Derpy Hooves Kindheart Rosario liked to consider herself a pretty positive pony. One that was able to face anything with a smile no matter how treacherous. She was one of those ponies who didn’t let anything get her down for very long. Even on her darkest and gloomiest days, Derpy always managed to find something to put a smile to her face. Or bring a warmth to her heart that would ease the aching pain inside of it. It was what helped her get along with Pinkie Pie, for both of them shared a common ground of finding the light at the darkest of tunnels. With Derpy, it mainly came in the form of her daughters, Amethyst and Dinky, the two brightest lights that shined in her life more than anything. She could have had the worst day in her life, and she could always count on her children to brighten it. Even if one of them was a bit more, typically, moody than the other. Any other day, if she was with her girls, she would’ve been smiling from ear to ear at whatever silly tactic that they used. Right now, though, as she cooked a batch of muffins with Spike and Dinky, that was sadly not the case.

“Hey, Ms. Derpy, can you hand me over those mittens over there?” Spike’s slightly deep yet sweet voice asked as he prepared to open the stove. “I think the muffins are just about ready to come out now.”

“Hm? Oh, sure. Just give me a second.” Derpy said, blinking as she took herself out of her train of thought. Reaching a hoof out to the sink, she grabbed the pair of hoof-shaped mittens hanging from doors underneath it. Smiling as best she could, she handed Spike the mittens to which he accepted cordially. “There you go baby.”

“Thank you~!” He chirped as he put on the mittens, before going over and opening the stove. A second after he did, the smell of the muffins, followed by a chocolatey scent that made Spike’s mouth water. Flaring his nostrils, he took in the smell like a vacuum gathering up dust like a dirty carpet floor, and he sighed blissfully. “Oh wow…the muffins smell really fresh! We did a better job baking them together than we thought!”

“Yeah, looks like we did.” Derpy nodded lightly, sniffing at the muffins as the pleasant scent filled her nostrils. It made the smile on her face become more pleasant, but not enough to erase the pain behind it. “You did a wonderful job Spike. You’re as good as a cook as Twilight always said you were. I’m really regretting not really inviting you over to my house to bake more often.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, Ms. Derpy! It’s not really like I could go there often anyway.” Spike giggled as he set the muffins on the table. “Most of my days are full of helping Twilight with her studies, and when I’m not doing that, I’m either having combat training with her, Crescent Shield, Master Venture Vine, or crusading with the girls! Of course, that last part mainly consists of my free time, but it’s not like I’m not trying to see what else I can do.”

Derpy chuckled. “Is that so? Well, I’ll have to see if I can have Twilight let you come to my house so you can bake with me. I could really use your skills in the kitchen. That way my hooves won’t be so full all the time.”

“I’m sure she will. You and Twilight get along really well, and she and Crescent Shield love Dinky! I’m sure that she’d be okay with it.” Spike said as he smiled at Derpy, a bit of his sharp teeth sticking out a bit. His smile turned into a frown, making the teeth vanish as he looked at the mare with concern. “Speaking of which…are you okay Ms. Derpy?”

Derpy flinched as if somepony had stuck a tranquilizer dart in her rump. “O-of course I’m fine dear. Why would you ask that?” She asked, giving him her best motherly smile. A smile that did nothing to hide what she was feeling inside.

“Because, you’re smile isn’t all the way real.” Spike pointed out bluntly despite the softness of his voice. “I can see it, the corners of your mouth are trembling, and you’re not really looking at me when I’m talking to you.” He walked closer and set a claw on her leg. “Is there something wrong?”

Derpy blushed a bit at the warmth coming from the paw clenching her leg, her eyes timidly looking up to meet Spike’s. She could make out every flicker of green in his irises, which seemed to act like a mirror as she looked her reflection form within them. The look of pain that stared back at her, almost like Derpy was practically inside of Spike’s eyes. They held their stare down for a moment longer, before the mailmare looked away in defeat.

