Things in Equestria seemed to have changed for the better recently. Princess Twilight Sparkle opened up her own School Of Friendship which not only taught ponies more about friendship, but all sorts of creatures including griffons, dragons, hippogriffs, changelings and yaks. And because of that, these kind of creatures were more welcome in Equestria. You had never seen more of them regularly as you do now. Some creatures that weren't originally from their town even dropped by the likes of Canterlot or Manehattan to get a job and make a living, and they were more than welcome in their town.
Princess Celestia was sitting on her throne in the Canterlot Castle, until she heard her doors opening. Through the doors came a green dragon with blue scales.
"Oh, Sludge!" Celestia beamed, recognizing the dragon.
"Okay, your highness." Sludge spoke. "Your windows have been cleaned. And seeing how that's the end of this week, I believe I get my pay?"
"Oh, but of course." Celestia nodded. She levitated a brown bag towards Sludge as he took it. "Here's twenty bits!"
Sludge looked disappointed. "...Only twenty? I mean...this is all I get for cleaning your windows for a week?"
"But...you haven't been cleaning all my windows. You've just been cleaning my stained glass ones." Celestia spoke.
"But for a week, right?" Sludge stood up. "Don't you think I expect a little more? I mean...I mean, uh..." Sludge tried to think. "I clean so much, I lose track of how many you got!"
"...It's just these up here." Celestia pointed to the stained glass windows through her hall.
"Don't worry, Sludge." Celestia told the dragon. "If you could pitch in and help other ponies cleaning around here, you'll get more bits."
Sludge grumbled to himself, but turned back to Celestia, forcing a grin. "You know, I think I'm gonna take a little vacation, do a little exploring! After all, a dragon has gotta know what the rest of Equestria is like, right?"
Celestia was confused. "...I...guess...?"
"Cool!" Sludge grinned. "I'll be back...when I feel like it!" With that, Sludge sped out the castle doors.
Celestia scratched her chin as Sludge was gone. She always felt there was something suspicious about that dragon. Especially on his attitude.
For what seemed like an hour, Sludge was bitterly flying through the clouds.
"I can't believe that pony princess only paid me twenty bits!" Sludge growled to himself. "After all that hard work I did, cleaning her stupid, stained glass windows! This is not the way a dragon like me should be treated! I deserve more! More I tell ya!"
Suddenly, he felt something bright sting his eye. "Ugh, Jeepers! That sun is bright!" Sludge looked up at the sun, which he realized he was too close to. He tried to fly away, but the rays of the sun was still in his eyes.
"Ergh! Gah! Whoa-whoa-whoo-HA-HOO-HOO-HOO!!!!" Without warning, Sludge couldn't see where he was going, as started falling through the sky! He began plummeting to the ground, hitting it in a fiery crash!
Sludge was in pain from the huge drop to the ground, making a steep hole in the surface. He struggled to get himself out, and he heard a voice.
"Okay, now I really owe you for the lesson."
Sludge finally pulled himself out and saw two dragons staring at him. One was orange and had yellow scales and the other was purple with green scales.
A Couple Days Later...
Princess Celestia was in her throne room, signing some papers, as she did any other late afternoon. Suddenly, she was caught off guard when her doors burst open.
"Guess who's ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ack?" Sludge spoke in a tremendous voice.
Celestia was surprised. "Sludge?" She asked. "I haven't heard from you in almost a week! Where were you?"
"Oh, I am so sorry, your highness. I guess I got side-tracked on things." Sludge bowed. "Tell you what, I'll go get something to eat, and tell you about it later? My treat!" Sludge then turned to leave. "Toodles!"
As Sludge exited, Celestia sighed to herself. "How can it be his treat when he's getting it for himself?"
Celestia than heard a couple knocks at her door. "Oh, now what does he want?" She muttered as she turned around. But to her surprise, Spike was peaking through her door. A grin formed on Celestia's face as she ran to the little dragon.
"Oh, it's you, Spike!" Celestia smiled.
"Reporting for Royal Business!" Spike saluted.
"Aww," Celestia chuckled as she pulled Spike in for a hug. "It's so wonderful to see you again. How are your wings doing?"
Spike's dragon wings fluttered with excitement. "I'm getting the hang of it more and more every day!"
"Now, that's what I like to hear!" Celestia raised one of her wings up, and Spike reached over and gave a wing-five to her.
"So, how else have things been for you?" Celestia asked.
Spike was about to talk again, but suddenly remembered something and looked down. "...Things have been okay, I guess."
Celestia quickly took notice of Spike's sudden glum expression. "Spike?...Spike, what's wrong?"
Spike sighed and looked up to the concerned princess who sat next to him. "Well...recently, I met another dragon who came to Ponyville and...he said he was my dad."
Celestia gasped. "Your father?"
"Yeah," Spike sat down. "...The thing is, he...he wasn't really my dad. He only pretended that so he could live in Twilight's castle. What's even worse is that he started to make me doubt Twilight as my family."
Celestia was shocked by this as she put a hoof on Spike's shoulder. "Oh, Spike..."
"I'm doing better than I was before, but it's still taking time." Spike spoke.
"Would a hug still help?" Celestia put both her hooves on Spike's shoulders.
"It would." With that, Celestia pulled Spike into a warm and loving hug as Spike nuzzled himself in Celestia's soft and cozy fur. After a few moments, Spike looked up at Celestia. "I just hope Twilight isn't still mad at me."
"Now, Spike." Celestia spoke in a motherly voice. "Twilight forgave you for what you said, didn't she?"
"Well, yeah, she did." Spike said. "But what if-?"
