FOR SHOVELRY!

by RedStar76

Chapter II- Old Recountings of a Farmer boy

Equestria.

A magical land that is inhabited by that of a variety of different races, the most common being ponies.

It certainly was not the strangest thing Shovel Knight and Shield Knight had ever encountered on their travels together.

After Shield Knight had recuperated, the group of now consisting of two knights and four ponies, decided to exit barn and sit down and talk more in the more comfortable environment of the house. There, a few minor introductions began since details of where they currently are were already established. The pony possessing white fur, violet mane, and an apparent eye for fashion is named Rarity.

Quite the name for one whom also searches for jewels.

Such topic came up as the two knights mentioned they were both adventurers and treasure seekers. Something in which Rarity was quite excited to hear about, more so the treasure seeking parts than anything else.

Shovel Knight hoped she would gladly hope that she not end up becoming the equivalent of an equine Treasure Knight.

Next was her highness Princess Twilight Sparkle. Whom was actually really not one much for such formalities. Her story was indeed an interesting one. She was actually a student to another ruler of land, whom which controlled movement of their sun, a became a princess herself when she fully recognized the values of friendship. A heartwarming story indeed.

Hopefully there is not a Princess Knight as well.

Midday gave on to dusk as the group continued to become more acquainted. As nightfall was fast approaching, and Shovel Knight's and Shield Knight's fatigued conditions, it was decided that the would retire for the night. Shovel Knight decided that come morning, he would want to repay the apples for their hospitality by helping with fields. AppleJack did not object to such as herself and Ms. Smith would be busy attending the town market tomorrow, leaving only Big Macintosh and AppleBloom. Shield Knight herself would have also helped, until they ran into an interesting predicament.

They had no clothing besides their armor.

True, it was not that big of an issue usually. However, the weather outside tomorrow would be quite humid, as they learned the pegasi control the weather in the land. While Shovel Knight was used to such conditions while farming, Shield Knight had no farming experience. On top of that, if this hot weather were to continue, they highly doubted they would be able survive constant heat in metal armor. Luckily for them Rarity was indeed a spinstress, owning her own boutique.

Thus, it was decided that Shield Knight would spend the night at Carousel Boutique so that she may acquire new clothing in the morning, and Shovel Knight would stay at Sweet Apple Acres to fulfil his personal obligation come dawn.

So, the two knights went their separate ways as night began to fall upon Equestria.

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One could say Rarity was quite excited. Okay, slight understatement, she was SO EXCITED! She got design clothing for entirely new creature she had never encountered before! Of course, she kept such high energy under control. A lady must keep her composure, yes? In truth, it did not take all that long too get to the Carousel Boutique. The streets of Ponyville were rather quiet at night, meaning there truly wasn't any uproar about a mysterious new being suddenly coming into town. Rarity opened the door and gleefully raised her voice to say-

"Sweetie Belle! We have a guest! Come down here!"

"Coming!" the filly ran down the stairs, "High nice to-" Sweetie Belle stopped in her tracks, and looked in a bit of a shocking awe mixed in with some curiosity.

"Hello there," Shield Knight kneeled down at smiled at Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle smiled with filly-like glee.

"Sweetie Belle, this is Mrs. Knight, she will be staying with us tonight," Rarity happily said unloading her saddle bags of the material she had purchased earlier in the day. "Now go upstairs and get ready for bed." Sweetie Belle nodded a said good night to Shield Knight and Rarity before heading back upstairs.

"Here you are Mrs. Knight," Rarity floated over a magenta nightgown into Shield Knight's... hands, was it? "That nightgown should be large enough to fit you darling. It wasn't designed for a pony's specific shape, so it should be fine until I can make you a proper dress in the morning."

"Thank you very much, Rarity."

"Not a problem at all Mrs.Knight, I am the element of generosity after all."Shield Knight looked a bit surprised, now realizing that Rarity had been calling her 'Misses' all this time. "I must you're quite the lucky lady."

"Hm?"

"You and your husband's adventures sound quite riveting, and how he saved from the tower, oh how romantic!" Rarity looked up at ceiling, dreamy eyed.

"I-I'm afraid you are mistaken."

"Pardon?"

"Knight is not my last name," she giggled a little, but then stopped as she she said,"Shovel Knight and I are not yet wed."

"Oh, my apologies darling." Rarity said. Shield Knight didn't seem upset with her, however it appeared that she may be upset about something else. However, now wasn't the time to ask about such things, but she believed she had the perfect plans for such a conversation come morning. For now, they decided to head to bed for the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The light of the morning sun had barely scratched the surface of the sky. However, such things did not stop Shovel Knight from his work. He remembered his days of isolation. The days in which the Enchantress's tower was still sealed. Those were dark times for him, sinking further into a deep depression. During that time, all he did was farm.

Shovel Knight continued his work, plowing and planting with his shovel. That is until he heard a young voice greeting him-

"Mornin' Mr.Knight!" Shovel Knight turned to see the younger sister of AppleJack, AppleBloom, approaching him.

"Good morning," he replied, going back to his digging, plowing, and planting.

"Um," AppleBloom began hesitantly, "Ah kinda wanna ask ya somethin' Mr.Knight."

"Yes?" he temporarily stopped his farming process and turned to face the filly.

"Ah, well, ya look mighty good with farmin' and stuff, but..." she paused, "How did ya become Knight?"

That question made Shovel Knight's blood run cold.

"Ah- ah mean, ya see before ah asked my sister and her friends how they found out their special talents. An, since you look good at both farmin' and bein' a knight, ah was wondering if you could tell me yours..."

