The Drake Six

by JNKing

Episode 40: The Time Travel Arc - Part 2: The Dragon Timeline

Countless timelines later…

Even before Spike gave her the beating of a lifetime, Starlight was getting aggravated by the constant resets.

Though it had seemed like a good idea at the time - ensure she comes back so Twilight can’t fix the timelines - it also meant that Starlight found herself constantly being teleported back to Cloudsdale again and again and again.

For the most part, she managed to keep the Rainboom from happening - she even got Twilight to accidentally freeze Rainbow Dash with a mis-aimed spell.

However, as she once again found herself respawning at Cloudsdale, a blood-chilling roar cut through the air.

The next thing Starlight knew, a ball of purple scales and red-hot fury cannoned into her, knocking her out of the clouds and smashing her hard enough into the ground to shatter the protective shield she had put up - and nearly her spine along with it.

“ENOUGH!” Spike roared, having morphed into ten-thousand pounds of Greed-fueled Dragon rage.

“Spike, wait!” Twilight was screaming in the distance, but Spike’s fiery green eyes were locked on a now terrified Starlight. She tried to blast him with a spell, but the magic glanced off his scales, and he answered with a brutal punch that cratered the ground and blackened both of Starlight’s eyes.

“NO! YOU LISTEN TO ME!” The monster that had replaced Spike roared. “I HAVE BEEN TO A TIMELINE WHERE CHRYSALIS TURNED EQUESTRIA INTO HER BROOD SLAVES!”

Before Starlight could respond, he punched her again, cratering her further into the ground and knocking out several of her teeth.

“I HAVE BEEN TO A TIMELINE WHERE TIREK KILLED MY TWILIGHT AND MY FRIENDS!” Spike roared as he punched her again. “I HAVE BEEN TO A TIMELINE WHERE DIAMONDBACK AND SOMBRA - FOR SOME UNEXPLAINED REASON - GOT MARRIED!”

Starlight was barely clinging to consciousness at that point. “H-Huh?” she mumbled, before Spike’s fist buried her further into the dirt.

“All of this… and countless sleepless nights before that,” Spike seethed. “And why? Because you want revenge? For Twilight stopping you from brainwashing countless helpless ponies?”

Despite most of her bones being broken, Starlight tried to contort her face into a look of fury. “Twilight stopped me…”

“Celestia have mercy!” some voices screamed overhead.

Spike, Starlight and an approaching Twilight looked up as what seemed like every pegasus in Cloudsdale was staring down at them in horror.

“That dragon’s a beast!” another pegasus was screaming.

“A monster!” another pegasus agreed.

Among the masses, however, Spike noticed Rainbow Dash, watching in a mixture of shock and awe.

Already, Spike could hear the portal to time opening. “Aw, man…” he bemoaned.

Starlight tried to crawl away, but Spike grabbed her.

“Not this time,” he snarled. “This time… you’ll see what we went through!”

With Starlight clutched tight in his fist, Spike let himself get carried once again through time.

##

As Spike had mentioned, he had seen many horrible versions of the future.

One where Discord had taken over, and having found Swift, started turning everyone into more hybrids of each other.

One where Chrysalis had taken over, leaving only Zecora, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Jackknife and a handful of other survivors trying to stop her reign.

And undoubtedly the weirdest one - one where Sombra had come back, taken Diamondback of all creatures as a wife, with both leading a horde of diamond dogs and brainwashed ponies against Celestia.

But the one he managed to drag Starlight to made his breath catch in his throat.

The world had been reduced to a fiery landscape. All forests and villages had been burned away to nothing. Volcanic lava had replaced rivers and lakes. And high above, two suns scorched the land as they did battle with each other.

Vaguely, Spike could see that the ‘suns’ were actually figures. Giving off so much light that it was nearly impossible to discern features.

Twilight, however, gasped as she recognized one of the figures. “Celestia…?”

