If anypony were to ask her, Twilight Sparkle would say that the best thing that ever happened to her was when Princess Celestia offered her the chance to be her personal protégé. Learning magic from Princess Celestia is an opportunity only a very few have experienced. And of course, let’s not forget the hatching of Spike, the dragon, which made that day even better, though initially, she wasn’t too fond of him. Princess Celestia expected her to take part in raising him. Of course, Princess Celestia, Princess Cadance, and Twilight’s family all helped, but it was still challenging with all the studying she had to—and wanted to—do. Looking back, though, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Then there are her friends, who also taught her a lot. It’s magic, but a new kind of it—a very special one. Sometimes she wished she could go back in time and explore friendship before she was sent to Ponyville. But there was no safe way to do it, and Princess Celestia had told her many times to avoid tampering with time. Besides, those spells were very advanced, perhaps too much for her—at least for now. And she was happy to be experiencing this wonder now.

And just when she thought her life couldn’t get any better, along came Lazlo, a human from another world. He brought with him a wealth of new knowledge, and even though he couldn’t explain everything to her, as his own knowledge was limited, it still painted a picture of a completely different life. Many things he spoke of sounded so alien, yet there were fewer differences between them than she expected. Having him as a close friend made everything even better. She enjoyed his company immensely and was glad that he could at least partially come to terms with the fact that he would have to live the rest of his life here as the only one of his species. That meant their sessions, which were supposed to be about exchanging knowledge, continued, even if they were never much of an exchange but rather an interrogation of him. And yet, he rarely complained about it.

“Well, I don’t know the exact way they calculated it,” he spoke as they were in the middle of another one of these sessions. Ever since he did that presentation in front of hundreds of students, teachers, and other ponies who wished to hear him, some new details were revealed about topics he had talked about earlier, and now she was onto him to get more data. “Humans can already do nuclear fusion, which is basically how our Sun works. We measure the energy output and the generated heat and make a guess based on the size of the Sun.”

“But how did you find out how your Sun works?” she asked.

“I guess when they discovered nuclear fusion and learned about how it works, they found the similarities between it and the Sun. But I don’t know for certain,” he said, much to her disappointment.

This was one thing that greatly annoyed her during the first few times he was talking about his world’s technology. It was hard to hide her frustration, and she wasn’t certain if he didn’t notice or just pretended, maybe ignored it. Eventually, she realized that her expectations were impossible. Even she needed books most of the time when something needed to be viewed or explained in detail. The moment she made peace with this fact, these sessions became even better.

“Hey, Twilight!” Spike’s yell interrupted them. The little dragon was on the stairs with a large, heart-shaped ruby in his claws. “The Fire Ruby is finally perfect! I’ve been shaping it since I got it, and it’s finally reached the form I wanted!” he explained proudly. “The perfect snack for my birthday!”

“You want to eat that whole thing?” Lazlo asked, his voice surprised, with a small hint of outrage too. Spike nodded in response. “But doesn’t that thing grow on its own? Wouldn’t it be better to eat only the grown part and have basically an infinite snack?” he questioned next.

“I licked it when I got it, and the core part was the most delicious thing I ever tasted! It was so hard not to eat it already, but I won’t wait any longer,” Spike explained while giving the ruby a few licks.

“Is that a Fire Ruby?” the question came from Rarity, who had just entered the library. The new arrival immediately noticed the special gem in the little dragon’s claws. Spike nodded and held the gem high. “It looks perfect!”

“And delicious,” Spike added, taking another taste test of the gem.

“Hello, Rarity. Can I help you with something?” Twilight asked, but was ignored as Rarity drooled over the Fire Ruby and Spike explained his plans for the gem to her as well. “Rarity?” Twilight tried again, this time with success.

“Oh, yes. I’d like a book on historical fashion. And hello to you too, Lazlo,” she finally acknowledged the others in the library but quickly returned her attention to the Fire Ruby. Twilight sighed and went to look for a book that would fit her request.

“I guess we finish a little early,” Lazlo said to her.

