//------------------------------//
// Ch.5 - Pillow Knights and Draconic Fights 
// Story: The Witching Hour - Chaos is Change 
// by Chaotic Ink 
//------------------------------//

"And so, by the power invisited-"

"Invested."

"-invested in me by... um... me... I now pronounce you, Autumn Light, squire to Pillow Knight Squeaky Wings!"

Squeaks, Dinky, and Twist all stamped their hooves on the floor in applause as Pinchy tapped Autumn with a pillow on her shoulder, finishing her induction into the Pillow Knights.

Midnight, half asleep on the couch as she watched them with one eye, smiled. Autumn had come a long way in being comfortable around her and Squeaks since she had first met them a month ago. Back during that first week, Midnight had discovered that one of the things Autumn truly loved to do was build things. The two of them had simply started with stick towers held together with mud but when Squeaks had started coming with them to the park the bat filly had come up with several other ideas for building projects, all of which Autumn had immediately jumped on. By the last day of the week they had built bridges, tunnels, and even (very) crude airships using leaves as balloons. Both fillies had even loved the swimming at the end of the days. Of course, on the last day Summer had come to the park to tell them she and Orange were going to treat them all out and had caught all three of them covered in mud and leaves just as they were about to get into the water. The unicorn had proceeded to lecture her kirin daughter on why she shouldn't let her sister and daughter play in the mud and why a lake wasn't proper for bathing. Midnight had taken the reprimand in stride and promised she wouldn't do it anymore. 

A promise she immediately broke when Autumn had come to visit the next weekend. Before they had all left, Autumn had asked when they would be coming back, to everypony's surprise, and so Midnight and Summer had come up with the idea that the filly should visit every weekend so she could start acclimating to the town she would soon be moving to. Summer would ride down with Autumn each Friday night from Manehattan, stay the weekend, then leave for home Sunday night. The reason for this was twofold. On the one hoof Autumn was too young to ride the train by herself, and on the other it allowed Summer to check up on how their new home was coming along. Summer's request to her boss, Fancy Pants, to be the head of the new rural branch had been approved and now all they were waiting for was the house to be finished.

As it turned out, this meant that Autumn had been in town when the Sisterhood Social was held. Midnight had entered herself, Autumn, and Squeaks into the activities and both fillies had a blast, with Squeaks enjoying the weekend with both her mom and her friends and Autumn's inherent friendliness finally shining through. There weren't many foals her age there but she was more than willing to make friends with Berry and Sparkler, as well as Pinchy and Dinky. Sparkler was a good egg in Midnight's opinion. A little too protective when it came to her older sister and niece (a joke at Derpy's expense had not gone down very well) but a decent pony all the same. They had all won several of the weekend-long events and had some good laughs (Midnight getting stuck in the doorway of the chicken coop in the final race, for example) and it even seemed that Rarity and Sweetie Belle had gotten over some sisterly issues as well.

Speaking of houses, the extension onto Midnight's was almost finished by now. The plans almost doubled the width of the house as the main point was to add a whole new set of rooms opposite the ones upstairs; three new ones in total. The front sales area would now be much bigger, as would the downstairs bathroom under the stairwell (thank Celestia). For the extension in the living room, however, Summer had given her daughter an idea. If they were expecting to have more guests,  then trying to fit them all in the kitchen would never do. She suggested making the new living room area into a dining room big enough for them all to sit and dine comfortably, and either remove the kitchen table and replace it with an island or keep it only for use by the immediate family. Both Sapphire and Squeaks had jumped onboard the idea, both voting for the island, forcing Midnight to concede to it. She had to agree, though, that the fire place acting as the divider between the two rooms would be a nice touch, and the island would give her more room to move about in the kitchen. 

This week around, Autumn had learned about the Pillow Knights and had asked Squeaks if she could play as well. The bat filly had no problem letting her younger aunt join and neither did any of her friends but there had been a disagreement about whether or not Autumn should be allowed in as a full knight. Dinky argued that they let Twist in as a full knight while Pinchy said she was too young to be one yet. Squeaks had intervened and suggested that she be a squire under her, after hearing about them in one of the stories in her story book. They all agreed after she explained what a squire was and so did follow the scene in the living room. 

"Now what do we do?" Autumn asked eagerly.

"Now, we must build our fort," Pinchy told them. "Sir Dinky, you collect the pillows from the mountains!"

Dinky saluted and ran towards the stairs.

"Sir Twist, you collect them from Storm Dragon's den."

Twist did like-wise.

"Who's Storm Dragon?" Autumn asked as Pinchy went over to the couch to collect the pillows there and start the fort. 

"That would be me," Midnight said lazily. For a second she contemplated letting out a large, fang-filled yawn but she remembered Autumn was still uncomfortable about such things, so she settled for stretching her wings out fully.

"That will be your job, Sir Squeaky," Pinchy said as she set up the first pillows. "You will introduce your squire to all those living here in Pillow Valley and beyond!"

Squeaks saluted, turned, and pointed at Midnight. "You've already met Storm Dragon. She can be good or bad depending on... well, depending."

Midnight waved a wing at them. "I'm good today."

Autumn laughed at her sister as Squeaks led her into the kitchen where Sapphire was making some tea.

"This is Lady Sapphire of Snack Land! Her snacks are so good that sometimes we have to save her from evil doers that want them all to themselves!"

Autumn and Sapphire waved at each other.  "Giving her the tour?" the older pegasus asked with a laugh.

"Only until the fort is finished. Is Windrunner, I mean, is The Wind Runner around?" Squeaks asked.

Sapphire shook her head. "No, The Wind Runner is out and about I'm afraid."

"Aw, shoot," Squeaks said disappointedly. "The Wind Runner is this big bird that can fly really fast and guards things sometimes," she told Autumn.

"Oh," Autumn said with an understanding nod. "That's it?"

Squeaks shook her head. "No, there's Fruit Ogre from the Valley of Forbidden Waters," Berry Punch, "Queen Bubbles of Muffin Land and her advisor Smart Carrot," Derpy and Carrot Top, "and the Candy-Smiths of the Sugar Range," Twist's family.

"Do I get to meet any of them?" Autumn asked.

"Well, we can't leave the house, I mean valley, just yet, but maybe next weekend you can meet some of them," Squeaks told her, using her wing to steer Autumn back towards the living room. 

"Hold on," Sapphire said, causing the two to stop and turn back towards her. The pegasus reached into the cookie jar at the far end of the counter and pulled out five cookies. "Lady Sapphire has an important mission for you. Please see that these cookies reach Fort Pillow safely." She placed the cookies into Squeaks' hooves. "Perhaps your squire can help you with this mission?" Sapphire asked with a smirk.

"Yes, excellent idea, Lady Sapphire!" Squeaks agreed. "Squire Autumn, your first duty ever is to help guard these cookies from Lady Sapphire back all the way to Fort Pillow!"

Squire Autumn saluted and took three of the cookies. "I won't lose, Sir Squeaky!"

The two turned back toward the living room, but then Squeaks let out an unhappy squeak. "Oh no, I've forgotten my trusty Pillow Sword! Squire Autumn, we must go forward with all possible speed to avoid the dangers between us and Pillow Valley!"

Autumn saluted again, almost dropping one of the precious cookies, as her small wings buzzed. "To Pillow Fort!" she called out as they both darted into the next room.

-----------------------------

"And thus, I declare that this day's Fort Pillow finished!" Pinchy said to cheers from her fellow knights and squire. She popped the last bite of her cookie into her mouth and chewed it like a gruff drill sergeant would a wad of tobacco. "And so, our next order of business is... um..." Pinchy turned to the rest of them. "What are we going to do today?"

The other fillies gave her shrugs in return. 

"Um... ooo! Storm Dragon can attack the fort, since she's so cleverly made herself part of it!" Dinky suggested, pointing out how some of the upper pillows were leaning against her. "Then we can fight her to avenge it!"

"Can't, I'm good today," Midnight said lazily. "I agreed to be part of the fort."

"Oh," Dinky said.

"How about we explore the Land of Table Treeth?" Twist asked, referring to the stump-filled area where Midnight had first started cutting down trees.

"No," Squeaks said. "We need Storm Dragon, Lady Sapphire, or The Wind Runner to take us there with their powers and they're all busy right now." They all looked at her next for an idea. "Um... oh! How about we try to find the lost toy treasure again? We didn't find it last time."

"But it was Storm Dragon that hid it last time, and she's busy this time!" Pinchy pointed out. "Besides, it's no fun not winning!"
As the group descended into arguing what was fun and what wasn't and what they should do, Autumn got a sudden inspiration. Midnight, Sapphire, and Windrunner all had characters, and the others Squeaks mentioned had to be Dinky, Pinchy's, and Twist's families. That meant everypony was part of the game in some way, except her mom and dad. Since Orange was still back home in Manehattan, that left only Summer. "I've got an idea!" she burst out, bringing a halt to the fighting and even causing her sister to open a sleepy eye in curiosity. "We can go fight the... um... the Vegetable Witch!"

"The Vegetable Witch?" they all repeated.

"Yeah! She's an evil witch who makes ponies eat nasty vegetables instead of candy and cookies!" Autumn told them. Her mom was always trying to make her eat those nasty vegetables and she could use magic like a witch could.

All the pillow knights gasped in mock horror. "Truly she is an evil to be reckoned with!" Pinchy said.

"Vegetables aren't all bad, though," Squeaks said.

"See!? She has already cast an evil spell on Sir Squeaky! We must stop her before it's too late!" Autumn said, pointing a trembling hoof at Squeaks.

