The Green Monkey

It's been 500 years since the Demons emerged from their dark realm and took the world. Days are shorter and nights are now longer, allowing the Demons greater reign over the hapless citizens. The Demons rule with an iron grip, happily eating the people under their rule and using them as playthings for their sadistic amusement. It seemed that the people were destined to be Demon fodder forever. That is... until a hidden temple finds a way to do something about it.

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The Northern Mountains - The Caves Beneath

The young priestess Twilight Sparkle was making her way towards the inner sanctum of the cavern temple to help her parents with the ritual. As she made her way through the winding hallways of the temple, she accidentally bumped into her sister-in-law Cadence.

"Oof! Sorry, Cadence! Didn't mean to run into you like that!" Twilight said. "I'm just so excited for the ritual tonight."

"We all are, Twilight. But we need to hurry if we're going to succeed," Cadence said with minor urgency. "Shining Armor said that his familiars have spotted Demons closer to the mountains than normal. Never a good sign."

That was indeed grave to hear. If she and her family were going to perform the ritual to speak to Heaven, they had to do it tonight. If the Demons started moving around the mountain, they might discover the temple, which would end in them all being killed or eaten or even worse. Usually worse.

"Thank you for telling me, Cadence. I gotta go tell Mom and Dad about that," Twilight said.

Grabbing the hem of her robes to keep herself from tripping, Twilight zoomed through the temple's halls until she made it to the inner sanctum. Twilight pushed open the doors and saw her mom and dad standing there in front of the statues to the two Celestial Sisters. Twilight Velvet and Nightlight were setting up talismans and candles around the sanctum to perform the ritual for tonight.

"Oh, hey, Twilight! How are things coming along on your end?" Twilight Velvet asked.

"I've gathered the herbs and Cadence said that she's preparing more talismans for the ritual. Shining Armor's been patrolling the area and said that Demons have been seen closer to the mountain than normal," Twilight said. Her parents looked at each other with stern looks.

"If that's true, then we need to hurry up to perform the ritual. Is your brother watching the perimeter and keeping the protection charms up?" Nightlight asked.

"He is. He's also having his familiars helping him to patrol the perimeter keeping an eye out for Demons," Twilight said. "If any Demons come up this mountain, we'll know about it."

"Still, talismans or no talismans, we have to up our guard and make some more protection charms while we perform the ritual. Just in case," Nightlight said.

Twilight left to go tell her brother about this extra precaution. They had to do everything they could to protect themselves and the temple during the ritual. She left the temple building itself and moved through the various chambers and tunnels of the cave where the temple was hidden. The world outside the cavern was a lush mountain with verdant forests of pine and fruit trees as well as clear streams for the family to get their water. There were also plenty of animals on the mountain that the family would see from time to time. Twilight remembered Shining Armor saying that he wanted to see a Dragon one day when they were both younger. But there were more important things to think about than Dragons.

She walked down the forest trail and found her brother at the foot of the mountain. Shining Armor was dressed in his priestly robes and tending to one of the boulders with a replacement protection charm. Twilight walked up to her brother with some more blank parchment slips to create more protection charms.

"Hey, brother!" Twilight called to him. Shining Armor turned to her and brought a finger to his mouth to shush her.

"Twily, we need to be more quiet! You never know when a Demon's going to show up!" Shining rage-whispered.

"Okay. Anyway, I brought more parchment slips for you," Twilight whispered. "How are things going out here?"

"Everything's going better than I thought. My familiars have reported Demons exploring the mid rim of the mountain, but they haven't made it past any of the charms so far, so we should be safe for tonight," Shining Armor whispered. "Still, I want to add more protection charms to the area. I noticed that some of the ones on the south side of the mountain are getting weaker."

Twilight handed off the new charms to Shining and left him to his task. As she made her way up the mountain, she stopped at a pond where she could relax and watch the fish while she would meditate. She sat down on a flat stone and tried to meditate in preparation for the ritual. Before she could, however, a loud cawing sound came from above her head. Twilight looked up and saw a large raven looking down at her. What was odd about it was the fact that she had never seen ravens so far up the mountain.

The raven sat there on a tree staring right at her for what felt like an eternity. As Twilight looked at the raven, a strange feeling of cold filled her entire body. The cold was so intense that she was actually shivering and her skin became riddled with goosebumps.

"Uh... hello," Twilight said nervously to the raven.

Suddenly, the raven screamed at her and flew away. Twilight's heart was jumping around in her chest from the shock of the scream, but she was relieved that the raven flew away. She would have to report this to her parents before the ritual took place tonight.

"Well, that was creepy. Anyway, back to meditating," Twilight said.

