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

by Kindoshin

Rating: everyone
Tags: Alternate Universe, Romance, Adventure, Crossover
Length: 14024

Everypony continues their lives as normal until an outcast invades Canterlot.

Equestria is a land of peace and prosperity. It was only a year and a half ago that an old enemy became an ally but is Equestria ready to allow another enemy safe passage so soon?
This is the story of an outcast. He was wronged in his world, banished, alone, and forgotten but after an escape plan gone wrong he arrives in a new world. Will this world treat him the same as his last one or will he have a better future?
Still inspired by The Winds of Change

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-03-22 01:58:35 UTC

Prologue part 1

~~~~~Celestia’s POV~~~~

The castle is almost ready for tomorrow and some representatives have arrived already. The representatives came from around the continent to watch the coronation of Princess Twilight Sparkle. There were a few griffons, zebras, and even changelings. Although there is one changeling who promised to be here months ago and another who disappeared around that time that I wanted to see.

“Have you seen the changeling King?” I asked a nearby guard.

“Not yet, your highness,” she replied.

“Sorry I’m late,” a voice called from a side entrance. I turned to look them in the eye and was slightly surprised that it was the King of the western hive of changelings, King Crimson.

“If it isn’t the illustrious King himself finally gracing us with his presence,” I said sarcastically.

“Hahaha very funny, Princess. The only reason I’m late is that we are preparing for war against the southern hive,” he informed me with his usual authoritative voice.

“Why are you attacking the southern hive, King Crimson?” I asked in my regal voice.

“Last week we tried to get them to sign a peace treaty but their Queen killed our representative. To make things more troublesome she sent a message that declared war on us if we continue to side with the ponies,” he explained.

“Why wasn’t I informed earlier?” I asked using every ounce of will I had to keep my voice regal.

“A few reasons actually. The first reason is that we don’t want to pull our allies into our own stupid war. The second reason is that it doesn’t concern your ponies, only my changelings. Finally you have already damaged their hive after that failed attack two years ago.”

“You mean their Queen is Chrysalis?”

“Yes but our hive has theirs outnumbered so don’t worry,” he assured me although I knew he was withholding information.

“What has you so worried then?”

“Well I should warn you anyway. The hives to the north and south can get to the western hive easily without going through Equestria. However our intelligence suggests that the eastern hive is on their side so thousands of changelings could be entering Equestria in the coming weeks.”

“Are you suggesting that on their way to your hive changelings might start attacking the ponies they encounter?”

“It’s only a possibility and to prepare for this all of my changelings will be evacuating Equestria. This will not only help protect the hive but will also help you weed out enemy changelings that might threaten Equestria. Our treaty was the first one changeling’s have ever had with another race in eons and we want nothing to risk it,” he admitted starting off towards his prepared guest room.

My mind was going wild with the possibilities of a war between changelings so close to our borders. Their nest is a mere twenty miles from the closest town; add another five miles for a major city. The first time in nearly a thousand years I had no idea what to do about the war.

~~~~~~Luna’s POV~~~~~~

Today had been peaceful so far but something about King Crimson’s visit had my sister baffled. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, shortly after Crimson retired to his room Celestia left as well but not in the direction of her room. That is what drove me to follow her to a balcony that overlooks the gardens.

“What is troubling you, dear sister?” I calmly asked while slowly approaching the balcony.

“Nothing I want to trouble you with Luna,” she answered still distraught.

“Did Crimson threaten you?” I asked unwilling to drop the subject so simply.

“He merely gave me an update on the western changeling hive,” she admitted before taking flight.

After a short internal debate I decided to ask her about it another time but was determined to not let this drop. Instead of following her I went to my room to check the scanner. It was a gift from King Crimson, a small black rectangle about as thick as an average book that when powered by magic allows us to listen to the western hive mind. I funneled the small amount of magic that it needed and turned it on.

“All changelings will withdraw from Equestria and help defend our hive. Repeat all changelings to the western hive. No changeling is allowed to stay behind in Equestria,” a voice came from the box.

“Our treaty with the ponies has been suspended. Under the authority of King Crimson himself I order all changelings to return to the hive. I regret to inform you that by dusk tomorrow we will be at war. Noling must fight but for the safety of Equestria everyling must return to the hive. You are not to inform anypony of this war as the King has denied their assistance to save the treaty,” the box played before I turned it off.

~~~~~1½ years ago ~Crimson’s POV~ western hive~~~~~

It was a big surprise to find that after a few good deeds an entire hive wanted me to lead them. I found the hive only a few weeks ago by tracking a weird signal but I wearily took the throne. I call it a throne since it actually looks a lot like Celestia and Luna’s thrones and they keep calling me their King. Apparently this hive had separated from the others in hopes that one day they could enjoy pony society without hiding.

They even had laws that reflected pony society but believed they lacked a kind and gentle ruler. Considering they accepted me they were clearly desperate but Midnight convinced me to take the throne. It didn’t take long before I requested someling to deliver messages to a few select ponies to get diplomacy started. It took the lucky changeling almost an entire day to deliver my messages to the select eleven ponies.

Thanks to the hive mind I was able to help him and get instant conformation when he delivered a message. I felt bad for the unfortunate changeling when I took over his body to heal one of the attending members but after a short explanation he forgave me. Right now he and my guests were arriving so I put on the white cotton cape they gave me and sat on my throne making sure my crown was on correctly.

“You requested to see us?” was the cautious voice of their King Kindo though I was unsure how anyling was able to invite him. In any case he was a welcomed surprise and I used my magic to light up the area.

“Hello again everypony,” I greeted happily but in a professional tone.

“MIDNIGHT!” they yelled collectively.

“Not exactly but he might be around here somewhere. I am Crimson well actually King Crimson,” I clarified. It became quiet for a while before anypony spoke up.

“How are you two still alive?” Kindo asked with a mixture of relief, confusion, and horror.

“What?” I asked completely confused.

“It hasn’t happened to us yet,” Midnight explained coming down the stairs behind my guests. He gave Celestia, Luna, Kindo, and Vectra a hug before he spoke again, “Let’s get down to the reason we’re all here shall we?”

“Yes well I asked you all here because I wanted to get a pact between our species,” I summed up.

Prologue part 2

~~~~3 months later ~~Celestia’s POV~~~~~

A few minutes ago the guards awakened me and said that my presence was requested in the throne room. I waited on my throne for the mysterious guest to present themselves and their urgent request. My sister was sitting on her throne next to mine waiting patiently as well but not talking. The doors eventually opened to reveal a changeling wearing a crown and a white cape but I could tell he was wounded underneath.

  “My apologies, Princess Celestia but I thought it best that you both were awake,” Crimson said while bowing.

  “We understand especially since your hive is still at war,” Luna said but cringed a bit as he stood.

