//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Spike VS Grunkle // Story: You Can Count On Me // by Ekhidna //------------------------------// Chapter 2: Spike VS Grunkle The almost deafening roars and cheers all around the stadium resounded with thunderous vigor. It didn’t pull a certain wingless purple dragon with green spikes attention away from the fight in the middle of the arena. Damn it all. I couldn’t get any information out of anyone yesterday. And with Ember rooted to her throne I can’t even get near her until after the tournament. Everyone here is either cautious or unfriendly. I’m willing to bet on the latter, Spike thought before letting out a frustrated sigh, yet his eyes never tore away from the two dragons currently fighting. The one good thing that came from having to spend a night nearby the rest of the competitors was that he was now able to identify all of them by name. Currently the two fighters were the silver color scaled four-armed dragon, Hirador, against the bulky yet surprisingly lean Komanfausheer. The former had long, strong arms and two equally powerful legs and tail while his wings didn’t present anything outstanding. The latter, however, had ample wings that in combination with his lean physique made him fast and agile in the air. His scales were a two shaded aquamarine tone and from his head two small horns rose. Both combatants were on the ground panting heavily after a tremendous aerial battle in which Hirador managed to injure one of Komanfausheer’s wings but not without taking a nasty bite to his left thigh that refused to stop bleeding. Suddenly, Hirador roared and charged using his four arms for support and moved with surprising speed. Closing the few meters that set them apart, Hirador slammed head first against his opponent bringing them both to the ground. “Idiot.” A voice at his left side made Spike take a momentary glance. Spike’s eyes widened a bit when he saw a black scaled dragon a head taller than him standing next to him with crossed arms and a stern look on his face. His snout was elongated, similar to Ember’s but rougher looking with a few pointy fangs showing every inch or so, and his eyes were sky blue. He also noticed that the dragon was not bulging with muscles, but instead had a more leaner, athletic body. His wings, large and beautiful with a rosy shade, made the perfect contrast with his almost completely black scales. Spike only now noticed that the dragon had two gray horns that erupted from each side of his forehead and travelled behind his skull all the way down to half his neck. A whip like tail swayed from side to side behind him in slow motions. The look on his eyes, however, was what caught Spike’s attention the most. They were cold, calculative, and stern. Yet he could also see a hint of disappointment in them. Looking back at the ongoing fight, Spike smirked. “You noticed it too?” “Of course. Anyone with eyes could see what that idiot of Hirador just did.” The dragon replied taking a step closer to Spike until he unfolded his arms and sat next to him. “A pleasure to finally meet you, Spike The Dragon. My name is Zhaitan. Zhaitan of the Blackwings Clan.” He introduced himself without looking at the purple drake. “The pleasure is all mine, Zhaitan.” Spike replied whilst Hirador grabbed onto Komanfausheer with his four arms making him roar in pain while he tried to get away from his powerful grasp. “If I may be so bold, and pardon if I sound too offensive, but you are quite underwhelming for a dragon of your reputation,” Zhaitan smiled. “At first glance at least, Spike.” “My reputation?” Zhaitan took a glance at Spike. “Feigning ignorance is unfitting of you, I think.” Zhaitan smiled when he saw Spike smirk and take a glance at him. “But to answer your question, you are quite famous for those that care to listen. Personal friend of Dragon Lord Ember ever since the Gauntlet of Fire. The Hero of the Crystal Empire. The Guardian of The Element Bearers of Equestria.” Spike chuckled. “Yup, that’s me alright. Such a shame I don’t know anything about you or anyone else here today. Aside from Garble and what little I have seen that is.” “Ah, the red brute? I’m quite surprised he made it past the test of Lord Ember.” You’re not the only one, Spike thought in silent agreement. “Oh, before I forget, congratulations on winning your first match.” Zhaitan shook his head. “Drul’h. My opponent wasn’t up to par with my skills and expectations. It was a shameful display for everyone.” “If you say so.” Spike shrugged. “Hey, Zhaitan, mind if I ask you a question?” Spike threw a quick glance at the black dragon to see him nod. “Where were you guys during the Gauntlet of Fire?” After a couple of seconds of silence he took another glance at Zhaitan and found him looking at him with a questioning look. “For what I’ve seen so far most of the participants, you