“But why can’t I go?”

“It’s too dangerous, Spike,” Twilight Sparkle said, closing her saddlebags. “Fully-grown dragons are dangerous. I don’t want you getting hurt. Remember the last time you ran in with a wild dragon?”

“But I-”

“No buts, Spike.” Twilight said. She lowered her head down. “I want you to stay here, and stay safe. We’ll be back once we’ve stopped him. I promise.”

“C’mon, Twi!” shouted Rainbow Dash from the doorway. “We gotta go!”

“Coming, Rainbow,” Twilight said, before turning back to Spike, “You just stay here, clean up a bit, and then get your rest. We’ll be back by tomorrow morning.”

Spike sulked. He never got to do anything exciting with them. He didn’t get to go off against Nightmare Moon with them, he didn’t get to go after that napping dragon... then there was that time they all just ran off at the Gala.

“Twiii” Rainbow said.

“Coming!” Twilight said, exasperated.

“Time to show the dragons that they’re not welcome here!” Rainbow Dash cheered as the door shut.

Spike was left all alone, and with those last few words echoing in his head. He shuffled through the library, the floor of which was strewn with books that Twilight had been reading, looking for ways to stop the dragon.

But he was a dragon, too, right? What did that mean for him?

He picked the books off the floor, putting them back on the shelves. Twilight could do it easily with her magic, but he had to find where they were supposed to go, get the ladder, climb up, and place the book on the shelf.

After about two hours of doing this, his already-low enthusiasm had sunk. He didn’t want to continue shelving books. He was feeling too low to continue. He sat down, thinking.

He felt like running away, but that probably wouldn’t work. Where could he run to? Besides, Twilight would just find him, and he’d probably get grounded.

He sighed. He really wished that Twilight was there right now. He felt very, very alone, almost on the verge of crying. The thought that, no matter how much they claimed he was their friend, he wasn’t one of them. He was a dragon.

The thought continued to eat away at him. He decided he’d just stop with the chores, have a snack, and go to bed. Hopefully Twilight Sparkle would be there in the morning and she could help him.

She wasn’t. Spike woke up and waited at the door for nearly twenty minutes until he started fretting again. She wasn’t back. She promised she’d be back. He needed her to be back. In a way, he was kind of scared - scared of the future.

He paced back and forth, still worried. In his stress, he didn’t notice the books still strewn on the floor, and he tripped over one surprisingly large tome.

Great, he thought, not only am I practically abandoned, but I still have chores. Irritated, he kicked the book, which turned out to be a bad idea, as it hurt his foot.

His mood not improved by both bouts of physical pain, he picked up the book.

He read the title. “The Professor’s Portable Pamphlet Pertaining to Powerful Potions of Particular Potency.”

Spike groaned. Portable pamphlet?, he thought, This book’s as big as I am. Out of curiosity, he decided to crack it open and read some of the contents – just skim it. As his did, he saw two words that made his eyes widen. All his fretting from the previous day seemed to just melt away as he saw an amazing possibility right in front of him. He got an idea. And then, from that idea, he got another idea. An amazing idea.

“Can you believe it? Who would’ve figured that the whole thing was about a lost teddy bear?” Twilight Sparkle said, walking back into the library. “Spike? Oh Spi-iiiike? Sorry I’m late, you would not believe what happened.”

No answer. “Spike?” she asked. “Are you asleep?” she went up to the loft where they usually slept. He wasn’t there. She checked the basement and the laboratory. He wasn’t there.

She got nervous. What if he ran off? What if he was in trouble? She had to find him as soon as possible.

She ran out the door, crashing right into Applejack.

“Oof!” Applejack said. “Watch where yer goin’, ‘k?”

“Applejack, have you seen Spike?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“No, I don’ think so.” Applejack responded. “But ah’m missin’ somethin’ to. A good chunk of apples is gone from mah cellar.”

“I don’t have time for your apples, I need to find Spike!” Twilight Sparkle said, about to run off.

“I think there’s a connecshin.” Applejack said. “Rarity’s had a break-in over at her place.”

“She has?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“Yes,” Rarity said, walking up to them.

“What did they take?” Twilight asked.

“That’s the strange thing – they got into my money and my gems, but didn’t seem to take any. The only thing that got stolen was a suit.”

“Why would they break in an’ not take it?” Applejack asked.

Twilight thought about it for a minute. “Maybe just to see if they could.”

The better part of two weeks passed – Rarity was able to replace the suit easily (she was kind of relieved, as the suit had a couple of loose threads that were driving her nuts), and Applejack’s farm wasn’t too dented by the loss of apples (it’s a big orchard, after all), but there was still the unsettling fact that they couldn’t figure out what it was that happened.

Worst of all, Spike was nowhere to be seen.

Twilight Sparkle had been highly distressed – the baby dragon was her responsibility, after all. What would she do if something happened to him? Was he okay? Where was he?

She’d done everything she could think of – she put up “missing” posters all over Ponyville, but nopony had seen them. She asked everypony in town about him, but to no avail. She even ventured into the Everfree Forest, but there was no sign of him.