“Yes, but next time we will make up for this loss. And don’t forget about Spike’s birthday party,” Twilight said as she handed the book to Rarity, who thanked her but still couldn’t take her eyes off the gem.

“You really like it, don’t you, Rarity?” Spike asked, and Rarity nodded. “Then you should have it.” He placed the gem on her hoof. This action surprised everypony in the room.

“I don’t know what to say… this is so thoughtful,” Rarity spoke, then started to hop around the room in excitement. Spike looked a little unsure about his decision, but Rarity stopped next to him. “Oh, my little Spikey-wikey!” she exclaimed and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you so much!” Then she hopped out of the library.

“Wow, Spike, that’s one of the kindest, most generous things you’ve ever done. I’ve never seen Rarity so happy!” Twilight said.

“I can only agree,” Lazlo also spoke and gave an approving nod. “Anyway, I think I’m going now, see you.”

“Bye, don’t forget the birthday party!”

Twilight watched her Number One Assistant with a somewhat sad smile. She was happy for him; the joy on his face when he received that mountain of presents was something she would remember forever. The hint of sadness stemmed from her past when he only received about three presents for his birthday—one from her, one from her family, and one from Princess Celestia. He had been almost always with her since he hatched, but as she became more reclusive, focusing only on her studies, it meant that not only did she not make friends, but neither did Spike—not in the way he did with her friends now.

Nowadays, she wished she had discovered the wonder of friendship earlier, not only for herself but also for Spike’s sake. Spike was always open and ready to make friends with others. She was glad that he could make some in Ponyville, but this also meant that in the past, it was she who had taken away this chance from him. But now, it seemed like everything was on the right path, and she couldn’t be happier about it.

As the party continued, Pinkie sent Spike to Sugarcube Corner for a surprise that awaited him there. Knowing Pinkie and the Cakes, who prepared the surprise, it was likely to be some kind of cake, possibly with some gemstones.

However, quite some time had passed, and he still hadn’t come back. She told the others that she would go and look for him. She didn’t have to search long. On her way to Sugarcube Corner, she noticed him with a hat on his head and his tail wrapped around a ball, harassing a mare to give him something for his birthday. With a mix of anger and disappointment, she quickly ran there, stood between them, apologized to the mare for Spike’s behavior, and then lectured him on how wrong his actions were. After that, thinking the matter resolved, they went back to the library.

The next morning, she was greeted by a pile of random items next to her bed, heaped upon Spike’s basket. She angrily moved the stuff away with her magic, ready to scold Spike, but when she saw him, she was immediately silenced.

Spike, the little baby dragon, had seemingly grown to twice his size overnight.

“What happened?” he asked as he woke up.

But Twilight didn’t answer; she only looked very worried. Then, without saying a word, she rushed downstairs and started looking through books. Meanwhile, Spike, noticing that something was wrong, examined himself.

“What’s happening to me, Twilight?” he asked as he continued to look at his elongated body.

“I don’t know!” Twilight exclaimed, flipping through multiple books. “Think back to last night! Did something happen?” she asked, desperately trying to find an answer.

But when the dragon didn’t respond, she looked at him, and he was looking around, not paying attention.

“Spike! What did you do last night?” she asked again, this time focusing on him.

“Well, I—” Spike started speaking but quickly got distracted as he walked up to a globe and began playing with it.

Twilight, now starting to get frustrated, lifted the globe with her magic.

“Spike! What did you do?” she asked for the third time.

“I don’t remember,” was Spike’s answer. “Hey! Can I have that globe? You’re not using it, right?” he then asked, but didn’t wait for an answer. He just grabbed it and went back to his bed, where there was still a lot of stuff. He then tried to take a book too, but Twilight interrupted him.

“Spike! I’m starting to get worried about you. You aren’t usually this grabby,” she said as she took away the book, but Spike easily took it back with his lengthened arms.

“My arms aren’t usually this long either,” Spike retorted, but by the end of the sentence, his voice suddenly deepened. This caught both of them off guard. “What’s happening to me?” he asked.

