Well, Aspect wasn’t quite sure how he got here, but here he was none the less. Standing in Twilight’s library, celebrating the birthday of Spike the Dragon. He’d gotten quite a few presents so far, a blanket from Applejack, some training weights from Rainbow Dash…

“Here you go, Spike,” Aspect replied, pulling out a much more worn book from his satchel. “Something I think you’ll enjoy. It’s a book kept by another dragon I knew from the days of Dream Valley, he gave it to me after the Great Freeze started to happen.”

“Another book?” Spike blinked, seemingly disinterested as Twilight stared at him enviously. “Well, thanks Aspect. I really appreciate it. All of you really. I’ve never gotten presents before.”

“Wait, y’all never got present fer yer birthday?” Applejack asked.

“Oh I would. One. From Twilight. A book. Every year,” Spike deadpanned as Twilight smiled sheepishly and hid a wrapped book behind her.

“I think you’ll like this one,” Aspect replied, tapping the book. “It’s from a dragon who lived among ponies long ago. It’s his own journal about the mares around him, and the things he learned about them. Just open it up and tell me if the name doesn’t strike you.”

Spike blinked and sighed, before taking the book and opening it.

“Diary of… Spike the Dragon?” he blinked. “Is this a weird joke Aspect. Cause it’s not funny.”

“Nope, I knew another Spike who looked quite a lot like you, from the days of Dream Valley,” Aspect replied. “He had been a minion of Scorpan, but when Tirek was defeated and Scorpan returned to normal, Spike remained among the ponies. He was Twilight Twinkle’s personal friend, and scribe of Queen Majesty.”

“Oh…” Spike said as he looked at the book and smiled. “Well, thanks Aspect. This is pretty cool.”

“Yup, thought so,” Aspect patted Spike on the head. “Who knows? Maybe the old Spike wrote a few things down about ponies you don’t know yet. I mean, you’ve been with Twilight most of your life, and only been with the general population about...a year?”

“Well, I’m kind of awesome like that,” Spike brushed his claws against his chest.

The party went on, and Aspect noticed something… interesting. Rarity was wearing a large ruby around her neck. But not any old kind. It was a Fire Ruby, known to be ridiculously difficult to grow, especially to sizes like that and dragons loved them. A gem that size would do wonders in helping a dragon the size of Spike grow.

Hmm.

Maybe he would have to look into having Artemis make a few, just to help Spike catch up with his aging. He didn’t seem to get enough of those in his diet. Though, it did beg the question why Rarity had one.

“Man, I wish this party could go on forever,” Spike sighed.

“Haven’t you learned not to say things like that around Pinkie Pie?” Aspect questioned.

“Silly Spikey, this party can’t go on forever,” Pinkie giggled. “Buuuut, the Cakes totally have something special for your birthday~”

Spike’s eyes widened and Twilight gave a nod, the dragon thanking everyone again and dashing out of the door.

“Well, now I just have one question,” Aspect noted, before turning to Twilight. “How long has Spike gone without eating a Fire Ruby?”

“Huh?” Twilight blinked. “He’s never had one, in fact, the one Rarity’s wearing is one he gave to her yesterday.”

Aspect sighed. “Okay...so maybe you don’t know this then. But a dragon has to eat a Fire Ruby to physically mature. One the size of their fist every year helps them keep up with where they should be, physically, to where they are chronologically. Gems help, but they aren’t a substitute for a genuine Fire Ruby. There’s a reason the dragons made their home where they did.”

“I… I had no idea,” Twilight said as she took a step back. “I… It was up to me to raise Spike. How, could I fail like this.”

“I should return this,” Rarity said, looking down at her gem.

“Do you both forget something?” Aspect raised an eyebrow. “We have an Aspect of Earth again. We could make Fire Rubies. And Twilight, I don’t blame you. How often do ponies and dragons interact?”

“Almost never,” Twilight admitted.

“So you’d know nothing of how they mature, or the fact that the Dragonlands sits over the largest Fire Ruby deposit on Equus,” Aspect summed up. “You couldn’t be expected to know those facts and draw a conclusion when you saw Spike wasn’t growing.”

“Well, he has gotten bigger since he hatched,” Twilight said. “Princess Celestia said that when he was born, we had to grind up his egg shell so he could eat that. But she never mentioned Fire Rubies.”

“I expect she forgot that...or perhaps, just never investigated it like I did,” Aspect replied. “Seeing as how I went everywhere in the early days and learned everything I could about the inhabitants. She did forget about how Pictomancy worked, after all, so both are equally probable. Still...we can still help Spike. A Fire Ruby a year on his birthday. I’ll take him over to Artemis, it’ll be a good test for the pup.”

“Thank you,” Twilight smiled. “And thanks for coming over today. I appreciate it.”

“I wouldn’t miss a birthday of a friend,” Aspect replied easily.

“So,” Rarity pointed out. “I’m planning to make a line of cloaks that this lovely gem inspired,” Rarity spoke up. “And I plan to make one for each of you as well.”

“Oh, you...don’t have to,” Aspect replied easily. He still had that nice blue cloak she made for him.

“Nonsense darling, it’s not a bother at all,” Rarity waved a hoof. “And honestly, if I can get you to like something. Then I know it’s a hit.”

“Or just something that nopony else in their right mind would wear,” Rainbow snorted.

“Let’s just admit that I’m stubborn and run with it,” Aspect replied as he rubbed the back of his head with a hoof.

“Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night,” Rainbow smirked. “Well, that and a marepile.”

And Twilight with all of her friends were blushing now.

“Whelp, there goes the party atmosphere,” Aspect noted dryly.

“Oh lighten up,” Rainbow snorted. “It’s just sex. Jeeze, lighten up guys.”

“You’re not helping,” Twilight facehooved. “In any case, I should probably clean up. What will the rest of you do today?”

