Act III - Ch. 19 Birds, Bees & Beer
Well, here’s chapter 19! Sorry for the HUGE, huge delay. Uni has hit me pretty hard unfortunately. But never fear, the next chapter is already partly done. I had a bout of huge inspiration for a scene for it. Oh, yes, such inspiration. I had to get it down, sadly taking time from this chapter.
Any comments from the editor? Yes? No? Find out after the break!
Break! (Geddit?)Barric
And we’re back! Here it is, the first true chapter of Act III, chapter 19.
Warning: Been beta'd but I've got work in, oh, fourteen minutes and it takes ten to get there so I'll give it my personal once over when I get back in about six hours but I didn't want to wait.
Chapter 19 Birds, Bees & Beer
***
“Just hold still and...oh, I suppose telling you to hold still is rather silly of me.” Rarity laughed lightly as she circled the stoic pegasus. His eyes followed her but his body remained statuesque as she pressed fabrics against his fur, hmm’ing and ah’ing contemplatively. “You really present quite the conundrum darling. Do I create contrast against your dark fur, yet with blinding wings of white? Or do I go the more sombre route and play to the brooding nature of your appearance? Such questions.”
Paladin said nothing. There wasn’t much he could say. Fashion had until recently been a foreign concept. He concealed a wince. When Rarity had summoned him a week ago to begin her work on the suit she was making him for the Gala, the unicorn had attempted to explain fashion and its ever-changing standards and why something was ‘out’ one year and ‘in’ the next. She had sent him away in a huff when Paladin failed to extol his disdain for such a thing as she described in a tactful fashion.
‘A pointless, futile endeavour seeming to cater to the whims of the decadent, the useless and the shallow so they might congratulate themselves on turning their attention from more important parts of life’ had been his exact words and earned him a swift, pointedly polite request to leave. After a week of her looking away with a haughty expression of offense whenever Paladin appeared it had ended with the aid of her- their friends in mending fences and explaining that not all ponies involved in fashion were shallow and existed only to benefit themselves. A letter had also been drafted to the Princess afterwards.
“Speaking of questions,” Rarity said, glancing at him over her work glasses, “perhaps you would be able to shed some light on something Fluttershy mentioned. She seems to be worried you will be leaving us after the Gala for some reason.”
He finally moved so he could see Rarity’s expression. By her tone of voice she could have been making small talk about the weather.
“I am considering that, yes.” Paladin answered.
“Ah.”
The room feel silent as Rarity worked. She didn’t say anything yet, testing colours and fabrics against his coat and his wings. For his part, Paladin was content to let the conversation end there. If she wanted to know more, she would say something.
“She seemed rather unhappy with the prospect.” Rarity eventually continued. It was impossible to play the waiting game with Paladin. You either gave in or did something to annoy him, which wasn’t really playing fair. “I cannot say I was too pleased with it either, despite our little quarrel. I do hope you do not hold the fact she told me against her. The poor thing needed somepony to talk to about it.”
Pulling one of his wings out for inspection Rarity noticed something out of place. The feathers in certain areas were ruffled and disturbed. Despite what was likely thoroughly she managed to detect a smudge of dirt beneath a feather. All on her own merits, as finding dirtiness required no magical sight on the part of Rarity. She looked up from his wing in time to catch his answer, silently chastising herself for getting so distracted.
“I have no wish for my intents to be concealed. There is nothing to hold against her.” Paladin said without much feeling. His wing twitched slightly in Rarity’s grip and he held back a sigh. Physical wings with nerves and such biological silliness were an increasingly normal part of his life but that didn’t mean he had to like it.
Rarity inspected the feather with the last evidence of dirt. It could just be from his work assisting the Apple farm but there was something off about it. She had seen something like this before, but it escaped her for the moment.
“I am pleased to hear it. I do wonder, however, why you have kept it to yourself.” She replied, narrowing her eyes as she inspected the feather. ‘What is it, there is something here familiar...’ “I am positive everypony would like to help you resolve this dilemma. We might not be older than Equstrian history, but together we can be quite helpful..”
She was quite proud of the muffled snort of amusement that got out of him. His sense of humour was improving. “Rainbow Dash seems to contend that my life before taking pony form doesn’t count.” He said with the quiet tone she had come to learn meant he was more amused than he let on.
“Her pranks have tended towards that angle, yes.” Rarity agreed with a shudder. She had seen a few of the more recent ones. Something clicked in her head and suddenly the feather’s familiarity made sense. She tugged it with her magic, earning no reaction at all from the stoic pegasus. “Ah ha! I recognise this sort of little dirt patch now. On the very rare occasions I am able to get Rainbow Dash to model for me, I find quite a number of patches like this. Only after she has been practicing recently, and crashing somewhat frequently. Dirt, getting under feathers. Somepony has been putting more effort into learning to fly.”
Paladin’s postured became ever so slightly stiffer as Rarity trotted over to smile somewhat smugly at him. Her allegation was true but some part of him didn’t want to admit it. With the natural ambient magic all pegasi had granted to him by the lightning strikes during the Nightmare’s invasion his ability to fly had appeared. Skill and knowledge on how to fly had not.
“I may be endeavouring to learn, yes.” He admitted reluctantly. “I intended to keep it a secret for now.”
Returning to her work with a small smile Rarity’s tilted her head as she looked at Paladin in confusion. “Really? Why ever would you want to do that?”
It was not a question he had wanted to hear. He wasn’t sure of the answer, which was the primary reason. Paladin hesitated as he tried to divine a proper reply from the maelstrom that was his thoughts. “I...I’m not sure.” He finally grunted.
Rarity looked up at him again from the length of white cloth she had been comparing to his fur. “You are not sure? Darling, there must be a reason.”
“There is a reason for everything. I simply don’t know what it is.” Something of his hidden seething broke through into Paladin’s voice and he found himself – for want of a better word – venting. “I’ve been mortal for nearly three months and yet still I am plagued by this insanity. I have thoughts my mind played no part in, I feel things I don’t understand. I think and yet I don’t know why! I should have more control by now but no, I can’t look at- around without some part of this fleshy container reacting!”
Drawing back, Rarity watched him seethe. There was clearly still a great deal he had to adjust to in terms of being ‘mortal’ and that obviously bothered him. Of course he hadn’t thought to ask any of them for help, Rarity mused as she considered how to react.
“That, Sir Paladin, is called ‘being alive’.” She said at last. By the brief widening of his eyes she guessed he had nearly forgotten she was there. For a moment Rarity was distracted, wondering whether she had noticed because he was becoming more emotive or because her magical sight was leaking through. She had caught her eyes taking in more information, found her gaze honing in on things she would normally never notice, all without actually using the angelic power.
Shaking the thoughts from her head, Rarity turned her attention back to Paladin.
