//------------------------------//
// Intermission 3 - Answers - PLEASE 
// Story: Friendship is SHOWTIME!! 
// by MangaKamen 
//------------------------------//

I just wanted to grant his wish. That’s all.
-	Kintaros / Kamen Rider Den-O (Axe Form)


TTTTTT

Intermission 3

Answers – PLEASE

TTTTTT


The young unicorn lifted her head up and reeled backwards at the sight in the lobby before her. Seated on the couch with a cup of tea in his hands was a familiar, yet obviously different figure – The design was aesthetically the same to Wizard’s, but pure white with atop of his orange jeweled mask. His costume was a white robe with a familiar belt at his waist and two silver bands strapped on his chest with rings upon it. 

The masked being lifted up the tea cup to his mask and actually drank it through his bejeweled mask, “Nothing like a spot of tea to soothe the nerves.”

“W-Who are you?” Twilight asked as Spike kept next to her. 

The White Wizard placed his tea cup on the arm of the couch and placed his hands together. “Shiroi Mahotsukai – The White Wizard. And I am here to speak to you, Miss Twilight Sparkle.”

White Wizard waved his right hand up, revealing a familiar looking ring on his finger. “I am here to bestow my knowledge to you.”

Silence filled the library as Twilight and Spike stared down the White Wizard before them. The white mage tilted his head slightly as he waved his left hand. “PSYCHOKINSSIS – NOW!”

The broken remains of Haru’s Wizard helmet flew from Twilight’s back and immediately drew towards White Wizard’s open hand. “How intriguing – To think that his inner Phantom would be able to destroy a lesser Phantom imbued with a Greater Phantom’s mana. He has grown faster than I expected.”

Then with a roll of his wrist, White Wizard made the helmet float over to the horse head wood carving that Twilight had put up for decoration in the room. Twilight shook her head and trotted towards the white robed being, “Why here?”

“Hmm?” White Wizard questioned with his arms crossed. “Well, I would’ve crashed on Mary Marvel’s couch, but Darkseid already laid claim there.”

“Wait, what?” Twilight replied drawing her head back in confusion. 

White Wizard cleared his throat and waved his right hand a few times, “Sorry, I thought that joke would be relevant and cheer you up after your ordeal.”

“I got the joke,” Spike replied with a bright smile on his face. “I didn’t think anypony else read the comics in here.”

Twilight sighed loudly as she rolled her eyes, comics weren’t something often read, but since Spike liked them she had ordered them and had them in a specific wing of the library. With a shake of her head, the unicorn trotted to White Wizard, “You said White Wizard, are you the same White Wizard in the Lost Tales of the Phantoms?”

The ring on White Wizard’s left hand flashed, changing the ring on his finger, then with a wave of his hand a golden runic circle popped in front of him. “CONNECT – NOW!”

The White Wizard reached into the circle and pulled his arm out to pull out a copy of the very book that Twilight had named. The rune disappeared, and Wizard held out the book towards Twilight, “Here, have a first edition, signed copy. I was informed that you enjoy reading.”

Blinking a few times, Twilight used her magic to take the book from the White Wizard, “Someone told you about me? Who?”

“Excellent questions,” White Wizard replied as he crossed his arms. “Inquisitive, I like that. However, I do not have too much time to stay here, and I must inform you of many things. Please, enjoy some tea that your young scribe made for me while I tell you the information.”

“Can I stay and listen?” Spike questioned as he held up a cup of tea to Twilight.

“Of course,” White Wizard answered as he held up his own teacup. “I wouldn’t have it any other way – As Twilight’s number one assistant, you deserve to know what I am about to tell.”

A moment passed as White Wizard took another sip of tea through his mask and gingerly placed the teacup on the decorative plate. “I’ll start this off with a simple question Miss Sparkle, what was one of the biggest signs that signified the return of Nightmare Moon?”

