//------------------------------// // Of Dreams and Closure // Story: Dragons of Hourglass // by Rammy //------------------------------// Harmony knocked on the door in front of him. Hopefully he had the right place as it was a bit difficult to get directions from nervous ponies. After a minute of waiting and not hearing anything he tried again, only louder. This time he could just make out a crash and a couple of selective curses. He must have awoken the pony within from a nap. A moment later an irritated white unicorn pony mare with a two tone mane and purple tinted shades precariously positioned over her eyes opened the door. “DJ-Pon3?” “That’s my stage name. The name’s Vinyl…” Vinyl took a closer look at the stranger. “Hey, aren’t you…” “Yes, I was one of the two ‘strangers’ that spooked the town. Relax, I’m not some diabolical mythical creature out to suck out the brains of ponies. Vinyl backed up a bit. “You sure that you’re not?” “Gah! Of course not! I know Ponyville is the capital of weirdness but I would think this town would have learned its lesson from that of fiasco with Zecora fifteen years ago.” “You know about that?! How?” “Not important right now. What is important is what I need from you.” “Lay it on me then.” “I need a custom built instrument.”  “I’m a DJ. I play music not sell instruments.” Vinyl facehoofed, apparently this was a common misconception. “I know that, but what I want to get requires somepony with connections to the music business.” Harmony could barely make out a eye raise behind her shades. He took that as a the opening he needed. “I need a custom built magic four string bass guitar. Here is a rough sketch of what I’m looking for as the design.” Harmony hoofed over a rolled up scroll for which Vinyl unrolled to quickly take a look at. “As for the other specs I will need the strings to be grade eight oscillairum steel”   Vinyl’s shades fell off and her jaw dropped. “Grade eight!? Are you plan on using a saw to play it!?” Harmony chuckled a bit before he answered. “No, but while we are on it the guitar will also need to be made of the same grade of as the strings” “What!?” Vinyl wide eyed for a second before they narrowed into a dangerous scowl. “Did Pinkie Pie or Cheese Sandwich send you?” “Uh, no…” “Because, I’m not going to send off for a party cannon proof instrument! I don’t want a repeat of... Harmony waved a hoof negative fashion, “It’s not for the party ponies…” “Oh... good.” Vinyl sighed in relief. she glance at the scroll again noticing that there was some things not specified. “I see that you didn’t specify a color scheme.” “No color or any finish of any kind I will be adding that detail personally. Also, whatever the asking price tell them that I will pay four times the going rate if he or she rushes it without compromising quality.” Harmony grabbed a bulging bag from his saddlebag and levitated it to Vinyl. “Here is an initial hundred bits for your troubles. When the instrument is done have it delivered to Zecora. She will have the payment. She will know what to do from there.” Okay that’s stop number one next stop, ugh… A blue stallion opened the door and sized up the tattered cloaked stranger. “I’m sorry but we are closed.” “I’m aware of that Sir Spotlight. But, I’m here for Rarity.” The stallion eyed him again before sighing heavily. “Is this about that Keeper?” “No, this is about Princess Twilight. I will also need privacy.” Spotlight stared at him a bit longer before answering, “Okay, but she’s not exactly in the best of conditions herself.” Spotlight opened the door further to let Harmony in then calmly walked outside. Harmony could see that the shop had a layer of dust. He was glad that Spotlight had kept Rarity from working, at least here at the Carousel Boutique. He hoped that she wasn’t sneaking off and designing fashion in other locations. He took off his traveling cloak before he took the stairs. He didn’t want to add fuel to what was going to be drama queen drama. As he took the stairs to the private area above the shop he could make out sobbing. He followed the sounds of sobbing to a room down the hall from the stairs. From the appearance of the room it must have been her inspiration room. Rarity must have heard his approach as she looked up from her crying couch. Rarity stopped crying and angrily glared at Harmony. “What are you doing here.” “I need you to go to the gem fields and find the most flawless amethyst and emerald you can find. Preferably the size of an orange.” “First you take away my life’s work, and now you want me to go out and get you two flawless gems?!” “I need those two gems otherwise I may need to use the fire ruby necklace and I’d rather you keep that.” “How dare you. You...You.. How could you even suggest that I would ever give you the that?! It was a gift from my Spikey-Wikey! I would never give it away much less to a cowardly brute like yourself…” Rarity grabbed the mentioned