.

Late that night, colorful lights shined from Club Pegasus (located between the far east side of the West Side Suburbs and the sleazy Industrial District), where a crowd of very beautiful women gathered on the sidewalk outside the incredibly exclusive nightspot. The line was already snaked around the corner of the block, while Bulk Biceps, a hulking white man with a blond crew cut, stood behind a stanchion with velvet rope, guarding the door.

“No one gets in unless they’re on the list,” he said.

“I came all the way from Tenneighssee--!” one of the women shouted.

“I don’t make the rules, I just enforce ‘em,” he told them as he folded his thick arms across his barrel chest. “You aren’t on the list, back of the line!”

The crowd clamored as a luxury car pulled up to the curb.

“Is that a Buick?” one girl, wearing a sheer black dress, asked.

“My grandpa used to drive a Buick,” one of the others commented.

“That’snot your grandpa,”

Camera shutters clicked as Celestia Soleil exited the vehicle, followed by Luna St. Selena, Fleur de Lis and Fancy Pants, and finally Spike Zenith, who left the keys with the valet.

“Careful,” he said. “I just had it detailed.”

Celestia and Luna’s high heels clicked loudly as they strode past the line, arm in arm with Spike sandwiched between them, with Fleur and Fancy close behind. They strolled up to the front door and he said, “Zenith. Spike Zenith,” before the bouncer even asked, “Name?”

“Thought I recognized you,” Bulk Biceps grinned. “I’m a big fan. Go right in,” he said as he let them past the velvet rope.

“Thank you,” Spike grinned back.

One of the young women scoffed.

“Oh, come on! They literally just got here! We’ve been waiting in line for two hours!”

“Obviously someone rich and famous,”

“Wait. Was that Spike Zenith?”

“Holy crap, we just saw Spike Zenith!”

Spike’s black trench coat billowed as he and his entourage entered the building and rode the elevator up to the top level, and Spike found himself struggling with a voice inside his mind.

“Steeped in denial... the daily grind... a mutual struggle... for shared ground...” it was saying. “They’re for themselves... It doesn’t matter what they say. They promise the world then take it away from you... It’s safe to say, they’ll break you down...”

And what was worse, Spike found himself agreeing with it.

“They’ll try to take from me... I’m just another one for them to break down...”

There was a time when the world was ruled by Dragons. To protect and serve was their mission, and for thousands of years, humanity and magical creatures prospered because of it. But some of the Dragons grew arrogant, and began to fight among themselves for power... now they had been in conflict with humans for control of the earth.

Spike had hoped magical creatures and humans could learn to get along... or at least not kill each other... whatever it would take to settle peace on this city, and the world, once and for all. The mortal world had enough troubles without stirring up things that might spill over into the magical realm.

Spike’s own needs had been held back by centuries of strife, and the hate-filled threats, deadly bombings and other attempts on his life continued to pile up. He couldn’t think of a worse way to spend his night than at the grand opening of the newest nightclub in New Canterlot City.

As the elevator buttons counted to the top, Spike began to dream of a world for him and his kind: a world where the air he breathed was his, there was nothing to overwhelm him and nothing to cloud his mind. He could be anyone, try and do anything he’d ever want, where Time did not exist, and humanity could stick its standards where the Sun didn’t shine!

The elevator doors slid open and Spike, Celestia, Luna, Fleur and Fancy Pants slid into a massive throng of people. Club Pegasus pulsed with neon laser lights, floor-vibrating music, and the sway of men and women clothed in skimpy leather and drenched in sweat. The bar was pure glass, lit from within by electric tubes—very modern, but it cast an eerie glow and threw plenty of shadows for the brief, anonymous couplings that stank up the room. Bathed in the lasers, Spike watched the crowd, scanning dozens of faces and grinding bodies, their movements incongruous, yet somehow hypnotic as the deep bass pounded out its steady rhythm. The spotlights overhead rotated their pervading colors--red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple--circling through the sea of flesh and sheer fabric as they moved through the crowd.

A girl in a skimpy sailor suit danced on one of the elevated platforms, next to a giant lava lamp that stretched to the ceiling, while a ditzy blonde in a light gray halter top eyed Spike seductively as bubbles rained down around her. Meanwhile, on the dance floor, Flashdancer (starlet of her own movie from 1983) and Azure Velour bopped, shimmied and throbbed to the music while Pacific Glow (a cute girl who bore a striking resemblance to Pinkie Pie, only with twin ponytails) sucked on a pacifier and pumped her fists in time to the beat. These people had no clue about the forces at play all around them—and it was Spike’s job to keep it that way.

The hot press of bodies said business was good.

The manager of the club suddenly appeared at Spike’s side. The man was small compared to Spike’s large frame, and his trim black silks shined with blue light.

“Ringside table, Mr. Zenith?” he asked.

“Anything I can do for you, sir?” one of the cigarette girls inquired. “Check your coat?”

Spike fought the sudden urge to tell them to get out of his face—the rampant sexual energy of the place stirred his blood in a way that was painful, his own needs had gone unsatisfied for far too long—and said, in a calm and controlled tone, “I’m hosting the birthday party up in the VIP section.”

The manager nodded and the quintet followed him upstairs as Spike mouthed the final chorus of the song DJ-Pon3 was playing on her turntables: “I will never die!”

.

Unlike the rest of Club Pegasus, the VIP section echoed with the sounds of soft music and laughter. Half a dozen waiters moved carefully along their assigned routes from one side of the room to the other, carrying trays laden with pale Champagne and colorful delicacies.

Captain Shining Armor looked out its large window, which offered a full view of the dance floor, and surveyed the crowd below, noting the usual mixture of young politicians, media personalities and wealthy entrepreneurs. He watched for a few moments then turned back toward the group of attractive young women shaking their hips, scanning them with a watchful eye. Almost every one of his sister’s former classmates was there: Minuette Colgate, Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, Lyra Heartstrings, even Amethyst Star. He also noted that their host, Spike Zenith, was absent. Shining Armor was a little surprised by that. Spike had worked as hard as anybody here to make sure Moon Dancer had a happy birthday.

For all that the newspapers went on about “billionaire playboy Spike Zenith,” he was very committed and very dependable. If Armor could get a few more people with Zenith’s resources working for New Canterlot, he could turn the city around in no time. He must have had a good reason for being late, Shining Armor thought after he’d helped himself to the victuals: a couple of sliders, some pigs in a blanket, and a handful of crab puffs.

He turned and saw Spike, whose eyes were locked onto the birthday girl, the beautiful redhead wearing the purple skirt and black top, which struggled to contain her massive breasts.

“Spike, you made it!” Moon Dancer exclaimed, smiling and happy as her arms wrapped around him in a tight, warm embrace.

“Sorry we’re late,” he apologized.

“You’re always late,” Twinkleshine said casually.

As Fleur, Fancy Pants, Celestia and Luna mingled, Spike remembered the first time he laid eyes on Moon Dancer: she was sitting barefoot on the floor of the University’s library immersed in a book. Her lashes were as dark as her hair and lay against her moonlight pale skin, her shoes and socks rested on the floor beside her, and a cushion was propped under her derrière.

