> The Monster Hunter
>  by the ninja king
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The dragon (Edit)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



“Fish and Wildlife wants to fine us for killing a giant mutant Tennessee River catfish because it was endangered. Sure it had just crawled up on land and eaten some teenagers, but it was still an endangered species.” 
― Larry Correia, Monster Hunter International



It was a Windy day in Canterlot. Inside the barracks, which is inside the castle, was the sound of metal clashing. Inside, there was a green and purple dragon with a blue hoodie, and long black sweat pants with a hole on the back for his long green tail, and in his claws were two swords. His foe is a huge Minotaur with a green shirt, blue shorts and a long sword. They clashed for a few more minutes until the dragon tripped the Minotaur, sending him crashing onto the floor with a loud thud. The purple and green dragon put his foot on his chest and his two blades in an ‘X’ shape around the Minotaur’s neck.

"STOP!" A bald Pegasus, with a tank top and red shorts, yelled. The dragon helped the Minotaur up and, once he got up, the two bowed at the Pegasus. "You two are done training for today. Now go have lunch, you two must be very hungry," He said before they nodded and walked out of the barracks. The dragon put his two swords near each other, fusing them into one sword, and put it into his scabbard. The Minotaur put his sword in his scabbard, which was on his back.

"Wow, Iron you've gotten better," The Dragon said while walking towards the door with the Minotaur.

"You are just being nice, Spike. You know that I can't swing my sword for shit," Iron Will said.

"No, I really mean that. You are getting better."

"Whatever floats your boat, dude."

Spike rolled his eyes at his friend's self-bashing.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The two entered the cafeteria, which had all sorts of monsters and species from all over the world eating different types of food. They went into a line and grabbed trays. Spike got a daisy sandwich and Iron Will got a carrot hot dog. When the two walked out, they started looking for a table, until a voce stopped them.

"Spike! Iron Will! Over here!" A light green unicorn with a white shirt and black shorts said, while she was waving her hands in the air. The two saw her and went to her table.

"Hey Lyra," The two said in unison, while they were taking their seats.

"What are you doing here? I thought my mom told you to kill that vampire that was harming the residents of a village." Spike asked, before taking a bite in his sandwich.

"Well, I decapitated her. Do you want to see her head?" Lyra asked.

"Hell yeah!" Spike said.

"Well, I don't want to," Iron Will said.

"Close your eyes then, Iron Wimp." She said. Iron just looked away and Lyra pulled out the head. The head was a young mare, blood was dripping out of the bottom and its spine was hanging out.

"Wow that is so cool!" Spike exclaimed.

"I know. I chopped the bitch's head off when she was about to suck the blood out of a stallion." She explained.

"Can you put the head away? You’re making me lose my appetite," Iron Will said. Spike and Lyra snickered at their friend's weak stomach. Lyra put the dismembered head back in her bag where the head initially resided.

"Are you feeling better, sissy?" Spike said while nudging him lightly on his shoulder. The Minotaur grumbled slightly, before taking a bite out of his carrot dog.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  

After the three finished lunch, Spike went to see his mom and aunt. Iron Will went to help his dad, the blacksmith, and Lyra went to get her bounty. Spike cheerfully ran thru the halls of the castle until he stopped at a big door with two guards in golden armor guarding it.
"Hey Spike," One of the guards said. "Did you need to see Celestia and Luna?"

"Yep," Spike said. The two gave a nod.

When he entered, he saw his mom and Aunt were arguing about the recent monster attacks and how to get rid of them. He saw his mom's sword and his aunt's sword in the air to make their points.

"Hey mom! Hey auntie! What’s up?" The young dragon said getting their attention.

"Oh. Hello Spike. Do you need help?" Luna asked.

"Not right now. So... what monsters are you trying to kick out?" He asked.

"Just a pack of Werewolves, my son," Celestia said firmly.

"Why don't you two ask Sherly the Medium? She knows how to kick Werewolves out of places." Spike said.

"Yes... This is true... She is very good at what she does, Spike." Luna said.

"Plus we could do it and not upset the Werewolves... And maybe we can get some to join us." Celestia added.

"I would love to see a Werewolf here that doesn't want to rip everyone to shreds." Spike said, with a chuckle.

"Me too," Celestia said. "So why did you come to see us?"

"Well... I want to live somewhere outside the city." Spike said firmly.

"What about the town nearby?" Luna offered.

"The one filled with monsters that are peaceful?" Celestia asked.

"Is there any other one?" Luna said rolling her eyes.

"So... Is that a yes or a no?" Spike asked.

"That is a yes." Luna said. "You can go to Bloodville."

"YES! YES! YES! YES!" Spike exclaimed, jumping around the room like a filly. "I'll get my stuff and take my leave there right away!" He said while running out of the room.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Spike ran towards is room, grabbed some of his clothes and placed his guitar on his back. He shoved his clothes in his backpack and raced out his room. He was running towards the town until he ran into a figure.         
> not so warm welcome (edit 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



“When all else fails, kill it with fire.” 
― Larry Correia, Monster Hunter Alpha



"Oof" Spike said, getting up, after he bumped into the figure. "Sorry Gilda," he said, while holding out his claw to help her up.

"It’s ok, Spike," the griffon said. Gilda grabbed Spike's arm and got up. She was wearing a green sweat shirt and red sweat pants. "So, what’s the rush, anyway?"

"I’m going to Bloodville."

"Really? Be careful though, I heard a crap ton of evil monsters live in the Everfree forest, near the town," she said. Spike gave her an expression which said, 'Seriously?' “Oh yea. I forgot who I am talking to."

"Right. See ya, Gilda!" Spike said, while running off. He ran through the castle, jumping over people and sliding under objects that where being moved. When Spike got to the castle exit, he jumped out a nearby window, landing on the ground unharmed.

He ran through the streets, showing off is acrobatics, by jumping over a lot of different objects. When he got to the outer most walls, he climbed over it with a rope that was nearby. When he got to the top, he grabbed a second rope and slid down to the ground. He landed right near the guards which gave them a scare. "Sorry about that." Spike said.

"It’s all right, Spike," laughed one of the guards. Spike gave a sigh of relief, put his hood over his head and ran off on a dirt path. The path had tree roots all over the ground, which Spike slid under or jumped over, to avoid tripping on them. He ran for a few more minutes until an arrow stopped him.

"Dammit!" A voice shouted.

"Hey, why don't you come out and we can talk?" Spike said, reasoning with the shooter.

"Alright. Here I come, you fucker!" The voice said, while falling down with a sword to slice Spike in half.  

"Oh my," Spike said, sarcastically, glancing up to see the figure. He rolled to avoid the attacker. When Spike turned around, he saw the attacker was a female cyan Pegasus with a sword and a crossbow that looked like they could break any second.

"Time to die!" She said, while pointing the cross bow at Spike. Spike got into a defensive stance to get ready for the arrow. But before the arrow could fire it broke and the Pegasus yelled, "FUCK!"

"Do you need help?" Spike deadpanned.

"No! I’m fine." She said. "Now die!" She ran towards Spike, jumped and got ready to slice him in half but Spike put his sword up, and when the sword clashed with the Pegasus's sword, it shattered.

"Dammit!" She said, while stomping on the ground.

"Do you want to talk now?" Spike said.

"Fine. Where are you from?" She asked.

"I came from Canterlot." he said.

"Oh, thank Celestia." She said, with a sigh with a relief. "I thought you were one of those monster hunters out to kill all monsters."

"I despise those guys. So, what’s your name?" Spike asked.

"Name’s Rainbow Dash," she said, as pulled her hood down. Spike spotted that she had a rainbow mane, which she was probably named after.

"I’m Spike." He said, also pulling his hood down.

Dash eyes widened when he saw him and thought, 'Wow, he’s a handsome dragon.' "Hey, sorry for trying to kill you." She said, while rubbing the back of her neck with her left hand.

"It’s fine. I usually get that a lot when I go to a monster-filled town. So, Dash, can you walk with me so no one tries to kill me on the way to Bloodville?" Spike asked.

"Sure," she said, while walking towards to the village, Spike following behind her.

"So, why did your weapons break?"

"Evil monsters and monster hunters attack us and that’s dulling our weapons close to breaking point. The only one who still has their weapons in tip top condition is Shining Armor, the second best sword fighter in all of Bloodville."

"Who’s the first, then?"

"Well, that’d be me." Rainbow jabbing her thumb at her chest.

"Pretty confident there, huh? Do need arrows? Equipment? How are you doing with food?"

"We are pretty well stocked with food, but we really need arrows and some medical supplies."

"I can ask my mom, she will be happy to give supplies to your village."

"Who’s your mom?"

“Celestia,” the dragon mumbled.

“Celestia!?”
"Yeah."

"Wow, um… once we get to the village, we can go to Shining and send your mom a request for weapons, arrows, and medical supplies," said Rainbow. Spike put his sword in his scabbard. As they reached an opening, they saw few buildings and Rainbow Dash said, "Welcome to Bloodville!"
Spike ran ahead, excitedly, but only to see no one in sight. “Hey, Dash? Where is everyone?"

"They must be in their homes." She said.

"Get the fuck away from Dash, you monster hunter bastard!" A voice yelled.

Spike looked up to see a tall warlock with a black scarf, pants, and shirt standing on a lamp post.  He held up a sword that looked as if it could kill a rock golem and not shatter. He admittedly knew that this must be Shining Armor.

"Hey I’m not-" Spike tried to say, before he got cut off by Shining.

"Liar!" He shouted, "You’re here to kill everyone, aren’t you? Well I’m not letting you do that, mother fucker!" He jumped off the post and charged towards Spike. A split second before he was skewered, Spike grabbed his sword, diffusing them going into a defensive stance. Shining's sword struck Spike's two swords. Spike, in a flash, kicked Shining in the gut and when his head was down, kneed his face making him fly back and drop his sword.

"I came from Canterlot, dude!" Spike shouted.

"Oh, shit. I’m sorry," Shining said. With that, Spike fused his swords again and put them into his scabbard.

"It’s alright, I get that a lot from other monster-filled towns," Spike assured him, "I heard that you needed some supplies." Spike said, while picking up Shining's sword and handing it to him.

"Oh yes. We need them desperately," Shining said, while placing his sword in his scabbard.

"Ok, I need a scroll and something to write with."

"I will see what I can do," Shining told them, while running off to gather the needed materials.
Two minutes later, he had a scroll, ink, and a quill. "Here you are. Sorry for the wait," he said, while giving Spike the supplies.

"This shouldn’t take long," Spike said, while writing. It didn't take long for Spike to write the letter. Spike's hands started glowing with a green aura along with the note, and then the note vanished in a puff of green smoke.

"What did you do?" Shining asked.

"I sent it to my mom," Spike said. "Now we get to wait here for a reply." Spike grabbed his guitar from his back and started to pluck a few strings and started to play a random song.
> Meeting New faces (edit)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Spike played his guitar for about five minutes before a yellow mist appeared in front of him and formed into a scroll.

"Who is it from, Spike?" Shining Armor questioned.

"Celestia," He said, as he put away his guitar. "The letter says that the weapons will be here in two days."

"That's great! Now we’ll be ready against those monster attacks."

"Where is everyone, Shining?" Rainbow asked, a bit anxious about the lack of activity.

"They're at farmer's market."

"Well, can you tell them that Spike's not another monster hunter here to kill everyone, and that he's been sent here from Canterlot?"

"Can you also tell them not to bow down to me or call me Prince Spike?" The Dragon asked.

"I got it. And why would they call you Prince?" Shining Armor replied.

“My mom is Celestia. Don’t freak out.”

