Guardian of Legends - Unity

by The Hero of Harmony

Chapter 8 - A Familiar Face, Lesson in Fire and Health

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Dreamscape

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"Princess Luna...? What are you doing here, and how are you here?" Silver asked, cocking his head to the side.

The lunar princess simply approached him, giving a calm smile. She has certainly grew a bit since he last saw her, and her mane and tail was slowly beginning to grow longer. It now had some deep shades of dark blue in the lighter blue, as well as slowly becoming like Celestia, in the manner of it being more free-flowing and even sparkling like little stars in the sky.

"We are sure thou recalled that our sister told thou that we were unable to attend the Gala because of royal duties. Well, this is one of our duties in which we have been trying to get back into. As the Princess of the Night, not only does our role mean to bring the night to Equestria and end it to bring about the day, but we also come into the dreams of ponies." Luna explains.

"We are to ensure that everypony has pleasant dreams and help rid any nightmares that anypony might have. Something we have done centuries ago... before we became the Nightmare..." She frowned.

Silver simply listened. He found that amazing, as he never knew Luna was capable of doing something like that before. Granted, he was unaware of Luna's existence up until Nightmare Moon returned.

"I see. But that doesn't explain why you are here now." Silver replied.

"We heard about thou rather... interesting night at the Gala this evening from our older sister. The commotion of the guests could be heard from our quarters, even looking down at those outside on the palace grounds from the balacony. We never knew that one pony with your skill was capable of convincing most of the nobles to act the way they did." Luna responded.

"But that is not why we have come to talk to you. It is about a matter that has been on our mind since we returned." She said waving her hoof.

"Oh?" Silver asked raising a brow.

"For thou see Silver, when we were the Nightmare and you had us at our mercy we noticed something very particular about you. When we saw thou, we saw... another individual." Luna got a bit serious.

"The individual in question... was of a creature that Equestria hasn't seen in so many years. The only few that knew of their existence was both ourselves and Celestia." She added.

"..." Silver was quiet.

A creature that hasn't been seen in so long, and that only the princesses knew about? Silver thought about it and really there was only one individual he could think of that would remotely match that description.

"Now that we think about it, thou dream is rather... strange." Luna said, as she looks around.

Since she arrived, she has noticed how out of the dreams she has visited Silver's dreamscape is rather empty and has begun to notice it.

"Why is it that thou dreamscape is barren and empty? Most of the ponies we have visited actually had something within their dreamscape that was active..." Luna wondered.

Silver simply shrugs. He was going to answer, but both ponies tensed up a moment. For Silver, this was a familiar feeling. But for Luna, she was now wary.

"What is this...? We sense a presence trying to enter this dreamscape..." Luna said now feeling on edge.

"Uh..." Silver muttered out.

Luna looks around, her wings flair out and giving an angry look.

"SHOW THYSELF INTERLOPER! WE SENSE THOU PRESENCE!" Luna shouted in her Royal Canterlot Voice.

Silver just winced, considering how close she was to him and how it echoed loudly in the dreamscape. However, the presence only got stronger as it seemed to listen to the princess's command.

Silver's ears perked up, as he turns around. Sure enough, the 'interloper' turns out to be the apparition of Crimson, who stood there quietly. They appeared to be looking at Luna.

Luna, whose ears also perked up, turns around having sensed Crimson appear. Before she goes to confront him, she stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes widened and mouth was agape.

"I-It can't be..." Luna stuttered out.

"T-Thou are--" Luna was then cut off as Crimson held his arm out.

Without saying a word, the figure appeared to cast a spell as a green orb of power appeared in their 'hoof', and a large gray spectral clock appeared before Luna as the hands on it spun around rapidly before they came to a sudden halt and disappearing. Luna then appeared to just be stuck in position.

Silver's eyes widened upon seeing Crimson use this strong looking magic spell he never seen before.

"W-what did you do to her?" Silver stammered.

Crimson simply held his hand up.

"Relax. She is alright, I simply cast Time Magic on her in the form of Stop. She will return to normal briefly, so I have to be quick since she will stay like that for at least a...five to ten minutes, give or take. I know of the Princess' ability to wander into dreams but I didn't think she would appear here before I arrived..." Crimson explained.

"Wait, you are able to use magic that controls time? What other magic can you use, and is this the magic that I will be able to use? Is that what you meant by being able to teach me to use be more proficient in the blade and spells?" Silver asked rapidly.

"Settle down." Crimson said simply.

