//------------------------------//
// S8 E11: Molt Down (What If?) 
// Story: My Little Pony Friendship is Magic What If?: Volume 8 
// by SuperPinkBrony12 
//------------------------------//

Although it had been years since he'd seen his briefly maintained pet, Spike still knew where Peewee the phoenix now resided. On a request from Rarity, he was currently leading the young fashionista to a set of woods a ways from Ponyville.

"I really do appreciate you showing me the way to the phoenix nests, Spike," Rarity commented. "You're truly a friend like no other."

Spike was too busy guiding Rarity to take much notice of her affection, plus he was for some reason holding a claw to the right side of his face. "Anything for you, Rarity. Besides, I've really been meaning to visit Peewee. It's been too long."

Rarity smiled as she fondly recalled how much Spike had enjoyed the little phoenix's company. "He really was an excellent pet. A shame Twilight made you have to give him back."

"He wasn't mine to keep anyway," Spike explained. "He was stolen from his parents as an egg, and Twilight was quite clear that once we found his parents he was going right back to them. On top of that, it turns out that phoenixes usually aren't meant to be domesticated. It takes a lot to tame them, which is why Princess Celestia's the only other pony to ever have one as a pet. Even in the wild they often like to keep to themselves."

"Well, they are beautiful," Rarity said with a smile as she then turned her attention to Spike's face (namely the fact that he was covering the right side of it with a claw). "A few of their feathers will add just the right splash of color to my latest— Spike! What are you doing? Is something the matter?"

Spike kept on circling Rarity, all the while the little dragon refused to take his claw off his face. "Nothing's wrong, Rarity! You don't need to look!"

But Rarity wasn't satisfied with the answer. She knew from taking care of her younger sister when someone had something they didn't want others to see. But the longer they kept it hidden the worse it became when it was finally exposed. "Spike, please, let me look! It could be something serious."

"No it isn't," The little dragon protested as he felt his claw be removed from his face via magic. "It's a stone scale," Sure enough, it was now possible to see a small red spot where Spike's claw had been, and it did not look pleasing at all. "It isn't magical or anything like the call of the Dragon Lord. It's just... red. And itchy," As he spoke he proceeded to scratch it, which did nothing to make him feel any better. "And embarrassing too." He said with a sigh.

Rarity now felt sorry for having ever dared to pry, small wonder Spike had been keeping that claw pressed to his face. "It's not contagious, is it?" She questioned.

Spike shook his head. "Dragons can't infect ponies any more than ponies can infect dragons. Twilight can attest to that."

The fashionista seemed to coo. "Ooh, precious pants, that does look uncomfortable. But even I get the odd blemish from time to time. It's nothing to be embarrassed about, it happens to the best of us," As she saw Spike try to scratch it at some more she suggested. "If it bothers you so much, why not pay Zecora a visit? She's sure to have a cream that'll work wonders," Then she whispered. "And tell her she needs to label her creations properly. Let's just say it wasn't mane shampoo I used one time."

"I'm not gonna ask for cream over a stupid stone scale!" Spike protested as a puff of smoke left his nostrils. "I'm not some little kid who needs his mommy to kiss his boo-boos! I'll deal with the scale on my own time. Now come on, we're here to visit Peewee!" But as he looked up at a phoenix nest, the little dragon noticed something, something that made his heart sink. "There's Peewee's parents! But I don't see Peewee. Where could he be?"

"Oh, he probably moved out," Rarity concluded. "Everyone has to leave the nest eventually. Why else do you think Carousel Boutique is my home?"

But Spike looked at the ground. "It can't be. I didn't come all this way just to find out Peewee doesn't live here anymore," Just then, however, there came a fluttering of wings and another phoenix landed near Spike. It didn't look like a baby phoenix though, it looked much older (just like the other phoenixes in fact). "Peewee!" Spike happily cried. "Great to see you again, old buddy!" 

Peewee chirped and held out a wing to embrace Spike, but the heat from his wing aggravated Spike's stone scale. "Ouch!" Spike complained and started scratching at it again.

While she was busy collecting the phoenix feathers that had dropped, Rarity noticed how much pain Spike seemed to be in and suggested. "Perhaps you really should pay a visit to Zecora. Stone scales are probably just like horsey hives, if you scratch them too much they'll get infected."

