Spike shivered as he stared around at the cold wind, falling ash, and white mountains surrounding him as the portal closed behind him. "Okay, Spike," he murmured to himself. "You can do this. Discord dragged you into this game of his...so Twilight, Rarity, and the others are counting on you to do your part. You can win! You feel great! You! Can! Do-"
An echoing howl cascaded over the white landscape.
"I want my mommy!" Spike yelled out in terror, diving forward and burying himself under the nearest pile of ash, shivering in fear.
He remained there in hiding for a while before getting ahold of himself. "N-no," he stammered softly. "I...I can't just hide and hope someone rescues me. Discord said...if everyone doesn't play, we lose. I...I have to stand on my own two feet." Carefully, he pushed himself up, shaking the ash off his body. Gritting his teeth, he took a few steps forward.
A sudden battle cry startled him into falling back onto his tail as a spectral image of an armored figure with a full beard charged him, swinging a bronze spiked warhammer. Spike barely rolled out of the way of the first strike, only for the figure to charge again. Unsure what else to do, Spike desperately exhaled a blast of fire at the figure.
The specter vanished as the flame overwhelmed it, the warhammer falling to the ground beside Spike with a dull thud. The weapon was nearly as tall as Spike, but he knew he needed something to defend himself with. Ash had gotten into his throat when he breathed out his fire, leaving him in a coughing fit. Managing to pick the warhammer up, he used it as a cane as he slowly marched his way forward, uncertain where he was supposed to go.
The specter was not the last thing to confront Spike. Beasts made of the ash that swirled all around rose up to fight him, forcing him to defend himself. Desperately, he swung the hammer at them as they rose, and only occasionally managing to land a blow. Despite this, he pushed onward.
They're counting on me... he mentally repeated as he pushed onward. I can't let them down. Maybe I've never been able to do anything before. Maybe all I could be for Twilight before now was an assistant. Just a useless little lizard that does as much damage as help he provides...don't know why she puts up with me... As a much larger creature rose, Spike's eyes narrowed to slits. But now it all counts on me! If one of us falls, we all fail. I won't let her down! I won't let any of them down! I WILL NOT FALL! A roar ripped its way out of his throat as he leapt into the air towards the attacking monster. His hands felt hot...and suddenly his green fire surrounded the warhammer, and the flame discharged into the creature on impact, destroying it.
Spike landed heavily, breathing hard as he held the warhammer in both hands, staring ahead. Once again, he brought out a mantra to encourage himself. "I can win. I feel great. I. Can. Do. This!" With this firmly in mind, he marched resolutely forward.
He was...pretty sure he was going the right way.
Spike lost all track of time as he marched up one mountain and down the next, using the hammer he clutched to smash the monsters that rose in his path. Each time he faced a monster, it went down easier. Each time he swung the hammer, it felt more natural in his arms. Each time the fire blazed forth, it came more easily and burned brighter. As he fought through, not all monsters were featureless or spectral. Some had armor, and when he bested them he scavenged what he could for himself from them. By the time he crested the tallest mountain, he'd managed to scavenge a horned helmet, a breastplate he'd tied on, and a shield he'd hammered out to strap to his tail, both for defense and to add harder blows from there.
As he crested the last mountain, a new figure awaited him. At first sight, he thought it might be an orc from Ogres & Oubliettes. The green skin, the pointed ears, the protruding fangs, the metal armor and heavy club... However, it didn't act like an orc. As he approached, it bowed to him. Unsure what else to do, Spike bowed back.
With a howling war cry - the same one that had scared Spike when he'd first arrived - the figure charged. Spike steeled himself. He may only come a quarter of the way up the creature's torso including the horns on his helmet, but he would not back down. Letting out his own roaring battle cry, he charged in and brought his hammer up, blocking the club swing. As the creature lifted the club to strike again, Spike spun around. His armored tail slammed into the creature's knee, making it stumble. Reversing the spin, Spike slammed his warhammer into the creature's head, sending it tumbling to the ground. He then lifted his hammer, ready to finish the battle.
"Enough," a gravelly voice ordered calmly, the power in it freezing Spike in place.
The figure Spike had been fighting rubbed its head as it got to its feet. Smirking, the figure saluted Spike jocularly before marching off, leaving Spike to turn to the source of the voice.
The man that stood there bore some resemblance to the figure that had left...but he wore no armor, and a huge wound cut across his chest from his waist, raw and putrefied. "I am Malacath, Mal Dovah," he greeted calmly and respectfully. "What brings you to my Realm?"
Spike swallowed convulsively, clutching his warhammer. Despite his former bravado, every instinct in his mind and heart screamed at him that he could not defeat this being as he was. "I...Discord...I mean..."