“It looks like that other thing that Twilight told you is true. Nothing can get past the eyes of a dragon, no matter how childish.” Derpy said, laughing mirthlessly. “If you want a honest answer Spike, no I’m not okay. In fact, I’m about ready to take these muffins and throw them across the room and scream my fucking head off.”

Spike cringed a bit at the response, but didn’t back away. “Let me guess…it’s because of the Town Square invasion, isn’t it?”

“What else could have me feeling what I’m feeling right now?!” Derpy asked as her pained look strengthened, like she was trying lift an extremely heavy set of weights. “I just can’t believe it. All this time, it was actually true. Nightmare Moon Nocturnis, the Blood Moon Goddess, Queen of Darkness and the Harbinger of Nightmares was real! She was actually real! What is the chance of a legend as big as her actually existed all this time?!”

“…Not that big of a chance if I’m being perfectly honest.” Spike replied, thinking back to the Story of the Two Sisters. “That definitely is something that you wouldn’t think, or would want to think was real since you first heard about it.”

“You’re telling me! All this time, I thought she was nothing more than a myth that was used to scare little colts and fillies into behaving. To give them a fright and a spook on Nightmare Night every thirtieth of October!” Derpy groaned, running a hoof down her face like she was trying to wipe a stain off it with a napkin. “To think she was the same mare that I used to tell scary stories to Dinky about to make her got to sleep. Heh, I’m definitely gonna have to come up with some other spooky stories to make her listen to me, other than giving her my Solar Stare.”

Spike cringed at the tasteless joke, but made no comment on it. “Yeah, you probably have to after tonight.” He took the paw he was using to hold Derpy’s foreleg to grip one of his own legs to ease his discomfort. “So…what are your thoughts on it?”

“I really don’t know what to think Spike. Everything is just happening so fast right now!” Derpy sighed, one of her hooves pounding against the counter. “One minute I’m with Dinky and Amethyst in the Town Square, looking at the different muffins I can dry. Then, the next, I am trying to keep my daughter from being buried alive by the Empress of Folklore! Thanks to you, Snowflake, and Midnight, that I’m even able to think right now, yet I can’t.” She sucked in a breath to calm herself. “But that’s nothing compared to how scared I’m feeling right now...and trust me, I am really, really scared shitless.”

“I believe you…I don’t even need to look into your eyes to know that.” Spike replied softly, his expression calm and composed. “But you’re not just scared for yourself, are you?”

It wasn’t a question. It was more of a statement, and Derpy knew it. She also knew she wasn’t just talking about being scared for herself. Like some invisible force snagging her head, it turned to let her eyes fall upon her daughters, both of which were currently engaging in a boardgame with Midnight and Snowflake. She watched as Dinky gave a victorious smile, while Amethyst scowled in defeat as Dinky levitated the game piece on the board. Tearing her eyes away from them, she let her golden eyes shine back onto Spike’s slitted reptilian ones.

“No, I’m not…I’m scared for my little muffin and sparky. I’m scared that whatever Nightmare Moon is going to send to us, to Ponyville. That it’ll take them from me.” Derpy admitted, fighting back a whimper as her voice began to break. “Dinky was nearly taken from me after Nightmare Moon made the roof cave in at the Town Square. What if she sends something else here and it not only gets her, but Amethyst as well? What if the lucky break that I was given would be given to me the next time they’re in trouble?” A glassy shine swam through her eyes like waves in an ocean as they looked down at the floor. “W-who will be there to protect them if I’m not there? W-who will be there to keep Amethyst form getting reckless when she duels. W-who will…who will keep my little Dinky…s-safe?”

This time, the next whimper that left Derpy was one she was unable to hold back as she began to cry quietly. The silence in the kitchen allowed Spike to clearly hear the plopping of her tears as they hit the floor. It was like somepony was clapping harshly in his ears, making him frown harder with each second. No longer content with just standing and listening, Spike walked over and hugged Derpy around her forelegs. The warmth coming from his scaly body was enough to dry the tears flowing from her eyes. Unable to find words, she silently stood there as he spoke to her his big green eyes shining as bright as his smile.