Spike squinted, trying to see through the fire. The alicorn-like figure did sort of look like Celestia. But something had changed. Her mane was no longer an ethereal borealis of color, but blazing fire. Her eyes were black with red slit pupils, and her white fur was tinged with red and garbed in bronze armor.

If Celestia could turn into a ‘Nightmare Moon’ style figure like Luna did, Spike was certain that was what it would look like.

Yet, even if Celestia had given into darker powers, it seemed she needed them. Fighting her was another dragon. One with bright orange and gold scales, wreathed in flames with red eyes narrowed in hatred.

Spike’s heart dropped into his stomach. He knew those eyes, even if they were red now instead of pink. He knew the figure, even though he had only seen it scarred and defeated before.

“Blaze…” he whispered.

With Blazing Phoenix and Daybreaker continuing to battle, Spike, Twilight and Starlight were left unprepared for when others came upon them.

“Dragon!” a voice boomed, drawing their attention. “Get away from the ponies!”

The trio spun, finding a battalion of ponies rushing towards them. But none moved faster than a familiar rainbow blur, who kicked Spike in the chest and forced him away from the mares.

“Wait…” Twilight stammered, but the future version of Rainbow Dash only had eyes for Spike. Eyes filled with hate.

“Not one more pony’s dying on my watch!” she declared, before spinning fast enough to produce a storm cloud. One she then hit to blast lightning at Spike.

Spike backed up fast, as the other ponies - royal guards, Spike recognized - formed a phalanx around Twilight and a battered Starlight.

“No, wait, he’s…” Twilight tried to say. But one look at Starlight - at what Spike did to her - choked the word ‘harmless’ in her mouth.

Not that Spike could blame her. He remembered the looks of fear that the pegasi had given him back in the past. How Rainbow Dash herself had looked on Starlight with such pity.

Pity she doesn’t deserve, the angry part of Spike raged. She caused all this!

But as Rainbow Dash forced Spike into a retreat, he couldn’t help but look up at the battling figures in the air.

This can’t be… he tried to insist. I-I didn’t…

Rainbow Dash pursued Spike far away from Twilight and Starlight. She only backed off when a burst of white fire blocked her, and Spike found himself aided by two familiar faces.

“Back off, Rainbow Gnat!” Night Fire roared, matching Rainbow Dash’s speed and kicking her away.

“At least go back to your herd before you die!” Diamondback taunted, swiping a flaming scimitar through the air.

Rainbow Dash sneered at them. “You won’t win,” she promised. “Queen Daybreaker took you down once, and she can do it again!” She shot away.

Night Fire growled, while Diamondback hummed. “We shall see, pony.” She turned to Spike. “Are you alright?”

Spike shook his head. “I…” He stared up at the sky. “What happened? Why are they…?”

Night Fire tsked. “Sounds like that pony clonked you pretty good.” She hummed as she looked him over. “Huh. Surprised you don’t know, you look so much like him.”

Spike’s heart hammered in his chest. “Like who?” Right as he asked it, he knew he didn’t want the answer.

##

“The dragon that started this whole war.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped. Over in a corner, Starlight managed a small smirk as Nurse Redheart - geared up like a combat medic - worked on knitting her broken bones back together. As for Twilight, she stood before the alternate version of her brother - tired, but unbroken, gazing at her like he was surprised to see her around.

“You mean…” Twilight stammered, struggling not to look at Starlight. “The dragon we were with… he… attacked a pony a long time ago?”

Shining Armor nodded. “From what we could tell, he beat the pony and then burned them to ashes. And then vanished before justice could be served. Up until then, dragons had been considered too scary and dangerous to be around. Even the use of dragon eggs were only reserved for unicorn students with high potential. After that blatant attack, however, we had to take action.” He looked up. “We gathered our forces and marched on the Dragon Lands, looking for the culprit. The dragons denied involvement and negotiations escalated. Finally, after Nightmare Moon tried to bring Eternal Night, the dragons thought she was trying to weaken them and attacked.” He shook his head. “We’ve been at war ever since.”

