> Guardian
>  by Zodiacthehedgehog
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Nothing Rhymes With Silver
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guardian
Chapter 1: Nothing Rhymes With Silver

Deep in a dark, discomforting forest lay a small meadow. It was open to both sunlight and fresh air which made it a great spot to rest when journeying through the forest. The trees were green and bright while the little river that ran through the meadow was clear and cool. In the middle of said meadow lay a pony. His mane and tail were colored gold while his fur was a dark silver.  His wings lay lazily at his sides and his horn shined in the light. His eyes were closed and his hooves were twitching. A nightmare of which he couldn’t escape from tormented his thoughts. 
Around midday, the pony’s eyes flew open. His eyes were like a golden fire that burned fiercely. He closed his eyes again and groaned, his head hurt like it was smashed open on a boulder. He heard the gurgling of a stream nearby. He slowly stood up. His hooves were unsteady and his head swam. Slowly but surely, he made his way to the water. Once there he bent down and took a drink. It was cold and refreshing. Soon his mind cleared up and he was more sure on his hooves. He peered into the water to look at himself. He had no idea who he was or where he came from. He sat down in the soft, green grass and thought long and hard about what happened to him. Nothing came to mind so he shrugged and stood back up.
To choose a direction he closed his eyes and spun in a circle for a moment. When he stopped he opened his eyes and walked in that direction. The trees seemed to absorb him as he entered the ominous forest. Dark grass and roots were strewn everywhere, making it hard to hike through. The silver and gold pony sighed and walked in a straight line as best he could. The forest seemed menacing and somewhat evil. Silver found himself looking over his shoulder several times and looking side to side. Whenever he blinked, he saw images of dark ponies sneaking around. The pony stepped on a stick and it snapped. He paused and listened. Everything was quiet and still. No bird calls or running water. He wished he never left that meadow.
After some time of walking and spooking himself, the pony stumbled out of the forest into fresh air and light. He smiled at the sunlight and threw himself onto the grass. He lay there for a while and laughed at himself for being such a foal.  The grass felt so soft and warm. His eyes became heavy and they stung. Soon, the pony fell asleep in the warm sunlight.

After a while, the pony woke up to see another pony standing over him. When his eyes opened, she jumped back with a squeak. The yellow pegasus hid behind a medium sized rock. After a moment, the pegasus poked her head out to find the silver pony staring at her confused with his head cocked.
“Uh... Hello?” The strange pony said. He was surprised at his own voice. He swore it was a bit deeper than it was. The yellow pony just squeaked out some words and hid behind the rock again. “Excuse me? I didn’t catch that,” the silver pony said. When she didn’t come out of hiding, he sighed and thought of something else to say. He tried to think of his name, but nothing came to mind. After a moment of thinking, a word came to mind. He didn’t know if it was his name or not but he decided to say it anyway to break the ice.
“My name’s Silver,” he said, “Um... what’s yours?” Silver asked. No response came. Silver looked behind the rock. The yellow pegasus squeaked again and backed away. Silver cocked his head again and sat down. “I’m not going to hurt you or anything,” he said. She still didn’t answer so he sighed explosively and got up. He sat a little ways away, looking in the opposite direction. He saw a small town a little ways away. He could see shaped of ponies moving about, going to shops and such. He knew where he was heading next. He stood up once more and prepared to leave when he heard a noise behind him. He looked behind him to see the pegasus. She was talking, but he could barely hear her. He caught the word “Fluttershy” and assumed that was her name.
“Fluttershy is it? Nice to meet you,” he said cheerfully. She smiled a bit and looked at the ground. Silver grinned. He was proud to make some progress with this pegasus. 
“Well, I’m going to that town over there. Have a nice day!” Silver said as he walked away. He swore he heard a goodbye, but believed it to be too good to be true.
It didn’t take him long to make it to the town. It was a pretty busy place for it being so small. There were all sorts of ponies. Pegasi flew from one place to another. A crossed eyed pegasus was actually delivering mail. Earth ponies carried bags and supplies around with them. Unicorns were trotting around. One white unicorn with a purple mane was helping a pony stitch up a dress.
During his stroll, he was getting weird looks. Some were of curiosity, some wonder, but the most disturbing were the ones with suspicion and distaste. Silver arched an eyebrow and kept walking. He soon noticed what made him stand out. Well, two things. One was that he was the only pony with both a horn and wings. The other thing was that there were marks on all of the ponies’ flanks. Silver knew he didn’t have one. He didn’t need to check for that. 
“Look out!” Silver heard. Suddenly, what felt like a rocket hit him in the side and bowled him end over end. Silver found himself in a heap with a blue pegasus with a rainbow colored mane.
“Ow...” Silver groaned as he got up. He shook the dust off his fur and sighed. “You all right?” he asked as he helped the other pony up.
“Yea, yea. Sorry about-” she ended suddenly and gave him a look that would melt mountains. Silver took a step back. He didn’t know what to do. The pegasus suddenly took off like a bullet. She ran to the library and slammed the door shut. Silver was speechless. He noticed that everypony was staring at him. He became self-conscious and looked around for a place to hide. He couldn’t think straight with all of the eyes looking at him.
“Hi!” Silver heard from outside of the crowd. A pink earth pony was bouncing up and down excitedly through the crowd until she reached him. She sat down and started shaking his hoof violently. “My name’s Pinkie Pie! My friends call me Pinkie. I could also be called Pie, but that sounds a bit weird. I throw the best parties in all of Equestria and I work at Sugar Cube Corner! It is a nice bakery! He sell muffins, cupcakes, cake cakes, pastries, doughnuts, cupcakes, muffins, cupcakes, not oatmeal though,” Pinkie Pie exclaimed while still shaking Silver’s hoof. He thought his whole leg was about to be torn off.
“Nice to meet you, Pinkie. My name is Silver,” Silver said when she finally let go of his hoof.
“Oooooh, so you’re named after your coat color? That’s neat! Some ponies think I was named after my coat color, but my full name is Pinkameana. I just shortened it to Pinkie. I have a toothless alligator named Gummy. I named him that because he doesn’t have any teeth. Wanna meet him?” she asked. Silver nodded slowly. Suddenly, out of no where, she revealed a small alligator. Its eyes looked in two different directions and it had no teeth as Pinkie stated. It tried to bite Silver’s muzzle, but he could only feel the gums. Silver felt his pupils dilate.
“Aw! That means he likes you!” Pinkie shouted. Silver noticed the staring ponies had moved on with their day. In some way, this energetic pink pony saved him from embarrassment. 
“Wanna be my best friend? I have some other best friends you might like. They are great and nice and funny! I know you will get along with them!” 
“Sure, I’d love to meet them,” Silver said. Truthfully, he didn’t want to be left alone again, but he also wanted to meet some more ponies. Pinkie bounced along the road while Silver followed behind. In the corner of his eye, he swore he caught a hint of a rainbow mane.
Soon, the two ponies reached a store called Carousel Boutique. Silver didn’t know if that he would visit this store much, but followed Pinkie Pie nonetheless. Before they could get to the door, it swung open to reveal the same white pony Silver had seen when he first arrived. 
“Hello, Pinkie Pie! What brings you to my humble store?” the pony asked.
“Hi, Rarity! I made a new friend! His name is Silver! I think it’s because of his coat color, but he doesn’t know. Isn’t that silly?” Pinkie asked excitedly. Silver grinned awkwardly when Rarity looked at him.
“Hi there darling! My name is Rarity, as you may know. I’m terribly sorry about the way Rainbow Dash greeted you, it was quite rude of her,” Rarity apologized.
“That’s no problem, I’m sure there’s a good reason for it,” Silver said kindly. Rarity frowned.
“Unfortunately, there is. Some strange ponies have been visiting as of late. They cause a lot of trouble and are unwanted. The way we recognize them is by the lack of a Cutie Mark. It seems you don’t have one either, but you don’t seem the brutish type. Tell me, what town did you come from?” Rarity asked. Silver thought for a moment. He expected the name of the town to come to him like his name, but it seemed it wasn’t the case. His mind just went blank. Rarity seemed concerned by the lack on answer. She pressed a hoof against his forehead.
“Are you all right, my dear?” she asked. Silver shrugged.
“Never better, just a bit of amnesia I guess,” Silver explained, “So tell me more about these Cutie Marks. What do they do exactly?” Silver asked.
“Cutie Marks show what our special talents or what our destiny is. It seems you have not found yours yet,” Rarity examined. Silver shrugged.
“I knew you guys would get along!” Pinkie Pie shouted happily. Obviously her pent up energy couldn’t be held in any longer. She bounced up and down erratically. Silver had to take a step back to avoid being jumped on. Rarity giggled and bid them farewell. Silver smiled and walked alongside Pinkie as she bounced up and down. 

After a few minutes of walking along the road, they turned onto a dirt path that led away from the city. Trees started to become more common as they went along. Silver noticed that they bore apples of many different shapes, sizes, and colors. It hadn’t been long before Silver could see a farm in the distance. He saw a large red stallion hauling a plow back into the red barn. A small yellow earth pony with a pinkish red bow followed the red stallion. Pinkie bounced ahead of Silver and disappeared into the trees. Silver just kept slowly walking to the barn. He could hear Pinkie’s excited voice talking to another pony. Silver arched an eyebrow, but he still kept going. After a minute, Pinkie bounced back to him. 
“Who were you talking to?” Silver asked. Pinkie didn’t answer. She giggled and kept bouncing along. Silver laughed nervously. They made it to the middle of the farm. From a distance, he could see many acres of apple trees. He was amazed by what he saw.
“Beautiful, ain’t it?” said a pony behind Silver. Silver jumped and turned around. Behind him stood an orange earth pony wearing a cowpony hat. She seemed proud of all of the apple trees that grew in her fields. Silver didn’t disagree.
“It is quite stunning,” Silver said, “The name’s Silver,” he said and held out a hoof.
“Th’ name’s Applejack, nice to meet ya’!” Applejack shook his hoof almost as violently as Pinkie Pie, but it lasted a shorter amount of time. Silver laughed uncomfortably as his hoof felt numb. “So, what brings ya’ around here, sugar cube?” Applejack asked.
“Pinkie Pie here is introducing me to all of her friends. So far, I have met Rarity and you,” Silver said.
“That’s nice of Pinkie. I heard from Applebloom of that run in you had with Rainbow Dash. I guess that didn’t go so hot?” Applejack asked.
“I guess not. Rarity already explained, though. I understand. I think I’ve been in the same situation,” Silver said.
“You think?” Applejack asked, “It’s not something you can easily forget,”
“I think I have a bit of amnesia. It took me a few minutes this morning to tell this pegasus named Fluttershy my name. Though, it took a little longer to get hers,” Silver said.
“You’ve met Fluttershy? Then it goes without saying she is a bit shy,” Applejack chuckled, “After a time she’ll warm up to ya’,” 
Silver chuckled too then shrugged. 
“Hey, I just got finished picking some apples, want one?” Applejack asked. Silver nodded eagerly. He couldn’t remember the last time he ate. Applejack picked out an apple from one of her baskets and tossed it at Silver. Silver flinched, but when he didn’t feel impact, he opened his eyes to see it floating right in front of him. His horn was glowing a light golden color. The apple was also outlined with the same color.
“You can use magic, too?” Pinkie asked excitedly.
“I guess I can,” Silver said. He was amazed at his own skill.
“Then you would like Twilight! She also practices magic!” Pinkie shouted enthusiastically. 
“It’s true. She sometimes stays couped up in the library for days studying that magic of hers,” Applejack said. Silver cocked his head. Applejack chuckled, “Don’t worry, she’s nice and all as long as you let her read those books,” Applejack explained. Pinkie started bouncing off again. Silver quickly took a bite of the apple. It was the juiciest apple he ever had. Applejack smiled like she could read his mind. Silver nodded his thanks and took off after Pinkie. Silver heard Applejack ask something about a “Granny Smith” to that red stallion he saw earlier. He shook his head and tried to keep pace with Pinkie.

The two ponies got back into town. Everything was going business as usual it seemed. They quickly found the library in the middle of town. It seemed to be just a huge tree with a few windows, a door, and a balcony.Silver was hesitant to go in though, he remembered that rainbow maned pony, Rainbow Dash if he recalled correctly, went in there after she slammed into him. Pinkie didn’t notice the hesitation and almost literally kicked in the door.
“Twilight! I got a visitor for you!” Pinkie shouted. Silver heard a voice reply, but he couldn’t make out any words. “Don’t be like that, silly filly! Your books can wait!” Pinkie said jouyously and bounced inside.
“I don’t want to impose...” Silver started.
“Don’t be silly! Twilight needs to get out of the library anyway! She’s been in there for almost a week!” Pinkie said over her shoulder. A week?! Silver thought, how is that possible? He took a nervous step in. He could hear three voices talking at once. One, that rose above the rest in an excited manner, was definitely Pinkie Pie’s. The other two was not familiar to him. Suddenly, everything became quiet. He heard somepony coming down the stairs. What he saw, he did not expect. It was a purple and green baby dragon. Silver cocked his head.
“Um... hello,” the dragon said nervously, “Um... would you like something to drink?”
“No thanks, but thank you for offering,” Silver said politely. The baby dragon seemed to grow a little more comfortable at the politeness.
“I-I’m Spike,” the baby dragon said.
“Silver, nice to meet you,” Silver said with a smile, “and might I add that I have never seen a dragon before. Fascinating creatures if I’m not mistaken. Tell me, where did you come from?” Silver asked.
“Canterlot. I was hatched by Twilight during her exam to get into Princess Celestia’s school of magic,” Spike said. He seemed to lose his nervousness all at once.
“I have never heard of Canterlot before... or this Princess Celestia for that matter,” Silver said. These sounded familiar, but he couldn’t put a hoof down on it. He heard a gasp come from upstairs, then the three voices started to talk again. Silver looked at Spike confused. Spike shrugged and turned around to go upstairs. His voice was added to the others. Suddenly, one voice shouted out the words, “He could be a spy!” another voice said calmly, “You accused me of being a spy when I first got here,” the first voice groaned, “That was an honest mistake,” the second voice sighed. Silver heard hoofsteps coming down the stairs. 
Silver did not expect to see a beautiful lavender unicorn to come down the stairs and smile at him.
“Sorry about that,” she said.
“I-It’s ok,” Silver stuttered. He was overcome with sudden shyness, “I hope I’m not causing any trouble...”
“No, no, it’s fine,” the lavender unicorn reassured, “Just some stubbornness from my friend. My name is Twilight Sparkle,”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Silver,” Silver said. Before he could say something else, he heard a rabble outside. It sounded like there was a fight or something going on. Silver opened the door and poked his head around the corner. There were four ponies outside Sugar Cube Corner. One was Applebloom standing next to an old, green mare. The other two were large and strong stallions. One was a unicorn and the other a earth pony. The unicorn and pegasus didn’t have Cutie Marks. 
“Leave my Granny alone, she didn’t do anything to ya’,” Applebloom pleaded. The two stallions laughed.
“Sure we will, after she says sorry for tripping over my friend’s hoof,” the unicorn said.
“She can’t help it, she’s got a bad hip,” Applebloom argued. The unicorn picked up Applebloom with his magic and laughed.
“Check it out, Crusher, this little one here wants to fight,” the unicorn said. Applebloom struggled to get down, but she was held in the air.
“I see that, Smasher, let’s teach her a lesson,” the earth pony, who Silver presumed was Crusher, said. Crusher’s hoof came up and went for Applebloom, but it was stopped in its tracks.  It was outlined in a light golden color. Silver slowly walked over, his horn was glowing brightly.
“I say let’s not. Put the filly down and fight somepony your own size,” Silver said sternly. Smasher put the pony down and turned around. Silver kept a neutral expression. He was not going to back down from this one.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here? An alicorn outside of Canterlot? What business do you have here? Meddling in affairs of others?” Smasher sneered. Silver didn’t seem moved. The only change was the slight narrowing of his eyes. Crusher’s hoof was released. Crusher shook his hoof to test it out then snorted. 
Suddenly, Silver felt his throat tighten to the point where he couldn’t breathe. He was lifted into the air and thrashed about from side to side. Smasher’s horn was glowing a dull black. 
“We don’t like it when ponies mess in our affairs,” Smasher said menacingly. Silver was thrown up into the air and he landed with a dull thump on the ground. Silver slowly got up and stumbled a bit from the lack of oxygen. Before he knew it, something that felt like a freight train rammed right into him and sent him flying head over hooves. He hit the ground and skidded a few feet. Crusher bit into Silver’s mane and lifted his head up. Silver was not about to be thrown again. His hoof shot out and hit Crusher in the face. When Crusher reeled back, Silver kicked him in the chin with his back legs. Crusher’s head snapped back and blood flowed out of the corner of his mouth.
Silver felt himself being picked up again. He was thrown up into the air, but this time, before he hit the ground, his stretched his wings out to land softer. Crusher grabbed Silver from behind. Silver bit into Crusher’s front leg. Crusher grunted in pain and let go. Silver bucked him again and charged at Smasher. Silver’s hooves were swept out from under him by an unseen force and he hit the ground. Pain shot up his front right leg. 
As Silver stood up he heard somepony call his name. It was Pinkie Pie and she was bouncing up and down with a tray full of muffins.
“Throw these, Silver! Throw these!” Pinkie shouted. Silver smiled. He imitated what he did to pick up the apple and picked up one of the muffins. One hit Smasher in the eye. Another one flew and hit him in the face. Five more flew and hit his horn and face at the same time. Silver then charged up and bucked Smasher in the chest. Smasher flew a few feet and hit a mailbox. Crusher tried to get up, but Silver held him down with one hoof.
“You two will never come to this town again, got it?” Silver said sternly, “If you do, I will know of it,”
Crusher just grunted in answer. Silver got his hoof off of him. Almost at once, Crusher sprang up, grabbed Smasher, and ran out of town. For a few moments, everypony was silent, looking after the two ruffians. Then Silver heard Pinkie Pie shout, “This calls for a party!” Then, everypony cheered and congratulated Silver all at once. Once everypony had said their congratulations, they rushed over to an empty field just outside of Ponyville to a party that had been set up in record time.
Silver stood in the middle of Ponyville amazed. He felt a bit weak from the beating he took, but he managed to stumble over to the party. When he got there, his breath was taken away. Bright and colorful lights had been set up. Several tables with a purple cloth had been set out with trays of food on them. Everypony was either dancing to the music or talking with each other. Silver had to hand it to Pinkie, she could throw a great party really quickly. He went around the many ponies and took a couple of cupcakes and quickly devoured them. Once he was done he found a place to lie down and think. He sat a little ways away from the party. His eyes were getting heavy. He put his head into his hooves and slept.
“Silver, wake up, sugar cube,” Applejack said as she prodded him awake. Silver woke up slowly. He noticed the field had been cleaned up of everything. It was like a party never happened.
“Huh, what? Did I fall asleep?” Silver asked sleepily.
“Yea, you fell asleep about two hours ago. No pony blamed you. It was a rough day you had,” Applejack said as she helped him up, “Thank you for helping out my sister and Granny Smith,”
“It was nothing,” Silver said with a yawn, “I was just doing what I thought best,”
“Then you must have been the best apple in the orchard at your home town,” Applejack said. Silver shrugged. “Do you have anywhere to stay?” Applejack asked. Silver shook his head sadly. “I owe you one, so how about you stay at Sweet Apple Acres for as long as you need to,” Applejack said as she led Silver to the farm.
“I couldn’t do that...” Silver started to trail off. He was too tired to argue.
“Nonsense, come on, let’s get you into a bed,” Applejack said. They walked along for only a few minutes until the large barn loomed in front of them. Silver was led into a small house near the barn and up some stairs. “We have a guest room so you can use that, if it’s ok?” Applejack asked. Silver nodded and walked into the room. Immediately he went for the bed and fell right asleep onto of the covers. 

