//------------------------------// // Warnings Considered // Story: Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms // by Alphadude007 //------------------------------// Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms Chapter 20-Warnings Considered -Sky over northern Equestria: 1,000 years before Nightmare Moon's return- Shooting Star glided above the clouds, the wind rushing through her fiery red and orange mane as she barely missed a passing cumulus. Shooting felt the wind rushing past her ears and through her mane, the feeling of soaring through the infinite expanse of the sky, and the feeling of exhilaration as she shot towards the snow-covered mountain range ahead of her. These feelings and more fueled Shooting Star's soul as her wings flapped up and down. The sky was her domain and nopony else's. "Alright! Got the sky, now to get to this Crystal Empire. Question is, where exactly is it?" Shooting asked herself. Shooting Star's briefing had been vague to say the least. All she was told was to investigate a newly discovered empire in the northern mountains. When she asked Commander Storm where this 'crystal empire' was exactly, he flatly told her that he didn't know other than the fact that it was in a valley in the middle of the northern mountains. As a mission, this was one of the weirdest assignments she'd taken. However, the thought of exploring uncharted territory excited Shooting Star so much that she accepted the mission after the briefing. Oh well. I'll know it when I see it. Shooting figured as she flapped her wings even faster, accelerating towards the snow-covered mountain peaks .Shooting continued flying towards the mountains that lay ahead of her, both unsure and excited about what was in store for her when she got to her destination. -Canterlot Castle: 1,000 years before Nightmare Moon's return- "Starswirl, what is all this about?" Celestia asked as she and Luna walked through the library's doorway. Starswirl looked up a pile of books he and Clover were studying to greet the princesses. "Ah, Princesses. I am glad to see thee here. I have some news regarding the Crystal Empire that I had received very recently." "So what is all this about, magician?" Luna inquired as one of her eyebrows rose. "I am glad that thou asked, Princess Luna. This book will provide the answers." Starswirl said, his horn lighting up a deep blue. A blue aura surrounded a white book with gold trim as it was levitated from the pile of books that Starswirl and his student had been looking through. Celestia and Luna studied the book that hovered before them. The gold trim seemed emanate from the center of the book where a single pearl was embedded in the cover. The gold trim extended out from the center and swirled around the corners of the cover, making hypnotic shapes on the corners of the cover. Celestia's eyes narrowed at the book, then gave Starswirl a confused look. "Is this book about the Crystal Empire?" Starswirl grinned. "Yes and no, my Princess. I've found that this book has magical properties." Starswirl beamed about his discovery. Luna, still not tearing her eyes from the book, spoke up. "What kind of magical properties?" "When I opened it, it wrote back in response to the things I said." Starswirl said, earning a questioning look from the princess of the sun. "For example, I'd ask what the Crystal Empire was, and it would write out a response." Celestia returned her gaze to the book. "How intriguing. Such magic is extremely rare. What could it mean?" "Is that the only magical property? A book that writes back to answer the reader's questions?" Luna asked. "Aye, Princess." Clover spoke up from behind the mountain of books he was looking through. "From what my teacher has told me, it was quite an experience." He said it could write back, not speak. Luna thought, her gaze focused on the pearl in the center of the book with a peculiar look. Sound faded into nothingness as only the book's voice was heard. That's because you that magician cannot handle the truths I can tell thee, Princess. The book responded with a raspy tone inside her mind. What truths? Luna mentally asked. I can show thee many truths, Princess of the Night, some of which you may not have known to be acutalities. One such actuality is that your sister is going to try to destroy me. The book responded. How can that be? Starswirl has revealed the truth-revealing powers that thou possess. She wouldn't destroy a magic vessel with such capabilities. Luna thought. By getting rid of me, she will deprive thee of a magical vessel that thee can use against her. The book responded. Thou shalt soon see that