The Drake Six

by JNKing

Episode 5: Joy

“NIGHT FIRE!”

The booming roar jolted Spike from a moment of researching Dragon Greed with Diamondback. Though Spike nearly jumped from his scales, Diamondback just gave an irritated glance.

“Darius, who’s yelling?” she demanded of her diamond dog guard.

“Minotaur,” Darius replied back. “He doesn’t have his weapons, he’s just… standing there.”

“NIGHT FIRE!” the minotaur’s voice boomed again. “I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE!”

Night Fire rolled her eyes. “Hang on, guys, I got this,” she promised, racing outside. “STONE!” she roared back. “I KNOW YOU’RE OUT THERE! WHAT DO YOU WANT?!”

“GET DOWN HERE; I’M IN THE MOOD FOR SOME-”

“HEY-HEY!” Night Fire roared over his description. “I GOT A LITTLE ONE UP HERE; WATCH YOUR MOUTH!”

“I’m not that little,” Spike protested, but Night Fire merely waved at him to be quiet for now.

“PICK UP ALE ON YOUR WAY DOWN HERE,” the minotaur boomed.

Darius relaxed at his perch. “Alright, he’s heading off,” he said, before looking to Night Fire. “So… what was that about?”

Night Fire sighed. “Just my way of spreading joy and happiness to everyone,” she replied, glancing at Diamondback. “You got any ale up here?”

Diamondback gagged. “Why would I settle for such a primitive brewery? I have wine, freshly made from the vine!” She indicated a garden filled with fruits and vegetables.

Night Fire laughed. “Yeah, that’s too refined for him.” She sighed. “Alright, I’ll pick some up on my way.” She flared her wings and took off.

“Wait, Night!” Spike tried to protest, but she was gone before he could say anything. He glanced back at the others, noticing Swift had a very worried look.

“Should she be around that guy?” Swift asked. “He gives me a bad vibe.”

Spike pondered it. His only real experience with a minotaur was Iron Will; the one who had apparently trained Fluttershy to be extra aggressive. But even then, Iron Will hadn’t come across as dangerous; just really passionate and a bit over-the-top.

“I’ve seen her before with that guy,” Phoenix said. “She said she lost a bet with him, so she’s been helping him out whenever he needs her.”

“Not sure I wanna know what that kind of help entails,” Darius admitted.

With Swift still looking concerned, Spike jumped onto his back. “Let’s follow her and make sure she’s okay,” he replied.

Grinning, Swift nodded and made for the exit, before Jackknife followed them.

“Hey-hey, don’t leave without me,” Jackknife noted. “Ain’t no way I’m gonna let some glorified bull hurt one of our friends.”

Spike glanced at Phoenix and Diamondback. “You guys wanna come with?”

Phoenix shrugged. “You go on ahead. I won’t be much use if things get violent.”

Diamondback gave them a grin. “I have faith you three can handle this, Spike,” she promised. “Do make sure Night is in one piece.” She glowered. “Those minotaurs will not want me showing up on their doorstep if I find out they harmed one of my treasures.”

With Swift shivering at Diamondback’s implied anger, he followed after Night, with Spike and Jackknife right behind him.

##

Night Fire’s path led them out of the Dragon Lands and to less fiery regions. Not that Jackknife was complaining; he much preferred cooler environments.

But the reprieve from the heat was a poor substitute for what they found out Night was up to.

Surrounded by five minotaurs, with the ‘Stone’ one straddling her back, Night Fire was being forced to carry the bulky minotaur. Almost like a work horse.

Spike found himself getting off of Swift in a hurry. Normally, he had nothing against riding; after all, due to his smaller size, it was thanks to Twilight letting him ride her that he was able to follow her around.

But Stone was way too big for Night Fire. And as the poor dragoness collapsed under his weight, the minotaurs only let out raucous roars of laughter, completely unsympathetic to her plight.

“See boys?” Stone boomed over the laughter. “Those dragons think they’re so tough. Well look at this one; now nothing more than my ride!” He dug his hooves into her side, and Night Fire struggled to lift him up.

“What’s the matter, dragon,” one minotaur mocked her. “Too heavy?”

“Maybe she prefers to be ridden another way,” another minotaur noted. “Why don’t we indulge her?”

“BEASTS!” Jackknife roared, having already rushed down and sunk his fist into the back of one minotaur’s head. “BRUTES! SHE’S HAD ENOUGH!”

The minotaurs just laughed harder, picking up their axes.

“Well, look at this,” Stone cheered. “Another dragon waiting to be broken.”

Jackknife smirked. “Yer gonna have a hard time breaking water,” he noted, before he and the minotaurs began to brawl.