“I don’t know who you were before you became Paladin, but a pony’s mind is never perfectly orderly and neatly controlled. We think things without meaning to and can even disagree with them after deliberate thought.” She went on as she trotted around him, forcing the pegasus to turn his head to follow her. “Nor are we blessed with the ability to admit to ourselves many things we know. We feel and think things that we can’t bring ourselves to admit we understand. With time, many such things can be reasoned out but sometimes the conclusion we came to long ago needs a little push to really become aware of.”
Paladin listened to her and nearly scowled. “It’s irritating.” He said bluntly. “A...body should not...make other...things react despite what I want it to do.” He grumbled.
Her somewhat philosophical turn of thought suddenly snapped to a halt. Rarity was fairly certain he was talking about something else. Her cheeks went red. Twilight had apparently explained to him how his body disposed of waste; surely she explained certain other things...
Rarity tried to picture Twilight explaining the way a stallion’s body might act in a presence of an attractive mare. She could only really imagine some sort of slide show, with perhaps a graph or two thrown in for flavour. Despite the seriousness of the issue it was all the alabaster unicorn could do not to start giggling.
She felt Paladin’s gaze boring into her and looked back, fighting back a titter. “O-oh darling, I think I understand now.” Rarity said eventually, taking a deep breath as she fought to get control again. “Nopony has explained a very important area to you yet, I suspect.”
His posture stiffened again. “I assure you, I do understand that mortals...breed to reproduce. The exact details of how this process occurs may escape me but I do know that most mortal creatures share their ancestry through some sort of physical bonding.” Paladin said with a slightly offended frown.
Rarity failed to be impressed. “Did you ever actually look into the event itself, hmm?” She asked.
Paladin’s frowned turned thoughtful. “No. I believe two of Tyrael’s fellows upon the Angiris Council, Malthael and Itherael, made a cursory observation simply to understand better. I have never pursued the hows or whys myself as Tyrael.”
She giggled slightly. “In that case you, Sir Paladin, need to hear what I understand many ponies refer to as ‘The Talk’.” Rarity smiled at him grandly.
“I’m sure I can gain control over wayward body parts on my own.” Paladin answered with a muted glare. He was definitely not embarrassed about needing help, he told himself. He just....wanted to do things on his own.
“Darling, if I understand you correctly this is an issue that must be dealt with. Quickly too!” The fashionista said back, rolling up her measuring tape. “I believe I have the correct measurements and have an idea of what colours would go well with your suit.”
“I have been fine until now. It is only a recent issue that will not remain.” He persisted, stubbornly refusing to let her distract him. “There is no need to bother anypony about it.”
Rarity tutted as she began to usher him to the door. “We simply cannot have your wings popping up every time Fl-somepony attractive comes down the street, now can we?” She asked with a teasing tone.
“...wings?” He asked in confusion. “The issue isn’t my wings, it’s my-”
“That’s quite enough, thank you.”
***
Applejack stared at Rarity, her expression flat. “What?” She managed to put a glacier’s worth of icy disdain into one word.
Apparently getting the shivers from the chill of Applejack’s voice, Rarity smiled shakily. “Well darling, I know your brother and Paladin seem to get on rather well.”
“That’s ‘cause they can go all day with barely two words bein’ said between ‘em.” Applejack’s hooves slammed into the tree behind her and apples rained down.
“Quite, and I thought perhaps this was an area best explained from a...male perspective.” Rarity followed Applejack to the next tree, stepping gingerly around a particularly dirty looking clump of dirt on the ground.
“Ya’ll want Mac ta tell ‘im how his stud bits work?” Applejack asked. She shot a look through the trees to where Paladin and Big Macintosh were each working a field. That shiny new plough always put a smile on her face. “An’ ya don’t think Mac’ll be curious about why a grown stallion like Paladin needs ta be told about the birds an’ the bees?”
Her powerful hooves slammed into the tree trunk and their conversation ground to a halt for a few seconds while apples rained down. Applejack took the opportunity to take another look at Paladin. When he and Rarity had arrived, she had assumed the unicorn had just accompanied him to say hello to Applejack. Part of her, quite a lot in fact, really wished it had just been that.
“Applejack, I rather suspect keeping such a secret from your brother about a pony he spends much time working with is not entirely something you enjoy. Nor, I believe, is it something Paladin revels in. Perhaps if we suggest he share the information Paladin will...open up. Make a friend. I’m sure he and Macintosh would be very good friends if he got a little less aloft.” Rarity went on when the apple-rain stopped.
“Huh, Ah guess so. Right now they’re just kinda workin’ together an’ all that.” Applejack sighed as she moved to the next tree. “But Ah don’t think he’ll need ta explain. Ah’ll ask Mac ta give ‘im a talkin’ to. Gonna need ta know this stuff. Mac knows the little story the Princess told us so he’ll understand.”
Rarity nodded thankfully, another hail of apples momentarily stilling conversation. “I shall return to the boutique. That unfortunate little spat Paladin and I had has left me with only a week to complete his suit and I simply cannot give it anything less than my best.”
Applejack’s lips drew back into a smirk. “Gotta make it ‘perfect’ huh?” She said with a teasing lilt to her voice.
“I walked into that one, didn’t I?” Rarity said dryly, giving a slight giggle. “That apple is bruised under the skin.” She pointed at an apple, her eyes glinting for a moment.
Narrowing her eyes Applejack reached for the one Rarity pointed out. It took only a moment for her expert eyes to see what Rarity’s angelic sight had noticed. “Heh, nice work. Guess ya got some use on a farm.”
“Please, don’t praise me so much. I might be overwhelmed by the shock.” The fashionista’s dry reply was ruined by a titter of amusement. The two friends shared a laugh, putting the task they were about to saddle Macintosh with out of their minds for now.
***
Paladin relaxed as the sun dipped below the horizon. He sat down as Big Mac dunked his head into a barrel of water to wash away some of the day’s sweat. The earth pony offered the barrel to Paladin silently and he refused just as wordlessly, no different than any other day. An apple sailed through the air from the red stallion just as it always did and with a twitch of his ears one of Paladin’s wings twisted, curling around the projectile.
Giving a grunt of admiration Mac’s teeth crunched into his own. The two stallions munched away at their apples without a word passing between. It was like every other day. Mac looked towards the barn questioningly and Paladin nodded, the ploughs safely stored away until they were next needed. They communicated quite easily, neither overly burdened with the need to add words to the mix.
If silence was truly golden they would be rich, rich ponies.
“Your sister is going to ask you to explain something to me.”
Big Mac stopped eating to look at Paladin. This was a surprise. He said nothing in response to the sombre pegasus’ words, eyes reflecting his curiosity.
“There are numerous...gaps in my knowledge. I appear to have located one and when I explained it to Rarity she suggested another stallion would be more help.” Paladin went on. His wings stirred, shifting slightly as he stretched his muscles. “I have experienced...physical...feelings in presence of females.” He nearly spat the word ‘feelings’.
The red stallion stared at his darker furred companion in slightly confused silence. This almost sounded like...
His eyes widened. No. Paladin was a grown pony. He couldn’t have gone his life up until now without being attracted to a mare at some time and more to the point without knowing what it meant. It was impossible and there was no way they could ask him to explain it. Was there?
