The Dragon of Coltonville.

The first day of school has always been sort of a sacred tradition for kids. A day which signifies both the end of blithesome fun and the dawning of the arduous twelve-year grind. When being made to depart the confines of their secure abodes and spending six and a half hours of every Monday through Friday within the imprisoning walls of school, children of all ages get to experience the process of simultaneously acquiring knowledge that may--or may not--serve them well after graduation and seeking out those who will become their friends from amongst their classmates.

Much like a transaction in a market, making friends is never a one-sided deal. Both kids must like one another, share some common interest, and generally enjoy each other's company. If at least one of those prerequisites isn't partially met, then neither kid will consider themselves to be friends. But with such a vast array of students within each class, each kid is practically bound to find themselves a companion or two (and some could even discover their soul mates).

Spike has always considered himself a self-proclaimed expert on friendship, but even he could never profess that he received the full school experience. Excluding his involvement in the School of Friendship, the foundling dragon never knew what it's like to be in a classroom with kids his age, to work on class projects, to ask a girl to a school dance, or even have to contend with bullies who would want to take his lunch money from him. Being Twilight's assistant provided him with a quality homeschool education that made it unnecessary for him to attend public school, even if it ultimately meant denying him a chance to be around kids his age. In addition to having to live in a strange new world for who knows how long, Spike is about to find himself partaking in a great deal of many things he'd never imagine himself doing.

And it all commenced when Sweetheart's mom had poked her head from the door and said to the waking dragon, "Time to get up, Spike. Don't want to be late on your first day."

The newly appointed royal advisor always imagined that the dawning of every morning would involve having to aid Twilight during her reign over Equestria, he never anticipated that there would be a day where he'd have to get up for school. When the girls presented their proposal of having their new dragon friend take turns living at each of their homes to their parents, they all couldn't decide on which was more shocking to them; the fact that their parents weren't at all hesitant to agree to their plan, or that the only stipulation they demanded was that Spike had to attend school.

Stretching out the torpor from his scaly arms, Spike let his body slide out of the cozy bed which was provided for him by his gracious hosts and trudged out of the now barren guest room. Despite his lethargic pace, the half-awoken dragon didn't require any amount of effort to make his way to the kitchen just as Mrs. Tender had finished placing his plate on his side of the table. Situating himself upon the chair, Spike took the opportunity to let his eyes scan over the ponies of whom he will be spending his first of many weeks in Ponyland.

Watching this scene of Mr. Tender sipping his morning coffee while reading his newspaper, Sweetheart's three baby sisters happily munching on their bowls of oatmeal while their mother wipes each of their faces, and Sweetheart herself finishing the last bits of buttered toast on her plate reminded Spike of the times he'd watch Twilight eating breakfast with her family back when he was still a baby. Even though the jaunty atmosphere felt a tad jaded by the dragon's sullen expression that was being surrounded by perpetual smiles, and it didn't take long for Sweetheart to take note of his current condition.

"Had a hard time sleeping?" The gentle filly offered her friend a glass of orange juice.

"Nah, I'm always like this when I wake up." After sipping some of the orange juice from his glass, Spike wasted no time in picking up his knife and fork to eat the warm waffle which had two blueberries for eyes, a large, pointed strawberry for a nose, and a curved line of syrup in the form of a smile. He had already cleaned his plate by the time Mrs. Tender was handing out his and Sweetheart's respective bookbags.

"I still don't see why I need to go to school," Spike took the opportunity to broach the subject on his enrollment. "I'm a royal advisor, so I'm practically already educated."

"That might be the case back on your world," Mrs. Tender brought the discussion to a swift end, "but as long as you're here, you gotta be in school."

Yes Mom, Spike kept his snide remark to himself. Before he could make his departure, he became halted by the sound of Sweethearts' baby sisters demanding his full attention. It was truly a miracle that Mrs. Tender had managed to bring forth three newborn foals into the world on the same day and still live, but it was even more surprising that she and her husband could maintain their household with three hyperactive babies that would break the weakest of parents. The triplets, Sugar, Peaches, and Cream Puff inherited the family genes of white coats along with the pink mane color of their big sister. All three of them were so identical in appearance that the only way anypony could distinguish each one is from the various fashion in how they wore their green bows. When the baby ponies got to finally meet their dragon guest for the first-time last night, they had taken an immediate liking to him which he himself returned to them; so it was abundantly clear to the dragon that he wasn't going to be permitted to exit this house until he paid the triplets' toll. After flying across from where the toddlers sat and allowing his scaly cheek to be planted with goodbye kisses, the little dragon joined with Sweetheart as they both commenced their trek to school.

...

The journey to school was not an arduous one for either Spike or Sweetheart, especially since one of them happens to be blessed with wing power. It might've been due to being around Pinkie Pie for so long, but Spike couldn't tolerate the silence any further and was practically starving for a conversation.

"Do you and the others always walk to school?" The dragon asked Sweetheart.

