//------------------------------// // 0.2 The Lighthearted Paladin // Story: Against the Dark One // by Hidden Brony //------------------------------// “Don’t be out too late, Pinkie!” Pinkie’s mother shouted at her as the girl in question walked out the door to their house in the capital of the human lands, Everfree. “Don’t worry, mother!” the pink-haired girl called back. “I’m just going to hang out with Blinky and Inky. I’ll probably be back in an hour or so.” “Oh, don’t be like that, Pinkie. I’m sure you’ll have a marvelous time hanging with your friends,” Pinkie’s mom said. This was the same conversation they had every time Pinkie when out to do any kind of social function. Pinkie scoffed, blowing her bangs out of her face, and didn’t respond. She never did. Mom was always setting her up on playdates with the neighbors’ kids hoping it would make her more sociable or something. It never did. What changed this time, however, was her mother running out of the house. She pulled her necklace off from around her neck, placing it on her daughter. “Here. You look beautiful.” Pinkie groaned, but kept the necklace on. It was her mother’s favorite necklace after all. It was gold, with a blue gem shaped into a balloon in the middle. Pinkie never understood what her mom saw in it, but she would wear it, just to make her happy. As she walked, she mused. She didn’t like the twins any more than they liked her. They always got into arguments at school. They were stuck up, arrogant idiots who couldn’t get their heads out of their asses long enough to figure out that they weren’t always right. Pinkie turned her head as she heard shouting. A guard in full armor ran at her, bellowing, “Head south! Head south! The Light One preserve us, we can’t stop them!” He didn’t even stop as he bowled past her. She looked the direction he ran from, seeing a dozen more guards being routed towards the south. Her eyes widened as she looked past them, at what they were running from. Hundreds of people charged with wild abandon, but they weren’t normal people. They were more darkly colored than they should be, with eyes glowing sickly green. They trailed clouds of darkness that faded into the rolling mass of shadow that billowed along the ground behind them. She watched in horror as one of the people, someone she had seen in passing on at least one occasion, launched at a trailing guard. There was a sickening crunch as he broke his jaw on the guards’ armor. That didn’t save the guard for long, as he was knocked to the ground and dogpiled by a half dozen more of these not-men. The last sound he made was a bloodcurdling scream of terror and agony. Without her willing them to, her legs turned her around and started running as fast as she could after the yelling guard. She didn’t look back, even as the inhuman screeches of the dark beasts got louder and louder. She quickly overtook the guard, his heavy armor slowing him down. She didn’t even slow as he screamed, being devoured by the army of evil on her heels. She could practically feel the breath of the monsters behind her on her neck when she heard a welcome sound. “We’ve got a live one! Order of Light, charge!” She barely noticed the gleaming armor of her saviors as they rushed behind her. She hardly registered the sounds of flesh impacting on metal, or the screams of pain the monsters let out. She grabbed the first robed man she came across and started bawling in terror into his chest. “It’ll be okay, young one. We’ll get you out of here,” he attempted to comfort her. Pinkie’s eyes widened in panic, “But my mom’s in there! I can’t just leave her!” He shook his head, trying to break it to her both bluntly and softly. It didn’t work well. “I’m sorry, young one. There’s nothing we can do. Any who haven’t made it out by now are corrupted.” “No!” Pinkie shoved away from the man. She tried to run past the men in gleaming armor, but one of them picked her up with one hand. From her new vantage point, she saw the horde rushing at the line of heavily armored warriors. Each one of them was wrong, at a fundamental level she understood that. She saw her neighbors charge at another human being with reckless abandon, trying to end another life. Right before the man holding her pulled her away, she saw the last thing she ever wanted to see. Her mother snarled as she saw the defending line. Her eyes glowed that same sickly green. Her every breath puffed shadow in front of her, the same shadow that now flowed out of her every pore. Her normally seaweed green hair looked almost charred, and was still in its signature bun. An inhuman screech left her mouth as she charged, and Pinkie’s vision was mercifully cut short. “Mother!” “Paladin Bright! Get her out of here!” the robed man snapped. “This is nothing for a child to see, especially not with her mother in there!” The man holding her saluted with his free hand, “Yes, Headmaster. Come on, little one, let’s get you out of here.” Pinkie struggled in his vice-like grip. “No, let me go! My mom’s in there! I can’t just let her die!” Paladin Bright shook his head, “I’m sorry, little one. If your mother is corrupted, then there is nothing we can do.” Pinkie kept making more and more creative insults for the paladin holding her as he easily carried her to a carriage. It was empty, and therefore spacious as she was loaded in. “Damn, only one?” the driver asked. “You know how the Dark One works as well as I do,” Bright sighed. “I do, but really? One survivor? From all of Everfree?” “Only one survivor so far,” Bright corrected. “I’m sure we’ll find many more.” The driver sighed, “I don’t know how you keep such an optimistic attitude doing what you do. Listen to me, and I don’t even see the corrupted.” “If I break down at the sight of an entire city of