//------------------------------//
// For Reasons 
// Story: A Bridge Between Brothers 
// by Rammy 
//------------------------------//


ബഐബഐബഐ Garble ബഐബഐബഐ


“What are you doing here!?” H.K. roared at Spike, his rainbow mane wiping around like it was suddenly windy. I had not seen H.K. this angry since that day... That day that I tried to get Spike to smash that phoenix egg. I had expected H.K. to be a bit angry especially after saving our scaly hides from those shadow demons but not stone cold furious.

I felt awful for Spike the full force of H.K. fury was not something I would wish on any dragon. As expected Spike was shaking in fear and could only whimper in response. 

“H.K...”

I immediately regretted trying to help Spike as H.K. spun on me. I was wrong before he looked even more furious then he ever was with me. I could see a white light coming from the back of his mouth. “I was not talking to you Garble!” 

As H.K. bared down on me I suddenly flashed back to my days as a worm under his ‘care.’ I could feel every beating and cut all over again. Every sneering insult replaying over and over...

“You're H.K.!?” Twixt’d sudden exclamation thankfully pulled me out of my nightmarish flashbacks as well as removing H.K.’s gaze away from me and on to him. I gulped when he huffed. "I don't see why Spike would need someone like you."

But much to my relief H.K. merely gave Twixt’d a hard glare who merely returned in. But as time went on and nothing happened I started to feel a sense of unease building again. So when H.K. snorted I nearly jumped out of my scales.

“We shall talk about this later...” H.K. flatly remarked as he bent down and picked up the unconscious Silver. “Its not safe out here.” 

“But you slaughtered those... those things while singing! Singing!” Twixt’d complained in disbelief. He looked over at both Spike and I in confusion. I shrugged as I had nothing. I didn't understand the singing either and from the way Spike was shivering he was still in shock from H.K.'s gaze.

H.K. didn’t answer as we walked away deeper into ever darkening the city. The moon was peaking over when he walked into a large building near the strange spring tower. I blinked a bit when H.K. horn lit up allowing us to see the inside of the building we had entered. I looked around to see that we were in a large non descriptive room with three corridors leading off in three directions. 

I didn't get any chance to look around further as H.K. didn't slow down, immediately taking the left corridor. We walked down the left corridor I noticed that the door at the end was interestingly off it hinges. It was becoming increasingly clear to me that something beyond the shadow demons was wrong with the city. Besides those creatures I noticed that there was alot of dust and dirt caking everything and as much as I didn't care about dirt I knew that most other races had issues with their homes being in a mess. Then there was things like that door... it wasn't the only door I had seen that was off their hinges, broken and in pieces, or missing all together

"Is this a library?” Twixt'd whispered to himself as we entered the the room beyond the broken door. "Why a library!?"

I had to agreed with Twixt’d’s confusion, there had to be better places to stay then in a library.

“I have my reasons for being in the library... So I suggest you remain in this building.” H.K. growled out as we passed row after row of bookshelves filled with books and scrolls.

“So what are we, prisoners?” I cringed at Twixt'd accusation. Twixt’d didn’t know H.K. like I did otherwise he would not dare to push him when he was angry. 

“Leave and die. Stay and live. I don’t care either way.”

“You don’t care!?” I cringed as Spike bravado seemed to have returned. “Is that why you left Equestria to be destroyed!? Is that why you... you... abandoned me?"

“If you want to be a sheltered brat go back to Equestria. I don’t have the time for this.” H.K. coldly shrugged, not even looking over at Spike as he turned down one of the aisles without slowing.

I nearly tripped over my feet in surprise. That was not the H.K. I knew. Sure he was as hotheaded and strong as any dragon could get but with Spike not so much. He loved Spike as if he was the crown jewel of his hoard. Hell Spike was able to tear into H.K. without any reciprocation when he found out how H.K. (was rightfully) treating me... and then when Twilight and I found H.K. in the Everfree he seemed just... devastated over Spike being hurt over is 'death.' What happened to H.K.?

Spike, however, was livid but he appeared to be unable to come up with any to say as he just opened and shut his mouth until he finally just huffed and crossed his arms. I'm sure if it wasn't for the fact that we were following H.K. and he was supplying the only light in the darkness he would not even look in H.K.'s direction.

I was further confused with H.K. when he lead us through another door that led to another large circular room. This one, along with bookshelves lines the wall, had a large hoard of gems and coins in the center, glistening in the light of several lit lanterns. Where did he get some many gems in such a short amount of time? Did he just decide to move his hoard for some odd reason?

The problem was that both made no sense to me as I don't ever remember H.K. having this many gems or coins and he never seem all that interested in them either. Of course, he never allowed me much freedom in his old home so it was possible this was his hoard and I never saw it as it was located where I could not go...

H.K. gently put down Silver next to the hoard and pulled out some cloths from a nearby desk that I had missed in my initial glance around the room. He slowly cleaned Silver's wounds which looked much worse in the light of the library. The claw marks on his tail were so deep that his tail was nearly shortened. That wasn't the only terrible injury Silver had. The area that he was hit by those beams, his shoulder, looked almost... burnt. Odd, given that dragon scales are very resistant to heat even magical heat.

“Is he going to be okay?” Twixt'd asked, eyeing Silver's grievous injuries.

“Yes... " H.K. sighed after wrapping up Silver's tail and turning to the shoulder area. "His tail will scar and he will have to refrain from using it for a while... He should count himself lucky though that none of the mana beams hit him in the wings...” 

I shuddered at the implication of those words. To lose a part of a tail was one thing for a dragon but to lose ones wings... would make them no dragon at all, just a wingless lizard. Even a wimp like Silver didn’t deserve that. 

"Whelp I guess there is nothing left to do but sleep..." I raised an eyebrow as Twixt'd yawned and walked over to the edge of the room and curled down on the floor. What dragon, besides Spike, would not want to sleep on gems? 

"Great, another dragon that doesn't care..." Spike grumbled to himself as he laid next to Silver. A moment later he too was asleep snoring lightly.

H.K. grunted as he pulled out a scroll from the desk and started to write. I watched for a while not sure what to do... H.K. didn't seemed to care that I was watching him but after yawning a few times I decided to take advantage of the gem pile and shifted some of into a make shift bed before curling down. As uncaring as Twixt'd comment sounded he was right there was nothing we could do right now.

I was about to fall asleep when I noticed a flame circling fire near the ceiling above. I narrowed my eyes to get better look only to see that it was H.K.'s phoenix companion, Soots. I rolled my eyes as Soots dived down and landed on H.K.'s shoulder. I should have know that Soots would be here.

I shrugged it off and was about to finally fall asleep when H.K. spoke up. “Soots take this to Thesējs tho Tzirüs...ugh... I mean Twilight...”

That caught my attention. A scroll, probably the one that he had been writing on, was now rolled up and floating in H.K.'s weird green and purple magic. Soots head titled a bit at the scroll before he cawed. H.K. smiled for the first time tonight at whatever the phoenix had said. “Yes, you may Soots...”

“Um... H.K. Spike can... can send Twilight your *yawn* letter through his fire...” I yawned out as Soots carefully took the scroll in his beak.

“Interesting...” H.K. noted as Soots flew off with the scroll, “However, I have my reasons for this method.”

What possible reason would he have for such a slow method?! It would take the phoenix at least a week to fly to Equestria while Spike’s fire would get the letter there in mere moments. But I was unable able to dwell it any further as I soon was fast asleep.