Long, long ago, a small Empire called Crystallus lay nestled in a forest of proud and beautiful crystal blossoms. Each and every tree around the quiet city was honored as a god. However, the Empire was not without its dark secrets.
To satiate the appetite of Sombra, a fearsome, demonic beast, a young mare was offered as a sacrifice at the annual festival. With a body like a wildfire's smoke and a horn sharp and cruel as a dagger, its blood-red eyes alone were said to curse anyone who gazed into them. No one dared disobey the horrific beast.
When the night of the sacrifice drew near, a mysterious pink pony appeared outside the village. This pony, coat glittering crysalline pink, with a mane of palest lavender and yellow, was dubbed Cadenza. The pony kept a watchful eye on anyone who ventured outside the empire, and made a habit of patrolling the streets at night. People assumed the pony to be a demon of Sombra.
One villager took it upon himself to face the fearsome Cadenza. The warrior Gold Ore attempted many times to challenge the pony. But his attempts were thwarted by Cadenza's swift movements, the mysterious pony seeming to fly and teleport despite her bare back and forehead.
Before long, the night of the accursed festival had arrived. A black-plumed arrow heralded the coming sacrifice. Piercing the sky, the arrow sunk its shaft squarely into the home of Wheat Field, the village's most beautiful maiden. Gold, harboring a secret love for Field, was enraged by this sign. Determined to put an end to Sombra once and for all, Gold Ore traveled to the beast's cave in place of his beloved.
The Crystal Cave, a place as dark as evil itself, served as Sombra's home. As Gold stood bravely before the entrance, a beast appeared, eyes glowing crimson upon a smoking, writhing form. Sombra stood tall before him, anxious for another
sacrifice. Gold leaped with incredible grace, swinging his blade valiantly. On and on he sliced, well into the moonless night... but Sombra's hide was like fog. The blade left nary a scratch.
At long last, Gold Ore, his energy spent from the intense battle, dropped to his knees, fatigued and gasping for breath. He knew he was staring death in the face. It was then that the pony appeared. As if to protect Gold, it stood its ground before Sombra. In the darkness of the cave, the pony's coat shone brilliantly. Alas, it was Cadenza, the pony that roamed outside the village.
Yelling in fury, Cadenza leaped toward Sombra. Sombra reared its terrifying head, readying its fangs for battle. The two beasts struggled wildly, thrashing in the darkness. Mysterious and terrifying, the spectacle continued. Cadenza summoned gusts of divine wind to counter Sombra's flames and crystal spears.
As Sombra closed in on Cadenza, sharpened fangs glistening, a gigantic tree suddenly sprouted forth, shielding the pony. Cadenza fought gallantly to gain the upper hand. However, Sombra, protected by a mystical power, was not easily bested.
Cadenza, covered in gashes, majestic coat dyed crimson, stood exhausted before the mighty Sombra.
Sombra saw a chance to strike what would be the final blow. But Cadenza refused to give in. With its last ounce of strength, the majestic pony gazed heavenward and sang a single, piercing note into the heavens. Suddenly, the black clouds overhead dissipated.
Gold's charm, a small crystal heart given to him by Field, lifted towards the clear sky, tightening the string around his neck. The light from above glinted off Wheat's token as a beacon of hope. Guided by his sword, Gold, who had been taking shelter in the shadows, stood proudly to face his adversary. Channeling all his strength into his scarred and battered hooves, he leaped ferociously toward Sombra, his sword poised high. The blue crystal danced around his neck like a puppet on a string. Clump by clump, great bands of smoke were thrown away from their dark bearer, and it was not long until the sword struck deep into dusty gray flesh.
Sombra's broken body collapsed in a lake of its own blood. In that instant, the curse that plagued the villagers was lifted. As the battle subsided, the sun shone once again in the sky. Cadenza had succumbed to Sombra's poison and struggled to breathe. Gold Ore scooped the valiant pony onto his back and returned to Crystallus.
When they reached the village, Cadenza was no longer moving. The village elder gently stroked the pony's head. In response, Cadenza let out a hoarse and pitiful goodbye... then closed its eyes and drifted off as if into slumber.
Peace had at last returned to the Crystallus Empire. In honor of Cadenza's heroic exploits, the villagers erected a shrine and placed a statue of the pony within it.
