//------------------------------//
// Your Excess is Not a Secret 
// Story: Letters from an Irritated Princess 
// by Tired Old Man 
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Dear Spike,

First off, happy birthday. I would send you one of your favorite emeralds, but I'm fairly certain gems are probably the last thing on your mind at the moment. I'll save it for another time, then.

But onto the important business. I'm somewhat surprised you wrote this letter while omitting the fact that you bloated to a full-size dragon before you learned your lesson. Granted, maybe you didn't need to mention it because you knew how huge you grew, and that I had a clear view of Ponyville from my balcony. A distant view, yes, but not so distant that I can't tell when a giant purple mass just appears out of nowhere and starts destroying the town, so perhaps that didn't need reiteration.

You know, I really did fear the worst. I feared you'd given into the miserly, greedy ways of the other dragons, and I was fully prepared to send a cavalry to get you out of Ponyville before you would cause any further damage. Assistant to my student or not, you could have easily endangered many lives today, and you know that.

Which is why I'm extremely thankful that you managed to stop yourself before things got out of control. Really, I can't be any more impressed that you were able to control your urges when most dragons can't at all; that fact alone is outstanding, if not worth celebrating on its own merits. Truly, your progress in learning the merits of friendship rivals Twilight's at this point.

Mayor Mare is also happy to report that no casualties came about amid your rampage, although the building damages are more than enough for her to request financial aid of me. I'm fine with that; I usually get one once a month from her anyway. Twice this month isn't a big deal, and it's certainly not her most expensive call for aid. That would be the night I took her bar hopping with Granny.

None of us remember what happened that night, but it slapped me with roughly 100,000 bits in payment for damages, room service, and rental of a circus monkey.

It must have been awesome.

Anyway, you learned a great friendship lesson, a practical lesson in controlling your tempting urges, and most importantly, the town isn't a pile of ash. I look forward to your next letter, Spike.

Love,

Princess Celestia

Oh, hello Luna. How did your first night court go with Shadebeak?

Seriously? They got right to the point and didn't waste a second of time talking about pointless garbage? You are SO lucky your bird is intimidating. All I get are cute comments and some "smart" ponies dangling marshmallows near mine.

Hey hey, it's different when I do that. I at least share mine with her. Don't act like you haven't shared sweets with yours.

...you haven't? Sister, you are missing out on some major immortal bonding time. Come to the kitchen with me; we're going to make some moon cookies!