Guardians of Light: A Shadow Rises

by Alphadude007

Tentative Planning

Guardians of Light: A Shadow Rises

Chapter 8: Tentative Planning

-Malakh Kingdom: 10,000 years before Discord's Imprisonment-

As Moon Beam does his job of bringing about night, so must I bring about the day. Morning Light stood at the edge of the Precipice and stared into the black expanse before him. The only sources of light in the endless darkness were floating orbs that hovered above the kingdom, each containing a different universe. The orbs' light glowed onto the surface below with each one's galaxies, supernovas, and multitudes of stars casting light onto the dark land. While impossible to see during the day due to the light Morning was about to bring, they always served as a reminder of what the One had created when everything came into existence.

The malakh positioned himself on the rocks and raised his hands toward the horizon. The crystalline diamond cliff on which Morning stood began to glow as he raised his hands and let his power flow through him. His hands began to emanate a blinding white light as a bright aura began to pierce the dark horizon. Morning's body quaked with power as the day's light broke through the evening dark and began shedding light on the land below. Morning cracked an eye open to see the daylight dawning before him. He smiled at yet another job well done and laid his hands at his side. As the glow of his hands faded, the day's light rose higher into the sky.

Morning gave a satisfied sigh in that his daily duty had been completed. He turned from the Precipice and began the long walk back to his abode in the urban center of the kingdom.

---

The young daylight shone softly on the outer city as Morning strolled along the emerald sidewalk. Morning had received several 'hello's on his way, each of which he warmly returned, but his mind was elsewhere. As he recounted the vision of the desert and the gauntlet, he anxiously twiddled his thumbs in thought.

"Morning!" The respective malakh looked up to see a familiar white toga-clad malakh walking across the pearl street to greet him. A smile was on Concord's face as he approached his fellow Apostolate member. "The One's kindness be upon you!"

A fleeting grin graced Morning's features. "And to you as well, Concord."

Concord's angled and orderly features grew concerned at the look in his colleague's eyes. "What is the matter, Morning? Is something troubling you?"

Morning folded his arms as he continued walking. "My mind has been elsewhere lately, Concord. Forgive me if it has caused you concern."

"This doesn't have to do with the One's decision for the Worship ceremony, does it?"

"Is it that obvious?" Morning asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I do not claim to know the will of the One, Morning." Concord brought an arm over his friend's shoulder. "But if you have doubts, you can go and ask Him why He didn't choose your proposal."

Morning's lips formed a thin line as he considered the option. Well it's either mope about it until the ceremony or I can get an answer directly. But I can't just intrude on Him. How disrespectful would that be if I came before Him uninvited?

Morning flashed a smirk at Concord and gave him a pat on the back. "Thanks for the suggestion, Concord. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to head home and recuperate from the raising of daylight. I'll see you later."

Concord separated from him and began walking back towards the other side of the street. "The One's blessings be upon you, Morning!"

"And also with you!" Morning replied and started his walk towards the Apostolate. With everything I have done for the kingdom, surely He will allow me some time to converse with Him.

-Sky-Shield Residence, Western Griffon Kingdom: Present Day-

Slash. Exhale. Breathe in and take the sword back. Ready stance. Swing. Hawkeye took a moment to wipe the sweat that was matting his feathers. May as well take a quick break. He sheathed his wooden saber in the scabbard at his side and sat his haunches down on the cloud he had been practicing on. As Hawkeye caught his breath, he rubbed the spot on his forearm where his father had struck him in their sparring match the other day. He hissed when he put pressure on the bruised flesh. Not as bad as yesterday, but not fully healed though, he thought with a shrug.

Failure is a crucial part of the learning process, his father had told him. But don't let it get in the way of perseverance.

After taking a quick of gulp of air, Hawkeye gripped the hilt of his weapon and pulled it back out of the scabbard. He stuck out a claw and tried to rest the saber on the balancing point. He'd found that the balancing point was at the midway point of the wooden blade, but his father had told him that real swords had different points of balance.

