//------------------------------// // Fear, Pain, Concern // Story: The Last Keeper of Harmony // by Rammy //------------------------------// "Where is Harmony?" Discord asked as he saw Twilight approaching them. "No idea, and right now don't care." Twilight grumbled. "Good riddance as far as I'm concerned" Rarity agreed. Discord ears drooped slightly at hearing them bad mouthing Harmony. He so wanted to correct them but for the moment he had to concentrate on getting them out of the Salt Flats safely. No pony seem to notice as the day went on the grass was beginning to pop up out of the cracked and dry land. "This is good enough." Discord suddenly declared. "But the sun is still high." Twilight commented shielding her eyes while eying the sun. Discord sighed visibly deflating, "Yeah maybe but Flutters and Rainbow need time to rest from their ordeals now that we are out of the Salt Flats." At that eveypony finally noticed that instead of sand they where standing on grass. The grass wasn't as lush and green as grass from Equestria but after many days of sand they were happy for any type of grass. Unbidden Rainbow collapsed onto the ground. Fluttershy walked up next to her first friend and laid next to her to give what comfort she could. "How the... what the?" Twilight stuttered clearly confused. "Welcome to the grasslands! Which outside of Hourglass itself is the safest section of the Untamed Wilds." Discord was wearing a brown vest with a name tag that read Discord Untamed Wilds tour guide "Somehow I doubt that." Twilight deadpanned recovered from her momentary confusion. "Good. I hope by now you'd understand not to be complacent." "You are sounding like Harmony." Twilight accused. Applejack and Rarity seemed to agree nodding their heads. Pinkie Pie had started to bounce again so it was impossible to see if she was nodding as well. The remaining made no movement to indicate their thoughts on the matter. Discord drooped at that. No one but Fluttershy noticed. "Um Discord..." "Yes Fluttershy?" "Are you alright?" "Can't get anything past you can I?" Discord remarked noticing that Fluttershy was trying to hide a blush behind her mane. "Did you know that Harmony used to be the kindest pony you could ever find? Even more then Celestia. The harshness of the world and dragons never changed that... until..." Discord trailed off tears watering his eyes. "It's okay." Fluttershy tried to softly reassure him. "No, it's not Fluttershy... Harmony..." Discord sniffed a bit," He is in so much pain and everyone close to him suffers because of this. It has harden him. The only one he is soft to is Spike." "Why?" "..." Discord's mouth opened and shut a few times before staying shut. "Its okay if you can't talk about it." "Thanks Fluttershy..."Discord slowly stroked her mane as he continued to stare off. The sun was beginning to set before Twilight decided to finally confront Discord. After speaking for a few minutes with Fluttershy Discord had hardly uttered a single word. His gaze was always off to the distance as if looking for someone. Fluttershy keep staring off at him visibly worried. She trotted out to the end of the camp where Discord was setting up the red torches. "Leave me be Twilight." Discord stated snapping another torch into place. "No." "I can snap that necklace off of you so you have nothing to threaten me with." Just to demonstrate he snapped a claw and the necklace was around him instead of her. Her eyes went wide as Discord snapped a paw this time and the necklace was back around her neck. "Celestia..." Twilight began before being cut off by an eagle claw clamping her muzzle. "Did no such thing. Harmony was the one to put that spell on the Elements. Which I might add was removed when you returned them to the tree. Now leave me alone." "No." She was not going to stop until Discord opened up. True, Discord and her never fully got along. Being the receiving end of pranks, riddles, and general chaos all the time made it difficult for her to be good friends with him. Still she felt that she should see what she could do if only to help easy Fluttershy's worry. Discord grumbled angrily. "Fine! What do you want and make it quick. I have other things I rather be doing then dealing with you." At that Twilight's anger exploded stomping angrily she nearly yelled, "What is wrong with you!!?" Discord turned to face Twilight who instantly went from anger to outright terror from the fierce, murderous rage coming off of Discord. His fur (where he had it) was fluffed up and he eyes glowed red in power that was nearly as strong as Tirek's. She could hear the magic crackling in the air around her. "If you were not the Bearer of Magic and adopted sister to a Keeper you would be dead right now by MY hands for what