A Bridge Between Brothers

by Rammy

The Loss

ബഐബഐബഐ Discord ബഐബഐബഐ

So, let me see if I got this... Because H.K. looked like these dragons' hoard they spared him and if I'm hearing you correctly made him a part of their hoard!?

Well, in a nutshell, yes.

But that makes no sense!

Uh, well, I suppose so, but you do remember when I said don't understand how dragons think?

Vaguely.

Yeah, then, there you go. Now, where was I?

In time, the love that the dragons had for H.K. morphed from the love of his fur to the one of the pony underneath. It was the moment that the dragons offered to adopt him that H.K. realized that the one thing he was looking for and need but was never able to find was family...

Then why did he leave me with Twilight? Why did he let Oathbreaker talk him into.. into abandoning me...

He didn't abandoned you... the night he found out of your hatching he also visited me. I don't think I had ever seen him so joyful... He... He was so giddy that to this day I was sure he had a bit too much to drink. And he never drinks!

But that doesn't answer why.

Two things. One, H.K.'s life was not exactly 'safe for foals' or in this case hatchling and I don't mean by living as a dragon. H.K. had to be on the move almost constantly in order to deal with abominations like Nightmare Moon before they got too strong and destroyed the entire world. So, it made sense to keep you save in peaceful Equestria...

And the other thing?

Twilight is the other 'thing.' When he spied on you two the night he found out about your hatching he saw something that melted his heart. Even at her young age, Twilight was giving you the same look that his parents gave him. I believe you were sucking on her hooves.

Bwahaha! I knew you were a tail sucker but to be a hoof sucker too!

Just... just continue your story... before I die of embarrassment...

H.K. spent many years with his parents learning the true ways of dragons. But in time, his call to protect led him to travel once again. But he could not bare to be gone for long from his new home so he would go out and travel the world he always made it a point to come home whenever he could.

This went on for a long time, until tragedy cruelly showed his face once again. H.K. was finally returning home after a particular longer and more difficult then normal journey. Though he was quite tired, he could hardly contain himself as he walked along the hidden path that would led him straight to the cave entrance. The same cave in fact, that he had found on that rainy night many years before. His joy, however, turn to concern, then panic as he could feel and hear sounds of explosions coming from deep within the mountain.

H.K rushed in the main cavern to find his father already in the throws of death using his body to try and protect his mother. The glowgems, for an unknown reason, where detonating in a cascade… H.K. knew that the cascading explosion would only get worse so he tried to get them to leave, but no matter what he did they wouldn’t...

Of course H.K. couldn't, dragons don’t abandon their hoards…

Exactly right Garble. Seems there are some brain cells still under that bruised skull of yours.

Grr...

But, then, why was I able to...

What's that Spike?

...N-nothing!

But H.K. could not bare to lose them so he kept trying. Even after his father died before his eyes H.K. did not give up trying to get at least his mother out. But as with his father she too refused to leave… His pleas suddenly stopped when his mother directed his attention downwards. When H.K. looked down his sight fell upon a single egg. Apparently, sometime in his most recent travels they had managed to finally lay a single egg. In that moment, H.K. understood what he needed to do. With that understanding his mother used her finals breaths to sing something over the egg and then carefully held it out for H.K. to take.

Sing? Why would she do that at a time like that?

Yeah, dragons sing over the eggs they lay.... not sure why...

I believe in your tongue it's called... Egg Naming... I think... and I don't know why either... All I know is that you don't share it with just anyone...

Discord... do you... Do you, by chance know what she, my mother that is, sang?

I'm sorry, I don't...

H.K. carefully took your egg and teleported some distance outside the mountain. It was then that the cascade became critical and the mountain lit up brighter then the sun. He only had the time to throw up the strongest shield he could before the shockwave engulfed him.

The blast was so powerful that it effected the leys line for well over a thousand miles. Far enough that I felt the disruption while I was in Traxti City, a neutral, multinational city along the northern shores of the eastern continent. I was there enjoying the night life of the city when I felt the shiver climb up and down my spine stopping me dead in my tracks. What was that? It seems familiar... it almost feels like when... when...

Please not again!

I rushed south as fast as I could, but even using my magic to augment my speed it still took me two full days to reach the site of what I had felt. The sun was nearing the horizon when I came upon a huge plume of mana smoke which, after all that time, still clung to the air. Because of this, when I initially made my approach I was unaware the enormity of the situation. But when I pierced the mana smoke I nearly fell out of the sky in shock. Now I would not be one to normally admit this, but I was quite versed in the world's geography. I could put all the best tour guides out of business with all the secret 'paradises' I knew of...

Why am I not surprised? Of course, you would be an expert at geography. All the better to know the best places to hide!

