Maximum Overlordby underrated DrakeChaptersCh. 4 Mission: Survival HorrorCh. 1 The failed childCh. 2 Diplomacy, the birth of a hero or a villianCh. 3 Academy lifeCh. 5 Operation "Trail of tears"Ch. 6 Operation "Trail of Tears" 2Ch. 4 Mission: Survival Horror“You’ve got to be kidding me… Tiffany Silverstein, Magic affinities: Light, Wind, Earth, Holy magic, age 15, magic points 10,940… relationship with caster… pristine... Well that’s not what I had in mind” thought Spike “ALL NEW STUDENTS PLEASE REPORT TO THE AMPHITHEATER, THE OPENING CEREMONY WILL BEGIN IN 15 MINUTES!” came Celestia’s voice, over the loudspeaker. “Oh, that’s us, come one!” Twilight said as she grabbed Spike’s hand and pulled him towards the amphitheater. SECOND LATER “Here we are!! Come on, these seats are free,” said Twilight as she once again pulled Spike with her all the way to the seats “Aren't you excited about entering the academy?” She said as they sat down. “So happy, I could scream,” said Spike with a fake smile “Was she always this obnoxious?... well, I did save her life… and she did act the same way back then,” he thought until... “Hey there Spike, good morning to you!” came a female voice he knew rather well “Rainbow, Good morning… time to use it again… Roxanne Daniels, magic affinities: wind, water, age 15, magic points 7,000… relationship with caster… very good ... ok, again, I don’t see much of an explanation… maybe if I give it some more power… BINGO! She is a wind magic prodigy, only known living being to have successfully created a Sonic Rainboom… loves playing the guitar, rock music, and sports… hates it when people call her weak, short, or confuse her for a member of the LGBTQ2 community despite being a heartfelt supporter of it… ok, that was enlightening,” thought Spike as she sat down to his right “Indeed it is… and who are you?” she asked as she noticed Twilight staring daggers at her. “My name is Tiffany Silverstein, and you are?” said Twilight with a minor hostility in her tone Spike turned to look at Twilight and his “Discerning eye” began to work again “... All round magic prodigy, called on by Princess Celestia to be one of the next rulers of Equestria, has a minor issue with OCD, which causes her to act in weird manners, loves reading, studying, and order, dislikes disorder, bullies, snakes, spiders, and bats… has to improve social skills, also, has demonstrated a strong attachment to Silvio Decker, almost on the level of obsession … ok, don’t know what to make of that,” thought Spike “Morning Rainbow Dash, oh, Hi Spike, morning to you too,” said a quiet voice Spike remembered from yesterday. “Morning Fluttershy, sleep well?” asked Rainbow Dash “Yup, like a baby,” said Fluttershy as she sat next to Rainbow Dash “Florence Scavo, magic affinities: wind, Holy magic, age: 15, magic points: 6,999, relationship with caster… good... She is an animal lover and her dream is to become a vet or medic… shy, easily frightened, and minor anger issues, but all around friendly… she loves animals, especially her pet bunny Angel, she also loves Garden Salads, and babies… she dislikes rude people, animal torture, being placed in socially awkward situations, and, just about anyone that makes a reference to her body in a perverted way… Oh!... I think I fucked it up with this one,” thought Spike “Oh, hello,” she said when she noticed Twilight “Hi, My name is Tiffany, nice to meet you Florence,” said Twilight “Call me Fluttershy… if you want,” she said “Ok, then, you can call me Twilight Sparkle, or Twilight,” she said “I assumed you were going to be here,” came another female voice Spike recognized “Sunset?!, I thought you turned the academy down?” said Twilight as she jumped up to hug her “I was about to, but then I thought about it and decided to accept the offer,” she said as she sat down “Well, these are my new friends, Roxanne Daniels, Florence Scava, and…” Twilight began “Oh! Spike, I didn’t see you there, how are you doing… and Rainbow Dash, I believe you still want that “revenge” from Saturday,” said Sunset as she noticed Spike and Rainbow Dash sitting nearby “You know each other?” asked Twilight, a hint of jealousy in her voice. By this point, Spike had already used “Discerning eye” on Sunset Shimmer “Sofia Sanchez, magic affinities Light, and Fire, age 15, magic points… 10,430, relationship with caster, very good... Sunset was once considered to be the number 1 prodigy before Tiffany Silverstein appeared in the picture… she had a troubled young life, growing up in a single parent house (Father never recognized her), causing her to be tomboyish and mean… grow out of that stage after befriending her once called “Mortal Rival'' Tiffany Silverstein… she loves playing guitar, horror movies, RomComs, and videogames, especially sports and warfare type video games… she disliked people who are mean to Tiffany or any of her friends, perverts, and feeling alone… she also has a minor dislike for pork… wow, just like with Rainbow Dash, we have a lot of things in common,” Thought Spike. “Yeah, I met them both playing soccer last Saturday… I heard about what happened on Thursday… thank God you’re ok, and that Spike was nearby to intervene,” said Sunset “Yup, he’s my hero,” she said as she pressed her body around his left shoulder, this made Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash tick and made Fluttershy feel a bit uncomfortable. “Mornin’ there Spike, Thanks again for helping us out the other day with the… truck… am I interruptin’ something?” said a female voice with a southern accent Spike knew too well, and at this point was making him sweat in fear “Oh! Hello, my name is Tiffany Silverstein, and I’m…” Twilight began “One of the members of the Crystal Empire royal family members that Spike saved a few days back, he told me all about it,” said Applejack “Oh, but where are my manners, my name is Audrey Smith, but please feel free to call me Applejack,” she said “Then please call me Twilight,” she said “Sofia Sanchez, call me Sunset Shimmer,” said Sunset “Florence Scaba, you can call me Fluttershy… if you want that is,” said Fluttershy a bit louder than a whisper “Nice to meet y’all… YOU!!!!” said Applejack as she made eye contact with Rainbow Dash “Ha, miss perfect-boots… nice to see you again,” said Rainbow Dash with a competitive “Likewise,” said Applejack with a competitive smile “Well… she is an amazon through and through… Audrey Smith, magic affinities, Earth, age 15, magic points 9,500, relationship with caster… very good ... Although only able to use one type of Magic, she can also hold her own in hand to hand combat and has a bunch of strength, many times combining both abilities during fighting… she loves the outdoors and working on her family’s farm… she hates dishonest people, pervs, and overly girly things… well, if I want to live longer I better not say any dumb shit near her,” thought Spike “So, you guys ready for the match up?” asked Applejack “Oh yeah! Just imagine, Me, Fluttershy and Spike on the same team, we’d be unstoppable,” said Rainbow Dash “A stronger team would include Me, Spike, and Sunset,” argued Twilight “Not to mention, if we joined up with Spike, we’d be even stronger,” said Applejack’ “What do you think Spike?” they all said as they turned to look at him “How did I get involved in all this,” thought Spike “Well…” he was about to say when they all heard a commotion behind them. “This is outrageous!!!” said another familiar voice They all turned to look at the owner of the voice as she walked over to them and sat down without even saying hello “Good morning Miss Rarity, is something wrong?” said Spike This caught her attention and noticed who it was “Oh, hello Ms. Decker… and company, I see a few familiar faces as well as new ones…” said Rarity “Hello, Rarity, it’s been a while,” said Rainbow Dash with a fake friendly tone “Nice to see you again,” said Applejack, in the same way as Rainbow Dash “Yes, indeed… well, for the new faces, my name my name is Ruby Crystal Blythe, but my friends call me Rarity, I’m the eldest daughter of Duke Harrison Blythe,” she said “Hi, Tiffany Silverstein, youngest daughter of Sir Nelson Silverstein, sister-in-law of Princess Cadance, but feel free to call me Twilight Sparkle,” said Twilight “Sofia Sanchez, call me Sunset Shimmer,” she said “Florence Scava, you can call me Fluttershy… if you’d like,” said Fluttershy “Charmed,” said Rarity with a fake smile “What seems to be the problem?” asked Spike while using “Discerning eye” “Ruby Blythe, magic abilities: Water, Earth, Wind, Holy magic, age 15, magic points, 10,300, relationship with caster… neutral… Growing up in a rich household, Ruby was usually given everything she wanted, even more so when she demonstrated having magical affinities and power, this caused her to grow up believing she is a very important person, almost a princess, therefore the reason for her mannerisms, unfortunately, this caused her to grow self-centered and become a narcissist who hates when people out best her… despite all this, she also has a generous soul and like helping others out… as long as they treat her with respect… She loves fashion with a passion, and her dream is to become a world-renowned designer… she opened her first boutique in Ponyville, but placed it on hold to attend the academy to increase her popularity and fame… she also loves cats, and diamonds, and is an extremely good actress… she hates being bested in fame and popularity, ugly clothes, and disrespectful people, especially those that are disrespectful towards her… she’s gonna be a handful… even more than Twilight… but somehow I feel bad for her,” thought Spike “I was on my way to sit with the “Posh” crowd when I was denied entry by one of them, saying that I wasn’t “Pretty” or “Popular” or “Rich” enough to join them,” said Rarity “Well, if it makes you feel any better, if you combine, my, Twilight’s and Applejack’s families, we have more money than all of them combined,” said Spike “Thank you for trying to cheer me up… Oh, well, I guess I just have to demonstrate to them how powerful I am, and after that, they are not going to have a choice but to accept me!” she said as she put on her AirPods and started to apply makeup. “Good for you,” said Spike with an awkward smile, before being grabbed by Applejack and Rainbow Dash and pulled away from the seats. “What?!” he asked “Spike, stay away from her, she’d be a very bad influence,” said Applejack “Yeah, she is obnoxious, rude, and extremely self-centered… I’ve never seen her care for anyone but her, and we went to school with her for 3 years,” said Rainbow Dash “Not to mention, she is a very interested girl… she was always trying to date, the extremely attractive douchebags, or the extremely popular bullies so that she could earn some popularity… she even fat-shamed another girl… What was her name?” said Applejack’ “Samantha Davies… I think that was her name,” said Rainbow Dash “Yeah, I believe you… but, there is something about her that makes me feel bad for her, like… if she doesn’t know any better,” said Spike “Dude, I can tell you have a “heart of gold” but… your sympathy is wasted on her, she’ll chew you up and spit you out at her own convenience, that’s why no one likes her,” said Rainbow Dash “I’ll take your word for it,” said Spike as they returned “Now that’s a smart move,” said Applejack “Well, they are all here… except that weird bouncy girl… wonder where she is?” thought Spike as they returned to their seats. “Thinking about me?” said the female voice Spike was trying to avoid. The sudden voice behind them caused Spike, Fluttershy, Twilight, Rarity, and Sunset Shimmer to jump out of their seats. “PINKIE PIE!!! What did we say about scaring people?” said Rainbow Dash “Tee hee! Sorry, it’s just so fun to do it,” said Pinkie Pie “Well, at least you didn’t kill anyone this time,” said Applejack This caused them all to look at her “It’s just an expression!” said Applejack “Actually no, you have to say it like this…” Twilight began “Hi, my name is Persia Diane Patterson, but you can call me Pinkie Pie,” she said once again, as she jumped up and down around them After a short introduction with the new faces, Spike decided to use his “Discerning eye” on her “Persia Patterson, magic affinities, Earth, Technomancy, and… DARK Magic!!!... that explains why she can use Discerning eye… Age 15, magic points: 7,000… relationship with caster… excellent… Grow up on a farm south of here, developed an early affinity to Black magic and Technomancy… despite her cheery personality, she has demonstrated symptoms of psychopathy, but they have more to do with the fact that her diet contains a high level of sugars, which causes her to act like that… she is a good baker and party planner… she has also been commended for her high level of stamina and speed, and her ability in stealth… she loves sweets, parties, and making people happy… she dislikes sadness, salary, and failing to make someone happy… huh, no wonder she gave me the creeps, better keep an eye on her,” thought Spike “Did you use “Discerning eye” on?” she whispered into his ear “How did you… oh right,” said Spike “HEY!!! Don’t you think you are getting too close?” said Twilight as she got in between them “Oh no, Princess, this is nothing… but if you want us to get closer…” said Pinkie as she sat on Spike’s lap “How ‘bout this?” she said Twilight’s head turned red with anger, as Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s too “I could also get even closer… get a room… spend the night making sweet music,” said Pinkie as she got even closer to Spike. Spike looked over to the girls and noticed they had murder in their eyes “Why me, of all people?” he said as Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack forcefully removed Pinkie off of Spike. At that same moment this happened, the speakers boomed signaling for attention. “Welcome, one and all, to the Canterlot Academy, I am one of your vice-principals, Devin Karius, and allow me to introduce the lovely ladies that complete our team… Princess Celine Solaris, and Princess Lara Solaris,” said Discord as the 2 princesses walked into the stage. “Yes, well, thanks for the introduction, now, I’d like to personally welcome all of our new students, be it scholarship students or others,” said Celestia “Alright, allow us to explain some things about this institution… first, despite us being an academic institution, we also are a special military institution, what does this mean, it means that we will be deploying all of you in different missions, that the regular army can’t take care of for various different circumstances,” said Luna “Correct, there are… in this academy: reserves, MP, infantry, task force, intelligence, and Special Ops… and we’ll be dividing you into those groups, this won’t affect your classes, since they are going to be the same for everyone,” said Celestia “Now, to give you a small idea of each, the reserves are, as the name suggests, students who didn’t qualify for a higher division, regardless of this, you are seen as the core of the institution since if, God forbid, something happened to a member of another squad or team, they can go to you to ask you to join them temporarily or permanently…” said Discord “The MP or military police, usually work close by with the city's police force, and on school grounds as a disciplinary committee…” said Luna “Infantry is the division were you become somewhat of a “jack of all trades”, sometimes working with PD or going out with task forces or intelligence, but, we can guarantee that there is never a dull moment in that division...” said Celestia “The Task force is, for lack of a better word, the same as the infantry, except that members of the task force usually head out to aid the special ops only, mission and training in this division are way tougher than than infantry and intelligence,” said Discord “Intelligence, as the word say, work in coordinating and assisting missions for every other division; Many members of intelligence division also work as spies, so, acting and drama classes are a must,” said Luna “And finally, you have Special ops; the special ops division is actually the smallest of all, conformed of just 25, 4 person, teams; missions at this level are considered suicidal, and you will be deployed on various mission behind enemy lines, and even have tasks of ending wars from the shadows… members of this division that can’t keep up with the requirements are also free to demote themselves to intelligence and task force,” said Celestia “By this point, I’m pretty sure you’re all wondering “How are we going to know which category we belong to?” well, the answer is simple, we will be putting you in teams of three or 4 and opening various portals to fake dimensions, which will work as your entrance exams...” said Discord, and immediately people started to murmur and form groups. “... hold your horses everyone, we said “WE” will be putting you into teams and sending you to the entrance exam…” said Discord “The point is, you have to be willing to be working with complete strangers, maybe you get lucky and land in a team with your old friends, or create even more friends, or you might land in a team with people you hate, but all this is part of being in the academy… so, without further ado, Samantha Davis, Laura Heartstring, and Silvio Decker, please make your way to the stage and prepare to enter the portal… oh, and don’t worry about failing the mission, you can always take a redo or join the reserves,” said Celestia as the 3 named students made it to the stage. “Now before you go in, we must tell you that, we won’t be able to see you in there, the spell will eject you as soon as it feels your lives are actually in danger or there is no way for you to complete the mission, then it will grade you and… you can put the rest together, now you have 5 minutes to get to know each other while the system loads,” said Luna Spike walked over to the 2 girls and said “Hi, feel free to call me Spike,” One of the girls with cobalt blue and fuchsia mixed hair looked at Spike and turned her face away from him like if he was some sort of trash; Spike notices that she wasn’t particularly tall, anywhere between 5’2” and 5’4”, she was slim but still had enough fat on the areas that needed it. “Hi, Spike, my name is Laura, but you can call me Lyra, since I like singing; just ignore Bon Bon, she tends to act this way sometimes,” said Lyra Spike looked at her and immediately realized 2 things “Wow, she’s pretty...like… supermodel pretty… and she’s really friendly,” Lyra had pale, light grayish cyan long hair with white highlights and she was about 4’11” tall. “Nice to meet you,” said Spike He was about to use “Discerning eye” on them, when “Alright, please stand in this 3 circles and get ready to begin,” said Celestia They did as they were told and the portal suddenly scanned them “Team leader… Silvio Decker...3...2...1…” said a female robotic voice as the 3 of them were engulfed by a bright light and sucked into the portal. “Ok, next…” said Discord A FEW SECONDS LATER “Where… where are we?” said Bon Bon “No idea” said Lyra “Mission update… survive till further update… BEGIN!” said the robotic female voice “So, it’s a simulation,” said Bon Bon “Looks like it,” said Spike “What should we do first?” asked Lyra “Risk assessment,” both Spike and Bon Bin said at the same time “Right, follow me,” said Bon Bon as she walked on with Spike and Lyra nearby. 1 HOUR LATER The trio investigated everything and everywhere they could but couldn’t find anything; now, in many occasions that’s a good sign, but in this case, it was unnerving. “Did you find something?” asked Spike as he walked up to Lyra “No… did you?” she asked Bon Bon “Nothing… What is going on here?” Bon Bon said “Shhhhht!” said Spike “What?” asked Bon Bon in an annoyed tone “Quiet! Listen” said Spike as they all went silent “I hear nothing,” said Lyra “Yeah, maybe your neurons are all fried,” said Bon Bon Spike gave Bon Bon sucha look “Are you going to take this seriously or not?” he asked her She just looked away “What I meant is that… it’s too quiet… way TOO quiet,” said Spike “You’re… you’re right… no birds are singing,” said Lyra At that second, Bon Bon began to walk towards a hill “Bon Bon, where are you going?” asked Spike “Shut up!” she said as she continued to walk up the hill followed by Spike and Lyra. When they reached the top, they found a residential neighborhood not too far away. “Aha! We can find help there!” said Bon Bon as she began to walk towards the neighborhood “Bon Bon, that doesn’t look like a good idea,” said Spike This caused her to stop in her tracks and turn around, her eyes red with rage as she stumped all the way up the hill until she was in front of Spike. “Ok, listen “man”, don’t call me Bon Bon, second, you aren’t the boss of me, now, you want to run along thinking that you are the team captain, fine, but don’t even think about ordering me to do anything, or you will regret it… am I clear!!” she said “Crystal” said Spike as she stumped away towards the neighborhood “I’m sorry about that Spike, she’s cool and all, but, she distrust people who claim to be on top of her,” said Lyra “You seem to know a lot about her,” said Spike “Well, I’ve known her since we were 5,” said Lyra as she walked away following Bon Bon “Should I use Discerning eye on them?... no, I don’t think it’s right,” he thought as he walked away behind them. A few moments later, they arrived at the neighborhood “15 houses… doble floored… high-middle class neighborhood,” said Spike “How do you know?” asked Lyra “My mom is an architect and real estate agent, who tend to mumble this things without realizing it,” said Spike While he was saying that, Bon Bon walked over to one of the houses and knocked on the door. “Hello! Is anyone home?!” she said “Samantha, you’re wasting your time, there is no one here,” said Spike “What makes you say that?” she asked “No cars, grass growing out of the asphalt, houses with many broken windows, unattended, and various broken windows,” said Spike “You’re right, plus, they all have furniture inside,” said Lyra “Which means… people move out of this place… they left in a hurry,” said Spike as he opened another house. “So, what now?” asked Lyra Spike looked at Bon Bon for a few seconds, and she looked back at him “Search the homes, every single one of them, taking anything useful, first aid kits, water, canned foods… weapons, you never know, let us meet here in 1 hour,” said Spike as he entered the house. 1 HOUR LATER “Did you find something?” asked Bon Bon “Yeah, one of the houses I entered had a small garden far full of vegetables and fruits. I placed the ones that were edible in this backpack, you?” said Lyra “A few first aid kits, most of them full and unused… maybe Spike was right, people did leave in a hurry,” said Bon Bon “Look, there he comes,” said Lyra “So, did you find anything?” asked Bon Bon “Yup, some canned foods, first aid kits, and these…” said Spike as he tossed 2 baseball bats at the girls “... At least we have something to defend ourselves with… but we need to find water, clean water, and by the looks of it, it’s not going to rain anytime soon,” said Spike as he placed the backpack full of things in his back. “Now, what?” asked Lyra “Well, maybe we can stay in one of these houses and wait for further instruction,” said Bon Bon “That’s actually a very good idea...” said Spike This caused Bon Bon to go mute for a second and feel her chest tighten “...in the meantime, we can find out what is going on around here…” said Spike looking around, and doing a quick double take. “Something wrong?” asked Lyra “There’s… there’s a car down the street, over there,” he said pointing “Maybe there is someone inside… let’s go check,” said Bon Bon as she began to walk towards it with Spike and Lyra close behind. “Hello?!” she said as she knocked on the window “Empty,” said Lyra “And by the looks of it, it’s been here for a year… maybe 2,” said Spike “You’re right… what do you think happened to the owner?” asked Bon Bon “Maybe they came back here looking for something… but where?” said Spike Bon Bon opened the hood of the car “Battery’s missing,” she said “Been missing for sometime,” said Spike “Agreed, there are signs of forced removal… maybe 1 year… maybe more,” said Bon Bon “Uhm… guys!!!” said Lyra “Yeah!” they said as they headed over to her “I found… something,” said Lyra Spike and Bon Bon walked up next to her and noticed the 2 corpses lying in the grass “I think I’m going to be sick,” said Bon Bon “Male… late 30’s… female… mid 30’s… cause of death… blunt force trauma to the head… they were murdered,” said Spike “How do you know?” asked Bon Bon “Discerning eye… it comes in helpful with these situations,” said Spike as he looked at them without turning the ability off. “Laura Heartstring, magic affinities: wind, earth magic, age 15, magic points: 8,000… relationship with caster… good… Lyra was born to a family of musicians and from an early age developed a very deep love for music, aided by her wind magic, she can play any instrument in the world and make it sound Heavenly-like; Despite this and her early rise to fame by her music, Lyra is a very friendly person and loves to befriend new and interesting people… unfortunately, she can be a tad resentful of people, especially if her trust is broken… Samantha Davies, magic affinities: wind, technomany, age 15, magic points: 9,846… relationship with caster… bad… Samantha had a rough upbringing, from an early age, her magical prowess was exploited by her father to increase their families net worth, something that she hated, especially when she discovered that her father and relatives had saved that money to create an empire, right after that, her father divorced her mother… that’s just wrong, way wrong,” thought Spike “So, this ability of yours let’s you see, what… stats? Hidden locations and artifacts?” said Lyra “Yup… but that’s not important right now,” said Spike “Then what is?” said Bon Bon “Finding a safe place to spend the night,” said Spike “What?!!!” they both said “Well, after seeing this… I don’t know if this area is safe for us to spend the night,” said Spike “Oh, you just love making things complicated don’t you,” said Bon Bon “I’m not trying to…” said Spike “Guys, stop arguing, Spike is right, I don’t feel safe here… and the sun is going down, we need to find a safer place,” said Lyra “Alright, if you say so,” said Bon Bon “So, captain, where to?” asked Lyra Spike looked around for a few seconds before noticing something “Say… when you look at those mountains, what does it make you feel like?” he said Lyra and Bon Bon looked at the mountains he was talking about and said “Camping and hiking,” “Exactly! Now, it just so happens that, when I was in one of the houses, #1347 to be exact, I found old camping gear and a pamphlet with this information on it,” said Spike as he showed them the pamphlet. “Paradise Mountains, best place to camp in town, come here and camp or rent on of our finest lodges for a family friendly fee,” they read “Well, if that is advertisement, they did a terrible job,” said Bon Bon “Yeah… but, at the back, there is a map of the place and… a picture of the mountains from afar, which just so happens to resemble…” said Spike as he aligned the pamphlet image to the mountain in the horizon “... that mountain right there,” he finished “It’s a walk away, maybe 10 km, but it’s better than being in the open, plus, we can set up traps to alert us about enemies and still have the higher ground,” said Lyra “Well, what d’ya know, you aren’t that use less after all… maybe we can even find a natural spring up there,” said Bon Bon as they both began walking away “Thanks… At least we are working as a team, despite the fact that Bon Bon keeps confronting me, but still… I think my on;y major concern with them is that… THEY HAVE ALMOST ZERO SURVIVIAL SKILLS!” thought Spike as he followed them. ALMOST 1 AND A HALF HOUR LATER Lyra, Bon Bon, and Spike had been walking towards the mountain at a good pace, even to their surprise, they thought it was going to take far longer. “Wow, this was closer than we thought,” said Lyra “Yeah, it must have been around 9 or 8 KM,” said Bon Bon Spike however remain silent, there was something biting at him, something was awfully wrong… it was too peaceful and quiet “Something on your mind Spike?” asked Lyra “Just thinking,” said Spike “Well, don’t overfry the last neurons you have left, cause I won’t carry a brain dead person,” said Bon Bon in an annoyed tone “It’s not that… Don’t you girls think, it’s a bit too quiet and peaceful?” said Spike “Well, it is called Paradise Mountain, maybe it’s an analogy to the serenity,” said Lyra “Well, if that’s the case, that’s a great analogy…” said Spike “There is more to it, right?” said Bon Bon “Well… if you look to the left… at the distance, you can see the metropolitan area… small as it may be, I hear no traffic… no birds singing… no… city or mountain critters running around… it’s too quiet,” said Spike as they reached the beginning of the trail leading to the lodges. “You’re just being paranoid about it,” said Bon Bon “Really… then why haven’t we seen anybody else?... Why is there no electrical power?... What about the corpses?...” said Spike before being interrupted by Bon Bon “Maybe, since it is an abandoned area, no one has gone there looking for them,” she said “Then… what about the bite marks?” said Spike “Bite marks?” said Both Lyra and Bon Bon “Something had been eating away at does 2 corpses, and the bite marks don’t look animal-like… they resemble a human jaw,” said Spike “Oh, that is ridiculous, you really fried your brain after all, well, I’m heading up hill, make sure not to get lost, cause I am not coming back to look for you,” said Bon Bon “But… you’re a terrible hiker,” said Spike “THAT IS NOT FOR YOU TO SAY!!!!” she said as she began walking “Don’t worry Spike, I believe you,” said Lyra as they followed her up the trail A FEW MINUTES LATER “...Don’t tell me you’re taking his side!” whispered Bon Bon “Bon Bon, even if you hate to admit it, Spike is making a very good point, it’s too quiet,” whispered Lyra “Oh, great… you like him, don’t you?” said Bon Bon “WHA-WHA-WHAT?!!!” whispered Lyra “Well, there is no other reason why you would back up someone like him,” whispered Bon Bon with an angry tone “Someone like him? What is that supposed to mean?” asked Lyra “Look at him, he is cynical, self-centered, and sees us as a nuisance,” Bon Bon answered “Really?... cause for the last couple of ours you’ve been so nice to him, haven’t you,” said Lyra “I don’t trust his type,” said Bon Bon “And yet, he has been 5 time more respectful towards you than you have been to yourself all your life,” said Lyra “More respectful? More respectful?! He hasn’t even said anything constructive to us all this time!” Bon Bon said “You told him not to talk to you… he is respecting your wishes!” said Lyra “You know, if you like him that much, why don’t you jump him then!” Bon Bon whispered “This has nothing to do with that!!! All I am saying is, we need to be more weary of our surroundings, that’s all,” said Lyra “And all this because we haven’t crossed paths with another person… gosh, this is just… hey, there is someone over there!” Bon Bon said, the last part loud enough for Spike to hear. Spike turned around and looked in the direction Bon Bon was pointing. “There definitely is,” said Lyra “Yeah… hang on a second… We should keep going,” said Spike “Oh, come on, you wanted to see another living being, now, we run into one, and you want to avoid her? Men, you’re all so stupid… look I’ll go talk to her,” said Bon Bon as she walked towards the young woman sitting with her back to them. “Samantha, no, come back!!!” whispered Spike loud enough for her to hear “Listen, Spike, shut up, for the love of God, you’re really annoying!” she said as she continued to walk towards. When she was about 10 ft. from the lady, Bon Bon said “Excuse me!! Are you ok?!!” At that second, the woman turned around, at that moment, they all noticed the woman’s incredibly pale and rotten skin, her long and unkept black hair, and most unnerving of all, her lifeless, white eyes. That same second, the woman let out a blood curling, high pitch, long scream; it was so loud that Bon Bon, Lyra and Spike had to cover their ears. Seconds later, the 3 of them began to hear grunts and various footsteps coming towards the scream. Spike looked to the left and noticed a massive move of people coming towards them, but, scariest of all, these people weren’t alive. “Run...run!... RUN!!!! GO GO!!!” he screamed as he rushed frozen-in-fear Bon Bon, yanking her away from there. The three of them continued running up hill as fast as they could, with the mob of undead people getting closer and bigger. “THIS WAY!!!” said Spike as he motioned Lyra and Bon Bon to turn left “LIKE HELL I WOULD!!” said Bon Bon as she disobeyed Spike’s orders and continued straight “SAMANTHA!!! NO!!!!!” both Spike and Lyra screamed as they continued running in the opposite direction “WE HAVE TO GO GET HER!!!” said Spike “SHE’S ASKING FOR EVERYTHING SHE’S DOING!!!” answered Lyra “SHE DESERVES IT!!” “I THOUGHT YOU GIRLS WERE FRIENDS!!!” said Spike “IT COMES A POINT WHERE YOU GET FED UP OF HER SHIT, AND REACHED THAT POINT!!!” Lyra answered “REGARDLESS, I’M GOING AFTER HER!!!” said Spike he changed direction and ran after Bon Bon “God, why do I like selfless, suicidal, down to earth guys?!!!” Lyra thought as she ran in the same direction Spike did. A FEW METERS AWAY Bon Bon was running at full speed, not paying attention to where she was running, the only thing on her mind was outrunning the zombies, outrunning Spike, and proving to Lyra that she was better than him. She bent a corner, heard a loud CLICK, then a SNAP, and when she finally realized what had happened, she noticed that she had stepped on a hunting trap, and it had broken her leg; there was blood everywhere and she could see the bone poking out of her skin. The pain was increasing with every second, and so was the sound of the mob of zombies, getting closer to her. She began to jank at the hunting trap, but it wouldn’t budge. “Bon Bon!” she heard as she had exhausted her adrenaline, looking over and seeing Lyra and Spike running towards her “Holy shit, we have to get you free,” said Lyra “Move!” said Spike as he got near her “Don’t touch me!” Bon Bon screamed “Argh! I don’t have time for your shit right now!” exclaimed Spike as he grabbed the hunting trap and broke it in 2 freeing Bon Bon’s leg “We have to keep moving!” Lyra said “With this injury, you’re as good as dead, unless...” said Spike as he got near the injury only for Bon Bon to scoot away “I said don’t touch me!” Bon Bon repeated “It’s not the time for this Bon Bon,” said Lyra That same second, they noticed a bright white light emanating from Spike’s hands as his eyes also turned white. Moments later, Bon Bon’s leg stopped bleeding “You healed her!” said Lyra “No, I stopped the bleeding, it’ll take to long to cure a broken bone, so, we’re going to have to carry her,” said Spike “I’ll do it,” said Lyra as she lifted Bon Bon for her to use her as a human cane. “OUCH!! AHHHHHHH!” said Bon Bon when she saw the big mob nearing them Spike quickly manifested his water magic on his left hand and his fire magic on his right, and quickly shot it towards the zombies, boiling many of the leading ones to death, while creating a massive cloud of smoke allowing them to run to safety to one of the cabins nearby. After a few minutes, the 3 of them watched the mob of remaining zombies, running past the cabin and heading up the mountain path. “We’ll be safe here, for now at least… ok, let me heal your leg,” said Spike “Do I have to repeat myself again?!” said Bon Bon in a threatening fashion “And do you have to be a liability every 5 minutes? Trust me, I hate doing this as much as you hate it,” said Spike as he began to cast his holy magic on the injury, healing it completely a few moments later. “Thanks,” said Lyra “Don’t mention it,” said Spike as he got up and started to unpack his backpack “So, I take it we’ll spend the night here,” said Lyra “Yup… or at least a few hours to recharge our energy,” said Spike Lyra then turned to her backpack and did the same. Bon Bon however remained silent, her eyes glued to the window. A FEW HOURS LATER It was around 2 AM, both Spike and Lyra had gone to sleep, after hearing that Bon Bon had volunteered to take first watch. What they didn’t know, however, was that she wasn’t planning on staying with them. “Quietly…” she thought as she crept through the rotten wood floor. After a few seconds, she made it to the front door and walked out, jogging away from the cabin. After a few more seconds, she made it to the crossroad they had gone through earlier “If I turn right and follow the path I’m pretty sure I can make it higher up the mountain and have a vantage point on the 2 of them and the zombies… I’ll show them, I’ll show him I am better at this by myself,” thought Bon Bon as she got ready to continue the path. “Where are you going?” came a female voice from behind her, causing her to jump in fear “Lyra! What are you doing here?!” said Bon Bon “I saw you creep out of the cabin by yourself, so, I decided to follow you… to discover that you were planning to abandon us like animals,” said Lyra as she got closer to Bon Bon “No, you don’t understand, I just…” Bon Bon said “Don’t understand, don’t understand! Then help me understand!!! What were you planning to do?” Lyra said “I… I don’t know…” said Bon Bon “Really? After everything that Spike has done for us?... he saved your ass from your own mistake, he healed your wounds… he kept you in the game to enter the academy… And that’s how you pay him?!” Lyra said “Spike… Spike… Spike! That’s all you can think about!!!! Spike this! Spike that! What is wrong with you?!!!” said Bon Bon “Excuse me?!!” said Lyra “Ever since this started, you’ve taken his side no matter what,” said Bon Bon “Well, unlike you, I’m not an immature, self-centered, egotistical bitch, that doesn't trust someone who has saved my life from my own mistakes only because of an infantile trauma!!!!” screamed Lyra “YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY THAT!!!” Bon Bon screamed back at Lyra “REALLY, THEN PROVE ME WRONG!!!” said Lyra Just as Bon Bon was about to answer, they heard a branch break nearby “Spike? Is that you?” asked Lyra as they both looked around in the pitch black darkness Seconds later another branch broke, and then another, and another “Spike, this isn’t funny!!” exclaimed Lyra As soon as she finished saying that, Bon Bon turned on the flashlight she had made. “You had that all this time?!!!” whispered Lyra “Yeah,” said Bon Bon as she used the new light to look around and find the culprit of the noise. And surely enough, they found it, but they surely wished they hadn’t. It was the same woman from earlier, who once again let out the same scream, as the floor began to shake around them, Lyra and Bon Bon decided to do the only thing the thought of “RUN!!!!!” screamed Lyra, as the mob of undead people began to appear behind the woman. Lyra and Bon Bon ran as fast as they could through the forest, but due to the darkness they couldn’t see very well where they were going. “This way!!” said Lyra as she and Bon Bon turned left at a path and darted down the small incline, unknowingly heading towards a cliff. “Come one, faster!!!” screamed Bon Bon as they both picked up the pace, not realizing where they were until it was too late “AHHHHHHH!” screamed Lyra as she fell over the edge of the cliff only to fall into a hanging root. “LYRA!!! Are you ok?!!!” screamed Bon Bon as she go to the edge “GET ME UP!!!!” screamed Lyra “RIGHT, GIVE ME YOUR HAND!!!” screamed Bon Bon as she bent over trying to reach, her friend. Unknown to the 2 of them, the earth underneath Bon Bon was corroded and weak, and was about to become loose, all it needed apart from Bon Bon and Lyra’s combined weights, was a little amount of vibrations, vibrations being caused by the undead stamped. “Almost got you, just a bit more,” said Bon Bon as she was able to get a hold of Lyra’s arm At that same moment, the land beneath her loosed up enough, and both of them began to plummet to the darkness below. Their screams,muted by the cheer realization of what was about to happen to them. Just as the girls were preparing to accept their situation, they felt a sudden yank and halt from the free fall, accompanied by a male voice, screaming in agony. Both girls looked up to see that Spike had grabbed onto a branch near the edge of the cliff and catched Bon Bon’s leg before they were too far gone to be saved. With one massive yank, Spike was able to throw the girls over the edge of the cliff to safety before he used his other arm to climb over the edge. Lyra and Bon Bon just sat there in shock, as Spike finished climbing over the edge, gave one final scream of pain and began to pace around back and forth while a blinding white light surrounded his shoulders. “Spike… are you ok?” asked Lyra “BOTH MY SHOULDERS HAVE BEEN DISLOCATED, WHAT DO YOU THINK!!!” said Spike as he continued to pace around. A few seconds later, they all heard 2 loud SNAPS coming from Spike’s shoulders, as they were popped back into place by his holy magic. Spike breathed out a sigh of relief before turning to the duo sitting on the floor, still in shock. “Anyone planning on explaining what happened?!” he said Bon Bon was about to open her mouth to answer but was interrupted by Spike “It was a rhetorical question, Bon Bon, I know what happened, the only thing I don’t know is… WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!!!!” he said “I… I wasn’t,” said Bon Bon “YEAH! WE CAN TELL!” said Spike Bon Bon looked down at the floor in shame “Listen, I don’t know what is wrong with you… ever since we began this simulation, you have acted like if I was the world's most wanted criminal… you disregarded orders, threatened me, caused all of the E’s in the area to come after us… TWICE… AND NOW, YOU ALMOST GOT YOURSELF AND LYRA KILLED!!!! Why?!” asked Spike “I just… don’t like being ordered around by a… by a…” Bon Bon stutterd “BY A?” Spike said “By a man,” said Bon Bon “That’s it?... THAT’S WHY YOU WERE A PAIN IN THE ASS THIS WHOLE TIME?!!!” said Spike Bon Bon didn’t reply “Samantha, I assume you came to this academy on your own ideals and knowledge, and I can assume, that you know damn well that you are to become some sort of soldier, which means that sooner or later, you’re going to be ordered around by a male superior… let’s assume you were the leader of a squad, and you were given orders by a male superior, but because you don’t like him for being a man, you’re going to disregard those orders and possibly get yourself and your team killed or worst captured… and don’t tell me no, cause right now, until this point, you haven’t proven otherwise,” said Spike Bon Bon tried to answer back but the words wouldn’t come out “Samantha… what do you think is my main responsibility as squad leader?” asked Spike Bon Bon was about to say “to order us around like slaves” but instead said “I… I don’t know,” “My main responsibility, is to make sure that the 2 of you, my team, get back home safely… to stand in for you when you make a mistake, every mistake done by one of you, I must take it as my own and take the punishment… the position might sound cool, but it’s a damn stressful job, which is made worse when I have to be babysitting people like you, people who judge a path by it’s soil, that judge a flower by it’s color… who judge a book by it’s cover, and are unable to see the bigger picture,” Spike finished “Spike, I think she understood,” said Lyra stepping in “I surely hope so, cause like I said, I am not her personal babysitter, she has to do her part… or she’ll fail the entrance exam… let’s go back to the cabin,” said Spike as he began walking away. “Wait! What about the zombies that were chasing us?” asked Lyra “What do you think happened to them?” said Spike as he threw a small magic flare up into the sky to illuminate the surrounding area. What the girls saw with the added light, made shivers run through their bodies. It was a massacre, a carnage, not one, not even the “Howler” survived Spike’s rescue Bon Bon looked at it and back at Spike “Wow, he is… he is really powerful, he wouldn’t have any trouble offing me, and yet…” she thought as she began to walk towards the cabin. 1 HOUR LATER Spike and the girls had safely made it back to the cabin Lyra, still tired, decided to go to sleep again Spike stated that he would take the next watch, and told Bon Bon to catch some Z’s… but she couldn’t, she just laid there in place looking at Spike. Until her head had enough and she got up “Spike?” she said “Go to sleep Samantha, you’ll need your energy,” said Spike “I… I need to talk to you,” she said “About?” asked Spike “About what happened,” said Bon Bon “Listen… what happened, happened, let it go,” said Spike “It’s just that… ever since I was a kid, I was ordered around by everyone, and I was forced to do things I didn’t like,” said Bon Bon as she sat down next to him “Does this have something to do with your father?” asked Spike “Who did you?” asked Bon Bon “I accidentally used Discerning eye on the both of you, so, I kind of know a few things about you,” said Spike “How much do you know?” asked Bon Bon “Your father and relatives used your technomancer abilities to create an empire and then casted you and your mom aside like trash,” said Spike “Well, that’s half of the reason… the rest of it happened while I was in school, since my wind magic was fairly weak, I excelled with my technomancy, but, due to the stigma attached to this type of magic, I was constantly bullied by other students, mostly my male classmates who used to trip me, throw stuff at me, and call me names, on time, the threw me into a puddle of mudd, and tossed my backpack into the river saying “Use your water magic to get it back, OH WAIT! You don’t have it,” and they would just walk away laughing… Lyra was the only person that was always there for me, and that’s how are friendship began,” said Bon Bon “So… you’re an idiot,” said Spike “Excuse me?!” said Bon Bon At that moment Spike began to tell her about his childhood, not ignoring not even the smallest detail. His story made Bon Bon cry a little. “... and you can actually use anytype of magic?” said Bon Bon “Yup… but, it’s not that great as it sounds, if I don’t train all of my affinities at the same time, it may cause an imbalance in my body and that might probably lead to my death,” said Spike “Wow… I’m sorry I doubted you, you’re actually a very nice person,” said Bon Bon “There is good and bad in everyone Samantha, just like there is good and bad people, you should never generalize that everyone in one particular side is evil,” said Spike “Bon Bon,” she said “What?” said Spike “Call me Bon Bon,” she said “Are you sure?” said Spike “Positive, I mean… if it’s ok with you… I’d like to be friends,” said Bon Bon “Sure… now go to sleep, you’ll need your energy for tomorrow,” said Spike “Right… goodnight Spike,” said Bon Bon “Goodnight… Bon Bon,” said Spike This caused her heart to skip a beat again as she went to bed. A FEW HOURS LATER “Girls… Girls wake up,” said Spike “What is it?” asked Lyra “Look,” whispered Spike as he pointed to the window Both Lyra and Bon Bon looked out and saw a massive boar-like creature heading to the area of the massacre. “What is a Grizzly boar doing here?” asked Lyra “Well, they are carnivores and they eat humans, no matter if they are alive or dead,” said Bon Bon “Exactly, but what worries me is the fact that this guys never hunt alone, they are always in a pack of 10 to 15 members,” said Spike “Which means, if there is one here…” said Lyra “There are 9 to 14 in the vicinity” said Bon Bon “Update: escape without being detected,” said the female robotic voice “What do we do Spike?” asked Bon Bon Spike looked around and saw a big patch of high grass behind the cabin, which had some Grizzly boars nearby. “The high grass, if we move quietly and quickly, we will be undetected,” said Spike as he grabbed the backpack containing the first aid kits and remaining food and led the way. Spike and the girls moved swiftly through the high grass, to avoid detection by the boars, until they were far enough to make a run for it. The group ran for a few minutes, until they made it to a stream “Is it drinkable?” asked Lyra “Only one way to find out,” said Spike as he cupped his hands to catch some water and drink it. “So is it?” asked Bon Bon “Yeah, it’s fresh,” said Spike as Lyra and Bon Bon began to hydrate themselves. A few instants later, they all got up and looked around “Do you think we made it?” asked Lyra “No, there hasn’t been an update,” said Bon Bon “Yeah, well, we’re only about 500 meter away from the cabin,” said Spike “Well, should we continue to head north? Up the hill?” asked Bon Bon “Makes sense… let’s go,” said Spike. A FEW MINUTES LATER Spike and the girls had successfully trekked through the forest, avoiding run-ins with Zombies and wild animals, but now they faced a different conundrum. “Where did this fog come from?” asked Lyra as they tried to advance through it “Well, the air is getting colder, maybe it has something to do with it,” said Spike “Can you turn on a magical flare?” asked Bon Bon “No, it may attract attention to us, just keep close and… BANG… OUCH!!!” said Spike as he walked into the side of the mountain. This caused the girls to laugh. “Ok… this… this is limestone, which means… we’re in a quarry,” said Spike “Is that good or bad?” asked Lyra “Quarry’s usually have only one entrance and one exit… and… I think we should look for another way out,” said Spike “Why?” they asked Spike just pointed behind them The girls turned and saw the outlines of various boars roaming the area “Oh, we’re fucked,” said Lyra “Hey, what is that?” asked Bon Bon as she pointed to a device in the distance. The group made their way over to asid device “It a manual elevator,” said Spike “A manual elevator?” asked Lyra “Sometimes electricity is scarce in a quarry, so many of this elevators were made for tools and people to move around without being concerned regarding the aforementioned,” said Spike “And you know this because?” asked Bon Bon “Discovery channel I’m… addicted,” said Spike “Let me guess, Gold rush,” said Bon Bon “Guilty,” said Spike “Uhm… sorry to interrupt your date, but, we have a mission,” said Lyra, a tad annoyed This comment made Bon Bon turn red, but she remained silent “Ok so, what’s the plan?” asked Lyra “The 2 of you get on the elevator, and I’ll hoist you up,” said Spike “What about you?” asked Lyra “There has to a station at the top too, and between the 2 of us, lifting Spike shouldn’t be that much of a problem,” said Bon Bon as she got on the elevator followed by Lyra “Why did that offend me… anyway, ready?” said Spike as he removed the academy jacket, allowing the girls to see his toned body under the shirt. “Yeah” they nodded as Spike began to lift them up. They were almost at the end, when the elevator malfunctioned “Jump!!” screamed Bon Bon as the elevator fell to the bottom of the quarry “Are you girls ok?” asked Spike “Yeah, what about you?” asked Spike “I’ll think of something,” said Spike “Spike look out!!” screamed Lyra Spike turned and noticed a group of boars looking at him “Oh, great, I’m screwed,” said Spike as the boars charged They were about to run Spike over, when, his back convulsed and grow wings, before he knew it he landed safely next to Lyra and Bon Bon. Spike looked at the wings and back at the girls “Ok, for the record, I did not know I could do that,” he said The girls however had their eyes glued on him “What?” he asked, looking down and noticing that his wings had ripped his shirt to threads “Oh!” he said as he untied the jacket off his hips and zipped it up. “Better than being naked,” he said with a grin “Yeah… anyway, let’s go,” said Lyra. A FEW MINUTES LATER “Congratulations, you have finished the mission successfully, get ready for extraction” said the robotic voice. Seconds later Spike and the girls found themselves back at the school’s auditorium “Well, done kids, you have completed the exam with Special Ops ability, welcome to the academy!” said Discord This made Lyra, Bon Bon and Spike hug, making a certain group in the audience jealous “Now… all that is missing is for you to name your squad and make it official,” said Luna “A what?” asked Spike “A name, each squad must have a name,” said Celestia “Can… can we get back to you on that one,” said Spike “Sure… by the way, these are for you,” said Celestia as she gave the 3 of them a pair of keys. “What are they for?” asked Lyra “They are the keys to your home,” said Luna “What?” Asked Spike “Well, since you are a team, you are required to live together,” said Celestia “Wait… WHAT!!!” everyone said Author's Note Squad names welcome, comment down below the best name for Spike's team Ch. 1 The failed childWelcome to the land of Equestria, a continent to be exact, consisting of various other territories, The Earthling lands to the West, the Dragonlands to the North, the Griffon territories to the East, and the Yakyakistan empire to the South, and in between them all, we have other minor territories, maybe not as big or imponent as the above-mentioned ones, but important nonetheless. And what do they all have in common? Cities? Kingdoms? Guilds? Citizens?... well, yes, yes they do; But they also have a very important thing in common… MAGIC!!! Yup, you heard me, MAGIC! There is no place in this world where you don’t find magic, for everyone is born with it inside them. There are 9 types of Magic, Light, Air (Wind), fire, water, earth, Holy, Dark, and the rare Techno and lightning Magic. And every magic class has its own abilities, and each ability has different levels and… and I think I’m getting a bit out of topic. Magic has become the center of attention for everyone in this world, to the point that, the power of a kingdom is based solely on the fact of how many top-ranking mages and adventurers they have, even, how many of them are willing to join the army in times of social unrest and fight the greatest enemy… whoever it can be. For the last couple of years, a minor rivalry had erupted between nations, competing to see which nation had the best of the best, and so, to avoid any major confrontations and blood spills, The young Princess Celine Solaris, founded the Canterlot International Academy for the Gifted and Talented or, as everyone calls it, Canterlot High. Getting into the Academy is as hard as you can imagine, only 155 new students are allowed to join every year, and from those 155, only 80 graduate with full honors. It may sound like a great idea, but… in retrospect, this academy brought even more separation between everyone, since, after a few years, it was noted that the admission rights favored earthlings, more than any other race; and sometimes, even between races This prompted other nations and kingdoms to open their own Academies with the same idea. And, now, there is this massive rivalry regarding which nation is the best at training their younger generations. Things have gotten so out of hand, that now, rich families, prefer aborting or giving babies up for adoption when they don’t meet their magic expectations once they are born. To make the problem even worse, many families go as far as having more than 4 kids before stopping the “Growth” of their families, just for the sake of the admiration of other noble families, or just to be accepted. And as you can imagine, if they don’t work, the one who suffers isn’t the family, but the offspring… Many of them are tossed aside by their families and forgotten about when a more powerful sibling comes into the picture. Some even decide to “end it all” or they turn to crime and bring hell upon their families and lands. Even though some tensions have been subsidized in the last couple of years, things haven’t really changed much. This brings us to the beginning of our journey, as we travel to the Northern land known as the Dragonlands. BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP Came the sound of the alarm clock as it yelled to awake the person sleeping in the room “WAKE UP!!! YOU’LL BE LATE FOR CLASS!!” came an angry female voice “MOM’S RIGHT BRO! TODAY IS THE LAST DAY, AT LEAST HAVE THE DECENCY OF SHOWING UP, EVEN THOUGH YOU HATE THAT PLACE SO MUCH!!” came a much younger female voice “I’m already up… I just…” said a male voice “NO EXCUSES MISTER!!! YOU ARE A DECKER! FAILURE OR NOT… NOW HURRY AND EAT YOUR BREAKFAST BEFORE IT GETS COLD!!!” said the older female voice. “I’ll be done in a minute mom,” said the boy “YOU BETTER BE, OR ELSE!!!!” said the mother The boy sighed and walked over to the mirror to look at himself. “Good morning, Spike, did you sleep well?... I’d lie if I said yes,” thought the kid as he finished getting dressed. A FEW MINUTES LATER Spike walked down into the kitchen where a man, not older than 35, a woman, of around the same age, and a younger girl, sat at the table. “Glad to see you had the decency to join us, son,” said the man “Good morning,” said Spike “Yeah, yeah, good morning… so, you are finally a man now,” said his father “No, I just graduated from school, now I have a year to study, work, and train to enter an Academy,” said Spike as he sat down and bit down on a piece of toast. “Well, you are turning 15 in 6 months, that makes you an adult,” said the woman “And, with your grades, entering the International Academy of Commerce should be a piece of cake… heck, I’m willing to bet that they can’t wait to have you,” said the man “If only,” said Spike in a sad tone The man turned to look at the woman, and then back at his son. “Listen, Silvio… I know that the world is wired in a very bad way… but, look at yourself, at your age, I barely even made it into the academy… you have outsmarted me completely, so, cheer up… not everyone is perfect,” said his father “Your father’s right Silvio, you may not have the looks, or the body, or the strength, but you have the brains, and that is the most important weapon you could ever wish for,” said his mother “Despite our family being ridiculed by the fact that I exist?” said Spike His parents went silent “The only reason we even have fame is because of Dad’s connections, Mom’s fame, and Barb’s popularity… I know it… I just wish I could contribute more to the family,” said Spike “Oh! Please, get over yourself,” said the girl “BARBARA EILEEN DECKER!!! I DON’T WANT THIS TYPE OF BEHAVIOR IN MY HOUSE!!! APOLOGIZE TO YOUR OLDER BROTHER!!!” said the man “ARGH! FINE, sorry Spike,” said Barbara Spike said nothing but shook his head. At that point the maids left the room, leaving the family alone. “Good acting, Barbara,” said the man “Thanks, all of the years I’ve done this in public seem to be paying off,” said Barbara “Yes… although I would like to avoid this silly routine from now on,” said the woman “Grace… I know, you do, but, remember, it’s for Silvio’s own good,” said the man “Bruce, this is getting dumber and dumber every time… when I married you, you promised that we wouldn’t be like the other nobles… and yet we have to act like if we hate our own child! What kind of twisted shit is this?” said Grace “If we don’t act like this, Silvio will get hurt, even more, some nobles only care about appearance and rank, I want to leave Spike with a fighting chance… with this brilliant brain of his, I’m sure he can earn some respect and become the best heir to this house,” said Bruce Grace gave him such a look, but sighed in defeat “Kids, get ready to leave, you’ll be late,” she said “I’m all ready to leave mom, bye, bro,” said Barbara as she got off the table and ran out the front door. “I swear, that girl has the same amount of energy as you,” said Bruce “And your determination,” said Grace ‘I’m ready to leave, bye mom, bye dad,” said Spike as he walked out the door “Bye son, take care,” said Bruce “AND BE BACK BEFORE 8!!!!” screamed Grace as she waved goodbye. A FEW SECONDS LATER “SIGH… and here begins another day in the life of Silvio “Spike” Decker “The Failed child”...” he thought as he walked towards his school “Well, today is the last day of junior hell… but tomorrow… HELL, really begins,” he thought as he entered the school grounds. As soon as he did, everyone turned to look at him, it was all silent for a few seconds while he walked into the school building. Meanwhile, some kids began to make fun of him by mimicking his walk behind his back, or whispering insults and unpleasantries at, and about, him with their friends After a few more seconds, it seemed as he had disappeared from the face of the earth, since no one, seemed to look at him. He made his way to his locker and there he found the usual sight His locker was covered by various pieces of paper, which read things like “Failure”, “Unwanted child”, “weirdo”, “Why are you still alive”, “Your parents never wanted you” and “Please die, make us that favor” But he ignored them and opened the locker, inside were even more papers, but Spike grabbed the remainder of his things and placed them in his backpack, leaving the locker with only the papers inside it. “Not my problem anymore,” he thought as he closed his locker As soon as he closed his locker’s door, he felt someone grab the back of his head and slam it straight into the locker. “Oops, sorry, I didn’t see you there,” said a male voice as he and others began to laugh. Spike, meanwhile, cleaned the blood that was dripping from his nose “Oh! Is the little piggy going to cry… here let's all cry with him… SQUEAL SQUEAL SQUEAL… HAHAHAHAHA!!!” said the same voice “HEY!! WHAT IS GOING ON OVER THERE?!” came a female voice “Oh no! It’s here… RUN!!!” said the voice “Hey! Get back here!” yelled a male voice “It’s ok guys… leave it,” said Spike “Leave it! Spike, look at your nose!” said