At the Twilight of Harmony

by Rammy

Intermission X: De Ex Machinas are so OP[Edited]

Author's Note:

Edited so if you have read it when I first released it you might want to read it again...

“Do you need a break?”

“Yeah, it’s just… all of these stairs… I mean I knew from… how much further?” I panted hard. Everything hurt including oddly my wings which I have not used since I entered the Untamed Wilds. Stupid leyonic magic interference stopping me from flying...

“We are less than one fourth of the way up.”

“WHAT!? Gah! I despise stairs!” I was too tired for the cliched scream curse you fill-in-the-blank. I suppose I should be glad that the mountain provides shade I would not want to be forced to climb all these stairs under the heat of the sun.

Storyteller sat down near the edge of the stairs while I tried to rest and ease my aching muscles. He seemed to be staring out into the plains below in deep thought. I decided to scoot next to him as the view was, admittedly, quite spectacular. I did see a forest to the south earlier but the mountain, for the moment, blocked it from sight. Right now, though, I can just make out a patch a dark green that I’m sure is the memorial park.

Rising from the plains
Not like other mountains
See a sight like no other
That rises from the ether...

I glanced over to Storyteller who continued humming. I was a bit surprised to hear Storyteller sing but even more so that I could feel that something about it was off about it. I didn't feel a pull with it like with most times when someone sings from the heart… Not that I have experienced too many of these types of songs… what are they called again? I think maybe I should have payed a bit more attention during those lessons... a Soul Song as the dragons in Storyteller’s story would call them… Either way, I could tell that he was pouring his heart into but it didn’t have the magic behind it. Maybe it was because it was so short... or something, I’m not an expert on them.

“I can’t start a Soul Song…”

“May I ask why?” I asked softly. It was clear that it was a sore point for Storyteller so I didn’t want to be more forceful.

Storyteller didn’t immediately answer me. He just continued to stare out at the grasslands for several minutes. “With exception of the diamond dogs ponies have always had the highest occurrence of Harmony Songs as the ponies call them… or called them… The griffons being the lowest…” He explained.

Okay… that didn’t answer my question, but I don’t think he will… unless he’s saying he’s a griffon… which would explain the I don't kill sentient beings line…

Now that I wasn’t, currently at least, marching to what I’m sure will be my death by stairs. (I could see the headlines: Pegasus Dies by Taking Stairs… Everypony would laugh from the absolute absurdity of it… I know I would.) I could finally think straight and the more I thought the more I found myself annoyed. It was something that I noticed as Storyteller was telling his story. With exception of Medallions murder it just seemed too clean too easy. Every time they would get caught in a corner they would usually Sentinel would be like ‘Surprise! I also can do this now…’

“I think you are exaggerating Sentinel abilities I mean it's like nothing can touch him as every time he is ‘outmatched’ you spring a new surprise…” I voiced my complaint. “It just seems like, at least with him, that nothing can touch him… ‘Look at me I have all of the memories and magic of this brilliant alicorn unlike other dragons’ and so on.”

“This is all happening because dragons are returning to harmony…” Storyteller began his, probably perfect, counter to my complaint. “Now being in harmony isn’t about being orderly, cookie cuttered, but a natural balance. For the dragons that would be back to where they would and should be if the curses of the ‘Nameless One’ wasn’t interfering. Usually speaking, the first to return to that state are, again usually, the Keeper, followed by those closest to them, and from there it spreads outward. The curses that the Nameless One put on the dragons in particular force them to become ‘brutes,’ tanks that are nothing but engines of destruction which they are not though their strength is not to be taken lightly..”

Well that would explain the rage growth... but this doesn't really explain Sentinel… It’s not to say this isn’t interesting and helpful but… I surreptitiously took some slow breaths to control myself before I burst again like I did that time I called Sentinel a monster.

“Dragons are about passion… Like the passion Scorpion has for music or the passion Quartermaster as for his metal creations. They never do anything hoard related merely ‘adequately’ more so for a mature hoarder. For example, the birdsnest by the forge may have been done quickly but the exquisite details even on parts that will never been seen would amaze any artist that uses metal as a medium.”