Gold's charm was christened "The Crystal Heart" and placed inside the Crystal Cave. The villagers all looked forward to an age of endless peace.
However, this is not the end of the story... there is more to this tale than most people know. 100 years had passed since Gold and Cadenza's heroic exploits. It happened so quickly that no one in the village even took notice.
Darkness shrouded the long-abandoned Crystal Caves, nothing but a single shaft of moonlight illuminating the shrine within.
A stature, chiseled from the palest of red ruby, stood proud and tall, despite the cobwebs and grime collecting on it's shimmering surface. Armor fastened around it's neck and hooves, smelted gold protecting the ancient heroine. Between her hooves lay the magically enlarged Crystal Heart, a faintly glowing reminder of times past, and a golden sword was embedded in the top of the blue crystal.
Shadows shifted, and a slim colt stumbled into the light. His coat was a rich golden-brown, and his mane and tail a somewhat more brown version of the color. His eyes glittered green in the moonlight, and the white core of his cutie mark - half an apple - seemed to glow against the shadow.
"Whoa." He looked up at the statue, only gaping slightly. "Never thought ah'd get this close. Don' they have some kinda guard or something?"
Nopony else was in the cavern, though, so he trotted up to the Crystal Heart without a second thought. He could remember the legends; the crystal ponies that once resided here, slowly losing their crystal skin for wings, horns and strength. Being an Earth Pony, he could appreciate the abilities of his ancestors but, luckily for him, security was not one of them.
He placed his hooves on either side of the crystal heart and reared up, grasping the hilt of the sword in his mouth. It unsheathed from the crystal with a loud 'shing', hanging lightly in his jaws.
Almost immediately, a dark fog began billowing from the incision in the Heart, filling the cavern with choking smog. The colt dropped the sword as a gray face congealed in front of him, red eyes gleaming.
"You have released me. What is your name?"
"B-B-B-Braeburn." He stammered, backing away slowly.
"Well, Braeburn, what is it you desire by disturbing the shrine and releasing me?"
"Well, y'see, there's this filly in town who's real sweet, and I..." he paused, puffing his chest out. "I wan'ta impress 'er."
"Love and power? I can get that for you." The demon's eyes gleamed, and he leaned in towards the colt. "There is a pact we must make first. A blood oath."
Braeburn moved to flee, but then the bright image of his potential mare-friend flashed in his mind and he halted. "...what is the oath?"
Sombra grinned, fangs gleaming. "Repeat after me."
Another statue shimmered at the base of one of the largest Crystal Blossom trees in the empire, long, waving branches draping the ground in golden, blue and pink flowers.
This one was hewn before the second, made of the purest crystal where the other had flaws. This statue was not worn from age and elements, meticulously cared for generation by generation of the ponies of Crystallus. Where the other had golden armor, this one was clothed in a dress made of gemstones, all shades of the rainbow where the sun hit, and lay half-curled on it's base. It's muzzle was dropped to the base itself, tip barely brushing a small pendant.
To the line of ponies watching over the statue, they knew it to be the first Crystal Heart. The one in the cave had been a replica, duplicated from the one that lay here, but the sword that embedded into it remained true. Legend said the sword held the dark essence of Sombra within, but the lore had since fallen into disrepair.
The latest Shrine Guardian rested calmly in front of the statue, her light green mane falling gently over her darker green coat. Her ears flicked slightly in dreaming but, other than that and the rise and fall of her sides, she did not stir.
So it was no surprise she did not notice when a dim light began glowing from under the pristine statue's eyes, nor the sweeping branches drifting to lie across it's slumbering form.
Against a black sky speckled with swirling stars and a hillside billowing with long, tan, grass, a mare lifted her head and looked around cautiously.
Her body ached with the pleasant cramps of long slumber, and her lying body had left a dark impression in the grass. Her coat was a pale pink, her mane and tail shimmering purple, yellow and pink. Her eyes were a bright violet, and her wings darkened from pink, to purple, to a faint line of black. Her cutie mark was a blue heart flanked by golden swirls, and her horn shone blue as she conjured a small light to reveal more of her surroundings.
She could see herself more clearly in the new light, finding that her hooves had faint purple swirls along their fronts, and her chest and shoulders mimicked their elegance. She could imagine similar marks graced her face. She let out a gentle breath, and it fogged in the air, despite the warmth around her.
