At the Twilight of Harmony

by Rammy

Legacies

Twixt’d slowly woke. He blinked as he could feel someone holding him tight. He looked down to see that it was a dragon with pink scales. Medallion? But she died! I helped Sentinel cremate her! He looked harder at the scaled paw to see that the scales wasn’t pink it was white scales stained pink by blood. He let out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding. It was Sentinel holding him in a hug. His eyes snapped completely open. Why is Sentinel holding me in a hug?!

Now that he was fully awake he could see that he was still in Sentinel’s orchard birdsnest. “Sentinel?” Twixt’d quietly questioned.

“No, Vorac.”

“Vorac?” Twixt’d was confused. The sound of ‘Vorac’s’ voice was rough and gravelly not the usual airy baritone he was use to. It did sound, however, just like his voice when he kept getting kicked out of the museum but he just figured his voice was affected by yelling and grief. Now he wasn’t so sure. “When did your change your title?”

“No… I’m still Sentinel.” Now his voice was the voice Twixt’d was use to. Which now irritated him. After all he went through the past week he was in no mood for riddles.

“Quit playing games and bucking let go.” Twixt’d growled. “You know how much I don’t like the mushy stuff.”

“I’m not playing a game.” Sentinel let go of Twixt’d who got up, yawned, then stretched. He raised an eyebrow as the pink dyed dragon backed up to the edge of of the nest and sat on his haunches with a defeated sigh. “I was supposed to tell you this earlier but I never could find time and then Medallion was killed…”

Twixt’d waited patiently as he didn’t want to be kicked out of the nest… Soul Fire’s hoard as it were. He was finally talking to him after way too long of not saying anything but ‘get out’ or a variation on it.

“You see there are, uh, two sides to me a sentient side and a feral side and unlike probably every dragon out there my feral side isn’t locked up in the dark recesses of my mind. He has free reign to come and go as he wishes… most dragons don’t ever ‘see’ their feral side except in special circumstances...”

“You are making even less sense…” Twixt’d crossed his arms. Sentient and feral sides!? It made no sense.

Sentinel sighed. He knew this was going to be tricky because of the confusing aspects of his mind that he himself was still trying to figure out.  It would have helped a bit if Twixt’d was an adult as he had to leave out huge sections of his explanation. For example, the whole process of his ascension from the moment that Golden DragonHeart had started it, through the return of the cutiemarks, and finally his choosing… Maybe if he used an example that Twixt’d could personally relate to... “Remember when your mind sifted when you were guarding your clutchmates when they were being laid?”

“Please don’t remind me.” Twixt’d shivered at the memory. It was one of the worst moments of his life. Nothing he witnessed on the streets murder, rape, beatings, and so on were as bad as that day. Well, he never did see any murders in progress just the end result...

“That was your feral half. Vorac is my feral side.”

“Are… are you saying that you KNOWINGLY TRIED TO SMASH MY SIBLINGS!” Twixt’d roared smoke pouring out of his maw. He couldn't believe that his friend do such a thing!

Sentinel did nothing but look down in shame. He did what he could to stop Vorac. It wasn’t Vorac’s fault just as it wasn’t Twixt’d’s fault about wanting to kill him in turn. He just went mad from the overwhelming effects of the pheromones. Still...

“Sorry friend hard to control self.” Vorac whispered.

That’s the second time he’s done that. Sentinel wondered if Vorac was finally warming up the clan. “Vorac is right… Vorac would never do anything to violate the trust we have for each other… normally he is control of himself just as you are… the pheromones that are expelled at the laying… were too much for him... Your parents knew the risk… I knew the risk, but your parents… they were persistent…”

“How…!” Twixt’d yelled out, his eyes glistening with tears. “Why… Why would they do that?”

“Love.” Sentinel let a small smile form as he thought of his hoard. “Your parents are my hatchmates…”

“Oh…” Twixt’d anger deflated. He was still a bit upset about the whole situation, but he could also see why his parents would want him to be there. Hell, if he were to think about he probably would want his best friend to be there when he himself was about to become a father… He look up to see that Soul Fire was still gazing downwards.

