Prologue I stood in Canterlot Castle, looking out one of the numerous windows at Canterlot, and beyond that, a fairly complete view of Equestria, at least the part that the Sisters were in control of. The place I was sworn to protect. For an instant, I wished I could go home. Too bad that wasn't possible...maybe it wouldn't ever be, not for the reason I wanted to return, at any rate. I turned around, and found the Princess of the Sun standing behind me. “Hello, my knight,” she said gently, giving me a ghost of a smile. I nodded, not responding verbally. She walked forward and looked out the window. “A beautiful view, isn't it?” I nodded again, turning back to look with her. After several moments, she spoke again. “You know my sister and I will do everything in our power to help you.” Of course. She knew what I was thinking, she didn't even need her powers of Intellectus for that. I nodded a third time. “Thank you,” I said simply. A wave of emotion came up with the words, but I forced it down. More out of habit than to uphold my image, since she could sense that as well. She extended a wing and wrapped it around me, and she didn't need any words. They probably wouldn't have made me feel better anyways. I inhaled deeply, and sighed, barely leaning into her embrace. I missed home...but everyone who made it home was probably gone by now. This was my new home. I was going to make sure it stayed safe. The princess turned after several minutes, and started to walk away. Then she stopped and turned her head slightly towards me. “Ah...I have a new assignment for you, when you are ready.” “I am always ready, Princess,” I responded. She smirked. “Meet me in the throne room.” She looked into my eyes. “When you are ready,” she emphasized. I sighed. “Yes, my Princess.” “Oh, my little pony...you should learn to respect your limits more. Even the great Silver Shield deserves a small break now and again,” she said with a wink. Spoiler: Notes This is only the first chapter, so to speak, more of a teaser, and I'm not sure if it's appropriate to post one chapter at a time or if I must post all of them at once. But anyways, if I'm doing it wrong, tell me! And I hope you all enjoy this story!
Chapter 1: A Sterling Start The argentate stallion groaned and half-covered his eyes with a hoof as the sun shone into his eyes. He rolled over and yelped as he ended up in a pile of something cold and wet, and jumped to his hooves. Looking around himself blearily, he seemed to be...in the middle of a grassy field, full of melting snow. Several seconds later, it occurred to him that he didn't remember how he'd gotten here. Then his mind took a few more steps, and realized that he didn't remember much at all. That was...a problem, he thought. For a few seconds he felt something like panic clawing at his mind. Who was he? What had happened to him? Then his ear twitched as he heard a sound coming from his right, and he turned to look. A group of ponies were gathered together, and at their center stood two that were taller than the rest; one dark as the night sky, and the other with a mane and tail the colors of a bright sunrise. They seemed to be finishing, for as he approached, the group of ponies dispersed, leaving the two larger ponies, who he could see now had both wings and horn, to whisper to each other briefly. He continued his approach and the slightly larger, white-coated mare took notice of him. “Hello,” she said warmly, with a smile on her face. “Hello,” he replied, giving a brief smile that was a lot more confused and cautious than hers. “Um...what was that?” “Why, that was the beginning of a new era, my little pony,” she answered. His head tilted thoughtfully. “In what way?” She looked at him curiously. “Are you saying you do not know of how the three tribes of ponies are now united?” “Three tribes?” He looked blankly back at her, waiting for an explanation. She frowned, now. “What is your name?” “...I'm not sure.” His face betrayed his troubled emotions. The mare looked concerned. “You don't know your own name?” He shook his head. “I don't remember anything...I was hoping perhaps you could help me remember.” She looked at him for a long while, then the smile returned to her face. “Well, my sister and I arrived in this land merely a week ago, so it's unlikely we can give you much in the way of your history. But we'll help in any way we can. Would you like to join the rest of us in building some shelters?” He nodded. “I suppose there is not a reason I should not help you in return. Thank you... what are your names?” “I am Celestia, and this is my sister, Luna. We are alicorns, and as I said, we have just arrived here from...a land far away from here.” He nodded. “Thank you for taking me in. I was worried...I mean, it is good not to be alone.” Her smile...radiant was a good word for it, he thought... grew brighter. “It is our pleasure. Now...you need a name, don't you? Nopony should be without a name.” After only a few seconds, Luna spoke up for the first time. Her voice was a lot more commanding than her sister's, which surprised the stallion, considering she hadn't said a word yet that he'd heard. “What dost thou think of 'Silver Shield'? A rather obvious name, 'tis true, for thy coat is the color silver and the image of a shield lies on thy flank...” She seemed to have second thoughts for a moment, but the stallion gave a small nod. He hadn't even noticed before, but he did seem to have a shield on either side of his rear. The name made sense. “It will certainly be easy to remember,” Celestia said with a smirk. “Welcome to Equestria, Silver. It looks like we won't be the only ones starting fresh, Sister,” she said, and Luna nodded in agreement. She then said to Silver, “Perhaps one of these ponies knows something of your past. Why not ask around? Besides,” she continued in a tone that hinted at what she believed his next course of action should be, “Even if a pony didn't know you before, there's no reason they can't get to know you now.” Silver looked around at the earth ponies, already erecting the beginnings of a large building a bit away from the nearby forest; the pegasi, starting to shape the clouds into makeshift homes; and the unicorns, using their magic to carve into the side of a nearby cliff face the foundations of their new home. “I suppose that would be a sensible course of action,” he said, and trotted off towards the mountain where the unicorns were. Where had he come from? At the end of the day, nopony seemed to know; unicorn, pegasus and earth pony alike shrugged and shook their heads. And as days turned into weeks, the stallion eventually resigned himself to his new name, his new home, and his new life. It certainly wasn't bad, and the two sisters, who were made the Princesses of the new land of Equestria, and who always made sure to try to be genuinely friendly with everypony, seemed to pay special attention to him. No, this new life didn't seem bad at all. Unfortunately for him, while Silver had left his past behind him, his past had no intention of doing the same for him.
