//------------------------------// // 1. Goodbye and new beginnings // Story: Guardian Dragons // by Sketch D Tail //------------------------------// The weather was good today in the port town of Hargeon. The sea winds being soft, gentle and cool enough to give a little tickle to the people who felt them with a lovely contrast of a warm, glowing midday sun upon their skins. This was no exception for two young men who, looking no older than eighteen, were walking through the bright and chipper town. These two young men looked relatively normal to the naked eye but they wore pretty strange clothing considering the warm temperature. Both wore long trenchcoats over trousers and a t-shirt with black heavy-duty boots. The only difference in their clothing was the colouring. One wore navy blue clothing with lines of silver running through the edges and the other wearing chocolate brown with black linings. On the back of their coats were two replica symbols, both pure white and in the shape of a tribal bird with its wings spread, as if in flight. The youngest looking of the two, not surprisingly, had short and spiky, light blue hair to match his clothes and emerald green eyes. On his left temple was a small scar, barely noticeable due to the bangs of his hair covering the majority of it. In terms of physical build, the boy was really good looking: wherever you saw, finely toned muscles followed. The exact same could be said for his companion: his shoulder-length dark brown hair and red eyes matching nicely, somehow, with his slightly brighter shaded clothes, slightly stretched from his own muscles. As they walked through the crowded streets, everybody who met their gaze was filled with happiness, respect and awe, as if they had met rockstars. Even a few children looked up at them in wonder. One little girl on the other hand, was to busy running around with her 3-scoop ice cream cone to notice the young adults. The consequences were to be expected, the girl ran into the blue haired man and spilled her three scoops all onto his leg. The petite girl looked back and forth from to her empty cone and the man's legs. "M-my ice cream." She whimpered, tears quickly building in her eyes. A middle aged man who appeared to be her father came running up to her little body and became scared when he realised what had occurred and who the accident had affected. Thinking that the young man was angry at his daughter for ruining his trousers, he began to apologise profusely to his child's actions. The boy was anything but angry in reality. Looking down at the child, he saw the tears she was struggling to hold back. If there was anything this guy hated, it was seeing children cry. Feeling sorry for the child, the man knelt down on his clean leg and patted the girl on her head. "I'm sorry little girl, my silly pants have eaten your ice cream. Let me treat you to something special, just for you." He said cheerily. Looking out to the beach nearby, he stretched out his arm, an intricate patterned circle appeared and small streams of sea water began to flow towards him. When he thought that he had enough water, from simply flexing his fingers, the water began to encompass and cover his creamy leg. After a bit of careful swirling around, the ice cream was completely lifted off of his leg and floated back to the girl's empty cone and as one last miracle, the water turned to ice and beautifully dissipated into thin air, leaving sparkling splinters of ice in the air and the ice cream looking even better than before. "Et voilà. Good as new. I made sure it was purified of any salt, so don't worry about it tasting weird." His words fell on deaf ears, the little girl was too extatic to see both a display of grand magic and her ice cream back to normal once more, but he didn't care. Carefully giving the stranger a hug around his legs, the girl thanked him very happily with a big smile on her face before walking off with her father. One last wave goodbye was shared between them as they both disappeared from each other's view. The brown haired man looked to his partner with a slightly expectant expression. "That's awfully kind of you Jura. You know you can only turn your water into ice once every three hours because of how taxing it is on your magic supply." He said flatly, crossing his arms and showing his black gloved hands. "She's just a little girl Terra, and you know how much I hate to see kids cry." Said the one known as Jura in a calm tone, laced with sad rememberance. Making a ninety degree turn to their right, the two men walked into a humble restruant named ‘8 Island’, a soft chime from the bell signalled the entrance of new customers. "Yo, Taladon ojisan! What's up man?" Called out Jura to an elderly aged man behind the bar. The aged man, upon seeing the two youths happily smiled at them. "Ahh, if it isn't Twin Dragons of the Phoenix Wing guild. How're you two boys today?" He asked. "Pretty good thank you, figured we grab a quick bite and drink before we head off to our next mission. Mind if we have the regulars?" Said