The Dragon of Coltonville.

Nothing could ever spoil a time like this. Even in the midst of a thunderstorm, these seven friends wouldn't allow it to ruin their slumber party. From playing a game of charades, to gorging themselves on a giant bowl of ice cream, to watching Bright Eyes act out a sock puppet performance of their teacher, and partaking in a brief pillow fight that lasted until Sweetheart's mom made them go to bed, the only thing that could possibly make this night even better would be a ghost story. After fashioning enough blankets to create a passable tent, the peach coated filly named Patch was the first to start things off.

"Once upon a time, a long time ago, a very long time ago, there lived a little pony named Squire, who lived in a big castle on a hill, not too far from here."

"Here?" The white coated filly named Sweetheart wondered.

"Just beyond Paradise Lake," Patch clarified. "Now Squire wasn't too much older than we are, and he wanted to be a knight. His father took him aside one rainy evening, and told him, 'Squire, if it is a knight you desire to be, then you must tame a dragon.' 'A dragon?' 'Not just any dragon, but the dragon named Basil.'"

"Basil?" The dark pink filly named Melody interrupted.

"Shh," Patch silenced her. "Now, the father told squire that Basil lived in a cave, deep in the darkest part of the forest. The next morning, Squire ventured into the Misty Forest; his father had given him his own sword--in case of trouble. And trouble was exactly what he found. A serpent dropped from a tree and round himself around Squire's neck! The serpent hissed at Squire, but Squire bravely stuck out his tongue and hissed right back! Afraid, the serpent slithered away, and Squire didn't have to use his sword--which he didn't really want to use anyway. Later that morning, Squire found Basil's cave; somewhere, inside, was the dragon."

Upon saying this, Sweetheart found herself becoming spooked by what sounded like a dragon growling. "Was that you, Patch?"

"Quiet, Sweetheart." The light pink filly named Starlight hushed her.

"Then, Squire, sucked up his courage," Patch continued, "and went into the cave. He knew the dragon was inside, but he didn't know where. Suddenly, flames shot out of the darkness! In the light from the flames he found a torch, probably left there by another knight who would never again see the light of day. Using the dragon's own fire, Squire, lit the torch, then moved deeper into the cave. Dark shadows, and strange shapes danced on the rocky walls, when all of a sudden, the dragon appeared! 'Basil!' Said Squire, staring up at the giant monster. 'I shall tame you! I shall be a knight!' But Squire never got the chance, Basil, burned a hole in the ground, and Squire fell into it!"

"What happened to Squire?" An intrigued Sweetheart desired to know his fate.

"By the time he crawled out of the hole, Basil, was gone. Squire never saw him again." Patch concluded her tale.

"He should've taken me along for good luck," the pale lavender filly named Clover said jokingly, which got her--and her friends--laughing.

"Go ahead, make fun." Patch added a last-minute twist to her story. "But Squire is still somewhere in Ponyland, searching for his dragon."

It was at this moment that the seven friends were startled by a loud creaking from the attic. "It's Squire!" The yellow filly named Bon Bon allowed her imagination to dictate her judgment.

"Yeah right, he's probably in the attic, looking for Basil." Melody said sarcastically.

"You heard Sweetheart's dad, there aren't any ghost." Clover reminded them.

"I'll go get my parents," Sweetheart rose up in preparation.

"No!" Patch stopped her. "Squire will run away if you do." After a three second pause, the curly pink maned pony made her next decision. "I'm going up there." With that said, Patch, unraveled their makeshift tent as she walked out the guest room with Starlight and Bright Eyes close behind, with the remaining four following in pursuit--only because their curiosity outweighed their fear.

With a flashlight gripped in her hoof, Patch, led her friends on their little ghost hunt up to the dark attic. Not wanting to have to walk around in pitch black, Sweetheart wasted no time in pulling the pull chain of the only lamp in the attic, only to find to her dismay that the light bulb had gone out at the most inconvenient of times.

"Squire?" Patch called out, but only received the clashing of thunderbolts as a response.

"OK, he's not here, let's go!" Already succumbed to her nerves, Clover was more than inclined to head back to the sanctuary that is the guest room, only to be halted by Starlight.

"Maybe he's hiding," Patch suggested.

