The Drake Six

by JNKing


Episode One: Dragon Quest Re-Told

Tree… another tree… grass… some more trees…”
Deciding the ground wasn’t interesting enough, Spike the Dragon looked up. The late morning sky sported a large scattering of small, white puffy clouds. The wind blew past Spike, gently massaging his purple and green scales. While it felt nice, it didn’t help to quench how tired and frustrated he was. 
“Cloud… bird… cloud… another cloud… ugh…”
Spike groaned and paused to adjust his pack, thinking over what had gotten him to hike out into the middle of nowhere on a quest to discover what he really was. 
He was a dragon; young as he might be, the scales and fire breathing were a dead giveaway in that regard. But what bothered him was what ‘kind’ of dragon he was. 
It had all started with the dragon migration. Getting to see dozens if not hundreds of his own, fully grown fellow dragons making their way across the sky. His supposed friends – or rather, the friends of his master, Twilight Sparkle - had found the sight to be rather enjoyable. 
Spike had almost enjoyed it too, until he made the mistake of associating himself with the dragons above. His choice of words had resulted in a barrage of teasing. He could still hear Rainbow Dash’s voice echoing in his head. 
One lame dragon… 
Granted, Rarity had said he didn’t need to be like other dragons, but it had come with a hefty dose of condescending baby talk. Which had done nothing to soothe the growing crisis in Spike’s heart. 
If he wasn’t like other dragons, who was he really? Where did he come from? Who was he really supposed to be? 
Twilight was supposed to be the bookworm; knowledgeable on every subject. But her brain and her library failed Spike. Apparently, ponies knew next to nothing about dragons due to being too scary for them to study. 
Well, Spike refused to let fear take hold of him. He was going to discover who he was if it was the last thing he did. 
Unfortunately, while the idea had been sound several miles back, travel without wings was proving to be a very difficult feat. 
But Spike couldn’t bring himself to go back either. Not to the ponies who had mocked him for not being a full dragon. Not to Rarity, who still saw him as some cute little kid that needed to be coddled. He had to press on. 
But he sure wouldn’t have minded some company along the way. 
Right as he thought about company, he came to a wide river. He grimaced, gazing down at the rapidly swirling water. He’d have to cross this to continue his journey. The only question was how?
Slowly, Spike edged his way along the river bank, looking for a raft or a bridge or something. 
However, as he walked along, he failed to notice a pair of green eyes watching him from under the shoreline. 
That being said, it was hard to miss the tsunami that suddenly burst out of the water, hoping to wrap him up in its wet embrace. 
Spike reacted on instinct. His fire breath spat out and evaporated the wave that came for him. From the water, a sea serpent fell out, tumbling into the forest. 
Spike blinked at the serpent; he remembered Twilight talking about a ‘Steven Magnet’ that she and her friends had encountered. But this sea serpent looked nothing like Steven. 
He was a bright cyan blue, almost like Rainbow Dash, with a scraggly dark green mess of hair that had a serious case of bed head. His mustache was also thinner, more like catfish whiskers than the fashionable lip hairs that Rarity had gushed about helping. And while this sea serpent was way smaller – looking just about Spike’s age - when he turned, Spike noticed that he was more ripped. Almost like the pegasus Bulk Biceps. It was clear that the sea serpent spent way too much time working out. 
The sea serpent flexed his muscles in an even greater display of his assets before putting up his dukes. 
“Put em uh – PUT EM UH!” the sea serpent hissed in a husky, mangled voice. “I’ll fight ya wid yer parents if ya want! I’ll fight ya standing on one hand!” He did so. “I’LL FIGHT YA WID MY EYES CLOSED!” He shut his eyes and started whipping his tail around. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t even come close to hurting Spike. 
Spike backed a fair distance, leaving the fight-happy sea serpent free to return to his river. “Um… why do you want to fight?”
“Oh, you dink I can’t fight, do ye?!” the sea serpent barked. “Come at me and see! Just cuz you dragons use fire and I use water don’t mean nuddin! I’ll be just as strong a warrior as you’ll be one day!” 
Spike felt his heart tango in his chest. “Dragons are… meant to be warriors?”
“De greatest warriors!” the sea serpent declared. “Capable of downing mountains, dey are! Dey…” he paused, his stance lowering as he gazed at Spike in confusion. “You… don’t you know dat? Where’re yer parents?” 
Spike glanced away. “I, uh… I don’t have parents. I wasn’t raised by dragons.” 
“Oh…” the sea serpent looked down, disappointed and even a bit ashamed. 
It was almost funny; one moment, the sea serpent had looked ready for a brawl. Now he looked like he needed a hug. 
