The last that anyone had seen of Spike was after he'd signed in for the Dragon Battle Royal. After signing in, he told Ember that he was going to train in private before he left, leaving her standing there confused by the sudden change in his behavior. For as long as she'd known Spike, this was the first time that she'd seen him so furious, though he did a good job in suppressing it for the most part. Concerned, Ember tried talking Spike into telling her what was wrong, but he wouldn't budge, telling her only to let him be and that he's got this.
Knowing that she wouldn't get anywhere with him at this point without resorting to using the Bloodstone Scepter on him to get him to tell, Ember returned to the ponies and Sol where she told them about Spike signing in for the Battle Royal, Garble's appearance, and of Spike's reaction before he left on his own to train.
Twilight and Rarity found the news of Spike deciding to compete to be of great concern to them as they were both worried for his health and safety, especially now that Garble was aware of Spike's participation in the Battle Royal. Sol offered to go and try to find their friend to keep an eye on him, but from what Ember saw of Spike, while she too wanted to go check on him, she figured that giving Spike some time alone would be better for him, giving him a chance to cool off and vent whatever anger he was trying to keep hidden in front of her. Even Starlight sided with Ember, agreeing that giving Spike his space for now would be a good idea.
With nothing more to do about it for the time being, the five of them continued on with the tour of the Dragon Lands. Along their travels, Torch caught up with them. When he did, he quickly noticed that Spike was missing from their group. Once he was given the story by Ember, Torch told them that he'd watch after him before he took off on his own to find the young drake. By the time the sun had begun its descent and dinner had been served, they were starting to worry about Spike since they hadn't seen him all day. As they ate, Torch returned with a quick update about Spike. Though he told them most of what was going on with him, such as how Spike's training was going before he offered to help him, Ember could tell that her dad was holding out on them.
The next day rolled around rather quickly for all of them. It was the day of the Battle Royal and there was still no sign of Spike, nor any indication that he'd returned to them in the middle of the last night to sleep. Not even Torch had been seen yet today, and judging by the position of the sun, it was only about ten or so minutes away until the event began. Participating dragons had gathering in the quarry, while the spectators were taking spots on the ledge overseeing it. And there, sitting on the Dragon Lord's Throne, were Ember, Twilight, Starlight, and Rarity, all of whom were becoming uneasy without any word from Torch, or any sign of Spike having arrived.
"I don't like this," Twilight muttered. "It's bad enough that Spike just wandered off yesterday without actually telling us why he did, but to not even come back to sleep?"
"And the Battle Royal is about to begin," Rarity added.
Ember nodded with a frown. "Whatever Garble said to Spike must've rattled him more than we thought."
As the three talked, Starlight looked around and waited for them to finish before speaking.
"Hey, where's Sol?"
"He's over there," Ember said, pointing to the speck of white inside a large stone structure near the cliff.
"Why's he over there and not here with us?" Twilight wondered, which caused Starlight to give a sly smirk.
"Don't you mean here with you?" she asked, earning her a glare from Twilight. But before she could voice herself, Rarity beat her to it.
"What are you talking about, Starlight?"
"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Twilight answered for Starlight before subtly nudging her in the ribs to cut it out.
"Anyway," Ember began, "Sol offered to help heal any dragons who are badly injured and would need some attention, so he set up a makeshift medical station where he can work on healing them."
"Do you think it'll come to that?" Rarity questioned, further not liking the sound of this.
"Oh, definitely," she nodded. "There'll be plenty of injuries sustained... and maybe a few fatalities."
"WHAT?!"
"And you sent our little Spiky-wikey down there?!" Rarity fumed.
"Hey! I didn't make him do anything!" Ember snapped back. "This was Spike's choice, just like when he participated in the Gauntlet!"
"He's doing this because he knew that's what you wanted him to do!"
"Yes, it is what I wanted, but in the end, it was his decision!"
While Ember and Rarity continued to shout back at one another, Twilight and Starlight stood off to the side and watched. They eventually decided to break them up before it got out of control and let them cool off, but, just as they lit their horns to levitate the two away, a familiar shadow fell upon them.
