//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: Ponymon Mystery Dungeon: Rainbow Rescue Team 
// by Insert_Name_Here 
//------------------------------//

	I could feel the warmth of sunlight on my face. When I grudgingly opened my eyes, I forgot where I was. Cautiously, I sat up and looked around. Then it all came flooding back to me. Being turned into a pony, battling the timber wolves and meeting 8-Bit…Speaking of which, where was she? I jumped off of my bed and landed on my hooves, as if I’d done it every other day of my life, and looked around a second time.
“Hey Eight Bit, you here?” I called out.
No response.
I shrugged and walked towards the door. Maybe she was outside. I pushed it open with one hoof, like how my friend had demonstrated the day before. Oddly, it could be pushed both ways. Perhaps that’s because it might’ve been hard to pull with hoof, I thought to myself. I stepped into the blinding morning light and let the door close behind me.
“Good morning mister Blade!” a cheerful voice called from in front of me. I almost didn’t recognize its owner, then my eyes adjusted and I recognized a familiar grey coat and blonde mane.
“Good morning Derpy!” I called back, returning the same warmth. I cantered over to her. “What’s up?”
“I’m Ponyville’s mailmare and I have a letter for you and miss Eight Bit!” A proud grin stretched across her face.
“Oh? From who?” I asked, my curiosity spiking. I had only been in this new place for less than a day and already I was getting mail? I was a little more than confused.
“From me, of course!” Derpy grinned as she ruffled through her saddlebag and pulled out a letter. She handed it to me, and one eye drifted slightly upward as she did. “Go on, read it!” I took the letter from her and opened it.

Dear Team Free Souls,
Thank s so much for saving Dinky yesterday! I don’t know what I would’ve done if anything happened to her. Sorry I left yesterday without giving you anything to show my thanks. It’s not much, but enclosed are two blueberry muffins to make up for it!
Love,
Ditzy Doo

I looked at the letter, front and back, then at my grey pegasus friend with a puzzled look on my face.
“Um…there aren’t any muffins…”
“Oh! Silly me,” Derpy giggled as she reached back into her bag. When her hoof came out, there were two muffins resting on it. She extended them to me and I took them.
“You know, you really didn’t have to get us anything. Really; we’re just glad Dinky’s safe too,” I tried, but didn’t sound very convincing. She waved a hoof.
“It’s nothing! Just don’t be surprised if other ponies you rescue send you stuff. Anyway, I have to go now. The mail won’t deliver itself! Enjoy your muffin! DITZY AWAY!” The grey pegasus spread her wings and took the sky, leaving me standing with the two muffins. It wasn’t much longer after that I heard the clopping of hooves against the road.
“Yo Silver! I see you’re awake.” 8-Bit’s voice called. I turned and when I saw her I attempted to suppress a laugh, but failed.
“What are you carrying?”
“What, these?” She indicated the weird leather contraption hanging over her saddlebag. “This is for you.” She pulled off the…thing that wasn’t a saddlebag and placed it at my feet. I poked it with my hooves.
“Uh…what is it?” I asked as I raised an eyebrow at her. She shrugged.
“Well you told me you were good with a sword and you proved with that stick yesterday that you were so that’s something you can hold your sword in.”
“But I don’t have a sword.”
“Not yet, but I’m sure we can get you one.”
I shrugged and threw it on.
“It’s a little tight…” I complained. 8-Bit shrugged.
“We’ll have Rarity fix it for you later.” I nodded, and then pointed at the saddlebags.
“What’s in those?”
“Just some supplies and items that might be useful in future missions.” She dug in and pulled out two bronze badges with an emerald in the center. She gave me a badge. “Hold on to that. After we make a rescue, it can teleport us out of the place we ventured to.”
“Teleport us?” I asked quizzically, “How can it do that?”
“Badges are enchanted with unicorn magic.” 
Ok, sure, I thought. Why not?
“Actually, there’s a unicorn nearby who knows a lot of stuff. Maybe she knows something about your becoming a pony?” I nodded.
“Alright then, let’s go!”
“Sure, we’ll leave now if you’d like. But first…what’s that in your hoofs?” I glanced down at the two muffins and smiled. I gave one to 8-Bit.
“Gifts from Derpy. It’s her way of saying thanks, I guess.”
“Oh!” Her ears perked up. “That was nice of her; she didn’t have to do that.” She peeled the paper off and stuffed the whole thing in her mouth. I followed example, except I took several bites. It was really good! I could hear 8-Bit’s noises of contentment (which sounded a lot like “om nom nom”) next to me and found they matched my own. She belched loudly when finished. Very unladylike.
“That was good.” I commented. She nodded.
“Let’s go see that unicorn now.” She galloped off and I followed behind.

