Golden Heart Vs Harmony
Harmony teleported into the Council of Harmony with Metal Claws flashing in a second later. The dragon clutched his stomach from the typical nausea that tends to occur to those not used to teleportation. Harmony took a look around and noticed that they were the first ones there.
Odd... I would have thought He of Hourglass would be here first…
Metal Claws finally felt well enough to see where he was. His jaw nearly dropped at what he saw. It appeared that they were in some sort of artificial cave-like semi circular room. He could see nine white marble thrones against the back wall while three more were in front of those in a straight line. What intrigued him most was the nine that lined the back wall which had magic sparks similar to Golden Heart’s floating lazily above them. Between each of those thrones was a window to the outside and it appeared to be nighttime outside of wherever they where.
Both turned toward the ornate double wooden doors when they heard crackling sounds coming from its direction. A light rose from the ground causing Metal Claws to prep for a fight. Soon the light began an outline of large door and the inside became a swirling portal. From the magic signature Harmony could tell it was Golden Heart who was the first one through.
“He of Hourglass?” Harmony asked as he saw two fully adult dragons entering the Council Chambers through the portal that He of Hourglass had cast. At least he knew why He of Hourglass hadn’t arrived sooner and why he had his wings still out.
“Once that Ascended One gets here.” He of Hourglass responded to Harmony inquiry. Once he saw He of Music come through his portal he ended the spell and the portal disappeared.
Harmony took this time to take a look at both of the guest dragons. It was clear these dragons had a problem as they didn't seem to carry themselves as full grown dragons. The two dragon huddled together in the back of the chambers and they seemed lost and confused more so than for most first time visitors to the council.
The orange dragon really got his attention as he had seen a single colored dragon only once before. His spines looked just like He of Everfree’s except he had a double row of them. It appeared he had a weaponless tail. As he continued to look him over it became apparent that he would have a hard time finding any other defining traits as the sameness of the orange made it hard for him to see much. He soon stopped as he didn’t want to look rude for staring for too long.
He turned his gaze now to the black and green dragon. His main scales were a deep ebony black that almost shone in the light of the council chamber lights. His secondary dark green belly scales, however, were dull and not shiny. He had no spines but he did have two horns on the side of his head in front of his ear frills and his tail had a curved stinger on the end.
It was at this time that he noticed He of Music and the fact that he had gone through a growth spurt since last he say him. He didn’t get anymore time to examine the changes before he facehoofed. He of Music had his ear to the floor drooling. It’s the Crystal Tree Palace all over again!
Quartermaster did more as his strolled up to his clanmate, backhanded him hard, then hissed in his ear. ”What do you think you are doing!?”
“Listening to the song.” He of Music growled, rubbing the spot that Quartermaster hit. In retaliation he snapped his now longer tail onto Quartermaster’s who yelped in surprise before growling back, readying his fire.
He of Hourglass facepalmed at both. Fighting like hatchling brothers in front of two dragons not affiliated with the clan and in the Council of Harmony as well! He turned to each, yelling. ”He of Hourglass, He of Hourglass enough!”
Harmony gulped when he heard ‘He of Hourglass’. I’m in so much trouble...
He of Hourglass sat on one of the ‘empty’ thrones and sent off a scroll before waving Harmony to join him. A moment later Twilight appeared before the council which got the attention of everyone there.
“Oh thank Celestia you are here, Harmony. There was an incident yesterday… Whoa. The entire clan…” Harmony quickly changed her perspective so she could see the two dragons near the doors. ”...and guests!? Is there something going on I need to know about?”
The same day as the Rage Dragon…. interesting… Harmony turned to see that He of Hourglass appeared a bit troubled at that… “What is it He of Hourglass?”
“We have a possible problem. I call the Council to order.”
“I second that.” Harmony concurred and as he did the magic sparks swirled around the room as before. “I suggest that we let the Bearer of Magic go first given the strain of the spell she is using.”
“I’m in agreement, Ascended One?”
“Well, I found out what interrupted our chat yesterday. A group of fillies were accosted and temporally enthralled with dark magic by a cloaked figure with a pendant that looked like the moon during Luna’s banishment…”
“Was the moon was red?” Harmony interjected and when Twilight nodded he sighed. “The Cult of the Moon.”
Twilight had not yet been successful yet in finding the meaning of the pedant and Harmony had it figured out even before she finished describing it. “How…”
“They gave Celestia and me trouble after Luna’s banishment.” Harmony nodded and waved a hoof to tell Twilight to continue.
