Author's Notes:

Okay there has been some confusion I'll like clear up:
This story is faaaaar from the end... just the first act. Maybe if we where near 200k then...

Also I'm not getting any dragon OC's.. I don't need them as I can make them myself but this is your chance to get your dragon OC into this story see this blog for details.

“WHY!?”

And there, Magic Dowser, is the 64,000 bit question… or more like a series of whys… Magic Dowser had just asked the one question that encompassed a lot of ground. I had a few guesses and thoughts on it, given the book. I sighed. This could get ugly.

“Let me guess: Why you did get that book now, and not earlier? Followed by some whys that aren’t answered in that book, like why she had to become a wyrm? Am I right?”

Magic Dowser didn’t respond, he just glared at me. However, it was clear that the answer would be a resounding yes. I would have to tread carefully on the book question.

“Your mother threw out the copy originally given to your family. Her exact reasons, I can only speculate on…”

“So?” Magic Dowser scoffed. “You could have sent another copy.”

“Yes... I should have…” I admitted as I looked away, still a bit ashamed of what I did, or didn’t do, in this case. “And I’ll have the scars to remind me until the day I die.”

Magic Dowser himself, while not a fan of me by a long shot, seemed a bit uncomfortable. My guess is because of the pain that She of Hourglass had over doing it. I doubt she has any lingering guilt over it now, but, at the time, she was in extreme distress over her actions.

“As for why your sister had to lose her sentience, to explain that, I’ll have to explain what a full wyrm is…” I gestured for Magic Dowser to sit, as I knew that this could take a bit, but he decided to remain standing. After a few seconds, I shrugged and continued on. If he didn’t want to sit, that was his prerogative. “It takes three things to occur for a dragon to become fully wyrm, like your sister or Dragon FireWyrm. One, their inner flame must be very strong. Two, what they hoard must be something that is very... simplistic. Like family or flying... For example, a dragon that hoards, let’s say, clothing could not possibly become fully wyrm. Three, and finally the most important part, the dragon must be willing…”

“No, I don’t believe that.” Magic Dowser interrupted me. “I can get her wanting to mate with Dragon FireWyrm, but being willing to lose her...? No…”

“What would your sister do to protect you?” I crossed my legs as I sat on my haunches.

“What?” Magic Dowser asked, confused.

“Answer the question.”

“Anything…” He admitted bitterly.

“Exactly, anything.” I raised a claw as I said this. ““As for why your sister found Hourglass, I now know who is responsible…”

“Well?” Magic Dowser gestured with one of his forelegs when I didn’t give him the answer right away. “Out with it! Who?”

“I had been wracking my brain, trying to figure out something puzzling. When your sister first arrived in Hourglass, during her rant, she mentioned dragons invading dreams.” I found myself pacing as I explained, agitated. I nearly stopped in mid step when I realized I was doing a Twilight, but managed to continue. “Now, I can see anyone but those from this clan, including Twilight and Captain Phoenix Wave, dismissing that as her making the depth of her frustration known using a wild exaggeration. Sure, there are some who can utilize some form of dream magic, but the amount of power and precision needed to not only enter another’s dream, but also in a form of a dragon, is high, almost impossible. The only being still living that could do that is Dragon FireWyrm.”

“But,” Magic Dowser glanced over at Dragon FireWyrm, then She of Hourglass, confused, saying, “she didn’t seem to recognize him at all…”

“Which confused me even further.” I nodded, glad that Magic Dowser was following along. “It wasn’t until last night, when the one responsible for ‘invading’ her dreams came to me… The ‘Who’ is… in very simplistic terms... the combined spirits of every dragon that has died, Chosen, or Mated, known as The Voice.”

“Really?” Magic Dowser raised an eyebrow. I could see in his eyes that he was conflicted between screaming at me in anger or laughing his head off. “You are going to blame it on some dragon version of the Pasturelands!? Fine. I can probably believe some creep of a dragon that claims to be this ‘Voice’ was responsible for letting Ruby know about Hourglass… But that Ruby is some sort of doppelganger!?”

“Uh, no…The Voice is real, and no, your sister isn’t some doppelganger. Though I could see how one could think that… The soul of a dragon is like a… how do I explain it...” I paused as I quickly tried to come up with a analogy that would help in this case. I could use the one that Dragon FireWyrm used with the Bearers, but I think they had a bit more knowledge than Magic Dowser does, because I doubt that he read the book thoroughly. I snapped a claw when I found one. “I got it! A dragon’s soul is similar to an egg. Not a dragon egg, mind you, more like a ‘normal’ egg, say a chicken's egg. When an egg is laid, it has a shell on the outside, to protect the developing chick inside. A dragon's soul, prior to mating or Choosing, is that shell. It is there to protect the true dragon within during the time it’s developing. Unlike a egg, though, that shell is still living until Choosing or mating… at which point…”

“So…” Magic Dowser drolled, clearly chewing on his words. “A part of her died when…”

“Technically, yes…” I tensed up as I admitted the literal truth. One that could prove problematic enough that I carefully double checked my wards to prevent the possibility of an exploding Magic Dowser from destroying anything, “However, as I said, that was merely the shell that protected her core soul underneath, until she was ready to come out, as it were...”

