Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms
Chapter 16-The Intruder and the Invitation
-Hall of the Guardians, desert beneath Saddle Arabia-
It was still throughout the hall. Not a sound echoed off the dusty walls. No living creature had set foot in the hall in over two hundred years. Colorful banners and tapestries lined the walls, providing the only source of color to the bleak hall. The decorated banners on the walls, each telling tales of old, stood as monuments to events since time immemorial. In the center of the hall, a circular hole in the ceiling of the hall shed light on a single spot. Aside from the sunlit center, the only sources of light were torches on the walls that burned bright, casting flickering shadows on the floor below. All was still. Just the way the Keeper liked it.
Suddenly, a bright white flash of light illuminated atrium of the hall, revealing one that had not stepped foot in the Hall for more than a thousand years. The visitor looked around the torch-lit room and walked to the center, going into the sunlit patch on the floor.
Putting a brown paw near his muzzle, the intruder made himself known. "Hello? Is anyone still here?" He asked tentatively. Not hearing a response, the newcomer scratched his head with a clawed hand. "Oh come on, Keeper. I know you're still here. Don't you remember the voice of an old friend?" He said, looking around, trying to find the being that guarded the Hall.
"This voice I remember, but it is not one that I would associate with a friend's." A deep voice filled the chamber. The newcomer turned his horned head in all directions, trying to find the source. "You should not have come here." The voice said in a dangerous tone.
Suddenly, the stone floor broke up around him as purple tendrils of magic shot up from the ground. The intruder had only seconds to react before the tendrils ensnared him in their vice-like grasp. Wrapping themselves around his arms, legs, and wings, the tendrils pulled the writhing intruder to the ground.
"What's the big idea? Don't you remember me?" The trespasser asked, struggling to get out of the tendrils.
"Of course I remember you. That is why I am taking precautions." The voice said from behind the intruder.
Turning his head to see the source of the voice, the intruder was both pleased and frightened at the creature that stood before him.
Standing before him was what looked like a ghost clothed only in a brown cloak. A transparent grey being in the shape of a large eel-like serpent with two arms and hands floated a few feet above the ground, standing tall above the bound visitor. The translucent serpent's body was similar to the body size of the intruder's, but a bit bigger. The brown cloak's hood covered the head of the serpent, concealing his facial features. However, only two things were visible from underneath the hood. One was the serpent's snout, the grey transparent muzzle sticking out of the cover of the hood. The other feature, however, was much more noticeable. It was the glowing purple eyes that were staring into the intruder's as though looking into his chaotic soul.
"Discord." The serpent ghoul addressed his visitor in a poisonous tone, earning a strained wave from the bound draconequus.
"Long time, no see, pal." Discord said with a toothy grin.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were sealed away for eternity." The serpent said in an almost confused manner.
"Well long story short, I am no longer the chaotic monster you knew me to be. I have been reformed by the Elements of Harmony." Discord proudly proclaimed, his voice echoing off the stone walls of the hall.
The serpent's purple eyes widened at hearing this, then reverted back to their narrowed state. "I sense the truth in you, Discord. This is truly a surprising revelation."
"Yes, well we're having a lot of those nowadays, aren't we?" Discord said, narrowing his eyes as his mouth cracked into a grin.
"What are you talking about?" The serpent said, narrowing its eyes at the draconequus.
"Come on, Keeper. You of all beings would know what it is I am talking about." Discord said slyly. "Now if you won't mind getting me out of this little mishap? I think I'd be of more use."
"How do I know this isn't a trick? The last time I saw you in here, you caused quite a mess." The serpent said, bringing old memories to the front of Discord's mind.
Discord rolled his eyes at the presumption. "Oh please. That was millennia ago. I'm a reformed draconequus now. You can trust me."
"An odd phrase coming from you, Discord." The serpent said in a cautious tone.
"You said you sense truth in my words. Why would I have any reason to wreak havoc on this ancient place when I have more important things to do?" Discord asked, pushing for his release from the magic's grip.
