In the ancient castle in the Everfree, the solar monarch, her recently returned dragon son, and a giant spider-like creature from another world was walking along the dark hallway following the instruction of the most unusual of the three.

"So Char, are you ready for some training?" Asked Spike looking at the Bolamite standing on his shoulder. Char nodded as the trio reached a fork in the hallway, Spike then looked at Char and asked "Left or right?" Char pointed to the corridor on the right and the trio continued down the hall.

Celestia was interested in how the relationship between her son and his pseudo army came together during his time away, so she decided to ask. "So Spike how exactly did you meet all your friends?"

Spike looked at his mother and responded to her inquiry. "Well, I first met Sparks one night while traveling with the caravan when I saved him and the rest of the Zappflys from a crate some local outlaws were using as cover when they ambushed us. Then came Char and the cluster after I saved them during a forest fire." Char nodded at the memory and nuzzled spikes cheek showing that she was still grateful, Spike returned the affection with a scratch on her abdomen, as he continued. "Then I took Belch in after he lost his family. Banger was next, he and his cloud were outside of their cave when a bandit caused a rock slide and blocked the entrance off, I was nearby and tried my best to help them but the cave was under hundreds of tons of solid rock at least forty feet deep, so after some teamwork, they agreed to join the family. When on a hunt for a particularly nasty outlaw who used Stingbees and Fuzzles as both ammo and traps and treated them horridly, I rescued both Fang and his cete, and Queen's hive from the outlaw and gave them the love that they never got. Alvin and the troops were just an 'unlucky'..." said Spike giving air quotes, "...find after returning from seeing Doc for a status report on the teleporter. Lastly, Wallop joined us after he accidentally caused me to lose my target when he knocked at boulder off a mountain and crushed the outlaw, he's paid off his debt long ago but I asked him if he would like to stay and he agreed and now he sees Char as an older sister similar to me and Twi. After every new member joined the family there was a little argument among the older members but I quickly quelled them and once each saved my life they would be accepted with no more issues."

Celestia thought to herself 'Dam right I raised you right my little commander.' she let out a giggle.

Spike heard the giggle and was wondering why she was giggling, "Umm, Mom, what's with the giggling?"

Celestia was brought out of her thoughts and responded. "I was just remembering the times I taught you about leadership and kindness before you moved to Ponyville with Twilight, and how you used what you learned in those classes to bring together not one but eight different species to help you, I mean I'm not shocked at all you did ally with both the dragons and the changelings and you were only like twelve, but still you show true friendship to everyone you met and that was able to bring you back to me."

Spike had a sheepish look on his face as he listened to his mothers praise, but Spike was brought out of his ego infused daydream when he felt a hard wooden object hit his snout which snapped him back to reality as he had walked straight into the castle garden and proceeded to get to first base with a tree that stood in the center of the garden. Spike heard the sound of muffled laughter from his shoulder and from behind him and was completely embarrassed and annoyed and quietly said three little words to the others in the room. "Not One Word." Spike then took in his surroundings and noticed the large variety of flowers and bushes scattered around in multiple large flower beds and the large willow tree planted in the middle that has stolen Spikes first kiss and then it clicked that they had reached the castle gardens.

After the muffled giggles died down Spike looked at his mother and asked if they were in the garden. "So is this the royal garden?"

"It is, I'm shocked that there is anything alive after years of neglect."

"Well the roof is missing so rain isn't a problem and there have probably been years of animals living in the castle before Twilight and the girls first got here to stop Nightmare Moon the first time. Also when I and Twi came here to explore the castle there were thousands of star spiders scattered around the halls, so there wouldn't be a problem with fertilizer, and once the seeds drop they probably replanted themselves and so on until we reached this point."

"Zecora really did teach you everything about plants didn't she?"

"She did." Spike then looked at Char on his shoulder and continued "So Char is this where you saw the Green Fang plant?" Char nodded her head and pointed to the other side of the willow tree. Spike looked to the other side of the tree and sighted the very unusual ingredient sitting right by one of the roots of the tree, Spike then looked at Char and started to scratch her abdomen. "Thank you, Char, I bet we can get back to the main hall on our own so why don't you head in and get ready for training."

Char gave Spike one last nuzzle as she returned to Spikes' arm strap and disappeared. Spike grabbed the flower and pulled the whole plant out of the ground, roots and all, and placed it in his backpack. Once the flower was in his backpack Spike looked back at his mother who was taking in all of the sights of the plants in the ancient garden, Spike walked over to Celestia and tapped her shoulder, and commented on the garden. "It's beautiful isn't it?"

"It truly is Spike, I remember when I and Luna first planted the garden over a thousand years ago, but it saddens me to think that she never saw the results, but I think that Luna would be proud to see what has come of our time together."

"I'm sure she would, we can show her the garden tomorrow when we bring everyone here to show them the rest of the family but until then let's head back to the main hall and finally set up base camp."

"Let's."

Spike and Celestia finished setting up the base camp he would use during his time training, as Spike used his fire breath to light some wood that he had collected from the Timberwolves he had taken down beforehand.

"And there, the campfire is done and burning, I have cleared the area of rubble so I can rest and I can always head to the river that we passed to collect water for both cleaning and drinking. So it's time to train." Said Spike as he clapped the dirt off his hands looking proud at his and his mother's work.

Spike then looked at his mother who was using her magic to lift and arrange the larger pieces of rubble into a chair and table where he could prepare food and eat. "And done, you now have some rare Princess Celestia originals for your personal use." Said Celestia with a sparkle in her eyes at the work she had done. Spike just rolled his eyes at his mother's ego as he knows that she relished doing simple things by herself without the palace servants insisting on doing them for her.

Celestia was brought out of her self praise by Spike's talking, "You did great mom, I don't think I ever had such a lavish set up for a base camp before."

Celestia looked shocked at how a simple stone chair and table was lavish and wanted to ask her son about what he normally had in a base camp but Spike noticed his mothers look and predicted the question and answered "All I had was a fire most times and maybe a tree to sleep in for the night if I was lucky." Celestia closed her mouth and cleared her dry throat and nodded.

Spike continued to look over their work and was smiling at the display, satisfied with the camp, he was determined to start training. "Ok mom the camp is ready, are you ready to see what I call training?"

