A/N: sorry for keeping you all waiting for so long, here is the next chapter.
Return of the Shadow League: chapter 7: the shrine of magic
The next morning, Silver and Sapphire woke up bright and early, they needed to get camp packed up, and continue on their way, as they walked out of the tent, they saw Twilight and Flame, already up and waiting for them, much to their surprise.
"Well, you actually managed to get up, before us, I'm impressed" Silver said as they walked up to them, they both turned and smiled, "yeah, well, we would rather get up early, than be rudely awakened, by that trumpet" Twilight said with a smile on her face, they all laughed.
"Alright then, we need to get camp packed up, so we can head out, lieutenant!" Silver called out, and shortly after he did, a soldier, dressed in the traditional, guardian armor, ran up to him, and bowed, in respect, "yes my lord, what do you need" he said still bowing, Silver turned to him, "have the troops pack up camp, I want to be gone, In one hour" he said looking at the soldier, he quickly rose from his position, gave a salute, and ran off, in the other direction.
He quickly turned back, to Flame and Twilight, "I suggest you two, go and make sure your friends are awake, you all have a big day" he said as he turned and walked away, with his wife, Twilight and Flame turned to each other, nodded and walked off to find their friends.
(Later that day…)
After camp had been packed up, they headed out. Silver continued to follow the map, that he studied as a young colt, even though it was fresh in his mind, after all these years, he still didn't take any chances.
They traveled for what seemed like hours, much to their disappointment, at one point, Flame felt like asking if Silver even knew where they were going, but decided to keep his mouth shut, since he didn't know either.
They all felt as though they had been lost, until they arrived at the edge of the forest itself, the only thing in front of them, was the beginning of the mountains, so they decided to make camp here, "alright, make camp here" Silver shouted to the exhausted ponies behind him, even the troops, who had been used to long distance travels, fell to the ground, and sighed happily.
Flame and Twilight, soon walked up to Silver, who was busy looking over the map, with great interest, "hey Silver, I thought you said we would be there, by the end of the day, so where is it?" Flame asked curiously, Silver merely turned around with a smile on his face.
"oh, we're here alright, it's at the top of the cliff" he said before his wife and son walked up to him, "everything's unpacked dad" Comet said, as he looked up at his father, he smiled down at him, "good job son, now we need to go" Silver said before walking past them, "Mrs. Sparkle, you and your friends must come with me" Silver said, turning to them with a serious face.
"Wait, where are we going, you said it's at the top of the cliff, but there's no way up there" Flame said worriedly, as he ran up to Silver, silver chuckled, as they rounded a corner, and revealed a secret path, that lead to the top of the cliff, "you were saying" Silver said with a smile, as he walked up the path, it has never been used, in a thousand years, so the path, was very risky, if one fell, they would certainly die.
After making their way across the treacherous path, they found themselves, on top of the cliff, when they looked down, they saw the camp, a couple yards away, when they reached the spot, on the cliff above the camp, Silver halted them and brought the map up to his face, "so where is this, shrine you've been talking about?" Shining Armor said, with an irritated glance.
Silver turned to him, with a smile, and laughed, "my friends, what do you see here" he said, pointing to his side, they all looked, but were confused by what he meant, "it's the side of a mountain" Flame answered, with a clueless expression, Silver nodded, and walked up to the mountain, and placed a hoof on it, and slowly moved it across the rocky exterior.
"Yes, remember when I said, that the shrine's, were hidden so that no traveler may find them by accident, only a guardian can find the shrines" he said, as he felt a loose rock, and gently applied pressure, slowly the rock was pushed in, much to their amazement, and quickly Silver turned it clockwise, at first nothing happened, until they heard a large clicking sound.
Suddenly he ground around them started to shack, nearly throwing them off their hooves, suddenly a large part of the rock, slid to the side, and revealed what seemed to be an old tunnel, when they all got up, Silver's smile only grew wider, as he gestured them to go in, at first they were all hesitant, but they went in, followed by Silver, and his family.
