Emerald Fires

by FolkloreBrony


Chapter 6-Metamorphosis

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Chapter 6-Metamorphosis
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The sun was sinking low into the mountain range as Twilight flew across the skyline above Ponyville, searching desperately for the Alicorn that had escaped from her custody. However, her search high and low was completely fruitless, save for putting in some extra flight time. It was almost as if he had completely fallen off the face of the map. Nopony in the town had claimed to have seen him, and adding onto her frustration was the fact that she had started a mild panic among them by informing everypony that he was no longer under her watch-care.

They had arrived back in town around six o'clock after their unexpected meeting with Mr. Folklore, and had immediately made their way to the castle, intent on doubling the security detail on the potentially destructive stallion. Mr. Folklore had obviously been disturbed by the news of his arrival, and after what he had said, and not wanting to take any chances, Twilight would see to it that he wouldn't pose a threat to Equestria. But they were horrified to find Flash and the guards petrified, held in their aggressive positions when they had tried to overtake him before he paralyzed them, completely helpless to stop him from ransacking the kitchen. The floor was a complete mess; crumbs juice spills, empty jars, and pillaged shelves were all that was left of Twilight's pantry. She had just bought those groceries! Now she would have to go to the market and spend more of her money, just to replace what had been taken by this colt's apparent appetite. Freeing the guards, it only made the dark pit developing in her stomach to dig deeper inside her when Flash told her that the alicorn's magic inhibitor had been completely useless. That inhibitor would have stopped Celestia herself, and it didn't even weaken him. What the hell was he?

Deciding to return to the castle, Twilight landed within a few steps of the front doors, where her friends waited, hoping for some progress in her search.

"Did ya see anythin'?" Applejack asked.

"No, I can't find him anywhere," Twilight grimmest, "The only lead I could get was that there has been a mysterious new unicorn that's been wondering around Ponyville, but nopony knows where he went either."

"Well, he couldn't have gotten far, especially in his condition." Rainbow Dash pointed out, landing right beside Twilight with no useful information herself.

The nervous glances shared by everypony paralleled the situation that they were in. None of them knew of these pony's intentions and weren't in the mood to find out. They wanted nothing more than for somepony to find him in an alley conveniently slipped back into another coma, making their circumstances a whole lot easier. But that was an unlikely outcome, and the only thing that put their worries at ease at the moment was the fact that he obviously hadn't destroyed the town yet.

"Oh, I hope he doesn't hurt himself," Fluttershy said softly, earning some glances in her direction. She was probably the only one in the group that felt concern for his wellbeing.

"Do ya think we might be able ta fin' him on that Equestrian map that ya got upstairs in the council room?"

Twilight stared at her friend as a grin spread across her face, "That's a GREAT idea! I'll bet it'll lead us right to him!" Twilight beamed, galloping inside the castle.

Following behind, the group quickly made their way to the council room on the top floor, swinging the doors opened so they could get down to business. However, they stopped as they peered at the display table, where a glowing red beacon hovered over the table screen for an incoming message.

Who could possibly be sending her a message at a time like this? She somewhat hoped that it wasn't the princess, since telling her mentor that she had misplaced a fellow alicorn was not a conversation that she was going to be comfortable having.

Preparing for what might come, Twilight slowly walked away from the rest of the girls to the magic-generator screen and mentally braced herself.

"Activate message playback program."

With a musical whistle, the holographic screen came to life, and to Twilight's relief, the face that appeared was Rarity's, who was looking a little preoccupied.

On the screen, Rarity looked from left to right as if someone might be listening in on what she was about to say, "Twilight, it's Rarity. I...think you might need to come down by the boutique. If you're listening to this message, you may have noticed that our newest resident of Ponyville is missing. Well, he's here. I'm alright, and I've been spending the last half-hour trying to get something out of him, but he's flying a little too high above my intelligence level for me to really get anything usef-"

"Rarity? Are you coming back?" a voice in the background said rather impatiently, making Rarity jump.

"Y-Yes. I'll be with you shortly, Novis." Rarity called, then replied to something that was left inaudible to the group, before turning back to the screen, "Twilight, we may have been wrong about him. He may seem rude but, there's something about him that gives me a good feeling. I really don't know. Just...hurry." with that, the message ended, leaving everypony to process what they had just heard.

"I hope that Rarity is alright. She seems so calm with him in her house." Fluttershy said feebly, happy that the stallion hadn't done anything to harm her.

