Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms

by Alphadude007

Plans and Prophecy

Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms

Chapter 10-Plans and Prophecy

-12 Hoofington Road, Ponyville-

Three changelings stood in the atrium of the room of their rental house, a large green magical ball levitating in the middle of them.

"Ah, some silence at last. Now, what have you found." The queen's voice sounded from the magical green orb that floated before the three changelings. Fang's horn glowed a bright green as he maintained the communication spell.

Cipha was the first to speak. "We have rented a place of residence in Ponyville, your Majesty. We'll have five days to find a suitable magic wielder."

"Five days?!" Chrysalis's voice shrieked from the green ball, her voice bouncing off the wood floors and walls.

"We'll find one before those days are up, Highness." Fang said, trying to be quick to ease the queen's worries.

"I trust you'll be efficient, but please hurry." Raspian's voice said. Fang thought he had heard a hint of shaking in his voice in the latter part of the sentence, but dismissed it.

"Of course we'll be efficient, captain." Chassis chimed in. "Why, we'll be so efficient that we'll be done by the third day!" he beamed. Fang gawked at Chassis as Cipha grit her fangs and glared daggers at the presumptuous changeling.

"Three days? Hmm. I'll have to take your word for it, Chassis." The queen said with a hint of glee in her voice.

"We won't disappoint you, Highness. Now if we may take our leave, we have a unicorn to find." Cipha said through clenched teeth, still scowling at Chassis, who was still oblivious to her hate stare.

"Very well. Report back once you have the magic wielder." Chrysalis said, the green orb vanishing in a puff of smoke once she finished the sentence.

"Three days!?" Cipha screamed at Chassis. "Why is it that whenever you open your bucking mouth, you screw us over?"

Chassis gave her an indignant look. "Hey, it shouldn't be that hard to find a unicorn in an Equestrian town. I saw at least six on the way here."

"That doesn't mean you have to cut our time short because of convenience!" Fang joined Cipha.

"Convenient or not, we have time." Chassis said in an exasperated tone. "We have seventy-two hours to find a single unicorn that can use magic in the middle of the Equestrian nation. How hard can that be?" He said, ignoring the glares he was receiving.

Fang sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, Chassis was right. They had three days to find a single unicorn. It wouldn't be too much hassle, but still. It didn't mean Chassis should kiss the queen's hooves and derail their efforts every time they spoke. Just three days. Hmm. I guess I should enjoy it here while I work anyways. He thought.

"You know, you're right." Fang said, giving Chassis a smile.

"What?" Chassis and Cipha both asked, amazed at Fang's agreement.

"Yeah. We have three days to find one unicorn. We don't need to rush things." Fang said.

"What about our brothers and sisters that starve and die each day we don't find this unicorn? What would they say if they knew what we were doing?" Cipha objected. Now that she mentioned it, Fang felt a pang of guilt hit him in the stomach. True, the hive's food was depleted and changelings were dying each day.

"But think about it, Cipha." Chassis said, putting a holed hoof over her shoulders. Cipha gave Chassis an annoyed look as he spoke. "All our lives we have known sadness, loss, and uncertainty. Why not experience something different for a couple days? If there's an opportunity to rid myself of that cave's depression, I'm all for it. So whatcha say?"

Cipha shoved Chassis's hoof off her shoulder and walked to a circular window on the other side of the room. She looked out at all the ponies going about their daily business. Foals and fillies played, happy customers left richly stocked carts and stands, and ponies sat at tables eating and drinking while conversing with themselves.

True, it is different here. This isn't at all like the sadness and hunger in the hive. It's… happier. She thought. Her annoyed look soon shifted to one of curiosity. There must be so much to do. Eat delicious food, play games, not having to worry about being the hive's next sacrificial meal. She closed her eyes and gave a defeated sigh.

"Fine. We can take things slowly for three days. But focus on the mission. We need that unicorn." Cipha said, her horn glowing green. A green blaze shifted across her figure, starting from the hind legs and tail. The shift moved along her body, changing her fur and mane from black and green to cinnamon brown and khaki. A pair of similarly colored wings appeared on her back. The final green shift was over her eyes, which changed from blue to burnt orange. Before Chassis and Fang stood Palm Spring.

Chassis and Fang looked at each other and nodded. Their horns glowed a bright green as a similar green shift appeared.

Chassis's figure changed from a large black furred and blue maned changeling to a large earth pony stallion with black fur, ice blue eyes and a silver mane. On his flank was a large silver star.

Fang's figure changed from a skinny black furred and green maned changeling to a short earth pony with light blue fur and dark red eyes and mane. On his flank was a spinning tire with flames coming from the back.

