"Spike, how much longer until we reach this city you were talking about?" asked a very annoyed, tired and sweaty Sunset.

It had been two days of walking through the humid Jungle, and they were close to running out of rations. Spike took his presence too lightly as the beasts and animals stayed more of a distance away than he had originally planned. They were following a stream close by as he knew Freedonia had it run through the middle to accommodate for its more aquatic visitors. Though even if that was the case, it meant more for them in regards to being one of the few sources of water aside from the sporadic rain. Spike considered them lucky they had two full days of traveling without encountering any such rain as it could quickly ruin most of what they packed.

"Well, if I remember correctly it should be at least another few kilometers away. I'd say… wait never mind, I can see it now. Here let me help you." He replied with a slight smile watching the girl try and swat away some flies.

Putting away the map Spike was using to keep track of where they were going, he bent down and picked her up. She let out a squeak of surprise as he put her atop his shoulder and pointed towards where the city was located.

"See? It's over there at the base of the mountain. Not really big but, it's big enough to be called a city so people kind of miss it. Which, I guess, is how they want it since not a lot goes on there that makes sense."

"Warn me next time you do that," Sunset said adjusting to the new vantage point. "I see it but, why were you saying about it not making sense? It looks pretty reasonable to me; from what I can tell."

"Well, while I've never been here for more than a couple of hours, I can say with utmost sincerity that looks are extremely deceiving," He continued walking towards the city with Sunset still perched on his shoulder. As they came closer to the city, there were several signs along the somewhat winding path that was completely unnecessary due to the city being straight ahead.

"You are now entering Freedonia." Sunset read as they passed the signs. "Are you insane?"

Spike laughed at that one and pointed at the next one. "Our motto is Tranquility through Action, Harmony through Chaos. I always liked that slogan, reminds me of Discord. Which is hilarious as this place is run by Discordians and before you say anything they have no connection to Discord whatsoever, they worship Eris and pure chaos."

Sunset giggled and smacked him playfully. "If Twilight heard you say that you preferred harmony through chaos I'm sure she would throw a fit." She said while motioning to put her down.

As Spike did as she suggested, he noticed the gate and ramparts had no guards keeping watch. It was always weird considering where the city was located but, with their unabashed love for all chaos it was understandable. Not to mention all forms of sentient beings made this place their home. Of course, that still didn't mean that they should let their guard down as any small amount of chaos can be dangerous.

"Sunset, keep my tooth handy in case something goes wrong. If you can, try to find a weapon or something along those lines. I would rather you have something else to rely on since you would rather not kill. Also, try not to be too curious about your surroundings in a place like this. They mostly govern themselves but, they tend to have governments sprout at random. I have no idea as to how it happens, but it does so be careful."

"I understand Spike but, what do you mean by governments at random?" she asked sliding the tooth in a gap between her pants and belt and tying it securely.

"I meant just that, the residents here have no governments as it would be too orderly, so they govern themselves rather chaotically. When they do have a government it usually doesn't last for more than five minutes but, that government has control over the whole city. So just watch out for that ok? There's no way of knowing what can happen here. If we get separated, just wait near the river running down the middle of the city. I'll go there as well in case something happens."

"Ok, so you aren't going to change into another form? I mean, I know you said they don't mind monsters and the like but, you're a dragon, and I doubt there are many of those that are like you."

"Nah, I'll be okay as I am. I would rather not change as it tends to leave me rather defenseless at times. I may have forms I can change into but, not even I know what exactly they can do considering I took most of them at random. Oh, and before I forget, here take this with you in case you want to buy anything."

He handed Sunset the last jewel brought from Equestria and searched through contents of his bag for a bundle of trinkets. As Spike gave them to her, she just looked them over and realized as to how he had collected so many. She frowned but, accepted them in the end.

"I thought you wanted to keep the jewel. You know since it's a reminder of Equestria. Also I’m not entirely sure if I’ll be able to understand anyone here at all." Sunset said as she looked at the Ruby he’d given her.

"I did, and you're right, but now I have something more important to remind me of home. I have my friend, as for the language barrier, we can fix that with a stop at a magic shop... hopefully."

She smiled, at the friend comment and he smiled back. They gathered their things and made way for the stone gate. It was large enough to fit an Ursa Minor with fantastic designs ranging from apples to snakes and eyes. It was unnerving yet at the same time looked extremely gaudy. Upon closer inspection, Spike noticed that unlike the first time he had been there, the whole thing seemed to have no way of opening. He looked around and saw no hinges on the sides or rope that would raise the ugly thing. Sunset looked at him expectantly; she wanted to see what he would do to gain access but, Spike was at a loss for words as it was completely different from before.

