//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Dealt A Bad Hoof // by TheHooligan //------------------------------// Chapter 3: "You sure we're going the right way?" Whispered the dragon as he followed the unicorn down the narrow and dimly lit hallway. They had been quietly making their way down the same hallway they had seen Grug and his followers exit the dungeon for at least a dozen minutes, and were lucky to not have ran into any diamond dogs on patrol. "Of course Trixie is sure, now shut up before someone hears you." Trixie's reply came out louder than she had planned, and her eyes looked side to side hoping that she hadn't been heard by some unseen entity. In truth the unicorn had no idea where the exit was at this moment, when they had first been brought in Trixie did manage to see a wooden door with some chicken scratch handwriting written on it, and a large room that she was sure was where her carriage was being held. But then after so many left, and right turns, and boring walks down dark corridors she lost track. Now she was certainly lost, and would have to at least pretend to know where she was going in front of this aggravating dragon. "Maybe you should take your own advice oh Great and Loudmouthed Trixie." Spike chuckled in a hushed manner after seeing the insulted mare turn around to glare daggers at him. A short lived victory though since almost immediately after he started to laugh his snout started to sting from being struck by a sharp flick of her tail. The next few minutes passed by in silence as the duo continued to creep down the hallway, until they found themselves faced with a fork in the road. To an outside observer the image of the two escapees staring down the two possible pathways, then back at each other, then back to the pathways may have been a comedic sight. Of course since this is a serious situation, and teamwork was key to their freedom, the two arguing over which direction to take wasn't a possibility right? "Left!" "Right!" Oh well bullocks to that then. Both speaker's whirled around on one another, eyes narrowed and full of challenge. Spike's tail whipping about, and Trixie's cape rose a few inches off of her back, the slow draw of magic she had begun causing it to levitate. "Left?! Are you serious?!" Spike questioned, in all the books he had read while working in Twilight's library turning left typically ended in agonizing torment, slow dismemberment, and overall hurt feelings. "Trixie is always serious scale for brains, try to keep in mind that Trixie was actually awake when we were dragged down here in the first place." Trixie tipped her nose up to the air, and added "Besides going right first qualifies you as a grade A idiot." "Oh really? On what grounds?" Spike was once again at his wits end with the high, and mighty unicorn. Was it actually possible that somepony could really be this irritating? "Because The Great and Powerful Trixie said so." The unicorn smirked in satisfaction as Spike groaned in exasperation, and began rubbing his temples to calm himself. The dragon silently wished that his friend Twilight was at least ok. Meanwhile: Twilight Sparkle was in no definition ok, her mane was a mess, her mind overcome with concern over the disappearance of her dragonic friend, and at the moment the purple unicorn was curled up on the floor muttering incoherently in the middle of Celestia's throne room. "I'm the worst friend ever. I just sent my closest friend on a one way ticket to anywhere, and I have no idea where he might end up. Oh poor Spike, poor, poor, loving Spike." Having seen enough princess Celestia gently nudged the quivering mare's form with her hoof. "Calm your thoughts Twilight, the situation most certainly won't improve with my most capable apprentice muttering manically in the middle of my throne room." At once the purple unicorn was silent, and the frantic gleam in her eyes began to fade. After taking a moment to file away her thoughts, and stabilize her breathing Twilight stood up, and smiled apologetically. "Thank you princess, I needed that." Having rectified her foalish behavior, Twilight could now focus all her problem solving skills on Spike's plight. After the initial shock of realizing that Spike hadn't appeared alongside her within the Canterlot castle, Twilight had quickly deduced that something had gone wrong when she had teleported. The possibilities were countless ranging from Spike merely not reacting in time, and being left back at the library, or even his dragon body just not being able to sustain proper function during the warp resulting in him being blown to tiny smithereens. As all magically inclined ponies were well aware errors in teleporting could result in any form of catastrophe. Luckily the list of terrible misfortunes that could have befallen her assistant was cut short by a small slowly ebbing pain near her tail. Then it all clicked together, Spike had indeed been aboard when she teleported, but given his greater size, and the rushed state that she herself was in proper calculations had not been made. It was at that moment when the answer struck the poor unicorn, which resulted in her little breakdown earlier. "Princess Celestia, from what I can gather Spike lost physical contact with me during the