//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Ancient Evil Stirs (And Pinkie Pie throws a party.) // Story: Paladin // by The_Pariah //------------------------------// Chapter 4: Ancient Evil stirs. (And Pinkie Pie throws a Party) Once the ice had melted, Paladin began to clean up his mess. He took the armor off and shrunk it back to its smaller size, placing both it and the shattered pieces of the mirror back in the saddlebag. Then he ensured that everything in the saddlebag was dry. Finally he placed the book that had saved Twilight's life in there as well. He turned to ruler of the night, a confused and slightly idiotic look on his face. "You said the mirror would work for the one of you that was closer to a mirror. But if you were here, there's no way you were closer. Also, even with teleportation you shouldn't have been able to get here that quickly. Please explain." Twilight answered first. "I got Spike to send a letter to the princess. Clearly she got it, but why did she not come herself?" Luna looked at both of them. "My sister couldn't come herself because she's away checking out rumors of a dark evil stirring near Fillydalphia," she explained for Paladin's benefit (Twilight had already known of the extenuating circumstances from the letter). "So, she contacted me and I came instead.” She said, helping Twilight to her hooves. “I was preparing to leave, when I heard your voice in my head. I dropped all the items I had been preparing and teleported to you.” She walked over to Paladin, helping Twilight along the way. “Now, clearly you're both extremely tired. I shall take you to the hospital. We need to make sure you’re both ok." Luna Lifted them both onto her back and flew to the hospital. It stood near the edge of the town. The building itself was a large white building with a red roof, was shaped like an ‘E’ and looked quite welcoming. Even so, Paladin shuddered when he saw it. Luna looked over her shoulder. “Something the matter?” Paladin shook his head. “It’s nothing really, I just hate hospitals.” ----- When they arrived, she placed them on the ground and walked inside.The nurse walked out from behind the counter. She was pink, and her eyes were purple, with a clear and intelligent look. “They’re both here for check ups.” She turned to the two ponies. “Alright I have to go now, I’m quite tired and should probably be in bed right now. I'll be back in a day or so to ensure that you're both ok." And with that she teleported. Paladin sat down. The white walls and tiles had recently been cleaned and the whole place stank of disinfectant. He had positioned himself so that he could watch both the front door and reception at the same time. The lights overhead flickered and he felt his eyes growing tired. Twilight sat down next to him but didn't say anything. The chair was so comfortable. Surely he could just rest for a moment. Paladin closed his eyes and let the darkness take him. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• He opened his eyes slowly. All around him lay a thick fog, blanketing everything. "Ah, a dream perhaps?" He shook his head. "No, this is inside my head, yes, but not a dream. It is much to vivid. Is that another's breathing I hear?" Paladin started walking towards the sound of the breathing. Eventually he came to a cage. But it wasn't an ordinary cage. No this cage was made of fire and from the way the flames flickered and strengthened every second, Paladin could see it would burn forever. Inside the cage lay a pony, sleeping deeply. “Well, this explains why I didn’t suffer the effects of that spell.” He walked around the cage, admiring it. “It appears that you tried to possess me in a similar fashion to Twilight, but the Armor of the Night stopped you. The Armor must have detained you in that cage as a form of protection. Why it didn’t just repel you is beyond me.” A voice cut through the fog. "Mr Paladin, the doctor is here to see you." Paladin closed his eyes. "Time to wake up, I suppose." ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• "Mr Paladin?" The nurse looked at the pony before her with the slightest hint of confusion. He had come in five minutes earlier on the back of Princess Luna, no less. After she had departed, he had sat on the seat and promptly fell asleep. Twilight had been with him, and apart from some fatigue she was fine. This pony was clearly fatigued. But there seemed to be something else about him. "Mr..." Paladin's eyes snapped open. "I heard you the first time." He got up. "I suppose I can leave my saddlebag here without worry?" The nurse nodded. "Well alright then." And at that moment the adrenalin stopped pumping through his veins, and he reverted to his usual, shy self. He walked