"But I don't want anyone else to see this," Spike sighed. "Even Twilight doesn't know about this yet, and I intend to keep it that way. I'm sure it'll clear up after a good night's sleep. See you tomorrow, Rarity."





Next morning, Spike didn't wake up the way he usually did. In fact, he probably would've kept on sleeping if Twilight hadn't come trotting in with the specific intent of getting her slumbering dragon to awaken. "I can't believe you're still sleeping, Spike!" She commented.

Spike just groaned and tossed in his sleep as the blinds in his room were opened. "Just five more minutes, Mom. Please..." He pleaded and went on snoring.

Twilight wouldn't take no for an answer, she started prodding the dragon's blanket wrapped form with a hoof. "Spike, you've been asleep all morning! It's nearly noon, and you promised to help me with my lecture for class today! Wake up!"

Spike wasn't sleeping anymore! He woke with a start! "Noon? Whoa! Why didn't you tell me, Mom?!" He complained, before he yawned. "I slept like a rock! Which reminds me – all that sleep probably cleared up my stone scale!"

But when Twilight got a good look at Spike's face, she let out a telling gasp! "Um, on second thought, my son..." She nervously chuckled. "You can go back to sleep if you want. You deserve a break."

Alas, her suggestion came too late to make a difference. Spike got a good look at himself in the mirror and to his horror he saw that his entire face was covered in stone scales! He screamed in horror! "Why is this happening to me?!" He thought.



Horrified by what he looked like, Spike pulled the shades in his room closed and dove back beneath the covers of his bed sheets!

"Spike, what are you doing?" Twilight asked.

"What's it look like I'm doing?! Hiding from my hideous face!" Spike protested. "Now go away!"

Twilight tried to console her clearly distraught son. "I'm sure it feels terrible, but it's just a breakout. It's not the end of the world."

Spike growled back. "That's easy for you to say. Your face isn't the one covered in itchy red spots!" And he started scratching again.

"Come now, you know I got breakouts too," Twilight went on. "In fact, I used to get terrible breakouts any time I had a final exam with Celestia," Her eyebrows narrowed and her tone of voice changed ever so slightly to resentful as she added. "Who probably never had a blemish her whole life," Then she coughed into a hoof. "Sorry, don't know how that slipped out."

"Whatever, I'm not in magic school!" The little dragon hissed.

Twilight shook her head. "True, but these things can be stress-related. And you did spend yesterday with Rarity."

Spike laughed rather nervously. "What could possibly be stressful about that? She wanted to see the phoenix nests and I wanted to see Peewee again. It was just a thing friends do, like all those times Starlight goes to see Sunburst in the Crystal Empire or he comes here to Ponyville."

"Look, Spike," Twilight sighed and groaned. "You can't hide from the world just because you're suffering a breakout. If it really bothers you so much then why don't we pay a visit to Zecora? I heard she makes a cream that—"

Spike interrupted. "-Works wonders? Heard it all before. And I don't need her help, I'll deal with this on my own! The fewer friends who have to know about this, the better."

"Alright, fine, tough it out by yourself," The young alicorn shook her head. "You're still gonna help me practice my lecture. You seem perfectly fine otherwise."

"Do I really have to?" Spike pouted. "Can't I just go back to sleep?"

Twilight sighed again. "The answer is no, my son. You promised, and a promise is a promise. If you help me out here though, I'll go visit Zecora myself and go get the cream for you. How's that sound?"

Reluctantly, the little dragon climbed out of his bed. "It's a deal," He spoke as a raspy cough escaped his throat. "Sorry, think something went down the wrong pipe," He cleared his throat. "I'm fine now."

"Excellent!" Twilight beamed as she gave Spike the lecture cards. "Let me know how I do," Then she cleared her throat and adopted her best lecture tone. "The Element of Generosity and its importance in relation to the other Elements of Harmony—" Just then she heard a faint gagging sound and felt a whoosh of hot flame shoot past her! It felt stronger than anything she had felt before! She spun around and saw her carefully prepared lecture cards reduced to ash. "Oh no, my lecture!" She gasped.

With a nervous sweat working its way down his face, Spike apologized. "I'm so sorry, Twilight! I really am! I don't even know what happened! I just had a sudden case of—" His sentence was cut off as he felt something build up inside of him. Thinking quickly, Twilight teleported away just before Spike started to breath fire! She returned shortly with a fire extinguisher and sprayed Spike with the foam. Spike then finished his sentence from earlier. "...indigestion. I'm so sorry! This has never happened to me before."

