The Dragon Lands were as harsh as they had always been despite the dragons that call it home enjoying their lives. The damage done by the Malafear incident had all but vanished, and just outside the borders was Spike, the drake leading Rarity and Lightning to a forest where he had first saved a young egg from some bully dragons. Rarity was after a few phoenix feathers while Lightning was interested in seeing the Dragon Lands. He hadn't gotten a good look the last time he was there, considering he was a mind-controlled dragon at the time.
Meanwhile, Spike was eager to see Peewee again. The last time he had seen the baby phoenix, the little guy was starting to get his adult feathers. By this point, he was probably a fully-fledged phoenix. "I do appreciate you showing me the way to the phoenix nests, Spike," Rarity commented.
"No problem," Spike replied as Rarity and Lightning stared at the drake, seeing him hold his claw to his right cheek. He had been doing that since they left Equestria. "Besides, I've been meaning to visit Peewee."
"He really was an excellent pet," Rarity nodded, "I can't imagine why you set him free." Spike's eyes went wide when he remembered all the problems that had happened while Peewee was under his care, the dragon blushing and looking away.
"Phoenixes aren't meant to be domesticated," he responded, "Even in the wild, they like to keep to themselves."
"But Celestia has a phoenix," Lightning pointed out.
"Yes...where did she get Philomena from anyway?"
Lightning rubbed his chin at the question, "Um...if I remember correctly, I think Grand once said something about a rare animal trading ring he busted up. Maybe Celestia got the egg from there. I think I remember hearing a rumor from her unicorn school about a student who hatched the egg and became Celestia's student."
"Oh? And who was that?"
"No idea." Lightning shrugged.
Rarity then turned back to Spike, "Well, those birds are beautiful." She started circling around the dragon, Spike simply spinning on the spot as he kept his claw to his face, "A few of their feathers will add just the right splash of color to my latest-Spike!" She grabbed him in her magic and spun him around, "What are you doing?"
"Uh," Spike pulled away, "Nothing!" Rarity and Lightning narrowed their eyes at this.
"Is there something wrong with your face?" Rarity asked.
"Trip in poison ivy?" Lightning added, "I noticed some earlier. Didn't think it would effect a dragon with scales." Spike sighed at this.
"It's a stone scale." He turned back to them, "It isn't magical or anything like the call of the Dragon Lord." He started scratching, "It's just...red. And itchy." He let out a groan, "And embarrassing." He then removed his claws, now showing a red bump that had grown under his scale and pushed up out of place.
"Oh my," Rarity pulled back as Lightning hissed, "That does look uncomfortable." Spike frowned at this, only for Rarity to shake her head, "Don't worry about that Spike. Even I get the odd blemish from time to time. It's nothing to be embarrassed by." She began to walk again, the boys catching up as she added, "You could pay Zecora a visit. She makes a cream that works wonders." She then frowned and leaned in, "Just don't get the shampoo."
"What would happen if you popped it?" Lightning asked, taking out one of his knives. Spike quickly pulled away and covered the stone scale again, "What?! Sometimes it's good to pop a spot. Get all the gunk out and properly wash it and you'll be right as rain."
"No thanks," Spike replied, only to then hear some squawking. They looked up and saw a pair of phoenix in a nest. "There's Peewee's parents!" He then sighed at this, "But I don't see Peewee."
"Maybe he moved out," Rarity chimed in, "Everypony has to leave the nest at some point." In that moment, another squawk filled the air before a familiar phoenix shot past them.
"Peewee!" Spike exclaimed as the bird landed, turning and smiling before the pair hugged. Unfortunately, the phoenix's super warm feathers touched the stone scale on Spike's face. The one spot not fireproof at the moment then caused Spike to actually feel the burn. "Ouch!" He pulled back, scratching the scale as Peewee squawked and took to the air.
Doing so caused several feathers to fall to the ground, Rarity quickly picking them up and bagging them. As she did this, she saw Spike wince and rub his face, "Perhaps you should pay Zecora a visit sooner rather than later."
Spike sighed again, "I don't want anypony else to see this. Besides, I'm sure it'll clear up after a good night's sleep." Rarity shrugged in response before Lightning stepped up, the pair grabbing onto his cloak and teleporting back to Ponyville.
Arriving at his house, Rarity headed off to the boutique while Lightning went on patrol. At the same time, Spike carefully rushed home, glad everypony at the castle was more focused on a big test Heart and Jaden were taking the next day. He quickly zipped up to his room and got into bed before anypony could see him, Twilight coming up later to bring him down for dinner, only to be told he was tired and would be turning in early.
Twilight accepted this, but told Spike she would need his help with a class lecture the next day. Spike agreed and quickly found himself drifting off the sleep, only to find himself enjoying one of the most comfortable sleeps he had had in a while, full of dreams of fifty foot gems he got to enjoy and video games where he was the hero.
That is, till it came to a loud end as Twilight opened the door and yelled, "Spike! I can't believe you're still asleep!"
Spike let out a groan, "Just five more minutes." He tried to curl himself up, but Twilight pulled the curtains open and filled the room with light.
"It's nearly noon, and you promised to help me with my lecture for class today!" That got Spike awake, the dragon popping his head out from under the blanket.
"Noon?! Whoa! I slept like a rock!" He rubbed his eyes at this, "Which reminds me, all that sleep probably cleared up my stone scale!" He turned to Twilight, only for his pseudo-big sister to let out a gasp of horror.
