasped. He closed the window and galloped inside. If you can call a shaky trot a gallop. The smoke rising from his chimney sputtered and stopped after a few moments. Rainbow Dash took to the air as the neighbors trotted out with scarves wrapped around their necks. Spike and Dash laughed with mirth as they searched for a new target.

“How about that one?” Dash said as she flew under a pair of earth ponies floating in the basket of a hot air balloon.

“They could use some heat.” Spike said with a mischievous grin. Dash flapped hard as they surged higher. The earth ponies were floating above them, lazily drifting on the wind in their purple hot air balloon. She bored into a cloud allowing them to hide from their quarry. They waited, giggling while their prey drifted closer. When they drew close Dash burst from the clouds and stopped near them.

“Need a lift?” Dash said with a huge grin. The pair of mares in the balloon looked on in horror as Spike blew a gout of flame just over their heads.

“Are you crazy?” The cream-coated mare said as she covered her head with her hooves. The pink mare just snapped her goggles over her eyes and ducked into the basket. The balloon began to rise.

“Catch ya later!” Dash laughed as Spike shut his maw and the balloon floated higher. Dash circled lower looking for yet another target they could prank. Spike was laughing so hard he nearly rolled off of her back.

“How long do you think it will take for them to get down?”

snort “I don’t know, it won’t take too long. We gotta be gone by then. Oh I know what we can do! Pinkie Pie had those fake fire extinguishers left over from last week’s party.”

Spike began to laugh, “That's perfect, who can we use them on?” Dash looked around and pointed. Spike gasped, “No way.”

Dash laughed, “C’mon you know it will work. And who better to use them on?”

It took only a few minutes to set up. They grabbed the extra special fire extinguisher from Pinkie’s not so secret tree stash of party gags and placed it conspicuously near their target. Then all it took was a small pile of dry leaves to be gathered into just the right spot. Spike inhaled and blew a bright flame onto the pile of leaves. They caught fire instantly. Spike and Dash darted behind a hedge and waited. They didn’t have to wait long.

Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding

The fire alarm went off inside of the brick building. Heat Wave and a troop of fire stallions marched out of the firehouse and spied the burning pile of leaves before the last pony was out the door. Heat Wave snatched up the ‘fire extinguisher’ placed neatly near the corner of the firehouse and dashed to the little fire hazard with all of the bravery and heroism that is trademark to his profession.

Sprong!

Coiled “snakes” shot out of the nozzle into the burning pile of leaves. Heat Wave just stood there dumbstruck for several moments while the “snakes” burned up into oily smoke. Dash and Spike roared with laughter while the other fire stallions recovered and galloped into the firehouse for a fresh and preferably usable fire extinguisher.

“Did you see the look on his face?! Classic!”

Spike nodded, “He was like uhhhhhh...” Doing his best rendition of Heat Wave. It made Dash laugh even harder.

“OW OW OW” The green scale on the right side of Spike’s head was enveloped in a purple aura. Dash stopped laughing and looked up, wondering what was going on. A similar but light blue aura appeared around her own ear.

“OW OW OW! OK OK, I’m sorry, we’ll stop pranking the fire stallions!” Dash pleaded as her ear was caught in a painful twist. Twilight and Rarity trotted out from a nearby hedge, their horns glowing. Spike gulped and scratched the faint hoof shaped bruise on the other side of his head.

“Oh boy, I’m going to get it now.” Spike said as his shoulders slumped.

“Darn right you are. You ran away from Rarity, you stole muffins, you pranked poor Heat Wave. Goodness knows what else you’ve done.” Twilight Sparkle's anger flooded out of her in the form of tears. “And you scared the hay out of me.” She squeezed Spike in a tight hug. Spike just hugged her back in the hopes that being extra loving would get him out of any further punishments. Twilight suddenly held him at hoof length with dry, hard eyes. “You’re in it deep mister.” Spike’s gaze found the ground quickly.

“Aww isn’t that cute? Well I think it’s time to go.” Dash tried to sulk away but a light blue aura tweaked her ear and her entire head tilted painfully to the right. Rarity’s glare froze her in place.