“But…” Spike noted, just as much for himself as the sea serpent. “I’m going to find them. I’m going to find out who I really am supposed to be.” 
The sea serpent perked up. “You are?” He smiled. “Den I’m coming wid ye!”
Spike blinked. “Pardon?”
“I’ve always wanted to be just as strong a warrior as a dragon!” the sea serpent explained. “And if yer going to learn from em… well, yer my best shot to learn der ways!” 
“But uh…” Spike glanced at his watery body. “Won’t you need water? The Dragon Lands aren’t known for their cool springs.” 
The sea serpent grimaced, before diving back into the river. For a moment, Spike feared that was it. But then the sea serpent returned with a huge jug, filled to the brim with water. 
He laughed in triumph, before glancing back. “Hey, you need to get across dis river to reach de Dragon Lands, don’t ye?” 
Spike reluctantly nodded. 
“Den it’s settled!” The sea serpent swam back to Spike’s shoreline. “I’ll get ye across, if you take me wid ye!” He held out a talon. “Deal?”
Spike wasn’t too sure about having the fight-happy serpent along. But at the same time, it would save him however long it would’ve taken to find another way across the river. With a shrug, Spike shook his hand. “Deal.” 
The sea serpent grinned. “Name’s Jackknife, by de way,” he added, swimming around and lifting a section of his tail for Spike to climb onto. “And you?”
“Spike,” the young dragon introduced. 
Jackknife smiled. “Nice.” He grinned up at the Dragon Lands. “Hang on, Spike; we’re gonna have some adventures!” 

#

As it turned out, having Jackknife along wasn’t as bad as Spike feared it would be. The sea serpent may have been lacking in years, but those years were packed with adventures and stories to help pass the time. And on top of it, his watery heritage gave him power over liquid, allowing him to pull water from grass, trees, plants… pretty much anything to ensure that Spike’s water flask never went dry. 
Unfortunately, Jackknife’s thrill for combat also meant that he kept jumping to fight anything and everything that even so much as crossed their path. 
At first, it was rather annoying, having to drag Jackknife back from fighting squirrels, rabbits, and even a pony that was just minding his own business. But then…
Jackknife paused as a massive CAW ripped through the air. Spike winced, already sure he was going to try and challenge whatever bird had made the sound. But this time, Jackknife’s blood knight smile was replaced by a frown. 
“Dat didn’t sound like a challenge,” Jackknife noted. 
Spike paused as another CAW sounded. “It sounds almost…”
“Like a cry for help!”
They exchanged a look. Despite not knowing himself, Spike was certain he didn’t like the idea of not helping others. And so, for once, he ran with Jackknife to explore the sound. 
They reached a clearing, where they found two griffons fighting. 
Except… wait. Spike blinked in shock: one of them wasn’t a full griffon. Griffons were supposed to be part bird and part lion. But one of the griffons was part dragon instead. Where he should have had a feline back side, he instead had bright gold scales, with a fan-like bird tail and eagle-like talons. 
However, those scaled talons were proving to be of little aid against his opponent, who had a lasso wound around the bird-dragon’s neck, and was yanking him backward. 
“Get off me!” the bird dragon squawked. “Leave me alone!”
“Get back here, you useless hybrid!” the griffon roared back. “You’ve been a disappointment for too long, and now I’m gonna get some use out of you.” 
With a very brutal yank, the pure dragon yanked the hybrid into the ground. Spike didn’t even need to turn before Jackknife shot out like an actual snake, his fist burying into the pure griffon’s beak. 
“BEAST!” he roared as he delivered another haymaker, knocking the griffon off her paws. “BRUTE! HAVE YOU NO HONOR!”
The griffon-dragon hybrid took his chance to flee, racing right for Spike and huddling scared behind him. The pure griffon raked at Jackknife with her talons, but the sea serpent took the blows like a champ, the water from his gourd rising up, covering and healing the wounds fast, allowing him to counter with a punch to the griffon’s chest.
The griffon backed up, staring at Jackknife in fear disguised as anger. “What the heck do you want, you little shrimp?” the griffon demanded. “Give me back my nephew!”
Jackknife, however, was already moving, upper cutting the griffon and sending her to her back. 
“Dat boy’s yer nephew?” Jackknife snarled. “Den treat him like one. Not as property!”
“He’s mine!” the griffon growled, pulling herself back up. “Get outta my way before I fix you! He’s going to the fighting pits!” 
Spike growled and stood, flames bubbling around him. “He’s not going anywhere with you,” Spike warned.
