//------------------------------//
// Back Alley Sally 
// Story: Paladin's Cross 
// by Sage Quill 
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"The only thing that should surprise us is that there are still some things that can surprise us."

-Francois de La Rochefoucauld





Morenth sniffed the contents of his cup, checking for any foul play. When he found none he took a hesitant sip, all the while glaring daggers into the pretender. He took the form of a child, but the paladin could feel the truth, or at least a hint of it. Its presence was nothing like an elf and not quite like one touched by magic either. It was pervasive and yet everywhere. 

If an accomplished sorcerer was like a river of power, this child was an ocean; an ocean sitting across from the one he'd sworn to protect. His nerves felt like a coiled spring as he watched for the first hint of aggression, and his free hand began to curl into a tight fist near Dawnbringer's hilt resting in the grass next to him.

"This is quite a lovely turn of events," the pretender commented, smiling at Twilight and then at Morenth, "It's been a long time since I've had two guests in one day. Oh, and there's no need to be so on edge, guardian. I don't intend harm on either yourself or your charge. I only wish to have a few questions answered before I'm on my way."

Morenth wasn't placated by the "Alu'thiade's" assurances until he felt a hoof on his knee. Glancing over at Twilight, he found her still looking at the pretender, but she shook her head and removed her hoof slowly. The paladin relaxed his posture and drew his hand away from his sword in compliance.

The Alu'thiade giggled childishly at the display as he ran a finger over the lip of his cup. "And so very loyal. That is most reassuring. Now, my first question is for you, Twilight. What do you intend to do now that you're here? Are you a herald of change, or just a lost traveler?"

"I'm looking for a way to get home," Twilight replied, cutting straight to the point, "You wouldn't happen to know how to do something like that, would you?

The child that was not a child smiled in an odd way that put Morenth immediately back on edge. "And what if I did?" he said slyly, causing Twilight to straighten where she sat and look at the pretender with wide eyes.

"Then you will tell us," Morenth rumbled in a low voice, lacing it with the ghost of a threat.

The Alu'thiade looked almost shocked by the paladin's aggression before he broke out into uncontrolled laughter. It took several minutes for the pretender to calm himself, causing Morenth's patience to wear thin. "Oh-oh my, that is the most amusing thing I've heard in centuries," he managed, still laughing slightly under his breath, "You have my apologies guardian, but I cannot answer your questions. I am an observer; a watcher. It isn't in my nature to answer; only question... and watch."

"Please!" Twilight pleaded in a sudden outburst, "You're the closest thing we have to a clue! Please, just tell us something to put us on the right path!" Seeing Twilight reduced to begging in front of the Alu'thiade tore at Morenth with a ferocity that took him by surprise, and he began fighting down a very real urge to remove the pretenders head from his shoulders. He reached for Dawnbringer when he noticed the Alu'thiade looking at him with a deep smile.

"Well, it seems you've answered my second question without me having to ask, guardian. It is most fortuitous the child of Epona found you. An able knight indeed, to defend her honor so," the pretender said as he rose and waved his hand over the silver table. It became mist, along with the cups, and dispersed along the grassy floor. The Alu'thiade turned to leave, the long trails of his emerald robes floating over the ground like green wraiths. 

Just as Morenth prepared to bare him to the ground and demand answers, the Alu'thiade stopped, cupping a childlike hand under his chin in thought. "Hmm, very well..." he said to himself absently, "In praise of your faithfulness I will offer you a small pittance of what I have observed as well as a word of warning." 

He turned and stared into Twilight's eyes, his features donning an expression that made even his childlike appearance carry an undeniable weight. "Seek out the memoirs of Lia'noria, the Fallen Saint. Within that text you will find what you desire, child of magic."

"The memoirs of Lia'noria," Twilight repeated to herself, a flickering hope reflecting in her eyes from being presented a clear objective.

"The warning however, is for you, guardian," the Alu'thiade half-whispered as mist started to gather at his feet, "No matter the enemies you face or the trials you endure, know this; if you fail in your vigilance, or you forsake your charge, the tithe on her blood will be paid by all." 

