//------------------------------// // Ch 1: Summoned // Story: The Elements of Chaos // by pixelbit5 //------------------------------// Pixel stood outside the Crystal Empire palace doors, looking straight up at the intricate designs of fragmented gemstones of pale reds and blues. He sighed nervously. He glanced at the envelope emblazoned with a deep red crystal heart wax seal that he held in his wing. A summons from Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or Cadence as she was known as throughout most of Equestria. Pixel went to knock on the palace doors, but hesitated. He slumped down against a cold crystal pillar by the doors, putting his head in his hooves. Why would the princess of the Crystal Empire want to meet him? There was nothing remarkable about him. In fact, he was probably one of the least remarkable ponies he knew. But then again, he didn't know many ponies. For one, he preferred to be by himself. He did have a few good friends, but he hardly spent time out and about with them. He hated crowds. It made him nervous. He couldn't say why, but they always did. He stared at his reflection in the crystal wall next to the door, searching his mind for any reason that he had been summoned by royalty. Pixel Bit was just a tallish white pegasus with a neon blue mane and black, square rimmed glasses framing his large yellow eyes. His cutie mark was simple. 3 blue pixels, a green waveform behind. He wasn't even sure what this was supposed to mean. Possibly his fascination with technology? That's what he went with anyway. Pixel Bit stared into the face in his reflection and it stared back at him, saying nothing. Their yellow eyes locked in silent conversation as Pixel thought things over. They held their gaze for at least a minute until Pixel turned away from his reflection and looked back to the letter. For what had to be the hundredth time since he had received it, he shook the pale green letter out of the white envelope and started to read: Dear Mr P. Bit, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the princess of the Crystal Empire has personally requested your presence at the royal palace at noon during day one of the annual Crystal Fair. Please report to the entry hall, where you will be personally greeted and escorted to the throne room to meet with the princess. This is a matter of great national importance, and should not be treated lightly. Thank you. Dragon Shield, Temporary captain of the royal guard. When he had received the letter, it seemed like some sort of dream come true! Traveling to the Crystal Empire, spending the day with the princess, attending the crystal fair! It all seemed unreal to him. He had started to get bored with his life, falling into the same monotonous routine day after day. Get up, eat, work, sleep, repeat. It was really taking its toll. Maybe a holiday was just what he needed. A change of scenery. Pixel Bit carefully folded the letter and placed it, with the envelope, inside his saddle bag. "C'mon Pix. You can do this." He stood up and flapped his wings once, readying himself. He walked forward a few paces and once again stood in front of the ginormous palace doors. Mustering his courage and determination, he pushed on the door and let it swing open in front of him. He almost turned back then and there. The palace completely blew away the pegasus. The high ceilings, the banners that were hung proudly down the wall. All the light that was now streaming through the door was now reflected all around the palace, creating intricate patterns of light on the floor. There seemed to be an infinite amount of doors, stairways as passages carved into the crystal that if he wasn't careful, Pixel Bit could quickly get lost in here. If he had the time to spare, he probably would. Pixel nervously tapped his back right hoof against the ground as he surveyed the hall. He slowly started walking further in and he was met by the bored look of a grey unicorn in a palace guard uniform, situated by a door at the end of the hall. "Mr. Bit?" he asked with little to no enthusiasm, his dull voice echoing around the empty hall. Pixel nodded, not saying a word. "You're late." PB stared at his hooves beneath him and apologised meekly. "This way, Mr. Bit." the guard said, waving his hoof towards the massive, regal door at the end of the hall, still showing no signs of basic emotion. It kind of creeped Pixel out. The guard opened the door next to him with a glow of blue magic and waved Pixel inside. PB stepped past the guard with a quiet "Thank you." and headed inside. Hearing the door close behind him, he headed towards the centre of the room, where a small group of four ponies were all gathered together, quietly chattering with eachother. Glancing towards a back corner of the room, Pixel Bit saw a dark brown earth pony with a cape sitting all alone, watching him come closer and closer to the group in the centre. Pixel stopped about three meters away from the group and started pawing the ground and flapping his wings weakly just out of nervous habit, hoping to introduce himself. Just as he was gathering up the courage to join the group, the doors to the throne room opened loudly, and a red unicorn with a pale green mane walked quickly through. He was wearing the royal guard uniform, but the spell used to change his coat and mane colours seemed to be absent. Perhaps he was a high ranking officer like Prince Shining Armour? Every eye in the room was fixed on him. He looked tired, his movements sluggish. He smelled vaguely of coffee and cloud cake. As he passed the guard in the doorway, he saluted the red stallion, getting nothing but a passing glance. As he reached the group in the middle of the room, he yawned, causing his horn to spark lightly. "Thank you for coming so soon everypony." he said quietly. The caped earth pony stood up and trotted over to stand beside Pixel. "My name is Dragon Shield. I have taken over captaincy of the royal guard from the prince as he and the princess are both on temporary leave." A orange unicorn from the group spoke up. "What's wrong with them?" The stallion continued, completely disregarding the question. "I assume that all of you have heard about the catastrophe in Ponyville?" Everypony nodded in unison. There was no way they COULDN'T have heard about it. For one, the sun hadn't gone down in a week as Celestia and Luna had both disappeared, and of course the dark, ominous clouds over the ruined Ponyville were a dead giveaway. Word quickly spread from the residents of the now non-existent town that the elements had been corrupted, taking Twilight and the others with them. "Then you all must know of the fall of the two sisters…" he continued, eliciting another nod from the six. "Well, the princesses had a contingency plan for this very situation. She told me to find six more ponies to represent the new elements of harmony, and defeat the mane 6, hopefully returning them to their normal selves." Everypony waited. "Those six ponies are you." Pixel stood dumbstruck. He didn't know what to say. Him? Represent one of the elements of harmony? Fight and defeat the mane 6? How? He sat down where he was and started to massage the sides of his head, trying to comprehend it all. Him. Pixel Bit, probably the most uninteresting stallion in the whole of Equestria, had been asked, by royalty no less, to face off against six of the most powerful ponies in all of Equestria… "Hey. Are you okay.?" asked the orange unicorn mare, cocking her head. "I…" Pixel started. "I umm… I…" he stopped, stood up and flew into the air. "I just… I think I just need some time to think…" As he flew out of one of the windows near the top of the room, he looked back down into the room below, only to see Dragon Shield shaking his head in disappointment. Pixel sighed and flew into the air. 'I just need some time.' he thought. He felt a light breeze blow through his feathers. He felt so free in the air, he always had, but that didn't stop him from feeling trapped by the princess' request. It was like an invisible force was binding his soul, trapping him. He felt like this was something he had to do. He didn't want to do it, but he had to. He set himself down on a cloud above the palace gardens, giving him a perfect view of the throne room below. The truth was, and he would never admit this to just anypony, he was terrified.