The Storm Dragon

Chapters

Breaking In
A Baby
Succeed or Die
His Purpose
The Dragonlands
New Mission
Flashback
New Friends
The Final Straw
Traitor!
Forgiven
A Happy Ending

Breaking In

The sun rose over the horizon as a small dark purple filly wearing a saddlebag walked around a large field, looking through the tall grass. She let out a groan and turned around to face the short, chubby, grey hedgehog that stood behind her.

“Grubber, why are we doing this again?” The filly asked. Grubber shrugged his shoulders.

“Because boss said that there would be a lot of abandoned dragon eggs here. He needs one for his plan.” He explained. He spoke with a lisp, incorrectly pronouncing his T’s.

“Are you sure this is the right spot? I can’t find one.” The filly said.

“Probably not but I don’t wanna upset the boss, you know how he gets Fizzlepop.” Grubber said. The filly glared at him.

“I told you it’s Tempest Shadow, not Fizzlepop Berrytwist!” Tempest exclaimed, her broken horn sparking up a bit. Grubber rolled his eyes.

“Tempest, Fizzlepop, whatever, just hurry up and find an egg so we can go. I’m getting hungry.” He said, sitting on an old batter log. Tempest rolled her eyes.

“You’re always hungry Grubber.” She stated, searching through more grass. Grubber shrugged her shoulders and picked a piece of bark off of the old log, popping it into his mouth. Tempest grimaced and continued to search through the grass. Her ears perked up when she heard hoofsteps crunching on the grass. Tempest ran over to Grubber and pulled him downwards.

“What was that fo-“ Grubber was cut off by Tempest covering his mouth.

” Be quiet, someone’s here.” She whispered. Grubber rolled his eyes.

“It’s probably just boss checking up on us.” Grubber stated. Tempest and Grubber laid on the ground, listening to the hoofsteps get closer. A white unicorn stallion wearing golden armor walked through the field, looking around. He was about two feet away from her and Grubber. Tempest held her breath, making sure the stallion didn’t hear her.

“Is anypony out here!” The guard exclaimed looking around. He stood still for a few moments, trying to hear something. After about twenty seconds of silence, the guard shrugged his shoulders and started to walk away. He stopped walking when his hoof hit something hard.

“Is this an egg?” The guard asked himself. He levitated a purple egg with dark purple spots on them and inspected it closely. Tempest held back a gasp. The guard looked around to see if any creature could have laid the egg.

“I better take this to the Princess.” The guard said before walking off. Tempest listened to the guard walk off before his hoofsteps were no longer heard. Tempest peeked her head over the grass, looking around a bit. When she didn’t see anything, she started to speak.

“This is just perfect! After hours of searching that dumb guard took the only egg here!” Tempest exclaimed angrily, her horn sparking up. Grubber shrugged his shoulders.

“Guess we’re gonna have to tell boss that we failed, let go back to the airship.” Grubber said as he stood up from the ground, brushing his fur off. Tempest shook her head.

“I’m not going back until I get that egg. Once Storm King gets the egg he can rule over Equestria and I can get my horn back.” Tempest states sternly. Grubber let out a groan.

“Fine but I have to come with you. Storm King wants you alive.” Grubber stated. Tempest looked on the ground to see hoofprints in the dirt.

“The guard went that way, we’ll find out what he did with the egg when we catch up to him.” Tempest stayed before following the hoofprints. Grubber let out a sigh and started to follow her. This was going to be a long day.

Tempest approached the Canterlot Castle before quickly hiding in a bush. It was well in the afternoon and they had been following the guard for hours.

“Grubber, why are you standing in the open?” Tempest asked in a whisper. He shrugged his shoulders, biting into an apple that he found on the ground. Luckily they were just out of sight from any pony. Tempest let out a groan and pointed her hoof towards the castle door.

“The guard went in there. If he gave the egg to the Princess, I’m going to assume that she hid it somewhere secure so no one can get it. She wouldn’t want it to get into the wrong hands.” Tempest played out. She looked around.

“I just need to find a way in.” She muttered to herself.

“How about that open door?” Grubber stated, pointed to a door that was open a bit. It must have been the door for the guards to go start their shifts.

“Let’s go,” Tempest whispered before sneaking inside. Grubber walked after her at a slow, calm pace. Tempest around and grimaced at what she saw. They were standing in the stallions locker room. The door swung open, reveal about twenty sweaty stallions. Tempest and Grubber hid behind a cart of dirty towels.

” Oh my god.” Tempest whispered in fear. Grubber gave her a worried look. The sound of armor hit the floor and Tempest covered her face with her hooves.

“Close your eyes, I’ll lead you out of here without anyone seeing.” Grubber whispered. Tempest gave him an uneasy look before nodding her head. She closed her eyes and he grabbed her hoof. Grubber scurried to the corner of the room. The steam from the showers made them blend in perfectly. Grubber looked up to see the door leading to the hallway.

“Tempest it’s this way.” Grubber whispered. Tempest peeked her eyes open before speed walking towards the door. She pushed the door open quickly and took in a deep breath, now standing in the hallway. Grubber walked out of the locker room with his arms crossed.

“I dropped my apple.” He said grumpily. Tempest gave him a bashful look.

“Thanks for helping me out back there.” She said with a small blush. Grubber smiled.

“It was nothing.” He stated with a wave of his hand. The sound of squeaky wheels echoed down the hallway, making Tempest freeze. She grabbed Grubber's hand and pulled him under a nearby table. It was very low so anyone passing by wouldn’t be able to see them without crouching down. Four unicorns walked down the hallway, pushing a cart. The single mare in the group read something on a clipboard.

“Our next candidate is Twilight Sparkle. Hopefully, she doesn’t waste our time as the other children did.” The mare said in a snooty voice. Tempest squinted at the cart and let out a small gasp.

”They have the egg.” Tempest whispered to Grubber. The ponies rounded the corner and Tempest quickly got up from under the table.

“Hurry, before they get away,” Tempest said, running after them. Grubber struggled to get his chubby body from under the table. Once he got from under the table, he followed Tempest with a light jog.

Tempest peeked through the window that was on two large doors. A violet unicorn filly stood inside of the room, staring at the egg intensely. She looked about a year or two younger than Tempest. The four unicorns from before sat a few feet away from her, watching her every move. Two unicorns sat next to the door (which she assumed to be the fillies parents) anxiously watching their child. Grubber walked over to Tempest, out of breath and sweating.

“How are you so fast?” Grubber asked in between breaths.

“I can’t get in, there are too many ponies.” She stated, ignoring Grubber's question. Grubber thought for a moment.

“I can distract them, the security in this place is horrible.” Grubber stated. Tempest looked back at the filly inside who was looking at the ground, her ears flat against her head. It looked like she failed the test.

“That sounds like a perfect plan,” Tempest muttered. Grubber smiled and stood up. He walked over to a suit of armor that was up for display. He took the shield and the sword from it and started to bang them together, making a loud metallic echo.

” EVERYONE LOOK, I’M MAKING A LOT OF NOISE.” Grubber shouted at the top of his lungs. Tempest stood next to the door, which quickly swung open. The ponies that were inside the room rushed into the hallway to see what all the noise was. At that moment, Tempest slipped into the room without anyone noticing.

“I can’t believe that worked,” Tempest muttered to herself. She looked at the egg that sat on the cart, hay surrounding it to keep it safe. Tempest walked over to the delicate egg and placed it in her saddlebag. There was a loud bang from outside, making her jump in surprise. She looked out of one of the large glass windows to see a very beautiful rainbow covering the sky.

” Woah.” Tempest whispered. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She took a step back, only to step on something. She looked to see that she had stepped on a clipboard with the name ‘Twilight Sparkle’ on it. Tempest skimmed through the paper. Even though she failed to hatch the egg, she still passed the entry exam. It was all about how far the student was willing to try apparently.

“That’s cruel,” Tempest said to herself. Her ears perked up when she heard the metallic clanging had stopped. She quickly turned around and bolted out of the door on the opposite side of the room. She sped walk down the hallway, keeping an eye and ear out for any guards.

“Hey, Tempest.” A voice whispered. She turned around to see Grubber peeking through an open window. “I got kicked out, did you get the egg?” Grubber asked. Tempest nodded her head and patted her saddlebag. Tempest hopped out of the window and landed on her hooves into the soft grass.

“Boss is gonna be thrilled.” Grubber stated. Tempest smiled.

Tempest and Grubber walked down the dark hallways of Storm Kings airship, blue flames lighting the hallway.

“Your Excellency,” Tempest said as she walked into the throne room. Storm King said on his throne, tapping his fingers against the throne.

“Do you have what I need?” He asked. Tempest took the egg out of her saddlebag and handed it to Storm King. He held the egg in his hands, staring at it for a few moments.

”Perfect.”

A Baby

Author's Note

This chapter contains burning to death

A Baby

Storm King placed the purple egg on a long dining table, grinning to himself. He rubbed his hands together, giggling evilly to himself.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what do you need a dragon egg for?” Tempest asked. Storm King looked at her and showed her a deep blue jewel that was glowing in the dark room. It was jagged and small enough to fit between Storm Kings fingers.

“This crystal will give the dragon unimaginable powers and unbelievable strength.” Storm King explained. Tempest tilted her head in confusion.

“If it can give you that many powers, why don’t you use it on yourself?” Tempest asked.

“This crystal only works on dragons and loses it’s effects after three days before the user is killed. With this dragon, I can take over Equestria just before it dies.” Storm King stated. Tempest nodded her head in understanding. Storm King held the jewel close to the egg and it started to glow. The egg started to shake and crack. The egg started to slowly chip apart. Tempest stared in awe as the egg broke down to reveal a tiny purple dragon with green scales. He had large green eyes and looked at Storm King before letting out a laugh. He was adorable. Storm King stared at the hatchling in confusion.

“You’re supposed to be a big scary beast! Why aren’t you a big scary beast?!” Storm King shouted, picking up a book. He flipped through the pages, looking for anything on the crystal. The cover of the book read ‘Fairytales for foals.’ At the very bottom of the cover it said ‘None of these fairytales are real.’

“Boss that book isn’t real.” Grubber stated. Storm King put the book down to glared at him.

“What do you mean this book isn’t real?” Storm King said between gritted teeth. Grubber pointed to the baby blue cover.

“It’s says it’s not real right at the bottom. The gem you’re holding is a glowing sapphire. You wasted your time on a children’s book!” Grubber said, starting to laugh. Storm King stomped his hoof on the tiled floor, making it crack. He got inches from Grubbers face, there noses pressing together.

“I can kill you right now.” Storm King said in a threatening tone. Grubbers eyes widened and he took a few steps back.

“I mean, everyone makes mistakes, you’ll get it next time.” Grubber said with a fake laugh. Storm King looked at the baby dragon who was now sucking on his tail. He had no clue on what was going on.

“Tempest, dispose of the dragon.” Storm King said, turning away from the hatchling. Tempest eyes widened. She had done some terrible things before but she had never abandoned a baby. She looked back at the hatchling. He was staring back at her with his large innocent eyes.

“No.” Tempest said bluntly. She should’ve thought of a better way to say that. Grubber looked at her as if she had lost her mind. Storm King turned around with a deadly look on his face.

“What did you say?” He asked, taking a step towards Tempest. Her mind raced, thinking of an excuse to use.

“I’ll raise him!” Tempest shouted. That was one of the worst suggested she had come up with. Storm King cocked his eyebrow.

“And why would you do that?” Storm King asked. Tempest’s eyes darted around, thinking of what to say.

“Dragons are very powerful and deadly. If I raise him, he can be very helpful. As soon as he can walk, I’ll teach him how to fight.” Tempest stated. Storm King put his hand on his chin and thought for a moment.

“Fine, but if either of you interfere with my work, I’ll kill you both.” Storm King said coldly before leaving the dining room. Once they couldn’t hear his hooves hitting the tiled floor anymore, Grubber started to speak.

“Are you really going to raise that thing?” Grubber asked. Tempest looked at Grubber with a worrisome face.

“I already gave him my word for it so now I have to.” Tempest stated, turning back to the dragon. She walked over and slowly reached her hoof out to it, making sure he wouldn’t attack. The dragon stretched out his tiny arms and grabbed onto Tempest’s hoof with his tiny chubby hands. He looked at her and gave her a big smile. Her heart jumped and she quickly scooped up the child.

“Never mind, I’d die for him.” Tempest said, cradling him in her arms. Grubber gave her a look of surprise.

“I’ve never seen you this affectionate before.” He commented. Tempest shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t know why but I feel like I should protect him.” Tempest stated. She looked at the dragon hatchling who was already falling asleep, despite only being hatched less than ten minutes ago.

“He needs a name.” Tempest said. She and Grubber thought for a moment.

“How about Spike. He has Spikes on his head.” Grubber suggested. It sounded like a terrible name but Tempest couldn’t think of anything better.

“That’s a perfect name.” Tempest stated. She let out a yawn and rubbed her eyes. It was past ten and she had to wake up early the next morning. Tempest placed Spike on her back.

“Goodnight Grubber, I’m going to bed.” Tempest said as she walked out of the dining room. She walked down the hallway, looking at Storm Kings large minions. They were large and furry. Tempest liked to call them ‘Storm Creatures.’ They never spoke and only grunted. Whenever Tempest tried to speak to them, they’d only grunt and groan. Grubber said it was best not to question them.

Tempest entered her very tiny room. She had a twin bed in the corner with a thin black blanket on it. She had a small dresser with armor and black clothing. Tempest placed Spike on her bed and reached under it to pulled out a small wooden basket filled with fruit. She had stored some fruit for herself for late night snacks. She opened an empty drawer in her dresser and poured the fruit inside. She opened another drawer and pulled out a fluffy blue blanket. She placed it in the basket, making it like a little bed.