Now before Cipha stood Silver Star and Speedy Delivery.

"So then, Palm Spring, shall we?" Speedy asked the brown pegasus mare.

"Let's." She said with a smile. The three changelings walked to the wooden door of their house and Speedy opened the door. As the three walked outside, their eyes widened as they caught their breath at the ponies they saw exiting the library from across the street.

-Ponyville Library-

"Where'd she go in such a hurry?" Spike wondered aloud as he scratched his head.

"Probably wherever Luna just went." Twilight deduced with a worried look on her face. If the Princess had to go check up on Luna, it must have been something pretty urgent. She concluded.

Rainbow floated above the dragon and alicorn and regarded her friends with a concerned look. See? Even your Princesses don't want to help get me out of your head. The voice in her head taunted.

Gritting her teeth, Rainbow held her head in her hooves. "Shut up!" She shouted, causing Twilight and Spike to look up at her in surprise.

"We didn't say anything to you, Dash." Spike said, his annoyance at her outburst making itself clear through his voice.

"She wasn't talking to us, Spike." Twilight said, walking closer to her rainbow-maned friend. "What can you tell me about this voice, Dash?" Twilight asked. If I'm going to try to get rid of this voice in her head, I want to know how it got there in the first place. She thought.

"It appeared after my nightmare last night. It hasn't stopped talking since." Rainbow said.

The voice chuckled. You think I'm here simply to talk your ear off? The voice asked in an irritated tone. Please, Element of Loyalty. I am here for a much grander purpose.

"And what might that be?" Rainbow asked, turning her head to the side to indicate that she wasn't talking to her confused friends below.

Tsk tsk. Now that wouldn't make this as much fun if I just came out and told you what was going to happen. The voice said in a mocking tone. Now Rainbow was getting annoyed.

"Well if you have something to say, just say it!" She exclaimed.

Straight to the point, are we? Very well. Listen to my words and remember them well, Rainbow Dash, because I won't be saying them again. The voice said. Rainbow nodded.

Time seemed to slow around her. The second hand on the clock on the wall slowed to a near stop. Sound faded out to where Rainbow couldn't hear anything but the voice in her head. Her vision began to fade to black as the images of Twilight, Spike, and the library began to darken. Soon, she couldn't see or hear anything.

Suddenly, a deep voice boomed all around her. "My message is this:

"From the mountains of the frozen north,

An ancient shadow shall come forth.

The sun will set on Canterlot,

A sacrifice that won't be for naught.

The six will become eight,

And this world's path they will dictate.

To herald a new dawn,

Or revive an evil once foregone."

As soon as the voice said the last sentence, Dash's vision and hearing began to return. She found herself lying on the ground of the library, a sore pain in her right side. Above her stood a worried Twilight and Spike.

"Oh good, you're awake." Twilight said with a sigh of relief. "One second you were hovering in midair then the next you dropped as if your wings stopped working."

"Yeah. What happened, Dash?" Spike asked, extending a clawed hand to help Rainbow get up. Dash reached for Spike's hand and took it as he helped her get off the ground.

Rainbow paused for a few moments. "The voice… it's gone!" she said with glee, but her happiness faded as she remembered what it had told her.

Twilight tilted her head and gave a confused look. "That's it? It just vanished?" She asked.

"Not exactly. When I was flying up there, it told me something. Some sort of weird rhyme." Dash said.

Twilight's eyebrow rose at this. "What did it say?" Rainbow told Twilight the riddle that the voice had said to her. "It sounds like some sort of prophecy. Did it say anything else?" the purple alicorn asked.

Rainbow shook her head. "Nope. That's it."

"What does it mean, though?" Spike asked, putting a hand on his chin.

"From out of the frozen north, an ancient shadow shall come forth." Twilight reiterated the first rhyme, trying to contemplate its meaning. "Could it be talking about the Crystal Empire? Save for the capital city, it's a mountainous and frozen wasteland."

"Could be." Rainbow agreed. "But "The sun will set on Canterlot". What does that mean? The sun sets all the time when Celestia lowers it each day." She asked, narrowing her eyes in thought.

"I don't know. Maybe we should ask the Princesses about this." Spike suggested.

"I could teleport us there if I knew where they were." Twilight said, somewhat agitated at her mentor's sudden disappearance.

"Maybe we should get the others. "The six will become eight" is what the voice said. Could that mean the Elements of Harmony." Rainbow said.

"It could be. But how can we gain two more elements? There aren't any other elements that we know of." Twilight said, concerned over this particular rhyme.

"Whatever it means, it concerns the rest of us as a whole. We need to bring this up with the others." Rainbow said, a determined look on her face.