the male voice “It’s not broken, it’ll stop bleeding soon,” said Spike “Are you sure?” asked the girl “Yeah,” said Spike “Are you really just going to let Garble walk all over you like this?” asked the boy “Thorax… even if I wanted to… you know I can’t defeat him,” said Spike “Yeah, but…” said Thorax “Dude, he isn’t worth your or Ember’s breath… let’s just go get our diplomas and get out of this hell hole,” said Spike as he began to walk down the hall. A FEW METERS LATER “So, Spike, Thorax, and I were planning to go and watch the new Avengers movie, wanna come?” asked Ember. Spike was tempted to say something, but he never got the chance, since right as he turned the corner he smacked against someone. “Ouch… sorry,” said Spike “Sorry, isn’t going to cut it!” said the female voice, which Spike knew very well “I mean, look at this, you got me all dirty… I should make you lick the dirt off me… but even knowing that we share the same blood makes me feel like vomiting… and a word of advice for the 2 of you, hang out with people who are actually worth it, not failures like my unneeded older brother,” said Barbara as she walked away. “Well, your sister seems as lovely as ever,” said Thorax as he helped Spike dust off “The nerve on that little…” Ember began “HEY! THAT’S MY SISTER!! And as mean and stuck up as she can be, I’m not going to let you insult her,” said Spike “Man, brains, and heart, if only…” said Thorax “It won’t happen,” said Spike “Dude, you never know, maybe you’ll get some magic,” said Thorax Spike was about to answer when a voice was heard over the loudspeaker “ATTENTION GRADUATING CLASS, PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE AUDITORIUM FOR THE CEREMONY, IT WILL BEGIN IN 5 MINUTES!!!” “No time to talk, let’s go,” said Ember as she grabbed Thorax hand and ran towards the auditorium leaving Spike behind “Don’t wait for me,” Spike thought sarcastically as he made his way towards the auditorium. “... Erica Dandrige… Thomas Lennox… and now for the final member of our graduating class… Silvio Decker,” said the principal of the school with a little disgust in her voice. Spike walked up to the stage, but only Ember, Thorax, and Pharynx clapped until they felt everyone’s eyes on them and decided to sit down. The Principal handed Spike his diploma, stretching her hand as if Spike had a deadly disease or virus in his body… to the point that she even refused to shake his hand. Spike walked back to his seat, but before he could reach it, he was tripped by none other than Garble. “Mr. DARCY!!! THAT IS INEXCUSABLE!!! APOLOGIZE!!” said the principal, holding back her laughter and doing her best to keep a straight face. “Sorry… loser,” said Garble as he and his lackeys laughed Spike got off the floor and sat down, to hear the final speech “... And therefore, you don’t know how proud I am to have been your principal… Now, go out into the world and make the most of it,” said the principal of the school as everyone throws their caps into the air, hugged and celebrated. MINUTES LATER “So, Spike, about our offer?” said Ember “Hard pass,” said Spike “But, I thought you liked the avengers?” said Ember “And I do, but, I hate being the third wheel… so, go and have fun… but not too much,” said Spike “Are you sure?” asked Thorax “Positive, plus, I’d like to… be alone for a while,” said Spike “Well, if you change your mind, just give us a call, and we can hang out,” said Thorax “Sure… Although, that’s not going to happen,” said Spike “Well, see you later… or tomorrow,” said Ember, as she and Thorax ran off to the cinema Spike turned to look at Pharynx “What are you still doing here?” he asked “Waiting on my bros, why? Wanna come hang?” said Pharynx “Nah, I hate to impose,” said Spike “Suit yourself,” said Pharynx as his friends came up and he left. Spike was left all alone, so, he decided to head back home… change clothes, and go for a walk to his favorite place. ONE HOUR LATER Spike walked through the trails of the Magnesium park, number 12, to be exact, this was the only trail that let up to Spike's favorite thinking/hiding place. After a few more minutes of walking, Spike finally made it to the end of the trail, and proceeded to sit inside one of the benches inside an old canopy and look at the view. Spike grabbed his phone and began to play some music "Why is the world like this?... What does anyone gain from this?... I'd really like to know… Everyone is so desperate to fit in, to please everybody else, to be rich, famous, and powerful… and yet, we all feel so empty… I wish this world was a little different, where everyone would like everyone for who they really are, no need for all this selfishness and jealousy… it hasn't accomplished anything so far, only more division… at first, it was your raze, then the color of your skin… and now, the amount of magic you possess." Thought Spike as he listened to the song "Heh, I can't blame my parents for acting this way… I mean, what would you do if you had a son, who has only 10 magic points… even ants have more magic than me!!!... and then you have my sister, she is the saving grace of this family, 320 magic points, and a Paladin, she is a rare one, she has more magic power than Mom and Dad together, and 5 times their stamina… and then, there is me… 14, 4’4”, overweight, and whose only abilities are being smart, and being good in music and video games, " thought Spike “Man, this magic ranking system is so fucked up… people consider you strong if you have over 100 points, if you have anything between 99 and 75, you are considered good, 74 to 40, you are average, anything less… well… you better look for a job in something that doesn’t require magic,” thought Spike “And then we have those titles they give you… 40 -74, you are a mage, 75 - 99, you are a Sorcerer or Wizard or Witch, over 100, you get the titles of Holy wizard/witch, Warlock, Paladin, Celestial mage, Demon Lord or Overlord… but that last one has been given since 20 years ago… I’d do anything to be at least a mage… that way I could earn my family some extra respect, and make them proud… I could even gain some acknowledgment as the next head of the Decker family… but there is no quick way to increase your magic points… at least, no one has found a way to do so yet…” thought Spike as he looked at the view “Even if I could… do I really want things to change?... I mean, I know that mom and dad love me… they haven’t disowned me and thrown me to the street… yet… Barbara… she’s smart, she knows the world we live in, she knows she has to play the game to fit in… plus I know she doesn’t hate me, I mean, she tends to grab my underwear and sniff it… I don’t know why, but every time I’m taking a bath, or I’m not home, she is usually doing that or making a mess in my room… ok, I have to admit it’s creepy… but, I wouldn’t change her for anything… And then I have my friends, Thorax, Pharynx, and Ember...At first, we all used to hang out… well, I’ve known Ember seens we were little, our parents are really close friends… and I have to admit, I used to have a crush on her… but then she introduced me to Thorax, and I found out about the Marriage situation between the 2… I was heartbroken, but… Now that I think of it, I’ve seen them genuinely fall in love over this past few years… and Thorax became my best friend… and then there is Pharynx… we don’t really count as best friends, but, we hang out… I’m his backup friend, if none of his other friends are available I’m his last resort… but that rarely happens… anyway… “ “Why was I born like this… according to what the doctors said, I’m still the weakest magic-user in the whole world… EVEN A FUCKING ANT COULD DEFEAT ME!!!!... SIGH… What is my purpose in this world?... why was I born for… to be a laughing stock for everyone? What a cruel destiny,” thought Spike as he got up and walked over to the edge. “I wonder… I jumped from here… will I be able to fly? Even though I don’t have the necessary magic points for that? It’s a beautiful thought… hope,” thought Spike as he looked up to the sky. BEEP BEEP BEEP Spike reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone “Bro, where are you? Nevermind, you have to hurry back home, there is a massive storm coming, and mom doesn’t want you to get sick,” read Barbara’s text “A storm? In mid-April… that’s weird,” thought Spike as he put the phone back in his pocket and began his descent. A FEW MINUTES LATER Spike was halfway down the path, his mind going back to his previous thoughts over and over again, but his train of thought was interrupted when he heard some footsteps coming towards him. He froze in fear when he realized who it was. “Well, well, well, what do we have here, if it isn’t Mr. Snorts himself,” said Garble as he and his 2 lackeys laughed “Yes. yes, very mature, Garble, but I don’t have time for your immaturities, there is a storm coming, and I have to head home, I don’t want to make my mother worried,” said Spike as he attempted to walk past them. Just as he was about to pass next to Garble, he stopped him by putting his hand in his belly and shoving him to the floor. “Who said anything about you leaving this place?” said Garble sarcastically as he and his lackeys formed a human barrier. “I did, I don’t have time for this, and if I were you, I’d do the same, unless you want the storm to drown the few neurons you have left,” said Spike as he got up “Oh, you want to be a wise guy, huh?... well, you picked the wrong person for that,” said Grable as he used his wind magic to send Spike flying up the trail to where he had been earlier. Spike landed so hard on the ground that he even left a trail behind him. “People like you are only good for one thing, and that is, to amuse us, important people,” said Garble as he walked up to where Spike has fallen Spike got up, with some extra effort, fighting through the pain. “Ah, excellent, we have a fighter,” said Garble as he used his magic again, but this time to body slam Spike into the ground so hard, he left an outline of his body. “I’ve had enough of this,” thought Spike as he got up again, while blood dripped from his injuries. “You want some more?” said Garble with a sadistic smile plastered on his face. “To… be honest… I’d prefer for you to open your eyes… you’re a fraud… you only pick on those weaker than you, the ones you know are not going to fight back or are easy to beat… you think so highly of yourself just because you have wind magic, and you are over 100 magic point mark… yet you are terrified shitless by Ember… every time you see her, you run away from her like a little bitch,” said Spike Garble looked at him in a menacing way ‘You know, I don’t know what type of life you have at home, but I’m assuming that you’re pampered like a baby by your parents, I mean, between you and your little sister, you’re stronger… unfortunately, you aren’t as smart,” said Spike This made Garble’s lackeys chuckle making him turn and glare at them. “You’re just a bully and a coward… If everyone with a high level of magic is like you… then I’m glad to be weak,” said Spike with a smile Garble looked at Spike and then began to clap in a sarcastic way “What a touching monologue… but I’m not afraid of Ember, I can have her and give her, anyway I want… as for you…” said Garble as he got into a fighting stance “WIND X!!!” he screamed causing a strong gust of wind to appear out of nowhere, hit Spike in the chest and sent him flying over the edge. “DUDE!!! WHAT DID YOU DO?” said one of the lackeys as they went over to the edge to see Spike free fall “I made our raze, and the world… a favor,” he said as he walked away WITH SPIKE Spike free fell for what seemed like an eternity, the world had slowed down, giving him more and more time to realize what was about to happen. “Well, at least, I don’t have to suffer anymore,” he thought as he closed his eyes and waited for the impact. But then, when Spike was ready to assume he was dead, he felt as his body went through a liquid, he even had trouble breathing, this caused him to open his eyes and realize that he had fallen inside a river, the water level higher than usual, probably due to the storm heading into town. The current dragged Spike for a few miles until he was able to fight the current and get out of the water. He was out of breath, but at least he was alive. “Well, it could’ve been worst,” thought Spike Just as he said that the skies opened and it started to rain hard. “ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW!!!” he screamed Once he sat up, he noticed that the water level was rising fast. “I better find higher ground, and call for help… if my phone wasn’t destroyed,” said Spike as he held the broken damped phone in his hand. “Well, new plan, get to higher ground, and find a dry place to wait out the storm,” said Spike as he started to climb the rocks… but he didn’t consider the thought that they were going to be slippery, causing him to fall back down and get winded. “Ok… take 2,” said Spike as he got up and began climbing 30 MINUTES LATER After battling against the rain, wind and slippery rocks, Spike finally made it to a small patch of land which led to a small cave, big enough for Spike to fit in. “Well, beggars can’t be choosers,” he thought as he entered the small cave “It’s a bit cramped, but I can move around… good thing I’m not claustrophobic… AAAAAAAH!” was the last thing he said before breaking the back wall of the cave and falling into a dark abyss. Sometime LATER Spike opened his eyes, he could see the light coming from the hole he fell through “Another free fall?! What is it with me and falling so much… not to mention, it seems pretty high up, about 50 ft. How the hell I’m I even alive?” he thought as he felt around and noticed that he was in some sort of pond “Ok… now what?” he thought as he got out of the pond, and looking around the room All of a sudden, a bright light appeared behind him, making him jump and hide behind a big boulder After a few seconds, Spike gathered enough courage to look over the edge of the boulder Once he did, he was in awe, before him, was a massive room, it seemed like an old abandoned temple of sorts. The oddest thing about it was that in the middle of it, right where the beam of light was emanating from was an altar. Spike, gathering some extra courage, decided to walk towards it, being very careful of where he stepped. 5 MINUTES LATER Spike finally made it to the altar “Well, it’s never a bad idea to be cautious,” he thought as he looked at the altar. The altar was about 10 centimeters shorter than Spike, so he was able to see the details of the altar. But what caught his attention was the fact that there were 9 crystals, red, blue, green, yellow, and brown placed with such precision around a Grey, purple, and Onyx black crystal which at the same time formed a sort of triangle around a transparent crystal. For whatever reason, Spike had the urge to place his hand on the altar, and as soon as he did he felt a jolt of power, pass through his body. The jolt was so strong, it caused him to pass out. SPIKE’S MIND “Where… where am I?” he said “Examination in progress, please, hold still for a few more seconds,” said a female robotic voice “Examination?” asked Spike but there was no response 5 seconds later, the same voice said “Examination completed, subject accepted, proceeding to phase 2,” “Phase 2?” asked Spike “Tell me? What do you want? What do you believe in? What are you worth?” said the voice But Spike couldn’t answer, he was tongue-tied “Answers confirmed… processed… accepted! Initiating phase 3… welcome, Oh powerful one,” said the voice “What?” said Spike but before he could continue, he felt another jolt of power, and he blacked out again. Sometime LATER “Oh… Oh, my head… is this what it feels like to be hungover? Cause if it is, I ain’t drinking in my life… YAWN… OUCH!!! WHAT THE?” said Spike as he punched something. He looked around and noticed that he was in his room “When… When did I get back?... did I dream all that?” he asked but then he looked at his clothes in the hamper and so that they were ripped off. He decided to get up and get dressed, but that’s when he noticed something… odd, “Was my furniture always this small? And when did my clothes shrink?!!!” He decided to head to the bathroom and wash his face, maybe he's still seeing things, but… “OUCH!!!” He said as he banged his head against the frame of the door “Now what?... don’t tell me… Barbara was in here practicing magic again… Oh! I’m going to kill her!” he said as he bent over and walked up to the sink in the bathroom. But before he could splash some warm water in his face, Spike looked at himself in the mirror, and what he saw scared him. “WHO ARE YOU?!!” he said as his reflection mimicked “Barbara, this better be one of your pranks,” he said But then, Spike looked down and noticed his body, he was much taller and had lost a lot of weight Confused, he sprayed water on his face, but once he recovered his vision, nothing had changed. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” he screamed At that same second, his mom, dad, and sister kicked the door to his room down and took up battle positions "SON!? WHAT'S WRONG?... Spike?" Said Bruce, as his, Grace, and Barbara's eyesight landed on Spike. Their eyes open so wide they nearly popped out, and their jaws almost hit the floor. "What… what happened to me?" He said "HANNAH!!!" screamed Bruce "Yes, Master Bruce?" Said the voice of the maid "Call Dr. Peterborough and Lord Dandridge, tell them to get their asses here as soon as possible," said Bruce "Right away, sir," said Hannah "And… tell Ms. Charlotte to come too… we might be needing new clothes," he finished Ch. 2 Diplomacy, the birth of a hero or a villianSpike laid flat on the floor, his eyes glued to the ceiling, his mind trying to make sense of what was going on, his bed, previously too big for him, turned small and uncomfortable, his clothes, all in bags headed to the nearest salvation army as donations. “I’ll be done soon, Spike, just a few more measurements,” said Charlotte as she continued to tailor some clothes for Spike. “So, how long will it take you to have the rest of the wardrobe ready?” asked Grace “Ms. Decker, Spike is tall, yes, but not to the point that his clothes have to be custom made, I’m just doing a shirt, a pair of jeans, and some underwear for him to be able to head to a clothing store and buy new ones,” said Charlotte The room fell into a minor silence, only disturbed by an angry, familiar voice, coming from the hallway “I DON’T CARE IF YOU’RE TAKING THE DAY OFF, ALL I CARE ABOUT, IS THAT MY SON SUFFERED SOME SORT OF METAMORPHOSIS DURING THE NIGHT!... WELL, YOU BETTER GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!... in 1 hour?... ok then… please… thanks,” said Bruce as he hung up the phone. “So, what did he say?” asked Grace “Mark is on his way… as for Henry… he is out of town and won’t return until Monday,” said Bruce “And... done, this should be enough for now,” said Charlotte as she showed Spike his new, temporary, clothes. “Thanks,” said Spike as he took them, entered the bathroom, and got changed. “How much do we owe you?” asked Bruce “It’s ok, the situation is already too confusing as it is,” said Charlotte as she left the house As soon as she exited the front door, and Spike came out of his room, Bruce sat him down on his bed. “Son… is there anything you remember?” he asked “I remember most of it… but I don’t think you’ll believe me,” said Spike “At this point, it’s not about believing or not, it’s the truth,” said Grace “Yeah, Spike, tell us what happened,” said Barbara Spike looked at them and said “Well, I woke up, feeling miserable as usual…” “Maybe, a bit closer to the important part,” said Bruce “Wow, and here I was thinking you actually cared about my feelings,” said Spike sarcastically “No, it’s just that… we already know that part,” said Bruce Spike sighed and continued “After I arrived at school… I went through the same situation… everyone made fun of me or insulted me behind my back, the only difference was that I wasn’t pummeled by rocks or food… actually, it was the first time I made it into the building with my clothes, dry, clean, and in one piece… The hallways were deserted, something that I was thankful for… after a few minutes, I arrived at my locker, and it was covered with the usual hate posters and papers, but, since it was the last day of school, I honestly didn’t care about removing them, I only opened my locker got my last belonging out, and closed it… that’s when the first major incident happened,” said Spike “Which was?” asked Grace “While I had my back to the hallway, Garble, walked up to me and slammed my head, face first, into the locker, denting it in the process,” said Spike At the mention of this Bruce jumped up “That fucking Darcy boy, I don’t know why people let him get away with everything he does,” he said “Because I am his usual target… and nobody cares if I get hurt remember,” said Spike Bruce sat back down and looked at the floor in shame “After he slammed my head into the locker, he and his lackeys, began to make fun of me, calling me big and making pig-like noises while mocking me,” said Spike “What happened after that?” asked Grace “What usually happens, Ember and Thorax appeared and made Garble run away with his tail between his legs… then I bumped into you and you demonstrated your acting skills to everyone present,” said Spike as he looked at Barbara “Oh, come on Spike, I ain’t that good,” said Barbara “Well, Ember hates your guts so… probably not,” said Spike “Ouch,” said Barbara “During the ceremony, things went just as I expected, no one looked at me, congratulated me, or even cheered when I got the diploma… even the headmaster, she gave me the diploma with a look of disgust on her face, and stretching her arms as much as possible, like if I had some sort of plague or disease… when I walked off the stage, Garble, once again, made my life a living hell, since he tripped me, causing the whole room to laugh at me, and I mean EVERYBODY… well, except for Ember and Thorax,” he continued His family went quiet for a few seconds, his dad, holding back his urges to reach for his magic riffle and heading over to Darcy palace, and blowing off Garble’s head. “After that… I came back here, Hannah, welcomed me and offered to prepare me something to eat… which I declined, I got changed and headed for Magnesium park, and went to my secret place, to think… it was there when Barbara sent me a text saying that the storm was coming and that I should come back home,” said Spike as he showed everyone his, now fixed, phone “Weird, I remember that this thing didn’t survive the fight and fall… anyway,” “When I was coming back down the trail, I was met face to face with Garble and his lackeys, and once again, the insults began… except that this time, I tried to walk away… but Garble didn’t let me, he blocked my path and later shoved me to the floor… I got up again and attempted to leave, but, Garble blocked my path and then used his wind magic to send me flying to the top of the trail,” said Spike “HE DID WHAT?!!!!” said Bruce as he punched the nearby table so hard it obliterated into a million pieces. “At that point, I had enough, and I decided to give him a piece of my mind… of course, being as dumb as he is, he didn’t take it well, and used his magic again to send me flying over the edge of cliff…” The moment he said that Both Bruce and Barbara summoned some of their magic, out of pure rage “He tried to kill you?... he didn’t he… time to start the hunt,” said Barbara, murder in her voice “Mom, Barbs’ doing the creepy eye thing again,” said Spike imitating his younger self Grace immediately went over to Barbara and smacked the back of her head “OOUCH!!!!” she said as she recoiled in pain “WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THE MURDER EYES,” said Grace “Sorry mom,” said Barbara “What happened after you were sent flying over the edge?” asked Bruce “I thought my suffering was coming to an end, but instead, I discovered that the world loves to see me suffer… I landed on the river, the water level had risen to a level where it felt like I landed on the pool after jumping off the tallest diving board… the current then swept me downstream for a few minutes, before I was finally able to get out… seconds later it started to rain, so I didn’t have another choice but climb the rocks to make it to safer grounds… halfway to the top, the rain got worst, and so, I decided to crawl into a small cave to take refuge… I managed to wiggle myself all the way to the end of it, only for the wall to break, and cause me to fall into darkness… I awoke sometime later, and realized I was in some sort of room… and in that room, there was this weird looking altar, with 7 diamonds engraved on it… for some reason, I decided to place my hand on the altar, I felt a jolt of pain and blacked out… and the next thing I know, I’m back in my room, trying to understand if I dreamt all that or not,” said Spike as he looked at his parents and sister, who were staring at him. “You should better lay down, Dr. Peterborough, will be here in a few minutes, maybe he can make more sense to it,” said Bruce as he, Grace, and Barbara left the room to give him some privacy. A FEW MINUTES LATER … And then I awoke on my bed,” said Spike “Interesting, let’s see…” said Dr. Peterborough as he used his magic to see into Spike’s brain “Well, you didn’t dream it… but I’ve never seen something like this before,” he said “So, did the Darcy kid try to kill my son?” asked Bruce “Definitely, it’s attempted murder, there are no 2 ways about it,” said Dr. Peterborough “THAT LITTLE SON OF A….” Bruce began “Dad, stop, it’s not worth it,” said Spike “NOT WORTH IT!!! NOT WORTH IT!!!? SILVIO, YOU REALIZE HE TRIED TO KILL YOU RIGHT?” he said “And knowing where this is going, his parents are going to try to make things better by coming to an “agreement” and to be honest, I don’t want to involve innocent people in this matter,” said Spike “Fine, but if he tries to do something like that again,” said Bruce “Well, for now, let us continue,” said the doctor as he pulled out a needle “What’s that for?” asked Spike “It’s a magic needle, it’s used to identify magic powers… while I was in your brain, I noticed something that made me feel intrigued, so, I’m going to poke around your power hand, and see what happens,” said the doctor "Why?"Asked Spike "Well, as you may know, your magic powers are always going to be stored in your power hand, each finger representing a power in particular, except for the "rare 3" those are going to be on the pall of your hand," said the doctor "Ok, if you say so," said Spike as he stretched his left hand forward "This won't hurt at all," said the doctor as he poked Spike's thumb, only for a red light to emanate from the needle "fire," he said as he poked the next finger, this time it was a blue light “Water, so far so good,” next came a green light “wind”, he said as he poked the next finger and a yellow light emanated from the needle “Light,” said the doctor, his voice having a tint of wonder and amazement as he poked Spike’s pinkie next and a brown light engulfed the needle “Earth,” said the doctor as he looked back at Bruce and Grace “Is… is this real?” said Bruce in disbelief “So far… but let’s get the last part out of the way,” he said as he moved his finger over the palm of Spike’s left hand After a few seconds, he found a sensitive spot right in the center of his palm and poked it causing a blinding light to emanate from the needle and the minuscule injury on Spike’s arm “Holy Magic!!!” said Grace The Doctor continued to feel around and poked Spike again, this time a black cloud emanated from the injury “Dark magic!!!” said Bruce “What in the world is going on… no one has ever been able to control both… screw that, no one has ever been able to possess so many affinities before,” thought the doctor as he moved the needle lower, towards Spike’s wrist, poked the spot and small flashes of lightning escaped the needle “Lighting Magic… is that super rare?” said Barbara The doctor then moved the needle parallel to the last place he poked, and repeated the motion, as soon as he did, the needle began to malfunction “Technomancy,” he said as he put the needle away “Is everything ok?” asked Spike “Everything is fine… excellent if you ask me… Bruce, Grace, can I talk to the 2 of you on my way out?” said Dr. Peterborough “Yeah, sure,” said Bruce as they followed him out of the home leaving Spike and Barbara behind AT THE FRONT DOOR “You were right, something happened to him… I don’t know what, but, that’s not the same kid I delivered almost 15 years ago,” said the doctor “But is Silvio going to be ok?” asked Grace “Grace, Bruce… I think… I think your son is… an Overlord,” said the doctor “Overlord?!!! He barely has any magic power,” said Grace “But now, he has an affinity for every single type of magic… and by the looks of it, his magic is strong, very strong… call me back when Henry is here so that we can finish the last part of the test… Oh, and for now, try to keep Spike out of the public eye as much as possible,” said the doctor “Why?” asked Grace “If word got out that Spike is an Overlord, shady characters will appear out of nowhere and try to use his magic for their own personal gain,” said the doctor as he left the mansion. 2 DAYS LATER “HE CAN DO WHAT?!!!!!” screamed the dragonlord “He can use every know magic ability,” said the doctor “This I have to see myself, I mean, Spike and Ember have been friends since they were toddlers, and I’ve seen him grow… wasn’t his magic power measured at only 10 points?” said the Dragonlord “Yes, but now… he might be even more powerful than you,” said Dr. Peterborough The Dragonlord looked at him for a few seconds and said “Prepare everything, we must run these tests immediately,” “But… it’s 10 PM, the kid’s asleep,” said Dr. Peterborough “Oh, then… have everything ready, and meet me at the Decker mansion at 8 AM,” said the Dragonlord. 8 AM DECKER MANSION “... and so, we have reasons to believe that you are an overlord,” said Dr. Peterborough “Me? An overlord?” said Spike “Yup, but to confirm all of this, we have to run some physical tests, now, if you’re up for it…” began Dragonlord Henry Dandrige “WHERE DO I BEGIN?!!!” said Spike as he jumped up “Immediately, but not here, of course, We’ll go to an area where we can do this without being spied on, and where no one will get hurt in case something bad happens,” said Dragonlord Henry as he summoned a teleportation circle and stepped on it “Understood,” said Spike as he got on, and disappeared with the Dragonlord and Doctor Bruce and Grace stared at the spot where the 3 were last seen “Do you think everything is going to be ok?” asked Grace “Torch is my best friend… he wouldn’t dare do something behind my back,” said Bruce IN A FIELD IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE “This will do… ok, Spike, first things first… before you are a bunch of different dumbbells, please lift them until you find one you can’t lift,” said Torch “What is this for Uncle Torch?” asked Spike “Well, in any case, when someone has a high level of magic points, they also gain inhuman strength, so that their body’s don’t suffer interior damage, so, this will help us have an idea of your magic power, before going to the measuring process,” said Torch “Ok,” said Spike as he lifted the 5 KG dumbbell Spike continued to lift every dumbbell as he got near the final one “Odd, I could barely lift the 30 KG dumbbell at school, and now, it’s like if it was made of cotton,” thought Spike as he got to the 10,000 KG dumbbell and lifted it up with some extra effort, before dropping it on the floor causing a crater to form. “Was that good?” asked Spike When he turned and saw the faces on both Torch and Peterborough, he thought he had done something wrong “Spike, it’s physically impossible to lift the 10,000 Kg dumbbell… that means you have a high level of magic points,” said Torch “Please place your hand on this machine, it will measure your magic points,” said Dr. Peterborough As soon Spike did, the machine started to go crazy “REMOVE IT!!!!” screamed Dr. Peterborough Spike jumped back and allowed Dr. Peterborough and Torch to look at the results “You… you have… 25,340 magic points,” said Dr. Peterborough “Is… is that good?” asked Spike “Spike… this means, you are more powerful than me, Princess Luna, Prince Rutherford, Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra, Discord, and Princess Celestia… even if you only surpass her by 20 points,” said Torch “Which means…” said Spike “You are an Overlord,” said Dr. Peterborough “NO! Not just A overlord, THE overlord… we have to go back to your house, ASAP!!!” said Torch as he summoned the teleport spell again. BACK AT THE DECKER MANSION “... Without a shadow of a doubt, Spike is an Overlord,” said Torch “And as you know, the last overlord was born almost 30 years ago, being Princess Celestia, and then you also have Discord but he was born 33 years ago,” said Dr. Peterborough Bruce, Grace, and Barbara’s mouths hanged open after hearing the test results “And, what do you plan to do now?” asked Grace “Well, the next step depends on both you and Silvio… do you want him to train his magic abilities, or leave all this under the rug… which I personally see as a waste of potential,” said Torch Grace and Bruce looked at each other and then at Spike “What do you want to do, Spike?” asked his father “I want to continue, I mean this is awesome,” said Spike with a smile “Yes, this part is awesome, but… the rest of it is going to be… complicated,” said Torch “What do you mean?” asked Spike “Spike… I’m sure you’ve heard this many times before, but… with great power comes great responsibility… and, with your particular amount of power, it’s imperative that you realize that,” said Torch “I know that,” said Spike “Spike, if you are planning to continue this… you’re going to be placed on various situations, were, if you let your emotions get the best of you… the outcome might not be very positive for neither you, your friends and family, and your enemies,” said Torch “Uncle Torch… I’ve been bullied for almost 15 years, and all that time, I never stood up for myself… is it so wrong, that now I can?… that now I have a chance to add some extra fame to the Decker family?” said Spike “Spike… power can corrupt the purest of hearts… if you want to go through with this, then we’ll help you… just, promise that…” said Torch “Torch… I’ve seen what having power can do… but, I also know how important it is to have it,” said Spike “Knowing the importance should be enough of a challenge for you… if you don’t play your cards right, you’ll get tangled up with the wrong crowd and convinced to use your powers for the wrong things,” said Torch “Seriously, how gullible do you guys think I am? You should be giving this talk to Gerard Darcy, not me,” said Spike “Gerard Darcy isn’t as powerful as you…” said Spike “And so, you plan to let him continue living life like that, to the point that he will self-destruct or get killed,” said Spike “Of course not, but, Darcy isn’t important right now,” said Torch “Uncle Torch… I see where you’re taking this, but… remember what you told me last year on my birthday?” said Spike “No… what did I say?” asked Torch “Power may come to anyone, but it’s better if that someone was previously weak and rejected for it, that way they know the right path to take… I became that someone, and I know what this power can bring… but I have to accept it, no matter what,” said Spike Torch looked at Spike and then at his parents “Uncle Torch… when they told you that you were going to be extremely powerful… Did they give you the same talk?” asked Spike “No… my parents wanted me to be a show off… and that’s why I’m telling you this… I was born with my magic power and I was a dick for a long time, and…” said Torch “But, unlike you, I didn’t have power, at all, and I was able to be at the receiving end of the stick… and I don’t want that experience to happen to my worst enemy… for 15 years, I was barely noticed, respected, or loved… having that feeling that you’re not even considered a human being, treated like trash, and having no one to turn to… realizing that… you’re alone… no one should go through that… and I know,” said Spike Torch looked at Spike and felt bad for him “Well… I know for a fact that you're a smart kid… and I trust your judgement,” said Torch “Thanks,” said Spike “Now we must discuss the other issue that we have,” said Dr. Peterborough “And that is?” asked Spike “Once word of your powers spread, many powerful, important, rich, and famous people are going to try and chummy up to you,” said the doctor “Because of my power,” said Spike “Exactly… well, that and because of your… seed,” said the doctor “Come again?” said Spike “While doing the test, I discovered that… your sperm has a lot of magic power… even if you impregnate a woman with low magic points, your offspring will still be born with a magic power over 1000… imagine what would happen if you impregnate a woman with a high level of magic points,” said the doctor Everyone in the family did… although, they had different reactions “Imagine all the great connections this could create,” thought Bruce “I’d be a grandma! How delightful,” thought Grace “I must protect Big Brother from all those interested whores… I’d be the one to give birth to his babies!!” thought Barbara “That’s what you’re concerned about? Seriously… I’m not planning to have children… plus I’m pretty sure no girl, as interested as they may be, would fall for me,” thought Spike “Well, you can just have a harem,” said Torch This comment made everyone leave their train of thought “Excuse me?” asked Spike “Think about it, how many cute girls are going to come by asking you to marry them, just imagine the possibilities,” said Torch “Did you just lecture me about morals for about half an hour? Where did that conversation go?” said Spike “Polygamy is legal remember,” said Torch “But aren’t those things for rich and powerful people?” said Spike “AHEM!!!” said Bruce Spike turned and realized what he said “Oh!... I’ll think about that last one,” said Spike “Alright then… tomorrow I’ll have my court magician come to get you so that your training will begin,” said Torch “In the meantime, try not to do something that will draw attention to you,” he said as both him and the doctor left the mansion. As soon as he did, everyone turned to look at Spike, this caused him to feel really uncomfortable. “Well, I’m gonna go and… I CAN’T COME UP WITH A LIE!!!!” he said as he ran out of the living room. THE NEXT MORNING AT THE SAME VALLEY “So, Spike, I’m safe to assume you never took magic classes, right?” asked Kurt “True, the teacher didn’t want to waste his time trying to teach someone like me,” said Spike “Well, I’ll teach you the basics… and some other things they don’t teach you at school… ready?” asked Kirk “Born ready,” said Spike “I like confidence… ok, first, we’ll practice each affinity, and I hear you have them all,” said Kurt “Yes sir, but, aren’t you going to teach me any spells?” said Spike “Well, what you have to do is imagine the affinity you want to use, for example, let’s use “Fire”,” said Kurt as he walked over to the open and closed his eyes. Immediately after, his right hand began to combust and be engulfed by flames. He then opened his eyes, formed a fist, and began to shoot fireballs into the sky “That’s a spell known as “Flares” but it can also be used as an attack spell called “Flame gun”, magic is not about learning spells, cause I can teach you all of them; it’s about creativity, vision… imagination,” said Kurt “So, all I have to do is imagine my own spells?” asked Spike “Well, you could do that, or you could mimic somebody else’s spells,” said Kurt “Except if they are Holy, Dark, or lightning magic, I wouldn’t recommend that,” “Why?” asked Spike “When it comes to holy or dark magic, they are used for different things, and you might never know what effect they have on your body, it’s not a good idea… as for Lightning… well, the last known lightning magician died almost a century ago, so, no one knows any spells,” said Kurt “So, I just chant my spell?” asked Spike “What? No!, chanting is not necessary, they teach you that at school just in case your spell gets out of control, that way they can stop it safely,” said Kurt “Just imagine it, fell it… and shoot,” he said Spike walked out into the open, closed his eyes and imagined the fire inside of him… he lifted his fist to the sky and shot out a big fire ball, it flew for a few seconds before it landed in the middle of the field and exploited, leaving behind a crater “What was that?” asked Kurt “I call it… Mortar flame,” said Spike “Ok, nice… just, remember that you have to accommodate your abilities to every battle, so be mindful about them,” said Kurt “Understood,” said Spike “Ok, next comes…” Kurt began 5 HOURS LATER “Let’s call it a day Spike, and I’m amazed, you were able to learn everything I taught you, even the lightning magic and Techno magic theory,” said Kurt “Thanks… I have a question?” said Spike “Ask away,” said Kurt “Is it possible to combine affinities?” said Spike “Of course it is… but you have to be careful on how you do it, they can also backfire,” said Kurt “Really?” said Spike “Yeah… but let’s leave that for tomorrow,” said Kurt as he teleported Spike back to his house As soon as Spike walked in the door, his phone beeped Spike fished it out and noticed a text “Dude, my dad has been going on and on about this “new you” I have to see this in person, meet me and Thorax at our usual spot, we’ll be waiting,” wrote Ember “I have a bad feeling about this… well, at least, I already bought new clothes,” thought Spike as he headed to his room to get changed. 1 HOUR LATER Spike walked through the town, walking towards the coffee shop where he usually hangs out with his friends. But all throughout the way, all eyes were on him, luckily, almost no one recognized him, not even his old classmates, except for one. Spike finally arrived at the coffee shop and searched for his friends, he spotted them at their usual table, their backs to him. Spike walked over and sat down in front of them “Hey! What gives dude, this table is taken!” said Thorax not recognizing Spike “Are you ever going to stop acting like a chihuahua? Seriously man,” said Spike “Spike?!!!’ wow, Dad wasn’t lying about this,” said Ember “How did this happen?” asked Thorax “And what did you mean by Chihuahua?” Spike looked around the room and said “Can you guys keep a secret?” They both nodded Spike then told them everything that happened the day he transformed into this. “SO, Garble tried to kill you,” said Ember “And he said those things about Ember! I’m going to kill him,” said Thorax “Back of the line, pal,” said Spike “So, any plans for the future?” asked Ember “Nothing so far, but we’ll see,” said Spike. After that, Spike and his friends began to talk about different topics, until it was night time and they had to leave the shop. “Calls us anytime, ok Spike,” said Ember “Sure, goodnight,” said Spike as they all walked away in different directions. 30 MINUTES LATER Spike was almost reaching the path he was supposed to take to head back to his house, when… “I see the rumors are true, you changed,” said a male voice Spike knew to well “I was wondering when I was going to bump into you, Garble” said Spike as he turned to meet Garble and his lackeys “So, Mr. Piggy now became Mr. Boar,” said Grable with a laugh “And I see you are just as dumb as the last time I saw you… tragic,” said Spike “Oh, Mr. smartmouth now, huh,” said Garble getting angry “Mr. Dumbass, nice to see you too,” said Spike mocking him by acting like a polite gentleman “You wanna die, don’t you?” said Garble as he summoned so fire to his hands “Garble, when are you going to learn… that i’m not afraid of you… if anything I feel pity for you,” said Spike “I would watch my mouth, Bro,” said Garble as the flames intensified “You weren’t held much as a child, right… our are you that much of a coward that you are going to bully those weaker than you, and then go around town searching for a death wish?... MAN!! And here I thought you were stupid, but you’re plain down retarded,” said Spike Garble’s eyes were red with anger “DIE YOU FUCKING FAILURE!!!!!!” he screamed as he shot 2 fireballs straight for Spike The fireballs made contact with Spike with a loud boom, and then a massive cloud of smoke covered the place were Spike was standing “DUDE!!! Seriously, you need help,” said one of the lackeys “You better shut up before you join him,” said Garble as he looked at his “friend” with the same murderous look “There is no way he survived that,” said the other lackey “Think again,” said Spike as he walked out of the smoke cloud This made all of them turn pail “No! This… this can be… I-I-I killed you!” said Garble “With that infantile magic? The only thing you killed was the pity I had for you… but don’t worry, I’m not the vengeful type, so, just go home,” said Spike “You… you’re letting me go, just like that?” asked Garble “Yup, I have no interest in fighting those weaker than me… have nice evening,” said Spike as he walked away “Heh, this idiot thinks I’m inferior to him? Hehehehehe, DIE MOTHERFUCKER!!!!” thought Garble as he summoned a magic knife and threw it at Spike. Just as it was about to make contact with the back of Spike’s head, he caught it in his hand, and turned to look at him. “Wow, you failed again, which is weird because they say “Third time’s the charm” what are we to do now?” said Spike “We fight… I’M GOING TO END YOUR VALUELESS LIFE, FOR THE GOOD OF ALL OUR RAZE!!!!!” screamed Garble as a ball of water splashed on his face. “Are you awake now? Or do I have to repeat myself?” said Spike as he summoned another water ball “You- you can use magic?!” said Garble in surprise “Yeah, so?” said Spike “He changed too much… but I’m still superior to him, I HAVE TO BE!!! It’s the only way my family will ever accept me,” thought Garble “Go home Garble, now,” said Spike “This… this isn’t over,” said Garble as he walked away “Oh! And Garble...” said Spike catching his attention. Spike then began to imitate Garble’s movements from the first attack “WIND X!!” chanted Spike as he shot the spell at Garble, except that his was 5x stronger than Garble’s This caused Garble to fly through the park, through brick wall and into a construction site, demolishing half of the structure. “... Now we are even,” said Spike as he turned to look at the lackeys “Relax, you know that’s not going to kill him… I think… anyway, tell whoever asks to find me at my house, I’ll be waiting,” he said as he walked away. THE NEXT DAY “DECKER, YOU SON OF A BITCH!!! COME OUT HERE AND FACE ME!!!” said an angry male voice “What is it now, George?” said Bruce as he excited his mansion “Your son, sent mine to the hospital last night,” said George “AND YOUR SON ALMOST KILLED MY SON!!!!” screamed Bruce “THAT IS RIDICULOUS!!!” said George Bruce and George were about to begin punching each other when “Lord Darcy! I’ve been expecting you… I assume you are here to talk business,” said Spike as he walked out of the mansion “You! You are the one that sent my son to the hospital?!” said George “I won’t say I didn’t, but, I will say, you should be thankful that your son is still alive,” said Spike as he used some of his techno magic to create some minor screens, and began to play some of his memories as if they were videos “For 10 years, your son has bullied me, insulted me, assaulted me, and tried to kill me in more than 1 occation… now, with all this evidence, you should be grateful that I am not pressing charges, or that I held back enough to not kill your son when i had the chance,” said Spike Lord Darcy watched the videos over and over again, the images burning into his retinas “I… I didn’t know,” said George “Of course you did, you were the one that instigated your son to have that behavior… and I have proof… this was what he was thinking last night, when he attacked me,” said Spike as he played the video “He changed too much… but I’m still superior to him, I HAVE TO BE!!! It’s the only way my family will ever accept me,” thought Garble “So you are the only person responsible here… does that count as Felony Attempted murder or accessory to murder?... both actually,” said Spike Lord Darcy went pail “Let’s… let’s talk,” said George “Lord Dracy, we all know how to fix this… and I have to decline it,” said Spike “Yes, I will tell my daughter of the arrangement… WAIT, WHAT?!!!” said George “I have no intention of bringing your daughter into this mess, she has nothing to do with it,” said Spike “Then how are we going to fix it?” asked George “Make Garble attend military school, that way he’ll get those loose bolts screwed back into his head… and get him a girlfriend, maybe that way he’ll grow up,” said Spike “It’s settled then, leave my house and don’t come back without an invitation,” said Bruce as he and his son entered the mansion again “This kid… he’s powerful, very powerful, not to mention smart… I’m pretty sure that my little girl likes his type of man… well, I’ll let her decide that,” thought George as he left the area. 6 MONTHS LATER It’s been a very uninteresting 6 months, with the only highlights being Garble sent to the Military academy as to honor the deal made between Spike and Lord Darcy, and the sudden appearance of a secret admirer, who kept sending Spike love letter after love letter. Spike initially thought it was Barbara, or one of her friends, but, the news of this actually caused her to get a tad angry about it. With that mystery looming over his head, Spike decided to ignore it and concentrate solely on learning more about magic, sometimes locking himself in his room for days while studying every affinity, and when he made a surprising discovery, he teleported himself to the same field and test his new spells. Also adding the new workout regimen that Lord Marshall Hubert had given him as a request from Dragonlord Torch. And today, was one of those days, Spike had just finished testing out some new defense magic spells “So far so good… have to work on the light one, I need a beam not a laser… maybe if I add some more power…” thought Spike As soon as he thought that, he heard a loud BOOM, and then a massive cloud of smoke rising over the nearby trees. “What is all that about?” thought Spike as he made his way towards the mushroom cloud. Halfway there, he noticed that it was coming from a road, just over the border with the Canterlot Empire, he looked around and found the reason for the commotion. “Marauders! So close to our border?... and they seem to be attacking a… A ROYAL CONVOY!!!!” thought Spike as he saw the marauders exchange led with some of the bodyguards of said convoy. Spike quickly noticed that they were highly outnumbered, and that if backup didn’t arrive soon, the body count would be greater, and there was also the possibility of a kidnap. Spike was about to head over and assist, but he stopped himself, realizing that he would be illegally crossing the border. “I have to help… but then I can get into worse trouble… Come on Spike, what’s the right thing to do?” he thought as a magic grenade went off catching his attention “I’ll deal with the consequences later!” he said as he ran towards the battle. AT THE CONVOY “CENTRAL, WE NEED BACK ASAP, WHAT IS THE ETA FOR THAT?!!!” said one of the bodyguards “ETA 35 MINUTES!!” said the dispatcher “In that time, we’ll be dead,” said the bodyguard as a bullet hit him on the shoulder “Sir, what do we do?!!” asked another one “Keep fighting, we have to hold on until backup arrives!” said the head bodyguard before the survivors were surrounded by the marauders. “Drop your guns!” said the leader The bodyguards looked at each other and refused to obey “So be it,” said the leader as he pointed the gun at him He was about to pull the trigger, when a fire ball impacted one of his men, he screamed in agony as he burned alive, until he fell to the floor dead. “WHO DID THAT?!!! SHOW YOURSELF!!!!” said the leader “I’m right here!” said Spike catching the marauder’s attention “YOU?... you dare attack us? The powerful Eastern clan?” said the leader “I don’t see much of a challenge,” said Spike “Kill him!!! KILL THAT INSOLENT BRAT!!!” said the leader as all of the members began to shoot at Spike, who easily evaded every bullet and counter striked with all of his magic arsenal. One by one, all of the marauders fell to the floor lifeless, either burned alive, drown by water balls, asphyxiated by the air, impaled by stalagmites, and some even zapped to death by lightning, only leaving the leader “Wha… what are you?!!!” he screamed as he took one of the bodyguards as a hostage “STAY BACK!!!” “Oh, come now, this is a royal convoy, surely you can be a bit more… diplomatic,” taunted Spike “I’ll shoot his brains out!! Don’t test me,” said the leader as he pressed the barrel of the gun to the bodyguards head. Unknown to him, Spike was ready to end him, for he had created 3 rock daggers, which were hovering behind the leaders back thanks to some wind magic. “Last chance… give up or…” said Spike “Or what?!!” said the leader as he started to press the trigger Spike saw this and snapped his fingers This confused the leader, before his body was pierced by the 3 daggers, one through his brain, the other through his neck, and the last one through his heart, killing him “You should’ve worked on your diplomacy skills my friend… is everyone alright?” said Spike “We lost 5 members, but thanks for the help, we’d be dead if it weren’t for…” said one of the bodyguards “HELP!!!” came a female voice from inside the van The bodyguard and Spike rushed to it and opened the door, inside the van were 5 people, 3 females and 2 males, one which was bleeding out. “Please save my husband!!!” screamed the younger female “Help is on the way Princess Cadence, it should be here any minute,” said the bodyguard “He’s not going to make it if we wait… I think I can save him,” said Spike as he placed his hand over the gunshot wound in the younger male’s chest. As soon as he did, he realised how deep the injury was. “Oh dear, I don’t think Heal is going to work… what can I do? He’s losing blood fast… maybe I should cast Rebirth… but that’s a level 3 spell, If I fuck up… I don’t have time to think that much… but I must chanted it outloud,” thought Spike “Come forth, sudding holy light, end his suffering so that he may rise again, REBIRTH!!!!” Spike chanted “A level 3 holy magic spell?!!” said the older female After a few seconds the injury was fully healed and Spike fell backwards in exhaustion “That was… scary,” said the man as he sat up. “OH THANK GOODNESS YOU'RE OK!!!”said Princess Cadence After a few hugs and tears, everyone got out of the van to meet their hero “Hi, my name is Miamore Cadenza, but everyone knows me as Princess Cadence, and this is my husband Sean Anderson Silverstein, but everyone calls him Shining Armor, my parents-in-law, Nelson Silverstein and Tamana Silverstein-Lawlor, and my younger sister-in-law Tiffany Silverstein,” “But everyone calls me Twilight Sparkle, on another note, how were you able to cast such a high level spell?” asked Twilight “Twilight, let him introduce himself,” said Tamana “My name is Silvio Decker, and to answer your question, I’ve had a lot of practice,” said Spike “Decker, you’re a Dragonkin,” said Nelson “Yes sir… which means, I have to get back to my land, before I get arrested,” said Spike “Nonsense, we can vouch for you,” said Nelson Spike smiled and turned to look at the 5 dead bodyguards “Did they have families?” asked Spike “Yeah, one of them was about to get married… this was supposed to be an easy, peaceful mission,” said the head bodyguard. Spike walked over to the 5 corpses, and noticed the injuries that have taken their lives. “This one wasn’t older than me, maybe 17… can I do something to help them?... no, there is no holy magic spell that can do that, and necromancy is just going to create zombies… Unless, I combine the 2… it’s risky, but worth a shot,” thought Spike as he got into position “What is he doing?” asked Twilight “I don’t know,” said Cadence “Come forth evil energy, raise their bodies up to serve me for eternity, NECROMANCY!!!’ said Spike in a guttural voice as both of his eyes went black and his 2 hands were engulfed in dark clouds “WHAT IS HE DOING?!” screamed Shining Armor “Stop, don’t break his concentration,” said Cadence “Come forth, oh holy light, take back the evil power taking over them and free their souls, CURE!!!” said Spike as his right eye turned white, and his right arm became engulfed in white light. “This is interesting,” said Tamana “I’m more surprised about the fact he can use both holy and dark magic, that hasn’t happened in a long time,” said Nelson “Black and white, good and evil, combine and conquer over death, end their eternal sleep and make them rise, RESURRECTION!!!” chanted Spike as the 5 corpses were engulfed in a grey light. After a few seconds, the light disappeared, leaving just the 5 corpses “Come on, come on,” said Spike As soon as he said that, all of the corpses started moving “Oh, what happened,” said one of them, “You died, but I brought you back,” said Spike as he helped them up “That was amazing!” said Twilight as she walked over to Spike “Indeed, I’ve never seen someone being able to use, Holy magic and Dark Magic at the same time,” said Nelson “Thanks,” said Spike, as he noticed that one of the cars was damaged “Well, that won’t do… allow me to fix it,” he said as he walked over to it and began reconstructing the engine and front bumper. “Technomancy? You can use it too?” said Shining Armor “Yes, I actually have an affinity for every type of magic,” said Spike as he finished fixing the vehicule. “Sr. Decker, what you have done today for us, will ever be forgotten, how can we ever repay you?” said Cadence “Yeah, name it and it shall be done,” said Shining Armor Spike was about to answer, but he heard cars rushing nearby and a helicopter over head, nearby “That’s back up, I have to bolt… don’t worry about it, it was my good deed of the day,” said Spike as he walked over to the center of the road “Are you sure? We don’t mind the request,” said Cadence “Oh, no, I just wanted to help, that’s it… it was nice meeting you, goodbye,” said Spike as he teleported out of sight. Seconds later, back up appeared “Is everyone ok?” asked the captain “Yes,” said the lead bodyguard “Well, let’s hurry, let’s go to the castle to treat the wounded,” said the captain as everyone got into the vans “Silvio Decker… Celestia is going to love this,” said Cadence. THE NEXT DAY “... are you positive that’s what you want son?” said Bruce “Yeah, I mean, there is no way I can enter one of those academies, so, I’ll just go to the commerce academy,” said Spike “I’m proud that you want to continue your education, but, what about your talent, are you going to throw it in the garbage?” said Grace “Problem is, I didn’t take any magic courses during middle school, I have no grounds to enter,” said Spike It was then that the doorbell rang “I’ll get it… and even if I wanted to enter, I’ve only been able to use magic for 6 months, I’m not as strong as other people,” said Spike as he opened the door. Standing before him, was a beautiful woman, early 30s, about 6’0”, magenta eyes, her hair, a long mixture of cerulean, turquoise, cobalt blue, and heliotrope, and with a very curvaceous body. “Good morning, may I speak to Silvio Decker, please,” she said Ch. 3 Academy lifeThe Decker manor had gone quiet, so quiet that you could actually hear a pin drop. The only sound heard throughout the house was the sips coming from the cup of tea that Princess Celestia was having while waiting for the right time to begin talking. “Uhm, your majesty, mind me asking, but why do you want to talk to Silvio?” asked Barbara “Not yet, Dear, give it a minute… or two,” said Celestia A few seconds later they heard the front door open and footsteps coming towards the living room. “Woah!!! God, do you guys know how bad of a parking lot you guys have, I mean, I have a lot of cars, but… damn, you have various cars,” said a tall lanky man as he walked up to the sofa where Celestia was sitting. “Well, you see, I do a lot of commerce in different areas, and I’m just holding on to those vehicles until tomorrow when they will be shipped to the dealerships,” said Bruce “Yeah… that makes sense,” said the man “Would you like a cup of tea Lord Karius?” asked Hannah “Oh, no, thank you anyway dear,” said Lord Karius as he turned to face the Decker family “So, pardon my, uhm… friendly tone, but what is so important that the 2 most powerful people alive, come all the way done to my humble home without prior notice or escort?” said Grace “Well… Grace, the reason we came down here in secret… is for him,” said Celestia as she pointed at Spike “Oh, I’m fucked… I’m so royally fucked,” thought Spike as he began to sweat “Under what circumstance?” asked Bruce “Your son… committed a very big offense to the royal family yesterday,” said Karius That caused all of them to turn and look at Spike “Is this about me crossing the border illegally… cause if it is, I can explain,” said Spike “There is no need for that,” said Celestia “Yeah, we have all the details we need from the people you saved,” said Karius “People… he saved?” asked Barbara “Yes, your son and brother, was involved in a battle between a group of royal bodyguards and marauders, in which he not only defeated them all by risking his own life but was able to save, and return, the life to all of the people who had been hurt,” said Discord Everyone looked at Spike “That convoy was transporting my niece, Princess Miamore Cadenza, her husband Sean Silverstein, her sister-in-law, Tiffany Silverstein, and her in-laws Nelson and Tamana Silverstein… they would’ve been kidnapped or even the unthinkable if it weren’t for your fast actions,” said Celestia “So, what is the crime?” asked Bruce “The crime is that he abandoned the area without that much as a thank you from our part,” said Discord “THAT’S IT?!!!!” asked Grace “Well… no, there was something else that caught our attention in the report they gave us,” said Karius “And that is?” asked Spike “Well, you tell us,” said Celestia “Yeah, I mean, you can use every type of magic known to mankind… and to add insult to injury, you can combine Holy and Dark magic without killing yourself, HOLY AND DARK MAGIC, I mean, we had to check that out,” said Karius with a smile “Yes, I can do that, but… Lord Karius, what is this really about?” asked Spike “Discord,” he said “Excuse me?” said Spike “Call me Discord, Lord Karius was my father,” said Discord “Discord… what is this about?” asked Bruce “Well… I believe you know of the Canterlot academy,” said Discord “Barely,” said Spike “Barely?” asked Discord “Yeah, while I was in school, I was never allowed to attend the seminars,” said Spike “Why?” asked Discord “I didn’t count as a living person,” said Spike “I’m going to need a better explanation for that,” said Discord “Well, I’ve only had my powers for a little over 6 months,” said Spike “That’s true, he was born with a level of just 10 magic points, but it changed after an incident,” said Grace “What incident?” asked Celestia Spike then proceeded to explain everything that happened “My God, that is terrible, and what happened to this Darcy fellow?” asked Celestia “Dragonlands Royal military academy… it was part of the deal with his father,” said Spike “Well, at least he’ll get straighten up,” said Discord “Hopefully, if not I will do it for them,” said Barbara “A feisty one, I’m I right,” said Discord with a smile “Yes, she is very protective of her brother,” said Grace “I can see… regardless, after hearing so many good things about your son, we decided to grant him the final spot in our scholarship class,” said Celestia “Really?” everyone said “Yup… we’ll unless he declines,” said Discord Spike went silent for a few seconds and said “What about Dragonlord Torch?” “Do you really think we would’ve come all the way here in secret without asking him first?” asked Celestia “Good point,” said Spike “You see, I told you he was a smart kid,” said Celestia with a confident grin “Yeah, yeah, he agreed with your reasoning, hurray,” said Discord sarcastically “But, that means I’m going to have to move to the city of Canterlot,” said Spike “Well, yes, but you aren’t going to have to worry about food and shelter, that’s all taken care of,” said Celestia “Really?” asked Spike “Yup, plus, if you need more information about the campus, we’ll be giving much more info during the opening ceremony,” said Discord “Shouldn’t it be a welcoming ceremony?” asked Spike “2 for me,” said Celestia “Can… can I think about this for a minute,” said Spike “Sure,” said Celestia as she took the plate that Hannah had brought for her, which containing a piece of red velvet cake “That will probably go to your hips,” said Discord “You seriously don’t value your life, do you?” said Celestia with murder on her voice At the other side of the room, Spike and his family were debating about the idea “Ok, so…” Spike began “Take it,” they all said “Take what?” asked Spike “The chance, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Bruce “Plus, with your abilities, not using them and growing them would be a waste of talent,” said Grace “And, you can finally complete your dream of bringing honor to our household… plus, I’m gonna be applying for that same academy next year, so, I’ll be counting on you to be my guide when I get there,” said Barbara “Ok, then…” said Spike as he walked over to the sofa where Celestia and Discord were munching down on more red velvet cake. “How… how much cake did the 2 of you eat?” asked Spike “Well, this is my 5th plate,” said Celestia “4th and I have to say, it is simply superb,” said Discord “Indeed, who made this?” asked Celestia “I did,” said Spike “YOU CAN BAKE!!!!” they both screamed “Yup, a lot of free time in my hands, so, I did many things to be occupied,” said Spike “You must simply give me the recipe,” said Celestia “Sure… about the offer… I’m… I’m taking it,” said Spike “Excellent, now… be sure to pack tonight… so that you can take the next train to Canterlot tomorrow morning… the entrance ceremony is going to be held this coming Monday,” said Celestia as she finished yet another piece of cake “That’s in 3 days,” said Spike “Exactly… so, be ready, we’ll have someone waiting for you at the train station tomorrow afternoon,” said Discord “Understood,” said Spike “Well, our business here is over… by the way, is there a possibility that we can take the rest of the cake?” asked Celestia “If you give 2 hours, I can bake you a new one,” said Spike Celestia and Discord looked at each other “We’ve got time, plus... I’d like to talk with your father about some business,” said Discord THAT NIGHT Spike was moving around his room putting stuff into his bag preparing to depart for Canterlot; he was happy for this new adventure but at the same time, he felt like if something was really out of place, like if something was missing. “Something on your mind, Big Bro?” said Barbara as she entered the room “No, I was just thinking,” said Spike “Thinking about what?” asked Barbara “It’s just that… it feels surreal, 6 months ago, I was a nobody and now, I’m about to head to THE most prestigious academy in the world, with a scholarship,” said Spike “And what is the problem?” asked Barbara “Not a day has gone by since I think about what happened that day… I even went in search of the cave I fell through, but… I never found it,” said Spike “Are you sure you went to the right place?” asked Barbara “Yeah, I did the math and even gave myself a 1KM radius of error, but nothing,” said Spike “Well, maybe it was destroyed by the rain,” said Barbara “It’s limestone, it doesn’t get dissolved easily… it just seems too… convenient,” said Spike “Convenient? How?” asked Barbara “Like if all this was, destined to happen, even without me wanting to,” said Spike “But, I thought you wanted to become strong,” said Barbara “I did… but, having all this power… it feels like cheating,” said Spike “Well… the way I see it, the power you possess can be a great help… you only have to discover the reason why you need it,” said Barbara “You know, I was actually thinking the same thing… maybe I can find my calling down at Canterlot,” said Spike “Well, just remember that I will always be here for you, no matter what,” said Barbara “Right… thanks, sis… I better call it a night, my train leaves at 8 AM, that’s in 7 hours,” said Spike “Of course… goodnight Spike,” said Barbara as she gave him a kiss on the forehead. THE NEXT AFTERNOON AT CANTERLOT TRAIN STATION Spike finally arrived at Canterlot, and he was surprised, it was nothing like the Dragonlands, the train station was overflowing with people getting off or on trains, some wearing suit and ties heading for work, others wearing ostentatious and expensive outfits, and others with normal clothes. “I think this trains station has more people in it than the whole dragonlands,” thought Spike as he walked towards the lobby. It would’ve been an unamusing walk, if it weren’t for people looking at Spike as he walked past them. “I hope I’m not doing something wrong… man, I should've practiced my social skills a tad more… I hope this doesn’t come back to haunt me later on,” he thought as he made it to the lobby. He was about to walk out the main entrance, when he noticed 3 interesting individuals, 2 males and 1 female. One male and the female individuals were dressed in military attire, while the other male was wearing a tuxedo and holding up a sign that said “Silvio Decker” Spike started to walk towards them, and during his short trip, he overheard a few things “I wonder who this person is?” said a female voice “He must be important if the army and the Princess personal butler are here to pick him up,” said another “Maybe he is a lord or diplomate from a foreign land,” said another “I wonder if he is hot,” said another “Or single,” said another Spike felt a bit uncomfortable hearing those remarks “This welcome wasn’t necessary,” he thought As soon as he got close to them, the male soldier said “Sir Decker, It’s an honor to meet you,” “Likewise,” said Spike with a forced smile as he turned to look around and notice the stares he was getting. Many of them were of surprise, but they also included looks of admiration, lust, and hate Regardless, Spike hated being the center of attention, mostly cause he wasn’t used to it “Why do I have the feeling that is going to be an everyday thing?” he thought “Right this way, please,” said the butler as he took Spike’s luggage out of his hands, except his guitar case. Spike was escorted out of the train station and into a limo. “Ok, this is just too much,” he thought “Where to?” asked the driver “The Grand Mare Hotel,” said the butler The drive was going to be fairly quiet, but “Was… was all this really necessary?” asked Spike “Princess Celestia’s orders, except for those 2, they came on their own volition,” said the butler Spike turned to look at them “We wanted to thank the person that saved our family members,” said the man “Yes, if it wasn’t for you, my fiance would be dead now… I won’t ever be able to repay you, but if you ever need something, just contact the base and ask for Lt. Carmen Munoz,” she said “Same here, General Dylan Alderbridge, you saved my younger brother… our family is forever in your debt,” he said “You don’t have to…” said Spike “We have arrived at our destination,” said the butler as the car came to a stop When Spike got out he noticed that they were at a 5 star hotel “Seriously, with all of this showing off,” said Spike as he was escorted in After a few minutes he arrived at the suit reserved for him “Is this just for me, or?” asked Spike “The suit, yes, but all of the scholarship students are booked into this hotel until the opening ceremony,” said the butler “Why?” asked Spike “That information will be given to you on Monday, now, please rest, I assume it was a long ride, but also feel free to head out into the city and explore,” said the butler “One final question,” said Spike “Sure,” said the butler “If I wanted to increase my social skills, where should I go?” asked Spike “That’s a tough one, I believe social skills get better over time… but I would head to the library,” said the butler “Why?” asked Spike “The library has spell books, you might be able to find something that interests you… now if you do, the library is 5 blockers south from here, and it’s open 24 hours… anything else?” asked Spike “I never caught your name,” said Spike “My name is Frederick, it has been a pleasure, sir Decker,” he said as he left “Likewise,” said Spike as he turned to the massive room “I should probably watch some TV… I have the rest of today and tomorrow to explore the town,” thought Spike. ONE HOUR LATER Spike found his way walking down the crowded streets of Downtown Canterlot, he had initially decided to head down to the library, but then decided otherwise, seeing that he should better go sightseeing. “He had now walked all the way down to the central park, which was crowded as he imagined, people jogging, having a picnic, spending time with their friends and/or loved ones, people on dates, kids playing on the playground. It was a very pleasant sight for Spike, as he continued to walk around the park “Man, I’m starting to like this place, a lot, It’s like a paradise,” he thought At that moment Spike made it to the soccer field where a group of people, not older than him were having a quick match. Spike decided to sit down and watch the game for a few minutes, until he noticed a little commotion happening in the pitch “Seriously dude?” said an angry female voice “Sorry guys, but matters of the heart come first,” said a male voice “So… when you’re out on a mission and have your urges, you’re just going to abandon it to bang your chick? Really?” said another female voice “Sorry, I’ll make it up to you guys next time,” said the guy as he left the pitch “Now what are we going to do?” said one of the girls as she went over to the shade of the tree followed by the remaining players. “Well, we just need to find some who wants to play to finish the game,” said another male voice “What about him? He’s been watching us play for a while and he is wearing workout clothes,” said one of the girls “Good idea, I’ll go ask him,” said one of them She walked over to where Spike was and was about to start talking when she made eye contact with him, and for some reason she started to feel butterflies in her stomach “Hey, I was wondering… you see, I… I MEAN WE… we just lost one of our players to some… “personal matter”, and we noticed that you were sitting here watching us play… so, wanna join?” said the girl Spike looked at her and said “Sure… but I have to warn you… I’m a bit rusty,” said Spike as he got up The girl looked at him with amazement, she could tell that he was the sporty type, he had muscle but not too much to make him look intimidating, plus, he was tall. “Roxanne,” she said “Excuse me?” asked Spike “My name is Roxanne Daniels, but my friends call me Rainbow Dash, what about you?” said Rainbow Dash “Silvio Decker, my friends call me Spike,” he answered “Well, nice to meet you, Spike,” she said as he stretched her hand “Likewise,” said Spike as he shook it For whatever reason, this caused Rainbow Dash to feel a jolt of electricity but hid it well from Spike “Wow, she’s pretty, you can tell that she likes to work out, she has the muscle to prove it, yet she doesn’t look like a bodybuilder, her hairstyle is also very unique. It resembles a rainbow to perfection… if I had to guess… she’s about 5’7” and about my age, maybe a tad younger,” thought Spike as he followed her to the rest of the players “Well guys, he agreed, this is Silvio,” said Rainbow Dash “Hello,” they all said “Hi,” said Spike “Ok, Sunset, he’s on your team,” said Rainbow Dash “Right… can you play soccer?” asked Sunset “Yup, haven’t played in a while, but I’m sure it’ll come back,” said Spike “Great, you’re playing forward with me,” she said “Ok,” said Spike as he took off his sports jacket and let everyone see his toned body “Wow,” thought Rainbow Dash as she started to slover a bit “Not bad,” thought Sunset Shimmer as she went into the pitch followed by Spike “This girl is really cute, long hair, red and yellow hair combination, perfect body, skinny with the perfect amount of curve in the right places… WOW!!! Hold your hormones, Spike, you barely know her,” thought Spike as he got into position “Hey, one last question?” said Spike “Yup,” said Sunset “What should I call you?” asked Spike “Call me Sunset, my name is Sofia Sanchez, but everyone calls me Sunset Shimmer,” she said “Right, then feel free to call me Spike,” he said “Gotcha,” she said as the game restarted After a few minutes, the game was tied 3-3, and it was coming close to the end of the match. Sunset Shimmer had the ball as she did her best to dribble past her opponents “Final minutes of the match… she passes one, two, three… she’s getting near the enemy area… only the goalkeeper between her and glory… and… UUUF,” Narrated Sunset Shimmer as she played, unaware that Rainbow Dash was near her to dispossess her of the ball possession, causing her to fall to the floor “You really have to get your head out of the clouds… anyway, smell you later loser,” she said as she dashed all the way across the field. “This is how you do it” thought Rainbow Dash as she swung to kick the ball, but instead kicked the air, losing her balance and falling right on her butt. Rainbow Dash quickly looked around for the ball and noticed Spike sliding away with the ball near him. “Not on my watch sister,” said Spike as he kicked the ball all the way to the other half of the pitch for Sunset Shimmer to head it into the net “THAT’S how you do it,” said Spike as he jumped up and down “That was amazing” said Rainbow Dash She was about to go over towards Spike, but she was defeated by Sunset Shimmer, who went over to give him a hug and a high five “That was amazing!” she said “Well, I told you it was going to come back to me,” said Spike While the conversation continued, Rainbow Dash felt more and more irked “Why am I so angry right now… AND WHY DOES HE KEEP TALKING TO HER LIKE IF THEY WERE CHILDHOOD FRIENDS!!!!” she thought as she walked up to them “So, Spike, tell us about yourself,” said Rainbow Dash as she placed her elbow on his shoulder. This made Sunset look at Rainbow Dash in surprise “Well, I am the son of a lord in the Dragonlands, and I came here to join the Canterlot Academy,” said Spike “Really, us too,” said Sunset Shimmer getting closer to Spike “Really?” said Spike “Yeah, I came here with another of my friends, her name is Florence, but she doesn’t like sports that much so, she isn’t here,” said Rainbow Dash “So, what made you join the academy?” asked Sunset Shimmer “The Princess,” said Spike This answer caught them by surprise “And why is that?” asked Sunset “Are you into older women?” asked Rainbow Dash, her tone a tad irritated “No, she kind of… forced me to join,” said Spike “Wait WHAT?!!!” they both said Spike then proceeded to explain the events that led to him coming to Canterlot “SERIOUSLY!!! YOU CAN WILD ANY TYPE OF MAGIC!!!!” they both said “Yup… surprising I know,” said Spike “That is so cool… I can only use Wind and Water magic,” said Rainbow Dash “And I can only use, Light and Fire magic,” said Sunset Shimmer “Well, at least you girls have an easier time concentrating than I do,” said Spike “What do you mean?” asked Rainbow Dash “Since I can use any type of magic, means that I have to train 2 of them every day so that there isn’t an imbalance in my magic… it’s really annoying,” said Spike as he looked at his phone “HOLY LAVA!!! IS THAT THE TIME!!! Sorry girls I have to go… see you on Monday,” said Spike as he put on his jacket and ran away in a hurry “BYE SPIKE, SEE YOU ON MONDAY!!!” said Sunset Shimmer “SMELL YA LATER MAN… I’ll be counting the seconds, Spike,” said Rainbow Dash A FEW MINUTES LATER Spike had run so fast he didn’t even realize he made a wrong turn, and now he was lost “Great… no signal either… now what?!” he thought as he walked down the train “At least is quiet and peaceful down here,” Just then he heard movement in the nearby bushes “Hello?” he said Just then, a little white bunny jumped out of the bushes and into Spike’s hands “Hey there little… buddy, what’s wrong?” asked Spike, his answer delayed for only a second, as a fox jumped out of the same bushes and landed in front of Spike. It looked at the bunny and began barking “I didn’t know foxes could bark!” thought Spike “That’s enough!!” he said as he stomped his feet to scare the fox. Sure enough, the fox jumped back in fear “BEAT IT!!!!” said Spike as he stumped his feet again, and the fox ran away in fear “Well, that was accelerating… it’s ok buddy, you’re safe now,” said Spike as he petted the bunny Seconds later, they heard a female voice screaming and walking towards them “ANGEL!!! ANGEL!!!” she cried out Seconds later, Spike noticed a very beautiful girl walking up the path, she had long pink hair, cyan eyes, and was about 5’3”, but what caught Spike’s attention was the size of her boobs. “Excuse me? Have you seen a baby bunny run past here?” she said as she walked up to Spike, his eyes glued to her boobs “You mean him?” said Spike as he showed her the bunny in his hands “YES!!! Oh, Angel, I was so worried about you,” she said as she took him off his hands and hugged him For whatever reason, Spike had now grown tongue-tied “Wow, her boobs are big… HOLD IT SPIKE!!! NO, YOU CAN’T SAY THOSE THINGS!!!” “Thank you so much, My name is Florence Scavo, my friends call me Fluttershy, and this is my pet bunny Angel nice to meet you,” she said with a big smile Spike, however, was having a mental battle right now “DON’T SAY ANYTHING STUPID! DON’T SAY ANYTHING STUPID! DON’T SAY ANYTHING STUPID!... I like your boobs,” he finally said, which caused him to slap his forehead “DUMBASS!!!!!!!” he screamed in his head “Ah… thanks,” said Fluttershy her face turning red “I’m so sorry… I just spoke out of my butt, hi, my name is Silvio Decker, the pleasure is mine,” said Spike “It’s ok, I mean, I like your body shape,” said Fluttershy doing her best to make the moment less awkward “Thanks… I’m really sorry about what I said,” he said “It’s ok, I get that a lot,” said Fluttershy “Must be very uncomfortable… by the way, what are you doing out here so late?” asked Spike “Well, I came to the park to let Angel run around for a little while, then the fox appeared and chased him all the way here… what about you?” said Fluttershy “I was playing soccer with my new friends, then I realized the time and made a run for it, and when I realized… I was lost,” said Spike hanging his head down in embarrassment This caused Fluttershy to giggle a bit “Well, it happens to anyone, come on, Angel can show us the way out,” said Fluttershy as she started to walk towards the exit of the trail. A few minutes later, Spike and Fluttershy were almost out of the trail, and they had a very nice conversation on the way there. “So, Spike, where are you from?” asked Fluttershy “Dragonlands, my father is a lord serving under Dragonlord Torch, he’s somewhat of my uncle,” said Spike “That’s nice,” said Fluttershy, a bit of fear on her voice “What about you?” asked Spike “Well… I was born in Cloudsdale, but I lived in the nearby town of Ponyville, then I got accepted into the Canterlot Academy, with my friend Roxanne…” said Fluttershy “Oh, Rainbow Dash, so you’re the friend she was talking about,” said Spike “You know her?” said Fluttershy “Yeah, I was playing soccer with her and another girl called Sunset Shimmer, plus another amount of dudes, from which I don’t remember their names,” said Spike “Oh, well…” said Fluttershy This answer made Spike feel uneasy “Man, I wish I could know what she was thinking,” said Spike “So, Spike… are you going to attend the Academy too?” asked Fluttershy “Yeah, I’m a scholarship student,” said Spike “Really? You must be very talented,” said Fluttershy “No, I was, kind of forced to take the scholarship,” said Spike “What do you mean?” asked Fluttershy “Well, you see…” said Spike as he began telling Fluttershy the past events “YOU DID WHAT?!!!!” she screamed “It was either that or a higher body count… and, well, I do admit that I crossed the border illegally… but…” said Spike “That’s beside the point… you’re a hero!” she said “Nah… I was just at the right place at the right time… anyone dumb enough would’ve done the same,” said Spike “Why are you insulting yourself?” asked Fluttershy “Well, you might think I was being brave, but, in actuality, I was so scared I almost crapped my pants more than once… therefore the expression,” said Spike “I get it… so, Princess Celestia and Lord Discord went to your house to give you the scholarship,” said Fluttershy “Yup, Discord said “If I had half of the affinities you possess, I wouldn’t let them go to waste,” said Spike “Oh, and what affinities do you have?” asked Fluttershy “Oh… all of them,” said Spike This caused Fluttershy to stop in her tracks and turn to face Spike “Prove it!” she said “What?” asked Spike “Prove it, that you can use all types of magic,” she said “Ok,” said Spike as he, one by one, cast all of his affinities “OH MY GOD!!! That’s amazing, I can only use Holy and air magic,” said Fluttershy “Well, the fact that you can use holy magic is amazing on its own,” said Spike with a smile This caused Fluttershy’s heart to skip a beat and turn red “Thanks…” she said as they reached the street. “Well, it was nice to meet you Fluttershy, I’m sorry for what I said, seriously,” said Spike “It’s ok, the feeling is mutual,” said Fluttershy having trouble making eye contact “Man, I’m really making her feel uncomfortable, I should better take my leave… but I should also show here I am friendly… well, I’m headed this way, I’ll see you on Monday for the opening ceremony, have a very good night,” said Spike as he began to walk away “You too…” said Fluttershy as she watched him leave, then she turned to look at Angel “... why does my heart feel like this? It’s like… I want to be near him all the time,” she said, this caused Angel to slap his forehead. MINUTES LATER Spike had been walking for a few minutes now, looking for a way back to the hotel. “Did I really have to turn the way furthest away from her?... well, at least she knows I have no bad intentions towards her,” thought Spike as he continued walking “... once you get to the end of the road, turn left and cross the through the market, then turn left and walk for 500 meters and you will reach your destination,” said the voice of the GPS “Heh, where would we be without Google Maps… “I hope I don’t get copyrighted by saying that… well, it said I have to turn left and cross the market,” thought Spike as he followed the GPS instructions. He was halfway through the market when he heard “GOSH DARN IT… IT REALLY IS STUCK!!!” Spike turned his head to where the voice came from and noticed 4 people around a large truck. “Better see what’s that about,” thought Spike as he walked towards them “Ok, one last try… LIFT!!!” said the man, as he and another female present tried to lift the truck “It’s too heavy!” she said as they both let go of the truck. “Darn these petty town criminals, stealing damn manhole covers, darn them all to hell!” said the older female present “Granny Smith, you shouldn’t get that angry, it’s not good for your health,” said the girl “I’ll get angry when I want to get angry, plus I’m only 63 years old, and I ain’t feeling old!” she said “The crane said it can’t come to help since all of their units are currently in use or in maintenance,” said another female “OH, FOR CRYIN’ OUT LOUD!!!!” said the older female “Is there a problem?” said Spike out of nowhere This caused all of them to jump scared. “Don’t do that… and yes, our truck got stuck in an uncovered manhole,” said the man “Plus, the crane company isn’t able to come to aid us at the moment,” said the younger female “Let me try,” said Spike as he walked over “Ah, no disrespect man, but, if my bro and I can't lift it, I highly doubt that…” said the younger female At that same instant, Spike used his muscles, wind, and earth magic to lift the truck out of the manhole “WOW!” she said when she saw Spike lifting the truck “I’ve never seen someone so strong in my life,” said the man “Well, I’m not that strong… I’m just using wind and earth magic to aid me,” said Spike as he placed the truck back down. “Well, thank you there, stranger, my name is Olivia Smith, but folks call me Granny Smith,” said the older female as she walked up to Spike “Nice to meet you, my name is Silvio Decker, my friends call me Spike,” he said “Well, Spike, allow me to introduce the rest of my family, this is my oldest grandson, Michael Smith…” she said as she pointed to the tall man, he had so much muscle, he scared the hell out of Spike “Nice to meet you,” said Spike as he shook his hand only for him to crush it “Likewise Spike, call me Big Mac, that’s what folks call me round ’ere” he said “... this is Sarah Baker, she is Michael’s fiance…” continued Granny Smith “Hi, thank you so much, and, sorry about your hand, Mac tends to ignore his own strength,” “No, I don’t,” said Big Mac as he accidentally hit a column causing it to fall “You were saying?” said Sarah “I just try to be careful Sugar Belle, but I can’t,” said Big Mac as Sugar Belle hugged him “... and this lovely lady is my granddaughter, Audrey Smith,” said Granny Smith “SO, this is what they call an amazon?, she’s tall, maybe 6’1”, plus you can tell she works out, even her boobs are big, SERIOUSLY DUDE?!!! AGAIN!!!!... anyway, she’s pretty, plus, she has this vibe to her, that she is someone you can trust,” thought Spike “I’ve never seen someone like you,” she said “I… don’t get it,” said Spike “You can use earth and wind magic at the same time,” she said “Yeah, well, I can actually use all types of magic,” said Spike “REALLY!!!” they all said “Yup,” said Spike as he did a little demonstration “Holy Apples… this is amazing,” said Big Mac as he admired the magic “What brings you to Canterlot?” asked Granny Smith “The academy,” said Spike “Guessed it,” said Granny Smith “You must be loaded,” said Applejack “Yeah… but I’m a scholarship student,” said Spike “Yeah, figures, with that amount of magic it’ll be foolish to overlook you,” said Granny Smith “Oh, no, it doesn’t have much to do with my magic… I think,” said Spike “So, then?” asked Granny Smith Spike then proceeded to once again tell his story “YOU TOOK DOWN A GANG OF MARAUDERS!!!” said Big Mac “SAVED THE ROYAL FAMILY!!!” said Sugar Belle “CURED THE INJURED!!!!” said Granny Smith “AND RESURRECTED THE DEAD!!!!” said Audrey “Pretty much, yeah,” said Spike “HOW CAN YOU BE SO CHILL ABOUT IT?!!!” said Audrey “Cause, I kind of was so terrified of doing it, I kind of did it on impulse… plus, I’m no hero, despite what Princess Celestia thinks,” said Spike as he finished checking the truck “Well, thank you again, for your help Spike, if you ever need something, just give these 3 a call, they are all enrolled in the Academy anyway… or come to me if it is really important, we’ll be happy to help,” said Granny Smith “I’ll keep it in mind, thanks, goodnight,” said Spike as he began walking again, made it to the corner, and turned left. Everyone was ready to leave, but Audrey was still staring in the direction of Spike “Something wrong?” asked Sugar Belle “No, it’s just that…” said Audrey “You just met your dream man?” said Sugar Belle “Wait, What?” said Audrey “Applejack, you have the same look on your face that I had when I met Mac 2 years ago, don’t try to hide it,” said Sugar Belle “Something wrong?” asked Granny Smith “Applejack is in love,” said Sugar Belle “Figures… I thought the same thing,” said Granny Smith “Wait… seriously?” said Applejack “Yup, you never looked away, your eyes glued on him this whole time… guess going to the academy isn’t so bad anymore, ain’t it?” said Granny Smith “Well…” said Applejack “Just make sure to take advantage, make him notice you every chance you get,” said Granny Smith “Why?” asked Applejack “Would you like some other girl to come up and take your dream man away?” said Granny Smith “No… but…” said Applejack “Then, take charge,” said Granny Smith “Yeah, try to be in the same team as him… that’s how Mac and I fell in love,” said Sugar Belle “Someone mentioned me?” said Big Mac “The truck ready?” asked Granny Smith “Eeyup,” said Big Mac “Then let’s go home, we have a lot of work tomorrow,” said Granny Smith as she got on the truck. THE NEXT DAY Spike was walking down the streets towards the library, and they were even more crowded than yesterday “Wonder what is going on? Maybe there is a celebration,” said Spike as he continued to walk. He was about to make it to the library when he heard “Hey, gorgeous, wanna go have a good time?” said a male voice “Wow, if that is his best pick up line, I kinda feel sorry for him,” thought Spike Spike was about to walk away, until he noticed something There were 2 guys holding a girl back, and by the looks of it, these guys were serious about their offer. “I have no interest on going anywhere with 2 brutes like you,” said the girl This line immediately sent red flags to Spike’s head “Well too bad… for you,” said one of them “Unhand me this instant!!” said the girl Spike immediately ran over to where everything was happening. “Shut up you bitch!!” said the man holding her as he was about to slap her, only for Spike to top his hand “Slapping a woman? Your mother should be ashamed,” said Spike as he shoved the guys hand back so forcefully it snapped. “ARGH!!! My arm… what do you think you are doing?” said the other one “That’s my line,” said Spike “She was asking for it, I mean, look at her, she’s only missing a sign that says “fuck me” said the man who tried to slap the girl “And you are only missing one more word to die,” said Spike as his 2 arms lit up, his left one with flames and his right one with lightning. “Ha!, I’m not afraid of you!!” said the guy with the injured arm as he’s arm was surrounded with rocks. “Yeah, you’re messing with one of the strongest Diamond Dog members ever… prepare to hurt,” said the other one As soon as he finished that sentence, Spike zapped the 2 of them so hard, their hair was burnt to a crisp. “That was disappointing,” said Spike He then turn to face the girl “Are you ok?” he asked “Yes, thank you… are they… you know?” asked the girl “I don’t think so, I had it on stun,” said Spike This remark caused the girl to laugh “Well, they do work… nice to meet you, my name is Ruby Crystal Blythe, but my friends call me Rarity, I’m the eldest daughter or Duke Harrison Blythe,” she said But Spike was once again awestruck, this girl was plain down gorgeous, she had long purple hair, her blue eyes resembling 2 dark blue diamonds and her body, it was meant for a supermodel, she wasn’t too skinny, having the perfect amount of fat in her body, her legs long and silky, and her boobs, although smaller than Fluttershy’s, were very well defined, she probably stood at 5’7” but because of her high heels it was hard to tell. “Nice to meet you, my name is Silvio Decker, my friends call me Spike, and I am the eldest son of Lord Bruce Decker of the Dragonlands,” said Spike “I know him, my father has done much business with him, it is so nice to finally meet someone of his family,” said Rarity “Likewise, are you here for the Academy?” asked Spike “Indeed, I was awarded a scholarship to the academy for my ability with water, earth, wind, and holy magic affinities,” said Rarity “Cool me too,” said Spike “Too what? Attending the academy or having those affinities?” asked Rarity “Oh, I got a scholarship, but it was for saving the royal family of the Crystal Empire,” said Spike “EXCUSE ME?!!!” said Rarity “Well, I wouldn’t say I got it, it was more like forced upon me… thanks in part to the fact that I can use all types of magic,” said Spike “That is outstanding… anyway, I must depart, see you tomorrow, Spike,” she said with a smile as she left “Did… did I say something to offend her?” said Spike “Wow, you are strong,” said a female voice behind Spike He turned to meet the owner of the voice face to face, she had long curly pink hair, was about 5’5” and despite the fact that she was jumping up and down, Spike could tell she had a very nice figure. “Hi, my name is Persia Diane Patterson, but you can call me Pinkie Pie,” she said “Uh, hi,” said Spike “Don’t worry, Spike, introductions aren’t required, I know much about you… well, I overheard the explanation… but I can tell, there is more to you, oh yes, you were born with less magic power than everyone, you were bullied and ostracized by everyone, then one day, you are granted great power and now you are here, looking for a reason to your powers,” she said “How did you...?” asked Spike “Know?... it’s one of my abilities “Discerning eye” it allows me to see the abilities and a quick backstory of whoever I use it on… anyway, I look forward to our time together here at the Academy, maybe we can even form a team… and be happy to help you find your purpose, see you later Spike,” she said as she skipped away “That was weird… discerning eye, right… maybe I can learn about it at the library,” said Spike as he ran to the library. A FEW HOURS LATER “Nothing… nothing… nothing… nothing… here it is… Discerning eye, an ability for Holy and Dark magic affinity, this spell allows you to take a look into anything, be it a person, an item, a plant, or a weapon, also known as “God’s eye” by holy casters or as “Satan’s knowledge” by dark casters, this spell is hard to complete, the magic requirements for it, added to the affinity, is to have a magic power of over 200… Well, let’s give this a shot,” thought Spike as he closed his eyes, concentrated and felt his retina bulge up and come back to normal after a few seconds. Spike opened his eyes and looked around. He rested his eyes on the 2 librarians and their stats came out. “Wilfred Weston, magic affinities Holy magic, age 34, in a relationship with Gina Blasie, magic points 250, librarian, army veteran… Gina Blasie, magic affinities, wind, age 28, in a relationship with Wilfred Wilson, magic points 130, librarian, in heat… chances of impregnation today 100%... well that was awfully specific, but it works,” thought Spike as he fixed all of the books and head to the hotel. THE NEXT DAY Spike walked up the steps to the Academy, his nerves highly on edge, mostly because of the stairs he was getting. “Time to use my new trick… Mina Shirayuki, magic affinity earth, age 15, blah, blah, Sexually attracted to caster… George Whitesides, blah blah… hostile jealousy towards caster do to raze, wow, that one I can’t believe,” thought Spike “I knew it… it is you,” said a female voice coming from behind Spike Spike turned and saw that the owner of the voice was also a familiar face “I found you,” she said as she walked up and hugged him “Nice to see you to Princess Silverstein,” said Spike At the mention of this, Twilight broke the hung and looked at him sternly “Don’t call me that, I can’t possibly allow you to treat me that way after you saved my life, just call me Twilight,” she said with a smile “Ok, sure… I’ll try it with her…” said Spike as he used discerning eye on Twilight “You’ve got to be kidding me…” Ch. 5 Operation "Trail of tears"Author's Note Sorry, it took so long to upload the chapter, I was hit from different directions with work, studies and, the news that one of my childhood friends committed suicide. Please if you or someone you know is having those thoughts please call the suicide prevention hotline. I'll try to publish the next chapter over the weekend Ch. 5 Operation "Trail of tears" RING… RING… RING… “Hello?!” said Spike “Morning son, we were just calling to see if we can facetime you?” said Bruce over the phone “Sure, I’ll call you in a sec,” said Spike as he hung up the call and headed to his laptop. “There we are, how’s it going sport?” said Grace “Everything is great, I am now the captain of a special ops team,” said Spike “That’s wonderful!” said Grace “Care to share the deets?” said Bruce Spike then told his parents about all that had happened to him when he arrived at the Academy, including meeting the girls, his squadmates, and the entrance exam. “... and so we passed, but, we then discovered that we were required to live in the same house, and so… they are now my roommates as well,” said Spike “So… you mean to tell us… that…” his parents began “... you’re living in a house with 2 girls your age without supervision!” said Grace “...There are already 9 girls interested in you!... make sure to use protection, I don’t want to feel old just yet!” said Bruce over his wife’s comment. Unfortunately, Grace wasn’t amused by his comment and punched him so hard he flew to the wall to the right of the screen leaving an outline of his body as he fell back down to the floor. “Ignore his comments Spike… your dad tends to think with his dick sometimes, I’m sure the idea of being intimate with any of your friends has crossed your mind,” said Grace “Uf!, I thought you meant “to ignore” his comment on the condoms situation,” said Spike “You see! I’m not the only one!” said Bruce before his wife punched him through the same wall. “At least your son doesn’t think with his dick as much as you!” said Grace This comment caused Spike to laugh for a few seconds “Something wrong sport?” asked his mom “No… it’s just… it’s been a very weird month,” said Spike “How so?” asked Grace “Well, for starters, after we learned about the housing rules, the headmasters gave out more information…” Spike began ONE MONTH AGO “... and that is everyone, now for all of you guys who didn’t manage to get a team, as we said, you can back tomorrow for a retry, if you don’t you would be automatically assigned to the reserves,” said Celestia “Also, we know that money is an important matter, but don’t worry, academy credits also count as currency all over the world; how do you get more points? Well, you earn them here at school, attending class on time, participating, test results, Homeworks, all that gives you points,” said Luna “You also gain credits from successful missions, the higher your rank and the complexity of the mission determines the number of credits,” said Discord “And, for those of you in the reserves, you may head over to the guild and earn a few extra credits while training for the possibility of being added to a higher-ranked squad,” said Celestia “After that, Me, Lyra, and Bon Bon were awarded 2,000 credits or $2,000 each, the headmasters said that this amount of money would cover living expenses until we were cleared to go on our first official mission… which is bound to happen sometime this week,” said Spike “I sense there is more to this,” said Grace “Well, during the mission I had the feeling that my 2 squadmates have no survival skills, which I only confirmed a week later after applying more magic to my “Discerning eye” ability, and I have a feeling that is going to be an issue,” said Spike “Well, isn’t there a class of sorts for that?” asked Grace “Well… we have a survival class, but the teacher’s methods are… painful,” said Spike 2 WEEKS AGO “So, did anyone ever hear of Survival class?” asked Lyra “Nope,” said Bon Bon “Well, we were sent to this class to increase your survival skills,” said Spike “Do you think we are the only special ops team here?” asked Bon Bon “Possibly… Nope, there are another 3 teams,” said Spike as he pointed to Team Rainboom, consisting of Rainbow Dash, Sunset Shimmer, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack. “And look, there is Twilight, and here team “The Elements”, too bad they got stuck with intelligence,” said Lyra, as they all turned to look at Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity “Well, “Princess” there spent most of her time fixing her hair and makeup, meanwhile “Boobzila” spent most of her time hiding behind Twilight and being a pain in the ass,” said Bon Bon referring to Rarity and Fluttershy. “Alright, seat down!” came a male voice from the other side of the class. Spike and the girls made it over to the empty seats and sat down. Soon after, a man a few years older than Spike, Lyra, and BonBon wearing a black hoodie blue jeans with blue and green-tinted shades matching his hair over his eyes a scar above his left eye, and carrying two swords on his back before he walks over to a glowing circle. “I will be your instructor during this survival course, my name is Robert Shaugnessy, but you can call me Redsopine, or Mr. Redsopine, or just “Sir”, did I make myself clear?” he said The class mobled their responses “I asked… DID I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!!” he said as he used his light, fire, and dark magic together to scare the hell out of everyone. “YES SIR!!!” the class exclaimed “Good… now, my mission is to train all of you to gain the necessary skills to survive out on the field… I will not succeed… not with all of you… but hopefully some of you,” he said as he went over to a desk and began to remove his gear. “Spike, who is that?” asked Lyra “He’s bad news, Redsopine, also known as the “Demon Lord”, he’s basically an overlord like me, the only thing that makes me rank a bit higher is the fact that I can use all types of magic, while he can’t use Technomancy,” said Spike “Wow, he’s gonna teach us?!” said Bon Bon “Now, as you may know, many times while on the field you’re going to have to fight against enemies, if you didn’t, then I’m seriously wondering why you joined the academy… regardless… does anyone know what this is?” he asked as he walked over to a machine. “That’s a magic nullifier,” said Bon Bon “Correct, 10 credits for you Ms. Davis… as the name suggest, this machine is capable of nullifying magic, regardless of the level you possess, therefore the reason for this course,” said Redsopine Everyone looked at each other and you could tell, many people were nervous “I’m going to teach all 3 basic skills that will help you out on the field “Weaponry, Hand-to-hand combat, and of course, survival instincts, or first aid if you want to call it that way… let us begin with the last one, who hear can use holy magic?” asked Redsopine Immediately 5 people in the class lifted their hands “Ok… who can use dark magic?” he asked 6 people raised their hands, but one person, in particular, made him raise an eyebrow “Young man, did you understand the question?” he asked Spike “Yes sir!” Spike said “And what was the question?” said Redsopine “Who can use holy magic and dark magic, sir!” said Spike “And you raised your hand both times because?” asked Redsopine “I can use both magic types, sir!” said Spike “Really?... probe it,” said Redsopine as he ordered Spike into the circle as he stepped out Spike walked into the circle and immediately summoned holy magic on his right hand and dark magic on his left. “Well, I’ll be a son of a gun, you’re a diamond in the rough,” said Redsopine “Actually sir, he can use any type of magic,” said Lyra Redsopine turned to look at Lyra and then back at Spike “Is what Ms. Heartstring saying true?” he asked Spike nodded and demonstrated “WOW!” said Redsopine “We have another one…” he said as he looked at the rest of the people in the class “You are to not speak of this outside of class… without Spike’s or the headmasters’ permission, understood?!” he finished “YES SIR!!” the whole class said “Good… going back to class, today I will be demonstrating hand-to-hand combat,” said Redsopine “Do any of you know how to fight?” whispered Spike When his squadmates went silent, he decided to use “discerning eye” on the 2 of them “And- we’re fucked… Lyra can’t even give a proper high five, and Bon Bon has no weapon knowledge… not to mention… THEY NEVER WENT CAMPING!!!!!” Spike thought as he looked at the 2 girls. “Hey, “sir”, what if we already know how to fight?” came Rainbow Dash’s voice “I take it you know,” said Redsopine “Yup, been practicing various martial arts since I was little… so, I kinda don’t need to learn” said Rainbow Dash proudly “And how old are you?” asked Redsopine “15, I’ll be turning 16 on October 10,” Rainbow Dash “Oh, same day as me,” said Spike This caught everyone’s attention “Well ain’t that curious… Tell me young man, at what time were you born?” asked Redsopine “4: 30 AM, according to my mother,” said Spike “And you?” asked Redsopine “4:50 AM,” said Rainbow Dash “Huh, well that’s really interesting… anyway…” said Redsopine as he walked over to his desk Rainbow Dash’s eyes were actually locked with Spike’s, who just smiled and looked over to where Redsopine was. “We even share our birthday, can he be more perfect?!!!” thought Rainbow Dash with a dreamy face, unaware of the death glare she was receiving from Twilight. “Ms. Davis?... Ms. Davis?!... MS. DAVIS!!!!!” said Redsopine “Yes, sir?!!” she answered “Circle, please,” he pointed Rainbow Dash got up and headed to the circle “Alright then, show me your combat skills,” said Redsopine as he got in a battle stance “Sir?” said Rainbow Dash “If you are able to connect a punch, I will dismiss you from my class and give you a free period for the rest of the year… unless you’d like to become an assistant,” said Redsopine “Oh! It is on!” she said as she got into a battle stance “She’s dead,” said Spike “What?” both Lyra and Bon Bon said “This guy has a very high level of martial arts,” said Spike “3...2...1...GO!!” Rainbow Dash charged full speed towards Redsopine. In her mind, she was going so fast, she was going to be impossible to predict “This is going to be easy!” she said as she was about to punch Redsopine. But all of a sudden, he disappeared from before her. “What the?” she said as Redsopine appeared next to her, kicked her on the side and sent her flying through a wall. “That’s match; winner, Lt. Redsopine!” said the computer voice “Are you alive?” asked Redsopine Rainbow Dash lifted her right arm to show a thumbs up from the crater “Ok, someone please heal her,” said Redsopine as Twilight went over to use her Holy magic on her. “Now, can someone tell me what she did wrong?” asked Redsopine “Challenged you?” said Applejack “I’ll take it… but no,” said Redsopine “She decided to attack an opponent without knowing their skills, at the same time, she was overconfident and left herself wide open for a counter attack,” said Spike “Correct, 10 credits for you… and I take it you know you fighting,” said Redsopine “Well, I like MMA, Boxing, and sports like that,” said Spike “But, can you fight?” asked Redsopine “Well, I’m no Mcgregor but I’ll give it a shot,” said Spike as he removed his hoodie, allowing the girls to see his abs, since his shirt flew up with the hoodie. “Are you ready?” asked Redsopine “Ready as I’ll ever be,” said Spike “3...2...1...GO!” Redsopine charged at Spike, his hands crackle with electricity, bringing them together quickly he creates a large flash of light attempting to blind spike while he shifts his body to solid bedrock attempting to shoulder check him. Spike, stunned by the move, was unable to defend himself properly, as Redsopine connected with his body and sent him flying towards the edge of the circle, only for Spike to lunge at the ground and use his feet and hands to stop. “This is going to be interesting,” thought Redsopine as Spike recovered and made eye contact with Redsopine. The look he gave him made Redsopine sweat a little. “Ok, that’s the look of a murderer… mad respects kid,” he thought as he retook his fight stance. Seconds later, Spike lunged at Redsopine, using both Wind Magic and Light magic to blind Redsopine and create a weak point to connect. At first it seemed to work perfectly, and Spike was able to cause Redsopine to lift both hands to his face to block out the mock attacks, leaving his chest and stomach completely open. “Jackpot!!!” thought Spike as he lunged to make contact. He was about to make contact with his chest, when he felt his nervous system tingle, he quickly looked up and saw that Redsopine had his eyes glued on him. “Imposible,” he thought as he looked down and noticed Redsopine’s leg covered with electricity coming towards him. “Let’s see you duck this one!” thought Redsopine as his leg got closer to Spike’s head At the last second, Spike arched his back completely backwards, falling to the floor, but avoiding getting zapped by the attack. “Rule 1, make sure your whole body is a weapon,” said Redsopine as he summoned fire magic towards his other leg, and lunged at Spike while he was still on the floor. “Rule 2, never stay down for too long,” he said as he began stumping and kicking in Spike’s direction. Spike, skillfully avoided the attacks, as he summoned the same magical elements to his own legs and did something no one saw coming. He began to counterstrike Redsopine’s moves while doing a breakdance windmill connecting and counter striking at the same time as him, until he quickly got in a hand stance position and began to attack Redsopine’s head causing him to retreat. “Hehe, not bad kid, you're smart on your feet I was not expecting you to pull that out, let's see you handle this.” Redsopine slams a fist into the ground raising large spikes of both earth and ice towards Spike before using the shadows created to appear behind him and swinging his flaming right knuckles towards him attempting to send him flying. It seemed like it was all over, but just before Redsopine’s fists made contact with Spike, he disappeared into thin air. “WHAT?!!!” said Redsopine as he looked around and around for Spike, not being able to find him anywhere, that is, until he looked up. The sight was surely something to behold. Spike had copied the same move that Redsopine did, allowing him to jump into the air and summon his wings, which added to the light coming from the reflectors, made him look like a God-like creature. “Wait, he can use “Shadow Run'' just by looking at it for the first time?... not to mention, he is a Dragonborn, these guys don’t know when to give up,” thought Redsopine as he and Spike locked eyes. At that second, Spike did something that no one had ever seen. He summoned his magic, fire and lightning on his right hand, holy and dark magic on his left hand and wind on both legs to give him an extra boost. “What is he doing?” thought Redsopine as he slowly realized what Spike was doing “Oh no” he said as Spike lunged towards him. “I’ve got to get out of the way,” he thought, but he couldn’t move. Redsopine looked down and realized that Spike had used Earth magic to sink his feet into the floor trapping him. Redsopine looked up just as Spike connected his attack with his body, creating a massive BOOM and dust cloud as he did. After the dust settled, everyone was able to see a crater in the circle and a tired Spike standing at one end of it. “Did he… did he kill the instructor?” someone asked. “Ok, now that hurt like a lot kid,” said Redsopine keeling and coughing up blood at the otherside of the crater “But I’m glad to see you’re not holding back in the sim... what’s that look on your face? oh, you're wondering why I wasn’t obliterated right?” Redsopine says as large cracking sounds are heard coming from him as he stands back up his arm bending back into shape as he wipes blood from his mouth. “You did good kid, you passed with flying colors! Though let me know if you want some flight combat otherwise I will let you know when a field op comes up and you can use that “Discerning eye” on me now, to see what you were up against fully,” said Redsopine. “How did he know?” thought Spike as he did “THE FUCK!!!!... Robert Shaugnessy, age: 26, Magic affinities, Earth, wind, fire, light, holy, dark, water, lightning Magic, Magic points: 20,000, relationship with caster… good… Redsopine, as known in the professional world, is considered to be the toughest overlord ever, with all of his magic affinities over the level of 100; His abilities were discovered and toned since he was a little kid, by the edge of 18 he was already considered to be even more powerful than Princess Celestia… Notice, for no reason should you try to get on his bad side, he isn’t the forgiving type. Abilities/Skills: Discerning eye, Shadow Run, Eagle flight, Heal, Holy Editor, Respawn (Limited), Rage, Hephaestus blessing, Rocky’s Punch, Survivor, Blinding Light, Telepathy, Zeus’ Lightning… THIS DUDE COULD’VE KILLED WITH HIS EYES CLOSED!!!!!” said Spike as he looked at Redsopine “Yup… now you know… but, you had me against the ropes there many times, so… I’ll give you these 10,000 credits, plus, I would like to make you an after school instructor for our hand-to-hand combat program, is that ok?” asked Redsopine “Yes, sir!” said Spike “Good, now… someone give him his hoodie, before I have to give him a summons for indecent exposure on school grounds,” said Redsopine as he walked over to his desk This comment made Spike look down in confusion, only to turn bright red when realizing that he had completely obliterated his shirt when he summoned his wings. Bon Bon quickly ran into the circle to give Spike his hoodie, while trying to hide her bright red face. “Thanks,” whispered Spike as he put the hoodie on “Don’t mention it,” she said as she and Spike walked back to the bleachers. Every female eye on the class was now on Spike, which made him feel really uncomfortable, luckily for him, Lyra and Bon Bon picked up on this and glared back at the other girls making them look the other way. “I stand corrected, he CAN get even better!” said Rainbow Dash, not realizing that she was slovering a bit, until Applejack pointed it out. “Dash, get your eyes back in their sockets, and close your mouth, it’s so wide you could swallow a fly,” she said Rainbow Dash immediately reacted but turned red when she thought about the swallowing part. Twilight, however, was in full “Kill” mode, to the point that a scary dark purple aura was surrounding her. “Well, next we’ll be training on…” came Redsopine’s voice “But, you’re doing great, right?” asked Grace “For now, I mean, we’ve all improved our skills, but I don’t feel like it’s enough…” said Spike “Yeah, well, if I were you I’d wait until you go on a mission to get real experience,” said Bruce “Yeah, you’re right… by the way, where is Barbs?” asked Spike “School field trip, but don’t worry, we’ll tell her you called and asked about her,” said Grace “Right, thanks...Somehow I think that’s a bad idea,” thought Spike BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ! “Oh, Got to go, that’s the sign of my Lunch break finishing,” said Spike “Oh, alright then son, have fun!!” said Grace “And don’t forget to use protection!” said Bruce The second he said that, Grace turned to look at him with such murder in her eyes, even Spike flinched with the slap she gave her. “Ok-” said Spike as he closed his laptop and got off the desk “I can’t believe my mom was a peace keeping agent in her youth… with that temper… in her defense, my dad’s an idiot so,” Thought Spike as he left the house he was sharing with Bon Bon and Lyra A FEW MINUTES LATER “... yet, we still don’t have a squad name,” said Lyra “Do you have any suggestions?” asked Bon Bon “What about… Punks?!!” said Lyra “And there goes your chance,” said Bon Bon “Hey girls, what’s going on?” asked Spike as he walked up to them “Nothing much, just think about baby names, SQUAD NAMES!!! SQUAD NAMES!!!” said Bon Bon “Any good ones?” asked Spike “No,” said Lyra “Oh, well, just let it happen,” said Spike “Ah!, Mr. Decker, I was looking for you,” said Redsopine as he walked up to the group “Mr. Redsopine, what can I do for you?” said Spike “Well… can I talk with you for a minute in private?” asked Redsopine “Sure,” said Spike as he followed Redsopine Spike followed Redsopine towards his classroom “Did I do something wrong?” asked Spike “No… I just wanted to give you this,” said Redsopine as he gave Spike a notebook “What’s this?” asked Spike “That notebook contains simplified information on every known magical ability someone can possess… you can say it’s somewhat of a cheat book,” said Redsopine “Isn’t that illegal?” asked Spike “Not really, basically it’s the same as studying magic skills and abilities for hours at the library… which I did,” said Redsopine “Wow… why are you giving it to me?” asked Spike “Well, after the fight… I thought you could use it more than me… and I needed the space in my desk… now, I am intrusting it to you, be very careful with whom you share the knowledge of this book with; wars can begin only to gain access to one paragraph of it,” said Redsopine “Really? It’s that important,” said Spike “With the knowledge in this notebook, even a person with less than 100 magic points, can become invincible… imagine what would happen if it falls in the wrong hands,” said Redsopine. “I will guard it with my life,” said Spike as he placed it inside his backpack “Good… I wanted to ask you something,” said Redsopine “Ok,” said Spike “Some days ago, I had a conversation with Discord regarding the fight, I told him that I was amazed by your talent, but then he told me that you had brought someone back to life… is that true?” asked Redsopine “Well, yes, I combined Holy and Dark magic to do so,” said Spike “Ahuh, Well, the spell is not exactly new, but it hasn’t been seen for 200 years,” said Redsopine “Really?” asked Spike “Yeah, it’s called “Rebirth”, it’s a really rare spell, so far there are record of only 5 people, including you, who were able to cast it,” said Redsopine “Really!!! That sounds awesome!” said Spike “Yeah… but it’s not all good news,” said Redsopine “Why?” asked Spike “Boris Renfrew… Amelia Von Schelfer… Jules Mbawala… Theodore Shaugnessy, what did they all have in common, apart from the fact that they could use ‘Rebirth”?'' asked Redsopine “I… I don’t know,” said Spike “None of them lived past the age of 30,” said Redsopine “Really?” asked Spike “Yes… Theodore Shaugnessy, is my ancestor… he died moments after he used “Rebirth” on his wife and sons after there was a fire in their mansion… one of them, becoming my great-great-great grandfather,” said Redsopine “Wow… sorry to hear that,” said Spike “Don’t be… the cycle of life must go on… the reason I’m telling you this is for you to be careful with your powers… all of the people I mentioned, died due to the “Overlord curse”,” said Redsopine. “I never heard about that… how does it work?” asked Spike “Well… you see…” said Redsopine 5 MINUTES LATER “Thanks for the notebook!” said Spike “Don’t mention it kid,” said Redsopine as Spike walked off to his class “So, what do you think?” asked Discord as he walked up behind him “He has talent, but… there is an emptiness within him, that’s something he has to fix himself,” said Redsopine “Well, look at us, we were just like him at his age, and now, we have our own families, maybe he just needs to create one of his own,” said Discord Redsopine looked at Discord and said “Now I know why Celestia is the head of the family,” “There goes my ego… oh, well… how long do you think I have to wait?” asked Discord “About... until the end of the school day,” said Redsopine “On a Friday?... well, back to the office for me,” said Discord END OF THE SCHOOL DAY “Man! That last class was so boring!” said Lyra as she stretched “Yeah, even I fell asleep… What about you Spike?... Spike?!” said Bon Bon as they both saw Spike walked past them, his head glued to the notebook. “SPIKE, CAREFUL WITH THE…!!!” Lyra screamed BONK!!! “OUCH! SON OF A BITCH!!” said Spike as he held his head “... Column,” finished Lyra as both she and Bon Bon went over to Spike “You really have to watch where you’re going,” said Bon Bon “Sorry,” said Spike “Yeah, we can tell,” said Lyra “By the way, what’s with the notebook?” asked Bon Bon “Yeah!, you’ve