“This is your bed now.” Tempest stated. She pulled out a piece of cloth and put it on Spike as if it were a diaper. Once she was finished, she picked him up and placed him in the basket. He nuzzled into the soft blanket and closed his eyes. Tempest smiled and laid down in her bed. She quickly drifted off into a dreamless to sleep.

Tempest kicked a training dummy with her rear leg, knocking it across the room. She slid under another dummy and kicked it into the air. She pulled an Obsidian Orb from one of the holsters in the front of her armor and kicked it at the dummy. As soon as the orb made contact, the dummy turned into stone. She stood up and wiped the sweat from her brow, panting heavily.

“That was even better than yesterday.” Grubber stated. He sat against the wall of the room with Spike laying on his lap. He was sucking on a pacifier that Storm King had stolen from a child. He stole a lot of things from babies so they had everything they needed for Spike. Tempest smiled.

“Thanks, I’ve been trying really hard.” Tempest said. A siren went off and red lights illuminated the room, making them look up.

“Boss must’ve found a new town to take over.” Grubber commented. Grubber took Spike off of his lap and stood up. Tempest put a baby carrier across her side and took Spike from Grubber, placing him in it.

Both of them walked out of the room and down the hallway, which was pretty much empty. The Storm Creatures must have already gone to the throne room to receive instructions. Grubber and Tempest entered the throne room to see The Storm Creatures lined up, facing the throne. There were two empty spaces where Grubber and Tempest could easily get into.

“We are approaching a large town called Panthera. It’s the capital of Abyssinia. When Panthera is in my grasp, I can easily conquer Abyssinia. Guards, I want you to round up all of the citizens. Put them in shackles and cages. Grubber, I want you to announce me as there new leader. Tempest, find there leader and turn them to stone.” Storm King commanded. Everyone left the line, getting ready to attack. Tempest put Obsidian Orbs and Phoenix ashes in the front of her armor. Grubber pulled out a large black megaphone with the Storm Kings logo on it.

“Do you think it’s safe to fight with a baby?” Grubber asked, gesturing to Spike. Tempest looked down to see that he had fallen asleep.

“I didn’t even think of that.” She commented. She looked around and picked up one of her helmets and one of her knee pads. It was the smallest one there since she was the youngest member there. She took the sleeping baby out of his carrier and lifted up his arms. She put the knee pad across his chest, which covered most of his body. She placed the helmet on his head. Grubber snickered.

“He looks ridiculous.” He commented. Tempest shrugged her shoulders and placed Spike back in his carrier.

“This is all I have for now.” Tempest explained. She looked out of the window of the airship to see that they were about to land. There were a bunch of cats, standing on there hind legs. Some of them were wearing clothes and some weren’t. They were all looking at the sudden storm clouds that were rolling in. The airship landed on the ground with a boom. The door opened and Grubber walked outside, holding the megaphone tightly.

“Cats of Panthera, we come on the behalf of the fearsome, powerful, Storm King!.” Grubber shouted. Cats murmured to each other in fear. Storm King walked out of the airship, holding a plastic staff that looked real. He had an evil smirk on his face.

“You are all under new management. It’s best that you just do as I say and don’t ask questions.” Storm King stated. A fluffy white cat wearing a tuxedo top, a top hat, and a red tie.

“As the Mayor of this town, I command you to leave before you get taken by the authorities!” The cat shouted, stomping his paw forward. Storm King chuckled to himself.

“If you want to do it the hard way then I won’t play nice.” Storm King said with a snap of his fingers. The Storm Creatures hopped out of the airship, holding chains and whips. Cats let out screams and ran away to hide. A few cats whipped out there claws to fight. They were the first to get captured.

“Get the mayor. Make him burn.” Storm King commanded. Tempest nodded her head and hopped off of the airship. She landed on her hooves and chased after the mayor. He ran on all fours, looking back behind him frantically. The mayor was heading straight towards a blocked alleyway. Perfect. The mayor looked in horror as he realized that he had ran into a dead end. He turned around to run back, but saw that he was cornered by Tempest.

“I’m going to make this quick for you.” Tempest stated as she pulled out the phoenix ashes. The mayor looked in horror as he tried to climb up the wall. Phoenix powder was highly flammable and could kill someone in an instant. She opened the small bottle and poured a bit on the ground, making a circle to surround the mayor.

“P-please I’ll do anything. Don’t kill me!” The mayor begged, now on his knees. Tempest stared at him with a blank expression. If this were a few months earlier, she would’ve have broken down and cried. She had seen and caused plenty of deaths before. It was numbing to see them beg now.

Before she could say anything else, Spike let out a sneeze. A large flame shot out of his mouth and caught onto the phoenix ashes. The circle burst into green flames and the mayor let out a blood curdling scream. The flames washed over him. In the matter of seconds, the mayor was no more. He was only a pile of burnt fur and ashes. Tempest looked at Spike who stared at the remaining in awe.

“You’re a lot more dangerous than I thought.”

Succeed or Die

Tempest laid on her bedroom floor with dozens of books in splayed across the floor. Spike laid on her right hind leg, drooling on it. It felt gross but she was too busy to say anything. Tempest let out a groan and placed her head onto the cold tiled floor. Storm King had given her one more chance to prove that Spike could be useful to him. If she couldn’t find anything, Storm King would kill him painfully.

Spike was useful for the attack on Panthera but after a while he sort of got in the way of things. Two cats named Capper and Chummer had hijacked one of the airships. Tempest almost caught them, but Spike started crying, which alerted them. They managed to get away before anyone could stop them. Due to that, the airship caught on fire and a new one had to be built, setting them back. A week later, Spike had chewed up the plans to take over Equestria. When Storm King yelled at him about it, he burped, lighting his throne on fire.

Storm King almost killed him right there but Tempest managed to convinced him to show some mercy. Storm King gave Spike one more chance and if he did something else, he would be dead or abandoned. She had been searching books to find out what useful things baby dragons could do. So far she had only found things about adult dragons. It would take too long for Spike grow up to become useful for anything.

Tempest felt herself tearing up a bit. This was the most love she had felt for anybody in months and she didn’t want to lose him so quickly. She felt a claw touch her cheek, making her look up. Spike sat there with curiosity in his eyes. Tempest sniffled and picked him up.

“Don’t worry about me Spike, everything is going to be okay.” Tempest stated as she rocked him back and forth. Spike gave her a confused look and reached his tiny hands out, touching her cheeks. Tempest felt herself tearing up again. She had only known Spike for a month and she couldn’t lose him. She held him close to her and closed her eyes. She hadn’t cried since she first worked for Storm King and that was over a year ago. Tears dripped down her cheeks as she rocked him. There was a quiet buzz from the corner of her room, making her look up. There was a dark blue intercom bolted to her wall.

”Boss needs you and he doesn’t sound happy.” Grubber said through the intercom. Tempest stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. She took in a few deep breaths to regain her composure. She put the baby carrier on her side and placed Spike in it, making sure he was secure. She walked out of her room as if nothing happened. She could feel the Storm Creatures eyes following her every move. They knew something was up. Tempest suspected that they could sense any emotion like an animal. Tempest entered the throne room to see Grubber standing next to the throne with a look of worry on his face. She bowed to Storm King, glancing at Grubber.

“I heard that you needed me Your Excellency. Tempest stated with a bow. He looked at her with a scowl.

“I need you to get me this book.” He stated, showing her a picture of it. It read Powerful Magical Artifacts. Tempest slowly nodded her head. It seemed simple enough.

“It’s in the Canterlot Archives, which is somewhere under the castle. You have to find it yourself.” Storm King stated. Tempests ears flattened. This wasn’t as simple as it sounded.

“Why is it under the castle instead of inside the library?” Tempest asked.

“So it can’t get into the wrong hands.” Storm King stated with a shrug of his shoulders. “This will be your first mission without Grubber or any of my guards.” He stated. He got off of his throne and got close to Tempest, looking into her eyes.

“Lastly, you will do this mission by yourself and if you fail, you know what happens.” He muttered, jutting his sharp finger out to Spike. Tempest’s ears flattened in fear. She swallows nervously. She had to do this right.

Tempest walked around Canterlot, pushing Spike in a stroller. She wore large red sunglasses, a yellow sundress, and a sun hat to cover herself up. Spike wore blue footie bunny pajamas. He sucked on his pacifier and held a light brown teddy bear with a blue bow tie. They were undercover for a bit until Tempest could find a secret entrance.

“If I were a secret tunnel, where would I be?” Tempest muttered to herself. She spotted two Royal Guards walking past. The both were holding spears, ready to attack at any moment.

“Where are they going?” Tempest questioner softly. She turned the stroller around and followed them from ten feet away. The guards walked behind the castle, making Tempest speed up. She peeked over the corner to see the guards standing in front of a door with there spears pointed upwards. Tempest reached into her front pocket and started to pull out a bottle of sleeping powder. She couldn’t use anything too extreme or someone would know that there was a villain on the loose.

“Okay Spike, you need to be quiet.” Tempest said, peeking into the stroller. Her eyes widened when she saw it was empty. She looked around in a panic to see where he went. She heard him laugh, making her turn around. Spike sat in front of the guards, holding up the teddy bear. Both of the guards swooned at the baby. Tempest reaches into her front pocket and pulled out a smoke bomb. She ran towards the guards and threw the smoke bomb into the air. She jumped up and kicked it, which landed in front of the guards.

“What the...” The guard started, only for the smoke bomb to explode. Both of the guards let out loud yells of surprise. Tempest picked up Spike and slipped pass the guards, going into the door behind them. Tempest quickly slammed the door shut before the smoke cleared up. She took in a few deep breaths and looked at Spike.

“Don’t do that again.” Tempest scolded. She looked around. The ceilings were high and it was cold. She placed Spike on her back and started to look around.

“Where would the library be?” Tempest asked walking around. She stopped walking for a moment and looked around. It seemed that everything around her was only wall. Did Storm King mix up reality for a fairytale again? There was a soft clicking sound, making Tempest turn around. Spike had somehow gotten off of her back without her noticed. He pressed a button the floor and the walls rumbled. In a split second, the walls quickly separated, making a cloud of dust pour out. Inside the wall, there was a very dusty old library with a few books.

“You found it!” Tempest exclaimed in surprise. She picked Spike up and carried him inside the library. She looked around and quickly found the book. There were only two other books in the library, which was surprising because it was so large. Tempest looked at the other books.

“I think Storm King could find some use for this one too.” Tempest said as she grabbed a book that read ’Dark Magic Amulets.’ She looked at Spike and smiled.

“If you keep up this work, you’ll be perfectly fine.”

Author's Note

The next chapter will take place a few years in the future

Also sorry if this chapter isn’t as good as the others

His Purpose

A tall white bird with green at the tips of her feathers held up a sword to the sky, laughing happily. She wore a large pirates hat with a red feather and a yellow and orange jacket with a brown lining. She had a green peg leg made out of emerald. She stood at the edge of her airship, letting the wind blow through her feathers.

“Where almost there Captain Celaeno!” One of her crew members shouted from the other side of the ship. Captain Celaeno turned around with a grin on her face and hopped into the ship. She and her crew were delivery pirates. They delivered packages and stole from the rich while doing it. Captain Celaeno watched as her airship slowly landed on the ground, making dirt swirl around. Captain Celaeno hopped off of the airship, letting her claw and peg leg hit the ground. Her crew walked off of the airship holding large crates before placing them on the ground. A kirin walked towards the crates and levitated them into a wooden cart.

“Thanks again for this Ms. Celaeno, the orphans are going to be thrilled to get new toys.” The kirin said happily. Captain Celaeno smiled.

“It’s no problem. We’ll be back next week and help them find loving parents. I might even adopt a few.” She said with a large grin. The kirin grinned happily before walking off, heading towards the orphanage. Captain Celaeno looked at her crew with a smile on her beak.

“We should get something to eat. All food is on me.” She stated. Her crew let out cheers of agreement. Captain Calaeno led her crew into town. The town was filled was large kind hearted dragons, sweet griffins, and calm kirin. Captain Calaeno loved coming to this town, it was always so peaceful. There was a soft sob from a nearby alley way, making her freeze in her spot. Her crew stopped behind her, giving her confused looks.

“Go on without me, I’ll catch up.” She said with a wave of her claw. Her crew exchanged glances before leaving her behind. Captain Calaeno walked into the ally, following the crying. She peaked behind a trash can to see a purple dragon with green scales. He had scars all over his chest, tail, and legs. Some were old and faded while some where fresh. He held a ripped brown teddy bear with bow tie.

“Hey little guy.” Captain Calaeno said in a comforting whisper. The dragon looked at her with wide green fearful eyes. He looked so innocent.

“I won’t hurt you.” She comforted. The dragon scooted closer towards her, holding the bear close to his chest.

“What’s your name?” She asked. The dragon coughed a bit.

“My name is Spike.” He said shyly. Captain Calaeno reached her claw out for Spike to touch.

“My name is Captain Calaeno. Do you wanna come with me to get some food?” She asked. Spike nodded his head and held Captain Calaeno’s claw. He stood up off of the ground and she led him out of the alley way. Spike wiped his tears from on the teddy bear as he was led into a busy food court area. They sat down at a table with her crew members, who had already gotten food for themselves and there captain.

“This is Spike, I found him in an ally.” Captain Celaeno stated. One of the crew members looked Spike up and down. He was rather large with green feathers and a hook for a hand. He looked like he could easily take anyone down.

