//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: More than just weapons // by clearshot01 //------------------------------// Panda could barely make out a horn hidden beneath a cloak before the figure reached them. "Who are you? What are you doing with Hollow?" The figure asked. Panda recognised the voice immediately. "Rising knight?" Panda asked. The figure froze and looked to her, pulling it's cloak off to reveal a dark grey unicorn stallion. "H-How do you know my...you know what, forget it. Tell me what the buck you did to Hollow, now." He demanded angrily. Panda quickly explained the situation, from when Hollow found her to when Knight arrived. His expression softened and he looked at Panda with regret and remorse. "I see..." He said quietly, before moving over to Hollow and trying to wake her. "Panda...what did they do to you? I mean, I've had nightmares and episodes, Hollow too, but, they've never caused enough pain to almost kill her from absorbing it before." He asked hesitantly. Panda tried to look for the right way to explain it. She let out a sigh and explained what happened. "Well to put it simple as possible........ they used me as a guinea pig so you wouldn't end up dying and somehow I survived those experiments. I just wish Hollow didn't go through what i did." Panda finished. "So, the experiments they put me through...they put you through worse? Damn the bastard in charge. I remember he said he had only the highest expectations for me. I kept wondering why until recently, then I found out who I really was." Knight muttered the last part, more to himself than anypony else. "We better worry about your sister. Will she be ok?" Panda asked. "Yeah. She'll be fine. But only after this, Shadow, you're up." he said. " Wait what do you mean?" Panda asked. Knight didn't answer, but his body started to change. His coat turned from a dark grey to pitch black, and his eyes turned to dragon's slits. His mane and tail became white as snow, and lastly, his cutie mark, which was originally two crossed swords, became an eye with a slanted reflection of itself a little below it, sort of like the kind of reflection you'd see if you looked at someone standing in front of a puddle of water. "Man, it feels good to get out and stretch." Knight said, except his voice had changed. It was slightly lower, and a little more, rough. 'Knight' looked between Hollow and Panda, who was staring at him with a mix of awe and horror. "So, let's see what we've got here." Panda let the new Knight rook hollow and she just watched as he worked on her. "Ok, Panda, was it? I need you to help wake her up. I can't do it if she's unconscious as I need to maintain eye-contact." he said. Panda nodded as she went into thought how to wake her. She then did what some other ponies do to wake a sleeping mare up. "Hollow, time to wake up breakfast." Panda said hoping it would work. "Muh, hwa.....wait, what? BREAKFAST!" Hollow yelled as she bolted up, slamming her head into Knight's, barely avoiding impaling him with her horn. Panda barely concealed a giggle, but took on a look of confusion as a dark aura quickly surrounded the two siblings for just a moment, before disappearing as if it was never there. "Owwwww, watch it Hollow." He said, rubbing the spot below his horn. "Sorry Shadow." Hollow replied. "Wait, Shadow?" "Shadow?" Panda asked. "Eeyup.' He said proudly. "Rising Shadow, former demon, now Dark Guardian and shared occupant of this body. What, didn't you notice the color changes? Heck, I've even got my own mark." He said, pointing to his flank. "Well yeah its just I don't remember any of this before..." Panda couldn't think of what to say as she started to feel guilty for what happened to Hollow. Shadow took notice and placed a hoof around her, drawing her into an embrace. "Panda, it's not your fault. Hollow was trying to help you. Never place blame on yourself if someone is trying to help you. It only hurts you and belittles what they did." He said, rubbing a hoof across her back, as he started to change back. "Oh, gotta go. Hey, Panda, do me a favour and try to keep Knight outta trouble. He needs a friend who won't let him get away with anything, and, being Luna's son, everypony else seems to do the exact opposite." Panda was shocked to hear this. But she hugged back hoping that Knight wouldn't mind the hug and she vowed to herself that she would do what Shadow asked of her. "Ahem." Hollow cleared her throat to attract their attention, grinning like a madmare. "Knight and Panda, trapped in a maze, both are lost in each other's gaze!" "S-shut up, Hollow." Knight said, blushing, and 'accidentally' holding Panda tighter. "Awww, what's up Knighty?" Hollow asked, using Pinkie's nickname for him, "Embarrassed to admit you've got a crush?" Hollow started making kissy noises over and over, which Knight tried very hard to ignore. The whole time, Panda's face was slowly turning a bright shade of red from embarrassment. "Ummm, Knight." She squeaked. "Do you think...maybe...you could let go...please?" Knight looked at her for a second, before slowly removing his arms from around her, still blushing as he did so. "Sorry, Panda." he said quietly. "It's ok knight." Panda said rubbing her right foreleg with her left forehoof. "Yeah, cause she's crushing on you too!" Hollow said with a chuckle, causing both Knight and Panda to blush even further. "She always like this?" Panda asked. "No. Usually she takes things seriously. Unfortunately, the spell Shadow used on her sort of temporarily loosened her composure, meaning she's gonna act a little childish for a while." Knight