Spike's New Adventure

by San Dragon

Training Starts Now

It's a new day at the Crystal Empire for Spike the Brave and Glorious; the sunlight beams on his face, waking him to embrace the new day with excitement to become like his favorite character, Hum-Drum, and undergo training to become the hero he imagines for the Crystal Empire. Spike walks by the balcony, taking in the scenery of the empire he swore to protect from underground syndicates, uncover mysteries, and help any crystal pony that cries for an answered prayer.

Spike inhales the fresh air of the Crystal Empire, relishing the new purpose without Twilight's interference due to her outburst yesterday, which caused her suspension from the Crystal Empire to double. One thing he'll get used to is not cleaning or cooking the castle daily since those responsibilities will fall onto Twilight's hooves, and Spike believes Twilight would enforce those responsibilities on Starlight as an escape to elude her duties to hang with her friends.

Spike walks into his private bathroom to start the day, taking a nice, relaxing, hot shower to match the heat of volcanic lava; he is curious about his private instructor training him to use weaponry and probably have cardio exercises to make him more agile until he sprouts wings. After his shower, Spike departs from his room; two crystal guards stand by to escort him to the breakfast hall where his family is eating.

Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, and Sunburst welcome Spike to the breakfast hall and show him the buffet on the table.

"Oooooooooo" Spike gazes at the delicious food presented: omelets with green peppers, mushrooms, diced onions, and shredded cheese, a fruit bar station featuring watermelon, strawberries, oranges, bananas, and apples, gemstone-coated cereal, which was an idea from the crystal chefs since Spike the Brave and Glorious loves devouring gemstones, regular cereals, scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, waffles, pancakes, french toast, cinnamon rolls, orange juice, apple juice, grape juice, water, and milk. The sight of the food made Spike's mouth water.

"Have a seat, Spike, and help yourself! There's plenty for you and -" Princess Cadance gets cut off with every crystal guard, butler, and maiden trotting inside. "Right on time."

Spike never thought of having breakfast with everyone inside the castle; however, he still hasn't seen his instructor and wondered if he or she had a private breakfast. The crystal chefs arrive in the room, hoping Spike loves their craft of combining gemstones with cereal.

"This is awesome!" Spike admits the new change for daily breakfast since he's used to eating in solitude or with Twilight and Starlight on particular days whenever a friendship study or hanging with friends are not involved. He sits with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor; he wonders if Twilight made a breakfast explosion in the kitchen, knowing she's a lousy cook.

Spike tried the gemstone-coated cereal and devoured three servings after discovering a new blended taste since the Cake Family tried and baked a sapphire gemstone cupcake to perfection for his birthday. The crystal chefs eating their fill are pleased to know how much Spike the Brave and Glorious enjoyed their creation and will create newer gemstone-coated recipes for their champion; also, they receive praises from Spike after informing them about the delectable flavor of gemstones merging with ordinary cereal.

After a burping symphony, there were plenty of giggles from everyone in the breakfast hall. Flurry Heart claps her hooves in delight. The loudest was her mother after having a light breakfast, she blushed in embarrassment in front of her subjects and declared breakfast over. Everyone pat their bellies in satisfaction to relish the fellowship in breakfast and silence.

Spike's instinct is to clean up after breakfast since it was his duty throughout the years in Ponyville when he remembered another important task greater than his old routine. Princess Cadance reminds Spike that he no longer has cleanup chores since there are plenty of workers who tend to the Crystal Castle's needs; with Shining Armor having his schedule lined up, Princess Cadance carries Flurry Heart in her hooves and escorts Spike to the crystal guard training facility, which is smaller than the arena that hosted the Equestrian Games.

Throughout the journey, Spike waves at every crystal pony he sees and briefly states about his training course, which would take up most of the day, and he'll see everyone later. Spike is excited about meeting his private trainer and imagines a similar field for his favorite comic book character, Hum-Drum, embracing the new change to become better than ever.

Princess Cadance's smirk grew wider when they got closer to the training facility, making Spike a bit worried about greeting his new teacher and undergoing formidable training methods. Stepping onto the turf grass and the track, Spike turns around and sees Princess Cadance sitting by the bleachers, stroking Flurry Heart's head with a twisted smile. Spike gulped at the sight and saw a unicorn with a purple coat and a magenta mane; seeing the broken horn on the mare's head made Spike gasp after realizing who his instructor would be!

"Hahahahahahahahaha!" Princess Cadance laughs at Spike's horrid face after realizing Tempest Shadow, aka Fizzlepop Berrytwist, would be his new instructor.

