Spike stood tall in the Crystal Empire throne room, his friend Thorax by his side, who was cringing slightly at the hateful glares sent his way.
"Spike! What are you doing?!" Shining Armor cried in angry disbelief. "Get away from that thing!"
"Thorax."
Shining's eyebrows rose off his head in shock. "Excuse me?"
"His name is Thorax." Spike said calmly, turning to smile at the changeling. "And he's my friend."
Everypony in the room gave a collective gasp.
"Spike, have you lost your mind?!" Shining shouted. "It's a changeling, a parasitic monster!"
Spike glared at his surrogate brother. He had known Shining almost as long as he had known Twilight, which was since he was a hatchling. He knew how stubborn Shining was; once he got an idea in his head it was almost impossible to get him to let go of it. If he was going to convince him that Thorax wasn't a threat, he'd have to appeal to his sense of logic.
"Shining, what do you think of dragons?"
Shining blinked in surprise at the sudden question. "What?"
Spike shrugged. "It's a simple question, Shining. What do you think of dragons?"
"Spike, what does that have to do with anything?" Princess Cadance asked, confused.
"A lot, actually." Spike said calmly, then turned address the entire room. "For those who don't know, dragons...are dangerous. They're big, they're rude, and they can breathe fire. They're also very greedy, and the more treasure they hoard, the more powerful they become. They're almost impossible to stop."
The Crystal guards exchanged nervous glances. "But, Brave and Glorious one, you're a -"
"A dragon, yes." Spike said. "And a baby one at that. But there was an incident a year ago where I actually transformed and nearly destroyed all of Ponyville. I allowed myself to be consumed by my greed, and nearly hurt a lot of ponies, including my friends."
Spike let this fact sink in before continuing, "And that's just as a baby. Imagine what kind of damage I can cause as an adult."
"Spike, that's different!" Twilight cried. "You learned your lesson after that. You actively choose not to hurt ponies. Just because you're a dragon-"
"Exactly." Spike interrupted. "I choose. So if it's possible to believe that a dragon, a creature that has been known to eat ponies in the past, can choose to be good and virtuous, and even be a hero," he gestured dramatically to the entire room with his arms. "why is it so impossible to believe that a changeling can choose to want to be friends?"
"There is no such thing as a good changeling!" Shining yelled. "They kidnapped Cadance! They brainwashed me! They attacked Canterlot!"
Starlight stepped forward. "Spike, please. I know you think you're helping, but you have to admit, the evidence is stacked against him" she pointed a hoof at Thorax. "He did sneak in, after all."
But Spike was having none of it. "You know, Starlight, I would think you of all ponies would be more open-minded, considering you're not exactly a saint yourself."
Starlight visibly stiffened. Twilight glared sternly. "Spike, this is not the time or the place-"
"No!" Spike yelled, stamping his foot. Everypony went quiet in shock. "She opened this door!" he pointed accusingly at Starlight. "I will defend my friend and my position!"
He turned to the entire room. "Several months ago, Starlight Glimmer broke into Twilight's castle and used a magic scroll and the Cutie Map to alter the time-line, making it so Twilight and the others never became friends, never became the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony."
The room, save for Sunburst and Twilight, collectively gasped and turned to look at Starlight. Even the ponies of the Crystal Empire knew how important the Elements were.
Spike didn't relent. "I was there. Each future me and Twilight visited was worse than the last. Every possible bad outcome you could think of, we saw it. Sombra, Nightmare Moon, Chrysalis, Discord, Tirek! Heck, in one future there was no Equestria! Just a desolate wasteland devoid of any life!"
He turned to glare at Starlight. "An entire nation destroyed. Ponies' lives ruined. Friendships broken. All because one unicorn couldn't get over the fact that her friend moved away."
"...Starlight?" Sunburst asked quietly. He knew that Starlight had done some bad things during their years apart, but he didn't realize it was this bad.
Starlight hung her head in shame. "It's true. I wanted to hurt Twilight like I thought she'd hurt me. I..." She wiped her eye furiously. "I don't know what I wanted."
Spike's gaze softened as he turned back to Shining Armor. "In the grand scheme of things, Starlight has done far worse than Chrysalis and her army has ever done. But we forgave her. She proved that she was willing to change and make friends. So why can't you give Thorax the same chance?"
Shining set his jaw. "He's a changeling, Spike." But he didn't sound so sure as before.
Spike noticed this. Just one more push....
"So you're determined to judge him solely for his race, something he has no control over? You're a lot of things, Shining Armor, but I never took you for a bigot."
Spike straightened as he looked all three royals in the eye. "But fine. Go ahead and lock him up. But you'll have to lock me up, too. I already abandoned him once. I'm not doing it again."
"Spike, think about what you're doing." Twilight implored.
"I have." Spike said. "You always taught me to stand up for what I believe in. " He moved to Thorax's side and placed a scaly hand on his neck. "And I believe in Thorax."
He turned to Shining and mentally dug his heels in. "So what's it gonna be?"
One guard turned unsure to Shining. "Your Majesty?"
Shining glared at the two, neither he nor Spike backing down for several minutes. Finally, Shining gave a loud sigh, and said gruffly, "Stand down."
The guards obeyed their prince, several looking relieved that they wouldn't have to throw their savior in the dungeon.
Shining slowly walked over to the baby dragon and changeling, and glared at Thorax. "I don't trust you."
Thorax merely nodded sadly. "I know."
Shining's gaze softened ever slightly. "But... I do trust Spike....and if he's willing to give you a chance....I guess I am too."
Thorax relaxed and gave a smile. "Thank you, your majesty."
Cadance came to stand next to her husband. She spoke with authority, "That being said, we can't just let you roam freely. If you want our trust, you're going to have to earn it."
Thorax bowed respectfully. "That's all I want, your majesties. A chance." He turned to Spike. "Thank you friend...for everything."
Spike smiled back. "Don't mention it."