After thinking for a bit, the serpent nodded. "Very well. But should you have the slightest notion of seeking to bring destruction on this sacred place, then that thought shall be your last." It said dangerously.
"After living for as long as I have, I have no intention on doing such a thing." Discord said with a smile. "Now if you don't mind." He said, lifting his bound arms up to get the Keeper's attention.
The serpent gave a defeated sigh and lifted his hands towards the purple magical clasps around Discord's legs, wings and arms. The serpent's hands glowed a deep purple aura, the magical snares glowing the same color. The magical clasps released Discord's appendages and slithered back into the ground.
Discord got up, rubbing his now free arms with his hands. "Well, so much for the warm welcome I was expecting." He said, folding his arms at the Keeper.
"After what happened last time, did you think I had a choice in what to do if you came back?" The serpent retorted.
Discord looked down and rubbed the back of his head with his lion paw. "Okay you got me there." He admitted.
"So why have you come here?" The serpent asked.
Discord's usually happy attitude disappeared almost immediately. "There is evidence to believe that the Shadow is coming back." The mere mention of one of that monster's names sent shivers up Discord's spine.
The serpent nodded. "Yes. I have sensed that something large and powerful has returned. Something that can only be stopped by the power of the Guardians."
"I didn't get signs, but was indirectly told that he was coming back." The spirit of chaos said, looking up to the serpent.
"Told?" The serpent asked, pressing Discord to explain himself.
"I was told by Princesses Luna and Celestia of Equestria that they needed Starswirl's journal. From what I understand about the contents, it involves what to do should a certain shadowy alicorn be released from its prison." Discord said, air quoting the word shadow. "You know as well as I as to what that means." He said, folding his arms.
The Keeper slowly nodded. "Then the dark veil has begun to fall." It said solemnly, turning away from Discord and staring at the story-telling draperies on the wall. "If you knew that I knew about the Dark One's return, why did you come? To warn me of something I was already aware of?"
"Just the opposite, actually." Discord said casually, causing the Keeper turning back around to face him. "Do you have any idea who these Guardians might be?"
The Keeper closed his purple eyes and shook his head. "No. However, there is a piece of Starswirl's prophecy on the matter."
"And what might that be?" Discord asked, folding his arms and raising an eyebrow.
The Keeper cleared his throat as he uttered the part of the prophecy.
"The Six will become Eight
And end the Guardians' wait.
Guardians of scale and fur hide,
Of royalty and countryside,
In each other they shall abide
Against the Dark One's tide."
After hearing these words, Discord looked down at the floor in shock. Surely the prophecy couldn't mean them! The odds of this are a billion to one! He thought. But then again, the odds of me being becoming good weren't so promising either, but they did it. Discord sighed. He knew what he had to do.
-Sweet Apple Acres, Ponyville-
A loud grunt of effort sounded from the south end of the apple orchard. There was a second grunt and the sound of nine fully-grown red apples hitting the ground followed seconds later. It had been a hard day of work for Applejack, not so much that the amount of work she did had to be done that day, but that she had to take her mind off things.
Nine apples. Not bad. The orange earth pony thought as she beheld her work. Applejack looked up in the tree she had just bucked. A few late bloomers are still up there. I'll get them next week.
Applejack looked to her left and saw a tree that looked just perfect for bucking. The cowpony saw that the apples on the tree were fully-grown and ready to be bucked out off the branches.
"Alrighty then. Ah'll just get these and then head to the barn." Applejack said, immediately stopping midstride. As soon as she said 'barn', memories of the dream came back, flooding her mind. Images of those deformed monsters, her family, and that yellow-eyed thing filled her head, making her shiver at the memories.
Get a hold of yerself, Applejack! It was just a dream. Nothing more. She tried to assure herself, but the thoughts just kept coming back, playing over and over again in her mind. The emptiness of the farm in the dream, the feeling of pure fear as she looked at the yellow-eyed alicorn, and many other mixed emotions stirred in her chest.