you did to Harmony." "You wouldn't dare Celestia..." Twilight said trying not to let any fear taint her words. Discord stuck his face right into hers so all she could see was his glowing red eyes. She visibly paled as the magic around her only got more chaotic and stronger. She couldn't believe it. The amount now rivaled Tirek after absorbing alicorn magic. "You are so lucky Celestia doesn't know about what you did. You tore Harmony to shreds today! The wails of his anguish and complete despair was all I could hear when I checked the Plane of Harmony earlier today. I couldn't, even with my power, dispel it. His will to live is now tied to only one being now: Spike." Twilight didn't have anything to say her fear so gripped her. Huffed at that Discord spoke further. "I would think you would have gotten it when your little 'chat.' The one that nearly killed Harmony! The life of a Keeper is harsh, brutal, bloody, tragic. Tragedy occurs around us all the time. We are the front lines of the war between Harmony and Dark Magic after all. We suffer from mental anguish and gladly take it so others don't suffer. You only had a taste of it and from what I saw I know you can't handle it." Discord relaxed a bit and the magic that threaten to engulf her dissipated. "Harmony is trying to spare you from the horrors of what is coming for as long as he can. He kept you in the dark about the numerous dangers of the Untamed Wilds to keep you from fear. I'm extremely surprised that the only life threatening danger we faced so far was earlier today." "Maybe, but keeping us in complete darkness was not right." Twilight countered finally finding her voice. "In hindsight not the best of ideas." Discord admitted before he face darken again. "Now leave me alone before I do something that you will dearly regret." Twilight anger was rising again but complied and joined the rest by the fire that was now blazing. "You know I can see you." Spike puffed a bit of smoke in irritation. He had been on guard for only an hour when he saw a figure out in the darkness. "No surprise there..." The figure walked into the light revealing that it was Harmony. "Dragonic sight is quite amazing." "Why are you here Harmony? You really did a number on Rainbow." "I'm am here for the same reason I came to Ponyville weeks ago: You." "Yeah, rrright..." Spike rolled his eyes in an exaggerated fashion to make sure Harmony saw it. Harmony decided to ignore the dragon's irritation and get to the point by asking him, "How is the name coming along?" "Uh, okay, I guess." Spike rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. If it was light out he was sure Harmony would have noticed the blush forming on his cheeks. Harmony rubbed his head for a moment. "That is not what I meant." "Then quit speaking in riddles! I swear you're worse then Discord!" Spike was not in the mood, not with what had happened earlier. "One does not learn if one is handed the answers on a silver platter." "Let me guess," Spike pinched the brow of his snout with his claws," You wrote that." "No I didn't." Harmony chuckled lightly before coughing, "Will you stop getting me sidetracked!" "You seem to do that well enough without any help." Spike sarcastically pointed out. Harmony rolled his eyes, a hint of a smile forming, "Have you come up with any candidates for names yet?" "Some, but they just don't feel right." "How so?" "I duuno, they sound cheesy like some really overly puny superhero name." Spike pawed the ground sheepishly trying to hide his embarrassment. "Ah, yes the romanticized knight in shiny armor trap." Harmony deadpanned," It's all great and prefect..." He sounded sad saying the rest, "until the real world crashes down on you." "It's still something to aspire to be." Spike sighed dreamily ignoring or not noticing the sadness in Harmony's voice. Harmony thought on that for a while lulling it around in his head to weigh everything. There were both pros and cons to the direction of what Spike was thinking. The more he thought on it the more he realized that is exactly how Spike carried himself. A knight in shinning armor to protect those that he loved; a knight that would sacrificially protect those who can't protect themselves. He could also tell it was more then that. Something that brought warmth to his heart that he had not felt in many years. Fighting back tears that threatened to surface he thought It is a worthy goal Spike. One that I shall proudly point the way for you so that you find the name that exemplifies what is on your heart. Having made up his mind (knowing that the consequences of further guidance would be worth it) he asked Spike a question. "Have you tried seeing what your 'hoard' has said of you?" "Huh?" Spike scratched his head then blinked a