The sound of hooves on dirt reached his ears and Macintosh was incredibly relieved. Paladin didn’t seem to have any idea how awkward this was but the distraction of another’s arrival was just what Mac had been hoping for. He let out a sigh of relief and turned to look at the newcomer.
Applejack grinned nervously at him, hat in hoof. “Mighty fine afternoon ain’t it bro?” She asked in that slightly too cheerful tone he knew well. It meant she was going to ask him something she didn’t want to ask him and knew perfectly well he wasn’t going to like it.
He just stared at her, his frown making clear her attempt at small talk would avail her nothing.
“Ah guess ya’ll already got an idea on what Ah gotta ask ya.” Applejack sighed. “There’s darn good reasons why he don’t know the stuff a stallion his age oughta know but the story is his ta tell. Ya just gotta trust me, Ah wouldn’t be askin’ on his behalf if Ah didn’t think ya’ll weren’t the right pony for the job.”
Listening to her Big Mac threw Paladin a look. The pegasus shrugged, apparently at ease with letting Applejack ask.
“I was assured you were better to learn from and I think Rarity thought if I asked it would come out as a strange request, but if your sister did you might be more likely.” He said by way of explanation. “I trust Rarity in this matter, although if it’s uncomfortable I can ask Twilight.”
Macintosh considered the offer for a moment before looking at his sister. “He really don’t know? None?”
“Nope.” Applejack shook her head.
“I’m not completely clueless.” They were informed icily by Paladin. “I understand entirely that my body wishes to mate with a female but I merely...don’t know the specifics...or why.” He grumbled, frowning.
Feeling slightly faint Big Mac ran a hoof through his mane. “Sis, Ah’m gonna need ya’ll ta run a message inta town for me. Paladin, we’re gonna finish some extra stuff.”
Applejack blinked in confusion for a second. Her brother turned away and Paladin joined him as they went to get the last things packed away for the night. “Wait a second! Is that a yes?”
Both stallions gave her a look that shouted ‘yes, obviously’ without actually saying it.
“Not my fault Ah don’t speak their crazy no talkin’ lingo.” Applejack muttered as she followed after them to get her brother’s message. At least he had agreed without asking the reasons why Paladin needed to be taught about the mysteries of the male body.
When the last of their work was done Mac sent Paladin to the barn, where the pegasus waited. The barn door swung open and Macintosh came trotting in with three tankards and a large cask that sloshed as he moved it. Using an empty barrel he spread the tankards out and from the cask filled each with a shining substance desired by many.
“Hard cider” Big Mac said simply as he finished pouring out the third tankard. “Need it.”
Paladin frowned, staring at the tankard placed in front of him. It sat there, unchanging and unyielding. He almost felt like it was taunting him by the light gleaming off its shining contents in a smug way. Banishing such thought he reached for the tankard of cider.
“Why is this hard cider required?” He asked before taking a sip.
Big Macintosh watched Paladin silently for a moment but the pegasus failed to react to the strong liquor. Lifting his own tankard he missed the abrupt whole body twitch that took over Paladin for a second. One of his wings jerked awkwardly in response to his first taste of alcohol and the sheer strength of the drink. It folded back into place and when Mac’s drink was lowered Paladin looked as serene as he ever did
“It does have quite a kick.” Paladin said calmly.
Grunting in agreement Mac finally spoke. “Ain’t explainin’ this sober.” He took another draught. The hard liquor burned down his throat like purifying fire. Smacking his lips the Apple stallion his drink down and watched the barn door expectantly.
Paladin waited a few minutes patiently before finally deciding to ask. Just as he began to speak the barn door creaked open, cutting him off. A familiar earth pony trotted in hurriedly, drawing up short at the sight of the waiting stallions and the drinks.
“Uh, Mac?” Caramel asked uncertainly. “Your sister said you need my help with something fast so I kind of ran here.” His nose twitched and he approached them, nodding at Paladin but his attention on the drinks. “Is that cider? If you needed me to help drink that, I think I can do it no problems.”
Mac snorted in amusement at his friend’s eagerness for drink. “Gotta do somethin’ else.” He said before Caramel could take a sip. “Paladin don’t know some important stuff.”
Scratching his head Caramel sat down, looking at the dour pegasus. “Really? Like what?” His face went slightly green. “Twilight already explained all his, uh, plumbing.”
“I’m fully aware of my internal waste disposal processes.” Paladin said with a frown.
“Weirdest way I’ve ever heard somepony talking about going to the toilet” Grumbled the farrier. He looked at Mac with a confused expression. “What does he need to know then?”
Big Mac busied himself drinking, giving Paladin a look that told him to answer the pony. Paladin was fairly sure Macintosh was avoiding the topic on purpose.
Clearing his throat, Paladin tried his best to look dignified. “I appear to lack specific knowledge. I understand the general concept that we as biological creatures reproduce and part of this is an attraction, a desire, for ponies of the other sex. Although I am given to understand said attraction is not wholly confined to the opposite gender. It seems inefficient.” He said with a shrug. “Regardless, while I know that, I’m not entirely...certain of the details.”
Silence stretched through the barn for a few seconds while Caramel gave Mac a look of acute betrayal. The big colt had the grace to at least look apologetic.
“...we’re teaching him about the birds and bees?” Caramel asked with a twitch.
“That sounds unhygienic.” Paladin’s voice showed his confusion as he took another sip of the drink. “Birds seem to have little interest in such a thing and I can’t imagine how bees would help. Are they trained to help in some way or is it part of their natural instincts?”
The other two stallions took a moment to consider this, staring at Paladin all the while.
“Oh Celestia, he really doesn’t know anything.” moaned Caramel, sitting heavily next to the barrel. He reached for the third cider and threw it back without further consideration. His expression changed when he was made aware by the burning sensation that this was some of Mac’s finest stuff and he only just managed to keep it down.
Paladin looked concerned as Caramel wheezed, clutching his throat. He glanced at Macintosh but the farm stallion didn’t seem worried. Rather the opposite, watching with a slight tilt at the corner of his lips, indicative of a hidden smile.
When he had recovered sufficiently Caramel couldn’t help but complain. “Why me? You can talk perfectly well and I was already there when Twilight...explained...” He shuddered. She had been graphic. There had been slides; horrible, horrible slides. He wondered if the Princess had taught Twilight to turn slideshows into a form of torture.
“I think I know why.” Paladin volunteered, keeping his voice neutral and his expression bland.
Caramel cocked his head to the side, curious despite himself. “You do?”
Nodding Paladin took another sip. “Yes.” He said quietly. “I believe the phrase is ‘misery loves company’.” He casually lifted his drink, finding the taste quite enjoyable with each try.
It took all of Mac’s control not to laugh at Caramel’s scowl. “Eeyup.” He drawled, hiding a snicker behind his drink.
