//------------------------------//
// The Temple of Dragons 
// Story: Legend of Spyro: Friendship is Magic 
// by FaizGuy 
//------------------------------//

Here's the second chapter. I do not own Boomer the Troll. Yes, yes, I know some Spyro Fans do not like Skylanders, but I have to admit that I got attached to the personality this silly troll has. I mean, he has a problem such as no PB for PB&J? H just blows the sandwich up! Hilarious!
---
“None of you are prepared for what lay ahead,” Ignitus informed, “Nor would anyone be truly prepared.”
The girls gulped. Spyro just narrowed his eyes at Ignitus. Ignitus looked down at the purple dragon’s eyes, seeing the determination within.
“Very well, then let’s begin,” Ignitus nodded before the group of nine walked off.
---
“Sister…” Celestia looked up from a mound of paperwork that was to be filled out in order for Luna to resume her duties as the Night Alticorn to see the worried expression on her, “The Dark Master…He…”
“He’s spent centuries attempting to escape,” Celestia noted, “You recall the life-cycle of a Dragon, sister dear?”
“Yes. Dragons will age like any other being until they become of age and only a year after hatching do they accelerate their age to that of a child around six years of age. After they become of age, their life cycles slow down drastically, letting them spend 100 years in normal time for just a single year for them. Why do you ask?”
“To assure you that I have faith in my student, her new friends, and our little dragon,” Celestia informed.
“How does that assure me?”
“Because during the years before maturity, a dragon is highly impressionable,” Celestia informed, “I have spent all that time teaching the child all about love, bonds, trust…So many good qualities and memories. Memories you and I used to have.”
“…Sister, I…”
“All is forgiven, Luna,” Celestia smiled gently, pecking her little sister’s forehead, just below the horn, “He did that to you. He will not escape his prison, not now.”
---
	And so, our journey to the Temple began. It was a bit arduous with a few breaks every now and then for the girls and young Spyro. It took nearly a week and a half to reach it. The swamplands that surrounded it had grown wild over the last few years I had been away. Filled with Cynder’s forces; the Apes.
---
“What were those disgusting monsters?!” Rarity demanded, shaking off a bit of swamp slime from her fashionable explorer’s outfit.
“It was like they were a mixture of bones and the swamp itself,” Twilight noted, “A sort of…symbiotic relationship was made.”
“Growths,” Ignitus informed, “A piece of Cynder’s work, enchanted pieces of this land with the dark magic of the Dark Master.”
“Those clubs o’ theirs sure were tough,” Applejack noted before snickering, “Though it was funny t’ see ya get stuck in th’ chest o’ one o’ them, Rainbow.”
“Aw shut it,” Rainbow blushed heavily.
“Hey, at least they didn’t eat you,” Sparx informed, shaking the last of the gunk off his tail while sitting on Fluttershy’s shoulder, “Thanks for the save, Fluttershy.”
“Oh. It was…nothing, really,” Fluttershy blushed.
“Are you kidding me? You were like a butterfly out there,” Sparx pointed out, “Did you learn from those girls?”
“We’re here,” Ignitus informed as they approached a large scarlet and gold chamber door with two dragon head statues at the sides.
“These are amazing,” Twilight awed, sketching them down in a notebook.
“These are sculptures of the first dragons of Fire and Ice,” Ignitus explained before putting a claw onto the door, “No…”
“What’s wrong?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“Cynder's soldiers must have knocked the other two statues out of place…heathens,” Ignitus growled.
“What other two statues?” Rainbow pondered.
“On the other side of this door are two statues just like these. When all four statues are positioned correctly, the door opens,” Ignitus explained.
“Yeah, good. I was never good at geometry. So what do you want us to do?” Sparx asked.
“He needs us to get in there and move the statues into place,” Twilight explained.
“Indeed.”
“Us? How?”
“There's a small tunnel that animals use to access the caves. Find it and use it,” Ignitus explained.