Inside the tunnel, they saw nothing but some burnt out torches, which were placed along the wall, and cobwebs, that served as the only decorations, the air inside, was thick, and full of dust, they realized that this tunnel hadn't been opened in at least a thousand years.
As they walked further in, the tunnel seemed to widen, and eventually became a full room, with enough space to fit the entire group inside, and still leave plenty of moving space, they stared around in awe, at the vast empty room, around them, suddenly out of nowhere, the large door behind them shut, leaving them trapped inside the room, with no escape, and no source of light.
"hey, what happened, where's the light switch, I can see anything" they all heard Rarity cry out, she got her answer, when the torches on the far side of the room lit up, followed by the next pair, and the pair after that, they continued this chain, as if they were being lit by some strange source, soon all the torches were lit, and revealed the rest of the room.
When they adjusted their eyes to the bright light, they looked around and saw the entire interior of the room had changed; the walls were all decorated with shiny gold chains, which glimmered in the light of the torches.
When they turned around, Twilight and her friends immediately ran to the door, and tried to push it open, but found it sealed shut, as if something was holding it closed, "why won't it open?" Shining Armor said, as he pushed against the door, with all his might, but to no avail.
"Because, we aren't supposed to leave" they heard Silver say, who was on the other side of the room, when they turned around, they saw him and his family standing in front of a large statue, on the other side of the room, suddenly interested Twilight and her friends, walked away from the door, and up to Silver, who was intently staring at the statue, as if it was hypnotizing him.
The statue portrayed an old unicorn, standing in a proud position; they couldn't tell the color of his coat, due to the stone, that had lost its color over the years, they noticed a saddle bag draped over his side, with a few books packed inside, they couldn't make out the titles either.
On top of his head, was a crown, which resembled Twilight's tiara, which she found after she used her element to defeat Nightmare Moon and Discord. Underneath the statue, was a large stone coffin. The inscription on it was too hard to make out, due to the cracked stone.
Twilight walked up in wonder, as soon as she set eyes on it, she couldn't take them off, she looked on in amazement, at the object before her, she felt drawn to it somehow, but she couldn't explain why.
"who is he?" Twilight asked, still staring at the statue, Silver turned away, and looked at her, finally pulling her eyes away from it, she looked into his eyes, and he smiled, "he was your predecessor, the original element of magic, his name was Midnight Star" silver said with a calm face.
She turned back to the statue momentarily, and again looked back at silver, "what happens now" she asked, wanting to know the answer, Silver smiled and looked back at her.
"now, you must approach the statue, speak clearly and show no fear" Silver said, but Flame was getting tired of this, "hold on, what is this all about, what are you trying to pull here, we have no idea what could happen" Flame said half angry, half scared.
Silver sighed and turned to him, "Flame, I understand your concern, but this is no time to argue, if we want to defeat Shadow Blaze, this is the only way" Silver said, with a serious face, Twilight stepped forward, in front of him.
She smiled, but he looked into her eyes with a worried expression, "please don't, you don't know what might happen" Flame said, with the slightest hint of tears in his eyes, she still smiled, and pressed their lips together, silencing all his worries; they separated, and looked into each other's eyes.
"I know Flame, I'm scared to, but I'll be fine, I love you" she said as she backed up, "I love you too" he said quietly, as he watched her approach the statue, when she was a mere yard or two, away from the statue she leaned down, into the best bow she could give, at first nothing happened.
Then, suddenly out of nowhere, something happened that both shocked and frightened all off them, except Silver, and his family, who remained calm, "speak your name and intentions" came a loud booming voice, that had no specific place of origin, soon everpony, looked around nervously, searching for the source, of the strange voice, Twilight herself, was trembling in fear, but she remembered what Silver said, and breathed out a shaky breath, and spoke.