The griffon glared between the two. Privately, Spike didn’t like their chances; the griffon was full grown, while they were still pretty young. But luckily, griffons seemed to be cowards, as the griffon glared at the hybrid, who still quivered in the trees.
“This ain’t over, Swift,” the griffon warned. “Your dad left you with me. That makes you my property!” 
Jackknife hissed, and the griffon quickly backed up from the serpent, fluttering to the trees and then taking off for the air. 
Spike let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Jeez, Jackknife,” he mumbled. “You are seriously crazy.”
“Maybe,” Jackknife said. “But a man’s free danks to it.” He looked over at the hybrid – Swift, was his name? “You okay, brudda?”
Despite being part dragon, the hybrid was shaking like a leaf. “I-I think so,” he mumbled, looking up at the two in gratitude. “T-Thank you… uh…” 
“Jackknife,” the sea serpent replied, before indicating Spike. “Dis is Spike.”
“Hey,” Spike greeted. 
“H-Hi…” the hybrid mumbled. “I-I’m Swift.” 
Jackknife chuckled. “I’ll bet. If dat idiot hadn’t had dat rope on ye, I bet ya would’ve out-raced her easily.”
Swift managed a timid smile. He reminded Spike a lot of Fluttershy; their coats even managed to be a similar shade of yellow. Though his eyes were more of a pure sky blue as opposed to Fluttershy’s moderate cyan. “What happened with you two?” 
Swift swallowed. “That… griffon wasn’t entirely wrong. S-She was my aunt.”
Jackknife grimaced. “Dat sucks. But…” He glanced at Swift’s draconic flanks. “Uh… what about…?"
Swift sighed. “She said that my parents fought over me. She told me dragons had always been greedy. Once my egg had been lain, my dad insisted that I belonged with the griffons. My mother insisted I belonged with the dragons. Aunt Hawk back there says that my dad gave me to her, since I was his by right.” Swift hugged himself, curling up to hide his draconic side. “But I hated being with the griffons. They always made me feel weird; looking at my scales like they weren’t normal. Pushing me to be some sort of brute when I didn’t even like fighting…” He nodded at where he had gone. “She planned on selling me to a fighting pit. I…” he gasped. “We can’t stay here. She’ll be back, probably with friends!” 
“Right,” Spike said. “Let’s go!”
The group quickly ran from the clearing, though Jackknife and Spike still looked on Swift with pity. 
“You mind coming with us to de Dragon Lands?” Jackknife asked. 
“I’m not sure if you had another place to go, but…” Spike added. 
“Oh, no,” Swift said. “No-no, I… wanted to go to the Dragon Lands too. I was hoping… if I didn’t have a place with the griffons… maybe I’ll have a place with the dragons.” 
Spike gave him a sympathetic look. It seemed he wasn’t the only one that wasn’t sure where he belonged. He patted Swift’s shoulder. “You and me both, buddy.”
Swift smiled kindly at Spike’s support, and together, the three left the clearing far behind. 

#

Having Swift with them made the journey even better. Unlike Jackknife, Swift was a much more cautious fellow, and where Jackknife wanted to challenge everything they found, Swift wanted to stay away from anything that came across their path.
At first, it was nice to have someone who didn’t need to constantly be held back from attacking anything that moved. But Spike still found his patience being tested when Swift almost insisted they take an alternate, longer path to the Dragon Lands after being spooked by a tree branch on the path ahead of them. 
Granted, Spike knew better than to get angry at Swift; after all, the poor bird-dragon had suffered horribly under his abusive aunt. But still, Spike would’ve preferred not having to be the middle man to Jackknife’s crazy aggression and Swift’s rampant paranoia.
Ironically, right as he thought of a middle man, the group reached the mountains that led to the Dragon Lands. On their way up the mountain, they passed by a cavern. 
Night was falling fast, and it had been quite a day of travel. Spike was tuckered out; Swift was drooping as he walked, and even Jackknife, for all his bluster, was starting to pant raggedly.
“We should…” Spike recommended. “Take shelter. Rest for the night.” He nodded at the cavern. “We can stay here and then head out in the morning.”
Swift shivered as he glanced at the cavern. “Are you sure?” he mumbled. “It looks really scary?”
“Aw, don’t worry, brudda,” Jackknife promised. “I’ll protect ya!” He stood at the foot of the cavern and put up his dukes. “Alright, listen up, whoever’s in here!” Jackknife boomed. “We’re spending de night here! Ya got a problem wid dat? Come out and tell us to our faces!”
It was almost funny how quickly a growl sounded from within. Swift yelped and hid behind Spike, who shielded Swift as best he could. Jackknife, meanwhile, stood ready to fight.