Twilight nodded. “What was odd was after the figure enthralled them he or she disappeared. Luckily the fillies caused no damage...”
“Clearly they were sending a message…” Harmony mused. “Has Luna or Celestia been informed yet?”
“No, not yet. I’ve only done some research into the pendant in hopes that it could help me understand the motive. I didn't want to disturb Celestia over what may be a minor issue and Luna will not be in Canterlot for another day as she had to deal with an political issue with Maretonia.”
“Ugh…” Harmony shook his head knowing exactly what could be transpiring. “I don’t know who to be more sorry for her or Maretonia. Glad I no longer have to play ‘smile and wave’ with them anymore… You did fine with what you knew of the situation. However, the Cult of the Moon is not a small problem so as soon as Luna returns let her know. She will notify Celestia if necessary.”
“What should I do in the mean time?”
“Wait. There is not much you can do at the moment other than remain vigilant.”
“He of Hourglass, I noticed our guests.” Harmony nodded to the two dragons in the back. “Can you fill me in on what is going on?”
“Neither dragon can remember their name.”
Harmony blinked, tried to say something, stopped, then blinked again. “Please tell me I heard that wrong.”
“I can’t.” He of Hourglass shook his head.
Harmony could only think of one thing to say. “How?”
He of Hourglass took a deep breath before he began. “Hourglass was attacked yesterday by a changeling swarm. The Dragon of Black and Green Scales and the Dragon of Orange Scales and Spikes were enthralled by the queen which thankfully ended with her death.”
“Chrysalis.” Twilight hissed. She was angry that again Crysalis had violated another sentient creatures will but was glad she was finally gone.
“Maybe. What was the color of the back chitin plate?”
“Dark green.”
“Not Chrysalis’ hive. Pity. But what has me puzzled is how a changeling queen could manage to enthrall two full sized, adult dragons.” At this the two dragons tried to make themselves as small as possible in their shame. Which didn’t go unnoticed by everyone but Twilight who was unable to see them as they were behind her.
“She was wearing an amulet that I suspect increased her magical ability.” He of Hourglass held out a scroll with a drawing of the amulet. “It looked like this.”
“The Crystallian Amulet.” Harmony deadpanned. “Given that you are merely showing me a drawing it must mean that you managed to destroy it. Which means one more Elder amulet is now gone…” He of Hourglass nodded in confirmation, “Good. That leaves only the Wolven and Roc Amulets left to destroy. The Crystallian Amulet definitely could have given the queen enough power to enthrall dragons.”
Harmony faced the two dragons directly for the next part. “I hate to say this, but I would wager a guess that she captured you both very shortly after you chose as it could explain why you can’t remember your names… As a young adult’s magic resistance to lower classes of magic is a bit lower than when fully grown. Though it is just as likely she chose young adults with the thought that it would be easier to capture you with the hopes of losing less drones while she went about casting an enslavement spell.”
“Wait! Crysalis didn’t need a whole swarm to enthrall Shining Armor.” Twilight exclaimed.
“That would be because she took on the appearance of Candace which lowered his guard. Changelings have an extreme problem changing into anything much larger than themselves and dragons would have know that said changeling wasn’t a dragon. Also, even with the amulet I suspect it would have take a bit of time to build up the necessary power to cast the spell which I’m sure that our guests or any other would have fought tooth and claw to prevent.”
“Okay, then… on to the memory problem…” Harmony looked over to He of Hourglass. “It’s possible for your harmony magic will be able to fix the problem as without their hoard names they are in a state of disharmony. However, I don’t know if it’s fully manifested in you yet and even if it has you may not be skilled enough. Has He of Music tried using harmonic song magic?”
“I could, but but I feel I would have the same issue that He of Hourglass would have using his Harmony magic.”
“Changeling magic is related to pony magic…” Harmony figured it would come to this but he knew that it in order for the dragons to accept his help that it would have to be a last resort. “Which means its a bit easier for a pony to counteract it. But it would also mean that I would have to examine your memories to be able to fix it.”
“Couldn't He of Hourglass do this?” The black dragon was not liking the idea of a non-dragon going through his memories even though he could tell the alicorn was genuinely wanting to help.
“Of course he can, but memories are fragile. While it’s true that dragon magic is very powerful, it has one major weakness: lack of precision.”
“What about that portal? I’m sure that took some precision to create.” The orange dragon now spoke up.