  “How is the war going? I assume that is why you are here,” I spoke up before he could say anything.

  “Last week it was in our favor since the other three hives were attacking anyling while our hive focused on them. Three days ago the tide had changed due to the southern hive recruiting dragons that just attack all of us. At this rate changelings will be extinct by next month. It is with a heavy heart that I ask for your assistance in this war,” he explained.

  “It was you that insisted we leave this war to you, King Crimson. I personally believe that Equestria should remain neutral in your war,” Luna said.

  “The changelings have been doing two things during this war. We have been both fighting it and containing it to our borders. In all honesty we have lost more trying to contain the war than just fighting it,” he admitted.

  “I am with my sister on this one, King Crimson. We will not risk our little ponies to aid in your war,” I said a little shook up about my decision.

  “I completely understand your majesties. I hope to see you again but know that is not very likely. Thank you for seeing me, Princess Luna and sorry for disturbing you, Princess Celestia,” Crimson said before departing.

I went back to my room and lay down again shortly after but I couldn’t sleep. I could hear something in my sister’s room since it was on the other side of the wall and it sounded like voices. Eventually curiosity got the better of me and I cast a spell to allow me to increase the sensitivity of my ears.

  “We are getting no help in this war, my family, and for that I am sorry,” was the unmistakable voice of Crimson.

  “Are you all right, sire? There have been reports of dragons near Equestria’s western border,” another voice said and I realized that her hive mind scanner was on.

  “I can personally confirm those reports-” murmurs from many others cut him off, “-however I am fine and on my way back to the hive.”

  “Sire, our intelligence suggests that at least twenty dragon are trying intercept you,” the same voice from earlier warned.

  “The squadron of changelings protecting the border has stopped responding,” another voice informed.

  “I am not letting anything else into Equestria. We are resorting to plan Delta,” Crimson said.

  “Your gonna need my help to pull that off,” someling agreed.

  “Midnight! You’re finally going to help in the war?” Crimson asked excitedly.

  “I have been helping! It took a long time to find it but I’ve got the spell for plan Eclipse,” he informed.

  “Plan Eclipse it is then. All changeling flee to the hive and bring some guests,” Crimson ordered.

It was random chatter for a while since none of the changelings actually knew what plan Eclipse was. The conversations were very vague about the plan but it was obvious the hive was under heavy assault. The voices grew panicked obviously due to the plan that wasn’t being conveyed through the hive mind and then nothing. The receiver box was definitely still on but there was nothing, no noise whatsoever.

~~~10 minutes ago ~Midnight’s POV~~~~~

‘It took a long time but I've got the spell for plan Eclipse,’ I projected my thought through the hive mind.

‘Plan Eclipse it is then. All changelings flee to the hive and bring some guests,’ Crimson ordered his hive.

  “Plan Eclipse. This is a very bad idea. We should have let Equestria help but at least we can keep them safe. I’ll call it my final gift,” I said descending to the hive witch was quickly surrounded by our enemies.

Surrounded or not we rallied our best mages and prepared the curse that King Kindo used long ago. It was a spell that kept a war contained within set parameters but I managed to combine it with Kindo’s sword’s shield ability. This combined spell will keep our war contained but the shield will stay up until the sword is removed but it cannot be touched unless the sword recognizes you.

  “The enchantment is ready. Just place the sword in the center and activate it,” the high mage informed us.

  “DIALIA!” I yelled calling the enchanted sword to my side, obeying my call the sword materialized in my hoof. After a few seconds to allow the sword to charge before I yelled my command as I plunged the blade into the ground, “WAR CONTAINMENT!”

In a matter of seconds a bright light shot from the hilt and covered the entire hive and about seventy more miles in a protective and indestructible shield. Thankfully the enchantment worked and the shield stopped at the Equestria border rather than absorb some of them in the catastrophe that was about to come.

~~~~~five minutes later~ ~Twilight’s POV~~~~~~~

The last two years have been difficult to adjust to but in the end I made a few more friends. I’m friends with a changeling is still a little hard to believe but it turned out that the western hive was very nice. They had so many new books that I just had to read and it took about six months to read them all. I made two friends due to the fact they came to my library looking for pony books to read.

Right now though I’m worried since my best changeling friend just started screaming in pain for no reason. She was injured in the war and her superiors allowed her to move to Equestria, after acquiring permission from Celestia of course. Suddenly her screaming stopped and she instead looked around in fear.

  “Rosebud calm down. What’s wrong,” I asked trying to stay calm for her sake.

  “I can’t hear them. The voices from the main hive are gone,” she said still a little freaked out.

  “Can you hear anyling else?” I asked starting to worry since changelings need a hive mind to function.

  “There are about twelve left now. Their saying that plan Eclipse was initiated,” she said calmly but still a little worried. Ten changeling are needed to sustain a hive mind but to go from nearly twenty thousand down to twelve in mere seconds. I could see her lips moving but couldn’t hear her words.

  “Sorry what did you say?” I asked leaving my thoughts to help my friend better.

  “They used a sword called Dialia to contain the war but that’s all we know about it. The King has never been so secretive with a plan before and it makes me wonder if I’ll ever get to see the hive again,” she admitted before throwing her hooves around me and crying on my shoulder.

Prologue Part 3

~~3 days later~ ~Luna’s POV~~~~

I have regrets about what happened the night that King Crimson asked for Equestria’s assistance in their war. I listened into the hive mind shortly after his departure but the news was not good. Without the assistance of Equestria the western hive was backed into a corner. According to chatter a few minutes later the changelings are now an endangered species but I have little regret for not risking our ponies.

The last of the western hive are mainly in the castle since they were our representatives from that hive. I had been summoned to an ancient tower that has been under restricted access for nearly as long as this castle has stood. Many ponies call it the tower of forbidden knowledge but that isn’t true since forbidden knowledge is kept in the castle’s underground vault. The truth is that the tower has no name since it’s actually for the King and Queen of Equestria.

  “We waited for you Luna,” Vectra said as I opened the door.

  “They used enchantments on her,” Kindo said quietly out of realization as he looks at his sword.

  “Pardon me for being direct but what happened to the western hive?” my sister asked.

  “I don’t know nothing has ever altered Dialia in such a way before,” Vectra answered.

  “Although she probably considered the enchantments as a hostile attack,” Kindo said still keeping his voice down.

  “A hostile attack combined with its shield spell. According to protocol it would…,” Vectra trailed off unwilling to finish her thought.

  “Exactly it would have created the shield before releasing an electromagnetic pulse to disrupt the field binding atoms together. As my old friend called it single stream zed neutrino energy commonly referred to as a reality pulse,” Kindo explained.

  “Answer in a way everypony can understand uncle. What happened to the western hive?” I spoke up with more volume than I intended.