“You guys suck.” Was all the farrier muttered as he joined them, although he made sure not to knock back so much again. It was a bit annoying, being compared to these two. Not that anypony was actually comparing them but he couldn’t help it. Big Mac was....well, he was Big Mac. That was all that really needed to be said. Paladin was no different! They both...both...
They were Big Mac and Paladin. Caramel sighed. One was an earth pony who could snap a tree like a dry twig and the other was a pegasus who seemed like he could win a fight just by glaring. It was hard to feel all that impressive around them.
Paladin chose to ungraciously interrupt Caramel’s obvious sulking with a compliment. “These shoes are quite the improvement.” He said honestly when he put his drink down. “Macintosh was right, these are much better than going barehoofed.”
Big Mac nodded while Caramel just went red at the praise. “It’s fine, really. It’s probably just thanks to the high quality metal the Princess sent.”
“Nope.”
“Mac is right. The quality is a testament to your skill. A better material is no replacement for experience and ability.” Paladin assured Caramel confidently. The farrier’s apparent embarrassment seemed bizarre to him.
Waving it off Caramel took a sip to delay his response. “I’m not all that good, I was just the closest farrier and the Princesses probably wanted to reward you quickly.” He waved it off awkwardly.
“Nope.” Big Mac said again, summing up his entire disagreement with that statement.
Paladin snorted dismissively as well. “I’m certain if the Princesses wanted to reward me they would go for a quality crafter rather than a merely convenient one. Their need to ‘reward’ me might be baffling, but I doubt it would be done in half-measures.” Quite frankly he suspected they had further plans to ‘reward’ him. The destruction of an insane fragment of Luna’s mind, twisted by some dark force, was not something they were going to pretend didn’t happen.
Nor was Twilight going to forget what happened, he remembered with a wince. But that was an issue of his own, right now he was busy distracting them from the reason he suddenly needed to know about how his body worked.
“I guess you’re right...” Caramel conceded uncertainly.
“Caramel, it was a royal commission.” Saying his first wholly grammatical sentence of the evening, Big Mac weighed in. His circle of friends wasn’t exactly wide so he knew Caramel’s lack of confidence quite well. So he was a little...accident prone at times, he was still the best maker of horseshoes you could find.
The smaller earth pony perked up slightly. “I...I suppose it kinda was.” He agreed, his flagging confidence boosted. “I was given a royal commission...me, Caramel!” He laughed, taking another drink.
The sudden mood swing reminded Mac quite firmly to keep an eye on his friend’s intake. Caramel was not what you would call a heavy-weight. He wasn’t what you would call any sort of weight, really. So long as Mac kept an eye on him to make sure he didn’t have too much it would be alright.
“Eeyup.” He nodded at Caramel before turning his gaze on Paladin. “Gotta do what we came here ta do.”
So Mac knew he had been trying to distract them. “Damn.” Paladin muttered, taking another swig of his drink. He had seen alcohol being consumed by humans before, they even had places devoted to imbibing intoxicants, eating and fighting. Strangely these places seemed to attract individuals predisposed to banding together and hunting down monsters and those who had escaped justice. While he approved of that he had never seen the point of alcohol.
Licking his lips, Paladin had to admit he was seeing some of the reasons. He felt rather nice and his belly was warm. Everything felt a little bit nicer, like the darker parts of his brain were making less effort.
Why, he wondered, did humans and ponies not partake in alcohol more?
*
The answer to his question didn’t hit Paladin in the literal sense. Yet in a very real, if metaphorical, way it did in the form of the sensation of nails being jammed repeatedly into his skull.
Paladin woke up slowly, becoming aware one sense at a time. First he felt the spikes being stabbed into his brain. The second thing he felt was the scratchy hay under his body. He groaned as he felt the throb inside his skull. He tried to think of what it felt like but his mental scrambling proved noticeably futile as the very thing he was trying to describe sabotaged him. The words he needed just kept escaping him and the throbbing pain made it impossible for him to string a coherent thought together for long. The dryness of his mouth and some vague taste he found familiar were the next feelings to reach him through the haze.
The sound of breathing was the first sign that his hearing was working. It took several minutes of impotently trying to get his legs to move before Paladin realised there was substantially more breathing than he was personally responsible for. Macintosh and Caramel, that was right. They were there. After some time he worked out one source of sound was some distance to his right and the other was further to the left but muffled. Frankly, it amazed Paladin that he figured out that much.
His ears twitched at the creak of the barn door opening with agonising slowness. Like a glacier it seemed to take ages to scrape along the ground, every second punctuated with a moan or groan from one of the three stallions spread out across the barn. Paladin decided to test out his eyes to discover the source of his pain.
This proved to be a mistake.
“Burning hellfire!” He roared, or more accurately croaked. Covering his eyes with his hooves Paladin recoiled from the violent light. It was like a close friend or family member had betrayed him when light caused him pain. He was of the purest light in reality; some pissy backwater world’s sun should not make him whimper!
...not that he whimpered. It was more of a manly mumble. Later he would admit his internal cursing had more to do with his personal misery than the quality of Celestia’s rather fine sun.
Applejack chuckled from where she stood in the doorway. Light streamed around her into the dark barn, illuminating the three downed stallions and eliciting pain from all of them. She smirked at Paladin as he tried to shield himself from the morning sun with his wings. Reaching for the buckets she had left next to the door Applejack lifted one.
“Rise an’ shine boys.” Various mumbled complaints and refusals did nothing to deter Applejack’s smirk. “Ain’t in the mood? No problem, Ah got ya’ll a nice wakeup call right here.”
Paladin proved either his stubborn streak, bravery or a curiosity he refused to admit existed when he peeked through his wing. His eye widened in the instant he had to behold the wave of water flying towards him.
Her laughter filled the barn as a soaking pegasus glared at her. Water pooled around him as its icy cold touch broke the haze of his hangover. His skull still ached, his mouth was dry and his wings were sore for some reason that he couldn't remember right now.
“That,” he all but growled, “was uncalled for.”
Snickering, Applejack sauntered past him with a bucket for her brother. “Ah dunno, Ah think ya’ll are gonna wanna thank me. Didn’t Rarity say ya needed ta go back to her in the mornin’ so she could do another fittin’?” She drawled with a grin. “Got some breakfast in the kitchen for ya.”
He did indeed remember something vaguely like that. Wincing at the sun glaring into his eyes that felt like they had shrivelled in the night Paladin guessed the time. “I still have-”
Splash! “Sweet horseapples!” Caramel shrieked with high enough pitch that Rarity would be jealous at his decibel level.
“-at least two hours.” Paladin continued as though nothing had interrupted him.
Big Mac said nothing once he was woken to the world by his bucket of ice cold water. Instead he just stood and trudged from the barn, dripping the whole way. When he reached the house’s deck he collapsed and let the sun begin to dry him.
Following Applejack out Paladin seemed to be recovering fastest, in that he wasn’t whimpering constantly like Caramel and he was still conscious unlike the now snoring Big Mac. That wasn’t to say he was in a particularly good state himself, but comparatively he was well off.
Before he could enter the house where the scent of food wafted a towel was thrust at him.