Shining’s eyes widened but he didn’t say anything as he ran towards the market.

"Are there any house for sale around here?" Spike asked.

"I think so. Why?"

"I'm thinking of moving here. I like it."

"Awesome! There should be houses for sale over there," Rainbow Dash said, as she pointed to an apartment complex. "But you should totally meet some of my friends first. Sound cool?"

"Sure, that sounds great," Spike said. And with that, she took Spike to a park that was lit by a few candles, making it lit just enough to make sure it wasn't pitch black.

"Can you see alright, Spike?"

"Perfectly," He replied. "Trained as a monster hunter, you learn to see in the dark as if it were the middle of the day."

"Whoa! Think I could get training?" Rainbow Dash said, continuing until they could see a cottage. "This is where Fluttershy lives." She said, pointing to the cottage.

"I think I could put a word in for you. So, what is she, Dash?" Spike asked.

"A Dryad," she said.

“Interesting.” Dash knocked on the door.

"Coming," A timid voice said, not too long before the door opened, revealing a woody yellow Pegasi girl with pink leaves that made her mane, a green pair of pants and red shirt. "Hey D-D-D-D-Dash," She stuttered, now seeing Spike.

"Fluttershy, this is Spike. He's from Canterlot and Celestia's son."

"Oh! That’s… nice," she said, while opening the door a little wider. "Um… Your Highness?" She said, with a bow.

"You can just call me Spike. Is that alright?"

"Oh, yes. Do you want to come in?" She asked, watching as Spike and Rainbow nodded before letting them in.

"Can you see, Spike? I know Dash can't." She said, looking for a night vision potion.

"Yep, just one of the benefits of being a super cool monster hunter."

"Wow! Sounds great," Fluttershy said, giving Dash the potion, which she happily drank. "Have a seat, if you want to that is."

"Gladly," They both said, walking towards a nearby table, where Spike put his guitar and backpack against a nearby wall before taking his seat, noticing that Dash just took her seat right away.

"Would you like some tea?" Fluttershy asked.

"Nah, I'm good," Dash said, kicking back and placing her hooves on the table.

"I would love some." Spike said, prompting Fluttershy to go into the kitchen and start boiling the water.

"Do you have any other skills, Spike?" Rainbow Dash asked, breaking the silence.

"Well, I am a very good cook and I play the guitar." Spike said, pointing to it.

"Oh yeah? So, why are you a monster hunter, then?"

"Well... I like to help the peaceful monsters in any way that I can."

"You have a big heart, Spike," Rainbow said, smiling, just as a high pitch whistle pierced their ears.

"The tea is ready." Fluttershy said, bring out a full tea set on a platter.

"Spike? Are there Dryads that seem to hate nature?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah. We call them Anti-Dryads," Spike answers.

"Have you killed any?"

"Ya, I've kill loads of them."

"What do they seem to do?"

"Start forest fires, kill wildlife, you know, stuff that is morally wrong. They just don’t care."

"Hmm," she replied somberly, letting the silence take over, at least until they struck up a lighter conversation that lasted until Spike's tea was long finished and Rainbow's potion was starting to wear off, prompting Spike to grab his stuff as they said goodbye to Fluttershy. Once outside, Dash lead Spike to Sweet Apple Acres to meet the Apple Family, stopping at a huge apple orchard with the glow of the sunset on their faces.

"Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres!" Rainbow said, throwing out her arms, letting Spike take in the view as well as a very muscular earth pony with blue pants and a yellow T-shirt with a brown Stetson, sleeping under a tree, which he immediately noticed was a Werewolf.

"Who's that, Dash?" Spike asked.

"Oh, that's just Applejack," She answered happily. "Want to meet her?" Spike gave a nod and they walked over.

"Hey AJ!" Rainbow Dash said, getting her attention.

"Well howdy, Sugarcube! Who's this feller?" Applejack asked.

"This is Spike," Rainbow Dash said. "And he doesn't like to be treated like he's Celestia's son."

"Your mom is Celesta!?" Applejack practically shouted.

"Yeah," Spike sighed.

"Well... Welcome. I hope you enjoy your stay here." AJ said.

"Actually, I’m thinking of moving here."

"That so? Well, I know you’ll have a nice time here," Applejack said.

"Hey AJ, if you don't mind me asking, is your whole family Werewolves?" Spike asked.  

"How'd you know that I'm a Werewolf?"

"I'm a monster hunter, and it helps to know who's a what, especially when they're trying to rip you to pieces."

"Well, ain’t that fancy? Ya wanna meet 'em? They're just comin’ back from the farmer’s market," she said, just as a small filly with a red shirt and long jeans and an almost shockingly large stallion with a blue t-shirt and black sweats came down from the gate. The stallion saw the two and started to walk towards them as the filly hid behind the stallion.

"So, you're Spike?" The stallion said.

"Yep, that’s me." Spike answered.

"I'm Big Macintosh," he said, holding out his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Big Macintosh. Can I call you Mac?" Spike said as he grabbed Big Mac's hand and shook it.

"Sure you can. And this is Apple Bloom," He said, revealing the filly with wide eyes and a dropped jaw.

"Are you a real monster hunter?" She asked.

"Sure am," Spike said, with a chuckle.

"Wow! Your job is so cool!"

"Yep. But killing monsters isn’t all fun and games."

"Hey Big Mac, where's Granny Smith?" Applejack asked, "Wasn't she with you?"

"She's probably in the house," He said. "She might've come in while you were sleeping."

"AJ, you don't mind if Spike and I leave now, do ya? I'm taking him on the grand tour," Rainbow Dash asked.

"Nope, go right ahead."

"Alright Spike, follow me."

"Got it," Spike said. They said their goodbyes and headed back into town, saying hi to all of the residents until they arrived at a purple circular building.

"Here's the Carousel Boutique. This is where Rarity lives." Rainbow Dash said, opening the door for the two of them. They saw a Vampire with blue curls wearing a pink t-shirt, blue pants, and a big yellow hat standing over two mannequins adorned with various unfinished pieces of fancy clothing.

"No no no," She said as walked around, looking for something.

"Hi, Rares!" Rainbow Dash said, as Rarity spun around to see her friend and a dragon.

"Hello, Rainbow Dash." Rarity said, walking over to them. "Oh my goddess! You must be Prince Spike!" Nearly rushing the last few paces to the Prince, only to be stopped by his cold, icy stare.

"Rarity, before you say anything else, just letting you know that your beauty will not grant you any favor towards my heart," he said, with an icy tone that froze Rarity in a dumbfounded stump, practically destroying her plan right from the start. "I've seen more women like you than I care to count, that think they can sway me into marriage simply because I am a Prince and they are beautiful, which is honestly the most idiotic thing I've seen people do."

"Well... that’s understandable, I guess," Rarity said, dejectedly.

"And don't think that you're going to make me feel guilty just because I say 'I don't love you,' because they've all given me that exact same excuse you were just giving me now." Rarity looked down in defeat.

"So what brings you here?" Rarity asked, brightening back up.

"Well, I'm moving here and wanted to meet some of the locals," Spike said.

"Well then, I hope you enjoy it here! I'm so glad to see that you are moving here and giving this town a little more class! Did you need any clothes, dear?"

"Hey, Rarity." Rainbow Dash interrupted.

"Yes, Rainbow." Rarity responded.

"Whose clothing is that?" Rainbow asked as she pointed to one of the mannequins.

"Oh, it's for a new customer of mine." Rarity said. "Actually, you might know him, Spike. His name's Fancy Pants."

"Oh, I definitely know him. He's a good friend of mine," Spike said, smiling, as Rarity's jaw dropped, her eyes widening in shock.

"I think I broke her, Rainbow. How about we go meet another one of your friends," Spike suggested as Rainbow Dash nodded.

"Here is Sugarcube Corner. Where the best baked goods in the world are made," Rainbow Dash said, pointing to a building that looked like a cupcake with a western style door, when all of a sudden a female pink Frankenstein monster with blue jeans, a red shirt, and white flip flops ran up and hugged Spike with enough power to crush his guitar.

"Whoa, can you stop hugging me now!" Spike gasped.

"Sorry," the Frankenstein monster said, as she let go of Spike, who looked at his smashed guitar.

"Dammit."

"Sorry," She said again, looking a bit downtrodden at the sight.

"Hey, it is ok. I can probably buy a new one somewhere," Spike replied.

"Spike this is Pinkie Pie," Rainbow Dash said.

"Yep that's me! So, what are you doing here?" Pinkie Pie asked, all bubbly again.

"I'm moving here," Spike said, just before Pinkie started to jump around happily until she stopped right in front of Spike.

"WOOHOO! I'm going to throw you a big welcome to Bloodville party!"

"Well, I don't have a place, yet," Spike said. "But when Rainbow Dash is finished introducing me to all of her friends I am going to look for one."

"Oh, I know you’re going to have a blast living here!" Pinkie Pie said, with an overly happy voice.

"Well, thank you," Spike said just as a buzzer on Pinkie's arm stared to ring.

"OH CRAP! Gotta go!" Pinkie Pie said, as she bolted off.

"What's up with her?" Spike asked.

"Pinkie? She's probably late for a party or she needs to make a Pinkie Promise," Rainbow Dash said.

"A 'Pinkie Promise?' What's that?" Spike asked.

"Well it is something she made. She is better at explaining it than I am, since I’ve only made one. Word to the wise, though. Never break one," Rainbow Dash explained.

"Alright," Spike said, shrugging off his confusion.

"How about we go see Twilight Sparkle?" Rainbow asked, seeing Spike nod before they went off, throwing away the pieces of Spike's destroyed guitar as they went, just to stop in front of a tree. "Here's the Golden Oaks Library, this where Twilight lives. Heck, she's almost never seen anywhere else."

`"Why's that?" Spike asked, as they entered library.

"She just really loves books. Hey, Twilight!" Rainbow said, just as they saw a centaur with a green shirt turn from putting back a book on its shelf to see Spike and Rainbow.

"Hello Rainbow, and hello Spike," Twilight said. "You don't mind if I ask you a few questions, do you, Spike?"

"Nah it’s fine, as long as it's not classified, that is," Spike replied.

"Understandable. First, what's it like to have the goddess of the sun as your mother?"

"Heh, hardly anyone calls her that anymore, but I suppose it's like any other family: it gets hard at times and easy at others."

"How is it hard at times and easy at others?"

"Well since I am a Prince, I have to go to meetings to help my mother, or represent her when she and Luna are sick. It's easy when you're the one that's sick because servants make sure you're nice and warm, plus my cousin Cadence is a blast to play with."

"What monsters live in Canterlot?"

"All sorts. We have Vampires, 'Frankenstein', Lamias, and Banshees, just to name a few."

"This is my last question: Do you have 100% access to the Canterlot Archives?"

"Sure do, my family has 100% access to the Canterlot Archives. Monster Hunters can access it too, but how much depends on their rank."

"How much can a regular monster access."

"Well, all of the ranks need permission from the royal family and every rank has a gradual change of information they can get."

"How gradual?"

"Like one grade level every 2 ranks."

"Why is it that gradual?"

"Sorry, that is classified."

"Alright, you asked your questions, Twilight. Now we gotta go, because Spike here doesn't have a home yet and he needs to go buy one," Rainbow Dash said.

"Oh... Right, thank you, Spike," Twilight called back, with a slight blush appearing on her cheeks, as they left the Library and went to the apartment complex.

"Do you know where I can buy some furniture?" Spike asked, while waiting for the landlord.

"Quills and Sofas has lots of furniture." Rainbow Dash said, as a warlock came wailing into the room.