“Yeah, animals, okay. You know what? You do that, and I’ll wait here,” Sparx informed.
“Is that it over there?” Rainbow asked, pointing at an entrance twice her size and blocked by roots and vines.
“Yes. However…It seems to have been sealed off. Please allow me,” Ignatius moved the girls, Spyro, and Sparx behind him before exhaling a small burst of flames that incinerated the roots and vines, revealing the entrance, “Go now.”
The girls and Spyro nodded while Sparx reluctantly followed. They were halfway through when a mushroom erupted from the ground, revealing eight red leafy legs and mandibles.
“Bulb Spider!” Fluttershy gasped, “I’ve never seen one this big before.”
“Get out of the way!” Spyro growled before tackling the Bulb Spider and tossed it to Applejack, who quickly kicked it out of the area.
More came by, but were quickly dealt with by Spyro, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight, the lavender Unicorn stopping every now and then to get detailed notes on the foliage and fauna that was in the trail. Eventually, they walked up to a hole in the ground sealed off by roots and vines.
“Now what?” Rainbow pondered.
“Eh, when in doubt, break it right? Go nuts,” Sparx shrugged.
Spyro quickly jumped into the air above the hole. He spun in the air before slamming through the roots with a headbutt. Spyro screamed in the hole.
“Spyro!” Twilight screamed before jumping down into it, followed by the others.
“Are you o…” Applejack began before they saw Spyro cooking three giant Bulb Spiders twice the size of the ones they had been dealing with.
“Huh? You say something?” Spyro pondered.
“Save me a leg,” Rainbow ordered.
“Rainbow!” Fluttershy gasped.
“What? You told me these Bulb Spiders are a perfect vegetable,” Rainbow shrugged.
“Look!” Rarity pointed at two fallen dragon statues near the doors.
“Hurry, get them set up,” Twilight ordered as she and Rarity began to work together on getting one onto a pedestal while Applejack and Rainbow lifted the other onto its pedestal.
The pedestals glowed before lowering into the ground, locking the statues into place. The doors swung open, revealing Ignitus. He walked into the room.
“Any trouble?” Ignitus asked.
“A little insect trouble…nothing we couldn't handle,” Spyro replied with a shrug.
“Little insects, my tail section,” Sparx frowned as he pointed at the revolving dead Bulb Spiders.
“Oh, a Bulb Spider,” Ignitus noted before walking over and taking a bite of one, “Still as delicious as I remember.”
Eventually, the group continued into the structure. They came upon a larger set of doors with a gold dragon replacing the gold swirl on the door.
“The past is prelude, tomorrow a dim promise. Allow us entrance, do not reject us,” Ignitus recited.
“Are you making that up?” Rainbow asked.
“It should open for us,” Ignitus noted with a frown before closing his eyes in concentration, “There is a…disturbance.” He turned to the others, “It seems my fears have been realized: they've desecrated the interior as well.”
“Guess we'll have t’ open it th’ old-fashioned way,” Applejack adjusted her Stetson.
“Make your way through the connecting rooms, restoring every statue you can find,” Ignitus ordered.
“Hey, you know what? Let’s don’t and say we didn’t. Why don’t you do it?” Sparx asked.
“You want my help? Very well. Hop up,” Ignitus ordered as he walked over to a higher level and sat before it, his back acting at a stairway to it.
“Alright…the old guy’s coming to life,” Sparx pointed out as the grounded girls and Spyro climbed up Ignitus and onto the upper level while Fluttershy and Rainbow flew up there.
“Careful, Spyro. Cynder's forces are surely on their way,” Ignitus advised.
“Oh, goody,” Rainbow and Sparx sighed.
It was then they walked on. Suddenly, Spyro spotted a strange crystal the size of his body growing from the ground. He slammed into it and began to break it apart. The gems that fell from it were quickly absorbed into him, much to the surprise of the others. His wings seemed to have grown almost a half-inch while his horns seemed to grow sharper. His eyes even seemed to glow, albeit faintly.
