Keeper of the Forest

by ShowShine

Rating: teen
Tags: Spike, Adventure, Timberwolves, Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, The Pillars, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 33398

Legend has it that one day someone will protect the Everfree forest and every creature in it

Legend has it that a keeper of the forest will come to protect the forest and every creature in it.

Contains slight blood, violence, and profanity in future chapters

I have no inspiration or love for this story and it is now up for adoption DM or comment If you want it. (Posted as of August 18th, 2024)

Published 2019-02-05 02:40:02 UTC
Last updated 2019-10-12 09:43:10 UTC

New beginning

”Legend has it that a keeper of the forest will soon appear, protecting the forest and everything in it. They will receive the stone of Amity, signifying their power. A gaurdian will be bestowed upon, protecting them from harm. The forest will provide back. This keeper must be brave, strong, caring, and smart. The keepers name is-

“SPIKE!” Twilight shouted, making Spike jump up from his sleep. Spike let out a few indecipherable mumbles before sitting up and looking around. He saw Twilight standing at the end of his bed, glaring down at him.

“You promised to go outside and get some fresh air, you’ve been inside all week reading comic books.” Twilight said sternly. Spike stared at her with a blank expression.

“I’m going back to sleep.” Spike said as he buried himself under his fluffy blanket. He felt something tug at his blanket harshly.

“You need to go outside and get some sunlight!” Twilight shouted as she forcefully pulled on the blanket.

“I’ll do it tomorrow!” Spike shouted, desperately trying to cover his face with the blanket.

“SPIKE I SWEAR TO CELESTIA I WILL GROUND YOU FOR FIVE FULL MOONS IF YOU DON’T LISTEN TO ME!” Twilight shouted angrily.

“YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!” Spike shouted back.

Spike stood at the front door, his scales drooping in annoyance. He couldn’t believe that Twilight was making him go outside. Twilight handed him his backpack.

“I packed a canteen filled with water, some snacks, a flashlight, and a first aid kit to make sure you stay safe.” Twilight said.

“Gee thanks.” Spike said sarcastically. He just wished he could stay in bed.

“I told Zecora that you would be coming over to help her organize some things while she was out of town. And I don’t expect to see you back before sunset.” Twilight said. Spike let out a groan. It was noon which meant he would have to be outside for seven hours. Twilight gave Spike a kiss on the head and pushed him out the door.

“Bye Spike, see you later!” Twilight said. Spike gave a half wave before beginning his journey.

Spike stood at the edge of the Everfree Forest, peering into the darkness. He let out a shaky breath.

“It’s just the forest, you’ve been in there plenty of times.” Spike muttered. He took in a deep breath and walked in. The forest was darker and colder than the town. Spike shivered slightly. It was eerily quiet.

“I’m halfway there, then I’ll be...” Spike trailed off when he saw something glowing from the side of his eye. Spike tilted his head.

“I’m sure Twilight won’t mind if I stop for a few minutes.” Spike said as he walked off of the path to approach the glowing object. He crouched down and picked it up, inspecting it closely. It was a small green stone with a blue and black design that resembled to a flower before blooming. It was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. Spike sniffed it. It smelt very sweet. He gave it a small lick before gagging loudly. It tasted terrible.

“That was a bad idea.” Spike said as he pulled a gem out of his bag to get rid of the taste. He stared at the stone and it seemed like he couldn’t part from it. It was as if the stone was meant for him. Spike put the stone in his bag and got up from a crouching position. Before he could start walking, he had a felt a pair of eyes burning into the back of his skull. Spike slowly turned around to see a Timberwolf standing there, letting out a low growl. Spike held back a scream.

“N-nice Timberwolf.” Spike stutter out, slowly backing away. The Timberwolf lowered its body before pouncing. Spike let out a scream and dropped to the ground, rolling over to the side. The Timberwolf missed him and turned to Spike with sharp, green eyes. Spike opened his wings and flew away. The Timberwolf started to chase him, gaining up on him quickly.

Spike flew a higher as the Timberwolf jumped up. The Timberwolfs nose barely grazed Spikes foot. The Timberwolf landed on the ground, his back leg snapping loudly. It let out a yelp of pain and loud whimpers. Blood came from the wound. Spike landed on the ground and stared at the Timberwolf from a few feet away.

“That was close.” Spike said as he turned around and started to walk away. He paused when he heard the Timberwolf let out a cry of pain. Guilt washed over him. He couldn’t just leave it like that. He turned back around to look at the Timberwolf.

The Timberwolf laid with his front paws covering his face. Spike slowly approached him, causing him to growl.

“It’s okay, I just want to help you.” Spike said. The Timberwolf looked deep into Spikes eyes before flopping over to his side, revealing his injured leg. Spike was actually surprised that worked. He opened his back and pulled out the first aid kit.

“Now this won’t hurt a bit.” Spike said as he lifted its leg slightly. He pulled out a roll of ace bandages and some antibacterial spray. He sprayed the some of the antibacterial spray on the Timberwolves leg, which caused it to yelp in pain. He wrapped the ace bandage around its leg sloppily.

“And done!” Spike said happily. He moved the Timberwolfs leg and stood up.

“I should be going now, bye.” Spike said to the Timberwolf. The Timberwolf stood up and hobbled after Spike. Spike turned around in confusion.

“You should get home now.” Spike said. The Timberwolf came closer until it was inches from his face. Spike stiffened up in fear. The Timberwolf licked his face lovingly and his tail started to wag.

“Ew gross.” Spike said while pushing the Timberwolf away. He wiped the slobber off of his cheek. Spike looked at the Timberwolf who rolled over on his back, exposing his stomach so it could be pet. Spike hesitantly put his hand on the Timberwolfs stomach and started to slowly pet it. The Timberwolf’s tail started to wag faster than before and his leg started to kick. Spike laughed.

“You’re just like a big dog!” Spike exclaimed. The Timberwolf stood up and stared at Spike happily.

“If you’re going to follow me around, then you need a name.” Spike said. He pondered for a moment, his hand on his chin.

“How about Buddy?” Spike asked the Timberwolf. Buddy’s tail wagged at the sound of that. Buddy’s stomach growled. His head snapped around when he heard a bird. A bird sat on a tree branch, it’s back facing Spike and Buddy. Buddy prowled down and slowly approached the bird, making sure to stay quiet.

Buddy try pounce up, but failed when a sharp pain came from his leg. He landed on the ground with a loud thud, causing the bird to fly away. He let out a soft growl of annoyance. Spike gave Buddy a look of sympathy.

“Come on, let’s go find you some food.” Spike said. Buddy stood up and started to follow Spike. Spike really hoped that he didn’t have to kill anything, just thinking about it made him squeamish. He searched around any type of animal, but none were in sight. It seemed that they sensed a timberwolf and dragon nearby. After a few minutes of walking Spike approached a rather large bird which was about the size of his head. It laid there motionless. It seemed to be dead.

Spike picked up a stick and poked the bird. It was definitely dead. It didn’t appear to have any markings to signify an animal killing it.

“Buddy, I found you some food.” Spike said. Buddy’s tail wagged and he limped over to the bird. He opened his mouth, preparing to eat. Spike turned his head, not wanting to see the gruesome show. He heard a squelch and loud chewing. He felt something poke his back. He turned around to see that Buddy had finished. Only a few stray feathers laid on the ground.

“Oh geez I forgot about helping Zecora!” Spike exclaimed. Buddy tilted his head in confusion.

“Now I should really get going now so you stay here.” Spike said. Buddy gave Spike a grumpy look and started to follow him. Spike let out a sigh. This would take a lot of convincing.

Spike approached Zecora’s small hut. It hadn’t really changed much since he had last been there. Spike went to go twist the doorknob. It was unlocked. There’s no need to lock your door when you’re the only one in the community. Spike opened the door and walked inside. Buddy tried to follow him but Spike pushed him by the nose.

“No no no no, you can’t come in here, you can barely fit through the door.” Spike said. Buddy let out a whimper.

“Just stay out here and I’ll be out soon.” Spike said. Buddy let out a whine before laying on the ground. Spike smiled.

“Good boy.” He said as he walked inside and closed the door behind him. Books where scattered across the floor and potion bottles laid everywhere.

“Wow this place is a mess.” Spike said. He reached into the first aid kit a pulled out a pair of plastic gloves. Time to get to work.

Spike was nearly finished with his work. Just one more bottle to put away and he was done. A loud thump came from the window, making Spike jump. He turned around to see Buddy’s face pressed up against the glass. He let out loud whimpers.

“Oh geez I forgot about Buddy.” Spike muttered to himself. He quickly put the bottle on the shelf and walked outside. Buddy approached him happily, wagging his tail wildly.

“I’m sorry I took so long.” Spike apologized. Buddy responded by licking his cheek. Spike chuckled slightly. He looked at the sky to see that he had at least an hour before the sunset.

“Let’s go Buddy.” Spike said as he started to walk away. Buddy followed him with a limp. The forest seemed a lot more peaceful with a friend.

“We’re almost there.” Spike said. Buddy tilted his head, wondering where ‘there’ was. They approached a field with a small pond and wilting flowers.

“This is where I come to get peace and quiet when Twilight is going crazy.” Spike said. He walked over to one of the wilting flowers and frowned.

“They used to be so pretty.” Spike said sadly as he touched the flower. Suddenly an idea popped into his head. He pulled out his water canteen and started to pour some on the flower. Once the flower looked well watered, he went to the next one. Buddy laid under a tree watching Spike’s every move. Once the canteen was empty, he went over to the pond and filled the canteen up. He continued to do this until every flower was watered.

“And done, that didn’t take so long.” Spike said, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. He looked up to see that the sun saw setting. He slipped his bag on his back and started to walk away. Buddy quickly got up a limped after him.

“You can’t come with me, Twilight would freak out if she saw you.” Spike said. Buddy let out a whimper. Spike thought of any excuse in order for him to get home without him following.

“I’ll come back tomorrow, I promise.” Spike said. Buddy looked at him suspiciously before letting out a sigh and walking away. Spike smiled and started to walk back to the castle. Now he could go home and never come back. Spike froze.

“I can’t just abandon him like that, I made a promise and he’s too hurt to go on by himself.” Spike said as he continued walking.

“Guess I’ll come back tomorrow.”

Back to the forest

Spike packed his backpack with supplies like a first aid kit, five water canteens, three sandwiches, a container filled with gems, and a small bag of dog treats for him and Buddy.

“Where are you going?” Twilight asked. Spike closed the bag.

“I’m going back to the forest.” Spike said. Twilight gave a look of surprise.

“Wow and it’s not even 10’oclock. What made you want to go back?” Twilight asked. Spike froze for a few seconds.

“I just find it peaceful.” Spike said as he slung his bag over his shoulders. He walked out the front door and waved to Twilight.

“Bye Twilight, see you later.” Spike said. He heard the door close behind him and he made his way to the forest.

Spike walked around the forest, looking for any sign of his new companion.

“Buddy, are you here? I brought you some snacks!” Spike said while shaking the bag of dog treats. He froze when he felt a hot breath on his neck. He jumped forwards and turned around fearfully. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Buddy sitting there.

“Don’t do that, you nearly scared me to death.” Spike scolded. Buddy let out a whimper. Spike pet his snout softly. He pulled out a dog treat and placed it in the palm of his hand. Buddy sniffed it curiously.

“It’s safe to eat.” Spike said. Buddy licked it out of his hand without hesitation. He chewed noisily on the treat. When he was finished, he licked his lips. Spike thought of what he could do for a few hours.

“Let’s go visit Peewee, but you have to promise not to eat him.” Spike said. Buddy rolled his eyes before letting out a reassuring bark. Spike smiled.

“Okay then, let’s go.” Spike said while walking away. Buddy limped after him. Spike listened to the birds chirping and the animals chatting to each other. Behind all of the peaceful noises, he heard a sharp cry.

“Do you hear that?” Spike asked Buddy, who tilted his head in confusion, not able to hear a thing. Spike followed the noise until he reached a large boulder. Under the rock there was a cockatrice with its tail stuck under it. It let out loud shrills of pain as it tried to get out. Spike slowly made his way over to it. The cockatrice opened its wings and let out a his, trying to turn Spike into stone. He closed his eyes and turned his head.

“I promise I’m not trying to hurt you, I just want to help you.” Spike said, showing the cockatrice his hands to show that the were empty. The cockatrice continued to hiss a Buddy in fear.

“Buddy stand over there, you’re scaring her.” Spike said. Buddy walked a few feet away, causing the cockatrice to calm down. He put his hands on the boulder and pushed as hard as he could. The boulder tipped over before landing on the ground with a bang. Spike put his hands on his knees to catch his breath. The cockatrice hopped up and rubbed his cheek with her head. Spike chuckled.

“You’re welcome, Now let’s get that tail fixed up.” Spike said. Her tail was red and crushed, but luckily not broken. Spike grabbed his first aid kit and pulled out a roll of ace bandages. He looked around and grabbed two sticks. He broke on of them so they could be the same length.

“Sorry if this hurts.” Spike apologized in advanced. He pulled out her tail to make it straight, making her screech in pain. He put a stick on the sides of her tail and wrapped the bandage around the top. Once he was finished, he wrapped the bandage around at the bottom, making a splint.

“And done!” Spike said. The cockatrice happily flapped her wings and nuzzled his cheek. The cockatrices stomach growled and she looked at Spike.

“Do you want some of my sandwich?” Spike asked. The cockatrice shook her head and gestured for Spike to follow her. Spike followed the cockatrice and Buddy followed a few feet behind. They soon entered a dark part of the forest, filled with cockatrice nest and sleeping cockatrice. The cockatrice pointed to a nest that had three eggs laying in it. She then pointed at Spike and then back at the eggs.

“You want me to watch your eggs?” Spike asked in surprise. The cockatrice smiled and nodded her head. Spike thought about it for a few moments.

”I can’t just leave them out here to die, anything can take them while she’s out.” Spike thought to himself.

“I’ll do it.” Spike said. The cockatrice hopped happily and left. Spike slowly sat down next to the nest, and Buddy laid down next to him. He stared at the eggs for a while. They were so small. How could anyone be afraid of cockatrice’s? Sure they turned creatures into stone, but that’s just self defense. Other than that, they were sweet creatures. Spikes thoughts got cut of when his stomach growled. He pulled a sandwich from out of his bag and was about to take a bite, when he noticed Buddy staring at the sandwich, licking his lips. Spike rolled his eyes and reached into his bag.

He pulled out the bag of dog treats and placed it in front of Buddy. He tore the bag open with his teeth and ate the treats loudly. Spike tried to take a bite, but turned around when he noticed a cockatrice standing next to him, just staring. He looked at the cockatrice in confusion.

Without any warning, the cockatrice slowly crawled onto Spike lap and took the sandwich out of his hand, eating it whole. Spike stared in shock, processing what just happened. He reached into his bag to pull out another sandwich. As soon a he took the sandwich out of the plastic wrap, the cockatrice ate it in one gulp. Buddy snickered, making Spike glare at him. Spike pulled out his last sandwich and looking the cockatrice in the eye.

“Listen you thief, this is my last sandwich so get your own food.” Spike said. The cockatrice stuck his tongue out a him. Spike slowly unwrapped the sandwich while looking the cockatrice dead in the eye. As soon as the sandwich was fully unwrapped, Spike tried to stuff the sandwich in his mouth but was stopped by the cockatrice grabbing it and eating it. He let out a defeated sigh. Buddy pushed over his remaining dog treats to Spike.

“Thanks.” Spike said as he munched on one of the treats. The cockatrice still sat in Spikes lap, not leaving anytime soon.

“I’m gonna name you Bandit because you steal things that aren’t yours.” Spike said bitterly while stuffing more treats into his mouth. Bandit licked his talons without giving him a single thought. The cockatrice from earlier showed up, holding a piece of meat in her mouth. Spike tried not to gag at the sight.

“You’re eggs are just fine...” Spike trailed off as he thought of a name for the cockatrice.

“Beatrice!” Spike said. Beatrice flapped her wings happily at that name. Spike stood up, causing Bandit to roll off of his lap, making him squawk angrily.

“I’ll see you two later.” Spike said. Bandit turned his back and Beatrice waved her wing goodbye. Spike walked away and Buddy followed behind him. They walked through the forest until the reached a part with trees that were fading from there color and phoenix’s chirping anxiously.

“Peewee!” Spike exclaimed. Peewee flew down from his nest, looking stressed out. Spike frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Spike asked. Peewee led Spike behind a few bushes to reveal shriveled up berry bushes and a ditch, which was supposed to be a lake. A few phoenixes laid there dehydrated, extremely skinny, or both. Spike stared at it in surprise. That was there only source of food and water. Spike looked at Peewee.

“I can fix this.”

Fixing the den

Spike landed in front of the weather factory. He walked inside to see pegasi working on various things like lightning bolts and making sure the raindrops were purified. Spike looked around until he found the boss. He saw a purple pegasus with yellow hair and a sun behind a cloud for a cutiemark, checking over a clipboard. He walked over and tugged on her tail, causing her to turn around. She had a name tag attached to her shirt labeled ‘Stormy Cloud.’

“What can I do for you sweetheart?” She asked in a sweet voice.

“Do you have any spare rain clouds that I can have?” Spike asked. Stormy Cloud tilted her head in confusion.

“Now what do you need rain clouds for?” Stormy Cloud asked. Spike tensed up.

“I need them for...my garden! It’s really big.” Spike said with a forced smile. Stormy Cloud nodded her head and gestured for Spike to follow her. They made there way to a large door.

“This is where we keep the defective clouds. They’re just not fluffy enough and have a tendency to leak. We usually just destroy them and start over.” Stormy Cloud said, revealing at least a hundred clouds. Spike smiled.

“How many do you need?” She asked.

“I’ll take all of them!” Spike exclaimed. Stormy Cloud gave a look of surprise.

“Do you want me to fill them up with water?” She asked.

“Yes please.” Spike said with a smile. Stormy Cloud smiled and tied the clouds together with rope, going off to fill them with water. Spike followed her to the place where they filled the clouds up. He watched the clouds get heavy as they got filled up. Once they were heavy and dark, Stormy Cloud handed him the rope.

“Here you go.” She said. Spike pulled the rope, making the clouds drag behind him like a balloon.

“Thank you, have a nice day!” Spike said as he left the weather factory. The clouds dripped water as he flew. Ponies looked up as the sun got blocked out by a string dark clouds. A camera flashed as a reporter took a picture.

When Spike saw the Everfree Forest, he sped up. He flew into the forest and hovered over the phoenix den. Peewees eyes lit up when he saw the clouds. Spike positioned the clouds over the ditch and kicked one of them. It crackled with lightning, causing all of the clouds to rain into the ditch. The ditch rapidly filled up and some water, some spilling out.

Once it stopped raining, all of the phoenixs rushed over and began drinking. Some even jumped in. Spike looked over to the dying berry bushes. He slipped his bag on his back.

“I’ll be back, make sure none of them get hurt.” Spike said to Buddy before flying off.

Spike walked into a hardware store. He walked all the way to the back to see bushes, from blueberries to gooseberries.

“Would you like to purchase a bush?” A stallions voice said from behind him.
Spike turned around to see a brown earth pony with grey hair and a goatee.

“Yes please.” Spike said.

“Which one would you like?” He asked. Spike looked at the various bushes. He would need a lot of bushes to feed all of those birds.

“I’ll take two of each.” Spike said. The stallion gave him a look of shock. There had to be at least fifty bushes. The stallion nodded his head and walked away. After a few minutes, he came back with 15 carts. The stallion started to put three bushes in each cart. The stallion brought them to the counter so he could pay. On his way to the counter, Spike spotted a shovel from the side of his eye. There was no way he could plant the bushes without a shovel. He picked up the shovel and placed it on the counter. A purple mare wearing glasses pressed a few buttons on the cash register.

“That’ll be 105 bits.” The mare said. Spike dug in his bag and pulled out his container of gems. He dumped the gems on the counter. The mare gaped at them. That many gems could keep the store in business for years.