Not wanting to have to wait any further, Patch was the first to take the initiative to continue their search, only to have a now frightened Bon Bon slightly delay them. "Wait, what if the dragon is in here?"

No sooner had she said that did a loud crash caught all seven of the ponies' ears, which in turn made them look directly at a tall figure near an opened window, hidden in the darkness but still fearsome enough to leave the fillies on edge. That is until Starlight mustered up an ample amount of courage to walk up close enough to lay her hooves upon the figure, and discovered that it was nothing more than an empty birdcage with a tablecloth over it.

"Nothing to be afraid of."

Before any of them could even let out a sigh of relief, something had suddenly made a pile of nearby boxes tumble down, which sent the seven friends into a panicked frenzy that they quickly had to subdue in order to not awaken Sweetheart's parents. All of them kept their petrified gazes upon the clutter of cardboard boxes in stark silence, until the pink maned filly felt something wet drip on her muzzle, which in turn led to her tilting her head up to see that it came from her pet cat who was soaked with rainwater. Shaking all the water off, the gray cat immediately leapt onto Sweetheart's back where it wasted no time in making itself comfortable.

"Was that you causing all of that ruckus, Springfield?" The white filly said to her now purring cat.

"At least it wasn't a ghost," the superstitious rose-pink maned filly said with relief.

"Then how do you explain that?!" A now trembling Bon Bon pointed at a moving box.

Much like their purple maned friend, the rest of the girls were still with unease as they all stared upon the box as it bumped into other boxes while it was shuffling through the floor.

"Do you suppose that it could be another cat?" Melody whispered.

"Only one way to find out." Like before, it was up to Starlight to uncover this aberration that stood before her. Just as her hoof was nearly inches away from touching it, the top of the box burst open by what appeared to be a purple claw.

"Ahh, it's a monster!" Bon Bon let out a holler that was immediately blocked by the combined hooves of Patch and Bright Eyes. When the yellow filly's overreaction finally subsided, it was at this moment that all the ponies saw with their very eyes a purple, winged, lizard-like creature crawl out of the opened box and stood upright as it made eye contact with them.

"Phew, it's only a bipedal reptile," Bright Eyes wiped the sweat off her forehead.

"That's a fine way of greeting somecreature," the creature replied with a hint of offense in his tone.

Hearing those few words escape his mouth was enough to make the pupils of the seven ponies' eyes shrink to the point of being nothing else but miniscule dots. "Girls, please tell me I'm not the only one who heard him speak." Starlight whispered to her equally shocked friends.

The purple scaled creature could practically feel the aghast stares from the fillies standing before him poking him like a plethora of needles; that, along with the awkward silence, was all it took to agitate him. "Quit staring at me like that! Haven't you ponies ever seen a dragon before?"

"You're a dragon?" Melody said incredulously.

"Yeah! Isn't it obvious?" The irate dragon crossed his arms.

Shaking the shock out of her system, Patch took the opportunity to ask their unexpected visitor, "Your name wouldn't happen to be, Basil, by any chance?"

"No, it's Spike." This revelation gave the ponies cause to drop their heads and groan in disappointment. "Were you expecting another dragon?"

"No, we were all just listening to a ghost story when we heard a noise coming from the attic, and that's when we found you." Starlight clarified before following with a question of her own. "What are you even doing in Sweetheart's attic anyway?"

"It's not like I came here intentionally. I was watching a friend of mine hold back a powerful surge of magic, when all of sudden I find myself being engulfed by a blinding light that sent me to this dark attic."

"So all of that noise we heard was just you walking around," Clover deduced.

"Exactly. By the time you all got up, I wasn't too sure if I should reveal myself, so I opened a nearby window to escape, but the storm outside daunted me, so I merely flew up to one of the support beams and sat there until that cat jumped up and spooked me, which caused me to fall into the boxes."

"It was nice of you to give Springfield a way to get inside at least," the pink maned filly gave Spike her thanks before proceeding to proper introductions. "I'm really truly sorry, you told us your name and we never bothered to give you ours; I'm Sweetheart, and these are my friends, Starlight, Clover, Melody, Patch, Bon Bon, and Bright Eyes. Bright Eyes?"