Silver read the scroll Celestia had given to him regarding his next mission. This was slightly unusual, but he trusted that Her Majesty knew what she was sending him to do. As the chariot pulled by two of the Royal Guard carried him to his destination, his took a moment to absorb the information he had been given. He was to ride to Ponyville, and according to the scroll...make some friends? Of course he would do it without hesitation, but there was likely an ulterior motive here that the Princess was not informing him of. After all, he was her Knight, not her son; he knew she worried about him from time to time, but it would be a terrible waste of resources to send a skilled pony like him just to 'make friends'. She would have another reason for sending him. He was sure. And, as much as he respected Her Majesty, he was not sure he would end up following through with this. He had no reason to make friends...she knew this as well as he did. And even if he did, it had been so long, he was not sure he knew how to be anything other than Silver Shield, the White Knight of Celestia. He wasn't sure if he remembered how to make friends. But, he would keep it at the forefront of his mind. The princess did often know more than he did, and had proven it many times over. If she was telling him this, it must be important somehow...he was torn. He decided to put it off for the time being;anyways, he was touching down in the town. Time to find a place to stay for the time he would be here. He hopped off the chariot with a nod of approval and thanks to the guards, who nodded back, and then took off once more. Silver was in simple clothes -his bright white hooded robe and a saddlebag of books and supplies -and they had landed just outside of town; he was sure nopony had seen him exiting the chariot. He walked at a leisurely pace into town,looking for somewhere that was renting out a room or, if it came down to it, an inn, though those were often more expensive. Not that he had limited funds, thanks to the Princess; it was just a habit of his from times gone by. He was not a wasteful or extravagant pony by any means, not in his work, not in his spending, and not really any wherein his lifestyle. He was efficient, in terms of time, energy and money, as a habit, in almost all things he did. As he walked the streets, he reflected on how the town had looked the last time he had been here. It had grown. There were several new buildings, a lot more ponies than he remembered, and overall it seemed much different than he remembered. But, as though an anchor to the past in the middle of a place changing along with the rest of Equestria, there was the town hall, which had obviously undergone renovation, but looked nearly identical to how he remembered it at the founding of the city. The clock tower stood watching over the town, informing everypony on what time of day it was, assisting them by bringing order and structure to their daily lives. It, too, was older than most of the buildings around it, and it showed, but it certainly was not run down in any way. In his reverie and unaware of his surroundings, Silver lightly bumped up against another pony's side, and he blinked in surprise, yanked out of his old memories. The purple-coated mare turned to face him at the same time he turned to face her. “Oops! Sorry, I...” she trailed off, staring. Silver regarded her calmly. “My apologies, I had no intention of violating your personal space in such a way.” He continued on his way, not noticing the lavender eyes that followed him until he was out of their view. He continued without incident until he arrived at a sign that said “Rooms for the night! Available!”. He entered and paid for his room, the price fairly low like most costs in Ponyville, and proceeded to go directly to his room and make good use of the bed. As he drifted off, his mind organized his schedule for the next day. Wake up...shower... then, as he had no clue what his true purpose here was to be, he supposed he would follow his princess's orders. Making friends...hmmm... That was his last thought before he fell asleep in the comfort of the inn. Spoiler: Notes I have no shame. None. Of course, things might turn out differently than you expect.