  “It turned to dust. Everything inside that shield was turned to dust. Changelings, dragons, ponies, zebras, mountains, rivers, everything reduced to atoms,” Vectra answered in a breaking voice.

  “We don’t know what happened the hive could have been flung through time or teleported somewhere in this universe. The truth is that we have no idea what truly happened to the western hive the last know location of nearly a million creatures. What we have been discussing is merely one possibility out of billions,” Kindo clarified as everypony gasped at the possibilities.

~~~~~~~~???’s POV~~~~~~

I was running from a terrible beast that had sworn revenge for my disobedience. I had only disobeyed my master when I learned of her true loyalty and intentions but I had almost finished my training. The last place I rested at belonged to an undiscovered tribe known as the Stynos. The tribe has the form of walking talking caribou but they were a very advanced race hidden away on purpose.

They explained that the tribe was in hiding to protect their inventions as they have just recently gotten permission for time travel. They were still experimenting with it when I arrived but the magic that powers was growing weak. I had volunteered for their final test and was supposed to be going a mere five minutes into the future so they know it works.

Even though it was powered by magic found all across the planet, the planet is dying thanks to the evil dragon my teacher served. I poured some of my magic into it to help out but something went wrong.

I don’t know what happened but time travel turned into a transdimentional jump that tossed me onto an unknown world. I awoke in a crater on a world with weird magic; it was a good weird though since the magic here is stronger and more stable.

~~~~~~Celestia’s POV~~~~~~

  “Princess, there is something strange going on in the hive mind,” a changeling guard informed me.

  “What can you hear exactly?” I asked before getting my hopes up.

  “It sounds like static but it could be the main hive,” she explained.

  “Inform me if you hear anything confirming that,” I ordered before heading to my room for the scanner.

  “Why are you in such a rush dear sister?” Luna asked as I neared my room.

  “We might have a transmission from the western hive,” I said a little excited.

Nothing more was said as we both waited and listened to the scanner in hopes that our friends and allies might still be alive. The only thing from the scanner was static and a few changelings trying to reach out for the source of the static. It continued that way for nearly an hour before the static died down and the changelings stopped communicating.

  “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna,” called the very familiar voice of Twilight.

  “What is it my faithful student?” I said with some disappointment in my voice.

~~~~~~~???’s POV~~~~~~

It took longer than expected to make my way out of the crater since my wings hurt so badly. Near the edge of the crater was a pony coming towards me, it was a simple brown earth pony whose mane was a darker brown. I really hoped it could at least talk so I can get some answers.

  “Hello?” I asked more than greeted.

  “This is very interesting. I had no idea that you would be the creature I was sent to meet but regardless I have a gift for you,” he said in an accent I couldn’t place. He pulled a small necklace out of his saddlebag and offered it to me. I didn’t want to be considered rude on an unknown planet so I accepted his gift.

  “Thank you. I know this will sound strange but where am I?” I asked curiously.

  “Strange or not you never learn if you never ask. Technically this is the western changeling hive but it vanished so we are technically nowhere. Before I forget you should probably head in that direction” –he raised a hoof to the northeast- “to a land called Equestria.”

  “Okay and one last question. Who are you?” I asked still curious about the pony in front of me.

  “Right, sorry. I’m the Doctor and what is your name?” he asked walking towards a shed.

  “My name is Shade. The Doctor sounds like a title than a name,” I pointed out following him.

  “It’s actually a promise but have fun in this new land. Oh, and don’t take off that necklace since ponies don’t like your kind around here,” he informed me before heading into the shed.

I looked away to put on his gift and before I knew it my image shifted to that of a pony with wings. This necklace will definitely help me blend in. A winged pony, it would have been less suspicious than my normal form. Then again this is a new world so maybe winged ponies are normal in this place, I thought.

I looked towards Equestria before turning to look at the shed and noticed it was gone. More than just gone there wasn’t a single blade of grass squished almost like it was never there.

Chapter 1

~~~~~2 hours later~ ~Kindo’s POV~~~~

I always respected Midnight since he knew some things about the future but never actually risked reality by talking about it. That thought made me remember the only time he mentioned the future at all.

“So what happened after I killed you two?” I asked extremely curious as we walked through the hive.

“Well, Crimson was thrown trough a gap between dimensions and died on Earth but I don’t know what happens to me since it hasn’t happened yet,” he calmly answered.

“You know what’s going to happen until the day Midnight dies. Anything you can warn anypony about?”

“I can’t say anything but I was able to prepare for a few things in the past weeks. Hopefully they will not be needed but time doesn’t always change and when it does it’s usually not for the better,” Midnight explained with an unusual grin on his face.

That was about a year before the hive vanished but it also made me realize something very important. I instantly teleported to Canterlot Castle to inform the Princesses but froze when I thought about it. I couldn’t tell my nieces about what happened otherwise time would be in jeopardy. Something else about that conversation stood out, ‘I was able to prepare for a few things…’

I needed to focus on the problem so I did what I normally do to focus, I teleported to my cave not too far from Ponyville. I looked around my cave and remembered about the dragon that snuck in for a hundred year nap that was driven out by the Element bearers. I transformed into a dragon, since creatures usually leave dragons alone, and laid down trying to analyze Midnight’s cryptic message better.

~~~~~~Shade’s POV~~~~~~

I think the land below me is Equestria since it does actually have flying ponies or pegasi as they're commonly called. I also ran into a few unicorns a little while ago while I was resting but I have no idea where I should actually be heading. When I noticed an old castle that was half destroyed in the middle of a forest I decided to make that my next stop.

I made a quick and graceful landing just outside the castle and noticed it was half-destroyed like some big battle took place inside. I was about to explore the castle when I felt a very powerful source of magic nearby and went to find it. I was about to cross an old bridge when I found the source to be closer than expected and it seemed to be at the bottom of the cliff.

It only took a quick glide and a short walk before I found that the source was well a tree would be my best guess. It looked like a crystal tree with five matching holes in five different branches but it was definitely the source of the powerful magic. Something inside me was practically begging me to protect the crystal tree so I decided to make this cave my base and protect this tree.

~~~~Rainbow Dash’s POV~~~~

Twilight got to stay in Ponyville for a week but only two days after she got here a dragon attacked Ponyville. It was the same dragon that we got to leave its cave nearly three years ago but it has already shown to be stronger and more deadly. The dragons have been more aggressive recently since they teamed up with the changelings in their war.

I actually wasn’t very scared this time. Even though dragons are immune to magic and this one has gotten faster, stronger, and out for the kill. I had also gotten faster and stronger since the last time I saw it. I had been undergoing training to control a power inside me I didn’t know existed. I focused on only the fight and allowed energy to flow from my ‘shard’ to aid me in the fight.

