Evening came quickly for the Broadside as the ship continued its lengthy journey. The sun setting along the horizon cast the entire ocean’s surface into a pale and fiery glow, the kind that hurt one’s eyes if they stared at it for too long. Gulls cawed from the air high above as the ship moved through the waves. Given the relatively lively wind pushing their sails, the sailors estimated they’d reach the port of Havana by sunrise, which would be needed to dock. Making port in the dark was not entirely easy, after all.

That in and of itself was good news, seeing as most of the ship’s passengers were already getting ready for bed, seeing as there wasn’t much to do aboard a ship like this. You could play all the cards you wanted, you could have as many guessing games as you desired, but eventually, that all grew dull for the day, and you just felt like spending some time alone, surrounded by your own thoughts.

After informing the Elements of Harmony of their upcoming destinations and anything else he had found pertinent to tell them, Spike had found himself a nice private storeroom and had commenced to working out. He prided himself in keeping in shape, and though it was a pleasant change of pace from the admittedly lax days back in Blueblood’s residence, he couldn’t lie to himself that he had missed being on a ship. The spray of the waves, the smell of salt in the air, the odd creak or groan the ship made as it sliced its way through the sea… it made his blood run hot, like a boost of energy that never went away. Perhaps he had been on the sea so long he’d found it to be a second home?

“Hey Spike,” a voice said, causing the dragon to peer at the doorway after rising from a sit-up. “Can we talk for a minute?”

“Sure, but Rainbow Dash, what are you doing here?” Spike asked, pausing his workout. The cyan pegasus walked over and sat on a small crate next to the dragon, likely having been watching him work out for a brief time before interrupting. “I thought you’d be with the others.”

“Just Dash is fine, I don’t expect my friends to same my whole name all the time.”

“I see,” he replied. “Well then, what do you want to talk about?”

“Well, Applejack and I were talking, and we’ve come to the decision that your return has made things a bit difficult for some of us,” Rainbow Dash said, some of her tutoring finally showing through in her manner of speaking. Normally she’d be extremely informal, now she was just moderately informal… most of the time.

“How so?” Spike asked. “I know you and Applejack haven’t been acting differently around me, other than asking what happened before I was brought ashore before you all, and Pinkie... well, she’s the same as ever, so that’s not it. Does it have something to do with Twilight or Fluttershy or Rarity?” Rarity or Fluttershy were the most obvious guesses, seeing as how they had reacted when they found him working out in the mansion's armory, but Twilight... she was still a wild card. Pinkie Pie was good at hiding emotions that were upsetting her, usually just putting on a smile and only letting things out when they built to an explosive climax. So she too could be feeling something that was upsetting her, and he just didn’t know it.

“Well, both yes and no, to all of that, really,” the cyan pegasus said, fiddling with her fingernails. “Spike, I’m just gonna say it: we all are very glad you’ve returned. However, some of us are having a harder time accepting that you’re indeed back.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t think you’re entirely with us, Spike,” she replied. “You’re hiding an awful lot of what happened to you, and I can respect that. What you went through, I mean, I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to spend a year in your former situation. Yet for you to spend several years…”

He raised an eyebrow. “Hiding something? Like, a secret?”

“More like… not telling us what happened to you.” Rainbow Dash finished fidgeting with her nails and looked him in the eye. “I can understand not wanting to hurt us by leaving out the details, Spike, but we need to know more than just “it sucked”, okay? Some of us are taking as our fault for what happened, even though I know it’s not, and you need to let us know whatever truth you care to. We need to know because we’re setting sail to try and establish peace with a mare who very well may have been behind your situation in the first place!”

“So, you don’t want me to screw this up, by acting rashly, should Chrysalis be the one responsible for these past years of misfortune?” Spike asked. In another lifetime, he’d have been a bit offended by that, but here, with what he knew, and what they were trying to accomplish… it did make sense. As it was, piracy on the seas was not at an all-time high, but it was picking up steam from what it had been many, many years before, from even before his time on those ships. Whether Queen Chrysalis had a hand in that or not, he had no idea.