-(A Few Hours Later)-

Twilight made her way back to her family's temple just in time for the ritual to begin. She felt calm and relaxed after that meditation session, so she was ready for the ritual. Twilight entered the inner sanctum and saw that the rest of her family was gathered and ready to begin.

The entirety of the inner sanctum was decorated with various talismans, candles, and a chalk circle drawn into the floor before the idols of the Celestial Sisters. Her family was standing around the circle holding candles of their own while her dad was holding a bowl of herbs and incense for Twilight to hold during the ritual.

"You know what to do, right?" Nightlight asked.

"I know, dad. I've studied the ritual nearly a thousand times so I'm more than ready," Twilight replied.

"That's my girl," Nightlight said with a smile. "Take the bowl and stand in the center of the circle and concentrate. We'll take care of the rest."

Nightlight then handed the bowl to Twilight who then took her position in the center of the circle. Nightlight joined the others outside the circle and began the ritual. Twilight held the bowl in her hand, closed her eyes as if to meditate, and took a big sniff of the herbs in the bowl. While she was doing that, her family was chanting sutras. The circle began to glow with divine power as Twilight focused her mind on the ritual. Her family finished chanting the right sutras and started to throat sing the same sutras to a rhythm.

In no time at all, Twilight could feel the herbs and power in the room working their magic. A warm feeling filled her stomach and chest as divine power entered her body and flowed all the way up to her head. Now Twilight felt like her head was immersed in warm water. The ritual had been performed perfectly.

-(The Heavens)-

When Twilight opened her eyes, she saw that she was in a place she had only read about in the temple's scrolls. The landscape before her was a lovely field where both the sun and moon hung in the sky above her. There was no doubt in Twilight's mind what this was.

"The Divine Realm! The ritual worked!" Twilight called. "Now, how do I find the Celestial Sisters?"

"You don't need to bother, young one. We'll come to you," a voice called from above her.

Startled, Twilight looked up and saw none other than the Celestial Sisters themselves right behind her. The one standing closest to her was the elder of the two, Celestia.

Celestia was a beautiful sight to behold for mortal eyes. Tall and covered in robes of white and gold, the rainbow-haired goddess of the sun and day smiled at Twilight with lively green eyes. Joining her was her younger sister Luna.

Luna was equally as beautiful as her elder sister, with long flowing blue hair and eyes just as blue to match. Her flowing robes showed various stars and the full moon on her forehead. The goddess of the moon and night was smiling just as much as Celestia was.

"We both know why you're here, Miss Twilight. It is about the Demons that have overrun the Mortal Realm, yes?" Luna asked.

"Indeed, Goddess Luna. The land has fallen into darkness and the people have lost hope for the future," Twilight replied. "The Demons treat the people as food or slaves or toys. Me and my family have been fortunate enough to know the ancient magic. We beg you to help is in our plight."

The Sisters looked to each other and then back to Twilight. They then put their hands together to perform some form of spell from what Twilight could see. Golden and blue light shone from their hands that materialized into a large purple crystal. Celestia handed the crystal to Twilight.

"This crystal is the womb of the hero that will save your realm. You and your family must look after him and make sure he becomes strong enough to save the realm," Celestia said.

Taking the crystal, Twilight could feel warmth inside the crystal. She could feel a life growing inside, and it made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. Luna was the next to speak.

"You yourself have a part to play in this hero's growth, Miss Twilight," Luna said. "You must accompany him on his journey to save your realm. Alongside power, you must teach him love and friendship. You must be his teacher as much as his guardian."

Twilight looked up at the Celestial Sisters with determination. "I will do everything I can to teach, protect, and love him, my goddesses. You have my word as a priestess."

"We know you will, Twilight. Now you must return to the Mortal Realm," Celestia said. "Your hero is about to arrive."

"But before you go, take these," Luna said, before reaching into her robes and pulling out a pair of peaches. "You'll need these for you two after the hero is born."

Twilight took the peaches, and with a shock of magic, fell unconscious.

-(The Mortal Realm)-

Twilight opened her eyes to see her family looking down at her. She was lying on the floor in the center of the circle whilst holding the purple crystal and the peaches.

"Are you alright, dear?" Nightlight asked his daughter. "Did... you receive those from the Celestial Sisters?"

"Yes. Luna gave me the peaches and they created the crystal," Twilight replied.

"I don't mean to sound blasphemous, but how exactly is a crystal going to help us combat the Demons?" Shining asked.

Twilight stood up and showed everyone the crystal. "Celestia said that this crystal is the 'womb' that contains the hero that will save our world."

"That's interesting. I can actually feel the life inside the crystal," Cadence said. "It feels pretty powerful, too."

