Paladin

by The_Pariah

Chapter 7: To Cheat Death

Chapter 7: To cheat death.

Two weeks after Paladin's death...

The funeral was held in the gardens outside the castle. There were two groups of chairs, split by a central aisle. In the front row sat the mane six, Spike, Paladin's parents; Shadow Strike and Angel Mortis, Princess Luna and Pariah. Princess Celestia stood at the front of the group, acting as the minister.

The sun shone down on the gardens with brilliance, only blocked by a few wispy clouds high above; an absolutely perfect day. As the pure white coffin that held Paladin's body floated down the aisle, Celestia began to speak. "We are here today to mourn the passing of a hero, a defender of the innocent, Paladin Amor..."

As she spoke, Twilight sobbed softly. Fluttershy tried to calm her down to no avail by wrapping her foreleg around her. Rarity and Applejack watched on, and Rainbow sat in silence, an unseen tear rolling down her cheek. Shadow was stoic, his face unchanging, while Angel sat with her head facing the ground. Luna watched sadly, but shed no tears, and Pariah watched unblinking, his eyes changing colour rapidly.

As the coffin descended into the pit, Celestia's voice rang true. "Paladin was a great pony. May he forever rest in peace." The coffin touched the bottom and the dirt lifted itself up, before filling the hole.

Celestia stepped forward, and Luna rose. Together their horns flared, lighting the air above the grave. Darkness and light coiled together like snakes, and from the ground a statue was formed, a statue of Paladin, a huge smile on his face, gazing upwards into the sky.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Six months after Paladin's Funeral...

Twilight almost smiled. With the changelings invading, Paladin would've been in his element. He would have loved this. But now was not the time for smiles. Chrysalis had stopped them reaching the Elements of Harmony, and there was nothing they could do to stop her. Unless...

"This day has been just perfect, the kind day of which I dreamed since I was small. Everypony I'll soon control, every stallion mare and foal. Who says a girl can't really have it all?" As Chrysalis sang in her insane tone, her eyes filled with mad glee, Twilight snuck towards Cadance.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

As Twilight was sneaking, Pariah stood in the gardens, studying Paladin's statue. His eyes darted rapidly, searching for something. A rose-red pegasus wearing a battered set of armor stood next to him staring at the hundreds of changelings that stood surrounding them. The changelings were looking at the duo menacingly as they slowly advanced on them. She shook her head, ruffling her short, dark green mane.

"Are you going to be much longer Pariah? We seem to have attracted some unwanted attention." Her voice was surprisingly cheerful.

"Hm? What kind of attention?" Pariah asked as he looked away from the statue. "Oh. There's not that many. I think you can take them Sis."

"That's Sergeant Breaking Dawn to you. And you can help me."

Pariah sighed. "Alright then, I'll see you on the other side." He said, lunging at the nearest changeling. Dawn smiled, before charging.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Twilight watched as Cadance and her brother were lifted into the air. Chrysalis stopped smiling, and her expression became one of abject horror as they made the shape of a heart. From their bodies, purple magic burst, forming a ball and it began to expand rapidly. The magic hit her, throwing her from the room with a huge, prismatic explosion of pure love.

The magic continued to expand, throwing any changeling it touched from Canterlot, and freeing trapped ponies. The magic reached Pariah and Dawn, and threw the dead and injured changelings that lay around them away. Pariah stood panting, watching as they were flung away like ragdolls in the wind. "Well, that was boring."

"I know, they could've at least put up some sort of challenge."

Pariah chuckled. "Want to go see how the Princess is?"

Dawn nodded. "Sure, but she probably has things covered."

Pariah shrugged, then looked at the statue again. Shaking his head, he turned away, his magic-seeing ability not noticing the pulsating ball of magic that lay below the ground, around the same place as Paladin's body.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

When the magic had hit Paladin's body it had affected it in a way nopony could've imagined. It ran across his body, and when it reached the hole in his chest it stopped. It backtracked, and began to heal the decomposing flesh. It ran up his body once again, restoring the flesh, blood and fur that had began to break down.

