//------------------------------// // The Choosing // Story: The Last Keeper of Harmony // by Rammy //------------------------------// "Spike NOOOOO!" Twilight screamed lunging forward. Harmony and Discord grabbed Twilight. Discord quickly snapped into existence a dampening ring and placed it onto Twilight's horn. Twilight desperately tried to free herself. Sparks flew off her horn as she attempted to use magic while she flailed her wings and hooves about trying to get out of Harmony's and Discords iron grip. "Spike! NO don't SPPPPIIIIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She reached out a hoof that Harmony hastily regrabbed. Spike now stood at the edge of the barrier. He was looking at two overlaid memories before him.  Harmony managed to sneak a peek at them. He knew exactly which two they were and smiled. Spike nodded to himself. Twilight saw this and redouble her efforts. "Spike! Please! No. Don't!" She pleaded. "LET ME GO!" She squirmed even harder and started to bite Harmony and Discord who only harden themselves to the pain. "SPIKE!!!!" Spike finally turned around to look at the screaming mare that he thought of as his sister. Twilight continued to plead and fight. Spike smiled at her then looked at Harmony. In that single moment as both Spike and Harmony locked eyes a single tear rolled down Spike's face. It was then that Harmony knew that he knew. Harmony nodded once in understanding. Spike turned back to face the onslaught raging just outside the weakening shield. He took a deep breath rose his head and roared something in Draconian into the night sky. At this Twilight collapsed, defeated. The girls huddled around her. The air around them suddenly got extremely thick with mana. Harmony was in shock at the amount of mana that the air was carrying and it was all heading straight at Spike. He took a glance around and was surprised to see that the overlay was still functioning. But something about it was off. He squinted a bit and then saw it. Cracks were forming along the images of Spike's memories. After a second the memories would shatter and dissipated. A single tear filled with all the joy, pride, and sorrow that he could muster fell down his muzzle. Before long the final two memories that ones that Spike had earlier stared at for a moment in his contemplation, like the others, cracked, shattered and dissipated into nothing. Spike meanwhile was being covered the an increasing blinding light. Discord put on a pair of sunglasses while Harmony used what little reserves he had left to magically see through the light. The girls could only covered their eyes from the light with their hooves. Sparks of all colors shot out of Spike while his scales and spines deepen richly in color. He began to grow his chubby body becoming lean and sleek and the baby fat being replace by muscle. His tail lashed out stretching long in length. The spade on the end narrowing into a sharper but still dull point.   As his growth finally ended he stood as tall as Garble and his lackeys and like them he still stood up on two legs. His features, however, seem to maintain a softness to them. His snout though much longer had a roundish end. However, no wings appeared upon his back. Harmony was too enraptured by the sight the transformation to wonder about the lack of wings. With a roar the sparks that surrounded Spike now shot out in all direction shattering the shield and hitting the shadow demons destroying them in puffs of smoke.   The blinding light faded and the mana that was in the air thinned out. Soon Luna's sky could be seen again and all traces of the shadow demons gone. Discord removed his glasses while Harmony dropped his magic. The girls were still too dazed to move their hooves though. Multicolored sparks continued to lazily drift off of the dragon's scales. The dragon then turned to face the group behind him. "Brother, where are we?" The dragon asked looking at straight at Harmony. Harmony only response was to stutter gibberish. The dragon stood there patiently content to wait on him to regather himself. "I don't think he will be able to respond," Discord groaned rising a bit in the air to distance himself from the girls.   The dragon reached out and grabbed Discord by the throat shocking everyone including Discord.  "You would do well to remember how to speak when there is a dragon around He of Laughter. You may be a fellow Keeper but I will end you if you continue on being so insolent. I will wait for him to respond." He then released him causing Discord to drop to the ground. Discord coughed a bit rubbing his neck. At this outburst Twilight knew that Spike was gone and that this dragon would never be like him. She couldn't take it anymore and began to wail once again. The other Bearers couldn't even help her as then too where crying. Pinkie's mane already flat from seeing Spike choose his name somehow got flatter and duller. "I... this doesn't make any sense..."Harmony finally stammered not understanding why "Spike" called him brother. He brain was still in full tilt and didn't even process that the dragon knew of Discord's "dragon title." Twilight was still wailing spouting nonsense and crying out to die. The dragon grumbled a bit. He could no longer stand the wailing and looked at Twilight. Instead of anger like when he choked Discord he eyes betrayed the welling of compassion for the broken creature he saw. He walked to her then crouched down to be able to see her at eye level. He then took a claw and lifted her head. Staring deep into her watery, blood-shot eyes the dragon remarked, "I can see the pain, confusion, and grief overwhelming your heart ascended one. I can also see that you are the Alicorn Harmony Bearer of Magic. A bearer should not be in this much grief. I will have your true name." "Twi... light... Sparkle." Twilight sobbed out completely confused on the about face of the dragon's demeanor. "Well Twilight Sparkle, I can not stand to see one such as you in such a shattered state. It goes against harmony and goes against my name." The dragon's eyed seem to be a pool of warm and care completely transfixing Twilight. "Your... hic... name?" Twilight hiccuped forgetting another dragon rule. Lowering his voice so only she could hear he spoke, "Yes Twilight Sparkle for I am Golden Heart. Know this, Twilight Sparkle, that when a dragon gives his name to another he is offering his friendship and that he will protect and care for them as if they were the entirety of the dragon's hoard." "I... I.." Twilight couldn't continue as a fresh wave of tears gushed out choking the words in her throat. Golden Heart chuckled a bit then rose to address Harmony again. "He of Harmony, brother, where are we? "The city ruins of Hourglass." Harmony finally spoke his mind at least a bit more coherent, "Forgive me, He of...?" The dragon looked out eying the ruins for a moment before responding, "Hourglass... He of Hourglass. Now I must take my leave. I can no longer hold back the Hoarding." Golden Heart shifted his weight a bit. Two semi transparent green wings shimmered into existence. He took a few test flaps then took off over flying low over the ruins towards a large building in the distance. "This is highly unusual to say the least and I thrive on the unusual but this... this... I'm not an expert on dragons like you are Harmony but he shouldn't have remembered you or me." "Normally no he shouldn't have... I have some theories but I can't confirm any without speaking with him first." "Where is he headed anyway?" "If memory serves the Great Library of Hourglass." "How ironic." Discord deadpanned.