“Like swearing vengeance or attacking a queen during a diplomatic meeting, yeah.” Dash shook her head, sighing. “I’m not cut out for this kind of crap. Twilight’s the diplomat, I’m just…”

“Dash?”

“Yeah, I’m just me,” she muttered. “So, think it over, okay? Some of us want to know for our own reasons, whereas me… I’m just curious.”

“I noticed. When did you become so intrigued with ships, by the way?”

“Well, with my parents technically helping to run the military, I guess part of my schooling just happened to fall a lot on ships, forts and armies,” she said with a shrug. “Never got to go down to the coast to see one before, so I thought I’d make the best of it and ask around while we were loading. It’s not like I wanted to ask Blueblood for a tour, and all those military tours always happened during parades. I want to see what’s real, and not what’s just there for decoration, you know?”

“I think so,” Spike said. “I’ll keep in mind what you said, but some things… I’m not ready to say.”

“So... we’ll always be friends?”

“Of course.” Reaching down to pick up the towel he had brought with him, he wiped the sweat from his shirtless torso. “I just don’t want to hurt you.”

“I’m a big girl, I can handle myself,” Dash scoffed. She had been working out over the last few months and could give even her sparring teachers a run for their money. Although, she had no idea just how Spike fought, if he even did... She figured she’d have to challenge him to a spar sometime in the future, if they had the room to maneuver and the time to do so.

“I have no doubt, Dash, but after what I’ve gone through, I’m more afraid of what your parents would do to me, if I hurt you,” Spike said.

“Like what?” She crossed her arms with a small frown.

“Well, banishment, or imprisonment,” Spike said with a shrug. “I don’t want to hurt any of you because you’re my friends, but I also don’t want to hurt you because your parents might make terrible things happen to me.” He smirked slightly. “To say nothing of what any of you might do to me… truly, something too terrible to think of.”

She playfully punched him in the shoulder. “There’s the Spike I knew,” she said.

“He’s always been there, he’s just… spread his wings a bit, you might say.”

“No wings, though.”

“Yeah, well, we all have to deal with the cards we’re dealt. I just happened to get some shitty hands over the last few years is all. Don’t worry too much, Dash, I’ll fill you guys in on stuff when I’m ready.”

“I understand,” Dash replied. “Just, don’t shut us out for good, okay? We just got you back, and we want to feel like you’re back. After so long apart,” she said, making to leave. “It’s almost like you’re a stranger to us now.”

With that, she departed, leaving him once again to his thoughts. Resuming his workout, now with pullups from the beam overhead, the dragon mulled over her words. Times had changed, that was for sure, but so had he, and his friends it seemed. Everything he’d been expecting when he woke up was being warped ever so slightly into a new paradigm, one he had to think about. The caricatures he’d painted in his head were not the same, and thus, everything new would have to be accounted for.

After all, with everything changing as it was, there was no telling what the future held for his friends, should they be able to try and secure a lasting peace with the Changelings. Life had a habit of throwing curveballs at him and everyone he knew in the most unsuspecting of ways.

Spike hoped whatever lay in store for him was better than what had already happened. The only way to go now was up, right?

Meanwhile...

In the streets of Yankton, the dark of the night cloaked the movements of Sombra from the eyes of others. His own cloaked whirled around him as if it were alive, a second shadow that followed his every movement. Many who saw him out of the corner of their eye might have mistaken him for a trick of the light, so swift and sure was his path.

Down the middle of the street, he glanced to and fro from left to right, the stark contrasts of rich and poor greatly displayed before anypony with half a brain. On the left side of the street, built on the higher levels of the city, lay the homes and businesses of the wealthy upper classes. These ponies owned much of the city’s docks and ships, and as such had a substantial portion of the populace working for them. High gates and fences cordoned off this more “prosperous” portion of the city from the lower classes, something that had of late been a contesting point amongst the social outcasts.

To the right lay the poorer sections of the city, both slums and meager dwellings in which many ponies struggled to just get by on a monthly basis. There was some modest wealth here, to be sure, but they were not welcomed by the elite, so many of the middle-class were more or less forced to live with and near their poorer neighbors, something the wealthy sometimes found to be a source of amusement. Trash lay here and there down many of the alleyways, and the stench of the ocean was heavier on the buildings closest to the piers.

