//------------------------------//
// The Dragons Lair 
// Story: Little Dragon Daycare 
// by TAD2 
//------------------------------//

Spike looked back into the play area. Twilight was introducing Moondancer to all of the girls. Spike sighed. He just let a succubus eat a good chunk of his soul energy and he still needs to watch all the kids until their parents get back. He looked at the clock on the wall and noted that it was 5 till 10. 'Ok, its 5 till, we have lunch at noon, after that we're going outside to play and burn off lunch for an hour. Then maybe we'll do art time, I want to see what Moondancer can do. After that, it's story time which always lead's to nap time. I'll wake them up at around 3.' Thought Spike as he was trying to figure out what to do with the kids. 'That leaves, two hours before lunch, and two hours after nap time. I can't do a movie, that's for Friday, if it rains. I could play with them until lunch, yeah that sounds good, I'll keep it to a relaxed pace though, I might not be able to stay awake if I don't. So that leaves around 2 hours after nap time to deal with.' Spike shrugged. 'Knowing my life, something will come up that will make the day interesting.'

Spike walked over to Cadence who was giggling at how creative Twilight was describing the others. "What's so funny?" Asked Spike. Cadence pointed to Twilight as she was introducing Moondancer to Pinkie Pie. 

"This is Pinkie, she is a Slime with a unique pigment, she is really fun to play with, she is always happy, loves to bake, and funny." Said Twilight. 

Pinkie walked over to Moondancer and grabbed her hand. "Hi!Canithrowyouaparty?Whatkindofcakewouldyoulike?Ipreferchocolateororredvelvetorvanillaheckilikeanycakewhatsyourfavoritecolor…" Spoke Pinkie going back into her happy way of talking.

Moondancer looked confused, she looked at Twilight who looked sheepish. "I might of forgot to tell you that she doesn't need to breathe, so talking to her is kinda a challenge. She asked if she could throw a party for you, what kind of cake would you like, she prefers chocolate, red velvet, and vanilla, she wants to know your favorite flavor, and your favorite color?" 

"Oh." Said Moondancer as she looked back at the slime and smiled. "Sure I would like a party, I like everything besides strawberry..." AJ stomped her hooves at the mention of strawberry. Moondancer looked at the weird act. "Um is she ok?" Asked Moondancer worried about AJ. 

Twilight gasped. "Sorry I forgot to mention that AJ is allergic to strawberries. She hates it when we mention them." 

Moondancer looked at AJ and smiled at the centaur. "Sorry, but if it helps, I don't like them either." Said Moondancer.

AJ smiled and nodded. Moondancer looked back at Pinkie. "Like I said, I like everything aside from 'that', and I like lavender, crimson, and cream." Said Moondancer. 

Pinkie nodded as she bounced away to start planning. "Ok?" Said Moondancer questioningly at the actions of Pinkie.

Twilight shrugged as she pulled Rarity in front of Moondancer. "Well hello dear, my name is Rarity." Said Rarity.

"Hi, my name is Moondancer." Said Moondancer, she looked at Rarity's little wings and tail. "Are you a demon?" 

Rarity nodded. "Yes, my Daddy is a regular demon and my Mommy is a succubus."

"Cool." Said Moondancer.

"Thanks." Rarity looked at what Moondancer was wearing. "Dear, why are you wearing that sweater?" 

AJ rolled her eyes. "Here we go again."

Moondancer looked at her sweater confused. "What's wrong with my sweater?" 

Rarity shook her head. "Nothing, nothing at all, but it doesn't suit your colors at all."

"It doesn't?" Asked Moondancer. 

Rarity nodded. "Yes, see your coat, its a light cream color, it goes well with your mane colors, but the addition of the black sweater just detracts from your look, if you want, I could draw something up that would look good on you." Asked Rarity.

Moondancer looked hesitant. "Thanks, but I like my sweater." Said Moondancer. 

Rarity smiled. "Ok, but if you decide you want to change, my offer is open ended."