Twilight wasn’t the only one concerned – they were all close friends of his, though Fluttershy was the most visibly distressed (“he’s just a baby,” she worried).

And then, after those two weeks, something funny happened. As she was at her desk, a scroll appeared. She opened it and read.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

Hey. It’s me, Spike. Sorry I didn’t send a letter sooner, but, well, you’re a lot smarter than me, and I needed a head start. It’s funny, I almost expected you would’ve found me by now.

I’m really sorry about the stuff I stole. I just kinda needed it. Really badly, so I’d have some place to start from.

But I’m all right. I’m actually having a whole lot of fun. You would not believe what I’ve been up to. Pretty stoked, really. Flying high, so to speak. You wouldn’t approve, though. You definitely wouldn’t. But I’ll be able to pay back Rarity and Applejack back ten times over.

Anyway, just wanted to give you a heads-up. I guess this means you’ll try to come get me. I mean, if you haven’t already, well, you know- maybe you haven’t looked for me…

The next section was a mess of scribbles, as though he’d been trying to come up with the right thing to say.

She put it down, a little at a loss for words. Spike had been missing for two weeks, during which time she wasn’t even assured that he was even alive, and then in comes this letter. This letter, which not only casually brushes aside those two weeks of fretting as nothing, but makes other implications as to Spike’s latest activities. He’d have some explaining to do when she found him.

He’d have some explaining to do when she found him, she knew that for sure. But that wasn’t all. After the crossed-out attempts and writing, there was a small amount of text left.

Well, anyway, I’ll be writing more letters. I don’t know if you’ll be very happy, but I’m gonna go big. Very big. The game’s on now, Twi.

So catch me if you can.

***

Two weeks prior, a tiny colt found himself in Cloudsdale, the grandest city in the sky. The colt was purple, with a green mane, and with him he had three large suitcases that were on a special platform so they wouldn’t fall through the clouds.

He stepped out of his terminal, and surveyed the city. It was huge, clean, and white, like a blank slate ready for work. A grin came to his face – he’d heard Twilight Sparkle talk about Cloudsdale, from the time that she’d gone there to see Rainbow Dash in the Young Flier’s Competition, but now it was his turn. He’d take on the world, starting here, with nothing to his name save for his wits and the materials in his trunks.

“Hey, kid,” shouted a stallion, “you okay?”

“Huh?” asked the colt. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine.”

“Where are your parents?” the stallion asked.

Uh-oh, thought the colt. “They, uh, went to the bathroom.” He said quickly.

“Alright. You sure you’re good there?”

“The best I’ve ever been in my life.” Said the colt, turning back to admire the city.

“But… what is he doing?” Rainbow Dash asked. The six ponies were all huddled around a table with the letter in the middle.

“I don’t know, but it isn’t good.” Twilight said. “Turns out he was the thief.”

“But I don’t understand it.” Rarity said. “Why would he want that suit? It’s a suit for a pegasus pony.”

“Are there any, y’know, clues in this thing?” Applejack asked.

“I’m not sure.” Twilight Sparkle said. “I’d think that if he tried to do something, it’d be very-” she stopped. “What did you say?” she asked Rarity.

“About what, dear?”

“The suit.” Twilight Sparkle elaborated. “You said that it was a suit for a pegasus pony.”

“…Yes.” Rarity said, not completely sure what Twilight was getting at.

“He said one thing in the letter that seemed out of place.” Twilight said, holding up the letter. “Flying high. I think there’s some kind of connection.”

“Okay,” said Rainbow Dash. “So… what do we do?”

“Can’t we send him letters?” Fluttershy asked.

“Spike knew where to send them because he knows where I live. We can’t send him a letter if we don’t know his location.” Twilight Sparkle responded.

“Well, first we find out where he sent the letter from.” Twilight said. “After I got the letter, I decided to look up and see if there was any kind of tracking spell. If I’m right, we should know exactly where he sent it from.”

“Ooh! It’s like a mystery!” Pinkie Pie said excitedly.

Twilight closed her eyes, and the horn on her head started glowing. The letter was quickly incinerated in a flash of light, causing the others (Fluttershy, mainly) to leap back, startled.

Twilight opened her eyes. “It… it’s gone.” She said. “And I didn’t make a copy.”

“So…” Rainbow Dash said. “It didn’t work?”

But then, the ashes started to move.

“It did?”

There was another flash of light, and the ashes lept from the table, leaving a trail of light. The six ponies ran out, watching as it flew like a comet, into the sky, ending up in –

“Cloudsdayle,” said Rainbow Dash. “Flying high, huh?”

“I have to find him. Tomorrow I’m taking the balloon up there.” Twilight Sparkle said.

“‘ey, we’re comin’ too.” Applejack said. “Ah think we’d all like an explanation of what he’s up to.”

“Well, everypony pack your saddlebags. We’re going up first thing in the morning.”

“But wait,” Rarity said. “What if he sends another letter? If we aren’t here, we’ll miss it.”

