The starry sky above the arena began to swirl and morph into a void of endless nothingness. It was as if the very space above the massive stone structure was starting to crumble. Coba paid no attention to it at first as he looked down at the lifeless body of his brother, but the swirling vortex started to whir and groan; reminding him of the impending danger that was Haki.

"She's here..." Draven uttered under his breath as he looked up at the hole in the sky.

"Already?"Gin said as she strapped her blunderbuss to her back and turned to face the giant hole.

"We have to get back to Twilight and Fluttershy! They could be in trouble!" Spike realized as he crouched down and placed his hand on Coba's shoulder. "We have to go."

"I know, just... not yet... I have to stay with him for a while. Go now, find our friends, find my father... kill Haki. Go." Coba said as he pushed Spike away and ordered the remaining troops to get back to the arena.

All but the one soldier left, the same one that saved Coba minutes ago. He lit another cigar and blew some smoke as he looked up at the celestial tear in the heavens. He laughed as if he just heard a joke, then he gave his attention to Coba, who kneeled in silence beside Wantinga's corpse.

"What are you still doing here?!" Coba cried. "Leave us be, soldier!"

"The name's Butch, kid. Listen, I don't know ya, but I know what you're thinkin' right about now." The soldier sighed. "You're thinkin': 'How could this happen? Was it my fault?'. Well, I'm just here to tell ya that it's nopony's fault. Death doesn't care if you're special or somthin', it happens to everpony... whether you want it to or not."

Coba began to break down again. "But why him? Why take him from me? He had so much to-."

"So much to live for? Yeah, I knew a few stallions who had a lot to live for as well, but then I watched their heads get blown to pieces." Butch sighed again; releasing a puff of smoke. "I'm not tellin ya to get over it now... I'm askin' ya to not let it consume you, the anger, the guilt. It ain't nopony's fault but death itself."

"Are you saying that I shouldn't take revenge? That I shouldn't grieve?" Coba asked as he looked up at the gritty stallion; slightly offended by his statement.

"Nah, I'm sayin' you need to let him go eventually, cause he'll never be free if you keep hangin' on," Butch grunted as he put his hand out to Coba. "C'mon, let's take him somewhere else."

"No, I just... give me a minute." Coba choked back more tears as he ran his hand through his brother's mane.

"Well... I'll see you at the arena. Bring him with you..." Butch said as he began walking back into the destroyed city.

Stiehl stopped for a moment; tightening his hand into a fist as he looked back at Coba, but then shook his head and moved on.

****

The swirling vortex in the sky began to hover over the arena; looking down upon all those who were below. Spike gulped as he heard the gaping hole growl; feeling it in his bones. The others joined him on the balcony and stared down the vortex with him.

"So, what happens now?" Spike asked the others as he turned his head.

"Well... prophecy states that the warrior has to enter alone," Draven explained.

"But, how am I supposed to get in that thing?" Spike scratched his head as he looked up again. "By blasting myself into it?"

"We don't know what that is, Spike. It could turn you into spaghetti for all we know!" Twilight placed her hand on her chin in deep thought. "Maybe... the stone! Where's the stone?"

"I think I saw the announcer take it away when the Changelings attacked," Fluttershy added, "but I don't know where exactly-."

"Not a problem." A familiar friendly voice interrupted.

It was the announcer and Butch. Butch gave him a nod, and from his overcoat the announcer revealed the Stone of Right; glowing a bright red, and humming softly as he placed it in Spike's hand.

"Where the hell did you two come from?" Gin chuckled lightly, the turned to face Butch. "Wait, who are you?"

"Found this guy on my way here. Said he was lookin' for some kind of "dragon warrior", or somethin'." Butch said as he patted the announcer on the back. "The name's Butch, by the way."

"Wait, I know you! You're the same soldier who saved Coba!" Draven remembered. "Is he okay?"

"The guy needs time... he just lost his brother after all," Butch grunted.

"Wantinga... he must be devastated." Twilight shook her head; trying to process it all.

"This may sound cruel, but we need to focus on the task at hand right now. " Winslow interrupted. "Getting Spike up there somehow."

"Right..." Twilight agreed; although she could not shake off the anguish caused by thinking of Coba's misery. "What's our next move?"

"Well, how do I use this thing?" Spike wondered as he looked down at the glowing red rock.

"You must go to the center of the arena where the celestial anomaly has manifested. The stone will react automatically, and you will be thrust into Haki's limbo where she will challenge you to a magic duel." The announcer explained to the confused dragon.

"What happens if I lose?" Spike asked; still extremely uneasy about the task at hand.

"If you lose, Haki's spirit will be freed from this arena, and she will claim Wantthai as her own. It will bring the Sorcerers one step closer to reviving Leere. We must not allow that." The announcer informed Spike and the others as he began walking down some nearby stairs back to the catacombs, where the other civilians were hiding. "This stone has been in my family for generations. We have waited thousands of years for this moment, and now... it has finally come. Take good care of the stone, Spike."

"Well, this doesn't seem impossible." Spike sighed sarcastically as he looked into the stone.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Fluttershy asked the frightened dragon.