With that, the child who was not a child began to walk away, the mist spreading out from the archway he walked through until it obscured everything around them. When it cleared Morenth found the he and Twilight were standing in a field of non-descript tall grass with the labyrinth of archways nowhere to be found. The room and grass pillows were likewise gone, leaving the pair to stare at each other in confusion until the voice whispered one last time. "Make haste, the Seven move from within the shadows..."

The pair sat in silence for several minutes digesting what they'd just heard. Twilight was the first to break the tense atmosphere as she faced the paladin.

"Morenth...?" she whispered, an edge of fear evident in her voice, "...Will you stay with me? Even after I find where I need to go to find a way home, I mean? I know you said you would travel with me until I found a clue, but... I don't know if I can do this on my own."

Ever since the fall of Hollodrum the paladin had been waiting for her to ask this of him. Before, he would have hesitated. With Twilight's origins and her confession of the use of dark magic he'd feared she may have been a lie sent by the Archlich to subvert him, but no more. Her selflessness in the defense of the helpless and the courage she showed when rescuing him from the daemon knight spoke for her character in ways words never could.

His will determined, Morenth drew Dawnbringer from its sheath and knelt before the lavender mare. He struck the blade into the dirt and pulled out the silver pendant from around his neck, clutching it tightly as he spoke. "Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, I, Morenth, first of my name and paladin of the church of Yuelith herby place you under my Oath of Aegis. I will uphold your honor, defend your kin, strive to fulfill whatever purpose you set forth, and protect you till my dying breath... From this day till the day you see fit to release me from my oath, my sword and shield are yours. By my honor, my life, and Yuelith's name I swear it." Morenth kissed his pendent to seal his word and held out his sword to her. "Do you accept my oath?"

Twilight looked a little overwhelmed by his display, her eyes wide as they moved between Morenth and the presented blade. Instead of taking his sword, which was the customary response, she ducked under Dawnbringer and tackled him with a hug, baring him to the ground in his weakened condition.

Morenth didn't know how to react to his companion's response as she buried her face into his chest and began to cry, but after a heated internal debate he moved his free arm around her shoulders and held her as he waited for her to quiet. His mind had to forcibly remind himself that he'd sworn the oath out of a sense of duty and not because of the troublesome emotions that seemed to bubble up at the sound of Twilight's sobs.

"..." 

"Is... that a 'yes'?"

He waited for a moment before her sobs subsided. "...Thank you... and yes," Twilight said into his chest, her voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt and a little raspy from crying, "I know I'm asking a lot from you, but without my friends I just feel so... lost."

With a groan Morenth managed to sit upright, taking Twilight with him. "Twilight, look at me," he said as he placed his hands under her shoulders and lifted her away from him, forcing her to look him in the eyes, "You are not lost." His serious expression changed slightly as he adopted a small, wry smile and added with a matter-of-fact tone, "You're in Soulis."

It was a horrible jest even for Morenth, and if Twilight's dumbfounded expression was anything to go by, he'd failed terribly. But after a few seconds of her just staring at him, she smiled and began to giggle. "Morenth, I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but... your jokes are terrible."

Morenth grumbled under his breath and set her down in front of him as he rose to his feet. "They were never my forte. Come, if the caravan leaves us behind, it'll be a long walk to Kaldoon," he said, sheathing his sword as he turned to leave. He stopped suddenly, bringing a hand up to hover over where his pendant laid against his chest. With great pain he closed his hand around his most precious possession and lifted it from around his neck, holding it out in front of him to inspect. It'd been given to him the day he'd passed his apprenticeship under Lord Commander Mormond Schweiss. One was given to him, the other to Fythe. After the ceremony they'd traded pendants to seal an oath of brotherhood, so technically it was Fythe's. 

Making a gift of a knight's pendant was customary when swearing an oath of protection.

"Morenth? What's wrong?" Twilight asked as she moved in front him. It took him a moment to realize he'd been staring at the pendant for several minutes. He silently bid farewell to the necklace that had been his symbol of faith since the beginning of his quest and held it out to her.

"No, nothing's wrong I just... I want you to have this." Before she could object, he looped the silver chain over her head and took a step back. It looked good on her, if not appropriate.