Storyteller shook his head. “Hoarding is such a incorrect term for what dragons are about... ”

But what about Sentinels god like power, that just in the nick of time superheroisms!?

“Remember when I said that everything about dragons is magic? births, growth, names, flames, even their bodies? Bodies being the key here…”

“Yeah…” I admitted, though truthfully it had been a long story and he specifically talked about that several days ago so I only vaguely remembered.

“Remember He of The Barren South and how Scorpion (then He of Music) noticed something strange about him as he departed?”

“Uh…” Now that I didn’t remember. Probably because of what happened right after that. I shivered a bit from the memory of the mere description of Medallion's body. I was glad that with the exception of the images of ‘The Nameless One’ and the dragons of the Hourglass clan that he showed me in the Salt Flats that he had not been using visuals to augment his storytelling.

“It’s okay…” Storyteller mused. “To be fair I kind of glossed over it… After the successful bonding of the wendigos of the south arctic to He of the Barren South and Scorpion’s third major growth. Scorpion remarked that his eyes was glowing red just like wendigos and his body seemed to be transparent.”

“So he became a wendigo…” I shuttered at the implications of what Storyteller was implying and the conclusion I came to.

“Now you got it…” I really shook after that. Storyteller didn’t even notice or didn’t care as he kept going. “The ultimate expression a dragon can have for his or her hoard is to become one with that hoard. He of the Barren South became a wendigo dragon because of all of the wendigo magic that his body was subject to… there actually is an example of this happening in ponies. The crystal ponies were around and imbued with the Crystal Hearts magic for so long that they picked up crystallin properties themselves…”

I wonder what that could mean for a clan of dragons being around the chaotic leyonic magic around here...

“In the same way that is what happened to Scorpion just not to the extreme of He of the Barren South. Scorpion can’t talk unless he projects telepathically like he has been. When he talks it’s only by singing and only Soul Songs…”

If my jaw could dropped any further when Storyteller said that I’m sure I would have fallen of the stairs. Much to my further embarrassment, Storyteller chuckled.

“Yeah, that’s the reaction that most have when they hear that… well either that or complete denial... As for his ocarina and guitar, they kept changing along with him because when he Chose he was wearing them... Which normally would not be affected except that they were in his hoard… A choosing is an extremely powerful magically event somehow those instruments became a part him…”

“What!?” I shook my head in denial. “What is that suppose to mean!? ‘Became a part of him.’”

“That was the exactly what Quartermaster had said… Scorpan, who specialized in biological magic such as emblem magic, hardly believed it himself… It even shocked Scorpion.”

“Okay… but what does this have to do with the fact that Sentinel seems to be ‘the savior,’ the… ‘super dragon?’” I mocked as my anger started to rise again. “I mean I’d expect a self named storyteller such as yourself would go out of your way to not be so nerve rackingly secretive!”

“Are you some foal that can’t read between the lines and make connections!?”

I was about to retort when Storyteller suddenly stood up.

“This isn’t some children's ‘safe’ bedtime story where the heroes never lose and the evil guys never wins” Storyteller began to rant. “I didn’t exaggerate the evilness of the Nameless One and then, of course, make it so my ‘hero’ can’t die or come close even though the ‘hero’s’ do win in the end as it’s clear we aren’t under the claw of him... I can get that you might have troubles believing some elements like an upside down mountain. But after all this time you take me for some charlatan show person!? YOU YOU CAME TO ME FOR ANSWERS! Answers about a stained glass window!! A stain glass window that has a story behind it!”

Even though I was wilting under the pressure of the angry cloaked figure I tried to and failed to stop the onslaught. Storyteller was on a roll and he wasn’t going to be stopped. And I thought the previous rant at the oasis was bad.