“Keep the change.” Spike said before walking out with the shovel and the bushes.

Spike arrived at the phoenix den to see many of them were laying there, bellies filled with water but nothing else. Spike picked up the shovel and dig into the roots of a bush. He pushed the shovel, causing the bush to up root. He pulled it to the side and placed a bush in the hole. He buried it and went to the next bush.

Once he finished, the phoenixs rushed over to the bushes and started to gobble the berries up. Peewee rubbed Spikes hand in gratitude before flying over to the bush. He looked over to the dead bushes. He turned his head to Buddy.

“Wasn’t Beatrices nest build out of dead roots?”

“Beatrice we’re back!” Spike exclaimed. A few cockatrices got up and hissed at him, ready to attack. For some reason, Spike didn’t feel any fear.

Buddy let out a growl, ready to attack. Spike put his hand in front of Buddy’s chest, causing him to take a few steps back. The cockatrices took slow steps towards them, trying to turn them into stone. Buddy let out yelps and whimpers as his legs turned to stone. Spikes legs started to stiffen as they started to turn to stone.

Spike tossed one of the bushes in front of the cockatrices, causing them to jump back. They stared at the bush and went to pick at it. Spike pulled the bush back.

“You can have all of these bushes if you turn us back to normal.” Spike said sternly. The cockatrices nodded there head and Spike started to feel his legs again. He moved out of the way and let the cockatrices pick from the bushes. He looked at the carts and shrugged his shoulders.

“I can just leave them here, it won’t harm anybody.” Spike said. He looked up to the sky to see the sun was setting. He turned to Buddy and pet the side of his heads.

“Bye Buddy, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Spike said as he walked away. Buddy limped in a different directection, disappearing into the forest.

Spike looked through the library, pulling out a few books.

“I thought you were going to bed.” Twilght said. Spike looked at her, holding onto a few books.

“I’m just gonna do a little reading before bed.” Spike said as he flew out of the library. He flew into his room and closed the door behind him before tossing the books on his bed. Twilight would never approve of this book abuse. Spike grabbed a journal and a quill. He flopped down on his bed and flipped open one of the books.

“If I’m going to be taking care of these animals, I need to learn about them.” Spike said to himself. The first page of the book was about timberwolves.

”Timberwolves are highly dangerous animals that are apart of the dog family. They have sharp teeth that can rip through flesh and eyes that can help them see in the dark.

They can go months without eating, which is how they survive through the winter without any other creature. They can easily break any of their body parts and replace them with sticks, leaves, and mud. They will eat anything that they can get. Their diets contain of mostly meat.

Timberwolf cubs can be easily mistaken for hairless puppies, due to there sticks looking like skin. By the time they hit their first growth spurt, there sticks loosen, making them look like adult timberwolves.”
Next to the text, there was a diagram of a timberwolf.

Spike wrote down the important parts before he felt his eyes droop. He had done a lot of work that day and it really tired him out.

Spike closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Why did it have to be them

Spike walking into the forest slowly, looking for Buddy. It was eight in the morning, which baffled Twilight. Spike was never even awake at this hour, and if he was he was never active. Spike looked down to see a large paw print imprinted in the ground. The paw prints led to a cave.

“These are definitely timberwolf prints.” Spike said to himself. He followed the prints until he walked in the cave. Timberwolves laid there, some sleeping, some playing with each other. A few timberwolves turned around when the heard Spike enter the cave. A timberwolf pup hopped over to him and rolled over on its back, exposing it’s stomach. Spike smiled and pet its stomach, making the pup let out a yip of approval. Buddy galloped toward Spike with his tail wagging wildly.

“Hey Buddy!” Spike said happily. “I found out a way to fix you leg.” He continued. Buddy tilted his head in confusion when he saw him pour some water onto the dirt, making mud. Spike pulled out a stick from his bag and unwrapped the bandage from around his leg, revealing a broken stick that jutted out like a sore thumb.

“This might hurt.” Spike said. He dug his claws into the broken stick and tugged on it, making a large snapping noise. It broke off and Buddy howled in pain. A few timberwolves stood up and got into defensive stances, ready to attack Spike. He dropped the stick on the ground. He picked up the other stick and slathered it in mud. He pushed it into the empty spot. The stick clicked in instantly. Buddy stared at his now healed leg. His tail started to wag and he licked Spike on the cheek happily.

“You’re welcome.” Spike said with a giggle. The timberwolves as down and stared happily at the display. Spike stood up abd started to walk out the cave.

“Let’s go Buddy.” Spike said. Buddy ran up to him with ease, his tail still wagging. They walked through the forest together.

“Where should we go first?” Spike asked. Buddy opened his mouth to respond, but a loud roar echoed across the forest, making them freeze. Buddy got in front of Spike defensively, letting out a growl.

“What was that?!” Spike asked in surprise. Another roar echoed across the forest, causing a few birds to fly away. Spike flew over Buddy’s head.

“Let’s go check it out.” Spike said while flying to the direction of the roar. Buddy let out a huff before following him.

They approached a large cave where the noise was coming from. A growl emitted from it. A few parasprites flew out. Spike tilted his head. He walked into the cave to see parasprites flying around. Under them, a group of pukwudgies shot out quills. In the corner of the room, an Ursa Major held her baby close to her chest, letting out loud snarls. Spike looked at Buddy.

“You try to get the pukwudgies out of here, I’ll be back.” Spike said before flying off. Buddy walked over to a pink pukwudgie. It was smaller than the rest of them. Buddy let out a small bark. The pukwudgie turned to look at him before shooting a quill in his face. Buddy jumped back and pawed at his face, getting the quill out. He let out a loud growl and snapped his teeth at it. The pukwudgie let out a squeak of fear and ran out of the cave. A few pukwudgies growled in fear when they saw Buddy approaching them.

Buddy let out a bark, causing a few pukwudgies to shoot more quills at him. He let out a whine and took a few steps back. He ran out of the cave as he got barricaded with quills. He stood outside of the cave and started to shake the quill off of himself. Next to him, the pukwudgie from before stood next to him. The pukwudgie took a few steps back in fear. Buddy got closer to it before licking its cheek. The pukwudgie let out a hiss and scattered up a tree. Buddy turned around when he heard Spike walking towards him. Spike held a flute in his hands and lifted up to his mouth.

Spike played an upbeat tune, causing all of the parasprites to stop moving. They all turned towards the music and bopped to beat. The flew out of the cave in a swarm. Spike turned around and started to walk through the forest, the parasprites following happily. Soon, they approached a large river. Above the river, a group of flyders buzzed loudly. The parasprites happily flew towards the flyders. The flyders buzzed in excitement. Spike pulled out his journal and started to write. As he wrote, he walked back towards the cave.

”Parasprites and flyders get along very well.” Spike wrote down. He looked up to see that he had approached the cave. He saw Buddy covered in quills, letting out loud whimpers. He didn’t seem like we was in pain, just scared. He shook his body, making the quills shoot from different angles. Spike held up his leather journal, shielding himself from them. He put the journal on the floor and took a book out of his bag.

“Pukwudgies are very violent creatures, but will calm down for berries, poison joke, fresh biteacudas, and dragon sneeze flowers.” Spike read out loud. He pulled out a large container of berries. It contained of blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries. He opened the container and put a few on the ground. Three pukwudgies left the cave to the smell of berries. They ran over to the berries and devoured them instantly. They saw the container in Spike’s hands and went to grab for it. Spike shook his head and pulled it out of their reach.

“You can’t have anymore berries unless you leave this Ursa Major alone and bring all of your friends with you.” Spike said. The pukwudgies gave him a grumpy look. One of them rolled its eyes and ran over to the cave. It let out a high pitched shrill, causing the rest of them to run out. Once they were all out, Spike poured more berries onto the ground. The pukwudgies got into a pile, fighting over the berries. After they finished, they walked away deep into the forest.

A small pink pukwudgie climbed out of the tree and slowly approached Spike. When he looked at it, it cowered back in fear. Spike crouched down.

“I won’t hurt you.” Spike said softly, putting his hand out. The pukwudgie sniffed his hand. He rubbed his head against Spike’s hand. He pet his head, making the pukwudgie let out a purr.

“You must be hungry.” Spike said. He pulled out some berries and placed them in the palm of his hand. The pukwudgie nibbled on the berries until they were gone. Spike stood up from his crouching position.

“You should go back to your friends now.” Spike stated. The pukwudgie let out a whine and crawled into his bag.

“You want to stay with me?” Spike asked. The pukwudgie nodded his head.

“Well if you’re going to stay with me, you need a name.” Spike said. He thought for a moment.

“Ozzy!” Spike exclaimed happily. Ozzy let out a chirp of happiness. He put his bag on his back and walked into the cave. He saw the Ursa Major holding her cub close to her. She let out a growl when she saw Spike, causing Buddy to stand in front of him protectively.

“I just want to see if you’re okay.” Spike said reassuringly. The Ursa Major looked into his eyes before placing her child in front of him. She had a quill stuck on her ear. Spike pulled out a bandaid from his bag and flew up next to her ear. He pulled out the quill, making her let out a soft squeak. He placed the bandaid over her ear and gave it a soft kiss.

“All better.” Spike said. The Ursa Major smiled and tried to lick Spike’s cheek, but ended up licking his whole body. He gave a disgusted look as he was covered in saliva.

“Gross!” Spike exclaimed. He could hear Buddy snicker from the ground, causing him to glare at him. He flew to the ground and shook his body off. Buddy stuck out his tongue in disgust as some got on him.

“You’re welcome, see you later!” Spike said to them as he left the cave. Once they were outside, he looked at Buddy.

“Where should we go next?” Spike asked. Ozzy peaked out of the bag and sniffed into the air. He pointed in a certain direction, letting out a squeak.

“I guess we’re going this way.” Spike said, and with that they walked in a random direction, surely to get killed.

They approached a nest in the cockatrice
part of the forest. Inside the nest, a piece of meat sat inside. There was still some blood on it. Spike tried not to gag at the sight. Ozzy hopped out of his bag and went to eat. They heard a loud screech come from behind them. Spike turned around to see Bandit angrily charging at them. He approached Ozzy and snatched the meat from his grasp, letting out a hiss in the process. Bandit kicked him out of his nest and chewed on his food.

“Bandit, that’s mean!” Spike exclaimed. Buddy helped Ozzy up. Ozzy let out a soft whimper, causing Bandit to freeze. He looked down at his food for a moment and let out a sigh. He let out a quiet chirp, making Ozzy look at him. Ozzy walked over to his nest and took a bite of the meat.

Bandit watched him as he continued to eat. Once Ozzy finished, he curled up into Bandits side and dozed off.

“Aw, you made a friends.” Spike said. Bandit glared at him and ate the remainder of the food. Ozzy hadn’t really eaten that much.

“Let’s go check on Beatrice.”

Guess I’m a dad now

“Hi Beatrice.” Spike said as he approached her nest. She let out a squawk of surprise when she saw him. She smiled and rubbed her head against his leg. He looked at her tail.

“Your tail should be better in a few weeks.” Spike said. Beatrice let out a squawk and pointed to her eggs. They had little spots on them, which weren’t there the day before. Spike read that that happened to cockatrice eggs when they were close to hatching.

“It looks like they’ll hatch any day now!” Spike exclaimed happily. Beatrice nodded her head with a smile on her face. A shadow loomed over them, making them look up. A roc flew overhead, making it’s way to a nearby cave. A loud bang rang through the forest and a spear launched across the sky, hitting the roc in the chest. Spike let out a gasp of shock. The roc started to fall, soon getting completely out of sight.

“We need to save her.” Spike said. He flew off into the direction where the roc fell. Buddy ran after him.

Spike approached a roc who was lying on her side and breathing heavily. A spear was stuck in her chest and blood poured out. He flew over to her. The roc let a a weak defensive caw.

“I’m here to help.” Spike said, pulling out a first aid kit. The roc dragged herself on the ground, desperately trying to get to the cave. Spike flew up to eye level of the roc.

“You’re bleeding out, you need to stay still.” Spike said. The roc pushed him away with her beak, causing him to stumble back. Buddy ran towards her, pressing his paws on her beak. He was trying to hold her down. She weakly lifted her head, causing Buddy to fly off of her beak and fall straight onto his back.

The roc reached her wing out before letting out a weak squawk, and it dropped to the ground. Spike felt himself crying. He hadn’t even had a connection with this bird but it felt like her known her for years. He wiped the tears from his eyes, breathing shakily. Buddy licked the tears off of his cheeks, trying to comfort him.

“Who would do this?” Spike asked. Hunting in Equestria was illegal. Ponies didn’t even eat meat, they usually just kept the animal remains for decoration. The only time it was legal to kill creatures if they were being attacked.

“I wonder why she was so desperate to get to the cave.” Spike thought out loud. He walked into the cave to see a large nest. He climbed inside it. It was actually pretty soft. Spike gasped when he saw what was in the middle of the nest. An egg about the same height as him. Buddy hopped in the nest with ease. He placed his hand on the egg. It was a little warm but getting cold.

“Try to keep the egg warm, I’ll go get blankets.” Spike said. Buddy walked over to the egg and wrapped his body around it. Spike flew out the cave. He froze when he left the cave. The roc was gone. Who could have taken a 20 foot roc without him or Buddy noticing. Only a few stray feathers laid on the ground. There was no trace of blood at all.

Spike shook his head. He had to forget about that right now. He had to work fast, timberwolves had little to no body heat at all. They only had tiny flames where there hearts should be. Spike flew into the castle of the two sisters. He zipped down the hallway and approached a room filled with beds. He pulled the fluffy blankets of of a few of the beds and left the castle. Hopefully he could make it back before the egg got too cold.

Spike flew into the cave to see Buddy still coiled around the egg. Buddy unwrapped his body from the egg. Spike wrapped the blankets around the egg.

“We need to find another roc to take in the egg before it hatches.” Spike said to Buddy. Buddy took a few steps back from the egg, that was starting to shake. Spike turned around to look at the egg with wide eyes. The egg started to crack and a small yellow beak poked out. The egg shell started to fall apart. A roc chick laid there, covered in wetness. She had no feathers and was shivering. Her eyes opened and she looked at Spike. She had yellow eyes and blue pupils. She tried to stand up, but stumbled.

Spike ran over to the to chick. She leaned her body onto him, letting out a soft chirp. Spike wrapped her around in one of the fuzzy blankets. She nuzzled into the blanket.

“Buddy, go get Beatrice.” Spike said. Buddy nodded his head and climbed out of the nest. Spike pulled a book out of his bag. He flipped to the pages rocs.

”Roc chicks are nothing like there adult counterparts. They are incredibly sweet and rarely attack. Other birds grow feathers in 6 weeks while rocs grown feathers in 3 weeks. It takes up to twenty years for rocs to grow fully.

Their diets contain of worms, berries, fish, and deer. When they are first hatched, they only eat worms and berries.” Spike read out loud. He reached in his bag and pulled out a container of berries. He put some in his hands and crushed them. The roc opened her mouth and Spike poured the berries in. Since she was just a baby, she was content on what she ate and didn’t need anymore. Buddy hopped over the nest with Beatrice on his back. Beatrice let out a soft gasp when she saw the roc chick and ran over to her.

Beatrice let her maternal instincts kick in and she checked to see if the roc was healthy. One of her wings were much smaller than the other, but other than that she was fine.

“Can you take care of her for me?” Spike asked. Beatrice looked at the roc and nodded her head. Spike let out a sigh of relief and stood up. The roc let out a chirp and tried to follow Spike.

“You can’t come with me, you have to stay here with Beatrice.” Spike said. The roc rubbed her head against Spike, trying to get him to stay. He picked up the book and tried to find a way for her to stay in the forest. His eyes widened.

“Oh no you imprinted on me.” Spike said. The roc rubbed up against his body, trying to get warmth. He wrapped a blanket around her, causing her to settle in.

“I need to find a way to bring you with me without Twilight finding out.” Spike muttered to himself. She rubbed her head against his cheek.

“I’ll name you Debbie.” Spike said. Debbie let out a soft coo and closed her eyes. Spike thought to himself for a moment. What’s a way for Debbie to come with him without anyone finding out. She couldn’t stay in the forest alone.

“I have an idea.”

Sneaking her in and out

Spike walked into the castle with a cart trailing behind him. In the cart, there was a pile of blankets.

“Oh, you’re back.” Twilight said, approaching Spike. Spike put on a fake grin, already sweating from nervousness.

“Hey Twilight, how are you doing?” Spike asked, his voice shaking. She tilted her head.

“What’s in the cart?” Twilight asked. Spikes scales dropped.

“Oh you know, stuff for school.” He said.

“Well I shouldn’t hold you up on your work.” Twilight said. Spike let out a breath of relief and ran to his room. As he ran, Twilight could have sworn she saw the blanket move a little bit and heard a chirp.

Spike stood in his room, catching his breath. Once he caught his breath, he moved the blankets, revealing Debbie. She flapped her wings in excitement when she saw Spike. She let out a squawk.

“Shh, no one can know you’re here.” Spike whispered. He picked Debbie up and placed her on the floor. She looked around happily and hopped on Spikes bed. She nuzzled into his blanket, letting out a soft coo. Spike chuckled when he saw at the sight. Debbie’s stomach growled, causing her to look at him.

“I’ll go get you some food, just stay here.” Spike said. He walked out of his room and made sure to close the door behind him. Spike walked down the hallway and into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and pulled out a container of worms. He closed the fridge door and jumped when he saw Twilight standing there.

“I just realized you don’t even go to school, what was that cart for?” Twilight asked. Spikes scales dropped and he thought of an answer. Suddenly, there was a loud bang and a puff of teal smoke came from the throne room. Twilight let out a groan.

“I told Starlight not to start practicing without me.” Twilight said before running out the room. Spike quickly flew out of the kitchen before Twilight got back.

Spike flew into his room, closing the door behind him. Debbie still laid in his bed, sitting up when she saw him. He sat next to her and opened the container and took out a few worms. Debbie opened her mouth and quickly guzzled down the worms in one bite.

“Wow, you were really hungry.” Spike said. Debbie nuzzled into his neck, chirping softly. He pet her head softly. The sound of faint hoof steps coming towards his room.

“You need to hide.” Spike said in a whisper. He picked Debbie up and placed her in a chest. He closed it and placed a few books it, weighing it down. Twilight knocked on his door.

“Come in!” Spike exclaimed. Twilight walked in the room with teal powder all over her and frazzled hair.

“Can you help me clean the library? Starlight messed up a spell and dust is everywhere.” Twilight stated. Spike placed his hands on the chest.

“Sure thing.” He said as the top of the chest opened slightly. Spike slammed the chest shut and put on a fake grin, hoping Twilight didn’t see anything. He pushed her out of the room.

“Let’s get to cleaning.” Spike said, shutting the door behind him. Hopefully this would be quick.

Spike wiped the sweat from his brow, finally finished cleaning. It had taken two hours. It was a miracle that they finished that quickly. The whole library was basically destroyed.

“Sorry for messing up the library...again.” Starlight said, rubbing the back of her head.

“It’s fine, just stop doing complicated spells on your own.” Twilight said. Spike stood there, tapping his foot impatiently. He left Debbie alone in a chest for two hours! She shouldn’t be left alone for that long.

“Are you going back to the forest tomorrow?” Twilight asked. Spike nodded his head.

“Go to bed, you don’t want to be tired in the morning.” Twilight stated. Spike quickly flew towards the door.

“Don’t eat too many worms before bed!” Twilight exclaimed while Spike flew down the hallway. He sped up.

”Hopefully she’s okay.” Spike thought to himself. He quickly flew into his room, closing and locking the door behind him. He took the books off of the chest and opened it. Debbie looked up, her eyes adjusting to the light. She had an aqua blue ribbon in her mouth. She happily flapped her wings when she saw him.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to leave you alone for that long.” Spike said while taking her out of the chest. She kept the ribbon in her mouth.

“You like the ribbon?” Spike asked. Debbie nodded her head. He took it out of her mouth and tied it around her neck, making a pretty bow.