“Hey Spyro, what was that about?” Sparx pondered.
“Oh, so many designs I could have made with a gem that size,” Rarity sighed.
“I don't really know. I just felt like I had to hit it... and when I did, the power of a thousand suns surged through my body,” Spyro compared.
“Hmm…Maybe those gems are connected to your species, Spyro. Something instinctual must have triggered in you when you saw it,” Twilight noted.
“Right, okay. Well you know what? You should really sleep better,” Sparx noted, “Y'know, I'm gonna stop buggin you. You really need to get eight hours.”
“Forget I said anything. Let's go,” Spyro shook his head.
The group continued on, running into a group of Bulb Spiders surrounding a statue. They quickly made work of them as Spyro pushed the statue into place. A panel slid up and the group entered an empty room with just a trophy and pedestal in it. Applejack yelped when a baboon-like ape landed on her, causing her to start jumping around and slammed the Ape into walls until it fell off, out cold. Twilight, Rainbow, and Applejack quickly pushed it into place. They went on and Spyro broke two more of the large gems, much to the chagrin of Rarity the fashionista. Spyro blew on a torso embedded  into a wall before the wall flipped around, revealing they were in the room they started in.
“That’s quite an entrance, young dragon and friends. There might be hope for us yet,” Ignitus noted as the doors opened up, revealing another set of the jewels.
“What are these things?” Spyro pondered, “I keep on wanting to smash into them.”
“These are Spirit Gems…a gift from the Ancestors,” Ignitus explained.
“What kind of gift?” Twilight pondered.
“A gift that speaks across generations…A gift that empowers you with the spirit of the past, strengthening you with the wisdom of the ages.”
“I feel more powerful already,” Spyro noted.
“So it would be a bad idea if one were to fashion it into clothing?” Rarity pondered.
“On the contrary; the Spirit Gems can be crafted into armor, giving it special properties,” Ignitus explained.
“Hmm…Remind me to stop Spyro the next time, then,” Rarity noted, “I’ll fashion something fabulous and spectacular for a battle.”
“No feathers,” Rainbow frowned as Spyro broke the Spirit Gems once more, doing his best to not absorb them all and leaving Rarity some of gems colored in red, green, or blue to use later.
“Aw…Thank you, Spyro,” Rarity pecked his cheek, earning a faint blush from the dragon.
“It…It was nothing,” Spyro kicking the ground with his front left claws sheepishly before they continued to walk on, daylight shining through holes in the ceiling.
“Do you hear that?” Ignitus pondered, glancing about.
“What is it?” Fluttershy whimpered, hiding behind Rainbow as the rainbow-maned Pegasus readied her dukes.
“Exactly what I feared,” Ignitus frowned before looking over at them, “Look, perhaps we should turn back.”
“What? After coming this far?” Spyro pondered in shock as Ignitus motioned to a sealed doorway just before them.
“If this door is closed, it means there are intruders behind. It's how the Temple protects itself,” Ignitus explained.
“Ah, yeah. Doesn't work too well, does it?” Sparx asked.
“So what are you saying, Ignitus?” Twilight pondered.
“What I'm saying is the only way the door will open…” Ignitus began.
“D-D-Don't say it…” Fluttershy whimpered.
“…Is if the intruders are kicked out of there,” Spyro frowned.
“Didn't Flutters over there just say don’t say it?” Sparx sighed in exasperation.
The smaller members of the group, minus Fluttershy since she wanted to stay and talk with Ignitus/be protected by the dragon, went through a tunnel. A mad cackling erupted once they were near the end of it along with a few explosives going off.
“What was that?!” Rarity gasped.
“Hmm…Sounded like an old 953 stick of TNT going off about ten meters away,” Pinkie Pie noted.
“You’ll pay for t…!” a voice began before another explosion went off.
“That one sounded like a 980 stick of TNT,” Pinkie Pie checked off.