Hawkeye gripped the hilt again and waved it back and forth in front of him to test its weight distribution. It was certainly blade-heavy, but that he'd been told that was to prepare him for the lighter swinging of an actual sword.

Well, let's get back to it. He stood back up onto all fours and prepared to get into his fighting posture. With a grunt, he pushed himself up onto his hind legs and shuffled his rear paws into a defensive stance.

Just like Cloudius had shown him, he raised the sword in a horizontal defensive block. He quickly swung the sword to his lower side and lifted his dominant leg in a swift high kick into an imaginary foe's chest.

Keep your movements fluid, Cloudius' voice reminded him. Don't jerk around the sword and give your opponent an opening in the process.

Hawkeye reoriented his back paws into an offensive stance and held his blade at the ready before himself. With a sudden jab, Hawkeye began his technique. He brought his blade high as if to catch an enemy's. With a circular motion of his sword, he sent a swift uppercut into the air then repeated the attack from the other side. He brought his feet forward in the assault with a horizontal slashing motion and subsequent roundhouse kick. He brought his blade back to his front, then steadied his stance into a defensive form. Hawkeye held up his blade and pushed it to the side with a sudden countering slash in the opposite direction. He kept his breath steady but quick in his maneuvers. Jab, parry, sidestep, counter, slash.

His liquid movements carried him to the edge of the cloud whereupon he leapt into the open sky. His wings extended as he continued his fight with the air.

When you're airborne, strike swiftly and fly away before your foe knew what hit them, his father had taught.

Hawkeye spotted a hostile cloud below him and began his dive. He folded his wings in and held his sword to where it was pointing towards the rapidly approaching cloud. Hawkeye held his breath as he began his attack. At the last second, he held his sword aloft and swung it downward onto the unfortunate cloud. The sword sliced cleanly through and left a blade-shaped hole in the cloud's side as Hawkeye shot past it. He extended his wings and began climbing back into the sky.

Another cloud found itself in his sight as he flew skyward. Hawkeye grinned and repositioned his saber for a devastating uppercut. As the cloud came within range, Hawkeye deftly swiped his sword upwards. The griffon looked back to see that the enemy cloud had another blade-sized wound in its side from where he had struck.

Hawkeye held himself aloft with the flapping of his wings and slid his weapon back into its scabbard. He thrust a fist into the air with a victorious "Yes!"

I'd say that's good enough for one afternoon. Hawkeye turned towards home and began flying.

"Not bad."

Hawkeye froze in midair and looked up to see his father looking down at him from the cloud he'd originally been practicing on, wearing his decorative general's armor. Hawkeye's vision shot to a sword in its scabbard that was hanging from Cloudius' side before returning to his father's gaze.

"Hey Dad," Hawkeye greeted with an exhausted smile. He continued his ascent and promptly landed aside Cloudius. "What's up?"

Cloudius unbuckled the sword and held it in a clenched claw. "Hawkeye, your training these past few days showed me that you are capable of meeting and exceeding expectations. I feel that it is time that we graduate from wood…" Cloudius extended the sheathed weapon to his son. "…to steel."

Hawkeye's eyes grew to the size of plates as he took hold of the sword. He pulled the blade out of its sheath to reveal a brand new falchion. The steel blade glowed yellow in the midafternoon sun. The wooden hilt and iron cross guard formed a simple T shape as a duet of thick yellow and blue fabric wove between one another to form the hilt's grip. For the pommel, a polished steel ball rested at the bottom with the Sky-Shield house crest etched into it.

"Is this… mine?" The young griffon's mouth broke into a toothy grin as he took the sword in his hands. Cloudius simply replied with a nod. "Thank… you, Dad," he said and he leapt up to give his father a hug.

Cloudius closed his eyes and returned the embrace. "Bring honor to the family name, Hawkeye. I love you."

"Love you… too."

"General Sky-Shield!" Cloudius and Hawkeye broke their hug to see a messenger griffon flying towards them. The black-furred griffon bowed his grey speckled head once he landed before the pair. "A message for you from King Avian."