Twilight could only stare in shock, before lowering her head. Even Starlight looked slightly uncomfortable - though it could also be chalked up to Nurse Redheart stitching her bones together.

As Starlight winced in pain, Twilight turned furious eyes to her. She stormed over. “Give us a moment,” she resisted growling to Redheart, who backed off at the fire in Twilight’s eyes. Twilight glared at the beaten Starlight. “Do you see what you’ve done? Everything we’ve done in the past - even the smallest changes - have been snowballing into avalanches of trouble for the future.”

Starlight groaned. “S-Spare me your overblown ego. Not group of friends… not even yours… are that important.”

Twilight grabbed Starlight with her magic. Ignoring Starlight’s cry as her still healing bones scraped against each other, she dragged her over to where she could see Daybreaker and Blaze fighting. Turning the land into a hellscape.

“LOOK AROUND YOU, STARLIGHT!” Twilight boomed. “Every world I’ve come back to is worse than the last! I don’t know why my friends and I are so important to Equestria, but we are! And what you’re doing leads HERE!”

“I…” Starlight gazed at the hellscape - at the future she had caused - before shutting her eyes and looking away. “Why? Why?! I was perfectly happy before you and your friends RUINED what I built!”

Twilight glared at her. “And what could possibly be so bad that you’re willing to let THIS…” she indicated the hellscape, “Happen?”

Starlight glared at her. “You want to know?” She looked to the scroll in Twilight’s saddlebag. “Let me show you.”

Her horn tried to glow, but Twilight countered with her own spell. “Not without Spike! I won’t leave him in this timeline!” She looked out across the landscape. “We just have to find him.”

“How?” Starlight demanded. “If the dragons and ponies are at war, what makes you think we’ll be able to track him down?”

##

For a moment, Spike wondered if he should go back. It had been his fault this timeline had happened. He had lost his cool - let his emotions run wild - and now the entire world was at war.

For now, he remembered. If I can get back to Twilight… maybe I can fix all this. But I’ve got to stay calm about it.

His eyes brightened as he remembered Night Fire. And there just might be a way to get back.

Finding Night Fire alone, Spike gently covered her mouth and pulled her further into darkness.

“I know you’re actually an alicorn,” Spike whispered.

Night Fire sucked in a breath, and tried to elbow Spike in the groin. He barely managed to pull back, and wrestled her into a sleeper hold.

“Wait, it’s okay!” he hissed. “It’s okay, I’m not going to reveal that to anyone.”

Night Fire paused in her struggling. “Why?” she mumbled out through his hand.

“Because I need to get back to two ponies that I was with,” Spike said. “And you can help me get there, can’t you?”

Night Fire huffed. “What makes you think that? What are the odds that I just think the dragons got it right.”

“Your mother is Princess Luna,” Spike said.

“Was Princess Luna,” Night corrected. “After she caused the whole war, it’s not really a good thing to be associated with her.”

“Wouldn’t that be ironic?” Spike asked. “The Princess of the Night started the war… and her daughter ended it?”

Night gave him a very curious look. “What do you mean, ‘end it?’”

##

Twilight and Starlight snuck after Rainbow Dash as she led them to a shadowy cavern protected from the fight above.

“This better be worth it,” Rainbow Dash growled. “Our spy’s given us intel that’s saved lives and kept us from being wiped out.”

“Trust me, Dash,” Twilight promised. “If Spike found her, we can ensure this war never even happens in the first place.”

Dash huffed. “I like the confidence. Let’s see if you’ve got the competence to back it up.” Reaching the cavern, Dash took a small horn, and blew into it, making a sound like a dragon bellow.

A few tense minutes later, a bird’s twitter answered back. From the darkness, Night Fire arrived, accompanied by Spike.

