//------------------------------//
// That Unveils 
// Story: A Bridge Between Brothers 
// by Rammy 
//------------------------------//


ബഐബഐബഐ Garble ബഐബഐബഐ


I groaned as felt something lightly tapping me on the shoulder pulling me out of a particularly enjoyably dream. A slight crack of my eye told me that it was still dark and thus too early. I grunted before I rolled over and was about fall back asleep when I felt something poke me again. When I fully opened my eyes I gulped back a yelp. The white dragon was staring me down and for a moment I flashed back to my days under H.K.'s 'care.' Though H.K. tended to be very violent whenever he woke me.

I stared at the white dragon jerked his head back and to the side before walking away and taking off. Clearly he wanted me to follow him, but why? I looked around to see that both Silver and Spike were still asleep. Twixt'd was no where in sight but then again he was so distrustful that I've yet to see him sleep. My guess he was off somewhere else out of sight but close enough to keep an eye on us.

I shook my head of those thoughts as I jumped into the air and followed the white dragon. If he was anything like H.K. he would not tolerate wasting time 'thinking.' I figured that the white dragon merely wanted to speak to me away from prying ears. But as we fly out of sight of the campfire I slowed down. If we kept going we risked getting lost as it was I was concerned that we were already 'lost.'

"Where are we going?" I questioned as I slowed to a hover. I was not going a wing beat longer as we were more then far enough away and he was still going.

"To the Wastelands." The white dragon growled in irritation as he too slowed to a hover and turned to face me.

"What!?" I shouted in shock, nearly falling out of the sky. Nevermind that I didn't see a good reason to go there at all there was the small problem that without H.K. I could be killed because of my dishonored status, even if it was 'lifted.' I suppose the white dragon could pass off as him given he sounds almost like him but there was still risk there. If we ran into any dragon that happened to know what H.K. really looked like... "I don't think talking with Dragon Lord Torch would be a good idea. And what of Spike, Silver, and Twixt'd?" 

"They are heading back to Equestria." The white dragon explained, rather calmly to my surprise. After what happened with him and Twixt'd back in Hourglass both had extremely short fuses to the point of nonexistence. 

As much as I was glad to not be on the receiving end of his wrath I could not understand why he was abandoning Spike, again. If he was a whelp I could get it, but he was still a hatchling! And he doesn't have the same excuse as H.K. had the last time... I hope. "Why are only you and I going to the Wastelands?"

"I need your expertise in blacksmithing." The white dragon tilted his head in confusion like i somehow was suppose to know.

"Umm..." I blinked trying to comprehend the reason. I don't recall telling H.K. about my blacksmithing. "I have a forge in Equestria..."

"Can you recreate Leafcutter?"

"No, I can't..." I sighed in defeat, looking down at my metal claws. Sure, they were skillfully made, but they were not any better then my natural claws, in actuality they were worse. Now, if it was made from the same stuff as Leafcutter... "But what does that have to do with us flying to the Wastelands?"

"I have neither the skill nor the time. Maybe if I paid more attention..." The white dragon murmured. "I wish he was still around... As much as I loathe him almost as much as Oathbreaker... Oathbreaker for separating me from my bother and H.K. for being indecisive and thus screwing around with Spike when he most needed him. He has abilities and knowledge that I do not..." 

Then why can't you get the book, scroll, or cave drawing instead of sneaking off without a word in the middle of the night! I huffed, rubbing my forehead. Somehow I don't think I'm going to get through to him... I really hope I don't regret this... "Okay... fine. Lead the way."





I could feel my heart racing as we touched down outside the entrance to H.K.'s cave. Even with several days preparation for this moment I found that even outside it it was bringing back memories, memories that I didn't want to have relive. Which only got worse as the white dragon didn't even pause as he walked into the darkness. With a deep breath I stepped in and followed. No use in being namby-pampy and delaying it.

As we walked deep into the mountain my sense of foreboding only increased. Was this some sort of ploy by the white dragon to begin anew the torture? I mean I knew that H.K. released me but I was not sure of the dragon. Worst still was the months of dust on everything along with stale air. It just added to the creepy vibe.

I groaned when the white dragon finally stopped and stood in front of a random bookshelf in the library. Yep. We came all this way for a book! He could have gotten whatever book needed and not dragged me here or left Spike like a thief in the middle of the night! I sighed as I watched the dragon stare at the bookshelf for a few minutes before randomly pulling books off the shelf only to immediately put them back. My irritation morphed to confusion when after several books I realized he wasn't just pulling books out and then putting them back as if they were the wrong book. The way he was putting the books back in seemed a bit too meticulously... wrong.

Suddenly the white dragon stopped and spoke for the first time in days. "H.K. thought you could become a better Dragon Warrior then he was. I think otherwise..." He leered at me from the corner of his eyes. My early fears of this being a ploy were starting to sound to be real. "What I am about to reveal to you must never be revealed to anyone or written down. You do and I will kill you. You abuse this knowledge and so help me Es tevi thozalithāšu. A true death Garble not the symbolic death you went through with H.K., am I clear?"

I gulped hard. I know that H.K. was dead but with exception of his eating the way the white dragon carried himself and spoke it was like he was still alive. "Crystal."

He looked over me a bit longer before putting back the book he had in his paw. As soon as the book touched the shelf there was a faint rumble and the entire shelf slide down into the floor revealing a tunnel. Now all the weird book shuffling made sense. Clearly whatever was down the tunnel was important. H.K.s hoard most likely.

To my bewilderment the tunnel merely lead to a small mostly empty room. Outside of a few knickknacks and a tapestry depicting a lone mountain the only thing of note was a set of amour. Not what I expected from a hoard room. At least the armor look cool even though from its general shape it looked like it was meant for H.K. 

Was this what he needed help on? I wondered as I took a closer look at the armor. I suppose I could attempt to hammer to fit him but there was enough difference between a dragon and a pony that it would be easier to start from scratch.

"It smells just like Leafcutter!" I exclaimed in excitement when I caught a whiff of it's smell. If this amour was anything like Leafcutter it was no wonder H.K. became a Dragon Warrior! But why did he favor using only Leaftcutter and a mere cloak? I don't recall any stories of him donning anything other then a cloak. It wasn't because of the looks of the armor.

My excitement, however, quickly faded as I realized a problem the same problem that had plagued me when I was making my metal claws. "Damn it, this still is not helpful... I can't figure out what makes it smell like it does."

"Here." 

I turned around and raised an eyebrow at the small ornate chest that the white dragon was holding out for me. Okay... It only got stranger when I opened it and saw a single dragon scale along with a small chuck of metal. A dragon scale and a small metal nugget? What does that have to do with anything? I wasn't going to even ask why they were inside what one could call a jewelry box. 

I mean why put it something like that? The dragon scale wasn't remarkable. It was faded and brittle looking, clearly a shed scale. The lump of metal wasn't much better as it looked like just ordinary steel. A quick sniff confirmed that it was a simple steel alloy. One that I was familiar with. Why was the white dragon showing me this? If the the white dragon knew he wasn't saying anything. He was too busy staring at the tapestry. I rolled my eyes. Of course, no help from you... With a huff I slammed the box shut.

Wait, what? In the moment that I shut the box I notice, something faint, something very familiar in the movement of air. I quickly snapped open the box and took a much deeper smell. "Dragon scales!? That's it?! That's what makes Leafcutter so sharp, so deadly?!"