Of Scales and Feathers

As far as towns go, Ponyville was one that usually drew the short end of the stick. Depending on who you asked, that meant a couple of things. For one, the small village was prone to being attacked by all manners of foes, and was frequently subjected to the most supernatural of events.

Even in a world of magic and discovery, much was still misunderstood when it came to the occurrences of Equestria. Events came and went in a blink of an eye, and many went unnoticed until it was either too late to do anything about it, or it was frequent enough to document.

But among all of the creatures, spells, and natural occurrences that seemed to shadow Ponyville, there was a phenomenon that still perplexed even the most studious and wise of beings. A thing so vast and so uncharted that the most adventurous of creatures tended to stray far away from. That thing was called the Everfree Forest.

Flora, fauna, and mystical beings lurked within the woods that, if tampered with, could wrought mayhem and chaos on a scale even Discord might be challenged by. Expeditions into the forest have many a time been lost to its strange layout, mysterious properties, and sometimes even to the denizens of the forest.

Some, like the hydra and the timberwolf, made their home in this place. The former preferred the swamp, as it was rather secluded from much of the forest and its surroundings. The latter, however, seemed to find a home in the chaos. Many scholars considered the timberwolf to be the apex predator of Everfree Forest; speed unmatched by that of most other species and a body that can withstand many forms of attack, this being is a force to be reckoned with.

That anyone might wish to go into such a forest is beyond mad; it is *insane. Even the Elements of Harmony had once ventured into the Everfree, only just escaping with their lives. The hermit Zecora has made her home in the Everfree due to her extensive knowledge upon the medicinal and spiritual properties of her surroundings. All others have been warned away - and many have heeded that warning.*

That has not, however, stopped those who wish to understand the forest from braving its depths. But as the legend goes, "The only way to understand the darkness is to let the darkness find you. And once it does, you might never come back."

Spike awoke to the sun beating down on his face, its warm and subtle embrace feeling nice upon his cold scales. He groaned as he rolled out of bed, his long tail dragging the blankets with him. With a frustrated sigh, he tugged the long appendage free with his hands and threw the large blanket back onto the bed carelessly.

He briefly wondered if he could commission Rarity to make a blanket that didn't pull itself from the bed every time he tried to stand up. Though, rumor has it that Fluttershy was quite the seamstress. Maybe he could pay her a visit and see what she could do.

His gaze then turned to the bed and he stared at it, considering whether or not to make it look nicer. With a shrug, he figured he could get to it after a nice breakfast. Moving over to his cupboard, he opened it expecting to have a wide array of choices at his disposal.

What he found, however, was that his favorite box of cereal was empty and he was pretty much out of food. With a sigh of defeat, he bowed his head and closed the cupboard, turning around to lean on the counter as he cleared his head.

He looked around the room and realized something; he needed new decorations. Badly. The stone walls of his new home were bland and kind of depressing, now that he paid attention to it. Not at all like the comforting, vibrant decorations of his old room in Golden Oaks Library.

Spike had had to move out a few months back, his size getting the better of him. He kept bumping into the low archways leading to other rooms, and the ceiling was growing increasingly lower. After a few days of waking up to a lovely headache due to the bumps on his head, he had decided it was time to move out.

A young mare by the name of Golden Quill took his place as librarian. She was a sweet person, albeit a bit clumsy. In retrospect, Spike thought she was a lot like Twilight, in some ways. She was always tripping over herself and trying out new arrangements of books.

As for Spike, Princess Celestia had pulled some strings to have a house built especially for him in one of the large, empty fields near Ponyville. The house was huge compared to Golden Oaks Library, and it was made entirely of stone. This meant that, as he grew and changed, his draconic traits wouldn't be a hazard or a hindrance to him whatsoever. He could also modify the home a lot easier, what with it being made of alterable materials.

In the time that his new home was being built, Spike stayed with Rarity in her home. What he thought was going to be a dream vacation actually turned out to be quite a humbling experience for him. They had shared many a night simply talking, and Spike came to understand the mare much better than he had before.

With new secrets in his heart and knowledge in his mind, Spike decided to let go of his "conquest". He deemed it better to leave Rarity as a good friend than try and push her to be something more. The sting in his heart was there, but he felt no regret over his decision.

