//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7: An Abrupt Encounter 
// Story: Equestrian Earth: A Paladin's Quest 
// by Necroesphere 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 7: An Abrupt Encounter



Black Paladin woke up in the center of a pool table, his head spinning. Around him, the game room was a giant mess of passed out guards and an assortment of gaming equipment. Not to mention empty mugs and bottles that they had gone through in the previous night.

Next to him was Trixie, who was snoring despite the fact that she considered herself a proper mare in many respects. Black Paladin chuckled to himself, remembering in a slight haze that she had outdrank most of the stallions in the room. It had been a fun night, though if he remembered, it had all ended when Luna casted a sleep spell, knocking out all the ponies in the room.

Luna herself was nowhere to be seen, which put Paladin at a disadvantage, though uncaring, mood. He also noted that Shining Armour was also missing, though he wasn't entirely clear if the Captain had left last night or had been subject to the sleep spell either. He pushed Trixie with his nose, getting a swipe of a hoof and an excuse of "five more minutes..."

"Good to see that you are up," A guard chuckled, poking his head into the room. "We should wake up Miss Lulamoon as well. You are requested to meet with Princess Luna in a few hours and neither of you are very presentable. Especially you sir." Black Paladin looked down at himself, breaking into laughter at the amount of cider that was staining his coat. He was always a sloppy drinker, especially as drunk as he got last night.

"Help me get her up then," Black Paladin waved the guard over. Together, the lifter her up between each other and started moving through the halls, keeping to the back areas where normal guests were not permitted to view. "Let's get her back to the apartments. I live next to her, so we should be fine."

"Aye, sir!" The guard responded, putting a hoof over his mouth when he realized he had shouted. Black Paladin shot him a glance but didn't say anything more. "Uh... sir? If I may?"

"Go ahead and ask your question, recruit," Black Paladin sighed, turning a corner and climbing a set of stairs. 

"How are you able to stand? A friend of mine saw you drink over twenty bottles of hard cider. Everypony on the guard believed you'd be out for over a week." The guard sounded awed by Black Paladin's resistance to the alcohol. 

"That cider is nothing like a thousand years ago," Black Paladin chuckled. "You ponies are light weights. The cider back then was strong enough to knock the princesses for a spin after a few bottles." The guard seemed uneasy at this statement. "Don't worry, friend. Luna doesn't drink nearly as much as she did then."

"Uh... I'll just pretend I never even heard that sir," The soldier sighed. He hoisted open a door that led into Trixie's own private apartment which was right down the hall from Luna's own royal chamber. Black Paladin's room was located at the other end of a hall, though most ponies would never find it. The door was hidden just so Black Paladin could have the peace he needed at times. "I'll just leave you two alone then, shall I?"

"That sounds good. But remember soldier, I'll know if you say anything about what happened here. And you will not like it. So, stay silent." Black Paladin glared, making the guard pony swallow in fear before running off, tail tucked between his legs. Paladin couldn't help but laugh, it was just so easy to make ponies these days afraid. "Come on Miss Lulamoon, it's time for you to wake up."

He nudged her slightly, receiving a hoof to the side of his head. That really got his blood boiling as he reverted back to his training and decided to do the next thing naturally as it occurred. "WAKE UP!" Ah, how many times had Luna woken him up like that. To many to count.

Trixie for her part did the next natural thing as well. Jumped. Screamed. Then proceeded to punch Black Paladin until she realized what was happening. "Paladin? Why did you wake me up like that?"

"How are you not hungover!?" Black Paladin asked, miffed that a mare had just overpowered him. "You drank about as much as I did, if not more!"

"Oh... Right, last night. Trixie has drunk a lot more than that. The cider was a bit weak for my taste." She casually waved. Black Paladin couldn't help but chuckle in spite of himself. "What's so funny. Does Trixie have something on her face?"

"No, but that would be even funnier," Black Paladin wiped a way a tear.

"Then what is so funny!?" Trixie said, leaping on him again. "Answer Trixie!"

"I said the exact same thing not a minute ago. At least you aren't a light weight with your beverage." Black Paladin gave her a small shove, upsetting her balance so he was on top of her. He chuckled, glaring down at her with a small smile spread across his lips. "You should know that we have to get ready to meet Luna in about an hour."

"Oh... Oh no. I guess she was expecting me to have a lesson since she has returned," Trixie sighed before using her magic to lift Paladin off of her. She rushed off into her bathroom, leaving Paladin alone for the next few hours. He decided he should go and play some EE before he was surpassed by even more ponies in levels.

In a matter of minutes, he was back online and in the arena he had logged off on, though he noticed his level had gone up even further. Must have been some party last night. His level read 20 and he now had a new set of armor, save the helmet. Even his weaponry had changed, to something a bit more comfortable for his taste. At his waist was a nice double edge blade, which matched his blade in real life almost perfectly, except the grip was off in color. On his back was a nice buckler, though it was a bit used.