"Indeed. I can feel it, too," Nightlife said. "This is a gift from the goddesses, so we must nurture and care for this hero."

Just as soon as Nightlife said that, the crystal in Twilight's hands began to vibrate. Twilight quickly put the crystal down on the ground as the crystal began to crack. Everyone was watching the crystal in anticipation as the crystal finally shattered into pieces. Lying on the floor amidst shards of shattered purple crystal was... a baby dark green monkey with a light purple face. Everyone was looking down at the baby monkey with looks of both shock and confusion.

"Is... that a monkey?" Shining Armor asked.

"It appears that way. Either way, the goddesses have entrusted him to us so we must abide by them," Nightlight replied.

"And besides, he's so cute!" Cadence said, picking up the little monkey and holding him like a baby. "He's such a cute little boy."

"I know, right? He's so adorable!" Twilight Velvet said, petting the green monkey.

Twilight looked down at the little monkey with a look of awe. She could tell that there was more to this monkey than meets the eye. If the Celestial Sisters created him to be their hero for the Mortal Realm, then she had to do everything she could do to make sure this little guy became a hero.

"So, what are we going to name him?" Shining Armor asked.

Now that was a good question. If they were going to raise him, then they needed to give him a name. Twilight looked down at the little green monkey to think of a fitting name for him. The biggest thing that stuck out to her was how his hair spiked at the top of his head.

"How about 'Spike'? That's a fitting name for him," Twilight suggested.

Everyone was clearly contemplating the name, and they all seemed to agree to it. Twilight's mother held Spike to her chest and smiled.

"It's settled then. From now on, this little bundle of cuteness is Spike," Velvet said. "He is going to be a great hero one day, as is the will of the Celestial Sisters."

Little Spike opened his eyes and looked around the sanctum and the humans. When his eyes settled on Twilight, he reached out his arms to her while making whining sounds. Smiling, Velvet held Spike out to Twilight for her to take.

"He seems to really like you, dear," Velvet said.

Twilight took Spike into her arms and smiled at him. "I promise that I'll always remain by your side, Spike. No matter what happens, I'll be there for you."

• + + + +

Imposingly standing at the top of the foothills was a fortress. This fortress was as black as coal with tall walls and towers that stood as reminders of the dark powers that built it in the first place. The occupying force within the ebon walls of the fortress were the furthest thing from human as one could picture. Flying in the skies above the fortress was a large raven.

The raven flew down to the fortress. The armored soldiers below wore armor painted crimson and carried weapons that were wickedly sharp. And all of them had eyes that glowed a sinister shade of red. The raven flew towards the fortress's inner keep and right through the open window at the top. The raven landed inside what looked like a war room filled with maps and chairs as well as a long table.

Standing at one end of the table was a cloaked figure with the same glowing red eyes as the soldiers outside. The figure turned towards the raven with a fanged smile.

"I take it that you've come back from your mission, my dear familiar?" the figure asked in a deep voice.

The raven cawed in response. As the raven gave his report, the figure smiled under the hood of his cloak, revealing lots of sharp teeth.

"I see, so that where those lost priests have been cowering. The Lords are going to want to hear about this," the figure said.

A few more caws later, the figure's expression changed into one of shock. He slammed a clawed fist on the table in anger.

"What?! They actually managed to accomplish the ritual?!" the figure shouted. The raven squawked its reply in fear.

With a bestial snarl, the cloaked figure pointed to the window. "Go! Tell the other ravens to report your findings to the other Demons scattered throughout the land. We need to be on guard."

The raven flew out of the window with astonishing speed. The cloaked figure stormed out of the war room and spoke to the two soldiers that were guarding the room. They were both surprised to see their commander in such a state. One of them actually dared to speak.

"Uh... General Garble, is something wrong?" the soldier asked.

"Of course something is wrong! Those missing priests we've been looking for have finally been found!" Garble replied angrily.

"Isn't that a... good thing?" the second soldier asked.

"Apparently, my raven familiar just told me that they've managed to summon a hero from the Divine Realm!" Garble snapped.

That got the other soldiers to react by lurching forward in shock and nearly falling over. They were both clearly shocked by the news of something that could pose a threat to them.

"So what do we do now?!" the first soldier asked.

"Muster every armed soldier we have in this fortress to arms! We have to kill this hero before he can be any threat to us!" Garble replied. "The future of our rule over this world depends on it!"

The two Demon soldiers left to go about following their orders. Meanwhile, Garble left for his quarters to put on his armor and gather his weapons. He had to make sure this hero was dead. If he did, he might be rewarded handsomely by the Lords' Council for his efforts, maybe with his own territory and humans to rule over. Either way, he would make sure this hero was dead.