“I’m going to get Artemis to make Spike a Fire Ruby, see if I can’t get him to eat it,” Aspect replied. “It’d do him good.”

“I’d like to be there for that,” Twilight insisted. “Spike is under my care after all.”

“Sure, just bring him around the mansion,” Aspect replied with a wave of a wing.

“Will do,” Twilight nodded as the party broke up not long after. Wasn’t much sense without the birthday boy around. Aspect went back home, humming to himself as he traveled. He wasn’t sure why, but birthdays always left him with a peculiar tune stuck in his head.

The day was fairly slow, and Twilight hadn’t shown up with Spike either. Artemis had been practicing to grow Fire Rubies, but they seemed to defy him somewhat. He could only grow them to about the size of a golf ball.

Then as he settled down into his chair, the entire house trembled with a faint ‘boooom’. A distant shake coming from… Ponyville?

“Artemis, I’m going to go check on that,” the pegasus said as he headed for the door. “Oh, duh. You can’t call on any inner fire, that’s why you’re having trouble. Um...try reaching for the molten core of the earth instead. But only a little bit! You only need a little fire to grow a Fire Ruby.”

“What happens if I draw too much?” Artemis asked him. “Also, that earthshake wasn’t normal. It wasn’t caused by the earth, but something hitting it.”

“Well aware of the second bit, and as for the first...well, Ponyville would get a new volcano where our house used to be. Don’t call up any more than you can hold and put back.” The pegasus stepped outside his front door…

He didn’t have to go any further to find the reason for the tremors. That… that was a very big dragon. A fully mature adult terrestrial dragon, right in the center of town. How… how did it appear like that?

“...Whelp,” Aspect sighed. “Let’s see. About seven centuries along, give or take a decade. I have more than enough time to pump into my transformation. Let’s see if I can’t distract him.”

The pegasus flew away from his house a short ways before he hovered in the middle of the air.

There was a sudden flash of light that blinded all who looked at it for the briefest of moments.

When their vision cleared, they saw a large, silver, winged dragon standing on the ground in front of the terrestrial one, his tail whipping around as he considered the foolish drake in front of him.

The dragon turned and Aspect blinked. There was no sentience in his eyes, a beast of pure instinct as he lashed out with a powerful claw. It missed the more experienced dragon and shredded a nearby house.

Aspect only knew of one way this could happen to a drake. If they gave into their hoarding instincts and hoarded too much, too quickly. Their greed consumed their intellect...making them less than sane. This one was a threat to everypony and everything around here.

The elder drake roared and projected his killing intent so clearly, it would feel as though a much older, bigger dragon was threatening to squash this one underfoot.

Aaaand that was the rage beast uppercutting his jaw, making him stumble backwards. Aspect took a few steps back, before approaching quite clearly from the right, sending a blow that even this beast could see and dodge at it.

Of course, what he didn’t see was the second blow coming from the left.

The dragon fell back, crushing another building under his massive size. With a growl, he rolled to get back to his feet, just as a trio of familiar Wonderbolt buzzed past, one shearing off his spines that protruded from his back.

It took a single move for the dragon to grab an empty water tower, slamming it into the mountainside and trapping the Wonderbolts inside it.

Aspect growled even louder then, before he took to the skies, staying out of the drake’s reach. He then began harrying the dragon with his own blows...and he was much bigger than a water tower.

The purple drake was pushed back, even as his lungs started to inflate with superheated air…

Something that Aspect met with his own inhale. On his next pass, he hovered just out of reach and breathed a torrent of silver fire at the terra dragon. A stream that was matched by a massive gout of emerald flame.

Wait… purple and green scales.

Emerald flames…

Oh… no…

“Aspect!” Twilight shouted from below. “Please! Don’t hurt him! Don’t hurt Spike!”

The drake grumbled, but began harrying with a purpose now. He began pushing the greedy Spike out of town, so their fight wouldn’t hurt any more ponies.

Spike roared in his face and suddenly sidestepped, swinging his tail into the back of Aspect’s head. The dragon kissed the ground, hard. And he felt something under him get crushed. A building. It wasn’t til he got up that…

Aw man, Bon Bon was going to kill him.

The silver dragon turned, red in his eyes, as he put a lot of power behind a single punch, trying to all but force Spike out now. His fist paused, as he saw a flash of white in the dragon’s talons.

Spike had a pony in his claws.

Rarity.

The drake roared instead, flaring his wings to make himself look more intimidating. Nothing said more clearly ‘MINE’ than a dragon’s roar at another dragon. And Spike met his roar, an impressive feat for a smaller dragon, he must have been quite possessive of Ponyville.

He headed for the mountain, to try and get to higher ground. But as he looked at the mare in his claws, he… paused?

Aspect growled, before shifting back into his pegasus guise and flopping down near Bon Bon’s shop. “There,” he panted to the unicorn mare that ran up to him. “I did what I could to get him to go away. Now it’s up to you to save him.”

“W-What can I do?” Twilight said, clearly panicked. “I… I don’t know!”

“It’s a Greed Growth,” Aspect explained. “So he needs to remember when he was generous to reverse it. But he’s little more than a beast now…”

Then with a pop… the great dragon disappeared, replaced by normal-sized Spike and Rarity…

Before gravity reminded them it was a thing and they started a forty foot drop to the earth.

“Oh son of a…” Aspect groaned as he gauged the distance. “I’ll never get there in ti—”

A rainbow blur shot past him, nearly blowing him off of his hooves as rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, who happened to be nearby, caught the pair and gently lowered them back to the ground, Twilight running in their direction.

“Yeah, you do that,” Aspect replied as he walked up to the ruins of Bon Bon’s shop. Well, everything was still here, so…

He flared his wings as runes unfurled in the air. With a stomp of a hoof, they vanished…

And the shop started rebuilding itself.