"my name is Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia, and bearer of the element of magic, I have come to learn in the ways of harmony" she said, trying to sound brave, at first she received no response, then suddenly, the entire cave began to shake violently, nearly throwing all of them off their hooves.
As they tried to get up, they were blinded by a bright light that forced them to cover their eyes, and just as quickly as it started the shacking quickly stopped, and they all got back on their hooves, and looked around, "is everpony okay?" Shining Armor asked, while looking around, he got multiple replies, as they all got back together.
When they looked around, back at the statue, they saw that Twilight was nowhere to be found, "Twilight!" Flame yelled as he ran forward, to the spot, where his wife was, nothing more than a scorch mark remained, he frantically looked around, trying to find her, but she was nowhere in sight.
He angrily turned back to Silver, who had a smile on his face, and marched up to him, "what happened to her, where is she" he said almost yelling, as he came right up to him, Silver chuckled and turned to face him, "calm yourself Flame, I can assure you, she is fine, he has taken her to his world, where he will train her how, to properly use her element" Silver said, as he walked past them.
During their argument, they hadn't noticed, that the entrance to the cave, had reopened, and the afternoon sun, poured light into the dark cave, "how long would she be gone" Shining Armor asked, seeming a lot more calm then Flame, who was still angry.
Silver stopped and said, "it depends, he can put twenty years of training into one day, it all depends on how fast a learner she is, now would you rather stay here, and wait for here, or we can go back to camp and rest" he said as he walked out of the cave, quickly followed by the other's and a reluctant Flame.
(Unknown location)
Twilight opened her eyes, and was immediately blinded by a white light, and forced to cover her eyes, she felt a massive pain in her head, as she tried to get up, she failed, and fell flat on her stomach, she tried again and succeeded, she looked around, and saw nothing, nothing more than a big empty white space, her fear grew as she frantically looked around, in search of a sign of life, or anything.
"Am I dead?" she asked herself, and when she did, she crumpled to the ground, and started to cry, she really thought she was dead, she feared she would never see her friends again, or PonyVille, or the Princess's, or even Flame. The thought of never seeing her husband again, alone made her cry.
"do not cry, Twilight Sparkle" she heard a strange voice, say from behind, she got up, and sharply turned around, and saw nothing but the same empty white space. "Who's there, show yourself!" she shouted, into the emptiness, at first she got no response; she began to think it was her imagination, until she heard it again.
"I am here, and to answer your question, no you are not dead" she heard the same voice say from behind, when she turned around, she saw an older stallion, approaching her, she instantly realized that he was a unicorn, and that he remarkably resembled the statue.
"Who are you, where am I?" she asked urgently, the stallion just walked past her, "oh me, I'm just an elderly unicorn passing through, the question is who are you" he asked as he stopped a few feet in front of her, but did not turn to face her, she was slightly thrown off by his question.
"what do you mean, I know who I am, my name is Twilight Sparkle, I was born in Canterlot, I live in PonyVille with my husband, I am the personal student of Princess Celestia, and the element of magic" she said with confidence, the older stallion finally turned, and looked her in the eyes, the way he looked at her, made Twilight more and more nervous.
"The element of magic you say, well it's an honor to meet you" he said bowing in front of her, Twilight became more and more confused, by the minute, "aren't you Midnight Star" she asked curiously, when she did, he rose from his position, and walked around her, slowly forming a circle, much to Twilight's discomfort, "so you know who I am, well Twilight Sparkle, you are smarter than you look" he said as he slowly circled her.
"so you think you are the element of magic" he said stopping in front of her, "yes, my friends and I, used them to defeat Nightmare Moon and Discord" she said, trying to sound confident. He leaned in closer, and observed her, more closely, the close proximity between them, made her more and more nervous, as beads of sweat rolled down her face.
Shortly after, he backed up, and gave her space, much to her relief, he chuckled to himself, and looked her in the eyes, "we shall see" he said walking past her, and stopped, "only one with a pure heart, can master the element of magic, once you do, you become stronger" he said turning around to face her, his expression no longer calm, but dead serious.
