>Something you actually didn’t expect after setting your plan into motion was to actually start taking a liking to Spike. While he wasn’t particularly eloquent in his speech, this little, chubby, purple dragon had captivated you with his explanation about the Power Ponies comics. 
>Sure, you had a plan to perform, but you didn’t want to stop him just yet. The guy so happy to share one of his passions with somebody else that you simply didn’t have the heart to interrupt him. There was also the fact that you were genuinely interested in the comic, so much that you put everything on hold for a little while.
“So you’re telling me that this Saddle Ranger…”
>Spike somewhat pompously raised a claw and quickly cut you off with a certain air of academic authority, “Saddle Rager”
“Yeah, that one. So she becomes super strong whenever she loses her marbles, right?”
>Spike nodded as he laid on the ground and started plucking some grass blades, “Yup! She grows ten times her size and becomes the strongest pony ever! There was this issue where she lifted an entire building with a single hoof!” 
>The conversation had gone like this for a few minutes, and continued in the same manner for a few more. You asked questions about the Power Ponies and Spike answered them in all sorts of colorful ways. 

>Part of you wished to just stay there and keep learning about the Power Ponies and their adventures saving Maretropolis. However, there was a plan to do and profit to be made. It was time for you to finally move the conversation to its original goal.
“That’s frickin’ sick, man! And where do you get these comics, by the way?”
>“Well, uhm… I’m not sure where you can find them here in Canterlot” Spike apologetically replied, “But if you go to Ponyville I can show you this cool store that has every, and I mean every single Power Ponies comic!”
>After giving your surroundings a quick glance you discovered that Twilight wasn’t that far from your position, and even worse she sometimes looked at your direction. You had to give the impression that you were indeed picking flowers.
>You whistled to pretend to be impressed and walked to a nearby bush, then you carefully grabbed one of the flowers with your mouth. 
“Oh, man! That sounds awesome, but don’t you need like a lot of bits to buy them?”
>Spike waved his claw dismissively and shook his head, “Nah! They’re like 3 bits, even I can buy them! Their action figures is a whole different story, though”.
>While you did want to give off an air of seriousness behind all your actions, the truth was that the flower you picked was just delicious. Before you knew it, you not only had already eaten the one you picked, but you were already going for the fourth one.

“So you don’t get much bits, huh? I know how much that sucks”.
>“Meh, it’s not that bad”. Spike shrugged, “Twi always says that bits don’t make the world”.
>After swallowing the second or third flower in a row, you decided to postpone the lunch for later and focused instead on the actual reason as to why you were here in the first place.
“I getcha, man but it sure would be cool to have a few bits to spare, dontcha think? I mean, you could get one of those action figures, or get a whole lot of comics… or I dunno, you have someone you like?”
>There was a brief blush on Spike’s face, but it was immediately replaced by a cautious glare, “Why are you telling me all of this?”
“C’mon, man! Did you forget I had a deal for you?”
>Spike shook his head and fidgeted around with a couple blades of grass, “No, but I hoped you did”.
>It quickly became obvious to you that Spike wasn’t exactly thrilled about this whole deal. Quite understandable considering how shady you’ve been and the fact that both of you haven’t known each other for more than a couple hours.
>That said, you weren’t going to stop now and it wasn’t like Spike looked like a particularly smart guy. What had to do was to change your approach to something more personal or at least a little bit more heartfelt. Let him know that you’re on his side and all that stuff.
>You sat by his side and placed a friendly hoof on his back. Then, you let out a small sigh and smiled at him.
“Don’t be worried, man. We ain’t gonna do anything wrong, I promise”.

>Spike plucked a couple more blades of grass and let them get carried by the gentle noon breeze. After taking a quick glance at Twilight, he looked at you with concerned eyes, “I just don’t want to get into trouble”.
>You gave him a small yet firm tug and silently thought on your next words. After a few moments, you pointed at the group of guards standing a few meters away from Twilight.
“I’d say not worry about anything, but I think is gonna be way better if I show you. See those guards over there?”
>“Yeah”. Spike nodded and raised an eyebrow, “What about them?”
“We’re just gonna put up a small show for them and get some bits outta it. Nothing wrong with that if you ask me”.
>Spike scratched his chin for a few moments before raising an eyebrow at you, “And have you done this before?”
>The memories, good and bad of the many shows that you and Eris ran flocked to you. A melancholic smile appeared on your face as you slowly nodded to him.
“Well… I did it for a living, y’know?”
>“Really? But you’re the princesses’ kid!” 
“So what?”
>Spike’s curiosity peaked. His attention was now fully focused on you, “Nothing, I just thought somepony like you would’ve come from a super exclusive place with all those fancy bells and whistles”.
“I dunno if you can tell, man, but I ain’t exactly from Equestria. There’s nothing like that where I come from”.