Silver woke up late at night. He had been dreaming of a memory he once had. It was a birthday party for his friend. It must have happened when he was a colt. He sighed and turned over in his bed. It was still dark out so he slowly closed his eyes and fell back asleep. He didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but he felt like he needed a good night’s sleep.
> The Guardians 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guardian
Chapter 2: The Guardians
        
        Silver was awakened by the sun that shone through his window. Silver opened one eye and looked around. He had to struggle to remember the events of yesterday. It still bothered him that he could barely remember a thing besides yesterday. He yawned and rolled out of bed. The door to his room was ajar, but that didn’t bother him. What bothered him was the lack of noise in the house. He quietly walked downstairs to the kitchen. When he didn’t see anypony, he opened the door and walked outside. 
        The air was warm and humid. The sun was shining bright on the apple farm. Silver could see Granny Smith asleep on a rocking chair under a tree. He saw the red stallion from before picking up some empty baskets and carrying them out to the field. Silver ran over to him.
        “Hi, my name’s Silver, what’s yours?” Silver asked when he caught up.
        “Big Macintosh, or Big Mac for short,” Big Mac said slowly. Silver nodded and for a second neither one of them said anything. Soon, Silver cleared his throat.
        “So, why didn’t anypony wake me up?” Silver asked.
        “Nothing was going on, so why would we wake you?” Big Mac asked.
        “Well, I kind of feel like a burden, is there any way I can help out around here?” Silver asked. Big Mac stopped and lifted up one of his enormous baskets. He set it down on Silver’s back and it felt like a whole entire tree was on him.
        “So how does it feel?” Big Mac asked with a hint of amusement. Silver grunted in answer.
        “Light... as... a... feather,” Silver had to talk in between breaths. He wasn’t going to take the easy way. Big Mac chuckled and led him to the field. It took them half an hour to make it to Big Mac’s spot. Silver wondered if it was on purpose. Thankfully, he was able to drop the basket on the ground under the tree. Big Mac motioned for him to stand back, so Silver complied. Big Mac stood on his fore-hooves and did a mighty buck. The tree shook and all sorts of apple fell. Silver was amazed. Silver had the honor of carrying the dead weight on his back. He thought his spine was going to shatter. They slowly walked back to the barn and Silver quickly set the basket down.
        “Told you,” Silver sighed, “Light as a feather,”
        “Eeeyup,” was all that Big Mac said.
        “What’s this?” Applejack asked as she came running up to them, “I see you’ve got our guest working,”
        “It’s my pleasure,” Silver said, “I would feel horrible if I didn’t do something to help out around here,”
        “That’s good to hear, there is plenty of work to go around,” Applejack said, “Wanna help me bring some apples into town?” 
        “Sure!” Silver said excitedly. Silver strapped the two baskets full of apples onto his back. They weren’t heavy at all, he could walk all day with this on his back.
        “Ready?” Applejack asked. Silver nodded and they hiked down to Ponyville.

        “So, Silver,” Applejack started as they made their way to the town, “Have you remembered anything so far?”
        “Actually, yes,” Silver said, thoughtfully, “During the night, I had a strange dream. I can’t remember it clearly, but I know it’s something from when I was younger,”
        “That’s great!” Applejack said, upbeat, “Soon, you might remember everything,”
        “Ya...” Silver trailed off.
        “What?” Applejack asked when she saw Silver wasn’t as excited as she was.
        “It’s just... what if there is something to remember that I don’t want to. What if I was a bad pony or worse?” Silver asked anxiously.
        “I doubt it, you don’t seem like a bad apple. I bet that you just... got hit in the head or something,” Applejack reassured.
        “I guess. So where are we delivering these apples?” Silver asked as he spotted Ponyville getting closer.
        “We have an apple stand that we tend to in the center of town. We’re just resupplying it,” Applejack said.
        “Need some help with that too?” Silver asked. Applejack chuckled at that comment. When she saw Silver’s confused face, she chuckled again.
        “Sorry, sugar cube. I have never seen a pony that wanted to work as much as you do. Actually, my sister, Applebloom, is going to try and run the stand with her two friends. They are trying to get their cutie marks by doing all sorts of odd things. They call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders,” Applejack explained. Silver laughed.
        When they reached the center of Ponyville, they could see the stand. Applebloom and two other fillies were standing on some stools behind it. Silver took off the baskets and gave them to Applejack.
        “What the hay?” Silver heard Applejack say confused.
        “What? Something wrong with the apples?” Silver asked.
        “No, there’s a new stand over there with some strange ponies,” Applejack described. Silver shrugged and went over to it. The ponies stood up when he got near.
        “Hello, good stallion. My name is Bluemane and this is my colleague, Marshall Goldstar. We represent the guild know as the Guardians. You seem to be a fit pony to work for us. What do you say?” the blue unicorn asked.
        Silver looked at them puzzled.
        “I was going to ask who you were and what you were doing here, but that has been answered. I also don’t join guilds blindly. Tell me about it first,” Silver said. Bluemane and Marshall looked at one another, worried.
        “Truth is son,” Marshall said quietly, “we’re recruiting because our numbers are slim. Most of us were killed in action just a couple days back. I can’t give you anymore details other than this guild is dangerous and you will be expected to fight at any given minute. We don’t accept just anypony, but at these times it is different,” Marshall explained gravely. Silver cocked his head.
        “That’s bad advertising,” Silver pointed out. He meant that to be a joke, but the other ponies didn’t laugh. Marshall gave him a weird look while Bluemane looked at her papers. “I’ll think about it, just don’t expect me to say yes,” Silver said. He slowly turned around and walked back to Applejack.

        Later, Silver and Applejack were walking back to the farmhouse when he saw something moving in the trees. The wind picked up and it got awfully cold. The apples on the trees turned rotten and fell off by the dozens.
        “What in tarnation?” Applejack asked as she check the trees. The sky grew dark and Silver felt adrenaline pulse in his veins.
        “Applejack, I think we should head back to town...” Silver trailed off as he saw red eyes staring at him in the darkness.
        “Why on earth would we-” Applejack was knocked back as a shadow charged at Silver with a shining knife. The blade had a sickly green glow etched on it. Silver froze, but then something kicked him into gear. As the shadow got close, Silver ducked his head. He lifted his head up and threw the attacker over him. As the attacker flew threw the air, Silver’s horn glowed a bright gold. A bolt of magic exploded out of his horn and hit his opponent directly in the chest. The shadow spun head over hooves and hit a tree. It immediately got back up and disappeared. Silver looked around erratically. The shadow was no where to be seen. He heard hoof-steps behind him and turned around. Silver was tackled to the ground and held down. Silver struggled, but it felt like magic glued him to the earth.
        “I finally got you now,” his attacker said as the blade of the knife was lifted up into the air. Suddenly, his attacker was lifted up into the air and thrashed about. The shadowy figure was thrown to the ground and then thrown against a tree. When Silver thought it was over, the pony disappeared in a black smoke and was gone. Silver was breathing heavily. He looked to his right to see the knife embedded into the ground next to him. He touched it with his hoof and was suddenly overcome with depression and pain. He quickly took his hoof away. He stood up and shook the dust off of himself.
        “You better be more careful next time,” said a black unicorn as he walked towards Silver. Silver nodded his thanks.
        “Who was that?” Silver asked. The black unicorn shook his head and picked up the knife. He put it into one of the bags he was carrying. “Who are you?” Silver asked.
        “My name is Onyx Shadowshaper. I just saved your life,” Onyx said smartly.
        “The name is Silver, and I think I could have taken care of my self,” Silver replied. Onyx chuckled and helped Applejack up. Silver was about to say something when a scream cut him off. “No! Stay away!” Silver heard somepony shout. Silver and Onyx both bolted off for the cry.
        
        The scream had led them away from the orchard into the Everfree forest. Silver jumped over roots and dodged the encasing trees. It seemed darker and windier than before. Silver fancied he saw shadows pursuing them, but keeping a safe distance. The wind kept picking up speed until it howled in Silver’s ears. Onyx leaped nimbly over a fallen log and dodged out of the way of a giant oak tree. Silver flapped his wings and picked up speed. He made a sidelong glance towards Onyx. Onyx looked back at him and picked up the pace. It seemed they were racing to the noise to prove something. 
        Soon, they came to a clearing. It was dark and there was the smell of death. Silver slowed down. For some time, the screams continued. Now it seemed they were suddenly cut off. He looked around the clearing and paced from one side to the other. He stubbed his hoof on something. He lit up his horn to see what it was and cried aloud. Onyx rushed over and lit up his horn also. On the ground in front of them was the body of a orange furred unicorn with a yellow mane. The smell of blood and death was really strong around her. Silver felt bile rising and ran behind a tree. He threw up his lunch and everything before that. 
        “She seems to have just died,” Onyx said matter-of-factly. Silver walked back over and looked at the cut in her neck. It had stopped bleeding, but it was glowing a radiant green. 
        “Poison...” Silver thought aloud. An old memory seemed to stir within him, but it wasn’t revealed. 
        “Exactly!” Onyx exclaimed, “There must be some more of what attacked you earlier. Come on, let’s go find them,”
        “What!” Silver shouted, “No way. Let’s head back and get help. It’s only the two of us against whatever number of them. Who are they anyway?”
        Onyx sighed, “They are a clan made up of both Shadowshapers and Lightbringers. Mostly Shadowshapers because they are more easily recruited to the cause. Lightbringers take a more... magical way of converting. They are corrupted with lies and pain until they break. It happened to a good friend of mine. He was captured and tortured by the Shadowshapers for months until he went out of contact. I’m hoping to find him again,” Onyx explained. 
        “I... That’s really rough, Onyx. I hope you do find him... Let’s go find these Shadowshapers and teach them not to mess with Ponyville!” Silver exclaimed. Onyx smiled and nodded.

        “All right, so what do we do again?” The first shadow guard asked the other.
        “Ugh, first, we spot the intruders,” said the most experienced one annoyed.
        “Ya, then?” the first one asked.
        “Second, we shout ‘HALT!’” the other guard said.
        “Ya, ya?” the first guard asked excitedly.
        “Then we kill them,” the second guard finished. The first one cheered and jumped around. He stopped jumping around when he saw his friend replaced with a black unicorn. Then a sudden weight descended onto him and crushed his back. Silver donned the first one’s armor. It was a little tight, but it worked. Onyx put on the other uniform. The two ponies had walked through the Everfree forest until they reached a temple-like place. There weren’t many guards guarding the perimeter, so they took out the ones guarding the stairs. Onyx assured Silver that this is the most likely place that an HQ would be set up.
        “Easy enough,” Silver said as he picked up the spear on the ground.
        “Don’t get cocky, those guards weren’t professional. That’s why they got outside duty. We might run into complications inside the structure. If so, we might need the armor,” Onyx said. Silver groaned. They slowly walked up the stairs and into the dark entrance. It was like a long mountain tunnel. It didn’t seem to end. In the distance, they could see a red glow. They hastened to the exit and soon found themselves in a large chamber. Guards walked to and fro, looking in every nook and cranny. In the middle was a large table. Around it were a couple of ponies in black robes. On the robes was only one symbol. A red dragon with large wings and horns. They were discussing something that Silver couldn’t hear.
        “Hey, you two. What are your numbers?” came a gruff voice behind them. Onyx and Silver reeled around to see a large stallion standing over them. He was carrying a large battle axe and had very heavy armor.
        “Uh... forty-two?” Onyx asked warily. The guard growled. Silver coughed.
        “Um... What’s your number?” Silver asked.
        “Three thousand fifty-six. I am the oldest guard here,” the guard growled. He turned to his friends. They laughed. “Looks like we have intruders boys,”
        The large guard shouted and raised the alarm. The ponies in black robes quickly fled, forgetting the documents they were discussing over. An arrow landed right next to Silver. Another nicked his shoulder plates.
        “Run!” Onyx shouted. He quickly ran into the tunnel. Silver was about to when the large guard landed right in front of him. 
        “Not your lucky day it seems,” The guard said menacingly. Silver looked left and right and shrugged. He jumped backwards and fell to the center of the layered temple. He remembered he had wings and used them to slow his descent. He landed right on the table and was about to run when he noticed the map and notes. He picked those up in his mouth and looked for an exit.
        “Silver!” Silver looked around to see the source of the voice. There was a blue flash and suddenly, in front of him was a blue unicorn. She pulled on the torch above her and ran right through the closed wall. Silver leaped forward and, without knowing why, pulled on the torch. Instead of coming out of its holder, it fell forward and the wall swung open. He was hesitant to go in there, but when he looked back to see the chaos of his and Onyx’s appearance, he dove into the tunnel as the wall closed. Almost immediately, the tunnel was pitch black. Silver lit up his horn to find his way through it. The walls were made of stone. The ground was damp and moss hung on the ceilings and walls. It seemed to go on forever, but as far as Silver could tell he couldn’t go back. He sighed and trekked forward.
        After what seemed like forever, the end of the long tunnel finally came. Silver dashed out of it happily and shed the disguise. The armor made no sound as it hit the soft grass. Silver held the map and notes firmly in his mouth and bolted into the forest. He had not gone far when he literally ran into Onyx.
        “Ow!” Onyx shouted, rubbing his head, “Silver! You’re back!” 
        “Yup, and I brought presents!” Silver exclaimed as he presented the souvenirs. Onyx took them and laid them on the ground. He sifted through them and gasped.
        “Silver! Do you know what you brought me?” Onyx asked hastily.
        “Not really. I just felt like they were important,” Silver admitted.
        “This map shows each Shadow altar and these notes explain how to activate them. If I’m reading these right... oh no...” Onyx trailed off as he reread one of the notes. Silver looked over his shoulder to read.
        “Nafarious... Chaos Dragon? Old God? Onyx, what is this saying?” Silver asked.
        “Nothing important now that we have these,” Onyx said, “You did marvelous, Silver! You gave the Guardians the upper hand against The Worshipers of the Old Gods! We can finally be one step ahead of them,” Onyx mused to himself. Silver grinned brightly.
        “I’m in,” Silver said after a moment.
        “What?” Onyx asked as he detached his gaze from the notes to Silver.
        “I’m in, I want to be a Guardian,” Silver said proudly.
        “After what we went through, I thought that you would be done,” Onyx said.
        “After what we went through made me want to join more. If there really is this kind of evil in Equestria, I want to stop it,” Silver explained, “It’s like I feel the need to do this,”
        “All right, I will talk to Marshall and Bluemane. After what you did, though, I doubt they would decline your offer. See me tomorrow at Sugar Cube Corner to hear their answer. Can you find your way back ok?” Onyx asked as he picked up the notes and map. Silver nodded and watched as Onyx left the clearing. Silver sat down for a moment, thinking of what just transpired. He shook his head and laughed. 
        After a while, he could hear shouts and orders being given. They were searching for him and Onyx. He quickly got to his hooves and plunged into the forest.