Silver then stops speaking.

"First, yes I am familiar with Princess Luna, as well as Celestia. We are, or rather were, old acquaintances from long ago, though I don't remember Luna looking a bit... younger since I seen her last. And second, this is the kind of magic you will learn eventually. When I was here last time, I said that when you unlocked your potential that I would instruct you on the skills I know to make you into what you were destined to be."

"Anyway, I failed to see that in our first encounter... part of your potential was already unlocked." Crimson elaborated.

"Huh? It is...? But I don't feel any different." Silver said with a frown.

"It was only a little bit, however it is there. Think back, were you exposed to any sort of powerful force in the past?" Crimson asked, crossing his arms.

Silver tries to think back. He thought deep and hard, until he remembered.

"...The day the girls found the Elements of Harmony and used them on Luna. She was not herself, been gone for a thousand years, and the power of the Elements were enough to purify the darkness in her heart and returned her to normal. I was within proximity of the rainbow blast that surrounded her, even if I never physically touched it. Maybe that is where it happened?" Silver mused.

The sage, if his eyes were seen they were closed, thought about it.

"It is possible. The Elements are powerful in their own right, and the fact you possess the Mark of the Seventh means that it unlocked something inside you, even if it didn't do it the whole way and well... I think this in itself is a start." Crimson said with a sense of realization.

Silver seemed to understand what he was getting at.

"The Mark of the Seventh... what does that even mean anyway? First I hear a disembodied voice from the Everfree Forest say that to me, and you mentioned the 'mark of destiny' I possess. Are you referring to my cutie mark?" Silver asked, noting the green Delta on his flank.

Crimson nods.

"If we had more time, I would explain it but with Luna here and the spell wearing off shortly, I really didn't wish for her to appear here. Reason she never thought to come to your dreams, is because I was able to keep her from entering without her knowing." Crimson explains.

"...Just how strong are you, Crimson?" Silver asked, raising a brow.

The tall figure remained silent.

"...We have to be quick, as not only is Stop going to wear off, but you are going to soon wake up. Chances are, I have to be quick the next visit before Luna, since now she will be very aware of my presence here and I'd rather be able to work with you without distractions..." He says, looking toward Luna's frozen figure.

He gave a quiet chuckle, before placing his hand on Luna's shoulder.

"...No offense to you, old friend. Now, with the little bit of magic that you do have, even if you can't use your unicorn magic, you should be able to still use a bit of what is there to cast the simplest of elemental spells at my disposal and that is fire magic. Now as excited as you are to hear that, we must hurry while we still have the time." Crimson said in haste.

All of this was happening so fast for Silver. He was going to learn how to use actual magic, and be able to cast fire spells? The girls will freak out, especially Twilight.

"Fire is the most elementary of all Black Magic spells, easiest spell for most beginner mages to learn. As time goes on, you will be able cast more powerful versions of Fire, but will require a lot of mana to use. Since your potential only opened a bit, it is best not to use even a simple Fire spell at your own leisure as this is magic that is outside of Equestria, and you are not attuned to your magic yet. If it was opened more, then you would be able to likely cast Fire with little drain to you mana, but since its not, this will likely make you exhausted after casting it." Crimson explains.

"It is why, you should only use Fire when you absolutely need too. While it might be a weak spell for me, an Equestrian using even a base power Fire spell will be rather strong since ponies can't use Black or White Magic spells, from what I gather... Now, you need to visualize a small ember in your mind and project that image and bring it to life in your hooves." Crimson said, as he demonstrates holding his 'hooves' up and was able to create a small ember of fire.

Silver watched carefully, amazed and curious. His training and attentive mind allowed for him to get an idea how to do it.

Silver closed his eyes, as he sits on his haunches and held his hooves up like Crimson, imagining warmth and small embers of flame in his mind.

Crimson observed, his arms crossed, as he watches the earth pony trying to conjure up a small flame. It took a couple or so tries, but eventually a small ember began to flicker around the hooves. Of course, Silver was amazed.

"I did it!" He shouted proudly.

Crimson remained stoic, but under the face cover was a small grin.

"Very good. Remember to keep focus and your mind clear in order to cast the spell. Even if you are being attacked, you musn't break your focus until you can cast it out like so..."

He turns around as he conjures up a Fire spell, before holding his arm out and the small ember ended up where he was 'aiming' and a small fire erupted up.

"It will take a few tries, but eventually you will be able to cast this and other smaller spells with relative ease. The same can be applied to spells that aid you or others known as White Magic."