Yet, Spike noticed the growl wasn’t malicious. In fact, it sounded more like a groan. Like someone was hurt. 
Curious, Spike ventured past Jackknife and into the cave.
“C-Careful, Spike,” Swift warned. 
But the groan sounded again; whoever was in the cavern was in terrible pain. Taking his bundle, Spike lit his stick, using it like a torch. And inside the darkness… he found a dragon.  
Except… Spike winced at the sight. He remembered both the red and green dragons he had encountered with Twilight and her friends. This dragon looked like she used to be one of them… but something really bad had happened. 
She wasn’t as big as the dragons he had met for starters; bigger than Spike and his group, maybe, but not enormous. More around Celestia or Luna’s size. Deep lines were etched into her face, like she was constantly in pain. And she had good reason to be: her body was covered with brutal looking scarring, looking like someone had fed her into a meat grinder. Upon closer inspection, Spike realized that the red scaling on her weren’t natural scales, but some sort of bandages, likely covering injuries too brutal for even his eyes. 
Her eyes – sunken and light pink, like they had all the fire sucked out of them – gazed at him, less in fear or suspicion, and more tired resignation. Like a fly she had long given up trying to swat. She sat slumped in a corner, her body so still Spike feared for a moment she was on death’s door. 
“Um… sorry to disturb you ma’am, but… my friends and I…”
“You can do what you want,” she replied morosely. “I can’t stop you.” 
Spike tilted his head, while behind him, Jackknife walked up, blinking at her in confusion. Swift poked his head in around the corner, still looking ready to bolt. 
“What de heck happened to ye?” Jackknife mumbled in horror.
The dragon gave a sad, pained smile of dark amusement. “What didn’t happen?” she mumbled, lowering her head. 
Spike’s heart wrenched in sympathy for her. He took a knee, wishing he could do something for her wounds. “Who… are you?”
She gazed down at him in thought. “Blazing Phoenix,” she replied. “You can call me Blaze, if you want. Once… I was a proud dragon.” She looked around at the empty cavern. “This cavern once shimmered and shined with the spoils of my conquests. Tended by diamond dogs that I had forced to serve me.” Her head lowered. “But I pushed my luck; I underestimated just how strong diamond dogs could be.” She gazed down at her scales. “And they made me pay for it.” 
Swift shivered, while Jackknife stared at her scars in horror. Spike hesitantly reached out. “Is there anything we can do?” 
She gazed at him. “Stay?” she asked. Spike’s heart lurched at the pleading tone in her voice. “It’s really… quiet here.” 
Jackknife and Spike exchanged a look before Jackknife nodded. Swift still kept a fair distance from the dragoness, but Spike sat himself next to her. Blaze might have smiled, if it didn’t look like it would hurt for her to do.
“Why did you come here?” Blaze asked. 
“We…” Spike glanced at Jackknife before looking at Swift. “We weren’t raised by dragons. We wanted to know what you guys were really like.” 
“When yer not… er…” Jackknife looked away from her. 
Blaze frowned; ironically, it looked easier for her than smiling. “If you’re hoping that we’re great and powerful beings… well, you’d be right about powerful. But Great is… another story entirely.” She gave Spike a very worried look. “I was a slaver before my slaves got their revenge on me. You shouldn’t get your hopes up about the others.”  
Spike winced. Swift had already made him nervous with how his parents had apparently fought each other over him. Now with Blaze warning him against them… he started to fear that who he was supposed to be didn’t line up with who the ponies had made him into. 
But… he couldn’t help but wonder. Is that a bad thing… or maybe a good thing? 

#

The next day, Spike awoke early, sleep eluding him worse than Angel Bunny on the days Spike was asked to care for him. 
Luckily for him, Jackknife and Swift were similarly restless, ready to see the Dragon Lands in their entirety; regardless of whether it came with glory or disappointment. 
“Ready to go?” Jackknife asked, already at the cavern entrance. 
Spike nodded, before they heard Blaze sighing. 
“So soon?” she mumbled, the sad tone in her voice back. 
Spike paused, hating the idea of leaving her. “Don’t you want to come with us?”
Blaze looked down at her scars. “I’m a failure among dragons,” she said. “You won’t earn many friends with me around.” 
Jackknife laughed. “I ain’t looking for friends; I’m looking for warriors.”
Blaze gazed at him with concern. “You won’t find many here.”
Spike sighed. “Look, do you want to come with us, or not? Regardless of how bad dragons might be, we need to see them for ourselves.”
Swift nodded. “My mother might be among them,” he added. “I have to find her.”