However, before either of them said a word a large crash came from the right side of the gate. It was caused by a much smaller door being slammed open and a rather large man rolling through it.

"Thanks for shopping, come again or not I don't rightly care!" said a voice that belonged to a female though she seemed to have a thick accent which Spike had never heard before.

He walked over to the small doorway to catch a tiny figure walking away, peeking inside he saw a sign to the left of the opening.

"Mandatory exit for paying customers."

He waved Sunset to follow, and they entered the city not bothering to check on the man that was thrown outside as he was already leaving with a smile on his face. As they walked in Spike took the time to see that more than just the gate itself changed, the stone and metal buildings he vaugely remembered were replaced by wood or straw huts. The roads, normally of dirt and grass, were now paved and had intricate designs of trees and animals. It seemed a hassle to do, but they were kept clean regardless of their purpose. The inner city, from the looks of it, appeared to be filled with chatter from crowds and around them people were giving looks that seemed to say "fresh meat."

"Well, not the same as I remember but, at least we got in right?"

Sunset was looking around taking in her surroundings before she realized that doing so had been precisely what Spike had warned her about before we came inside. She stopped looking around gave him a slight glance to check if he had noticed. Spike pretended not to see it, and she seemed to relax a bit. Though a noise behind them made it obvious that someone else had seen noticed.

"Hey! You there! The big lizard and the fiery red head!" came a shout that sounded a somewhat cheerful.

They both turned and saw a rather baby-faced man come up wearing what looked like a blue bathrobe and slippers in the shape of alligators. He stopped in front of them and took a minute to examine their appearance. He reached into his pocket and took out two pieces of paper which he proceeded to slap onto on them. One on Spike’s leather jerkin and the other on Sunset's jacket.

"I saw you two coming in through the exit, so I took it upon myself to make sure you both get these. Can't have you both walking around without them, otherwise, you wouldn't be welcomed here." He smiled and started to walk off whistling a tune that was somber yet captivating at the same time.

"Hey wait! What are these?" Yelled Sunset, trying to get his attention and answers to his actions.

He stopped and turned around handing her a small white card that read "Sri Syadasti" in black letters and nothing else. As they both looked up from reading the card they found he had vanished. It was just a few seconds they had taken their eyes off the man, and he was already gone.

Spike shook his head and took a look at the labels Sri had slapped on them. His had the number two on it and nothing else while Sunset's had a shoe. What that even meant neither of them couldn't even begin to understand. He motioned for the two of them to continue before tripping over something and landing hard on the pavement. Sunset helped him up, and they looked at what had tripped him to find a kid crouching down.

"Hey, kid! You shouldn't just be in the middle of the path like that people could get hurt!" Spike yelled only to realize he’d made one of the biggest mistakes you could do in Freedonia. Engaging a conversation with a complete stranger in the city of chaos.

The kid looked got up and looked at them and they, in turn, looked at him. He was rather small for a child and looked as if in his early teens. He had some cloth pants and a white shirt on along with some sandals. His hair was completely white and had streaks of red running through it. He smiled at being acknowledged and walked over to the both of them, he stared at Spike still on the ground and proceeded to take the fallen pack.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing kid?!"

As he was trying to get up Sunset ran after the kid to get it back, as she rounded the corner Spike went after them only to find a dead-end at the same corner. He turned around and found myself in an entirely different looking street with a dirt path. The wooden buildings were gone and replaced with stone and steel ones and the residents that had occupied the street were replaced with ones he had not seen coming as they came in.

"Shit!" he smacked himself and realized that he’d let the city take Sunset. It took a while for him to compose himself and proceeded to search for her. Best case scenario, she would be running around, and they would meet at the river. Worst case scenario, she chased the kid into one of the dungeons that tend to sprout up at random. "This is going to be a long day…"

Sunset was running after the little punk that had taken their stuff and thought that Spike was right behind her. She kept the kid in her sights as he kept ducking into alleys and going past houses and shops. He ran towards a clearing and proceeded to climb a ladder, she went and climbed as well. Pausing a moment to check if Spike had lost her and found that she was indeed alone. She grew worried, but knew that they would just be able to meet by the river. She kept chasing the kid on a roof and saw him jump into a window. She went after him and did the same only to be met with several other children with weapons drawn on her as she tumbled into the room.

"I'm surprised you kept with me, lady. Usually, people just give up or lose sight of me way before reaching this place. Though, judging by the fact I've never seen you around before, I take it you and your lizard back there are new." Said the boy she had been chasing.

