Okay somehow this chapter was published (stupid publish button!) way before it was ready so please reread it as it should now be actually be completed. How I didn't get any comments on its incompleteness I have no idea..
ബഐബഐബഐ Twilight ബഐബഐബഐ
"This will be the last you will likely see and hear from me Twilight.... Once I have recovered a bit I will be leaving..."
"But I need your help with Spike!" I protested, the volume and speed of my voice increasing as I went. "And the war too! You are the Keeper of the Oath for the dragons right? Can't you do something? And don't forget Discord I mean he did all that chaos and the Elements! If they won't work on them then they won't work on the dragons!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa slow down Twilight..." H.K. chuckled. I blushed hard when I realized I went into panic mode again before I huffed when I realized that I was embarrassed in front of him. I couldn't believe he was making light of this! "Okay...So it seems it's three big things then. Spike, Discord, and the war.. To begin with I can't help you with Spike..."
"What?! But his dragon instincts! He nearly destroyed Ponyvile once already, if another awakens... And for that matter how was Princess Celestia suppose to know what to look for!? How was I? What exactly are 'dragon instincts'!?" I spouted off another quick line of questions. I could feel my chest clinch with my rising panic.
"Oathbreaker, as a Keeper of the Oath, was told what those instincts are and what to look for. Clearly she never told you..." H.K. grumbled. "No surprise at this point..."
"Then why didn't you tell me!?"
"I am a dragon by adoption and that makes me a dragon not a pony and, unlike Oathbreaker here, I know not to even think of doing anything that might be as seen as violating it. You were to raise him not I. And being in contact with you would be seen as interfering and a violation of the Oath, annoying trust me... "
"But you sent those letters..."
"To begin with, it was Spike that reached out to the dragons themselves, with your permission, other wise why else would you allow him join the Migration? You did just merely watch from your pathetic disguise. So I could reach out in turn. Besides that, the letters came after Oathbreaker broke the Oath, though I wasn't aware of it at the time..."
"But why letters, and why so long after the Migration!?" I snapped, frustrated.
"Well, again, I wasn't aware that his instincts had awaken so I had time to figure out how best to reach out... I mean how do you reach out to someone you 'gave up'?"
I opened my mouth to speak but quickly shut it. He had a point one that even I couldn't answer and somehow I think that anything I could say would come out so wrong.
"I have two, maybe three, weeks left, Twilight, especially after today... It's not enough time to even begin to teach you even the basics of hoarding much less some of the others... although Garble can help you with those..."
"But Spike's hoarding seems to be under control..."
"Remember I said that once an instinct is awaken a dragon has no choice but to follow said instinct to its conclusion... It is not under control and will not be until his Choosing..."
"Well can't you at least quickly teach me the basics or give me a book?" I growled. I my frustration was growing at the lack of helpful answers.
"I'm sorry, Twilight, it's not something that can be learned in a book or taught in a classroom. I had to spend centuries living with and studying growing dragons before I was declared sufficient enough to be able to tell the differences between hoarding and not hoarding. Sometimes I envy the Dragon Heritage Memories..."
It took him centuries!? My mouth dropped. Just to learn the hoarding instinct? How long did it take for the others, whatever they were?! Also, 'Dragon Heritage Memories'... what is that?
"I'm sorry there is really nothing I can do... If the Oaths were still intact then you would be sending him to the Dragon Lord and he would be dealing with this..."
"But there has to be something I can do to help! Anything!" I cried out. Why is it that everything thing I do to try and help Spike fails? Why?! "I can't stand him so depress and lost...AND NO PONY OR DRAGON IS WILLING TO HELP!"
I couldn't stand it anymore and started bawling.
"He is like a brother to you isn't' he?" H.K. hobbled over and lifted my head. His eyes, which had been up to the point been cold and hard, had soften. Something I didn't think would be possible for one such as him. "I can tell...and not just by your tears... I was told by He of the Everfree about how you kept disturbing him for help. To boldly approach a dragon, especially one that had been stolen from, is either really brave or stupid... But, please, do not go speak to him again. There is a limit to his patience..."
H.K. then hobbled away, picked up his sword, looked at it for a moment, and then flashed it away. "I wouldn't worry too much about Discord. I believe now that he has forced Oathbreaker to face the music in his own way, he should, to the most part, leave you ponies alone. Though, knowing him, he is probably still hanging around, watching Spike."
What!? I paled in horror, my tears instantly forgotten. Spike was going through enough as it was, and he still get phantom stomach pains from all those letters Princess Celestia sent. He didn't need more...
"Relax, Discord is my best friend he won't mess with Spike." H.K. tried to reassure me from my horror.
I rolled my eyes as I growled out in irritation. "I believe that when he's in stone..."
"Well, like I said before, the Elements don't work just because you don't like chaos..." H.K. shrugged... or half shrugged as his scarred shoulder didn't move. "As long as he doesn't do chaos for 'evil' or malicious reasons then they will not work on him."
