Eight years after arriving in Mudos.

“Hey you old goat, how did your latest hunt go? You’ve been gone for almost two months. I was worried you ran out of stamina and could not shake the damage off and were dead.” Asked Spike as Stranger walked into the makeshift camp that has been their home for the last eight years. By this time Spike had lost all of his baby fat and had grown to six feet tall with a little bit of muscle from all the training, he has done. His body has developed to show that he was determined to get stronger. On his body, there were a few scars he gained from over the years mostly training with the Fuzzles and StingBees and a very big one from when one unfortunate accident where a particularly determined criminal tracked the Stranger back to their base camp in the forest to kill him, but instead they ambushed them and he was hit by a heavy-caliber sniper bullet while trying to escape from them, but before they could do any more damage the Stranger saved Spike.

"You can’t get rid of me that easy Spike, but I have some news that you might like to hear."

"What?" questioned Spike.

“I heard of a Vykker in New Yoke who can help you get home, but it’s only a rumor, but more importantly it’s time for you to go out on your own.”

“I repeat. What?!”

“I taught you all I know about surviving, being a bounty hunter and how to find ammo to protect your self and you're just as good with the crossbow as me, and I don’t know if you’ve noticed but over the years your scales have developed to be stronger than the strongest steel and only something with the power of a Thudslug or a Boombat can cause you to take any damage, and even if you do take damage your shake off is better than mine. Also because of your dragon stamina, you can shake off more damage than I ever could. I truly believe you are ready to make your own way. That’s why I’m telling you to go to Gizzard Gulch and say goodbye to the townspeople and see if the sheriff can give you any bounties near New yoke and then make your way there, with the number of criminals in the area you should be fine for work and a way to pay for anything you don’t find. These last eight years with you have been the worst possible time of my life but those years showed me that there is always hope, now git, you’ve waited years to get home and this is your best shot. But to truly make it on your own you will not be taking any other ammo other than the Zappflys and one clip of Bolamites, you will have to find more ammo in the wild.” The stranger said with a mix of sadness and proudness in his voice, seeing the small helpless dragon he took in eight years ago is finally ready to embark on his journey home.

Spike was shocked to hear the man he has spent the last eight years of his life telling him there’s a chance of him going home but he would have to leave his home to follow this rumor, but he was determined to see this rumor to its fullest. So, Spike packed his a backpack with his ammo wheels and his journal that the general store owner gave him the first time he was in town after he left with the Stranger to train, and walked off knowing this could be the last time he sees Stranger, but before leaving Spike told Stranger “Don’t worry your secrets safe with me about what you are, and if your ever in New Yoke Come see me.” Then Spike walked off with a smile ready to begin his journey home.

“Twi go to the next page there should be a drawing of Stranger.”

"Ok Spike." doing as Spike instructed Twilight projected an image of Stranger.

"Ok everyone this is Stranger and he is a Steef, but he is not a normal Steef. He is a Steef that believes he is unworthy of being a true Steef."

"Why does he not see himself as a true Steef?" Applejack asked.

"I don't know the whole story on why, but from what I could get out of him, was that his race was known as some great guardian race of Mudos and out of respect for his race he wanted to strip himself of his identity as a Steef. But not wanting to cause him any more problems I never tried to dig too deep into his history but what he did tell me was that Steefs have two sets of longhorns on both sides of their head, and they have four legs similar to ponies but only on their lower half and larger. But I would learn more about them later on. but to avoid confusion let's get back to the story."

“That was the first day I was on my own, so doing what Stranger suggested I made my way back to Gizzard to talk to Sheriff so he could give me some bounty’s to help me on my way to get to New Yoke but he didn’t have any that I could turn in once I arrived, and I thought to myself ‘what a great way to start my journey home’ and after saying my goodbyes to the Sheriff he pointed me in the direction to the next town and told me to go see the General Store manager. After going all around town saying my goodbyes to everyone, I was told that there was an apple farm on my way to the next town and the farmer was looking for a security guard to help him deliver his stash of moolah from that year’s harvest to the bank in New Yoke city and seeing a perfect opportunity to get to New Yoke while making good time, I made my way to the town gate that takes me to the next town, so I could get to the apple farm." Spike continued.

"After I left Gizzard to get to the apple farm I had heard about. I had to go across a nice bridge built over a small canyon. but as I was crossing I heard a conversation between two minions of the local outlaw Meagly McGraw. Twi one of his bounty posters I kept should be on the first page of the bounty section of my journal, can you please show it to everyone.”

Following Spikes, instruction Twilight flipped through the journal till she found a divider marked bounties and using her magic she projected the bounty poster of McGraw.

"Seeing a good way to pay for some food I decided to cross the bridge and climb down the side of the cliff and collect them, so I could collect some moolah but what I did not know was that they both saw me as I was crossing and that they were both mortar users, and seeing a way to have fun while standing on guard they decided to aim for me. Seeing no way out of trouble I started to sprint my way across the bridge before they started shelling it and destroying the bridge. But they were too fast, and I was caught in the blast and then I landed face-first on the bottom of the canyon, this caused me to lose consciousness when I hit the ground."