>“Dude, are you serious? That’s the first thing anyone would notice” Spike chuckled to himself, “You have the weirdest way of talking!”
“Me?! I ain’t the one saying stuff like somepony! Do you know how frickin’ dumb that sounds, man? If there’s anything I could change, it’d be those stupid…”
>You took a deep breath and did everything in your power to ignore the pent up frustration you had with all of those silly equestrian slangs and stay on topic instead.
“Listen man, I’ve done these kind of shows for a long time and that’s all you need to know, alright? Besides, you don’t gotta worry about Twilight, she’s gonna frickin’ love the show too!”
>“You don’t know Twi, dude” Spike sighed, “If there’s something she hates is stuff coming out of the left field like this. She’s super crazy about sticking to the schedule, and right now we’re on one”.
“Maybe, but check this out!”
>You dashed away to grab one of the books laying on the grass, and then galloped back to him. You quickly spat the book out and put a hoof on it.
“She likes books and science stuff, doesn’t she?”
>“I mean, yeah?” Spike shrugged “I’m not sure how a math book is going to help though”.
>A triumphant smile appeared on your face as you grabbed Spike by the shoulders and gently shook him.

“What are you talking about, man? This book is all the help we’ll ever need!”
>Spike glanced at the book before staring at you like if you were crazy, “Dude, I think you have a few screws loose”.
“Nah man, just gotta use your imagination! You can breathe fire, right?”
>“Yes, that comes with being a dragon”. Spike slowly nodded without taking his eyes from you, “Do you want me to burn the book or something? Because I can’t think on a better way to make Twi angrier than that”.
“What?! No man, what kind of lame imagination is that? Listen, we go to the guards to hook them on with the show. I’ll do my stuff with the book to give those guys the show of their lives, and all you gotta do is to throw some flares to get the vibe going. Easy, right?”
>“So… that’s all I have to do?”
“Yup! Just lemme do the talking and show stuff, and you just worry about throwing some sick flares. Trust me man, you’re gonna have a blast AND get a whole lotta the bits in the process! Enough to buy yourself a couple of those Power Ponies’ figures.”
>Spike rubbed his right arm with the left one and glanced at Twilight once again, “Well… I really want the limited edition of the Filly-Rager… but what if you’re wrong and Twi does gets angry? You don’t know here, dude. Her lectures last hours, sometimes an entire day!”

“Who you think you’re talking with? I ain’t about to let my new friend to take the fall. If things get screwed up, then I’ll take the blame and whatever scolding comes with it. There’s nothing left for you lose here. So, what do you say? You in?”
>Spike scratched the back of his head, “Well…”
>Five minutes later, the two of you were hiding behind some bushes and with almost everything for the show ready. Neither the guards nor Twilight could see you, with the latter being incredibly focused into selecting which flowers she’d take for Celestia. In other words, everything was going perfect.
>You retreated back from your looking spot to give Spike a last rundown on the plan. The guy was sitting on the ground, nervously playing around with the dirt. You placed a firm hoof on his shoulder and looked at him straight in the eye.
“Alright man, this is it. You ready?”
>Spike frowned and looked at Twilight through the bushes, “Not really”. He then turned to you and sighed, “How did you talk me into this?”
“Because there’s bits to be made, and you like bits. Now buckle up! You remember the plan, right?”
>“What plan? You just went into some weird pep talk about… what was it? The Space Mares? Who the heck are those supposed to be anyway?!”
“Here’s a big recommendation, man: Gotta stop stressing over the stuff that doesn’t matter. Seriously, that kinda stuff is bad for your health. You’d know that if you had listened to my amazing talk about the Spice Fillies. Besides, I did tell you what your part is. Just throw flares when I give you the signal, it really ain’t hard to remember, man”.

