A/N: well, here's the next chapter, things get more interesting.

The Gathering Storm: chapter 7: change of plans

As Flame and Twilight, followed the guard through the halls of the sanctuary, they found themselves in an awkward silence, mainly because they were interrupted, during their 'activity', so they decided to stay quiet, until they decided to ask, where they were being taken.

"Um, excuse me sir, but where are we going?" Twilight asked with curiosity in her voice, the guard didn't turn around but he, answered her question, "we are going to the war room, lord Silver, wishes to speak to you and your friends" he said as they continued walking, and so they stayed like that for another ten minutes.

Shortly after, they arrived in front of a large door, they assumed it was their destination, the guard then stepped to the side, and looked at them, at first they were confused, but then he motioned for them to go through the door, they felt nervous at first, but after all they had been through, they had gotten used to it.

They walked forward and Flame, pushed the door open, and they slowly walked in, the first thing they saw, was a large table, in the middle of the room, with a large group of ponies standing around it, they then recognized them as their friends, when they stepped in, the one in the middle lifted his head, revealing none other than Silver.

When he saw them, he smiled, and motioned them to step forward, "ah good you made it, please come, I hope the guards didn't disturb you or anything" he said with a smile, and when they came up to the table, Flame tried his best to smile, "yeah, we were in the middle of…stuff" he said glancing at Twilight, who shared his nervousness.

When they arrived at the table, they saw all their friends, standing around it, obviously waiting for them, "good, now that we are all here, we can get started" Silver said, as he turned his attention to the map in front of him, when they looked down, they saw a map of Equestria, but it was labeled different from what they were used to.

Silver cleared his throat, and began to speak, "okay, I know you are wondering why you are here, well, it's because we need to make a change of plans" he said, and when he did, it caught all their attention, "it turns out we are shorter on time than I thought, in order to outrun Shadow's forces, we need to pick up the pace, so I devised a new method of transportation" he said, calmly.

After he did, they waited for a few moments, and then he continued, "the reason I had us walk, the way here, is because I thought we could evade Shadow's detection, turns out I was wrong, so I have some good news and some bad news" he said, looking at all the ponies standing around the table.

They waited for a little while, before Flame spoke up, "well, what is it?" he asked, and Silver looked up at him, with a smile, "the good news is, we won't be walking anymore, we are going to take and air ship" he said, and when he did, they all sighed with relief, but he wasn't finished, "but the bad news is, that by using an air ship, it will increase our chances of being caught" he said, as his smile disappeared, along with the other's.

"Well, if we might get caught, I don't think it's a very good idea" Twilight said, after she did, Silver looked up at her, "at first I didn't either, but I realized we have no choice, if we want to get to the remaining four shrines" he said, with a solemn look on his face.

"Well then, looks like we really don't have a choice, so what's our destination" Shining Armor asked, looking over the map, Silver made a partial smile, as he turned his attention back to the map, "well, lucky for us, two of the next shrines, our very close to each other, the shrine of kindness and the shrine of loyalty" he said looking up to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, who had shocked and nervous expression.

"So, we will be taking the air ship, to this outpost here, outpost 39, in the middle of the desert" he said, pointing to a specific spot on the map, "again, lucky for us, the shrines, are maybe a mile or two from the base, so we can fly there, and we would only have two more shrines to go, laughter and generosity" he said turning his attention to Pinkie Pie, who had an excited face as usual, and Rarity who had a shocked face on.

They all remained silent, for a few minutes, before Flame spoke up, "I like this plan, I say we do it" he said looking at all the others, some shared his idea, some did not, Silver turned to Twilight, who had a solemn face, to him, she was the unofficial leader of the elements, so it was up to her, he got his answer, when she looked up, she had a small hint of anger.

"I agree, we need to find a way to stop him, before he hurts any more, and if this is the only way, then I say we do it" she said, with a calm voice, and Silver smiled, "well, alright then, mother, can you have a ship prepared for launch, we leave tomorrow at dawn, we should arrive, by the late afternoon, but I must warn you, it gets awfully hot, in the middle of the day" he said as he got up and walked away from the table.