“We’ll come back and check if we can’t find him, but I’ve been worried out of my mind for two weeks and I don’t want to wait any more.” Twilight said firmly.

There was a knock at the door of a mansion belonging to two pegasus ponies. Very rich pegasus ponies. The knock came again. The old pegasus stallion opened the door, looking down he saw a tiny purple pegasus colt with a green mane and three large suitcases.

“Uhh…”

“Please, sir,” the colt said, “I’m looking for a job. I’ll do anything.”

“Don’t you have parents?”

“No, sir,” the colt said, shaking his head, “they abandoned me. All I have is these suitcases.”

“Dear, who is it?” asked the voice of a mare.

The stallion pulled back into the house. “It seems like an orphan. He wants work.”

“Really?” she asked, looking at the colt, who was, admittedly, very pitiable and adorable. “Let’s let him in.”

“I don’t know if we should-”

“We have a ton of rooms we never use. He can stay in one of them.” She poked her head out the door. “It’s fine.”

“Thank you, ma’am” the colt said, walking in.

“What’s your name?” the stallion asked.

The colt paused for just a second. “Feather.” He said. He instantly regretted that choice.

The two pegasus ponies were very nice to “Feather,” who, as you’ve probably guessed, was actually Spike.

In that giant book of potions, he found these two words: “Transformation Potions.” In other words, he found the recipe for a drink that could transform him into a pegasus pony. However, it had its limitations. It would only last for a few days, so he needed to make more before too long. Also, he was dismayed to find that he was a small colt, no bigger now than he had been as a dragon. A good portion of his plans had hinged upon him being slightly more mature.

When he first found it, he thought that he could just use it to turn into a pegasus. Then it occurred to him that Twilight likely wouldn’t approve, and he’d be forced to change back. Though that wasn’t the most disheartening idea - he liked being a dragon, after all, but then he got another idea. The idea of being a pegasus - he could use it to fool ponies, couldn’t he? And then it was a matter of the questions “what if?” and “why not?” which, for the eccentric or the childish (or those who generally lack good judgement), are the only two questions that really matter.

In the three suitcases he had the book, a few spare flasks of the potion, various ingredients, the stolen apples, and the stolen suit. The suit, unfortunately, was far too large for him.

The couple let him stay in one of their spare rooms, which, to his delight, had a lock on the door. They let him do a few jobs around the house – clean the windows here, stack the bookshelf there, but nothing too strenuous – just basic chores that they only made him do because he was asking, and a much lighter workload than what he’d had to do as Twilight Sparkle’s assistant.

It was an impressive house, made out of clouds, like the rest of the city, as was most of the furniture. Almost everything was white. That took a little getting used too, but it wasn’t unlike anything in the rest of the city.

One thing that the house had was a grand piano. He’d played the piano before, as a dragon, and had accompanied Pinkie Pie on one of her musical numbers. But now he had hooves instead of hands, and wanted to see how different it was.

It was very different. While he had previously been fairly proficient as a dragon, now, as a baby pony, he was utterly inept

“Feather?” the mare asked. Spike jumped. The house was so large that he was accustomed to being alone for most of the day.

“Y-yes?” He responded.

“Are you trying to play the piano?” she asked. Spike was tempted to respond in a sarcastic manner, but he just nodded his head. “Here, let me show you.” She said, sitting down on the bench next to him.

She played a simple tune on the piano. “You hold your hooves like this.” She said, as Spike imitated her motions. They both played out the tune. “That’s good,” she said encouragingly.

So it wasn’t so bad. He just had to learn it again. He would.

The old couple were not surprised that the young colt had a large appetite, always asking for seconds and thirds at meals. After all, it was a growing foal, and who knows what he’d had to live off of? Besides, they were rich, and the colt was so polite that they’d feel mean to turn him down. They didn’t notice, however, that he was sweeping some food off of the table – the various grasses flowers, and other ingredients that he needed for potions. He didn’t need more of the potion just yet, but he would, and in the meantime he needed something else, too.

“Feather” was allowed to accompany the two old pegasi on their outings around the city, as they didn’t quite trust him enough to leave him alone at the house. He’d work on that, however. He did a lot of chores and didn’t take all that much in return.

The city was as incredible as he imagined them. Countless structures, all constructed out of clouds shaped by pegasus magic.

“Never been to the city before?” asked the old stallion.

“No, I haven’t,” said the colt. “It’s incredible.”

“It is, I suppose. I’ve lived here my entire life. Haven’t seen all that much of life outside of Cloudsdayle.”

“We really haven’t,” said the mare. “I think it’s high time we went on holiday.”

“You really think so?”

“What do you think?” the mare asked.

“Huh?” Spike asked. He hadn’t been paying attention.

“Think we could go on a holiday? The three of us?”

“Uhh, sure.” Spike said. He wasn’t sure whether that was what he wanted to do. But his mind was soon sidetracked by something else he saw. His eye caught a sign in a window – “Wingling Bros. Investment Firm: Starting a new business venture? We can help!”

Perfect.