8-Bit and I had been awake for a few hours doing our own things around the house. She was fiddling with some sort or technical object that was beyond me and I was polishing my sword. We were resting before heading out into town to find some work because one rescue mission usually took all day and I enjoyed her company, albeit silent.
A hoof beat against the door to our home. We glanced up at each other curiously. Our rescue team, Free Souls, was barely three days old, so we weren’t amongst the same ranking of some of the higher teams. It was peculiar that we’d receive any personal missions. I shrugged and cantered over to the door. When I swung it open I was a little more than surprised to find Twilight Sparkle standing there.
“Good morning Silver Blade. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” I raised my eyebrow at her. When 8-Bit and I weren’t going on missions together, we were eating and sleeping. What could this unicorn possibly be interrupting? Then, as I thought of the possibilities, my face flushed.
I shook my head at Twilight Sparkle. “No, nothing at all. Would you like to come in?” 8-bit’s head popped up right next to me.
“Who’re ya talking to?”
I glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow. She was holding a gray box in her hooves and she was covered in wires from making the… thing. Oddly however, I felt like I’d seen it somewhere before… I pointed to it with my hoof.
“What’s that?”
“Oh, this? I call it the P.E.S.!” She grinned proudly at her work.
“Pez? Is that like a fez?”
“No!” she cried incredulously, “P-E-S. P.E.S. It stands for Pony Entertainment System.” As she said the words, my head rang a little bit. I knew I’d seen that box somewhere before, but where? I shrugged.
“Anyway, we have a guest. Come on in Miss Sparkle,” I said with a welcoming smile. She returned it, but waved a hoof dismissively.
“Just ‘Twilight’ will do.” I nodded and led her into the tiny house and sat down on the floor. 8-Bit and Twilight Sparkle followed example. The purple unicorn unlatched her saddlebags and spilled the books inside them onto the floor. She shoved one my way that read “Pre-Equestria.”I looked at her quizzically and she nodded encouragingly. “There was only one recorded time in pony history in which a human has ever been taken to this world. When she arrived, the pony race was almost enslaved to darkness. Her name is lost to time because it was so long ago…”
“What else do you know about her?” I asked eagerly, feeling like I was finally getting somewhere. Twilight shook her head sadly. She began her next few lines tentatively.
“I’m afraid that’s all I know. But if another human has arrived… It must mean pony race is about to take a drastic change once more. Your being here cannot be good. I figure, the only way for harmony to come back to Equestria is…well…I’m sorry Silver, but you have to leave.”
“Cool! Where am I going?” I asked cheerfully. Twilight stared at the floor.
“Anywhere outside of Equestria...” she said quietly.
“What?!” my partner exclaimed.
I sat in silence quietly. Suddenly, I felt guilty and unclean, like I was a guest who overstayed my visit, or like I didn’t belong. My ears drooped. I didn’t want to mess up this perfect world…Twilight was right. The only option was my banishment. I was about to agree with her when 8-Bit jumped in front of me, glaring angrily at Twilight.
“No! Silver doesn’t have to go anywhere! He’s done nothing wrong! If anything, he’s been making things better around here! And now you want to banish him?! Nuh-uh! I won’t allow it!” she shouted.
“Eight Bit…” I started, but the unicorn interrupted me.
“I’m sorry; I don’t want it to be like this either. But Princess Celestia issued the search of the Elements of Harmony to me and I can’t let her or Equestria down. Please try to understand…” Twilight Sparkle’s ears drooped and I could tell it really hurt her to have to do this. But I understood.
“Well the Elements of Harmony, Equestria, and Princess Celestia herself can all kiss my flank!” 8-Bit seethed. Twilight Sparkle was clearly taken aback by this comment. I placed a hoof on my partner’s shoulder shoulder and she turned to me with a face that showed hurt mixed with anger.
“It’s okay… I’ll go.”
She began shaking her head furiously as I picked my harness off of the floor and slung it over my neck. “This is all that belongs to me. I’ll…leave now.” Twilight Sparkle nodded in agreement.
“Yes, that’d probably be best.” I looked at her and she gave me a weak smile. I held nothing against her; she was just trying to do what was right for everyone. And apparently, my absence was right for everyone. “I’ll give you twenty four hours to clear out of Equestria. Is that enough time?” I nodded.
“Well then…guess I’ll go…” And I turned around and galloped out of the door, faster than the unicorn and the pegasus could react to, but that was because I didn’t want them to see the tears streaming down my face.
* * * * *
At the edge of town, my face was dry enough to greet other ponies who had decided to give me a farewell party. I know that Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom were all there (they called themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders), Derpy and her filly were there, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight Sparkle were also there. Pinkie Pie’s hair was straight and she sadly handed me a cake, which I accepted gratefully. I’d never tell anypony, but I stuffed my face with it when nopony was looking. What can I say? I eat when I’m stressed. The sweetness and moistness of the cake helped alleviate some of my sadness, but not much. Shortly after she gave me the cake the pink earth pony wrapped her forelegs around my neck.