few times. Harmony chuckled lightly at Spike' confusion, "A dragons hoard reflects what they value, right?" Spike slowly nodded. "The Hoard Name is related to what they hoard, right?" Spike nodded again. "So the hoard should reflect some aspect of their name." "So again I ask you..." Harmony suddenly stopped mid sentence frowning. Spike turned around to see what had stop him. There standing between them and the fire was Twilight glaring. Without warning Harmony threw him with his magic. "Name. Now." He growled with a venom that nearly rivaled his rant with Rainbow. For a moment Spike would have sworn that the growl sounded dragonic but he had a more pressing matter as the ground rose up to meet him. Spike grumbled a bit at the impact. He picked himself up, brushed off some of the sand and dirt, and was about to give a snark remark when he noticed that Harmony was staring intently at him. Spike protest stopped in his throat as he pondered the look Harmony was giving him. After a second Spike shrugged and went back to the fire to work on his name. Twilight, her encounter with Discord earlier forgotten in her anger, however, was not inclined to be as forgiving and slapped him hard with her hoof. "How dare you throw him like that!" Twilight hissed after she gotten her barrings back. "He is wavering. He can not waver on this. He must know what his name should be." Harmony calmly stated not giving her the satisfaction of rubbing his sore cheek. He was not really in the best of moods to deal with anyone besides Spike. Twilight was his sister so he swallowed the fighting emotions. "And how does that give you right to treat him harshly?" Twilight spoke through gritted teeth. Her frustration with the enigmatic pony was fraying the last of her patience. "On the contrary, I'm treating him with a light touch. A dragon parent would not be as soft as I am. To show weakness is to invite death." Harmony stated as if it should be obvious to her. Easy don't let your emotions dictate what you say. "Humph." Twilight grimaced then remembered why she walked out here. "What are you doing back anyway? After what you did to Rainbow I was hoping that you wouldn't return." "Don't want me around? I suppose that is to be expected..." Harmony trailed off for a second looking up at the stars, "Fine. You shall have your wish. Before I go I have one question for you." "Fine. Ask it." "Why do you think I'm teaching you the ways of dragons?" Harmony asked still not gazing directly at her. That was unexpected. It was not a question that Twilight was even remotely thinking he would ask. The only answer she could immediately think of was she wasn't sure. She remembered Harmony saying something about not wanting Spike to be alone. But that wasn't the whole story as dragons where naturally solitary. She was missing something she knew it. Harmony never revealed everything. So there had to be a reason for him to talk to her so extensively over the others. She was also sure it had nothing to do with her alicorn status no matter what Harmony had said. He was worse then Celestia! She loved puzzles but even she understood Celestia quirks (as long as she didn't overreact over little things and forget to think logically). A certain incident came to mind and she involuntarily shuttered for a moment before recomposing herself. Guh! she threw up her mental hooves. This pony was impossible to understand he seemed to waver from one extreme to another. Just when he was starting to make sense he would throw a wrench into her equations. Discord and Pinkie Sense were easier to get then Harmony. Sure she was never able to begin to understand them as they never made sense. At least they were consistent with their inconsistencies... Harmony interrupted her internal muses with a simple statement. "You have not yet come to terms with your new longevity." Not seeing if he had her attention, which he did, he continued to surmise. "When you found out that you would lose Spike it brought all that forward. All of your fears and trepidations. Even though you knew you'd would lose you friends you could still count on the one constant that never would change: Spike. When that was taken away you lost your firm foundation. You thrive on order. To lose Spike was to lose order in your life." Harmony stuck a nerve. She wasn't really mad at Harmony just frustrated. She couldn't be angry after what she saw in the council room and Discord's rant. No, he was right, she was a scared little filly afraid of the big unknown. Twilight eyes watered as Harmony walked up to her and took her under his wing. Twilight broke down and sobbed. Without bidding or thinking she leaned against his side. "Let it out, Bearer of Magic, let it out." Harmony cooed softly. At least you get to...