There was a low growl coming from almost everyone at the thought that a living creature thought it would be fun to kill but Celestia and Twilight were growling the loudest at the thought that something would try to kill their son/little brother, and then Twilight broke the growl and stated: “If I ever see those two, they will be begging for Tartarus when I’m done with them.” Twilight said with no hint of mercy to be found in her voice.

“Don’t worry I was fine, I have dragon scales remember. The explosion didn’t even hurt, what hurt was when I landed, but what was funny was that they thought I was dead and decided to come closer to rob me, but when they were debating which was going to check my body I started to regain consciousness.”

“Looks like we got him good, why don’t you look to see if he’s got any loot on him?”

“Me?” Said the second mortar goon, not noticing Spike was getting up.

“Yes, you. What, you scared?” asked the first goon, still unaware that Spike was now standing.

“Na…Na I ain't scared of that stinking little…” was all he could say when he noticed Spike standing there with a very pissed look on his face.

“AWWW!!!” both screamed as they ran away.

“I thought you got him?” said one of the goons.

“What I thought you got him?” said the other goon.

Still seeing a small payday and wanting to take his anger out on something, Spike decided to follow the two goons who tried to kill him, getting out his crossbow he placed his Zappflys in the left chamber and added his only clip of Bolamites into his right chamber. He started to hunt them down still with the pissed off look on his face.

After following them further down the path Spike spotted them in an open field that was scattered with junk that they probably used as target practice. Not wanting to end up as part of the scenery Spike had to take them out very fast and knowing that in a long-range fight the goons had the advantage the fight would have to be up close and personal.

Running on all fours, Spike quickly made his way across the field and started to head for the first goon. Deciding to not waste the only ammo he has left and known that he did not want to kill the guy because he was worth more alive than dead Spike did the only thing he could think of, he used his head. Coming within a few feet of the first goon Spike decided to headbutt the goon this caused the goon to fall back on his ass and become knocked out. Seeing the best opportunity to capture him before going for the other one Spike quickly used the capture function on his crossbow and promptly captured the goon. Running across to the other goon spike did the same thing to the other goon and captured him also.

“Great with both of them alive that should give me about fifteen moolah,” Spike said proudly of himself. “That should pay for at least a meal and one night at an inn. But first I need to find that apple farm I was told about and see if they could take me to New Yoke with them.”

As Spike continued up the path to get to the other side of the canyon so he could find the farm, he stumbled across a signpost at a fork in the path with the words Farmer Beek’s Opple farm pointing to the left of the path and a town called Buzzarton pointing to the right, seeing no reason to go to Buzzarton, Spike went down the left path to see about the bodyguard job.

After about five minutes of walking, Spike was at the gate to the farm, but he was then stopped by a guard and was asked… “You here for the security guard gig?” Spike nodded his head. “Great. Go on in and talk to the old man about the details.”

“Got it.” Was all Spike said as he walked on to the farm, when he was out of earshot of the guard he decided to go look around for any ammo he could find for his crossbow, and here’s hoping for the ride to New Yoke. As Spike was approaching the path to the farmhouse he noticed that there were very few apple trees and thought 'this place is nowhere near as large as Sweet Apple Acres’ remembering his homemade Spike feel a little depressed, but he just shrugged it off and continued to look around.

After a few minutes of just walking around Spike heard the unmistakable sound of a Thudslug passing overhead. Thudslugs are perfect for knocking out one target at a time while causing some damage to them as well. Looking up Spike indeed found a few Thudslugs flying overhead and seeing a perfect opportunity to add another ammo type to his arsenal he used his crossbows Zappflys to knock out as many as his backpack could hold.

After gathering the thudslugs Spike decided to go talk to Farmer Beeks who was inside the farmhouse. When he entered the farmhouse, Spike noticed that there was a large amount of Bolamite webs in the corners of the manor and making a note to collect them as well while he stayed on the farm. A few minutes later Spike found the farmer. “Are you Farmer Beek’s?”.

"Yep nice to meet ya big guy. Are you here for the security guard gig? If you are there are three rules you need to follow, rule one: no stealing from the transport, if you are found stealing from me I will report you to the local sheriff and you will be arrested, rule two: when we pass through a town we will stay there for an only one day so grab any supplies you will need before we leave, if you are not there when we leave you will be left and you will lose out on your pay, got it?” Spike nodded. “Lastly, if you are going to work for me you will not touch my daughter, or I will personally hunt you down, understand.” Beek’s said with a glare that could make a manticore run away with its tail between its legs.

"I... I understand sir.”

“Great… Welcome aboard, we are set to leave in a few days so be ready, there is a bed for you to use until then in the barn.” All Spike could do is stare at the farmer with a dumbfounded look on his face from how easily he had been given the job. After accepting the job, Spike headed to the barn to sleep the rest of the day but upon entering the barn he found there to be even more Bolamite webs all around the barn. After looking around for the source of the mess Spike found a large collection of webs in the top part of the barn where a large number of Bolamites were exiting, seeing a great opportunity to add more bolamites to his supply collected some and then went to sleep.