Without a second thought, she began trotting in no particular direction, more curious than afraid of her surroundings. She certainly felt strong enough to take on any enemy that she might encounter. A bridge loomed away from the bottom of the hill, nothing but empty space beneath it until it reached a similar island a ways away.
She trotted on warily, but the torches at each side banished the sweeping shadows better than her magic had. The first edge of fear creeping into her mind, she trotted continued across.
A small mirror, glowing with light from the moon above, caught her eye from the side of the path. It was raised on a small pedestal, the base appearing to be carved jade. Three figures marked it; one winged Unicorn on one side, with the sun raising behind her; another winged Unicorn on the other, this one silhouetted by the moon and a third between them, head raised in what appeared to be song, a glowing heart etched above her.
While the etchings were very precise and intricate, she found her eyes constantly drawn up towards the shining mirror. There was something about how it flickered, how the light seemed to burrow through her eyes and draw her in. She had a fleeting sensation of floating, and the mirror's glowing lens dimmed, inky scrawl surging across the pristine surface.
Love Spirit Cadence - soul stored
Somewhat shaken by the words, the pony managed to understand her name was Cadence. And that she was a 'love spirit', but she didn't know what that meant, so she ignored it.
As she continued past, she became aware that the terrain seemed to be reshaping to challenge her. A cliff rose ahead of her, a solid dirt face against the gentle rise. She frowned at it, and spread her wings.
She jumped towards the cliff, bracing her hooves against the dirt. Scrabbling for a hold, she managed a second jump, her wings weaker than she expected. She nearly reached the edge, but her climb fell short and her wings merely slowed her plunge back to the grass.
"You won't get the best of me." She hissed, flicking her tail. With a snort, she galloped towards it again, kicking off stronger than she had before. With a short stumble as her hooves scuffed away loose dirt, she completed her second jump and hauled herself up over the edge.
She was immediately met by a second bridge, this one with a gaping hole in the middle. Using the tried-and-true method, she charged towards it, clearing the gap with a short glide ending her jump.
The second bridge ended in a much smaller island, with two discernible paths. One was a short pier, with ended with a drop into the blackness that filled the sky, or up a short hill with no visible reason to climb. She decided to check the pier first.
There was no boat in sight, and the darkness did not seem particularly solid. The end was marked with a few scrawled characters on a sign; River of the Heavens. Seeing no way of travelling across, and not wanting to throw herself into the abyss, she turned back, heading up the hill instead.
She noticed nothing remarkable about the top of the hill, other than a sudden change in the light of the stars above. A series of them shone brightly against the sky, making the moon look dim in comparison.
She traced them with a wingtip, hoping they would somehow provide her with a way across the dark 'river'.
Her wingtip reached it's starting point, and the sky suddenly shone with a brilliant light. She folded her wing over her face, trying to block the light, when it dimmed considerably. The world around her shimmered gold, all traces of her previous environment gone. She was also standing on thin air, which was a little concerning. Even more so was the figure in front of her.
Looking as if being here was the most natural thing in the world, a ginger-coated Earth Pony dipped her head, blond mane and brown hat falling over her eyes.
"Welcome back to the land of the gods an' goddess, Cadence."
"Huh?" Cadence took a cautious step back, her hoof waving wildly as her invisible platform seemed to end. She was seized by vertigo, and lay down quickly, hooves cautiously searching for the other edges.
"Dang, you've gotten a might antsy since ah last saw yah!" The Earth Pony grinned, trotting over to her and helping her stand. "Ah'm Applejack, remember?"
"A-Applejack?"
The Earth Pony nodded, eyes seeming to glow. "Ah swear, ah meant to getcha here sooner, but I got tangled up with some old... friends."
"Here?"
Applejack rolled her eyes, spinning to wave at the scenery in general. "The home of the great brush goddesses? Where you were born and raised?"
Cadence blinked.
"Yah hafta remember! If you don't Celestia'll sear my skin off! You're Cadence, the mortal form of the ancient god Cadenza!"
"Cadenza?"
"She sacrificed herself to save an Empire, and was given goddess status when she entered the heavens. She chose tah stay landborn, though, and took up hold in a shrine near the city. When the great darkness re-awoke, yah were born in her stead." Applejack nodded again, eyes coaxing her to remember.
"If I'm Cadenza... who does that make you?"