had your eyes glued to it since your talk with Redsopine,” said Lyra Spike looked around, placed the notebook in his backpack, grabbed Lyra and Bon Bon’s wrists and pulled them to an empty, nearby classroom. Once inside, Spike quickly went over to the windows, made sure no one was watching and pulled the curtains down, then went over to the doors, and made sure no one was following them, and locked them. “What’s up with him?” Whispered Bon Bon as she turned to face Lyra who was unbuttoning her shirt “And what are you doing?!” “What do you think is about to happen?” Lyra said as she made a gesture with her hand Bon Bon’s face became red, but unconsciously began to unbutton her shirt. “Ok, we’re clear… and why are you getting undressed?” asked Spike as he came back to them. Both girls looked at each other and then back at Spike “It’s warm,” said Lyra and Bon Bon nodded her head, as they both buttoned up their shirts to the point they only exposed their chests. “That makes sense… Anyway, this notebook belonged to Redsopine, it has information on how to acquire non magical abilities faster,” said Spike as he placed the book on the desk before him. “Really?!” they both said “Yup, and I’ve been reading this notebook this whole time, trying to find the best abilities for us,” said Spike “Did it work?” asked Lyra “I found a few, but, I can’t cast them because I don’t possess the power to do so,” said Spike “Well, that’s a waste of time,” said Bon Bon as Lyra grabbed the notebook and began to read through it After a few seconds, ad page flipping, Lyra said “Spike, what is the name of the ability you need?” “It’s not about abilities, I need a particular amount of power to…” said Spike “There is an ability here called “Holy Editor” and it doesn’t say anything about power needed,” said Lyra as she passed the notebook back to Spike Spike read the paper and looked at the 2 girls “This might work,” said Spike as he went silent, closed his eyes, and a white aura surrounded him. A few seconds later Spike opened his eyes and looked at the girls “Did it work?” asked Lyra “Seems like it…” said Spike as he grabbed his cellphone and used his selfie cam to use “discerning eye” on himself “Yup, it worked,” he said “AWESOME!!!!” they all screamed “Ok, I should start giving you girls abilities… so, read through the book and point out the ones you want,” said Spike After a 2 and a half hours, Spike and the girls had acquired various skills, which they believed to be very useful “Heal, Eagle’s eye, hephaestus blessing, Respawn (Limited), Rage, Survivor, witch doctor, Telepathy, Chameleon, Gladiator, Brawler, polyglot (level 1) and Bulls eye for Lyra… Heal, Respawn (Limited), Survivor, Shadow Run, Chameleon, Spartan, Rage, Telepathy, Hephaestus blessing, Brawler, Master engineering, and Polyglot (level 1) for Bon Bon... and I will take Redsopine’s ability recommendation … Discerning eye, Shadow Run, Eagle flight, Heal, Holy Editor, Respawn (Limited), Rage, Hephaestus blessing, Rocky’s Punch, Survivor, Blinding Light, Teleportation, Telepathy, Zeus’ Lightning, Rebirth (Limited) plus Holy Medic, Polyglot (level 1) Agriculture, Paladin, Magic points restorer, just in case, and Techno Wizard… that should be enough,” said Spike “I feel… different, like… lighter,” said Lyra “I feel stronger… maybe the abilities are messing with our bodies,” said Bon Bon “Why don’t we head over to the magic range, we can test our abilities there,” said Spike “That works, let’s go,” said Lyra They were about to leave the classroom when their Com-links went off “Attention, please report to the headmaster’s office, ASAP!” said the robotic voice They looked at each other and ran out towards the location. A FEW MINUTES LATER “Slivio Decker…” “...Samantha Davis…” “... Laura Heartstring…” “Reporting!” they all said as they arrived at the office only to see Discord holding a stopwatch “Not a second too early, well done kids,” he said “Sir?!” said Spike “Follow me,” said Discord as he guided them towards a big door “You still think that “Hermes’ spirit” is a waste of magic points?” whispered Lyra “Fine,” said Spike as he quickly gave them all the ability, as they followed Discord “Welcome to the Royal Central Command,” said Discord as he opened the door to the massive office. Spike and the girls looked around and saw the massive amounts of computers, TV screens and intelligence agents planning missions. “Nice to see you finally made it,” said Celestia As Spike and the girls turned to see a massive holographic map of an unknown region as it disappeared. “Come on over,” said Celestia The three of them did as they were told and walked towards the table "Princess Celestia, what are we doing here?" Asked Bon Bon "You'll be breached about it in a second," said Celestia as the doors opened and 2 men walked into the room and headed for the same table. "Guys, meet Antoine Anderson and Knoxilathrin Martyr, leader and vice leader of the "Reapers" Special ops squad "Yo!" Said Knox "Nice to Make your acquaintance, " said Antoine "Nice to meet you," they all said "So, they're the squad joining the mission?" Asked Knox "Yup, meet Silvio "Spike" Decker, Samantha "Bon Bon" Davis, and Laura "Lyra" Heartstring, and they are… actually, you never gave us your squad name, " Said Luna At the mention of that they Spike and Co. Went pail "Gives us a second" said Spike as they formed a team huddle "We are officially fucked," whispered Bon Bon "What about, Metal Gear?" Asked Lyra "Pretty sure that already exists," said Spike "Murder Scales," said Bon Bon "Sounds like a crime syndicate," said Spike "Argh!, why could that notebook give us a naming ability," said Bon Bon "Well, it did change us, almost like if we were born again," said Lyra That sentence gave Spike an idea "I have a name, but I don't know if you'll like it," said Spike "Just say it to put all this behind us," said Bon Bon as they broke the huddle "So, I take it you have a name?" Asked Luna "Yes… Phoenix Squadron" said Spike "Excellent name," said Celestia "Indeed… well, call me Grim," said Antoine "And you can call me Knox" said Knoxilathrin "Right… So what is this mission you mentioned? Asked Spike "Well, does any of you know uzmareistan?" Asked Celestia Country in the eastern continent," said Lyra "Basically desert land," said Bon Bon "And it's been involved in a civil war for almost 10 years, but peace talks have already begun," said Spike "Correct… well, you guys will be joining Reaper squad and Ghost team 2," said Discord "Your mission: Since the war started people have gone missing, but their disappearances are all accounted for… but recently, more and more people have gone missing, without much as a clue why, and they are all disappearing from rural villages," said Celestia "That sounds serious… any ideas?" Asked Lyra "No, but we suspect foul, plus, both freedom fighters and military are pointing the finger at each other, with no one claiming responsibility," said Celestia "Your mission is to discover what is happening down there, and if possible stop it," said Luna "You will be sent to sector #665, also known as the, now abandoned, village of Marega, near lake Sudocoltchye," said Discord "What about our intelligence partnership?" Asked Spike "It'll be us, until you find a free team to join you, now, head over to the armory and suit up, you are to be deployed in 2 hours," said Discord 10 HOURS LATER "Phoenix leader, come in, over," said Discord over the com-link "This is Phoenix leader, we are currently 3 minutes away from the target, we have it on our sights," said Spike "Copy, please be advised, there has been reports of a heavy sand storm approaching," said Celestia "Copy, We'll do this a quick as possible, stand by for update," said Spike "10-4 over," said Luna as the radio went dead. Spike and the girls walked for a few more meters until they reached a small rock formation and hide behind it "Lyra, do you see something?" Asked Spike Lyra, immediately rested her new Barrett M82 on a rock and eyed the village "Negative, land's still," she said "And you Bon Bon?" Asked Spike Bon Bon quickly got up and used her Thermal binoculars to scout the surrounding area “All is still, no signs of life,” said Bon Bon “Right… the 2 of you wait here, I’ll get near to the city, only then, we will rundezvous at the front gate, copy?” asked Spike “Copy,” they both said as Spike grabbed his M-16 riffle and marched cautiously towards the village. After a few seconds, Spike reached the entrance and used “Discerning eye” on the nearby houses “It’s clear, regroup!” Spike said through telepathy “Copy!!” both Bon and Lyra said as they rushed to regroup with Spike “Central, be advised, we have reached the target, phase 2 commences,” said Spike “Roger that, Phoenix leader,” said Discord “Ok, Lyra, you head, east, Bon Bon, west, and I’ll head north, if you find something, make sure to let each other know, if you get in trouble, prepare for a shadow run, ok, go!” said Spike as they split up. 3 HOURS LATER “Did you find anything?” asked Lyra “No, place has been abandoned for a while now, and you can tell that thieves have been here, many houses have been ransacked,” said Bon Bon “What about you Spike? Find anything?” asked Lyra “Yeah, head to the north gate,” said Spike Bon Bon and Lyra then used “Hermes spirit” to get to Spike’s location faster. “What did you find? Asked Lyra “A torture chamber,” said Spike Lyra and Bon Bon turned pale when they heard that “And by the looks of it, it was used recently,” said Spike as he guided the girls inside The basement of that house was filled to the brim with torture devises, weapons, and small blood spaters. “Are you sure this is a torture chamber?” asked Lyra “Well… unless a bunch of people come all the way here to have a BDSM orgy, then yes, yes I do,” said Spike “This is sick,” said Bon Bon as she saw various devices “This blood splatter is recent, a few days old,” said Spike pointing to a particular part of the ground “Ok, let’s see if we can find something around here,” said Lyra MINUTES LATER “I found something,” said Bon Bon “What is it?” asked Spike “Tire tracks, belonging to different types of military personnel transports, 3 days old by the looks of it,” said Bon Bon “That’s a technomancer for you, well done, Bon Bon,” said Spike “Oh, ah, th-thanks, Spike,” said Bon Bon with a stutter “Central, be advised, we discovered a few things,” said Spike “Copy that, Phoenix leader,” said Discord Spike then explained everything they had discovered for Discord to inform them of the situation of the area. “So, we should head north, towards the hills?” asked Spike “It’s the safest bet to catch whoever is involved in all this, over,” said Discord “Understood central, Phoenix leader out,” said Spike “So, what now?” asked Lyra “See those mountains?” said Spike “Yes,” said Lyra “We’ll be camping there,” said Spike “FOr how long?” asked Bon Bon “Until we discover who is coming here,” said Spike “But, we only have a one tent,” said Bon Bon “It’s big enough for 3 people, plus, we’ll be taking turns on watch,” said Spike This comment made both girls faces’ red, just think about sharing a tent with Spike “Well, come on, don’t get caught in the open,” said Spike 2 DAYS LATER, AROUND 9:00 PM “Nothing yet?” asked Bon Bon “Nothing, it’s been way to quiet,” said Spike “You think, they know we are onto them?” asked Bon Bon “No, I think… We’ve got movement, wake Lyra up,” said Spike as he locked on something coming towards them. “What’s the status?” asked Lyra as she came up with her sniper rifle “5 military trucks and 2 prison looking buses,” said Spike “Let me see,” said Lyra as she laid down next to Spike “Confirmed, the 5 military trucks are transporting armed enemies,” said Lyra “What about the buses?” asked Bon Bon “One is transporting… correction, both are transporting civilians,” said Lyra “Maybe they are friendlies,” said Bon Bon “No… the flag on the side of the trucks is not of this land… it belongs to Turkmareistan… as for the buses… they have an unidentifiable flag on them,” said Spike “Should we engage?” asked Lyra “Central, be advised, we have an armed convoy headed for the village,” said Spike “That’s odd, neither the army or resistance head to that area,” said Discord “We believe it’s slave traders,” said Spike “WHAT?!!!” said Celestia “Requesting permission to engage,” said Spike “Granted, but leave some of them alive, we need to find out what is going on,” said Celestia “Copy that,” said Spike “Ok, shot to kill… silencers on… don’t hit civilians, and most importantly… take prisoners,” said Spike “Copy,” Both Lyra and Bon Bon said. Lyra got into position, as Spike and Bon Bon used “Shadow Run” to get near the now parked convoy as the armed men and women, got off the vehicles “hä! kimdir biri şu ýerde !! " said one of them (Huh! Someone was here!!”) “gözler açyk, olar henizem şu ýerde bolmagy mümkin!” said another (eyes open, they might still be around here!) At that same instant, Lyra fired her first shot, hitting one of the guards on the head, allowing Spike to drag him out of sight. Spike, Lyra and Bon Bon, slowly and quietly took out most of the enemies in the area, unfortunately, Spike and Bon Bon had gotten so into it, they forgot to check their 6’s “Göçme, ýogsam kelläň,” said one of them as he pressed the barrel of the gun on the back of Spike’s head (Don’t move, or it’s your head) He was about to pull the trigger, when a bullet flew straight through his head, giving Spike time to stand up, shot the man taking Bon Bon hostage and catching the corpse before it hit the ground. “Good shot, saved my life, thnks Lyra,” said Spike as he threw the corpse into an abandoned house “Don’t mention it hot stuff, anything for you,” she said “Guys, please keep the pillow talk for home,” said Bon Bon in an annoyed tone “Sorry… wait, are you jealous, Bon Bon?!” asked Lyra “N-n-no, I’m not jealous, I just don’t want that to happen again!!!” Bon Bon said “We have a civilian car, inbound,” said Spike And with that, Spike and Bon Bon hide inside abandoned houses and looked on “Maiṁ tuhānū dasadā hāṁ, mainū nahīṁ patā ki'uṁ sānū isa la'ī ithē ā'uṇā pa'ēgā!” said an old, well dressed man ( I tell you, I don’t know why we have to come all the way out here for this) “Srī ānada, yūsafa nē isa nū isa tarīkē nāla surakhi'ata kihā,” said the man’s bodyguard as they entered the building (Mr. Anand, Yusuf said it was safer this way) “Get ready to arrest them!” said Spike as Lyra used Shadow Run to appear next to Spike and Bon Bon at the entrance of the house. A few seconds later, the remaining 5 men stepped out of the house, and went pale when they saw the three special ops standing before them, rifles pointed at them. “The next one to be even flinch gets a bullet through the brain,” said Spike “Drop your weapons!” ordered Bon Bon 4 of the 5 men followed the orders immediately, but one of the slavers wanted to go out fighting. Unfortunately for him, Lyra could tell, and blew his brains out the second he began lifting his gun. “We warned you,” she said as she pointed the rifle at the remaining men. “Anyone else want to try his luck?” said Spike in a terrifying voice 10 MINUTES LATER “How many are there in total?” asked Lyra “86, including women and children,” said Bon Bon “I’m not going to ask again, what were you going to do with them?” asked Spike “Bize bagtly, ol biziň dilimizi bilmeýär,” said the leader of the slavers (Luckily for us he doesn’t speak our language) “Phoenix leader, this Reaper leader, letting you know we are nearby, ETA 2 minutes, over,” said Grim “Copy that, he is Knox there?” asked Spike “Yup,” Knox answered “Dude, we have 2 people here apparently are speaking Heighdian, they are the slave buyers,” said Spike “Leave them to me,” said Knox A FEW HOURS LATER “... and that’s the last of them,” said Lyra as she help the final slave into the chopper “Get them there safely, they’ve been through enough already,” said Bon Bon “Got it,” said the pilot as he took of “Job well done girls,” said Spike “Indeed it was, these guys sang like birds… told us everything,” said Grim as he walked up to the group “Turns out, they were going to sell this slaves to royal families all over the continent, and that there are more camps in the area,” said Knox “So, what next?” asked Spike “Phoenix squad, we have an update for you,” said Discord “Come in central,” said Spike “Pack your gear, you’re needed elsewhere,” said Celestia “And it’s urgent,” said Luna Spike and the girls just looked at each other Ch. 6 Operation "Trail of Tears" 2“24 hours ago, 2 teams, special ops, and an intelligence team were deployed to the Marezata area, and 23 hours ago, they went dark, we know nothing of them, if they are ok, alive, at the objective, lost… nothing,” said Celestia “And you want us to go look for it?” asked Spike “Not exactly,” said Discord “Then, What seems to be the issue?” asked Spike “About 1 hour ago, we were able to make contact with the squads, and one of the leaders sent us this report…” said Celestia “...Reporting back… equipment was damaged by the fall, but we have it back online, contact was made with a village southeast of the drop zone, things have gone downhill from there… are incapable of working as a team… has disregarded the mission since minute one… we have barely escaped the troops of rebels attacking us and are currently in hiding in the mountain range to the south of our last position… hate saying this, but, we need reinforcements,” said the female voice the 3 of them knew too well “I suppose you know what we’re going to ask of you, right?” asked Discord “Head to their current location and reinforce them, as well as saving their lives?” asked Bon Bon “Precisely,” said Luna “What was their mission?” asked Lyra “To continue the search started by Reaper squad,” said Discord “What do you mean?” asked Spike “Before you guys called us telling us about the caravan, we had infiltrated a compound 20 clicks Northeast of here, inside we discovered documents referring to a person called “Gallteeth” who appears to be the leader of this operation,” said Grim “In that same file, we also were able to learn the existence of a place known as “Rajgura” we were about to head to the general location they disappeared but…” Knox said “Wifey here “accidentally” alerted the enemies in the place and we entered into a gruesome battle, from which we almost didn’t escape,” said another member of the team known as “Cryptid” “How was I supposed to know that they were cleaning the vents?! And if my memory doesn’t fail me, you were the one who forgot to use the silencer!” said “Crow” “Leo! Erica! It’s not the time for this… anyway… our mission changed once we received your call and came here,” said Grim “Why?” asked Lyra “While talking with the survivors, and that fool, we discovered the location of various prison camps which contain more than 100,000 thousand POWs and civilians, not only from this area but from the surrounding countries and territories,” said Knox “The closest one is 10 clicks North of this location… I presume they were headed there when you guys ambushed them,” said another member known as “Pesta” “Well, we better head out, the Wonderbolts will be arriving in 1 minute to transport the refugees to a safe place,” said Grim “Copy that, keep us posted regarding this matter,” said Celestia “We, will… ALRIGHT GUYS, LET’S GHOST!!!” Grim said as they all got on their bikes and left the area. “As for you, you better get moving, the last known location is 100 Km away from your current one,” said Luna “Yes, Ma’am, we just need transport to get us…” began Spike “Actually… due to the report we received, we don’t believe it’s wise to let any vehicles enter the area around them, it may cause suspicion and make matters worse,” said Celestia “So… you want us to walk all the way there?” asked Bon Bon “Yes,” said Discord plainly “Sir, with all due respect, it would take us a full day to get there, by that point they might not be alive,” said Spike “Then I suggest you start walking,” said Discord Spike wanted to say something, but just said “Yes, Sir, Phoenix squad out,” “Don’t worry, we’ll give you guys a hearty bonus for this,” said Celestia as the radio signal went dark. The Phoenix squad looked at their GPS, then at each other, and sighed, as they began walking towards their objective. 23 HOURS LATER “... Are we there yet?” asked Lyra “No,” said Spike “Are we there yet?” asked Lyra again “No,” answered Spike again “Are we there yet?” asked Lyra once more “Dammit woman, I said No… You’re just trying to annoy me, are you?” said Spike “Busted,” said Lyra with a smile “I’ve got to say it worked, I wanted to slap you,” said Spike He turned to see Lyra, and see that her face was red “I probably shouldn’t have said that, sorry” he quickly corrected “It’s ok, I was being an ass anyway… Although I wouldn’t mind a few salps on my butt,” she whispered “What was that?!” asked Spike “NOTHING!!!” Lyra screamed as Bon Bon covered her mouth “It sounds like a car of sorts,” said Bon Bon “It came from that direction, come on,” said Spike “Please try to keep your pants on!” whispered Bon Bon as she let go of Lyra “Why? you jealous?” she whispered back “Ah-n-n-n-no, I’m not jealous,” said Bon Bon “But you like him too, don’t you?” said Lyra as they got near Spike “Can we just leave this conversation for when we get back?” asked Bon Bon “No promises,” said Lyra as they laid down next to Spike “What do you see?” asked Bon Bon “Nothing good… look,” said Spike Lyra and Bon Bon crept their head from behind the dune and saw a small army of at least 100 armed rebels creating a perimeter around the nearby wooded area. “See those trees?” asked Spike “Yeah?” said Lyra “According to the GPS, the 2 teams entered it, and are now hidden near the top of the mountain,” said Spike “Ok, but, how are we going to get through all… that?” asked Bon Bon Spike looked at them and showed them his M-16 rifle, as he put the silencer on. Lyra and Bon Bon took a second to understand what he meant, but when they finally did, they smiled back “It’s hunting time,” said Spike “Before we go… are you ok with killing the rebels, while the peace talks are going through?” asked Lyra “Those aren’t rebels,” said Spike “Then… what are they?” asked Bon Bon “Nomads?” asked Lyra “No… Amarebajan mafia sicarios,” said Spike “How can you tell?” asked Lyra “I’m no expert… but these guys aren’t even trying to talk the local language, not even a tribal one,” said Spike “Amarebajanis? What are they doing here?” asked Bon Bon “Trying to keep their business afloat,” said Spike “Business?” asked Lyra “These guys make millions by doing various crimes, including human trafficking, and now, with this country’s current civil war, it’s their golden ticket, but with the peace talks, their quota is going to decrease drastically, so…” Spike began “So, they took it upon themselves to kidnap POWs and civilians to make ends meet,” said both Lyra and Bon Bon said “Oh, I’m going to leave their bodies like swiss cheese!” said Lyra as she finished loading her Sniper rifle “Ok, here is the plan… there is almost no cover since we are out in the open, so, see those personnel carriers?” said Spike “Yeah,” they both said “We’ll use that as cover, quietly now, take them all out without them noticing us… ready?” asked Spike They both nodded “Go!” Spike said as he got up, and shot the sniper positioned atop of a tree, causing him to fall to the ground, his broken body hidden behind some bushes One by one, Spike, Lyra, and Bon Bon eliminated all of the sicarios until the sand was painted red with their blood. “I got 34,” said Lyra “35,” said Bon Bon “40, I win,” said Spike “Only because you used your magic,” said Lyra “And my 9mm,” said Spike as he holstered it “You were right Spike,” said Bon Bon “About what?” asked Spike “These guys aren’t from around here, look,” said Bon Bon as she tossed Spike one of the corpses’ ID card “Hypothesis confirmed… and it seems we aren’t the only ones with initiative,” said Spike “What do you mean?” asked Bon Bon as she walked up to him “Tracks, heading up the mountain,” said Spike “2 actually… these ones are definitely new, maybe 10 minutes before we arrived… as for the other ones… the shoe size is smaller, definitely female, but they seem old, maybe 2 days old,” said Lyra “That’s them, great job Lyra!, come on let's go before it’s too late,” said Spike This caused Lyra to turn red and squeal “Hmph, I could’ve done that too… But, I’ll let her have this one, I mean, when it comes to combat, I’m Spike’s partner… WAIT DID I JUST SAY, PARTNER?!... Partner?... hehe, partner… I can already hear wedding bells,” thought Bon Bon as her face turned into a grin. “Bonny, you’re drooling… again,” said Lyra This comment made Bon Bon turn red and cover her face. “COME ON YOU 2, WE DON’T HAVE TIME!!” said Spike as he began walking up the trail A FEW SECONDS LATER “Do you hear anything?” asked Spike “No, nothing at all,” said Bon Bon “That’s not good, is it?” asked Lyra “Did you already forget the entrance exam?” asked Bon Bon “Impossible, I could never forget that,” said Lyra giving Bon Bon a glare “Let me use my thermal vision, maybe it can tell us what’s going on,” said Spike Anything?” asked Lyra “Yeah, there are 5 life forms 10 feet that way, and they are surrounding another 2,” said Spike We’ve got to move,” said Bon Bon “Yeah, come on… take them out, quietly,” said Spike as they positioned themselves behind some trees directly behind the hostage-takers “Göy qurşağı qız hara getdi? " said one of them (Where did the rainbow girl go?") “Bilmirəm ... amma bu qızlara bax, lənət kimi seksualdırlar! Onları özümüzlə aparıb əylənə bilmərikmi? Said the other one (Don't know... but, look at these girls, they are sexy as fuck! Can't we just take them with us and have some fun?) “Doğru bilirəm və onlarla işimiz bitdikdən sonra onları qəpik-quruşa sata bilərik, boss nə deyir?” said the first one (I know right, and after we are done with them, we can sell them for a pretty penny, whatcha say boss?") “Əyləncəli səslənir ... amma GallTeeth-in bunu istəməyini düşünmürəm,” said the leader of the group (Sounds fun... but, I don't think GallTeeth would like that) “GallTeeth? o axmaq yalnız birisindən qazana biləcəyi pulun qayğısına qalır, bu qızları içəri götürdüyümüz zaman hərarətli bir it kimi hər yerdə olacağına inanıram,” said another one (GallTeeth? that fool only cares about the money he can make out of someone, I bet that when we take these girls in, he will be all over them like a dog in heat) “Bu belə ola bilər amma ... ARGH !!!” said the leader of the team as a bullet flew right through his head (That may be the case but... ARGH!!!) “lanet nədir?” said another one as a bullet flew through his neck ( What the fuck) “hücum altındayıq!” said another one as the remaining three got into a defensive position “ARGH!” they all screamed as 3 bullets hit them, one on the head, another in the chest, and the last one on his throat. After the last one fell to the ground dead, Spike and the girls came out of hiding and hurried over to their comrades. “Are the 2 of you ok?” asked Lyra as she untied Sunset Shimmer “Yeah… but when I see Rainbow Dash, I’m going to kill her!” said Sunset as she got up. “Get in line, Sunset, ah’m gonna bash her head in!” said Applejack as she was held up by Bon Bon “Glad to see you 2 are ok,” said Spike When the 2 of them heard Spike’s voice, they jumped in surprise and turned to look at him “SPIKE!!!” they both screamed in surprise “The one and only… I think,” said Spike as he changed the magazine of his rifle in a very cool way Immediately after that, both Applejack and Sunset Shimmer began to dust off some of the dirt on their clothes and faces, and fix their hairs as much as they could to make themselves look decent. “What a surprise, what are you doing here?” asked Sunset Shimmer as she fixed her uniform “We received a message from Twilight, communicating the situation and requesting backup,” said Spike “Well, darn, that gal fixed the radio,” said Applejack “So, Lyra, Bon Bon, and I were sent here to take over the mission as leaders of this temporal team until the end of your current mission,” said Spike “And it’s a good thing you came, we were about to start shooting each other,” said Sunset Shimmer “And why?” asked Bon Bon “Apart from me and Applejack, only Twilight is taking this mission seriously, but…” said Sunset “That gal has no idea how to keep her team in check, ah mean, only Fluttershy has actually done her duties, but she’s so scared of everything, she shot her own shadow… literally,” said Applejack pointing to a nearby boulder with a sniper rifle bullet round. “I believe you… now, where is the creepy bubblehead girl and skittles at?” asked Spike At that exact moment, they all heard a pair of footsteps rushing towards that “Speak of the devil,” said Spike as he used “Discerning eye” on the surrounding “You’ve got to be kidding me?!” he said, this caused the girls to look at him “What? What is it?” asked Applejack “She’s dumber than I thought,” said Spike as he picked up a pebble and threw it in the direction of the footsteps. Seconds later, Rainbow Dash, came crashing down on them, her face glued to the ground as she slid to a halt in front of Spike “Stupid rock,” she said without lifting her head “You are 1 thousand years too early to carry all this equipment and charge by yourself, skittles,” said Spike as he and Co. went over to pick up the ammo and guns that had scattered around the area Rainbow Dash, however, jumped up to see Spike’s face close to hers “SPIKE!!! Glad to see ya!” she said as she used some water to clean the mud off her face. “Hope It could be in a better circumstance,” said Spike Rainbow Dash, blushed and scratched the back of her head sheepishly at this remark and followed them back to the base they had built at the top of the mountain. A FEW METERS LATER “So, what was all that?” asked Lyra “It was Dash’s conflict resolution,” said Sunset Shimmer “Surrender yourselves to a bunch of pervs, get raped, and sold off as slaves?” asked Spike “No, counter strike and kill them,” said Rainbow Dash “So, I’m assuming your plan went down the shit hole faster than you expected,” said Bon Bon “Yeah, I hadn’t realized that my gun was empty,” said Rainbow Dash “So, you retreated and left the 2 of them to fight on their own?” asked Spike “No, I retreated and asked Fluttershy and Rarity to cover them,” said Rainbow Dash “Ah didn’t hear that order!” said Applejack “But I did,” said Rainbow Dash “Better question… where are those 2?” asked Lyra As soon as she said that Spike took a step back as a sniper round hit the ground right before his foot “Fluttershy, shooting the ground is not exactly a way to kill an opponent… and you actually have to aim your weapon before firing,” said Spike “Oh… Sorry!” said Fluttershy as she got off the tree she was hiding on “Where were you? You were supposed to cover them!’ said Rainbow Dash “I’m sorry… I just couldn’t bring myself to kill them,” she said her voice louder than a whisper “And where is Rarity?” asked Sunset Shimmer “She ignored your order,” said Fluttershy “That little bitch!” said Rainbow Dash as she stepped through the barrier “Leave it, Ray,” said Spike “Anti-gun barrier, smart,” said Lyra “Thank you, it was the only thing I could come up with in the little… SPIKE!!! What are you doing here!” said Twilight as she frantically tried to fix herself up “My team and I Have been sent here to be the new leaders of this operation, so… WHAT IS SHE DOING?!!!” said Spike as he pointed to Rarity Rarity was laying on the ground, her shirt open as she used the sun to tan herself “Yeah, she’s been doing that since we set up camp… about 20 minutes ago,” said Twilight “Plus, she didn’t even help us unpack or defend ourselves,” said Fluttershy “Did she now… girls get to the command tent, I won’t be far behind,” said Spike as he walked towards Rarity. Rarity was in her own little world when Spike walked in front of her “Hey! You're blocking my sun again Twilight!” she said Spike said nothing and just kept standing before her blocking the sun “For the last Goddamn time, you are in my sun… how am I supposed to get a tan without it?” Rarity said cynically Silence followed from Spike “FOR GOD’S SAKE GET OUT OF THE WAY, BEFORE I MOVE YOU!!” she said The last thing she heard before getting up was the sound of fingers snapping, and before she knew it, she was pummeled by gallon after gallon of cold water “AAAAAH! STOP IT!” she screamed as the cold water kept falling. After a few more seconds, the water stopped, and Rarity removed her sunglasses “WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM YOU… bitch,” said Rarity as she noticed Spike towering over her “You have 30 seconds to get dressed and get to the command tent,” he said as he walked away. INSIDE THE TENT “Bro, that was brutal!” said Rainbow Dash “Yeah, she deserves that, bitching about every little thing,” said Sunset Shimmer “Ok… now, can someone explain to me what happened?... and where is Pinkie?” said Spike As if on queue Pinkie walked into the tent, her face covered with oil “Right here Spikey! Just finished fixing the generators,” she said “Ok… Twilight” “We landed on the sector assigned to us by central command, just as planned, we began making our way to the objective… that was until we realized… we didn’t calibrate our GPS systems and we were heading the wrong direction…” explained Twilight “After a few minutes of walking, we reached the “deserted” village where the problems started,” said Rainbow Dash “And then what caused the occupants of that village to attack you?” asked Lyra “Believe it or not, it wasn’t me… it was Rarity,” said Rainbow Dash “Sure,” said Bon Bon sarcastically “No, it’s true… when we arrived at the area, Rarity had been complaining about the heat and sand the whole way there, and when we saw that the village wasn’t abandoned like in the specifications, she decided to head towards it to ask for water, despite having her water bottle in her backpack, which she made Applejack carry,” said Sunset Shimmer Spike, Lyra, and Bon Bon turned to look at her “That’s true,” she said “So then what?” asked Lyra “I tried to stop her and pull her back, but…” said Rainbow Dash “She used her wind magic to push her away, creating a massive sand cloud that caught their attention,” said Pinkie Pie “And they charged at you?” said Lyra “No, but the second they pointed their rifles at us, I got into survival mode and pointed mine at them,” said Rainbow Dash “So then, who shot first?” asked Spike “One of them did, but he missed, so I responded and placed a bullet right on his brain, and… you know the rest,” said Rainbow Dash “Oh dear…” said Spike Just then Rarity walked into the tent, staring daggers at Spike “Wipe that look off your face,” said Spike “You’re not the boss of me!” said Rarity “I am… and after what I just heard, you should be thankful that you’re still here,” said Spike “Please, what do you know?” said Rarity Spike proceed to tell her everything, and her face dropped the sarcastic smile she had “You have committed so many offenses in 20-something hours of being on a BATTLEFIELD, not to mention, you have insulted and disregarding orders of your commanding officer,” said Spike “Twilight is not an officer,” Rarity protested “Who placed her in charge?” asked Spike “Princess Celestia,” said Rarity “So that means that makes her your leader?” said Spike “Technically,” said Rarity “So that means you have committed mutiny,” said Spike “No, I haven’t!” Rarity said “You have not followed any order given to you by Twilight, that means you have disregarded Princess Celestia’s order,” said Lyra “Wha..?” said Rarity “When Princess Celestia named Twilight as the leader, that means she passes her authority onto the leader of that team… so, you disregarded her orders,” said Bon Bon Rarity became pale “You know Rarity, you are the prime example of a “Malingerer”,” said Lyra (A student at the Academy, usually on the reserves, who only cares about the status they earned by entering the academy; these students, in the vast majority, come from really wealthy and stuck up families; they aren’t well-liked on campus) “If you think this is a joke, I can teleport you back to the school with a report for Princess Celestia, letting her know of your actions during the mission,” said Spike “And if that happens, you can kiss the prestige goodbye,” said Bon Bon Rarity went silent “Twilight!” said Spike “Yes!” she said “What was Rarity’s mission upon setting up camp?” he asked “Her mission was… to scout the areas of the map that are obscured due to no information on them,” said Twilight “Well, you know what to do now,” said Spike Rarity remained silent for a few seconds “This is your last chance… I suggest you take it,” said Spike “There are almost 100 KMs of an unknown land,” said Rarity Spike then walked towards her with a 9MM gun and a GPS, he stopped in front of her and handed them over “Then I suggest you get started… and get back here before nightfall,” he said as the 2 of them locked eyes Rarity was furious, but for some reason, Spike staring into her eyes caused her heart to skip a beat. Rarity turned and headed out of the tent. “As for the rest of you… We better wait until she comes back with her report… also, Twilight, Pinkie… good job with the generators,” he said This caused the 2 of them to blush as they walked out of the tent. A FEW HOURS LATER The camp was finally up to standards to continue the mission, so everyone had decided to take a breather… everyone except for Sunset Shimmer, who had volunteered for Sentinel duty. Her eyes glued to the landscape, searching for the smallest movement to fire “Why are you so tense?” said Spike This caused her to jump in the air “SPIKE!!! DON’T DO THAT!!!” she screamed “Sorry, habit,” said Spike as he sat down motioning for her to sit next to him She turned red when noticing this, but accepted regardless They spent a few moments in silence until Spike said “So, why are you so tense?” he asked Sunset Shimmer just looked at the landscape and then at Spike “It’s just that… it’s the first time I’m on the field, and I was hoping that everything was going to go smoothly, be in and out without being seen… and not even 10 minutes into the mission, I’ve been shot at, had an argument with my teammates, been captured, escaped, got fired at even more just to get captured again,” she said “Yeah, I can see how that can be stressful,” said Spike as he leaned back to look at the sky “How do you do it?” asked Sunset “Do what?” asked Spike “Act so… calm and composed?” said Sunset “I… don’t know, it comes naturally to me… I mean, I am so much braver than you” said Spike with a grin “What does that mean?!” said Sunset Shimmer getting angry “It means, I’m better at this than you,” said Spike as he locked eyes with Sunset Shimmer “Oh! You think you are so good at this! That you are untouchable, unbeatable! WELL, MR. I AM THE BEST, THAT ISN’T THE CASE, YOU CAN BE KILLED IN AN INSTANT OUT HERE!” said Sunset Shimmer “Thanks for stating the obvious, Lava head,” said Spike with an even bigger grin “WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!!! DON’T EVER CALL ME LAVA HEAD AGAIN!!!” said Sunset Shimmer as her eyes turned red and her arms became engulfed in fire “Or what?... you know that even at your max power you wouldn’t even scratch me,” said Spike These words infuriated Sunset Shimmer even more, but she stopped her magic and sat back down in defeat “You right,” she said “I know I am… feel better?” he asked “Yeah, I… Wow, I do feel much better,” she said as she sat up “Glad to hear,” said Spike “What did you do?” asked Sunset Shimmer “I used your bad temper to help you release the excess of adrenaline and magic you accumulated,” said Spike “My bad temper?” asked Sunset Shimmer only to realize what he meant “I know about the situation back in Junior High, the demon thing,” said Spike “Oh, who told you?” she asked “I have my sources,” said Spike “I see you haven’t gotten over it yet,” said Spike “I can’t… I hurt so many people, hurt my friends, destroyed the school and…” she said “... and all has been forgiven by everyone… except you,” said Spike “I just can’t… the things I did…” said Sunset Shimmer “Happen to everyone, I mean… before coming to this Academy, I was invisible, I didn’t have magic powers, I was weak, and that allowed everyone to treat me like crap… heh, I was almost killed the same day I graduated from Junior high, and after a bunch of situations, I obtained all of this powers,” said Spike “Wow, really?” said Sunset Shimmer “Yup,” said Spike “And, you don’t want to take revenge on those who wronged you?” asked Sunset “I did… it was at that point that I realized the magnitude of my new self, the number of responsibilities that are upon my shoulders… and I didn’t have another choice but to accept them,” said Spike “But, wasn’t it scary?” asked Sunset Shimmer “That’s the thing Sunset, sometimes things are going to get scary, but we have to accept them and… work with them or fight them,” said Spike “So, that’s it? Being brave in the face of danger?” asked Sunset Shimmer “Sometimes… Other times you have more than brave… a fool so to say,” said Spike with a smile “A fool?... Spike, we go into the worst places on earth, we can die in a second, and your best advice is to be silly?” said Sunset Shimmer “Not silly… a fool,” said Spike “It makes no sense, aren’t you scared?” she said “Of course, I’m terrified… that’s why I’m the biggest fool in the world… I ignore my fear and fight forward, that’s what a real special op does,” said Spike as he placed a comforting hand on Sunset’s shoulder “You’ll understand sooner or later,” Spike’s actions had touched Sunset’s heart, he didn’t laugh at her for being tense or afraid, but comforting and reassuring. Sunset couldn’t do anything but smile at him. ”Don’t let your fears get the best of you, that’s the important part,” said Spike as he got up “Thanks,” said Sunset Shimmer “Well, good talk, but I have to go,” said Spike “Go?... go where?!’ she asked “To find your dear friend Rarity, it’s past her curfew… be right back,” said Spike as his body disintegrated in front of her. “He’s so cool, and hot… WOW! Did I just say that!” SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE MASSIVE DESERT “... I mean what is his problem? Doesn’t he know how to treat someone like a lady?... I mean, yeah, I was acting in a wrong way knowing that we are in a warzone but still, what right does he have to dump cold water on me?!... I swear guys like him are the worst!... I mean yeah he is attractive, and the way he was glaring at me was incredibly hot, I was even able to get a good look at his deep, beautiful, green eyes… oh, they’re like perfect jaded orbs… WOW!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!!!... and what do we have here?” said Rarity as she crouched down and grabbed her binoculars. About 50 mts Away from her location, was a road full of military trucks and vehicles racing towards some sort of structure. “12...15...29… 34 different vehicles… but where are they headed?” said Rarity as she continued to follow their every move. She followed them all the way until they all turned and to the left, disappearing around the side of the hill she was in. Rarity quickly got up and rushed as fast as she could to the other side of the hill to get a better vantage point. After a few more seconds she finally reached the top, and her jaw dropped in shock. Before her she could see three massive man-made villages with various enemies all over them, but most shocking of all, was the massive industrial compound towering in the distance. “What is this?” said Rarity, “I bet that if I get closer and get better information about this Spike will praise me!” said Rarity with a small blush on her face. Then she began to make her way towards the a small, tree covered hill, near the first village “Ok, the first village only has a few enemies, nothing out of the ordinary… a couple of brutes with guns… the second village is a bit more protected, there are 2 different entrances and exits, all of them guarded with Machine gun towers… and by the looks of it, they are automatic… The last village seems to be the worst out of all of them… there is a minefield from the left to right behind the village… machine gun nests… and a tank, of course…” said Rarity as she noted everything down in the map. Unknown to her, she was being a bit too cocky with her surroundings and had completely forgotten to check her 6 before beginning to scout the area. “hilo mat!” said a soldier as he pressed the gun on the back of Rarity’s head (Don’t move!) Rarity, instinctively swung her arms up, in a sign of surrender “Great! Now, this… I swear if I die because of Spike I will haunt his dreams for the rest of his life!” said Rarity “Itanee sundar baat... bahut bura mujhe tumase chutkara pana hai.” said the soldier as he got closer and prepared to pull the trigger (Such a pretty thing... too bad I have to get rid of you.) Rarity just closed her eyes. BANG! Rarity then heard something hit the floor next to her, she opened one of her eyes and saw the soldier, face on the ground, and a pool of blood starting to form around his head. “That was a bit too close for comfort,” said Spike as he walked up to her Rarity quickly got up and turned to face him “Are you ok?” asked Spike “Y-Yes… thank you,” said Rarity, her face red with embarrassment, and her voice mimicking Fluttershy’s “Good,” said SPike “What are you doing here?” asked Rarity “Missed your curfew… and wander off a bit, I had a bad feeling about the whole situation… that’s when I noticed the convoy and I decided to come and look for you,” said Spike “Oh!... thanks… Is he really worried about me!” said Rarity “So, tell me what have you discovered?” asked Spike as he walked over to the ledge and saw the compound “Well… there are 3 villages, each more fortified than the last one, and then there is that compound… unfortunately I was unable to get closer to it and get a better grasp of it,” said Rarity “If you’d done that, I would be really impressed…” that’s when Spike noticed something off “What do you bet,” he said as he moved over to the dead soldier and flipped him over, and began to loot the body “Aha!, he is Heighndian, that confirms it,” said Spike “Confirms what?” asked Rarity “Of who is inside that compound right now… we have to go back, hang on tight and close your eyes,” said Spike as he wrapped his arm around Rarity’s waist and held her close to him. “OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!!!” said Rarity as she blinked and before she realized it was now standing inside the command tent back at camp. “GIRLS!!! WE NEED TO TALK FAST!!” said Spike Immediately all of the girls rushed into the tent, but as soon as their eyes landed on Rarity’s goofy, flustered, smiley face, something took over them as they all went over to where she was. “Spit it out, what’s the smile for?!” whispered Rainbow Dash “Oh, it was wonderful!” Rarity whis[ered back “What was?” asked Twilight and Lyra together “Spike’s arm around me as he saved me from an evil man before teleporting back here,” Rarity said as her face got even redder. “WHAT!!!” they all said with a frown “Oh dear, girls, stop frowning, you’ll get wrinkles on your face… and that will draw Spike closer to me,” said Rarity with a small laugh “Why you little…” said Rainbow Dash before being cut off by Spike “I know you’re all happy to see Rarity, but we need to talk about something important,” said Spike “What’s wrong?” asked Pinkie Pie “We found the hiding spot,” said Spike “Who’s?” asked Twilight “Gallteeth,” said Spike The second he said that Lyra and Bon Bon’s faces went from surprise to “Murder” mode “Where is he?” asked Lyra “Well, thanks to Rarity’s great work, she was able to locate the compound… right here,” said Spike The moment Spike complemented Rarity, her face turned even redder, which infuriated the girls even more “But there is more, the compound has a total of 3 man-made villages before it, and each one is worse than the last…” said Spike “I’ll go get my shotgun,” said Lyra as she to leave the tent “I thought you were the team’s sniper!” said Bon Bon following her “Ok, What is going on?” asked Twilight “Gallteeth is the reason why so many people have gone missing… he is a slave trader,” said Spike The second he said this all of the girls’ faces went from concern to shock “And our mission is to get him alive… or dead… so go get ready,” said Spike “Hah, this is going to be awesome!” said Rainbow Dash as she and the girls walked out of the tent “... That doesn’t mean I can’t do it!” said Lyra “BS, you just want to get Spike’s attention, don’t you!” said Bon Bon “Of course not!... maybe a little, but still…” said Lyra “No, you were trained to be a sniper, you have a better precision fire than anyone, without you we’ll be exposed!” said Bon Bon “You just want to have Spike all to yourself, don’t you?” said Lyra Bon Bon was about to answer when Twilight interrupted “Something wrong?” she asked “No, nothing at all, just… Uhm… thinking of an idea to enter the compound,” lied Bon Bon “Right… well, Spike said we’re leaving in 2 minutes so…” said Twilight as she pointed to the armory “Right!” said Bon Bon as she and Lyra hurried over to the armory to get ready “Spike never said we’re leaving in 2 minutes,” said Sunset Shimmer Twilight just raised her hand and pointed to the tent Seconds later Spike came out and said “We’re leaving in 2 minutes, get ready… don’t worry about the camp, Task force 34 will come and clean it up,” as he walked towards the edge of the camp and loaded his guns The girls turned to face Twilight “Wife’s intuition!” she said as she walked towards the armory “EXCUSE US!!!” they all answered as they walked over to Twilight “What do you mean by “Wife's intuition”?” said Rarity “Exactly what it sounds like… It’s destiny,” said Twilight with a dreamy look This comment didn’t sit well with any of them “Hah!, you think YOU can defeat ME in becoming his wife?” said Rainbow Dash “Of course!” said Twilight with a confident smile This infuriated Rainbow Dash even more She was about to say something when “Girls? You coming or what?” said Spike Immediately all of the girls grabbed their gear and a few extra bullets and headed to where Spike was standing. “Ready?” asked Spike “Let’s do this!” they all said as they walked through Spike’s portal BACK NEAR THE COMPOUND “Ok, wait here, I’ll go scout the area,” said Spike as he headed over to the edge of the hill and looked around the villages Meanwhile, all of the girls had huddled up together and were having a, somewhat… friendly conversation. “You ain’t his wife!” whispered Applejack “Yet, but he saved me from being abducted and possibly murdered, he is the reason I am here today, and like I said before, it’s…” said Twilight “Destiny, we know, but this is the real world, not a stupid fairy tale, you don’t even know if Spike’s likes you,” said Rarity “You’re one to talk “Ms. I am a Fairy tale princess”, plus, you’ve done nothing but annoy Spike this whole time,” said Sunset Shimmer “And you haven’t?” said Rarity “You said it,” said Sunset Shimmer “He was really nice to me when we regrouped,” said Fluttershy all of a sudden “Oh, great Ms. Cowtits is also in love with Spike “We’ve known him for far longer, and… and… We’ve slept on the same bed!” said Lyra “WHAT!!!!” said all the girls “Only slept, nothing weird,” said Bon Bon “Oh!” they all answered “Tell you what, lets have a little competition,” said Pinkie “What type of competition?” asked Applejack “Three villages, three teams… whoever makes the most damage in the least time, while not being discovered wins,” said Pinkie Pie “Wins what?” asked Rainbow Dash “A date with Spike,” said Pinkie with a smile “But there are at least 3 people per squad,” said Sunset Shimmer “That’s when the sacred game of Rock, Paper, Scissors came into place… what do you say?” asked Pinkie Pie as she extended her hand “Deal!” said all of the girls as they shaked hands and walked over to Spike. “Ok, Here’s the plan…” said Spike “Actually Spike, we have an idea on how to continue,” said Pinkie Pie “Oh, well, I’m all ears,” said Spike Pinkie then explained everything to spike… minus the date part. “Sounds good, Twilight, your team’s up first,” said Spike “Why?” asked Twilight “Pinkie’s idea, you make your first move,” said Spike “Right… come on girls!” said Twilight as she, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity headed to the first village “You think they’ll make it?” asked Rainbow Dash “They better,” said Spike. After a few seconds Twilight and the girls reached the edge of the village and turned their GPSs on, in a matter of moments it showed all of the enemies in the village. After they were able to locate all of them, Twilight began to move her hands giving orders “Pinkie, you’ll take the left side, and then work your way to the center, Rarity, take the right, and do the same, we will rendezvous at the center of the village and then move towards the other side of it, copy?” she said in sign language The girls just gave her a thumbs up and got into position. “3...2...1… go!” motioned Twilight as they creeped forward taking out all of the hostels they found on their way. Slowly but surely, they cleared out the whole village, and signaled to the rest of the team to join them. “You think we did a good job?” asked Rarity “Of course we did,” said Pinkie Pie “Good job,” said Spike as he appeared out of nowhere scaring them all “SPIKE! Don’t do that!” they said “Sorry,” he said as the other girls appeared around him “Not bad Twilight, but you girls took 7 minutes and 45 seconds to take care of the enemies,” said Rainbow Dash “Well, now it’s your turn,” said Rarity “Watch and learn!” said Rainbow Dash as she turned to see the girls on her squad and smiled Seconds later, Rainbow Dash zoomed into the village followed by Sunset Shimmer and Applejack, meanwhile, Fluttershy just climbed to the roof of a nearby house and armed her sniper gun. Rainbow Dash was going wild, she was going left and right stabbing all of the enemies, not leaving any for Applejack or Sunset, who decided to take care of the ones inside the houses and leave the ones in the open to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash was so into it, that she left herself too exposed, walking right into a crossroad with 2 guards patrolling it. When they made eye contact with each other, Rainbow Dash realized her mistake “Rainbow, duck!” said Fluttershy over the radio Rainbow Dash quickly hit the dirt as a bullet pierced the skulls of both guards, killing them instantly “Nice shooting Fluttershy!” said Spike over the radio “Thanks!” Fluttershy said as she let out a small squeal “Ok, that’s everyone,” said Rainbow Dash in a very annoyed tone “Did you take care of the machine gun?” asked Spike “Ups!” said Rainbow Dash “Relax Dash, we’re here, guns down!” said Sunset Shimmer Seconds later everyone met at the exit of the second village “That was really reckless,” said Twilight “Agreed, top marks to Fluttershy though, she didn’t miss a single shot, and that double headshot at the end was amazing,” said Spike This made Fluttershy turn red and grin proudly “We still took 4 minutes,” said Rainbow Dash “It’s better to do a good job than a fast job!” said Spike “I second that!” said Lyra “Well then, you show us how it’s done!” said Rainbow Dash “Sure!” said Bon Bon as she, Lyra and Spike walked to the third village “Why do you always have to start fights?” said Applejack “I didn’t, but, I want to see if they have a reason to be so confident,” said Rainbow Dash “Did you forget that Spike’s on that team?” asked Sunset Shimmer “Nope… but it makes the competition much more interesting,” said Rainbow Dash Just then, they all heard “Ladies, synchronize watches!” said Spike “Ready!” they both said “I’ll see you all at the other side,” said Spike as the three of them disappeared from sight. “Where did they go?” asked Twilight Then to the left they saw one of the guards fall to the floor dead, then another fall from the roof of a house, and then another, and another, and another, until all of the guards were on the floor dead. “Ok, you can come over, we just have to disarm the minefield,” said Spike The girls then began to sprint to the other side of the now empty village, as they did, they noticed the carnage all around them “These guys are something else,” said Twilight “Indeed,” said Sunset Shimmer “What took you so long?” mocked Lyra “Yeah, keep laughing,” said Rainbow Dash “That was awesome,” said Applejack “Thanks, but we did commit many mistakes,” said Spike “Such us?” asked Twilight “I stabbed a few of the guards on the back of their necks, instead of keeping it simple and slashing their throats,” said Spike This comment made the girls uneasy “Just kidding, a dead enemy is a good outcome,” said Spike “Hah! good one… now what?” asked Rainbow Dash “Oh yeah!” said Spike as he placed his hands on the ground and various blueish lines appeared on it, deactivating all of the mines surrounding the compound “We enter” he finished. “But, there must be many soldiers inside, not to mention, we haven’t even seen the layout of the land,” said Twilight “Is there a way to get in without being in their line of fire?” asked Pinkie Pie “Unfortunately no,” there is only one way in and out,” said Lyra “So, we only have the suicidal route, or… the suicidal route,” said Rainbow Dash “What do we do Spike?” asked Sunset Shimmer as everyone turned to look at him Spike just summoned some of his fire magic to his left arm and said “Let’s go out with a boom!” as he fired the orb towards the gate and obliterated it Immediately after a storm of bullet began to fall on the group “un sab ko maar do!” screamed Gallteeth (Kill them all!) as more guard opened fire “Twilight, take out the turrets!” said Spike “On it!” said Twilight as she used her magic to explode blow them up “Keep using power bombs!” said Lyra as they began to bombard the whole ground around the compound until it was completely covered in craters “Did we get him?” asked Applejack Spike looked around and saw Gallteeth running away inside the compound “No! Don’t let him escape! Screamed Spike as he, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack charged into the compound as the rest of the girls remained outside to keep the guards at bay. “Sunset, cover us!” said Rainbow Dash “On it!” said Sunset as she got up and headed into the compound “Where is he?” asked Rainbow Dash “Over there!” said Spike as they tried to use magic “A shield,” said Rainbow Dash “Fire!” said Sunset Shimmer, but her gun jammed “Anti-gun ray, girl, tough luck!” said Gallteeth as he continued to head for the helipad “Get her back, you son of a bitch!” said Sunset Shimmer as she began to run up the stairs, chasing Gallteeth “Dash, Jack, find those generators and destroy them!” said Spike as he went after Sunset “Leave it to us Sugacube” said Applejack as they ventured into the compound using their own fists against the guards. Spike was going as fast as he could trying to catch up with Sunset, before she killed herself, while at the same time trying to immobilize the guards that attacked him. “SUNSET STOP!!!” said Spike as he climbed another flight of stairs “HE’S GETTING AWAY!” said Sunset as she defeated another guard “WAIT, IT’S A TRAP!” said Spike As soon as he said this, Gallteeth activated a lever that made weapons functional and aimed his rocket launcher at Sunset Shimmer “Goodnight girl!” said Gallteeth as he pulled the trigger “SUNSET!!!!” screamed Spike as he shoved out of the way receiving the full blow of the grenade as this one hit the part of the floor he was standing on, causing him to fall into the dark abyss below “SPIKE!!!!!!!” she said as she saw him fall into the darkness “Ups! My bad!” mocked Gallteeth “I’LL KILL YOU!!!” said Sunset Shimmer as she to chase Gallteeth They ran a few more flights of stairs until she was able to corner him “Not so fast now huh!” said Sunset Shimmer in a guttural voice “The party is just beginning,” said Gallteeth as he pulled out a machete and started to swing at Sunset Sunset evaded the blade as much as she could, even countering with a kick or two but it wasn’t enough, Gallteeth was committed to kill her Just then he was able to hit her in the gut and cause her to fall to the floor “Time to end this!” he said as he prepared to decapitate Sunset Just as he was about the swing, they both heard a pair of loud footsteps coming towards at great speed “YOU THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE THAT EASY!!!!” said Spike as he tackled Gallteeth so hard they both flew out the window, landing on top of some parked cars and then falling to the ground “You… are committed… you damn fireblood!” said Gallteeth as he incorporated himself “Thanks… but unfortunately for you, the party is over,” said Spike as 2 helicopters aimed their search lights on him “Gupa Sanguera, you are under arrest, surrender peacefully!” said the pilot Gallteeth, just raised his hands and surrendered as the rest of the girls arrived next to Spike. “You are going to root in jail,” said Knox as he slammed the door of the personnel carrier shut. “Great work all of you, we finally cut this slippery son of a bitch,” said Grim “No need to thanks us, it is our duty and was our pleasure,” said Lyra “Congratulations teams, prepare for extraction, and a well deserved vacation,” came Discord’s voice over the radio “Copy that central,” said Spike “You guys rest easy, we’ll finish up here,” said Grim “Thanks, see you back at campus,” said Spike “Of course,” said Grim as they both shaked hands. Spike then turned to face the girls and said “Let’s go home… I’ve had enough of the desert for a good while,” “I totally agree, I have sand in places I didn’t even know I had!” said Rarity “TMI girl!’ said Lyra as they all laughed, all except Sunset. She felt terrible for what happened with Spike, but was unable to talk to him out shame “I have to talk to him, I need to apologize… but how?” she thought.