Twilight moved a hoof to comfort her troubled son. "It's okay, Spike. My lecture isn't that important, the well being of my son is. Perhaps we should see Zecora after all, just to make sure you're alright. It's also probably best if we go somewhere less... flammable?"

"Good idea." The little dragon agreed.

Twilight then sniffed the air and plugged her nose. "Ugh! Spike, when was the last time you took a bath?!"

"What do you mean?! I just took one yesterday, and it wasn't one of my seven hour bubble baths either!" Spike protested.

"Well you're awfully stinky!" Twilight declared as she fanned a hoof across her nose. "Maybe Zecora will have a cure for that too! It smells worse than your dirty feet!"





Mother and son discreetly left the castle and made their way through the Everfree Forest to Zecora's hut. Twilight took the liberty of explaining the situation to Zecora. "You already knew about dragons when Spike went on that greed induced rampage, I figured you might know something about this," Twilight suggested. "Oh, and sorry about the smell."

"You're not feeling kind of side effects from this condition, are you?" Spike asked.

Zecora inspected Spike briefly, before the stench became so powerful she had to plug her nose. "When it comes to breakouts, I've seen all circumstances. But when it comes to this strong smell..." She turned away for a moment and put two clothespins into her nostrils. "Let's not take any chances. Now, I'll begin my investigation right away. You say this all started just yesterday?"

Spike nodded. "It was just a stone scale, I thought nothing of it. It happens to a lot of dragons, even Ember gets them from time to time I hear. But this morning, I woke up with my face covered in them and they're so itchy! You can cure it, can't you?"

Zecora shook her head. "I cannot say for sure, but I suspect this is something you'll just have to endure."

"But Zecora, you don't understand! I can't be seen like this! Anyone who does will be so grossed out and repulsed they'll want nothing to do with me!" Spike protested. "Please, you've gotta know something that'll help. I'll do anything!"

The zebra enchantress was silent for a moment as she examined the dragon quite thoroughly from top to bottom. Then she cleared her throat. "Well, perhaps there's a way to help loosen these strange effects. The smell is the most likely cause, I suspect."

"What about the itchy stone scales, Zecora?" Twilight asked. "They seem to be bothering Spike a lot. But if he keeps scratching at them he'll probably get them infected, and then he'll be even worse off than he already is."

Zecora laughed. "Ah yes, how funny you should ask in such a way. For your friend Rarity was asking about it just yesterday. The cream that you want is just over here. It's a popular potion for all creatures this year."

Twilight looked at the nearby shelf Zecora had gestured to, only to find that there was nothing there. "Looks like Rarity took the last of it, Zecora. You're fresh out."

"That shouldn't be a problem, you'll just have to ask," Zecora replied with a giggle. "The question is, which of you will be up to the task?"

Twilight looked across to Spike, one look was all she needed to tell her that her son wasn't keen on being seen by Rarity in his current state. "I'll pay her a visit and get the cream," Then she sniffed the air. "And while I'm at it, I think I'll pick up some cleaning supplies. No offense, Zecora, but your hut's probably gonna need an airing out after Spike's been in it."

"Your concern is appreciated, there's no need to hide. If my hut must be cleaned, I shall wait outside." Zecora bowed her head and then quickly but politely departed.

Now alone in the hut, Twilight turned back to Spike. "Looks like I not only won't be lecturing today, I won't be doing much school work at all. After all, your indigestion's also gonna need to be cured."

Spike belched out bright green flames. "Thanks a bunch, Mom! You really don't have to do any of this for me, I'm sure I'll be fine before long."

Twilight simply gave a motherly smile. "As my son, your health takes top priority. This is just like when you were going through that greed induced growth spurt. However long it takes for you to get better, that's how long I'll be caring for you."

"But if you're not gonna be running the school, who is?" Spike wondered.

Twilight grinned. "Not to worry, Spike, I've already got it taken care of," She quickly wrote down something on a small piece of paper and then surrounded it with the glow of her horn. "There. Give this to Starlight, she'll know what to do."

"You sure? What if I accidentally set it on fire like I did your notes?" The little dragon nervously asked.

"You couldn't even if you wanted to, Spike," The young alicorn declared. "I cast a special fire-proofing on this parchment. It's a little something I had to learn when Smolder started setting her bad grades on fire. Just make sure this gets to Starlight as soon as possible. Then you can take the rest of the day off, okay?"