When it reached the hole, flesh ran like water filling the hole, remaking the heart. Once the heart was complete, it began to pump the freshly made blood around the body.

The magic restored the brain, but it ran into a problem. A body is just a body, without a soul. And so, the magic went in search of Paladin's soul.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Up to this point, Paladin's soul had been floating through darkness, and to be quite honest, Paladin was bored. "Argh! This is stupid!" His voice echoed in the darkness. "Seriously, if this is death, then I want to live! Celestia help me..." He whimpered.

Suddenly there was a flash of light, and a small pink ball of light was bobbing in front of him. "Oh, so what are you? Some new thing to taunt me?" The ball bobbed once, before floating away. "Hey, come back here!"

He started to chase it, paddling after it in a weird, dog-like motion. The ball stopped, before flying into his chest. Pain flared through Paladin's chest, and he screamed. Light erupted over his body, before he was pure white. Suddenly, cracks of darkness riddled the light.

Chunks of light fell away, leaving only emptiness behind. Through his eyes, Paladin could still see the darkness that surrounded him, lit partially by his now glowing body. There was a second flash of light, and an Alicorn stood next to him. He was a tall Alicorn, with a midnight blue coat and wings. His mane was a lighter blue, and both were ragged. On of his wings hung limply at his side, and a crown sat lopsided on his brow.

Though perhaps stood wasn’t the correct word. His body was wrapped in chains, chains that dragged him into the darkness below. He spoke, and his voice was full of pain, and fatigue. “Child, just what do you think you are doing?”

Paladin turned his head. When his mouth opened, light streamed from it, and the chains relented, albeit for but a second. “I don’t know what’s going on, I’m not doing this.” The old pony sighed.

“What you are doing then, is leaving death, and without my permission.” He stared out into the darkness. “Though it’s not like I can stop you.”

More chunks of light fell away, leaving paladin with only half his body, his head and a leg. “Leaving death? Your permission? Who are you exactly?”

The pony raised an eyebrow. “Who am I? I am the light in the darkness.I am Solace, former King of the pony empire. And you are just another thing to add to my list of problems.”

Paladin screamed as a fresh wave of pain exploded across his body. “Why does it hurt?”

“Because you’re being brought back to life, and life hurts.” Solace glanced at him. “Good luck child.” Pain wracked his body again, the last of the light fell away, leaving solace alone. “So the warrior has returned to life... What an interesting development.”

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Paladin gasped, and stale air raced through his lungs. He drew his head up sharply, and it slammed into the lid of the coffin. Rubbing his head, he looked around, and saw only dark. “Ok ow. Wait OW? How can I feel pain if I’m dead? Unless...” Raising a hoof slowly, he rapped the wood that lay just above his head. “Holy buck! I’m ALIVE! Solace was telling the truth. How I can I even be alive. How is that even possible?” Paladin began to cheer, and dance (as best he could inside a coffin.) “Wait, I’m in a coffin, underground. I should probably get out of this.”

There was a bright flash of blue light, and Paladin was standing next to statue. "Well, that was an interesting experience. Note to self: don't die. That's actually a pretty good likeness of me," He said looking up at the statue. When he looked down, he was facing twelve angry, spear-wielding guards. "Oh hello-"

Paladin was cut off by the sergeant's growl. "Changeling scum."

"I'm sorry, what?" Paladin asked, confused.

"Think you can just take the form of a dead hero and get away with it?"

"I'm not a 'Changeling' and I'm pretty sure I'm alive."

"Mhm, sure. You're coming with us."

"Alright then."

"Hey sarge, who do we take him to? The Captain's on his honeymoon." A guard near the back asked.

"I suppose we take him to the princess then." The Sergeant said before hoof-cuffing the extremely confused Paladin and dragging him away.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Inside the library, the mane six, Pariah and his sister and Celestia were chatting.

Twilight grinned. "That was a great wedding!"

"Except for the whole changeling invasion thing." Pariah said sarcastically.

"Quiet Pariah. Don't spoil the moment." Dawn said, scolding him.

"Fine, fine. Just don't hit me."