        Silver stumbled through the underbrush and tree roots. The forest, if it was possible, somehow got darker and stuffier. He could barely see his own hoof in front of his face. When he thought about having to sleep in this forest, another flash of blue appeared and the blue unicorn returned. Silver stepped forward, wanting to ask who she was. She waved her hoof as if saying, “Follow me,” She jumped over a root and led him through the forest. She seemed to glow and light up the area she was in so Silver had no problem following her. She occasionally looked over her shoulder to check and see if Silver was still following. For a reason he did not know, when she looked at him, he smiled. She smiled back and returned to leading him through the forest.
        It seemed like a dream to Silver, following this strange and beautiful pony through the Everfree forest. He seemed to float after her and watch her every movement. When she caught him staring at her, he looked away, embarrassed. She would giggle, but as if she was far away instead of right in front of him. She nimbly jumped over a root and opened so branches with her magic. Silver could spot the lights of Ponyville in the distance. Silver stopped right beside her.
        “Who are you?” he asked as if enchanted.
        “Somepony who will lead you through darkness and help you in your troubles. You will never be truly alone when you need friendship the most,” she answered back.
        “What’s your name?” Silver asked. She seemed to not want to answer.
        “You can call me Sapphire,” she said after a few moments. The memory he felt rise up while he touched the knife earlier seemed to try to rise again. All he could remember though was loud explosions, ponies shouting, and sadness. Before Silver could say anything, she disappeared right before his eyes. Instead of feeling loneliness, he felt something wholesome watching over him. After that and for some years to come, that feeling never left him.

        Silver stumbled into Ponyville. The ponies were all going home from whatever kept them busy throughout the day. Silver saw Applejack helping her sister pack up the booth. It seemed they managed to sell most of the apples that had been delivered to the stand. Applejack looked up and saw him. 
        “Silver!” she shouted and ran over to him, “What in tarnation happened after you and that unicorn ran into the Everfree forest?” she asked, concerned. Silver then proceeded to tell her all that happened. Applebloom listened as well. Her eyes grew big and there was wonder on her face.
        “Wow!” she shouted after he finished, “You really did all that? That sounded exciting!” 
        “Actually, it was really scary,” Silver admitted.
        “And your decision to join the Guardians?” Applejack asked.
        “I’m still going to join. I feel it’s my calling and that I should seize this opportunity,” Silver explained. Applejack shook her head and sighed. Silver helped them pack up the rest of the stand and carried some stuff back to the barn. After everything had been put away, Silver crawled into his bed and, after the excitement of the day, he fell asleep almost immediately.

        “Sapphire!” Silver greeted excitedly. She bounded over to him and tackled him in a hug. Silver hugged her back fiercely. “I never thought I would see you again!” he cried.
        “I told you I would come back, silly foal,” Sapphire replied.
        “But your team was trapped in the quarry and was surrounded. How did you escape?” Silver asked.
        “Just remember that I will never leave you,” Sapphire said kindly, “You are still so much like that little colt in school that was picked on by those bullies. He relied so much on my help that I became his guardian angel,” 
        “Remember who got you into the Guardians in the first place,” Silver joked.
        “Only because I still needed to protect you,” Sapphire explained. Tears stung Silver’s eyes as he hugged her again. His golden armor clanged against Sapphire’s.
        “I love you, so much,” Silver said softly.

> Mission Derailed
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guardian
Chapter 3: Mission Derailed

        Silver woke up when the sun shined in his eyes. He groaned and turned over in the bed. After a while, when he decided he couldn’t sleep anymore, he got out of bed and went outside to find everypony working again.
        “Hey, Applejack!” Silver called when he saw Applejack cross to another tree, “I’m heading into town to meet Onyx, I will be back later,” Silver said. Applejack waved a hoof. She then proceeded to buck the tree hard. Apples rained down out of it as it shook. Silver walked down the dirt road towards Ponyville. He felt different today. He felt more in tuned with the world. He could hear all the little critters running about, feel the slightest wind, and know when some pony was following him. He stopped and waited a few seconds. He could hear hoof steps right behind him. He blamed his imagination and kept walking to Ponyville.
        Silver arrived at the Sugar Cube Corner right as it opened. He saw Pinkie Pie flip the closed sign to opened. When she spied him, she shouted and gave an excited wave with her hoof. She opened to door for Silver as he stepped in.
        “Hi, Silver! I heard you were meeting somepony here! This is a great meeting place after all. Here you can eat, chat, play, and sing. Mrs. Cake doesn’t like ponies singing too loud though,” Pinkie explained. Silver chuckled.
        “Yea, I’m here to meet Onyx. He is going to tell me if I made it into the Guardians or not,” Silver said. Right then, the black unicorn walked through the door. He nodded to Pinkie Pie and turned to Silver.
        “All right, you’re in. We have to be quick though, Marshall wants all the Guardians in the area to go to a meeting at our HQ just outside of Ponyville. Follow me and I will lead the way,” Onyx said as he turned around to go back outside. Silver cocked his head quizzically, but followed. The morning air was a bit chilly. Silver guessed that autumn was not far off. Onyx led the way. They passed out of Ponyville and followed a dirt trail into a nearby forest. It wasn’t the Everfree forest, for it had a more wholesome air about it. The trees were thinner and weren’t so close. The grass was a bright green and there were a lot of spots that sunlight came through. 
        “I hope you save room for food. Marshall plans to serve lunch during the meeting,” Onyx said.
        “Well...” Silver thought for a second, “I haven’t eaten since yesterday afternoon. So ya, I’m hungry,” Silver concluded. His stomach rumbled in agreement. In the distance, Silver could see a wooden building. There were very few windows and only one door. There were no remarkable features on the outside of it. Onyx held the door open as soon as they got there, Silver stepped inside. There was a long table and several ponies already sat at it. Silver nodded and sat down next to Onyx. 
        “Well, it seems like everypony is here,” Marshall said as he stood up. He walked to the head of the table and laid out the same map and notes Silver had retrieved last night. “Let’s welcome our newest recruit, Silver. Without him, we would not have these important plans,” Marshall introduced. At first, Silver smiled. There were a few congratulations thrown out. One white furred and black maned pegasus, though, gave him a suspicious stare. Silver stopped smiling and hoped Marshall would continue. Fortunately, almost at once Marshall pulled out the map.
        “This map tells us where each of the shadow altars are hidden,” Marshall explained. For a second, Silver zoned out as images flitted across his vision. Dark caves, glowing red statues, purple gems shooting beams into the sky.
        “... near Appleloosa is one of these altars. We will travel there immediately. As of last week, we lost contact with our branch that was posted there and we never heard from them sense,” Marshall continued, “We will send three teams of two to scout out the region. Onyx and Silver will be team one,” Marshall pointed his hoof at them, “Dark and Angel you are team two,” Marshall pointed at a full white unicorn and the pony who gave Silver the suspicious look, “Finally, Rubystone and Bluemane will be team three,” Marshall finished. Onyx tapped Silver on the shoulder and nodded towards the door. Silver got up and followed, but was blocked by Dark.
        “I don’t know how you got those documents so easily, but I have my eye on you,” Dark sneered. Silver cocked his head. He knew he was going to regret saying this.
        “Why not both eyes?” Silver asked as he walked out.

        “Ok, so since we don’t have anything to pack, we will head to the train right now and get first pick at the beds,” Onyx said as they walked through Ponyville. 
        “Aren’t they all the same?” Silver asked confused.
        “Trust me, there are some that are more comfortable than others,” Onyx said with a smile. Silver chuckled as they walked by three fillies fighting with one another. All Silver could get out of that was “Cutie Mark” and “Horrible idea” and so on. The train rested at the southern end of Ponyville and the station. It was prepped and ready for the Guardians to ride.
        “If I heard right, we might be accompanied by three of Princess Celestia’s diplomats. If anything went wrong with the buffalo that live near Appleloosa, they can handle it peacefully,” Onyx said as they walked into the train. It was as empty as a graveyard at the moment. The inside was mostly green. Green carpet, wallpaper, and even sheets. The wooden paneling seemed due for a shining and it smelled of old linen. 
        “Buffalo?” Silver asked as Onyx inspected some beds thoroughly. 
        “Yea, apparently, there was some dispute between the Applelossians and the native Buffalo. It was settled nice and easily before much damage was done. I’m guessing this is just a precaution so that we don’t make things worse. Like the Princess has never trusted this guild before...” Onyx trailed off as he inspected some more beds.
        “Who is Princess Celestia, by the way?” Silver asked as he check some beds too.
        “You really do have amnesia, don’t you? She is the pony that rules Equestria alongside her sister, Princess Luna. Celestia raises the sun while Luna raises the moon. They live in Canterlot in the mountains not too far from Ponyville,” Onyx explained, “She is actually an alicorn, like you,”
        “Huh,” Silver said simply. Onyx found some choice beds near the middle of the train and called the top bunk. Silver shrugged and took the bottom one. Soon after, the rest of the Guardians boarded the train and took the beds near Silver and Onyx. “So, do we know who these diplomats are?” Silver asked as he looked out the window. The train started to slowly accelerate so he guessed everypony was aboard.
        “Nope, complete mystery. We aren’t even allowed to interact with them,” Onyx said. Just then, a cart full of food came in. Silver received a grass sandwich and Onyx got a salad. Silver ate his sandwich thoughtfully. Not too thoughtfully, though. Some of his concentration went to holding it up with his magic. Once he was done, it was already nearly dark outside. The days were starting to get a bit shorter. Silver could hear snoring above him which indicated Onyx was unconscious. Silver yawned and curled up in his bed. For a second, before he fell asleep, he heard a voice in the back of his mind.
        “Protect my most faithful student,” the voice said. Silver nodded absently and fell asleep afterwards.

        In his dream, he was on a small island. Instead of water, there was darkness surrounding it. Silver backed to the middle and huddled against the palm tree. Suddenly, the whole world shook. After a moment it shook again. The island started crumbling underneath him.
        Silver’s eyes flew open as he was thrown to the floor of the train. A split second later, Onyx fell on top of him. The whole train car was in chaos as the Guardians tried to figure out what to do.
        “What the hay is happening?!” Silver heard Onyx yell.
        “It’s the buffalo!” Dark shouted back. The train car shook again.Silver pushed Onyx off of him and ran to the window. Sure enough, several buffalo were on the right side of the train, barreling into the train cars. Silver was thrown back and hit the opposite bunk. 
        “We need to help the diplomats!” Silver shouted as he went to search for them.
        “We can’t!” Dark shouted back, “We aren’t allowed to-”
        “I know what we aren’t allowed to do!” Silver snapped as he turned and faced Dark. Silver felt a sudden protectiveness on some ponies he never met, “Just shut up and figure out how to get these buffalo away from the train. I will find the diplomats,” Silver didn’t wait for a reply as he left the train car. He went from car to car, but nopony was to be found. Only one car before he had to go back. Silver could year shouting behind the door when the train car was hit. Before he could open the door, however, his car was hit again and he was thrown to the ground. Silver got back up and growled. He was not going anywhere with those buffalo hitting the car. He doubled back between his car and the one behind him. He quickly scaled the ladder and jumped onto the roof.
        From what Silver saw, the buffalo lined up along the train cars while the ponies pulling the train tried to go faster. He could see Onyx firing bolts of magic from a window, but it was too long of a range to score a hit. Silver was about to move to the other car, his wings stretched out to balance him, somepony flew out of the car and landed on the roof. When Silver saw who it was, he gasped.
        “Rainbow Dash?!” Silver half asked, half shouted over the roar of the train.
        “Silver?!” Rainbow Dash turned to him, in an aggressive stance. Silver felt like if he took a step back, he would fall off the train. “Did you plan this?!” Rainbow Dash accused.
        “What?!” Silver was surprised and a little hurt at the accusation, “What do you think?! Me coming to try to save you and whoever else is with you!” 
        “We don’t need saving!” Rainbow Dash shouted back. Silver looked to the side and stared in horror. The buffalo all moved in one line. The pulled back, and then charged the train. The cars suddenly flipped, sending Silver and Rainbow Dash flying. Silver hit the ground with a thump and remembered nothing more except for extreme pain.

        Silver groaned as he came back into consciousness. His whole body hurt and there was sand everywhere in his fur. Silver officially hated deserts. He rolled over to see the wreckage of the train. He quickly got up, in protest from his muscles, and ran over tot he train. He searched everywhere, but not even bodies were to found. Silver coughed from the dry air and sat down. He felt miserable all over. 
        “Feeling miserable doesn’t help,” Sapphire appeared right beside him, sitting down too. Silver jumped at her voice.
        “Seriously, how are you doing this?” Silver asked. Sapphire ignored him.
        “You need help. Look in the most unlikeliest of places,” Sapphire said. Silver stared at her puzzled. Sapphire disappeared and revealed Rainbow Dash lying on the ground, unconscious. Silver jumped onto his hooves and ran over to her. She didn’t seem hurt on the outside, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t anything wrong internally. Silver looked around, but nothing seemed much of use.
        “Uh... Rainbow Dash?” Silver asked, “Rainbow Dash?” he asked a little louder. Rainbow Dash groaned. Good, she wasn’t dead. “Are you ok?” Silver asked.
        “What do you think?” Dash asked after a moment. Silver huffed and sat on the ground. Dash slowly got to her hooves and looked at him annoyed. 
        “Well excuse me for caring. Anyway, anything hurt or broken?” Silver asked. Dash shook her head and started walking north. “Where are you going?” Silver asked.
        “To pay the buffalo a visit,” Dash said shortly over her shoulder. Silver jumped up and ran after her. “What are you doing?” Rainbow Dash asked angrily. Silver sighed and wondered why Sapphire thought this was a good idea.
        “Helping my friends, same as you. Anything wrong with that?” Silver asked sarcastically. Rainbow Dash snorted and walked faster. Silver kept the same pace. 
        Soon, night had fallen on the desert and Silver could barely see three feet in front of him. Rainbow Dash just kept going.
        “Shouldn’t we stop? It’s getting dark,” Silver asked as he ran to catch up to her.
        “If we want to get there sooner, we have to keep going,” Dash said sternly, though Silver could hear the weariness in her voice. He sighed.
        “We wouldn’t be much use to our friends if we fall asleep standing. Come on, let’s go find a place to rest,” Silver said nicely. Dash stopped. She lay on the ground right where she stood. Silver looked around to only see barren wasteland. “I guess this is as good a place as any,” Silver muttered as he ventured to find firewood. When he came back with a bundle of dead wood, he found Dash lying on her side. He thought she was asleep, so he silently made the fire by shooting a bolt of magic into the wood to light it. He made sure it was close enough to Rainbow Dash and walked a little ways off. He sat against a rock and stared up into the sky, looking at the stars.
        “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Sapphire asked. Silver nearly screamed he was so surprised. he sighed.
        “Stop doing that,” he said angrily.
        “Sorry, Silver. I can’t help how I appear,” Sapphire said calmly. Silver sighed again.
        “Why am I stuck with Rainbow Dash? She hates my guts for whatever reason and I don’t know why. I’d rather be with Twilight. She is so... so...” Silver couldn’t find the words.
        “Beautiful, like the stars?” Sapphire asked. Silver shrugged and nodded. “Maybe you should get to know Rainbow Dash better, then she might tell you what’s bothering her,” Sapphire suggested.
        “Are you going to be a spirit guide kind of thing?” Silver asked jokingly.
        “That would be weird, considering what happened between us,” Sapphire laughed. Before Silver could ask what, she vanished. Silver found himself standing up and walking back towards the fire. Dash was still asleep as he lay down across of her from the fire. He tried to figure out what might have happened, but he couldn’t guess what he did. He sighed.
        “I wish I could read minds,” Silver muttered as he slowly fell asleep.