“How old are you kid?” He asked. Spike looked down at the bear in his arms.

“I’m ten.” He stated. Another crew member poked his head into the conversation. He was short and round and pink. He had dark green feathers on his head.

“Aren’t you a little old for toys?” He asked, leaning on the table a bit.

“My parents gave it to me when I was a baby. They got taken by Scale Collectors a year ago and I’ve been all by myself.” Spike said sadly. Everyone at the table gasped and muttered to each other.

“Do you wanna stay with us for a while?” Captain Calaeno asked. Spike grinned and eagerly nodded his head.

“Since you’re gonna be living with us, we should introduce ourselves. The one with the hook hand is Boyle, he may look tough but he’s super sweet. The pink one is Lix Spittle, he’s our chef. The one with the eyepatch is Grin, he’s really quiet. And the last one is Murdock, he’s really fun to be around.” Captain Calaeno stated. Lix Spittle pushed over a fish sticks and fries to Spike.

“Eat up kid, you must be hungry.” He said. Spike picked up a fish stick and took a bite of it. It was delicious. The crew started to eat there meals which was mainly containing fish.

“When we’re done, we can show you around town. It’s super nice here and that’s why I love coming back so much.” Captain Calaeno said. Spike smiled.

“I would like that.”

Spike sat on a small bed with a bright green blanket. He held his teddy bear in his arms as he listened to Captain Calaeno talk about how much fun he would have living here.

“Sorry about such a small bed, we’ll get you a new one soon.” She apologized. Spike smiled.

“It’s fine, I know this is only temporary.” Spike stated with a smile. Captain Calaeno gave him smile and walked towards the door.

“Well goodnight Spike. If you need me my room is right at the end of the hall.” Captain Calaeno closed the room door and Spike listened to her walk away. His smile dropped and he listened to her room for close. He sat in silence, listening for any other noise. After what felt like hours of silence he let out a sigh. Spike flipped the teddy bear on its stomach, revealing a zipper on it’s back. He unzipped it and reached his hand inside. He rummaged through weapons until pulled out a piece of paper which was the ground plan for city hall. He had stolen it when Captain Calaeno showed him around town. He had also set up a few traps around city hall so the mayors could easily be captured.

“I hate doing this...” Spike muttered to himself. He flipped the teddy bear onto it’s back and lifted up the plastic bow tie, revealing four large buttons. One said call, the middle one said picture, one said send, and the last one said gem. He had no idea what the last button did but Storm King told him never to press it unless he told him to.

Spike laid the paper out onto the bed and pressed picture. The teddy bears eyes glowed for few moments before snapping a picture. He pressed send on the teddy bear and the picture automatically got sent to Storm King. He had gotten someone to modify the bear for missions like this. It tracked his every move too, so he could never try to run away. Spike let out a sigh and laid down onto the bed. Before he knew it, he had drifted off to sleep.

Spike held Captain Calaeno’s hand as they walked through town. The rest of the crew were doing there own thing in different parts of the town. He had hidden there weapons the night before and planted tracking devices on them that morning. Spike heard a loud crack of thunder, making everyone freeze in surprise. A few creatures looked up to see storm clouds rolling in. They all started to mutter to each other, a few of them retreating inside.

“Is that another ship?” Captain Calaeno asked, squinting up at the sky. Spike let go of her hand and took a few steps back. She looked back at him, giving him a confused look. Spike unzipped the back off the teddy bear and reached inside.

“I’m sorry.” Spike stated. He lunged himself towards Captain Calaeno, wrapping arms around her neck. She let out a scream of surprise. She reached behind her neck, trying to grave him. Spike grabbed her claws and handcuffed them behind her head. She dropped to the ground a Spike stood on her back, making sure she couldn’t stand up. The airship landed and Grubber walked out. A large megaphone dropped from the top of the ship. Spike let out a sigh. His job was done.

Spike walked through the airship alongside Storm King. A few chained up kirin, dragons, and griffins walked past him, being led by Storm Creatures. They all looked

“Good job child, you did your job again.” Storm King said in a half thank you. Spike cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Do we have to keep taking over places? It doesn’t seem very necessary.” Spike said. Storm King looked at him for a moment.

“Are you questioning my authority?” He asked, showing his razor sharp claws. Spikes eyes widened and he quickly looked away, his heart racing in his chest.

“N-no sir. I’m sorry for stepping out of place.” Spike stuttered, slowing down a bit.

“Good, because you know what happens if you do that again.” He said with a smirk. Spike stopped walking and fiddled with his hands.

“I’m sorry.”

The Dragonlands

Author's Note

Sorry for such a long chapter

The Dragonlands

Spike roundhouse kicked a stone training dummy across the room, making it hit the wall with a loud bang. He quickly turned around in his heels and threw and obsidian orb at another dummy, turning it into stone. He kicked another dummy into the air and blew out a large flame, lighting it on fire. Grubber let out a groan and stood up from the spot he was sitting, holding a fire exhauster.

“Stop lighting things on fire, I don’t like putting them out.” Grubber said as he put the fire out. Spike rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled in embarrassment.

“Sorry Grubber, it’s just a habit.” He apologized. Grubber playfully rolled his eyes before sniffing into the air.

“Is that cake I smell?” Grubber questioned, a smile spreading across his face. Spike sniffed the air and grimaced. It must have been Tempest making cake for Storm King. He always requested for it to be sour. It was disgusting. Grubber walked out of the room, following the scent. Spike let out a soft groan and followed him, making sure he didn’t get on Storm King’s bad side again. He acted like a little kid around there boss.

Spike didn’t really know how old Grubber actually was. He seemed to be way older than Tempest. From what he knew, Grubber had worked for Storm King from the beginning, and Storm King was at least three hundred years old. Grubber used to be a jokester but according to Tempest, he had matured since Spike was hatched. Spike had followed Grubber into the kitchen to see Tempest holding a burnt cake. It was smoking a bit.

“Spike, I forgot I don’t know how to bake.” Tempest said dejectedly. Spike chuckled and walked over to the counter, picking up a bag of flour. Grubber picked up the burnt cake and took a bite of it.

“It’s not that good.” He stated as he continued to eat the cake. Spike poured some flour into the bowl. Tempest did this all the time. She tried to bake something and then failed so Spike would have to remake it. Spike was already halfway through making the batter. It was very easy to make due to it having no sugar or any other good flavors.

“I thought putting it on four thousand degrees would make it bake in ten seconds.” Tempest said as she reread the instructions. Spike turned down the oven and continued to stir the batter. Tempest always tried to use the fast and violent approach to things that weren’t missions that Storm King provided.

“Tempest we’ve been over this, you have to wait to bake a cake.” Spike stated as he poured the batter into a cake pan. He opened the oven and placed the cake inside.

“Do your scales always glow or am I hallucinating because of the spoiled milk in the cake?” Grubber asked. Spike looked down at his body to see that he was glowing. It burned badly but he had felt worse.

“This never happens.” Spike stated. Tempest tilted her head and placed her hoof on his forehead.

“You feel normal. Is this a dragon thing?” Tempest asked. Spike looked at his glowing body.

“I guess.” He stated. Over the years Tempest and Spike discovered that dragons don’t develop the same way as ponies. She figured that out when Spike had gotten his first case of Sapphire Flu as a baby, which worried her to death. Storm King walked into the kitchen, sniffing the air.

“It seems like my cake it almost ready.” He said with a smile on his face. He looked at Spike and broke out into a large grin.

“I’ve been waiting for this day to come!” He exclaimed, rubbing his hands together. Spike took a step back and Tempest put her leg between him and Storm King.

“Waiting for what?” Tempest asked. Storm King did a little hop out of excitement.

“Every two thousand years the Dragon Lord retires and a new one has to take his place. All of the dragons have to battle in order to take the throne. If you win the battle, then I can take over Dragonlands!” He exclaimed, perching his leg up on the counter.

“Why don’t you just raid Dragonlands yourself?” Spike asked, hoping Storm King wouldn’t lash out at him.

“Dragons are tougher than you would think. They’re big and my minions are very flammable. It was barely a fair fight.” Storm King explained. He took his leg off of the counter and turned around to leave the kitchen.

“I’ll redirect the airship right now so we can make it to Dragonlands in thirty minutes.” Storm King said happily as he walked out the room. Spike gulped nervously. This was going to be terrible.

Spike stood in the crowd of large dragons who all towered over him. They looked intimidating. Some of them had large teeth poking out of there mouths while others had large tails that could easily crush him. The worst part about the dragons was that they all had claws that could rip through his flesh. A chill ran up his spine.

Storm King has given him three rules to follow. The first rule was talk to nobody. If he talked to someone he could develop some sort of connection. The second rule was to not tell anyone who he worked for. If they realized he was a potential threat, they could easily take him down. No one would expect a baby dragon to win. The last rule was to make Storm King a leader. If he failed he would be severely punished. A dragon stomped his foot in front of Spike, making him snap out of his daze. He looked up to see a red dragon with a smirk on his face.

“What’s a shrimp like you doing here? Isn’t your mommy worried about you?” The dragon taunted. Spike continued to look forward, ignoring the dragon. He sneered and waved his hand in front of Spikes face.

“Hey, no one ignores me!” He exclaimed, getting angry. Spike looked up at him with a blank expression. His eyes were cold and had no emotion. The red dragon took a step back.

“W-watch your back, you weirdo. You won’t survive out there.” The red dragon said before quickly flying off. Spike let out a quick breath of relief. Tempest had thought him how to do that. It usually creeped creatures out and they would leave him alone.

A dark shadow loomed over the dragons, making a few step back and a few quiver in fear. A large blue dragon stepped out of a cave, stretching out his wings. He had large orange curved horns and orange scales. He wore black armor across his chest. He had a very stern look on his face. All of the dragons around Spike cowered in fear.

“Dragons of Equestria, hear me! I have been Dragon Lord for longer than many of you can remember, and my reign has been extraordinary!” He shouted in a stern voice. The crowd remained silent, not really caring.

“Agree with me!” He exclaimed, his voice booming. The dragons quickly talked over each other, agreeing with him.

“Torch! Torch! Torch! Torch!” They started to chant his name. Torch raised his hand, making everyone stop chanting.

“Unfortunately, according to dragon law, it is time for me to step down. Sad, I know.” Torch said before pausing, waiting for his subjects to respond. When he got no response, he snarled. ”Be sad!l He shouted. The dragons quickly started to fake cry. Spike rolled his eyes.

“This is why I have summoned you, to compete for the throne in the Gauntlet of Fire!” Dragon Lord Torch shouted with a grin, making the dragons around him cheer. Torch held out a purple staff with a large red gemstone on it.

”That’s it!” Spike thought to himself.

“Whomever has the strength and fortitude to retrieve this bloodstone scepter from the heart of the flame-cano will be crowned Lord of the Dragons!” Torch exclaimed before flicking the bloodstone scepter from his fingers. It flew across the sky before landing into the flame-cano. There was a loud boom and a flash of red light. All of the dragons stopped glowing.

“The Gauntlet is dangerous, for I designed it myself! Only dragons with my ferocity, strength, and determination will be able to finish. We will gather at the cliff when the sun is at its peak!” He shouted. Spike looked at the dragons around him. A lot of them seemed to be strong but he highly doubted that they were that smart. He could easily outsmart them. He could win this with ease.

Spike stood with his back to a cliff surrounded by all the other dragons. Under them, there was a large body of water that all the other dragons could fly over. Spike would have to swim. Dragon Lord Torch was crouched down in front of them. The red dragon from before walked over to him.

“Why are you still here shrimp? There’s no chance you’ll win.” The dragon taunted. Spike opened his mouth but quickly closed it, remembering the rule.

“All dragons are welcome to compete, but they do so at their own peril! Flying to Flame-cano Island is the first of many challenges you will face in your quest to find the bloodstone scepter!” Dragon Lord Torch shouted before letting out a roar, flames shooting out of his mouth.. All of the dragons quickly flew off of the cliff and made there way to the flame-camo. Spike looked over the edge of the cliff before jumping off. He body submerged into the water, which was surprisingly warm. Spike started to swim forward, kicking his legs.

“Piece of cake.” Spike grunted out as he continued to swim. The water under him bubbled, making him back up. A large orange slimy eel shot out from the water, shooting water from is mouth. The water hit a few dragons in the sky, making them fall.

A few more eels continued to shoot out of the water, taking down more dragons. Spike could easily swim around them if he paid attention to where the bubbles were coming from. Another eel shot water from out it’s mouth, almost hitting the red dragon from before. He quickly flew back, hitting a green dragon in golden armor. The dragon fell from the sky and landed in the water in front of Spike. He stopped swimming staring into the water for a bit.

“I shouldn’t help them, if I do I have a higher chance of losing.” Spike said while shaking his head. He couldn’t bring himself to move and continued to stare at the spot where the dragon had fallen. His body ignored his thoughts and he quickly dove in, swimming after the fallen dragon. Spike grabbed the dragon by there arms and quickly swam above the water. Spike took in a deep breath as he swam back to shore. Spike dragged the dragon onto the warm rocky ground and let them drop to the floor. He stared at the unconscious dragon for a few moments.

“I should just leave them, I already saved them and that’s it.” Spike said to himself. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the dragon. “I should see if their okay first, I don’t want them to die.” Spike said. He started to pace back in forth, trying to decide to follow his instinct or his boss.

“What do you think you'redoing?” A raspy voice said from behind him. He turned around to see the dragon who was now standing up. Her scales were blue and a green streak was on the ground. She had taken her helmet off.

”She must have painted herself green.” Spike thought to himself.

