Author's Note

I apologize for the massive delay, this chapter was a nightmare from start to finish.

Chapter 7: The accident

Spike grumbled as he slowly began to wake up. His mind forced his body to force himself out from underneath the covers. He didn't want to get up as the bed was nice and warm while the room was quite cool. He mumbled some incoherent things as he made his way to the bathroom for a shower, hoping that a warm shower would wake him up. After his shower he made his way to the living room where his new outfit was waiting for him. This was the first time in a long time that he had walked around his 'home' in such a state. It wasn't too inappropriate here as nothing was showing.

Once he was in the living room two things caught his eye. One was his suit, which he left there for today. The other thing was a gift wrapped box. His curiosity overcoming him he made his way to the present first. It was small, small enough to fit a cheap headset in it, and the wrapping paper was a different color per side, and had white pokadots. The ribbon was a gradiant of multiple colors with no distinguishable pattern. He looked around to see if any windows were open or the door was unlocked. Seeing as how nothing seemed out of the ordinary spike began to cautiously open the package. However the second he untied the bow the box blew open in a massive cloud of confetti and smoke, sending him onto his rear.

"OOOOOHHHH YEEEESSSS!! I'M BAAAAAACK! AHAHAHAHA!" A feminine voice laughed from within the smoke.

The smoke was thick enough to act as a smoke screen, but not enough to hide the figure inside. He could tell by the voice alone that the person in question was female, but the feminine figure in the smoke nailed the point home. The silhouette would've boggled a normal pony as it seemed to be a mismatch of parts. What bothered him wasn't the one lion and one gryphon paw, nor was it the one pony and one lizard leg, but it was the fact that he had seen her before. From her one goat and one deer horn, to her dragon-like tail and even her snagglefang. He also highly doubted that anyone with any sanity would willing wear a patchwork dress, with the patches being made of all types of fabrics and colors. The problem lay in the fact that when he saw her last she was a stone statue.

"E-eris," Spike stammered. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't a little scared. From what his mom told him Eris was quite the formidable foe back in the day.

Eris grinned widely as it would seem that Spike did indeed remember her, as she had hoped. "Yep that's me! Eris!" She exclaimed with joy as her name appeared in a puff of pink smoke above her head. "Your friendly neighborhood spirit of chaos."

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Spike asked somewhat curiously as he tried to find a way out of this predicament.

"Your dear mother Celestia made a deal with me," Eris said before summoning a pair of reading glasses and a scroll in a puff of smoke. "By signing this document I hereby agree to the terms below until Spike Solaris and Celestia Solaris agree that I have filled my role to the letter. One; I am to go to Equestria United and serve as a teacher's assistant to one Spike Solaris, A.K.A. Spike Wyrven. Two; I am to help him with any hallucination related scares he may have. And in exchange for complying with these two terms I shall have complete freedom, until I harm anyone pony or otherwise, after the agreement has been fulfilled. During my term as Spike's Assistant I must say within the school grounds or beside at all times. If Spike calls for me or has a hallucination I must be there immediately to assist him," Eris read before giving Spike a grin before poofing the two items away.

It took Spike a hot minute to realize what she was saying. "Wait, you're going to be my TA?" Spike asked curiously as continued to look up at Eris.

"That's right. Now I would be delighted to see what kind of reaction people would have if the new teacher went to class naked, but I fear what Celly would do to me if I let that happen," She said as she pointed to Spike.

When Spike looked down it donned on him that he had yet to get dressed. He embarrassingly covered himself as he made his way to his clothes and began to put them on. "Eris, I have a question: Why did my mom let you free? I highly doubt it's to be my TA and to just be a counselor for my hallucinations," Spike asked, more at ease with this than a normal pony, or dragon in this case, should be.

"My my, you are an inquisitive dragon indeed. Such a difference to the young hatchling who'd every Sunday run around my feet drawing things and acting like a child. I did so look forward to when you'd talk to me," Eris said with a teasing tone in her voice.

Spike slowly turned to Eris, wide-eyed and a massive blush on his face. "No. There is no way you could remember that, let alone see that," Spike said in a tone that made it seem like the world was about to end.

"Oh but It's true. I do remember seeing and hearing you. Celly and lulu may have imprisoned me in stone but that doesn't mean that I was asleep for all those centuries. It was so boring that your regular routine of visiting the gardens and me made it so much more fun. I did so miss you when you suddenly left, but not before sharing that magazine with me," Eris said, punctuating the end of her sentence with a lick of her lips.

Spike's pupils turned to pinpricks as embarrassment was now overwhelming him. "I'd appreciate it if you forgot about that," Spike said as he slowly resumed getting dressed.

"Oooohhh no. I'm not going to forget about that anyyytime sooon," Eris teased as she hovered around him. "Who knows, maybe I'd like to return the favor, and imitate those girls."

Spike turned to face her but she was already on her knees in a begging position with her mouth open as if to catch something. "So, how'd I do?" She asked with a wink as she kept the pose.

Spike froze only for a second before he rushed for the door, slamming it behind him. As he began to walk from his room he could hear Eris laughing her tail off.

As spike made his way to the elevator Twilight popped out of her room. Spike was thankful that she was fully dressed. He didn't want any company right now, but Twilight could do him a world of good as she was probably the only person here, except Cadance, who knew who Eris was.

Once inside the elevator Twilight could tell something was bugging him, if the large fading blush was anything to go by. “Spike, is something wrong? Odd hallucination?”

“No,” Spike said deadpan. “I wish it was though, that would make this easy. But because reality is a bitch, it's not,” spike ended with a sigh.

Twilight cocked her head to the side as they began their decent. “What do you mean?”

“We have a new TA, and her name is Eris,” Spike answered in a mockingly flamboyant fashion.

Twilight was excited about there being a new TA, but was put off by Spike's attitude. What also piqued her interest was the name. “Really? What’s Eris like? Have you met her yet?”

Spike slowly turned his head to her. “Twilight, you should know her as well. As does Celestia, Luna and Cadance,” Spike said, surprised that Twilight didn't get it the first try.

Twilight went to deep thought as she tried to think of who it could be. Her mind was drawing a complete blank. If all of the princesses knew Eris then surely she must be a noble, but that's when something clicked. “Spike what species is she?” She asked as they exited the elevator.

Spike grinned slightly as Twilight was catching on. “I believe the proper name for her species is: Draconious.”

Twilight froze for second before hurrying next to him. “That Eris!? How is she free?! Does Cadance know?” Twilight asked in a rushed whisper.

Spike sighed before nodding. “Yes Cadance does know, at least I assume she does. Apparently Celestia released her under a few conditions. One is being my TA here,” he said opting to not tell her about Eris being his counselor.

Twilight was silent for a good bit before speaking up. “It seems Celestia is trying to reform Eris. How'd your first interaction go?”

Twilight's rather innocent question, unfortunately, had a not so innocent answer and that made Spike blush. “She was a bit boisterous in her introduction, but it started off good. That ended when she began to get a little suggestive, and I quickly left the room.”

Twilight had conflicting emotions about what Spike had told her. “What do you mean she got suggestive?” Twilight asked hoping that he was exaggerating a little.