"Novis." Twilight said quietly to herself as she stared out into oblivion. She had heard that name when reading the books in the Archives. It had come up quite often; the great hero of the people, a moral, compassionate, and respectable pony. Well, he certainly hasn't been living up to his image lately. But what if Rarity was right? Had they judged this 'Novis' character too soon?

She would just have to go over to the boutique and find out herself.
////
Walking alone across Ponyville, Twilight made a note not to draw too much attention to herself as she made her way to the front of Carousel Boutique. The last thing she needed was for everypony in town provoking Novis by swarming around the dress shop. He came with a short fuse already, she didn't to be supplying the matches.

The front door was locked, with the closed sign set outward to deter anypony from entering. Knocking on the door, Twilight waited patiently as she listened to the sound of Rarity rummaging around the store to get to the door. Peering through the window-blinds, Rarity stared at her for a moment before retreating back to unlock the door, motioning Twilight to come inside.

"Rarity, are you alright?" Twilight asked as soon as the door was closed, grabbing hold of her, and going over her body in search of any scars or bruises.

"Twilight, I assure you that I'm perfectly fine." Rarity strained, pulling from Twilight's hold on her and taking a step back, "See? I'm completely in one piece."

Twilight couldn't deny it, Rarity appeared to be unmarked by her visitor, but she wasn't going to be satisfied until she was sure that she wasn't under his control. Making a quick scan with her magic, she couldn't detect anything that would suggest that she was under any influence, which relieved a lot of stress on her shoulders.

"Alright," she sighed, not really looking forward to what would happen next, "Where is he?"

Giving her a glance, Rarity directed Twilight to the kitchen entrance, where the form a relaxing pony could be seen sipping a cup of tea. Deciding that it would be best for her to go in first, Rarity moved ahead of Twilight and made herself visible in the eyes of the alicorn.

"Novis, I'd like you to meet somepony who is a dear friend of mine." she gave Twilight a nod, signaling for her to come forward, "I would now like to introduce you to-"

"Twilight." he said softly, startling them both.

"Y-Yes, that's right." Rarity stammered, "How did you-"

"I can hear her thinking, and she does a lot of it." Turning around in his chair, the stallion froze as soon as he made eye contact with the lavender mare.

"You." He half-choked, half-growled at her as he rose from his chair.

Twilight grimmest at the sudden souring of his mood, but probably would have retaliated with her own negative emotions towards him. However, Rarity quickly got in between them in an attempt to be the peacemaker.

"Now I certainly will not allow the two of you to get into a heated confrontation in my home, so the both of you will sit down and we will discuss our differences in a civilized manner." she gave them both a cold stare, forcing them to put their feelings aside and to suck it up. Sitting back down, Novis levitated his cup and added a little more sugar to his tea, twirling a spoon to mix it in with the liquid as he eyed Twilight closely, which was returned in due manner. Satisfied with their moderate civility, Rarity showed Twilight to her seat at the table as she levitated a new teacup and platter from the covered, pouring a fresh cup of tea for Twilight to ease the tension she was feeling right now.

An awkward silence filled the room as they sat quietly gazing at one another, placing the entire shop in an uncomfortable setting. Sitting in front of Twilight was the stallion who had caused a rift in her own house. The man who was responsible for making Spike become a social recluse, and who had tried to harm her friends. Needless to say, she wanted to tear his head off.

On the other hoof, sitting before Novis was arguably the most stubborn, argent mare in Equestria. This mare had a habit of poking her nose where it didn't belong, and if it hadn't been for her, he would have been having this conversation two weeks ago instead of wasting them self-regenerating. It was because of her that every bone in his body felt like it was broken, and why he had gone on a hunger spree that left him feeling like a pig.

Clearing her throat, Rarity took a sip of her tea and started, "Well, we certainly have a lot to talk about. Why don't we start with Twilight?"

Inhaling through her nose, Twilight reverted back to everything that had been said that night, to what they had learned in the Archives, focusing on some of the main points.

"Well first off, I want to know what you meant when you said that you were a ghost." she stated, not showing any emotion.

Rarity turned her head to look at Novis as he contemplated the answer in his head to something she would understand, "The conscious entity that you engaged in intercourse with was only one part of me. A spell with the instinct, and the desire for my survival. Any sense of right or wrong was replaced with the ability to assess the situation in motion. Any hostility on my part would only be acted upon if the task of freeing me was jeopardized, and if I attacked you, I am sorry, but you obviously crossed a dangerous line."