“Okay, I can accept that…” Magic Dowser said, after an awkward moment of silence. I had to check to see if my jaw had dropped, because that was not the reaction I expected from Magic Dowser. I looked over to make sure that the Pinkie Pie Memory Chest wasn’t doing anything. She may be long gone, but I wouldn't put it past her to somehow transfer her Pinkie Sense to her chest, even though outside that one time, it never did anything ‘weird.’ “However, the losing of her sentience, that is not like an eggshell or skin that dies to make way for fresh new skin underneath. It’s like cutting off a leg, or horn, or wings! That was a huge part of her!”

“Less than you think, actually…” I rubbed the back of my head, knowing that what I was saying would not be taken calmly.

“Less than I think...” Magic Dowser muttered angrily, grinding his teeth hard enough to make me wince. “LESS THAN I THINK!?!”

“Ruby! What the fuck!?” Magic Dowser spun back to face She of Hourglass after she whacked the back of his head with the tip of her tail.

Listen. She of Hourglass growled.

“The wyrm is responsible for Mating, Choosing, growing, and hoarding, among other things… It’s a very large part of an adult dragon. Furthermore, becoming a full wyrm didn’t destroy either her personality, or her memory. She knew the exact spot in which you were ticklish, and she smacks you for being an idiot. Both speak to her memory and personality.” I gestured towards She of Hourglass. “The issue is thought patterns. Basically, dragons can reason and rationalize everything they do, while wyrms use instincts and ingrained patterns.”

“For example, as you may or may not recall, I told you about the Dragon Code, and how it’s written into our minds at Choosing. Now, if I chose to ignore one of those codes, let’s say by stealing a gem from Dragon FireWyrm’s hoard, I can. However, if I ‘mature’ in that code, that code becomes not just written into my mind, but into my heart. I would literally be unable to break that code in thought or action. You could yell into my ear about stealing it, and my brain would not register what you were telling me. That part of me that matured in that code is no longer dragon but wyrm.”

“Are your saying that Ruby is some sort of soulless, cold automaton that can only follow a set of rules!?”

“Of course not!” I snapped, then flinched as I realized I needed to back up and keep addressing this in a calm manner. “As I just said, her memories and personality are intact. As long as she doesn’t break the Code, which, as a wyrm, she can’t, she will follow that code in the way that matches who she is.”

“As for why your sister specifically had to lose that part of her.” I sharply exhaled. “Tell me, have you tried mixing oil and water?”

“What has that have to do with why she had to lose her sentience?”

“Everything. The wyrm and dragon are separate, are they not? If the wyrm is like oil, and the dragon is like water, and in mating, the souls of the two meld together, tell me, how will that be possible, if one is both oil and water, and the other only oil?”

I could see that Magic Dowser’s mind was spinning, trying to find some way to poke holes in my explanation. I was not going to give him that opportunity, however, and, since I still had to pass along a request by The Voice, I told him... “The Voice has asked for me to grant you any boon that is possible, as an apology for putting you through Tartarus.”

“Give me back my Ruby.” Magic Dowser said without hesitation, and it was the answer I knew that he was going to say. She of Hourglass understandably deflated a bit as he said this.

“That is impossible.” I shook my head. “I should know… and even if it was possible, would you subject your sister to something that traumatic?! Would you force her to become something she is not?”

“Then I want to know why! Why did he…this ‘The Voice’...tell Ruby to come here…?” Magic Dowser choked out, tears forming in his eyes. “And I want to hear it from the very mouth of The Voice!”

I almost immediately said that his second request was also impossible, but I stopped before the words came out. I honestly didn’t know for sure whether or not it could be done, but then again, there was that one time… <Dragon FireWyrm, The Voice should be ‘watching’; see if it’s possible to arrange a meeting.>

That startled Dragon FireWyrm, and I got to see something I had not seen in thousands of years: him being very lost and confused. As much as I wanted to relish in it, Magic Dowser clearly wanted his answers, and I didn’t think he would be very appreciative of sibling revelry and ribbing right now. I was a bit surprised that he had not yet demanded my answer to his request.

<The Voice said any boon…> I added, hoping that it would jar him lose.

Dragon FireWyrm blinked a few times, sighed, then closed his eyes. A moment later, they opened. Thinks possible. Will try.

“Well congratulations, Magic Dowser, Hatcher of Dragons, and Thesējs Tzirüstele Atülāja, you are about to be the very first non-dragon to ever see The Voice. Dragon FireWyrm?”

Dragon FireWyrm slunk his head down and blew a small breath of air at Magic Dowser.

“Dragon FireWyrm? What are you…” Magic Dowser couldn't finish his sentence, as he passed out from the putrid breath of Dragon FireWyrm, much to They of Hourglass’ and my amusement. Dragon FireWyrm quickly collected himself and fell into the same trance as he did before.

“I hope this works…” I muttered.

Agreed. She of Hourglass added.