He also noticed that he had a new set of moves and some upgraded moves to be using in battle. He couldn't remember what they did, because last night was still a blur to him. He decided the best place to go was to the launch of the next zeppelin to Aeroslida, one of the newer areas to have opened up for players to visit and explore for quests. He realized that it was probably best because he was out of quests for his current location.

Some of them were there, but they offered little experience to him and he needed that experience to get ahead of others. He decided to drop the quests, knowing that they were repeats for other lower level characters who were already working on them. He departed the arena, catching a glare from the sun cresting above a few buildings. He noticed that vendors were only just beginning to set up for a new day of sales for players.

Black Paladin glanced around, noting a potion vendor who was already trying to hawk his ware. A few lower leveled players were browsing his goods, though it was almost impossible to tell because of certain screens only players could see on their own. Paladin decided it was the best time to restock his potion supply. He would need ethers and health potions in case his magical shields failed him at the wrong moment.

"Good day sir!" The vendor, a unicorn stallion with a dark blue coat shouted, smiling. "Would you like some potions? No better supplies in the rest of the kingdom this side of Equestria Earth!"

"Sounds good then. I hope your supplies are worth the bits," Black Paladin chuckled, opening up the purchase screen. There were multiple potions of varying prices and strength that he could buy, though many of them were well out of his current price range, intended for the higher leveled and dedicated players. He noted that a potion that would fill both his ether bar and health was on sale for a good deal, so he decided it was best to stock up on that.

"Thank you sir! It's been a pleasure servicing you! If you don't already know, Aeroslida has recently opened and my brother is there. If you would be so kind, he seems to have forgotten his scarf. If you are heading that way, could you please bring it to him?"

"I was just heading there myself," Black Paladin nodded. The vendor smiled, reaching below the counter and bringing out a red scarf. It wasn't to fancy, though Black Paladin noted that it was enchanted with a warmth spell. "How do I know when I've found your brother?"

"Oh, right. He's like me. Sells potions. I'm sure he'll give you an in store discount for helping him out." The vendor said, turning back to his other customers, handing Paladin the scarf. Paladin stashed it in his bag before turning and walking back through the market towards the zeppelin base on the other side of the city. He had figured this out when he saw a massive blimp descend from the sky and land there.

Black Paladin galloped through the streets, hoping to make it to the airbase in time to actually get onto the next zeppelin before it left. They supposedly ran on a fifteen minute timer and one would be back in that time. But Paladin decided it would be fun to see if he could make it there in enough time.

"WATCH OUT!" Paladin had no time to move or react. Another body smashed into him, sending him flying into a wall of a store, causing the store keeper inside to jump. Thankfully, Black Paladin hadn't lost any health points in the collision though he was unsure of who had run him over. He pushed himself up from the ground, noticing that a gryphon was sitting on top of him. "Uh... Sorry about that."

"Uh... Did anypony catch the plate of that carriage?" Somepony chuckled from the gathered crowd. Black Paladin pushed the gryphon off of him, snarling in rage.

"Who do you think you are?" Black Paladin asked, keeping his cool. He then noticed his opponent wasn't entirely a griffon. His bottom half was a wolf, which threw Paladin for a loop. He had never encountered a creature such as this in his life, or at least in real life. He hadn't even fought something like this 1000 years ago during the Griffon Wars. "What are you?"

"I'm a Cynogriffon, duh! The names Arik Crimsonwing. Now who do you think you are, demanding this stuff from me?" The cynogriffin growled, dropping into an attack position, ready to pounce. Black Paladin sighed, touching a hoof to his head. Such arrogance did not become a warrior.

"If you must know, my name is Black Paladin. If you know anything of Griffon history, I am the Wingstealer. The Unicorn of the Night. Your kind feared sleeping during that war." Black Paladin chuckled. Arik stepped back, his eyes lighting up at the name.

"You..." He mumbled. "Lies. You would have to 1000 years old now. Or even older. You can't be that pony!"

"Do you really want to take that chance?" Black Paladin shrugged slightly, using his magic to play with his sword. Arik huffed before giving up with the argument. "That's better. Now, I need to be running before I'm late for the next ride to Aeroslida."

"I'm heading the same direction. Want to walk?" Arik attempted a chance at diplomacy. Black Paladin decided to let the kid go and simply waved, letting him go ahead first. "So, what class are you?"

"I'm a Night Paladin, able to provide an impressive defense with a capable offense. And you, friend?"

"I'm a Dark Night," Arik sighed, looking around at all the other players giving him some side glances. "I tend to get some bad rep as this class though. I've never heard of a Night Paladin class. How'd you get that?"

"Luna had some connections I believe," Black Paladin thought back, not sure of how he had actually gotten a class that no pony else used. Arik had stopped, beak open. "Did I say something?"

"You know the Princess Luna!?" Arik shouted, nearly deafening Black Paladin for a moment. "Oops... Sorry. But how do you know Luna?"

