Okie dokie lokie, readers. It's come to my attention that my scene breaks are distracting and that my "Last Time" scenes are unnecessary, and I definitely will admit that I had a feeling that I overdid it on the scene breaks. So, I'm going to try and lessen the scene breaks, changin them from the bold -MLPFIM- to just a series of dashes, and I'm going to try and write better transitional scenes. I'd really like your continued critique of my writing. I only want to improve for you guys and gals, and be the best writer I can be. I really appreciate feedback, it'll only make the story better! It's up to you guys whether I should keep the Last Time scenes. I'll write this chapter without one to see how it flows.

Now, this chapter marks the beginning of the next story arc, where we'll find out more about- oh, wait, I shouldn't tell you, that would totally make reading this fic a moot point. Bahaha. Silly me.

Anyways, that's about all I can come up with for now. I'll probably think of more things to rant about at the end!

Spike stood outside the library at a makeshift target range, exhaling fire at the scarecrows that had bullseyes painted on them.

After telling Twilight his story of what had happened, about the mysterious dreams and the power surge he had felt, she had decided that he was experiencing a growth spurt of sorts. Not wanting to relive what was now referred to as "The Spike-zilla Incident" where greed growth had turned him into a monster, she had devised something of a training program so he could learn to harness his strength better.

So far, they'd found that his main senses had gotten stronger. Sight, smell, and hearing were much stronger than they had been before. He'd also been sleeping much less. He was faster, more agile and a little bit stronger. Twilight had also measured him. While not much, Spike had gotten taller and a little thinner.

He looked the part of a growing predator. Terrified he was going to lose his higher functioning again, Twilight constantly quizzed him for knowledge and tested his reactions to a variety of situations. Usually, Spike would have gotten annoyed, but he remembered what the damage his last growth spurt had caused. He understood entirely.

Spike had been getting quite used to his newer body. The best part was the fact that he was never as tired as he usually was. With less sleep and more energy, he was getting things done in much less time than usual. He had actually freed up a good couple hours from his chores in which he could actually hang around and relax. Spike had devoted this extra couple of hours to training himself. His third job with Fluttershy had a lot of dangers to it, and he had found that out the hard way. The little pegasus needed muscle for some things. Too often she hadn't been able to help a larger animal as much because she couldn't carry it to her cottage. Spike wasn't super strong by any means, but a couple of weeks of hard training had allowed him to better carry animals. The fact that he wasn't confined to being on all fours was a boon to Fluttershy's shelter.

Between the two of them, correspondence to Celestia, and some research from Twilight, Spike was actually becoming rather skilled at raising little Peewee. He had taken to flying around his "father" when he was outside working at Fluttershy's or when he was training himself. He'd go for light jogs and the two would end up racing by the end of it all. Sometimes, he would just watch while Peewee played with Owloysius, who had taken it upon himself to train the little firebird on how to fly better and how to hunt. He was apparently even trying to teach the little bird how to hunt at night, but Peewee was still rather loud and terribly noticeable as a flaming orange avian and mostly a day animal.. This didn't deter the owl. Spike would even say that the owl enjoyed teaching the phoenix. The dragon likened it to his own life. Like Celestia, Spike would eventually be an ancient creature. Owloysius was a wise mentor figure, a big brother of sorts, while Peewee was in the infant stages of what would be an incredibly long life.

A smile came to his face as the fireball struck dead center of the bullseye. That was the first time he had made one yet. Twilight had come up with the idea of using fireballs instead of a firebreath. The fireballs were easier to contain and would do less indirect damage. He had yet to try and use it to teleport things, but it was on his to do list.

The dream dragon had yet to appear to him again, not since the incident at Fluttershy's cottage. This didn't really bother Spike much, as his life tended to get considerably more complicated when the dream dragon appeared. Granted, the last time it had appeared, Spike did get relatively more awesome. Being a better dragon without being a total jerk was amazing.