"Ah'm the direct descendant of the ancient life god Renovatio. When he joined the other gods on the immortal plane, he gifted the mortals with crops and seeds, and makes the trees blossom each year. Which, of course, ah also do." She frowned, taking Cadence's hoof in her own. "But these are dark days on the mortal plane, and ah can't reach down there no more. You, as the divine goddess, hafta take my place. There's thirteen of us goddesses linked to the mortal world, and ah'm the only one that could make it up here.
"Cadence, you hafta understand; yah need to banish the darkness from their shrines and return them to the immortal plane before the shadow wins. They all have unique powers, and they will help yah every step of the way. Do yah accept this challenge?"
Cadence nodded, feeling warmth seep into her slender frame from the Earth Pony's touch. "I do."
Applejack smiled and took a step back, bowing down towards her. Her cutie mark started glowing, a rich, vivid red that stained the golden air around her. "Then ah, brush goddess Applejack, gift my powers of restoration onto yah. Use them powers well."
The golden sky went dark, the light from Applejacks' cutie mark glowing a while longer, and the grassy hillside reappeared. Applejack's phantom voice echoed around her.
"Use your wings to cover an area in celestial ink, like you connected the stars. When the surface is covered, the destroyed area will be returned. Now, cross the river."
She trotted back down the hill, purpose speeding her hooves. She found grass blossoming full of flowers behind her steps, something that Applejack quietly assured would change with her powers. She reached the very edge of the pier, eyeing the darkness beyond, and spread her wing, sweeping it purposefully over the dark space.
Sure enough, as she folded her wing, stars and blue light began shining from the shadows, and a clear, bright path stretched from the island to a much smaller piece of land. She glided down towards the path, sinking as she tried to land. She panicked, kicking and flapping, and struggled on the surface until she realized it was just like water. Normally, water didn't seem to flow comfortably cold under your skin and rejuvenate you, but nothing had really been normal so far.
The river wasn't as long as she had expected, and when she ungracefully hauled herself onto land on the other side, she found herself completely dry. As well as that, there was a small, completely out-of-place chest sitting in the middle of the smaller island.
Curiosity piqued, she wandered over, the lid lifting easily. Two objects rose out of their own accord, surging towards her and promptly taking what she assumed were their places.
Object number one was a pair of white saddlebags, adorned with her cutie mark and slung with one set of straps on either side of her wings. Object number two was a large, blue, heart-shaped crystal, with gleaming sharps edges and smaller crystal spikes hovering on either side. When Cadence extended both of her wings to get a better look at it, it shot over her right shoulder, blades spinning around it like a shiny necklace of death, and returned over her left shoulder, snapping back into place without ever touching her.
Experimentally, she flicked her wings open again, and the weapon - it had to be a weapon, no shield did that - repeated it's attack. She laughed, rearing up, and the chest disappeared, replaced by a jade doorway, a brilliant light shining from within. Knowing that every other time something had been glowing it had been safe, she walked through.
She found herself on the edge of a dirt path, her entryway nowhere to be seen. Once again, torches lit the area and the pale faces of boulders lay strewn in the grass along the path. As she continued up the path, the rise grew steeper, dirt trail turning cobblestone, clear scenery turning to short grass and tall trees. A small river ran back down the hill beside the path, and the air smelled clean and fresh. Nothing seemed wrong with the area; the plants grew strong and green, and no darkness reached into the serene air.
Another bridge, this one only to cross water, was and easy pass, a short glance at a small sign telling her she was travelling towards the 'Shrine of Gold Ore'. A small cave opened ahead of her, and she trotted in. The calmness was disrupted by a hidden door, having been suspended in the ceiling, dropping down behind her and sealing her in. Finding no way back out immediately, she looked at the other side of the cave.
A huge statue, hewn in rough stone, stood ahead of her, of a well-muscled stallion raising a sword into the air. The moon shone down from above, illuminating the broken tip on the sword and the heavy moss covering it. Cadence trotted closer, raising a wing to absently trace the lost portion of the sword.
With a gentle chime, the missing blade reappeared, and the moss coating the statue vanished abruptly. The very stone shimmered in the moonlight, sparkles floating around it-
She startled, realizing it was not sparkling on it's own. Another constellation shone down from above the statue, and she traced the glowing stars with a wobbly fervor. The stars shone brilliantly, and Cadence closed her eyes, finding herself back in the golden space where she had met Applejack.
