"Listen lizard."

"Spike, you filthy urchin."

"Ok, whatever, Spike then. Listen I'll let you talk to her and considering that you can talk to her regardless of her not knowing basic Discordian I have to trust you not to do anything stupid since you're helping us despite the circumstances."

Spike nodded and moved closer to the stairs leading down to the basement. "Sunset! Sunset are you down there?" calling in Equestrian; he waited impatiently for a reply from the crimson haired girl.

"Spike? Spike! I'm down here!" she screamed, but her voice seemed slightly coarse.

"What did you do to her?" Spike turned to Bix grabbing him roughly, his eyes turning a deep crimson.

"Nothing, geez calm down. She kept trying to escape and guards being guards "persuaded" her otherwise. It kept happening so we just fed her some soup with sleep aids. She is probably still waking up." Spike shoved him away, and he wiped his clothes of dust while stopping the other boys from doing anything stupid.

"Sunset! I can't exactly come down as these little punks are threating to curse you if I try anything. They don't know about the things I can do so they are taking any precautions possible."

"Curse? They'll curse me? Spike, why are they holding me down here? What's going on?"

"They put you down there because they wanted help with something. They saw me and figured what better muscle than some giant lizard. You're the advantage they have over me right now."

"Spike, while I don't exactly like the idea of being cursed, I doubt these kids could do anything to a dragon like you."

"If I wanted to, I could get you out no problem, but I would have to kill most of these kids in the process. I doubt that is something you want to witness me doing, especially when you've just barely getting used to the new me."

Spike sat down at the top of the stairs and sighed. It was easy enough to get her out, and the fact that she wanted him to free her was all the confirmation needed. The only problem was that he wanted to slowly get her used to the thought of him killing. If possible, he didn't want her to witness him taking a life period, if only for the sole reason of him not wanting to see her frightened gaze. The looks of fear were something he got used to here were nothing compared to the time after greed took him over in Ponyville. Half the town was already partly wary of a local dragon before that, and in the aftermath, that half had grown to outright fear the monster lurking within. It hurt to see those looks back then, but those would pale in comparison if a friend had the same look.

"Spike, I'm sorry… I didn't mean… I just… Sorry Spike."

"It's ok Sunset, I understand." There was a silence and after a while, he decided to start getting up, only sit back down as Sunset continued to speak.

"Spike, what exactly do they need help with? What would make them do such things?"

"They want my help going into a dungeon and retrieve some books from dead apologists. It's grave robbing, but there is no telling how deep we have to go and what we might encounter down there. I agreed only for the chance to find some things we might be able to use on our trip. I'm not exactly sure what it is we'll find, but it's worth a shot as we don't have much of a starting point for getting back home."

"You've mentioned apologists before, are they important or something? What exactly will the books they carry do?"

"Oh, well apologists are like medic ponies. The books they carry are only allowed to be owned by them and allow them to cast minor healing spells along with some pretty useful offensive spells. It's pretty rare for anyone other than an apologist to have one of them as they keep them exclusive."

"Spike, why do these kids want to go through such risks for the book? What are they planning on doing?"

Spike knew where this was going, and didn't want to answer her. He knew that at the mentioning of the sick kids she would probably help them regardless of threats or benefits. That meant he would have to lie to her, though, and while it left a lot of her questions about him vague, he never outright lied to her.

"Spike? Are you still there? Spike?!"

"Yea, I'm here. Sorry, I was just… asking what they wanted."

"So what do they want to do with the books?"

"They want to just use the spells so they won't steal from the local hospital. It keeps them out of trouble and lets them make some cash by healing for a fee."

Spike felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Bix holding a book in his hand and smirking. "Leaving some stuff out huh? None of my business in the end, but I kind of feel sorry for the girl. Having her friend lie to her and all." He said in a rather quiet voice.

"Leave her out of this; there's no telling what she would do. I can't have her risk her life. I'd rather risk mine than have her hurt because she can't leave things alone."

"Yea, gotta hate those meddlesome types huh? Well, just letting you know that you'll regret it if she does find out." He stepped away and sat down on the chair that was usually for one of the guards he kept there.