corrupted, what example does that give the survivors we do find?” He lowered his voice so that Pinkie had to strain her ears to hear what he was saying. “This poor girl saw her mother in with the corrupted. What do my issues mean compared to that?” The driver let out a low whistle, “Damn. Poor girl.” “She’s a strong one, though,” Bright chuckled despite the environment. “She spent the entire walk here coming up with creative new insults and new ways to squirm out of my grasp. I could see her being a good addition to the Order, if she would have us.” “She sounds like a strong girl. I just hope that she isn’t broken by this, for her sake rather than for the Order’s.” “I would never put the wants of the Order above the wants of a rational being when it deals with them directly. If she doesn’t want to join, she doesn’t have to.” “You’re a good man, Bright. Your brother would be proud.” “Yeah, I think he would have been, too,” Bright smiled, before getting serious again. “Well, that’s all the time I’ve got for you, I’m afraid. The Headmaster will want me back on the line soon.” “Don’t die,” the driver waved. “I’d lose my good conversation.” Bright chuckled as he walked back to the city. Back to the corrupted. “You okay under there, miss?” the driver called out looking over the side at the taciturn Pinkie. She looked at him with blank eyes. He sighed and sat back in position. When they left three hours later, not a single other person was brought to the carriage. —*~*~*— “This will be your room for as long as you need it, you understand?” Bright asked her. They were in a large, city-like monastery a few days by carriage from Everfree. Bright was currently not in his armor, preferring to wear his leather under-armour when the heavier plates were not necessary. Pinkie just stared at the room. It was fairly nice, for a monastery. It was about ten feet square, with a bed and a desk. A small window was placed on the wall, over the bed. “It’s not much, but it’s better than a tent in the courtyard with the refugees from the outer towns, right?.” She just stared. Bright sighed, leaving her to her moping. The next days passed the same. Pinkie had yet to say a word. She just sat on her bed, staring at the door and holding onto the necklace her mother had given to her with a dead man’s grip. When food was brought, it had to be fed to her or she wouldn’t eat. Bright worked his hands to the bone to keep up on both his duties as a paladin and to make sure every need of the newly-orphaned girl was met. He fed her, he cleaned her, and he changed her. One day, as he walked in, she spoke. “What was that?” “At Everfree?” he asked for clarification. She nodded. “That was the Dark One. The Dark One takes over the minds of humans, griffons, dragons, and anything else it can get its hands on, twisting them into forms better able to serve its schemes. “We’re usually able to catch its moves before it hits a town or village,” he sighed, “but we never expected it would be so bold as to attack the capital.” “Can it be killed?” she asked. “I won’t lie to you, not after what you’ve been through. We don’t know. The creatures it corrupts can be, that much is certain. We just have to hope that it can be destroyed as well.” She locked eyes with him, giving him a stare much too intense for one her age. “Teach me how to kill.” “No.” She glared at him, “What do you mean, ‘no’?” “I mean no. We’re the paladins of the Order of Light. We don’t fight to kill, we fight to protect. To protect those that cannot protect themselves.” “Well you did a bum job of that today,” she growled at him. He didn’t deny it, much to Pinkie’s frustration, instead choosing to speak up softly, “That was a week ago, little one.” She looked at him with shocked eyes, but he continued, “And yes, we did. Everyone had bad days, as much as it pains me to admit. Most bad days end with making people mad at you, or losing your job. Our bad days end with entire cities wiped off the map.” He sat next to her on the bed. “This is why we can’t act with anger. Why we can’t go on the offensive.” “So you’re reactive? Striking only when it is too late?” she snapped. “Little one, the forces of the Dark One are much more numerous than we are. Even if we knew where to attack, there would be a counterstrike an order of magnitude stronger than anything we’ve seen before while we’re distracted.” He grabbed her chin and forced her eyes into his. “We are a reactive force. We exist to slow down the Dark One’s advances while the Light One searches for a way to stop it, once and for all. Now do you understand?” Pinkie nodded slowly, “You exist to keep the Dark One’s forces from destroying all sentient life while the Light One looks for a way to truly win?” Bright smiled, “Yes. That is what we do, No more, no less. We win some, and we lose some, but that is the nature of the beast. We have to believe we will do better next time, or all is truly lost.” She looked at the doorway, “Teach me to be strong, like you.” “Little one, I’d love nothing more.” —*~*~*— “Swing!” Bright shouted at his apprentice. Pinkie threw her practice sword up in the swing he had just taught her contacting the training dummy placed in the ring just for her, as the only current paladin-in-training. “Again!” Another swing. CRACK! “Again!” Swing. CRACK! “Again!” Swing. CRACK! SNAP! “Again!” Swing. CRACK! SNAP! THUD! “Good.” Bright smiled down at her excited form, standing over the broken dummy. She was in her late teens now, having trained with the order for close to the last decade of her life. She wiped the sweat off her face with the back of her hand, making a face as she felt the metal of the gauntlet contact her skin. “I don’t see why I have to wear this stuffy armor so much,” she complained, clanking her gauntlet against