“Making a clean looking portal doesn’t need that much precision but it does require a bit more mana output. Memories, as He of Harmony pointed out, are fragile and require a very gentle touch. If I mess up even in the slightest you may lose your Dragon Heritage Memories… In this case I would recommend that you have He of Harmony attempt to see what he could do.”
“I don’t think a pony and outsider to our ways…”
“He has passed the Rite of Guardianship. He is Dragon.” Quartermaster growled. He of Hourglass hid a gasp of surprise at Quartermaster’s defense of Harmony. The unnamed dragons, however, went slackjaw.
“Is… is this true?” The black dragon stuttered out in his shock.
“Yes, it is…” He of Hourglass acknowledged.
Both dragons seemed to not quite believe them. Harmony wasn’t surprised given what they were going through. “I’m a bit surprised you don’t believe your Keeper.”
The jaws of both of the unnamed dragons again dropped as they looked at He of Hourglass. “Y-You’re our Keeper!?” The black dragon finally managed to sputter out.
“Yes, I am the Dragon Keeper.” He of Hourglass nearly facepalmed at the dragons not putting the very noticable hints together.
The black dragon now turned a bit to address Harmony directly. “I apologize for my disrespectful behavior towards you just now He of Harmony.”
Harmony waved a hoof dismissively. “You didn’t disrespect me as it was an honest question and there was no way you would have known that I was not only an acolyte but had passed the Rite.”
For a third time in a short time the dragons were stunned. They were not expecting to have a slight like that to be forgiven so easily.
“You have my permission to try.” The black dragon bobbed his head.
“Same with me.” The orange dragon added.
Harmony walked up to the black one first and began a memory spell. He motioned the dragon to lower his head and he put his horn to his now lowered head. Harmony frowned as he went through the dragon’s memories. All he could only see and hear was blurry after images and muffled sounds. When he went through the orange dragon he had the same problem.
For a while Harmony couldn’t speak. When he finally found his voice it shook. “This...This is not good. Y-your memories are scattered and unfocused and as I-I already surmised you have been enthralled for an extended amount of time… I-I can’t say exactly how long but it has been many, many decades… I have never known of anyone being enthralled for so long…”
Twilight began bouncing up and down to try to get his attention. “Harmony?”
“Yes?” Harmony moved so that she could see him.
“This sounds almost like what happened to the Crystal Ponies…”
Hmm… Harmony thought that Twilight might be on to something. “An avenue worth looking into as at this point I have no idea if I can help recover the Hoard Names… He of Hourglass there may be information on changelings in your library see what you can find. I will meditate on this issue to see if any ideas come to mind. I may not be the Dragon Keeper but I will stay on this until something can be done.”
“Now about the rage dragon that attacked you yesterday?” He of Hourglass could no longer hold back needing to know.
“You got attacked too!?!” Twilight nearly yelled “Great. All we need now is Discord to appear and say he was also attacked.”
I hope not… Harmony sighed. “He is not here at the moment…”
“How do you know he’s not already here and waiting to make an ‘amusing’ entrance?”
“Take a look at the door.” Harmony helped by again shifting her perspective. “As you can see there is the image of my old cutiemark along with an image of the Spiral Spire stylized like an hourglass glowing on it. It means that only He of Hourglass and I are here and not Discord… All we know is that he is still alive as there are no sparks floating above his throne.”
“Anyway, I don’t have much to report concerning the rage dragon. The dragon had been attacking the surrounding jungle for the past few weeks. Quartermaster and I only sustained minor injuries, mainly cuts and bruises. I thought I had cracked some ribs, but I’m not positive as the ents healing art has a way of accelerating natural healing. I was unable to find any evidence of it when I awoke this morning.”
Harmony started to pace. “I can’t say for sure but the ‘attack’ on Ponyville where my elements are, the attack on Quartermaster and myself, and the invasion Hourglass three places that have have a connection to the Keepers on the same day can’t be a coincidence. Ugh… where is Discord!”
He of Hourglass wasn’t hearing Harmony’s assessment all he heard was the fact that his hoard was in danger. Mine. “He of Harmony, you are to head back to Hourglass right after we are done here.” He spoke so softly that Harmony almost didn’t hear him.
Harmony raised an eyebrow at the tone of He of Hourglass voice as it sounded like he was ordering and not requesting him to return to Hourglass. “May I ask why?” He asked even though he suspiciously knew the reason.
