Spike was always one to be helpful. Even back when he was a child, the one thing that everyone knew him by was his devoted assistance to Twilight. But now that he was a little more grown, he felt like he could do more. His body had stretched as it grew, and while it took some practice to become quadrupedal, he could run much faster this way. He was taller too, about as tall as the average griffon, which meant strangers took him a little more seriously. The biggest difference, of course, were the wings, which were sore and worn out from practicing with Rainbow Dash so much.
One afternoon, the pegasi were all gathering the denser clouds in the sky and preparing for a much needed spring thunderstorm. Twilight gazed out the library window and up at the sky. Many of the thunderclouds were as black as night. They were sure to release their lightening on their own if the pegasi didn’t act soon. But the storm would likely be a loud one. Perhaps it would be a good night for a scary book. She walked over to Spike’s desk and observed him hard at work.
“How is it coming?” she asked.
“Eugh,” Spike grunted. “I’ve been placing orders all day for new books. I still don’t understand why we need to be building a new library anyway. The one we have here in the castle is big enough,” he said and propped his head up, resting his elbow on the desk.
“Spike, you know that this library is for the ponies in town. We can’t keep having people visit the castle to check out books when we need to close every time something important comes up.”
“I know, I know. But don’t you think that we should be asking the ponies in town what books they want instead of just ordering whatever books we can think of?” Spike said with a frown. Twilight’s ears popped up as an idea sprung up.
“That’s a great idea Spike!” she said with a short excited jump.
“What is?” he asked.
“We need to ask the ponies in town which books they want themost! That way, we can restock the library with everypony’s favorite,” she said. Spike mulled the idea over and smiled at her.
“That’s a great idea! What if we make it a book drive? We could ask for extra books ponies want to donate to help build it up,” he suggested.
“You’re a genius,” she said with a cheeky smile. He returned the smile with a smug look on his face.
“I know, I’m awesome,” he said. She rolled her eyes and closed the book she was skimming through.
“How do we go about it?” she asked.
“Well, if we want to make a book drive big enough to get everypony in town involved, it’ll have to be an event. We’ll have to get somepony who’s good at planning events. Perhaps someone who’s got experience with things like celebrations, soirees, get-togethers and such. Do you know who we could go to for help?” His tone was dripping with sarcasm and his sly smile gave Twilight the impression that his question was rhetorical.
“You mean like a party-pony? Nope. No idea,” she said, which made Spike giggle.
“I’ll go run by Sugarcube Corner and ask her about it,” he said and got up from his desk and walked towards the door.
“Just be sure to hurry back. That storm will be starting up soon, and it’s going to be a rough one. You can pick up a few cupcakes while you’re there,” She said with a smile.
“Oh! Can we make s’mores? S’mores and scary stories are the best on rainy nights” Twilight’s head perked up at the suggestion, and she dashed off to the library closet, before quickly returning with an empty saddlebag.
“You’re a genius again,” she said and drapped the bag over his back using her magic.
“Now we’re talking,” he said with another smile. “I’ll be back before the storm gets too crazy.”
“I’m pretty sure she is watching the twins tonight since Cheese Sandwich is out of town. Tell her I say hi, and hurry home!” she said and waved him goodbye.
“I will!” he said as he made his way out the door and took off towards town.
A few minutes later, Spike was in town and trotting towards Sugarcube Corner. The stormclouds were so thick that anypony not on the weather team was advised to steer clear of them, just incase the lightning shorted out early. So, not long after taking off, Spike had decided to walk the rest of the way. The sky was already dark and a cool wind whipped around his scales. The storm would probably start a little early, so he thought it best to hurry.
He made his way to the front door of sugarcube corner, only to find it closed. So much for s’mores, he thought. He looked in the window and saw that the lights were on inside. Clearly somepony was inside, but he didn’t see who. He knocked on the door firmly and waited a moment. At first, he didn’t hear anything. Right before knocking again, he could hear hoofsteps from the other side of the door. A second later, the door creaked open and Spike was greeted with a soft smile.
“Hi Spike! Sorry but the cakes aren’t here today, so we’re closed for the rest of the night,” she said with a disappointed frown.