The group ran ahead and skidded to a halt. All around them were blown up Apes. Standing on a ledge nearby, cackling, was a green-skinned troll. He wore bits of blue armor on his left shoulder, elbows, knees, and his four-toed feet visible. He had a long, brown beard and a tooth or two missing in his big smile.
“I couldn’t hear ya because ya got blown up!” the troll cackled as he jumped down and landed before the group, “Hey there! Nice ta meet ya!”
“Wh…Who are you?” Twilight pondered.
“I’m Boomer!” the troll shouted his name as loud as possible, almost like he wanted to say it as an explosion, “I just moved into this nice joint and was in the middle of doing some Spring Cleaning. Need something? I can easily blow it up!”
“…I like this guy!” Pinkie Pie beamed, “Hiya! I’m Pinkie Pie. I love explosives! Especially fireworks! Though, Mr. and Mrs. Cake made me Pinkie Promise to not use the gas ovens anymore. So what kind of explosive material do you like? Mine’s C4!”
“C4? Pft. That’s simple stuff. Mine’s nitroglycerin!” Boomer beamed.
“Nitroglycerine?! Oh wowee! That makes the biggest explosions!” Pinkie Pie cheered.
“…I think we just met Pinkie Pie’s mutated twin brother,” Rainbow Dash whispered, everyone slowly backing away from the laughing and bonding duo before backing up into something, “…We just backed up into a giant Ape, didn’t we?”
“Yep,” Sparx glanced behind them, paling.
“Big club? Possibly a Spirit Gem attached to the top in the shape of a sledgehammer?” Rainbow asked.
“Ten-four.”
“Loincloth?” Rarity asked, paling and earning strange looks from the others, “What? Loincloths are so incredibly tacky that they’re nightmareish.”
“Uh, yeah. There’s a loincloth,” Sparx noted.
“Boo,” the Ape growled.
“Don’t you mean…” Boomer began before whipping out a bomb the size of his body, “Ka-Boom?!”
“…Eep,” the Ape squeaked.
---
“I think we have a Troll in the Temple,” Ignitus noted as the room rumbled.
“A-Are they b-b-bad?”
“Not really. Though they love to blow things up. Mainly sheep,” Ignitus chuckled.
“That’s terrible!” Fluttershy gasped as the others, with a grinning Boomer, jumped down from a ledge nearby.
“I have to admit; I loved that explosion!” Boomer exclaimed, patting Spyro on the back, “As of now, I’m under your command, kid!”
“Hm…You befriended a Troll?” Ignitus pondered in surprise, “Celestia must have taught you well.”
“Celestia? Ya mean th’ lady with wings and a horn on her head that told me to come here?” Boomer asked, earning a surprised look from the others.
‘Seems Celestia is trying to give aide in her own way,’ Ignitus thought before the group was surrounded by Apes along with another giant one.
“Well, Ignitus, we nabbed your Guardian buddies but you managed to escape our clutches…” the giant Ape noted before grinning sinisterly, “…until now…”
“Stand back, Spyro, and let me show what a dragon trained in the ancient ways can do,” Ignitus informed sternly.
The group, even a reluctant Boomer, nodded. The Apes prepared to fight before Ignitus exhaled a large fireball into the air. It landed in the middle of the Apes and exploded, knocking them every which way. Ignitus was swift, fierce, and all consuming in his strength, acting as a living, breathing wildfire given sentient thought. Not a single Ape was spared from either a slash of his tail, a swipe of his claws, or a mark from his fangs and flames.
“Woah! The big guy's got some moves,” Sparx awed.
“Yeah! Go, Ignitus!” Rainbow cheered as the larger dragon easily tossed the giant Ape onto his troops with a headbutt-flip.
“Retreat!” the giant Ape called out before they raced away in fear.
“Are you okay, Ignitus?” Spyro asked, seeing the elder dragon panting and almost visibly exhausted to a trained eye.
“Yes, as I get older it takes longer to recover…” Ignitus panted.
“You blew them up!” Boomer cackled in joy, “You are a natural at explosions!”