He is MINE… He of Hourglass resolve to resist his inner nature that had awoken when he should have grown began to crack as his thoughts continued to become more primal and in a sick way he wanted to be more primal if only to protect He of Harmony. He must be protected at all costs. I am dragon he is pony and he is a part of my hoard as such he has no say in his care. He is mine. ”Because I will not allow you to get hurt again not with the ash illness of…”
“I AM A KEEPER!” Harmony roared, annoyed that He of Hourglass was doing this in front of so many witnesses. Harmony turned to walk back to his throne. “I will not stop doing my duty to satisfy your concern over an illness that is manageable.”
He of Hourglass angrily ground his teeth. A piece of my hoard is trying to get away… A single word escaped in a whisper. “Mine…”
“Firstclaw?” He of Music whispered hoping that he heard wrong.
He of Hourglass stood up screamed “YOu belONg To mE. You aRE miNe!” As soon as it escaped He of Hourglass mind snapped back to normal and he knew was in trouble. The inner voice that started when he should have grown had managed to overtake his mind, and he welcome it too.
Harmony froze in mid step and all the dragons flinched. He of Music shuddered as what he feared could happen just did. Quartermaster and He of Music backup just a bit when they saw the look on Harmony’s face when he turned to face He of Hourglass directly.
“Twilight Sparkle, leave.” When Twilight heard Harmony use her name instead of using her Bearer ‘title’ she knew that something very bad was about to happen.
Her image flickered then disappeared.
“He of Hourglass I have some important information that I can only speak to the clan. Can you send Dragon of Black and Green Scales and Dragon of Orange Scales and Spikes back to Hourglass. This shouldn’t take long...”
The moment that the two dragons were teleported back to Hourglass via a portal all resemblance of a stoic Harmony left. His mane and tail whipped about in an invisible wind and his fur colors redden ever so slightly. “I CALL THE CLAN OF HOURGLASS TO JUDGEMENT!” Harmony yelled out stomping to his throne. He saw that seven of the lights over the back thrones had darkened to black while two went white.
Call to Judgement is accepted for the Dragon Clan of Hourglass. Quartermaster and He of Music looked about to try and figure out where the chanting voices were coming from. He of Hourglass knew exactly what the voices were and moved off of his throne knowing that he was not to be on it during Judgement.
“I had hoped it would not have come to this…” Harmony suddenly seemed to have the appearance of someone overworked and tired.
“He of…” He of Music began.
“Shut. Up.” Harmony snapped. He started to rub his head trying to suppress his anger enough so he could properly deal with the situation and to ease a bit his massive physical headache.
“You do not have that authority.” Quartermaster growled out angry that he would be like this. He understood being angry at his Firstclaw but not to He of Music.
“I don’t,” Harmony sharp gaze went from Quartermaster and moved to He of Hourglass, “do I?”
“Firstclaw?!?” Quartermaster couldn't understand. There was nothing in the code that he knew of even in light of the slip up that would give Harmony such control over the entire clan.
“You are standing in a different plane and one that is under the control of the Council of Harmony not the Clan of Hourglass. If you think for a single moment that the Council can’t have authority over the clan it’s time you learn a few things.”
“I am, not He of Hourglass, the ‘Firstclaw’ of the Keepers.” This shocked both He of Music and Quartermaster. For Quartermaster it was another confirmation that his earlier assumption of dragon superiority was wrong. “Now, normally I can’t exercise said control as the Council must keep very loose control over itself. This is necessary in order for the Keepers to be able to do their jobs. For the most part I can’t tell He of Hourglass what to do. I can advise him, help him, but not give commands. A Keeper can fall into judgement if they are interfering without good reason in another keepers duty or if they do the opposite of their duty. That is deliberately causing disharmony that will clearly not bring about harmony. Kind of an oxymoron but there are times that disharmony will occur or increase as you are trying to bring about harmony.”
“The issue here is that your Firstclaw stepped out of line claiming that he could order me back to ‘safety’ because I was ‘his.’ He not only broke a very strict dragon code with high consequences, if I choose to act upon the violation, but he violated his duty to preserve, maintain, and foster harmony. I can’t do my duty if he forces me to abandon it because he worried I might die over a disease that can be managed. Now if it was not manageable I most likely would not have been able to place Keeper Judgement on him. Challenge him over the code violation, maybe, but not Keeper Judgment…”
“He Hourglass has a separate set of memories as a Keeper that are similar to the Dragon Heritage Memories that deals with all of this. Which he knows instinctively, don’t you Dragon Keeper?”