With the teacup on the floor, Twilight tilted her head at White Wizard. “There were a number of signs, the alignment of the stars was one, but one of the most major ones was the day of dark sun – A solar eclipse that blocked the sun for an hour. I remember when it happened, a number of ponies were shocked at it happening, and it was then that I devoted the time into studying the moon and why it occurred.

“During my studies I came across the tale and I figured that the Mare in the Moon was responsible as a Solar Eclipse was one of the signs of her return.”

“Really? I thought it was because you got obsessive over an old mare’s tale,” Spike pointed out with a little smirk on his face. That earned him a little leer from Twilight.

White Wizard chuckled slightly as he locked his fingers, “Quite so Twilight, I am impressed that you can remember an event that occurred over eight months ago. Yes, a solar eclipse was one of the major signs of Nightmare Moon.”

“But what does that have to do with anything?” Twilight questioned. “And are you the same White Wizard in the story?”

“The day of the solar eclipse,” White Wizard sighed as he turned his head. “That was the day that this nightmare was reawakened – That was the day that many Phantoms were born.”

Twilight reeled back slightly. “Wait, Haru mentioned that Phantoms were born from despair when another Phantom was present when a pony was exposed to despair – But how would those Phantoms be born from a solar eclipse?”

“As there are many forms of magic in this world,” White Wizard replied as the ring on his left finger glowed brightly, transforming the ring once more. “There are many ways for darkness to appear and take shape in this domain. In the Lost Tales of the Phantoms, it is written that the Wise One created the first Phantom… However, it neglected to tell the process of how the Phantom was brought into this world.

“This was before the Sun and Moon were guided by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, when the sun and moon were divined by a single being. But even then, the being needed to have the moon and sun coincide once in a great while in order to restore control over both celestial bodies.

“When the solar eclipse was performed, a surge of magic would be released and imbue the land with mana as well as empower the being who controlled both the sun and moon. However, on the day that the solar eclipse, the mana that was produced was used to create the very first Phantom many years ago. Unfortunately, that is all I know about how the first Phantom was born.

“However, when the signs of Nightmare Moon’s began to appear, a being saw its chance and prepared for the solar eclipse.”

With a wave of his hand, a window of light began to materialize to the White Wizard’s side. The window flashed with light until an image of a rocky waterfront appeared in the window. On the shore there were a number of ponies – Earth ponies, pegasai, and even unicorns – but there were other sentient creatures that Twilight read about in books or had seen. There were a few griffons, a diamond dog, a zebra or two, satyrs and even a regular minotaur.  

“Whatever darkness was behind this,” White Wizard explained as he kept his hand up. “It gathered a great number of sentient beings to a secluded location. And when the eclipse occurred, it began the ritual what most of the Phantoms referred to as the Sabbath.”

On the window, the sun above the large group was beginning to be blocked by the moon itself, plunging the shore with darkness. Of course, that didn’t last long as dark purple energy erupted from the earth at their large groups’ feet. 

The dark energy traveled up their bodies, causing them all to scream – Although, there was no noise generated by the window, but the looks of pure pain and terror that were drawn to their faces were enough to make Twilight and Spike assume the worst. White Wizard cleared his throat as the beings felled to the ground as the dark energy cracked even more of the creatures’ bodies. “You may turn away if you wish.”

Spike closed and covered his eyes, but Twilight kept her eyes on the magical window – Which now displayed a chestnut colored stallion with a messy coal black mane with multiple cracks over his body. The stallion threw his head up as his body shattered like glass with many purple flames cascading from the new being that stood up tall in the stallion’s place. The being’s body was overshadowed, but was tall with beak-like shoulder pads now on its humanoid-shaped body. 

More of the beings’ bodies began to follow suit, transforming into various monstrous forms – A few looked familiar: Minotaur, Gnome and Djinn, all of which stretched their new bodies and sauntered off. Other Phantoms continued to shed their original forms and began to walk away from the ritual area. 