“Hi Pinkie. Twilight says hi, and that’s ok, I’m actually here to talk to you,” he said.
“Me?” she chirped.
“Yeah. Is it alright if I come in?” He said and looked back towards the clouds, which started to move faster.
“Oh, yeah. Just try to be quiet okay?” she said and opened the door up to let the dragon in. Spike quietly walked in and put his saddlebag down next to the door. Pinkie quietly shut it and sat down at one of the vacant tables. Spike joined her.
“What have you been up to?” he asked.
“I’m watching the twins tonight since Cheesy is out putting a party together in Trottingham. I put them to bed not long ago, but they’ve been having nightmares recently. They keep seeing monsters and spooky things. I tried my ‘giggle at the ghosties’ routine but that didn’t work! Can you believe it?” she said looking downright insulted.
“Poor foals. You put them to be early hoping they’d sleep through the storm?” He deduced.
“Uh-huh,” she nodded. “But let’s talk about the thing. You know, the thing you wanted to talk about. What’s the thing?”
“Well, the thing is that Twilight and I are trying to order books for the new library that’s replacing the Golden-Oaks in town, and we were thinking of getting the rest of Ponyville involved. We’d like to have a book-drive, so everypony can donate old books, and tell us which books they like so we can get new ones. We were wondering if you would help us throw a sort of book-bash?” he suggested.
Pinkie’s eyes lit up like fireworks. She gasped and nearly leapt out of her seat. Her smile was too wide to fit in any picture, and Spike swore he saw her mane puff like a balloon.
“Of Course!” she said a little too loudly. She quickly covered her mouth with her hooves and gazed up towards the stairs, listening for her kids. After a satisfying silence, she simply smiled with an audible ‘squee’ at Spike.
“Thanks Pinkie. Let us know what you need from us and we’ll get this book drive going.”
“You know I’ll do anything I can to help, especially if it involves a party,” she said holding in her usually-loud excitement.
“Thanks. Well, I better get back before . . .” he started, and as if on cue, a flash of lightning lit up the windows with a bright blue light. A few seconds later, it was accompanied by a rumble of thunder. Not a moment after, a faint cry echoed from the stairs.
“Oh no,” Pinkie said with a sigh. She left the table and trotted up the stairs to sooth the crying twins. Spike listened as she consoled them as best she could. He debated heading home, as the storm was only minutes away, but it would have been rude to leave right as Pinkie got flustered. He decided to see if he could lend a claw and headed up the stairs.
When he got to the twin’s bedroom, he saw Pinkie hunched over the crib trying desperately to coo the children to sleep again. He stood and watched as the twins gradually stopped crying. However, they continued to sniffle and frown as Pinkie reassured them that the thunder was not scary.
“Now now, Cheesecake, Cotton Candy, there are no monsters here, ok? Everything is alright,” she said softly.
“Is there something I can do to help?” Spike said in a whisper and began walking towards them.
“Huh? Oh no, that’s okay. I’ll get them to sleep eventually.”
Just then, Cheesecake looked at Spike approaching and began crying out louder than before. Cotton Candy soon saw him too and joined her brother in shrieking in fear.
“Monster!” one of them called out. Pinkie followed their eyes to where they were cowering from and looked as Spike in shock.
“Oh, no, that’s not a monster, that’s just . . .” she tried to say but the screaming overpowered her.
Spike realized that he was terrifying them, and looked down at his claws. He had sharp claws that looked dangerous, menacing even. His teeth were the only things sharper, and his broad shoulders and pointed spines must have looked completely terrifying to the two foals. Of course he was the monster, and the thought chipped away at his heart. He looked down and turned to leave.
“Awww I’m sorry Spike. They’re just too young to understand,” she started.
“It’s okay, Pinkie. I should have known I’d be a monster to them,” he said and frowned. He looked back at the cowering young foals and saw the terror in their eyes.
Just then, an idea struck.
“Hey Pinkie, I have an idea,” he said and walked back towards them. The twins began sobbing a little louder as he approached. The crib gate was lowered so there was nothing between Spike and the cowering children, who began huddle close to each other as they looked at Spike.