The next morning in the barn, Spike was awoken by the sounds of gunfire and explosions, as someone was yelling “Where’s the moolah, Feather Brain?”. Getting up to see what was going on Spike had a feeling that it would not end well for anyone if he does not intervene so grabbing his crossbow with both Zappfly and his newly acquired Thudslugs in the chambers he made his way to the barn doors to try to stop the problem.

As Spike exited the barn he was met with the sight of the now destroyed front gate and a large group of fifteen figures ransacking the entire farm looking for the farmer's moolah. Seeing no other way of ending the attack Spike made his way to the farmhouse to find out some information about who is attacking. After passing some of the more clueless guards Spike made it to the farmhouse and found both Farmer Beek’s and his daughter huddled together in the safe room, Spike then asked, “Are you both all right?” they both nodded their heads. “Good, now who and why is the farm being attacked?” Asked Spike.

Beek’s responded, “We are being attacked by the McGraw crew and there here for the moolah that you were going to be protecting on the trip.”

"Ok, so I need to stop them, got it.” With that Spike left the safe room and made his way outside.

After securing the house Spike was face to face with four of the cutter grunts that McGraw used as his close-range attackers, swapping out his Zappflys for his Bolamites, Spike used one of his Thudslugs to knock out each of the grunts and then he tied them up using his Bolamites so he could have enough time to capture them all alive. Spike then captured all four of the cutters and then made his way back to the barn. The barn now had two cutters, two riflemen, and a sniper grunt in it. Needing to go get the rest of his gear that he left in the barn when he went to sleep and forget it in all the confusion when he was awoken, but he needed to clear it out first, running to the barn to avoid the sniper, Spike used a Bolamite to tie up the sniper. As Spike makes it to the barn, he used the same tactic he used on the other grunts and capturing all but the sniper. Spike then made his way up to the second floor to deal with the last grunt.

Now that the barn was secure, Spike stocked up on both Thudslugs and Bolamites and was ready for the final fight with McGraw. As Spike exited the barn he heard a mortar shell coming towards him. Running out of the barn, Spike was met with the sight of another mortar grunt and four more cutter grunts. Using the Thudslugs Spike used two on the mortar grunt to keep him knocked out, so he could deal with the cutters. Rushing the cutter grunts Spike headbutted each of them and started to capture them. After capturing all the grunts Spike made it back to the farmhouse to tell Beek’s farm is secure. But on his way to the farmhouse, someone yelled at Spike. “So, this is what’s been taken out my boys. Looks like I’m going to have to deal with you on my own.”

“Yeah, deal with it… and now I’m going to take you out, and then I’m going to turn your ass in when I get to town.” Responded Spike. McGraw then rushed Spike in anger, Spike decided to do a tactical retreat and run back into the farmhouse.

“Good I lost him but now I need to figure out how I’m going to take him in.” running through several ideas on how to deal with McGraw, Spike decided on the one where he would take the least amount of damage and save the farm but that would involve something he was not quite sure he could accept. Spike would have to kill him.

“There’s no other way, the best course of action is killing him, but I will only do that if there is no other way to stop him.” Spike rushed out of the farmhouse to confront McGraw but knowing how to use the environment to his advantage Spike used a rope on the side of the house that could allow him access to the roof. Climbing to the roof of the farmhouse Spike then used his claws to cut the rope attached to one of his Bolamites and fired it to the top of the barn connecting the house to the barn. After testing it by pulling down on it with all his strength, Spike used it to cross to the barn. As Spike was crossing the rope he was right over McGraw who was searching all around for Spike. But unknown to both Spike and McGraw the tensile strength of the Bolamite web and adding spikes near five-hundred-pound weight the spot where Spikes Bolamite attached the rope snapped and Spike started to fall “Aww crap… AWWW!!!”

“Whaaawww” McGraw looked up “Aw Crap.” Spike then landed on McGraw, knocking McGraw out.

“Hey, I’m ok, though that would hurt more, now I have to hurry before McGraw finds me.” Then Spike heard a low groan of something in pain. Looking down Spike saw the unconscious form of McGraw and let out his own groan at how stupidly he had captured McGraw and then he stated, “If I ever tell this story to anyone back home I will skip this part and make it sound like I fought tooth and claw to capture him.”

“...And after a long-fought battle I was able to use my claws and my strength to punch McGraw in the face so hard that I knocked him out, and that’s how I captured McGraw.” Spike ended his story with a shifty look in his eyes.

“Your lying Spike, I can tell by that look on your face. Tell us the truth, Spike.” Retorted Apple Jack.

“Fine, I landed on him after my rope snapped. Happy?”

“Yes.” Applejack responded while Spike groaned with annoyance at the living lie detectors' power to detect bullshit.

Everyone in the room let out a giggle at the actions of Spike. After a few minutes of everyone giggling Spike had enough and with a little anger and annoyance in his voice asked "Everyone done?”

Everyone nodded.

"Good, now let’s get back to the farm.”

After capturing McGraw, Spike then went to go check on Farmer Beek’s and his daughter in the safe room back in the farmhouse. Finding them right where he had left them he told both farmers that the area is cleared and that McGraw was captured but not telling them how he did it.

“Thank you kindly Mr…” asked Beek's.