“You know, I was actually in the same state that you were. Just before you, Amethyst, and Dinky all came to the library.” He said softly. “My mind was all over the place with that was going to happen to us. With me wondering what was going to happen to Twilight and the girls, and what was going to happen to us. It took her reminding me just who we were and what we’re capable of to keep me from going off as hard as Twilight does in one of her magic surges.” He pointed to one of the tattoos on his shoulders. “That were from Equestria’s secret clans. Which more or less includes me.”

“I know that. It’s not like I don’t have this roseray with me all the time. Even when I fall asleep.” Derpy said, glancing down at her roseray as the eye glinted back at her. “What does that have to do with this?”

“It has everything to do with this. Because we can use this power to protect those we care about, including you.” Spike said, gently poking Derpy in her chest. “Just like how I can use my fire casting abilities to burn everything in my path, you can yank that roseray off of you and just pound the ever living shit out of anypony that hurts Dinky and Amethyst. We don’t just have our affinity and basic magical and earthbound abilities to defend ourselves against danger.”

“Yes, I know that too.” Derpy said, slightly calmer. “I still don’t see the point that you’re getting at.”

“I’m just getting to that.” Spike said patiently, almost like he was an older brother gently lecturing his little sister. “My point is, just because Nightmare Moon managed to get a drop on us so easily, doesn’t mean she won’t be able to do it so easily again. Unlike many of the other Ponyville residents, we’re a bit more capable of ending off anything she has planned for us. We just weren’t given the chance to really show it.” He smiled a bit wider, stepping away from Derpy. “But now that we’ve seen a bit of how powerful she is, we can make sure that what happens to you, Dinky, and Queen Celestia doesn’t happen to us, or anypony else again. We can use our powers to keep everypony safe from anypony else on her side, if there’s anypony else on Nightmare Moon’s side at all.”

Derpy did not reply immediately, too focused on inspecting her roseray, as if she was seeing it for the first time. A hoof rose from the ground to gently run down it, feeling the coolness from it run along her leg.

“Yes…you are right there. I’m pretty powerful already with my roseray on.” She said absentmindedly. “But whenever I take my roseray off…well…that’s not really something anypony would want to be in the middle of.”

“You mean like how they’d better not mess with Dinky, least they get the Solar Stare from you and Amethyst?” Spike asked somewhat jokingly.

“Yes, something along the lines of that.” Derpy said, giggling a bit as well as her mood brightened somewhat. “I think I can see what you’re getting at Spike. Yes, I wasn’t quite able to do a proper job in protecting Dinky and Amethyst from Nightmare Moon. Mainly because she took me and all of us by surprise, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make sure that doesn’t happen again.” She matched Spike’s smile. “Plus, I have you, Snowflake, and Midnight for some extra backup, along with any guards that Queen Celestia may be sending. If she’s sending them that is.”

“Oh, I know she is. No way in Tartarus or hell is she going to let something like this go unchecked and not make sure we don’t have some level of protection.” Spike said resolutely. “And if you’re ever looking for anypony, or any dragon to keep Dinky safe, then, I’m your drake!” His smile turned into a grin as his tail wagged. “Anypony that tried to harm her, they’ll be burned to a crisp before they know what hit ‘em!”

Derpy stared at the drake in amusement, before chuckling and kissing his nose. “I’m going to hold you to that honey.” She said, her tone half-joking and half-serious. “Or else the ones your burning aren’t the only ones that’re going to be burned, you got that?”

“Yes, ma’am Sargent Derpy!” Spike replied, giving a military-like salute. He and the mailmare broke into laughter for a moment, but that was immediately ended by a cry of pain form the latter. Looking up, Spike gasped when he saw her stumble back, clenching at the collar around her neck.

“Gah, what the hell?!” Derpy gasped, stabilizing herself as she held her collar tightly. “What was that just now?”

