“Remind me again why we’re not taking the train to Baltimare.” I said as we found ourselves once again in the Everfree, making our way back towards the castle ruins.

“Sure, I’ll remind you AGAIN.” Sweetie replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I mean, do you need me to talk more slowly, or maybe I should draw up a chart?”

“Okay smart ass, no need to be like that.” I said as I gave her a ‘go to hell’ look.

She chuckled and just ignored the look, before clearing her throat. “We’re taking the path less traveled, more or less. We could take the easy path and hop on a train, but that wouldn’t be the smart thing to do. The route to Baltimare, by train, would take us through the station at Canterlot and undoubtedly more changelings than I’d like to run into at one time.”

“Shit, there isn’t such a thing. I mean, I’ve fought more changelings than you can imagine.” I said with a smile.

“I’m sure you have, but unlike you, I don’t have a death wish.” Sweetie tossed her mane as she spoke, throwing it over her other shoulder. “No, I’d rather approach things more discreetly.”

“I don’t have a death wish, I’m just not afraid to get my hooves dirty. Besides changelings aren’t that tough, one good smack and they get squashed.”

“Okay then let’s just play out the scenario. We hop on a train and head into Canterlot, the heart of our enemies forces, where we quickly get discovered. So what do we do? We fight, because that’s the only option at that point. We kill a couple dozen of them, manage to escape the station and then . . . we’re royally bucked. Why, you probably wanna ask. Well that’s simply because we’re then trapped in a walled city with more changelings than you’ve ever seen.” Sweetie said as she suddenly stopped and turned to look at me.

“Okay, okay, sheesh I get it. Bad idea, sorry.” I replied as I rolled my eyes.

“Hmph bad idea she says, more like a dumb idea.” She scoffed, turning from me and continuing to walk.

“You’re starting to tick me off.” I grumbled.

“Well don’t say stupid things and I won’t have to.”

“You know you used to be a sweet little filly, not some angsty mare.”

“Yeah? Well you used to be somepony I looked up to, and then you killed Apple Bloom.” She said shooting me a stern glance over her shoulder.

I let out a frustrated growl and sped up so I could walk at her side. “I told you I didn’t mean to, it was an accident. I would never have hurt her, not intentionally. I mean . . . I still feel horrible that it happened.”

“Like I told you I don’t know if I really believe you, not yet. The thing you should know though is I won’t ever let you forget it, I won’t ever let the fact that she died by your hoof just fall to the wayside.”

I didn’t say anything in reply. What could I say? She was right and I knew it, knew that I had been the one. Accident or not Apple Bloom was dead, and I was the one that had held the blade that did it. I didn’t ever want to forget that either. I never wanted to forget the fact that I took her life. Thanks to Luna though, I knew that I now carried a piece of Apple Bloom with me. The filly I once knew, the little sister of the pony I loved that became like my own . . . she would always be with me, and so would the pain of what I did to her. I suddenly heard Sweetie sigh and snapped out of my thoughts, turning my attention to her.

“I’m sorry.” She said suddenly. “I just don’t know what to think right now. You suddenly show up after six years of thinking you were dead, and then everything happens with Apple Bloom, not to mention you telling me that Applejack was alive too. It’s just a bit much to process, I’m not even sure I can process it.”

I smiled and let out a soft sigh, bumping into her gently as we continued walking. “Don’t worry about it.” I replied. “I’ve been through what you’re going through, with the whole to much to process thing. I’ve lost a wing, had my soul nearly corrupted and found out Applejack was alive. So don’t sweat it, just take your time and figure it out at your own pace. Hell, I still haven’t figured out everything I need to.”

Sweetie laughed softly after I spoke and offered me a smile. “I bet you didn’t know what to think when you saw Applejack.”

“That I didn’t Sweetie, that I didn’t. I couldn’t believe my eyes and I honestly thought my mind, or the darkness within it, was playing a trick on me.”

The smile slowly faded from Sweetie’s face as she looked down at the ground before her. “What was it like?” She asked timidly. “Having a darkness inside of you?”

I hesitated, “Well . . . it was hell. It called out to me in my dreams at first, but then it slowly began to make itself known in the waking world. Everytime she spoke I could feel my body writhe in pain, like it was always one more word away from breaking. It constantly clawed at my mind, trying to encapsulate me and turn me into a monster,” I replied as I thought about all the suffering that dark entity had caused me.

“It sounds like you almost lost to it.”

“I nearly did.” I said with a sigh. “She almost got her way . . . she almost took control of me. I’m afraid to think of what would have happened if she’d actually done it. Would I even still exist? Would she have just pushed me back into the recesses of my mind, turned my very soul into a prison, while I watched her commit unspeakable atrocities?”

“I guess we’re all lucky she didn’t succeed.”

