A Hall of Mirrorsby TauntalusChaptersChapter 1: New FacesChapter 2: A Change of PlansChapter 3: Shards of GlassChapter 4: Parting SeasChapter 1: New FacesA bright, yellow sun streamed through the windows, setting a yellowish glow over the entire library. Normally, Spike would have welcomed the warm rays, had a firm hoof not shaken him awake. "Come on, Spike! You have to get up sooner or later!" He slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes. A concerned Twilight loomed over his bed, hoof ready to keep shaking if necessary. "Alright, Alright; sheesh, Twilight, it's only-" he looked around for the familiar clock. "-1:30 in the afternoon." without too much hesitation, Spike climbed out of his small bed and headed downstairs. A pile of books lay in the back corner with his name on it, but before he could start shelving the first 5 volumes of the Equestria Historia, Twilight called out to him; "Spike, that's not why I woke you; I saw something out in town I think you have to see." She trotted down the stairs and over to spike, he quickly clambered on top of her back. Probably more books, Spike thought to himself. Just what I need. As they made their way into town, Spike saw a large crowd of ponies gathering around the fountain. As they approached the mass, Spike hopped down and worked his way through the jungle of hooves. When he finally got through, he almost jumped straight to the sun. A set of claws and wings sat directly next to a small brown box, filled with gems, bones, and other things that he couldn't recognize. Over the chatter of ponies, he could hear a distinctly animal-like voice saying, "My friends, please allow me to show you my wares. I guarantee I can find you something for a reasonable price." The pair of yellow eyes scanned their audience, looking for somepony in need of anything, before making contact with the small, purple lizard at the front of the pack. The two stared at each other for several seconds, before the eyes moved on. Spike couldn't believe it; a dragon? In Ponyville? Not destroying things? It was unheard of, almost ludicrous. Yet, the other ponies weren't afraid to put down their bits for a gem or two to display back at their houses. By the time the crowd dispersed, half of the dragon's box was empty, and Spike could clearly see a bright blue label on the inside of the box; Smoke-scale, Traveling Peddler. He looked around for Twilight, and spotted her over by Sugarcube Corner, chatting with Pinkie. He started towards her, before he felt a large claw on his shoulder. "So you are the dragon I keep hearing about." Spike spun around, coming face to face with a dragon about twice his size, with dark blue scales and wings the size of baking trays. " I had heard about you from a friend of yours, and she asked me if I had anything for you as a gift. I assume you wouldn't mind taking home a couple extra pounds, would you?" The dragon's words rolled off of his tongue like mercury; Spike felt like it would be cruel to say no to such an offer. "S-sure," Spike replied, " I'd be happy to." The blue dragon stood up to his full height, dwarfing everything around him. He walked back to his small box, muttering as he rifled through what was left in his small shop. "Now where was it... Aha, here we go!" He pulled something dark out of the box, and threw it to the young dragon. Spike almost toppled under it's weight, and after getting a good look at it, he understood why. "Encyclopedia Draconus- oh no, not another book..." Spikes face dropped, as the large tome dragged his body down towards the earth. The blue dragon must have heard what Spike had said, because he replied near instantly after Spike's words had left his lips. "Your friend looked like a good student, so I assumed you would be as well, hence the book. Also, she told me that I was, 'something extraordinary'; I take it that meant ponies didn't know much about us, so this book seemed like a good choice. It contains a condensed version of basic draconic knowledge." Spike still didn't like the idea of lugging this thing back to the library, but he smiled anyways. "Thank you, sir." "Please," the dragon replied. "Call me Smoke. That's what my friends back home call me. Speaking of which, they are probably expecting me sometime tonight, so I am going to have leave fairly soon. Either way, it was nice talking to you. Enjoy the gift!" He gave a small wave of his claws, and sauntered over to his small case, locked it up, and carefully put it underneath his wing. Somehow, it stayed there, almost completely motionless beneath what looked like leather against a very bright light; thin, yet strong and taut. Spike walked back towards Twilight, but not before taking a final look back at Smoke. He tested something on the top of his wings with his claws, before shooting off the ground at a speed rivaling even that of Rainbow Dash's. For a few moments, Spike just stared at the hole he left in the clouds, before abruptly bumping into Twilight head on. "Oops... Sorry about that." Twilight just gave a soft smile and finished up her conversation with Pinkie Pie. Spike headed to one of the small benches nearby and took a look at the new gift he had just been given. The cover was completely leather, or what he thought was leather. He opened to the first page, and was taken aback by the amount of writing that the author had decide fit onto a single piece of paper. Spike quickly shut the book with a soft 'thud', afraid he might drown in the sheer amount of words. He looked around and saw Twilight heading back to the library, so he grabbed his book and ran down the path to catch up. Spike put the book down by his bed and finished up sorting through the stack of history books he had started that morning. By the time he finished, it was almost 5 in the afternoon, so Spike decided to take a well deserved rest. He headed upstairs, and flopped into his small bed, stretching out on the bedding and staring at the ceiling. For some reason he couldn't quite put his claw on, his thoughts drifted to the gift he had received. A book entirely about dragons; a book that could explain what they- what he was. It was amazing, considering that Twilight's library didn't even possess a book that could explain what dragons even are. As far as ponies were concerned, dragons were all but unknown. He shot up from the bed, grabbed the leather book, and started reading as fast as he could. 'Dragons are large, reptilian animals belonging to the draconus family. They generally possess strong scales, large teeth, leathery wings, and lizard like eyes.' Although Spike had read many scientific books in his apprenticeship to Twilight, this was a bit of struggle, mostly because he had never had to read about himself, or any kind of dragons for that matter. 'There are several stages of growth to a dragon: Hatchlings/Wyrmlings, Young Wyrms, Adult/Great Wyrms, and Elders. Hatchlings or, formally Wyrmlings, are considered to be dragons possessing less than 50 years of age. They appear as smaller versions of their older counterparts, with no or small teeth, proportionate wings, and small scales. These scales will eventually fuse together to form larger, stronger scales.' At this Spike felt a little disheartened. If dragons have wings from birth, then why doesn't- He tried to push the thought out of his mind. I can worry about that later; right now, I want to learn more. 