Dragon's Log – Day 19
Me and Arizona had arrived in the Tundra. We nearly froze to death, but thankfully, we made it to Reine City, home of the reindeers, or deerfolks, as they're called. They're not exactly the hospitable type. And the little creatures who live with them aren't so easy for idle conversations.
We only wanted directions for the museum, but somehow, we ended up in someone's basement(s).
Spike walked down the cold, dreary steps as he descended deeper and deeper into the basement, beneath the house of the reindeers above. It was cold and dark, with very little to no lightings, with only a few streaming from some cracks above, penetrating the darkness. With the few bits of lightings, he could see the walls were covered in icy frosts and cobwebs dangled from the ceilings.
"Okay, Spike..." Spike said to himself. "You've heard enough ghost stories, every Nightmare Nights, to know what to expect. Let's see, creepy lightings, check. Scary shadows, check."
“Spike! Wait up!” Arizona mooed, startling the young dragon.
"AAAAAHH!!!" Spike screamed, falling down the stairs and landed on the floor with a hard thud.
"Whoa, ya alright there, little feller?" Arizona asked, running down to the bottom to check up on Spike.
"Yeah, thanks, Ari," Spike replied in sarcasm. "I may never have the hiccups again..."
"Just what are ya doing down here in the first place?" Arizona asked. "I thought you were asking for directions to get to the museum."
"I was. But then some reindeers asked me to come down here because of some strange noise."
"Noise? What kinda noise?"
"Well, sounds kinda like..." Deepening his voice, Spike did his best impression of the roar he had heard from above.
"Yer saying them varmints are here?" Arizona asked, looking eager for a fight.
"If by varmints, you mean the Predators," Spike gulped nervously. "Then yeah, I'd say so."
"Well where are they?" Arizona asked, looking left and right, before she happened to notice a familiar dark aura, blocking a doorway to the next room, on the right.
"Not this stuff again..." Arizona mooed, recalling her and Spike's experience in the salt mine. "Maybe we can just... push through it..." Arizona tried to muscle her way through the dark fiery auras, only to be thrown back, as if her own strength was used against her.
"Arizona!" Spike shouted, running up to the calf. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm okay," Arizona got up, before she turned to the other doorway that's blocked by another dark fiery aura. "Ain't getting through this stuff...but what if..." Arizona simply walked and touched the dark aura, and like before, it repelled her back.
"So much for that," Spike said.
"Yep, no good," Arizona frowned.
Spike looked frantically around at the room, "Well, other than that, there's nothing here, but us. Oh well, let's just get the hay out of here and fast," With that, Spike made a hasty retreat for the stairs, only for it to be blocked off by sudden dark fiery auras. "What the... Oh c'mon!" He exclaimed in frustration.
Arizona soon walked to the center of the room and challenged, "Alright now, what's goin' on?! Fess up!" As if answering her question, three wolves suddenly appeared, “Figured as much. Ya’ll messes with the wrong cow!”
“And dragon!” Spike added, as he quickly ran over to Arizona's side, holding his claws up in a fighting stance.
The wolves immediately charged towards both calf and dragon, starting the fight. Two of the wolves lunged towards Arizona, who retaliated with a thrust of her back legs, hitting both wolves in the stomachs to knock them away, while the third wolf was repelled by Spike, who breathed fire at it.
The wolves shook off the blow, before they retaliated, lunging forward and snapped their jaws at both dragon and cow. Spike and Arizona leapt back to dodge the snapping jaws, before they fought back. Arizona charged towards a wolf to ram her horns at it, but the wolf manage to block the attack, holding its paw up to stop her horns, before it snaps its jaws, grabbing Arizona by her bandana and tossed her aside.
A wolf leapt up in the air and tried to land on her, but Arizona quickly rolled to the side, dodging the wolf, before she sprinted forward and rammed her head into its side. One of the other wolves leapt at Arizona, but Spike blasted it away with a fireball he shot. Returning the favor, Arizona punched another wolf away from Spike, before both dragon and cow turned to look behind each other and pointed.