"Um, on second thought..." She gave a nervous chuckle, "You can go back to sleep if you want." Spike raised an eyebrow at this and moved over to a nearby mirror. "I wouldn't do that."
And then Spike let out a scream.
Springer had just come off of patrol, planning on a quick lunch before setting up a training scenario of Ace and Mira to practice their Bone Breaker techniques...though mainly to see if he can get them to learn the technique. He didn't know why, but both seemed to be having trouble even creating half of the weapon. And as he walked into the castle, a loud scream filled the air.
He quickly rushed upstairs, soon reaching the dragon's room, "I heard a scream! What happened?" He then saw Spike with a bunch of red spots covering his face and pushing his scales off him. "Ooooow," he flinched at the sight while Spike ran over to shut the curtains before leaping under his blanket.
"Spike..." Twilight called out, "What are you doing?"
"Hiding from my hideous face!" Spike replied, Twilight sighing as she placed a hoof on top of the blanket.
"I'm sure it feels terrible, but it's just a breakout. It's not the end of the world."
"That's easy for you to say," Spike pulled his head out to show her face. "Your face isn't covered in itchy red spots!" He then started scratching as Twilight smiled.
"I used to get terrible breakouts any time I had a final exam with Celestia." She then frowned as she thought of Celestia's constantly perfect face, "Who probably never had a blemish her whole life..."
Meanwhile...
Celestia was taking a lunch break alone in her chambers, her horn glowing as the glamor charm she was using ended to reveal a big red spot on her cheek.
She sighed as she looked in the mirror, "That invisibility potion better show up soon. I can't keep using magic to hide this." She opened her dresser and took out some makeup, attempting the hide the spot with little success. "Tirek better not be planning a comeback this week."
"Well, I'm not in magic school," Spike grumbled.
"No," Twilight shook her head, "But these things can be stress-related. And you did spend yesterday with Rarity."
"I haven't been feeling stressed around her for a long time," Spike replied, "And the first stone scale appeared before we went out." He kept itching as Twilight grabbed his claws in her magic, stopping him as Springer pulled the curtains open.
"Why not look inside your spell book?" Springer chimed in, "Who knows, maybe your dad might have suffered from the same issues when he was your age." Spike's eyes went wide at this as he threw the blanket off of him and ran over to his bookshelf, taking out the magic book Silverbolt had left for him.
"Please," Spike started flicking through it, but the scales were so itchy he couldn't turn them fast enough. Twilight chose to take the book from him and with her speed reading mastery, looked through every possible spell in the book within ten seconds.
"Sorry Spike," she shut it, "There isn't anything in here about getting rid of spots." Spike groaned as Twilight put the book away, "You could try Zecora. She makes a cream that-"
"Works wonders," Spike growled, "I've heard." He looked at himself in the mirror again and frowned, "But I'm not leaving the castle until my face is back to its adorable self." He then tried to pop one of his spots, but that only resulted in a pained wince.
"Fine," Twilight passed him a bunch of cards, "But you're still gonna help me practice my lecture." Spike groaned as Springer chuckled and headed out the room, only for a giant burst of green fire to shoot out the door and hit his tail's tip.
"YOW!" the jakhowl yelped before slamming his tail against the wall, managing to put it out, but the fur on the tip was gone and revealing the pink under-flesh. "SPIKE!" He yelled while spinning around, only to see Twilight gasping at the sight of an ash pile Spike was carrying.
"My lecture!" She cried as Spike dropped the ashes on the floor.
"I'm sorry! I don't know what happened!" He exclaimed, "I just had a sudden case of-" He couldn't finish his sentence, as he started gagging worse than when he would get a letter from Celestia. Twilight gasped at this and teleported away as Springer put an Aura Guard up around him. Spike then unleashed a mighty stream of fire, the jakhowl finding himself pushed back, only for Twilight to reappear with a fire extinguisher and sprayed him with so much that he looked like a melted snowman. "...indigestion. I'm so sorry!"
Twilight sighed, "It's okay. I'm sure I can rewrite the lecture from my notes." She summoned a stack of papers that were even bigger than the one Spike had torched, "I have a lot."
Spike reached for the notes, "I can help you with-"
But Twilight pulled them away, "Maybe you should leave the castle after all and...go somewhere less...flammable?" She looked around the room and saw all the scorch marks now covering the place. Luckily, everything had been enchanted to be fire resistant for just such an occasion, though Twilight was probably regretting not doing that to the rest of her stuff.
Spike let out a sigh and began to leave, though not before going to his closet and pulling out a trench coat, hat and big sunglasses. "Really?" Springer asked, still holding his tail as Spike put them on.
"Sorry about your tail," he replied as Springer shrugged.
"It's fine. I don't think it's burnt, but I'll probably ask Doctor Fauna to have a look. Typical. The one time Heart isn't here, and I get a burn."
He then left and Spike did the same while Twilight teleported to her office to redo her lecture. The next hour or so wasn't exactly fun for Spike, as he made the mistake of going over to the school. He had been staring at his hideous self in the lake's reflection when Rarity called him over to ask for help modelling her new dress. Spike, who was able to hide his true appearance thanks to his disguise, thought fast and tried to refuse saying he needed to lead a tour of the school. Alas, Pinkie and a tour group she was leading heard this and happily passed it onto him.