"Spike, I know that you can take care of yourself by now considering how long you've lived in this world. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be careful, though, if anything happened to you after finally reuniting. I don't think I could take being alone in this place after that…"

If he didn't already feel like a complete mule, those words hammered in the fact that he was no longer alone. Spike had Sunset and Sunset had Spike, if the worst did come to pass then that would leave her here surrounded by things she barely understood and with a language she doesn't even know. Not to mention captured by kids that could just as easily throw her out.

"Sunset?"

"Yea Spike?"

It was now or never, if he actually told her the truth then she would help the children regardless of threats, it would definitely the case if she was the same Sunset he remembered. No, she was the Sunset he remembered, and that only made him fear her response. He wanted to keep her safe and promised to anything to keep her alive. If he started to lie to her now, when would he stop? Would he just stack lies upon lies? Could he keep her in the dark for so long? No, he was acting the same as when Twilight tried to gloss over some of the most morose details whenever they had an adventure. He was treating her like a child, but she was a grown mare… woman. She deserved to know if not because of their friendship, but because of their mutual trust.

"Spike?"

"There are children here that have come down with a fatal illness. That's why they want the books, why they took you in order to get me to help them out. I didn't want to say anything about it because of what you might do…"

"While this back and forth is relatively amusing, we got preparations to be making." Bix said as got up and walked to my side again.

Spike started to follow Bix after waiting for a reply only to be stopped halfway by Sunset's yelling.

"Spike!"

Both he and Bix stopped and turned to look at the direction the voice came originated.

"Spike, you get your scaly ass down here and untie me! Now! Or I swear by Celestia's cake loving big butt that I'll be sure to let you re-experience the time I turned into a she-demon first hand.!"

"She-demon?" asked Bix

"It's better that you don't know. I'm going to let her go now, and don't worry, considering how she is, we'll definitely still help you out. After she skins me alive…"

"Fine, but just in case, you think you can just up and leave. I have to let you know that you've already been cursed."

"What?!"

"I never drank the water did I? Don't worry so much, it only activates if I say so or in the case of my death. However, it's an instant death curse in case you're thinking of breaking it."

Spike decided against trying anything as it would just be pointless. He headed back towards the entrance to the basement but stopped just before heading down.

"Bix."

"What?"

"That book you have with you, is it what lets you know what Sunset and I were talking about?"

"Oh this?" he lifted the book as he said it. "Yea, it's about as rare as the one that let you use form taking. Probably even rarer than that, I found it the first time we tried to raid that dungeon. What? You interested in it?"

"Yea, I am."

"Hmmm…" he seemed to be thinking about something as he started to pack food in a bag that one of his guys brought him. "Tell you what, if we make it back alive and with a big enough haul then I'll see about trading it for something. I've used it enough that I practically know the spell by heart. I just keep using it because it makes it easier to cast and I'd rather not lose the damn thing."

"Fair deal. I'll do all I can so you won't die." Not that Spike was going to let another kid die as Sunset would tear him a new one if he even thought it. Be that as it may if, for any reason, it came down to either Spike or Bix then he wouldn't hesitate. Dying was not something he wanted to do, especially since Sunset was counting on him.

"You mean you were going to half-ass the bodyguard job?"

Completely ignoring that last question Spike proceeded downstairs only to be met by the two boys guarding Sunset's "cell", however, they moved once Bix motioned them to disperse. Spike went inside only to be assaulted with a wave of the same rank odor he had caught at the top of the stairs. It was tear inducing and he couldn't believe Sunset was withstanding it so well. As he tried to look around the cell he found Sunset near the back, at once he closed the distance and began untying her. She stayed motionless and quiet the entire time, however, once free she strode past him only stopping in front of Bix for a moment to slap him.

"You could have just asked!" she yelled, before heading upstairs

"So when do leave?" Spike asked Bix trying to stifle a laugh.

"Spike!"

"Right behind you Sunset!"

The entire walk back Sunset kept yelling at Spike, it surprised everyone how such a large and deadly creature could act so meekly because of a girl smaller than him by all standards. It almost felt as if they were watching an older sister lecture her kid brother. When they finally arrived at the dining area, they took a seat and Bix ordered some food for Sunset; just like when he offered Spike he tried the food first, only, this time, he made sure to drink from the same pitcher that arrived to show Spike it wasn't dangerous.

