Joey tried to get to his feet, but Jo-Ann pushed him back down gently.

"No," she said firmly, grasping his hand tightly in both of her own. "You are in no shape to go anywhere."

"It's right there, though!!" Joey cried in outrage. "Don't tell me that we're just going to -"

"Are you really going to prioritize a Horcrux over your own life?" she asked indignantly.

Joey did not reply, but looked determinedly at Naiose who was trying very hard to look neutral. After a long moment, however, he sighed in a defeated way.

"She's right, mate," he said quietly. "Your leg - it's - it looks awful."

Joey looked back at Jo-Ann, feeling mutinous. "How are you supposed to know if it's a matter of life or death?"

"Oh, I don't know," Jo-Ann replied coldly. "Maybe the fact that you've gone completely pale in the last two minutes is acting as a dead giveaway."

Now that he thought about it, he was feeling lightheaded. His girlfriend was definitely overreacting, though - he didn't feel like he was going to die. What was important now is that he get the Crown; there would be time to recover from the spider venom later. Well, Joey was pretty sure the black stuff was venom.

"I don't care," he said in a quiet, dangerous voice. "We're this close. We are NOT stopping now." He stood up forcefully and tried with all his might to ignore the fiery pain that was gradually snaking up his leg. He drew his wand when Jo-Ann made to sit him back down.

"Don't," Joey growled. "Let's get the crown, then leave."

"But, your leg -"

"No, Jo-Ann." Joey snapped, glaring angrily at her. Were they ever going to understand? The world was in danger, and they were concerned about his leg. He limped towards the drawbridge, grunting slightly with every step on his bad leg. Before he made it to the bridge, however, he felt Jo-Ann throw his arm over her shoulder for support. He sighed, feeling slightly guilty for lashing out, but the need was great at the time. They just needed to understand.

The first couple steps on the bridge were the most terrifying. It swayed slightly to the left, sending Joey's stomach into a horrendous lurch. He steadied himself with the help of Jo-Ann and took another shaky step forward.

And another.

... And another.

Time seemed to slow down immensely as Joey hobbled his way towards the crown. It was just sitting there, unguarded - were the spiders guarding it, or did they steal it and hide it down here, or - was it a trap? Probably.

As they reached the other side, Joey shuddered as his leg gave a painful throb. Jo-Ann squeezed his shoulders, but it did not help him - instead, he felt his energy slowly fading away.

This did not go unnoticed by Jo-Ann, who looked very scared as she watched her boyfriend. "We need to get you help," she said urgently.

"The... the crown..." Joey said weakly. It felt like someone had placed dead weights on the end of each of his limbs, making them feel rubbery and useless. He forced himself forward, however, and did not stop until his hand was inches from the crown's golden surface. He felt himself hesitate, and looked at his girlfriend, then back at Naiose, who had followed them across the bridge. They both gave him a reassuring nod, and Joey felt himself look back around at the crown with a new sense of confidence. So what if it was a trap? They needed it, and they couldn't stop now - they had come this far, after all.

He seized the crown with his free hand and brought it to his chest. At first, everything was quiet. Then there was more skittering.

"Oh, god..." Naiose moaned.

Up from the chasm, all around them, came the spiders. Joey felt Jo-Ann clutch his hand tightly. He then felt her make a move towards Naiose, but there was a horrible scream. Fear stabbed every inch of Joey's skin as he looked over to see his friend.

A spider had pounced towards his head, but he had courageously held the spider out of biting range, wrestling it off by the mandibles. The spider stopped for a split second, then began to spit venom into his friend's face. Naiose's screams clamored off the chamber walls, adding to the noisy din.

"NO! Revulso!" Joey cried, pointing his wand at Naiose's attacker. The spider screeched horribly as it plummeted backward back into the chasm. As Jo-Ann turned her attention to another approaching spider, Naiose doubled over, grimacing, and clutched his left eye. Joey then made the most courageous decision he had ever made in his entire life.

He staggered towards Naiose with his remaining energy and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Jo-Ann seemed to see what was about to happen, for she clutched his arm in a painful grip and screeched, "JOEY!! DON'T YOU DARE -!!"

It was too late, though; Joey had already thrust his wand into the air. Just before entering the void between apparition and disapparition, he passed out completely, and felt nothing but extreme pain in his leg. It slowly creeped up his thigh, soon reaching his crotch.

He remembered nothing more.