To the dragon's utter surprise, he found himself being grabbed and examined by the minty green filly who Sweetheart was referring to. "Hmm, scales with a hue of lilac that contrast with the green scales of the underbelly and chin, approximately eleven green spikes that span from the tail all the way to the head, a V-shaped caudal tip, two yellow-green wing like structures on both opposite sides of the face (possibly ears), slitted pupils (common trait in most reptiles) with a green iris, two upper fangs protruding from the snout (with approximately sixty in total), two bat like wings with a wingspan of approximately fifteen inches, the inclusion of which excludes the possibility of you being a wurm, whereas the inclusion of arms rules out the possibility of you being a wyvern, which could only conclude that you're a standard wyrm. And judging by your height, weight, and tone of voice, I would have to estimate that you're at least eight years old."

"I'm thirteen, actually."

"Really? You're a year younger than us?" Melody raised one of her eyebrows in doubt. "Why do I find that hard to believe?"

"Other than because you clearly know nothing about dragons," Spike shot back with a retort that made five of the six girls giggle, much to the curly blue maned filly's chagrin.

"She may not know much," Patch spoke up as she stepped forward and looked down upon the lost dragon with eyes full of skepticism, "but I know that dragons are these gigantic, ferocious beasts, and yet you're tiny and adorable. Are you supposed to be a runt or some kind of dwarf?"

"No, I'm actually what you would call a kid." Spike said in response to her ignorance of dragons. "I know that ponies and dragons living together isn't exactly a natural occurrence, but surely you all must at least have some sort of viable sources of information concerning dragons?"

"We do," Starlight said in a somewhat sheepish manner, "if you consider fairy tales to be a 'viable source of information'."

This revelation left the perplexed dragon with a question that he feels must be answered. "Are you trying to tell me that dragons don't exist in your world?"

"As of this moment, you're the first dragon to be discovered by anybody," Bright Eyes quenched his curiosity.

"Don't you mean 'anypony'?"

"No, that's not even a word."

Just as Spike was preparing to press this vocabulary debate even further, his concentration was immediately interrupted by the growling of his unsatisfied stomach.

"I take it that you're hungry?" Bon Bon stifled a light giggle.

"Well, I did only have a few bites before my friend's magical mishap," Spike rubbed the back of his head.

Being the ever-altruistic pony that she is, Sweetheart obeyed her first impulse and said, "Would you like to spend the night here? We have food."

"You think your parents will be OK with him staying here?" Clover asked her friend.

"I'll explain this to them in the morning," Sweetheart assured her. "Besides, we can't just let him go out in this weather, and he's away from his home." With that said, the kindhearted filly turned back to the lost dragon. "So what do you say?"

Fully aware that he has little to no option, Spike flapped his wings just enough to float at least four feet above the ponies and said, "Lead the way."

...

Finally out of the confines of the attic, Spike settled himself upon a pillow in the center of the guest room, while also receiving some warm looks from the fillies (aside from the two skeptical looks that Patch and Melody were giving him). As a matter of fact, the only pony whose eyes weren't glued to the dragon was Bright Eyes, who was currently directing all of her attention to a notepad, either sketching some drawings or jotting down notes (though since Spike has noticed some stark similarities between the amber maned filly and Twilight Sparkle, the dragon could only conclude that it must be the latter). It didn't take too long for Bon Bon to return from her brisk trip to the kitchen.

"OK, I'm not entirely certain what dragons eat, so I just brought a bag of chips and a glass of milk to wash it down."

Thanking the yellow coated filly for her troubles, Spike dug into the plastic bag and took out a mouthful of chips which went straight into his gullet, appeasing his hunger at last. Just when the salty contents of said chips began to leave its parched effect on the dragon, he washed it away with a small sip of milk.

"So Spike," Bright Eyes spoke up with notepad and pencil in hoof, "seeing as how you're the first dragon to be discovered, you must contain a far greater range of knowledge on your species than anything that's been written about dragons in our folktales. My first question to you is do you acquire your wings upon birth, or do they sprout from your body in a much later state of your life?"

"It's the latter." Spike responded while licking a few crumbs off the tip of his claws. "My wings came around the time I experienced the molt."

"The molt?" Bright Eyes' interest peaked further. "Could you elaborate on its stages?"