* * * * *

“Yo Twilight! You in here?” 8-Bit shouted as she threw the door to the tree house open.
Now, when I say “tree house”, I don’t mean one of those cute little forts in a tree. No, this house was carved into the tree. It was literally a tree house. I stared curiously, but then remembered why we came and looked at my partner.
“You know this pony?” 8-Bit shook her head.
“Not personally, but everypony knows Twilight Sparkle. She and her friends have saved Ponyville more times than anypony can count.” Just as 8-Bit finished her sentence, a purple unicorn’s head popped up from behind a corner.
“Somepony called me?” 
My pegasus friend flew over to Twilight Sparkle and landed gracefully.
“Hey Twilight, do you have any books on humans? My buddy here Silver says he was a human once but is now a pony. He also can’t remember anything except for the things that happened yesterday and today,” my friend explained. Twilight Sparkle rubbed her muzzle thoughtfully and eyed me up and down, as if I were a strange specimen.
“Amnesia, huh? I can’t say I’ve ever heard of a ‘Human’ before but I’ll definitely look into your problem. I’m sorry if I can’t help you right now…You see, the  Elements of Harmony have gone missing and my friends and I are looking all over for them and-“
“The Elements of Harmony? What are those?” I asked. 8-Bit looked like she was about to say something but the purple unicorn gave me the explanation first.
“Oh right, your amnesia. Sorry. The Elements of Harmony are powerful states of being that manifest in all ponies of Equestria-“
“Equestria?” I interrupted again.
“The land you’re standing in now. Anyway, the Elements of Harmony mostly keep peace, or restore something corrupted to its original state. Now are you starting to see why it’s a problem they’ve gone missing?” I nodded and she sighed. “I’m really sorry I can’t help you now, but I promise I’ll look into this case when I have time.”
“That’s fine Twilight.” I said reassuringly, “I can wait.” She nodded.
“Oh, I almost forgot! Where should I visit if I get any information on this matter?”
“You can find us at the house of Eight Bit and Silver Blade.” My partner said warmly, indicating to us respectively. Twilight Sparkle nodded again.
“Alright Silver, I’ll contact you right away if I discover anything.”
“Thanks Twilight!” I called as 8-Bit and I galloped out of the tree house.

* * * * *

“Oh, you simply must sit still!” The white, fashionista unicorn scolded me.
“Why can’t you just adjust it without it on me?” I whined. My discomfort levels were through the roof. Rarity rolled her eyes.
“Do you want this done right, dear?”
I looked away and grumbled something about how stupid everything was. Over in the corner, 8-Bit was snickering at me, soaking in my misery. I gave her one of those I’ll kill you later looks and moved my left forehoof to let my adjuster make her adjustments.
“OW!” I cried when she pulled the leather strap too tight.
“See what happens when you don’t listen to what I say?” Rarity chastised, shaking her head. I restrained a growl. I could not wait to get out of there. With one final swish, Rarity stepped back to admire her work. “There! All done!” I stood up and shifted around in my harness. It felt…comfortable, to say the least. I nodded.
“Thanks. How much do we owe you?” I asked. Rarity waved a hoof.
“Oh tah, it didn’t cost me any materials! You darlings don’t owe me anything,” she nearly sang. Wow, I thought, this pony was generous. 8-Bit nodded her gratitude and we walked out. I looked at her.
“What’s next?” I inquired. She rubbed her muzzle thoughtfully.
“Hm. Well, we need to get you that sword we were talking about earlier, but where could we get one…?” We both sat in silence for a while. A voice interrupted our thoughts from behind us.
“Excuse me dears, but I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation…And I think I might be able to help.” We both spun around and stared. How could a pony who specialized in dress making help us find a sword? But we listened with open minds. “There’s an underground mine half a day’s trot from here, and on more than one occasion there I’ve seen a certain ore of metal that is indestructible. If you brought it here, I’d be more than happy to reshape it for you.”
“Wow! Really? Thanks!” My pegasus friend and I grinned at each other, then took off galloping.
“Wait!” Rarity called after us. We stopped and turned around. “You should be warned that the mine is home to many diamond dogs. Do be careful.” We nodded and returned to our course out of Ponyville. I looked over at 8-Bit.
“What’s a diamond dog?” I asked her.
“I dunno. Hopefully, we won’t have to find out,” she said with a nervous laugh.