Applejack began to hyperventilate, her chest rising and falling in quick bursts as the images refused to leave her mind. The twisted forms of those mutated creatures, those bright yellow eyes, her family's brutalized condition, and other terrible memories filled her head. But one thing would never leave her memory. It was a simple cracking sound, the sound of Applebloom's life being taken. Applejack squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force that particular memory from her mind. But clear as day, Applejack could see the life leave her young sister's bright orange eyes as her neck was broken. She could see the sickening grin on the grey alicorn's face as he twisted the hooves that held her sister's head and muzzle.
Applejack couldn't take the images anymore. She lay down on the ground and put her hooves over her face, sobbing quietly. In the dream, she had failed. Failed to stop the alicorn and those hideous creatures, failed to free her family, and worst of all, failed to stop Applebloom from dying. A tear rolled down her face and into the soft green grass beneath her.
"Applejack, y'all alright?" A deep voice said next to her. The images in her mind vanished as she was snapped out of her pitiful state. Applejack looked up to see who had spoken to her. Before her stood a tall muscular stallion with a deep red coat and a short cropped golden mane and tail.
"Oh. Hey, Big Mac." Applejack said, relieved that the memories had stopped. "Done with the eastern fields already?"
"Eeyup." Big Macintosh replied flatly. "Y'all almost done buckin' these trees?"
Applejack nodded, looking back at the trees. "Yep. Ah have less than a quarter of the field to go. Ah was just taking a rest break."
"So are y'all alright? Ya looked like y'all were havin' some sort of episode." Big Mac asked, pushing the question.
Applejack held up a hoof and rubbed her arm. "It was nuthin, sugarcube. Now let's get-" She started to say, but was interrupted by a lightning-fast multicolored blur.
"AJ!" A tomboyish voice shouted from above the two Apple siblings. Applejack and Big Mac looked up to see none other than Rainbow Dash hovering above the trees.
"Rainbow? What're ya doin' here?" Applejack asked, wondering what her friend's intentions were for coming to the farm.
A posh voice spoke up. "We came to check up on you, darling." Applejack looked down to see Rarity standing in front of her.
"Check up on me? What fer?" Applejack asked, noticing Big Mac becoming concerned as well.
"Did you have some sort of freaky dream last night?" Rainbow asked as she began descending towards the group of earth-bound ponies.
Applejack looked down at the ground and slowly nodded.
"She had one too." Rarity said in a surprised whisper.
"Now what's this Ah'm hearing about a dream? It couldn't have been that bad if it was just a nightmare." Big Mac spoke up.
"This wasn't just a nightmare, Mac." Applejack said, looking up at her brother.
"Indeed. It was dream that concerned all of us." Rarity said to Big Macintosh, earning a confused look from the stallion.
"What she means is that each of the Elements of Harmony had a nightmare last night. Just one of us having a nightmare isn't too bad, but all of us in one night? It can't be a coincidence." Rainbow said as her cyan hooves touched the soft ground and her wings retracted to her sides.
Big Macintosh looked to his sister with a concerned look on his face. "Is that what Ah saw ya doing? Having some sort of flashback?"
Applejack nodded. "Ah was, Mac. It was just so bad but it doesn't want to leave mah head."
"What was it about?" Mac asked, now genuinely anxious to know what happened.
"It was about you." Applejack replied, earning a surprised expression from her brother. "Not just you, Mac. It was the whole family. You, Applebloom, and Granny."
"What happened in the dream?" He asked. Applejack looked nervously away from her brother and looked at her friends. They too had concerned expressions on their faces. A hoof touched her shoulder, causing her to look back at Big Mac, whose hoof was resting on her shoulder. He gave her a reassuring smile. "Ah know it must've been bad, but Ah need to know."
