Twilight heaved a massive breath and sighed in relief. Her magic barrier was strong, no doubt, but it could not have held against such a powerful dragon for much longer. Her legs ached and her mane was stuck to her forehead in sweat. She wiped it away with the side of her hoof and looked back towards town. The ground around her was scortched to oblivion, but the town and its inhabitants remained unharmed. She could see Pinkie Pie triumphantly watching as her cannon’s payload flew into the distance. She could see Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity standing near the bridge that crossed the stream between town and the forest. Beside each of them, she saw the three cutie-mark crusaders looking fearfully at the spot where the dragon use to be.
“Whew! Dragons, am I right?” Spike said as he landed beside her and gave her a foolish smile. She sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder with a relieved smile on her face.
“Let’s not do that again for our second date,” she said exhaustively. The three other mares along with the fillies were cantering towards them now with concern on their faces.
“Are y’all alright?” Applejack asked.
“We’re alright. Is everypony else safe?” she asked, directing her attention to the fillies.
“They’re a little shaken, but not hurt thank heavens,” Rarity said and rubbed her sister’s head affectionately.
“Where did you get that Sprite Sapphire!?” Spike asked her.
“Oh Spike, you know I have a talent for finding gems. I stumbled upon it when I was on vacation looking for emeralds near Baltimare. I saw the one Princess Luna gave you and thought it would make my next work my masterpiece. I’d been saving it for some divine inspiration . . .” she said and looked towards the mountains with a frown.
“That was no ordinary gem. It’s the sapphire equivalent of a fire ruby, and they’re super rare. I’m so sorry we had to launch it away like that,” Twilight consoled her.
“As long as everypony is safe, then it was worth every gem in Equestria,” Rarity reassured her and nuzzled her sister with her nose.
“Why on earth was he chasing you anyway?” Spike asked the girls loudly. The three of them shivered together a little and looked around at the grown ups who were all waiting for them to answer. Twilight stepped forward, bent her knees and laid herself down on the ground, looking at them at eye level.
“It’s alright girls. You can tell us. We’re really glad you’re safe,” she said with a nurturing smile. Sweetie Belle stepped forwards and frowned before softly speaking.
“We weren’t trying to get anypony in danger,” she said slowly.
“We wanted to help!” Scootaloo chimed in.
“We didn’t think this would happen, we’re sorry,” Applebloom said in shame.
“It’s alright, my little ponies. Please, just start from the beginning,” she cooed and the others stepped in a little to hear better.
“Well . . .”
The three fillies happily trotted towards town hall, eager to see their favorite princess. Sweetie Belle hummed a tune to herself, carrying a saddlebag with two of her favorite books inside; her copy of the first Harry Trotter and a novel called Mane in Manhattan. She was accompanied by Applebloom, who was thinking of possible ways a book-drive might get them cutie marks, and Scootaloo, who was waving at Princess Twilight ahead of them.
“Hi girls!” Twilight greeted them as they approached.
“Hi Princess Twilight!” Scootaloo said. “Is the book drive going well?”
“I’d say so. We’ve almost got more books than we can handle already,” she replied.
“Well do you have room for two more?” Sweetie Belle said and motioned towards her bag. She lit her horn up and tried her best to lift the books out of the bag using her magic. She strained and grunted as they slowly levitated upward. The books changed auras from light green to violet as Twilight floated them towards her.
“Well done, Sweetie Belle! And thank you very much. Are you girls going to enjoy the festivities with Pinkie Pie?”
“Maybe later,” Apple Bloom chimed in. “We’ve got some crusadin’ to do.” With that, the three girls walked away and bid the Princess goodbye.
“Alright, thank you very much!” Twilight said with a smile and turned towards Spike behind her. “Spike? Two more right here,” she called out.
The girls looked over towards Spike and Scootaloo beckoned the other two to follow her. They walked around the cart that was quickly filling up with books and sat down on the other side. They each hid behind a wheel and looked over towards Spike and eyed him up and down.
“Isn’t it so cool that we have a dragon as a friend?” Scootaloo said in a hushed tone.
“But Spike has always been our friend,” Sweetie Belle protested.
“I know. I mean a big grown up dragon!”