White Wizard nodded his head, “The Sabbath – A day of rest, or in these poor souls’ cases, the final rest for them. I tried to find the location where the ritual was taking place, but nopony can be everywhere at all time. If it wasn’t for the mass of mana that surged through the air, I wouldn’t have found this scene.”

The window shifted once more to a higher shot, showing that most of the Phantoms had cast off their original forms, or were removing the remains. “At the same time, from this darkness of despair, I found a single spark of hope.”

There was but one remaining pony amongst the wandering away Phantoms, a stallion who’s body was cracking with a pair of large, dragonic wings ripping out of his back and a dragon-like tail had replaced his regular tail. The stallion struggled to lift his head up and tried reaching towards the blocked out sun, the magical cracks trailing up his front hoof. “This young stallion was able to control the Phantom within him with only his will. While the Phantom was awakened, he still contains the monster within.”

Twilight tilted her head slightly at the image, leaning closer towards the stallion in the window. “A Phantom within… But, if this stallion was the only one who was able to survive this ritual. A stallion who’s name was…”


TTTTTT


Harpie, worse for wear in even her regular pony form, had Minotaur’s charred and wounded form slung over her body. After the four ponies had left the wounded Phantom, Harpie had returned in her pony form to pull Minotaur from the impacted area, still having the strength to pull the large phantom from the ground. However, due to Minotaur’s rage and swatting her away, one of her wings as a Phantom was damaged enough that she couldn’t fly with Minotaur in tow.

So, dragging him back to the Everfree Woods was the best option she had, and after a long journey to keep the two Phantoms from being seen, she reached the clearing where this whole incident had begun. When she did, Harpie dropped her Phantom companion to the ground, “Hellhound! Where are you?”

“H-Harpie?” Hellhound gulped as he slowly emerged from the bushes nearby, his eyes wide and his body shaking slightly. “I… I see you’re back. Is, is Minotaur okay?”

The pony disguised Phantom blinked a few times at Hellhound’s odd behavior and trotted towards her fellow disguised Phantom. “Hellhound, what’s wrong? You didn’t follow me, you’re actually showing concern, and you’re shaking. What in Tartarus is wrong with you?”

“Fear…”

Harpie’s ears perked up when that voice sounded from behind her, and when a bright light surged from behind her and made her turn back to Minotaur, seeing a fiery figure stand next to the fallen Minotaur, even going so far as to have his foot atop of Minotaur’s chest. The being in question cackled as he lifted up one of his hands, a powerful flame erupting around his fist, “It resides in the hearts of all living creatures, dwelling deep within them silent, waiting like an unlit fuse to explosives.

“But all it takes is a single spark to make that fear absorb an entire being’s existence. The fear of death, the fear of the unknown, the fear of failure – It matters not what form it takes – Fear follows anybody like their shadow.”

The fiery being tossed the fire up and down in his hand a few times. “What do you call something that even monsters fear? What is a name that is tied to fear? What makes even the most diabolical of nightmares pale in comparison?”

Harpie trotted backwards, trying to put more distance between her and the fiery being “M-Master Phoenix!?!”

The being sighed loudly as he pulled his foot from Minotaur’s back and stepped into the moonlight, the flames from his body slowly disappearing to reveal himself. He was tall, sleek, covered in shiny red armor with gold trim and lines on it. At his broad shoulders were a pair of golden shoulder pads that were beak-shaped while at his helmeted head were red, wing-like protrusions that stuck out from both sides of his helmet. “Hehehahahaha, to see that look upon your face, it sends shivers down my own spine. And I’m glad you remember my name, you poor excuses of Phantoms.”

“W-Why are you here?” Harpie asked, gulping down her own fear at the same time. 

“Why?” Phoenix asked as he lifted his arms up into the air. “Because somepony tasks me! He tasks me and I shall have him. Round the moon of Equestria, I chuckle at thee! Beyond the corpulent clouds, I chuckle more at thee! Revenge is a dish best served with pinto beans and muffins! 