Twilight sat there in her seat groaning to herself. He was good. With an explanation like that there wasn't any way that she could condemn him for his actions. But she wasn't going to let it go. He had no right to use Spike as his own personal puppet, and she was going to make that point clear to him.

"Alright, but why Spike? He's a baby dragon, why not go after an older, stronger member of his species?"

Rarity was looking at Novis very closely now, obviously wanting to know the answer to that question as well. He could sense the raw emotions emitting from the both of them, and he knew that his answer had to be the whole truth.

"I never chose him. The emerald gemstone in the altar was enchanted with a spell set to full aggression for the ensnarement of a dragon since dragon's fire was needed for my resurrection. I never considered the possibility that relations between ponies and dragons could have changed over the years for the two races to coexist peacefully. He was just the poor devil who pulled the ticket."

“Well, actually, Spike is the only civilized dragon we know.” Rarity corrected, knowing how rude they could be, before turning her gaze on Twilight, wondering if she had anything to say on the subject.

Twilight sat motionless before them. Again, Twilight felt that she had nothing to stand on to allow her to be angry with him, and she hated it. Based on her previous encounter with him and the conversation that she was having with him now it was clear that he possessed a higher intellect than her own. But she so badly wanted to be angry with him for what he had put her through, and Spike was in the forefront of that frustration. “Is that why you did want you did to him? Just so you could finally gain the upper-hoof, or where you trying to prove something?”

“Prove?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Twilight rather sarcastically, starting to rise from her seat, “You don’t really have anything left to prove, do you, your Highness?”

“I sorry, I don’t understan-”

“WHAT GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO HURT SPIKE?!” she shouted, cutting him off, and startling the two ponies in front of her as she released all her anger on them, “He was perfectly fine until YOU came around! Now he won’t even come out of his room!”

Novis looked like his anger was about to blow too. Rarity was even going to say something to calm him down when she noticed the dark expression on his face but seemed to calm down on his own almost as fast as it had flared up. She didn't say anything, brushing it off as nothing, but she could have sworn that the element on his chest had faintly glowed from his anger.

"I don't understand. The spell shouldn't have harmed him." Novis said, concerned.

"Well, he is! And he's at the castle right now, sulking!" Twilight retorted.

Great. Now he was going to have to deal with a spell foul-up. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. The spell was designed to bestow a BLESSING, not a curse. Hey, if you're gonna steal a person's free will for a couple of hours, might as well be courteous and make it worth their while, right? It was the honorable thing to do.

Sighing, Novis looked down at his teacup and ran over the situation in his mind, and while he thought, he cast a spell that dropped a small amount of a clear, mildly golden liquid into the tea that went completely unnoticed by both mares.

Then Rarity suddenly had an idea.

"Novis, you have healing powers, correct?" she asked hopefully, looking over his body where all his wounds had been, save for the few scars left behind, "I mean, you obviously cleaned yourself quite nicely."

He nodded, knowing where she was going with this. He personally considered his healing abilities one of his greatest powers, and hopefully, if he cured the dragon of his ailment, it might appease their present anger, and he would finally be allowed to depart from this town peacefully to journey on the paths of this world so that he could be left alone.

"Yes, I will heal your friend," taking his eyes off her for just a second, "but only if I am allowed to leave Ponyville after the fact."

Twilight didn’t like this. She didn’t trust him to be left alone to wreak havoc across Equestria. But, she needed Spike, and if yielding to his conditions was how she would get her assistant back then so be it, she would go along with his demands.

For now.

"Fine." Twilight said coldly, not taking her eyes off him, "However, we still have a few things that we need you to answer. After you heal him, you will appear before the council of harmony for questioning, understood?"

Novis wasn't happy about this. He just wanted to be left alone, but from the looks of it, he wasn't going to be getting that anytime soon. After everything he had been through, didn't he deserve that? Groaning, he gulped down the last of the liquid, enjoying the sweetness of the sugar. They watched him, and as they scanned his body, one thing surprised them.

The scars, and the remaining bruises across his body healed.
////
The walk back to the castle was a quiet one as the two mares kept a close eye on Novis, who was getting a lot of attention because he wasn't wearing his disguise. Twilight and Rarity had insisted that he shouldn't walk around Ponyville openly yet because of the panic he would cause, but he resisted their warning dead on. Call it courage, or foolishness, but now that he knew the true intentions of these ponies, he refused to continue hiding behind the shadow of a mask.