Everpony soon followed suit, returning to their room, to rest for the long journey ahead.

(Canterlot castle, throne room)

Shadow Blaze, sat on the throne at the top of the stairs, lost deep in thought, the last time he talked to Celestia, she said something to him, something that had brought back terrible memories, ones he thought were gone.

What Celestia said, reminded him of her, the mare he once loved, the memories he once cherished came flowing back to him.

(Flashback)

It was a bright sunny day, and the sun shined down, on the newly established castle, the war had ended a few years ago, and even now the ponies were still hard at work, to rebuild the war torn nation, but none more so than a certain unicorn.

Shadow was hard at work, in his lab; he was on the verge of his greatest creation, one that would benefit all the ponies of Equestria, and he had finally completed it, but just as he finished, the door behind him opened, and in walked a mare, that he knew all too well.

"Shadow I'm here, now what is it you wanted to talk about?" she asked, but before she got her answer, Shadow turned around suddenly, scaring her slightly; he had a huge smile on his face.

"Violet, I'm glad you are here, I've finally done it, come see" he said grabbing her hoof, and bringing her over to the table, on it lay three potions, with no special design of any sort, to her they looked like any ordinary potions.

"What do you see?" he asked with a broad smile on his face, she smiled as well, "well I see three ordinary potions" she said, looking over to him, that was when his smile grew wider, "that's where you're wrong, you see, after years of hard work, I have finally made a potion that can benefit all three races of ponies" he said gesturing to the first one, an ordinary blue potion.

"This one here, can increase the agility, and flying capabilities, of any Pegasus" he said proudly, as he turned his attention to a green potion, "this one can increase the strength and endurance, of any earth pony" he said before taking her over to the last potion, a purple one, "and this one, can greatly increase the magical capabilities of any unicorn, giving them power beyond their imagining" he said, with a smile, that went from ear to ear.

"that doesn't sound very safe" Violet said, he turned to her, still smiling, "well, it has it's limitations, I was just exaggerating" he said as he turned to face her fully, she smiled, and wrapped her hoof around him, "their great, no wonder the Princess's chose you to be their court wizard, you have helped out so many ponies, and I'm sure you can help more" she said with a smile equal to his.

He kissed her lightly on the lips, "all because of you, my beautiful wife, you give me strength to do the things I do, if it weren't for you, I don't know what I would do" he said, as his kissed her again, they stayed like that for a while, before she quickly separated her lips, much to his disappointment, she looked away.

"What is it?" he asked brining her face to his, "I have wonderful news" she said, with a smile, now he was confused, "the Princess's, have assigned my expedition team, to lead a mission into the mountains, isn't it wonderful" she said with a smile, but Shadow didn't share her excitement.

"What's wrong, aren't you happy, you don't have to worry about me" she said as she lead him to the couch, on the side of the room, and they sat down, he turned to her, "it's not just you I'm worried about" he said placing a hoof on her stomach, she frowned, when he said that.

"Shadow…I'll be fine, I'm only going for a week, everything's going to be fine, trust me" she said as she looked him in the eyes, whenever she reassured him, he always felt better, it was one of the many thing he loved about her.

(End flashback)

Shadow lost his train of thought, when the large doors, on the other end of the room, flew open, and one of his guards came running up to the throne, it took his a few seconds to reach the steps, because the room was so long, but when he did, the guard gave a respectful bow, and looked up to him.

"My lord, we have received a transmission from Night Wing, he wishes to speak with you" the guard said, before he looked back down, Shadow who still had his eyes closed finally opened them, and looked down at him, "thank you guard, I will be there shortly" he said, before the guard nodded ad turn and walked out of the room, Shadow sat there for a few seconds before he stood up, and walked down the steps and out of the room, with the memory still fresh in his head.

(Guardians sanctuary)

The morning after, their meeting with Silver, Twilight and Flame, were woken up early in the morning, they remembered that they needed to leave by dawn, and so after waking up, they were taken, to the launch bay, where the air ship they were taking was being prepared for launch.