the breastplate. “You have to get used to wearing that armor in the worst of situations. This is the same reason you still practice in full armor during a rainstorm,” Bright chuckled. “If we baby you in training, you’ll break during battle.” Pinkie nodded, getting back into position in front of the now broken target. Bright chuckled, “I think we can stop hitting targets for today, Pinks.” He placed one hand on the fence bordering the ring, using it to assist his jump into the ring itself. He clanked as he landed, and drew his sword and shield from their places in his hip and back. “Time for some sparring. Let’s see use that new attack at least once, this time.” Pinkie saluted him with a fist to the chest. “Yes, sir.” She pulled her helmet off the hook on her belt, placing it over her head. She settled into a ready stance, bringing up her shield between her and her pseudo-father. Her mind raced as she pulled all the information she could from her head. He preferred the use of a tower shield, same as her, but he was slightly stronger, giving him the mobility advantage. They both wore the standard-issue armor of the Order of Light, but hers lacked the tabard that was enchanted to remain pure white, no matter the circumstances, that proclaimed him as a full-blooded paladin of the Order. She also had her mothers’ necklace underneath her plates, giving her a sense of comfort. He preferred to use a bastard sword so that he could drop his shield when necessary and gain an advantage over his opponent. She preferred a quicker longsword, with an axe strapped on her hip for when she needed to drop her defense. Well, the axe was for when she didn’t use the hammer. Or the other sword. Or the flail. Or the crossbow. Yeah, she just had some weapon in her offhand. All in all, they were pretty evenly matched. Of course, he was much better trained and had combat experience, but she didn’t let that dissuade her. A paladin had to remain optimistic in the worst of situations, after all, or all was lost. She quickly brought her shield up to deflect his first testing swing. Using the moment of opening, she stabbed at him. He twisted so that the thrust was bounced off his abdomen armor, stepping back out of her range. With a quick step, he attempted to slash around her shield. She swung her right foot back, pulling her body along with it and robbing the swing of its intended target. Bright’s sword impacted her shield with a dull clang and enough force to numb her arm through the metal. She took a hissing intake of breath as she took a few steps back, putting some distance between her and her sparring partner. “Deflect attacks whenever possible,” Bright lectured as he set up his next attack. “It puts less force on you and deals less damage to your shield, saving you money on repairs in the long run.” “Got it,” she nodded. He told her this every day, and every day, she forgot. Right as he swung at her, she used the upwards attack he had just taught her to deflect his sword. She quickly reversed the momentum of her sword, drawing a scratch across his chestplate, even with the dulling enchantment placed on all blades in the ring. He stood up, going out of stance. “Smart move, using an attack as a parry. I told you you were good at this stuff, didn’t I?” Pinkie giggled at hearing him be so serious while saying ‘stuff’. “Of course, silly! I have the best teacher.” He chuckled, “I put the blame more on the student for this one. I’m far from the best teacher here.” “Pinkie, Bright, I trust training is going well?” the Headmaster asked, walking over in his usual brown robes. The years had been kind to him, barely wrinkling his face and not dulling his reflexes or his wit. Unfortunately, it hadn’t been as kind to his hairline. The relentless press of time had pushed his hair up his forehead, before it had decided that defense was not a wise plan and beat a hasty retreat. The last of his hair hid along the sides and back of his head. “Yep!” Pinkie said brightly. “Just dueling with Bright. I even got a hit in on him today!” The older man looked at the younger, who shrugged, saying, “I didn’t let her, either. It was all her own. She’s quite the unpredictable fighter.” “That’s good for one-on-one fighting, but you need to learn how to fight like the rest of us when we’re in a line,” the Headmaster reminded her. “She learned that first. When fighting with other paladins, she won’t be the weak link,” Bright praised. “So she’s ready for the field?” the old man asked. “I’d say yes, but that is all up to her,” Bright said. A dark expression flashed across Pinkie’s face, before it returned to its normal, cheerful self. “I’m more than ready.” The Headmaster narrowed his eyes at her, “You know that you’re not allowed to charge the enemy the second you see them, right Pinkie?” She scoffed, “Of course. I can control myself.” “That has yet to be seen.” He turned to Bright. “Your mission is to do recon in the northern regions. If the Dark One manages to get to the Griffon Empire, we will have an army capable of wiping out the whole of the world built within months, if not weeks.” Turning to Pinkie, he stared into her eyes. “This is an important mission. You aren’t going to be alone up there, but you two will be working independently. I expect that you’ll find nothing, but it is better to know than suspect.” As he walked off, he paused, calling over his shoulder, “When you make it back, I will interview all the involved paladins. If each one of them says you’re ready, your tabard is already made.” And with that, he walked off, back into the one of the many uniform buildings in the monastery. “Did you hear that, Pinks?” Bright said with excitement. “You’re going to be a paladin soon!” Pinkie jumped into the air in excitement, “I’ll pack my stuff!”