“Kirk! Old friend I… Wait… What am I saying!?” 

Both Hellhound and Harpie looked to each other before Phoenix cleared his throat, “Sorry about that, I tend to go overboard with those kinds of things. But that doesn’t mean that the first part of what I said isn’t relevant – A while back, some flank thought it was a good idea to anger me by stealing one of my special feathers.

“I don’t take kindly to flanks who think they can steal from me and get away with it!”

Several flames erupted from Phoenix’s back for a moment, making both of the other Phantoms lean closer to each other, trying to protect each other from the rage that Phoenix was displaying. Taking a deep breath, Phoenix turned his attention towards the knocked out Minotaur, “Originally, I tracked the thief here, and much to my surprise, I found this flank here with a very familiar ability when I was coming here. I should end his pathetic existence right here and now!”

To illustrate his point, Phoenix threw his right hand to the side, creating a large flame at his fingertips – the flames changing into a large wing-hilted broadsword. With a spin of his wrist, Phoenix held his broadsword at Minotaur’s neck. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure this one out!”

“No! Stop!” Harpie cried out as he galloped towards Phoenix.

The fiery Phantom cackled loudly before he made his broadsword disappear in a flutter of sparks, making Harpie skid to a stop. “Oh, I wouldn’t do that – Not yet anyway. I’m not interested in this little thief anymore.

“Yes, my eyes are only drawn to the Mage that I saw beat this guy down! And damn it, I want a crack at him so badly!”

“Wait, what?” Harpie questioned tilting her head.

Phoenix laughed as he turned his back to Harpie and looked to the moon hanging in the night’s sky, slowly he lifted his hand up towards the moon and curled his fingers slightly. “Stronger than before. Powered up for more. Phantoms at the core! Higher I can soar! I’m fired up for more! This ring mage evens up the score! 

“I can’t explain it, but ever since I took my first steps as a Phantom, there’s been a void in my very soul – A void that’s been filled temporarily whenever I fight against some of the deadliest of creatures that our master has me face off against – Hydras, Tartarus Hounds, Ursa Majors… Tartarus! I’ve even fought against full grown dragons!

“But this Mage… Ooh! This mage! I’ve never felt so excited! If he can defeat a lower classed Phantom who was given a mere taste of my power, just imagine the fight we could have if we ever clashed!”

Harpie shuddered at the thought.

Phoenix turned his head back towards the disguised Phantom and lifted his hand up towards her, “But in order for that fight to happen, I must give him a proper reason to fight, and from what I heard, he has a tendency to protect those he cares about… A bleeding heart, how appropriate.

“In order for me to make him give his all, I’ll push this entire land to the edge of despair if I have to! And your group is gonna help me pull this off! I may be one of the most feared Phantoms in all of Equestria, but that’s just it, I’m only one Phantom.

“So, I’m gonna say this, either your group helps me, or a certain member of your group will become dust in the wind. And looking at the poor sucker, he doesn’t seem to possess my feather anymore.”

Harpie turned back to Hellhound, who was still frozen in fear of the Phantom before the two of them. When she nodded towards him, Hellhound lowered his head, with Harpie doing the same a few moments later. Phoenix cackled as he clasped his hands together with flames erupting from between his fingertips. “Ah, soon, my blade shall soon taste blood!”

Above the clearing was a familiar, green pegasus seated atop of a cloud with a large smile planted on his face. “Oooh! I didn’t think that he’d actually follow me to Ponyville, but, I guess this’ll just double the fun! Hehehehehehehee! 

“Let’s see, I’ve wrecked about ten percent of Ponyville, made the resident Phantoms paranoid, made the Ring Mage attack his friends, and I’ve even managed to bring one of the higher ups here! And all I did was pluck a single molting feather.

“Now that’s convenience!”