So there he was, doing his best to finish the tour up as fast as he could. The ponies in the tour group weren't so keen on being quick, wanting to take their time to enjoy the sights. Talk about selfish. Things then got worse for Spike when his voice started acting up. One moment he could only speak in a whisper, no matter how hard he tried to speak, then his voice was suddenly set to eleven and the quietest he could speak was a high yell.
That was what the students of the library were greeted to when the tour group arrived. Smolder, Yona, Sandbar and Soul were working on their loyalty homework, Soul also wondering how her brother's test was going, only to flinch when they heard Spike.
"THIS IS THE SCHOOL LIBRARY!" He roared, "IT'S ONE OF THE MOST SERENE SPOTS ON CAMPUS, WHERE STUDENTS CAN SPEND TIME IN QUIET REFLECTION OR STUDY!" He turned to the group, who were all frowned. "WHAT?" A tour pony pointed behind him, the drake then turning to see the four students walking up.
"Could you please stop shouting?" Smolder growled, "We're trying to do our homework, and it's kind of distracting."
"WAS I SHOUTING?!" Spike yelled, the tour group all nodding with mutters. Spike quickly cleared his throat and when he spoke next, he was back to a normal volume. "I have no idea what you're talking-" He suddenly stopped as he felt another big burp coming on, the little dragon trying to cover his mouth.
He knew Twilight would have a panic attack if another library under her care was destroyed, so he tried everything he could to keep from unleashing the flames. But he couldn't help it and the fire was expelled, causing him to turn into a green fireball that made everyone except Smolder to leap back.
Spike, now disguiseless, suddenly shot out of the fireball as he was propelled by his flame burps. When it finally stopped, he fell upon the ashes of his destroyed coat, hat and glasses whilst the others saw his state of being. Unbeknownst to Spike, his spots had spread. His arms, legs and tail were also spotty, causing Soul to gasp.
"Spike! What's wrong with you?!" Spike sat himself up and panicked, looking himself over and seeing the new spots along his body. Without a word, he jumped to his feet and ran off. "SPIKE!" But the dragon didn't listen was gone, leaving the alicorn to turn to the others.
"I hope whatever he has ain't contagious," Sandbar quivered.
"You'll be fine," Smolder sighed before walking off, "And he isn't sick." The others blinked at her as the young dragon followed Spike, Soul deciding to take off and fly after her.
"If he isn't sick, what's wrong with him?"
"I'll tell you when we find him," Smolder replied, "And it looks like we won't have to look far." She pointed at the ceiling and Soul saw a large trail of smoke flowing along. The alicorn gasped at the sight, the girls quickly going down a corridor before hearing a loud burp from a supply closet.
They flew up and Soul opened the door, an extra burst of smoke hitting them in the face before revealing a very unhappy looking Spike. "If you're trying to hide, you need to do a better job." Smolder pointed up, "All I had to do was follow the smoke." Spike looked up and wafted the smoke away as Smolder pulled the door shut. Spike then glared at her and tried to say something, but his voice was so quiet and rough that they couldn't make it out. "What?"
Spike tried again, but they still couldn't hear him, "Heave under dome?" Soul asked as Spike rolled his eyes.
Spike growled and tried to force his voice, only for it to come out normal half-way through the sentence. "I said leave ME ALONE!" He then began to gag and the girls flinched, both leaping up as Spike unleashed a powerful burst of fire that disintegrated several brooms. Seeing this, he let out a sigh as Soul winced at the sight, only for Smolder to start laughing.
"Wow! I have seen some pretty bad molts in my time, but yours takes the cake!"
"Molts?!" Spike asked as Smolder leapt down, Soul gliding next to him.
"The molt." She replied, "Super painful stone scales, fire burps, uncontrollable volume shifts? It's all part of growing up dragon. Congrats!" She slapped him on the back, hitting several stone scales and making Spike cry out. "Oh. Sorry."
"I think I've heard that before." Soul commented before turning to Spike, "Didn't Flicker say something about that once? A dragon named Garble who was the last one of his group to molt. Didn't he call Garble something? Tiny..."
"Tiny Tooth!" Smolder jumped onto the windowsill, "It's what Spike is now. At least, until he finishes molting." Soul was about to ask what that meant, only for Spike to start panicking.
"No-no-no-no-no! The last time I grew up, I turned into a giant greedy monster!"
Smolder rolled her eyes at this, "Greed-induced bigness. That's totally different." She jumped off the window, "The molt is completely normal. Every dragon goes through it. Pretty soon, you'll leave and strike out on your own."
"Why would I do that?" Spike asked, making Smolder stare at him like he just asked why water was wet.
"Have you been living with ponies your whole life?"
"Uh-huh."
"Oh," Smolder slumped. "Well, in the Dragon Lands, a molter's loved ones kicks them out at the first stone scale."
"What?!" Spike screeched, "Why?!"
Smolder shrugged at this, "Eh, I think it's biological. We call it the 'molt effect'. And I haven't even told you about the smell."
"Smell?!" Both Spike and Soul asked before they gave the young dragon a whiff, only to need to hold back a gag due to the horrible smell that was now coming off of him.
"Yeah," Smolder nodded, "I mean, I love my brother and all, but one whiff, and I was all 'see ya'!" She then sniffed Spike and flinched, "Speaking of which..." She turned to leave, but Spike leapt and grabbed her tail.
