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Chapter 7-The Council of Harmony

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"He's obviously some kind of menace. I bet he's working with Tirek somehow." Rainbow Dash exclaimed, her wings flaring up as she sat up from her throne.

"An' how exactly would he do that, Rainbow? Tirek's locked back up in Torturous." Applejack pointed out, tipping her hat back with a skeptical look on her face.

"I don't know. Telepathy?" she offered as an explanation.

"Oh, here we go." Rarity grimmest, slumping her head into her hoof while she sat in her stone chair.

This debate had gone on since before Twilight returned from Rarity's Boutique. Everypony seemed to have their own theory on this new presence, and likewise, they couldn't seem to agree on anything. It was an endless squabble of ideas and opinions, and there certainly wasn't any sign of an end anytime soon.

"Ah, horsefeathers. Fluttershy, what do you think?" Applejack tilted her head to the side, looking at the pegasus with a look of curiosity.

"Oh, I don't know. He seems really shy." she looked down at herself, "And he looked so sad to me."

"Sad? What are you talking about?" Rainbow huffed, looking at her with a sneer, "Hotheaded is more like it, if you ask me! He attacked us with no reason."

"That's not true, Rainbow Dash!" Flutter defended, "He told us not to bother him in the temple, and we ignored his warning. If Twilight hadn't tried to take Spike away, none of that would have happened."

"Fluttershy's got a point there, Rainbow," Applejack commented, leaving the cyan pony to look at her, "I don't like what he did anymore than you do, but ya gotta understand his point of view. I can't imagine myself hurting another pony, but I've never been trapped in stone for thousands of years, either. If any one of us was put in the same position that he was, I doubt we'd act any different."

"Well, he's certainly not the party type." Pinkie Pie said with a frown, definitely feeling disappointment with the fact.

"Pinkie, I don't think he's interested in any of yer parties." Applejack said flatly.

"That's what I just said, Dah." Pinkie rolled her eyes, "I'm gonna have to go out with everything I have to get his frown turned upside down into a smile! He wouldn't even laugh at my pub jokes."

"Pinkie Pie, I'm amazed at you! Do you really think its going to give him a good impression of you by doing that? You've told me those jokes, and their a tad bit volger." Rarity commented, only for Pinkie to stare at her.

"Yeah, but their funny."

"Well...I can't argue with that." Rarity admitted, beginning to lightly chuckle as she recited one of them in her head.

Just then, the doors to the throne room burst open, as Twilight stormed into their presence in a rage. She began to mumble to herself, which was typical of her when she was conflicted with an issue, he pure steam coming off of her body was enough that none of them dared to speak a word until she sat down, only to wear a scowl.

"Ah, Twilight? You alright over there?" Applejack asked.

"Oh, I'm FINE, Applejack. I'm absolutely thrilled. Anymore questions? No? Good!" she spat out anxiously, which was becoming very unsettling for her friends.

"Well, did you get to talk to Spike?" I hope there wasn't any trouble." Rarity said innocently.

"Trouble? Who said there was any trouble?!" Twilight shouted, clearly disturbed by something, "Nopony said there was ANYTHING wrong, Rarity. And nothing DID go wrong, OKAY!?"

"Twilight, there is absolutely no reason to get angry, especially with your friends." Rarity said firmly, taking a stand to calm her friend, "What happened?"

"I-I don't know how to explain it." Twilight admitted, though she didn't know exactly what to say to express herself, "Spike's fine but, at the same time he's not. Novis...Novis DID something to him. Something horrible perhaps, I just don't know."

"What did he do?" Rarity asked.

"He-"

"He has done nothing more than to grant a "friends" deepest desires."

They were all startled as their heads swung back behind themselves to face Novis who had silently entered into the room. He stood quiet and alone, and was content to stay in his corner, but he decided to walked among them, regardless of the mixed emotions that he was entering.

"What you saw was a change." he started, walking into the middle of the thrones, where he touched the map laying there as if he knew how it worked, which it responded by falling away back into into the floor from which it came, "From one form to the next, his body is reforming itself into something new."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that he's going through a metamorphosis. Like..." he paused, staring at Fluttershy as an inspired grin spread over his face, "...a butterfly, waiting to be released from it's chrysalis. And it won't be long, judging by how far he's already gone."

Everypony sat as still as possible, staring at him while they thought on the things that he said. It disturbed them that he spoke so calmly about this, as if it were in fact a good thing. Twilight leaned forwards and sighed, now feeling the urge to scream more than ever, but restrained herself, which was a feat in it's own.

"What exactly is he turning into?" She asked, hoping that the answer would be nothing unnatural.

"What indeed? I can't be curtain, but if I were to guess, I would say that he's being transformed into a Kiren."

"A...what?" a murmur began to form amongst the group, each trying to grasp what was being said. That word was all but unfamiliar to them, and as they sat there in wonder, Novis began to explain his answer.

"A kiren, is a creature both pony and dragon, yet neither. A stepping stone between species, as it were. They are renowned for both their cunning and their strength, and their magic, though slow to mature, when ripened is second only to an Alicorn's."

The room was silent. This was truly a shock to everypony, especially Twilight. Spike? More powerful than a Unicorn? It was inconceivable. Twilight couldn't imagine Spike being anything more than a lovable baby dragon. What would a kiren even look like? Would he look hideous, like a freak? Or would he be a strong, handsome stallion? Was that even the correct thing to call a male Kiren? It was too much to go over at one time, too many questions to be asked at one time.

"How long? How long until the transformation is complete?" Rarity spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Twenty days. Maybe less."