"I agree. Let's go, guys. We have some Elements to find." Twilight said, her horn lighting up a bright purple. The door to the library flung open as the three ran out of the library. Their search for the elements was halted abruptly, however, as a white and purple blur ran into them on their way out the door. Twilight, Spike, and the incoming object hit the floor as they collided. Rainbow looked on the three in concern from her flying viewpoint.

Rubbing her head, Twilight looked up to see a disheveled Rarity laying on the floor in the doorway, a bruise developing on her forehead below her horn. "Rarity? What was that about?"

Rarity got back up and shook her head. "Twilight? Where is Spike?" she asked anxiously.

"Down here." Spike raised a clawed hand, drawing Rarity's attention. Her eyes widened as she saw the baby dragon before her. Immediately, she scooped up Spike and gave him a big hug. "Woah! Uh… everything okay, Rarity?" He asked. Normally he would be happy to receive a hug from his crush, but he sensed that something wasn't right with her.

"Oh Spike! You're okay! I swear on Celestia's sun that I'll never take you for granted ever again!" She cried. He returned the hug and tried to calm her down.

"It's alright, Rarity." He said in a soothing tone, but to no avail.

"No it's not! What I saw in that dream will never happen! I swear it!" She shouted, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Rainbow Dash and Twilight could only watch with concern as Rarity began to break down in front of Spike.

Spike's eyes widened at the mention of a dream. "Wait, you had a dream? So did I! What was it about?"

This caught Twilight's attention. "You two had dreams last night too?" She asked, raising a tentative hoof.

"Yes and it was horrid! I haven't had a terror like that in my life!" Rarity exclaimed, turning her head to see her purple alicorn friend while still hugging Spike.

"What was your dream about?" Spike asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It was terrible! I can't say it!" Rarity cried, burying her face into Spike's chest.

Spike put a claw to his chin. "Was it about me?" He felt Rarity's face making an up and down motion on his scales. That's a yes. He thought as he asked a second question. "Were there mountains of gems everywhere?"

At this, Rarity took her face from Spike and looked him in the eyes. "Yes. There were." She said in a shocked tone. "So did we… share a dream?" She asked.

"I think we did." Spike said, sounding just as shocked as she was. He then looked down at her and looked into her deep blue eyes. "But I promise I'll never become like that monster. If my greed can make me do… that." Spike said with a shudder at the memory of what he did to Rarity in the dream. "Then I'll never indulge my greed ever again." He said, confidence in his promise filled his voice.

Hearing these words, a big smile found its way onto Rarity's face. She stood back up above Spike and embraced him again. "And I shall never covet again, Spike. I always took advantage of your generosity and used it to my benefit. But no more!" She said happily.

Twilight smiled at the embrace her two friends were sharing. But how can two individuals share a dream? Is that even possible? She thought. In all her years of study in magic, she never knew such a thing could happen. This brought a new wave of concerns to her mind, but she pushed them back. They still had to find the other three element bearers.

Twilight cleared her throat. Rarity and Spike opened their eyes and looked at Twilight, reluctantly separating from each other. "I hate to break up this little moment, but we still need to find the other elements."

Rarity put on a confused look. "Did I miss something?" She asked, looking up at the hovering Rainbow above her.

"We'll catch you up on the way. Where should we go first?" Rainbow asked Twilight.

"We should go find Fluttershy first. Knowing her, she's probably terrified of leaving her bed right now." She said, concern beginning to grow for her yellow pegasus friend.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go get her!" Rainbow exclaimed, shooting out the open door and into the blue Ponyville sky. Twilight, Rarity, and Spike all followed suit and ran out of the library, determined to help their demure friend.

As Twilight ran out of her library, she noticed three ponies across the street. Two earth pony stallions, a black one and a sky blue one, and a brown pegasus mare. Their mouths were agape at her and their eyes were as wide as dinner plates. What's their problem? She wondered, but shrugged off the thought. No! I need to find Fluttershy. She looked forward, resuming her mission to find Fluttershy and the others.

-Across the street from the Ponyville Library, Ponyville-

"Was that who I think it was?" Speedy Delivery asked, a surprised look on his face.

"I think it was." Palm Spring responded, her face mirroring that of Speedy's.

"I recognize that purple pony anywhere. She was one of the ponies in Canterlot when we tried to take over. Except now she's got… wings?" Silver Star asked in a confused tone as the memories of the failed Canterlot attack came back to the front of his mind.

"So one of the Elements of Harmony is here." Palm said with a tone of dread. "Great. We'll have to be more careful around here then." She said. The other two nodded in agreement.