She didn’t notice him at first as he glanced at the mountain of books around her. They were very advanced textbooks, too expensive and too specialized for any public library. The thickest one had Astrophysics: From Past to Future on the cover.

“Hi. I’m Spike Zenith, Zenith Industries,” he’d said. “You’re Moon Dancer, right?”

She stopped reading, turned and looked straight into his eyes as if he were an old friend.

“Why, yes, as a matter of fact, I am,” she smiled faintly. “Have we met before?”

Curious from a young age, Moon Dancer was the smartest girl on campus. She ranked in the Top 10 in every subject on every standardized test in Equestria. When issued an aptitude test by the school district’s psychiatrist, it was discovered that she had a mind-bashing I.Q. of 216.

She was a legend in her own time.

“So she’s a genius,” Spike wondered. “Well, that explains why she seemed so odd.”

Sure, she may have been a little peculiar, but that’s how most prodigies were.

When someone with Moon Dancer’s level of intellect was forced to slow down to the pace of average people, they were bound to lash out. She didn’t like to go outside much; the furthest she would go was her own yard. She didn’t invite friends over to her house, either. In school, she was easily and constantly bored—almost all the time—to the point of frustration, and she often dreamed of leaving the classroom to pursue her intellectual development on an independent basis. She was so smart that the university’s faculty didn’t even make her attend classes; she was free to cut class anytime and study whatever she wanted. She did as much or as little of the assignments as she felt she needed to.

As well as having a huge vocabulary, she already had a master’s degree in journalism from Coltumbia University, and she did crosswords to keep her mind sharp.

Spike tried his best to make conversation with her.

“Listen, my board of directors is looking for a receptionist to replace someone at my company who is supposed to move up to be my executive administrative assistant,” he said. “I can’t stand her. So do me a favor. You be my assistant, and I’ll tell them I just hired outside the company. I need you! Please say yes.” Sensing her reluctance, he added, “If I can finish that crossword puzzle in less than two minutes, will you help me?”

“All right,” she had said.

“There’s no way he has a better vocabulary than I do,” she’d added in thought.

Spike’s knowledge of words may have had its limits (he hadn’t used the word “precipice” since the year 426, “threshold” since 431, “brink” since 435, and “imperative” since 527), but he did it in 90 seconds—in pen—and didn’t scratch anything out.

“I don’t believe this!” Moon Dancer breathed. “It’s perfect.”

“So, will you please think about it?” he asked.

“We made a deal,” she said. “Of course I’ll think about it.”

“I don’t want to force you,” he told her.

“Don’t worry about it. I always keep my word,” she smiled softly. “And Spike... it was good to see you again.”

.

Now, as Spike stood in the corner of Club Pegasus’ huge VIP section—in the middle of three beautiful women who seemed to be involved in a contest to see which could stand closest to their wealthy host—he looked totally bored, despite the trio’s beauty.

“Oh, come on, Spike!” Minuette chirped as she suggestively grasped his tie, pressing her hip against his. “All alone in that big castle, with rooms for days and all those toys... Haven’t you ever thought of marriage—not even once?”

“Oh! Never say the ‘M’ word in front of Spike,” Twinkleshine giggled as she reached up on tiptoe to playfully brush an imaginary eyelash from Spike’s face. “It makes him nervous.”

“What about the ‘I’ word?” Lemon Hearts innocently cooed, still trying to figure out a route past her competition and into Spike’s arms.

Spike turned to regard her quizzically, his attention snared.

“The ‘I’ word?” he wondered aloud.

“‘Ingagement,’” Lemon Hearts answered, batting her long lashes.

Spike gave her a crooked half-smile as he recalled the time she somehow got a beaker stuck on her head... and the nearby onlookers laughed.

“Go on, Spike,” the one imprisoned inside his mind was telling him as his gaze swept over the undulating bodies that surrounded him. “Pick one. They’re ripe for the taking tonight. Come on. Any of these beauties would fall in love with you in a single night.”

Spike’s sexual appetite was, in fact, normal for a dragon. He felt the same raging needs humans did, but his past drained any encounters with humans of the pleasure they should have.

He knew better.

The last thing he wanted was to revisit the images and the screams, all the things that would be resurrected if he found himself in the arms of a woman again... even if it was just to seek a quick release, which for dragons was no time at all, not in this pheromone-infused environment.

Bachelorette number three was preparing to pursue her advantage with a frontal attack, when another woman approached and elbowed her sharply in the ribs.

The fourth woman, dressed in tight pants and a revealing tube top, stepped past Lemon Hearts to stare up at Spike. She was also beautiful; her skin was a perfect pink, her eyes dark blue, and her long straight hair as black as a raven’s wing. She carried a glass of red wine in her hand and didn’t look too happy to see Spike surrounded by his female friends.

“I’d watch out for Spikey if I were you, girls,” she began sardonically. Her voice had the first traces of an alcohol-induced slur. “First he wines and dines you. Makes you think you’re the only woman he’s ever been interested in. And just when you’re wondering where to register the wedding gifts...” She paused dramatically, her lips drawing back from perfect white teeth. “He forgets your phone number!”

Spike smiled weakly for a moment. He had been watching the proceedings with a casual detachment. It wasn’t the first time one too many trips to an open bar had caused this kind of confrontation with one of the women he had briefly been with. But this one had been engaged. She’d kept the ring—in fact, she wore it proudly—even after she learned of its true, and rather modest, worth, at which point she broke off the engagement and returned to New Canterlot City for better prospects.

Spike waited with an air of faint amusement for her to run out of steam.

Then a look of fury appeared on her carefully decorated features as she hauled her slim arm back and then threw her wine in his face.

“That’s Spike Zenith’s style!” the black-haired woman concluded angrily.

Then she gave her head a short, sharp nod as she spun on her heel and stalked away from them in the direction of the bar.

There was a mutual gasp as Spike’s trio of admirers drew back in horror then looked in embarrassment at the dripping wet playboy, who stood stone-faced and still.

Spike politely excused himself with a small bow to the three women and headed toward the men’s room.

“Friend in need?” he heard someone say.

Spike recognized the polished tone before he saw the face... or the form-fitting white silk cocktail dress with just enough cleavage showing so that everyone checked out her 34DD breasts and matching leather gloves... then New Canterlot City Councilwoman Vignette Valencia appeared at his side, dangling a linen handkerchief in front of Spike’s face. He took the square of cloth and swabbed at his eyes and cheeks.

“Councilwoman,” he said with a nod. “How goes the vigilante bashing?”

“Better than your love life,” she replied, her eyebrows raised at the scene of Spike’s recent dampening. “Seriously, Spike, it’s like you pick them deliberately because you know there’s absolutely no hope for any kind of a serious relationship.” A man hoved into view bearing a tray of Champagne flutes. The councilwoman plucked one from the tray as it passed by, earning herself a sideward glance of disapproval from the proper server. “At least not since that one girl, what was her name?” Vignette screwed her face up in an expression of exaggerated concentration. Then she smiled lazily. “Ember Drago!”