"First I had these stone scales all over my body that made me itch, then I would have big fire burps pop out of nowhere, then my voice would go back and forth between too quiet and too loud, then my body would start producing this disgusting odor which attracts giant monsters, then I was completely enveloped in stone for a few seconds and then I got my wings. And would you believe that the whole process happened in the span of a day?"

"I see. So essentially the molt is merely a twenty-four-hour metamorphosis period which consists of hives, spontaneous fire belches, inconsistent shifts in volume, a pheromone secretion that draws nearby predators, and a brief pupal stage."

"If you want to be technical about it, then yes."

It was during this conversation that Melody had let her eyes perform a full body search all over the dragon which led to her to take notice of the gold medal hanging around his neck. "Say Spike, that medal on your neck, did you steal it from someone?"

"I'll have you know that this was given to me by the Princess of Equestria herself," Spike crossed his arms in response of the dark pink filly's accusation.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, did you say a princess gave that to you?" The curly blue maned filly asked.

"Yeah, she wouldn't let anycreature be her royal advisor."

"Oh my gosh, that's so awesome! Does this mean you get special perks?! Does everyone give you and her free food?! Do everybody bow down whenever she appears?! Do you and her get to do whatever you want?! Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

After Patch and Starlight calmed down their overly thrilled friend, Spike gave her questions an answer. "We both just finished the first day of her reign by the time I got teleported here, so I can't really clarify all of your questions, Starlight."

"I'm Starlight!" The light pink filly corrected him.

"Oops, sorry! It's just that Melody sounds just like a friend of mine whose name also happens to be Starlight."

"Is that so? How much do I sound like her?"

"To be honest, your voice sounds like an exact copy of hers; in fact, I'm almost expecting to see your face morph into hers any moment."

"I noticed that the word 'Equestria' was mentioned when you brought up the princess," Bright Eyes changed the subject. "I presume it's the name of your place of origin?"

"Uh-huh. It's been my home ever since the day I was hatched; and I have so many great memories of all the places I've ever been in Equestria, such as Ponyville, Canterlot, the Crystal Empire, Manehattan, Fillydelphia, just to name a few. By the way, what's this place called?"

"That would be Ponyland."

"No really, what's the name of this place?"

Seeing as how their unexpected guest was under the impression that Bright Eyes was telling him a joke, Starlight had to be the one to let him know that this isn't the case. "That is what this place is called."

"Really, you call this place Ponyland? Sounds a little unimaginative if you ask me."

"Well it's not like we were the ones who discovered it," Melody retorted.

"Good point," Spike conceded. "Though I suppose Ponyland is the name of the country and not the town?"

"Mm-hmm, the town that we live in is referred to as Coltonville." Bright Eyes confirmed.

"I suppose that name sounds a little more creative," the dragon commented.

"But isn't Equestria essentially just the same as Ponyland?" A confused Clover inquired.

"Yeah, but Equestria is more inventive than Ponyland."

"It just seems a little odd to me that dragons would name their towns and country after ponies."

"That's because Equestria is a pony nation."

All the fillies suddenly found themselves experiencing an impact of such perplexity that each of them felt as if all of the common knowledge that they've attained through the remainder of their lives was replaced with insanity. "You live with ponies?" A flummoxed Starlight asked.

"Ever since I was hatched."

"But don't dragons live with other dragons?" A baffled Clover asked the most obvious of questions.

"Well, fate had different plans for me when my parents sent my egg away."

This realization caused each of the fillies to collectively gasp as if some invisible force had sucked the breath right out of their lungs, including a now anxious Patch. "You're an orphan?" The trepidatious filly inquired.

"Yeah," the orphaned dragon confirmed, "I was just a dormant egg being kept in the storage of Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, until Twilight had hatched me with her magic and took me in as her assistant. No one that I know could ever explain to me how I got to Equestria, who my real parents are, and why they didn't want to keep me. But Twilight, Shining, Velvet, and Night Light, have always treated me like I'm part of their family, so I've never been in too much of a hurry to uncover my roots; but I still wonder at times if my real parents ever worried about me, or if they'd be happy if they saw me, or if they would be proud of the kind of dragon that I've become."