Everypony burst out laughing, including Celestia. "What? Her punches hurt." Pariah said, fully serious. Even so, a grin slowly formed on his lips. Suddenly the doors swung open, revealing a squad of guards and white, hoof-cuffed pony.

"What is the meaning of this intrusion?" Celestia asked.

"We discovered this changeling in the gardens. He was standing next to the statue of Paladin Amor. It even had the nerve to take his form."

"Can somepony please tell me what a changeling is?" Paladin looked around the room for an answer.

"You should know, you are one." Twilight said slowly, her eyes burning with hate.

"No, I'm Paladin Amor, former warrior, defender of peace, friend."

"No, you are a changeling. Traitor, fiend, devourer of love." Celestia stepped forward. "And soon to be, dead." She closed her eyes, focused her magic and sent a blast of magic at Paladin.

A shield exploded into existence between them. "Are you insane? I'm Paladin!" His voice echoed through the otherwise silent hall. "Look, I understand where you're coming from. I would be suspicious too if somepony I knew was dead rocked up alive the next day, but-"

"The next day? It's been six months! Paladin has been dead for six bucking months!" Twilight yelled at him.

"Six months? No, that's not- no that can't be true." Paladin said, stumbling backwards. "It felt like minutes, a day maximum." He backed away from the guards. "I can't have been dead for six months." He staggered back further, before colliding into one of the bookshelves. He looked up to see a huge book falling. Head trauma and how to deal with it... How ironic. The book slammed into his head, and everything went black.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

A slow beeping greeted Paladin as he woke up. He raised his head slowly, and looked around. He was in a hospital, with his bed surrounded by a thin curtain. An angry voice shattered the peaceful atmosphere. "What do you mean you knew all along he wasn't a changeling?" Celestia shouted as she stormed into the room.

"Well, if you bothered to listen to me for once, or payed attention, you would know that I can see all magic. Remember the curse?" Pariah's soft, yet strong tones replied.

"How could I forget when my sister reminds me everyday?"

"Well, when a changeling takes another's form, they are wrapped in a green mist, that I can see of course. If he had been a changeling, I would've seen it. Furthermore, this whole changeling incident could've been avoided if you had just listened to me when I told you something was wrong with Cadance."

"You never told me something was wrong with Cadance!"

Paladin could hear Pariah's facehoof. "Yes, I did. Twice. The first time I told you, you completely ignored my warning. The second time I warned you I had even more evidence. Not only was she wreathed in green mist, but she was cruel. The Cadance I know was never cruel."

"Wait, how do you know Cadance?"

"I've met her around the castle."

"You've been in the castle? For how long?"

"Ever since you banished me. The guards really aren't that observant. I even have a shop in Canterlot."

"You have a shop in Canterlot?" Celestia managed to splutter out. "When did this happen?"

"About the same time. Although business has really picked up recently, after Paladin's visit."

"Look, if you two are going to argue, can you do it outside? Paladin's still in a coma, and there are several other patients in here that would like to get some sleep." The doctor hissed angrily.

"Paladin's not in a coma." Pariah said indignantly.

"What? Yes he is."

"No, he's been conscious ever since we came in here." Pariah pulled the curtain back, exposing Paladin who smiled sheepishly before waving a hoof. "See?"

"Wait, how did you know that?"

Pariah smiled. "His heart monitor increased pace."

Paladin cleared his throat and croaked out. "Why am I in a hospital? I hate hospitals."

"Why?" Celestia looked at him, concerned.

"I just do."

"Alright! Everypony out! You're making too much noise. Out of my hospital." The doctor shouted, before glaring at the slightly shocked sun goddess. "I’m sorry Princess, but this is my hospital, and I'm going to treat my patients. Now if you could please leave?"

As the two ponies left, Celestia muttered under her breath. "But it's my hospital..."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Paladin stared out the window at the dark sky. It was late, and with his window facing the east, the moon was no longer visible. The only light source was a small candle, that threw Paladin's face into shadow.

Suddenly there was a small flash, and he was facing the same, small pink ball of light that had found him in death. "Oh hello." He whispered. "What do you want?" It bobbed once before floating away. "Hey, come back."