Spike had been dabbing at his collar with the handkerchief when he winced at the sound of the name. He’d almost managed to forget about Ember for the evening; his memories of her were never too far from his mind. And thanks to Vignette, they were stating to flood back.

Sensing she had touched a nerve, Vignette continued, “Now, there was a sweet little number. How’d you ever let her get away?”

In response, Spike carefully folded the sopping wet handkerchief, his eyes to the floor.

“Thanks for the handkerchief, Vignette,” Spike said, in his low, controlled voice. “You know where you can stick it.”

He reached out and stuffed the stained, damp cloth down the front of her dress, deep between her enhanced breasts, and then walked off, passing Fleur as he entered the men’s room.

Spike locked the door behind him, then stood before the sink and looked at his reflection in the mirror, a dark expression on his face. As he stared at the man that was staring back at him, he recalled his first encounter with the woman whose memory so troubled him now...

.

Spike the Dragon stood on an ashy hill on the Isle of Dragons. He frowned as he threw punches at an imaginary opponent, replaying his moves of the night before, his face a mask of concentration. He pivoted his body and launched a pair of vicious kicks into the air. He dropped back to a defensive stance then fired off a dozen punches in rapid succession.

Elsewhere on the island, a blue dragoness practiced her hunting skills on an orange dragoness. The blue dragoness, Princess Ember, leaped over a gorge, back flipping in the air. She landed lightly then flipped forward, cutting off the orange dragoness’s path, much to the other dragoness’s annoyance.

Spike twisted his neck to look at Ember, while maintaining his current pose, balancing on one clawed foot with both arms extended rigidly in front of him.

He stood still, his fists clenched.

Then he abruptly turned away from her and began to work through a new series of positions, thrusting his fist out, into the air. His perfect form wavered for a moment, but he recovered his balance, assumed a new position, and jabbed three more times as he shifted his weight from his left foot to his right and back again.

Ember stared coyly at Spike as she seductively walked around him. Smiling, she lunged, tripping Spike up and he fell onto his back. Standing up, he met her gaze as she started to walk away from him. Shaking his head, he followed her.

The most beautiful dragons were the most independent. They tended to find themselves in trouble, but they didn’t need anyone to rescue them. There was no problem they couldn’t overcome on their own.

And Ember was a very spirited female.

As much as Spike hated to admit it, he found Ember charming... in a stubborn and irritating way. Not only was she beautiful, but she was smart, strong and fearless.

In one word: pulchritudinous.

Suddenly, Spike jerked back sharply when he lifted his head and saw the orange dragoness standing beside Ember.

“Hello,” she said.

Spike backed away as the orange dragoness giggled and batted her big, blue eyes at him. He stumbled backward as Smolder eagerly stepped toward him, flicking her tail as she teasingly pretended to pounce. He leaned against Ember and peered out at the other dragoness, who continued to pursue him.

“Hello, Spike,” she said again.

“Well, aren’t you going to answer her?” Ember asked as Spike hid behind her.

He shook his head at the Dragon Lord’s daughter.

“You’re not afraid, are you?” Ember asked.

Scowling, Spike shook his head again.

“Well, go ahead, then,” Ember said as she nudged him toward Smolder. “Say hello.”

“Hello,” Spike said in a small, small voice as he shyly hung his head.

Smolder giggled as she romped around him.

She leaned forward and licked his face, causing him to trip over a stone and fall into a pool of lava. Looking up at her, Spike glared as Smolder licked his cheeks again and he furiously wiped his face. When she licked him again, Spike charged angrily, storming out of the lava.

Smolder flew away as fast as she could, and Spike chased after her, over the rocky hillocks. She raced up the smooth face of a boulder, which looked out over the open ocean. When Spike finally caught up to her, breathless, the island suddenly filled with male dragons flying over the rocks. Two of the males challenged each other, crashing their horns together like young bucks locking their antlers. The dragons leapt gracefully from the jutting tip of a rocky ledge, their long bodies stretched mightily as they took to the air once more in almost perfect sync as Spike followed them along the upper ridge. Then the air grew still with a sudden chill as the dragons came to an equally sudden stop.

A solitary dragon appeared at the mouth of the volcano. His back was broader and his scales were thicker than all of the other dragons, and his legs and chest radiated with power. A massive crown of red stones adorned his noble head, and he held a sapphire scepter topped by a polished red gemstone. As the mighty dragon approached the horde, the male dragons stood almost perfectly still. Only their heads moved to watch him as he passed.

He stopped and looked at Spike, who stood barely as tall as the great dragon’s finger.

The Equestrian Dragon swallowed as the great dragon stared at him before walking on.

Everyone shied away from him because they respected him. For of all the dragons in the world, not one had lived half so long. He stood regal and stoic, as a ruler should be. He was very brave and very wise, and that’s why he was known as the Dragon Lord.

.

Spike was berated by the other dragons for his smaller size, but he had proven he was a real dragon when he tried to cannonball into a volcano... and bellyflopped face first into the lava pit, his arms and legs sprawled out.

The other dragons all groaned and winced as he slowly sank into the red-hot lava... only to rise up triumphantly, lava dripping off of him as if it was water.

“Whoa, that was amazing!” they all praised him, astounded by his endurance.

“Dude... that was awesome!” a red dragon named Garble admitted. “Nobody could withstand a fall like that. You’re one tough dragon.”

And it was because of this, they had allowed Spike to accompany them to the Mating Ball—a nesting pit, where the males arrived first and waited for the females.

“I’ll handle this,” Garble said as Smolder, his sister, approached with a scarlet dragoness named Mina. “Hey... Hey... That’s all I’ve got.”

“Wow,” Spike said. “I can not believe Mina didn’t just fall all over you.”

“You think you can do better?” Garble asked.

“The next dragoness that comes up that hill, she’s mine,” Spike stated.

Spike was about to eat his words when he saw Ember emerge into a ray of moonlight.

“Whoa,” he thought. “I’ve never seen her look that good.”

“Forget about it, Spike,” Smolder said. “You know the rules. She’s the Dragon Lord’s daughter. You’re not allowed to roar with her.”

There were many customs which the Dragon Code commanded them to obey, but none was as important as the roar. Each month, on the night of the full moon, every dragon and dragoness that had come of age climbed to the top of the volcano and roared their mightiest cry, signifying their official ascension from adolescence into adulthood.

“We’re still friends,” Spike reminded her.

“Exactly, just friends,” said Mina. “You can eat together, and you can fly together, but you can’t roar together. End of story.”

Spike glanced at Ember and she eyed him softly as they walked off together.

Suddenly, without warning, Ember moved up behind Spike. Then she ducked in quickly, set one hand on his shoulder, grabbed Spike’s claw and pulled it. She twisted Spike’s wrist behind his back and pushed him forward. Then shifted her weight, flipped him effortlessly, and he crashed to the ground.

“Got a few moves of my own,” she said, dusting off her palms as she towered over him triumphantly... but not for long.