'After 50 or so years, Wyrmlings will undergo a drastic spout of growth, known as the Elaboration. After this, dragons are now considered Young Wyrms, which have several...' Spike tuned out for several pages; it was all stuff about dragons aging, their various forms, what happens biologically. It wasn't until he reached the next section that things got interesting again. On the first page of the section, there was a picture of a cross cut dragon, with scientific labels and names criss-crossing along the outside. 'There are several organs that are not found within other animals, the most famous one being the Breath Sac. Breath Sacs are small, very durable organic containers within a dragon capable of producing temperatures that can create basic elements; Water, Fire, Earth and Air. The reason behind this marvel of life is often attributed to the Dragonfire.' Spike was extremely confused by this. Dragons could only breathe fire, he thought. And what the hay is a "Dragonfire"? He noticed a small note at the bottom of the page; 'see page 250 for information on Dragonfires'. Spike would have immediately gone to that page, had a large clock not begun to ring. Spike looked around for the source of the noise, his eyes finally fixing on the small clock in the windowsill. 9:30. His eyes began to droop, his limbs falling like stones, dragging him into the soft pillows. He put the large book down behind his small bed, and let sleep overtake him. Throughout the night, he could only think of one thing; what was on page 250? Chapter 2: A Change of PlansTwilight woke up to flipping pages and scurrying feet. Twilight gave out a small yawn, and trotted downstairs. "Spike, what's going on? It's *yawn* only 7 in the-" She stopped mid-stride. She almost pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. In front of her was a somewhat large purple dragon with green spines and small teeth standing amidst a small pile of ashes, history books piled in a nearby corner. The green eyes, the deep purple scales, it was all there. And wings. there was a single set of large, leathery, demon-like wings attached to this once lovable creature. Spike hadn't been able to sleep that night. Everything he had read was still rumbling around in his head. After about 2 hours of lying in bed and trying to sleep, he gave up trying and grabbed the Encyclopedia Draconus. He turned to page 250, the page about Dragonfires. 'Dragonfires are considered to be the souls of dragons. They are generally seen as the catalyst for the creation of Breath Sacs and Draconic Magic. Although the Dragonfire is not a physical organ of the dragon, it is a reasonable explanation for why dragons are inherently able to produce magic. Note that much of this next portion is based on theories and has been deemed unprovable.' Spike didn't care, he still wanted to know what these things were. 'Although it is often said that Dragonfires produce magic, the more likely explanation is that Dragonfires act as magic conductors, absorbing magic and formatting it to be usable by dragons. This explains why raw Maegia is not instantly absorbed by dragons upon contact. Dragons that are born without Dragonfires may possess Breath Sacs, but they will never mature into fully functioning organs; often these 'Maldrics', as they are known, also lack wings or other draconic features. Because of this, many are executed... be-because they a-are not worth...'. Spike shut the book. He felt the tears streaming down his face. No wings, very little fire... It explained all of it. Spike felt disgusted, outraged with himself. His thoughts conflicted, tearing his psyche apart. How can I be worthless? But it says right here- The hay with what it says! You're still a dragon, aren't you? The fact of the matter was that Spike didn't even know anymore. His mind was a jumbled mess of words, diagrams and evidence. He couldn't take it anymore. After he had run off to migrate with the dragons and came back, the idea of not actually being a dragon had been a sensitive subject. Through the tears that covered his eyes, he saw that the page he had closed suddenly had a small bookmark stuck in it. He opened to it, and found a note that hadn't been there before; "If you want to live in reality, follow the instructions below- Smoke". It was outrageous. How could Smoke have stuck a bookmark in there and have Spike not notice? Unless... Spike remembered that Twilight had talked about some kinds of magic that could enchant objects to give them personalities and ideas. But the spells were so complex that Twilight thought that even the Princesses might have trouble pulling them off; the idea of a young dragon doing so was impossible. Then Spike realized that he had thought that the idea of him not being a dragon was impossible as well, so there was no reason to single this out as impossible either. Below the note were some simple ingredients and a symbol Spike could only explain as a dragon scale within a scale encompassed by an octagon. The instructions read; ' Take a talon, scale and fang and place within Maegia Ring. Step inside Maegia Ring and scorch ingredients. Wait.' Spike quickly grabbed a couple of these things from Twilight's desk (she always kept the strangest things in there...) and ran to the corner where the books used to be. The talon and fang were easy to find, but the scale gave him much more trouble. No matter where he looked he couldn't find a single loose scale. Spike became desperate, scampering around the library searching for just one, just one stray scale he could use. Suddenly, he realized what the instructions wanted from him. He slowly trudged over to the ingredients and drew the symbol he had seen in the instructions. With extreme care, he plucked one of the scales from the center of his chest; a small stream of green blood came trickling out of the wound. He placed the scale at the center of the symbol, the blood giving the scale a slightly bluish hue against the purple backdrop. He mustered up as much strength as he could, and let loose a torrent of flame from his mouth. It singed the Encyclopedia slightly, but it seemed fine after he examined it later. Meanwhile, the circle grew a bright purple color, exactly the same as his scales. the green blood rose from the scale and formed a small, green crystal, something like a strange emerald. Without warning, it shot itself straight down into the scale, shattering it into a thousand tiny purple grains of sand. Suddenly, the other ingredients seemed to dissipate and melt into the floor. Spike took several steps back, before trying to make a break for it, only to be held back by some invisible force; he was trapped inside the circle. Without warning, a bright green fog came up from the symbol he had drawn, filling his lungs with what felt like rocks and his entire body with dread. When the fog finally cleared, Spike saw someone standing in the center who he had never expected to see again. His yellow eyes pierced the darkness, a claw extended in greeting. "It is nice to see you again, Spike. Did you enjoy that book I gave you?" Chapter 3: Shards of GlassSpike stood dumbfounded. the black