Continuous the thoughts of the dragon towards their hoard. ~ Ancient Dragon Proverb
They only need to be shown the way...
'Much of what you will face, he has faced, but in the reverse.' Harlothisüa Lruthithieüs sighed as the words of his friend once again echoed in his mind.
What wonderful advice Šihzra Vairozs! A few bookmarks labeled 'read here ya dumbass lizard' would have been really nice, but nooo... He grumbled as he closed the journal he had been skimming through. It was all he could manage in a single sitting. Four hundred and thirteen journals were no light reading. And even if all he did was read, (no brakes, no eating nachos, and sleep? What's that?) it would take months, months! Not helping was that, as he was aware, thanks to the edited versions, Harmony could easily wax at nauseum on very deep philosophical subjects. Right now he needed more immediate practical help. Like how to best ease a pony's grief. He understood how for a dragon...
With a huff, he looked around at the stacks of journals nearly filling the room he had been given... assigned? He was not yet sure if he liked the room or not. At least, for the moment, it would keep his books safe. He debated whether to try and skim another journal or to try and stealthily ask for help from one of the ruling ponies or maybe one of the changelings... But both of those options had so many pitfalls. He was not sure how to act around ponies, especially right now, and the changelings would most likely be skittish around him until their leader returned.
Harlothisüa was about to resign to his fate and grab the next journal when his ear fins twitched at the sounds distant shouting and the sounds of heavy hooves on crystal. A glance out the window told him that it was still night and thus no one would make such a ruckus at this time of night, unless it was urgent. Whatever it was, maybe it would give him opportunity to cultivate his hoard, or, at the very least, provide a distraction from his worries.
The moment stepped out of his room, with no time to react, a pony slammed into him sending him tumbling back into his room and onto his back. At first he thought that it was an accident, but the hooves of the pony where pressing against his chest and neck with clear intent. The look of fury on the stallion's face only cinched his assessment.
"Where is he?!" The pony hissed.
Guardian was about to open his mouth when he realized that the pony that had him pinned was actually the changeling praetorian guard known as Pharynx. The drake had to quickly rack his brain for the changeling's cover name. He doubted, given that the changeling came to him disguised, that the hive wanted the masquerade to break just yet. "Captain... Lancer?"
"Don't play coy with me dragon." Captain 'Lancer' sneered, unsheathing his sword and pointing it straight down at Guardian. "Where- is- my- brother? Where is Thorax Guardian?!"
And so it begins... again. Guardian inwardly noted before he answered the changeling. "Šihzra took him to Traxti City, from there I can only speculate."
"What!?"
Guardian grumbled, resisting the urge to pinch his brow in frustration. (He doubted that Pharynx would see the benign movement for what it was.) "Please, please tell me that, for fucking once, Šihzra Vairozs explained what he was planning in a clear an' coherent manner..."
"Plan? So you knew?" The downward pressure from Pharynx eased slightly before it came back even heavier, his sword shifting down to press against Guardian's neck. "Of course, you would know!"
"Me?" Guardian snorted as he tried and failed to hold back his laughter. "Know what Šihzra is going to do? Like he would ever fucking tell anyone much less me his plans?!"
"You said..."
"Yes. I know what I said." Guardian interrupted, rolling his eyes. "But that was all he told me before he teleported away... the bastard."
Pharynx stared down at the drake silently for a moment before slowly easing off and sheathing his sword allowing Guardian to get up and dust himself off. "We thought he was changeling from another hive, because no one besides a changeling could enter the hivemind, or so we all thought..."
Guardian nodded his understanding. For him, it wasn't a surprise that the changelings were fooled. The gulf between what people thought was true and what Šihzra knew to be true was quite vast. He had given up being shocked over Šihzra's knowledge long ago. Now it just annoyed him.
"... but then... Thorax cried out in terror. All he got out was a single word before he disappeared from the hive mind. I have never heard him so terrified, Guardian. Šizra... he bugnapped Thorax just like he did with you! And now he will twist and change him so thoroughly as to no longer being my brother!"
"What?!" Guardian exclaimed, flabbergasted. Šihzra would never... Well, maybe he would, he conceited but Thorax was changeling not dragon. "My knowledge on your kind may be limited, but it is not that limited."
"Yeah, as told to you by your abductor."
"No," He snorted, rolling his eyes and gesturing to his cape. "As told to me by the same changelings that gave me my cape."
"Look... Captain 'Lancer'," Guardian sighed, hoping that this won't be as difficult as getting Twilight to understand that he wasn't and never was Spike. "Your brother will return as whole as he left. The change will be in skill and knowledge not in spirit and mind. Šihzra would never cause harm to fall upon what is mine..."