Celestia nodded and answered, "Of course, but let's head outside for this, I don't think the castle could withstand any more damage."

Spike nodded and shrugged as the two walked out of the front door and made their way to the forest on the other side of the bridge.

Once Spike and Celestia arrived at the edge of the forest, Spike then instructed his mother to stay there as Spike walked over to one of the trees and used his claws to cut it down. As the tree fell to the ground Spike walked over to the top of the tree and using his fire burned the foliage leaving a naked tree lying on the ground and with little effort embedded the claws on his left hand into the tree's trunk and lifted it off the ground and walked back and placed it in front of his mother.

Celestia was wondering why Spike cut down, burned, and placed the tree in front of her and was about to ask him but before she could, Spike walked away towards a large group of boulders that had probably landed there years ago after a landslide. Using one hand Spike punched a boulder, but at first, nothing happened and Celestia was worried that Spike had crushed his hand but then cracks started to form on the large rock, the cracks spread quickly and the boulder was split into eight equal sections. The sight of her once pudge, comic book obsessed, timid son splitting rocks that probably weighted in the ten-ton range with one punch left Celestia slack-jawed, but what made it worse was how he lifted all eight pieces at once and carried the pieces over to her.

Spike noticed his mother's open mouth and using one finger closed it and responded. "After Wallop joined I needed to move the boulder so I could get some of the money I would have gotten from that outlaw, so I tried to push it off of him, it did not move, so I tried to blast it off, didn't work, so I used my head and figured out that if I could find the right spot on the rock and apply enough force I could shatter it. This..." Spike pointed to the former boulder on the ground "... Was nothing compared to the one from before." Celestia just nodded slowly in acceptance.

Spike returned his attention to the tree and used his claws to slice large sections of the trunk into circles and using his fire breath burned a target on each section, Spike walked back over to the boulder sections and repeated the process. Once Spikes targets were finished Spike walked over to his mother and asked. "Mom, could you please place those pieces of tree and rock within a half-mile radius of right here?"

Celestia nodded and used her magic to teleport the targets to random places around the forest. Spike noticing the lack of targets, thanked his mother "Thanks mom, now are you ready to see something cool?"

"I must say that I am intrigued to see your training, but I don't think you would like for me to follow you around the forest would you? So how about this." Said Celestia as she lit up her horn and pointed it at Spike. Once the glow died down Celestia and Spike were looking at a large screen of magic hovering in front of them with an image of Spike on it. "This is a specialized tracking spell I developed in my younger years, it allows for real-time tracking and monitoring of the target, but it only works with those the caster has a magical connection with, so it's very impractical, but it should allow me to watch you train."

Spike only laughed at the display as he spoke "Reminds me of the screens back on Mudos, but it should do." Spike then walked away from his mother and pulled out two ammo tubes from under his strap and released both Zappflies and Bolamites in front of him.

Once both of the insectoid ammo tubes were emptied, both Sparkes and Char positioned themselves on Spike's shoulders and gave him a quick nuzzle. Spike looked at his left shoulder to Char. "Char my mother has placed ten wood targets and eight rock targets in the forest, range: half a mile, I need you and the cluster to scout for the targets..." Spike then looked at his right shoulder and began to talk to Sparks "... And Sparks I want eighteen of you guys to mark them, use red for the rocks and blue for the wood, once all targets have tagged the rest are to return to me, also they have permission to abandon a target if, in danger, I don't want anyone to get hurt understand?" Sparks buzzed and nodded. "Good..." Spike turned to the rest of the two groups and announced. "Its time to train, we have eighteen targets, ten wood, eight rock, flies will tag with blue on wood and red on rocks, Mites will scout the training area of half a mile, use the 'Fly in the Web' formation, four mites to one fly, once all targets are tagged everyone, not on a target is to return, you have fifteen minutes to get back or we'll be coming in after you and you will be benched for a week. Lastly, if you are in danger do whatever it takes to come home, understand?" Every creature nodded, and Spike smiled. "Mark, set, go!" yelled Spike as nearly a hundred squads dispersed to locate the targets.

Celestia was impressed at Spikes's leadership and military tactics. Spike then placed the two empty tubes into his left boot and readied his crossbow as both Queen and Fang appeared on his wrist. "Ok, here's the scenario, half-mile range, eighteen targets, ten wood, Queen's hive gets five, Fang's cete gets five, repeat back to the others." Said Spike as the two ammo heads nodded in response and returned into their tubes. Then both Wallop and Banger appeared. "Half mile range eighteen targets, eight stone, four each got it?" both nodded and returned to their tubes to report the orders. Spike then let out Alvin and Belch and continued "Dangerous in the forest might need a quick getaway so Alvin your guys are on distraction and Belch you on dispersion, now go back in and repeat your orders." Belch nodded and returned to his sulfite.

Alvin responded in his usual way. "Try not to fall to your death this time sir, don't want to have Char save your scaly ass now do we?"

Spike responded in kind. "Oh like the time you were punted halfway across town because you insulted the mayor's wife's hat, just get back in and don't get hurt." Satisfied with the answer Alvin nodded and went back into his tube.

With his orders given Spike walked to his mother. "Mom, can you pull up an image of all the targets?"

Celestia nodded and in an instant eighteen more screens popped up.

Spike looked at the screens and noticed that seven of the wood targets and six of the stone targets had a Zapfly already. After a few minutes, all eighteen targets were marked, as both the Bolamites and Zapflies started to return. Spike pulled out the two tubes from his boot and allowed for the scouting party to get some rest as they went back into their respective tubes. As both Sparks and Char crawled up to Spike's shoulder. "Good job you two..." Spike looked at Sparks and continued "Sparks your part is done so head back and get some rest..." Spike looked at his other shoulder and continued ".... Char I might need you for travel so get ready to spin." Sparks nodded and illuminated very brightly as he headed back into his tube, as Char climbed onto the underside of Spikes' wrist ready to act as a rope swing. Spike then replaced the two tubes into their slots and walked over to the edge of the forest and got into a running position, as he looked to his mother and asked "Can you give me a count down?"

Celestia nodded and started counting down. "Five...Four...Three...Two...One...GO!" Yelled Celestia, and once she said 'GO' all she saw was a Spike shaped dust cloud where her son once was.