“Spike, thank Celestia,” Twilight cried, hugging him close. Starlight groaned and rolled her eyes, but Spike resisted the urge to beat her into the ground again.

“This better be worth it,” Night Fire growled. “The others are gonna start asking questions about where he went soon enough.”

“Stall them as long as you can,” Dash said. “Sparkle here’s got a plan.” She looked to Twilight. “Don’tcha?”

“That’s right,” Twilight said. “If all goes well, this will never happen.” She glared specifically at Starlight, who glared right back.

Quickly returning to the Cutie Map, Spike glared at Starlight, his eyes narrowing as she held out a hoof.

“Alright, give me the scroll, and I’ll show you,” Starlight said.

“Are you kidding?” Spike demanded. “Why should we…”

“Spike,” Twilight said. “It’s okay. We made a deal.”

“What?” Spike looked to Twilight in shock. “Twilight, you can’t trust this…” he snarled at Starlight. “This piece of… this… She’s trying to ruin the future! How many timelines were messed up because of her!”

“She has a reason,” Twilight replied. “And she wants to show it to us.” She glared at Starlight. “So, let’s see what was so bad to justify all this pain and torture.”

Every part of Spike screamed for him to intervene. To bash Starlight’s head in and keep her from causing more trouble.

But I caused just as much trouble, Spike remembered. By attacking her so blatantly, I caused this timeline to form.

“Please, Spike,” Twilight begged, giving Spike her best puppy dog eyes. “Trust me.”

His resolve faltered, and he nodded, letting her hand the scroll over to Starlight.

##

A few seconds later, they were watching Starlight’s dark and tragic past…

“And just like that,” Starlight declared in a pained voice as the events unfolded before them, “My friend was gone. His family recognized his magical talent and sent him off to Canterlot. I never saw him again.”

Spike could barely believe what he was hearing. “Why not?”

“Because of his cutie mark!” Starlight said petulantly. “He got his, and I didn’t! He moved on, and I didn’t! I stayed here, and never made another friend, because I was too afraid another cutie mark would take them away, too!”

Spike and Twilight exchanged glances of disbelief.

“You know something?” Twilight asked. “There’s a pony like you out there, Starlight: her name’s Apple Bloom. She had a friend who got her cutie mark before her, and they drifted apart too. You know what happened?”

Starlight paused, curiosity overtaking her.

“Well, in the timeline where I find my friends,” Twilight said. “She found other friends as well. Friends that she has been with for life.”

“But she doesn’t get them in the timelines you made,” Spike added, his voice growling. “You know what she got instead?”

“I… I don’t care!” Starlight insisted, turning away and trying to use the scroll.

Spike, however, was faster, and snatched the scroll from her. “Oh, is that right?” he snarled, “Well, then, how about we talk about someone you will care about… yourself!”

Starlight paused.

“That’s right,” Twilight said, “We started looking for you in the alternate timelines. And you know what happens to you?” She glared into Starlight’s eyes. “You become a brood slave to changelings in one. Your village got crushed and destroyed by Tirek in another.”

“Then there was the one where Discord found your village and turned you all into tiles on a bathroom floor,” Spike added.

“And one where Sombra and Diamondback’s diamond dogs found you and enslaved your entire village,” Twilight added.

Starlight tried to back up as Spike and Twilight bore down on her. “N-No-no, you’re lying…”

“Then why don’t we find out what became of your home,” Spike replied. “But I can take a good guess what happened to it.”

##

The guess was correct, and despite his hatred for her and the fear she had put him through, Spike almost felt a twinge of pity as Starlight knelt, screaming in agony as she beheld her village, once again destroyed, but this time, burned to the ground by dragon fire. Her alternate counterpart now nothing more than a barely recognizable pile of ashes… and a skull on a pike.

“If you’re too self-centered to see the damage you’re causing to others,” Twilight growled, “Then maybe you’ll be interested in how affecting the future affects you as well. And let me tell you; it doesn’t get any better for you. You think ‘losing a friend to cutie marks’ was bad. Try enslavement, torture and death because Equestria’s heroes weren’t there to save the land when it needed them!”