“I know, right? Ignitus, you are super-dooper-totally awesome!” Pinkie Pie bounced around the dragon in excitement.
“I can’t even say it could be cooler,” Rainbow noted as Fluttershy gently rubbed Ignitus on the back of his head.
“Thank you for protecting us, Mr. Ignitus,” Fluttershy noted.
“You were incredible, Ignitus. Can you show me how to do that?” Spyro asked.
“Patience, young dragon. Soon enough you'll learn all I have to teach. But right now you must fight!” Ignitus replied as more Apes showed up.
“No problem!” Boomer grinned as he tossed Pinkie Pie a bag of TNT, “Ready for the Big Bang?”
“Big Bang?” Pinkie Pie repeated before Boomer whispered into her ear, causing her eyes to widen in untold glee, “Oh yeah…”
“Big…” Boomer began before all the sticks of TNT lit up.
“…Bang…” Pinkie Pie added before both tossed all the TNT all around them.
“…Let’s go!” they both cried out before explosions engulfed the entire room except for a strangely perfect ring around the group.
“…Now I’m starting to understand why Princess Celestia made that law that Gas Ovens are forbidden upon the land of Equestria,” Spyro sweatdropped as the others-minus a concerned Ignitus-nodded.
“If Cynder's forces were here, there will certainly be more of them in the Temple,” Ignitus noted.
“Oh goody,” Rainbow rolled her eyes.
“They won't be there for long,” Spyro smirked.
“Wonderful…now he's getting cocky,” Sparx sighed in annoyance.
“Last time that happened, we had to clean him up from all that tree spa, rose thorns, and a few pine needles,” Twilight sighed.
“Don’t forget that rabbit. You always forget the rabbit,” Sparx informed before the group, minus Ignitus, stopped before what appeared to be a circular pool of green, glowing waters.
“Ignitus, may I take a sample of this water?” Twilight asked.
“But of course,” Ignitus replied as he continued to walk.
Another door opened up and he stopped. The room was actually free of anything akin to growth. In the center of it was a massive statue in the shape of a dragon. Spyro walked over to beside Ignitus. Hoots came from the room and Spyro narrowed his eyes. Ignitus nodded and Spyro charged in with Rainbow and Twilight.
Apes swung down and attempted to tackle them if Twilight didn’t summon a barrier. She grunted a little with each impact due to the mental strain Magic had. She let it drop and Spyro unleashed a wave of flames that burned up a few of the Apes before Rainbow flew into one and delivered a chop to the back of its spine and neck, knocking it out.
Eventually, the trio finished off the last of them and the group continued on, many of them awing at the statue. The doors ahead opened up and the group walked outside. Boomer let out a long whistle.
“Now this is a perfect house! Look at that view!” Boomer grinned.
“Ahhh, home sweet home,” Ignitus gave a wistful sigh.
“Spyro, we're not in Kansas anymore…” Sparx noted.
“Where’s Kansas?” Rainbow Dash pondered.
“What happened here?” Spyro pondered, seeing the lands seemed to be in a perpetual autumn.
“This is what Cynder has done. Put all the islands under her iron rule,” Ignitus noted as Twilight looked over at what remained of a broken dragon egg’s shell.
“I wanted to see where I came from…but I didn't know it was going to be like this,” Spyro noted, “It’s worse than I thought…”
“Yeah, no offense, but this place is a bit of a dump,” Sparx noted.
“Hey! …Yeah, you’re right, but I like it,” Boomer shrugged.
“This was once our home, Spyro,” Ignitus explained, “Together, we can make it our home once again…reclaim what's rightfully ours.”
“What do you mean?” Spyro pondered.
“I mean that my time for heroics is past…but with your help-no…” He looked at everyone, “With all of you helping, we might be able to beat Cynder.”
“I…I can't, Ignitus. I just learned what I am,” Spyro shook his head as it was all catching up to him.