Silenced by the shadow, Ember, Rarity, Twilight, and Starlight all looked up to see Torch having arrived and landed in the quarry with something concealed in his claws. However, they were unable to see what it was by Torch's body blocking their view. Once they saw Torch opened his claws and let whatever he was holding out, he turned around and made his way over to take a seat near them by the throne, as per Ember's request.
"Dad! Where's Spike?!"
"Calm down, Ember. He's here." As the three mares and dragoness scanned the crowd of dragons looking for him, Torch's brow furrowed into a glare and continued. "He also told me what Garble said to him."
That caught their attention as they paused in their search for Spike and gave Torch their attention.
"And? What did he say to him?" Ember pressed.
Torch's eyes roamed around for any that might've been listening in on them. Though he saw none, he still lowered his head and quietly told the four of them what Spike told him. By the time he'd finished, they each gave their own reactions with varying levels of shock, anger, and disgust.
"So that's why Spike was so mad," Ember angrily muttered, her fists shaking with how angry she was at Garble. "This is worse than the rumors I've heard spreading."
"Trust me, Ember, if it wasn't for the laws protecting him, I'd squish that little red pimple for even attempting this stunt of his."
"It's just despicable," Rarity said distastefully.
"This is also why you've been training Spike, isn't it, Torch?" Starlight figured. "Since you couldn't do anything about Garble without breaking the rules, you're having Spike do it instead."
Torch gave an unsettling grin. "During my time as Dragon Lord, I was unable to show favoritism to a competitor and help assist them in their training. But now that Ember's taken over, I no longer need to abide by them."
"But where is Spike?" Twilight asked, eyes scanning over the crowd of dragons below them. "I can't find him."
"He's the only purple and green dragon here, Twilight. It shouldn't be that hard to find him," Starlight said before she too looked over the crowd. "... then again, his small size does make it hard to spot him."
Torch snorted in amusement. "Hmph. 'Small' isn't quiet what I'd call him. Not anymore anyway."
Ember raised a curious eyebrow. "Dad? What did you do?"
"Nothing. This was all on his own."
"I think I see him!"
Hearing Twilight, Rarity and Ember came over to Twilight and looked in the direction she was pointing at, but blinked in surprise at what they were seeing.
"But... that can't possibly be our little Spikey-wikey."
Down in the quarry, Spike walked through the crowd of gathered dragons with focused eyes. Uninterested in the other dragons but one, he merely spared a glance at them as he passed them while searching for his prey. Thanks to the reputation he'd gained from his part in the Gauntlet of Fire, most of the dragons who saw him kept an eye on him as he walked by, speaking in hushed whispers about him... and his new body.
Gone was the small body he'd known for so long, now replaced with a body that had finally grown into something more mature, which he silently thanked Celestia for having gotten more accustomed to just in time for the Battle Royal. With him now standing over twice as tall as he previously was, his spines sleeker and sharper, and muscles showing beneath the scales of his lean body, Spike blended in as he stood amongst the dragons, his eyes wandering around in search for Garble.
Alright, Garble, where are you? he mentally growled.
A few minutes later of searching, his eyes narrowed as he spotted a head of red scales with orange spines.
There you are.
With him now in his sights, Spike kept back at a safe distance, his eyes never leaving Garble as he waited for the Battle Royal to begin.
"Wait, that's Spike?!" Ember asked with wide eyes.
"But it can't be him! He's too big!" Rarity added.
"Trust me, it's him," Torch calmly said.
"But how?" Twilight questioned. "How can Spike go from being the size of a baby dragon to twice his size in the span of just a single day?"
"I talked to Spike when I found him. Like I said, he told me what Garble told him, but he also said he felt something else stirring within him as a result from it. If I had to guess, Garble's words triggered something in him that pushed Spike's body to finally grow."
"But Sol said that Spike would be about the size of a grown pony," Twilight argued.
"Did he say whether he'd be standing on his legs or on all fours?"
Twilight opened her mouth with an argue ready, but as she thought through it, Sol didn't in fact say which.
"... well... no... but he did say that it would take Spike a few days for his body to grow."
