//------------------------------// // Episode 29: The Alicorn Arc; Part One // Story: The Drake Six // by JNKing //------------------------------// After a constant stream of adventures - from traveling to alternate universes to exploring new cultures and kingdoms - Spike wasn’t ashamed to say it was nice to be back in Ponyville.  At least among the ponies, Spike could be certain none of them would betray them or ask them to go on dangerous adventures for them. Instead, everyone seemed eager to share their own adventures or get back into the swing of their own agendas. As Rainbow Dash and Jackknife ran off to compete in more friendly competitions, Diamondback started sharing gossip with Rarity, Phoenix got an offer to lunch with Applejack, Swift went off with Fluttershy to talk to some of the birds, and even Night started gossiping with Pinkie Pie.  Only one pony was missing though. “Where’s Twilight?” Spike asked.  “Oh, she’s probably still doing research in the library,” Pinkie replied. “We’ve had quite a series of adventures ourselves, if you want to hear about it.” “I do,” Night said giddily, “Preferably with m… er, with Princess Luna.”  Smiling privately to himself, Spike set back off for the library.  On the way, he came across a familiar face, hammering out swords and crossbows.  “Astral!” Spike greeted.  “Hey, Spike,” Astral said, though his eyes didn’t turn far from his work.  “I see you’ve been busy,” he noted.  Aurora came out from a small shop next to Astral’s forge. “We’ve managed to come up with a pretty neat business,” she said. “Astral’s been making weapons and armor to help those that want to protect the town.”  “Had some difficulty with Rarity since she wanted the armor more fashionable than protective,” Astral admitted. “But, we figured it out.”  “And at a good price,” Aurora agreed. “I’ve been selling his weapons and armor, along with any commissions for ice sculptures.”  “That’s awesome,” Spike said. “And… you’ve been making sure the town’s safe.” “As well as we can,” Astral replied, cooling his latest sword in water. “Thankfully, nothing bad’s come this way so far. But… I still want to be prepared.” He grimaced. “I know Shade’s out there somewhere. Plotting.”  Spike nodded. “He might not be the only one,” he admitted. “We… may have ticked off a few powerful people ourselves.”  Aurora sighed. “The life of an adventurer, right?”  Spike shrugged. “Makes coming back here all the sweeter. Speaking of which, have you seen Twilight?” “She’s been shut up in her library for a while,” Aurora admitted. “She’s been trying to figure out some sort of problem with the Elements of Harmony.” “Either the Elements or the Tree,” Astral noted. “Remember those plunder vines?” He shuddered. “Awful stuff. I’m glad they managed to figure out how to stop them when they did.”  Concerned now, Spike quickened his pace towards the library. His heart briefly relaxed as Twilight’s home came into view: the Golden Oaks Library.  But his heart rate picked right back up as he went inside, and found - not Twilight at her usual spot - but Sweetie Belle, scribbling something down as Scootaloo and Apple Bloom lounged about with bored looks. At least, until they saw Spike. Scootaloo perked up like a plant exposed to sunlight.  “Spike!” she cheered.  “Spike?!” Sweetie and Apple Bloom jumped up as well, before all three girls tackled him in a hug.  “Whoa, hey, girls,” Spike said, grateful that his new bulk kept him from getting flattened. “What are you guys doing here?” “Seeing if we can get our cutie marks in being number three assistants,” Apple Bloom noted.  “Get it?” Sweetie asked. “Cuz there’s three of us. And Owlowiscious already got the number two spot.”  All three gave a glance at said owl, who was snoozing peacefully in the shade of a bookshelf.  Spike spared the owl a brief, unsure glance before returning his gaze to the girls. “So…” he asked, a tad nervous. “How’s it working out for you?” “Boring,” Scootaloo admitted with a roll of her eyes. “All she has us do is carry books or write messages. Honestly, I’m really glad you’re back, Spike. You can take over for us, right?”  “Scoot, c’mon,” Apple Bloom said. “Spike’s happy with his dragon friends.” She glanced at him. “Right?” Spike wasn’t sure how to answer at first; on the one hand, he did enjoy adventuring with Night, Jack, Swift, Phoenix and DB.  Yet, at the same time, seeing the fillies doing his old job - the job that he had been working with ever since he was old enough to write - did cause a twinge of irritation in his heart. He was Twilight’s number one assistant. The first. Surely the best, right?  Stop it, he chastised himself. Surely, you didn’t want to be her assistant all the time, right? That’s the whole reason you left to discover yourself. To see who else you were. Twilight was going to need someone to pick up the slack while you were gone. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you anymore. Right? “Er…” Spike said out loud. “Where is Twilight? Can I talk to her?”  “Sure,” Sweetie said. “I mean, she’s down in Canterlot…” “Important business with the Princesses,” Apple Bloom interjected.  “...but she did want us to send word to Night Fire that Princess Luna wanted to see her immediately,” Sweetie continued.  Scootaloo looked at him hopefully. “Can you take it to her? I mean, you know Night better than us, and…” Spike grinned despite himself. And it’s clear you don’t really want the job. He couldn’t decide if he found that cute or a relief.  Either way, he took Sweetie’s message with a grin. “I’ll get it to her as soon as possible,” he said. “Thanks, Spike,” Sweetie said. “Twilight always did say you were the best.”  Beaming at that thought, Spike headed back out to find Night.  Luckily, being friends with Pinkie meant Night wasn’t hard to find: all Spike had to do was follow the sound of fireworks.  He soon found Night and Pinkie gleefully using some of Astral’s crossbows to fire special arrows with fireworks on them into the air. Taking careful aim, Pinkie made one firework explode in the shape of a cake.  “Not bad,” Night praised. “Not bad. Now let me try.” She aimed her crossbow, and shot off a firework that exploded to resemble a dragon posing in a martial arts form. “Oh, exotic,” Pinkie cheered.  They started to reload, before Spike came between them.  “Sorry to interrupt,” he said, “But Twilight had a message for Night.”  Pinkie chortled. “Only a few minutes back and already Twilight’s number one assistant, aren’tcha, Spike?”  Spike blushed, still uncertain about how much he liked that, though Night didn’t leave him hanging. Plucking the message from Spike, Night’s eyes narrowed as they darted over the parchment. Spike wasn’t sure, but he swore Night re-read the message at least three times.  “The Princesses need me in Canterlot,” she noted. “Well, that makes sense,” Pinkie noted, glancing around before lowering her voice to below a whisper. “Can’t have a proper mother-daughter reunion with guards and politics getting in the way, right?”  Night chuckled. “I guess not.”  Seized by a sudden impulse, Spike interjected. “Can I come with you? I heard Twilight’s there, and…” Night grinned. “Say no more, buddy. All of us got to interact with our pony kin. It’s not fair that you don’t get to.”  With a cheerful farewell to Pinkie, Spike and Night took to the sky, looking forward to what should’ve been a happy reunion with their families.  # The two dragons’ good mood began to evaporate as they reached Canterlot… and found it once again encased in one of Shining Armor’s shields.  “That’s… odd,” Spike muttered.  “They’re not under attack from changelings again, are they?” Night asked.  “I thought Twilight would’ve mentioned that,” Spike replied.  “Well, she did mention giving up the Elements. Maybe they’re on high alert until they fix that.”  “Maybe…” Spike muttered, but he wasn’t so sure.  Cautiously, the two landed right outside the shield, in full view of the guards. Spike’s heart skipped a beat as several crossbows aimed at them. “Name and business,” one of the guards shouted.  “Spike and Night Fire,” Spike called out. Night held out Twilight’s letter to her. “We’ve been summoned on the order of the Princesses.”  “Let them through,” Shining Armor’s voice called, before the shield opened just enough to let them in.  Spike and Night walked through, Spike giving a hopeful look up to Shining. But his adopted big brother’s face was focused, and he spared Spike only a nod before sealing the shield once more, his eyes concentrating on the horizon.  “Okay, now I’m freaked,” Spike admitted. “He wasn’t that focused even during the changeling thing.”  “To be fair,” Night offered, “That was also supposed to be his wedding. This time there’s nothing to distract him… I think.” Despite her clearly attempting to comfort him, Spike found that the only comfort his heart would allow was seeing Twilight. Especially when they walked through Canterlot, and found the place deserted. A few fearful eyes poked out of homes and houses, watching them, only to duck back away into shadows whenever the two dragons looked around.  As they were ushered into the castle by more guards, Spike almost broke out into a sprint. What was happening? Was Twilight in danger? What had happened while he was off fighting the Storm King? Spike all but burst into the throne room, Night almost struggling to keep up. There, his heart relaxed as he spotted Twilight. Safe and sound, if a little worried looking. “Spike,” she said in relief, racing over and hugging him.  Spike hugged her back, holding her like he’d never let go. Vaguely, he noticed Night race over and embrace Luna as well. Seemed everyone was finally back together.  “I’m glad you all came,” Celestia declared, drawing Night and Spike’s attention back to her.  Celestia stood tall on her throne, Cadence off to the side. Spike’s heart rate sped up again at their expressions. Usually, Celestia had a relaxed, even coy look to her, while Cadence was often glowing with positivity.  