Spike sighed dejectedly as he trudged through the thick vegetation in the Everfree. It had been little over half an our since he ran away after trying to frame Owlicious. "Could this day get any worse?" he wondered aloud. That was a bad idea, because suddenly he tripped, and fell face first into a puddle of mud.

And if that weren't bad enough it started pouring. Not raining, pouring. Spike was soaked in a matter of seconds, even though the tops of the trees stopped as much rain from getting in. "Great!" he exclaimed, "Just great!" He picked himself up, and brushed off some of the mud.

He started to walk again, careful this time. The storm was terrifyingly strong, and drained Spike of his energy as he went on. He knew that if he couldn't find some shelter he would be finished. Just as his vision started to fade he pushed through the vegetation, and into a small clearing.

On the other end of the clearing was a rock wall, and the opening to a cave. He quickly walked over there, and collapsed. "Finally shelter." he said as he started to black out. What he didn't see, though, was a large green dragon inhabiting the cave.

"Spike!" Twilight called, "Spike!" It had been about a half hour since Spike had run off. She and Applejack were following his trail of ketchup footprints.

"Spike! Can y'all hear us?" Applejack called out. Twilight let out a sigh.

"I hope he's okay." she said.

"Ah'm sure he'll be-" Applejack was cut off by the sound of thunder. Suddenly rain started pouring down, pelting Twilight, and Applejack. "Quick we need ta find shelter!" Applejack said.

"But-" Twilight tried protesting.

"No buts." said Applejack, "We need ta get out of this storm."

"But, Spike." Twilight said. Applejack softened.

"Ah know you're worried 'bout Spike, but right now we need ta get out of this storm. Ah'm sure he'll be fine." Applejack told her.

"I- You're right. We'll look for him after the storm has passed." agreed Twilight.

"Let's get under there." Applejack said, pointing at the hollowed base of a tree. Twilight nodded, and followed her under the makeshift shelter.

"I just really hope he's okay." said Twilight.

"Me too." Applejack said.

--

Spike awoke to warmth, and the sound of rain. "Twilight." he said, thinking he was still in the library. Suddenly all of the memories of the day came rushing back to him, and his eyes shot open. He found himself laying in front of a fire. "Where am I?" he wondered aloud. Suddenly he heard someone shifting.

"I see you are awake." a deep voice said. Spike turned around, and froze when he saw a giant green dragon.

"W-Who are you?" he stuttered.

"I am Reginald. Who might you be hatchling,?" the green dragon asked him.

"My name's Spike." Spike told him.

"And what reason did you have for being out in such weather?" Reginald asked him. Spike looked down at his feet.

"I... I ran away." he admitted. This seemed to pique Reginald's interest.

"Ran away? From what?" he asked.

"It's a long story." Spike told him.

"I have time." he said.

"Alright then. It all started a while ago." Spike started.

--

Twilight woke up with a jolt. She looked around her, and found that she was in her library. Was that all just a dream? She wondered. "Spike!" she called out, but instead of Spike coming up the stairs it was Applejack. "Applejack! What happened?" she asked.

"Don't y'all remember? We went searching for Spike, and got caught up in this big storm. You fell asleep so I brought you back here." Applejack told her.

"B-But what about Spike?" she asked. Applejack just sadly shook her head. Tears started to form in Twilight's eyes.

"Ah couldn't find him. We'll have ta search some more tomorrow." Applejack told her.

"B-But." Twilight choked out. Applejack shook her head again.

"Ah'm sorry sugarcube, but there ain't nothin we can do right now." Applejack told her. Twilight let tears roll down her face as she cried. Applejack was unable to do more than to lend a comforting hoof around Twilight. "Don't worry." she told Twilight, "We'll find him." They stayed like that until Twilight had finally cried herself to sleep. Applejack gently set her down, and walked off towards her own home.

--

"I see now." Reginald said, "You ran away because you were not appreciated."

"Yeah." Spike said.

"But I can sense great potential in you." Reginald told him. Spike perked up.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes, but you shall have to have a teacher to learn how to harness such potential." Reginald told him, "I shall teach you."

"Really?" Spike asked, excited.

"Yes. But for now you must rest. Eat, then get some sleep." Reginald said, laying some gems in front of him.

"Alright!" Spike exclaimed before diving head first into the gems. Reginald let out a chuckle as he watched Spike. Soon enough the pile was demolished.

"Sleep now hatchling, for we start training in the morning." Reginald told him.

"Alright." Spike said, a little drowsy already.

"Goodnight." Reginald said as Spike drifted off to sleep. That night Spike had a dream. He dreamed of himself as a fully grown dragon with wings, soaring wherever he wanted to, and making other dragons cower in fear. Little did he know that this was a prelude.

He woke up the next morning feeling completely refreshed. He stood up, and stretched himself. He saw that Reginald was still asleep, so he decided to have a little breakfast. Choosing a particularly tasty looking sapphire he sat down, and nibbled on it. When he was done he grabbed another gem.

He continued to do this until he heard Reginald waking up. He turned to see the dragon throw some gems into his mouth, and chew. When he was finished he turned to Spike, and spoke, "I see you are already awake. If you have already eaten breakfast we shall begin your training."