Taking a deep breath and letting out a sigh, Applejack began to tell the others about her dream. How she couldn't find anypony on the farm and how she was scared that she might be alone. Applejack told of how she then went to the barn to see if her family was in there. There she found them, along with three mutated creatures in the shapes of a changeling, a griffon, and a pony. Her descriptions caused Rarity to swoon slightly at hearing of such dreadful beings. Applejack then told of how he threatened Applebloom, causing Big Mac to tense up instinctively. She told of how she tried to stop the alicorn, but was intercepted by the creatures. She told of how she was cut and bruised by the creatures, never giving her a chance to get back up. Then she told of the final and most dreadful part of the dream. How she was forced to lie to her family, ending with Applebloom's murder. This earned a collective gasp from Rarity and Rainbow Dash. After that, she told of how she herself was killed, ending the dream.
Big Mac stared at the ground in shock of what he had just heard. Rarity and Rainbow both stood in silent awe and disgust of the dream they'd heard.
"And the rest of y'all had a dream similar to this one?" Big Mac asked, looking up at the other mares. Rainbow and Rarity nodded. Letting out a sigh, Big Mac gave his sister a pleading look. "Ah'll be honest, Applejack. Ah don't like the feelin' Ah'm getting from hearing about this dream and if Ah would, Ah'd stop ya from going on another life-risking adventure. But yer just as involved as the others, so Ah won't stop ya. Just be careful, alright?"
Applejack looked at her brother thoughtfully and nodded. "Ah'll be careful, Big Mac. You just watch out for Granny and Applebloom. You make sure they're alright, and Ah'll make sure Ah stay safe." She said with a reassuring smile.
Without warning, Big Mac pulled Applejack for a big hug. At first surprised by this, Applejack resisted the sudden showing of affection, but then nuzzled into the hug. Rarity and Rainbow watched thoughtfully as the two siblings embraced for several seconds before splitting up.
"Ah gotta go with mah friends." Applejack said, turning away from her brother. She began to walk away with Rarity and Rainbow, but stopped, turning her head to see Big Mac. "Ah promise Ah'll be careful, Mac. Just keep the family safe." She said, turning back and walked off with her friends.
Big Mac never took his eyes off her until she was far out of his sight.
-Streets of Ponyville-
Palm Spring skipped blissfully through the town. She had never experienced such fun in her life. That was so much fun! I am never leaving this place! Palm thought, unaware of her quickly dwindling distance between herself and a unicorn mare that was right in front of her. Fang and Chassis aren't going to believe it when I tell them what happened to- Palm's thoughts were interrupted as something slammed into her. She fell back on her haunches from the hit, not knowing what just hit her. Shaking her head, she looked down at what had hit her. To Palm's surprise, she saw an olive-green unicorn mare with a straight cobalt green mane and tail, in which were several silver streaks. On her flank was a trio of musical notes flanked by two hearts. It then dawned on Palm that they had bumped into each other, causing the interruption to her thoughts.
"Oh! I'm sorry about that." Palm said, offering the mare a hoof to grab onto.
The mare took Palm's hoof and pulled herself up. "No problem. I guess I should have looked where I was going."
"Yeah, same here. Sorry about that by the way." Palm said, giving the mare an apologetic look.
"It's alright, uh…" The mare said, pushing for the name of the pony that had bumped into her.
"Palm Spring." Palm said, offering her hoof to be shaken. "And you are?"
"Misty Melody." The mare said, shaking Palm's hoof.
"So, Misty, whatcha up to?" Palm asked.
Misty shrugged. "Not much. Just getting ready to meeting with Cheerilee to plan on when I can teach her class." Misty said with a hint of pride in her voice.
"You teach?" Palm asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah. I teach history and music." Misty said with a smile.
Palm's ears perked at this. "History and music? How'd you come to teaching those?" she asked.
"As a filly I had an insatiable fascination with the two subjects. Eventually I began to teach as a substitute. That's why I'm heading to the school right now. Speaking of which, mind telling me where that is? I have a terrible time remembering things like that." Misty said, shaking her head at her own forgetfulness.
Palm pointed up the hill that was behind her. "Straight up that hill. Should be the first thing you see on your right."
Misty gave Palm a grateful smile. "Thanks, Palm. Hope to see you again soon." She said, trotting past Palm and up the hill towards the red schoolhouse.