And no sooner had it done so, Bon Bon’s cellar door opened and the mare emerged looking around her, before spying an exhausted Aspect. “Honey?” she asked. “I heard a noise. Is everything okay?”

She… She’d been inside!?

...He was definitely glad she’d been in the cellar. He didn’t want to imagine the spell working on a pony that had been…

He didn’t even want to imagine that.

Bon Bon looked around at the ruined town. “Of course,” she muttered. “It’s Tuesday. What happened this time?”

“Spike went into a Greed Growth,” Aspect replied as he looked at the ruined town. “I have more work to do,” he muttered as he flared his wings again.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Bon Bon put a hoof on his shoulders. “You look tired.”

“Just gonna...rewind time for all the houses that got crushed,” Aspect explained. “Won’t take a second.”

“Rewind…” she looked at the displaced earth around her home. Her eyes widened. “Aspect… did… did I…”

“Your house, yes, but if you were in the cellar, you were fine,” Aspect replied. “Though we are going to be having a talk with Spike and hoarding.”

Bon Bon stepped in front of him, her hooves open for a hug. The stallion clearly needed one. Aspect paused for a moment, before hugging his mare.

“I nearly lost you,” he muttered to her. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“Never,” Bon Bon whispered and kissed his cheek. “Not until I’m a very old mare, old enough to make Granny Smith look like a filly. You got that mister.”

“I’ll count the days,” the stallion promised, before he looked at the village. “Still...I should help them.”

“As long as you come right back after. I’ll prepare a nice mug of coffee and some delicious treats to energize you okay?” she booped his nose. “Now, go be a hero my silly old warhorse.”

“Of course, my sweet mare,” Aspect replied, kissing her gently before he began his walk through the town.

Anytime he encountered a house that had been destroyed? He rewound time to the point where it was whole again. Luckily there weren’t too many. Sugarcube Corner had been exploded from the inside out, so that was a thing.

It took about two hours, but he was finally done. Some streets were still broken, but the ponies could fix those. Aspect sighed and let his wings fold up, before all the exhaustion hit him at once.

Damn, but rewinding time on that sort of scale was tiring. He would need that coffee and sugar just to stay awake now.

He made his way back to Bon Bon’s shop, barely making it inside the door. Bon Bon caught him and helped him out back and into the house part where Lyra mostly lived.

“So, what have we learned about abusing space/time?” the mare chuckled.

“Don’t do it after a dragon-sized fight,” Aspect muttered as he lay on what had to be the most comfortable sofa in the world.

“Mhm,” Bon Bon chuckled as she pet his mane. “Now, I can give you some coffee, or would you like to nap here for a while?”

“Might do both,” Aspect replied as he got comfortable.

Bon Bon went into the kitchen, bringing back a tray with a mug of coffee and some cookies. After setting them down on the table next to the couch, she sat down and pulled his head into her lap, running her hooves gently through his mane.

“Can’t lose you again,” Aspect muttered. “Came way too close today.”

“Well, I’m still here,” Bon Bon smiled. “Luck, fate… doesn’t matter. It wasn’t my time apparently.”

“I’ll take it,” Aspect sighed as he relaxed into the petting. “Just...scared me, you know?”

“Well, not all of us are immortal,” Bon Bon chuckled as she kissed his ear. “But I promise. I’m not going anywhere. Me, Midnight, Rainbow and you. We’ll all get married. Have tons of foals. You’ll never be alone again okay?”

“Sounds wonderful,” the stallion sighed as he felt his lack of energy start to creep up on him. She turned his head so his ear was against her chest, the gentle sound of her heartbeat rocking him to sleep…

Out of the many, many places that Balanced Aspect had woken up, in the warm, comforting lap of his marefriend was definitely one of the better places.

“Morning, my sleeping prince,” Bon Bon smiled and kissed his forehead.

“G’morning,” the stallion yawned. “How’d Spike’s birthday end up?”

“Well, you’ve only been out for about two hours,” Bon Bon giggled and booped his nose. “So you can always ask them later. Now, would you like some coffee?”

“That’s...probably a good idea,” Aspect nodded before reaching up to kiss Bon Bon’s cheek. “Mmm...Yeah, I can still feel a drain on my self from all that runic magic I was tossing around.”

“Well, if you didn’t insist on showing off,” Bon Bon mused as she gently moved out of his hug and headed to the adjoining kitchen. “That said, I’ve had a few ponies come by to offer their thanks to you.”

“Just cleaning up after a tyke who didn’t know not to hoard things,” Aspect replied. “Greed is a very real threat to a dragon. If they hoard more than they can be responsible for, it sort of...takes over. That’s where all the rampaging dragon stories come from. If a drake grows up in a responsible fashion, they don’t hoard more than they can reasonably look after, and they grow the way they should due to a yearly supplement of Fire Rubies.”

“Perhaps you should sit Miss Sparkle and Spike down, and have a good, long talk with them then,” Bon Bon suggested as she walked back into the room with a tray on her back, a large mug of coffee and some chocolate cookies there. Dark chocolate ones with Luna’s mark and white choc ones with Tia’s. “Here. Eat these too, your body needs the sugar.”

“Mmm, fine, forcing me to eat sweets,” the stallion joked as he picked up a cookie and munched on it. “Okay, so...after this snack break, go find Twilight and Spike, bring them back to Artemis, and see if he’s succeeded in making a Fire Ruby for the drake.”

“Mhm,” Bon Bon chuckled as she sat next to him. “Did you want me to come with? I could close early today.”

“Nah, something tells me the ponies need their comfort food after what just happened,” Aspect replied. “You might make a bundle today.”

“Hmm, you do raise a good point,’ Bon Bon rubbed her chin. “I could make a special day sale… a small percentage off and…” She smiled as she trotted off to start planning.

“Mmm, and meanwhile, I’m going to enjoy these treats,” Aspect hummed as he had a cookie, a sip of coffee, and repeated. He could feel his energy returning with every bite.