>“I know that! But what happens next? How are you…?”
>You shushed him by placing a hoof on his mouth, and shook him a little.
“Hey man, remember what I said about the Spice Fillies! What we want, what we really, really want is to work as a team! So you’re in charge of the fire, and I do the talking”
>Spike slapped your hoof away and shook his head, “Yeah, but…”
>You raised a hoof and narrowed your eyes at him.
“Remember the Spice Fillies”.
>He looked at you right in the eye while struggling to say something. Finally, he gave up and sighed, “I’ll throw some fire, alright”.
>Triumphantly, you stepped out of the bushes and with a gigantic smirk on your face, you turned to Spike.
“That’s the spirit! C’mon, man. It’s show time!”
>Evading the vigilant gaze of Twilight Sparkle was probably the easiest part of everything. She was way too focused into the flower picking to take notice of anything. There were a couple times where she’d call out for you and Spike, but it was nothing more than a simple routine thing.
>You did feel a bit bad for her, though. Twilight was genuinely pouring a lot of passion into an activity that was nothing but a façade for your plan. You had to make it up for her some other time, but not now.

>This moment was for you and kind of for Spike too. That guy deserved some fun outside his little world, and why not crown it with some bits for him to take home too? Who knows, maybe he’d get enough for those action figures and more.
>You walked up to the guards and cleared your throat in a not so subtle manner for them to notice your presence. In a split second, each and every one of them went from their casual conversation to a perfect military line.
>You had to hold your muzzle to prevent yourself from bursting into laughter. The guards stood there, their heads raised, eyes closed shut, hooves aligned in a military salute, and faces filled with fear. 
>You glanced to Spike with a smirk on your face that’d put Celestia to shame. He frantically shook his head, but you didn’t care, this was too good to pass on. You took a deep breath and yelled like a drill officer.
“Alright, guards. At ease!”
>Slowly but surely, each guard opened their eyes, and with confusion looked at every direction until they finally noticed your presence.
>The first one to speak was a somewhat short and rather anemic earth-pony stallion. He adjusted the thick glasses on his face and raised an eyebrow, “Why, this is no Moonlight!” His accent didn’t seem from Equestria, it was more refined so to speak, “It’s just a lil’ chap ‘aving a lil’ giggle at us! Shoo! Go with yer mum or something, lil’ mayfly. We’re busy in official guard tasks!”

“Oh-hoh! You don’t know what you’re saying! Trust me friend, you don’t wanna miss on what I’ve for you! This is a huge chance to have some big fun, and some bits to come with it! Y’see, my friend and I…”
>The stallion was hit on the back of his head by the largest pegasus mare you’ve ever seen. In simple terms, she was pure muscle, and the cadence of her voice made her strength very clear from the get go, “Be glad the Captain isn’t here, Fancy Scrolls! She’d tear your puny head off if she heard you talking to the prince like that!”
>Fancy Scrolls held his glasses like a magnifying glass as he inspected you from hooves to head, “No, no! You got it wrong, mate. I know we ‘ave a new princess, err… Purple Star if me memory is right. This chap here is just a colt, and a colt needs to be with his mum! So off you go, lil’ boy!”
>You felt Spike tugging at your front leg, silently urging you to drop everything and run while the chance still existed. You subtly shook your head and whispered to him.
“If you wanna, you can step back for a bit so you can relax before we get started. I’m gonna stay here and convince these guys. Sounds good to you, man?”
>For a brief second you thought that Spike would run away and leave you on your own, or even worse yet, he was gonna snitch on you with Twilight. However, and as scared as he was, Spike just took a couple of steps back and observed the scene while he nervously tapped his claws together.
>After giving him a thankful nod, you turned to the guards with a much more relaxed, even playful attitude.

“Sorry for that, fellas! Where was I? Oh yeah, the deal! Hmm… Know what? No offence, but I ain’t sure you guys would make the cut for something like this. Maybe it’d be better if we just leave it here before someone gets too scared, y’know?”
>Fancy Scrolls adjusted his glasses and triumphantly glanced at his friends, “See, mates? The wee lad is ‘aving a giggle at us!” He then turned at your with a defiant gaze, “Well, I’ll let you know that we are from the Royal Guard. Know what that means, mate? It means we’re the strongest and bravest ponies in Equestria!”
“Tough words, man. Why don’t you back ‘em up while you’re at it? Take my deal right here, right now. Let’s see what you’re made of!”
>Fancy Scrolls glasses opened his mouth to speak but was promptly interrupted by another guard. This one was a pegasus stallion, fairly normal in his complexion and oddly familiar too.
>The pegasus guard energetically patted his friend on the back and let out a playful whistle, “Better think what you’re going to say, my dude. Kid here isn’t somepony you’d want to take lightly. Isn’t that right, my prince?” 
> The guy had a powerful air of confidence behind his every act, almost like he was greeting an old friend. You stood dumbfounded observing the pegasus and trying to calculate what your next move would be. 