"So, you're Spike?" The warlock said, to which Spike nodded. "I am the landlord here, and let me guess... you're going to be buying a house? Well, follow me and I'll see if I can get you an armament." The landlord showed Spike to his office where he bought an apartment on the top floor.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile in a dark room, two figures sat for their meeting.

"So, why did you call me?" The first figure said.

"I want you to make two people suffer," the second figure said.

"Who do you want to suffer and how should I go about it?"

"The princesses of the sun and the moon. And by killing those they care for the most."

"Celestia and Luna? You have made some powerful enemies. But who is it that they care for?"
"
Prince Blueblood," he said, handing the figure a picture of a white unicorn with a golden yellow mane, "Princess Cadence," Handing over a picture of a pink Alicorn with purple and yellow mane, "And lastly, Prince Spike," he finished, handing over a picture of him. "And make sure they can't trace any of this back to me."

"Oh don't worry, I always make sure of that," The second figure said, a devious grin forming.

"I am glad to hear that," the first figure replied, with a matching grin.
> The First Day in Bloodvill (edit)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Spike was jostled awake by loud knocks on his door. "I'm coming," he said groggily, trying to ignore the unyielding knocks. "I said I'm coming!" He yelled, without affecting the poundings on the door. "I AM FUCKING COMING!" Spike shouted in his royal Canterlot voice, running towards the door, opening it with so much anger that he made the pixie jump. "What do you want?!"

"Sorry. But I need to ask for your help," the pixie said.

"Who are you? How did you know where I live, and what kind of help did you need?" Spike asked.

"My name is Mrs. Cheerilee. Rainbow Dash said that I could find you here. And I was wondering if you could teach my students about monster history and how monster hunters came to be."

"Hmm... Sure, I don’t see why not," Spike shrugged.

"Oh, thank you! Could you come to the school house on Monday? And sorry for waking you up," Mrs. Cheerilee said, a blush coming to her face.
"Yeah, never do that again," Spike said, with an icy edge to his voice that made her gulp nodding with fear, before he closed his door and changed out of his pajamas into some red sweat pants and a blue t shirt. Grabbing his sword and his money, he walked to Quills and Sofas, where a Tengu popped up from behind the counter, wearing a light green shirt and matching light green pants.

"Hello! And welcome to Quills and Sofas!" He exclaimed, happily.

"Hi. I'd like to buy some furniture," Spike said, as he got to the counter.

"Ah, excellent. Very good," the shopkeeper said, flapping his arms. "What do you like?"

"I'd like a speed sleeper, a ‘couch potato’ couch, and a table set with three chairs," Spike said, counting off the items on his fingers.

"Let me check my inventory," the shopkeeper said, as he flew off for a few minutes, coming back with a smile on his face. "I just so happen to have each of them in stock. I’ll have them delivered to your house by tonight."

"Thanks, I live in that apartment complex over there. Top floor," Spike said as he pointed to his home, to which the Tengu bowed and flew to the back of the shop. Spike left, going to find some breakfast.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Rainbow Dash woke up with her pet turtle, Tank, lying on her chest. "Hey, Buddy," She said, petting him lovingly, as he craned his neck, pointing to his empty bowl. "You must be hungry." The turtle nodded, as she moved him to the ground safely, before she went to her kitchen and grabbed some lettuce leafs for him and making a quick breakfast for herself. After eating, she dressed in blue pants and a green shirt before going outside to fly around Bloodville, doing some stunts. At least that was until she saw Spike eating some eggs at a diner.

"Hey Spike, what’s up?" She asked, landing in front of him.

Spike looked up and said, "Nothing much. What's up with you, Dash?"

"Same as you, not too much."

"Do you happen to know where the schoolhouse is?"

"Of course. Do you remember when we went to Sweet Apple Acres and there was a fork in the road?"

"Yeah."

"Well just go left instead of right."

"Ok, thanks. And when'd you tell Mrs. Cheerilee where I lived?"

"Oh that. It was last night when she was looking for books about the history of monsters and monster hunters."

"Gotcha. Speaking of, you never told me where you lived."

"I live in a cloud house. It has a rainbow river flowing down the side like a waterfall," she said, proudly. "Oops, I got to go. Still need to keep practicing!" She said hurriedly, flying off into the sky.

'Ya know, she is kinda cute, although she is a daredevil. Maybe I should spend more time with her,' Spike thought as he ate the rest of his eggs, leaving soon after for Sugarcube Corner to try out "The Best Baked Goods in the World." He entered the shop to see a witch with a red apron, a long sleeve gray shirt, and blue jeans behind the counter with a huge grin on her face.

"Hello and welcome to Sugarcube Corner!" She said, "I am Mrs. Cake. Would you like a pastry?" Spike put his face to the glass seeing so many pastries. Each making his mouth water.

"I'd like to get five blueberry muffins," Spike said, as Mrs. Cake bagged them quickly, prompting the transaction and farewells soon after. And then, Spike finally reached in and took a bite out of one of his muffins. WOW! This tastes amazing! Just like Rainbow Dash said. He thought as he took the second of many bites.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A few hours later, as Princess Luna was walking down an alleyway in Canterlot, she heard a blood curdling scream and ran quickly towards the source. While she was running, she saw a bright light and three figures in the distance that became clearer the closer she got, revealing Spike, Cadence and Blueblood, all badly injured with their weapons in hand.

"Luna, help!" Cried Blueblood, as he dropped his Ninjato. Luna ran up to them, only to be stopped by an invisible wall, watching as Blue Blood fell to the ground.

"Why won’t you help us?" Cadence cried, as dropping her Scimitar, watching Luna slam her fists into the wall harder and harder, as Cadence collapsed.

"The assassin said 'I am glad to get someone's revenge,'" Spike said before he too collapsed, dropping his swords. Luna shot up from the couch she was sleeping on with a gasp.

"Is everything alright, Luna?" Celestia asked worriedly, as she walked up to the couch.

"I had a nightmare in which Spike, Cadence, and Blueblood were killed by some unknown assassin," Luna explained.

"Luna, you ARE aware that they are monster hunters, right? And Spike can kick yours, Blueblood’s, Cadence's, and my ass, as well?"

"Yes, I know. But he was just as bloody the others," Luna said, as a changeling guard came into the room.

"Princess," He said, as he bowed. "King Sombra, Lord of shadows, is looking for you two."

"Shadowmancers are masters of dreams," Celestia said. "Maybe he can tell us why you had that dream and what it meant."
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hours later, as Spike finally returned to his apartment, a whole group of residents shouted, "Surprise!" just as he opened the door, failing to scarce him. But luckily that didn't dampen the party as the music started booming, while Spike put his sword away with the rest of his stuff, getting down, and partying with everyone in the room. It wasn't until a few minute later when he found Pinkie Pie, who asked him, "Do you like the party?"

"It’s awesome! Did the stuff I ordered come here, yet?"

"Sure they did. They’re over there. I set them up where I thought you'd like them."

"Oh and where would that be?"

"Well, I put your bed near your clothes, the tables and chairs near the fridge, and the couch near the window."

"Nice. Thank you, Pinkie."

"No problem." After that, Spike mingled with the monsters at the party, eating and drinking the foods and sodas that Pinkie Pie brought, as the party lasted for a good while before people started to leave. The last guests to leave were Vinyl Scratch, a banshee wearing a pair of purple shades, black sweat pants, a red t-shirt, and black headphones around her neck, holding a present that looked like they were glasses; Fluttershy, wearing a red shirt and black pants with an egg that looks like it was on fire in a basket in her hands; and Pinkie Pie, who was holding a guitar wrapped in blue wrapping paper.

"Here ya go, Spike. I got you something that you might like after what happened yesterday," Pinkie said, as she handed Spike her present, as he quickly ripped up the paper to show a guitar that was much nicer than he was honestly expecting.

"Wow! Thanks, Pinkie," Spike exclaimed, as Vinyl came up and gave him her present.

"I know you are a monster hunter and all, but I was thinking that you might need something like this," Vinyl said, smirking, as she pointed to her present, which Spike grabbed and tore open to reveal a pair of sunglass that looked a lot like hers, but were the color of his scales.

"Thank you! I'll definitely wear these when I want to look cool!" Spike said putting them on as Fluttershy came up to him.

"I love animals, but I think you'll have a much better time raising a phoenix than I would," Fluttershy said, as she handed him the basket.

"Yeah. I can understand why," Spike said, as he thanked them again for the gifts. "I don't know about any of you, but I think I'm going to go fall on my bed and pass out after such an exciting day." They all laughed before leaving with a pleasant smile on their faces, as Spike prepared for bed.
> Royalty and one answer (edit)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	King Sombra just finished what he wanted to talk about and Luna told him about what happened just an hour ago. "So, you had a nightmare?" King Sombra asked to Luna's nodding response, "Well then, tell me: What happened in the dream? Who was there? Was there anything strange or unnerving?"

"It was about Spike, Cadence, and Blueblood. They were all killed by some unknown force and I was unable to do anything. Simply watching behind a barrier as they all died a bloody death, each dropping their weapons as they passed on," Luna explained.

"That is very strange, I've never heard of a dream like that before," the king explained. "My best guess is that someone wants them dead. But I need to ask the Dream Master to make sure. Are they monster hunters, by any chance?" The king asked.

"Yes, all of them. Blueblood is 46th in our ranking, Cadence is 45th, and Spike is 10th," Celestia explained.

"How old is Spike? 130?" King Sombra exclaimed, with a shocked expression on his face.

"No. He's only 22," Luna said, calmly.

"How is a 22 year old the 10th best person in your group?" The king asked, with a confused look on his face.

"Well, Spike was always fascinated with monster hunters. When he was four years old he said, 'Mommy, I want to be a Monster Hunter!' So we trained him to become one, even joining them by the age of seven! He is the youngest monster hunter to ever join our group," Celesta said.

"Wow. Anyway, I need to tell this to the Dream Master. He will know what it means, because I'm still not entirely sure," King Sombra said, before he took a picture out of his pocket and his face split into a wide grin.

"If you don't mind me asking, but who's in the photo?" Celesta asked, slightly curious.

"My wife, Queen Nightmare Moon, is pregnant with twins," The king said, happily.

"Congratulations!" The two sisters cheered, joyously.

"Thank you. I know when King Tirek said that he was your ally that I wanted to be one as well, so my sons can rule in a better future."

"Was she ok with that?" Luna asked.

"Yes. I didn't even have to ask when she said it was fine," King Sombra said.

"Well you better get back to The Land of Shadows to be with your wife and tell us about Luna's nightmare," Celesta said, as the king nodded and made his journey home.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next day, a Minotaur guard was getting to his post alongside a zebra on the north gate of Canterlot, talking about work until they saw two figures running towards them. "Is that Princess Cadence and Prince Blueblood?" The zebra asked.

The Minotaur looked were his fellow guard was looking and he replied with an annoyed, "Yep." When they were closer, they saw that Blueblood was wearing a black hoodie and red sweat pants while Cadence was wearing a green hoodie with gray sweat pants, trying to run faster than the other. The two guards stepped out of the way as the gate just began to open when both Blueblood and Cadence hit the gate in unison.

They both got up and simultaneously said, "I won!" They blinked in confusion before shouting, "No! I did!" Both growling at each other like they were wild animals.

"Your highnesses, you tied," the zebra guard said.

"Dammit!" They both said.

"Would you two like to bicker inside the walls? We need to watch for people and it really doesn't help when you're here," The other guard deadpanned, causing them to groan a bit before entering the city.

"Do you want to go train?" Cadence asked.

"You mean whoever loses has to buy breakfast?" Blueblood asked, receiving a nod before the two ran to the barracks and into a training room, drawing their swords in a defensive pose. "One spell limit and I'm making myself some wings."