"WATCH OUT!" They said, switching place to fight off the attacking predators.
Exhausted and having enough, the wolves disappeared in puffs of smokes. With that, the barriers that blocked the openings in the walls dissipated, granting entry for the young bovine and dragon.
"The Predators are here alright," Arizona pawed at the floor. "Too bad for them, they've all got a big ol'fashion heiny whoopin'."
"I don't know, Ari," Spike frowned. "There could be more of them, hiding deeper in these dark scary place."
"Then let's go deeper and flush 'em out!" Arizona mooed, eager for more battles, while Spike looked unsure.
"Uh...should we even bother with these things?" Spike quivered. "I mean, weren't we here because you needed to look for clues on where to find this...Prophet's Key?
"Well, that's true, Spike," Arizona nodded. "But even these snooty folks don't deserve to be living in fear and, besides, we'd probably get at least some sort of a lead and could get one step closer to getting you home."
Spike pondered for a moment on what Arizona said, before he reluctantly nodded.
"Well, let's hope we don't regret it, when this is over..." Spike said, before he turns to the two doorways. "Now, which we do we go?"
"Hmmm," Arziona pondered for a brief moment, until she decided. "Let's go right."
With that, Arizona and Spike went down the hallway on the right, hunting for more Predators, thought Spike was little more than reluctant to do so.
In the next room, both calf and dragon were attacked by three wolves that leapt out from the shadows to sic on them. However, like the previous pack they've fought off in the other room, Spike and Arizona made quick works on them, with their fighting skills.
Arizona stomped her hooves to trip some of the wolves, stunning them in place, before she picks one up with her horns, throws it onto her back, where she bounces them, followed by a kick of her hind legs, tossing the wolf to Spike, who finished it with a blast of his fire breath.
The other two wolves got up and leapt at Arizona, who heard them from behind. Reacting fast, Arizona leapt away to dodge their attacks, causing both wolves to crash into each other. Disoriented, the wolves were at the mercy of Arizona and Spike, who punched, kicked, and pummeled the wolves into the shadows.
With the canine predators dealt with, the two heroes enter the next room, where a large cobra appeared from the shadows, being flanked by two wolves at its side. Once again, another fight broke out between the Predators, calf, and dragon.
The cobra made the first move as it lunged forward to snap its jaws at Arizona, who retaliated with a headbutt to the snake's jaws. But the cobra was undeterred and whipped its tail out at the calf. Arizona didn't have time to dodge the tail and was tripped by the tail. The snake reared its head back for another lunge, but Arizona rolled to the side and dodged the attack.
The two wolves were circling around Arizona, with the intent to attack the calf. But they were hindered by the interference of Spike.
"Not so fast!" Spike said to the wolves.
"Ungulate loving traitor!" One of the wolves snarled. "You will be eaten for this treachery!"
"I'm not one of you guys!" Spike replied. "I just want to go home!" But the wolves refused to listen.
"Prepare to die!" The other wolf growled.
Both wolves leapt towards Spike, who quickly rolled out of the way to dodge their attacks. When the young dragon got back up, he was caught off guard when the wolves dissolved themselves into the floor, before they leapt up and knocked him off his feet. One of the wolves had Spike pinned down, with its hoof on his chest. Out of frighten impulse, a burst of green fire erupted from Spike's mouth and engulfed the wolf's head. With a kick of his legs, Spike threw the wolf off, and jumped away, nearly being bitten by the other wolf.
Back with Arizona, the young and strong calf was squaring off against the large cobra, that slithered and danced in front of her. The snake spat out strands of venoms at the calf, who, from experience, was able to block the poisons from hitting her eyes.
"C'MERE!" Arizona bellowed, whipping out her rope to lasso the snake, by the neck. "YEE-HA!"
Mustering up her strength, Arizona thrashed the snake around the room, smashing the serpent on the two wolves, squashing them into puffs of smokes, saving Spike.
"Thanks for the save, Ari!" Spike thanked the calf, watching as she finishes off the serpent with a final thrash and it disappears into puffs of smokes.