Hearing the little dragon's woes was enough to make all seven of the ponies to feel their heartstrings being tugged to the point that it was becoming impossible for either one of them to hold back any tears that were building up. But none of them could rival the amount of sympathy that was overtaking Patch; especially since she of all ponies can know perfectly well what it's like to be abandoned by those who are supposed to love her most, which made her feel all the more ashamed for her curt demeanor that she displayed towards the foundling dragon. Much to everyone's--including Patch's--surprise, the peach coated filly found herself under the control of a newfound compassion which bade her to envelop Spike with her forelegs in a tender embrace as if she were cuddling a teddy bear.

"What made you want to be friendly all of a sudden?"

"I never knew my parents too," the curly pink maned filly confided to her fellow orphan. Having no reason to complain at this impromptu change of heart, Spike soaked up the affection being given to him with a hug of his own and was instantaneously sandwiched by the rest of the girls in a manner akin to what his friends back at Equestria would do to him.

"I really truly hope you'll reunite with your parents someday," Sweetheart offered her guest with some much-needed consolation.

"Well, there was this one time a dragon claiming to be my father lived with us for a while, but it turned out he was just pretending to be my dad in order to trick me into living outside while claiming my room for himself."

Hearing that had filled Patch with the kind of rage that she'd normally would have whenever Teddy was around. "Why that dirty, crooked, jerk! I'd give anything to have him magically appear in this room just so I could give his face a pounding!"

"Don't worry, Jeffrie made it more than clear to Sludge that he was no longer welcome in Ponyville."

"Ooh, another pony friend of yours?" Bright Eyes inquired.

"No, Jeffrie's what you call a human."

"I don't believe I'm familiar with that species. Could you provide us with a meticulous description on his appearance?"

"Simply imagine a five-foot-tall ape without its fur."

Following the dragon's instructions, the seven friends closed their eyes until an image of what Spike described materialized into their subconscious, which in turn made all of them shudder. "So Spike, do you ever think about how different your life could be if your real parents didn't leave you?" Starlight changed the subject in the hope of getting that mental image of a furless ape out of her head.

"Sometimes." The dragon admitted. "But then I'd quickly remember the fact that I would never have met any of my friends in Equestria; even when I had the opportunity to become the next Dragon Lord, I still couldn't bring myself to part with the friends and family that I got."

"They all must be really truly lucky to have such a loyal friend as you," Sweetheart commended his devotion.

"And I'm lucky to have known so many great ponies, especially Rarity."

Melody took notice of the doting tone he was utilizing when he brought up the name Rarity, and the curly blue manned filly saw this as a perfect opportunity for some light teasing. "What's so special about this 'Rarity'? Is she your girlfriend?"

Spike proceeded to rub the back of his head as the dragon tried to concoct a passable response. "Well...not officially."

"Officially? Do couples in your world have to sign contracts before entering relationships?" Patch japed which earned her some chuckles.

"No, it's mainly that the idea of the two of us being in a relationship is considered taboo."

"Oh, I understand," Starlight spoke up. "It's because she's a pony and you're a dragon, isn't it?"

"No, it's because I'm eight years younger than her, so I would have to wait at least five years just to be allowed to ask her out (assuming she doesn't already find herself a special somepony that is)."

"So your love is forbidden," Bon Bon came to her own conclusion. "That is so romantic!"

"Really, you're OK with it?" Spike felt puzzled by that response.

"Why wouldn't I? Forbidden romances are the best!" After a brief swoon, the yellow filly got closer to Spike as she laid herself flat on her belly and propped her chin with both of her hooves. "You've gotta tell us what it was like when you first laid eyes on her! Was it love at first sight?"

"Who wouldn't fall for Rarity after seeing her once? She has these eyes that sparkle like sapphires, and this elegant purple mane that makes my heart sing when it's blown by the wind, and this pristine white coat that puts diamonds to shame, and this voice that just completely mesmerizes me whenever I hear it. I would do anything she'd ask me; carry her luggage, help mine gems, and be her bodyguard, all just so I can get to be around the most beautiful pony in Equestria."

Five of the fillies were letting out a symphony of "awws" over the dragons' sentiment that he holds for this pony of his dreams, whereas Patch was making a gag face due to how mushy this sounded, and Melody merely rolled her eyes at how much of a hopeless romantic he's being.

"Yeah, that all sounds sweet," the dark pink filly spoke up. "But does she love you back?"