down the corridor (which also stank of disinfectant) and entered the office. The doctor turned around. He was a tall grey stallion, with caring, brown eyes. "Ah Mr. Paladin please take a seat." Paladin looked around the room. Everything was white, shiny and reeked of disinfectant. The doctor examined him, poking and prodding him apathetically with a myriad of sharp, painful medical instruments. "Well, apart from fatigue, you’re in great physical shape. All you need to do is rest." Paladin nodded his thanks, before leaving. He stopped for a second to thank the nurse and grabbed his bag. As he exited the hospital Paladin felt a cool breeze on his face. He looked up at the sky. "How long had I been asleep?" The moon was just beginning to rise and the sky was quickly growing dark. He looked around hoping to see Twilight. Instead, he saw nopony that he knew. "Oh My Gosh, you’re that pony from before and you’re new here because I know everypony in town. I have throw a party not just 'cause you're new, but because you saved Twilight's life! That's what I'm known around here for, throwing parties that is and I always throw super awesome parties!” Paladin just looked at Pinkie Pie, who had literally appeared out of thin air, as she said all of this. Quickly seizing the moment when she stopped to draw breath Paladin put his hoof in her mouth. "Now Pinkie Pie, before you say anything else I want to know, how do I get to the library from here? When I remove my hoof, you're going to tell me the information I require and nothing else because you have a party to organize. Got that?" Pinkie nodded. "Alright then." Paladin withdrew his hoof. "Follow me to the library." Pinkie began to bounce. Paladin walked behind her, taking in all the nature around him. "The nature here, is nothing like you'd see in Manehatten." Pinkie nodded, though it was hard to tell, bouncing along as she was. Soon they reached the library. "It's a tree." Paladin said dryly. "You store a great source of knowledge (that is quite flammable) in a tree." Pinkie nodded "Yup! Now I have to sort out your party. You have to come, you're the guest of honor after all." Paladin spun, shock on his face "I have to WHAT?" but Pinkie was already gone. Spike opened the door. "What are you yelling about?" "Nothing important." Paladin stepped inside and looked around. "So many books..." The tomes layered the shelves, which covered basically the entire inside wall of the building. The books were arranged in alphabetical order and they were a rainbow of colours across the wall. The only empty space was the passage to the living quarters. Spike stepped in front of Paladin. "Admire it in a minute, first we need to drop your stuff in your room. Follow me." Paladin trotted along behind Spike, admiring the collection of books that existed within the tree. They rounded another corner and came across Twilight. "Oh hey Spike. Paladin, how's it going?" Paladin smiled. "Good, but shouldn't you be in bed? Didn't the doctor say to get rest?" Raising an eyebrow, Twilight replied, "What about you? Didn't he say the same thing to you?" Paladin scratched his head. "He might have said something along those lines, but I have way too much to do. I have to get stronger, anyway, so I can protect everypony." Twilight shook her head. "Say what you want, you won't be able to protect anypony if you can barely stand from fatigue." Shaking his head, Spike forced himself between the two ponies. "You both have to get some rest. You both look exhausted." Conceding defeat, Paladin shrugged. "Well alright then, show to my room." Spike turned, and started walking again, now with Paladin in tow. Moments later they reached his room. It was nowhere near as extravagant as his room in Canterlot, but Paladin liked it a lot more for that. It was quaint, with only a bed, a small desk and a small ensuite. Paladin walked in and collapsed on the bed with a content sigh. "So comfortable. Spike, thanks for the room.” Paladin stopped talking, a curious look crossing his face. “Spike, can you do something for me?” “Sure, what do you want?” “I need a couple of books on healing magic, I need to improve." Spike nodded. "Sure I'll grab them in the morning." He turned and left, closing the door behind him. Paladin lay down, got comfortable and went to sleep. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• His eyes opened slowly. He was in that realm in the back of his mind again. Only this time, it was different. "I could swear that this fog was thicker last time I was here." He walked over to the cage. "Interesting, it looks like the fog comes from your body. But why is it lighter than before?" He studied the sleeping pony closely. There! Paladin could have sworn he saw a spark of flame run down the pony's tail. But this was a windingo, a being of cold and hate. So why was there fire? He turned with a confused expression on his face. "I wonder if there is anything else in here." He began to walk away from the cage, trotting for what seemed like hours only to come back to the cage. "Well it seems you and I are the only things in this little realm of mine." Paladin felt a call from the world outside. "I have to go now, but I'll be back." If the windingo heard him, it gave no sign. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Paladin opened his eyes to the real world once again. He pulled himself out of the bed and looked out the window. The sun was shining, the birds chirping. As he looked around the room, he noticed three large books stacked in the corner, all on medical magic from the looks of things. On top of the books sat a note. Paladin Have gone to get some extra food. Spike got you those books you asked for. You looked so peaceful, so I won't wake you up. Apparently Celestia is still in Fillydelphia searching for the source of evil. Not much else to report, see you later. Twilight. Paladin smiled at the comment of his peacefulness, but that smile vanished when the note mentioned evil. The fact that the princess hadn't located it yet was troubling, but was a problem for another day. He lifted the first of the books, placed it on his desk and began reading. He had spent only moments reading when he heard Twilight return. Leaving the book open on the page he was at, he turned and left his room. He walked down the corridor and into the main hall. Twilight turned. "Oh hey, Paladin care for some breakfast?" Paladin nodded and Twilight tossed him an apple. Between bites of the apple Paladin began to pepper Twilight with questions. "First off, where are all your friends? Also is Pinkie Pie always crazy or is it just because I'm new? Finally, do have any idea when the party for me is and when it is?" Twilight laughed and with a wry smile asked, "Is that it?" Paladin thought for a second before nodding. "Alright, first my friends were all over the place yesterday but should be back in time to meet you at your party. Let's see, Rainbow Dash went to Cloudsdale, Rarity went to Canterlot, Applejack went to a rodeo somewhere and Fluttershy was in her house." She took a bite of an apple before continuing. "Pinkie Pie is always crazy, so it's not just because you're here. As for her party, I'll find out when it is, but it will be at Sugarcube Corner." Paladin’s hunger satisfied, both knowledge and stomach, he went back to his room to study some more. An hour later, he had mastered some of the more advanced healing magics. He opened the next book and read the title. “Hm... Creating Portals... Interesting.” It was a thin volume, and he finished rather quickly. His mind was filled with the enormity of what he had just learned. This book detailed not only the different kinds of portals that somepony could create, it detailed how to create the various types of portals. The one that interested him the most however, was a portal similar to the one Discord had used on him. If he was to use this magic, the target of his spell would be banished, to a realm created in accordance with his wishes. With this magic in hoof, he could not only defeat Discord, but remove him from Equestria. The only limiting factor in these spells was the caster's magic ability. Paladin stifled a yawn. “I need to get outside, I’ve spent too long in here.“His stomach growled. He realised not only did he need to get outside, he was also incredibly hungry And the more he thought about it, the hungrier he got. He also realized he could use some extra bits. “Hmm... maybe I could try and find a job! It’s not like I’ll be going anywhere anytime soon.He closed the book he was reading and left his room. ----- Paladin sauntered slowly down Mane street. He wasn't looking for anything in particular. He only had about 20 bits on him and apart from that, his saddlebag was virtually empty. He looked up at the sun, and gauging from its position he guessed that it was around three o'clock. Twilight hadn't found out what time the party was but Paladin was sure he would find out soon enough. He squinted, looking at the sky. "What in Equestria?" It looked like a pegasus... He trotted over to a nearby pony, a minty green unicorn with a lyre as a cutie mark. "Excuse me." She turned around. "Yes?" He pointed at the rapidly closing object. "Is that a pegasus?" She looked where he was pointing, squinting hard against the sun’s light. "Uh, yeah, it looks like Rainbow Dash." "Thanks." Paladin turned and trotted to where he estimated Rainbow would either land or crash. As Rainbow