The Drake Six

by JNKing

Episode 37: The Siege of Starswirl's Sector

“This is ridiculous,” the guard muttered.

Spike ignored him, standing firmly at the entrance to Starswirl the Bearded’s Archive. All of the most dangerous spells and magical devices were located there; artifacts and techniques that could alter the fate of Equestria itself.

Spike knew Starlight was planning to steal something from it - anything to try and get ‘revenge’ on his Twilight. But that wasn’t going to happen. Not on his watch.

Well, his and Jackknife’s watch. The sea serpent stood nearby as well, once again using water to make himself look even bulkier and more muscular than he already was.

“Seriously, you are not needed,” the guard insisted, clopping his hooves impatiently around Spike’s spot. “This is my spot, and I’ve guarded it just fine for decades.”

“Yeah,” Spike grumbled. “You did a fantastic job against Chrysalis and Tirek.”

“Oh!” Jackknife cackled. “You wanna get some burn medicine for that, buddy?”

The guard seethed. “Well… they didn’t try to take any of the artifacts inside.”

“Sure,” Jackknife agreed. “They just took the entire kingdom instead. Fair trade, right?”

Spike managed a small grin, though his focus was on the outside.

The guard snorted, but finally turned away. “Y’know something?” he noted. “I liked you more when you were just Twilight’s assistant.” He stamped off.

Spike crossed his arms, a low growl bubbling in his throat. Jackknife noticed.

“You good, brother?” he asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Spike replied.

Jackknife shrugged. “Dunno. Just heard bout how you and DB found out that Starswirl’s Sector was gonna be targeted.”

Spike looked away. While he had justified it to himself, there was still a part of him that felt it had been wrong. Threatening a parent’s child? It wasn’t like him. It was definitely not something Twilight would approve of.

But then he thought of Starlight. Her indignant rage at Twilight? Her vow of vengeance? Her threatening Night Fire? The unicorn was dangerous and needed to be stopped.

No, worse, a dark voice in Spike’s mind growled. She needs to be punished. If what Twilight says is true, she forced several ponies to give up what made them special, and live under her tyranny. She’s no better than Tirek!

“Dude!” Jackknife barked. “You good? You look like you got force fed lemons.”

Spike blinked, and realized that he had been scowling. He sighed and shook off his emotions. “Sorry, Jack,” he said. “I just… really can’t stand this Starlight mare.” He sighed. “I wish I hadn’t told that guard to go after Night Fire. Maybe then, she could’ve caught Starlight.”

“Or Night Fire could’ve just gotten hurt,” Jackknife pointed out. “Ain’t nothing wrong with being concerned for friends, brother.”

“Except when it costs us,” Spike argued. “If we can’t trust each other to handle things… then why are we even a team? We need to be able to trust in each other’s skills and abilities.”

Jackknife frowned, pondering what he said. But Spike forced his gaze back to the entrances. He had no idea when Starlight had planned to undertake her heist. But he knew that she was taking him and his friends into account.

That had to mean a fight was about to go down.

Sure enough, a buzz went through their communication devices.

“Spike, intel was correct!” Diamondback’s voice crackled through. “We’ve got a patrol of griffons coming in from the south!”

Spike narrowed his eyes. “Have they started invading?”

“Not yet,” Swift’s voice emanated. “They’re circling, but they haven’t made a move yet.”

“Keep an eye on em,” Spike replied. “Starlight’s likely going to use them as a distraction while she sneaks into the archives. Do not let her minions pull you guys away for even a second.”

“Roger-roger,” Night Fire’s voice was laced with a chuckle. Even Diamondback suppressed a small snicker. Spike, however, narrowed his eyes.

“This isn’t a game, guys,” he warned. “We need to make sure Starlight can’t get at anything that could hurt my Twilight.”

“Your Twilight?” Jackknife asked.

Spike winced. “Y-You know what I meant!” He kept watching the windows, but he could feel Jackknife watching him.

“You sure that greed ain’t doing something to your head, brother?” Jackknife asked.