“I am not having a good day Rainbow Dash. THIS is what happens when you play with fire.” She pulled her mane back revealing a frightening, wide eyed face. Dash quivered and snapped to attention once the magical grip on her ear was released. “You do have the ice water like a loyal pegasus don’t you darling?” Rarity’s voice had a cold and dangerous edge to it.

“Getting ice water, right away ma'am.” Dash saluted and took wing. Frankly she would have done just about anything Rarity ordered her to do in that moment.

Rarity sighed and smiled as she looked at Spike. She lifted his chin to make his eyes meet hers. “Spike I want you to know I am not mad at you. Disappointed that you stole muffins, but I am not angry that you ran away. I often feel as if I should do the same when I am having a wardrobe malfunction. However one cannot simply hide at home even on a bad day. It’s best to face the day, head

“I don’t know... I just wanted to laugh, what else could I do?”

“Even at the expense of others? Darling, that’s no way to go through life.” Rarity’s disappointment stabbed at Spike’s gut again. Rarity sighed, “I want you to get better Spike. I want the old Spike back. So I need you to eat, can you do that for me darling?”

Spike’s eyes rose to see Rarity offering him ice cream. Am I dreaming? I do bad stuff and get ice cream? He gingerly took the ice cream cone, vanilla and liquid chocolate dripping down the sides and took a tiny lick. He looked at Twilight for assurance he was doing the right thing. Twilight and Rarity smiled and nodded, urging him on.

By the time he finished the ice cream Fluttershy found them. She was carrying a sloshing pitcher balanced on her back trying not to spill it. Pinkie Pie bounced behind her, keeping the large bowl on her back from falling. “Heya Spike, are ya hungry?” Her grin was infectious and Spike couldn’t help but smile.

“Don’t be too nice to him Pinkie, he’s in trouble for pranking with Rainbow Dash.” Twilight’s glare told Spike he was going to get it later.

“Oh was it a good prank? Did it involve banjos? Or rabid wolverines and underpants? Oh-oh-oh did it have fire and flying hot air balloons? We should have a pranking party!” She stood on her hind legs with her front legs stretched wide as if she were about to hug everyone.

Spike just looked at her, “No, it didn’t have banjos or underpants or hot air balloons. What would I do with a rabid... wait there was a hot air balloon that I-” Twilight shot Spike a look that froze him mid sentence.

“Time for frozen yogurt!” Pinkie said as she stuffed the entire treat into Spike’s mouth. Spike coughed and the bowl popped out empty. He clutched his temples with his claws.

“AHHHH!” Spike hollered, his claws clutching his head. “Brain freeze!”

“Time for lemonade!” She swiped the pitcher of lemonade off Fluttershy’s back and poured it into Spike's open mouth in one swift motion. Spike sputtered but most of the ice cold drink found its way into his stomach. Spike flopped onto the ground moaning.

“I’m so full, no more please.” He curled into a ball shivering, the ice cold food and drinks were having the desired effect.

Rainbow Dash landed next to Rarity holding a bucket of ice water and a funnel. She set them down and saluted Rarity and spoke with crisp precision, “Ice water as requested ma’am.” Rarity nodded and pointed at Spike with a hoof. Rainbow Dash saluted again and popped the end of the funnel into his mouth. Spike’s eyes went wide and before he knew it Dash was standing over him holding the bucket with a wicked grin on her face.

“Down the hatch.”

SLOOSH

Ice water splashed over him but most of it went into the funnel. Ice flooded his body and he shivered again. Rarity sidled up next to Dash and said, “Enjoy your little pranks today?”

“Oh yeah, the one with the hot air balloon was- OW!” Dash’s ear was suddenly tweaked again in light blue magic. She whimpered and wilted under Rarity’s gaze.

“That’s for whatever you did to ponies in a hot air balloon. I trust you will fix this afterwards or do Twilight and I have to treat you like a spoiled filly?”