“Well to be put bluntly,” Spike said as he leaned in close so only she could hear. “She was kneeling in front of me with her hands cupped by her chin as if waiting for me to blow my load so she could catch it,” Spike whispered.

Spike couldn't help but grin as he saw Twilight's face get swallowed up by a blush. “Y-you didn't-”

“Nothing happened Twilight. She was just teasing me,” Spike said trying to reassure Twilight. “In all honesty I don't know if I should introduce her to the class. If she shows up then I will. Otherwise I'm going to clam up, at least for today.”

Twilight nodded before freezing to the spot. They were almost to the class and there was Eris right outside the door. Thankfully there weren't any students really going to class this early, they would be in a few minutes but that gave the two time.

“Ah! Spike!” Eris said as she spotted Spike and Twilight. “I wanted to inform you that I officially start on Monday. Until then I'll be attending your classes unseen. As per Celestia’s orders,” she said before disappearing into a cloud of smoke, leaving a watch floating where she was.

Spike sighed before be reached for the watch. It wasn't half bad but the hands on the clock were Eris’s hands. So in essence Eris was telling the time. “This way I can watch you and the class without causing a disturbance,” The Eris watch said with a grin.

“You can't be serious Spike!” Twilight objected beside Spike. “Who knows what kind of mischief she will get herself into, at your expense I might add!”

“Twilight, listen. I highly doubted Eris is stupid enough to cause me enough mischief that it becomes unbearable. Mainly because Mom will do more than thrash Eris if any harm, physically or mentally, comes to me because of her actions,” Spike explained as he rubbed the bridge between his eyes.

Twilight sighed as she watched Spike put the watch on. “Ok, but just be careful. Ok?”

Spike smiled at Twilight before nodding. “Ok.”

“Awww what's this? Do I hear wedding bells?” Eris asked mischievously before both Spike and Twilight we're consumed by a flash of light. Once the light was gone Spike was in a tuxedo while Twilight was in a wedding dress.

Twilight flushed a bright red as Spike was speechless for a moment. “Eris! Return our clothes to normal!” Spike exclaimed once he got a hold of his mind.

“Hahaha ahhhhh your no fun,” Eris pouted before Spike's and Twilight's clothes were returned to normal.

“Well, at least she is keeping it tame,” Spike said with a sigh before entering the classroom. Once inside Spike sat at the teacher's desk, as Twilight stood beside him

“You going to be alright?” Twilight asked concerned more about his sanity right now than his physical well being, as she highly doubted Celestia would have someone help her son if they meant harm.

Spike sighed at Twilight's question. “Yes, I think. All I know for certain is that this is going to be a long day.”

“Luckily for you Celly forbade me from possibly publicly embarrassing you as it might trigger a hallucination,” Eris clarified. The dissatisfied tone in her voice made Spike believe that she was telling the truth.

“Eris, Could you at least keep the mischief down while we're in class. At least until you start on Monday?" Spike asked in a more of an ordering tone.

"Fine fine. If you want me i'll be in your room pleasuring myself until class starts. Being trapped for so long builds up so much tension," Eris commented before poofing away.

Spike let out a sigh as he lay his head down on the desk. "A long day indeed," Spike said with a slight blush as Twilight blushed a bit before leaving the room to go get breakfast.

Eris had kept her word and returned before class had started, about half an hour after she had left. Spike was thankful that she had the presence of mind to reappear as a watch on his wrist, although she seemed a bit peeved about something. Spike payed her no mind as the class began and he watched the students begin to finish what work they had left for later classes and so on. He did so for about half the class until Gabby rose her claw.

"Mister Wyrven, I have a question," Gabby said aloud.

"Oh? What is it?" Spike asked as he hopped out of his seat to go by Gabby's side.

Spike didn't take two steps before Gabby's question made him freeze. "Can dragons crossbreed?"

“Gabby, correct me if I'm wrong, but did you just ask if dragons can crossbreed?” Spike asked unsure if he heard her correctly.

A few giggles could be heard at his response, even from Gabby herself. “Yep!” Gabby giggled.

“Ok, ok. Well the answer would be yes, and more specifically dragons can crossbreed with any species,” Spike replied earning a few shocked replies along with a few positive responses.

“How can dragons crossbreed when ponies and gryphons can't?” Thunderlane asked aloud.

“Thunderlane, that's because we dragons are inherently magical. Sure unicorns can manipulate magic around them, but we dragons have magic flowing through our bones. But the question does bring up another question-”

“Yeah, why the sudden interest Gabby?” Gilda asked interrupting Spike.

“Oh well… um…” Gabby stammered, turning red as most of the class stared at her. Some had an expression that showed their disbelief while others were either neutral or had a slight grin.

“Teacher, have you had any, bedroom experience with a non-dragon?” Zephyr asked with a grin.

Spike, who had turned red from Gilda’s question, gave Zephyr the stink eye. "Zephyr, I don't mind some personal questions but THAT is far too personal."

"Sorry."

"It's ok. Did you have another question?"

Zephyr thought for a second before nodding. "Did you have any friends in Canterlot?"

Spike scratched the top of his head for a second as he tried to figure out how to word the answer. "Well... None I would really call friends. If I'm being honest I wouldn't trust them with a bag of wet dog crap. The only reason I even visited them was because it was fun to talk to them. Next."

“Mr. Wyrven, do dragons keep pets?” Fluttershy asked meekly changing the subject, but a tad red in the face.

“Yes. I can understand where the image of dragons being moronic brutes comes from, not that I approve of it mind you, but dragons are just like any other race out there. We go on dates, hang out with friends, go to work, have pets and have families just like any other sentient race out there. Unfortunately it's the delinquents that are far more outgoing. It doesn't help when fear and scandals sells,” Spike said, ending in more of a mumble to himself.

“Mr. Wyrven, what do you mean by fear and scandals sells?” Thunderlane asked a little perplexed.

“What that means is that newspapers who print fear, sex and scandals sells more per day than newspapers that sell truth. So you'll see more newspapers saying that a dragoness went on a rampage and killed a group of stallions just outside the border of the Badlands. Despite the fact that that same dragoness killed them because those stallions raped and killed her child. While some papers may print the truth, the vast majority will sell fear as it grabs one's attention better and thus sell more. That is the unfortunate truth,” Spike explained before sitting back down in his seat.

Spike knew he used a bit of an extreme example, but he felt as though he wasn't wrong, at least completely so. It didn't help that most newspapers were based in Canterlot, Equestria’s central hub for paranoia and racism.

After that the class began to get caught up in conversation, of which Spike was all too happy to join in on. Spike lost track of time and soon enough the bell signalling the end of class rang out throughout the school. Spike was at a bit of a loss when he thought about what class was next, conditioning. He had meant to ask someone, but it slipped his mind yesterday. Thankfully Twilight came down to his desk with a smile.

“Hey Spike, come on,” she said, urging Spike out of his seat and to follow the class.

“Hey Twilight what's the next class? I know it's called conditioning, but I still don't know what that means,” Spike asked.

“Oh, that? It's basically a very large gym class that more than one class takes at the same time. While our normal gym class is meant to help keep us in shape, this class is meant to push us to our limit. It also shows where the school is overall in physical shape. Technically this class is mandatory starting this year, but Cadance made it mandatory last year.”