This pony, though, was very different than Applejack had been. While the Earth Pony had been standing patiently, this was a Unicorn in the midst of a haphazard pile of gemstones, whittling them with a short diamond blade.
She looked up, though, and smiled tiredly. "Hello, Cadence darling! One moment, I'm just sharpening some new blades so you can get yourself a better weapon later. I'm Rarity, by the way."
"Better?" Cadence glanced at the heart on her back. It seemed pretty good to her.
"Of course, darling! Have you seen those edges? Incredibly dull!" She sighed and shook her head. "I assume Applejack has told you of your powers?"
"Enough." Cadence replied.
Rarity nodded, picking her way through her workspace to join the Alicorn. "My celestial ancestor is Segmentum, the ancient brush god of power slash. I know it doesn't sound as glamorous as 'life god' does, but the talent does come in handy." She laughed, lifting Cadence's hoof, and the pink Alicorn felt shards as cold as ice enter her skin from her touch. "Sorry about the feeling, dear, but it's necessary. I give to you the ability of power slash, which you can use to slice through your foes and your obstacles with a line of ink."
The dark fell quickly, a brilliant blue light shining from Rarity's triple-gemstone cutie marks before the final wisp of the golden world faded and the cave reappeared.
She stared down the wooden door, the thick logs looking like mere twigs under her new power. They snapped with a sweep of one wing, chucks tumbling in all directions. Filled with purpose, she galloped out of the cavern, heading for the bridge as her flowery trail sprouted small crystal shards along the edges.
Almost as quickly as she had left the cave, a shimmering red veil surged from the ground, trapping her in a circle lined with old runes she didn't recognize. Two shadowy figures, long-legged ponies with shining red eyes and pale crystal masks over their muzzles, materialized out of the red smog.
As one, they lunged for her, legs ending in sharp spikes where hooves would normally be. She ducked the first blow, spreading her wings to instinctively block the second, when her weapon shone brightly and swung in front of her, knock the two demons back. Cadence followed the attack with a leap over both of their heads, using her wings to spin in midair and deliver another blow. The two demons backed away from the onslaught, one turning a pale gray as it began to dissolve.
With the two so close together, Cadence was able to swipe a line of ink across them both. The gray one vanished immediately, leaving a small cluster of crystals in its wake, and the other disintegrated into the heavy air. Cadence lifted her head, watching for another attack as the runes shimmered out of existence and allowed her to continue on her path.
Much more cautiously, she returned back to her steady pace down the cobblestone trail. She was not confronted again, and was met by a new, glowing gate at the end of the trail. She stepped through it, only to find herself where she had entered the new area, the chest in front of her lying empty and open. A goal in mind, she retraced her steps along the celestial plane. A final gate loomed where she had first awoken, a new one unlike any she had ever seen.
It was, once again, carved from jade, with thirteen ponies etched into what appeared to be clouds on the top half, and hundreds more ponies below, working fields and running through villages. Each ponies' eye was a shard of gleaming ivory, and she could have sworn they blinked as she pushed the door open and stepped through into darkness.
A huge tree loomed where the gate had been, and the ground was dusty and dead. Grass sprung in ashy tufts under the decaying branches of the great blossom, and the dark purple sky seemed to swirl with dark red waves. Cadence trembled, her fur on edge. Above, a huge fruit hung suspended, the only color other than the sky in this desolate wasteland. She knew that fruits held seeds, and hoped she could try to grow plants here. Rejuvenation, she soon realized, didn't work on such troubled soil, and she was left with only one other power.
Glaring at the large fruit above, she drew a quick line over where it stemmed from the branch. It swung a few times, seemingly impervious, before dropping quite quickly and - to her surprise - exploding.
Crystal blossom leaves filled the air as the darkness began to clear, petals upon petals seeming to scour the air clean with their light. Cadence watched as the grass returned and as trees sprouted and lanced up from the ground when the darkness released them.
The figure that startled her most was another Earth Pony, with a pale golden coat, and a dark velvet mane laced with pink. Her cutie mark, when not obscured by a flowing kimono, was a small rosebud. She was also semi-transparent.
"Hello, Cadenza." She smiled, nodding politely. "I must thank you for saving the village, and in turn, myself."
"You're welcome?" The pony replied, smiling awkwardly.