thy sister has an unquenchable thirst for power. As a result, you will see what she does when another threatens her reign. The book said. Luna narrowed her eyes at the book. Art thou implying that I would threaten her co-rule? Or should somepony else challenge her authority? Luna questioned. Now, now, Princess. All will be revealed in due time. But she can and will do everything to make sure she is unopposed. The same is said for the challenge she feels toward thee. Inside Luna's mind, cogs were turning. It does make sense. I have only begun to have doubts about my sister's hold on power. If she tries to destroy thee, then I swear that my sister will not lay a hoof on thee if thou help me against my sister. Luna thought earnestly. I am glad that I have thy protection, Princess. Until the day she tries to destroy me, just go along with your sister's plans. If we succeed, thou shall have more power than you ever though possible. The book responded, a swirling mixture of blues and blacks beginning to form on the white surface of the pearl. Luna concentrated on the colors, trying to make out what they were creating. The colors finally formed together to form a black pair of eyelids. Remember my instructions, Princess. Soon, you shall be rid of the sun and all the world will recognize the power and beauty that is the night. Soon, the night will last forever. The book whispered, the eyelids on the pearl opening at the end of the book's words to reveal a teal blue eye with a slit pupil. Luna looked into the eye on the pearl. Strangely, she felt a feeling of connection to the image, as if she was looking at a part of herself. "Luna?" a voice asked to the right of Luna. Blinking a few times, Luna looked and saw her sister giving her a concerned look. "Luna, art thou well?" Celestia asked. "I am fine, sister." Luna said, putting on a smile. "I may have zoned out for a bit." Luna looked back at the pearl in the cover, expecting the eye to still be there. To her disappointment, she didn't see it. "Thou should get some rest." Celestia said in a concerned tone. "Nay, dear sister. I am alright." Luna responded quickly. "Don't we have something more important to discuss than my lack of rest?" Starswirl cleared his throat. "Well yes, we should. Now the Crystal Empire is not dissimilar to our kingdom. In fact, its roots are here in Equestria." "How can that be?" Celestia asked. "A young unicorn named Crystal Soul created the crystal pony race by fusing crystal and pony flesh. By giving a portion of his life to the fusion, he was able to create the first crystal ponies. This experiment, however, did not go over well with the locals. They cast him and his creations out, causing them to seek a new home. They eventually found one, deep in the northern mountain range. They found a clearing in the mountains and settled there and began building their civilization. Before passing on, Crystal gave his creations one final gift. Using the last of his life energy, he created a medium through which the crystal ponies could project their own magic. Sacrificing himself and concealing his life energy into a piece of crystal, he created what we know as the Crystal Heart." Starswirl said, pausing to make sure that every pony in the room was paying attention. Seeing that both princesses and his student were enraptured by what he said, Starswirl continued. "Until recently, the crystal ponies had lived in harmony. However, a new king on the throne has put an end to that harmony. His name was once Prodigal, but now he goes by King Sombra, a unicorn king who has been turned into an agent of evil." At hearing Sombra's name, Luna's ears perked up. How could Sombra an agent of evil? He didn't seem evil when I met him in the dream. She thought, recalling the dream she had a couple nights ago. "So is it Sombra that caused the incident the other day?" Celestia asked. "It would seem so, Princess." Clover said. "Whatever Sombra has done, it not only affected Equestria, but his kingdom as well." "Have you sent a scout to the Crystal Empire yet?" Starswirl asked. "Yes, she left within the past hour." Celestia responded. "Is there any chance of catching her?" Clover asked concernedly. Celestia's guise saddened. "Unfortunately, no. She is the fastest scout we have in the castle." She said. Silence filled the library as everypony made the logical conclusion. "She's on her own in an empire whose king has turned into a tyrant." Celestia said, voicing her thoughts. She turned to look at Luna. "Luna, get your rest. Tomorrow, we depart for the Crystal Empire." -Canterlot Castle: Present Day- Two more days. Luna thought as she lay