Spike propped himself up on his elbows, staring up at her without expression. Then the corner of his mouth curled up, and the next moment he started chuckling.

“He laughs!” Ember exclaimed, her mouth dropped open in mock astonishment. “And from a supine position... Now, that takes training and discipline.”

Spike stopped laughing, arched an eyebrow at Ember, then swept his leg under Ember’s feet in a wide arc, tripping her, and Ember fell to the ground. She tumbled backward and before she could move, Spike had her pinned down, nose to nose. She looked up at him in surprise as they broke into matching grins.

“Nice footwork,” she smiled. “Can you dance, too?”

Spike looked deep into Princess Ember’s eyes. She had the eyes of a lioness, all the right moves, and she had exactly the right attitude.

Maybe she could be the one. Maybe she was the one. She was definitely strong enough.

Maybe...

“She might be the one.” The whisper of it seemed to haunt him. “She might be the one.”

But he would have to seduce her, convince her to love him.

Spike’s grin grew thoughtful as he lowered his face to her. His clawed hands slid down to her hips as he leaned in and kissed her shoulder then her neck. She smelt of sweet honeysuckle, he of pie and ale.

“You filthy sod,” she said. “You’re all muck and muscle!”

“Aye, lass,” he replied. “The way you like it.”

And even though it was against the Dragons’ Law for the Dragon Lord’s daughter to roar with him, the couple began to roar together.

“You can do that to me forever if you like, my lord,” she said. “Will you, Spike?”

“Aye, Ember,” he told his love. “I will.”

At that moment, the Dragon Lord appeared and took in the scene of love with surprise.

His shadow crept over the two smitten dragons, and he yanked Spike away from Ember.

“Can I talk to you in private?” Torch asked.

Knowing that it was an order and not a request, Spike nodded and said, “Aye, sir,” and followed the Dragon Lord to the top of the volcano.

“Who is the Dragon Lord?” Torch asked him.

“You are, Your Lordship,” Spike replied.

“I know you’re Ember’s friend, Spike,” Torch said. “But she will be the future leader of our kind. That is our custom, the way of the horde.”

Spike’s smile faded.

The Dragon Lord chuckled and he placed a claw on Spike’s shoulder. “No doubt you’ll be a clever leader yourself one day... and remind us all to keep the peace.”

.

Spike stood in the men’s room in the VIP section at Club Pegasus, his thoughts lost in memory. He sighed as he thought about Ember. It had been close to ten centuries, and yet it seemed like only yesterday.

He raised his head, called back to the present by a burst of laughter from behind the door.

Reluctant to rejoin the revelers, he turned from the mirror and sighed once more.

“Time to play the elusive trillionaire again,” he thought.

He straightened his clothes, pressed his hair back, and exited the restroom, back to the party in progress. On the way out, he bumped into Lyra Heartstrings and her girlfriend, Bonbon.

But Spike knew the latter as Special Agent Sweetie Drops, the Woman from S.M.I.L.E. (a secret agency whose acronym stood for the Secret Monster Intelligence League of Equestria, who dealt with monsters, monster hunters, and other monster-related activity).

“Ladies, what’s the good word?” he inquired.

“You know us, Spike. Living the life, living the dream,” Bonbon answered. “Lyra and I were just talking about what we did last night.”

“I wish we knew you were coming,” Lyra added. “I’d let you buy us dinner.”

Sweetie Drops leaned in close to Spike and whispered into his ear, “Anything new on our mutual monster friends?”

“Nothing yet,” he whispered in reply. “I’ll let you know.”

That’s when he caught sight of Shining Armor at the end of the bar.

Shining Armor debated ignoring Spike but turned to face the bar instead. Spike made eye contact with the bartender, a pretty, petite blonde who was human—and had the scent of at least two men on her already—and ordered a double Scotch.

Spike leaned into the bar next to Shining Armor, who looked up, his face graced with the hint of a smile. He had learned, through years of public service, to keep as pleasant an expression on his face as possible... even if there was no good reason to smile at all.

The bartender set a glass tumbler filled with amber liquid before Spike and he downed it in one swallow. Alcohol had minimal effect on him, even in his human form, but he hoped the burn would mask the smell of the club, and the scents of the willing females that hung on everything. They were so easily drunk on pheromones, the most potent of which was Spike’s own dragon pheromones. It was clear most had already done more than taste their first partners of the night... and they surely would not be the last.

“Good evening, Captain Armor,” Spike said formally, and he signaled for another drink.

“If you say so, Zenith,” he replied. “I hate these kinds of things. I spend the entire time dodging people who think I can fix the potholes on their block.”

“Well, at least the building is impressive,”

“I guess so. But why build it? It might just be the cop in me, but I think Cozy Glow’s up to something,”

The minute Spike first met Shining Armor he knew he wanted him on his side. He was an honest cop, a proverbial needle in the haystack... and a fellow troublemaker. He was exactly the kind of person Spike needed fighting from inside the lines.

As part of Police Chief Chocolate Ganache’s new “recruitment drive,” Shining Armor (previously of Chicoltgo’s finest) was greeted by Ganache in what was actually a homecoming for Armor, who transferred from New Canterlot City to Chicoltgo as a fresh-faced patrolman over two years before. The details behind Armor’s transfer back from Chicoltgo remained spotty at best, as was the reason for his original departure from New Canterlot in the first place.

But Spike knew the truth.

While just a rookie cop, Shining Armor shot a criminal in a clear cut case of justifiable homicide. What he didn’t know at the time was that that particular criminal also carried a badge at his day job. The shooting was swept under the rug, and Armor was transferred to Chicoltgo by Ganache, his then-captain at the time.

Shining was a good cop who had worked his way through the ranks until being kicked upstairs by the city’s crooked ex-mayor and his administrators. He was a blue-collar cop in a white-collared world. He’d made that perfectly clear when he showed up for his first day as captain in his patrolman’s uniform to remind them that he was not one of them and that he wasn’t going to kowtow to them. He also had a clear dislike for fools, especially rich ones, and a strong dislike for Spike Zenith, who in turn pretended to find Armor a boring underclassman that got lucky and he hid his respect for Shining.

Hard-nosed and by-the-book, Armor had recently been appointed the head of the city’s Vice squad and he took his job very seriously. The Equestrian Dragon was no friend to the police and he had to tread with extreme caution when engaging its officers, particularly since many of them maintained criminal associations. As yet Armor’s record remained clean, but it remained to be seen if he could be trusted. Shining Armor believed that the Equestrian Dragon was trying to help New Canterlot City, even if he was operating outside of the law. However, unknown to Spike, Shining secretly dreaded the day he would have to arrest the Equestrian Dragon.

“Why did you invite me here?” Shining Armor asked.