Soon, it was time to head out. He bid farewell to his marefriend and stepped out into the streets of Ponyville. They worked fast in cleaning up the town. Aside from a missing water tower and some upturned earth, it was hard to believe what had just happened.

Aspect headed towards the treebary, thinking that if the drake and mare he was looking for would be anywhere, it would be there. Perhaps he should offer his knowledge about dragons so that...this didn’t happen again.

Though when he did get there, tacked to the door was a note saying that they’d be waiting at his house. Seems Twilight had the same thought.

Well, nothing for it. The stallion turned his mind towards his home and rode the wind there, appearing at his front door in a sudden gust.

“And...here I am,” the stallion sighed. All in all...he was a little disappointed in himself for not acting to prevent this from happening in the first place. Though, at least he could make sure it didn’t happen again. He pushed the door open and...great.

Now he had to find everybody again.

He stepped inside to see his beloved Midnight standing in the living room, the mare turning to look at Aspect and her eyes widening.

“Middy, where’s Sparkle and Spike?” Aspect asked. “Gotta stop him from doing this again. Also, I need the pup so that I can get him on a proper diet.”

“Um, Aspect?” Midnight started before a much louder voice got his attention.

“OI!” a female voice shouted and he looked down to see a … a rather small thestral looking up at him, her eyes blazing with righteous fury. She came roughly up to his chest, her mane was the same colour as Midnight’s, only her coat was a much darker brown. Her eyes were the colour of amber as her tail gave an irritable flick. “So Midnight?” she said with a curt tone. “This the fuckin’ twat ya mentioned?” Aspect also noted she has a Scottish accent.

“If you’ll pardon me, miss, I have more important matters than a self-inflated sense of ego that follows you around like a hot air balloon,” Aspect sniped back. “Like making sure a young dragon doesn’t slip into a Greed Growth again and actually gets on a diet of Fire Rubies like he should be.”

“Aspect,” Midnight started. “This is—”

“H’oh? Ya think ya got a set on ya huh?” the small mare laughed. “Ah dinnae know what all that dragon crap is about, but ah didn’t come all this way tae be ignored ya puffed up cloud fucker!”

“Oh believe me, I’ve taken notice of you,” Aspect replied in a dry tone. “You’re about number two on my shit list. Right under the Nobles of Canterlot. Keep it up, you might make number one.”

“Oh, so now he get’s some bite eh?” the mare smirked. “Middy, ah’m startin’ tae like him. Still dunno whut about him make ye all moist though.”

Midnight facehooved and groaned. “Aspect. Christopher. This… this is—”

“The name’s Aila Song,” the tiny mare smirked. “And ah hear yer the one railin’ mah daughter here.”

“Oh, so not only are you a future mother in law, you’re one that thinks I’m not worthy of your daughter,” Aspect snorted. “Miss, believe me. I fostered two young fillies, and while I also want to see them with a stallion, I also know that they’d have to pull off literal miracles for me to think they’d be worthy of my girls.”

“So, ye understand that much eh?” she looked him over and nodded. “Well, you ain’t bad on the eyes at least. A little plain…” She smacked his flank with a wing. “Nice tight ass though. Middy does love her asses.”

Midnight just blushed and shook her head.

“Look, like I said, you’re not quite as important as making sure a friend of mine stays safe from himself in the future,” Aspect replied. “So whatever this is? It can wait, and it will wait.”

“Mom, please?” Midnight said. “He’s just as stubborn as you.”

Aila snorted and folded her wings. “Right, well go on then ya feckin milk drinker. Ah ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

“No, I rather think you aren’t,” Aspect replied. “Whether that’s a good thing or not remains to be seen.” He took a breath before shouting. “ARTEMIS!”

The pup appeared a few moments later, his ears flat. “Yeah? There’s no need to shout you know?”

“Sorry, just didn’t know where you were,” the stallion replied sheepishly. “And you’re the only one that can find Twilight and Spike quickly. Or might have had any success in growing Fire Rubies.”

“In order,” the pup sighed. “One. You have magical sensing when it comes to Aspects remember? Two, they’re in your room, cause Spike’s bummed out and I thought it was the safest place. And three, I did.” He pulled out a Fire Ruby the size of a large orange.

“Thank you,” Aspect plucked the ruby from the dog’s paw and put it in his bags, before shrugging those on and heading up towards his room. “Go see Bon Bon for your reward. Tell her you were a supremely helpful Aspect of Earth today.”

Artemis ran off, free treats had been promised and he wasn’t wasting time.

“Welp, time to cheer up a dragon,” Aspect hummed as he walked up to his room. It wasn’t long before he was pushing the door open and taking in the sights beyond.

Twilight was straightening his bedsheets, and blushed slightly when he walked in. “Oh um…” She looked at the clean sheets. “Your sheets were… less than presentable. I um, changed them.”

Spike was just sitting in the end of the bed, the weight of the world on his tiny shoulders.

“Mmm, probably so,” Aspect agreed as he shrugged his saddlebags off, before flashing into his young dragon form that Bonnie liked so much. “Mkay Spike, let’s have a little talk. And before you ask, I’m not sending you away, Twilight. As his primary caretaker, it’d behoove you to know this information too.”

“I… messed up today,” Spike mumbled. “Ponies… I coulda hurt a lot of them…”

“Yeah, and I messed up by becoming a dragon to fight you,” Aspect replied. “There are things about dragons that nopony knows. I know them, because the old Dragon King was my friend, and we talked. A lot. I told him about humans, he told me about dragons. Helped out that Spike from Dream Valley a lot, when he needed answers as to what a dragon actually was.”

“Still doesn’t forgive what I did,” Spike said glumly. “I ruined homes. I hurt those Wonderbolts… Everypony is going to hate me, be afraid of me now…” he sniffed, as Twilight put a hoof around him, nuzzling the top of his head.