Twilight couldn't help but notice that his face displayed the great weight that he carried on his shoulders. She knew so little about the world that he had left behind, and she was certain that was what was troubling him. She wanted to know what happened to his world, but she had the feeling that he wasn't going to be in the mood to be talking about that anytime soon.

Drawing closer to the castle, Twilight and Rarity both began to see more and more ponies staring in their direction. This was making them nervous, but it didn't seem to even phase Novis. He just stared forward emotionlessly. However, that didn't stop the two mares from trying to reassure the town that he wasn't going to hurt them, no matter how uncertain they were of that.

"Rarity." Twilight whispered into her friend's ear, "As soon as we get to the castle, I need you to take the girls up to the council-room and wait for me and Novis to get back from Spike's room."

"But, shouldn't I be there with you?" she whispered back, a little louder than the level that Twilight had been on, "After all, it would help if he saw me there because, well...you know," she answered a bit awkwardly.

"No, Rarity. I only want Novis and myself to be present in the room. Spike has been through enough, and I don't want you there seeing him until after Novis can fix this mess."

Rarity sighed dejectedly, looking down at herself. "Don't worry, Rarity." Twilight reassured, placing her hoof around her shoulder, "You'll have time to talk with Spike, but we need to get this straighten out first, okay?"

Rarity nodded, but was still unsure of herself at this point. They walked in silence for the rest of the way, arriving at the castle with the rest of the mares to greet them with confusion.

Rarity explained to them all the things that had happened in past three hours, while Twilight stood beside Novis, watching the expression on his face change in a full range of emotions. He kept a regal composure in light of the situation that he was in, but behind that exterior, she noticed a hint of sadness.

"Are...you alright?" she asked, still not quite sure of her emotions towards him, but that wasn't going to stop her from inquiring.

"So...many memories...I had... I had almost forgotten how beautiful it was." he stated dejectedly, and silent, slowly looking over the exterior of the castle.

Twilight wanted to ask him what he meant by that, but he turned away, making for the entrance to the large infrastructure. She would have to write to Princess Celestia about this, since the princess might have an idea for his strange behavior. Though his attitude seriously pissed her off, he still sparked a fascination within herself, and the questions that she had for him were endless. The only thing that she hoped for was that he would be able to help spike, and this mess would soon be cleared up.

So, deciding that it was time that she introduced him to her assistant, Twilight lead Novis into the castle, mentally readying herself for whatever she might see.

She would be completely unprepared for what was to come.
////
The ascent to the top of the stairs was long and slow, due to the faint limp that Novis still had in his leg, keeping Twilight from her schedule. It was painful to look at, like watching an old stallion trying to scoot himself across a ten-foot distance. But, it wasn't like Twilight could actually SAY anything about it. He HAD only just recovered from a coma a few hours ago, and was understandably in a lot of pain. However, his rude attitude prevented her from truly feeling sorry for him. In fact, she was still unsure if anything he had said was true, or if he was playing them into some unknown scheme that had been brewing in his head. She seriously doubted this, but still, she had learned to never let an appearance to define her judgment on a pony. There were still many things she didn't know about him, and until she could cross-examine him herself, she would treat him based on those attitudes. It wouldn't be long either, as she had given Mr. Folklore directions to send her all the information he had on this "Minsore". All she had to do was wait.

“Could you possibly move a little faster?” she called down to him in the nicest tone she could muster, which was only met with a grumble.

“Twilight,” Novis began slowly, taking his time with his movements, “I may look young, but I assure you, I am very old, and I will get up there when my legs permit it.”

Twilight looked down from the top of the stairs at him pitifully, “Can't you just teleport?”

Novis stopped to look up at her, tilting his head to the side in confusion, “Teleport? What does a teleport do?”

“Oh, you gotta be joking!” Twilight's horn glowed, enveloping her entire body in light before she disappeared, only to reappear right in front of Novis leaning into his face startling him, and if he hadn't been holding onto the railings, he almost certainly would have fallen off balance.

“That's teleportation.”

“F-Fascinating.” he was truly enthralled by this action, and it surprised Twilight how much it seemed to interest him, “How does one perform this...teleportation? Is it a fairly simple spell?” he inquired, looking her over for any abnormalities.