Reluctantly, Spike nodded back "Okay.", he hated not being helpful. It was the worst feeling in the entire world. "At least I'm glad I didn't swap with Pinkie Pie for tour duty today," He thought to himself. "Nopony would want to go on a tour with someone as smelly as me. At least Starlight won't be too repulsed, I hope."





With his only two legs to carry him, Spike found the long trek to the school from the Everfree Forest a lot more tiring. He found that rather odd. Since when he did suddenly find himself longing for another piggyback ride from Twilight? He was getting too old for that. At least, that's what he kept telling himself.

But it seemed like today especially his thoughts, if they were not focused on the strange aliments plaguing him, were concentrated around the many ways Twilight had cared for him. He already knew he was her son, that would never change no matter what. But it wasn't like he could continue to her baby dragon forever. He was gonna have to grow up someday.

Perhaps he'd just never considered what would happen when that certain "someday" would come.

It was those thoughts that kept lingering in the back of the little dragon's mind as he reached the school, stopping only briefly at the small pond to both catch his breath and gaze at his reflection as it stared back at him. "Hey there, not handsome." He was glad he'd thought ahead and put on the same trench coat and sunglasses disguise he'd worn during the Equestria Games. Compared to that time he didn't feel like he'd let anyone down, but he was still in a just as unhappy mood.

Still, Spike knew he had a job to do and nothing was going to keep him from it. So, still wearing his disguise he made his way into the school itself and down to Starlight's office. He knocked three times.

"It's open, come in," Starlight instructed. She expected to have a student be waiting on the other side, so she was most surprised when instead she saw Spike of all creatures (the trench coat and sunglasses could do little to hide his green scales, to say nothing of the noticeable stench that was accompanying him). "Spike? What are you doing here? Where's Twilight?" Starlight then sniffed the air. "Ugh! And why do you smell so bad?!"

"Sorry, I can't help it! I swear, I took a bath and everything the night before!" Spike apologized and then handed over the piece of parchment Twilight had given him. "Twilight needs you to take over as headmare for today, she's busy running some errands for Zecora."

"I see," Starlight commented as she scanned the parchment with her eyes. "Sure would've been nice if she'd told me in pony. But if she's doing all of this because you're suffering from something serious, I understand. If you see her, tell her not to worry. Everything's under control," Then she plugged her nose. "Though perhaps you should leave, or light some candles or something. It's gonna be hard for the students to learn if the school smells so bad."

Spike blushed. "Sorry about that!" Then he suddenly breathed fire, setting his disguise on fire and reducing it to ash. "Aw man! So much for slipping away unnoticed." He sighed.

Starlight watched as the little dragon departed her office with a noticeable slouch to his posture. It was clear to her that his current condition was really taking its toll on Spike's confidence. "Maybe Smolder will know what to do," She thought to herself. "At the least she probably won't be completely repulsed by the stench." And she went to go find the orange scaled dragon.





Spike had taken to hiding in one of the broom closets within the school. It was his hope that by doing this he could just stay hidden until the end of the school day, and then slip away after the students had all left and none of his friend were around to see or smell him in his current state. Especially since he continued to have problems with his fire breathing indigestion.

Just then, however, the door swung open. And who should enter but Smolder? "Hey, Spike," She greeted her fellow dragon. "Acting Headmare Starlight told me everything. And if you're trying to hide, you need to do a better job. All I had to do was follow the smoke right to you." She closed the door behind her.

"Leave me alone, Smolder," Spike protested. "I'm not in the mood."

Smolder wasn't convinced. "I know what you're going through, Spike. This is perfectly natural for all dragons. And let me tell you, I have seen some pretty bad molts in my time, but yours takes the cake!"

"Wait, molts? What are you talking about?" Spike asked with concern.

"Not molts, molt," Smolder explained. "The molt is a natural thing, and you've got all the symptoms. Super painful stone scales, fire burps, and of course the smell. It's all part of growing up as a dragon. Congrats!" As she spoke she inadvertently bumped into one of Spike's stone scales, causing him to wince in pain.

"Ow, watch it!" Spike hissed.

Smolder was quick to apologize. "Sorry. But don't worry, these effects are just temporary. They'll wear off in time."