Hawkeye and Cloudius exchanged looks.

"Go on, son," he said with a gesture towards the family house. "Find a place to keep it inside. I'll be with you shortly."

Hawkeye wordlessly nodded and walked back towards his home. He turned back to look at the exchange between his father and the messenger. Hawkeye's eyebrows furrowed at the sight of Cloudius' exasperated stroke of his claws through his head feathers. He pushed open the door and went inside with his new sword in hand.

-Canterlot Airship Docks: Present Day-

"Come along, dear," Fancy Pants said with a quick adjustment of his monocle. His trophy wife, Fleur di Lis, followed closely behind him as the couple made their way through the crowded docks. The both carried a couple bags each and kept their stuff aloft with their magic. The order to leave had come so quickly that they barely had time to pack the essentials, plus some of Fleur's jewelry.

With the train station bursting at the seams with soon-to-be refugees, the airship docks was the better, albeit more expensive option. Not that something like expense was a concern for a well-off pony like Fancy Pants.

"Dear," Fleur spoke up above the noise of the ponies around them. "Where is this airship going again?"

Fancy Pants took a quick look back at his wife before facing forwards again. "Pardon me," he said as he dodged a passing earth pony mare with a knapsack slung over her shoulder. "Our airship is going to Manehattan, darling. I own an apartment there that we can hunker down in until this mess is all over."

"Wouldn't that be going from a frying pan into the fryer?" Fleur's eyebrows wormed together at the plan. "As bustling as Canterlot is at the moment, I'd imagine that Manehattan is not much better off."

Fancy Pants gave a huff and looked up at the airship before him. The massive fish-like purple balloon suspended a large white boat above the ground at the foot of Canterlot's mountain. Beneath the balloon were several furnaces that blasted hot air into the balloon that kept it aloft in the sky. Multiple ponies had already entered the airship already, via the pier that extended from the docks.

"If my apartment plan becomes a temporary one, then I will find us a more lasting solution. Until then, we leave Canterlot as the Princesses commanded." Even as the words left his mouth, Fancy Pants tasted bitterness. His entire life had been in Canterlot. His business, his home, and many of his possessions he would have to leave behind.

Fleur put a hoof on Fancy's shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile. "As long as we are together, it will all be okay."

"I am confident of that as well, Fleur," the gentlepony replied with a mirrored expression of hope.

He turned around and looked at the waves of ponies coming towards the dock. The multicolored crowd stretched for at least several miles back towards Canterlot proper. What I would give to have some wings and get away from this crowd, Fancy thought as a light blue stallion with an orange mare by his side circled around him and regrouped behind him.

"Mama!" a small voice shouted in front of him. Fancy looked down to see a butter yellow unicorn filly galloping through ponies' hooves.

Fancy's horn lit up gold as his magic took hold of the squirming filly and hoisted her into the air. Fancy's concerned eyes looked into the quivering lime green ones of the filly in front of him. "Calm down, child. Do you see her?" He lifted the filly higher into the air for her to get a better view.

The filly gasped and pointed. "I see her! Mama!" She began waving her hooves to alert her mother to where she was.

"Daffodil!" Fancy turned his head to see the orange mare that just passed him come galloping towards him. "Oh thank you, sir. I can't thank you enough!"

Fancy gave the mare a smile as he lowered the filly onto the mare's back. "Don't want to be missing this one, now do we?"

"Thank you again," the mare said with a nod and turned to go onto the airship.

Fancy felt Fleur's eyes on him and he turned to meet them. She looked like she was about to give a rather unladylike 'daww' at what had transpired. "What?"

"Just admiring my gentlecolt of a husband."

"Your words are too kind, my dear," Fancy said before returning his focus to the airship. "Now come along! We mustn't miss this ship before it's full!"

Author's Note:

So how about that upcoming intermittent S5 hiatus, huh? Oh well. It'll make ponies that much better when they're back after tomorrow's episode. Plus, EQG 3 to look forward to!

Anyway, hope you all enjoy the story so far and review/critique!