included, could’ve won the Gauntlet while blindfolded and wings tied. Ember and I only won because we teamed up.” “I don’t know or care about the others, but in my case I was undergoing my clan’s rigorous passing rite. By the time I finished my rite the Call had ended. Not that I had any interest on being Dragon Lord to begin with.” Zhaitan hummed seeing Hirador drop Komanfausheer on the ground, the latter unmoving while the former roared in triumph. A moment later a dragon wearing a white coat approached the fallen combatant and then raised his arms up his head making an ‘X’. The stadium roared again in unison at the victory of Hirador. Hirador then flew away from the arena while the coat wearing dragon dragged Komanfausheer away. Torch roared silencing the crowd following by calling the names of the next two contendants: Raiga and Thorn. “Then you’re here because you want to prove you’re the strongest?” Spike asked watching the two dragons fly to the partially destroyed arena. There were scorched spots and several rocks destroyed all over the field from the previous fights. Still, a good portion of it was still untouched. “I care not for such silly things. I’m here by order of my clan.” Zhaitan smirked. “And because I want to test my abilities further against the best.” The black dragon then looked at Spike. “Why are you here, Spike? You live in Equestria, this matters shouldn’t concern you. I mean no disrespect, of course.” “It’s cool, dude. I’m here because I’m helping out a friend.” Spike said turning to see Zhaitan with a broad smile. Zhaitan squinted his eyes and returned Spike’s smile with a wide smile of his own. “You are definitely not what I expected. That is a good thing. There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent, don’t you agree?” “Absolutely.” Spike replied. Zhaitan then stood up. “I wish you victory on your first fight, Spike. And if I’m lucky and fate wills it, we shall face each other in the arena. Var’ kinyaal Shurrrr’ Fraut.” The black dragon turned to leave. “It means ‘May our paths meet again’. Farewell.” “Right back at you,” Spike replied with a friendly tone. Meanwhile on the arena, Raiga was roaring loud and powerful while he beat up his enormous chest with one fist while Thorn stood silently waiting for Torch to give the order to fight. His gaze shifted to see Hirador landing on a nearby stall panting harshly while he tried to grabbed onto his injured thigh. He’s done for. Not only he gave away the severity of his injury but he also showcased his Ace-card by using his arms that way. Well, good news for me, one less competitor for me to worry about, Spike thought before he saw Zhaitan land on the grade right in front of him filled with other similar looking black dragons. Spike let out a sigh of relief. “I’ll have to keep an eye open for him.” Spike returned his attention to the arena when Torch roared signaling the fight to begin. He watch Thorn, the tall and bulky dark orange scaled dragon, charge directly at Raiga opening his impressive large maw. Raiga stood his ground and grabbed the jaws of Thorn stopping him before he could bite down. With a quick spin Raiga tossed Thorn to the sky with brute strength alone. Spike observed Raiga for a moment. His scales were of a electric blue while his underbelly was silver colored. His legs and tail, while looking a bit short for his impressive two meter and a half stature and muscular build, were thick and did their job to keep his balance perfectly. His wings were also wide and crystalline looking. His face tough was another thing entirely. It was the first he had seen a dragon with actual hair growing out of them. Raiga had a long white beard that looked smooth as silk that run down all the way to his chest. Spike noticed he didn’t have any kind of crest or spikes on his head or back, but he did have several small bumps all over his back and eight short horns on his head growing above his short white hair. Thorn stabilized on the air and shot a firestream at Raiga. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t my old friend Sparkle Warkle.” A too familiar and over obnoxious voice called. With a defeated sigh Spike replied. “Hello to you too, Garble.” Spike took a quick glance to see the red dragon approaching with a mocking grin. He didn’t noticed anything different from Garble, except for him being two or three inches taller and having more defined and rough characteristics and some bulging chest and forearm muscles under his thick scales. “What’s this? No whimpy ponies to watch your back this time? Or did they let you out of your leash?” Garble mocked landing a few steps away at Spike’s right. “Says the dragon that can’t be apart from his goons.” Spike said casting a quick glance behind Garble to see Fizzle and Matchflick hovering a few meters away. “What do you want, Garble, I have better things to do than