“There, now you can always have it.” Spike said. Debbie let out a happy coo before letting out a yawn. Spike yawned with her.

“We both need to go to sleep.” Spike said while carrying her into his bed. Debbie curled up into his side and fell asleep instantly. Spike liked the warm feeling and his eyes started to droop. Soon enough, they were both sleeping peacefully.

Spike awoke to the feeling of something rubbing up against his face. He opened his eyes to see Debbie staring at him.

“Good morning.” Spike said. Debbie let out a happy chirp. He looked out the window to see that the sun was rising.

“Twilight and Starlight should still be asleep, let’s go take a shower.” Spike said. He knew it wouldn’t be smart to leave her in his room alone again, she could leave his room and wander off. He hopped off of his bed and went to the chest that Debbie was in before. He rummaged through it and pulled out a pair of swimming goggles. He and Debbie where about the same size, so it should be able to fit her.

“You have to be quiet so no one knows that you’re here.” Spike said in a hushed tone. Debbie nodded her head. She was learning quickly despite only being less than a day old. The book said something about rocs mentally developing faster than other creatures. Spike unlocked his room door and looked down the hallway. No one was in sight. He held onto her featherless wing and led her down the hallway. Soon, they both made it into the bathroom and Spike locked the door behind him. He turned on the shower to lukewarm water. Spike untied the bow from around Debbie’s neck, making her let out a angry squawk.

“Calm down, I’m just taking it off so it doesn’t get wet. Now stay still.” Spike said while placing the swim goggles over her eyes. He picked her up and placed her in the shower, causing her to flap her wings. Spike stepped in with her.

“Stop moving.” Spike said as he rubbed her back. Debbie relaxed under her touch. She started to jump around, causing Spike to chuckle.

“You really like water don’t you?” Spike asked playfully. Debbie continued to splash around, letting out happy chirps. He put some soap on her head, causing her to let out a chirp of surprise. Luckily he had a special type of soap that wasn’t meant for ponies. Regular soap irritated his scales, so he used animal shampoo.

“Calm down, it won’t hurt you.” Spike said while continuing to rub her head. She pressed her head on his hands, closing her eyes. After a few minutes of cleaning them both, Spike turned off the shower. He picked Debbie up and took her out of the tub. He flew out and wrapped a towel around her, starting to dry her off. She shook the excess water of her body. Spike dried himself off. He unlocked the bathroom door and looked down the hallway.

“Let’s hurry up and leave before anyone notices that you’re here.” Spike said while taking the goggles off of her and tying the ribbon back around her neck. He picked her up and ran to his room. Luckily she was very light. He closed his room door behind him. Spike placed Debbie in the cart and gave her some worms.

“Remember, you have to be quiet.” Spike said as he placed blankets over her. He walked down the hallway, trying to look casual. A blur of rainbow zipped pass him, causing the blankets to move. Spike quickly adjusted the blanket.

“What’s up sport?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Oh um, nothing much.” Spike said. She tilted her head.

“What’s im the cart?” She asked, starting to lift up the blanket. Spikes eyes widened.

“Is that a Daring Do!?” Spike exclaimed, pointing behind her. Rainbow Dash’s face lit up.

“WHERE?” She exclaimed, turning around. Her face dropped when she didn’t see her.

“Spike, Daring Do isn’t...” Rainbow Dash trailed off when she saw that Spike had disappeared.

“That was wierd.” Rainbow Dash said before heading off to show Twilight her new tricks.

Spike stood at the edge of the forest, completely out of breath.

“That was too close.” Spike said. He moved the blankets out of the way so Debbie could see.

“Let’s go find Buddy.”

Making something new

Spike entered the Timberwolf cave to see Buddy laying on his back. He hopped up when he saw Spike and ran over to him. He let out a laugh as Buddy licked his cheek affectionately. A few timberwolves stared at the display.

“I saw you yesterday, you’re being dramatic.” Spike said playfully, pushing him away. Debbie let out a chirp from the cart, making Spike look at her. A small breeze blew, making her shiver. She cuddled into the blankets, still shaking. A crack of thunder echoed around the forest, causing them to look up. Dark storm clouds rolled in, causing the forest to go dark.

“I forgot that it’s supposed to storm all week. We can’t stay out here, Debbie doesn’t have feathers yet and she’ll be cold.” Spike said. Buddy walked over to Debbie and leaned on her, trying to give her warmth.

“That’s not going to work, you're made out of sticks, I don’t think that’s very warm.” Spike stated. He thought for a moment, wondering where they could go. A drop of rain hit his nose.

“I know where we can go, but we need to hurry before it starts raining.” Spike said. He ran off, holding the cart tightly and Buddy ran after.

They approached the castle of the two sisters. In front of them there was a large, rickety bridge. The bridge swayed with the wind. Spike hooked the cart onto Buddy’s back.

“Make sure you and Debbie get inside safely, I’ll catch up.” Spike stated. Buddy nodded his head and started to cross the bridge. His legs shook with every step and Debbie hid her face in the blankets. A large gust of wind shook the bridge, causing Buddy to run full speed out of panic. The bridge shook wildly as he got to the other side. Buddy and Debbie has made it safely. He let out a bark to Spike.

“It’s fine, I’m coming!” Spike exclaimed. He stepped onto the shaking bridge. The rain had started to pour heavily. He couldn’t fly across, the wind was too strong. It would knock him into the ditch below. With each step he felt the bridge rock back and forth. Without any warning, the bridge collapsed under him.

Spike let out a loud scream and clutched onto the ropes. His hands started to burn from the friction. The bridge slammed into the side of the rock, knocking the wind out of him. He let out shaky breaths, clutching on to the rope. The cold rain poured over his body. Buddy let out a loud bark, causing Spike to look up. He could see the silhouette of Buddy standing at the edge of the cliff.

“I’m right here, don’t worry! Just go inside, I’ll be fine!” Spike reasurred through the howling wind. He look back down and clutched on to the rope, making his knuckles turn white. The claws on his feet dig into the wooden planks. He used all of his strength to pull himself up. His hands burned from the friction. The rain made the burning sensation worse.

“Almost...there.” Spike grunted as he saw the ledge get closer. One of his hands let go of the rope and he dug his claws into the dirt. He pulled himself up, panting heavily. He laid on the ground for a moment, letting the cold rain pour over him. He closed his eyes for a moment. After a what felt an eternity he got up and walked into the castle. He closed the door behind him, making a loud slam.

“Are you two okay?” Spike asked. He touched Debbie’s wing and jerked hand back.

“You’re freezing. I have to get you warmed up.” Spike said. He took his bag out of the cart and sling it over his shoulders. Next, he took Debbie out of the cart and held her wing, leading her to a room. Buddy followed them close behind, whimpering loudly.

They approached a large bedroom with a queen sized bed and a desk in the corner. There was a large window and next to the desk, a large bookshelf pressed against the wall. Spike picked Debbie up and placed her in the bed, wrapping her in blankets. She let out a soft coo, cuddling into the blankets.

“That should warm you up.” Spike stated with a smile. In an instant, Debbie fell asleep. Spike smiled. Buddy let out a whimper while sniffing Spike, looking for injuries. Spike flinched back when his nose pressed against his hands. He looked at his hands to see that they were red with open wounds. He walked over to the bed and pulled out a first aid kit from his bag. He opened it and pulled out some ointment and ace bandages.

Spike rubbed the ointment on his hands. Once he finished, he wrapped them up in bandages. Buddy sniffed his hands.

“I’m fine, see?” Spike said while showing Buddy his hands. Buddy’s tail wagged happily and he licked Spike on the cheek. He pushed him away and wiped his cheek off. Buddy tilted his head and started to sniff the ground. He started to walk, following the scent. He approached a book let out a snuff, scratching his nose. Spike picked up the book. It smell like fancy perfume.

“This must be one of Rarity’s fashion books.” Spike stated. This book was different from the other fashion books. Instead of having fancy dresses in it, it had pictures of saddles and harness. Rarity must have tried to get Applejack into fashion again. Buddy’s tail wagged wildly when he looked at the book.

“What is it?” Spike asked in confusion. He had never seen Buddy that excited, even though he has only known him for four days. Buddy lifted up his paw and pawed at a picture. It was a picture of a stallion wearing a saddle.

“You want a saddle?” Spike asked, cocking an eyebrow. Ponies only wore saddles so it wouldn’t damage there backs when they carried heavy objects. In Sunset Shimmers universe, ponies wore saddles so people could ride them. Buddy nodded his head and hopped up and down. Spike giggled at the display. He flipped to the back of the book and found step by step instructions on how to make a saddle.

“I think Rarity has some fabric here.” Spike said to himself. He looked at the instructions.

“We just need some wood.” Spike thought out loud. A loud crack of thunder came from outside, causing them both to look out the window. Three large trees got struck by lighting, causing them to fall onto the ground with a bang.

That was convenient.

Spike stood in front of Buddy, taking his measurements. Once he finished, he wrote down the measurements. He had already gotten the sketches down and took the bark off of the trees. The wood had been sketched into to make a shape of a saddle.

“It’s a good thing Applejack left some tools here.” Spike said while picking up a buzz saw and placing it on the table. He placed a pair of goggles over his eyes and slipped on gloves. He started to carve. He had seen Big Mac to stuff like this billions of times. He watched him build stuff like chicken coops and fences. He even helped sometimes. It wasn’t to dangerous for him since he had tough scales that were hard to cut through. Buddy laid in the corner of the room, watching Spike’s every move. Chips of wood flew in every direction.

Spike was surprisingly almost done. The wood was very soft. It must have soften when it got struck by lightning. It peeled off easily like a grape.

“And done!” Spike exclaimed, holding up four pieces of a saddle. Buddy tilted his head in confusion.

“It’s not completely done, I still need to put the pieces together and sew over it with leather.” Spike explained. He took a drill out of the tool box and placed the buzz saw on the floor. This was going to be a piece of cake.

Spike held a freshly made saddle in his hands. It had smooth black leather and had a harness connected to the front. Spike walked over to Buddy and started to put the saddle on him. He started with the saddle, placing it on his back gently. Next he pulled the harness around his neck, which secured the harness to his back. After he was finished, Buddy looked at the saddle curiously, smelling at it.

“Do you like it?” Spike asked. With out any warning, Buddy pounced on him and started to lick his face happily. Spike let out sputters and flailed around under his grasp. A loud crack of thunder came from outside, causing Buddy to stop. Spike stood up and wiped the spit off of himself before looking out the window. It was raining even harder than before. The sun was setting and there was no way he could get home in this weather.

They were trapped in the castle.

Trapped inside

Spike paced around the room, waiting for a response from Twilight. He had sent a letter to her, telling her what happened. Buddy laid on the floor, staring at Spike with a tilted head. Spike let out a burp and a letter fell on the floor. Buddy sniffed the letter curiously. It smelled like books and stress. He picked up the letter and started to read.

”Dear Spike, I’m glad you’re safe. Stay put until the storm passes over. There’s some food in the kitchen that should last you for the rest of the week.
Stay safe, Sincerly Twilight Sparkle.” Spike read to himself. He chuckled to himself. Twilight still wrote her full name even when she was writing to her friends.

“I guess we’ll have to stay here for a while.” Spike said to Buddy. He stood up and his tail started to wag. Spike looked around. There wasn’t much to do here.

“How about we test your saddle?” Spike suggested. Buddy’s tail wagged and he bounced excitedly. Spike smiled. He tried to climb onto Buddy’s back, but failed when he kept moving.

“Stay still.” Spike said. He successfully pulled his body onto the saddle and held onto the horn of the saddle. He slipped his feet through the stirrups on both sides.

“Let’s take this nice and slow.” Spike stated. Buddy crouched down excitedly and sprang into action. He ran down the hallway at full speed, his tongue hanging out. Spike let out loud screams of fear. He gripped onto the saddle, hanging on for his life.

“SLOW DOWN!” Spike exclaimed in fear. Buddy ignored his cries. He made a sharp turn down the hallway, knocking over a table. He hopped into the air and let his claws scrape against the wall, making another sharp turn. He ran up a flight of stairs. Buddy continued to run forward, approaching a dead end.

“BUDDY TURN AROUND WE’RE GONNA CRASH!” Spike shouted urgently. Buddy ignored his shouting and sped up. He jumped up and ran into the wall. The wall flipped around, causing them to enter a room. Buddy stopped running and let Spike slide off of his back. He let out shaky breaths.

“I said ‘nice and slow’! That wasn’t NICE AND SLOW!” Spike exclaimed in anger. Buddy rolled his eyes and turned him around. He let out a small gasp at what he saw. They were in a giant library that was bigger than the library upstairs. It was very clean, which was odd because none of his friends had been in here. They would have surely marveled about the size and the cleanliness. Spike could see his reflection off of the wooden floor. The walls were a dark purple. There was a desk pressed against the wall with a small green lamp on it. A grey chair with wheels sat in front of it. There was a small window above the desk, where he could see the storm worsen.

“Woah, this place is so cool.” Spike gawked, looking at the dozens of bookshelves towering over him. Buddy nudged his back, causing him to turn around. In his mouth, there was a red book. He took the book out of his mouth. It had no title, only a picture of a golden flower. He opened the book to see it was a potion book. It was different though. He had never heard of most of these potions. ‘Gift of Life’ and ‘Protection Bubble.’ All of the potions contained some type of plant.

“Where did you get this book?” Spike asked. Buddy walked over to a spot and pawed at the shiny tile. It was odd for a book to just be laying there in such a clean place. Spike noticed that the tile was sticking out of the ground slightly. He pulled it up and dust flew out, causing him and Buddy to cough. Spike looked under the tile to see a small storage space. It was like a tiny cabinet filled with empty potion bottles and other potion making things. He pulled them out and inspected them closely. For something to be covered in dust for so long, it was surprisingly clean. At the bottom of the hole, he spotted something shiny.

“What’s this?” Spike asked, pulling out the fabric. He held a dark green cloak with deep pockets in each side. It had a small pocket on the chest. There was a small golden button on the collar that had the letters ‘FK’ carved into it. It didn’t have any dust, rips, or tears in it, it was looked like it was brand new. Oddly enough, it was a perfect size for Spike. He slipped the cloak on. The sleeves went down to his wrist and the cloak only showed his feet. His wings popped out of two small holes in the back. He buttoned it and turned to Buddy.

“How do I look?” He asked. Buddy wagged his tail and let out a bark of approval. All the way at the bottom of the hole, there was a small purple box. He pulled it out and opened it. Inside, there was a pair of dark green gloves, shoes with black stone at the soles, and a white mask. They could all fit Spike.

“This is getting weird.” Spike said uncomfortably. Buddy’s ears perked up and he turned towards the entrance, letting out a whimper.

“What is it?” Spike asked. Buddy picked Spike up by the back of his neck and tossed him onto the saddle. He ran out of the room in an urgent pace. Whatever was going on it had to be bad.

They entered the room to see Debbie huddled on to the bed, shaking. She looked pale and sickly. She let out weak chirps, causing Spikes eyes to widen. He rushed over to her side.

“You must have gotten sick from the rain.” Spike commented. Debbie leaned into his side, letting her eyes droop shut. Since she was only a day old, her immune system wasn’t fully developed. Spike thought about what he could do. He couldn’t use any medicine they had in the castle, is wasn’t meant for birds and would make her worse.

“Let’s see if there are any books on medicine in the library that we found.” Spike stated. He wrapped Debbie in some blankets and picked her up. There was no way he could leave her alone in the room by herself.

Spike sat at a desk with his head in his hands. He had gone through half of the books and hadn’t found one on medicine. To make it worse, he could feel himself getting sick from being in the rain. He was shivering and his throat burned. Because of his fever, it made him more annoyed that he couldn’t find any type of cure for her cold. His cloak laid on the floor next to the desk. Debbie leaned on the cloak with closed eyes. Buddy nudged his side lightly, causing Spike to push him away.

“I’ll take a break later, I just need to find something.” Spike stated. From the side of his eye he saw the red book from before. He picked it up, hoping it would have some answers. He flipped through the book until he found the word ‘Healing Potion’. He read through the description.

”This Healing Potion can heal any wound or sickness. The only thing it can’t heal is death.
Ingredients: Gooseberries, An eyebrow of a Timberwolf, fresh peppermint leaves, and the bark of an oak tree.” Spike read. He felt himself get angry. There was no way he could get any of those without being swept away into the storm.

“Great I only have two of the four things I need! Perfect!” Spike exclaimed angrily, putting his face on the desk. He started to tear up and let out small sobs. Debbie was going to die because of him. It could take her weeks to get better and without the proper medication or mother to take care of her, the worst could happen. Buddy took a blanket from Debbie and placed it over Spike’s shoulders.

Buddy licked Spike’s cheek in an attempt to comfort him. He stopped licking his cheek when he heard Spike let out a soft snore. He curled up next to his feet and closed his eyes. He just hoped that Spike would get better.

New powers

Spike stood in a dark void, floating endlessly. He looked around. He couldn’t feel anything. It wasn’t too hot or cold, just numb. His eyes swiveled around, looking for anything. At the moment, he realized he could move his body.

“Twilight? Buddy?” Spike asked while looking around. He didn’t see anyone.

”Come here...” A small childlike voice whispered. Spike turned around to see a small glowing green orb, floating in the endless void, giving some light to the darkness. It felt oddly peaceful. Spike managed to balance himself and walked across the non existent floor. The orb continued to whisper. Spike approached the orb curiously.

”I can help you.” the voice whispered. Spike reached his hand out to touch the orb. As soon as he did it, an overwhelming sense of dread washed over him. Before he could pull his hand back, the light wrapped around his hand.

”YOU BELONG TO ME NOW! The orb screeched in a demonic voice. The light wrapped around his arm, slowly working it’s way up. He tried to move but his feet had been absorbed in the light. He let out a strained scream. It burned his body. The light entered his body and he closed his eyes tightly. He opened his eyes, and they glowed a light green. He felt powerful.

Spike jolted awake in fear, his eyes flashing green for a split second. He looked around in panic, wondering where he was. He remembered that he was trapped in the castle. It must have just been a fever dream. He was sweating heavily and his throat burned. His fever had gotten worse.

Something caught his attention from the side of his eye. A small bush grew out of the floor. It had five gooseberries on it. Next to it there was a smaller peppermint bush. Spikes eyes widened in surprise. Those were the exact ingredients that he was missing. What made it weirder was that they grew in the middle of the castle during a storm. Spike looked at Buddy and nudged him awake with his foot. Buddy woke up groggily with his tongue sticking out slightly. He licked his lips making an gross smacking noise.

“Can you go into the other room to go get some tree bark?” Spike asked in a hoarse voice. Buddy stood up and shook his body. He blinked a few times before walking out the room. Spike stood up, only to sway slightly. He clutched onto the table to stabilize himself. He let in a deep breath and shakily walked over to the bushes.

With the little strength he had, he walked across the room. He finally approached the bushes and pulled all of the gooseberries off. Next, he yanked the leaves off of the peppermint bush. He walked back over to the desk and sat on the soft chair. Spike reached next to the table and grabbed a small bowl, a muddler, and the red book. He flipped through the pages until he found the potion from before. He rereading the instructions.

”Five Gooseberries, and three mint leaves. Crush the berries until they are a liquid. Next, rip up the leaves and sprinkle them into the berries. Take pieces of tree bark and add them to the potion, measurments don’t matter. Use a full timberwolf eyebrow. Once all of the ingredients are added stir until it turns green.

Warning: Only drink in small doses.” Spike read out loud. He was baffled that the gooseberries that he grabbed was the exact amount that he needed. He picked up the berries and placed the into the bowl. He picked up the muddler and started to crush the berries. His hands were shaky and sweaty. Buddy walked back into the room with two pieces of bark in his mouth. He placed them on the table next to Spike.

“Thanks Buddy.” Spike said with a stuffed up nose. Buddy gave Spike as concerned whimper and nudged his side. He waved his hand away.

“I need to finish this and then I’ll take a break.” Spike stated while added the peppermint leaves in. He looked over to Debbie who laid one her stomach, breathing heavily. She looked pale. Spike took a small piece of tree bark and placed into the now bubbling potion. He picked up a pair of scissors and weakly flew over to Buddy.