teleportation resulting in.." Celestia's eyes widened as her thoughts immediately found the name that Twilight herself had trouble saying. The name belonged to a specific reaction that takes place when this kind of things goes awry in a teleportation spell. In fact it had gained great infamy in the magical community the day the exact same thing had occurred to Starswirl The Bearded's own apprentice. The hapless young unicorn who's name was Weststar had also been disconnected during a teleportation alongside his mentor, which resulted in the magical momentum flinging him far across the land. All had presumed the young colt deceased, until he returned from an arduous journey across a handful of distant lands a few years later. Once he had settled back in, and reconciled with his distraught mentor, Weststar would go on to dub this particular incident which from that day on was referred to. "The Weststar Sling!" Spoke both Celestia and Twilight, this would mean that Spike could quite literally be anywhere. As Celestia called her royal guard, and ordered them to spread word to their most distant outpost in Equestria to be on the lookout for a young purple dragon, Twilight deeply wished with all her might that in the least Spike was in good hands. That's Funny: Spike was most certainly not in good hands, in fact he was doing his hardest to stay out of a dozen very bad hands, or paws given their owner's origins. His potential speed limited by the ungodly corridors that he now attempted to escape down, and the task of having to slow down for Trixie's sake. It really should have came as no surprise when the two's arguing had gained the attention of a nearby patrol of diamond dogs. And now here he was running for his life, while still shouting at the pony behind. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Spike yelled before ducking his head to avoid a low hanging piece of wood jutting from some structure that kept the ceiling secure. "NOT AT ALL, IF YOU WOULD JUST DO AS I SAY WE WOULDN'T BE IN THIS MESS!" Trixie narrowed her eyes at the dragon in front of her, of course the moment she was struck by a inspirational plan to save them he would have to be uncooperative. "THERE'S NO WAY I'M DOING THAT! ITS STUPID, AND ONLY BENEFICIAL FOR YOU!" As he shouted Spike's vision spotted a exit at the end of the passageway, hopefully a possible way out. "IT IS NOT! IT IS A GREAT PLAN, AND WILL WORK FLAWLESSLY. THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE PROMISES!" The light azure unicorn turned her head momentarily to spy the crowd of angry diamond dogs giving chase, they would catch the duo eventually if this continued. "SINCE WHEN IS ' DRAGON JUMP BETWEEN ME, AND THOSE ACCURSED MUTTS SO THAT I MAY ESCAPE ' CONSIDERED A GREAT PLAN?!" Spike spoke in outrage before passing through the exit, and finding himself in a large room. There was a large number of doorways that probably led all over the place, and a few large tables in the center. Spike figured that this must have been where all passages eventually met up, and probably acted as a conference room of sorts. Of course any further speculation was halted when a certain unicorn came running into the room, and crashed into the distracted dragon. The two rolled across the floor, before finally colliding with one of the tables resulting in a painful halt. "Get off of me!" Spike found himself trapped under the azure mare, and with a hoof uncomfortably rubbing against his nostril. "You first! Trixie wasn't aware that dragon's had such fat, and heavy tails." Trixie growled in annoyance as said tail flicked her across one of her eyes. "You could talk! Geez your heavier than two colts, and a Pinkie Pie after an all you can eat cupcake contest." hissed Spike, and in reply Trixie screeched in indignation, and used all her strength to push herself off the ground, which resulted in losing her balance, and an even more embarrassing entanglement of limbs, and bodies. A tad bit dazed from that last action Trixie was suddenly met with a rather unusual feeling against her flank. Common sense thrown out the window, the unicorn cried in outrage, and began kicking about wildly. "DON'T YOU DARE YOU VILE, DEPRAVED DRAGON!" Spike who was now being beat mercilessly by random hoof strikes from the panicked unicorn, could only yell in response his face turned a deep mixture of purple, and red. "ITS MY TAIL! MY TAIL! OW! AN ACCIDENT YOU CRAZY FOAL!" Having had enough Spike managed to right himself, and deposit the red faced mare beside him. Not looking in her direction so he could better hide the blush on his face, Spike growled in irritation at the the accusation. "Seriously get over yourself, like I would ever wan..." Spike was cut short due by the oddly timed arrival of the diamond dogs that had chased them into the room to begin with. Trixie, and Spike both inwardly sighed in relief at least this would do as a distraction from the earlier incident, and help vent some built up anger. Three of the most fearless, and battle eager diamond dogs from the group charged forward, having chased the duo this far dismissed any idea that they might actually be in for a challenge. The horn on Trixie's head lit up the moment the offenders had moved, and the lightest of the three diamond