dragon, after several seconds, withdrew his silver claws and placed them back against his sides, his smile slowly dropping from his face. "I see you are not as glad to see me as I am." Spike's eyes darted around the room; the shield around the circle was slightly visible, like lightly tainted glass. He searched it for any gaps, any chinks at all. "I take it that you know why I am here, unless your not quite as smart as I thought." Spike was frantically looking for something, anything to use as an escape; sweat streamed down his scales like rivers of liquid fear. "You know as well as I do what you really are, Spike; a problem, a blemish in an otherwise perfect jewel. And I am going to remedy that right now." Spike couldn't speak at all. his throat closed up, his entire body froze as Smoke reached behind his back and pulled out a long, bronze sword with a hooked tip and dark red handle. "Bronze is a dragons worst enemy; we never quite developed the same resistance to it as steel or silver. However, even those would work well on you." Spike stood and simply stared at the bronze sword, the dragon who wielded it, the red glint in his eyes. His entire mind was void of emotion; he knew what was coming, and he had exhausted his energy with fear and panic. He closed his fists and took a deep breath. The glint of the bronze as it rose into the moonlight filled Spike with courage; he had made it this far, he had done well in his friends eyes. that was all he needed. The sound scales shattering was heard mere seconds later. Spike looked around. the sword had shaved off a small portion of his top spikes, the green shard hitting the floor like freshly cut emeralds. Spike fell to his knees as the blood began to pour from his head; It hurt, but not too terribly; just a system shock for the young dragon, nothing more. Spike looked up as Smoke simply stood there, the same red glint in his eyes. "And now for the important part." Suddenly, his wings wrapped around him, like he had seen in front of the fountain, forming a cloak-like covering. His claws suddenly began to grow a bluish hue, a small green ball of glass formulating in his grasp. suddenly, Smoke thrust the orb directly into the young dragon's head; a warm sensation filled Spike's head as the orb shattered on his broken spines. He suddenly felt a strong push from behind, accompanied by a flash of light. Memories rushed through his head, or at least what he thought were memories; they were more like snapshots, still photos from ages past, yet vivid enough to understand. Blood stained swords littering battlefields, Families huddled behind stone walls as troops marched past, spears stained with the cries of surrenders. And yet the troops marched on. The photos kept coming, no matter how hard he tried to ignore them, they kept coming. he couldn't stop focusing on every detail, every line of every image becoming ingrained in his head. Spike felt strange, like his body was infiltrating itself, like he was tearing down his own psyche. And then the pictures stopped coming. It was peaceful, but Spike was almost sad to see them stop. He wanted more, more knowledge, more understanding. More to fuel his suddenly ignited passion. As he got up, He saw Smoke fading from view, like a man from a dream. "And here is a parting gift, friend." As the black fist landed across Spike's astonnished face, he blacked out and felt his body hit the floor. Twilight began to back away from the monster in front of her. A small creak came from the floorboards. Suddenly, Twilight was on her stomach, an aerial assault on her back as the dragon landed on top of her. She saw the dragon in the ashes fade away, like mist in a windstorm. "looks like your crimes have finally caught up with you." said a rough voice coming from behind her head. She knew who it belonged to; she noticed the small, sweet tone buried under layers of hatred and anger. Spike pinned her down with his tail and came around in front of her. His green eyes were noticeably sharper and more defined, his scales a much deeper shade of purple. "And now I am going to set things right, Twilight." He put his claw under her chin, bringing her eyes up to his face. smoke streamed from his nostrils, his eyes gleaming with anger and revenge. "Spike, I don't understand; what are you-" "Well of course you don't understand; how could you, after all?" Spike tightened his grip on Twilight, crushing her under it's weight. "However, you couldn't have known any better; you were raised to be evil, born to be a tyrant. But now, it's over." Twilight felt sick. What was happening? What happened to the Spike she had known? "you know about the founding of Equestria; General Hurricane, Princess Platinum, and Chancellor Puddinghead. But did you know what happened next? They destroyed everything in their paths. The Diamond Dogs were forced out of their gem fields, the emeralds and sapphires used for silly dresses and fashions. The Timberwolves, the Ursas, they were all forced out because the Earth Ponies wanted land for buildings, when the fields would have served just as well. And the Dragons? They were taken as slaves or killed for food and accessories. I was one of those unlucky souls." Twilight just sat there, her head swimming and her mind grasping for a logical response. "You don't believe me, do you? then again, I couldn't have expected anything else." He drew back his tail, Twilight's body imprinted with scale marks. She rose and quickly gained what little breath she could. The shock of the sudden change in his behavior was enough to startle her, but not enough to stop her train of thought. "I don't know who told you that, but they lied to you, Spike; Ponies would never resort to violence to solve problems. Celestia wouldn't-" "Ah, Celestia." Spike turned around, his hands folded behind his back and tail swishing across the wooden floor. "The Queen of Conquest. Out of all the monarchs, she must have been the most heartless. Building the New Canterlot on top of a Draconic Nest, killing hundreds for sport, and abusing the eggs for 'education'. And now she puts on her little show of kindness for her subjects, a play to hide her true nature. She is by far the most revolting, evil, disgusting-" "SHUT UP, SPIKE!" Twilight slammed into her assistant with the force of a battering ram, pinning him to the ground with her weight. "Celestia would never do that; it's inhumane, it's barbaric, it's... it's..." Tears streamed down her face, her nostrils flaring in a brew of rage and brokenness. Spike wiped them away with a claw. "Don't cry, my friend. I didn't believe it at first. But the books don't lie, especially not your books. You're far too intelligent to let yourself be deceived." Spike stared into the eyes of his once good friend. He knew he had touched a nerve, and things couldn't be the same after this. He didn't care, and Twilight knew that. "Spike, You're wrong. I don't care what you read, You are wrong. Nopony could ever do that to another species." "And yet they have, and are still. The dragon in the Everfree, the dragon that you drove out of the mountain; Do you know why the dragons migrate every year? They are going to places nopony could ever reach, and yet you did somehow. And now they do not migrate over Ponyville