Zecora walked down a narrow hallway lit with torches on all sides in the upper levels of Canterlot Castle. Coming to an intersection of hallways, she peeked around the corners to check for Scallius. Not seeing any sign of him, she continued down the hallway.

She had been kept in the upper levels of the castle ever since Lord Valkaris had taken over, and she was already done with it. While the castle boasted living in luxury, she preferred her tranquil, dark, isolated home back in the Everfree. She was never one to socialize, but had no problem with that - here, it was different. In those moments when she was forced to socialize with something, it was never a good thing half of the time.

The good side of her social life here in Canterlot were those quiet moments when one of the princesses or Elements came to offer some support. It was usually one of the Elements; they knew her best.

Although she did not admit it, she needed help - emotional help. Ever since she prophesied about the Dark Lord and the young human child, Joey (her heart always felt a sorrowful stab whenever she thought of him), she felt like a bomb that could go off at any time, destroying them all. Or, even worse, getting them all in trouble.

The bad side of her social life then were the times she was summoned by Scallius, who was nothing but a bully who used the Dark Lord's threats as leverage to become a downright monster. He was especially mean to her, saying terrible things to her face without the slightest hesitation. She could still hear his drawling voice sometimes, drilling its way into her thoughts.

"You are the reason my master is on this wild goose chase for the boy - that useless, stupid boy - but that is literally the only thing you've done, being a nuisance, and you don't have any other special capabilities - just that one, stinking prophecy. How insignificant you are - I mean, look at you, you have no powers - no important skills - unless you can brew yourself a nice herbal beverage that can save the world. What? You can't? Figures..."

As much as these words often haunted her daily thoughts, she pressed on. She refused to let her self esteem fall victim to the verbal abuse she often received at the hands of Scallius.

Then there were those who tried to assist her whenever they could; most of the time it was Fluttershy, Pinkie, or Twilight, but Celestia herself popped in on her occasionally. They always listened if she had something she needed to say, and made sure to do anything they could to keep her going. Scallius was a complete jerk to them as well, but to her he was downright horrible. Everyone else knew this, and because of that they did their best.

Especially Fluttershy. Thank Celestia for Fluttershy.

The butter colored pegasus checked on her every other day, for Scallius put restrictions on said visits out of cruelty. Whenever she did visit, however, it was merely just to be a comforting presence. Sometimes they talked, though not very often. Zecora had long lost the desire to speak ever since she prophesied about Joey.

There went that pang of sadness again.

Whenever Zecora did talk to Fluttershy, it was usually one of three things - consolation for her troubles concerning Scallius, wondering if this nightmare would ever end, and speculations as to where Joey, Naiose, and Jo-Ann could be.

Zecora strode across another hallway and came to a stop in front of a door. Sighing quietly, she pushed open the door, revealing a closed in spiral staircase that led upwards at a steep angle. She closed the door quietly behind her and began to climb the seemingly endless staircase. However, she was so lost in her thoughts that it had felt like it had been only a minute until she reached the top of the stairs. A large wooden door with a brass ring handle loomed in front of her.

The topmost room in the entire castle - her designated chambers.

Indeed, it was lonely - the Dark Lord made it that way on purpose. He apparently thought that if she was kept isolated, she would be less likely to spill important information to someone that wasn't part of his inner circle. Not only that, but this was the closest place in the castle to the reapers, who resided in the sky. The horrifying creatures sometimes floated past her balcony, filling her with the worst feelings she had ever experienced in her life. Still, all of this confused her - if she was to be isolated, why were ponies allowed to visit?

She pushed open the wooden door, revealing a circular room beyond it with a high ceiling. A large canopy bed with polished wood sat right under a large stained glass window of Princess Luna raising the moon. Two bedside tables sat on both sides of it, each with a small lavender colored lamp. A polished wooden wardrobe dominated the right side of the room, and on the left was a small balcony with a telescope.

These were very nice quarters, without a doubt; still, she preferred the dark, cool air the Everfree Forest provided as opposed to the dry, cold air that blew in from the balcony and filled her room. She trudged over to her bed and flopped down on top of it, briefly reminiscing about the short walk she had just taken. She normally took them to clear her mind, as she usually did back in the days when she would have freedom in the Everfree.

She found herself longing for the forest again - to smell the heavy, humid air that was the aroma of life. To see the forest path during midday, when the canopy dimmed most of the sunlight, creating an ambiance that was incredibly relieving on the eyes. To hear the tranquil hum of the forest environment, or sometimes nothing at all; the silence and the forest noises were of the same value to her. The more she thought of her home, the more her heart ached.