dogs suddenly found himself with no control of his body. With an aggressive toss of her mane Trixie sent the now possessed diamond dog's body crashing into his fellow sending both to collide with a nearby table. The third diamond dog taking heed of the unicorn's magic power chose to lunge toward the young dragon instead. Spike sidestepped the oncoming mass, and on reflex wrapped his tail along the blue collar the diamond dog wore around his neck. With a quick flick Spike sent the surprised assailant to land ungracefully on the ground beside the previous two. The rest of the crowd of diamond dogs shifted nervously, three of them had already been downed with what looked like minimal effort from the unicorn and dragon. It looked like the group might actually turn tail, and run to fetch reinforcements, which would buy the duo plenty of time to escape. That is until another group of diamond dogs just so happened to come strolling down into the room from one of the many passageways. There was a brief moment of silent pause as the new group quickly began comprehending the situation at hand, the old group started recalculating their heightened odds, and Spike and Trixie both unconsciously began edging toward a doorway. With a challenging bark the first group all broke formation, and bounded toward the escapees, and a moment later the second group did the same. With barely any time to react Spike breathed a cone of bright green fire before him scaring off the attackers nearest to him, but not dissuading the entire pack who in turn moved quickly to go around the flames before them. Trixie levitated a nearby table, and used it to shield herself from the bodies that hoped to collide with her, her eyes narrowed and beads of sweat trickled down her forehead as the diamond dogs banged against the sturdy wood. Spike seeing Trixie in trouble, grasped a diamond dog that had gotten to close by the scruff of it's neck, and flung it into the group that was tasked with breaking through the magically levitating table. The flying body hit it's mark and the diamond dogs were sent hurtling in different directions giving the unicorn some breathing room for the moment. Trixie, noticing Spike's assistance looked, in his direction, but her eyes widened at the oncoming threat that careened toward the unaware dragon. Spike, confused by Trixie's expression, had no time to react to a sudden weight crashing into his torso, and sending the two rolling across the dirt. Another diamond dog had crept close and pounced forward using all his weight to bring the dragon down, and now he could feel the weight of his comrades joining his hoping to pin the scaled beast to the ground. The pile had grown eight bodies high before a loud growl ripped through the room, and Spike threw all of the attackers off of him but one that clung stubbornly to his neck. "Let go!" The diamond dog shook his head in refusal, and tried biting down on the dragon's scales. The resulting pain felt more like a pinch than anything to Spike, who was glad his scales had matured to the point where such a attack would be just about negated. With a quick toss of his head, Spike sent the dog flying across the room, but it stubbornly rose back to its feet a moment afterward. This fight wasn't going well, there was just too many attackers, and they had home field advantage. Trixie's hooves impacted painfully against the side of a diamond dog that had reacted too slow to her suddenly striking out with her hind legs, and as he went flying against a support beam Trixie was struck by a sudden idea. She looked to Spike who was currently handling the larger fraction of the attacking crowd, and from the looks of it could manage well enough for a few more minutes. After taking a moment to gather the necessary energy her plan required, Trixie fired a bolt of concentrated magic toward a wooden support beam. The beam splintered to pieces, and a few clods of dirt fell from the ceiling above. Trixie's plan was merely to bring the ceiling down, hopefully in the chaos it would be possible for her...and the dragon to escape. As Trixie continued blasting different support beams, Spike fought on against the diamond dogs, another blast of emerald fire scattered the crowd, and bought him a few seconds of reprieve from the onslaught. A sudden movement to his left, and Spike quickly turned in time to strike down another assailant hoping to crash into him. Turning back to the group Spike spied Grug in the back issuing commands to his brothers, apparently Grug was the alpha to this pack which made sense since he was the one who questioned the dragon in the first place. As Spike's green eyes locked with Grug's mustard yellow ones the dragon started noticing that there was a lot of dirt falling from the ceiling. "Spike! The whole room is going to cave in!" Trixie yelled urgently as she blasted one final support beam. Having heard the mare Spike moved to join her, but was side-tracked by a handful of still rearing to fight diamond dogs. With a sweep of his tail Spike moved the would be obstacles out of his way, but a large piece of the earth ceiling gave way, and fell to the ground between Spike and Trixie with a loud crash. Dust, and dirt was thrown everywhere obscuring Spike's vision he could barely