Ch. 4 Mission: Survival Horror“You’ve got to be kidding me… Tiffany Silverstein, Magic affinities: Light, Wind, Earth, Holy magic, age 15, magic points 10,940… relationship with caster… pristine... Well that’s not what I had in mind” thought Spike “ALL NEW STUDENTS PLEASE REPORT TO THE AMPHITHEATER, THE OPENING CEREMONY WILL BEGIN IN 15 MINUTES!” came Celestia’s voice, over the loudspeaker. “Oh, that’s us, come one!” Twilight said as she grabbed Spike’s hand and pulled him towards the amphitheater. SECOND LATER “Here we are!! Come on, these seats are free,” said Twilight as she once again pulled Spike with her all the way to the seats “Aren't you excited about entering the academy?” She said as they sat down. “So happy, I could scream,” said Spike with a fake smile “Was she always this obnoxious?... well, I did save her life… and she did act the same way back then,” he thought until... “Hey there Spike, good morning to you!” came a female voice he knew rather well “Rainbow, Good morning… time to use it again… Roxanne Daniels, magic affinities: wind, water, age 15, magic points 7,000… relationship with caster… very good ... ok, again, I don’t see much of an explanation… maybe if I give it some more power… BINGO! She is a wind magic prodigy, only known living being to have successfully created a Sonic Rainboom… loves playing the guitar, rock music, and sports… hates it when people call her weak, short, or confuse her for a member of the LGBTQ2 community despite being a heartfelt supporter of it… ok, that was enlightening,” thought Spike as she sat down to his right “Indeed it is… and who are you?” she asked as she noticed Twilight staring daggers at her. “My name is Tiffany Silverstein, and you are?” said Twilight with a minor hostility in her tone Spike turned to look at Twilight and his “Discerning eye” began to work again “... All round magic prodigy, called on by Princess Celestia to be one of the next rulers of Equestria, has a minor issue with OCD, which causes her to act in weird manners, loves reading, studying, and order, dislikes disorder, bullies, snakes, spiders, and bats… has to improve social skills, also, has demonstrated a strong attachment to Silvio Decker, almost on the level of obsession … ok, don’t know what to make of that,” thought Spike “Morning Rainbow Dash, oh, Hi Spike, morning to you too,” said a quiet voice Spike remembered from yesterday. “Morning Fluttershy, sleep well?” asked Rainbow Dash “Yup, like a baby,” said Fluttershy as she sat next to Rainbow Dash “Florence Scavo, magic affinities: wind, Holy magic, age: 15, magic points: 6,999, relationship with caster… good... She is an animal lover and her dream is to become a vet or medic… shy, easily frightened, and minor anger issues, but all around friendly… she loves animals, especially her pet bunny Angel, she also loves Garden Salads, and babies… she dislikes rude people, animal torture, being placed in socially awkward situations, and, just about anyone that makes a reference to her body in a perverted way… Oh!... I think I fucked it up with this one,” thought Spike “Oh, hello,” she said when she noticed Twilight “Hi, My name is Tiffany, nice to meet you Florence,” said Twilight “Call me Fluttershy… if you want,” she said “Ok, then, you can call me Twilight Sparkle, or Twilight,” she said “I assumed you were going to be here,” came another female voice Spike recognized “Sunset?!, I thought you turned the academy down?” said Twilight as she jumped up to hug her “I was about to, but then I thought about it and decided to accept the offer,” she said as she sat down “Well, these are my new friends, Roxanne Daniels, Florence Scava, and…” Twilight began “Oh! Spike, I didn’t see you there, how are you doing… and Rainbow Dash, I believe you still want that “revenge” from Saturday,” said Sunset as she noticed Spike and Rainbow Dash sitting nearby “You know each other?” asked Twilight, a hint of jealousy in her voice. By this point, Spike had already used “Discerning eye” on Sunset Shimmer “Sofia Sanchez, magic affinities Light, and Fire, age 15, magic points… 10,430, relationship with caster, very good... Sunset was once considered to be the number 1 prodigy before Tiffany Silverstein appeared in the picture… she had a troubled young life, growing up in a single parent house (Father never recognized her), causing her to be tomboyish and mean… grow out of that stage after befriending her once called “Mortal Rival'' Tiffany Silverstein… she loves playing guitar, horror movies, RomComs, and videogames, especially sports and warfare type video games… she disliked people who are mean to Tiffany or any of her friends, perverts, and feeling alone… she also has a minor dislike for pork… wow, just like with Rainbow Dash, we have a lot of things in common,” Thought Spike. “Yeah, I met them both playing soccer last Saturday… I heard about what happened on Thursday… thank God you’re ok, and that Spike was nearby to intervene,” said Sunset “Yup, he’s my hero,” she said as she pressed her body around his left shoulder, this made Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash tick and made Fluttershy feel a bit uncomfortable. “Mornin’ there Spike, Thanks again for helping us out the other day with the… truck… am I interruptin’ something?” said a female voice with a southern accent Spike knew too well, and at this point was making him sweat in fear “Oh! Hello, my name is Tiffany Silverstein, and I’m…” Twilight began “One of the members of the Crystal Empire royal family members that Spike saved a few days back, he told me all about it,” said Applejack “Oh, but where are my manners, my name is Audrey Smith, but please feel free to call me Applejack,” she said “Then please call me Twilight,” she said “Sofia Sanchez, call me Sunset Shimmer,” said Sunset “Florence Scaba, you can call me Fluttershy… if you want that is,” said Fluttershy a bit louder than a whisper “Nice to meet y’all… YOU!!!!” said Applejack as she made eye contact with Rainbow Dash “Ha, miss perfect-boots… nice to see you again,” said Rainbow Dash with a competitive “Likewise,” said Applejack with a competitive smile “Well… she is an amazon through and through… Audrey Smith, magic affinities, Earth, age 15, magic points 9,500, relationship with caster… very good ... Although only able to use one type of Magic, she can also hold her own in hand to hand combat and has a bunch of strength, many times combining both abilities during fighting… she loves the outdoors and working on her family’s farm… she hates dishonest people, pervs, and overly girly things… well, if I want to live longer I better not say any dumb shit near her,” thought Spike “So, you guys ready for the match up?” asked Applejack “Oh yeah! Just imagine, Me, Fluttershy and Spike on the same team, we’d be unstoppable,” said Rainbow Dash “A stronger team would include Me, Spike, and Sunset,” argued Twilight “Not to mention, if we joined up with Spike, we’d be even stronger,” said Applejack’ “What do you think Spike?” they all said as they turned to look at him “How did I get involved in all this,” thought Spike “Well…” he was about to say when they all heard a commotion behind them. “This is outrageous!!!” said another familiar voice They all turned to look at the owner of the voice as she walked over to them and sat down without even saying hello “Good morning Miss Rarity, is something wrong?” said Spike This caught her attention and noticed who it was “Oh, hello Ms. Decker… and company, I see a few familiar faces as well as new ones…” said Rarity “Hello, Rarity, it’s been a while,” said Rainbow Dash with a fake friendly tone “Nice to see you again,” said Applejack, in the same way as Rainbow Dash “Yes, indeed… well, for the new faces, my name my name is Ruby Crystal Blythe, but my friends call me Rarity, I’m the eldest daughter of Duke Harrison Blythe,” she said “Hi, Tiffany Silverstein, youngest daughter of Sir Nelson Silverstein, sister-in-law of Princess Cadance, but feel free to call me Twilight Sparkle,” said Twilight “Sofia Sanchez, call me Sunset Shimmer,” she said “Florence Scava, you can call me Fluttershy… if you’d like,” said Fluttershy “Charmed,” said Rarity with a fake smile “What seems to be the problem?” asked Spike while using “Discerning eye” “Ruby Blythe, magic abilities: Water, Earth, Wind, Holy magic, age 15, magic points, 10,300, relationship with caster… neutral… Growing up in a rich household, Ruby was usually given everything she wanted, even more so when she demonstrated having magical affinities and power, this caused her to grow up believing she is a very important person, almost a princess, therefore the reason for her mannerisms, unfortunately, this caused her to grow self-centered and become a narcissist who hates when people out best her… despite all this, she also has a generous soul and like helping others out… as long as they treat her with respect… She loves fashion with a passion, and her dream is to become a world-renowned designer… she opened her first boutique in Ponyville, but placed it on hold to attend the academy to increase her popularity and fame… she also loves cats, and diamonds, and is an extremely good actress… she hates being bested in fame and popularity, ugly clothes, and disrespectful people, especially those that are disrespectful towards her… she’s gonna be a handful… even more than Twilight… but somehow I feel bad for her,” thought Spike “I was on my way to sit with the “Posh” crowd when I was denied entry by one of them, saying that I wasn’t “Pretty” or “Popular” or “Rich” enough to join them,” said Rarity “Well, if it makes you feel any better, if you combine, my, Twilight’s and Applejack’s families, we have more money than all of them combined,” said Spike “Thank you for trying to cheer me up… Oh, well, I guess I just have to demonstrate to them how powerful I am, and after that, they are not going to have a choice but to accept me!” she said as she put on her AirPods and started to apply makeup. “Good for you,” said Spike with an awkward smile, before being grabbed by Applejack and Rainbow Dash and pulled away from the seats. “What?!” he asked “Spike, stay away from her, she’d be a very bad influence,” said Applejack “Yeah, she is obnoxious, rude, and extremely self-centered… I’ve never seen her care for anyone but her, and we went to school with her for 3 years,” said Rainbow Dash “Not to mention, she is a very interested girl… she was always trying to date, the extremely attractive douchebags, or the extremely popular bullies so that she could earn some popularity… she even fat-shamed another girl… What was her name?” said Applejack’ “Samantha Davies… I think that was her name,” said Rainbow Dash “Yeah, I believe you… but, there is something about her that makes me feel bad for her, like… if she doesn’t know any better,” said Spike “Dude, I can tell you have a “heart of gold” but… your sympathy is wasted on her, she’ll chew you up and spit you out at her own convenience, that’s why no one likes her,” said Rainbow Dash “I’ll take your word for it,” said Spike as they returned “Now that’s a smart move,” said Applejack “Well, they are all here… except that weird bouncy girl… wonder where she is?” thought Spike as they returned to their seats. “Thinking about me?” said the female voice Spike was trying to avoid. The sudden voice behind them caused Spike, Fluttershy, Twilight, Rarity, and Sunset Shimmer to jump out of their seats. “PINKIE PIE!!! What did we say about scaring people?” said Rainbow Dash “Tee hee! Sorry, it’s just so fun to do it,” said Pinkie Pie “Well, at least you didn’t kill anyone this time,” said Applejack This caused them all to look at her “It’s just an expression!” said Applejack “Actually no, you have to say it like this…” Twilight began “Hi, my name is Persia Diane Patterson, but you can call me Pinkie Pie,” she said once again, as she jumped up and down around them After a short introduction with the new faces, Spike decided to use his “Discerning eye” on her “Persia Patterson, magic affinities, Earth, Technomancy, and… DARK Magic!!!... that explains why she can use Discerning eye… Age 15, magic points: 7,000… relationship with caster… excellent… Grow up on a farm south of here, developed an early affinity to Black magic and Technomancy… despite her cheery personality, she has demonstrated symptoms of psychopathy, but they have more to do with the fact that her diet contains a high level of sugars, which causes her to act like that… she is a good baker and party planner… she has also been commended for her high level of stamina and speed, and her ability in stealth… she loves sweets, parties, and making people happy… she dislikes sadness, salary, and failing to make someone happy… huh, no wonder she gave me the creeps, better keep an eye on her,” thought Spike “Did you use “Discerning eye” on?” she whispered into his ear “How did you… oh right,” said Spike “HEY!!! Don’t you think you are getting too close?” said Twilight as she got in between them “Oh no, Princess, this is nothing… but if you want us to get closer…” said Pinkie as she sat on Spike’s lap “How ‘bout this?” she said Twilight’s head turned red with anger, as Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s too “I could also get even closer… get a room… spend the night making sweet music,” said Pinkie as she got even closer to Spike. Spike looked over to the girls and noticed they had murder in their eyes “Why me, of all people?” he said as Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack forcefully removed Pinkie off of Spike. At that same moment this happened, the speakers boomed signaling for attention. “Welcome, one and all, to the Canterlot Academy, I am one of your vice-principals, Devin Karius, and allow me to introduce the lovely ladies that complete our team… Princess Celine Solaris, and Princess Lara Solaris,” said Discord as the 2 princesses walked into the stage. “Yes, well, thanks for the introduction, now, I’d like to personally welcome all of our new students, be it scholarship students or others,” said Celestia “Alright, allow us to explain some things about this institution… first, despite us being an academic institution, we also are a special military institution, what does this mean, it means that we will be deploying all of you in different missions, that the regular army can’t take care of for various different circumstances,” said Luna “Correct, there are… in this academy: reserves, MP, infantry, task force, intelligence, and Special Ops… and we’ll be dividing you into those groups, this won’t affect your classes, since they are going to be the same for everyone,” said Celestia “Now, to give you a small idea of each, the reserves are, as the name suggests, students who didn’t qualify for a higher division, regardless of this, you are seen as the core of the institution since if, God forbid, something happened to a member of another squad or team, they can go to you to ask you to join them temporarily or permanently…” said Discord “The MP or military police, usually work close by with the city's police force, and on school grounds as a disciplinary committee…” said Luna “Infantry is the division were you become somewhat of a “jack of all trades”, sometimes working with PD or going out with task forces or intelligence, but, we can guarantee that there is never a dull moment in that division...” said Celestia “The Task force is, for lack of a better word, the same as the infantry, except that members of the task force usually head out to aid the special ops only, mission and training in this division are way tougher than than infantry and intelligence,” said Discord “Intelligence, as the word say, work in coordinating and assisting missions for every other division; Many members of intelligence division also work as spies, so, acting and drama classes are a must,” said Luna “And finally, you have Special ops; the special ops division is actually the smallest of all, conformed of just 25, 4 person, teams; missions at this level are considered suicidal, and you will be deployed on various mission behind enemy lines, and even have tasks of ending wars from the shadows… members of this division that can’t keep up with the requirements are also free to demote themselves to intelligence and task force,” said Celestia “By this point, I’m pretty sure you’re all wondering “How are we going to know which category we belong to?” well, the answer is simple, we will be putting you in teams of three or 4 and opening various portals to fake dimensions, which will work as your entrance exams...” said Discord, and immediately people started to murmur and form groups. “... hold your horses everyone, we said “WE” will be putting you into teams and sending you to the entrance exam…” said Discord “The point is, you have to be willing to be working with complete strangers, maybe you get lucky and land in a team with your old friends, or create even more friends, or you might land in a team with people you hate, but all this is part of being in the academy… so, without further ado, Samantha Davis, Laura Heartstring, and Silvio Decker, please make your way to the stage and prepare to enter the portal… oh, and don’t worry about failing the mission, you can always take a redo or join the reserves,” said Celestia as the 3 named students made it to the stage. “Now before you go in, we must tell you that, we won’t be able to see you in there, the spell will eject you as soon as it feels your lives are actually in danger or there is no way for you to complete the mission, then it will grade you and… you can put the rest together, now you have 5 minutes to get to know each other while the system loads,” said Luna Spike walked over to the 2 girls and said “Hi, feel free to call me Spike,” One of the girls with cobalt blue and fuchsia mixed hair looked at Spike and turned her face away from him like if he was some sort of trash; Spike notices that she wasn’t particularly tall, anywhere between 5’2” and 5’4”, she was slim but still had enough fat on the areas that needed it. “Hi, Spike, my name is Laura, but you can call me Lyra, since I like singing; just ignore Bon Bon, she tends to act this way sometimes,” said Lyra Spike looked at her and immediately realized 2 things “Wow, she’s pretty...like… supermodel pretty… and she’s really friendly,” Lyra had pale, light grayish cyan long hair with white highlights and she was about 4’11” tall. “Nice to meet you,” said Spike He was about to use “Discerning eye” on them, when “Alright, please stand in this 3 circles and get ready to begin,” said Celestia They did as they were told and the portal suddenly scanned them “Team leader… Silvio Decker...3...2...1…” said a female robotic voice as the 3 of them were engulfed by a bright light and sucked into the portal. “Ok, next…” said Discord A FEW SECONDS LATER “Where… where are we?” said Bon Bon “No idea” said Lyra “Mission update… survive till further update… BEGIN!” said the robotic female voice “So, it’s a simulation,” said Bon Bon “Looks like it,” said Spike “What should we do first?” asked Lyra “Risk assessment,” both Spike and Bon Bin said at the same time “Right, follow me,” said Bon Bon as she walked on with Spike and Lyra nearby. 1 HOUR LATER The trio investigated everything and everywhere they could but couldn’t find anything; now, in many occasions that’s a good sign, but in this case, it was unnerving. “Did you find something?” asked Spike as he walked up to Lyra “No… did you?” she asked Bon Bon “Nothing… What is going on here?” Bon Bon said “Shhhhht!” said Spike “What?” asked Bon Bon in an annoyed tone “Quiet! Listen” said Spike as they all went silent “I hear nothing,” said Lyra “Yeah, maybe your neurons are all fried,” said Bon Bon Spike gave Bon Bon sucha look “Are you going to take this seriously or not?” he asked her She just looked away “What I meant is that… it’s too quiet… way TOO quiet,” said Spike “You’re… you’re right… no birds are singing,” said Lyra At that second, Bon Bon began to walk towards a hill “Bon Bon, where are you going?” asked Spike “Shut up!” she said as she continued to walk up the hill followed by Spike and Lyra. When they reached the top, they found a residential neighborhood not too far away. “Aha! We can find help there!” said Bon Bon as she began to walk towards the neighborhood “Bon Bon, that doesn’t look like a good idea,” said Spike This caused her to stop in her tracks and turn around, her eyes red with rage as she stumped all the way up the hill until she was in front of Spike. “Ok, listen “man”, don’t call me Bon Bon, second, you aren’t the boss of me, now, you want to run along thinking that you are the team captain, fine, but don’t even think about ordering me to do anything, or you will regret it… am I clear!!” she said “Crystal” said Spike as she stumped away towards the neighborhood “I’m sorry about that Spike, she’s cool and all, but, she distrust people who claim to be on top of her,” said Lyra “You seem to know a lot about her,” said Spike “Well, I’ve known her since we were 5,” said Lyra as she walked away following Bon Bon “Should I use Discerning eye on them?... no, I don’t think it’s right,” he thought as he walked away behind them. A few moments later, they arrived at the neighborhood “15 houses… doble floored… high-middle class neighborhood,” said Spike “How do you know?” asked Lyra “My mom is an architect and real estate agent, who tend to mumble this things without realizing it,” said Spike While he was saying that, Bon Bon walked over to one of the houses and knocked on the door. “Hello! Is anyone home?!” she said “Samantha, you’re wasting your time, there is no one here,” said Spike “What makes you say that?” she asked “No cars, grass growing out of the asphalt, houses with many broken windows, unattended, and various broken windows,” said Spike “You’re right, plus, they all have furniture inside,” said Lyra “Which means… people move out of this place… they left in a hurry,” said Spike as he opened another house. “So, what now?” asked Lyra Spike looked at Bon Bon for a few seconds, and she looked back at him “Search the homes, every single one of them, taking anything useful, first aid kits, water, canned foods… weapons, you never know, let us meet here in 1 hour,” said Spike as he entered the house. 1 HOUR LATER “Did you find something?” asked Bon Bon “Yeah, one of the houses I entered had a small garden far full of vegetables and fruits. I placed the ones that were edible in this backpack, you?” said Lyra “A few first aid kits, most of them full and unused… maybe Spike was right, people did leave in a hurry,” said Bon Bon “Look, there he comes,” said Lyra “So, did you find anything?” asked Bon Bon “Yup, some canned foods, first aid kits, and these…” said Spike as he tossed 2 baseball bats at the girls “... At least we have something to defend ourselves with… but we need to find water, clean water, and by the looks of it, it’s not going to rain anytime soon,” said Spike as he placed the backpack full of things in his back. “Now, what?” asked Lyra “Well, maybe we can stay in one of these houses and wait for further instruction,” said Bon Bon “That’s actually a very good idea...” said Spike This caused Bon Bon to go mute for a second and feel her chest tighten “...in the meantime, we can find out what is going on around here…” said Spike looking around, and doing a quick double take. “Something wrong?” asked Lyra “There’s… there’s a car down the street, over there,” he said pointing “Maybe there is someone inside… let’s go check,” said Bon Bon as she began to walk towards it with Spike and Lyra close behind. “Hello?!” she said as she knocked on the window “Empty,” said Lyra “And by the looks of it, it’s been here for a year… maybe 2,” said Spike “You’re right… what do you think happened to the owner?” asked Bon Bon “Maybe they came back here looking for something… but where?” said Spike Bon Bon opened the hood of the car “Battery’s missing,” she said “Been missing for sometime,” said Spike “Agreed, there are signs of forced removal… maybe 1 year… maybe more,” said Bon Bon “Uhm… guys!!!” said Lyra “Yeah!” they said as they headed over to her “I found… something,” said Lyra Spike and Bon Bon walked up next to her and noticed the 2 corpses lying in the grass “I think I’m going to be sick,” said Bon Bon “Male… late 30’s… female… mid 30’s… cause of death… blunt force trauma to the head… they were murdered,” said Spike “How do you know?” asked Bon Bon “Discerning eye… it comes in helpful with these situations,” said Spike as he looked at them without turning the ability off. “Laura Heartstring, magic affinities: wind, earth magic, age 15, magic points: 8,000… relationship with caster… good… Lyra was born to a family of musicians and from an early age developed a very deep love for music, aided by her wind magic, she can play any instrument in the world and make it sound Heavenly-like; Despite this and her early rise to fame by her music, Lyra is a very friendly person and loves to befriend new and interesting people… unfortunately, she can be a tad resentful of people, especially if her trust is broken… Samantha Davies, magic affinities: wind, technomany, age 15, magic points: 9,846… relationship with caster… bad… Samantha had a rough upbringing, from an early age, her magical prowess was exploited by her father to increase their families net worth, something that she hated, especially when she discovered that her father and relatives had saved that money to create an empire, right after that, her father divorced her mother… that’s just wrong, way wrong,” thought Spike “So, this ability of yours let’s you see, what… stats? Hidden locations and artifacts?” said Lyra “Yup… but that’s not important right now,” said Spike “Then what is?” said Bon Bon “Finding a safe place to spend the night,” said Spike “What?!!!” they both said “Well, after seeing this… I don’t know if this area is safe for us to spend the night,” said Spike “Oh, you just love making things complicated don’t you,” said Bon Bon “I’m not trying to…” said Spike “Guys, stop arguing, Spike is right, I don’t feel safe here… and the sun is going down, we need to find a safer place,” said Lyra “Alright, if you say so,” said Bon Bon “So, captain, where to?” asked Lyra Spike looked around for a few seconds before noticing something “Say… when you look at those mountains, what does it make you feel like?” he said Lyra and Bon Bon looked at the mountains he was talking about and said “Camping and hiking,” “Exactly! Now, it just so happens that, when I was in one of the houses, #1347 to be exact, I found old camping gear and a pamphlet with this information on it,” said Spike as he showed them the pamphlet. “Paradise Mountains, best place to camp in town, come here and camp or rent on of our finest lodges for a family friendly fee,” they read “Well, if that is advertisement, they did a terrible job,” said Bon Bon “Yeah… but, at the back, there is a map of the place and… a picture of the mountains from afar, which just so happens to resemble…” said Spike as he aligned the pamphlet image to the mountain in the horizon “... that mountain right there,” he finished “It’s a walk away, maybe 10 km, but it’s better than being in the open, plus, we can set up traps to alert us about enemies and still have the higher ground,” said Lyra “Well, what d’ya know, you aren’t that use less after all… maybe we can even find a natural spring up there,” said Bon Bon as they both began walking away “Thanks… At least we are working as a team, despite the fact that Bon Bon keeps confronting me, but still… I think my on;y major concern with them is that… THEY HAVE ALMOST ZERO SURVIVIAL SKILLS!” thought Spike as he followed them. ALMOST 1 AND A HALF HOUR LATER Lyra, Bon Bon, and Spike had been walking towards the mountain at a good pace, even to their surprise, they thought it was going to take far longer. “Wow, this was closer than we thought,” said Lyra “Yeah, it must have been around 9 or 8 KM,” said Bon Bon Spike however remain silent, there was something biting at him, something was awfully wrong… it was too peaceful and quiet “Something on your mind Spike?” asked Lyra “Just thinking,” said Spike “Well, don’t overfry the last neurons you have left, cause I won’t carry a brain dead person,” said Bon Bon in an annoyed tone “It’s not that… Don’t you girls think, it’s a bit too quiet and peaceful?” said Spike “Well, it is called Paradise Mountain, maybe it’s an analogy to the serenity,” said Lyra “Well, if that’s the case, that’s a great analogy…” said Spike “There is more to it, right?” said Bon Bon “Well… if you look to the left… at the distance, you can see the metropolitan area… small as it may be, I hear no traffic… no birds singing… no… city or mountain critters running around… it’s too quiet,” said Spike as they reached the beginning of the trail leading to the lodges. “You’re just being paranoid about it,” said Bon Bon “Really… then why haven’t we seen anybody else?... Why is there no electrical power?... What about the corpses?...” said Spike before being interrupted by Bon Bon “Maybe, since it is an abandoned area, no one has gone there looking for them,” she said “Then… what about the bite marks?” said Spike “Bite marks?” said Both Lyra and Bon Bon “Something had been eating away at does 2 corpses, and the bite marks don’t look animal-like… they resemble a human jaw,” said Spike “Oh, that is ridiculous, you really fried your brain after all, well, I’m heading up hill, make sure not to get lost, cause I am not coming back to look for you,” said Bon Bon “But… you’re a terrible hiker,” said Spike “THAT IS NOT FOR YOU TO SAY!!!!” she said as she began walking “Don’t worry Spike, I believe you,” said Lyra as they followed her up the trail A FEW MINUTES LATER “...Don’t tell me you’re taking his side!” whispered Bon Bon “Bon Bon, even if you hate to admit it, Spike is making a very good point, it’s too quiet,” whispered Lyra “Oh, great… you like him, don’t you?” said Bon Bon “WHA-WHA-WHAT?!!!” whispered Lyra “Well, there is no other reason why you would back up someone like him,” whispered Bon Bon with an angry tone “Someone like him? What is that supposed to mean?” asked Lyra “Look at him, he is cynical, self-centered, and sees us as a nuisance,” Bon Bon answered “Really?... cause for the last couple of ours you’ve been so nice to him, haven’t you,” said Lyra “I don’t trust his type,” said Bon Bon “And yet, he has been 5 time more respectful towards you than you have been to yourself all your life,” said Lyra “More respectful? More respectful?! He hasn’t even said anything constructive to us all this time!” Bon Bon said “You told him not to talk to you… he is respecting your wishes!” said Lyra “You know, if you like him that much, why don’t you jump him then!” Bon Bon whispered “This has nothing to do with that!!! All I am saying is, we need to be more weary of our surroundings, that’s all,” said Lyra “And all this because we haven’t crossed paths with another person… gosh, this is just… hey, there is someone over there!” Bon Bon said, the last part loud enough for Spike to hear. Spike turned around and looked in the direction Bon Bon was pointing. “There definitely is,” said Lyra “Yeah… hang on a second… We should keep going,” said Spike “Oh, come on, you wanted to see another living being, now, we run into one, and you want to avoid her? Men, you’re all so stupid… look I’ll go talk to her,” said Bon Bon as she walked towards the young woman sitting with her back to them. “Samantha, no, come back!!!” whispered Spike loud enough for her to hear “Listen, Spike, shut up, for the love of God, you’re really annoying!” she said as she continued to walk towards. When she was about 10 ft. from the lady, Bon Bon said “Excuse me!! Are you ok?!!” At that second, the woman turned around, at that moment, they all noticed the woman’s incredibly pale and rotten skin, her long and unkept black hair, and most unnerving of all, her lifeless, white eyes. That same second, the woman let out a blood curling, high pitch, long scream; it was so loud that Bon Bon, Lyra and Spike had to cover their ears. Seconds later, the 3 of them began to hear grunts and various footsteps coming towards the scream. Spike looked to the left and noticed a massive move of people coming towards them, but, scariest of all, these people weren’t alive. “Run...run!... RUN!!!! GO GO!!!” he screamed as he rushed frozen-in-fear Bon Bon, yanking her away from there. The three of them continued running up hill as fast as they could, with the mob of undead people getting closer and bigger. “THIS WAY!!!” said Spike as he motioned Lyra and Bon Bon to turn left “LIKE HELL I WOULD!!” said Bon Bon as she disobeyed Spike’s orders and continued straight “SAMANTHA!!! NO!!!!!” both Spike and Lyra screamed as they continued running in the opposite direction “WE HAVE TO GO GET HER!!!” said Spike “SHE’S ASKING FOR EVERYTHING SHE’S DOING!!!” answered Lyra “SHE DESERVES IT!!” “I THOUGHT YOU GIRLS WERE FRIENDS!!!” said Spike “IT COMES A POINT WHERE YOU GET FED UP OF HER SHIT, AND REACHED THAT POINT!!!” Lyra answered “REGARDLESS, I’M GOING AFTER HER!!!” said Spike he changed direction and ran after Bon Bon “God, why do I like selfless, suicidal, down to earth guys?!!!” Lyra thought as she ran in the same direction Spike did. A FEW METERS AWAY Bon Bon was running at full speed, not paying attention to where she was running, the only thing on her mind was outrunning the zombies, outrunning Spike, and proving to Lyra that she was better than him. She bent a corner, heard a loud CLICK, then a SNAP, and when she finally realized what had happened, she noticed that she had stepped on a hunting trap, and it had broken her leg; there was blood everywhere and she could see the bone poking out of her skin. The pain was increasing with every second, and so was the sound of the mob of zombies, getting closer to her. She began to jank at the hunting trap, but it wouldn’t budge. “Bon Bon!” she heard as she had exhausted her adrenaline, looking over and seeing Lyra and Spike running towards her “Holy shit, we have to get you free,” said Lyra “Move!” said Spike as he got near her “Don’t touch me!” Bon Bon screamed “Argh! I don’t have time for your shit right now!” exclaimed Spike as he grabbed the hunting trap and broke it in 2 freeing Bon Bon’s leg “We have to keep moving!” Lyra said “With this injury, you’re as good as dead, unless...” said Spike as he got near the injury only for Bon Bon to scoot away “I said don’t touch me!” Bon Bon repeated “It’s not the time for this Bon Bon,” said Lyra That same second, they noticed a bright white light emanating from Spike’s hands as his eyes also turned white. Moments later, Bon Bon’s leg stopped bleeding “You healed her!” said Lyra “No, I stopped the bleeding, it’ll take to long to cure a broken bone, so, we’re going to have to carry her,” said Spike “I’ll do it,” said Lyra as she lifted Bon Bon for her to use her as a human cane. “OUCH!! AHHHHHHH!” said Bon Bon when she saw the big mob nearing them Spike quickly manifested his water magic on his left hand and his fire magic on his right, and quickly shot it towards the zombies, boiling many of the leading ones to death, while creating a massive cloud of smoke allowing them to run to safety to one of the cabins nearby. After a few minutes, the 3 of them watched the mob of remaining zombies, running past the cabin and heading up the mountain path. “We’ll be safe here, for now at least… ok, let me heal your leg,” said Spike “Do I have to repeat myself again?!” said Bon Bon in a threatening fashion “And do you have to be a liability every 5 minutes? Trust me, I hate doing this as much as you hate it,” said Spike as he began to cast his holy magic on the injury, healing it completely a few moments later. “Thanks,” said Lyra “Don’t mention it,” said Spike as he got up and started to unpack his backpack “So, I take it we’ll spend the night here,” said Lyra “Yup… or at least a few hours to recharge our energy,” said Spike Lyra then turned to her backpack and did the same. Bon Bon however remained silent, her eyes glued to the window. A FEW HOURS LATER It was around 2 AM, both Spike and Lyra had gone to sleep, after hearing that Bon Bon had volunteered to take first watch. What they didn’t know, however, was that she wasn’t planning on staying with them. “Quietly…” she thought as she crept through the rotten wood floor. After a few seconds, she made it to the front door and walked out, jogging away from the cabin. After a few more seconds, she made it to the crossroad they had gone through earlier “If I turn right and follow the path I’m pretty sure I can make it higher up the mountain and have a vantage point on the 2 of them and the zombies… I’ll show them, I’ll show him I am better at this by myself,” thought Bon Bon as she got ready to continue the path. “Where are you going?” came a female voice from behind her, causing her to jump in fear “Lyra! What are you doing here?!” said Bon Bon “I saw you creep out of the cabin by yourself, so, I decided to follow you… to discover that you were planning to abandon us like animals,” said Lyra as she got closer to Bon Bon “No, you don’t understand, I just…” Bon Bon said “Don’t understand, don’t understand! Then help me understand!!! What were you planning to do?” Lyra said “I… I don’t know…” said Bon Bon “Really? After everything that Spike has done for us?... he saved your ass from your own mistake, he healed your wounds… he kept you in the game to enter the academy… And that’s how you pay him?!” Lyra said “Spike… Spike… Spike! That’s all you can think about!!!! Spike this! Spike that! What is wrong with you?!!!” said Bon Bon “Excuse me?!!” said Lyra “Ever since this started, you’ve taken his side no matter what,” said Bon Bon “Well, unlike you, I’m not an immature, self-centered, egotistical bitch, that doesn't trust someone who has saved my life from my own mistakes only because of an infantile trauma!!!!” screamed Lyra “YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY THAT!!!” Bon Bon screamed back at Lyra “REALLY, THEN PROVE ME WRONG!!!” said Lyra Just as Bon Bon was about to answer, they heard a branch break nearby “Spike? Is that you?” asked Lyra as they both looked around in the pitch black darkness Seconds later another branch broke, and then another, and another “Spike, this isn’t funny!!” exclaimed Lyra As soon as she finished saying that, Bon Bon turned on the flashlight she had made. “You had that all this time?!!!” whispered Lyra “Yeah,” said Bon Bon as she used the new light to look around and find the culprit of the noise. And surely enough, they found it, but they surely wished they hadn’t. It was the same woman from earlier, who once again let out the same scream, as the floor began to shake around them, Lyra and Bon Bon decided to do the only thing the thought of “RUN!!!!!” screamed Lyra, as the mob of undead people began to appear behind the woman. Lyra and Bon Bon ran as fast as they could through the forest, but due to the darkness they couldn’t see very well where they were going. “This way!!” said Lyra as she and Bon Bon turned left at a path and darted down the small incline, unknowingly heading towards a cliff. “Come one, faster!!!” screamed Bon Bon as they both picked up the pace, not realizing where they were until it was too late “AHHHHHHH!” screamed Lyra as she fell over the edge of the cliff only to fall into a hanging root. “LYRA!!! Are you ok?!!!” screamed Bon Bon as she go to the edge “GET ME UP!!!!” screamed Lyra “RIGHT, GIVE ME YOUR HAND!!!” screamed Bon Bon as she bent over trying to reach, her friend. Unknown to the 2 of them, the earth underneath Bon Bon was corroded and weak, and was about to become loose, all it needed apart from Bon Bon and Lyra’s combined weights, was a little amount of vibrations, vibrations being caused by the undead stamped. “Almost got you, just a bit more,” said Bon Bon as she was able to get a hold of Lyra’s arm At that same moment, the land beneath her loosed up enough, and both of them began to plummet to the darkness below. Their screams,muted by the cheer realization of what was about to happen to them. Just as the girls were preparing to accept their situation, they felt a sudden yank and halt from the free fall, accompanied by a male voice, screaming in agony. Both girls looked up to see that Spike had grabbed onto a branch near the edge of the cliff and catched Bon Bon’s leg before they were too far gone to be saved. With one massive yank, Spike was able to throw the girls over the edge of the cliff to safety before he used his other arm to climb over the edge. Lyra and Bon Bon just sat there in shock, as Spike finished climbing over the edge, gave one final scream of pain and began to pace around back and forth while a blinding white light surrounded his shoulders. “Spike… are you ok?” asked Lyra “BOTH MY SHOULDERS HAVE BEEN DISLOCATED, WHAT DO YOU THINK!!!” said Spike as he continued to pace around. A few seconds later, they all heard 2 loud SNAPS coming from Spike’s shoulders, as they were popped back into place by his holy magic. Spike breathed out a sigh of relief before turning to the duo sitting on the floor, still in shock. “Anyone planning on explaining what happened?!” he said Bon Bon was about to open her mouth to answer but was interrupted by Spike “It was a rhetorical question, Bon Bon, I know what happened, the only thing I don’t know is… WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!!!!” he said “I… I wasn’t,” said Bon Bon “YEAH! WE CAN TELL!” said Spike Bon Bon looked down at the floor in shame “Listen, I don’t know what is wrong with you… ever since we began this simulation, you have acted like if I was the world's most wanted criminal… you disregarded orders, threatened me, caused all of the E’s in the area to come after us… TWICE… AND NOW, YOU ALMOST GOT YOURSELF AND LYRA KILLED!!!! Why?!” asked Spike “I just… don’t like being ordered around by a… by a…” Bon Bon stutterd “BY A?” Spike said “By a man,” said Bon Bon “That’s it?... THAT’S WHY YOU WERE A PAIN IN THE ASS THIS WHOLE TIME?!!!” said Spike Bon Bon didn’t reply “Samantha, I assume you came to this academy on your own ideals and knowledge, and I can assume, that you know damn well that you are to become some sort of soldier, which means that sooner or later, you’re going to be ordered around by a male superior… let’s assume you were the leader of a squad, and you were given orders by a male superior, but because you don’t like him for being a man, you’re going to disregard those orders and possibly get yourself and your team killed or worst captured… and don’t tell me no, cause right now, until this point, you haven’t proven otherwise,” said Spike Bon Bon tried to answer back but the words wouldn’t come out “Samantha… what do you think is my main responsibility as squad leader?” asked Spike Bon Bon was about to say “to order us around like slaves” but instead said “I… I don’t know,” “My main responsibility, is to make sure that the 2 of you, my team, get back home safely… to stand in for you when you make a mistake, every mistake done by one of you, I must take it as my own and take the punishment… the position might sound cool, but it’s a damn stressful job, which is made worse when I have to be babysitting people like you, people who judge a path by it’s soil, that judge a flower by it’s color… who judge a book by it’s cover, and are unable to see the bigger picture,” Spike finished “Spike, I think she understood,” said Lyra stepping in “I surely hope so, cause like I said, I am not her personal babysitter, she has to do her part… or she’ll fail the entrance exam… let’s go back to the cabin,” said Spike as he began walking away. “Wait! What about the zombies that were chasing us?” asked Lyra “What do you think happened to them?” said Spike as he threw a small magic flare up into the sky to illuminate the surrounding area. What the girls saw with the added light, made shivers run through their bodies. It was a massacre, a carnage, not one, not even the “Howler” survived Spike’s rescue Bon Bon looked at it and back at Spike “Wow, he is… he is really powerful, he wouldn’t have any trouble offing me, and yet…” she thought as she began to walk towards the cabin. 1 HOUR LATER Spike and the girls had safely made it back to the cabin Lyra, still tired, decided to go to sleep again Spike stated that he would take the next watch, and told Bon Bon to catch some Z’s… but she couldn’t, she just laid there in place looking at Spike. Until her head had enough and she got up “Spike?” she said “Go to sleep Samantha, you’ll need your energy,” said Spike “I… I need to talk to you,” she said “About?” asked Spike “About what happened,” said Bon Bon “Listen… what happened, happened, let it go,” said Spike “It’s just that… ever since I was a kid, I was ordered around by everyone, and I was forced to do things I didn’t like,” said Bon Bon as she sat down next to him “Does this have something to do with your father?” asked Spike “Who did you?” asked Bon Bon “I accidentally used Discerning eye on the both of you, so, I kind of know a few things about you,” said Spike “How much do you know?” asked Bon Bon “Your father and relatives used your technomancer abilities to create an empire and then casted you and your mom aside like trash,” said Spike “Well, that’s half of the reason… the rest of it happened while I was in school, since my wind magic was fairly weak, I excelled with my technomancy, but, due to the stigma attached to this type of magic, I was constantly bullied by other students, mostly my male classmates who used to trip me, throw stuff at me, and call me names, on time, the threw me into a puddle of mudd, and tossed my backpack into the river saying “Use your water magic to get it back, OH WAIT! You don’t have it,” and they would just walk away laughing… Lyra was the only person that was always there for me, and that’s how are friendship began,” said Bon Bon “So… you’re an idiot,” said Spike “Excuse me?!” said Bon Bon At that moment Spike began to tell her about his childhood, not ignoring not even the smallest detail. His story made Bon Bon cry a little. “... and you can actually use anytype of magic?” said Bon Bon “Yup… but, it’s not that great as it sounds, if I don’t train all of my affinities at the same time, it may cause an imbalance in my body and that might probably lead to my death,” said Spike “Wow… I’m sorry I doubted you, you’re actually a very nice person,” said Bon Bon “There is good and bad in everyone Samantha, just like there is good and bad people, you should never generalize that everyone in one particular side is evil,” said Spike “Bon Bon,” she said “What?” said Spike “Call me Bon Bon,” she said “Are you sure?” said Spike “Positive, I mean… if it’s ok with you… I’d like to be friends,” said Bon Bon “Sure… now go to sleep, you’ll need your energy for tomorrow,” said Spike “Right… goodnight Spike,” said Bon Bon “Goodnight… Bon Bon,” said Spike This caused her heart to skip a beat again as she went to bed. A FEW HOURS LATER “Girls… Girls wake up,” said Spike “What is it?” asked Lyra “Look,” whispered Spike as he pointed to the window Both Lyra and Bon Bon looked out and saw a massive boar-like creature heading to the area of the massacre. “What is a Grizzly boar doing here?” asked Lyra “Well, they are carnivores and they eat humans, no matter if they are alive or dead,” said Bon Bon “Exactly, but what worries me is the fact that this guys never hunt alone, they are always in a pack of 10 to 15 members,” said Spike “Which means, if there is one here…” said Lyra “There are 9 to 14 in the vicinity” said Bon Bon “Update: escape without being detected,” said the female robotic voice “What do we do Spike?” asked Bon Bon Spike looked around and saw a big patch of high grass behind the cabin, which had some Grizzly boars nearby. “The high grass, if we move quietly and quickly, we will be undetected,” said Spike as he grabbed the backpack containing the first aid kits and remaining food and led the way. Spike and the girls moved swiftly through the high grass, to avoid detection by the boars, until they were far enough to make a run for it. The group ran for a few minutes, until they made it to a stream “Is it drinkable?” asked Lyra “Only one way to find out,” said Spike as he cupped his hands to catch some water and drink it. “So is it?” asked Bon Bon “Yeah, it’s fresh,” said Spike as Lyra and Bon Bon began to hydrate themselves. A few instants later, they all got up and looked around “Do you think we made it?” asked Lyra “No, there hasn’t been an update,” said Bon Bon “Yeah, well, we’re only about 500 meter away from the cabin,” said Spike “Well, should we continue to head north? Up the hill?” asked Bon Bon “Makes sense… let’s go,” said Spike. A FEW MINUTES LATER Spike and the girls had successfully trekked through the forest, avoiding run-ins with Zombies and wild animals, but now they faced a different conundrum. “Where did this fog come from?” asked Lyra as they tried to advance through it “Well, the air is getting colder, maybe it has something to do with it,” said Spike “Can you turn on a magical flare?” asked Bon Bon “No, it may attract attention to us, just keep close and… BANG… OUCH!!!” said Spike as he walked into the side of the mountain. This caused the girls to laugh. “Ok… this… this is limestone, which means… we’re in a quarry,” said Spike “Is that good or bad?” asked Lyra “Quarry’s usually have only one entrance and one exit… and… I think we should look for another way out,” said Spike “Why?” they asked Spike just pointed behind them The girls turned and saw the outlines of various boars roaming the area “Oh, we’re fucked,” said Lyra “Hey, what is that?” asked Bon Bon as she pointed to a device in the distance. The group made their way over to asid device “It a manual elevator,” said Spike “A manual elevator?” asked Lyra “Sometimes electricity is scarce in a quarry, so many of this elevators were made for tools and people to move around without being concerned regarding the aforementioned,” said Spike “And you know this because?” asked Bon Bon “Discovery channel I’m… addicted,” said Spike “Let me guess, Gold rush,” said Bon Bon “Guilty,” said Spike “Uhm… sorry to interrupt your date, but, we have a mission,” said Lyra, a tad annoyed This comment made Bon Bon turn red, but she remained silent “Ok so, what’s the plan?” asked Lyra “The 2 of you get on the elevator, and I’ll hoist you up,” said Spike “What about you?” asked Lyra “There has to a station at the top too, and between the 2 of us, lifting Spike shouldn’t be that much of a problem,” said Bon Bon as she got on the elevator followed by Lyra “Why did that offend me… anyway, ready?” said Spike as he removed the academy jacket, allowing the girls to see his toned body under the shirt. “Yeah” they nodded as Spike began to lift them up. They were almost at the end, when the elevator malfunctioned “Jump!!” screamed Bon Bon as the elevator fell to the bottom of the quarry “Are you girls ok?” asked Spike “Yeah, what about you?” asked Spike “I’ll think of something,” said Spike “Spike look out!!” screamed Lyra Spike turned and noticed a group of boars looking at him “Oh, great, I’m screwed,” said Spike as the boars charged They were about to run Spike over, when, his back convulsed and grow wings, before he knew it he landed safely next to Lyra and Bon Bon. Spike looked at the wings and back at the girls “Ok, for the record, I did not know I could do that,” he said The girls however had their eyes glued on him “What?” he asked, looking down and noticing that his wings had ripped his shirt to threads “Oh!” he said as he untied the jacket off his hips and zipped it up. “Better than being naked,” he said with a grin “Yeah… anyway, let’s go,” said Lyra. A FEW MINUTES LATER “Congratulations, you have finished the mission successfully, get ready for extraction” said the robotic voice. Seconds later Spike and the girls found themselves back at the school’s auditorium “Well, done kids, you have completed the exam with Special Ops ability, welcome to the academy!” said Discord This made Lyra, Bon Bon and Spike hug, making a certain group in the audience jealous “Now… all that is missing is for you to name your squad and make it official,” said Luna “A what?” asked Spike “A name, each squad must have a name,” said Celestia “Can… can we get back to you on that one,” said Spike “Sure… by the way, these are for you,” said Celestia as she gave the 3 of them a pair of keys. “What are they for?” asked Lyra “They are the keys to your home,” said Luna “What?” Asked Spike “Well, since you are a team, you are required to live together,” said Celestia “Wait… WHAT!!!” everyone said Author's Note Squad names welcome, comment down below the best name for Spike's team
