It was getting late now. Fluttershy had left for her cottage well over an hour ago and still no Spike.

What could that baby dragon be doing? thought Twilight.

Twilight was getting worried. She decided she was going to simply trot on over to Sugarcube Corner and see if she could find him herself.

But just as she was about to exit through the front of her castle the door flung wide open.

"...Time to buy a new fence!" Pinkie Pie delivered the punch line of a joke she was in the middle of telling Spike.

"I don't get it. How can it be 'timetobuyanewfence' o'clock?" Spike asked from on top of Pinkie Pie's back with cupcake frosting all over his mouth and claws.

Pinkie snorted. "You silly filly! The elephant breaks the fence when he sits on it so the time it is when an elephant sits on a fence is time to get a new one!"

Spike was gently bucked off Pinkie's back and he slid down her tail which had somehow contorted to form a slide. Spike reached the bottom of the "slide" with a step of his feet.

"Ohhhh... hahahahahaha!" Spike laughed. "I get it now! Elephants are too big to sit on fences."

"What are you two talking about?" Twilight interrupted their little moment.

"Oh hey, Twilight," Spike waved his frosting covered claws at his pony companion. "Pinkie Pie was just telling me another one of her jokes while she walked me back from Sugarcube corner."

"The one about elephants?"

"You mean you've heard it before?" Spike shot Pinkie a disapproving glance.

"Not just about elephants Twilight. Elephants that sit on fences. And elephants who can tell precisely what time it is." Pinkie gasped. "Oh my gosh! And do you know what time it is?"

"It's precisely ha-"

Pinkie Pie vaulted in front of Twilight with a party canon acquired from mallet space. "Time to get a new fence!" The canon exploded with a white picket fence. Pinkie Pie held it proudly in her hooves.

"I can only guess how many cupcakes you both ate." Twilight took notice of the frosting all over Spike's mouth and claws.

"Well actually-" Spike began.

"No, Twilight. You can know how many cupcakes we both ate because I'll tell you." Pinkie paused for dramatic emphasis, looked at the two of them standing in the castle to see if they were intently listening. Satisfied: "Two."

"Just two?" Twilight sounded confused.

"Well you did give me 2 bits Twilight. That's a bit-a-cake." Spike reminded Twilight.

"No. This is a bit of cake!" Pinkie Pie holding a plate of chocolate cake suddenly "pied" it into Spike's face. Spike licked his face with his long slender tongue and fell on the floor holding his sides.

"Good one Pinkie Pie!" Spike had tears of laughter in his eyes.

Twilight sighed. "Thanks for bringing Spike home Pinkie Pie. I was beginning to wonder when he was coming back."

"Awww, it was nothing Twilight. Spike is a great audience. He even has a couple jokes of his own." Pinkie Pie giggled.

"Oh?" Twilight looked over at Spike who was trying to dislodge a stray tear from his jovial eyes. "Well I'll be happy to hear some of them while I'm giving him his bath."

Spike sank.

"Well I should get out of your mane then. I need to go back and keep my eyes on the cakes anyway. You never know what kind of cake mongering ponies roam these streets in the evening," Pinkie said looking out the facade's window. "I feel 'em out there. I can just feel them, Twilight."

"Uh huh," Twilight was half listening and half keeping her eye on Spike who was all too predictably trying to tip-toe away after the mention of the word "bath".

"You hear me cake thieves? I WILL FIND YOU!" Pinkie screamed out from the top of the castle suddenly appearing there for an instant in a flash.

Pinkie Pie teleported back down in front of the purple dragon and mare.

"I'll help you find them," Spike attempted a rudimentary diversion.

But Twilight was much too aware. "Oh, no you don't Iron Pony." Twilight encased Spike in a bubble of magic. "You're not going anywhere."

Spike knew there'd be no resisting her. He folded his arms and glared at nothing while he was gently placed on her back.

"Well thanks again Pinkie and good luck erm, uh finding those cake nappers."

"Thanks Twilight," Pinkie Pie had a determined, focused look of energy on her face. "But luck has nothing to do with it. I'll stand guard all night if I have to. The only thing I ask in return is to be rewarded with cake. Lots and lots of cakes..." Pinkie started ruminating to herself and looking in front of her forelegs as she walked out Twilight's door.

"Goodnight Pinkie Pie!" Twilight called out from next to the door.

"...Big cakes too. And small ones of course. But also big ones."

Spike and Twilight exchanged mutually perplexed looks. Spike thought he'd try calling out next: "Goodnight!"

But Pinkie Pie stayed fixed in her cake dreams. Spike and Twilight both shrugged as they closed the door behind the pink one.

Suddenly they heard a cry of realization: "I'M THE CAKE THIEF!?"

Twilight briefly glanced back at the door. Spike chuckled to himself thinking just how random Pinkie Pie could be sometimes.

Now that that was over it was time to deal with a certain dirty dragon.

"Do I have to take a bath? Look I was able to get most of the frosting off by myself!" Spike held up his claws in front of Twilight's face. He had no mirror and therefore couldn't see just how messy his face was.