“Sorry about this.” Spike said before cutting off his leafy eyebrow. The eyebrow immediately grew back with a tiny noise. He gave a look of surprise before getting back to the potion. He dropped the eyebrow into the potion and started to stir. The potions bubbles for a few moments before it turned a light green. Spike stared at it and sniffed it carefully.

“How do I know if it works?” Spike asked himself. There was only one way to find out. He brought the bowl up to his lips and took a small sip. He paused for a few seconds, waiting for any results. Like magic, he felt himself get better. His throat stopped stinging, his nose was no longer stuffed up, he wasn’t shaking, and he felt a lot warmer. The wounds on his hands had healed too. He broke out into a grin and walked over to Debbie. He opened her beak and poured a little bit of the potion in. After a few seconds, she said up and let out a happy chirp. Spike hugged Debbie tightly.

“You’re okay!” He exclaimed happily. Debbie nuzzled up against his neck. Spike pulled away from the hug and walked over to the potion. He grabbed a potion bottle and poured it in. After he finished he plugged a cork in it. Spike grabbed a marker and labeled it ‘Healing Potion.’ Debbies stomach growled, causing her to look at Spike.

“You haven’t eaten since yesterday morning.” Spike stated. His stomach growled and he patted his stomach.

“I haven’t eaten since yesterday either. I could go for some blueberries right now.” Spike said. His hands glowed a light green and a blueberry bush grew from the ground. Spike gave a look of surprise. He stared at the bush in shock.

What..... was that?” Spike asked in utter surprise. Debbie hopped over to the bush and started to eat up. He still stood there, still processing what happened.

“Did I do that?” Spike asked. Buddy sniffed his hands curiously.

“Maybe I can do that again.” Spike thought outloud. He closed his eyes and his hands started to glow. The floor cracked slightly and a vine snaked out. Spike peaked his eyes open to see a grape vine inches from his face. He reached his hand out and grabbed a grape. He popped it into his mouth. It tasted perfectly normal.

“This must be a dragon thing that Smolder and Ember forgot to tell me about. Buddy wagged his tail and jumped up and down.

“What is it?” Spike asked. Buddy spun his body around and took a book off of the floor. The flipped book opened to a picture that caught his eye.

“You want this?” Spike asked. Buddy hopped up and down in excitement, letting out loud barks. Spike looked at the picture again. This shouldn’t be too hard.

Debbie sat with her back pressed up against a wall, watching what was going on in front of her. Spike sat on Buddy’s back, who was standing on the ledge next to the stairs. Spike had removed the support beam so he could jump off. In front of them was a wooden plank that was slanted as if it were a ramp. Planks were grown out of the walls, covered in leaves and sticks. Planks were scattered at random spots. This was going to be there new training spot. Spike had grown it and less than an hour.

“Okay Buddy, just be slow.” Spike stated. Buddy ignored him and launched himself off of the ledge. He ran down the ramp at full speed, his tongue flowing in the wind. He jumped off of the edge of the ramp. They both went flying into the air before landing on a plank that was firmly against the wall. Spike held back a scream and held onto the saddle tightly. Buddy was having the time of his life, jumping ledge to ledge. They were approaching the edge of the course, which only led to a twenty foot drop.

“BUDDY STOP!” Spike exclaimed in pure terror. Buddy sped up and jumped off of the edge, causing Spike to let out a loud scream. Buddy barked, causing a beam of light to shoot out of his mouth. In front of them, a portal appeared. He went through the portal and a bright light abosorbed them. Buddy landed in the kitchen, his tail wagging wildly. Spike opened his eyes and looked around. He hopped off of the saddle. He looked around in confusion.

“Can all timberwolves do that?!” Spike exclaimed in shock. Buddy nodded his head happily. Spike stared in shock and confusion.

This new magic is going to take a while to get used to.

Revival

Spike stood in the middle of the throne room with his eyes closed, letting out steady breaths. Buddy laid on the floor and Debbie laid on his side, both watching Spike. His hands started to glow a light green. His let out a soft grunt as he concentrated. A small branch grew from the ground, curving slightly. Little leaves grew from the side as it continued to grow. The tree started to become thicker and tougher. His hands started to flicker and shake. Spike let his hands drop as he caught breath. Beads of sweat dripped down his face. He opened his eyes and gasped at what he saw.

A large oak tree the reached up to the ceiling. It was perfectly symmetrical and the bark looked smooth. It was thick and the tree was big enough to build a house.

“It’s so big!” Spike exclaimed while sitting on the floor. That had taken a lot of energy out of him. Buddy walked over to him with a cold water bottle in his mouth. He dropped it next to Spike.

“Thanks.” Spike said as he started to sip from the bottle. Buddy walked away for a few seconds before coming back with the red book in his mouth. He handed Spike the book happily. He flipped through the pages of the book.

“I can make most of these potions now that I can grow the ingredients. Let’s go to the library.” Spike said happily. He stood up and closed the book. Debbie and Buddy followed him as he walked down the hallway. They walked in silence, only hearing the wind and the pattering rain. Suddenly, there was an unexpected crack of thunder. Spike let out a high pitch scream and a large, thorny vine shot through the ground. Buddy jumped in front of Debbie and Spike, trying to protect them. He stared at it, his heart pounding.

“Did I do that?” Spike asked in disbelief. The floor around the vine was cracked and some of it had broke. He looked at his hands that were flickering slightly. He shook his hands until they stopped.

“I need to get that under control.” He muttered to himself. His hands started to glow and the vine string back down until it disappeared. The floor was still obviously broken. Spike walked past the crack with caution. This was going to be a challenge.

Spike sat at the desk, reading through the book. “Which one should I do?” Spike asked Buddy. Buddy ignored him and slept in the corner of the room with Debbie leaning on top of him, also sleeping. There was a rapid scratching from the window above the desk, making Spike look up. He saw a baby squirrel trying to get his attention. It was soaking wet and looked very sickly. It had blood on its head and it’s right eye was squeezed shut. Spike let out a gasp and stood on the table, opening the window. He let the squirrel land into his hand. It could fit in the palm of his hand.

The squirrel seemed to be alone with no mother. The poor thing must have gotten lost during the storm and hurt. The squirrel gripped onto Spikes finger, tightly shaking. It looked like the squirrel could die at any moment. He flipped some pages until he found the recipe for the ‘Gift of Life’ potion. He read the instructions quickly.

”Five life berry leaves, the fur of a squirrel, and twenty life berries. Life berries are very rare and can only be found on the very top of the Canterlot mountains.” Under that passage, there was a picture of a life berry bush. The leaves on the bush were golden and the berries were a glowing white. It was one of the most beautiful plants Spike had every seen. He grabbed a pair of scissors and snipped a little bit of fur off of the squirrels tail. He placed the fur in a potion bottle. The squirrel let out a soft squeak.

“You’ll be all better soon.” Spike said to the squirrel while holding it close to his body. The squirrels breaths were getting slower and it’s eyes started to droop. Spikes hand started to glow and he concentrated heavily. A small golden root twisted from the cracks of the floor. It started to split, making two branches and golden leaves sprouted out. One by one, berries started to grow. They unfolded like blooming roses. This was surprisingly easy to grow for something so rare. Spike had never even seen a life berry before this moment and he grew a while bush in a few seconds. He hopped out of his chair and grabbed a handful of berries and some leaves. He when back to the book and started to read.

”Put the leaves in the potion. Peel the berries and place them in with the rest of the ingredients. Shake it until it becomes a liquid. Only use a drop.

Warning: Don’t use on anything alive and/or healthy unless absolutely needed.” Spike placed the leaves in the bottle and started to peel the berries with his claws. The squirrel let out small distressed squeaks and the color from it’s eyes started to fade.

“Stay strong, I’m almost done.” Spike stated. All of the berries were freshly peeled and he put them into the bottle. He closed it tightly and started to shake it vigoursly. The potion was a white color and Spike quickly opened it. He carefully poured a drop of the potion onto the suffering squirrel. He stared at the squirrel for a few moments, waiting for a result. The squirrels fur started to turn white and his nose twitched slightly. The squirrel opened his eye and look around. His right eye was still permanentally shut. The squirrel hopped into Spikes hand and stared at him happily.

“Thank you so much!” The squirrel exclaimed happily. Spikes eyes widened in surprise.

“You can talk?!” Spike exclaimed in shock. The squirrels eye widened.

“You can hear me?!” He responded, equally surprise. Spike read through the potion, looking for any side effects. He didn’t find any.

“The potion must have done this to you.” Spike explained. “What’s your name?” He asked.

“I don’t have a name”. The squirrel stated sadly. Spike put his hand on his chin.

“How do you like the name Snowy?” He asked. The squirrel nodded his head happily.

“When the storm is over, you should go back to your family.” Spike said. Snowy shook his head and gave a sad look.

“I don’t have a family, I’m an orphan and I don’t have anywhere to go. My nest broke in the storm.” He said sadly, starting to sniffle.

“It’s okay, I’m an orphan too.” Spike said reassuringly. Snowy sniffled and wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Really?” He asked. Spike nodded his head.

“I am. Since you don’t have a home, how about you live with me?” Spike suggested. Snowy’s eyes lit up and he nodded his head.

“I would love that!” He exclaimed happily, jumping onto Spikes head. He let out a chuckle.

“Since you already helped me twice, now I have to so something for you.” Snowy said. Spike shook his head.

“No you don’t have to do that.” Spike reasurred. Snowy climbed down from his head and onto his arm.

“I’m going to do it anyway.”

Deep Breaths

Spike sat with Buddy’s saddle on his lap, sewing something into the sides.

“And done!” Spike exclaimed, holding up the saddle. Snowy gasped, sitting up on Debbie’s head.

“It’s so cool!” He exclaimed happily before tilting his head. “What is it?” He asked. Spike chuckled.

“I added potion holders so I can carry them around while I’m riding Buddy.” Spike said. Buddy stood up while wagging happily. He bounced over to Spike happily, standing up straight.

“Yo-you want me to but the saddle on now?” He asked. Buddy nodded his head happily. Spike chuckled. “You don’t need to wear it, we’re not going for a ride now.” He said. Buddy frowned and let out a loud wine. He got louder until he started howling loudly. Snowy covered his ears at the noise and Debbie let out a few distressed chirps.

“Buddy stop I’m not going to-!” Spike got cut off by Buddy howling louder than before. Spike covered his ears as he noise echoed around the room.

“ALRIGHT ALRIGHT I’LL PUT IT ON!” He exclaimed. Buddy stopped howling and starting wagging his tail again. Spike picked up the saddle and walked over to him. He placed the saddle onto his back and hooked on the harness. Buddy laid down happily, his tail still wagging.

“You’re such a brat.” Spike muttered to himself. Buddy lifted up his paw and hit him in the face softly. Spike put his hands on his humongous paw and moved it out the way.

“Hey!” He exclaimed. Buddy smiled at his annoyance and hit him in the face again.

“Buddy cut it ou-mpph!” Spike got cut off again when Buddy hit him on the mouth. Before he could speak again, Buddy continued to slap him in the face.

“STOP!” Spikes voice boomed angrily, his eyes flashing a light green for a split second. Lightning struck from outside, causing a bright light to outline Spikes face. His eyes had rage in them for a split second, and his sharp teeth were showing, almost in a hostile manner. Buddy cowered back in fear, letting out a soft whimper. Spike blinked in surprise. He had never gotten that angry before in his life, and definitely never scared anyone like that.

“Buddy...” Spike said, reaching his hand out. He looked at his hand for a moment before brushing his nose up against his hand, as if he was saying ‘I’m sorry.’ Spike rubbed his nose softly.

“Don’t apologize, I don’t know why I got so angry.” He reasurred. He pet Buddy on the head, causing him to relax slightly.

“What happened?” Snowy asked in confusion. Spike shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know, I usually never get that angry. I’ve dealt with a lot worse and never even got mad.” He explained. Snowy tilted his head.

“You’ve dealt with worse, like what?” He asked. Spike thought for a moment before a flood of memories washed over him.

“There was that time a dragon pretended to be my dad to get free food. My friends go out all the time and leave me home alone, I don’t go to school because I’m ‘just an assistant’, I don’t have any friends my age.” As he spoke, anger started to appear in his voice. “I get left out of family events, I barely have a time when I don’t do chores, the girl I have a crush on pretends I don’t exist when she doesn’t need me, I’m an orphan and stand out from the other dragons....” Spike trailed off and stared at the ground in silence for a few seconds. He didn’t realize how shitty his life was until that moment. A few seconds of silence turned into a few minutes. Snowy climbed onto his head and waved his hand in front of Spikes eyes.

“Are you okay?” Snowy asked. Spike let out a loud yell, causing everyone in the room to jump back in surprise. He took Snowy off of his head and placed him on the floor.

“I’m going for a walk.” Spike muttered. As he started to walked away, Buddy ran in front of him, blocking the door. He pointed his head towards the window to show that the storm was still continuing. Spike rolled his eyes and walked over to his cloak.

He slipped it onto his body, letting his arms slip through the sleeves. He put on the shoes, which fit perfectly. He had never tried them on before that moment. He buttoned the cloak, which fit quite snuggly. He put the gloves on, which felt fluffy like pajamas. The outside of the gloves had hard stone on the palms and finger tips, sorta looking like paws. He slipped the hood over his head. Spike looked at the mask that was laying next to Debbie. He didn’t want the rain to blind him, so he put it on. It almost felt like porcelainbut didn’t seem like it could break as easily.

“See, now I won’t get sick when I go out.” Spike said to Buddy. Buddy looked at him for a few moments before moving out of the way. Spike walked through the door, and Buddy started to follow him. He turned around and held his hand up to him.

“Stay here, I want to be alone.” Spike stated. Buddy whimpered slightly bit obeyed and laid on the floor. Spike walked down the hallway. All that could be heard was the sound of his hard shoes tapping the floor and the rain hitting the window. Spike caught his reflection in a mirror that was hanging on the wall. He barely recognized himself.

The cloak was covering his entire body, making it unable to identify and curves in his body. He spines didn’t even poke out. The hood concealed his scales. The mask covered his face completely, showing no skin at all. If anyone were to walk up to him, they wouldn’t have known it was him. He continued walking down the hallway, not stopping for a moment. He finally approached the two giant wooden doors that led outside. He pushed the doors open to see rain pouring down. The wind was blowing trees harshly, making them lean slightly.

Spike stepped outside, letting the rain hit him. The water rolled off of the cloak. It seemed to be waterproof. Spike closed his eyes and let in a deep breath, letting the cool air fill his lungs. He hadn’t had fresh air in three days. The mask seemed very breathable. He didn’t open his eyes and started to walk around the castle, letting his senses guide him. He let his mind go blank and did what every felt right. He stepped on something solid. Spike started to walk on it. As he continued, he realized that it seemed to be going upwards. He must have found another trap door.

He soon felt weightless with each step he took. It felt as if he were flying. Everything felt so peaceful. The rain stopped hitting his body and it felt a lot warmer, making him freeze in confusion. Spike opened his eyes and took the mask off to see that he was above the clouds. The sun beamed down on him. He looked down to see that he was standing on a vine covered in pink and red flowers. He had done this all by himself. He stared down at the vine and giggled slightly. His giggling soon turned into full blown laughter. This is the most relaxed he had been in years. It made him feel so happy.

Spike looked down at the edge of the vine to see the ground, which was at least fifty feet away. He slipped the mask back on and leaned forwards, falling off of the vine. The rain started to hit his body again, taking away the warmth. It felt as if he were floating down but in reality he was plummeting. His eyes stayed closed and a large grin remained on his face. He could feel the ground approaching rapidly. His hands glowed without thinking and a palm leaf snaked out of the ground. It had grown large enough to catch a full grown yak.

He landed on the leaf, bouncing slightly. He laid on the leaf, sprawled out and still giggling a little. He opened his eyes and stared at the falling rain.

This is what peace felt like.

Cleaning Up

Spike awoke to something warm and wet lapping across his cheek. His eyes cracked open to see Buddy licking his cheek. Spike jolted up and pushed him away.

“Gross.” Spike said, wiping his cheek off. Snowy hopped onto his lap and pointed out the window.

“It stopped rain!” He exclaimed happily. Spike looked out the window to see the sun was shining. The birds chirped and water dripped from the trees. Spike hopped out of bed excitedly. He was tired of being stuck in that castle and needed sunlight and fresh air.

“Let’s go guys!” Spike said happily while putting his items back in his bag. Debbie hopped into the cart and Buddy stretched his legs out. He looked over to his cloak and mask which were hanging up, drying from the rain. No one was gonna come into the castle so he might as well leave it there. He slung his bag over his shoulders and placed Snowy on his head.

“You really want to go outside.” Snowy commented. Spike nodded his head while walking out of the room.

“I want to check on all of the other animals to see if they’re okay.” Spike stated. Buddy followed him down the hallway, pulling the cart with him. Debbie had a few feathers growing on her, keeping her slightly warmer than usual. They walked outside to see that trees had been knocked over.

“This isn’t good.” Spike said. Snowy stared at a tree that had fallen.

“I used to live there.” He said, pointing at the tree. The trees bark had been stripped off by the lightning and pretty much looked dead. There was no way anyone who lived in that tree had survived that. Spike looked at the fallen bridge.

“How are we gonna get across?” Snowy asked. Spike let his hands glow and two thick vines snaked out of the ground and made its way across the ledge. It dug into the ground across from them. Both of the vines had smaller vines start to grow out of the sides, connecting at the top and making a flat surface at the bottom. A few pink and yellow flowers sprouted out. Now there was a perfect bridge which was way sturdier than the last one.

“Wow it’s so pretty!” Snowy exclaimed in awe.

“Thank you.” Spike said while starting to walk across. The bridge didn’t shake at all when he walked across. That was impressive because there was a twenty pound roc and a two hundred pound timberwolf on it at the same time. They soon made it across without the bridge even shaking.

“Who should we check on first?” Spike asked Buddy. He pointed his paw in a direction and then imitated a chicken scratching it’s claws on the ground.

“The cockatrices first then.” Spike said while nodding his head.

Spike, Buddy, Debbie, and Snowy entered the cockatrice den. The storm had barely touched that part of the forest at all. Spike saw Beatrice laying in her nest. It looked like she was covering something.

“Hi Beatrice.” Spike said happily. Beatrice gave a look of surprise when she saw him. Buddy went over to sniff her, only for her to hiss at him and hit his nose with his wing. Buddy took a few steps back and whimpered. She moved her wing to reveal three small cockatrice chicks. They looked like balls of fluff. Spike let out a small gasp.

“They’re so adorable!” He cooed. Beatrice picked one up with her beak and walked over to Spike. She patted her claw on the ground as if to tell him to sit down. He sat down in front of her. Beatrice put the chick in his hands and walked back to her nest, checking on her other two children.

Spike stared at the fluffy chick that laid in his hands in awe. The chick opened her eyes and looked at him. He felt himself tearing up because she was too adorable. She let out a sneeze, causing a few feathers to fluff out.

“Are you crying?” Snowy asked. Spike sniffled and wiped the tears from his eyes.

“No I just got tears in my eyes.” Spike said while handing the chick back to Beatrice. Spike stood up and looked at the other chicks. There were two girls and one boy. Beatrice started to clean the one he just handed back to her. He noticed that she was the smallest. He pointed to the first to chicks.

“The boy is Freddy and the girl is Gracie.” Spike said. He looked at the smallest one. “And your Tiny.” Spike stated with a grin. He looked at Beatrice. “We need to go check on Bandit and Ozzy, see you later!” Spike said before walking away. Beatrice waved her wing goodbye before tending to her children. They didn’t have to walk very far to see Bandit laying in his nest and Ozzy cuddled under his wing.

“I see that you two are getting along.” Spike commented. Bandit jumped in surprise before pushing Ozzy to the other side of the nest. Bandit puffed out his chest to seem tougher and let out a squawk. Spike let out a chuckle.