Malacath sighed. "Ah, you come from his world, pursuant to his game," he murmured, kneeling down to be at eye level with Spike. "I saw you enter, and did not believe one so small as you could get here on your own. I've watched your progress."
Spike's eyes lowered. "Not very impressive, I know..." he muttered, letting the head of the hammer drop, holding it limply at his side.
"What makes you think that?" Malacath inquired curiously.
"Just look at me!" Spike spoke out harshly, the compulsion in Malacath's words dragging out the pain he'd long kept inside. "I'm a dragon, one of the most powerful, dangerous creatures of my world...but I'm tiny! I grew up among ponies, but no matter how hard to try to fit in, I can never be a pony! I see it in their eyes that I'm different, that no matter how hard I try I'll never quite belong. And the one other dragon I've ever met? I tried to connect, and he tried to crush me! Can't fit in among ponies, won't fit in amongst dragons..."
"An outcast in your own mind," Malacath murmured comfortingly. "No wonder Discord sent you here. But why do you feel that makes you useless?"
"Just look at me!" Spike wailed out, fire shooting from his nostrils as his anger got the better of him. "I'm just a baby dragon! I can't even act as an assistant librarian without torching books without meaning to! Twilight should have just replaced me with that owl and left it at that!" In rage and pain, he hurled the hammer from him. To his shock, it slammed into a nearby boulder and shattered it explosively.
With a wide smile, Malacath walked over to the gravel and lifted the now glowing warhammer, bringing it back to Spike. "You do not look like an infant to me, Mal Dovah," he offered calmly, holding the warhammer out to him.
Confused, Spike reached to take the warhammer, finding it much smaller than he remembered it being. "Did...did this shrink?" he asked in confusion.
Malacath chuckled softly. "No," he corrected, raising a mirror from the ashes. "It is not the weapon that has changed."
Spike stared at his reflection in shock and awe. He was easily two feet taller, nearly as tall as Princess Luna. The hammer sat lightly in his hands, his arms and legs leanly muscled, his tail thick and thrashing, his armored chest broader than before. With the helm atop his head, horns curled, he looked...
"I see a warrior who has come into his own," Malacath stated calmly. "An outsider who has fought for his place, and will fight to protect it...and those he cares for. I see one who will one day be a leader worthy of Volendrung, which has found its way into his hands."
Spike stared down at the warhammer in his hands. "Volendrung?" he asked in confusion.
"The weapon of the leader of the Rourken clan of the Dwemer," Malacath explained. "The one that guided them to their homeland. And now, it will guide you to those you care for, Mal Dovah."
To Spike's surprise, a portal opened up behind Malacath, leading to a new land. Spike let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks," he replied warmly, racing for the portal. He then paused, turning back. "And the name's Spike!" he called out before diving through.
Malacath chuckled as he turned a particular stone over and over in his hands, feeling the power it had absorbed from being so handled for so long. "I shall remember that name, Mal Dovah...Spike."
I liked this. It's always great to see character development, especially for Spike. He desperately needs it. I like the warrior he's turning into, though i imagine Twilight may have some stern words for Malacath over that.
DAMN! At long last Spike, you finally get the respect a dragon should get. Even if you're still a small Wyrmling.
7913626 To heck with what Twi thinks, it was the only way to get Spike to where he needed to be
Well hello probable DBZA reference.
Yay! Spike needs more love and he is getting it!
7913642 it's not a true Tats story without a few nods to TFS thrown in.
Fun fact, that's actually in the original dub, TFS just lampshaded it.
That was too easy.
ALL RIGHT SPIKE!
Hopefully.
A regular little Dovahkin.
To be fair, you're still very young.
Mal Dovah, little dragon.
Ooh, he's grown then?
Badass?
What stone is that, I wonder.
This chapter certainly grew on me. Guess Spike got his rock breaking revelation but upon further reflection, it probably shouldn't have come as a surprise.
... I feel like you tend to really like empowering Spike lately (often ensuring he could be considered attractive as well); while I prefer more personal growth rather than power growth for him, you do you.
he needed a reason to feel like he can contribute... good choice tats
I wonder if Spike can learn the Thu'um...
So, just as he grew with Greed, he's growing with... Uh... Some other thing.
Also, like HB_DS2013 below vv, I wonder if Spike can learn thu'um? He is Dovah, even if from another world. And if not Dovah, then at least Dovahkiin?
7913997 Maybe the "send a message" fire is actually a Thu'um?
7914051 Actually, it's two, if you think about it: sending and receiving. The first word of Sending is "Fwoo", and the first word of Receiving is "Uurp". I wonder what the rest of the words are and what they'd do...
7914051 Ag Lok Drun, perhaps? (Burn, Sky, Bring)
Thank you for not automatically giving Spike wings. I hate when people do that with no explanation.