"Alright, let's go!" Cadence said as she ran towards Blueblood with her sword at her side with Blueblood doing the same before they got into the middle, where he lifted his Ninjato over his head to slash down, but Cadence reacted by pulling her sword up in defense, hitting it with her scimitar before she dropkicked him in return. He was quickly thrown and tried to roll out of her reach, but Cadence was too fast for him and put her foot onto his chest and her scimitar at his throat. "I win again. Let’s go to the Dine and Dash!"
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After Blueblood paid for their breakfast, they decided to walk through the halls of the castle before Blueblood asked, "I wonder were Spike ran off to?"

"Maybe he's in his room, sleeping," replied Cadence, "or practicing his acrobatics." The two looked in his room and couldn't find hide or scale of him, even in the gym where Luna appeared in front of them in her workout clothes.

"Hello Blueblood, hello Cadence. How was your mission?"

"Hey, Auntie Lulu," They both said. "It was good."

"Have you seen Spike anywhere?" Blueblood asked.

"We can't find him!" Cadence exclaimed.

Luna giggled a bit before saying, "He's in Bloodville, a little town filled with peaceful monsters. Now if you'll both excuse me, I'm quite busy here." So the two left the princess and went to the blacksmith's, where they saw Iron Will wearing a blacksmith's robe with a gray long sleeve shirt and blue jeans, making all sorts of weapons and arrows.

"Hey, Iron!" Cadence said.

"Hey, Princess," He said, as he was hammering a sword.

"Did you know that Spike went to Bloodville?" Blueblood asked.

"Ya, I do, Prince," Iron Will said, without changing his hammering pace.

"How?" Cadence asked.

"Well, Princess Luna came to me, asking for us to make some weapons and arrows for that very same place. Apparently, Spike requested it," he said putting the sword in the water.

"Does Gilda, Lyra, or the Quick twins know where he is?" She asked. Iron Will just gave a shrug and the two went to the Heart of Grenal Goods, quickly spotting Lyra in a red t-shirt and blue jeans.

"Hello Prince Blueblood and Princess Cadence," she said as she bowed. "What can I do for two today?"

"Do you know where Spike is?" Blueblood asked.

"Of course I know where he is. Celestia came in the other day asking for some medical supplies, saying Spike requested some for Bloodville. I know for sure that Gilda and Iron Will know where he is, so you don't have to go there. But I'm pretty sure that Flim and Flam have no clue where Spike went." When she finished, Blueblood and Cadence said their goodbyes and went to Quick Trades, where they saw the twins in their trademark green striped shirt and pants with a straw hat on Flim and a mustache on Flam.

"Hello Prince Blueblood and Princess Cadence," they both said in unison. "What do you need or who do you want to get rid of?"

"Well, we're just here to tell you that Spike's in Bloodville," Cadence said.

"We knew that," Flim said

"We learned that when we were at the Griffin Inn, where Gilda told us," Flam said, as both Blueblood and Cadence looked down in disappointment. They said good bye to the twins and went to the Griffin inn for a drink.
> The History Lesson (edit)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Mrs. Cheerilee was walking towards the school, wearing a white t-shirt and black pants, admiring the sun just peeking over the horizon, shining it's golden rays on the school, at least until she spotted Spike in some green sweat pants and a blue hoodie, doing some stretches. "Hey Mrs. Cheerilee, what's up?"

"Not much, but don't you think you're here a bit too early? It's only 8 o'clock, and school doesn't start for another hour," Cheerilee explained.  "You did know that, right?"

"Nope," Spike said, as he picked up his left leg and he grabbed it, pulling it behind his back.

"Well, you can keep doing that while I go inside and get ready for school," Mrs. Cheerilee said, as she flew off to the school house, leaving Spike to his stretches for a good thirty minutes to practice acrobatics. He did flips, swung on tree branches, and showed how flexible his body was. It was when he was on a tree branch when he spotted Apple Bloom walking towards the schoolhouse, wearing a pink short-sleeve shirt and black sweat pants, and decided to drop in, by running through the tree branches and landing near the door of the school house.

"Hey Apple Bloom," Spike said, just as she was walking up the stairs.

"Hey Spike," Apple Bloom said, smiling. "What're you doing here?"

"Well, I'm here to teach your class about monster history and the origin of monster hunters."

"Cool! Well, I'm going inside to get ready for class," Apple Bloom said, as she went inside, leaving Spike to wait and watch as the kids arrived for the school day.

"Class!" Mrs. Cheerilee said, quieting the class, "Today, Spike is going to give you a lesson about monster history and why monster hunters exist." When she finished, the kids started talking about how awesome it is that Spike's going to be teaching them, at least until Spike himself walked in, and everything went quiet. "Kids, why don't you introduce yourselves to Spike?" Mrs. Cheerilee suggested.

"I'm Diamond Tiara," The twin-headed chimera wearing a black t-shirt with blue jeans said, pointing to her lion head that had a purple mane with a thick white stripe wearing a tiara with diamonds in it. "And I'm Silver Spoon," she said, pointing to her goat head with glasses and silver hair.

"My name is Snips," a chubby zombie with orange hair, a brown t-shirt, and blue jeans said.

"And I am Snails," another, taller zombie with purple hair, a black shirt, and black pants said.

"I'm Twist," the cupid with glasses, a green shirt, and black pants said.

"Name's Scootaloo," the harpy with purple hair, a red t-shirt, and black pants said.

"I'm Sweetie Bell," the vampire with purple and pink hair, a big black hat, a green long sleeve shirt, and blue jeans said.

"My name is Pipsqueak," the Hyde (Jekyll and Hyde) monster with chocolate brown hair, black shirts, and blue jeans said.

"I am Rumble," the Tengu with black pants and a blue shirt with a gray silver mane said.

"And I already know Apple Bloom," Spike said, as the kids gasped in awe, looking at the werewolf with a blush on her face. "Ok. Now that I know everyone, let’s start the lesson, and be sure to raise your hand if you have a question. Around two billion years ago, monsters started civilizations calling themselves Pure Bloods, but don't ask me why, they just did. But unlike today, where there's a mix of many kinds of monsters in nearly every town, each one housed only one type of monster, even though there wasn't any hate between any of them, well except for the harpies and tengus, they're the exception," Spike finished, just as everyone but Scootaloo and Rumble raised their hands. 

"Harpies and Tengus are the only monsters that only have one gender in their species, so they breeded with each other," He continued, quelling the questions of all but one of the students. "Yes, Pipsqueak?"

"Do you know if the first Cities those monsters built are still around today?" He asked.

"Yep. And many still live there, even today," Spike said, as Pipsqueak's hand went down. "Ok. A thousand years later, monsters started to live together and crossbreeds started to pop up. Fast forward another six thousand years, and monsters built huge cities with huge populations. One day 'The Great Mutation' occurred," Spike paused, all of the kids' hands went up and he turned to see Mrs. Cheerilee raising her hand as well. "Alright everyone 'The Great Mutation' was when a great many non-monsters were born." When he finished, everyone's hands went down. "During 'The Great Mutation,' for every 600 monsters that was born, fifty of each non-monster was born as well: ponies, dragons, and changelings, which each had three types for each of them as well. Some can cast magic: ponies that can do it are called unicorns, the dragons are called magic dragons, and the changelings are called magic masters. Others can fly: ponies are called pegasi, dragons are called wyverns, and changelings are called sky masters. And the last of the bunch were very strong compared to ones that can fly or cast spells: the ponies are called earth ponies, the dragons are called drakes, and the changelings are called earth masters." Sweetie Bell raised her hand when Spike was finished talking. "Yes, Sweetie Bell?"

"What kind of dragon are you?" She asked.

"Well, I am a magic dragon," Spike said, with a slight chuckle as he levitated the apple on Cheerilee’s desk. "And in case you're wondering, I'm very a strong magic user." When Spike finished, he dropped the apple and continued on with the lesson. "Monsters treated non-monsters extremely poorly, often calling them impure. So, after 20 years of insults, all of the non-monsters left to where they live now. The Monsters knew about the land, but they thought it was cursed because the elders of each race said that it kills anything that came to it. So, the non-monsters founded six lands in which each race claimed as their capital, with most of their population being only that species." When he finished, Apple Bloom raised her hand. "Yes, Apple Bloom?"

"What are the kingdoms' names?"

"Well, we are in Equestria. The zebras called their kingdom 'The Desert of a Thousand Miles' because it's mostly desert, griffins just call it 'The Griffon Kingdom,' and yeah, I know, how original, but it's mostly hills and very rocky terrain. The dragons called their kingdom 'The Sea of Mountains' because, like in the name, there are a lot of mountains. The changelings called there kingdom 'The Badlands' and even though it's a decayed land, lots of people can still live there. And lastly the Minotaur’s called their kingdom 'Mega Mines' because of their numerous quarries and mines within their mountains. And in case you're wondering about monster kingdoms, they're named after the monster citadel there." When Spike finished Apple Bloom's hand went down. "Ok, back to history. Non-monsters lived peacefully for over two thousand years until the monsters found them and started to invade, trying to take over, but they were met with heavy resistance and stared 'The Great War'. During the war, non-monsters never went to the monster lands because they knew that they could wait them out and they knew that monster cites are old, so they were defended better. Something I forget to say a while ago is that some spells were exclusive to each species: like changelings can do transformative magic. But that changed a hundred years later, when four masters of magic were born: Starswirl the Bearded, a very powerful unicorn, The dragons Fire and Ice, twins that were just as powerful as Star Swirled, and Shane, one of the most powerful changelings during her time. They were all not only great friends and masters of magic, but they also made a vow to make the line of who can do what magic disappear, and in thirty years, they learned magic that they couldn't cast before and taught it to every non-monster that they could. This helped non-monsters a great deal because they were in need of more guards to defend themselves until the magic users learned each type of magic and was able to defend more with less guards, making them more fortified and able to attack the monsters that made outpost in their nations, swiftly taking back their land. But that didn't stop monsters from their attack for over three hundred years, when many of the monsters stopped their attacks and their citizens started to live there, and the non-monsters never attacked the towns until much later, when the first monster hunters appeared." When Spike finished that sentence Scootaloo's hand shot up. "Yes, Scootaloo?"

"Who started the monster hunters and who made your group?" She asked.

"Well extremists started monster hunters, killing anyone they saw to be a danger. But mine was made by people who think that killing the wicked monsters might make peace with the monsters that, too, want peace," Spike said, as a bell rang, signaling the end of the early school day. The kids ran out of room with joy, saying thank you to Spike for telling them so many things that helped shape the world that they live in. And as Spike said his goodbye to Mrs. Cheerilee and walked back to Bloodville for some lunch, he was stopped by a note that his mother sent him. "Huh, I wonder what mom wants," Spike said to himself.

My son, your bow and weapons you asked for will be coming very soon. Love, mom
Spike smiled and continued his walk to Bloodville.
> Old friends, new weapons, and first hangout (edit)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Spike was eating a hamburger at a bar, overhearing a drunken ogre with black pants and matching black shirt acting like a dumbass. Everyone was trying to ignore him but failed to varying degrees. Some people were yelling at him to shut up while others, like Spike, had a tighter grip on whatever they were holding on to, but no one really wanted to fight him because it would almost assuredly start a bar fight. "Bulk, get out of my bar!" The dwarf with dark purple hair with a black apron, gray paints, and a black shirt screamed.

"Why *hick* should I, Berry?" He asked the dwarf.

"Why!? Because your drunk off your ass and causing a scene! Now get out!" She yelled, as she pointed to the door.