He had a smile on his face as he stepped past the other kids to meet her. He waited for a response from her but, received gibberish as a reward for his patience. He didn't recognize the language which didn't make any sense as that other guy had spoken to her rather naturally before the chase. Sunset looked equally as confused due to not being able to understand what was being said to her. She tried to speak to the child again but he didn't understand.

The kid sighed and motioned for one of the other boys to get something from a desk that was located in the room. The lackey came back with a book and handed it over, as soon this was done the thief opened it and started to say something. There was a brief and small flash his in eyes, and he looked at Sunset again.

"Can't even speak basic Discordian huh? You're lucky I'm such a nice guy, otherwise, I'd have killed you without giving you a chance. It also helps that you aren't that bad on the eyes."

Sunset was surprised at suddenly being able to understand the kid, apparently he had used a spell, but she didn't think there were linguistic spells in this world that allowed for perfect translation.

"I can understand you know… that must be some spell. Either way, I would like the bag back if you don't mind. It's my friend's and I would rather not have him come busting in and kill some kids." Sunset made to stand but was stopped by the thief kicking her back down.

"Hey! Watch it you punk!"

"I don't think you quite understand your position here lady. I'm the one making the demands and asking the questions. In case you haven't noticed, you're surrounded, and these "kids" have killed before for a lot less than just a bag of stuff." The thief moved closer to Sunset and crouched to look her in the eyes.

"Now, who are you and why do you have a dragon following you around? You tame the damn thing? Or did he happen to tame you?" He said with a slight grin on the last question which received a laugh from the rest of the boys.

"Name is Sunset Shimmer, and nobody tamed anyone. He's my friend, and if you have any brains, you'll give me our stuff back before he finds me."

"Well then Sunset Shimmer, welcome to the top floor of our home. Name's Bix, leader of this merry gang of thieves and orphans. I suggest you get comfortable as you're our hostage until your body can pay up. Don't worry, though, we won't mistreat you… much." He laughed and gestured for two of the boys to tie her up and drag downstairs.

Sunset struggled the whole way down and found it a bit ironic that she had been caught and bound twice since coming to this world. It felt like something was just having fun at making her look like a fool. Before she was out of earshot, Sunset heard Bix telling the rest of the boys to find Spike and let him know to get a ransom ready otherwise he'd find Sunset in a less than perfect state.

Spike kept running around the city keeping an eye out for Sunset or any sign of the boy that had stolen his bag. He arrived at the river and had waited for a good two hours before starting his search again. Encountering dead ends and swore that each one looked the same. Every time a new street was taken, he found either a dead-end or my way back to the river. It angered Spike to no end, but he knew that in Freedonia you just couldn't trust anything to make sense. The winding paths and the constant blocking from the residents as they tried to push wares or the many "unique" activities they were doing that were borderline distracting didn't help to improve his current mood at all.

Having reached another dead end only find out that he’d been there before due to the burn mark that was left, confirming that the city seemed to be moving his anger reached the limit. "Arrrrrgh!" He yelled before punching the marked wall leaving a hole in the shape of his fist.

"Why does it keep doing this? I have to find Sunset; she doesn't even know any of the standard languages for this area." He punched the wall again which caused cracks to form towards the dead end.

As the cracks reached the wall in front of him, it went past the side of it, completely ignoring the wall directly in the way. That was when it seemed to shake, and the sky appeared to fall towards him. "What the buck?" he backed away to let it fall and reveal it was just an incredibly detailed painting. Looking at the fallen faux wall he noticed that where it had been were a system of pulleys and tracks.

"I hate this place."

As he walked past the fallen painting and headed towards the new opening he found a new path. He started to explore this new way towards possibly finding Sunset only to be stopped by two kids heading towards his direction. He didn't think much of it thinking they mistook him from a distance.

"Hey you big lizard, you named Spike?" asked the smaller of the two boys, he had dark curly hair and was wearing similar clothes to the bag thief.

"Yea, what of it?"

"We got your girl and if you want her back you're gonna have to…" he said no more before being interrupted.

Spike’s tail reached around and grabbed him by the neck as he reached for the other smaller round boy to keep him from running. He tightened the grip on the taller boy and raised him to face his baring teeth.

"Where is she?!" He yelled as more of his draconic features became prominent.

Author's Note

Edited and posted. Again I sincerely apologize to any of my readers that want this story to continue and promise to finish these edits as quick as I can. Fair warning for anyone that has read the chapters before edits were necessary, I will be changing a few things with the plot and flow of the story as I found were I left off somewhat lacking in what I wanted it to go. Please look forward to more chapters reposted soon.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my story. Please leave a comment or critique below as any critique helps me grow as a writer. Have a great day!