Blaze blinked at Swift’s mention of mother, before noticing his draconic flank. She sighed, before hefting herself up to her feet, and limping after the group. 
Though Spike did wonder if it was a good idea to bring Blaze at first – her old, worn body proved to be very bad at climbing, and her wings had holes in them preventing her from flying – they soon managed to reach the top of the mountain. And gaze upon the Land of Dragons. 
Jackknife’s water steamed in the heat; the dragons were situated along what looked like a volcano. There were several full-grown dragons – which made Spike shiver – but down near the base of the volcano, the group noticed a group of what looked like younger dragons. Still older than Spike, most definitely, but not the full-grown beasts that were roaring and snarling at each other from within several caverns.
“Well,” Spike noted. “There’s teenage dragons. That might be more our speed.” He glanced down at an obsidian black dragon that was getting yanked around by them.  “And… size.” 
Jackknife huffed, eying a brilliant white – but full grown – dragoness that had her eye on them, but shrugged, following after Swift and Spike as they cautiously approached the teenage dragons. 
Blaze limped along behind them, pausing long enough to notice a very strange serpentine like dragon that seemed to be following them. Narrowing her eyes, Blaze ended up tripping and tumbling down after the others, landing in a heap on the ground.
“Ow…” Blaze moaned. 
Swift moved to help her, while Spike nervously glanced at the dragons, who noticed Blaze’s spill and laughed.
“Um…” Spike almost went for a wave, but they turned away, focusing on the obsidian black dragon that seemed to be in the center of them. 
“Alright, give me her first,” a red dragon was insisting, yanking the black dragon to his chest. “I saw her first.”
“No ya didn’t,” a brown beefy dragon demanded, pulling her away and gripping her around the belly. “She was totally all over me!” 
“Me first!” a purple lanky dragon said, yanking her away as well. 
Spike stared in shock as the teenagers fought over what had to be a dragoness like she was nothing more than a gem. Twilight and her friends would never have allowed such harassment. 
“H-Hey!” Spike said. “You can’t treat her like that!”
The dragons barely glanced at Spike. “Back off, Shrimp; she won’t even be interested in ya.” 
The black dragoness did give Spike a small look of pity before she was yanked away by the brown dragon. 
Spike growled, fire burning up around him, before Jackknife stepped forward with a grin. 
“You and me, brudda,” he said. “Just like wid Swift.”
“Uh, are you guys sure?” Swift asked worriedly. 
“I can’t protect you,” Blaze warned.
But Jackknife was undeterred. And as the red dragon pried the black dragoness away from his fellows, Jackknife seized his shoulder.  
“Hey, jackhole!” Jackknife started to say. 
But the red dragon whirled, and faster than Spike could blink, Jackknife was on the ground. 
“Hey!” Spike screamed, only for the red dragon to punt him like a football. 
“Spike!” Swift screamed.        
Spike fell into a bundle of feathers – Swift catching him no doubt – as a sudden flurry of blows sounded. 
Spike blinked the haze out of his eyes – from the sound of it, Jackknife was getting beaten. But as he forced himself up, he was surprised to discover the black dragoness fighting back. 
In two smooth motions, she smashed the purple and brown dragon’s heads together before lunging forward and decking the red dragon, sending him to the ground faster than Jackknife. 
“W-Whoa, what’s the matter, babe?” the red dragon stammered. “I was just…”
The black dragon straddled him and dealt him two more devastating blows, knocking him out cold. Glaring at the other two dragons, they quickly went from trying to grope her to trying to flee her. 
And they might have gotten away too, if one of them hadn’t screamed, “Crazy witch!”
Her eyes contracting, the black dragon unleashed a white fireball that smacked the head of the dragon who’d spoken. His face ground a small trench into the ground, and he lay where he had fallen. 
The dragons taken care of, the black dragon turned to Jackknife, who was nursing a black eye. He glared up at her as she looked down at him.
Spike tried to jump to Jackknife’s defense, but Swift held him back. “What are you doing?” Spike demanded. “We can’t leave him.”
“Did you see what she did to those three?” Swift demanded.
Before they could argue about it, the black dragon’s face split into a grin, and she offered a hand to Jackknife.
“That’s a heck of a way to say hello, right?” she asked with a chuckle. “I’m Night Fire, but you can call me Night, or Knight, whichever works for you. Who’re you, Scrappy?”
Jackknife glanced at Spike before hesitantly taking her hand. “J-Jackknife,” he said, before indicating Swift and Spike. “Dat’s Spike ‘n Swift.” 