Twilight glanced down at the pendant then up at Morenth. "Isn't this something important to you?... No, I couldn't-"

"Tradition demands that I give you my pendant to seal the oath," the paladin interrupted, "As long as you possess it, you possess my sword. You can only give it back to me when you hold my oath fulfilled and release me from your service. Until then, keep it safe."

Morenth walked past her in the general direction they'd left the caravan, not waiting for a response and only checking briefly to make sure Twilight was following him. She looked dazed for a moment before trotting after him, easily keeping pace as he forced his way through the tall grass. The trek back was made in silence as the paladin's mind slipped back into the darker memories his pendant represented and hoped to Yuelith it would bring better luck to its new keeper.





A short, cloaked and hooded figure groaned as she looked over the crowded market streets crawling with panicked shoppers. They were shouting up a storm as they bought and haggled for almost everything not nailed to the ground. The figure was here for a similar reason and thanked the gods that her seller was not the sort to sell his wares in the streets. Still, he had his own clients who would likely be caught up in the rising panic of the city, so time was still of the essence, and the longer she took, the less chance her seller would have what was needed.

With a resigned sigh she pushed toward the nearest alley way and disappeared into the shadows of the narrow path.

In Midrasis, it was considered most unwise to travel the backways of the city as one would most likely be pickpocketed, mugged, or kidnapped and sold in the slave markets of the undercity. However, the cloaked girl wasn't worried in the slightest, being more than capable of taking care of herself, despite what some thief might think.

As if summoned by her thoughts the sound of light footsteps echoed from behind her. It was probably one of the orphan thieves since there didn't appear to be any sign of others. Working alone in the back alleys of Midrassis was a quick way to the pyre, and only the orphans picked up by local thieves guilds would risk it.

The girl didn't want to force the situation into a confrontation with the little pickpocket, if only because the kid's life was probably hard enough as it was. She decided on a show of force to scare the little urchin into finding an easier target.

The cloaked girl held out her hand to one of the lanterns overhanging a nearby backdoor and reached out with her mind. Immediately, she felt the hot flames concealed beneath the glass and pulled on its more primal nature. The lantern shattered as the heat from the flame grew immensely, fed by the girls will. With a thought, she called it to her. The flames shot out of the now shattered casing and formed itself into a brightly glowing ball hovering just over her open palm. She turned toward where she'd heard the footsteps and cast the flaming ball down near her feet, erupting the fireball into an inferno that formed a barrier between her and the rest of the alley.

"Run child, you won't find easy coppers here," she told the seemingly empty alleyway and was rewarded with the sound of panicked footsteps that became quieter as they gained distance, "Well, now that that's over..."

The mage turned back in the direction of her destination when a bright flash followed by a deafening crack erupted in front of her, blinding her as she toppled backward onto her rump. Instinctively, she threw a warding hand out toward the flash and summoned her will, drawing on the lingering flames again. The fire heeded her call and rushed forward in an undisciplined, but powerful, display of fire magic, coating the high building walls in blooms of deadly heat.

From inside the torrent of fire, a chuckle could be heard, as well as several cries of alarm. "Oh no, this heat is absolutely ruining my mane!" someone cried out, giving the mage pause as she processed the refined nature of the voice.

"You see? This is what I love about humans! We're here for all of two seconds and all Tarturus breaks loose!" another voice called out through ever rising laughter. Then, with a sound like the snapping of fingers, the mage's spell faltered as the flames condensed into tiny glowing dots. The tiny motes of light then grew wings and began fluttering around like insects. "Ha! 'Fireflies', get it!? Even with a handicap I've still got it!"

The mage could only gawk as the 'fireflies' lit up the alleyway to reveal her would be assailants. They weren't what she would have expected even in her weirdest dreams. Five tiny, brightly colored horse daemons and a creature that looked like a warlock had tired of regular chimaeras and tried for something truly bizarre stood together wearing cloaks that did nothing to hide what they were.

Her mind worked furiously to piece together what kind of crazy illusion spell had been used to distort her senses only to find no traces of magical tampering in her head. Either the illusionist was just that good, or what she was looking at was real. Both scenarios scared her more than she cared to admit. Especially when she noticed that the trap had been prepared specifically for someone like her. 