make out the form of the beckoning pony, but had no problem seeing the large mass of rock, and dirt that separated the two. The attacking diamond dogs began scrambling for cover, as the very real threat of being crushed by falling debris set it. With all the shouts, barking, and all the rocks pelting everything around him Spike did the best he could to navigate towards the unicorn. "SPIKE LOOK OUT!" Hearing Trixie's warning the dragon flung himself forward narrowly avoiding an untimely demise beneath a boulder sized piece of dirt. Rapidly running out of escape routes Spike made a quick gambit, and raced toward the closest hallway exit he could see. Right behind him the entire room collapsed in on itself burying everything within. After taking a few moments to cough up dirt, and catch his breath, Spike picked his head up off the ground. The entrance behind him was completely blocked off by dirt, and stone, which he knew wouldn't hold off the well renowned diggers that were the diamond dogs for long. All he could do was trudge forward, and hopefully find an exit. It crossed his mind that Trixie wasn't with him, hopefully she had escaped the room, and was wandering one of these hallways herself, and that they would just run into each other eventually. That thought made Spike produce a annoyed snort, he couldn't believe he was actually hoping to run into her again, let alone worry about her well being. The unicorn in question was at the moment dusting herself off, doing whatever it took to rid her mane, and cape from the specs of dirt that clung stubbornly to her form. "Oh Trixie you're going to need a good hot bath when this is all over." She was sure that the dragon had managed to stumble into another entrance, so his well being wasn't particularly weighing on her mind. In the least she was alone, and wouldn't have to bother with some idiotic dragonling, or flea-bitten diamond dogs at the moment. After a fair deal of wandering Trixie found herself in front of the large room that she had spied when they were first being dragged deeper within the diamond dog's cave. For the most part the room was empty except for a few mine carts, and a large map. Then at the far end of the room hidden behind a few crates there it was. Trixie squealed in delight as her eyes took in every physical feature that was her carriage, in truth it wasn't much more than her little room, and the harness used to pull it, but it was home to her and she had missed it so. With superpony speed Trixie was instantly beside her beloved carriage checking it over for any blemishes, or signs of abusive. "Oh Trixie has missed you so! Did you miss Trixie? Oh of course you did ahh." Once she was sure all of her belongings were still safe, and untouched the unicorn donned the harness, and started pulling her carriage out of the room, and down the hallway. Down the hallway, a left, a right, and another left from where Trixie was currently walking, sat a befuddled Spike. In front of him stood a door with some odd handwriting scribbled on the front, though his fluency with the diamond dog language was rusty at best, his gut was telling him something of interest laid within. With gentle care Spike eased the wooden door open, much to his surprise and good fortune instead of finding any hostile diamond dogs he found a large pile of assorted gems. With watery eyes as big as dinner plates Spike gazed at the shiny treasure horde, before him bright red rubies twinkled seductively, and sky blue sapphires beckoned to him with silent promises of unparalleled flavor. "Hello my pretties, my name is Spike and I would very much enjoy eating every last one of you." Spike wiped away a stray tear of joy, and found himself slowly making a beeline toward the buffet before him. All other troubles in his life suddenly fading away as his inner draconic instincts began to assert themselves. Just as Spike was about to reach the pile of goodies, a gruff voice cut through the quiet. "Grug knew dragon couldn't keep filthy claws away from treasure." Spike was snapped out of his gem fantasies, and whipped around to come face to face with the diamond dog alpha himself. Grug stood before the door blocking any attempts Spike might have made for a hasty escape. Yellow eyes narrowed, and a teeth revealed in a half snarl, Grug's paws were gripped tightly around a shimmering sledgehammer, one that Spike instantly recognized. Within Equestria there were many tales of ancient, and forgotten artifacts. Forged from deep, powerful magic, made for purposes greater than any one soul could comprehend. Most were merely things of legend, fabricated so make believe heroes had a Deus Ex Machina at hand for stopping make believe villains. Others though were very much real, hidden away by those who understood the damage such relics could do to an unwary time. And the weapon that Grug currently had in his possession, and was very willing to use against Spike, was indeed one of those relics. The hammer had no name, only a long list of those who fell before it's mighty blows, and a short list of those deemed worthy enough to find, and wield it. Years spent wasting the day away filing books, and from time to time leafing through the ones with interesting names had made this weapon, and its possibly