The Green Monkey

The Sparkle Family Mountain - 5 Months Later

Spike was happily swinging from branch to branch on the trees of the mountain's forests having the time of his life before his lessons. He may only be five months old, but he's grown pretty big for his age. Spike landed on one of his favorite trees and began to eat the sweet buns from the ones he swiped from his mom's kitchen.

"This is a great day to play!" Spike said with a mouthful of sweet bun. "If only I didn't have my magic and fighting lessons today, I would be swinging and playing till the sun went down."

As he was finishing off the rest of the sweet buns, a familiar voice called to him from below.

"Spike! Spike! I need you to come down for your magic lessons!" Twilight called from down below.

"But Big Sis, I just want to take some time to play today! Can't I just have one day without my lessons?" Spike called from above.

Twilight crossed her arms and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Spike, but these lessons are important! You need this knowledge to defend yourself against Demons."

"Come on, Sis! You keep saying that I'm learning all of these things to 'defend myself against Demons', but I haven't seen a single Demon in my entire life!" Spike rebutted.

Seeing no other alternative, Twilight resorted to using the "mean big sis method". She smirked at Spike from below and looked away.

"OK, you can go and play if you want, but if you choose to go without your lessons, then I'll have to tell Mom about those sweet buns you stole," Twilight said.

Spike was not very happy to hear that. He knew how mad his mom could get and didn't want his sister to go tattling to her about his thievery. Grunting in anger, Spike crossed his arms as he glared down at Twilight.

"Fine, but only if you promise to play with me after our lessons," Spike bargained.

Twilight chuckled to herself. Spike always wanted to play once he was done with his lessons, and Twilight was always happy to play with him.

"Fine. If you do your lessons well, I'll play with you," Twilight said.

Spike grinned and jumped downwards and landed on his feet perfectly. He then jumped up and clung onto Twilight's back, grooming her hair like a normal primate. Twilight laughed as she walked herself and Spike back to the cave temple.

"You're such a playful monkey today, aren't you?" Twilight asked.

"I'm like this everyday, Big Sis. I just wish Big Bro Shining would play with me from time-to-time," Spike said.

"You know you're big brother's job is to protect this mountain from the Demons. They will want to hurt you and us if they find us," Twilight said. "Your training is to help you gain the power to fight them."

As Spike was grooming Twilight, his curiosity got the best of him. "Twilight... are Demons really as bad as everyone else says they are?"

Twilight had carried him all the way to the cave entrance when she replied. Her voice was one of a teacher speaking to her student.

-

Five centuries ago, the land was united under the peaceful rule of Queen Hearth. Her rule had seen widespread peace and happiness spread throughout both the land of Equestria and even our neighbors of Yakyakistan, the Hippogriff Holy State, the Kirin Republic, the Griffon Empire, and the Dragonlands.

One day, an eclipse blocked out the sun. This eclipse lasted for three whole days with no reason as to why. When the eclipse finally ended, people found dark portals opening up at random locations. These portals led to the Shadowsphere, the dark realm that belonged to the Demons. Hordes of them spewed forth from the portals and rapidly took most of the land before we had any time to react.

Demons are stronger, faster, and more durable than us mortals, and not to mention their strange evil magic. They took over the land in less than a year, and our neighbors try their best to appease the Demons to prevent an invasion of their own lands. Nowadays, the Demons rule the land as absolute overlords. The mortals that live in a Demon's domain are subjected to horrible things. It was divine providence that led to us being hidden away in the mountains to bring a hero into the world.

-

Spike had heard this story before from the others, but he always liked it when Twilight told him this story. But Spike always had the feeling that she had never even seen a Demon before. And that got Spike to thinking.

"Why would the Demons come to this realm to begin with if they had their own realm to live in?" Spike asked.

"Because Demons are the incarnations of evil, Spike. There's no rhyme or reason to their behavior. They hate us because we have a world of vibrant life, something that the Shadowsphere lacks," Twilight replied. "Demons hate mortals because we have what they don't."