"Wait!" She turned back to him, "Does the molt effect happen to ponies too?" He then gasped, "Twilight already asked me to leave the castle today. If she kicks me out, where am I gonna live?! I'm too young to grow up!"
Soul facehoofed at this, about to tell him Twilight wouldn't do that, but Smolder then said, "I'm sure you'll find a nice..." She pulled her tail out of his grasp, "...hoard of gems to guard or a village to terrorize." She then scratched her chin, "Oh wait, now that dragons and ponies are friends, I guess that's off the table."
"So no creature's gonna wanna be around me?" Spike asked next.
"I'm sure it won't be that bad," Soul chimed in, "Maybe we can find you a really powerful deodorant to use."
"Won't work," Smolder countered, "Lots of dragons have tried to mask the smell, but it never works. I remember my brother found a skunk and got it to spray him."
"Why would he trade one bad smell for another?"
"To keep himself alive," Smolder replied, "The molt stench is a magnet for predators. Tatzlwurms, hydras, rocs..." That statement caused the pair to blink, both sharing a glance before Spike turned back to her.
"Dragons are scared of rocks?"
"R-O-C-S. Rocs?" She started flying, trying to look as scary as she could as she explained, "Humongous birds of prey that can snack on a molting dragon like candy!"
Soul grimaced at this, only for Spike to try to say something, but his voice went so low and crackly it was impossible to hear. "Seriously," Smolder replied, "I heard none of that."
"TWILIGHT'S KICKING ME OUT, AND THE ONLY CREATURES WHO DON'T FIND ME DISGUSTING WANT TO EAT ME?!"
"Congrats!" Smolder laughed, Soul facehoofing again as the door suddenly opened to reveal Pinkie.
"HEY!" She yelled, "IS THIS THE SHOUTING CLOSET?! BECAUSE I'VE GOT A FREE DAY, AND I'M TOTALLY UP FOR SOME SHOUTING!" She then sniffed the air. "Also, where's that brussel-sprouts-covered-in-cotton-candy smell coming from? Because it is really interesting." Smolder nudged Spike with a smirk as the little dragon slumped.
"Spike..." Soul started before Spike ran off.
"I gotta go!" He yelled, pushing passed Pinkie, the pony gagging when he did so. Soul tried to follow, but Spike had already vanished around another corner.
"Great..." she sighed as Smolder turned to leave, "Did you have to terrify him that much?!"
"I was just being honest," Smolder responded, "Isn't that what you're supposed to do when a friend needs to know something important?"
"You could have broken it to him more gently!" Soul replied, "And not make it sound like he's definitely going to get kicked out! You don't know that this molt effect works on ponies."
"Tell me honestly, do you wanna be around Spike right now?" She was gonna say yes, but then remembered that smell and was suddenly developing a queasy motion. "Exactly. You can't help it. The molt is when a dragon leaves home. It's nature."
"Well, Spike isn't a normal dragon," she countered, "And it's obvious that smell doesn't last. You're older than Spike, so you must have gone through the molt." Smolder nodded, "And you don't smell. So once he's finished with this, he'll be back to normal."
"Maybe. But by the time that happens, he'll be so used to being on his own he'll probably wanna leave anyway. That's what happened to me. When my parents kicked me out, I couldn't wait for my molt to be over so I could go back. But then I started having fun on my own and when it was over, I decided I didn't need to be babied anymore."
"How long does a molt last?"
"About a month...maybe a little longer."
Soul grimaced at this, only to sigh, "I just hope Spike doesn't do something stupid before Twilight can tell him everything's gonna be okay."
Spike had rushed back to his still charred room, quickly writing a letter to Flicker. He had needed a lot of focus in order to send the message without unleashing a massive fire blast, only to pull out his spellbook again to search for an answer.
"Come on dad," Spike flicked through the pages. "You must have gone through the molt. The mystic dragons must have found a spell to reverse the molt." He flicked through page after page, finding nothing to helping him...only to get to the back, "The Molt Spell!" He gasped and read it aloud, "This spell will nullify the side-effects of the molt. If cast correctly, it'll reduce the itching, fire burps, voice effects and smell so that the molt effect won't occur."
He danced for joy, happy to see that there was hope. He then read the spell and frowned when he saw it required an incantation. A dragonic incantation.
"Great," Spike sighed. He was fine when the spell required mental casting, but speaking dragonic wasn't Spike's best talent. "I still gotta try." He read over it again and nodded as he breathed fired into his claws and held them up, the flames burning brightly. "Bassamo, goroara, ventaco, back-" He tried to say the rest of the spell, but his voice suddenly went quiet. The flames then stopped expanding and died out.
Spike saw this and groaned, clearing his throat until it went back to normal. He breathed more fire into his claws and tried again, "Bassamo, goroara, ven-" He stopped when his mouth was suddenly filled with fire, forcing him to stop in order to contain it...only for the flames to burst out anyways, "Ahhh!" He cried before trying again.
But as he tried to cast the spell, the itching would distract him enough to make a mistake, his voice would cut out or he was forced to stop due to a fire burp. "AAAAAUUGGGGHHHHH!" He then slumped over, "This is hopeless!" He just laid there, about to wallow in self-pity, only to feel himself begin to gag. "Not again!" He clutched his stomach and unleashed a fire blast, only to find this one came with ash that quickly reshaped itself into a scroll. "Oh yeah...forgot that could happen."