All in all, it was a city long divided by the social classes, and the now-repeated challenge of the status quo had many of the ponies in the city on edge. The last time there had been severe riots in the city, well over a hundred years previously, Celestia herself had declared martial law and come to the city to help deal with negotiating peaceful terms. Many of the rich in the city has grown to frown upon her “bleeding-heart politics” when it came to dealing with the “rabble”, and as such, there were many wealthy ponies in the city who paid many a bribe to have their more “unusual” dealings erased from police records or not filed at all.

The poor, on the other hand, absolutely adored Celestia, since she always gave them her time when times were at their toughest. Sure, there was a bit of resentment here and there during these troubled times, but most if not all of the ponies refused to put the blame on her. In fact, they said that without the interference of the richer ponies, there likely wouldn’t even be any pirates in the area, seeing as how Celestia used to have equality on the forefront of nearly every major political issue she interfered in. But now, with all of the troubles of running the country keeping her from dealing with the small things, those indeed small problems had blossomed into much larger things, all of which would soon require her full and undivided attention, should the situation deteriorate to something even worse than what it was at the moment.

Yankton, a city divided and ready to be torn apart from the inside. It was in this perfect hive of scum and villainy that Sombra had decided to set up his headquarters. There was very little chance of ever being discovered here; his agents knew all too well the price of their failures, should somepony manage to follow their master’s trail. His informants and spies, while not numerous and certainly not cheap, were definitely valuable in his continuing expansions into nearby cities along the coast.

Cities in the countryside and far removed from such prosperous ports were nigh impossible to infiltrate and successfully establish a presence in, as the ponies were far more cooperative and the lines between rich and poor were pretty much nonexistent. Ponies of all social classes happily interacted with one another on a fairly regular basis, something Sombra had known would be the biggest threat to his plans. So setting up shop in cities that were always just a few nudges away from openly exploding into conflict had been a rather simple solution, one that he had been glad was so easy to accomplish.

Arriving at his final destination, he quietly slipped past two police ponies into one of the larger taverns in the poor district, a rather crowded place known as the Spit Bucket. Judging from the smell that occasionally wafted into his nostrils, Sombra could have given it a much more appropriate term, all with just changing a single letter in the name.

Inside, Sombra weaved his way through the crowd, his presence barely detected by the rather numerous patrons gathered there tonight. His timing couldn’t have been better; his contacts were all waiting for him in his permanently reserved private booth, and the locals were all drunk and distraught over the recent wage slash proposed by the upper class merchants.

“Not fair, I tells ya!” an upset-looking unicorn said from the bar, much of the crowd more or less paying attention to what he was saying. “We’ve been workin’ our tails off for the last two months repairin’ each and every ship that come into port sportin’ damage from those bloody pirates, and what do these rich ponies decide? Cut our wages to make up for lost cargo revenue!”

There were cries of outrage from several members of the crowd as more beer was drunk freely by the gathered masses. In his booth, Sombra quietly smirked, glad that the several merchants he had in his pocket had taken his advice. After gathering all the information his spies had scraped together for him, he had sent them on their way, leaving himself alone once more in his booth. He didn’t technically need to be here at the moment, but in the off chance something occurred that he could turn to his benefit, he had decided to stay. It always paid off to be patient: he of all ponies knew that.

“That’s not countin’ the number of us lumber ponies that have been laid off since they started buyin’ up wood from the interior cities!” another pony cried, his voice loud and gruff. “We’ve got forests all along our coastlines, ready for harvest, but what do these rich ponies say? ‘Oh, it’ll be cheaper to ship in larger amounts of wood from the interior, where the railroads are better’ and other tripe!”

“Not to mention the price hikes on all of our imported goods,” one of the barmaids yelled out as she served up some more mugs of beer. “Tea’s gotten so expensive that only those bloody rich bastards can afford the stuff! Back in my mother’s day, you could buy a fifty pound bag of salt for a small bag of bits, but now it’s the same price for almost a pound of the stuff! What in bloody Tartarus do pirates have anything to do with salt production?”