"Still, I would like to know the real reason why the Demons came to our realm. Maybe I should ask a Demon," Spike said.

"Listen, Spike, Demons would rather eat you than talk to you," Twilight said. "There's no such thing as a nice Demon."

They soon entered Twilight's room, which was stocked with various scrolls of magic for him to read and study. Twilight took a position in front of Spike and pulled out a scroll to read.

"OK, Spike. This is a magic lesson you'll enjoy," Twilight said. "Today, you're going to be learning how to summon magic constructs using various talismans."

That was something Spike had been looking forward to learning. He'd already learned how to control fire, increase his physical abilities, and even shapeshift, but now he wanted to learn how to create magic constructs. Twilight hands Spike one of the talismans that she created and continued her lesson.

"This is a bat talisman, which will obviously create a bat made of pure mystic energy," Twilight said. "I want you to simply keep the image of a bat in your mind as you channel your energy into the talisman."

Spike took the talisman in his hand and did exactly as he was instructed. He closed his eyes and thought of a fluttering bat like the ones he's seen in the caves. He thought of every little detail, like the bat's leathery wings, large ears, face, feet, and even the individual hairs on the bat's body. At the same time he was focusing all of his energy into the talisman. Warmth flooded into his hands and the talisman disappears in a puff of smoke with a small brown bat in its place.

"Ha! I did it!" Spike said loudly.

"Good job, bro! I only mastered that after trying ten times," Twilight said. "Now let's work on controlling your construct. All you really need to do is imagine what you want your construct to do."

The little bat in Spike's hand leapt up into the air and flies around in circles. Spike is smiling and laughing in ecstasy from the success of learning this new spell, his tail wagging rapidly. Twilight chuckled.

"Very good, Spike, now let's dispel your construct," Twilight said. "Simply remove your energy from it with your hand."

Spike held out his hand and focused on reclaiming his energy from the bat. As the bat was flying around in circles, it disappears in a puff of smoke.

"Well done, Spike. Let's continue practicing," Twilight said.

The duo continued with practicing with Spike summoning and controlling the constructs he creates until Velvet came into the room saying that it was time for lunch. Spike jumped up into his mom's arms and started to groom her affectionately.

"Mom! Mom! I learned some new spells today!" Spike said with pride.

"Did you now? What spells did your sister teach you?" Velvet asked.

"I learned how to create things with talismans!" Spike replied.

"You must be hungry after all that learning, so let's go and eat," Velvet said.

"OK, Mom," Spike said.

Velvet carried Spike and Twilight followed them to the dining area of the family as they sat down for lunch. Spike's older brother Shining Armor sat next to Spike and his sister-in-law Cadence sat next to him. Sitting for her was difficult due to the enlarged stomach she had. Shining smiled as he helped Cadence sit down and Spike smiled at her.

"When do you think the baby's going to be born, Big Sis Cadence?" Spike asked.

"Not for a few more months, little brother. Though I can tell you're excited to be an uncle," Cadence said with a smile.

Spike then walked behind her and began to groom her hair like a normal monkey. He was halfway finished when Velvet came out with plates and bowls of food. Spike got a plate of apples, fish, eggs, and rice to enjoy. Spike pant-hoots in excitement as he ate the food. Shining looked down at his little primate brother with a smile.

"You excited for your combat lessons, bro?" Shining Armor asked.

"I'm excited to kick your butt again!" Spike said. "You know I'm a good fighter already!"

"I know, but every bit of training helps. And besides, Demons are powerful, and will try anything and everything to win," Shining said. "Don't worry, Twilight will play with you afterwards."

"Twilight already said she'd play with me. And I'm sure you'll be too busy caring for Big Sis Cadence to play with me," Spike said.

"How about this? I'll play with you once the baby is born," Shining suggested.

"Awesome! I'll hold you to it!" Spike said.

Nightlight took this opportunity to ask his eldest son some rather grave questions.

"Son, have your familiars found anything worth reporting?" he asked.

"Well, there haven't been any Demons seen around here for the past few months," Shining replied. "They haven't even been spotted in the river valley where they usually crawl."