He looked over the scroll and found it was from Flicker, the dragon gasping as he hoped he had found a way to stop the molt. He unfurled it and began to read. "Dear Spike, congratulations on beginning your molt." He let out a low growl, "Don't congratulate me. I need a way to stop this." He then read some more, "Alas, there is no way to stop the molt. Once it has begun, it will not stop until it is completed. But don't worry. I have very little worry about Twilight kicking you out. There is no reason the ponies will have developed the molt effect, so just stay where you are. Who knows, Twilight might be able to make a spell that can stop the bad smell. Talk to her about it and stay inside since being outside will make it more likely you'll attract a predator." He looked through the scroll and then screamed, "THAT'S IT?! THAT DOESN'T HELP ME AT ALL!"
In that moment, the door opened to reveal Springer, "What's with all the shouting?" He stepped inside, his tail-tip wrapped in bandages, only to notice Spike's face, "Whoa. What happened to you?" He then flinched as the smell hit his nose, "Urgh...what is that horrible smell? It's as if dead fish and a dumpster had a baby, and the baby puked, and a dog ate the puke and it smells like the rear end of that dog."
"You don't have to get so vocal about it," Spike hissed as he ran out of the room. "There's only one pon-er...zebra that can save me now."
Soul had searched for Twilight all day, accidently missing three lessons as she did this. "Oh, come on!" She cried as she flew into Twilight's office and found it empty, "She's gotta be somewhere." She flew to Twilight's classroom again, having already checked that place three times, only to still not see the alicorn.
"Soul!" The alicorn pulled herself to a stop midair and looked down to see Cozy and Mira looking up at her, "You missed Miss Rarity's class." Cozy told her as Mira laughed.
"You should have seen it. Rarity's hearing seemed to be affected by something, so she couldn't hear anything and kept yelling everything that she was saying. Where have you been?"
"Looking for Twilight," Soul replied, "You haven't seen her, have you?"
They thought for a moment and Mira shook her head, but then Cozy spoke up, "I remember seeing her before class. I think I heard her say something about Sugarcube Corner." Soul raised an eyebrow at this before she flew off, leaving the pair standing as Mira turned to Cozy.
"We were together before class. I don't remember seeing Twilight." Cozy shrugged and suggested that maybe she just didn't notice her, the pegasus walking off with Mira behind. As she did this, Cozy had to hold back a laugh at the prank she had just pulled.
Soul rushed over to Sugarcube Corner, arriving there panting as she pushed her way inside, only to find no sign of the alicorn in question. "Oh, hello Soul. Can I help you with something?" Mrs. Cake asked as the alicorn flew in.
"How long ago did Twilight leave?" This made the baker raise an eyebrow before telling her Twilight hadn't been here all day. "Seriously?" She groaned as Mrs. Cake nodded and Soul swore to make Cozy pay for this mistake. She took to the air again and flew around town, only to then see Springer, who was hanging out at the town flower stand. "Springer!" She dived down, seeing him sniff the smelliest flowers there was. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to get rid of that horrible smell that won't leave my nose." He took a big whiff, but still looked ready to start crying. "It just won't leave!"
"Focus!" She yelled as she grabbed his shoulders, "Where's Twilight?! I need to find her!" Springer blinked at her before doing a quick scan, soon finding her in the castle. "Augh! I checked there!" She flew off again, Springer staring at her before running after her. They soon arrived at the castle, stepping inside to see Twilight now practicing her newly rewritten lecture. "Twilight!"
The alicorn spun around, "Oh, hello Soul. What's the problem?"
"It's Spike!"
"Is he still having problems with his little breakout?"
"It's not so little anymore," Springer chimed in, "Those spots are covering his whole body, plus he smells like he took a swan dive into a year-old manure pile."
"He's scared you're gonna kick him out!"
Twilight went wide-eyed at this, only for an alarm to go off. "Is that the Rune Gate bell?" Springer asked, Twilight quickly zipping into the room containing the portal. The alarm signified someone at another gate was asking it to be opened, something that had been added in case there was an emergency.
When Twilight arrived, she saw the call was coming from the Dragon Lands and quickly activated the portal. Seconds later, the pillar of light appeared, "Flicker?" The Dragon Chronicler smiled as he walked in with something on the end of his nose. "What are you doing here? And what's with the clothes pin?"
"I would have thought it was obvious," Flicker replied, "I'm here to help Spike with his molting. That and this pin should hopefully keep me from experiencing the molt effect."
"Molting?" Twilight asked, "Molt effect? What are you talking about?"
"It's what I was trying to tell you," Soul added, "Spike's breakout, the fire burps and smell are all because of something called the molt." Flicker nodded at this and explained what was happening.
"That's great!" Twilight exclaimed and clapped her hooves, "So it's nothing to worry about."
"Yes," Flicker nodded, "But Spike was worried about the molt effect. He sent me a message asking me if there was a way to stop it, so I decided he needed some comfort with the whole situation."
"This molt effect?" Springer spoke up, "What's that?"
"It's meant to be what causes dragon parents to kick their kids out," Soul responded, "That's why he's scared of it. He doesn't want to leave, but thinks he'll have to once the molt completes."
"That's ridiculous," Twilight waved her hoof, "I'd never make Spike leave if he didn't want to."
"And Spike being away doesn't sound like a good idea," Springer added, "If it's true his stench will attract predators, he needs to be here where we can protect him."