“I wouldn’t say she didn’t. I may have gotten rid of her and freed my body of her. However something gave her form, allowed her to become something completely separate of me, and now she’s out in the world doing Luna knows what.” I said as I let out an irritated sigh. “I’ll find her eventually though and finish what I started, destroying her once and for all.”

Sweetie remained silent and I could tell she was thinking over what I had said, her eyes showing a deep sense of thought. I took the time to look her over and found myself slowly start to smile. She had become a beautiful mare, even in this warped world, that moved with a serene grace. I couldn’t help but think about Rarity as I looked at her, imaging how happy she would be to see her sister like this. I was about to say something along those lines, but I decided against it. With all that had happened and Apple Bloom’s death still fresh in both our minds, maybe mentioning Rarity wasn’t a good idea.

“I wish I knew what to say about all this.” Sweetie suddenly said breaking the silence around us. “I don’t like not having the answers to questions, especially when it concerns something that obviously involves magic.”

“What are you talking about?”

“That darkness of yours, you said something gave it form. Well it had to have been magic, but the question is what kind of magic can give darkness life? It’s just another thing I can’t make sense of.”

I thought about what she said and found myself at a loss as well, realizing that I hadn’t really thought about that at all. Then again it’s not like I had the time to think about it, although in hindsight I should have asked Luna about it. Wait. Why didn’t Luna bring it up, or at the least tell me something about it? That seems like something she’d want me to know about. Hell, it’s something I wanna know about. I didn’t get much farther in thought when suddenly I heard branches snapping deeper in the woods. Before I could speak, however, Sweetie Belle put a hoof against my chest as we stopped dead in our tracks.

“Something is out there and it’s heading this way.” She said in a hushed tone.

I stood still and closed my eyes, listening intently as I tried to concentrate on the sound. I could hear movement and the slight sound of breathing. When I opened my eyes I felt a shiver run down my back as I saw eyes, at least a dozen all focused on the two of us. I slowly lifted my wing and caught the blade that dropped from beneath it, turning as I did so I was back to back with Sweetie.

Without a moment's hesitation the creatures suddenly burst from the trees, Timberwolves, each one easily three times our size. I was shocked at first and then the realization that these things intended to make a meal out of us quickly took hold.

“I think I’m gonna need a bigger sword.” I said as I readied myself.

“You and me both.” Sweetie said as her horn began to glow and blades floated around us.

The beasts were about to close in when suddenly a tree soared through the air and slammed into one of the wolves, splintering into thousands of shards as the wolf was sent flying back.

“What the hell was that?!?” I shouted in surprise and awe.

“That would be Spike.” Sweetie replied with a shocked expression of her own. “He must be pretty mad.”

She had no sooner said that when a blur flew over us, casting us both under its shadow for a split second, and a loud roar shook the entire forest.

“Dear sweet Luna.” I said, my mouth agape in disbelief.

There between us and the Timberwolves stood Spike, his scales shimmering a deep purple in the sunlight, as he stood eye to eye with the wolves. He spread his large imposing wings and stood up letting out another colossal roar, before dropping back down to all fours. I couldn’t see his face but I didn’t need to, I could tell he looked intimidating as all hell based of the reaction of the wolves. I could see the muscles of his body, tensed and ready for a fight, beneath his scaled hide. Then I watched as the wolves suddenly charged him, overcoming their initial fear. I moved to step forward and try to help, but Sweetie just put a hoof on my shoulder and shook her head.

Spike raised a massive clawed hand and slammed it down on the first wolf to reach him, shattering the beasts skull, as pops and cracks echoed out into the forest. The second didn’t fare much better as Spike grabbed it and stood up, holding it over him as he ripped it in two and slung the pieces at another wolf. Another leaped up and dug its claws into his exposed chest and Spike let out a pained roar, before craning his neck down and closing his powerful jaws on the back of the wolfs neck. A sickening snap rang out, muffled by Spike’s mouth, as the wolf's body went limp and Spike tossed it aside. Twelve wolves had emerged from the forest and within the span of a few minutes there now stood only seven.

The wolves began to circle around all three of us and Spike stepped back slowly, stopping as he stood over Sweetie and myself. He stood tall enough that he could easily hide us under his body and I could reach out to touch his stomach, had I wanted to do so. The wolves charged again and one by one they were sent flying. Spike easily slung them around as his claws tore through them, like a pair of scissors cutting through paper . . . they couldn’t even compare to his power. Soon only three of the wolves remained and as they readied a final assault I could hear a strange sound, a low rumble that came from Spike.

As the wolves moved to charge Sweetie grabbed hold of me and threw us both to the ground, as heat began to bare down on us from Spike’s body. Spike raised his head to the sky and then suddenly threw his head forward, jaws agape, as green flames poured from his maw. The flames decimated everything before him, scarring the very ground they touched, and soon the three remaining wolves were no more . . . only smoldering ash remained.

