Enter The Dragon: Fighting Is Magic

A Little Faster - There For Tomorrow

Spike blinked his eyes open to find himself, once more, surrounded by the hungry red eyes of the predators who surrounded him, baring their shining pearly white teeth, licking their slobbery chops as they closed in on the little dragon.

Spike had never felt so afraid in his whole life. From delivering the Crystal Hearts to Princess Cadence by scaling from the top of a tall tower to nearly getting eaten alive by a giant bird of prey, this is perhaps one of the most terrifying moment of all. The thought of standing alone, somewhere in the darkness of a deep cavern, which he has no recollection of entering, surrounded by packs of ravenous beasts, who were ready to tear him in the most gruesome way possible, just to satisfy their own starvation.

He looked behind his shoulders, to see his new wings exactly where they were, following his molting. But they're hardly any good if they can't get him out, in one piece.

Then, with a loud roar, the silhouette of a huge tiger lunged forward, claws and teeth unsheathed, ready to tear the young dragon apart.

Before it got the chance, however, Spike quickly sprinted forward, diving beneath the tiger's massive build, narrowly evading its pounce, while avoiding the jaws of a wolf that snapped at him. Without hesitating, the wolf snapped its jaws at Spike again, who retaliated with a scratch of his claws at the wolf's muzzle. Though it flinched from the sharp impact of the little dragon's claws, the wolf snarled as it swiped its paw at Spike, knocking him to the floor, where he was pinned down by the tiger from before.

Spike looked up with dread as the tiger leaned its head forward, snarling aggressively, blowing its filthy horrid breath, with the foul stench of blood fresh in its mouth. The tiger opened its mouth, ready to feast on the young dragon, had it not been interrupted by the surrounding wolves, who all wanted a piece of the little dragon. In retaliation, the tiger snapped its jaws and roared at the wolves, angered for having its meal interrupted.

Using the distraction to his advantage, Spike looked around, before he frantically grabbed a huge rock. With a quick lunge, Spike drove the sharp edge into the tiger's paw, forcing it to release its grip on him, allowing Spike to flap his wings, taking to the air, avoiding the snapping jaws of the predators.

But the danger was far from over. Hanging by the stalactites of the cavern, the shadow of a huge snake hissed at Spike, baring its sharp teeth at the dragon, followed by a spit of poisonous strands that splattered across Spike's front, nearly hitting his eyes. Before Spike could flap his wings in the other direction, his tail was caught in the sharp maws of a wolf beneath him.

"AAAAAAHH!!!" Spike screamed, as he was pulled back down to the ground, where he was thrashed about like a little chew toy for the savage canines, before he was thrown to the stone wall of the cave.

With a loud roar, the tiger stood triumphant, together with the wolves, as they resumed advancing towards the young dragon.

Spike looked around him, seeing he was surrounded, backed against a wall, with no visible exits, and no possible chances of escaping. He can't even call out for help, since who would come to his rescue, let alone hear him, considering how deep the caverns are.

"Do not let defeat be the end," A familiar voice echoed. It sounded commanding, authoritative, yet wise and maternal.

"Like my pa always says: 'Put 'em up!'" Another voice echoed. It sounded almost like Twilight's, with a southern drawl.

"Let us break zhe ice!" A vain voice spoke, with signs of conceit, and dignity.

"Yip, yip!" A small voice shouted frantically.

"I don't have the time or crayons to teach you how to fight!" A stern voice glowered.

"Hee hee hee!" A chirpy voice giggled, which would put Pinkie's to shame.

Tìm Về Chốn Cũ

As the voices all echoed in Spike's head, he felt all the fears and doubts that have numbed his body melting away, in place of something beating loudly in his chest. Feeling the fire coursing through his body, warming him up, fueled by a drive of determination, Spike clenched his fists, snapped his eyes to reveal a look of determination.

"Okay girls," Spike breathed heavily. "I hear you all loud and clear," Looking back up at the predators, closing in for the kill, Spike started snarling back, as he roared louder than the predators. He's not about to go down without a fight, "Well come on! You want a piece of me?! Come and get me, if you can!"

With a loud roar, the tiger pounced. With a flap of his wings, Spike dived beneath the big cat, before he swore upward to deliver an uppercut punch to one of the incoming wolves, followed by a twist of his body to whip his tail, landing blow of his arrowhead to another wolf's snout. Shaking their dazes, the wolves sprinted towards the little dragon again, followed by the rest of the pack, piling on top of Spike. However, the little dragon was able to escape the maws of the hungry wolves as he slips through their legs, before he came out, suffering a few scratches and bruises he'll be having in the coming days.

Just then, the tiger returned, bashing its head into the little dragon, sending him flying into the cavern wall. Using the momentum, however, and remembering a lesson he once learned, Spike curled his body, allowing his feet to land first, before he launched himself off from the wall, and back into the tiger, landing a strong kick to its noise. Doing a backflip, Spike landed back on his feet, before he flaps his wings, spinning around in the air several times to land several kick to the tiger's face, followed by a scratch of his claws to its snout, before he finishes it with a blast of fire to its face.

