//------------------------------//
// Love 
// Story: Guardian 
// by Zodiacthehedgehog 
//------------------------------//

Guardian
Chapter 7: Love

        Silver was shoved into another dream. This time he was a little colt at school. He was at the playground eating his favorite sandwich: grass, daisies, and hay on white bread. In this dream, he was beside himself, literally. Silver watched as his younger self ate happily on a bench by himself. Every time he took a bite, his wings flapped to keep himself balanced. 
        Eventually, when his younger self was almost done eating, two colts came over. One was a unicorn and one was an earth pony. They were both grey all over. 
        “Hey, alicorn, wanna share some of your lunch?” the unicorn asked.
        “But I’m almost done,” Young Silver said in a squeaky voice. Silver flinched at that.
        “Well how about that,” the earth pony said, “I guess we will have to beat you up then,”
        “Why?” Young Silver asked, inching off the bench. Silver couldn’t believe this, wasn’t a teacher going to come by and help.
        “Because you have nothing to give us,” the unicorn said like that was the most obvious thing in Equestria. Young Silver didn’t say anything, but he nodded.
        “What?” Asked the earth pony, “Are you saying yes to us beating you up or are you saying that makes sense?”
        “Neither,” Young Silver said as he jumped back. Suddenly, a wave of balloons fell onto the two ponies. The wave broke open and unleashed an unknown substance.
        “What is this stuff?” the unicorn asked.
        “The water from that bog over there,” Young Silver waved a hoof off to the right. He laughed as the other ponies ran off to the pond near the playground. A sharp whistle was heard to his left and out stepped Onyx. Then Topaz and Emerald. Then finally Sapphire. They all laughed for a good few minutes. “Nice job, team!” Young Silver said when he caught his breath.
        “We wouldn’t be a team without an awesome Commander!” Onyx said, giving Young Silver a noogie. Silver felt tears sting his eyes as he watched this memory play out. He felt himself being pulled out again and he tried to fight it. After a few seconds, though, he finally was taken away from one of the happiest moments of his life.

        Silver woke up on the train. The fur on around his eyes were wet from tears and his eyes stung a bit as more threatened to come out. He quickly wiped his eyes with his hoof and looked out the window. Ponyville was visible on the horizon. They would reach it soon, around thirty minutes. Silver jumped off his bunk and fell to the floor. He landed with a thump that woke Twilight up. She stretched and shook her head.
        “Are we almost there?” She asked sleepily. 
        “Yea,” Silver croaked out. He was still feeling sad from his dream.
        “What’s wrong?” Twilight asked, more alert.
        “Nothing,” Silver sighed, “Just a dream,” He shook his head violently trying to get the image out of his head. He needed to focus.
        “Don’t do that,” Twilight giggled as she got up, “You might hurt something,”
        “I-” Silver stopped himself. He felt a rush of anger, “Yea... I... I need to talk to you,” Silver said, “When we get back to Ponyville, can we talk somewhere private?”
        “Sure,” Twilight said looking worried, “Let’s go to the library and we can talk there,”
        “Thanks,” Silver said, “for now though, I need to be alone to collect my thoughts,”
        “Ok,” Twilight said, “just don’t wander off,”
        “Gotcha,” Silver chuckled and walked towards the caboose’s balcony. It suddenly became the one place where he could think. He sat against the railing and thought about what he felt and thought before these stupid altars. His past self, as far as he could remember, was carefree, fearless, cheerful, and a bit naive. Now, he was a depressed, short-tempered, and he found himself looking over his shoulder from time to time. What next? What could he possibly do to control his emotions? He needed Twilight’s and Onyx’s help for that. Suddenly, he was aware of Onyx standing beside him.
        “Got some time for a friend?” Onyx asked.
        “Sure,” Silver said scooting over, “I’ve just...” then his thoughts returned to his dream, “How long have you known me?”
        “Um,” Onyx was caught off guard by the question, “It’s been several days now,”
        “Really?” Silver asked, “You’ve never known me before the orchard incident?”
        “To tell you the truth,” Onyx said, “I have a bit of amnesia too, but I... ‘woke up’ before you did. So memories have been returning. Why? Have you remembered anything?”
        “No,” Silver lied. He figured it wasn’t time yet.
        “Ok, well,” Onyx cleared his throat, “I know these altars are having some kind of effect on you. We need to figure this thing out,”
        “I’m already going to get the help of Twilight,” Silver said, “Maybe between the three of use, we can find something out,”
        “So she knows?” Onyx asked cautiously.
        “Not yet...” Silver countered, “But I do plan to tell her when we get home,”
        “Tell her that you’re unstable?”
        “I’m not what you call ‘unstable’ but I need your help,” Silver argued. Onyx muttered something that Silver couldn’t hear. Silver cocked his head.
        “Anyway,” Onyx said getting up, “See you back in our train car,”
        “Sure...” Silver said looking into the forest behind him. Onyx sighed and left Silver to his thoughts. A few minutes ticked by and Silver decided it was time to move. He was just about to stand up when something thumped the side of the caboose. Silver, curious, went to check it out. There was a wisp of pinkish red smoke beside the train car. It hit against the car and it tipped a little. Silver held onto the railing with his teeth. Then he noticed the train ahead was leaving him behind. The caboose unhitched. “Son of a-” Silver was cut off as the smoke hit the caboose off the track. It crashed into the forest and sent Silver flying. He hit his head on a tree and blacked out.