"That's true for most dragons, but in this case, it doesn't apply for Spike. I'm sure you've all noticed that he isn't like other dragons."
"You mean because he was raised by ponies?" Ember asked.
"Or is it because he doesn't have wings like other dragons?" Rarity added.
"It's a bit of both, but mostly the latter," Torch answered. "I've lived long enough to tell when a dragon is imbued with pony magic, so that probably helped speed along his growth. I believe that would be because of young Twilight here having used her magic to hatch Spike."
"Wait, so Spike has magic besides his enchanted fire breath?! Can he learn to use it?!" Twilight eagerly asked.
"Perhaps in time, but not as he is now. As for his lack of wings, it's because he's of a different species of dragons that don't have wings, but are instead granted the ability to use magic, along with having greater speed and strength than that of a normal dragon. And judging by the look of Spike's sleek body build, I'd say that he's more speed-based than strength. His species also matures faster than normal dragons, though, again, Spike was a late bloomer, so it took him longer. Sadly, his species of dragons opposed Inferno during his reign, and were hunted down as a result. As far as I'm aware, Spike may very well be the last of his kind."
"That's very sad to hear," Rarity somberly said. "Poor Spike."
"This would also explain why he seems to be more mature than most other dragons around his age," Twilight mused out loud.
"So Spike's lack of wings is because that's just naturally how his species is," Starlight concluded.
"Correct. I already told him about this and he has accepted-"
Torch was cut off as a loud horn was blown, forcing every dragon and pony to cover their ears, including Torch.
"Dang it, Beefcake. Could you be any louder," Ember muttered to herself in annoyance.
"Looks like it's time. Alright then, let's get this over with."
Clearing his throat, Torch spoke loud to address all that were gathered.
"You're not going to announce it?" Twilight asked Ember.
"Nah. Dad's got the better voice for it, so I figured I'd let him do it," she shrugged.
"Dragons! Hear me!" Torch boomed loudly, instantly gaining everyone's attention. "I welcome you to the Dragon Battle Royal!" He waited a moment for the cheering to die down before he continued. "Now, I know that we're all eager to get this started, so I'll make this short. This is a free-for-all, so remember that everydragon is your enemy. You may make alliances if you want, but keep in mind that if you do that you'll have to turn on each other at some point, so watch your back. You lose if you're knocked unconscious, raise your arms in surrender, or are deemed unfit to continue. If either of the first two happens to you, no dragon is to attack that dragon, nor is that dragon allowed to fake a surrender to get in a sucker-punch. If you surrender, you are to immediately vacate the quarry. If you're too hurt and can't leave on your own, one of the overseers will help escort you out. We also have a medical station set up with someone who will provide healing to any of you, should you need it. Lastly, and most importantly, if you're the last one standing, you win the prize of one guaranteed request from our Dragon Lord, Ember. If the Battle Royal somehow ends in a draw, then there will be a ten minute break before the tied combatants are sent back in until only one of them remains standing."
Torch paused for a moment for the rules to sink in to them.
"Now, all of you spread out at least ten paces from each other and wait for my signal to begin."
It took a while due to the competing dragons scrambling around for them to find a place and bumping into each other, which Torch chuckled to as he watched. After about five minutes of waiting, Torch saw that each dragon was finally all set.
"If you're all ready..."
Torch raised his claw.
"...then..."
He raised his claw high above his head.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Torch continued to hold his claw high as he purposely delayed giving the signal, silently watching in in amusement as those both watching and competing anxiously waited for him to give the signal to begin.
Having enough of this waiting, Ember gave an annoyed grunt and looked up to Torch.
"Come on, dad! Get on with it!"
"Yes! Get on with it!"
"GET ON WITH IT!"
Hearing all of the dragons shouting at him to get on with it, Torch rolled his eyes with a sigh.
Teens these days, I swear.
"Begin!"
Once Torch had told them to scatter, Spike continued to keep out of Garbles line of sight and took a position away from him, but where he could still keep an eye on him. Since then he waited patiently for Torch to finally start it. Upon hearing Torch finally begin the Battle Royal, Spike darted forward towards Garble with speeds that surprised him as he was still unaccustomed to that change. However, despite his speed, Spike didn't get too close to Garble before several dragons had targeted him.