"Well, I don't want to. And there is nothing you *hick* can do about it," but just as he finished, Spike set down his burger and went up to face the drunk.

"I believe she said get out. I suggest you do it before I break both your arms," Spike threatened.

"Oh *hick* the Prince has some balls. And I *hick* I am still not going," he said, before Spike grabbed his arm and threw him down to the ground, just as Spike cast a spell and stomped on Bulk's arm, breaking it with a loud crack! Bulk streamed in pain.

"Get out now, or your other arm will be broken as well," Spike said, with an icy tone. Bulk grumbled a bit before leaving and heading to the hospital.

"Thanks for getting him out, Spike. Your meal's on the house," Barry Punch said, appreciatively, before Spike thanked her and went to eat the rest of his burger, with many patrons asking him how he did it.

As he walked out of the bar, he saw Iron Will in black pants, a white t-shirt, and his big compound bow; Lyra in red sweat pants and a red shirt, with her katana; and Gilda in a black hoodie and blue jeans, with her tomahawk, all with two other monster hunters he couldn't identify off hand, unloading the supplies. He also saw Shining Armor in black pants and a matching black shirt, a Quikinna’qu in a nurse’s uniform, and ten Bloodville guards around the crates, receiving the supplies.

"Ok nurse Redheart, here's some power medicine, so you don't have to keep plucking your feathers," Spike heard Gilda say to the nurse as he walked closer to his friends.

"Heya, Spike," Lyra said when she saw him. "Here's your crossbow." Throwing the weapon at him.
Spike caught it and asked, "How've your guys been? And what are the others doing?"

"We've been holding up just fine. As for the others, Film & Flam are dogging great, and your cousins are still at each other’s throats," Gilda explained as Spike put the sling on.

Spike chuckled at that before saying, "Are you needed at your shops? Because, if you aren't, you can hang around here for a while." Gilda, Iron, and Lyra all shook their heads. "Alright then, I guess I can help you guys out, and then I can show you some of the places around here." Iron, Gilda, Lyra, and the rest of the monster hunters nodded and hurried along, unloading all of the supplies, finishing just as Spike said, "Ok! First stop, the Carousel Boutique."

"Who lives there?" Gilda asked.

"Rarity, a fashionista vampire, who tried to make me her drakefriend," Spike said.

"So, did she take no for an answer, or will she be another Mary?" Iron Will laughed.

"I don't know. I'm pretty sure she took the second no like every other girl, but Mary," Spike said, as they walked, arriving just a few minutes later. When they entered, they saw Rarity wearing a black shirt, white pants, and her yellow hat, finishing up on the dress she was working on. "Hey Rarity," Spike said, waving.

She spun around to see Spike and his friends and exclaimed, "Hello Spike! Who are your wonderful friends?"

"This is Iron Will, Lyra, and Gilda," Spike said, pointing to them.

"Charming names. Now, I have a question for all of you," Rarity asked.

"What is that?"

"What are your uniforms like? And can I see them?"

The monster hunters tilted their heads in confusion before Lyra said, "We don't have uniforms."

"WHAT!? You don't have uniforms!? But you're from Canterlot!" Rarity shouted, completely shocked.

"Yeah, like we said, we don't have uniforms," Iron Will repeated.

"B-b-but WHY!? All the guards have them, why wouldn’t you as well?" Rarity explained, as the hunters gave her an annoyed look.

"We get shot by arrows, slashed by all of sorts of blades, have spells cast at us, and get torched sometimes. So, yeah. If we had uniforms, they'd be very ratty and in the shop more than half to time to repair the damages. Plus the guards don't go killing monsters that often."

"Oh," Rarity said. "So do you have any high class jobs on the side of being monster hunters?"

"We don't have high class jobs. We work around the middle class part of Canterlot," Iron Will said. "I'm a blacksmith, Lyra works at a general store, Gilda works at an inn, and another two of our friends work at a pawn shop."

"Oh. Well how is life Canterlot?" Rarity asked.

"Well, a day at the forge can be boring, but it can be cool to see who wants what. And when I'm not working, I go into town and try some new foods," Iron Will said.

"As for me," Lyra said, "it's really boring, but I do get into a lot of interesting conversations with some of the locals. But after my shift, I go club'n. They call me 'The Green Clubber'."

"At the Inn," Gilda stated, "you hear people play their music when there aren’t a lot of others around, but when there are a lot of people, you can here monster hunters talking about their adventures into distant lands. But when my shift is done, I do some parkour around the city."

"Oh, wow! Your lives are exciting. But if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to the clothing I was working on; it needs to be ready for shipping tonight," Rarity said, as she walked into the other room. “And you must let me make you some clothes, darling.”

"We’ll keep that in mind, Rares. Come on, let’s go. I want to introduce you to some of the others," Spike said, as they left.

"Spike, if you don't mind me asking, but can't we explore the town on our own?" Iron asked, "Because if we're just going to do what we did last time, I'm out."

"Well, alright. Let’s meet up later," Spike said, as he waved to his friends. About ten minutes later, he was walking down the street when Rainbow Dash crashed right in front of him. "Hey Dash."

"Hey Spike," She said as she got up. "How're you doing?"

"I'm doing well, despite almost being landed on. Are you doing anything today?" Spike asked, chuckling.

"Heh, sorry about that. And no, not really. Why?" Rainbow asked.

"Well, I was thinking that maybe we could hangout," Spike said, as he rubbed the back of his neck with a slight blush on his face.

"Um, sure," Rainbow Dash said, gaining a similar blush on her own face. "But I doubt you'd be able to keep up with me without wings." Spike winced a bit before he cast a spell, making a pair of wings grow out from his back, and ripping part of his clothing.

"You think Rarity can fix this?" Spike asked, as he pointed to his back.

"Ya, she can fix anything like that," Rainbow Dash said, in a bit of shocked awe, before they flew off. "So, Spike. How do you like the town?"

"I like it here. It has its own little charm to it, ya know," Spike said.

"Of course it does. Do you want to race to Sweet Apple Acres?" Rainbow Dash said, slowing to a stop.

Spike stopped next to her and said, "I’m so going to win." As they both landed on a cloud, preparing for the race.

"Keep dreaming, dragon boy. Ready. Set… GO!" Rainbow Dash said, before they flew off. Rainbow Dash held an early lead, but Spike was quickly catching up to her. When they were almost neck and neck, Rainbow Dash still in the lead, watching Spike out of the corner of her eye. That is until Spike passed her. When they could see Sweet Apple Acres, they both were neck and neck again. Rainbow Dash flapped her wings harder and flew faster, getting closer to the gate, before screeching to a halt and shouting, "YES! I won!" Spike wasn’t as lucky and crashed into her, tumbling along the ground and causing the once cheering mare to end up on top of Spike, their faces just mere inches from each other. Once they realized what position they ended up in, they both flushed tomato red as Rainbow shot up and proceeded to help Spike up, both still with red faces.

"That sure was a good race," Spike said, trying to shift the conversation away from that embarrassing moment.

"Ya, that was. How are you so good at flying anyway when you don't even have permanent wings?" Rainbow asked, a bit curious.

"I’m a good acrobat. And I practice flying a lot. It’s fun," Spike answered, relaxing in each other’s company and watching the sun starting to set, the golden glow lighting up their faces.

"Hey, Spike?" Rainbow Dash asked, glancing sidelong at him.

"Yeah?" He said, glancing her way.

"Do you want to get some dinner?"

"That sounds wonderful."
> Walking Down memory lane, a half of an answer, and two new parents. (Edit)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The dinner turned out to be very enjoyable for each of them, discussing childhood memories, their hopes and dreams, and why they came to this little town to begin with. And it all ended with a pleasant goodbye, both returning to their homes, checking on their pets, Rainbow feeding her turtle while Spike was warming the egg with his flame, and getting ready for bed.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Princess Celestia woke up in a daze, climbing out of bed and almost walking automatically through the grand halls of the castle, at least until she heard a feminine voice say, in a very seductive tone, "Aren't you hungry?"

"Extremely," a male voice replied, just as she turned the corner to see a female Minotaur guard and a male changeling guard practically making out against the wall with their spears on the ground and their helmets crooked.

"Hello," Celestia said, causing the two guards to flinch, quickly grabbing their spears and adjusting their helmets before bowing in respect.

"Princess," They both proclaimed through their bow, allowing the princess to eye them a bit more closely, spotting an engagement ring on the Minotaur’s right ring finger.

"When did you two get engaged?" Celestia asked, smiling.

"Just yesterday," The changeling said, gleefully.

"Well, to congratulate you two, I'm giving you two weeks off, starting today." Princess Celestia said, causing them to drop their spears in shock, only to pick them up and rush to the guard station to get home as fast as they could. The princess smiled and continued her walk until she saw Luna wearing red top and black pants, looking through a telescope pointing towards Bloodville. "Hey, Luna."

"Hello, sister," Luna said, turning around to meet her.

"So, are you looking at Spike?" Celesta asked.

"No. The telescope is not that powerful, but it can see the town."

"Did you have the dream again?"

Luna was quiet it for a monument before saying, "It was worse."

"How so?"

"I saw the assassin kill them, but it was faster than any monster or monster hunter could move."

"Did you see what the assassin was?"

"A Shadowmancer. But not one of Sombra's."

"Maybe it was hired by his father?"

Luna nodded and said, "True. But why would he kill them?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to ask Sombra about his father," Celestia said, before her stomach growled. "But I think it should wait until after breakfast," Celesta said as she made her way to the dining hall, waving her sister goodbye. Arriving at the hall to see a few monster hunters having their breakfasts as she walked to the counter with the chef in white pants, a T-shirt, and an apron.

"Hello, Princess Celestia," she said, as she bowed.

"I think I’ll have some fruit cake. The good kind," Celesta said, with hungry eyes, which made the chef roll her eyes as she went beneath the counter, grabbing a white piece of cake that had pieces of fruit in it.

"You know, you should really control your habit with cake, Princess," the chef said, as she handed the cake over, this time causing the princess to roll her eyes as she grabbed her plate. 'She sounds like how Spike talks about my cake problem,' She thought, sitting down as her mind wandered back to when Spike fist told her that she had a problem with cake.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
19 years ago

I looked at the clock at the side of my bed and it read 12:00. 'Perfect,' I thought, slowly opening my bedroom door, popping my head out from the crack, seeing nobody, tiptoeing down the hall as quietly as possible. That was until I reached Spike's room, where I saw that his door was wide open to a pitch black room, all except the light from the hallway beaming in. I sighed a bit in relief before continuing to sneak down the hall, continuing until I heard the bathroom door open. I quickly put my back to the wall and 

I turned invisible, letting me safely see the door fall open as Spike walked out in a pair of light blue Pajamas, protruding out where His small spines were as his tiny tail hooked around his left leg, turning the bathroom lights off and walking right in front of me.

"Hello?" Spike said, with a little fear in his voice before running down the hall, causing me to feel a little bad, because what mother would scare their son so badly? But even after that, I continued towards my destination. A whole minute passed until I got to the kitchen, where I immediately went to the fridge, opened it, and grabbed a delicious looking piece of cake. I turned around, only to see my son with the kitchen knife he keeps in his room in his hand. "Mommy, why do you have auntie's cake?"
I thought a bit before saying, "It is moldy."

"But auntie's birthday was yesterday," he said, just as two guards came behind him, groaning a bit before heading back to their duty.

"Why are you up so late?" I asked.

"I needed to go to the bathroom. But when I was going back to bed, I felt like someone was about to attack me."
I sighed, put the cake on the counter and bent down to my son's height. "That was me. And I am very sorry. But I never wanted to attack you."