“Yes ma’am, it’ll be fixed by sundown ma’am.” Rarity released her magic and allowed Dash to take several steps away from her. Dash rubbed her ear, waiting for the ache to slowly fade away. Twilight created a new mental note for herself: do not mess with Rarity on a day when she has a wardrobe malfunction.

“Uhrrrggg, no more...” Spike moaned as Twilight opened her saddle bags. A pair of watermelons, still fresh with condensation were lifted out in a purple aura. Fluttershy looked on with worry etched into her face. Water, yogurt, ice cream, and lemonade were splattered on the ground around Spike. His stomach looked like it contained a beach ball. Each breath he took was labored and made his stomach quiver.

“Um...maybe this is enough Twilight. We can stop feeding him, if that’s ok with you.”

“I want to be sure.” Fluttershy winced at Twilight’s words. The aura shimmered and the watermelons split into slices. They hovered around Spike’s head in a circle. Spike never thought he would be so afraid of fruit as he was at that moment.

ulp ulp ulp

There was nothing left but the rinds; even the seeds were gone. Spike moaned again. Fluttershy trotted over to him with concern on her face. She pulled out a stethoscope and began to check Spike with it. Twilight leaned in closer as well. “Is he going to be alright?”

Spike moaned and his eyes closed. Fluttershy checked the first vital point on him when he let out a horrible sound.

SKNNNXXXX

“HOW? How can he be asleep?!” Dash exclaimed, “He's fallen asleep twice today already. What are we going to do?”

Twilight and Rarity looked at Dash. Twilight spoke first, “Twice? What do you mean? Did he fall asleep again? How’d you wake him?”

“Shhhhh,” Fluttershy raised a hoof to her mouth. The stethoscope granted her authority and Twilight fell silent. Dash prayed she would forget about the comment she had let slip. Fluttershy prodded a few more spots with the instrument.

~~~~~

It was HOT. This was to be expected. Spike sat in the bubbling lava, steam rising from its surface. He sat against a solid rock, the molten stuff flowing around his torso. He dunked his head in allowing the warm liquid to relieve his aches.

He broke the surface with molten drops trickling down his face. His eyes went wide. She was there, sitting in the pool of lava with him. Rarity leaned back and flicked her mane, batting her eyelashes at him. She held a shiny red crystal in her hoof, and beckoned him closer. He smiled as the lava swirled in his wake.

crunch

The gem was eaten in two bites. His stomach felt like it was full of the same molten rock he was swimming in. Rarity smiled and pulled him close, making him flush. “How is my brave dragon today?”

“Just peachy. Kinda hot in here though. Are you warm?”

She smiled, “Why it’s just fine Spike. Don’t you like it... hot?” The flutter in her eyelashes said things to him he desperately wanted to hear.

Woosh

A gust of air blew past bringing with it a hot wind. Rainbow Dash was flying overhead, her coat an odd purple hue as it reflected the light of the lava pool Spike and Rarity were sitting in. She laughed and started to singsong, “kissy kissy Spikey wikey!” He flushed even more, his core temperature rising at her words.

Fluttershy’s disembodied head floated by. Spike stared at it while Rarity gently stroked his scales. “Yay,” the head said as it drifted on the hot wind. Spike looked at it in wonder trying to figure out what the hay was going on. He felt the lava boil in his stomach.

“Spike...” Rarity gently put a hoof under his chin and pulled his eyes to meet hers. Their noses almost touched. “I think you should take a dip.” With a languid motion she pushed him deeper into the lava pool. He saw nothing but molten rock. The fire in his stomach threatened to consume him.

~~~~~

FWOOOOMMM

The fire rising from Spike’s mouth as he snored was less of a stream of fire and more like a blossoming fireball. It rose above the roofs of Ponyville like a tiny sun. Twilight and her friends could hardly believe so much fire and heat could come out of a tiny creature like Spike. “What do we do now?” Rarity stood back protecting her mane and remaining eyelashes.