"Well, we did use to ride a school bus until the school stopped using it due to budget cuts," she recollected. "I even remember how we would all do the exact same thing on that bus: Teddy would fire a stone with his slingshot at Patch, then she would shoot spitballs at him, and we would all laugh our heads off."

"Do you miss riding the bus?"

"Not really. At first I assumed that having to actually walk to school would make things harder, but it really truly is a great way to give us exercise and arriving to school never even feels like an eternity. See, we've already made it." Right before his own eyes, Spike gazed upon Coltonville Middle School. The bricks that erected this school were as pink as Pinkie Pie, and the overall architectural design can be best described as a three if the middle point was sticking out of the back as opposed to the front. The entrance consisted of two stone steps and a small, rectangular, green door that only covered the lower section of the doorway, whereas the upper section was entirely exposed enough for Spike to simply fly through without having to open the door at all.

With Sweetheart guiding the way, Spike entered the classroom that the others are attending. Despite it being a middle school, Spike found the surroundings to be more reminiscent of the Ponyville Schoolhouse; what with the pink walls and student desks which were held up by golden letters of the alphabet for legs. The one thing the Ponyville Schoolhouse didn't have was a slide that served as an exit to the playground.

"Hey Spike, I saved ya a seat up front!" Patched hollered while removing her bookbag from said seat.

Upon situating himself on his reserved seat, Spike silently observed the other fillies and colts settling themselves into their proper places just before their teacher, Miss Hackney, made her entrance. The bespectacled proctor with her periwinkle coat and lavender mane fashioned in a style that's reminiscent of a powdered wig worn by a judge stood on her hind legs and clapped her hooves as a way of telling her students to cease their chattering.

"Good morning students," Miss Hackney made her announcement, "we'll be having a very busy schedule for today. But first, we shall take the opportunity to welcome our new student, Spike." After everypony properly greeted the exchange student, Miss Hackney said to the dragon, "Now Spike, I hope you have been enjoying your stay in Ponyland."

"I am," Spike assured, "of course I've been living amongst ponies throughout my entire life, so this place is really no different from Equestria."

"Since you've brought up the subject," said Miss Hackney, "could you tell us what ponies where you're from are like?"

"For starters, earth ponies are not the only ponies in Equestria; there are also unicorns who can perform magic and pegasi who can fly, walk on clouds, and control the weather." This description had elicited intrigued murmurs from the other students. "Also, ponies where I come from can't stand on their hind legs the way I see some of you do (in fact, a friend of mine, Lyra, would give anything to figure out how you ponies can pull it off), and they also have to grip pencils with their mouths rather than their hooves. Furthermore, ponies where I'm from look so much different compared to ponies here."

"How so?" Miss Hackney asked.

"For one thing, a mare or filly would have a round muzzle while a stallion or colt would have a squared muzzle, and each pony could either look thin, plump, scrawny, or muscular. Whereas ponies around here seem to have the same type of muzzle and the exact same body figure. Sometimes I have a hard time discerning between boy or girl ponies that I see."

"Well I'm certain that things will get easier for you the longer you stay." Miss Hackney reassured the lost dragon. "Now students, get out your notebooks as I go over the fundamentals of space travel."

With his notebook out and his pencil in his clutches, Spike took to jotting down notes as if Twilight was the one teaching him. The rest of the classes he attended were treated with the same diligence; whether it be math, history, science, art, theatre, music, literature, or P.E., Spike treated every subject exactly how Twilight would. By the time lunch had finally arrived, Spike was more than ready to treat himself to a well-deserved meal with his new friends, but he didn't count on other ponies getting out of their respective tables to surround him (mostly fillies who delighted in dotting over him as if he were a puppy). There were only two ponies who remained seated, and neither of them were all too pleased over the attention this dragon has been getting.

"Would you look at that, Teddy?" Ace shared his observation with the blue colt. "That dragon appears from out of nowhere and all the girls act like he's a superstar."

"I don't even see what's so special about him." Teddy shared his own opinion after sipping out of his milk carton. "He's not even that big for a dragon."

"Maybe, but the girls think he's special, and we can't have him taking the girls away from us."

...

Just about every student runs with the speed of light when it's time for recess. Allowing his body to be propelled by the force of the slide, Spike soared through the sky with the help of his wings which drew various oohs and aahs from the ponies. Landing back on the ground, Spike made his approach to the seven girls who were the first friends he has in Ponyland only to be stopped by a royal blue colt with a red mane who looked upon the dragon with a friendly smile.

"Hello, I'm Lancer. Would you like to play tether ball with me?"

"I've never really played that game before, but sure."

Accepting the nice colt's invitation, Spike followed Lancer to a pole which held a ball that was about the size of the little dragon attached to a long tether. "In this game, we simply hit this ball to one another, and whomever is the one to hit the ball until it's completely tied up is the winner." Lancer summed up the rules for the dragon's convenience. "You may fly a bit if it helps you."