However, Spike became horrified! "I'm growing up?! No-no-no-no-no, this can't be happening! I won't allow it! The last time I grew up, I turned into a giant greedy monster," When Smolder shot him a look he replied. "You had to be there."

The orange scaled dragon simply rolled her eyes. "No, I know what that is too. It's what we call greed induced bigness, or G.I.B. for short. And that's totally different from what you're going through now. The molt is completely normal. Every dragon goes through it. Pretty soon, you'll leave and strike out on your own."

"What?! Why the heck would I do that?" Spike protested with a confused look on his face.

"Every dragon has to do it whether they like it or not," Smolder explained to Spike. "Guess you don't know much about dragons when you grow up around ponies. Oh well, it can't be helped. Listen, in the Dragon Lands, a molter's loved ones kicks them out at the first stone scale. It's called the 'molt effect', and it usually has to do with the smell."

"Seems a bit excessive," Spike remarked. "You don't seem bothered by the smell."

"'Cause I've already experienced it twice," Smolder explained. "It happened to me, and it also happened to my brother. Not sure what became of him exactly. I mean, I love my brother and all, but one whiff, and I was all 'See ya!'"

With a gulp, Spike protested. "But... Twilight wouldn't do that to me. Not after everything she's done for me. She won't fall victim to the 'molt effect', will she?"

Smolder shrugged her claws. "I don't know, I've never met another dragon raised by a pony. She's not here right now though, and I'm guessing the smell's a big part of it."

"Yeah, but only because she's getting some stuff to help lessen the effects," Spike insisted, before he let out a sigh. "But even then I can tell she wanted to get as far away from the stink as possible. Seems like it's happening to everyone I meet today. If not for you, I'd have no one to hang out with."

Smolder nervously chuckled. "W-well, you might make some new friends in a sense. That smell actually has another side effect I should probably tell you about. It's a magnet for predators. Tatzlwurms, hydras, rocs..."

"-Dragons are scared of rocks? Since when? They're just rocks," Spike chuckled. "Smolder, I'm not stupid."

Smolder was quick to correct Spike. "R-O-C-S. Rocs? Humongous birds of prey that can snack on a molting dragon like candy! Ring any bells?" Spike shook his head. "Well, that's why Acting Headmare Starlight told me to take today off. It's probably better if dragons like us stick together. That way, if anything tries to make a move on you, I'll be there to stop it."

"You'd really do that for a pony loving dragon like me?" Spike asked Smolder.

"I'm friends with ponies now too, Spike," Smolder replied with a smile. "Just because they raised you doesn't mean I resent them for it. If you wanna hang out with me until you're all done molting, that's fine. I know the perfect place where a couple of dragons like us can do whatever we want and no one will bother us."





Smolder led Spike to a large hill overlooking not just the school but all of Ponyville and its immediate surroundings. There wasn't a single pony or other form of life around for miles. The perfect place for a couple of dragons to hang out while Spike was still under the effects of his molt.

"You really didn't have to do this, Smolder," Spike commented to his fellow dragon. "If what you say is true and this wears off in time, I could've just slept it off somewhere safe."

"There's nowhere you can go where you either wouldn't be a snack for some vicious predator, or repulse everyone into leaving," Smolder replied. "Unfortunately, that's why so many of our own turn out the way they do. You survive by getting tough."

Spike proceeded to inquire. "You said you had a brother?"

Smolder nodded. "Yeah, but I don't know what became of him or where he is. Once you're kicked out of the nest that's it, you're never supposed to come back. You're actually kind of lucky to be raised by ponies. They don't do those kinds of things to you."

Spike sighed. "I sure hope not. Seems like since I woke up today I've been nothing but a burden to Twilight, and to everyone else," He kicked a stone laying on the ground. "I just don't understand. Why does this have to happen now? Couldn't it have picked a day where I had nothing at all do and could just lay in bed, reading comics?"

"The molt kicks in when it kicks in and you don't get any say in the matter," Smolder scolded. "Now come on! Enough talk about the molt, I took you here so you could get your mind off all those molting blues! There's a small pond nearby. Skipping stones is a lot better than talking about your problems. That's what I always say."

So the two dragons made their way to said pond, with several stones of small and medium height resting nearby. Having come here many times before, Smolder was quite skilled at the art of stone throwing. And she proceeded to demonstrate this to Spike. "Let's see you top this!" With the flick of a claw a pebble only slightly smaller than Spike skipped across the surface of the pond and landed with a splash.