"Oh no, you're right!" Squeaks yelled, grabbing her cheeks with her hooves as she did so. "Quick, Squire Autumn, where can we find this Vegetable Witch and what does she look like!?" 

"Uh..." Autumn pointed at the stairwell and gave them all a confused looked.

"The livth in the mountainth?" Twist asked.

"Yes! She lives in the mountains where she can create her spells in secret! We must go up there and stop her!" Autumn confirmed. "She takes the form of a pure-white mare, but we can't be desive... declive... we must not be tricked!"

"It is decided then," Pinchy said. "Pillow Knights, grab your trusty Pillow Swords and let us be off to save ponies everywhere from the scourge that is vegetables!"

They all cheered as they grabbed their pillows and made for the distant mountains. 

-----------------------------

"Truly, this witch is formidable if she can live at the top of the mountains," Sir Pinchy huffed as they rested near the top after their long climb. Between the blasts of powerful winds, rock slides, and the occasional monster popping up to harass them, the climb to the summit had been one of the most dangerous expeditions the pillow knights had ever been on. Only force of will, their tough-as-nails training, and sheer luck prevented the loss of any of their number. 

"At least getting down will be easier and faster," Sir Dinky said, looking back down the mountain side. 

"How are our rations, Sir Twist?" Sir Pinchy asked. In the future Squire Autumn would be the one to hold all the supplies, however this time she was acting as their guide and she couldn't be distracted or weighed down with such things.

Sir Twist checked her saddlebags. "We're low on thnackth."

"Already!?" Sir Pinchy whined.

"You had us stop halfway up here for a snack break," Sir Squeaky informed her. "If you had waited until we reached the top, like the rest of us suggested, we could face the witch without worrying about making it back down again."

Sir Pinchy gave the only thestral pillow knight the stink-eye. "Well, as Sir Dinky has said, the climb back down should be easier and faster, so snacks shouldn't be a concern."

"Yeah, if the jumpth firth," Sir Twist whispered to the others, who did their best to hide their giggles. 

"Anyway," Sir Pinchy said, getting up. "Squire Autumn, how much farther must we travel to reach the witch's lair?"

Squire Autumn pointed to a cave a little ways down the ridge. "She resides right there, m'lord."

"Good. Onwards and upwards to glory, knights!"

"But it's straight ahead," Sir Dinky pointed out. "And we can't go up any higher unless the rest of us grow wings."

"Real cute," Sir Pinchy told her with a deadpan look. 

Sir Dinky pressed her hooves into her cheeks, made fish-lips, and batted her eyes. "I know, right?"

They all laughed as they made their way to the witch's lair.

-----------------------------

"I'm home!" Summer called out as she entered through the side door, several bags floating in her magic behind her. When she turned towards the kitchen, she found Midnight on her back and head in the cabinet under the sink. A small tool bag rested near the cabinet door and the kirin's tail and wings twitched in time to grunts coming from inside. "Midnight, what in Equestria are you doing?" Summer asked as she put the bags down on the kitchen table. 

"Fixing the drain pipe," came the grunt. "Sapphire said it was leaking again."

"So why are you fixing it? Can't you just get a plumber from one of the other jobs to help you?"

Midnight grunted again. "They have the weekend off. Besides, how do you think I earned a living while I was out on my own for four years?"

"Well, I... it's just..." Summer stammered, confused by the odd change of direction. To be honest, and ashamed, she had pictured Midnight begging on the street.

"I learned how to do useful things," Midnight provided for her. "A bit of plumbing here, some carpentry there; not an expert in any of them but I learned enough to be useful. Heck, I put this place back together myself mostly."

"I see..." Summer said, embarrassed. "So... where are the girls?" she asked in an attempt to change the topic.

Midnight waved a wing at the stairs. "Upstairs in Squeak's room from the sound of it, on one of their Pillow Knights quests. Looking for you, actually."

Summer raised an eyebrow. "Looking for me? But they know I went out earlier."

Midnight waved a wing at her. "Doesn't stop them from playing. Besides, it gives them a new character to play with."

"New character?"

"Yeah. I told you about their game, right?"

Summer shook her head. "No, not about this 'Pillow Knight' game."

"Basically, they're all knights who wear pillows as armor and use pillows as weapons and call themselves 'Pillow Knights'. They make up adventures for around the house and each of us is a different character. I'm a dragon called Storm Dragon, Sapphire is Lady Sapphire of Snack Land, and Windrunner is some type of giant bird. What?" Midnight asked, pulling herself out from the pipes to see her mother laughing. 

"It's just so cute!" Summer told her between giggles. "And imaginative! Where in Equestria did they get such an idea?"

Midnight shrugged, then pulled herself back under the pipes. "Dinky and Pinchy came up with it. Anyway, Autumn came up with the idea to look for you."

"Autumn is playing with them as well? That's good to hear, but again I have to ask why they're looking for me."

"They couldn't decide on an idea until Autumn suggested they go and try to defeat the Vegetable Witch who lives up in the mountains."

Summer stared down at her. "The what from where?"

"The Vegetable Witch in the mountains." She gestured again with her wing at the stairs. "I get the feeling Autumn doesn't like veggies."

"Well, we can't always have them drowning in butter and cheese," Summer said, a frown appearing on her face at the thought of her daughter's cooking habits.

Midnight only grunted in reply. "They're looking for you so they can defeat you in order to save all the sugary snacks of the world. I figure they're all sitting in Squeaks room waiting to ambush you."

"Oh, well, I better not disappoint them then." Summer levitated some vegetables out of the bags as she got into the spirit of the game. "Anything else I should know before I go and face my impending demise?"

"Stay open-minded. Apparently my one weakness is the base of my tail," Midnight told her.

With another laugh, Summer ascended the stairs. 

-----------------------------

"Are you sure this is where the Vegetable Witch lives?" Sir Pinchy asked as she circled the cave once more.

"Uh huh!" Squire Autumn confirmed. "See this here?" She held up a tube of what looked like toothpaste. "She even brushes her teeth with vegetables; just look at the leaves on the side! Who brushes their teeth with leaf-flavored toothpaste!?"

All the knights shuddered at the thought of any other flavor of toothpaste except bubblegum. 

"Thuch a fiend!" Twist said, feigning almost fainting. 

"And look at all these disguises!" Sir Squeaky said as she lifted an article of clothing from a nearby trunk. "This must be how she sneaks into towns without being noticed! She could slip in, replace all the cookies in a cookie jar with alfalfa, and be gone without anypony realizing she was there!"

Shivers ran through all the knights and single squire. This witch needed to be stopped.

"But we have been here so long already!" Sir Dinky noted. "What if she caught on to what we're doing and has fled?"

"It is a risk we must take!" Sir Squeaky said, stamping a hoof. "We have her things in her own home, so she must come back to get them! If it takes all day and all night, we will wait for her!"

"Why wait when I'm here now?" came a voice from the mouth of the cave. All the knights turned to see a pony entering the cave and gasped. She looked like a normal pony, except her fur was green, had alfalfa for a mane and tail, and a carrot for a horn. In her magical grasp floated enough vegetables to fill an entire vegetable patch. "Who dares enter the lair of the Vegetable Witch?"

"It is us, the Pillow Knights!" Sir Pinchy said, stepping forward with her pillow sword ready. "We have come to stop your reign of yucky-tasting-terror! For snacks everywhere!"

"For snacks everywhere!" Her fellow knights shouted, getting in line with her.

"Squire Autumn, stay back and watch how evil is dealt with!" Sir Pinchy told their newest member. 

Squire Autumn nodded and stayed back by the trunk of disguises and got ready to watch her friends defeat the witch.

-----------------------------

Summer did her best not to break out laughing. Her granddaughter and her friends were all lined up, ready to bludgeon her with pillows while talking in such a funny way while her daughter was standing by watching. Yes, she could certainly see why the others indulged the girls with the game, but if the 'Pillow Knights' thought they could just wail on the 'Vegetable Witch' with impunity, then they'd better think again.

-----------------------------

"A little over confident, aren't we?" Vegetable Witch said silkily as she glided into the cave. "Do you really believe that you can just waltz into my lair and defeat me as easy as one, two, three?"

"With all of us together, nothing is impossible!" Sir Dinky cried out. With such a challenge issued, the four Pillow Knights charged.

Vegetable Witch laughed. "Foolish Pillow Knights! Your pillows can do nothing against my vegetable force field!" With a flick of her carrot horn the vegetable garden surrounding her quickly placed itself between its mistress and the four heroes.

"Your produth-bathed forth field cannot withthtand our pillowy might!" Sir Twist cried out, smacking away a tomato. The others followed suit, chipping away at her produce wall with their own weapons. But it seemed like for every veggie they hit away, two more would take its place. 

Thus the fight continued for some time with neither side giving ground. The stalemate ended when Sir Squeaky took one step too close to the Vegetable Witch. "And now my trap is sprung!" she crowed as she slammed (gently landed) a pepper down onto the knight's head. "And now I'll turn you into one of my mind-controlled vegetable slaves!"

"NOOOO!!!" Sir Squeaky cried out, trying to dislodge the produce from her head. "I love cookies! I love sweets! I love candied apples! I love... I love... I love broccoli!"

"No! Fight it Sir Squeaky!" Sir Dinky called out. "Don't let her turn you!"

"But Sir Dinky, vegetables are awesome!"

"Yes they are Sir Squeaky!" Vegetable Witch cackled. "And if your fellow Pillow Knights won't have them willingly, then you must force them to!"

"Yes, my vegetable mistress! For the glory of the greens!"