“You can, Spyro, you can. You are a Purple Dragon…a very special creature,” Ignitus informed while motioning towards the others, “And you have the aid of good friends, both old and new, to see you through this,” he gave the purple dragon a proud, almost fatherly smile, “You've given me hope again. Now it's time to give hope to all of them.”
“I'm not sure what help I can be, Ignitus, but I'll try…” Spyro nodded, “I'll try.”
“Good. That's all I can ask. Now come with me. I have something for you,” Ignitus informed as the group walked into the statue room, “The style you all used earlier was crude, archaic, and obvious, Spyro, but you got the job done. Not bad, considering you haven't been taught anything about what it means to be a dragon, Spyro.”
“Thanks…” Spyro looked at the others, “…I think.”
“Hey! I’ll have you know I’m a 2nd degree Black Belt!” Rainbow frowned.
“Celestia informed me of all of you and bits of your pasts,” Ignitus explained, “She’s been studying you six girls for a long time now.”
“What?!” the girls gasped.
“Kinky,” Boomer chuckled.
“She had a feeling you six were intertwined with the Legend, obtaining further evidence caused by your Sonic Rainboom, Rainbow Dash,” Ignitus noted, “Tell me, you haven’t been able to tap into that speed once since you last did it, have you?”
“Um…Well…No,” Rainbow looked down at her feet.
“If you seven are going to have a chance against Cynder and her army, you're going to need to learn a lot more. Boomer, was it? I will need you to help me by teaching Pinkie Pie everything you know about explosives. She already has some knowledge on it from her life before moving to Ponyville,” Ignitus explained.
“Heh. No sweat! I’ll have her up to date on Explosions faster than you can blow up a sheep!” Boomer beamed.
“Oh good…school,” Sparx groaned.
“Whoop,” Rainbow flatly deadpanned.
“Unlike any school you've ever known, young friend,” Ignitus chuckled, “Now…it's time to unleash the True Dragon within you.”
“The True Dragon…” Spyro repeated in a whisper of awe.
“Each of the Guardians is master of an element,” Ignitus continued, “I, as you may have surmised, am Master of Fire. Pay attention and you may be someday too. Let's begin.”
The statue rumbled before lowering down into the ground. Nearby, Boomer and Pinkie Pie walked out. Training Dummies appeared where the statue once stood.
“You seem to have learned how to breathe Fire on your own. Use your fire on these dummies,” Ignitus informed as the Training Dummies charged at Spyro, causing him to dodge.
“Magic training dummies?” Twilight pondered.
“As I have said, Soul Gems are special when used in other items,” Ignitus informed with a chuckle, “These training dummies are fueled by Green Soul Gems, which let us restore our Magic. Now then, Twilight and Rarity, you are both Unicorns. My time with Celestia here and even before Luna was Nightmare Moon when both grew up here with us allowed me to learn much about the Pony race and their own Magic.”
“Really now?”
“Unicorns, Earth Ponies, Pegasi, and-consequentially-Alicorns, have what is known as ‘Fonts.’ The same as we Dragons possess. Twilight, you tapped into all of your Font that day you hatched Spyro from what she told me,” Ignitus informed as Spyro did his exercise, “That was dangerous since it happened by accident.”
Twilight nodded. She knew about the dangers of over-using the Font. When over a fourth is used, the Unicorn starts to feel exhausted. A half spent, and headaches and migraines start forming. After that, Magical Exhaustion would take place and cause the Unicorn to black out. If they didn’t black out, then that would mean they were near-death if they weren’t knocked out quickly in five minutes after entering Magical Exhaustion.
“There are books over there, sealed within the wall. To open the wall, just recite the correct order of the Elements of Harmony,” Ignitus informed, “A simple hint; your journey to yourselves was the order.”
The two nodded and walked over to the wall with Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. They were surprised to see that there were six carvings in a circle, each carving the Cutie Marks on the left hands of the girls. Nearby, Ignitus watched as Spyro finished off the last enemy.