“I saved you from drowning.” Spike stated, putting his hands on his hips.

“I don’t need saving, I’m not just some little Princess.” She said defensively. Spike tilted his head.

“I didn’t know that you were a princess.” He said in disbelief. She turned around, giving him a look of surprise.

“I’m Princess Ember, daughter of Torch. How have you never heard of me?” Ember asked. Spike shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t live in Dragonlands, I work for-“ Spike cut himself off, covering his mouth. He had just broken one rule and almost broke another. Before anyone could say anything else, a rock launched from the sky, hitting the same red dragon. The rock pinned him to the ground and he struggled to get up. Ember quickly put her helmet back on.

“H-hey, one of you, help!” He exclaimed as he tried to push the rock off. Spike quickly rushed over to him and pushed the rock of. The dragon stood up and snickered.

“I knew a loser like you would help. The dragon snorted before flying off. Spike picked up a nearby rock and chucked it at the dragon, hitting him on the back of the head. The dragon fell to the ground, now unconscious.

“Woah, you have a great throw.” Ember said in surprise. Spike smiled before shaking his head.

“I need to go, I shouldn’t be talking to you.” Spike said as he tried to walk off. Ember grabbed his arm.

“Those slink tails are throwing those rocks and there’s no way I’ll be able to dodge them all. Wanna be a team? You can be my second pair of eyes.” Ember suggested. Spike thought for a moment.

”Once I get to the Gauntlet, o can betray her.” Spike thought to himself. “Let’s do it.” Spike said with a smile. Ember smirked and picked him up, placing him on her back. She quickly flew into the air and Spike looked around.

“Go left!” Spike exclaimed. Ember leaned to the left and the rock soared over them, hitting a dragon in the face. Spike looked up to see that they were approaching the flame-cano. It was close enough where he could just jump. Another rock was coming towards there right side. Spike stood up and jumped off of Embers back. He landed on ledge and quickly stood up.

“Hey wha-“ Ember started, but got cut off as a boulder smashed into her side. Spike watched Ember as she fell to the ground. He turned around to face the cave, making sure he didn’t go back to save her. The gauntlet was deep in the cave.

“Almost there.” Spike said as he marched inside. He saw dragons quivering in fear as the stared at sharp rocks moving up and down like mashing teeth. A few dragons had gotten stuck on it, begging to end the challenge. Spike walked closer and looked down, seeing a deep ditch the moving rocks. It would lead him under all of the traps Dragon Lord Torch had set. It was too small for any of the other dragons to go into. He put his feet over the ledge of the ditch and slid down, easily reaching the bottom.

“This is easier than I expected.”

Spike walked into a room with a large path leading up to the Bloodstone Scepter. It glowed red, lighting up the walls around it. He had walked under all of the traps and found his way back to the main trail.

“I can’t believe I’m the only one who made it here.” Spike said in disbelief. He walked towards the Bloodstone Scepter and reached his hand out, getting ready to grab it.

“Stop you traitor!” A familiar voice shouted. Spike turned around to see Princess Ember. She had scratches and bruises covering her body and her armor had dents in it.

“I saved your ass from being beaten up by other dragons and you betrayed me!” Ember shouted, approaching Spike. His scales flattened.

“Look I’m sorry, I didn’t want to do it but I had to.” Spike apologized. Ember stomped her foot forward.

“You didn’t have to do anything. You betrayed me after I tried to help you!” Ember exclaimed angrily. Spike thought for a moment. He was right there, he could just grab the Bloodstone Scepter and be over with all of this but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. If he got the Scepter, he could ruin so many innocent dragons lives. He didn’t want to hurt anyone again.

“I’m sorry for coming here, I won’t come back.” Spike said, his head hanging low. He trudged away from the scepter, his scales drooping sadly. He was going to face a severe punishment when he got back.

“What do you mean you lost?!” Storm King shouted angrily, stomping his hoof forward. Spike flinched and looked up at him, trying not to show the fear in his eyes.

“All of the dragons were bigger than me and I didn’t have any weapons.” Spike explained. Storm King snarled.

“I gave you one simple task and you can’t even do that right. I should’ve done what I’m about to do years ago!” He shouted. Storm King grabbed Spike by the neck tightly, making him choke.

“P-please sir, you’re hurting me.” Spike choked out. Storm King lifted him into the air, digging his claws into his throat. Blood dripped from his neck, getting onto Storm King’s white fur.

“I should’ve killed you the moment you were hatched. You don’t understand how much you’ve cost me over the years!” Storm King shouted, his face turning red with anger. Spike let out a strangled noise which was the mix of a cough and a scream. Tears dripped down his cheeks as he gripped onto Storm Kings hands, trying to make him let go.

“You’re a disappointment, you’ve failed me for years and I barely gave you a mark!” Storm King shouted. He slammed Spike into the floor, cracking it a bit. Spike let out a loud cry of pain. Tempest walked into the room and her eyes widened at what she saw. She rushed over to Storm King’s side.

“Sir I’ll handle his punishment from here, please just put him down.” Tempest practically pleaded. Storm King looked at her and released his grip on Spike.

“You’re lucky that Tempest was here or I would’ve killed you.” He said, gazing down at the weeping baby dragon. He looked at Tempest.

“I don’t want to see him for the rest of the day, you punish him.” Storm King commanded and walked out the room. Tempest listened to the sound of his hoofsteps getting farther and farther until she couldn’t hear him anymore. She scooped Spike into her arms and held him close to her chest. Spike sobbed into her chest, shaking like a leaf.

“It’s okay sweetheart, I got you, I’m here.” Tempest comforted. “I’ll make sure he won’t hurt you ever again.”

New Mission

Spike laid on his stomach in Tempest room, reading a book on different fighting techniques. He kicked his legs back and forth and chewed on a sapphire, trying to concentrate. His head pounded from when Storm King attacked him and his eyes were blurry. He laid his head on the cool floor, taking a little break.

“I’m in so much pain.” Spine muttered to himself. The intercom on the wall let out a beep, making him look up.

“Boss wants you to do something .” Grubber said from the intercom. Spike let out a sigh and stood up, wobbling a bit. He was terrified, wondering what his boss needed to do with him. He had failed the mission the day before so Storm King was probably going to get rid of him.

Spike walked out of the room, standing up as straight as he could. He limped down the hallway, passing a few Storm Guards. Their eyes followed Spike’s every move. Soon enough, he made his way to the throne room. Storm King sat on his throne, glaring down at Spike.

“It took you long enough.” He hissed out. Spike tried his hardest not to look scared and stood up straight.

“I’m sorry Your Excellency.” Spike apologized. Storm King rolled his eyes and handed Spike a piece of paper and a brown book. On the paper, there was a picture of a large castle made out of crystals. The book didn’t have a cover and was hard.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle lives in that castle. You’ll become ‘friends’ with her and find out her and the other Princesses weaknesses. Once I have enough information, I’ll take over Equestria!” Storm King exclaimed. Spike looked at the book that was in his hand.

“What’s the book for?” He asked.

“It’s a magical book. Anything you write goes straight to this book.” Storm King said whole holding up a black book. “You and Tempest can write to each other, it’s much faster than sending letters. She’ll report everything you write down to me.” Storm King explained. Spikes scales dropped. He didn’t want to trick anyone.

“Sir, is there any other way I can do this?” Spike asked. Storm King glared at him and stood up from his throne. He walked over to Spike and grabbed him by the arm, digging his nails into his scales. If he pressed down a little harder, he would break the skin.

“Are you questioning authority again?” He asked, getting close to Spike face. Spike quickly shook his head, holding back tears. Storm King smirked and let go of his arm.

“Now go, I want you to leave in an hour.” Storm King commanded. Spike turned around and quickly walked out of the room, fighting back tears. He just wanted to take a break.

Tempest walked down the hallway of the ship, making her way to the training room. She passed Spike’s room and stopped in her tracks when she heard crying. Spike rarely ever cried for real. Tempest opened the door to see Spike laying on his small bed, crying in his hands. He was curled up into a tight ball and looked distressed.

“Spike?” Tempest asked, making Spike sit straight up. He quickly wiped the tears from his eyes.

“I wasn’t crying, my eyes were bleeding out clear blood.” Spike stated. Tempest closed the door and sat down next to Spike.

“What’s wrong?” She asked. Spike sniffled and wiped the snot from his nose.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone anymore. I just want everyone to be happy.” Spike admitted. Tempest frowned and wrapped her arm around him.

“Can I let you in on a little secret?” Tempest asked. Spike nodded his head.

“When Storm King rules over Equestria, he’ll give me my horn back. Once have get my horn, I’ll take him down and Equestria will be at peace.” Tempest explained. “If you do this mission successfully, you’ll never have to hurt anyone ever again.” She explained. Spike cracked a small smile.

“That sorta makes me feel better.” Spike admitted. Tempest smiled and handed him his backpack.

“Start packing up, the sooner this mission is finished, the closer you’ll be to never hurting anyone.” Tempest said. Spike smiled and hopped off of his bed. This wasn’t going to be too bad.

Spike walked through the Everfree Forest, listening for anything suspicious. The trees towered over him, making everything dark. The ground was cold under his feet and he shivered a bit.

“Why couldn’t Storm King drop me off a little closer.” Spike muttered to himself. Storm King had dropped him off miles away from Ponyville so he couldn’t be seen.

“Storm King is stupid and I hate him.” Spike said to himself. He stopped in place, realizing what he said. He looked around to make sure nobody heard him. If Storm King had heard that, he’d probably be killed on spot.

“I’m all alone, I can say what I want.” Spike thought out loud. He let in a deep breath and rose his arms to the sky.

“FUCK YOU STORM KING!” Spike shouted. “YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME ANYMORE, I’M MY OWN PERSON!” He continued shouting. He kicked a rock which bounced off of a tree and landed in a bush. Spike let out a sigh of relief.

“That felt nice.” Spike said to himself, continuing to walk. There was a rustle in the bush, making Spike freeze. He quickly turned around to see a Timberwolf rubbing it's head. It looked at Spike and let out a growl.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hit you with a rock.” Spike apologized. The Timberwolf let out a growl and walk towards him. Spike looked the Timberwolf in the eyes and stood his ground.

“If I don’t move, it might not attack me.” He thought to himself. Without any warning, the Timberwolf lunges at him, pinning him to the ground. Spike let out a loud scream, trying to move himself.

“Please, I don’t want to hurt you.” Spike said, struggling to get out from under its grasp. The Timberwolf got close to Spikes face, growling loudly.

“I’m sorry.” Spike apologized. He let in a deep breath. He puffed up his cheeks, ready to light the Timberwolf on fire. Suddenly, a purple beam of magic hit the Timberwolf side, making it stumble off of Spike. Spike turned around to see a lavender alicorn.

“Leave him alone!” She exclaimed, ready to attack again. The Timberwolf ran off into the bushes, letting out a yelp of pain. The alicorn walked over to Spike and reached her hoof out to help him up.

“Are you okay? I heard a lot of yelling and swearing.” She asked. Spike stood up and nodded his head.

“I’m fine, I’ve felt worse.” Spike stated. The alicorn gave him a look of concern.

“I’m Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight greeted. Spike shook her hoof.

“I’m Spike Shadow.” Spike greeted, giving a large smile.

“Exactly who I was looking for.

Flashback

Spike followed Twilight out of the forest, getting led to safety. They walked down a dirt path with stones scattered around.

“So what were you doing in the forest all by yourself?” Twilight asked. Spike instantly thought of an excuse.

“I was looking for a place to stay. My parents went out one day and never came back. I was alone for days before I decided to leave. I knew they weren’t going to come back so I started looking for them. I’ve been walking for days and I’m so hungry.” Spike lied. Twilight let out a gasp and rubbed his back sympathetically.

“I’m so sorry, how about you come over to my place and I’ll get you some food.” Twilight stated. Spike gave a large fake smile.

“Thank you.”

Spike sat at the kitchen table of the large castle, kicking his legs off of the side of the chair. He watched Twilight cook some food. He watched her every move, how she moved, the way she talked, and any sign of weakness. Twilight turned around, holding a plate with rice and vegetables in her magical grasp.

“Here you go.” Twilight said, handing him the plate.

“Thank you.” Spike thanked, eating a spoonful of vegetables. He was actually very hungry from walking for most of the day. Twilight sat in across from him, leaning on her hooves.

“Do you have anywhere to live?” Twilight asked. Spike shook his head with a mouth full of food. Twilight let out a hum and thought to herself.

“Would you like to live here?” Twilight asked. Spike eagerly nodded his head. His plan was slowly falling into place.

“I would love that very much!” Spike exclaimed in fake happiness. Twilight chuckled to herself and smiled. Spike quickly finished up his food and picked up his plate.

“I can wash this.” Spike stated, walking to the sink. He turned on the water and started to clean the plate. The kitchen door slammed open, revealing a pink pony. She had a poofy dark pink mane. She hopped over to Twilight and hugged her tightly.

“Hi Twilight!” She exclaimed I’m a high pitched voice. She looked at Spike and broke out into a wider grin. She hopped over to him and got inches from his face, there noses pressing together.

“Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie! Are you new? I love to meet new creatures!” Pinkie Pie rambled. Spike took a step back and gave a welcoming smile.

“I’m Spike, I just got here not to long ago.” Spike stated. Pinkie Pie let out a loud squeal of excitement.

“You’re new so I’m going to throw you party!” Pinkie exclaimed. Spike gave a small smile.

“I’ve never been to a party.” Spike stated. Now that wasn’t a lie, it was completely the truth. Pinkie let out a loud over dramatic gasp.