“A-are you okay Derpy?” Spike asked, concern once gain turning to his face and voice. “What happened? Is it your roseray?”

“I-I think so…” Derpy nodded with a wince, smoothing out her collar and the magical knots within it. Her eyes glued to her roseray for the third time that night, watching as the eye began to glow brighter than a light bulb. “It must be having a reaction to something. It’s the only thing that can explain why its eye is shining so brightly.”

“That can’t be a good sign.” Spike said, lighting poking at the red eye. He watched as it continued to shine like a flashlight in his face. It was almost as if it was trying to tell him and its owner that something bad was about to happen. “The way it’s flashing like that…it’s almost like an urgent flashing. Like the one that happens whenever there’s a code red at Ponyville Hospital.”

“Yeah, it does seem like that.” Derpy murmured, just before a thought came to her. “Could Amethyst be getting this same reaction too?”

As if on cue, Dinky suddenly came running into the kitchen. “Mommy, Spike! Come quick! There’s something wrong with Amethyst!”

Spike and Derpy looked at each other before they ran back into the main room of the library. As Derpy feared, Amethyst was on her haunches, both hooves gripping at her roseray. Her pained face relaxed a bit when her mother rushed to her side, before her own eyes looked down at her mother’s own roseray.

“So, you’ve got it too huh Mom?” The unicorn asked with a slight grunt. “I guess it happened around the same time with you huh?”

“I guess so.” Derpy said dumbly, looking in between both metal appendages. “Did you get that same electrical volt too?”

“Yeah, and it took it’s time making sure I felt it around my horn.” Amethyst snorted, rubbing at her horn. “Do you know what could be causing this?”

“I don’t know. I feel like I do, but I just can’t but my finger on it.” Derpy replied, her face contorting into confusion and thought. “Snowflake, Midnight, are the two of you having the same reaction?”

The pegasus and her two daughters looked over to the board game where Snowflake and Midnight were. When they saw they were no longer there, the family looked around and saw them at the window. The window that Midnight had open while Snowflake was looking at it, both mare looking like they were shaking.

“Midnight? Snowflake?” Spike asked tentatively. “Are…a-are you two alright?”

Snowflake’s ears perked before she slowly turned to look at the drake, the paleness in her face making her look like she was drained of her blood. “E-everypony…you may want to take a look outside.”

Put on edge by the tone of fear in Snowflake’s voice, Spike, Amethyst, Dinky and Derpy slowly walked towards her and Midnight. Pushing past them, they took a look out of the window, and felt themselves love all movement in their bodies. Looking back at them, hovering in the sky like the very sun itself, was the ever so bone-chilling moon of crimson. The orb of red and white shined as bright as the sun itself, looming over the town like table light shining on a desk. Its redness burned into the eyes of the ones viewing it like laser melting through metal, making them all want to look away. But they couldn’t, none of them could. They were too transfixed by confusion and terror to not look at it anymore. It didn’t stop them from voicing their thoughts on it.

“U-um…M-Ms. Snowflake?” Dinky squeaked. “W-why is the moon red?”

“I…I have no idea dear.” Snowflake replied, gaining some of her composure back. “It…it was not like that before. It’s only been two hours since we looked at the moon and it was as white as my own mane before now.”

“B-but that makes no sense!” Amethyst exclaimed. “I thought that the Blood Moon was only a myth! Stories ponies like to tell others on Nightmare Night!”

“It doesn’t look like it’s a myth now.” Midnight stated softly, slowly stepping back from the window. “What I wanna know is, what could’ve made it go from white…to red?”

Spike gulped. “I-I think I have a hunch. But it’s not something you guys are going to like hearing.”

Dinky was about to question the dragon on his thoughts but found herself screaming when she saw a shadow zoom past the window. The flapping of wings, followed by the sound of something crashing onto the exterior of the library, sent them all sprawling to the ground. wood being scratched and carved followed afterword, increasing the fear within the group.