“Monster!” Cheesecake called out and hugged his sister close. Spike took a deep breath and showed a sinister smile.
“That’s right, little pony. I am a monster!” he said and grinned, showing them his teeth. They both screamed in response.
“Spike!” Pinkie called out with a grimace. He put a hand up to hush her and gave her a wink before turning and facing the foals again.
“See these teeth? See these claws? I’m the biggest, scariest monster you will ever see!” he said and finished with an evil laugh. The twins were nearly petrified and shook wildly as they held onto each other for life.
“But I’m not like other monsters,” he said and bowed his head down and looked at them in the eyes. “You know why?” he asked slowly. The twins simply sniffled and shook their heads.
“W-w-why?” Cotton Candy cake asked.
“Other monsters gobble up little ponies like you. But do you know what I eat?” he said and rose above them again. “Other monsters!” he said loudly and laughed again. The twins sniffled again, but stopped shaking as they watched him.
“That’s right, I’m a monster who eats monsters! Your mother told me that you have some monsters hiding in your room, and boy am I hungry!” he said slowly so they could understand. “Now, can you tell me where the monsters are? I’m going to gobble them up for dinner,” he said with a smile. Cotton Candy continued to huddle next to her brother. With another sniffle, she raised up a little hoof and pointed it towards the other side of the room. Spike followed her hoof and smiled.
“The closet? Perfect,” he said and licked his chops. He bounded towards the closet and threw the door open. “I’m coming for you monsters!” he said and closed himself in the closet door. Pinkie watched as the closet door shook and Spike let out snarls and scarfing sounds as he pretended to eat up an imaginary monster. A few seconds later, he emerged from the closet door and looked back at the twins, who watched Spike with intrigue.
“Where else?” he asked happily. Cheesecake continued to frown, but cocked his head in curiousity. He pointed with his hoof downwards towards the floor. Spike walked over to them and followed his hoof.
“Under the crib? Of course!” he said and smiled widely. “Come hear monster! Om nom nom nom!” he said and dove under the crib. The twins bounced up and down a little as the crib shook with his vigorous eating. His tail whipped back and forth in the air as he swayed back and forth. Cotton Candy actually began to giggle as she bounced up and down. Spike heard, and smiled widely from underneath the crib. It’s working he thought. He re-appeared and licked his chops again in front of the now smiling foals.
“Mmmm that one was delicious! Where are the others!” he said with a happy smile on his face. Cheescake laughed and pointed a hoof towards the door.
“One more!” he squeaked.
“In the hallway? That one is for desert!” he said and ran out into the hall, diving behind the door and out of sight. He continued to make vigorous eating noises and pounding on the ground. He finished with a loud slurp and came back into the bedroom.
“Pffffttt” Pinkie cracked. She was beside herself, holding in her furious laughter that bubbled out from her mouth. The two twins laughed happily and clopped their hooves together as Spike proudly walked back into the room. He walked over to them and smiled, before arching his back and opening his mouth wide.
“uurrrp!” he belched and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “That was delicious, I’m full,” he said and sank his head down on the edge of the crib in lethargy. The twins slowly walked over to his head and looked at him carefully. He watched patiently as Cheesecake raised a little hoof and cautiously placed it on Spike’s snout. The foal smiled and prodded his nose playfully. Cotton Candy soon joined in and began to climb up onto his nose, letting herself droop over his snout. Spike felt their warm and fragile little bodies against his scales, and his smile grew a little wider.
“Thank you!” Cotton Candy said happily.
“Any time,” Spike said sweetly. “If you ever have monster troubles again, just tell them about your friend Spike, ok? They’ll be so scared that they’ll never come here ever again.”
Just then, another flash of lightning came out, followed by a low rumble of thunder. The twins piped up and cowered next to Spike, gazing up at the window.
“Don’t worry,” Spike said and placed a hand on either of their heads softly. “Thunder and Lightening are actually monsters like me. They eat other monsters too. So everytime you hear thunder or see lightning, that means that they just ate another monster.” The twins looked up at the window again in wonder. Another flash and another boom echoed through the sky.
