Spike's Homeroom

As soon as the introductions were over, Spike and his classmates were listening intently to what Ms. Cheerilee had to say next.

"Alright, everybody! It's time that I go over certain rules that Dreadmire Academy has put in place."

Spike was rather interested in learning just what rules apply to a school for monsters. He wondered what rules they had regarding humans on campus. He decided to listen to what his new teacher had to say, then ask about humans later if she didn't go over that.

"Rule One: under normal circumstances, you must always remain in your human form. You can change back into your real form when your in your dorms.", Cheerilee stated to the class.

Pipsqueak raised a hand. "I don't understand, we're all monsters here. So why do we have to be in our human forms when we're not in the dorms?"

"That's a good question, Pipsqueak. The reason is because of how the buildings here are designed. Given the various sizes and body type differences between monster species, it would be hard to cater to the needs of different species. Does that make sense?", Cheerilee replied to the question.

Pipsqueak nodded and continued to listen to the teacher.

"Rule Two: no fighting on campus. If you're going to fight, please do so in the dueling arena on the other side of the campus."

Spike was stunned. If there was a fight, they had to fight in a designated fighting arena? What kind of logic does that make? Also, the school has a fighting arena? What was this, ancient Rome?!

"Rule Three: no unauthorized use of magic in the school. Save the magic for Magic Class."

Applejack raised her hand at that. "What would be 'unauthorized' use of magic?"

"That's a great question, Applejack! Basically, it means that you shouldn't use magic to bully others, cheat on tests, or damage school propety. In other words, don't be stupid with your magic.", Cheerilee replied.

"Rule Four: boys shouldn't go to the girls' dorm and girls shouldn't go to the boys' dorm. We don't want any... incidents happening here.", Cheerilee informed the class. All the males in the room looked disappointed while the girls all simply blushed.

Cheerilee seemed to ignore all the looks the students had on their faces. "Alright, that concludes the rules. Any questions regarding them?"

Spike decided to raise his hand and ask a dreaded question swimming in his brain. "Are there any rules about finding humans on campus?"

Suddenly, the whole class turned and looked at Spike as if he asked the same question they all had. Cheerilee spoke in a rather low voice.

"It's impossible for a human to find their way on campus. This entire school and its grounds are inside a pocket dimension. To an outside observer, this whole place would look like an abandoned collection of buildings. The only way to get into this school is to come in through the carriages the school sends out. Besides, if a human did somehow get into the school, the official protocol is to capture it and take it to the Headmaster.", Cheerilee responded.

That response made Spike feel slightly better about his current situation. That is, until Rainbow Dash spoke up.

"If we do find a human on campus, why don't we just eat 'em?", she asked. That question made Spike's heart skip a few beats.

Cheerilee looked up at the ceiling as if she was thinking about how to answer that. She looked back at Rainbow and cleared her throat.

"You see, currently, the human population is much bigger than our numbers. If lots of humans started going missing, the humans would do everything in their power to investigate. And if they discover us, we could expect to be caught up in another Dark Age.", she replied.

That answer seemed to satisfy Rainbow. But her question seemed to get everyone else murmuring about the subject of eating humans.

"I've never actually eaten humans, before."

"I hear humans are quite a tasty treat."

"Wonder what humans taste like?"

"Are humans healthy to eat?"

From what Spike could tell from these murmurs, it sounded like none of his classmates have ever eaten humans before. He could get some solace in that. But still...

"Better keep my humanity a secret from these guys. Just in case.", he thought to himself.

Suddenly, the bell rang, indicating the start of the next class. Everyone was gathering their things and heading right out the door.

Cheerilee waved them all goodbye. "Bye, everyone! I'll see you all tomorrow night!"

Spike was more than happy to be out of that room. He looked down at his schedule and saw that he had Alchemy Class next. He turned and made his way to another class he was sure he was going to dread.

Spike's Alchemy Class

Spike again made his way to the back of the class to sat in the seat next to the window. He sat there for a good few minutes and then realized that all the students from his Homeroom class were in this one, too. He didn't know whether to be happy or fearful.

When the final bell rung, the teacher walked into the room and motioned for the students to pay attention to her. The teacher seemed nice enough.

The teacher was wearing a black dress jacket with a red undershirt, a purple skirt that reached down to her ankles, and had on black heels. She was African in descent from what he could see. She was quite lovely to boot. Her eyes were a sparkling shade of blue. Her hair consisted of a black-and-white striped Mohawk. There were gold earrings and rings around her neck.