TTTTTTT


“Haruto Souma?” Twilight muttered as the magical window that White Wizard created flashed brightly, showing that after the solar eclipse had passed, the entire coast was devoid of almost any living being with several scraps of black ashes floating about the area. “But, there wasn’t a dragon there and…”

“How can a pony become a dragon?” Spike asked with his head tilted up. 

“You’d be surprised what magic lays within this world,” White Wizard replied with his other hand lifted up. “I’ve seen a carp swim up a waterfall to a gate at the top, and when it did, it emerged as a serpentine dragon once it passed the gate. If a fish can become a marvelous being like that…”

The window’s image shifted, panning the coastline to reveal a familiar, sleek, red dragon laying on the ground. The dragon stirred a few times before he began to push himself off of the rocky shore. “Then a dragon can be born from within a pony. Anything is possible in this world – a princess trapped within the moon itself, a deity of chaos trapped within stone, monstrous beings escaping from within a living creature, and even more mysteries to this world – the possibilities are endless, Miss Sparkle.”

The dragon stood up straight, shakily trying to gather his balance as he realized that he was on his hind legs and had claws. The dragon stumbled back in surprise and fell back to the ground with a look of pure fear strew upon his face.

That face.

It was a face that Twilight and Spike knew all too well – After all, it was the same face they saw every morning over the past few weeks in the morning and at night. Those blue eyes and those black spines that resembled a hair style, the only thing that was different was the look of pure terror and surprise that was plastered on his scaly face. 

Twilight sighed as she looked down at the ground, “So, Haru is… Or was…”

“Yes, a pony,” White Wizard answered with a nod of his head. “Please continue watching.”

The young unicorn lifted her head up and watched as another scaled figure slowly walked up from behind the still freaked out Haru. Slowly, the red dragon turned his head around to see that what stood behind him was a green and white scale-armored monster whose armor was similar to what some Ponympian warriors used to wear, Twilight had remembered seeing it in some of her text books. The monster’s face was fully armored save for a large red jewel in the middle of its upper forehead. 

“A Phantom,” Twilight gasped with her hooves to her mouth.

The Haru on the screen reacted pretty much the same way as the scaled Phantom lifted up its hand and leapt from the rocks. However, before the Phantom got too close, a golden, runic circle appeared in front of it and propelled the Phantom through the air.

Haru turned his head, and the window panned to show that the White Wizard was standing a few yards away from where the young dragon was. With that, the window disappeared, with the White Wizard waving his free hand about, “I regret not showing up in time to stop the Sabbath. So many lives ended, so many monsters created, those lost lives I will bear for the rest of my days. 

“But I am not here to drown you in my self-pity Miss Sparkle and Scribe Spike. I came to share my apprentice’s origin with you, when the Sabbath occurred, his life was taken from him in another manner. Now he walks Equestria in that form, quite possibly for the rest of his days.”

“Is being a dragon so bad?” Spike questioned with his eyes narrowed. 

White Wizard chuckled as he stood up from the couch and walked past the two librarians, his arms folded behind him, “Of course it isn’t. But from Haruto Souma’s perspective, his life has forever changed – Even though he caged the Phantom within him by his own will, the damage was done to his body. The Phantom had awakened enough to transform his body into the Wizard that you know.”

“It’s just so unbelievable,” Twilight stated as she trotted behind the tall, mysterious mage. “I never heard of anypony being transformed into completely different species before.”

“Indeed, but you must have found it odd,” White Wizard replied, keeping his back to the unicorn and dragon. “Dragons do not possess cutie marks, yet Haruto Souma has one. Albeit, it changed the moment I trained him in the ways of magic, as his new talent had emerged.”

“Once again, you’re talking the impossible,” Twilight stated as she trotted in front of White Wizard. “Once a cutie mark has been discovered, nothing can change it!”

“And once again, I say that the impossible isn’t as impossible as one thinks,” White Wizard answered as he knelt down to look Twilight in the eyes. “You’ve seen creatures that should only exist in nightmares appear before you, even attack you and your friends. You just watched as many creatures become those very nightmares. However, I didn’t come here to argue the laws of nature with you.”