Spike did the same with a slightly larger rock, watching it skip and splash. "So, Smolder..."

"Less talking, more throwing!" Smolder demanded. "Just focus on other things and this will all be over before you even know it."

Suddenly, there came a loud screech!

Smolder looked at Spike. "Hey, that was uncalled for! I know you're upset about the molt but there's no need for that kind of language." She glared.

"Uh, that wasn't me." Spike nervously replied.

Smolder gulped. "But if it wasn't you, then that means...." But she needn't have said anything at all. When her eyes looked up, she saw one of the only things that could make even a dragon shudder with fright. It was a massive bird like creature, with razor sharp claws that looked like they could slice through even the thick scales of a dragon, not to mention a massive beak and wings that cast a shadow when stretched out all the way.

"It's a roc!" Spike screamed in horror! "You said it wouldn't come after me if we were together!"

"I thought that's what would happen," Smolder apologized. "I guess this roc is different!"

The roc let out another screech as it dove towards its prey, what appeared to be a helpless, molting baby dragon. Spike barely dove out of the way!

Smolder picked up a stone and chucked it at the roc, hoping to catch its attention. "Over here you big, stupid, feather head! Your mother was an ugly duck!"

Apparently insulted by Smolder's comment, the roc turned its attention to the orange scaled dragon. Spike watched from the safety of a bush as Smolder flapped her wings, expending a great deal of effort just to stay ahead of the massive beast. All the while breathing fire (though for some reason not directly at the roc).

Spike would've kept on watching, if not for another sudden bout of fire breathing indigestion that caused him to dive out of the bush so as not to start a brush fire. "Oh no! Why is this molt always betraying me at the worst possible moment?!" He complained.

However, the roc didn't turn its attention back to Spike despite the still lingering smell he had. For a moment the roc hesitated, as if it were unsure what to do or where to go. Then with a sharp screech it flapped its wings and took off.

Smolder came panting up to Spike's location, wiping the sweat from her brows. "Whew! I think I was able to scare it off, Spike. Told you you'd be safe with me," But Spike didn't reply, he was staring off into the distance. Smolder quickly lost patience. "Hey, Spike! Talking to you!" She waved a claw in front of his face.

Spike let out a gulp as the little dragon became stricken with a sense of dread. "We didn't scare the roc off, Smolder! It just lost my scent because of the flames! It burned off the stink like when you light candles!"

"So that means it's going back to wherever it came from, right?" Smolder innocently replied.

Spike shook his head. "No. It's picked up my stench somewhere else, somewhere I was at earlier in the day."

"What are you talking abou..." Smolder began before she remembered something Starlight had told her earlier in the day, something about a zebra who lived in a hut in some kind of forest. "Zecora!"

"And my mom too!" Spike exclaimed, barely resisting the urge to put claws to his face (doing so would only aggravate the condition of his stone scales). "They're in danger and they don't even realize it! We have to save them, Smolder!"





As Spike could not fly the two dragons had to make the journey through the Everfree Forest and to Zecora's hut on foot. Unfortunately that meant they couldn't keep ahead of the roc, which could fly and was doing so with the greatest of ease.

To make matters worse, by the time the two had reached Zecora's hut the roc had already captured the zebra in one of its claws!

"We've got to rescue, Zecora!" Spike shouted at Smolder, before all of a sudden his entire face felt like it had been covered in itching powder. He groaned, trying in vain not to scratch at the stone scales that were now starting to form into small triangle patterns all over his body. And nothing he did could make it stop.

Smolder quickly sized up the situation and concluded Spike wouldn't be of much use to her in his current state. "Leave the roc to me, Spike! I'll show that overgrown bird who's boss!" And she flew up to confront it without a second's hesitation!

Meanwhile, Twilight happened to notice her son brushing up against a tree and appearing to shake like he was using the bark of the tree as a makeshift scratching post. "Spike, what are you doing?!" She asked as she rushed over to him. "I thought I told you to take the rest of the day off?"

"I was, but then I met Smolder and she offered to hang out with me, and then this roc showed up and now my stone scales won't stop itching!" Spike said all at once, before he nervously laughed. "Just think, though. If my stone scales didn't itch so much and we weren't in immediate danger, this would be really embarrassing right about now!"

"By danger do you mean that huge bird creature that just snatched up Zecora?" Twilight asked. "It was the strangest thing, it just showed up all of a sudden."