"Indeed," Flicker nodded as they made their way out of the room, "Many Tiny Teeth end up losing their lives to predators if they're unable to find a safe place to wait out the molt. I almost ended up a hydra snack when I molted."
"I've heard that word before," Soul chimed in, "Smolder called Spike a Tiny Tooth. And you said Garble was the oldest one before he molted once?"
"Exactly," Flicker nodded. "We dragons have five stages of maturity. First is the egg, which hatches into the Tiny Tooth. They then molt and become a Short Wing, like Smolder, followed by the Broad Wing that Ember and I fall under. And then, if a dragon survives long enough, they grow into the Titan Wings like Torch or your friends when Malafear transformed them." He frowned as he said this. "Now that I think about it, why did they become Titan Wings? Based on their ages, they should have been Broad Wings."
"Must have been part of the magic he cast," Twilight replied before she let out a gasp, "Wait, wait, wait!" They all stopped and turned to her, "So when Spike molts, he'll become a Short Wing?" Flicker nodded, "But he doesn't have wings, unless..."
"Unless that's what the molt is for," Flicker chuckled, "I didn't have wings when I hatched, neither did Ember, Smolder or any other dragons you've met. We suffer through the molt and at the end of it, we're rewarded by growing bigger and having a new set of wings."
"So Spike's gonna get wings?" Soul asked, Flicker nodding. "That's amazing!"
"Yes!" Twilight cheered, "I always wondered if Spike would get wings. But hearing it's happening...I can't wait to tell him."
"You mean he doesn't know?" Flicker asked, the others shaking their heads. "Huh, I would have thought Smolder would tell him."
"Well, she didn't," Soul sighed, "Now we need to find him and tell him before he does something stupid."
"I don't think you have to worry," Flicker replied, "I mean, how many predators could live here in Equestria?"
"You said a hydra once attacked you," Springer pointed out with Flicker nodding. "We have hydras in Equestria." Flicker's eyes went wide. "We also have timberwolves, tatzlwurms, cragadiles, and a bunch more creatures that'll probably see Spike as a delicious low carb snack."
"Then we'd better find him right away," Flicker yelled, Springer then scanning the town...and finding nothing.
"You think he already left?" Soul asked as Springer increased the radius of the scan.
"Got him!" He exclaimed, "He's in the woods. At Zecora's place."
"Zecora?" Flicker responded.
"A friend who live there," Twilight replied, "He must be looking for a magical potion in order to stop the molt."
"Hang on," Springer spoke up, "Somepony else is heading to Zecora's place as well. It's Rarity."
"What's she doing at Zecora's?" Soul asked.
"Probably needs some more shampoo or something," Twilight sighed. "Come on," she spread her wings. "Let's get going before Spike actually finds a way to stop his molt." She grabbed Springer in her magic and flew out a nearby window, Soul and Flicker following behind.
"So did you all really not know about Spike's molt until now?" Flicker asked the others, who all nodded. "Well, what did you think his stone scales, burps, voice and smell were the last few weeks?"
"Last few weeks?" Twilight asked, "Spike only started showing the symptoms today?"
"He had a single stone scale yesterday," Springer pointed out, "But when he woke up this morning he was covered in them." Flicker raised an eyebrow at this, "Something wrong?"
"If his first stone scale only appeared yesterday, he should have only developed two or three more by now."
"Smolder did say the molt takes about a month," Soul pointed out.
"Exactly. The first week is the stone scales, then the second week is the fire burps. Then it's the voice issues in week three, and the smell only arrives at the start of week four. They're not all supposed to show up in a single day."
"Why do you think Spike did?" Twilight asked next, "Do you think it could be because he's a Mystic Dragon?"
"Possibly," Flicker nodded. "Honestly, one of the reasons I came to check on Spike was so I could see if Mystic Dragons molted differently to normal ones. Guess I got the answer." They then arrived at the edge of the forest and landed, only for Springer to find himself getting hit with a giant wave of panic.
"Whoa!" He yelped, the sudden pulse almost enough to make dizzy.
"What's wrong?"
"Panic," he replied, "Terror. Something's making Spike and Zecora terrified!" This made the four charge in, Springer soon finding that Spike and Zecora seemed to be running in every direction except toward them. And as they did this, he felt another presence. It wasn't sapient, but he could tell it was big, mean and very dangerous.
"We have to hurry!" Soul yelled, Springer nodding as he felt Zecora's presence was right next to the new one and moving in the same direction...and Rarity's presence was now getting closer.
"Oh no!" He exclaimed, doubling his speed with the others flying behind him. Then, he sensed all four presences come together. They appeared close enough that Springer could get a sense of direction and the fact that a unicorn, zebra and wingless dragon were about fifty feet up didn't bode well.
"Where are they?" Twilight asked when Springer pulled to a stop, the group seeing the area of forest they were now in was surprisingly tree-less...which looked like something had ripped all the trees up.
Springer looked straight up, the others doing the same thing and seeing some kind of bird, "Is that thing really small or really far away?" Soul asked, only for a giant burst of green fire to appear next to it before a scream filled the air. Something began to fall down at this, Springer's eyes going wide.
"SPIKE!" He gasped, Twilight about to leap into the air. But before she could, Spike slammed into a leafy tree branch that slowed him down and bounced him onto the branch of another tree. It did the same and Spike was thrown into the first tree's trunks, his spines digging into the wood as he slid down it.
