Spike awoke with a yawn. He slowly slid out of his new bed and took a deep breath to calm his racing heart, today was his big day after all. Spike only hoped that Luna was the only vile alicorn out there.
Luna. Just thinking of that name sent a cold gust of wind down his spine.
Suddenly, the door opened and Twilight trotted inside. She eyed the room with a crinkled snout before giving Spike a warm smile. "Good morning Spike."
"Morning Twilight," Spike replied.
"Commander Blueblood wants us all to see him in the meeting room," Twilight explained while using her magic to make his bed and clean any dust-coated surroundings.
Spike gave a quick nod before walking out the door, Twilight still dusting behind him.
The meeting room was downstairs and in an almost hidden corner of the floor plan. A portrait of Queen Rarity sat in the middle of the room, along with a long birch wood table covered in maps. Torches dotting the corners of the room served as the only light source.
"Good morning Spike and Twilight." Commander Blueblood welcomed the wide eyed recruits. "Take a seat and we will begin our meeting."
Once they all took their seats around the table, Blueblood cleared his throat. "As Shining Armor said yesterday, we have received reports of the Harvest Alicorn in Baltimare. Our carriages will take us to the outskirts of the city where we will make camp. Shining Armor and Twilight, you will need to guard our camp while the rest of us go into the city to try and dig up clues to where this alicorn could be."
"Understood," Shining Armor replied.
"Okay," Twilight smiled.
Blueblood then shifted his gaze to Rusty and Spike, "I need you two to go into town and stock up on supplies. This is a serious mission so I want us to be fully prepared."
"Fine," Caramel sighed.
"Leave everything to us!" Spike grinned.
Commander Blueblood looked at his team one last time before giving them permission to leave.
Canterlot Square was packed full of ponies. Spike had to dodge left and right just to avoid being trampled on. Seeing this, Caramel rolled his eyes but allowed Spike to climb onto his back. Once on, they headed towards a small building drenched in pink and blue paint. A sign above the door read 'Pinkie's Sweet Tooth Bakery' in bright rainbow colors.
"This is where we get most of our food. Pinkie Pie, the owner, is a good friend of Queen Rarity so we always get a good discount from her store," Rusty explained before the duo entered the store.
The inside gave off a homey atmosphere. Small tables and chairs dotted the space and a large display case sat in the middle of the room. Spike instantly jumped off of Caramel's back and pressed his face against the cool glass. His mouth began to water as he saw chocolate cakes with creamy white frosting, chocolate chip cookies the size of a pony's hoof, and cinnamon rolls with icing dripping from the top.
"You have to try the cinnamon rolls! Granny Pie always said you can't start a morning without a cinnamon roll in your tummy!" A pink mare wearing an apron exclaimed.
Spike looked up at the mare and smiled sheepishly.
"Howdy Pinkie Pie. We'll need couple days worth of food. Got ah new mission an' everything." Caramel piped up while trotting towards the two.
"Caramel! Long time no see, just take a seat and I'll be right back!" Pinkie Pie sang before bouncing off to the kitchen.
Once she was gone, Caramel gave Spike a little shove. "Didn't ya eat breakfast?"
Spike shook his head. "I guess I was so excited about the meeting that breakfast just slipped my mind." His stomach growled a response.
Pinkie Pie came bouncing back, a wagon full of large paper bags trailing behind her.
"This should keep you all full during your mission. And your payment comes to one hundred bits."
Caramel dug a sack of bits from his saddlebag and handled it to Pinkie Pie. The mare held it for some time before smiling and trotting back into the kitchen, only to turn around and wave a quick goodbye.
"Well, how iz it?" Caramel asked.
Spike licked the sticky icing from his claws, crumbs of cinnamon pastry speckled his mouth. "Delicious. Pinkie Pie sure has a gift when it comes to food."
They were slowly making their way to a stone structure where the smell of smoke and sweat made Spike gag. Twisted metal hung from the opened roof, spelling out the words 'Apple's Weaponry.'
"Ya can bring ta wagon inside. Tey don't mind," Caramel explained before opening the door and ushering Spike inside.
The walls and floor were completely stone and three openings were carved into them. However, diamond shaped gems dotted the walls, creating different constellations that reminded Spike of when he and Twilight would stay up on the weekends and watch the stars through their mom's telescope. He clenched his claws. Luna was going to pay for what she did to his mom.
"Howdy!" A merry voice sounded before a small filly cantered out from one of the carved out openings labeled 'Work Room #1'. Her body was drenched in sweat and thick goggles covered her eyes.
"Howdy Apple Bloom. Where's yer sister? We are going on ah mission an need some light weight weapons tat travel easily."
