A Hall of Mirrors

Spike 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."