Twilight didn’t know the answer. She pondered what to do and eventually decided to take Spike to the doctor, hoping that would at least give them an idea of what could’ve happened to Spike.

It didn’t take long to get to the hospital, and fortunately, there weren’t many ponies there, so they didn’t have to wait long for ambulatory care. They had barely waited a minute in the examination room when a doctor entered.

The doctor was a light brown earth pony with an orange mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a stethoscope and a first aid kit.

“Well now, what seems to be the problem?” he asked.

“This is Spike,” Twilight began, swatting Spike’s claws away whenever he tried to reach for anything he could take. “And something’s wrong with him. He used to be half this size, and he keeps trying to take things that aren’t his.”

After examining him for a few minutes and narrowly avoiding his fire breath, the doctor spoke again.

“I believe I know what’s wrong with him.” Twilight was so relieved to hear that. “He’s a dragon.”

“That’s not the problem! He’s always been a dragon!” Twilight retorted, her hope quickly turning to annoyance. She couldn’t believe that this doctor hadn’t seen Spike before, especially since it wasn’t their first time at the hospital.

“Oh, well, I don’t know anything about dragons. I know about ponies. Maybe you should try a vet,” he suggested. Twilight didn’t like this initially, as it felt degrading to Spike, but desperation took precedence, so she decided to take Spike to the local vet. She grabbed Spike and began pulling him out, trying to make him drop the bowl of lollipops he had grabbed while she wasn’t paying attention, but Spike wouldn’t let go of his new treasure. She sighed and continued to drag him.

However, the vet couldn’t help either. Dr. Fauna didn’t know anything about dragons. It wasn’t a surprise since barely anypony knew anything about dragons, but since dragons weren’t animals in the same way as dogs, she couldn’t offer any pointers either.

While Twilight understood this, she was still disappointed that she wasn’t any closer to an explanation for Spike’s sudden growth and change in behavior. She looked at the dragon beside her, seeing him looking around and hugging the bowl of lollipops and dog treats he had grabbed from the doctor and vet, protecting it from anypony who might try to take it from him.

“Maybe Princess Celestia could help,” she thought aloud. “Spike, take a letter,” she said, but Spike didn’t react. She then conjured a parchment and a quill with ink, but Spike just took them and stuffed them into the bowl with the other items.

Twilight groaned and then conjured up another set and wrote the letter herself. She kept it in her magic as she held the letter in front of Spike.

“Please, just send it to the princess,” she begged, and could barely move it away when Spike tried to grab it. Her patience was running out. “I’m sorry, Spike,” she said as her magic enveloped Spike, who started to fight against it and let out a loud growl. She wanted to put pressure on his chest, but in his struggle, he blew fire before she could do that. She quickly moved the letter into the fire, but instead of seeing the letter disappear, it caught on fire and burned in seconds. “This is not good.”

Now her worry started to turn into desperation and panic. Before her stood Spike, the dragon. Her magic had hatched his egg, and he was basically her little brother. And now he was acting strange, had grown to three times his size in less than a day, and she couldn’t get help. The doctors couldn’t help, and she couldn’t send a message to the princess. She thought about what other options she might have.

She could try asking Zecora. That zebra had much knowledge, but since Farasi, the country where Zecora is from, is on another continent, and the Dragon Lands are basically a neighbor to Equestria. Then again, there might be dragons living there too. The other option that came to her mind was to ask Lazlo. While in his world there were only humans, he claimed that there are many different kinds of dragons from mythologies and fictions, and even if it wouldn’t provide a solution, it might give her some pointers about this problem.

Since both options were worth a try, she started dragging Spike to Lazlo’s home. Since he lived closer, it made sense to visit him first, and since it wasn’t a big detour if she’d visit Zecora, it wouldn’t be as big of a time loss if he couldn’t help.

It didn’t take long to arrive at the human’s house. Though it was starting to be taxing to get Spike moving, after that, he was following her, so at least she didn’t need to continuously drag him.