The fact of the matter was simple - she did not belong here, and never would. The forest was her home.

She walked up to the wardrobe and opened it slowly. Her ears twitched slightly upon hearing the soft creak the door let out, but gave no further notice to it. Her eyes searched the back wall of the wardrobe, sifting right through the emptiness that the absence of clothes would leave in any wardrobe. Then she found it - a small indent in the center of the expanse, just off center. While any normal creature would see this and assume it was just a souvenir of a small accident.

Zecora knew better.

She placed a hoof on the space just under the dent, and gave a small push. There was a soft click as the space she pressed on gave a little. When she released the pressure of her hoof, the said area of wood slid out to reveal that it was a small compartment, not a simple area of wood on the back of a wardrobe. Inside it was a small photograph, which she picked up and brought closer to her face so as to see it better.

In the center of the photo stood Joey, with his hands in his pockets. He was smiling slightly with a sad background. He looked relaxed, however, and was slightly leaning to the right up against a gleeful looking Princess Cadance, who had a large grin on her face as if nothing could of gone wrong. To Joey's left stood Princess Twilight, who looked absolutely ecstatic. This photo was taken, according to Princess Cadance, the day before they had ambushed the Dark Lord's attempt to pull an entire army of reapers into this world.

Her head gave a painful throb, and she had a brief glimpse of a teenage boy laying in a thatch bed. The image left as soon as it came, however, and she didn't have the energy to focus upon it. She had been having images such as those flash painfully through her thoughts as of late, and she was pretty sure of who they were about - Joey. These images were so short they didn't give her any clues to as where the boy could be or what he was up to. Sighing again, she looked back down at the photo.

Seeing Joey's tranquil face made her heart freeze up with guilt. It was her fault he was the most wanted creature in the world, her fault that his father was dead...

If she had never prophesied, none of this would of happened. Instead, she gave the Dark Lord a huge reason to kill one of her good friends.

Stop it right now, you, she thought to herself in a scolding manner. This is not what Zecora would do. Thinking of things such as this through the night, rather than hoping he'll survive through his plight? He is a smart colt, Cadance told me so. So why worry too much about him, and instead - let go?

She sighed and smiled at the photo. Wherever he was, she hoped he would stay safe. He was the future and the hope for the entire world, after all.

Joey felt weightless, as if he had no form, no body. He simply seemed to float in everlasting blackness for what felt like an eternity. He did not think much of this; as a matter of fact, he did not think much at all, nor did he feel emotion. It was as if he were some sort of inanimate object, floating through an expanse of nothingness.

Then came the light.

It sliced through the darkness like a dagger, allowing a sliver of blinding light to reach him. Were those... eyelids? Then, for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, a thought crossed his mind.

FUUUUUUUUUUCK that's bright! it screamed.

There were voices, too - though they sounded odd, kind of like a warble. He could barely make out what was being said.

"Oh... waking..."

"Is... okay??"

"He... dead... poison..."

Joey slowly opened his eyes, ignoring the sudden burning that was caused by the abrupt presence of light. His vision was blurry, nothing but a bunch of colorful blobs dancing around in his line of sight. The voices, however, began to get clearer, slowly rising in clarity.

"He's awake!" said a familiar feminine voice. It spoke with a surprised tone.

A blob that had blonde coloring on top leaned in close. "Joey?" it asked.

"Dasss mee," Joey said in a voice that did not sound like his own. It was slurred and lazy, very unlike his natural tone of voice, which was usually upbeat and articulate.

His vision came into sharper focus. The figure leaned over him was, unsurprisingly, Jo-Ann. Naiose stood by the door, but rapidly made his way over to the bed as soon as he heard the sound of his friend's voice.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, kneeling down. Joey felt himself grin in a goofy way back at him.

"Neverr been betterr," Joey said, trying to give his friends a thumbs up. Instead of doing so, however, he simply raised an arm lazily and let it flop back onto the bed.

Jo-Ann and Naiose exchanged an anxious glance.

Joey mustered up as much "Listen, I'm fine," said Joey, who had noticed this. He attempted to sit up by propping himself up on an elbow, but slipped. Jo-Ann took pity on him and grabbed his shoulders. She then hoisted him up until his back was resting against some sort of wall.