“Sounds like they’re hungry!” Spike said with a smile. The two foals laughed and clopped their hooves together again.
Pinkie Pie soon walked over and propped the crib gate back up. She put a hoof on Spike’s shoulder and winked at him.
“Okay now, sleepy time okay? You don’t have to worry about monsters anymore. Now, can you say goodnight to Uncle Spike?” she said happily.
“Night Unca’ Spike,” they called out in unison and waved up at him.
“Goodnight, my little ponies,” he said. He gingerly twiddled his claws back at them and turned to leave. Pinkie followed him out, putting the night-light on before closing the door. Spike walked towards the staircase before being caught off guard by Pinkie, who threw her arms around his shoulders and squeezed him tight.
“Grr-ugh, Pinkie! Can’t breath,” he whispered, and she let him go.
“Thank you so much Spike!” she said in a hushed tone, leading him down the stairs.
“Anything I could do to help. Plus, I like being a good monster,” he said.
“You would really make an excellent foalsitter. Did you see their little faces?! You really made an impression on them, thank you,” she said as they made their way downstairs and into the bakery.
“Well they’re brave little ponies. I’m just glad I could help,” he said and put his claw on the door.
“There’s gotta be something I can do to pay you back,” she said and picked up his saddlebag for him. That reminded him of what Twilight had asked for.
“Well, Twilight said she wanted some s’mores stuff for tonight,” she said.
“It’s on the house!” she said and dashed into the kitchen, dashing back in the room with a hoof full of marshmallows, chocolate, and crackers. She stuffed them into his bag and tied it up with a smile.
“Thanks Pinkie. Have a good night,” he said and turned towards the door.
“Spike?” she asked. He turned to face her.
“What’s up?”
“I just wanted to say that I’m so happy I have a dragon like you for a friend. I know some ponies out there might be scared of dragons, but if anypony ever makes you feel like you aren’t the coolest most amazing most loving guy in the world I’ll . . . I’ll . . .” she searched for the right words.
“Gobble them up?” Spike suggested with a shrug.
“Yeah. I eat monsters too,” she said and smiled. He waved at her and quickly turned and left, shutting the door behind him firmly. The wind was kicking up, so flying was out of the question, but the rain had not started yet. He did not fancy getting stuck outside when it did, so he held the bag close to him with his wings and began to run home. Another flash of lightning, another boom of thunder, another monster gone.
“So what did they do then?” Twilight asked with a mouthful of s’more. Her face was covered in white fluff and chocolate and her voice was muffled by the treat in her mouth. Spike swallowed the one he was chewing on before finishing the story.
“Then I told them that thunder and lightening are monsters like me too, and that every time they hear thunder, it means one less monster to worry about,” he said and raised a fork over his head. He placed a marshmallow on the end and gently blew a bright green flame at it for a few seconds. The flames danced across the marshmallow, fork, and his hand, which thankfully was made of dragon scales. When it was roasted brown, he popped it into his mouth and finished his story.
“After that, they went to bed. Pinkie gave me the stuff and I high-tailed it back here.”
“Spike, that was the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. I had no idea you were so good with foals,” she said and took another bite.
“Me neither. I mean, I know I probably look like a monster to lots of ponies, but if I can convince them that I’m a good guy, then I won’t scare anypony,” he explained.
“Spike,” Twilight said and swallowed the rest of her s’more, “You are no monster.”
“Oh I beg to differ,” he said and got on his feet and slowly crawled towards her menacingly.
“No, Spike don’t!” she said fighting back a chuckle.
“Remember those years you tickled me to the point of tears? Well it’s payback time!” he said and bounded forward. She leapt to the side and began sprinting away from him.
“No no! Spike, that’s not fair! You’re bigger than I am now,” she called out while he chased her. He let out a maniacal laugh and continued to chase her in circles around the room. She laughed as well, keeping just enough distance from him. The two of them continued chasing and laughing as the storm raged on outside. The rain pelted against the window and the wind howled against the roof. On the other end of town, two little ponies slept soundly as the storm raged on. Another crack of lightning, another boom of thunder shook the town, but it did not scare them anymore.