Once Lancer delivered the first blow to the tether ball, he and Spike partook in a truly captivating match which drew the other students in to spectate. While half of the ponies cheered for Spike and the other half rooted for Lancer (with Bright Eyes being the only who couldn't decide whether to side with her friend or crush), the gentle colt smacked the ball with enough force to send it careening towards Spike in a way that it would've most definitely have harmed him had the dragon not flown out of the way, only for said ball to collide into Clover's head.

As everypony stopped to check on the injured filly, who was currently seeing stars fly above her head, everypony were drawn to the collective laughter of Teddy and Ace, who took ignominious glee over seeing Clover get hurt.

"Oh man, I guess you should've brought a helmet with you today! Ha ha ha!" Teddy insensitively made a wise crack at Clover's expense.

"This isn't funny Teddy!" Starlight chastised the colt for his lack of civility. "Clover could be seriously injured!"

"Don't sweat it Starlight," Ace shrugged off the pink filly's concern, "Clover's been through worse and always recovers afterwards. See look, she's already regaining her senses." Just as the gold coated colt said, Clover stood back on her hooves in a wobblily manner. "Besides, Teddy and I just came over to finally meet this new friend of yours." Ace and Teddy proceeded to turn their attention to the new student. "So you're the dragon everyone's making a big fuss over. I gotta say, you're even shorter up close than you are from a distance."

"And you are?" Spike inquired.

"Ace is my name, and the one with the shades is Teddy."

Lifting up his sunglasses, Teddy took a good gander at the medal that hung around Spike's neck. "That's quite a shiny medal you have on. You must think you're better than us when you're wearing that thing."

"This was given to me by the newly appointed Princess of Equestria when she made me her royal advisor." Spike explained. "And I wear it with great pride."

"Then I imagine you'd probably be ticked off if someone were to take it!"

Without warning, Teddy swiped the medal off of Spike's neck and proceeded to run off with it in glee while tossing it from one hoof to the other. "Give that medal back to him, Teddy!" Patch shouted.

"If he wants it back, then he should come and take it from me!"

Extending the medal out with his hoof as if he were dangling a worm on a hook, Teddy patiently waited for Spike to take the bait. Using the full power of his wings, Spike flew towards the teasing colt only for him to immediately toss it to Ace, who proceeded to toss it back to Teddy the moment Spike got too close to him. The two punks kept up this game of keep away until Spike became so irked that he spit out a ball of green fire at Ace's pristinely yellow mane.

Screaming in utter panic, Ace let the medal slip from his grasp as he proceeded to roughly rub his mane against the grass until the fire was put out, only to let out a shriek as he saw his once flowing mane be burned down to a black mess in the reflection of a nearby window. "My mane is ruined!"

"That's what you get for taking something that isn't yours." Spike retorted as he returned his medal to its rightful place.

"Why you lousy lizard!" Ace yelled back. "If I had a magic notebook, I'd totally write your name in it!"

"Whatever Goldilocks." Spike dismissed Ace's threat.

In spite of what transpired, Teddy couldn't stop himself from laughing at Spike's insult. "He called you Goldilocks! I bet you probably wish you still had some of your gold locks right now! Ha ha ha!"

"Shut up Teddy!" Ace could do nothing but sulkily return to the school along with his classmates, while Teddy continued to guffaw at his expense.

...

Upon returning from school, Spike went about the rest of the day getting to have dinner with Sweetheart's family, play games with Sweetheart's sisters, and even discover Sweetheart's hidden talent for drawing. When night had finally arrived, Spike gazed forlornly upon the moon just thinking about how much he still misses Twilight. With nothing better to do, Spike took out a sheet of paper and pencil hidden inside a drawer as he began to write a letter to her.

Dear Twilight,

I hope this letter reaches you when I encase it with my fire breath. I just want you to know that I am OK; I have been sent to another world that's ruled by ponies, and everypony has been extremely friendly towards me, and I even met seven ponies who remind me a lot of you and the girls. These ponies are unlike any pony in Equestria; they walk on their hind legs and don't move as smoothly as we do. Furthermore, they are all earth ponies without a single unicorn or pegasus in sight, so there's a fair chance that I won't be able to find any magic to help send me back to Equestria. I hope you can find a way to bring me back, but I understand if you'll have too much time ruling over Equestria to focus on rescuing me, and I won't hold you a grudge if you have to get a new royal advisor. But if there's anypony who could find a way to bring me back, it's you.

Love, Spike.

Opening the window, Spike positioned his letter up to the sky and let it go ablaze with his dragon fire, hoping beyond all hope that its magic can deliver it to Equestria. Upon closing the window, Sweetheart's mom had entered the guest room. "Spike, it's time for bed." Doing as she said, the obedient dragon crawled into the covers of the guest bed as Sweetheart's mom went about tucking him in and planting a motherly kiss upon his forehead. "Sleep tight, Spike." Once he was left alone, Spike could do nothing but drift off into sleep, while hoping that the time that he has to spend in Ponyland won't be for too long.