“I was in so much pain from Medallion death… that I hurt my best friend...”

“Stop!” Twixt’d put up a claw and turned to face away from Soul Fire who just shrunk in shame. “Just. Stop. I was angry and truthfully I'm still mad at you… I just need some time...”

Sentinel wanted to say something but held back. He could tell that Twixt’d needed time to sort out his own feelings about it. Twixt’d felt tired and yawned so he laid back down. He figured it was from being up most of the night. A few seconds later and he was fast asleep.

“Spying on me?” Sentinel gave Firstclaw a sly grin as he strolled past the dragon’s hiding spot. He was not surprised when he sensed him nearby just before dawn. Firstclaw was probably just making sure he was doing better and to check up on Twixt’d at the same time.

“Just a little.” He of Hourglass shrugged with a hint of a smile as he got into step with Sentinel.

“Uh huh... suurre. Whatever you say Firstclaw.” Sentinel smirked, his voice heavy with sarcasm. He of Hourglass merely grinned.

For a bit neither spoke. A lot was on both of their minds. As they entered the city proper Sentinel was the one to end the silence. “You know… I would say we both had Impossible Choices yesterday…”

“We did, didn’t we?” He of Hourglass nervously rubbed his head spines. He didn’t want to admit it but his secondclaw was, as usual, right. He waved a hello to a passing pony guard.

“Well, we were dealing with the problem of hurting our hoards…” Sentinel continued once the guard was out of sight. “which we can’t do, but because our hoards are…”

“Sentient no matter how we dealt with the cold blooded murder of Medallion…” He of Hourglass continued.

“Our hoard was going to be hurt by us…”

“Damned if we do damned if we don’t…” He of Hourglass finished at a near whisper.

“We did it again.” Sentinel and He of Hourglass spoke in unison. They stared at each other for a moment in silence before bursting into laughter.

The two dragons finally stop laughing and returned to walking towards the city center. Sentinel’s mood soured as his mind went back to Medallion. The pain of her loss was no longer stopping him in his tracks but it still hurt like a hot knife to the gut.

Did you do everything possible?

Sentinel head snapped up and looked around. He was not sure but it almost seem like someone  was trying to talk to him.

“Secondclaw? Do you sense something?”

Sentinel didn’t immediately respond. After a moment of nothing he shook his head. “No… It was nothing…”

He of Hourglass raised an eyebrow but said nothing else. He could tell that it would be best not to push right now. Sentinel was beginning to recover and he was not going to do anything to set that recovering back if he could avoid it.

Well did you? Came the voice again.

Sentinel stopped and look around. He of Hourglass was beginning to think that it was more than ‘nothing.’ Maybe he needs more time to rest… I can handle the alliance meeting without him if push comes to shove.

Yes… A different voice answered this time, one that Sentinel recognized... it was his own.

Then quit lying to yourself thinking you could done more and beat yourself up over that lie.

Sentinel gasped before a smile returned. He remembered that conversation fondly. Her words had such deep meaning... when she spoke then she was merely referring to his guilt. That he was somehow responsible for Sombra actions even though he did exhaust all his available resources in trying to make sure Sombra was truly gone. But now that he thought on it one could apply that with the Override Principle at least when it comes to hoarding…

No… ‘could apply’ didn’t feel right… Sentinel frowned. One should apply that with the Override Principle when it came to hoarding… Now that felt right to him. He almost felt like purring when a warmth came over him like that of a fire in a fireplace. He finally felt at peace about his hoard and his greed for it felt clearer somehow. It was a strange but wonderful feeling.

Medallion you would be giddy that your legacy is so powerful and meaningful...

*ALICORN FORM NOW!* Vorac roared in Sentinel’s mind.

Sentinel complied and quickly shifted his form. He felt light headed all of a sudden, but he wasn’t sure if it was from the maturing in a new code, switching his form immediately afterwards, or both.

