It was that time of year again when the snow falls and every pony's favorite holiday roll back around. In Ponyville, every pony was cheerful and all the world’s conflicts were rest aside. The ponies in the market place were trading, the foals in the school were learning, and the ponies in the fields were plowing. There wasn't a conflict to be seen that is, except for in the Golden Oaks Library.
The newest princess, Twilight Sparkle, was packing her lavender colored saddle bag with supplies for the journey that was to come. Her assistant, Spike, was close by complaining about the next few days that were to follow.
"But Twilight why does it have to be me?"
Twilight took a deep breath and looked at the dragon with a serious look, “Because Spike, Discord has broken free from his prison again, and as the Elements of harmony, it's our job to go and stop him from carrying out his plans…no matter how stupid they may be."
As always, Equestria was relying on the Elements to take care of the problem like they always do. The only problem with that, for Spike, was he had to watch the CMC while the others went off to stop Discord. Usually, these trips meant peaceful times for the dragon because he usually had a few days all to himself. This trip, however, would prove to be disastrous because the CMC and their bad habit of destroying things in an attempt to gain their cutie marks.
"But..."
"Don't but me!" Twilight said cutting him off.
Spike observed the serious look on her face and knew from past experiences that he would get nowhere in this argument. He decided that it would be wise not to anger the Alicorn any more then she already was.
"Finnnnneeeeee!" said spike clearly annoyed by the idea. He point more strain in his voice, so Twilight would get the point.
"Good. Now the girls are probably waiting at the train station for me. The Cutie Mark Crusaders should be here in a little while…just keep them entertained, alright?"
Twilight then gave a small wave and a smile before she exited her bedroom, walked down the stairs, and through the front door. As soon as she left the hallowed out tree, Spike walked over to the chair in the corner of the room where he sat down, took a deep breathe, and put his head in his claws. The next few days were sure to be ones he wouldn't forget.
He thought about how he was going to survive the next couple of days. It was an impossible task since those three fillies managed to ruin anything they touched. He'd have to be sure to hide all the breakable things before they arrived. He then thought of ways he could try and convince them not to go cutie mark crusading, but knew it would be pointless to argue with them. They were too hard headed and determined.
Over the past few years, those fillies had developed a reputation to be a very destructive. One time, they brought down an entire statue in the public park. They were also known for being mischievous, like the time they poisoned their teacher and Big Macintosh with a love potion. The poor dragon could only wonder what this week had in store with them around.
After about fifteen minutes of waiting, the silence was broken by the ranting on the door, completely breaking Spike from his trance. He got up and trudged over to the door. He hesitantly opened it only to be greeted by three little fillies each wearing a broad smile and matching capes. Spike barely had time to move before each filly ran into the library.
"Hi, Spike!" Sweetie Belle said skipping through the door.
"Howdy, Spike!" Apple bloom said running right behind her
"Heya, Spike." Said Scootaloo coming in last, riding on her scooter.
All three of them went into the main part of the library and immediately starting looking through books. Spike shut the door before joining them.
When he entered the room he saw the fillies, surrounded by books, sitting in the center of the carpet talking amongst themselves. He took notice of their saddle bags which had obviously been shoved in the corner by the book case.
“That’s one more thing I will have to pick up later.” Spike thought to himself.
He redirected his attention to the group of fillies. As he got closer, he could hear bits of their conversation. From what he could make of the speech, they were planning on things to do to earn their cutie mark based off information in the books. This immediately sent up red flags in Spike’s mind.
"Hey, girls. I have an idea. Why don't you guys take a break from earning your cutie marks today, lay down, and read a nice book?"
The three fillies looked at him in an amused way. As if he had just said something funny. Before Spike could render this in his mind, the three fillies all fell to the floor in a pit of laughter. Spike didn't understand what was so funny. Whenever he had free time, he would always lie down and read a book, or rather that's what Twilight made him do.
After their minute of laughter they managed to get a hold of themselves and looked at Spike who was standing in front of them tapping his foot on the floor with a look of annoyance plastered on his face.
"Sorry, Spike" Sweetie belle apologized.
"It is fine Sweetie Belle. I'm just asking that we don't overdo it on the cutie mark crusading."
They all sat quietly, thinking of ways they could entertain themselves for the remaining portion of the day. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle still hadn't come up with anything, but Apple Bloom’s straight face slowly crept into a smile.
"Oh how about we play hide and seek!" offered Apple bloom
"Yeah!!" Sweetie belle and Scootaloo said in unison.