swooped in, she noticed a new pony was waiting next to where she was planning to land. She angled her descent, aiming for the most dramatic landing possible. Of course, she stumbled forward, having been going too fast. She saw the ground rush up to meet her face... But there was no impact. She looked at the ground. Her face was hovering just above it. She looked at her body, half way in a position that suggested that if she hadn't been caught she would have gone for a painful tumble. It was surrounded in a deep blue aura, which was holding her up. But she had seen no blue unicorns around, only Lyra and the new pony. She climbed to her feet and looked at him. "Why is your magic blue? And who are you?" Paladin considered the questions. If he hadn't caught her, Rainbow would have gone tumbling a good fifty hooves. But there was no thanks, only questions. Still, he wasn't annoyed at her. "I have no idea why my magic is blue. It's always been blue so I never thought about it. As for who I am, I am Paladin and you, Rainbow Dash, need to be more careful." Rainbow looked at him. So, this was that mysterious and shy pony that had come here from Canterlot. "So you already know my name. But did you know that I'm the fastest flyer in all of Equestria?" Paladin laughed. "And from the looks of things not the best lander. But from the look in your eyes, I'd say you got teased quite a lot in high school about this." He rested a hoof on her shoulder. "I expect that they were jealous of your speed, and so made fun of the smallest mistakes." Rainbow pushed his hoof off. "How would you know about that? What are you, some sort of expert on this?" Her voice was bitter. Paladin's eyes stared deep into hers and she looked away, intimidated by the intenseness of his gaze. "Because the same thing happened to me. I was a natural at shielding spells, and I wasn’t too shabby at healing magic either. But whenever I made a mistake, especially when it involved shielding magic, the other ponies in my group taunted me.” He looked down, a wistful look on his face, remembering the torture he had gone through. He looked back. “But that's no longer important, you're an excellent flyer, so who cares if your classmates taunted you." Rainbow nodded, a smile returning to her face. "Yeah... I guess you're right, thanks Paladin." She leapt into the air with a flourish of feathers. "See you at the party." And with that, she flew off. "Making everypony feel better and your friends all over the place I see." Paladin jumped a good hoof in the air. "Gah, how did you manage to sneak up on me?" He looked at Twilight, who had a bemused smile on her face. "It was easy, you were distracted by Rainbow.” She glanced over her shoulder, as if waiting for somepony. “Anyway, I’ve been looking for you. I found out the time of the party. It's at six-thirty. Do you want me to show you where Sugarcube Corner is?" He shook his head "No, I'll find it myself. But thanks for the offer." With a quick nod, Twilight turned and trotted away. Paladin stood there for a second before his nose caught the scent of gingerbread. "Mmm... smells so good." Following his nose he began to trot away towards the heavenly aroma. Soon he came to a building that looked to be made of gingerbread. Paladin licked his lips and smiled. "This must be Sugarcube Corner. I wonder if I could get a job here." He walked inside, and immediately his nose was surrounded by smell even more heavenly than those from outside. The inside of the building was decorated in a similar fashion, looking exactly like gingerbread. A kind looking pony looked up from the recipe book she was reading. "Hello, I'm Mrs Cake, how can I help?" Paladin smiled shyly. "I was wondering if there was a job position open?” Mrs Cake smiled. “That depends on several things.” “Like what?” A pink head popped around from behind a door. "Somepony new is going to- ooh it's you Paladin!" Paladin eyes widened. Pinkie Pie works here? Oh dear Celestia, how do I work with her? She’s crazy! “I’m assuming that’s one of the conditions.” Mrs Cake looked at Paladin, eyebrows raised. "You know Pinkie Pie?" Paladin sighed softly. "Yeah, we met a couple of times. She's throwing a party and I’m the guest of honor." “You should be grateful. Pinkie’s parties are the greatest in Ponyville. I'll have to make sure you can cook, but I'll certainly let you work here." I still can’t believe she lives here. How do they put up with her craziness? Pinkie jumped in front of him "I didn't know you could cook. Then again I don't know a lot of stuff about you because you're new here. I suppose you can cook better than Twilight." "Pinkie." "Oh I wonder what you can cook!" "Pinkie!" "Do you like cupcakes? Because I like