“Sorry I guess I never gave you my name, it’s Spike, and no problem, getting rid of McGraw benefits both of us.”

“Never the less Mr. Spike I want you to know that you definitely have the job now and thanks to you we will easily make it to Buzzarton this year, so I’m going to give you double whatever McGraw and his crew are worth in addition to the pay you're going to get when we make it to New Yoke.” This left Spike dumbfounded at the kindness of the farmer.

Snapping out of his stupor Spike grabbed Beek’s wing and started to shake it vigorously while saying “Thank you, thank you, thank you”

“N…No pr…Problem Spike, but before anything else happens can you let go of my wing?”

“Sorry,” Spike responded while rubbing the back of his neck.

“Now go rest up, we leave in the morning and I want you to be alert the whole time, and I don’t want to see you slacking off ya hear.”

“Yes Sir.” with that Spike left the farmer and his daughter and went back to his room in the barn to take a well-deserved nap.

Twelve hours later

Spike was awoken by the sound of a rooster call, groaning at the early wake-up call, Spike reluctantly got up and deciding to take one last look around the farm, so he could fill up his ammo Spike got dressed and put his backpack on, and left the barn ready to leave. After using his Zappflys to collect both Thudslugs and Bolamites, Spike heard a very unusual sound, the sound of a clock ticking but what was also unusual was the fact that the sound was coming from right above him, and considering the current time, there was only one thing that would cause that sound. Looking up to the night sky Spike spotted a new ammo type; Boombats the perfect quick damage dealers and one of the few types of ammo that can harm Spike; “Sweet Sapphires what are Boombats doing here I thought they avoided places that are very active. So, what is a flock doing here?” but not looking a gift horse in the mouth and accepting the appearance of the ammo Spike collected as many as he could carry. After collecting as many as he could carry Spike was ready to head out and started for the farmhouse.

When Spike Found Beek’s they greeted each other and confirming that they were ready to depart for New Yoke, they made their way to the farm's transport trailer which was full of this year’s profits. After showing Spike where he wanted him to be for the first part of the trip Beek’s started the transport and they were on their way to their first stop the town of Buzzarton.

The first leg of the trip was uneventful, when they arrived in Buzzarton, the farm transport stopped in front of the local general store so that they could get supplies for the rest of the journey. Getting off the roof of the transport Beeks gave Spike four hundred moolah for any supplies he would need for the rest of the journey, but before going into the store Spike made his way to the local sheriff, so he could turn in McGraw and his gang. After a few minutes, Spike walked out of the office twelve hundred moolah richer with the receipt as proof in his hand. Spike then made his way back to the transport. After giving the receipt to Beek’s so he knows how much his little gift would cost him Spike walked into the store to stock up on anything that would help him. Going up to the store's clerk Spike asked to look at his inventory. Not seeing much in the way of gear, Spike then asked to look at his ammo supply. While he was looking at the inventory Spike noticed something he did not expect to see, he saw three new ammo types, he found the perfect trap and very easily pissed off Fuzzles, the very annoying and loud Chippunks who are perfect for distracting every stupid goon that hears it, and the very stinky and possibly toxic Stunks who are perfect for crowd control and knocking out multiple goons at once.

Buying the maximum amount of ammo of each ammo type. Spike walked out of the store to meet up with the transport and find where they would be staying for the night. After looking around the large town Spike found Beek’s with the transport and he was told that they would be staying in the local inn for the night and that this would be the last hotel that they would be staying at till they reach New Yoke. But before Spike was able to walk off Beek’s said “Spike meet me in the inn for dinner, so we can talk about the finer details for the rest of the trip, but until then you are free to do what you want.”

“Got it, all I’m going to do is ask around about some Vakkr who lives in New Yoke, and then I’m probably going to head back to the inn for dinner.” And with that Spike walked away from the caravan to gather information from the local clakkars.

After an hour of wandering around Buzzerton, Spike had learned about a local named Eugene Ius who is said to be well versed in the history of Mudos and was important to the development of the technology that is used all around Mudos. Spike wanted to talk to Eugene, so he could learn more about Mudos and the technology, but because it was late Spike decided he would find him tomorrow. Spike then walked back to the inn so he could learn more about his duties as Beek’s security guard.

Spike walked into the inn’s diner area looking for the farmer. After looking around the area for a minute Spike heard the voice of his employer calling him over. “Spike. Over here, I saved you a seat at the bar.”. Seeing no reason not to join Beek’s Spike walked over to the bar and sat on the stool next to Beek’s. Beek’s then turned to Spike and said, “order anything you want, my treat.” Proclaimed Beek’s, this left Spike bewildered at the kindness of the farmer.

“Are you sure?” Beek’s only nodded. “Thank you Mr. Beek’s.” Spike then turned to the bartender and asked, “Can I get the largest piece of meat you guys serve and add the strongest drink to go with it?” The bartender just shrugged and walked away.

"Who in Tartarus would give you alcohol, you are still a minor!!" Celestia said in an angry momlestia tone.

"Mom you have to remember that I spent ten years on Mudos, Right now I am twenty-two years old so I'm not considered a minor," Spike responded in a worried tone while trying to calm his mother.