“Don’t go drippin’ inta the house, landsakes.” Applejack scolded him as though she hadn’t been the one who drenched him in the first place. “Dry up, eat an’ get yerself over ta town. Ah don’t want Rarity on my back ‘bout her schedule gettin’ messed with. Can’t believe ya’ll got drunk.” She grumbled as Paladin dried himself slowly. “They told ya whatcha needed ta know at least, right?”
After a few seconds of slow, pained thought he nodded. “I...I think so.” Rubbing his forehead Paladin just walked into the house and went to the kitchen.
Stumbling into the kitchen Paladin slumped next to the table which was laden was food. Only the warm, delicious scent of the bounty before him kept Paladin from withdrawing from the world into his own thoughts. He reached up to slowly take a piece of toast already slathered with butter. Each bite caused a wince as the crunch echoed up painfully into his brain. But he soldiered on eating the most painful breakfast of his life. It was the most important meal of the day after all.
There were a number of different foods on the table other than the pile of toast but since none of them were pancakes or waffles he ignored them. The toast pile was slowly but steadily demolished. A pleasing fullness and dulling of his hunger made the crunch induced pain bearable. Swallowing was not a pleasant or easy thing to do but a glass of juice – orange juice, thankfully, he wasn’t sure he wanted more apple based liquid – helped solve the dryness afflicting him.
Caramel joined him, having gone straight to the bathroom first when he felt like vomiting. Paladin nodded to Caramel as he straightened. The smaller earth pony just nodded dully back. While not as quiet as Big Mac after last night Caramel didn’t think he’d need to say anything. They both understood entirely the situation and that talking right now just meant more headaches.
Satisfied that Caramel knew he was grateful for helping to explain exactly what he had needed to know last night, and that they were to never speak of it again, Paladin left. Outside Applejack was sitting next to a barrel of water chuckling as her brother dunked his head into it. Pausing on his way out Paladin looked thoughtful for a moment before approaching them.
Mac lifted his head out of the cold water, sighing and rubbing the side of his skull. He managed a brief nod before Paladin’s head plunged in. When the pegasus emerged he croaked his gratitude to Macintosh and Applejack for his help and her breakfast.
“Tell Rarity Ah said hi an’ that there better not be any damn frills on my gala dress!” The farm pony hollered as he left. A wing-shrug told her he had heard.
Inspecting the current iteration of the suit on the display pony, Rarity frowned and habitually went to adjust her work glasses. It took her a few moments to realise she wasn’t actually wearing them. When this realisation came upon her Rarity felt her sight suddenly lose the focus her glasses normally provided her. Thinking back she remembered reaching for her glasses but a particular aspect of the incomplete outfit distracted her. She had just gotten so into it that she forgot and acted as though her glasses her on. Her eyes, it seemed, had been more than happy to go along with it.
“Still full of surprises.” She murmured to herself. She had experimented very little with her magical sight, especially compared to Rainbow Dash. The ability to teleport was really not something that mare needed. The benefits were becoming more obvious over time but she still felt a little bad about using it for anything less than vital. Her gift was something born from Paladin’s sacrifice of something she wasn’t sure she could really put a value to.
Paladin had been immortal. A being who had existed since the dawn of time and had watched countless eons pass. How many ponies would guard such a lifespan jealously? How many would hoard it and seek it regardless of the cost? Yet he had forsaken that to save their lives.
Unwilling her thoughts drifted to another matter. So far only Twilight seemed to share her other concern. If she was honest it was the real reason behind her argument with Paladin. She had needed time to figure things out, to think and decide. He had given up so much for them.
He had killed for them.
It took days for it to sink in. To most the Nightmare had just been a monster, a soulless, evil creature with no purpose. As far as she knew most of her friends had let their relief over the survival of their home be the focus of their thoughts. They had written off the Nightmare as not real, as a false thing made from parts of Luna but not really alive, not in a way that mattered. All it had wanted was destruction. All it wanted was power.
But it finally began to occur to her. Paladin had destroyed it. He had killed the Nightmare. She frowned as she made a few adjustments. It couldn’t be done until she had fitted it to Paladin perfectly of course but she would do what she could. The unicorn fought off a scowl, knowing she was just trying to distract herself.
Her trust in Paladin was still there but tinged with a certain cautiousness. He seemed too harsh compared to Equestria. Would he have k- destroyed Luna when she was first turned into Nightmare Moon? Did he believe redemption was possible? The time she had spent thinking about this was certainly not enough. He saved them but it still sat badly with her. She didn’t even know if he would understand her concerns.
That was a lie and she knew it even as she tried to rationalise it. Paladin had not made them party to his decision. He had done it alone and there was nothing they could have done to stop him. Ultimately it was his responsibility and by acting on his own he had spared them any of the guilt. Or at least most of the guilt. Rarity couldn’t help but feel she should have seen it coming, should have noticed some sign. She had magic eyes, didn’t she?
Taking a deep, calming breath Rarity reminded herself that a little bit of magic in your eyes didn’t make you special. Well, it did, but it didn’t mean you were infallible. Her sight was amazing now but she could not risk letting that make her lazy. She had to be aware on her own.
A knock at the store’s door distracted Rarity from her work and she absently opened it with a twitch of her will. Paladin, his fur coat carrying all the signs of a pony who had not slept in a proper bed the night before, stood and stared inside for a few seconds before his brain jogged back to life.
“Good morning, Sir Paladin.” Rarity greeted with a smile concealing the conflict she felt. “I trust you learnt everything you needed to last night?”
Stepping into the boutique he almost seemed to twitch. “Yes.” He said, eyes unfocused and blood-shot. “I did.”
A single sniff was all it took to discover a bucket of water and a head dunking were not enough to quite get rid of all scents. Her muzzle scrunched at the smell she was getting off him and Rarity eyed the stallion critically.
“Is that alcohol I smell?” She asked sharply.
It took the pegasus a second to answer. The walk had been good for his head but not quite good enough it seemed. “I don’t know.” He answered blandly. “I’m not sure my nose is working anymore. Or maybe my head is just, ngh, distracting me.”
Rarity just cocked an eyebrow at him for a moment, hiding her smile of amusement. Instead she left the suit to help him in. “Hmm, yes, I believe that answers that. Perhaps you should freshen up a tad dear? The bathroom’s shower should have enough space for you. The orange bottle has stallion’s shampoo and body wash.” The alabaster unicorn gently guided the former angel to her bathroom. He stepped in but stopped the door from closing with a hoof.
Fixing Rarity with a bleary, hung-over stare he eventually asked something. “Why?”
“Because you smell like you have been bathing in alcohol and apples darling, and I shan’t have that scent stain your suit.” She answered quickly, nudging his hoof off the door frame.
His frown said that wasn’t quite what he meant. “Why,” Paladin asked again, “do you have male shampoo?” Paladin asked the question as though he were suspicious of something.