        Somepony was brushing his mane with their hoof. Silver first noticed this when he woke up. He groaned and shook his head, but that made the dull ache in his head hurt worse.
        “Don’t shake your head!” Came a commanding voice that Silver knew instantly was Rainbow Dash.
        “Dash? What?” Silver opened his eyes. The rainbow maned pegasus looked down upon him with concern. 
        “When they noticed the caboose missing when the train pulled in the station and you along with it, they sent the fastest flyer in Equestria to find you. It took me a couple of hours, though,” Dash explained as she helped Silver up. Pain lanced through his head as he lifted it.
        “What happened?” Silver asked.
        “Beats me, but we have to get you back to Ponyville,” Dash said, “Can you fly?”
        “Um...” Silver inspected his wings. When he flapped them, the right one seemed to send more waves of pain through him, “Nope,” Silver concluded.
        “We can still walk,” Dash stated matter of factly. She didn’t seemed concerned it might take them longer to get home, “You should rest though, first,” Dash added.
        “I’d rather not lie in the weeds,” Silver joked. He would if he had to.
        “I found a cave not too far ahead,” Dash said, pointing her hoof in front of them, “You can rest in there,”
        “Fun times,” Silver joked. Dash laughed and helped him along towards their shelter. Once they got there, Silver could tell Rainbow Dash hadn’t explored it yet. It went far back, very far back. Silver walked down the tunnel, to much of Dash’s displeasure which Silver found odd. He took her to be the adventurous type. Soon, Silver saw light ahead in the tunnel. He thought he got turned around somehow, but he kept going. Silver gasped when he exited. It was like something in a story book. The cave exited into a nice glade. There were a few trees here and there. Wild flowers grew in all sorts of colors. Even a rainbow waterfall fell at the eastern end landing in a pool of rainbow colored water. He heard Dash gasp also and guess she had the same reaction. “Now this is the place to rest,” Silver said with a smile.

        Silver lay on his back on the patch of rock jetting out over the rainbow pool. Next to him was Rainbow Dash. He was telling her what they went through back at Manehatten and in the woods. Surprisingly, she always seemed attentive and her attention never strayed. Silver then went into detail about the dream he had been having, leaving out the ones with Sapphire. He felt she shouldn’t be mentioned. When he was done, Rainbow Dash told him all the adventures she has had with her friends when Twilight first came to Ponyville. Silver listened intently about how they defeated Nightmare Moon and also Discord. 
        “If I were there,” Silver said after she finished, “with the whole Nightmare Moon thing, I could’ve taken her with my two front hooves tied behind my back,”
        “Hey!” Rainbow Dash laughed, “I bet I could’ve done it faster!” Silver laughed. He never felt this calm or peaceful since before he went after those altars. He felt like he could take on anything. They lay on the rock talking until it got dark. Then, they moved away from the waterfall and found a nice place to sleep. They lay down side by side. Immediately they fell asleep.

        Silver and Rainbow Dash had been in that glade for two days. They wandered around together, slept together, ate together, talked together. Everything they did was together. Silver couldn’t ask for anything more. One night, Silver lay on the rock jutting out over the rainbow water with Rainbow Dash. His head was hanging off of the rock, peering into the water. 
        “So that’s how I one the running of the leaves,” Dash finished.
        “Didn’t you and Apple Jack tie for last place though?” Silver asked.
        “Pfft, not in my mind,” Dash chuckled. Silver did too.
        “It’s been a great couple of days,” Silver said.
        “I know right?” Dash smiled. Silver brought his head up and smiled back.
        “I’ve been thinking...” Silver trailed off, “Uh... I lost my train of thought. Oh well, if it was important I would’ve remembered,”
        “I’m sure,” Dash said. She looked at the ground for a few seconds before she looked back at him. She was blushing, which surprised Silver, “Um... I... I’ve also been thinking,”
        “Kind of hard not to,” Silver chuckled. Rainbow Dash gave him a look that show this was serious so he calmed down and listened. She was biting her lower lip and she looked very nervous. Silver thought it was really weird. Suddenly, he heard a humming noise. His ears flicked back and forth like it was a bothersome bug trying to annoy him, but it continued. What he was about to say came back to him, but he wanted to listen to Dash first.
        “I’ve been wanting to say this for a while now,” Dash began, “We became really close and have gotten to know each other over the past few days and I...” She trailed off as she tried to find the right words. The humming noise grew in intensity. “I... Love you,” Rainbow Dash finished as she looked at the ground. Silver’s eyes widened. A memory stirred within him. He shook his head.
        “I...” Silver couldn’t find the right words to say. Rainbow Dash looked up. She was blushing and he was too. Dash started to lean in and closed her eyes. Silver knew what was happening and felt as if something was forcing him to do the same. When they were about to kiss, Silver found the will to pull back by saying, “You’re not Twilight,” Suddenly, something seemed to snap inside his head. It was almost an audible snap. Silver fell to the ground and blacked out.