“I saw the whole thing Bandit, I know that you’re just a big softy.” Spike teased. Bandit let out an angry caw and flapped his wings angrily. Spike smiled. Bandit turned his back from him, letting out an angry huff. Ozzy got out of the nest and held up berries as an apology. Snowy let out a soft gasp and hopped off of Spikes head, landing on the ground with a thud.

“Are you okay, that sounded like it hurt!” Spike exclaimed. Snowy got up and brushed himself off like it was nothing before grabbing some berries and eating them.

“It didn’t hurt at all.” He said while continuing to eat berries. Spike brushed that off because it wasn’t that far of a fall, it just sounded painful. He looked around to see no berry bushes anywhere. Ozzy must have went through the storm to get those. Spike looked at an empty spot and let three bushes grow. One was a blueberry bush, the other was a raspberry bush, and the last one was a strawberry bush.

“There, now you don’t have to go to far to get food!” Spike said. Ozzy let out a happy chirp and hugged his leg. “We have to go now, but I’ll see you later.” He said while putting Ozzy back into the nest. He smiled and curled up into Bandits side.

“Lets go check on Peewee.” Spike said as he placed Snowy on his head.

They entered the phoenix den to see trees had been knocked over. There were broken nest scattered all over the ground. All of the phoenix’s must have hid. Looking at it made Spike feel terrible. He took Snowy off of his head and took a few steps forward.

He lifted up his hands, making vines thicker than the trees emerge from the ground. They wrapped around the trees and lifted them up. He placed the uprooted trees back into the ground. Spike started to sweat slightly from the weight of the trees. A group of phoenix’s flew down and watched as he continued to lift up and fix the trees.

After Spike lifted up the last tree, he let out a gasp of air, trying to catch his breath. Buddy reached into his bag and pulled out a thermos filled with cold water, handing it to Spike. He took a few gulps of water before putting the thermos back into his bag.

“How will I fix the nest’?” Spike asked himself. He looked on the ground to see sticks and leaves scattered everywhere. The ground was still wet which made mud. Spike started to pick up some sticks and leaves before slathering them with mud. He stuck them together making a small nest. He flew up to a tree and placed the nest on a branch. As he picked up more sticks for another nest, he notice a few phoenix’s had started to make there own nest.

This was going to be a breeze.

Spike stood up, admiring all of the work he had done. Their were way more nest then before and he had even grown a few flowers around the trees. It made him smile. The sunset really topped it off, adding color to the scene.

“Let’s go Buddy.” Spike said while turning to him. Buddy laid next to the cart sleepily. Debbie was bundled up in the blankets and Snowy laid on her head, both asleep. Spike grabbed on to the cart and started to pull it. “You can go home and get some rest, I’ll be fine.” He said to Buddy. Buddy let out a whine and followed Spike.

“Fine you can make sure I get home safely and then get some rest, okay?” Spike stated. Buddy’s tail started to wag and he nodded his head. They both left the phoenix den and walked through the forest. The birds chirps were dying down as the got ready to sleep. Spike stopped walking when he heard something that wasn’t a bird. It sounded like a kitten yowling in pain. He looked at Buddy who was looking in the direction of the noise.

Spike walked in the direction of the noise until he had found a log. The noise was coming from in there. He peeked inside to see a manitcore kitten. Her ears were folded downwards and her eyes were closed shut. She couldn’t have been more than a day old.

Spike reached in and grabbed the kitten, causing her to calm down at the feeling of warmth. Buddy sniffed her curiously. Spike looked around to see that their wasn’t another manticore in sight. Mothers would never abandon there babies like that. Her mother must have put her in the log during the storm and left to keep her safe. Spike looked up at Buddy.

“I have to take her with me.”

Sneaking Her In: The Sneakening

Spike stood in front of the castle doors. He looked at Snowy, Debbie, and Cinnamon, the manticore kitten he found, who were now wide awake.

“Before we go in I need to set some rules. Debbie and Cinnamon, you two can’t leave my room or make any noise. Twilight would freak out if she knew I had any of you. Snowy since you’re a squirrel, she wouldn’t mind if she saw you. But you’re not aloud to talk, only cute little squirrel noises. And be careful for Owlicious, he eats small rodents.” Spike stated. Snowy gulped nervously, Debbie nodded her head, and Cinnamon let out a soft purr. Spike tossed a blanket over Debbie and Cinnamon and opened the front door. As soon as he took a few steps in, Twilight tackled Spike into a hug.

“I’m so glad you’re okay!” Twilight exclaimed. Snowy nearly fell off of Spikes head from the force of the hug and let out distressed squeak. Twilight pulled away from the hug and looked at the squirrel who was gripping onto his scales.

“I found a squirrel, his name is Snowy.” Spike stated while taking him off of his head and into his hands. Snowy looked at Twilight sniffed curiously. He opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed his mouth and looked at Spike. He turned back to Twilight and let out a chitter.

“He so cute, but what happened to his eye?” She asked. Snowy covered his eye in embarrassment, his white fur turning red for a moment.

“His eye must have gotten hurt during the storm.” Spike explained. Twilight looked at the cart that was behind him.

“Why did you bring the cart again?” She asked. Spike gulped nervously, thinking of an excuse.

“I didn’t want to leave this outside for the animals to destroy, so I’m gonna bring it home everyday.” Spike said.

“I guess that makes sense. Dinners ready, you should eat, I know you haven’t had a proper meal all week.” Twilight said. Spike smiled for a moment before remembering he had Debbie and Cinnamon with him.

“I’ll be there in a minute, I just need to show Snowy his new room.” He stated.

“Okay, just come eat when you’re ready.” Twilight said while walking away. Spike walked down the hallway, towards his room. Snowy climbed up his leg and sat on his head. He soon approached his room and opened the door. He walked in and locked the door behind him. He took the blankets off of Cinnamon and Debbie.

“This is my room, you’ll be staying here.” Spike stated. Snowy looked around in awe and jumped off of his head.

“This place is so big!” He exclaimed in shock. Spike chuckled. Debbie hopped out of the cart and flopped onto Spike’s bed, letting out a small chirp in the process. Cinnamons stomach growled.

“I won’t be able to feed your right now, I need to eat dinner. I can try to eat as fast as I can and bring you all something.” Spike explained. He unlocked the door and put his hand on the knob.

“Don’t make too much noise.” He commanded before walking out. He closed the door behind him and looked around. He flew towards the kitchen at full speed. He needed to hurry.

Twilight stared at Spike as he scarfed down his food. It was pretty disgusting to watch.

“Slow down or you’ll choke.” Twilight said. Spike took a sip of water to get the food out of his throat.

“Sorry, I just haven’t eaten proper food in a week.” Spike said. That wasn’t a lie, he hadn’t eaten any good food in a while. Rarity always kept fancy food with no taste, Applejack left apples which Snowy and Debbie ate, and Rainbow Dash left energy drinks. The only ones that left decent food was Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. Twilight left nuts, Fluttershy left berries, and Pinkie left sweets like cupcakes and cookies which Buddy ate before he got to them.

“Done!” Spike exclaimed. He took his plate and put it in the sink. He washed it as quickly as he could. He was sure he looked very suspicious but that didn’t matter at the moment. He left Snowy, Debbie, and Cinnamon alone for twenty minutes, they could be doing anything at that moment.

“Why are you in such a rush?” Twilight asked. Spike stopped moving to catch his breath. He was moving way to fast for his body to keep up with.

“I don’t want to leave Snowy alone, he might get scared.” Spike explained. That wasn’t a total lie, he didn’t want Snowy to be alone. Spike walked over to the fridges and pulled out a container of berries and a milk carton.

“This is for dessert.” Spike said before flying out of the kitchen.

“Bring back the milk when you’re done and don’t drink it straight from the carton!” Twilight exclaimed as Spike continued to fly down the hallway. He was gonna see his animal children.

Spike walked into his room and locked the door, causing Debbie to chirp happily. There was a soft song playing. He looked to see Snowy on a record player, spinning at a slow speed. Spike took Snowy off of the player and put him on the floor. He stumbled around, trying to regain his balance.

“This is my favorite song.” Spike commented. He swayed to the beat and placed the berries onto the floor. The song was about love and peace. It always reminded him of how he was gonna die alone. He held a warmed up baby bottle which was filled with milk. He had taken one of Flurry’s bottles and filled it up for Cinnamon. He continued to sway to the beat as he picked Cinnamon up. He put the bottle in her mouth and danced around the room. Debbie and Snowy started to eat some berries. Cinnamon guzzled down the drink.

“You haven’t eaten in a while.” Spike stated. The bottle was already empty. He placed the bottle onto the floor and continued to dance around the room. He hummed along to the song. Cinnamon started to fall asleep from the rocking movement. Debbie flapped her wings to the beat, enjoying the little dance he was doing. Snowy climbed onto Debbies head. Spike stopped dancing when he noticed Cinnamon had fell asleep.

Spike walked over to his bed and placed Cinnamon in it. He walked over to the record player and turned it off.

“It’s time for bed.” Spike said. Debbie and Snowy gave dissapointed looks.

“Can we pleeeeeeaaaaasseee stay up a little longer?” Snowy begged, using his puppy dog eye. Spike rolled his eyes and glanced at the bookshelf.

“How about I read you two a story?” Spike suggested. Snowy broke out into a wide grin and nodded his head. Spike looked at his bookshelf. His books were mainly comics and educational books that Twilight forced him to get. He grabbed the first issue of Power Ponies and layed down in bed. He reached over to his lamp and clicked it off before reaching under his pillow and pulled out a flashlight. He shined it onto the first page.

“It was a happy day in Maretropilus...” He started to read. They’ll be asleep in no time.

Hiding

Author's Note

This contains spoilers to uprooted

Hiding

“Spike, we don’t have enough highlighters!” Twilight exclaimed while rushing over to him. Spike rolled his eyes. He really needed to get to the forest because Debbie, Snowy, and Cinnamon were still in the castle.

“You have over a hundred for a school with forty creatures.” Spike stated. Twilight shook her head and held up orange highlighters.

“They’re all orange! How would any creature color code their notes?!” Twilight exclaimed.

“We have time to order more. The new school year doesn’t start for a few more months.” Spike reassured. The front doors burst open revealing Smolder, Gallus, Sandbar, Yona, Silverstream, and Ocellus.

“Well, this is a surprise. Why are you all here so early? Did I send out the wrong back-to-school date?!” Twilight exclaimed in fear. They all shook there heads.

“We’re not here for school.” Smolder stated. Sandbar stepped in.

“We’re here because the Tree of Harmony called us here.” Sandbar said with a smile. Twilight and Spike gasped.

“Don't feel bad it didn't reach out to you. We kinda have a special connection with it after last year.” Gallus said with a smirk. Twilight shook her head.

“But the Tree couldn't have called you. It's gone! Sombra destroyed it!” Twilight exclaimed. The young six gasped in shock.

“What about the Elements of Harmony?” Sandbar asked. Twilight frowned.

“Those are gone too.” She said sadly. Ocellus gave a distressed look.

“But doesn't that mean the Everfree Forest will take over Equestria?!” Ocellus asked, her voice laced with fear.

“Starswirl said that there’s some force protecting the forest but he doesn’t know what, so that all taken care of.” Spike reassured.

“Can we see the Tree ourselves? Or what's left of it?” Silverstream asked.

“As long as you promise to stick together. The Castle of the Two Sisters isn't the safest place, as you may remember.” Twilight reminded them.

“Yona not scared of puckwudgies anymore! Friends save whole school from evil Pegasus!” Yona boasted while stomping her hooves on the floor, cracking it a bit. Twilight chuckled.

“Let’s get going then.” Twilight said as she led them out the door. Spike stayed behind for a few seconds, causing Twilight to turn around.

“Aren’t you coming?” She asked. Spike nodded his head.

“Yeah I’ll catch up with you guys.” He stated before flying back to the castle. He flew into the castle and rushed to his room. To his relief, Cinnamon had fallen asleep and Snowy was rereading the Power Pony comics to Debbie.

“Let go you guys, we’re going to the forest.” Spike said. Debbie got off of his bed and hopped into the cart. Her feathers had come in early and she was fluffy. The teal bow around her neck brought out the color of the diamond on her head. Spike picked Cinnamon up and gently placed her into the cart. Snowy climbed up his leg and laid on his scaly head.

“Remember you two, be quiet.” Spike stated before putting a blanket over both of them. He walked out of his room and headed to the forest.

Spike walked into a bedroom that was in the Castle of the Two Sisters. He took the blanket off of Debbie and Cinnamon.

“You three need to stay here, I don’t want anyone to find you. Twilight is in the forest and it’ll be suspicious to see a baby roc and a manticore kitten all alone. Snowy is in charge.” Spike stated. He placed a few Power Pony comics on the bed before leaving the room. He flew outside of the castle to see Smolder under the bridge, kicking a rock. She was attacking it from different angles.

“What are you doing?” Spike asked. Smolder punched the rock and looked at him.

“Making a memorial statue of the Tree. When creatures see this, they'll be super impressed!” Smolder exclaimed while kicking a large chunk of rock into the air. Spike grinned.

“Oh, I can help!” Spike exclaimed, his tail wagging a bit. He lifted up his hands and let them glow. A few blue and purple flowers bloomed from the rock, making Smolder stare in awe.

“That’s so cool, where did you learn that?” She asked in astonishment. Spike gave a confused look.

“Dragons can’t do this?” He asked in confusion. Smolder shook her head. Spike looked down at the ground for a moment, thinking for a second.

“Then I don’t know where I learn this, it just happened.” Spike said with a shrug of shoulders. Before Smolder could say anything else, there was a white blur and a thud. Snowy laid face first on the hard ground. He got up and dusted himself off.

“You could’ve just climbed down and not risk killing yourself.” Spike stated. Snowy let out a few distressed squeaks and hopped up and down. “I need to go, see you later.” He said as he grabbed Snowy and flew away. Once Smolder was out of earshot, Snowy started to talk.

“I know you left me in charge but Cinnamon and Debbie are so much bigger than me and left the castle and now I can’t find them.” He said in one breath. Spike gave a concerned look.

“It’s not your fault, let’s go find them.” Spike reasurred. Spike flew high in the sky, looking around for anyone. Spike spotted Silverstream pulling a cart filled with various types of paints. Not to far, Debbie looked around in confusion. His eyes widened and he dived down.

“Distract Silverstream!” Spike exclaimed before throwing Snowy. He couldn’t really get hurt from any type of impact. Snowy landed in front of her, causing her to let out a gasp of surprise.

“Where did you come from?” Silverstream asked. Snowy stood up and did a little dance. Silverstream stared in awe.

“Debbie.” Spike whispered. Debbie turned around and flapped her wings happily when she saw him. He held his finger up to his lips. “Be quiet.” He stated as he grabbed her wing. They snuck away as Snowy continued to dance. He stopped dancing when he saw Spike flying a few dozen feet from Silverstream, trying to get his attention. Snowy pretended to tilt an imaginary hat off of his head before running off.

“Did you find Cinnamon?” Snowy asked. Spike shook his head.

“She’s only two days old and can barely walk, she couldn’t have gotten that far.” Spike stated. He looked around. She just learned to open her eyes and could sorta drag herself. “How could Cinnamon leave the castle without you knowing, she can’t walk?” Spike asked. Snowy shrugged his shoulders.

“I was trying to stop Debbie and when I turned around she was gone.” He explained. Spike thought for a moment.

“Maybe Buddy can help, he has a great sense of smell!” Spike exclaimed. They all walked off to go find the Timberwolf caves.

Spike, Debbie, and Snowy entered the caves to see timberwolves doing normal timberwolf things like play fighting and sleeping. Spike spotted Buddy who was laying on the ground. Curled up into his stomach was Cinnamon. He licked her clean as she purred happily.

“You took her?” Spike asked. Buddy looked up and his tail wagged happily. He picked Cinnamon up by the back of her neck and handed her to Spike. “Where are was going to stay

“I guess we can stay in the castle until everyone else leaves the forest.” Spike commented as he pet Cinnamons head. A bright light came from outside, making everything go silent. Spike rushed outside to see a large crystal shooting through the roof of the castle. Worry washed over him.

“You four stay here, I’m going to check that out and if any of you leave you’re all grounded.” Spike said as flew towards the castle.

Spike approached the Castle of the Two Sisters and gasped at what he saw. A giant crystal tree house came through the roof. It was sparkly and beautiful. Twilight stood next to the young six, marveling at the structure.

“Where did this come from?” Twilight asked in disbelief. They all shrugged.

“We were kinda gonna ask you the same thing.” Smolder stated. Spike stared at the tree house.

“It looks like part of the Tree of Harmony. But how? I thought it was destroyed!” He exclaimed.

“It was. But when we used the broken parts to build something new, this happened.” Ocellus explained, gesturing to the building.

“The Tree has always been good at surprises. When Star Swirl planted the Tree's seed, he didn't even know what it would grow into. I guess the Tree is still alive, changing and adapting to be whatever Equestria needs.” Twilight said, her eyes sparkling.

“A cool place to hang out?” Gallus asked. Spikes heart dropped at the sound of that. If they always hung out in the forest, then he wouldn’t be able to help his friends. Yona, Sandbar, and Silverstream were all terrible at lying and wouldn’t be able to keep in that secret.

“Hey Spike, aren’t you coming in?” Smolder asked at the entry of the tree house. He hadn’t realized that he spaced out completely.

“Nah I’m good, I’ll just walk around for a bit.” Spike stated. He started to walk back to the timberwolf cave, his scales drooping.

Spike, Buddy, Snowy, and Debbie walked through the forest. Cinnamon laid in his arms.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to come out here anymore. The new school year is about to come and I’ll have to help around the school. To make things worse a few of the students will be hanging out nearby so if they catch me everything will be ruined.” Spike explained. Buddy let out a whimper and nudged his side. He lightly pet his head. “I wish I could somehow not get caught.” Spike wished. He stopped walking when he was near a hill. He realized he had no idea where he was. There was a lake nearby and a bunch of flowers. He realized he had been following the stream.

The ground in front of them shook. Trees and vines shot out of the ground and coiled around each other. They all stared in awe as the watched the trees and vines come together. The ground stopped shaking and in front of them there was a large house.

“Woah.” Spike marveled. There was a flash of bright light and Twilight stood in front of them. Something was different though. She was almost see through and she was covered in glitter. Spike gasped in realization.

“You’re the Tree if Harmony!” He exclaimed. Smolder had described what she looked like to him. The tree nodded her head.

“I made this house for you. It is here to help you continue your study on the forest and continue helping it. You love the forest deeply and the forest cares for you. As for your friends, I’ll make sure they won’t find out.” She said with a wink. Spike stared in disbelief.

“Thank you.” He said happily. The Tree of Harmony smiled before disappearing.

“She was so pretty!” Snowy exclaimed with a blush. Spike gave a grossed out look.

“She looked just like Twilight.” He commented. Snowy’s face got redder and he nodded his head. Spike looked back at the house, which was blooming with flowers. It was bigger than the common house in Ponyville. He looked at the sun.

“We have a few hours to spare, let’s check this place out.”

Summoning

Spike stood in front of the house that had sprouted from the ground. The doors were big enough to fit a large creature in it. He twisted the doorknob to see that it was unlocked. He pushed the door open and marveled at what he saw. The floors were wooden and shiny. The walls were a pale blue and the house was rather big. It was big enough to fit a large animal inside.

“This place is so big.” Snowy stayed in awe. Spike took Snowy off of his head and placed him on the floor.

“You guys can go look around.” Spike said. Snowy and Debbie happily ran off in the same direction. Buddy nudged Spikes side with his nose and sniffed around.

“You found something?” Spike asked. Buddy walked around the house, sniffing around. Spike followed behind him closely, petting Cinnamons head in the process. She let out a soft purr.

Spike noticed that all the doors in the hallway had doorknobs that could be pulled down. It would be easy for an animal to get in. Buddy stopped at a white door. It was a different color from all the brown wooden doors. The doorknob was round. Spike opened the door to see a bedroom. It had a large king sized bed with a red blanket. There was a bookshelf in the corner filled with various books. On the left side of the bed there was a large dog bed and on the right there was a nightstand with a lamp.

