As the night reached its peak, the ponies of Mystwood held a brief celebration for their liberators, gifting to them food and song around a pyre. Spike sat with Draven and Pisces; he was covered in bandages, as were the other injured souls who had a fierce bout with the invaders like Cyro and Winslow. However, despite the pain and struggle, Spike was relieved to get a moment of respite for the grueling road ahead. Caven Isle was next, and it would prove a fight that would dwarf Mystwood tenfold. He took a bite from an apple, tilting his head to the side as he stared at the fruit, watching as it reflected the orange glow of the pyre just a few meters away. He finished it off, tossing it into the fire ahead as he looked over at the hole in the outer wall of Mystwood, then up at the stars above. He heard bustling miriads in the distance preparing for the final battle to come; their rest would come later than the others.

The miriad peasants set up tents near the destroyed city walls, gathering supplies and weapons for their town guards; they were to join up with Durand's forces. Daisy carried cargo onto ships docked near the hillside, and Galaeron and Syrune aided in their efforts along with Raiel; she kept a wide smile on her face as she did so, no matter the gloom of the world around her or the daunting challenges that lie ahead. As she finished up her work there, she and her two guards sat down by the pyre nearby, joining with Durand and Luna, who appeared to be in a heated conversation about something; Spike wanted to investigate. As he looped around the fire, Spike felt an arm grab at his wrist; it was Twilight, and Dross sat close by on a large stone.

"Hey, Twilight, how are you feeling...?" Spike had been told about her fight with Lamia by Dross just after the battle.

"I'm alright, Spike, really..." Twilight nodded her head, insisting that she had regained her composure. But Spike could see the worry in her eyes; she was scared, more afraid than she had ever been before, and that fear tore a chunk out of Spike as well. "Are you okay? You used up a lot of your magic. Are you sure you're okay to be roaming around like this?"

"Yeah, I'll live," Spike assured her as Twilight loosened her grip on his wrist. "But I'm still worried about you— that thing living inside you, it's-."

"I'll be okay, Spike, I'm learning to control it," Twilight interjected in a slightly harsh manner.

"Alright..." Spike doubtfully stared down at the ground and back to her a few times before he broke free of her grasp. "Okay."

Spike stood in front of them, to which Raiel got up on her hooves as well, smiling warmly at Spike as she took his hand and kept walking around the pyre. "Come."

"Huh? What are we-?" Spike was cut off as Raiel motioned towards a fairly secluded spot near the fire and sat down, placing her hand on a stone next to hers, inviting him over. "Okay... what's this about?"

"I'd like to give you something, Spike," Raiel said as she reached around the back of her neck with both hands.

"Whaa...?" Spike's teenage mind wandered to lewd places.

"Spike, nothing like that..." Raiel snorted as she placed something in Spike's hand. "Here. I want you to have this."

Spike opened up his hand slowly, marveling as the whole form of the object came into view; it was a necklace, a very simple yet elegant design that beautifully reflected Raiel's personality. The string was made of simple brown leather, and the metal used at the end of the string and on the amulet itself was made from polished steel, expertly crafted and shaped. The ornamental jewel was a deep blue sapphire— calm and safe. It was shaped into a raindrop, and four steel spiral pieces swirled down the bulb of the drop, connecting at the bottom. Spike felt and overwhelming spiritual peace come over him as he gazed into the sapphire raindrop.

"Raiel... what is this?" Spike asked as he carefully cupped the necklace in his two hands.

"It was my father's— given to me when I was very small," Raiel answered him as she sat closer to Spike. "I want you to have it."

"What? No, Raiel, I can't... this is-." Spike tried handing it back to her, but Raiel refused to take it.

"No, take it, please..." Raiel pushed Spike's hands away. "My father gave that to me to keep me safe where ever I went. His mentor gave it to him, and before his mentor was a brave knight. It's been passed down from pony to pony throughout Ccrondil's history." Raiel grabbed the necklace and put it around Spike's neck. "I want you to wear this where ever you may go. So that when you leave Ccrondil, you'll take a piece of it with you."