At this time, Peewee decided to make an appearance, cooing as it landed on Spike's shoulder. The phoenix nuzzled his head on Spike's cheek, and the dragon laughed. The little bird jumped off of the dragon and began to fly circles around his head.

"Oh, you wanna race, huh? How 'bout we run to Rarity's Boutique?"

The little phoenix nodded and pumped his wings hard, already flying off towards the dress shop.

"HEY! THAT'S CHEATING!" Spike broke into a full sprint to catch up to his phoenix friend, laughing the whole way. The purple dragon ran through the town, dodging pedastrians and keeping the firebird in sight. The phoenix was a much faster flier than he was a runner, but that didn't keep Spike from trying.

Peewee was having a blast, and that's all that mattered.

Eventually, the two ended up at Rarity's Boutique. Peewee ended up on having to perch on Spike's shoulder. But there was an obvious grin on Spike's face and you could see that Peewee would be smiling if he had lips instead of a beak. Right as soon as Spike raised his claw to knock, the door burst open and Rarity nearly trampled him running out the door. Thankfully, he had gotten out of the way and Rarity immediately stopped her rush.

"Oh, goodness, Spike, are you alright? I was just on my way to find you. I just recieved a letter from Evening Star, Sapphire Shore's manager. She wants a whole new set of stage costumes and I don't have NEARLY enough gems and I really need your help if I'm going to make this happen," Rarity said before pausing to inhale.

Spike just blinked.

"Um. Okay! But we have to tell Fluttershy and Twilight, I was supposed to help both of them today."

The white unicorn smiled. She'd get things done in no time, now.

Naturally, Fluttershy was very understanding. She didn't really need the help, thankfully, and even though Twilight took some convincing, Spike was now in the mountains with Rarity. They were both pulling carts, while Peewee flew above them.

The mere fact that Rarity was actually pulling a cart proved that this was actually a big deal. Either she was out of gems entirely (which never happened) or this deal hada big order to fill and that meant a lot of bits for Rarity's dress shop. He could see a couple of signs that she was even slightly nervous about it. Maybe she was overwhelmed?

He'd ask later. Spike saw the tell-tale glow of magic in Rarity's horn, and knew that she had found some gems. Granted, he had to dig for them by himself. He didn't mind though. He knew Rarity despised getting dirty and he WAS built for digging for gemstones after all. Spike stood on his tail and prepared to start jack hammering into the ground.

An hour passed followed by another and soon half the day passed. They didn't talk much, which was wierd. Rarity loved to gossip. Instead, she kept quiet, focusing on the task of finding the gems. Spike wasn't the smartest being in Equestria, but a semi sentient rock could tell Rarity wasn't acting herself. Spike grew tired of the silence, he had enough of that with Fluttershy and Twilight.

"What's bothering you, Rarity?"

The white unicorn looked somewhat shocked he'd said something. She shook her head and smiled at him. Usually, her smile, that beautiful smile, would keep him from talking. However, Spike was more worried about his friend than he was lovesick over his crush. A dragon had to have priorities! A whole host of potential problems ran through his mind.

"Seriously, you can tell me. Is it the boutique? Sweetie Bell and you get into another fight? Is this order really that big? Or-"

Rarity held up a hoof to stop him from talking. With a resigned sigh, she began to explain.

"I've ran into a bit of a money problem. The slow business has done a number to my finances, and I haven't even been able to afford to produce my new line of dresses just yet. Evening Star, the dear, was over at my home a few hours before you stopped by and discussed funding the new line when she saw the designs, but I have to make all of them by the end of the week and they have to be simply perfect or I'm...RUINED!"

That made sense. She had seemed to be increasingly worried about the lack of business but Spike hadn't been paying much attention. As bad as it sounded, he had had other things on his mind. Taking care of Peewee and helping Fluttershy and Twilight had been his focus, after all, and even his crush on the beautiful unicorn had taken a back seat to what he was doing. Spike frowned, saddened by this news. But then a determined look grew on his an air of confidence, Spike nodded his head.