“Yes, Alicorn Keeper.” He of Hourglass stated, flinching slightly at Harmony using his keeper title.
“But...” Quartermaster objected again this time trying to stall in hopes of finding a way to get He of Hourglass out of this mess.
“Do you think I ignorant of the Code?” Harmony snapped. Three heads quickly shook their heads no. “Yes, there are parts that I have no information on either because I’m supposed to not know or I have not been able to get a dragon to tell me yet. He of Music you are the only one here that doesn’t know exactly why I had to struggle to get information that was my right. It was even harder to learn the parts that as someone who has passed the Rite of Guardianship I should and needed to know. One piece however I was able to get right off the bat…”
“The very first thing...The very first thing I asked about when I learn I was to have a hoard was what kind of hoard I could have. I was trying to find a way to continue in my duty as the Alicorn Keeper… I asked about whether it was possible to have sentient creatures in it. I was advised to not do that and THAT IS WHY!”
An image shimmered in front of the dragons.
It first showed He of Hourglass from earlier. A snarl on his snout and his eyes were slitted and had started to redden. The image He of Hourglass then spoke in a demonic voice. “YOu belONg To mE. You aRE miNe!”
The image of He of Hourglass faded and another took its place. That next image showed the now dead rage dragon skinned, quartered and what was left of the head was nearby pounded into near mush. The fate of any dragon that died in dishonor.
“I was warned to have a material hoard not only because having a sentient hoard was frowned on because it vastly increases that chances of the dreaded Beast growth. Right?”
When He of Hourglass didn’t respond like he wanted Harmony yelled out. “RIGHT!?”
“Yes, Alicorn Keeper.” He of Hourglass responded.
“But…” Harmony soften his voice. “I was also told that the dragons that managed to overcome that weakness were the most courageous, understanding, and wise of dragons. From what I’m told is that nearly every dragon that mentioned in the Dragon Heritage Memories have names that reflected an intangible hoard.”
“He of Hourglass your hoard name has a meaning that is intangible. My placement in your hoard will remain long after I’m dead, why? Because your hoard isn’t about the tangible me, the what I am as a pony and alicorn but because of who I am as your friend and brother.”
“I have no idea why you broke the code. The only thing I can think of is that there is something that I don’t know about dragons… I’m positive you really didn’t want to say what you said because you was able to stop the initial stage very, very quickly.”
Harmony lifted a hoof which stopped He of Hourglass as he had opened his mouth to speak. “Don’t break anymore code if I’m not suppose to know.”
Harmony sighed putting a hoof this still aching head. “This is my judgement. You are to socialize with the two dragons that are now in the care of your clan. He of Music feel free to socialize with them as well. It might help us find a way to help them. He of Hourglass is to take the lead however. For an hour each day, He of Hourglass, you are to meet with a different bearer to do whatever I don’t care. They are to take the lead in whatever they plan to do. Keep teaching the Bearer of Magic anything you think she needs to know about dragons but you are to spend an hour with her a week that is not about dragons. This is to continue until I’m satisfied that you are able to keep your greed over me under control.”
“Is the council in agreement with this?”
The all the sparks changed to white.
The Council agrees with the Judgment.
“Council dismissed.” With that Harmony got off his throne and walked slowly to the council doors not even looking at He of Hourglass. He was about to open the doors when he turned around to face He of Hourglass who was now on his knees still facing the thrones. Quartermaster and He of Music were on either side trying to console him as best they could. “Oh, and by the way, I have been aware for some time that you were trying to sneakily find out more about my illness. I’m not stupid. Discord did that all the time when I had my Magic Wasting Disease. He failed and he has way more years of experience then you do so do yourself a favor and drop it. You will not get the information you are looking for.”
“Come Quartermaster, we need to get back.” When Quartermaster hesitated leaving his Firstclaw He of Music nodded for him to follow Harmony as He of Hourglass was unresponsive.
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So now he of Harmony can go off at any moment if he can't control his beast growth?
Well this could be bad.
I mean He of Hourglass
5898853
more like GH needs to control the beast within... not the beast growth... If he starts growing as "the beast within" he will be lost forever...
5894094 lol its kind of sad that i didnt notice EB becoming arrogant
5899890 Really!?!
I did warn you about big changes... and he is your OC... I think you where shocked over the sexual part lol... And EB is no longer arrogant so relax....
5900264 xD