This ‘shard’ has been there ever since I was born and has allowed me to develop much faster. It allowed me to fly years before other ponies, helped increase my speed faster, and even gives me accelerated healing. I don’t have complete control over the energy so I can only use it to improve my physical powers and very small energy attacks. Full control would allow me to have this battle finished already.

I felt a small push on my cutie mark as on color on the lightning bolt turned from yellow to white indicating the activation of my ‘shard’. I could feel every muscle in my body getting stronger from its energy and I used that to my advantage to launch my first attack. It wasn’t much just a simple punch to the dragon’s gut but it was enough to get him on his knees.

The dragon released the loudest angriest roar I had ever heard before he spread his wings and took to the air. I smirked at this since the sky is my domain but the dragon was faster than I had anticipated and slashed my face before I could completely dodge. I felt another push from my cutie mark as the blue portion turned white and gave me more power. Unfortunately I had to force that power back in since I could destroy Ponyville if I had lost control of my ‘shard’.

I went at him with every ounce of speed I had but it dodged my attack and delivered another slash of his own. His counterattack nearly took my head off but I was able to dodge it enough to only get a minor scratch from the devastating attack. His next attack was a simple yet powerful punch that broke my right wing and sent me crashing towards the ground.

I watched as he dove after me and since it would take nearly ten minutes to heal my broken wing this attack would kill me. As it was descending another dragon came out of nowhere and collided with the beast. Unlike the first dragon this one was only a little taller than I was with red scales but his wing membrane was a deep blue color. The second dragon looked at me like he couldn’t believe he did that before his expression showed confusion and recognition alongside his disbelief.

~~~~~Daring’s POV~~~~

While resting from my latest adventure I noticed a scroll in my library that wasn’t there when I left nearly five months ago. The scroll talked about eight special crystals spread across the land of Equestria that would grant one wish when brought to a specific place. According to the coordinates on the scroll the gathering place is around the infamous Everfree Forest.

I took off to find crystals that would be strong enough to grant a wish since in the wrong hooves it could change the world. The eight crystals are hidden in plain sight and obscured by the pride of ponies, that’s what the scroll said.

Chapter 2

~~~~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.

Chapter 3

~~~3 days later~ ~Canterlot~~~

Just as the sun was rising over the capitol city a group of dragons launched an attack on the city. They burned buildings and were slowly making their way to the castle. Even with both Celestia and Luna fighting with the royal guard the battle wasn’t easy. Every dragon that was injured fled to the top of the mountain and after hours of fighting there were countless injuries but no fatalities on either side.

The Princesses followed the dragons to try and find their base but surprisingly all the dragons in the attack were hiding on the other side of the mountain. There was one dragon smaller than the rest that appeared to be leading them. Their leader was no bigger than a normal pony and was wearing black and gold armor that hid every portion of his body.

The only thing that wasn’t hidden was his eyes but as soon as it spotted the Princesses making their charge on his small army, they vanished. The sound of wing beats slowly disappeared shortly after but in an instant the entire dragon army had completely vanished. Celestia and Luna had no choice but to return to Canterlot and wait for their next move.

~~~~2 days ago~ ~Shade’s POV~~~~~

Talking to Rainbow Dash was very tiring since I was using a projection of my body to cast it. I still have to be careful while using it since I can feel anything that it feels. I’m normally nearby so my real senses can pick up the entire conversation but this time I had to create a nearly perfect link to keep my real body safe. I wanted to stay away from her since she could kill me easily but it was an enormous drain on my magic.

I woke up as the sun rose when I noticed that I’d slept through the entire day after speaking with her. She didn’t seem evil and if the guardians trusted her enough to teach her to control her power than so should I. I looked around the cave a little before I left to catch my next meal. This world isn’t very friendly to carnivores and on top of that most of my normal meals were now sentient and thus I won’t kill them.

Killing sentient races is against the code of dragons and my own moral code so I would never consider them an easy meal. I decided to walk to the lake where I catch some fish for food but as soon as I saw another dragon I knew it was going to be a while. The dragon was about the size of the Guardians that my former master, Cynder had captured but this one had white scales.

  “So you finally made it young dragon,” he said shortly after I noticed him.

  “I wasn’t aware I had an appointment with you,” I replied while getting ready to attack just in case.

  “I have an important assignment for you. It will take you about a month to complete but where are my manners, I am known to dragon kind as the Protector. I know your name young dragon is Shade the only apprentice Cynder has ever had,” he informed me.

I hated to admit it but he definitely had my attention and something told me he was telling the truth. The part I hated admitting was the fact that with those few sentences I was ready to complete his task. The two of us talked a bit before he spread his wings, I noticed his membrane was a light blue and both of them had a large amount of scars from battle.

I was definitely not happy to go about his task but again something was telling me to carry it out. I went to my usual lake to catch some fish before I left to complete my mission. It only took me a few minutes to eat my catch and be ready for my mission. The only thing left to do was take my necklace off revealing my dragon form and hiding the necklace in a nearby tree. I shook my head a few times before opening my wings and flying over Ponyville for the last time heading towards Canterlot.

~~~~Present Day~ ~Midnight’s POV~~~~

Living in the void was really strange since there was no time yet the hive continues to age. We had to create day and night since there is no sun or moon. Our daily cycle is really simple since we have street lights powered by magic. We brighten the lights from east to west to give us the feel of the sun raising overhead. We decided night would be the time that we got tired so it isn’t exact but close enough.

Right now the lights are brightest in the east so it’s early in the mourning about an hour after sunrise. Now that Spyro and Cynder have showed up it was nearly time for phase two of Plan Eclipse. I walked up to our King and started informing him of my preparations to solve this problem. This was always going to be the most annoying part of the plan but it was our best plan.

  “Crimson, it’s finally time for phase two,” I finished.

  “Well this is a very intricate plan you created. I don’t have much say in the plan now but I would have agreed anyway. Carry out phase two before you finish dying,” he declared.

  “One final question, did you ever suspect?” I asked and he just smiled.

  “You almost always sleep, ate more than usual, and yet you continued to weaken each and every day. If anything this explains everything,” he informed me.

It was finally time to continue my plan so I moved to the most secure part of the hive. Inside had a few runes and a single sword creating the shield keeping us alive. I moved next to the sword and sat down before closing my eyes and started carrying out phase two. My spell created an enormous gust of wind and made the world around me spin and twirl before finally disappearing.

Chapter 4

~~~~~Cynder’s POV~ ~8 years ago~~~~~

  “Cynder!” he roared into my cave.

  “What?!” I snarled annoyed.

  “Are you really working for Malefor?” he asked with hostility in his voice.

  “Yes and since you are my student so are you,” I answered.

  “I will never help that ingrate…” I cut him off with a stream of shadow fire.

