A warm glow was bathing many of the trees along the old and hobbled roads, with the sun setting beyond the far-away hills. All around, there was the start of the usual sounds of the night, from owls hooting to the chirping of crickets. In a secluded spot, away from the worn paths, Twilight was sitting on a small stone. Her face was that of concentration, and she looked to the pile of twigs that lay before her. Even in the failing light, she never let her gaze stray from it. Not even when Spike returned to her, carrying a handful of further wood, did she ever look up to him. As for the Prince, he raised an eyebrow at this display, watching as his friend began to raise her hand towards the static twigs on the ground. Here, he put on a smile, knowing full well where this was going.

And his instincts soon proved to be correct, as Twilight's hand soon began to glow with that magical aura of hers. Beads of sweat fell down her brow, and her breathing became heavier. A spell was her goal, and the twigs were her target, as evidenced when they too began to glow. Moments passed, but, at the end of it all, the glow faded, leaving Twilight both exhausted and disappointed. Spike, for a time, watching as his friend stared at her failure of a spell, looking down to the ground with sadness in her eyes. Letting out a sigh, he walked closer, dropping his own twigs onto the established pile, which gained her attention.

"Watch yourself," he said.

Although confused at first, Twilight soon understood what was going on, and began to scoot back a bit. Spike, for a moment, simply stared at the wood, before then closing his eyes. He took in a deep breath, then another, and another, before placing one foot behind the other. He drew one hand back, balling it into a fist, before thrusting the air in front of him, as if to punch something. The effect was immediate, as a sudden burst of green flames shot forth from his hand, aimed straight at the twigs. Although taken aback at this, Twilight watched with interest as the wood caught fire immediately. However, it wasn't long before the green of Spike's fire soon became the traditional orange she was used to. As she stared at this new campfire for a while, Spike took a seat on a similar stone nearby, and it was here that he finally heard her speak.

"I will always be amazed at that, Spike. The way your magic works."

But Spike simply shook his head.

"I keep telling you, Twilight. It's not magic. It's just...just..."

After failing to get his thoughts in order, the young Prince let out a chuckle.

"You know what? I don't even know what to call it. Even after all this time. It's not magic...but it's mine."

Twilight's expression became a blank one for a moment, as she once more looked to the fire close by. Spike watched her as she did this, and knew well from experience when she was deep in thought about something. Minute after minute passed, and still, there was nothing but silence between the two youths. While this persisted, Twilight took a moment to take her glasses off, before rummaging around in the pockets of her robes before pulling out a handkerchief. She used the cloth to clean her two lenses, before once more placing it upon her face. After sitting quietly for another couple of minutes, she let out a sigh of her own.

"Spike...what am I doing out here?"

The Prince looked to her, but said nothing as she continued.

"I mean...I know your Mother chose me, and I'm willing to do what she wants, but..."

Clenching her fists upon her knees, Twilight looked down to the ground.

"...why me?"

Spike considered that, though spoke as if he was just as much at a loss on this as she was.

"I can't say. I mean, no disrespect to Mother...but she's always seemed to know more than she's letting on, even to me."

Looking to his friend, Spike's face softened.

"Whatever we may think... I'm sure she had her reasons."

At this, Twilight looked to him with a frown.

"But what reason could there possibly be for me to be her choice? You know how bad I am at casting spells. A quest like this needs someone...someone who actually know what they're doing! And I...I don't!"

Hearing that, Spike let out a chuckle.

"Neither do I."

A dark glance from Twilight soon shut the Prince up, and he looked away in a nervous manner. As for Twilight, her look was one of sadness once more, as she rubbed her temples in a clear sign of stress.

"I...I can't do this, Spike."

Looking to her, Spike took on a look of concern.

"What?"

Twilight turned to him again.

"I can't do this! The Queen has given me such an important task, and I...I just don't think I can do it!"

Standing up from her chair, Twilight let out a pained grunt.

"Ugh! Why is this happening?! Why me?! Why did I ever say yes to this?!"

Needless to say, Spike was at a loss on how to help her. However, after giving her all the time and space she needed, he watched as she sat back down again. Here, he let out a sigh, standing up from his own stone before moving over to her, wherein he sat next to her.

"Twilight...I'll be the first to admit that you're not exactly a professional adventurer. You're not the best at magic and, frankly, sending you out for something like this as your first experience of outside life probably wasn't the best choice my Mother could've made."

Looking to him, Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going to assume that the comforting part of this speech is on it's way."

A chuckle escaped Spike before he continued.

"I know it may look like you have everything going against you right now. I know it probably looks like you're the poorest choice to go out and find these things. But..."

Turning to her, the young Prince smiled.

"...remember...my Mother chose you. Celestia, the Queen. The wise leader who has led us through thick and thin. If she thinks you an do this...then I believe her."

Twilight sat there, looking more than a little taken aback by her friend's words. But, like with his Mother, she saw nothing but honesty in his eyes. It took a while, but eventually, she let out a deep exhale, after which, she afforded him a small smile.

"Thank you, Spike. I...I guess I needed to just vent a little."

Nodding back to her, the Prince gently placed his hand upon her shoulder. However, soon after, her smile faded as she looked once more to the fire.

"But it still doesn't do us any good. We've followed Celestia's instructions to the letter, to no avail. Journey west for a day. Well...we've done that, and all we've found is an empty spot by a road."

Spike let out a sigh, nodding in agreement. But, it wasn't long afterwards when, yet again, Twilight stood up from her stone, much to Spike's surprise.

"Wait...what's that?" she said.

Spike, though still surprised, looked ahead to where his friend's eyes were pointing, though he squinted his own to do so.

"Um...what?" he asked.

Twilight looked down to him for a moment before looking forward again, raising her hand and pointing.

"There! I think...is it? Yes! It's a light!"

Spike's eyes widened at that, as he too now stood up.

"Really?!"

He squinted yet again, and this time, sure enough, he saw that his friend had the right of it. There was indeed a light, though a small one, far away from their current position. What it was, he couldn't say, but he had little chance to think on the matter, as Twilight immediately started running forwards, much to his shock.

"Twilight!" he called out.

But the girl was already off, smiling widely as she kept her eyes upon that distant light.

"This is it, Spike! I know it! I don't know what we'll find there...but this is it!"

Seeing her run off, Spike let his shoulders slump in defeat, after which he cracked a small smile before starting to run off after her.

"Well...at least she's got her enthusiasm back."