Chapter 2

Spike was clueless. His purple scales refracted beams of enticing light into Sweetie's pale green eyes as his own bright emerald ones glittered in the light he created. He was tall, strong, and his stature was one that suggested countless years of cross-fit, not countless years of being holed up in a little town as assistant to a now-princess. His pearly teeth flickered in Sweetie's mind, making her head hurt. None of this stopped him from being clueless. He had no clue, the pain that he caused her.

Sweetie Belle had called Rarity earlier that night to ask her if Spike was with Twilight.

"Hey rares!"

"Darling, it is wonderful to hear your voice!"

"Hey, sooo, um I was-"

"How was your performance, dear?

"Oh, it was fin. I wanted to ask you-

"Do you need a new dress?! Did something happen?! Are you all right darling?!?!?

"Yes. Sis, I'm fine! Calm down! Is Spike home?"

"Well, dearie, if you mean he's still with Twilight, then yes!

"Ok, ok, thanks, I-"

"Darling I thought you didn't have feelings for him anymore you little-"

"SIS! I have a headache! Bye!

"Oh, Sweetie Belle, by darli-"

Now, it was three in the morning and Sweetie Belle felt as if she were in a hangover. Her head throbbed, her throat was sore, and she wanted to throw up and go to sleep at the same time. All the while, Spike was sprawled across the couch in her little one-room apartment above The Heavy Hoof. She could hear shouts from down below as if a fight had been started, probably over Ceci, and her eyes were bleary from pain. Through the sheen of deep hazy pain that covered her eyes, she could see that Spike was shoving his face with pizza and chips. Outraged, Sweetie stormed to the fridge, only to find that her pizza and chips were still there and intact. She wheeled around.

"What the he-" She began.

"Wow now, watch your language little filly," Spike said with a wink, "wouldn't want your pure little life to go downhill, now would we?" He retorted with a chortle. Sweetie Belle ground her teeth together.

"My life WAS pure until you showed up!"

"Oh Sweets, your life was plenty unpure when I got here." He said, rolling his eyes and chortling to himself. Sweetie Belle growled.

"I mean other you! Real Spike! In Ponyville!" Sweetie Belle retorted, exasperated. "I was a happy little filly with my friends and then you found me. You just wanted tips on how to win Rarity's heart, bless real Spike's little heart, but a few days later, you-he comes back and admits that he fell head over heels for me! For me of all people! The sister of the one he loved. Then, y-he, he-he got me to act weird. My wariness around him made him think I didn't love him. After being rejected by Rarity so many times, he thought I was rejecting him too. So, he got-weird. My friends got worried and I got worried too. When I finally broke up with him, I had screwed my life up pretty badly. When I graduated from High School, I knew I had to get my life on track. So, I came to Manheattan to do what I always wanted to do." Sweetie Belle heaved a sigh. That was enough memory lane for one night. "I'm going to bed." She announced, not turning her head to Spike.

"G'night Sweets! I'll be here when ya wake up!" Spike whispered with faux emotion. Sweetie turned on her hoof into the one extra room her apartment had.

She tossed and turned that night. Her headaches wouldn't let her be and her eyes were bleary from it. She rolled over one last time and could've sworn she saw something different about the street below. But then, she drifted into a pained sleep.

Sweetie Belle's eyes flickered open to take in a hazy blue mist of a place. She vividly remembered standing in a tilting treehouse with her two best friends and a princess here.

"Princess Luna?" She called out, her voice sounded strangely strangled. "PRINCESS LUNA?" She felt something on her but she couldn't turn around.

She started to panic as thoughts ripped through her.

"There's no Luna, jus' me." A harshly gentle voice said. Sweetie Belle moaned and whimpered fearing the worst. "Shhh. It's alright! I ain't gonna hurt ya." The voice was familiar and it resonated in the silky air.

"Luna? Can you please help me?" Sweetie whimpered.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, an orange mist faded into place. It solidified into a pony a bit shorter than her. With a burnt orange colored coat and a clipped maroon mane and tail. Babs Seed.

"Babs? I need help! I need Lun-"

"Sweetie Belle. I don't have much time, so listen to me. I'm not really Babs, cuz ya know, Babs has her cutie mark." Sweetie saw that Babs was missing it.

"You're another ghost?" Sweetie moaned.

"Don't worry, I'm not like Spike! But, the reason he's there is because you're holding on too tight!" Dream Babs exclaimed.

"But how do I let go? How do I figure out what I'm even holding on to!?" Sweetie Belle could feel tears in her eyes.

The sky thundered and Luna's face appeared to be etched in the mist for a moment, and in that moment, Babs disappeared. Sweetie Belle tried to whip around as something touched her, and she saw tendrils of black sand that seemed to speak to her.

"LUNA! BABS! SOMEPONY HELP ME!" Sweetie Belle wailed as the tendrils inched up her neck.

They spoke like Coco and Spike. They whispered like Babs and the Crusaders, and they sang like Rarity. Then, they swallowed her.

Sweetie Belle jolted out of sleep and back into reality. She jumped out of her bed, crashing into her nightstand, and starting shaking the tendrils off of her. Even though they weren't there, she could still hear the voices.

"So, what's with you and Babs anyway?" Spike's sultry voice shocked Sweetie out of her haze and made her growl at him.

"How do you know?" She shouted.

"Well, it's not like you were shouting her name or anything!" He replied with a chortle. Sweetie Belle plopped down on the bed and crossed her hooves.

"I met her after...after, ya know, Coco." She cleared her throat. "I met Babs after I lost my theatre job. I found that she was trying to earn money to open her own storefront and needed help. So, I was hanging out with her for a while until she got too stressed out about me being there and doing nothing, I was depressed and helpless. So, really as a joke, she got me in touch with Old Toots. She just wanted me out of her life. I loved her though, I think she loved me too, but neither of us would admit it, we just resorted to hate." Sweetie Belle turned away and rushed past Spike into the kitchen.

As she sat down at the table, Spike launched into a tale of two towns that fought all the time and killed each other. And while he did so, Sweetie's heart ached with pain.