“You’ve never been to a party?!” She shouted in disbelief. Spike shook his head. Pinkie let out an even louder gasp and started to stomp her hooves, getting ready to run off.

“I’ll set up a party for you right now!” She shouted before zipping out of the room. Spike gave a look of surprise and started to dry his plate.

“She’s really nice.” Spike stated. Twilight nodded her head and smiled.

“Pinkie Pie loves meeting new ponies, she’ll throw a party for anyone.” Twilight explained. Spike nodded his head, wanting to get more information.

“How did you two meet?” Spike asked, putting the plate in a cabinet.

“How can I forget? I was still a little filly in magic school.”

A small purple filly walked through the streets of Canterlot, her face buried in a large book. She didn’t have a care in the world, enjoying her studies.

“Hey you, can I get some help.” A high pitched voice said from above her. She looked up from her book. When she didn’t see anything, she gave a look of confusion.

“I’m up here.” The voice said. Twilight looked up to see a pink filly her age in a tree. She gripped on tightly and had a nervous smile on her face.

“I’m stuck.” She stated. Twilight tilted her head in confusion. She let her horn glow and wrapped her magic around the earth pony. She slowly put the pony on the ground.

“How didn’t you get in a tree?” Twilight asked. The pink pony thought to herself.

“Well I saw a balloon and I decided to follow it. It went higher and higher so I climbed that tree to get it.” She explained. Twilight nodded her head.

“I’m Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight greeted, putting her hoof out to shake. The pink filly grabbed her hoof and started to shake it wildly.

“Hi I’m Pinkie Pie. I’ve been traveling around around Equestria for a few weeks looking for friends.” Pinkie stated. Twilight smiled.

“Well I can be your friend.” She stated. Pinkie let out a loud gasp and hugged Twilight tightly.

“We’ll he best friends for ever and ever and ever and ever!” Pinkie shouted, making a few ponies look at them. This was a start of a wonderful friendship.

“And that’s how we met. We’ve been friends for years. She helps me out around the castle and always calms me down when I get too stressed.” Twilight finished. Spike smiled at the sweet story.

“Pinkie Pie is easily distracted, very important.” Spike thought to himself.

“Do you have any more close friends?” Spike asked. It was very important to know if there were anymore potential threats.

“I have a few more friends. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity. They’ve helped me go through thick and thin. We’ve saved Equestria countless times together.” Twilight stated. Spike nodded his head, taking a mental note of that. Before anyone could say something else, Pinkie Pie opened the door.

“The parties ready! All the guest are on there way! Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Spike gave a confusion.

“You left like twenty minutes ago, how are you done?” Spike asked. Pinkie Pie chuckled.

“That’s my little secret.” She said with a wink. She grabbed Spikes hand and started to hop out of the kitchen. “Let’s go, the party is gonna start any second.” Pinkie said, leading him out of the kitchen. Twilight smiled and followed close behind. Today was going to be fun.

Spike stood in a large in the castle as a party was going on. There were streamers and balloons all over the room. There were tables set up with food. Ponies were scattered around the room talking and dancing to the music. Spike stood close to the wall, holding a cup. He stared at his reflection in the punch, questioning his life choices.

“So you’re the new dude in town?” A raspy voice asked. Spike looked up to see a mare with a rainbow mane flying above him. He assumed that was Rainbow Dash from her appearance.

“Yeah, my name is Spike. You must be Rainbow Dash.” Spike said with a greeting smile. Rainbow Dash cockily posed.

“The one and only.” She stated. Spike mentally took notes on her, analyzing how she moved.

“You look so cool.” Spike marveled. Rainbow Dash smirked and posed.

“I am pretty awesome.” She stated. A few more ponies walked over to him. They group consisted of a white unicorn with a purple mane, a yellow pegasus with a pink mane and an orange earth pony with blonde hair.

“Howdy Spike, I’m Applejack.” Applejack said with a friendly smile. The yellow pegasus hugged Spike tightly.

“Oh I’ve never seen a baby dragon before!” She said in a soft voice. Spike closed his eyes, feeling nice and warm. It was the first time in a while since he head been hugged. He hugged her back, dropping her cup of punch. Fluttershy jumped at the sound of the cup hitting the floor and hugged Spike tighter. The punch splashed on the ground, a few drops getting on the white unicorn.

“My perfect white coat!” She exclaimed. Spike wiggled out of the yellow mares arms, who he assumed to be Fluttershy. He picked up a napkin and handed it to the white mare.

“Sorry about that, here you go.” Spike apologized, handing her the napkins. She wiped the punch off of herself and flicked her mane.

“It’s perfectly fine darling, I know it was an accident.” She said. “My name is Rarity by the way.” Rarity greeted. Spike smiled and looked around at everyone. Everything was going according to plan.

Spike sat on the edge of his bed in his new room. He had a the magical journal laying on his lap and he held a pen, getting ready to write.

”Dear Tempest, I found Princess Twilight Sparkle and she invited me into her castle. By herself she would be easy to beat but she’s not alone. She has a close group of friends who have helped her save Equestria multiple times.

Fluttershy is weak and easily frightened, she’ll be easy to take down. Rarity is a fashion designer

Pinkie Pie is unexpected. She can pull things out of thin air and has a high magic power for an earth pony. She gets distracted very easily. Rainbow Dash is very fast but she’s also very cocky. You can get on her good side by complimenting her enough.

Applejack is stronger than the average earth pony. I haven’t found any weaknesses for her. Twilight Sparkle seems strong but without her friends she’s defenseless.” Spike wrote down. He closed the book and let out a sigh. He laid on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Spike stomach churned and he let out a small whine.

“Am I doing the right thing?”

New Friends

Spike swept the floors of the castle, making sure to clean every single spot. He was used to cleaning up after other people so this was no different. He worked in silence, fearing that if he hummed to himself he’d get yelled at for being too distracting. He had managed to make Twilight hire him as an assistant because he was so helpful.

“Spike, can you come here for a second!” Twilight called out from somewhere in the castle. Spike held the broom tightly, walking down the hallways. Sunlight came from a nearby window, making the hallway sparkle due to the crystals. Soon, Spike entered the kitchen to see that there were counter various ingredients on it.

“Can you help me bake a cake for the Cutie Mark Crusaders?” Twilight asked. Spike nodded his head and put the broom against the wall. He walked over to the kitchen counter and stood on a stool.

“Who are the Cutiemark Crusaders?” Spike asked. They might be potential threats.

“Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom. They’re Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejacks little sisters. You haven’t met them yet. They’re about your age.” Twilight stated. Spike doubted that they were threats, a lot of kids his age could barely fight properly.

“They’re opening a Cutiemark Camp so I wanted bake them a cake to congratulate them.” Twilight explained. Spike nodded his head.

“What type of cake were you thinking about making them?” Spike asked. Twilight thought for a moment.

“I didn’t really think about it, maybe chocolate.” She suggested. Spike thought for a few moments. If he had learned anything over the years, pony names usually matched the ponies personality.

“Sweetie Belle sounds like she’d be very sweet so she’d like chocolate. Applebloom is Applejack’s little sister so I assume she’s a hard worker and would like extra energy. And for Scootaloo, she seems like she’d move around a lot so she needs fiber.” Spike thought out loud. “So I’ll make apple granola brownies.” He stated. Spike quickly looked down at the ground. It was a bad to share his ideas. Twilight gave him a look of surprise.

“You got there personalities down pretty well, they’d would probably like that.” Twilight stated. Spike quickly looked up in surprise. This was one of the rare times he didn’t get yelled at for one of his ideas. Tempest always was the one who supported him and his ideas.

“How about you go deliver the brownies and then you can have the rest of the day off. Go talk to the Crusaders and be there friend. I think they’d like you.” Twilight said.

“I’ve never had friends my age before.” Spike stated. That was completely the truth, he was never allowed to have friends his age. Grubber was the closest person he knew who acted like a child. Grubber was still way older than Spike. He was older than Storm King too. Twilight tilted her head.

“You didn’t make friends back home?” Twilight asked. Spike shook his head.

“No, I lived in a rough place. I was the youngest in my community so I only had two friends who are older than me.” Spike explained as he mixed the ingredients for the brownies. Twilight gave a sympathetic smile.

“Well you’ll make some good friends today.” Twilight said with a genuine smile. Spike smiled back. Today felt like it was gonna be a good day.

Spike walked through Sweet Apple Acres, holding a brownie pan with tinfoil over it. He looked around, looking for a clubhouse. Twilight had told him that the Cmc’s clubhouse was nearby. Soon enough, he spotted a small clubhouse that was partially in a tree. He could see the shadow of three ponies moving around.

“It’s fine Spike, they’ll like me for who I am.” Spike reassured himself. He was great at being fake nice to people but being nice for real seemed like a challenge. He wanted to be genuinely liked for once. Spike walked up the ramp of the clubhouse, taking slow steady breaths. He knocked on the door and it quickly swung open revealing a yellow earth pony who was Spikes age.

“Hi I’m Spike, I brought you guys some brownies.” Spike greeted with a forced smile, holding out the brownie pan. Applebloom smiled and pulled him into the clubhouse.

“You must be the new dragon in town. Sorry we never introduced ourselves, the party was really crowded. I’m Applebloom” She greeted. Spike gave a small smile and handed her the brownie tray.

“Those smell delicious!” A white unicorn squeaked out. Spike assumed that was Sweetie Belle. An orange pegasus nodded her head in agreement. He assumed that was Scootaloo. She grabbed a brownie and took a bite into it. Her eyes lit up.

“These are amazing!” Scootaloo exclaimed. Spike gave a sheepish smile. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle both grabbed a brownie and took a bite.

“Woah!” Sweetie Belle shouted at the taste. She quickly shoveled two more into her mouth. Applebloom looked at Spike for a few moments.

“Hey, do you wanna help us set up our Cutiemark Camp? You look like you’re strong.” Applebloom suggested. Spike quickly nodded his head. He could never say no to someone in fear of getting hurt. Applebloom grinned and grabbed Spikes arm, pulling him out the door.

“Come on, let’s get started!” She exclaimed, leading Spike down the ladder. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo peaked there heads out of the door.

“Can we at least finish the brownies first?!” Scootaloo asked loudly. When she didn’t get an answer she let out a groan and walked out of the clubhouse.

Spike, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo entered a run down camp. There was a large wooden cabin that was breaking apart. There was a large flagpole with a ripped and faded flag on top. Lastly, there was a wooden stage that had broken pieces of wood on it.

“This place is a dump!” Scootaloo exclaimed. Sweetie Belle nodded her head in agreement. Applebloom gave a small smile.

“It may look bad, but we can fix it up by sunset.” Applebloom encouraged. She looked over at Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

“Sweetie Belle, you go put up the new flag. Scootaloo, we can go clean up the stage.” Applebloom instructed.

“Spike, do you mind bringing taking out all of the trash and spare wood from inside the cabin?” Applebloom asked. Spike nodded his head reached into Sweetie Belles saddle bag. He pulled out a large black garbage bag and walked towards the cabin. He entered the cabin to see that it was a mess. The floor was covered in trash and there was broken wood on the floor.

“I’ve seen worse.” Spike muttered to himself. He bent over and picked up an empty soda can before tossing it in the trash. He continued to pick up trash and throw it away before he made a clean spot on the floor. His ears perked up when he heard a small noise come from the corner of the cabin.

“Hello?” Spike called out. He slowly walked over to the corner, making sure whatever was there wasn’t dangerous. Spike approached a newspaper that had a large mass under it. He grabbed the newspaper and quickly moved it. A grey cat looked up at him and let out a small meow. Spike let out a gasp.

“You’re so cute!” He exclaimed. The cat had light scars on her chest and back. She was missing her tail and had half of a right ear. She had big green eyes, just like Spike. Spike quickly turned away from the cat.

“Nope, I’m not going to get attached, this is just a mission and if Storm King finds out that I got a cat he’ll kill it.” Spike reasoned to himself. The cat rubbed her head against the back of Spikes leg and started to purr. He quickly turned around and scooped the cat up into his arms.

“I’m going to name you Patches and we can live together and I would die for you!” Spike exclaimed, his eyes filling up with tears. The cat gave Spike a happy look and rubbed her face again his. Spike sat down on the floor and struggled to hold back tears. Patches laid down on his lap and continued to purr. The door to the cabin opened, revealing Sweetie Belle.

“I’m done with the flag, do you need any help?” Sweetie Belle asked. Spike looked down at Patches and back up at Sweetie Belle.

“I don’t want to move.” Spike stated. Sweetie Belle let out a chuckle and approached Spike.

“She really likes you, are you going to keep her?” Sweetie Belle asked. Spike thought for a few moments.

“Yeah, I will.”

Spike sat up in his bed, holding with his magic journal on his lap.

”Dear Tempest, I found some new information. There are three fillies my age, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. They’re not big threats but they’re the little sisters of Twilights friends. If you capture them you can easily make them surrender.

Sincerely, Spike” He wrote down. He closed the journal and let out a sigh. He placed the journal in the drawer of the nightstand. Spike pulled his knees up to his chest and closed his eyes.

“I’m a terrible person.” Spike muttered to himself. Patches walked over to Spike and rubbed her head on his leg. She wore a light purple color around her neck that had a bell on it. Spike gave a small smile and pet her on the head.

“If you like me, I can’t be that bad.”

The Final Straw

Spike sat on a train, kicking his legs off of the side of the seat. He looked out the window to see the trees blurring past.

“You’ll love the Changeling Kingdom, it’s really a nice place and is peaceful. You get to meet my family too! They’ll love you.” Twilight stated happily. Spike gave a weary smile, trying to make it look genuine.

