Celestia and Luna both appeared in Twilight's Castle and began calling out for her or any of her friends. They checked the round front room, the guest and private quarters, even in the basement and couldn't find hide nor hair of her. They began to fear the worse.

"Go check the kitchen, I'll look in the dining room!" Luna called out as she and Celestia split up from each other. Celestia made a quick right into the kitchen and to her relief saw Spike stirring a pot. She was about to call out his name until the contents of the pot wafted in her nose and she covered her snout. Spike stopped stirring for a moment and then he slowly turned around. His body was his own, but eyes were not. Instead of the emerald green his eyes normally were, they were a sickly yellow with one of his pupils being completely collapsed. Celestia's ears dropped as did her wings in shock and fear. Spike was standing before her, either on the verge or had already turned into one of those things.

"Twilight wants be to boil it, to see if we can get something from it, or was it see how it reacted, I don't recall. They said the-- they said the Locket was the key, but now I can't hear them and they left me with something... I can see it, faintly out of the corner of my eyes... It makes a small dripping sound... Drip, drop..."

He turned back to the pot and began to stir the already burned contents, all while muttering about the dripping sounds. Celestia peaked over his shoulder to see a black sludge being stirred, but the smell of iron and copper was thick in the air. There was no way it could be--

"'Of Blood we become One, and of One we become Blood' or at least that's what the voices before told me. So I stir the blood, hoping to become one with them. All I've gotten was a sticky black sludge... Maybe they will give me more...?" He said before stepping down from the stool, he paid Celestia no mind as he calmly walked to the back of the room where he rounded a corner. Suddenly an avian cry was heard and soon after was silent again. Spike walked back in the kitchen, blood now on his face and the dead corpse of an owl in his hands. "In Blood we are reborn, and in Blood will it it end." He said before slamming the whole bird corpse in the pot and cutting it to pieces with his razor sharp claws.

Celestia's cheeks turned green. While she had seen Death on the battlefield, that is where it belonged, on the battlefield, but was Spike did was just.... wrong. She was about to stop the drake when a sudden sharpness was felt in her leg. Looking down, she had a big kitchen knife stuck in her foreleg, the same one Spike was using before. She didn't cry out in pain, but the shock of the sudden action made her pale and let out a small yip. She pulled it out and watched as her own blood dripped slowly down the knife, then dropped it rather unceremoniously. It clanked to the floor, and it caught Spike's attention. He saw the knife sitting on the floor when it was supposed to be in her leg.

"Why did you do that...?" Spike said slowly as he grabbed the knife again. Staring at the blood on the knife he dipped it in the pot and the pot began to give off a blue smoke. It made him smile for some reason. Celestia did not like that smile nor the way he was looking at her. "Yours... Give me your blood. Twilight will love the results." Celestia didn't say anything but shake her head. Spike's eyes grew more draconic as a sudden growth made him the size of large teenage dragon. Now on all fours, and the knife somehow had gotten bigger, he snarled and gave a startling roar. "GIVE IT TO ME!"

Celestia backpedaled to get out of the room, only to find it blocked by the smoke that Spike made. It was like a solid cloud, one that she couldn't break with her natural pegasus magic. She gulped and slowly made her way around the kitchen while Spike did the same, following her every move. "Spike, I know you're in there," she plead, "I know the strong, number one assistant of Twilight is there some where, you just need to fight it."

Spike was clearly having a hard time, whatever was controlling him was having a real struggling match. "I... Princess..." Spike growled out. He threw his head into the counter, causing the whole thing to shake. "OUT! YOU MUST LEAVE!" He shouted slamming his head into the counter once more. From the corner of her eye, she saw the blue fog disappear and took the chance. Now outside the room, the fog re-sealed with Spike still inside... At least she hoped. The last thing she heard was Spike yell, before some cross between a roar and an elephant was heard throughout the castle. Celestia turned back to the fogged door and bowed her head. Hopefully Luna had found Twilight.

Luna could do nothing but stare. The door to Twilight's room was thrown off the hinges, but that's not what she was shocked about. What she saw inside, looked like Twilight, sounded like her too. Only it wasn't her. A rambling madmare would make more sense, but this thing in front of her was not Twilight.

*chop, chop*

The purple hoof holding the large ax went up and down in a very methodical way, as if she was looking for something. The way the ax struck in different places each time was either that of an unsteady hoof, or just somepony who had simply gone mad. The random pony that was under said ax was dead sure enough. Only, for the looks and smell of it, she was dead for a long time. No blood splattered, only a thick black gunk. Twilight was about to bring the ax down again, before she stopped mid swing and slowly looked at the door. Her pupils were slits, and she wore a patch on one eye; the patch itself was mostly red. "You..." Twilight slowly said as she stood up slowly, stumbling on herself. "You, can you hear them? The sticky sounds of the blood dripping ever so softly. They toiled it, and spoiled their own home with it. They turned into monsters, beings beyond our understanding. She was about to one..." She pointed at the corpse. "She was going to be a monster, so I had to do it. He told me to do it."

