The room echoed the fall of the cup and pitcher, once again staining the floor with water. Spike couldn't believe what he had heard. He couldn't even begin to comprehend whether or not Sunset was telling the truth. No… by the look in her eyes he knew what she said was true; he just didn't want it to be the truth.

"A year and a half? That would mean that time here goes at a rate of 4.6 Equestrian time. That would also explain as to why you look relatively the same as when I left. I thought it was just the fact that you were brought to this world that made you look like that." Pacing around the room in a way much like Twilight's when she was busy thinking of something.

"Spike?" Sunset chimed with a worried tone.

"If this is true then it means we can't afford to waste any time. We need to find a way back. I tried waiting here thinking it would appear or something would lead me back. Though the only thing that has happened is that you came, and I didn't feel any difference in magic which means I need to search for it rather than wait." He mumbled, starting to explore one of the bookcases for pen and paper.

"Spike? Are you listening?"

"So if that's the case then where exactly do we start? We're in the middle of Darwin's Jungle, and the closest town is, at least, two days journey. I wish I hadn't killed that apologist a few days ago, could have used those cardinals she had."

Just as he had begun to plan the journey by putting pen to paper, He felt the air shift and caught a cup just before it hit his head. Spike looked at it and turned to the direction it came from to see an upset Sunset.

"What was that for?" he scowled, putting the cup down on the table.

"I've been calling you for a while now; I figured something else would work instead. I threw it because I didn't want to hurt my foot again." She said.

"Oh, sorry about that. I don't usually have company, at least, none that I cared for anyways."

He walked back to the chair in front of her and cleaned the water that was still spilled. Once clean, Spike sat back down looking at her with concern. She looked healthy enough, other than the bruises that the gecklings had made. Her clothes were in good condition and intact only a little muddy and in need of a wash. Most of all, however, she looked weak, not physically but mentally. The fact that he had been here for seven years affected more than just him. It affected her in some way by, what he guessed, giving her a rough idea as to how long she would spend in this strange new world.

"Sunset, we need to go. I'm not exactly sure where but, we can't stay here. I've spent seven years around this place with no luck, and I'm not about to spend the rest of my life here."

"Go where? Where exactly are we Spike? How are you so different? Why are you with these… these monsters?" Sunset responded with a flurry of questions her voice growing increasingly panicked when Spike started to pack anything of value into bags and his pocket.

"Freedonia, it's a kind of city though best not to put a label on it as it's a city located in the Domains of Discourse. Not a lot of things make sense around here but, at least, we'll be able to walk around freely if somewhat confusingly."

"Spike, you still haven't answered the rest of my questions. I need to know, please Spike." The look in Sunset's eyes as she spoke held a fragility that one would never expect from the usually confident girl.

Spike stopped packing and walked to her, holding her by the shoulders and coming eye level. He stared at her for a while and pulled her into a hug.

"Sunset, I really can't explain right now. We need to get ready to leave and fast. I promise I'll explain later but, for now, I need you to trust me."

The feeling of her arms trying their best to wrap around his large frame and soft sobs escaping from her shivering body was all that he felt and heard. It was a while until she was done and he couldn't blame her. With everything that has happened so far, seeing someone long thought gone, being in a different world, captured by monsters, and then told to get ready for a journey that would take who knows how long with no clues as to getting back home.

"Spike, thanks and I do trust you. It's just, I'm not sure if that confidence is from fear or not. I mean, I saw what you did to those people Spike. I saw you… butcher them…" She said as they hugged. Spike could feel the disgust in her voice, and it was only natural, living in Equestria and her time in the other world gave a reliance on peace but, here it was a different matter entirely.

"You saw that huh?" he said, as she pulled away and nodded, wiping away the tears from eyes again.

"Listen to me Sunset; I know that it isn't something you would expect to see. Much less from someone you know but, it was necessary. I did it to survive in this world; this isn't Equestria where friendship can solve problems. Here only the thing you can trust is yourself, nothing is what it seems, and everyone rarely has friends. That's why with you here I can relax but, at the same time, it means I have to be a lot more vigilant."

"I get it, Spike; I've adjusted to a different world before. I just have to do it again but, I… I don't know if killing is something I can do. I know I tried to destroy Twilight and the girls before but, it's a part of me that I would rather not remember."

He could tell she remembered her past, how she tried to take over Equestria and the other world by using Twilight's crown. The anger, sadness, and regret that still clung to the edges of her heart clearly visible and caused her to believe she deserved less than she did and was less than she is…

"Stop that, its fine. You don't have to kill anything Sunset. If that's all you're worried about, then let it pass. I'll take care of it; it is what I'm used to nowadays after all and you showing up doesn't change it, if anything you strengthen my resolve."

He patted her head and ruffled her hair, she looked annoyed at such actions and yet relieved at the words. He stopped before continuing to rummage around the room for things to pack. Spike gave her a look and motioned for her to join. She nodded and started to move around to find things that might be useful on a trip.

They moved the table to the left side of the room to lay down everything for the journey ahead. Even with Freedonia being a couple of days out it was better to be safe than sorry in the Domains. They had gathered six canteens of water, two sleeping bags which were the best out of the many Spike had two tarps made for blocking the wind and rain, four cloaks of bear fur and leather, and a week's worth of rations. There were also some books he picked out and cooking utensils along with some soap, pens, and parchment. Spike put all of it together in packs and stuffed a compass and map into Sunset's bag.

"I could fit all this in the pocket that Twilight gave me but, I have no idea as to how much I can stuff in there and whether or not it doesn't get lost. Most of the time I find what I need but, there were some cases where I couldn't find what I put in there. I would rather not risk losing what little we have."

