https://youtu.be/BEm0AjTbsac

So far, things have been great. AJ and I told the girls about us, they took it really well. Pinkie even wanted to throw a party, though we turned it down for just a nice group lunch together. The next day dash introduced me to an old griffon friend of hers back in the day, Gilda was her name. In all honesty, she was great. She was fascinated by me and wanted to be penpals. When she left she gave me her mailing address and I gave her mine.

Now I was exploring the Everfree forest looking for adventure, just because I still had some time to kill. I had my new ax with me, had to have it tested you know. I was searching through the trees looking for nothing in particular till I saw a billow of smoke rising from the side of a mountain. I thought it was a campfire or something until the top started to rumble, then it snored?

" Alright that ain't normal, I think." I decided to investigate the top to see what's going on. I spread my wings and up I went to the top. Once there I spotted a cave with a plume of smoke coming out of it. I slowly approached the entrance to the cave to see what was going on. What I saw blew my mind. " Holy shit, look at all this treasure."

It was the motherload. Gold, jewels, and anything that would even be considered valuable just piled high inside that cave. There was only one thing to do. Grab everything I can and buy all the stupid things rich people buy. I was about to dive into the pile ala Scrooge McDuck, till the rumbling caused me to pause. I looked around to see what was making the noise. When I found the source, I nearly filled my pants. On top of the largest pile of treasure lay a large red fire drake, or dragon, call it what you will.

I contemplated turning around right then and there, but something stopped me. To my right lay a golden horn that just screamed to be taken. And take it I did.

With the horn now in my possession, I tiptoed out of the cave. When I was out I glided down towards the farm to show off my prize. While I was gliding over the farm I saw Jackie bucking any extra trees that were missed from the harvest. I decide to mess with her a bit.

" Hey Darlin what's cooking good looking?" I seemed to have startled her because she missed the tree completely.

" Joe, don't startle me like that." She was mock angry with me, I could tell. She would have continued that train had she not seen the golden horn. " Where did you get that?"

" On top of that mountain over there." I pointed to the top where the smoke was still billowing out, at least the dragon is still asleep.

" What was it doing up there?" Well, guess I better tell, I mean a relationship is built on honesty.

" It was part of a larger horde in a cave at the top of the mountain, though it was guarded by a-" Roooaaarrr. " -dragon."

AJ had a shocked look on her face, can't say I blame her. " You stole from a dragon? What were you thinking? Do you realize what this means?"

" That I'll be sleeping in the guest room tonight?" She wasn't amused. " That I should take care of this?" She nodded with a frown. " Alright, I'll try to be back by dinner." I gave her a kiss on the cheek before going full-on wolf and took off to confront the dragon.

" Be safe." Thank Odin she still cares.

I was off heading back to the cave to hopefully return the horn and have all this behind me. When I got there, the whole top was being redecorated by the dragon. Finally, I said something. " Hey, you." The beast stopped his rampage long enough to face me.

" You, you are the one who stole from me."

" Yes but, I came to give the horn back." This did not calm him down.

" You think that just because you brought it back, that means we're done? No for what you've done, I will set aflame to your pony town." How did he know I live there. " I could smell the pony scent on you, and they will suffer for this."

" No, just take the damned horn, and leave that town in peace." Hopefully, that will work, though I'm pretty sure a fight is coming.

" Too late worm." After that he reared up, and from his maw, he spewed forth a torrent of flames. I was quick enough to hide behind a rock before the flames got a chance to lick my hairy hind. Once the fire's ceased to be, I heard a large whoosh, The damn thing was taken to the air.

" Wait, don't." He was already in the air and making his way towards town. I readied my ax and leaped up to meet him in the air. I had the advantage of being smaller and faster so I was able to get the drop on him. When I was above him, I dropped onto his back with the ax embedded between his wings. The runes on the ax allowed an ice spell to spread over the victim. The spell started to spread to the joints, however, the dragon was still flying, albeit a lot slower. " Damn you, I'll have your lizard head, on a spike!"