"Mine?" Pharynx softly and slowly echoed, and Guardian tensed as he saw the shift in the changeling's body language. "MINE!?"
Guardian was quick to find himself reminded of Pharynx's fighting skill when he barely had time to bring forth one of his swords to block the now fully enraged changeling's sword attack.
"Thorax did not risk everything, EVERYTHING!" Pharynx bellowed as he used his telekinesis to bring his sword around to try to attack the drake from a different angle. Luckily for Guardian, he had some practice going up against an opponent that was skilled with the sword in such a fashion and was able to parry, block, or dodge every swipe, slash and stab from the changeling.
"He did not leave the hive," Pharynx angrily voiced as the changeling continued to try and land a blow against the drake, "to find a better way before going up against the Tyrant Chrysalis, and then nearly dying to give the rest of the hive time to escape only to allow us to become re-enslaved and hoarded by some greedy little dragon!"
Guardian nearly roared in anger at the accusation. Yes, he was greedy but to insinuate that he, by hoarding them, was enslaving them!? With strength and speed he didn't normally have, he dropped his own sword to swipe at the changeling with his own claws. Pharynx tried to block the claw swipe, but found his sword falling to the ground as the drake's claws sliced it into pieces like a hot knife through butter.
"Listen to my words and feel my emotions, changeling!" Guardian hissed as he grabbed the changeling's face and held it tight so that the changeling had no choice but to look him eye to eye. He released his emotions he had for his hoard, all the love, affection, concern, fears, everything, and allowed them to fully pour out of him, even though it was dangerous for them both for him to do so. "You are all precious to me and as long as you and your hive takes shelter under the Crystal Spire you are mine. Mine to protect. Mine to guard! Not enslave!"
He then let go of the changeling and looked away as he softly professed. "I know what it does to a creature to be enslaved... to be caged and not free..."
He clenched his hands as the memories flooded back, of all the pain and suffering he endured while within Spike and how he could do nothing! But he also remembered what Spike ultimately did and why. The drake let a small smile form as he quelled the swell of emotions before turning back to fully face Pharynx, "Have you already forgotten that it was Spike who freed the crystal ponies at great risk and he who then freed me at cost his existence? To enslave... is antithesis to my very name and it was he who named me."
The disguised changeling stared at the dragon for a moment before blinking, shaking his head and softly speaking. "Just promise me that he... my brother... I've nearly lost him once already... I..."
Guardian couldn't feel emotions like the changeling or use a spell like Šihzra would but even he had seen the immense love and loyalty that this changeling had for his leader and hive. He had a lot of work ahead of him if he was to prove worthy of his Claim. For now, all he could do was place a reassuring paw on the changeling's shoulder and say, "You will not."
Pharynx leaned into the embrace for a moment before he growled and stiffly backed out of the embrace. "Bah! Enough of this! I have patrols to do... and a new sword to requisition." With that Captain 'Lancer' spun around and marched away.
Guardian smirked as he watched the changeling turn a corner and disappear. He would call that encounter a victory. Now to figure out the crystal ponies...
"....eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....."
What now? Harlothisüa grumbled as he ran a paw down his face. Captain 'Lancer' had barely been gone a moment and already he could hear another commotion just at the edge of his hearing. I swear if I get bowled into like I am a bowling pin again...
Two hallways and several flights of stairs later Guardian slowly came to a stop at the top of a third flight of stairs. The floor ahead of him looked strangely... shiny. Bending down he gently ran a paw over the shiny floor. With a huff he quickly rose to his full height. Someone had over waxed the floor... which he would have chalked up as an innocent mistake if it wasn't for the fact that there were also bubbles floating in the air, almost as if someone had set up a hidden bubble machine somewhere.
"....EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAA" Suddenly a pony guard screamed as he zoomed past Guardian. The pony was flailing about as he careened across the floor, scrambling to get onto his legs. Guardian instinctively cringed as the guard was about to slam into far wall at the end of the hall, but to his utter disbelief and shock instead crashing into the wall, the wall opened up and swallowed the guard.
TILT! TILT! TILT!
Fuck. Guardian groaned as he pinched his brow as he came to a sudden realization. There was only one creature, that technically Spike and not he knew, that would 'announce' his arrival with reality warped pranks and practical jokes. He carefully looked about, hoping he was wrong as this was not the best time for annoying clownish antics.
"My, my, my... Those delicious rumors that I had heard from a little bird were true." Guardian's gaze rose up and towards the voice speaking, only to find the ugliest bird gazing down at him from a rafter high above. "A dragon in Equestria."