"Twilight," Luna cautiously stepped into the room. "Who is he?"

"The one with no form, he exists only in voice, but some say they can see him in the blood... Some say he is the blood... But in know where he is, and he's in all of us..." She said as hefted the ax in her magic. "YOU JUST NEED TO LET HIM OUT!" She screamed and threw the ax as fast as she could. Luna barely had enough time to cast a small barrier around her head as the ax bounced off and clattered to the floor. Twilight wasted no time in grabbing the ax again trying to hack away at Luna, but she was half blind on her right side, so she never saw Celestia fly in and take her with her magic. "LET ME GO! HE NEEDS TO BE FREED!" she yelled and snarled. Celestia turned to ask but never got the chance to speak before Spike's elephant-like roar pierced through the castle.

"Luna, knock her out, we'll take her with! We need to watch out for Spi--!" She was saying when the crystal wall exploded to reveal something that was almost Spike. It had two heads that shared a mouth, one on top, and the other on the bottom. His neck was elongated like a serpent, and his new wings were bulky, and obviously not meant for flying. His arms and legs were bulky too, yet his claws were thin, like scalpel blades. All three princesses stared at the new arrival before his deafening roar shook probably all of Ponyville. Celestia, still holding Twilight did not wait for Luna to cast her spell, and instead grabbed a big enough crystal-stone, and looked at Twilight apologetically. "Sorry." She said before slamming the rock behind her head knocking her out instantly. "RUN! We need to lose him!" She shouted at Luna, and they all made a break for the door.

Spike followed behind chasing and chomping, trying to bite into their flesh. Luna and Celestia with Twilight being held on Luna's back, both kept dodging and weaving between the dragon who had wanted so desperately to devour them. The front gate was greeting them before the blueish fog began to settle. However fog or not, Spike gained speed and jumped in front of the two monarchs. His eyes, all four of them, looked at them with an intense malice. He snarled and let out a mighty roar that reverberated around the crystal walls. That's when both of them heard it. A small, arcane whisper. It was a sticky, wet sound, like that of someone shushing underwater, but it was enough to know what they had to do.

As unfortunate as the situation seemed, they would have to kill Spike in order to get through the fog. Both looked at each other before they both nodded in agreement. "Noble Spike," Luna began, "in all the years in service to Equestria, as one of the closest friends of the former Element of Magic, we, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, will give you the only gift we can give." She said before pulling out the sword and spear from before. Magic saddlebags, they do wonders. Tossing the spear to Celestia she and her gave one last nod before assuming stance.

"We will grant you... a swift death." Luna said, albeit hesitantly. Celestia and Luna both began to circle around the creature until something odd occurred to them.

"Where's Twilight?" Celestia said looking at Luna. Before she could respond, they heard Spike growl. Turning they saw Twilight going to the beast. Luna and Celestia both began to call out her name before a powerful magic bubble was placed around them. Twilight, no longer having the crazed look of before looked back with a slight glare before turning back to Spike, who was still growling.

"You've made quite the mess, mister." Twilight said in an even voice. Spike, for the most part, didn't seem moved. "Look, this castle isn't even 30 moons old, and you ruin the place? I thought I taught you better Spike." She said hugging one of his beefy forearms. A small sound came from Spikes throat as he laid his heads down to see Twilight better. "You really are a dragon, through and through though. You made minced meat of the walls." A small chuckle. "...But for what it's worth? I'd give anything for my little brother back." Hugging his forearm tighter. A red, moon-like aura surrounded Spike as he shrank in size, until he was the tiny baby dragon that everyone had know.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what--!" He was silenced by a hoof. His tears streaked down his face and the fog had silently lifted. Celestia and Luna managed to dis-spell the bubble in time to see them hugging it out. Twilight pawed the eyepatch and turned to the other two.

"I received a package about a moon ago, inside were hair samples, saliva, blood, and what looked to be a piece of an antler." It was sent from my most trusted guard, yet it said that was a note attached, which I'm guessing since you're hear, and after what happened... This note was in Canterlot still?" A nod. "I see... I see."

Luna perked up. "A moon ago? Sister when did you find that note?"

"Why, today! I thought I had told you it was a moon since-- Wait.... they've been all afflicted with the sickness for a moon.... Oh no..." Celestia's eyes went wide as she looked to Canterlot. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her magnificent city, one that she had spent years upon years on.

It was now host to a rising pillar of smoke and she could hear the fire crackle from where she was standing.

Author's Note

Inspiration for Spike came in the form of this Yugioh monster I had lying around