        Silver found himself in a large grassy field with only one tall tree filled with golden leaves. The sky was a glowing blue-white. The sun was a perfect gold. The breeze seemed to be just right for what he wanted it to be. He sat there for a second, thinking of where me might be. There was a flash, and Sapphire was sitting near by under the tree. She patted her hoof on  he ground beside her indicating for him to sit there. Silver went over and sat down beside her. Many emotions were going through him. It felt like another memory trying to escape.
        “Don’t try to catch it, let it come to you,” Sapphire said gently. Silver stopped trying to reveal his memory and waited. Soon, images flash through his mind. Him at his birthday party when he was just a colt. Fighting some bullies at school. Learning how to fly from his pegasus mother. Learning how to use magic from his unicorn father. Having to choose between flight school and magic school. Silver had to catch his breath after the memories ended. 
        “Wow...” was all that Silver could say.
        “Yes, you had an amazing life before...” Sapphire trailed off.
        “Before what?” Silver turned to her.
        “Before the war. Between the Shadowshapers and Lightbringers,” Sapphire said sadly.
        “What happened in it? How was I a part of it?” Silver asked. Sapphire shook her head.
        “Some memories are better to be left forgotten,” she said.
        “What did I do? What happened? Why are you dodging this question?” Silver asked frustratedly. He stood up and turned to her.
        “I am not your enemy, Silver,” Sapphire said sternly.
        “Then who are you?” Silver half asked, half shouted.
        “Somepony who loves you,” Sapphire said. Before Silver could react, he was drawn out of his dream suddenly.

        Silver slowly opened his eyes. The sun was hot and the air was dry. When he sat up, he saw that Rainbow Dash was gone. Silver sighed and kicked sand on the fire. Looked like he would have to face the buffalo by himself. Before he was about to leave, he heard the flapping of wings and looked up into the sky. Past the glare, he could see a sky blue pony with a rainbow mane. He smiled as Rainbow Dash descended to the ground, looking quite pleased with herself.
        “What are you smiling about?” She asked, but it wasn’t scornfully, but playfully.
        “I’m glad you came back, wouldn’t want to go into the buffalo camp by myself, so what were you up to?” Silver asked. He wondered what made Dash act so... non hostile. 
        “I just went to do some scouting. The camp is just up ahead. It seems that the buffalo aren’t to blame. A weird altar was shinning with a red glow in the middle of their camp and a pony wearing black robes was ordering them around,” Rainbow Dash explained, “I would have gone in by myself, but I knew it would have turned out bad so I came back to get you,”
        “Well I thank you for that, let’s get going,” Silver said. He and Dash hiked to the camp.

        “I have been meaning to ask...” Silver started, “Um... it might seem to be a weird question right now, but what made you so hostile to me when we first met?” Silver asked. Rainbow Dash just looked away.
        “It’s kind of personal,” She said. Silver was about to point out that it was his business too, but he kept his mouth shut. He didn’t want her being like that again. As they got close to the camp, Silver could pick out Teepee's in the distance. 
        “So, what’s the plan?” Silver asked. Rainbow Dash didn’t answer. Silver could see her head turn slightly to the left and right like she was looking for something. Silver cocked his head and stopped. When she saw he stopped, she turned around with a quizzical glance. Silver felt like something was off. There wasn’t any activity in the camp like Rainbow Dash had said there was.
        “Something wrong? Let’s get going,” she said anxiously.
        “It’s a trap!” Silver heard Sapphire’s voice shout.
        “Dash!” Silver yelled as he was tackled by two large buffalo. He tried to fight them off, but they held his hooves to the ground. He shot a magic bolt out and knocked one off. He used his back left hoof to kick the other in the gut and throw him off. He tried to get back up, but he was ambushed by more buffalo. A rock hit him in the back of the head and he knew no more.

        

> Rage
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guardian
Chapter 4: Rage

Silver awoke in a small room. In front of him was a gate with square holes emitting light. The floor was just sand in in the corner was a skeleton. Silver inched away from the skeleton. Outside he could hear murmuring. The back of his head hurt like a boulder had been smashed upon it. Silver coughed as he got up and tried to peer out of the gate. He could see what looked like an arena and all around it where seats filled with buffalo.
“Looks like our challenger is awake!” a voice shouted. It seemed to be magnified somehow. A second later, the gate slowly opened, creaking as it disappeared into the roof. Silver took a step back, but then walked forward, trying to breathe evenly as he exited. When he came out, the bright sun blinded him for a second. When the glare disappeared, everywhere he looked there were buffalo. For a second, he thought he was about to be in the fight of his life, but the hushed silence told him different. In the “front” of the arena, he could see a pony dressed in black robes. A horn stuck out from under his hood. Next to the pony was an old decrepit buffalo with a large crown looking headdress upon his head. Silver assumed that was the chief. Next to the chief, he saw a small female buffalo. She seemed sad and apathetic. “Announce yourself, challenger,” the pony in the black robes said. Again, it seemed his voice was magnified. Silver then saw that the pony’s horn was glowing slightly.
“I am Silver of the Guardian Guild,” Silver shouted. His voice seemed weak compared to the black robed pony, “and I would like it if you announced yourself too,”
“Hahaha,” the pony laughed, “since it might be the only chance you would ever hear it, I will humor your demand, though very rude. I am Nighthawke, Chief Thunderhoof’s assistant, isn’t that right, sir?” The Chief just gave a groan. He seemed weak, tired, and the quality of life had left him. The small female buffalo looked at Nighthawke angrily. Silver’s eyes descended to below Nighthawke. His eyes widened when he saw Onyx and the other Guardian in one cage, and Applejack, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash in the other.
“What have you done with my friends?!” Silver shouted at Nighthawke.
“What have I done with them? Nothing, my good stallion. I just made sure they didn’t miss the show,” Nighthawke said mockingly. He brought out a cane and tapped it against the bell to his right. The other gate opened. Nothing came out of it though. “Sorry, Silver, he is a little shy. He’s coming though,” Nighthawke apologized. After he said that, there was a roar from inside the gate. After a moment, out stepped something Silver didn’t guess he would ever see. It seemed like a buffalo, but it was a dark purple with black stripes along its back. After it got out of the gate, it seemed to grow until it was three times Silver’s size. Silver took a step back as the big hulking creature stepped towards him.
“Watch out, Silver! Nighthawke is a Shadowshaper!” Silver heard Onyx shout.
“A what now?!” Silver asked. Sapphire told him about a war between these Lightbringers and Shadowshapers. Was Nighthawke connected somehow.
“A Shadowshaper my dear stallion,” Nighthawke said, “when I found out you still lived, I just couldn’t pass up the chance to kill you myself,”
“When I still lived?! What are you talking about?!” Silver shouted back, conscious of the monster across the arena.
“Oh ho ho,” Nighthawke laughed, “Seems like the little Lightbringer has some amnesia. You don’t remember anything, do you General?”
“What?!” Silver was getting frustrated. He didn’t know what anypony was talking about.
“When I felt your presence in Equestria, I wanted to make sure you would end up somewhere Celestia wouldn’t meddle with my affairs. I then told your little rainbow maned friend you were a danger to Equestria and that she should bring you to me. That’s when I cause a little trouble out here to make sure you came. This morning, when Rainbow Dash came over to tell me you were right outside the camp, I told her to bring you into my wonderfully made trap. Of course I lied to her, gullible foal,” Nighthawke sneered. Rainbow Dash looked at the ground, sorrowfully. “Now it’s time to get rid of the pest that stands between me and ruling Equestria,” he turned to the giant buffalo in the arena, “Excuse me, Clyde, can you kill that pony over there, if you could be a geantlecolt.” The monster snorted and roared again. Silver was nearly thrown back from just the sound. He used his wings to balance himself. The monster started to charge.
“What do I do?” Silver asked himself as he slowly backed up. His tail between his legs and his ears flat on his head.
“Like you used to, fight,” He heard Sapphire say. There was a blue flash and suddenly, a memory flooded his mind. It was a couple of attack and defence spells. He remembered learning them at a school of magic. The buffalo, the one Nighthawke called Clyde, charged Silver. Silver nimbly jumped to the side and fired a golden beam of magic. It struck the large monster in the side. It roared angrily and tore off a piece of the arena wall. It tossed it at Silver. He rolled out of the way just in time. He fired another beam and hit the monster right between the eyes it roared again and charged. Silver couldn’t get out of the way in time and was headbutted across the arena. He hit the far wall and fell to the ground. He shakily got up and saw it charging again. This time, he did a spell that caused a golden shield to appear in front of him. When the buffalo hit it, it held the monster back. The buffalo hit it several times until it shattered like glass. The buffalo in the stands cheered. Silver’s concentration was broken so he was dazed for a second. He was picked up by his tail and thrown into the stands. 
“Get off me!” He heard a buffalo cry and then Silver was thrown back into the arena. Silver rolled onto his back. Above him, he saw the giant skull of a creature of some kind. It was triangle shaped and it had two horns coming off of it.
“Time to use my wings,” Silver said to himself. The monster charged him again, but this time Silver was ready. He rolled onto his hooves, leaped into the air, and ran along the beast’s back. Then Silver jumped into the air and started to flap his wings furiously. Soon, eh started to rise towards the skull.
“Hey, that’s cheating,” he heard Nighthawke say calmly. Several dark purple bolts of magic were shot at Silver. Some spears were also hurdled into the air, but Silver was just out of range even for the best throwers. Silver landed on top of the skull and looked for the ropes holding it up. Sure enough, he found them on the sides of the top of the skull. He used his magic to cut through one. It snapped instantly and the skull shook and fell a little bit. He cut another, than another. The last one was barely holding the skull up.
“This is going to hurt so, so bad...” Silver muttered. He took a deep breath and cut the last one. It snapped and the whole thing came crashing down. Fortunately, the giant buffalo was under it the whole time, trying to jump and get Silver. Before the skull hit the ground, he heard cries from the buffalo and Nighthawke shouting orders. When the skull hit the ground, dust erupted into the air and clouded the whole arena. When it cleared, the buffalo peeked out from their cover to see the remains of the skull. For a second, the giant buffalo lay twitching under it, then it burst into purple and black smoke. On the side where Nighthawke was, Silver lay under some of the debris.
“Get that little trouble maker and bring him to my hall, err, Chief Thunderhoof’s hall,” Nighthawke ordered. Four buffalo went warily to Silver, but the caution wasn’t necessary. Silver had gone unconscious as soon as the first of the debris landed on him.

Silver was floating in a dark void. He flipped through the “air” not knowing what to do. There was a blue flash, then Sapphire was floating beside him.
“Good afternoon,” Sapphire said.
“Where am I?” Silver asked as he looked around.
“In what your sub-conscious constructed to make it look like your sub-conscious,” Sapphire explained. Silver found no words no express his confusion.
“Anyway... What was that pony... Nighthawke, what was Nighthawke talking about me being a Lightbringer and a General all about,” Silver asked.
“You will learn soon enough,” Sapphire said.
“Why not now?” Silver asked.
“Because some things are better learned later than sooner. You have to learn how to walk before you run. If I told you everything now, history would most likely repeat itself and we would soon be in the same problem,” Sapphire said sternly.
“Well then... What now?” Silver asked.
“I think it’s about time for you to wake up,” Sapphire said.
“Wait... about what you said in my dream... about you loving me?” Silver asked.
“In due time,” Sapphire said. She smiled and waved. Silver groaned and waited to wake up.

Silver was being dragged by his tail across the sand. He opened his eyes and started to struggled out of the grip of his captor.
“Look who’s awake,” the buffalo said as they dropped him. Silver stood up and pushed them out of his way. He stepped into the tepee they had stopped at. Inside was furnished with a nice carpet, a bed, and two chairs. Upon the chairs sat Nighthawke and Chief Thunderhoof. Next to the chief was the same female buffalo. The chief seemed decrepit as always. Nighthawke had a smug look about him. The little buffalo seemed to be sulky. 
After a moment, Nighthawke cleared his throat, “You managed to defeat Clyde and destroy the arena’s most prized trophy. The skull of a chaos dragon,”
“Chaos dragon?” Silver asked.
“Yes, a chaos dragon is part demon and part dragon. No need to delve into specifics right now,” Nighthawke waved his hoof. Soon, Onyx and Twilight were pushed into the tepee. Onyx stepped up in front of Silver as Twilight stood beside him.
“Nighthawke. It seems you have taken hold of the proud Chief Thunderhoof. How’d you do it? Or was it your master?” Onyx asked. Nighthawke slowly stood up out of his chair.
“How dare you, traitor. I should have you killed and be done with you,” Nighthawke said quietly. Silver’s muscles tensed up. He knew something was about to happen and Onyx would need his help. Onyx’s horn started to glow. He turned to the chief and suddenly, the chief started to laugh a maniacal laugh.
“This one is mine,” the Chief said. His voice was strangely distorted and the sound sent chills up Silver’s spine. “He will die before I release him, and you shall go with him,”
“You will not kill me, and you will not kill Chief Thunderhoof,” Onyx commanded. Suddenly, a purple and black beam shot out of his horn and slammed the chief back into his chair. Nighthawke leaped at Onyx, but Silver was there to intercept him. They rolled on the ground and tore a hole in the side of the tepee. The sprawled out on the ground outside. Nighthawke jumped to his hooves and shot several lances of magic at Silver. Silver rolled out of the way and shot a beam. It knocked Nighthawke back several feet. He put a hoof on Nighthawke’s chest.
“You aren’t going anywhere,” Silver said. Nighthawke glared at him. Silver smiled triumphantly back. Nighthawke started to laugh crazily. Silver’s grin faded into a look of suspicion. “What are you u-” Silver was interrupted by a beam of magic Nighthawke shot at him. Silver flew back onto the ground. Nighthawke jumped up and ran out of the camp, leaving a trail of dust behind him.
“Silver! You ok?” Twilight asked as she ran to him. Silver groaned as he got up.
“That was a cheap shot,” Silver said angrily.
“Well, your friend, Onyx, broke Chief Thunderhoof free from some spell. Already the Chief is turning back to normal,” Twilight explained.
“That’s good. Now about that altar...” Silver trailed off as he spotted it just a few feet away. He went over to it and examined it. On it were faded markings that Silver couldn’t make out. He saw the red crystal floating right over it.
“Uh... Silver?” Twilight asked nervously.
“What’s up?” Silver asked. He looked around to see the buffalo slowly surrounding them. Silver’s eyes widened. He looked around frantically for something, anything, that would calm these buffalo. He spotted the crystal and spied waves of red firing off of it. He shrugged. He had nothing to lose by doing this. He stood back and charged up a beam. Twilight had been backing up and now she was against the altar. The buffalo drew in close. Silver unleashed the charged beam right at the crystal. Suddenly, there was a sound of an unnatural screech that filled the air, then the crystal shuddered and exploded. Silver covered his face and Twilight covered hers. They were swept off their hooves and thrown back.
When Silver came to, buffalo stood over him looking at him quizzically.
“Need some help there?” One of them asked. When Silver didn’t answer them, the helped him up and walked him over to the tepee. When Silver stepped inside, he was greeted by the Chief himself. This time, though, his fur was a dark brown and he was no longer sick or bent over. The female buffalo seemed happier to and she sat proudly in the chair next to Chief Thunderhoof.
“Ah, Silver. My people told me of what happened and I am sorry. While I was under that... spell. I didn’t recall much. When I heard what you did in the arena, I was surprised. And for also destroying that blasted altar, you have my thanks. You too, Onyx,” he said turning to Onyx who had been standing off to the side, “You freed me of the spell and gave me back my youth. I have a great debt to you two that I might never be able to repay,” The Chief bowed low. Silver and Onyx both bowed back.
“Now,” the Chief said, “I think the rest of your friends are back in Appleloosa. We also freed the Appleloosians that Nighthawke had captured and they were sent back to their town. Now I must tend to business that cannot be delayed, thank you once again,”
“Anytime, Chief Thunderhoof,” Silver said. He and Onyx were shown out of the tepee and soon found themselves in Appleloosa. When they got to the train station, they found the tracks had already been cleared of the wreck and another train was waiting to take them back home. When they got on, it seemed the trains didn’t differ much. Everything was the same, except for the red coloring instead of the green. 
“Hey, um, Silver,” Somepony said. Silver turned around to see Rainbow Dash standing behind him. Onyx nodded and kept moving back as Silver walked over to Rainbow Dash.
“Hey, Dash,” Silver said.
“I’m sorry... for everything. Nighthawke lied to me and somehow I believed him. Even when i saw you do things that contradicted every thing he said, I was still willing to believe him. When I learned that he had lied to me, I couldn’t forgive myself. I... I hope you can,” Rainbow Dash looked at the ground. She seemed miserable and sincere. The usual proud pony at her lowest. Silver was tempted to go off on her for getting him attacked, but then, something came over him. He felt lightheaded for a moment, then a cool understanding took place over the rage. “Silver?” Rainbow Dash asked as he swayed a bit.
“I’m ok,” Silver said. He smiled, “There is nothing to forgive. If I thought my town, friends, anything I held dear was in danger, I would do anything to prevent anything bad from happening. But I’m in need of a favor when we get home,” Silver said.
“What do you need?” Dash asked.
“I heard you were the fastest and best flyer in all of Equestria. I was hoping for some lessons. It seems my skill in flying is lacking and I need a pro to help me better it,” Silver said with a grin. Rainbow Dash’s expression changed as fast as lightning from sad to boastful.
“I guess I am the best flyer in Equestria,” She said proudly, “I’ll consider it...” she trailed off as Silver arched an eyebrow, “I mean, consider it done. I’m available anytime I’m not on weather duty,” she finished as she quickly walked to the back of the train. Silver chuckled and shook his head.
“Thanks, Sapphire. I might have said something I would have regretted,” Silver said to himself. 