>Spike trotted to grab your front hoof, and with a subtle tug, he leaned to your ear to whisper, “Who’s this guy?”
>After giving the pegasus a quick yet cautious glance, you turned to Spike and whispered back.
“I’ve no frickin’ clue, man. Don’t worry about anything, though. I’ll handle whatever happens, alright?”
>Spike nervously nodded and stepped back a little bit. Then, you stepped forward and raised an eyebrow and smiled at the pegasus guard.
“Seems like you know about me. Care to spills the beans before a certain angry captain gets involved?”
>The rest of the guards gasped in shock and fear, and the pegasus was no different. The fear in his eyes was almost palpable despite that sly smile drawn on his face “Come on, my prince! Did you already forget about your “dad”? Or what about that mob you sent my way back at the market?”
>Flashes of that little chase you and Moonlight had rushed through your mind. With a giant smirk on your face, you put your fore hooves behind your head and whistled.
“I remember now! You’re that Spear something guy! Hah! How you’ve been doing, man? Did you have fun with those wonderful ponies?”
>The pegasus chuckled sarcastically as he leaned closer to you, “Name’s Wind Spear… and I sure, you’ve no idea how fun it was to being chased by a bunch of old mares for half the city. It was some real fun, my prince”. 

“It’s funny you mentioned that, man! Because y’know… I remember a pony that looked a whole lotta like you wanting to bash my teeth about what… a couple weeks ago? Now those were the fun times if you ask me”
>Feeling the judging glances of his peers, Wind Spear started to sweat profusely, “I wasn’t going to…! Ah whatever” He then let out a sigh and shook his head, “Wasn’t all that bad, though. Your little stunt ended with me meeting the best gal in all of Equestria! Guess I actually owe you one, my prince”.
>Wind Spear extended his front hoof at you. There wasn’t any sign of malice on his face, in fact, you felt that he was genuinely trying to make amends and start anew with you.
>Considering this and the fact you absolutely needed all of his goodwill to pull off the entirety of your plan, you gladly shook his hoof.
“Sounds good to me, man. How about you pay me back by being the first on taking on my little deal? I promise is gonna be fun”.
>Wind Spear looked at you right in the eye, as if trying to read your thoughts. He then shook your hoof with a little more strength than necessary and said, “Alright, why not? We’ve an hour to spare, and I’m always up for some fun. What do you have for us, my prince?”

“A gamble. One of your friends throws a question. If I answer it right, you give me what do you say… two bits? But if I answer it wrong, then you get four. Fairly simple, isn’t?”
>Wind Spear threw you a cautious look, but it was the actually Fancy Scrolls the one who spoke up instead. Without coming too close, he stepped up and started dissing out at you, “No, it isn’t, mate! A wee lad like you shouldn’t be talking about adult matters like gambling! And even if you were a stallion, where’s your loicense to…!”
“What’s the problem, man? Scared a foal knows more than you do?”
>“So that’s what you think, mate?” He narrowed his big eyes and adjusted the even bigger glasses, “Loicense or not, I’ll ‘ave to teach you some manners, then”.
“Confident, huh? I like that, and you’ll certainly need it”.
>This guy’s pride was so hurt that he didn’t even consider any potential downside to the gamble. You couldn’t have gotten a bigger sucker even if you tried. With a confident smile on your face, you walked back a couple steps to where Spike was standing.
>You poked Spike who immediately caught up on your intentions and threw a small ball of green fire into the air. That was the perfect lead in to start the show.

“Because in this game, you can rise to the sky quite fast, but you can also fall to the in a blast! Fear not, because if you can survive the twist and turns, then you’ll get rid of all concerns. Step right up, folks. Winnings are high so don’t be shy! Price is 2 bits for the bet, just ask the question and you’re all set!”
>The guards looked at each other with varying degrees of excitement. Some were already lining up to take up on the challenge, while others limited themselves to cheer for their friend and take our bags of bits from their armor.
>Without needing another signal, Spike threw another green fireball. His nervousness was gone, instead replaced with pure excitement for the game. 
>Fancy Scrolls however wasn’t impressed in the slightlest. He tapped his chin and looked down at you with pure contempt, “I’m one of the Guard accountants you see, so I’ll go with something that you won’t be able to win at”.
>One of the guards groaned in response, “Come on, bro! We’re just starting and Scrolls already bring up math”.
>Today had to be your lucky day, you couldn’t have possibly asked for a better opening than this. Doing your best to contain your laughter, you looked at the other guard and smirked.
“Worry not my friend, No matter if its numbers, I’ll still bring wonders. After all, I said I would answer every question, and I mean to keep that intention”.
>Fancy Scrolls shook his head and shrugged “I’m getting tired of your rhymes, so let’s make this quick. Tell me the square root of… err, let’s say 4589”.