Spike’s heart skipped a beat. “N-No. Why?”

“You said we gotta be able to trust each other,” Jackknife pointed out. “But it ain’t just skills or abilities we gotta worry about. It’s also emotions. If you ain’t in control o’ yer heart…”

Spike scoffed before he could stop himself. “Funny you should mention that,” he noted. “Remember how you were trying to fight everything that got near Diamondback’s home?”

Jackknife was silent for a moment. When Spike looked at him, there was hurt in Jackknife’s eyes.

“I… I’m sorry, man,” Spike said. “I…”

“Yeah, I remembered it,” Jackknife finally said. “And I learned from it. Or did you forget when Rainbow and I had that race?”

Spike looked away. To be honest, he had forgotten that little experience; where he had been terrified of Jackknife and Rainbow Dash getting into a fight, only to find both of them had matured far beyond what they were capable of.

“Jack…” Spike started to say, but at that moment, their communication devices crackled to life.

“We got baddies!” Night Fire called out, before a squawk echoed over the comm link.

Spike’s heart skipped another beat. “Swift? Swift, you okay?”

“Just fine,” Swift replied, as the caw of another griffon echoed. “Two less baddies to worry about.”

A thud made the the ground around them shake. “Make that three,” Night Fire added.

Before Swift or Night Fire could start some sort of body count competition, four griffons suddenly rushed into the entrance.

“Get the drakes!” the biggest griffon yelled, beady black eyes glaring out from behind a plague doctor style mask.

“Bring it, bird brains!” Jackknife bellowed defiantly.

Spike smiled at how seamlessly they moved together, Jackknife slapping two griffons down with his tail before engaging them both in combat. Spike himself moved to fight the other two griffons, sword and shield in hand.

The biggest griffon immediately locked talons against Spike’s shield. “Back off, dragon,” he said. “This doesn’t concern you!”

“You don’t know anything!” Spike snarled, noticing the smaller griffon making a break for the door. Hurling his sword, Spike pinned the smaller griffon by his wings to the wall before shoving the larger griffon backward. “These archives belong to me! This kingdom belongs to me!” He began to grow in size and strength, soon squashing the griffon under his bulk. “Equestria is mine to protect!”

Despite squawking in pain, the griffon glared up at Spike. “Then you probably won’t mind the princesses being taken out, right?”

Spike froze, somewhat like the griffons that Jackknife had just encased in icicles. “What are you talking about?” Jackknife demanded.

The griffon grinned cruelly. “Our boss wants Twilight Sparkle to suffer for what she took from her. Some of my boys were considering taking something from her in return. Her wings… her horn…” His grin widened. “Her pride?”

Spike knocked the griffon out with a headbutt, but his words still rang in Spike’s head. Was Twilight in danger? He had left her all the way back in Ponyville. If she was in danger…

But what if she isn’t, another voice whispered in his mind. What if it’s just a bluff, to get you to leave the archives alone?

“Spike?” Jackknife asked. “You don’t think…”

“I don’t know, and that’s what’s scaring me,” Spike admitted, getting back on his comm link. “Swift, any griffons heading for Ponyville?”

For a moment, Swift was silent, but to Spike, it felt like an eternity. Spike found it harder and harder to breathe with every second of silence that passed. Finally…

“Yeah,” Swift reported. “They broke off from the main flock and are heading that way.”

Spike’s heart leaped into his throat. Twilight hadn’t fought anything like them before. If they were planning to attack her…

“We’ve got to follow them,” Spike insisted. “They could be after Twilight!”

“Or they’re just trying to lure you away from the archives!” Diamondback pointed out. “It could be a distraction!”

“Well, it’s a good one,” Spike admitted, already heading to the entrance.

“Oi!” Jackknife barked, racing after him. “What did you just say? We have to trust in the others abilities! Twilight’s an alicorn; she’ll be fine!”

“But she’s never fought griffons before!” Spike insisted. “She may need backup!” He turned back to his comm link. “Night Fire, I need you now!” He turned back to Jackknife. “You, Phoenix, Swift and Diamondback will stay here and keep the entrances covered. We’ll be right back.”