"O-Ok... But Mommy. Can you not sneak around to get cake so much?"

"I'll try," I said, as he hugged me and let me pick him up and hold him as he started to drift off.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Modern Day

When Celesta finished her flashback, all of the cake was in her stomach, so she got up and went to change into a golden shirt and black pants, grabbing a photo album as she wanted to relish in the memories they both had shared.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

King Sombra was sitting next to his wife in the hospital wing of the castle, they were talking about what they'll do with their two sons until a woman in blue shorts and a red t-shirt came running into the room asking, "Did I miss them?"

"Sorry, sis. You missed them a few minutes ago," Sombra replied.

"Dang it!" She shouted, "Did dad come?"

"No," Sombra growled, angrily.

"Figures."

"Mary, Sombra? Have you two seen your dad lately?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"No." The two siblings said.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Celesta stopped flipping through the photo the album when she saw a photo of Spike wearing her crown and necklace, smiling as she remembered the day it was taken.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
19 years ago

I was finishing some papers in my room when the door opened. I spun around to see Spike wearing black pants and a blue shirt. "Hi mommy."

"Spike, it's not time to play yet. But I will be finished soon." A few minutes later I said "Done!" just as I felt someone climbing onto me, only for my crown to be taken off my head.

"Look mom! I'm you!" He said, with a playful tone, as he stood proudly in front of me with my crown on his head. I couldn't help but grin and play along, so I grabbed the necklace from my neck and put it on him just before I grabbed him and put him on my shoulders.

"Were do you want to go, Prince?" I said, not wanting to call him princess in fear of ruining Spike's fun, even though I had a chuckle or two about it to myself.

"I want to go around the castle," he said as I stared to go. He laughed as we went around the halls, only to stop when we saw Chrysalis, the Changeling Princess; Stone, the Minotaur King; Ruby, the Dragon Princess; Emerald, the Dragon Prince; and May, the Zebra Queen. Even though I never saw it, I knew that Spike's smile was turning to a frown.

"So, Prince Spike? What do you want us to do?" The Dragon twins said, just as a smile formed on everyone's faces. Ones that I knew would make Spike happy.

"To my room!" He said as I carried him to his room where we all played. Spike hit us with some of the plastic swords that I gave him for his birthday, because we pretended that we were monsters. We also played ‘Protect the Prince’, where one team protects the ‘Prince’ and the other team tries to get him. We played for a good two hours before everyone got hungry. When dinner was finished, everyone went to their own rooms, but Spike suggested that we get a photo before anything else. After it was taken, we went to his room and I took my crown and necklace back. "Thank you, mommy, for the great day," he said, as he drifted off, only moments before I kissed his forehead and left.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Present Day

The Dream Master was running through the halls of the shadow castle, towards the hospital wing where the King and Queen were. He entered the room while Mary, Sombra, and Nightmare Moon were having lunch. "King, Queen." He said, while bowing.

"What is it you need, Dream Master?" The King asked, while he put his food on a nearby table.

"I’ve figured out what Princess Luna's dream meant," he said, as the King sprung up from the chair he was sitting on. "Someone is after Prince Spike, Prince Blueblood, and Princess Cadence. But it's not for the desire of knowing that they're dead, but for the suffering of Princess Celestia and Luna, knowing that their family is dead."
> Mary, Crushes,  and Spike's Birth (Edit)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The news left a silence in the room as Mary, Sombra, and Nightmare Moon were trying to process the information. "Are you sure that's what the dream was about?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"I'm positive. But I don't know who would want them to suffer, my Queen," the Dream Master said. "Oh, and before I forget, here is some sleep medicine, and tell the Princess that it doesn't mater what monster attacked the princes and the princess thats the monster type of monster will try to kill them." He handed the Queen a box of pills.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Celesta put down the photo album she was looking through and walked towards her nightstand to grab a photo. It was of her and Spike, when he was a baby. She stared at it and began to remember when she became a mother.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
22 years ago
I was walking through the gardens of Canterlot when I heard someone running. I went to investigate because I was much stealthier than a metal-clad knight, like my guards. But, when I arrived, I saw no one. I looked around and saw a light shining from something, drawing me towards it and when I got there, I saw a purple egg. "Hello! I found your egg!" I yelled, hoping that someone will come get their son or daughter, as I grabbed the egg. When I did, I felt that it was cold and I was getting very worried. 'WHAT HEARTLESS PARENTS!' I thought as the minutes passed, before deciding to go back to the castle. While on the walk, I was thinking about the egg and why anyone would leave it here. But soon, I was thinking that I could be its mother and a smile grew on my face. I kept the egg in my room for five months… until it hatched.
It was in the middle of Spring and I was reading a book about parenting for the thousandth time when I heard the egg starting to hatch. I had a huge grin on my face along with tear-filled eyes, brimming with happiness as I watched the egg fully open, and I saw a tiny purple dragon. I saw that it was a boy, and instantly, the name Spike came to mind, inspired by the tiny spikes running along his back. After that, we went to the hospital wing so the doctors could take care of him until he could be left in my care. When the doctor took Spike, Blueblood, wearing a pair of black pants, came running in with Cadence, in a pink shirt and dark red pants, close in tow.

"I win. So I get to ask first," Blueblood shouted. I rolled my eyes and waited for him to continue. "So the baby is a chick, right?" He asked with excitement.

"No. It’s a boy. And his name is Spike," I said.

"Ha! You owe me fifty bits!" Cadence said. He groaned before handing his money to her."Why did you make a bet on Spike's gender?" I asked.

"Well, Blueblood wanted to know if Spike was a girl so he could have a chance to win 'her' heart," Cadence said.

"You know, just because a girl spends a lot of time with you, doesn't mean that they will fall for you," I said, with mild annoyance.

"And Cadence wanted Spike to be a boy so she can play with him, teach him all of her monster hunting tricks, and teach him some magic," Blueblood said.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Present Day

Rainbow Dash got out of bed with the help of the glow of the afternoon sun, walking past Tank who was still sleeping and saw that both of his bowls were almost empty, so she got some lettuce and some strawberries and put it in his food bowl, as well as refill his water bowl before going out to do some training. At least before she crashed into a tree and landed in front of Iron Will, Gilda, and Lyra, who were still wearing the same clothes that they wore a day ago.

"Are you ok?" Lyra asked.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash said as she got up. "Aren't you the guys that are supposed to have already gone back to Canterlot?"

"No. Her parents sent us a letter saying that we can stay here for a while," Gilda said, while pointing to Lyra.

"Well, I'm getting back to flying. I hope you enjoy your time here," Rainbow Dash said, before flying off. She continued some tricks until she saw Pinkie Pie in a red t-shirt and black pants, Rarity with a yellow hat, a blue shirt, and red pants, Twilight in a white shirt, Apple Jack in blue jeans and a black shirt, and Fluttershy in blue pants and a red shirt walking through the town. "Hey, Girls. Where're you going?"

"We are going to the 'Sit and Spin.' Do you want to join us?" Fluttershy asked.

"Sure, I've got nothing else to do," Rainbow Dash said, as she shrugged her shoulders. They got to the restaurant and sat at a table near the front door.

"So, girls, how do you feel about Spike?" Twilight asked her friends.

"Well... He is nice," Fluttershy said.

"I think he can take a joke and make one, from what I got from the books I have on monster hunters, at least," Pinkie Pie said, laughing.

"He's kind, and from what Applebloom told me, he is very smart," Applejack said.

"I agree with you there, AJ. But I just know he's smart, and not just from Applebloom telling me," Twilight said.

"I think he's handsome," Rarity said.

"He's nice, kind, fast, strong, and kind of handsome…" Rainbow Dash said, without realizing that she just called Spike handsome. Her friends blinked in shock because she never called any male handsome or even said the word at all before.

"Dash. Did you just call Spike handsome? No offense, but that’s my thing," Rarity said.

"Crap," Rainbow Dash said, blushing, realizing what she did.

"Hey, it's ok, Dash. Hey, he might even have the same feelings for you."

“Really?” Rainbow asked.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, Spike, in a blue hoodie and black pants, was walking through Bloodville with his friends, talking about the monsters that they met yesterday. "Spike, there was this rainbow-maned Pegasus, but we didn't get her name. Do you know it?" Iron Will said.

"Her name's Rainbow Dash," Spike explained. "She's a daredevil, and a really cute one, I might add." Realizing he said that last part out loud, Spike blushed.

"Well that’s the first time you’ve called a girl that," Lyra said.

"Maybe she'll be the first girl that you want to kiss," Iron Will said, with a sly grin.

"Maybe…" Spike said, while his blush deepened.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In Canterlot, an earth pony, in a white shirt and a matching white pair of pants with makeup that made her look like a goddess, was walking down the streets catching the eye of almost every guy, making some of them try and hit on her. Unfortunately for them, she said no to all of them. She went to the 'Griffin Inn' and almost everyone who wasn't part of a couple tried to woo her. Then she saw Flim and Flam eating hamburgers and talking about the store.

"Hey Flim. Hey Flam," The mare said with disgust.
The brothers groaned before replying, "What do you want, Mary?"

"Do you know where Spike is?"

"Why don't you ask one of your friends where Spike is," Flim said, annoyed.

"I did, and they said they have no idea," Mary explained.

"Well, good luck trying to find him, because nobody is going to tell you where he is," Flam said, biting into his burger. "Now go away, please." Mary groaned and went back to her home, directly to her personal shrine, dedicated to Spike. It had many photos of him, some of his scales, and a few lit candles.

"Oh Spike, you are going to love me one day," Mary said to herself.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Four Shadowmancers were in a dark apartment, talking about the plan to make Princess Luna and Celestia suffer.

"We should attack now!" The youngest assassin said.

"No. If we attack now, the guards will know of our plan, and if they survive, they would be more prepared for the attack," The second oldest said.

"We need to wait for the golden opportunity," The eldest assassin said, "and no sooner."
> Bounty and Kiss (Edit)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Spike was eating lunch with his friends when a green mist appeared in front of Spike. He grabbed it and saw that it was a message from Star that said that there was a small camp filled with Elves, Dryads, and all sorts of golems just half a mile east from Canterlot, inside the Everfree Forest, that's willing to pay 5,000 bits for a bounty, and they'll give him more information about it when he gets there. "What did it say?" Gilda asked.

"It says that someone's got a job for me not far from here," Spike said, before getting up. "So I'm not going to keep them waiting."

"See ya, Spike," Lyra, Iron Will, and Gilda said, waving to Spike as he left. It took about an hour for Spike to get to the camp where he saw most of the monsters wearing leather clothing, fixing their tents as best they could with them being so tattered that it'd be doubtful that they'd even last through the lightest storm. He also saw a clay golem that looked like he was very important.
The monster stopped in front of Spike and spoke, "Hello, I am the warden. You must be Spike."

"Yep," Spike replied.

"Well, our prisoners demons and fire elementals took over the castle we called home," The golem said.

"Why the fuck did you keep demons and fire elementals as prisoners!?" Spike said, shocked.

"Well, we thought they wouldn't fight back. But we were being dumbasses back then," He said, as he rubbed the back of his head.

"No shit. Now where's your castle?" Spike asked.

"That way," The warden said, pointing the way.

"How many monsters are there?" Spike asked.

"Five of each," The warden answered.

"How the fuck did you guys get overpowered by ten people?" Spike asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it," The warden replied simply.

It didn't take long for Spike to reach the castle and see that it was in poor condition, as well as a fire elemental and demon hanging around the entrance. Spike pulled part out his swords and threw them both at them: The moon sword going through the demon's head, leaving some of its brain on it, while the sun sword went through the fire elemental's throat, causing it to drown in its own blood.