"It's because of me!" Spike apologized profusely. "It's a roc! One of the many giant predators that are attracted to my molt smell."

Twilight shot her son a confused look. "Molt smell?" Then she shook her head and sighed. "There's no time for this, Spike. Zecora's in the clutches of that beast, and so's Rarity. She was going to help me clean Zecora's hut before that roc showed up."

"Smolder's already taking it on but she's just one dragon!" Spike protested. "I'd try to help, but it's all I can do to stop scratching long enough to dive out of the way when that bird attacks! I've put you all in danger!"

"No worries, I'll take care of this! And then we can take care of that... whatever molt thing it is you just mentioned." Twilight told Spike, then she took off into the skies to join Smolder. More specifically, while Smolder tried to capture the roc's attention from the front, Twilight was trying to blast from behind in the hopes of getting the giant bird monster release its hostages. But between the roc's fast rate of speed and Twilight having to control her aim so as not to accidentally hit her friends, her magic blasts weren't hitting anywhere close to their intended spot.

As the scene unfolded Rarity just looked across to Zecora and told the zebra. "This isn't the first time I've been in the clutches of a horrible giant creature, but it doesn't get any easier! Why do these things always happen to me?"





Down below, Spike continued to scratch as his entire body felt like it was on fire. No matter what he did or what else he tried to focus on, the pain was still there.

Then, all of a sudden it stopped all by itself. Even the stone scales appeared to vanish. Spike wasn't sure why that was but he nevertheless breathed a much needed sigh of relief. "Finally! I didn't think that itching would ever stop! Now if only I could get that roc to go away."

But only seconds later, the little dragon felt his body start to harden into a rock like texture. He began to be encased in some sort of shell, almost like he was going back into his egg. But instead of an egg his body was becoming stone. "What's happening?! I... I can't move!" And it was the last thing he said before he was encased completely in the shell!

For a moment all was silent, save for the occasional magic blast or belching of flames. Then the shell that had encased Spike started to crack, as bits of light burst through. There was a blinding flash of light!

When the flash faded, Spike stood up and got his bearings. Immediately he felt a lot different. He'd grown in height to where he was now as tall as Ember and Smolder, his stone scales has completely vanished without a trace, but most tellingly of all was the presence of two unmistakeable appendages that he knew he hadn't had before. "What just... happened?" He wondered aloud, his voice sounding a tad bit deeper. The realization slowly dawned on him. "Did I just sprout wings? I just sprouted wings! I can't believe it!"

The recently sized up dragon's celebration didn't last long though, because he soon heard the distinctive sounds of magic blasts and the screeching of the roc (still holding Zecora and Rarity in its clutches). In an instant he knew what he had to do. "I've gotta help them! It's my fault they're in this mess!" He then looked at his new wings. "Well, no time like the present. Let's see what these babies can do!" He leaped into the air as he began to flap his wings, but he wasn't used to them or his larger body. He found it difficult to stay aloft at first.

After a minute or two of practice though, the dragon was able to get the hang of his wings and fly. He still didn't have much control over his destination though and ended up bumping into Twilight by mistake. "Whoops. Sorry, dragon coming through." He apologized.

Twilight blinked and rubbed her eyes. Was this all a dream? No, it couldn't be a dream it was too real. The dragon staring back at her looked like Spike, but he was a tad bit bigger, about the same size as Smolder. And he had two new wings that stood out on either side of his body. "Spike?! Is that you?!" She questioned. "How did you get so big all of a sudden?! And how'd you get wings?!"

"I don't know!" Spike replied in his deeper tone of voice. "But it's really me, Twilight! And let me tell you, these new wings are super aweso– Whoa!" He inadvertently dove downward as the roc screeched some more.

Twilight quickly got an idea. "Think you can fly up there and help Smolder distract that thing while I work on freeing Rarity and Zecora?"

Spike gave a salute! "On it! Leave it to me!"

Smolder seemed to be just as surprised as Twilight at Spike's new state of appearance. Though if she was she didn't show it in her comment as she simply asked. "Well, what kept you?"

"Good to see you too, Smolder," Spike laughed. "Now come on. That roc's about to learn the hard way it messed with the wrong dragon!" Then he gave a taunting whistle. "Hey, giant chicken! If you like dragons so much, come and get me!"

The roc let out a screech and flew closer to Spike, trying to grab him with its beak. Spike moved out of the way with a fair bit of difficulty, though he still confidently taunted. "Too slow!"