“Brother…!” Jackknife tried to say, but Spike clutched his shoulder.

“Jack,” he said. “I trust in your ability! I know you won’t let me down.”

Jackknife held Spike’s eyes, before holding himself taller. “You got it,” he said. “I won’t fail.”

Spike nodded, before turning to Night Fire, who skidded to a stop before him.

“C’mon, dude,” she said. “They’re getting away!”

Spike leaped onto Night Fire’s back, and the two of them took off after the griffons.

“The Archives are safe with my friends,” Spike thought to himself. “I have faith in their abilities, their skills and their emotions. They can guard it better than I can right now.”

With Night Fire’s magic on their side, they quickly caught up to the griffons. Three in total. Spike hopped onto one, using the Greed to increase his weight and drag his catch down to earth, while Night Fire blasted the other one with a spell that plucked him like a roast chicken.

The third griffon, however, was craftier. And as Night Fire took out his second companion, he pulled off a barrel roll, stabbing his beak into the joints on her left wing. Night cursed in pain as her wing went limp.

“Night!” Spike yelped, but the griffon laughed as he shoved her away, sending her spiraling through the air.

“What’s it gonna be, big guy?” the griffon laughed. “Which princess are you gonna save?”

Spike wanted to have faith in Night Fire - like he hadn’t had faith in her before. She could make it; she surely had a handle on situations like this before. And besides that, Twilight was his…

Spike stopped. Twilight wasn’t his. She didn’t belong to anyone. She was her own person; an alicorn princess.

Spike’s eyes widened. An alicorn princess…

A grin spread across his face as he summoned a special brand of fire - one he hadn’t had to use for a while, but one that he remembered all the same. He dug into the pouches of the griffon he had brought down, grinning even wider as he found just what he was looking for.

“You want a princess?” he yelled at the griffon. “I’ll give you more than that!”

He lobbed what he had looted off the griffon; a glimmering bag of bits. Sure enough, despite the leader’s attempts to look towards Ponyville, his gaze was drawn to the glimmering bag of gold as it arced through the air.

And in the griffon’s moment of indecision, Spike followed up with a ball of sparkling green fire. As the ball exploded against the griffons face, he had time for one squawk of surprise before he vanished into thin air.

With the griffon taken care off, Spike ran full out for Night Fire, who had extended her other wing in an attempt to glide, though her fall was still rather steep.

“Hang on,” Spike said. “I got you! Don’t worry, I got you!”

Night Fire grinned down at him, and angled her body so that he could catch her. Her unbroken wing still slowed her fall enough so that when Spike was able to catch her, the momentum only sent him staggering a small bit before he righted himself.

“Thanks, buddy,” Night said, before glancing up at the griffon. “Though… you didn’t just disintegrate him, did you?”

Spike grinned and looked to Celestia’s tower. “Not exactly.”

Night followed his gaze, and her jaw dropped. “You didn’t…”

But at that moment, Celestia’s tower glowed bright yellow, and the griffon’s squawk of fear combined with Celestia’s roar of outrage.

Spike grinned sheepishly. “I did.”

Night couldn’t hold in her laughter, even as Celestia appeared in front of them with a look of indignation.

“Spike,” Celestia said, trying to keep her tone calm. “Why did you feel the need to teleport a griffon mercenary into my tower?”

Spike shrugged sheepishly. “He wanted to see a princess.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow, but Night Fire interjected with, “The best princess?”

Celestia rolled her eyes, but not even she could stop a grin from forming on her face. “That is a subjective opinion,” she noted. “And one that probably isn’t shared with him, considering my reaction.” Her horn glowed as she repaired Night Fire’s wing, though she did give Spike a stern look. “Just don’t think that’s something you can do all the time, Ser Spike. I will not find it as amusing a second time.”

Spike bowed in understanding. And from his position, he was able to spot Ponyville, where Twilight was watching as Applejack and some fancy looking pony argued with each other.