  “You will watch your tongue especially when addressing your master,” I snarled.

  “He will never be my master!” he said jumping into the shadows to attack me.

I slashed him as soon as he reappeared with my tail before turning and hitting him again with my shadow fire. I kept my fire stream as relentless as I could for over two minutes at temperatures that could kill a dragon in thirty seconds. When I stopped shadow fire attack I could see my student’s limp body but I didn’t stop hurting him. Shortly after the fire stopped I brought the cave down on top of his body.

~~~~~~Present Day~~~~~

  “Cynder, snap out of it,” was the first thing I heard as I regained my senses. The first thing I saw, other than the dark void in front of me, was the form of my savior, Spyro.

  “What happened?” I asked as I started heading back to our cave wanting to be as far away from the shield as possible.

  “It looked like you were having a nightmare,” Spyro said obviously worried as he followed me.

  “Bad memory is more like it,” I finally said, after nearly a minute of silence, not wanting to elaborate as we entered the cave.

  “It’s okay Cynder. You don’t have to say anymore if you don’t want to. You are who you are and nothing can change that,” Spyro said as he laid down a little ways away from me.

It has been about a month since we arrived in the hive but nothing has really changed. We are basically just waiting for something to pull us back onto their planet. I laid down hoping for the sweet embrace of sleep but every time I closed my eyes I always saw the face of Shade. I don’t even remember his real name but ever since he mastered Shadow magic I always called him Shade.

It doesn’t really matter what I call him since I can never undo what I did to him.

~~~~~~Luna’s POV~~~~~

The walls were a brilliant color that almost perfectly matched a sunset while the stained windows with star patterns had been enchanted so that they changed based on the phase of the moon. The ceiling was designed to appear as if it was my night sky itself while the floor had some 3-D art to make it look like Canterlot at night. A knock on my bedroom door broke my concentration on the book I’d been reading and I opened it with my magic to reveal a light brown unicorn with an orange mane but there was something wrong with him.

  “You’re a changeling!” I accused to the seemingly normal unicorn in front of me.

  “That’s no reason to go and blow out my eardrums, Lulu,” he replied before dropping his disguise and closing the door behind him.

  “You have broken Equestria law by-” I started to say but the look on his face told me that this was important. It had been so long since something could silence me with a look alone. Other than my sister the only other creature to pull it off had been.

My mind nearly broke down when I realized that I couldn’t remember. My memory is usually very good and since I never experience the thousand years trapped in the moon from my point of view it was a mere fifteen years since the creature had accomplished that. I shook the half thought out of my head and focused on what was so urgent.

  “How close are we to completion?” someone asked though it sounded gargled and muffled somehow.

  “Not even halfway yet, sire,” another voice answered the first. I looked around my room for the source of the voices but couldn’t find it. The only ones here were me and the changeling.

  “We’ll have to just wait for-” the first voice got cut off but it was enough time for me to pinpoint the location of the voices. I turned around and finally realized that the hive scanner had just shut off. I put some power into it to turn it on but there was very little this time, just the changelings in Equestria. I looked back at the changeling to find him passed out on the floor, sleeping soundly.

The undeniable sound of a sonic boom drew my attention from the unconscious changeling to the nearby balcony. I walked outside just in time to see something crash into the mountainside about a mile below the summit. I prepared to take off but stopped as the ground started shaking shortly before another loud boom was heard. The second crash sounded like it came from the other side of the mountain but it made the ground shake even more anyway.

After a few minutes the ground stopped shaking and I prepared to take off again however I hesitated when I notice that the moon was next to the sun in the sky. I finally took off to check on whatever collided with the mountainside and it didn’t take long before I could see another figure flying the same way. Needless to say I was extremely confused. First, a random changeling showed up and got the scanner working. Then something collided with Canterlot Mountain itself hard enough to shake the entire city twice. Finally even though it was early afternoon something brought the moon into the sky.

As I closed in on the mountain I could see an enormous tunnel that was a nearly perfect funnel and went the whole way through the mountain. I flew through the new shortcut through the mountain and noticed that the edges of the tunnel were jagged slightly. It became more obvious the further in I went and the only thing I could think of that could make it jagged like that, as crazy as it sounds, would be an incredible amount of wind resistance.

Finally the exit was in sight but on the other side was an enormous crater along with nearly two miles of destroyed trees and upturned dirt. Luckily there wasn’t anypony living on the other side of Canterlot Mountain but this would have been fatal to anything. I knew that whatever lied at the center wouldn’t be pretty but I had to know what could have crashed through a mountain. Two ponies were already at the center of the crash and one of them was obviously my sister but I didn’t recognize the other.

I looked at the center of the crater and found a Pegasus face down in the crater. The fur around it was burnt black and covered in dirt, ash, and soot. Its wings were so broken and bloody it was a miracle they were still attached at all. Its wings were the only reason I could tell it was a pony at all for the body looked like it was nearly melted away.