“Hold up! When the hay did you start eating meat?” questioned Rainbow with a hint of disbelief.

“Rainbow Dash stop giving Spike that glare. He is a dragon and even if we prefer gems in our diet that's not the only thing we eat, but if gems are scarce where we live we will have to hunt meat so we can have the minerals like iron in our system, so we can live.” Ember responded.

“Yeah, it turns out that in Equestria we are spoiled when it comes to gems and crystals. As for when I was left with no option but to hunt for meat it was about two years into my training with Stranger. I never dreamed I would eat meat, but during my training, I passed out from malnutrition from only eating plants, up until then I was living off of the plants that I was able to scavenge from the forest, and yes I had Stranger teach me about identifying edible plants, he helped me discern what characteristics are found in most poisonous plants. But one day I was training to run on all fours to maximize my speed when I just suddenly went limp and was flung into a tree. Stranger was watching me when I was not getting up he noticed that I was too weak to even move my body, so he had to carry me back to our camp.” Responded Spike.

“So due to the lack of gems in this place called Mudos and only surviving on plants you found in the forest, in addition to training your tail off you collapsed from a mixture of exhaustion and malnutrition. Spike, you may be a dragon, but you need to know your limits when it comes to your body.” Celestia told Spike like a mother talking down to a young child.

"Yes, mom but it turns out that It wasn’t all bad I learned that I only need to eat meat once every few months to be satisfied, and that would in between I could eat the plants but the first time I had to hunt I felt like I was going to be sick. But after a couple of times eating meat I developed a taste for it but I treat it as a special meal so I don't solely depend on it in my diet. But on that note Mom I would like to be able to hunt in the EverFree forest once a month to get meat, and Fluttershy I would like you to keep me informed on which species is currently overpopulated so I don't hurt the natural ecosystem...more than I already have after losing my ammo" asked Spike while keeping the last part to himself.

"Ok, Spike I can give you the same type of pass I give the royal chefs for when delegates from the more carnivorous races like the Griffins visit so they can get meat. all I ask is you deal with the hunting away from any towns and you end the animal's life quickly and painlessly." Celestia said with a hint of sadness in her voice knowing that one day this would come.

"What about you Flutters?" asked Spike.

"I'm ok with this as well," responded Fluttershy. "I have noticed that there has been a larger than normal population of the animals in the forest for the last few months and that most of them are looking very weak. probably of lack of food."

"Great! Thank you both for the support on this matter, I know that eating meat is a rather delicate issue in Equestria and I give you both my word that I will only hunt the animals that are overpopulating the area and I will not make the animal suffer and I will always give it respect."

Ember broke the small conversation between the three by clearing her throat and saying "That's nice and all that you can be more of a dragon but can we get back to the story pleased?"

"Yeah, sorry about that... So Farmer Beek's and I were at the bar...."

" So here's what's going to happen after we leave Buzzarton. I want you to stay at the top of the transport while we are on the move, it will take us about three weeks for us to get to New Yoke City from here. We will stop twice a day for one hour to refuel and stretch our legs and wings, during that time you will be allowed to leave the transport to scout ahead and restock on any supplies you would have used. if there's trouble you in charge of dealing with it, any outlaws you take out are yours to turn in. After the last stop of the day, we will be on the move for another four hours until we find a good place to stay for the night. At that point, you are responsible for securing the area and protecting the moolah, so after you scout the path ahead of us you will return to the transport, where you will sleep in the cabin of the transport to best protect the moolah. Do you understand what I am asking you to do?"

"I understand Mr.Beek's, don't worry I give you my word that I won't let anything happen to you or the transport." responded spike giving a salute.

"Great, now tell me about yourself while we eat."

"Sure thing, so I am a dragon, I arrived on Mudos over eight years ago after I was taken from my home in Equestria, I was found in the forest just south of Gizzard Gulch by a person I call Stranger, who taught me how to survive on my own. But my only goal is to find a way back to my home. Aside from that their isn't much to know about me." said Spike as he was eating his dinner.

"That is not much but just by looking at you, I can tell you an honest and trustworthy person so that's all I'm going to ask about you. Now eat up and get some rest, the hard part of the job starts tomorrow," responded Beek's as he left his seat to go to bed.

"So with that, I went to bed so I could get up early. the next morning I was able to track down Eugene Ius but he was about to spend the next two years at a local dig site near the town so I was unable to talk with him. So following Beek's orders I jumped to the top of the transport and was ready to get a move on. we soon left Buzzarton and started to make our way to New Yoke." said Spike.

"Did you guys get attacked and have to fight a lot of outlaws so you could protect the moolah from thieves?" Asked rainbow hoping for some excitement in this story.

"No not really, all I did was stay on the roof of the transport during the day where I was able to sunbathe but on occasion, a small group of outlaws would come and try to rob us, but I was able to quickly deal with them. I was also able to see more of Mudos from there thou."

"OHH Come on!!" responded Dash

"It wasn't all bad, I was able to make over two thousand moolah when I turned them in when we arrived in New Yoke."