Nightlife and the other grown-ups looked to each other in stern contemplation. Spike was simply innocently munching on fresh apples as he was starting to worry about the unhappy looks on the faces of his family. So Spike did what any primate would do to ease the tension: grooming. He knuckle-walked his way over to Cadence and finished grooming her hair, which got a chuckle out of her as his adept fingers worked through her hair. The rest of the family visibly relaxed at seeing Spike's display of affection.

"Well, I guess I can just reinforce the protection talismans around the area just to be safe," Shining said as Spike moved on to groom him.

"Good. We don't know if those monsters are planning anything, but we're not going to take any chances," Nightlight said.

As Spike moved on to groom Twilight, a white bird flew into the room and landed in front of Shining Armor squawking like mad. It was one of his familiars that he had patrolling the mountain, and it was squawking and flapping in a way that did not bode well. Shining Armor's face was one of shock and foreboding.

"The sky... it's turning dark way too quickly," Shining said gravely.

Everyone stood up and Spike was starting to get worried. He followed the family as they all rushed to the mouth of their cave home. He looked to Twilight in concern.

"What's going on, Twilight?" he asked.

"The Demons are coming! Which means we need to find a way to get out of here!" Twilight replied.

When they arrived at the mouth of the cave, they saw that their greatest fear is coming to pass. The sky was indeed getting darker at a faster rate than natural. It was only noon and yet it was already looking like twilight and getting darker by the second. The air was also getting colder as various birds and animals began flying and running away from the increasing darkness approaching. Nightlight and Velvet were shaken by this.

"There's no doubt about it. The Demons are here," Nightlight said. "We need to evacuate immediately!"

"What about the barrier?" Cadence asked.

"We don't have time to reinforce it and I don't think we can fight off an army of Demons!" Velvet replied. "We just need to evacuate the temple and get out of here!"

The family ran back into the cave and to their small temple to retrieve the scrolls and items they needed. Twilight and Cadence were using their magic to store all of their scrolls into magic bags to carry them all. Shining Armor used his talismans to create terracotta warriors to send out and defend the family should the Demons make their way up the mountain. Spike was trying his best to help them all. Once everyone was done, they all met in the inner sanctum on front of the idols of the Celestial Sisters. Nightlight put two talismans on the idols and a magic gate opened.

"This will take us to another mountain in the south. This is our only way to get out of here!" Velvet said.

"What about me?" Spike asked. "You all have been training me to fight Demons, so I can protect you all!"

Twilight put her hands on Spike's shoulders and looked at him. "Spike, you haven't grown enough to take on even one Demon. You need to grow stronger so that you can fight Demons."

Spike didn't want to argue with his older sister, so he simply nodded. Nightlife led his wife, Shining Armor, and Cadence through the portal before ushering for Spike and Twilight to go through the portal.

Before they could enter the portal, the ground started to shake. The Demons had already began their assault the mountain and were making their way past the terracotta warriors outside the cave. The shaking from the battle caused a section of the roof to collapse. It would've hit Nightlight if Spike didn't leap forward and kick his dad right into the portal. The collapsing ceiling also crushed the idols that were creating the portal. The portal disappeared immediately, leaving Spike and Twilight inside a dangerous situation.

"Spike! We need to get out of here and away from the Demon forces!" Twilight said.

"OK, Sis!" Spike said.

Spike followed Twilight outside the cave and were greeted to a bad sight. Right in front of the mouth of the cave was a huge force of armored Demons. The Demons were growling and snarling at the pair while glaring at them with shining red eyes. The Demons then parted to make way for their commander.

The Demon commander had deep red skin, pointed ears, orange hair, and a pair of smooth horns on the top of his forehead. He smiled at the pair as he approached.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the tiny priestess and her little fuzzy pet," the Demon commander said. "Took us a little bit of time to find you, but at least we finally did."

Twilight took a defensive stance with a pair of talismans ready. Spike took a fighting stance and growled at the armed foes before him. The Demon leader smiled at their displays before turning his eyes towards Spike.