Chapter 5

~~~2 weeks later ~~~Vectra’s POV~~~

I was in the hospital room watching as Kindo lay comatose in his bed. I didn’t know what had happened but it wasn’t easy to take either of us down and a lot harder to keep us down. In only a week and a half I had searched over half of creation to find what had beaten Kindo so badly. I spent every night in the hospital by his side but his injuries were still to the point that he was barely alive.

I had run out of options so I had to view his memories as Princess Luna can’t view our dream due to the things we have seen. The only problem, other than the obvious consequence, is that I was never alone in the room and couldn’t get everypony to leave if I tried. Right now the four Princesses and our daughter were in here with me and I was unsure weather they could handle something as disastrous as his last battle.

  “I’m going to recreate his last battle from his memories so anypony that can’t take it please leave,” I said to prepare them as Applejack and Fluttershy entered the room and locked the door. I could tell that Applejack was actually a changeling but I was sure of witch changeling so I kept my mouth shut. Fluttershy was also just a duplicate though not a changeling but had a disguise on that I couldn’t see through.

  “Applejack! Fluttershy? What are you two doing here?” Princess Twilight asked causing them to look at me like they were asking to continue.

  “This is a pretty hard spell to maintain so keep your voices down. If I lose concentration then we will lose our only chance to figure this out,” I warned putting emphasis on the word ‘only’ to make it sink in. After a quick succession of head nods, and a look of annoyance from Twilight, I teleported everything out of the room, the machines keeping him alive were the last to go but he didn’t need them anymore.

I put a hoof to his chest and poured some energy into his shard. As expected his eyes shot open and magic enveloped the entire room causing nearly everypony to gasp. Kindo’s body disappeared from view as the hospital room walls also faded giving us a clear view of the past. The first thing to come through was sound, the sound of jet engines flying at nearly supersonic speeds.

After a few seconds scents came through, the smell of an engine, and finally sight. Since they were viewing memories none of them could either taste or touch anything but everything else was real. What a sight they had too, jets flying towards the front lines covered the sky; while hundreds of tanks leaving the small base were heading in the same direction. In front of them in human form was Kindo heading towards the war room to give his input. He was a four star general in the American army so he was usually there helping people with his insights.

The group followed Kindo into the war room and although the Princesses wanted to speak up their knowledge of spells kept them quiet. Inside the war room were a few generals that were planning the next step but all conversation ceased when Kindo entered the room.

  “What do you need? I was out on the front lines helping as best as I could,” he nearly demanded.

  “According to intelligence reports there is a massive blue bird about five miles to the south. It sounds impossible but the creature appears to be about two miles tall and has taken out some of our best pilots, sir,” the only female general there quickly explained while the others chuckled at the information.

  “What do you intend to do to destroy it?” he asked a little taken back by the information.

  “We’re sending more aircraft to confirm the reports and then we’re going to shoot it down,” she answered.

  “Recall those aircraft, that’s an order,” he quickly replied before preparing to leave.

  “I told you that report was nothing but scuttlebutt,” an officer said before falling down from laughter.

  “I recalled the aircraft not due to false information but due to the creature being more powerful than our best nuke, stronger than our best tank, and faster than our fastest jet. Her name is Nightmare and she is an alien known as a frost raptor. Let no one else know of this, that’s an order,” he ordered before turning into a Pegasus and flying faster than any jet to get to Midnight.

The group watched as Kindo quickly overtook many of the flying machines on his way to the sight. Obviously the group followed as the spell could only allow them to roam around a certain distance from the one remembering.

  “Questions?” Vectra asked knowing it would take a few minutes to get there.

  “Where are we?” most of the others asked in unison rather quietly.

  “This is Earth in universe 374D and this is the country of Afghanistan. The country we’re in is currently at war with the United States of America. I believe the year is around 2007 so about the middle of this war but I’m not entirely sure,” Vectra answered rather quickly.

  “What are those things?” Twilight asked while pointing at a plane they were passing.

  “Those are aircraft or planes and the creatures piloting them are called humans. On this planet they are the only sentient creatures and are omnivores. Back on topic though I have no idea about the exact model of any of these aircraft but it looks like we’re here,” Vectra finished when she noticed a massive frost raptor that looked like a blue phoenix.

Frost raptors are usually as small as their phoenix counterparts but the more energy they get the bigger they can grow. They exist in many universes but due to their affinity with cold are the lesser known than their heat based counterpart. This particular frost raptor has committed terrible crimes against its own species just for power and has been searching the universe for more.

  “I can’t say it’s nice to see you again but here we are,” Kindo greeted while hovering in the air.

  “Finally! Just the creature I was looking for. Hello again Kindo,” it said sounding impatient.

  “I should feel important considering that you waited for me. Tell me why are you here?” he started with teasing but finished with genuine curiosity.

  “You should have been here weeks ago. Our battle is a fixed event and neither of us can stop it since it will decide the fate of reality. Now then I’ve been patient and this talking is nice but I think its time for our destined battle,” Nightmare finished.

Kindo answered by taking a battle stance before lunging at the massive frost raptor. She retaliated by piercing her claws into his chest but it didn’t stop him from using his wings, sharpened by energy, to slash her leg. Nightmare’s face contorted in pain before using her beak to pierce his head and following it up by moving energy into her claws and beak to freeze him from the inside out.

Chapter 6

As Nightmare looked over the frozen Kindo she was still prepared for another attack. She pulled her beak out and prepared to break the ice and kill the creature inside. As the beak came out however, one of his wings broke free and made another slash at her leg. The slash smashed into the damaged area and made a clean cut through her leg freeing him from her grip.

Not ready to back down she lunged her other clawed foot toward the mostly frozen Pegasus but a blast of energy pushed it back. The energy also blasted the ice surrounding Kindo shattering it and turning his icy prison into projectiles. Millions of ice shards pelted the Frost Raptor but barely injured her overall. Kindo, now in his alicorn form, stopped for a second to look at the damage.

Nightmare was missing a foot; she had frozen the blood in her leg to stop it from bleeding, along with some ice shards scattered in her wings. Kindo on the other hoof was also mostly uninjured but the ice had created some frostbite on the tip of his wings. The moment of peace didn’t last though as Nightmare fired a freezing blast from her mouth while Kindo threw up a shield to protect him.

Almost as soon as the ice blast ended Nightmare pieced his shield with her claws and threw it as far as she could. The shield stopped about fifteen feet away with a nearly perfect coating of ice around it. Nightmare went for the shield at full speed to shatter it but before she got to it a wing slashed at her wing. She turned and noticed her right wing was nearly taken off from the attack as she tumbled toward the shield.

The shield shocked her briefly before breaking to reveal that it was empty but the pony that was inside was nowhere in sight. Kindo had actually stopped his existence to pass through his shield and shimmered back when Nightmare passed him. Right now however Nightmare was losing her patients and was about to release her full power when Kindo pulled her into the time vortex.

As they traveled through Nightmare tried to escape his energy trap and attack Kindo but he was directly behind her in her blind spot. As she was fighting it with all of her might while Kindo struggled with his energy trap the seven watching the memories went unnoticed.

  “Where are we now?” Cadence asked about the tornado around them that was changing color every minute.

  “This is the time vortex and it’s currently changing color due to us leaving the universe we were in,” Dash surprisingly spoke up.

  “How would you know Rainbow Dash?” Luna beat everypony else to the question.

  “Kindo would take me different places for a little fun every now and then,” she answered nonchalantly.

  “Why did he do that?” Celestia asked since she knew him the best, other than Vectra.

  “We’re here!” Vectra interrupted in surprise by the universe they were in.

Their destination had been a planet populated by dragons and an unintelligent version of everything else. The fighting duo was up above an enormous mountain with Nightmare still inside the trap. The release of her full power both broke the trap and created a beam of pale blue light that shot into the sky. Deciding to give her the same privilege he readied to unleash his full power but she was too fast and threw him into the ground below.

The planet got a violent shake as Kindo smashed into the ground but Nightmare wasn’t done as she again shot an ice blast at him. It impacted him with full force creating a ball of ice around him nearly fifty feet in diameter. Not ready to stop yet Nightmare takes off at full speed to try and beak Kindo in half again but this time she succeeded in breaking the sphere in half. Once again the alicorn wasn’t inside but was instead over by the mountain right next to one of the caves.

As Nightmare flew after him the changes in both were very obvious. Kindo’s once jet black coat and rainbow mane and tail were now pure white as they were filled with energy. His mane, tail, and back were also leaking excess energy causing a nearly pure white aura around him. Nightmare on the other hoof had gone from nearly pale blue to a midnight blue shade but her energy leak was less obvious due to her species.

Nightmare stopped in her tracks when she noticed the cave was actually an enormous eye. The right eye was focused on Kindo while the left gave Nightmare a look of indifference. Kindo glanced at the right eye with a pleading look on his face but the eyes merely looked at Nightmare. She looked terrified as the two eyes were focused on her.

Suddenly the mountain got taller and shook off the dirt, grass, trees, and ice to reveal an enormous dragon. The massive dragon actually had dark purple scales with twenty light red curved horns on its head. Both the Frost Raptor and the Alicorn were visibly shaking at its stare alone. Suddenly the massive beast spread its wings, revealing its light blue wing membrane, and released a massive roar. Taking the hint both demi-gods left the planet without another attack and not a word was said between the two.

  “What was that?” Twilight asked after she regained her composure.

  “That was Mordekai. She is the mother of all dragons and has beaten us guardians in an unfair fight. Unfair as in according to the situation our side should have been favored. We have been on unsteady ground ever since,” Vectra replied after a few extra minutes to regain her composure.

  “Even the dragons on our planet?” Dash followed up.

  “Don’t be ridiculous-” everypony gave a sigh of relief, “-not all of them.”

Everypony was worried about that but had no time to continue questioning as they were pulled back into reality. The only thing around them, other than Nightmare and Kindo who was frozen again, was sparkling gold and silver cannon. The cannon is about sixty yards in length and about one yard in diameter for the barrel. It was obvious that whatever came out of the cannon was extremely bad and extremely powerful.

Nightmare wasted no time in loading the cannon with something that surprised everypony. She stocked it with all four thousand and one shards that power the guardians themselves. Kindo was breaking through the ice as fast as he could but while he struggled she took Dialia and slid the sword in the back of the cannon. Kindo finally broke free of his ice prison just in time to see Nightmare slide his other sword, Shadowbane, into the top of the cannon.

Kindo had little time to prepare as the cannon fired the power that created the universe straight at him.

Chapter 7

The most dangerous secret weapon ever created was dubbed the Destiny Cannon for its similarities with the old fashioned cannons used at some point on most planets. It’s made almost entirely out of metil, a gold and silver slab that is almost impossible to destroy and extremely rare in any universe. It could be as small as a piece of paper and still withstand a supernova but the thicker it is the stronger it becomes.

The other material used to create it is known as dark matter, an extremely dense and heavy black substance usually found as little orbs. When found the orbs of around thirty feet in diameter can weigh in at near three thousand pounds. They can become so heavy because they are made when a star collapses in on itself due to its own gravity; the other outcome is a black hole.

The cannon itself was dubbed the Destiny Cannon not because it can bend or destroy fate or destiny but due to the power that the cannon produces. It’s powered by the very same items that created the universe though that power now has different cases. The sphere was the majority of the big bang but was shattered and given to the guardians due to the untold dangers the sphere created. The other part of the power was a massive ball of energy that was sealed away by the guardians into two swords due to it destroying universes.

The Destiny Cannon fires the power of the universe, held and amplified by the metil that makes the outline of the cannon. The dark matter base ensures that it will not move when being fired and its position forces it to fire away from existence. The firing mechanism is so intricate that any movement by the creature firing it ceases the blast.