Spike looked down at her desk to read the name plate: Ms. Zecora- Species: Wereleopard.

"Okay, dear students, please sit down and learn. For this potential future as alchemists, you must earn.", she said in a deep voice heavy with a Swahili accent.

Ms. Zecora proceeded to go over what to expect from this class. To sum it up, they're going to learn the basics of alchemy, learn the different uses of various ingredients, and create simple potions.

This teacher was so warm and friendly to be around. Spike a strange sense of ease when around her.

As soon as the bell rung, Spike headed off to Magic Class.

Spike's Magic Class

Spike decided to stay in the back of each class as a way of keeping a low profile. Once again, his classmates from Homeroom were there with him.

"I guess we're going to be stuck together in every class this year.", Spike noted to himself.

A few seconds before the final bell rang, the teacher strode silently into the room. Spike thought he was looking at very cartoonish looking villain.

The man wore all black. He wore a black overcoat, a black button-up dress shirt, and black pants. He had dark gray hair, purple eyes, a lean body, and face that looked as if he had never smiled once in his entire life. He gave a small scowl to the class to effectively shut them up. The teacher then turned and wrote on the board.

Professor Flintheart. Species: Ghoul

When he finally spoke, there was a gruff British accent to it. "This is Magic Class. There will be no slacking off or inattentiveness in this class. You are here at this great institution to make something of yourselves, not become the world's next illiterate garbage bins."

The energy in the room suddenly became quite gloomy. This teacher was definitely a no-nonsense type. Spike would have to study hard to pass this teacher's standards.

Prof. Flintheart spoke again. "I expect you all to work diligently and strive to better yourselves for surviving this world. And remember, magic isn't a toy for you to play with. It is is art made real. Magic can also be a tremendously helpful tool for you in dire situations."

It seemed that the entire class was trying its best to stay on the professor's good side. Prof. Flintheart continued.

"Tell me, does anyone here know the basic definition of magic?", Flintheart asked the class. Twilight's hand shot up instantly.

"It's the manipulation of arcane energy to perform various supernatural feats, such as enhancing your body's abilities, turning the energy into physical objects, or to summon weapons.", she replied.

Flintheart's face didn't show it, but he did seem pleased with Twilight's answer. "Very good, Miss Tepes. Now, how many of you have practiced magic before? Do you know your own arc levels?"

Spike was both confused and scared. "Wait, I don't even know if I'll be able to use magic! And what does he mean by 'arc levels'?!"

Luckily, Flintheart seemed to have an answer for them all. "Arc levels are the amount of arcane energy your body is able to produce and use at any given time. Your arc levels can increase through training and concentration. Today, I will collect data on how much arc you currently have."

Before Spike could internally panic, Prof. Flintheart used his magic to conjure a large mirror out of thin air. The mirror was tall, with very clean glass and a red jewel adorning the top of the mirror. He placed it by his desk and pointed to it.

"This is a Measuring Mirror. This magical device will give me an exact measurement of your current arc levels. With this data in mind, I can plan our curriculum more effectively.", he said. Then he motioned for the students to line up single-file in front of the mirror. Spike made sure that he was the last one in line.

Twilight went up to the mirror first. "How exactly does this work?", she asked.

"You simply place your hand on the glass. The number indicating your arc level will appear above your hand. Let's get started.", Flintheart replied while preparing to write down the results of the measuring.

Twilight calmly put her hand on the glass. The jewel on top of the mirror started to glow. Suddenly, a series of numbers started to appear on the mirror. They seemed to be counting up until they stopped at 105. The other students were shocked by that number.

"I guess that means that she has quite a lot of magic power.", Spike thought.

Applejack placed her hand on the mirror next and the numbers quickly landed on 10. Flintheart shook his head and wrote it down. Apparently, that's a pretty weak number. As she passed Spike to go sit down, Spike could hear her say something under her breath.

"I help my family on the farm. I don't really have time to practice magic.", she said.

As the line went on, everyone else either had passable or higher than average arc levels. But none were higher than Twilight's. When it was Spike's turn, he was visibly pale.

"Come on, lad! We don't have the whole class period.", Flintheart grumbled.

"Let's just see how this plays out. Maybe I'll get a number even lower than Applejack's", Spike thought hopefully.