Sir Dinky turned and began to battle her former comrade in arms while the other two knights continued to try and break through the vegetable force field. 

Squire Autumn continued to watch from the side lines, unsure if she should continue to just stand there and watch or actually try to help as the battle quickly spun out of control. While Sir Dinky was busy battling Sir Squeaky, Vegetable Witch used the distraction and less pressure on her force field to land a vegetable on the embattled unicorn's head and turn her as well. With half of the pillow knights under her control, the other two fell swiftly. First Sir Twist was beaned by a cabbage, then Sir Pinchy took an asparagus to the noggin. 

"Yes, I have won!" Vegetable Witch cried out once Sir Pinchy was (finally) done rolling on the floor of the cave, proclaiming she'd never give in to the nasty, disgusting, tasty rutabagas. "Only the squire remains, and what can she do against four mind-controlled Pillow Knights and my magnificent vegetable-ness?" 

Squire Autumn looked fearfully around the cave. What could she do? She was only a squire, made so only that very morning! If four Pillow Knights couldn't defeat her, how could she?

'Squire Autumn,' a voice in her head said. 'Some villains cannot be beaten by brute strength alone. Sometimes it is brains that truly triumphs over brawn.' Lady Sapphire of Snack Land had told her privately before they had ascended the mountain. 'Thus, I will give you these for your journey. Do not look at them yet; you will know when to use them.' 

As the Vegetable Witch and the turned Pillow Knights advanced on her, Squire Autumn took off her saddle bags and pulled out the items Lady Sapphire had given her. One look was all it took to know she could still win. "Pillow Knights! Is it true you love vegetables?"

"Yes!"

"Indeed!"

"Of Courth!"

"Without question!"

"Then how do you like them with some butter?" Squire Autumn asked, aiming a smirk at their foe.

Vegetable Witch reeled back in surprise. "What are you doing with that!? Butter doesn't go on vegetables! They're meant to be eaten plain!" 

"We'll see about that!" Squire Autumn yelled back, tossing the butter bomb at her. It exploded on contact, covering the witch with sticky, yummy butter.

"NO! My perfect vegetable glory!"

"That's not all!" Squire Autumn told her, revealing cheese and spices bombs as well.  "You want to eat vegetables?" she asked the knights. "Well, eat that one!" She threw the other two bombs straight and true, covering Vegetable Witch from carrot horn to hoof in the things that made nasty greens yummy treats.

"Look at such a feast!" Sir Pinchy said. "We can't possibly turn it down!"

"It's the biggest, tastiest vegetable I've ever seen!" Sir Squeaky agreed, moving in with her fellow mind-controlled knights.

"No! You can't do this to me! I control you!"

"You showed us how great vegetables are!" Sir Dinky told her.

"And now, we're going to eat the biggeth, tathieth vegetable of all!"

"NO! How could you turn my slaves against me and ruin my beautiful vegetable-ness!?" Vegetable Witch cried out as the Pillow Knights jumped on her and began to eat her bite by bite.

-----------------------------

As she was swarmed by four fillies pretending to eat her, Summer looked over to see Midnight and Sapphire watching from the stairs. Sapphire was doing her best not to bust a gut while Midnight was rolling around at the top of the stairs laughing her flank off. She was laughing so hard she actually lost her footing on the stairs and slid back down a few of them.

"Enjoying the show?" Summer snickered as Midnight pulled herself back up to the top of the stairs.

"I just wish we had one of those movie cameras to record it with!" the kirin wheezed out.

"To be honest, we were coming up to tell everypony that its lunch time," Sapphire told her. "Then it'll be time to head over to Golden Oaks for Spike's birthday party."

The five fillies present all had their ears shoot up at this.

"That's right, the party!" Squeaks said.

"To lunch then, Sir Squeaky!" Pinchy said. "Then we may celebrate our victory properly!" The girls made tracks out of Squeaks' room and down the stairs past Sapphire and Midnight.

"So," Midnight asked as Summer pulled herself up. "How'd you enjoy being 'Vegetable Witch'?"

"I'll agree it was fun while it lasted." There was a gleam in the unicorn's eye, "but you can never keep a good Vegetable Witch down for long."

-----------------------------

Midnight, Summer, Sapphire, and the girls made their way across town to Golden Oaks Library after they had all finished lunch. In an effort to have Spike make friends of his own, Twilight had asked Midnight to bring along Squeaks and Autumn to the party with them. Midnight had decided to add a few more foals to the mix and bring along the rest of the Pillow Knights along too, with their parents' permissions of course. From what she heard the Cutie Mark Crusaders were going to be there as well. 

It was also a chance to help Autumn with her fear of dragons. Seeing as Spike was about the same size as she had thought the dragons in her book were, Midnight and Summer figured meeting him might help her start to get over her fear. Then again, it hadn't helped Fluttershy get over her own fear of dragons, but Midnight suspected her sister was made of tougher stuff. It also helped that she was surrounded by friends and family, all of which were telling her nothing bad would happen.

"Besides," Pinchy told her, "you took on Vegetable Witch all by yourself, how much worse can a dragon the size of a colt be?"

Other words of encouragement kept her from hiding behind Summer as they reached Golden Oaks Library. "Come on in everypony!" Twilight said as she answered the door. "The party's just getting started!"

Entering, they found the entirety of Golden Oaks decorated with streamers, ribbons, confetti, and balloons. The rest of the Bearers were already there, as well as Windrunner, who had arrived with Rainbow, and the CMC. The dragon of the hour was mingling with them all, talking and having a good time. After depositing their gifts next to the others, they went over to make their hellos. 

"Awesome, you guys all made it!" he said, hugging them all.

"'Course we made it; birthdays only happen once a year," Midnight told him.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Spike," Summer said. She'd seen him a few times during her weekend visits, but hadn't been able to meet him face to face. The few times she had seen him in the crowds he'd been running around with a list like a crazed chicken.

"Hi, you must be Midnight's mom!" the young dragon said back with a smile

"That's me. Somepony else is here to meet you as well. Autumn?" Summer looked around and found her youngest hiding behind her back legs. "Autumn, it's rude not to say hello to a host, especially on their birthday."

Autumn still didn't move.

"Is she alright?" Twilight asked Midnight in a whisper. 

"Looks like we got another Fluttershy on our hooves," Rainbow whispered as well, although not as quietly.

"No, she's just afraid of dragons," Midnight told them, turning back and nuzzling Autumn. "Come on," she whispered, "you're telling me that he's scarier than I am?" 

"But... you're still half pony," Autumn whispered back, "and he's all dragon!" 

"Autumn, compared to me, he's a chew toy; I bet he'd squeak like one too," Midnight said with a smirk, making her younger sister giggle. "I'm telling you, you have more to be scared of from a dog than you do him." The kirin gently nuzzled the filly out from behind Summer and lead her over to Spike, her head down the whole way to act as something Autumn could press against for comfort.

"Hi Autumn," Spike said when they got close enough. 

"Hi," Autumn said back, pushing herself further into Midnight's face. 

There was a pause of uncomfortable silence.

"Oh, come on!" Scootaloo suddenly said, jumping on Spike from behind. "I'm scarier than he could ever be!"

"So are me and mom!" Squeaks added, tackling them both to the ground, starting a filly pile-up on top of the birthday dragon. 

Midnight grimaced slightly at that comment, but let it slide. "You know, I'm actually really scared of spiders," she told Autumn, who looked back up at her. "But, every once in a while, even I get brave enough to crush one with my own hooves. Can you be brave enough to enjoy this party with your friends even with a dragon in the room?"

Autumn looked back at the pile of fillies, hesitated for a second, then nodded.

-----------------------------

Autumn was, mostly, true to her word. Squeaks and the other Pillow Knights made sure she was in the middle of every party game they played, giving her little choice but to be close to the baby dragon almost constantly. Whenever a game finished she would retreat back to either Midnight or Summer's side but the reprieve would be a short one before the next game began. 

Besides Autumn's baby steps in getting over her fear of dragons, the adults were also happy to see that the two groups of fillies and Spike were also getting along. There was history between Apple Bloom and Twist as it turned out. The two had been good friends until the later had gotten her cutie mark, at which point AB had started being friends with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo instead, being fellow "blank flanks" and all. Twist had been basically all alone until she and Squeaks had met during the bat filly's first day of school. For what it was worth, the youngest Apple looked regretful about how she had acted. "Sometimes youngin's just don't realize what their actions really mean ta others," AJ said when she saw the two girls making up. 

After the rather large assortment of party games had come the cake and the gifts soon after. Midnight's gift to Spike was a professional gem-aging kit, with Sapphire's, Windrunner's, and Summer's gifts all being gemstones so he could start using the kit right away. Midnight had gotten the idea for it when she had heard that Spike had given Rarity the fire ruby he'd been aging for months. It had irked her, convinced Rarity had coerced him out of it somehow; she even had the gall to wear it to the party right in front of him! It was his birthday, however, so she'd hold her tongue on the subject for now. 

"Wow you guys. All these gifts and everybody being here to celebrate my birthday with me? I wish this party could last forever," Spike said happily.

"Well, of course it can't last forever silly!" Pinkie said, bouncing on a nearby balloon. "Eventually you'll need to head over to Sugarcube Corner 'cuz the Cakes have a super, duper, extra-awesome surprise for you for your birthday!" 

"No way! Seriously!?" Spike yelled out, making to bolt for the door.

"I know I said the party can't last forever, but it doesn't have to end now!" Pinkie called after him.

He didn't get far as Midnight landed in front of the door, blocking his path and bouncing him back almost halfway across the room after he ran into her. 'He can certainly make an impact' Midnight thought as she rubbed the spot where he hit her. 'Hate to see how hard he can hit when he's grown.'