White Wizard lifted his right hand to his chest and lowered his head, “Rather, I came to ask that you forgive my student for his actions.”

“T-That’s not necessary,” Twilight replied, a little taken back by the regal wizard suddenly bowing down towards her. “I… I know that it wasn’t Haru who went berserk, it was the Phantom within him that did – Dragon.”

“Wait, what happened?” Spike asked as he walked up to Twilight. 

“Spike, I’ll tell you later,” Twilight muttered under her breath, her throat was still burning slightly from where Haru… No, where Dragon had grabbed her.

“Twilight, please,” Spike pleaded. “If something bad happened, I have to know!”

Before Spike could continue pleading for an answer, a gloved hand was placed atop of his head, making the dragon to turn to the White Wizard who looked at him. “Please young scribe, Miss Sparkle will explain what happened immediately after I have finished my business here. I have nearly finished, so please trust in your foster sister.”

For some reason, Spike just looked into the orange jeweled mask and nodded towards the magical being. White Wizard stood up and pulled his hand back, “Thank you, noble dragon. Miss Sparkle, I hope that you understand a little more about your friend Haruto Souma.”

“Yes, but why did you tell us this?” Twilight questioned as she lifted a hoof up towards the White Wizard. “Haru already told me and a few of my friends that he had a Phantom inside of him, and I could’ve easily figured that it wasn’t him in control. So why tell us this?”

“Haruto Souma considers himself a light of hope,” White Wizard answered as he lifted his right hand up into the air once more, the ring glowing brightly. “And it is true that he is, but even a small flame such as his cannot withstand the mass of darkness that the Phantoms have unleashed. Even hope cannot stand alone.

“Truth, Compassion, Joy, Charity, Faithfulness and Mysticism – Hope may be necessary, but without those attributes, hope cannot survive in the face of true evil. Twilight Sparkle, you have witnessed the power that Hope can perform, and you have experienced what the other six attributes are capable of. 

“I ask that you keep Haruto Souma on this path of hope, for when combined with the attributes, a miracle shall awaken.”

“CONNECT – NOW!”

The golden runic circle popped in front of White Wizard and he reached into it with both of his arms. When he pulled his arms out of the circle, the Wizard revealed that in his arms were three, rather nicely gift-wrapped boxes. White Wizard placed all three of them on the floor before Twilight and Spike, and then he bowed slightly, “Here, these are gifts for you, your scribe, and my apprentice – You may open them at your leisure. 

“I must ask that you keep my apprentice’s gift with you, knowing how this world works, then your paths shall cross again. Open it if you wish.”

Before Twilight could question the White Wizard’s reasoning, Spike’s eyes gleamed brightly as he quickly found his gift, the largest amongst the three presents and quickly tore into it. Wrapping paper flew through the air and surprised Twilight. “Spike! We’ve got company!”

“It’s quite alright,” White Wizard replied with a wave of his hand. “Where I originate from, it’s tradition for a guest to give his hosts a present, it respects the home and the hosts. Normally, it’s just little trinkets or food, so I decided to get him a…”

“EMERALD!” Spike cried out with joy as he held up a large, shiny emerald in his claws, licking his chops.

“Well, yes,” White Wizard replied with a slight chuckle as he watched Spike lick the emerald. “I apologize for not giving them when I first appeared, but there were other details that needed to be taken care of immediately.”

“But, you’ve just made more questions than answers,” Twilight stated with her eyes narrowed slightly at the mysterious mage. “Like why did you showed up here out of the blue? Why didn’t you help Haru with the Phantom? And how do you know so much about me and Spike?”

“If all the answers to life were handed to us,” White Wizard replied as the ring on his finger glowed brightly. “Then no one would grow, life would be dull, and this world would grow smaller with every passing second. I cannot give you all the answers Miss Sparkle, rather, that is for you all to decipher and I can merely give you the tools necessary to find the right path. 