on her bed and looked outside her bedchamber's window. From the view of her window, she could see the bright blue expanse of the sky and the green pastures below the castle at the foot of the mountain. Even thought being on a mountain gave Canterlot a natural defense, Luna knew that a large rock would not be enough to protect Canterlot and its citizens from the imminent evil it faced. Luna knew that the beauty she saw out that window wouldn't be there in the next few days. Two more days until he returns. Ever since hearing Discord's prediction, dread had set itself upon her soul. Memories and images flooded her mind. Memories of when she became one with that monster and images of lunar craters surrounding her in every direction were brought to the front of her mind. Along with them came the feeling of utter loneliness. No pony to talk to, no contact with any pony, and only the voice in her head to talk to her. Having to bear that for a thousand years was something she did not intend to do a second time. Luna closed her eyes and sighed somberly. Luna's ears perked at hearing a familiar voice above her. "Feeling a bit down, are we my dear?" The voice said. Luna looked up to see a certain draconequus hovering up near her ceiling. Luna gave Discord a brief smile. "Greetings, Discord. What brings you here?" She said, turning to look out the window again. "I was passing by and noticed that a certain princess was looking a bit under the weather." Discord said, snapping his clawed fingers. With a flash of light, a dark gray rain cloud appeared over Luna. Luna looked up just in time to see rain beginning to fall out of the cloud and onto her head, soaking her ethereal mane in seconds. Closing her eyes to avoid water getting in them, Luna heard Discord snickering above her. "Discord! This'll take hours to dry!" Luna exclaimed at the chaotic spirit as she opened her eyes to look over her doused state. "Just trying to lighten the mood, Luna." Discord said in a joking tone, snapping his fingers again. With a second flash of light, the rain cloud and its water vanished into thin air. Luna again looked over herself and patted her mane with a hoof to make sure it was dry. To her satisfaction, her flowing blue mane was dry as it was a few minutes ago. "Thank you for your concern, Discord. However, I cannot say that it picked up my spirits." Luna said, her somber complexion returning. Discord pouted. "Not even a little?" Luna looked up at Discord and smirked at his pout. "Okay, maybe a little bit." She responded. Discord beamed at his efforts. "However, it does not remove the problem that is troubling my mind." Discord gave her and understanding look. "I see. You refer to the Shadow, don't you?" Luna's head dipped. "Yes. It's all I've been thinking about for the past day." Discord nodded in reply. "If it gives you any comfort, your sister is just as concerned about you as you are of the Shadow." Luna looked up at Discord. "Really?" She asked. Discord smiled thoughtfully and disappeared in a flash of light. A split second later, Discord appeared at Luna's side on the bed, only he was ten times smaller than his normal size. "Well it's easy to think it's just you against the world when you feel so small. But you know what I've found?" Discord said, his voice had risen in pitch to match his smaller size. Luna looked down at Discord with a puzzled look. "What is it?" "Well let me put it this way." Discord said, his body and voice returning to normal as he grew bigger and bigger with each word. "When you find someone who cares about you in the midst of a crisis, suddenly things are put a little more into perspective." He finished, now at his normal height and his voice deepening to its normal pitch. Luna maintained eye contact with Discord all through what he said, then looked down at the bed in thought. "Your sister cares about you very deeply, Luna. Celestia will never abandon you to the evils that haunt your past." He said, putting his arm on Luna's shoulders. Luna gave Discord a smile. "Thank you, Discord." Discord stood up and put his hands on his hips. "Well you don't have me around just for my dashing looks." He said with a grin. Luna giggled at the joke. She was about to say something when a whiff of green smoke suddenly flew through the window. Luna and Discord both stopped and watched as the smoke settled in front of Luna and then transformed into a rolled up scroll. Luna looked at the seal on the scroll and recognized it as Twilight's seal, and the only one that could send messages like that was a certain purple dragon. "Spike? Why would he be sending me a message?" Luna asked, her horn