"And is there anything you can do to stop it?" Twilight asked.

Novis sighed, "No. It was not my spell that did this to him, nor was it my desire. What has happened is his own doing. "In essence, he is doomed to become something more than what he already is."

"Now, if I've answered all of your questions, I'd like to get started on my way." Novis began to turn, fully intent on leaving Ponyville forever.

"No."

Novis stopped at the doors, slowly turning his head around to gaze upon them, "What?" he hissed, frustration beginning to spread over his face.

Twilight sat up on her throne, "You will stay here for the remainder of Spike's transformation, however long that takes to go through. Once that is over, you may go."

"You said I could leave now!" Novis's voice echoed loudly through the room, himself feeling betrayed, "You promised to let me go!"

"Twilight, maybe we should-" Rarity started, only to be hushed by a wave of Twilight's hoof.

"That was before I knew the full extent of the damage caused. I'm sorry Novis, but that is how it has to be."

Novis did not agree with this, he did not agree with this at all. It was insulting, he felt lied to, and it was as if they expected HIM to fix this. His anger now flaming, Novis's hoof lit up with his magic. As he turned, he spotted a stand with a marble image of Starswirl the Bearded's likeness sitting on it. Pulling his hoof back, he brought it forwards into the statue, and destroyed it, the magic in his hoof shattering the stone and the stand with it. He then stormed out of the room, leaving them to listen to the violent screams and curses that he spoke as he made his way down the long hall of the castle.

"Damn." Applejack said, her mouth a gap.

"Twilight, are you sure you really want him staying here?" Rainbow Dash choked, surprised by his strength.

Twilight sighed, "No, I don't. But he seems to know what he's taking about. If anypony can guide us through this, it's him."

The group continued to discuss matters for the next hour, going over everything that they had learned, but soon the hours began to grow late. The sun would soon set, and everypony had things to do at home. One by one they began to leave, until only Twilight remained. She stayed sitting on her throne for a while, before an idea came into her head, leaving the throne room to return to her bed chambers, closing the doors behind her.

The room sat in a darken silence, alone and cold with nopony to warm its vacancy. But silence would not be the dominate for long, as the table began to reform into the room. The map grew into its form, the mountains rising and the lakes sinking. Trees grew, buildings became visible, and the boarders of the north became focused.

And it was there, in the volcanic mountain ranges of the north, that a glowing red beckon shined in the darkness of the room.

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Volcana-Somewhere Near the Crystal/Equestrian Boarder

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The cold night sky was filled with wisping clouds that cut across the atmosphere above the rocky landscape. The moon was hanging in the sky, illuminating the world in its soft light. Few trees grew in this place, but the ones that did were tall and black with age, growing deep within a valley filled with ash below the rocky slope. In the distance, a mountain range spread across the entire northeastern horizon, smoke rising from their fiery summits.

It was here that a large watchtower had been built by the Equestrian Government long ago, set upon the side of a mountain as the first frontline in the event of danger from the North. A stairway that had been carved into the rock connected the tower to a pare of barracks and a recreation hall fifty feet below, where it had been set up to replace the keep that had once stood there, but had fallen in war's past. Of course, it wasn't well manned. After all, it WAS a time of peace, and a fully operational force wasn't a priority. So a facility that could hold five-hundred soldiers, had been assigned to only twenty-five to handle it's required functions.

At this hour the soldiers were congregated in the recreation hall, the building filled with radio music and the smoke of cigars. A group of ponies stood around a pool table, watching on as two of their comrades clashed against the other in a game.

Of course, a minor misunderstanding of the rules soon turned into a full fledged fight, hooves flying and kicking about, up until the captain of the base came in and broke it up. He was a shrude officer and would have none of this foolishness. Grabbing hold of one of the soldiers, a young Unicorn who was notorious for starting these things, he threw him out with a barked order to stand watching in the tower above.

The young guard grumbled to himself as he slowly walked up the stairs. This happened on several occasions, enough that he knew how this would play out. He would be spending the night in this watchtower, and would then be scolded in the morning to straighten up his act. It was a speech he had heard many times. But what could the captain do, lock him in the stockade? Send him to some distant, pointless hell-hole out in the middle of nowhere? There were too few soldiers in the base to afford locking him up, and after all, he was already assigned to that hell-hole.

Finally reaching the top, the stallion made his way to the balcony, looking out into the valley below. It was certainly a beautiful night, that was at least a blessing. The guard pulled out a cigar and a box of matches, with full intention on lighting one for some relief. He brought the lit match to his mouth, but was disheartened as it's light was blown out by a sudden updraft in the wind. He quickly lit another one, only for the same thing to happen again. He looked out into the valley, having to cover his face to shield it from the rising heat of the wind, looking out as the trees were swayed back against the might of the draft. It wasn't long before he realized exactly what was happening.

"Oh, no." he said as he quickly ran to the other side to where a large bell stood, grabbing onto the rope at it's side to ring it as he shouted down below.

"EVERYPONY TO THEIR POST, NOW! GET OUT OF THE BARR-!" was all he was able to call before he screamed out in agony as a plume of fire slammed into the side of the tower, knocking down the stones and ringing the faint dong of the bell that crashed into the mountain. The barracks were soon to follow, nopony having time to escape as the buildings were consumed in the orange licks of flame. Everything was burning, everything was destroyed, and out of the shadows of the night, illuminated only by the light of the flames, a form moved to behold the desolation, the darkened body of a creature standing erect surveying all that it had accomplished, and laughed with a evil, dark self-pleasure.