"Raiel, I-... I don't know what to say..." Spike said as he looked down at the necklace. "Why give this to me?"

"Because you are worthy of it, Spike," Raiel grinned as she revisited the memory of her father giving her the same necklace. "Even with odds stacked against you, even when things seem bleak, you somehow manage to live through it. You defeated Haki, you stopped Gek, and now you will help us defeat Alptraum. You go through life with humble grace, yet you carry yourself with courage, and you keep a smile on your face, always." Raiel closed her eyes for a moment as she saw her father's face pop into her head. "You remind me of my father."

"He sounds like an amazing stallion..." Spike smiled as he clutched the raindrop in his hand.

"He was." Raiel sighed as she opened her eyes, placing a kiss on Spike's cheek. "And I think he would have thought the same of you."

Gin looked on at Spike and Raiel with pleasant eyes— a wave of bliss overtaking her. Though she did harbor some emotion for Spike, it didn't blossom, and she was okay with that fact. She was content with them remaining friends. But she saw genuine love between Spike and Raiel, the kind that could happen in an instant, the kind that burned with a steady but never wild flame. She was happy for him.

"Ginny, you alright...?" A bandaged Rummy asked his sister as he watched her stare on at Spike and Raiel, who both were laughing together.

"I'm better than that, Rummy." Gin smirked as she turned to her brother, clutching her own necklace, pulling the diamond towards her heart.

"You have some crew, Pisces..." Draven said to the stoic admiral beside him as he felt the warmth of the flames tickle his face.

"I could say the same for your crew, Draven." Pisces gave him a nod, grinning ever so subtly as he glanced over at Rummy, who seemed as bright and chipper as ever. Pisces reached into the inside pocket of his frock coat, grabbing a small coin and holding it just below his chest, staring down at it with pride.

"What's that? A bit?" Draven wondered as the copper coin glistened against the light of the pyre.

"A lucky coin— a battered old bit Rummy found on his first day of training with me when he was fourteen." Pisces chuckled lightly as he put it back in his pocket, remembering how often Rummy would challenge him to a fistfight as a young colt.

"You've known him a while then, eh?" Draven said as he adjusted his hat.

"Indeed." Pisces' fiddled with his coin, rolling it across his index finger with his thumb. "We both have a Fawkes in our crew."

"Wouldn't be as lively without em' right?" Draven snickered as he watched Rummy and Gin scrap over the last sip of rum from her bottle.

"No, it would not," Pisces gave a hearty laugh as he grabbed his tankard filled with ale he set on a nearby stone, downing half of it with a single glug. "It would not..."

Fluttershy kept Droyuz close by, sitting just inches away from her against the wall of a dilapidated house. She was reluctant to even take it out of its sheath. Fluttershy had explained Amon's story to him and Twilight, and at first Winslow wasn't sure what to make of it. As a paladin, Winslow was trained to think of demons as heartless, soulless creatures without empathy. But as he grew older, he began to realize the bias of his upbringing— the sheer narrow-mindedness of thinking. Like regular ponies, demons were still living beings with a spectrum of emotions. And like him, they too had a biased upbringing in Infernum— a programmed resentment to the mortal world above. To Winslow, it was clear Amon deeply cared for his daughter and never stopped caring, despite his situation, despite all the pain and misery of his existence, he still held onto the hope of seeing her again. And although his prized blade he had since he was very small had been shattered to pieces, it could never come close to the damage done to Fluttershy's spirit.

Slowly, Winslow grabbed Fluttershy's hand, remaining at a comfortable distance from her. "Don't fret, Fluttershy. Your father isn't lost. He's with you." Winslow motioned over to Droyuz, clutching the remnants of his own blade— wrapped up in a blanket on his lap. "His memory lives on in his blade the same way my father lived on in my blade."