Satisfied, Spike let Sunset eat while he and Bix their next course of action. "So, when do you and I leave for this dungeon?"

"We" chimed Sunset as she finished a glass of water and poured herself another.

"Sunset, no. Please, I know you want to help but you waiting here freely and doing what you can is enough. This is too dangerous."

"Spike, I'm going with you and that's final."

"Listen, sweetheart, personally, I wouldn't mind a little eye candy on this trip. Unfortunately, your pet here is right about it being too dangerous. You seem like a smart one so take a minute to think about this, how are you going to help other than getting in the way?"

"It's Sunset, call me sweetheart again and I'll stick my boot so far up your ass that you'll be my new one. I might not know the language here nor do I have any magic, but I can at least sense it and I've had experience picking locks."

"Excuse us for a moment." Spike said, grabbing Sunset by the arm and heading towards a corner.

"No Spike, I won't change my mind." She said before he could even speak once they reached a place out of earshot.

"Sunset, be reasonable, please. I've already got my hands full with trying to protect the kid. Not to mention that the dungeon is a Freedonian dungeon, who knows what could possibly be in there."

"Spike, the girls and I lost you once before and it devastated Twilight. If you could only see her during that time, then you would know why I won't let you leave my sight if I can help it." She hugged the scaly giant which caught him by surprise. "We can't lose you again… I can't lose you again, please understand."

Spike hugged her back, he appreciated the fact that he was cold-blooded at a time like this as her body spread throughout the places she touched. It was warm, it was comfortable, it was familiar. Though, at the same time, he was worried at he heard. Twilight had been a wreck, his disappearance caused her to be that way and the rest of the girls had a similar reaction. If this was true, then what were they doing now with Sunset missing the same way? He needed to find a lead home, if not for the both of them then at least Sunset.

Bix took a minute to take in the sight of the both of them hugging. It was increasingly disturbing to him as it just wasn't natural. No one in their right mind would just decide to hug such a beast by choice. At least that's what he thought about it, he drank the rest of his water as they returned and proceeded to pull out a map. "This is as much as we could gather about the place when we tried going inside. It's not much, but at least, it will let us go through without dying in the beginning. As for when we leave, I want to leave as soon as possible and get this over with as quickly as possible. The only problem is that we have to wait at least one more day as I have no doubt it'll be moving again tonight and won't stabilize until morning."

"That's fine, we need some rest before going. We'll be ready by then just say the word, as for where we'll be…" Spike looked around and spotted a table at the far right corner. "We can just nap here as I'm sure you'd want to keep an eye on us."

"We?" Bix asked with a tone that seemed to question his intelligence. "Actually, forget it, that's fine. If you need to talk let one of my guys know and I'll come in time. You're welcome to eat, and I'll be sure to send pillows at least." Bix turned and left the room as Sunset and Spike made their way to the corner.

Spike set about making a final run through of their gear and ate some more before drifting to sleep. Sunset watched him do so and left him to sleep, in the meantime she went and explored the place. The kids just watched as she walked by knowing that it was fine, she couldn't understand their whispers and they couldn't understand her mumblings. She arrived outside one particular door that had light blazing coming from inside. She could hear coughing and cries from several children inside. She was about to step inside and see them but was stopped by the door opening and a girl walking out. She looked surprised to see Sunset outside the door, but a quick talk to one of the guards that walked by informed her of what happened.

The girl offered her a mask to put on and gestured not to touch anyone or anything inside. As the stepped inside, Sunset saw children crying over other children who appeared asleep. While others had similar masks whilst laying down. The masks were to prevent the illness from spreading but, only Bix and a few others knew it was mainly for peace of mind. Sunset saw one of the children crying over their friend go into a coughing fit and was surprised as blue sparks were being released. The girl that had shown her in immediately reacted and put a mask on the child and told them lay down on a free bed. It was a room full of misery and mystery, they all looked miserable those weeping and those sleeping. Sunset felt she had to do something for them; she wished more than ever to have her magic back.