"Spike, you can't just go running off and abandoning everypony at your own party!" Twilight scolded.

"Sorry Twilight; I guess I'm just a bit overwhelmed by getting all these nice things at once," Spike apologized. 

"Well, it is getting late and I do have to take the girls home," Midnight spoke up. "Maybe I can take them all over to Sugarcube Corner first, after the party ends?"

Summer and Sapphire gave her looks that asked if she was seriously considering buying sweets for eight fillies.
Midnight shot a look back, trying to convey that it wasn't that big of a deal. Sapphire knew she could afford it and it wasn't like she spoiled the lot of them every time they came over. 

"That sounds like a great idea," AJ said as she poured another cup of punch for herself. Rarity agreed as well.

"Besides, there are still a bunch of party games to play!" Pinkie said, holding up a piñata and a board with a turner, colored dots, and hooves. 

-----------------------------

"Hey Midnight, what do gems actually taste like?"

The kirin drew her gaze away from the cupcake covered in sapphires to look down at Scootaloo. The Cakes' surprise had been a doozy, alright. Somehow the two bakers had come across a recipe for adding gems to cupcakes. Why anypony would have ever made such a recipe was a mystery, but neither Spike nor Midnight were really in the mood to question. It had more of an exercise in curiosity as to why the Cakes had decided to bake them and Spike's birthday had been a nice little excuse for them to try their hooves at it. Neither draconic being had bit into their treat yet, but both of their mouth's were watering enough to cause their companions to start laughing. Surprisingly it actually made the normally action-oriented pegasus filly to ask about something. 

"Well... it's actually really hard to describe. I've already tried to explain to Squeaks but..." she looked at all the young, expecting faces. "Apple Bloom, let's say somepony comes up to you and says they've never had an apple before and asks you to tell them how it tastes. How would you describe how an apple tastes to somepony who's never had one before?"

The youngest Apple stopped in her tracks and thought about that for a minute, sitting back on her haunches so she could rub her chin while still holding onto her cineole. "Uh, well... they're crisp and juicy, and kinda sweet..."

"Yeah, but what do they taste like?" Midnight pressed. 

"Well... shoot, all they taste like are apples!" AB said in frustration. 

"And that's the best way I can describe how gemstones taste," Midnight told them. "A sapphire only tastes like a sapphire, a ruby like a ruby, and so on. It stinks, I know, but just know that to those of us who can eat them, they are delicious." They all laughed as Midnight took a bite out of her cupcakes and licked her lips. Truly, sapphires were the best gemstone. 

"Watch out Spike!" Dinky yelled.

*BONK*

Midnight brought herself back from gemstone bliss in time to see Spike and Cheerilee fall back onto their rumps and Spike's cupcake go sailing. Amazingly, Spike saw it in time and caught the pastry with his tongue, almost like a frog. While he pulled himself up the fillies rushed over to their teacher and proceeded to help her back to her hooves and collect her dropped groceries. 

"Oh, I'm so sorry Cheerilee!" Spike said as he got to his feet. "I guess I wasn't watching where I was going."

"That's alright Spike," the earth pony told him, nodding gratefully at her students as she took the refilled bag from them. "What has you so distracted, anyway?" 

"Well, today's my birthday and Pinkie said that the cakes had a surprise for me. So me, Midnight, and the girls all came here to see what it was and it turned out to be some special sapphire cupcakes!"

"Well, happy birthday Spike! I hope you enjoy those cupcakes. Hmm... I wish I had something to give to you for your birthday. Oh, wait a second!" Reaching into her bag, Cheerilee pulled out a rather snazzy white hat with a red feather in it. "Here you go!"

"Wow, really?" Spike asked, looking up at the new cover for his head.

"Sure; everypony should get fun gifts on their birthday." She picked up her bag and waved goodbye to them all. "Happy birthday again Spike! See you all later!"

They all waved the cherry-colored pony goodbye. "Well Spike, this is where we part ways for now," Midnight told him. "Better get home quick so you can give Cheerilee a piece of cake as a thank you."

"Great idea! See ya later!" With that, Spike was moving down the street away from them and back towards the library.

Midnight and her flock turned themselves in their own direction to deliver the foals back to their respective homes. 

-----------------------------

Sunday morning found Sapphire coming down  late into the kitchen, only to hear an odd sound coming from the living room. It sounded almost like something between a grunt and a contented growl. Sticking her head into the living room, she found Midnight sprawled on the couch again, only this time with Summer standing over her and Squeaks and Autumn watching from nearby the fire place and trying to hold in a fit of giggles. Midnight's face expressed pure bliss and she opened her mouth slightly to let the noise come out again.

"What's going on?" the pegasus asked, perplexed at the scene before her.

"Oh, good morning Sapphire," Summer said. "I just thought I'd give Midnight a little back scratch as a thank you for how she tried to help Autumn yesterday." A closer inspection showed that Summer did indeed have a back scratcher in her magic and was raking it gently between the kirin's wings. 

"Spike should have more birthdays," Midnight said absently, making the noise yet again. 

This time the fillies could no longer hold in their laughter and both fell over holding their sides.

"Laugh all you want; I am in heaven.  Any chance you could, um..." One of Midnight's back legs flexed a bit.

"No," Summer said flatly. "This is a back scratcher, not a frog scratcher. If you want to scratch there, then get your own and do it yourself."

A brief flicker of disappointment crossed the kirin's face, but she just as quickly went back to being content, her outstretched wings flapping gently. 

Sapphire stifled her own laughter at the scene and headed back into the kitchen. Midnight had been right yesterday; they needed one of those film cameras. Windrunner had witnessed the scene as well, judging by how she was trying to hold in her own laughter.

She was barely set up in the store front with her mug of coffee when the morning took a turn for the weird and possibly ominous. Twilight Sparkle burst in through the front door dragging... a grown Spike? It certainly looked like him, only he was as tall as a full grown pony with longer legs, arms and tail. He was looking around the store front like a foal who'd been brought to a candy store. Or maybe a dog in a doggy treat store; that bowl in his claws had both in it.

"Sapphire, I need to talk with Midnight right away! Something's happened to Spike and I was hoping she might know something."

Sapphire looked Spike up and down again. "Sure... she's back in the living room," she told the unicorn, trying to understand what was going on herself.

"Come on Spike," Twilight said, grabbing him magically by his ear-fin and guiding him through to the kitchen. "And don't touch anything!"

"What's going on?" they heard Midnight call out from the living room.

"Twilight and Spike are here to see you!" Sapphire called back over their shoulders. "Something's happened with Spike." She exchanged a look with Windrunner. This didn't bode well with either pegasus.

Midnight was off the couch and facing the kitchen when the two of them entered. "What in the name of Faust is going on?" she asked when she got her first good look at Spike.

Autumn took one look at the dragon, now bigger and meaner looking, and was behind Summer before any of them could blink.

"I don't know. He was like this when we woke up this morning," Twilight told her. "And on top of the new size, he's getting all grabby with things!" She swatted one of Spike's claws away from the lamp he was reaching towards. "I've already been to the doctor and vet and neither of them know what's going on! I was hoping that, maybe, being part dragon yourself, you've gone through something like this."

Without hesitation Midnight began to slowly circle Spike. "I can't remember anything like this. Mom?"

Summer shook her head. "You were a bit grabby when you were little, but then again so are most toddlers. You certainly never doubled your size in one night... and stayed that way," she said with a flinch. 

Midnight grunted and continued to circle. She'd already told her about the incident with the hydra and how Sapphire, Squeaks, Windrunner, and the bearers all knew what her cutie mark meant. Summer had actually been more relieved than upset, saying how it was wonderful for Midnight to have friends that new such a secret and still didn't see her as something to fear. Now she just needed to keep it from Autumn; at least until she was old enough to understand.

The growing dragon seemed to have enough of her circling and blocking his view of all the pretty things he could add to his hoard. He growled at her when her wing claw got too close to his small hoard of candy and doggy treats. Midnight, in turn, growled back, spreading her wings out and baring her fangs at the still smaller dragon. He backed off, made a whimpering sound, then slinked back behind Twilight. Another whimper from behind Summer made Midnight groan mentally. 'Great; and just when we were making progress.' "Sorry Twilight, I've got nothing to help you with. I grew up like a regular pony."

"Alright," Twilight groaned. "Thanks for your help anyway."

"Hold on a second," Midnight said as the unicorn turned to leave. "Whatever's happening with Spike, you might need some help reigning him in." She wasn't looking forward to running around town all day, but they were friends and this situation had the potential to hit the fan fast and hard.

Twilight smiled gratefully at her. "Thank you. I was thinking about asking Zecora next."

"Alright then; we'll be back soon," Midnight told the rest of them. "I don't think this will take long."

"Do you want any help?" Windrunner asked.

"No. We'll probably just run around all day and literally trip over the cure when we've just about given up hope. Just keep an eye and ear out in case he somehow gives us the slip."

The pegasus gave a quick salute, as if she was wiping a stray strand of mane out of her face. 

"Good luck!" Summer called after them as they exited through the side door.

"They'll be alright," Sapphire assured her. 

"I know." Summer turned back to her still hiding filly. "How about we go shopping? Maybe I'll even let you pick out something for dinner tonight?"

It took a minute, but eventually Autumn stuck her head out and nodded hesitantly.

-----------------------------

Getting Spike to Zecora's was rather easy. All Midnight had to do along the way was stay in the air and dive bomb him if he started to change direction. It kept him in line, although the angry stare she got back from him every time was starting to get annoying. Thankfully he was well behaved while the zebra examined him. 