"Will it go away, Winslow? The confusion, the anger, the... heartbreak?" Fluttershy asked with a low and somber voice, though, her sadness did not manifest through tears like they usually did. This pain cut too deep to be shed through tears. "I only saw him for... minutes. And yet, somehow, it felt as if I knew him my whole life."

"The pain will go away, but only if you turn it into something stronger. Turn it into passion, willpower, determination..." Winslow let go of her hand and placed Droyuz on her lap. "Pain is just reassurance that you are alive, and everything else you feel keeps you alive. So live, for him, and for everypony you hold dear right now. Live."

Fluttershy grabbed the handle of Droyuz, slowly pulling it from its leather prison, revealing it's faint crimson glow. She smiled, feeling a familiar warmth come over her; her father's embrace. "Thank you, Winslow..."

"I miss this..." Pisces said as he took a whiff from his pipe, blowing out a cloud of smoke from his nostrils.

"What's that? Battle? War?" Draven wondered.

"No... moments like these, when common folk come together like this," Pisces' eyes twinkled as he looked up at the stars. "In a great conflict like this, minds are fractured, spirits are broken, yet..." Pisces took another puff from his pipe. "In the aftermath, we piece ourselves together— our paths become clearer. And with each fracture in soul and mind, we rise up once more— reinforced, more resilient. It has been going on since ancient times and will go on until the end of time. I suppose that our purpose here."

"Well spoken," Draven laughed as his eyes danced across the pyre audience, meeting with Luna's; her eyes were lacking depth. "What do you suppose she's been doing all these years?"

"She's been sitting around pieces, Draven. For years, nothing but broken pieces scattered around her feet. She's aimless, shapeless," Pisces answered him as he saw the plainness in her expression as well. "I think this is where she'll finally start picking up the pieces." As he replied to Draven, Luna stood up, and Syrune and Galaeron readied themselves in an anxious manner; they knew something the others didn't.

"Luna, what's going on?" Twilight asked.

"I'm heading out," Luna answered her.

"To the caverns?" Spike chimed in, standing up as well. "If you're going, I'm going."

"No, Spike, Luna must do this on her own," Galaeron ordered the young dragon as he drew closer to Luna. "All of you, you must-."

"Thank you, Galaeron, but I can explain," Luna interrupted him as she stared on at the caverns ahead. "The time has come for me to fulfill my duty to the ponies of Ccrondil once more. Princess Ocèara? The Eclipse Scroll..." Luna held out her hand to Raiel, and she placed the sealed document kept in her pocket inside Luna's palm. "And now I shall go forth and retrieve the Eclipse Blade! And I shall slay Alptraum! Luna held up the scroll high in the sky for the miriads to see, and they cheered with joy and laughter as she left the pyre, marching alone towards the Eclipse Caverns ahead.

"Luna? That's it? You're just going to leave and not explain anything...?" Twilight stepped forward, stopping Luna. "Why have you been so... blunt?"

"Please, Twilight... we do not have time for this pointless chatter. I must fulfill my duty to Ccrondil-."

"Luna, please, don't just leave without a word..." Twilight pleaded to her.

As Luna turned to face Twilight, her lip quivered for a brief second as she reached into her breast pocket. Though, she stopped before she could bring herself to speak, and turned back around just as soon as she pulled her hand out of her coat. She closed her eyes as she began her march forward, grasping the Eclipse Scroll tightly. She had to do this, regardless of how much she hated the situation fate placed her in, regardless of the pain. Her destiny was grim and bloody, but it was hers nonetheless.

Luna made her way through Mystwood with her head held low, staring down at the ground, hiding her tears so that nopony could see her in such a pathetic state. She felt her wedding ring in her coat pocket weigh as much as a ton, her sorrow pulling down on it like an anchor. "Why did it come to this Lothwick...? I love you so, but I hate what you've become. Why must I plunge myself into an abyss once more?"

Author's Notes:

Boom! There's a bomb!

As always, I hope you enjoyed! See you in the next chapter!