Due to it still being early in the morning, they were still tired, but they got up none the less, and made their way to the hangar bay.

When they arrived, they saw it full of activity, due to the short notice, normally it would take at least a day to get everything prepared, but they had less than a day, and yet things were going smoothly, by the time they arrived.

The first thing they saw was Silver and Sapphire, directing all the ponies, in a rush to get underway, so they decided to go up and talk to them.

"Ah, good to see you finally woke up, we were starting to believe, that we would have to come and get you" Silver said with a smile, as they walked up to them, Flame was the first to speak, "well, we're here, and it seems you got everything under control" he said, looking at the massive ship in front of him, his amazement, amused Silver, "yes we are ready to leave, if you will come with us" he said as they made their way to the ramp.

When they came up to it, they saw their friends, already making their way into the ship, soon a guard came up to Silver, and they saw his mother closely following, the smallest hint of tears in her eyes, Silver smiled as he walked up to her, and pulled into a hug.

"I'll be fine mother, I will come back when it's finished" he said, trying to comfort her, they separated, and they looked into each other's eyes, "just make sure you come back in one piece, all of you" she said before they turned away, and walked up the ramp, but not before Silver took on last look at his mother, before the ramp closed, and so they turned and made their way to the bridge.

(Guardians ship, bridge)

When they passed through the door, into the bridge, the site before them, shocked them greatly, even Flame hadn't seen a ship this big, inside there were many ponies walking around the room, making the final preparations for take-off.

"my friends, welcome to the Flying Star" he said as he walked forward, and walked up to a pony standing in the middle of the room, who they assumed was the captain, "captain, are we ready for take-off" he said, the pony turned to Silver, and gave him a salute, one that Silver returned, "yes, my lord, we are ready" he said, with a smile.

"well, let's get her in the air" Silver said as he looked out the giant window in front of them, "yes sir" he said as he turned to the intercom, and spoke, "attention, this is your captain speaking, let's get this ship running, all engines up to maximum power, I repeat all engines to maximum power" he said before, he let go.

At first, nothing happened, but then the ship began to shake lightly, catching all of them by surprise, but then it died down, Silver knew that the massive engines were being turned on, and slowly the ship began to move forward, as it slowly inched out of the cave.

As it left the cave, and climbed higher and higher from the ground, "captain, get us higher in the air" Silver said, as he turned and walked up to Twilight and Flame, who still looked amazed, Twilight walked over to the window, and looked out, as the sanctuary vanished behind the clouds, as they ascended, above the clouds.

Soon after, Twilight walked back next to Flame, "there are some cabins below deck, you can go rest, we should arrive at the outpost, in the afternoon" he said as he turned back, and walked back up next to the captain.

"Come on, Twilight" Flame said, as he started walking, she hesitated but turned and quickly followed after them.

(Canterlot castle, throne room)

Shadow Blaze, was pacing back and forth, in the throne room, after he met with Night Wing, via visual transmission, he had been devising a new way to strike his enemies where it hurt the most, and In doing so, he requested to be alone, but the haunting memory from earlier, still lingered in his mind, and when he wasn't thinking about other things, they slowly crept into his mind, followed by one of the most painful memories, the day his beloved wife died.

(Flashback)

Shadow was walking around his private library, reading a book, on spells and incantations; it was always his favorite thing to do, when he wasn't working.

It was later in the night, as he walked along the shelves full of books; it had been a few days since his wife left on her expedition, and even though she reassured him, he couldn't help but feel nervous, a week before, the doctors told him that his wife was pregnant, he was more than overjoyed, but little did he know, that he would never see his foal come into the world, this day would change his life forever.

He was interrupted from reading, when the door flew open, startling him; he dropped the book to the ground, as two of the Princess's royal guards walked into the room.

"What is the meaning of this" he asked, as they walked up to him, they stopped in front of him, as one of them spoke, "lord Shadow, there has been an accident, with your wife's expedition team" he said, and they wish they hadn't, Shadow's eyes widened, when he heard the news.