anymore, for fear of being followed again. You have destroyed their sense of protection- unintentionally, of course, but destroyed still, nonetheless. Ponies have done nothing but obliterate the dragons ways of life, and you have helped the most, Twilight Sparkle. congratulations." Twilight climbed off of her assistant, and stood up straight. she shook her mane out of her face, the tears streaking her face. She simply stood there, staring at the purple dragon getting up from her floor. she stared at the pile of history books in the corner, the Encyclopedia Draconus Spike scooped up from the floor, the gleam of apathy in his eyes. But she just stood there. And then she opened the door and said two words. Two words she never thought she would have to say. Two words that destroyed any connections she had ever had with this monster. Two words. "Get out." Chapter 4: Parting SeasSpike sat on a stump with his small book tucked beneath his arms, surrounded by the dark veil that covered the everfree, pondering what had happened that day. The outcome was not what he expected; anger, acceptance, sadness, anything but rejection. The minds of ponies certainly are strange things, he thought to himself. He opened up back to where he had left off that morning before being interrupted by Twilight. 'Although the Illusion spell is extremely practical, it requires large amounts of concentration and can only be maintained for short amounts of time. A less convincing but easier spell is the Shadowwalker spell, an incantation that gives one the ability to merge near perfectly with any sort of shadow or shade. this however is easily broken by any change in lighting, creating a silhouette of the spellcaster.' Spike closed the Encyclopedia Draconus yet again, this time out of exhaustion; the morning had taken much out of him as did his midnight encounter with Smoke. He knew all he needed to know right now, anything else would just flow right through his head. It was funny, how Smoke had changed from his enemy to his mentor within mere hours. Now that he knew more about himself, Spike felt it was time for him to change as well. He stood up, and walked through the charred remains of a tree he had burned down out of pure rage. Sometimes it felt good to just let it all out. Twilight sat on her bed in the Library, the argument playing over and over in her head, parts engraved in her memory and others she skimmed over. She wanted Spike back, yet she couldn't ask for him; it would just prove his point, something she would not allow. With Spike gone, the Library felt empty, despite Applejack and Rarity being right at her side, trying to comfort her. "I know it must be hard for ya, but ya'll gotta remember that Spike's not gone forever; he'll be back, I promise." Despite all of the assurance, Twilight still felt as bad, if not worse than before. "Applejack is right, darling; Spike wouldn't dare to leave you all alone without any help whatsoever; his little heart would be broken if he had to leave Ponyville forever." "I just don't know", Twilight finally responded. "He seemed so sincere; It was almost as though he wanted nothing to do with me in the first place." "Now don't think that, darling!" Rarity was quick to refute Twilight's statement. "Spike would never leave forever, at least not without reason; He will come back, trust me." "Then why did he leave in the first place? The Spike I know- the Spike I knew..." Twilight felt the tears coming back again, as well as all the emotions; anger, confusion, sadness, even joy. "Twilight, He's still the same Spike as always! He just got a bit angry, ya know; He'll come back around, just you wait." It didn't matter, Twilight thought; if there was any hope of him coming back, it was gone when she kicked him out of the Library that morning; Twilight was getting frustrated that her friends would be so ignorant, so quick to think Spike would just leave because of emotions. " If Spike truly meant to abandon you, he would have done it without you knowing; he will come back-" "Well maybe I don't want him to come back!" Twilight didn't really care what she said, she just had to say something. She was angry at Spike for leaving her, at Applejack and Rarity for being so blunt with such a sensitive subject, at herself for letting Spike leave. Hatred flowed from her mouth, anger blazed in her eyes. "Spike didn't leave me, I wanted him gone! He can go wherever he wants now, because I don't care!" Tears ran down her face, her voice rising ever higher. "And now he's gone because I got angry and acted on it. He's gone forever. And you know what? I don't care right now. I don't want him back, I don't want anyone right now! I just... want to be alone..." Twilight turned her back to her friends as they left, and slowly trudged up the stairs and flopped onto the bed. If she wanted to find answers, if she wanted peace, she knew she had to find the root of the problem. but not now; now she just wanted to rest, to sleep, to be alone, just her and her nightmares; just for a day, she said. just one day, yet one day was too long to wait. She got up and grabbed a quill, ink, and paper. The sun was setting, and Spike knew he had a very small window of time left. the way he had left, it would only be natural for Twilight to inform the princesses, and they would, naturally, send out search parties. As he worked his way through the Everfree, he thought of possible locations to hide for the night. The castle had many secrets, but the princesses would more than likely know about them all, so that was out. If he was a bit stronger, he might try taking another dragons cave, but in his current condition it was out of the question. Zecora would just report him if the guards came knocking, and would rat him out if she found her during her walks or collections, so nowhere with plants or anything she might need. He searched for a place, anywhere he could hide. He sat on the edge of the river, leaves and sticks floating by. Spike realized that he had found his hiding place. As the rays of dawn rippled through the waves, Spike woke to the smell of fish and gravel. It wasn't a very restful night, but it certainly worked better than any other ideas he had conjured up. He grabbed his book off the riverbed, recited the counter spell, and prepared for the oncoming torrent. The small air bubble he had summoned popped like a balloon, water, flooding in from all sides as Spike clutched the Encyclopedia Draconus and shot himself upwards. He shot out of the river and flopped onto the bank. He rolled over, laying the book next to him in a small pile of gravel kicked up next to hurried hoofprints. he smiled as he realized his prediction was right, and just stared at the sky and relaxed. He saw birds flying far above him, as well as some strays that simply flew off course a little or were flying in a completely different direction- Spike shot up. he looked to the sky, focusing as much as he could on the bird that flew north, away from the flock towards the mountain. The bird sported some large, leathery wings and a very impressive set of scales. Spike shot up from the ground, ready to try out his new wings. Somehow, he managed to sustain flight, as though he was born to. He gained altitude, and, although very cautiously and shakily, began the race to catch up with an old friend.