Tempest Shadow kept the signature attire consisting of black armor over her body and armor shoes over her hooves. She also wears a body suit all over her, covering her flank; the only difference is the symbol. Before then, it held the Storm Nation's; now, it features the Crystal Empire's Crystal Heart logo.

"Ahahahahahahahaha!" Grubber arrives while eating a sponge cake coated with crystal sprinkles. "Dude, you should have seen your face!"

Spike remains frozen with his eyes widened and jaw hanging loosely; a drool drop extends by the passing second with many thoughts erupting in his mind about the whats and whys of Tempest Shadow's residency in the Crystal Empire.

"I heard and witnessed the fallout of your friends' decision-making when they intruded during the jousting tournament; how concerned they were with you over a misunderstanding and false accusations of your forgetfulness of them. Before you ask about my residency in the Crystal Empire, I'll explain. After the celebration at Canterlot, Princess Cadance approached me and Grubber about a clean slate to live happily since the Storm Nation would undergo a new sovereign through democracy. Empress Storm, the Storm King's brother, was voted fairly and initiated the forgiveness campaign. The citizens and soldiers were to embark to neighboring countries and apologize on behalf of their fallen ruler, ensuring harmony and peace will follow and no more hostility and wrath."

Spike blinks twice and shakes his head, waking him from his trance; he takes the info spoken by Tempest and exhales, now knowing the direction of the Storm Nation's righteousness.

Tempest smirks at Spike's body language and mentally prepares herself to answer any other questions regarding the Storm Nation or the training session.

"So, what training method would I endure on my first day?" Spike asks Tempest since he has no questions concerning the status of the Storm Nation since they're heading in the right direction for becoming anew in peace and prosperity.

"Cardio and muscle mass since your undersized physique would have difficulties wielding weaponry designed for any militant."

"Crud!" Spike imagines himself wincing with an exercise focusing on his speed; also, since he ate a heavy breakfast, Spike fears it would cause stomach cramps if he overexerts his energy poorly.

"Good luck, hero!" Grubber laughs and taunts Spike after watching him sweat nervously, which is his undoing when Tempest glares at him.

"You've been getting fat lately," Tempest notices her friend's round belly getting bloated with each sugary treat the hedgehog had consumed since their residency in the Crystal Empire.

"No.., nononononononono -" Grubber waves his arms with no expression of participating in Spike's exercise routines.

"Consider yourself as Spike's training partner, Grubber!" Tempest commands, striking fear into Grubber's heart, knowing he must comply and get on his friend's good side again.

Grubber pouts and angrily groans due to his blunder of taunting Spike since he thought about avoiding any exercising methods during his new life in the Crystal Empire; he knew about Tempest's persuasion for him to lose weight; however, the desserts and delicacies in the Crystal Empire proved to be more demanding to resist.

Spike watches Grubber walk to the running track and gets in position to endure the many laps Tempest would command Spike to run; Spike decides to follow pursuit with a command from Tempest.

"Have you done this before?" Spike positions himself next to Grubber on the track's starting line, with his mind racing about the many laps he'll circle.

"No....," Grubber sighs and remembers the days of watching the soldiers training immensely to build their muscle mass and achieve agility for the Storm King while he ate nothing but sweets; he regrets not participating in the exercises he'll endure now.

"One hundred laps!" Tempest shouts and watches Spike sprint after hearing the number while Grubber remains motionless until Tempest shouts - "GO GRUBBER!" She ignites her horn to send a spark shock on Grubber's behind, provoking him to start running.

"I'M GOING!!!! I'M GOING!!!!!" Grubber moves swiftly after feeling and hearing the loud pop of sparks behind him; he notices Spike passing him and has concluded his first lap around the track.

"There's not much happening within the Crystal Empire for Spike to fulfill his duties as the savior to the empire. I'll continue to train him into a noble warrior for upcoming threats to protect his crystal ponies." Tempest thought to herself while watching Spike and Grubber sprint on the track. She walks over to the next exercise course for weightlifting. "Keep count of your laps, boys!" Tempest prepares the weight limit for Spike to lift, considering the dragons' body strength differs from everypony else.

Spike imagines his hero, Hum-Drum, sprinting next to him, not getting tired or having second thoughts but pushing aside doubts and focusing on becoming a better self, pushing himself to newer lengths and heights to achieve success. "Become the new hero!"

Grubber is ready to pass out after running ten laps, as Spike has run twenty; he huffs and puffs while slowing down to gasp for air and energy.

Tempest urges Grubber to keep running if he wants a cake coated in vanilla frosting and sprinkles, which motivates him to run faster than before; she uses his hunger as an advantage to encourage Grubber to sweat for his sweets.