“Hey, what do you think they’re going to think of me?” Aspect replied. “I willingly became a bigger dragon to fight you, and helped ruin my own fair share of homes. The only reason they’re not after either of us is because I went around and fixed it all...which is also why this talk took so long to happen. Sorry about that.”

“You… had to clean up after me too?” Oh geeze, that didn’t help Spike’s mood at all. “I should just go live in the Everfree, with all the other monsters…”

“That’s the one thing Smaug said dragon’s weren’t,” Aspect replied, walking forward and stroking the young dragon’s spines. “The way he described it was...a delicate balance at all times.”

“It wasn’t your fault Spike,” Twilight added with a soft smile. “We didn’t know that could happen. And nopony is blaming you. If they do, I’ll… I dunno, turn them into a newt or something.”

Spike let out a small, forced chuckle. “Thanks guys…” he murmured.

“Now, would you like to know a few things about dragons, to help you prevent this from happening again?” Aspect asked.

“I think that would be good,” Twilight replied, Spike giving a small nod.

“Mkay, first of all,” Aspect reached into his saddlebags and pulled out the Fire Ruby Artemis had given him. “Eat this.”

“Huh?” Spike stared at the gem. “W-Wait, is that a Fire Ruby?”

“Yup, go on, eat it,” Aspect replied. “It was made just for you. Trust me, you need to eat it.”

“What will it do?” Twilight said with a concerned tone.

“Give him the necessary boost to his internal fire magic and all the nutrients he needs to catch up to where he should be as a dragon,” Aspect replied. “Gems can help you along, Spike, but every year you should have a Fire Ruby about as big as your fist.”

“Oh, well… not gonna complain,” he mused as he took a bit, eating the gem like an apple until all that was left was the ruby dust he was licking from his claws.

“Okay, so,” Aspect sat back and tapped away with a claw. “What else...oh yeah. Okay, so, listen close Spike. All dragons hoard things. It’s a fact of their biology, got it?”

“But, if I do that, I’ll grow giant and scary again!” Spike shook his head. “No way, I’m never going to hoard again!”

“Sorry, it’s something you can’t escape from,” Aspect replied, tapping Spike’s head. “It’s hardwired into your brain for you to want to hoard things. But the dragons raised in the dragon lands know that if they’re going to hoard material things, they can’t have a hoard that exceeds ten times their body weight. Otherwise, well...a Greed Growth happens.”

“That’s why I won’t horde a thing!’ Spike nodded, looking fiercely determined. “Not again. Never.”

“You can’t eschew all physical things, Spike,” Aspect softly replied. “You just need to do something that the dragons have learned. For a physical horde that you count as yours, you need to balance it with something immaterial, something that you see as more precious than money or jewels. Then your greed is balanced by the lighter side of your heart...and you won’t devolve into a greedy monster again.”

“Immaterial?” Spike looked down, his expression quite pensive for a moment. “You mean, like Twilight? Or my friends?”

“Or knowledge, or anything that doesn’t have any weight, but matters more to you than anything that caught be bought or negotiated for,” Aspect replied. “Like the loyalty of a nation. That’s what Smaug uses to keep his greed at bay. The knowledge that every dragon would come if he called.”

Spike fell silent for a moment and sighed. “Could I just horde pegasus feathers or something?”

“And do what, make the world’s comfiest pillow?” Aspect chuckled. “Sorry little guy. But your draconic brain seems to get a kick out of hoarding things. You just need to trick it into seeing something other than gold and jewels as precious. Train yourself every day to look at something else as more valuable than money. You were pretty defensive when I tried claiming Ponyville as mine, for example…”

“Well… it is my home,” Spike defended himself, folding his arms and pouting slightly.

“There’s your answer, then,” Aspect replied, rubbing the little drake behind the ears. “Look at the residents of Ponyville. They’re scared, confused. They just saw two giant dragons duke it out. Go around, apologize to them, explain the situation...tell them it won’t happen again. Earn their friendship back. Maybe enlist the services of Rarity to help spread the good word?” The drake turned to Twilight with the last part. “Though...maybe skip over a certain stuck-up mare who thinks she’s a noble. Until she gets her nose out of the sky, she won’t listen to anypony.”

“Noted,” Twilight said, her expression souring. Yup, she knew exactly which mare he was referring to. “And, thanks for this Aspect. I appreciate it.”

“Not a problem, and hey, little guy,” Aspect ruffled his spines. “Keep yourself in check, and maybe you will get that big. In seven hundred years or so. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if, with the size of the ruby you ate, you start to grow a little bit in the coming months.”

“Right…” Spike said as he pushed the ‘centuries’ comment aside. It was something he tried not to think about. He simply opted to lean into Twilight’s hug.

“Now...if you ever need more information about dragons, I can always send a letter off to Smaug,” Aspect added. “He’d know more than I do. And we’re still occasional pen-pals. Though he has to have one of his grandchildren hold the pen and letter.”

“Maybe,” Spike said and shook his head. “I should get started on apologies. That’s gonna take a while.”

“We’ll get Pinkie to help,” Twilight promised. “Nopony can stay mad at Pinkie.”

“With Pinkie helping you defuse the situation, and Rarity helping you phrase your apologies, you’ll get the whole town on your side before the end of the day,” Aspect predicted.

“Here’s hoping,” Spike said as he hopped off the bed. Twilight nodded as he exited the room, the mare staying behind for just a moment.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. “It seems you’ve been doing nothing but helping us lately.”

“It’s my job,” Aspect replied as he smiled after the mare. “If I hadn’t done anything, then this could happen again. At least this way...we all learn something from it.”

“I also mean when you stepped up earlier,” she said. “Spike… if he’d hurt somepony then. I doubt he’d ever live down the guilt…”

“Trust me, I know how that feels,” Aspect sighed. “At least I eventually got him away from town.”