"Well, then. You have nothing to worry about! I'll help you find all the diamonds and gems you need, and I'm sure that Fluttershy would love to help you with sewing them! Yeah! That's perfect! I can help get gems, and then take over watching the animals while Fluttershy helps you! And I'm sure Applejack would love to keep an eye on Sweetie Bell and the Crusaders! If you had a problem like that, all you had to do was ask for help. You know that, right?"

Rarity looked down and sighed.

"I didn't want to bother you with my problems. It is my own fault, and I will deal with it myself. All I have to do is finish ten dresses in a week. Not a problem."

She didn't sound very convincing, and Spike wasn't very reassured either. But she was stubborn when it came to her work, much like Twilight. It was probably one of the things that Spike was attracted to most. Despite their varying hobbies and interests, Twilight and Rarity were both very similar. Their work ethic was very strong and he admired that fierce determinattion they both had.

It was said that a stallion would be attracted most to the mare most like his mother. It apparently was the same way for dragons as well. Go figure.

They continued to work in relative silence. A good portion of the day had passed by, but the carts were almost overflowing with gemstones. Spike was exhausted and Rarity didn't look much more energetic. If reptiles could sweat, he'd have filled buckets.

The dragon and unicorn pair began to work their way back towards Ponyville. There was a sense of accomplishment in both of them. Rarity would occasionally stop when she sensed more gemstones, and Spike would dig a few up (though he was able to snack on gem here or there). All in all, it was a highly productive day for both of them.

Despite Rarity telling him multiple times not to worry about it, Spike had already began to hatch out a plan to get Rarity some help with her dress order. It was pretty much going and begging Fluttershy to convince Rarity to let her help and to

He blinked, and found himself in a familiar white void. The purple dragon took one look at his green counterpart, and hung his head.

"Aww, Spikey, don't look so excited to see me, I'll blush. Your idea will work, up until they make more dresses than they can decorate with Shores likes her gems, and she's going to order more dresses soon from Rarity with the same amount of pressure. And as much as Fluttershy trusts you to take care of the animals, she won't leave them for too long. On the bright side, I know a way for you to get all the gems you'll need and more, kiddo. You'll be able to start your own horde with it."

Spike was intrigued, until the words finally sunk in.

"Wait... how do you know what's going to happen in the future? You're not from the future are you? And how can I help Rarity? How do you know so much?"

The dream dragon fell to the floor, laughing. He held his stomach and started banging his fist into the floor? Did voids even have floors? Spike wasn't sure, and he wasn't very happy about the dream dragon laughing at him either. Spike shot the green dragon a glare, and the apparition eventually stopped.

"Oh, Spike. Twilight would be so proud of you for asking all the questions you're asking. They're all the right ones. Maybe I'm from the future. Maybe I'm just a spirit of dreams that doesn't exist in time or something. Complicated magic and stuff, you know? Maybe I'm just your powers manifesting into a subconcious being. Face it, Spikey-wikey, you're not getting an answer from me, not until the time is right.

"As for Rarity, it's a simple solution. I know you've been training yourself. My unleashing some of your potential has made you grow in power, and much to my delight, you haven't just been sitting around. You've been honing your skills. You're not the little hatchling anymore. Spike, you're becoming a REAL dragon, not like those idiots you met during your first migration. How you're going to help Rarity? You're going to raid the Diamond Dogs."

OKIE DOKIE LOKIE! Chapter 4 is done! I thoroughly enjoyed writing it, and I hope you guys enjoy reading it. I'm fairly psyched for the upcoming season finale, and if the rumors I've heard about Season 3 are true, we're in for some awesome stuff. Until then, I'll keep the chapters coming!

Remember, please leave a review if you are on fanfiction. I'd like to hear from you guys, too. As for my FIMfiction readers, keep the feedback coming! I really think that I'm getting better every chapter, and it's thanks to your feedback!

Anyways, I've got another 6 hours to fly, so I'm gonna take a nap now. Peace out.