“Normally I keep it for the rare occasions that Rainbow Dash ‘lands’ nearby and simply needs to be cleaned before she goes gallivanting off again.” Rarity told him, the misty aura of her magic gripping the door knob. “Now you just have a shower and get yourself sorted darling, I shall be awaiting you out here.”
‘I do hope Fluttershy doesn’t choose to pop around for a visit while he’s in there.’ Rarity thought as she busied herself with make-work. ‘Although, her cheeks would probably go that lovely shade of red...’
Laughing quietly to herself Rarity smiled softly. She had most certainly not missed a number of little signs from her friends, oh no she had not! Caught up in her musings she almost didn’t notice the sound of the shower starting.
Presumably Paladin had good cause to be in the dishevelled state on his arrival. Rarity was willing to hazard a guess that Applejack had been correct. Her friend had visited her the day before while bringing a message to Caramel. The farmer had made no bones about her suspicion that her brother was intending to break out some of his coveted hard cider. Apparently explaining how his body worked to Paladin sober was not something Macintosh intended to do.
Or perhaps he was just taking an opportunity to see if Paladin could match him. On the very rare occasions he went drinking Ponyville had learned that Big Macintosh Apple could drain anything short of his own cider without any sign of giving in to the liquor, although fortunately he usually only partook on a single day of the year. Rarity could still remember the commotion when Berry Punch challenged him. The next morning the quiet stallion had promised not to agree to any more contests since the doctor wasn’t sure Berry Punch could survive another bout of alcohol poisoning.
Eventually the sound of the shower cut off. Rarity looked up a few minutes later when Paladin emerged, his dark coat dry and his wings shining in their cleanliness. She leaned slightly so she could see into the bathroom before he closed the door shut with his tail as he stepped out. Unlike a certain brash pegasus who would go unnamed he hadn’t just shaken himself dry like a dog.
She smirked slightly at the memory of the dress she had forced that certain pegasus to model for her to make up for the mess. She may have delayed finishing her work on it just to prolong the experience. Making Rainbow Dash squirm in embarrassment was a rare but enjoyable delight.
“I do hope you feel better.” Rarity said brightly. She ushered him towards the work room. The smell of cider was mercifully gone.
Paladin nodded, stretching his neck slightly as though it was sore. “Yes, thank you for the use of your bathroom. I’m still surprised by just how refreshing hot water can be. I apologise for my state. I was not aware of the secondary effects of alcohol.” He spoke softly but shook his head as added; “It is no excuse.”
Guiding him to the stand Rarity began to levitate the suit over. “No need to apologise dear, I understand. It might be fortuitous. How dreadful if you had not learned and partook at the Grand Galloping Gala? I can hardly imagine the mess that could result. Move your wings a tad that way please darling.” She gently eased his wings and inspected the stitching.
He nodded but the stiffness was returning to his posture. “Perhaps. I still would have preferred to have known before.”
“Macintosh likely assumed you knew. Or just didn’t think of it.” Rarity suggested. “Everypony misses things. Sometimes something just will not occur to you until too late. I know what that feels like. Oh, the outfits I could have made even better if I had an idea earlier!”
Conversation slowly died out, Rarity focused on her work and Paladin content to let her do so. Her worries and concerns were buried beneath the thoughts of his suit and Rarity refused to let them surface again.
“Nearly done.” Rarity said eventually. She stepped back to admire her work. “The mares will be falling over at the sight of you at the Gala.” ‘I know that one mare will.’ She thought, forcing herself not to smile too widely. It was truly a fine work, the design based vaguely on a militaristic dress uniform, much like the one she had seen Shining Armour wear but much more spartan and with colours more suitable for Paladin’s unique colouring. Paladin was more than formidable in appearance, enough so that adding much was really unneeded. It would merely detract from his presence. “Oh, I cannot wait to see their reactions and we have just under a week until the Gala!”
Paladin finally smiled, amused by the sheer glee of the unicorn in front of him. The event meant little to him but his friends clearly cared a great deal about having it go with a bit less destruction. Chuckling he glanced at the mirror, admitting to himself Rarity had done a fine job.
***
Whistling under his breath Cryptic Word happily trotted through the blizzard. His thick coat flapped in the harsh wind but he acted as though he was out on a sunny Canterlot summer walk. The heavy winter gear nearly obscured his light blue coat, but his horn’s glow provided enough light in the whiteout for his companions to see him.
The larger of the two was busy grumbling under his breath, a constant activity he had been involved since leaving Canterlot. His wings were cramping under his own winter gear, and for all the protective spells woven into them none of the royal mages had a way to keep his wings comfortable. Iron Wing would have traded his clothing, enchanted to nearly the strength of plate armour, for something that kept his wings from cramping. Guarding some egghead on a trip to the north was not his idea of a special assignment and Iron Wing wondered for the umpteenth time if he had offended Captain Bulwark or Captain Shining Armour somehow.
“Nearly there!” Cryptic spoke up with his relentlessly cheerful smile, shouting over the wind. His horn’s white glow pulsed in agreement. Excitement filled his wide eyes as they got closer with every step. “I can’t believe some has formed already! Oh, this is so exciting.”
The third pony glared daggers into the back of his head. While Iron Wing was content with grumbling under his breath this pony made no bones about her dissatisfaction with their situation.
“This is a waste of time and money.” She snarled. Her horn also glowed, its gold glow lighting up her brown coat and strands of her blonde mane that were hanging free of her hood.
Cryptic showed no sign of having his optimism dulled by either of his companions. He just smiled and opened his mouth to reply; “Come on now Gold Hollow, surely-” when a flash of light pierced the blizzard. All three looked towards the glow, their eyes wide. Iron Wing stepped between his charges and the glow, his annoyance gone in the face of a possible threat.
The glow faded but they kept on looking towards it source. After a few minutes with no sign of anything else Cryptic shook his head. “How strange. Ah well, we have ore to find!” He set off back towards the direction his spell was taking them. Gold Hollow followed him with a quiet curse on her lips.
Iron Wing took longer. Despite the magic protecting him from the bitter chill a shiver ran down his spine. Something had just happened and he couldn’t help but feel it was important. But his charges were already getting too far away and he had to hurry to catch up before they were lost to the blizzard’s white screen. Trying his best to ignore the shiver he turned and galloping after the unicorns.
An icy blue shape, its form indistinct like mist, holding shape for a moment in spite of the blizzard’s cutting wind. Wings of steel and fire stretched before the form faded away, but its mark had been left. A shudder shook the snow and from below once slumping eyes stirred slowly into wakefulness. A touch of ancient anger, fury that had seen war unending, was spreading through them slowly.
The herd began to wake and after centuries of hibernation their hunger had grown vast.
***
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dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Bonbon_gaze.png
FIRST?????????????????
Windigos?
2377914
0:00 to 0:03
I just sent a PM to my friend who is an officer of this site.
Typing 'First' is seen as spam.
Hes going to ban you.
And he totally can.
And there's nothing you can do about it.
Woo, update! I'm glad that you skipped the talk I certainly didn't want to hear the pony version of the Birds and the Bees, as amusing as it would have been once put through a drunken cipher.