>You raised an eyebrow and looked at this skinny sucker right in the eye.
“No problem, man! How many decimals you want?”
>He snorted as he waved his hoof in a dismissive way, “I don’t really care! I just want to make you flock off, mate!”
>It’d be a lie to deny that this had become a little more than just winning some bits. You wanted to make this guy crash and burn like nothing else in the world. 
“If you ask it, you get it! The answer is 67.74!”
>Fancy Scrolls looked at you completely unfazed, “Is that so? Then just hold on there then!” Out of nowhere, the guy pulled an abacus that was bigger than you and started to furiously shift the colorful beads back and forth, “I ‘ave me own friend right here to prove you wrong anyway”.
>You swear that the gigantic mare scoffed at the whole scene and murmured something along the lines of, “That toy is his only friend”.
>After a good five minutes of bead calculation, Fancy Scrolls slowly walked away from the abacus. His face lacked all the contempt from before, instead replaced with pure shock, “You… you little cheater”.
>Filled with excitement, all of the guards and Spike quickly surrounded the two of you in a circle. This is it, everything had fallen into place. You tilted your head and raised an eyebrow at him.
“There’s no trick here, my man. We can try again if you want, though… for double the price of course!”

>Fancy Scrolls narrowed his eyes at you and looked back and forth from you to the group of guards, “What?! This is a scam!”
“Is that so? Well, guess I was right, you ain’t strong enough to play my game”.
>“Y-You little…! I’m strong!” It felt so good to see this guy twitching and babbling until finally caving in. With a sigh of frustration he gulped and finally threw his response, “F-Fine! Uhm… so, what’s the logarithm of…ahm, 69.2?”
“Easy, 1.84”.
>After another round of furious bead shifting, Fancy Scrolls threw his hooves and the abacus in defeat, “Correct… I don’t know how, but is correct”.
>The group of guards erupted in a mix of laughter and gasps of awe. Spike on the other hoof quickly came to you and whispered into your ear as he clapped his claws together, “Wow! You’re good at this!”
“What did I tell you, man! I made a living outta this stuff”
>You smiled at Spike and friendly tugged his arm, then you turned at Fancy Scrolls with a huge smirk on your face.
“Seems like you lost again, my friend. Hope you remember what happens after that!”
>Fancy Scrolls rolled his eyes and after taking a few bits out of his helmet, he threw them at you and returned to his group of friends while angrily mumbling to himself. It was clear that the guy wanted to leave as soon as possible, however he was stopped by the boulder of a mare that was his friend.

>Fancy Scrolls groaned in defeat and shook his head, “What do you want now, Boulder Wings?”
>The mare pulled him closer and under her massive wing, then she let out an energetic laughter and yelled, “Isn’t obvious, friend? We need you to continue this funny game! Now bring your puny toy, I’m next!”
>Fancy Scrolls raised an eyebrow and adjusted his glasses, “W-What?” Only to then being dragged like a ragdoll by Boulder Wings. 
>As annoying as he was you should be thankful to Fancy Scrolls, because not only his defeat motivated the group of guards to form a quite organized line in less than the blink of an eye, but also because every single of the questions they bombarded you with was related to math, and sometimes some basic physics problem.
>Of course, they had no frickin’ chance. You answered every single one of their lame questions as the bits rolled in, forming a small golden mountain in front of you. This victory was even sweeter thanks to Spike.
>That dragon had already threw all caution to the wind and instead decided to finally enjoy himself. He was dancing at every right answer, throwing green flares like a mad pony, and even complimenting some of your rhymes.
>After a while, the guards started to look tired and even saddened by their absolutely negative results. You on the other hood were completely entangled by the moment, you step up on the pile of bits and proudly yelled at the four winds.
“Is that all you’ve got? C’mon friends, one more round. I’ll even give six bits to the pony who can beat me at the game! Who’s next?!”
>That’s when a hoof firmly grabbed you by the shoulder as a familiar voice replied, “Nopony, game is over”. It was Twilight Sparkle, and boy she didn’t look happy at all.
>You looked left and right, only to see Spike’s enthusiasm dying faster than an old fly. The guy was frozen in his place, anxiously fidgeting his little claws. You let out a sigh and clicked your tongue.
“Aw, dang!”