“Is everypony okay?!” Derpy cried, her motherly instincts flaring. “What was that crash?!”

“I have no idea, but whatever it was, it was huge!” Amethyst shouted, helping her little sister to her hooves. “It shook the entire fucking library with us in it!”

“That just tells me how dangerous it us.” Midnight said as she held her sister close to her. “We shouldn’t go outside right now. Whatever is out there may still be here, so we need to-”

An earth splitting roar destroyed whatever words that Midnight was going to say next. The five ponies covered their ears as the roar beat into them like large bass drums. All except for Spike, who stood still on the spot with a look giving the impression that he was seeing his greatest fear. As quickly as the roar came, it ended, concluded by wings flapping hard, growing smaller before vanishing completely.

“I…I-I think it’s gone now.” Dinky whimpered, pulling her head away from her sister’s chest. “It’s gone, isn’t it?”

“Y-yes…it is.” Spike whispered, his legs shaking like he was trying to walk for the first time. “And I know what it was too.”

“You do?” Amethyst asked, snapping her head to Spike. “What was it?!”

Slowly, the dragon cub turned to the ponies, striking nervousness into them with the fear and terror in his wide slitted eyes. “It was a dragon Amethyst…a dragon! There was another dragon outside of the library!”

Derpy, her family and the Shenron sisters all went a lighter color at this revelation. Some of them were even wondering if they had heard Spike correctly, even though they knew they did. They could see it in Spike’s eyes, behind the fear and how petrified they looked, along with the shaking going throughout his body. Even with this, they were all terrified beyond belief, the prospect of a dragon inside the town all but sending them into a complete panic. How in Faust’s name did a dragon come to the town? More importantly, when and why?

A violent knocking on the door drew their attention to the entrance, watching as the door rattled violently. All six residents screamed when it flew open, but soon found themselves calming down when the saw who it was. Derpy felt herself nearly cry while her youngest daughter squealed in elation, the latter running for the pony now barricading the door.

“Auntie Cloud!” Dinky screamed, leaping into the persian blue mare’s forelegs. “You made it to the library!”

“W-w-what the-?!” Cloud Kicker stuttered as she took in the appearance of her youngest niece. “Dinky, what are you doing here?!”

“That’s what we wanna know too Cloud.” Derpy smiled as she and Amethyst trotted over to her. “We weren’t expecting you to come here. We thought you were at the Town Square!”

“Derpy…you and Amethyst are here too…” Cloud said, panting like she had just got done running a marathon. “Snowflake, Midnight, you’re at Twilight’s library too?!”

“Yes dear, we are…we were here with our sister and her friends too before they left.” Snowflake replied as she and Midnight came up to the mare. “What are you doing here sweetie? And why do you look so scared?”

“Oh shit, that’s right!” Like a light a light being flicked on into her head, Cloud got to her hooves, her eyes growing wider. “Guys, I need you to listen to me! Whatever you do, not go outside okay?! It is not safe for anyof you to be outside!”

“Yeah, I think we already got that Aunt Cloud.” Amethyst grumbled. “That dragon we felt land on the treehouse told us that much.”

Cloud shook her head, holding Dinky close to her chest as she looked at her eldest niece. “It’s not just a dragon Amethyst. There are a lot more beasts out there than just a damn dragon! There’s an entire army of bloodthirsty monsters outside attacking Ponyville right now! It’s fucking bloodbath out there right now!”

Ears flattening against her head, Derpy opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced when she heard a rather loud bang come from the door once more. This time, the sound was not like that of a hoof bounding against it, but it sounded as if somepony where slamming their whole body against it. The uneasiness in the silvery grey pegasus grew even more when she heard what sounded like scratching and snarling coming from the other end.

“W-w-what was that?!” Dinky squeaked, pressing herself next to Cloud as her little body shook.

“Oh no! It’s one of them! Cloud replied uneasily, pulling herself and her niece away from the door. “Dammit, I thought that I made sure that none of them followed me here!”