listen to your insults.” “Sounds like you’ve grown a maw since the last time I saw you, Spike. Do you want to know the nickname everyone is calling you?” “I’m dying to know.” Spike answered with fake enthusiasm. “The Wingless Disgrace.” He said loudly causing his two companions to laugh. “I think it fits you, Sparkle Warkle. Those whimpy ponies have ruined you. Just look at you! The only dragon without wings and a weak, pathetic chump that has to live with namby pamby ponies! I’m surprised the Elders let you enter the tournament at all.” “And I’m surprised you passed Ember’s test. I always believed you lacked the sufficient cerebral process to take information and interpret it into inventive and logical ideas via the meticulous ways of investigation and study.”  Spike paused for a moment and took a quick glance at Garble’s confused expression. “And why wouldn’t I be allowed to participate? I’m a dragon and every dragon under the rules of the tournament are allowed to enter. They couldn’t say anything about it, Garble.” Spike said without looking at the red dragon as he watched Thorn dive into the firestorm he had created. “Just like when I participated in the Gauntlet of Fire. Speaking of that, did you enjoy your task going back home?” Spike said ending with a smirk that only Garble saw. “...If Grunkle doesn’t sweep the floor with you, I will.” Garble hissed before turning back. “Let’s go guys, this loser will learn his place soon enough.” With that said, Garble and his goons left Spike all alone. Spike didn’t pay attention to the trio, for he was busy watching the fire die down to see Thorn fly out with some blood running from his snout. With a flap of his wings, Raiga cleared out the rest of the fire to reveal him standing still with his maw open wide and looking at Thorn. His hair was standing up as lightning bolts emerged from his mouth. “What the hay?” Spike muttered before Raiga roared and a stream of lightning shot out from his maw directly at Thorn. “What the hay!?” Spike shouted standing up from his seat with wide eyes. As the stream of electricity surged through the air he could hear the cracking it made in its pass. He watched as Thorn moved to the far side a moment before the stream hit him. To Spike’s and everyone’s surprise the stream didn’t continue it’s straight route, it instead did a perfect ninety degree angle turn in an instant and followed Thorn. Thorn evaded the stream again only for it to turn at his direction once more. Thorn panicked and began to fly at random directions with the stream getting closer and closer to him following without stop in zigzag motions. Desperate, Thorn dived down and hid behind a great rock at the other side of the field when the stream was a meter or so behind him. Instead of hitting the rock like he hoped, the stream cornered the rock and struck Thorn. “AAARRRGGGGGGGGHHHH!” The pain filled scream of Thorn was heard across the entire stadium for a few seconds until it finally stopped and Thorn dropped to the ground unceremoniously. “Holy guacamole…” Spike whispered while he saw the medic check on Thorn, luckily confirming he was still alive, while Raiga roared and boasted his might and power. Okay, so instead of fire he breathes electricity. And for some reason he can control the velocity and the movement of it at will. Thunder dragons are scary as all Tartarus if all are like him, Spike thought before regaining his composure and jumping down his grade onto the ground down below. He landed softly and slowly made his way to the arena. Let’s see, out of the fourteen winners so far ten are the serious threat. Hirador, Mok Bal, Krudo and Ballista are practically out of the tournament thanks to their injuries or for giving away their trump cards. Zhaitan won without much effort and is fast, agile, and strong as far as I have seen. He also didn’t use his fire once or flew to win his match. Raiga is strong, has high stamina, a higher tolerance to dragon fire than most, and that lightning attack is like nothing I’ve seen before. Garble is by far the one with the highest endurance and surprisingly quick reflexes, he is also way stronger than most dragons I’ve seen so far. I thought for sure the hulking Brutus would win, but Garble won with little effort. Ptolomeo can momentarily manipulate his fire to create fire whips and somehow solidify it to create a short lived shield. Sluriasma, despite having no legs, is the most agile of the bunch and her lightning fast movements and quick reflexes give her an advantage, plus that venom she spits is no joke. Crackle may look dopey, but she’s rather strong and her body makes it impossible to make her lose her stance and balance. That and it looks like she can predict enemy movements in a similar manner to Pinkie and her Pinkie-sense. Spike stopped his train of thought for a moment when he walked past Raiga, the thunder dragon