I started slashing and biting at his joints to make him crash. Unfortunately, it worked. The bastard and I were going down hard into the town square, thankfully the roaring kept everyone inside and out of harm's way. We landed hard in the market square creating a giant crater in our wake, causing me to fly off his back.

I got up from the ruined cabbage cart I landed in and destroyed. I looked to where the dragon was and saw he was heading for the library. " Twilight Spike no." Something in me started to boil my blood, a wave of anger I never felt before washed over me. Suddenly the world around me was tinted a blood red and a desire to kill came over me.

https://youtu.be/aNZOAEwsqnk

I launched myself at the bastard, I went right for the head and latched on to the left side. " Gah, get off me you pest." He reached out to grab me, but I wasn't having any of that. With my right claw, I channeled fire into it and dug it straight into the dragon's eye. " Aaaaahhhh."

I pulled out the eye and tossed it aside. " Bet you didn't see that coming?" With him distracted I called forth my ax, which at the moment was embedded on the side of the roof of a bar. At my command, the ax flipped through the air and into my outstretched hand. " Any last words?"

He looked at me with his one good eye with hatred and fear. " I will make you suffer for this!" Good, he still has some fight in him.

" Then mark this day well beast, for this is the day you will die." I know, over the top but at that moment, I wanted blood. I raised my ax and with a primordial cry, I plunged the ax head into his skull with a sickening crunch. This caused the dragon pain but apparently, his skull is thick enough to survive one swing. I guess I'll just have to keep going.

Spikes Pov

I couldn't believe what I was seeing, a full-grown dragon duking it out with my best friend Joe. And Joe was winning. I really didn't know how to feel, I mean that dragon is rampaging the town and yet he's one of my own. But Joe is my friend, and he's in trouble, I need to help him.

" I'm coming to save you, Joe." I was out the door and heading towards the fight, then I heard something that chilled me through my scales. A demonic voice escaped my friend's lips.

" Your skull will be above my fireplace and your flesh will fill my belly for weeks."

That voice, that voice is going to be in my nightmares for a long time to come. There stood my best friend, speaking in an almost demonic voice, saying he's going to make a trophy out of his skull. I can't believe that my friend would say such a thing.

" Please mercy, I beg you." There mercy he called for mercy surely Joe will-

" Mercy? Were you going to show mercy to this town, or it's citizens? No, no I don't think I'll give you the courtesy of something as sweet as mercy. After those words were said, Joe plunged his clawed hand into that dragon's chest like it was wet paper. The dragon gurgled as blood was coming from his mouth. After that Joe did something that made me want to hurl, he pulled out his heart, while it was still beating.

Joe's Pov

I had just pulled out the bastards beating heart and now I was in the process of watching him die. When the last spark of life left him, it was time to make the kill known. " Hear me now world I Joseph Huffstutler, the great descendant of Arminius Huffstutler have just slain a beast of legend. Let this be a warning to all creatures of evil." I took the heart in my hand, and devoured the thing in one bite.

A minute went by and the adrenaline was leaving me. The world returned to its normal shades and colors, when I looked around I found that no one was out here, or so I thought. Standing at the library entrance was my dragon buddy Spike. He looked like he had just seen something terrible. I looked down at the carnage and realized he had.

" Spike." I went to talk to him, but he ran back into the library. " Oh Gods what have I done?"

Berry Punches bar

https://youtu.be/-J1ADlO_ijA

I was pounding beer after beer, drinking away my shame at having done such an act in front of Spike, my best friend. " Berry another beer." I found Berry's bar when Dash dragged me and Gilda for a fun night. Now I'm just erasing my memories.

" Don't you think you've had enough Joe, you looked pretty hammered."

" Berry, I love these small talks, but I want to forget this day, and then the next day so more beer." The beer she was giving me was great, it was a dark beer that reminds me of home, hell it's called shiner buck. Ha.

" Alright but remember I was the voice of reason." She went to go grab my drink while I wallowed. Suddenly the door opened for another patron to enter. " Hey, he can't be in here he's too young."

" I know but we're looking for Joe." That sounded like Twilight, and if berry said someone was too young to be in here then that means spikes here too.

I turned in my stool to face them. " Twi, what brings you here? Didn't really take you for the drinking type."