“Is this my room?” Spike asked. Buddy’s tail started to wag and he walked over to the dog bed. He flopped into it and curled up. He fit perfectly.

“Are you going to stay here?” Spike asked Buddy. He looked up and nodded his head before laying back down. Spike started to walk around the room, interested in what he would find. He opened the nightstand drawer to find a blue book. The title was Nature Magic in bold yellow letters. He flipped it open to see that it was full of spells. They were mainly plant related. A spell about rocks caught his eye.

“I never learned a rock spell before.” Spike commented. He looked at Cinnamon who laid in his arms peacefully. He placed her onto Buddy’s side. He opened his eyes for a moment to look at her before closing them. He licked her head softly. It was cute that Buddy liked her so much. Spike held the book in his hands and walked out the room, leaving the door open. Time to learn new magic.

Spike stood in the backyard of the house, wearing his cloak, shoes, gloves, and mask. He had gotten them from the castle. It seemed to be safer to wear clothes while using new magic. Twilight taught him that. He reread the simple rock spell before putting the book down. He closed his eyes and his hands started to glow a pale green. The ground started to shake and a small rock popped out. It had to be the size of Snowy. Spike stared at it.

“That was good for a first try I guess.” He muttered. He picked up the book and started to flip through the pages. He stopped when he saw a plant spell. It would be easier to practice what he knew. The spell was called ”Call Of the Gods.” Spike read through the spell. It seemed odd but he would try.

He placed the book on the ground and clasped his hands together. His hands glowed brightly, causing them to vibrate. He released a glowing ball of flowers. It shot up into the air. The flowers bursted into light, making the shape of a large bird. It let out a loud caw, causing dark storm clouds to flood the sky. Rain poured down and thunder crackled. Spike grabbed the book, retreating inside.

“I just dried this off.” Spike stated with a groan. His eyes widened in realization. He just made it rain without touching the clouds. He ran toward a window. A loud crack of thunder echoes around the forest. He picked up the book and reread the spell.

”This spell is able to summon a god. Be careful, summoning the gods can be very angry if you awaken them from there slumber, they can be very angry. It often leads to death.” Spike read outloud. His scales flattened and his stomach churned. He forgot to read the description of the spell. He glanced out the window, only to see that it had stopped raining. It was sunny again and the ground was practically dry.

“Did the gods forgive me?” Spike asked.

“I did not forgive you!” A tiny voice with a New York accent shouted. Spike spun around to see a tiny creature on the kitchen counter. It was a draconequus. He had the face of the donkey, and the body of yellow a snake. He had a folded puppy ear and a bear ear. His left arm was an orange kittens paw and the right one was a deer hoof. His tail was a brown fluffy squirrel tail. His right leg was a a zebra hoof and the left one was a birds claw. Lastly, he had large pink and yellow butterfly wings. He glared at Spike angrily.

“Do you have any idea how hard it is to get to sleep?” He shouted angrily. Spike tried to hold back laughter at the five inch creature. His tail flicked angerily. “Don’t laugh at me, I’m one of the most powerful gods and you will bow to me!” He exclaimed. Spike swallowed his laughter.

“You’re a god?” Spike asked. He nodded his head.

“I’m Irdes, god of the mountains. Now why did you summon me mortal?” Irdes asked. Spikes scales flattened.

“I didn’t mean to summon you, I just wanted to try a new spell.” Spike admitted bashfully. Irdes let out a groan, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“I can’t leave unless you need me to do something for you.” Irdes explained. Spike thought for a moment.

“I don’t need anything important.” Spike stated with a shrug. Irdes flapped his wings and hovered in front of Spikes head.

“Well I guess I’m stuck with you for a-MMPH!” Irdes got cut off when Buddy ate him whole. Spike gasped and hit Buddy on the nose.

“Bad dog, spit him out!” Spike exclaimed. Buddy’s ears flattened and he let Irdes slide out of his mouth. Irdes’ body was soaking wet and he was shaking.

“Control your rat, you goblin.” Irdes stated sternly. Spike gave him a confused look and looked at Buddy.

“I’m a dragon and that’s a timberwolf.” Spike stated. Irdes squinted at him.

“You look like a goblin so I’m going to call you goblin.” He stated, wiping the saliva from his body.

“My name is Spike and I don’t look like a goblin.” Spike stated, grabbing a napkin to dry Irdes off.

“Okay goblin mortal.”

Cockatrices

Author's Note

This contains spoilers for Student Counsel

Cockatrices

“Hurry up Spike, we’re gonna be late!” Twilight exclaimed from somewhere in the castle. Spike shoved his journal, magic books, and an animal book in his roller bag. He placed a few pieces of clothing on top of those items so if Twilight checked it, she wouldn’t be suspicious. He and his friends were going to celebrate the Spring Solstice in Canterlot. It would be fun to watch the parade.

“I feel bad that I can’t help the cockatrices migrate today, Tiny can barely fly on her own.” Spike said to himself. The cockatrices were migrating to one part of the forest to another. They did it every year before they migrated for winter. He zipped his bag close and rolled it out of the room. He flew down the hallway, approaching Twilight.

“Are you ready?” Twilight asked. Spike nodded his head, opening the door for Twilight. They both walked outside to see the nice sun. Spike looked at a bush that he had grown a week before when no one was looking. The flowers on the bush were multicolored and very pretty. Starlight walked passed, heading towards the school.

“I’ll be right back, I need to give Starlight something.” Twilight said before flying after her. There was a loud clatter, making Spike turn around. Silverstream struggled to hold books in her hands, dropping some more onto the ground. She puffed her cheeks out in frustration. Spike walked over to her.

“Do you need help?” Spike asked. Silverstream looked up at him and nodded her head.

“I need to do a report for Professor Twilight and it’s hard to find anything.” Silverstream explained as Spike.

“What’s the report about?” Spike asked.

“Professor Twilight said it can be on anything we wanted so I chose cockatrices. The problem is that I can’t find any information on them.” Silverstream said sadly. Spikes scales perked up at the sound of that.

“I can help you with that.” Spike stated. Silverstream smiled.

“Do you have any books on cockatrices?” Silverstream asked excitedly. Spike shook his head.

“I have something even better.” Spike stated. Before he could explain himself, Twilight walked over.

“Come on Spike, we have to go before the train leaves.” Twilight said.

“Actually, I’m going to stay and help Silverstream with that report you assigned.” Spike explained. Twilight gave him a look of surprise.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come? You love the Spring Solstice Parade.” Twilight stated.

“I’ll just go see it next year.” Spike stated. Twilight let out a sigh and hugged him.

“I’ll see you later Spike.” Twilight said before flying off towards the train station. Spike turned around to look at Silverstream.

“Let’s start on your report.”

“Where are we going?” Silverstream asked as she and Spike walked through the rocky part of the forest. Spike pulled his cart that he kept at home, which was filled with stuff like animal treats, his journal, magic books, a first aid kit, and animal toys. He brought it with him just in case he needed any of the items.

“We’re going to see the cockatrices.” Spike said nonchalantly. Silverstream gave a look of fear.

“Aren’t cockatrices dangerous and can turn creatures into stone?!” Silverstream practically shouted. Spike looked over the edge of a cliff to see a whole swarm of cockatrices together. A few of them were sleeping and a few were fighting. Silverstream shook in fear. A cockatrices spotted her and let out a hiss. It flew up and charged and her. Silverstream let out a scream of fear and took a few steps back. Spike grabbed the cockatrice in mid air and placed it on his shoulder as it let out a hiss.

“Shh shh, she’s not going to hurt you.” Spike whispered, slowly stroking the cockatrices head. The cockatrice let out a soft coo and fell asleep on his shoulder. Silverstream gave a look of surprise.

“I know what I’m doing, let’s get to work.” Spike said as he placed the cockatrice on the ground. Spike and Silverstream flew down into the cockatrice habitat. They looked at the hundreds of cockatrices, who were starting to hiss at Silverstream. Spike stood in front of them and put his hands out, showing that they were empty.

“She’s with me and she won’t hurt you, she just wants to study you.” Spike explained. The cockatrices moved back, glaring at Silverstream.

“Put your hands out and show them you’re not holding anything dangerous.” Spike stated. Silverstream awkwardly put her hands up, waving them a bit. The cockatrices got back to what they were doing, no longer seeing her as a threat.

“Let’s go study some chicks first.” Spike stated. Silverstream followed him, holding a spiral notebook and pencil under her wing. They approached rows of nest and female cockatrices.

“Hi Beatrice.” Spike said, crouching down next to her nest. Beatrice looked at Silverstream and let out a hiss, hiding her children under herself.

“That’s just Silverstream, I brought her here to study you.” Spike explained. Beatrice glared at Silverstream and slowly moved back, revealing he three children. Silverstream let out a gasp.

“They’re so adorable!” She gushed. Tiny moved from the nest and ran over to Spike, excitedly jumping onto his shoulders. She nuzzled into his cheek, letting out a coo. Spike giggled and picked her up.

“Hey Tiny, what have you been doing?” Spike asked. Tiny let at a chirp and nuzzled into him to more. Spike held her up to Silverstream. She jotted something down into the notebook, staring at Tiny in awe.

“Can I hold her?” Silverstream asked. Spike looked at Beatrice who let out a groan and reluctantly nodded her head. Spike handed Tiny to her. Silverstream pulled out her wing and wrote something else down.

“I always found cockatrices fascinating but could never get close to them without being attacked.” Silverstream said as she drew a diagram of Tiny. “How did you manage to get this close to a cockatrice without getting hurt?” She asked.

“I found Beatrice with her tail caught under a rock. I helped her out and watched her eggs for her while she hunted. The other cockatrices started to trust me when I gave them dead bushes for there nest.” Spike explained. Silverstream took notes, nodding her head. Spike unwrapped the splint from Beatrice’s tail.

“It’s all better now.” Spike stated. Beatrice’s happily rubbed her head against his cheek.

“Did you know that cockatrices show affection by rubbing there head against a body part?” Spike stated. Silverstream jotted that fact down.

“Do you mind if I hold Beatrice?” Silverstream asked. Spike looked at her with a pleading look.

“She won’t do anything bad, I promise. It’ll help her with her report.” Spike explained. Beatrice rolled her eyes and stood up from her nest before walking over to Silverstream.

“I’ve never seen a cockatrice so close before!” Silverstream marveled. She opened Beatrice’s wing and poked it with her pencil. She lightly tugged Beatrice’s tail, making her let out a hiss, breathing out a small flame. Silverstream wrote that down.

“Woah calm down.” Spike stated, scratching a small spot under above her scales. Beatrice closed her eyes and laid on the ground.

“Do you wanna check out a male cockatrice?” Spike asked. Silverstream eagerly nodded her head. Spike stood up.

“Bye Beatrice, see you later.” Spike said with a wave. As they walked, Silverstream looked around and wrote down everything she saw. She wrote down how the cockatrices behaved and how they played with each other. They approached another nest to see a pink pukwudgie laying in it.

“Hi Ozzy, where’s Bandit?” Spike asked. Ozzy pointed to Bandit who was struggling to properly climb a small rock.

“Be careful around Bandit, he isn’t very nice.” Spike explained. He walked over to the rock and picked Bandit up. He let out a squawk of alarm as he was placed on the top of the rock.

“You’re welcome.” Spike stated. Bandit let out a grumble and hopped off of the rock before trying to climb it again.

“Male cockatrices can be very stubborn and try to do things on there own.” Spike explained. Silverstream nodded her head and wrote that down.

“The males aren’t that much different from females, they’re just slightly larger and more aggressive.” Spike stated. Silverstream closed her notebook.

“Thank you so much, I would have never finished this on time without you!” Silverstream exclaimed while hugging Spike.

“I’m glad that I could be a help.” Spike responded. Silverstream flew a few feet from the ground.

“With all of the stuff that I found, I can do my report before I can go home!” Silverstream said happily before flying off. Spike smiled. He should really help more creatures and not just animals.

His Legacy

Author's Note

Sorry for such a short chapter

His Legacy

Spike leaned on Buddy’s side, sitting on the floor in his house, flipping through a magic book. Snowy laid on his head, sound asleep. Buddy was also asleep, letting out soft snores. Since he had chose to stay home and help Silverstream with her project, he could stay in the house for the rest of Spring Break and study some magic. Starlight didn’t know that he had stayed so she wouldn’t be suspicious of anything.

“What are you doing?” Irdes asked, sitting on the pages of Spike’s book so he couldn’t read the words.

“I’m gonna learn some new magic so I’m studying.” Spike stated while pushing Irdes off of the book. Irdes stood up from the floor and brushed his scales off.

“I can help, I know some magic myself, I am a God.” Irdes boasted. Spike took Snowy from off of his head and placed him on Buddy’s paw.

“I actually found a spell I want to learn.” Spike said as he stood up and stretched. He showed Irdes the page that the spell was on.

Flame of a Thousand Years

This spell summons the very rare fire flower that can burn a flame for a thousand years. Only the person who cast the spell can put it out. The flame only goes out when the creator dies or chooses to put it out. You must know fire magic.” The page read. Spike beamed at Irdes.

“Well I guess you can do that one.” Irdes stated. Spike walked over to his clothing that laid on the table and slipped his shoes on. He put his arms through the sleeves of his cloak, flapping them around a bit.

“Do you have to put that on every time you use magic?” Irdes asked. Spike nodded his head as he put his gloves on.

“I’ve never used this type of magic before so it safe to cover my self up so I don’t get hurt.” Spike said before grabbing his mask and walked out of the room. Irdes flew after him with his tiny wings flapping.

“I’m coming with you. I wanna see how good your magic is.” Irdes states as Spike walked down the hallway. He turned the corner to enter the kitchen. It was actually rather large with a pantry for food for animals.

“It’s okay, I can just do plants and stuff, nothing to big.” Spike stated as he walked into the backyard. Irdes sat on the ground, facing away from the house.

“Show me what you got!” Irdes exclaimed, rubbing his paw and hoof together in anticipation. Spike looked at the spell one more time and put his mask on. He closed he eyes end held his hands out. He felt his hands get warm. Soon, they grew hot to the point where it could burn through flesh. A row of flowers popped out from the ground. The flowers burst into flames, glowing a bit.

“I did it.” Spike stated, pointing to the flowers. Irdes walked over to the flowers, inspecting them closely. He touched one of the flowers, only to jerk his paw back.

“If you keep this up, you’re going to be a very great Forest Keeper.” Irdes stated. Spike tilted his head.

“Forest Keeper?” Spike asked in confusion. Irdes snickered.

“You’re very funny.” He said with a laugh, wiping a fake tear from his eye. Spike gave him a confused look.

“What are you talking about? What’s a Forest Keeper?” Spike asked. Irdes stated at him in disbelief.

“Are....are you serious?” Irdes asked. Spike nodded his head. Irdes inhaled, thinking for a moment. He needed to teach him.

Spike on the library floor with a large book in front of him. Irdes flipped through the pages until he landed on one that said, ‘Forest Keeper.’ Irdes pointed to a picture of a large male deer with flowers on his antlers. He looked happy

“That’s the previous Forest Keeper.” Irdes stated. Spike nodded his head in understanding before reading the paragraph under the picture.

”The Forest Keeper is the being who protects the forest and all of the creatures in it. The Forest Keeper receives the Stone of Amity, signifying there power. The Forest Keeper will get a Guardian animal that follows and protects them wherever they go. The Stone Of Amity gives the Forest a Keeper magic to make plants and rocks grow.” Spike read out loud. Next to the paragraph there was a picture of a green stone with a design of a black and blue flower bud.

“I found that last month.” Spike said to Irdes, pointing to the picture. Irdes nodded his head, climbing onto Spike’s shoulder.

“That’s what makes you the Forest Keeper.” Irdes stated, putting his hoof on Spikes chest. He flipped the page continuing to read.

”The Stone of Amity was hidden by the Pillars over a thousand years ago when the Forest Keeper got corrupted by his greed. He tried to use his powers to defeat Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. He enslaved many different creatures and tortured them. The Pillars used the magic they had to trap the Forest Keeper deep underground. Before he was trapped the Forest Keeper swore to kill the next one to become the Forest Keeper. The Pillars trapped his Guardian Animal in a crystal somewhere deep in the Everfree Forest where no one is brave enough to go. As for the Stone of Amity, it’s whereabouts are unknown and will likely to never be found again.” Spike read out loud. He scratched his head in confusion.

“That last part doesn’t make sense. I found the Stone of Amity in the middle of the forest floor. Anyone could’ve found it easily, it was on a path.” Spike stated, standing up from the floor. A sinking realization hit him.

“I’m going to get killed...” Spike muttered to himself in terror. The old Forest Keeper would find his way out and kill him before taking over Equestria. With the magic Spike already had, he could likely take down his friends with a little struggle. What type of power would someone more experienced then him have? Especially someone who’s been filled with rage for a thousand years. He would surely be stronger than ever. Irdes flew next to Spike, landing on his shoulder.

“I know rock magic and some plant magic, I can train you.” Irdes stated. Spike thought for a moment before smiling.

“Let’s get started then.”

Training

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long and sorry it’s so short. This chapter contains violence and blood

Training

Spike stood in his backyard, wearing his cloak and mask. Irdes stood in front of him with his arms crossed.

“Since I’m going to be training you, I want you to take me down.” Irdes stated. Spike stared at the six inch God as if he were crazy.

“Are...are you sure?” Spike asked. Irdes nodded his head, stomping his zebra hoof firmly into the ground.

“Hit me with your best magic attack.” Irdes commanded. Spike gave him an uneasy look before shrugging his shoulders. His hands barely glowed as he summoned a tiny vine. The vine wrapped around his tiny squirrel tail. Without any warning, Irdes transformed into a yellow snake and slithered over to Spike. He wrapped around his leg and sunk his teeth into it. He let out a yelp of pain and fell on his butt.

“What the heck!” Spike exclaimed. Irdes turned back into his normal form and crossed his arms.

“This is what happens when you hold back.” Irdes stated sternly. Spike clutched onto his leg.

“Why did you bite me?!” Spike asked, standing up and wobbling a bit.

“I was showing you a lesson about not taking the first strike.” Irdes stated. Spike stared at him in disbelief.

“You just bit a child! Spike shouted. Debbie peaked her head out the window to see what all the ruckus was about. She hopped out out of the window and flew onto the roof to enjoy the fight. Irdes shook his head.

“Age is meaningless in the art of war.” Irdes stated. Spike let out a groan and stood up properly.

“Can you at least do easier attacks, I’m still learning.” Spike stated. Irdes rolled his eyes.

“Fine I’ll do something simple.” He said with a groan. Irdes turned into a dragon Spikes height. He was yellow with a brown underbelly and scales.

“Take me on, we’re the same size now.” Irdes stated. Spike nervously twiddled with his hands.

“I don’t think I’m comfortable with fighting. I’m not a fighter, I’m a lover.” Spike explained. Irdes shrugged his shoulders.

“Fine, I’ll attack you first.” Irdes said nonchalantly. Before Spike could process was he said, he got hit in the cheek with a rock.

“Ow, that really hurts. Couldn’t you use anything less dangerous?” Spike asked, rubbing his now bruised cheek. Irdes shook his head.

“I’m a god so that means I only specialize in a few magic categories. Since I’m the god of the mountains I can use rock magic and ice magic.” Irdes stated. Spike thought for a moment. Since he was a dragon, he could use fire magic. He knew simple plant magic and could summon tiny rocks. He could easily overpower Irdes in this fight. He still couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“Now let’s get back to fighting.” Irdes said, rubbing his claws together. He lifted his hand into the air and a snow cloud started to loom over them. Spike looked up and large ice shards started to fall from the cloud. One fell next to Spike, cracking the ground.

“HOW IS THIS ANY SAFER!” Spike yelled out as he dodged the ice shards. Irdes shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s not, I just want to see how much you can handle.” Irdes stated. Spike took in a deep breath and blew out a large gust of fire, melting half of the shards. The flame went through the cloud, destroying it.