Spike downed half his Scotch before answering. “I like you, Captain, and I don’t want to see you get hurt, but the way you’re going--”

“You think I should keep my mouth shut?” Shining asked. “That I should accept bribes like my coworkers and look the other way? I believe in--”

“Sure. You believe that there is good and bad, right and wrong. You believe that if we all become good little socialists and work for the greater good, everything will be sunshine and rainbows. Well, I’d like to be living in a fantasy too, but this isn’t flying monkey land; it’s reality. Take a good, long look around here, Captain, because this is reality,”

Spike hoped, somehow, that Shining Armor could make a difference. But he had seen others like Armor before him—bright, idealistic, and full of fervor—try to reform the beast that they called New Canterlot City. Most of the time, the beast got the reformer, not the other way around. There were too many ins and outs, too many temptations... and now, too much damn politics. Spike’s own hands weren’t as clean as he wished they could be. But he was still there, a survivor, and with luck he could still do some good.

“See the big guy wrestling with the brunette?” Spike asked him.

“Oh, my God, that’s Walt Strider! The Mayor of New Canterlot City is here?!”

“Right; and the woman with him is not his wife. She’s Domino Song, arrested seven times for prostitution. To their left, Chief Detective Gray ‘Ratchet’ Graft from your Ad Vice Squad; the creep he’s schmoozing is Cain ‘Coke’ Lamount, he runs half the brothels this side of New Yoke. And then we have Szechuan Sauce, industrialist. Headmistress Amore organized demonstrations that closed down three of his sweatshops last year,”

As Shining Armor looked around the club, he also recognized two other members of the city council, a union official, at least one off-duty cop, and a lawyer.

“Lamount was the one who most likely did the deal, Szechuan would have put up the fee, Ratchet made sure the cops were looking the other way, and the mayor... he just sits back and takes a percentage,” Spike said. “The real war, Captain, is what you see right in front of you.”

“I get the message, Zenith,” Shining said. “You think we can’t beat them... that we can never win. Well, I am not going to turn a blind eye or run away from a fight.”

“Suit yourself,” Spike rumbled a deep growl, shook his head and finished his drink.

“Spike? Spike Zenith,” an attractive young woman in a blue dress and jeweled necklace called out as she approached them.

“Good evening, Headmistress Amore,” he greeted her.

“‘Headmistress Amore’?” she echoed. “How could you, Spike? We’re all friends here, practically family. Call me Cadence.”

“Of course, Cadence,”

.

As they talked, Spike remembered when he first met her, when she approached him outside Zenith Industries.

“Mr. Zenith? Mr. Zenith. Hi. I’m Cadence Amore. I’m the Dean at New Canterlot University,” she had introduced herself.

“Well, that can’t pay very much,” he’d dismissively replied.

“I’m not interested in money,”

Spike’s face darkened. “Wait a minute. You’re Cadence Amore? You’re the fanatic who lies in front of my wrecking balls. You attacked the Flimflam Brothers outside their offices--”

“It wasn’t my fault they walked under a waving protest sign,” she’d said.

“So you’re not here for a job?”

“No, I’m here representing the New Canterlot Community Center--”

“Look, I’m sorry, it was very nice to meet you, but Chancellor Neighsay has the inside track,” he said, trying to brush her off.

“No, no, Mr. Zenith, you don’t understand. I lived there as well as my parents and I know Flitter Flutter, who’s on the Committee Board, and if you can guarantee the preservation of this community center, I can guarantee you the build,”

“So, why me? Why Zenith?” he inquired.

“Because the Flimflam Brothers have a restraining order and you are the only person who can get in to see the Chancellor without an appointment,”

Suddenly, a man with a notebook ran over saying, “Mr. Zenith? Mr. Zenith. Mr. Zenith, do you have a moment?”

“I’m sorry. I’m very late,”

“You’re supposed to be taping with Regis Fillybin in half an hour, and Playgirl magazine needs a quote on the challenges of urban planning for the article on you,”

“Quote: ‘What I love about architecture is its ability to shape a community. It turns strangers into neighbors; and how the right design for a school building can be functional and beautiful so that children feel engaged instead of imprisoned.’ End quote,”

Spike’s chauffeur, a Kirin woman known simply as Park, held open the door of Spike’s limo as he got in the back seat.

He told Cadence, “Jump in,” and she climbed in beside him.

“So, do we have a deal?” Cadence asked.

“No,” Spike stated in reply. “I want something else from you.”

“Oh, no, I am fully aware of your reputation, and there is no way you’re getting that,”

“I’m not talking about sex. I need a new chief legal counsel,”

“Well, I-I think I’d prefer the sex. I mean... you couldn’t possibly want me. I’ve spent my entire life working against people like you,”

“Well, maybe if you work for me, you’ll win for once in your life,” he stated. “Fine, if you won’t take the job, at least find me someone who will and I promise to save your precious community center. On top of which, they can direct all of my pro bono efforts. That’s billions of dollars at their charitable disposal.” He handed her his embossed business card. “Here is my number at Pendragon Castle.”

“You live in a castle,”

“I own the Castle and I live in it. My life is very much like that board game... and I know you wouldn’t care, but I’ll start them at $250,000 a year,”

As Cadence left, Spike’s chauffeur rolled down her window and said, “There’s also a very nice Hearth’s Warming bonus.”

.

Cadence was a rare rose among the weeds. She understood the way the world worked... and the corruption that flowed through it. She was also one of the very few who seemed to understand the Equestrian Dragon’s goals and supported his efforts. She had lost her parents--both police officers--to New Canterlot City’s criminals, shot and killed in the line of duty. She grew up in a rough neighborhood, so she knew firsthand what criminal lifestyles did to good people. And while she had mixed emotions about Spike Zenith, she found herself working with him often and he became fond of her due to their similar pasts. The irony was that she originally hated Spike and all he stood for, thinking he was everything wrong with the wealthy and that he was deaf to the problems the poor faced.

As well as being the Headmistress at New Canterlot City University, she helped the city’s Coalition for the Homeless and Legal Defense Fund. She was also a volunteer at her church and had ambitions to have children of her own. However, the zealousness with which she tried to expose corruption could get her into trouble. So Spike watched her carefully for her own safety.

“Have you met our hostess?” he asked her. “This place is really something.”

“Cozy Glow?” she said. “Horrible little woman, nowhere near as wealthy as you, and so odd. I’ll fetch her for you. Oh, I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure,” she added, eyeing Shining.

“How rude of me,” Spike said. “Cadence Amore, this is Police Captain Shining Armor.”

Cadence smiled sweetly at him before looking down demurely and Shining Armor gave her a reassuring smile in return.

“I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure,” Shining Armor began.

“The pleasure is mine,” Cadence replied as she linked her arm in his.

“Ooh. Feel that muscle,” she thought.

She was enthralled.

It was then that Spike caught sight of a younger woman with pale, curly hair and decked out in frilly clothes walking toward them. The flush on her face was from either sexual activity or anger. It was hard to tell in the odd light and drowning scents; the washed-out blue light of the club had turned her face ghoulish.

“Spike Zenith, meet--” Cadence began.

“Cozy Glow,” the other woman replied. “The pleasure’s all yours, I’m sure. Can you appreciate my club, Mr. Zenith? It’s one of the city’s tallest buildings. Almost as tall as your nest, the Zenith Industries’ Twin Towers, unless I’m mistaken.”

