"Still sounds like you," noted Sandra with a raised brow. "For a vitamancer, you've been pretty bad at staying in the back. Don't get me wrong, you're not bad, but…"

"It's not the class." Smolder shrugged as she came up beside Spike. "But that's fine, we aren't actually, you know, the class. That would be weird." She bobbed her dagger in place, up and down but not leaving her hand. "I'll still be Smolder even if we swap classes."

Garble snorted softly, smoke escaping his nostrils as he walked along, heading for the exit of the caves. "Yeah, 'bout that. When do I find a class better for me?"

"Didn't you ask for this?" Spat Smolder with an upturned lip. "You want something with more drums?"

"Don't even joke about that!" He swung a fist at her, but she danced away laughing.

“Aw come on, the only dragon here is Spike. He already knows.”

“No, come on I don’t want it getting around.” Garble reached, possibly playfully for Smolder, who kept out of his range.

As Garble’s annoyed chasing gave way to less annoyed chasing, Spike lagged back with Sandra, twisting his hand on the magic staff he held. “I know I… get up close. But it’s just nice to have the option. Being a wizard is… that’s what I want to do.” He nodded.

Sandra tilted her head. "I can understand that. I'm a wizard too… But we're still new to this." She watched the two dragon siblings roughhousing, smiling a little at their antics. "Even me… We're still learning what we're good at."

Spike narrowed his eyes. “But you know you’re a spellcaster, right? Not just that, but an attack caster, right? You said that before. What made you so sure you aren’t a healer instead?”

Sandra laughed too-loudly and put her hand behind her head. “Well, you know. It’s just one of those… things you know, right? My stats are good for it.”

Spike brought up his staff. “Aha! But you can’t aim, so you're struggling with a lot of the spells you cast!”

“But… it’s different,” Sandra protested. “I just need to get my bearings and practice.”

Spike smiled smugly. “That’s right.” He stepped out ahead of Sandra. “And therefore I just need to practice too! And not that much, since I’m already doin’ so well.”

Sandra reached over and tapped Spike right on the end of his nose. "Not arguing that, but you found the crown. You could just not use it, but that seems like a waste. Secondary jobs blow the intro ones right out of the water!" She brought her hands together with a smart clap. "Besides, maybe you'll learn things you can take with you when you find an awesome casting class? Keep an open mind is all I'm saying."

Spike suddenly darted in front of her, walking backwards just as quickly as he had been moving forward. "Explain that part. I mean, I learned a bunch of skills as a vitamancer. If I swap classes, do I just… forget them? Do they stop working? This is kinda important." He rolled a hand a bit frantically in the air before his other hand joined in the motion. "Fill me in! Have you ever had another class before?"

Sandra grimaced. “I mean… yes… but I don’t use it.” She shook her head. “That doesn’t matter, different classes can learn different skills, and if a new class can learn the same skills you keep them. Like… well…” She searched for an example. “If I were to swap to vitamancer, I would keep my focus spell ability, that lets me spend longer casting for more power? A vitamancer can’t learn it, but they can use it. Even though I couldn’t cast any elemental spells anymore.” She gestured up to Garble. “I bet that armor ability he has, whatever it’s name is, can be used by any class that wears heavy armor.”

Spike nodded along. “So to be a really powerful caster, you’d have to learn abilities from all sorts of different classes. Is there a class that can cast any spell?”

"What was that about dark secrets?" Smolder had appeared at their side at some point, only making her presence known just then. "Do tell. What is this mystery past of yours?"

Sandra's cheeks darkened as she looked anywhere that didn't have a dragon in it. "I don't know. People talk about that kind of thing, but people talk about a lot of things that may or may not be a thing."

"Yeah yeah, that isn't an answer." Smolder circled Sandra, getting in front of her field of view. "Out with it. It's at least partly your fault we're here, so telling us your little secret is the least we can ask."

“I… look it’s nothing.” Sandra crossed her arms, still looking away. “It’s easy to get the opening classes. I just didn’t like the other one, that’s all.”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

“So that means it’s fine to tell us which one it is.” Smolder continued to float around Sandra.

Sandra evaded Smolder’s gaze, only to unpleasantly meet Spike’s piercing gaze. Looking away again she only saw Garble’s somewhat confused gaze, although he immediately folded his arms too and tried to look tough. She squeezed her eyes shut. “It’s… it’s… interceptor.”

“Whu, really?” Smolder raised an eyebrow.

“Y-yeah.” Sandra let her arms drape down. “I-I just didn’t like it, you know? Getting up close. All that… stabbing…”

“That’s it?” Garble’s unamused expression. “That’s what you were all upset about?” He turned about, almost stomping away. “Lame.”

Spike shrugged softly. "I get that. Here I am complaining about the same thing." He rubbed behind his head softly as he walked along. "I just… I dunno… Part of me always thought 'I bet if I could do magic like Twilight, I wouldn't get tripped up on the stuff she freaks out about all the time.'"