Spike was jumping from tree to tree looking for the last wood target, Fang was ready to go, but Spike couldn't pin down the smell of the burnt wood and couldn't see the last Zappfly's light anywhere. This made Spike worry as he feared that something happened at the last target, so he jumped down from the tree and landed on the ground, and started to walk back to his mother.

As Spike walked back to the castle he was too lost in his thoughts that he was unaware that three fillies were following him trying to get his attention.

"Spike." Said AB

"SPIKE." yelled Scootaloo

"SPIKEEEEEEE!" Shrieked Sweetie bell.

Spike was snapped out of his thoughts and was about to attack, but was stopped by the sight of the CMC holding out a Zappfly to Spike. The second the Zappfly saw Spike it dashed to his side and was starting to shake in fear. Spike noticed the Zapflys actions and grew concerned. "Hey, it's alright your safe now, calm down and tell me what happened." The Zapfly started to flash, blue, then yellow, white, orange, then it pointed to the three fillies then it buzzed. Spike only nodded in understanding

Spike looked at the three fillies. "What's your side of the story?"

Sweetie bell stepped forward and responded, "We were going to visit Zecora and found a weird wooden target in a tree and that was attached and wanted to show it to her, so we captured him and he started to zap us but we caught him and then we spotted you walking around and talking to yourself." Sweetie then cocked her head and added. "Spike do you know what this thing is?"

Spike nodded and responded, "This is called a Zappfly and he is from Mudos, he was acting as a target for my training, and from what he told me you scared him so he left the target and tried to run but was caught by you three..." Spike then looked at the Zappfly on his shoulder and spoke in a calming tone "These three are friends of mine and they didn't mean to scare you, but I'm proud of you for seeing a potential threat and deciding to run and find help, why don't you get some rest after you report to Sparks, I don't wont to see you back in the rotation for a few days." The Zappfly nodded and flickered a green color and crawled into Spikes strap.

Spike looked at the three fillies and sighed. "Girls follow me back to the old castle." The girls nodded and followed the dragon.

Spike and the CMC arrived at the edge of the forest by the old castle and saw a very upset Celestia glaring at the fillies.

"You three are in so much trouble when I tell your sisters that you blindly followed an unknown creature you found in the forest just to show it to Zecora, not to mention how Fluttershy is going to react when she finds out you tried to capture it." Said Celestia in her disappointed motherly tone.

All three of the girls gulped and started to shiver. Celestia then walked over to the three and dropped to her knees and gave them all a big hug, as she cried "What would have happened if you girls got hurt, or worse, I don't think I could have lived with my self if I let three innocent girls get hurt, especially when I was so close by, promise me you three won't go into the forest by yourselves ever again."

The CMC was shocked by the princess's reaction and tried to comfort her. "We promise, your highness." Said the CMC in unison.

Celestia released the three fillies and wiped away her tears as she calmed down. "I'm glad you understand." Celestia looked at Spike and informed him about his training "Spike you got to all seventeen targets in twenty-three minutes and seventeen seconds."

Spike smirked and shrugged "Not bad for me, back on Mudos it took me about half an hour to take down twenty targets, but that's after I place them by hand and up to two miles away. But since I was flying blind I think it works out to about average." Spike then felt a pinch from under his wrist and was reminded about Char. "Crap, Char I'm so sorry." Char detached herself from Spikes writs and walked to his hand so he could introduce her to the CMC.

Spike moved the Bolamite in his hand and showed it to the fillies as he introduced her. "Girls this is Charlotte but she likes Char, she is a Bolamite. Char these three are the CMC." Spike pointed to Sweetie bell "This is Sweetie bell" Then he pointed at Apple Bloom. "This is Apple Bloom" and lastly at Scootaloo "and this is Scootaloo, their friends of mine from when I was younger, also no biting them," said Spike as he noticed Char about to swing to the first filly. Spike then continued talking to the Bolamite. "You did good today Char but now I have to deal with these three so head back and get some rest while we wait for the 'spent' to get back." Char nodded and crawled back into Spikes strap.

At this point, Celestia spoke up and informed Spike that it took him twenty minutes to get back to her with the girls and that everyone had already returned to the castle. "Spike every creature you used is back at the castle already, you spent the last twenty minutes walking the CMC back here."

Spike let out a sigh. "That makes matters easier." Spike then looked at the sun and sighed again "Besides it's almost time to go get Zecora and meet the girls." said Spike as he started to walk back to the castle followed by his mother and the CMC.

Once the group arrived at the castle Spike ordered the CMC to stay outside and wait there. Spike and Celestia walked into the main hall and Spike removed his crossbow and triggered the mass release function releasing all of his ammo. "Training is over for the day, everybody gets some rest, but I need the heads to stay." Yelled Spike as each ammo returned to their desired location in the castle until only the leaders were left. Spike looked at the leaders and continued "We have a meeting tonight so jump into the bag for now and go over what happened today in training." said Spike as one by one they entered the backpack with the flower. Spike then placed the backpack on his back and snuffed out the fire as he walked over to his mother who was waiting patiently for Spike to wrap up.

Spike sighed and gave a small smile to his mother, "Today has been interesting, hasn't it?"

Celestia returned the smile and nodded, "It sure has, and I was really impressed by what I saw today." Said Celestia who kissed spike on his forehead.

"Thanks, Mom, now let's go get the CMC and head back to Zecora's and then meet the girls." Said Spike as he hugged his mother.

After a small walk back to Zecora's to give her the Green Fang, the CMC getting a long lecture from the zebra witchdoctor about safety, and the brewing of four anti-predator potions the group of six arrived at the edge of the forest near Ponyville, where seven mares were standing all packed and ready for a night in the forest but instead of a warm greeting upon arrival four of the mares looked very crossed. Spike being the ever somewhat oblivious one didn't notice the angry expression on Twilights face and walked up to her to greet her, "Hey Twi, we got the potions, plus Zecora will be joining us tonight isn't that great?"

Twilight looked around Spike and noticed the zebra mare standing with Celestia and greeted the zebra. "Well hello Zecora, it is wonderful to see you, I'm glad you decided to join us tonight."

"Thank you, princess, it truly has been too long since we last talked."

