The Elements of Chaos

by pixelbit5

Ch 3: A ray of Sunlight

Pixel stared at the castle from his perch upon the cloud. The sun always warmed the top of the clouds, but below the top layer was freezing cold. He yawned, still fatigued from the lack of a good night's sleep. The sun still hung in its place in the middle of the sky. It hadn't moved for about a week, and it was starting to take a toll on the various plants and crops all throughout Equestria, causing a small food shortage. The problem was minor, but it was taking its toll on ponies who couldn't scrape enough bits together to match the rising food prices. Still, they always had alternatives.

"Hey!" Pixel turned his attention to the palace garden, where a bright yellow mare was staring up at him from the ground. He pointed his hoof to his chest. "Yeah, you! Can you come down here for a sec?" she yelled up at him. Pixel kicked the cloud beneath him, causing it to dissipate. With nothing underneath him, he glided slowly to the ground, circling a few times before landing softly next to the unicorn.

She held out her hoof, two blue bands dangling aimlessly. "I'm Sunlight Bliss." she said with a warm smile. Pixel hesitantly accepted her brohoof. There was an awkward silence. "And you are…?" Sunlight continued, waving a hoof.

Pixel blinked before registering what she had said. "Oh! Uh… Pixel! Pixel Bit. My… My name's Pixel Bit…" He said quickly, giving a nervous laugh. Sunlight Bliss stared at him, one eyebrow up, a smirk on her face.

"So Pixel Bit," she said, "have you thought about Cadence's request?" Now Pixel Bit wasn't the kind of pony that got mad often. He usually had quite a bit of patience. Although, sometimes, it was all too much. He would just snap, the mental barriers he had built over the years crashing down and releasing his pent up rage.

Pixel went from mildly timid to wildly outraged in less than a second. All the stress that had built up suddenly released in a storm of verbal hellfire. "SO THAT'S WHAT YOU CAME OUT HERE TO DO? FORCE ME TO RISK MY LIFE ON SOME CRAZY ADVENTURE THAT WOULD MOST LIKELY KILL US ALL? WHAT WILL YOU HAVE ME DO, HUH? JUMP INTO TARTARUS? FOR WHAT?" Sunlight was backing off slowly as he started yelling louder and louder, her smile completely gone, replaced by fear.

"ANSWER ME THIS SUNLIGHT BLISS! WHY PULL ME ALONG? WHY AM I SO IMPORTANT?!" His vision was stained yellow, and at this point he was just rambling, not really thinking, just shooting things at the gold unicorn that stood, backed up against the wall, almost on the verge of tears. "WHY DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO PULL ME ALONG? WHAT CAN I DO THAT NOPONY ELSE CAN? I AM A NOPONY! I'M NOT SOME HERO OF EQUESTRIA! I'm not…" Pixel stopped himself. He finally saw the result of his rage. What he saw in front of him was Sunlight Bliss, curled up against the wall, eyes closed, sobbing quietly. He looked at himself in the reflection of the crystal palace walls. His wings were flared, his coat bristled and his mane frayed.

He stepped back quickly, all anger disappearing from him. "I…" Sunlight looked at him, tears in her once happy and bubbly bright green eyes. He turned and stared at the ground beneath him. He hated what he had seen in her. What he had seen in her eyes. Fear. Genuine fear. Not worry or simple nervousness, genuine, real fear. He wanted to comfort her, to calm her down, but he feared that he would only make things worse. "I'm… I'm sorry… Sunlight." he sighed, barely audible, hoping that he hadn't hurt her. And with that he broke into a slow jog and launched into the warm summer air, leaving a trail of scattered leaves in his wake.

Sunlight got up and dried her eyes, sniffing a few times. As she picked thistles out of her mane, she stared at the blue grey smudge that was Pixel Bit in the distance. She watched as he set himself down near a stream and put his head in his hooves. She sat there. And as she sat there, she thought about Pixel. He SEEMED like a nice enough guy, and it was understandable that he would blow up like that. He had seemed extremely stressed after he had flown out. He had been waving his hooves randomly and mumbling gibberish to himself, and she was sure she had heard a scream of frustration after he left.

She quickly teleported near the lake. Close enough to see PB clearly, but not close enough to be seen herself. Sunlight once again heard the scattered mutterings of the blue maned pegasus. Pixel Bit was sitting on the edge of a small fishing platform, staring at his reflection, waving his hooves as if he was having a conversation with his reflection, and to some extent, he was.