“Good bye Silver! I’m gonna miss you so much!” she wailed. I patted her back reassuringly.
“Don’t worry; I’ll come back one day.” But as I caught Twilight Sparkle’s eye, I knew that what I’d said was a lie. Looking back on it, I’m glad she didn’t make me Pinkie Promise. Dinky trotted over to me and I desperately wanted to turn away, but knew I couldn’t.
“You’re going away, aren’t you Mister Blade…?” she asked sadly. I nodded. “Well no matter where you go, remember that you’ll always be my favorite hero!”
I chewed on my lip and stared at the heavens. It was all I could do to keep myself from crying. I had gone from paradise with tons of ponies that cared about me to being forced to live in isolation, in the wilderness. As every eye fell upon me, I knew it was time. I glanced one last time at everypony gathered and felt a deep hurt as I realized 8-Bit hadn’t decided to come and see me off. I was truly alone again.
“Well…I guess this is goodbye…” I croaked, and galloped off for fear that I’d burst into tears if I stayed there any longer.
What was my crime? What had I done wrong? I didn’t even know who I was, but I knew I wasn’t evil. So why was I suddenly an outcast? I didn’t know much about the culture of the ponies but I knew enough to conclude that their society ran on love, the very same love which I was now destined to never receive. I felt a physical pain near my heart as I continued to ponder it. I didn’t even know where I was going, but I seemed to wind up in the Everfree Forest. Funny how my adventure had started there and now it was going to end there too.
I slowed down to a canter and sighed to myself. What was I supposed to do? I hadn’t the slightest clue. Then, I heard a voice from behind me. It startled me, because I didn’t think anypony had chosen to follow me. But as I recognized the voice, pure surprise shot through every inch of my brain.
“What, you thought you could just jet without me?” 8-Bit called.
I turned around and stared at my companion. I wasn’t happy, and I wasn’t sad either. I was downright confused. As I looked at her, I noticed her brown saddlebags were slung against her back and she had a broad smile on her face. I asked the obvious.
“Eight Bit? What are you doing here?” I questioned. She rolled her eyes.
“I’m gonna come with you. Duh,” she said in a very matter-of-fact type of voice. I stared at my hooves as I shuffled them awkwardly. I felt like a foal who had just asked why the sky was blue.
“But…Why?”
She threw her saddlebags down and sighed in exasperation. “Dude, you’re like, my best friend. There’s no way in Equestria I’m gonna leave you hanging. They wanna send you through life threatening perils? Fine, but I’m going with you.” I opened my mouth to protest but she interrupted me. “The only way you’re makin’ me go back is by force so forget trying to change my mind.” She smiled again.
Secretly, I was hoping she’d fight my attempt to make her stay in Ponyville, but I was still trying to overcome my initial shock. Not only did I trust her with my life, she trusted me with hers. I felt a strong urge to hug her, but fought it. Instead I gave her the most warming smile I could, which she promptly returned.
“I’m glad to have you with me, Eight Bit.”
She cantered up next to me and we began trotting through dark paths of the forest as the trees loomed over us. All of my previous despair had been forgotten just by having my friend by my side. Now there was nothing we couldn’t overcome. I had only been in the Everfree Forest one other time before, but knew its dangers'. However, something seemed different than last time. I couldn’t quite place my hoof on it, but it was just enough to be noticeable. I voiced my thoughts to 8-Bit.
“You know… I hadn’t thought of it like that until you brought it up. But now that you mention it…” she trailed off. The air was cold around us, which was odd for it being the end of spring. We stood in silence for a while as a deep premonition sank in. Piercing the quiet air was an exclamation of distress, but it wasn’t like Dinky’s. No, instead it was a male, probably my age. 8-Bit and I dashed to the general direction of the voice as was the norm for us. We may be banished, but we were still a rescue team.
When we finally broke into a clearing, the first thing I noticed was that the full moon was high in the sky, whereas the sun had been in the same position only moments before. The second was a scrawny sky-blue unicorn with a hot-pink mane and tail. Also, his hooves were encased in stone. This colt was also wearing a blue robe with stars and moons scattered all over it and bells clinging onto the ends of his robe. He had a matching hat, which was pointy and had bells attached to the rim. It was worth noting that he had some slight stubble on his muzzle. But as to what caused his hooves to be encased in stone? I quickly found the source.
It had the head of a chicken and the body of a serpent, with glowing red eyes. For a moment, 8-Bit and I were too petrified to do anything, but snapped out of it quickly when its captor called out to us.
