Spike approached the castle. Although he'd set up his audience with Princess Celestia some time ago, when he first learned that he'd have to come to Canterlot on errands anyway, he was still a bit nervous. He wasn't nervous to see the Princess herself - she was far too fond of Spike for that. He was nervous because of what he wanted to talk to her about.
When he got up to the door of the audience chamber, he recognized the attendant as his old friend Harold.
"Hi Spike," the earth pony with a cutie mark of a bugle said. "How's life in the sticks?"
"Hello Harold," Spike replied. "It's all right. Ponyville has a bunch of friendly ponies. Although they do some things pretty backwards, like not using magic to bring in spring."
Spike and Harold shared a shudder at the thought of it. It was worse for Spike since he had to live through it.
"How about Twilight? Did she make friends?" Harold inquired.
"Oh yeah, definitely! After she warmed up to them a bit, anyway."
"That's understandable. She always paid more attention to her studies than friends," Harold said.
"Didn't you get a degree from the Canterlot University of Technical Excellence?" Spike asked.
"Eh, a BA in English - they give those out in cereal boxes," Harold said, shrugging. He stopped speaking and listened for a moment. "Sounds like Princess Celestia is about done with her previous appointment."
Sure enough, a unicorn came out of the room, accompanied by Princess Celestia, and bidding her good day.
"Good to see you Spike," the Princess said, smiling at him and nodding to Harold as he and Spike likewise exchanged "Take cares". Spike followed the Princess into the audience chamber where she took a place behind a podium with a scroll, quill and ink bottle on top of it.
"So, the report from Ponyville?" the Princess said.
"Yes, your majesty," Spike said, rearranging his thoughts so he could cover his talking points. "First the economic report. Apple production is up 20%, grain futures are steady, and the town's average income hasn't changed a bit." He grinned, allowing himself the small pun. Princess Celestia wrote this all down, using her innate magic power to move the quill.
"And the political scene?" she asked.
"Mayor Mare is likely to win her seventh consecutive term. They don't have term limits. Hay, they don't even seem to have dissenting political views."
"Not uncommon in small towns," the Princess remarked.
"The ponies are in good spirits, too," Spike continued. "Morale is at an all-time high."
"I think we may have your friend Pinkie Pie to thank for that," Princess Celestia said. "Now, how about Twilight?"
"She's adjusting. She really likes her new friends, and is balancing her relationships with them with her magical studies, although I believe her reports to you cover that well."
"That is true, but I needed to ask, all the same."
"I understand. She is becoming more sociable though. I think she even said something about a slumber party since I was going to be gone."
"Isn't she a bit old for slumber parties?"
Spike gave a chuckle. "Well you know, since she didn't have them when she was younger, she wanted to make up for lost time," he said. Celestia smiled.
"And how about you Spike?" she asked, setting down the quill. This question was personal, one she asked because she cared about Spike.
He paused, and let out a small sigh. "I've been...worried about something," he admitted. "Remember how my friends and I met a couple of adult dragons?"
"Yes, I believe I remember Twilight telling me about both of your draconic encounters."
"They were both huge jerks. I mean, I guess I did kind of break into the blue one's home and started eating his food, but still. Am...I going to be like that when I'm an adult?"
Princess Celestia's countenance grew serious, but no less warm. "And adult dragon is an immensely powerful creature, physically impressive, and often a powerful practitioner of draconic magic. There are few other beings capable of standing up to them and posing any serious threat. Because of that, the temptation for an adult dragon to do as he pleases is quite large, and many fall into that trap. You and your friends were lucky that the dragons you did deal with were as reasonable as they were - although I did know that about the red dragon before I sent your friends to deal with him."
"I know it's ultimately up to me to control my behavior, but it sounds like a gloomy outlook," Spike said.
"You have a great benefit though. You have many good friends who care for and love you," Celestia said, beginning to reassure him. "I'm certain as long as you remember them and their influence, you'll remember the lessons you've learned from them. And you would want to be the kind of dragon that would make them happy - especially Rarity." Celestia grinned at the last part.
"What'd Twilight tell you?" Spike snapped.
"Nothing," Celestia said quickly. "But your crush on her is painfully obvious."
Spike blushed, although fortunately it is barely noticeable on dragons. "Well, I guess you're right. I do love my friends. I'll miss them when I grow up and leave Equestria," he said. "But they will always be a part of me."
"Exactly. Oh, and Spike?"
"Yes?"
"Rarity is a bit disillusioned after meeting my nephew, so I'm sure you'll be wanting to show her what someone who cares for her is like but...don't overdo it. Just be yourself."
Spike smiled, feeling reassured for the first time since he entered the room.
A.N.: My fans who are expecting me to work on other stories... don't worry, I'm planning those too!
Anyway, I've adopted the idea that there is likely to be other kinds of magic besides pony magic, based chiefly on the fact that Twilight referred to pony magic as "pony magic", instead of just "magic". Dragons seem like a good candidate for having their own magic.