“Uneducated fools,” Sombra muttered under his breath, the rising tension in the air rejuvenating his spirit. Salt production was done along the sea, but the places where that happened had warehouses filled with the gold they were paid in for the salt. Since pirates loved to raid, it only made sense that the pirates would raid these, and the salt "growers" would have to raise prices to make up for lost revenue. It was rather simple to be honest, and the fact that so many things were interconnected in such ways made Sombra's job all the easier to accomplish. Sowing the seeds of chaos and eventual anarchy was one step; the steps that would follow would prove to be the more decisive factors in his plan.

After several more outbursts highlighting the ever-growing disparity between the wealthy and the poor, the unicorn from before rose to his hooves and thrust a mug of beer into the air, like a rallying symbol. “I’ve heard one of the prince’s so-called “pirate hunting ships” is one its way here, and will likely be carrying with it not guns and cannons to dissuade the buggers, but the cargo of our more prosperous citizens! What has the world come to, where our armed vessels carry cargo instead of protecting us all in these dangerous times?”

“Then make your displeasure known when that ship arrives in port,” Sombra said, his small spell causing his voice to drift through the crowd so everypony could hear it, but not a single on could identify him as the source. He had picked it up from several texts in a library once, one of the few times he believed that Celestia's incessant library upkeep had actually paid off for somepony. “When that ship reaches our fair city’s shores, let those rich bastards know we won’t stand for this sort of treatment anymore!”

On any other day, a fair majority of these ponies would have not only questioned these words, but would have also tried finding just who had said them. But tonight, drink had been flowing freely and passions were high, and the situation facing all gathered in the tavern was driving logic and reasoning out of the window. So, in a great roar, everypony shouted in agreement, calling for everyone to spread the word in secret; Blueblood’s ship, upon reaching port, would receive a fully unpleasant welcome from the poor folk of Yankton.

Sombra smiled as the locals continued to drink freely and talk of their glorious plans he had so subtly encouraged them to come up with. Now, there was another tavern on the other side of town that he needed to attend to, else he forget to rile up the wealthy ponies with similar talk that would result in even more distrust and anarchy. After that... who knew? All of the dominos were set; they just needed the right... push, to set them off.

Meanwhile...

High in the lantern-lit room of the mayor’s mansion, Prince Blueblood had gathered some of his closest allies in all of Port Royal and her surrounding cities. High-class merchants, government officials with strong connections, captains of guards and minor admirals; informants, engineers, master shipbuilders and several impressment officials were there as well. Geoffrey the butler and Geralt were there as well, though Geralt was in disguise as a personal guest of Blueblood’s, so as to not arouse suspicion as to why Blueblood had such a... shadowy figure at this meeting.

“Gentlecolts, I suspect you all know why you have been summoned to this meeting,” Blueblood said, the dimness of the lanterns obscuring the faces of most of those gathered. Meeting in secret like this was not something to be handled lightly; better that they do such work in such a manner, so that like their shadowed faces, they would not be seen by those who did not understand their true purpose. “The pirates have forced our hand; we must enact the plan.”

“What of the Elements of Harmony and their quest to find and settle a peace accord with Queen Chrysalis?” one of the minor admirals asked. Several other ponies muttered in agreement with him, as they too had heard of the six mares’ departure for parts unknown. Several of the rumors had them going off to find and make a peace accord with Queen Chrysalis, which had almost been immediately been shot down as being a "bit too preposterous" an idea. Oh, if only they knew the truth...

“I have little faith in those high-bred ladies, seeing as they are only here because my aunt decided they “could” be an asset,” Blueblood said, the venom in his tone at the word ‘faith’ proving his point for the more doubtful of those attending. “We are in charge, and through us, not only will the pirate menace be destroyed completely, but we will emerge from this struggle stronger than ever, with our naval power unmatched in the entire world.”

