//------------------------------// // A Bit of a Predicament // Story: A Dragon's Destiny // by Riddleja //------------------------------// Down, down, down the friends slid. The icy slide made the trip a lot more fun and safe. At last, they came to the very bottom and collapsed in a pile. As they got up, Spike found himself dangerously close to kissing Rainbow Dash on the lips. “Gah!” Spike cried as he slid back in embarrassment. “I’m so sorry, Rainbow Dash! It was an accident!” But Rainbow Dash let out a chuckle. “Trying to taste the rainbow, are we?” she said teasingly. Then she playfully gave Spike a noogie. “I tasted a rainbow once”, said Pinkie Pie, recounting their trip to the Young Flyers competition. “Way too spicy.” ”The Great and Powerful Trixie finds these random chats to be pointless”, said Trixie. Nopony else cared though. “Girls”, said Twilight sternly. “Focus.” As Spike stood up, the ponies noticed that he wasn't actually back to his baby dragon form; his head was now level with theirs. This caused them to almost swoon a bit before regaining control of themselves. “Twilight’s right”, he added. “We've got to focus and find out where I have to get the next piece of…” “Hold on there, sugarcube”, interrupted Applejack. “What do you mean by you finding the next piece?” ”I have the sword of Drago Fangtooth, don’t I?” commented Spike. “That means I have to do it.” ”But that doesn't mean you have to pretend that we’re not here, Spikey-Boo”, said Rarity affectionately. “We only wish to help you.” “Yeah!” said Pinkie Pie. “Friends help each other and have fun together.” “I’m sorry,” said Spike, “but I can’t have you helping me.” The mares were surprised. “Why in tarnation not, Spike?” asked Applejack. “ “You just wouldn't understand”, said Spike. “Of course we would”, objected Twilight. “Now tell us why we can’t help you.” Every one of them looked at Spike, waiting for an answer. Spike looked a bit hesitant before finally regaining his voice. “I can’t!” he cried. “I just can’t!” and without any warning, Spike raced off with the sword in his grasp, leaving the others surprised. Back in Count Lucius’s castle, the Tyrant Spirit was giving his followers a few strong words on their failure. “You blithering idiots!!” he roared, causing the walls to shake for a moment. “So far you've allowed them to obtain two parts of my body!” ”It wasn’t our fault!” snapped Darkblaze. “They've been finding short cuts to the locations!” ”Yeah!” added Tubbo. “Besides, we would have caught up if it hadn't been for that hooded stallion guy.” ”Don’t you go playing the Blame Game!” shouted Lucius. “You were given a very simple task, and you can’t even get it right! Now, find that Spike, and destroy him!!” ”Yes sir”, said Darkblaze. “We won’t fail you.” ”You’d better not”, grumbled Lucius. “I’m so mad, I’m not gonna bother watching you anymore! Now go!!!” With that, the dragons took off into the skies. Lucius watched them until they were out of sight. ”Fangtooth…” he muttered angrily. Meanwhile, Spike was walking through the jungle on his own. “It’s got to be this way”, he said to himself. “I've got to do it alone. They just wouldn't understand.” Suddenly, Spike sensed that he wasn't alone and raised his sword to defend himself. ”Who’s there?” he called. Nobody answered. “Show yourself! I’m not afraid!” Within seconds, Darkblaze and his fellow Dragons appeared out of nowhere, causing Spike to fall back in surprise! “Whoa!” he cried. “It’s you! The dragons that were attacking the Crystal Empire!” ”Very clever. Didn't take you very long to remember us”, said Darkblaze. “I guess it’s time we got properly acquainted. The name’s Darkblaze. You of course must be Spike. My how you've grown.” “What do you want with me?” asked Spike, trying not to sound afraid. “We’ve been ordered by Count Lucius to destroy you before you can find all 6 pieces of his body”, replied Darkblaze. With that, he unsheathed a sword that he was carrying on his back. The blade was longer than the blade on Spike’s sword, and the handle was black and jagged looking. ”You don’t scare me”, said Spike bravely, unsheathing his sword as well. “Let’s do this!” Meanwhile, Twilight and the Gang were looking for Spike. “Spike-Wikey?” called Rarity. “Where are you?” ”Come on, Spike!” called Rainbow Dash. “This isn't funny!” “Maybe he’s planning a surprise party for our birthdays”, suggested Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie Pie, it’s nowhere close to our birthdays”, pointed out Trixie. “Second, if he were planning a party, then why would he race off looking upset?” ”I dunno”, shrug Pinkie. “Sometimes that’s how they keep a secret.” “It just ain't like Spike to run off like that sayin’ we can’t help him”, added Applejack. “There must be a good reason for it”, said Fluttershy. “Maybe he doesn't want us to get hurt.” “Even if it’s true,” objected Twilight, “that’s still no reason why we have to sit back and watch him face everything himself. We’re his friends, and friends look out for each other.” ”And what if those other dragons found him?” asked Rarity, sounding worried. “He’d be out numbered!” ”Then we've got to find him!” said Twilight urgently. ”I’ll hit the skies and see if I find him”, said Rainbow Dash. With that, she took off into the sky faster than you could say Pinkamena Diana Pie. Back with the dragons, Spike’s battle against Darkblaze was about to begin. Tubbo held up a flag, waited a few seconds, then waved the flag and scrambled out of the way. The fight had begun. Darkblaze charged at Spike with his sword, ready to strike, but Spike countered with his own blade, blocking the attack. “Not bad for a beginner,” commented Darkblaze, “but let’s see how long you keep up!” Darkblaze jumped and swiftly kicked Spike to the ground. Spike got up, regained his balance, and charged. This will be easy. He