cupcakes." "PINKIE!" "Yes, Paladin?" "Please be quiet." Pinkie smiled broadly, oblivious to everything as usual. "Okie dokie lokie." Satisfied that Pinkie’s interruptions were over, Paladin returned his attention to Mrs Cake. "So what do I have to cook to prove myself?" She thought for a moment before handing a recipe to Paladin. "Cupcakes, but you have to follow this recipe exactly." Paladin nodded, and went into the kitchen. As he looked at the recipe he heard Pinkie enter behind him. Paladin turned around. Pinkie was just standing there, staring at him. He turned back around and began making the cupcakes. A dozen cups and bowls swarmed around his head, suspended in a faint blue aura. Each of the instruments scooped up a different ingredient, before returning to the space around Paladin’s head. He combined the ingredients, before carefully placing the cupcakes in the oven and began washing dishes. Once that was finished he turned around to find Pinkie sitting there, still staring. "Alright I give, what do you want?" Pinkie shook her head. "I can't believe how quickly you did that. Not even I can make cupcakes that fast!" Paladin chuckled. "When you do things efficiently, things move quickly.” He pointed up the baking cupcakes. “Those will take a little while to cook. I'm going to check on them in ten minutes. Until then I'm going to be reading this book over there. Do not disturb me." Pinkie pouted. "Are you sure?" Paladin looked up from his book. "Yes, you can come back in ten minutes. Until then just let me read." Paladin sat down in the corner and started to read. Ten minutes later he got up and started to stretch. Without warning, an overenthusiastic Pinkie bounced in. "Are they ready yet?" Paladin shook his head, amazed by the ponies eagerness. He took the cupcakes out. They looked perfect, golden brown and delicious. Pinkie immediately went to take one, but Paladin quickly moved them out of range. "Hold on a moment.” He smiled at Pinkie’s enthusiasm. “I have to ice them first.” Moving quickly, Paladin made a simple white icing. He placed the mixture in a piping bag and ever so carefully iced the cupcakes. On top of each one he placed a small shield made of solid icing. "There now you can have one." Pinkie snagged one and took a bite. Paladin tensed, waiting for the result. "Ohmygosh it's so good give me another right now!" Paladin shook his head and levitated the cupcakes above her head. "You can't have another one till I've shown them to Mrs Cake." Pinkie tried everything in the book (she actually had a book), but nothing worked. Paladin somehow got them to Mrs cake without disturbing a single cupcake. Mrs. Cake nodded, a slight smile on her lips. "Very good, on two counts." Paladin raised an eyebrow. "Two counts?" She nodded a second time. "Yes. One, you have obviously can make cupcakes fast and easily. They're obviously good seeing as Pinkie will stop at nothing to get them. That's also the second count. You are clearly apt at keeping food away from Pinkie, which is a necessity when you work here." She smiled. "I am pleased to say that you can most definitely work here." Paladin leapt into the air in joy, whacked his head on the roof and crashed back to earth. He stood up, an embarrassed smile forming on his lips. "Thanks." Before he could say anything else he found himself being pushed toward the door. "You know, *huff*, this would be easier, *huff*, if you weren't so heavy." He looked down to find Pinkie pushing him towards the door. "Now what are you doing?" Pinkie stopped and looked at him. "In two hours there's a party for you and I need to organize it. So you need to leave." Paladin started walking. "You realize you only needed to ask." He stepped outside. "I'll see you later." he said, waving a hoof. He walked back to the library. When he got there, he found Twilight talking to a white unicorn. Not wanting to interrupt, he snuck around the back and came through the back entrance. He walked inside and went to his room. He pulled his jacket out of his small wardrobe. It was miraculously uncreased, which was a blessing. He couldn't stand the thought of ironing it. He slid it on and looked at himself in the mirror. A confident and impressive stallion looked back. "Well don't you look amazing?" He spun around. "How are you constantly sneaking up on me?" He looked at the mirror, then back at Twilight. “I was looking in a mirror. How do you even do that?” Twilight stood there, leaning against the door frame, smirking as he shook his head. "I suppose it doesn't matter. I assume you're coming as well." She nodded. He adjusted his jacket. “You know, I’ve never met ponies quite like you.” He turned around. “You're nice to everypony, heck, Pinkie’s throwing