“It certainly is impressive,” Spike admitted. “Did I hear that you’re planning to lease out everything below this club? It stands to reason, developments like this aren’t cheap.”

“Many thought it was impractical to open a nightclub so close to the suburbs, but it turned out fantastic!” Cozy Glow effused in a way that set Spike’s teeth on edge, but he just nodded in return. “I’d say my business is safe.”

She continued to speak—she was the kind of being who could make an Immortal wish for an early grave—but Spike ignored her, shifting his eyes and ears to scan the club again.

“Did you see her? She is so disgusting!”

“Building or no building, she’s not one of us,”

“That freak? Never,”

“And that hairstyle? Dreadful!”

Clearly, they thought little of Cozy Glow.

When Spike finally decided to start listening to her again, she had changed the subject to Spike’s charitable contributions.

“Now, I’m all in favor of charity, but your donations are costing your corporation over a trillion dollars a year. And one can’t help but wonder... What are you getting out of it?”

“What am I getting out of it?” Spike asked. “Zenith Aviation, Zenith Airlines, Zenith Automotive, Construction, Demolition, Electric, Energy, Foods, Oil, Pharmaceuticals, Shipping, Steel, Biotech, Weapons... not to mention clinics and shelters for the homeless.”

“Which is why your recent acquisition of Canter Zoom Studios makes no sense to me,” Cozy Glow said. “You should be getting rid of dead weight, not acquiring it.”

Spike wasn’t a dragon to waste anything, especially not treasure; and he appreciated a shiny investment as much as the next man, but he wouldn’t fund a new business regardless of its potential return. Besides, he was only there to make an appearance.

But the woman made a point. Despite critical acclaim, the now former actress Golden Harvest’s films Chairwoman of the Board (she’d been using her stage name “Carrot Top” at the time) and Quest for Canterlot had recovered less than a quarter of their inflated budgets in the few months since their release. Such high-profile failures, combined with increased attention from the IRS, meant that Canter Zoom Studios was no longer a viable business.

“I agree,” he replied. “That is why I am getting rid of Canter Zoom Studios.”

“Spike, all those people and their jobs!” Celestia exclaimed.

“Ah, Spike, that is brilliant!” Cozy Glow said. “You buy the studio in bankruptcy, level the sound stages, subdivide... Why didn’t I think of that?”

“No,” Spike answered. “I am keeping the film studio open like I said.”

“Well, of course. Then you go in, bust up the union, slash benefits, and then sell the company?” Cozy assumed.

“No,” Spike said. “I give it away.”

“You what?” she asked flatly.

“I modernize and retool it into Zenith Studios, Zenith Entertainment, Zenith Records, Zenith Television... and then I turn control of the studio over to the workers,” Spike concluded.

“Spike, that’s a wonderful plan!” Luna said.

Cozy Glow’s gaze wandered to Desert Sage, who was mingling with another of Spike’s old friends, a tall, impressive, powerfully-built male with dark hair. Right now, she was taking in the sight of his muscles, practically on display through his tight shirt.

“Oh, Scorpan, you really must let me throw you a party,” she was saying.

“Perhaps Scorpan has other plans,” Spike put in.

“On the contrary, sounds like fun,” the other man replied. “Will you include Mr. Zenith?”

“Oh, no,” Desert Sage sneered in reply. “Spike is having a fling in Tahayiti. He has his own parties.”

“Yes, I’ve read about some of his parties,” Scorpan answered.

“Oh, they’re wonderful,” said Fleur. “I have never known a man like him. He can keep a hundred women in the air at once and make each one happy.”

“Yes, amazing,” Desert Sage droned. “Sort of a contemporary Casanova...”

Spike visibly cringed at that; nobody had called him Casanova since 1343.

“No, there is a difference,” Celestia disagreed. “Spike’s predecessor was forced to climb balconies and fight duels, and, as I understand it, keep his women separate and apart. Now Spike, on the other hand, drives a motorcycle, enters with a key, and resorts to collective bargaining.”

“But they both have something in common,” Desert Sage said.

“And what is that, Miss Sage?” Luna asked.

“Maybe it’s best forgotten,”

“Spike doesn’t mind,” Fleur said. “Everyone takes a shot at him sooner or later.”

“Go ahead,” Spike dared her.

“Well, it seems to me, that any bachelor who has never desired the basic rewards of wife and family, who finds it necessary to occupy the major portion of his life making one conquest after another is trying to prove something that he can never possibly prove,” Desert Sage said.

“And what’s that?” Spike asked.

“That he’s a man,” she stated. “It’s somewhat complicated, but basically sound.”

“Not very original; that theory has become a tired cliché,” Fleur retorted.

“But true,” Desert Sage said about Spike.

“I wouldn’t know; I’ve never been on the couch,” he countered.

“That’s part of your problem,” she said saucily.

“Spike, are you going to take that?” Fleur asked.

“Yes, as a matter of fact. My wound is hurting rather badly. Now excuse me. I feel ill,” he said as he deliberately turned his back on the bitch in tight pants and strode off into the crowd.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Scorpan said.

Spike looked like he was genuinely upset.

“I can’t believe you!” Cadence said at Desert Sage.

“Well, that just goes to prove there’s a first time for everything,” she replied.

There was no need for Spike to stay—he had talked to the owner, paid his respects, and made his appearance. Nothing more was required of him, and the scents were starting to crawl under his skin. He’d had enough of the throbbing music, the pervasive pheromones, and the absolute knowledge that he would not be partaking of female flesh tonight—or any night—while scum like Desert Sage would find some pleasure here. If Spike stayed, he would only snuff the incipient peace he represented. And he could not allow his frustrations to needlessly stoke a war with his human antagonists, not now. Unfortunately, his path to the exit lay through the myriad of bodies clutching drink-filled glasses in sweaty hands.

Spike tried to leave, but Celestia caught up to him. “Why do you have to go?” she asked.

She was clearly wondering Spike’s intent as she gave him a concerned look, even more so since he’d forgotten his human manners.

“I have to go because life is unfair and I have responsibilities,” he stated in reply.

“Do you wish me to accompany you, my liege?” she added in a whisper.

“No. Tell Fleur and Fancy Pants to watch over the party. Alert Luna and Scorpan once they’re finished,” He scanned the room once again, but Cozy Glow was nowhere in sight. “I have a feeling our hostess showing her face here was a ruse; Tirek is still out there... he may be scouting his next target. And I am no one’s lord here, Tia. I am Spike Zenith, rich playboy.”

Celestia gave him a sharp nod then he turned his back on her and strode away, his father’s words rushed through his mind: “This is your burden and you must bear it alone. It is your destiny. I know you can rise to meet it.”

The trillionaire socialite’s tall figure melted into the crowd... and quickly through it.

Moon Dancer’s smile faded as she looked at Spike’s gift when he took off.

Within moments he was nowhere to be found.

.

Spike disappeared through a pair of service doors marked for employees only, ran down the deserted service corridor, then down the stairwell, quickening his pace with every step.

The sounds of the party drifted down from high above as the playboy exited Club Pegasus in silence... and became something else.