A few pokes and prods there, a tap on a joint here, and a wagging of limbs to top everything off was enough for the zebra to make a diagnosis. "He is beginning to mature, of this I am quite sure."

"Wait, so he's just getting older? All this is natural?" Midnight asked. 

"But that still doesn't explain why he grabs everything he sees," Twilight pointed out.

"A dragon's heart is prone to greed, a steady diet to make growth speed," Zecora told them, making her way over to her cauldron. 

"So, he collects so he grows, and when he grows he just wants more. Is this normal for all dragons?" Midnight asked, a bit of worry leaking into her voice. She'd never gone through such a stage before, and from the way Spike was acting she didn't think anypony would like her doing the same.

"For a wyvern, love and compassion is all they require. A hoard of family and friends are what stoke their fire. So, you need not worry about unexpected growth, your heart and mind are filled with both. But for Spike, that is not his pleasure, for his want is for physical treasure." 

A sense of relief came over Midnight. At least they wouldn't have to worry about her getting bigger and becoming a kleptomaniac. As Twilight and Zecora talked over the cauldron, she saw out of the corner of her eye Spike reaching for yet something else to add to his small hoard. She carefully flicked her tail in his face, startling him back away from the object. 

Once he recovered he hissed at her, only to be hissed back at dismissively. His threat casually dismissed, he decided he needed to show the half-wyvern he meant business. As if cradling his own newborn, he gently placed his small hoard of candy and treats down behind him and turned back to face the kirin. His nostrils flared smoke in a challenge as he took a step towards her. 

Midnight got up on all four hooves and snorted back at him. "Spike, don't you even think about it," she warned, flaring her wings and brandishing her tail blade. If he thought he could pick a fight after only doubling his original size, he'd better think again. She still towered over him and wasn't above using pain as a lesson in this case. Why she was so ready to go tooth and claw with him, a good friend, escaped her. Maybe it was a territorial thing he'd brought out in her?

She didn't have long to contemplate the situation as the growing dragon sprung at her so fast it caught her off guard and he succeeded in knocking her over. Midnight didn't stay down long as she wrapped a wing around him to both pull herself up and to hold him down. Before she was fully up he stopped clawing at the wing and jumped at her again. This time they both went down, rolling around on the floor and knocking various objects and items over as they tussled. 

Apparently both Twilight and Zecora were too busy with their own discussion to notice the fight that had broken out. 
Spike finally succeeded is getting away from Midnight by hitting her several time in the head with a book he had somehow grabbed. He rolled away as Midnight got up and staggered a bit from the blows to the head. The little son of a lizard had use the spine. "You... are going to regret-" 

*WHAM*

Midnight staggered as her head was enveloped in darkness. "SPIKE!" she roared, pulling at the mask now stuck to her head. As she rolled around trying to get it off, she could hear various crashes and things slamming. 

Things quickly died down and the mask was enveloped in purple magic. "Midnight, what happened!?" Twilight yelled as she teleported the mask off the kirin's face. Zecora's hut was now as bare as if the zebra had never moved in. 

"What happened is that Spike has signed himself away to be a purse!" Midnight roared. "That little lizard attacked me and smashed my head into that mask!"

"What!?" Twilight yelped. "Come on Midnight, he's still only a baby! Him attacking you is as ridiculous as-"

"As him growing bigger and meaner due to greed?" Midnight asked with a raised eyebrow.

"...Okay, you have a point, but what can we do to stop him?"

"If his monstrous ways you wish to impede, you must stop him from practicing greed. Through denial or generosity, this may be accomplished. Through either action, this incident may be finished."

"Alright, so which do we try first?" Midnight asked, making her way to the door. 

"He'll be heading back towards Ponyville, so let's follow after him and see what we can do from there. Zecora, as soon as we get Spike under control we'll bring back your things," Twilight promised as she followed the kirin out the door. 

"This is the second time she has come here seeking aid," Zecora mumbled as she looked around her now bare home. "I think next time I'll ask to be paid!"

-----------------------------

"You really think this is going to work?" Midnight asked Twilight as the door they were barricading was slammed multiple time by an irate and now even larger Spike. They had lured him back to the library with a broom, of all things, after he tried to steal Scootaloo's scooter. Somehow that had made him grow to about Midnight's size, taking away one of the kirin's key advantages over him. 

"Of course it will work! There's nothing left in that room, so he can't practice greed! All we have to do now is wait for him to go back to normal and we can put this whole incident behind us!" Twilight assured her. 

The banging went on for another five minutes before finally settling down. "See? What'd I tell-" 

*SMASH*

"-you." 

"This can't be good," Midnight groaned as they eyed the door.

"Hold on," Twilight said, stopping the kirin from opening the door to check on the situation. "I'll teleport in and see what happened. Don't want him escaping." She winked out of sight with a flash of purple magic, only to reappear a few seconds later. "There is now a giant, Spike-shaped hole in the side of my library," she groaned.

"Think they make windows in that shape?" Midnight offered.

"You're hilarious. We need help if we're going to stop Spike now; let's head to Applejacks first. Hopefully hogtieing him will stop him."

"Stop him? After he busted through your wall on brute strength alone?"

"It's worth a shot," Twilight shot back. "Besides, I never said we'd only use one rope."

-----------------------------

"Alright girls, broccoli or cauliflower?" 

"Broccoli."

"Broccoli."

"Two heads of broccoli, please." Summer paid the vendor and slipped the vegetables into her saddle bag. "Now we just need some flowers and we'll be all set."

"Grandma, what do you think is wrong with Spike?" Squeaks asked as they trotted through the market place towards the Flower Sisters' Shop. They had met the CMC earlier, and from what they had told them he had tried to steal Scootaloo's scooter. Both Twilight and Midnight had been able to make him drop it by dangling a broom in front of him. As there was no sounds of roaring, bouts of fire appearing in the air, and everypony was as calm as a babbling brook in Whitetail Wood, they must have everything under control.

"I don't really know Squeaky. All I do know is that for a pony and kirin that stood up against the likes of Discord, a baby dragon growing a bit bigger over night shouldn't be a problem."

Sapphire and Windrunner exchanged a glance at this. When it came to the bearers and Midnight, something as simple as going to the store could turn into a life or death situation. It did make life more exciting though.

"But, what if he just keeps getting bigger?" Autumn asked quietly from beside Summer. "What if he gets so big they can't control him anymore?"

Summer looked down at her youngest and saw the familiar blue eyes filled with fear. "Nonsense dear," she cooed reassuringly. "From what Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo told us they have the situation well in hoof. You'll see; Spike will be back to his old, right size before dinner time."

That was something else Summer was going to have to learn about living Ponyville: never say anything related to the phrase "What could possibly go wrong?", because it will. Every time.

The roof of Sugarcube Corner popped off without warning, sending the cupcake on top that was Pinkie's room sailing off into the distance. In its place was a building-sized dragon with a very familiar purple and green color scheme. Looking around, it spotted something it liked and bulldozed its way out the side of the building. Thus commenced the screaming, crying, wails of despair, and general panic the town was becoming accustomed to. In her office in city hall, Mayor Mare popped an aspirin as soon as the first scream arose. It was going to be another long day. 

Just as predictably, Autumn was now cowering behind Summer's rear legs. Both Sapphire and Windrunner took to the air and put themselves between the dragon and the foals. A mostly meaningless gesture; they couldn't really stop the dragon on their own and it didn't even seem to notice them, but it did help calm Summer and Squeaks a bit.

Out of the rubble emerged Midnight and all of the bearers except Rarity. For once, Pinkie was left utterly speechless at the destruction of her home and place of employment and was being dragged out by Applejack. Midnight, Twilight, and Rainbow were talking animatedly when Midnight spotted them down the street. Saying something, she flew over while the others tried to snap Pinkie out of it so they could chase after Spike.

"Was that...?" Summer asked as the kirin landed in front of them.

"Yeah. Listen; take Autumn and Squeaks back home and wait there. It's out on the edge of town and the safest place right now," Midnight told them, looking back and fidgeting slightly. 

"But how did he get so big!?" Sapphire asked, her eyes tracking the sounds of a dragon marching through town.

"Apparently dragons start getting greedy at a certain age and they grow in size to match it. At this point I don't know what to do to stop him, so just get somewhere safe!" Midnight insisted.

Summer nodded. "I'll take them home right away."

"Sapphire, go with them. Windrunner, you're with us." The two pegasi nodded.

One particular scream made itself heard above the rest of the noise building in the streets. "And that makes Rarity," Midnight sighed, taking off with Windrunner right behind her.

"Alright girls, time to head home," Summer said, forcefully nudging Autumn to get her to move as they began making their way back down the street. 

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Squeaks said, trotting ahead of the rest of them. She remembered quite clearly what happened the last time she popped up in the middle of a fight between her mom and a giant monster.  

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Summer asked Sapphire with a hesitant look. The story of the encounter with the hydra similarly coming to mind. 

"Even if he's grow that big, he's still Spike; he won't harm them," 'on purpose, anyway' Sapphire told her, saying that last part only to herself. Something that big could cause a pony pain and not even notice.

"Sapphire, Summer!" a voice called out suddenly. Both mares looked around and saw Berry Punch waving at them from her front step. "Get in here and off the street!"

"It's alright; he went the other way!" Sapphire called back. She'd much rather have Berry come with them away from the center of town.

"I've got a new emergency shelter under the store! It'll be quicker for you to hide in here with us!" she insisted.

Sapphire and Summer exchanged glances. True, home was probably safer, even without a shelter, but Spike could just as easily come charging back the way they were going. 