fire ruby necklace from a nearby drawer. She looked at it lovingly. “If you cared as much as I did for him…” A beastly growl stopped Rarity. She looked up and somehow managed to go whiter. What she saw shook her to her core. The visage of what Harmony looked like would forever bore into her mind and disrupt her sleep for the remainder of her life. The fur that usually shifted lazily had become dark almost black. His eyes were like fire and she was almost certain that he now had razor sharp teeth and fangs. A primal fear came over Rarity like that of prey being chased by a predator. And at the very moment she was the prey and Harmony the predator. She had gotten on his bad side before but now before her was Harmony in a full draconic rage. He opened his mouth, took a deep breath, and roared. It was clearly an angry draconic roar.   Rarity lost all bladder control as a booming harsh voice echoing around her and rattled her bones. Every word pummeled Rarity with anger and power and it was as if the voice was everywhere at once. NEVER, ever, ever question how much I cared for Spike. You have no idea what I had to go through and what I had to give up so YOU could ‘care’ for him! Do you know that if I hadn’t taken responsibility for Spike’s egg that he would have met the fate that Garble wanted for those phoenix eggs?!? He was and is my brother, even more so than Twilight is his sister. Do you know why? His parents, in pony vernacular, adopted me. Only family is ever allow to care for another.  To be allowed to care for a dragon’s egg requires passing trials that make some of your deadliest encounters seem like foals play. I also had to disown and forsake ponykind! That’s what happens to a dragon whelp or hatchling who wants to take on responsibility for their siblings eggs! They have to give up everything they had prior to prove their willingness in raising their siblings! It’s only because I’m honor bound to fulfil my duties as a Keeper that has allowed me to have anything to do with ponies. MY OWN FLESH AND BLOODㅡso to speakㅡBUCKING PEOPLE! I CAN NEVER BE WITH THEM BECAUSE I DON’T GET A RESET BUTTON LIKE DRAGONS DO AT CHOOSING! Harmony took a few breaths allowing his rage to slowly dissipate before he continued. “I cared for his egg for centuries! Centuries! I would have hatched him if I was able to, but I wasn’t! I made sure Celestia had the necessary knowledge to care for him when he hatched! I spent many a night talking with him in his sleep but unable to see him face to face. I left Spike in Twilight’s care because my work requires a ton of travel into dangerous places. Not something that you what a dragon hatchling be a part of. It took everything in me not to tear him away from his ‘sister’ and his friends. Raising him right and safety took priority over what I wanted.” By this point Harmony looked like he usually did. Bright fur and feathers shifting colors and normal looking teeth. His eyes lowered and his voice dropped to barely above a whisper. ”I lost everything that night when he chose. That night was when I was the most proud and the most devastated. I know you are angry at me for your forced ‘vacation,’ but that is no excuse to drag Spike into this. You have a friend who is in so much grief that she has been dead to the world for the past nine weeks and hardly leaves Spike’s room. Its extremely unhealthy and she will waste away if something drastic isn’t done. Now go get those gems. I need them by nightfall.” “Princess Luna and Princess Celestia what are you two doing here?” “We cared for Spike, too.” Luna responded. “I thought that…” Twilight was confused. She was sure that the memory spell had erased the princesses memories. “No…” Celestia shook her head, “but now that we are all here we can begin.”   “Y’all know wha’ is goin’ on?” “Not entirely. Come my little ponies, Harmony is waiting for us.” As Harmony waited for the arrival of the Bearers, Celestia and Luna he saw movement from one of the upper floors of the castle. Harmony looked up to see something jump down from the castle walls. A moment later he saw a glint of eyes nearby. Apparently Nova noticed the ponies approaching the castle. Either that or he was curious about a strange pony with fur that color shifted. For a dragon that disliked ponies he was sure curious about them. Harmony surreptitiously cast a noise suppression spell so that Nova couldn’t hear what was going to transpire. A crack of a twig pulled Harmony’s attention to the path. He could see that a procession of ponies was walking towards him. Harmony put his hood down so that they could see him better in the darkness. When he did that everypony finally could see him standing next to a black rounded, rectangular tombstone in the middle of the courtyard garden. A small glowing hole was in front of it. As they got closer Rarity could see what the amethyst and emerald gems were for. Embed in the stone apparently using the