“I’m sorry to leave you, Moon Dancer,” he thought.

As soon as Spike was out the door and around the corner, his senses sharpened, as they always did for battle. It was an ancient reflex, but one that served him well, even now in the modern city of New Canterlot. He snuck into the doorway of the building next door as Lucky Clover and Wild Fire approached from the other end of the sidewalk, and he watched as a single unsavory figure stepped out from the shadows behind them. Then five more emerged from various hiding places and surrounded the young couple, blocking their path.

One of the thugs slugged Lucky Clover to the ground while the others grabbed his girlfriend, passing her between them, one to another, until they threw her against the rough brick wall of the alley. The other five thugs—let’s call them Jaded, Tracks, Shielding, Gruff and Fish—closed in on her while the sixth, E-Jump, was already going through Lucky Clover’s pockets to see what he could find.

“Hey, all right. Equestrian Express card,” he chuckled as he fingered the notes inside the wallet. “Don’t leave home without it.”

Shielding, one of the attackers as well as E-Jump’s butt buddy, couldn’t help looking around, even though there was nothing there but darkness.

“I’m getting out of here,” he said. “I feel like someone’s watching us.”

“You always feel like someone’s watching you,” E-Jump replied.

“It’s different this time,”

“I’ve heard that one before too,” Jaded commented.

“I’m serious. There’s something out there. Something bad,” Shielding went on. “They’re saying there’s this... this thing... walks the streets at night, taking people.”

“What do you mean ‘thing’?” Tracks asked.

“Some kind of creature,” Shielding said. “It’s got horns, flies... Some say it talks, and that it used to be a person.”

“What’s it want?” E-Jump asked.

“Nobody knows,” Shielding replied. “After what happened to Flare Spark--”

“Hey, look, man, Flare Spark was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. No big loss,”

“No, man. That ain’t what I heard at all... I heard that the Dragon got her,”

“The Dragon? Give me a break,”

“Five stories straight down. There wasn’t no blood in her body,”

“No, shit! It was all over the pavement!” E-Jump exclaimed. “It’s just a story!”

“Are you kiddin’?”

“Think about it. Everyone’s always saying something different. He’s ten feet tall, he’s got fangs, powerful coils like a snake, lightning-fast reflexes, stunning good looks, and he can fly... It’s just people making excuses for getting their asses handed to them!”

“Oh, he’s real. And he’s dangerous. And he’s not gonna stop till he’s taken all of us down. It’s only a matter of time before he comes for us, too,”

“Listen to me. That ain’t no such thing as an ‘Equestrian Dragon’!” E-Jump shouted. “Now, you want your cut of this or not?”

While they were arguing, Fish’s eyes flicked to Wild Fire’s breasts as tears streamed down her face and she screamed, not wanting to die.

“Shut up. Shut up!” Gruff yelled.

His rank breath hit her face as he unfolded a knife and pressed the blade to her throat as Tracks glanced toward the corner of the alley.

Something caught his eye.

Movement, at the corner of his field of vision.

Suddenly, a roar came from behind the warehouse window.

It was so loud it made their ears ring.

Then a claw half the size of the young woman’s body smashed through the window, carving through the glass as if it were paper. She ducked, flattening herself against the wall, just in time to see an immense dark shape charge out and into Gruff, the thug that had threatened her. It punched him in the head, knocking him out cold, and the other thugs turned to face whatever it was that had just crashed their mugging.

They whipped their heads around and their gaze focused on something that made the blood drain from their faces. Something darker than the night...

It was their attacker.

For a brief moment, nothing in the alley moved. E-Jump and his boys were awestruck. A man was stepping out of the shadows... no, not a man.

At first, it seemed nothing but shadow and silhouette, something that didn’t look human.

It stepped unerringly toward them, moving at a deliberate, slow pace that was more frightening than speed. It had no need to hurry.

A giant, winged creature, neither man nor beast, towered over them.

It had a scaled body as tall as the first story of the nearby buildings and almost as wide as the sidewalk itself. They saw the great leathery wings folded against the beast’s sides. They saw a long snaky neck that ended in a great wedge of a head, the same deep purple as the rest of the creature, and it had blazing emerald eyes and a mouth full of teeth like railroad spikes.

And their minds grasped the meaning of those attributes:

Dragon.

The mighty Equestrian Dragon stood unmoving, his wings billowing in the night breeze. Then the Dragon’s eyes narrowed, his mouth tightened, his claws on his front legs slowly balled into fists. In the silence of the night, those gestures spoke louder than any words ever could.

Wild Fire thought she should have kept screaming, maybe it would bring help, though she couldn’t image what sort of help would be effective against a dragon. But her throat was tight, numb.

This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening.

“You’re a dead man!” E-Jump shouted as he grabbed his fallen comrade’s knife. “Come on, let’s get him!”

Through the Equestrian Dragon’s eyes, Time seemed to slow and a series of flashes highlighted the various weapons that appeared in each of the bastards’ hands; a pipe wrench, a wooden baseball bat, the knife, a broken glass bottle, and a crowbar.

The guy with the crowbar, Shielding, was the first to try his luck. The Dragon easily took him down by slamming the cretin’s head into the tail light of a car parked at the curb nearby, smashing bits of it into the thug’s face, and he dropped to the pavement. The Dragon ducked under a swing from Fish, the one with the monkey wrench, who smashed in the car’s rear window. The Dragon punched Fish in the back of his head, took the wrench from him, and struck the bottle-wielding Jaded in the leg with it. Then the Dragon took the bat-wielding Tracks’ weapon from him, whacked Tracks in the knee, threw the wrench in the guy’s face, then followed up with a roundhouse kick, knocking the poor sucker over the car and into the street behind him. The Dragon then kicked the knife-holding E-Jump in the chest, bashed Jaded in the face with one of his claws, then turned and punched E-Jump in the teeth, sending blood flying from his mouth and through the air, as he landed roughly on the sidewalk at the end of the alley.

Then something came from inside E-Jump, a hopeless sound... the sound of somebody who was about to die... as he felt the Dragon’s claw crushing down onto his head, drawing two tiny streams of blood from the idiot’s nostrils.

“Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me, please!”

The Dragon growled. “You would think that!”

His voice sounded like he was biting into steel.

The punk managed to look up at the Dragon’s face. Where the monster’s eyes should have been were two mirrors, twin reflections of the thug’s fear. He cried at the sight of the Dragon’s teeth... then he slumped to the ground, out cold.

The Equestrian Dragon stood over the unconscious punks, head tilted down, eyes shut, breathing steadily. He turned to look straight at Wild Fire. She was a fighter—that much was clear—but she still gaped at him, watching with a horror that befit what had just happened before her eyes. She was a treasure—he could see that as plain as day in this dark alley—just as sure as he knew he couldn’t leave her there. He dashed to her boyfriend’s side and knelt.

The Dragon scooped Wild Fire and Lucky Clover’s inert body into his arms and lifted them from the ground. With a snap of his tail, a mobile phone in one of the thugs’ pockets was quickly freed. Still using his tail, the Dragon dialed 911 and tossed the device into the dirt. The police would track the signal and they would come for them, but he and the young couple could no longer be here.