The tiger roared in pain, as it clawed its face furiously in its attempt to wipe the fire off. The tiger's roar caught the wolves' attention, and they looked to see where their prey had gone to.

When the tiger pounced again, Spike flapped his wings to land an uppercut, knocking the tiger off balance, and sent it rolling to the side, before he once more finds himself surrounded by the wolves, and the snake from before.

Spike watched as the tiger moved its whole form in a smooth, fluid motion, while noticing how the snake's gaze was looking directly into his eyes, piercing his soul. Somewhat hypnotic, Spike didn't let that deter him, as he prepared for what was to come next.

With a loud hiss, and a show of its long sharp fangs, the snake lunged towards Spike, snapping its jaws, which Spike quickly evaded with a sidestep. The snake quickly made a sharp turn as it snapped its jaws at Spike again, only for the little dragon to jump in the air, before he came crashing down, stomping his foot on the snake's head. Though slightly dazed, the snake shook off the blow as it whipped its tail at Spike, ensnaring him by the leg, before it began to coil itself around the little dragon, ready to squeeze the life out of him.

Thinking fast, Spike's mouth was engulfed in green flame, with which he used to sink his teeth into the snake's scaly hides. With a hiss of agony, the snake released its grip on Spike, before it flees to recover, behind the walls of the advancing wolves, and the tiger.

The wolves all pounced forward, only for Spike to retaliate with a strong aerial kick, a whip of his tail, and a blast of his fire as he knocked the dogs to the side, while receiving a few cuts, here and there. But the predators kept on coming. More were filling up the whole cavern, and they all lunged towards Spike.

Having enough, Spike turned to his last resort of tactics.

Concentrating into the fire within him, Spike felt himself overwhelmed by an aura of intense heat swelling from his heart. To further his rapid heart beat, visions of everyone he has loved appeared before him, smiling, laughing, and cheering him on, sending off the all too familiar vibe of family and love. Then, dissolving into multicolored lights, they all flowed into Spike, surrounding his form in an aura of light.

"EXIT THE TIGER!!!!" Spike roared, as his whole world turns white. "ENTER THE DRAGON!!!"

*Thud*

"Ow," Spike moaned, as he got up, rubbing the front of his head, before he checked himself to see the scratches from his battle were gone. Looking around, Spike was relieved to find himself, back in the safety of his room, in Friendship Castle. "Phew," He sighed, before he climbed back into bed, plopping his head back down into his pillow. Though, it may take him awhile, considering the nightmare he just had.

"Has it been that long?" He asked himself.

It's been many months now, since his return from the world of Fœnum. And up until now, Spike had forgotten all about his adventures in that world, when he started running the Friendship Academy with Twilight, while also getting accustomed to his new wings.

"Tianhuo would've been proud of me," Spike smiled to himself, looking fondly at his new wings, while remembering fondly of the tough longma.

Then, his memories flashed as he recalled the incident, where during his molt, he nearly got eaten by a hungry roc, a huge bird of prey that is often dubbed as a thunderbird, and a predator to molting dragons, especially baby dragons. While recalling that frightful event, Spike recalled how the first thing he did when dealing with a huge bird of prey that wanted to eat him, was simply running for his life.

"Huh, I didn't put up much of a fight towards that giant, overgrown turkey, now did I?" He asked himself, before he shook his head and denied himself. "Come on, Spike! Don't think that way!" He berated himself. "You were just trying to get some distance! Besides, there's nothing you can do then! You can't just charge blindly at a roc, and not expect to get snatched up in its sharp talons! And besides, once you got your wings, you fought that bird off to save Rarity and Zecora! So that's a good thing, right?"

Spike smiled to himself, before he frowned to himself, "But that's just it. You only fought that bird, because you have wings. And before that, you've once fought wolves, lions, tigers, bears, snakes, and all sorts of predators that tried to eat you in Fœnum," Spike blinked his eyes in wonder, "Though, come to think of it, most of them don't exactly have wings, so you were kinda on an even playing field, I guess. But still, you should've done something then. You still could've kicked that bird's tail feathers, roast it, or do something to fight that predator off. It's a predator! Just like you!"

Spike smacked his claws over his mouth, shocked at what he just said, "I'm a predator," He repeated. Turning over to see a full bodied mirror in his room, Spike walked over to look at his own reflection. In appearance, Spike looked exactly like he's always been, only with the addition of his new wings, a sign of his maturity. The young dragon looked down at his claws, to see they were slightly longer, sharper, and they glistened in Luna's light, compared to how they were, prior to his molt. Spike forced himself a smile on his face, to reveal his sharp pearly whites.

A dark chuckle echoed within his room, startling Spike, as he breathed heavily, turning his head, frightfully glancing in every directions, failing to locate the source.

"No matter how fast you run, no matter where you go, you can't escape your destiny," The voice rumbled. "Sooner or later, you will taste blood. It is our nature. We kill to survive. We kill to eat. We are predators, you and I," Spike felt himself turning cold, and drenched in cold sweats, as he turned his head, to see the menacing, ravenous eyes of the creature that has followed him into Equestria!