Twilight nodded and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. “If there’s anything I can do to repay you, just say the word okay?”

“Just...chase after the little guy, okay?” Aspect replied. “He needs somepony like you, who’s organized enough to make a checklist for the entire town, right now. He shouldn’t miss anypony except one particular mare and her spoiled child.”

“Right,” Twilight nodded and gave him a quick hug before running after the dragon before he got too far away.

Aspect sighed and flashed into his pegasus guise, before sighing. “Well...that eventually went well. Hope the little guy doesn’t beat himself up too much about it.” He stepped outside the door, and came face to.. Well he had to look down to meet the gaze of the little thestral.

“Let’s walk,” she said simply and turned, heading down the hall.

The stallion rolled his eyes before following after the mare. “So, now what?” Aspect asked as he walked through his own house.

“Now we talk,” she said. “Ya did alright. With tha’ lil scalie tyke back there.”

“He’s too young to have the weight of everything he did in a greed-fueled rampage weigh on his shoulders,” the stallion replied. “It wasn’t his fault. He didn’t know how his own species worked.”

“So ah heard,” Aila nodded as her wings flicked. “So, you like me daughter hm? Enough tae want to marry ‘er?”

“Let me put it in perspective for you,” Aspect replied. “I have to marry at least one mare out of the herd I’ve found myself with, lest I be a dishonorable lout that lets her bear child out of wedlock. And I’m not going to do it to one member and not the others. I love them all the same. I will be hanged before I am accused of playing favorites amongst them.”

“Ye dinnae say?” the little mare mused. “And what are ye intentions fer me Midnight after that eh? Pretty mare like her, she’d make a fine mother no?”

“That’s her decision to make, not mine,” Aspect replied. “I’ll respect her wishes either way. I’ve done a fine job of respecting them up until now. The thing that led to one of the mares getting pregnant was a mistake, but we won’t love the child any less for that. And let it be known right now, I won’t be repeating that error.”

The mare let out a sharp laugh and turned around. “So, ye go from a snarky arse to a fuckin’ coltscout? Make up yer mind son.” She turned a put a hoof on his chest before pulling him down. Ooh, so that’s where Middy got her strength. “Now look here,” she said in a low tone. “I dinnae care who the fuck you are. You could be Princess buckin’ Luna fer all ah care. But ya make my filly sad. You hurt her… and there ain’t nuthin in this damned world that’ll save ya ya hear?”

“How about her father?” Aspect replied cheekily as he grew a horn in front of the mare’s eyes.

She looked up and stared, before smirking. “What, did ah make ya horny?”

“Nah, just responding jab for jab,” Aspect replied. “I’m not Luna, I’m what I like to think of as the uncrowned father of both the Celestial Sisters. Mainly because Equestria isn’t my domain. It’s the whole bucking world that I have to take into account whenever I do my job. But my duties have grown less and less over the years, to the point where I’m nearly ready to hang up my sword for good. So I’m settling down, setting roots in this little town. Your daughter is one of the mares that makes me feel glad to be alive, makes me feel my heart beating around her. So now you listen.”

Aspect narrowed his eyes, and for all the world it was like a dragon was standing in his place. “I don’t care that you’re her mother. You could be one of the immortal fiends I had to cut down, for all I care about your opinion. But if you come between me and Midnight, I will show you stubbornness that can grind down a mountain by hoof, determination that can change the very weather of the world on my own, and a will that even the oldest of magics answer to. You will not best me.”

“Boy… you have no idea who yer fuckin’ with,” the mare said, not backing down in the slightest. Before letting him go and dropping back down onto all fours. “Ya got guts. And ya seem to care about mah precious Song a bit.” She took a breath and chuckled. “Ya may be an uppity little shitestain. But ah approve of ya.” She held out a hoof and her entire personality shifted to one of amusement. “Well, provided ya can best Middy. Ah’ll welcome ya into the fam ya git.”

Aspect met her hoof with one of his, before shaking it with a small smile. “So all I have to do to get in is threaten the matriarch? Good thing nobody tried that with Celly and Lulu and me. I’d have thought they were being serious and cut them down.”

Aila laughed outloud and punched his shoulder. That… actually hurt a little. “HAH! Boy, yer about as threatenin’ as a foal whinin’ fer his Momma’s tit. Now let’s go find Middy. Ah’m gonna tell ‘er I don’t approve fer shits and gigs.”

“You might want to think twice about that,” Aspect replied. “I’ve got a monument out back featuring every great evil I had to meet in combat. I’m the one that killed them all. And yet, I can already tell that fighting with Midnight is going to be...interesting.”

“Oh, Middy’s good alright,” Aila smirked. “An’ you should swing by Roamania sometime. Some uppity noble thought he’d kidnap my lil girl to force her into marriage. Lil fucker still pisses himself when mah name is mentioned.”

“Can’t be everywhere, I’m afraid,” Aspect replied. “My duty is the world. The world of ponies falls to those that are ponies and in charge. So...I guess now that Luna’s back, she’d be the one to go to? She was the patron of the thestrals back in the Everfree castle.”

“Ah know mah history,” she chided him. “And most thestral’s still worship her Royal Moonbutt. ‘Specially the Hollow Shade’s ones.” She flicked her wings again and huffed. “Look son, Midnight can be trouble sometimes. She’s headstrong, as wild as a tornado and as lovely as a field o’ flowers. Jus’ take care of her alright. Tha’s all ah ask.”

“Like I would do any less for any pony that asked,” Aspect replied. “The old ponies of Dream Valley had a name for me. The Sword against the darkness. I am the protector of Ponykind when all else fails. Your daughter is as safe as she could possibly be...assuming she doesn’t take weekends off to go hunt Kelpies again.”

“She mentioned that,” Aila Song mused as they entered the living room. “Poor basterd, havin’ Middy after it.” She looked at the thestral mare in question, waiting patiently there for them to return. “Well, ah made my decision.”