“Why MUST EVERYONE think that the only stories that storytellers like myself tell must be some fantastical stories that are one part truth and six parts fluffy goodness!?” Storyteller continued to yell at and around me. “Why can’t there be truthful storytellers! True, I’m not giving you every detail, but then it would be a lecture! I’m trying not to make this too dry! Go take a university class…. Go listen to the professor droned on and on about on the 5th of blah blah in the year blah blah blah… General blah blah had tea and crumpets with Lady so in so! Here is word for word what they said for the next hour before he ‘popped the question.’ Blah blah blah... You can always read the full story later! Better yet, why don’t we just turn around and I give you the the journals of those involved and all of the charts and diagrams and every little piece of data no matter how mundane and let you figure this out on your own! People these days! No wonder the art of storytelling is a lost art…” Storyteller finally stopped but the anger still came off of him in waves.

It was then, now I had a second to recover, that I realized I did it again. Insulting a talent… is like one of the worse social taboos in pony culture and I just did it. I mentally cringed. His name is Storyteller for ponies sake and I just insulted the artform to his face… “I… I’m...”

“No. Don’t.” I shrunk back again as Storyteller rose higher and closer to me in a threatening matter… Which was made all the more effective by me being on a lower step along with his still hooded and unseeable face. “I don’t want to hear your stuttering, spur of the moment, half hearted, non apology, apology…”

He said nothing else as turned around and continued on up the stairs. I grudgingly followed right behind, trying to find a way to apologize in a way that was heartfelt. It was slow going as I was still aching from the climb so far. And now I had the emotional pain to add to it.

---

“In answer to your earlier ‘comment,’” Storyteller finally said something several hours later after we stopped for the evening, thankfully. “When I went off on a tangent about Scorpion and He of the Barren South it was supposed to make you think. What is happening to Sentinel slash Vorac one could just say that it has to do with his Keeper status as Keepers themselves are in a different class altogether which to a small extent is true. I used the normal examples of Scorpion and He of the Barren South to try and combat that a bit. Even with all of the advantages the clan, including Sentinel, seems to be acquiring at just a fast pace many will die…the victory either way will be no victory… remember the memorial park.” Storyteller countered sadly. “After all, why else would it be tagged tragedy?”

Comments

[Rammy]

Additional A/N: Why do I have the sudden urge to sing the Never ending storrrrrrry Ahahah ahahah ahahah...
*cough*

[RadicalDishonesty]

... The listener's gripe about Sentinel wasn't addressed. Instead something unrelated was explained.

In fact, he was talking about the "Surprise at every turn!" and then this happened:

“In the same way that is what happened to Scorpion just not to the extreme of He of the Barren South. Scorpion can’t talk unless he projects telepathically like he has been. When he talks it’s only by singing and it’s not just normal singing but Soul Songs…”

If my jaw could dropped any further when Storyteller said that I’m sure I would have fallen of the stairs. Much to my further embarrassment, Storyteller chuckled.

As if Storyteller didn't even pay attention. To be honest the shocking revelation that it's a soul song isn't that shocking. Not with all the claims about EB anyway.

Real question: Why would you include an almost-version of the things I talk about if you weren't going to address it and it wasn't going to be an argument with me by-proxy? Listener didn't even really say my gripe, so it sounds even more like strawmanning in your story.

... If you were gonna have an argument about stuff that was an argument in the comments and try to make it about the characterization, you'd probably need the listener to have a much better defined personality than he does now. Right now he is just a curious audience surrogate, so there's no way for me to say "oh! his personality is coming through when he says X or Y" rather than "This is my argument, but crappy."

And the part where Storyteller is suddenly yelling at the listener, after... a page break? Did something happen and you forgot to put it in? Basically it's like he was explaining, and then suddenly he's angry about having to explain with no... segue.

[Rammy]

6511923 This intermission and the previous chapter were planed at the same time... and I had a sneaky you might just a bit equate History Seekers rant as some sort of poorly veiled you...which its not... though I did want to address a trope...

yeah the page break is really bad I'm going to need to fix that...And thanks to you i think I found a way to fix it... see this is why I need you...

History Seeker has consistently had difficulty dealing with some of the shock and awe moments for him remember he's coming into this story at the beginning of book three unlike most of the readers that (I hope) have been with the story since book 1.