"No turning back now I suppose." Spike unsurely shrugged his shoulders; a clear expression of fear on his face.

"Then you best be going." Winslow insisted as he gestured at the center of the arena.

"Can I go with him?" Twilight begged to Draven and Winslow. "I just want to... I just want to wish him luck before he..."

"It's okay Twilight. You can go." Draven nodded his head as he gave the young alicorn a comforting smile.

****

Spike and Twilight walked down the last hallway of the concourse leading into the arena. She slowed down a bit as they got closer; trying to savor what could be her last moments with Spike. Eventually, her pace slowed to the point of a snail, and Spike walked ahead of her until he noticed her absence.

"Twilight, what's wrong?" Spike asked the worried alicorn, although he knew the answer.

"Spike, remember when we used to play in the royal gardens?" Twilight reminisced as she stared down at the floor.

"Of course I do." Spike smiled as he turned to face Twilight. "I would hide in the rose bushes, and I'd jump out and scare you!"

"But you always got scraped up by those thorns." Twilight sighed as she remembered. "Then we would play doctor when I patched you up!"

"Oh right! Thank goodness I had scales, otherwise I would have been minced-up!" Spike laughed for a moment before realizing that Twilight was beginning to cry.

"Please come back safe Spike... I can't go on without you! Promise me you'll make it back alive!" Twilight wept as she felt Spike wrap his arms around her.

"I promise Twilight. I promise..." Spike cried as he rested his head on her shoulder; feeling her gentle pulse.

As Spike broke away from their embrace reluctantly and moved forward; looking back one last time before he opened up the two large doors leading into the arena. As the gates shut, his eyes met with Twilight's one last time; her graceful smile gave him hope, and her passionate eyes gave him strength. He looked up at the hole in the sky and walked closer to it, but stopped when he felt his pocket burn. The stone shone ever brighter than before, and without acting upon the rock, it gravitated towards the black-hole; pulling him closer to the center of the arena.

When he reached the center, the stone lifted him off the ground high in the air. He tried fighting its pull at first, but he eventually realized where it was taking him. As he reached the tear in the sky, he was sucked in, and he felt his entire body shake. At first, the black void surrounding him seemed to remain still. But then, he felt the world turn- as if his whole perception was turned around. He ascended to begin with, but then, he fell. He hit the ground hard, but not as hard as he expected. As he adjusted his vision, he realized what he landed on.

The ground felt squishy and soft, like some kind of giant organ, and it even throbbed like a heart. As he got to his feet, he brushed off the grotesque slime that seemed to move as if it had a mind of its own. He looked up automatically to survey the area, and to his surprise... it was the same arena. Although looked as if everything was... organic, like the entire stadium was made from living tissue. The chairs were made of bone, there were pools of blood all over the arena, and strange pillars made of muscle tissue supported the hellish structure. Although, there didn't seem to be an end to the ceiling. It was nothing but blackness that went on forever, and the only sign that there was an end was the fact that the tissue-pillars towered high above the walls of the arena.

Then, the ground started to shake. Spike used his claws to anchor himself to the squishy ground as he felt his body vibrate. On the other side of the arena, an orifice of teeth opened, and a wormlike creature emerged from the hole. It was gargantuan; twenty times larger than Spike, and its slimy body began to twitch as many more mouths began to open all over its body. Spike shielded himself; waiting for a killing blow, but to his surprise... the creature sat still as if it were waiting for something.

Once again, the stone burned in Spike's hand as he raised it up towards the hideous creature. As the creature smelled the stone, it laughed, or... many ponies laughed as all of the creature's mouths opened up. As it laughed, Spike could hear the voices of many different ponies- colts, fillies, the elderly.

"Jina lako, joka ni nini?" The squirming mass of flesh asked with the voice of a young filly.

Spike was speechless at first, but eventually he mustered up the courage to speak, although it didn't come out as he intended. "Uh- um... what?"

"What is your name, dragon?" The worm groaned in the low voice of a stallion.

"It's... Spike?" The shivering dragon muttered. "What- what is this place?"

"Matumbo... The Bowels. Haki's darkest depths, the hell she has created." The disgusting mass wailed. "Sisi ni Mkutano. We are Mkutanu... The Gathering. We are the souls of those she plucked from the skies of mbinguni, and dragged down to her own kuzimu. We are the guardians of this temple of flesh and bone, and we have been waiting for you, mpiganaji."

"Where is Haki?" Spike inquired; his whole body still shaking from fear.

"She is waitng for you, mpiganaji- in the next room." The vile creature growled as it drew closer to Spike. "We can smell royalty, the damu of the joka mfalme... the dragon-king...."

The whole arena began to shake and groan. Blood and screams escaped openings all over the arena, and Spike once again held onto the fleshy ground. Another orifice opened behind the worm-beast; leading into a sort of throne room.

"Enter the chamber, mpiganaji, fight Haki. Free us from this kuzimu..." The shambling mass moaned.

Spike nodded and reluctantly moved forward; swallowing his saliva as he looked back to see the orifice close behind him. There was no going back. There was no escape.

Author's Notes:

As always I hope you enjoyed! By the way, if you want translations just go to Google Translate and copy and paste the words (the language is Swahili).