“Mandatory? Why is it mandatory?”

“Oh, you didn't know? Princess Celestia passed a law recently about schools having one class to combat Equestria's growing unhealthy living habits, such as sitting on the couch and watching TV. She hopes that with this ponies would be more motivated to continue to exercise without having to be told,” Twilight explained with pride.

“That sounds… like a cheap excuse to have everyone get out and bust their flanks,” Spike responded honestly, getting a few chuckles from nearby students.

“True, but it does help since not every school has mandatory gym classes. Even then they don't cover everything the conditioning class does. I'm always a bit tired from having to use my horn so much,” Twilight explained as they made it outside.

“Twilight, what exactly does the conditioning class contain?” Spike asked curiously as to what she meant about her horn.

“Well, there's the standard running, push-ups and sit-ups. Then after that we break off and start working on our species' specific traits. Unicorns work their magic, gryphons and pegasi work out their wings, and Earth ponies work out various other parts of their bodies. We all work until we're run ragged.”

Spike gave a whistle as he listened to Twilight. “So it's not like a normal gym class then. Sounds more like an extreme workout program, because a normal gym class forbids the use of magic.”

“Correct. Another major difference is is that teachers are encouraged to participate.”

“I would if I had anything like workout clothes,” Spike said as they neared the changing rooms, which already had a lot of ponies around them. There were even tents set up to act as outside changing rooms.

“Ok, you should find Cadance where you met snowflake yesterday. She is in charge of this class,” Twilight said before leaning close to his ear. “If you do participate then don't overdo it so much that you trigger a hallucination,” Twilight said before breaking away and headed to the changing rooms.

Spike headed in the same direction he did when he met snowflake, and was impressed with how many ponies were out in gym clothes. It was the largest gathering of ponies in gym clothes he's ever seen.

“Like what you see?” Cadance asked as she approached Spike from behind.

“Hm? Oh, yeah I'm kind of Impressed. Haven't seen so many ponies gathered together since I worked for the Wonderbolts during one of their shows,” Spike said as he looked upon the large group of students.

“Thank you,” Cadance replied before her tone changed. “Spike, while it is normal for teachers to do this alongside the students, I want you to sit this one out ok?”

Spike sighed as Cadance made her request. “First off Cadance, I can't join this time anyways since I don't have any gymwear and I'd rather not work up a sweat in a suit. And secondly, why?” Spike asked as he turned to face the pink alicorn.

Cadance sighed before looking around to make sure no one was nearby. “Well, Celestia told me what your doctor found during your last visit a month ago.” That was all that had to be said for Spike's mood to change on a dime.

“For the love of… Can't she keep that stuff to herself? I'm a dragon, I'm made of scales and bones, not fine china. I'm made of sterner stuff than most ponies, despite my weakened condition,” Spike practically growled out of annoyance.

Cadance was shocked to see Spike behave in such a fashion. In all her time of seeing Spike and hearing of what he has done she had never seen Spike act angry about anything related to Celestia, excluding several royal families who were adopted by Celestia. “Spike, what brought that on?”

Spike, seeming to have realized what he did, sighed and rubbed the top part of his snout and looked away. “Sorry. I can see where mom is coming from, but in the past few years she has become a bit overprotective and it has worn my patience down. I still love her but enough is enough, you know? I can handle mom asking me if I'm doing ok, if anything still hurts and things like that. What I can't stand is when she calls my place of work, while changing her voice so her true identity is still secret, to ask my boss or co-workers if I'm doing ok. Or the fact that she keeps calling my doctor after each of my visits to learn if anything new has come up,” Spike explained, making Cadance go slightly wide-eyed with Celestia's behavior.

“Good grief.”

“I know. Thankfully these last couple of years she's calmed down a bit.”

“That's good to hear,” Cadance replied as she looked around, trying to see if the class was ready to begin.

After a minute of silence Spike tried to say something but was interrupted by Tree Hugger.

“Hey, Dean, Nurse Redheart wanted me to tell you that she's ready," Tree Hugger said in her usually relaxed fashion.

"Thank you Tree Hugger. You may attend to your class now."

As Tree Hugger nodded and left to go attend to her class Spike turned to Cadance. "Nurse Redheart? Are injuries common enough to warrant that?"

Cadance shook her head at Spike's question. "Not really, no. Last year we had mostly sprained muscles. We did have one fractured horn, but it wasn't too bad."

"Ouch," Spike said grimacing at the thought of a fractured horn.

"I know. Better safe than sorry," she added before Spitfire came flying over to them.

"Ma'am. The students seem to be just about ready,"

Cadance cleared her throat before her horn lit up. "Alright everyone time to line up for attendance!" Cadance shouted, her voiced being magnified by her magic. "Spike. Your class is right over there," Cadance said as she pointed to where his class would be.

Spike nodded before heading off to his class. He didn't need to be told to take attendance as one could figure that out just from listening to Cadance's announcement. When he got to his class he noticed that the class to his right was being watched over by Ms. Harshwhinney, who made eye contact with him before turning back to her own class. Spike didn't even need to look to who would be on his left as the snort was enough to give away who was there.

"What's your problem this time Road?" Spike asked with zero emotion as he started to take attendance.

"You will address me as Sir or Mr., reptile," Mr. Road said with a bit of venom in his voice.

"Alright. What's your problem this time, Mr. Reptile?" Spike asked with a small grin, earning a couple chuckles from some of the nearby students.

Mr. Road seemed to take offence by Spike's joke as Spike could feel him trying to stare holes through his head. "I am Mr Moonstone Road, but you WILL call me Mr. Road," Mr. Road spat.

"Alright then, Mr. Road, what's your problem this time?" Spike asked as his grin faded.

"None of your damned business."

Silence hang in the air for a minute as the classes finished taking attendance. All the while a question kept gnawing at the back of Spike's mind. It finally got to the point where he couldn't take it any more and had to voice it.

"Mr. Road, I am curious. I thought you didn't have a homeclass, so why are you watching over one?"

Mr. road turned to Spike with a smug grin. "Try not to overload your inferior reptile brain on this, but I am good enough that when a teacher is sick I'm the first person they go to to replace them. You would probably be the last to be asked, knuckle dragger."

~Wow. This guy is trying so hard to insult me, it's almost pathetic. None of the Canterlot nobles were this outgoing... wait, I take that back. Some where this outgoing, but none of them had a position like this. They were mainly children who were raised in racist households.~ Spike thought to himself as he gave Mr. Road a blank stare. "Sure, sure. Whatever you say," Spike said as he turned back to his students, no longer paying Mr. Road any attention.

"You little-" Mr. road was cut off by a loud whistle coming from Cadance's whistle.

"Alright eveyone. Now that attendance is done we can begin," She announced as she began to call different classes to the starting line. Three classes started at the same time, and a full minute after the first team would leave another three would line up. They weren't using the normal track for the running, rather there was a course loosely marked out by cones that ran through the campus.

Spike was soon tapped on the shoulder by Nurse Redheart, after the classes left. "Hello Spike. The dean asked me during attendance to keep an eye on you as the classes ran. She also asked me to ask you if there was anything you wanted to work out today," she asked as she handed him a paper with several different type of exercises written on it.