“I do not mind ridding ourselves of the pirates, but something tells me the international community will not be happy should our naval forces suddenly outclass their own,” one of the government officials said. “My brother is a diplomat for the Griffin Kingdom, and he has told me that Griffins take such slights very seriously, even if they are completely unintentional and done with the best of interests at heart This could be perceived as one, should this be handled in a... careless manner.”

“That is why we are here,” Blueblood said as he retrieved a scroll from Geoffrey’s outstretched hand. “We are to ensure we will become the dominant naval power in this portion of the world without provoking a war with any other country in the region. Should worst come to worst, we can always... manipulate the other side into firing the first shot. Then we would be the defenders in the eyes of our citizens, would we not?”

There were murmurs of agreement with that; almost all of these ponies were power-hungry folk, and wouldn’t mind starting a little war or two if it meant furthering their own careers and businesses. War was profitable, after all, especially if you were on the winning (and perceivably righteous) side. The most lucrative conflict could potentially be the complete conquest of the changelings, but their islands were too heavily defended for the current fleets to shell successfully.

That was where Blueblood’s little meeting came into play. “As you all know, these designs for our new ships and their subsequent armaments have been secretly and painstakingly crafted by our finest engineers and scientists. Some of the newer cannons are still a bit experimental, but with the captains and admirals here briefed on how to handle the equipment, the new crews should be able to handle them with ease. Any other questions before we continue?”

The room was silent; everypony there was convinced of the necessity of Blueblood’s plans, despite any minute misgivings they may have had earlier. All of these stallions were loyal in one way or another to Celestia, but their loyalty came with a price, and seeing as how Blueblood was offering them a chance to show their loyalty by subverting it, they were all in agreement as to what had to be done. The threat of these pirates to both the social and economic prosperity of the coast was too great to simply overcome with diplomacy and what little resources they had now; they would have to prepare to fight the war that was literally on their doorstep.

And they had to win, no matter the cost.

Meanwhile...

Down in the interior of the Broadside, two figures were tossing and turning in their sleep. It had nothing to do with the gentle rocking of the ship, nor was it what they had eaten before going to bed. Inside of their minds, thoughts and feelings were whirling around like swarms of bats, eating away at their insides.

One of the figures bolted upright, breathing heavily at her dream. It had been... horrible, to say the least. Broken friendships, loneliness of a sort she doubted any had experienced in her own little circle of friends, ships on fire amidst an ocean swell, lightning flashing all around as ponies cried out…

The water gripping everything, pulling it away, into icy depths, where no light dwelled, and monsters still lived…

She hadn't had dreams like this since she had read that horror novel of Twilight's. Right now, though, she had a feeling this was not some sort of nightmare brought on by frightening images; these were tied to her state of mind and to her emotions, for sure. She needed to talk to somepony. Rising to her hooves and slowly walking to their door, Fluttershy glanced back in the gloom of the dimly-lit magical lanterns. Applejack was softly snoring on her bed, and Twilight was sleeping under the pages of one of her romantic novels. Opening the door with a silence that would make a ninja jealous, the pegasus crept out of her room and down towards where Rarity was sleeping. Crawling into the room quieter than a mouse, the mare creeped over to where her friend was sleeping.

“Fluttershy,” Rarity whispered, bolting upright just as the mare was about to poke her shoulder. Fluttershy managed to stifle her squeak of surprise, though to do so she nearly farted from the sudden compression of air down her throat and into her stomach.

“Rarity, y-y-you scared me!” the yellow pegasus said softly.

“I believe you were the one sneaking around, dear,” the unicorn replied, moving over slightly on the bed. “Come, sit.”

“T-T-Thanks,” was her reply, softly sitting down next to Rarity. “I... I need to talk to you.”

“Couldn’t sleep either, my dear?” the unicorn asked as she readjusted her sleeping wear. She was glad none of them had to wear their corsets to bed, even though several of them had to sleep on their sides to account for the "mass" their removed clothes held in place.

“N-no, not at all,” Fluttershy said softly, glancing over at Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash’s still forms. You’d never have thought those two could sleep so soundly in a moving ship, but everypony was full of surprises this night. “Can... can I confide something in you?”

“About what?” Rarity asked. Fluttershy, and herself for that matter, usually slept rather well, not matter the situation. Something must have truly been troubling her poor friend for her to come talk with the unicorn about it.

“Spike,” the pegasus said softly. “It is about... Spike.” All her rising emotions had been tearing up her previous thoughts and memories of the dragon. What had once been innocent and rather pure was becoming torn by the mysteries of what had happened to him and the certainties that made it even worse. Life on the seas wasn’t just a concept to her any more, it was real, and it was putting her entire world into a new perspective.

One that she did not care for at all.

“Oh,” Rarity replied, finally understanding just why Fluttershy hadn’t been able to sleep. It had been the very same reason to her own restlessness, though likely less than her friend’s. She knew well what kind of life Spike must have gone through, as the sea was incredibly important to her parent’s holdings. Trade saw their wealth increase, as it did for all Equestria, and whatever goods they could not produce were bought overseas, and vice versa. To say that there were those that would take advantage of that was an understatement, but before Spike’s return, rarity had never seen the face of piracy. It had been… jarring, to say the least.

She would attempt to calm her friend’s worries, and encourage her, once more, to seek Spike out, and assuage her fears that, even if he didn’t say anything about it, that he felt no ill will towards his friends after all these years.

Still, with just how much she likely needed to talk over with Fluttershy, it was going to be a long night.

The next morning...

The port city of Havana was something far different from the city of Port Royal. Here, on an island teeming with jungles and plantations, the sugar industry of Equestria had shaped the entire island to suit its needs. In the places where jungles had never stood, or had not done so for hundreds of years, fields of sugar cane rose high and lay out as far as the eye could see. The city itself had very wide roads, but many of the overhanging roofs nearly touched one another, as the streets themselves were only modestly paved and could not stand up to the torrential rains that lay waste to the island during certain months. Not even the strongest of the local magics could weather hurricanes, after all, so limiting the damage through natural means, enhanced by magic, was often the most cost-effective means of weathering the weather.

The sheer number of docks, ranging from tiny fishing wharfs to massive piers dotted with warehouses showed just how important the sugar industry, and import/export business for that matter, were to this city and the rest of the island. It really was a city unto itself, the dockyards of Havana, with the logistics and amenities needed to service as large a fleet as needed, be it merchant or military. The seas were too rough for barges, as might be used on inland lakes, so the dockyards even carried with them lodging for sailors staying until cargo was loaded, or until the seas calmed from a storm. To say nothing of the bordello taverns that lined the outside of the docks, often the immediate destination of many a sailor as soon as they were paid or docked.

The secondary crops grown on the island were fruits, many of them high in vitamin C. Seeing as scurvy was caused by a lack of said vitamin, this city was amongst the most sought by captains in the area, seeing as fruits could be bought in bulk, at rather modest prices. Hence the reason for the wide roads through the city; it was easier to haul carts of fresh fruits down to the markets for shipping across the coast that way. If captains did not keep the fruits for their crews, they would often sell them along the coastline, magic helping to keep most of the fruit from spoiling in the oft-intense heat.

The city’s interior buildings reflected much of what the island had to offer; most of the defensive forts and larger buildings were built, not from stone, but from coral harvested along the innumerable reefs surrounding the island. The countless stained-glass windows of many upper-class residences and government buildings were the products of the sand along the beaches of innumerable small islands dotting the coastline. All in all, it was a scenic, picturesque place that could have been a major tourist hotspot if a bit more development was brought into the area. There were even a few isolated mansions dotting the highest points on the island, belonging to sugar and citrus barons and other titans of local industry, giving the owners a clear view of the tropical seas surrounding them and the island that gave them their wealth.

Sadly, for much of the crew and their fellow passengers, the Broadside was not destined to stay long enough in port for them explore this wondrous place. Exploring the city proper would likely take days, if not weeks, given how much there would be to do and see for anyone with political power.

