At the Twilight of Harmony

by Rammy

Intermission VI: The Truth is Stranger than Fiction

“Am I right? You are Sentinel, aren't you?”

My resolve temporarily cracked as Storyteller/Sentinel walked right up to me. I managed to repressed a gulp. “I am not Sentinel. I have never been Sentinel…” He stated in the flattest, most emotionless voice possible which took me a bit by surprise as I was expecting anger, fury, laughter, anything… “And if I was, I would think by now you would have known better then to address a dragon incorrectly.”

I smirked as I thought I managed to get the upperhoof. “So you are Sentinel.”

If Sentinel/Storyteller took the bait I couldn’t tell (stupid enchanted cloak). All he did was slowly turn back around and begun to pull the cart again. “I didn’t say that History Seeker. I said IF... I was.”

“Then you are a dragon.”

“Pay attention!” Storyteller was starting to sound irritated. “History Seeker, I’m not saying that either.”

“THEN WHY WON’T YOU SHOW YOURSELF!?” I yelled which got Storyteller to turn to face me again. “Why must you hide behind that cloak?”

I panted from frustration. I probably over did it again but I needed and wanted answers. Clear and unobstructed. Can’t he have the decency to give that to me? But for every clear answer he gives me he muddies three others… Why can’t he trust me? I’m mean it’s not like anypony else would believe me anyways. Tartarus, I hardly believe him.

“We are all allowed to have our secrets, History Seeker. Few know what I look like under this cloak, and I prefer it that way. Please respect my privacy.”

---

I yawned heavily as we settled around the campfire that Storyteller had lit. He had only let me out of the cart right only an hour earlier. It was nice to finally get out of the cart and to be on grass, even if said grass was a bit dry and brittle. The grass here is so not like grass in Equus or even in the Everfree. Of course, nothing beats clouds, but with my magic still out of whack that was out of the question. Even if I had my magic I had not seen a cloud all day.

“So…” I started before I gave a loud yawn, “besides the Salt Flats are we going to run into any more dangerous dangers? You know quicksand… monstrous beasts with nine heads that spit out acid… Crazed cannibalistic tribal people with pointy spears?

“Somepony has been reading way too many Daring Doo books…” I swear I heard a hint mockery in his tone. For the moment I let that go. I had never heard of any book with a title containing or with a character named Daring Doo.

“Daring Doo?” I asked.

“The History Seeker of the distant past.” Storyteller gave a nonchalant respond.

“GAH!!” I sputtered in anger at the mocking non-answer answer.

Storyteller chuckled before he laid down. “I suggest you get some sleep we still have a ways to go to reach Hourglass.”

---

“You never answered me… You implied that there was more dangers out here in the Badlands.”

“This close to Hourglass? No. We are safe now. There is still leyonic magic interference but that is more a nuisance than a danger…”

‘This close to Hourglass’, eh? With a smirk on my face I asked. “How much longer to this supposed upside down mountain?

Storyteller looked about for a moment before he responded. “Given our speed and location… I’d say sometime early this afternoon.”

---

True to his word early that afternoon I saw something... something that defied explanation... that defied the law of physics and I’m sure several laws of magic too… not that I know much of those... I stopped dead in my tracks and in a state of shock I fell back onto my tail, my jaw dropping to the ground.

"I-I-I...uh... ba... ba... It can't be... it's... it's impossible!" I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. In the distance was the visage of a mountain… a mountain with its peak stuck into the ground and its base to the sky. An upside down mountain. Just like the stained glass depiction.

“Like a broken record…” Storyteller chuckled. “Witchdoctor if I recall correctly...”

“This is a trick, an illusion like the images of the dragons.”

“Nope, it’s as real as the wings on your back History Seeker. That is Terra Hourglass, the upside mountain.”

“No it can’t be real… No way is it… I could concede that everything you've told me about the Keeper War could have happened. But there is no way in Tartarus that I would ever believe that that,” I gestured wildly at the ‘mountain.’ “Is real!”

“Sometimes... magic does things we don’t expect. Sometimes…” Storyteller leaned down to whisper in my ear. “Sometimes, History Seeker, the truth is stranger than fiction.”

Author's Note:

Well after ever lengthening intermissions I finally I write a short one.

Comments

[RadicalDishonesty]

The more Storyteller dodges questions and answers in dodgy ways, the more he resembles Sentinel. It's the Catch-22 of identity denial. The harder he says he's not Sentinel, the more he looks like him.

[Rammy]

6285886 Yeah it does... but Storyteller is not Sentinel/Soul Fire... or is he!? I know the answer but Madame Pinkie Pie can only predict awesome presents and falling flower pots... img.gawkerassets.com/img/17gkc6gm3nmw5gif/original.gif