With a shaking hand, he put his hand on the glass. At first, nothing happened. Nothing at all. Flintheart opened his mouth to speak. Probably to ask Spike why the mirror might not be reacting to him. But before the professor could utter one syllable, the mirror's gem started to glow brighter than he'd ever seen it glow thus far. Spike felt a huge shock rock his body as if he was electrocuted. The numbers suddenly appeared on the glass and were rising rapidly. The whole mirror started to shake with great ferocity. Flintheart stood up and carefully backed away from the mirror.

What's happening?! The mirror had never reacted like this before! And the numbers are still rising! How could someone have this much power inside them?!" Flintheart thought to himself.

Spike turned around to see that the other students were staring with wide eyes and mouths. They had never seen such a thing happen before. Spike tried to pull away but found that his hand was stuck to the glass. No matter how hard he pulled, his hand wouldn't leave the glass! He turned around and reached out with his other hand.

"Help me!", he cried out in fear.

Surprisingly, all the students in the class rushed to help him, but Prof. Flintheart stopped them. "No, it's too dangerous! It's too dangerous to be near him right now!".

"But we gotta do something!", Pinkie cried out.

The vibrating the mirror was doing was gradually increasing along with the numbers on his arc levels. After a while, the glass and the jewel started to glow rhythmically. The glowing was getting faster and faster, indicating that it was going to blow!

"GET DOWN!!", Flintheart shouted.

The other students and the teacher dropped down on the floor. Shielding himself as best he could, Spike could only stand there as the mirror exploded! The mirror exploded with a loud "boom", sending shards of glass in every direction along with a wave of arcane energy.

Slowly, Spike opened his eyes to survey the scene in front of him. There was a blast point where the mirror had once stood. The back of the mirror had been blown to pieces. He checked himself for any injuries. Surprisingly, there were none to be found anywhere! He looked behind him to see if anyone else was okay.

The others that were in the room were unharmed, but they were absolutely shocked by what they had just seen. Someone was powerful enough to make a Measuring Mirror explode! And they didn't even get a number on his arc level. Not that they needed one if this destruction was nothing to go by. Bits of glass had embedded themselves in the surrounding seats and unified desks.

Flintheart looked around and found one large piece of glass that seemed to have a number on it. He leaned in for a closer look. His eyes widened at the number he saw on the shard before it disappeared completely.

"What is it, Professor?", Rarity asked.

Prof. Flintheart slowly turned to look at the other students and then turned to Spike.

"Two-thousand.", he said quietly. The other students gasped and turned to Spike, who was just as shocked as them.

"What?! Two-thousand?! How could I have that high of a arc level when I'm not even a monster?!"

Suddenly, the door burst open and teachers and students alike flooded into the room. They all had worried looks on their faces as they were surveying the destruction that had taken place within the room.

"What in Nyx's name happened here?", one of the teachers asked.

Flintheart could only look up at Spike in astonishment. "I think we've just found a true prodigy for magic.", he responded.

The Nurse's Office

Spike was waiting patiently in the nurse's office for the teacher to arrive. Given what happened in Magic Class, Prof. Flintheart was insistent that he go see the nurse for any potential injuries. Spike sat there on the bed with his thoughts to keep him company.

"What the hell happened back there? I was expecting to have no arc levels at all. But instead I got one that's super high? That doesn't make any sense? I'm human, not a monster? How could I have such a high arc level?"

From the side of the room, he could hear the door open. A rather beautiful nurse strode into the room and walked up to Spike.

"Hello, Spike. I'm the resident nurse here: Nurse Redheart. I heard that there was an incident involving a glass object in Magic Class?", she said with a voice that sounded rather husky for a school nurse.

Now that Spike got a good look at her, he could see most of the male students and teachers falling for her. She had a gorgeous face, a slim figure, a very nice I-cup rack, and hypnotic hips. That nurse's outfit seemed to increase her sex appeal. It took Spike everything he had to keep himself under control. Nurse Redheart gave a little giggle.

"It's okay, Spike. Most males have the same reaction as you when they come to see me. In fact, I think most of the male students get themselves hurt on purpose just to be in my office with me.", she said.

Spike could only blush deeper, making the nurse laugh. "Now then, I'll need to examine you for injuries you may not have initially found. Can you please remove your clothes?", she asked.

The poor boy could only stare at the nurse with obvious apprehension.

"It's okay. I'm a doctor. This is just a checkup.", she assured Spike. "Here, I'll even give ourselves some privacy."

Redheart got up and closed the curtain around them, giving them complete privacy. Spike then stood up and began to quickly remove his clothes.

"As soon as she checks me up, I can put my clothes back on."

As soon as he was standing in his boxers, the nurse spoke up. "Could you please raise your arms above your head?", she requested of her current patient.