lighting up blue and taking the scroll with her magic. Unrolling it, Luna began to read. Princess Luna, I need your help! Something has happened to Twilight again! I went downstairs to find her and found her on the floor of the kitchen in the same position as the last time this happened! She was lying on the floor, unresponsive, and her eyes were glowing purple! As soon as you get this letter, I need you to get here as quickly as possible! Your loyal subject, Spike "Something the matter, Luna?" Discord asked. Luna looked up from the letter and saw Discord's confused look. "I'm sorry, Discord, but something has come up that requires my attention." Luna said, setting the letter down next to her on the bed. Discord nodded understandingly. "I see. I'll see you around then." Discord said as he watched her horn begin to brighten. "Agreed. And Discord…" Luna said as her horn's light began to crescendo. Their eyes met as Luna finished. "Thank you." With that, Luna disappeared in a flash of blue light. Discord sighed. Duty calls I suppose. He thought, his gaze going to the letter on the bed. Curiosity sprang to life in his mind. Now what was so important that she had to leave all of a sudden? Discord picked up the letter and began to read through it. Discord rubbed his chin at the mention of Twilight's predicament not being the first time something like that had happened. As he continued to read, his eyes widened at the mention of Twilight's eyes. Purple. So the Keeper's gotten to her too. Discord concluded. Things are happening much faster than they were supposed to. He thought, looking out at the pastures below the castle window. Should I tell Celestia about this? While he didn't want Celestia to interrupt whatever Luna was doing, he couldn't help the feeling that this was something she needed to know too. Sighing, Discord came to the logical conclusion. With a flash of light, Discord disappeared from the bedroom. -Ponyville Library- With a flash of blue light, Luna appeared in the Ponyville library. Looking around, she didn't see Spike or Twilight, only a surprised looking owl on its pole near a window. "I apologize, my nocturnal friend." Luna addressed the owl, who by now had recovered from the princess's surprise appearance. "Hoot hoot." The owl replied and waved back at Luna as a greeting. After giving the owl a brief smile, Luna looked around again. Not seeing Twilight was surprising. If she knew one of the princesses was here, she'd be front and center in seconds. Yet, she saw no pony in the library. Luna turned to the owl again. "Excuse me, but where may I find your owner and her dragon?" The owl pointed down a hallway at the far side of the room. Taking a look at the hallway, Luna turned back to the helpful bird. "Thank you." Luna said to the owl, who then hooted happily in reply. Luna began to walk down the hallway. As she neared the kitchen entrance, she heard voices talking from inside. "I'm so glad you're okay!" Spike's voice could be heard as Luna began to get a look inside the kitchen. She found Spike embracing Twilight in the middle of the room. Luna watched as Twilight looked at the young dragon and returned the hug. "Of course I'm okay Spike. But I need to get an urgent-" Twilight began to say, but clutched her head. Luna guessed her head hurt from whatever she had just gone through. "-message to the Princesses." Luna stepped into the entryway of the kitchen and addressed the purple alicorn."What message?" Luna asked from under the doorway to the kitchen. Both Spike and Twilight turned to see Luna standing in the doorway. Instantly, Twilight rushed up to Luna. "Princess! How long have you been here?" Twilight asked. "I received Spike's message a few minutes ago and came straight here. What seems to be the trouble, Spike?" Luna asked, looking at the dragon. "Wait, what?" Twilight interjected, turning to look at Spike. "Spike, you sent a message to Princess Luna?" "You were passed out on the floor like the last time you read that book. I didn't want to-" Spike said, but was interrupted. "Hold it!" Luna exclaimed. "A book? What book?" She asked. "Yes. It was the same book I read when I had those visions." Twilight said, the memories of her nightmare coming back to her mind. "It should be right… behind…" Twilight began to say, turning her head to look behind her, but didn't see the book in question. "Was it a white book?" Luna asked in an uneasy tone, earning a surprised look from Twilight. "Gold trim that made spiraling patterns on the corners? Pearl in the middle?" "Exactly like that! Well, except for the pearl part." Twilight said. "What do you mean?" Luna asked, her