Ch. 1 The failed childWelcome to the land of Equestria, a continent to be exact, consisting of various other territories, The Earthling lands to the West, the Dragonlands to the North, the Griffon territories to the East, and the Yakyakistan empire to the South, and in between them all, we have other minor territories, maybe not as big or imponent as the above-mentioned ones, but important nonetheless. And what do they all have in common? Cities? Kingdoms? Guilds? Citizens?... well, yes, yes they do; But they also have a very important thing in common… MAGIC!!! Yup, you heard me, MAGIC! There is no place in this world where you don’t find magic, for everyone is born with it inside them. There are 9 types of Magic, Light, Air (Wind), fire, water, earth, Holy, Dark, and the rare Techno and lightning Magic. And every magic class has its own abilities, and each ability has different levels and… and I think I’m getting a bit out of topic. Magic has become the center of attention for everyone in this world, to the point that, the power of a kingdom is based solely on the fact of how many top-ranking mages and adventurers they have, even, how many of them are willing to join the army in times of social unrest and fight the greatest enemy… whoever it can be. For the last couple of years, a minor rivalry had erupted between nations, competing to see which nation had the best of the best, and so, to avoid any major confrontations and blood spills, The young Princess Celine Solaris, founded the Canterlot International Academy for the Gifted and Talented or, as everyone calls it, Canterlot High. Getting into the Academy is as hard as you can imagine, only 155 new students are allowed to join every year, and from those 155, only 80 graduate with full honors. It may sound like a great idea, but… in retrospect, this academy brought even more separation between everyone, since, after a few years, it was noted that the admission rights favored earthlings, more than any other race; and sometimes, even between races This prompted other nations and kingdoms to open their own Academies with the same idea. And, now, there is this massive rivalry regarding which nation is the best at training their younger generations. Things have gotten so out of hand, that now, rich families, prefer aborting or giving babies up for adoption when they don’t meet their magic expectations once they are born. To make the problem even worse, many families go as far as having more than 4 kids before stopping the “Growth” of their families, just for the sake of the admiration of other noble families, or just to be accepted. And as you can imagine, if they don’t work, the one who suffers isn’t the family, but the offspring… Many of them are tossed aside by their families and forgotten about when a more powerful sibling comes into the picture. Some even decide to “end it all” or they turn to crime and bring hell upon their families and lands. Even though some tensions have been subsidized in the last couple of years, things haven’t really changed much. This brings us to the beginning of our journey, as we travel to the Northern land known as the Dragonlands. BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP Came the sound of the alarm clock as it yelled to awake the person sleeping in the room “WAKE UP!!! YOU’LL BE LATE FOR CLASS!!” came an angry female voice “MOM’S RIGHT BRO! TODAY IS THE LAST DAY, AT LEAST HAVE THE DECENCY OF SHOWING UP, EVEN THOUGH YOU HATE THAT PLACE SO MUCH!!” came a much younger female voice “I’m already up… I just…” said a male voice “NO EXCUSES MISTER!!! YOU ARE A DECKER! FAILURE OR NOT… NOW HURRY AND EAT YOUR BREAKFAST BEFORE IT GETS COLD!!!” said the older female voice. “I’ll be done in a minute mom,” said the boy “YOU BETTER BE, OR ELSE!!!!” said the mother The boy sighed and walked over to the mirror to look at himself. “Good morning, Spike, did you sleep well?... I’d lie if I said yes,” thought the kid as he finished getting dressed. A FEW MINUTES LATER Spike walked down into the kitchen where a man, not older than 35, a woman, of around the same age, and a younger girl, sat at the table. “Glad to see you had the decency to join us, son,” said the man “Good morning,” said Spike “Yeah, yeah, good morning… so, you are finally a man now,” said his father “No, I just graduated from school, now I have a year to study, work, and train to enter an Academy,” said Spike as he sat down and bit down on a piece of toast. “Well, you are turning 15 in 6 months, that makes you an adult,” said the woman “And, with your grades, entering the International Academy of Commerce should be a piece of cake… heck, I’m willing to bet that they can’t wait to have you,” said the man “If only,” said Spike in a sad tone The man turned to look at the woman, and then back at his son. “Listen, Silvio… I know that the world is wired in a very bad way… but, look at yourself, at your age, I barely even made it into the academy… you have outsmarted me completely, so, cheer up… not everyone is perfect,” said his father “Your father’s right Silvio, you may not have the looks, or the body, or the strength, but you have the brains, and that is the most important weapon you could ever wish for,” said his mother “Despite our family being ridiculed by the fact that I exist?” said Spike His parents went silent “The only reason we even have fame is because of Dad’s connections, Mom’s fame, and Barb’s popularity… I know it… I just wish I could contribute more to the family,” said Spike “Oh! Please, get over yourself,” said the girl “BARBARA EILEEN DECKER!!! I DON’T WANT THIS TYPE OF BEHAVIOR IN MY HOUSE!!! APOLOGIZE TO YOUR OLDER BROTHER!!!” said the man “ARGH! FINE, sorry Spike,” said Barbara Spike said nothing but shook his head. At that point the maids left the room, leaving the family alone. “Good acting, Barbara,” said the man “Thanks, all of the years I’ve done this in public seem to be paying off,” said Barbara “Yes… although I would like to avoid this silly routine from now on,” said the woman “Grace… I know, you do, but, remember, it’s for Silvio’s own good,” said the man “Bruce, this is getting dumber and dumber every time… when I married you, you promised that we wouldn’t be like the other nobles… and yet we have to act like if we hate our own child! What kind of twisted shit is this?” said Grace “If we don’t act like this, Silvio will get hurt, even more, some nobles only care about appearance and rank, I want to leave Spike with a fighting chance… with this brilliant brain of his, I’m sure he can earn some respect and become the best heir to this house,” said Bruce Grace gave him such a look, but sighed in defeat “Kids, get ready to leave, you’ll be late,” she said “I’m all ready to leave mom, bye, bro,” said Barbara as she got off the table and ran out the front door. “I swear, that girl has the same amount of energy as you,” said Bruce “And your determination,” said Grace ‘I’m ready to leave, bye mom, bye dad,” said Spike as he walked out the door “Bye son, take care,” said Bruce “AND BE BACK BEFORE 8!!!!” screamed Grace as she waved goodbye. A FEW SECONDS LATER “SIGH… and here begins another day in the life of Silvio “Spike” Decker “The Failed child”...” he thought as he walked towards his school “Well, today is the last day of junior hell… but tomorrow… HELL, really begins,” he thought as he entered the school grounds. As soon as he did, everyone turned to look at him, it was all silent for a few seconds while he walked into the school building. Meanwhile, some kids began to make fun of him by mimicking his walk behind his back, or whispering insults and unpleasantries at, and about, him with their friends After a few more seconds, it seemed as he had disappeared from the face of the earth, since no one, seemed to look at him. He made his way to his locker and there he found the usual sight His locker was covered by various pieces of paper, which read things like “Failure”, “Unwanted child”, “weirdo”, “Why are you still alive”, “Your parents never wanted you” and “Please die, make us that favor” But he ignored them and opened the locker, inside were even more papers, but Spike grabbed the remainder of his things and placed them in his backpack, leaving the locker with only the papers inside it. “Not my problem anymore,” he thought as he closed his locker As soon as he closed his locker’s door, he felt someone grab the back of his head and slam it straight into the locker. “Oops, sorry, I didn’t see you there,” said a male voice as he and others began to laugh. Spike, meanwhile, cleaned the blood that was dripping from his nose “Oh! Is the little piggy going to cry… here let's all cry with him… SQUEAL SQUEAL SQUEAL… HAHAHAHAHA!!!” said the same voice “HEY!! WHAT IS GOING ON OVER THERE?!” came a female voice “Oh no! It’s here… RUN!!!” said the voice “Hey! Get back here!” yelled a male voice “It’s ok guys… leave it,” said Spike “Leave it! Spike, look at your nose!” said the male voice “It’s not broken, it’ll stop bleeding soon,” said Spike “Are you sure?” asked the girl “Yeah,” said Spike “Are you really just going to let Garble walk all over you like this?” asked the boy “Thorax… even if I wanted to… you know I can’t defeat him,” said Spike “Yeah, but…” said Thorax “Dude, he isn’t worth your or Ember’s breath… let’s just go get our diplomas and get out of this hell hole,” said Spike as he began to walk down the hall. A FEW METERS LATER “So, Spike, Thorax, and I were planning to go and watch the new Avengers movie, wanna come?” asked Ember. Spike was tempted to say something, but he never got the chance, since right as he turned the corner he smacked against someone. “Ouch… sorry,” said Spike “Sorry, isn’t going to cut it!” said the female voice, which Spike knew very well “I mean, look at this, you got me all dirty… I should make you lick the dirt off me… but even knowing that we share the same blood makes me feel like vomiting… and a word of advice for the 2 of you, hang out with people who are actually worth it, not failures like my unneeded older brother,” said Barbara as she walked away. “Well, your sister seems as lovely as ever,” said Thorax as he helped Spike dust off “The nerve on that little…” Ember began “HEY! THAT’S MY SISTER!! And as mean and stuck up as she can be, I’m not going to let you insult her,” said Spike “Man, brains, and heart, if only…” said Thorax “It won’t happen,” said Spike “Dude, you never know, maybe you’ll get some magic,” said Thorax Spike was about to answer when a voice was heard over the loudspeaker “ATTENTION GRADUATING CLASS, PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE AUDITORIUM FOR THE CEREMONY, IT WILL BEGIN IN 5 MINUTES!!!” “No time to talk, let’s go,” said Ember as she grabbed Thorax hand and ran towards the auditorium leaving Spike behind “Don’t wait for me,” Spike thought sarcastically as he made his way towards the auditorium. “... Erica Dandrige… Thomas Lennox… and now for the final member of our graduating class… Silvio Decker,” said the principal of the school with a little disgust in her voice. Spike walked up to the stage, but only Ember, Thorax, and Pharynx clapped until they felt everyone’s eyes on them and decided to sit down. The Principal handed Spike his diploma, stretching her hand as if Spike had a deadly disease or virus in his body… to the point that she even refused to shake his hand. Spike walked back to his seat, but before he could reach it, he was tripped by none other than Garble. “Mr. DARCY!!! THAT IS INEXCUSABLE!!! APOLOGIZE!!” said the principal, holding back her laughter and doing her best to keep a straight face. “Sorry… loser,” said Garble as he and his lackeys laughed Spike got off the floor and sat down, to hear the final speech “... And therefore, you don’t know how proud I am to have been your principal… Now, go out into the world and make the most of it,” said the principal of the school as everyone throws their caps into the air, hugged and celebrated. MINUTES LATER “So, Spike, about our offer?” said Ember “Hard pass,” said Spike “But, I thought you liked the avengers?” said Ember “And I do, but, I hate being the third wheel… so, go and have fun… but not too much,” said Spike “Are you sure?” asked Thorax “Positive, plus, I’d like to… be alone for a while,” said Spike “Well, if you change your mind, just give us a call, and we can hang out,” said Thorax “Sure… Although, that’s not going to happen,” said Spike “Well, see you later… or tomorrow,” said Ember, as she and Thorax ran off to the cinema Spike turned to look at Pharynx “What are you still doing here?” he asked “Waiting on my bros, why? Wanna come hang?” said Pharynx “Nah, I hate to impose,” said Spike “Suit yourself,” said Pharynx as his friends came up and he left. Spike was left all alone, so, he decided to head back home… change clothes, and go for a walk to his favorite place. ONE HOUR LATER Spike walked through the trails of the Magnesium park, number 12, to be exact, this was the only trail that let up to Spike's favorite thinking/hiding place. After a few more minutes of walking, Spike finally made it to the end of the trail, and proceeded to sit inside one of the benches inside an old canopy and look at the view. Spike grabbed his phone and began to play some music "Why is the world like this?... What does anyone gain from this?... I'd really like to know… Everyone is so desperate to fit in, to please everybody else, to be rich, famous, and powerful… and yet, we all feel so empty… I wish this world was a little different, where everyone would like everyone for who they really are, no need for all this selfishness and jealousy… it hasn't accomplished anything so far, only more division… at first, it was your raze, then the color of your skin… and now, the amount of magic you possess." Thought Spike as he listened to the song "Heh, I can't blame my parents for acting this way… I mean, what would you do if you had a son, who has only 10 magic points… even ants have more magic than me!!!... and then you have my sister, she is the saving grace of this family, 320 magic points, and a Paladin, she is a rare one, she has more magic power than Mom and Dad together, and 5 times their stamina… and then, there is me… 14, 4’4”, overweight, and whose only abilities are being smart, and being good in music and video games, " thought Spike “Man, this magic ranking system is so fucked up… people consider you strong if you have over 100 points, if you have anything between 99 and 75, you are considered good, 74 to 40, you are average, anything less… well… you better look for a job in something that doesn’t require magic,” thought Spike “And then we have those titles they give you… 40 -74, you are a mage, 75 - 99, you are a Sorcerer or Wizard or Witch, over 100, you get the titles of Holy wizard/witch, Warlock, Paladin, Celestial mage, Demon Lord or Overlord… but that last one has been given since 20 years ago… I’d do anything to be at least a mage… that way I could earn my family some extra respect, and make them proud… I could even gain some acknowledgment as the next head of the Decker family… but there is no quick way to increase your magic points… at least, no one has found a way to do so yet…” thought Spike as he looked at the view “Even if I could… do I really want things to change?... I mean, I know that mom and dad love me… they haven’t disowned me and thrown me to the street… yet… Barbara… she’s smart, she knows the world we live in, she knows she has to play the game to fit in… plus I know she doesn’t hate me, I mean, she tends to grab my underwear and sniff it… I don’t know why, but every time I’m taking a bath, or I’m not home, she is usually doing that or making a mess in my room… ok, I have to admit it’s creepy… but, I wouldn’t change her for anything… And then I have my friends, Thorax, Pharynx, and Ember...At first, we all used to hang out… well, I’ve known Ember seens we were little, our parents are really close friends… and I have to admit, I used to have a crush on her… but then she introduced me to Thorax, and I found out about the Marriage situation between the 2… I was heartbroken, but… Now that I think of it, I’ve seen them genuinely fall in love over this past few years… and Thorax became my best friend… and then there is Pharynx… we don’t really count as best friends, but, we hang out… I’m his backup friend, if none of his other friends are available I’m his last resort… but that rarely happens… anyway… “ “Why was I born like this… according to what the doctors said, I’m still the weakest magic-user in the whole world… EVEN A FUCKING ANT COULD DEFEAT ME!!!!... SIGH… What is my purpose in this world?... why was I born for… to be a laughing stock for everyone? What a cruel destiny,” thought Spike as he got up and walked over to the edge. “I wonder… I jumped from here… will I be able to fly? Even though I don’t have the necessary magic points for that? It’s a beautiful thought… hope,” thought Spike as he looked up to the sky. BEEP BEEP BEEP Spike reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone “Bro, where are you? Nevermind, you have to hurry back home, there is a massive storm coming, and mom doesn’t want you to get sick,” read Barbara’s text “A storm? In mid-April… that’s weird,” thought Spike as he put the phone back in his pocket and began his descent. A FEW MINUTES LATER Spike was halfway down the path, his mind going back to his previous thoughts over and over again, but his train of thought was interrupted when he heard some footsteps coming towards him. He froze in fear when he realized who it was. “Well, well, well, what do we have here, if it isn’t Mr. Snorts himself,” said Garble as he and his 2 lackeys laughed “Yes. yes, very mature, Garble, but I don’t have time for your immaturities, there is a storm coming, and I have to head home, I don’t want to make my mother worried,” said Spike as he attempted to walk past them. Just as he was about to pass next to Garble, he stopped him by putting his hand in his belly and shoving him to the floor. “Who said anything about you leaving this place?” said Garble sarcastically as he and his lackeys formed a human barrier. “I did, I don’t have time for this, and if I were you, I’d do the same, unless you want the storm to drown the few neurons you have left,” said Spike as he got up “Oh, you want to be a wise guy, huh?... well, you picked the wrong person for that,” said Grable as he used his wind magic to send Spike flying up the trail to where he had been earlier. Spike landed so hard on the ground that he even left a trail behind him. “People like you are only good for one thing, and that is, to amuse us, important people,” said Garble as he walked up to where Spike has fallen Spike got up, with some extra effort, fighting through the pain. “Ah, excellent, we have a fighter,” said Garble as he used his magic again, but this time to body slam Spike into the ground so hard, he left an outline of his body. “I’ve had enough of this,” thought Spike as he got up again, while blood dripped from his injuries. “You want some more?” said Garble with a sadistic smile plastered on his face. “To… be honest… I’d prefer for you to open your eyes… you’re a fraud… you only pick on those weaker than you, the ones you know are not going to fight back or are easy to beat… you think so highly of yourself just because you have wind magic, and you are over 100 magic point mark… yet you are terrified shitless by Ember… every time you see her, you run away from her like a little bitch,” said Spike Garble looked at him in a menacing way ‘You know, I don’t know what type of life you have at home, but I’m assuming that you’re pampered like a baby by your parents, I mean, between you and your little sister, you’re stronger… unfortunately, you aren’t as smart,” said Spike This made Garble’s lackeys chuckle making him turn and glare at them. “You’re just a bully and a coward… If everyone with a high level of magic is like you… then I’m glad to be weak,” said Spike with a smile Garble looked at Spike and then began to clap in a sarcastic way “What a touching monologue… but I’m not afraid of Ember, I can have her and give her, anyway I want… as for you…” said Garble as he got into a fighting stance “WIND X!!!” he screamed causing a strong gust of wind to appear out of nowhere, hit Spike in the chest and sent him flying over the edge. “DUDE!!! WHAT DID YOU DO?” said one of the lackeys as they went over to the edge to see Spike free fall “I made our raze, and the world… a favor,” he said as he walked away WITH SPIKE Spike free fell for what seemed like an eternity, the world had slowed down, giving him more and more time to realize what was about to happen. “Well, at least, I don’t have to suffer anymore,” he thought as he closed his eyes and waited for the impact. But then, when Spike was ready to assume he was dead, he felt as his body went through a liquid, he even had trouble breathing, this caused him to open his eyes and realize that he had fallen inside a river, the water level higher than usual, probably due to the storm heading into town. The current dragged Spike for a few miles until he was able to fight the current and get out of the water. He was out of breath, but at least he was alive. “Well, it could’ve been worst,” thought Spike Just as he said that the skies opened and it started to rain hard. “ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW!!!” he screamed Once he sat up, he noticed that the water level was rising fast. “I better find higher ground, and call for help… if my phone wasn’t destroyed,” said Spike as he held the broken damped phone in his hand. “Well, new plan, get to higher ground, and find a dry place to wait out the storm,” said Spike as he started to climb the rocks… but he didn’t consider the thought that they were going to be slippery, causing him to fall back down and get winded. “Ok… take 2,” said Spike as he got up and began climbing 30 MINUTES LATER After battling against the rain, wind and slippery rocks, Spike finally made it to a small patch of land which led to a small cave, big enough for Spike to fit in. “Well, beggars can’t be choosers,” he thought as he entered the small cave “It’s a bit cramped, but I can move around… good thing I’m not claustrophobic… AAAAAAAH!” was the last thing he said before breaking the back wall of the cave and falling into a dark abyss. Sometime LATER Spike opened his eyes, he could see the light coming from the hole he fell through “Another free fall?! What is it with me and falling so much… not to mention, it seems pretty high up, about 50 ft. How the hell I’m I even alive?” he thought as he felt around and noticed that he was in some sort of pond “Ok… now what?” he thought as he got out of the pond, and looking around the room All of a sudden, a bright light appeared behind him, making him jump and hide behind a big boulder After a few seconds, Spike gathered enough courage to look over the edge of the boulder Once he did, he was in awe, before him, was a massive room, it seemed like an old abandoned temple of sorts. The oddest thing about it was that in the middle of it, right where the beam of light was emanating from was an altar. Spike, gathering some extra courage, decided to walk towards it, being very careful of where he stepped. 5 MINUTES LATER Spike finally made it to the altar “Well, it’s never a bad idea to be cautious,” he thought as he looked at the altar. The altar was about 10 centimeters shorter than Spike, so he was able to see the details of the altar. But what caught his attention was the fact that there were 9 crystals, red, blue, green, yellow, and brown placed with such precision around a Grey, purple, and Onyx black crystal which at the same time formed a sort of triangle around a transparent crystal. For whatever reason, Spike had the urge to place his hand on the altar, and as soon as he did he felt a jolt of power, pass through his body. The jolt was so strong, it caused him to pass out. SPIKE’S MIND “Where… where am I?” he said “Examination in progress, please, hold still for a few more seconds,” said a female robotic voice “Examination?” asked Spike but there was no response 5 seconds later, the same voice said “Examination completed, subject accepted, proceeding to phase 2,” “Phase 2?” asked Spike “Tell me? What do you want? What do you believe in? What are you worth?” said the voice But Spike couldn’t answer, he was tongue-tied “Answers confirmed… processed… accepted! Initiating phase 3… welcome, Oh powerful one,” said the voice “What?” said Spike but before he could continue, he felt another jolt of power, and he blacked out again. Sometime LATER “Oh… Oh, my head… is this what it feels like to be hungover? Cause if it is, I ain’t drinking in my life… YAWN… OUCH!!! WHAT THE?” said Spike as he punched something. He looked around and noticed that he was in his room “When… When did I get back?... did I dream all that?” he asked but then he looked at his clothes in the hamper and so that they were ripped off. He decided to get up and get dressed, but that’s when he noticed something… odd, “Was my furniture always this small? And when did my clothes shrink?!!!” He decided to head to the bathroom and wash his face, maybe he's still seeing things, but… “OUCH!!!” He said as he banged his head against the frame of the door “Now what?... don’t tell me… Barbara was in here practicing magic again… Oh! I’m going to kill her!” he said as he bent over and walked up to the sink in the bathroom. But before he could splash some warm water in his face, Spike looked at himself in the mirror, and what he saw scared him. “WHO ARE YOU?!!” he said as his reflection mimicked “Barbara, this better be one of your pranks,” he said But then, Spike looked down and noticed his body, he was much taller and had lost a lot of weight Confused, he sprayed water on his face, but once he recovered his vision, nothing had changed. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” he screamed At that same second, his mom, dad, and sister kicked the door to his room down and took up battle positions "SON!? WHAT'S WRONG?... Spike?" Said Bruce, as his, Grace, and Barbara's eyesight landed on Spike. Their eyes open so wide they nearly popped out, and their jaws almost hit the floor. "What… what happened to me?" He said "HANNAH!!!" screamed Bruce "Yes, Master Bruce?" Said the voice of the maid "Call Dr. Peterborough and Lord Dandridge, tell them to get their asses here as soon as possible," said Bruce "Right away, sir," said Hannah "And… tell Ms. Charlotte to come too… we might be needing new clothes," he finished
Ch. 2 Diplomacy, the birth of a hero or a villianSpike laid flat on the floor, his eyes glued to the ceiling, his mind trying to make sense of what was going on, his bed, previously too big for him, turned small and uncomfortable, his clothes, all in bags headed to the nearest salvation army as donations. “I’ll be done soon, Spike, just a few more measurements,” said Charlotte as she continued to tailor some clothes for Spike. “So, how long will it take you to have the rest of the wardrobe ready?” asked Grace “Ms. Decker, Spike is tall, yes, but not to the point that his clothes have to be custom made, I’m just doing a shirt, a pair of jeans, and some underwear for him to be able to head to a clothing store and buy new ones,” said Charlotte The room fell into a minor silence, only disturbed by an angry, familiar voice, coming from the hallway “I DON’T CARE IF YOU’RE TAKING THE DAY OFF, ALL I CARE ABOUT, IS THAT MY SON SUFFERED SOME SORT OF METAMORPHOSIS DURING THE NIGHT!... WELL, YOU BETTER GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!... in 1 hour?... ok then… please… thanks,” said Bruce as he hung up the phone. “So, what did he say?” asked Grace “Mark is on his way… as for Henry… he is out of town and won’t return until Monday,” said Bruce “And... done, this should be enough for now,” said Charlotte as she showed Spike his new, temporary, clothes. “Thanks,” said Spike as he took them, entered the bathroom, and got changed. “How much do we owe you?” asked Bruce “It’s ok, the situation is already too confusing as it is,” said Charlotte as she left the house As soon as she exited the front door, and Spike came out of his room, Bruce sat him down on his bed. “Son… is there anything you remember?” he asked “I remember most of it… but I don’t think you’ll believe me,” said Spike “At this point, it’s not about believing or not, it’s the truth,” said Grace “Yeah, Spike, tell us what happened,” said Barbara Spike looked at them and said “Well, I woke up, feeling miserable as usual…” “Maybe, a bit closer to the important part,” said Bruce “Wow, and here I was thinking you actually cared about my feelings,” said Spike sarcastically “No, it’s just that… we already know that part,” said Bruce Spike sighed and continued “After I arrived at school… I went through the same situation… everyone made fun of me or insulted me behind my back, the only difference was that I wasn’t pummeled by rocks or food… actually, it was the first time I made it into the building with my clothes, dry, clean, and in one piece… The hallways were deserted, something that I was thankful for… after a few minutes, I arrived at my locker, and it was covered with the usual hate posters and papers, but, since it was the last day of school, I honestly didn’t care about removing them, I only opened my locker got my last belonging out, and closed it… that’s when the first major incident happened,” said Spike “Which was?” asked Grace “While I had my back to the hallway, Garble, walked up to me and slammed my head, face first, into the locker, denting it in the process,” said Spike At the mention of this Bruce jumped up “That fucking Darcy boy, I don’t know why people let him get away with everything he does,” he said “Because I am his usual target… and nobody cares if I get hurt remember,” said Spike Bruce sat back down and looked at the floor in shame “After he slammed my head into the locker, he and his lackeys, began to make fun of me, calling me big and making pig-like noises while mocking me,” said Spike “What happened after that?” asked Grace “What usually happens, Ember and Thorax appeared and made Garble run away with his tail between his legs… then I bumped into you and you demonstrated your acting skills to everyone present,” said Spike as he looked at Barbara “Oh, come on Spike, I ain’t that good,” said Barbara “Well, Ember hates your guts so… probably not,” said Spike “Ouch,” said Barbara “During the ceremony, things went just as I expected, no one looked at me, congratulated me, or even cheered when I got the diploma… even the headmaster, she gave me the diploma with a look of disgust on her face, and stretching her arms as much as possible, like if I had some sort of plague or disease… when I walked off the stage, Garble, once again, made my life a living hell, since he tripped me, causing the whole room to laugh at me, and I mean EVERYBODY… well, except for Ember and Thorax,” he continued His family went quiet for a few seconds, his dad, holding back his urges to reach for his magic riffle and heading over to Darcy palace, and blowing off Garble’s head. “After that… I came back here, Hannah, welcomed me and offered to prepare me something to eat… which I declined, I got changed and headed for Magnesium park, and went to my secret place, to think… it was there when Barbara sent me a text saying that the storm was coming and that I should come back home,” said Spike as he showed everyone his, now fixed, phone “Weird, I remember that this thing didn’t survive the fight and fall… anyway,” “When I was coming back down the trail, I was met face to face with Garble and his lackeys, and once again, the insults began… except that this time, I tried to walk away… but Garble didn’t let me, he blocked my path and later shoved me to the floor… I got up again and attempted to leave, but, Garble blocked my path and then used his wind magic to send me flying to the top of the trail,” said Spike “HE DID WHAT?!!!!” said Bruce as he punched the nearby table so hard it obliterated into a million pieces. “At that point, I had enough, and I decided to give him a piece of my mind… of course, being as dumb as he is, he didn’t take it well, and used his magic again to send me flying over the edge of cliff…” The moment he said that Both Bruce and Barbara summoned some of their magic, out of pure rage “He tried to kill you?... he didn’t he… time to start the hunt,” said Barbara, murder in her voice “Mom, Barbs’ doing the creepy eye thing again,” said Spike imitating his younger self Grace immediately went over to Barbara and smacked the back of her head “OOUCH!!!!” she said as she recoiled in pain “WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THE MURDER EYES,” said Grace “Sorry mom,” said Barbara “What happened after you were sent flying over the edge?” asked Bruce “I thought my suffering was coming to an end, but instead, I discovered that the world loves to see me suffer… I landed on the river, the water level had risen to a level where it felt like I landed on the pool after jumping off the tallest diving board… the current then swept me downstream for a few minutes, before I was finally able to get out… seconds later it started to rain, so I didn’t have another choice but climb the rocks to make it to safer grounds… halfway to the top, the rain got worst, and so, I decided to crawl into a small cave to take refuge… I managed to wiggle myself all the way to the end of it, only for the wall to break, and cause me to fall into darkness… I awoke sometime later, and realized I was in some sort of room… and in that room, there was this weird looking altar, with 7 diamonds engraved on it… for some reason, I decided to place my hand on the altar, I felt a jolt of pain and blacked out… and the next thing I know, I’m back in my room, trying to understand if I dreamt all that or not,” said Spike as he looked at his parents and sister, who were staring at him. “You should better lay down, Dr. Peterborough, will be here in a few minutes, maybe he can make more sense to it,” said Bruce as he, Grace, and Barbara left the room to give him some privacy. A FEW MINUTES LATER … And then I awoke on my bed,” said Spike “Interesting, let’s see…” said Dr. Peterborough as he used his magic to see into Spike’s brain “Well, you didn’t dream it… but I’ve never seen something like this before,” he said “So, did the Darcy kid try to kill my son?” asked Bruce “Definitely, it’s attempted murder, there are no 2 ways about it,” said Dr. Peterborough “THAT LITTLE SON OF A….” Bruce began “Dad, stop, it’s not worth it,” said Spike “NOT WORTH IT!!! NOT WORTH IT!!!? SILVIO, YOU REALIZE HE TRIED TO KILL YOU RIGHT?” he said “And knowing where this is going, his parents are going to try to make things better by coming to an “agreement” and to be honest, I don’t want to involve innocent people in this matter,” said Spike “Fine, but if he tries to do something like that again,” said Bruce “Well, for now, let us continue,” said the doctor as he pulled out a needle “What’s that for?” asked Spike “It’s a magic needle, it’s used to identify magic powers… while I was in your brain, I noticed something that made me feel intrigued, so, I’m going to poke around your power hand, and see what happens,” said the doctor "Why?"Asked Spike "Well, as you may know, your magic powers are always going to be stored in your power hand, each finger representing a power in particular, except for the "rare 3" those are going to be on the pall of your hand," said the doctor "Ok, if you say so," said Spike as he stretched his left hand forward "This won't hurt at all," said the doctor as he poked Spike's thumb, only for a red light to emanate from the needle "fire," he said as he poked the next finger, this time it was a blue light “Water, so far so good,” next came a green light “wind”, he said as he poked the next finger and a yellow light emanated from the needle “Light,” said the doctor, his voice having a tint of wonder and amazement as he poked Spike’s pinkie next and a brown light engulfed the needle “Earth,” said the doctor as he looked back at Bruce and Grace “Is… is this real?” said Bruce in disbelief “So far… but let’s get the last part out of the way,” he said as he moved his finger over the palm of Spike’s left hand After a few seconds, he found a sensitive spot right in the center of his palm and poked it causing a blinding light to emanate from the needle and the minuscule injury on Spike’s arm “Holy Magic!!!” said Grace The Doctor continued to feel around and poked Spike again, this time a black cloud emanated from the injury “Dark magic!!!” said Bruce “What in the world is going on… no one has ever been able to control both… screw that, no one has ever been able to possess so many affinities before,” thought the doctor as he moved the needle lower, towards Spike’s wrist, poked the spot and small flashes of lightning escaped the needle “Lighting Magic… is that super rare?” said Barbara The doctor then moved the needle parallel to the last place he poked, and repeated the motion, as soon as he did, the needle began to malfunction “Technomancy,” he said as he put the needle away “Is everything ok?” asked Spike “Everything is fine… excellent if you ask me… Bruce, Grace, can I talk to the 2 of you on my way out?” said Dr. Peterborough “Yeah, sure,” said Bruce as they followed him out of the home leaving Spike and Barbara behind AT THE FRONT DOOR “You were right, something happened to him… I don’t know what, but, that’s not the same kid I delivered almost 15 years ago,” said the doctor “But is Silvio going to be ok?” asked Grace “Grace, Bruce… I think… I think your son is… an Overlord,” said the doctor “Overlord?!!! He barely has any magic power,” said Grace “But now, he has an affinity for every single type of magic… and by the looks of it, his magic is strong, very strong… call me back when Henry is here so that we can finish the last part of the test… Oh, and for now, try to keep Spike out of the public eye as much as possible,” said the doctor “Why?” asked Grace “If word got out that Spike is an Overlord, shady characters will appear out of nowhere and try to use his magic for their own personal gain,” said the doctor as he left the mansion. 2 DAYS LATER “HE CAN DO WHAT?!!!!!” screamed the dragonlord “He can use every know magic ability,” said the doctor “This I have to see myself, I mean, Spike and Ember have been friends since they were toddlers, and I’ve seen him grow… wasn’t his magic power measured at only 10 points?” said the Dragonlord “Yes, but now… he might be even more powerful than you,” said Dr. Peterborough The Dragonlord looked at him for a few seconds and said “Prepare everything, we must run these tests immediately,” “But… it’s 10 PM, the kid’s asleep,” said Dr. Peterborough “Oh, then… have everything ready, and meet me at the Decker mansion at 8 AM,” said the Dragonlord. 8 AM DECKER MANSION “... and so, we have reasons to believe that you are an overlord,” said Dr. Peterborough “Me? An overlord?” said Spike “Yup, but to confirm all of this, we have to run some physical tests, now, if you’re up for it…” began Dragonlord Henry Dandrige “WHERE DO I BEGIN?!!!” said Spike as he jumped up “Immediately, but not here, of course, We’ll go to an area where we can do this without being spied on, and where no one will get hurt in case something bad happens,” said Dragonlord Henry as he summoned a teleportation circle and stepped on it “Understood,” said Spike as he got on, and disappeared with the Dragonlord and Doctor Bruce and Grace stared at the spot where the 3 were last seen “Do you think everything is going to be ok?” asked Grace “Torch is my best friend… he wouldn’t dare do something behind my back,” said Bruce IN A FIELD IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE “This will do… ok, Spike, first things first… before you are a bunch of different dumbbells, please lift them until you find one you can’t lift,” said Torch “What is this for Uncle Torch?” asked Spike “Well, in any case, when someone has a high level of magic points, they also gain inhuman strength, so that their body’s don’t suffer interior damage, so, this will help us have an idea of your magic power, before going to the measuring process,” said Torch “Ok,” said Spike as he lifted the 5 KG dumbbell Spike continued to lift every dumbbell as he got near the final one “Odd, I could barely lift the 30 KG dumbbell at school, and now, it’s like if it was made of cotton,” thought Spike as he got to the 10,000 KG dumbbell and lifted it up with some extra effort, before dropping it on the floor causing a crater to form. “Was that good?” asked Spike When he turned and saw the faces on both Torch and Peterborough, he thought he had done something wrong “Spike, it’s physically impossible to lift the 10,000 Kg dumbbell… that means you have a high level of magic points,” said Torch “Please place your hand on this machine, it will measure your magic points,” said Dr. Peterborough As soon Spike did, the machine started to go crazy “REMOVE IT!!!!” screamed Dr. Peterborough Spike jumped back and allowed Dr. Peterborough and Torch to look at the results “You… you have… 25,340 magic points,” said Dr. Peterborough “Is… is that good?” asked Spike “Spike… this means, you are more powerful than me, Princess Luna, Prince Rutherford, Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra, Discord, and Princess Celestia… even if you only surpass her by 20 points,” said Torch “Which means…” said Spike “You are an Overlord,” said Dr. Peterborough “NO! Not just A overlord, THE overlord… we have to go back to your house, ASAP!!!” said Torch as he summoned the teleport spell again. BACK AT THE DECKER MANSION “... Without a shadow of a doubt, Spike is an Overlord,” said Torch “And as you know, the last overlord was born almost 30 years ago, being Princess Celestia, and then you also have Discord but he was born 33 years ago,” said Dr. Peterborough Bruce, Grace, and Barbara’s mouths hanged open after hearing the test results “And, what do you plan to do now?” asked Grace “Well, the next step depends on both you and Silvio… do you want him to train his magic abilities, or leave all this under the rug… which I personally see as a waste of potential,” said Torch Grace and Bruce looked at each other and then at Spike “What do you want to do, Spike?” asked his father “I want to continue, I mean this is awesome,” said Spike with a smile “Yes, this part is awesome, but… the rest of it is going to be… complicated,” said Torch “What do you mean?” asked Spike “Spike… I’m sure you’ve heard this many times before, but… with great power comes great responsibility… and, with your particular amount of power, it’s imperative that you realize that,” said Torch “I know that,” said Spike “Spike, if you are planning to continue this… you’re going to be placed on various situations, were, if you let your emotions get the best of you… the outcome might not be very positive for neither you, your friends and family, and your enemies,” said Torch “Uncle Torch… I’ve been bullied for almost 15 years, and all that time, I never stood up for myself… is it so wrong, that now I can?… that now I have a chance to add some extra fame to the Decker family?” said Spike “Spike… power can corrupt the purest of hearts… if you want to go through with this, then we’ll help you… just, promise that…” said Torch “Torch… I’ve seen what having power can do… but, I also know how important it is to have it,” said Spike “Knowing the importance should be enough of a challenge for you… if you don’t play your cards right, you’ll get tangled up with the wrong crowd and convinced to use your powers for the wrong things,” said Torch “Seriously, how gullible do you guys think I am? You should be giving this talk to Gerard Darcy, not me,” said Spike “Gerard Darcy isn’t as powerful as you…” said Spike “And so, you plan to let him continue living life like that, to the point that he will self-destruct or get killed,” said Spike “Of course not, but, Darcy isn’t important right now,” said Torch “Uncle Torch… I see where you’re taking this, but… remember what you told me last year on my birthday?” said Spike “No… what did I say?” asked Torch “Power may come to anyone, but it’s better if that someone was previously weak and rejected for it, that way they know the right path to take… I became that someone, and I know what this power can bring… but I have to accept it, no matter what,” said Spike Torch looked at Spike and then at his parents “Uncle Torch… when they told you that you were going to be extremely powerful… Did they give you the same talk?” asked Spike “No… my parents wanted me to be a show off… and that’s why I’m telling you this… I was born with my magic power and I was a dick for a long time, and…” said Torch “But, unlike you, I didn’t have power, at all, and I was able to be at the receiving end of the stick… and I don’t want that experience to happen to my worst enemy… for 15 years, I was barely noticed, respected, or loved… having that feeling that you’re not even considered a human being, treated like trash, and having no one to turn to… realizing that… you’re alone… no one should go through that… and I know,” said Spike Torch looked at Spike and felt bad for him “Well… I know for a fact that you're a smart kid… and I trust your judgement,” said Torch “Thanks,” said Spike “Now we must discuss the other issue that we have,” said Dr. Peterborough “And that is?” asked Spike “Once word of your powers spread, many powerful, important, rich, and famous people are going to try and chummy up to you,” said the doctor “Because of my power,” said Spike “Exactly… well, that and because of your… seed,” said the doctor “Come again?” said Spike “While doing the test, I discovered that… your sperm has a lot of magic power… even if you impregnate a woman with low magic points, your offspring will still be born with a magic power over 1000… imagine what would happen if you impregnate a woman with a high level of magic points,” said the doctor Everyone in the family did… although, they had different reactions “Imagine all the great connections this could create,” thought Bruce “I’d be a grandma! How delightful,” thought Grace “I must protect Big Brother from all those interested whores… I’d be the one to give birth to his babies!!” thought Barbara “That’s what you’re concerned about? Seriously… I’m not planning to have children… plus I’m pretty sure no girl, as interested as they may be, would fall for me,” thought Spike “Well, you can just have a harem,” said Torch This comment made everyone leave their train of thought “Excuse me?” asked Spike “Think about it, how many cute girls are going to come by asking you to marry them, just imagine the possibilities,” said Torch “Did you just lecture me about morals for about half an hour? Where did that conversation go?” said Spike “Polygamy is legal remember,” said Torch “But aren’t those things for rich and powerful people?” said Spike “AHEM!!!” said Bruce Spike turned and realized what he said “Oh!... I’ll think about that last one,” said Spike “Alright then… tomorrow I’ll have my court magician come to get you so that your training will begin,” said Torch “In the meantime, try not to do something that will draw attention to you,” he said as both him and the doctor left the mansion. As soon as he did, everyone turned to look at Spike, this caused him to feel really uncomfortable. “Well, I’m gonna go and… I CAN’T COME UP WITH A LIE!!!!” he said as he ran out of the living room. THE NEXT MORNING AT THE SAME VALLEY “So, Spike, I’m safe to assume you never took magic classes, right?” asked Kurt “True, the teacher didn’t want to waste his time trying to teach someone like me,” said Spike “Well, I’ll teach you the basics… and some other things they don’t teach you at school… ready?” asked Kirk “Born ready,” said Spike “I like confidence… ok, first, we’ll practice each affinity, and I hear you have them all,” said Kurt “Yes sir, but, aren’t you going to teach me any spells?” said Spike “Well, what you have to do is imagine the affinity you want to use, for example, let’s use “Fire”,” said Kurt as he walked over to the open and closed his eyes. Immediately after, his right hand began to combust and be engulfed by flames. He then opened his eyes, formed a fist, and began to shoot fireballs into the sky “That’s a spell known as “Flares” but it can also be used as an attack spell called “Flame gun”, magic is not about learning spells, cause I can teach you all of them; it’s about creativity, vision… imagination,” said Kurt “So, all I have to do is imagine my own spells?” asked Spike “Well, you could do that, or you could mimic somebody else’s spells,” said Kurt “Except if they are Holy, Dark, or lightning magic, I wouldn’t recommend that,” “Why?” asked Spike “When it comes to holy or dark magic, they are used for different things, and you might never know what effect they have on your body, it’s not a good idea… as for Lightning… well, the last known lightning magician died almost a century ago, so, no one knows any spells,” said Kurt “So, I just chant my spell?” asked Spike “What? No!, chanting is not necessary, they teach you that at school just in case your spell gets out of control, that way they can stop it safely,” said Kurt “Just imagine it, fell it… and shoot,” he said Spike walked out into the open, closed his eyes and imagined the fire inside of him… he lifted his fist to the sky and shot out a big fire ball, it flew for a few seconds before it landed in the middle of the field and exploited, leaving behind a crater “What was that?” asked Kurt “I call it… Mortar flame,” said Spike “Ok, nice… just, remember that you have to accommodate your abilities to every battle, so be mindful about them,” said Kurt “Understood,” said Spike “Ok, next comes…” Kurt began 5 HOURS LATER “Let’s call it a day Spike, and I’m amazed, you were able to learn everything I taught you, even the lightning magic and Techno magic theory,” said Kurt “Thanks… I have a question?” said Spike “Ask away,” said Kurt “Is it possible to combine affinities?” said Spike “Of course it is… but you have to be careful on how you do it, they can also backfire,” said Kurt “Really?” said Spike “Yeah… but let’s leave that for tomorrow,” said Kurt as he teleported Spike back to his house As soon as Spike walked in the door, his phone beeped Spike fished it out and noticed a text “Dude, my dad has been going on and on about this “new you” I have to see this in person, meet me and Thorax at our usual spot, we’ll be waiting,” wrote Ember “I have a bad feeling about this… well, at least, I already bought new clothes,” thought Spike as he headed to his room to get changed. 1 HOUR LATER Spike walked through the town, walking towards the coffee shop where he usually hangs out with his friends. But all throughout the way, all eyes were on him, luckily, almost no one recognized him, not even his old classmates, except for one. Spike finally arrived at the coffee shop and searched for his friends, he spotted them at their usual table, their backs to him. Spike walked over and sat down in front of them “Hey! What gives dude, this table is taken!” said Thorax not recognizing Spike “Are you ever going to stop acting like a chihuahua? Seriously man,” said Spike “Spike?!!!’ wow, Dad wasn’t lying about this,” said Ember “How did this happen?” asked Thorax “And what did you mean by Chihuahua?” Spike looked around the room and said “Can you guys keep a secret?” They both nodded Spike then told them everything that happened the day he transformed into this. “SO, Garble tried to kill you,” said Ember “And he said those things about Ember! I’m going to kill him,” said Thorax “Back of the line, pal,” said Spike “So, any plans for the future?” asked Ember “Nothing so far, but we’ll see,” said Spike. After that, Spike and his friends began to talk about different topics, until it was night time and they had to leave the shop. “Calls us anytime, ok Spike,” said Ember “Sure, goodnight,” said Spike as they all walked away in different directions. 30 MINUTES LATER Spike was almost reaching the path he was supposed to take to head back to his house, when… “I see the rumors are true, you changed,” said a male voice Spike knew to well “I was wondering when I was going to bump into you, Garble” said Spike as he turned to meet Garble and his lackeys “So, Mr. Piggy now became Mr. Boar,” said Grable with a laugh “And I see you are just as dumb as the last time I saw you… tragic,” said Spike “Oh, Mr. smartmouth now, huh,” said Garble getting angry “Mr. Dumbass, nice to see you too,” said Spike mocking him by acting like a polite gentleman “You wanna die, don’t you?” said Garble as he summoned so fire to his hands “Garble, when are you going to learn… that i’m not afraid of you… if anything I feel pity for you,” said Spike “I would watch my mouth, Bro,” said Garble as the flames intensified “You weren’t held much as a child, right… our are you that much of a coward that you are going to bully those weaker than you, and then go around town searching for a death wish?... MAN!! And here I thought you were stupid, but you’re plain down retarded,” said Spike Garble’s eyes were red with anger “DIE YOU FUCKING FAILURE!!!!!!” he screamed as he shot 2 fireballs straight for Spike The fireballs made contact with Spike with a loud boom, and then a massive cloud of smoke covered the place were Spike was standing “DUDE!!! Seriously, you need help,” said one of the lackeys “You better shut up before you join him,” said Garble as he looked at his “friend” with the same murderous look “There is no way he survived that,” said the other lackey “Think again,” said Spike as he walked out of the smoke cloud This made all of them turn pail “No! This… this can be… I-I-I killed you!” said Garble “With that infantile magic? The only thing you killed was the pity I had for you… but don’t worry, I’m not the vengeful type, so, just go home,” said Spike “You… you’re letting me go, just like that?” asked Garble “Yup, I have no interest in fighting those weaker than me… have nice evening,” said Spike as he walked away “Heh, this idiot thinks I’m inferior to him? Hehehehehe, DIE MOTHERFUCKER!!!!” thought Garble as he summoned a magic knife and threw it at Spike. Just as it was about to make contact with the back of Spike’s head, he caught it in his hand, and turned to look at him. “Wow, you failed again, which is weird because they say “Third time’s the charm” what are we to do now?” said Spike “We fight… I’M GOING TO END YOUR VALUELESS LIFE, FOR THE GOOD OF ALL OUR RAZE!!!!!” screamed Garble as a ball of water splashed on his face. “Are you awake now? Or do I have to repeat myself?” said Spike as he summoned another water ball “You- you can use magic?!” said Garble in surprise “Yeah, so?” said Spike “He changed too much… but I’m still superior to him, I HAVE TO BE!!! It’s the only way my family will ever accept me,” thought Garble “Go home Garble, now,” said Spike “This… this isn’t over,” said Garble as he walked away “Oh! And Garble...” said Spike catching his attention. Spike then began to imitate Garble’s movements from the first attack “WIND X!!” chanted Spike as he shot the spell at Garble, except that his was 5x stronger than Garble’s This caused Garble to fly through the park, through brick wall and into a construction site, demolishing half of the structure. “... Now we are even,” said Spike as he turned to look at the lackeys “Relax, you know that’s not going to kill him… I think… anyway, tell whoever asks to find me at my house, I’ll be waiting,” he said as he walked away. THE NEXT DAY “DECKER, YOU SON OF A BITCH!!! COME OUT HERE AND FACE ME!!!” said an angry male voice “What is it now, George?” said Bruce as he excited his mansion “Your son, sent mine to the hospital last night,” said George “AND YOUR SON ALMOST KILLED MY SON!!!!” screamed Bruce “THAT IS RIDICULOUS!!!” said George Bruce and George were about to begin punching each other when “Lord Darcy! I’ve been expecting you… I assume you are here to talk business,” said Spike as he walked out of the mansion “You! You are the one that sent my son to the hospital?!” said George “I won’t say I didn’t, but, I will say, you should be thankful that your son is still alive,” said Spike as he used some of his techno magic to create some minor screens, and began to play some of his memories as if they were videos “For 10 years, your son has bullied me, insulted me, assaulted me, and tried to kill me in more than 1 occation… now, with all this evidence, you should be grateful that I am not pressing charges, or that I held back enough to not kill your son when i had the chance,” said Spike Lord Darcy watched the videos over and over again, the images burning into his retinas “I… I didn’t know,” said George “Of course you did, you were the one that instigated your son to have that behavior… and I have proof… this was what he was thinking last night, when he attacked me,” said Spike as he played the video “He changed too much… but I’m still superior to him, I HAVE TO BE!!! It’s the only way my family will ever accept me,” thought Garble “So you are the only person responsible here… does that count as Felony Attempted murder or accessory to murder?... both actually,” said Spike Lord Darcy went pail “Let’s… let’s talk,” said George “Lord Dracy, we all know how to fix this… and I have to decline it,” said Spike “Yes, I will tell my daughter of the arrangement… WAIT, WHAT?!!!” said George “I have no intention of bringing your daughter into this mess, she has nothing to do with it,” said Spike “Then how are we going to fix it?” asked George “Make Garble attend military school, that way he’ll get those loose bolts screwed back into his head… and get him a girlfriend, maybe that way he’ll grow up,” said Spike “It’s settled then, leave my house and don’t come back without an invitation,” said Bruce as he and his son entered the mansion again “This kid… he’s powerful, very powerful, not to mention smart… I’m pretty sure that my little girl likes his type of man… well, I’ll let her decide that,” thought George as he left the area. 6 MONTHS LATER It’s been a very uninteresting 6 months, with the only highlights being Garble sent to the Military academy as to honor the deal made between Spike and Lord Darcy, and the sudden appearance of a secret admirer, who kept sending Spike love letter after love letter. Spike initially thought it was Barbara, or one of her friends, but, the news of this actually caused her to get a tad angry about it. With that mystery looming over his head, Spike decided to ignore it and concentrate solely on learning more about magic, sometimes locking himself in his room for days while studying every affinity, and when he made a surprising discovery, he teleported himself to the same field and test his new spells. Also adding the new workout regimen that Lord Marshall Hubert had given him as a request from Dragonlord Torch. And today, was one of those days, Spike had just finished testing out some new defense magic spells “So far so good… have to work on the light one, I need a beam not a laser… maybe if I add some more power…” thought Spike As soon as he thought that, he heard a loud BOOM, and then a massive cloud of smoke rising over the nearby trees. “What is all that about?” thought Spike as he made his way towards the mushroom cloud. Halfway there, he noticed that it was coming from a road, just over the border with the Canterlot Empire, he looked around and found the reason for the commotion. “Marauders! So close to our border?... and they seem to be attacking a… A ROYAL CONVOY!!!!” thought Spike as he saw the marauders exchange led with some of the bodyguards of said convoy. Spike quickly noticed that they were highly outnumbered, and that if backup didn’t arrive soon, the body count would be greater, and there was also the possibility of a kidnap. Spike was about to head over and assist, but he stopped himself, realizing that he would be illegally crossing the border. “I have to help… but then I can get into worse trouble… Come on Spike, what’s the right thing to do?” he thought as a magic grenade went off catching his attention “I’ll deal with the consequences later!” he said as he ran towards the battle. AT THE CONVOY “CENTRAL, WE NEED BACK ASAP, WHAT IS THE ETA FOR THAT?!!!” said one of the bodyguards “ETA 35 MINUTES!!” said the dispatcher “In that time, we’ll be dead,” said the bodyguard as a bullet hit him on the shoulder “Sir, what do we do?!!” asked another one “Keep fighting, we have to hold on until backup arrives!” said the head bodyguard before the survivors were surrounded by the marauders. “Drop your guns!” said the leader The bodyguards looked at each other and refused to obey “So be it,” said the leader as he pointed the gun at him He was about to pull the trigger, when a fire ball impacted one of his men, he screamed in agony as he burned alive, until he fell to the floor dead. “WHO DID THAT?!!! SHOW YOURSELF!!!!” said the leader “I’m right here!” said Spike catching the marauder’s attention “YOU?... you dare attack us? The powerful Eastern clan?” said the leader “I don’t see much of a challenge,” said Spike “Kill him!!! KILL THAT INSOLENT BRAT!!!” said the leader as all of the members began to shoot at Spike, who easily evaded every bullet and counter striked with all of his magic arsenal. One by one, all of the marauders fell to the floor lifeless, either burned alive, drown by water balls, asphyxiated by the air, impaled by stalagmites, and some even zapped to death by lightning, only leaving the leader “Wha… what are you?!!!” he screamed as he took one of the bodyguards as a hostage “STAY BACK!!!” “Oh, come now, this is a royal convoy, surely you can be a bit more… diplomatic,” taunted Spike “I’ll shoot his brains out!! Don’t test me,” said the leader as he pressed the barrel of the gun to the bodyguards head. Unknown to him, Spike was ready to end him, for he had created 3 rock daggers, which were hovering behind the leaders back thanks to some wind magic. “Last chance… give up or…” said Spike “Or what?!!” said the leader as he started to press the trigger Spike saw this and snapped his fingers This confused the leader, before his body was pierced by the 3 daggers, one through his brain, the other through his neck, and the last one through his heart, killing him “You should’ve worked on your diplomacy skills my friend… is everyone alright?” said Spike “We lost 5 members, but thanks for the help, we’d be dead if it weren’t for…” said one of the bodyguards “HELP!!!” came a female voice from inside the van The bodyguard and Spike rushed to it and opened the door, inside the van were 5 people, 3 females and 2 males, one which was bleeding out. “Please save my husband!!!” screamed the younger female “Help is on the way Princess Cadence, it should be here any minute,” said the bodyguard “He’s not going to make it if we wait… I think I can save him,” said Spike as he placed his hand over the gunshot wound in the younger male’s chest. As soon as he did, he realised how deep the injury was. “Oh dear, I don’t think Heal is going to work… what can I do? He’s losing blood fast… maybe I should cast Rebirth… but that’s a level 3 spell, If I fuck up… I don’t have time to think that much… but I must chanted it outloud,” thought Spike “Come forth, sudding holy light, end his suffering so that he may rise again, REBIRTH!!!!” Spike chanted “A level 3 holy magic spell?!!” said the older female After a few seconds the injury was fully healed and Spike fell backwards in exhaustion “That was… scary,” said the man as he sat up. “OH THANK GOODNESS YOU'RE OK!!!”said Princess Cadence After a few hugs and tears, everyone got out of the van to meet their hero “Hi, my name is Miamore Cadenza, but everyone knows me as Princess Cadence, and this is my husband Sean Anderson Silverstein, but everyone calls him Shining Armor, my parents-in-law, Nelson Silverstein and Tamana Silverstein-Lawlor, and my younger sister-in-law Tiffany Silverstein,” “But everyone calls me Twilight Sparkle, on another note, how were you able to cast such a high level spell?” asked Twilight “Twilight, let him introduce himself,” said Tamana “My name is Silvio Decker, and to answer your question, I’ve had a lot of practice,” said Spike “Decker, you’re a Dragonkin,” said Nelson “Yes sir… which means, I have to get back to my land, before I get arrested,” said Spike “Nonsense, we can vouch for you,” said Nelson Spike smiled and turned to look at the 5 dead bodyguards “Did they have families?” asked Spike “Yeah, one of them was about to get married… this was supposed to be an easy, peaceful mission,” said the head bodyguard. Spike walked over to the 5 corpses, and noticed the injuries that have taken their lives. “This one wasn’t older than me, maybe 17… can I do something to help them?... no, there is no holy magic spell that can do that, and necromancy is just going to create zombies… Unless, I combine the 2… it’s risky, but worth a shot,” thought Spike as he got into position “What is he doing?” asked Twilight “I don’t know,” said Cadence “Come forth evil energy, raise their bodies up to serve me for eternity, NECROMANCY!!!’ said Spike in a guttural voice as both of his eyes went black and his 2 hands were engulfed in dark clouds “WHAT IS HE DOING?!” screamed Shining Armor “Stop, don’t break his concentration,” said Cadence “Come forth, oh holy light, take back the evil power taking over them and free their souls, CURE!!!” said Spike as his right eye turned white, and his right arm became engulfed in white light. “This is interesting,” said Tamana “I’m more surprised about the fact he can use both holy and dark magic, that hasn’t happened in a long time,” said Nelson “Black and white, good and evil, combine and conquer over death, end their eternal sleep and make them rise, RESURRECTION!!!” chanted Spike as the 5 corpses were engulfed in a grey light. After a few seconds, the light disappeared, leaving just the 5 corpses “Come on, come on,” said Spike As soon as he said that, all of the corpses started moving “Oh, what happened,” said one of them, “You died, but I brought you back,” said Spike as he helped them up “That was amazing!” said Twilight as she walked over to Spike “Indeed, I’ve never seen someone being able to use, Holy magic and Dark Magic at the same time,” said Nelson “Thanks,” said Spike, as he noticed that one of the cars was damaged “Well, that won’t do… allow me to fix it,” he said as he walked over to it and began reconstructing the engine and front bumper. “Technomancy? You can use it too?” said Shining Armor “Yes, I actually have an affinity for every type of magic,” said Spike as he finished fixing the vehicule. “Sr. Decker, what you have done today for us, will ever be forgotten, how can we ever repay you?” said Cadence “Yeah, name it and it shall be done,” said Shining Armor Spike was about to answer, but he heard cars rushing nearby and a helicopter over head, nearby “That’s back up, I have to bolt… don’t worry about it, it was my good deed of the day,” said Spike as he walked over to the center of the road “Are you sure? We don’t mind the request,” said Cadence “Oh, no, I just wanted to help, that’s it… it was nice meeting you, goodbye,” said Spike as he teleported out of sight. Seconds later, back up appeared “Is everyone ok?” asked the captain “Yes,” said the lead bodyguard “Well, let’s hurry, let’s go to the castle to treat the wounded,” said the captain as everyone got into the vans “Silvio Decker… Celestia is going to love this,” said Cadence. THE NEXT DAY “... are you positive that’s what you want son?” said Bruce “Yeah, I mean, there is no way I can enter one of those academies, so, I’ll just go to the commerce academy,” said Spike “I’m proud that you want to continue your education, but, what about your talent, are you going to throw it in the garbage?” said Grace “Problem is, I didn’t take any magic courses during middle school, I have no grounds to enter,” said Spike It was then that the doorbell rang “I’ll get it… and even if I wanted to enter, I’ve only been able to use magic for 6 months, I’m not as strong as other people,” said Spike as he opened the door. Standing before him, was a beautiful woman, early 30s, about 6’0”, magenta eyes, her hair, a long mixture of cerulean, turquoise, cobalt blue, and heliotrope, and with a very curvaceous body. “Good morning, may I speak to Silvio Decker, please,” she said