The roc screeched again and resumed its pursuit, unaware of what was going on behind it.

"That's it! Take the bait!" Spike thought in his head as he continued to flap his wings. Eventually, when he was confident Twilight was close enough, he turned to face the roc. "Greetings, feather brain. Looking for me?" The roc tried once again to grab Spike with its beak. That was a mistake! Spike swooped out of the way, then he felt a rumble in his stomach. He knew what that meant, and just seconds later he let out a gigantic belch as a huge wall of bright green flames shot out of his mouth!

Frightened by the display, the roc swooped out of the blast range to avoid being burnt. But in doing so it forgot all about the prisoners it held in its clutches and released them! Smolder moved quickly to catch Zecora, but Rarity seemed to be falling at too fast a rate for Twilight to catch her in time!

Instinct took over as the still light purple scaled dragon dove down almost towards the ground, and caught Rarity just in time! Everyone was impressed.

Zecora (who was glad to have her hooves firmly on solid ground again) looked into the face of Spike, instantly recognizing him despite his changed appearance. "I know that the molt produced some surprising things. But I'm glad that the last was a new pair of wings!"

"Yeah, very surprising." Spike commented as he turned towards Smolder, appearing to eye her with contempt.

It didn't take Smolder long to realize why Spike was looking at her in that way. "What? The wings? I forgot they're a part of the molt, honest. My own molt was so long ago I barely even remember it."

Twilight just rushed up to Spike and hugged him tightly! "This is amazing! Oh, it seems like only yesterday you were just a purple egg! You're growing up too fast, Spike!"

Spike blushed. "Mom, stop it, seriously! I'm not that old just yet, I can't be much older than Smolder or Ember."

"Well even so, you're not my baby dragon anymore," Twilight motherly cooed as she wiped a lone tear from her eye. "I'm so proud of you. I didn't know if you'd ever get wings or grow bigger. Does it have something to do with that molt thing you were talking about?"

A very reluctant sigh left the lips of the not so little dragon as he admitted. "Yeah, and that's not the only thing that happens. The breakout, the fire burps, the smell. It's called the molt and it's when dragons get older and start to change. I wish I could stop it, but I can't. I-I should go. If I stay here I'll just cause more trouble."

"Go where? What are you even talking about? You're not going anywhere!" Twilight firmly protested as she moved to block Spike's path.

Spike shook his head and brushed Twilight aside. "Twilight, look, this is something all dragons have to go through whether they like it or not. In the Dragon Lands, families make molters leave home. It's called the molt effect. So it's only a matter of time before you do the same."

"Well, this isn't the Dragon Lands, and molt effect or no, I don't want you going anywhere," Twilight firmly protested. "You're still my son, and I'm not ready for you to leave just yet."

"But I'm growing up, Twilight! Even you can see that!" Spike retorted with shock. "What if something worse than the molt happens?! Because of me that roc came after you and your friends! I don't want such bad things to happen to you and if leaving is the only way to prevent that, then that's what I'll do."

Twilight only giggled. "Oh, Spike, you're still ever so silly. You're supposed to grow up, but you'll always be you. And whatever happens, we'll get through it together. Okay?"

"Okay," Spike agreed. Now that his concerns had been addressed he didn't feel quite as bad. There was still something he wanted to ask though. "I know I'm a bit heavy but... can I ride on your back? Just one last time?"

"You have wings now, Spike," Twilight told him. "I can't be expected to carry you everywhere anymore. You're a big boy and you need to start traveling on your own power," When Spike began to adopt a pouting face she added with a wink. "But... I guess one more time won't hurt anything," She lit up her horn, surrounding her son with a soft, magical glow. "Hope aboard, Spike. Let's go home!"

Rarity, meanwhile, winked at Spike and told him. "You look quite charming, Spikey-Wikey. Seems I'm once again in your debt."

Spike blushed. "Well, we can figure out those things later. For now, it's probably best if things stay as they are."

"Even so, I do hope you'll stop by my boutique in the near future," Rarity offered. "I believe a hero's outfit is in order for my favorite dragon."

"Don't forget about me!" Smolder huffed. "I was the one that kept the roc away from Spike... even if it ended up going after you ponies instead."

Spike laughed. "Well, Smolder, it's the thought that counts. And like you said, we dragons have to look out for each other."