" I'm not. But I came here so we could talk to you about what happened this afternoon." Here it comes, the criticizing lecture about the sanctity of life and why I shouldn't have lost control.

" Listen I don't need a lecture right now okay I just want to drink my problems away." I was hoping they would turn and leave me to my bottle. They weren't doing that. I expected Twilight to say something but what caught me off guard was that Spike spoke up.

" Hey, Joe."

I hesitated, but I finally responded " Hey, Spike"

" Can I sit down?"

" Sure, it's a free country, I assume." He sat down next to me. " Hey Berry, let's get a soda for the kid here." I looked to spike to read his expression, which is very difficult when you're blind stinking drunk. " Alright, Spike goes on ahead, go ahead and tell me I'm a monster, a killer, some blood-lusting psychopath anything!"

Spike wasn't fazed by my outburst, he just stared at me neutrally. " I saw what happened, and what you said. Twilight told me what AJ told her you did." Great now he thinks I'm a thief. " But what really freaked me out was your voice. What was that anyway?"

" Spike let me tell you a story. This goes all the way back to Arminius. You see, before He became a Werewolf, he was an auxiliary for the Roman empire. Basically, he was a foreign man in a foreign army. Now, he leads an army of German soldiers against three legions of Rome, they were known as Ghost warriors. Three days and nights they slaughtered the cohorts and the empire never stepped foot on German soil for hundreds of years."

" That's a great story, but what does it have to do with this?"

Berry came back with our drinks and I gulped it down in one swig. " I'm getting to that. In retaliation for there defeat, Rome sent a small band to kidnap his son Thumelicus. They succeeded in capturing him since he was just an infant. At that time Arminius did have the gift and he used it to get his son back." Another beer went down my gullet. " And he made sure that the Romans would never do that again. He became enraged and became thirsty for blood, he slaughtered the men who kidnapped his son, but he wasn't done yet. That day, he destroyed everything in his path and left none alive. That was the day the Roman Empire fell. We call it Fenrir, a state in which all we know is bloodlust." I looked around and saw I gathered a small audience. " The Fenrir has only happened four times since Celestia gave us the gift, and it's only triggered when someone we care about is in trouble."

" So, when you went all crazy like that."

" The dragon was coming right for you guys. And I let my anger take control." I waited for him to run or yell at me, instead, he gave me a hug. I looked down to see his eyes were covered in tears.

" Thank you."

I was so overwhelmed with that words could do no justice, so I just hugged him back. " Thank you, Spike."

Back atop the mountain

I was back at the cave where this whole fiasco started. With the dragon gone, all that treasure was mine for the taking. I decided to make this cave my personal vault and would come back when I would need more. I came out with a fifty-pound bag of gold and a ten-pound bag of gems for Spike.

I've been contemplating getting a place of my own when I had enough money, and it looks like that time has come. I teleported all the stuff back to the farm and quickly stashed it in my room.

" Hey, sugar cube." I looked to find Jackie standing outside the door.

" Hey darling, how are you?"

" I'm Fine." She gave a worried look. " How are things with Spike?"

" They're good. I explained everything to him and he seems to understand that it was a rare thing." She gave me a big smile at that.

" That's good." Her eyes turned sultry again. " So, any plans for tonight?"

" Well, the Mayor wants me to get rid of the dragon body in the middle of the market." Her expression dimmed. " Then I was thinking of taking a certain farm mare out to dinner." She immediately perked up on that. " So I better go see if Granny's available. Ouch. What was that for? " I gave her a mock grin.

" Fer being an idiot."

" Yeah, but I'm your idiot."

" Lucky me." She said in a sarcastic tone, then she looked at me with a smile. " Come on let's get going." She turned and sashayed out of the room. At that point, my brain is telling me ' Mush you half-brained Jackass'.

" Yes, mam." And it was off to the races.

Author's Notes:

Okay, a few things.
One, this chapter was inspired by Beowulf.
Two, Fenrir is a giant wolf from Norse mythology.
Three, at some point a sex scene will happen. I just don't know when.
And four, the clip of the day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQji1bEXwc0