Midnight’s ears pricked up.

“The sonofabitch has an ego the size of a dragon’s cock,” Aila mused. “But he’s a’ight ah guess. So ah approve of ‘im.”

Midnight just stared wide-eyed at Aspect. How did he…

Oh right, he was likely just as insane as her mother.

“In any case,” Aspect suddenly lost the horn in a small flash of magic. “I’m still a little worn out from fighting Spike’s Greed-Growth form and repairing the town from said fight. Don’t think I have it in me to give you a good, proper fight today Middy.”

“If you insist,” Midnight nodded. “I too am tired from the flight from Canterlot.”

“Well at least we both agree to not fighting right this very second,” Aspect smirked at her. “But at least this gives our jeweler one more day to work. Who knows, she might actually come through with the necklaces tomorrow.”

Midnight nodded and looked at her mother, speaking in a tongue Aspect didn’t recognise.

“Estás seguro?” <Are you sure?>

“Si, é un estraño. Pero podo dicir que é bo de corazón” <Aye, he's an odd one. But I can tell he's good of heart>

Midnight sighed and smiled. “Well, guess that is that then.”

“Don’t think I didn’t catch that you were trying to keep something from me,” Aspect replied. “You think I can’t learn a new language at my age?”

“Hah, curious eh?” Aila smirked and winked at him. “Hmm, maybe I’ll dissaprove and take ya fer meself…”

“Mom!” Midnight screeched. “Bitch, he’s mine. Back your slag ass away from my stallion!”

“Hahah!” Aila laughed and hugged the taller mare, Midnight sighing and hugging her back. “There’s the Mountain bat in ya. Ah thought she upped and became a snooty Canterlot mare.”

“...You know, I thought I would never find a family as weird as mine,” Aspect mused aloud.

“Haha, we’re right fuckin’ weird and we love it,” Aila chuckled. “Now, how about we sit and get tae know one another eh?” She winked at the stallion. “Ah kin show ye why ah’m ‘fun-sized’.”

“Mooom…” Midnight growled and bared her fangs.

“Let me see,” Aspect mused as he seemed to tap his hoof in thought. “Hmm…” He suddenly had a wicked idea. “Miss, what do you think of the Nightmare?”

“The what?” Aila paused and blinked. “Ah, that lil thing Luna went through? Eh, well before my time lad. So ah dinnae care all that much.”

“What if I told you the Nightmare had been...separated from Luna and was living a new life...under my roof?”

“What ye do is your business,” the mare shrugged. “Ah’d say Middy found herself an interesting fam.”

“Darnit, I thought that at least would get you,” Aspect snorted. “I just don’t understand Thestrals.”

“Haha, the day ye do, lemme know,” Aila smirked as she winked at him.

“Eh, I’ll settle for understanding one thestral,” Aspect replied as he walked over to Midnight and draped a wing over her back.

“An’ ye chose the most difficult one,” Aila snickered.

“If I can understand her, the rest of you should be a piece of cake,” the stallion fired back with a smirk. Aila laughed again, the small mare wiping a mirthful tear from her eye.

“Aye… that you might,” she snickered. “Now. Ah’m fuckin’ starvin. Got any mangoes?”

“I do keep a small stock around for Middy in the pantry,” Aspect replied. “Have to order them from Canterlot, though.”

“Well, how about ah cook ya a lil sumthin fer lunch?” the mare smiled as she headed towards the kitchen. “Gotta impress the new son in law am I right?”

“Too late, Bon Bon has ruined all other food for me,” Aspect replied. “Her and Applejack’s pies are a deadly combination.”

“Ah, one of the other mares eh?” Aila nodded sagely. “Good, cause Middy can’t cook worth a damn. You’d be dead if she was yer only hope.”

“Oh fuck off,” Midnight pouted and folded her forelegs.

“At least I know how it is,” Aspect pulled Midnight into a hug. “I used to set pots of water on fire just by looking at them funny.”

Midnight just pouted and grumbled more.

“Buck up, dear,” Aspect replied, kissing her cheek. “I’m sure that I can have you making toast in no time!”

Midnight just snorted, blowing some mane from her face with a huff.

“This is amazing!” Rainbow laughed as she was introduced to Aila later that evening. “I already like her. Finally, I’m not the smallest grown mare in the house anymore!”

“Yes, well, we’re just lucky she likes us back,” Aspect noted aloud as he sat on the couch.

“Aye, yer all alright,” Aila nodded, nomming on one of Bon Bon’s desserts. She really did look like a filly compared to them. She was kind of adorable when her foul mouth wasn’t ruining the image. It did make him wonder what kind of stallion Midnight’s father was though.

“Well it’s still a pleasure to meet you,” Bon Bon smiled. “Though, I bet you have some fascinating tales of Midnight as a filly.”

“No…” Midnight’s eyes widened.

“Oh, do let’s,” Aspect purred.

“Well,” Aila hummed and rubbed her hooves. “There was this one time when she was being picked on by this little arse of a colt. A right royal little fucker. And Middy being Middy, what do ye think she did?”

“I’m gonna go with...beat him up,” Aspect replied.

‘Yup,” Rainbow agreed.

“Most likely,” Bon Bon nodded.

“Hah… close,” Aila chuckled. “She waited til he was done, and turned his back…”

“Mom… no,” Midnight warned her.

“Then she bit him right on the arse!” Aila howled with laughter. “Lost her first foal fang that way. He’s still got the puncture marks on his butt to this day.”

“Oh boy,” Aspect chuckled. “You don’t do things by half, do you, Middy?”

“Oh shut up,” Midnight huffed.

“And then,” Aila mused as she winked at the mare. “There was the first time she dragged a poor colt back to her bedroom.”

“Hoo boy…” the stallion chuckled.