It flew through the door, and Paladin followed. Why am I even following this thing? Oh thats right, it saved my life. It led him through the castle, both hiding when a guard passed. Ok how did it just disappear like that? Paladin trotted down the front steps and rounded the castle into the castle gardens. Sweet Celestia this is boring. Where are we even going? Paladin followed it to the statue of Chaos, his insane smile etched in stone.

"Why did- Woah let go of my hoof!" he exclaimed as the pink orb grabbed his hoof and dragged it towards Chaos' frozen body. "What are you doing?" He cried as it pulled his hoof onto the statue. Paladin froze and his mind was dragged away from the real world.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Paladin opened his eyes and looked around. He stood on a disk of gold, surrounded by marble pillars. “What … Where am I?”

“You’re in the realm of the dead. Again.” A voice echoed around the disk. Slowly, Solace dragged himself around one of the pillars, the chains that wrapped around his body pulling him back. “Why are you here?”

“I don’t know. I was following this little ball of light, and then it brought me here.”

Solace sighed. “Fine, whatever. You might as well help me come up with the solution anyway.”
Paladin cocked his head, confused. “Solution?”

“Yes, I have to decide what to do with them.” He said, gesturing to a statue that sat in one the recesses of the pillars. Paladin walked up to it and gasped. Inside, was the statue of Chaos, in all his fearsome glory.

As Paladin turned away, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Shining over the statue of Chaos was a pegasus, with a coat of white and a red mane. A maniacal smile graced his lips and his eyes were closed. “Concord?”

“Indeed. He is trapped inside Chaos. Now I have the problem of somehow freeing him without waking up Chaos.”

Paladin tapped his chin, before an idea popped into his head. “How about this?” He gestured to the air, from which the small pink ball of light appeared with a small pop.

Solace stared at for a second before nodding. “Yeah, yeah that’ll do it...” He said with a distracted tone. Taking the ball from Paladin, he walked over to the statue. “Now, here’s hoping that this’ll work.” He pushed the ball into the statue and for a second, nothing happened. Then, It erupted in pink light, before disappearing.

“Did it work?” Paladin asked with a hopeful tone.

“I don’t know... Just in case, I best send you back to the real world.” Solace glanced at Paladin, before his horn flared and Paladin disappeared.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Paladin stumbled backwards as cracks spread through the statue. He turned and run straight into the chestplate of the night princess.

"What are you doing?" She asked looking down at him. "What's wrong?"

"There is a distinct possibility I unleashed Chaos." Luna pushed past him and walked up to the disintegrating statue.

"If that's true, I'll hold him-" Suddenly the statue exploded, sending shards of stone spinning away. A red and white blur burst from the explosion and accelerated into the sky, followed by the sound of whooping. "What is that?" Luna stared up at the blur that zooming around the sky, every few seconds producing a huge sonic boom and a cheer. “Woohoo!”

"I think that's my brother."

"How can he be your brother?"

"I met … a friend in … well, I don’t know where it was. But through some magic, it looks like I freed Concord, but not the Elements of Chaos."

"How long is he going to do that?" Luna asked, her question punctuated by yet another sonic boom.

"Maybe one or two more. He's not that great with the whole endurance thing." Paladin replied, a grin breaking out across his face. As if to prove his point, Concord produced one more sonic boom before curving and landing in front of Paladin.

"Hey bro, what's up?" Concord's voice was riddled with excitement, with even more excited undertones. He shook his vivid red mane and smiled.

"Eh, nothing much. I was dead for a while."

"Mhm, sure. I bet you had a great time."

"What happened to you? After you were pulled out from under that building?"

"Let's see..." Concord screwed up his face in concentration. "That blue unicorn pulled me out, then somepony teleported me to some old castle. There was a set of armor, just hovering in the air. Then a voice spoke to me in my mind." He paused for dramatic effect. "It asked if I wanted immortality, power and money, but I refused. It yelled at me, saying I was foolish and then there was darkness."

Luna stared at him skeptically. "That story is ridiculous."

"I believe him." Paladin said simply.

"What? Why?"

