When one is asked who you'd usually find reading a book in the Golden Oak Library, the first thing they'd give as an answer would be Twilight Sparkle. What they wouldn't normally give as an answer would be her number one assistant, Spike. And yet, there he was, quietly sitting beside the window of the main room of the library, currently engrossed in a book about dragons. It was an old book, even by the standards of the ones kept here, but he nevertheless seemed to be enjoying it. Kinda wish Twilight had taken me with her to see that dragon in the mountain, if only to see her in action when she took it down. That had to be awesome! Still, I guess she had good reason to keep me here. I mean, she kept everypony else away too. As he flipped through the pages of his book, a slight frown appeared on his face. Nothing but recorded encounters with dragons. Nothing on their culture, their habits, nothing. The only decent bit of info here is the annual dragon migration. Centuries of ponies knowing that dragons are out there, and yet they know virtually nothing about them. He slumped his shoulders at that thought. Twilight threatened the last one. Told him to tell other dragons to stay away. I know why she did it, to keep everypony safe and all, but...it would have been nice to at least speak to one of them one day.

Thinking on that, Spike hopped off his chair and walked over to a nearby bookcase, carefully placing his book back into it. Afterwards, he looked around the place, seeing it completely vacant apart from himself. Well, my chores are done, and Twilight is busy in the basement. Nothing else for me to do really. Turning, he looked out of the window, where he could see, in the distance, the local school. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo won't be out of class for a few hours yet, so that's out. Turning again, he looked up towards the staircase of the library. Trixie is probably busy with her studies, and I know she hates being disturbed. Letting out a grunt of annoyance, Spike folded his arms. This sucks! Everypony is either busy or not here! What am I supposed to do? Read?! Well...okay, that makes sense, given that I'm in a library and all, but I'm not interested in that right now! I need to do something or talk to somepony! Then, as he considered that, a new thought crept into his mind, and he turned his head towards the door to the basement. Hmmm...I know Twilight doesn't like me going down there...but I guess one little peek couldn't hurt.

So, his curiosity getting the better of him, Spike made his way over to the old wooden door, reaching up and turning the knob. He'd barely opened it an inch before an almighty creak came from it, causing him to wince. However, no voice came from within telling him to stop, so he figured that Twilight had simply not heard it. Breathing a sigh of relief, Spike opened the door the rest of the way, which thankfully wasn't as loud this time. Carefully, he made his way, slow step by slow step, down to the basement. Huh...this is the first time I've been down here I think, he mused. Eventually, he got down far enough to get a better a look at what was actually down there, and when he did, his eyes widened with shock. There was row upon row of scientific equipment he didn't even know the names of, glass containers containing the various magical artefacts Twilight had gathered form the Everfree castle, and, as expected of her, many bookcases, no doubt containing the tomes from that same castle. Spike took one look at this place and reach a single, inevitable conclusion; Yep, this is Twilight's place alright.

And speaking of whom, it was here that Spike finally noticed his carer, who was sitting at a desk near the far side of the room. Craning his neck, he saw that she had some kind of book there, and she was reading it carefully. However, what caught his interest next was what laid beside the book. His mouth hung open as he saw that there, twinkling in the candle-light of the desk, was the most magnificent blue sapphire he'd ever seen. Immediately, his innermost instincts kicked in, and a growling sound could be heard from his stomach. I...I've never seen a gem so...delicious! So enraptured with the allure of that gem, that Spike failed to pay attention to what he was doing, and soon enough, he took another step down the stairs, onto a particularly creaky wooden panel. The noise echoed all around, snapping Spike out of his trance, with a look of fear upon his face. He looked on with worry as Twilight’s ears immediately perked up, with her head spinning around and catching sight of him almost instantly. Spike looked on, practically paralyzed, and seeing his carer begin to frown at him.

"Um...hi?" he said meekly.

Twilight stared intently at him for a few, agonizing moments of silence, before raising a hoof and gesturing for him to come closer. Gulping, Spike did as he was told, albeit very slowly. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally reached her, and it was here that Twilight finally spike up, with all the authority as a stern schoolmistress.

"Spike. How many times have I told you not to come down here before asking me first?"

The young dragon looked away, his face bearing a look of shame.

"I'm...I'm sorry."

It took a while, but Twilight's expression eventually softened, and she let out a sigh.

"It's alright, you didn't mean any harm. But seriously, Spike. Try knocking next time. I might be doing dangerous stuff down here, and I don't want you to get hurt from it."

Spike nodded, still looking at the ground. Twilight, in time, eventually broke out into a small smile, raising her hoof and patting him on the head. This caused him to look up at her and smile back, with much of the prior tension now relieved. However, it was here that Spike turned his attention to the jewel on her desk.

"So...whatcha up to?"

Twilight turned, placing her hoof upon the sapphire and picking it up.

"I'm just going over a few notes about the gems I found in that dragon cave. There were quite a few of them there, along with all the other gold and silver and stuff. This one, for instance, is quite old. Older than most noble families of Canterlot in fact, if it's composition is anything to go by."