After the pleasantries were over Twilight returned her glare to Spike and quickly grabbed his right ear fin. "Owww, what gives Twi?" asked Spike.

"Earlier I received a letter from the princess informing me that it was you who caused the earthquakes, and made that horrible sound that caused the citizens to panic, and so help me the second we get back to town tomorrow your getting a lecture on hearing damage and disturbing the peace." Said Twilight with a glare at the sweating dragon.

At this point, the other alicorn decided to intervene. "Twilight, please release my son's ear, I already agreed to pardon his actions today as long as he finds a more practical method of calling his friends."

Twilight released Spike as she had a questioning look on her face, "What do you mean 'calling his friends'?"

Spike was able to fight the pain and responded to Twilight " I'll explain once we get to the campsite, then I'll let you meet them, but one of them is still tired and another will attack you if you get too close to me without getting his approval first. So I'm telling you all now don't crowd him or you will lose a finger or three." At this information, all seven mares took a step back.

Rarity gulped, "I can't wait to meet the dears, I believe that any friend of Spikes is a good pony."

"They're not ponies, but that can wait for later I have a feeling that three fillies are about to get a talking-to from their sisters."

Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash's face are all changed back to glare as the fillies in question approached.

The CMC walked up to their respective sisters and in unison asked "how much trouble are we in?"

AJ was the first to speak to AB "You are grounded for the rest of the week, and you're going to be in charge of cleaning out the pig pin every day before school, but you are still allowed to come to the Crystal fair next week, also as a show of mercy you can join us tonight for the party."

AB slowly nodded her head and responded "Yes, sis."

Rarity was the next to talk, "Sweetie Belle, you are also grounded for the week and will be reorganizing my supply room tomorrow, giving opal a bath and will be helping Fluttershy with her animals after school, but you can still go to the fair and can join us tonight if you want."

Sweetie Bell slowly nodded her head as she had a small smile on her face. "Yes ma'am."

Rainbow was the last to deal out the punishment as she continued. "I talked to your aunts, they are disappointed with you but I managed to talk them down to a grounding for the week, and you are going to work at Sugar Cube Corner with Pinky for the week after school, also you will be going to the crystal fair next week and can join your awesome sister tonight and maybe we can tell scary stories like last time, just maybe not as scary." Said RD with a smirk.

Scootaloo's eyes were wide as she nodded her head quickly. "Yes! Thanks, Dash."

After the punishment was dealt all three mares pulled their sisters into a hug and in unison added "And if you ever do something that reckless again you will be cleaning the bathroom with a toothbrush." All three fillies nodded quickly and promised to never go into the forest alone.

After the fillies were released from the hugs Celestia lowered the sun to right above the horizon leaving the sky a deep orange color as a few stars could be seen as back in Canterlot her sister began to raise the moon. Spike saw the display of the solar bodies and grew a smile as he looked at the setting sun. "That never gets old."

Celestia came from behind and hugged spike and added, "It only makes it better knowing you got to see it."

After the display of affection between mother and son was over Twilight cleared her throat. "Alright if everyone is ready to go gather round and I'll teleport us."

Everyone gathered around twilight as her horn started to glow and in a flash of light the entire group was teleported to the campsite.

The group arrived at the campsite in an instant in the same position as they left, all except for spike as he had landed face first in the dirt as he grumbled something. The rest of the group saw the face down dragon and then looked at Twilight who was just as surprised. "What happened, I thought I performed the spell perfectly, and it's not like it's the first time Spike has teleported with me."

Spike pulled his face out of the dirt and got back on his feet as he had a possible solution to this question. "Twi I think that it's the fact this is only the second time I have teleported in the last ten years, so maybe I'm not used to the magical surge that comes with teleporting."

Twilight was overcome with the possibilities of what Spike said is true that she didn't notice that she had gone into full research mode. Spike let out a sigh at the now mumbling alicorn and knew it would be best to just let her get it out of her system.

Spike looked at where his sister had teleported them for the camping trip and was shocked to see where she had chosen. They were in a large clearing in the forest, the trees were about two dozen feet away in all directions and in front of Spike was a small lake being fed by a waterfall. Spike was in aw at the fact that this place even existed in the forest that he didn't hear the sound of clicking emanating from his backpack.

Spike was brought out of his awe by Pinky who quickly pulled out her party cannon from her mane and pulled the cord. After the party pony pulled the cord a folding table with a full party's worth of snacks flew out and landed perfectly in front of two poles that help a banner saying 'Welcome Home Spike! YAY your not dead!' on it and the side was a pink tent with party balloons on it and what appeared to be a small green baby alligator standing in front of the tent.

Spike was about to question how Pinky did that but just mumbled "It's Pinky Pie, don't question it." Spike then looked at the rest of the girls and noticed that they were setting up their tents as well, and Spike the ever so gentle rake walked over to Rarity who was struggling to put her oversized tent up, and offered to help her. "Rarity do you need any help?"

Rarity looked over to the dragon and gave him a small smile as she accepted " Why to thank you, dear, I don't remember it being this hard last time we went camping." Spike remembered hearing about how she had Sweetie Bell put it up last time they went camping with AJ and Apple bloom, and just rolled his eyes.

After Spike had finished helping Rarity with her tent, Spike noticed that they still needed to build a fire for the camp. So Spike walked to his mother and informed her that he was going to go get a tree and a rock. "Hey, mom we still need some wood for a fire so I'm going to go get a tree and maybe a rock to build a fire pit holds down the camp till I get back."

Celestia nodded and spike walked away to find a boulder and a tree for the camp, but to Spikes surprise, he didn't need to go far as after walking into the woods he found a small boulder the size of Tom and it had knocked down a good-sized tree. Spike used his claws and lifted the tree on to his shoulder and then used his claws to pierce the boulder, using his tail for support carried the boulder and tree back to the camp.

Once Spike arrived back at the camp carrying the tree and rock he noticed that all the mares and fillies aside from his mother had their jaws dropped at the sight. Spike gave his mother a look and she explained, "They are shocked that you are carrying a boulder that probably weighs about two tons and a tree that is at least twice your size and the fact you're doing it with ease. It's a little overwhelming."