"She's taking stock. Hold on, ah'll git her," Apple Bloom answered before skipping into the second opening labeled 'Storeroom.'
Once she left, Spike let out a sigh. "Hey Caramel, how come no pony seems fazed that I'm a dragon? Back in Ponyville, everypony freaked out before getting use to me."
"Tat was sudden," Caramel smirked.
"I know. It's just that, you would think somepony would at least give me a weird look."
"Well, tis is Canterlot. Sometimes when ah leader comes to talk politics with Queen Rarity, some ov their subjects come a wandering 'round Canterlot. So ponies here are use ta seeing dragons an griffons here," Caramel answered.
"An tey bring mighty good business." A mare with the same thick goggles on top of her forehead piped up. Her emerald eyes twinkled.
"How's business Applejack?" Caramel greeted.
"Same as always," Applejack replied, "anyways, Apple Bloom says ya need some new weapons fer tis mission ov yers?"
"Yup. An maybe ya can git something fer Spike here since his only weapon seems ta be his claws."
Spike wanted to say that he could also breath fire, but quickly bit his tongue. After all, fire breathing dragons have never been heard of. Sure these ponies seemed nice and all, but there was always that chance that once they learned the truth, Spike would be looked down upon in fear for his power. Fire was deadly after all.
Applejack scratched her chin before motioning Caramel and Spike into the storeroom.
"Woah!" Spike gasped once they entered, causing Applejack to smile.
"Eeyup! We got pretty much every kind ov weapon ya need. Just grab something off one ov ta shelves," Applejack smiled.
The storeroom was filled from wall to wall with all sorts of weapons. From knives and swords to axes and guns. There were even some that Spike had never seen before!
"Are ya more or a close or long range attacker?" Apple Bloom asked, seemingly to appear out of thin air, causing Spike to jump.
"Oh um, I'm more of a close range attacker."
"Ten follow meh," Apple Bloom smiled before trotting off, Spike right on her heels.
They soon stopped at a shelf lined with different kinds of wooden swords. All with a reddish tint to them. Spike picked up the nearest one with a thin, medium size blade. The wood was smooth to the touch and quite heavy.
"Apple Bloom, why is this sword so heavy?" Spike asked.
"Cause it's made from redwood." Apple Bloom answered. "An' since redwood is practically flame resistant, ya won't have ta worry bout it catching on fire an burning down."
"Cool!" Spike exclaimed. "It is a bit heavy, but I think I'll get use to the weight."
"Great! Take this then," Apple Bloom pointed to a sheath made from tan colored wood and had a black piece of rope attached to it. When Spike picked it up, he was surprised at how light it was. Carefully, he placed the sword in the sheath and tied the rope around his waist. Satisfied it wouldn't come loose, Spike grinned.
"I think ya found yer new weapon." Caramel whistled while he and Applejack trotted over to the two youngsters. He was caring an old apple sack on his back that was full of weapons. "Now come on Spike, Commander Blueblood doesn't like ta be kept waiting."
Once they said their goodbyes to Applejack and Apple Bloom, the two set off to the castle gate. When they got there, Spike gave the wagon to a couple of pegasi who began to pile the things in one of the carriages Spike and Twilight arrived in.
"How did your shopping trip go?" Twilight asked.
"It went great! The shop keepers are really nice and friendly."
"Spike, Twilight, are you two ready?" Commander Blueblood questioned while getting into one of the carriages.
Twilight and Spike nodded before piling into a carriage. Then, the pegasi hooked themselves up and took to the sky.
A filly wearing a tiara stood in the middle of what once was a town. Smoke blocked out the sun and it filled her lungs with that sickening scent. Ponies lay twisted and piled by the dozen. Her body was covered in blood.
She laughed and stomped on a severed leg that once belonged to a hideous pony. She laughed when she saw a colt crying out for his mommy to wake up. She laughed and laughed until her artwork was blocked by a light red stallion.
"Diamond Tiara," His deep voice was almost a whisper. But Diamond Tiara stopped laughing and looked down at the bloody ground.
"Sorry Big Mac. But I got bored and ponies were being really annoying with all their screaming." Diamond Tiara tried to explain, only to receive a glare.
"Sorry it took so long," The smoke was enveloped in a dark blue and was pushed away, creating a path for Luna and Rainbow Dash to land.
"Luna!" Diamond exclaimed while Big Mac gave a quick bow.
"It seems this town will be more blood then stone," Luna remarked, her icy voice causing Diamond Tiara's face to drain of color. "But this will be dealt with later. Now, stand close. I shall envelope this town in stone,"