If what stood before her had been imposing or horrifying, the mage would have continued her assault regardless what her eyes were telling her, but the sight of the tiny daemon horses stopped her in her tracks. They were just too gods damned adorable to harm. In fact, she was trying to repress a growing urge to hug them and only barely managed to quiet a high pitched squealing noise from escaping her lips.

"Oh dear, I think we've scared the poor thing," the light yellow horse daemon cooed, moving toward her slowly, "It's okay, we won't hurt you little human."

"Little!?" another one of the daemons, the cyan one, asked incredulously, "It's almost as tall as you while sitting, and it attacked us!"

The little light yellow horse daemon looked away from the cyan one abashedly, scuffing the ground with a hoof, "It's not its fault... Most animals attack when they're afraid, and we gave the poor thing quite a shock."

The mage felt the slimy sewage water trailing down the middle of the alley way begin to seep through her cloak and robes. She was about to force herself to stand when the little yellow horse daemon offered a hoof to her. reluctantly, she took it and soon stood over the strange creatures, who were apparently not hostile.

"Thank you, umm..." the mage began, motioning to the colorful horse daemon to name herself. Now that she thought about it, Hippler's Guide to Devils and Daemons had a more technical name than 'horse daemons', and for a moment she flushed at using the general moniker more in line with colloquialism than the correct scholarly name for such creatures. Windigos they were called, though the ones before her didn't fit the full description given to her by the book. For one, they weren't trying to murder her with ice magic.

"...Oh! I'm terribly sorry, my name's Fluttershy and these are my friends," the windigo said meekly as she blushed, motioning with a hoof to the group around her. Now the mage just had to figure out what in Tartarus the creature that looked like an amalgamation of parts was. Whatever it was, it was currently grinning at her in a way that made her eye twitch nervously.

"The name's Dash, Rainbow Dash! I'm the fastest pegasus in Equestria," declared the cyan one, who the mage now realized was sporting a rainbow colored mane under the hood of her cloak. She made a note that the creature didn't call itself a 'windigo' and wondered if perhaps they were an undocumented species, or if they called themselves something different than human terminology.

'This could be a great find!' the mage thought to herself excitedly, loosing herself in her musings as the others introduced themselves.

"And Ah'm Applejack, nice ta meetcha," the orange one said as it extended a hoof to her. Curiously, it wore a hat under the hood of its cloak. It took a moment for the mage to realize it expected a hand shake, or maybe hoof-shake was a more appropriate term. Cautiously, she reached out and took the offered hoof in hand. She was pleasantly surprised that it was warm to the touch, not demonically freezing and sucking the life out of her.

What came next however, was perhaps the most vigorous hand/hoof-shake she'd ever experienced. It was so powerful she nearly fell face first into the lazy trail of sewer water at her feet, but thankfully, 'Applejack' stopped before the mage lost her balance completely

"Applejack, darling, there's no need to be so rough," the white one said with a small huff, moving around Applejack while pointedly avoiding the sewage trailing the middle of the alley, "Hello there, my name is Rarity. Please excuse my friend's... excessive greeting." She did what looked like the equivalent of a curtsy and offered her hoof in greeting as well. The motion drew back its hood slightly, revealing a very surprising new facet on the creatures forehead.

"You... Y-you have a horn!" the mage half-shouted, drawing her hand back in a sudden panic. Her mind rapidly reassessed the creature, cross-referencing this new revelation with various historical and religious texts. The church of Yuelith, one of the most prominent religious sects on Soulis, were beholden to a creature of similar features to the one in front of her. "But unicorns haven't been seen in centuries- no, millennia," she mumbled to herself, trying to come to grips with the possible magnitude of the meeting.

"Well, it seems humans haven't completely forgotten about ponies," the chimaera hybrid commented with a chuckle, apparently overhearing her mumbling, "Though whether that's a good or bad thing remains to be seen. Tell me human, is there any particular reason you only reacted that way when you discovered madam Rarity here was a unicorn?"

The mage debated for a moment whether to answer or not, but her curiosity at these strange visitors soon got the better of her. "Well, uh-"

"-Discord," the creature supplied, looking at her with an expression that seemed to be assessing her reaction to the name.