Spike turns to look in a corner of the room and finds two splotches of pitch-blacks. With that, both Spike and Arizona walked over to the splotches and stomped them, releasing several magical lights that healed and replenished their energies.
"Phew!" Spike breathed a sigh of relief. "That felt good."
Arizona turned her head to look around the room, until she spotted a treasure chest sitting on the right. With that, Arizona walked over to open the chest to reveal...
"A Mug O'Magical Oat Brew?" Arizona questioned.
"Strange place for a mug," Spike commented, expressing his skepticism. "Looks like we've hit a dead end," Spike said after he looks around the room.
"Alright, then let's go back to the way we came and try that other way..."
"Oh boy..." Spike whimpered, knowing that more dangers await for him and Arizona.
Nevertheless, they ventured forward through the dark chambers of the underground. After passing through the first room they entered in, the two young travelers went into the other room and were confronted by three wolves. But like the other predators they've fought since arriving into the city, both Spike and Arizona defeated the predators.
They were just about to enter the next room, when Arizona noticed a plushie, covered in cobwebs, sitting on a table in the corner of the room.
"Huh...this looks really old..." She analyzed. "Wonder what's it doin' down here?"
"My best guess is...it was left behind by its previous owner a long, long time ago," Spike guessed.
Brushing the plushie out of their mind, the two heroes continued onward with their adventure. Upon entering the next room, both dragon and calf found their path stopped by two wolves and what appeared to be a...
"Is...is that a...a panther?" Spike asked in alarm.
"WHOA...that's new!" Arizona mooed in equal alarm.
Before long, the predators all pounced forward for an attack. At this point, Spike and Arizona became completely familiar with the wolves' usual fighting style and were able to block, dodge, and counterattacked most of the vicious canine's attacks. However, the panther was a different story.
While the wolves relied on numbers and stealth, the panther was fast, strong, and agile.
Spike watched as Arizona struggles to block the furious swipes and slashes from the big cat. Worse still, the panther lunges forward and clamped its jaws and claws on Arizona, before it pulls her into a furious cloud of beating.
“AAAHH!!!” Arizona yelped as she was thrown out of the frenzy.
“ARI!!!” Spike screamed as he ran over to check on the injured calf. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Arizona replied. “Jus’ a few scratches and bumps. But I’ll live.”
With a loud roar, the heroes look up to see both wolves are howling at their newfound triumphs, while the panther advances upon the heroes for the kill. To add the intensity of the situation, the panther licked its lips, as if to show it’s eager for a tasty calf and dragon dinner.
Both Spike and Arizona slowly backed up against the walls, as the panther leans in close and gives a long whiff at the heroes.
However, the panther sniffing had worked up a running sensation on Spike’s nose, causing a sneeze to come up.
“A-A-A-ACHOO!” Spike sneezed, exploding a burst of green fire at the panther, in the face.
With a loud roar of pain, the panther reared up on its legs, backing away from Spike, as it started to paw at its scorching face.
With the big cat out of the way, both Spike and Arizona turned their attentions on the wolves and quickly disposed of them.
Arizona thrusted her hind legs out to kick one of the wolves, in its throat, while Spike slid underneath the other wolf, to dodge an attack, leaving it vulnerable for an elbow drop from Arizona.
With the wolves destroyed, Spike and Arizona turned their attentions to the panther, to see it had recovered from the dragon’s fire.
With a loud roar, the panther leapt up to the air for a pounce. Reacting fast, Arizona charged forward, intercepting the big cat’s air attack, with a slash of her horn that knocked it out of the air.
Without giving the predator a chance to recover, Arizona proceeded to leapt up into the air to throw a two legged kick, chaining it into a front flip to land a double axe kick with her hooves.
Spike watches as the panther bounces on the ground, with Arizona following the momentum with a minor headbuck, followed by a medium headbuck, before she focuses her powers and energy on the panther, just like back in the Salt Mines.
“Y'all in for a BEATIN'!” Arizona mooed, as she launches herself like a speeding bullet, to hit the panther and juggling it in the air.
Unfortunately, for the predator, its fighting prey was not done.