"My name is Roseluck, the guardian spirit of this village. A dark force has awoken here, and the great brush goddesses had enough time before they were trapped to help me hide the village from the shadows' prying eyes. You have come to no harm, yes?"
Cadence shrugged. "I met some demons, I think, but they were no big trouble."
Roseluck smiled. "I only wish I was as strong as you, great spirit. I cannot travel far from my tree to check on my ponies; could you do that for me? I do hope they're alright."
Cadence nodded, flapping her wings. "I will."
"Oh, before you go, I need to give you a gift." Roseluck lifted a crystal blossom from the ground and limped over, tying the delicate flower into Cadence's forelock. "This will keep the ponies of the mortal plane from seeing you as you truly are. To them, you will be a simple pink Earth Pony, with a purple and yellow mane. Beware; some who have great faith in the goddesses and their works will still see you as an Alicorn."
Cadence nodded, trotting in place as she anxiously awaited to meet something that wasn't a spirit. Roseluck sighed and vanished with a smile, allowing the Alicorn to trot into the village below.
The winding path down the mountain was paved with smooth stone, trees growing comfortingly on either side. She was expecting a little more noise, but she couldn't fret over something so simple. When she reached the village and still heard nothing, it became more than unnerving.
Even more so were the incredibly life-like statues lining the path. Carved out of different shades of crystal, each one seemed completely unique. Here, an old mare sifted through waving flower gardens, smiling softly. Across the path was a colt chasing a baby dragon, poised mid-jump, only one back hoof keeping him steady. Slowly, Cadence began to realize that there was no noise because there were no villagers. The thought stunned her; who would leave such a nice town, and such nice statues, behind?
As if answering her fears, a loud roar rang out, and a dark form raced at her from behind one of the houses. Just as she was about to attack, a pale purple blur fell from the sky, landing on the shoulders of the demon and slicing a set of sharp claws through its neck. The smoky figure cleared, and Cadence's supposed savior looked up.
He was a dragon, no doubt; pale purple scales covered most of his body, with larger green scales protecting his belly. A dark green crest stuck out like a set of blades on his head, ran down his back, and tapered just before the triangle of his tail-tip. His green eyes glittered as he stood up, matching her in height.
"How are you still alive?" He asked, waving a claw at where the demon had been slain. "I've been staked out here for a week now, waiting for the sun to rise, and you manage to live without even knowing how to confront a demon?!" He dragged a hand down his muzzle, before reaching out to shake her hoof. "I'm Spike, by the way. Resident artist here in Crystallus."
"Artist?" Cadence questioned, shaking his hand. "I've never met a dragon artist, especially not one your age."
"I'm not that young." He protested. "I've already gone through my first growth sleep, so technically, I'm a teenager. And you are?"
"Cadence." She replied quickly, before realizing her mistake.
"Cadence? Like after the goddess Cadenza? Cool!" Spike grinned, before looking around and ushering her towards the closest house. "We really should be getting inside, it's not quite safe out here at the moment."
Spike set a candle down between the two mats, sitting down on opposite Cadence. He sighed, putting his head in his hands. "Where'd you come from, anyway? Must still have sunlight there, if you don't know how to fight demons."
"I came from the north." She lied. "The cold must've kept them away."
"You're a northerner? I guess you do have the build for it. Anyways, I can tell you what happened here, if you'd like."
Cadence nodded, folding her front hooves. "Yes, please."
"Well, just over a week ago, one of the young colts went to the Crystal Cave to impress his crush. I think he ended up releasing Sombra's spirit, but since I can't ask him, I don't know. Anyways, shadows started expanding, killing every plant in their path, and within an hour, it was like this! I don't know how I wasn't affected - maybe because I'm a dragon, or something - but everyone else's been turned to crystal." He sighed, absently tracing the scales on his leg. "Then the demons showed up, but they're easy to kill if you can see them coming, and then you showed up."
"How do you think we can fix all this?"
Spike frowned. "If the sun came back, or we could gather enough light, we might be able to reveal the demons keeping the ponies trapped. I know where there's an overlook of the town, and there's a clear view of the sky there."
Cadence nodded, standing up. "Lets' go."
"Hey now, you don't seem very prepared. You can't just run into stuff like this! You don't even have shoes!"
"I'll be fine." She said.
Spike shrugged, getting up as well. "I guess I have to come along, if only to make sure you don't get killed."