Spike grabbed his swords and went down the castle halls; quickly spotting three demons talking about what they were going to do next, at least until Spike put his swords down gently, casting a spell that made a dome around the demons, removing the air from around them. Only one of the demons spotted Spike and gave him an angry look as they all gasped for air, while Spike simply grabbed his swords and watched them suffocate.
Spike continued walking down the hall and saw a fire elemental fast asleep, leaning against the wall. He walked up to the elemental and quietly slit his throat, getting some of his bright green blood on him in the process.

After that, he went further down the hall, turning a corner and met the last demon face to face. Luckily, Spike's training allowed him to quickly grab its head and snap its neck before it had a chance to react.

It didn't take long for Spike to find the last three fire elementals talking to one another, giving Spike the change to cast the same spell he did to kill the three demons with. Only this time, one of the monsters got out of the bubble and charged right for him. But as the elemental got close enough, Spike jabbed his sword straight through its head.
After making sure he didn't miss anyone, Spike lazily made his way back to the camp to tell them the good news, cleaning the blood off him shortly after getting paid.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sombra just finished the letter when an old man in gray sweatpants and a blue shirt, holding a wooden cane came in the room. "What the hell are you doing here, Mike?" Sombra asked angrily.

"What? I can't see my own son?" He asked, "Now where are my grandsons?"    

"You missed them. Plus you're in the wrong place. What's the real reason you're here?" Sombra said, as he punched a hole in his dad's plan.

"Ok, you got me," Mike said, as he raised his hands. "I was going to ask about your trip to the 'impure' lands."

"Good. We're allies now," The king said, as Mike got extremely angry.

"WHY!? You know those bastards for rulers hate all of us," Sombra's father shouted.

"No. You think they do. God, this is why I became king the first place," Sombra explained.

"You know that I can take it back," Mike offered.

"No. And it will always be no," Sombra said.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Rainbow Dash was just finishing up her days’ worth of stunts when she saw Spike in a red shirt and blue pants walking through the town, looking like he was brushing of something. "Hey Spike. What's up?" Rainbow Dash asked, landing in front of Spike.

"I just got back from a job. And you wouldn't believe how much I got paid for it." Spike said.

"How much did you get?"

"Five thousand bits," Spike said, with pride, Rainbow Dash whistling in amazement. "I know it's a lot, but that's what you'd get."

"Well, if you've got nothing else planned for today, what do you think about taking a walk with me?" Rainbow Dash asked, as a blush appeared on her face.

"Sure," Spike said, with a similar blush. They walked through the town and stopped at a hill. "Rainbow, there's something I've been wanting to tell you." Spike said, the blush coming back to his face.

"What is it?" Rainbow Dash replied, a blush creeping onto her face as well.

"The first time we hung out, I felt something special between the two of us, and every time since, it just kept growing more and more," Spike said.

"I've been feeling that too," Rainbow Dash said, leaning in to him as they both closed their eyes and met with a kiss.
> Cause: Spike and Rainbow Dash. Effect: Plans and New Feelings (edit)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Spike?" Rainbow Dash asked her new drakefriend.

"Yeah?" Spike answered.

"Can I call you Spikey?"

"Yeah. You can call me that, Dashie," Spike said, playfully. Rainbow Dash grabbed him and kissed him before leaving to their respective homes. When Spike got there, he grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a letter, rolling it up and sending it soon after.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, Celestia was in the middle of reading a book when a green mist appeared in front of her and formed into a scroll. She unrolled it and read, "Mom, I just got a marefriend! Don't worry, she loves me for who I am, not what I am. Love, Spike." Celestia smiled, she was happy that he was happy; that he found love. "Don't worry, Spike; if she really loves you, I'll help and support you in every way I can," Celesta said to herself. "But if she breaks your heart..."
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The next day, Mary was walking down the streets of Canterlot, pondering where Spike was. "Maybe Spike's on a mission in The Desert of a Thousand Miles?" Mary thought out loud as she past an alley way.
"
So you're looking for Spike?" A shadowy figure said, causing Mary to jump at the sudden voice. "I am too." The figure walked forward, revealing a Shadowmancer in a black shirt and pants. "I might be able to help you."

"You scared the living crap out of me!" Mary shouted.

"Well I'm sorry, miss," the Shadowmancer apologized with a bow.

"Apology accepted," Mary said with less anger. "You said you can help me find Spike?"

"Yes. My friends and I want to ask him a few questions," the man explained.

"I have no clue where he is and nobody's going to tell me where he is," Mary said with disappointment.

"If you can show me how to get to the castle, I'll give you the information you need," the Shadowmancer explained.

"Ok, I'll do it," Mary said, as she led the way to the castle and told him where to find her as the two split up. The man walked up the stairs and saw two earth pony guards talking in front of the entrance. 'Thanks to that girl, finding Spike's going to be too easy.' The assassin thought before trying to walk through, only for one of the guards to grab the back of his shirt.

"Who are you?" The guard asked.

"I'm just a humble Shadowmancer," the man said.

The guards looked at each other before one of them said, "You don't seem dangerous. What’s your business here?"

"I'm here to take a walk through the castle and get some reading done in the grand library," the assassin lied. Seeing no immediate danger, the guards let him go and said a polite goodbye to the Shadowmancer. ‘Trusting fools.’ The assassin spent the next few minutes sneaking around, looking for the royal chambers, and found it behind the door with a sun carved into the door. 'Jackpot!' The assassin thought, carefully putting his ear to the door and heard a voice on the other side, so he quietly went to the next room.

In the next room, he saw a heart with a crystalline structure; Princess Cadence’s room. The assassin put his ear on the door and heard nothing. He smiled and went in the room, quickly spotting a blue bed with a bookshelf near it. The bookshelf had a variety of books from romance to graphic novels. He also saw an open closet that had mostly boyish clothes and only a few dresses. There were also quite a few sports posters around the room. 'Huh. The princess of love's a tomboy.' The assassin thought as he looked around the rest of the room. He checked everywhere, not finding anything that he could use to help him find Spike, so he left the room without a single trace of him ever being there in the first place.

The next room down the line was one with a door with a yellow compass etched into the door; Blueblood's room. The assassin listened in one last time; he checked the doors and heard no one. When he entered, he saw pictures of mares in seductive positions. He saw a bookshelf near the bed, just like in Cadence’s room, but it was filled with either pornos or 'how to win a girl's heart' kinds of books. 'So the tales are true; Blueblood just wants a mare.' the assassin thought. He found his diary, but it was just filled with his dreams about him getting the pretty girl. The assassin rolled his eyes and checked the rest of the room.

The assassin was getting annoyed, not finding anything that could point him to where Spike was, but he continued anyway. He stopped at a door with scales engulfed in flames etched into the door. 'This must be Spike's room.' The assassin thought as he put his ear to the door. He only heard silence and walked inside. He saw that it had posters of monsters and non-monsters helping each other and fighting as one, and like every other room, he saw it had a bookshelf near the bed, but it was much bigger and deeper than the others and the closer to the bed he found it was. The books were like Cadence’s, but there was a lot more and the books were a lot thicker. He checked everywhere, but he only found that most of his clothes were gone. He concluded that Spike wasn't in the city, but didn't find out where he was.

The assassin continued down the hall hoping that Luna's room would hold the secret to where Spike was. He stopped at door with a crescent moon on it. He listened and heard nothing. He entered and saw another bookshelf like Spike's and the books that filled the shelves were mostly history books. But he spotted at a little book on the top and walked over to it. He saw that it was bare and had only one color: brown. He opened it and saw that it was Luna's dairy. He flipped to the most recent page and saw where Spike was. He quickly closed the book and quietly exited the room. The assassin walked to the library to find out where it was and then exited the castle. He went to where Mary said they'd meet, a place called 'High Foods,' but she wasn't there. He waited at the diner for an hour before she came and sat at a table. "I found out where Spike is," he said as he took his seat on the other side.

"Where?" Mary asked, partially looking through the menu.

"In a town called Bloodville. Head out the east gate, just keep going straight and you'll hit it. But be careful, there are monsters in the Everfree Forest that'll want to rip your face off. But other than that, there's nothing else that want's to kill you."

"I'll be fine. I know that they won't do that or monster hunters will swarm there and kill every monster in sight," Mary said. The assassin got up and went to the hotel room were his fellow assassins were. He opened the door and saw the oldest assassin.

"Spike is in a town called Bloodville. It's just out the east gate."
"Good. We'll have a meeting tonight."

Two hours later, Mary was walking through Bloodville with the sun beaming down. She was getting frustrated; she stopped and tapped the shoulder of a blond haired mare with blue jeans and a red shirt. "Hello. Do you know where Spike is?" Only to scream a moment later as the monster's head fell off.

"Down," a voice said, as the body went down and grabbed the head. "Sorry, that happens a lot." The monster said as she turned around. "But I have seen Spike. He was over there the last time I saw him, and that wasn't too long ago." It said, pointing to a cafe.

"Thank you!" Mary said, as she ran to the cafe. While she was running, she saw Spike in a blue hoodie and red pants, Rainbow Dash in a white shirt and black pants, Rarity in a blue shirt and green pants along with her yellow hat, Pinkie Pie in a pink shirt and matching pink pants, Fluttershy in a black shirt and brown pants, and Apple Jack in a plated shirt and blue jeans. Spike and Rainbow Dash spotted Mary running towards them and they got a sly smile. The two kissed and surprised both Mary and their friends. Their friends all had happy smiles, knowing that Dash got the man she wanted, but Mary got furious and ran towards them. "What the hell are you doing with her!?" Mary yelled, as she pointed to Rainbow Dash.

"I'm his marefriend, Mary," Rainbow Dash said as she pulled Spike closer to her.

"Fuck you. You don't deserve him!" Mary said.

"No," Spike said coldly. "You don't deserve me. You are a whore and you just wanted me because I'm a Prince. Rainbow loves me for who I am." When Spike finished, Mary got angry and stomped towards the Everfree forest.

"Spike, you bastard! You will love me! Even if I have to kill that… Bitch!" Mary thought out loud as she ran.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

That night, the assassins were starting their meeting. "Guys. Sam knows where Spike is," the elder assassin said.

"He's in Bloodville: a town near the Everfree forest, which is just through the east gate of this city," Sam said.

"Well I'm not going," the female assassin said.

"Me neither," the youngest assassin said. Sam sighed as he rolled his eyes knowing that he was going to stay behind and watch over them.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A Shadowmancer messenger in a pair of white pants, a white shirt, and a brown messenger’s bag was running through the halls of the Canterlot castle, stopping as he got to the throne room. He told the guards why he was there and they let him in, the messenger boy saw both Celestia and Luna as soon as he entered.

"Princesses," he said as he bowed, causing the two to look up from their scrolls.

"Why did you come here so late?" Luna asked.

"There's a message for you, Princess Celestia," the messenger said, as he grabbed a letter out of his bag. Celesta took it and opened with her telekinesis, reading it as soon as she could. The princess read faster and faster as she stared to panic. When she was done, she was frozen stiff with terror.
> Old wounds and the first attack
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Sister, are you ok?" Luna asked, as she waved her hand in front of Celestia’s face before grabbing the letter from her sister's telekinesis. "Do you know what's in the letter?" She asked the messenger.

"I don't read the letters that aren't mine, especially royalty," the messenger said, before Luna started to read it. Unlike her sister, she kept her reading speed the same, because she's used to darker stuff, and when she finished, she called for the guards, prompting five of them into the room.

"Yes, Princess?" One of them said.

