It was late when the group returned to Ponyville, nopony was in a hurry to leave this time, they just stayed around Canterlot, enjoying the company of one another. Even Bo had a good time despite the large number of local ponies staring at him. When Applejack returned home with Bo the Apple family was fast asleep, she was a little upset, she wanted everyone to meet him.

"Oh well," a sigh slipped out as an expression of her dissapointment, "Ah guess ya can always meet 'em after we're done workin' tomorrow. Let me show ya the barn." Bo followed her like a lost puppy until they reached the barn, Bo looked around and could see why Applejack was so persistent to have him stay there, there really wasn't much in the barn, not like you would expect. "Ya can sleep up in the loft, there are a couple of sleeping bags ya can roll out to get off the floor."

Bo stepped forward, observing the high ceiling, it was warm and Bo felt comfortable. "Thank you," he turned towards the orange pony and stood straight, "You've shown me more kindness than the humans ever did." He formed a fist with his right hand and threw it across his body slamming the opposite shoulder with all of his strength, it hurt but it was the only way he knew to show the respect he held for Applejack.

"Well, Ah'm gonna hit the straw, Ah'll come and get ya in the morning fer breakfast." She started to walk out and had made it to the door before Bo could think of a response.

"Good night, and thank you again." I wasn't much, but Applejack nodded as she closed the door.

Bo climbed up to the loft and unrolled one of the sleeping bags Applejack told him about. It was soft and warm, despite the fact that he was lying on the floor, it even reminded Bo of the bed the humans gave him on Earth, a futon with a blanket, it wasn't much but it was all he needed. It didn't take long for Bo to fall asleep, he was tired after what felt like a long day and after a few minutes he was still, his body rising and falling slowly to the rhythm of his breath. That's when it happened.

"What the hell, where am I?" Bo sat up, looking around for a sense of something he recognized, the sleeping bag, that barn, he wouldn't even mind seeing Celestia, just something to tell him where he was. It almost looked like a forest, he was in a small clearing, just big enough for a campsite. A few streams of moonlight filtered in between the tree branches. "Where am I?"

A voice came from the shadows, "you are in a dream of course." Bo was about to speak again until Luna stepped out of the shadows. "I have brought you here, so that we may speak and not be interrupted. I chose this place from your memory, it's just so full of magic that I couldn't help myself. Is it familiar?"

Bo took another quick look around the clearing, realizing finally where he was. He kept his voice low, "I can't be here, we can't be here." He took a few steps and was up close to Luna, "these are the Proving Grounds, royal Drakes come here to complete a set of challenges and earn the title of Drake Lord, or even Overlord if they do well enough. These forests are full of demons that attack everything on sight." Bo's voice developed a tone of severity he hadn't used since he was banished, and the words hung in the space between the two, not wanting to settle anywhere.

"Then I will be brief, all I wanted to tell you is that my sister is wrong about you, you're not evil. I do however think that you will be called back to the fields of war you tried to leave behind, I only hope that the side you choose will be the one that deserves your help." Luna smiled as she turned towards the shadows she had walked from, "I guess we'll speak again soon." With her final comment she stepped back into the shadows to return to Canterlot.

"What does any of that mean!?" Bo forgot his own warning for a moment, his voice echoed off the nearby trees.

A roar from beyond the trees served as his only answer, a plethora of vicious yellow and green eyes illuminated the space beyond the clearing, bloodstained teeth waithing to eviscerate and devour the Drake. Then a set of eyes red as blood opened and let out an ear piercing shriek, announcing the demons attack. Bo held them off to the best of his ability, shouting out the runes as they lit his body summoning a multitude of weapons and spells against the assailants.

"Lohikäärme Kynnet! Kivi Vasara! Tulipallo!"

Demons fell as they were hit with a barrage of attacks, yet their numbers never seemed to decrease. Then another figure appeared in the clearing, Bo struggled trying to see what it was without giving up his defense. It wasn't a demon, it was an Alicorn!

It stood there for a moment, observing, planning it's attack as demons of all sizes rushed by it's solid black body, completely ignoring it and attacking Bo. Finally its head rose, a white aura of magic cloaking it's horn, then it's body, it glowed in the dimly lit forest clearing, its eyes changed from a deep blue to and endless white. Then it cast its glyph, a glyph, something Bo rarely heard as they were almost as hard to cast as runes.