~~~~~~Now back to the story~~~~~

Nightmare perched on the cannon just the right way to cause it to fire a beam of light that had every color imaginable at Kindo. He had almost no time to react but in the little time he did have, Kindo created a hole in time and pulled out a slightly more worn out version of Dialia and Shadowbane. Having no time to waste he pulled a shard out of his body.

  “Reality Shield!” Kindo screamed at the last second hoping against odds that the shield would form. To everypony’s surprising relief a multicolored shield enveloped him as an older version on the other four thousand shards spun around him along with his swords. The were on even ground right now because if she moved the cannon would cease fire and if he moved his shield would be unable to fully block the attack. As the attack hit the shield the colors changed causing the shield to look almost like it was spinning. This was caused by the shield separating the colors of the attack randomly.

  “WHOA,” nearly everypony said as the attack hit the shield and almost everypony was impressed at the extent of sheer power was produced. It took a while for everypony to notice that Kindo had lost his previous alicorn form and was now a giant white dragon.

  “When did that happen?” Dash asked after noticing it, not that it surprised me that they would question it.

  “We always assume that form when using the full extent of our powers, especially with something as hard as the Reality Shield,” I explained to the other seven.

  “Is that amount of power allowed to even exist at the same moment?” Fluttershy whispered her question in my ear.

  “Actually no, it isn’t. If this continues for too long than time will crack further and the warps in space will also get worse. It’s entirely possible that this could have marked the end of existence,” I answered while keeping my usual tone but was also absolutely sure of whom ‘Fluttershy’ actually was now.

  “What did you say about reality as it is now?” Luna spoke up making me cringe at my earlier mistake.

  “The universe started with a big bang, an enormous explosion that created everything and is still creating things to this day. Well at the end of reality there was a similar explosion, another big bang commonly referred to as big bang two. The big bang started creation and the second one destroys it but the second one was more powerful and actually cracked the time before it and caused enormous and extremely disastrous warps in space as well,” it was surprisingly Applejack that spoke up about it.

  “To counteract the effects of big bang two a group of time travelers from shortly before the second big bang went back in time. These time travelers were the ones that broke the sphere into shards and distributed them amongst themselves but later passed them onto other creatures. As time went on the Guardians as they’d come to be called became more and more diverse until something happened that made the Guardians extremely rare. They finished their decline in numbers when the most powerful crack in time started forming in your universe causing the mistake that lead to Dash nearly getting killed,” Applejack continued.

  “I believe that that crack was actually caused by Kindo’s delay of this battle,” Fluttershy suggested.

  “That’s what I think as well but it could have also been helped by Midnight and Crimson sharing a single body. I thought that because although the time travelers weren’t Time Lords they had the same regenerative properties. I believe that Midnight and Crimson, being the same pony from two different points in their own time stream, caused the crack to become more dangerous,” I voiced my opinion and received nods from both Fluttershy and Applejack.

  “How do you two know all of this?” Twilight aimed her question at her two best friends.

  “This is it,” I interrupted causing everypony to focus on the draw that the battle currently was.

  “REFLECT!” Kindo yelled causing a barely noticeable white patch to form on his shield sending a beam of energy towards Nightmare. She knew it wouldn’t be enough to kill her and when she noticed his shield beginning to crack decided to take the attack head on.

She saw the shield crack and crack it did. What started out as a tiny scratch where the white patch was quickly spider webbed covering his entire shield. Kindo’s counterattack didn’t reach Nightmare in time as the shield was unable to endure the punishment any longer. The sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the entire place as his shield caved under the power and pressure of the attack.