Ch. 3 Academy lifeThe Decker manor had gone quiet, so quiet that you could actually hear a pin drop. The only sound heard throughout the house was the sips coming from the cup of tea that Princess Celestia was having while waiting for the right time to begin talking. “Uhm, your majesty, mind me asking, but why do you want to talk to Silvio?” asked Barbara “Not yet, Dear, give it a minute… or two,” said Celestia A few seconds later they heard the front door open and footsteps coming towards the living room. “Woah!!! God, do you guys know how bad of a parking lot you guys have, I mean, I have a lot of cars, but… damn, you have various cars,” said a tall lanky man as he walked up to the sofa where Celestia was sitting. “Well, you see, I do a lot of commerce in different areas, and I’m just holding on to those vehicles until tomorrow when they will be shipped to the dealerships,” said Bruce “Yeah… that makes sense,” said the man “Would you like a cup of tea Lord Karius?” asked Hannah “Oh, no, thank you anyway dear,” said Lord Karius as he turned to face the Decker family “So, pardon my, uhm… friendly tone, but what is so important that the 2 most powerful people alive, come all the way done to my humble home without prior notice or escort?” said Grace “Well… Grace, the reason we came down here in secret… is for him,” said Celestia as she pointed at Spike “Oh, I’m fucked… I’m so royally fucked,” thought Spike as he began to sweat “Under what circumstance?” asked Bruce “Your son… committed a very big offense to the royal family yesterday,” said Karius That caused all of them to turn and look at Spike “Is this about me crossing the border illegally… cause if it is, I can explain,” said Spike “There is no need for that,” said Celestia “Yeah, we have all the details we need from the people you saved,” said Karius “People… he saved?” asked Barbara “Yes, your son and brother, was involved in a battle between a group of royal bodyguards and marauders, in which he not only defeated them all by risking his own life but was able to save, and return, the life to all of the people who had been hurt,” said Discord Everyone looked at Spike “That convoy was transporting my niece, Princess Miamore Cadenza, her husband Sean Silverstein, her sister-in-law, Tiffany Silverstein, and her in-laws Nelson and Tamana Silverstein… they would’ve been kidnapped or even the unthinkable if it weren’t for your fast actions,” said Celestia “So, what is the crime?” asked Bruce “The crime is that he abandoned the area without that much as a thank you from our part,” said Discord “THAT’S IT?!!!!” asked Grace “Well… no, there was something else that caught our attention in the report they gave us,” said Karius “And that is?” asked Spike “Well, you tell us,” said Celestia “Yeah, I mean, you can use every type of magic known to mankind… and to add insult to injury, you can combine Holy and Dark magic without killing yourself, HOLY AND DARK MAGIC, I mean, we had to check that out,” said Karius with a smile “Yes, I can do that, but… Lord Karius, what is this really about?” asked Spike “Discord,” he said “Excuse me?” said Spike “Call me Discord, Lord Karius was my father,” said Discord “Discord… what is this about?” asked Bruce “Well… I believe you know of the Canterlot academy,” said Discord “Barely,” said Spike “Barely?” asked Discord “Yeah, while I was in school, I was never allowed to attend the seminars,” said Spike “Why?” asked Discord “I didn’t count as a living person,” said Spike “I’m going to need a better explanation for that,” said Discord “Well, I’ve only had my powers for a little over 6 months,” said Spike “That’s true, he was born with a level of just 10 magic points, but it changed after an incident,” said Grace “What incident?” asked Celestia Spike then proceeded to explain everything that happened “My God, that is terrible, and what happened to this Darcy fellow?” asked Celestia “Dragonlands Royal military academy… it was part of the deal with his father,” said Spike “Well, at least he’ll get straighten up,” said Discord “Hopefully, if not I will do it for them,” said Barbara “A feisty one, I’m I right,” said Discord with a smile “Yes, she is very protective of her brother,” said Grace “I can see… regardless, after hearing so many good things about your son, we decided to grant him the final spot in our scholarship class,” said Celestia “Really?” everyone said “Yup… we’ll unless he declines,” said Discord Spike went silent for a few seconds and said “What about Dragonlord Torch?” “Do you really think we would’ve come all the way here in secret without asking him first?” asked Celestia “Good point,” said Spike “You see, I told you he was a smart kid,” said Celestia with a confident grin “Yeah, yeah, he agreed with your reasoning, hurray,” said Discord sarcastically “But, that means I’m going to have to move to the city of Canterlot,” said Spike “Well, yes, but you aren’t going to have to worry about food and shelter, that’s all taken care of,” said Celestia “Really?” asked Spike “Yup, plus, if you need more information about the campus, we’ll be giving much more info during the opening ceremony,” said Discord “Shouldn’t it be a welcoming ceremony?” asked Spike “2 for me,” said Celestia “Can… can I think about this for a minute,” said Spike “Sure,” said Celestia as she took the plate that Hannah had brought for her, which containing a piece of red velvet cake “That will probably go to your hips,” said Discord “You seriously don’t value your life, do you?” said Celestia with murder on her voice At the other side of the room, Spike and his family were debating about the idea “Ok, so…” Spike began “Take it,” they all said “Take what?” asked Spike “The chance, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Bruce “Plus, with your abilities, not using them and growing them would be a waste of talent,” said Grace “And, you can finally complete your dream of bringing honor to our household… plus, I’m gonna be applying for that same academy next year, so, I’ll be counting on you to be my guide when I get there,” said Barbara “Ok, then…” said Spike as he walked over to the sofa where Celestia and Discord were munching down on more red velvet cake. “How… how much cake did the 2 of you eat?” asked Spike “Well, this is my 5th plate,” said Celestia “4th and I have to say, it is simply superb,” said Discord “Indeed, who made this?” asked Celestia “I did,” said Spike “YOU CAN BAKE!!!!” they both screamed “Yup, a lot of free time in my hands, so, I did many things to be occupied,” said Spike “You must simply give me the recipe,” said Celestia “Sure… about the offer… I’m… I’m taking it,” said Spike “Excellent, now… be sure to pack tonight… so that you can take the next train to Canterlot tomorrow morning… the entrance ceremony is going to be held this coming Monday,” said Celestia as she finished yet another piece of cake “That’s in 3 days,” said Spike “Exactly… so, be ready, we’ll have someone waiting for you at the train station tomorrow afternoon,” said Discord “Understood,” said Spike “Well, our business here is over… by the way, is there a possibility that we can take the rest of the cake?” asked Celestia “If you give 2 hours, I can bake you a new one,” said Spike Celestia and Discord looked at each other “We’ve got time, plus... I’d like to talk with your father about some business,” said Discord THAT NIGHT Spike was moving around his room putting stuff into his bag preparing to depart for Canterlot; he was happy for this new adventure but at the same time, he felt like if something was really out of place, like if something was missing. “Something on your mind, Big Bro?” said Barbara as she entered the room “No, I was just thinking,” said Spike “Thinking about what?” asked Barbara “It’s just that… it feels surreal, 6 months ago, I was a nobody and now, I’m about to head to THE most prestigious academy in the world, with a scholarship,” said Spike “And what is the problem?” asked Barbara “Not a day has gone by since I think about what happened that day… I even went in search of the cave I fell through, but… I never found it,” said Spike “Are you sure you went to the right place?” asked Barbara “Yeah, I did the math and even gave myself a 1KM radius of error, but nothing,” said Spike “Well, maybe it was destroyed by the rain,” said Barbara “It’s limestone, it doesn’t get dissolved easily… it just seems too… convenient,” said Spike “Convenient? How?” asked Barbara “Like if all this was, destined to happen, even without me wanting to,” said Spike “But, I thought you wanted to become strong,” said Barbara “I did… but, having all this power… it feels like cheating,” said Spike “Well… the way I see it, the power you possess can be a great help… you only have to discover the reason why you need it,” said Barbara “You know, I was actually thinking the same thing… maybe I can find my calling down at Canterlot,” said Spike “Well, just remember that I will always be here for you, no matter what,” said Barbara “Right… thanks, sis… I better call it a night, my train leaves at 8 AM, that’s in 7 hours,” said Spike “Of course… goodnight Spike,” said Barbara as she gave him a kiss on the forehead. THE NEXT AFTERNOON AT CANTERLOT TRAIN STATION Spike finally arrived at Canterlot, and he was surprised, it was nothing like the Dragonlands, the train station was overflowing with people getting off or on trains, some wearing suit and ties heading for work, others wearing ostentatious and expensive outfits, and others with normal clothes. “I think this trains station has more people in it than the whole dragonlands,” thought Spike as he walked towards the lobby. It would’ve been an unamusing walk, if it weren’t for people looking at Spike as he walked past them. “I hope I’m not doing something wrong… man, I should've practiced my social skills a tad more… I hope this doesn’t come back to haunt me later on,” he thought as he made it to the lobby. He was about to walk out the main entrance, when he noticed 3 interesting individuals, 2 males and 1 female. One male and the female individuals were dressed in military attire, while the other male was wearing a tuxedo and holding up a sign that said “Silvio Decker” Spike started to walk towards them, and during his short trip, he overheard a few things “I wonder who this person is?” said a female voice “He must be important if the army and the Princess personal butler are here to pick him up,” said another “Maybe he is a lord or diplomate from a foreign land,” said another “I wonder if he is hot,” said another “Or single,” said another Spike felt a bit uncomfortable hearing those remarks “This welcome wasn’t necessary,” he thought As soon as he got close to them, the male soldier said “Sir Decker, It’s an honor to meet you,” “Likewise,” said Spike with a forced smile as he turned to look around and notice the stares he was getting. Many of them were of surprise, but they also included looks of admiration, lust, and hate Regardless, Spike hated being the center of attention, mostly cause he wasn’t used to it “Why do I have the feeling that is going to be an everyday thing?” he thought “Right this way, please,” said the butler as he took Spike’s luggage out of his hands, except his guitar case. Spike was escorted out of the train station and into a limo. “Ok, this is just too much,” he thought “Where to?” asked the driver “The Grand Mare Hotel,” said the butler The drive was going to be fairly quiet, but “Was… was all this really necessary?” asked Spike “Princess Celestia’s orders, except for those 2, they came on their own volition,” said the butler Spike turned to look at them “We wanted to thank the person that saved our family members,” said the man “Yes, if it wasn’t for you, my fiance would be dead now… I won’t ever be able to repay you, but if you ever need something, just contact the base and ask for Lt. Carmen Munoz,” she said “Same here, General Dylan Alderbridge, you saved my younger brother… our family is forever in your debt,” he said “You don’t have to…” said Spike “We have arrived at our destination,” said the butler as the car came to a stop When Spike got out he noticed that they were at a 5 star hotel “Seriously, with all of this showing off,” said Spike as he was escorted in After a few minutes he arrived at the suit reserved for him “Is this just for me, or?” asked Spike “The suit, yes, but all of the scholarship students are booked into this hotel until the opening ceremony,” said the butler “Why?” asked Spike “That information will be given to you on Monday, now, please rest, I assume it was a long ride, but also feel free to head out into the city and explore,” said the butler “One final question,” said Spike “Sure,” said the butler “If I wanted to increase my social skills, where should I go?” asked Spike “That’s a tough one, I believe social skills get better over time… but I would head to the library,” said the butler “Why?” asked Spike “The library has spell books, you might be able to find something that interests you… now if you do, the library is 5 blockers south from here, and it’s open 24 hours… anything else?” asked Spike “I never caught your name,” said Spike “My name is Frederick, it has been a pleasure, sir Decker,” he said as he left “Likewise,” said Spike as he turned to the massive room “I should probably watch some TV… I have the rest of today and tomorrow to explore the town,” thought Spike. ONE HOUR LATER Spike found his way walking down the crowded streets of Downtown Canterlot, he had initially decided to head down to the library, but then decided otherwise, seeing that he should better go sightseeing. “He had now walked all the way down to the central park, which was crowded as he imagined, people jogging, having a picnic, spending time with their friends and/or loved ones, people on dates, kids playing on the playground. It was a very pleasant sight for Spike, as he continued to walk around the park “Man, I’m starting to like this place, a lot, It’s like a paradise,” he thought At that moment Spike made it to the soccer field where a group of people, not older than him were having a quick match. Spike decided to sit down and watch the game for a few minutes, until he noticed a little commotion happening in the pitch “Seriously dude?” said an angry female voice “Sorry guys, but matters of the heart come first,” said a male voice “So… when you’re out on a mission and have your urges, you’re just going to abandon it to bang your chick? Really?” said another female voice “Sorry, I’ll make it up to you guys next time,” said the guy as he left the pitch “Now what are we going to do?” said one of the girls as she went over to the shade of the tree followed by the remaining players. “Well, we just need to find some who wants to play to finish the game,” said another male voice “What about him? He’s been watching us play for a while and he is wearing workout clothes,” said one of the girls “Good idea, I’ll go ask him,” said one of them She walked over to where Spike was and was about to start talking when she made eye contact with him, and for some reason she started to feel butterflies in her stomach “Hey, I was wondering… you see, I… I MEAN WE… we just lost one of our players to some… “personal matter”, and we noticed that you were sitting here watching us play… so, wanna join?” said the girl Spike looked at her and said “Sure… but I have to warn you… I’m a bit rusty,” said Spike as he got up The girl looked at him with amazement, she could tell that he was the sporty type, he had muscle but not too much to make him look intimidating, plus, he was tall. “Roxanne,” she said “Excuse me?” asked Spike “My name is Roxanne Daniels, but my friends call me Rainbow Dash, what about you?” said Rainbow Dash “Silvio Decker, my friends call me Spike,” he answered “Well, nice to meet you, Spike,” she said as he stretched her hand “Likewise,” said Spike as he shook it For whatever reason, this caused Rainbow Dash to feel a jolt of electricity but hid it well from Spike “Wow, she’s pretty, you can tell that she likes to work out, she has the muscle to prove it, yet she doesn’t look like a bodybuilder, her hairstyle is also very unique. It resembles a rainbow to perfection… if I had to guess… she’s about 5’7” and about my age, maybe a tad younger,” thought Spike as he followed her to the rest of the players “Well guys, he agreed, this is Silvio,” said Rainbow Dash “Hello,” they all said “Hi,” said Spike “Ok, Sunset, he’s on your team,” said Rainbow Dash “Right… can you play soccer?” asked Sunset “Yup, haven’t played in a while, but I’m sure it’ll come back,” said Spike “Great, you’re playing forward with me,” she said “Ok,” said Spike as he took off his sports jacket and let everyone see his toned body “Wow,” thought Rainbow Dash as she started to slover a bit “Not bad,” thought Sunset Shimmer as she went into the pitch followed by Spike “This girl is really cute, long hair, red and yellow hair combination, perfect body, skinny with the perfect amount of curve in the right places… WOW!!! Hold your hormones, Spike, you barely know her,” thought Spike as he got into position “Hey, one last question?” said Spike “Yup,” said Sunset “What should I call you?” asked Spike “Call me Sunset, my name is Sofia Sanchez, but everyone calls me Sunset Shimmer,” she said “Right, then feel free to call me Spike,” he said “Gotcha,” she said as the game restarted After a few minutes, the game was tied 3-3, and it was coming close to the end of the match. Sunset Shimmer had the ball as she did her best to dribble past her opponents “Final minutes of the match… she passes one, two, three… she’s getting near the enemy area… only the goalkeeper between her and glory… and… UUUF,” Narrated Sunset Shimmer as she played, unaware that Rainbow Dash was near her to dispossess her of the ball possession, causing her to fall to the floor “You really have to get your head out of the clouds… anyway, smell you later loser,” she said as she dashed all the way across the field. “This is how you do it” thought Rainbow Dash as she swung to kick the ball, but instead kicked the air, losing her balance and falling right on her butt. Rainbow Dash quickly looked around for the ball and noticed Spike sliding away with the ball near him. “Not on my watch sister,” said Spike as he kicked the ball all the way to the other half of the pitch for Sunset Shimmer to head it into the net “THAT’S how you do it,” said Spike as he jumped up and down “That was amazing” said Rainbow Dash She was about to go over towards Spike, but she was defeated by Sunset Shimmer, who went over to give him a hug and a high five “That was amazing!” she said “Well, I told you it was going to come back to me,” said Spike While the conversation continued, Rainbow Dash felt more and more irked “Why am I so angry right now… AND WHY DOES HE KEEP TALKING TO HER LIKE IF THEY WERE CHILDHOOD FRIENDS!!!!” she thought as she walked up to them “So, Spike, tell us about yourself,” said Rainbow Dash as she placed her elbow on his shoulder. This made Sunset look at Rainbow Dash in surprise “Well, I am the son of a lord in the Dragonlands, and I came here to join the Canterlot Academy,” said Spike “Really, us too,” said Sunset Shimmer getting closer to Spike “Really?” said Spike “Yeah, I came here with another of my friends, her name is Florence, but she doesn’t like sports that much so, she isn’t here,” said Rainbow Dash “So, what made you join the academy?” asked Sunset Shimmer “The Princess,” said Spike This answer caught them by surprise “And why is that?” asked Sunset “Are you into older women?” asked Rainbow Dash, her tone a tad irritated “No, she kind of… forced me to join,” said Spike “Wait WHAT?!!!” they both said Spike then proceeded to explain the events that led to him coming to Canterlot “SERIOUSLY!!! YOU CAN WILD ANY TYPE OF MAGIC!!!!” they both said “Yup… surprising I know,” said Spike “That is so cool… I can only use Wind and Water magic,” said Rainbow Dash “And I can only use, Light and Fire magic,” said Sunset Shimmer “Well, at least you girls have an easier time concentrating than I do,” said Spike “What do you mean?” asked Rainbow Dash “Since I can use any type of magic, means that I have to train 2 of them every day so that there isn’t an imbalance in my magic… it’s really annoying,” said Spike as he looked at his phone “HOLY LAVA!!! IS THAT THE TIME!!! Sorry girls I have to go… see you on Monday,” said Spike as he put on his jacket and ran away in a hurry “BYE SPIKE, SEE YOU ON MONDAY!!!” said Sunset Shimmer “SMELL YA LATER MAN… I’ll be counting the seconds, Spike,” said Rainbow Dash A FEW MINUTES LATER Spike had run so fast he didn’t even realize he made a wrong turn, and now he was lost “Great… no signal either… now what?!” he thought as he walked down the train “At least is quiet and peaceful down here,” Just then he heard movement in the nearby bushes “Hello?” he said Just then, a little white bunny jumped out of the bushes and into Spike’s hands “Hey there little… buddy, what’s wrong?” asked Spike, his answer delayed for only a second, as a fox jumped out of the same bushes and landed in front of Spike. It looked at the bunny and began barking “I didn’t know foxes could bark!” thought Spike “That’s enough!!” he said as he stomped his feet to scare the fox. Sure enough, the fox jumped back in fear “BEAT IT!!!!” said Spike as he stumped his feet again, and the fox ran away in fear “Well, that was accelerating… it’s ok buddy, you’re safe now,” said Spike as he petted the bunny Seconds later, they heard a female voice screaming and walking towards them “ANGEL!!! ANGEL!!!” she cried out Seconds later, Spike noticed a very beautiful girl walking up the path, she had long pink hair, cyan eyes, and was about 5’3”, but what caught Spike’s attention was the size of her boobs. “Excuse me? Have you seen a baby bunny run past here?” she said as she walked up to Spike, his eyes glued to her boobs “You mean him?” said Spike as he showed her the bunny in his hands “YES!!! Oh, Angel, I was so worried about you,” she said as she took him off his hands and hugged him For whatever reason, Spike had now grown tongue-tied “Wow, her boobs are big… HOLD IT SPIKE!!! NO, YOU CAN’T SAY THOSE THINGS!!!” “Thank you so much, My name is Florence Scavo, my friends call me Fluttershy, and this is my pet bunny Angel nice to meet you,” she said with a big smile Spike, however, was having a mental battle right now “DON’T SAY ANYTHING STUPID! DON’T SAY ANYTHING STUPID! DON’T SAY ANYTHING STUPID!... I like your boobs,” he finally said, which caused him to slap his forehead “DUMBASS!!!!!!!” he screamed in his head “Ah… thanks,” said Fluttershy her face turning red “I’m so sorry… I just spoke out of my butt, hi, my name is Silvio Decker, the pleasure is mine,” said Spike “It’s ok, I mean, I like your body shape,” said Fluttershy doing her best to make the moment less awkward “Thanks… I’m really sorry about what I said,” he said “It’s ok, I get that a lot,” said Fluttershy “Must be very uncomfortable… by the way, what are you doing out here so late?” asked Spike “Well, I came to the park to let Angel run around for a little while, then the fox appeared and chased him all the way here… what about you?” said Fluttershy “I was playing soccer with my new friends, then I realized the time and made a run for it, and when I realized… I was lost,” said Spike hanging his head down in embarrassment This caused Fluttershy to giggle a bit “Well, it happens to anyone, come on, Angel can show us the way out,” said Fluttershy as she started to walk towards the exit of the trail. A few minutes later, Spike and Fluttershy were almost out of the trail, and they had a very nice conversation on the way there. “So, Spike, where are you from?” asked Fluttershy “Dragonlands, my father is a lord serving under Dragonlord Torch, he’s somewhat of my uncle,” said Spike “That’s nice,” said Fluttershy, a bit of fear on her voice “What about you?” asked Spike “Well… I was born in Cloudsdale, but I lived in the nearby town of Ponyville, then I got accepted into the Canterlot Academy, with my friend Roxanne…” said Fluttershy “Oh, Rainbow Dash, so you’re the friend she was talking about,” said Spike “You know her?” said Fluttershy “Yeah, I was playing soccer with her and another girl called Sunset Shimmer, plus another amount of dudes, from which I don’t remember their names,” said Spike “Oh, well…” said Fluttershy This answer made Spike feel uneasy “Man, I wish I could know what she was thinking,” said Spike “So, Spike… are you going to attend the Academy too?” asked Fluttershy “Yeah, I’m a scholarship student,” said Spike “Really? You must be very talented,” said Fluttershy “No, I was, kind of forced to take the scholarship,” said Spike “What do you mean?” asked Fluttershy “Well, you see…” said Spike as he began telling Fluttershy the past events “YOU DID WHAT?!!!!” she screamed “It was either that or a higher body count… and, well, I do admit that I crossed the border illegally… but…” said Spike “That’s beside the point… you’re a hero!” she said “Nah… I was just at the right place at the right time… anyone dumb enough would’ve done the same,” said Spike “Why are you insulting yourself?” asked Fluttershy “Well, you might think I was being brave, but, in actuality, I was so scared I almost crapped my pants more than once… therefore the expression,” said Spike “I get it… so, Princess Celestia and Lord Discord went to your house to give you the scholarship,” said Fluttershy “Yup, Discord said “If I had half of the affinities you possess, I wouldn’t let them go to waste,” said Spike “Oh, and what affinities do you have?” asked Fluttershy “Oh… all of them,” said Spike This caused Fluttershy to stop in her tracks and turn to face Spike “Prove it!” she said “What?” asked Spike “Prove it, that you can use all types of magic,” she said “Ok,” said Spike as he, one by one, cast all of his affinities “OH MY GOD!!! That’s amazing, I can only use Holy and air magic,” said Fluttershy “Well, the fact that you can use holy magic is amazing on its own,” said Spike with a smile This caused Fluttershy’s heart to skip a beat and turn red “Thanks…” she said as they reached the street. “Well, it was nice to meet you Fluttershy, I’m sorry for what I said, seriously,” said Spike “It’s ok, the feeling is mutual,” said Fluttershy having trouble making eye contact “Man, I’m really making her feel uncomfortable, I should better take my leave… but I should also show here I am friendly… well, I’m headed this way, I’ll see you on Monday for the opening ceremony, have a very good night,” said Spike as he began to walk away “You too…” said Fluttershy as she watched him leave, then she turned to look at Angel “... why does my heart feel like this? It’s like… I want to be near him all the time,” she said, this caused Angel to slap his forehead. MINUTES LATER Spike had been walking for a few minutes now, looking for a way back to the hotel. “Did I really have to turn the way furthest away from her?... well, at least she knows I have no bad intentions towards her,” thought Spike as he continued walking “... once you get to the end of the road, turn left and cross the through the market, then turn left and walk for 500 meters and you will reach your destination,” said the voice of the GPS “Heh, where would we be without Google Maps… “I hope I don’t get copyrighted by saying that… well, it said I have to turn left and cross the market,” thought Spike as he followed the GPS instructions. He was halfway through the market when he heard “GOSH DARN IT… IT REALLY IS STUCK!!!” Spike turned his head to where the voice came from and noticed 4 people around a large truck. “Better see what’s that about,” thought Spike as he walked towards them “Ok, one last try… LIFT!!!” said the man, as he and another female present tried to lift the truck “It’s too heavy!” she said as they both let go of the truck. “Darn these petty town criminals, stealing damn manhole covers, darn them all to hell!” said the older female present “Granny Smith, you shouldn’t get that angry, it’s not good for your health,” said the girl “I’ll get angry when I want to get angry, plus I’m only 63 years old, and I ain’t feeling old!” she said “The crane said it can’t come to help since all of their units are currently in use or in maintenance,” said another female “OH, FOR CRYIN’ OUT LOUD!!!!” said the older female “Is there a problem?” said Spike out of nowhere This caused all of them to jump scared. “Don’t do that… and yes, our truck got stuck in an uncovered manhole,” said the man “Plus, the crane company isn’t able to come to aid us at the moment,” said the younger female “Let me try,” said Spike as he walked over “Ah, no disrespect man, but, if my bro and I can't lift it, I highly doubt that…” said the younger female At that same instant, Spike used his muscles, wind, and earth magic to lift the truck out of the manhole “WOW!” she said when she saw Spike lifting the truck “I’ve never seen someone so strong in my life,” said the man “Well, I’m not that strong… I’m just using wind and earth magic to aid me,” said Spike as he placed the truck back down. “Well, thank you there, stranger, my name is Olivia Smith, but folks call me Granny Smith,” said the older female as she walked up to Spike “Nice to meet you, my name is Silvio Decker, my friends call me Spike,” he said “Well, Spike, allow me to introduce the rest of my family, this is my oldest grandson, Michael Smith…” she said as she pointed to the tall man, he had so much muscle, he scared the hell out of Spike “Nice to meet you,” said Spike as he shook his hand only for him to crush it “Likewise Spike, call me Big Mac, that’s what folks call me round ’ere” he said “... this is Sarah Baker, she is Michael’s fiance…” continued Granny Smith “Hi, thank you so much, and, sorry about your hand, Mac tends to ignore his own strength,” “No, I don’t,” said Big Mac as he accidentally hit a column causing it to fall “You were saying?” said Sarah “I just try to be careful Sugar Belle, but I can’t,” said Big Mac as Sugar Belle hugged him “... and this lovely lady is my granddaughter, Audrey Smith,” said Granny Smith “SO, this is what they call an amazon?, she’s tall, maybe 6’1”, plus you can tell she works out, even her boobs are big, SERIOUSLY DUDE?!!! AGAIN!!!!... anyway, she’s pretty, plus, she has this vibe to her, that she is someone you can trust,” thought Spike “I’ve never seen someone like you,” she said “I… don’t get it,” said Spike “You can use earth and wind magic at the same time,” she said “Yeah, well, I can actually use all types of magic,” said Spike “REALLY!!!” they all said “Yup,” said Spike as he did a little demonstration “Holy Apples… this is amazing,” said Big Mac as he admired the magic “What brings you to Canterlot?” asked Granny Smith “The academy,” said Spike “Guessed it,” said Granny Smith “You must be loaded,” said Applejack “Yeah… but I’m a scholarship student,” said Spike “Yeah, figures, with that amount of magic it’ll be foolish to overlook you,” said Granny Smith “Oh, no, it doesn’t have much to do with my magic… I think,” said Spike “So, then?” asked Granny Smith Spike then proceeded to once again tell his story “YOU TOOK DOWN A GANG OF MARAUDERS!!!” said Big Mac “SAVED THE ROYAL FAMILY!!!” said Sugar Belle “CURED THE INJURED!!!!” said Granny Smith “AND RESURRECTED THE DEAD!!!!” said Audrey “Pretty much, yeah,” said Spike “HOW CAN YOU BE SO CHILL ABOUT IT?!!!” said Audrey “Cause, I kind of was so terrified of doing it, I kind of did it on impulse… plus, I’m no hero, despite what Princess Celestia thinks,” said Spike as he finished checking the truck “Well, thank you again, for your help Spike, if you ever need something, just give these 3 a call, they are all enrolled in the Academy anyway… or come to me if it is really important, we’ll be happy to help,” said Granny Smith “I’ll keep it in mind, thanks, goodnight,” said Spike as he began walking again, made it to the corner, and turned left. Everyone was ready to leave, but Audrey was still staring in the direction of Spike “Something wrong?” asked Sugar Belle “No, it’s just that…” said Audrey “You just met your dream man?” said Sugar Belle “Wait, What?” said Audrey “Applejack, you have the same look on your face that I had when I met Mac 2 years ago, don’t try to hide it,” said Sugar Belle “Something wrong?” asked Granny Smith “Applejack is in love,” said Sugar Belle “Figures… I thought the same thing,” said Granny Smith “Wait… seriously?” said Applejack “Yup, you never looked away, your eyes glued on him this whole time… guess going to the academy isn’t so bad anymore, ain’t it?” said Granny Smith “Well…” said Applejack “Just make sure to take advantage, make him notice you every chance you get,” said Granny Smith “Why?” asked Applejack “Would you like some other girl to come up and take your dream man away?” said Granny Smith “No… but…” said Applejack “Then, take charge,” said Granny Smith “Yeah, try to be in the same team as him… that’s how Mac and I fell in love,” said Sugar Belle “Someone mentioned me?” said Big Mac “The truck ready?” asked Granny Smith “Eeyup,” said Big Mac “Then let’s go home, we have a lot of work tomorrow,” said Granny Smith as she got on the truck. THE NEXT DAY Spike was walking down the streets towards the library, and they were even more crowded than yesterday “Wonder what is going on? Maybe there is a celebration,” said Spike as he continued to walk. He was about to make it to the library when he heard “Hey, gorgeous, wanna go have a good time?” said a male voice “Wow, if that is his best pick up line, I kinda feel sorry for him,” thought Spike Spike was about to walk away, until he noticed something There were 2 guys holding a girl back, and by the looks of it, these guys were serious about their offer. “I have no interest on going anywhere with 2 brutes like you,” said the girl This line immediately sent red flags to Spike’s head “Well too bad… for you,” said one of them “Unhand me this instant!!” said the girl Spike immediately ran over to where everything was happening. “Shut up you bitch!!” said the man holding her as he was about to slap her, only for Spike to top his hand “Slapping a woman? Your mother should be ashamed,” said Spike as he shoved the guys hand back so forcefully it snapped. “ARGH!!! My arm… what do you think you are doing?” said the other one “That’s my line,” said Spike “She was asking for it, I mean, look at her, she’s only missing a sign that says “fuck me” said the man who tried to slap the girl “And you are only missing one more word to die,” said Spike as his 2 arms lit up, his left one with flames and his right one with lightning. “Ha!, I’m not afraid of you!!” said the guy with the injured arm as he’s arm was surrounded with rocks. “Yeah, you’re messing with one of the strongest Diamond Dog members ever… prepare to hurt,” said the other one As soon as he finished that sentence, Spike zapped the 2 of them so hard, their hair was burnt to a crisp. “That was disappointing,” said Spike He then turn to face the girl “Are you ok?” he asked “Yes, thank you… are they… you know?” asked the girl “I don’t think so, I had it on stun,” said Spike This remark caused the girl to laugh “Well, they do work… nice to meet you, my name is Ruby Crystal Blythe, but my friends call me Rarity, I’m the eldest daughter or Duke Harrison Blythe,” she said But Spike was once again awestruck, this girl was plain down gorgeous, she had long purple hair, her blue eyes resembling 2 dark blue diamonds and her body, it was meant for a supermodel, she wasn’t too skinny, having the perfect amount of fat in her body, her legs long and silky, and her boobs, although smaller than Fluttershy’s, were very well defined, she probably stood at 5’7” but because of her high heels it was hard to tell. “Nice to meet you, my name is Silvio Decker, my friends call me Spike, and I am the eldest son of Lord Bruce Decker of the Dragonlands,” said Spike “I know him, my father has done much business with him, it is so nice to finally meet someone of his family,” said Rarity “Likewise, are you here for the Academy?” asked Spike “Indeed, I was awarded a scholarship to the academy for my ability with water, earth, wind, and holy magic affinities,” said Rarity “Cool me too,” said Spike “Too what? Attending the academy or having those affinities?” asked Rarity “Oh, I got a scholarship, but it was for saving the royal family of the Crystal Empire,” said Spike “EXCUSE ME?!!!” said Rarity “Well, I wouldn’t say I got it, it was more like forced upon me… thanks in part to the fact that I can use all types of magic,” said Spike “That is outstanding… anyway, I must depart, see you tomorrow, Spike,” she said with a smile as she left “Did… did I say something to offend her?” said Spike “Wow, you are strong,” said a female voice behind Spike He turned to meet the owner of the voice face to face, she had long curly pink hair, was about 5’5” and despite the fact that she was jumping up and down, Spike could tell she had a very nice figure. “Hi, my name is Persia Diane Patterson, but you can call me Pinkie Pie,” she said “Uh, hi,” said Spike “Don’t worry, Spike, introductions aren’t required, I know much about you… well, I overheard the explanation… but I can tell, there is more to you, oh yes, you were born with less magic power than everyone, you were bullied and ostracized by everyone, then one day, you are granted great power and now you are here, looking for a reason to your powers,” she said “How did you...?” asked Spike “Know?... it’s one of my abilities “Discerning eye” it allows me to see the abilities and a quick backstory of whoever I use it on… anyway, I look forward to our time together here at the Academy, maybe we can even form a team… and be happy to help you find your purpose, see you later Spike,” she said as she skipped away “That was weird… discerning eye, right… maybe I can learn about it at the library,” said Spike as he ran to the library. A FEW HOURS LATER “Nothing… nothing… nothing… nothing… here it is… Discerning eye, an ability for Holy and Dark magic affinity, this spell allows you to take a look into anything, be it a person, an item, a plant, or a weapon, also known as “God’s eye” by holy casters or as “Satan’s knowledge” by dark casters, this spell is hard to complete, the magic requirements for it, added to the affinity, is to have a magic power of over 200… Well, let’s give this a shot,” thought Spike as he closed his eyes, concentrated and felt his retina bulge up and come back to normal after a few seconds. Spike opened his eyes and looked around. He rested his eyes on the 2 librarians and their stats came out. “Wilfred Weston, magic affinities Holy magic, age 34, in a relationship with Gina Blasie, magic points 250, librarian, army veteran… Gina Blasie, magic affinities, wind, age 28, in a relationship with Wilfred Wilson, magic points 130, librarian, in heat… chances of impregnation today 100%... well that was awfully specific, but it works,” thought Spike as he fixed all of the books and head to the hotel. THE NEXT DAY Spike walked up the steps to the Academy, his nerves highly on edge, mostly because of the stairs he was getting. “Time to use my new trick… Mina Shirayuki, magic affinity earth, age 15, blah, blah, Sexually attracted to caster… George Whitesides, blah blah… hostile jealousy towards caster do to raze, wow, that one I can’t believe,” thought Spike “I knew it… it is you,” said a female voice coming from behind Spike Spike turned and saw that the owner of the voice was also a familiar face “I found you,” she said as she walked up and hugged him “Nice to see you to Princess Silverstein,” said Spike At the mention of this, Twilight broke the hung and looked at him sternly “Don’t call me that, I can’t possibly allow you to treat me that way after you saved my life, just call me Twilight,” she said with a smile “Ok, sure… I’ll try it with her…” said Spike as he used discerning eye on Twilight “You’ve got to be kidding me…”
Ch. 5 Operation "Trail of tears"Author's Note Sorry, it took so long to upload the chapter, I was hit from different directions with work, studies and, the news that one of my childhood friends committed suicide. Please if you or someone you know is having those thoughts please call the suicide prevention hotline. I'll try to publish the next chapter over the weekend Ch. 5 Operation "Trail of tears" RING… RING… RING… “Hello?!” said Spike “Morning son, we were just calling to see if we can facetime you?” said Bruce over the phone “Sure, I’ll call you in a sec,” said Spike as he hung up the call and headed to his laptop. “There we are, how’s it going sport?” said Grace “Everything is great, I am now the captain of a special ops team,” said Spike “That’s wonderful!” said Grace “Care to share the deets?” said Bruce Spike then told his parents about all that had happened to him when he arrived at the Academy, including meeting the girls, his squadmates, and the entrance exam. “... and so we passed, but, we then discovered that we were required to live in the same house, and so… they are now my roommates as well,” said Spike “So… you mean to tell us… that…” his parents began “... you’re living in a house with 2 girls your age without supervision!” said Grace “...There are already 9 girls interested in you!... make sure to use protection, I don’t want to feel old just yet!” said Bruce over his wife’s comment. Unfortunately, Grace wasn’t amused by his comment and punched him so hard he flew to the wall to the right of the screen leaving an outline of his body as he fell back down to the floor. “Ignore his comments Spike… your dad tends to think with his dick sometimes, I’m sure the idea of being intimate with any of your friends has crossed your mind,” said Grace “Uf!, I thought you meant “to ignore” his comment on the condoms situation,” said Spike “You see! I’m not the only one!” said Bruce before his wife punched him through the same wall. “At least your son doesn’t think with his dick as much as you!” said Grace This comment caused Spike to laugh for a few seconds “Something wrong sport?” asked his mom “No… it’s just… it’s been a very weird month,” said Spike “How so?” asked Grace “Well, for starters, after we learned about the housing rules, the headmasters gave out more information…” Spike began ONE MONTH AGO “... and that is everyone, now for all of you guys who didn’t manage to get a team, as we said, you can back tomorrow for a retry, if you don’t you would be automatically assigned to the reserves,” said Celestia “Also, we know that money is an important matter, but don’t worry, academy credits also count as currency all over the world; how do you get more points? Well, you earn them here at school, attending class on time, participating, test results, Homeworks, all that gives you points,” said Luna “You also gain credits from successful missions, the higher your rank and the complexity of the mission determines the number of credits,” said Discord “And, for those of you in the reserves, you may head over to the guild and earn a few extra credits while training for the possibility of being added to a higher-ranked squad,” said Celestia “After that, Me, Lyra, and Bon Bon were awarded 2,000 credits or $2,000 each, the headmasters said that this amount of money would cover living expenses until we were cleared to go on our first official mission… which is bound to happen sometime this week,” said Spike “I sense there is more to this,” said Grace “Well, during the mission I had the feeling that my 2 squadmates have no survival skills, which I only confirmed a week later after applying more magic to my “Discerning eye” ability, and I have a feeling that is going to be an issue,” said Spike “Well, isn’t there a class of sorts for that?” asked Grace “Well… we have a survival class, but the teacher’s methods are… painful,” said Spike 2 WEEKS AGO “So, did anyone ever hear of Survival class?” asked Lyra “Nope,” said Bon Bon “Well, we were sent to this class to increase your survival skills,” said Spike “Do you think we are the only special ops team here?” asked Bon Bon “Possibly… Nope, there are another 3 teams,” said Spike as he pointed to Team Rainboom, consisting of Rainbow Dash, Sunset Shimmer, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack. “And look, there is Twilight, and here team “The Elements”, too bad they got stuck with intelligence,” said Lyra, as they all turned to look at Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity “Well, “Princess” there spent most of her time fixing her hair and makeup, meanwhile “Boobzila” spent most of her time hiding behind Twilight and being a pain in the ass,” said Bon Bon referring to Rarity and Fluttershy. “Alright, seat down!” came a male voice from the other side of the class. Spike and the girls made it over to the empty seats and sat down. Soon after, a man a few years older than Spike, Lyra, and BonBon wearing a black hoodie blue jeans with blue and green-tinted shades matching his hair over his eyes a scar above his left eye, and carrying two swords on his back before he walks over to a glowing circle. “I will be your instructor during this survival course, my name is Robert Shaugnessy, but you can call me Redsopine, or Mr. Redsopine, or just “Sir”, did I make myself clear?” he said The class mobled their responses “I asked… DID I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!!” he said as he used his light, fire, and dark magic together to scare the hell out of everyone. “YES SIR!!!” the class exclaimed “Good… now, my mission is to train all of you to gain the necessary skills to survive out on the field… I will not succeed… not with all of you… but hopefully some of you,” he said as he went over to a desk and began to remove his gear. “Spike, who is that?” asked Lyra “He’s bad news, Redsopine, also known as the “Demon Lord”, he’s basically an overlord like me, the only thing that makes me rank a bit higher is the fact that I can use all types of magic, while he can’t use Technomancy,” said Spike “Wow, he’s gonna teach us?!” said Bon Bon “Now, as you may know, many times while on the field you’re going to have to fight against enemies, if you didn’t, then I’m seriously wondering why you joined the academy… regardless… does anyone know what this is?” he asked as he walked over to a machine. “That’s a magic nullifier,” said Bon Bon “Correct, 10 credits for you Ms. Davis… as the name suggest, this machine is capable of nullifying magic, regardless of the level you possess, therefore the reason for this course,” said Redsopine Everyone looked at each other and you could tell, many people were nervous “I’m going to teach all 3 basic skills that will help you out on the field “Weaponry, Hand-to-hand combat, and of course, survival instincts, or first aid if you want to call it that way… let us begin with the last one, who hear can use holy magic?” asked Redsopine Immediately 5 people in the class lifted their hands “Ok… who can use dark magic?” he asked 6 people raised their hands, but one person, in particular, made him raise an eyebrow “Young man, did you understand the question?” he asked Spike “Yes sir!” Spike said “And what was the question?” said Redsopine “Who can use holy magic and dark magic, sir!” said Spike “And you raised your hand both times because?” asked Redsopine “I can use both magic types, sir!” said Spike “Really?... probe it,” said Redsopine as he ordered Spike into the circle as he stepped out Spike walked into the circle and immediately summoned holy magic on his right hand and dark magic on his left. “Well, I’ll be a son of a gun, you’re a diamond in the rough,” said Redsopine “Actually sir, he can use any type of magic,” said Lyra Redsopine turned to look at Lyra and then back at Spike “Is what Ms. Heartstring saying true?” he asked Spike nodded and demonstrated “WOW!” said Redsopine “We have another one…” he said as he looked at the rest of the people in the class “You are to not speak of this outside of class… without Spike’s or the headmasters’ permission, understood?!” he finished “YES SIR!!” the whole class said “Good… going back to class, today I will be demonstrating hand-to-hand combat,” said Redsopine “Do any of you know how to fight?” whispered Spike When his squadmates went silent, he decided to use “discerning eye” on the 2 of them “And- we’re fucked… Lyra can’t even give a proper high five, and Bon Bon has no weapon knowledge… not to mention… THEY NEVER WENT CAMPING!!!!!” Spike thought as he looked at the 2 girls. “Hey, “sir”, what if we already know how to fight?” came Rainbow Dash’s voice “I take it you know,” said Redsopine “Yup, been practicing various martial arts since I was little… so, I kinda don’t need to learn” said Rainbow Dash proudly “And how old are you?” asked Redsopine “15, I’ll be turning 16 on October 10,” Rainbow Dash “Oh, same day as me,” said Spike This caught everyone’s attention “Well ain’t that curious… Tell me young man, at what time were you born?” asked Redsopine “4: 30 AM, according to my mother,” said Spike “And you?” asked Redsopine “4:50 AM,” said Rainbow Dash “Huh, well that’s really interesting… anyway…” said Redsopine as he walked over to his desk Rainbow Dash’s eyes were actually locked with Spike’s, who just smiled and looked over to where Redsopine was. “We even share our birthday, can he be more perfect?!!!” thought Rainbow Dash with a dreamy face, unaware of the death glare she was receiving from Twilight. “Ms. Davis?... Ms. Davis?!... MS. DAVIS!!!!!” said Redsopine “Yes, sir?!!” she answered “Circle, please,” he pointed Rainbow Dash got up and headed to the circle “Alright then, show me your combat skills,” said Redsopine as he got in a battle stance “Sir?” said Rainbow Dash “If you are able to connect a punch, I will dismiss you from my class and give you a free period for the rest of the year… unless you’d like to become an assistant,” said Redsopine “Oh! It is on!” she said as she got into a battle stance “She’s dead,” said Spike “What?” both Lyra and Bon Bon said “This guy has a very high level of martial arts,” said Spike “3...2...1...GO!!” Rainbow Dash charged full speed towards Redsopine. In her mind, she was going so fast, she was going to be impossible to predict “This is going to be easy!” she said as she was about to punch Redsopine. But all of a sudden, he disappeared from before her. “What the?” she said as Redsopine appeared next to her, kicked her on the side and sent her flying through a wall. “That’s match; winner, Lt. Redsopine!” said the computer voice “Are you alive?” asked Redsopine Rainbow Dash lifted her right arm to show a thumbs up from the crater “Ok, someone please heal her,” said Redsopine as Twilight went over to use her Holy magic on her. “Now, can someone tell me what she did wrong?” asked Redsopine “Challenged you?” said Applejack “I’ll take it… but no,” said Redsopine “She decided to attack an opponent without knowing their skills, at the same time, she was overconfident and left herself wide open for a counter attack,” said Spike “Correct, 10 credits for you… and I take it you know you fighting,” said Redsopine “Well, I like MMA, Boxing, and sports like that,” said Spike “But, can you fight?” asked Redsopine “Well, I’m no Mcgregor but I’ll give it a shot,” said Spike as he removed his hoodie, allowing the girls to see his abs, since his shirt flew up with the hoodie. “Are you ready?” asked Redsopine “Ready as I’ll ever be,” said Spike “3...2...1...GO!” Redsopine charged at Spike, his hands crackle with electricity, bringing them together quickly he creates a large flash of light attempting to blind spike while he shifts his body to solid bedrock attempting to shoulder check him. Spike, stunned by the move, was unable to defend himself properly, as Redsopine connected with his body and sent him flying towards the edge of the circle, only for Spike to lunge at the ground and use his feet and hands to stop. “This is going to be interesting,” thought Redsopine as Spike recovered and made eye contact with Redsopine. The look he gave him made Redsopine sweat a little. “Ok, that’s the look of a murderer… mad respects kid,” he thought as he retook his fight stance. Seconds later, Spike lunged at Redsopine, using both Wind Magic and Light magic to blind Redsopine and create a weak point to connect. At first it seemed to work perfectly, and Spike was able to cause Redsopine to lift both hands to his face to block out the mock attacks, leaving his chest and stomach completely open. “Jackpot!!!” thought Spike as he lunged to make contact. He was about to make contact with his chest, when he felt his nervous system tingle, he quickly looked up and saw that Redsopine had his eyes glued on him. “Imposible,” he thought as he looked down and noticed Redsopine’s leg covered with electricity coming towards him. “Let’s see you duck this one!” thought Redsopine as his leg got closer to Spike’s head At the last second, Spike arched his back completely backwards, falling to the floor, but avoiding getting zapped by the attack. “Rule 1, make sure your whole body is a weapon,” said Redsopine as he summoned fire magic towards his other leg, and lunged at Spike while he was still on the floor. “Rule 2, never stay down for too long,” he said as he began stumping and kicking in Spike’s direction. Spike, skillfully avoided the attacks, as he summoned the same magical elements to his own legs and did something no one saw coming. He began to counterstrike Redsopine’s moves while doing a breakdance windmill connecting and counter striking at the same time as him, until he quickly got in a hand stance position and began to attack Redsopine’s head causing him to retreat. “Hehe, not bad kid, you're smart on your feet I was not expecting you to pull that out, let's see you handle this.” Redsopine slams a fist into the ground raising large spikes of both earth and ice towards Spike before using the shadows created to appear behind him and swinging his flaming right knuckles towards him attempting to send him flying. It seemed like it was all over, but just before Redsopine’s fists made contact with Spike, he disappeared into thin air. “WHAT?!!!” said Redsopine as he looked around and around for Spike, not being able to find him anywhere, that is, until he looked up. The sight was surely something to behold. Spike had copied the same move that Redsopine did, allowing him to jump into the air and summon his wings, which added to the light coming from the reflectors, made him look like a God-like creature. “Wait, he can use “Shadow Run'' just by looking at it for the first time?... not to mention, he is a Dragonborn, these guys don’t know when to give up,” thought Redsopine as he and Spike locked eyes. At that second, Spike did something that no one had ever seen. He summoned his magic, fire and lightning on his right hand, holy and dark magic on his left hand and wind on both legs to give him an extra boost. “What is he doing?” thought Redsopine as he slowly realized what Spike was doing “Oh no” he said as Spike lunged towards him. “I’ve got to get out of the way,” he thought, but he couldn’t move. Redsopine looked down and realized that Spike had used Earth magic to sink his feet into the floor trapping him. Redsopine looked up just as Spike connected his attack with his body, creating a massive BOOM and dust cloud as he did. After the dust settled, everyone was able to see a crater in the circle and a tired Spike standing at one end of it. “Did he… did he kill the instructor?” someone asked. “Ok, now that hurt like a lot kid,” said Redsopine keeling and coughing up blood at the otherside of the crater “But I’m glad to see you’re not holding back in the sim... what’s that look on your face? oh, you're wondering why I wasn’t obliterated right?” Redsopine says as large cracking sounds are heard coming from him as he stands back up his arm bending back into shape as he wipes blood from his mouth. “You did good kid, you passed with flying colors! Though let me know if you want some flight combat otherwise I will let you know when a field op comes up and you can use that “Discerning eye” on me now, to see what you were up against fully,” said Redsopine. “How did he know?” thought Spike as he did “THE FUCK!!!!... Robert Shaugnessy, age: 26, Magic affinities, Earth, wind, fire, light, holy, dark, water, lightning Magic, Magic points: 20,000, relationship with caster… good… Redsopine, as known in the professional world, is considered to be the toughest overlord ever, with all of his magic affinities over the level of 100; His abilities were discovered and toned since he was a little kid, by the edge of 18 he was already considered to be even more powerful than Princess Celestia… Notice, for no reason should you try to get on his bad side, he isn’t the forgiving type. Abilities/Skills: Discerning eye, Shadow Run, Eagle flight, Heal, Holy Editor, Respawn (Limited), Rage, Hephaestus blessing, Rocky’s Punch, Survivor, Blinding Light, Telepathy, Zeus’ Lightning… THIS DUDE COULD’VE KILLED WITH HIS EYES CLOSED!!!!!” said Spike as he looked at Redsopine “Yup… now you know… but, you had me against the ropes there many times, so… I’ll give you these 10,000 credits, plus, I would like to make you an after school instructor for our hand-to-hand combat program, is that ok?” asked Redsopine “Yes, sir!” said Spike “Good, now… someone give him his hoodie, before I have to give him a summons for indecent exposure on school grounds,” said Redsopine as he walked over to his desk This comment made Spike look down in confusion, only to turn bright red when realizing that he had completely obliterated his shirt when he summoned his wings. Bon Bon quickly ran into the circle to give Spike his hoodie, while trying to hide her bright red face. “Thanks,” whispered Spike as he put the hoodie on “Don’t mention it,” she said as she and Spike walked back to the bleachers. Every female eye on the class was now on Spike, which made him feel really uncomfortable, luckily for him, Lyra and Bon Bon picked up on this and glared back at the other girls making them look the other way. “I stand corrected, he CAN get even better!” said Rainbow Dash, not realizing that she was slovering a bit, until Applejack pointed it out. “Dash, get your eyes back in their sockets, and close your mouth, it’s so wide you could swallow a fly,” she said Rainbow Dash immediately reacted but turned red when she thought about the swallowing part. Twilight, however, was in full “Kill” mode, to the point that a scary dark purple aura was surrounding her. “Well, next we’ll be training on…” came Redsopine’s voice “But, you’re doing great, right?” asked Grace “For now, I mean, we’ve all improved our skills, but I don’t feel like it’s enough…” said Spike “Yeah, well, if I were you I’d wait until you go on a mission to get real experience,” said Bruce “Yeah, you’re right… by the way, where is Barbs?” asked Spike “School field trip, but don’t worry, we’ll tell her you called and asked about her,” said Grace “Right, thanks...Somehow I think that’s a bad idea,” thought Spike BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ! “Oh, Got to go, that’s the sign of my Lunch break finishing,” said Spike “Oh, alright then son, have fun!!” said Grace “And don’t forget to use protection!” said Bruce The second he said that, Grace turned to look at him with such murder in her eyes, even Spike flinched with the slap she gave her. “Ok-” said Spike as he closed his laptop and got off the desk “I can’t believe my mom was a peace keeping agent in her youth… with that temper… in her defense, my dad’s an idiot so,” Thought Spike as he left the house he was sharing with Bon Bon and Lyra A FEW MINUTES LATER “... yet, we still don’t have a squad name,” said Lyra “Do you have any suggestions?” asked Bon Bon “What about… Punks?!!” said Lyra “And there goes your chance,” said Bon Bon “Hey girls, what’s going on?” asked Spike as he walked up to them “Nothing much, just think about baby names, SQUAD NAMES!!! SQUAD NAMES!!!” said Bon Bon “Any good ones?” asked Spike “No,” said Lyra “Oh, well, just let it happen,” said Spike “Ah!, Mr. Decker, I was looking for you,” said Redsopine as he walked up to the group “Mr. Redsopine, what can I do for you?” said Spike “Well… can I talk with you for a minute in private?” asked Redsopine “Sure,” said Spike as he followed Redsopine Spike followed Redsopine towards his classroom “Did I do something wrong?” asked Spike “No… I just wanted to give you this,” said Redsopine as he gave Spike a notebook “What’s this?” asked Spike “That notebook contains simplified information on every known magical ability someone can possess… you can say it’s somewhat of a cheat book,” said Redsopine “Isn’t that illegal?” asked Spike “Not really, basically it’s the same as studying magic skills and abilities for hours at the library… which I did,” said Redsopine “Wow… why are you giving it to me?” asked Spike “Well, after the fight… I thought you could use it more than me… and I needed the space in my desk… now, I am intrusting it to you, be very careful with whom you share the knowledge of this book with; wars can begin only to gain access to one paragraph of it,” said Redsopine “Really? It’s that important,” said Spike “With the knowledge in this notebook, even a person with less than 100 magic points, can become invincible… imagine what would happen if it falls in the wrong hands,” said Redsopine. “I will guard it with my life,” said Spike as he placed it inside his backpack “Good… I wanted to ask you something,” said Redsopine “Ok,” said Spike “Some days ago, I had a conversation with Discord regarding the fight, I told him that I was amazed by your talent, but then he told me that you had brought someone back to life… is that true?” asked Redsopine “Well, yes, I combined Holy and Dark magic to do so,” said Spike “Ahuh, Well, the spell is not exactly new, but it hasn’t been seen for 200 years,” said Redsopine “Really?” asked Spike “Yeah, it’s called “Rebirth”, it’s a really rare spell, so far there are record of only 5 people, including you, who were able to cast it,” said Redsopine “Really!!! That sounds awesome!” said Spike “Yeah… but it’s not all good news,” said Redsopine “Why?” asked Spike “Boris Renfrew… Amelia Von Schelfer… Jules Mbawala… Theodore Shaugnessy, what did they all have in common, apart from the fact that they could use ‘Rebirth”?'' asked Redsopine “I… I don’t know,” said Spike “None of them lived past the age of 30,” said Redsopine “Really?” asked Spike “Yes… Theodore Shaugnessy, is my ancestor… he died moments after he used “Rebirth” on his wife and sons after there was a fire in their mansion… one of them, becoming my great-great-great grandfather,” said Redsopine “Wow… sorry to hear that,” said Spike “Don’t be… the cycle of life must go on… the reason I’m telling you this is for you to be careful with your powers… all of the people I mentioned, died due to the “Overlord curse”,” said Redsopine. “I never heard about that… how does it work?” asked Spike “Well… you see…” said Redsopine 5 MINUTES LATER “Thanks for the notebook!” said Spike “Don’t mention it kid,” said Redsopine as Spike walked off to his class “So, what do you think?” asked Discord as he walked up behind him “He has talent, but… there is an emptiness within him, that’s something he has to fix himself,” said Redsopine “Well, look at us, we were just like him at his age, and now, we have our own families, maybe he just needs to create one of his own,” said Discord Redsopine looked at Discord and said “Now I know why Celestia is the head of the family,” “There goes my ego… oh, well… how long do you think I have to wait?” asked Discord “About... until the end of the school day,” said Redsopine “On a Friday?... well, back to the office for me,” said Discord END OF THE SCHOOL DAY “Man! That last class was so boring!” said Lyra as she stretched “Yeah, even I fell asleep… What about you Spike?... Spike?!” said Bon Bon as they both saw Spike walked past them, his head glued to the notebook. “SPIKE, CAREFUL WITH THE…!!!” Lyra screamed BONK!!! “OUCH! SON OF A BITCH!!” said Spike as he held his head “... Column,” finished Lyra as both she and Bon Bon went over to Spike “You really have to watch where you’re going,” said Bon Bon “Sorry,” said Spike “Yeah, we can tell,” said Lyra “By the way, what’s with the notebook?” asked Bon Bon “Yeah!, you’ve had your eyes glued to it since your talk with Redsopine,” said Lyra Spike looked around, placed the notebook in