"Eieci eosdem daemones, in oblivionem! Divinum Lucem!" A bright light illuminated the edge of his horn which soon grew to fill the entire clearing, demons disintegrating as the Divine Light glyph banished them to hell, but something wasn't right, everything was fading from Bo as well. It didn't hurt, and at the end he could see nothing, not the Alicorn, not the clearing, not the demons. He could still hear the screams of dying demons, yet there was another voice, a distinct voice ringing in the emptyness. "Remember me and death shall not be your fate." It was the only thing he could hear, he knew where it came from, he knew who it was, maybe it was time everyone else did.

Bo thought about that for a moment, then he became aware that there was another voice, a softer voice. Then he felt a hoof on his shoulder pushing gently, he looked but could never find its owner. The voice started to clear up, almost to the point where Bo could understand.

".ake..., wake..., wake up Bo! Yer startin' to worry me, wake up." Applejack tried and tried to pull him from his deep sleep, eventually his eyes fluttered open.

"What's...going on?" He was trying to shake the sleep off but it just wasn't working.

"Ya were havin' a nightmare sugarcube, Ah heard ya screamin' from inside and came to check on ya. When Ah got here ya were thrashin' around and shoutin' some nonsense like 'divide em lose em'." Applejack leaned in close and sat down beside Bo, she wanted Bo to know she cared about him, maybe even loved him. "Do ya want to talk about it?"

"It was...there were..." Bo didn't know where, he wanted to tell her everything but he knew he couldn't mention his talk with Luna. He took a deep breath and started over. "I was in a dark forest, I thought that I saw someone else so I yelled out to get their attention. Then there were the eyes, all over the place these yellow and green eyes, slitted like a dragons, and they were just staring at me. Then another set appeared, red as blood accompanied by horrible blood stained teeth, it made this horrible screaming noise and all the others attacked me. I didn't want to fight them, but I didn't want to die either, I was killing them, demons were dropping like flies but they just kept coming from all sides and I was getting tired. There was no way I could hold them all off, there were just too many." A look of despair spread over his face as he remembered the sight and feeling of being overrun by the demons.

Applejack saw the look on Bo's face and threw her forelegs over his shoulders, bringing him in close and pressing her head against his cheek, speaking soft, kind words to calm him. "It's okay, yer safe now, it's all over."

It was almost as if she was trying to calm a child, and it worked, Bo was calming down, the heat coming from Applejack's body from being pressed so close to him felt so comforting. They stayed like that for a moment before Bo finally stopped resisting and wrapped Applejack in his arms, holding tightly as she let her head rest on his shoulder. They sat there for several minutes, enjoying the embrace before they seperated. Applejack started to lean back when her eyes met Bo's, they stared at each other lovingly, not wanting the moment to end. Then they leaned in and locked themselves into a long, passionate kiss. Once they had seperated again Applejack settled back onto all four hooves and took a step backwards, turning a deep shade of red that mimicked brick.

"Well, umm, Ah guess Ah'm gonna head back inside and git some sleep. Ah'll see ya in the mornin'." With that she turned around and headed back down to the ground floor.

"Yeah, goodnight." He settled back down into the sleeping bag, ready to try sleeping once more. He was feeling good, Bo didn't know why but the kiss he had just shared with Applejack had felt so good, so right. He was still for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling, there was a gentle, chilly breeze coming in the window giving him a nostalgic feeling. It reminded him of how it felt to have Drake Spec Ops dropped behind the enemy to help in a battle, carrying a smell of home along the breeze before they came, but this was different, bundled with that same familiar scent was the smell of hate and war. Bo sat up quickley, a grim thought running through his mind.

"I will return to the fields of battle, but this time the squads are going to drop behind me, this time the Drakes I've known for so long will be my enemy." He settled back into the bag one last time, finally ready to sleep. One final thought ran through his mind, 'I have not forgotten you, and perhaps it's time everyone else learns the truth. It just might give me the edge I need.'

Author's Note

Runes
Lohikäärme Kynnet=Dragon Claws
Kivi Vasara=Stone Hammer
Tulipallo=Fireball
Glyphs
Eieci eosdem daemones, in oblivionem! Divinum Lucem=I cast these demons into oblivion! Divine Light!