real brethren past known to the dragon. Spike couldn't help, but take a cautionary step back. "Grug sees that you know this weapon dragon. A family heirloom passed from first born to first born, never have to use till now." Grug's eyes were unblinking, and locked in a determined glare, but his voice sounded..uncertain. Spike could literally feel the murderous intent that the hammer radiated, it was a tool of pain, and glory and it ached to be used again. With a weapon like that in his paws, a fight with Grug would likely be the end of the young dragon, something he hoped to avoid at all costs. Running out of ideas Spike considered an alternative, it was crazy but there were no other feasible options at the moment. With a gulp Spike eased away from the glittering pile of gems, his first goal was to make himself less of a threat, step out of such a hostile light, and hopefully into one where a compromise could be made. "A-Alright there Grug, lets not be to hasty now." Having moved a few feet away from the treasure, Spike could see Grug relaxing his hold on the weapon slightly. "Look I'm here on complete accident, and really don't want to cause any trouble. Now I know relations between dragons, and diamond dogs aren't the best right now." Hearing this Grug's ears flattened against his skull aggressively, and his grip tightened again, much to Spike's dismay. "B-But maybe this can be the start of something, we put aside our differences, you let me go, and I tell every dragon I run into that Grug and his pack are worth reckoning." Spike was hoping to appeal to the alpha's view on a bigger picture, and the thoughtful gleam that passed through the diamond dog's yellow eyes filled him with optimism. "Neither of us are really looking for a fight here right? You just want to make sure your treasure, and family is safe, and I just want to get on my way home. There's no reason that any blood has to be shed when we can just go our separate ways, and go on with our lives." Spike tried his best at a honest smile, but his fang filled mouth probably didn't help much, all he could do is stare pleadingly at the thinking creature before him. There was a long pause, and just as Spike began losing hope a sound reached his ears. It was the sound of Grug letting loose a tired sigh before he set the shimmering hammer on the ground beside him. With a haggard look in his eyes the diamond dog's frown turned to a small smile as he looked up at the dragon. "You speak sense dragon, Grug no want to risk life, and family over quarrel with you. If dragon promises to leave den in peace, and not touch treasure he may go." Spike sighed loudly in relief, finally he could get off of here, and try to figure out what had happened to him to begin with. "I promise you'll have no trouble from me Grug, put er there." With a smile Spike brought his hand up for a hoofshake, and after a suspicious pause from Grug, the diamond dog walked closer and returned the gesture. As the two firmly shook hands in goodwill, Spike spied an object laying on the floor away from the treasure pile. A remembrance of it's importance to a certain hard to deal with unicorn chimed insistingly until the dragon was forced to act. "Hey Grug whats the deal with that hat over there?" Spike's question drew a confused look over the diamond dog's face until he turned his head to stare at the discarded cloth. A growl escaped Grug's lips as he remembered the horned pony, and her unforgivable words. "Hat belongs to magic pony, keep as reminder to warn Grug of phony baloney ponies, and to never forget the insults she spat to the pack." A deep frown settled on the dog's face, and his hoofshake slightly tightened. Spike cursed mentally at himself, he was about to make things a lot harder on himself for Trixie of all ponies sake. "Any chance I can snag that from ya? Might make for a nice souvenir to remember this whole experience by." Spike cursed again as he felt Grug's grip on his scaled hand tighten more so, and the diamond dog's eyes began to narrow. "No can do dragon, if smart-mouthed pony gets away pack will need something to track her scent with." Grug's voice was quickly losing it's tired tone, and was rebuilding into one of hostility. "That's a shame Grug cause I could really use that hat." Spike's emerald eyes narrowed, and stared into Grug's a small tint of challenge beginning to grow on the edges. His grip tightened on the hoofshake as well, and both participants looked like they were eager to squeeze the other's hand off. "Hat stays, that final." Grug's words were more growled in threat than spoken, and Spike caught Grug's eyes darting quickly to where the hammer laid just a few feet away. Spike decided that if he lived he might very well incinerate the hat in front of it's owner just to make her pay for what he was about to get into. With Grug separated from his winning card, and a plan already formed Spike glared into the diamond dog's eyes, and the words that he spoke at that moment burned with equal heat to the emerald flames he could spit out at that very moment. "I'm not leaving here without that hat." Trixie just could not catch a break, only moments after finally reuniting with her carriage she found herself once again being chased by a mob of angry diamond