“I-I don’t know. Let me think.” Twilight’s brain seemed to freeze up. She tried to use her logic to find a solution but every time she did, images of Spike intruded. A cold pit formed in her stomach as she watched him continue his ‘snoring.’ Rainbow Dash was on a cloud far away from Spike. Rarity shrank back behind a tree. Fluttershy was behind her, flat against the ground with her hooves over her head and her eyes closed, shivering with fright. Pinkie Pie was the only one still near Twilight. She was wearing a shiny fire suit she found from who knows where and was trying to eat popcorn. The fluffy white treats she threw at her open mouth bounced off of the clear face shield and landed a short distance away on the grass. This did nothing to deter Pinkie, who seemed surprised every time it happened.

clop clop clop clop clop clop

Several sets of hooves trotted down the cobblestone road toward them. I hope somepony can help Spike Twilight thought. When the group rounded the hedge her ears dropped. Applejack was trotting forward leading Mayor Mare, Heat Wave, and a member of the royal guard. “Uh, hi Applejack.” Twilight said trying to keep her voice even. “What brings you here?” Behind her another miniature sun rose into the sky.

Applejack just deadpanned at her. Mayor Mare stepped forward with a small frown, her eyes set on Spike. She turned to Twilight, “As Mayor of the city it’s my job to keep the city safe-”

“Good, then you can help me figure out a way fix Spike.” The Mayor narrowed her eyes at Twilight.

“And by state policy I am to remove anything I deem a hazard to the health and wellbeing of its citizens,” she said imperiously. Mayor Mare looked directly at Spike and pointed a hoof. “I deem HIM a fire hazard.”

“He’s NOT a fire hazard! He’s a living creature. And he’s my friend. He’s not going anywhere!” Twilight placed herself in between the Mayor and Spike. She set her hooves apart and lowered her head. She snorted, a tiny cloud of dust kicked up from the ground.

The Mayor’s mouth was set in a line and her brow furrowed as she glared at Twilight. “You have got to be kidding me. I saw those little fireballs from town hall sixteen blocks away! Oh this is silly, I’m not going to argue with you.” Her nose rose into the air and she didn’t even look at Twilight when she spoke, “Guard, remove that fire hazard and place him outside the city limits. If he tries to return you may use force to stop him.” The guard nodded and started forward.

Twilight whirled around and broke into a gallop, tears streaming down her face. “NO.” She reached Spike after yet another fireball burst from his lips. She knelt beside him and pulled him close keeping his mouth pointed at the sky. “Please Spike, wake up.”

~~~~~

Spike cracked his eyes open and stumbled back. Lava splashed around him. Twilight was holding him instead of Rarity, her face set in a pained expression. “Where did Rarity go? I need to find her.”

“Wake up.” Spike felt odd when she said that. Like bile was rising in his throat. He opened his mouth and the world was consumed in fire.

~~~~~

He was standing near Carousel Boutique. He could hear Rarity singing about cooking, and a wonderful smell was wafting out of her kitchen. He glanced around to find the city of Ponyville strangely deserted. Night had fallen, so everypony must have been asleep. He stood on a barrel under the kitchen window and spied Rarity. He smiled as his heart fluttered again.

She was cooking something in a pot, but he couldn’t see what as the pot had a lid over it. She sang quietly to herself so he couldn’t make out the words. He rested his head on the window sill and just watched her. It was enough just to see her happy. She opened her eyes and caught him watching her.

The window flew open, and before he could react hot air blew into his face. Rarity smiled warmly at him and said, “Would you like a little taste darling?” The smell made his mouth water.

“You always know just what to say Rarity. I’ll bet your cooking is as lovely as your voice.”

She blushed, and so did he, making him feel even warmer. “Oh Spike you really should say that sort of thing to me more often.” She fluttered her eyelashes, “Could you do something for me darling?”

“Anything.”

Rarity opened the lid to the pot and Spike’s eyes went wide. Twilight Sparkle’s head popped out of the pot, “Wake up.”