“W-who followed you here Auntie?” Dinky asked timidly, glancing up at her aunt. “I-is it one of those monsters you told us about?”

“It has to be. It’s definitely not that dragon from earlier, that’s for sure.” Spike said with a small shrug, before looking over at Snowflake. “What do you think it is Snowflake?”

“I have not the slightest clue dear, but I’m there’s no way I’m letting it get to us.” Snowflake replied firmly. “Listen, I want everypony to go down to Twilight’s Combat Training Basement. I’m going to stay here and make sure that whatever gets in here doesn’t get-”

The door was suddenly torn down before Snowflake even had time to finish her sentence. All at once, they were blown away by a roaring wave of darkness that sent them slamming into the other end of the room. The cold ominous feeling of power lingered as they tried to regain their bearings, but it soon increased when they saw who the invader was.

Standing in the middle of the room, saliva dripping from its mouth like droplets of water from a faucet, was the most terrifying looking wolf ever witnessed. Judging from its appearance, it was clearly a wolf, but at the same time, it was not. It had a mane that could only belong to that of a pony, lung and luscious. Flowing down its neck and head in long thick and wild waves, somehow making it look even more menacing. A majority of its body was that of an equine as well, save for its feet, snake-like tail and its ears, all of which belonging to that of a wolf as well. Its paw contained claws that looked like curved fishing hooks made to snatch a fish, with sharpness to match. It was covered in woolly black fur that was darker than the redness of the crimson sky, only adding to the intimidation of its massive muscular frame. Its yellow eyes burned like the venom of a rattlesnake, injecting even more fear into the ponies in front of it as it slowly stalked towards them.

“W-what…t-the…h-h-hell?!” Spike cried, his eyes threatening to fall out of his head. “I-is is that a…a-a…”

“No way. No fucking way…that is impossible!” Amethyst screamed, her tail skirt tucking between her hindlegs like she was trying to hide her sacred area. “There is no way that can be what I think it is! There’s…there’s just no way!”

“B-but it is big sis…and it’s r-right here in front of us!” Dinky cried, looking on the verge of crying as she clung to her sister like a lifeline. “A w-w-werewolf…it’s a werewolf!”

The aforementioned beast’s ears twitched at Dinky’s words, its dog-like eyes training on her for a moment, making her squeal. It snarled when Amethyst pointed her horn, igniting her magic in a threatening light as red flashed through her violet eyes. Looking away, it let its eyes slowly move onto Spike, Snowflake and Midnight, the mares themselves acting like a shield for the young drake. Finally, it set its eyes upon Derpy, whose body was twitching as if she had little bolts of electricity being shot into her. The mare stared back at the beast, her yellow eyes giving faint flashes of red glowing brighter than the one on her roseray. With one last glance down at Dinky’s direction, it suddenly roared and leapt at them, teeth and claws prepared to rip and tear.

“Girls!” Derpy cried, snapping out of her daze and leaping in front of her daughters. Just as she did so, there was a flash of green, followed by an explosion before the werewolf was sent flying. The mailmare, her daughters, Snowflake and Midnight both watched as it crashed into one of the bookshelves, adding to the ones already on the floor. Vicious claw marks could be seen on the werewolf’s face, blood dripping onto the floor and making a small puddle.

“Not so fast…” Spike growled as he set his bloodied paw down; his wings glared as he stood protectively in front of the ponies. “If you think I’m gonna let you rip one piece of flesh off of them, you are seriously mistaken!”

“Spike!” Snowflake cried out, looking at the spot where Spike was standing and then back at him. “What are you doing?!”

“Keeping this mutt from hurting Dinky and her family!” Spike replied, watching as the werewolf slowly got up. “What does it look like I’m doing?!”