dogs. Her hoof falls sounding like thunder in her ears as she ran for all she was worth down the corridor hoping to find an exit. Suddenly the smell of fire burned in her nostrils, and a distant rumble almost made her break her stride though it did succeed in loosening a few pieces of rock, and dirt from the overhanging ceiling. Using her magic Trixie deflected any falling projectiles that threatened to hit her, or her cargo as she continued onwards. The mob chasing behind lacked her magic abilities so were pelted with falling debris, and soon stopped chasing her altogether. A warm golden light in the distance made Trixie redouble her efforts, she could practically taste the warm outside sunlight, and winds of freedom. Within a few moments Trixie stopped to gaze out the cave den entrance, and bathe in the solar rays that beamed down upon her from the sun above. She started moving forward when a magical tug pulled at her legs. Perplexed the cyan unicorn turned around, and was merely met with the sight of the diamond dog den entrance, the inside looking shockingly dark in contrast to the bright sunlight she now stood in. Then she remembered, a huff of great annoyance escaped her as she thought back to the promise she had made to that infernal dragon barely hours ago. The tug would continue until either the deal was fulfilled, or she swore the deal broken. Though unable to truly keep her in place or tethered to the beast she made the deal with, the tug would annoy her without end. "Hurry up you slack jawed newt, Trixie will not wait here for much longer. With or without your scaly hide." Her words fell on deaf ears, and just as she was about to turn to leave a large purple mass exploded outward from the den entrance. Caught completely off guard Trixie tripped over herself in surprise, and from her position on the ground she glared up at the emerald eyes that hung over her. "I heard that, though I am surprised that you actually waited for me." Spike's gaze moved from the frowning unicorn to the carriage she was standing next too, his eyes beholding the familiar sight for a few seconds. "You still fit in that?" A quick look of outrage spread on Trixie's face at the question, and she quickly stood up to glare at the dragon. "Of course I do! Are you insinuating that the Great and Powerful Trixie wouldn't be able to fit within her own travel room?" Feeling another argument coming on, but lacking the time due to an approaching threat, Spike quickly shoved the unicorn aside, and began fastening the harnesses for the carriage to himself. Something that earned a cry of anger from Trixie, and a half flanked apology from Spike in response. "And just what do you think your doing dragon?! Trixie has aided in your escape, now begone from my sight you are no longer my problem." The moment the dragon had stood there above her moments ago Trixie felt the magical tug of her deal vanish, and she wasn't going to deal with this peon for another second. "I'm going to pull this thing, and get us out of here. Unless you want to be escorted back inside the den by Grug, and his gang again?" A quick worried glance toward the den entrance which now echoed with the barks of the diamond dogs was all Trixie needed before letting out another huff, and climbed hurriedly inside her carriage. "Good now hold on this is going to be a bumpy ride." Trixie had scarcely shut the carriage door behind her, before everything lurched forward suddenly throwing her body none to gently against the door, and knocking a few of her possessions around. She was about to shout to the dragon to be careful, when she caught sight of the the pack of diamond dogs exiting the den, and giving chase. Free of the constraints that had encumbered him within the dimly lit passageways of the diamond dog den Spike was able to reach an improved level of speed. The carriage that he pulled groaned, and squeaked loudly having never been pulled so fast before, and the enraged shouts from within it cause a smirk to adorn Spike's face. It never felt so good to be outside as the rays of sunlight warmed his scales, and the fresh air filled his lungs. Though there was no real path where he ran, Spike followed a narrow dirt trail doing his best to avoid obstacles that might harm him, or the carriage. Soon the diamond dogs were left in the dust, and all the leader Grug could do was swear loudly in the language of his people, in anger he raised the hammer that he held in his paws, and with all his might smashed it into a nearby tree. Instantly the tree's bark exploded into tiny fragments, sending pieces of wood everywhere. A sharp pain ran up Grug's arms after the blow, wielding such a weapon required something he did not possess, which is why he had lost the scuffle with the dragon earlier, and had been punished by the weapon both then, and at this moment. With a growl Grug looked to his brothers and motioned for them to follow him back home. They had lost their quarry, and there was no use in continuing to give chase. Almost a mile away Spike finally slowed his sprint down to a stop, he unfastened the harness, and rolled over on the ground with a thud. He was finally free, and could get to business on how to get home. Of course it would help if he actually knew where he was to begin