“Are you okay?” He of Hourglass grabbed Sentinel before he collapsed.

“Yeah I just matured in a dozy of a code. Well actually only a part of the Override Principle... Vorac must have thought it would have started a growth and I would not be surprised as it’s thanks to Medallion...”

That lost He of Hourglass. He spent some time working on trying to figured out how Medallion helped Secondclaw but before long he finally gave up. “Okay you lost me Secondclaw. How could Medallion help you mature in a code?”

Sentinel chuckled as he started to walk again, feeling good enough to do so. “‘All we can do in our lives is the best we can. If the truth is that you did everything you could within your power and knowledge then quit lying to yourself thinking you could done more and beat yourself up over that lie.’” That is word for word what she said when I was beating myself up over the Dragon Migration Massacre… That lesson is more than about coulda, shoulda, woulda about circumstances beyond our control. Sometimes…”

“That includes the dragon code.” He of Hourglass finished. Secondclaw was right what Medallion said or actually Teirra said would definitely apply to the Impossible Choice… As long as he did his best to mitigate the pain if he was ever forced by an Impossible Choice to hurt his hoard again then he did all he could… He felt a warmth in his heart blossom as another he matured in a code once again.

“Let me guess…” Sentinel smirked as saw a familiar look on his firstclaw. “You matured on a part of the Override Principle specifically when dealing with hoarding.”
 
He of Hourglass snorted in amusement. “That’s twice now.”

“Well... let’s see we are both Keepers and the First and Second Claws of a clan…” Sentinel counted on hoof like he was still a dragon with a claw must to the amusement of He of Hourglass. We are also clutchmates via the Rite of Guardianship… Sentinel added to himself.

“Kinda of makes me wonder why you have not been chosen for the Path of the Dragonwyrm.”

“No idea and I don’t mind…” Sentinel blushed in embarrassment. He was also tempted to shake his head in amusement at his firstclaw’s poorly veiled attempt at getting The Voice to choose him for the path as well. All he really wanted was his family… not that he would shirk away from responsibility if chosen… He just was sort of tired of having so much on his shoulders… especially right now. Sometimes I wonder how He of Laughter managed as long as he did… though the way he acts maybe he never did… “Really I don’t… Oh, look, we are here.”

He of Hourglass rolled his eyes as he followed Sentinel into the council building. It was clear that Sentinel really didn’t want to talk about the Path of the Dragonwyrm… He didn’t understand why Sentinel would find the prospect so… unsettling. To be fair though, he sometimes felt that he was unworthy of the honor… that the Voice should have picked Sentinel over himself.

“Feeling better?” Scorpan greeted Sentinel as soon as he entered the council chambers.

“Yeah, I am. Thanks for asking Scorpan.” Sentinel warmly smiled at his gargoyle friend. He gazed about the room to see that along with Scorpan Phoenix Wave and the other members of the clan minus Twixt’d (whom he left sleeping in his birds nest) were all gathered. He took special note of He of Music. He was wearing a jacket just like the one he wore when his was a whelp.

“I see you got a new jacket there He of Music.”

*It’s Scorpion now.*

“It’s about time…” Sentinel smiled which broke into a grin as he watched Scorpion expression became befuddled by his statement. “Have you taken off your jacket yet?”

*Yeah,* Scorpion looked at Sentinel funny. It was not one of the questions he expected. The ‘it’s about time’ line did sound like something Sentinel would say. Though to be fair even he was surprised he hadn’t thought of using his new title instead of He of Music, *last night…*

“Take it off.”

*What?* Scorpion exclaimed in shock. Everyone else showed expression of confusion and bewilderment. None of them could figure out why Sentinel would want Scorpion to take his jacket off. After another minute of indecision he finally and reluctantly took it off.

As he did Sentinel grin only widen. The other clanmates, however, jaws opened in shock. This further confused the drake musician.