“It sounds like I’ll like it.” Spike said with a forced smile. He looked back out of the window and hid his frown. He still felt incredibly guilty about sharing information about his new friends. The train came to a stop, snapping him out of his daze.

“We’re here!” Twilight exclaimed excitedly, hopping off of her seat. Spike slid off of the seat and followed Twilight off of the train. Spike looked around to see the the train station was in a field like area. Their was grass and flowers surrounding them.

“The Changeling Kingdom is that way.” Twilight said, pointing to a large pointy rock. It was covered in moss and flowers. Spike squinted to look at it and could see a few figures flying around. Spike let out a slow exhale and started to walk towards the large rock.

Spike entered the Changeling Kingdom, looking around at the new environment. There were brightly colored changelings walking around and talking to each other.

“Changelings sure are different from what I remember...” Spike muttered to himself. He had fought a few changelings in his lifetime and this was not what they looked like.

“Cadance!” Twilight exclaimed, flying past Spike. She flew over to a pink alicorn, who looked at Twilight with a wide grin.

“Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little shake!” Both alicorns sang out while doing a dance. They both giggled and hugged each other.

“Twilight, how are you?” Cadance asked with a big smile.

“Everything’s been a lot better since I got an assistant. This is Spike, my new assistant!” Twilight said, pointing to Spike.

“Hi, I’m Spike, it’s very nice to meet you.” Spike greeted politely. Cadance let out a giggle.

“It’s nice to meet you too. I’m Princess Cadance.” She greeting, shaking Spikes hand. A white unicorn walked up, holding a pink alicorn foal in his arms. The foal grinned when she saw Twilight and reached her tiny arms out towards her.

“Hello my favorite niece!” Twilight exclaimed, picking up the foal. The foal let out a giggle and placed her hooves on Twilights face.

“This little cutie is my niece, Flurry Heart. That’s my older brother, Shining Armor.” Twilight said, pointing to the unicorn.

“Hi I’m Spike, I heard that you are the leader of the Royal Guard. That’s super cool!” Spike said in fake flattery. He knew for a fact that Storm Kings army was much bigger than the royal guard. He was partially in charge of Storm King’s army since he was third in command.

“Thank you, it’s very hard work.” Shining Armor responded, putting his hoof up to his chest. Spike looked around a bit. He had never been in a Changeling territory before.

“Is it okay if I look around by myself?” Spike asked. Twilight smiled and nodded her head.

“Sure thing, just meet back here in three hours.” Twilight stated. Spike nodded his head and walked past Twilight, ready to explore a new place.

Spike walked through the streets of the Changeling Kingdom, looking around. Their were pretty flowers and plants growing out of every crack and crevice. Multicolored changelings flew and walked around, having fun.

“I can’t believe Queen Chrysalis allowed this.” Spike thought out loud. He knew enough about Queen Chrysalis to know that she hated stuff like this.

“Chrysalis isn’t out leader anymore.” An orange changeling said. He had a flower crown on his head and he looked very happy.

“We have a new leader, his name is Thorax. Would you like to meet him?” The changeling asked.

“That sounds lovely.” Spike said politely, trying to get on the changeling good side. The changeling gave Spike a genuine smile, catching him by surprise. Changelings were usually cruel. He followed the changeling wearily, making sure that he wasn’t being tricked.

Soon, they entered a room with a large throne made out of broken branches and grass. Near the throne, there was a large green changeling reading something. He had two large orange horns on his head. He looked very dangerous and powerful. Spike assumed that Thorax.

“Your Majesty, there someone here to see you.” The orange changeling said, making Thorax look up from his paper and gave a big smile.

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you.” Thorax greeted happily. Spike quickly changed his mind. There was no way he could be dangerous in any way.

“Hi I’m Spike, it’s nice to meet you too.” Spike greeted back. “I just came into town and I don’t know anything about changeling culture. Do you mind showing me around?” He asked. That was completely true, he knew nothing about current changeling culture and really wanted to learn. Thorax smiles happily.

“I would love to do that, it’s not every day that someone comes and asks for a tour.” Thorax said happily. He placed the paper he was reading onto his throne and led Spike out of the throne room. Thorax pointed to a table where changelings were drawing and molding clay.

“That’s our arts and crafts section, that’s how we express ourselves. Since we don’t have to serve a queen anymore, we can do what we want.” Thorax explained. “Do you want to try it out?” He asked. Spike shook his head.

“No thanks, I’m not really creative.” Spike explained. He never really tried to get into art and crafts because Storm King would destroy anything he made. It just made Spike give up on any type of art. Tempest tried to encourage him to do more but he refused to.

“Well how about our theater department? Next week they’ll be performing Les Marébales.” Thorax said, pointing a stage. Two changelings stood on the stage, rehearsing for the play. One changeling dramatically put their hoof up to their head to faint, but slipped off of the stage and fell onto the hard ground. Thorax winced and looked over to Spike.

“I’ll go help her up, feel free to join any activity you want.” Thorax said before rushing over to help the fallen changeling. Spike looked around to see things he was interested in. He saw changelings eating at a buffet. It was mainly consisting of bugs, nectar, and flowers. Spike looked around to see that there was nothing else in that room that interested him.

“What’s over there?” Spike asked himself. There was a small room that shined peaceful lighting. He walked over to it and peaked his head inside to see a group of changelings sitting in a circle. There was a large hole in the ceiling, letting sunlight hit the middle of the circle. A dark green changeling with glasses, a brown headband with a daisy on it, and a purple shirt looked up at Spike and smiled.

“Welcome to the Feeling Forum, would you like to join us in today’s session?” She asked. Spike shrugged his shoulders. He had never heard of a Feeling Forum before.

“Everyone needs to talk about how they feel every once and a while.” She encouraged.

“That sounds nice I guess.” Spike said, walking over to the circle of changelings. He sat in a free space between two changelings and placed his hands on his legs.

“Since you’re the guest you start first. What’s been bothering you?” The changeling asked. Spike froze for a moment. No one had ever asked what has been bothering him. He usually just held in his emotions.

“I’ve done some bad things in the past and I want to get better but I can’t.” Spike admitted, staring down at the ground.

“Why can’t you change?” The changeling asked.

“Well I have a...friend who peer pressures me into doing bad things. If I don’t do bad things he’ll hurt me.” Spike muttered to himself. A few changelings let out worried gasps and mutters. That wasn’t a complete lie. Storm King was far from Spikes friend but he definitely peer pressured him into things. It terrified Spike endlessly.

“I think the best thing to do is to stop being friends with them. It’ll be better for you and everyone around you.” The changeling said.
Spike let out a slow shaky breath. She was right, he couldn’t keep doing things like this anymore. It was hurting him and others and he hated it so much.

“I think it would be the right thing to do.”

Spike sat on his bed with the journal open in front of him. Patches laid on his lap, purring loudly.

“Tempest, I’m not going to do this anymore. I’m tired of hurting innocent people.” Spike wrote down in the book. Within a matter of seconds, Tempest replied.

”Spike please don’t do that, you know what will happen. If you just finish this one mission then it’ll all be over and we won’t have to do this again.” Tempest wrote back. Spike shook his head as if Tempest could see him.

“I would rather let Storm King kill me than hurt another person. Their are so many beautiful places out there that don’t deserved to be destroyed. Tell Grubber goodbye for me. By Tempest, I love you.” Spike wrote out before closing the book. The book started to vibrate as Tempest tried to write him back. He placed the book in the drawer in his night table, ignoring the vibration. Spike let out a sigh and leaned his head onto the headboard. He reached into his backpack and pulled out the teddy bear.

“You’re not going to track me anymore.” Spike muttered to himself. He let in a deep breath and blew a gust of fire onto the bear. The teddy bear instantly turned into ash, scattering all over the bed and floor.

“It’s all over, I’m free.” Spike said to himself. He broke out into a wide grin. It was the start of his new life.

Traitor!

Spike ran through the Canterlot castle, holding dozens of scrolls in his arms. The sound of his feet echoed around the empty hallways. He opened the doors to the throne room to see Twilight anxiously pacing back and forth. Patches laid next to a large window, letting sunlight bask on her body as she slept.

“Okay, Twilight. Got all your charts and graphs.” Spike said, dropping the scrolls onto the floor. Twilight turned around to Spike with a distressed look on her face.

“Spike, thank goodness you’re here! I’m so nervous about today. The yaks, changelings, griffons, and the new dragon lord are coming to this event. Do you know how hard it was to convince the dragon lord to sign a peace treaty?” Twilights asked, starting to hyperventilate. Spike walked over to her and patted her back comfortingly.

“The dragon lord can be sweet for all you know. Deep down she’s probably a big softy.” Spike stated. Spike knew that was a lie, his experience with Ember wasn’t the greatest but that was mostly his fault. He was just nervous about facing her again.

“You’re right Spike, I’m worrying for nothing.” Twilight said with a relieved sigh.

“You should go check out the Friendship Festival, it’s really fun.” Twilight said. Spike cocked an eyebrow.

“Are you sure?” Spike asked. Twilight smiled and nodded her head.

“You’ve been helping me plan this for weeks, you deserve a break. Besides, I have a meeting with the other princess and I don’t think you’ll like it that much.” Twilight stated. Spike gave small smile.

“Thanks Twilight, I’ll see you later!” Spike said before running out of the throne room. He had been free from Storm Kings power for two months and it was wonderful. He got to learn new things and get new hobbies.

He missed Tempest and Grubber a lot but he felt happy and safe. That’s all that mattered at the moment.

Spike walked through the streets of Canterlot, holding three boxes of cookies. A nearby food stand was selling boxes of cookies for one bit each, it was a great deal. He looked down at the boxes, starting to open one. He bumped into something, making him take a few steps back. He looked up to see Thorax standing their, talking to Rarity.

“Hi Thorax.” Spike greeted happily. Thorax turned around a smiled when he saw Spike. They had become friends over the past two months.

“Hi Spike, how are you?” Thorax asked with a smile. Spike gave a thumbs up, taking a bite of a chocolate chip cookie. Rarity came from the other side of Thorax, wearing a smile on her face.

“Spike darling I’m so glad you’re here.” Rarity said, levitating two boxes of identical gems. “I forgot to label these boxes and I can’t tell which ones are crystals and which ones are diamonds.” She stated. Spike picked one of the gems up and sniffed it.

“This box has diamonds.” Spike said, pointing to the box on the right. Rarity gave a smile and quickly labeled the boxes.

“Thank you so much Spikey Wikey, now if you excuse me I need to finish decorating the stage. Songbird Serenade is going to be performing and the stage needs to be absolutely perfect.” Rarity said happily before prancing off.

Spike looked back up at Thorax, who had walked off a few feet away. He was talking to a large yak who wore gold rings on his horns, a golden saddle on lower back, and had teal shawl on his back. He had a black crown on his head with emeralds on them. That must be Prince Rutherford, Prince of the yaks. Spike suggested that Twilight invited all of the different leaders so they could make good impressions.

“Hiiii Spike!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, hopping over to him. A brown griffin flew over her, eating a cupcake. Spike gave a small smile.

“Hi Pinkie Pie, what’s up?” Spike asked. Pinkie Pie hopped up and pulled down the griffon.

“This is my friend Gilda, she’s the ambassador of Griffons.” Pinkie explained. Gilda waved her claw as a greeting.

“Hi, it’s very nice to meet you.” Spike said with a sweet smile. This time it was a genuine greeting.

“Pinkie told me that this whole thing was your idea.” Gilda stated. Spike beamed and nodded his head. This was his attempt to bring different cultures together. After years of tearing different creatures apart, he decided to do the exact opposite. Bring them together with one big festival!

“I did! I planned the food, decorations, and set up the guest list.” Spike said happily. Gilda gave a surprised look.

“That’s very impressive work for a kid.” Gilda complimented. Spike gave a big smile. Twilight flew down next to Spike with a disappointed look on her face. Spike frowned.

“What’s wrong Twilight?” Spike asked. Twilight let out a sigh.

“The Princesses didn’t like my idea.” Twilight said sadly. Pinkie Pie wrapped her arms around Twilights body.

“It doesn’t matter if they didn’t like your idea, it was amazing! Now today’s a wonderful day, you have no reason to be this down in the dumps.” Pinkie Pie said encouragingly. Twilight gave a small smile.

“Thanks Pinkie, you always cheer me up.” Twilight said, hugging her friend back. Spike gave a small smile, glancing over his shoulder. He saw Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Dragon Lord Ember walking over. They all seemed to be having an engaging conversation. He gave a nervous gulp and quickly turned away, trying to not be seen. If he ran off, everyone would be suspicious of him.

“You must be Princess Sunlight Spinkle.” Ember said as she looked at Twilight. Twilight gave a sheepish smile.

“Actually it’s Twilight Sparkle.” She corrected. Rainbow Dash flew in between them with a smile on her face.

“Dragon Lord Ember was just telling us about how some kid betrayed her while she was completing for the Bloodstone Scepter!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in excitement. Spike gave a nervous look. If he was going to redeem himself, he needed to face his problems. He turned around to face Ember and she let out a gasp.

“You’re the one who betrayed me!” Ember exclaimed. Spike gave a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his neck.

”You did that?” Rainbow Dash asked in disbelief. Spike nodded his head.

“Look I’m really sorry about that. I didn’t want to do that.” Spike admitted. Ember cocked and eyebrow and crossed her arms.

“If you didn’t want to them why did you?” Ember asked. Spikes scales flattened and he let out a nervous laugh.

“I don’t think I have time to explain all of that.” Spike said, taking a step back. Before anyone could question him, there was a large crack of thunder, making everyone look up. Dark storm clouds were rolling in. Twilight let out a gasp.