carrying himself with an air of obvious superiority. So much so that Raiga didn’t even bothered to look down at Spike. Spike was able to see him up-close and noticed that his yellow eyes were small compared to his rough, robust face. Jaggedteeth is a tricky one, that with the natural oilish substance covering his scales and his large claws on both feet and hands, he doesn’t have a good sense of balance but he makes up for it with a long tail that he uses like a whip with two horns growing at the tip. Goliath is a simple minded fool with a straightforward technique of keep attacking no matter what. The problem is that he is the biggest contestant, even bigger than Grunkle, and is by far the most resistant to damage out of everyone here. Flamethrower is one sly bastard, she may not look like it but she’s pretty smart and resourceful. Not to mention the range and volume of her fire breath, her real strength comes from her ability to camouflage. And lastly there is Drybone and his unusual ability to eat up the fire of others, and while he’s not exactly fast or strong, he can dig in a way that puts diamond dogs to shame, plus he is an agile flyer. “That only leaves Grunkle, Ajax, Xinzhaya and me.” Spike whispered watching his opponent enter the arena. Grunkle had a friendly smile on his face as he descended waving at everyone. Spike felt his heart beat up fast while hearing Torch roar to silence the crowd. Grunkle landed with a loud *thud* and placed his left hand over buried boulder that had a part of it sticking out of the ground. “On my right we have Grunkle, The Smasher!” Torch announced causing an uproar in the crowd while Grunkle roared to the sky followed by a thick stream of orange fire. “And on my left we have Spike!” Torch announced causing the roars of the crowd diminish to an almost tangible silence, except by the few roars of approval here and there. Spike didn’t roar, instead he looked up to where Ember was sitting with a cheeky grin and a single thumb up. “I promise to crush you quickly, Spike!” Grunkle said making Spike look at his opponent. Grunkle took a more serious and firm stance. “We’ll see about that, Grunkle!” Spike called back while he cracked his knuckles and neck. He then took close guard stance with both hands turned to fists and partially protecting his face. “Alright you worthless whelps! One my mark! Ready!” Torch then roared signaling the start of the fight. Not a second later Grunkle pulled the enormous boulder out of the ground and tossed it to Spike. Spike's eyes widened, surprised by the readiness of Grunkle. With a grunt, he fell backwards to the ground barely avoiding the projectile. Using his tail he began to lift himself up in time to see Grunkle descending on top of him ready to strike him down with one of his colossal fists. Thinking quickly, Spike used his position to push himself to the side and avoid the attack right before Grunkle landed. The impact creating a small dust cloud followed by the sound of the previously thrown boulder smashing onto something far away. Spike used his hands to push the ground and lift himself up in a single move. He then jumped to the side in time to avoid a thick stream of fire. So he’s really freaking strong and fast despite having a body built like a walking fortress. Not good for me. Also, he’s pretty clever and resourceful. Also not good for me, but I gotta admit that's impressive, Spike thought before Grunkle emerged atop the dust cloud with two rocks the size of his head in each hand. Grunkle then tossed one rock followed by the other at him. Instead of just dodging the rocks, Spike decided it was best to just run away to avoid the attack altogether. He heard Grunkle roar in anger and gave a quick glance at his back to see the wyrmling chasing him while he dived to tackle with the intention of tackling him. Spike smirked as an idea popped in his head. It didn't take more than a couple of seconds for Grunkle to caught up with him, and thanks to the sun's position Spike was able to see his massive shadow right behind him with open arms with the clear intent of catching him and pull him into a deadly hug. Spike waited until he could hear Grunkle's breathing behind him and then jumped. Spike flexed his legs up and saw Grunkle spin midair to try and catch him, but with his advantage gone, Spike kicked Grunkles face. Hard. Combining the force of his kick and the speed Grunkle was traveling and without any sufficient resistance, Spike watched as Grunkle crashed down onto the ground and then collided with a boulder twenty meters away or so crumbling it instantly. Spike landed on the ground, spun around to stop his momentum, and breathed out a fire stream right against the destroyed boulder. A few moments later Spike sensed something and abruptly stopped; ducking before a fireball cut through his own fire. You have got to be kidding me, he can