gems was written. Assistant Friend Brother You shall be in our hearts Always Harmony waited for the ponies to gather around. He could see everyone of them was looking grief stricken. Pinkie Pie’s mane was flat and Celestia’s and Luna’s were not flowing. “It’s a tradition among some dragons to spread the egg shells in a lava pool or volcano at sunrise after the loss or choosing of an offspring. To a dragon a choosing is in not a passing away but a rebirth. For just as the lava destroys the shell, the choosing destroys the memory of the dragon  The flip of that is the hope is that the lava would cool and become a part of the collective whole that is the land much in a way that the reborn dragon will contribute to dragon culture as a whole.” “Sounds corny…” Rainbow muttered, sniffing a bit. “A bit. I simplified it heavily for the sake of time. Plus some things in dragon culture just doesn’t make a lot of sense to those not born into it. I don’t completely understand it myself. Ponies don’t of course use lava as a burial method and dragons don’t used graveyards. So I combined elements from both so that you have a place to come and remember.” Harmony nodded to Luna and Celestia who lowered the moon and raised the sun respectively. His ears pricked as he distributed the Spike’s egg shell to the gathered ponies. He could hear drifting in on a breeze the sound of an ocarina. The tune was the most heart wrenching he ever heard but within he could hear the occasional string of notes that sounded hopeful. No one questioned where the music was coming as the grief had welled up too much. One by one they walked up to the lava pit said a few words then added their pieces to the lava. Twilight and Harmony were the last. Twilight tried to say something but was too choked up to from any words. The music in the air increased in volume and Twilight could do nothing but bawl. There was so much she wanted to say but now she felt that words would be meaningless. Soon she was out of tears and shakily put her piece into the lava. Harmony was next but as he had to keep the lava hot he didn’t have to move closer. They of Glowstone Mountain I hope that I made you proud. Spike was raised right. I hope that you would be proud of Golden Heart. He dropped the remaining shell into the lava and slowly watched it melt. After the last little bit melted he let go of his spell keeping the lava hot. The lava quickly cooled and he put fresh dirt over the pit. The ocarina music picked up in volume again and at that he couldn't hold back any longer. The grief and guilt that had plagued him since that night flowed out in a wail the rose to a roar. He put all of it into that roar. The gathered ponies backed up, unsure of what was going on. He then collapsed into a sobbing mess. Twilight cautiously approached him. She could see it just was him letting go. He must had been holding back this whole time. She whispered softly, “You needed this as much as I.” Twilight put a comforting hoof on Harmony’s quivering shoulder.   Harmony didn’t respond other than to slowly get back on his hooves. For the first time in longer than he could remember his heart felt light. He still felt sad but he felt that things could only look up now. Harmony snuck a look around and could see Nova watching them his ocarina still in his hands. A natural, indeed. In time, one by one the ponies left, leaving just Harmony and Twilight. The sun as high in the sky when Harmony was finally ready to leave himself. He took a look at her and could see that life was returning. It was clear she still need some more time and to be alone. “I can see you need some time alone. I will be at Zecora’s for the remainder of the day if you need me.” Harmony turned to leave and could see a slash of white trying to hide. Harmony casually walked the towards it. As he got closer the white mass moved further away. Harmony made sure that he didn’t show that he saw the movement. He just kept walking. He should be running out of cover soon. Before that though Harmony called out. “Nova.” The white mass gave moved at that. Harmony stood there waiting patiently.   “Nova Blaze.” Harmony called out again trying not to chuckle at the white dragon failing miserably at still trying to hide in the green foliage. Nova tried to shrink back a bit more. “Who… who… are you and how do you know my name?” “Nova, brother, it’s me, Harmony.” Nova cautiously came out into the open. “You’re a pony!!?” “Yes.” “I have been traveling with a rainbow, candy colored, pony for the past week!? A pony! I can’t believe this! I suppose everything about dragons was a lie too! I mean...” Harmony wasn’t surprised that Nova started ranting and raving. He really was never surprised anymore as he had seen every type of reaction possible. Nova continued to conplain while Harmony just calmly starting to count “3… 2… 1…” Cue sudden realization. “Wait, did you say brother? Didn’t you say that when a