“Storm clouds? I ordered perfect weather! Rainbow Dash?!” Twilight groaned out, glaring at Rainbow Dash. She shook her head.

“I don’t think those are storm clouds.” Rainbow Dash said. Ponies from the festival started to huddle around them, staring up at the storm clouds. Spike let out a gasp.

“We all need to leave right now.” Spike said in a serious tone. Twilight cocked her eyebrow in confusion.

“Is something wrong?” Twilight asked. Spike quickly nodded his head.

“I know what’s going to happen, everyone one needs to evacuate Canterlot right now.” Spike said. Spike felt a hoof on his shoulder, making him look up. It was Rarity, trying to comfort him.

“Relax darling, there must be a reasonable explanation for this.” Rarity reassured. Pinkie let into an excited gasp.

“Ooh! I bet those are the clowns I ordered!” she exclaimed excitedly. A large black airship landed on the ground with a big clang. The door dropped open, letting smoke pour out. Princess a Celestia, Luna, and Cadence flew in front of the worried crowd, ready to defend there home.

A large black megaphone with blue rims shot from the inside of the ship, now hanging, ready to be used. Grubber ran up to the megaphone and started to speak.

“Ponies of Equestria, we come on behalf of the fearsome, the powerful, the almighty...Storm King!” Grubber exclaimed. Ponies started to murmur in concern to each other. Spikes stomach dropped.

“Twilight I’m so sorry.” Spike apologized. His friends looked at him with confused looks.

“And now, to deliver the evil, evil message, put your hooves together for Commander Tempeeeest!” Grubber exclaimed. A dark purple unicorn came from the smoke, her horn sparking. Twilight squinted at the pony.

“Is that a... unicorn?” Twilight asked. Spike clenched his fist.

“I didn’t mean for this to happen, I thought if I stopped working for Storm King they wouldn’t go on with the invasion. Please forgive me.” Spike begged, looking desperate. Ember let out a snarl, pointing her staff at him.

“I knew you were trouble. What did you do?” Ember asked. Spike let out a shaky breath, his scales flat against his head. Celestia took a step forward, opening her wings in a defensive way.

“Tempest" is it? How may we help you?” Celestia asked. Tempest let out a chuckle.

“Oh, I'm so glad you asked. How about we start with your complete and total surrender?” Tempest said, her voice booming. Twilight walked in front of Princess Celestia, cowering a bit.

Hi there. Princess of Friendship. Not exactly sure what's going on, but I know we can talk things out.” Twilight said with a smile. Spike knew deep down that talking it out would never work.

“Oh, goody. All four Princesses. Here's the deal, ladies. I need your magic. Give it up nicely, please, or we make it difficult for everyone!” Tempest exclaimed.

“And why should we cower before you? There's one of you and hundreds of us.” Luna’s voice boom, gesturing to the thousands of citizens behind her. Tempest let out a chuckle and took a step forward.

“I was hoping you'd choose "difficult.” Tempest said with a large grin. With that, hundreds of Storm Creatures invaded the streets of Canterlot. They jumped over buildings and fences, making ponies scream and run in fear.

Ember opened her wings and started to fly at Tempest at full speed, smoke coming from the sides of her mouth. Tempest tossed two Obsidian Orbs into the air, kicking them both with her rear legs. One hit Ember quickly turning her into stone and the other one fell towards Princess Celestia.

“I can’t believe you did this to us!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed angry, getting inches from Spike face. He felt terrible. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had large frowns on there faces as Rarity and Applejack glared at Spike.

“I didn’t mean to do this I-“ Spike started before being cut off by Rainbow Dash putting her hoof up.

“Save it.” Rainbow Dash said bitterly before quickly flying off. All of her friends ran after her, going to help Twilight. Spike looked around to see Canterlot in complete chaos. Ponies ran in fear from the Storm Creatures. Celestia, Cadence, Luna, Ember, Thorax, Prince Rutherford, and Gilda were all turned into stone along with random ponies who almost successfully escaped.

“What did I do?” Spike asked in disbelief. He looked around for Twilight, hoping that he could at least save her. He saw four Storm Guards surrounding her and an Obsidian Orb flying through the sky, about to hit her. Twilight was completely frozen in fear, her eyes shut tightly. Rainbow Dash flew towards Twilight at full speed, trying to grab her.

“She’s not going to make it.” Spike muttered to himself. Without thinking, he ran towards Twilight, wanting to do one good thing. As he approached Twilight, he put out his hands to push her out of the way.

“Look out!” Spike exclaimed, shoving Twilight to the side. Spike felt his joints lock into place and his mouth hung open. He couldn’t move his body at all. He was turned into stone. Tempest approached Spikes stoned body and let out an angry sigh. She turned around and faced Grubber.

“Grubber, get the Princess.” Tempest ordered. She turned back to Spike. “I’ll handle him.”

Author's Note

Go check out MLPMekarm’s wager ring!!!!

Forgiven

Spike let out a gasp of air, feeling his body go numb. He quickly looked around to see that he was in the throne room of the castle. He looked up to see Tempest staring down at him with a stern look on his face.

“Hiiii Tempest.” Spike said with an awkward smile. Tempest let out a grunt, making Spikes smile quickly fade.

“Because of you sacrificing yourself for the princess, she got away!” Tempest exclaimed angrily.

“I needed to do something.” Spike stated. Tempest stomped her hoof on the ground.

“You need to listen to orders, you’ll get hurt if you don’t!” Tempest shouted. Spike flinched and his scales flattened, making Tempests face soften.

“You know the only reason I want you to follow my rules is because I care about you.” Tempest said. Spike let out a sigh and nodded his head.

“Yeah I know...” Spike muttered under his breath. Tempest pulled him into a hug and stroked his head. Spike hugged her back, nuzzling into her chest. It was so long since he last hugged her.

“I missed you.” He said. Tempest smiled and gave him a kiss on the forehead. It was rare when Tempest gave him affection.

“I missed you too.” Tempest stated, hugging him tighter. Patches walked over to Tempest and rubbed her head against her hind leg, trying to join in on the hug. Tempest looked down and stared at the cat in confusion, pulling away from the hug.

“Did you get a cat?” She asked. Spike beamed and nodded his head, picking his pet up.

“This is Patches, I found her in an abandoned summer camp.” Spike explained. Tempest stared at Patches with a deadpanned look.

“Getting a pet was a bad idea.” Tempest said. Spikes smiled faltered and he put Patches on the floor. He let out a disappointed sigh.

“I know.” He stated sadly. Tempest put her hoof on Spikes shoulder and gave a small comforting smile.

“Remember the plan, once I get Princess Twilight, I’ll get my horn back and take down Storm King myself.” Tempest said. Spike gave a weary smile and Tempest put her helmet on.

“I’m going to look for the Princess and her friends. Grubber said that they went upstream. They most likely headed south. I’ll bring a few Storm Guards with me for backup.” Tempest said. Spikes ears perked up at the sound of that. He could find his friends before Tempest them and warn them.

“You’re going to stay at the castle, I don’t want you to try to interfere with my plans.” Tempest said, looking Spike up and down. Spikes scales flattened and he pouted.

“Don’t give me that look, I know you well enough to know that you’re going to try something.” Tempest said, putting on her helmet. “When Storm King comes, go hide. I’ll tell you when it’s safe to come out.” She said, patted Spikes head.

“Grubber make sure Spike doesn’t leave!” Tempest exclaimed, walking through the throne room doors. Grubber walked into the throne room, holding a broken cookie in his hand.

“I’m on it!” Grubber exclaimed, giving a salute. Tempest walked out of the room, a few Storm Guards starting to follow. The large doors slammed shut, making Spike wince. He looked over at Grubber who licked the cookie crumbs off of his hand. He looked at the statues of the leaders. They all look horrified or angry.

“Grubber, am I a good person?” Spike asked, his scales falling flat against his head.

“Does it matter?” Grubber asked while licking the cookie crumbs off of his hand.

“Of course it matters, I’ve done so many bad things in my life and I hate myself for it!”
Spike exclaimed, tearing up. “I never wanted to hurt anyone and I did so many times!” He shouted, tears starting to slide down his face. Grubber walked over to Spike and patted his back.

“Hey, everything is going to be okay. You’re not a bad person. You’re only taking orders from a very cruel person.” Grubber said comfortingly, hugging Spike. Spike hugged Grubber back, sniffling. He glanced over Grubbers shoulder and looked out the window to see ponies in cages. Storm Creatures circled the cages, making sure no one escaped. An idea popped into Spikes brain.

“Thanks Grubber, you always know how to cheer me up.” Spike thanked, sniffling. “So you really like those cookies right?” He asked, pulling away from the hug. Grubber happily nodded his head.

“I searched the whole dang castle for some more but I can’t find any.” Grubber said disappointedly.

“Well I was going to give you some as a thank you but I don’t have any on me right now. I did see some outside.” Spike said. Grubbers eyebrows furrowed and he tapped his foot on the ground, thinking to himself.

“Tempest said that I should make sure you don’t leave the castle.” Grubber stated. Spikes scales flattened and he pouted. “Buuut Tempest isn’t here right now. Just go out and bring me back cookies.” He said, making Spike grin. Spike turned around and quickly ran out the room. Now it was time to start his plan.

Spike walked out of the castle to see Canterlot was a mess. There were tables and carts that were turned over and destroyed. The sky was still dark and cloudy. There were ponies in cages and they all looked miserable.

“Hey you!” Spike exclaimed to a nearby Storm Creature. The Storm Creature looked over at Spike and stood up straight when he saw him.

“Let all of these ponies go and escort them out of Canterlot.” Spike commanded. The Storm Creature tilted its head in confusion and let out a soft grunt.

“I know Storm King gave you orders but now I’m giving you orders.” He stated. The Storm Creature let out a whimper.

“It’s okay, I’ll handle Storm King. Now go and get all the other Guards to let everyone go.” Spike reassured. The Storm Guard turned around and opened a cage with a pony in it.

“Thank you.” The mare said happily before running off. Spike let out a sigh and picked up a nearby box of cookies that was lying on the ground. He turned around and walked back into the castle, ready to face his consequences.

Spike walked around the castle, holding Patches in his arms. He opened a door to see a dark purple room. It had a large purple mat on the floor and a unlit fireplace. There was a table with paper, quills, and ink on it.

“I need you to stay here, okay?” Spike said, giving Patches a kiss on the head and placing her down on the floor. She looked up at him and rubbed her head on his leg. Spike walked over to the scroll and picked up a quill, dipping it in ink.

“Dear Tempest and Grubber,
I know today is the day I die. I’ve been disobeying Storm Kong’s orders for months and I know I’ll die for it. I’m going to let Storm King kill me.

I want Equestria to be a better place and I’ll hurt one more person to do it. Please take care of Patches for me.
Love, Spike.” Spike wrote down on the scroll. He looked over at Patches and pet her on the head, making her purr.

“I’ll see you later Patches.” Spike said with a somber smile. He looked out of the window to see hundreds of ponies being escorted out of Canterlot by the Storm Creatures. In the sky, there was a dark airship that was much large than Tempest’s. It was approaching the castle at a slowly moving speed.

“He’s here.” Spike whispered to himself. He quickly ran out the room, closing the door behind him to make sure Patches didn’t follow him. He stood tall, walking to the throne room. This time he wouldn’t cower down and he would stand his ground.

“WHERE ARE THE PONIES GOING?!” Storm King’s voice shouted from the throne room. Spike opened the throne room doors to see Storm King holding Grubber by the shirt. Grubber looked frightened but was luckily not harmed.

“Put him down.” Spike said sternly. Storm King looked at Spike and sneered, dropping Grubber to the ground. Grubber quickly scrambled up and ran out of the room.

“What did you do you little shit?” Storm King asked in a low growl. Spike walked closer to Storm King, holding an Obsidian Orb in his hand. He only had one shot at this.

“I let everyone go.” Spike stated nonchalantly. Storm King gave a disgusted snarl, tightening his grip on his staff. On the top of the staff their was a blue gem on it. Spike recognized the staff from a book he read. The staff could absorb magic from other creatures, which would make a Storm King powerful. Spike needed to make sure he never activated it. He just needed to distract him long enough until Tempest came.

“You’re a lazy coward Storm King, you know that? You send other people to do work for you while you sit on your ass all day. You never do work for yourself because you’re afraid of what will happen if you get caught.” Spike stated, crossing his arms. Storm Kings ears flattened for a moment before he shook his head.

“You’re going to pay for that.” Storm King said in a cold tone. Without warning, he quickly swung his staff, slashing Spike across the eye. Spike held onto his right eye on pain, blood starting to drip from between his fingers.

“I’m going to make your death slow and painful.” Storm King said with a sly smirk. Spike held an Obsidian Orb tightly in his hand and walked closer to Storm King. If he was going to die, he was going to take Storm King with him.

Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash were strapped to a cart that had a large cake on it. In front of them stood a brown cat who wore a red jacket. His name was Capper.

“Do you guys remember the plan?” Capper asked. They all nodded there heads.

“I can’t believe that little twerp betrayed us!” Rainbow Dash said angrily, taking a step forward. Her friends followed her, walking together. Capper walked in front of them, leading them to Canterlot.

“I’m sure he had a good reason for it. He apologized.” Fluttershy said. Rarity let out a scoff and rolled her eyes.

“No one would have a good reason to work for such a horrible creature.” Rarity said. Rainbow Dash nodded her head in agreement. Applejack looked over at Pinkie Pie who had her head low.