"What happened, tell me" he said, with a faint hint of tears in his eyes, at first the guards hesitated, but continued, "during the expedition, there was an avalanche, half of the soldiers were killed, she was found, and immediately brought back here, but she is in critical condition" the guard said, suddenly, Shadow ran past them, and straight to the hospital wing, leaving the guards behind.

(Canterlot castle, hospital wing)

Shadow stormed into the hospital, and made his way to the room, where she was being kept, as he was about to open the door, he was stopped by one of the doctors, "sorry sir, you can't go in there, the patient is in critical condition" he said, but Shadow wouldn't stop, "let go of me, you fool, I am the court wizard, that's my wife in there" he said pushing past him, and opening the door.

When he walked inside, the sight before him, broke his heart, lying in the bed, was indeed his beloved wife, her body was covered in bruises and scratches, and he saw that her breathing was very slow.

He couldn't believe it, he didn't want to, yet there she was, he slowly walked over to the side of the bed, as tears fell from his eyes, when he came to the edge, he leaned over, and grabbed her hoof, causing her to stir, she turned her head to the side, and looked into his eyes, he saw the pain in hers, and it only made it worse.

Even through his tears, he tried to speak, "Violet, I'm so sorry, I should have been there to protect you, it's my fault, it should have been me" he said, as the tears blurred his vision, despite his sorrow, he heard her try to say something, "Shadow…I-I-I'm s-s-sorry" he heard her try to say, "I'd give anything to change this" he said as the tears came at full force.

"Shadow, it wasn't your fault, don't blame yourself, I love you with all my heart, never forget that, I-I-I will always be w-with you" she said as she closed her eyes for the final time, Shadow couldn't believe it, she was dead, his beloved wife was dead.

He cried into the bed sheets, as he still held onto her hoof, he cried his misery out to the world, he thought the heavens were cruel to him, he heard a new set of hooves approaching from behind, and he felt a hoof on his shoulder, when he looked up, he stared into the face of Princess Celestia herself.

Her face was full of sadness; Shadow saw the faint hint of tears in her eyes, she could understand his pain, "I'm so sorry for your loss, Shadow, she was one of the greatest ponies I have ever known" she said before she walked away, after se said that, Shadow still stayed there silently weeping into the sheets, until he was finally convinced to leave, that night he left the hospital with a heart full of sorrow and grief, that night he became a different pony.

(End flashback)

As the memory, continued to remind him of his past, old wounds were awoken, as the pain and sadness flooded back to him all at once, soon it became too much, in a fit of rage and sorrow, he punched the wall, hard enough to nearly shatter it, when he did, he pulled his hoof back and looked at it, but saw no damage.

Suddenly he moved to the side, and as his anger flared up again, as he punched a small hole, straight into the glass, luckily the entire widow didn't shatter, he pulled back his hoof, and observed the damage; he saw blood trickling from the small holes, which the glass punctured in his skin.

He watched with a straight face as the blood began to seep back into the cuts, as the wounds healed, soon all the missing blood, had returned to the body, as his hoof looked the same as it did before, with no sign of any wound of any sort, he still remained calm, his anger had gone, and only sadness remained, he looked through the window, and down to the city, which was now occupied with his troops.

He looked back up to the moon, despite their imprisonment, Celestia and Luna, were still in charge of the sun and moon, that was one of the very few things he let them do, he knew it was still their duty, aside from ruling the kingdom, as he looked down, he closed his eyes, and tried to forget, the memories.

But after he closed his eyes, he felt something trickle down his cheek, something he hadn't felt in centuries, he brought his hoof up to his cheek, and brushed it off, when he brought his hoof away to observe it, and he found it to be a tear, something he never thought he would do again, he was actually crying.

Suddenly, his put his hoof down to the floor, and turned away from the window, he walked away from it, and made his way to leave the room, and closed the door behind him.

A/N: wow that was cool, is it me, or is things getting more intense, well see you next time.