"Yes. Bath. Now mister." Twilight marched Spike up the steps to the bathroom.

The bathroom had a blue and magenta tiled floor, matching towels, and a shower curtain that showed all of Twilight and Spike's favorite constellations on it. In the corner of the bathroom was the large wooden tub they used for Spike's bubble baths. Twilight grabbed some bubbles and ran the warm water just right. The sound of the rushing water irked Spike but he still knew better than to fight with Twilight. Besides the bubble he was trapped in was a pretty strong deterrent from any unwillingness on his part.

Twilight poured the bubble solution in the tub underneath the running water so that it foamed up nice for Spike.

"Aw, don't pout Spike. It'll all be over quick," Twilight hovered the bubble of magic her assistant was held in right over the water and set him down in it. The water fell just above Spike's midsection. Spike had to admit the warm water did feel alright on his scales, even if he had been saving the frosting between his claws for later.

"If you say so."

Twilight didn't waste any time. She grabbed a pink wash cloth from a nearby drawer and scrubbed everywhere!

"Ah! Hey! Twilight! It tickles! Stop!" Spike had very sensitive skin under his arms, beneath his feet, and on his tummy. Twilight knew this and smiled all the while. To speed things up she had multiple rags scrubbing between Spike's toes and his claws, as well as under his arms. Spike was laughing so loudly from it that Rarity could probably hear him from the Carousel Boutique. Twilight continued to hold Spike in her magic just over the water while he was turned, flipped, and scrubbed soundly front to back, top to bottom, side to side.

"This little pony went to market," Twilight pinched one of Spike's large toes. "This little pony stayed home." She moved to the next. "This little pony had cinnamon sapphire cupcakes."

Spike prepared himself for the loudest part.

"But this little pony had none." Twilight grinned widely. Spike knew what was coming next. Twilight pinched Spike's littlest dragon toe in her hoof and said, "and this little pony cried 'wee, wee, wee!' all the way home!"

"AHAHAHAHAAAAAHA- HAHAH!!!!" Spike was uncontrollable with laughter. He didn't even have his eyes open. He was shaking all around as Twilight ran her hooves all over Spike's body like she did whenever she got to the "wee" part of the nursery rhyme.

"Twilight stop! Please! Please stop! I can't take it anymore!"

Twilight lifted her baby dragon out of the tub who had been thoroughly tickled beyond composure. Twilight just smiled as she always did when Spike laughed like that.

She placed him in a warm fluffy towel monogrammed with her cutie mark (the towels were sewn by Rarity as a house warming gift for Twilight's new castle). As she was drying him off he started to calm down.

"There! All nice and dry Spike! And look at that! No more frosting." Twilight pulled the plug on the bath's drain.

"Yeah, yeah that was all very cute. Are we done now?" Spike would never admit to liking the "this little pony" game she played with him during bath time.

"Almost Spike. Now all you have to do is brush and floss your teeth and wash your hands afterwards."

Spike groaned. He didn't mind brushing. It was the flossing that he detested. Fluttershy had somehow put it in Twilight's head that flossing was absolutely necessary to do at least once a day. Twilight trusted her animal caretaker friend of course and that was all she needed to hear to form a solid opinion of her own on the manner. Research or not. Her dragon assistant number 1 was not going to develop gum disease if she had anything to do with it.

Spike hopped up on his stepping stool by the sink and got to work.

"When you're done go to your room and pick out a story you want me to read you for bed time. I'd say you earned it. Today was long and you were the perfect assistant all day." Twilight gladdened.

Even after I dropped the ball... Twilight mused.

Spike already had his favorite book picked out almost immediately upon Twilight mentioning story time.

Once Twilight was back downstairs Spike hurried to spit out the gross tooth paste and grabbed a hoof full of floss. It was tricky for him to do by himself at first. It wasn't until Twilight showed him the right amount to use and how to get in between the teeth towards the back of his mouth that he was able to do it on his own. Spike had a lot of sharp baby teeth to clean between though!

He washed his hands one more time tonight and hopped on down to descend the stairs towards his room. "That wasn't so bad." Spike said aloud to himself.

What book should I pick? Goodnight Firebreather? Or something else? What's Twilight's favorite book? Maybe we can read that one this time?

Spike was just about to his room with the door that read "Spike's Little Home" when he heard Twilight pacing back and forth from behind it.

"Twilight? Is everything alright?"

Twilight, already holding Spike's favorite book "Goodnight Firebreather" under her wing, stopped pacing upon Spike's entrance.

Twilight looked directly at Spike and said "Spike I need to talk to you about something right now. Can we read Firebreather in just a minute?"

Whoa! Whatever Twilight wants to talk about, Spike thought. It must be important. Twilight never puts off reading anything!

Author's Note

Getting close now! Only one more chapter to go.

If you're one of the select few who made it this far I thank you for your time.^^

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all related characters, ideas, logos are trademarked and copyrighted by HASBRO.