“Roundabout rodeo!” Arizona shouted, when she circled back and kicks the panther in midair.
Beaten, the panther fell lifeless to the floor and disappears in a cloud of smokes.
Exhausted and tired from her recent battle, Arizona plopped down, onto the floor.
“Arizona!” Spike shouted, running up to the calf and examined her body. “Wow, you took quite the beating…” He commented, examining the scratches and bruises on the calf, received from the panther.
“I’ll be okay, Spike,” Arizona panted. “Just needed some rest, and I’ll be good to go."
However, judging by the scratches on Arizona's body, seeing the bloods she was losing, Spike shook his head.
"Rest is not gonna cut it...you're losing a lot of blood," Spike said as he begins to look around. "There's gotta be some bandages or something down here we can patch you up with..."
Spike went into the next room, to find it has become a hallway, with running waters. Without a doubt, this must be a part of the city's sewer. Floating in his path are more of the splotches of pitch black that replenished his and Arizona's energies.
"Jackpot!" Spike exclaimed as he picks one of the splotches and returns to Arizona in the other room. "Here Arizona. Look what I've got!"
With a karate chop, Spike breaks the splotch into balls of healing lights, replenishing Arizona of her strength and energies. Arizona slowly got back up on her hooves, until she was standing back up again. After giving Spike a grateful smile, the two friends were on their way to the rest of the undercity.
After passing through the hall where Spike had found the splotches, Spike and Arizona entered the next room to confront a wolf with two panthers.
“We’ve had our hands and hooves full with ONE panther,” Spike moaned. “How can we take on TWO?”
“Together!” Arizona answered, charging headfirst into battle with the predators.
Arizona rammed her head into the wolf, catching it midair, and throwing it to the side. However, this distracted her from the two panthers, who pounced forward together and knocked the calf backward, off her hooves. Before the panthers could sink their teeth into the calf, they got into an argument, when one of them starting biting the other, which the other returns the favor. Seeing an opportunity, Spike quickly breathed a fireball that exploded the panthers and blasted them off of Arizona.
Once back up on her hooves, Arizona quickly lassoed one of the singed panther and proceeded to thrash it all over the room, slamming the feline predator into its fellow predators, until they disappeared in puffs of smokes, allowing the heroes entry to the next room.
In the next room, the predators Spike and Arizona had to fight are a wolf, a cobra snake, and a panther.
“Oh my!” Spike whimpered.
The wolf was practically an easy kill, since Arizona was able to avoid its lunge and pounce, before retaliating with a strong headbuck and kicks. However, both snake and panther were different stories.
Like its predecessors, the panther was fast and strong, being able to run at lightning speed, outmaneuvering Arizona's attacks, even her lasso failed her in her attempt to slow the beast down. At one point, the panther managed to scratch her shoulder.
"AAAH!!" Arizona yelped, hissing, swallowing a lump, refusing to give into the pain. "Jus' a scratch," She said to herself as she continues the fight.
From a distance, the cobra was supporting its fellow predators with several spits of poisons, like darts, aiming at both Spike and Arizona.
Spike and Arizona both kept their eyes shielded from the snake's dart-like spits, while contending with the speedy feline.
The panther leapt at Arizona, pinning her down on her back, in which the calf then thrusted her legs up to throw the panther off. Rolling on its back, the panther stood right side up and leapt at Arizona to throw another slash of its claws, which Arizona managed to block, with her horns.
The cobra was rearing its head back for another spit at the calf, when Spike jumped forward in a flying kick, knocking the snake's aim off. Angered at the dragon's interference, the snake lurched its head forward to snap its jaws, but Spike was quick to dodge to the left, then to the right, and jumped on the snake's head. With a whip of its tail, the serpent ensnared Spike by his leg and thrashed him against a wall.
"AAAAAHH!!!" Spike screamed before he hits the wall, with a streak of his blood painted on the dusty bricks. "Ow..."
With a yelp, Spike rolled to the side and scrambled away to avoid the snake's jaws. The young dragon regrouped with Arizona, in the center of the room, back-to-back, catching their breaths.