Moondancer nodded. "So let me go over everyone's names one more time... I know Twilight, the Centaur is Applejack, Pinkie is the slime, Fluttershy is the fairy on the ferret, Rainbow Dash is a harpy, I think, and Rarity is a demon succubus hybrid, is that right?" 

All the girls nodded. "Yep that's everyone today."

"Wait, today?" Asked Moondancer. 

Spike nodded. "Yep, you see, the Little Dragon Daycare, is actually open to all creatures from around 15 different worlds. Ponies, centaurs, slimes, demons, harpies, fairies, minitours, gargoyles, ghost, and dragons, all come to this place to drop off their kids. Today its usually just the eight of us here, but tomorrow, we should have a dragon, a wolf girl, and a pair of ghosts joining us." 

Moondancer looked at Spike and Cadence. "How?"

Spike shrugged. "Beats me, Scorpan gave me this place, but he never told me how it works."

Moondancer shook her head. "No, how do you handle all of us?" 

Spike laughed. "At first I couldn't. Actually, Twilight here was the first kid I ever watched, and imagine my surprise, when a walking, talking, anthropomorphic pony, that can use magic walks in to my new daycare, looking for someone to watch her little girl that couldn't control her magic.  

Twilight blushed. "Hey!" Yelled Twilight.

Spike laughed. "Twilight, on your first day, you changed my hair and eye color, somehow became a ball of fire, and tossed me into a wall, all because you missed your mommy."

Twilight grumbled. "But I didn't hold it against you. You were upset, left alone with a stranger, and were still having magical surges, besides from the stories grandpa Scorpan told me, I walked away better off then he did when he first met a unicorn." Said Spike. "But it took some getting used to. Aside from Twilight, I accidently sneezed Fluttershy away, Rainbow cut me with her talons, Pinkie was having trouble with her solid form and I accidently walked on her, Applejack almost killed me when she got startled, and Rarity almost killed me by eating most of my soul the first time." Spike looked at all the kids. "Actually, I'm surprised I'm not in the hospital or dead?" Spike shrugged. "But then again, I have always had a knack for surviving. But as business grew so did all of the challenges that came with dealing with all the kids."

"Like what?" Asked Moondancer.

Spike shrugged. "Fires, broken walls, possession, you know, normal stuff."

Moondancer looked at him. "That's not normal." 

"It is here." Said Spike. 

Moondancer looked at all the girls, they all nodded. "It's true." Said AJ.

Spike chuckled. "But, I learned to live with it, and after finding a journal from Scorpan and some equipment, it got easier. Falconry glove for Harpies and some magical charms for ghost. But some stuff I needed to do myself, updated fire suppression system in the building and basic carpentry skills to fix walls. But soon all the work started to pile up, and the kids just didn't stop coming, so after my first week running the place, I had to hire a assistant."

"Babysitter." Said Cadence.

"Soon to be jobless." Said Spike.

"Assistant."

"That would help me keep this place afloat. So that's how Cadence joined up, and only on very rare occasions do I ever regret giving her the job." Said Spike smiling. But then the smile was gone. "But now all the works starting to pile up again, so, I started to look for another assistant." Just then the front door bell rang.

"Hello?" Asked a voice. "Spike, Spike Drake, are you here?"

Spike looked at Cadence. "Um... we aren't expecting anyone else today are we?" 

"Nope, and no one has called, did you remember to pay the bills this week?"

"Yep." Spike sighed as he got up. "I'll go see who it is. You stay with the girls." 

Cadence nodded as she went back to talking with the girls.

Spike walked over to the door to see who was asking for him. There in the door was a tall woman, a very tall woman, standing around 7 feet tall, she was dressed in a pair of purple slacks, a yellow blazer, and a pair of high heel shoes, her hair was a mix of cyan, mulberry, and harlequin, and her eyes were a moderate heliotrope. She looked human, but when Spike got a better look at her, he noticed that her ears were pointed. She was an elf. The Elf world was one of the few worlds that Spike has never seen personally, but from the stories Scorpan told him, Elf's lived almost like humans, but they have integrated magic into daily life, and that there were a dozen different elf races.

Spike was actually surprised to see an elf in his daycare. "Hello." Said Spike as he walked up to the woman.