“Very good, young Spyro. This time, see if you can chase them down with your Fire Breath,” Ignitus continued as more dummies appeared, some already lit, “Defeat them before the fires on them do. If not, you’ll have to start again.”
“Let’s see…The journey to ourselves was the order…” Twilight muttered before snapping her right hand’s fingers, “I got it!”
She quickly pressed Applejack’s, Fluttershy’s, Pinkie Pie’s, Rarity’s, Rainbow Dash’s, and then her own. The wall slid down, revealing a shelve of books divided into ‘Pegasus,’ ‘Unicorn,’ and ‘Earth Pony.’ Rarity and Twilight began to read in two of the books as Fluttershy took one that read ‘Animals’ from the ‘Pegasus’ section. Rainbow pulled one out with a familiar symbol of a storm cloud with lightning covering it to her.
“‘Wonderbolt Battle Tactics: Solo Fighter Edition,’” Rainbow read the title, “Now if I had seen this before in a library, I would’ve liked to be a book reader.”
“Got you…at last…” Spyro panted as he incinerated the last dummy.
“Now you have awakened my hopes once more! Now, Spyro, you must learn that there is a time and a place for your attack. Wait until the opportune moment and unleash your Fire,” Ignitus informed as a larger dummy appeared with a club, “While knocking enemies up into the air allows you to unleash many new combination attacks.”
“Right,” Spyro nodded before Ignitus looked over at the girls.
“Everything going well?” Ignitus asked.
“Good so far. They go into deep detail on everything involving the spells,” Twilight informed, “The dangers, amount of Magic needed to effectively cast it. Maintaining the spells…This is truly in-depth in the work.”
“Yes. I’ve been collecting these works for 500 Pony years now,” Ignitus noted, “A mere five for a dragon’s life.”
“You sure do live long,” Applejack noted, leafing through a small book on kicking techniques.
“We do. We can live to be 500 Dragon Years old,” Ignitus informed, “But Purple Dragons…They are rumored to be immortal.”
“If 100 years is a single year for you, then that means 500 is actually 500,000 years,” Twilight noted before the dummy slammed near them.
“Huh? I actually won. Awesome!” Spyro beamed.
“Good job, Spyro,” Twilight nodded.
“Let’s see how well you can improvise with your current abilities,” Ignitus noted.
---
“You did it! For now, it’s time to move on,” Ignitus informed to a panting Spyro, “Conserve your energy and strike when your enemy is vulnerable. An off-balanced enemy can be quite useful.”
“Why is that?” Spyro pondered.
“You can use that enemy as a weapon against other enemies,” Ignitus informed as two dummies appeared, “Send the first one into the air and then slam it into the other and you’ll see.”
“Well…Okay, I guess,” Spyro shrugged before slamming a dummy into the air and then using his wings and claws to slam it into the other.
“Now you’re ready to proceed,” Ignitus informed before a wall of flames appeared in the middle of the room, as large as Spyro was, “I will now teach you the Fire Ball.”
“Fire Ball?” Spyro repeated.
“Yes. It is a basic fire, one that even Unicorns can learn if given the opportunity,” Ignitus informed, motioning to the two Unicorn girls to come over, “Now then, as you know, Spyro, we dragons have a massive Font rivaling or even surpassing Celestia’s in your case. Yet this spell is capable of learning even if the Font is smaller than a small lake, such as these two have.”
“So how does it work?” Spyro asked.
“You must look deep within you and feel the fire within,” Ignitus explained, “Focus it into your mouth and feel it form into a ball. Then…you release.”
With that, Ignitus made a small intake of breath before opening his mouth. A ball of flames shot through the fire wall and incinerated a dummy.
“You will have mastered this skill once your attacks can go through the flames like mine did,” Ignitus continued before turning to the girls, “As for you two, form it into your hands or at the tip of your horn.”
“So d’ya think they’ll be doin’ it right soon?” Applejack asked.
“Perhaps…” Ignitus began before an explosion went off behind them and Rarity screamed about her shirt, “…In a few hours.”