with, waking up in a dungeon out in the middle of nowhere certainly wasn't any help. A groan coming from the carriage brought the dragon out of his musing, and with a sigh he stood up, and headed to check on Trixie. "You alright in there?" From within the carriage a long string of curses emitted from the irritated unicorn, and Spike merely sat outside with a bored expression until she finished. The door flew open, and her grey magenta eyes glared lethally at him, the glare worsened as she watched a grin spread on the dragon's face, before he started laughing to himself. "And what do you think is so funny?!" The unpleasant ride had jostled the poor mare around quite a bit, and her mane was an absolute mess, that plus the angry expression on her face made for quite the comedic scene. Having heard enough laughter at her expense Trixie's horn flared up, and a rock found itself levitated and hurled right toward the chuckling dragons noggin. "Ow! What was that for?!" Spike rubbed his smarting skull, and held back a few curses of his own for the moment. Trixie now busying herself with tidying up her mane using a mirror inside the little room laughed in return. "No one laughs at the Great and Powerful Trixie, especially you." Looking herself over Trixie smiled in satisfaction at her reflection, but it disappeared instantly when she looked back toward the dragon still sitting by her carriage. "Now what do you want?" Spike rubbed his head sheepishly, as much as he would have like to be rid of the obnoxious unicorn he had to face the fact that he had absolutely no idea where he was, and he certainly wasn't cozy with the idea of trying to find his way home alone. With a sigh Spike decided to try and play his hand, despite how bad of a hoof he was being dealt. "Well I know our deal to escape that den together is over and stuff, but I was kinda hoping that you might help me find my way back to Ponyville." Before he had even finished speaking Spike was ready for her reply, and just as he assumed she was as blunt as she could possible be. "No! Your annoying, you're the lackey of my most hated rival, and I hate you." The entire time she spoke Trixie wore a small smile on her face, though the tone she used was of barely contained anger. "Plus why should I, sure Trixie may have been in a bind down in that dungeon, but what possibly could you have to offer that The Great and Powerful Trixie would want?" Trixie smiled victoriously, and Spike kept his eyes down toward the ground. It was true at the moment the unicorn was holding all the cards, and was feeling much less generous than the dragon had earlier. It would seem Spike had no other choice, but to play the ace he had up his sleeve, or in this case wrapped protectively in his tail. With a grin Spike looked up from the ground, and locked eyes with the smirking mare before him. The grin on the dragon's face quickly wiped away her look of superiority, and she nervously wondered what he had planned. "Oh I'm sure I have something that you want without a doubt." The venom, and self assured triumph in Spike's voice chilled Trixie to her core. A huge thing she was growing to dislike about this dragon was how he always seemed to match her wit for wit. "The real question here oh Great and Powerful Trixie, is how badly do you want it?" And with that Spike's long tail unfurled behind him to show a purple hat covered in stars, a hat that matched perfectly with Trixie's cape. There was a long silence as Trixie's pupils shrank, and all the color seemed to drain from her face. Her lost, and prized magician's hat now hung before her in the grasp of some infuriating dragon. She would have to go about this with practiced ease, and caution. "PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! GIMME MY HAT BACK! I'LL DO ANYTHING JUST GIVE IT BACK TO ME!" Strangely enough Spike had thought that she would have played that one a little closer to the vest, but ah well. Spike fought down the urge to laugh at the nearly crying unicorn that hugged at his feet, and legs with big teary eyes pleading that he return her beloved hat. "Then its a deal! I give you this hat back and you help me figure out where I am, and help me get back to Ponyville." And just like that Spike gently placed the hat on Trixie's head who broke out into a stream of thank yous, and hugged the hat to herself lovingly. Maybe it was just because of the stress of such a long day, or maybe that fight with Grug had taken more out of him than he had expected. But Spike couldn't help but think for the tiniest moment that the smiling unicorn before him might not be so bad after all. Heck maybe in the right light she'd be easy on the eyes. "Eww my hat smells like dragon! This day has completely exhausted the Great and Powerful Trixie, for now until Trixie says otherwise you shall have to pull the carriage. Now then while Trixie dignifies herself, go fetch me something to eat." And just like that it was gone, out the window, set ablaze and stomped out in imaginary rage. Rubbing the temples on his head, Spike began to realize just what he had signed himself up for. With a groan the dragon covered his ears, and tried to think joyous thoughts as he laid down in the sunlight. He was in for a very, very long trip. End Of Chapter: