//------------------------------// // The Armory // Story: Equestrian Earth: A Paladin's Quest // by Necroesphere //------------------------------// Chapter 3: The Armory Black Paladin was again poised to log onto Equestrian Earth. He had his stuff spread out and the visor on his forehead, just below his horn. Princess Luna had made playing this game his job to keep his mind active instead of being bored as a guard again. Since nothing was the same as 1000 years ago, his skills and services were no longer needed by the Princess. He had been fine with this decision, but had asked to at least be able to use the guards barracks to keep himself in shape and to store his gear. Luna had complied and given him a space to store his stuff, right next to the Captain of Celestia's guard. Black Paladin wished he could have the experience from his life transferred into the game, but that unfortunately would never happen to him for the moment, so he was still forced to grind. Last he had been on, he had seen another unicorn blown to pieces by a mushroom. He hoped that would never happen to himself. "Welcome back," The game displayed on the screen as he slid the visor over his eyes. Again, he felt the slightest bit of a pull in his mind before he was greeted by the world of Equestria Earth. He was standing in the midst of a bazaar filled with all sorts of odds and ends. He checked his wallet, which he kept stashed in his chest plate to see how much money he had accumulated from grinding on the timber wolves and mushrooms. "Armor," Black Paladin looked up, checking for a sign. "I need to buy myself a decent set of armor before I set off on my adventure again." He glanced around, hoping to find someone to tell him or any sign, but he seemed to be out of luck. Wherever he was, it was a potions area where many mages and alchemists were busy at the stands. None of them would be able to give him information on anything that was armor related. He decided that it would be best to head for the downtown district of the city and attempt to find an armor shop in that district. As he walked down the street, he was approached by many players and npcs asking him to trade. He kept declining until it was driving him nuts. He caught a glance of a back alley to his left and quickly galloped for it, hoping the others would stop pestering him. He exhaled when he saw nopony follow him. Satisfied, he strolled down the alley, making sure no other pony attempted to stop him from continuing on with his business. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't another pony that got in his way. "ROAAARR!" Black Paladin narrowly missed the swipe of claws, feeling the air in front of him move. Standing tall, blocking his path, was a cheetah. It seemed as though Black Paladin had walked into an alley that tended to spawn creatures. He drew his blade and activated his shields as the claw again struck at him. It instead was met by the shield, but it still made contact with Black Paladin. He glanced up to see that the cheetah was thirteen levels higher than he was. He had no idea how difficult of a fight this was going to be with such a level gap between him and his opponent. "Black Paladin, get down!" A voice shouted from the sky. Paladin ducked, hearing the whistle of arrows as they sailed over his head, impaling themselves into the flank of the cheetah. He looked back a quick second to see Luna standing at the end of the walkway. She had her bow drawn and launched another volley of arrows, killing the cheetah. Somehow, Black Paladin also gained experience from the kill also. With that he leveled up to level 5 from the influx of experience points. He gained a new ability from the level up, which he immediately activated. It brought out a large deal of energy from his horn, which blasted the wall next to him in a shower of stars. "Sweet, a Star Blast spell. This will definitely work for my future battles I have planned." "Black Paladin, art thou alright?" Luna smirked down at her guard. A light blue pony walked around from behind Luna, looking more than smug at him. "Trixie thinks that he looks very pathetic," The unicorn mare sneered. "Luna, why do you bother yourself with such peasantry?" "Trixie, calm yourself," Luna snapped at Trixie. "Black Paladin, this is my new apprentice, Trixie. I am attempting to teach her manners as well as humbling her in the use of her powers. I was hoping you could be of use when I am not around to watch her. Like now. I have duties that must be taken care of in Hoofington. I charge both her protection and studies to you for the time being." "Yes, my princess," Black Paladin conceded. He really didn't need to look after another pony when he was playing games, especially one this fun. A thought crossed his mind. "Am I looking after her in game as well?" "If she allows it, then yes, you may," Luna smiled at her paladin. "Now, I have about an hour before I must leave. What were you doing before I showed up to save you?" "I was on my way to find an armory," Black Paladin shrugged, still unsure of where he was truly going. "Any clues on the where I can find one?" "You are heading the wrong way," Trixie sighed. Black Paladin merely glared at the mare. She was going to be a pain to look after, that he was sure of. "Shall we be off then? I would not like to hang around this nasty sty." Trixie trotted off, her cloak billowing out behind her. Black Paladin drew his eyebrows together and did the most natural thing that came to him. He facehoofed. Luna threw a grin of 'I'm sorry' at her paladin, showing that she herself was also disturbed by Trixie's behavior. "Black Paladin, I must again remind you that she is my new apprentice," Luna informed him. "You remember how much dangers there are tapping into that kind of magic. And that there exist ponies who will hate what you have become." Black Paladin could only remember all to well the pain he had felt of being thrown from society after accepting the apprenticeship to Luna. It was as if he had signed a pact with Discord himself. "Luna, I will keep her safe using all the powers at my disposal," Black Paladin sighed, knowing that he had no other option. "I will also help her understand that there is more to this world than being bragging about powers you truly do not have. I only hope to save her before anything hurts her." "That is very noble of you Black Paladin," Luna whispered, a smile spreading across her face. "I'm proud at how far you have come." Black Paladin felt a