shoot fireballs too? Spike thought watching Grunkle walk out of the dust cloud with a boulder in between his jaws. With no effort at all the wyrmling crushed the boulder turning it into pebbles. The purple dragon watched Grunkle smile, unable to notice a single scratch on his body or face. Spike narrowed his eyes when he saw Grunkle take a mouthful of air before shooting another fireball at him. Spike moved to the side avoiding the rapid, deadly projectile. Spike felt a sudden shiver travel up his spine when he saw Grunkle charge at him with open arms and with a speed that seemed unreal for a dragon his size and weight. Forget walking fortress, he's like a flying train express going at full speed! Spike thought thinking on what to do. His answer came when he saw Grunkle open his mouth ready to shoot another fireball. Spike's lips curled into a mischievous grin before kicking a small rock near his left foot directly at Grunkle’s wide open maw. Spike watched as Grunkle eyes widened and his wings stopped flapping much like a bee's would, before he came crashing down to the ground, coughing and grunting loudly with fire spewing out with every cough. Spike took this chance to run up to the wyrmling and kicked him on the face sending a piece or two of the wyrmling's scales flying and making him flip on his back. With a graceful backflip, Spike landed in between Grunkle's feet and then proceeded to grab him by the tail. Spike let out a grunt of effort as he began to drag Grunkle around and then lift him a few inches from the ground. Spike spun him three full circles, each of them with increased speed, before sending him crashing against another stuck out boulder. Sweet Luna, he's heavier than I thought, Spike thought, panting while he waited silently for several seconds to see what Grunkle would do next. His answer came in the form of an anger filled roar. The roar was so intense that it cleared out the dust cloud the now destroyed boulder left behind. Spike half-closed his eyes watching Grunkle's angered expression before he shot three fireballs while at the same time he charged head on, but this time going in zigzag. Learns quickly from his mistakes I see, let's see what he thinks about this, Spike thought as he dodged the fireballs by jumping from side to side before shooting out a fireball of his own at Grunkle once he was less than three meters away from him. Spike watched as Grunkle was momentarily surprised by his attack, but did not dodge it. The green fireball hit Grunkle in the chest, taking no damage whatsoever and without stopping the charging wyrmling. Spike grunted before moving forward to close the gap between the two. Spike heard Grunkle roar again in defiance and, with a quick spin that caught him off guard less than a meter apart that managed to dodge his own slashing claw attack. Spike then felt the ridiculously strong grip of Grunkle around near the tip of his tail. Spike suddenly felt himself being pulled back, painfully stretching his tail before he was lifted up allowing him to see the clear blue sky above him. "Gaaaahhh!" Spike grunted loudly in pain as he was slammed against the ground. His vision blurred by the small dust cloud that formed after the loud, powerful impact. Much too soon he felt he was being lift up again. It's just like I feared then..., Spike thought with grim resolution. As he was being lift up, he shot a fireball at Grunkle’s face hitting him cleanly and managing to draw a pained yelp from the wyrmling. This didn’t stopped Grunkle's actions, but it did made him weaken his grip, which allowed Spike to pull his tail out right before Grunkle tried to smash him against the ground again. Despite his successful escape, Spike wasn’t expecting for Grunkle to spread his wings and do a quick spin managing to hit him in the face with one of his legs sending him to the side. Landing on the ground, Spike only let out a pained grunt and stood up, waiting for Grunkle to descend and clear the smoke and fire from his face. Spike watched Grunkle clear out the remaining smoke that hindered his vision with a loud snort. The two of them eyed the other for several seconds until Spike took a more serious expression. Spike watched as Grunkle's own expression shifted from anger to slight confusion. “Are you going to surrender now that you see you can’t win against me, Spike?” He asked in a less friendly tone, but one that wasn’t tainted by mockery or spite. “No.” Spike’s response was short and cold, a perfect match for the current look on his face. “After all the fights I’ve seen I knew I couldn’t take any of you guys lightly. But I had to test it out first. I could defeat you without getting serious-” Spike smirked a little watching Grunkle frown while his amber colored eyes watched his face intently, trying to figure out if he was bluffing or not. “-but that would take me too much time and it