Spike folded his arms and smirked. She always gets invested in this sort of thing. Give her a question to be answered and she'll worked night and day to discover the answer.

"Hard to believe you really own all that treasure," Spike commented.

Twilight nodded.

"Agreed. But, that's what the dragon said. The law of his people states very clearly that, by defeating him in battle, I own everything he owned, which pretty much means the cave and everything in it."

Spike nodded at that. Dragon laws. I'll need to read up on that at some point. Might be interesting. However, as he considered that, a new thought came to mind for him.

"Aren't you worried about robbers and stuff? There's a lot of gold up there. They'd probably be tempted to steal it."

Twilight turned to him with a reassuring smile on her face, giving him another gentle pat on his head.

"Don't worry, Spike. I made sure to erect a barrier around the place, with a few extra enchantments just to be on the safe side. Nopony is getting in there without my knowing about it."

After finishing her words, Twilight gained a look that simply screamed that she'd just thought of something.

"As a matter of fact...there was an attempted robbery of it a few days ago. A band of dogs, gem-hunters, trying to find an easy target."

A quick giggle escaped her at that.

"The moment they touched the barrier, they were sent flying. Probably singed all the fur they had. I doubt they'll be coming back anytime soon, especially after I paid them a…friendly visit."

Spike gained a sudden look of concern.

"Did you...hurt them?"

Twilight turned to him, seeing the worried look he bore, and placed her hoof upon his shoulder.

"Oh, Spike. They’re fine. They’re just aware of the danger of trespassing near Ponyville now, that's all. I'm not going to unleash dragon-level beat-down magic on a bunch of mongrels like that."

Spike nodded, feeling a little relieved at that. I'd heard how strong Twilight was when facing that dragon. If she'd used that same power on the dogs, there'd probably be nothing left of them. But Twilight wouldn't go that far. Not for treasure. She's not that kind of pony. Letting out a sigh of relief, Spike watched as Twilight turned back to her notes, leaving him to look upon the sapphire, which still gleamed in the dim light of the basement. I remember when she and Rainbow Dash brought that one chest of gold and gems down from the mountain. Barely a dent in what was up there, form what I heard, but still way more than anything I've ever seen. However, as that thought sank in, Spike raised an eyebrow, looking back to Twilight.

"Exactly how much treasure do you own now? I mean...how many bits would that be?"

Twilight turned to him and, in stark contrast to her usual confident demeanour, started to look incredibly nervous, complete with a blush upon her cheeks.

"Oh...um...I don't think we need to go into too much detail about that."

Spike frowned at that.

"Okay...now you have to tell me!"

Twilight's eyes darted left and right, a sure sign of somepony who really didn't want to say what they knew. But, under Spike's continual stares, Twilight eventually slumped her shoulders a bit before speaking up.

"Well...after we did some digging in the treasure horde, we discovered that a lot of it was actually covering up an entrance to an even further chamber of the cave, which…kinda had more treasure...filled to the brim with it in fact."

Spike's eyes widened after hearing that. Even more treasure? How much did one dragon need? And why do dragons even need gold to begin with? That always bugged me. I mean...do they go down to the shops and buy scale polish or something? I know we eat gems, but gold is useless to them...unless we're like magpies and just like shiny stuff on principal. A grimace crossed his face with that thought. Ugh, there's a thought. What if I start going around collecting little bits of metal when I grow older or something? Not a nice thought. However, he shook himself out of that and instead tried to focus.

"So how much is all that in bits? A lot, I imagine?"

Twilight nodded, turning back to her notes and using her magic to levitate what Spike recognised immediately as an envelope, already opened. He watched carefully as his carer began to speak up again.

"I sent some of the gems to some ponies in Canterlot who specialize in this sort of thing. They valued it and sent me a rough estimate on how much the whole treasure hoard is worth."

Spike looked to her, seeming more eager than before.

"Well...how much? A million bits?"

Twilight shook her head nervously, prompting Spike to speak up again.

"What...two million?"

Another shake of her head.

"Five million? Six? Ten? Twenty? How much?!"

There was a brief and uncomfortable silence between the two, wherein Twilight kept darting her eyes from the envelope to him, before eventually letting out a sigh of defeat. Using her magic, Twilight levitated the letter over to Spike, who graciously accepted it. Carefully, he opened it up, seeing the words written within. A lot of it was formalities, talking about thanking Twilight for the chance to value it and such. It was only when he reached the bottom that he finally saw a number, and when he saw it, his eyes stretched out to about the size of dinner plates. Wow...I did not know numbers went up that high. His heartbeat began to race as he looked up from the letter, looking Twilight right in the eye.

"This...this...by almighty Faust, Twilight! You could probably buy all of Equestria with this money!"

Twilight scoffed and rolled her eyes at that.

"Oh please! It is nowhere near enough for that!"

Spike exhaled after hearing that, but was prevented from replying when Twilight hastily added an addendum to her previous statement.

"Well...more like half of Equestria...rounding down."