Shovel Knight calmed himself hearing that. He recalled hearing yesterday of the true nature of the symbols on the posteriors of ponies. Calling them 'cutie marks' they represented a pony's true unique skill. As such, it was a coming of age ritual. However, it did not stop AppleBloom from forming her own group with two others, to find the truth of their marks. What was it again? Yes, the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They were more known for causing childish mischief on their quests than anything else, but Shovel Knight admired such determination.

He remembered hearing the story of how the Crusaders asked the element bearers of how they came to get their marks.

Shovel Knight kneeled down to the curious filly.

"Well, my friend, it is not the greatest of tales..." AppleBloom listened intently to Shovel Knight's story. "It was some time ago, far enough that I can only account few events in detail..."

....................................................................

Back then, I was just a young boy named Tim.

"Well, at least I didn't spill the water" I said, sighing to myself and collecting the pale of water in which miraculously didn't tip over in my fall. I returned to my home not too far from the river. I lived with just my father, never knowing my mother as she died not long after giving birth to me when the plague swept the south-western lands. "Father! I'm back!" The small cottage was strangely silent...

"Father? Are you here?" I progressed onward through small cottage and into the living place.

What I saw was horrifying.

The small amount of possessions we owned were either torn or smashed to pieces,

Raiders...

.......................................................................

"Y-You and yer pa were robbed?!" AppleBloom stated in surprise.

"Close actually. They did not take anything of ours, but they took my father with them..." Shovel Knight paused to compose himself to continue his story. "It did not take me long to figure out it was raiders. There were already rumors about them being in the area. That is when I most likely did the most dangerous thing in my entire life."

"What was that?"

"Actually going after them. With a shovel."

............................................................................

I went hunting with my father before, so I had become slightly skilled in tracking. Luckily, they did not cover up their tracks, most likely assuming no one would be crazy enough to follow them. They were mostly right. I reached their camp by dusk, and it seemed they had captured other farmers in the south western lands as well. Some of those people were my personal friends.

"Hey, quiet down in there!" one of the raiders yelled at the farmers. They had locked them up in a cage. Looking around from my vantage point from behind a rock, I saw there were actually only a few raiders. Five tops. Also, there was a crate full of shovels and hoes, meaning that they were likely planning to use the farmers in forced labor, In all likelihood, they would not be able to over power a group of physically strong farmers if not for their weapons.However, his shouting made my blood boil.

So in my youthful brashness, I ambushed him.

He was more than twice my size, so hitting him over the head was out of the question. Luckily, whether it was just myself being clever or natural instinct, I put my shovel under his foot and lifted, making the raider fall backwards.

"Hey! They're trying to get out!"

I had no time. As quickly as I could, I used my shovel to smash the lock. The farmers came rushing out, ready to fight as the other raiders began to advance from around the camp. It did not matter however, as the small group was no match for a larger group of farmers that were now armed with shovels and hoes. Unfortunately, my father was not among them.

...............................................................................

"H-He was already gone?" AppleBloom said sadly.

"Yes. They had already shipped out a few of the farmers northward. I found this out when I collected a map from that camp while the raiders were busy with the fighting. I did not give up hope because of that map. So when I returned to my home, I packed a few provisions and took my shovel as means of my defence."

"So, that's how ya got your cutie mark?" Shovel Knight was glad AppleBloom made him chuckle. Recounting that part of his past was never an easy thing to do.

"You could say that, my friend. You see, a cutie mark for us is our names." AppleBloom gave a quizzical look at his words. "You see, the title of knight is earned through the recognition of one's greatest skills, and my skill, was shovelry." Shovel Knight smiled under his helmet.

"That's awesome!"

"Heh, I try." Shovel Knight chuckled.

"What happened after that?"

"Well, I followed the map. Hitting every raider camp I could find, as I got better with a shovel." Shovel Knight turned and looked at the rising sun. "I am sorry AppleBloom," he said turning back to the filly. "Time is of the essence, I should get back to work."

"I'll help!" she said, excited to work with knight. "I'll go get my shovel!" and she galloped off.

Shovel Knight admired her optimistic attitude, smiling warmly under his helmet. Going on such a quest, to find one's destiny and purpose in life. A noble and challenging quest indeed. Though on his quest he never found trace of his father, but he did end up gaining the skill he has today, becoming Shovel Knight.

He also met who would become his best friend, and close companion.

Author's Note:

Shedding some light on Shovel Knight's past and his motivations. Don't worry, the time will indeed come for CMC antics. All in good time.
But the lesson to take from this chapter is simple:
Never mess with farmers.

(Chapter currently unedited)

Comments

[BetaHammer]

Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

[RedStar76]

4734449

[The Well Dressed Ninja]

I find the dismissal of Shovel Knight's dad kinda... weird.

[RedStar76]

4734602 It will all make sense in time.

[Mobiusman]

FOR SHOVELRY! is a great name for a shovel knight story.

[BRyeMC]

I just watched my friend beat this game the other day, and I wanted to tell you, since I'm still in the Shovel Knight-mode, I love this story.

[RedStar76]

4734983 Why thank you! Hope you continue to enjoy it as it continues.

[MintMetal]

Yo...

[Dirty Bit]

"It did not take me long to figure out it was raiders. There were already rumors about them being in the area. That is when I most likely did the most dangerous thing in my entire life."

"What was that?"

"Actually going after them. With a shovel."

The mark of a true badass

[Drakalian]

7092834

I did not notice that till you pointed it out...

..Damn I feel like a dumb dumb.