“Spike, there’s no way you can take that thing on by yourself!” Midnight said worriedly. “Come back here and me and Snowflake take care of it! You’re too small to-”

Spike interrupted Midnight when he shot another blast of fire at the incoming werewolf, sending it crashing into the ceiling. The lights above swayed violently, flickering on and off before settling back on again. The werewolf yelped and growled in pain as the fire burned at it stomach, smoke coming from the effects of the wound. Getting back up on its paws, it snarled angrily at Spike, who glared back at it as he slowly began to grow. It lunged at him again, sending him crashing to the floor as it as it began to pit at is face. Spike responded by roaring and swiping the werewolf across its own face a few times, splattering blood across the ground. He then dug its claws into the beast’s stomach, going upward before ripping them out and kicking it back to the direction of the door.

“Did you already forget that I was a dragon Midnight?” Spike asked incredulously, the fear in his voice all but gone as an emerald green aura surrounded him. “This werewolf here may be a supernatural beast, but dragons are also the most powerfully feared beasts on the planet, save for the Strigoi Changelings.” His body started to grow longer, limbs, neck, wings and tail growing and lengthening until he was at Midnight’s size. “If there’s any one of us, besides you, that can hold their own against them, it’s me.”

“You know he’s got a point.” Amethyst pointed out. “There’s hardly anything in Equis that can harm a dragon. Aside from Queen Celestia or another dragon all together. Besides them, I can’t think of any other creature that can injure them.” Her brows furrowed as she muttered. “Except form maybe the thralls…”

“I heard that.” Spike murmured, keeping his eyes on the werewolf as it paced back and forth in front of him. “It’s fine everypony, I can keep him at bay. You all can take safety inside of Twilight’s Combat Training Basement until I get down there.”

Midnight hesitated. “B-but Spike…”

“Don’t waste time!” Spike ordered, looking at Midnight out of the corner of his eyes. “Just go under the library now before he kills you! GO!”

The werewolf’s roar alerted Spike and drew his attention back to the ponyish canine and found himself rearing up to meet it as it flew through the air. His large wings spread to keep them both from colliding with the mares and fillies behind him. Pushing the werewolf back, he swiped at its face a few times before slamming a clenched claw into its back. Spike grabbed the werewolf in an attempt to throw it away from them, but it bit his leg and sent him toppling to the ground. In a show of strength worthy of its size, it spun him around and let him slam into the wall just above the ponies, before he fell. Thanks to his scales, the werewolf wasn’t able to do much damage to him and he was able to get up and send a breath of fire at it.

The werewolf leapt away and latched onto the large lamp light like a spider monkey on a tree, before lunging at Spike again. His swung one of his wings out, letting it slash at one of the werewolf’s forelegs, before slamming his tail club into its face. Lunging forward, he grabbed the werewolf around the back if its neck with his jaws, before throwing away from his friends. He leapt across the room and began to slash at the werewolf, ripping into its arms and stomach and tearing out chunks of flesh. Blood smeared across Spike’s scales and filled his nostrils, driving him into a bit of a frenzy that made him go in harder.

The werewolf roared at him, countering Spike’s attacks with just as much force as they rolled and tumbled across the ground. Blood from the werewolf flew across the room as Spike bit and slashed into it, ripping out chunks of fur in the process. As Spike threw the beast off of him, he looked around, and noticed that mares and fillies were gone, seeing an open hatch where the horseshoe table was. He had no time to feel relieved before he felt the werewolf bit into his shoulder, clamping down hard in an attempt to pierce his flesh.

“That’s not going to work you know!” Spike shouted, grabbing the werewolf and ripping it off of his shoulder without a care. It shrieked in agony when it felt its teeth get ripped form its gums by the roots, the teeth falling to the ground like little beads. “It’ll take more than some dog teeth to pierce these scales!”

Grabbing its tail, Spike threw the werewolf towards the door, almost managing to throw it out and back into the street. The werewolf managed to stop itself at the last second, and leapt at Spike, slashing at his face the moment it was within range to attack. He found himself slamming into the back bookshelf as the werewolf roared bit him around his neck, using its neck muscles to try to rip and tear at Spike’s throat. As with last time, it was unable to do any serious damage before Spike stabbed his claws into the werewolf’s stomach. He ripped it out, causing blood to gush from the hole in the werewolf’s stomach. It jerked its head back, opening its jaws to cry out when Spike repeated its later act.