A sound of a snap rang out and the bird was gone a flash of light, replaced by the more familiar mismatch form of the creature that Guardian recognized as Discord. The draconequus waved a hello before suddenly diving down from the ceiling. Guardian stepped back in shock as Discord smashed into the floor head first and shattered into thousands of pieces. He then jumped a bit to the side when a second Discord, dressed in a maids outfit, appeared out of nowhere next to him and swept up the Discord fragments under a rug that he swore wasn't there a second ago. He growled in irritation as a third Discord then materialized on his other side wearing a deerstalker hat and smoking from a pipe that was in his mouth upside down.
"You do remind me of the little purple and green fire breathing pipsqueak that I used to know..."
I swear if he calls me Spike... Guardian swore as he bit down the urge to lash out. "What do you want Discord?"
"Yes, yes, let's not waste any time and get right down to brass tacks, shall we?" Discord said, rubbing his paws together before pulling out from nowhere a red and white paper bucket with the words popcorn written on the side. "Brass tacks?"
Guardian raised an eyebrow as he look down into the tub to see true enough instead of popcorn there was actual brass tacks inside. And going by the dark shine on many of the tacks, mechanical oil instead of butter. He frowned in disgust as he waved away the offer. The only time he like brass was as shaved sprinkles on salted caramel ice cream and even if he didn't he would not trust anything that Discord conjured.
"Your loss." Discord shrugged, popping a handful into his mouth and nosily crunched on them much to Guardian's annoyance.
"Discord..."
"Right, right, I know better than to pester a dragon..." Discord nodded as he tossed the popcorn tub behind him which disappeared with a bright flash. "I prefer to original recipe Discord over extra crispy anyway."
Guardian's eyes twitched as he inwardly grumbled. Says the guy that is currently pestering a dragon...
"Ten years ago... I uh... a fri- someone I used to know... I don't know exactly why... he wasn't exactly the most forth coming... not that there was time between the fighting and the dying... well he... that is... you see... um..." Guardian could feel his jaw start to ached as he ground his fangs together. It was taking all his strength not to grab the now blabbering draconequus and scream at him to get to the fucking point! "Have you heard of a place called the Reliquary of the Ancients?"
Guardian nodded, slightly relieved that the draconequus was, finally, speaking coherently and a bit curious too. Not too many people knew about the Reliquary of the Ancients.
"Oh good..." Discord sighed in relief. "At least he managed to get you there..."
Get me there? What is he talking... Then it clicked. "Are you talking about Šihzra Vairoz?"
Discord's gaze snapped to Guardian, his eyes widening. "Šihzra... Vairoz... You said Šihzra Vairoz."
Guardian blinked. What the fuck!? He was aware of Šihzra's use of honorifics and his tendency to use Ancient Draconian in those honorifics, but for Discord to actually have ability to speak the full Šihzra Vairoz name, in Ancient Draconian, could only mean one thing. Discord and Šihzra were friends. Friends. Again, what the fuck?!
"So... if... that can only mean..." Guardian groaned as the draconequus starting blabbering again. "Šihzra... He's alive?!"
"Yes..." Guardian slowly answered, backing up a step away from the suddenly exuberant draconequus.
"I was hoping..." Discord chocked out in a sob, tears running down his face.
"So! How many times has he sung around you?" Discord happily asked, lightly clapping while his legs danced. "Oo, has he sang a song to you?"
Guardian massaged his forehead as Discord continue to clap and dance. The constant mood whiplash of the draconequus was starting to give him a real headache. For one claiming to not want to pester a dragon he was sure willing to pester one. Not that he could do much against the draconequus anyway. He had no chance against him and they both knew it. If only Šihzra was here... Wait... 'I had a question for Ilcktulsivitātes Hzathtola and was attempting to locate him.' "Are you aware that Šihzra has been looking for you?"
"He has?" Discord smile fell into a deep frown as he turned away. "I thought that... never mind that... Did he share why?"
Guardian opened his mouth, then closed it. He gulped as he felt his mouth and lips become bone dry. Even though they were now friends, and not mentor and protégé, he knew that true runes was the one subject that would still trigger Šihzra's lethal wrath. It took a bit of work but he was finally able to croak out two words: "A rune."
"A... rune?" Discord head snapped back to him, his eyes boring into him. The draconequus' body, which had been in a constant state of motion since he revealed himself, came to a complete stand still. "A true rune?"
"Yes..." Guardian slowly answered, taking another step back while surreptitiously looking for an escape route he knew was not there. The sudden seriousness that the draconequus was exuding was really disturbing.