During the train ride home, Silver and Onyx discussed what had just happened.
“...the Chief told me the altar just appeared out of no where late at night. They started messing with it, and of course, activated it and made the whole tribe hostile. These altars have a weird effect on creatures. I’m surprise it didn’t effect you at all,” Onyx finished. Silver wondered why, then he remembered the desire of shouting at Rainbow Dash after she apologized to him. He wasn’t one to let loose his temper. He shrugged.
“I guess, so now Dash is no longer hostile towards me which is a good thing,” Silver said, “This is probably the start of a glorious friendship,”
“Most likely,” Onyx said. He rolled over in his bunk and went to bed. Silver turned off the light and rolled over in his bed. Night seemed to soothe him. He wished he was nocturnal. Weariness soon came over him and he closed his eyes to sleep.

Silver stood on a giant cliff over looking a dark blue ocean. The sky was grey and the rock was charred. Silver turned around to behold a weird sight. An alicorn that looked just like him stood off to the left. The pony had barred teeth and anger in his eyes. His fur and mane were a dark red.
“I’ll get them. I’ll get them soon. I don’t know who ‘they’ are but I’ll get them for what they did,” the pony muttered. Silver stared at him until the pony noticed his presence. “So, you’re finally here,” the pony said. He then laughed at Silver’s confused expression, “You still don’t get it yet?! I’m you and you’re me. I’m the anger the resides inside of you and every day I’m tormented by all of your bottled up hate and anger and rage! Let it out, it will make you feel better. We can bring justice and peace with the raw power of rage!”
“I highly doubt it,” Silver said as he slowly started backing up. He noticed five other shadows around the rage infested copy of him.
“Those guys will come along soon. After each and every altar,” the pony, which Silver dubbed as Rage, said. Rage then went back muttering hateful things to himself as he looked around. 
“What is going on here?” Silver asked himself.

Silver woke up in the morning. Cold sweat poured down his back. The train had just arrived back in Ponyville and almost everypony was off. Silver jumped out of his bunk and ran outside to see Onyx talking with Dark. When Silver came up, Dark snorted and left. 
“He seems in a good mood,” Silver said to Onyx, “Anyway, why didn’t anypony wake me up?”
“You didn’t want to be,” Onyx said, “When we got close to Ponyville, I tried waking you up, but you groaned and hit me in the nose,”
“Sorry about that,” Silver said. Just then, Marshall walked over to them. He seemed deeply disturbed in some way.
“Is it done?” Marshall asked.
“Yea... but there are five more, aren’t there?” Silver asked.
“Yes, we just needed to figure out how to destroy the one before the others to see how to do it,” Marshall said.
“But won’t the other one’s be different or harder to get close to?” Silver asked.
“We don’t know that yet, I’m sending special teams to each one to find out,” Marshall said.
“No, I mean, why can’t Onyx and I do it?” Silver asked. He was surprised he was even saying this, “we have the most experience with these things and having both a Lightbringer and a Shadowshaper working on it will go faster than teams of Guardians,”
“What are you talking about, Silver?” Marshall asked.
“We have some things to discuss,” Onyx said.

After Silver and Onyx told Marshall of their adventure, he went to the map of Equestria and stared intently at it. Silver thought he detected a hint of what? Sorrow? The moment passed and Marshall came back to the table.
“Why didn’t you tell us you were a...”
“Lightbringer? Well gee if I knew I would have told you. But I didn’t much less of who or what one is,” Silver said. He was getting frustrated from his lack of memory. He was also getting frustrated with Sapphire who refused to tell him anything.
“Don’t get short with me. You got your wish, you and Onyx will go to each altar and destroy the crystal powering them. Since it didn’t seem to effect you, you will get close and destroy the crystals, Silver.” Marshall ordered.
“Can we at least have a few days to rest, sir?” Onyx asked, “I would like to be in Ponyville for a few days before we have to leave again,”
“Sure, five days from now you will set out to...” Marshall looked at the map Silver had stolen, “Manehatten. There the altar should be in one of the hotels called ‘The Lotus Flower’,”
“Got it, see you in a few days,” Onyx said getting up. Silver got up and left with Onyx. When they left, Marshall sighed and went through one of the many doors in the HQ. Bluemane was sitting with her back to the door, looking out of the window to the forest beyond. She wrote something down.
“You got that?” Marshall asked.
“Yes, and what I think you’re doing to him is wrong,” Bluemane said with a hint of anger.
“What I’m doing to him is what his ancestor did to bring peace to Equestria for centuries. He is the last of his line and if we don’t do this right we shouldn’t even be doing it at all,” Marshall said sternly as he opened the window to let in the cool breeze.
“We might be pushing him a bit too hard. It took Silverwing the Lightbringer decades to master the gems of Destruction to use their rightful power, contradictory to their name. You want Silver to master them in months. We might break him and kill him, or worse. Where will we be then?” Bluemane asked as she got up from the chair.
“Where will we be if he doesn’t master them in time? Nafarious will do what the gems didn’t if Silver didn’t master them. Nafarious is what makes me want to rush this,” Marshall explained quietly.
“Nafarious can be defeated by Silver even if he doesn’t use the gems’ power. Nafarious will not rule this world as long as a Lightbringer yet lives,” Bluemane reassured.
“I’m afraid that She would try to fix that,” Marshall said sadly.
“Don’t worry, we will look after him. He is family after all,” Bluemane said.
> Depression 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guardian
Chapter 5: Depression

Silver walked alongside Onyx as they left the HQ. He hummed to himself as they walked the forest trail back to Ponyville.
“Well, so we have a few days before we head out to do assignments you volunteered us for. Might as well buy you dinner also,” Onyx said.
“I don’t see the problem. At least we have something to do for the next while,” Silver said as he spied an odd looking rock. He flipped it over to reveal earthworms crawling under it. He chuckled and caught back up to Onyx.
“The problem is that the Rage altar somehow effected you and I tend to find out how before we go for the next one,” Onyx said.
“How do you know it effected me or not?” Silver asked.
“I can tell,” Onyx said stopping to look at Silver intently,” I have studied this sort of thing for years. Keep your emotions in check and if you feel anything unnatural that you suspect to be from the altar, come talk to me,”
“Of course. But I doubt that anything horrible will happen anytime soon, so let’s enjoy our few days off and do stuff we need to do before we leave. I have a few things in mind that I’d like to do,” Silver said as he saw Ponyville in the distance, “Like build a cloud home for example somewhere just outside Ponyville. I heard clouds were good for the back,”
“Do what you want, within reason,” Onyx quickly added, “As for me, I’m going to study up on those altars. I might have missed some information that could be helpful,”
“Have fun!” Silver shouted over his shoulder as he parted from Onyx.

Silver went for a nice quick walk through Ponyville as the sun shone high in the sky. It was a pleasant day that wasn’t too hot or too cold. The very air seemed to be delighted of this day. As Silver walked through Ponyville, he saw Twilight Sparkle out under a tree, reading a book. Silver smiled and looked at her for a second. The sun shone just right... Silver shook his head. He walked over to her. She didn’t notice his presence until his shadow blocked the words.
“Excuse me, could you mo- Oh, Silver! Hi!” Twilight said as she looked up. 
“Hey, Twilight. Was just in the neighborhood and noticed you out here by yourself. What book are you reading?” Silver asked as he tried to get a peek at the title.
“It’s kind of silly, but I’m reading a book on ancient rituals,” Twilight said embarrassed.
“Oh? That’s not silly, given the events of yesterday,” Silver said as he looked back up, “Onyx is actually reading up on these things too, if I understood correctly. He’s preparing for our trip to Manehatten soon, so we-”
“You’re going to Manehatten?!” Twilight interrupted, “What for?” 
“There seems to be another altar in one of the hotels. From what I gathered by looking at the map, there are four more just like it, excluding the one we just destroyed, and we need to destroy those as well. Onyx and I are assigned to deal with all of them,” Silver explained.
“When will you leave?” Twilight asked, concerned.
“Five days from now. When we deal with the next altar I suspect we get another break and so on,” Silver said.
“Ok. Well I hope you’ll be careful, I have a bad feeling about those things,” Twilight said.
“Sure I will. Anyway, I will leave you to your book,” Silver said as he walked away. He wished they had a longer talk, but it couldn’t be helped he guessed. He had just passed the library when he was hit by what felt like a speeding bullet. He flipped end over end and fell to the ground.
“Again, Rainbow Dash?” Silver groaned as he got up. The rainbow maned pony jumped to her hooves and smiled awkwardly.
“Sorry about that, Silver. I was just trying to find you to keep my end of the deal. You wanted flying lessons right?” Rainbow Dash asked. 
“Yup, now where shall we practice?” Silver asked.
“I know a great place that’s not too far away. Come on!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed excitedly as she turned around to run to their destination. Silver chuckled as he ran after her. It wasn’t a very far run. They had only been running for five minutes when Rainbow Dash stopped and nodded towards the mountain. 
“We are going up there?” Silver asked.
“I’m not, but you are. I want to see how well you can already fly. Fly up there and back down again,” Dash ordered. Silver shrugged and stretched out his wings. He flapped them and flew to the top of the mountain and back in pretty good time.
“Faster,” Rainbow Dash commanded. Silver frowned but did as he was asked. She told him faster again and again.
“Don’t tell me,” Silver said as he got back from another run, “faster?”
“Nope, that’s good enough. By what you showed me, you are going to be a good student,” Rainbow Dash said with a smile. When Silver looked at her confused, she laughed, “I could tell you were frustrated and angry. You could’ve left or yelled at me to let you stop. You didn’t do either so you will be easy enough to teach. I doubt it will take more than a few sessions to become about as good a flyer as me,”
“Wow, well-” Silver was interrupted as he saw Onyx come running down the road. He seemed out of breath and hurried. “Hey, Onyx, what’s the matter,”
“We need to leave for Manehatten, now,” Onyx said as he reached them.
“What?!” Silver yelled.
“The train is literally leaving, we need to go,” Onyx said as he turned around. Silver looked at Rainbow Dash. She nodded and Silver took off after Onyx. They ran as fast as they could. Silver couldn’t get an explanation out of the winded Onyx so he had to wait until they were on the train. They skidded around the corner and ran across town, dodging ponies and stands. Silver yelled “Hi!” to Applejack as he passed her stand. Pinkie Pie appeared out of no where, bouncing alongside Silver.
“Hey guys, where you going?” She asked.
“To Manehatten,” Silver explained.
“Can I come along?” Pinkie asked. 
“Sorry, Guardian only mission this time. Maybe some other mission,” Silver said.
“Okie doki loki!” Pinkie yelled as she happily hopped away. As they neared the train station, Silver felt a sudden reluctance as he got closer. He stopped and Onyx kept running, not noticing Silver.
“Silver!” He heard Twilight yell behind him. Silver turned around. She came running up behind him. “I need to tell you something,” she said.
“Sorry, train is leaving for Manehatten. I have to go. Maybe when I get back,” Silver said.
“I thought you weren’t leaving for five more days!” Twilight exclaimed. Silver shrugged.
“So did I,” he said quietly. He turned around to see the train start moving. Without saying anything, he ran after it. He was surprised at the speed it accelerated. He was losing ground to it quickly so he did what he could only do, jump. He leaped as far forward as he could and landed on the edge of the caboose. He started to fall backwards back to the ground, but he managed to fall forward onto the train. Silver looked back to see Twilight running after the train. Silver doubted she would make it, but there was a brilliant flash of light then suddenly, she appeared right before him. She jumped and grabbed onto the caboose’s balcony. Silver grabbed her hoof with his mouth and helped her up. “Well, I guess you can tell me now,” Silver said looking at Twilight.

Silver wondered how he would explain Twilight’s presence. They walked through each train car until they finally found Onyx inspecting the beds once again. When Silver was about to say something, Onyx cleared his throat.
“Welcome aboard you two. Help me pick out the best beds please,” Onyx said matter-of-factly. Silver and Twilight went to work with confused expressions. After about an hour of finding the perfect beds, Silver lay in his looking out the window. Onyx had gone to get some food while Twilight was in the bunk under Silver’s.
“Well, this will be fun,” Twilight said. Silver just grunted. The bad feeling had stayed with him. Onyx had yet to explain the sudden rush to get to Manehatten. Most likely not good. As if on cue, Onyx returned with a tray of sandwiches. 
“Eat up!” Onyx said. Silver wasn’t hungry so he just lay still staring out the window. Onyx poked him in the back and when Silver turned around, a sandwich was shoved into his face. “Eat, it might be your last one for a day or two. That brings me to why we are leaving so early,” Onyx said, “We just got word from the mayor of Manehatten of a sudden breakout of city wide depression. So far... self extermination rates had sky rocketed throughout the city,” Onyx sadly said. Twilight gasped. Silver didn’t say a word. “So, naturally, Marshall slashed our break time to nothingness and we were sent out to investigate. We think it’s the altar of Depression and it has been activated. So stay frosty and think happy thoughts,” Silver didn’t know if that was supposed to be a joke. He slowly ate his sandwich.

Later that night, as everypony was getting ready for bed, Twilight called for Silver. Silver looked down to see her beckoning him to he bunk. When he slipped down, she brought out a book and opened it to a marked page. The title read “Old Gods and Other Higher Beings.”
“So, we are going to talk about myths and legends?” Silver asked.
“Not all of these are just myths and legends,” Twilight said, “For instance, there is one in particular that I want to show you,” Then she pointed to a picture of a huge dragon with bat like wings and giant horns on its head. It’s mouth was open agape and a great flame was shooting out of it. Above it was the name “Nafarious”.
“Nafarious?” Silver asked.
“Yes,” Twilight said, “It says here, ‘When the last Shadowshaper and Lightbringer clash, the old god rises under the power of the Gems of Destruction,’”
“Sounds dandy,” Silver said, “But I bet it won’t happen in our time. There are at least two Shadowshapers I know of and I’m sure there is another Lightbringer besides me...” Silver trailed off. He noticed something odd about the picture. The two ponies that were fighting under the dragon, one of them was glowing brightly while the other was dull. “Is that supposed to happen?”
“It started doing that around the time you showed up in Ponyville,” Twilight said. Silver shrugged.
“Maybe it’s supposed to do that, anyway, I’m tired and I think we should all get some sleep,” Silver said. He jumped up into his bunk and turned to face the window. It was nearly pitch black outside. Silver sighed as he fell asleep.