She looked at Spike. "Hello." Said the woman. 

Spike sighed. "My name is Spike, and welcome to the Little Dragon Daycare."

She shook her head to get focused. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting to see a half elf. My name is Celestia Solaris. It's nice to meet you." Said Celestia as she held out her hand. "I'm here for my interview."

Spike sighed. "First off, I'm not a half elf." Said Spike as he moved his hair to show his normal human ears. "Second, I thought you were suppose to come in on the 17th."

"It is the 17th. Wednesday the 17th of October, we talked last night?"

Spike sighed as he groaned. "Fate has a weird sense of humor." Mumbled Spike. He looked at Celestia and smiled. "Sorry, I must of got my days mixed up, but since your here already, lets head to the back office for the interview." Said Spike as he walked to the back office.  

Celestia nodded as she followed Spike.

Spike was walking past Cadence. "So who was it?" Asked Cadence. 

"The new hire."

"The new hire? But you said that she was coming in on Thursday."

"Sorry, last night was a little hectic, and I must have wrote it down on the wrong day, but she's here now." Spike smiled at all the girls. "Girls!" Said Spike as Celestia walked over to him, all the girls looked at Spike. "Everyone I would like you all to meet Celestia Solaris."

Celestia smiled. "Hello." 

"Hi." Said all the girls. 

"Girls, I need to head to the back room to give her an interview. Cadence is in charge, so go nuts." Said Spike as he started to chuckle.

Cadence smirked. "Oh, so I'm in charge." She looked at all the girls. "Attack the lazy dragon!" Cheered Cadence. But no one moved. 

Spike chuckled. "That's not going to work, I'm the one who runs this castle." Said Spike. He looked to all the girls. "Girls, attack the princess." Said Spike. 

All the girls looked at Cadence. "Attack!" Cheered Twilight. As all the girls dogpiled on to Cadence who was giggling. 

Spike chuckled. "Cease fire." Ordered Spike, all the girls got off of Cadence. "That is how you control the dragons horde." Said Spike. 

Celestia was laughing at the display. "But seriously, listen to Cadence till I get back."

All the girls smiled as they nodded. "Ok Spike."

Spike smiled at their response as he pulled out his key and opened the door to the back room. Spike walked in to the office as Celestia followed. 

Spike grabbed a folding chair and opened it for Celestia as Spike sat in his desk chair. "Ok, so lets start with some basic information. Name?"

"Celestia F. Solaris."

"Age?"

"Very rude to ask a lady, but 25." Joked Celestia. Spike chuckled. 

"Race?"

"High Elf."

"Magic?"

"Fire, water, earth, levitation, and solar."

"Solar?"

Celestia nodded. "Yes, its an ancient form of magic that allows the user to create a miniature solar body." Said Celestia as she pointed a finger and a small sun appeared above it. "Not many uses, but very fun at parties."  

"Education?"

"Just completed my bachelors in child development, and I'm CPR certified." 

Spike nodded. "Ok. Now for the practical part of the interview. Follow me." Said Spike as he walked over to the kitchen. Celestia followed. 

"First off, lets see you cook a basic lunch."

Celestia smirked. "I would, but I don't know any medical conditions for who I'm cooking for." 

Spike smiled. "Good, you take into account the person your cooking for, that's important. One of the kids we look after for a few days a week, has a deadly allergy to strawberries." Said Spike. 

"You also didn't tell me what they ate yesterday." Said Celestia. 

"Correct. it is important to add variety in a child's meal plan." Said Spike.

Celestia looked into the fridge and pantry to look at the food supplies. Celestia smirked as she started to pull out some basic ingredients, and started to cook.



 

Once Celestia was done, she presented her creation. "We have a simple grilled cheese sandwich, with a very light but very nutritious soup, and for dessert, we have a simple fruit salad, no strawberries, only cantaloupe, watermelon, grapes, diced apples and a pinch of cinnamon." 

Spike looked at the meal. "Processed cheese?"

Celestia shook her head. "Never, and besides you didn't have any."

"Soup?"