Chapter 1: New FacesA bright, yellow sun streamed through the windows, setting a yellowish glow over the entire library. Normally, Spike would have welcomed the warm rays, had a firm hoof not shaken him awake. "Come on, Spike! You have to get up sooner or later!" He slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes. A concerned Twilight loomed over his bed, hoof ready to keep shaking if necessary. "Alright, Alright; sheesh, Twilight, it's only-" he looked around for the familiar clock. "-1:30 in the afternoon." without too much hesitation, Spike climbed out of his small bed and headed downstairs. A pile of books lay in the back corner with his name on it, but before he could start shelving the first 5 volumes of the Equestria Historia, Twilight called out to him; "Spike, that's not why I woke you; I saw something out in town I think you have to see." She trotted down the stairs and over to spike, he quickly clambered on top of her back. Probably more books, Spike thought to himself. Just what I need. As they made their way into town, Spike saw a large crowd of ponies gathering around the fountain. As they approached the mass, Spike hopped down and worked his way through the jungle of hooves. When he finally got through, he almost jumped straight to the sun. A set of claws and wings sat directly next to a small brown box, filled with gems, bones, and other things that he couldn't recognize. Over the chatter of ponies, he could hear a distinctly animal-like voice saying, "My friends, please allow me to show you my wares. I guarantee I can find you something for a reasonable price." The pair of yellow eyes scanned their audience, looking for somepony in need of anything, before making contact with the small, purple lizard at the front of the pack. The two stared at each other for several seconds, before the eyes moved on. Spike couldn't believe it; a dragon? In Ponyville? Not destroying things? It was unheard of, almost ludicrous. Yet, the other ponies weren't afraid to put down their bits for a gem or two to display back at their houses. By the time the crowd dispersed, half of the dragon's box was empty, and Spike could clearly see a bright blue label on the inside of the box; Smoke-scale, Traveling Peddler. He looked around for Twilight, and spotted her over by Sugarcube Corner, chatting with Pinkie. He started towards her, before he felt a large claw on his shoulder. "So you are the dragon I keep hearing about." Spike spun around, coming face to face with a dragon about twice his size, with dark blue scales and wings the size of baking trays. " I had heard about you from a friend of yours, and she asked me if I had anything for you as a gift. I assume you wouldn't mind taking home a couple extra pounds, would you?" The dragon's words rolled off of his tongue like mercury; Spike felt like it would be cruel to say no to such an offer. "S-sure," Spike replied, " I'd be happy to." The blue dragon stood up to his full height, dwarfing everything around him. He walked back to his small box, muttering as he rifled through what was left in his small shop. "Now where was it... Aha, here we go!" He pulled something dark out of the box, and threw it to the young dragon. Spike almost toppled under it's weight, and after getting a good look at it, he understood why. "Encyclopedia Draconus- oh no, not another book..." Spikes face dropped, as the large tome dragged his body down towards the earth. The blue dragon must have heard what Spike had said, because he replied near instantly after Spike's words had left his lips. "Your friend looked like a good student, so I assumed you would be as well, hence the book. Also, she told me that I was, 'something extraordinary'; I take it that meant ponies didn't know much about us, so this book seemed like a good choice. It contains a condensed version of basic draconic knowledge." Spike still didn't like the idea of lugging this thing back to the library, but he smiled anyways. "Thank you, sir." "Please," the dragon replied. "Call me Smoke. That's what my friends back home call me. Speaking of which, they are probably expecting me sometime tonight, so I am going to have leave fairly soon. Either way, it was nice talking to you. Enjoy the gift!" He gave a small wave of his claws, and sauntered over to his small case, locked it up, and carefully put it underneath his wing. Somehow, it stayed there, almost completely motionless beneath what looked like leather against a very bright light; thin, yet strong and taut. Spike walked back towards Twilight, but not before taking a final look back at Smoke. He tested something on the top of his wings with his claws, before shooting off the ground at a speed rivaling even that of Rainbow Dash's. For a few moments, Spike just stared at the hole he left in the clouds, before abruptly bumping into Twilight head on. "Oops... Sorry about that." Twilight just gave a soft smile and finished up her conversation with Pinkie Pie. Spike headed to one of the small benches nearby and took a look at the new gift he had just been given. The cover was completely leather, or what he thought was leather. He opened to the first page, and was taken aback by the amount of writing that the author had decide fit onto a single piece of paper. Spike quickly shut the book with a soft 'thud', afraid he might drown in the sheer amount of words. He looked around and saw Twilight heading back to the library, so he grabbed his book and ran down the path to catch up. Spike put the book down by his bed and finished up sorting through the stack of history books he had started that morning. By the time he finished, it was almost 5 in the afternoon, so Spike decided to take a well deserved rest. He headed upstairs, and flopped into his small bed, stretching out on the bedding and staring at the ceiling. For some reason he couldn't quite put his claw on, his thoughts drifted to the gift he had received. A book entirely about dragons; a book that could explain what they- what he was. It was amazing, considering that Twilight's library didn't even possess a book that could explain what dragons even are. As far as ponies were concerned, dragons were all but unknown. He shot up from the bed, grabbed the leather book, and started reading as fast as he could. 'Dragons are large, reptilian animals belonging to the draconus family. They generally possess strong scales, large teeth, leathery wings, and lizard like eyes.' Although Spike had read many scientific books in his apprenticeship to Twilight, this was a bit of struggle, mostly because he had never had to read about himself, or any kind of dragons for that matter. 'There are several stages of growth to a dragon: Hatchlings/Wyrmlings, Young Wyrms, Adult/Great Wyrms, and Elders. Hatchlings or, formally Wyrmlings, are considered to be dragons possessing less than 50 years of age. They appear as smaller versions of their older counterparts, with no or small teeth, proportionate wings, and small scales. These scales will eventually fuse together to form larger, stronger scales.' At this Spike felt a little disheartened. If dragons have wings from birth, then why doesn't- He tried to push the thought out of his mind. I can worry about that later; right now, I want to learn more. 