Starlight desperately turned away and tried to go for the scroll again, but Spike’s beatdown slowed her and her magic, and Spike was able to keep it away from her grip. Tears began to poke at her eyes.

“IT’S NOT FAIR!” she screamed. “WHY DO YOU GET TO BE SO IMPORTANT! HOW CAN A GROUP OF PONIES SO DIFFERENT BE THIS IMPORTANT!”

“Those differences were what made our friendship stronger,” Twilight replied back.

“Then why didn’t it work out with me and Sunburst?!” Starlight demanded. “We turned out different, and it tore our friendship apart.”

“So did Apple Bloom and Peppermint Twist,” Spike refuted. “But Apple Bloom - a child - managed to handle it. She found new friends and she moved on. And yet you - a fully grown mare - can’t do the same. You can bend time and space, but you can’t try to make a new friend?”

Starlight opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She looked down, tears streaming down her face. “I…”

“Why not try?” Twilight asked. “It’s a lot simpler than this,” She indicated the scroll and the destroyed village. “And if something that you can’t control happens that changes things, you’ll have an easier time working through it together. That’s what friendship is.” She paused before adding, “And it’s not just my friends that are important. Everyone is. When your friendship ended, it led us here.” She used the scroll to go to Cloudsdale again. “But just imagine all the others that are out there… waiting for you. If you just gave them a chance.”

Spike wasn’t sure that was enough. Part of him wanted to just punch Starlight again. But he got the feeling violence would only make things worse. He had to trust Twilight. He had to believe in her. Just as she believed in him. They had gotten through the past timelines together. And together, they would get through this one.

Starlight looked up, watching as Rainbow Dash began the Sonic Rainboom. “How do I know they won’t all end the same way?” she asked, in an utterly defeated tone.

Twilight shrugged. “It’s up to you to make sure they don’t.”

With that, the Sonic Rainboom went off. And as they went through the time portal, they finally returned to their own time. With the Mane Six friends, and the Drake Six all back together.

Ready to see Starlight face justice for her actions.

Comments

[Comickook]

Yikes. A very good job on the action, dialogue, characterizations, general wrap-up and future chapter set-up once again. Could definitely understand Spike getting angry enough at Starlight to deliver that epic beatdown on her after all those alternate timelines caused by Starlight's vendetta and even dragging Starlight along on the next timeline alteration. And, on the upside, Spike DID realize that he needs to calm down. On the downside, Spike's rage-fueled beatdown ended up literally starting a war between the ponies and the dragons. Also appreciated Twilight and Spike going into more detail with Starlight concerning the things they saw in the other timelines (including what happened to Starlight herself in those timelines). Bonus points for Spike pointing out that Apple Bloom took "losing a friend to a Cutie Mark" a lot better than Starlight did. As well as Twilight explaining certain other things in more detail about how one of the biggest parts of friendship is to keep trying at it and learning something from all the attempts. And, yeah, I could see where Spike would think he might NEED a vacation after this adventure (though it'll probably have to wait until very shortly after Flurry Heart's birth and it will be more of a working vacation during the "Gauntlet of Fire" deal and, to a lesser extent, this universe's version of "the Times Are A-Changeling").

VERY MUCH looking forward to more of this.

[JNKing]

11732953
Glad you enjoyed.

Also happy you liked Spike's reference to Apple Bloom; I've always wished that someone pointed out to Starlight how she was acting more childish than an actual child.

Speaking of which, I'm definitely looking forward to the chapter explaining how Twilight's going to handle her messing with the timeline. Some spoilers; it's going to be a lot more complicated than letting her be Twilight's student.

And like you said, Spike is definitely going to wait for his chance at a vacation, even though he definitely needs one after this adventure.

Looking forward to sharing more soon.

Until then. 👋