“It requires a great deal of concentration, Novis. It took me years of study to finally learn how to do it properly,” she stared at him blankly, “But you'd probably be able to do it without any trouble.”

“I wouldn't be so quick to assume,” he said as he began to focus his energy into his horn, grunting as he tried to perform the spell. But through the sparks that shot out from its tip, the only thing that was conjured was his splitting headache, coming back to him in full force.

“Ugh...I-I don't think that this is going to be possible.” he moaned, rubbing his forehead.

“What's wrong?” Twilight asked.

“I'm...still recovering from the weeks of immobility. What strength I had was used on your guards, and on my shape-shifting talents.” he paused, looking up to lock his eyes with hers, “I know what your thinking. You believe that this is all a ruse. That I'm more powerful than what I'm letting on.”

“The thought had crossed my mind,” she answered flatly.

“Well, you're correct. I AM stronger than what I am now. But you must understand that I am not invincible. Though we are Alicorns, we as a race do have weaknesses, Twilight Sparkle. And right now, I feel...drained.”

“Fine. I'll teleport us both to the top,” she then turned away, only to look back at him, “Unless you have any objections.”

“No. I have a feeling that this will be most interesting for me.” he stepped forward, placing his hoof around her neck, “Ready when you are.”

Twilight nodded her horn lighting up again to its full power. The next thing that Novis knew, he was falling on his flank at the top of the stairway, Twilight standing over him as he worked to overcome a feeling of nausea.

“I-I don't...I don't think I w-want to do that again.” he panted, slowly wobbling to his hooves.

“Regardless, I think I should point out that you actually did quite well. Most ponies vomit on their first try.”

“C-Can't imagine why.” Novis moved away from Twilight towards the fireplace, where he openly welcomed the warmth of the flames. Twilight watched him from the stairs, studying every move that he made. He...didn't seem so bad of a stallion like she had first thought. Of course, he was snappy and impatient but, he seemed depressed, like a sad, fallen shadow of a once noble character. He was certainly more troubled than angry, and she could sense that there WAS something that was troubling him, something horrible. However, it wasn't her place to ask. Besides, it would probably set him off if she were to bring it up for questioning.

“Novis?” she stepped forwards, not too sure of what she really wanted to say.

“Hmm?” he slipped out, not once taking his focus off of the fire.

“Umm...Spike's room is just down the hall,” she swallowed, “If you would just follow me.”

Novis followed as Twilight lead him down the hallway to the first door on the left. Knocking on it, the two ponies stood at the entrance to Spike's room, waiting for a reply.

“So, I've noticed that you've done a great deal of work turning this castle into a home for you and your child,” Novis commented, leaning against the wall.

“I'm sorry?” Twilight said absent-mindedly, her thoughts dwelling upon something else at the moment.

“The castle. I've been able to look at some of the rooms, and I've noticed that you've made quite a few renovations to the original design of this building.” he looked down the hall to the living room, “I must say that the fireplace was a lovely addition to that room down there. Makes it feel more like...home.”

“You talk as if you've been in this castle before.”

“Well, I have. At least, in a way.” he turned to look at her, “My brother was the one who designed the seed from which this structure grew. He never actually planted it himself, obviously. In fact, I didn't know that he had actually succeeded in creating it. But, he would always show me his designs and sketches, bragging that he would finish it someday. It was always something that brought great joy to his heart, and rightly so. It was his dream that this place could be used for a good purpose one day. I'm happy that it came to be owned by someone like you.”

Blushing, Twilight turned, “You have a brother?”

“I have five. And I assure you that they are just as old and strong as I am.”

“Well, hopefully they don't have the same mannerisms as you do.” she laughed, looking away towards Nyx's room, beginning to notice the almost cheery mood she was experiencing with Novis. Why was she so comfortable talking to him, even after everything that he had put her through. She should be angry with him, but all she could feel was yearning to learn more.

That's what it had to be. Twilight's interest to study and discover new things had always been her greatest strength, but it was also arguably her most bitter weakness. Though it helped her to see things that others would normally look over, it had on many occasions lead her to get into trouble. Once, when she was still a young filly, Twilight had been studying Equestria's history revolving around Celestia, and had run across Luna's name several times along with a few references to that of Nightmare Moon's, and that she had once dwelt in the castle. Of course at the time she had not known that Luna and Nightmare Moon were the same mare, nor that they were Celestia's sister. But, she'd gone around the castle, hoping to find some hint of her existence, and eventually found Luna's old bedroom. It wasn't until several hours later that the Princess was able to locate her, and by that time Twilight had completely ransacked the bedroom, which understandably upset Celestia. She hadn't spoken to Twilight for the rest of that evening, choosing to keep silent while Twilight had been sent off to bed feeling sorry for herself, not actually understanding what she had done wrong. After all those years she finally understood why Celestia acted the way she had, drumming up old memories that had left her feeling her loss, the loss of the one pony in the world that she could relate to, who could share past experiences, the one she could confide in, something Twilight hoped she'd never understand.

