At the Twilight of Harmony

by Rammy


Epilogue: Bittersweet Memories

DragonWyrm Heart sighed as he reentered his library. He had just waved goodbye to Caretaker who, like always, was the last one to lift off when the Migration moved from any stop. The migration had been in Hourglass for eight days, and it was better than the Migration of old (once you took out the whole phoenix raid part). He even managed to completely forget about Twilight. That was, until he entered his hoard chamber to see Twilight sitting calming by his desk.

“You promised.” DragonWyrm Heart growled angrily, turning around to leave. He could tell Twilight to leave, but he wasn’t really that angry. He was more upset, actually, than mad.

“DragonWyrm Heart, please, don’t go! I can explain!” DragonWyrm Heart, against his better judgement, turned back around. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t here, nor sent a letter like I promised but... When we found out that you would awaken with the return of the Dragon Migration…we all felt to not ruin the migration for you… so we uh...” DragonWyrm Heart narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. I’m going to have a word with my clan about this…  This caused Twilight to become more nervous. “We wanted you to enjoy it without… that is we weren’t sure... I… well actually the girls…. that is, if Dragon FireWyrm gets here... have something they wish to give you…”

DragonWyrm Heart blinked. Twilight was not making any sense. He wondered if she had gone on a research bender, and was too out of it because of it. It could explain why she was blabbering, and the fact that she forgot her promise...

A growl behind DragonWyrm Heart caused him to turn to see that it was his hatchmate, Dragon FireWyrm, trying to get in. He was dragging a cart with five chests, using his tail. DragonWyrm Heart moved to the side to allow him in. Dragon FireWyrm moved the cart close to the his hoard bed, then unloaded the five chests.

The chests were fairly basic identical chests, but each one had a different and familiar cutie mark painted on the sides.

“In each one of these chests are gifts for you from each of the girls, along with a book, or books, of bound letters that the girls wrote to you. We all felt that, just because you were asleep, that you shouldn’t be left out of our lives... that and we wanted to.. well that is... uh…”

“You ended up going nuts and ended up writing enough to fill my library?” DragonWyrm Heart gave Twilight a knowing look. He knew that the chests and letters to him were probably Twilight’s doing. A way to cope with losing him, and that the girls must have thought it was a swell idea, and decided that they would do it as well.

“Hey! I am, and was, not that bad…” Twilight protested.

DragonWyrm Heart raised a single eyebrow. He knew what she was like, and she knew that he knew. This meant he would have to wear her down, and he knew exactly how. He would wait her out.

“Ninety-four volumes of about two thousand pages each.” Twilight finally admitted, after being stared down by an unconvinced DragonWyrm Heart.

This time, DragonWyrm Heart crossed his arms and completed the ‘yeah, right’ look. He could wait.

“Okay! Okay!” Twilight broke down from the critical look that was relentless. “One hundred and fourteen, at closer to three thousand pages each. Happy?

“Yes.” DragonWyrm Heart gave her a smug smile. DragonWyrm Heart one, Twilight zip.

“Ugh.” Twilight groaned, rolling her eyes. “Just open your chests.”

He walked up to the nearest one, which happened to be Rainbow Dash’s. Inside was a Rainbow Dash Wonderbolts plushie, along with what he could only assume was Rainbow's Wonderbolts uniform, neatly folded. Underneath that, he could see the entire Daring Doo series, along with a book that was titled ‘Rainbow Dash’s Letters to He of Hourglass’.

“I’m sorry there is not more…”

“It’s alright, Twilight. Rainbow Dash… this is probably what Rainbow Dash would have put in, even if she hadn't died the way she did…”

“So Phoenix Wave told you?”

“Yes… I am so proud of her…”DragonWyrm Heart sniffed once.

DragonWyrm Heart decided to continue with Applejack’s chest so he wouldn't dwell too long on Rainbow's death. Inside AJ’s chest was an old and worn out Stenson, a single scroll, and several ‘Letters from Applejack’ books. He picked up the scroll to see what was written.