said, rubbing a hoof on the back of his head. "Huh.....well you think we should go to that party pinkie has going on?" Panda asked her blush slowly going away. "Yeah...party sounds good." Knight replied with a nervous smile. "Come on, Knighty, what's with you? You never get nervous!" Hollow said. Knight replied with a quick spell, and Hollow's eyes closed as she hit the dirt with a snore. Panda let out a quiet sigh. "Wow glad that's over. So I think the party will start soon. Wanna go?" Panda asked nervously at the last part. Knight just nodded, blushing slightly. "Yeah..." "Ok.... but about hollow. Where do we leave her?" Panda asked. "Just a minute." He said, his nervousness disappearing as he cast a spell causing Hollow to disappear. "There. I teleported her to my mom with a small note explaining her condition. I didn't say how though. So...shall we?" He asked as he offered Panda a hoof. Panda smiled taking Knights hoof. "Yes we shall." She said smiling and following him to Sugarcube Corner. The second they walked in the door of the completely silent and dark store, (Knight had assured her that it wasn't trespassing), the lights came on and several ponies, Twilight and Rainbow Dash among them, burst out of nowhere yelling "SURPRISE!" Panda let out a surprised yelp and jumped a little in the air. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie appeared upside down in Panda's peripheral vision, and she jumped back as she realised that Pinkie was standing on the ceiling. "So, were you surprised? Wereyawereyawereyawereyawereyawereyawereya!?" She asked so fast Panda could barely keep up. "Um well yeah....and how the ....... how are you standing on the ceiling?" Panda asked still a little surprised. "She's Pinkie Pie, Panda. She defies the laws of physics every day. Trust me, if somepony says, 'It's Pinkie Pie', leave it at that. Trying to understand it will only drive you insane. Oh, and she's wearing suction cups." Knight said, chuckling, which cause everypony in the room to fall silent, until one mare suddenly exclaimed, "RISING KNIGHT LAUGHED! IT'S THE APONYCLYPSE! OH, THE HORROR! THE HORROR!" "Um.... ok?" Panda asked confused as can be. She figured that she would just leave that behind for a bit. "So is this a silent party or something?" Panda asked aloud. Rainbow Dash walked up to her and whispered. "Nopony's ever heard Knight laugh since he came back a few months ago. He's pretty much kept a neutral face no matter what. Even Pinkie couldn't get him to smile for more than a second." "Oh...wow." Panda replied whispering back. She was still a little confused but brushed it off. "Yeah. You must be something special if you can get Knight to laugh." She said with a smirk. "So....you two dating or something? How'd Princess Luna take it when she found out you were dating her son?" "What? But we're not dating...I mean....Knight some help here?" Panda asked in a pleading voice. "Uh...I-uh....." Knight couldn't say anything, and both of them were turning redder with every passing second. Suddenly, Rainbow burst into laughter and started rolling around on the floor. "BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That was priceless! You are too easy. You should stick around so Knight here won't be such a stick-in-the-mud anymore!" she said, wiping a tear from her eye. Panda just kept an embarrassed kind of face but chuckled a little. "Yeah maybe....still in shock that Knight let out a chuckle?" She asked aloud hoping to change the subject. "Yeah, actually. Seriously, what did you do to make him so....un-Knight?" She asked. "I don't know really but I'm sure knight will know." Panda said. "Um...actually, to be honest, I'm....not really sure?" He said sheepishly. "Well...whatever it was it must be different compared to what you ponies are used to huh?" Panda asked her blush JUST starting to go away, as was Knight’s. "Yeah...so, how did you meet Knight anyway?" Rainbow asked. "Well......could we just keep that quiet for now?" Panda asked with a hint of pain in her voice. Rainbow took the hint and nodded slowly, leaving Panda to be 'greeted' by the rest of the residents. Knight stayed by her side the entire time, making sure he was there if she needed him for any reason. When they were done greeting her the music started to kick back up again. Slowly the other ponies forgot about the little surprise Knight had with them and went back to talking, partying,and having fun as if nothing had happened. Panda and Knight made their way to a couch a little bits away from the party. They sat down on the couch. "So Knight.......any questions you have for me?" Panda asked Knight as they sat on the couch, listening to the music playing in the background. "I only have one. Did Shadow...say anything to you?" He asked, looking towards Panda and then away every few seconds. "He said.... something about being a friend to you and keeping you out of trouble." Panda said. Knight sighed. "Yeah, that sounds like Shadow. He doesn't want me going after One, but One killed my step-parents. I can't just let him get away with it." He said with a hint of anger mixed with sorrow. "So...what now?" Panda asked curious. "I'm going to keep training. I want One to pay for what he did, but I'm not strong enough to beat him yet. Shadow's soul still hasn't adapted to my body, so his Chaos magic is still weak." Knight said. "Maybe... I could help going against him." Panda said. "He killed my whole family and when I was just a filly. He would beat me and do those experiments on me. Every time he would have an evil smirk on his face." Panda said tears on the verge of