//------------------------------// // Episode 41: The Offer of the Phoenix // Story: The Drake Six // by JNKing //------------------------------// “You have got to be kidding me!” Spike protested. The Drake Six and Mane Six sat grouped around the Friendship Map, constantly stealing glances at the door containing Starlight Glimmer.  Twilight sighed. “Spike, I know that she’s not your favorite…” “It’s got nothing to do with favoritism,” Spike insisted. “She nearly rewrote the entire world. How many destroyed timelines did we have to go through because of her?”  “Y’know what, yeah,” Rainbow Dash agreed. “I mean, I knew my rainboom was awesome, but her destroying Equestria by messing with it?”  “And let’s not forget how stressed she left us building up to this whole event,” Diamondback added. “I swear, Spike has some gray scales now.”  Spike paused and checked his body for gray.  Twilight sighed. “I know. But guys… think about it. She had the power to travel through time.”  “And if she’s that powerful,” Applejack agreed. “We can’t just send her on her way, can we?” “So lock her up in Tartarus,” Jackknife offered.  “We could turn her to stone like Discord,” Diamondback added. “I have a few artifacts that could do the trick.”  Twilight chuckled. “And remember what Princess Celestia did? She let Discord go.”  “Which led to him turning on you guys for Tirek,” Star Wing added. Twilight’s ears flattened, but Fluttershy stepped in.  “That isn’t fair,” Fluttershy said. “Tirek tempted Discord, and…” She flinched, but pressed on. “No offense, Twilight, but we didn’t exactly give Discord a good reason to think we were the better deal.”  “Exactly,” Twilight admitted. “Equestria doesn’t fare well without friendship. When even one friendship dies, the results are disastrous.” She looked to Spike. “You and I, Spike, we saw that first-hand.”  Spike sighed. “I know, Twilight,” he said slowly. “The only way we got through those timelines was together. I want to trust you.” He gazed at her with a careful eye. “But… befriending the mare who put us through all that pain? Letting her learn and study here like it’s a scholarship?” “It’s not a scholarship,” Twilight insisted. “It’s more… community service. I told her to try and adapt; to try and make new friends. She won’t have that opportunity if she’s in Tartarus or sealed in stone.” “Well, she might have the opportunity in Tartarus,” Star admitted. “But… yeah, they probably aren’t the type of people she should be making friends with.”  “Exactly,” Twilight agreed. “We’re the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. We should be doing what we can to unite the world. Not divide it.”  The dragons were silent, glancing at each other with uncertainty. But then… “She’s right.”  Everyone looked to Phoenix, who had been sitting quietly next to the door holding Starlight, gazing at it with a contemplative air.  “After my diamond dogs overthrew me,” Phoenix said, “I was… lost. I didn’t know where I wanted to go.” She looked at them. “I thought of atonement. I thought of vengeance. Sometimes, I even thought about just…” she paused, noticing the horrified looks on the others faces, and shook her head. “Well… I thought a lot of things.” She then looked to Spike. “When you and your friends found me… when you let me come along… it was a game-changer. I realized that wallowing in the past was only going to keep me in pain. By becoming friends with you, I feel that I’ve grown and developed in a way I never could have on my own.”  Swift nodded. “Yeah. Aunt Hawke always wanted me to be some type of attack dog. A feral animal. If I hadn’t met you guys, who knows? I might have become what she wanted.”  “I don’t believe that for a second, Swift,” Star said loyally.  “Yeah, man,” Jackknife said. “Yer strong in yer own way.”  Swift blushed. “Thanks, guys, but you’re missing our point.” He indicated where Starlight was. “Starlight’s at the same crossroads.” Phoenix nodded. “She’s seen the pointlessness of vengeance. Played right… we could get her to see the value of friendship by extending an olive branch instead of a weapon.”  Pinkie hummed, before pulling a literal olive branch out of her hair, along with a sword. She licked the sword, paused, spat, and then ate an olive off the branch.  “Olives are definitely tastier,” she admitted, earning her a blank stare from most of the others. “Not as tasty as cupcakes… but tastier overall.”  Twilight rolled her eyes, but couldn’t hide her grin. “So… all in favor of teaching Starlight the ways of friendship?” She raised her hoof. So did Pinkie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Phoenix and Swift.  Spike glanced worriedly at Star Wing, who seemed to be agonizing over a decision. “Can we at least do something about her magic?” she asked. “Like, the princesses took Discord’s magic away, right? Maybe we can do something like that with Starlight. At least until we can tell she’s on the up and up.”  Twilight lifted a hoof to protest, but Star’s offer had Spike, Diamondback and even Jackknife and Rainbow Dash nodding.  “Offer one hand but arm the other,” Jackknife noted. “It’s not a bad idea.”  “And I have an artifact that will work perfectly for the case,” Diamondback added, getting up and briefly leaving the room. Twilight pondered for a moment, before Spike walked up next to her.  “We just want to make sure you guys are safe, Twilight,” he assured her. “After that whole journey through time… there were moments where I was scared I was going to lose you.” He rested a talon on her hoof. “I don’t want to risk that again.”  Twilight put her other hoof onto Spike’s, gazing up at him with a small smile… before both of them noticed Star giving them a curious look. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Star,” Spike said darkly.  Star snickered. “Sorry,” she said. “Old outskirt habits die hard.”  Twilight sighed, before giving Spike’s hand a squeeze. “Thank you, Spike,” she said with a nod, looking at Diamondback as she returned. “Do you have something?”  “Shiva brought it just in case,” Diamondback said, unveiling a solid chrome ring - perfect for a unicorn horn - with a multicolored gem. Jackknife whistled. “Looks fancy. Where’d you get it?”  Diamondback turned over the ring with a hum. “An old dragon warlord; one who had a fondness for unicorn magic.” She lifted the ring carefully, as though it had teeth. “He would use rings like these to capture unicorns - drain their magic into gems, which he would then eat to make himself stronger.” Spike instinctively drew closer to Twilight, watching the ring like they should be handling it with kid gloves. “That sounds dangerous.”  “Don’t worry, Spikey-dear,” Diamondback assured. “The warlord’s been gone for years. Celestia put a stop to his antics, but I managed to find this in the ruins of his old den.” She tapped the gem. “Just be sure to keep this gem safe after it’s taken Starlight’s power, and we’ll be able to hand it back as soon as she’s earned our trust.”  Phoenix nodded. “I agree with this,” she said. “Power makes you blind. And Starlight won’t learn anything if she thinks she can solve problems with her magic. That was my problem as well; thinking I could solve everything with a kick, a stomp, or a roar of flames.”  With a nod from everyone else, Twilight sighed and motioned for Diamondback and the others to follow.  They opened the door, finding a nervous Starlight pacing before them.  The mare gulped, but breathed out and gazed at them with resignation and regret. “I know there’s no excuse for what I did. But I want you all to know that I’m ready for whatever punishment you think is fair.”  “That’s good, darling,” Diamondback said, handing the ring to Phoenix. Walking over, Phoenix placed the ring on Starlight’s head.  Starlight winced as the gem glowed purple… then gasped as her cutie mark faded from her flank, embedding instead on the gem in the ring.  Starlight watched in shock as the gem popped out into Phoenix’s hand, before her ears flattened and she lowered her head with a humorless chuckle. “For what happened in my town?” “Unlike there, this is temporary,” Phoenix replied, before making way for Twilight.  “You’ve seen first hand what can happen when a friendship dies,” Twilight said. “And that’s why I’ve asked you here. If you’re willing to learn, I’m willing to teach you what I know.” She indicated the gem holding Starlight’s magic. “You already know how to use that magic. Learn about the power to make Equestria a better place - the power of friendship - and your magic will be returned to you.”  Starlight gazed at Twilight with a mixture of nervousness, but also gratitude. “That’s… more than I deserve, but…” she glanced at Spike, fear evident. “How do I start?”  “Starting is easy,” Twilight said. “All you have to do is make a friend!”  “And you got plenty of options right here,” Phoenix added. Starlight still watched Spike like he was going to jump her. “Uh-huh.”  Phoenix sighed, glancing at Spike. “Spike, can you…” “Yeah-yeah,” Jackknife grumbled, nudging Spike and motioning to the door. Keeping a careful eye on Starlight, Spike followed Jackknife out and let him shut the door.  Spike was half-ready for a lecture, but the look Jackknife was giving him was one of sympathy.  “You good with this, brother?” he asked.  “Yeah,” Spike assured him, watching out a window as Phoenix and Starlight walked side by side, talking things out. “I’m still nervous, though.”  “I ain’t blaming ya,” Jackknife replied. He was quiet for a moment, before asking. “What happened to us? In the… alternate timelines?”  Spike sighed. “What didn’t happen?” he mused. When Jackknife continued to gaze at him, he grimaced. “You, uh… the dragons didn’t take that well to you. In any of the alternate timelines.” He chuckled. “Me being there definitely had an impact.”  “So where were you?” Jackknife asked.  “Nowhere,” Spike replied. “By disrupting the rainboom, Starlight stopped Twilight from hatching me.” He shuddered. “I was never in the alternate timelines.”  Jackknife’s eyes widened, and he looked back at Starlight. “And Twilight really thinks the mare who caused that can be a friend?”  “It’s how ponies are,” Spike replied. “They’re not as strong as dragons or griffons, so they learn how to cooperate. Work as a team. It’s how they beat Nightmare Moon and Discord…” He chuckled. “And it’s how we managed to beat Chrysalis and Sombra, remember.”  Jackknife chuckled. “Good times.”  Spike laughed, but his smile faded. “In one of the timelines… I acted on impulse. I attacked Starlight. Beat her to near…” he couldn’t even say it. “And my actions caused the worst timeline. One where dragons and ponies were at war with each other.” He shuddered. “I don’t want to cause something like that again. I don’t want my anger to make me into something I’m not.” Jack’s smile faded before he looked to Spike with a determined look. “It won’t. We’ll see if this Starlight can be the same way. But I just want you to know… if she does start slipping… if she proves that it was wrong to trust her…” He offered his talon. “I got yer back. Ya ain’t gonna have to handle this alone.”  “Heck no,” Star Wing added, joining them. “Never forget, you got friends, buddy.”  “Like me,” Diamondback added.  “And me,” Swift added, joining them as well.  Jackknife laughed. “After defending her, man?”  Swift shrugged. “It’s like you said, Jack; offer one hand, but arm the other.” He watched as Starlight and Phoenix moved out of sight. “I want to believe Starlight can do good. But I also want to be prepared for the worst case scenarios.”  “So, it’s agreed then,” Spike asked, putting his fist in. “Together?” All four dragons put their hands in. “Together,” they said in sync. Spike smiled; though the future held many different possibilities, at least he knew he had his friends with him. Together, they’d protect the place from whatever came their way.  Whether that was a Starlight that didn’t learn her lesson, a returning villain, or even something else entirely.  With his friends by his side, Spike felt ready for all of them.