"I take it that you're the hero that the Celestial Sisters had sent to this realm?" the Demon commander asked.

"Yeah. My name is Spike, Hero of Heaven! Who are you?" Spike replied.

"My name is General Garble, the Demon in charge of the garrison of this region. And you're definitely the hero I've been sent to kill," Garble said. "I can sense the divine power within your body, which is a problem for us Demons."

Twilight stepped between Spike and Garble. "If you want to get to my little brother, you have to get through me!"

Garble simply smiled at her in a sinister manner. "Alright, then."

With a snap of his fingers, Garble's soldiers all took battle stances with their weapons raised at the two. Twilight whispered to Spike to give him instructions.

"Spike, take the special peach I have in my pocket and run away as quickly as you can," Twilight said.

Spike reached into her pocket and pulled out a fresh-looking peach. Twilight then whispered more orders to him.

"I need you to eat that peach and run. I already ate the other one the Sisters gave me, so I should be fine," Twilight said.

As Spike began to eat the peach, the soldiers all started to rush towards the two. Spike finished his peach and stood his ground alongside Twilight.

"I'm not going to abandon you, Sis!" Spike said.

"Spike, you need to leave! You're our world's only hope!" Twilight said.

"You also said that you'd always be by my side! You can't throw away that promise now!" Spike said. Twilight sighed with a smile.

"Guess there's no time like the present to test your skills out in the field," Twilight said. "But if things get too bad, we run."

The soldier nearest to Twilight raised his sword to strike her down, but Spike ran forward and knocked him away with a single punch. The Demon soldier flew fifty feet before crashing into a nearby tree. The other soldiers were shocked to see so much power coming from such a small monkey. Garble whistled.

"Wow! You knocked away a single soldier. How will fare against my whole battalion, though?" Garble asked.

The rest of the Demons tried to rush Spike all at once. Twilight used several talismans to create more terracotta warriors to fight them while Spike put his brother's combat training to good use. Channeling his power, Spike was able to dodge and weave the strikes of the Demons' weapons and land multiple blows from his fists, feet, and even his tail. The Demons he fought were flying in every direction, leaving the Demons in reserve in shock while Garble simply looked at him as if studying Spike.

"Sir, that monkey boy's decimating us!" one of his soldiers shouted.

"Are you sure? He's not even killing our troops," Garble said. "I can tell that his strikes are all non-lethal. He truly is a creature born of Heaven if he refuses to harm anyone, even Demons. He's so pure and good that it makes me want to puke."

Once Spike finished off the rest of the Demons, he turned towards Garble. "Your buddies are all down! Take your army and leave our mountain alone!"

Garble walked towards Spike and drew his sword. "And what makes you think I would want to do that?"

"Because you're the only one left. You can't win against me and my sister," Spike replied.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Garble said, readying his sword for battle. "Let's just see how much of a hero you are."

Garble rushed forward with blazing speed and swung his sword. Spike caught it in the palms of his hands and moved the sword to the side while driving his elbow into Garble's nose. He felt his foe's nose break as he was knocked back several feet. Garble got up and looked at his own black blood in his hands before looking back up at Spike in anger.

"You little monkey fuck! I am a general in the Shadow Legions! I won't be beaten by a fucking monkey!" Garble shouted.

The enraged Garble tried to swing his sword at Spike over and over again, but Spike kept his brother's teachings in mind and dodged and parried every one of the strikes below landing multiple blows on Garble. He then grabbed Garble's sword with his tail and threw it the ground before driving his fist into Garble's chin with an uppercut. Garble flew backwards several feet and landed on a nearby boulder with several cracks forming from the force. Spike then stood before him.

"You and your fellows are done. Leave this mountain," Spike said. "I won't kill you, but I will beat you again if you come around again."

Garble struggled to get to his feet and spit out some blood. "You don't know my superiors well, do you? If I go back in defeat, they'll kill me themselves... and it won't be quick... or painless. So fuck you and your mercy!"