escaping her eyes. She remembered every detail of how her family was killed. Knight embraced her tightly and began to rock her slowly. "It's ok...I promise, he will pay for what he did. Even if it costs me my life, I promise you, he will face justice." Knight said with fire in his eyes. The tears she would shed before were forced and she couldn't control herself at the time. These tears were her own. Knight just continued to rock her back and forth and comfort her for the rest of the night. Everypony was staring, with their jaws on the floor in shock at the sight of Knight comforting somepony, until Pinkie shooed them out saying that Knight and Panda needed their 'alone-time'. Eventually Panda was calmed down, and she reluctantly pulled away from the embrace as she wiped away her tears from her eyes. "Sorry about that.... I just guess I can't deal with it right now." She said unknowingly resting her right forehoof on knights lap. "It's ok. To be honest, I only got through my own episodes because of Hollow, and my mom. She literally entered my dreams and found the source of the episodes, and she destroyed it. Turns out, it was a time-release spell cast by One's superior, the alicorn in charge. It's meant to go off if a subject leaves the facility." He said bitterly. "Oh...well Hollow helped me with the pain of the memories pretty well." Panda said. Then suddenly a question came to mind. "How long have we been hugging?" Panda asked. "Uh...I don't know. But," Knight looked around. "Yep, everypony else is gone." Knight reluctantly released Panda from the hug, blushing. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm still not used to being, well, social, in any way." "Well....Knight, I.... I don't know what it is but...I really like you....Knight, I don't know why...." Panda said all this looking away, blushing wildly. It was true she liked it a little because she never felt that way before...but mainly because of Knight. "Wait...you...like me?" He asked hopefully. Panda nodded still surprised she even admited it to him. "I really, really do, Knight." Panda said, still looking away. She didn't expect him to do anything, so it came as a pleasant shock when he replied by pecking her on the cheek. Panda's eyes went wide as her was went deep crimson red. She turned her head to look at knight and saw that he was blushing a little to. "Why....why did you do that?" Panda asked confused as she placed a hoof on her cheek where he kissed her. "I...I...I like you too..."He said, so quiet she almost didn't hear him. Panda looked into his eyes and saw no hint of lying. She scooted closer to him just enough before they touched each other. "Panda...do you have anywhere to stay?" He asked. Panda shook her head. "No... I don't." Panda replied her eyes still glowing from emotions. "Alright then. You can stay with me and Hollow if you want." Knight said with a soft smile. "Our house is actually in the Everfree, but I memorised the entire layout of the forest when I was a colt, so getting there won't be a problem. So, do...do you want to stay with us?" He asked. Panda answered this by giving him a quick kiss. "Yes I do." She said smiling back. "Uh...great. So, shall we get going?" He asked, still surprised she said yes, and happy she did so. "Yeah." They both got off breaking the embrace.They walked side to side, tails wrapped together. They walked through Ponyville as ponies looked in shock, but kept to themselves. Then they came to the everfree forest. "OK, I'm gonna teleport us straight there, seeing as the more dangerous inhabitants are always out at this hour. Are you ready?" Knight asked. Panda nodded moving even closer to knight. Knight's horn glowed, and Panda's body started to feel strange, like it was being separated into millions of pieces, yet there was no pain. A second later, she was standing in the middle of a small clearing with a small cottage just in front of her. "Well, this is it. This is my home." Knight said. "Wow. I really like it Knight. You think you sister and your mom would mind if I stayed here?" Panda asked. "I think they'd be happy. After everything, even though everypony in Ponyville considers me a friend, I'm afraid to get close to them because I'm afraid I’ll lose them like I lost my step-family. To be honest, I'm afraid of something happening to you too, but I'll put my life on the line to make sure nothing does." Knight said. Panda smiled at this as she wrapped one of her wings around him pulling him close. "Thank you knight...I would gladly do the same." She said, her eyes closed. Knight said nothing, choosing to kiss her forehead as he led her to her room. It was small, but much more comfortable than the cells they had both been used to. As she walked over to the bed, he turned to exit. "Knight.... thank you so much for this.... kinda strange what happened in the past few hours." Panda said with a smile. "Yeah...I still can't figure it out. I...I knew I liked you, but I was too afraid to say anything, then after Shadow healed Hollow..." Knight trailed off as he fell into thought. "Well...I’m just glad how it turned out." Panda said walking up to him. "I am too. Anyway, you can use the bed, I'll take the couch. Hollow will be in Canterlot for the next few days, as I asked mom to keep an eye on her, just to make sure she didn't overdo it." Knight replied with a warm smile. Panda smiled back giving him a kiss goodnight as she turned and crawled into bed. She went under the covers, resting her head on the soft pillow. Calmed by the thought that Knight would be there to protect her if something happened, she fell asleep.