"Mommy!" Autumn said, as frightened as she'd ever sounded.

"It's probably better to get off the streets as soon as we can, Sapphire," Summer told the pegasus. 

Sapphire looked back down the street, to Berry's, then towards the direction the roaring was now coming from. "You're probably right," she conceded. Each one picked up a foal and darted into the liquor store. Inside they found not only Berry and Pinchy, but Derpy, Sparkler, and Dinky.

"Good thing that whole "free construction" thing's been going on," Berry said as she closed the door behind them. "After that ursa attack, I started wanting a emergency shelter under the store. Made sure it was rated for just such an emergency."

"Ursa attack?" Summer said, looking around at the others as she put down Autumn.

"You'll have to ask Berry; it happened before Squeaky or I came to town," Sapphire told her. 

"Forget what happened before; can somepony tell us why a freaking dragon is rampaging through town?" Sparkler asked.

-----------------------------

"So, is there a plan right now?" Windrunner asked as they circled around the rampaging dragon. After grabbing Rarity he'd stolen the town's water tower and proceeded to stuff even more things into it. Midnight, Windrunner, Rainbow, and Fluttershy circled Spike in the air while Twilight, AJ, and Pinkie followed as close as they dared on the ground. The good news was that he still seemed conscious of living creatures as Rarity was being held by his tail and not shoved into the growing hoard and he even watched his step now and again. The bad news was that he was still big, still greedy, and not giving two hoots about property damage. 

"Hey, Rarity's got his attention!" Windrunner said.

Spike roared at the pony in his tail and continued what he was doing.

"Or not."

"Come on!" Rainbow said, waving for the rest of them to follow her down. "If one pony can get his attention, then four should be able to hold it!"

"Dash, I don't think-!" Midnight tried, but the chromatic pegasus was already diving down, followed by Fluttershy. She grunted and followed her down along with Windrunner.

Flying past Rarity, Rainbow flew right up to Spikes face. "Put her down right now, dragon boy!" she yelled at him.

Fluttershy, amazingly enough, also flew in close to his face. Her knowing that it was Spike was probably the only reason she would be so close. "If you wouldn't mind that is, we'd be ever so grateful!"

"Spike, look at all the damage you're causing!" Windrunner told him, motioning at the path of destruction he'd caused. "A lot of ponies are going to be really angry at you!"

"Wait, that's SPIKE!?" Rarity yelped.

"Yep," Midnight confirmed as she flew past her to land on Spike's upper jaw. "Spike, you know what I can do when I get serious enough, so I'm telling you now to put Rarity down, drop the water tower, and sit outside of town until you shrink back to normal!"

For a second, it actually seemed like they had gotten through to him. Then he growled and flicked his nose upwards. Midnight, unprepared and not holding on, was sent skywards until she was nothing more than a tiny black dot high above them. Spike then whipped his tail around to disperse the three pegasi. 

"Now what do we do?" Fluttershy squeaked as Spike went stomping away.

"I say we give the big guy his birthday punches!" Rainbow said, slamming a hoof into the other.

"We should wait for Midnight to come back down first," Windrunner said. "She might have a plan by the time she gets back down."

"Or she could agree with me," Dash said, pointing up at a now rapidly growing black form. She was angling right at Spike and her wings were open only to the bare minimum for control. At the last second she pulled up, opened her wings, and slammed into the back of Spike's head. The blow was enough to make the dragon see stars and he stood there stunned for nearly a minute. 

Meanwhile, Midnight wobbled as she flew back over to the three pegasi. "And now my legs hurt." 

"So, uh, didn't happen to come up with any plans on your way back down, did ya?" Rainbow asked. 

"Actually, yes," Midnight informed them, wincing as she checked her legs to make sure none were broken. "We need to get Spike out of the town so he'll stop breaking things but, since he simply won't listen, we need to do something else to make him follow us."

"Such as?" Windrunner asked.

"Such as steal stuff from his hoard. He'll get so pissed he'll track us no matter where we go."

"I'm in," Rainbow said without hesitating.

"Me too," agreed Windrunner.

"Fluttershy, go to Twilight and the others and let them know what we're doing," Midnight told the timid pegasus. "We're going to need the two speed-demons for this one."

With a grateful nod, she started for the spot the others were standing.

"So what's the plan? He won't exactly let us get close to his stuff," Rainbow said.

"Simple; I pull a you and start kicking him in the face and while he's busy trying to eat me the two of you swoop in, grab something, then taunt him with it. When he goes after you, lead him out of town. Once he gets far enough away I'll transform, beat the snot out of him, and hopefully that will get him to change back to normal."

Rainbow and Windrunner looked at each other.

"Sounds good to me!" Rainbow said, turning around and gaining altitude. 

"Be careful," Windrunner told her friend before also climbing to get on perch.

Giving her a nod, Midnight turned back towards the now recovering Spike. "Okay, that last hit was for flicking me. This one is for the mask you shoved onto my head."

-----------------------------

"It looks like they're leading him out of town!" Derpy called from upstairs as the dragon let out an angry roar. When it became obvious that it wasn't heading back towards where they were hiding, they had given into their morbid curiosity and watched the disaster outside unfold. For Summer, Squeaks, and even to some degree Sapphire, it was an excuse to keep an eye on the kirin who was in the thick of it. 

"I always knew Midnight was a fighter, but did you see that hit she laid out on him?" Berry asked. "She almost knocked him out! Seriously, never piss her off!"

"Yes..." Summer said absently. She hadn't shown it but the story of Midnight facing off against the hydra had deeply scared her. All they had told her was that Midnight had gone to the hospital afterwards but her mother's intuition had known that it had been worse than they had made it sound. A lot worse. Now here again was her daughter going up against another huge beast. Even if he was a friend, Spike wasn't himself and could do a lot of damage if he wanted to. A cold stone of dread had formed in the unicorn's stomach. 

"She'll be alright," Sapphire said comfortingly as she laid a wing on her back.

"I hope so," Summer whispered, hugging Autumn closer.

-----------------------------

How Midnight managed to forget that dragons breathed fire, when she herself did, was completely lost on her. Of course, it wasn't like it bothered her, just something that slipped her mind. She jinxed out of the green cloud of fire and corkscrewed back up again as the flames dissipated. Her plan was going rather perfectly. A few quick bucks to his jaw and Spike was too preoccupied to notice the two pegasi dive down and grab something out of his hoard. Until they waved them in his face, that is. 

Both Rainbow and Windrunner had enough foresight to lead him down the biggest streets to get him out rather than simply flying away and letting him bulldoze through even more homes and businesses. Now they were on the plain outside of town and heading for Smokey Mountain where that red dragon had been about a year ago. If they could lead him to just around the other side, Midnight could change, literally drop down on him, and pin him to the ground until he tired out and (hopefully) shrank back down to normal size. 

"Spike, you put me down this instant!" Rarity yelled from somewhere behind the purple and green hulk.

Of course it would probably be best if they got Rarity away first. It was a good thing that when he'd been distracted by Rainbow and Windrunner stealing from his hoard, Midnight had been able to grab something as well. Speaking of the two pegasi, both were diving, jinxing, and climbing just out of range of his fire blasts. Midnight could have been that far away as well if she wanted, but she didn't want him getting discouraged and turning back for town. That, and she'd forgotten about the fire. "Hey Spike! You want this?" Midnight called out to him, lifting the, now scorched, folding tray she was carrying for him to see.

He roared in anger.

"Then catch!" With a heave, she threw the tray straight up into the air. Looking up at his stolen prize, Spike paid Midnight no attention as she dove under and past his massive arm and bee-lined for the tip of his tail. For a second it looked like he was going to snap his tail in a different direction, but reaching out with her wing claw, Midnight snagged the tail and pulled herself onto it, gripping on with both wing claws and all four hooves. 

"Midnight, please be a dear and get me out of here!" Rarity shrieked. 

"Don't yell at me and I will!" Midnight shouted back, trying to figure out how to get her out of the coiled tail without letting Spike know what was going on. A quick test of the coils showed that he was holding on too tightly for the unicorn to wriggle free and any attempt to pull the tail away would just alert him to what they were doing. "Rarity, do you trust me?" Midnight asked, examining the coil in front of her, then looking skyward to see if Rainbow and Windrunner could see what was happening. They did.

"After saying that? Not really!" she cried back.

"Too bad! I'm making this up as I go and right now this is the only way!" Rearing her head back like a snake and exposing her fangs, Midnight bit down hard on the softest part of the tail she could find, as well as driving her tail blade in as well. The effect was like a bee sting on a soft digit. Hurts like a bitch, but otherwise a very minor injury (if you're not allergic). 

Spike reacted just as Midnight had hoped; letting out a screaming roar of pain and flicking his tail in an attempt to be rid of whatever was hurting him. 

Rarity let out her loudest shriek yet as the coils unrolled like a whip and she was sent flying. Midnight let go of the tail and made to chase after her, but a blue and brown blur shot past over head, deftly snatching the screaming white unicorn out of the air. Rainbow and Windrunner circled down to the ground and gently set the shaking unicorn down onto her own hooves.

"Never, ever, do that again!" Rarity screeched as Midnight flew down to meet them. 

"We need to get back up there and draw him behind the mountain," Midnight told the other two, ignoring the frazzled unicorn. 

"Isn't he far enough out of town already?" Rainbow asked. They were at least half way between it and the mountain with plenty of space for him and Midnight to duke it out. 

"No," Midnight said with a hint of a growl in her voice, "we're not."