"Well, I'd work with the earth ponies if I had gym clothes, since I don't, I think I'll work with the unicorns," He said before handing Nurse Readheart the list back.

"Ok. The unicorns spend their magical energy lifting very heavy objects. Weight lifting but with magic," She explained as she turned her attention back to the students.

"That's fine by me," He said as he headed over to the bleachers and waited for the first part of the class to be finished, which would consist of three laps.

As he waited for time to go by he watched the classes run. He couldn't help but notice the large variety of gym clothes everyone was wearing. Some were wearing tracksuits, some were wearing the standard t-shirt and shorts and others were wearing a new style that consisted of a white t-shirt and something called bloomers. All Spike knew about bloomers is that they started in some foreign country and some people really like them. Spike really couldn't care less about them.

Once the running segment was completed Cadace enhanced her voice once again. "Alright everyone listen up! Fliers to the clouds, magic users to the field and everyone else to the gym and track."

In almost no time at all everyone was already where they were supposed to be or almost there. Spike stayed in the bleachers before he saw Cadance wave for him to come over.

"Nurse Redheart told me that you wanted to participate in the magic," Cadance said as Spike got closer.

"Yes. It's the only thing I can do right now. Can't really work up a sweat while in my only suit now can I?" Spike asked with a grin.

"Cadance nodded with a smile. "True. Well Come along then. The Unicorns are overseen by me and a few others, including Mr. Road."

"Can I please get away from him, holy tartarus!" Spike exclaimed getting a slight chuckle from Cadance.

"What? Don't you like him?" Cadance asked Spike rhetorically, earning a blank stare from Spike which only made her laugh. "Ok, ok. No need to try and stare me to death. I kind of figured that you wouldn't like him. Despite his shortcomings I do believe that there is hope for him."

"Really?" Spike asked in an unbelieving tone.

"Yes. I have noticed that he has a similar mindset of the Canterlot royal's, but he is a lot more grounded in reality."

"From what I've seen and and heard about him, I have a hard time believing that."

"Oh, but it's true Spike. The only reason he I can see he acts the way he does is because of his parents."

"Riiight."

"Spike, have you ever wanted to impress your mother even if you didn't completely like what you had to do to impress her?"

Spike groaned as several embarrassing memories came back into his mind. "Yep. That has definitely happened."

"See? It's not that different for him. It's just that his parents are the embodiment of Canterlot bigotry, and they are impressed by social standing and so on."

"So... If word got out that he was being kind to a dragon, or being talked down to by one, to them the world would just freaking end?"

Cadance nodded as she listened to Spike. "Yes. Now, he does still have some of the Canterlot way of thinking embedded into who he is, but he is still somewhat redeemable. He'll probably never get his own class, but that remains to be seen."

Spike nodded along with what Cadance was saying. He did not like the idea of having to tolerate Moonstone, but if Cadance believed that there was a chance to redeem him, then Spike would tolerate him... for now.

Before Spike could say anything else they arrived at the large group of unicorns, all of which were already busy trying to lift some rather large weights, which looked like large kettlebells made of concrete. The sight of this made Cadance sigh.

"How many times do I have to tell you all not to lift any of the objects until I instruct you to do so?" She asked aloud, causing all of the students to turn around in shock, the weights slamming into the ground with quite a bit of force from just being dropped.

"Dean. I told them..." Mr. Road started as he approach Cadance, but stopped when he saw Spike.

"Is something wrong Mr. Road? You seem... uncomfortable," Cadance asked after a few moments of odd silence.

"It's... nothing," Mr. Road said before clearing his throat. "Anyways, I told the students they could do a few light lifts if they wanted to as we waited."

"I see. Well, thank you." She said before turning to the students. "Ok everyone! If you're comfortable with it, i'd like you to increase how much you lift today."

Everyone gave a sound of acknowledgement, before they began to line up to each of the weights. Before everyone started several teachers lined up beside the lines with a clipboard and stopwatch in hand. It didn't take long before everyone began to lift the weights for as long as they could before moving to the back of the line.

"Spike, the students are timed first on how long they can hold the weight in a stable position. Then they are timed on how many reps they can do. Lastly we see how far they can throw them. The go to the back of the line after each test to let their minds relax and to catch their breath before the next test. Once the students are done then they teachers are free to try it out if they wish," Cadance explained as they watched the students.

Spike noticed that there were a few weights not being used off to the side. He figured that no one was willing, or able to use them as they were either smaller or bigger than those in use. "How much does each one weigh?" Spike asked curiously.

"Well, the smallest is a couple pounds. The smallest in use is about fifty pounds. The heaviest in use is about five hundred pounds, and the largest period is five tons."

Spike let out a small whistle when he heard about the largest weight they had. "Five tones? Good grief. Has anyone ever been able to lift that?" Spike asked curiously.

"Once, but they cracked their horn in the process."

Spike nodded as he waited for the students to hurry up. He wasn't at all surprised when he saw Twilight was the only one lifting the 500 pound weight. Part of him wandered if she was the one who cracked their horn, but dismissed it as he highly doubted that she would go that far beyond her limits if it wasn't necessary.

After a bit one of the teachers blew a whistle and waved to Cadance. "Alright everyone. You may go to the bleachers and rest." Spike raised an eyebrow as he saw all the students going to the bleachers while holding their heads. "If any of you think you may have overdone it please see Nurse Redheart," Cadance added with a smile. Not several seconds after Cadance had finished speaking several unicorns walked over to Nurse Redheart holding their heads, and a couple of them were holding their horns.

Spike waited for another teacher to start practicing with the weights before spike went over to the stones to try and exercise his magic. Not wanting to overdo it he picked one of the stones in the middle to practice on, while the majority of the other teachers picked some of the heavier ones. He picked one of the middleweight ones since he wasn't confident in his external use of magic. Spike more than once found Mr. Road giving him a smug grin, like he somehow won a victory over Spike.

Spike sat down on the bleachers with a sigh, his body aching a bit. He was surprised when someone patted him on the shoulder. When Spike turned he saw Twilight smiling at him. "Oh hey Twilight. What do you want?" Spike asked curiously.

"Well, I just wanted to say that you didn't do half bad with the weight you picked," Twilight said as she sat down beside him.

"Thank you Twilight. Wasn't too sure I'd be able to lift it," Spike said with a sheepish smile.

"I could tell, and I think everyone else could as well. With all the shaking it did."

Spike could only sigh as he listened to Twilight. "Was it really shaking that much?"

Twilight nodded.

"Oy vey," Spike sighed as he rubbed his eyes slightly out of embarrassment.

"I would be embarrassed too if that's all I could lift while being a teacher," Mr. Road said with a grin as he got close to the two.

Spike groaned when he looked over and saw Mr. Road nearby. "Oh what do you want?" Spike asked in a bit of a snippy tone.

Mr. Road narrowed his eyes a bit at Spike's tone. "Don't take that tone with me lizard or i'll-"

"Or you'll what? Try to get me tossed out? Look, if you want to toss idle threats around go do it someplace else. I'm not in the mood to deal with your crap. Unlike you unicorns, whose head and horn hurt after you extensively use your magic, our whole body aches like after a physical workout," Spike barked, interrupting Mr. Road.

"You better watch your back lizard."