Spike shrugged and walked past the slack-jawed mares and fillies and placed the boulder on the ground and dropped the tree. Spike then dug a small hole into the ground, after the hole was dug he punched the boulder and it instantly broke apart into small fist-size rocks. Spike placed the small rocks into the hole and arranged them into a circle, once the framework for the fire was done Spike walked over to the tree and proceeded to burn all the leaves off, he then used his claws to cut off the branches and tossed them into the fire pit, he then cut fourteen rounds for everyone to sit on and placed them around the fire, and to top it all off Spike used his fire to light the wood in the pit.

After the fire was lit Spike looked over to his companions and noticed that Luna had appeared and had the same expression on her face as the girls. "Ohh, Aunt Luna when did you show up?"

Luna was stammering. "Tree....rock....punch....you cut....fire."

Spike was able to piece together what she was saying and figured that they needed an explanation. "Let me explain, my body has developed very much over the years and I had to get stronger. Right now I can lift about seventeen tons, and can break solid rock with a single punch," said Spike like it was obvious.

Celestia giggled at the sight of the rest of the girls as she walked over to the campfire and took a seat next to Spike on one of the seats that spike had made. "Thank you, Spike, for building the fire but this is your party so for the rest of the night you relax and have fun."

Once the word 'party' came out of Celestia's mouth Pinky snapped out of her shock and yelled "PARTY!!!" and out of nowhere, Spike was hit in the face with confetti. This sudden outburst snapped the rest of the girls out of their stupor and started to laugh.

Spike laughed as well at the antics of Pinky. But was stopped when he heard Rarity scream in horror. "AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, Spike looks out there's something on your shoulder don't move an inch."

Spike looked at his shoulder and noticed that there was only Char on it, then his face turned to one of disappointment as he started to talk, "Char what the hell girl, I wanted to introduce you to everyone but instead you decided to just pop out." Char then started to sign some words as spike nodded and then realized the problem. "Oh, sorry about that it must have been uncomfortable for you guys, I should have known, look I promise no more teleporting unless your inside, but the cats out of the bag now so head back in the bag and get the others ready, ok?" Char nodded and crawled back into the backpack.

All the girls who have yet to meet the Bolamite were shocked to see that it was able to communicate with Spike and how casually it did so.

"Spike... How... What... Who....why?" Twilight stammered as she tried to focus her mind but was stopped by Celestia walking to her and placing both of her hands on Twilights shoulders.

"Trust me when I say This is only the tip of the ice burg." Said Celestia as she looked into her student's eyes.

Twilight calmed herself down using Cadence's breathing technique and walked over to the sheepish looking dragon. "Spike what in the name of Celestia was that thing on your shoulder a moment ago and how did you talk to it?"

"First off 'she' is not a thing 'she' is one of my friends, and second 'she' was supposed to wait until I introduced her to everyone, but it turns out that my friends didn't do so well with the teleport." Spike then removed his backpack and placed it in front of him as everyone was reluctant to approach him in fear of the creature in his bag. " Twilight first off I'm sorry for not telling you this earlier, but when I was sent back I had in my possession eight large groups of creatures from back on Mudos and when I fell, my bag ripped and they all escaped into the forest. The only one I had left was what I used to attack you and the girls that night, but the others fled and found a home in the old castle which I will take everypony to tomorrow, but I only found this out today. Also, each type of creature has a leader who is in charge of their group, and to me they are family and I do hope you will come to see them as a family as well."

Spike unzipped the bag and placed his claw inside until he felt something fuzzy and brought it out. Spike then turned his back to the group and whispered something to his closed hand. Once Spike stopped whispering he turned back around and brought his hand in front of Twilight. "Twilight in my hand is Fang, he is very protective of me and will attack anyone who he sees as a threat, so do not go all study mode or you will lose fingers." Spike then addressed the other mares and yelled "That goes for all of you as well." Spike then returned his attention to Twilight and continued "So Twilight, I would like to introduce you to Fang the Fuzzle." Spike slowly opened his hand and gave Twilight her first look at a real Fuzzle.

The second Fang saw Twilight so close to both him and Spike his protective instincts kicked in and he started to growl menacingly at the lavender alicorn, this made said alicorn take two steps back in fear of the Fuzzle. Spike saw the fuzzles reaction to twilight and grew angry. "Fang, Stop that right now!" yelled Spike. Spikes yelling made the Fuzzle whimper. Spike took in a deep breath and calmed his anger as he continued. "Fang, what did I tell you about not being so aggressive around new people, I trust them to get this close because I know they won't hurt me, and you know I won't let them hurt you, so for me no more growling," asked Spike. Fang nodded, this made Spike smile as he scratched Fang's body.

Spike then looked at Twilight who was still standing back from the Fuzzle and gave her a nod. Twilight approached the Fuzzle in Spike's hand and to her surprise, it didn't growl at her. "Let's try this again, Twilight, this is Fang. Fang this is my sister Twilight."

"Um, hello Fang, I'm sorry for scaring you earlier, I hope we can become friends." Said Twilight as she moved her hand closer to the Fuzzle. Fang hopped closer to Twilights hand and slowly rubbed his head on it.

"Now Twi lay your palm flat." Said Spike.

Twilight followed what spike instructed and opened her palm and to her amazement, Fang hopped into her palm and began staring into her eyes. After a few moments, Fang hopped off of her palm and up to her cheek and gave her a nuzzle showing that he likes her. Twilight let out a sigh as Fang continued to nuzzle her.

Spike relaxed at the sight of affection. "Fang we still need to meet the others so hop back and remember, I won't get hurt."

Fang was introduced to everyone, with mixed reactions, Starlight, Applejack, Pinky Pie, Zecora, Luna, and Rainbow Dash had similar reactions to Twilight. Rarity was so scared of him that Fang started to whimper but after a few minutes of acclimation Rarity and Fang became friends. When Fang met the CMC he was actually scared of them and tried to run back into the bag, but Spike stopped him and rather reluctantly allowed the CMC to pet him. The weirdest reaction was with Fluttershy, the second Fluttershy saw Fang she promptly passed out, but to Spike's surprise, Fang hopped over to the passed out pegusis and nuzzled her cheek and then hopped back to Spike and sat on his shoulder.

Once Fluttershy woke up Spike pulled out Queen. Queen buzzed and looked at Spike who only nodded. Queen saw this and flew over to Twilight and landed on her horn. Twilight had a questioning look. "Spike, two things, one: what is this and two, why is it on my horn?" Asked Twilight.