So then are we to assume the champion of cyrodiil is just going to rot in prison never knowing why he/she is there in the first place, or will this maybe get addressed?
Uncle Malacath might be slowly replacing Uncle Sanguine as best Daedric Uncle. True friendship is like a fine blade, tempered in the heat of battle.
... Did that make any sense, or was that just mad ramblings that made no sense?
7914217
or he/she may never been in the prison in the first place since Discord might have done somethin g that changes his/her faith. (maybe not intentionally)
like in a previous chapter where the Oblivion Crisis was averted due to the mother of the of some dude who started it got her boobs swollen up with milk and started a bakery which i think i remember correct led them to have a good life thus preventing the dude get angry for something that normally would led him on the path that led to the crisis.
7913750
It's the stone Discord gave him when they first met.
the lord of cruelty and vampires was pretty awesome this time around. was it cruelty? I have a hard time with the M's.
7914590
Malacath is the Prince of the betrayed and the outcast.
Cruelty is someone else.
7914590 ur thinking of Molag Bal, the Father of Vampires, and Merunes Dagon, the Prince of Destruction. Malaceth is the Keeper of the Sworn Oath and Bloody Curse, God of the Orks, and one corner of the Dunmers House of Troubles
All of that time Spike has been knocked aside and abused...
no wonder he was introduced to Malacath.
7914156 If you want to get technical, Spike got wings in Another Hatchling, although since that entire story was centered around Spike and the Metroid canon as a whole, I guess it doesn't fit your criteria of "Not explaining it."
It's been a while since I read that, so it was probably thoroughly explained in typical Tats fashion.
not that the spike of this story and the spike of that story are in any way related due to multiverses7915084 it just annoys me that everyone thinks dragons absolutely need wings in order to be dragons. Actual mythology would place the wyvern as one of the few winged dragons, but because reasons, it's not a dragon.
So I call bull whenever I see a fic that has spike with wings for no actual reason. I've never even seen someone try to give an explanation, ever, even in a spyro crossover. If you are going to give him wings, all I ask is you explain WHY he suddenly has wings.
7915113 Tropes are tropes, man. I mean, I get why people would do it. Other dragons in MLP have wings. Other dragons in most media have wings.
I mean, this is the same fanbase that brought us the Human in Equestria "genre" of story. I don't expect much from it anymore.
I was scared for a second because "mal" in french means "bad"
7915214
In Thu'um, it means small.
7915214
7915293 The language is Dovah. Thu'um is more of a verb.
7915214
Bad dragon, means something definitely nsfw when used online. Do not Google.
Spike is awesome. I can't wait to see everypony's reactions to his new look, especially Rarity and Twilight. I almost feel sorry for Garble and Sombra, Spike is going to drop the hammer on them big time. I can also see him hefting boxes of stuff for Rarity, who just can't seem to make up her mind where she wants them.
7913997 If he can... I want to see Sombra and Garble both get Fus Roh Dah in the face.
7914217 Discord is probably going to bust them loose and bring them to Equestria. Or make them the baby sitter to the kid Vaermina is carrying.
7914385 Sanguine and Malacath are tied for best uncle right now. Malacath needs to get invited to Fluttershy's tea parties, I can see him enjoying a nice quiet afternoon of sipping tea and peaceful solitude among nature.
7915872
7914385
Sanguine is Best Uncle.
Malacath is BBBFF.
7915874 I can live with that. Still want to see him at Fluttershy's tea party.
7915037 Haven't read any yet, so yeah
Twilight beat Mora? In his own realm? I call bullshit.
7917764 Well, if you think whatever Twi has is bullshit, why don't you say that to well, everything Pinkie does?
7915432 its actually called dovahzul, but details
7918412
The nitpicker has been nitpicked!
I am defeated!
(Dramatic death scene)
7918561 There's a site for that. thuum.org
7920050 Huh. A Google search depicted the skull on a staff.
7920050 Here's the Skyrim version. And I'm not too deep into the lore!
vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/elderscrolls/images/2/28/StaffSkullofcorruption.png/revision/latest?cb=20150215210404
7920437 ...well, let's hope they don't look up or down. Hold on, that's the jump scare gimmick for FNAF 2 since they're pouncing... Balloon Boy. I bet it's him.
Therapy sessions for everyone. Also, probably some incoming 'woofs' once Spike makes it back.
spike the warrior and librarian's assistant enough said
Spike done did some power leveling!
Reminds me of Raxtus from the Fablehaven series.
Malacath is a total bro.
9028516
Lol, thats litteraly his sphere
7914217
it was explained that the champion of cyrodiil was the child of the mother who got the milk mod economy upgrade that Discord gave her