“What in God's name is he doing in there?” Twilight was drawn from her thoughts by Novis staring impatiently at Spike's door, leaning his arm on the wooden frame as he looked at her, “What do you think?”

Twilight looked at the door, beginning to worry herself, “Spike? Are you awake?” she knocked, listening for an answer.

“I'm going in.” Novis said, starting to cast a spell on the door.

“What are you doing? You're not gonna break it down, are you?” Twilight asked nervously.

“That won't be necessary.” he cast the spell, creating a blue field to appear on the door's surface that fazed the solid material out of existence, a sort of door within a door being created to make an entrance to the room.

“How did you?” Twilight was in amazement, “I thought you said you were too sick to cast a spell.”

“I said I can't cast advanced magic within a stable field. Remember Twilight, not all spells are complex. This one, in particular, is so simple a baby could do it.”

Twilight opened her mouth to say something but soon fell silent. That is until she remembered the magic restrainer around his neck.

“Umm, Novis...wait a moment.”

Novis stopped to look at Twilight, just as her horn glowed to cast an enchantment on the device. With a few clicks, the locking mechanism fell off, allowing her to slide the uncomfortable metal collar off of him.

“There you go, I hope that's better.” she placed the collar on the nearest table, “I needed to get that off of you. I'm afraid that you wouldn't have been able to get the restraint through the door. It's designed to reject any form of magic.”

“Obviously it was faulty, but thank you all the same,” Novis said as he rolled his head around, cracking the joints in his neck that had been begging to be popped.

Novis smiled as he stepped through the portal and made his way into the room. It was a strange feeling to have your body passing through the wooden panels, and soon a number of books on a shelf that had been placed behind the door to block it from being opened, every molecule of his body fusing into the pages of the books, the wood, and the nails. He passed through none the less, coming out of the other side, looking around the darkened room while Twilight made her way through herself.

“Ugh...What's that smell?” Twilight gagged, placing a hoof to her nose.

Novis took the air into his nostrils. She was right, there was an offensive odor in the room. At first, he thought that it might be ammonia but, it wasn't as pungent as urine. No, this was more like the smell of decay, and burning flesh.

The room was dark, so they both had to light their horns to see where they were going, which was important since the floor was littered with garbage. Still, it was hard to determine exactly WHAT it was that was cluttering the floor, but whatever it was, it was gooey.

Twilight made her way into the bathroom, where the center of the burning smell seemed to be focused. Like the bedroom, the bathroom was rather messy, especially the tub, where there was a black, smoldering mass on the bottom that stunk profusely. Twilight was about to turn away in revulsion but stopped when the light of her horn began to reflect on something on the tub. Looking more closely, she saw that it was some kind of liquid, something too dark to be water that was for sure. She took a dab of the liquid on her hoof and brought it to her mouth, immediately spitting it out as it came into contact with her tongue, recognizing exactly what it was that she was tasting.

Blood. Only, it wasn’t just blood. It tasted weird, almost milky, and it seemed to stick to her hoof like goo.

Turning back to the bedroom, Twilight looked towards the bed, “Oh Spike, what have you done to yourself?” she said to herself, walking over to the bed where a large lump laid hidden under the covers. Twilight reached for the blankets with her magic, pulling them off of what she thought would be the lovable dragon that she was familiar with.

But what was lay there on the bed was nothing that she or Novis would have expected. A form laid sprawled on the sheets napping in a cold sweat, shivering as the cool air of the room made contact with its bare flesh. The thing was a little over three-fourths the size of Twilight and had rough, pebbly skin that had patches of light purple fur growing out here and there. Its legs were strange, forms similar to hooves, but had a digit or two growing on the sides of the legs like fingers that had long ago lost their purpose.

Needless to say, Twilight completely flipped out, letting out a shriek before she levitated a book and began to bet the poor creature with it, quickly gaining a reaction from it.