"Bite me," Spike retorted to Mr. Road's back as he was leaving. When Spike looked back to Twilight she had a worried expression on her face. "What?"

"Spike, are you sure that was a good idea? He will probably try to get you fired," Twilight explained, getting a shrug in return.

"Good idea? Probably not. If he does try to get me fired the process will take what? A week or two? And by then he'll probably change his tune about trying to get me fired," Spike said with a grin.

Twilight was silent for a moment before Eris chimed in. ~Oh, because by then you'll be Spike Solaris! And then he'd probably want to suck you off.~ Twilight looked around to see if anyone heard What Eris had said, but Spike didn't as his face was contorted into an expression of disgust. An image of Mr. Road kneeling in front of him in an elevator popped in his mind. ~Don't worry sparkle butt. I'm transmitting my thoughts to you.~

Twilight seemed to calm down but Spike didn't as he flicked the Eris watch. "Eris, That is one image in my brain that I don't need."

~Twilight's butt?~ Eris asked with a slight grin, ignoring the flick Spike gave her.

"I wouldn't mind that-- no!" Spike whispered rather loudly. Twilight was already blushing a fair bit with what Eris said, but she blushed even harder with what Spike said.

~I see, so you wouldn't mind the image of Twilight's butt in your head.~ She asked with a large grin, although no one could see it since she was half hidden underneath Spike's cuff.

Spike didn't say anything for a moment before sighing a bit in defeat. "No comment."

Eris laughed like a madwoman at Spike's answer. She was having a ball with this. Twilight's hard blush only made this situation that much sweeter for Eris. Her fun was getting a bit on Spike's nerves though, despite his defeated sigh.

"Eris. Could you be so kind as to piss off for now?" Spike asked in more of a ordering way. "Class is over so I don't think you're going to miss much."

Seeing as she was now starting to get on Spike's nerves she let out a sigh. ~Fine, fine. I'll be around until you call for me. Until then ciao!~ Eris said before disappearing in a small puff of smoke.

Spike let out a sigh as he tried to relax, but it didn't last more then a minute as Rainbow Dash popped up behind him. "Hey there!"

Spike jumped a bit before turning around to see Rainbow Dash hovering there, inches above the seat. "Hello Rainbow Dash," Spike said with a slight sigh.

"Hey Twi, Gilda told me that she's going with a horror movie tonight," Rainbow Dash said as she turned her attention to Twilight.

"Thank you, but tonight I'm going to be a bit busy," Twilight answered, turning her head so she could see Rainbow Dash.

"Busy with..." Rainbow started before seeing the blush still on Twilight's cheeks. "Ooooh, I see," She said with a grin. "I can guess who you're going to be busy with," She added before looking over to Spike, who was watching them.

Twilight cleared her throat to get Rainbow's attention. "Rainbow Dash. It's not nice to make assumptions," Twilight said as she tried to act as though she wasn't embarrassed.

Rainbow Dash was about to say something when Spike cleared his throat to get Rainbow dash's attention. "So, Rainbow. I've been been watching you fly, and you're surprisingly good," He said changing the subject.

Rainbow Dash had a smug smile on as she took the bait. "Yeah, I know I'm pretty awesome."

"You're good enough to be a trainee for the Wonderbolts."

Rainbow Dash paused as her mind processed what Spike had just said. "Huh?"

"You heard me. You score tops marks in the speed department, but it would seem that your maneuverability is lacking," Spike said with a slight grin.

Rainbow Dash's eye twitched as she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What?!" She practically screamed in anger, alarming Twilight. "What do you mean my maneuverability is lacking?!" She practically growled, gaining the attention of nearby students, and some teachers. "What do you know, you don't even have wings," She added, seeming to calm down a bit.

"Oh? You think that just because I don't have wings that I can't tell a good flier from a bad flier? Don't forget Rainbow Dash, I did work for them."

Rainbow Dash's wings began to give off erratic flaps as her anger rose. "You were just a gofer for them!"

"True, but that just means I was able to watch them and learn what a good flier looks like."

Rainbow Dash startled Spike as she actually darted at him, but she was caught by Twilight. "Why you little... Let me at him Twilight!" Rainbow Dash growled as she struggled against Twilight's grip, and was winning.

"Rainbow Dash calm down! Spike, that was uncalled for," She scolded.

Rainbow Dash didn't calm down and manage to break free of Twilight's grip, only to be encased by Twilight's magical glow. Spike took this time to stand up and couldn't help but smirk a little at Rainbow Dash. That was before Spitfire landed behind him.

"What's going on?" Spitfire asked looking at both Spike and Rainbow Dash, with an air of agitation.

Spike lost his smirk before Twilight explained what happened to Spitfire. Spitfire gave both Spike and Rainbow Dash a disappointed look. "Rainbow, you need to control that temper a bit. Spike, why did you egg her on?"

Spike took a minute to word his response carefully. "First off. Rainbow, I do apologize if-"

"If?!" Rainbow interrupted with more than a little anger.

"Rainbow!" Spitfire Barked, which grabbed Rainbow Dash's attention. "Calm down right now," Spitfire ordered. Rainbow Dash began to grumble as she crossed her arms before Twilight let go of her.

"Alright let me rephrase that. I do apologize for offending you but I do believe what I said to be true. Now I did poke at her a bit because I was still agitated from dealing with Mr. Road, and wanted to see what she'd do," Spike explained.

Spitfire sighed for a minute while rubbing the bridge between her eyes. It was quiet before Rainbow Dash Spoke up. "A race."

Spike cocked his head to the side with a raised eyebrow. "Huh?"

"You heard me. Race me. If you win I'll accept your apology," Rainbow said seeming a little less angry now.

~Do I really want to race her? Is racing her really worth it to not have to deal with her anger later?~ Spike thought, comming to no real answer. ~Well, even if I do lose it should call her down some... Who am I kidding, I probably am going to lose. Let's at least make it interesting.~ "What kind of race?" Spike asked.

"A hoof race?" Rainbow Dash said in a questioning tone.

"Why not a air race?" Spike suggested so nonchalantly that everyone around him was confused, except for Spitfire who was laughing.

"Spike, are going to do that? Let's time you did that you lost control and you ended up flying right into High Wind's-"

"Don't remind me!" Spike half shouted at Spitfire in attempt to make her stop.

"Ms. Spitfire, what are you two talking about?" Twilight asked a bit confused.

Spitfire gave spike a gentle push on the shoulder and a 'go on' look. Spike only puffed a few black clouds of soot out of his nose at Spitfire. "Well, to put it simply I make artificial wings using my magic and can fly with them," he explained as Spitfire waved the small clouds away with her hand before nodding.

Rainbow was grinning as Spike had finished his explanation. "So wait, you can actually fly?!" She asked excitedly.

"Well yes, but it's-"

"Oh yeah I'm going to race a dragon!" Rainbow Dash said, her attitude seemingly having done a 180 from a little earlier.

Spike let out a sigh as he saw Rainbow Dash start to day dream. "Spitfire, could you decide the course please? I'd ok it with Rainbow Dash first, as she's the other participant, but she seems to be in her own little world," Spike asked.

Spitfire nodded before taking to the air to look around. It wasn't very long before Cadance showed up with a smile. "Well everyone, It would seem that today went wonderfully. Only a few sprained joints. You have the rest of the day off." After a minute of the students not moving Cadance adopted a rather confused look.