blush cross his face, but was interrupted by Trixie, who was impatiently waiting for the two. "Are you two slowponies coming?" She asked, seeming not to care that she was directly speaking to both a high ranking officer and the Princess of the Night. Black Paladin followed the mare, trying to figure out what to say and when would be a good time to say something. "So, Trixie, is there anything I need know of you?" Black Paladin spoke up, casting a side long glance at the blue unicorn. She seemed amused by the question, like he should have known from the beginning who she had been. "You truly have no idea who you are talking to, do you?" Trixie sneered. Black Paladin merely nodded his head, feeling as if this was probably a bad idea. "I am the Great and Powerful Trixie. The strongest unicorn to grace the land of Equestria. Truly there is no equal to my power." "Funny," Black Paladin chuckled at the explanation. Now he saw what made her act like a snottish foal. "You have no idea the might of a fully developed unicorn, do you. The amount of power we can channel. The true extent of the world is nothing compared to the depths of magic out Princesses can draw from. I myself have enough magic to level a quarter of Canterlot, all on a whim." "Er, yes, well," Trixie floundered for words. "Have you ever bested and Ursa Major in battle?" "Now, that my fair Trixie, would be telling a true bluff," Black Paladin brayed. The idea of taking down the mammoth beast was suicide, even for a unicorn with the might he had. "Is that what you claim to have done? I can see straight through your lie. At best you are nothing more than a show mare, performing simple feats of magic that you claim to be stronger than any other pony. You learn spells that help you do things that most ponies can do. I'm not wrong, am I." "No," Trixie sighed in defeat, "You aren't wrong. It is just that I have never had any true pony want to be my friend, so I just felt as though I should be better than everyone. How did you figure my life out so fast?" "Because Twilight Sparkle is a close friend of mine," Black Paladin smiled down upon the blue mare. "She forgives you, if you were wondering. Maybe I can help humble you, by being a friend." "Thanks for the offer, but Trixie is a one pony show," Trixie put her snout into the air and walked faster away. Black Paladin glanced at his surroundings, noticing they had reached the forging district. "We are here." "Yeah, I noticed," Black Paladin glanced back to see Luna walking into a shop, waving a hoof for the two of them to follow her. Trixie and Black Paladin entered the store, to find the shelves packed with weapons and armor of all quality. Black Paladin stared in awe, knowing that their was more to the armory hear than in the royal barracks. It was an armor's paradise. "Black Paladin, you have my permission to choose any one piece of armor, and I will pay for that. The rest of it must come from your own wallet," Luna offered. Black Paladin nearly jumped with glee at hearing this. It was definitely his lucky day. But what to buy? "Having trouble son?" A stout, orange dragon asked from behind the counter. "The names Oven, and I run this armory. Any particular item you looking for. Any enchantment? I got it all." Black Paladin appreciated the dragons offer, and he began to think of what was useful to him in the real world. In the game, the only true senses that were extremely dependable were the eyes and ears. If any enchantment were to purchased or found, it would be helpful if he could located his enemies better so he would not fall into any sort of trap. He decided the best thing to do was possibly to have Luna buy him a helmet with a detect life spell on it. He would then purchase some more baser armor to protect the rest of his body using the rest of the money he had accumulated. If any was left, he would go and have a look at the weapons section that glinted in the fires of the forge. "Nope, no trouble at all," Black Paladin finally answered. "Luna, I would like a helmet with a detect life spell imbued in it. I shall purchase the rest of the equipment on my own." "That was a good choice Paladin," Luna responded, making the purchase. She opened a trade log and invited Black Paladin to join. After they were done, Black Paladin put the helmet on, to make sure the enchantment worked. He saw that the helmet wasn't anything to fancy, only an knight's helm without the front visor. Once it was fit to his head, he glanced around, seeing purple auras coming from all parts of the nearby areas. He assumed that meant that the enchantment was working. "It looks sporting," Luna chuckled. Black Paladin realized she was referring to the fact that all he was wearing was the helm. Black Paladin quickly made all his purchases to remedy the situation, emptying his entire purse into a suit of heavy armor with greaves and shoulder plates. He used the mirror in the forge to see that he looked quite well in the armor set. It fit him. "Well, it is time to log off now," Luna yawned, "I need to raise the moon before being off. You two should log off as well and come meet me to say goodbye." They both complied. ... About twenty minutes later, Black Paladin was waiting in the entry hall, watching for Luna. Two other guards were already there, stating that they were to accompany Luna on her trip. Black Paladin had given them a stern lecture on how to treat the princess and how to properly guard the princess. Both of them nearly doubled over laughing before stating that they were originally members of Celestia's guard, and had been so for nearly 20 years. "There he is," A familiar bragging voice said. Black Paladin turned to see both Luna and Trixie walking towards the exit. Luna waved her guards over and told them to go prepare the chariot. "Now Paladin," Luna said, giving him some parchment. "Here is the schedule of Trixie's lessons. You shall adhere strictly to that and Trixie has already been informed that she is also not allowed to deviate from it. Now have fun you two, I must be off posthaste." Both Trixie and Black Paladin bowed in respect as the Princess took her leave. Black Paladin looked over at Trixie, who was staring at the moon. "I have considered your offer," Trixie stated. She leaned closer to Black Paladin. "And I will accept you as a friend. But I do want to be more than that." She trailed off on the last part, nuzzling Black Paladin gently on the cheek. This had just turned Black Paladin's whole week around. Again.