Three weeks later

"Ok Spike today is the day we should arrive in New Yoke, so when we get into town I recommend you take in those outlaws you have collected over the weeks, then come find me at the bank so I can give you your pay for your work."

as the transport arrived at the New Yoke city gate, Spike jumped down from the top of the transport and started walking to the local sheriff's office. but after looking around for the office and not finding anything Spike asked a nearby Clakker where the sheriff's office is...

"We don't have a sheriff in New Yoke, we have the police force and a place called a bounty store where bounty hunters can go and turn in their bounties. I think they will replace a lot of sheriffs' offices in a few years. also if you looking to turn in some bounties the bounty store is right around the corner." responded the Clakker.

"Thank you..." said Spike walking off to the bounty store. Spike entered the bounty store to turn in the outlaws that he had gathered over the weeks and after turning in all of the outlaw's Spike made over two thousand moolah. Thanking the store operator Spike walked off back to the bank to get his pay for the job.

Arriving back at the bank Spike spotted farmer Beek's waiting outside of the transport for Spike. Spike approached Beek's who then told Spike that his pay would be available tomorrow morning and that he would be paid a flat rate of five thousand moolah for the job in addition to one hundred moolah for each outlaw Spike caught during the trip and the gift of twenty-four hundred from his work on McGraw. lastly, Beek's informed Spike that he wanted Spike to stay at the inn for the next few days so he paid for a room at the inn for Spike, but Beek's also wanted to talk to Spike tonight about something.

Seeing that it was late and not wanting to miss the conversation with Beek's, Spike decided it would be best to go straight to the inn for the night and start his search for this Vykker who could send him home in the morning.

Walking into the inn Spike was told to go to the dining area of the inn to meet with Beek's by the receptionist. walking into the dining area Spike noticed it was empty aside from Beek's and the bartender. Walking over to the bar and taking the seat next to Beek's, Spike turned to Beek's and asked "What did you need sir?".

"Spike I want to ask you a few questions."

"Ask away."

"First. Do you know if you will be able to get home from here?"

"No, I don't, it's only a chance."

"Fair enough, first I'm going to say I do hope you can get back to your home. my next question is very important. would you be willing to come back to the farm with the transport if you are unable to go back to your home? if you say yes you can have a room in the house where you can come and go till you find a definite way home as long as you agree to protect the farm and our guard when we need you."

" Thank you Mr.Beek's, I have to talk to a local Vykkr about getting me home. it will take some time to definitely confirm if he can get me home, but if he can't I will take you up on your offer and I would be glad to work for you."

"Good to hear Spike, if you can I will see you in one year when I come back to deposit my moolah. Before we go our separate ways can I ask you to do me one more favor?"

"Sure what do you need me to do?" asked Spike with a hint of curiosity.

"It's not me it's my daughter, she wants to meet you before we leave for home, I don't know why thou, just remember if you touch her I will hunt you down," responded Beek's with a hint of anger in his voice.

"I understand sir... tell her I'll meet her outside of the inn before you guys leave for home."

With all issues being resolved spike and Beek's got drunk and talked for the rest of the night about their lives.

I'm going to skip what we talked about because I don't really remember... apparently dragons can get drunk but only if they nearly drink a fully stock bar of high-grade alcohol and a good drinking buddy."

Twilight, Starlight, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Thorax, and Velvet all face hoofed and shook their heads at the stupid excuse Spike gave. But Big Mac, Discord, Ember, Shining Armor, and Night Light all nodded their heads knowing from past experiences that one drink can lead to many if it's accompanied by a good drinking buddy.

"Trust me when I say that in Mudos they don't sell any drink with less than ninety-five percent alcohol per volume. But I still drunk Beek's under the table." Spike added this made everyone looked shocked at Spike. "What is there something wrong with what I said?"

"Spike... the highest available alcohol to even us royals is only about fifty percent, any more would be considered for medical uses," Luna responded with a hint of amazement for her nephew and how he even has a liver left after one night of drinking.

"Princess Luna," Ember added. "To us dragons fifty percent is nothing... but even dragons have their limits and its normally about seventy percent, but any more then about ten drinks and we would start to get a little tipsy and then we would be cut off, so we don't go too far and try to fly drunk and crash or in the case of some dragons go on a drunken rampage and attack anything."

"Ok, so what I have gathered is that I'm now both a drunk and even for a dragon shouldn't have a liver at this point." Spike surmised.

Everyone nodded with a hint of worry and disbelief plastered across their faces.

"But knowing Twilight the second I was found and was brought back to the castle she and Starlight both performed some magical medical scans on me to see if anything was wrong... am I wrong?" Spike questioned.

"No... as soon as we placed you in a bed, me and Starlight both performed medical scans and gave the results to nurse Red Heart to check for any problems and she told both of us that aside from some weird marks on your body and the height and weight changes the only problem was a slight concussion from your fall and exhaustion." Twilights' mood then changed to one of concern. " Speaking of those weird marks on your body, we didn't want to move you or wake you up to check so we never saw any of these marks, but now that your up can you show them to us, Spike? Nurse Red Heart told us that over forty percent of your body is covered in these marks and that they range from old to more recent." Twilight added with a hint of worry in her voice.