'After 50 or so years, Wyrmlings will undergo a drastic spout of growth, known as the Elaboration. After this, dragons are now considered Young Wyrms, which have several...' Spike tuned out for several pages; it was all stuff about dragons aging, their various forms, what happens biologically. It wasn't until he reached the next section that things got interesting again. On the first page of the section, there was a picture of a cross cut dragon, with scientific labels and names criss-crossing along the outside. 'There are several organs that are not found within other animals, the most famous one being the Breath Sac. Breath Sacs are small, very durable organic containers within a dragon capable of producing temperatures that can create basic elements; Water, Fire, Earth and Air. The reason behind this marvel of life is often attributed to the Dragonfire.' Spike was extremely confused by this. Dragons could only breathe fire, he thought. And what the hay is a "Dragonfire"? He noticed a small note at the bottom of the page; 'see page 250 for information on Dragonfires'. Spike would have immediately gone to that page, had a large clock not begun to ring. Spike looked around for the source of the noise, his eyes finally fixing on the small clock in the windowsill. 9:30. His eyes began to droop, his limbs falling like stones, dragging him into the soft pillows. He put the large book down behind his small bed, and let sleep overtake him. Throughout the night, he could only think of one thing; what was on page 250?
Chapter 2: A Change of PlansTwilight woke up to flipping pages and scurrying feet. Twilight gave out a small yawn, and trotted downstairs. "Spike, what's going on? It's *yawn* only 7 in the-" She stopped mid-stride. She almost pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. In front of her was a somewhat large purple dragon with green spines and small teeth standing amidst a small pile of ashes, history books piled in a nearby corner. The green eyes, the deep purple scales, it was all there. And wings. there was a single set of large, leathery, demon-like wings attached to this once lovable creature. Spike hadn't been able to sleep that night. Everything he had read was still rumbling around in his head. After about 2 hours of lying in bed and trying to sleep, he gave up trying and grabbed the Encyclopedia Draconus. He turned to page 250, the page about Dragonfires. 'Dragonfires are considered to be the souls of dragons. They are generally seen as the catalyst for the creation of Breath Sacs and Draconic Magic. Although the Dragonfire is not a physical organ of the dragon, it is a reasonable explanation for why dragons are inherently able to produce magic. Note that much of this next portion is based on theories and has been deemed unprovable.' Spike didn't care, he still wanted to know what these things were. 'Although it is often said that Dragonfires produce magic, the more likely explanation is that Dragonfires act as magic conductors, absorbing magic and formatting it to be usable by dragons. This explains why raw Maegia is not instantly absorbed by dragons upon contact. Dragons that are born without Dragonfires may possess Breath Sacs, but they will never mature into fully functioning organs; often these 'Maldrics', as they are known, also lack wings or other draconic features. Because of this, many are executed... be-because they a-are not worth...'. Spike shut the book. He felt the tears streaming down his face. No wings, very little fire... It explained all of it. Spike felt disgusted, outraged with himself. His thoughts conflicted, tearing his psyche apart. How can I be worthless? But it says right here- The hay with what it says! You're still a dragon, aren't you? The fact of the matter was that Spike didn't even know anymore. His mind was a jumbled mess of words, diagrams and evidence. He couldn't take it anymore. After he had run off to migrate with the dragons and came back, the idea of not actually being a dragon had been a sensitive subject. Through the tears that covered his eyes, he saw that the page he had closed suddenly had a small bookmark stuck in it. He opened to it, and found a note that hadn't been there before; "If you want to live in reality, follow the instructions below- Smoke". It was outrageous. How could Smoke have stuck a bookmark in there and have Spike not notice? Unless... Spike remembered that Twilight had talked about some kinds of magic that could enchant objects to give them personalities and ideas. But the spells were so complex that Twilight thought that even the Princesses might have trouble pulling them off; the idea of a young dragon doing so was impossible. Then Spike realized that he had thought that the idea of him not being a dragon was impossible as well, so there was no reason to single this out as impossible either. Below the note were some simple ingredients and a symbol Spike could only explain as a dragon scale within a scale encompassed by an octagon. The instructions read; ' Take a talon, scale and fang and place within Maegia Ring. Step inside Maegia Ring and scorch ingredients. Wait.' Spike quickly grabbed a couple of these things from Twilight's desk (she always kept the strangest things in there...) and ran to the corner where the books used to be. The talon and fang were easy to find, but the scale gave him much more trouble. No matter where he looked he couldn't find a single loose scale. Spike became desperate, scampering around the library searching for just one, just one stray scale he could use. Suddenly, he realized what the instructions wanted from him. He slowly trudged over to the ingredients and drew the symbol he had seen in the instructions. With extreme care, he plucked one of the scales from the center of his chest; a small stream of green blood came trickling out of the wound. He placed the scale at the center of the symbol, the blood giving the scale a slightly bluish hue against the purple backdrop. He mustered up as much strength as he could, and let loose a torrent of flame from his mouth. It singed the Encyclopedia slightly, but it seemed fine after he examined it later. Meanwhile, the circle grew a bright purple color, exactly the same as his scales. the green blood rose from the scale and formed a small, green crystal, something like a strange emerald. Without warning, it shot itself straight down into the scale, shattering it into a thousand tiny purple grains of sand. Suddenly, the other ingredients seemed to dissipate and melt into the floor. Spike took several steps back, before trying to make a break for it, only to be held back by some invisible force; he was trapped inside the circle. Without warning, a bright green fog came up from the symbol he had drawn, filling his lungs with what felt like rocks and his entire body with dread. When the fog finally cleared, Spike saw someone standing in the center who he had never expected to see again. His yellow eyes pierced the darkness, a claw extended in greeting. "It is nice to see you again, Spike. Did you enjoy that book I gave you?"