"What are the odds of us getting out of here alive?" Spike asked.
"Never said we'd make it out in one piece," Arizona replied.
"Well...it's been nice knowing you, Ari..."
"You too, Spike. You're not so bad, for a Predator..."
With a hiss, the panther lunged forward, the same time as the snake strikes. Reacting fast, both Spike and Arizona ducked their heads, bracing themselves for the worst to happen. But it didn't came.
"Are we dead?" Spike asked.
"...This doesn't feel like death," Arizona mooed, before she opens her eyes to see both she and Spike were still alive. "Actually, Spike. We're far from it. We're still alive. Look!"
Spike wearily opens his eyes to see the panther and the cobra in a tussle with one another. The panther's eyes were blinded by the snake's poison, and the big cat was angrily biting down on the snake's coil, with the snake biting back and wrapping its coil around the predator's neck in retaliation.
"Holy guacamole!" Spike exclaimed. "What a fight!"
"They must've been really hungry," Arizona commented, watching as both predators continue to kill and eat at one another, until there was nothing left but smokes.
With the fight done, the dark fiery aura that blocked the next room dissipated, granting both Spike and Arizona entry into the next room. On the way, Spike decided to strike up conversation.
"So...those Predators," He began. "They were so hungry that they're willing to eat one another, just like that? Even forgetting they were fighting us?"
"Yup, scary," Arizona mooed in response. "I guess what pa said is true. Predators live to kill. Somethin' about a sayin' called...survival of the fittest? Or was it, eat or be eaten? Ah don't know. But that's the way of the Predators."
"...Is it really?" Spike asked. "Is that how Predators live? To kill?"
"Yeah. They're thirsty for blood, Spike," Arizona continued. "Us ungulates...all we have are just the grass, the produce we grow, and...y'know, the usual things us vegetarians eat. But Predators are meat eaters. The second they set their eyes on you, they'll stop at nothin' until they sink their teeth into you and rip y'all to shreds!"
"...Ehhh, you don't say," Spike cringed. "And...do dragons like me count...as meat eators?"
"Ah don't know about that, Spike..." Arizona replied. "Ah mean...ya said it yourself, right? You're a vegetarian. You don't eat meat, like these Predators. And if there're more dragons like ya back in Equestria, then...no! I wouldn't say you're a meat eater."
"That's comforting," Spike said, while still thinking in horror about his identity, 'Dragons eat meat? Including ponies? I hope not. That'd be like I'm eating my own friends. Unless I'm desperate enough to...' Spike shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts of such gruesome images. 'Ugh, I'll never get that image out of my head!'
Spike and Arizona walked into a large, dark room. Ahead of them, at the very end of the room, under the single pillar of light, stood a large slab of stone, with strange carvings. Out of curiosity, both Spike and Arizona walked over to the stone to investigate.
“...What In pastures grazin’ is THAT?!” Arizona exclaimed as she and Spike inches closer for an inspection. “These carvings are all... Predators! ALL OVER IT!”
“Predators, Huh?” Spike shivered. “You don’t think...this is what all the trouble was about, right?”
“Jus’ WHAT is this thing doin’ under Reine? This could be bad...” Suddenly, the eyes on the predators all lit up. “Uh... Did you do that, Spike?”
“What? Why me?”
Looking back, the eyes turned red, as the entire room shook violently, as if there was an earthquake. Before long, the stone split itself into two halves, conjuring up a bloody red portal. Stepping out of the portal, stood a lumbering, hulking figure of a menacing beast. Another predator has entered the world of Fœnum.
Spike and Arizona looked up, and their eyes widened, with pupils shrunken to pinpricks.
Arizona stammered, “It’s a...a...”
“A bear!” Spike screamed, as he clutched onto Arizona, while recalling the nightmare he had, when they were camping in the prairie.
The bear snapped its head in the two heroes' direction, and let out a menacing roar. The bear lumbered forward, slashing its massive paws at the heroes, to which the jumped back to avoid the slash attacks.