Naiose turned to Jo-Ann and said, "I'm going to go get Capper and Rain Shine." With that, he strode over to the door and pulled it open, disappearing into the night.

Night. It was night.

Joey looked around to get a better take on his location. He was seated in what definitely looked like a hut. He turned to Jo-Ann and opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to the punch.

"We're back in the kirin village," she said anxiously, looking at Joey quizzically. "Are you sure you're fine?"

"Yes," Joey said reassuringly. "I'm feeling better by the second."

This was indeed true, for his line of thought was starting to return - along with the rest of the feeling in his body. He lifted an arm and stretched, feeling an enormously enjoyable tingling sensation down his spine. He did the same thing with the other arm. Once he was done, he looked up at his girlfriend, feeling immensely satisfied.

"How are you doing?" he asked pleasantly.

Jo-Ann looked at him incredulously for a long, silent moment. She then replied, "Fine - it's been really boring. There haven't been many things to do for the past two months -"

Joey's mouth went completely dry. "Two - two months, did you say?" he asked tentatively.

Jo-Ann opened her mouth to reply when the door burst open, cutting across her would-be reply. In marched Naiose, Rain Shine, and Autumn Blaze, the latter two looking pleasantly surprised.

"Ah, our patient has awoken!" Rain Shine said in her high pitched voice. "So nice to see you again..."

"How long have I been here?" Joey asked immediately.

Rain Shine was obviously caught off guard by the question, for she stumbled slightly. Capper chuckled silently behind her, but when she turned to glare at him he immediately donned a concerned expression. Rain Shine turned her attention back to Joey.

"Two months, give or take a week," she said simply.

"Two - months?" Joey said through gritted teeth, feeling anger seep into his thoughts. He turned to Naiose."Why the hell was I out for two months??"

"It was something they gave you," Naiose said nervously. "You know - for your leg."

"Why did you let them??" Joey roared indignantly. "I wasn't aware that you needed anesthetic to cure spider bites -"

"Those weren't normal spider bites," Rain Shine said, looking dead serious. "Those were bites from the ancient breed of Srork'uzad - which means 'The Blood Corrupter' in Ancient Ponish - but they should have been extinct long ago. Their venom is fatal; once it touches your blood, it begins to multiply. You were in terrible condition when your friends brought you here; near to death, actually.

"There is only one cure for it, and fortunately for you, you were in the right place. While the antidote is extremely effective, it also has a certain degree of toxicity. A sleep-inducing toxicity, to be specific. We had to use such a large dose on you, we did not know whether you'd wake up or not... we were amazed that you had survived that long."

"Well, my dad always used to call me a 'tough cookie'," Joey laughed. "So maybe he was right."

"Tch. No kidding," Naiose added.

There was an awkward silence during which Jo-Ann took Joey's hand in her own.

"So - um... when can I leave?" Joey asked, who had been feeling put off ever since hearing about the length of his coma.

"Today," Rain Shine said happily, now beaming at him.

"Okay! Awesome, I was - wait, what?" Joey asked, taking a massive double take.

"You can leave."

"Today?"

"Yes."

"For realsies?"

Rain Shine chuckled. "Yes, for realsies. Once you have awoken from the slumber the antidote gives you, all you need is a couple minutes to recover - and we've spent more than that amount of time simply standing here and talking."

"Oh," Joey said, looking up at Jo-Ann. "Shall we go, then?"

"Yeah, let's go," Jo-Ann said, looking confused.

Everyone began to file out of the room; Joey and Jo-Ann were the last to leave. Before either of them made it out of the door, Jo-Ann turned and clutched her boyfriend's shoulders.

"What's bugging you?" she asked. "You did a good job hiding it from them, but you can't hide it from me."Joey looked at her grumpily for a second, then sighed in a defeated way.

"You win," he sighed.

"Sooooo? Tell me," Jo-Ann chirped, booping him on the nose with a free finger. "Why are you so mad?"

"I'm not mad," Joey grunted. "Just incredibly annoyed."

"Care to tell me why?" Jo-Ann pressed.

"Well, sure," Joey said morosely. "You'd be annoyed too after learning that you've wasted two months in a bed."

Jo-Ann nodded slowly. "But you're alive."

Joey scowled at his girlfriend. "You don't understand - our mission. "We've just lost two months."

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait, I will do my best to continue publishing. I've decided to make this story a shorter one that covers a lot of time, so bear with me