"Cadance, Spike and Rainbow Dash are going to race. So, everyone's staying to watch," Twilight said as she noticed the confused look on Cadance's face.

While one might find the race an interesting prospect to watch, Cadance let out a sigh before approaching Spike. "Spike is what Twilight said true?"

"Yes."

"Do you think you can win?"

"If it was a ground race I'd say my chances are pretty good, but since we're taking into the air I'd say my chances of winning is less than five percent."

Cadance's brain stopped for a moment before she cleared her throat. "Excuse me, but did you just say that both of you, you and Rainbow Dash, Will be racing in the air?"

"Yes."

"And how are you going to do that?"

"I learned several years ago how to make wings out of magic. They work just as well as real wings, but they're a bit harder to use... Well I believe so anyways." Spike said before looking into the sky to see Rainbow dash whizzing about out of excitement. "Dear Celestia, how does she still have energy?"

"She's always been a ball of energy, when excited. Second only to Pinkie Pie," Twilight answered.

"Why do I feel like I shouldn't be surprised by that?" Cadance and Twilight chuckled at what he said. "Why did she get so hyped when I said that I could fly?"

"Well, there's been a rumor going around that dragons were better fliers than pegasi so she wanted to prove them wrong, but the lack of dragons here made that impossible. There's a large likely hood that if you had wings she'd have challenged you on the first day," Twilight said as Spitfire flew up to them.

"Alright. The cloud rings for the air portion should be done in a few minutes. The forest has a ring at both sides so it's pretty much a straight shot, just not flying above the trees. There will be a ring beyond the forest's exit ring and that'll be the finish line." Once she got a nod from Spike Spitfire shot up to speak to Rainbow Dash, after having to catch her that is.

After their conversation was finished Rainbow Dash landed right in front of Spike with a large grin. "The track is set, so could you show me your wings now?" She asked, eager to get racing.

Spike let out a sigh but was grinning as well. "Ok, ok. Give me a minute," He said before relaxing. It took him a bit to gather the necessary magic in his back. With a slight grunt wings burst forth from his back. They were purple in color and had a transparent glassy look to them. Almost like they were made of glass, and they hadn't damaged his clothes.

Spike heard a few whistles and a couple 'holy cows' before Spitfire landed behind Spike. "I see you've enhanced them. They no longer look like they're made of gas," Spitfire said as she poked his wing.

As Spitfire and Cadance began to talk Twilight reached over and gently grabbed one of Spike's wings to get a feel for it. Despite the glassy appearance they felt like they were soft yet hard. It was like squeezing a length of PVC pipe covered in a pool noodle, but felt like glass. The membrane felt almost fluid-like as it was incredibly soft. As she was messing around with his wing she began to feel more and more eyes on her.

"Ahem" Twilight looked up to see Spike staring at her. "You done?" He asked politely. Twilight looked around quickly, seeing that the vast majority of the present students were looking at her, before looking at Spitfire and Cadance, who had a confused look on their faces.

"Yes, sorry," She said as she backed up a couple steps, slightly embarrassed by her actions.

"Now, as I was saying-"

"Yes, yes I know. Keep a close eye on them like any race. This isn't the first time I've watched over a race," Spitfire said before grabbing the flare gun that one of the nearby teachers handed her.

"Come on already! Are we going to race or just talk?" Rainbow Dash asked in slight annoyance.

Spike chuckled for a moment before nodding. "Ok, let's get this started," He said before flying up to the starting ring.

Spitfire followed shortly and hovered by the circle. "Ok. On your marks, get set. GO!"

Unsurprisingly Rainbow Dash took off like a bullet right of the gate, but Spike was right on her tail. He stayed right behind her for about 3 seconds before Rainbow began to pull away, and the gap widened every second. Spike had figured something like this would happen, but not to this extent.

The sky portion consisted mainly of straights and wide turns. There were a few sharp turns, and spike was able to catch up a little on those, but not enough to make a significant difference. By the end of the sky portion Rainbow Dash was in the lead by about 200 ft.

When they both dove into the forest section Spike lost sight of Rainbow Dash. He did his best to keep flying straight, and to not crash, and soon Spike was able to see Rainbow Dash's hooves. "Best be careful Rainbow!" Spike called out.

Rainbow Dash looked behind her with a shocked expression which soon turned into a grin. "Hey, It's about Time you caught up! If I was going any slower I'd probably fall out of the air!"

"Oh, That does it!" Spike playfully shouted back before he began to push his wings as hard as he could, trying to catch up with her.

After a bit of time had passed Rainbow Dash looked behind her, too see Spike now within talking distance, not shouting. "You're going to have to try harder than that to beat me!" She said as she began to pull away again, clearly adapting to the forest.

Spike had thought he had a grasp on how good she was as a flyer, but apparently he was wrong. Not wanting to look like a slouch Spike began to doge the trees and branches by smaller and smaller margins, which made Spike feel like he was going to clip something with every dodge. They were almost done with the forest section and Spike's gamble payed off as he was now almost literally nipping at her hooves.

Just as his growing hope of possibly overtaking Rainbow Dash made him grin, it was all dashed against the rocks as an all too familiar feeling came back. Spike's body went on autopilot, feeling as though if he moved just slightly different something would attack him. Spike soon wasn't paying attention to his surroundings and began to focus on the feeling above him.

Just as quickly as the feeling appeared it disappeared, but the damage was done. When Spike took in his surroundings once more he quickly saw himself barreling straight at a tree, going to fast to move out of the way in time.

~Oh shi-~

A thunderous roar was heard throughout the forest and the athletic field. Birds in the forest immediately flew away as they were startled by the loud sound. The teachers and students looked out into the forest where part of the race was taking place. It wasn't a second later that a red signal flare was shot into the air. Both Nurse Redheart and Cadance instantly teleported to the forest, while the other teachers stayed behind to keep an eye on the students.

The sight that greeted Nurse Redheart and Cadance was shocking, and to Cadance it was also heart-wrenching. Rainbow Dash was standing nearby with a concerned look on her face, not wanting to too close to Spike out of fear of getting clawed. Spitfire still had the flare gun in her hand, but it had heavy claw marks in it showing that Spitfire tried to get close. Spike was on the ground writhing around erratically and occasionally would let out a small fireball or would lash out at nothing with his claws. His roars were erratic as well. Sometimes he'd be loud and other times he'd be barely audible. It was obvious to everyone that he was in a tremendous amounts of pain.

As Cadance looked around to see what happened Nurse Redheart pinned Spike down with her magic. Nurse Redheart then proceeded to inject him with a rather powerful sedative, so he could be safely transported to the infirmary. Before Nurse Redheart could move Spike Cadance saw the small crater on the nearby tree. It didn't take much for Cadance to realize what happened.

"Redheart, don't let anyone see him until either I see him or he says people can visit him," Cadance told Nurse Redheart before turning to Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow Dash, can you tell me what happened?"

"I-i don't know. One second he was right behind me and the next I heard a crack, then I heard him roar," Rainbow Dash said as she kept looking at Spike as he was levitated away.