Dear DragonWyrm Heart,

You know I’m a simple mare and there was not much I could give to you to remind you of me, so Twilight and I have planted some Zap Apple trees in the orchard. I left instructions on how to maintain the trees, and how to make Zap Apple Jam, with Scorpion.

Love
AppleJack

“There are Zap Apple trees here!?”

“Yep.” Twilight smiled. “Including one that was transplanted straight from Sweet Apple Acres itself. I can’t remember his name off-hoof at the moment… it was a name I should remember… what was... Oh, I remember now! Spike! Spike, that’s the name of the tree!”

DragonWyrm Heart couldn't decide whether to blush or facepalm. Of course, Applejack would name a Zap Apple tree after him, and then have that exact tree transplanted to Hourglass. He wondered if Zap Apple jam from the trees here would be any different than the jam he remembered from his hatchling days.

Fluttershy’s chest was next, and what he found inside was confusing, to say the least.

“A bird perch?” DragonWyrm Heart raised an eyebrow. Why would she leave him a bird perch? That was something Scorpion would want or need. He looked further inside and saw a book on phoenix care. Well, that is not helping...

A musical caw caught his attention, and a phoenix majestically flew into the library. The phoenix hovered near DragonWyrm Heart. DragonWyrm Heart eyed the phoenix; something about the bird seemed familiar.

“Peewee?” DragonWyrm Heart asked, hoping he was right. The phoenix cawed happy and landed on his shoulder. “Peewee! I missed you… you and I are going to have a lot to catch up on, aren’t we?”

Peewee cawed in response, which made DragonWyrm Heart smile even more. He had not seen Peewee since he returned him to his parents. He wondered how many times he had been reborn in the ensuing years. He picked up the bird perch and book, and put the bird perch next to his writing desk, and the book on the desk, before walking back to open the next chest: Pinkie’s.

When he opened it, there was an explosion of confetti and streamers, spooking Peewee, who cawed angrily before flying over and sitting on the perch. A purple and green balloon then floated upwards with a card tied to it that read ‘Happy Waking from 2047 years of Slumber!’

“How…” Both DragonWyrm Heart and Twilight spouted, before they both shook their heads, knowing that it was just Pinkie being Pinkie.

The things Pinkie was able to do… Twilight commented to herself. And all I did was to enchant the chests so that the chests, and anything put inside, would be preserved. Twilight had no idea what was inside any of the chests except Rainbow’s, and she made sure not to open Pinkie’s, knowing correctly that it was probably set to burst open in a shower of confetti, streamers, and balloons. She wouldn’t be surprised if Pinkie had put in some cupcakes.

DragonWyrm Heart looked inside to see a book entitled Dragonified Pony Sweets, along with the usual letters written for him bound up in book form. He was about to close the lid, when he noticed something glinting at the bottom of the chest. He smiled when he saw that it was a rock candy necklace.

Finally, he got to the one he had been saving for last: Rarity. He could see the fire ruby necklace along with the horn rings that he crafted, now modified into earrings, lying on red velvet inside a clear jewelry case. A note was taped to it. What he read on it caused him to truly tear up for the first time since he had opened the memory chests.

For the dragoness that steals my Spikey-Wikey’s heart.

He carefully placed the note and jewelry box back into the chest. Next to the box was a bow tie, just like the one he got from Rarity just before the whole jealousy episode with Owlowiscious. Except this time, it was black, and glittered with small diamonds, and was not comically oversized. With trembling claws, he picked it up and carefully put it on.

The tie felt wonderful, snug on his neck, and, with a mirror that Twilight summoned, he admired his reflection. It really made him look like a charming gentledragon. I’m never taking this off...

“What are you doing, Secondclaw?” DragonWyrm Heart grumbled as Secondclaw suddenly had both forelegs on his shoulders, and was trying to get the rest of the way up.