"Twilight gave you a dimensional pocket? That has to be one of the hardest spells there is; I mean, it creates a small dimension for Celestia’s sake. Still, I know what you're saying, not a lot is known about it and so not a lot of ponies that could do the spell used it. Still… if you have one, then that just means you must have stuff in there." She said with a look of curiosity.

It was the same look Twilight would get whenever she encountered something worth studying. A look that he had missed even if it meant, tagging along through some mini-adventure. He smiled and pulled out what he could from the pocket; it wasn't much, though, everything was precious.

A dried and crumbling quill, one ruby, sixty-seven bits he had upon arrival, a white fang from what seemed like a rather large creature, three books that looked rather old, a flower that looked as fresh as if it was just picked, and a large piece of amber that encased a large black spot in the middle that seemed to pulse. Sunset looked at everything and from the look on her face seemed as if she couldn't grasp half the things there. It was mildly amusing watching her eyes go over everything with that look of wanting to study each of them. She started to reach for one of the books before he stopped her.

"Don't, those aren't for reading. Well, they are but, not in the way you think. It's best if you just don't touch them."

"Oh… ok, if you say so Spike. What are some of these things?" she asked pointing to the latter half of the items. "Why do you have such an old quill too? Are these bits?"

"Yea those are bits, and the quill is the only thing I have to remind me of home other than the bits. The Ruby is one of the snacks I had left before coming here, this fang is one I lost in a fight, and the books are dangerously rare here, so I kept them. As for the flower, it's a memory of a friend… one close to my heart…"

Sunset had never seen the dragon so saddened at the mention of the flower. She had known sadness before but, the emotion that Spike had at the moment was something deeper. Something that gave him an air of maturity that she could only guess was the cause of a significant event in his life. Not wanting to press the issue she decided to focus the conversation elsewhere.

"What about this Amber? What is it from?" she said, picking up the amber and feeling it pulse gently in her hand.

"Oh, that? It's part of my soul."

"What?!" she yelled, throwing it down.

Spike caught it in time and set it down again next to the books. He turned to look at her and saw utter shock across her face before she tried to compose herself. She reached for it again and held it in her hands looking at it intensely.

"Careful this time, if it breaks then a part of me dies. Not to mention the fact that it could summon a pretty large paradox beast that I would rather not fight."

She looked at him and back at the amber, questions racing through her mind. Ones that Spike would rather not have to answer. She put it back down after a minute of thinking and finally looked towards the dragon.

"Why do you have a piece of your soul in Amber?" she asked

"It was a requirement to pledge my loyalty to the Mad God; who rules much of this world. Never actually seen the guy, though, only know of him through proxies and stories. People are looking for him but, it's a search that has apparently spanned since the beginning of this world."

"You serve someone called a Mad God? Why would you… Never mind I'm starting to get the idea here. Survival right?" Sunset asked with disbelief in her voice.

He nodded and grabbed the Amber along with the rest of the things leaving only the tooth out. Picking it up and some cloth, he wrapped the thing up and held it in front of Sunset.

"Use this only in case of emergencies and when I'm not around. It is a dragon tooth so it'll cut through almost anything. Just… don't lose it or show it to anyone else; there are a lot of things out there that would go to extreme lengths for one."

"Don't you mean people?" she said, as she grabbed the bundle and stuffed it in her pack.

"I know what I said, and I meant it."

She nodded once again and looked around the room; there was a lot of stuff he was going to leave behind, and it had taken a long time to get most of it. Her eyes stopped to rest on the armor Spike was wearing when we met. It was as if all the light in the room was being sucked in leaving a black spot where the armor was located.

"What about the armor? Are you not going to take it?

He glanced at the armor, the symbol of loyalty to the Mad God aside from the amber. It had been given to him a year ago and saved his life more than once. However, now he had a rekindled determination that had long since died. He had to leave it behind, if they wanted to search for a way back to Equestria and going around in that armor would mean constant danger from all directions.

"No, I can't take with us. It'll stay here even if I wanted to bring it along, it would only cause the journey to be even harder for the both of us." He looked away and grabbed some parchment, pen, and ink.

He started to write on the piece of paper and felt Sunset's eyes resting on him. He looked up and could tell she wanted to know the most important part of the whole conversation. It would come up eventually, and that was what prompted him to start writing.

"Soo… how exactly are we going to leave this place? I'm pretty sure these guys wouldn't want you to go."

"You're right, even ignoring the fact that I'm not one of them they do regard me as a leader of sorts. Which, is fine but, they won't just let me leave without raising a fuss and probably try to kill me and you since you're my slave." He said before finishing writing down a passage remembered by heart.

"Here I wrote down a spell that I've been saving for a while now, it's usually supposed to be learned after intense training but, with this forgery, it'll work pretty much the same if somewhat less potent."

Sunset took the paper from my hand and read the contents. Her eyes were growing wider as she continued.

"Spike… are you serious? Is this even going to work?" she asked, looking at him as if Discord himself had come up with the plan.

"It'll work; I've seen it done before. I can't be the one to do it, though, so that is where you come in."

"But, Spike this means… this…"

"That's right…" He looked at her and answered before she could protest as she tried to wrap her head around what he was asking.

"Sunset, I need you to let me die."

Author's Note

Ch. 4 redone and published. I'm kind of getting sidetracked with the edits on the story. I keep getting ideas for the other two stories while editing so I have to stop and write them down before forgetting them. Motivation is low as well since I recently bought a WiiU, which, is tempting me to slack off on absolutely everything. I'll get this done, regardless of sweet temptation.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my story. Please leave a comment or critique as any critique is good critique. Have a great day!