"Uh, sorry to disrupt this impending argument, but..." Windrunner pointed back at the purple and green hulk.  After rubbing his tail at the spot where Midnight had hurt it, he looked up at them, his eyes narrow slits of anger. 

"Point taken. Rarity, get back to Ponyville ASAP," Midnight said as she jumped into the air again followed closely by the two pegasi.

Spike, however, was not going to give them a chance to try hurting him or his hoard again. Looking around, he found a great deal of boulders around him, picked one up, then chucked it their way. All three flyers dodged it effortlessly and it crashed into the ground harmlessly some distance away. Rarity squeaked as the argument about being left behind died in her throat. 

"Rarity won't be able to get back to town safely with all those rocks he's going to throw!" Windrunner pointed out. 

"Then try and fly her back to town," Midnight grunted. "Rainbow and I can get him further out."

"I still don't see why you can't fight him here!" Rainbow said as Windrunner dove to help Rarity.

"Because the town can see me!" Midnight hollered back as they dodged another boulder. 

"So!?"

"So, I don't want them seeing me transform!" 

"So you can turn into a wyvern; big deal!"

"Exactly, it's a VERY big deal!" An involuntary shiver went up the kirin's spine at the very thought of the town seeing her change. 'It's the biggest deal there can be, for me.' "I'm not changing in sight of the town, and that's that!" As another rock soared past them, Midnight cut off any rebuttal Rainbow was going to make and flew back towards the enraged dragon.

Rainbow grunted in frustration, but followed close behind her. 

-----------------------------

Back in town, Summer and Sapphire, as well as everypony else hiding in Berry's shop, tentively stepped outside with everypony else. The roaring was much farther off now and few pegasi were even going airborne to take stock of the situation. 

"So... now what?" Berry asked nervously, making sure to keep Pinchy close. Derpy stayed on the ground with them, unwilling to leave her daughter and younger sister alone.

"We just have to wait until the others get back," Sapphire told her, making a sideways glance over at Summer. The unicorn had Autumn on her back and was absentmindedly holding up a hoof for the filly to cling to.

"Does anypony else feel that thumping?" Squeaks asked after a minute, looking down at her hooves.

Now that she mentioned it, Sapphire could feel an occasional *thump* through the ground, but it wasn't constant enough to be giant, stomping feet.

"Now the big brute's throwing boulders around!" one of the airborne pegasi called out.

-----------------------------

Midnight and Rainbow were having a distinctively hard time getting close enough to grab another piece of Spike's hoard, mainly because of the boulders the dragon was picking up and swinging and/or throwing at them. The kirin quietly congratulated herself on bringing Spike to a place where he could actually defend himself from what were essentially gnats to something his size. 

"Now what do we do!?" Rainbow yelled at her, flipping backwards to avoid another swing of a boulder. 

"He'll run out eventually!" Midnight assured her, dodging the two boulders he'd thrown at the same time in frustration. 

Spike leaned down to get some more boulders but stopped short as he pulled and failed to lift the next one he'd gotten hold of. 

"Now!" Rainbow called out, diving down on him, Midnight following in close pursuit. 

Seeing the two annoying thieves diving for his hoard again, Spike redoubled his efforts to pull the rock out of the ground. With a loud, grinding scrapping the rock came loose from the ground and the two other buried boulders holding it place. Not ready for the sudden loss of resistance, his arms swung away and lost their grip on the rock, sending it skywards. 

Rainbow dodged the speeding lump effortlessly.

Midnight was too busy aiming to notice it until it was too late. 'Not another hospital trip!' she begged as it slammed into her, flattening her against it and taking her up with it.

Rainbow and Spike watched as the rock continued its upward climb until it started to level out. Given her years of stunt flying, Rainbow could easily figure out where it was going to land. Right in the center of Ponyville. 

"Oh, horse apples!" the pegasus yelled as she tore after it. 

-----------------------------

Out of nowhere all the pegasi that were airborne started screaming. "Run for it; one of them is heading this way!" one of them screamed as the flock scattered.

Panic once again took hold of the residents of Ponyville as they all started running somewhere, anywhere, that wasn't where they currently were. 

"Quick, back to the store!" Berry called out, hoisting Pinchy onto her back. The others followed suit and began tearing back, all the while stealing quick glances upwards at the black pebble that was quickly growing.

-----------------------------

'Why do I get the feeling that this is going to become a thing?' Midnight asked herself as she tried to ignore the pain. She ached all over but thankfully still nothing seemed broken. 'Seemed that way last time, too.' Craning her neck around to see where she'd end up becoming a stain, Ponyville quickly filled her entire field of vision. 'No, no, no! Not good, not good!' Pulling herself off the rock, she opened her wings to fly off when she took one more look around, and time seemed to slow down. Below in the street she could see her mother, sister, daughter, and best friend running away from the rock's supposed impact point. As far as she could tell, they weren't anywhere near it, but the looks on their faces... 

The kirin could feel boiling heat rising up in her throat as her fangs extended once again. One of the biggest differences between dragons and wyverns, as Zecora had stated, was their view of valuables and hoards. Dragons valued objects above most other things and as such kept the nicest things as part of their own hoard. Yes, they ate gems as food, but they and such things as gold and silver were so beautiful that what else could possibly matter, beyond the occasional mating season?

Wyverns, on the other claw, saw things much more differently. What good was a mountain of treasure if it meant being alone almost all of one's life? There would always be more gold, silver, and gems. Another being could never be replaced, and so wyverns had formed clans. They were each other's hoard and to threaten or hurt one was to threaten or hurt the whole. That was why Midnight was such a mama bear when it came to Squeaks. It was why now, despite all her fears her nightmares had instilled in her, blue fire erupted from her hooves and enveloped her. Because, when it came down to it, her family and friends were in danger, and nothing was going to stop her from keeping them safe.

Back on the ground, Summer saw the blue sky above her become brighter for a few seconds, followed by a familiar heat wash over her. She skidded to a halt to find Berry, Derpy, Sparkler, and the foals all staring up into the sky with mouths agape. Only Sapphire and Squeaks looked up without a hint of surprise. Following the others' gazes upwards, Summer and Autumn were met with the sight of a full grown, jet-black wyvern hovering in  the air with the previously falling rock clenched in its talons. Wisps of blue flame still danced around it as it looked down at them briefly, then looked back up and out towards the distant earth dragon staring confusedly, and maybe even fearfully, back at it. "Midnight..." she breathed. 

The wyvern then lurched forward, back the way the rock had fallen. They all found their hooves again and made to follow so as to keep her in sight. Once Midnight had reached the edge of town she kicked her legs back and threw the rock forwards onto the plain. Once she was rid of her burden she landed, then reared back on her legs and let out an earth-shaking roar of challenge and defiance at the dragon across the way. When it was done, no sound arose from the town. Nopony screamed, shouted, or even whimpered. Midnight fell back onto all fours and raised her head on her serpentine neck, waiting for Spike's response.

Summer, Sapphire, and the others met the bearers, now including Rarity and Rainbow Dash, as well as Windrunner, on the bridge leading out of that particular part of town. Midnight's huge size partially blocked out the sun on the bridge, and like the rest of the town none of them made a sound. "Does somepony want to explain why Midnight exploded into a blue fireball that became another dragon?" Berry demanded, breaking the silence.

"Wyvern," Sapphire corrected.

"A what?"

"A wyvern," Sapphire repeated. "It's her special talent. She can become a fully grown wyvern at will."

"And... why hasn't she shared this with us before?" Derpy asked. "I mean, I kind of understand, but it's not like we would have been scared of her; she seems in control of herself."

"Because the last time she showed that talent, she scared away the only friend she had," Summer explained in barely more than a whisper. Now her little girl might scare the only town that had ever seemed to accept her. 

Berry and Derpy looked at each other. Neither had ever pushed the kirin into telling them what her mark meant, and now it was clear why. "Well, she sure as Tartarus ain't losing these friends," Berry said.

"Darn straight!" Derpy agreed. "Kick his flank, Midnight!"

"Knock his fangs out!" Berry added. They weren't sure if she could hear them, but it was more about showing their friend support than anything. 

Summer looked over at the two of them. It was the last reaction she had ever expected anypony to have to her daughter's ability. 

"Yeah Midnight, tan his flank good!" Rainbow chipped in.

"Give the youngin' a spankin' he'll never forget!" AJ added.

"Be careful!" Twilight and Fluttershy shouted.

"Don't hurt him too much!" Rarity called out.

"Anypony want popcorn?" Pinkie asked. "What?" she asked when they all stared at her. "It's just like those giant fighting monster comics that always level Canterlot! How often are we really going to see stuff like this?"

"This isn't a comic or a game," Summer said sternly.

"Is... is that Midnight?" Autumn asked in a quiet voice.

Summer looked around at her youngest daughter perched on her back. "Yes Autumn, it is," she told her just as quietly, "and she's like that to protect us from the other dragon." 

Autumn looked up at the large black thing from her nightmares, then back at her mother, nodded slightly, then buried her head in her mane. 

"Should we do something?" Windrunner asked, still staring at Midnight. She'd heard the story, but never imagined her wyvern form to be so gigantic.

"Let them go at each other first," Sapphire told her. "Nothing we do is going to stop that from happening now anyway."

Back across the plain, whatever hesitation the earth dragon felt, it finally drained away and he too let out a roar of defiance. Before he had even finished he began to charge, both powerful back legs propelling him at the speed of a locomotive. Midnight also charged forward, her arms/wings making her own forward momentum look ungainly and clumsy, but she never faltered. 