Spike raised his arms over his head, as told. As soon as he did, Nurse Redheart placed her hands on his chest and stomach. He expected her hands to be cold, like those of most doctors, but her hands were surprisingly warm. As she started going lower to check for glass shards, he felt blood rushing from his head and flowing down to his third leg. He had to will himself not to get a raging stiffy in front of the nurse. As soon as she was done with the front, she asked Spike to turn around so that she could examine his back. He turned around for her and she started the examination of his back.

"So, what's it like being the only human in a school full of monsters?", she suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?", Spike asked back.

"It's okay. I know you're human. Don't worry, I'm not going to eat you or anything. Unless you're into that.", she said with a healthy dose of flirtation in her voice.

"First, I'm not into that. Second, it feels really weird. It kind of feels like I'm going to die at any time. But at the same time, everyone here seems nice. I want to try to bury my fears and try to have as peaceful a high school life as I can.", Spike replied.

Spike could hear Nurse Redheart giggle behind him. "That's a pretty good goal to have. If it makes your experience at this school any better, know that I'm rooting for you."

Before Spike could thank her for that, he felt something press into his back. No, not one something, but two somethings. Whatever they were, they were super soft and warm. They seemed to cover most of his upper back, too. Two arms wrapped themselves around the boy's middle in a warm hug. That's when Spike realized just what was pressing into his back: it was the nurse's boobs! He was actually getting back-pressed by two amazing flesh pillows!

"N-n-nurse Redheart. What are you doing?", he asked nervously. He could feel her whisper into his ear, tickling his ear canal.

"I'm rewarding you for being such a good patient with me today.", she said before slowly releasing him.

As soon as Spike got his clothes on, there was a question burning him the whole time he was there. "Nurse Redheart, if you don't mind me asking, what species of monster are you?"

"That's a normal question for a human to ask. I'm a Jiangshi, a subspecies of vampire native to China. I was turned by one when I was visiting San Francisco around the late 1800's.", she replied

Spike could hardly believe it. She looked more like she was in her late twenties or early thirties. Still, she looked great for her age.

Before Spike could walk out the door, Nurse Redheart called out to him. "If you ever need to talk to someone you can trust about any troubles at all, just come visit me: Nurse Sylvia Redheart."

"I'll... I'll do that.", he replied.

"Oh, and here's a word of warning: since the whole school now knows that you have a super high arc level, you might become annoyingly popular around here.", she warned him.

Spike gulped and walked out of the Nurse's office.

Monster Guide

Wereleopard

Wereleopards are a species of monster found in Africa and Asia. Wereleopards come in both gold and black variants, with the black ones being quite rare. They have their human form and their true form. Their true forms are that of tall humanoid leopards. They have excellent night-vision as well the strength to carry a baby giraffe up a tree. Wereleopards are notorious man-eaters, with corpses being found in trees in the morning after someone goes missing. They'll eat other animals too if humans are getting too scared to go outside at night. Wereleopards can sneak up on humans without making a sound. They can bite and turn humans and breed naturally.

Ghouls

Ghouls are monsters with a pale gray or white skin color. Ghouls are famed for eating humans, both dead and alive. This species is usually solitary but they will gather in small packs if there's enough food for them all. They have sharp teeth and bone-crushing jaws. Ghouls are extremely intelligent, using cunning to trick humans. Ghouls are usually nomadic creatures but they will settle down if food is abundant. Ghouls can take the form of hyenas and vultures to get closer to humans. Because of their diet of both fresh and rotting meat, ghouls are often called the "dumpsters of monsters". They can turn humans and breed naturally.

Jiangshi

Jiangshi are a subspecies of vampire native to China. They have the strongest legs of any monster, being able to destroy boulders with a single kick. They are stronger than humans. They don't run after prey, instead, they leap great distances after prey at great speed. This hunting strategy allows to let prey tire itself out while costing little energy to the Jiangshi. These monsters are also able to hover in the air for a short time. This allows the Jiangshi to change directions in mid-air if prey makes a sharp turn while running away. Sharp claws help them grapple with prey and hold them down. Like vampires, they feed on blood. Unlike vampires, they lack any venom. Jiangshi either live alone or in small nests. They can turn humans and breed naturally.

Author's Note

Okay, everybody! Here's the newest chapter of the series. What will Spike's new arc level mean? Will there be some who wish to stay by the side of someone so powerful? Or will there be some monsters out there who wish to challenge him? Wait until the next chapter to find out!