“I know for a fact you have not been in her hoard yet since you left for the south arctic so tell me how did you get that paint onto your chest?” Sentinel slyly pointed to Scorpion’s chest. Scorpion look down at his chest and in the same spot as the embroidered scorpion on his jacket was a yellow mark in the shape of scorpion. From the looks of the mark it was under his scales.

*It’s not paint and I…* Scorpion paused for a second to ponder. How The Voice did he figure that out? I wasn’t even aware of it and he has not seen me without my jacket on since I got it… He looked at Sentinel who was staring right back at him. Scorpion opened his ears to hear his song. What he heard caused him tear up with joy. *You’re back!* Scorpion scooped up his secondclaw and hugged him.

“Scorpion! Cant... breeeathe!” Sentinel wheezed as he struggled breath from the over eager dragon hug.

*Oops, sorry…* Scorpion blushed hard as he forgot how much strength he now had in comparison to his secondclaw especially when he was in his alicorn form.

Quartermaster smacked Scorpion, growling angrily. Scorpion’s tail was about to sting Quartermaster’s back in retaliation before it was roughly grabbed causing Scorpion to yelp. Quartermaster leaned towards Scorpion headphone ears and whispered. “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”

Sentinel just laughed as he shifted to his dragon form. It was good to see that even with the clan’s recent loss and his own grief and code induced madness that those two still play fought like hatchlings. “Okay lovebirds, enough. Kiss and makeup.”

She of Hourglass burst into laughter at the two drakes mortified looks. She then grinned wildly as she found a way to make this work in her favor too. “No… I think I need a bit more love… bird.” She accented the last word with a light bop on her mate’s snout.

Quartermaster could hold out no longer and pushed his mate down roughly. “Only if you kiss and make out.”

Scorpan, who had been silently reclining on against the wall near the Captain of the Hourglass Guard, nearly lost his balance. He could feel the blood rushed to his face. Fortunately, Scorpion was currently blocking some of his view but there was no mistaking the musk that was invading his nostrils and the less than subtle movements on the part of Quartermaster and his mate.

“By the Sands of Twarizsj please tell me they aren’t.” Scorpan mumbled.

“Welcome to my world…” Phoenix deadpanned as he tuned out as best as he could the love making between the two dragons. He too was lucky as given his smaller stature Sentinel was easily able to hide most of his view.

“I’m going to have some words with Sentinel…”

“Forget it Scorpan… it a dragon thing...”

“A warning would have been nice.”

“Again… welcome to my world…”

Sentinel felt a bit sad while he watched his hatchmates’ copulation but at the same time hopeful that one day he would know what it was like to become one with his mate. He also knew that he was going to most likely get a tongue lashing from Scorpan and maybe Firstclaw but right now he didn't care.

He of Hourglass facepalmed at what Secondclaw did. He didn’t mind the show, he, like all dragons, had no issue with it. The problem was the Hermit of the Oasis. Given the recent events he would let it go just this once. Hopefully the gargoyle would be understanding.

Scorpion tail twitched as he watched. His desire, or really need, for a mate was really getting to him. How do most dragons that aren’t mated deal with this? He wondered as the dragon mates reach their climax. At least now that they were over he could plot his revenge against Sentinel for embarrassing him like he did without the distraction of two dragons getting it on.

Scorpan and Phoenix Wave breathed sigh of relief as the dragons finally finished. Both were happy that it was a fairly short session. Though both would have been more happy if it never happened. Scorpan wave a spell and the smell was removed.

“Firstclaw?” Sentinel nearly yelped as he was roughly grabbed by He of Hourglass and put into a tight hug. ”You too?”

“Oh shut it.” He of Hourglass struggled not to chuckled as he could feel the white dragon rumble. He was so happy to have Secondclaw feeling better. “I can tell from your purring that you're enjoying this.”

Sentinel grumbled which got the entire clan laughing uproariously at the his ‘discomfort.’ Even Captain Phoenix Wave and Scorpan joined in.