Unfortunately, both Spike and Arizona realized too late that this was exactly what the bear wanted, when it drove them to fall into a large pit hole that looked as if it was built for an arena of the sort.
Spike and Arizona looked up and found the bear was in the company of its fellow predators, who have materialized, surrounding the heroes, outside of the arena.
"Oh Mother of Faust!" Spike exclaimed. "We've walked right into a trap!"
Arizona, however, seemed rather unfazed, standing her ground.
"...Okay. I jus' got one question 'fer y'all," Rearing up on her hind legs, Arizona stomped her hooves down, challenging the Predators.
"WHO'S FIRST?!" Arizona mooed.
"Don't look at me!" Spike squeak in fright.
But it was no use. The fight has just begun, as three of the Predators leapt into the fray – two wolves and a panther.
"I'll get the big cat!" Arizona said to a terrified Spike. "You get the wolves!"
"Just my luck, a dog eat dog world..." Spike whimpered, while he thinks, 'And that says a lot, considering I was a dog in another world.'
Nevertheless, Spike assumed a fighting stance as he fought off the wolves. One of the wolves made the first move and leapt into the air for a pounce, only for Spike to throw an upper cut that hit the wolf in the chin, knocking it off balance. Unfortunately, this left him open for the other wolf's attack, as the canine predator lunged forward and snapped its jaws on Spike's torso, and threw him to the floor.
Spike rolled across the floor, where he was almost stepped on by Arizona, had he not rolled out of the way. Arizona was struggling to hold her own against the panther, just like the previous ones she and Spike has had to fight, before arriving to this room. The panther let out a bloodcurdling hissy growl as it viciously swipes its paws and snapped its jaws at the calf.
Arizona was able to dodge the fangs, while blocking the claws, before she counterattacks with a cross-canter – after a successful block, Arizona reared her head back for an uppercut with her horns, to catch the predator off-guard, and throw it off its feet.
The panther got back up and pounced towards Arizona, who ducked her head, weaving beneath the massive feline predator, before stomping her hoof for a medium tremor that briefly stunned the panther. At that exact moment, Spike came running and jumped on the cat's head, with the two wolves chasing him.
"HEEEELLLLP!!!" Spike wailed.
"Ah gotcha, Spike!" Arizona shouted, spinning her lasso to catch Spike and pull him over to her.
Together, both dragon and calf started to fight off their predator adversaries, back-to-back. Spike breathed fire on the panther, while Arizona thrusted her hind legs to kick the two pouncing wolves in the throats. Then, the two friends quickly trade place, with Spike spewing a fireball at the wolves, which exploded upon impact, while Arizona used her lasso to ensnare the panther by the legs.
"Spike! HIT THE DECK!" Arizona warned the dragon, as she spins the panther around, whisking it over Spike's head, and slamming the feline predator into the two wolves.
The three predators disappear in puffs of smokes, with three more predators – two cobras and a panther – jumping in to take their place.
"Oh c'mon!" Spike moaned.
Seeing how the Predators weren't giving him and Arizona much of a choice, the young dragon resumes the fight with Arizona, bracing himself for the next round.
With a loud hiss, the two cobras slithered around the arena, before they took their positions and fired their poison spits at the young dragon and calf, who danced around to avoid the venom. Lastly, like its predecessor in the last round, the panther roared and used its superior speed to outmaneuver both Spike and Arizona.
Spike stayed close to Arizona, not willing to risk his life with the big cat. Arizona's eyes darted as she watches the panther run circle around her and Spike. The feline predator was moving with the speed of a cheetah, but has the ferocity of a lion to boot. The panther made a few strikes and lunges at the two heroes, keeping them on their toes and on edge. However, the two fighters were so busy keeping their eyes on the panther, they forgot about the snakes and were hit with a few of the serpents' poisons.
"UCK!" Spike grunted in disgust.
"Ew!" Arizona groaned.
Luckily, not of the poisons stung their eyes. But they were still just as irritating to the touch.
Believing it has seen an opportunity for an attack, the panther pounced and caught Arizona from behind. The two thrashed about in a flurry tussle of punches, kicks, scratches, and blood, until Arizona was thrown across the floor.