“I don’t want to fight!” Spike exclaimed. Irdes chuckled.

“You need to learn how to fight or you’ll die!” Irdes responded. He lifted his hands into the air, summoning a large bolder. He swung it towards Spike. Spike took a few steps back, only to trip and fall onto his side. He looked up to see the boulder was getting very close, about to crush him. He raised his hand over his face in fear. A large green shield appeared, shattering the rock upon impact. Irdes let out a gasp.

“You summoned the Shield of Amity! How did you do that?!” Irdes asked in disbelief. Spike stared at the large shield in shock. It was shimmering with little red flower buds on it.

“I-I don’t know, it just sorta appeared.” Spike said. The shield was easily bigger than his body. Irdes smirked and summoned another rock. He chucked it out the shield, making it glitch for a second.

“Your magic isn’t as strong as I thought.” Irdes stated. He rubbed his hands together, making the ground rumble.

“Please I said I don’t want to fight!” Spike shouted.

“You have to do this.” Irdes stated. A large sharp rock shot out of the ground, ripping a bit of Spike’s wing. He let out a cry of pain.

“IRDES STOP!” Spike shouted on the top of his lungs. His wing started to drip blood. Irdes paused for a moment before shaking his head.

“You need to learn how to fight back!” Irdes shouted. Buddy ran outside, snarling and snapping his teeth. He ran in front of Spike, ready to attack Irdes. Spike lifted the shield above his head and tossed it like a disk. It spun across the backyard and hit Irdes in the head.

“Finally, your fighting back!” Irdes said with a laugh. Spike shook his head.

“Please I don’t want to do this.” Spike pleaded. Buddy charged at Irdes barking loudly. Irdes summoned a large rock and hurled it at Buddy’s head making him fall to the ground. He let out a loud whimper and covered his now scarred head with his paws. Blood poured from his head, making Spike gasp.

”I SAID I DON’T WANT TO FIGHT!” Spike shouted, his voice booming. He stomped his foot, cracking the ground and shaking it. A large torrent of flames and flowers surrounded Spike. Irdes let out a gasp of shock. Spike opened his eyes, revealing that they were glowing a dark green. He stretched his hand out towards the god and flames surrounded him. Red flower petals floated around him. Irdes touched the flame, only for his hand to jerk back.

“He’s more powerful than before.” Irdes muttered to himself. He looked up at Spike in fear. With this sudden burst of magic, he could easily kill him.

“Spike you proved your point, you can stop now!” Irdes exclaimed. Spike closed his eyes and shook his head. The flame around Irdes quickly vanished into thin air. Spike stumbled slightly, rubbing his head.

“Woah, that was weird.” Spike said, his words slurring slightly. Irdes rushed over to his side and held his body up.

“Let’s get that wing patched up and you can take a nap. I’ll patch up Buddy too.” Irdes stated. Spike nodded his head. Buddy followed them inside the house, limping a bit.

”His magic is tied to his emotions. I bet that’ll be very important later.

The Orb

Irdes sat on the foot of Spikes bed, reading through a bunch of books on history and magic. He had taken the form of a yellow unicorn colt with a brown mane so reading would be easier. Spike laid in the bed, sleeping peacefully. Buddy laid in his dog bed next to him, staring at Spike.

“The Shield of Amity was locked away with the previous Forest Keeper, it shouldn’t have come back.” Irdes said as he flipped through a book. It didn’t even make sense why Spike had plant magic. The Stone of Amity was supposed to be rid of any type of magic when the Pillars hid it.

“How did he even get the Stone of Amity, it was hidden away outside of Equestria where no one could find it.” Irdes said to himself. He flipped through more pages of the book, looking for an explanation. Spike muttered something in his sleep, making Irdes look at him. Buddy’s ears perked up at the sound of that.

”Hello?” Spike mumbled, opening his eyes a bit. Buddy quickly sat up and put his paw on Spikes side, rocking him back to sleep. He closed his eyes and let out a loud snore.

“I wonder what he’s dreaming about.” Irdes wondered.

Spike looked around in confusion, wondering where he was. Under his feet, there was nothing but darkness. There was darkness everywhere.

“Hello, anyone there?” Spike called out, looking for anyone. A small green light swirled passed, making a chill run up his spine. Something green started to glow from the side of his eye, making him turn around. A glowing green orb

”Come here.” The orb said in an angelic voice. Spikes eyes dilated as he stared at the orb and his scales fell felt against his head. Everything suddenly felt peaceful and soothing. He turned around and walked towards the orb.

”That’s right sweetheart, come closer.” The voice said. Spike nodded his head a mumbled something under his breath, taking a few steps closer. Something dragged him towards the orb, something tempting. He approached the orb and reached his hand out towards it. Spike blinked and moved his hand back.

“You’ve done this before.” Spike said, coming to a realization. The orb flashed red as if it had gotten angry before going back to it’s soothing green color.

”Come closer dear, I promise nothing will happen.” The orb reassured. Spikes eyes went back to normal and he shook his head.

“You’ve definitely done this before. Last time you hurt me and said that ‘I belong to you’.” Spike stated, taking a few steps back. The orb quickly got closer to Spike.

“Don’t leave me!” The angelic voice shouted, now becoming raspier. Spike jumped back in fear. The orb went back a bit.

”I didn’t mean to yell, please just don’t leave.” The voice pleaded, now sounding angelic like before. Spike gave a confused look, keeping his distance.

“Why should I trust you, for what I know you can be evil.” Spike said suspiciously.

“Please don’t leave, you’re the only one I can talk to. It’s already hard enough to get inside of your dreams.” The voice said in the raspy voice. It sounded feminine and rough. Spike let out a sigh.

“Okay fine, but only cause I don’t know how to get out of this place. What’s your name?” Spike asked.

“I’m Falsetto.” The orb said. Spike gave an awkward smile.

“I’m Spike.” Spike introduced. Falsetto giggled.

“Oh I know, I know a lot about you; where you live, your friends, your crush on that Gabby girl and how you write love letters to her before burning them.” Falsetto listed off. Spikes scales flattened.

“How do you know that?” He asked in concern.

“Well I have nothing else to do but watch and listen while I’m just a piece of stone.” Falsetto said with a nervous giggle. Spikes brows furrowed.

“Just a piece of stone?” Spike questioned, arching his eyebrow. The sudden realization hit him. “You’re the Stone of Amity!” Spike exclaimed. The orb shook a bit as if she were nodding her head.

“Yep! The Pillars turned me into it The Stone of Amity after the Dazzlings attacked. They thought I was apart of there scheme because I was practicing dark magic.” Falsetto explained. Spikes scales flattened.

“That’s terrible.” Spike said sympathetically. Falsetto moved as if she were shrugging her shoulders.

“The Pillars were always unfair. They sent my husband to the top of a mountain to stay there for thousands of years. He could only get off if someone summoned him, that’s why I was learning dark magic. You already summoned him so now I’m just trying to get out of here so I can see him again.” Falsetto said. Spike thought for a moment, tapping his foot a bit.

“I can try to get you out of here. I’ve seen my friends turn someone from stone. Since you’re so small, I can do it by myself!” Spike exclaimed excitedly. Falsetto lit up in excitement.

“That would be wonderful! I haven’t had a physical form in over a thousand years. It’ll feel so nice to stretch my legs and fins and fly around!” Falsetto said excitedly, lighting up a bit. Spike chuckled.

“When the Forest Keeper returns, I can beat him up!” Falsetto exclaimed, flashing brighter.

“What did the Forest Keeper do? I only know that he’s evil. I’ve never even heardof him before recently and I live with someone who obsesses over history.” Spike stated. Falsetto go closer to Spike, almost touching his nose. Spike took a step back in surprise.

“He was terrible. He abused the animals and made them do his biddings. He let his power get to his head and tried to take over Equestria!” Falsetto exclaimed. Spike let out a gasp.

“The worst part is that he knew that I was in here. He said that if I gave him some magic he’s let me out and he betrayed me! He became too powerful and got locked away underground by the Pillars. I just feel bad for his Animal Guardian, she was forced to do what he said and got turned to crystal because of it.” Falsetto said sympathetically. Spike thought for a moment before he could feel himself waking up. His body started to fade.

“I promise that I’ll get you out of here. We can fight the Forest Keeper together and take him down!” Spike exclaimed before disappearing completely.

“No no, this doesn’t make sense.” Irdes muttered to himself, flipping through a book. Spike sat straight up in bed, making Irdes let out a shriek of fear.

“I need to do something important.”

Figuring It Out

Spike sat in his library, holding his head in his hands. He sat at a table in his library with a book in front of him. He had heavy bags under his eyes and let out a yawn.

“I’ve been up all night looking for a spell and I can’t find anything.” Spike said, slowly turning to Buddy. Buddy looked up at him curiously, tilting his head. Spike rubbed his eyes and let out another yawn. He has been looking for a solution on how to get Falsetto out of the Stone of Amity but found nothing. He leaned his head back, closing his eyes.

“I wish I could ask my friends for help.” Spike muttered to himself. His eyes snapped open and he quickly hopped out of his chair.

“THEY’LL BE HOME IN TEN MINUTES!” Spike shouted. He had to get home before they did or they’d be suspicious on where he was. It was very early in the morning so he had no excuse for being out. He flew across the room and picked up his backpack. Buddy stood up and stretched his legs as he watched his owner freak out. Spike shoved various items into his bag and slung it over his shoulders.

“Bye Buddy, I’ll see you later today.” Spike said as he made his way out the door. Buddy’s ears flattened and he let out a whimper. He hated when Spike left.

”Spike seemed upset about his friends, I wonder how I can help? Maybe I can bring them here? That won’t work I’m too big and scary.” Buddy thought to himself. An idea popped into his head as he watched Spike flying away outside through a window. Buddy walked out of the room, making his way towards Spikes bedroom. He couldn’t follow Spike into town but he knew someone who could. He walked into Spikes room to see Snowy sleeping peacefully on a dresser. Buddy walked over to him and nudged him with his nose, making him stir awake.

“What?” Snowy muttered, sleepily rubbing his eye. Buddy let out a quiet bark, his tail wagging a bit. Snowy let out a groan.

“Why do I have to get his friends? Can’t you do it or something?” Snowy asked, laying back down to go to sleep. Buddy let out a soft growl before letting out a loud bark. Snowy quickly hopped up, now wide awake.

“Okay okay I’ll find one of his friends.” Snowy said before climbing off of the dresser. Buddy let smiled happily and walked over to his dog bed, curling up into it. Snowy let out a grumble, wishing he could be asleep. He got on all fours and skittered out of the room. He ran down the hallway, which was very long. The house was always surprisingly clean despite there being four animals and a god living there. Snowy approached the front door and stared at it, now realizing that the doorknob was too high for him to reach.

“Aw dang.” Snowy sighed out as he stared at the obstacle in front of him. He hopped up and gripped onto the edge of the mail slot. He squeezed his body through the slot and fell out of the other side. He stood up and looked around to see that everything was very dark. He squinted and looked around. It had to be five in the morning.

Snowy cautiously walked away from the house, sniffing the air to make sure there were no predators around. It didn’t really matter if there were predators around, no one would attack Snowy because he was a close friend to the Forest Keeper and the whole forest knew it. Snowy knew his way to the Spikes house because he had been there a few times.

“Why do I even need to look for his friends? This is dumb.” Snowy complained to himself. It would take him a few hours just to get into town because he was so small. He would have to climb over rocks and logs to get anywhere. To make it worse he could barely see anything in front of him so he had to rely on his hearing and smell. This was going to be a challenge.

Snowy crawled into town, sweating heavily. He panted and collapsed onto the ground. It was almost noon and he had finally made it into Ponyville. He had gotten attacked by an owl who thought he was a mouse. It had taken him twenty minutes to escape the owl, which made him get lost. Then he wandered around the forest for hours until he found out the right way to go.

“This better be worth it.” Snowy panted out as he struggled to stand up. He was too tired to move. He let out a loud angry shout, flailing his arms around before going limp. The sun beamed down on his tiny body.

“I guess this is it, the end of the line for little old me.” Snowy said dramatically, putting the back of his hand on his forehead. His ears perked up when he heard hoofsteps walking towards him.

“What are you doing here little squirrel?” A soft voice asked. Snowy opened his eyes to see a yellow pegasus with a long pink mane standing above him. He let out a small gasp, recognizing her. He had seen her in a picture that Spike left on his dresser.

“You look exhausted.” The pegasus said, picking Snowy up into her hooves. He felt safe and warm in her hooves, quickly closing his eyes. “I’ll take you to my cottage.” She said with a smile. The pegasus flew a few feet to get to her cottage and opened her door. If Snowy had kept walking for a few more minutes, he would’ve made it there herself. The pegasus placed him on her couch, on top of a pillow.

“My name is Fluttershy, what’s your name?” The pegasus asked. Snowy opened his mouth before closing it. Spike told him not to talk in front of ponies or they’d freak out. He let out a chitter and Fluttershy smiled.

“Snowy, that’s a nice name.” Fluttershy hummed our before flying out of the room. Snowy’s eyes widened.

“She can talk to animals?” Snowy asked himself. A smirk appeared on his face. This would make everything much easier. Fluttershy flew back into the room, holding a bowl of mixed nuts and a tiny cup of water.

“Here you go, this should bring your energy back up.” Fluttershy smiled, placing the bowl and cup in front of him. Snowy grabbed a handful of nuts and stuffed them in his mouth, chewing them carefully. He swallowed them and took a sip of the water through a straw. He let out a satisfied sigh and leaned into the couch.

“Where do you live?” Fluttershy asked. Snowy let out a squeak and Fluttershy gasped.

“The Everfree Forest?! That’s far too dangerous for a baby squirrel like you.” Fluttershy gasped in shock. An idea popped into Snowy’s head and he let out another chitter to Fluttershy.

“I would love to see your home, I need to know if it’s safe.” Fluttershy said. Snowy hopped into her mane and pointed towards the door. Fluttershy flew hopped off of the couch.

“Lead the way!” Fluttershy exclaimed, flying out the front door.

Fluttershy approached a rather large house in the middle of the forest and let out a soft gasp.

“You live here?” Fluttershy asked in disbelief. Snowy nodded his head and ran up to the door.

”It must be abandoned and his whole family lives here.” She thought to herself. She opened the door and marveled at what she saw. It didn’t look abandoned at all. Everything looked clean and neatly placed.

“Where’s your family?” Fluttershy asked. Snowy gestured for her to follow him and ran down the hallway. Fluttershy flew after him before entering a bedroom. She froze in place when she saw a timberwolf standing there. His ears flattened and he let out a growl, slowly approaching Fluttershy. Snowy ran in front of him, holding up a picture. He pointed to Fluttershy and let out a chatter. The timberwolf looked at her and sat down, now panting happily.

“Aw you’re so adorable!” Fluttershy exclaimed, petting Buddy on the head. His tail started to wag and his leg started to thump. Before anyone could say anything else, the front door opened.

“Buddy I’m back!” A familiar voice exclaimed. Fluttershy turned around as she heard footsteps making its way to the bedroom. Buddy’s tail started to wag faster as he heard his owner approaching the room. Spike walked into the room, only to freeze in surprise when he saw Fluttershy.

“Oh!” Spike exclaimed in surprise. Buddy ran over to him and bombarded his face with happy licks. “Okay okay I missed you too.” Spike said with a giggle, pushing Buddy away. Fluttershy gave him a look of confusion.

“Spike? What are you doing here?” Fluttershy asked. Spike let out a sigh, knowing there was no use of lying.

“I’ll start from the beginning.”

Spike and Fluttershy both sat on a couch and Debby sat on a chair not too far from them.

“So you’re the Forest Keeper?” Fluttershy asked, slowly understanding the story. Spike nodded his head and showed her the Stone Of Amity.

“I need help getting Falsetto out of here, she knows the previous Forest Keepers weaknesses.” Spike explained. Fluttershy looked at the Stone and an idea popped into her head.

“Zecora taught me a potion on how to turn things into and out of stones. She said she usually uses it against cockatrices and to feed fire lizards.” Fluttershy explained. Spike grinned happily and he hugged her. She hopped off of the couch.

“I’ll start making the potion.” Fluttershy said as she started to walk away. She turned around and winked.

“And your secret is safe with me.”

Released and Super Hero

Spike stood in his backyard, holding potion bottle in his hand which was a pretty mix of pink and orange. He swirled it around a bit, watching the colors dance.

“Are you sure this’ll work?” Spike asked. Fluttershy nodded her head with a confident smile.

“I’ve seen Zecora use it before.” She explained. Spike placed the Stone of Amity onto the grass and opened the potion bottle.

“How much should I use?” Spike asked, looking back at Fluttershy. She shrugged her shoulders, completely unsure. Spike let out a shaker breath and poured two drops onto the stone. He stood there, waiting for something to happen. The Stone started to crack and blue light shined out. Spike smiled and poured another drop. The Stone broke into piece, making Spike tumble back in surprise. A beam of light shot out, swirling into the sky. The light started to take form. Spike gasped at the light, not able to tear his eyes away. The ground shook and rumbled under them and started to crack a bit.

“Spike!” Fluttershy shouted in fear. Spike looked down to see that the ground under him was started to break apart. He quickly rolled backwards, landing next to Fluttershy’s leg. A blinding light flashed in the forest, making Fluttershy and Spike cover there eyes. Spike opened his eyes to see a rather large siren. She was dark blue with green fins and scales. Spike stared at her in awe as she looked at her fins in surprise. She slowly broke out into a grin, starting to bop up and down happily.

“Falsetto?” Spike asked in disbelief, taking a step forward. Falsetto looked at him with a gang filled grin, making Fluttershy take a few steps back. She lunged at Spike, making him freeze in fear. Falsetto wrapped her arms around Spike, hugging him tightly.

“Thank you soooo much!” Falsetto exclaimed, hugging him even tighter. Spike let out a strained wheeze, a small flame shooting out of his mouth. She chuckled and placed Spike down.

“I’m sorry but I haven’t seen the sky in years!” Falsetto exclaimed, looking at the clear sky. She zipped around the backyard, looking at flowers, bugs, and trees. Spike smiled at her excitement. Falsetto quickly turned around to face him.

“Where’s Irdes?!” Falsetto asked, her tail flapping a bit. Spike thought for a moment.

“I think he’s inside, I’ll go get him.” Spike said as he ran inside. Spike looked around to see Irdes, laying face first on the kitchen counter.

“Irdes I have a big surprise for you!” Spike exclaimed happily, practically bouncing from joy. Irdes looked up from the spot he was laying a looked at Spike.

“What is it?” He asked. Spike grabbed him and started to make his way to the backyard.

“Trust me you’ll love her!” Spike said running into the backyard. Irdes cocked his eyebrow.

“She? Don’t hook me up with some random mortal.” Irdes said sternly.

“Irdes?” Falsetto asked. Irdes quickly turned around and his ears flattened.

“Falsetto?” Irdes asked in disbelief. He flew out of Spikes hands and slowly approached his wife. He turned into a large golden dragon and pulled her into a hug.

“I missed you so much!” Irdes exclaimed, tearing up a bit. Falsetto hugged him tightly.

“Aaw!” Spike and Fluttershy cooed in unison. Irdes kissed Falsetto on the lips. Spike smiled, loving this display. Falsetto broke away from the kiss chuckling.

“Sweetheart, not in front of Spike.” Falsetto said with a laugh.

“I don’t mind.” Spike said with a large grin. He was actually enjoying this. He loved to see people in love.

“Oh! Spike I need to teach you some spells, go put on your outfit. And make sure to bring all of your animals from inside.” Falsetto commanded. Spike nodded his head and ran inside.

Spike stood outside, wearing his costume. Behind him, Debbie, Buddy, and Cinnamon stood behind him. Fluttershy laid close to the house, petting Snowy. Falsetto floated in front of them as Irdes laid next to her, staring at her with love in his eyes.