"Dean, I was watching from above and I saw what happened. He flew straight into the tree like an arrow, but something has me confused. Moments before he hit the tree his body went stock still and his magic was flickering. I've seen him struggle with his magic before and that was not it," Spitfire explained as she patted Rainbow Dash's shoulder, trying to calm her down.

"Spitfire, tell me, what emotion do you think he was feeling? Anger, sadness-"

"Fear. It looked like he was afraid of something. Like a rabbit being cornered by a timberwolf," Spitfire said, interrupting Cadance.

"Fear, are you sure about that?" Cadance asked and received a nod from Spitfire. "Thank you. Rainbow Dash, you may return to your class now. I need to go talk to someone," Cadance said before teleporting away, looking for Eris.

"There you are!" Cadance exclaimed as she found Eris on the roof of the main school building. "Why weren't you with Spike like you were supposed to be?"

"He told me to go away, and since I can't show myself until Monday I couldn't just mingle with the crowd. You three also forbade me from transforming into another pony," Eris responded.

Cadance was agitated with Eris, but knew that it wasn't her fault this time. Cadance let out a sigh as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Ok. Well Spike is-"

"In the infirmary, I know. I'm guessing he had another hallucination. Why else would you look for me. And don't worry about Spike, he's got maybe a few fractures. His bones are unnaturally tough, even for an 'enchanted' dragon. Seriously, who came up with that name? I much prefer their old name, bishop dragons."

"How do you know that he'll only have fractures?" Cadance asked a bit confused.

Eris smiled at Cadance's question. "He used to hang out by my petrified body, thinking I was a statue, when he was younger. During that time I was able to learn a lot about his body," Eris said as she rubbed her stomach. "I'm hungry. Could you be a dear and get me something to eat? After that I'll return to Spike's wrist."

Cadance sighed be for nodding. "Ok. I'll be back in a second," Cadance said before disappearing in a flash of light.

~You're in deeper water than I thought Spike, but don't fret. I won't let anything truly bad happen to you. I still have to pay you back for making my time as a statue bearable, aaand my freedom is also on the line. I'm in no rush to go back being an oversized garden gnome.~ Eris thought a moment before Cadance returned in a flash if light, with a tray of food.

"I'm sorry everyone, but he can't have any visitors right now," Nurse Redheart said as she blocked the door to Spike's room from the small group.

"Is he going to be alright?" Gabby asked as Nurse Readheart began to guide them to the lobby.

"Yes. He is going to be fine, and that's all I'm allowed to say."

"When can we visit him?" Thunderlane asked as they arrived at the lobby.

"After the dean speaks with him then you can visit," Nurse Redheart said before returning to the desk on the wall opposite of the main entrance.

The students one by one went and grabbed some seats before talking amongst themselves. Gabby and Twilight were worried about Spike, but Twilight wasn't as worried as Gabby and did her best to cheer her up. Rainbow Dash was sitting quietly in one of the chairs with Applejack trying to coax Rainbow Dash to talk. Thunderlane and Gilda were engaged with idle chitchat.

It hadn't been half an hour before Cadance entered through the front door. Nurse Redheart got out of her chair and greeted Cadance. "Welcome dean, Spike is right this way," she said before guiding Cadance through the halls to Spike's room, while making sure the students stayed behind.

Once they were in the room Cadance saw that Spike was already in a neck and upper back brace. "Nurse Redheart, how bad were his injuries?" Cadance asked In a bit of a whisper.

"There were several compression fractures along his spine. Luckily there is no splintering or other threats to his spinal cord. There are also several fractures to his skull, but what's confusing is how shallow they are. They're deep enough to be felt by magic, but not deep enough to go all the way through the bone," Nurse Redheart replied.

"That's good," Cadance said with a sigh of relief. "Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you tell me when I hired you that you're unable to sense damage in a pony's bones short of a broken leg?"

Nurse Redheart nodded. "Yes I did say that, but I didn't give him the good look over. That was all Doctor Horse."

Cadance grinned widely at the mention of the doctor. "So he DID spend the night huh?" Cadance teased, making Nurse Redheart blush lightly.

"That's beside the point. He performed minor magical surgery on Spike before setting up the brace," Nurse Redheart explained, keeping a professional appearance except for the blushing.

At the mention of surgery Cadance nodded before looking back at Spike. "What kind of surgery?"

"Doctor horse created a magical balloon around the fractures and inflated it until the pressure on the damaged vertebrae is relieved. Normally the bone is then mended with magic, but since Spike is a dragon that didn't work. The balloons were left inside him so the bone can heal. Before you ask, don't worry about them popping. They are quite durable. The only downside is that Spike may be a bit uncomfortable while they are in him."

"What about their removal? Will Doctor Horse have to come back out here?"

"Yes. Although since this is the first time that such surgery has been performed on a dragon we don't know how his body will react to our magic. We are sure that dragons have their own variation, but we can't reach them. Not in any reasonable amount of time anyways."

"So he's going to be fine?"

"Yes."

Cadance let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. When will he be awake?"

"It will be some time. maybe an hour or two, maybe more. He was quite resistant to our anesthesia so we had do use three times the normal to put him under. That was after giving him five times the usual dose of sedatives to calm him down properly."

"Wow. Didn't know dragons were so resilient to drugs," Cadance said with a slight air of disbelief.

"Dragons are a species of extremes and this proves it, if he is normal for a dragon."

Cadance nodded before approaching Spike's side. "Has this injury affected his previous injuries?"

"The previous injury on the back of his head had cracked along the same spot as before but they're just surface cracks, amazingly," Nurse Redheart said before looking at her watch. "Dean. Will you allow the students to see him right now?"

Cadance nodded with a smile as she headed for the door. "Yes."

Nurse Redheart was able to get 'you may’ out before Gabby rushed by her, nearly knocking Nurse Redheart over. Nurse Redheart did stumble a bit but Applejack helped her to stop before joining Gabby.

Cadance was a little Startled when Gabby burst through the door. Gabby froze when she saw the neck brace on Spike. She took a step towards him before Cadance cleared her throat to get her attention. Realizing that she was being a bit rash she began to blush slightly.

“Go any faster and people might think that you're late for a date,” Applejack teased as the rest of the group entered the room.

“A date?” Gabby repeated with a slight blush.

“What are you thinking about Gabby?” Gilda asked as she noticed Gabby's blush.

“N-nothing.”

Gilda chuckled slightly before pushing Gabby a little. “Oh really? Then why are you blushing? No one blushes over nothing,” she teased, making Gabby's blush bigger.

“Gilda, that is enough,” Cadance said with an ever so slight smirk.

“Dean, why is Spike wearing a neck brace?” Gabby asked causing everyone to look at Spike.

“The brace is just a precaution. He has already been… patched up, but the brace is there just to make sure he doesn't overdue it as his body heals,” Cadance explained, not wanting to use the word 'surgery’ as two or three of them might worry more than necessary.

“So, when will he be able to be up and about?” Twilight asked.

“Well, he should be up later today, but I don't know when he'll be about. He should be able to go to class Monday,” Cadance explained.

“Sorry about ruining your date Twi,” Rainbow Dash apologized, making Cadance’s ears perk up.

“There's nothing to be sorry about. It was an accident, there was nothing you could've done,” Twilight said.