“ARIZONA!” Spike screamed, holding the spell book up, using its thick covers to shield himself from the snakes’ venoms, as he makes his way over to the calf.
The panther was about to pounce on the young bovine again, but Spike breathed a burst of green fire that stopped the predator in midair.
“C’mon Ari!” Spike shook the calf. “Get up!”
“I’m up, I’m up!” Arizona replied. “Don’t count me out jus’ yet.”
“But first, we gotta do something about those snakes,” Spike pointed out. “We can’t fight that panther without the risk of getting blinded by those cobras.”
“Then them varmints are the first ta go!” Arizona said. “I’ll get the one on the right. You take the left!”
“Lucky me…” Spike muttered as he and Arizona split up, to avoid the panther, and to get rid of the snakes.
Growing up in Equestria, alongside Twilight and the others, Spike has never needed to fight, let alone learned then. He’s always looked up to Twilight’s teachings on friendship for a peaceful solution to everyday problems. So the fact he’s suddenly put in a situation where he has to fight to survive is against everything he believed in from Twilight and friends. But in order to go home, he needed to do what must be done.
“AAAARGGGHH!!!” Spike screamed as he throws his arms wildly for random punches, as he charges blindly towards a snake.
The snake was able to slither and dodged the dragon’s attack. Rearing it’s head back, it throws itself forward for a bite. Reacting fast, Spike picks up the snake’s coil and throws it into its jaws, which the snake immediately winced from biting itself.
Angered, the snake gave chase, after the young screaming dragon. Meanwhile, the other snake bounced on its coils, to keep its distance from Arizona, dodging her lasso, in her attempt to close the distance with the spitting cobra.
To add the difficulty still, Arizona also had to fend off the panther that still persisted in its attacks on her.
Just as the snake was about to strike the bovine, Spike came running with the other snake, not far behind.
The two snakes ended up crashing into each other, in a tangled mess of coils.
“Good thinkin’ there, Spike!” Arizona complimented the dragon. “Tricking those sneaky snakes to tangle with each other.”
“Uh, yeah, glad I thought of it,” Spike chuckled, while he secretly thought. ‘What did I do?’
With the snakes tied up, both Spike and Arizona turn their attentions on the panther, who sprint forward in a pounce.
Out of impulse, Spike breathed a burst of green fire that engulfed the panther, combined with Arizona’s headbutt that knocked the airborne predator.
With the panther dazed, Arizona immediately used her lasso to ensnare the panther by the tail and thrash it around, smashing the snakes beneath the panther’s body.
Once again, setting her sight on the panther, focusing her strength and powers, Arizona pawed at the ground and readied herself for a charge.
“Ya’ll in for HURTIN’!” She screamed, charging at lightning speed and spears the panther, into smokes, with her horns.
With that, the three remaining predators leapt into the arena — including the bear.
“Oh Faust! You gotta be kidding me!” Spike whimpered as he looks up at the menacing outline of the bear, towering over him.
"Spike! FIGHT BACK!" Arizona called, while bucking two panthers away. "Remember what ya learned!"
"I CAN'T!" Spike hyperventilated. "I forget when I'm scared. Really scared!" He said, remember how he once embarrassed himself in the Equestria Games in the Crystal Empire.
With a loud roar, the bear sets its sight on Spike, charging forward, shaking the floor with each steps.
"BUT HE DIDN'T!" Spike yelped, with his eyes widened at the large hulking beast.
"Spike, RUN!" Arizona screamed.
With a terrified yelp, Spike turned tail and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, with the monstrous bear running after him. This bear was definitely not as gentle as Fluttershy's bear friend, Harry, back in Equestria. The large beast snapped its jaws savagely, swiping its massive claws after the fleeing dragon. Then, with a massive headbutt, the bear threw Spike into the wall, knocking the wind out of the dragon, bloodying his nose in the process.
Slightly dazed and disoriented from the adrenaline, Spike looked up and sees the large bear lumbering over him, working up a drool in its mouth for a baby dragon snack.