Spike looked to her with his mouth hanging open for some time, which was a sight Twilight couldn't help but giggle at. Putting her hoof under his chin, she gently closed it before continuing.

"Remember, Spike, we don't have all of that money right now, just what we got from that first chest. Still, even that is more than enough for what I plan to do with it."

Spike shook his head from his prior state, now looking at Twilight with great curiosity. She already has a plan for it? Wait...what am I saying? Of course she has a plan. This is Twilight, after all. Laughing a little, the young dragon spoke to her.

"So, what's the plan?"

Twilight smiled at that before turning back to her notes, pointing at one particular page of it, which Spike recognised instantly as a to-do-list. A to-do list for what to do with limitless wealth? Yep, sounds about right for her. But he kept quiet as she finally spoke up.

"Firstly, there's a lot of things I want to do for my friends. Applejack, for instance, said a while back that her Grandmother needs help with her hip, so I figured I’d start there, as well as helping them get new farm equipment. Fluttershy's going to be getting some extra pens and medicine for her animals, Rarity will be getting money for extra storage space to add to her boutique. Plus, I already gave her a few of the gems. She said she wanted to try some new styles out with them, and I had more than enough, so I gave them to her."

Spike nodded at that. Rarity does like using gems for her clothes, that much is obvious. A frown crossed his face as he considered that. I'll never understand that about her. All those wonderful gems and she just wears them? Madness. Looking up, he watched as Twilight continued.

"That still leaves loads from the first chest. So, I decided to do something for the orphanages of Canterlot. From what Trixie said, they've been under-funded for a few years now."

Spike gave another nod. I heard the same. Must have been hard for her, growing up in a place like that. No wonder she wanted better things from life. However, he then looked up to see Twilight looking down on him with excitement.

"Plus, I've been in talks with Mayor Mare to get some of the roads in and out of Ponyville patched up. You and I both know those things are in desperate need of repair."

Another nod from Spiked was followed up by him finally speaking up.

"And...what about you?"

Twilight turned to him with a raised eyebrow

"What do you mean?"

Spike chortled a little before starting to explain himself.

"I mean what I said. You're doing all this for everypony else, so what do you plan to do with it for yourself?"

A look of understanding passed her face as she smiled down at him. After that, she got up from her chair, placing her hoof upon her chest and looking out into the distance while taking in a deep breath. Spike, knowing her all too well at this point, knew that this was the start of some kind of speech. And inevitably, that's exactly what happened next.

"Oh, Spike, I just plan on using it where it's needed most. Money is not something I've ever needed to worry about, and now, probably never will. Having this treasure is good because it means I can help a lot of others. It's my responsibility to help when I can, wherever I can."

There was silence between the two for a while, all while Twilight was looking rather pleased with herself. Spike, after rolling his eyes, spoke up next.

"Yeah...that doesn't mean you can't enjoy yourself every once in a while."

Twilight looked down at him with a slight frown on her face.

"I don’t know how many times I need to keep telling everypony! I don't need rewards for what I've done!"

This time, it was Spike's turn to frown.

"Twilight, you saved Equestria from Nightmare Moon! You saved Ponyville from destruction, first by dragon and then by stampede. You've done nothing but help everypony you've come across, and yet...you never think to take a moment for yourself? You don’t think all those ponies out there that you've helped wouldn't want you to take a day just for you?"

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but could only bring out a few false starts.

"But...I...I just...there's so much..."

But she was stopped by a raised claw from Spike.

"I'm sorry, Twilight, but I'm putting my foot down on this. Now tell me...is there anything you'd really want for yourself at this very moment?"

Twilight looked at him, knowing that there'd be no room for negotiation at this point, and thus let out a sigh of defeat. Looking away from her assistant, she began to ponder in silence for a while, only speaking up again after a good minute or so.

"Well...there is that new restaurant that opened in Ponyville a week ago. I've been meaning to try it out, but..."

But she was stopped yet again by Spike.

"Ah! No buts! You're going to go out there, go to that restaurant, and you're going to enjoy yourself! And you’re going to bring me along with you to make sure you enjoy yourself!"

Seeing the determined look upon Spike's face, Twilight couldn't help but giggle a little. There was another silence between the two for a time until, at last, Twilight gave a nod, signifying her acceptance of his demands. Spike smiled at that, and looked on as Twilight gave him yet another pat on the head for this. I know Applejack can be a stubborn mare, but when the times are right, she's got nothing on Twilight. With the two smiling at one another, Twilight began to make her way away from her desk and towards the staircase, all while Spike watched her. When she was far enough away, Spike glanced back at the desk, specifically to the still-shimmering sapphire upon it. Well...with so many jewels in her possession, I'm sure Twilight wouldn't miss just one. He reached out carefully, his claw just an inch away from the delicious-looking blue stone, before soon hearing the sound of somepony clearing their throat behind him. Turning, Spike looked on nervously as Twilight was there, staring at him with a raised eyebrow. Chuckling nervously, Spike simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Well...can't blame a dragon for trying?"

Twilight after hearing that, simply smirked.

"Oh yes, Spike...I can."