With Spike the Grubber finding their motivation to train and become better, the duo started building a brotherhood; during the run, Spike explains his desire to become the hero for the Crystal Empire as Grubber explains finding boredom since nothing is interesting to do besides eating and lazing around. Spike offers Grubber a position to become an ally for a team he'll be building to defend and oppose threats that seek to desolate the Crystal Empire, knowing the vast knowledge of sorcery dating a millennium can uphold newfound power to any wicked creature demented enough to run amuck and cause calamity upon the populous. Grubber does enjoy the idea of fighting crime and different surging organizations that went unnoticed, though he'll need to gain muscle mass to become a champion like Spike the Brave and Glorious; he accepts the proposition and turns to his friend, Tempest, urging her to train him and Spike more often. Tempest smirked at her friend and couldn't believe Spike's prep talk encouraged him to lose fat and become a hero.

Days turn into weeks for Spike during his training sessions. For a few days now, Spike has sprouted his wings after undergoing the molt, a transformation that appears to be a sickness but was a metamorphosis in disguise. Since he sprouted his wings, his sessions had altered with flight lessons with the pegasi platoon of the Crystal Guards because Tempest doesn't obtain flight magic.

Spike endured hardship at first with Tempest during the first week of training since she's not the sort to emphasize emotions on newbies or anyone in particular except those closest to her. She would yell at Spike, demanding him harshly during specific exercises that overwhelmed him, making him pass out on the spot when she wanted Spike to give everything he had and build momentum. Princess Cadance did speak to Tempest about easing the strictness; however, Spike intervened; he wants to embrace Tempest's methods to improve and become better than ever. Spike did ask Tempest to spend some days as friends to build a friendship, which she obliges, thus opening more onto Spike and strengthening their bond during the training sessions.

During Spike's span in the Crystal Empire, he's developed to take care of Flurry Heart like a big brother whenever Princess Cadance and Shining Armor's duties become overwhelming, which is a surprising twist of fate for Spike since he's used to caring for Twilight; however, he enjoys Flurry Heart's presence and has not abandoned her. Spike has spent time with Shining Armor, developing a brotherhood; the two would go camping, fishing, playing games, talking, and exercising. Whenever Spike is with Princess Cadance, he accompanies her to visit several schools, enjoy relaxation, open new stores and buildings, smile with many crystal ponies, and help plan fun festive days for the crystal ponies.

Grubber remains the same size, and his physique hasn't altered, but during his trials with Spike to become heroes, Grubber did obtain strength, better mobility, and agility. He can move swifter, lift two hundred pounds, and hasn't focused on eating junk food.

Whenever Tempest doesn't train the dynamic duo, she monitors the activities within the Crystal Empire for any signs of crime; however, she knows the Crystal Empire is the perfect haven where no corruption and crisis has spurred. She knows Spike's dream would cause devastation to the young dragon with the harsh reality of living in a protected kingdom.

Today is Wednesday. Spike and Grubber meet at the training facility and notice Tempest's demeanor changing while speaking with Shining Armor about Spike's involvement as a protector.

"Uh oh, that doesn't look good," Grubber feels Tempest's energy just by looking at her. He knows what his friend will say after weeks of training.

Spike inhales deeply and approaches Tempest and Shining Armor about his profession as the Crystal Empire's hero, knowing the outcome was all for nothing in the empire and that his fantasy wouldn't become a reality.

"Spike, come over here," Shining Armor turns to Spike, hoping his and Tempest's decision would enlighten Spike's mood.

Spike sighs and looks down while walking closer to his brother. "I'm guessing with how peaceful the nation truly is, there is no need for me to be the Crystal Empire's hero?"

"In due time, you'll get your chance," Shining Armor says while rubbing Spike's head. "Right now, you're needed elsewhere."

"Really?" Spike looks up at Shining Armor. "Who needs my help?" He sees Shining Armor nudging his head, directing Spike to turn to Tempest. "What do you need me to do, Tempest?"

"Come with me to the Storm Nation's Island. I know something that would inspire you to never quit," Tempest smiles at Spike; she believes Spike can find inspiration to dedicate his life to becoming the hero Equus truly desires, not just the Crystal Empire.

"Of course! My homeland is filled with rebellious creatures that want to destroy us!" Grubber said, exciting Spike with the possibility of fighting the syndicates he dreamt about. However, he's hiding another truth about the trip to the Storm Nation's island.

"Let's get going! I'm ready to embrace all challenges!" Spike shouts happily and flaps his wings, preparing to fly when the Storm Nation's war blimp soars and lands on the turf.

Comments

[nightshroud96]

Awesome that this gotten a new chapter at last.

And pretty good training too

[TrainDude90S]

SUPERB training so far.