Palm watched Misty climb the hill with a gleeful look. Did I just make another friend? She thought, a smile spreading wide on her face. First those three fillies at the school and now the mare she'd just run into. Wow. In one day I have made more friends than I ever did in the hive. At this, she began to think about her fellow changelings and the state they were in. The hive was literally falling apart and she knew it. Chrysalis was practically leading a broken empire at this point. Three changelings leaving wouldn't make a difference.
Hang on, Cipha. That kind of thinking is treason and desertion. The still loyal part of her brain spoke up.
I suppose. But I'm still not looking forward to leaving this place. Said the part of her brain that was still enthralled by everything she'd seen and done in Ponyville that day.
Hey, Chrysalis said that after this job, you can feed. You need to feed as much as Fang and Chassis. If not for yourself, do it for them as well. The hive-loyal part of her mind said. True, Cipha felt responsible for both Fang and Chassis, not wanting her companions to pay for her misgivings.
Okay. I'll stick to the mission at hand. She thought, resuming her stroll through Ponyville's streets. Even though she would never admit it, she knew that the seeds of treachery were sown in her head. Deserting the hive meant death upon being found. Letting out a sigh, Palm pushed these thoughts to the back of her mind to be dealt with later. For now, she had to meet up with Fang and Chassis back at the rental house.
-12 Hoofington Road, Ponyville-
By the time Cipha had gotten back to the house, the sun was already starting to set. It had been a long and exhausting day, and Cipha needed to rest. Cipha walked up to the rental house and opened the door. Cipha looked and saw Fang and Chassis, still in their disguised forms, sitting on the floor and looking at a note.
"What are you guys doing?" Cipha asked, turning to close the window shades.
Fang looked up from the note and saw Cipha. A slight smile graced his features. "Hey, Cipha. Chassis and I came back to the house and found this on the door." He said, gesturing to the note.
As Cipha closed the window shades, a green fire surrounded her body and worded its way from her tail to her head. Her light brown fur and cinnamon brown mane changed back into black fur and a deep slimy blue mane. Opening her bright green eyes, she let out a sigh of relief. "Ah, that's better. So what does the note say?"
"It looks like some sort of invitation." Chassis said, taking the note and handing it to Cipha. Cipha took the letter and began to read.
Dear newcomers to Ponyville,
Salutations! You are cordially invited to attend a Welcome to Ponyville party that is being held at Sugarcube Corner tomorrow evening at 5:00 PM. No need to wear anything formal, as this will just be a friendly get-together. Hope to see you there and we'll make sure to save some cake for you!
Sincerely,
Pinkie Pie
"Pinkie Pie? Who is that?" Cipha asked, putting the note back on the floor.
"She was an employee at this sweets shop I went to today. I guess she wants to meet us." Chassis said, putting a hoof to his chin.
"Wait a minute, how did she know there were more of us. She expressly writes 'newcomers' in the greeting. How could she have known that?" Fang asked, getting a look of worry from Cipha.
"Were we found out and we just don't know it?" Cipha asked nervously.
"Impossible." Chassis said dismissively. "There's no way these ponies could have figured it out so quickly. It's probably just an invitation for multiple ponies that happen to be new here just like we are."
"But this house is the only one I saw with the note on the door." Fang said. "Whoever this 'Pinkie Pie' is, we'd better keep our eyes on her."
"Agreed. Tomorrow, we'll take every precaution to not be caught and find out at the party how this 'Pinkie" knows what she knows." Cipha suggested, earning nods from Fang and Chassis.
"Well we'd better get some rest. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Chassis said, walking towards his room.
"Sounds good." Fang said with a yawn. "G'night, Chassis. G'night Cipha." He said, going to his own room as well.
"Night." Cipha said, going upstairs to her room.
As the three changelings slept that night, two ponies and a dragon made their way towards Sugarcube Corner on the other side of town, ready to help their bouncy pink friend as the day drew to a close.