“It is pretty amazin’ what Spike has grown into. It’s kinda like he’s found his cutie mark, only since he’s a dragon, he’s gotten bigger instead of gettin’ a picture of something on his hind-quarters,” Apple Bloom observed.
“If Spike was a colt instead, what do you think his cutie mark would be?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Shhh wait, listen a sec,” Scootaloo hushed and turned towards Spike who was discussing something with Twilight. The fillies listened as the two of them talked a few feet away.
“It will be hard to find the last bits, and we may need to make some compromises . . .” Twilight said.
“Hear that? Sounds like they need more bits for the library,” Scootaloo said.
“Oh, I wish we could find some extremely rich pony and ask him to donate,” Apple Bloom suggested and bit her bottom lip. “Y’all know any rich someponies?”
The others shook their heads and slumped down with a frown. Each of them wanted to help, but knew that there was little three fillies could do. Just then, Sweetie Belle piped up and smiled.
“Ooh, I know!” She said and excitedly raised a hoof in the air like she was answering a question in class. Without realizing where she was, her hoof collided with the brake holding the crate in place and knocked it upward. The trolley started to roll very slowly towards Spike and Twilight and the three fillies panicked.
“Push it back! Push it Back!” Scootaloo hissed quietly.
“I can’t reach!” Apple Bloom said. Sweetie Belle was trying to use her magic to lower the brake again when she saw Apple Bloom’s brother coming towards the cart.
“Let’s go!” she whispered and the three of them dashed towards the catering table and hid inside a bush behind where Applejack was serving food. The looked back and saw Big Macintosh placing a stone underneath the wheel of the trolley to make sure it did not roll again.
“Whew,” Scootaloo said. “What’s the big idea, Sweetie Belle? Getting in trouble won’t help the library,” she said flatly.
“Sorry. I just had an idea. We don’t know any rich ponies right?” she said and the two others nodded. “But we do know a dragon. Dragon’s have entire hoards of bits and jewels!”
“If Spike had a hoard big enough to pay for the library, don’t you think he would have donated it already?” Apple Bloom countered. Sweetie Belle sat on her flank and pondered for another second.
“What if we go ask a different dragon?” Scootaloo said.
“What? Are you crazy or somethin?” Apple Bloom scolded.
“Why not? I mean, Spike’s a dragon, and he’s totally harmless. I know he’s not like most dragons. But really, how different could he be at heart? I bet most dragons are actually tamer than we think. Maybe if we explain that it’s a donation to help the library . . .” Scootaloo started.
“But dragons don’t like givin’ their stuff away,” Apple Bloom interjected.
“So what if we give it something in return?” Sweetie Belle said. “Then it wouldn’t be losing anything.”
“But what could a dragon want that would be worth so many bits?” Scootaloo asked. The three of them thought it over and each let out an audible ‘hmmmm’.
“Oh wait, I got it!” Apple Bloom chirped and promptly vanished. She returned a split-second later with three trays of apple pie that were still steamy and warm.
“Aren’t those for the book drive?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“If we’re using them to help fund the library, I don’t think anypony will mind,” Apple Bloom answered.
“Forget that, do you really think a dragon is going to trade us any bits for apple pies?” Scootaloo said as if pointing out the absurdity of the idea.
“I know Spike absolutely loves these pies, so we know dragons like ‘em. But I bet you that other dragons never get to eat apple pie. It might be the first time it’s ever had one! But dragons have got tons of coins and gems. If you want something bad enough, but there isn’t much of it around, you’re willing to pay more for it. It’s basic ecotronics,” she said doing her best impression of Granny Smith.
“I’ll bet he’ll pay so much that we could afford the biggest library in Equestria!” Sweetie Bell said excitedly.
“Well, okay then. Never thought I’d say this but, lets go find a dragon!” Scootaloo said and picked up one of the pies with her teeth. The two others did the same and began trotting off towards the edge of town.
Nearly an hour and a half later, the three of them were deep in the Everfree forest near the edge of one of the tall mountains that lined the side of their valley. Sweetie Belle’s excitement died down into fatigue and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked up and down the mountainside for any signs of a cave.
“Darn it,” Scootaloo said after laying her pie down. “I was so sure I saw a dragon sized cave last time I went to Zecora’s. The dragon migration was last week, so there’s gotta be some around here somewhere.”