"That is Queen, she is the leader of the Stingbee hive, and like I told Mom, She trusts me, I trust you all, so she's going to trust you all as well, but don't break that trust or you will be stung by the whole hive. Simple as that."

After Queen left Twilights horn she flew to every pony and landed on either their horn or the top of their heads, showing that she will trust them until they broke that trust, and once she was finished she flew back to spike and landed on his top spine.

Next up was Belch, and once he saw all the unfamiliar faces around him, he started to cry, Spike seeing this reaction yelled to everyone "Everyone quickly covers your nose he's going to blow." Spike then ran past the girls to protect them but to Spike's surprise, he was stopped by the yellow pegusis who just cradled the Stunkz in her arms as it slowly stopped crying and fell asleep. After the situation was defused the sleeping Belch was introduced to everyone. "Guys this is Belch, he is very skittish and was about to gas us, but he is very nice, but let's leave him be until I can introduce him one at a time." Everyone nodded.

Spike then grabbed Belch from Fluttershy and carefully placed him back in the bag. Spike then let two insects crawl up his arms one was the same creature from earlier and the other was a purple pill bug. Spike pointed to the insect on his left arm. " I would like to introduce you all to Charlotte, but she prefers to go by Char, she is a Bolamite, she is also the one who popped out of my bag earlier, she is also in charge of the rest of the family." Spike then pointed at the Thudslug on his other arm and continued. "And this is Wallop, he is a Thudslug, he also is the unofficial little brother of Char."

Char got a good look at the new faces and started to sign some words to Spike. As Char was signing Spike answered "Well you already know my mom, the dark blue one is my aunt Luna and the purple one is my sister Twilight. As for the others, The light purple one is named Starlight, the Pink one is Pinky, the one with the hat is Applejack and the one next to her is her sister Apple Bloom, then we have Rainbow Dash and her little sister Scootaloo, the Yellow one is Fluttershy, next to her with the black and white mane is Zecora, the little white one is named Sweetie Bell and the taller white one next to her is her older sister Rarity." The second Rarity's name was called Char stopped signing to Spike and began signing stuff to Rarity.

Rarity was confused at what Char was doing and looked at Spike who was wide-eyed at the language Char was using. "Um, Spike darling what is she trying to say to me, I'm afraid I don't quite understand?"

"She said and I quote, 'If you ever use Spike as a pin cushion again, I will get the family and demolish your store without a second thought, Spike be damned you white whore' end quote." Spike looked at Char and glared at her. "What the Hell, Char how do you even know about that?" Char looked back and signed to Spike. "I talk about the past when I'm drunk and it was my 21st birthday and the topic of Rarity came up and I didn't shut up." Spike had a sheepish look on his face. "Char first off, don't listen to what drunk spike says ever again, second it was only one time, now say you're sorry to Rarity for calling her a white whore." Char sighed and looked back at rarity and started to sign.

Once char finished signing Spike translated. "She says she is sorry about the whore comment and that was uncalled for, but the threat about your store is still open so don't cross her." Spike looked at Rarity and added, "Look Rare I'm sorry about her, she normally isn't like this, but once she gets to know you more, she will see that your nothing like what 'drunk spike' described."

"Don't worry about it dear, I have to admit that I was a little over-eager to put you through all that back then, but once you disappeared it made me sick to think about how I treated you, I do hope you can forgive me."

"Rarity I hold no Ill will against you and I forgave you years ago."

"Thank you, Spike."

Spike felt something tapping his arm and noticed that Char was signing something. "You will forgive Rarity for everything if she allows you to bite her." Char nodded. "No, out of the question, she doesn't have to do that, I forgave her years ago, and - I'll do it," yelled Rarity interrupting Spike.

Spike looked at the alabaster mare with wide eyes and mouth hanging open until he was brought back out of his shock when he felt someone close his mouth. Spike looked down to see Pinky Pie smiling at him. "Thank you I needed that." Responded Spike as he returned his attention to the conversation he was having with his spidery companion. "No you will not bite Rarity, she even apologized for everything," yelled Spike.

As Spike was yelling at Char, Rarity sighed and walked over to Spike and Char, extended her hand in front of the Bolamites mouth interrupting the two's conversation. Spike saw the white hand in front of the Bolamite and was about to intervene but was stopped by a white finger placed on his snout shushing him. "Spike dear, I know that you don't want to see any of us hurt, but I want to make amends for everything I did to you and if this is the only way I can show you that I am truly sorry for what I did, then so be it." Said Rarity as she looked into the dragon's deep emerald eyes with her blue eyes showing that she was serious. She then looked at Char and nodded showing that she was ready and shut her eyes waiting for the bite.

After waiting for a minute Rarity didn't feel anything and opened her eyes. She noticed that Char was now on Spike's shoulder and was signing something. This left the fashionista confused.

"...Char I...fine but I don't want you to go behind my back and still bite her understand?" Char nodded as Spike looked over to the confused mare and began to explain. "She was never going to bite you, it was a test to see if you would be willing to experience a small amount of the pain I felt years ago, you passed and she would like to talk to you about having the rest of the Bolamites produce some spider silk for you."

Rarity hearing the news that this was a test dropped her jaw and was processing the last few minutes. Pinky repeated her actions and was thanked by the slack-jawed mare. Rarity then returned her attention to the Bolamite. "Thank you for accepting my apology and I would love to talk about getting new material for my shop, we can talk later." Said Rarity as she walked back to her sister and took a seat.

Seeing that everyone has relaxed from the tension between the Bolamite and the fashionista, Spike returned to his bag and pulled out Wallop. He looked at the fist-sized Thudslug in his hand as Wallop slowly revealed his eyes and looked upon the staring mares and quickly recovered up in a defensive position to protect himself. Spike looked at the curled thudslug and sighed and looked over to the Bolamite on his shoulder. "Char, Wallop needs some help opening up can you help?" Char nodded and crawled down Spike's arm and stopped on his hand. She then started to knock on Wallop's shell. Wallop opened his shell and looked at the Bolamite and became relaxed, Char then started to sign to wallop.