“OOO!” the dragoness cooed, racing over to them. “Now I wonder which is which?” she lifted a hand before they could speak. “Wait-wait, let me guess.” She scratched her chin before pointing at Spike. “You’re small, so you must be Swift.” She grinned at the actual Swift. “And your feathers look like spikes, so you must be Spike!” 
Spike and Swift glanced at each other. “Uh, actually, I’m Spike,” Spike introduced. “He’s Swift.”
Night blinked at both of them. “Huh,” she mused. “Well… I guess that works too, I guess.”  
Spike untangled himself from Swift. “But… what about you? Why were you letting those guys push you around if you could handle them?”
Night chuckled. “Because it made them happy, of course.” She chuckled. “Originally, I had offered to love on all of them, but then they started getting greedy.” She shook her head. “I tell you, dragons have such a strange aversion to sharing these days.” 
Jackknife rubbed the black out of his eye. “So…” he grumbled, disappointed. “Ya didn’t need us?"
Night’s gaze softened in sympathy, and she helped Jackknife rub the black out of his eye. “Don’t get me wrong,” she assured him. “I appreciate the aid.” She grinned. “In fact, let me make it up to you guys.” She peered around at the three male dragons. “You’re a colorful bunch? What brings you to the Land of Dragons?”
Spike straightened. “I wanted to learn more about dragons,” he said. “I was… well… I was raised by ponies.”
“I was raised by griffons,” Swift added. 
“And I’m a sea serpent that wants to learn how to be a dragon,” Jackknife added.
Night looked expectantly at Blaze, but she just shrugged. “Don’t look at me,” she said. “I just didn’t want to be lonely, and these guys spent the night at my cave.”
Night paused, glancing at Spike. “Don’t you think he’s a little young for that?” she asked. 
Blaze balked. “NOT LIKE THAT!”
Spike blinked before backing away from Blaze. “Ugh, no! Gross!” 
Night cackled at their reactions. “I’m messing with you guys,” she said, before containing herself. “Alright, sorry, but in all seriousness, I may know just the dragoness who can help you.” She motioned. “Follow me.” 
Spike followed, though he still couldn’t help but watch Night in intrigue. The way she handled herself – friendly and kind – it reminded him a bit of Pinkie. Though Night seemed much more ‘sane’ than Pinkie. 
Yet, there was something else about her. Something vaguely… familiar. But he couldn’t quite put his talon on it. 
The answer evaded him as Night led his small back up the volcano and around to a cavern situated at the base of the mountain. 
Unlike Blaze’s cavern, Spike noticed a shimmering glow from within. Before he could even ask, they entered the cavern… and Spike found himself looking at the biggest treasure trove he had ever seen. 
It put the green dragon’s own horde to shame; with entire mountains of stacked golden bits, piles of carefully carved gems and…
Spike paused. “Are those books?” 
Indeed, they were: an entire library’s worth of parchment, scrolls and books, all carefully arranged and organized on mahogany shelves. As Spike watched, he saw Diamond Dogs tending to the books and treasures. 
But unlike the diamond dogs he had encountered with Rarity, these dogs were more refined. Their vests were cleaned and washed so that they flowed like silk against the dog’s furry bodies. And as Spike watched, a young-looking pup with golden fur actually pulled out a book and read it. Spike didn’t even think Diamond Dogs could read. 
Spike was cut out of his pondering when Night stepped forward. 
“Knock-knock-knock!” She called, catching the attention of the diamond dogs. “Can we enter-enter-enter?” 
The pup with the book jumped at the sound of Night’s voice, before glaring up at the cavern entrance. “Darius!” 
“What?” a voice replied – Swift jumping as they spotted a brown diamond dog with a crossbow watching over the entrance. “They didn’t enter yet.” 
The golden pup rolled her eyes before turning. “Diamondback, we have visitors!” 
A strange rumbling sound echoed – less like a dragon’s growl, and more like something very big was approaching them with rapid footfalls. 
Before Spike could glance at Night, the owner of said footfalls made her appearance. 
Spike’s heart skipped a beat; it was the white dragoness Jackknife had been watching. On closer inspection, Spike realized the dragoness was almost exactly like Rarity. Of course, there was an obvious difference – this new dragoness was… a dragon, obviously, and one the size of the green dragon Spike had met – but everything else reminded him of his crush:
Beautiful white scales, embedded with diamonds so that they sparkled like miniature stars. A purple robe that draped over her figure, combined with her tail being wrapped around her neck like a scarf, decorated with fur and feathers to give it a scarf-like appearance. Lapis blue eyes that shined with intrigue at the sight of the dragons at her doorstep. And when she spoke, it was even with that lovely accent that always made Rarity sound like someone of great importance. 