a party for somepony she barely knows. Back in Manehatten, nopony was like that. Everypony only watched out for themselves, never anypony else.” Paladin’s lips twitched, as if he was going to smile, but he didn’t. "We best get going, the party starts in fifteen minutes." He said glancing at the clock that sat on the wall opposite his bed. As they left the building, it started to rain. It was cold, heavy rain and upon reflection, Paladin supposed it was a dark omen of the night that would follow. He put a shield over them blocking out the rain. Twilight looked at him. "Sure is useful, that shielding magic." Paladin nodded. "Yeah, I could teach it to you sometime I suppose." Twilight smiled. "I wouldn't mind that." Shortly after, they arrived at Sugarcube corner. The sound of a party in full swing echoed out. The building smelled even better than before, with the smell of about fifteen different deserts wafting outwards. The windows flashed occasionally, lit by the lights inside. Paladin looked up at the sky and gazed as a lightning bolt split it in half. As they stepped inside they were assaulted by noise. A pony named Vinyl Scratch was DJing and doing a fine job of it. Paladin looked around. It was quite some party. "Pinkie wasn't lying when she said she threw awesome parties." Paladin had to shout to be heard. Twilight nodded. Suddenly they were surrounded by the Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy. Paladin began to talk and soon he was having a great time. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Princess Celestia on the other hoof, wasn't having such a great time. It was raining in Fillydelphia. She had managed to track down the source of the evil that had been troubling her, but the rain had somewhat dampened her spirits. She walked into the alleyway and looked around. It was abnormally dark at the end of the alleyway. She approached slowly. "Why so shy? Come closer my dear Celestia." The voice echoed out of the darkness. Celestia squinted to get a better view of whatever was in front of her. "Who are you?" The darkness laughed. "Who am I? What, don't you recognize me? I'm saddened by this news. Oh well, you won't live long enough to work out who I am." A shadow snaked out and struck her on the leg. She retaliated, sending a blast of magic into the darkness. It exploded, illuminating the area and exposing a massive pegasus. It was larger than Celestia and was pitch black. It’s body was wrapped in baroque and ancient armor. The light faded and the shadows returned, stronger than before. "You forget my dear, the brighter the light, the darker the shadows." Another shadow slipped out, slicing her left side. As he cried out in pain, he hissed, "Ah, so you do feel pain. Good. That will make this all the more enjoyable!" With those words, a wave of shadows flew out, picking up Celestia, and throwing her against a wall. She didn't cry out as she felt her left back leg snap. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. He approached her slowly, sending small shadows to slice and bruise her. Finally he stood above her, looking down. "Now, you will know final death!" A huge wave of shadows rose up behind him, blotting out the moon. As it began to descend, Celestia raised a shield. But it was weak and the wave of shadows crashed through, before throwing her back, where she slammed into the wall again. A small gasp escaped her lips, and the black pegasus seemed to drink up her pain.He raised another wave, and sent it forward. Celestia’s eyes shut and her weary brain struggled to form the necessary magic required to teleport. She thought of a random pony, a pony that had proved his loyalty already, Paladin Amor. Focusing on his face, her horn flared and she teleported to him. The wave crashed down, breaking on the location where Celestia had been only seconds before. "Run away, little Celestia, your time will come. As will every other pony's in Equestria!" He turned and walked away, planning his next move. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• For once in his life Paladin was having a great time. He had made a lot of friends, had almost totally gotten over his shyness and nothing bad had happened. As the night went on, most of the ponies left, till there were about twelve of them left. Paladin had just refilled his punch and turned around when there was a bright flash of multicolored light. As the light faded, Paladin found himself face to face with a bruised, battered and blood-covered princess. She looked shocked for a moment, then her eyes rolled back and she collapsed. His cup dropped to the floor, but he caught before it hit the ground. Several of the ponies screamed before Paladin took charge. Twilight and