After Char was finished Wallop turned to the mares and extended his wings and flew to Twilight and just hovered in front of her face.

Twilight, unsure of what to do decided to greet the strange creature in front of her. "Um, hello my name is Twilight Sparkle I am Spikes big sister, it's nice to meet you." Wallop then flew to her head and landed.

"That means he likes you," stated Spike as he looked at the purple alicorn with a thudslug on her head.

Wallop repeated his actions with everyone else who he hadn't met already.

After Wallop was finished meeting everyone he flew back to Spike and landed back on his shoulder next to Char as Spike reached into his bag and when he pulled his hand back out there was an old, gray Boombat hanging from one of his fingers.

Since it was night time Banger was wide awake and much more active. Once Spike brought Banger to his face Banger started to squeak. "....Yes I know....about the same... Over there," responded Spike as he was pointing to the group of ponies. Spike showed Banger to the girls and introduced him. "Everyone this is Banger the Boombat. He is not the youngest so his hearing is not great so if you ask a question you might have to say it a few times, but he is very smart and kind." Banger looked at the mares and nodded his head at each. Spike then moved his tail to make a perch and allowed for Banger to fly off of his hand and land on Spike's tail as the first to approach Banger was Fluttershy.

"Oh my Celestia you are so cute." Said the mare as she flew over to the perched Boombat. Banger squeaked and Fluttershy began to blush. "Why thank you, but I'm too young for you but if your interested I know a few older fruit bats that might be interested in meeting a strong bat as yourself." This made banger squeak again and nod. Fluttershy returned to the group of ponies as she was giggling.

Rainbow dash had a questioning look. "Hey Shy, care to translate for all the nonanimal talking ponies here?"

"Banger said that I was hot and if he was only thirty years younger. But I told him that I know a few fruit bats around his age that are looking for someone to spend time with within their golden years. I was thinking that maybe Mable would like him." responded Flutters.

The next to approach was Celestia and Luna.

Celestia walked to the perched Boombat. "It's good to see you again Banger, I am sorry for the earlier intrusion but I like to introduce you to my little sister Luna."

Luna walked over to the hanging bat and greeted him. "Greetings Sir Banger, truly I am in your debt for protecting my dear nephew in my absence, you and your cloud are welcome to accompany me in my nightly duties as you see fit, it can be very lonely to be one of the few nocturnal creatures and some company would really liven up the time I spend alone."

Banger squeaked multiple times and flew up to Luna's horn and used it as a perch. Luna looked at Spike in hopes of a translation. "He said, it was an honor to help Spike over the years and that he would be glad to join you during the night as he understands the challenges that creatures of the night face socially." Spike then looked at his mother and added " he also forgives us about earlier." This news made Celestia smile. Banger returned to Spikes tail and waited for the rest of the girls to introduce themselves to him.

Everything was going well. Banger had introduced himself to Zecora, Rarity and Sweetie Belle, Applejack and Apple Bloom, Twilight, Pinky Pie, Starlight, and Scootaloo. But then he met Rainbow Dash. When Rainbow walked up to Banger she gave him a questioning look, Spike saw the look she was giving Banger. "Um, Rainbow what are you doing?"

"Isn't he a little too old to do anything?" asked Rainbow. Banger squeaked angrily in response and after he finished the shot Spike a glare and gave a short squeak.

Banger flew off of Spike's tail and landed in the crossbow's left chamber as Spike sighed and got up as he motioned for Rainbow to follow him and they walked to the edge of the forest. Everyone else noticed the interaction and followed behind the two.

"Ummm Spike what are we doing out here?" asked Rainbow as she followed behind Spike.

"Banger wants to show you what it is that he does best and it seems that you need to learn how to respect your elders."

Once the whole group was near the edge of the forest Spike pointed to a tree in the distance and instructed them to stand back. After everyone took two steps back Spike readied his crossbow and aimed it at the tree. Once he was ready Spike launched Banger straight to the tree and in an instant, there was a large explosion and sprinkling of splinters falling on everyone as the tree was no more but a charred stump in the ground now. Rainbow was shocked as her eyes were wide and her mouth was wide open.

A soot-covered Banger flew back to Spike and using his tail as a perch allowed for the elderly bat to hang there as he gave Rainbow a smug grin. Banger squeaked and blew a raspberry at the rainbow-haired pony as he slowly nodded off to sleep.

Rainbow recovered quickly and was so excited. "That WAS AWESOME. Can he do that again?"

Spike shook his head. "Sorry Rainbow, after a Boombat goes off they need to recharge for a few hours, right now he is asleep, and its best to let him be."

The group returned to the campsite as Spike lowered Banger back into his bag to let him rest. Spike then turned to his mother. "Mom, I am getting Alvin out, so as second in command I am giving you permission to shut him up by any means necessary." Spike then looked to everyone else. "This next one is a hard pill to swallow, also I did not teach him any of the words you are about to hear, also I will have to use some strong language so Twilight doesn't get mad." Spike then pulled out Alvin and presented the Chipunkz to the group. "Everyone this is Alvin the Chipunkz, Alvin these are the girls."

"Aw yes, the commander mentioned that I was going to meet his original family, it is an honor to meet you all." Said Alvin as he salutes with his tail. Everyone was shocked by the fact that the small furry creature in Spike's palm was talking that all of their jaws dropped.

Alvin sighed. "Seriously Sir is every slut you know a slack-jawed hoe, it is like they have never seen a fucking talking animal before."

Spike became angry when he heard the words slut and hoe used to describe his friends and family that he punted Alvin into the sky. Spike then looked at the still slack-jawed mares. "I'm so sorry about him, he has a mouth. But don't worry they are a resilient species, who in my opinion are near indestructible." Said Spike as Alvin hopped back.

Spike looked down at Alvin. "Ready to try this again?" Alvin nodded.

The second attempt at Alvin's introduction was better than the first. Spike made Alvin apologize for the slut and hoe comment and after everyone was able to respond they all shared their opinion of what Alvin said.

Spike placed Alvin on the ground as the Chipunk wrapped his tail around Spikes leg. Spike was ready to introduce the last member as he pulled out Sparks. Spike looked at Sparks who was buzzing and glowing brightly. "Are you ready for the meeting?" Sparks nodded as his light changed to yellow to say that he was curious to know he was going to meet.