His teeth punctured its flesh, piercing into the werewolf’s jugular as he shook it like a dog would a chew toy. The werewolf grabbed him and pulled him to the ground with him, rolling over in an effort to get on top. Spike wasn’t having any of it, using his claws to rip and slash at the werewolf’s back, at some point managing to slash at its spine. The werewolf suddenly fell limp and Spike took this change to pin it down and rip its throat out.

Blood gushed from the pony-like canine’s throat, splashing into his face as he raised a claw to deliver the finishing blow. With a final roar, he sliced his sword-like claws deep into the werewolf’s chest, slicing deep enough to slice into where its heart was. The werewolf gurgled as it choked on its blood, before it fell silent, its yellow eyes glazing over.

“Well that was a pain in the ass.” Spike grumbled, stepping off of the now dead werewolf and licking the blood off of him. “That werewolf was as tough as he was big. Looks like he had the bite to back up his bark literally and figuratively. Too bad he was facing off against a dragon and not another werewolf.”

“Spike?!” Dinky’s voice shouted from down below the hatchet door. “Are you still up there?!”

Ears perking, Spike went over to the hatchet door and quickly called back down. “I’m still here Dinky! Are you and everypony else alright in there!”

“Just fine Spike!” This time it was Amethyst who spoke up. “Is the werewolf gone?!”

“Oh, he’s more than just gone Amethyst! He’s good and dead, with no chance of getting back up again!” Spike replied immediately, keeping the pain out of his voice. He didn’t want them to get the suspicion that he felt bad about killing he beast. “Are you guys okay?!”

“We’re fine Spike!” Derpy said once her daughters feel silent. “We managed to make it down before the werewolf tried to get us!”

“Okay, good!” Spike said, allowing himself to be relieved this time. “Just stay down there and don’t go anywhere! I’m gonna get rid of the body before it draws anymore in here!”

“You got it, kiddo!” Cloud Kicker called up, the tone in her voice making it sound like she was pleased. “Just give us a heads up in when you’re going to come down alright?!”

“Don’t worry! I will!” Spike added, frowning a bit at being called ‘kiddo’. Deciding to save a vague comment for Cloud later, Spike turned back to the body of the werewolf. He grimaced at the gruesomeness of its body, excluding the smell and the taste of its blood on his lips. Wasting no time, he covered it in a blanket of emerald flames covering it from head to tail. Spike stood there, watching as it slowly disintegrated it like a television being fast forwarded by a remote control. It was the work of several seconds for the werewolf’s body to be nothing more than ash. As that Spike blew out the door with a huge intake of breath.

“Well, that takes care of that shit.” Spike said, sighing as he returned back to his foalish size. “I’d better go barricade the door now. Don’t want any more of those guys to come in and find us…or that thrall that was just here.”

Licking the blood from his lips, Spike trotted over to the door and prepared to close it. He stopped when he saw the sight outside that his reptilian eyes fell upon. A sight that nearly made his heart stop in his chest and a scream of absolute fright leave his little mouth. With speed equivalent to that of a tree snake snatching a bird from the air, he slammed the door, locking it with all the locks on its left side.

Blissful silence washed over the room as the drake slowly slumped to the floor, his young mature mind trying to take in what he had seen. The horror outside that was sure to plague his mind with nightmares by the end of the night. He soon shook it away, replacing the thoughts of terror with ones of the ponies currently hiding. With the revelation outside in the forefront of his mind, he hastily flew down to the bottom of the treehouse, desperate to tell them of what he had found out. As well as get some answers out from a certain persian blue mare.

Next Chapter: Chapter 28 - The Troop of Wooden Villains Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 33 Minutes