“Silver look out!” Topaz shouted as another mortar came barreling down to their position. Silver ran right under it and after Sapphire. She suddenly went wild and ran off after some shadows. 
“Sapphire! Get back here! That’s an order soldier!” Silver shouted after her, but she wouldn’t listen. He could’ve caught up to her, but his armor weighed him down. She had shed hers to run faster. “Sapphire!” Silver shouted as he turned the corner. He skidded into a food stall and shattered it. When he had exited the ally they were in, he found himself in the town square. Sapphire was standing in the middle. Silver sighed relieved and started to go towards her, but then she fell sideways to reveal a knife in her chest. “No!” Silver shouted. A shadowy figure stood there, taking out the knife. The blade was a dark silvery color with a green glow about it. The handle was red with many gems lodged into it. The shadowy figure looked up and laughed.
“Weak little foal, this loss is just but one of many,” the stranger said, “She was too weak to live anyway,”
“You’re going to pay!” Silver shouted. He charged the attacker and tackled him to the ground. Silver’s armor helped hold it down as he reached for the knife. Silver took the knife in his mouth.
“You might strike me down now, but I will return,” the shadowy pony said. Silver grunted and struck the knife deep in the pony’s neck. It burst into a cloud of purple smoke and Silver stumbled around for a second, dazed. When he came to his senses, he ran over to Sapphire who lay on the ground, bleeding.
“Sapphire, it’s going to be all right,” Silver said as he took off his helmet. His eyes were dull and weary from constant war and struggle. His mane was plastered to his head. Sweat and tears fell down his face.
“Oh, Silver,” Sapphire said weakly as she checked her wound, “we were never meant to do this,”
“Do what?’ Silver asked, confused.
“All of this,” Sapphire said like it was the only thing that she could mean, “This war, these battles. We were never meant for this,”
“Sapphire, we were thrust into this willingly,” Silver said on the verge of tears, “I even argued with the captain to get you into this army. Now come on, I’m going to get you back to camp,” Silver started to pick her up, but then she cried out in pain so he let her back down.
“Remember when we were foals?” Sapphire asked dreamily.
“Ya,” Silver half laughed half cried, “You always helped me with the bullies who picked on me for being an alicorn,”
“Ya, remember when Onyx got caught stealing extra cookies for us and said he was only doing it for himself?” Sapphire asked.
“Yup, he is a great pony when it comes to being loyal to friends,” Silver said, but then he turned serious again, “As your commanding officer I-”
“Silver,” Sapphire interrupted, “Even though you are a captain, don’t you think this war is needless? So many good ponies die...” Sapphire trailed off. 
“Come on,” Silver said, “we have to get you to a medic,”
“I love you, Silver,” Sapphire said weakly.
“No...” Silver said as he saw her close her eyes, “I love you too, Sapphire,” 
“Goodbye,” Sapphire coughed and she closed her eyes. As her last breath left her, Silver bowed his head over her body. He wept for what seemed like hours until all of the sounds of battle crashed around him. He sensed another pony was there with him.


Silver woke up suddenly in the train. It was still dark outside and the lights in the train car were off. Around his eyes the fur was wet from tears. Twilight was standing beside him with a worried look on her face. 
“What? What happened?” Silver asked as he looked around.
“Nothing, it’s just that you seemed to be having a nightmare,” Twilight said. Silver took a deep breath. Fresh tears stung his eyes as he thought back to his dream.
“I need some air,” Silver said as he rolled to his hooves and walked to the back of the train. When he was outside, he could see the sun steadily rising out of the east. There was a blue flash and he found Sapphire standing beside him.
“I’m sorry you remembered that,” Sapphire said sadly.
“Me too,” Silver said, “What happened?”
“I wish I could tell you, but if I do...” Sapphire trailed off as she winced, remembering some type of pain from a while ago, “Just... try not to think about it while near the next altar,”
“Why, what is the next altar?” Silver asked.
“The altar of depression,” Sapphire said as she disappeared. Silver sighed and hung his head over the railing. The door behind him opened and Twilight stepped out. Silver wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the words. She stood next to him and watched the sun rise. Silver stood up straight and looked with her,
“Beautiful isn’t it?” Twilight asked.
“Yea, it is,” Silver sighed.
“Want to talk about your nightmare?” Twilight asked.
“Not now, maybe later,” Silver said, “It... it... it’s too sad to talk about,”
“I understand,” Twilight said. After a beat, she lay her head on his shoulder, “At least it was a dream,”
“Right... a dream...” Silver said slowly. His mind was a chaos of emotions. He couldn’t place which was the most important to feel. 

After several minutes, the train slowed to the stop and Silver noticed they had arrived in Manehatten. The two ponies met up with Onyx of the platform and walked into the city. Silver expected it to be bustling with ponies with business to do, but it seemed strangely empty.
“Manehatten has gotten... quieter since I was last here,” Onyx said as he kicked over a rock. Silver looked around. He couldn’t see anypony except for his friends.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Silver said. He turned to Twilight who was in deep thought. He half wished she hadn’t come. He felt this was about to get very dangerous, very fast. Silver closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, he saw the sign for the Lotus Hotel, their destination. “Come on,” he said as he started making his way to the building. 
The hotel was closed down. There was police tape across the door and boards were nailed onto it. Silver blew the doors open from a blast of magic.
“Stay here,” Silver said as he walked through the opening. He looked around the lobby. There was a giant waterfall in the middle of the velvet room. At the base was a little island with a giant altar on it. Floating above it and emitting waves of blue energy was a blue crystal. Near by was a tiki bar inside of a pool and it had stools all around it. Silver jumped onto the bar and over to the island. When he was near the altar, he felt nothing. He chuckled at himself for thinking this would be dangerous.
“Wait...” said a forlorn voice above him. Silver looked up to see a grey earth pony standing on a balcony. “Do not disrupt the shadow altar,”
“Why not?” Silver asked.
“It calms this town,” the pony said slowly and mournfully, “This town used to be a place of chaos and rush. No it is a town of order and calmness,”
“This isn’t natural tranquility though,” Silver said, “I need to destroy this crystal,”
“Will you listen to what I have to say first?” the pony asked. Not waiting for an answer, he slowly descended to Silver and was right across the little stream of water from the waterfall.
“I guess,” Silver said as he felt a sudden calmness overcome is haste.
“I am the care-taker of this altar,” the pony said, “you can call me Caregiver. Ever since I was placed in charge of this altar, I felt so calm, so sad, it was beautiful,”
“Being sad is beautiful?” Silver asked.
“Yes, it is a wonderful thing,” Caregiver said, “here, let me see into your deepest thoughts and memories,” Caregiver nimble jumped to the island and touched a hoof to Silver’s head. Suddenly, the memory of Sapphire’s death played again through his mind. When it was done, tears were streaming down Silver’s face. “I see now, a great sadness is upon you for what happened to your love,” Caregiver said slowly, “my daughter died in my hooves the same way your friend did,”
“I tried to protect her...” Silver said.
“There was nothing you could do,” Caregiver said, slowly reaching into his belt that he wore.
“She just wouldn’t wait for me...” Silver started sinking to the ground. The power of the crystal was growing stronger.
“She chose that doom for herself,” Caregiver said as he brought out a sharpened knife.
“I could have done so much more... it was my fault,” Silver was now lying down on the ground.
“Yes, let the sadness envelope you,” Caregiver said through the knife’s hilt that was in his mouth.
“She depended on me... I let her down...” Silver sobbed as tears poured out of his eyes.
“Will you let the depression sink in and calm you?” Caregiver asked cautiously.
“Yes... Yes I-”
“Silver!” Twilight shouted as she ran to the balcony. When she saw the scene before her, she called for Onyx. Caregiver growled and threw the knife at her. It barely missed, but Twilight lost her balance as she dodged it and fell over the rail. It seemed as if Silver was awaken out of a dream as he heard Twilight’s cry. He jumped up and stretched out his wings. He flapped them hard and flew up to Twilight. He caught her in mid air and flew back up to the balcony. He shot the crystal with a bolt of magic. It shattered like glass all over the island. He felt the power of it quickly fade.
“The disturbers of the altar shall be buried with it!” Caregiver shouted. Silver shook his head and ran for the door. Onyx and Twilight were already outside, waiting for him. Suddenly, there was a large quake and the building shook. Silver had to stop or he would lose his balance. The arch above the doors crumbled and debris fell in front of the doors that led towards Silver’s freedom. He ran over and tried to push the debris out of the way while Twilight tried to force the doors open with magic. Silver stopped and turned towards Twilight.
“I’ll find another way out, run!” Silver shouted. Twilight hesitated, “Go!” Silver shouted again. She turned around reluctantly and ran away with Onyx. Silver turned around and ran down a hallway. The floor above him collapsed in his wake. Silver threw open a door and ran up the stairs. He had to stop again as the building shook once more. After several flights, he opened the door to the roof top. He stepped out into the daylight. Underneath him, the building shook like a thing possessed. Silver peered over the edge to see Twilight and Onyx a ways away, looking back at the building. Silver backed up and prepared to jump. He dashed off and got his wings ready. At the last second though, he heard maniacal laughter and a great darkness came over his vision. He couldn’t see and considered stopping. Too late. Silver felt nothing under his hooves and fell towards the ground. The darkness gave way to show the grass rushing to meet him. The shock made his hesitate a moment before finally, he stretched out his wings. His was too close to the ground.
“No!” He heard Onyx shout right before he hit the ground full force.

> Fear
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guardian
Chapter 6: Fear

        Silver was back on the cliff overlooking the dark ocean. Everything was the same. Grey sky, black water, and Rage was mumbling to himself. There was another pony here. He looked like Silver, the same as Rage, but the pony was blue. He sat on the ground with his head hung. He looked to be crying, but no sound came from him. Only clear tear drops fell from his cheeks. Silver decided to call him Depression.
        “Uh...” Silver didn’t know what to say.
        “She died... she died because of me,” Depression sobbed.
        “Let’s get them! Those Shadowshapers will pay!” Rage bellowed as he ran around in circles.
        “No pony is getting any pony!” Silver shouted. His sudden aggression made the two ponies stop what they were doing and look at him. Silver took a deep breath and exhaled silently. “You two be quiet and pay attention,” Silver said, “I don’t want any of this to change me on the outside. I need to stay strong for the Guardians, for my friends.... for Twilight. You,” he pointed to Rage, “Cool it until I’m alone. And you,” he pointed to Depression, “Don’t let me break down in front of any pony. I will deal with all the build up when I can, but now isn’t the time,”
        “We can’t help it,” Rage said quietly, “It will get harder as the more crystals you destroy. Soon, we will be a whirlwind of emotion that you won’t be able to control. You will be destroyed from the inside out, like the last one...”
        “Who was the last one?” Silver asked.
        “I’ve said to much!” Rage suddenly shouted. he winced as if he was in pain and went back to mumbling. Silver sighed and looked towards the south, over the cliff. 
        “Isn’t this were I’m supposed to wake up?” Silver asked. The other ponies didn’t answer so he hung his head in thought. After a few moments, Silver gasped. A sudden splitting headache came over him along with pain in his side.
        “Wakey, wakey,” Rage said.

        Silver opened his eyes to see he was being dragged across a cobblestone street. The stone dug into his back and didn’t help his head. He struggled weakly.
        “Let go, I can walk!” Silver exclaimed. He was dropped and when he rolled over, he saw Twilight and Onyx looking at him, worried. When he stood up, he wavered a bit. Onyx came over and steadied him. “What happened?”
        “Well, after you fell off the hotel, Twilight and I dragged you away before it collapsed,” Onyx explained, “We were taking you to the hospital, but it was too full of injured ponies from the altar’s power. We were just about to discuss were to take you,”
        “Well, I’m fine,” Silver said, “Let’s just go home,”
        “Unfortunately, only Twilight can,” Onyx said, “We got a new job and location. The Altar of Fear in a forest not far from here,”
        “And you’re not going anywhere without going to a hospital first,” Twilight sternly said.
        “I’m fine,” Silver repeated, “and if there is another altar nearby, then Onyx and I have to find it,”
        “I’m coming with you then,” Twilight said. Silver hesitated. He thought back to that feeling right before he entered the hotel.
        “I’d rather you not,” Silver slowly said, picking out his words, “but if you insist then I can’t stop you,”
        “Why would you not want me to come?” Twilight said, looking hurt.
        “Because I don’t want anything to happen to you,” Silver said. There was an awkward silence for a few moments. Silver huffed and turned around. “Whatever, come on then,” he said. He looked around and saw the forest Onyx was talking about. He started off in the direction. Onyx and Twilight looked at each other for a moment then followed him.

        The forest was as dark and stuffy as the one near Ponyville. Silver shivered though it was very warm in there. He felt sick and tired, but he pushed on. Twilight walked up beside him. She didn’t say anything, but her presence comforted him somewhat. Onyx was sneaking along up ahead, scouting. Silver sighed and decided to look around. The trees were tall and blocked out most of the light. The brush on the ground struggled to get a hint of sunlight. The only flowers that were around were black and with barely any petals. Silver found it harder to move his hooves after each step. Twilight was also struggling and soon Onyx came back, panting like he had just run a ten mile race.
        “I think it’s time for a break,” Onyx said wearily. The words barely left his mouth when Silver collapsed on the ground.
        “This isn’t natural,” Silver said. 
        “Considering what happened to you, it isn’t natural you aren’t dead,” Onyx said as he sat down, “I will be first watch, I have a bad feeling about this place,”
        “Me too,” Twilight said as she lay beside Silver. Silver couldn’t move if he wanted. It was as if a great weight was suddenly set on him. “Are you ok?” Twilight asked worriedly.
        “Just a bit tired,” Silver said.
        “You look like you are in pain,” Twilight put a hoof on his back.
        “Do I?” Silver asked. He didn’t feel any pain at all.
        “He seems fine,” Onyx said. Twilight shook her head.
        “Maybe we should go back...” she trailed off at a glance from Onyx.
        “No, not yet,” Silver said, “after a little rest, we must keep going,” Silver sounded more confident than he felt. Twilight just sighed and lay back down. Silver tried to keep his eyes open, but it was no use. His eyes slowly closed, as did Twilight’s.

        Silver woke up suddenly as if a spell was lifted off of him. He sat up and noticed Twilight and Onyx had disappeared. He looked around, but his friends were no where to be found. He noticed hoof prints in the ground. He checked them carefully and followed them deep into the forest. Silver followed them directly, not wanting to lose the trail. He jumped over a log and crossed a stream. He kept going until he was at the mouth of a cave. Inside was pitch black and Silver was hesitant to enter. 
        “He comes...” a small, shrill voice echoed. Silver jumped and looked about him. No pony was around. “I hate to break such a strong spirited alicorn, but the task was given to us,”
        “Show yourself!” Silver shouted.
        “Come inside...” The voice grew softer.
        “Silver?!” Silver heard his name. It was Twilight’s voice. Without second thought, he immediately jumped into the cave’s entrance and bolted down into the darkness.
        “Twilight?” Silver called as he noticed side passages leading off. 
        “Silver!” Twilight shouted then he heard her scream, “No! No!”
        “Twilight!” Silver screamed as he ran down another passage. Her screams cut into the silence. Silver jumped down holes and turned from passages trying to follow her voice.
        “Silver!” She screamed again.
        “I’m coming!” Silver called as he turned down another tunnel. Her cries were cut short suddenly. “No!” Silver cried out as he charged down the last passage. In front of him was a door that was promptly broken down by the silver pony. Silver nearly cried out in horror to what he saw. Twilight was on the ground, bleeding. Over her was a shadow. It was in the shape of some creature. It had long sharp claws, a hunched back, pointy ears, and sharp teeth. Its tail had spikes on the end and so did its back.
        “The intruder has come...” it said as it slowly backed away from it’s kill. Silver didn’t pay attention to it as he ran over to Twilight.
        “Twilight!” Silver called out as he flipped her over. Her face was void of expression. Her eyes were glazed over and her mouth was closed. The cut in her neck was all too visible. “Twilight!” Silver shouted again as if she would hear him and come back. The creature let out a long, shrill laugh. It was now looking over his shoulder.
        “I am the things that will kill her. The things you will unleash. It might not be directly from you, but from what you do. Do you value her safety?” The creature hissed. Silver nodded as he lay his head on Twilight’s body, “Do you want to fail another pony you love?” The creature asked. Silver shook his head, “Then face your fears. Face the death that lingers all around us,” the creature preached. Silver could hear the sound of something like blades scraping across the floor. “Fight me, I am the altar. If you want it gone then you will have to kill me,”
        “Gladly,” Silver said as he bucked the creature behind him. He felt no contact and suddenly the room went pitch black. Silver looked around in circles. The creature was no where to be found. Silver caught sight of a pair of red eyes looking at him. He shot a bolt of magic. It lit up the room as it traveled at it’s target. Silver gasped when he saw thousands of the creature all around him. The bolt hit its target. There was a loud screech and Silver felt as if he been stabbed by a million swords at once. It made him buckle under the pain. As he did he saw the creature run around, confused and in pain, until he it a wall and shattered like glass.

        “Silver! Wake up!” Twilight shouted as she shook Silver awake. Silver’s eyes opened suddenly.
        “Twilight?” Silver asked as if he didn’t believe she was here.
        “You were having a nightmare,” Twilight explained, “We all had fallen asleep. I woke up when I heard you thrashing around-” Silver had lunged at her and hugged her tightly.
        “I thought you were dead,” Silver said softly, “In my dream, we were lost in these caves and this creature... I’m just glad you’re ok,”
        “Um... thanks,” Twilight said. Silver let go of her and smiled awkwardly. Onyx leaped out of the brush.
        “I found it... but you wouldn’t believe it,” Onyx slowly said. They followed him through the forest. It didn’t take long before they found a cave. Inside, an altar stood, but around it was a shattered gem.
        “It’s already been destroyed!” Twilight asked.
        “Look,” Onyx said. On the ground near by was dried blood. Silver gulped. 
        “Since our work has been done for us,” Silver said, “I guess we can go home,”
        “And if we’re lucky, some R and R,” Onyx said. As they left, Silver turned around. He imagined the shadow creature smiling in the shadows.