The Dragon flapped his wings as he gripped the young woman and her boyfriend in his claws and lifted them into the air. He flew them to the nearest hospital, setting them down gently on the helicopter pad up on the roof, then his wings unfurled once again to grab the light breeze and loft himself up through the jungle of the buildings of downtown. The cool night air washed away the scent of the club, and the churning agitation inside him stepped down a notch. His claws tucked tight and his wings spread broad, he stretched his neck, easing the last of the tension, as he took off into the sky.

What he really needed was a good hard fly, over the distant mountains and the Celestial Sea back to the Highlands where he belonged.

But his duty was here. He existed for the sole purpose of keeping the mortal and immortal worlds apart, as they should be. For thousands of years, a treaty between magical creatures and dragon kind had protected the soft, delicate humans.

.

The Equestrian Dragon swooped over the highway and circled out over the countryside, leaving the city behind. He stretched his senses out to the forest and all the living species it held, searching for the demonic centaur.

Five minutes later, two and one quarter miles into Unicorn territory, the Dragon picked up Tirek’s scent, the stench of smoke and sulfur—the whiff of something magical.

He instinctively banked toward the scent, tracking it like the hunter he was. He dipped toward the trees of the forest, but his enhanced senses of smell and hearing found the source before his eyesight.

Tirek was literally beating the life out of his victim.

“I’m going to ask you one last time,” he said. “Where is the Equestrian Dragon?”

“Right behind you,” the Equestrian Dragon growled lowly.

The Equestrian Dragon had tucked his wings tight for maximum speed, landed, and unfurled his wings and stomped hard to get Tirek’s attention. His wings shot out to break his fall, then tucked hard and fast to furl against his body.

The demonic centaur turned away from the white unicorn and was about to engage the Equestrian Dragon when the pink Pegasus stepped between them.

“Allow me,” she told Tirek. “I have unfinished business with this one.”

The pink Pegasus flew at the Equestrian Dragon, who spat a fireball into his right claw and threw it at her like a baseball. She rolled to the side and the fiery fastball flew by her. Then she ran at him and he swept her legs out from under her with his tail. The pink Pegasus leapt at the Equestrian Dragon, who deftly blocked and dodged her attacks. She then ran along the spines across his back until his tail wrapped around her neck like a noose and he hurled her into a tree.

“Enough!” Tirek shouted. “Equestrian Dragon, prepare to become a pair of boots!”

The demonic centaur began to conjure an energy bolt when the Equestrian Dragon spat three fireballs in rapid succession at Tirek, and the demonic centaur quickly blocked them with his gauntlets. The first two bounced off his arms but the third knocked him back. Then the Equestrian Dragon breathed a jet of fire at Tirek, sending him to the forest floor. He repelled more of the Equestrian Dragon’s fire attacks as he got to his hooves, and fired more bolts of magical energy. The Dragon evaded them by flying between the trees and spat another fireball at Tirek, striking the demonic centaur’s shoulder. Tirek tumbled back and threw more orange energy bolts, two of which struck the Equestrian Dragon, knocking him down.

Tirek ducked and dodged more of the Equestrian Dragon’s fiery breaths. Then the demonic centaur lunged and tried to punch the Equestrian Dragon, but the Dragon flew out of the way. Tirek swung again, missed, and wound up punching the ground. Then the Equestrian Dragon struck Tirek across the face and spat three more fireballs, which Tirek deflected before conjuring up more orange orbs between his horns. The Equestrian Dragon flicked three of them away with his tail, caught the fourth and destroyed it with his fire breath.

“Is that all you’ve got?” he asked Tirek.

As Lord Tirek conjured more orange bolts, the Equestrian Dragon blocked them with a breath of emerald fire as the stream of flame and the zigzagging bolts met in the center of the clearing. Tirek’s face twisted in concentration and his bolts overcame the Equestrian Dragon, driving him to the ground yet again.

“No one defeats Lord Tirek, boy!” Tirek shouted as grabbed the Equestrian Dragon by his wings and repeatedly struck him across the face.

With an evil smirk, Tirek conjured an orange orb with both hands, which grew larger and larger as the Equestrian Dragon struggled to stand.

“At least you learned one lesson before your end,” Tirek said. “You’re not strong enough to beat me on your own!”

“You’re right,” the Dragon groaned. “I’m not... but they are.”

As he breathed fire at Tirek, the demonic centaur blocked it and was struck from behind by Celestia, Luna, and a handsome brown gargoyle wielding a magic Staff.

“Scorpan!” Tirek snarled.

“Hello, brother,” the gargoyle replied.

Tirek slapped Scorpan backhanded across the cheek as Scorpan landed a right hook to Tirek’s face, and Tirek reeled back when Celestia and Luna delivered a series of flying kicks and magic-infused punches to the demonic centaur and his Pegasus sidekick. Then, while Celestia and Luna fired a massive blast of their light and dark magic upon them, Scorpan took his medallion, held it out in front of him along with his Staff, and began to chant an incantation.

“Acum în lumea interlopă cu tine! Acum în lumea interlopă cu tine! Acum în lumea interlopă cu tine!” which roughly translated meant: “To the underworld with you!”

In other words, Scorpan was banishing his brother to Tartarus. And thus, Tirek and Cozy Glow were expelled in an explosion of fire and lightning.

When the flash of the combined banishment spell subsided and the smoke finally cleared, the Equestrian Dragon stumbled, fighting to stand.

“Spike, are you all right?” Celestia asked.

“No, I am in a staggering amount of pain,” he grunted as he tried to get to his feet.

He had beaten Lord Tirek but not without great cost.

His left shoulder throbbed with a fierce burning that caused him to fall against a nearby tree with a groan, and he ran his fingers over his wound.

“That banishment spell will not hold them forever,” Spike said. “They’ll be back.”

“And we will be ready for them,” Luna replied.

Spike reeled on her and Celestia, his mouth curled back in a snarl about to snap at them when he stopped short. But they stood their ground and stared right back at him as though he were not intimidating at all.

“Stop trying to help me,” he said.

“We will not,” Luna stated as she planted her hands on her hips and stuck out her chest.

Spike could see the well-defined curves of her breasts under her sweat dampened armor, her hard abs beneath flowing into well-rounded thighs. He clenched his jaw so tight it ached.

“Let’s get you back to the castle so we can patch you up,” Celestia said.

The Dragon growled as he squared his shoulders, determined to fly away again.

“Scorpan... thank you,” he said at last.

The gargoyle prince nodded as he tended to the injured unicorn and Spike knew that the two sisters were still standing behind him, watching him as he took to the sky.

And so we begin... a long, long, upward climb...

Author's Note

To the one that genuinely likes what they have read so far, there is plenty more to come: In the chapters ahead, as well as Lord Tirek, Spike the Equestrian Dragon will battle Discord, the Master of Chaos; Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings; Sombra, King of the Umbrum; and Grogar, the Father of Monsters... all of them and more.