"I knew this was going to come up sooner or later. Knowing Rarity she would demand that we needed to take new measurements of my body as soon as possible to make me some new clothes, so my guess was she was going to be the first to see my body, and after seeing what has happened to me she would demand I tell her everything that happened, then she would make me tell everyone here the same story, so to cut out the middle mare, I'll show everyone now.".

Everyone nodded at Spikes's assumption of Rarity as she gave a small shrug and added "That is quite accurate to what I would have done."

With some reluctance, Spike stood up and first removed his boots from his legs to show the bite mark scars that ran up both of his legs from his Fuzzle training when his scales weren't as strong as they are now. " I'm going to be completely honest, these should be the oldest ones I have. I got them when I first started training with Stranger when I accidentally walked into one of his Fuzzle traps." Everyone was horrified at the sight that was shown to them, both Fluttershy and Rarity almost fainted as Celestia started to tear up from the sight of her baby being so hurt and knowing she was not there to help him.

Spike then removed his arm mounting for his crossbow and revealed the single circular scar that was hidden underneath, he had received this wound from an outlaw who was aiming for his crossbow but it hit his arm instead. " This one was a bad one," said Spike as he showed the scar to everyone.

"I got it when I was on a hunt in New Yoke, it was able to penetrate the scales on my arm and this made my arm completely useless for the next few days. but even with my useless arm, I was able to capture my bounty and then I promptly took some time off to heal. But it took a few weeks for it to completely heal ." Now Applejack was starting to look pail from what she was seeing and Celestia was slowly crying.

"Now that's all of my small scars, and I'm warning you all now, these were the easiest ones I have, if you don't want to know about the ones on my chest and back I would recommend leaving." Seeing no one getting up to show their support Spike asked once more. "Are you sure?" still no one moved. "Ok..."Spike then removed his poncho to reveal his back and chest. Upon seeing the state his body was in almost everyone looked to be at the point of fainting from the sight his body was in. Celestia, Luna, Both Twilights, Starlight, Pinky Pie, the CMC, and Cadance were openly sobbing for everything Spike had to go through. Both Rarity and Fluttershy had passed out completely. Applejack, Big Mac, Ember, and Shining Armor looked like they were going to throw up. Thorax just had a blank stare on his face trying to process everything Spike had to go through.

"I warned you guys, now I'm not going to go into to much detail about what happened, I don't want to cause any more sadness. But these scars on my back are the result of ammo called Stingbees, each scar is from were multiple rounds hit the same point and got passed my scales, and one of my back spines got shot off completely, but I was able to stop the bleeding quickly but the venom from the bees caused the scars to form. But I was also hit a few times on my chest." Said Spike as he showed only his back to the group. "There is one last scar I need to show you guys but this one is a little hard to talk about because this one was the worst I ever received. This is the last opportunity to leave."

Seeing no one even moving, Spike thought to himself 'Best family ever.' Then he turned around to show a large wound on the right side of his body.

(A.N: this but on the right side and Spike)

The sight of the grisly wound made everyone go silent as they were trying to process what the hell happened to Spike. Then Celestia broke the silence and all the windows in a half-mile radius of her as she fully sobbed at the state her pour son was in.

After twenty minutes of nonstop crying and everyone consoling Celestia, she was able to regain her composure and wiped her eyes using her wings and asked Spike to continue.

" So back when I was training with Stranger..."

Flashback five years ago:

"Spike where are you? I'm back from my hunts and I got a good chunk of moolah from it." Stranger shouted in the forest looking for Spike.

Not making a sound Spike was ready to pounce from the tree above Stranger, to prove just how stealthy he is. Spike then jumped down to surprise Stranger. Turning around and aiming a Bolamite in the direction of Spike, Stranger gave Spike a smirk and said "Nice try kid, but no luck." The next thing Spike knew was that he was tied up in a ball and was hanging from the tree he jumped out of as Stranger walked over and told Spike. "Too predictable, also your weight caused the tree to creek." Then Stranger knocked the hanging Spike making him a pendulum.

After the Bolamite webbing was dissolved Spike and Stranger talked about his latest hunts where Spike was informed that one of the outlaws had a brother who got away from Stranger, they talked throughout the night about many aspects of what Stranger could have done differently. Just then Stranger and Spike heard the sound of a twig snapping, this alerted them making them both stand up but then a loud sound was heard and then Spike was face down on the ground coughing up blood and bleeding out. Stranger then ran to the dying Spike checking to see if he could help him.

"Shit... Spike gets up..."

No response.

"Spike... Show me that you're alive." Spike then coughed up some blood and gave Stranger a smirk.

" Can't get rid of me that easily you old goat."

"Spike, can you run?" Spike shook his head. "Ok, I'm going to move you next to the tree to go capture whoever shot you, don't die while I'm gone, if you do you will never see your family again, and more importantly I would have wasted five years of my life training a dead lizard." They both laughed at the small joke as Stranger pulled Spike to cover, making sure Spike was safe, then running off to capture the outlaw.

"The last thing I saw was Stranger running off, then I passed out due to lack of blood," Spike added.