The walk to the entrance of the dungeon was frustrating, to say the least. Moving around in the city was by far one of the most annoying things Spike ever encountered in his time living in the Domains. If there wasn't fake walls or buildings that moved on tracks, it was the constant circles the streets made and the citizens that would rather leave you confused than help in any single way. By the time their group reached the southeast exit of the city, it was already near noon, and he was not a happy dragon.

"Are you sure this is where the damn thing moved to?" he asked as Sunset trailed close behind and Bix pulled up the rear, his face buried in a book.

"Yea, I'm sure. Considering that it's near noon and a new cycle started up it (for some reason) always starts from one point. The only problem is reaching it."

Spike cut away some of the plants blocking the path as they continued through the dense jungle. "What do you mean by that exactly?"

"I mean, that the place it stays in is relatively hard to reach. The damn thing likes to appear on a tree several stories up. So I hope you like climbing because that's the only way to get to it."

Spike stopped mid sword swing to turn and look at the kid. "A tree? The entrance to one of these dungeons is in a tree? Several stories up?"

"Yea, nothing to worry about, though. We should reach it soon enough, and I'm sure you'll make a decent ride."

"What?"

Digging his claws into the trunk as Bix opened the passage into the dungeon, Spike completely felt justified in his hatred for Freedonia and anything that had to deal with the place. He and Sunset watched as Bix finally climbed from off the dragon's back and into the entrance, Spike climbed the rest of the way into it and helped Sunset climb off. Taking a minute to catch his breath and resting the aching muscles from climbing so far, Bix took the opportunity to check the map.

"Alright, from here we take a right and head down until we reach a bunch of hats. Once there, we go left and hit the wall four times while on one foot and then backtrack to the hats and pick out the funniest looking one to open the door to the left of here."

"You're kidding right?" Sunset asked with a rather exasperated look on her face.

"I wish, but you have to remember that the Domains have their way of doing things. This dungeon, in particular, has a bunch of traps that could easily go off if one thing is wrong. So just wear the hat and shut up."

She and Spike sighed and got up to follow Bix and proceeded to do as he said. They got to the pile of hats, and they were all shapes and sizes. Sunset asked if they could just get one now instead of coming back to get it, the answer she got was a rock being thrown near the pile and rolling to just barely touch one of the hats. When it did the hat itself snatched the stone, and all that could be heard was a resounding crunch. They continued on, and once at the wall, immediately started to jump on one leg and hit the wall that marked the dead end. Once back at the hats; Spike chose a sombrero looking one, Sunset had small beret with a large ridiculous feather, and Bix chose a beanie. This took a good amount of time as Sunset refused to touch any of them, much less go near her head.

"For a girl that has a giant man-eating lizard under control, you sure are a big baby."

"Yea, whatever you little brat. How many times did you protest before finding all this out?"

"None, that's the beauty of having a large gang of thieves. Information is easily secured thanks to drunks just yapping away if you keep them that way."

They were at the entrance again and took the left path to find a door that had a face. As the party stepped closer, the face turned from being stoic to smiling, and a click echoed. The door opened, and the hats were discarded.

"Ok, from here we'll encounter a lot of traps, but we should be ok if you let me figure out the ones still active. The biggest problems here is that the map ends after two more sections, and if we can't find anything before that, then we go in blind for the rest of the way. Not to mention, that beasts should be stirring now that the place is stabilized."

"Alright, I'll keep an eye out for anything suspicious." Spike said, positioning himself at the front.

"Don't bother, everything here is suspicious. It'd be easier if you just don't trust anything in this place."

As if to emphasize this point, a huge rat had appeared near the other side of the hallway they were in. It was the size of a foal and looked crawling with disease. Before it could do anything though a butterfly that Sunset thought had somehow found its way inside landed the rat's back. The rat screeched as the "butterfly" seemed to burrow into it, after convulsing for a bit came an explosion of blood and the butterfly spitting out some bones as it flew away.

"Sweet light of Kallista!" screamed Bix as he hid behind Sunset.

"Well, I guess you're right about not trusting anything here." Spike said before breathing an emerald fireball at the damn thing before it got closer turning it to ash.

"You can breathe fire? How in all of the Domains did a lizard like you get a hold of such a rare book?"

"That's none of your business. Now come on, I don't want to stay in one place in case more of those things show up."