"Okay, sure. I guess that works too. So who's going to be it?" Spike asked.
The three fillies all smiled before splitting in different directions. Spike just sighed before going to a corner to count.
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The group of four played hide and seek, for several hours before finally deciding to call it a night. Spike helped them with rolling out their sleeping bags on the floor in the center of the large open room. He asked if everything was alright before making his way to the door to exit the room.
"Spike?"
He turned around to see the three of them sitting up in their sleeping bags giving him a hopeful look. He sighed and walked back over to the center of the room.
"Yes girls?"He asked. He rubbed his eyes which were filled with tiredness.
We'll um ya see Spike, normally somepony reads us a story before bed..." Said Apple bloom, who was now blushing from embarrassment.
"And we were wondering if you could read for us." Finished Scootaloo
Spike looked at the three of them; they all had pleading smiles, and stared at him with their best puppy dog eyes. He knew the only way out of this one was to give in and read them a book.
"Fine..." He said in defeat.
This would actually be the first time he had ever read out loud to somepony in his life. Most times Twilight would read to him, so this would be a new experience. He began to walk towards the book shelf with a sort of new feeling.
"So I think I know a book you guys might......WHOAA!!" Spike said absentmindedly as he tripped over a book that had been left out by the CMC.
He stumbled forward into a book shelf. It shook violently. Unfortunately, he didn’t notice a fizzy green liquid in a tube labeled "Unknown Substance". It was sitting on the top of the book shelf and when Spike collided with the shelf, it was sent flying off. It soared through the air where It eventually descended, and crashed onto Spike’s head. The dragon was drenched in the neon green fluid. Spike’s eyes widened at the horror he just went through. Not knowing which potion hit him was the most terrifying part about the situation. He quickly tried to think of any information regarding potions that what prove helpful. He remembered a lesson Twilight had taught him a few years ago, if only he could remember it. Then it all came back to him, as he remembered the lesson.
“... If you get splashed by a potion and it doesn't take affect within ten second then you’re probably going to be ok.”
Spike checked himself for any unusual features, or extra body parts. He thankfully saw that there was nothing wrong. With a sigh of relief, He turned his attention to the three fillies who were clearly confused about what just happened. He picked up the broken glass with his claws. It wasn’t like it could penetrate his scales. After going to throw the glass away, Spike returned to the main room where the fillies were still sitting, confused.
"Spike, are you ok?" asked Scootaloo.
"Yeah, I'm fine thanks for asking." Spike responded.
"So, what happened?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"Well, when I hit that book shelf, a potion went flying in the air ,and hit me. Don't worry, I think that it had no an effect on me…”
"Oh well as long as you’re sure”
"Thanks… Now, how about that book...."
Spike read to them for the remainder of the night. After they had fallen asleep, he then shut the book, and walked up stairs to his own bed. He went and lay own in his basket. Eventually drifting off into his own dreams.
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The morning sun streamed into Spike’s eyes, and stirred him from his sleeping state. He sat up, stretched his back, and then stood up before walking over to the mirror. As soon as he looked at the mirror, he eyes went wide. Standing before him was a pony, a unicorn to be exact. He had a purple fur with a green mane; his eyes were an emerald green, and the unicorn had a scroll for a cutie mark.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!”
He stood there in his same motionless state for several minutes, and then the CMC burst through the door.
"Spike what's..." Sweetie belle stopped in the middle of her sentence when she noticed the strange unicorn standing in the middle of the room. She, along with her fellow crusaders, jaw dropped.
"S-spike is that you??" asked Apple Bloom who was first to speak up.
"Yeah???"
"What happened to you?"
"I-I don't know to be honest, my best bet would be that potion that fell on me last night."
"Well I think that it would be best to contact princess Twilight." Suggested scootaloo
"That's a great idea......." Said Spike, “…If only I had my fire to contact her."
Spike, along with the fillies, were confused and had no idea what course of action to take. They eventually decided to talk about it after they had eaten breakfast which had taken longer to prepare thanks to Spike’s now missing opposable thumb. Once he had managed to make breakfast ,everypony sat down and ate. It was a quiet and awkward meal, but eventually came to an end. After cleaning up, they walked into the main room where they were going to plan on what to do next.
Twilight wasn't going to be home for at least another day, so Spike was stuck as a pony till then. He didn't know what today had in store for him, but whatever it was it was sure to be one to remember.