would put my winning chances at risk, and I can’t have that.” Spike then snorted a thick and intense green fire from his nostrils causing Grunkle look shocked for a moment. Spike then took a crouched position with his two fists at each side. The next instant he lunged at Grunkle leaving himself wide open. Spike saw Grunkle smile in confidence followed by taking a quick safe guard position, readying himself for his attack. But much like Spike had hopped by leaving himself wide open, Grunkle stepped forward with his arms extended with the intent of catching him with a death hug. Spike then used his tail to throw his own balance off and fell back onto the ground avoiding Grunkle's arms and forcing him to look down with an expression of pure astonishment. As he was sliding through the earth, Spike passed in between Grunkle’s legs and grabbed his ankles. He then used his tail as an anchor and pulled Grunkle’s legs back making the hulking dragon fall to the ground with aloud *thud*. Followed by an irate growl, Spike saw Grunkle roll to the side, but it was too late for him. Spike moved to the side and threw a punch aimed for Grunkle's stomach. In a swift movement Grunkle managed to cover his stomach with one hand. “ARRRRGGGGGHHH!” But then screamed in pain as his hand was broken in an instant. Spike looked into Grunkle's eyes seeing his shock and surprise, clearly not able to believe what had just happened. Those feelings were quickly replaced by pure wrath. With adrenaline and anger serving Grunkle as a pain killer, the wyrmling managed to hit him in the face with his right fist as hard as he could sending him a few steps back. Spike shook his head and saw Grunkle get up with the aid of his wings. Spike felt Grunkle's death glare upon him, but his confident and stern expression made the hulking dragon snarl and showcase his fangs. Spike then licked a dribble of his own blood running down his left nostril and smirked. This caused Grunkle to be blinded with rage and then charged at him with a mighty roar. Spike lunged forward again when Grunkle shot a massive fireball at him as he charged like a berserk minotaur. This time Spike had no intention on dodging the fireball. Once Spike inches from the fireball, he breathed out a steady stream of his own green fire right in the middle of the fireball until he passed through it completely unharmed. He looked directly at Grunkle's eyes and watched Grunkle's expression change from a winning smirk to shock once again. Grunkle roared and threw a powerful punch at him. An echo followed by a small shockwave the moment Grunkle’s punch made contact with his scales. Time stood still for several moments until the fire and the dust cleared away to allow Grunkle to see his punch had been stopped by his hands an inch away from his head. "What--?" Grunkle muttered in disbelief. Wasting not another moment, Spike moved away his left arm, did a quick spin by shifting his stance and elbowed Grunkle’s stomach creating an equally resounding echo and following shockwave. Grunkle’s eyes went wide-open as did his maw; slobber and spit cascading down slowly. Spike let go of Grunkle’s fist and stepped back. He watched as Grunkle, using his right hand to press the spot he had struck, began to stumble forward. His eyes were wide and he tried to say something, but the only sound that left his mouth were weak groans and wheezing. Grunkle took several steps before he fell down, face hitting the ground first, not even a meter away at Spike's feet. Spike then turned back and began to walk away. Soon after, the medic landed at his side and after a quick inspection raised his arms forming an ‘X’, signaling that Grunkle was unconscious. The silence of the arena was instantly replaced by loud roars and ample cheering that called Spike’s name. Meanwhile, Spike walked out of the arena rubbing his left elbow. Once he was about to leave it, he stopped and looked up to Ember, whom was watching him intently, and smiled at her offering another single thumb up. Up in a grade filled with nothing but black scaled dragons looked at Spike with interest, but only one was smiling. -----------------------********************* Up on her throne, Ember let out a sigh of relief while she watched Spike walk away from the arena. "Most impressive for a dragon with no clan, blood name, or wings." Ember heard one of the elders say behind her back. "Indeed. Grunkle was no match for him it seems. We shall see how he fairs against his next rival." "What do you think, Lord Ember? We know he's your... friend, but do you truly believe he has any chance to win your claw?" "Especially with such impressive and strong candidates still left." Ember tightened the grip on her scepter before replying. " I know he'll win." Ember replied with a secure tone before her father called in the final competitors of the first round of the tournament. End.