This story is a sequel to I Can Count On You
Ember, Lord of all Dragons, has been presented with a problem that has forced her to seek the help of her best and closest friend.
Now that Spike has arrived all she needs to tell him is her problem. An ancient law, one that no Dragon Lord can object against, has come into effect.
What's that problem? She is to be bonded with the winner of a special tournament as life-mates.
Additional tag: Action.
*If you are feeling generous you can buy me a Ko-Fi!!
*This fic will deal with a lot of fighting, but it shall not be gore related, and the blood will be kept to a minimum.*
**This is my first attempt at writing something based almost purely on fighting/combat in a tournament-like scenario.**
Artwork by Traupa.
A SpikexEmber shipfic where the plot is basically that Spike has to win a fighting tournament with lots of violence?
Count me in! And I'm favoriting this when it reaches chapter three or so. I Hate to favorite a multi-chapter story on the first, especially when it's a short prologue.
Also, it's probably just me bitching about something small, but putting the name of the fic as You Can Count on Me is a bit better. Again, is probably just me nitpicking, since I know next to nothing about writing. Seriously, I don't even know why people is liking my fic.
You got to have Romance to win!!!!
derpicdn.net/img/view/2016/6/25/1186446__safe_twilight+sparkle_rarity_spike_parody_dragon_nintendo_princess+ember_garble_crackle.png
I'm very interested in this story.
Always love a good Spike x Ember story
Good start
Everyone's saying it's SpikeXEmber but...
I don't see a romance tag.
But Spike only has a week to train!
... Will there be a training arc?
Or some sort of crazy training in the background untold?
Or will this be more subdued?
Why am I thinking of Spike going missing for a few weeks and then coming back after everything to be an epic warrior and then having Twilight flip out because of it?
I'm digging this story idea. It's quite amazing, actually.
You know what man this story have potential keep it up....
And for Spike he needs more push ups, sits ups kilometers or running and bananas in his diet to stand a chance to whats to come...
Spike is going to need to get ippo
also
this feels like the beginnings of an action rom com
and I'm so on board with that
Your, Spike, story are of a high caliber. Looking forward to read this one later.
We're did you get the cover is it ss2sonic?
7743636 Derpibooru. Yes.
7743666 can you give a link?
7743670 Try as I may, I can't seem to find it. Not on Derpibooru. Not on e621. Not on Deviantart. Not on Inkbunny.
Glad I saved it when I found it then. I think it got taken down for some reason.
7743670 Nevermind, found it. It seems ss2sonic didn't made it. Odd, the style is just like hers. The artist is Traupa. Linky link of linkness
7743779 thanks man
Spike fighting in a dragon tournament. Sounds like fun. Count me in.
If I may a suggestion. Can it be that Spike has an abnormally powerful fire breath. After all he was able to breath a fire blast that was like 100 times his body size and powerful enough to melt a giant block of ice in seconds. That's got to count for something right?
Yup, going to like this one!
I'm getting a hunger games vibe from this.not a bad thing I just hope it's not a blatant rip off. I love the references from Godzilla and How to train your Dragon references and the others I didn't recognized. I can't wait to see how it goes.
7755166 LOL, glad you noticed the references! And fret not, mein freund, no shitty ass Hunger Games shall taint this work.
7755166 Naw. Hunger Games was a fight for survival in a domed environment with every one fighting at one.
This is a strait up one on one anime style fighting tournament. Just abut every Shonen anime does it at some point. Though i will say this set up reminds me specifically of the tournament from Naruto.
See, now I'm getting interested in how Spike expects to win these fights.
His first opponent is a huge dragon, and as far as we know Spike is just a larger and more mature version of who he is in the show, and that Spike isn't much of a fighter. How does he expect to win these fights? By making sarcastic quips and taking notes?
There's gotta be something more to it.
(I'm looking forward to finding out.)
I made a cursory look, but does Spike have wings? It neither says he does not nor does it confirm he does, and Ember's wings are referenced multiple times, so it seems unlikely, but every other dragon in the show is shown as having wings and none are confirmed for not having them here, so is Spike an exception?
Great chapter 1.
The start of the tournament remind of DBZ Super manga, that before the tournament they have to take a test LOL.
I can't wait to see Spike fight, and what type of fighting style he use.
Spike's going to make him his bitch!!!
I'm going to say something strange.
I want Garble to come out of this with a ship of his own. Not Ember, that's Spike's part, but someone.
can`t wait for chapter 2
well know have you been reading Kengan Asura img.bato.to/forums/uploads/b03496a092e23fbf7dfad5c93baddece.png or have you been going over some fight mangas beacuse I am sniffing Yu yu hakasho and DBZ here
7813680 Actually no. I haven't watched any fightning anime recently, and while I admit Yu Yu Hakusho and DB/DBZ are serving me to draw a bit of scenery, almost everything during the fights are coming out of my own ideas. But I plead guilty on the fact that One Piece, Overlord, and Kill La Kill are serving me as inspiration for the designs and abilities of the contestants.