This time, however, both of them held only faint, formal smiles. The kind that were hiding a lot of stress and worry. Spike knew; he had seen that same sort of smile on Twilight when she was cramming for a massive exam. “What’s going on?” Spike asked. Celestia sighed. “I’m afraid I have put too much trust in the effect that friendship can have upon others.”  Spike and Night glanced at each other.  “W-What are you talking about?” Night asked.  “Discord,” Twilight said, lowering her head in shame. “W-We freed Discord.” Spike’s jaw dropped. “You… WHAT?!” He looked at Celestia. “When? How? Why?!” “Wait, Discord?” Night asked. “You don’t mean…” “The immortal spirit of chaos,” Luna admitted. “Yes.”  “While you were gone, Spike,” Celestia said. “I had Twilight and her friends free Discord. It was my hope that being exposed to friendship would change his heart… the same way it changed Luna’s.”  Night looked at Luna, who sighed and lowered her head, before Twilight groaned.  “It’s my fault,” she admitted. “My friends and I never fully trusted Discord. Fluttershy was the only one who even considered giving him a chance. The rest of us…” “Barely tolerated him?” Night asked, a dangerous tone of bitterness in her voice. One that she noticed when the others looked at her, and shook off. “So, uh… we go after Discord, right?”  “Unfortunately, there is something much worse than Discord,” Celestia replied.  Cadence stepped forward and flared her horn, revealing an image of a blood red centaur.  “Tirek,” she explained. “He came from a distant land, intent on stealing Equestrian Magic.”  As the dragons watched, Tirek seized a unicorn and inhaled like he was going to eat the unicorn. But instead, a strange burst of magical energy was sucked from the unicorn and down Tirek’s gullet, making the centaur appear stronger while the unicorn flopped weakly and pathetically to the ground.  “With Discord’s aid,” Celestia continued. “Tirek has stolen enough magic that he now has the strength to steal flight as well. Without pegasi to control the weather, there will be no rain in Equestria.” “None that you can control, maybe…” Night muttered, but Luna’s gaze dissuaded her snark.  “It does not stop there, my Star,” Luna said. “There is word he has gone after the Earth Ponies as well. Without their strength, they will not be able to tend the land. The outskirts of Equus may have managed to get along well without pony control, but you’ve seen how lawless they are.” Her eyes were grave. “If Tirek gains sole power over our land, we will be worse off than the Outskirts.”  “But…” Spike looked to Twilight, desperate to quell the horrified and scared look on her face. “C-Can’t you guys do something about it? I mean… you’re Princesses! You’re alicorns! You’re stronger than any pony in Equestria.” Celestia’s gaze was downtrodden. “Unfortunately, if we try to stop Tirek, we will only give him the opportunity to steal our magic as well. And if he takes that…” “His power will know no bounds,” Luna said gravely. “And all hope will be lost.”  Spike, Twilight and Night exchanged horrified looks. “There has to be something we can do,” Night said.  Celestia nodded. “Indeed there is.” She turned to Twilight. “The Tree of Harmony. In sacrificing the Elements of Harmony, it gave forth a locked box. How much progress have you made towards unlocking it?” Twilight straightened. “My friends and I discovered that by facing a situation where living up to our respective Elements wasn’t easy, but we pulled it off regardless. Each of my friends managed to make the right choice and embrace their element, and by extension, helped somebody else make the right choice too. In return, each of those ponies gave something to my friends, which turned into a key that for the chest.” Her head lowered. “I… I’m afraid I’m the only one who has yet to reach that key.”  Celestia nodded. “Then you must hurry and find someone that will challenge your ability to live up to your Element, and find a way to receive that key. In the meantime…” she turned to the other Princesses. “We must rid ourselves of our magic before Tirek has the chance to steal it from us.”  “What?!” Night stammered.  “Tirek is set on possessing every form of magic in Equestria,” Luna insisted. “Alicorn magic included. When he comes for us, we cannot have what he is looking for.”  Twilight swallowed worriedly, but stood tall. “I’m more than willing to do my part, and give up my magic.”  Spike winced, but Luna spoke before he could. “You misunderstand. Our magic cannot just disappear into thin air, Twilight. Someone must keep it safe.”  Twilight exchanged a terrified glance with Spike. “And that someone is… her, right?” Spike asked, pointing at Twilight.  “Actually,” Celestia said, “Discord knows that Twilight is now a princess and will likely share this with Tirek. Our magic would not be safe with her.” “We need someone who has kept not just her status as a princess secret,” Luna said, “But also her status as an alicorn.”  Night’s eyes widened in alarm as everyone looked right at her.  “We need you, Star Wing,” Celestia said firmly. “You are the one who must keep our magic safe.”