"Chicken stock, carrots, celery, one clove of garlic, and very little spices; pepper, sea salt, and a dash of paprika." 

Spike nodded as he took a bite of the sandwich. "Very good, but you lied to me."

Celestia nodded. "I did. Picky eaters are hard to deal with, so the simple solution is to mask the ingredient with flavor blockers. The kid gets to enjoy the food, and the body gets to enjoy the nutrients that it has missed. For the sandwich, I added a slice of tomato, which works well with the sandwich, if you actually know its there, but its not too over powering when it comes to flavor when compared to melted cheese."

Spike smiled as he took a spoonful of soup. "Very light but super strong on flavor, and very aromatic, and good job on using sea salt, instead of normal salt or kosher." Spike finished by eating a few pieces of the fruit salad. "Apples are just the right size for a child, the cantaloupe is very fresh and flavorful, and the watermelon is just the right texture that it doesn't turn to mush the moment you fork it. But in all honesty the grapes don't work with this particular combination of fruits."

Celestia looked saddened. "Oh."

"Next time think about using some oranges, cuts down on the sweetness by adding a hint of sour." 

Celestia nodded.

Spike smiled. "Ok, we have a few unique eaters in our care. One is a slime, and the other is a demon succubus hybrid. Do you know what that means?"

Celestia shrugged. "Slimes don't really eat, they dissolve what they roll over, but the succubus is new to me." 

Spike nodded. "Understandable. Rarity is the hybrid, her father is a demon, while her mother is a succubus, meaning that she has to eat soul energy."

"Soul energy?"

Spike nodded. "From what I can tell, all living creatures have soul energy. A succubus needs to eat this energy on a regular basis. Normally this would be provided by the succubae's mate, and for the children by the parents. So normally when Rarity comes in her mother Cookie Crumbles prepares a vile of her soul energy, to make sure she doesn't hurt one of the kids, or more likely me."

"You?" Asked Celestia.

Spike nodded. "Yes, she kinda has a crush on me, and the first time I took care of her she almost drained me dry, I was in the hospital for a few hours, and I'm full grown. Now imagine if she started on one of the kids, who have much smaller souls." 

Celestia nodded. "Got it, don't let her eat your soul."

Spike nodded. "We keep her vile with the ice cream in the freezer. Apparently it freezes like water, and she says it taste like cherries, I don't question it, and I'm not going to try it for myself. Now follow me to the basement."

"The basement?" Asked Celestia hesitantly.

Spike started to laugh like a psychopath. "Yes..." Said Spike but he went back to normal. "I want to see if you can lift the granite slabs... you said you could levitate things using your magic right?"

Celestia nodded, still unsure if Spike was nuts. "Good, last time I had to bring up a slab, it took me, my assistant and a Centaur to haul it up here." Said Spike as he opened the basement door. Spike flipped the light switch and walked down the stairs with Celestia following behind.

Once they reached the floor, Celestia looked around at the basement. It was practically empty, there were a few stone slabs leaning on the wall, next to them was a washer, dryer combo, and a very weird machine with a lot of wires and pipes, in the corner.

"So this is the basement. We mostly use it for laundry, and extra storage." 

Celestia walked over to the machine in the corner. "What's this?" Asked Celestia. 

Spike walked over to her. "That's the FSPG."

"FSPG?"

"It stands for Fire Stone Power Generator. My grandfather was the last guy to own the place, and he told me that the bill for the power was more than this place was worth. So after the first bill he started to think of a way to really not have to sell a lung to stay here. So he talked with a friend of his, and he made this machine." 

"But what does it run on?"

"Fire stones, it's in the name. I get them from Cookie. Just toss them into the machine and we got all the power we need to keep this place running for a few weeks at most. Also don't touch it, It's old and I don't think I could fix it." Said Spike as he pulled Celestia over to the washing machine and dryer. "We do quick laundry loads, mainly grass stains, lunchtime messes, and the occasional Pinkie stain, it saves their parents the hassle of washing the clothes." Spike then pulled her over to the rock slabs. "And this is Pinkies lunch." Said Spike. "On average they weigh around 200lbs and walking up a flight of stairs is dangerous. So we normally get AJ to pull it up the stairs once I move it and tie it up."