Chapter 3: Shards of GlassSpike stood dumbfounded. the black dragon, after several seconds, withdrew his silver claws and placed them back against his sides, his smile slowly dropping from his face. "I see you are not as glad to see me as I am." Spike's eyes darted around the room; the shield around the circle was slightly visible, like lightly tainted glass. He searched it for any gaps, any chinks at all. "I take it that you know why I am here, unless your not quite as smart as I thought." Spike was frantically looking for something, anything to use as an escape; sweat streamed down his scales like rivers of liquid fear. "You know as well as I do what you really are, Spike; a problem, a blemish in an otherwise perfect jewel. And I am going to remedy that right now." Spike couldn't speak at all. his throat closed up, his entire body froze as Smoke reached behind his back and pulled out a long, bronze sword with a hooked tip and dark red handle. "Bronze is a dragons worst enemy; we never quite developed the same resistance to it as steel or silver. However, even those would work well on you." Spike stood and simply stared at the bronze sword, the dragon who wielded it, the red glint in his eyes. His entire mind was void of emotion; he knew what was coming, and he had exhausted his energy with fear and panic. He closed his fists and took a deep breath. The glint of the bronze as it rose into the moonlight filled Spike with courage; he had made it this far, he had done well in his friends eyes. that was all he needed. The sound scales shattering was heard mere seconds later. Spike looked around. the sword had shaved off a small portion of his top spikes, the green shard hitting the floor like freshly cut emeralds. Spike fell to his knees as the blood began to pour from his head; It hurt, but not too terribly; just a system shock for the young dragon, nothing more. Spike looked up as Smoke simply stood there, the same red glint in his eyes. "And now for the important part." Suddenly, his wings wrapped around him, like he had seen in front of the fountain, forming a cloak-like covering. His claws suddenly began to grow a bluish hue, a small green ball of glass formulating in his grasp. suddenly, Smoke thrust the orb directly into the young dragon's head; a warm sensation filled Spike's head as the orb shattered on his broken spines. He suddenly felt a strong push from behind, accompanied by a flash of light. Memories rushed through his head, or at least what he thought were memories; they were more like snapshots, still photos from ages past, yet vivid enough to understand. Blood stained swords littering battlefields, Families huddled behind stone walls as troops marched past, spears stained with the cries of surrenders. And yet the troops marched on. The photos kept coming, no matter how hard he tried to ignore them, they kept coming. he couldn't stop focusing on every detail, every line of every image becoming ingrained in his head. Spike felt strange, like his body was infiltrating itself, like he was tearing down his own psyche. And then the pictures stopped coming. It was peaceful, but Spike was almost sad to see them stop. He wanted more, more knowledge, more understanding. More to fuel his suddenly ignited passion. As he got up, He saw Smoke fading from view, like a man from a dream. "And here is a parting gift, friend." As the black fist landed across Spike's astonnished face, he blacked out and felt his body hit the floor. Twilight began to back away from the monster in front of her. A small creak came from the floorboards. Suddenly, Twilight was on her stomach, an aerial assault on her back as the dragon landed on top of her. She saw the dragon in the ashes fade away, like mist in a windstorm. "looks like your crimes have finally caught up with you." said a rough voice coming from behind her head. She knew who it belonged to; she noticed the small, sweet tone buried under layers of hatred and anger. Spike pinned her down with his tail and came around in front of her. His green eyes were noticeably sharper and more defined, his scales a much deeper shade of purple. "And now I am going to set things right, Twilight." He put his claw under her chin, bringing her eyes up to his face. smoke streamed from his nostrils, his eyes gleaming with anger and revenge. "Spike, I don't understand; what are you-" "Well of course you don't understand; how could you, after all?" Spike tightened his grip on Twilight, crushing her under it's weight. "However, you couldn't have known any better; you were raised to be evil, born to be a tyrant. But now, it's over." Twilight felt sick. What was happening? What happened to the Spike she had known? "you know about the founding of Equestria; General Hurricane, Princess Platinum, and Chancellor Puddinghead. But did you know what happened next? They destroyed everything in their paths. The Diamond Dogs were forced out of their gem fields, the emeralds and sapphires used for silly dresses and fashions. The Timberwolves, the Ursas, they were all forced out because the Earth Ponies wanted land for buildings, when the fields would have served just as well. And the Dragons? They were taken as slaves or killed for food and accessories. I was one of those unlucky souls." Twilight just sat there, her head swimming and her mind grasping for a logical response. "You don't believe me, do you? then again, I couldn't have expected anything else." He drew back his tail, Twilight's body imprinted with scale marks. She rose and quickly gained what little breath she could. The shock of the sudden change in his behavior was enough to startle her, but not enough to stop her train of thought. "I don't know who told you that, but they lied to you, Spike; Ponies would never resort to violence to solve problems. Celestia wouldn't-" "Ah, Celestia." Spike turned around, his hands folded behind his back and tail swishing across the wooden floor. "The Queen of Conquest. Out of all the monarchs, she must have been the most heartless. Building the New Canterlot on top of a Draconic Nest, killing hundreds for sport, and abusing the eggs for 'education'. And now she puts on her little show of kindness for her subjects, a play to hide her true nature. She is by far the most revolting, evil, disgusting-" "SHUT UP, SPIKE!" Twilight slammed into her assistant with the force of a battering ram, pinning him to the ground with her weight. "Celestia would never do that; it's inhumane, it's barbaric, it's... it's..." Tears streamed down her face, her nostrils flaring in a brew of rage and brokenness. Spike wiped them away with a claw. "Don't cry, my friend. I didn't believe it at first. But the books don't lie, especially not your books. You're far too intelligent to let yourself be deceived." Spike stared into the eyes of his once good friend. He knew he had touched a nerve, and things couldn't be the same after this. He didn't care, and Twilight knew that. "Spike, You're wrong. I don't care what you read, You are wrong. Nopony could ever do that to another species." "And yet they have, and are still. The dragon in the Everfree, the dragon that you drove out of the mountain; Do you know why the dragons migrate every year? They are going to places nopony could ever reach, and yet you did somehow. And now they do not migrate over Ponyville anymore, for fear of being followed again. You have destroyed their sense of protection- unintentionally, of course, but destroyed still, nonetheless. Ponies have done nothing but obliterate the dragons ways of life, and you have helped the most, Twilight Sparkle. congratulations." Twilight climbed off of her assistant, and stood up straight. she shook her mane out of her face, the tears streaking her face. She simply stood there, staring at the purple dragon getting up from her floor. she stared at the pile of history books in the corner, the Encyclopedia Draconus Spike scooped up from the floor, the gleam of apathy in his eyes. But she just stood there. And then she opened the door and said two words. Two words she never thought she would have to say. Two words that destroyed any connections she had ever had with this monster. Two words. "Get out."
