Learning to Cope

"word" Pony Language

"word" Dragon language

It was late at night, roughly a week after Spikes second "episode" and about a month since his first. Although the town and all of his friends have forgiven him for what he had done, there was someone whose forgiveness just couldn't be given… his own. Every night for the past week he's been alone outside the library trying to decide whether or not to run away. He hated himself; he hated who he's become.

He looked down at his claws; he resembled himself the morning after his birthday, a tall almost lanky lizard with sharp fangs. Although the greedy impulses haven't returned, he is tormented by another and more sinister evil, bloodlust.

He noticed the sky begin to lighten, the sun was coming up and Twilight would be up soon. He began to walk back into the library, prepared to endure another day of hell, but something stopped him, like he was being called by something, coming from Everfree Forest, without a second thought he ran into the forest.

His search led him deep into the forest to a cave… the same cave he'd run away to when he thought Twilight replaced him with an owl. He stepped back in apprehension. "I came like you asked now show yourself," he called without a hint of confidence in his shaky voice. His voice had gotten deeper over the week.

There were some stomping noises and the ground started shaking in time with the noises. Just as Spike was about to run a familiar green dragon walked out of his home and stared at Spike who was unable to move under his paralyzing glare. The adult dragon lifted up a claw, Spike flinched in fear expecting an attack. However, it never came he opened his eyes to find a claw placed on his head.

He looked up to see an approving look on the elder's face. "I'm proud of you whelp, you've proven your prowess as a dragon," he said, his deep voice resonating softly with a guttural quality to it. It wasn't any language Spike knew, but he could understand it nonetheless.

"So you know what's happening to me?" Spike asked, attempting to speak the language the elder spoke.

"You can speak in dragon tongue, as expected," he said as if not hearing Spike's question "I knew I made the right choice when I chose to track you"

"Track me? So you know of the events that transpired this past month" he found it easier to speak and pronounce words in this language than in Pony Language, it felt natural to him.

"Correct, I know of your actions, and quite frankly I would have even I wasn't tracking you," The older dragon stated in a light tone. "You made quite the commotion, I was afraid you weren't going to snap out of your greed trance."

"Greed Trance? What does that mean? Tell me…" Spike paused shrinking back as the older dragon stared at him looking flustered.

"My name is Vice, come into my cave I'll explain everything," Vice calmly stated walking into his cave. Regaining his senses, Spike ran after him.

"Vice, please tell me what you know, why have you been trailing me and what's happening to me anyway?" Spike asked accidently slipping out of Dragon Tongue.

"I recommend speaking in our native tongue, it'll get harder to speak in other languages as you age, so get used to it," Vice said with an authoritative tone "Every dragon, at least the ones I know, go through an episode of extreme greed where they age rapidly, then come to their senses and revert to normal, like you did. Those who don't, they go insane and end up getting killed, but I digress. After that ends, the dragon starts maturing, but at a slower rate, and without the greedy impulses… Questions?" He paused expecting a response

"What about this bloodlust?" Spike asked confused "Why do I feel the need to rend things limb by limb, or slowly burn them alive, or…" Spike's voice began to take on a lustful tone, but he noticed and slapped himself trying to snap out of it. "You get the gist of it"

"That young whelp is your primal side. It is the outward manifestation of your rage and greed, you'll gain control of it as time goes by. If that's all then you may go, I expect to hear from you soon"

"O-ok umm bye then" Spike waved as he walked outside the cave and began to walk back to Ponyville.

Back at the library Spike walked into the still dark main room. He looked around the room looking for the entrance to the bedroom. The light clicked on around him and he flinched at the change in brightness.

"Spike, would you mind informing me where you've been all night?" Twilight sternly asked, obviously knowing that Spike had snuck out.

"I just took a walk in an attempt to clear my head, I've been really stressed lately" Spike replied not realizing he was still speaking in Dragon Tongue.

"Come again?" Twilight asked confused by the language she didn't understand. "You're speaking gibberish Spike"

"Oh… I'm sorry Twi. I was taking a walk trying to clear my head cause I'm stressed by all these changes." Spike said with minor difficulty. "I didn't tell you cause I thought you were asleep."

"Well okay Spike, you have been through a lot, just let know next time you go out at night so I don't worry ok?" Spike nodded meekly, eyes cast toward the ground. "Good, I'm just glad you're alright," she said walking over the dragon whelp. "And that you're not all grabby like you were last time you looked like this"

Spike laughed in response to her statement. "I'm here for some help if you need it."

"Please do, some rowdy colts came by while you were gone and threw the library out of order. I need your help to put it back in order." Spike smiled slightly and nodded, quickly moving to do his requested work.

The next night, Spike was beginning to feel anxious. He went to bed early that night hoping he would feel better, but he only felt worse lying alone in that big dark room only strengthened his urges. He walked out into the main room to see Twilight at her desk. "Twilight, I'm going out," Spike said walking for the door.

"You want company Spike? It worries me when your out alone," She asked him with a tone of concern her gaze moving back to the book she was reading.

"No… I would like to do this alone" Spike said rather slowly, as if having trouble forming the words

"Do what alone?" Twilight asked confused about his word choice.

"The…w-walk" he stuttered.

"Ok… please be careful Spike" She looked toward the door to see that Spike was gone.

Spike ran silently through the Everfree forest on all fours to reduce noise. He appeared as if he was hunting. He came to a hut in the middle of the forest and stared in the window, an evil sadistic smile graced his face showing off his shard fangs.

Against what her mind was telling her, her body's fatigue had forced Twilight to head to bed before Spike got back. She woke up that morning assuming that Spike was home. She looked toward where he usually slept only to see that he wasn't there. "Spike! Are you home?" she called through the library getting only silence as a response. She panicked and jumped out of bed and ran into the main room of the library. The dragon was nowhere to be found. "Ok think Twilight, where would Spike go walking that late," She pondered to herself. "He went to Everfree Forest last time so there's a good chance he went there. I'll go ask Zecora if she's seen him, she knows that forest better than anyone." With those last words Twilight ran out into the forest toward Zecora's hut.

When she arrived the door was left open a crack and there was no sound coming from the hut, usually she hears something coming from the hut like a rummaging noise or some chanting, but it was almost eerily quiet. "Zecora are you home?" she called poking her head into the hut. She stepped into the hut, which looked as if a hurricane tore through the living room. The air smelled of blood and decay, the cauldron was knocked over and all of her trinkets here broken. Upon closer inspection there was what appeared to be blood splattered all over the hut. She walked into the back room and saw something that horrified her. She saw a stripped carcass of who she guessed was once Zecora with black and white hair splayed throughout the room. Behind the corpse was a reptilian shed skin colored purple and green and covered in blood. "This is Spike's shed," she said under her breath. She began to feel disoriented she ran out of the hut to get some air

"What have I done?" she heard a voice call from behind the hut. It spoke with difficulty and sounded like a deeper version of Spike's voice.

"Spike? Is that you?" Twilight called out to the voice. Earning no response she walked behind the hut. She saw Spike curled up behind the hut, staring at his blood-soaked claws. He had grown significantly since he'd left the library. "Spike! What happened?" she said running over the dragon as he looked over to her, his eyes wide with fear.

"Twilight, I'm sorry," He spoke slowly with trying not to trip on his words with blood dripping from his mouth when he talked, his red-dyed fangs clearly visible. Below his left claw was the decapitated head of Zecora

A/N: This story is meant to be psychotic so please no flames. Also expect the rest of the chapters to be shorter than chapter 1 just because chapter one was supposed to be a One-Shot and those are generally pretty long.