Just as they were about to meet, Midnight jumped into the air, swinging her talons up and forward, past Spike's grasping claws and slamming into his chest. He tumbled backwards from the hit, his still forward moving legs going out from under him and slamming hard into the ground. Due to the speeds they were going at, Midnight continued her own forward momentum, rolling off the stunned dragon. Not hesitating a second, she used the tumble to propel herself into the air with only a few beats of her massive wings. 

"Nice hit mom!" Squeaks cheered from Sapphire's back. By now several townsfolk had hesitantly inched forward to watch the fight between the titans from the town side of the bridge.

Spike rolled over and pushed himself up on one arm, the other holding his chest where Midnight had hit. A small trickle of blood oozed out from where her talons had impacted. Before he could get back to his feet, Midnight plummeted out of the sky onto him, slamming him back down and taking off before his tail could rise up and whip her. Spike may have had more bulk and overall strength than Midnight, but she was the far more experienced, running on logic instead of instinct, and possibly more driven.

Recovering faster from the latest blow, Spike got up in time to face Midnight on her next pass. He opened his massive jaws and unleashed a torrent of green fire at her. Stopping in midair, the wyvern opened her mouth and shot off her own tsunami of blue fire. The two met and roiled, neither stream of rock-melting heat gaining the edge on the other. 

"Ooo, ooo! Anypony want some s'mores?" Pinkie asked. Everypony on the bridge gave her a glare. "I still stand by my previous statement."

As the two fires began dying off, Midnight accelerated forwards again, using the fire as cover to get in close and deal another heavy blow to Spike's chest. This time he was ready, though. As she hit him, Spike clamped his jaws onto one of her legs and took her down with him. Stunned by the sudden halt and fall, Midnight wasn't as quick to recover and was grabbed by the back of the neck. 

Spike growled menacingly as he raised her to eye level, keeping one foot on a wing to keep her pinned. Meeting his gaze, she gave no warning as her tail whipped forward, scoring a shallow cut along the top of Spike's muzzle. Shocked by the sudden pain and possible realization of how close a more grievous wound was, he let go and staggered back, unpinning her. Midnight reared back, beat both wings experimentally, and let out another roar of challenge. 

"Midnight!" Rarity and Twilight yelled disapprovingly. Now even more ponies were gathering at the bridge to watch the battle.

After making sure it really was only a small flesh wound, Spike returned the challenge, charging her yet again. Midnight stood still in the face of the charging purple and green mountain. Just before he collided with her, Midnight twisted to the side, tripping him with a single out-stretched leg and smacking him in the back with the flat side of her tail blade. He went sprawling down onto his stomach with Midnight right on top of him. The wyvern locked her jaws onto the largest of his spines and held his head down while also pinning his arms with her own. Her talons dug into his thighs, flexing every time his legs tried to move and driving them deeper. Their tails were entwined in a sort of tail-wrestle with neither side giving ground. Spike tried shooting off more fire, only to have Midnight slam his face into the ground. 

"Alright, that's enough!" Rarity yelled out, running off the bridge and towards the combatants. 

"Rarity, wait!" Twilight called after her, following her off the bridge. "It's too dangerous!"

"Twilight, it's clear Midnight has the upper hoof and if she keeps this up she might really hurt Spike! We have to try and stop them!"

"I know, but the only way they'll stop is if Spike changes back to normal! The only way to do that is to stop him from being greedy or make him do something generous!"

Rarity pondered this as the others caught up to them. "Or... if we make him remember doing something generous!" she announced, glancing back down at the fire ruby she still wore around her neck.

"Ya'll think that'll really work?" AJ asked her.

"It's worth a shot," Twilight said. "Just... be careful."

"Wouldn't dream of being anything but, Twilight darling," Rarity said with a flick of her mane. They all watched as the fashioniesta approached the battling behemoths. "Spikey-wikey!" Rarity called out as soon as she was close. 

Both fighters looked down at her. 

"I just want to say how disappointed I am that a dragon so generous as yourself is out here fighting over junk when you so graciously gave me the fire ruby you were saving up for so many months!" She buffed the ruby in question and allowed it to shine clearly for Spike to see. 

Catching sight of the ruby, the dragon finally paused in his attempts to get back up. Sensing this, Midnight eased up slightly in her own efforts to keep him down. 

"I know you're better than to let greed rule you, Spikey-wikey, and the proof is right around my neck. Now, either prove me right by changing back to normal, or stay that way and lose our friendship!"

Spike grunted as he continued to look down at her. It was a confused sounding grunt, as if he was lost deep in thought. After a few more seconds his eyes seemed to unfocus, like he was remembering something. Out of nowhere his whole body began to vibrate, then the dragon Midnight was battling disappeared and the wyvern landed on the ground with a loud thud. Confused, she lifter her middle up to reveal a normal-sized Spike sitting under her. He looked a bit battered and worse for wear, but otherwise okay.

Seeing this as well, everypony else came charging forward as Midnight sat back on her haunches and let the blue flames envelop her. Once she was back to normal she let herself flop down onto the ground. She hurt everywhere, but at least she wasn't blacking out from blood loss. 

"Midnight!" Summer cried out as she came to a skidding halt next to her, then gathered her up in her hooves. "Dear Celestia, are you okay!?"

"I will be when you let go!" Midnight hollered back. "I'm in so much pain right now!"

"Sorry!" Summer apologized, laying her gently back down.

"What hurts?" Sapphire asked as she and the rest of them got to them.

"Everything," Midnight groaned. "I got hit by a giant rock, remember?"

"Um... sorry about that," Spike said from where Rarity, Twilight, and Fluttershy were fussing over him. A lot of his superficial wounds were gone, such as the graze on the nose and most of the claw marks. The places on his chest and thighs where her talons had dug into him were now scabbed over as were the teeth marks on his head spine. 

"Just... never do this again," the kirin told him. "Next time I'm doing something permanent." She ignored the disapproving glares from the other mares. 

"Can you get up?" Summer asked gently. 

"Do I have to?"

"You'd be more comfortable in a bed," Sapphire told her. "You'd be more tolerable of Red Heart, too."

Midnight rolled her eyes, but slowly pulled herself up. As they slowly made their way back to the bridge however, Sapphire and Windrunner helping to support her, Midnight realized that Derpy, Berry, and their family members were all there as well. "Wait, what are you all doing here?"

"We all saw you fighting Spike," Berry told her. "What, you think nopony saw the two of you duking it out out here?"

Midnight's gate slowed. "You mean, you saw... you saw me like... like that?" The kirin's irises began to shrink.

"Pretty much the whole town saw you!" Derpy said happily. "You did save some folks from getting squashed by a flying boulder after all. That and changing right above the whole town."

The group had made it to the top of the bridge now, and here Midnight halted as Derpy's words sunk in. 'The whole town knows!? They all know?!' This continued to repeat in her head as she slowly turned to see practically the entire town looking up at them, looking up at her. Her irises were the size of pinpricks now, and her breathing was become more rapid.

"Midnight?" Sapphire asked nervously.

She didn't hear her. She didn't even see the others around her now. All there was, was the crowd in front of her. No, not a crowd, an angry mob. They knew what she really was, and they hated and feared her for it. She took a step back. She had to get away, she had to hide. They'd never accept her. And there it was; the roar of the crowd, screaming for her to leave and never come back, for her to go limp off to some far away cave and die so they could be rid of her forever. 

"Midnight!"

Her eyes flicked down to see her mother in front of her, her face a look of disgust and disappointment. But, the longer she looked, the disgust and disappointment dissolved into a mirror of her own fear. "Mom...?" she said weakly.

"It's alright dear, it's alright. Nothing's going to happen." Summer gently nuzzled her, tears now in her eyes as well. "Just listen to them; really listen." 

Midnight obeyed, trying to hear past her the voices in her head and take in what the residents of Ponyville, not the nightmare townsfolk of her mind, were saying.

Was... was that... cheering?

As that strangeness began pulling her back out of her own head, she realized that Autumn was sitting on her mother's back, looking almost as frightened as she felt. 

"You... were protecting us?" her sister asked in a quiet voice. 

Midnight could only nod slightly. Autumn seemed to consider that. Then, to Midnight's shock and amazement, the filly reached up and nuzzled her as well. It was only for a second, and she ducked back into Summer's mane afterwards, but it spoke volumes to the kirin. 

As she became more aware of the world around her again, she realized they really were cheering for her. Several times she picked out ponies thanking her for saving the town. Most of it anyway. Looking around she saw that she was now the center of a giant group hug. Sapphire and Windrunner both had a wing over her back and were pulled into her, Sapphire even sharing the space in the crook of her neck with Summer. Squeaks was hugging the back of her head. Although they couldn't reach her directly, the bearers, Spike, Derpy, Berry, Dinky, Pinchy, and even Sparkler were all there as well.

"I... I don't..."

"Shhh..." Summer told her. "Let's get back home, bandage you up, and have a nice, relaxing evening together. You've earned it."

"Alright," Midnight said quietly. She didn't hurt anymore; her body was numb all over but there was the faintest feeling of relief and joy past the numbness. Maybe, just maybe, her nights plagued with nightmares were really over as easily as that.

Without warning Spike suddenly burped up a letter. Twilight caught it in her magic and read it out loud.

"Dear Twilight,

I'm sorry, but it completely slipped my mind that this might be the year that Spike might start exhibiting signs of what is known as "Greed-Growth", a common condition among young dragons form what we have seen over the years. If he starts getting greedy suddenly, please bring him to Canterlot right away so we can stop the problem before it gets too big, both figuratively and literally.

Sincerely,
Princess Celestia"

Silence.

"Seriously?" Midnight groaned.