“Ah, my darling Night Fire,” the dragoness declared, scooping the dark dragon up and giving her two pecks on the cheek before gazing at Spike and his friends with intrigue. “You’ve brought me more treasures!” 
Jackknife and Spike glanced at each other. “Uh, pardon me… uh…” Spike stammered. 
“Hang on a sec, we ain’t treasure,” Jackknife protested. 
The dragoness merely tittered like he had said something amusing. “Ah, yes, of course, where are my manners? You aren’t treasures just yet. What are your names, my dears?”
Spike’s heart skipped at the way she called him ‘dear.’ “Uh, Spike… your, uh… ma’am.” 
Jackknife glared at him before glaring up at the dragoness. “Jackknife.”
Swift hid behind Blaze. “S-Swift,” he mumbled. 
Blaze rolled her eyes. “You already know who I am, Diamondback.” 
Diamondback sucked in a breath at the sight of Blaze’s injuries. “Ah, yes, I know you very well, Blazing Phoenix. I had hoped you would come to my doorstep one day; knowing I could help you with those horrid scars…” She paused before remembering the others and giving them a bow. “E-Either way, as you might have surmised… my name is Diamondback, my darlings. And I wish to be your friend.” 
Spike tilted his head while Jackknife raised an eyebrow. “You do?” 
“Of course, please…” She swept them in, past the library and to what looked like a dining area. “Shiva? Celine!” 
The golden furred pup, along with an older, white furred diamond dog, ran up to Diamondback’s side. 
“Please, be a darling and get our new friends some refreshments,” Diamondback asked. 
“At once, Alpha,” they said together before heading off.
“And make sure to get some for yourselves,” Diamondback called after them. “Blazing Phoenix finally showed up, and I want her to know how you properly care for your treasures.” 
Blaze flinched as a small growl rumbled up from the dogs. Jackknife cautiously prepped his fists, but Diamondback waved him off.
“Oh, don’t be scared, Jackknife dear,” she said. “My diamond dogs are very well behaved.”
“You… have diamond dogs as pets?” Spike asked. 
“Pets?!” Diamondback laughed at the notion. “Please, my friend. They’re my treasures.” She waved a hand over her horde. “You see, Greed is a power source for dragons. The more treasure you have, the bigger and stronger you become.” 
Spike paused. “Right,” he mumbled, remembering his own experience with Greed. “But… it turns us into monsters too.”
Diamondback rested a sympathetic claw on his shoulder. “Only if you lack the maturity to handle the power boost,” she said, smiling motherly. “Don’t torture yourself if you lost yourself to the Greed once. You’re still young; you can still learn.” Her grin widened. “Especially now that we’re friends."
Jackknife tilted his head curiously. “What do you mean?” 
“Most dragons contend themselves with mere silver and gold. But I want more than measly metal.” Diamondback lifted her arms. “I demand the finer things in life: status and knowledge, power and sex.”
“He’s too young for that,” Night noted, pointing at Spike, who gave her a confused, but slightly relieved grin.
“Luckily for him,” Diamondback replied. “I’m also interested in the most important treasure of all: friendship.” 
The dragons stared up at her in disbelief. Except for Night, who was cackling at their reactions. 
“Oh, don’t be rude, Night, dear,” Diamondback chastised. “You had the exact same reaction when I told you.”
“And I bet I was every bit as amusing to look at as they were,” Night replied with a laugh. 
Diamondback rolled her eyes. “An unfortunate consequence of being ahead of the times,” she dismissed, as her dogs returned with several platters of gems. Smiling, Diamondback stroked the head of the white dog, as Spike couldn’t help but drool at the refreshments before them. “But it matters little.” She gazed at Spike. “You are a dragon raised by ponies. Surely that makes you smarter than most of the lizard brains who lurk in these lands, content to either guard their pathetic sticks in the grass or try to steal from their betters.” She took a breath, and her form shrunk, coming to level with Spike. She gave him a warm smile. “Why did you leave Equestria, Spike? What do you seek here?” 
Spike gazed up at her longingly. “To know who I am. What I’m supposed to be.” 
Diamondback hummed, looking to the others. 
“To find my mother,” Swift said when she looked at him.
“To become a warrior worthy of fighting dragons,” Jackknife said with a grin.  
Diamondback grinned again. “I can help you with that.” 
Blaze scoffed. “Why?” 