“First step about fighting, you need to work as a team. It’s better to work with your animals than by yourself.” Falsetto explained. Spike nodded his head. Falsetto drew in a deep breath and started to sing. Her voice was soft and haunting. A chill ran up Spike spine at the sound of it. Plants snaked out of the ground, slowly approaching Spike.

“Attack and defend, work together as a team.” Falsetto commanded. Spike nodded his head and looked around at the vines that were surrounding him. He had no way out. He drew in a large breath and let out a let out a gust of fire, burning the vines to ashes.

“Impressive, but can you defeat this!” Falsetto exclaimed, slapping her tail onto the ground. Rocks started to erupt from the ground, striking anything in its way. Spike flapped his wings, trying to fly away but couldn’t get off of the ground due to his wing still being cut. Large boulders surrounded him, slowly closing in.

“Debbie!” Spike exclaimed. Debbie opened her wings and flew up into the air. She swooped down and grabbed Spike by the hood. She flew upwards as the rocks crashed into each other.

“Haha, you can’t get me now!” Spike shouted, at least twenty feet from the ground. Falsetto smirked.

“You forgot about my special attack!” She exclaimed. A vine shot out of the ground and wrapped around his ankle. The vine swung around, swaying him side to side. Buddy let out a growl and charged at the vine. He head butted it harshly, causing the vine to lose grip on Spikes leg. The vine shot him across the forest at a very fast speed, heading into town.

“Spike!” Fluttershy exclaimed.

“Haha woops. You should probably go check if he’s okay.” Falsetto laughed nervously. Fluttershy placed Snowy on the ground and quickly flew in the direction Spike was launched.

Spike let out a loud scream as he was launched across Ponyville. He opened his wings, trying to glide to the ground safely. Ponies watched in curiosity as this masked stranger glide into town. Spike tilted his body upwards, trying to slow himself down. He reached the ground, only to forcefully kick a stallion in the side. The pony tumbled over and Spike landed on his feet.

“Oh no, are you okay?” Spike asked. The stallion looked at him, snarling at him. He had a purse in his teeth. Spike turned around to see a mare with a black eye. He slowly put the pieces together, realizing that the mare had been mugged. The stallion lunged his hoof at Spike, trying to punch him. A vine wrapped around his hoof and pulled him to the ground. The stallion tried to move back, only to be held to the ground. Everybody stared in awe as Spike took the purse from his teeth. He handed the purse to the mare who looked at him gratefully.

“My hero!” She exclaimed dramatically. Ponies around him started to cheer as a few cameras snapped a picture. Spike grinned nervously through his mask.

This wasn’t good.

Irdes slammed a newspaper down onto the counter, glaring at Spike. On the cover, it showed Spike and the mare he saved hugging him.

“You weren’t supposed to let anyone see you!” Irdes shouted. Falsetto moves Irdes away from Spike.

“It’s my fault, I launched him into town.” Falsetto stated. Spike looked at the newspaper. He was fully clothed and little to no skin was showing.

“Well at least know one knows it was me.”

Crows circled a wasteland, crowing loudly.

“He’s returned, he’s returned!” The crows chanted. In the middle of the wasteland, the ground was cracked. The ground started to shake and two antlers poked out. A deers pokes his hooves out, pulling himself upwards. He panted heavily, pulling himself out. His fur was matted down and he was covered in dirt.

“After thousands of years, I’m finally free!” The deer exclaimed in a scratchy voice. He stood up and dusted his coat off. “Reggie!” He screamed out, sticking out his hoof. A crow landed on it and looked at him curiously.

“Have you found out where the new Forest Keeper is?” He asked. The crow nodded his head and let out a caw. Another crow came down, holding a newspaper in his beak. The deer read through the front page of the paper.

“Ponyville huh? I’ll pay him a visit.” He said in a sinister tone. He looked at himself. He was filthy.

“But first, I need to clean myself up so I can make a grand entrance.”

Haunted

Spike wore a green dragon costume, flying around the school. He was hanging up Nightmare Night decorations.

“Perfect, just move the skull a little to the right.” Twilight instructed. Spike nodded his head and moved a cockatrice skull to the top of the doorway. Twilight wore a long white dress and a black wig. Spike landed next to Twilight, who stared at his wing in confusion.

“What happened to your wing?” Twilight asked, pointing to the tear in his wing.

“I flew into a rock.” Spike stated. It technically wasn’t a lie, he did cut his wing on a rock. The school doors opened, making Spike and Twilight turn around. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Fluttershy walked in the school all wearing costumes.

Pinkie Pie wore a cheerleader costume with her hair in two ponytails. Applejack was dressed as a zombie, wearing old worn clothing. Fluttershy was a rabbit, her costume was simple with only ears, a nose, whiskers, and a small tail. Rainbow Dash was Daring Do. Finally, Rarity was a witch. She wore a large floppy hat and a sparkly black dress.

“Darlings the decor is to die for.” Rarity complimented. Twilight smiled.

“Thanks Rarity, Spike got most of the decorations.” Twilight explained. Rainbow Dash inspecting a few dark thorny plants that were high on the ceiling.

“These look like the plants the attacked us when Twilight first became princess.” She pointed out. Pinkie Pie picked up a manticore spine.

“This looks super duper real!” She exclaimed in disbelief. They all marveled on how really everything looked.

“Oh come on, this is obviously all fake.” Smolder said, walking into the school. Sandbar, Ocellus, Gallus, Yona, and Silverstream followed close behind. Gallus scoffed.

“Yeah, what this even supposed to be?” He asked, poking a Timberwolf tail. Little did they know, all of the things Spike had set up were very real. Anytime an animal died, there bodies would have to be deposed of and he would usually take them. A lot of potions he made relied on an eyeball of a roc or a tongue of a cockatrice. Waiting until they died was the best way to get what he needed.

“Well the haunted school is gonna be even scarier.” Rainbow Dash said with a grin. All of the students exchanged glances.

“No offense Professor, but this doesn’t seem that scary at all.” Ocellus stages. All of her friends nodded there heads in agreement.

“Yona know that teacher will jump out and scare student.” Yona said in agreement.

“Heeeeey, we worked hard on this.” Pinkie Pie defended. The students and teachers started to argue as Spike thought to himself.

“I can make a scary house.” Spike stated. Everyone looked at him and started to snicker to themselves.

“No offense Spike, but you’re the least scary creature I know.” Applejack said. Spike pouted and crossed his arms.

“Well at least I’m dressed as something scary. What’s more scarier than a dragon?” Spike asked.

“You’re already a dragon, why are you dressed up as one?” Smolder asked. Spike stared down at his costume.

“I dress like a dragon every year.” Spike said. Smolder giggled at that.

“Fluttershy, I need your help.” Spike said, turning to Fluttershy. Everyone gave a look of surprise.

“Sure what do you need me to do?” Fluttershy asked.

“You’re asking Fluttershy to help?” Rainbow Dash asked in disbelief. Spike nodded his head.

“Yup, come on Fluttershy, we have a lot of work to do.” Spike said, walking out of the school. Fluttershy flew after him.

Spike sat in front of Buddy, putting pet safe paint on his face and around his mouth.

“Show me your scary face.” Spike commanded. Buddy let out a snarl, bearing his teeth and growling. A chill ran up his spine.

“Perfect.” Spike said with a grin.

“So let me get this straight, you’re going to scare a bunch of people because other people suck at scaring?” Irdes asked.

“Uh huh, do you wanna help?” Spike asked, picking up a nearby flashlight. He placed it next to Buddy and Irdes shook his head.

“If a mortal looks at me, there eyes will melt out of their head!” Irdes said dramatically.

“But I’ve seen you and so has Fluttershy.” Spike pointed out. Irdes eyes darted around, looking for an excuse.

“Okay fine, I just don’t like meeting knew people.” He admitted. Spike chuckled and stood up.

“Fluttershy, can you finish there makeup, I have to set a path.” Spike asked. Fluttershy nodded her head, knowing that they had a few hours until there guest came. Spike flew out of a nearby window and landed in his backyard. He walked over to the shed in the backyard and opened the door. He grabbed a shovel, a wheel barrow, and a two large bag of rocks. He backed out of the shed and turned around to see a crow. What was odd about the crow was that it had a camera in its beak.

“Um...hello.” Spike greeted. The crow snapped a picture, causing a bright flash. Spike closed his eyes, rubbing them a bit. When he opened them, the crow was gone. That was odd. Spike shook his head and continued with his task.

The mane six and the student six walked towards the entrance of the Everfree Forest.

“Isn’t it a little dangerous to hold a scary event in the Everfree Forest?” Ocellus asked. Twilight waved her hoof dismissively.

“Knowing Spike, this whole thing is going to be five minutes and we’ll just walk in a small circle. Animals aren’t even that close to the edge of the forest.” Twilight stated. They approached the entrance to the Everfree Forest to see rocks lining up, making a path. A large puff of smoke appeared in front of them and Spike emerged from the smoke, wearing a mummy costume with patches of blood on it.

“Welcome to the haunted Forest, enter if you dare.” Spike said menacingly.

“How’d you get that fake blood on your bandages, it looks so real!” Pinkie Pie marveled. An embarrassed look appeared on Spikes face.

“It’s not fake, I tripped and fell down a hill.” Spike admitted, making the others laugh. He cleared his throat and continued speaking.

“Make sure not to stray off of the path or there will be dire consequences.” Spike warned. He grabbed a smoke bomb from his bandages and threw it to the ground, making smoke erupt out. Everyone watched Spike run out from behind the smoke and jump into a bush.

“Let’s see how ‘scary’ this actually is.” Rainbow Dash said starting to follow the path. Everyone follow behind her, happily chatting to each other.

“This isn’t even scary, I knew Spike couldn’t make anything scary!” Smolder said. Everyone’s ears perked up when the heard a soft growling from the bushes.

“Did you hear that?” Silverstream asked. They all turned around to see a timberwolf slowly emerging from the bushes. It let out a low growl and it’s eyes shined brightly in the darkness. Blood stained it’s face and it slowly approached them.

“Okay guys, don’t panic.” Twilight tried to make sure that they stayed calm. The timberwolf jumped forward. “RUN!” Rarity shouted. The group scattered off into different directions. Rarity and Rainbow Dash looked behind them to see the timberwolf right on her tails. Rarity tripped over her dress and fell to the ground. Rainbow Dash flew next to her, trying to help her up.

“Lets go Rarity!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. The timberwolf pounced at them and they both let out loud screams.

Smolder, Ocellus, and Gallus slowed down to catch there breaths. They had drifted off of the path and were in total darkness.

“Where are we? I can’t see a thing.” Gallus asked, squinting.

“Where did that timberwolf come from, Headmare Twilight said that they wouldn’t be at the edge of the forest.” Ocellus said, shaking like a leaf.

“Hold on.” Smolder said, flying up towards a tree. She snapped off a branch and lit the end of it on fire, lighting it on fire. She landed next to Ocellus and held the torch up towards the forest. There was a rustle from a nearby bush. Smolder stood in front of both of them protectively.

“Stay back!” She shouted, pointing the torch forward. Pinkie Pie stumbled out of the bushes, patting leaves out of her hair.

“There you guys are, where are the others?” Pinkie Pie asked. Everyone shrugged there shoulders. Without any warning, a roc chick popped out of the bush. It’s skin was rotting off and it only had one wing. It let out a loud strained caw, dragging itself on the ground. The group screamed in fear, huddling together.

Twilight, Yona, and Silverstream walked on the path, still all on edge from the timberwolf attack.

“Alright girls, just take deep breaths.” Twilight said, trying to calm them down.

“Yak scared!” Yona exclaimed, shaking like a leaf. Silverstream nodded her head in agreement, hugging Yona tightly.

“That was terrifying!” Silverstream agreed. Twilights ears perked up when she heard a rustle from a tree.

“What was that?” Silverstream asked, hiding behind Twilight. Yona shook in fear, putting her hooves over her eyes. Twilight backed in front of the children and got into a defensive stance. Three eyes appeared in the tree, glowing with the night. A manticore hopped out of a tree, letting out a roar. It had an extra eye in its forehead, glowing brightly. Dry blood was around it mouth as it slowly approached them.

“Stay back!” Twilight exclaimed, her horn glowing brightly. Her horn flickered and the light went away.

“My magic!” Twilight exclaimed in shock. It wasn’t working. The manticore slowly approached them, lifting up its paw. Everyone screamed in terror.

Applejack and Sandbar walked into a very bright area, shielding there eyes. When they opened there eyes, the say a snack table and Heart Warming lights hung up in trees. Fluttershy danced to music playing from a record player and Spike took a sip of his drink.

“You finished the haunted path! Was it scary?” Spike asked with a smirk.

“Scary? A timberwolf attacked us!” Sandbar exclaimed in terror. Spike chuckled.

“I know, I planned the whole thing.” Spike boasted. They both looked at him in shock.

“You planned that?!” Applejack asked in disbelief. Spike nodded his head with a smile.

“I know you wanted to do something scary, but you took it far!” Applejack shouted. Spike grimaced.

“Did I really take it too far?” Spike asked.

“Yes!” Applejack and Sandbar shouted in unison. Spike looked at them. Sandbar was pale and was shaking. Applejacks hair was ruffled up and she looked terrified too.

“I should probably stop them before someone gets hurt.” Spike said. He reached into his bag and pulled out a squeaky dog toy. He walked through the bushes Sanbar and Applejack came through. He looked around and followed the hoofsteps that Applejack and Sanbar had left behind. He started to squeak the bone shaped toy in his hand.

“Okay guys, pranks over!” Spike shouted, squeaking the toy. He followed the path to see Twilight, Yona, and Silverstream cowering in fear as Cinnamon circled them.

“You can stop now.” Spike stated. Cinnamon ran over to him and rubbed her face against him. He pet her head, rubbing off the third eye.

“Buddy, here boy!” Spike exclaimed. The bushes rustled and Buddy hopped out, his tail wagging happily. Rainbow Dash and Rarity pored there head out of the bush they were cowering in. Debbie came from a nearby tree approaching Spike. His friends walked up to him, all of them looking very shaken.

“These are your animals?!” Twilight asked in disbelief. Spike nodded his head.

“Where did you possibly find them?!” Rarity asked. Spike swallowed and he thought of a quick lie.

“Oh you know, I just found them.” Spike stated. “Let’s go eat snacks, I set up a snack table not too far from here.” He said, leading them to the relaxation area. Smolder followed him, thinking to herself.

“Has powers to grow plants, is friends with forest creatures, and weird weather lately?” She thought you herself. It all sounded so familiar as if she had read something about it before.

She needed to figure this out.

Flying

Spike walked through the forest with a little skip in his step. The sun was still rising and Irdes let out a loud groan. He sat in the pocket of the jacket Spike was wearing.

“Why did we have to go this early?” Irdes whined out. Spike rolled his eyes.

“If you didn’t want to come you could’ve just stayed at the castle.” Spike responded. Irdes let out a small gasp.

“And let everyone know that there’s a powerful god among them? I think not!” He exclaimed, hiding deeper into the pocket. Spike pulled a cart filled with stuff from the castle. He wanted the house to feel more like home.

They approached the house and Spike smiled at the sight. It was his home away from home. Debbie stood on the roof, her chest puffed out and her eyes closed tightly. Spike tilted his head in confusion. What was she doing? Debbie hopped off of the roof, flapping her wings quickly. She quickly plummeted towards the ground, letting out distressed chirps. Spike let go of the wagon and flew towards her in a panic. He stretched out his hand and itnstarted to glow. Large bushes emerged from the ground and Debbie fell in with a soft “plop”. Spike helped her out of the bush, happy to see that she was not injured.

“What were you doing?” Spike asked. Debbie looked at the ground bashfully. Spike looked at her wings. The right one was much smaller than the left one. It was too small for her to fly. Spike thought for a moment. He had built a saddle for Buddy, building a wing shouldn’t be that hard.

“I can help you fly.” Spike stated. Debbie gave him an excited look and flapped her wings in joy. Irdes poked his head from Spikes pocket.

“You didn’t have to run over here, it really shook me up.” Irdes complained. Spike rolled his eyes and made his way inside. This was going to be a breeze.

Spike stood in the library, holding three books. He had found a few books on how birds fly and toy airplanes.

“I still can’t believe that this place has such a big library.” Spike said in disbelief. Buddy sleepily walked into the room, obviously just waking up. His tail wagged happily when he saw Spike.

“Hey Buddy, I got you something.” Spike said while reaching into cart. He pulled out a large rubber dog toy. Spike tossed it to Buddy, making him take a few steps back. He sniffed it for a moment before happily biting into it, his tail wagging. Spike chuckled.

“I’m glad you like it.” He stated while flipping to a page on the book about birds. He saw a diagram of a birds wing. It listed all of the parts and different feathers on the wing. “This is perfect!” Spike exclaimed. He didn’t even need to use the other books he had found. He reached the wagon and pulled out his notebook that he wrote in. He usually wrote down facts about animals that he had found.

Spike walked out of the room, looking for the workshop he had found the day before. He opened a random door to see a bunch of fabric and feathers. Some were real and some were fake. He picked up a measuring tape the was laying near the door.

“I need those later.” Spike said before closing the door. He walked to the next room to see that it was filled with metal, wood, and tools. He walked over the the flat metal table and pulled out very thin tubes of metal.

“Come here, Debbie!” Spike shouted. He heard the distant sound of claws scraping across the hardwood floor. She rushed into the room, flapping her wings. Spike walked over to her and held out her good wing. “Stay still.” He said. Debbie stiffened up, trying to be still as possible. Spike pulled out the measuring tape and started to measure her wings at all angles. He wrote down the measurements in his notebook.

“Thanks Debbie, that’s all I needed.” Spike said before Debbie walked out of the room. He opened the draw on the metal table and pulled out a black marker. He measured the metal tube and put a line at the few inches below Debbies normal wing wing length. Her smaller wing would bring the prosthetic wing up by a few inches.

He reached into the drawer and pulled out a metal cutting blade. He sawed through the metal until it broke off.

“This can’t be too hard.”

Spike stared at the metal structure he made. It looked just like a wing. It bent like one too. It was perfect, it just needed feathers. Spike walked out of the room, almost stepping on Cinnamon.

“Oops, I didn’t see you there.” Spike stated. Cinnamon looked up at him and let out a soft mewl. He arched his eyebrow. “Do you wanna come with me?” He asked. Cinnamon stood up and rubbed her head against his leg, letting out a purr, her wings fluttering a bit. Spike smiled and picked her up with one arm, holding the wing his other arm. He walked into the room with crafts supplies in it. He carefully put the wing on the wooden desk that was pressed against the wall.

“Do you wanna help me out?” Spike asked, holding Cinnamon like a baby. She started at him with her big yellow eyes and lightly pawed his face. Spike placed her on the floor and pulled out a few bins full of real feathers, thick thread, thick fabric, leather, and different sized needles. He sat down onto the wooden chair and picked up the needle and thread. He threaded the needle and started to sewing the fabric into the small holes in the metal.

“It’s a good thing I asked Rarity for sewing tips last week. This fabric and thread is great for wind resistance. It’s for pegasi outfits. She even taught me how to sew feathers into things!” Spike explained to Cinnamon, who was playing in the bin of feathers, clearly not paying attention to him. Spike looked at her and smiled. She was a very helpful manticore.

Spike walked into the backyard, holding the newly built wing behind his back. Debbie watched Irdes wave Buddy’s dog toy in front of his face, playing fetch with him.

“Hey Debbie, I have a surprise for you.” Spike sang out. Debbie looked at him, tilting her head. Spike pulled the prosthetic wing from behind his back. She let out a happy squawk and happily flapped her wings, running over to him. Spike chuckled.

“Put your small wing out, I need to put it on.” Spike stated. Debbie excitedly put her wing out. Spike put a small harness on her wing, strapping the wing on. Debbie looked at the wing and flapped it happily, getting off of the ground a bit. The wing was different shades of blues, greens, and whites.

“Do you wanna try to fly again?” Spike asked. Debbie nodded her head and flapped her wings quickly. She got off of the ground by a few feet. The wing worked like a charm. Debbie landed in the ground and happily hopped around Spike.

“You’re welcome.”