        Silver groaned as he woke up. He was still on the rock jutting out over the rainbow colored water. Rainbow Dash lay next to him, unconscious. Silver felt the impulse to dive into the rainbow water. He shook his head as the thought flew through him. It was crazy, but his kind of crazy. He could hear Dash groan as she woke up. Silver’s legs felt weak, but he had to do it. It was like something was driving him to do it. He pushed his body towards the edge.
        “What are you doing?” Rainbow Dash asked. Her voice sounded angry and hurt. Silver didn’t answer, but slipped off the edge and fell into the water. “Silver!” he heard Dash cry as he hit the liquid. Right when his fur touched it, it started burning him. But he and Dash had been using it as their water source for a long while now. In the depths, he could spot an altar. Glowing above it was a pink crystal. Silver aimed his horn at it and fired a bolt of magic. It shattered like glass just like the others. This time, the water started to burn more and more each second. Silver tried to swim towards the surface, but it was like syrup. He was about to run out of breath when the liquid shook. A jet of the rainbow water launched him up to the top. Silver broke the surface and flipped through the air. As he fell back towards the water, Rainbow Dash flew up and caught him by his tail and the both crashed a little ways away from the pool. Silver’s vision was blurry and he was stunned. None of his limbs responded and he couldn’t move. It was as if a great weight fell onto his body. Rainbow Dash shook her self to rid her fur of dirt and grass.
        “Don’t rush to say thank you,” Dash mumbled. Silver found he couldn’t answered. Nothing was able to move. Only his ability to breathe was working, which was a relief. “Wow, how much of a jerk can you be?!” Dash shouted at him. Only if you turn towards me... Silver thought. Rainbow Dash released an explosive sigh and turned towards him with anger in her eyes. When she spotted him lying on his back, eyes glazed over and staring into the sky, did she notice something wrong.
        “Silver?” She asked. Silver tried to respond, but he couldn’t. “If this is a joke...” Rainbow Dash moved over to him. “Oh my gosh!” She said. “Silver?! What happened?”
        Silver managed to groan. Feeling was returning to his body. He slowly moved his legs to wake them up. His ears flicked around and he blinked several times.
        “I think...” Silver croaked. He cleared his throat, “I think it was the altar,”
        “What did it do?” Dash asked as she checked his bodies for injury.
        “Several things,” Silver explained slowly, “First... it made the water into that rainbow color,” Silver said. Already, the water was turning back to normal.
        “Second... when I broke it...” Silver took a deep breath. It hurt, but he had to, “When I broke it, it... erupted and threw me out of the water. Third... That emotion went into my mind to take up residence like the others,”
        “What?” Dash asked.
        “I’ll tell you later,” Silver said as he slowly stood up. He had to brace himself for this one. He thought how he should tell her that her feelings for him were fake. The altar just made them up.
        The Gems of Destruction cannot create something from nothing, the voice said in his head. Again, it was from a memory. Silver shook his head. He decided to leave that part out.
        “That’s basically it,” Silver finished.
        “Ok...” Rainbow Dash seemed distant.
        “Look,” Silver said, “If I said anything hurtful... I’m sorry,”
        “Leave it,” Dash said turning her back on him. Silver felt hurt. “Let’s get back to Ponyville,”
        “Alright,” Silver said, “Lead on,”

        Soon, after exiting the glade, the two ponies were almost out of the forest. Silver relished the thought of getting home and having a proper meal. Suddenly, there came a rumbling sound. Silver thought it was his stomach, but he looked behind him. Two red eyes peered out of the brush behind him.
        “Uh... Dash?” Silver asked. 
        “What?” Rainbow Dash asked as she turned around. Right then, the eyes started to fly up. Then they moved forward towards the ponies. There was a grey bulk moving behind them. Then the grey bulk and eyes merged to form one huge creature. It had horns on top of its head. It had fur everywhere and giant razor sharp teeth protruded out of its mouth. It stood on two legs, both feet had hooves, and it had big meaty hands. It roared ferociously.
        “Minotaur!” Silver shouted. It growled and charged. Silver sidestepped out of the way. When it was near Rainbow Dash, she flew into the air. It stopped and started jumping up and down to get her. The trees prevented her from flying higher or anywhere else. Silver shook his head. “Hey! Huge cow! Over here!” Silver shouted. The monster turned towards him. It snorted and dug its hooves into the ground. “Yea! Your mom was a cockatrice and your dad was a farm animal!” Silver had no idea what he was shouting, but it got the thing’s attention. It charged towards him. Silver had the idea to sidestep again, but this time the creature grabbed him by the neck and kept charging forward. It roared with triumph and tried to slow to a stop. What it didn’t see, however, was that there was a giant ravine in front of it.
        “Stop, you big lug!” Silver shouted, struggling. It couldn’t stop fast enough. It and its prize fell over the ravine together. Silver bounced off several rocks and ledges. The minotaur roared as it hit the ground. It let out a strangled cry, then went silent. Silver tried to stop his descent, but he had no room to spread his wings. He bounced off a few more ledges before he hit the ground with a thud.