"Now..." H.K. sighed. "As for the war...I'm afraid, like Discord, you won't like my answer. I can't do anything about the war."
"Can't or won't." I growled out, gritting my teeth hard. H.K claimed he would answer my questions, but so far, they had been less then helpful!
H.K. sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Can't. It is clear that Oathbreaker will never accept her punishment, to be executed for her crimes, and even if she did her ponies would only continue the fight to avenge the death of their, never-can-do-anything-wrong, 'Goddess...' Twilight... when an oath is broken the only way dragons can stop is for her death..."
"Well can't they do something similar to what you did to... you know..." I hoped that H.K knew what I was implying because I really didn't have the stomach to come out and say it.
"Doubtful..."
"But there must be something, anything we can do." H.K. was right, while Celestia being killed in battle or executed would demoralize many there would be those that would bid their time and get revenge only to bring more violence on us... There just had to be a way to stop this war from ever beginning without losing any lives...
"I didn't say it was impossible... But it will take an extreme about mental strength to over come the beastial rage... and then you have to convince dragons that whatever 'death' picked is a strong enough of a death..."
"Can't you?"
H.K. looked at me in silence for a moment before speaking one word. "No."
"No? NO?! NO!?!?! The ponies are facing genocide and you said NO!?!?! I get you have some beef with Princess Celestia... but GAH!" I roared in anger. By the end of my rant I could smell my mane burning.
"The process would not even have began before I pass on from this world, especially as it would take another Oath... Good luck getting any dragon to trust any pony and there are only two, Luna and Mia Amore Cadenza, that have the lifespans to not have to go through the entire process every fifty years or so..."
So there is nothing that can be done then... I sighed in defeat. I had no idea what to do... nor could I research it out. There just wasn't much on dragons and what little we did have was purely conjuncture. I suppose Princess Celestia or Princess Luna might have some ideas... but something tell me that they won't be much better... I hate this!
"At least you still have some time to figure it out..."
"What do you mean?" I asked, choosing to ignore the fact that H.K. seemed to have responded to my unspoken words of despair. Figure what out? I could have all the time in the world and will get nowhere! I have nothing to work with and the only 'expert' is not only being unhelpful but is dying...
"There can only be one reason the dragons haven't attacked. Dragon Lord Torch is constructing a Gauntlet of Fire..."
"Gauntlet of Fire?" I repeated.
"It's how a new Dragon Lord is chosen. What it entails is not important, what is is that you have around eighteen months or so until they do attack. It will most likely take that long for Dragon Lord Torch to construct his gauntlet, call all of eligible dragons to participate, and for a new Dragon Lord to be chosen.... though I warn you, it could be less... And do not think of having Spike doing what I know you are thinking."
"But why not? If Spike managed to become the new Dragon Lord then maybe this whole war can be adverted!"
"First of all, it would be a big if of Spike becoming the next Dragon Lord of the Wasteland Dragons. Second... Oh how do I put it a way so that it makes sense..." H.K rubbed his forehead, clearly in thought. Great that could only mean more complicated dragon 'mumbo jumbo.' "Ugh... well, let's just say permanent memory wipe and leave it at that."
"Wait, are you saying..." I began, too shocked to continue. That would be far worse!
"Dragon Lord Torch basically knows nothing of his time before becoming the Dragon Lord." H.K. answered as he put his cloak back on. "All that remains was his personality. I don't think you need me to explain further do I?"
H.K. stood silently for a moment before turning and walking out. Luckily, by then, I had managed to shake out of my stupor enough to notice that he was leaving and quickly followed.
H.K. seem quite sure of himself as he didn't pause at all, immediately heading south and towards the deeper part of the forest. Something, in which, he, apparently, was none too pleased to have me do. "Head back to Ponyville Twilight, the deep Everfree is no place for a pony."
I rushed to keep up with H.K. who had somehow managed to increase his speed to a light trot. How, I don't know, between the undergrowth, his recent recovery from that goo stuff, and his shoulder he shouldn't be able to manage to go this fast. I needed him to give me more information to go with they vague unhelpful hints! "Wait! I need more...You can't just leave us! What of your brother!?"
At that H.K. stopped and looked back over his shoulder at me. "Go to the castle in the Everfree, hidden deep within its catacombs you will find a journal... But be warned, the cost may more then you may be able to bear..."
"I will do anything for Spike..."
"I knew that you were special Twilight... I knew it the night I saw you with Spike... But, then again, Tzirüstele Atülāja did choose you..." H.K. smiled as he walked into the darkness of the forest and disappeared. His voice echoed out a few more words. "Farewell and good luck..."
I stood there has H.K.'s final words echoed in my mind. It was then that I noticed that the light was fading fast and I didn't want to wander the forest at night. With a worried sigh I turned away from where H.K. disappeared and walked back towards Ponyville. I can wait until tomorrow to find this journal and what it may contain.