Terra, grabbing a spot at a nearby table that was free from other patrons. "Sure thing, but didn't you two just came back from a mission two days ago. Don't you guys need more rest since you're so young?" "Pfft! You know us Tala, we can't sit still for too long otherwise we'd destroy the town out of boredom." Said Jura arrogantly, but his words held truth in them. "I know, I know. We don't want a mess like the last time that happened. I'm just saying you two should rest for a bit, find some nice young lasses to call yours." "Taladon-san, you know how bad we are with girls too. Everytime we get a girl in our sights they're either from a rival guild or just want attention. Not that I care." "That's really unfortunate boys. Are you any closer to finding your parents?" Both boys just shook their heads in annoyance and sadness. "Shame. Oh well, you'll find them one day. So what's this new mission you're taking on?" Asked the elder, passing them their 'regulars': a bowl of beef noodles, filled to the top with broth for Jura and a large platter of high-quality stones with a side of bacon and eggs for Terra. "It's an S-Class mission: we're going to take down Black Heart." Said the older boy, his tone calm and flat. Without even looking at each other, both of the dragon-kin thought the exact same thing. Commence freak out in 3..2..1. "Are you two crazy?! You're going to fight one of Zeref's Demons?!" Yelled the elder, his face fuming in red. A gloved hand came on the old man' shoulder and from it came the boy Terra's calm face. "Taladon, don't worry." He said. "Never underestimate us, we are stronger than before and each day we continue to get stronger. We are not children anymore." The elderly man looked up and saw two little boys. Two young boys who kept yelling 'Grandpa! Grandpa!', running around telling him about all the kinds of jobs they were going to do when they joined a wizard guild, but those boys grew up, and have become what they wanted to be. "You're right. I keep seeing the little boys who just joined a wizard guild, but you two aren't little anymore. Forgive this old man for wanting to keep you boys safe." The old man couldn't help but sigh in defeat. "It's alright Taladon. There's a reason I call you 'ojisan' you know? It's because I really think of you as my grandad, you really helped us a lot when my dad and Terry's mom went missing. We owe you a lot." Jura and Terra both stood from their seats, finished with their meals and ready for their mission. "Believe in us gramps, we'll come back alive. A bit roughed up, but alive. We promise." "Okay, and when you do come back, I'll treat you two to all the food you can have as a celebration gift." "Thank you Grandpa Taladon. We'll be back." Said Terra as he proceeded to fist bump his guildmate as they walked out the door. We promised everyone we'd be fine, that we'd come back to them, that we'd beat Black Heart. We had no idea just how wrong we were... "Jura!!" Screamed Terra as he watched his brother be hanged from his throat by the hands of a large creature, blood streaming off of his body and dripping from the ends of his boots. "We can't win...this is a demon of Zeref." He stammered with fear for the first time in his life as his best friend was thrown away like a dirty rag. Terra looked upon their foe and saw it with fear. It stood like a giant at 8ft. tall and while it appeared very slim in build, that only meant it was leightweight and fast. The onyx black armour covered it's entire body from head to toe, covered in menacing spikes, the fingers themselves looking like daggers. It's face however was the eeriest, nay, the scariest feature of all and was the only thing they could see in the setting sun's light. It's face was stark white in contrast to it's armour and was nothing more than a skull with pitch black sockets. The two youths had spent the whole afternoon tracking down their target and were prepared to fight before they even found it. They did, and it only took five minutes. Five minutes was all it took for two of the strongest type of wizards ever to be beaten black and blue. They truly underestimated the strength of a demon. "Prepare to die foolish humans." It spoke with a twisted, dark and grim voice, almost sounding like gravel. It crossed it's arms high into the air and almost instantaneously a swirling concentrate of black magic appeared above its clawed fingers. The amount of magical pressure it exuded was incredible, impossible even. The earth itself, shaking under the pressure. "Wait." Said a weak voice, barely heard by the black demon. But he still heard it, and cancelled its magic, but still held its hands high, to see Jura looking at him with a fire in his eyes. "Please Black Heart, before you kill us, at least give us a moment to send our goodbyes to our guildmates." He pleaded. Terra and even Jura knew it was inevitable to reason with a demon, especially on such sentimental values. But it worked. "You have two minutes." Said the black hearted demon as he lowered his arms and left to sit on a nearby