his backpack, grabbed Lyra and Bon Bon’s wrists and pulled them to an empty, nearby classroom. Once inside, Spike quickly went over to the windows, made sure no one was watching and pulled the curtains down, then went over to the doors, and made sure no one was following them, and locked them. “What’s up with him?” Whispered Bon Bon as she turned to face Lyra who was unbuttoning her shirt “And what are you doing?!” “What do you think is about to happen?” Lyra said as she made a gesture with her hand Bon Bon’s face became red, but unconsciously began to unbutton her shirt. “Ok, we’re clear… and why are you getting undressed?” asked Spike as he came back to them. Both girls looked at each other and then back at Spike “It’s warm,” said Lyra and Bon Bon nodded her head, as they both buttoned up their shirts to the point they only exposed their chests. “That makes sense… Anyway, this notebook belonged to Redsopine, it has information on how to acquire non magical abilities faster,” said Spike as he placed the book on the desk before him. “Really?!” they both said “Yup, and I’ve been reading this notebook this whole time, trying to find the best abilities for us,” said Spike “Did it work?” asked Lyra “I found a few, but, I can’t cast them because I don’t possess the power to do so,” said Spike “Well, that’s a waste of time,” said Bon Bon as Lyra grabbed the notebook and began to read through it After a few seconds, ad page flipping, Lyra said “Spike, what is the name of the ability you need?” “It’s not about abilities, I need a particular amount of power to…” said Spike “There is an ability here called “Holy Editor” and it doesn’t say anything about power needed,” said Lyra as she passed the notebook back to Spike Spike read the paper and looked at the 2 girls “This might work,” said Spike as he went silent, closed his eyes, and a white aura surrounded him. A few seconds later Spike opened his eyes and looked at the girls “Did it work?” asked Lyra “Seems like it…” said Spike as he grabbed his cellphone and used his selfie cam to use “discerning eye” on himself “Yup, it worked,” he said “AWESOME!!!!” they all screamed “Ok, I should start giving you girls abilities… so, read through the book and point out the ones you want,” said Spike After a 2 and a half hours, Spike and the girls had acquired various skills, which they believed to be very useful “Heal, Eagle’s eye, hephaestus blessing, Respawn (Limited), Rage, Survivor, witch doctor, Telepathy, Chameleon, Gladiator, Brawler, polyglot (level 1) and Bulls eye for Lyra… Heal, Respawn (Limited), Survivor, Shadow Run, Chameleon, Spartan, Rage, Telepathy, Hephaestus blessing, Brawler, Master engineering, and Polyglot (level 1) for Bon Bon... and I will take Redsopine’s ability recommendation … Discerning eye, Shadow Run, Eagle flight, Heal, Holy Editor, Respawn (Limited), Rage, Hephaestus blessing, Rocky’s Punch, Survivor, Blinding Light, Teleportation, Telepathy, Zeus’ Lightning, Rebirth (Limited) plus Holy Medic, Polyglot (level 1) Agriculture, Paladin, Magic points restorer, just in case, and Techno Wizard… that should be enough,” said Spike “I feel… different, like… lighter,” said Lyra “I feel stronger… maybe the abilities are messing with our bodies,” said Bon Bon “Why don’t we head over to the magic range, we can test our abilities there,” said Spike “That works, let’s go,” said Lyra They were about to leave the classroom when their Com-links went off “Attention, please report to the headmaster’s office, ASAP!” said the robotic voice They looked at each other and ran out towards the location. A FEW MINUTES LATER “Slivio Decker…” “...Samantha Davis…” “... Laura Heartstring…” “Reporting!” they all said as they arrived at the office only to see Discord holding a stopwatch “Not a second too early, well done kids,” he said “Sir?!” said Spike “Follow me,” said Discord as he guided them towards a big door “You still think that “Hermes’ spirit” is a waste of magic points?” whispered Lyra “Fine,” said Spike as he quickly gave them all the ability, as they followed Discord “Welcome to the Royal Central Command,” said Discord as he opened the door to the massive office. Spike and the girls looked around and saw the massive amounts of computers, TV screens and intelligence agents planning missions. “Nice to see you finally made it,” said Celestia As Spike and the girls turned to see a massive holographic map of an unknown region as it disappeared. “Come on over,” said Celestia The three of them did as they were told and walked towards the table "Princess Celestia, what are we doing here?" Asked Bon Bon "You'll be breached about it in a second," said Celestia as the doors opened and 2 men walked into the room and headed for the same table. "Guys, meet Antoine Anderson and Knoxilathrin Martyr, leader and vice leader of the "Reapers" Special ops squad "Yo!" Said Knox "Nice to Make your acquaintance, " said Antoine "Nice to meet you," they all said "So, they're the squad joining the mission?" Asked Knox "Yup, meet Silvio "Spike" Decker, Samantha "Bon Bon" Davis, and Laura "Lyra" Heartstring, and they are… actually, you never gave us your squad name, " Said Luna At the mention of that they Spike and Co. Went pail "Gives us a second" said Spike as they formed a team huddle "We are officially fucked," whispered Bon Bon "What about, Metal Gear?" Asked Lyra "Pretty sure that already exists," said Spike "Murder Scales," said Bon Bon "Sounds like a crime syndicate," said Spike "Argh!, why could that notebook give us a naming ability," said Bon Bon "Well, it did change us, almost like if we were born again," said Lyra That sentence gave Spike an idea "I have a name, but I don't know if you'll like it," said Spike "Just say it to put all this behind us," said Bon Bon as they broke the huddle "So, I take it you have a name?" Asked Luna "Yes… Phoenix Squadron" said Spike "Excellent name," said Celestia "Indeed… well, call me Grim," said Antoine "And you can call me Knox" said Knoxilathrin "Right… So what is this mission you mentioned? Asked Spike "Well, does any of you know uzmareistan?" Asked Celestia Country in the eastern continent," said Lyra "Basically desert land," said Bon Bon "And it's been involved in a civil war for almost 10 years, but peace talks have already begun," said Spike "Correct… well, you guys will be joining Reaper squad and Ghost team 2," said Discord "Your mission: Since the war started people have gone missing, but their disappearances are all accounted for… but recently, more and more people have gone missing, without much as a clue why, and they are all disappearing from rural villages," said Celestia "That sounds serious… any ideas?" Asked Lyra "No, but we suspect foul, plus, both freedom fighters and military are pointing the finger at each other, with no one claiming responsibility," said Celestia "Your mission is to discover what is happening down there, and if possible stop it," said Luna "You will be sent to sector #665, also known as the, now abandoned, village of Marega, near lake Sudocoltchye," said Discord "What about our intelligence partnership?" Asked Spike "It'll be us, until you find a free team to join you, now, head over to the armory and suit up, you are to be deployed in 2 hours," said Discord 10 HOURS LATER "Phoenix leader, come in, over," said Discord over the com-link "This is Phoenix leader, we are currently 3 minutes away from the target, we have it on our sights," said Spike "Copy, please be advised, there has been reports of a heavy sand storm approaching," said Celestia "Copy, We'll do this a quick as possible, stand by for update," said Spike "10-4 over," said Luna as the radio went dead. Spike and the girls walked for a few more meters until they reached a small rock formation and hide behind it "Lyra, do you see something?" Asked Spike Lyra, immediately rested her new Barrett M82 on a rock and eyed the village "Negative, land's still," she said "And you Bon Bon?" Asked Spike Bon Bon quickly got up and used her Thermal binoculars to scout the surrounding area “All is still, no signs of life,” said Bon Bon “Right… the 2 of you wait here, I’ll get near to the city, only then, we will rundezvous at the front gate, copy?” asked Spike “Copy,” they both said as Spike grabbed his M-16 riffle and marched cautiously towards the village. After a few seconds, Spike reached the entrance and used “Discerning eye” on the nearby houses “It’s clear, regroup!” Spike said through telepathy “Copy!!” both Bon and Lyra said as they rushed to regroup with Spike “Central, be advised, we have reached the target, phase 2 commences,” said Spike “Roger that, Phoenix leader,” said Discord “Ok, Lyra, you head, east, Bon Bon, west, and I’ll head north, if you find something, make sure to let each other know, if you get in trouble, prepare for a shadow run, ok, go!” said Spike as they split up. 3 HOURS LATER “Did you find anything?” asked Lyra “No, place has been abandoned for a while now, and you can tell that thieves have been here, many houses have been ransacked,” said Bon Bon “What about you Spike? Find anything?” asked Lyra “Yeah, head to the north gate,” said Spike Bon Bon and Lyra then used “Hermes spirit” to get to Spike’s location faster. “What did you find? Asked Lyra “A torture chamber,” said Spike Lyra and Bon Bon turned pale when they heard that “And by the looks of it, it was used recently,” said Spike as he guided the girls inside The basement of that house was filled to the brim with torture devises, weapons, and small blood spaters. “Are you sure this is a torture chamber?” asked Lyra “Well… unless a bunch of people come all the way here to have a BDSM orgy, then yes, yes I do,” said Spike “This is sick,” said Bon Bon as she saw various devices “This blood splatter is recent, a few days old,” said Spike pointing to a particular part of the ground “Ok, let’s see if we can find something around here,” said Lyra MINUTES LATER “I found something,” said Bon Bon “What is it?” asked Spike “Tire tracks, belonging to different types of military personnel transports, 3 days old by the looks of it,” said Bon Bon “That’s a technomancer for you, well done, Bon Bon,” said Spike “Oh, ah, th-thanks, Spike,” said Bon Bon with a stutter “Central, be advised, we discovered a few things,” said Spike “Copy that, Phoenix leader,” said Discord Spike then explained everything they had discovered for Discord to inform them of the situation of the area. “So, we should head north, towards the hills?” asked Spike “It’s the safest bet to catch whoever is involved in all this, over,” said Discord “Understood central, Phoenix leader out,” said Spike “So, what now?” asked Lyra “See those mountains?” said Spike “Yes,” said Lyra “We’ll be camping there,” said Spike “FOr how long?” asked Bon Bon “Until we discover who is coming here,” said Spike “But, we only have a one tent,” said Bon Bon “It’s big enough for 3 people, plus, we’ll be taking turns on watch,” said Spike This comment made both girls faces’ red, just think about sharing a tent with Spike “Well, come on, don’t get caught in the open,” said Spike 2 DAYS LATER, AROUND 9:00 PM “Nothing yet?” asked Bon Bon “Nothing, it’s been way to quiet,” said Spike “You think, they know we are onto them?” asked Bon Bon “No, I think… We’ve got movement, wake Lyra up,” said Spike as he locked on something coming towards them. “What’s the status?” asked Lyra as she came up with her sniper rifle “5 military trucks and 2 prison looking buses,” said Spike “Let me see,” said Lyra as she laid down next to Spike “Confirmed, the 5 military trucks are transporting armed enemies,” said Lyra “What about the buses?” asked Bon Bon “One is transporting… correction, both are transporting civilians,” said Lyra “Maybe they are friendlies,” said Bon Bon “No… the flag on the side of the trucks is not of this land… it belongs to Turkmareistan… as for the buses… they have an unidentifiable flag on them,” said Spike “Should we engage?” asked Lyra “Central, be advised, we have an armed convoy headed for the village,” said Spike “That’s odd, neither the army or resistance head to that area,” said Discord “We believe it’s slave traders,” said Spike “WHAT?!!!” said Celestia “Requesting permission to engage,” said Spike “Granted, but leave some of them alive, we need to find out what is going on,” said Celestia “Copy that,” said Spike “Ok, shot to kill… silencers on… don’t hit civilians, and most importantly… take prisoners,” said Spike “Copy,” Both Lyra and Bon Bon said. Lyra got into position, as Spike and Bon Bon used “Shadow Run” to get near the now parked convoy as the armed men and women, got off the vehicles “hä! kimdir biri şu ýerde !! " said one of them (Huh! Someone was here!!”) “gözler açyk, olar henizem şu ýerde bolmagy mümkin!” said another (eyes open, they might still be around here!) At that same instant, Lyra fired her first shot, hitting one of the guards on the head, allowing Spike to drag him out of sight. Spike, Lyra and Bon Bon, slowly and quietly took out most of the enemies in the area, unfortunately, Spike and Bon Bon had gotten so into it, they forgot to check their 6’s “Göçme, ýogsam kelläň,” said one of them as he pressed the barrel of the gun on the back of Spike’s head (Don’t move, or it’s your head) He was about to pull the trigger, when a bullet flew straight through his head, giving Spike time to stand up, shot the man taking Bon Bon hostage and catching the corpse before it hit the ground. “Good shot, saved my life, thnks Lyra,” said Spike as he threw the corpse into an abandoned house “Don’t mention it hot stuff, anything for you,” she said “Guys, please keep the pillow talk for home,” said Bon Bon in an annoyed tone “Sorry… wait, are you jealous, Bon Bon?!” asked Lyra “N-n-no, I’m not jealous, I just don’t want that to happen again!!!” Bon Bon said “We have a civilian car, inbound,” said Spike And with that, Spike and Bon Bon hide inside abandoned houses and looked on “Maiṁ tuhānū dasadā hāṁ, mainū nahīṁ patā ki'uṁ sānū isa la'ī ithē ā'uṇā pa'ēgā!” said an old, well dressed man ( I tell you, I don’t know why we have to come all the way out here for this) “Srī ānada, yūsafa nē isa nū isa tarīkē nāla surakhi'ata kihā,” said the man’s bodyguard as they entered the building (Mr. Anand, Yusuf said it was safer this way) “Get ready to arrest them!” said Spike as Lyra used Shadow Run to appear next to Spike and Bon Bon at the entrance of the house. A few seconds later, the remaining 5 men stepped out of the house, and went pale when they saw the three special ops standing before them, rifles pointed at them. “The next one to be even flinch gets a bullet through the brain,” said Spike “Drop your weapons!” ordered Bon Bon 4 of the 5 men followed the orders immediately, but one of the slavers wanted to go out fighting. Unfortunately for him, Lyra could tell, and blew his brains out the second he began lifting his gun. “We warned you,” she said as she pointed the rifle at the remaining men. “Anyone else want to try his luck?” said Spike in a terrifying voice 10 MINUTES LATER “How many are there in total?” asked Lyra “86, including women and children,” said Bon Bon “I’m not going to ask again, what were you going to do with them?” asked Spike “Bize bagtly, ol biziň dilimizi bilmeýär,” said the leader of the slavers (Luckily for us he doesn’t speak our language) “Phoenix leader, this Reaper leader, letting you know we are nearby, ETA 2 minutes, over,” said Grim “Copy that, he is Knox there?” asked Spike “Yup,” Knox answered “Dude, we have 2 people here apparently are speaking Heighdian, they are the slave buyers,” said Spike “Leave them to me,” said Knox A FEW HOURS LATER “... and that’s the last of them,” said Lyra as she help the final slave into the chopper “Get them there safely, they’ve been through enough already,” said Bon Bon “Got it,” said the pilot as he took of “Job well done girls,” said Spike “Indeed it was, these guys sang like birds… told us everything,” said Grim as he walked up to the group “Turns out, they were going to sell this slaves to royal families all over the continent, and that there are more camps in the area,” said Knox “So, what next?” asked Spike “Phoenix squad, we have an update for you,” said Discord “Come in central,” said Spike “Pack your gear, you’re needed elsewhere,” said Celestia “And it’s urgent,” said Luna Spike and the girls just looked at each other
Ch. 6 Operation "Trail of Tears" 2“24 hours ago, 2 teams, special ops, and an intelligence team were deployed to the Marezata area, and 23 hours ago, they went dark, we know nothing of them, if they are ok, alive, at the objective, lost… nothing,” said Celestia “And you want us to go look for it?” asked Spike “Not exactly,” said Discord “Then, What seems to be the issue?” asked Spike “About 1 hour ago, we were able to make contact with the squads, and one of the leaders sent us this report…” said Celestia “...Reporting back… equipment was damaged by the fall, but we have it back online, contact was made with a village southeast of the drop zone, things have gone downhill from there… are incapable of working as a team… has disregarded the mission since minute one… we have barely escaped the troops of rebels attacking us and are currently in hiding in the mountain range to the south of our last position… hate saying this, but, we need reinforcements,” said the female voice the 3 of them knew too well “I suppose you know what we’re going to ask of you, right?” asked Discord “Head to their current location and reinforce them, as well as saving their lives?” asked Bon Bon “Precisely,” said Luna “What was their mission?” asked Lyra “To continue the search started by Reaper squad,” said Discord “What do you mean?” asked Spike “Before you guys called us telling us about the caravan, we had infiltrated a compound 20 clicks Northeast of here, inside we discovered documents referring to a person called “Gallteeth” who appears to be the leader of this operation,” said Grim “In that same file, we also were able to learn the existence of a place known as “Rajgura” we were about to head to the general location they disappeared but…” Knox said “Wifey here “accidentally” alerted the enemies in the place and we entered into a gruesome battle, from which we almost didn’t escape,” said another member of the team known as “Cryptid” “How was I supposed to know that they were cleaning the vents?! And if my memory doesn’t fail me, you were the one who forgot to use the silencer!” said “Crow” “Leo! Erica! It’s not the time for this… anyway… our mission changed once we received your call and came here,” said Grim “Why?” asked Lyra “While talking with the survivors, and that fool, we discovered the location of various prison camps which contain more than 100,000 thousand POWs and civilians, not only from this area but from the surrounding countries and territories,” said Knox “The closest one is 10 clicks North of this location… I presume they were headed there when you guys ambushed them,” said another member known as “Pesta” “Well, we better head out, the Wonderbolts will be arriving in 1 minute to transport the refugees to a safe place,” said Grim “Copy that, keep us posted regarding this matter,” said Celestia “We, will… ALRIGHT GUYS, LET’S GHOST!!!” Grim said as they all got on their bikes and left the area. “As for you, you better get moving, the last known location is 100 Km away from your current one,” said Luna “Yes, Ma’am, we just need transport to get us…” began Spike “Actually… due to the report we received, we don’t believe it’s wise to let any vehicles enter the area around them, it may cause suspicion and make matters worse,” said Celestia “So… you want us to walk all the way there?” asked Bon Bon “Yes,” said Discord plainly “Sir, with all due respect, it would take us a full day to get there, by that point they might not be alive,” said Spike “Then I suggest you start walking,” said Discord Spike wanted to say something, but just said “Yes, Sir, Phoenix squad out,” “Don’t worry, we’ll give you guys a hearty bonus for this,” said Celestia as the radio signal went dark. The Phoenix squad looked at their GPS, then at each other, and sighed, as they began walking towards their objective. 23 HOURS LATER “... Are we there yet?” asked Lyra “No,” said Spike “Are we there yet?” asked Lyra again “No,” answered Spike again “Are we there yet?” asked Lyra once more “Dammit woman, I said No… You’re just trying to annoy me, are you?” said Spike “Busted,” said Lyra with a smile “I’ve got to say it worked, I wanted to slap you,” said Spike He turned to see Lyra, and see that her face was red “I probably shouldn’t have said that, sorry” he quickly corrected “It’s ok, I was being an ass anyway… Although I wouldn’t mind a few salps on my butt,” she whispered “What was that?!” asked Spike “NOTHING!!!” Lyra screamed as Bon Bon covered her mouth “It sounds like a car of sorts,” said Bon Bon “It came from that direction, come on,” said Spike “Please try to keep your pants on!” whispered Bon Bon as she let go of Lyra “Why? you jealous?” she whispered back “Ah-n-n-n-no, I’m not jealous,” said Bon Bon “But you like him too, don’t you?” said Lyra as they got near Spike “Can we just leave this conversation for when we get back?” asked Bon Bon “No promises,” said Lyra as they laid down next to Spike “What do you see?” asked Bon Bon “Nothing good… look,” said Spike Lyra and Bon Bon crept their head from behind the dune and saw a small army of at least 100 armed rebels creating a perimeter around the nearby wooded area. “See those trees?” asked Spike “Yeah?” said Lyra “According to the GPS, the 2 teams entered it, and are now hidden near the top of the mountain,” said Spike “Ok, but, how are we going to get through all… that?” asked Bon Bon Spike looked at them and showed them his M-16 rifle, as he put the silencer on. Lyra and Bon Bon took a second to understand what he meant, but when they finally did, they smiled back “It’s hunting time,” said Spike “Before we go… are you ok with killing the rebels, while the peace talks are going through?” asked Lyra “Those aren’t rebels,” said Spike “Then… what are they?” asked Bon Bon “Nomads?” asked Lyra “No… Amarebajan mafia sicarios,” said Spike “How can you tell?” asked Lyra “I’m no expert… but these guys aren’t even trying to talk the local language, not even a tribal one,” said Spike “Amarebajanis? What are they doing here?” asked Bon Bon “Trying to keep their business afloat,” said Spike “Business?” asked Lyra “These guys make millions by doing various crimes, including human trafficking, and now, with this country’s current civil war, it’s their golden ticket, but with the peace talks, their quota is going to decrease drastically, so…” Spike began “So, they took it upon themselves to kidnap POWs and civilians to make ends meet,” said both Lyra and Bon Bon said “Oh, I’m going to leave their bodies like swiss cheese!” said Lyra as she finished loading her Sniper rifle “Ok, here is the plan… there is almost no cover since we are out in the open, so, see those personnel carriers?” said Spike “Yeah,” they both said “We’ll use that as cover, quietly now, take them all out without them noticing us… ready?” asked Spike They both nodded “Go!” Spike said as he got up, and shot the sniper positioned atop of a tree, causing him to fall to the ground, his broken body hidden behind some bushes One by one, Spike, Lyra, and Bon Bon eliminated all of the sicarios until the sand was painted red with their blood. “I got 34,” said Lyra “35,” said Bon Bon “40, I win,” said Spike “Only because you used your magic,” said Lyra “And my 9mm,” said Spike as he holstered it “You were right Spike,” said Bon Bon “About what?” asked Spike “These guys aren’t from around here, look,” said Bon Bon as she tossed Spike one of the corpses’ ID card “Hypothesis confirmed… and it seems we aren’t the only ones with initiative,” said Spike “What do you mean?” asked Bon Bon as she walked up to him “Tracks, heading up the mountain,” said Spike “2 actually… these ones are definitely new, maybe 10 minutes before we arrived… as for the other ones… the shoe size is smaller, definitely female, but they seem old, maybe 2 days old,” said Lyra “That’s them, great job Lyra!, come on let's go before it’s too late,” said Spike This caused Lyra to turn red and squeal “Hmph, I could’ve done that too… But, I’ll let her have this one, I mean, when it comes to combat, I’m Spike’s partner… WAIT DID I JUST SAY, PARTNER?!... Partner?... hehe, partner… I can already hear wedding bells,” thought Bon Bon as her face turned into a grin. “Bonny, you’re drooling… again,” said Lyra This comment made Bon Bon turn red and cover her face. “COME ON YOU 2, WE DON’T HAVE TIME!!” said Spike as he began walking up the trail A FEW SECONDS LATER “Do you hear anything?” asked Spike “No, nothing at all,” said Bon Bon “That’s not good, is it?” asked Lyra “Did you already forget the entrance exam?” asked Bon Bon “Impossible, I could never forget that,” said Lyra giving Bon Bon a glare “Let me use my thermal vision, maybe it can tell us what’s going on,” said Spike Anything?” asked Lyra “Yeah, there are 5 life forms 10 feet that way, and they are surrounding another 2,” said Spike We’ve got to move,” said Bon Bon “Yeah, come on… take them out, quietly,” said Spike as they positioned themselves behind some trees directly behind the hostage-takers “Göy qurşağı qız hara getdi? " said one of them (Where did the rainbow girl go?") “Bilmirəm ... amma bu qızlara bax, lənət kimi seksualdırlar! Onları özümüzlə aparıb əylənə bilmərikmi? Said the other one (Don't know... but, look at these girls, they are sexy as fuck! Can't we just take them with us and have some fun?) “Doğru bilirəm və onlarla işimiz bitdikdən sonra onları qəpik-quruşa sata bilərik, boss nə deyir?” said the first one (I know right, and after we are done with them, we can sell them for a pretty penny, whatcha say boss?") “Əyləncəli səslənir ... amma GallTeeth-in bunu istəməyini düşünmürəm,” said the leader of the group (Sounds fun... but, I don't think GallTeeth would like that) “GallTeeth? o axmaq yalnız birisindən qazana biləcəyi pulun qayğısına qalır, bu qızları içəri götürdüyümüz zaman hərarətli bir it kimi hər yerdə olacağına inanıram,” said another one (GallTeeth? that fool only cares about the money he can make out of someone, I bet that when we take these girls in, he will be all over them like a dog in heat) “Bu belə ola bilər amma ... ARGH !!!” said the leader of the team as a bullet flew right through his head (That may be the case but... ARGH!!!) “lanet nədir?” said another one as a bullet flew through his neck ( What the fuck) “hücum altındayıq!” said another one as the remaining three got into a defensive position “ARGH!” they all screamed as 3 bullets hit them, one on the head, another in the chest, and the last one on his throat. After the last one fell to the ground dead, Spike and the girls came out of hiding and hurried over to their comrades. “Are the 2 of you ok?” asked Lyra as she untied Sunset Shimmer “Yeah… but when I see Rainbow Dash, I’m going to kill her!” said Sunset as she got up. “Get in line, Sunset, ah’m gonna bash her head in!” said Applejack as she was held up by Bon Bon “Glad to see you 2 are ok,” said Spike When the 2 of them heard Spike’s voice, they jumped in surprise and turned to look at him “SPIKE!!!” they both screamed in surprise “The one and only… I think,” said Spike as he changed the magazine of his rifle in a very cool way Immediately after that, both Applejack and Sunset Shimmer began to dust off some of the dirt on their clothes and faces, and fix their hairs as much as they could to make themselves look decent. “What a surprise, what are you doing here?” asked Sunset Shimmer as she fixed her uniform “We received a message from Twilight, communicating the situation and requesting backup,” said Spike “Well, darn, that gal fixed the radio,” said Applejack “So, Lyra, Bon Bon, and I were sent here to take over the mission as leaders of this temporal team until the end of your current mission,” said Spike “And it’s a good thing you came, we were about to start shooting each other,” said Sunset Shimmer “And why?” asked Bon Bon “Apart from me and Applejack, only Twilight is taking this mission seriously, but…” said Sunset “That gal has no idea how to keep her team in check, ah mean, only Fluttershy has actually done her duties, but she’s so scared of everything, she shot her own shadow… literally,” said Applejack pointing to a nearby boulder with a sniper rifle bullet round. “I believe you… now, where is the creepy bubblehead girl and skittles at?” asked Spike At that exact moment, they all heard a pair of footsteps rushing towards that “Speak of the devil,” said Spike as he used “Discerning eye” on the surrounding “You’ve got to be kidding me?!” he said, this caused the girls to look at him “What? What is it?” asked Applejack “She’s dumber than I thought,” said Spike as he picked up a pebble and threw it in the direction of the footsteps. Seconds later, Rainbow Dash, came crashing down on them, her face glued to the ground as she slid to a halt in front of Spike “Stupid rock,” she said without lifting her head “You are 1 thousand years too early to carry all this equipment and charge by yourself, skittles,” said Spike as he and Co. went over to pick up the ammo and guns that had scattered around the area Rainbow Dash, however, jumped up to see Spike’s face close to hers “SPIKE!!! Glad to see ya!” she said as she used some water to clean the mud off her face. “Hope It could be in a better circumstance,” said Spike Rainbow Dash, blushed and scratched the back of her head sheepishly at this remark and followed them back to the base they had built at the top of the mountain. A FEW METERS LATER “So, what was all that?” asked Lyra “It was Dash’s conflict resolution,” said Sunset Shimmer “Surrender yourselves to a bunch of pervs, get raped, and sold off as slaves?” asked Spike “No, counter strike and kill them,” said Rainbow Dash “So, I’m assuming your plan went down the shit hole faster than you expected,” said Bon Bon “Yeah, I hadn’t realized that my gun was empty,” said Rainbow Dash “So, you retreated and left the 2 of them to fight on their own?” asked Spike “No, I retreated and asked Fluttershy and Rarity to cover them,” said Rainbow Dash “Ah didn’t hear that order!” said Applejack “But I did,” said Rainbow Dash “Better question… where are those 2?” asked Lyra As soon as she said that Spike took a step back as a sniper round hit the ground right before his foot “Fluttershy, shooting the ground is not exactly a way to kill an opponent… and you actually have to aim your weapon before firing,” said Spike “Oh… Sorry!” said Fluttershy as she got off the tree she was hiding on “Where were you? You were supposed to cover them!’ said Rainbow Dash “I’m sorry… I just couldn’t bring myself to kill them,” she said her voice louder than a whisper “And where is Rarity?” asked Sunset Shimmer “She ignored your order,” said Fluttershy “That little bitch!” said Rainbow Dash as she stepped through the barrier “Leave it, Ray,” said Spike “Anti-gun barrier, smart,” said Lyra “Thank you, it was the only thing I could come up with in the little… SPIKE!!! What are you doing here!” said Twilight as she frantically tried to fix herself up “My team and I Have been sent here to be the new leaders of this operation, so… WHAT IS SHE DOING?!!!” said Spike as he pointed to Rarity Rarity was laying on the ground, her shirt open as she used the sun to tan herself “Yeah, she’s been doing that since we set up camp… about 20 minutes ago,” said Twilight “Plus, she didn’t even help us unpack or defend ourselves,” said Fluttershy “Did she now… girls get to the command tent, I won’t be far behind,” said Spike as he walked towards Rarity. Rarity was in her own little world when Spike walked in front of her “Hey! You're blocking my sun again Twilight!” she said Spike said nothing and just kept standing before her blocking the sun “For the last Goddamn time, you are in my sun… how am I supposed to get a tan without it?” Rarity said cynically Silence followed from Spike “FOR GOD’S SAKE GET OUT OF THE WAY, BEFORE I MOVE YOU!!” she said The last thing she heard before getting up was the sound of fingers snapping, and before she knew it, she was pummeled by gallon after gallon of cold water “AAAAAH! STOP IT!” she screamed as the cold water kept falling. After a few more seconds, the water stopped, and Rarity removed her sunglasses “WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM YOU… bitch,” said Rarity as she noticed Spike towering over her “You have 30 seconds to get dressed and get to the command tent,” he said as he walked away. INSIDE THE TENT “Bro, that was brutal!” said Rainbow Dash “Yeah, she deserves that, bitching about every little thing,” said Sunset Shimmer “Ok… now, can someone explain to me what happened?... and where is Pinkie?” said Spike As if on queue Pinkie walked into the tent, her face covered with oil “Right here Spikey! Just finished fixing the generators,” she said “Ok… Twilight” “We landed on the sector assigned to us by central command, just as planned, we began making our way to the objective… that was until we realized… we didn’t calibrate our GPS systems and we were heading the wrong direction…” explained Twilight “After a few minutes of walking, we reached the “deserted” village where the problems started,” said Rainbow Dash “And then what caused the occupants of that village to attack you?” asked Lyra “Believe it or not, it wasn’t me… it was Rarity,” said Rainbow Dash “Sure,” said Bon Bon sarcastically “No, it’s true… when we arrived at the area, Rarity had been complaining about the heat and sand the whole way there, and when we saw that the village wasn’t abandoned like in the specifications, she decided to head towards it to ask for water, despite having her water bottle in her backpack, which she made Applejack carry,” said Sunset Shimmer Spike, Lyra, and Bon Bon turned to look at her “That’s true,” she said “So then what?” asked Lyra “I tried to stop her and pull her back, but…” said Rainbow Dash “She used her wind magic to push her away, creating a massive sand cloud that caught their attention,” said Pinkie Pie “And they charged at you?” said Lyra “No, but the second they pointed their rifles at us, I got into survival mode and pointed mine at them,” said Rainbow Dash “So then, who shot first?” asked Spike “One of them did, but he missed, so I responded and placed a bullet right on his brain, and… you know the rest,” said Rainbow Dash “Oh dear…” said Spike Just then Rarity walked into the tent, staring daggers at Spike “Wipe that look off your face,” said Spike “You’re not the boss of me!” said Rarity “I am… and after what I just heard, you should be thankful that you’re still here,” said Spike “Please, what do you know?” said Rarity Spike proceed to tell her everything, and her face dropped the sarcastic smile she had “You have committed so many offenses in 20-something hours of being on a BATTLEFIELD, not to mention, you have insulted and disregarding orders of your commanding officer,” said Spike “Twilight is not an officer,” Rarity protested “Who placed her in charge?” asked Spike “Princess Celestia,” said Rarity “So that means that makes her your leader?” said Spike “Technically,” said Rarity “So that means you have committed mutiny,” said Spike “No, I haven’t!” Rarity said “You have not followed any order given to you by Twilight, that means you have disregarded Princess Celestia’s order,” said Lyra “Wha..?” said Rarity “When Princess Celestia named Twilight as the leader, that means she passes her authority onto the leader of that team… so, you disregarded her orders,” said Bon Bon Rarity became pale “You know Rarity, you are the prime example of a “Malingerer”,” said Lyra (A student at the Academy, usually on the reserves, who only cares about the status they earned by entering the academy; these students, in the vast majority, come from really wealthy and stuck up families; they aren’t well-liked on campus) “If you think this is a joke, I can teleport you back to the school with a report for Princess Celestia, letting her know of your actions during the mission,” said Spike “And if that happens, you can kiss the prestige goodbye,” said Bon Bon Rarity went silent “Twilight!” said Spike “Yes!” she said “What was Rarity’s mission upon setting up camp?” he asked “Her mission was… to scout the areas of the map that are obscured due to no information on them,” said Twilight “Well, you know what to do now,” said Spike Rarity remained silent for a few seconds “This is your last chance… I suggest you take it,” said Spike “There are almost 100 KMs of an unknown land,” said Rarity Spike then walked towards her with a 9MM gun and a GPS, he stopped in front of her and handed them over “Then I suggest you get started… and get back here before nightfall,” he said as the 2 of them locked eyes Rarity was furious, but for some reason, Spike staring into her eyes caused her heart to skip a beat. Rarity turned and headed out of the tent. “As for the rest of you… We better wait until she comes back with her report… also, Twilight, Pinkie… good job with the generators,” he said This caused the 2 of them to blush as they walked out of the tent. A FEW HOURS LATER The camp was finally up to standards to continue the mission, so everyone had decided to take a breather… everyone except for Sunset Shimmer, who had volunteered for Sentinel duty. Her eyes glued to the landscape, searching for the smallest movement to fire “Why are you so tense?” said Spike This caused her to jump in the air “SPIKE!!! DON’T DO THAT!!!” she screamed “Sorry, habit,” said Spike as he sat down motioning for her to sit next to him She turned red when noticing this, but accepted regardless They spent a few moments in silence until Spike said “So, why are you so tense?” he asked Sunset Shimmer just looked at the landscape and then at Spike “It’s just that… it’s the first time I’m on the field, and I was hoping that everything was going to go smoothly, be in and out without being seen… and not even 10 minutes into the mission, I’ve been shot at, had an argument with my teammates, been captured, escaped, got fired at even more just to get captured again,” she said “Yeah, I can see how that can be stressful,” said Spike as he leaned back to look at the sky “How do you do it?” asked Sunset “Do what?” asked Spike “Act so… calm and composed?” said Sunset “I… don’t know, it comes naturally to me… I mean, I am so much braver than you” said Spike with a grin “What does that mean?!” said Sunset Shimmer getting angry “It means, I’m better at this than you,” said Spike as he locked eyes with Sunset Shimmer “Oh! You think you are so good at this! That you are untouchable, unbeatable! WELL, MR. I AM THE BEST, THAT ISN’T THE CASE, YOU CAN BE KILLED IN AN INSTANT OUT HERE!” said Sunset Shimmer “Thanks for stating the obvious, Lava head,” said Spike with an even bigger grin “WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!!! DON’T EVER CALL ME LAVA HEAD AGAIN!!!” said Sunset Shimmer as her eyes turned red and her arms became engulfed in fire “Or what?... you know that even at your max power you wouldn’t even scratch me,” said Spike These words infuriated Sunset Shimmer even more, but she stopped her magic and sat back down in defeat “You right,” she said “I know I am… feel better?” he asked “Yeah, I… Wow, I do feel much better,” she said as she sat up “Glad to hear,” said Spike “What did you do?” asked Sunset Shimmer “I used your bad temper to help you release the excess of adrenaline and magic you accumulated,” said Spike “My bad temper?” asked Sunset Shimmer only to realize what he meant “I know about the situation back in Junior High, the demon thing,” said Spike “Oh, who told you?” she asked “I have my sources,” said Spike “I see you haven’t gotten over it yet,” said Spike “I can’t… I hurt so many people, hurt my friends, destroyed the school and…” she said “... and all has been forgiven by everyone… except you,” said Spike “I just can’t… the things I did…” said Sunset Shimmer “Happen to everyone, I mean… before coming to this Academy, I was invisible, I didn’t have magic powers, I was weak, and that allowed everyone to treat me like crap… heh, I was almost killed the same day I graduated from Junior high, and after a bunch of situations, I obtained all of this powers,” said Spike “Wow, really?” said Sunset Shimmer “Yup,” said Spike “And, you don’t want to take revenge on those who wronged you?” asked Sunset “I did… it was at that point that I realized the magnitude of my new self, the number of responsibilities that are upon my shoulders… and I didn’t have another choice but to accept them,” said Spike “But, wasn’t it scary?” asked Sunset Shimmer “That’s the thing Sunset, sometimes things are going to get scary, but we have to accept them and… work with them or fight them,” said Spike “So, that’s it? Being brave in the face of danger?” asked Sunset Shimmer “Sometimes… Other times you have more than brave… a fool so to say,” said Spike with a smile “A fool?... Spike, we go into the worst places on earth, we can die in a second, and your best advice is to be silly?” said Sunset Shimmer “Not silly… a fool,” said Spike “It makes no sense, aren’t you scared?” she said “Of course, I’m terrified… that’s why I’m the biggest fool in the world… I ignore my fear and fight forward, that’s what a real special op does,” said Spike as he placed a comforting hand on Sunset’s shoulder “You’ll understand sooner or later,” Spike’s actions had touched Sunset’s heart, he didn’t laugh at her for being tense or afraid, but comforting and reassuring. Sunset couldn’t do anything but smile at him. ”Don’t let your fears get the best of you, that’s the important part,” said Spike as he got up “Thanks,” said Sunset Shimmer “Well, good talk, but I have to go,” said Spike “Go?... go where?!’ she asked “To find your dear friend Rarity, it’s past her curfew… be right back,” said Spike as his body disintegrated in front of her. “He’s so cool, and hot… WOW! Did I just say that!” SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE MASSIVE DESERT “... I mean what is his problem? Doesn’t he know how to treat someone like a lady?... I mean, yeah, I was acting in a wrong way knowing that we are in a warzone but still, what right does he have to dump cold water on me?!... I swear guys like him are the worst!... I mean yeah he is attractive, and the way he was glaring at me was incredibly hot, I was even able to get a good look at his deep, beautiful, green eyes… oh, they’re like perfect jaded orbs… WOW!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!!!... and what do we have here?” said Rarity as she crouched down and grabbed her binoculars. About 50 mts Away from her location, was a road full of military trucks and vehicles racing towards some sort of structure. “12...15...29… 34 different vehicles… but where are they headed?” said Rarity as she continued to follow their every move. She followed them all the way until they all turned and to the left, disappearing around the side of the hill she was in. Rarity quickly got up and rushed as fast as she could to the other side of the hill to get a better vantage point. After a few more seconds she finally reached the top, and her jaw dropped in shock. Before her she could see three massive man-made villages with various enemies all over them, but most shocking of all, was the massive industrial compound towering in the distance. “What is this?” said Rarity, “I bet that if I get closer and get better information about this Spike will praise me!” said Rarity with a small blush on her face. Then she began to make her way towards the a small, tree covered hill, near the first village “Ok, the first village only has a few enemies, nothing out of the ordinary… a couple of brutes with guns… the second village is a bit more protected, there are 2 different entrances and exits, all of them guarded with Machine gun towers… and by the looks of it, they are automatic… The last village seems to be the worst out of all of them… there is a minefield from the left to right behind the village… machine gun nests… and a tank, of course…” said Rarity as she noted everything down in the map. Unknown to her, she was being a bit too cocky with her surroundings and had completely forgotten to check her 6 before beginning to scout the area. “hilo mat!” said a soldier as he pressed the gun on the back of Rarity’s head (Don’t move!) Rarity, instinctively swung her arms up, in a sign of surrender “Great! Now, this… I swear if I die because of Spike I will haunt his dreams for the rest of his life!” said Rarity “Itanee sundar baat... bahut bura mujhe tumase chutkara pana hai.” said the soldier as he got closer and prepared to pull the trigger (Such a pretty thing... too bad I have to get rid of you.) Rarity just closed her eyes. BANG! Rarity then heard something hit the floor next to her, she opened one of her eyes and saw the soldier, face on the ground, and a pool of blood starting to form around his head. “That was a bit too close for comfort,” said Spike as he walked up to her Rarity quickly got up and turned to face him “Are you ok?” asked Spike “Y-Yes… thank you,” said Rarity, her face red with embarrassment, and her voice mimicking Fluttershy’s “Good,” said SPike “What are you doing here?” asked Rarity “Missed your curfew… and wander off a bit, I had a bad feeling about the whole situation… that’s when I noticed the convoy and I decided to come and look for you,” said Spike “Oh!... thanks… Is he really worried about me!” said Rarity “So, tell me what have you discovered?” asked Spike as he walked over to the ledge and saw the compound “Well… there are 3 villages, each more fortified than the last one, and then there is that compound… unfortunately I was unable to get closer to it and get a better grasp of it,” said Rarity “If you’d done that, I would be really impressed…” that’s when Spike noticed something off “What do you bet,” he said as he moved over to the dead soldier and flipped him over, and began to loot the body “Aha!, he is Heighndian, that confirms it,” said Spike “Confirms what?” asked Rarity “Of who is inside that compound right now… we have to go back, hang on tight and close your eyes,” said Spike as he wrapped his arm around Rarity’s waist and held her close to him. “OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!!!” said Rarity as she blinked and before she realized it was now standing inside the command tent back at camp. “GIRLS!!! WE NEED TO TALK FAST!!” said Spike Immediately all of the girls rushed into the tent, but as soon as their eyes landed on Rarity’s goofy, flustered, smiley face, something took over them as they all went over to where she was. “Spit it out, what’s the smile for?!” whispered Rainbow Dash “Oh, it was wonderful!” Rarity whis[ered back “What was?” asked Twilight and Lyra together “Spike’s arm around me as he saved me from an evil man before teleporting back here,” Rarity said as her face got even redder. “WHAT!!!” they all said with a frown “Oh dear, girls, stop frowning, you’ll get wrinkles on your face… and that will draw Spike closer to me,” said Rarity with a small laugh “Why you little…” said Rainbow Dash before being cut off by Spike “I know you’re all happy to see Rarity, but we need to talk about something important,” said Spike “What’s wrong?” asked Pinkie Pie “We found the hiding spot,” said Spike “Who’s?” asked Twilight “Gallteeth,” said Spike The second he said that Lyra and Bon Bon’s faces went from surprise to “Murder” mode “Where is he?” asked Lyra “Well, thanks to Rarity’s great work, she was able to locate the compound… right here,” said Spike The moment Spike complemented Rarity, her face turned even redder, which infuriated the girls even more “But there is more, the compound has a total of 3 man-made villages before it, and each one is worse than the last…” said Spike “I’ll go get my shotgun,” said Lyra as she to leave the tent “I thought you were the team’s sniper!” said Bon Bon following her “Ok, What is going on?” asked Twilight “Gallteeth is the reason why so many people have gone missing… he is a slave trader,” said Spike The second he said this all of the girls’ faces went from concern to shock “And our mission is to get him alive… or dead… so go get ready,” said Spike “Hah, this is going to be awesome!” said Rainbow Dash as she and the girls walked out of the tent “... That doesn’t mean I can’t do it!” said Lyra “BS, you just want to get Spike’s attention, don’t you!” said Bon Bon “Of course not!... maybe a little, but still…” said Lyra “No, you were trained to be a sniper, you have a better precision fire than anyone, without you we’ll be exposed!” said Bon Bon “You just want to have Spike all to yourself, don’t you?” said Lyra Bon Bon was about to answer when Twilight interrupted “Something wrong?” she asked “No, nothing at all, just… Uhm… thinking of an idea to enter the compound,” lied Bon Bon “Right… well, Spike said we’re leaving in 2 minutes so…” said Twilight as she pointed to the armory “Right!” said Bon Bon as she and Lyra hurried over to the armory to get ready “Spike never said we’re leaving in 2 minutes,” said Sunset Shimmer Twilight just raised her hand and pointed to the tent Seconds later Spike came out and said “We’re leaving in 2 minutes, get ready… don’t worry about the camp, Task force 34 will come and clean it up,” as he walked towards the edge of the camp and loaded his guns The girls turned to face Twilight “Wife’s intuition!” she said as she walked towards the armory “EXCUSE US!!!” they all answered as they walked over to Twilight “What do you mean by “Wife's intuition”?” said Rarity “Exactly what it sounds like… It’s destiny,” said Twilight with a dreamy look This comment didn’t sit well with any of them “Hah!, you think YOU can defeat ME in becoming his wife?” said Rainbow Dash “Of course!” said Twilight with a confident smile This infuriated Rainbow Dash even more She was about to say something when “Girls? You coming or what?” said Spike Immediately all of the girls grabbed their gear and a few extra bullets and headed to where Spike was standing. “Ready?” asked Spike “Let’s do this!” they all said as they walked through Spike’s portal BACK NEAR THE COMPOUND “Ok, wait here, I’ll go scout the area,” said Spike as he headed over to the edge of the hill and looked around the villages Meanwhile, all of the girls had huddled up together and were having a, somewhat… friendly conversation. “You ain’t his wife!” whispered Applejack “Yet, but he saved me from being abducted and possibly murdered, he is the reason I am here today, and like I said before, it’s…” said Twilight “Destiny, we know, but this is the real world, not a stupid fairy tale, you don’t even know if Spike’s likes you,” said Rarity “You’re one to talk “Ms. I am a Fairy tale princess”, plus, you’ve done nothing but annoy Spike this whole time,” said Sunset Shimmer “And you haven’t?” said Rarity “You said it,” said Sunset Shimmer “He was really nice to me when we regrouped,” said Fluttershy all of a sudden “Oh, great Ms. Cowtits is also in love with Spike “We’ve known him for far longer, and… and… We’ve slept on the same bed!” said Lyra “WHAT!!!!” said all the girls “Only slept, nothing weird,” said Bon Bon “Oh!” they all answered “Tell you what, lets have a little competition,” said Pinkie “What type of competition?” asked Applejack “Three villages, three teams… whoever makes the most damage in the least time, while not being discovered wins,” said Pinkie Pie “Wins what?” asked Rainbow Dash “A date with Spike,” said Pinkie with a smile “But there are at least 3 people per squad,” said Sunset Shimmer “That’s when the sacred game of Rock, Paper, Scissors came into place… what do you say?” asked Pinkie Pie as she extended her hand “Deal!” said all of the girls as they shaked hands and walked over to Spike. “Ok, Here’s the plan…” said Spike “Actually Spike, we have an idea on how to continue,” said Pinkie Pie “Oh, well, I’m all ears,” said Spike Pinkie then explained everything to spike… minus the date part. “Sounds good, Twilight, your team’s up first,” said Spike “Why?” asked Twilight “Pinkie’s idea, you make your first move,” said Spike “Right… come on girls!” said Twilight as she, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity headed to the first village “You think they’ll make it?” asked Rainbow Dash “They better,” said Spike. After a few seconds Twilight and the girls reached the edge of the village and turned their GPSs on, in a matter of moments it showed all of the enemies in the village. After they were able to locate all of them, Twilight began to move her hands giving orders “Pinkie, you’ll take the left side, and then work your way to the center, Rarity, take the right, and do the same, we will rendezvous at the center of the village and then move towards the other side of it, copy?” she said in sign language The girls just gave her a thumbs up and got into position. “3...2...1… go!” motioned Twilight as they creeped forward taking out all of the hostels they found on their way. Slowly but surely, they cleared out the whole village, and signaled to the rest of the team to join them. “You think we did a good job?” asked Rarity “Of course we did,” said Pinkie Pie “Good job,” said Spike as he appeared out of nowhere scaring them all “SPIKE! Don’t do that!” they said “Sorry,” he said as the other girls appeared around him “Not bad Twilight, but you girls took 7 minutes and 45 seconds to take care of the enemies,” said Rainbow Dash “Well, now it’s your turn,” said Rarity “Watch and learn!” said Rainbow Dash as she turned to see the girls on her squad and smiled Seconds later, Rainbow Dash zoomed into the village followed by Sunset Shimmer and Applejack, meanwhile, Fluttershy just climbed to the roof of a nearby house and armed her sniper gun. Rainbow Dash was going wild, she was going left and right stabbing all of the enemies, not leaving any for Applejack or Sunset, who decided to take care of the ones inside the houses and leave the ones in the open to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash was so into it, that she left herself too exposed, walking right into a crossroad with 2 guards patrolling it. When they made eye contact with each other, Rainbow Dash realized her mistake “Rainbow, duck!” said Fluttershy over the radio Rainbow Dash quickly hit the dirt as a bullet pierced the skulls of both guards, killing them instantly “Nice shooting Fluttershy!” said Spike over the radio “Thanks!” Fluttershy said as she let out a small squeal “Ok, that’s everyone,” said Rainbow Dash in a very annoyed tone “Did you take care of the machine gun?” asked Spike “Ups!” said Rainbow Dash “Relax Dash, we’re here, guns down!” said Sunset Shimmer Seconds later everyone met at the exit of the second village “That was really reckless,” said Twilight “Agreed, top marks to Fluttershy though, she didn’t miss a single shot, and that double headshot at the end was amazing,” said Spike This made Fluttershy turn red and grin proudly “We still took 4 minutes,” said Rainbow Dash “It’s better to do a good job than a fast job!” said Spike “I second that!” said Lyra “Well then, you show us how it’s done!” said Rainbow Dash “Sure!” said Bon Bon as she, Lyra and Spike walked to the third village “Why do you always have to start fights?” said Applejack “I didn’t, but, I want to see if they have a reason to be so confident,” said Rainbow Dash “Did you forget that Spike’s on that team?” asked Sunset Shimmer “Nope… but it makes the competition much more interesting,” said Rainbow Dash Just then, they all heard “Ladies, synchronize watches!” said Spike “Ready!” they both said “I’ll see you all at the other side,” said Spike as the three of them disappeared from sight. “Where did they go?” asked Twilight Then to the left they saw one of the guards fall to the floor dead, then another fall from the roof of a house, and then another, and another, and another, until all of the guards were on the floor dead. “Ok, you can come over, we just have to disarm the minefield,” said Spike The girls then began to sprint to the other side of the now empty village, as they did, they noticed the carnage all around them “These guys are something else,” said Twilight “Indeed,” said Sunset Shimmer “What took you so long?” mocked Lyra “Yeah, keep laughing,” said Rainbow Dash “That was awesome,” said Applejack “Thanks, but we did commit many mistakes,” said Spike “Such us?” asked Twilight “I stabbed a few of the guards on the back of their necks, instead of keeping it simple and slashing their throats,” said Spike This comment made the girls uneasy “Just kidding, a dead enemy is a good outcome,” said Spike “Hah! good one… now what?” asked Rainbow Dash “Oh yeah!” said Spike as he placed his hands on the ground and various blueish lines appeared on it, deactivating all of the mines surrounding the compound “We enter” he finished. “But, there must be many soldiers inside, not to mention, we haven’t even seen the layout of the land,” said Twilight “Is there a way to get in without being in their line of fire?” asked Pinkie Pie “Unfortunately no,” there is only one way in and out,” said Lyra “So, we only have the suicidal route, or… the suicidal route,” said Rainbow Dash “What do we do Spike?” asked Sunset Shimmer as everyone turned to look at him Spike just summoned some of his fire magic to his left arm and said “Let’s go out with a boom!” as he fired the orb towards the gate and obliterated it Immediately after a storm of bullet began to fall on the group “un sab ko maar do!” screamed Gallteeth (Kill them all!) as more guard opened fire “Twilight, take out the turrets!” said Spike “On it!” said Twilight as she used her magic to explode blow them up “Keep using power bombs!” said Lyra as they began to bombard the whole ground around the compound until it was completely covered in craters “Did we get him?” asked Applejack Spike looked around and saw Gallteeth running away inside the compound “No! Don’t let him escape! Screamed Spike as he, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack charged into the compound as the rest of the girls remained outside to keep the guards at bay. “Sunset, cover us!” said Rainbow Dash “On it!” said Sunset as she got up and headed into the compound “Where is he?” asked Rainbow Dash “Over there!” said Spike as they tried to use magic “A shield,” said Rainbow Dash “Fire!” said Sunset Shimmer, but her gun jammed “Anti-gun ray, girl, tough luck!” said Gallteeth as he continued to head for the helipad “Get her back, you son of a bitch!” said Sunset Shimmer as she began to run up the stairs, chasing Gallteeth “Dash, Jack, find those generators and destroy them!” said Spike as he went after Sunset “Leave it to us Sugacube” said Applejack as they ventured into the compound using their own fists against the guards. Spike was going as fast as he could trying to catch up with Sunset, before she killed herself, while at the same time trying to immobilize the guards that attacked him. “SUNSET STOP!!!” said Spike as he climbed another flight of stairs “HE’S GETTING AWAY!” said Sunset as she defeated another guard “WAIT, IT’S A TRAP!” said Spike As soon as he said this, Gallteeth activated a lever that made weapons functional and aimed his rocket launcher at Sunset Shimmer “Goodnight girl!” said Gallteeth as he pulled the trigger “SUNSET!!!!” screamed Spike as he shoved out of the way receiving the full blow of the grenade as this one hit the part of the floor he was standing on, causing him to fall into the dark abyss below “SPIKE!!!!!!!” she said as she saw him fall into the darkness “Ups! My bad!” mocked Gallteeth “I’LL KILL YOU!!!” said Sunset Shimmer as she to chase Gallteeth They ran a few more flights of stairs until she was able to corner him “Not so fast now huh!” said Sunset Shimmer in a guttural voice “The party is just beginning,” said Gallteeth as he pulled out a machete and started to swing at Sunset Sunset evaded the blade as much as she could, even countering with a kick or two but it wasn’t enough, Gallteeth was committed to kill her Just then he was able to hit her in the gut and cause her to fall to the floor “Time to end this!” he said as he prepared to decapitate Sunset Just as he was about the swing, they both heard a pair of loud footsteps coming towards at great speed “YOU THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE THAT EASY!!!!” said Spike as he tackled Gallteeth so hard they both flew out the window, landing on top of some parked cars and then falling to the ground “You… are committed… you damn fireblood!” said Gallteeth as he incorporated himself “Thanks… but unfortunately for you, the party is over,” said Spike as 2 helicopters aimed their search lights on him “Gupa Sanguera, you are under arrest, surrender peacefully!” said the pilot Gallteeth, just raised his hands and surrendered as the rest of the girls arrived next to Spike. “You are going to root in jail,” said Knox as he slammed the door of the personnel carrier shut. “Great work all of you, we finally cut this slippery son of a bitch,” said Grim “No need to thanks us, it is our duty and was our pleasure,” said Lyra “Congratulations teams, prepare for extraction, and a well deserved vacation,” came Discord’s voice over the radio “Copy that central,” said Spike “You guys rest easy, we’ll finish up here,” said Grim “Thanks, see you back at campus,” said Spike “Of course,” said Grim as they both shaked hands. Spike then turned to face the girls and said “Let’s go home… I’ve had enough of the desert for a good while,” “I totally agree, I have sand in places I didn’t even know I had!” said Rarity “TMI girl!’ said Lyra as they all laughed, all except Sunset. She felt terrible for what happened with Spike, but was unable to talk to him out shame “I have to talk to him, I need to apologize… but how?” she thought.