“Hey Twil— What in the holy fuck?!” Lazlo tried to greet her, but Spike immediately pushed him aside as he entered the house. “Spike?” he looked toward the dragon that began to rummage through his living room, grabbing anything that was smaller than himself.

“Lazlo! I need your help!” Twilight said, choosing to ignore the profanity this time. “Can we—well, may I come in?” Lazlo just nodded, and she immediately went to stop Spike and make him stay put. It took some time, but finally, he calmed down and was sitting on the couch, though occasionally trying to get up or reach for anything that caught his eye.

“What in the world is going on, Twilight?” Lazlo asked, constantly glancing at Spike with worry and a hint of fear. Twilight quickly summarized the situation. “And how could I help with this?” he asked.

“Well, you told me that there are many myths and legends, and tales about dragons from your world. Maybe based on those, we could find some kind of pointer to what’s happening to Spike. Please! I’m really worried about him!” she spoke very quickly, and her eyes became watery.

“Okay, um… let’s see. From what you’ve told me about dragons here, they are most similar to European or Western dragons, though Spike has no wings.”

“Yes, the princess said that every dragon has wings, so it’s possible that they just start growing at a certain age, or since Spike’s egg didn’t hatch for a long time and his hatching was special, it’s possible that he won’t have wings at all,” Twilight explained, but then realized that this only took time that Lazlo could spend on discussing the issue.

“Anyway, these dragons are often described as either non-sentient beasts or intelligent creatures. They’re often viewed as evil and greedy, living in a huge cave with a big hoard that usually consists of gold or other shiny things, like gems. Or guarding a castle, holding a princess hostage—those are more like the fairy tale stuff. But the point is, they often hoard treasures. Maybe something like that is going on with Spike. You said that he takes everything he can, and I already see some of my stuff in his claws. Maybe some kind of hoarding instinct or something has awakened in him. It’s possible that it comes with age. I know even less about the dragons here.”

While it was informative and interesting for Twilight, and she made a mental note to have a session about all the human’s knowledge about dragons, what he told her could somewhat apply to Spike, so it was a possible explanation, but some things were missing.

“And do they grow big in less than a day?” she asked, and the human shook his head. “And how do humans tame them, or reform them?” At that, Lazlo motioned for her to lean closer.

“Humans have a… different approach to the dragon problem,” he whispered.

It took her a few seconds, but Twilight realized what he meant by that. Her blood ran cold, and she shook her head vehemently.

“No! That will not happen! I won’t let anypony hurt Spike!” she stated with confidence. This agitated the dragon a little, and he began to go around again, collecting more things.

“Hey! Don’t take my stu—” Lazlo yelled at the dragon, but Spike looked at him and growled, and that scared the man into silence.

“I’m starting to run out of options,” she admitted to the human, while using her magic to contain Spike, who started fighting against it. Twilight was still stronger, though, but she knew that she was running out of time. “The only one I can think of asking is Zecora. I need to take Spike to her now.” She got up and started pushing Spike toward the exit.

“Want me to go with you?” Lazlo asked, though she could hear in his voice that he wasn’t confident. Still, it was a sweet offer, and it made her smile.

“I would be glad for a friend’s company,” she told him, accepting the offer. She knew he was unsure about Spike right now, and probably worried for his own safety more, but he still offered, and she was genuinely happy that she didn’t have to deal with this alone. Of course, she could’ve asked any other of her friends, but right now, time was of the essence.

Lazlo quickly dressed up; it was winter, after all, and snow was expected to arrive in three days, according to the weather schedule, but it was already cold outside.

They didn’t talk much, as Twilight mostly watched Spike, who eventually calmed down and began walking with them on his own, but she had to be ready in case he started acting up again.

At Zecora’s hut, the zebra was examining Spike, who wasn’t exactly pleased about it but remained in place.

“Ooh, he is starting to mature. Of this fact, I am quite sure,” Zecora said, finishing up her examination.

“Mature? So he’s just… growing up?” Twilight asked. “But that doesn’t explain why he keeps grabbing things,” she observed as the dragon was again trying to take anything within his reach.