"That would be telling," Black Paladin chuckled. He looked up into the sky, noticing a blimp had just taken off into the air. "We should get moving. I'll race you to the docks."

"You are so on," Arik laughed, taking off at a speed Black Paladin hadn't forseen. Though, it didn't really bother him that much. He jumped onto a roof, using his increased dexterity to make better time than Arik.

"See you there!" Black Paladin called down, laughing as he jumped to the next building that block Arik's path for the moment. The two rushed through the city, freaking out multiple ponies and others who were in the two's path. Arik attempted to force Paladin off of the roofs a few times, flying overhead and divebombing him, though Paladin moved at the last second causing the cynogriffon to pull up before crashing.

"You are never going to catch me at this rate!" Black Paladin shouted back, chuckling under his breath as he dropped back onto the street, the roofs ending at a port. There were a large gathering of players about the same level as Black Paladin and Arik who were waiting for the next ride to Aeroslida. Luckily, it cost absolutely nothing and any number of players could enter a ship, though it could cause quite a lag at times with to many players.

"Dang!" Arik sighed, taking some deep breaths. "You are fast, for a unicorn. That sentence made no sense. I thought unicorns weren't that physically strong."

"Don't know who told you that," Black Paladin took a deep breath, catching his breath. "We unicorns can be extremely resilient if we put our minds to it. Guess we should bored the next zeppelin then."

"No, I've got to get off right now. Kind of needed back in the real world. Nice to meet you Paladin. I'll be sending you a friend request. We should hang out some time later, if that's alright." Arik gave a light smile. Black Paladin, for the lack of anything better, found that he liked the kid. 

"Sure, we can do some questing next time you are on. I do aim to be the best player online." Black Paladin chuckled, still remembering his goal to prove himself the strongest.

"Well, you really have a long way to go and many other ponies between here and there. I'll help, but I definitely wish you luck on that goal." Arik said, giving a wave as he logged off, his avatar disappearing. Black Paladin had gotten used to this random occurrence as characters often did it all the time. It had freaked him out at first, but now it was so common he barely even batted an eye at it.

"Black Paladin!" A pony shouted. Paladin's ears twitched, his ears in the real world. The voice wasn't coming from anypony in game. He lifted the visor, realizing that Trixie was watching him play. "Are you ready?"

"For... what exactly?"

"Luna wanted to see you as well with me," Trixie responded. "I really have no idea what she wishes to see us for, but she demanded I come grab you as well. She refused to say anything else until you were present. And she seems very angry." Black Paladin sighed, logging off the game. He knew that when Luna was unhappy, furniture was likely to start flying in random directions, mainly at windows.

"Let's get this over with then," Black Paladin cursed under his breath, levitating the headset onto his desk. He walked into Luna's room, Trixie following close behind. The first thing his eye caught was Princess Luna standing at her desk, looking over some papers with a hint of concern. "Is something troubling you, Princess?"

"Your two friends seem to be doing just fine, though Gale seems to have upset a rather large snake reservation with his clumsiness." Luna gave a small smile. She turned to the two ponies, her smile disappearing. "But that's not why you two are here. Last night may have gone a bit overboard and I should have put a stop to it. Paladin, I know you can handle your alcohol, but Trixie, you may have done some things that you aren't proud of.

"Luckily, I've erased a few ponies minds who actually remember the events of last night. Surprisingly, a few ponies actually don't prefer to drink at all. I would have assumed all the guards like a heavy drink at times. But, then again, Shining Armor drank a bit but he ended up sleeping until he was needed for his duties. He rises like a clock is in his mind. It's truly amazing."

"What is it you are trying to prove?" Black Paladin sighed, not wanting to listen to her go off on multiple tangents all day. He did have guard duty scheduled in a few hours and he would like to get prepared for it. "I'm sorry if I seem a bit gruff Princess..."

"No, you did catch me before I began lecturing," Luna blushed slightly. "Anyway, I brought you both here to inform you of a secret behind EE that my dearest friend, Chaotic Note, brought forth to me. There has been a large breakout of hackers occuring all over the game, using cheats and backrooms like there is no tomorrow. Chaotic and friends are cracking down hard on these occurrences, but I need my own eyes in the game when I'm not around. Black Paladin, you are thus reinstated as a Shade."

"Are you positive Princess?" Black Paladin mused, thinking of the possible benefits of such a move. He would have more freedom to do with as he pleased. The night would again be his to roam and reap the benefits. Nopony's secrets would remain hidden for long. But he had originally resigned to have a normal life as a guard pony, to have a life he had missed out upon.

"I need a pony with total access to any information at any time. I will tell no pony, but if Chaotic begins to wonder why you are skulking about his activities both online off, don't say anything. Just direct him towards me."

"I guess I will have to accept. If this ends up becoming a larger problem to ponies in real life, this is all on me." Black Paladin saluted, ready for the complex process of returning the imbued power of the night to his body. It was going to be a long night. And it seemed as though Trixie was going to be a viewer of the operation.