Sunset took a moment to walk along Spike's right and whispered: "He doesn't know you're a dragon?"

"Didn't think he'd believe me anyways, just let him think what he wants about me. Oh, and stay close to me. At the first sign of danger, I'd rather know you're close so I can keep you safe."

"I'm not a child Spike."

"And I'm not a baby dragon anymore. Sunset, I let you come along because I knew you'd just follow us. However, that doesn't mean I'll just let you do what you want in a place like this; you said you trusted me, so I need you to prove that by following what I have to say."

"Fine…" She pouted and stepped behind him, but not before giving him a solid kick in the leg.

They followed the map and headed down the hallway to stop in front of three doors. Only one of the rooms was on the map, and the other two were a mystery. They continued down the route to the next room only to find a statue of what looked like a small sun with an unnecessary realistic face.

"That is just plain creepy, in fact, this whole place is creepy. So what now?" Sunset asked, taking a peek at the map.

Bix stared at the map for a bit and took out a small notepad while switching from it to the floor he started to walk towards it in what seemed a random pattern. When he finally reached the statue, he touched the face and gave it a smack to make it change from a stoic expression to a one of pain. All at once a rumbling sound came from the statue and the door they arrived from closed. The walls gave way and a pile of what looked like human bones poured from the ceiling. As they hit the ground, all of them shook and came together. Bix ran towards the two of them, and Spike drew a short sword as the bones formed a giant centipede. The skulls had created the head and made it seem to have large eye sockets; the spines had developed mandibles that were complimented with ribs to form spikes protruding from them. The legs were formed by the arms and legs, and the rest of the bones were used as the body. It took up a good portion of the room. The rattling of the bones alone was enough to send chills down anyone's spine, but it was the way the skulls moved around to fill in for eyes that was truly unnerving.

"What the fuck did you do Bix?" yelled Spike pulling the kid and Sunset behind him.

"Uhh…uhhh." He said flipping through his notebook until he found something. "Shit, I was supposed to slap it after telling it a joke. Not my fault, the tip was written in the margin. Who the fuck even writes in the margin? Fucking savages thats who."

"We can discuss the value of proper writing etiquette later!" Sunset said as she pulled Bix to her trying to find a way out of this mess.

The centipede drew back and lunged, at which Spike dodged along with Sunset and Bix wrapped by his tail. It collided with the door and brought down part of the ceiling. The disgusting thing had collapsed but was reforming quickly.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Bix yelled as Spike threw him and Sunset into the newly formed hole along with the packs. They screamed the whole way and were barely able to escape being caught by the bony monstrosity.

"Omphhh, you could have said something beforehand! I think the landing sprained my foot!" yelled Bix from the hole.

"Shut up and look for something to use against this thing. I don't have anything to use against such an obvious undead!" Spike retorted as the thing struck again

Dodging left and right to escape the mandibles of the centipede cutting him in half; he was caught unaware and struck as it swung its body in his direction sending him flying towards the back wall. While it might have broken some bones in others, the impact had merely knocked the air out of him and left him sore. Rolling away once again as it charged, he jumped onto the body as it tried to swing again only to encounter the bones on its back trying to impale him as the skulls that shaped the head chattered and turned to face its new rider, all of them kept chattering their teeth as the bones below kept trying to pierce.

"Bix! Sunset! Some help if you don't mind!" he screamed just before one of the bones pierced his left foot and boney hands held it down preventing further movement. As the other foot got the same treatment, his tail flailed around slamming into the bones breaking them as it swung to deflect any of the ones it threw his direction. The fire inside was still building, and it wasn't until it knocked the short sword he was using to pry open the bony prisons away that he let loose and burned most of the creature's body. It was engulfed in emerald green flames and thrashed around trying to put them out, taking the opening Spike focused the fire on his feet. It made the bones brittle enough to free himself letting him jump off and release the last bit of flame he had only to falter at the end.