Thanks to his reputation from the Gauntlet of Fire, and now with his new, more matured body, a number of the dragons that had seen him considered him to be an even greater threat than he was before when he was small. It didn't help Spike much either that most of the dragons were aware of how close he and Ember were, which only fueled their jealousy. But, those weren't the only reason for him being targeted.
"Get him!"
Seeing the dragons turn and charge at him, Spike snorted and, with his newfound speed, darted towards a dragon that had decided to leap at him. Keeping low, Spike slid beneath the dragon and grabbed her tail as he passed beneath her, pulling her down abruptly on her front with a grunt that knocked the air out of her. Still holding her by the tail, Spike grabbed it with his other claw and began to use her as a living flail as he knocked her against any nearby dragons around him with ease, much to his surprise.
Heh. Guess all that gem digging for Rarity and heavy lifting I do around the castle have finally paid off, Spike thought, knocking another dragon away before finally letting go of the dragoness' tail and sending her flying into an unsuspecting pair of dueling dragons. Although, I didn't think that it'd transition from my old body over to this one like this.
Looking around, Spike counted roughly a dozen dragons laying around him, groaning in pain or completely out of it from being hit in the head by another dragon. Despite the sight, he wouldn't let himself rest easy until he knew that Garble was out of the competition. Hearing heavy footsteps coming from behind, Spike spun around and locked claws with a gray dragon who'd charged him from behind. Though Spike was smaller than him by two heads, he skidded back only a few feet before he found a firm footing and pushed back against his new opponent to a standstill.
"I don't have time for you, so move it," Spike warned, his voice a little deeper than it used to.
"No can do," the dragon said back.
"And why not?"
The gray dragon snorted and pushed harder against Spike, overpowering and forcing him down to a knee.
"Because you're Spike," he went to explain, "so even I don't win this Battle Royal, I will still become famous by defeating you."
Spike released a strained grunt. "Really? Didn't think I was that popular here. Was that why those guys all jumped me right at the start?"
"Yeah, and now, you're mine."
"Well, sorry to disappoint you-" Without warning, Spike quickly stop resisting the gray dragon, causing him to lurch forward from the lack of resistance while Spike lunged up, head-butting the top of his head against the bottom of the dragon's jaw and knocking him out. "-but that's not gonna happen."
Letting his unconscious opponent collapse to the ground, Spike winced and wobbled unsteadily as he held a claw to the spot his head he used for the head-butt.
Dang. Guess they're right when they say that nopony ever wins in a head-butt.
As he recovered from the head-butt, Spike left himself vulnerable, which another dragon took advantage of. Being tacked from behind, Spike laid flat on his front and turned his head to glare at the dragon pining him from behind.
Thinking fast, Spike used his tail to coil around the dragon's left ankle and yank him off of him. Now free, Spike got up to all fours, spun around in place, leaped onto the dragon who'd pinned him, brought his arm back with a fist balled, and landed a solid punch right between the dragon's eyes. However, Spike misjudged the amount of strength he put into the punch. While he did knock the poor dragon out without significantly injuring him, the force behind his punch bounced the back of the dragon's head against the ground and cracked the stone.
"Oops. Sorry about that," Spike muttered apologetically.
Getting off of the downed dragon, Spike stood up and searched around for Garble. However, thanks to the constant distractions he'd been dealing with, he lost sight of him. Growling at having lost him, Spike was about to run in search of him when he suddenly found himself at the bottom of a dogpile. It started off with just three dragons trying to beat him up at first, but when others saw that it was Spike who was pinned, they quickly joined and leaped on in an attempt of getting a shot at him. Soon enough, those few dragons turned to ten, then to fifteen. As they tried fighting their way to the bottom of the pile, they were unaware of what was going on below them.