They ran over to him as he hit the ground, the drake now glowing red as he got up and started scratching himself. "Spike!" Twilight cried, "Are you okay?"
Spike turned to her, "If my stone scales didn't itch so much, and we weren't in immediate danger, this would be...really embarrassing!" He chuckled that last part, only for a loud screech to then fill the air.
They all looked up again and saw a giant bird flying down, "It was really far away!" Soul gasped as the bird opened its mouth, ready to gobble them up. Twilight then teleported them to another spot, causing the bird to get a tree instead. "What is that thing?"
"A roc," Flicker responded, "A very dangerous creature. But I never thought I'd see one here."
"I've never seen one either," Springer added as the roc dived down to attack again. Springer was about to fire an Aura Blast, but Spike leapt at him.
"NO!" He pushed Springer to the side as the others followed suit, the roc's open talons digging into the ground where they had been.
"TWILIGHT!" A familiar voice screamed as they picked themselves up.
"Was that Rarity?"
"And Zecora!" Spike told the alicorn, then started scratching again. "I tried to save them, but it's all I can do to stop scratching long enough to dive out of the way when that bird attacks!"
Twilight's eyes narrowed at this before leaping into the air, Flicker flying up with her. She started launching magi-blast after magi-blast as the roc swerved around. Flicker also flew up and tried to get in front of it, the dragon taking a deep breath before launching a fire stream in its face. But the roc stopped in placed and beat its wings, unleashing an air blast that dispelled the flames before the gust hit the dragon.
"FLICKER!" His friends all yelled as he was blown back, Soul trying to fly up and catch him. He was moving too fast for her magic to focus on him, resulting in the dragon crashing into a tree before crying out as he fell to the ground with a wing now bruised.
"Flicker!" Spike rushed up to him as he picked himself up, holding his head in pain. "Are you okay?"
"Urgh..." He grunted when he tried to move his bent wing, Soul rushing to his side to use her magic on it. "I...I don't think I can fly." They looked up and saw Twilight was still firing magic at the roc, but whatever its feathers were made of seemed impervious to her spells.
"Gaaah," Springer growled, "They're too high for me to fire. And even if I could get a good target, it might drop Rarity and Zecora."
Spike's eyes kept going between Flicker and the monster, but the itching of his scales were driving him insane. And just as his psyche was about to crack, he found the itching suddenly stop. The others turned to him and saw the red glow around him vanish as the stone scales beginning to clear up.
Spike looked himself over and sighed in relief, "Finally! I didn't think that itching would ever stop!" But as he said that, something happened. A sound filled the air, coming from the little dragon. He then noticed his back was beginning to feel rather stiff, making him look back and gasp when he saw some kind of stone to appear on his back...and it started to grow, "What's happening?" He cried as the stone spread around the rest of his body, "I...I can't move!"
Springer and Soul gasped at this, only for Flicker to yell, "DON'T TOUCH HIM!" They turned to him before looking back at Spike, only for his body to be encased within the stone.
"But...but...he'll suffocate!" Soul cried as the sound of Twilight zapping the roc filled the air. Then, starting with his fingers, the rocks began to crack and crumble away. The cracks spread across the entire shell, and as it did, a white light began to seep out of it.
"Get back!" Flicker exclaimed, jumping behind a tree with the other two. A moment later, the shell exploded with light, kicking up a dust cloud as pieces of shell flew everywhere, the three jumping out from behind the tree and seeing Spike was now in a small crater. And when they saw him, they all gasped.
Spike was now a little bigger, though only by a few inches, and his scales were completely clear of stone scales. But the most obvious change was the wings that could be seen on his back that were purple with green on the inside. Spike moaned as he picked himself up, "What just...happened?" He then saw his new wings on that last word, his eyes going wide. "Did I just sprout wings?" He pulled on one to make sure it couldn't come off and sure enough, he could feel the pull and turned to the others. "I JUST SPROUTED WINGS!" They were about to congratulate him, but a screech of the roc made them look back up.
They saw Twilight accidently hit the roc's foot, causing it to cry out in pain and open its talon. This caused Zecora and Rarity to fall, both barely managing to grab onto its claw to prevent their fall.
"Oh no!" Soul cried.
"I've gotta help them!" Spike yelled before looking back at his wings. He spread and started flapping them, the sensation of moving limbs he had never used feeling kinda strange. He leapt up and sure enough, he actually managed to stay aloft. "W-whoa!" But controlling them was proving rather difficult, Spike remembering how hard a time Twilight had when she first got hers. "Whooaaa!" He did several accidental loop-dee-loops before crashing into a tree, the others flinching.
"It's all about balance," Soul commented, "You gotta keep your weight evenly spread." Spike listened and did as she told him, managing to get himself under control before shooting up, Soul following as the pair readied for battle...only for Spike to accidently zip past her.
"Oops," Spike whispered before trying again. This time he managed to get level with Twilight, who was shocked to see him in the sky with her.
"Spike, you finished molting?"
"You knew I was molting?" Spike asked, only for the roc to spin around and try to grab them.
The three dodged, the bird flying off as Soul turned to them. "Fight now, talk later!" Twilight and Spike nodded, Twilight staring at the roc before turning back to Spike.
"Do you think you can fly up and distract him while I work on freeing Zecora and Rarity?" Spike nodded before flying after the roc, managing to catch up and fly ahead as the bird slowed down to turn.