* * * * *

My legs got tired after a couple hours of our steady canter to the underground mines. My partner and I didn’t do much talking as we traveled; it was more efficient that way. After much time had passed and the sun hung directly over our heads, I suddenly stopped and sat down. 8-Bit stopped and looked back at me.
“You alright Silver?”
“I’m really hungry…”
She kind of just stared at me for a while with an amused smile before erupting into laughter. Her giggling pulled her to the floor and every time she tried to get up, would just fall over again. I glared at her angrily.
“What’s so funny?!” I demanded to know. She sat up and wiped a tear from her eye with a huge grin on her face.
“Oh pony, where would you be now if I hadn’t come prepared? You’d be all shriveled up and blown away in the wind!” She started laughing again. I felt my face grow hot and could tell I was blushing. I drew circles in the dirt with my hoof.
“Just shut up and gimmie my food…”
She reached into her bag and hoofed me an apple. Then the weirdest thing happened. I’m not sure whether it was from coming out of laughter or if it was something else, but 8-Bit gave me the most dazzling smile I thought a pony could muster. It didn’t look like she was trying, it just sort of…happened. I felt myself blushing again, but this time for a different reason. I shook my head and took the apple hastily. I ate quietly as the green pegasus next to me ate hers. She wiped her mouth with her hoof and looked at me.
“Ready to go, Silver?” she asked. I nodded. “Cool.”
I looked around to take in the surroundings. As far as I could see, there wasn’t any grass or trees, just dirt and rocks. We looked around and finally found a hole of which to make our entrance. She looked at me, as if to say I am not going down there but I shrugged and cannonball’d down.
The tunnel whizzed past me in a blaze and it occurred to me that I might hit the ground too hard. So I spread my legs and desperately tried to slow the process of my decent. After some sliding and a terrible burning in my hooves, I came to a stop at the bottom. Cautiously, I let go and allowed myself to land on the floor beneath me.
“Look out bellow!” A voice shouted above me. I only had time to look up before 8-Bit’s body crashed into me, shoving me to the floor. My eyes went cross-eyed for a moment. She shook her head and looked at me, giggling a little. “Oops. Sorry ‘bout that. Thanks for breaking my fall though!”
“Don’t…mention it…” I managed to say as her weight squeezed the breath out of me. She jumped off and looked around. 
“Wow! Look at all the jewels!” She grinned. “We could make a fortune off of these!” I looked to where her attention was drawn. Emeralds, sapphires, rubies, and all sorts of other precious rocks lined the walls. It was an impressive sight. She picked a few off of the ground and started stuffing them into her saddlebag.
“Come on Eight Bit. Focus.” I reminded her. I gazed around the cavern, looking for what we came for. Dripping water could be heard farther down the cave. It was eerily quiet and I suddenly got the feeling we shouldn’t be there. My eyes continued to scan the area until a faint twinkle caught my eye. Upon further investigation, I found it was a dull metal, possibly silver when polished. I grinned excitedly.
“Eight Bit, check this out! I found it!”
No answer.
“Eight Bit?”
I turned around just as a cold paw closed around my neck and hoisted me into the air. I yelped in surprise, and then lost my voice when I saw the face that I was now prisoner too. The creature was canine, but more humanoid than the timber wolves. It gazed at me with horrifying cat-like eyes, and I also noticed it had fangs.
“Well, what has we has here? Earth pony in the mines? You know mines dangerous for pony,” it hissed at me, with breath smelling like dead fish. I squirmed uncomfortably. I was really starting to dislike canines as of late. I did the only thing I could.
“Eight Bit, help!”
I felt the grip around my neck grow tighter and I started choking.
“Pony will be quiet! Pony thinks pony can come to mines and take jewels? Pony is wrong!” it growled.
From the corner of my vision, I could see other “diamond dogs”, as Rarity called them, closing in on me. Even if I were to escape the firm grasp of my captor, there would be no way to get past so many diamond dogs. I was done for…
“Hey idiots! I’m taking your gems and there’s nothing you can do to stop me!” my partner’s voice called from across the cave. Her saddlebags were bulging with the precious stones and I almost thought she had a death wish.
“What are you doing?! Run!” I yelled at her. But it was too late. The diamond dogs’ attention was turned to 8-Bit. The ones that had circled around me before now dashed over to her. She grinned mischievously and pulled a ruby out of her saddlebag, throwing it at the diamond dog that held me. It hit him in the eye and he shrieked, dropping me onto the cold stone floor where I lay, coughing.
“Sky pony will regret coming here!” the diamond dog that got hit with the ruby roared at her. He charged to take a swipe, but I was faster. I leaped up and headbutted him in the back, causing him to topple over his own paws and sprawl over the floor. 8-Bit was still hurling the gems at the diamond dogs. Some were sent directly at them as an offensive weapon while others were sent into the distance so that the beasts would run after them. 
Did I mention the diamond dog I hit with my head was wearing the indestructible metal as armor? My head was pounding and oxygen flow still hadn’t returned yet. I felt the familiar feel of 8-Bit’s hoofs wrap around me, lifting me up. This time, however, I was more conscious to notice she was in great pain as she did so. I was about to protest that I’d walk, but I was too tired to argue so I let my body go limp as the curses from the diamond dogs grew ever so distant.