Just another day in Ponyville. Free of chaos or mercenaries or delusional tyrants. Twilight was safe. With her friends.

Spike was able to breathe easier.

And the good news didn’t stop there: as he and Night Fire returned to the Archives of Starswirl the Bearded, they found Swift, Diamondback and Jackknife standing triumphantly around an entire flock of tied up griffons, all of the griffons hanging their heads in defeat.

“Your faith wasn’t misplaced, buddy,” Jackknife said happily. “The griffons tried to take the Archives, and they instead took their Ls.”

“Poor fools,” Diamondback mused. “And to think that Starlight managed to hire them on the promise of magical artifacts.”

Spike’s grin faltered as he noticed a lack of unicorns among the captives. “Speaking of that… where is she?” He then noticed something else. “Where’s Phoenix?”

The grins slowly faded from the others. Diamondback looked behind her. “I… she was right behind me.”

“I didn’t see Starlight anywhere when the attacks happened…” Swift muttered before gasping. “You don’t think…”

Spike didn’t have time for thinking. Sharing a worried look with Jackknife, the two raced back into the Archives, Jackknife practically busting the door off it’s hinges as they raced inside.

“Phoenix?” Jackknife yelled.

“Blaze!” Spike cried out.

Their voices echoed off the artifacts, but Phoenix didn’t reply. Spike and Jackknife desperately searched the artifacts.

Everything seemed to be in place. Scrolls were still set on shelves, pedestals had artifacts on them. Except…

Spike’s heart stopped: there was a very decorative pedestal, with two pony statues and three gem-like diamonds rising up. But right on the stand - guarded by two candles - there was only a blank space. As if something had been there before, but had been lifted.

Spike pointed a trembling claw at the pedestal. “Jack,” he said. “What was supposed to go there?”

Jackknife raced over to the pedestal, looking for some form of description. “I… I dunno,” he admitted. “Spike, I swear, my side was clear!”

Spike nodded. “I believe you… but what about Phoenix? Where is she?”

At that moment, a hum of magic sounded.

Jackknife and Spike spun, weapons at the ready, only to spot an artifact Spike had almost forgotten about:

A beautiful mirror, shaped like an oval, and studded with amethysts. The mirror that led to the human verse.

And it was rippling, like something had either gone in, or was coming out.

Jackknife and Spike readied themselves for battle… only to relax as Phoenix jumped through.

“Phi!” Jackknife ran over to her. “You good? What happened?”

“Where’s Starlight?” Spike demanded.

Phoenix panted, catching her breath. “Just… give me a minute,” she said.

“Phoenix, we may not have a minute,” Spike insisted. “Starlight made off with one of the artifacts. Did you see her? Where is she?”

Phoenix stared up at Spike for a second… before turning her gaze to the mirror.

Comments

[Comickook]

Whoa mama. Definitely some really good work on the dialogue, characterizations, action and future chapter set-up. Definitely liked Spike's friends making the effort to talk to Spike concerning his guilt and paranoia, even if it didn't work out too well, as well as also understanding why Spike could be second-guessing himself after what happened with Night AND what he threatened to do during his and Diamondback's investigation. Also really loved Spike teleporting that griffon mercenary to Celestia (glad to see Celestia actually being useful in a fight for once). And, after all that, they found out Starlight STILL managed to make off with an artifact (having gotten away through the magic mirror).

VERY definitely looking forward to more of this.

[JNKing]

11715081
Really happy you enjoyed.

Glad you enjoyed Celestia helping in her own way. I remember someone having something similar happen in a crossover between MLP and Legend of Spyro, and I couldn't resist trying my own take on it.

Looking forward to the next chapter, since I completely forgot that Rainbow Rocks took place before Season 5, so I'm definitely eager to share how the Human Drake Six managed to help with the Sirens, and how they might help out with the Friendship Games.

Until next time, thanks as always for reading and sharing. 👍

[AstralFlare42]

11715081
What did you think about his inner monologue?

[Comickook]

11715253
That was some really, REALLY emotional stuff.