"Right. Well, Discord, I don't know what you and the others are, but unicorns haven't been observed in thousands of years," the mage explained cautiously. She didn't like the way Discord was smiling at her, like he knew something she didn't. In fact, she hated whenever anyone knew something she didn't, but she resolved herself to remain civil. "However, I notice similarities between, uh, Rarity and your other companions... minus the horn. Perhaps denoting a close relation in species?" she asked hopefully. If so, then it was the greatest find of her generation.

Discord sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. "Oh by Celestia's eating disorder, you're like her clone or something," he groaned in frustration, "But yes, there are three separate races of ponies; unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies. You'll find a good mix of them among my 'companions' here." He gestured to the gathering of 'ponies', but the mage found something off about them.

'Weren't there five a second ago?'

"Hi!"

"Guuaahhhh!" the mage cried, stumbling back as two huge blue eyes suddenly dominated her vision.

"My name's Pinkie Pie, but you can call me Pinkie!" the bright pink pony chattered excitedly while upside down, "I've never had a friend from another world before! That means I'm gonna have to have an extra super special awesome 'Hi I'm an alien and you're kinda an alien too so lets be friends' party!" Somehow, the pink ball of energy was sitting on the mage's shoulders with her body slumped over the girl's head, staring intently into her eyes as she continued to talk at dizzying speeds. "Oh, it'll be so much fun! We'll have streamers and balloons and cake! Do you have any favorite party games like pin the tail on the pony, or maybe-!?"

Thankfully, 'Pinkie' was enveloped in a luminous, blue aura and lifted off the mage's shoulders before she had a mental breakdown. The matching aura around Rarity's horn raised a few questions, and the mage recovered immediately at the exciting prospects of her new 'friends'.

"I'm so sorry about that, dear," Rarity said, giving Pinkie a disapproving look, "Pinkie tends to be a little much for most ponies. I do hope you'll forgive her." 

The mage made a note that, given the difference in both accent and manners, there was a large social gap between the ponies gathered. That meant it was possible that ponies had a need for such things; things like societies, towns, even a form of government perhaps. 

"It's alright," the mage said as she wiped off the tails of her exposed robes, "But, before I ask anything else uhh...." She hesitated for a moment, not wanting to be rude but needing some kind of proof that these creatures weren't going to suck out her soul or something. "...You aren't daemons in disguise or anything... right?"

"..."

The cyan one, Rainbow Dash, fell down onto the alley floor laughing, tearing up as she tried to keep herself from suffocating.

Coughing, the mage tried in vein to cover up her rising blush. "What?! I had to ask!" she nearly yelled, trying to speak over Rainbow Dash's fits of laughter.

Rarity moved around Rainbow Dash, shooting her a scathing glare at her lack of manners, and made her way up to the mage. "Dear, why would you even ask such a thing?"

"Well," the mage began, "It wouldn't be the first time a daemon appeared before a mage to offer a deal in exchange for his or her soul. I just want some kind of assurance that this isn't a trap or something."

Rarity blinked. "Have we given you some kind of reason to suspect us, dear?"

Now it was the mage's turn to chuckle nervously. "You did just appear suddenly out of nowhere and dispel my evocation like it was child's play, so you kind of have me at something of a disadvantage."

"Now dear, we've introduced ourselves and all you have done is ask questions," she said chidingly, "So it is you who have us at a disadvantage miss..."

The mage was so taken aback by being scolded by a unicorn, it took several lingering seconds to process the lull as a question. "...Oh uh, Azalie, Azalie Bestandeel. Journeyer artificer and dabbler in evocation," she said, recovering enough to bow politely. "So... if you're not daemons here to steal my soul, then what are you here for?"

Discord's grin in response to her question filled Azalie with a sense of dread in how familiar it was. She wore a similar expression whenever dragging someone into some crazy scheme that would most likely end in disaster. "Ohoho, that would be quite a long story, so let's go with the abridged version shall we?"

'Why do I get the feeling I should just walk away and forget everything I just saw?' she thought morosely to herself. It didn't matter in the end. Azalie had long ago resigned herself to the fact that things tended to blow up around her. To fight it was pointless. To accept it was madness. But all she could do was stand there and listen to one of the most bizarre creatures she'd ever seen pontificate with wild flourishes as he explained about a unicorn named Twilight Sparkle, and their quest to find her.

'I should've just taken the street...'