rock. Even with his soulless eye sockets, he could see the shocked expressions on both of the human's faces. "Don't be mistaken, I'm only allowing this because after many years of searching for strong opponents, you two managed to prove a challenge for me. Only that." He reasoned. It made sense really, not many could last as long as they did against the dark wizard's creations. Without wanting to waste any precious time, Jura quickly grabbed a quill, ink and a blank piece of paper and began to write frantically but efficiently. No matter where he went, Jura always had those three things prepared in case of an emergency. When the two minutes had expired, the note had already been finished and with the last bit of strength he had, Jura used teleportation magic to send it away to his family with a serene sea blue glow. "There, it's done." Said Jura, exhausted from all the hell they've been through. "Are you prepared?" Asked the black demon ahead of the two dragon slayers. "Yes. Do it." "Very well." Raising his arms back in the air, the magic void reappeared and was hurtled towards them with a mighty throw. At their very last moments of life, Jura Aquis and Terra Raegoh died with smiles on their faces and gave each other one, last, fist bump before the black vortex clouded their beings. -----At the same time, back at Hargeon----- "Do you really think those two are okay? Taking up a mission like that on their own?" Asked a worried blond-haired woman who would be confused for being in her twenties. On the side of her neck is the mark of the Phoenix Wing guild. A young adult with scruffy blond-brown hair, by the name if Chance, looked to the woman. "Don't worry about it Master Linda, I think they can pull it off. Don't get me wrong, it's a very fine line but I think they can win. I believe they can." He said as he shuffled a deck of cards intricately in his hands. A young brown haired woman named Melody would have slapped her boyfriend if it weren't for a sudden blue light enveloping the hall, getting the attention of the hundred members of the guild. When the light vanished, a light thud hit the ground and she saw a small parchment. "A scroll?" She asked to no one specifically as she picked it up from the floor. Melody unravelled it and read the contents, from the first word, she could tell who's handwriting it was. "It's from Jura." "What does it say?" Asked Master Linda, worried about what had brought this sudden message to them. But the flowing tears on her daughter's face made the reason clear. "Everyone in the guild, we're sorry. We were fools to think we could beat a demon of Zeref on our own, even though we are both S Class wizards. We were overconfident in our abilities and it proved fruitless against our enemy. After this message gets to you, Black Heart will kill us and there's no escaping it. We're sorry, but do not come looking for revenge against Black Heart, he'll annihilate you all and we never want to see that happen. Never forget how much we loved the guild, the town and how much we loved all of you. Goodbye. Oh yeah. Taladon-san, if you're reading this, sorry but we'll have to take a rain check that free dinner you promised us. If heaven does exist like you say, we'll see you there sometime soon. Just don't kick the bucket because of us old man. Sincerely and with all our love, Jura and Terra. Goodbye." The night, all of Hargeon wept in their sorrows of losing two great people, two great friends and two extraordinary wizards. But death is only the beginning of something new. ~~~~ It was the middle of the night in the sleepy town of Ponyville, well, 1 AM to be exact. It is far past the time for little colts and fillies and their parents to be awake and the perfect time to sleep, and to dream. However, wherever there are dreams, there are also nightmares. For Twilight Sparkle, recently crowned princess of Equestria, this was such a case. In the comforts of her bed, the young alicorn's mind was in what may have been a war. Every few seconds, Twilight would toss and turn under her quilts, sweating in heaps, grunting as if in pain. Help us! Pleaded a muffled and distorted voice, sounds of explosions and tearing hitting the forefront of her mind. Twilight rolled over again and sweated more hot beads of sweat. Please. Whoever you are, wherever you are, please help us! With a large jolt, Twilight awoke in shuddering fear. Taking deep breaths, Twilight struggled to remain calm but did her best to try. "This is getting out of hoof." She said, running a hoof through her black mane. Quietly, as to not disturb a sleeping someone, Twilight made her way our of bedroom and towards the kitchen where she poured herself a glass of water. After almost chugging it straight down, she looked outside the kitchen window and looked up to the shining moon. "This is the fifth night I've had that same dream. But what does it mean?" She asked herself, confused by her nightmare. "Ngh, Twilight?" Called a small, young voice from behind the alicorn. Turning around, she saw her friend that's been with her since