"White Magic?" Silver tilts his head.

"Magic from where I am from is split in different schools: Black Magic is for casting elemental and damaging spells like Fire and Ice magic, while White Magic are spells that are to aid you or your teammates in battle like healing their wounds or any negative aliments that has been inflicted on them like poison or blinded by darkness that makes it hard for you to hit a target physically." Crimson explains.

Silver nods, seemingly understanding what he was saying.

"For that, you will learn the elementary spell in White Magic: Cure. This spell is capable of healing wounds and revitalizing the target's vitality, no mattered how grave the injury is. However should that individual be knocked out... or possibly killed, then Cure won't work and that would require the use of Life, but I'm getting ahead of myself." Crimson stopped himself before continuing.

"Much like with Fire, you simply need to tap into your inner mana and visualize in your mind warmth but the soothing kind and the thought of healing. It is a simple spell to do, like so."

A dead flower appears before the two. It was small and withered. Crimson walks over and kneels down before he holds his arm out as a white orb appeared in his 'hoof' and a warm, green glow appeared around the flower, slowly allowing the flower to recover from being wilted to being normal again.

"Wow..." Silver muttered.

"Yes, however be wary that unless you master each tier in spells, then it will be limited in power. As with Cure, it can heal small wounds completely and easily, but larger wounds and fatal wounds wouldn't do much aside from trying to ease the pain. As you grow more experienced in your spells, they become more powerful and as such, your own mana will begin to increase as to support the amount of magic you can use. However, in your case, until your potential is unlocked completely, your use in Black and White Magic will be lacking heavily. Only use these spells if you have no other alternative or it is an emergency." Crimson warned.

"Using too much of your mana will often leave you severely exhausted and drained and you will need to rest some before your mana can restore. And if you are not careful, especially casting the more powerful spells, if you put your entire being into it, it will instead take your life. Remember that well."

Silver slowly nodded, processing that.

Crimson felt a sudden surge, and looked toward Luna noticing how the Stop spell was beginning to taper off.

"Looks like that is all for now. Practice what you learned here on your own time, but don't go overboard. Remember, only use these spells if the situation is dire. Once your potential becomes more apparent, we will do more. For now, I must go before Luna resumes movement." Crimson said as he steps back, and promptly tips the rim of his hat.

"Until next time, Silver Guardian."Crimson said toward the pony.

He looks at Luna.

"See you when the time is right, Princess..." Crimson muttered before vanishing from site.

Just as he disappears, the spell on Luna wears off and Luna resumes what she was going to say before she was frozen in time.

"--are him!" Luna yelled out as she points her hoof to where Crimson once stood.

Silver just looks at her and where Crimson vanished as an awkward silence fills the dreamscape.

"...Uhh, Luna?" Silver asked.

Luna just looks around confused.

"W-what the... but he was just here a second ago! And now we can't feel his presence anymore..." Luna said to herself.

"Dear Silver!" Luna yelled, startling the smaller pony.

"Gah! Yes princess...?" Silver asked, eyes widened.

"...Please tell us that what we saw was just a figment of our imagination." Luna said in a simple tone.

Silver took a few moments to reply.

"Uh, what you saw was just your imagination?" Silver spoke back, lightly padding his hooves together.

Luna took a few moments and breathed.

"...As we thought." She replied.

Before she can say more, the dreamscape around them began to vibrate.

"Ah... it appears thou are beginning to stir awake. Shame, we weren't able to discuss the topic I wished to talk about with thou." The alicorn said with frown.

"Well, I could just stop by the castle to see you if you want." Silver replied, knowing they don't have long.

She shook her head.

"Unfortunately, since it is close to dawn, we must return to the real world and prepare to lower the moon so our elder sister can raise the sun. After that, our duties for the day will conclude and we shall turn in for the day to rest for later this evening. We shall return to your dream at later date..." Luna concluded.

She bows.

"Until we meet again, dear Silver Guardian. It was wonderful to see thou once more." She said with a soft smile.

Silver smiled and nods.

"Look forward to seeing you again soon, Princess Luna." He waves as everything around them becomes nothing but darkness.

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Silver's Home - Canterlot

Morning

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Celestia's sun slowly rises as light slowly appears in Silver's bedroom, with the light shining down on his closed eyes. He groans and tries to turn around to ignore it, but eventually his eyes crack open.