“A dragon’s heart is prone to greed, a steady diet to make growth speed. Then, the resulting bigger size only makes their hunger rise. If this trait should go unchecked, if Spike continues to collect, more growth will certainly occur—he is going to turn into a monster,” the zebra continued her explanation.

“So greed makes him bigger and stronger, which enables him to take more things, basically making him more greedy and so on?” Lazlo asked. “Fucking hell…” he shook his head.

“Greed will also make his mind lose any sentience it can find. A creature of instinct he becomes when to greed he fully succumbs,” Zecora added.

“But how do we stop him?” Twilight asked, becoming increasingly restless as she still hadn’t received an answer to her most important questions. “And can we turn him back?”

“If his monstrous ways you wish to impede, you must prevent him from practicing greed,” Zecora finally provided the answer she was waiting for.

However, Spike had already left with most of the items in Zecora’s hut. Twilight apologized, then she and Lazlo both began to run back to Ponyville. They didn’t talk again since they needed their breath for running, especially the man, who was already panting shortly after they left the zebra.

Spike had grown even larger, which at least made him easier to spot. He was trying to take Scootaloo’s scooter. She reacted quickly, grabbing a random broom that a pony probably left there when rushing into their house to hide. She managed to grab Spike’s attention, but now she had to run away from him.

Twilight returned to the library and threw an object into one of the rooms to lure Spike inside. She quickly closed the door behind him. She heard noises that didn’t sound good and risked a peek, only to see every book and item piled up in the middle of the room. She groaned and used her magic to remove all the items from the room, then closed the door again. This time, Spike tried to get out, likely wanting to reclaim his new ‘treasures,’ all the while yelling, “Spike want!” Twilight couldn’t hold the door for long as the dragon broke through, grabbed what he could, and left the library.

She ran outside, only to see Spike disappearing between houses, and Lazlo just arriving, clearly out of breath. This was bad. How could she stop him now? She was becoming increasingly worried. She needed help. Ideas and calculations on which would be the best option rushed through her mind. She finally turned to Lazlo.

“Lazlo, you need to find Rainbow Dash! Tell her to fly to Canterlot immediately and alert Princess Celestia! I hope she can come and help. I’ll find the others and try to keep Spike from getting bigger and greedier,” she said, and the man ran off.

Now she just needed to gather the others and hope that together they could come up with something, or that Princess Celestia would be able to help. She ran as fast as she could, gathering Applejack, who was angry at the dragon for taking the apples and even the leaves from many of her trees; Fluttershy, who was terrified and had hidden in a tree next to her house; and Pinkie, who was also upset with Spike for taking the cakes. However, they couldn’t reach Rarity; when they arrived at her boutique, they saw Spike grabbing her from the window, then wrapping his tail around her, holding her hostage.

They tried to stop him as he ran through the town. Applejack attempted to lasso him, but Spike was much stronger, and he ended up dragging her around until she had to let go of the rope. Fluttershy tried talking to him, but he mostly just ignored her until he began to look annoyed, and that’s when Fluttershy didn’t dare to continue. Pinkie threw random objects at him, but they didn’t even faze him. Twilight tried her magic again, but it was no use.

The dragon, however, seemed to be annoyed enough to stop expanding his hoard and walked out of the town to a nearby mountain, beginning to climb it. Meanwhile, Lazlo joined them.

For Twilight, it appeared that the only hope was that Princess Celestia could stop Spike. She just hoped that she would arrive soon. She also hoped that there was still enough of Spike left in there so he wouldn’t hurt Rarity.

That’s when they noticed Rainbow Dash flying toward Spike with some royal guard pegasi. Comparing their sizes, it was more like a group of flies buzzing around a pony. They didn’t hurt him; they mostly just distracted him while Rainbow seemingly tried to free Rarity. Spike quickly threw his hoard into a cave and stood in front of it, protecting it from anypony who’d try to get in.

“Twilight Sparkle!” Princess Celestia’s voice was heard behind them, and they all bowed at the sight of the princess. “Tell me what happened.”