“Wa...Twilight? Wait! S...S-Sto...Stop! STOP IT!” it shouted, the voice so familiar that Twilight dropped the book in mid-air without considering where it was, which fell right on top of her forehead and left a dale ache from the impact.

“S-Spike!?” She choked her mouth a gap.

“Twilight, have you gone mad!? What the hey do you think your doing!?” Spike shouted, agitated for being beaten by a book.

“W-What happened to you!?” she cried.

“Well, that seems to be the question of the day. The trials and tribulations of the local FREAK show!” he hissed, groaning as he sat himself up on the bed.

Twilight bit her lip as she turned to look at Novis. Spike wasn't acting like his normal self. He was increasingly temperamental, and his voice was deeper somehow, almost similar to an adult than the boyish fifteen-year-old dragon that she knew.

“What...What did you do to him, Novis!?” she began to shout.

Making a double-take, Novis was quick to get on the defensive, “Twilight, I hardly think I can be blamed for something like this? Now, just try to calm down, and-”

“Calm down? CALM DOWN!? Look at HIM! Don't tell me to CALM DOWN!”

“Twilight? Who's this joker?” Spike asked rather impatiently.

“Oh, pardon my rudeness. My name is Novis.” he offered his hoof to Spike for him to shake.

“Don't talk to him! You're the reason why he's in this mess!”

“Oh, so this is my fault now.” Novis said sarcastically, “And how do you suppose that is, hmm?”

“Don't play stupid with me! This has something to do with that altar of yours in the temple.” Twilight looked at what had once been a drake, “Its obvious to me that he's under some dark enchantment.”

“What in the name of CELESTIA are you two arguing about!?” Spike yelled, still feeling a little groggy from being awakened from his nap.

Twilight turned to him, put off by his lower, far more commanding voice, almost forgetting that she was dealing with a child, “Spike, this stallion is the one that took control of you a few weeks ago. He's the reason why your in this mess. He's the reason for whatever is happening to you.”

Spike was stunned. He looked Novis over closely, finally able to see who had been behind the voices, the mystery of the phantom, revealed in its full light.

Spike was about to say something but was stopped by his gag reflex that started to make him create a heaving sound.

“Spike? Are you alright?” Twilight immediately went to his side, holding onto him as he continued to gag.

“I-I don't-” was all he could say before he bent over, opening his mouth so that he could take a hold of tongue with his claw, or at least what was left of a claw, pulling on the organ until it fell off, a few bits of flesh still holding on between the divided halves before he yanked it all away.

“Oh my...!” Twilight held her hooves to her mouth, holding back a flood that was threatening to be released from her throat. As both she and Novis watched, herself in horror and Novis in revulsion, she saw that his tongue began to heal itself. In fact, it was reforming into a new organ, from what had been a long, slender mass that had been forked and flexible into a shorter, knife-tipped tongue that was the norm in most creatures. It was still very long, far greater than Twilight's, but nowhere near the length, it had been.

Spike coughed, then spat out a small milky ball of blood and saliva, wiping his mouth before he let out a light, forced chuckle, “You know, things like that are really starting to get annoying.”

“Spike, I-” Twilight started, only to be silenced by a quick wave of Spike's arm in the air.

“Leave,” Spike said softly with his eyes closed, not even opening them to look at her.

“But Spike, I-”

“Twilight! Just...leave.” Spike lowered the volume of his voice to a calm whisper, looking away towards the window.

Twilight wanted to protest, but in his condition, Spike probably deserved privacy more than anything else. She turned away, directing her way to the door, “Alright Spike, have it your way. Come on, Novis.”

“No, Twilight.” Spike spoke up, gazing into the direction of Novis, “I want him to stay. I want to talk to him.”

Twilight turned to look at Spike, “I really don't think that's a good idea.”

“It's not a debate, Twilight.” Spike huffed, “Its something I have to do.”

Twilight sighed, “Fine.” She moved the bookcase away from the door with her magic, then opened the door, only to turn for a moment to gaze upon Novis with a dark stare before she made her way out into the hall.

“So, your the stallion behind the voice,” Spike started gaining Novis's attention, “You're the one who made a deal with me in the temple so many days ago,” he said, leaning forward with a blank expression formed on his face.

Novis sighed, “I supposed I am.”

Spike, who had been staring out the window, turned around as a smile began to spread over his lips.

“I think you and I are gonna get along just fine.”
////