Smolder suddenly burst into laughter. "Oh wow! I did not see that coming, but looking back, I really should have." She eyed his expression, sagging in defeat as it was. "Hey, not as an insult or anything. So you have mommy issues, no big--"

"She isn't my mom!" Spike squeaked, cheeks turning a bright red. "She's more of a big sister."

"Big sis, mom, same thing in the end." Smolder shrugged before she came down to set a hand on Spike's shoulder. "We're still cool."

Spike just rubbed his shoulder. "Yeah, cool… So, hey, what about your parents?"

"Pass," sang Smolder, dancing ahead. "Unlike the people you usually hang with, we dragons are not usually big on thinking about their folks."

Garble huffed softly. "Ain't much to say anyway. Look, we're here." He hiked a thumb at the exit, light trickling in to tease of the outdoors beyond the crevice. "One lame dungeon crushed."

The four of them entered the field proper, the green farmlands and sparkling lakes, and all started taking the relatively safe path back to the city proper in silence. As they ambled through the field they had started their first timid outing, Garble waved upwards at the huge tower that jutted up in the middle of the town. "So when do we get to start goin' up that? That's where we actually get home, right?"

"We… have to get our next promotion before we're allowed past the guards at the base." Sandra drummed her fingers as she walked. "Which, I guess, we might be doing soon. Speaking of that, Spike, you going to unlock that crown before we give it back or what?"

Spike didn't answer, looking ahead and walking, his focus somewhere in the middle distance.

Smolder hiked a brow. "Yo, Spike?" She reached over and flicked one of his head spikes.

"Wha? Oh, uh, just thinking." He frowned a little, his own hands worrying over his staff. "What do you think Twilight's doing… and everycreature else? We've been gone a long time."

“I dunno. We haven’t even been gone as long as the break last time we were gone from school, so, like--” Smolder shrugged “-- I’m sure they’re alright. Prolly wondering where we are.”

Garble glanced over at them even as he brought down his sword, squashing flat a slime rabbit that had come too close. "Yeah? Maybe they think you're dead."

Spike almost tripped over himself as Smolder shot him a nasty glare. "Hey, way over the line there, Bro. It's not like that, they'd never, you know, give up on you that fast." She softly swat Spike on the shoulder with an awkward smile. "I'm sure they're still thinking about you."

“This is the longest I’ve ever been away from Twilight,” Spike said very softly. He gripped his staff tighter. “It’s been weeks. Is she alright? Is she worried? I bet she doesn’t have anypony to take her notes, or help her with the class. I bet she’s spent days looking for the right book!” Spike’s voice started to raise. “And-and if things got hard, and she was worried, she might panic and nobody would be there for her!”

Smolder chuckled. “I don’t think you’re that necessary for Twilight to operate, dude.”

Spike’s crest fell, and he stared at his feet for a few moments. “... I miss her. I miss all of the ponies from Ponyville, but…” His eyes began to sting. “I really really miss Twilight. Just--"

Garble suddenly grabbed Spike, plucking him from the ground into the air. "You quit your baby crying, alright? You think we don't have people we miss? Those jerks are jerks but they're my jerks and they're probably getting into trouble and I'm not there to laugh at them."

Smolder rolled her eyes at what passed for an emotional display. "They don't know what to do without you, Gar Gar. Look, I say we get where we need to be, so we can get home. We all have people waiting for us, that we want to see just as much."

Spike kicked at the ground. “I guess so.”

“So!” Smolder punched Spike’s shoulder. “Let’s just do what we can to get there, and enjoy the monster slaying, right?”

Spike rubbed his shoulder. “Yeah… I guess…”

A soft sniffle came from the seemingly silent Sandra. "I… know that feeling so well. I miss them so much!" She suddenly grabbed Spike. Not to hold him by the scruff or punch him in the shoulder, instead hugging him tightly like a lost teddy bear. "I keep thinking about them, but there's nothing I can doOoo!" her voice trailing into a wretched sob as she rocked Spike back and forth with her steps.

Spike sniffed. The tears he had been holding back start falling, his stubbly arms ineffectively wrapping around. “Th-there is nothing we can do, is there?” He started crying more sincerely. “And she’s gone and I might never find her again.”

Sandra’s wail grew louder.

The two of them bawled as Sandra walked forward. Smolder met Garble's glance, the two sharing a shaking of their head as Garble stepped forward to talk with the guards at the gate, "Hey, we're back. Let us in." He held up his guildchain for inspection, but they were already moving out of the way, knowing that adventuring group it seemed.

The four of them entered the city, at which point Garble immediately took to the air, pulling up a pouch of money. “It’s meat time!” Garble said, as he flapped away.

"Tempting… You two gonna be al--" Her words trailed off, seeing Spike and Sandra still having their sniffly moment. "--right… Hey, you know what can cheer me up? Some good grub. Let's get something tasty after a hard day's work."

Sandra sniffled. “O-okay…”

"Something good, alright," agreed Spike a little listlessly, allowing himself to be carried by his human party-mate.

"That's the spirit! Garble went that way." Smolder pointed the way before striding purposefully, hoping some food would lift the mood.

"Say," whispered Spike as they started to move, still in Sandra's arms. "You don't have to carry me… but thanks…"