Nine Realms

Traversing a land such as this would have been utterly unthinkable for any other group. Nopony in their right mind would want to be anywhere near a realm like the one Twilight and her friends now found themselves in. Fire and heat, smoke and ash, on and on and on it went, never relenting. If there was some calmer, more stable place in this world, the ponies had yet to find it. It was only Twilight's magical shield that kept them all from burning up in the fiery waste they walked through, though the Princess was starting to strain under the constant effort of keeping it up. The path they'd been walking on was a tiny sliver of stone amidst lava and brimstone, and the only real "safe" place they had right now. But, as time wore on, the other members of the group could see that Twilight was getting more and more tired from her magical exertions, and after glancing to one another nervously, they couldn't help but ask.

"Twi? Are ya feelin' okay?" Applejack asked.

Twilight shook her head.

"Honestly...no. I've never cast this spell as long as this before."

Fluttershy's expression became even more concerned than it was before.

"Can you keep it up?"

Twilight frowned.

"I have to, Fluttershy...I have to!"

They all knew she'd meant that, but they also knew that she couldn't keep doing this forever. So, without even saying a word, they started looking around, trying to see somewhere, anywhere where they might rest up. It was hard to do, given that the smoke and ash was obscuring everything around them, but eventually, Pinkie caught sight of something, and pointed to it vigorously.

"Over there!"

The group all looked to where she'd pointed, and sure enough, there appeared to be the entrance to yet another cave over there. Twilight, knowing her friends would encourage her to go over there and regain her strength, went over there before they had a chance to do so, with the others close behind. It was difficult, moving across that narrow path to the brief sanctuary they'd found, but they made it over all the same. As soon as they were far enough inside, Twilight deigned that there was enough distance between them and the deadly heat outside to finally let her efforts stop. The aura that had been covering them faded, and Twilight started to pant heavily.

"Are you alright?" Rarity asked.

Still breathing heavily, Twilight answered.

"I just...I just...need a moment."

The fashionista nodded, and the others, realising that they all had a moment to rest up, took the opportunity. Twilight, who was now sitting down on the ground, looked to each of her companions. Nopony said anything, but it was clear what they were all thinking. They were tired of this journey, and tired of being in danger. How many more worlds did they have to go through? What other threats did they have to endure before this nightmare was over and done with? It wasn't a thought that brought Twilight any pleasure to speculate on, but at the same time, it was a thought that simply wouldn't leave her. Taking some calming breaths, she resigned herself instead to trying to think on how uncomfortable the ground was.

"It's not the best place...but I guess we can cope."

The others nodded in agreement, and several of them took a moment or two to dust themselves off from all the ash that had gotten caught up in their fur. Twilight, sitting in silence, could feel her magical fatigue begin to fade, and so knew that, before long, they could leave this cave and continue on their journey. But, as she considered this, a new sound made itself known to her. It took only a moment for her to recognise it as sniffing, and she turned. It was Spike, who was also sitting on the blackened ground, holding his knees to his chest. Twilight, the one he'd known all his life, looked on with dismay as tears began to fall down his cheeks. And as soon as she saw that, she got up, slowly walking over to him.

"Spike?"

Another sniffle on the part of the drake, and he didn't even look up to her. Instead, he stared down at his knees, tears continuing to fall. The others too noticed this, and looked to him with worry, and as Twilight finally reached him, she spoke softly.

"Spike...whatever it is...you can tell me."

Her childhood companion shut his eyes tight, and when he finally spoke, it was with a wobbly-sounding voice.

"I...I miss Ponyville. I miss everyone."

Gradually, he eventually looked up to his carer.

"Twilight...I wanna go home."

It broke her heart to see him like this, and she soon walked beside him, sitting down gently next to him and stretching out her wing. She used it to wrap around him and hold him close.

"I know, Spike...I know."

The youngster had a few more moments of sobbing after that, and the other mares all looked to him with varying degrees of softness or sympathy. Twilight, after taking a while to properly get her thoughts together, looked to him with a small but loving smile.

"I know this is a bad situation...but we're in this together."

Spike looked up to her as she continued.

"We're not leaving you...and I'm not leaving you."

She held him closer, and while the heat of this place was still thick and stifling, she ignored it, for his sake if nothing else.

"We're going to find a way out of this, Spike. I promise you that. We'll find a way out of these realms, and we'll get back to our home."

Leaning forward, she gently brought her forehead against his.

"This long journey won't last forever, Spike...you have to believe that."

Wiping a tear away from his eye, the small dragon moved closer to her, embracing her in a warm hug. Twilight smiled to this, returning the embrace, all while the others watched. Tears also appeared in the eyes of all the mares who were watching, even Rainbow Dash, who did her best to hide this fact. Spike, after a time, had finally moved past this feeling of his, and smiled back to the alicorn at his side. Twilight smiled right back to him, but before she or anypony else could say anything, there was a sudden shaking of the ground around them. Immediately, everypony was on their hooves, looking around with concern.

"An earthquake?!" Fluttershy asked.

There was another shake, and then another, and another, and another, and finally, after realising how regular they were happening, Twilight's eyes widened. It was a look of recognition, and she turned, looking again to the entrance of the cave. Without warning, she charged forward, with her friends close behind her.

"It...it can't be!" she muttered to herself.

On and on they ran, completely ignoring the surrounding unbearable heat as they did so, and soon, they were once more at the cave's entrance. Within moments, they saw what had been causing the tremors, and as soon as they did, their jaws dropped, with Rainbow alone voicing their shared sentiment.

"What...the...heck?!"