Using a trick that Torch had taught him, Spike took a deep breath and held his maw shut as he built up a flame in his mouth. Once he felt the pressure reach the point he wanted, Spike released it all at once, causing the pressurized fire in his maw to burst outward in an explosion of green flame that knocked the dragons off of him, while the explosive shockwave knocked over each dragon within twenty yards of him.
Panting as he got back up to his feet, Spike took a moment to look around to see if any more dragons were coming after him again. Instead, he saw that those near him were laying down, holding their heads from the explosion ringing in their ears, while others farther away were getting back up from the unexpected shockwave that knocked them over, or were looking at what had happened.
Up on the Dragon Lord's Throne, Torch smirked as he saw Spike having used the move he taught him, and now standing in the middle of them with green flames littering the ground around him.
Attaboy, he proudly complimented.
"I can't believe this."
Hearing Twilight's soft voice, Torch glanced down to see her and her friends watching Spike's performance in awe.
"Did you know he could do that, Twilight?" Ember asked.
"I had no idea."
"I think it's safe to say that our Spike is full of surprises at this point," Rarity said as she fanned her flushed face with a hoof. "Oh, my. Did it just suddenly get rather hot here, or is it just me?"
Ember shook he head as she continued to watch Spike with the same flushed look as Rarity.
"No, it's not just you."
As they continued to watch Spike, an amusing thought came to Starlight.
"Hey, wouldn't it be funny if when Spike accidentally used his fire breath on those dragons that they'd be sent to Celestia?"
Twilight gave Starlight a bemused look. "I don't think that she'd really appreciate having a bunch of hot-headed, teenage dragons dropped in front of her like that."
With a small pout, Starlight focused her attention back on Spike. "So, how many more are left?"
"Thirty," Torch automatically answered, his eyes having never left and keeping track the whole time.
"And what of Garble? Is he still in it?" Rarity wondered.
"He is, but I don't think he's spotted Spike yet. Actually, he's not too far from where Spike is."
Their eyes scanned along the remaining dragons until they found him.
"Yeah, I see him now," Ember said distastefully.
"I'm actually kinda surprised that Spike hasn't spotted him ye-"
"GARBLE!"
"... never mind. He found him."
Garble chuckled to himself as he defeated yet another dragon, knocking this one out by overwhelming him with pain from snapping one of his horns off near the base. He didn't think that he would have to go to such extremes for this competition, but with how difficult this one was being with him, and Torch having announced that they had a healer this time, he forewent holding back and would do whatever he could to win.
Grinning at his fallen opponent, Garble stood up and looked for his next target. He'd considered going after Spike and finishing what he started back with him and the spiked pit at the end of the Gauntlet of Fire, but figured that he'd let the other dragons rough him up first before he finished him off for-
"GARBLE!"
"Huh? What the-"
As he turned around to see who shouted his name, Garble was met with a purple claw mere inches from his face. Taken by surprise, he tried to dodge and bob his head out of the way, but was too slow and felt the claws raking across the left side of his face, just barely missing his eye.
Roaring in pain, Garble fell to his knees and instinctively held a claw up to the bleeding wounds on the left side of his face. Hissing at the stinging he was feeling, Garble looked with a murderous glare at who attacked him, only for his eyes to widen in surprise to see a grown and bruised Spike crouching low on all fours with barred his fangs and hissing at him threateningly.
"Wha- Spike?!" How did he get so big?!
"I've been looking for you, Garble," Spike growled, patiently watching Garble as he tried to stand back up.
Pushing aside the question of Spike's sudden growth, Garble steadied himself and stood back up.
"You've got some guts attacking me like that, Spike," he snarled, flicking the blood off his claw and letting it flow freely from his face. "I never would've though that you'd pull a stunt like that."
Spike stood up on his two legs and flexed his claws, but kept his stance low to allow himself to move quickly at a moment's notice.
"You had it coming after you told me your plans for Ember. That was the last straw for me. Since we've met, you've deceived me, made fun of me, threatened me and my friends, and even tried to kill me at one point. Normally, I would try to forgive you and put it behind me, because that's how I was raised... but planning to force Ember to be your mate?"
Green flames licked angrily at the corners of Spike's maw.
"Now you've really crossed the line."