eyes narrowing. "There wasn't a pearl in the middle. It was a diamond-shaped ruby." Twilight responded. Spike spoke up. "So are there two books?" He asked, rubbing his chin with a claw. Luna shook her head. "No. They are one and the same. However, the fact it was a ruby in the middle instead of a pearl makes a huge difference." "How so?" Twilight asked, raising a hoof tentatively. "In the time your mind was in the book, what did it say and did it foretell anything?" Luna asked. "Yeah, and why were your eyes glowing purple?" Spike added onto the questions. Luna spoke up to explain. "The book is a medium through which two beings can communicate with the reader. Depending on whether a ruby or a pearl is on the cover, it shows which being is using the book." Twilight nodded. "That's one thing that the book told me when I was reading it." She verified. "What else did it say?" Luna pressed. Twilight scratched the back of her head. "Well… it said what you just said about the book. It also said what I believe is some sort of warning." Twilight said. Luna stood with a stone-faced expression. "Go on." She said. "I'm trying to remember it." Twilight said, her mind working a thousand miles an hour to remember what the book had said. "Oh! It said things are happening… things that will shake the foundations of every civilization in the world. Equestria, the Griffon Kingdoms, Saddle Arabia, and the Crystal Empire were some examples the book gave." "Hmm." Luna said, looking at the floor in contemplation. "So an event that will be felt around the world will soon happen. Continue." "The book also said that the Elements of Harmony won't be enough to contain whatever is about to happen." Twilight said grimly. "What? That's impossible!" Spike exclaimed. "I've seen you guys use the Elements before. There's no way the Elements can't take care of what this thing is." "Believe it or not, Spike, there are powers in this world that dwarf the Elements' power." Luna informed the dragon, an astonished look on Spike's face. "This being in the vision could be one of those powers. Go on, Twilight." Twilight swallowed. "There was one other thing. The book said that in order to achieve good, good ponies must do bad things." She said, looking at Luna's and Spike's enraptured faces. "Put to death that which is evil. That's what it said." "Put to death?" Spike repeated the phrase, the very mention of death leaving a sour taste in his mouth. "Was that all?" Luna asked. "Before leaving the book, it said one last thing." Twilight said, Luna's expression telling her to continue. "The long night approaches. Do you know what that means, Princess?" Luna stood there, an emotionless expression on her face. "I have heard that phrase several times now. It cannot be a coincidence." She said, turning to face the kitchen's exit. "What? What's a coincidence?" Spike asked. A determined look found itself on Luna's visage. Turning her head to Twilight and Spike, she replied, "We need to gather the other elements. They need to hear about this. You as well, Spike." The night princess said, addressing the dragon. Spike put on a surprised face. "What? Why me?" "You received a dream just as the others and myself did. The fact it was all the Elements that got their nightmare in the same night is no coincidence." "But I'm not an Element-bearer. Neither are you, Princess." Spike protested. "True, but the fact that we had nightmares just as they did means that we are connected in the same way that they were. We will meet back here in the library tonight at nine o'clock. Be ready to discuss your visions, Twilight." Luna said, her horn beginning to glow blue. "But Princess, what should we do until then?" Twilight asked. "You and Spike try to do some research on the things you encountered in the vision. I have some business to take care of back in Canterlot. Until tonight, I bid you both farewell." Luna said, her horn's glow reaching its brightest. In a bright flash of light, Luna disappeared from the library. After sitting in silence for several moments, Twilight turned to Spike. "Let's get to it, Spike. We have until tonight to figure out what's going on. Compile every historical and arcane work we have. I'll go out and tell the others about our meeting tonight." Twilight said, galloping down out of the kitchen and down the hallway towards the library entrance. Sighing, Spike began to walk back to the library's atrium to search for books. Whatever's going on here, I don't have a good feeling about it. He thought as he entered the atrium. Looking at all the books, he clasped his hands and rubbed them together. He had some work to do.