Now, this is purely my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt.
This is a fun little chapter, but it felt a little uneven. I think the problem was the small shift in focus. In the beginning, despite being mostly in third person, Spike is clearly the focus. This is especially true with an internal monologue. However, when the fight really begins, you pull back giving the scene a more clinical and detached tone. If that was what you were aiming at, then that's fine; however, the jump from Spike-centric to analytical spectator drained much of the energy for me. That is a shame because the actual action was well-structured, had good flow, and showed creativity.
Now, that's just my two cents. You did a good job and I will keep watching.
Same here
7813707 Look up the manga I put an image with it's pretty interesting and brutal for lack of all powers and what not. After all what is more destructive then two highly trained fighters battling to the death as a method for super corporations to sort out deal.
7813716 Glad you liked the chapter! Now, about what you're saying, I see where you're coming from, but what I was aiming for was a shift of perspectives between Grunkle and Spike, there is even a moment where Grunkle questions what Spike is telling him. I think I failed a little on that regard, but I have no idea, as of this moment, on how to rewrite the fight so that it can be Spike-only centric and fix that little problem I now see.
7813762
Maybe focus more on Spike's opponent's external responses (e.g. grimaces, where the eyes move, bodily reactions, etc.) rather than their actual thoughts.
For example, just as a spitballing attempt: "Grunkle frowned at that. He hasn’t been fighting me seriously?." In contrast to, "Grunkle frowned and his eyes scanned Spike's face. Despite the stress of combat, it was relaxed and confident."
Good luck, and good writing.
Tears were shed for how awesome this was. Keep it up!
Heh, that description took my concentration out of the fight. Also underbelly should end with singular possessive.
Love it so far, though admittedly im having trouble keeping all the contestants in mind. The way you made spike ponder his chances against all their individual abilities made it seem like he's going to fight each and every one of them. Are the fights randomized, is that why you had him explain each contestant?
Man love this story, and how you write the fight scene is great.
So Spike was holding back cool? I have one question, can Spike use his dragon fire to teleport? The reason why I ask because Spike can send letters to pony, if you take that concept and we worked it Spike can send himself anywhere he chose just an idea.
Great chapter.
Keep it up.
7814266 Fixed. And yes, the fights are randomized, so he had to ponder on each possible contestant. You'll see next chapter.
Pictured this in Dragon Ball style animation.
Heh....... Dragon Ball..... Hehehe.....
If Spike does get his wings, what kind of dragon powers he'll have?
This was a good chapter and I like that Spike is able to use fast thinking and strategy in these matches.
However I'm a bit confused on how Spike is being played. For the most part he's being played how i expected. A weak dragon (relative to other dragons at least) who uses his intellect and cunning to overcome his lack of physical strength.
However certain scene, like him shattering Grunkle's fist with one punch, stopping Grunkle's punch easily, and ending the fight with a single elbow shot, give the indication that Spike has far more power then he's letting on. Which just seems very at odds with the previous idea of him being physically outclassed by the other contestants.
7816040 Oh you'll see why is that. Trust me, I planned ahead of time very carefully on how to approach this. As a small spoiler, this strenght he displayed in this chapter won't work on his next fight.
Spike still has his Ace-card well hidden, even though he showed a hint of it during his fight against Grunkle.
What now?
Dude, I know you dragons have egos the size of planetoids, but you'll be quite surprised who guards whom here.
Unless this is one of those "dragons=Badass Invincible Gods" fics and Spike is a Goku expy.
7816542 It's just a title. Just like the other one, The Hero of the Crystal Empire. Twilight and the gang protect Equestria (and the world for that matter) but Spike protects them as best as he can. It is a good thing you brought this up, because it does tie in for future chapters.
7816873
Hm. Well then.
By the by, I'm wondering about Garble. He looks harmless compared to the other rivals, but I don't believe it.
He is also familiar enough with ponies to know what they smell like, and hates 'puny ponies' like nobody's business... In fact, he's so familiar with ponies, maybe he's got something in his past he doesn't want other dragons to know about.
Could be Spike's egg wasn't the only one ever hatched by a pony.
God this was a great chapter have me laugh out loud. Keep it up. The power of song.
chick-chicky-boom, chick-chicky-boom~!
i would of thought ember show some jeliesy to the dragoness during the fight
such a great and hilarius chapter sir
Its the first time i read this kind of "music orquesta appearing out of nowhere" situation and i got to say, its as funny here as it is in the comics and in the animation of mlp
I wholeheartedly hope that she's head over heels for him now. Outsinging a siren?! That should have made her all kinds of tingley. It'd be so funny to see Spike get jumped by her in front of Ember. Just muzzle to muzzle and she starts to sing this song.