S.T.I.A.D.L: Future problems and past solutions

~~~~2 days later~ ~Shade’s POV~~~~

Every night I think the tree tells me stories about Equestria through my dreams. They are usually revolving around six ponies that have a portion of the tree’s power. I learned a lot about Equestria its history, the Elements of Harmony, and even the bearers themselves. It’s really strange being taught by the tree of Harmony but I learn while I sleep so I have no complaints.

I was right to try and protect the tree since it’s the source of Harmony on this planet and its also growing weaker hourly. I took off my necklace for the first time since I’d got it and placed it on the tree. I was trying to use it as a median between my magic and the tree’s so I could give it more power but it was useless. I sighed in defeat but before I could put the necklace back on a very loud roar sounded from outside.

I instantly took flight completely forgetting about the necklace and the disguise it creates. It was easy to find a large and obviously enraged dragon standing near a small village. I charged at the dragon focusing some magic forward to increase the power of my ram. The results were worth my intense headache since the giant beast was thrown a few hundred feet and probably knocked unconscious.

Initially I was surprised that I had actually charged at a dragon nearly five times my size but then I started wondering who it was attacking and maybe they can explain why. I looked down to see and found what had probably enraged the beast but it took me a second to realize it was after the Element of Loyalty. The other Elements were nearby but she would have received the most damage out of the six.

I wasn’t sure what to do now and, by the looks on their faces, neither did they so I did what I do best, survive. A big part of survival is to know your enemy but they weren’t my enemy so I flew backwards into the shadows and went back into my cave. I put on my necklace before I decided to actually meet the Elements of Harmony, after all I didn’t want to risk them thinking I was their enemy.

~~~~~~Dash’s POV~~~~~~

  “That was AWESOME!” I couldn’t help yelling but the other dragon was already gone.

  “What was another dragon doing here? I could understand the first one since we drove it from its cave but the second one. Why was it here? Why did it help us? Why did it look so different? Why did it look at us like it knew all of us?” Twilight said as she jotted it down while I was deactivating my ‘shard’.

  “Maybe that dragon wasn’t from this world but a dying world that was being destroyed by an evil dragon and it tried to stop it but the evil dragon was too strong. Later on he found out that his master was also working under the evil dragon so he helped an ancient tribe with time travel but ended up here instead,” Pinkie theorized.

  “What makes you think that?” somepony asked from somewhere, his voice echoing through the forest making it impossible to trace.

  “Just a hunch!” Pinkie yelled beaming.

  “That’s a lot close than you’d think,” he said again before appearing out of the shadows.

  “Who are you and how would you know?” I asked subtly preparing for a possible fight.

  “My name is Shade and I’d know since I have been following that dragon for a while now. I even followed it through dimensions and into your world,” he answered looking a little depressed.

  “Care to elaborate on your world more?” Twilight asked with a quill and scroll ready while beaming about the possibilities.

  “Before I do I would like to know something myself,” Shade said confidently.

  “What would you like to know?” it was Twilight that asked although he was looking at me.

  “Tell me, miss Loyalty. Do you have a special somepony?” he asked walking towards me but before I hit him he asked his real question. The question was surprising enough and handled in such a way that my mind nearly shut down.

  “Pardon me but it is ungentlecolt like for you to ask a lady you barely know,” Rarity spoke up.