their childhood; her faithful assistant Spike. "What're you doing up? It's the middle of the night for pony's sake." He said, rubbing the sleep out of his eye. "I'm sorry to wake you Spike, I just couldn't sleep." She said, hoping to have avoided awaking her dragon friend. "Are you having that nightmare again, wanna talk about it?" Asked Spike, softly placing his claws on her shoulder, offering help. "No thank you, but it was really sweet of you to offer. Now go back to bed, I'll be there in a minute." She said, kissing him on his scaly forehead. The drake did as he was told and went back upstairs to his soft bed to get more sleep, but Twilight strayed from the stairway, and went towards her study desk and flipped her lamp on. Grabbing a quill and parchment of paper, she began writing. "Dear Princess Celestia, I am truly sorry to send you this message at this time but there is something I'm having trouble with. Five nights ago, I had this strange dream. It was unlike anything I had dreamt of before. I shrugged it off at first, thinking it was nothing of my concern, but ever since then, I keep having the same dream over and over again. At first the dream was vivid and unclear, but over these last few nights, I hear words, screaming, yelling and the sounds of combat like they were right next to me. I keep hearing cries for help repeatedly, like somepony's in trouble. Realistically, it's more of a nightmare than a dream. I am aware this is belonging to your sister's domain but I thought you'd be the first to know about it. Please princess, if you or Princess Luna have any information, it would be helpful. Your ever-faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." Opening a desk drawer, with her magic, Twilight levitated a jar with a magical, never ending emerald flame. It belonged to Spike, but Twilight decided to keep an emergency transport flame in case something urgent had come up and she needed to notify her mentor quickly. Fortunately, this was just a bit urgent. Placing the scroll above the jar, she flipped the lid and the green flame flew upwards and burned the scroll to ashes before flying off to Canterlot Castle. Deciding the worst was over, the lavender alicorn went back to her bed where she would hopefully sleep peacefully. ----- "Art thou surest that we should be doing this? 'Tis four o'clock in the morning sister. Wouldn't Twilight Sparkle become angered by this little prank?" Whispered a young female voice to her companion. The taller female just giggled. "Of course, that's the whole point." She said as they reached the door of their wanted household. She brought her regalia covered hoof up to the wooden door and began knocking repeatedly, over and over and over and over and over and over again. Just to annoy who was inside. "Do you have any idea what time it is?! Go away!" Yelled a sleep deprived alicorn as quietly as she could so she would not wake the neighbourhood. "Hello my student." Said the mare at the door. "P-P-P-Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?!" Stammered an extremely sleepy and now embarrassed Twilight. "I hope you can forgive our early intrusion." Said the white princess as she and her sister walked into the tree house, laughing slightly at Twilight's clustering to clean the place up. "Nonononononono it's fine, it's fine, it's fine. It's just I really wasn't prepared for this, if I had known I would've tidied the place up a bit and prepared tea and show you what I've learned and tell you what's been happening." She said with a crazed look in her eye, her mane starting to frizzle out of place. "Tis true, under normal circumstance, we and our sister would have told you about our arrival to your household beforehoof. However, these are no normal circumstances." Explained the lunar princess, this caught the lavender princess' attention. "What do you mean?" She asked them. "It's about your letter to me Twilight." "Di-did I say something wrong Princess?" "None of the sort." Princess Celestia was happy when saying those words, but in an instant, her muzzle grew deathly serious. "For the last five nights, all of us, have experienced the same dream on repetition." Twilight could only stare with an open jaw as the knowledge went in one ear and into her brain. "That's not all, we have received word from Cadence in the Crystal Empire, a little before you Twilight Sparkle, that she has had the same dreams too for the same amount of nights." Said Princess Luna There they sat, three of the four princesses of Equestria, dumbfounded at the riduculousness of their dreams, completely unaware of the danger that Equestria will face in the future. The gears of fate have started to move, and soon, they will too. Meanwhile, inside the oldest cave one could ever imagine, a figure draped in a dark cloak sat on a stone chair, made out of the cave itself. Underneath it's dark hood, a smile could have been seen, and then it spoke, it spoke with a voice that could chill hearts to their very core. "Things are about to get interesting. Prepare yourself, Celestia."