Now everyone was crying their eyes out, literally in Discords case. "Ok, guys can you stop the crying? I'm fine." Spike asked.

after about five minutes of crying, the sobbing stopped, and Spike continued his story.

Two days after the attack:

Spike awoke slowly and was having trouble breathing as a Clakkers walked into the room. "Good, You finally woke up Spike, How are you feeling?"

With a lot of effort Spike responded " I feel like I was hit by a swarm of Boombats." Spike then turned to the Clakkers who were wearing a white lab coat and asked. "Where am I?"

"Well your back in Gizzard Gulch Spike, you were shot in the chest by a large caliber sniper round that hit you on the right side, the round cracked some of your ribs and damaged a large portion of your right lung but we were able to remove it and you should heal up real nice as long as you don't overexert your self too much. You were brought in by the Stranger you all ways hang around, also you have been out for about two days do to blood loss so we are going to keep you here for observation for a few days, but now that your up some folks are wanting to see you, word spread that our favorite dragon was hurt and in the hospital. So would you like to see them today?" Spike nodded.

"After about a month of taking it easy, I was left with this scar and was back to training."

"I'm so happy that my Little Fire Starter is ok, I don't know what I would do if I lost you to some lone assassin." Celestia sobbed as she held Spike in a bone-crushing hug.

"M...MOM...LET...LET GO!" Spike said as he slowly chocking from the hug.

"Sorry, sweetie," Celestia responded while looking sheepish.

everyone else gave Spike a small smirk for being a mama's drake.

"Can we get back to the story please, also everyone get that smirk off of your faces," Spike said with pink cheeks.

"Uhhh… My head" Spike said as he woke up in a bed with a splitting head ackee. "What the hell happened last night, the last thing I remember was talking to Beek's about his daughter." Spike then remembered that Beek's daughter wanted to talk to him about something before they leave, turning to find the clock, Spike noticed that the time was seven-thirty in the morning, he had only half an hour to talk to Beek's daughter before they leave. Spike forced his body to get up and walk to the bathroom to splash water on his face in an attempt to look decent. Spike then got dressed and walked slowly downstairs to the front of the inn.

As Spike exited the inn he was met with the sight of Beek's and his daughter talking about the trip back to the farm, walking over to the two they noticed Spike approaching, then Beek's daughter whispered something into her father's ear, and then he walked away.

Spike then walked to the daughter and asked "You wanted to see me, Miss... I'm so sorry out of fear of your father hunting me down I never caught your name..." Spike said sheepishly.

"My name is Abigail. MR. Spike, and why I wanted to talk to you is to thank you for helping us with the outlaws who attacked the farm and protecting both me and my father during the transport. My father has informed me of your acceptance of the job offer if your way home does not pan out. I do hope you can get home but if you can't maybe we can get to know each other a little better if you join the farm." Abigail said with a hint of a blush on her cheeks. "Until then Spike." Abigail then pecked Spikes' cheek and ran to find her father.

'Ok, a four-foot-tall chicken has a crush on me.' Spike mentally said to himself. " I can deal with that roller-coaster of emotions later but first I need to say goodbye to Beek's and then I need to find this Vykker who can get me home."

Walking around to the other side of the transport, Spike found Beek's and after a few minutes of saying goodbye both Spike and Beek's walked away.

Spike then walked straight to the local bounty store to inquire about any new bounties that needed collecting and to inquire about the location of the Vykker. Walking in Spike met the same Clakker who rewarded him last night and then Spike asked about any local bounties and the local Vykker.

A few minutes later. Spike walked out of the store with two new bounties and information on the Vykker named Doc who was living in his lab built on the cliffside by the nearby river. Spike then walked to the general store. Entering the store Spike asked about any new gear in-store and found that there was a new type of ammo and to Spikes' surprise, it was the Stingbees: perfect for rapid-fire damage and known for large capacity. Buying a full supply of bees and a few new ammo capacity upgrades Spike walked out and headed straight to the river to find Doc.

After about an hour of a nice calm walk, Spike arrived at the river, but not seeing a way to get to the lab Spike decided to walk down the river to find a way to climb the cliff face, but about halfway to the cliff Spike found an old cable car connected to the platform to the lab, but the exterior of the cable car station was in disrepair and covered in vines, clearing the vines with a combination of his claws and his fire, Spike boarded the cable car which was in far better condition compared to the exterior. Looking around the car Spike found the control board with a lever. Seeing no other way to move it Spike pulled the lever up, and the cable car groaned to life and started to move up to the lab's platform.

After a slow cable car ride over the river, Spike arrived at the platform that leads to Docs lab. Spike then opened the door of the cable car and stepped off and was met with the sight of a bright red neon sign that read "Docs Retreat". Spike then walked to the door and walked in hoping that this was the answer to getting him home.

Author's Note

Sorry this chapter took so long to write but life happens. Also im might start a few new stories. Comment on which you want to see first.
1) Spike with a demon in him, causing him to run (Death, Adventure)
2) A 1/2 Human Spike Story where he has a human mother and a dragon/ demon father
3) A full interpretation of the anime Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma with magic and the main 7 plus Spike as the main characters
Also give some feedback on how the story is going.