"Shit!" he backed away towards the opening in the ceiling leaving a trail of blood from his feet. His vision started to blur as he reached the collapsed wall, the damn thing had apparently been made for the intent to destroy at all costs and had poison coursing through it. Sliding down the wall, Spike watched as the last of the flames died, and the beast stopped thrashing. It was a little smaller due to losing some of the bones, but no less deadly. Not to mention that burning the bones had laced the air with whatever poison the bones seeped, and it was quickly filling the room. The centipede readied to charge once more, and the last thing he saw was a huge mouth of bones closing in and skulls chattering.

Bix scrambled to light a torch to take in the new room he was thrown into, as he looked around all he saw was emptiness. Getting up and trying to walk was a chore as the impact from the throw had sprained something. He could hear the rattling and crunching of bones behind him; he knew it was useless to help unless he found something in the room he and Sunset were thrown. The lizard would be able to handle it while they searched for something to use.

"Spike!" yelled Sunset as she watched the fight between her friend and the monster.

"Stop watching and start searching! Unless you have something in one of those packs to help the situation then start looking around!" yelled Bix as he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her along.

Bix did have things ready in his bag, but nothing for undead beasts, and certainly not for one of that size. If there was anything that could help to destroy it, then he would have better luck wandering around and finding it. He combed the area and found nothing in the room; it was a chamber devoid of anything. There wasn't even a door or path that he could use to exit other than the hole he was thrown in to get there.

"Bix! Some help if you don't mind!" he heard Spike yelling from beyond the hole. It snapped him out of his daze.

"There's gotta be something here; there just has to be. I can't come this far just to die and fail all of them again." Sunset was in a state of panic as she kept looking around, trying to find anything to help the situation.

"Shit!" Bix slammed against the wall in defeat. There was nothing he could do; Spike would die and so would any hope of getting anything to cure the kids. Once the beast was done with the lizard it would seek out anything living. Everything was looking bleak until he heard Sunset.

"I've got it!" she searched through her bag and pulled out a book and small pouch. She brought them to Bix and he looked through it to find it a spell he never thought he'd see.

"Where did you get this?!" he yelled at Sunset taking the bag containing what he hoped it did.

"The girl back at the hideout that takes care of the children. She gave them to me, I couldn't understand what she was saying, but I knew she wanted me to have them. What does the book say?"

"I'll yell at her when we get back, for now, I can tell you that this spell lets me use jewels and crystals as weapons. It helps channel inert magic in the gems, and depending on the gem used, causes several things to happen." He poured the contents of the bag out only to be devastated.

"What? What is it?"

"These are all amber, the only thing these do is produce a slight painkiller effect. They're useless!"

Sunset couldn't believe it after finally seeing Spike and spending time with the dragon she was once again on the verge to lose him. This time forever, there was no spell to revive him and no way she would be able to save his body until she found one. Their only hope was gone as they didn't have a gem that could be beneficial at all.

"Wait, what about this one? What could this one do?" She said presenting Bix a ruby with such clarity that it made it shine with a red glow.

"That… It might work… No, it'll definitely work." He took the gem and ran to the whole to witness the flames the beast was wrapped with die down. He opened the book and started to chant.

"In the name of mother earth, I offer this pittance. Let her might shine through, and help those who heed and wish for aid." The ruby started to glow brighter and emitted a light that mesmerized Sunset.

She watched as Bix threw the gem at the beast about to kill Spike and bounce off a bone. All at once, the gem exploded and then sucked up the centipede in a ball of fire. The centipede screeched and thrashed all it could but couldn't escape the ball. It disappeared into the fire and the ball released heat around the room until dying down. Bix and Sunset threw the packs down and landed on top of them to cushion the fall.

"What was that?" asked Sunset helping to prop Spike up against the wall.

"Rubies cause explosions, but with the level of clarity each gem has, the spell changes what they do slightly. All I can say is that the clarity of that Ruby was beyond any I've ever seen, so when I used the spell it caused an implosion instead. Where did you get something that rare?"

Sunset looked to Spike and smiled as she poured a potion they bought before leaving town into his mouth. "A friend gave it to me, it was in celebration of our reunion."

Author's Note

Another chapter out! This one was the last chapter I had actually posted, but I redid most of it. I didn't like where it went last time, but I feel it is going in a good direction now. With this one out I've finally caught up and will be working on new chapters in the future. However, for now, I'll be leaving this for a bit and work on a different story as I'm trying to bring an arc to a close.

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