Diamondback smiled and rose, heading to her library. “An unfortunate side effect of Greed is that it’s easy to forget what you already have. Easy to take it for granted in light of what you can get next.” She turned back to them. “But it’s not enough to merely own something; you need to care for what you have. Especially when what you have can think for itself.” She smiled at Blaze. “I think you more than understand the risks behind mistreating your living possessions, Ms. Phoenix.” 
Blaze looked away with a grimace, avoiding looking at the Diamond Dogs, while Diamondback led Spike, Jackknife and Swift into the library, Night following after them. 
“Knowledge is just as valuable a treasure as friends or gold,” Diamondback said, plucking a book from her stores and looking back to the trio of male dragons. “Stay with me, and I will help you find what you seek.” She grinned at Spike. “I will help you see, Spike, that you are just you. A wonderful, unique life whose experiences, skills and insight on the world makes him just as valuable as any of the jewels in this horde.”
Spike felt his heart lift at the praise: he wasn’t a lame dragon. He was just himself. And that was okay. 
As he smiled at her, Diamondback looked to Swift. “Griffons and dragons are not often seen together,” she admitted. “But that will only ensure it is easier to track down the dragons who have worked with griffons in the past.” She pat Swift’s shoulder. “We will find your mother, my child. I promise it.” 
Swift smiled as Diamondback looked to Jackknife. 
“And you, my brave warrior,” Diamondback promised. “I will help you learn the ways of dragon guardians. So that anyone you fight will dread facing you again on the battlefield.” 
Spike, Jackknife and Swift all glanced at each other. Diamondback was making a pretty great deal. But then…
“Diamondback!” Darius’ voice called. “Got an intruder. Wait… three of them!” 
“Wait, hey!” voices shouted. 
Spike gasped. “Twilight? Rainbow Dash?” 
“Not again!” a very familiar voice screamed. 
“RARITY!” 
Spike ran back to the cave entrance, finding several dogs surrounding the trio of ponies. Rainbow Dash was ready to square off, as was Rarity. Twilight’s horn was aglow in warning, while the diamond dogs aimed spears at them. 
“Wait, don’t hurt them!” Spike called out. 
“Luke, Myst, Logan, stand down!” Diamondback ordered. 
The diamond dogs quickly backed up at Diamondback’s words, while Twilight ran to embrace Spike. 
“Spike, I…” Twilight started to say, before noticing the books. “I…” she looked up at Diamondback and the other dragons. “Uh…” She looked up at Diamondback. “Who… are you?” 
Diamondback grinned. “Your new friend,” she replied. 
“Huh?” Rainbow Dash asked. “But… why aren’t you roaring at us? Or… attacking us?”
Diamondback rolled her eyes. “Is that what you expect ‘all’ dragons to do, darling?” 
“Darling?” Rarity mumbled, miffed at the dragoness’ use of her word. 
“My friends,” Diamondback said. “Who we are is not the same as ‘what’ we are. Just because I am a dragon doesn’t mean that I can’t recognize the value in friendship or knowledge.”
Spike grinned. “She’s right, Twilight,” he said. “Some dragons may be scary and fierce, but there are plenty more that can be kind, generous and caring.” He glanced at Swift, Diamondback and Night as he spoke.
Twilight gazed at Diamondback and her horde with wonder in her eyes. “If…” she swallowed. “If it’s not too much trouble then…” she stepped forward hopefully. “Could… we be allowed to share some of your knowledge with Equestria?”
Spike glanced up at Diamondback with a grin. “It’s important to care for your possessions, right?” he noted. 
Diamondback tittered at Spike’s words. “You’ve been paying attention,” she praised.
Spike looked to Twilight. “How about this,” he said. “I can stay here and copy down the information Diamondback has, and then send it to Celestia.” He looked again at the library stores. “There’s quite a lot, so I’ll probably be away for a while.”
“You won’t be alone though,” Night added. 
“Heck no,” Jackknife added. “It was fun traveling wid ya, Spike. I’d hate for our adventure to be over just yet.” 
As Twilight looked at the friends Spike had made over his journey, she couldn’t help but grin. Spike wondered if she was remembering how she met her own friends. After a quiet pause, she hugged Spike. 
“Just don’t forget us, okay, Spike?” Twilight asked. 
“Please,” Rarity added. “I know we don’t make it easy to see, but we do genuinely care about you, Spikey.” 
She nudged Rainbow Dash, who grimaced before hanging her head in shame. 
“Yeah, and… I’m sorry for what I said back at the migration,” she said. “You’re not lame.” She glanced at his dragon friends, and Spike followed her gaze with a grin.
“Nope,” he replied. “I’m about to find out just what dragons know about friendship.” 
Diamondback chortled. “Then strap yourself in, my new friend. You’ll have quite a lot to learn.”