Keeping the actual description of Paladin's ensemble a secret until the Gala, eh? I guess that will make the dramatic reveal all the more sweeter.
Also, Ardleon (that was his name, right?) has arrived (
), and woken something up (
).
Ooh, windigos.
And just 2 hours ago I was thinking how cool it would be if this story get updated soon :D
This is one of the few crossovers I've seen that is incredibly inventive in its methods and plot. Kudos!
Looking forward to reading more, especially the slice of life side stories.
» Mike
This chapter was great, although I did notice a few little bugs.
I guess Carmel really gets around.
Alternatively, this casts that "royal commission" in a very different light.
You seem to have added a letter to the end of Big Mac's name here.
It looks like you changed your wording and forgot to delete the word "are" here. I also just noticed that you are using the British spelling for color because Firefox claims it is misspelled in the quote, although that is not a typo.
As for the chapter, it was a bit slow as a bridge between the sections of the plot, but everything around the talk and Paladin getting drunk was hilarious so it was still entertaining despite being largely static.
2377940
eeyup.
Squeee!
I'm so glad to finally see this update again, your portrayal of Paladin is one of the most in depth characters I've seen on this site. I must say that I am looking forward to what the Mane 6's reaction is going to be once it finally sinks in what Paladin did to the Knightmare. As for the Gala plot.....I have a feeling I'm going to have a cuteness induced stroke once I see Fluttershy's reaction to Paladin. 
Below you will find some typos I came across:
*the first true chapter of Act III, chapter 19 - the first true chapter of Act II, chapter 19
*his disdain for such thing as - his disdain for such a thing as
*Despite what was likely thoroughly she managed - Not sure what you want here, but it seems cut off
*history, but together we can quite helpful - history, but together we can be quite helpful
*important area to yet, I suspect - important area to you yet, I suspect
*best maker of horses you could - best maker of horse shoes you could (Not sure if horse shoes is a good term here as they're ponys, but I honestly don't know what else to call them either)
*for some reason but he couldn't remember - for some reason that he couldn't remember
*Big Mach said nothing once he was woken - Big Mac said nothing once he was woken
*Dry up, eat an’ yerself over ta - Dry up, eat, an’ head yerself over ta
*quiet as Big Mac after last night - quiet as Big Mac, after last night
*acted as thought her glasses her on - acted as though her glasses were on
*Rarity couldn’t felt but feel - Rarity couldn't help but feel
*his dark coat cry and his wings shining - his dark coat dry and his wings shining
*with colours are more suitable for - with colours more suitable for
*can’t believe some has formed already - can’t believe some have formed already
*form faded away but its mark had - form faded away, but its mark had
*Lastly, your chapter count and update list on your bio page is outdated. It still says chapter 16 for "Justice Itself"
Ahaha that was a fun chapter to read! Glad to see more from you!
When I read those last few lines my thoughts immediately jumped to Game of Thrones, then I remembered this is a fanfic about colorful, magical ponies and so I banished the thought.
Ah, so it would seem some unlucky fellow has woken up the windigoes in the arctic north? At first I had thought those explorers would run into that other Angel that has come looking for Paladin.
As for Paladin and beer... It would seem he's too pally for his drink.
2377972 There's not much to say, you got most of it there. I think its better to leave the way Paladin was told to your imaginations. No matter what I write, I can't make what your own imagination can come up with.
2377940 *cough* No comment.
2377997 Clearly you're psychic. There's NO OTHER LOGICAL EXPLANATION!
2378052 Thank you for saying so, I've always enjoyed crossovers with that very properity, combining facets of two setting and coming up with new things that, hopefully, make sense and feel like the (or 'a') right way of putting them together.
2378249 Thank you for the corrections, although the one about 'some has formed already' is correct in this context. Thank you for the comment as well, its nice to hear I've managed to get him in-depths enough to be appreciated. And I shall get aorund to fixing my profile's status thing, completely forgot about it.
2378094 Yeah, unfortunately I just needed to get things set up and just resolve some stuff. It was mostly static but amusing static. I feel that my favourite scene in the story, which is in the next chapter, more than makes up for it. Chapter 20 is also about oh, half done? It might end up being rather big so maybe a third. Its got a lot happening in it.
She had sent him away in a huff when Paladin failed to extol his disdain for such a thing as she described in a tactful fashion.
I don't think extol is the right word here. Extol is to praise/lavish. Unless you mean to say he expressed his disdain in a lavish fashion, which is a kinda awkward way of saying it. and is "in a tactful fashion" relating to how rarity described fashion or how paladin extolled his disdain?
this sentence is just really odd.
Despite what was likely thoroughly she managed to detect
I think there's a word missing here.
I’m sure he and Macintosh would be very good friends if he got a little less aloft.”
I think "aloof" is the word you're looking for.
“Tell Rarity Ah said hi an’ that there better not be any damn frills on my gala dress!” The farm pony hollered as he left. A wing-shrug told her he had heard.
Inspecting the current iteration of the suit on the display pony, Rarity
you seem to be missing a scene break here
She had just gotten so into it that she forgot and acted as though her glasses her on.
were
Oh boy, windigoes have awoken? can't wait for the next chapter!
2378563 Oh I know, the bridging chapter was very much needed to give time to refocus and set things up for the next arc, and for what it was you did a very good job. It just did not leave much to comment about, but I could not let that typo with Caramel go without making a joke so I felt like I was sort of obligated to give a comment on the actual chapter.
Hmmm, so an angel that's really pissed off arrives and basically feeds the Windigos back into activity.
I like this turn of events. Very much.
Especially since so few stories ever deal with Windigos, despite them being, canonically, one of Equestria's only historical enemies.
Can't wait!
2378435 well played...well played
2379456 Meh, if you don't like that part of the story you're not going to like the rest. At least you gave the story a go and didn't just not bother seeing what its like.
2380686 You mean despite them being canonically awesome.
I'm guessing you are worrying about other stories and your personal life to continue this at the moment?
This was a fun read I laughed quite a bit.
I wonder how he will use his new found knowledge of alchohol and sex?
2378094
Nonsense, it was always Big Mach, the fastest earth pony ever.
2379456
-sees complaining about loss of powers, stops reading this stupid post in disgust-
What, you want Tyrael to arrive in full power in Equestria? There's a reason that the Princesses are so often de-powered, kept busy, or one-off randomly outmatched by plot armor.
Because a character is TOO POWERFUL for a continuity to contain them. There would be no plot, no contention. The same can be said of Tyrael. If all of his experience, wisdom, and power could be brought to bear whenever he so wished it - he could but BLINK and end the troubles of the world. Then just fly the fuck back to Sanctuary. Story done in one chapter. Nothing interesting, just some teenaged punk who enjoys playing games with godmode cheats on raving about how good it is. (That's you, by the way.) Yes, let's see your red and black alicorn OC, hm?