"Tomorrow, I want the guards to investigate every Shadowmancer that's come into the city within the past month. If they have any weapons, or resist you, you have permission to interrogate them," Luna proclaimed. "And send a message to Bloodville with the same order." The guards saluted and walked out of the throne room. "I need you to deliver a message," Luna said to the messenger.

"Ok, what is it, Princess?" He said, as he grabbed a scroll he had in his bag.

"King Sombra, how's your father? Does he still hate non-monsters? If so, how is he acting? Are you seeing him a lot around your castle? And if there is anything else I need to know please tell me. Princess Luna."

"Ok, I'll go deliver the message right now," The messenger said, putting the scroll in his bag.

"No," Luna objected. "Stay the night and go in the morning. I'll show you were you'll stay," Luna said, before walking towards the messenger. When Celesta got out of her shock, she saw Luna and the messenger heading out. Celesta yawned a bit before getting up and going to bed, dreaming of the memories that still haunt her to this day: when she almost lost Spike, Blueblood, and Cadence.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
25 years ago

I was reading a scroll in my bedroom, comfortably resting in brown pants and a black shirt as my sister was working out vigorously. Then, all of sudden, a guard came bursting into my room. "What's the meaning of this?" I demanded.

"Sorry Princess, but we found Prince Blueblood and Princess Cadence near the city walls, both of them bloody and injured," The guard didn't even finish before I ran out of the room, towards the medical wing of the castle. When I got there, I saw Cadence and Blueblood on hospital stretchers in bloodied clothes and bandages. They were being carried into emergency rooms relatively close together, and Luna followed me into the room shortly after. I stayed in front of Blue Blood's door while Luna stayed in front of Cadence’s. It took the surgeons an hour to stitch them both back together, and when they were finished, Luna left to uphold the royal duties, while I stayed at the hospital. I saw a doctor waving to me, signaling me to come over to him.

"Princess, they're luckily to be alive. But don't worry, they're stable." I sighed in relief. "They're receiving blood transfusions through IV therapy as we speak."

"Are they awake?"

"They should be waking up soon. I can show you to their room." I nodded and he showed me Blueblood and Cadence’s hospital room. The room was a depressing sight. Their hospital beds were on the right side of the room, beds right next to each other, both with their transfusions on the left of the beds. There was a couch at the end of the room, right next to Cadence; the very one I sat on for about ten minutes before I saw her slowly get up from her bed.

"Where am I?" She asked, groggily.

"You're in the medical wing of the castle," I said. "What happened to you two?"

"The monsters that were attacking had one hell of a resistance, but we killed them before they could get to Canterlot. But Blueblood took most of the blows."

"Well the good news is that neither of you are going to die."

"Not dying is always good news," Cadence said, "but I owe fifty bits to Blueblood."

I could only face palm.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Present Day

In a Bloodville inn, a few people were having a late night beer when, all of sudden, Sam burst in, wearing a gray trench coat and a black pants. His entrance made everyone look, "Sorry for the entrance, but I'm here for a room."

"Sure," the guy behind the table said. "Room 7." Sam walked over to counter and grabbed the key. When Sam got into his room he hid his weapon and went to sleep.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
(Back to Celesta) 16 years ago

I was walking down the halls of Canterlot castle in a blue shorts and a golden T-shirt with a doctor in his uniform, holding his bag and his stethoscope, next to me. "So how long has Spike been sick?"

"Five days," I said in a worried tone. "At first, I thought he had the flu. But he got worse and worse. When he didn't get out of bed today, I contacted you." When we entered his room, the doctor saw Spike in his bed, wearing in red pajamas. But both Spike and his bed were very different than how they normally were. He had a lot more blankets, and they were thicker, and his scales were grayer.  "Hello, Spike," I said, in a warm and caring voice, "this is Doctor Gem, and he's going to take a look at you."

"Hello," Gem said.

"Hey," Spike said, in a weak and raspy voice. The doctor grabbed the stethoscope from his neck and put it on. He pulled Spike's shirt and checked his heart beat and lungs.

"Can you breathe in and out for me?" Spike did, but he wheezed as he did. The doctor put the stethoscope back and grabbed a thermometer made for dragons from his bag. "Can you open your mouth for me?" Spike did what the doctor said, and placed the thermometer in Spike's mouth. About a minute later, the doctor grabbed the thermometer from Spike's mouth and glanced at it with a worried look. He replaced the cover and he put it back into his bag. He slowly grabbed his bag and walked over to me. "Can we talk? Outside?" I nodded and we walked outside of the room.

"So, is Spike ok?" I asked, worriedly.

He sighed before saying, "He has Enzen. I can get a nurse to get him an IV and an oxygen mask but I'm not sure if that will help.

"Do you think he's going to live?" I said as tears stared to flow from my eyes.

"To be perfectly honest, I don't know. I'm sorry; there is nothing I can do." He said before walking off. I walked back into Spike's room and sat next to him on his bed.

"What did you two talk about?" Spike asked.

"You. But don't worry; it's just a very bad cold. You will live," I said. I remember telling him a few lies before this, but nothing like this. I had lied about lots of stuff, were babies come from, my problem with cake, and how to keep monsters away, just to name a few. But this... no friend or family member should ever lie to someone that's going to die. I walked over to his bookshelf and grabbed one of his favorite books. I read it to him until two nurses came in Spike's room. One was carrying the oxygen tank and the other was carrying the IV.

"Mom, why are they here?" Spike asked in his raspy voice.

"They are here to help you," I said. "The doctor said it would be harder for you to breathe, eat, and drink. So the doctor recommended you have an IV and an oxygen mask." When I finished, one of the nurses put the oxygen mask on him and the other nurse put the IV in. When the two finished, they left and went back into the medical wing.

Three days past and Spike wasn't getting any better. His friends and the family visited every day.  I went into Spike's room on the third he was in very bad shape. His scales were gray and he was breathing very badly. I walked over to him and waved hello.

"Mom, I know you lied," He said in a weak voice.

"I know, and I'm ashamed. I just don't want you to worry, and I feared you will worry and worry about dying," I said, nearly crying.

"Don't be ashamed, mom. You were just doing what you felt was right," He said smiling. I hugged him and read him a story. The next five days were the best days of my life. Every day, Spike got healthier and healthier.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Present Day

Sam got up and grabbed his longbow and one arrow, putting them in his trench coat and walking out of the inn. He walked through the town until he saw Spike in a green shirt and blue pants, eating with Dash, who was wearing a dark blue shirt and brown pants. The assassin found an alley to slip into, and when he was sure no one was looking, he grabbed his bow and the single arrow from his trench coat. He pulled the bow back and aimed for Spike.

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as she saw Sam. "Spike! Duck!" She said as she ducked. He ducked just before the arrow was fired, quickly getting up and running towards the assassin as Dash threw down some money to pay before helping her dragonfriend.
Sam tried to run away, but Spike caught up to him before he could get far, tackling him to the ground. Spike grabbed his right arm and put it behind his back as he forced Sam up.

"Who the hell are you?" Spike asked as Dash ran up to him. But he stayed quiet.

"He said... who are you?" Dash said as he punched Sam in the gut. But he continued to stay quiet. Rainbow Dash grinned before saying, "Well, I doubt it really matters what he says; attempted regicide is a crime punishable by life imprisonment, anyway."

"Your right, Dashie. Life in jail, if he's lucky," Spike said, carrying Sam away.
> A failed plan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Spike, Rainbow Dash and Sam, locked in Spike's arms, walked into the guard office. The guards were shocked to see he had a Shadowmancer in an arm lock. "What did he do?" The guard asked.

"This guy," Rainbow Dash said as she pointed to Sam, "tried to kill Spike. But he won't talk to either of us."

"Ok. Follow me," the guard said as he got up. They followed the guard until they got to a stone room with a metal table that had multiple leg straps. "Put him in there," the guard said, pointing to the table. Spike complied and he restrained his attacker, as the guard locked each restraint, so the assassin couldn't get out. "Spike, can you contact the guards in Canterlot, so they can bring him there. I don’t think he’ll be able to escape in any of the prisons there. Though we did get a message from your mom to tell you that someone hired assassins to kill you and your cousins." Spike and Rainbow Dash were shocked to hear this.

"Spike, do you know anyone that might want to kill you and your cousins?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"That’s alive? No... Well, none that would go to the trouble of going to the Shadowmancer kingdom, just to hire an assassin. Plus, I think the guard just forgot to put in the reason why.” Spike replied, just before his theory was answered by a yellow mist that transformed into a scroll, which he quickly opened and read, only to have his face frozen in shock.

"What does it say?" Dash asked.

"Well, I found the reason why someone wanted to kill us. Apparently, they wanted my mom and my aunt to suffer."

"Wait a minute! Your mom has enemies that powerful!?" The guard asked in shock. "She seems so nice to all the kings, queens, princes, and princesses."

"Ya, that’s how she got her nickname. She’s a guardian to all her friends and family. But if you harm them, one way or another, you are fucked."

"So why isn't she sending guards to protect you and your cousins?" Dash asked.

"Well, she knows that we can take care of ourselves."
__________________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, in Canterlot

Blueblood and Cadence were walking out of Pony Joe's Doughnut Shop with bags filled with pastries.  They were munching on their treats until they heard a scream for help in a nearby alleyway. They dropped their bags and grabbed their weapons, running towards the source of the screams. "Is anyone here?" Blueblood asked as the two walked down the alley. When the two saw a girl lying on the ground, they dashed over to her.

"Are you ok?" Blueblood asked.

"I’m fine," she said as Blueblood helped her up.

"What happened?" Cadence asked.

"Someone attacked me, but he left when I called out for help," she said as Blueblood and Cadence looked her over, seeing no visible injuries.  The two instantly knew it was a trap, the princess put her blade up to her neck. "How did you know?"

"You don't have any injuries," Cadence said. Then, all of a sudden, an assassin dropped down with a bow in hand. His accomplice tried to escape, but Cadence knocked her out cold, making sure she doesn't escape.  He remained unfazed and fired his bow, hitting Blueblood in the shoulder. The princess quickly charged her horn and sent a blast of energy into their attacker's face. His eyes turned gray and he dropped his bow in fear.  Blueblood pulled the arrow out of him while Cadence was knocking the assassin out. The two each grabbed an assassin and took them the dungeons, where they locked them up and got patched up, themselves.

"Prince Blueblood and Princess Cadence," a guard said as he bowed. "The princesses wanted me to tell you two something: there are assassins that are after your lives."

"We kinda figured that out," Cadence said, sarcastically.

"Well, the reason why they want to kill you is that they apparently want to see your aunts suffering."

"Well, do you know who it is that wants us dead?"

"We don't know that, yet."

"Well, you can ask the two assassins we brought in, when they wake up."  
__________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, in the hotel room

"Where are they?" The old assassin asked as he walked back and forth in the room. He was thinking what could’ve happened to them, only to have his train of thought interrupted by booming nocks from the door.

"This is the Canterlot guard, open up!" The booming voice of a female guard said. 'Shit!' He thought as he went to the door. When he opened it up, he saw a huge, brown dragoness in blue armor. "I need to come in, by the order of the princess."

"Come, come," he said as let the guard inside his room.

"What are you doing here?" The guard asked.

"I’m on vacation with my friends."

"And where are your friends?"

"They said that they were going hunting in the nearby woods."

"Hmm... I need to have a look around here." The guard said as she inspected the room, finding a sword in the closet. "Why do you have a sword in your closet?"

"Why would I have it out and about?"

"True, but you are aware that because of safety reasons, you aren’t allowed leave the city for the time being, and if we do find that you’re tied to any suspicious activity, you’ll be thoroughly... questioned." The guard said before she left.