"Sparks I would like to introduce you to my pony family." Said Spike as he showed the Zappfly the group of mares. "Girls I would like to introduce you to Sparks the Zappfly." Sparks' light changed to light blue showing he was excited to meet the ponies.

Twilight walked over to the Zappfly in Spike's hand and started to examine him. " So Spike is this the type of creature that you used to attack us when we found you?" Said Twilight as she started to poke him, much to Sparks's annoyance as his light changed to a dim orange.

"Yes it is," said Spike as he took notice of Sparkes change and added. " Also if you don't want to be electrocuted I would stop poking him."

Twilight looked sheepish as the thought of being shocked quickly shut down her instinct to thoroughly study anything she finds interesting as she quickly retracted her hands. This action on the twilights part caused Sparks light to change back to a light blue.

Sparks light then changed color to orange then to a dim red, as he pointed to Applejack. Spike nodded in understanding. "In her defense, she didn't know it was me, plus it could have been worse, she could have bucked me in the face." Sparks light changed to a dim orange then to a dim green, showing that he was still annoyed but could accept that.

Twilight was very interested in Sparks. "So Spike how is it that you can understand him and what did you mean when you said that I would get electrocuted?" Asked Twilight.

Spike smiled at Twilight as he started to explain. "First off, I don't understand him per se, I piece together what he means because Zappflys can change the color of their lights depending on their emotions, so over the years, I taught him to string together his colors to make it easier to communicate. It goes like this, if he only uses one color it means his emotion, if he chains two colors, he uses the first color to describe the person of interest, and the second to show emotion, and if he uses three or more he puts a pause in between the people and the emotion. But if he doesn't leave a pause he is telling me that he is experiencing multiple emotions at once." Said Spike as he explained his unorthodox method of communication.

"As for the whole electrocution thing, Zappflys are similar to Twittermites in that aspect, just much stronger. A normal Zappflys shock can range from static electricity, all the way up to about sixty volts. But I have discovered that if a zappfly is shot at high speed the range is shifted to lethal levels and can be on par with the power of a lightning bolt. But the way you were annoying him the worst he would have done was maybe give you a shock that would leave you stunned for a few moments." Said Spike as he finished explaining the inner workings of Zappflys.

Sparks then used his wings and flew to twilight and landed on her horn as he changed his color to purple, purple, green, then he paused for a second then he changed to pink, then dim green. Twilight looked at Spike curiously hoping that he could translate for her.

Spike looked at Sparks and deciphered his message. "He either said 'you and I are in love with each other and are happy with that, or that we are in a relationship that is similar to the one he has with his family.'" Spike then looked at the Zappfly as he explained. "We are related in a sense, she is my older sister." Sparks nodded and flew to each of the girls and repeated the process.

Sparks flew to RD as he flashed purple, green, light blue, pause, yellow. " She is Rainbow Dash, she is my friend, she is very loyal and would risk her life to help her friends." Rainbow smirked at how Spike described her until he added, "But she has the biggest ego I have ever seen."

Next Sparks flew to Fluttershy as he flashed yellow, purple, green, pause, yellow. Spike nodded "That is Fluttershy, she is the kindest pony I have ever met, but she scares easily, so don't do anything that could upset her."

Next was Starlight as Sparks landed on her horn and flashed purple, purple, green pause, yellow. "She is Starlight, she was a villain but after she was stopped by me and Twi she says the errors of her ways and we became friends."

Sparkes then flew to Zecora and flashed bright yellow, bright dark blue, purple, green, pause, yellow. Everyone was curious to see what that odd combination of colors meant. Spike quickly explained. "Zappflys can't produce the colors white or black so they compromise by changing the brightness of the two most similar colors." Spike looked at the zappfly and explained. "She is Zecora, she is my friend who moved to town years ago but stayed to her self to the point that she became an outcast with wild and ill-founded rumors about her, but after a hilarious chain of events she became a pillar of the community."

Sparks flew to AJ and landed on her hat as he flashed orange, pause, dim red, pause, purple, green, pause, yellow. Spike nodded as he sighed. "Like I said she did not know it was me." Sparks then flashed dim red to show he was still mad at her. Spike sighed as he began to translate for AJ. "First off he is mad at you for tying me up."

AJ's face shifted to a frown. She then took off her hat and looked the attached Zappfly in the eyes. " Look I'm sorry for what happened that night, but I promise you that if I knew it was Spike I would never have done that to him, he is my friend and from the bottom of my heart I am sorry." Said AJ as she continued to stare into the Zappflys eyes.

Sparks then lit up bright light blue as he buzzed.

Spike translated. "He is happy to know that you are truly sorry about your actions."

Sparks then flew over to the CMC and flashed orange, bright yellow, yellow, purple, green, pause, yellow. "They are Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom, they are my friends from when I was young, they are also the little sisters of Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack respectively."

Sparks then flew to Pinky and no one's surprise was able to communicate with Sparks as her mane changed color to light blue, then back to pink, then to purple, then green, and back to pink. Sparks responded by flashing light blue.

Spike was shocked for only a moment until he muttered "It's Pinky Pie don't question it." As Sparks flew to Rarity and landed on her horn as he flashed bright yellow, purple, green, pause, yellow, then bright pink.

Spike noticed the message and quickly interrupted. "If you must know she is Rarity, and as for the second part all I have to say is 'no comment' and if you want to know more talk to Char later she knows the whole story." Sparks snickered and lastly flew to Luna and landed on her horn as he flashed dark blue, purple, green, pause, yellow.

"That is my aunt Luna, she is the one who turned evil after feeling underappreciated for her work, but she has seen the errors of her ways and was able to return from over one thousand years of banishment."

Sparks nodded and returned to Spike's shoulder. Spike smiled at him as he used his claw to scratch his chitin. Spike then looked at the group of mares and gave them a goofy smile. " So now that introductions are over let's get this party started."

For the next three hours, the group celebrated Spike's return.

Everyone was passed out from partying for the last three hours, but Spike was laying on the dirt ground still awake as he stared up at the night sky as only one thought was in his brain, 'I'm going to die when Twi sees the state the castle is in.'

Author's Note

Hey, sorry for the long wait. Like always leave a coment, like if you enjoyed, and tell me about what i could improve on.