"My brother has never lied to me before, I can't see why he would now. Besides, I did see him get teleported." Paladin glanced over his shoulder and his jaw dropped. Already, the lights of the residents of Canterlot, who had been rudely woken up by Concord’s sonic booms, were numbering in the hundreds. Below them lay a growing mob of angry ponies. "I think it best if we leave, right now."

Concord looked past him and saw the angry mob of ponies that were already on the move. "Oh, yeah. Luna, would you cover for us?"

She nodded her assent. "Run."

Paladin and Concord fled.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

A week later...

Paladin stretched out and looked around. The clock on his wall told him it was midnight, and the calendar on his desk showed that there was but a week till the Grand Galloping Gala. He stood there staring at the dark sky, before turning and leaving.

As he descended the stairs, Paladin saw something that made his heart melt like warm chocolate. Twilight was fast asleep, an adorkable expression on her face. Concord was on the opposite side of the room, reading a book. Moving softly, Paladin trotted over to Twilight and smiled. His horn glowed softly and Twilight was wrapped in a light blue aura.

Careful not to wake her, Paladin took her to her room and laid her on her bed. The edge of the blanket was gripped in his magic, and he lifted it over her. "Sleep tight." He whispered before kissing her forehead. She always looks cutest when she’s asleep.

As he climbed down the stairs again, he heard a snicker from behind a book. "What?"

Concord emerged from behind his book. "Nothing. You're such a mare's stallion, Paladin."

"You’re one to talk."

A false, hurt look appeared on his face. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Six marefriends in the space of three months. I'm sure you have no idea. Now put the book down, we have a meeting with Luna."

As Paladin closed the door to the library, he extinguished the candles. Concord stood there, tapping a hoof nervously. "Come on, let's go."

"Impatient as always I see."

"No, it's just that we're meeting with a princess. A Princess!" He almost yelled.

"Thank you for informing the entirety of Ponyville to our secret meeting." Paladin said sarcastically. He walked past Concord, before motioning for him to follow. He trotted down the deserted streets, following the very specific and winding path that led to the sophisticated and expensive restaurant given to him by Luna.

"What's her code name?"

Paladin snorted. "Code name? Oh, what she's calling herself tonight? Her name is Evening Spirit."

"Yes?" A soft, velvety voice asked from behind him.

Paladin spun and came face to face with an incredibly beautiful mare. Her coat was an incredibly soft pink, almost white. Her mane was of the darkest blue, with small, lighter blue streaks running through it.

She was a unicorn, and she wore a dress that covered her cutie mark, that was made of silk and a stronger hue of pink. Her hooves were clad in golden shoes, and on her brow sat a delicate tiara of woven gold.

"That's ... Wow." Paladin was shell-shocked.

A mischievous grin lit her face. "I knew the disguise was good. And Tia thought this was a bad idea."

Concord cleared his throat. "I think this is a fantastic plan." Concord waited for Paladin's retort, but none was forthcoming. In fact, Paladin was nowhere to be seen. "Where'd he go?"

Evening shrugged. "I don't know."

Concord held the door for her. "Well, we might as well order while we wait." Evening nodded eagerly before stepping inside.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Paladin stood in the 'empty' building across the street. "You know, I really don’t feel comfortable with you guys here. It’s like a broadsword, where a rapier is needed."

The fifteen night guards stared at him. The Sergeant nodded. "It was supposed to be, and it will be unless the Princess is in danger."

"You mean like the time I was the only pony that could save her?"

The guards shuffled uncomfortably. "That was... an unfortunate set of circumstances. It will not happen again."

"Right." Paladin lay the sarcasm on thick. "Well, they'll be wondering where I am. I have to go now, and you're not to do anything that will alert Luna to your presence unless it is life threatening." And with that, Paladin spun and left.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

As Paladin trotted towards the table where Concord and Evening were waiting, the manager stood in the centre of the restaurant and said. "Tonight, for your entertainment, we have found one of the best violinists in Equestria. It is said that her most haunting of tunes scared away an invading griffon army. It is said that her saddest song brought the princesses to tears. All I know is that she's cheap, talented and her name is Melody." He stepped to the side, revealing a earth mare, with a light yellow coat, a fiery orange mane, fierce green eyes and a violin cutie mark. I swear I've seen her before...