“Do not just stand there, save me!!” he cried as his horn started to glow, but flickered and went back to normal. He gasped in exasperation, and 8-Bit and I quickly galloped over. He shook his head rapidly, stopping us in mid-gallop. “That vile beast is a Cockatrice! If it looks at into your eyes, you will turn to stone!”
8-Bit glanced over nervously at me, and I returned her look. How were we supposed to defeat a monster that we couldn’t even look at? Then I got an idea. I spun towards my companion.
“Eight Bit, can you distract it?”
She looked at me distastefully and I could tell she didn’t like the idea, but nodded. I drew my sword from its sheath and turned around, glancing at the creature from its polished surface. I backed slowly towards the Cockatrice; hoping 8-Bit had been successful in creating a suitable distraction. My jaw closed tight around the hilt in concentration and focus as I drew nearer to it. I thought about getting a little closer, but then I remembered a famous quote from my human life out of the blue.
Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.
I stopped where I was and in one quick blur of motion, swung at the chicken-serpent. It screeched, which sounded like the fusion of a hiss and a squawk, and spun around towards me. I had shaved away a few of its feathers and its soft hide was now exposed. The way the hatred seemed to burn into my body when I saw its eyes, I guessed those were its favorite feathers.
I quickly glanced to see how the other ponies behind me were doing and I was shocked to see them both in stone. The unicorn was frozen where he was and…8-Bit lay on the ground in cold, dark, stone. My despair turned to fury and I stared right into the Cockatrice’s eyes. I could already feel my legs were completely gone and a shiver slid up my back. I swung furiously at the Cockatrice but the process continued. Soon, I couldn’t move my neck, I couldn’t hear, or see. My sword dropped out of my mouth and clattered to the ground. The world was fading and I was slipping into unconsciousness. With only my mouth left and a flicker of intelligence, I mustered every inch of command I could into my voice.
“Change them back!!” The process halted. I desperately tried to find more words to convince the monster to let us go. “I don’t care what you do to me, but change my friends back!” I knew I was literally seconds away from my end, but I refused to give up hope. If I was going down, I didn’t want it to be for nothing. “Please…”
The stone that had covered almost all of my mouth was now starting to retreat. It felt like a curtain had been lifted over my eyes and I gradually started to lose the stiffness in my body. When I had gained full control over myself, I stepped towards the Cockatrice.
“Get lost.”
It squawked at me and ran off, probably in intimidation. I took a large sigh of relief and fell on my haunches. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst. Apparently I would be enduring life-endangering circumstances every day of my amnesiac, pony life. I picked my sword up off the ground and re-sheathed it. I felt a hoof on my shoulder and turned around expecting to see 8-Bit, but I was surprised to see the blue unicorn smiling at me.
“That was impressive. You single-hoofedly defeated the Cockatrice using words alone. My name is Star Swirl. May I ask what yours is?”
“Well…I don’t…” I stammered. It wasn’t really a topic I was fond of; trying to remember what my life was like before any of this happened.
“He can’t remember anything about his past,” 8-Bit covered for me, “He suffers from amnesia, but because of his skill with the sword I call him Silver Blade.” When she saw she had his attention she introduced herself. “I’m Eight Bit.” Star Swirl raised an eyebrow.
“Are you an accountant?”
“What?! No! I’m talkin’ about technology!” she scoffed incredulously. Star Swirl blinked in confusion.
“Technology? What is that, pray tell?”
I glanced at 8-Bit as she gave me a confused stare. This was getting weird. By weird, I mean weirder than the recent events had already been. Star Swirl dusted off his robe and straightened his hat.
“I do beg your pardon, but I fear I must be going now. I have to find the Elements of Harmony,” he told us. I took the opportunity he presented.
“We’re also looking for the elements. Do you think you could use a hoof?” Star Swirl gave us that confused look again.
“Why would I need any of your hooves?” he questioned, and next to me I heard 8-Bit’s hoof smack against her forehead.
“It’s a figure of speech,” she sighed. “He means do you need any help? You almost got owned by that thing back there.” Star Swirl nodded.
“Yes, I was almost in its possession. I fear my magic alone is not enough to keep the monsters at bay… Having a swordspony of your caliber as well as having a pegasus could greatly assist me. Very well, you shall come. We must hurry though; ever since Princess Luna was lost to the darkness of Nightmare Moon, eternal night has been plaguing the land and monsters have taken this opportunity to spring forth. Princess Celestia needs the Elements of Harmony to restore our dear Princess Luna back to her original state of being. Let us be off!” Star Swirl concluded as he began to gallop away. I went with him, but 8-Bit called out to us.
“Wait, so you’re saying that Nightmare Moon has risen and now Celestia needs the elements?” Star Swirl nodded energetically.
“That is correct. What seems to be the problem?” he asked with confusion, but 8-Bit was shaking her head.
“But that was a thousand years ago!”