Seriously, people who can't understand this basic fact have no business even considering themselves part of a fanfiction community, or a community of roleplayers. There HAVE to be limits for there to be a story worth reading. A character must be able to be identified with in even the slightest and smallest fashion or there can be no immersion. I could spin twenty thousand word chapters about a creature so alien and incomprehensible that I can only see it in my mind's eye and that transcribing it would be lessening the experience with the sorry limitation of languages - and it would be meaningless to you because you. Could. Not. Grasp. It.
That would be a fully-powered Tyrael. Completely alien, totally different from your mental concept in every way if we were to truly explore a being of pure divinity and little else - only able to phrase things in metaphors relating to mortal issues in an attempt to connect you to him. But no, your kind doesn't even understand that much, just complains that there's not "Hero cutting a swath through a whole planet and is untouchable and I think I'll imagine myself as him." for whatever pointless and self-aggrandizing reason. Absolutely sickening, you have provided what is frankly a completely void reason for disliking this story. If you had said the premise just wasn't what you were looking for, I might have spared you.
Instead, it's -just- that he gave up his powers? The number of people I see just like you is horrifying - and the reason that the differing levels of elitists still exist. No one wants to be identified as "that kid who complains there isn't enough godmode fiction/roleplay" in any textually-based community.
Try sitting back, thinking up a real reason as to why you can't find -anything- to enjoy in this story, and trying again. It's not even up to my normal level of high standards as far as fics of this nature go, but if you kept reading you'd find a very good crossover that has fun-to-read concepts in a format that is easy to absorb and mentally visualize even with the least amount of imagination and creativity. It is a good story, dismissing it out of hand is a failure on your part.
SO AWESOME!
2379456 while I must disagree with the bad story, I was slightly annoyed that he did have to give away his powers...
2383117 I started off this comment; Hey, this is great! Totally explaining why having his full power would be bad. My opinion slowly grew greater over the course of the comment until right near the end. But I'll take comfort in the 'high standards' part, because I know its not hugely great, just reasonably good or alright. Although I would try to avoid using phrases such as "your kind" and the like because it sounds rather elitist itself, even if you don't mean it that way.
Still, overall, it's not even up to my normal level of high standards as far as comments of this nature go, but if you kept reading you'd find a very good comment with a lot of well thought out, well-written points.
Heh, just taking the piss, couldn't resist. Seriously though, it was wonderful to read your comment. I've decided comments mapu's are best with either a polite response or none, since such people have usually made up their minds already.
You also said the story was good, so I have to be favourable of your comment, don't I? Glad I can thumbs up comments now.
awesome chapter
2383117 I feel much the same way, who wants to read a story about Tyrael god-modding his way through Equestria?
2383356
I feel there are some times that being referred to as an elitist is actually a compliment, when compared to someone who is being extremely block-headed for no good reason. Unfortunately, as you might have divined from my post - I deal with a LOT of blockheads on a daily basis, and they're so far removed from decent people that just being a normal roleplayer or fanfiction-enthusiast makes it seem as if you're something special in comparison, like two entirely different species. So, try to pardon the obvious stab of the "your kind" there. Not trying to be a prick, but I've not enough patience and kindness to spare in mollycoddling for the dense, which I hope is understandable.
That said, I stand by all my points. Not making my Top 5, which includes the likes of The Immortal Game and Background Pony, but this has possibly been the most fun crossover in reading experience that I've read in pony yet. Given that I should have nearly eight million words read or more on FIMFIC by now (wish they still tracked that), I hope you can take that as decent praise.
2383459
Exactly, there'd be no fun involved at all. Just "And suddenly Changelings! BILLIONS OF THEM!" Tyrael somehow gets El'Druin back or forges one out of nothing, and dives into the mass and out the other side, instantly winning and turning everything into a pile of bug guts. Copy-paste that six times and there's the Tyrael Godmode story that people like the other guy would probably bust a nut over.
Oh man this is a cool story. Scratches in all the right places, if you will.
Not only is this a good story, I think it could also be canonical. Think about it: no mention of Tyrael is made between D2 and D3. He suddenly disappears, and is not heard of again until he falls from heaven after defending humans against Imperius and the council. According to the wiki, Tyrael didn't come back in his physical form for many years, which would be explainable by him being in another... world? in the intervening time. It would also partially explain his defense of humans and why he was willing to become mortal after his fight with Imperius, he had already been mortal and this was nothing new to him.
Anyway, amazing story. I hope for more as soon as physically possible.
2389021 Best to just ignore the troll, hasn't come back since those spate of comments. Although thanks for jumping to the defence.
Is it Barricade or Bulwark? I am only wondering since this is the second time (first time was in chapter 15) that you used the name Barricade after your note stating the change to Bulwark in chapter 13. I could have missed you mentioning that you are going to keep her name Barricade but not being consistent in a story bothers me slightly.
2403920 Its just missing that use of the name when I went through changing it is all. Thank you for pointing out those occasions where I missed it, I'll fix those.
2410306 I love how your sensible and logical answer basically boils down to: magic! Hehe. But yeah, that does make sense, in context at least. Good thoughts.
2410306 THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE! I remember another theory that their hooves are like suction cups.
2377899 This clip is disturbing in more than one way
Heh heh, "reward".
So people know, don't do this. It won't sober anyone and has a chance of giving them hypothermia due to their body-heat being sent to the skin and extremities, leaving their core (e.g. organs) highly susceptible to cold. This is, in fact, why rescue dogs in cold environments stopped carrying alcohol when it was found that it only made people feel warm, but caused them to die of hypothermia.
This is from a search and rescue training course I attended when I was like, thirteen.
Rarity, he already said that he still wonders whether there was any good in here to redeem. If he had met Luna while she was still possessed, he would have freed her and attempted to save Nightmare, too.
He killed something that wasn't even alive. Nightmare was merely a fragment. She did not even have a mind of her own, merely a broken record running through the same thing over and over. Like a program function stuck in an infinite loop. Even if Nightmare was alive, it wouldn't matter. You ponies are too merciful not strictly because it is in your nature, but because you shy away from killing. I blame this on you being a prey species, so killing is associated with being hunted down by a force from outside the herd.
I wonder just what it was that made that clump of dirt so much dirtier than the rest...
...I suppose it's her angel sight acting up, or something...
modvive.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/3cd8a33a.png
I really have started to dislike this fanfic. It has grown more and more, especially since he lost his angelic powers. This is no longer a Tyrael fanfic. I understand you want to make your own story and such, but this is starting to feel like "mane 6 using angelic powers to spot damages under apple skin" rather than anything actually about Tyrael. In fact, Paladin almost feel like a side character at this point.
I do not know quite how to put it, but it just kinda feels like heresy. They're not even asking questions weather they can actually give back their gifted powers. I especially hate Rainbow. "Oh yeah, I know you gave me your literal life force and damned millions of souls, but I'm awesome. So there's that." I cannot stand it.
You should include a thing in your description "This story will completely neuter Tyrael and nothing from Diablo will be mentioned except for the odd story." Sorry, I cannot continue reading this.