So she did. She told the princess everything from the moment she woke up seeing Spike twice his size until now. She also mentioned the incident yesterday when she noticed him demanding gifts from random ponies.

“Please tell me you can stop him and turn him back!” she pleaded, tears forming in her eyes. “I can’t lose him!”

“I have a spell for keeping him still, not allowing any movement, but to cast a spell this powerful and long-lasting, it will take some time to prepare,” the princess said. “I hope with this spell, we can turn him back.”

The princess’s horn began to glow as she started the spell. Meanwhile, Spike knocked out a few royal guards who had to retreat with Rainbow Dash to catch the falling ones and tend to them. But now, Spike seemed to focus on Rarity, who was still his hostage.

But then something unexpected happened. Suddenly, the large dragon disappeared, replaced by the sight of a falling little dragon and a white unicorn. Their yelling caught the attention of the pegasi, and the unharmed ones were in the air again. Two royal guards caught Rarity, while Spike landed in Rainbow’s hooves.

Soon they were both on the ground, unharmed. Twilight ran up to her number one assistant and hugged him, tears still falling from her eyes.

“I was so worried! I’m so glad you’re okay!” she said, giving him nuzzles too.

“I’m sorry,” Spike returned the hug.

“Spike, I’m very proud of you,” Rarity said as she replaced Twilight, hugging the little dragon. “It was you who stopped… well, you in the end.” She gave him another kiss on the cheek.

“I am glad to see you alright too, Spike,” Princess Celestia approached them. Seeing her, Spike kept his head down, while Rarity and Twilight backed away.

“I’m sorry, princess. I don’t—” but the princess raised a hoof, and that made Spike stop mid-sentence.

“Spike, I’m not angry at you when I blame myself for what happened today,” the princess spoke, surprising everypony. “I should have done more to learn about dragons. Sadly, whenever I sent ponies, or even went myself, to speak with the Dragon Lord or any other dragons, they either didn’t welcome me or asked for things that are impossible to get. For example, one dragon asked for so many Fire Rubies and other special gemstones that I don’t believe there is that amount on the whole planet. And I didn’t dare to let them know there is a dragon hatchling with us because I was afraid of what they might do if they learned about it. They might’ve come here and hurt my little ponies,” the princess also held her head down. “But that is still no excuse, as it seems there are other ways to learn. I have reached out to other nations too, but didn’t get anything, but it seems that zebras know some things after all.”

“Then why didn’t they tell you?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know, and I will ask them, but now, I’ll first give a speech to the citizens here, let them know what happened and ask them not to see you in a different light. Then I need to return to Canterlot and send ponies to help with repairs and retrieve all of the items from that cave,” the guards, meanwhile, all walked up to the princess, standing ready. “I’ll stop by the library before leaving, I believe there will be a letter waiting for me. And I believe I still owe you a birthday present. And let’s not forget about the one from your family either, but I’m trusting you to be careful from now on,” the princess smiled and walked away.

Spike apologized to everypony who was there and then went back to the library. Along the way, some ponies stopped them to ask what had happened, as they all hid in their houses when the giant dragon was rampaging. They told those ponies that it was Spike and explained what happened briefly and let them know about the princess’s speech. Spike also apologized, and Ponyville upheld its reputation because most of those ponies forgave him.

Twilight herself was just happy that it was over. It was one of the most horrible days she ever had, and she hoped that there wouldn’t be any incident like this in the future. She also trusted that the princess would be able to gain some knowledge about dragons this time. She understood that dragons were hard to learn about because of their behavior towards ponies, but as Lazlo once said, the ‘Rule of large numbers’ dictated that there would be one dragon, or any other creature, that would tell them more about dragons. And they would be able to learn everything about them.

And who knows, maybe there will be a way in the future to befriend some.

Author's Note

Finally. Barely had time nowadays... Focusing on multiple projects at work, plus family gatherings, so not many free weekends either...

Anyway, I'm happy to finally give you this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed it. Next is Hearth's Warming and I can't wait to share it with you. I have some idea's for it.