“It is the same for my apprentice, what he does with this gift or curse is up to him. As a great mind once said – ‘Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.’ It is how my apprentice shall learn, it is how he shall grow, and with you and your friends, you all shall grow alongside him.”

“TELEPORT – NOW!”

A familiar runic circle appeared at the White Wizard’s feet, and began to slowly rise. As it did, the mage’s body slowly disappeared as the runic circle passed his body. The White Wizard bowed towards Twilight and Spike, “Well, it has been a pleasure Miss Sparkle, but I must be off. Spike, thank you for the tea, we must do it again sometime in the future.”

“Wait!” Twilight called out as the circle reached up to the White Wizard’s waist. “Why even bother telling me about Haru’s past if you’re not going to tell me everything?!”

“Because,” White Wizard replied with a finger brought up to the mouth of his mask. “I owe Lady Celestia a few favors, and I can cross this one off of the list.”

“Wait, what?!?” Both Twilight and Spike questioned as the rune quickly reached the top of White Wizard’s chest. 

With a wave of his hand, the weird mage nodded towards the two before the rune completely engulfed him. “Ta ta! Cheerio! Pip pip!”

And with that, the White Wizard disappeared from the library’s lobby, leaving Twilight slightly dumbfounded and Spike a little confused, but shrugged it off and nibbled on the emerald he just got. Twilight blinked a few times before she rolled her eyes. “I… I don’t… It’s too late for this sort of thing.”

Spike didn’t say a word, rather just munched on the emerald. The young unicorn turned her attention to the gifts that the weird mage left behind. 

Using her magic, Twilight brought the two remaining gifts to her and tilted her head slightly as she looked at them. The smaller of the two presents was placed on the nearby table as it was labeled ‘Haruto Souma’, still using her magic though, Twilight unwrapped the other present to reveal another book. This book was leather bound with a familiar symbol etched into the cover – The same symbol that the White Wizard’s magic created whenever he used it. ‘A tome? What is this?’

Twilight opened the book, with the pages turning revealing that most of the pages in the tome were blank – Save for the first page. ‘This is a spell! Could this be a spell book?’

However, before Twilight could even work with the spell, the unicorn shook her head – Fatigue was starting to rear its ugly head over her. Using her magic to place the book on the table, Twilight trotted over to Spike who had managed to finish off half of the emerald. “Spike, you may want to save the rest of that for tomorrow.”

Spike actually burped slightly as he licked his chops of the emerald dust at his mouth. “Awe… But it’s sooooooooooooo tasty! Can’t I have a little more?”

Twilight smiled at her dragon scribe, “It’s getting late, and I need to tell you a few things of my own Spike.”


TTTTTTT


Meanwhile, at one of the nearby mountains, still wearing the ragged Wizard outfit over his form, Haru leaned against one of the many trees with tears streaming from his eyes. The red dragon held up his gloved claws, taking note that they were shaking with every breath he took. “W-Why?”

‘Because I am awakening…’

Haru shook his head before he buried his face in his claws, “Shut up! Shut up!”

‘My voice shall not be silenced, Haruto Souma. I am your inner despair, and I shall be freed!’

“N-No!” Haru shouted into the night. “I’ve managed to keep you at bay so far and I…”

‘Your will is cracked… It is only a matter of time before you shall share the same fate.’

Then realization struck Haru as he lifted his head up, his eyes narrowed down, “… No, I won’t let you have your way, Dragon. I won’t let you hurt the friends I’ve made…”

‘Bold words, but that’s all they are. We’ll see how long you’ll last… Haruto Souma. Your hope will not last forever.’

Haru didn’t say another word as the Wizard suit slowly faded from his body, exposing his scaly body to the cold night’s air. ‘… I’ve gotten used to sleeping indoors. I need to change that again, I have to, for their sakes.’

TBC