        Silver quickly fell asleep on the train. Even thought it was noon, he was already beat. First, he was having a dream about flying through a field of endless clouds. Then, the scene changed to the cliff overlooking the sea. Silver sighed.
        “I was having a great dream too,” he said as he turned. Rage seemed to be sniffing the ground. Depression was crying into his hooves. And, a new member to the family, Fear’s head was in the ground like an ostrich's. 
        “Blood... blood,” Rage muttered. 
        “Welcome to our dysfunctional family,” Silver greeted sarcastically.
        “Who said that?!” Fear shouted as he brought his head out of the ground. He screamed and hid behind Depression. Silver shook his head. Three more altars and three more shadows of himself to add.
        “Since you guys are no help, I’m going now,” Silver said.
        “Battle, I must have battle!” Rage shouted and ran around in circles doing a war cry.
        “Good luck with that,” Silver said.

        Silver heard voices. He slowly opened one eye, but kept still otherwise. He could see Twilight and Onyx talking to each other. Silver closed his eye again and steadied his breathing.
        “I don’t care what you believe, something is wrong with him,” Twilight argued.
        “Silver seems fine to me,” Onyx said calmly, “Look, he’s sleeping like a foal,”
        “He just seems out of it,” Twilight said, “He isn’t like the pony who first came to Ponyville. Happy and ready to help. Lately, he seems to have gotten... slower,”
        “Trust me, I’ve known him for a long time,” Onyx said. That seemed odd to Silver. He had only known Onyx for a few days.
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.
“I can’t tell you now, but later,” Onyx said. Twilight sighed.
“I’m going to read more on this,” Twilight said. Silver heard her get out of bed and open one of the doors.
“Pfft, read,” Onyx said as the door shut. Silver pretended to yawn and wake up.
“What’s for dinner?” Silver asked.
“Sandwiches, as always,” Onyx chuckled, “Good evening, hope you got some sleep,”
“Yup,” Silver said, “Best I’ve ever had,” That was a lie of course. He felt worn out, not refreshed. Onyx produced some sandwiches when Twilight had come back and they ate in relative silence. Silver was silent because he was tired. More emotionally than physically. It took most of his concentration not to let the feelings inside him exploded until he was alone and far away from, anypony else.
“Well, that was nice,” Silver said when he was done. He put on a smile, “I’m going out for some fresh air for a few minutes,” he got out of bed and went to the back of the train. When he left the car he was just in, he ran all the way to the back. He was thankful that they were in the very first car. When he reached the end of the train, the edge of the caboose, he screamed incoherently. “Why do I have to do this?!” Silver shouted to himself, “I feel as if I am torn into pieces! I need help!” Silver put his head on the railing. He realized he just needed to yell. Needed to vent his anger, his sadness, and fear. At least nopony was around.
“Why don’t you ask your friends?” Nighthawke asked. Silver jumped and reeled around. Behind him was the pony he had met back at Appleloosa.
“You!” Silver shouted, “What do you want?”
“I just wanted to see how you were doing in destroying the altars,” Nighthawke replied innocently, “Three out of six so far, good job! It almost makes me wish to stop trying to resurrect Nafarious so you can have a break,”
“What are you talking about?” Silver asked cautiously. 
“You don’t know?” Nighthawke seemed surprised, “Didn’t the Guardians tell you the legend? If at least one Gem of Destruction is active, then Nafarious will rise when the last Lightbringer and the last Shadowshaper fight?”
“We already fought, why didn’t he rise then?” Silver asked.
“You don’t get it do you?” Nighthawke laughed, “Just wait, you will find out eventually,” Nighthawke then faded and left Silver very confused. He sat down and bowed his head trying to think. Silver’s mind was all in a jumble. Just trying to think about what he wanted for breakfast in the morning hurt his head. Silver started to get tunnel vision.
“Silver, you ok?” Twilight asked as she opened the door to the balcony. Silver didn’t answer for a few seconds.
“Yea,” he finally said, “Just... just a bit tired,” 
“Come on then,” Twilight said comfortingly, “your bed is waiting for you,”
“Ok,” Silver stood up and with the help of Twilight, they went back to their beds. Onyx was already snoring on his bed. His hoof was hanging off the side. Silver slowly climbed onto his bunk. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Silver found himself in that grassy field again. The tree had golden leaves this time and the sun was as bright as ever. Only a few clouds were in the sky. Silver spotted another pony lying down under the tree. He assumed it was Sapphire and walked over to her. She waved her hoof at him as he got close. She stood up and hugged him. Silver didn’t know how to feel about that. He laid himself down beside her and sighed. He felt good. No whirlwind of emotions spinning in his mind. 
“I’m sorry I’ve been quiet a while,” Sapphire apologized, “I tried to reach you, but you were... disconnected,”
“What do you mean?” Silver asked. Sapphire sighed and shook her head.
“There are three possibilities,” Sapphire explained, “One, you died,”
“Nope,” Silver said as he munched on an apple that fell out of the tree.
“Two, you lost your magical powers,” Sapphire said.
“Nope again,” Silver said as he threw the apple core away with magic.
“Three... you love another pony,” Sapphire said sadly.
“No- wait what?” Silver stood up.
“I have always been able to talk to you because you loved me too much to let go,” Sapphire explained as she stood up with him, “Now, it’s hard to reach you because something is blocking the way,”
“That’s... That’s absurd,” Silver stammered. 
“Are you sure?” Sapphire asked. Silver noticed grey clouds forming in the sky, blocking out the sun. Silver didn’t know what to say. His mouth opened and closed trying to form words. This is the part where I wake up now, Silver hoped. But he didn’t. 
“Look-”
“Who is she?” Sapphire quietly asked.
“Enough,” Silver commanded. Sapphire seemed o calm down a little, “I may have lost my memory, but I remembered how you died. Yes, I loved you, but I can’t hold onto the past. You were a great pony, I’m sure, but you’re dead now,” Silver had to say it, even though he felt as if his heart was getting torn in half, “Twilight Sparkle isn’t and I need to keep her safe from this war between Shadowshapers and Lightbringers,”
Sapphire just shook her head. The edges of Silver’s vision started blurring so he knew he was about to get a break from her.
“Goodbye,” she quietly said and walked away. Silver was then forcibly pulled out of his dream.
	
	



> Love
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

> Greed
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Guardian
Chapter 8: Greed
Silver groaned as he woke up on the stony ground. The body of the minotaur lay beside him, unmoving. Silver looked up to see nothing but darkness. 
“It must be nighttime,” Silver mumbled to himself as he slowly stood up. He rubbed the back of his head with his hoof. It felt like a thousand needles were being driven in to every part of his body. Silver slowly flew up to the top of the ravine. He landed on the ledge and looked around. Trees had been smashed and the brush trampled. Evidence of what happened earlier. Silver sighed and made his way out of the forest. 

Silver stumbled out of the forest. He fell to the ground panting. It was a longer way than he thought. His head felt like it was about to exploded. His vision was blurry and his muscles seemed to not respond. He then noticed the familiar surroundings. Silver looked back behind him. He couldn’t believe it. He had somehow gone into the Everfree forest and came back out again. This was the spot where Fluttershy found him when he first arrived in Ponyville. Silver decided to wait until Fluttershy came back this way again.
Darkness threatened to take hold of his vision multiple times. Each time, Silver fought it back. Dawn was not too far away. Silver doubted he could make it though. He must have taken a nasty hit to the head. Silver was just about to give up when the most extraordinary thing happened. A chicken tripped over his head.
“Come back, chicken!” came the voice of Applebloom. Silver was relieved. Finally, somepony might find him and get help. He heard hoof steps coming from behind him. The chicken stood on top of his body, trying to indicate the fallen pony. The hoof steps suddenly stopped and a gasp was heard. “Mr. Silver! Hold on, I’ll go get Fluttershy!” Applebloom exclaimed and ran back the way she came. Soon, more hoof steps were heard. 
“Oh my gosh!” Fluttershy exclaimed in her usual quiet voice. “Help me get him back to my home, Applebloom,”
“Ok,” Applebloom said and grabbed hold of Silver’s tail. He was then dragged for a while until they finally stopped at Fluttershy’s house. Silver’s mind mercifully sent him into unconsciousness after hours of extreme pain.

Silver woke up in a bed. He slowly sat up and rubbed his neck. It was really sore. So was the rest of his body. He heard noises coming from downstairs, but he couldn’t get out of bed if he wanted to. Of course he knew where he was if memory served correctly. Fluttershy’s house seemed homely enough, even though she lived outside a little ways from Ponyville. Silver lay back in the bed and silently dozed off again.
Silver woke up to voices. Either that or he was half awake. He couldn’t see much but he could hear well enough.
“... emotional trauma,” finished an unfamiliar mare.
“What do you mean? He seemed fine on the train,” the voice mistakenly belonging to Onyx said, exasperated. 
“The Gems are dangerous. I’m surprised he hasn’t broken down from the stress, not to mention hiding his discomfort,” The unfamiliar pony said.
“Emerald, you and I both know Silver well enough that he wants to protect his friends,” Onyx argued, “Maybe hiding his torment is some kind of way he protects us. At least that’s what he thinks,”
“It’s not doing him any good,” Emerald explained, “I love you, Onyx, but I have to disagree with you sometimes,”
“Silver is my best friend, I know him better than anypony else,” Onyx said.
“What about Sapphire?” Emerald asked in a low voice.
“She... she died protecting him,” Onyx faltered, “I’m just glad he doesn’t remember that. It nearly tore him apart. He could never love another pony ever sense,”
“What about that lavender unicorn?” Emerald asked.
“Twilight? Well... she’s a special case,” Onyx said, “Even I see the resemblance between her and Sapphire,”
“I just hope Silver isn’t hurt again,” Emerald said. She brushed his mane with her hoof, “Remember when we found him by the old pond?”
“Yea,” Onyx confirmed, “and those bullies. Only if they knew who they were messing with, they would bow down to him instead of push him into the water,”
“If they knew who Silver really was, they would’ve run away in fear,” Emerald said, “Silver wouldn’t have wanted that. At least we protected him and became his friends,” So many memories were stirring in Silver that he groaned. His two friends froze. When he didn’t open his eyes, they sighed a sigh of relief.
“We should go,” Onyx said, “I’ll be here later when he wakes up,”
“Ok,” Emerald agreed. She kissed Silver on his forehead and walked out of the room. Onyx followed her. Silver slipped back into sleep after that.

Silver stood on the very familiar cliff. The ocean churned violently below him. In front of him were four ponies. The first three he was already acquainted with. The other, a pink version of himself, sat looking at a picture and sighing. Silver could plainly see it was Twilight Sparkle. He blushed and snatched the picture up with his magic. Love cried out and lunged at Silver. Silver flinched at the unexpected violence and gave the picture back. Love took it unquestioningly and continued to gaze longingly at it. Silver shook his head and willed himself to wake up.

Silver woke up again just as Fluttershy entered the room with a steaming hot bowl of soup. He quickly sat up. It cause Fluttershy to squeak, but she didn’t drop the bowl.
“How long have I been out?” Silver asked, looking around frantically. Fluttershy set down the bowl.
“For about a day,” She quietly answered. Silver started to get out of bed, but she put a hoof on his chest and gently pushed him back down. “Sorry, but you need at least another day to recover,”
“But the Gems...” Silver said.
“Marshall as a special team working on it,” Fluttershy reassured. But it sounded like poison to Silver. He jumped out of bed.
“No!” Silver shouted as he tried to run out the door. Fluttershy blocked his way. She didn’t do anything forceful, but Silver stopped nonetheless. “I have to destroy the Gems!”
“They can do it without you,” Fluttershy quietly insisted.
“You don’t understand,” Silver pleaded. He didn’t either. A sudden impulse of urgency came over him. “I have to destroy those gems, no pony else,”
“Why?” Fluttershy asked.
“I don’t know,” Silver admitted, “I just need to do it,” Fluttershy gave him an inquiring glance. “I-I” Silver stuttered. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, “I haven’t told any pony this yet, but there is a price to destroy the gems,” He waited for Fluttershy to say something, but she just listened.
“The power, the waves of energy that the gems give off. They are emotions. The first was Rage. The others were Depression, Fear, and the latest one I destroyed was Love. Now these emotions are like a maelstrom the churns in my mind and heart. It takes most of my willpower to keep these emotions buried until the right time or when I’m alone. I don’t want any other pony to go through with this, so I must see that the last two altars are destroyed by me,” Silver explained.
“Oh, wow...” Fluttershy said. She thought for a second. “Ok, I will let you go today, but you have to finish this soup,” Silver groaned by complied.
A few minutes later he burst out of Fluttershy’s house. He was going so fast that he accidentally ran into Twilight. The rolled end over end down a small hill until Silver hit a tree and Twilight hit him. Silver slowly got up and shook his head. Twilight did the same as looked like she was about to tell him off. When she looked up at him her expression changed from anger to surprise.
“Silver!” she exclaimed.
“Uh, hey Twilight,” Silver said equally surprised.
“I heard you were hurt and Fluttershy was tending to you,” Twilight explained, “I was just coming by to visit. Wasn’t she going to keep you another day?”
“Something came up,” Silver simply said, “Where’s Marshall or Onyx. I need to speak to one of them,”
“Marshall is in the Everfree forest searching for that other Altar,” Twilight explained, “Onyx is currently at the HQ, why?”
“Thanks!” Silver said and took off, flying for the HQ. He didn’t want to do that, but he had to hurry. Silver was there in an instant. He pushed the door open and stomped into the command center. He found Onyx talking with an emerald colored pegasus. They were studying a map on the table. “Onyx!” Silver shouted. Onyx looked up surprised. The emerald colored pegasus looked up too, but didn’t seem surprised.
“Silver!” Onyx greeted, surprised, “I’m astonished that you’re out of bed this early. Don’t worry, Marshall is going to find the last two altars,”
“That’s what I’m here about,” Silver said as he walked around the table and stared Onyx down, “Where is the altar that Marshall went to?”
“Around the southern border of Everfree forest, why?” Onyx asked. Silver nodded and turned around. He ran out of the building and flew into the air again. Time was of the essence, he had time for explanation later. Silver flew quickly over Ponyville and over Everfree forest. He landed at what he judged was the southern border and ran around, trying to find a sign of Marshall. He soon came upon a knife. It was long and gold in color. Silver saw nearby a bush that was trampled on. He headed in that direction. The forest seemed to be watching his every move. Judging him, waiting for him to make a mistake. Soon, Silver ran down a large hill until he reached a clearing. Silver peaked around the tree and immediately wished he hadn’t. The scene in front of him would terrorize his dreams for the rest of his life. The altar stood proudly, with a green gem on top of it. Around it was a pool of blood and six dead ponies. Each had a knife in their throats or chest. Their faces were twisted with either anger or shock. Silver threw up the soup behind the tree and gagged a couple of times.
“Awful, isn’t it?” Marshall said as he appeared behind Silver. Silver wheeled around and back up a little bit. “Don’t worry, son, I ain’t gonna hurt you. I’m not under the effects of that Gem,”
“Which one is it?’ Silver asked.
“Greed,” Marshall said, “My companions ran ahead of me. I heard them shout they found the altar and sacks of gold. When I reached the clearing, I saw this horrible image. It seems they killed each other over the gold,”
“I don’t see any gold over there,” Silver said as he peeked at the clearing.
“Hurry up and destroy that Gem then,” Marshall said. Silver nodded and turned towards the Gem. Before he could fire off a bolt of magic, though, something hit him in the side and he slammed into the ground. When Silver looked up, he saw a brown earth pony standing wild eyed over him.
“No pony messes with my gold!” the pony shouted crazily. He started stamping his hooves on Silver’s exposed belly. He got a few good hit in before Silver rolled to the side. Silver sprang up and bucked at the pony. He flew end over end and crash into a tree. Silver went over and held him down.
“Marshall, I need some help!” Silver called. 
“Alright!” Marshall said as he walked over and held the pony down. Silver charged up a bolt of magic.
“No!” The wild pony shouted. Silver heard a gargling sound. The wild pony had stabbed Marshall in the throat with a knife. Silver leaped to the side as the knife was thrown at him. “No!” The pony shouted again. Silver headbutted the pony and picked up the knife. He immediately drove it home into the pony’s chest. Silver panted. His heart and mind were racing. He stumbled over to Marshall, who was groaning on the ground.
“Marshall!” Silver cried, “Hold on, let me take care of this Gem and I’ll get help,”
“What is it like?” Marshall asked.
“What’s what like, sir?” Silver asked quietly.
“Having all those emotions run through you,” Marshall answered.
“It’s like contained chaos that could exploded at any moment,” Silver replied after a moment of thought. He knew Marshall didn’t have time.
“I knew you were the one to do this,” Marshall said, “I tried giving you a break, though,”
“No pony should go what I’m going through,” Silver said.
“No pony can go through what you’re going through,” Marshall said. His face was turning pale.
“Goodbye, Marshall,” Silver said. Marshall sighed and closed his eyes. Silver stood back up and faced the gem. He charged a bolt of magic and destroyed it. An invisible force slammed into him. Only one more to go.