thought. I was right saying I didn't need the others helping me. This’ll prove it. Spike’s swift moves caused Darkblaze to be knocked to the ground. ”Now’s my chance”, said Spike to himself. He raised his blade and prepared to strike, when Darkblaze muttered something while holding his sword. Just as Spike’s sword hit Darkblaze’s side, instead of cutting it off, the sword passed through him! And in the spot it hit was a black flame. “What was that?” cried Spike in surprise. ”How do you like my Dark Flame Illusion?” smirked Darkblaze, standing back up. “Quite a handy little trick for when you’re about to be struck down.” ”I've dealt with tougher opponents on my own”, said Spike, feeling a bit cocky. “And I can more than likely take you down!” With that, he spun his blade and prepared to perform Ring of Fire. But no matter how long he spun it, no flames appeared. “What the?” cried Spike in confusion. “What’s going on?” ”It looks like your sword doesn't wanna play anymore”, smirked Darkblaze. “But mine still does!” With that, Darkblaze’s sword ignited with black fire and he twirled it similar to how Spike did. “Dark Flare Cyclone!” he cried, letting the blade fly towards Spike. “Uh oh!” cried Spike. He held up his blade to shield the attack, but the flames went right around it and surrounded him in a spiral fashion. As the spiral went higher into the sky, Spike became weaker from the flames that tormented him. He desperately tried to fight back with his sword, but alas, there was nothing he could do. At last the flames died down and Spike fell to the ground, barely struggling to stand. Darkblaze held his blade into the sky as it glowed black fire again and slammed it into the ground. This resulted in a flame shooting out from a fissure and slamming Spike into a tree! Spike handed on his back in the dirt. He was too weakened to get up. “All right boss!” cheered Tubbo. “Finish him off!” The other dragons cheered at their leader’s victory and waited for Darkblaze to finish Spike off. It looked rather simple. All he’d have to do was strike him with his blade, and it would be over. But to their surprise, he but the sword back in the scabbard. “Fallback”, he said to the other dragons. They were puzzled by this but did as they were told. “But boss”, interrupted Tubbo, “why didn't you finish him off like we were told to?” “Count Lucius said…” But he was cut off as Darkblaze grabbed him by the neck. ”I said ‘Fallback’!” he roared. “Count Lucius isn't around. That means I’m in charge and what I say goes. And when I say ‘fallback’, I mean ‘fallback’! Do I make my self clear?” “Y-yes boss”, Tubbo gulped. With that, Darkblaze tossed Tubbo to the ground and watched him go after the other dragons. Then he turned to look at the unconscious Spike. ”We’ll meet again”, murmured Darkblaze. Then he took off after the others. No sooner had the dragons left when Rainbow Dash came into view. She gasped when she saw Spike and called back to the others. “I found him!” she cried. “Come quick!” They wasted no time in arriving. ”Spike!” they cried. They rushed up to him. Twilight held her hoof in front of his mouth. “He’s still breathing”, she said in relief. “Who could have done this to our Spikey-poo?” asked Rarity. “Might have been those dragons”, said Applejack. “I know what’ll fix this”, grinned Pinkie Pie, randomly causing her Party Cannon to pop out. “A Get Well Party!” “He’s unconscious”, said Trixie. “I doubt a party would bring him out of it.” ”Um, maybe we can cuddle him”, suggested Fluttershy bashfully. “As much fun as that sounds, how is cuddling him gonna get him awake?” asked Twilight. “I don’t know for sure”, admitted Fluttershy. “I just really wanna cuddle him adorably.” Her wings then opened all the way as her face blushed and resulted in her having the most adorable squeak you’d ever heard. “Yay cuddling!” shouted Pinkie Pie. Suddenly they heard a groan. Spike opened an eye and slowly slouched his back up against a rock. “He’s awake!” cried Rarity in delight. ”We were so worried about you Spike”, said Twilight, wrapping her hooves around Spike in a tight hug. This caused the rest to do the same. “What happened?” ”It was those dragons”, said Spike weakly. “One of them was called Darkblaze and challenged me to a sword fight. I fought as best as I could but…” He looked back at his sword. “I couldn't use the sword’s powers. I lost.” He lowered his head in shame. “We don’t care if you lost”, said Fluttershy. “What’s most important to us is that you’re still alive. That’s what we really care about.” The others agreed. Spike looked up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set. “It’s gonna be dark soon”, he said. “Should we go to the next spot on the map, or find a place to camp out for the night?” ”After what just happened,” said Twilight, “let’s just rest for the night.” ”I agree”, put in Rarity. “We can continue our quest in the morning once we have enough strength.” ”Then we’ll be even more awesome”, added Rainbow Dash. “I guess it would be fun to have a camp out”, said Fluttershy. Usually she would be afraid of being in an unfamiliar place at night, but since she was with her friends, she felt braver. ”So it’s settled”, concluded Applejack. “Tonight we rest up. And tomorrow we continue the hunt.” Spike tried to stand up, but immediately fell back down clutching his side in pain. “I hurt too much for me to stand up”, he groaned. “Darkblaze must have done more damage to me than I thought.” ”Don’t worry about it”, said Rainbow Dash. “We’ll carry you.” With that, she got one of Spike’s arms around her, and the other around Applejack. “Now don’t y’all get any silly ideas, ya hear?” asked Applejack in a teasing voice. And with that, the gang set off to find somewhere to stay for the night. None of them were aware that the hooded stallion had been watching them.