Pixel found it helped to talk to somepony. Even if that was himself. He never came to a solid conclusion, but it always managed to make him feel better about things. He was fully aware of Sunlight staring at him from a clump of trees and bushes. He had seen her in the reflection of his glasses. Her bright purple mane stood out amongst the shrubbery. He sighed and ran his wing through the water, watching the ripples. It was almost hypnotic.

He kept his head down. "Listen, I'm sorry, okay? Can you just leave me alone now?" Pixel said somewhat loudly, the annoyance obvious in his tone. Sunlight Bliss stepped out of the bushes. She trotted slowly over to the young pegasus, hooves clopping against the wooden boards. She sat next to Pixel, saying nothing. Sunlight stared at Pixel and Pixel stared at the water beneath his hooves. This continued for a few minutes.

PB payed no attention to the mare sitting beside him until she scooted closer and put a hoof over his shoulder. Pixel coughed softly. "I don't expect you to forgive me for what I've done, but…" He was cut off by a hug from Sunlight.

"I don’t mind." she said, her voice calm. She broke the hug. "You had just been told that you had to travel all the way across Equestria to defeat the mane 6 turned bad! That's pretty insane! Just… Whaaaaaat?!" She said jokingly, waving her hooves over her head. This did get a small smile out of Pixel Bit.

"You're taking this well." He quipped. She shrugged, giving a derpy smile. Pixel watched as one of his loose feathers floated across the water. "This is the best anyone has ever taken one of my breakdowns before. They usually give me the silent treatment or stay away from me for a few days at least. I just have one question." Sunlight's ears perked up. Pixel smiled. "What is wrong with you?" Sunlight laughed.

"If I told you the full list, we'd be here all day." Pixel had to steady himself with a wing to stop himself from falling in the water he was laughing so hard.

"Listen Sunlight, I'm still sorry about the whole 'incident' back there…" Pixel said sheepishly.

Sunlight smiled. "Think nothing of it. I'm sure I would have done the same." She chuckled. "I might have looked like I was taking it well, but after that whole speech thingy, the palace kitchens were missing a tub of cookie dough ice-cream and a blueberry muffin." Pixel smiled weakly, knowing he wasn't the only one that wasn't handling this as well as he could. "We're all nervous, but it's just something we have to do." Sunlight explained. "With Celestia and Luna gone, and Twilight insane, Cadence is left to rule all of Equestria, and the royal guard have been torn to shreds with the remaining troops are occupied keeping the threat exclusive to Ponyville." Pixel stared into the distance, taking in this new information. "And even if we did have troops to spare, I heard that prince Shining Armour hasn't even been out of his chambers since his sister turned, so we're the only real hope that Equestria has left…"

"Equestria needs the new elements Pixel." Sunlight Bliss said. "Think about it." Before he could stop her, Sunlight got up and started to walk back towards the palace. Pixel quickly flew in front of her. "Sunlight, wait…' he started, slightly flustered. 'Do you… Um…' He searched for the words. 'Do you really think that I could… Y'know, do… this?" She smiled and pulled him down to the ground with her magic.

"Only you can decide that, but I do think you have it in you, yes." she said with a reassuring smile. That calmed him down a bit.

PB pawed at the ground. "I mean, it's completely insane!" Sunlight smirked at pixel.

"Of course it's insane! This is HUGE!"

He glanced back at her. "Yeah. I'm still not so sure though…" Pixel glanced weakly at Sunlight. She walked slowly up to Pixel and put a hoof on his shoulder. "I don’t think you really have a choice." she said calmly. "But if you asked me, I'd say that the entire future of Equestria hangs in the balance here. Just… think about that. You have it in you. I know it."

"Sunlight, I…" Pixel started before getting cut off.

"Pixel! You have to stop doubting yourself! You can achieve so much if you just break out of that shell you're hiding in!" She said as she gave him a few playful jabs at his chest, smiling from ear to ear. Pixel rubbed his chest. She didn't hurt him, but it still felt a little weird. "You can do this. I've known you for less than an hour and I can see that you have a lot of untapped potential! You have the strength Pixel Bit. Just give yourself a chance." She gave one last reassuring smile before a flash of light blinded Pixel. And just as quick as she had appeared, she was gone.

"I…" he stuttered. He stood there, staring at the spot where she had been. He smiled weakly, but with the most confidence he had ever had.

"I'll do it."