---
“Ha-ha! I knew you three had it in you!” Ignitus exclaimed with joy, Rarity having to replace her burnt shirt with a white sports bra, “Now, it is time for the real challenge. It is clear you have a strong kinship with the flames, Spyro. Tell me, you’re starting to feel as if you’re melting in anger, is it not?”
“Y-Yeah…” Spyro grunted, his eyes flashing back and forth between their normal color and a burning ember.
“That is a sign that your magic has absorbed too much Fury. Fury comes from the Purple Spirit Gems and through battle itself. The Purple Spirit Gems are rare to encounter, but battle Fury is much, much easier to reveal. Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, step away from the young hatchling. Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, come here. Seal away, hide away. Back into the wall from whence you came,” Ignitus ordered as the bookshelf wall was sealed up before the five nodded and ran over to him while more dummies were formed, “Now…With your Fury at this state, you will be able to tap into the flames of the first Fire Guardian himself; Ishlandur. You’ll hear a voice. You must respond and shout out what it wants you to shout. Only then will your Fury vanish.”
“Rrrrr…” Spyro growled as his eyes turned completely burning red, “Fury of Ishlandur's Final Stand!”
Spyro erupted into a swirling crimson vortex. It exploded into a flaming shockwave and Ignitus quickly shielded the five girls and Sparx with his wings. The attack ended and the dummies were just scorch marks of scorch marks.
“Excellent, Spyro. You may just have a chance against Cynder just yet,” Ignitus noted as the statue rose up once more before the room rumbled from a massive explosion outside, a mushroom cloud visible outside.
“…She got her hands on a Gas Oven…” Rarity scowled before a slightly-singed Boomer and Pinkie landed on Rainbow nearby.
“Whooooooo!-!-!” Boomer cried out in glee, patting Pinkie on the back, “Pinkie, you are officially a Bomber!”
“Yay!” Pinkie Pie cheered before Rainbow threw them off her in annoyance and anger.
“…He’s a friendly troll, Ignitus…He’s a friendly troll…” Ignitus mumbled to himself as he walked over to the green waters.
“So what's with the pool, big guy?” Sparx asked, flying right into his face.
“If you must know, certain dragons have the ability to see visions…” Ignitus informed in annoyance at the dragonfly, “The thoughts, memories, and dreams of others…and to see what's happening in places far, far away. I am one such dragon, and in this pool the visions come forth.”
“Amazing…” Twilight awed, writing it down for future reference.
“Oh really, is that so? Okay what am I thinking now? …What am I thinking now? …Okay, now? Now? Now, now, now, now, now?” Ignitus’ left eye twitched.
“I'm afraid it's not that easy, Sparx. It takes time, reflection, and patience,” he looked down into the waters, “What I do see in the Pool of Visions is that Volteer, one of the Guardians, is being held on Dante's Freezer.” He turned to Spyro, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight, “Spyro, while I look for details on the others, I want you to venture there and find out what you can with Twilight and Rainbow Dash.”
“Aw yeah! First mission!” Rainbow Dash pumped her fist.
“Remember, just look around. If you encounter Cynder, run... you're not ready to face her yet. None of you are ready,” Ignitus informed, glaring directly at Rainbow, having read up on her little attitude problem.
“Fine,” Rainbow rolled her eyes.
“I require what Pinkie Pie calls a ‘Pinkie Promise’ from you, Rainbow Dash,” Ignitus informed, causing Rainbow to gulp as she felt Pinkie’s gaze turn to her.
“…Forever…” Pinkie Pie hissed.
“…C-Cross my heart, hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye,” Rainbow Dash recited as she made an ‘X’ over her heart and then put her left hand over her left eye.
“Okay, so when people are trying to kill me I run. Got it,” Sparx saluted.
“But Ignitus, how do we get there?” Spyro pondered.
“…I'm glad you asked,” Ignitus chuckled with a fatherly smile.
“Why are you smiling? I don’t like it,” Sparx pointed out.
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So what do you think?