Yawning, he rubbed his eyes before getting out of bed and stretches. He goes to do his morning duties: using the bathroom, brushing his teeth, getting his mane fixed up. He would try to do a jog around the streets in Canterlot, but since the girls were in town and were likely going to come over to see him and likely go get breakfast together, he would wait it out at the house for now.

Silver's mind wanders back to his dream, and the fact Luna was able to walk into other pony's dreams like that and came to see him and talk about Crimson, who arrived and nearly freaked Luna out at the sight of him. On the topic of Crimson, he couldn't believe he was teaching him how to use magic that was 'otherworldly' considering that the spells Crimson showed him were likely something not many unicorns could perform, and something the princesses might be able to do, but never seen them do it beforehand or even heard of them using Black and White Magic that the figure in red was a master of. He learned how to cast Fire in his dream, but only was shown how to do Cure and didn't have time to cast it himself since Luna was nearly free from Crimson's Stop spell.

He wonders what Luna was thinking now. She didn't really get to discuss the topic about Crimson considering his sudden appearance and the fact he was waking up. He knew Luna was likely now aware of his existence because chances are she will try to come to his dreamscape again in an attempt to see if Crimson returns, unless the figure was able to prevent Luna from entering his dream beforehand and bar Luna access, as he mentioned that he was able to.

"Hmm... I wonder." Silver muttered all of the sudden.

He held his hoof out, as he begins focusing on it and trying to conjure up a small flame from the Fire spell. He began to felt the warmth in his hoof, as a small red glow slowly began to appear there. He almost had it when sudden knocking from his front door ruined his concentration and the spell fizzled out.

"Huh?! Whose there?" Silver yelled.

"It's us Silver! You ready?" Twilight's voice yelled from outside the door.

He sighed, rubbing his head. Crimson was right: that does take a lot of focus and power to do. He had it easier since in his dream, he could easily cast Fire with little to no problem, but in reality it was straining since his 'full potential' hasn't been released yet and only a small portion of it peeked out.

"I better keep this to myself. Twilight would just be all over me otherwise..." He said to himself as he went to the door.

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Canterlot Palace

Morning

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The palace staff were hard at work cleaning up from the Gala the previous night, and Celestia was just preparing for her duties for the day and attending the day court. She mused at how wonderful the Gala was and how much of a success it was, all in part thanks to Twilight and her friends, especially Silver who helped make it the best Gala in centuries. She was in on her way to the throne room when...

"SISTER!" Luna screamed, nearly causing Celestia to lose her grip on her tea.

Luna was galloping to the elder sister, who just looked at Luna with concern.

"Lulu! What is wrong? Did something happened?" Celestia asked.

"Forgive us for... using the Royal Tongue this early. But we wish to discuss something to you with great importance!" Luna replied, slamming her hoof down.

"Well then tell my, little sister? What has you worked up this much?" The alicorn pressed.

"It is in regards to dear Silver Guardian. We were able to enter his dreamscape, and on the verge of discussing the topic at hoof, but then... Tia, I saw him." The blue alicorn said, pressing her face against her sister's.

"W-well of course you did, Lulu. Silver was likely going to be in his own dream world when you go there." Celestia replied, taking a small step back.

"No no! Not Silver, we meant him, as in our mutual friend from years ago... He has managed to make contact with Silver... and then he held his arm out and... everything around us froze..." Luna stammered out.

Celestia raised her brow.

"Luna, are you for certain? Are you absolutely sure it was really him?" She asked once more.

"Positive sister... When all was normal again, he was gone, however, and it was just us and Silver. We feel he used his spell to freeze us in time, as if... he didn't want us to know he was there. We remember how gifted he was in magic, using magic that even we ourselves find strain inducing to perform and likely, it was he who was able to lock us out of Silver's dreamscape some nights ago." Luna argued.

Celestia closed her eyes and gave this a bit of thought. This was certainly some news to her, and she trusts in Luna's words and knows she wouldn't be joking with something like this.

"...Then perhaps you were right, dear sister. Perhaps it was fate that Silver would traveling down the path he wished to trot down. If that is the case, then we shall do what we can to help him... For our old friend's sake."

She thinks back to an old stained glass window that once decorated the old throne room of their old castle in the Everfree Forest. While the times have passed and the windows in the old castle have since shattered and crumbled, this one window was still mostly intact. On it, it depicted the Royal Sisters encircling a tall figured garbed in red, wielding a sword with the familiar mark in the center: a dark green Delta triangle... Silver's cutie mark.

The Mark of the Seventh.