dragon called another a brother its a sign of high respect?” “Yes, I did. And you are correct. But we are going one step further than that.” “Sharing a Hoard Name?” Nova scratched his head in confusion “How? You’re not a dragon!?” Although that roar was strangely draconic... “How perceptive.” Harmony rolled his eyes. “You recall what I said about the Acolyte Code? “Yeah…I kind of wondered why you went over that… But I think I get it now. I still don’t understand why you would give me your ‘hoard’ name?” “It’s because of what you did this morning.” “I only played my ocarina.” “And by playing it I’m in debt to you that I will never be able to repay. Normally, I’m known as He of Harmony among dragons but as Harmony with non dragons. Harmony of course is not my ‘full’ name. My full name would be equivalent to a dragon’s Hoard Name... Harmonious Knight, my full name is Harmonious Knight.” “Harmonious... Knight!?!” Nova snorted. “Your name is Harmonious!?” He lost it, going into a full blown laughing fit on the ground. He even slammed the ground with his hands. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh it up.” Harmony rolled his eyes. He figured that the whelp would have that kind of reaction. Nova was starting to hurt from all the laughing and grabbed his legs rolling about in a ball. Harmony couldn't help but smiling at the childish antics. “Come let’s go see if we can trip up Zecora’s rhyming.” Harmony laughed before galloping off into the trees. Nova stopped laughing, completely frozen in confusion. What is with this pony? His brain then finally caught up to what Harmony had just said. He had been annoyed at the Zebras rhyming and the idea of tripping up the zebra… “Wait up!” Nova yelled out, running after Harmony. Harmony couldn't see a way out. The flames seemed to climb up to forever. He was going die a horrible death if he didn’t figure something out and fast. In the corner of his eyes he could see Draco and it looked like he was laughing. I’m not beaten yet! He lit his horn and attempted to conjure a blast of ice cold wind to push part of the flames aside. He could feel the wind swirl around him in preparation. With a shout he threw the wind at the wall. His smirk fell when the fire acted as if there wasn’t a breeze much less the hurricane force winds conjuring by the now jaw dropped alicorn. The fire shifted angrily. Harmony was suddenly pushed back with blast of searing, hot wind. A rolling mass of of hot ash and smoke followed and crashed into Harmony. In his surprise he had gasped in some of it. His lungs burned from the heat and soot. A coughing fit started as his body attempt to expel the ash. Wooziness came over him and he retched up a massive amount of ash. He pulled himself together spitting out the remain ash. There was no way he was going to let a little bit of ash get to him. A burning sensation on his back said otherwise. An ember had fallen between his wings singeing his fur. A clawed hand touched him on his withers. Harmony jumped in surprised. He spun around to face what he was sure was another threat. What he saw made his jaw drop. There standing with a crooked smile was a purple and green hatchling waving at him. “Spike!?!?” Harmony for once didn’t scream after the fire dream/vision/unknown whatever. But he did gasp as he shot up from his lying position. It was different this time in a way that he never expected. Spike or a very good look-a-like was there. He grumbled hoping it wasn’t the cosmos playing a cruel joke on him. As he pondered this a tickle in his throat formed. He knew what it meant. He cast the spell that he and Scorpan developed for just this type of occasion. The tickle went away but he got a sharp pain in his stomach. He bent over and retching up a mass of ash and bile. “Zecora. Draconic ash cure.” Harmony managed to croak out before vomiting another glob of ash. Zecora, who had awoken from the sound of Harmony vomiting, galloped into the main room and quickly rummaged through her potions before finding the right one. Harmony was struggling to remain awake. It would not do him well to pass out. Ponyville Hospital would not have a clue how to treat draconic ash inhalation on an unconscious pony and most of Zecora’s potions need to be drunk. “You are lucky you were in my room, or you could have met your doom.” She rhymed as she handed him the bottle. Harmony gulped down the nasty concoction. He almost spit it back up as it was so nasty and his body wanted to be rid of it. He swallowed hard a couple of times before he felt that he wasn’t going to lose it. Zecora noticed that Harmony seemed to be physically better except that he was still quite pale. She knew it wasn’t from the vomiting. “What troubles you? Please tell your host. For it looks as if you saw a ghost.” Harmony wasn’t sure what to say. The ‘vision’ was confusing enough and with the addition of Spike he was totally at a loss. “I… I don’t have a clue...”