As Paladin sat down, in a feat of incredible proportions, Melody rocked back onto her hind legs, brought the violin up to her chin and began to play. As she played, she swayed back and forth in time with the sad melody that was being played.

Paladin listened, his eyes closed. As the song ran it's course, a small frown formed on his lips. This song, I've heard it before... His thoughts drifted back, taking him back to the days of his youth, back in Manhatten.

"Paladin, catch the ball next time!" Concord, age thirteen, shouted at him.

Paladin, recently fourteen, shook his head. "How was I supposed to catch that? I'm not a pegasus you know." Picking the ball up, he tossed it back to Concord.

Concord leapt high, catching the ball in his hooves. "You're gonna have to do better than that."

Paladin shrugged. "How about this?" He grabbed the ball from Concord's hooves with his magic, and tossed it high. Concord watched it rise, then waited for it to reach the peak in it's flight, before flying towards it.

As Concord flew at the ball, Paladin stopped watching as he heard a song flow through the air. Cocking his head to one side, he followed the sound of the music around the corner. Standing there was an old stallion, his body tired with age. Yet, despite that, he continued to play the violin with vitality.

Paladin grinned as he listened to the music. He trotted over, and tossed ten bits into the stallions case. "Keep it up. You play amazingly." The old stallion smiled at the words.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it." He continued to play.

"Is this song of your own composition?" He nodded.

"And I'll pass it on to my children." Paladin smiled a final time, before turning, and walking back to Concord, the song playing in the background.

Paladin's eyes opened, and he smiled sadly. The old stallion was most certainly dead, but his legacy lived on in this song. A small tear trickled down the side of his face, but he wiped it away.

Paladin looked around the room. Everypony was listening intently, some smiling sadly, others just enjoying the music.

The song finished, and Melody dropped back down onto all four limbs, cringing slightly as her right foreleg hit the ground. Paladin clapped enthusiastically, joining in with the rest of the ponies. Concord was clapping harder than he was, and Evening was clapping politely.

Then it struck Paladin, literally and figuratively. He knew he'd seen pony before. She was the mare, Sarah, that he had saved all those years ago in Manehatten. He remembered this because she was tightly clamped around his neck. "Oh my gosh, you're that pony that saved me!" She exclaimed.

"Can't... Breathe..."

"Oh, um... Sorry." She took a step back. "Princess. How are you this fine evening?"

Ok, there is no way she did that accidentally. How does she know about the Princess' disguise? And name?

Paladin cleared his throat. "How do you-"

"Know about the Princess? Ever since I made her cry at that party that year ago, we've been close friends. I know everything that goes on in Canterlot Castle." She said proudly.

"She telling the truth, she is my friend." Evening smiled.

"Agh, this meeting was supposed to be a secret." Paladin muttered.

"Lighten up bro! This is supposed to be fun."

"And a secret."

Concord grinned, and slowly Paladin did too. The waiter walked over to their table. "Are we ready to order?"

Paladin glanced at the menu, then at the three other ponies at the table. They all nodded. "Yes. I'll have the salad, with a glass of water." The rest left their orders, and the waiter nodded politely and walked away. Paladin turned back to the table.

"So, what's news with you two?" Evening grinned. The smile that had formed on Paladin's lips disappeared. "Is something the matter?"

"It's nothing major. Just that Twilight has been treating Paladin like dirt for the past week."

"Why would she do that? I thought you two were in love." Sarah piped up.

Paladin sighed. "So did I, but apparently because I was resurrected, she doesn't trust me. She thinks I'm some sort of demon or something."

Wanting to turn the conversation in a healthier direction, Sarah glanced at Evening. "Didn't you have a message from your sister?"

She nodded. "Yes. Paladin, my sister wants to meet you next week for lunch. Says it's an apology for the harsh accusations she made against you."

Paladin raised an eyebrow. "And the death threat?"

"And the death threat."

All four them laughed, as the band began to play a light cheerful number.

Author's Note:

Ok. So, this took longer than expected, primarily because I didn't realize Band was done. So, I will work extra hard to get the next chapter done. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.