“You doing okay Pinkie? You’ve been awfully quiet lately.” Applejack pointed out. Pinkie Pie let out a sigh.

“I miss Twilight.” Pinkie said sadly. Applejack gave her a sympathetic smile.

“We’re going to get her and take care of this Storm King guy.” Applejack reassured. Pinkie gave a small smile.

“Look alive ladies, we’re almost there.” Capper said, pulling out a chefs hat from the inside of his jacket and placing it on his head. As they approached Canterlot, they noticed something surprising. Thousands of ponies stood outside the gate of Canterlot. Some were being comforted by Storm Guards.

“What in tarnation?” Applejack asked in confusion. It seemed like everyone had got escorted out.

“Well it looks like the plan is off.” Rainbow Dash said dejectedly, taking off the harness and kicking it to the side.

“What’s going on?” Rarity asked, taking off her harness.

“Rarity!” A voice exclaimed. Rarity looked up to see Sweetie Belle ran up to Rarity and hugged her tightly. Rarity hugged her little sister back.

“Sweetie Belle, I’m so glad you’re safe.” Rarity said with a relived sigh.

“Spike told the guards to let us go!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed happily. Rainbow Dash gave a surprised look before shaking her head.

“This has to be some kind of trick.” She said with a sneer. Applejack looked up at the castle, seeing a lot of rapid movement coming from inside a window.

“There’s only one way to find out. Let’s go girls!” Applejack ordered before running into Canterlot. Her friends followed close behind, ready to get to the bottom of this. Capper looked over at Sweetie Belle, who sat a few feet from him.

“Hey kid, want some cake?”

Tempest quickly walked through the castle in a hurry with a cart strapped to her back. In the cart, there was a cage with Twilight Sparkle inside.

“No no no..” Tempest muttered under her breath as she sped up. She had seen the ponies who left the town and she knew that mean one thing. Spike was in trouble. She opened the doors to the throne room and let out a gasp of fear. Windows were shattered and the floor was cracked. It looked like a tornado had swept the room.

Spike laid on the ground, almost unconscious. His right eye bled heavily and his breathing was slow. Glass stuck out of his scales and he looked like he couldn’t move. Storm King stood above him with a sly grin on his face. He rose up his staff and slowly pressed it into Spike chest.

“Say goodbye you useless dragon.” Storm King said, putting pressure onto the staff. Tempest quickly charged at Storm King and jumped in the air, kicking him in the face. Storm King stumbled back before glaring at Tempest.

“I can’t believe you did that.” Storm King said dramatically. Tempest scowled and stood over Spike, protecting him.

“I’m not going to let you hurt him.” Tempest growled out, letting her horn spark with electricity. She glanced back at Twilight who stared at her in shock. Storm King let out a laugh.

“You really think you can defeat me?” Storm King asked with a sly smirk. Tempest stood her ground, glaring down at her boss. She couldn’t show any fear. Tempest glanced down to see that Spike was holding an obsidian orb tightly in his hand. She picked it up with her rear hoof and balanced it.

“What are you going to do? Shock me to death with your broken horn?” Storm King asked in amused tone. He let out another loud laugh, doubling over. Tempest kicked the obsidian orb up in the air and kicked it towards Storm King.

“Burn in hell.” Tempest said in a cold tone, watching the Obsidian Orb fly into his mouth. Storm King let out a gagging noise and quickly swallowed it out of instinct. Storm Kings stomach started to turn to stone and the stone made its way up.

“You bitch, you’ll pay for this, you’ll all pay!” Storm King exclaimed, lunging at Tempest. He quickly turned to stone, sticking to the ground. His unused staff fell to the ground with a clank. Tempest let out a sigh of relief before looking down at Spike. He was unconscious and breathing very heavily. The throne room doors slammed open, making Tempest turn around. Twilights friends stood in the doorway with angry looks on their faces.

“We’re here to save you Twilight!” Pinkie Pie shouted. They all looked very surprise when they saw that Storm King was turned to stone already.

“Girls!” Twilight exclaimed happily, standing up from her spot in the cage. Rainbow Dash glared at Tempest.

“Let her go!” She shouted. Tempest rushed over to Twilight and quickly unlocked the cage. Twilight hopped out of the cage and quickly flew to her friends, pulling them into a hug.

“I missed you all so much!” Twilight exclaimed. Tempest looked over at Spike in a concern, seeing that he was definitely bleeding out. She knew she couldn’t fix this by herself.

“I need your help, please just help Spike I think he’s dying.” Tempest begged. Rainbow Dash looked at Spike and her face quickly turned to concern.

“What happened to him?” Rainbow Dash asked. Tempest let out a sigh.

“I’ll let everyone go and explain everything.”

Spike stirred awake, feeling his body ache with pain. He slowly opened his eyes and his vision was very blurred. Everything through his right eye was completely dark. He sat up and slowly looked around to see he was in a hospital room. He looked down at his body to see that his chest was wrapped with bandages. He reached up to touch his write eye only to find out it was wrapped in bandages as well.

“How did I get here?” Spike muttered to himself. His throat was very dry. He looked at a nearby wall to see Tempest and Grubber both sitting in chairs, asleep. Tempest leaned on Grubbers head while Grubber managed to keep himself upright. Have they been waiting for Spike to wake up?

“Tempest, Grubber!” Spike half yelled out. Tempest snapped up, groggily blinking. Her face lit up when she saw Spike and she hopped out of her chair to go to him.

“Are you okay? Are you in pain?” Tempest asked in concern, putting her hooves on Spikes shoulders. Spike let out a soft chuckle.

“I’m fine, my eye hurts a bit but it’ll be okay.” Spike stated. He looked around to see if Storm King was in the room with them. “Wouldn’t boss be angry that I’m in the hospital?” He asked in concern. Tempest gave him a soft smile.

“He’s permanently turned to stone.” Tempest said with a smile. Spike let out a gasp and broke out into a wide grin.

“We’re free?” Spike asked in disbelief. Tempest nodded her head, making Spike tear up. He pulled Tempest into a tight hug, feeling the happiest he had ever felt in years.

“Oh! I told your friends why you were working for Storm King and they understood. They brought you some get well presents.” Tempest said, pointing to the corner of the room that had a pile of presents.

“Since we don’t have to work for the Storm King, what are we going to do now?” Spike asked. Tempest shrugged her shoulders.

“I could look for some jobs. I might sign up for the Royal Guard. I hear that they pay well.” Tempest explained. Spike gave a small smile and gave Tempest another hug. This was the start of a new life.

A Happy Ending

Spike sat in front of a windowsill, leaning his head on his hand. Patches laid on his lap, sound asleep. Spike watched the sunrise, which made the sky a beautiful mix of blues, oranges, and pinks. He let out a dreamy sigh. This was one of the first times he had really enjoyed a sunrise.

“This is nice.” Spike said to himself. He reached over and picked up his cup of tea that sat on the windowsill and took a sip of it. The tea warmed up his chest and he gave a smile. He had been free from Storm Kings reign for three months now and everything great. He, Tempest, and Grubber has moved to a small house in Ponyville.

“Okay Patches, you have to get off now.” Spike said, picking up Patches and placing her on the floor. She let out a confused mewl and looked up at Spike.

“I’m sorry but I have an important thing to do today.” He explained. He stood up and looked around his bedroom. The walls were a light purple and he had a small shelf pressed up against it. On the shelf, there were comic books and books. Next to the shelf, their was a full length body mirror.
Across from the shelf their was bed with Power Ponies blanket on it. His room was mostly empty other than the shelf, mirror, and bed.

Spike looked in the mirror to see that he had a large scar across his chest from when Storm King broke his rib. His right eye was completely scarred over and he couldn’t see out of it at all. He could see hundreds of scars from every time he got in a fight or Storm King hit him. He snapped out of his thoughts when he smelled something delicious.

“Grubber must be making breakfast again.” Spike stated happily, licking his lips. Grubber always made the best food. Spike walked out of his bedroom and happily walked down the hallway. Patches ran out of the room and happily followed Spike. He walked down the stairs with a little skip in his step. He hopped off of the last step and slid on the hardwood floor. He slid in front of the kitchen to see Grubber standing at the stove, making food.

“Good morning!” Spike greeted happily. Grubber looked up and gave Spike a wave. Spike sat down on his seat adjusting his fork and knife that was on his table. Tempest walked into the kitchen, sleepily rubbing her eyes.

“Good morning Tempest.” Spike greeted. Tempest gave Spike a smile and gave him a kiss on the head.

“Hey Spike, did you sleep well?” Tempest asked. Spike nodded his head. Tempest sat down next to Spike and leaned her head in her hoof, still waking up.

“Breakfast is served.” Grubber said, placing two plates in front of Spike and Tempest. He handed Tempest a cup of coffee. On their plates, laid omelets with peppers, onions, cheese, and spinach in it. Spike took a large bite and let out a hum of satisfaction.

“This is really good.” Spike complimented. Grubber sat down with his omelet and gave a smile.

“Thanks.” Grubber thanked before stuffing his whole omelet in his mouth. Tempest looked over at Spike

“Do you want to come with me to train new recruits?” Tempest asked. Tempest had become the captain of Ponyville Royal Guard. Princess Celestia loved her fighting style and made her caption of the Royal Guard. Ponyville didn’t have any guards or defense so she was perfect for the job.

“No thanks, I have plans for today.” Spike stated. Tempest gave a small smile and tilted her head.

“What plans do you have?” She asked. Spike put his finger up to his lip.

“It’s a secret.” Spike said with a wink. Tempest let out a chuckle and took a bite of her omelet. Spike quickly finished his food and put his plate in the sink.

“I’m going out now.” Spike said, picking up his bag that he left next to the counter over night.

“Why are you going out so early, it’s only 7.” Tempest asked. Spike gave a wink.

“Like I said before, it’s a secret. Bye Tempest, bye Grubber, I love you.” Spike said before walking out the side door that was in the kitchen. He closed the door behind him and let in a breath of fresh air. The birds were chirping and flowers bloomed.

Spike happily walked out of from the side of his house and hopped over the white picket fence. He had no need to do that but it felt like fun. Spike walked across a stone pathway, humming to himself. It was a gorgeous day. The sun was slowly rising, making sunlight hit the trees. The sunlight danced through the leaves, making the path shine beautifully.

He looked up to see Fluttershy walking down the path with an empty basket in her mouth. Her pet bunny, Angel, hopped after her.

“Hi Fluttershy, whatcha doing?” Spike asked with a wave and smile. Fluttershy gave Spike a smile and waved to him, taking her basket out of her mouth and putting it under her wing.

“Hi Spike. I’m going to collect flowers from the field. My animals just love the smell of fresh daisy’s.” Fluttershy explained. “Do you want to help?” She asked. Spike put his hand up and shook his head.

“As fun as that sounds, I have something important to do today. I can help you later. I know a good spot with a lot of lavender.” Spike said with a smile. Fluttershy gave a smile back.

“Well have a great day, see you later.” Fluttershy said with a wave before walking past him with Angel hopping close behind. Spike continued to hum to himself, making his way into town.

Spike walked through Ponyville, getting happy smiles and waves from ponies. He had become a great help once he moved into town with Tempest. Ponies loved his help.

He waved to Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle. They happily waved back to him, giving him wide grins. Spike had gotten a lot closer with those three. They were best friends. He gave a smile and sped up a bit, making sure he didn’t miss his train. Spike ran up to the train station, seeing his train pulling up. He was right on time.

Spike ran onto the train platform and made his way to a car, only to be stopped by a mare in a blue vest.

“Ticket please.” She stated. Spike reached into his bag and pulled out a ticket for Canterlot. He had bought it the day before. Spike hopped on the train and sat down on a soft plush seat. Since it was early in the morning, there were very few ponies on the train. Spike kicked his legs off of the side. He reached into his back and pulled out a small information packet.

”Thousands of years ago Discord, the lord of chaos, was turned to stone. Due to a powerful source of chaotic, he was released from his stone prison.” The packet said. Spike crumbled the packet in his hand and let out a small flame, burning it. He leaned his head back and sighed, looking out the train window. The train slowly left the station.

Today was a special day.

Spike approached the Canterlot Castle, holding a metal baseball bat. He had bought it at a sports store. It was very expensive but it would be worth the price. He walked around the castle, humming to himself.

He entered the Canterlot garden and gave a small smile. It was gorgeous. He turned his head to see statues of ponies. The statue of Storm King caught his attention. The statue looked as if he was screaming in fear. It almost made Spike laugh. Seeing his fearsome boss looking so afraid.

“You’re pathetic, you know that right?” Spike asked the statue of his former boss. He placed his backpack on the floor. “I know you can hear me. I want you to know that I hate you more than you could ever imagine. Looking at you makes me sick to my stomach.” He said. He lifted up the bat, tossing it between to each hand.

“There’s a way I can bring you back but I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to risk you coming back.” Spike said, circling the statue. “I want the world to be peaceful and I’ll hurt one more person to do it.” Spike said in a cold voice, looking the statue in its eyes.

“Any last words?” Spike asked. The statue started to shake and let out muffled screams. It sounded like Storm King was having second choices. Spike tightened the bat in his hands.

“I fucking hate you.” Spike said before swinging the bat. Storm Kings leg flew off, breaking into pieces. The statue hit the ground with a loud bang. Spike stood over the statue, holding the bat over his head. Tears of anger filled up in his eyes. He swung down the bat, hitting it on the head. The head shattered into tiny pieces. Pieces of stone flew everywhere.

Spike dropped to his knees, letting go of that bat. He wiped the tears from his eyes and stood up brushing himself off. Now his life was complete.

Author's Note

Thank you so much for reading and supporting this story!