"Everything is alright, Spike." Celestia pulled Spike's chin up. "I promise you."
Spike smiled as he continued to nuzzle himself in Celestia's chest.
"But I will say," Celestia said, while stroking Spike's scales. "That dragon had quite a nerve to come in and take advantage of you like that. I would've given him a piece of my mind if I could."
"I still think I should've known better," Spike looked down. "I mean, how could I trust a dragon who's name is Sludge?"
Celestia paused upon hearing those words. "...What?"
"The dragon I met," Spike looked back up. "His name was Sludge. He even stole my pillow before he left."
Celestia couldn't believe what she heard. The dragon who was cleaning her stained glass windows, thought it was alright to take advantage of the little dragon she would consider a part of her family? Something inside her began to fill with fiery rage.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Spike asked.
Celestia stopped and looked back down to Spike. "Oh, excuse me, Spike." Celestia got up. "I need to take care of something quickly. I'll be back soon." Celestia then exited the throne room, leaving a confused Spike.
Back in the streets of Canterlot, a stallion was eyeing a jar full of gumdrops in a candy store. The jar had a sticker on it that said, Guess the correct number of gumdrops and win a free ice cream!.
"Ah, after days of calculation, I've come to the conclusion that there 3,555 gumdrops in that jar!" The stallion spoke looking at a paper of his. And then without warning, he caught notice of Sludge in front of him.
"Hey buddy!" Sludge said. "Look over there!"
The pony turned around and Sludge quickly swiped the paper in front of him. As the stallion was still looking Sludge ran inside the candy store. Seconds later, he came out with a huge ice cream cone.
"Wow, that sure looks tasty! I bet I could get something like that for free! Wish me luck!" The stallion spoke as he was about to go inside the candy store.
Sludge snickered to himself. "Chump." All of a sudden, he bumped into something. He looked up and saw Celestia giving him a sharp glare.
"Tell me something, Sludge." Celestia started. "Does the name, Spike, come to your mind, by any chance?"
Sludge was silent when hearing that name. "Uh..." He quickly threw his ice cream cone at the stallion. "He did it!"
Sludge then made a break for it in the alley and quickly jumped into a dumpster.
"Okay...okay..." He panted. "...I think I'm safe."
"Don't get your hopes high."
Sludge suddenly felt himself being lifted in the air by magic as Celestia gave him a cold, icy stare in his eyes.
"No-no-no! Let me go! Let me go, please!" Sludge hysterically begged. "Please, I'm beggin' ya! I'll do anything, just name it!"
Celestia narrowed his eyes at Sludge. "Give me...the pillow."
Sludge paused and raised an eyebrow. "Wait...you mean this?" Sludge pulled the pillow from behind his back. "You chased me down for this?" He threw the pillow on the ground. "That's why you gave me a heart attack? To give that stupid kid his pillow back?!"
Celestia's eyes widened as the sound of shattered glass filled the air.
Meanwhile, not too far from the alley, a pony removed his head from a glass window, turning to his friend. "Ha! I knew my head could break glass!"
"That window cost me more than 30 bits." His friend stubbornly said.
Celestia's yellow aura turned to fiery red as she kept her glare on Sludge as the ground trembled.
"This is gonna leave a mark!" Sludge quickly said as he was shot in the air by Celestia's magic, out of Canterlot and out of sight.
"You're fired, by the way." Celestia smugly spoke as she walked away.
When Celestia returned to the castle, she told everything that happend with Spike and Sludge to her sister Luna, who happened to be Spike's night buddy and dragon sitter. Right now, the royal sisters were both at the Canterlot balcony.
"How could a dragon like him do such a thing?" Luna asked in shock and anger. "Would it be best for me to find this 'Sludge' and give him a well-deserved nightmare?"
"Now, now, Luna." Celestia told her sister. "I had everything taken care of. You go wait for Spike, I'll send him in soon."
Luna smiled, having the dragon curl up next to her when sleeping was always an adorable sight to her. She nodded to Celestia and walked away.
Celestia herself exited the balcony and noticed Spike walking around as he let out a yawn.
"Feeling tired, sweetie?" Celestia asked.
"A little." Spike drowsily answered.
"Well, I found a little something to help you sleep better." Celestia than levitated his pillow in front of him.
Spike examined the pillow and recognized it. "Hey...this is my pillow! The one from Twilight's castle! Where'd you find it?"
"Well, let's just say I found it next to a pile of garbage. But I made sure it was all clean by the time I returned it to you." Celestia spoke.
Spike happily ran up and hugged Celestia's leg. "Thanks, Celestia!" Spike then quickly put the pillow on his suitcase.
"Um, Spike?" Celestia asked. "Why aren't you taking that with Luna?"
"Well, it's comfy at home," Spike said. "But here, you and Luna are more of that."
Celestia warmly blushed upon that, but then a playful look appeared on her face. "But which one of us is more comfy?"
Spike's eyes widened as he looked down sheepishly. "I...well, I...uh..."
Celestia grinned as she picked up Spike, making him giggle. "I'm sure Luna wouldn't mind another guest in bed!" Celestia then happily flew to Luna's room with Spike.
Meanwhile, back in Ponyville, Pinkie Pie was with Rainbow Dash and Starlight Glimmer, watching the starry skies. Suddenly, Pinkie took notice of something.
"Hey looksie! A shooting star!" Pinkie pointed at something bright flying through the air. "Quick, everypony make a wish!"
As Pinkie began to wish, Rainbow and Starlight looked curiously at the star, not knowing it was actually Sludge, still in the air screaming, still feeling the burn from the Princess of the day.
THE END