her friends stood still, shocked till Paladin’s voice snapped them out of it. "Rainbow, go to the hospital and get a doctor. Twilight, you help me." He slid out of his jacket. "Rarity, can you look after this? Pinkie Pie, start cleaning up this mess. Fluttershy and Applejack get everpony else out of here." He turned to the unconscious princess. "Twilight clear a table, I need somewhere to rest her." Twilight nodded and swept a table clear, before moving it to the center if the room. Paladin carefully lifted Celestia onto the table. As if things couldn't get any worse, Luna chose this moment to teleport in to check on Paladin and Twilight. As the blue light that signaled her arrival faded, she stepped forward. The scene that confronted her was not a pretty one. Paladin stood next to her injured sister, with Twilight in tow. The mess of what appeared to be a party lay on the ground and there was blood everywhere. "What is going on here?" She demanded before rushing to her sister’s side. Paladin stopped her. "You have to listen to me Luna. Your sister will die, unless I start working right now. So if you could step back and let me get to work, that would be great." he turned his attention back to Celestia, who in a small space of time had lost even more blood. Paladin began. The first thing he did was heal all but one of the smaller cuts on her body (he knew he needed that for later). Next he turned his attention to the larger slice down her side. His horn flared brighter, and the wound slowly closed over. He repaired all the torn muscle underneath next. He looked at the two ponies standing nearby. "I would recommend covering your ears for this part. The sound of mending bones is not pleasant." He turned his attention back to the job at hoof. His horn flared again, brighter still. Celestia's bone slowly realigned itself and then with a sickening CRACK the bone sealed itself back together. He stared at his handiwork. Everything had been done perfectly, not a single mistake. There was only one thing left to do. He turned to Luna. "What blood type is Celestia?" Luna shot him an incredulous look. "What sort of question is that?" "Have you not seen all the blood on the floor? I need to know what blood type she is!" "She's O negative." "Good, now is anypony else here an O negative?" Nopony raised their hoof. Paladin looked at them sadly. "Well then I guess I have no choice." He levitated a punch glass over and shattered it on the floor. "You know if there's one thing I hate, it's self-sacrifice... I'm such a hypocrite." He picked up one of the shards of glass and sliced his skin. As the blood began to dribble from the wound, he focused his magic. The blood began to flow from his vein, into the magic channel he had created and into the one open cut Paladin had left. He continued to pump his blood into her body, till he was sure that there was enough to sustain her. Finally, he sealed both cuts. Luna looked incredibly angry. "When I find the creature who did this I'm going to kill it!" Paladin sighed, extremely tired from all of the magic he had just performed and from the loss of blood. "No you’re not." Luna snarled and looked at him. "And why aren't I?" "Because, if the creature can defeat your sister, than it can most definitely beat you." The fire in Luna's eyes died only slightly. She didn't believe it but she wasn't going to argue. Twilight, who had been silent up to this point asked Paladin, "Why did you have Rainbow get a doctor?" Paladin closed his eyes. "In case I failed or more likely, in case I succeeded." He sighed a final time, and lay on the ground. In his head, the darkness swallowed him whole. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• His eyes opened slowly. He was tired and he didn't really want to be here, but he had no choice. He looked around. The fog was dissipating ever so slowly. He walked to the cage. The pony inside was awake, and every so often a spark would run down its tail, but it was growing more and more frequent. "Hello, I see you're finally awake." The pony nodded. "Can you speak?" A shake this time. The pony motioned with its hoof, and a chess board appeared. Cocking his head, Paladin raised an eyebrow. "Well... at least I like chess. And apparently my mind can create chessboards, useful piece of information." Paladin began the game. Whenever it was the pony's turn, the pieces moved themselves. The game went on in this fashion for several hours. Neither pony could gain the upper hoof. An hour later and Paladin was finally starting to win. "Victory is mine. I must say you are quite the opponent. But I feel as if I should return to real world now. I will return for another game of chess." Paladin closed his eyes. "Thank you for the game." His eyes snapped open. He spun around. "I thought you indicated you couldn't speak." "Yeah... I was lying, but I'll talk now. You're still unconscious. Let me help you with that. One last thing before you go. When the second ancient evil stirs and all hope seems lost, come to me." Paladin nodded and closed his eyes again. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Twilight stood nervously in the hospital. It had been a full day since Paladin had fallen unconscious after giving blood to Celestia and while she had woken up, Paladin hadn't. "Come Twilight, standing here won't make him heal any faster." She turned around to face Celestia. "I know, but after everything he's done for me and for you..." A nurse burst in. "Oh thank goodness you're still here. Princess, something's happened to Paladin!" Without waiting for response, the nurse turned and ran back towards Paladin's room. Celestia and Twilight galloped after her. As they neared the room the temperature dropped considerably. When they reached it, the corridor outside was coated in ice. The nurse opened the door and let them in. As they raced inside, the temperature dropped even further. On the bed where Paladin had lay was a floating iceberg. Spreading slowly outwards was a wave of ice. "What's going on?" Twilight looked at Celestia. "I have no idea, I've never seen anything like this before." Suddenly, the iceberg shattered, sending shards of ice in every direction. The ice on the ground also cracked, before disintegrating. Paladin fell, landing hard on the bed. The nurse looked at him. "He's still unconscious so I-" she stopped talking, as Paladin's eyes snapped open. "Why did I have to be in a hospital?" He looked at his surroundings, seeing the shocked nurse, stunned princess and a very happy Twilight. "Alright, what's wrong now? Also why couldn't you put me in the library? You know how much I hate hospitals." The nurse closed her jaw. "But you just... What just happened?" She looked to Celestia, who could offer no better answer than a shrug. "I have nothing. I don't have a clue as to what just happened here." Paladin raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" Twilight stepped forward. "You were suspended in an iceberg, floating above the bed and a wave of ice was spreading outwards from it." Paladin scratched his head. "I wondered what the windingo meant when it said it would help me." Worst choice of words ever. Celestia's eyes flashed with anger. "You've been intentionally harboring a creature of destruction? Why would you do something so foolish?" "I have it under-" "No, you don't, you never have a creature like that under control!" She shook her sadly. "Such crime can not go unpunished. I'm afraid Paladin that I have to banish you to the Everfree Forest. I'm sorry, but that is the only course of action I see fit." Inside Celestia’s mind, she was at war with herself. I don’t need to send him there... But he broke an ancient law... I have no choice... “You can’t send somepony with those injuries into the forest.” The nurse exclaimed at the same time Twilight said. “But he saved your life!” Paladin stayed silent, his mind working overtime.But I just saved... Why would she? Celestia shook her head. “I have no choice. Such actions harbor consequences. Paladin Amor, with the power vested in me, I banish you to the Everfree Forest, forever.” She stepped forward and grabbed his hoof. One flash of multicolored light later and Paladin stood in the Everfree Forest. The moon rose overhead. His head hung low as he watched Celestia teleport away, leaving him standing there, alone. He turned away from Equestria, his mind in turmoil. “how could she do that?” His voice echoed through the forest, but there was no response. “I saved her life! And this is how she treats me?” His voice was bitter. “Well then, I guess Equestria doesn’t need me. I suppose I should seek out anypony else that lives in here." He went searching, his hoofbeats echoing on the empty path. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• The Dark Pegasus watched Paladin turn and walk away. "Well now what do we have here? A sad and bitter Paladin, forced away by the very life he saved. Exactly as planned." He turned and walked up to the statue of Discord. Shadows leapt from his body and wrapped around the statue. "Listen well, Discord. When I release you, you are to hunt down and turn five of the element’s physical embodiments into stone. You are to capture Twilight Sparkle and bring her to me so I can lure Paladin out of hiding, into the open. Finally, if you want, after you done all these things, you may have the princesses to yourself." Discord dropped to the ground. "As you wish, my lord Chaos."