"Without a doubt," Spike affirmed. "There was this one time I was saving this fire ruby for myself, and I saw that Rarity really wanted it, so I decided to give it to her and she in turn gave me the best gift ever."

"Was it a radio?" Melody guessed.

"No."

"A telescope?" Bright Eyes offered her hypothesis.

"Uh-uh."

"A puppy?" Sweetheart guesstimated as well.

"Not even close."

"Then what was it?" Starlight chose to not even hazard a guess by this point.

"My first kiss on the cheek." Saying that had earned the romantic dragon a sigh from Bon Bon, who proceeded to place both her hooves over her heart. "Getting kissed by her felt so great that I didn't even want to wash the cheek that she planted it on; I was able to keep it for a solid week, until Twilight had to go and wipe it off (sure there was a little dirt around it, but it was nothing that really warranted wiping off a kiss from Rarity)."

"Aww, how cute, and gross." Melody commented.

"Then there was this time when I had fallen under the influence of this condition that another friend of mine referred to as greed-induced bigness which transformed me into a gigantic monster that wanted to claim anything I wanted--including Rarity; but after I had a glimpse of a memory of when I was generous, it made me regress back to my normal self. However, because I was small again--and since this was before I ever got wings--Rarity and I ended up plummeting to the ground. Seeing as how our lives could be over, I took the chance to confess my feelings to her, only to have her place a hoof on my lips and gave me a look that said that she knew. By the time Rainbow and Fluttershy set us back on the ground, Rarity confided how I was her hero for changing back to normal and she gave me another kiss; and for that kiss, I tried to have it framed for safe keeping, but much like the last one it didn't get to last long."

"Did she ever kiss you again?" Sweetheart let her query be heard.

"Mm-hmm. It happened on the last Hearth's Warming Eve I celebrated before I got here; I wanted to get Rarity a perfect gift to show how much she means to me, but nothing seemed good enough, so I simply constructed a makeshift guitar out of cardboard and sang a song to her, and that's how I got my third and last kiss from her."

"How romantic," Bon Bon doted over Spike's sentiment.

"Well as sweet as all of those sounds, it doesn't really prove much," Melody still held onto her doubts. "I mean, a kiss on the cheek doesn't really mean a great deal compared to a kiss on the lips, so how do you not know that she's merely friend zoning you?"

"Would she only think of me as a friend if she felt jealous when she saw me hanging around another girl?" That question had brought all the fillies to the edge of wanting to hear more. "A while back, I started to spend some time with this griffon named Gabby, and Rarity got jealous since she was always used to having me spend time with her. When she finally admitted her envious feelings to the both of us, I realized that she must truly love me if she missed being around me that much."

"More like she was missing all the free service you were providing," Melody's little bon mot earned her a jab from Starlight's hoof.

"Were you able to split your time with them evenly?" Sweetheart wondered.

"I let Rarity know that even when I'm hanging around Gabby and any new friends I might make, I'll still want my Rarity time."

"Gosh, you treat her better than how most boys treat us," Clover declared.

"What're they like?" The dragon boy wished to know.

"Most of them are jerks," Patch explained, "if you're lucky you'll probably never run into any of them."

It was at this moment that a yawn had escaped from Spike's mouth and the lids of his eyes began to lower slightly. "I take it that you're prostrated and require some rejuvenation by means of slumber?" Bright Eyes hypothesized.

"It is nighttime," Spike stretched out his arms while letting off another yawn, "so some sleep would do me good."

"You can sleep with me for the night," Sweetheart offered a side of her bed to the lethargic dragon.

With everyone now reposing in either a bed or sleeping bag, Spike could--at the moment--give himself some much-needed rest and hopefully a chance to contact Princess Luna through the dream realm. Though as the dragon was getting close to even snore, his train of thought was being derailed by the sound of Patch speaking. Groggily opening his eyes, the dragon made out what appeared to be the peach coated filly looking up at the ceiling and conversing with nothing.

"Who're you talking to?" Spike asked.

"I was talking to...nobody, it was just a dream. Or maybe it wasn't."

Not at all feeling like investing any of his time into delving this discussion further, the tired dragon practically commanded his eyes to stay shut until the sweet embrace of sleep enfolded him.