As Jackknife held off the bulls, Spike and Swift raced to an exhausted Night Fire’s side.

“Hang on, Night,” Swift said, pulling her to his back.

“We’re gonna get you out of here,” Spike promised.

“W-What?” Night Fire stammered, trying to slip off Swift’s back. “But guys, I need to stay.”

Swift and Spike stared at her in disbelief. “Pardon?!”

“I need to stay,” Night Fire said, indicating Stone as he fought Jackknife with wild laughter. “I make him happy. I make them all happy.”

“By letting them sit on you?” Swift asked in disbelief.

Night tilted her head. “Didn’t you let Spike sit on you to get here?”

“I don’t weigh a billion pounds,” Spike protested.

“Neither does he,” Night Fire replied. “He only weighs, like… what? Maybe five hundred or something?”

Spike face palmed. “Look, the way he’s treating you isn’t right. You don’t deserve that.”

“But it makes him happy,” Night protested in kind. “I told you, Spike; I like making people feel good about themselves. And if this makes them happy, then I gotta do it.”

“Why the heck would you want to make this brute happy?” Swift demanded.

“You didn’t see him when I did,” Night explained.

##

When I found him, he had just been beaten senseless by his own people. He was lonely, depressed, and needed some sort of sign that he was still worthy.

When I found out what was wrong, I challenged him. And when he triumphed over me, you should’ve seen the life return to his eyes. It was like he was reborn.

Sure, it meant I’ve had to… do some things that I’d rather not elaborate on. But it keeps him from going back to that depressed state he was in.

##

“And isn’t there enough cynicism and bitterness outside Equestria, Spike?” Night Fire asked. “Wouldn’t it be better if we could get some happiness out here?”

Spike was thunderstruck. He found himself praying that Pinkie Pie never had to encounter a dilemma like this.

At that moment, Jackknife yelped as he hit the ground, Stone bearing down on him and kicking him in the chest.

“C’mon,” Stone dared, kicking at Jack again. “That the best you got, snake? Yer girlfriend fought harder than this.”

As Jackknife cursed and struggled to get back up, Night flinched at his abuse. Spike glared at Stone before looking to Night.

“The way he’s acting doesn’t make us happy,” Spike noted. “It’s certainly not making Jackknife happy.”

Wincing as another minotaur caught Jackknife by the arms, allowing Stone to punch the poor sea serpent in the gut, Night hesitantly got up and approached Stone.

“Hey, Stone?” she said, reaching out for him. “He’s had enough. You can…”

But Stone whirled around and back-handed the dragoness, sending her into a spin. “I’ll decide what I can and can’t do,” Stone snarled at her. “All you need to do is worry about whether I’m in a good mood or not.”

But then one of Stone’s friends saw Swift. He leered at the hybrid.

“Hey, Stone,” the crony noted. “Ain’t that the hybrid that griffon said she’d sell us?”

Swift whimpered, backing up behind Spike as Spike stood ready to defend him.

Stone just laughed at Spike’s defiance. “Aw, is some little hatchling going to protect that little sack of gold? You think you can take on all of us, wimp?”

The minotaurs laughed, but Spike only had eyes for Night, who was looking between the two with horror.

“Moment of Truth, Night Fire,” Spike said to her. “Who’s happiness is more important; ours, or theirs.”

Stone guffawed at his words. “Obviously mine, you pathetic runt.” He reared his hoof back to punt Spike like a soccer ball.

But in that moment, Night reacted. Seizing his hoof, she flipped him to his back, her eyes narrowed in tranquil fury.

“Not to the point of hurting kids,” she snarled.

Stone sneered, rolling back to his hooves as his minotaurs surrounded both of them. He briefly glanced at his cronies nervously, but quickly flicked his eyes back to Night’s with defiance. “Looks like someone’s forgotten her place,” Stone growled, cracking his knuckles. “No matter; I’ll make sure you re-learn it soon enough.”

However, Swift got a burst of courage, and shot forward, sinking his beak into Stone’s flank. The minotaur roared in rage, but Jackknife chose that moment to get a second wind, socking one of his cronies in the tail bone. At the same time, Night Fire leaped up and kicked one crony in the face while punching another in the throat.

Even Spike got in on the action, rushing forward and unleashing a burst of fire that set another crony’s fur ablaze. The crony ran away screaming, as Spike ran into Stone’s legs, helping Spike trip him up as Night and Jackknife buried their fists into Stone’s face, slamming him into the ground hard enough to form a small crater.

As Night got up, she glanced at the other minotaurs, who had either run away or were whimpering and groaning on the ground. Her expression deflated as she looked down in regret.

Spike, however, touched her side, causing her to look at her. “It’s not bad to bring joy and happiness to others,” he promised her. “But it shouldn’t come at the expense of your joy and happiness.”