“But-”

“I couldn't have said it better myself.” Everyone's head snapped to Spike, who was now awake.

“Spike!? You're not supposed to be awake for another few hours!” Cadance said in surprise.

“Yeah, well I learned that dragons are, in general, resilient to most medication. We enchanted dragons however are heavily resilient to medication of any kind. It has to do with the innate magic that permeates our bodies. You see-”

“I'm sorry to interrupt, but could we please have the lesson during school instead?” Thunderlane interrupt.

Spike began to chuckle a bit before nodding. “Ok, ok.”

“Spike, when do you think you might be able to walk around?” Twilight asked with a glint of Hope in her eyes.

Spike let out a sigh as he saw the glint in her eyes. “I'm sorry Twilight, but I'll probably be walking sometime tomorrow at the earliest, I repeat: the earliest."

"I see," Twilight said, the slightly crestfallen tone not escaping Cadence or Spike.

"Are you sure you're ok Mr. Wyrven?" Gabby asked.

Spike nodded, or would if his head wasn't immobilized. "I'm fine Gabby. Now, I do appreciate you all for coming, but I'm tired and want to get some rest. Ok?" Spike said, letting out a large yawn as if to punctuate his sentence.

One by one the students left after saying good bye, but Spike held Twilight back. "Hey, Twilight, in my room are a couple of pill bottles. could you get them?" He whispered to her.

"Sure thing."

"Thanks, and I'm sorry about all this. Because of me we can't go our date tonight."

"Don't worry about it, it was an accident. I'm just happy that you're ok."

"Thanks."

Twilight smiled before leaving the room, the last student to do so. Once Cadance had shut the door Eris poofed into the room. Eris was grinning ear to ear as she looked at Spike. "Wow. Head butted a tree and you're already awake. wan't to go for round two?" She asked as a tree began to grow inside the room, but not leaving it.

"I think one round was enough, besides if I did go for round two I think it'd kill me."

"You know I could fix your neck so that you could go again."

"Thanks but no thanks. I have the feeling that my neck would wind up being turned into a hockey stick or something similar."

"Fair enough. If you ever-"

"Eris! Get rid of this tree already!" Cadance ordered as the tree was beginning to push the tables and beds around.

"Fine, fine," Eris huffed before snapping her fingers making the tree vanish into thin air. "Just take the fun out of everything," Eris finished before turning to Spike who was chuckling.

"What's so funny Spike?" Cadance asked as she looked at Spike as well, but grew immediately worried. Spike's laugh was a bit monotone and his face, or rather his eyes, showed absolute fear.

Both Cadance and Eris soon began to put to gather what was happening to Spike: he was having a hallucination. What they didn't know was how bad it was. Not only was he seeing his hallucination, but his hallucination was so very different than before. Before the hallucinations would be shadow people, bipedal creatures of unknown species that was seemingly made up of a black mist. But right now standing by the door, next to Eris, was a figure that was a solid black mass and it was smiling. Not 'spike could feeling it smiling' but actually smiling with a set of VERY draconian teeth showing. It's eyes were also Draconian in nature.

"☟︎♏︎●︎●︎□︎📪︎ ♓︎⧫︎🕯︎⬧︎ ♌︎♏︎♏︎■︎ ♐︎♋︎❒︎ ⧫︎□︎□︎ ●︎□︎■︎♑︎📬︎" Spike had no idea what the creature said, or even if what was said was even a language at all. If Spike were to pay closer attention to his surroundings he would've seen Eris puff up like a frightened cat.

Before Cadance could ask what was up with Eris, Eris swiftly moved over to spike and covered his eyes. Soon she began to hum, infusing her chaotic magic into her voice. Cadance soon began to feel off balance and ill, like she was having motion sickness. She had to lean onto a nearby chair so that she wouldn't fall over. Spike's laughing, however, was seeming to calm down.

Spike didn't know fully what was going on but the humming was beginning to drown out his other senses. In no time Spike could only hear, see, taste and feel the humming. Even though it made absolutely no sense to be able to see or taste humming, at the moment Spike didn't care. He began to calm down rapidly, only for a low growl to raise Spike's fear a bit. The shadow figure was pushed to the forefront of Spike's mind as he could feel as though it was now frowning in an angry manner. It felt like it said something but it was muffled by the humming. Soon enough the presence totally disappeared. A few moments later Eris let go of spike and stopped humming.

Cadance who was leaning on the chair, was now sitting in it. "Eris, what was that about?" Cadance asked as she got out of the chair, still a little wobbly.

“Spike was having a panic attack so I calmed him down, just as per Celly’s orders.”

Cadance let out a sigh as she looked at Spike, who was now laying down with his eyes half open. “Fine. Just try to limit the effects of your chaotic magic to the surrounding area.”

“Awww now where's the fun in that?” Eris asked with a mischievous grin.

“Eris, I don't know what you're thinking, but no!”

“Oh come now, you're no fun,” Eris pouted.

As Eris and Cadance began to go back and forth Spike reached up and grabbed Eris’s dress to get her attention. “Eris… when Twilight gets back with my meds, could you duplicate them?” Spike asked a little shaky.

“Yeah, sure,” Eris said before grabbing his hand.

“You ok Spike?” Cadance asked with a bit of worry in her voice from hearing the slight shakiness in his voice.

Spike nodded as he tried to gather his words. “I'm… fine. This time was so much worse than before. It was a solid mass, and it had a mouth and eyes. It was smiling at me before it spoke. I-i don't know what It was s-saying, b-but i-it-” Spike started, but was cut off by Eris who put her hand over his mouth and began to him again as he was getting worked up again.

Spike was once again lost to Eris’s humming. As much as Spike wanted to stay awake he felt his eyelids grow heavy and his body soon felt the same. He tried to protest, wanting to tell them what happened, but his body was having none of it. His words only comming out as low grunts or moans, and any movement was reduced to large twitches. Soon enough Spike was sound asleep, his dreams overtaken by the humming.

“Cadance, will you allow me to go see Celestia?” Eris asked as she pulled away from Spike.

“No, but she will be here tomorrow. If it's about the hallucination he just had Spike will probably tell her tomorrow so you don't have to worry about it. I'm more worried what she'll do when she finds out that Spike was injured today.”

“I see. Well, I guess I should wait until Twilight comes back with Spike's meds as per his request. Until then, want to watch a movie?” Eris asked as she pulled a movie projector, a couple lawn cahirs and a massive bucket of popcorn out of then air.

Cadance was a little confused why Spike wanted his meds duplicated, but pushed those thoughts aside for now. “Very well. Since you're going to be working here I might as well try to get used to your antics,” Cadance said as she sat in one of the chairs.

“That's the spirit!” Eris said before laughing and starting the reel.

As the day was winding down Twilight had entered Spike's room, in search of his meds. The search was rather quick as his pills we're on the coffee table. When she grabbed them she couldn't help but to read the labels. Part of her knew that she shouldn't but curiosity got the better of her. She quickly identified one as Naproxen, and a high dose at that, but the other one made her do a double take.

“Maxnul? Spike… why do you need a magical suppressant?” Twilight asked aloud, before making one more sweep to make sure she didn't miss any other bottles. Satisfied that she didn't miss any she headed back to Spike's room.