As if on cue, a low but thunderous snore came from behind her. Sure enough, a cave that was as tall as town hall lined the side of the mountain. The low hum of breathing from whatever was inside continued to emanate from the mouth of the cave and the three fillies huddled together.
“Let’s just take a quick look,” Apple Bloom suggested and ventured inside carefully. She immediately noticed the walls were glowing with the reflected light from the jewels inside. The layer of gold and gems covered the entire floor, and a mountain of treasure sat in the middle of the cave. At the base of that mountain of gold laid a bright blue dragon’s head that sat quietly with it’s eyes closed. It was nearly the size of a train car and light puffs of smoke trailed out of its nostrils with every breath. Applebloom looked back at the two of them and took a deep courageous breath.
“Just pretend it’s Spike,” she said, and walked forward towards the sleeping giant. The girls laid down their apple pies and stood side by side as Apple Bloom got its attention.
“Ahem,” she said loudly. The beast stirred, but did not wake. “Ahem!” she cleared her throat again and this time the beast’s eyes lightly fluttered open. The bright red irises dilated as it found the girls and fixated on them.
“Good afternoon, sir or madam. My name is Apple Bloom and we are raising money for the Ponyville Library. We would like to offer you some of our most prized pies straight from the town of Ponyville,” she said and gestured to the deserts in front of them.
“I’m sure you’ve never tried pies like these before,” Scootaloo cued in.
“All the proceeds will go to rebuilding the library in town!” Sweetie Belle said nervously.
“So, if you’d like to buy any or all of these pies, we’d be happy to accept any kind of donation you can offer. If you have any bits to spare, we would greatly appreciate your help,” Apple Bloom said.
On the word ‘bits’, the dragon’s eyes flew open and the lips lining the dangerous fangs tightened into a grimace. The beast began to lift its head up and leer at the three fillies angrily.
“Um . . .” Scootaloo said as the beast’s head rose above them. “We understand if you’re not interested,” she offered. The dragon’s body stood up and the entire creature towered over them like a Manehattan skyscraper. The three of them sat back wide-eyed at the sight in front of them and slowly began to back track. The dragon lurched forward and angrily let out a deafening roar at the three fillies. A giant foot with five malicious claws descended upon them and crashed down on the pies in front of them and shook the ground.
“He’s not interested! He’s not interested!” Scootaloo cried out and bolted for the entrance of the cave.
“Run!” Sweetie Belle called out and all three ponies sprinted towards the forest. The giant beast was on their trail immediately and stomped with massive feet and claws.
“We’ll lose’em in the trees!” Apple Bloom shouted. A set of claws came down and nearly caught her tail. She dove to the side and the three fillies scattered into the trees and continued running towards town.
“Somepony do something!” Scootaloo cried out as the beast continued to thrash at them. She began to flutter her wings as hard as she could to keep up with the other two.
“Ahh!” Apple Bloom bellowed as a swipe from the dragon’s claws cut down the tops of the trees above her. She and Sweetie Bell continued to cry out as they duck, dove, and dodged through the woods towards town.
“Help!” Sweetie bell called out before finally breaching the edge of the woods and seeing Ponyville in the distance . . .
“. . . and . . . well, you know the rest,” Applebloom finished and sat quietly, still balancing fright from the previous incident and sorrow for putting herself and her friends in danger. Not to mention the rest of Ponyville.
Twilight blinked. The story was told from start to finish but part of her could not really believe that the fillies would be so bold. She looked up at Spike, who was equally stunned, not just by their poor decision but also by their sheer guts. Rarity snuggled up to her sister, clearly thankful that she had not been eaten. Applejack, however, was beside herself.
“Of all the . . . you fillies have had crazy ideas in the past, but wakin’ up a full-grown dragon? That’s beyond crazy! That’s just plain . . . I don’t even have a metaphor here! What in Equestria were you thinkin?” She said loudly. Apple Bloom mashed her eyes closed and sniffled a little as tears began to creep into her eyes.