“Or the joy and happiness of your friends,” Jackknife added. “Cuz believe me; seeing you get treated as a toy wasn’t fun for us.”

“Surely, it wasn’t fun for you,” Swift noted.

Night cricked her shoulders. “I guess…” she mumbled. “I just…” she crossed her arms over her chest. “Bringing joy and happiness to guys like these was how I stayed alive.” She grimaced. “Though I guess that falls a little short seeing how we handled these guys.”

Spike smiled. “But that’s the thing; you were probably alone back then. You aren’t now.”

Night grinned at Spike before giving him a hug. “Thanks, big guy.”

Spike’s eyes glowed with happiness, before the four set off for home.

Spike could already envision his next letter to Twilight:

Dear Twilight and Princess Celestia,

While it’s important to bring joy and happiness to others, it shouldn’t be a one-way street. My friend Night Fire learned this lesson when, in an effort to bring positivity to the world, she allowed others to derive sicker pleasures from her suffering.

This kind of behavior should not be encouraged; if you want to make someone happy, you should also be able to gain happiness from the act as well. Someone’s positivity should not come at the expense of your own, or the ones you care about.

I hope that I can help Night Fire find the balance between making others happy and making herself happy the way Pinkie Pie manages.

Until then, we’ll keep at it.

Your faithful dragon friend…

However, just before Spike could complete his letter, they rose above the mountains, and Swift faltered. “Guys, do you see that?”

Spike followed his gaze, and his eyes widened in shock.

From their vantage point in the sky, they could see the castle of Canterlot.

But something was off about it. It looked like it was shrouded in some kind of black and pink bubble.

“Swift, can you get us a little closer,” Spike asked.

Swift nodded, even as he looked nervous approaching the strange blob. Soon enough, Spike saw why.

The bubble wasn’t pink and black; it was predominantly pink. The black parts were from some sort of insectoid horses banging on the shield.

Trying to get into the city.

Comments

[Comickook]

Another well done chapter. Definitely appreciated the work going into the exchanges, characterizations, action and future chapter set-up here. Really appreciated how Night learned that the joy and happiness of others is all good and well, but it shouldn't come at the cost of letting yourself and your friends being treated like garbage. And the foreshadowing for this universe's version of "A Canterlot Wedding" was rather well done too. Sounds like the next chapter or two is/are going to have the Mane Six teaming up with the Drake Six unless I miss my guess (which, admittedly, I might be).

Definitely looking forward to more of this.

[JNKing]

11515793
Thank you very much for your feedback.

Night's lesson is one that I had to learn myself, so I'm really happy I was able to translate it over to her pretty well.

And I'm also excited for the next few chapters Though before the Drake Six can worry about saving Canterlot, they'll need to worry about themselves. After all Dragon Greed - the stuff that turned Spike into a monster in 'Secret of My Excess' - is going to be a thing with them. But if they can overcome the temptation Greed gives them, it will lead to one epic team up between the dragons and the ponies.

I'm very excited to share more of this soon.

Until then, thanks again for reading. 👍

[Comickook]

11515888

You're very welcome. And thanks very much for both the correction and the verification.

[JNKing]

11515974
You got it.

Almost gave away something of a twist that I'm saving for later episodes with a few typos. It's going to be a pretty big reveal.

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

This was yet another good chapter. I really like how you made use of the lesser known species that only had one character or cameo use it.

I will admit, there are many other mythical creatures I'd love to see be used a characters that the show never used.

But regardless, I look forward to the next chapter.

[JNKing]

11516432

I will admit, there are many other mythical creatures I'd love to see be used a characters that the show never used.

Agreed; I'm kinda hoping to be able to explore them more - give species like the diamond dogs, griffons or the kirins a bit more screen time - but we'll see what kind of adventures my brain can come up with for that.

For now, I'm happy you enjoyed the chapter, and I look forward to sharing the next one when it's ready.

Until then.

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

11516437
Sounds good to me. Plus, it would be nice to see the Thestrals (batponies) get some attention.

[JNKing]

11516728

Sounds good to me. Plus, it would be nice to see the Thestrals (batponies) get some attention.

Considering a pretty big twist I got planned, I think we'll get to explore the thestrals a bit more in the future.

Thanks for the pointers and ideas on where I can go for more chapters and episodes. 👍

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

11517176
Cheers.

[AstralFlare42]

I am excited for more.

[JNKing]

11518463
And I look forward to sharing more soon. 👍

[Z THE PONY]

Is Spike going to be friends with/protect Thorax In this story?

[JNKing]

11570605
He is.

They're just going to meet in a slightly different way from how they did before.