Chapter 4: Parting SeasSpike sat on a stump with his small book tucked beneath his arms, surrounded by the dark veil that covered the everfree, pondering what had happened that day. The outcome was not what he expected; anger, acceptance, sadness, anything but rejection. The minds of ponies certainly are strange things, he thought to himself. He opened up back to where he had left off that morning before being interrupted by Twilight. 'Although the Illusion spell is extremely practical, it requires large amounts of concentration and can only be maintained for short amounts of time. A less convincing but easier spell is the Shadowwalker spell, an incantation that gives one the ability to merge near perfectly with any sort of shadow or shade. this however is easily broken by any change in lighting, creating a silhouette of the spellcaster.' Spike closed the Encyclopedia Draconus yet again, this time out of exhaustion; the morning had taken much out of him as did his midnight encounter with Smoke. He knew all he needed to know right now, anything else would just flow right through his head. It was funny, how Smoke had changed from his enemy to his mentor within mere hours. Now that he knew more about himself, Spike felt it was time for him to change as well. He stood up, and walked through the charred remains of a tree he had burned down out of pure rage. Sometimes it felt good to just let it all out. Twilight sat on her bed in the Library, the argument playing over and over in her head, parts engraved in her memory and others she skimmed over. She wanted Spike back, yet she couldn't ask for him; it would just prove his point, something she would not allow. With Spike gone, the Library felt empty, despite Applejack and Rarity being right at her side, trying to comfort her. "I know it must be hard for ya, but ya'll gotta remember that Spike's not gone forever; he'll be back, I promise." Despite all of the assurance, Twilight still felt as bad, if not worse than before. "Applejack is right, darling; Spike wouldn't dare to leave you all alone without any help whatsoever; his little heart would be broken if he had to leave Ponyville forever." "I just don't know", Twilight finally responded. "He seemed so sincere; It was almost as though he wanted nothing to do with me in the first place." "Now don't think that, darling!" Rarity was quick to refute Twilight's statement. "Spike would never leave forever, at least not without reason; He will come back, trust me." "Then why did he leave in the first place? The Spike I know- the Spike I knew..." Twilight felt the tears coming back again, as well as all the emotions; anger, confusion, sadness, even joy. "Twilight, He's still the same Spike as always! He just got a bit angry, ya know; He'll come back around, just you wait." It didn't matter, Twilight thought; if there was any hope of him coming back, it was gone when she kicked him out of the Library that morning; Twilight was getting frustrated that her friends would be so ignorant, so quick to think Spike would just leave because of emotions. " If Spike truly meant to abandon you, he would have done it without you knowing; he will come back-" "Well maybe I don't want him to come back!" Twilight didn't really care what she said, she just had to say something. She was angry at Spike for leaving her, at Applejack and Rarity for being so blunt with such a sensitive subject, at herself for letting Spike leave. Hatred flowed from her mouth, anger blazed in her eyes. "Spike didn't leave me, I wanted him gone! He can go wherever he wants now, because I don't care!" Tears ran down her face, her voice rising ever higher. "And now he's gone because I got angry and acted on it. He's gone forever. And you know what? I don't care right now. I don't want him back, I don't want anyone right now! I just... want to be alone..." Twilight turned her back to her friends as they left, and slowly trudged up the stairs and flopped onto the bed. If she wanted to find answers, if she wanted peace, she knew she had to find the root of the problem. but not now; now she just wanted to rest, to sleep, to be alone, just her and her nightmares; just for a day, she said. just one day, yet one day was too long to wait. She got up and grabbed a quill, ink, and paper. The sun was setting, and Spike knew he had a very small window of time left. the way he had left, it would only be natural for Twilight to inform the princesses, and they would, naturally, send out search parties. As he worked his way through the Everfree, he thought of possible locations to hide for the night. The castle had many secrets, but the princesses would more than likely know about them all, so that was out. If he was a bit stronger, he might try taking another dragons cave, but in his current condition it was out of the question. Zecora would just report him if the guards came knocking, and would rat him out if she found her during her walks or collections, so nowhere with plants or anything she might need. He searched for a place, anywhere he could hide. He sat on the edge of the river, leaves and sticks floating by. Spike realized that he had found his hiding place. As the rays of dawn rippled through the waves, Spike woke to the smell of fish and gravel. It wasn't a very restful night, but it certainly worked better than any other ideas he had conjured up. He grabbed his book off the riverbed, recited the counter spell, and prepared for the oncoming torrent. The small air bubble he had summoned popped like a balloon, water, flooding in from all sides as Spike clutched the Encyclopedia Draconus and shot himself upwards. He shot out of the river and flopped onto the bank. He rolled over, laying the book next to him in a small pile of gravel kicked up next to hurried hoofprints. he smiled as he realized his prediction was right, and just stared at the sky and relaxed. He saw birds flying far above him, as well as some strays that simply flew off course a little or were flying in a completely different direction- Spike shot up. he looked to the sky, focusing as much as he could on the bird that flew north, away from the flock towards the mountain. The bird sported some large, leathery wings and a very impressive set of scales. Spike shot up from the ground, ready to try out his new wings. Somehow, he managed to sustain flight, as though he was born to. He gained altitude, and, although very cautiously and shakily, began the race to catch up with an old friend.