“Poor sod didn’t walk straight fer a week,” Aila snorted as Midnight blushed. “She took her cherry and then some.”

“Welp, now we know where Middy gets her bedroom behavior from,” Aspect chuckled.

“Aye, her sister taught her everythin’,” Aila nodded. “Why do ya think the poor sod was broken? Try keeping up with two bats in heat…”

“MOM!” Midnight blushed harder.

“Oh, so your sister and you share everything then?” Aspect asked the larger thestral mare.

“We… did,” Midnight said and cast her gaze down. And he was reminded of that conversation in the woods…

“Oh shit, Middy, I’m sorry, I forgot about…”

“Aye…” Aila sighed. “It’s in the past. Now, dinnae worry about it.”

“Well that brought the mood down,” the stallion replied with a set of pursed lips, like he’d just bit into a lemon. “Sheesh…”

“Not to worry,” Aila shrugged. “It was a while ago now. We grieved, we moved on. Now…” She smirked. “How about I tell you the time Middy got drunk for the first time?”

“NO!” Midnight blushed.

“Fair’s fair, the first time I really got drunk I met your daughter,” Aspect waved a wing.

“Ahh, so she has mentioned the dragon twins?” Aila asked, making Rainbow spit her drink.

“This I have to hear,” Aspect got comfortable.

“Well, Midnight here came home from the academy,” the small mare mused. “She’d gone to a local tavern to celebrate with Aria, her sister. They pair then decided to have a drink, only Middy here hadn’t touched a drop in her life…”

“Mom… please no,” Midnight blushed.

“Ooooooh boy,” Aspect smirked at this.

“I heard ‘em stumble home that night, paid no attention,” Aila mused. “Til I went to check on ‘em in the morning. Found Aria passed out on the floor and this one—” she nudged Midnight “—Wedged between two dragons teens.”

“With all the sleeping she’s done with other males, I’m surprised she hasn’t gotten pregnant before now,” Aspect mused.

“Oh aye.” Aila shrugged. “Got her mother’s luck there. Damned if I haven’t tried to have another since Midnight. Eclipse and I, we have somethin’ of an ‘open’ relationship ya see.”

“A what?” Bon Bon asked.

“They fuck other ponies,” Rainbow pointed out.

And that had Bon Bon blushing hard.

“Well that explains...quite a lot,” Aspect mused as he shook his head.

“But no luck ah’m afraid,” the mare sighed. “My er… stature has the nifty if not annoyin’ side effect of being hard to impregnate.”

“I could whip up a piece of jewelry to help you with that issue,” Aspect mused. “A few enchantments and you’ll be just like any other mare.”

“Oh?” she smirked and winked at him. “You offerin’ to help give mah Middy a siblin’?”

Midnight growled, Bon Bon blushed and Rainbow poked Aspect.

“Can we?” she whispered.

Aspect sighed and rolled his eyes. “Look, let me pull out some pieces from my collection, you can pick one you like, and I’ll enchant it to help you. What happens after that is not my problem.”

“Hahah, Middy was right, you are fun tae tease,” she smirked and shrugged. “Nae, it’s alright colt. And dinnae worry, ah won’t gobble ya up.”

“Honestly,” Midnight shook her head.

“Heh, your Mom’s a riot,” Rainbow cackled loudly.

“I really wouldn’t mind helping,” Aspect replied as he flared a wing, summoning his saddlebags to him on a gust of air. He stuck a hoof in the right side and began looking through it...before sticking his whole muzzle in.

“One of these days,” Bon Bon sighed. “He’s gonna fall in and we’ll have to go on some crazy adventure to get him back.”

Eventually the stallion pulled out a medium-sized wooden box and set it on the ground. He played with all the ingenious little drawers, to fully open up about half a dozen shelves on which additional jewelry rested, before flipping the top open. More necklaces and earrings waited there, as well as a mirror so that anypony using the box could see what they looked like before heading out. “Pick any piece you like,” the stallion offered.

“You’re offering her jewelry before us?” Bon Bon teased.

“These are just old pieces, mostly sentimental stuff,” Aspect replied, poking one with a hoof. “The magic in them has faded by now. But I can slap a new one on with no effort. They’re nothing like the custom necklaces I’m having made for three certain mares.”

“So, none of them work?” Rainbow said as she slipped a hoof ring on. Surely a mare with so much pegasus magic and a Bearer of harmony wouldn’t revive something as ancient as this.

“The magic in them faded ages ago, like I said,” Aspect replied, shaking his head. “They’re little more than...museum pieces now.”

“Aw that sucks… I wanted super powers,” Rainbow sighed, tossing the ring back to him.

“Do not give Rainbow Dash super powers,” Bon Bon deadpanned. “That will only end in disaster.”

“Hehe, don’t worry colt. Ah’m fine the way I am,” Aila nodded and smiled. “Now you kids should get to bed. You have something important to do tomorrow doncha?”

Aspect held the hoofring for a moment, and there was a subtle flash of light around it, before he tossed it to the small thestral mare and began closing up his box. “Keep it as a gift,” he said, before sticking the whole thing back in his saddlebag.

“Buttering me up with gifts eh?” the mare mused. “Alright, off with yeh. Tomorrow’s gonna be interesting.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Aspect chuckled as he picked up his bags and began nuzzling his mares, before walking off to his room.

Once he and the others left, Aila looked at the ring curiously… before slipping it over her hoof…

She didn’t...feel anything out of place. But then again, if it was meant to do anything like help her, then she wouldn’t know until she got back home with a stallion.

“Huh… kinda anticlimactic,” the small mare shrugged and sighed. Well, she hoped that Aspect was prepared for tomorrow…

Author's Notes:

Meet the mother! She's fun. I think. Aus usually laughs manically when he writes her.

Like the story? Consider dropping Aus and me a dollar on my Patreon. It really does help.

Half of all funds will not be spent finishing off collections of shiny things.