"Please, please, DON'T EAT ME!" Spike pleaded with the bear. "I'm adorable! I'm too cute and cuddly to die!" Spike then curled himself up into a ball, as he cries, "I just wanna go home!"
The bear lunged forward, only to be caught by a lasso around its neck, and it was pulled away from Spike. Arizona then proceeded to land several punches and kicks to the bear's face. This, however, made it even angrier as it turns its attention towards the young bovine. Before the bear could retaliate, Spike quickly jumped up and pulled on its eyelids.
"I GOT 'EM!" Spike shouted, as he rode on the bear, with monstrous predator thrashing about, trying to get the dragon off.
The bear let out a roar as it stomped around, throwing itself against the walls, trying to get Spike off. Spike rolled to the other side to avoid getting smashed against the wall, but that left him dangling off the side of the bear's neck, and the monstrous predator tried to swipe the dragon off with its claws. Even more frantic, Spike climbed on top of the bear's back, as the predator reared itself up on its legs, in its persistent attempts to get the dragon off.
In the process, the bear ended up fumbling and smashed one of the panthers beneath its large mass. The other panther was about to leapt up to swipe its paws at the young dragon, only for Arizona to ram her horns into its side. Angered at the calf's interference, the panther lunged forward to throw several fast swipes of its claws at the calf, who stepped back and blocked the attacks, when they've gotten close enough. The panther snapped its head forward for a bite, but Arizona blocked the attack with her horns and cross-canters the panther, throwing it back.
Arizona lurched forward for an elbow drop on the down panther, but missed when the panther quickly recovered. Without giving Arizona a chance to recover, the panther pounced forward for the kill. Luckily, for Arizona, the bear came thundering by and plowed into the panther, causing it to disappear into puffs of smokes.
Out of frighten impulse, Spike jumped off of the bear, breathing a burst of fire as a boosted momentum for his flight, as well as landing a hit on the bear's face.
With Spike safely off the bear, Arizona proceeded to walk up to the bear, to throw a strong kick to its snout, followed by an uppercut, chaining into a low sweep kick, and an elbow drop to the head that briefly stuns the bear. Not yet finished with her opponent, Arizona thrusted her shoulders up to send the bear flying up into the air, where she quickly landed a headbutt, a two-legged kick, ending it with a double ax-kick that slams the bear back down to the ground.
Upon landing, Arizona didn't give the bear a chance to recover, using her lasso to ensnare the bear by its legs, once again, mustering up her strength to swing the bear in the air and slammed it down on the floor, ending the fight.
End of Fight
Tired but triumphant, Spike and Arizona all cheered, “YEAH!!!”
“Like my Pa always says,” Arizona panted heavily. “When ‘yer fixin’ ‘fer a brawl, y’all know who ‘ya call!”
Just then, a golden chest appeared, to which Spike and Arizona opened up to reveal its content was a golden Sparta helmet.
“Not ma style,” Arizona frowned.
“I’ll try it,” Spike said as he puts on the helmet and poses. “How do I look?”
"Uh...like a real fighter," Arizona nodded.
"Oh yeah. If only Rarity could see me now," Spike said, flexing his muscles and envisioning the said marshmallow unicorn, kissing him and fawning over him.
Rolling her eyes, Arizona beckoned Spike to follow to a flight of stairs, “C’mon, let’s get outta here.”
With that, Spike and Arizona walked up the stairs, out of the arena and back onto the floor they were on. They were about to walk to another door on the other side, when they passed the stone structure, which was inactive, with its doors closed shut.
The two went over to inspect the structure, “Is...is it over?” Arizona asked.
“I hope so," Spike replied. "It looks totally dead now...”
“Yup. I think you’re right. C’mon, let’s go tell those deers it’s all taken care of.”
Arizona and Spike both turned to take their leave, though all the same, Arizona shivered in fright.
“Ugh, that thing could open again at anytime," Arizona said. "Best not to wait around for that to happen again. Let’s just get outta here and find the clue to the Prophet’s key.”
"And the sooner I get home, the quicker I can forget all of this has ever happened," Spike added.