The Demon reached into his pocket and pulled out a black dagger. Before Spike could stop him, Garble plunged his dagger into his chest. Garble screamed in pain before his body disappeared into a burst of ashes, leaving Spike shocked at the sight of pain and death. Twilight joined Spike.

"Spike, I'm so sorry that you had to see that. But we managed to win for now," Twilight said. "When the rest of the Demons find out about this, they'll send their best and most terrifying after us. We have to leave the mountain."

It took Spike a while to respond. "Yeah. Let's go. If any Demon threatens us or any innocent people, I'll stop them."

"You mean we'll stop them. I promised to always be by your side and I meant it," Twilight said. "Shall we go? We need to plan a strategy if we're going to be constantly fighting Demons. We need to be prepared."

"OK, Sis," Spike said, taking Twilight's hand. "I'm not worried. We'll fight them together. And then we'll find our family."

Spike and Twilight walked down the mountain to begin their journey together. What they didn't see was the raven that was watching them as well as the prior fight. The raven took off to the west of the mountain.

• + + + +

Obsidian Castle

A female Demon wearing a fancy purple robe was waking down the long hallways of Obsidian Castle to the special meeting chamber for all of the other Lords to gather. The raven she received had brought her some unsavory news that she had to talk to the others about. Her only hope was that Lord Sombra wasn't there. The last Demon she wanted to deal with was that smarmy narcissistic prick. Lord Sombra is effective at keeping the humans in his region in check, but he was bloated with smug preening. Either way, she took a left and walked through the double-doors to the meeting chamber.

Inside the meeting chamber was a long table with a fireplace in the far end with purple flames spewing forth as well as purple lanterns providing eerie light to the otherwise dour room. Seated at the table were various other Demon Lords, including famous ones such as Tirek, Chrysalis, and the Dazzlings. The female Demon sat down next to Chrysalis and got a smile from the Mistress of Many Forms.

"Ah, Lady Starlight, I didn't expect you to travel here for this. Then again, it is a rather stressful situation for all of us," Chrysalis said.

"Indeed, it, is, Lady Chrysalis. If the reports I heard were true, then we all need to do something about it," Starlight said.

The doors opened again and a bigger Demon entered the room and sat down at the head of the table. He wore a black and red robe and maintained a more human appearance, save for his glowing red eyes and ghostly pale skin. Joining his left side is a female Demon with a similar human form except for her red eyes and pointed ears. The lead male Demon spoke in a voice that echoed unnaturally.

"Now that we're all here, let us call this meeting to order," he said calmly. "I trust you all received the same news I did?"

"We did, Shadow Khan. We've all received ravens saying that not only has a nest of priests summoned a hero, but that same hero defeated an entire garrison of our troops," Tirek said. "We lost General Garble in the fight, but he was a Lower Demon so no real major loss on our part."

"I'm not surprised we lost him. I don't even remember why he was promoted to general to begin with," Adagio said. "Still though, taking down an entire garrison of Demon soldiers is no easy feat for anyone."

"Indeed, that's why we need to be focusing solely on this green monkey," Sombra said. "According to the ravens that were there for the fight, Garble was the only casualty of the fight, and he took his own life."

Everyone in the room stared in disbelief. Starlight spoke up next.

"Wait, this warrior defeated all of our troops but didn't kill anyone?" Starlight asked.

"Evidently. If he doesn't kill, then he really must be a hero from Heaven," Aria said. "Still, if he's this powerful right now, then his power may only grow from here."

"Indeed, my friends. We need to send word out to every Demon in the land and tell them to be on high alert, and place a bounty on the monkey boy's head," Shadow Khan said. "As of this moment, we're going to war. To ensure our rule over this world, we need to stomp out the wretched monkey once and for all."

With that, the meeting was adjourned. Shadow Khan and his secretary left the room followed by the rest of the Lords, with Starlight leaving last. She knew how much trouble this monkey hero could bring, but she had already thought up a scheme to handle him.

"This monkey may be powerful, but his unwillingness to kill leaves him weak. And this is something I fully intend to exploit," Starlight thought to herself.