Discord slowly looked up and down Guardian as if sizing him up only to twirl the wrist of his lion paw up, a small rectangle piece of paper appearing its grip. "My business card."
Guardian gulped hard as stared at the 'card' before he shakily reached out to take it from Discord, his racing heart pounding hard in his chest. Somehow, he felt, that he had far more to fear than just an irate Šihzra. As soon as the card was in his claw, Discord disappeared with a snap and a flash.
With that, Harlothisüa slowly stumbled over to a nearby bench and sat down heavily, placing his head into his claws. Fuck... fuck... fuck! This was not what he needed right now. Who knew when Šihzra would return with Thorax (if he even would return with the changeling at all). Letting his head fall back, he pulled up the card to exam it. Except for a single line of markings written in black ink, it was completely blank. He huffed out a breath as he put the card back down.
How do I always get myself into these messes?
Huh... He mused as he noticed a shaft of light danced on the wall opposite of him. Look for the source he noticed through a nearby window the sun peeking out from above fog and snow that still surrounded the Empire. Had he been up all night? With a long, deep yawn he thought of turning and going back to get some sleep, but with the way his day was already going he just knew that sleep was not going to happen.
Coffee...
Harlothisüa had yet to fully explore and mentally map out the Spire but was glad that he vaguely remembered the small kitchenette that he found himself in... Or was that Spike? Hard to know for sure. While Spike's memories were mostly faded away, as they should be, there were still moments when remnants would rise up. And as annoying as it was, whenever it happened, as it made him feel disjointed, right now he would take the mental headache then the embarrassment of getting lost and being forced to ask for directions.
He sighed as he waited for his coffee to brew. It had proven to be a bit of a chore to find a way to do so as he liked his coffee extremely strong, like burn a hole in the floor strong. The problem always was getting it that strong without over brewing the grounds. Šihzra had this strange contraption in his lab that could make coffee exactly the way he liked but outside of that, the closest he found to coffee he even remotely liked was espresso. Sadly he couldn't find an espresso machine, all he found was a percolator, yuck, and a coffee press. In the end what he ended up doing was using the press and brewing coffee in coffee. Which, so far, seemed to be working.
Harlothisüa had just started to brew a forth round of coffee in coffee with fresh grounds when the sounds of choked sob caught his attention. He turned to see Twilight Sparkle halfway in the room a hoof half raised frozen as she stared at him with puffy and red eyes. He frowned as he could see fresh tear streaks running down her muzzle. While he was not sure yet how to help his ponies through their grief he did have an idea how to help Twilight, if only a little bit. "Twilight Sparkle, would you like some tea?"
Twilight choked back another sob before she glanced away. From her body language Guardian surmised that she was debating whether it was better to just leave or not, but then she slowly lowered her hoof and turned to face him again. "Yes... tea... would be nice."
He let a small smile cross his face as he went about getting what he needed for Twilight's tea. It was not long until he found a tea infuser, a box of dried mint leaves, and a box of dried lavender springs. He put those aside as he moved over to what looked to be an ice box, smiling he reached in and pulled out a lemon. This was good. He had everything needed to make the blend that seemed to relax Twilight.
While he waited for Twilight's tea to steep he turned back to his coffee. He gently pressed down on the plunger and then pour out a cup to give it a taste and, much to his delight, it seemed that the forth time was the charm. All his coffee needed now was a touch of sweetness. He dug into his satchel until he pulled out a small jar of honey. He was tempted to use some of his zap apple jam for sweetener but he needed awake and functioning not awake and climbing the crystal walls... the crash later on would not be worth it. Although it might help with his nerves over Discord... No. He needed to have his facilities about him.
Guardian put a small drop of honey into his cup and was about take a sip of the now completed coffee when Shining Armor walked into the room, or more like shambled. The stallion looked just as disheveled as Twilight was except he didn't look like he had been crying for hours on end. He made his way right up to Guardian, swaying as looked at him and then the coffee. The drake was about to greet him when, without warning, Shining snatched the cup from his grasp.
He was so surprised by the action that he had barely managed to a raise a claw in warning before Shining Armor tilted his head back and drown the coffee in a single gulp. What the fuck? Guardian blinked, unable to do anything else as he watched the stallion eye the now empty cup before grumbling and reaching out to drink straight from the carafe.
"Ahhhh...." Shining Armor sighed as he put down the now empty carafe. "It's been far, far too long..."
Suddenly, Twilight burst into tears and galloped out.
"Buck." Shining Armor cursed as he quickly galloped after her. "Twily, wait!"
Guardian was quick to follow behind, completely confused as to why Twilight would abruptly run out like that. After all, it was his coffee that Shining drank not hers.