He burped and the world turned into fire.

~~~~~

Ha ha ha ha ha

Spike allowed Peewee to chase him through the park. The little phoenix could never hope to catch Spike with his tiny hops. Spike didn’t run too fast for him so as to make their little game of tag more fun. Spike ran around a wide oak tree and lost sight of Peewee. He sat in the grass still giggling.

The sun was low in the sky; sunbeams warmed him and the tree trunk. He stifled a giggle as he waited for Peewee to find him. He felt the warm tree against his back. He felt full, although he couldn’t remember eating. He frowned. How did he get here anyway?

Quork

Peewee surprised him by falling right onto his stomach from above. A few leaves floated down around the two of them. “Heh, nice one Peewee. You got me.” He hugged the little guy close. He was so warm - he felt like a hot cup of cider against Spike’s belly. “Now what should we do?”

“Spike.”

Spike blinked and looked around. “Who called my name?”

“I did.”

Spike’s eyes went wide, he looked down at Peewee still held in his claws. He opened them so he could see the bird and look him in the eye. He gasped at the tiny thing in his claws.

It was Peewee’s body but it had the tiny head of Twilight Sparkle.

“Wake up.”

He burped and the world turned into fire once more.

~~~~~

He was covered in soot. He was in the library but everything was scorched. Nothing was left of the books but ashes. Embers glowed along the edges of the ashes, covering everything. Ash and heat floating down on Spike like a heavy fog. He snorted as a flake of ash tickled his nose.

FWOOSH

Fire shot out and he saw it. There was a single book half consumed by the fire he hadn’t noticed. It was hit by the flame and turned to floating ashes in a flash. He gasped, “Did I do all of this?”

“I think you know the answer to that.”

Spike whirled around to face Twilight. She stood behind him, impassive. She looked at him the same way she might read a particularly puzzling book. Her eyes bored into him. He sniffed, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to burn your books.” Tears began to leak down his face. “Please don’t kick me out.” He started to sob.

“Why would I kick you out?”

He squeezed his eyes shut and said in a tiny voice, “Because I burned your books. You should yell at me because you’re angry. You should stop being my friend, I’m just a fire hazard. I should just run away so nopony gets hurt.” He found he had a red gem in each claw. He didn’t remember where they came from, but all he wanted to do was stuff them into his mouth to soothe the fire in his belly. He felt like he was stuffed with hot coals.

“Spike I would never stop being your friend. And if you really are a fire hazard... Then I’m going with you. I’ll never leave you.”

“Really?” Spike blinked back tears. They mixed with the ashes, leaving his face smeared with soot. “What about your other friends?”

“Spike, I’d never leave my number one assistant. I’ll make it work even if I have to trot hundreds of leagues to keep my friendships alive. That includes you. But I don’t want you to leave, I want my friends together. You have to stop breathing so much fire. Can you do that for me?”

Spike opened his eyes and looked at her directly. She was smiling and it made him feel calm inside. His stomach growled and he looked again at the gems in his claws. He knew if he ate them it would feel better. He always felt better after a meal. He opened his mouth to consume the ruby.

“No Spike, I don’t want you to eat anymore. I want you to wake up.”

“Huh? What are you saying? URP!” His stomach heaved. He felt like he was going to throw up. Fire shot up his throat from his stomach. No. Stay DOWN.

~~~~~

Spike cracked his eyes open. Sunlight poured into his pupils making him wince in pain. His stomach lurched and he fought to keep his mouth closed. He quivered for a moment and swallowed. The feeling passed, but he still felt like his stomach was a ball of lava. He groaned.

“I’m still dreaming aren’t I? My stomach feels like its on fire. Twilight is here already. And the Mayor too? Why is everypony looking at me?” He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. His claw was covered in soot when he withdrew it. He blinked at the scene around him. Twilight was smiling wide as she hugged him. Her friends drew closer but allowed Twilight her moment.

“Twilight? What the hay? I thought you wanted to feed him.” Pinkie Pie spoke from behind a clear face mask. Spike glanced down at the thing in his claw. The crushed remains of popcorn tumbled out of his palm and into the dirt. Mayor Mare looked on, stunned.

“I finally figured out why he was breathing fire so much! It’s because he kept eating. The more he ate the more sleepy he would get. And while he was asleep he would breath fire to work off the food. It’s his body’s way of keeping him from getting fat.” She poked his paunch. “It’s a losing battle with the way Spike’s been eating lately. And I don’t even want to think about what all that food was doing to his hormones. So you get to go on a diet Spike, and I’m going to help you.” He smiled sheepishly.

“Uh, I’m not dreaming?”

“No Spike.”

“And we really had that conversation about you leaving Ponyville with me?”

“Well I don’t really know what you heard or saw but I think so.” Spike and Twilight stood while their friends crowded around.

“Can we go home now? l’m hungry.”

Breath of Fire epilogue

Written by: Shahrazad
Edited by: Level Dasher
Cover art by: TheNoodleFace

Breath of Fire, epilogue