  “Well I can tell that I’ve overstayed my welcome so till next time,” Shade said before taking off and disappearing into the shadows.

~~~~~10 hours later~ ~Shade’s POV~~~~~

I was waiting in the castle near my base with the tree of Harmony. According to the tree this is the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters where their Princess Celestia battled an evil force that possessed her sister. The evil force was known as the nightmare an evil entity that was created by the darkness in the hearts of ponies. My world had a few evil entities and unfortunately my master was one of them.

“Do you have a special somepony?” I falsely asked. I leaned in and whispered my real request in her ear, “Meet me at the castle of the royal pony sisters tonight. Oh possessor of the Celestial Vortex Shard.”

The look on her face told me that I was both right about her shard and that she would be here tonight. The shards are from an extremely ancient and equally deadly weapon known as the sphere. According to legend back near the dawn of creation the sphere was deemed too powerful and dangerous to exist. It didn’t matter what my ancestors thought since it was protected by its power.

They eventually found the weak point in the sphere and broke it into four thousand shards and gave those to the Guardians. The Guardians of Time received the purple shards dubbed Vortex shards while the Guardians of Space received the dark blue shards dubbed Celestial shards. If the legend is true then the fact that a Celestia Vortex shard even exists means that if reformed the sphere would be perfect.

The most dangerous weapon in existence becoming perfect is a terrifying thought. A perfect sphere would have no weak point and thus be more powerful than ever. The shards had given the guardians the immense power and immortality that they are now known for. It gave them so much power that it eventually becomes the only reason that they are still alive.

I heard my guest enter the castle and I knew it was finally time to receive some answers. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this encounter though since she wields an impossible object. She had the power to destroy me if she wanted but I couldn’t sense the shard inside her. That either means it isn’t active or she is very good at hiding its presence but staying in the shadows wouldn’t get me any answers.

  “Alright where are you?” she yelled as I appeared from behind a column.

  “Right here miss,” I said quietly and she turned to face me.

  “How do you know about the shards?” she asked getting right to the point.

  “A legend on my planet that basically tells their history but I always though it was just that, a legend. You on the other hand have proven that it’s true. How did you come to posses such a unique shard?” I kept it short while still getting to my main question.

  “I was born with it. My parents had done something to earn a shard-” I interrupted her by simply laughing.

  “Not too bright are you. The only creatures in existence that are capable of possessing shards are the Guardians of Time and Space. Wait a minute, you were born with it? Are you sure?” I asked. She simply nodded and motioned for me to continue but I simply vanished as my magic ran dry.

~~~~~???’s POV~~~~~

I awoke in a wide open field that was half grass and half sand but it looked like it stretched for miles. I looked around and found no sign of the dragoness that was with me earlier. I continued searching when I found the locals but didn’t have the chance to look them over as they all attacked me. It was an unnecessary battle and one I might not win but before they had me down for the count another approached quickly.

  “STOP!” he yelled over the crowd and they all obeyed.

  “Thank you,” I said trying to get to my feet.

  “Is that even possible?” another asked but it wasn’t directed at me.

  “Well with everything that’s happened in the past year, why not,” the first one said.

  “Okay then, if that is Spyro then the other commotion must be where Cynder is,” the second one guessed.

  “Where is Cynder?” I asked hopeful but they whispered for a little while before one vanished into his shadow.

  “My counterpart is going to make sure Cynder didn’t kill anyling. We don’t need unwelcomed complications when you two had just arrived. I’m sorry, I never introduced myself. My name is Midnight, we are a race called changelings, and this is or was rather our western hive,” he explained.

  “Don’t worry about us. Cynder and I should be gone by tomorrow we just need to rest for the night,” I said.

  “It’s a little more complicated than that. Oh, right, I forgot to explain why they attacked first and asked questions never. I’m sorry again but our hive recently went to war with the rest of our race and another hive brought in dragons from our world to fight. Needless to say our war had hope before the dragons arrived so more dragons are seen as a threat,” he explained some more.

  “As for why you can’t leave tomorrow well it’ll be easier to show you,” he finished and started walking somewhere.

Their race was definitely new to me but they looked like a cross between a horse and an insect. I wasn’t about to judge a race I’d only just met so I kept quiet about their appearance. After a while of walking we came to the edge of what looked like a barrier but on the other side was nothing. I stood near the edge and just stared at the nothingness beyond the barrier.

  “SPYRO!” Cynder yelled breaking me from my thoughts before she tackled me into the barrier I was looking at earlier.

  “It’s great to see you too, Cynder! So how was your first meeting with the changelings?” I asked.

  “They attacked me and I actually thought that was it but then one appeared out of the shadows and stopped their attack,” she explained.

  “That would be me. Hello my name is Crimson and I’m the King of this hive,” he introduced himself.

  “You two are stuck here for a while I’m afraid,” Midnight said motioning to me to look at the barrier.

  “I was meaning to ask but it looks like except for your hive there is nothing,” I said confused.

  “Technically we are nowhere but most refer to this plane as the void and you are absolutely right. Outside the barrier keeping us tethered to our world there is nothing,” Midnight explained.

  “When we get back to our world we will help you get back to yours but for now relax. If we are right you just put an entire planet back together. One last word of warning though, don’t look into the void for too long otherwise you will see and remember things that you’d like to remain buried. It’s the voids’ way of reminding us that we shouldn’t exist and outside that shield you will die very quickly,” Crimson explained.