"You make her?" 

Spike shook her head. "Of course not. I would normally take Pinkie down here and let her dissolve her slab, while everyone else ate upstairs. But AJ offered to help us haul up one so Pinkie could eat with them, she normally pulls a plow that weighs twice that. Also I talked to her parents, and all they called it was light training. Trust me I felt the same way as you are right now, but I tell her she doesn't have to." 

Celestia sighed. "Ok." Said Celestia as she moved her hand towards one of the slabs, she made a fist, and the slab was incased in a golden aura. It was hovering off the ground. "But I think I got this." Said Celestia. 

Spike smiled. "Good. Lets head back up stairs."  Said Spike. Celestia nodded as the two of them walked up the stairs.





Once they were back, they walked back into the kitchen. "Put it down, right here." Said Spike pointing to a empty part of the wall. 

"Yes sir." Said Celestia.

"Spike, I don't make the kids call me sir unless it's play time, I don't make Cadence call me sir, and I'm not going to let my newest assistant call me sir."

Celestia nodded. "Ok, Spike." Said Celestia as she lowered Pinkies slab.

"Good, now follow me, we have a few stops before you meet the kids officially." Said Spike. 

"Ok Spike." 

Spike and Celestia walked to the storage area for the kids stuff. "Here are all the cubby holes we have for all the kids we take care of. Normally we put in a change of clothes, for if the set they are wearing get dirty, their nap time blankets, any tools required for general maintenance or hygiene; nail files, brushes, tranquilizer darts, and their stuffed plushies."

"Wait what was that last one?"

"Stuffed plushies."

"Before that." 

"Brushes."

"After that."

"Tranquilizer darts."

"Yeah that one." 

"Have you ever had to get a 10 foot tall dragon whelp to let go of all the toys its hoarded?" 

Celestia shook her head. "Well, I have, it did not go well, her father gave me that just incase she goes through another greedy moment."

Celestia looked at all of the cubby holes. "Wow, how many in total do you look after?"

Spike shrugged. "In total, 27. Normally we have about 7 or 8 kids on any given weekday, most of which come on set day's. We might get the occasional emergency call, and someone has to bring in their kid off schedule. We're ok with that, but we make them pay double, and they have to let us know what we need to do, for their kid. It usually consist of telling us when they will pick them up and what they ate the day before." 

"So when we walked into the front area, I noticed six kids and a ball of feathers, is that all for today?"

Spike laughed. "No today we have 7 kids, that ball of feathers is a harpy named Rainbow Dash, she's just molting right now."

Celestia giggled. "Oh I'm sorry." 

Spike smiled. "It's fine. Also good luck." Said Spike smirking wildly.

Celestia gulped. "Luck?"

Spike nodded as he pushed her to the door. He opened it and tossed her out of the back area. "Yep, this is what I call the Dragons Lair. You have to survive, for 2 hours with the kids, by yourself." 

"What?" 

Spike nodded. "Don't worry, me and Cadence will be here as back up, if you are nocked out, or worse." Said Spike, as he took a seat on the floor.

Cadence walked over to Spike and sat next to him. "Yes, he is a jerk, but I went through it, and Spike had to do it for a week, its like initiation."

Spike looked at all the girls. "Moondancer, can you come here?" Asked Spike. 

Moondancer walked over to Spike. "What is it Spike?" 

Spike pat the free spot next to him and Moondancer took the seat. "You said you wanted to know about my grandfather Scorpan right?" Asked Spike. 

Moondancer nodded. "Yes."

"Well, I have about 2 hours, and besides you might go easy on the newbie." Said Spike. Spike looked to the rest of the girls. "Girls. We have a trespasser in the Dragons Lair." Said Spike.

All the girls looked over at Celestia, as they grinned evilly. Pinkie was the first to walk over to Celestia. "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie..."

For the next two hours the sound of a chainsaw, gunshot, car horn, cannon, cats and dogs, and the obligatory Wilhelm Scream was all that could be heard from out side of the Little Dragon Daycare.