Dragon FireWyrm didn’t answer, but continued to try and climb onto him. DragonWyrm Heart debated whether to knock him off with telekinesis, or to indulge him.

DragonWyrm Heart ended up not having a choice, as Dragon FireWyrm used his wings to force him down. As soon as DragonWyrm Heart was on all fours, Dragon FireWyrm got off and backed away, watching with a twinkle in his eyes. DragonWyrm Heart rolled his eyes and was about to get up, when he could feel a strange tingling power flow through him, keeping him on the ground.

The sounds of popping could be heard as DragonWyrm Heart’s joints shifted, and his stance forever changed from bipedal to quadrupedal. He couldn’t help but moan in a sensual matter as his muscles bulged and his tail thickened. That morphed to panic, however, when the power shifted and his neck grew. He had put on the bowtie snugly, not loosely. His eyes went cross eyed as he saw his snout stretch out a bit, and a few of his fangs lengthened.  

As the power that fueled his growth faded away, the first thing he checked was the bowtie, and, to his relief, the bowtie had grown with him. He wondered momentarily if it had an enchantment placed on it by Rarity, in anticipation of him growing, or if this was similar to Scorpion's ocarina and guitar.

The mirror that Twilight summoned was still around, so DragonWyrm Heart took a look at himself in it. He was a bit larger, as was typical for a first growth. His green spines looked the same, having only grown a bit. His spade tail was different, as it looked more like a turnip now, than the flat heart like spade that it was before. Looking good, DragonWyrm Heart, looking good.

“But how?” DragonWyrm Heart wondered out loud. Without his wyrm half, he shouldn’t be able to grow… right? A memory came to him of the day he became a DragonWyrm.


“You and your hatchmate have always been intertwined… way more than normal for hatchmates via the Rite of Guardianship... Without you, he would never have been adopted, but, without him, you would have never been hatched, and the world would have plunged into darkness… You ascended him to bring him into harmony. By Choosing, he freed all the dragon spirits that had been in limbo because of the Nameless One… And when you fell into rage because of ‘losing him,’ you were finally able to defeat the Nameless One…”

“I don’t see how becoming a Rage dragon would have…” Golden DragonHeart’s protest faded away as guilt consumed him once again.

“He was right, you know…” The Voice sighed. “Harmony Magic would have been useless against him… Friendship Magic might have… might being the key word there...”


I lost my wyrm half during the battle, and that day, Dragon FireWyrm lost his sentient half… and because we are intertwined…

“What the fuck!?” DragonWyrm Heart cursed as his eyes watered. Dragon FireWyrm had just snuck his tongue into one of his snout holes.

“DragonWyrm Heart, language!” Twilight snapped.

“Can it Twi! I’m not a little hat-” Twilight forced a smile down when she saw a particular and familiar twinkle in Dragon FireWyrm’s eyes. He was about to do it again, and she decided to not warn DragonWyrm Heart. “-chling anymore...”

“Damn it Dragon FireWyrm! That…” DragonWyrm Heart stopped as he finally managed to see the glint in his hatchmate’s eyes that Twilight had seen earlier. “Oh it’s so on!” He growled as he jumped on top of Dragon FireWyrm, scratching and biting.

Twilight backed up to give the brothers some space. She chuckled, as she could just imagine the reaction of her friends. Pinkie Pie pulling popcorn out from nowhere and stuffing her face, while Rainbow would be shouting them on. Rarity would be scowling at not only the two fighting brothers, but Rainbow and Pinkie Pie as well. Fluttershy would most likely be trying to hide. And AJ… well AJ would be the only one she would not really know the reaction of, for this display.  

She smiled as the two dragon brothers continue to play fight. Both dragons were clearly having fun, from the expressions she could make out. She gazed at the five chests filled with memories, and the voice of Rarity sounded in her mind just as clear as that day, long ago.

“We were hoping that being able to look at your beautiful old memories would inspire you to make new ones.”

Rarity, girls, I’d say that you all inspired new memories today...