“I’m . . . we’re sorry,” she nearly choked. The other two were choking back their own sobs as well as they looked at the grown ponies around them. Spike looked at them and his heart broke just the slightest bit. Not because the girls were hurting, but because he saw so much of himself in each of them in that moment. The little baby dragon who walked on his back two feet, rode on Twilight’s back, and blew letters to Princess Celestia, was right in front of him, more ashamed than ever. He looked over to Twilight, who was still a little wordless, and stepped forward to join her on the ground.
“Girls,” he began and looked at them in the eye. “It’s allright, okay? Don’t be so down on yourselves. Come here,” he said and beckoned them towards him. They each walked a little closer to him and wiped their eyes and listened closely.
“Let me tell you a little story. Once, there was a little dragon named Spike, who thought his best friend didn’t love him anymore. He packed up his things and headed into the Everfree forest in search of a new home. He stumbled upon a cave in the forest that was filled to the brim with gems and gold. After snacking on them for some time, a giant dragon appeared. ‘Why are you eating my gems?’ he said. He tried to reason with him, tried to get him to understand since they were both dragons, but the bigger dragon would not listen. He tried to burn little Spike to a crisp. If his best friend hadn’t been there to come save him . . .” he said and placed one of his hands on Twilight’s hoof affectionately. “. . . He was so sorry for ever putting her life in danger. I can see in your eyes that you feel the same way right now. And I’m not mad, not at all. How could I be when I’ve done something just as reckless? I’m just so happy that you’re not hurt. Trust me, that matters much more than whatever it is you did.”
“We just thought, since you’re a dragon . . .” Sweetie Belle said sniffled again.
“Let me tell you what dragon’s greed is like. Have you ever had so much fun that you forgot what time it was?” he asked them, and they each nodded. “Greed for dragons is a lot like that. But instead of forgetting time, you forget about everypony else important in your life. You get so swept away in the thrill of grabbing another thing for yourself that who you took it from simply escapes your mind. You just forget that you should be nice, that you’re friends, or that you love somepony. The thought of losing a single coin triggered that dragon’s greed, and he was defending his hoard. I know your hearts were in the right place, but other dragons can’t see that. I need you to understand this now: I’m the only dragon like me in the world,” he finished and smiled at the three of them. “Lucky me, right?”
The three little ponies smiled at him and each apologized to him one more time. He smiled and offered them each a quick hug to ease their sobs. Before long, they were each feeling much better and headed home.
The two older sisters of the bunch carried them home while Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy saw Scootaloo home safe. Twilight spent the next few minutes discussing the events with the mayor while Spike looked over the rest of the book-drive supplies that still needed cleaning up. He looked up at the clock tower and noticed it was nearly 5 o’clock. He sighed and rolled his eyes at his luck. Just when I’m about to finally get a date with Twilight, another dragon has to come and ruin it, he thought.
“What’s that look for?” he heard Twilight say from behind him.
“I’m just sorry that the craziness ruined our date night,” he said and frowned.
“Why do you say it’s ruined? We’re still going to dinner, right?” she asked.
“Really? You’re not too beat up after fighting a hundred foot dragon and saving Ponyville? Both of which you’ve done before, I might add,” he said.
“Are you?” she asked back. That made him smile.
“No way! That was good workout, but I’m ready to kick back and have a nice relaxing dinner,” he reassured her.
“Good, me too. But we should get back to the castle to wash up first,” she said and wiped a hoof along the scales on his chest. He looked down at her hoof and noticed that it was covered in soot. His scales were mostly charred and crispy from being put through dragonfire, so he was hardly his most hygienic.
“You’re definitely right about that. May I walk you home, your highness?” he said with a grand bow and a cheeky smile. While he spoke as if she was a regal princess, she was sweaty and ruffled nearly beyond recognition. She laughed and bowed back.
“You may, kind sir,” she said before beginning to walk home with him. They strode quietly along the path to the castle for sometime before Twilight spoke up again.
“Hey Spike?” she asked.
“Mmm?”
“I know you’re not used to being bigger than the girls, but I think you said exactly what they needed to hear,” she complimented him. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks Twilight, but I wasn’t trying to be a good guide to them. I said that because when I was still a baby dragon, I wish I had known that too,” he said and looked over his shoulder at the three fillies being escorted home. Somewhere deep in his mind, Spike couldn’t shake the feeling like he wanted to be as kind and brave as they were someday.