* * * * *

I awoke on a bed in Carousel Boutique with 8-bit and Rarity hovering over me. Why had these expeditions lately left me blacking out? I couldn’t say I approved of the pattern but there was nothing I could do about it now. My partner bit her lip with a worried look on her face.
“You alright, Silver?” she asked cautiously. I nodded.
“Yeah, I’m fine…” I croaked. “What about you?” She smiled.
“I’m fine. I’m just…glad you’re okay,” she said softly. I closed my eyes and sighed regretfully.
“We didn’t get the metal…”
“Actually dears…I just finished shaping your blade.” Rarity stated.
My eyes shot open and I half-sat up.
“What?! How?!” I exclaimed. 8-Bit grinned proudly.
“Well, while you were searching I found some of the metal in the wall with the other jewels. I dug it out and kept it in my saddlebags. Shortly after we left the mines, I used the badges to teleport us back to Ponyville. You’ve been conked out for a while though; you started to freak me out.”
I could sense the worry in her voice and I felt a little guilty for being so careless in the mines. Rarity trotted over to a stand and used her magic to levitate my harness over to me. I got up slowly and slipped it on. I smiled at Rarity.
“Thanks again.”
“Anytime dear.”
8-Bit and I left Carousel Boutique and I noticed it was nighttime. I really had been out a long time. Next to me, my friend sighed and chuckled to herself.
“Man, and there were so many gems down there we could’ve used…”
“Oh, that’s right!” I extended the sapphire in my hoof to her. “For you!” She stopped and stared at me with her mouth hanging open.
“Silver…I…you…You were being attacked and the one thing you were thinking about was holding onto that to give it to me…?”
“Yep.” I nodded. “That’s about right.”
She stood there staring at me for a little while longer before throwing her forehooves around my neck in a tight embrace. Her body was shaking terribly.
“You…stupid idiot…”
We stood there for a while under the night sky for a while longer before starting to head home. We ate our dinner, climbed into our beds, and shut up the lights. After a while, I glanced over at her and she was holding the sapphire close as she slept.