~~~~~

He was in bed but he was awake. He acted like he was asleep but he had the feeling Twilight knew he was just faking it. It was late into the night. It had taken the rest of the day and evening to put the library back in order. Spike had to order a few new books for Twilight, but she never once made him feel guilty about what he had done. Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity were downstairs talking. He couldn’t help but eavesdrop.

“Why did you tell her Applejack?”

“What was ah supposed ta do? She asked why ma hat was on fire.”

“Couldn’t you have just lied to her instead of blaming Spike?”

“...Seriously?”

Spike heard the distinct sound of a hoof smacking into a face. “Right, Element of Honesty. What was I thinking?”

“It’s alright darling, you didn’t do anything wrong. You have nothing to apologize for. You did defend him when the Mayor accused him, right?” Spike’s heart fluttered at the sound of her voice.

“Course ah did. Told her he was jus havin’ a bad day s’all. ‘Cept when those fireballs started poppin’ up over the horizon... well...”

“Do you think you can keep the Mayor from trying to banish him again?” Rarity’s voice and concern made his heart flutter again.

“I don’t see why not. Spike isn’t a danger to the city anymore. And if he is banished I’m going with him.”

“You’d do that fer the little guy?”

“In a heartbeat.”

Spike sank into the covers. The bedroom was clean but bare. A new bed had been purchased for Twilight along with a new set of covers. It had taken quite a number of bits but their friends all pitched in to help. Spike was determined to pay back every last bit and said as much throughout the day while they restored the library. The bookcase had survived with little damage but the shelves held nothing. They awaited the arrival of new books. Twilight was almost giddy when she realized she had so much shelf space for new books; some of her old ones had done little more than gather dust. Spike suspected it was a front to keep him from feeling guilty but he allowed himself to believe the deception.

~~~~~

Dear Princess Celestia,

Hi, it’s me Spike. Yesterday I learned that eating and sleeping too much can get you into trouble. But you can’t just eat nothing and never sleep. You have to strike the right balance in your life. It’s always tempting to eat more, sleep more, and just indulge yourself without worrying about what will happen afterwards. But I found out it can drive away your friends and destroy your life. You just keep trying to find a little joy in all the wrong places instead of finding it in your friends. If it leaves you feeling empty afterwards, it isn’t the right sort of joy.

Your number one subject,

Spike

“Sister?” Luna looked at her sibling with one eyebrow raised.

Princess Celestia sighed as she finished reading the letter. Luna and Celestia sat at an overly long table covered in a white tablecloth with an ornate silver candelabra in the middle . The dishes on Luna’s side were many but not as many as those on her own. They both had a particularly difficult day and on a whim ordered what amounted to a feast for this meal. Celestia wanted to eat something good since she had to skip lunch in order to listen to the endless nobles and their frivolous complaints. While Luna had yet another bout of insomnia and needed something filing for breakfast to prepare her for the rest of the night.

Luna had finished her meal and had only a small tart for dessert. Celestia already had eaten four of those same tarts and a generous slice of cloud cake. She sighed and waved the serving pony away as he carried yet another slice towards her. “I am finished, I think I’ve had enough.” She finished her tea and decided it wasn’t quite time to retire for bed. Perhaps a book before sleep. Yes, that was a good idea. She passed her sibling, “Good night Luna.”

“I wish you sweet dreams.”