"Hey, giant chicken!" He roared, "If you like dragons so much, come and get me!" The beast screeched as it tried to bite him, Spike quickly dodging the beak as he flew from side to side. He had no idea how long he could control his flight for, but managed to maintain just enough control the circle around the bird several times, making it a little dizzy. As its vision blurred, it didn't see Spike get in close until it was too late. "Greetings," he laughed before unleashing the biggest fire blast he could.
It practically consumed the entire bird, the only thing not set aflame being his feet. Its feather could only partially protect it from the fire, causing it to release its talons again and drop the ponies it was holding.
"Soul!" Twilight cried, she and her pupil diving down. The two flew as fast as they could, Spike diving down with them as the smoking roc flew off, the group getting closer to the ground. Springer and Flicker ran over, though they wouldn't reach Rarity and Zecora in time. Luckily, Twilight and Soul did and both grabbed a pony.
Soul was thankful she had been practicing her earth pony magic, giving her just enough strength to lift Rarity before she could go splat. Twilight also caught Zecora seconds before she hit the ground, the alicorn dropping their friends as Spike landed. And once they were sure the roc was gone, Zecora turned to Spike, "I know that the molt produced surprising things, but I'm glad that the last was a new pair of wings!" Spike smiled as Rarity stepped up.
"YES!" She yelled, "AND ALSO I'M GLAD YOU'VE GOT WINGS!"
"Is she okay?" Flicker asked Soul, who remembered what Mira had said about Rarity having hearing troubles today.
Twilight stepped up to Spike and hugged him, "I'm so happy for you Spike. I always wondered if you were gonna get wings, and now look at you!" But the look on Spike's face showed he wasn't so happy about this whole event.
"I'm sorry," he replied, "I tried to find a way to stop it, but I can't." He slowly hugged her back, "Thanks for looking after me for so long." And with that, he let go and turned to leave. "I-I should go."
"Spike," she grabbed him in her magic, "Stop. You don't have to go."
"Yes, I do," Spike turned to her. "In the Dragon Lands, families make molters leave home. It's called the molt effect."
"I know," Twilight replied, "Flicker told us all about it." She marched up to him, "But this isn't the Dragon Lands, and molt effect or no, I don't want you going anywhere." She smiled at him as Spike stared up at her with wide eyes.
"But I'm growing up. What if something even worse happens?"
"You're supposed to grow up," Twilight responded, "But you'll always be you. And whatever happens, we'll get through it together." She held out a hoof and Spike happily rushed up to hug her again, Twilight wrapping her hoof around the dragon as the others all smiled.
And as he pulled away, Spike spread his wings and took off to actually enjoy his new wings. He cheered and whooped as he did so, "Look at me!" He then flew down and landed on Twilight's back, "Let's go home!"
The alicorn frowned at him. "Um...I don't need to carry you anymore, do I?" She pulled on his new limbs, "You have wings."
"But they're new, and I don't want to overdo it." Twilight rolled her eyes before walking back to town, Rarity and Soul waving Zecora off as they went in different directions. As they did this, Soul continued healing Flicker and found his wing just needed a day or two of rest as Flicker explained how different Spike's molt was to him.
"You guys had to go through all that for a month?!" He yelped, Flicker nodding.
"Yes, though it looks like your molt's effects are far more intense than a normal dragon molt. I guess your race's evolution decided spending a day or two in absolute agony is better than a month of rather moderate pain." Spike hummed at this, only to shrug.
"Sounds good to me." Spike commented, "I'm just glad that's over."
"Heh. I bet Flash and Heart will be surprised when they get back," Springer chuckled, "They go away for a few days and suddenly someone has a new set of wings." They all laughed at this as they arrived back to town, Spike excited to show off his new wings to everypony he knew.
The next evening...
Flash, Ruby, Heart and Jaden were all exhausted, the colts more so. Over the last three days, Heart and Jaden had travelled a great distance while being attacked by bats, almost beaten to death by a room that could throw a punch, and had to evade a bunch of giant eels. They were so tired that the colts had fallen asleep on the train ride home. And now that they were in Ponyville, Flash and Ruby had to carry them on their backs.
"We're almost there," Flash told Heart as he shook him awake.
Heart let out a moan and lifted his head, only to see the castle and school up ahead. "We're home?" Flash nodded as he rubbed his eyes, Ruby also waking Jaden up. Flash put Heart down and stepped up to the castle, opening the doors, only to be greeted by a brilliant burst of sound.
"CONGRATULATIONS!" They flinched at the sound, only to see all their friends in the entryway. They then saw it was a party had been set up for them, with food, games and treats everywhere, along with a banner.
"Congratulations Heart, Jaden and...Spike?" Heart raised an eyebrow at this as Pinkie bounced up next to him.
"It's a special two in one party!" She cheered, "To celebrate you passing your test and Spike's molt!"
"Molt?" The colts asked, only for a dragon to shoot down in front of them.
"Boo!" They jumped at this, only to see Spike was staying afloat.
"Spike!" Heart yelped, "You've got wings?" Spike laughed at this and nodded, showing off his new flying ability much to Heart, Flash and the crystal unicorn's surprise.
"Clearly we missed something while we were gone," Flash commented, Twilight giggling as Heart and Spike asked for the story from one another. This was gonna be a long party, full of some pretty crazy tales.