> The Old God Rises Again
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guardian
Chapter 9: The Old God Rises Again
        Silver said a goodbye to Marshall. A tear ran down his cheek. He wiped it off with his hoof and trudged out of the forest. It took him about two hours to find the edge of the forest. He slowly walked into Ponyville. Other ponies stopped what they were doing to watch him walk by. He slowly made his way to the HQ. Silver opened the door and entered. He could hear Twilight’s voice arguing with Onyx’s.
        “You let him go after Marshall?!” Twilight shouted.
        “You told him I was here!” Onyx shouted back.
        “Now hold on you guys-” Applejack tried to say, but was interrupted by a huff from Twilight.
        “If you were his true friend,” Twilight said.
        “I’ve known him since we were colts,” Onyx argued. Silver entered the room and clear his throat. The three ponies turned to him.
“Silver!” Twilight said happily. She ran over and hugged him. When she pulled away and saw the sad, hurt look in his eyes, she frowned. “What’s wrong,”
“Where’s Marshall?” Onyx asked. Silver looked at the ground and said nothing. “Oh no...”
“Oh my...” Applejack said, “I’m mighty sorry,”
“He... he was killed by his own friend,” Silver said, “Then... then I...” He couldn’t finish that sentence.
“Silver...” Twilight said calmly. She kissed his cheek, “It was out of self defence,”
“It shouldn’t have come to that...” Silver said. Before anything else was said, they heard a commotion outside. Silver and his friends peeked outside to see a crowd gathered in the center of Ponyville. They walked over to see what was happening. From there you could see Canterlot. Silver had looked that way many times. But now, when he looked, his breath was taken away. Canterlot was on fire!
“No!” Twilight shouted.
“What happened?!” Rainbow Dash asked as she glided down from her cloud.
“I don’t know!” Twilight said hopelessly.
“Nighthawke,” Onyx said. 
“Of course,” Silver said, “We were about to stop his plan of resurrecting Nafarious so he attacked Canterlot to slow us down,” 
“What do you mean?” Onyx asked.
“We could search for the last altar and let Canterlot burn,” Silver pointed out. He saw the dismay on Twilight’s face so he cleared his throat, “But we can’t let that happen. You and I shall go to Celestia’s aid,”
“Not without help,” Rainbow Dash said.
“You all have to stay behind in case he decides to attack Ponyville,” Silver ordered, “Gather all the Guardians in the area. Send about half of them to Canterlot for back up,”
“You sure about this?” Onyx asked, “What if Nighthawke succeeds with his ritual?” 
“Then we’re all doomed,” Silver said, “Try not to think about it,”

Getting to Canterlot without being seen was easy. It was only the two of them. Silver felt the anxiety well up in his chest as he stood at the gates of the city. Onyx was messing with a switch near the gate. He had been for ten minutes, but it seemed hours for Silver. He had no idea what lay beyond the gate. His emotions seemed more chaotic than usual. 
“Got it!” Onyx cheered. The gate slowly opened and the two ponies entered. The city was in ruins. Fire spread everywhere. No pony was in sight. The only untouched thing seemed to be the castle. Silver and Onyx crossed over to it and opened the large door. It was deserted inside so they entered.
“Go and find Celestia, I will look for Nighthawke,” Silver said. Onyx nodded and ran down a corridor. Silver entered the throne room. Like the rest of the castle it was empty. Silver looked at the giant stained glass windows and marveled at the pictures. One had six ponies defeating an evil one. Silver assumed it was Twilight and her friends fighting Nightmare Moon. He looked at another one. It was like the same picture in Twilight’s book. Two ponies were fighting each other. A giant dragon loomed over them. Silver noticed that both the silver and the black pony were faintly glowing. He walked further in and noticed there was a shadow on the throne. It wavered and Nighthawke appeared, with a tooth pick in his mouth. “Nighthawke,”
“Ah, sorry my dear friend,” Nighthawke burped and threw the toothpick away, “I just had dinner. How do you like my new castle?”
“It’s Celestia’s castle,” Silver said, “Speaking of, where is she?”
“Never mind that,” Nighthawke said, “I have some entertainment,”
“I don’t have time to watch,” Silver said.
“Who said you were watching?” Nighthawke asked. Silver heard a laugh and looked behind him. Onyx stood their defiantly.
“Onyx?” Silver asked in disbelief, “Did you find the Princess?”
“No, and I don’t plan to,” Onyx said. His voice was changed. It sounded more like a snarl now.
“You see, my lad,” Nighthawke said, “Onyx was tired of being on the losing team and switched sides. I took him under my wing and together we took over the castle.”
“I know secret entrances and exits,” Onyx explained, “There are a lot of them,”
“Onyx,” Silver said sorrowfully, “I thought you were my friend,”
“I still am,” Onyx said, “Join the Shadowshapers and we will finally win,”
“You know I can’t do that,” Silver shook his head.
“Let the games begin,” Nighthawke said.

One thing about Onyx, he is a good fighter. Silver had a hard time dodging and deflecting attacks. Hurting him wasn’t an option. Silver couldn’t hurt his friend. They fought for ten minutes, magic bolts and beams shooting everywhere, until Onyx unleashed a large beam of magic. Silver shot his own beam and they clashed. Silver’s gold beam mixed with Onyx’s purple. 
“Onyx, stop!” Silver shouted over the sound of the beams clashing, “You can still join my side again. We can still win!”
“No!” Onyx shouted, “I saw the future, it is bleak and meaningless,”
“You are doing what Nighthawke wants you to!” Silver tried to reason. In the background, Nighthawke was laughing hysterically. Suddenly, Silver noticed the energy output of the beams were making something that looked like a portal. A large claw shot out of it and gripped a pillar for a handhold. Silver cut off his beam and jumped to the side to dodge Onyx’s.
“Too late!” Nighthawke laughed. Silver’s heart filled with dread. He watched as the maw of a large dragon came out of the portal. It quickly pulled itself through. 
“But- but,” Silver stammered.
“What? You thought I was a Shadowshaper too?” Nighthawke laughed, “Think again,” he pulled off his cloak. Silver wanted to faint. Nighthawke was a black colored version of him. They looked the same except for Nighthawke’s mad smirk.
“What- I,” Silver felt like his brain was failing him. 
“I am the personification of the last Gem,” Nighthawke said, “I am Insanity!” he then jumped at Silver. Silver was knocked to the ground with Insanity on top of him. Insanity quickly lowered his horn. It touched Silver’s and it flashed. Silver went unconscious.

He was back on that cliff again, except the water below churned in a whirlpool. The sky was red and the cliff started breaking up. The ponies in front of him were panicking or shouting incoherently. Two new ponies were there also, Greed and Insanity.
“There he is!” Insanity shouted, “There’s the one that wants to destroy us!”
“Uh...” Silver had no idea what was going on. All of the ponies turned on him and growled. Silver put up a glowing golden shield just in time to deflect a bolt of magic from Rage. More followed and Silver’s defence couldn’t hold long. He tried to figure out what to do, if he attacked, the shield would go away and he would be hit over the cliff. He knew that would be bad. If he kept holding up the shield, it would soon break leaving him dazed and he would die. It was hopeless. Despair took him over. He was about to jump on his own accord, when suddenly a wave of courage washed over him. He took down his shield and lunged at the other ponies. He was stopped when a flash of bright light exploded. A pony in gold armor appeared in front of Silver and shot all of the others with a wide spread beam of magic. They all were subdued instantly. Silver felt the chaotic emotions inside him die down for good. The armored pony turned to him and shook off his helmet. It was Silver, but gold in color. “Courage always prevails,” Courage said, “Remember that,” He placed his helmet on Silver’s head and then Silver woke up.

Silver was standing up. Insanity was gone and Onyx stared at him, mouth hanging open. Silver was armored head to hoof in golden armor. His wings and tail were the only things exposed. 
“Impossible!” Onyx shouted.
“Not really,” Silver said. Memories flooded his mind like water after a dam burst. Silver knew he could only stop Nafarious, who roared at him. Onyx growled and lunged at Silver. Silver just knocked him aside and made his way over to Nafarious. Nafarious roared again and took flight. he crashed through the roof of the castle and flew away. Silver flew after him, his armor shockingly light. Nafarious flew up into the sky and shot a fireball at Silver. Silver barrel rolled to the right and just dodged the attack. Silver shot out a beam on magic and connected with Nafarious’s leg. He roared in anger and shot more fire balls. Silver dodged around those. The got closer and closer to Ponyville. Silver had to get Nafarious away from there. he could already see ponies heading for the castle, the Guardians that would back him up. Nafarious took sight of this and flew after them. The Guardians looked up in horror and scattered. Silver flew after Nafarious and tackled him in mid air. Surprisingly, Nafarious was knocked to the side. Silver flew right over the Guardians. They all looked up at him in awe. Silver then noticed Twilight and her friends were among them. 
“Who is that?” he heard Rarity ask, “I like the armor,”
“I don’t know,” Applejack said. Silver rolled to the side to dodge a fireball and shot another beam. Nafarious roared when it connected. It swiped a claw at Silver. He was knocked out of the air and he hit the ground hard. Dazed, he got to his hooves and took off again. He noticed he was missing his helmet. 
“Silver?!” Rainbow Dash shouted. Silver had to get the huge dragon away from his friends.
“Follow the birdie!” Silver shouted as he shot up into the sky. Nafarious followed him with a roar. The crown of horns seemed to glow like mini fires and the scales seemed to shine. Silver flew up into the darkening sky, leading the dragon away from any pony or town. Silver got an idea, a crazy, horrible idea. When he was sure it was safe, he looped and flew straight at the beast. Silver imagined any pony who looked could see a small speck traveling at break-neck speeds at the castle-sized dragon. Nafarious seemed surprised at this and hesitated. Silver grinned. His horn glowed from over charged magic build up. Silver hit the dragon in the neck and unleashed the magic. A golden light exploded and knocked them both to the ground, hundreds of feet below. Nafarious spat fireballs this way and that. Silver pushed the dragon to the ground by the neck, completely enveloped in a golden light. The two fell to the ground, waiting to meet them. Nafarious tried to claw at Silver, breath fire on him, and bite him, but nothing stopped the alicorn from pushing. Silver closed his eyes from the heat and wind. He prayed this wouldn’t hurt as much as he thought it would.

Twilight watched as Silver and the dragon fell to the ground. Everypony around her sat in stunned silence and heard the roars of the dragon. Twilight stared in disbelief. How could Silver do this. It was impossible. When the dragon hit the ground, a pillar of flame shot up into the air. A shock wave rocketed all around them, sending up dirt and loose rocks. Heat washed over Twilight.
“No!” She cried, “Silver!”
The pillar didn’t die down for another five minutes. When it did, Twilight bolted towards the place where the dragon fell.
“Twilight, wait!” her friends called after her. She didn’t heed them and ran into the forest. Nothing seemed touched by the shock wave and the fire. It was like the dragon never fell. Soon, she broke into a clearing where all the grass had died and the trees were blackened and didn’t have leaves. It was like a giant circle of death. The giant bones of the dragon lay, scattered randomly. Its scales and skin had burned up in the fire. How could Silver have survived this? Twilight ran, searching in vain everywhere. Tears ran down her face. She had planned to tell him when they got back to Ponyville from Manehatten. She turned over bones. She planned to tell him that... She found a piece of his armor. Her hopes sky rocketed. She kept find pieces of his armor like a trail. When she reached the end, her hopes sank like a rock. Silver lay on the ground, his fur scorched. Cuts and gashes were all along his body. A scar ran up his face and over his eye. He was motionless. He wasn’t even breathing.
Twilight’s friends found her, her head on Silver’s chest and tears running down her face. Next to her head was a gold gem. They helped her up and left. The Guardian’s picked up Silver and the pieces of his armor. When they got back to Ponyville, the sky was dark and black clouds hung in the sky. Ponies watched them as they headed for the Guardian HQ. There was a sniffle in the crowd and low, whispering voices. Some ponies bowed their heads while other wiped away tears. They had all saw how Silver protected them. How he sacrificed himself for their safety. 
The HQ seemed to send waves of sorrow. The Guardians lay Silver on top of an altar in the basement of the HQ.  Around them were ceremonial coffins, displaying the name of every hero the Guardians had. Emerald stood behind the altar and looked down upon Silver. In the torchlight, he seemed almost peaceful.
“Silver the Lightbringer shall rest here until the morning,” Emerald said after a pause, “We will then hold a ceremony at the town square. He will then be taken to Golden City, where the main Guardian HQ is located to be buried in the tombs below. He will join his ancestors and guide us through this dark time. He was the last of the Lightbringers so we all have to play our part to keep Equestria as safe as he did, whether he knew it or not, his presence alone kept our world safe from darkness. Now we have a long road ahead of us all,”
“Where is Golden City at?” Applejack asked after a moment of silence, “I’ve never heard of it,”
“It’s hidden from the Shadowshapers and other ponies. The Shadow City is also hidden. Only the members of each faction know where their main city is at,” Emerald explained. No other pony said a word. They were silently dismissed. Twilight still carried that golden jewel in her mouth. She went back to the library. Spike was sleeping in his bed, snoring away. Twilight placed the gem on her desk and went to bed. She cried silently to herself, remembering how he was always there to protect her and others. How, before he went after those altars, he was high spirited and cheerful. How he stood up for Granny Smith and Applebloom on his first day. Soon, Twilight fell into an uneasy sleep.

> Sneak Peak of Legend
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Legend
Chapter 1: The Road Goes On and On (Partial)
Silver woke up when the sun hit his eyes. He sat up suddenly. Adrenaline pumped through him as he thought he was still going down with Nafarious. Silver shook his head and looked around. He was in that same meadow he had waken up some days before, but it seemed like a lifetime ago. This time, though, he retained most of his memories, though key one were still missing from his past. The air shimmered in front of him. Silver reached out with his hoof to touch it, but there was a bright flash and the gold armored pony appeared. It took off its helmet. It was the same pony who told Silver that courage always prevails. Silver first thought it was another part of him, but on closer inspection, the alicorn had red eyes instead of gold, like the other versions of him had.
“Hello, Silver the Lightbringer,” the pony said, “I see you healed just fine,”
“I thought I died,” Silver said lamely. His mind was spinning.
“Well... you did,” the pony said with a wry smile, “But I brought you back,”
“Why?” Silver asked.
“Because you are still not yet done,” the pony said, “No pony of the Golden Council counted on Onyx betraying you and unleashing Nafarious,”
“Golden Council?” Silver asked.
“Yes,” the pony nodded, “It is the council of all of the great Lightbringers from age’s past. I am the head of the Council, Silvermane,”
“But your mane is gold,” Silver pointed out. Silvermane scowled at him.
“Yes, anyway,” Silvermane said after a pause, “I hope you feel better now. No more rampaging emotions?” Silver now noticed he didn’t feel the force and pain of all of his emotions he acquired from the altars.
“How?” Silver asked.
“You learned to control them subconsciously by facing Nafarious,” Silvermane said with a smile. “Now you must carry out your duties to protect Equestria. The Guardians are good, but they need a Lightbringer to lead them to be great,” Silvermane’s horn flashed and all of his armor was placed in front of Silver neatly. “You also might need this. And a word of advice, you’ve been ‘dead’ for about a week now. I suggest you don’t reveal yourself until the time is right,” With that, Silvermane disappeared with another flash. Silver looked down at the armor. It was gold and blue runes ran along the sides. The body part of it had slots on the back which indicated where the wings would stick out of. There was also a slot in the back for his tail to go through. On the helmet, there was a part sticking up that looked just like a horn. Silver wondered how he would get this all on. Suddenly, a memory came back. It showed Silver’s horn flashing and the armor suddenly appearing on him. Silver shrugged and did the same thing as in the memory. There was a flash, and when Silver opened his eyes, he was looking out of his helmet. The armor fit perfectly on him. It was as light as a feather and it radiated energy. Silver flapped his wings and there was just enough room for him to fly.
“Thanks, Silvermane,” Silver said to himself. Silver wondered what to do first. He thought about what he should call himself. He obviously couldn’t use his real name, or he would be noticed. “Thanks again, Silvermane,” Silver said after a moment.