I swallowed hard and after a moment looked up, as Spike moved from over top of us, finally seeing his face. He looked older, much older. His once round childlike face now long and decorated with ridges over his eyes, and along his jawline. He smiled down at me and lowered his head until he was eye level with me, and I could see the sharp dagger like teeth that filled his mouth.

“Long time no see, Rainbow Dash.” He said, his voice surprisingly deep and gentle.

“Y-yeah . . .” I replied, still a bit shaken by everything that I had just witnessed. “You know you were a lot smaller the last time I saw you.”

“Well six years will do that you know. A lot can change in that much time, so is my size really that big of a surprise?” He asked with a hearty chuckle that I could physically feel reverberate in his throat and chest.

“Buck yeah it is! You’re freaking huge compared to that little runt I used to know.” I said as I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You got me there.” He replied, laughing himself. He turned his attention to Sweetie Belle and smiled, moving his face over to her as she nuzzled him. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” She replied as she raised a hoof and stroked his cheek. “Are you okay though? One of those wolves looked like it got you.”

“You mean this?” He replied, rising to stand and look at his chest. “This isn’t anything to worry about, it’ll heal up soon enough. I’m just glad I was able to keep the two of you from getting hurt.” He said as he sat back on his hind legs.

“Well as long as you’re alright.” Sweetie replied still smiling.

“Wow it’s almost like you two are in love.” I said as I watched them beaming at each other, finding it hard not to smile myself.

“Would there be something wrong with that?” They both asked suddenly, looking at my with puzzled expressions.

“Uh . . . no, nothing wrong with it at all. Love is love, doesn’t matter who it's between. What’s important is that you care for one another and I can tell you both care a lot.” I tucked the blade from earlier back under my wing and stepped towards Spike, putting a hoof on the side of his leg. “It’s good to see you again, Spike. I’ve been waiting for you to show up, I wanted to thank you for helping with those diamond dogs that attacked us.”

He nodded and offered me a toothy grin that was just a bit unsettling, given he could easily bite me in half. “Believe me when I say there was a lot more to begin with, guess the ones that slipped past me didn’t realize what happened until it was too late . . . and by that I mean you guys bucking them up.”

“Yeah I’ve gotten pretty good at handling diamond dogs, and Sweetie seems like she’s dealt with her fair share as well.” I said as I scratched the back of my head with a hoof and chuckled.

“You’d be surprised at what all we’ve been through.” Spike said as he shifted forward and dropped back to all fours with a thud. “Now as much fun as this is, I think we have something we’re supposed to be doing.”

“We do indeed.” Sweetie Belle said speaking up. “We’ve still gotta make it back to the castle ruins. Once there we can follow the river that runs by it East, passing just North of Dodge City, to Horseshoe Bay. When we reach the bay we’ll be just South of Baltimare and could possibly use the water as a means to infiltrate the city.”

I nodded as I listened to Sweetie, the three of us walking as she spoke, making our way to the ruiins. “Well the two of us getting into the city shouldn’t be too difficult . . . I hope. But what are we supposed to do about Spike? He’s huge.”

“You calling me fat?” Spike said with a sly grin. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be right beside the two of you. Don’t sweat the details of how, just know it’s something that Sweetie and I have done before.”

“I don’t really follow, but I guess I’ll take your word for it.” I said after a moment.

“The real question is how fortified is the city exactly?” Sweetie Belle asked aloud. “The dog that told us about it said that Swarm Heart had turned the entire city into a fortress, but there’s no telling how literal that statement was.”

“There’s no telling.” I said with a sigh. “We’ll just have to see when we actually get there.” Sweetie and Spike nodded in agreement after I spoke, as we fell into a calm silence afterwards. We continued our walk through the forest and each time Spike took a step a soft thud accompanied it, as small vibrations ran out from beneath. It was somewhat comforting and simultaneously intimidating . . . I’m glad he’s on my side.

Soon we stood at the ruins of the castle and I had memories of what transpired here suddenly rush to the forefront of my mind. I still couldn’t believe that my darkness was given form. I couldn’t believe that I had managed to defeat it. We remained silent as we passed through the ruins, eventually coming to a stop at the bank of the river Sweetie had mentioned earlier.

“You two ready?” I asked as I shattered the silence.

“Ready as we’ll ever be.” Spike replied and Sweetie just nodded in agreement with him.

“Alright then . . . let’s go, our destiny is waiting for us.” I said as we started walking once more.

Baltimare, what awaited us there? Would we be able to overcome the challenges that we would face? Things seemed to be going alright between myself and the others, but I know they still carry the thought of Apple Bloom . . . but then again so do I. I had to trust them though, because I needed their help. I just hope they can come to trust me. No matter what happens, or what we face, I know one thing for sure. I’ll protect them, both of them, even if it costs me my life.