Well, I can't deny that... but it does help with other things as well...

Where once was a mountain that stretched higher then Canter Mountain, that, admittedly, for me, never really tweaked my interest, there was nothing left! Nothing remained of it. All I could see was a smoldering crater.

What could have caused this? I shivered in fear as I noticed that all magic in area in and around the crater was gone. Even the ley lines seemed to be avoiding the area. How is that even possible?!

It was much to my relief, when I soon found H.K. standing on the edge of the crater, staring off into the distance. Probably was trying, like I was, to find out what had happened here. I, however, wasn't exactly smart when it came to the 'technical' aspects of magic, but if ever was a time to know the technical aspects of magic this would diffidently qualify. I hoped the he had already figured something out. Anything that could take out a mountain and mana was a force to be feared.

I slowly lowered my self down next to him, trying to keep myself calm. "H.K. do you have any idea what happened here?"

It was some time before H.K. finally answered. “They are gone…”

“They are gone?!” I repeated in confusion. The only thing gone was the mana in the area and of course the unremarkable mountain. Plus, far as I knew, no one lived around here for many miles.

I was quite concern by H.K. answer. I have been friends with him for several millennia by this point but he was not acting like himself at all. He wasn't the type to be cryptic when something serious was going down... at least not with me. “I don’t understand… and that is saying a-”

“Those BUCKING GEMS KILLED THEM!” I stumbled back from the sheer force of the raging roar that came from H.K.

I had never seen him so angry before, even after that we discovered that one town massacred for a vile dark magic ritual. His rage was so strong that even the air around responded, swirling around us. But all that didn't really answer my question. I just hoped that I could get it out of him without him turning his anger on me. "Killed who?”

“...my parents…” H.K. whispered so softly I barely caught it in the light breeze that still lingered around after his outburst.

H.K. was quite private about his family, but I one thing I did know was that his parents died long ago so he only confused me further. It was then that I noticed a purple and green egg lying in a pile of rags between his hooves. I couldn't think of a reason for H.K. to ever have a dragon's egg until what he had just said clicked in my mind.

"Are... Are you saying that dragons adopted you?!"

H.K. never responded, he just started balling, hard. All I could do was watch with concern and sympathy as H.K lowered himself to the ground, clutching, protectively, the dragon's egg. He would lay there sobbing and nuzzling the egg long into the night and far into the next day.

---

With a sigh I ended my story of H.K.'s early life. Spike looked like he was on the verge of crying. I don't blame him, I did just tell him how his parents died. I pulled up my fur on my lion's arm to take a look at my watch. Hmmm... took longer then planned... The rest would have to wait until after I crashed the 'party.' Enough time should have past for Sunbutt to not tell the Summit the truth. Plus this would give time for Spike to process everything I just revealed. And I don't have to tell my side just yet...

I was about to snap myself away when Garble walked up to me and whispered in a low voice. "Um... should I be worried about... you know... blowing up?"

"No. H.K. made sure that it would never happen again. Just don't forget what I said or I will blow you up."

Author's Note:

Like, fav, comment otherwise FlutterRage will make you love me!

Comments

[RadicalDishonesty]

It should have been long enough now for Sunbutt to not tell them the truth.

Was this a typo? It taking longer would indicate Celestia would have time to say things, but he says it's been so long that she would not?

Also does Discord know he's bringing two dragons who want to kill Celestia to Celestia? I'm really hoping he has a plan for that instead of just being stupid.

I appreciated this chapter, lots of stuff was revealed but you kept the reactions to mundane revelations pretty tame and had more emotional responses to more tragic circumstances.

[Rammy]

7934912

It should have been long enough now for Sunbutt to not tell them the truth.

Was this a typo? It taking longer would indicate Celestia would have time to say things, but he says it's been so long that she would not?

No he's saying that its been long enough for her to tell the truth but he has already figured out that she will not...or thinks that... I have edited it a bit to make it more clear...

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Also does Discord know he's bringing two dragons who want to kill Celestia to Celestia? I'm really hoping he has a plan for that instead of just being stupid.

Going alone:

I was about to snap myself away...

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I appreciated this chapter, lots of stuff was revealed but you kept the reactions to mundane revelations pretty tame and had more emotional responses to more tragic circumstances.

Well true... but considering that last two chapters have Discord as the narrator...yeah... Also remember Spike does't trust Discord to not lie and he's trying to delay Discord while he figures out a way get the girls...

If I could keep Discord talking I could use that time to figure out a way to get the girls back here and thereby the Elements...

what he clearly doesn't know is that Discord is using this as an opportunity to kill some time before he makes an appearance at the summit...