He slowly walked around her, "in my time, the world was torn apart by war, Shadow Blaze wanted to control everything, and he was willing to destroy the world to do so" he said with a solemn look on his face, "but you stopped him in the end, you restored peace with the elements of harmony" Twilight said, as she got up from her sitting position, but he shot her a glare, that made her sit back down, silently.
"yes we did, but many good ponies died in that war, I still feel that it is partially my fault, after that, I devoted my life, to practice and meditation, until my death, thousands of years ago, and since then I have helped protect the ponies of this kingdom from threats, and now the elements have chosen new ponies, you do not know the responsibility, of the title you have been given" he said as he turned to her.
"That is why I am here, to learn from you, teach me how to use the element of magic, so that I might help my friends defeat Shadow Blaze" Twilight said bowing in front of him, he was slightly surprised, "hmm…you are indeed a strong young unicorn, perhaps you do have what it takes, but taking this path is not an easy one, and when you do, you can't go back, it might change you" he said as he looked down at her, "I will do anything to protect my friends and family, I'm ready" she said still in a bowing position, he smiled at her, "very well then, Twilight Sparkle, let your lessons begin" he said, with a smile, Twilight rose from her bowing position, and smiled back.
(Real world, guardian's camp)
Back at camp, everpony was busy, eating their dinner, the sun had now almost completely set for the night, the shadow of the mountain, cast itself over the camp.
While everpony, was eating their dinner, and talking amongst themselves, Flame sat quietly, on the other side of the table, nopony seemed to notice until now, "hey what's wrong darling, no need to worry, I'm sure Twilight is fine" Rarity said trying to comfort him, he knew she was right, but something inside him, kept him worrying, "she's right Flame, she's my sister, and I'm not letting it get to me, because I know she is alright" Shining Armor said from across the table.
"they are speaking the truth, Twilight will return to us in time, that I can promise" Silver said, looking over at Flame, suddenly as soon as he said, that a large quake shook the table, they all had to hold it down to prevent the food from flying off, shortly after it stopped, and they all relaxed.
Silver looked up at Flame, who was frantically looking around, and smiled, "well Flame it looks like your wish came true" he said as he got up from the table, and took off in the direction of the hidden passage, the other's quickly followed suit.
When they reached the edge of camp, Silver gathered them up, "let's take the shortcut" he said as he closed his eyes, and his horn glowed, and suddenly they vanished, they quickly reappeared in front of the cave, that lead to the shrine, a bright light was shining out of the cave, causing them to cover their eyes.
Suddenly the light died down, and they looked into the cave, at first they saw nothing, but then they saw movement inside, and a shape started to form, and when it came into view, it turned out to be a familiar lavender unicorn.
As she came further out, they all noticed the tiara, was on her head, Flame didn't notice, he was too busy almost crying at the sight of his beloved wife, he ran to her and stopped in front of her, she looked him in the eyes, "Twilight is that you?" Flame asked, nearly crying, at first she didn't answer, but suddenly she leaned forward, and hugged him, which he gladly returned.
"I thought I'd never see you again" he said as he hugged her, she smiled at him, "I said I would be fine" she answered back, as all her friends came up to get their hugs, after a series of greetings, Silver walked up to her, with a warming smile on his face.
"Congratulations Twilight, you did it, how do you feel?" he asked, after he did, she fell down to the ground, and laughed, "I guess all that training, left me pretty weak, I need to sleep" she said getting tired, and yawning.
"Flame, get her back to camp, let her rest" he said as he led the way back, as soon as they arrived back at camp, a few minutes later, she immediately headed back to the tent, and collapsed on the bed, and instantly fell asleep, Flame quietly crawled in beside her, and wrapped his front hooves around her and pulled her close, and went to sleep himself.
A/N: wow that was the longest chapter I have written yet, well hoped you all enjoyed, see you next time.