Now, however, he might have to call upon the fashionista - his house was pretty dull. Maybe he'd do that later on, after he had answered his stomach's call.

Now that he had decided upon what his next course of action would be, he also made sure to make his bed before he forgot. Surprisingly enough, Spike got a good bit of company despite his house being in a field away from Ponyville. It wasn't too much of a walk, but it was still out of the way of everything.

He figured, though, that nobody would be interested in seeing his bedroom. So with a quick shake and tug, Spike straightened out the blanket atop his bed and left it for later. It was almost a shame to leave such comfortable bliss, but he had things to do and ponies to see.

Grabbing a bag and some bits, Spike walked over to and opened the door. He had to cover his eyes from the sheer brightness of the outside world. The bright green color of the grass was as intense as the sun, considering Spike was still shaking off the remnants of sleep. After a few moments, he adjusted enough to push ahead, so he took to the dirt path leading away from his home.

If he wanted to get fancy, he probably could just pave the road with bricks or carved stone. It could be a pretty interesting look for the place, after all. Though once he stepped off of the path leading to his house and onto the main road, he realized that the idea was a bit null and void when one considered the main path itself was composed of dirt.

Maybe he'd just get a welcome mat and call it even. In any case, he would still have to get some new furniture. As it stood, he only had the common household items that many ponies had, and he wasn't quite satisfied with that. He wanted his home to stand out - maybe that was his pride as a dragon speaking but still, he was never one for settling with boring surroundings.

Maybe that's why dragons have hoards, he wondered - they just get so bored of their caves that they want to fill the void with something. Or, of course, it was just a natural sense of pride and greed, and they just took stuff for their own. That was a very viable alternative.

His previous thought of the distance between his home and Ponyville proved true, as he arrived in only a few minutes; his height and length of legs didn't hurt the matter either. He stood taller than Princess Celestia at this point, and not many ponies even come close to matching her height.

Bragging aside, he had arrived in the market with his bag in hand. Admittedly is was less a bag and more a burlap sack, but it would serve its purpose well. He made his rounds of the market, browsing through and purchasing a few odds and ends of food. He briefly considered buying some decorations, but decided it might be best if he waited until he had a better idea of what he wanted.

Every so often, he and a shopkeeper might make some small-talk, but most ponies tended to keep to themselves until the very end. The most one could hope to get was a, "Thank you, and have a nice day." Anything beyond that was a bit of a luxury when it came to the busy streets of the market.

His food bought and his mental checklist checked off, Spike turned around to walk the roads back home. The trip back wouldn't take more than a few minutes, and he guessed that the whole trip would have taken about half an hour. Not at all bad, considering he had only just woke up. If the rest of the day was that productive, Spike figured he could..

"What the?" Spike mumbled to himself, his thought process interrupted by a rather unusual sight. There, in front of his house, was a royal carriage. Standing on either side of his door were two stoic-looking guard-ponies wearing their usual expressions of seriousness.

Ever since Twilight had become a princess, this is how her company was announced. It was sort of convenient, but then he realized something. "Ah, boy.. She's gonna complain about the bed," he said with a sigh and shake of his head. Preparing for his lecture, Spike nodded to the guards and moved into his house.

"So this is your new house, huh?" a voice called from his living room - or what could be considered a living room, what with the lack of furniture. Spike was right on the mark guessing who the visitor was.

"Hey, Twilight," Spike said warmly, putting the bag of food down near the entrance to the kitchen and making his way to the living room. There, waiting for him, was Spike's life-long friend and mother-figure. He bent down and gave her a tight hug, which she reciprocated with a loving hug of her own.

"Hello, Spike. I have a favor to ask of you, and it isn't really a small one," Twilight said after they pulled away from the hug. Spike considered this to be a bit unusual, as Twilight really did not like leaving debts lying around. If she needed to ask something of him, it must have been big.

Besides that, she hadn't even sent a letter. She had come, in person, to visit him. With her busy schedule, Spike could only guess that the matter was very important to her. With that in mind, he gestured for her to sit beside the table so they could talk.

"I'll go make some tea for us, but go ahead and explain," Spike said as she sat down while he moved towards the kitchen.

Maybe his day was not only going to be productive, but rather interesting as well.