The reflected blast hit Nightmare at the same time the Destiny Cannon shattered Kindo’s swords, which he had instinctively placed between him and the attack. Within microseconds Kindo was stabbed by shards of both his shield and his swords before being blasted by the last of the Destiny Cannon’s blast. When the blast finally hit the entire place went white and was obscured by haze.

The attack had ended a mere minute before it would have destroyed reality but it was easily long enough to create a crack in the fabric of reality. Kindo fought to stay conscious as the crack pulled him into the time vortex. Inside the usually safe vortex he bounced around getting struck by time energy over and over again before a bolt hit him hard enough to break through the vortex and back into reality.

As Kindo broke through the barrier the room started to come back into view. The first thing back was the walls, a few seconds later they could see the bed again, and finally Kindo himself was visible. The last Guardian of Time was not how they had last seen him however. In front of the eight that had just viewed his memories was a statue of their one King and protector laying on the bed where he was last seen.

Chapter 8

~~~~Dragon Temple, Warfang~~~~

It had been nearly a year since the saviors were pronounced dead and everyone, including the chronicler, had given up hope that they were still alive. Their wounds were reopened on this day because it has been exactly one year since Malefor was defeated but the loss of their saviors turned a day of celebration into a day of mourning. Spyro and Cynder were friends to many and heroes to them all.

Inside the great temple sat three torn dragons, these three are know as the Guardian dragons and as such normally look past their emotions to help others. This time was different because it wasn’t just them grieving but all of Avalar due to the passing of three great heroes. Another Guardian Dragon known as Ignitus gave his life to help save the world by guiding the two through the burned lands where his body was discovered.

It was the unmistakable sound of strong wind within the temple that brought their attention back to the present. They entered the next room witch was the Sacred Guardian meeting room where they found a dragon a little taller than they were sitting on a purple pillow. The dragon was nearly pure white with a light blue wing membrane that was visible as he put his wings away. Just seeing this one dragon made hope flare inside their hearts that Spyro and Cynder had survived the cataclysm.

  “Long time, no see old friends,” the dragon stated with a smile though pain was visible in his eyes.

  “It has definitely been awhile, Kindo,” Terrador said after a few seconds.

  “Do you have news of Spyro?” Cyril asked getting straight to the point but the question caused the visitor to shudder and look depressed.

  “Not of Spyro but I have found Cynder. She is currently in the void between this universe and my home universe but things don’t look good for her,” he informed us with a look of desperation for something.

  “That is absolutely fabulous, amazing, astonishing, yet saddening,” Volteer started.

  “Enough Volteer!” the other three said in unison cutting him off.

  “Can’t you possibly help her?” Cyril again went straight to the point.

  “I could,” –he paused when he saw the other Guardians perk up because that was it for the good news. - “There is a shield that has her alive and well on a small piece of land inside the void.”

  “And you need us to help you break the shield!” Terrador finished for him with a look of joy on his face. The others perked up at this idea as well witch made Kindo feel even worse about the next part.

  “Let her go,” Kindo said so depressingly that his voice cracked a little.

  “Why!” the others immediately asked glaring at Kindo. The look in his eyes pleaded them to kill their curiosity on the subject but they didn’t yield an inch in the staring contest.

  “Nothing can survive in the void thus that shield is the only thing keeping her alive. If the shield breaks then she and many more will die. I could survive in the void but if I broke the shield then everything becomes thousands of times worse. The shield protecting her is known as the Kai shield,” Kindo finished barely maintaining his voice the entire time.

Kindo didn’t have the heart to inform them of Spyro’s survival since he knew that once the shield broke Spyro would die, fighting him. The other Guardians knew enough about Kindo to know that the Kai shield is the one shield even he shouldn’t use due to its secondary and secret purpose.

  “There is more to your story isn’t there?” a familiar voice asked but we couldn’t see where it was coming from. There was only one answer to who owned the voice; we knew it belonged to the chronicler.

  “Indeed there is,” he started but stopped as the voice finally registered in his mind.

  “Well then please explain,” Terrador said as he tried to keep his spirit up to focus on the information.

  “Come on then. We will help if we can but we can’t do that if you don’t tell us more,” Cyril said in a weaker voice than Terrador.

I still couldn’t admit my coming demise as so much has already happened to them so I said nothing and merely reopened my wings and dropped my disguise. My white scales turned pale while my wing membrane became a light purple and my eyes went from emerald green to a much paler green. They knew this form well as I had appeared in at meeting with it before when my body was too weak to traverse universes.

  “This is the final time for you isn’t it old friend?” the chronicler asked.

  “Indeed it is but with my death signifies the death of an ancient evil as well,” he said obviously trying to keep everyone’s spirits up.

  “The time is nearly upon us already and, without the mighty purple dragon, I fear our world is truly doomed,” Cyril said unable to utter the name Spyro again.

~~~~Spyro’s POV~~~~

While the changeling hive had few options for carnivores, the beauty of the hive easily made up for it. There were so many things to do but most of them were romantic and another portion was taken away from the smaller expanse of the land. It had been about two weeks, in the void it was hard to tell, since I had finally admitted to Cynder that I love her and we were now expecting eggs. My thoughts were broken as a changeling nearly knocked me over.

  “My apologies, Spyro but the King needs to see you now,” it quickly explained while looking around, probably for Cynder.

  “Cynder should be out in the eastern fields. She said that she wanted to be alone for a while,” I answered his unasked question. My answer made him nervous but he led me to their King, Crimson. It didn’t take long to reach the palace and it took even less time to find the King. He was in the shield room as he usually was the last few days.

  “Sire,” I said bowing my head to show my respect for the kind changeling.

  “I would say that there is no need for formality but time isn’t on our side at the moment,” he looked towards Dialia that was radiating a deep red aura instead of its usual light blue.

  “What’s happened to it?” I asked the obvious though he looked like he wanted me to figure it out.

  “The shield is weakening and when it breaks the hive will go back to the edge of Equestria,” he paused obviously getting ready to deliver the bad news.

  “One of three things could happen when the shield finally breaks down. The best option is that we merely return to our place in time and space but that is just being hopeful. The second is more likely, since you and Cynder don’t belong in Equestria you will be left in the void to die. Unfortunately, the most likely option is that an extremely powerful creature will again return and destroy everything. Not just my world or yours but all of creation before it begins anew,” the King explained quickly.

  “How can we tell the outcome?” I asked understanding his sense of urgency.

  “It’s impossible from here unfortunately but-” he stopped for a minute while giving a face of concentration like he was talking through the hive mind. While King Crimson was like that I noticed something near Dialia and ventured closer but when I touched it I passed out. The last thing my body registered was some strong winds, the sound of thunder, and finally the feel of marble under my body.