Almost immediately after loading the new cargo onto the ship, including several crates of oranges, the ship had disembarked for Yankton, which was a few days sailing away. Given the good tailwind they had, it was likely they would reach the city before the end of the week. However, before leaving the harbor, there had been more news from some of the local city officials inspecting the docks. Pirates, though thankfully neither the Sea Wraith nor the Phantom, had been sighted in the area north of Yankton. Several TMS ships had been recently dispatched to drive them off or sink them entirely, but the locals in Havana had been hearing rumors of more ships between there, and several of the galleons that had made it into Havana had the scars to show the increasing frequency of pirate attacks on convoys.

Once afloat on the drifting waves of the sea once more, the Broadside's crew broke open a few bottles of rum to celebrate a successful voyage. Sure, it had been a short one, and only those off-duty could share in the drink, but with the frequency of pirate attacks these days, combined with unpredictable weather and economic hardships, every little victory was worth celebrating. Luckily for the passengers aboard the ship, all off-duty drunkards were required to stay in their own quarters, which most did out of habit: easier to sleep off a hangover in their bunks, at any rate.

Spike, alone for once in a small storeroom, had managed to scrounge up a small piece of parchment and a bottle of ink. He had no quill and didn’t want to ask to borrow one from Twilight but given his talon could function as one as well, he didn’t mind. Dipping the tip and scribbling on the paper, he began to write, his words etching into the paper from the light force of his talon.

“Dearest confidante, I know it has been some time since our last communique. It is a thing I miss, being in your company, but it is something I must surely go without, for the greater good. We will not yet see each other for some time yet, but I am confident we will meet under better circumstances than when we left.”

He paused for a moment, thinking out his words. “When we do see each other again, I know you will have many questions for me. I will do my best to answer them fully, and without deception. Until then, yours truly, Spike.” Penning his signature, the dragon rolled up the paper and held it in front of his mouth. Letting loose a light stream of green flame, he watched as the scroll disappeared into a puff of smoke and whisked away, off to parts only he knew about.

“You should ask him first,” Rarity said to her friend, unsure why she felt like doing the exact opposite of what she was saying.

“I-I-I think y-you should go first,” the yellow pegasus said softly. “H-he seemed to l-like you when he was younger, and I th-thought maybe that might p-play into him opening up to you if you asked.” Fluttershy had noticed just how enamored with Rarity the dragon had been when he was younger. It had been something of a harmless joke amongst her friends, them having all noticed it as well, but to Fluttershy, it was sweeter than it was sad. The little guy hadn't even known at the time just how far apart they all were from him in the political spectrum, but he hadn't cared. He had been their friend through thick and thin, and after all these years, he had finally returned to them, a changed dragon.

That crush was likely long gone, but the connection had been there, so perhaps they could use that to their advantage? No, that sounded terrible, like they were manipulative. Use it… to help? There, that would do.

“Fluttershy, that may be true, but I doubt that he would so readily spill his heart out to me on the matter, simply because of a childish crush all those years ago. I am certain he has grown out of it, and if he has not entirely, then using it to help him is our duty, as burdensome as it is.”

“Then, w-what are we going to do? I feel so ashamed of not being there to see him off all those years ago, but I don’t know h-how the others will ask him-,”

Rarity cut off the slightly rambling mare with a finger to her lips, silencing her from making a fool of herself. “Fluttershy, we’ve discussed this, more than once, I might add. Our friends will understand how we feel for Spike’s health and friendship, and they will ask in their own time. I already know Dash has, though the others will likely take longer. Spike will no doubt tell each of us something slightly different, but together, we will be able to piece together what happened to him, and from there, hopefully help him recover both his sense of self and our friendships.”

“I see,” the yellow mare replied.

Rarity continued. “Thankfully this trip is a lengthy one, or else it would take us much longer to even get Spike alone to talk with him. We want Spike to decide what to say to each of us, and we will honor his decisions, no matter how we feel on the matter.” It was almost as if Spike avoided them at times, but whether this was purposeful, or merely coincidental, none of them knew.

Author's Note

Yeah... Spike's really beefed up since he was younger, though it clearly didn't do him any good in chains. Just what is Sombra planning? What's all going to happen?

...like I'd tell you guys straight out! You'll just have to wait and see!