Fallout Equestria: The Wake of Discord

The reaction to Twisted's comment was immediate. Plank drew his gun, Summer Breeze stepped behind Plank with Lilly grove, and Blitz continued to lay where he was. The priestess, however, did not flinch. Actually, she was busy placing tallys on an internal counter, regarding their reaction. In short, this was far to commonplace to her. Guns were drawn, people were scared, oh no it's an insane cultist! It bored the mare, but she didn't do anything about it. Merely stood there.

"What do you mean the wake of Discord!" Was the typical response. That was the same response she was given. It was like she was the anti-princess when she said she mentioned Discord. "What do you mean, the Wake of Discord?" Plank asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I mean exactly that. The Wake of Discord. The element of chaos the bleeds into our world and makes life the way it is," Twisted stated calmly.

"That would be the Princesses, you mean?" Summer stated matter-of-factly.

Twisted started laughing. "The Guardians dictating the world! My, you must believe they are the most OCD, manipulative, and cruellest beings to have ever existed!" She said. Her laughter was light and jovial, which caught the two ponies off guard.

"No, the Princesses are... They're..." Plank started, before Twisted cut him off.

"Do you think, the princesses dictate each and every breeze? Every ripple in an ocean? The position of every star in the night sky? What colour you yourself will be upon your birth and what cutie mark will adorn your flank? Do you think they decide every person who lives, dies, lives a life of mundane nothingness or excessive grandeur?" Twisted asked, taking a couple slow steps. "Do you think the princesses, bother themselves with every little thing in this world?"

"Well... No... When you put it like that, I suppose that would be excessive..." Plank said, lowering the rifle.

"Exactly. That would be excessive. Instead, they merely act as something of a dam, to stop the wake of chaos that would send our world into a calamity that none would ever be able to live in. They cannot stop it all, and so the wake bleeds through. That, is, in truth, what dictates this world. The wake that Discord makes as he travels is what causes events in our world. They supply enough consistency for us to function, but without Discord we would be lost." Twisted stated finally, but she knew she didn't convince them.

"Regardless. I helped you, twice. If I wanted you dead, your rifle would give you a chance, but you would likely be dead already. My beliefs, do not change my actions, and I would appreciate you consider that before you make any brash decisions," Twisted finished carefully.

Plank and Summer looked at each other, then Plank frowned, holstering his rifle. "I seem to be apologizing quite often today Miss. I guess you're right, and while I can't say I agree with you, I can respect that you helped us, and you have your own beliefs. If those beliefs are what pushed you into helping us, then they can't be all bad, can they?"

"Well, I would have killed the cultists regardless. It was the child screaming that spurred me into action," Twisted said, readjusting her armour.

"Uhm... Cultists?" Summer asked, tilting her head.

"The... Ponies outside?" Twisted asked, arching a brow.

"Oh! You mean raiders! Never heard them called cultists, before, but If that's what you call them from where you are from," Plank said with a shrug, going over to help with Blitz. "Hey, Miss Visions. Uhm, I would hate to over-reach the boundaries of your generosity, but would you be able to help us with getting back to our town? It's not exactly the safest trip, and I'm going to be tied down with Blitz here," He asked, nodding to the large, brown pony.

"I could use a civilized place to stay a night or two, so I see no harm in escorting you. Here," She said, pulling a length of rope out of her saddlebags and tying it into a harness. Then, she found an old door, laying it down next to Blitz. "Here. Tie the rope to the door, place him on it, and you can drag him easier. This will also let us switch out without having to actually move him," The tall mare explained, using her magic to assist Plank in getting Blitz onto the door.

"It's only about an hour or so from here. Shouldn't take us very long at all," Plank smiled at the maroon mare, before heading off.

The walk had turned into a little more than an hour, but Blitz had been slowing them down. Plank, to Twisted, seemed to be a proud stallion, not wanting her help. She couldn't blame him. She had gotten the feeling that this was his family, and he was just avoiding actually telling her that. She had already intervened on his pride too much, pulling him out of a tough situation, and he was likely trying to regain some of that. It wasn't until she heard a young voice at her side, that she was pulled out of her sentry duty fueled thoughts.

"Excuse me, Miss Visions?" Lily Grove asked, having caught up to Twisted and started jogging along beside her. Her short legs trying to keep up with the long gait of the holy mare.

"Yes, Lily?" Twisted asked, stopping to give the filly a break.

"Are you a paladin?" The filly asked, tilting her head. The question caught Twisted by surprise.

"Oh? Am I a paladin? Tell me, Lily, What are paladins?" She asked, interest in her voice. She knew what a paladin was, but this was a child. You changed the rules with children.

"Paladins are warriors of the princesses! They wear armour, carry swords, and kill bad people to protect the innocent!" Lily smiled, jumping up and down in her excitement at telling Twisted what they were.

Twisted laughed, the sound jovial. "Well my little pony, I would not say I am a warrior of the princesses, but I am a warrior of faith, and that faith is what helps guide me," Twisted explained, waving her head to get the filly to follow as she started walking. "Tell me though, how do you know about paladins?"

The filly followed along, hurried pace making her legs scramble. "Oh! Stories! I do love stories about paladins, and adventure! Saving ponies, fighting evil dragons and monsters. Sword fighting and magic flinging and so much... Adventure!" She shouted, her voice squeaking loudly, bringing another smile to Twisteds face.

"You enjoy stories do you? Do you read?" Twisted asked, trying to slow down her pace without walking awkwardly so the filly could keep up easier.

"No, but my grandpa can! He reads me stories, or tells me stories that he remembers being told when he was a colt. He told me paladins didn't exist! I can't wait to show him a real life one!" Lily exclaimed, running around Twisted quickly, taking her in. "You are so tall! Like the Princesses of old! How did you grow to be so tall?"

That was a good question. "You know, I don't really know. My mother and father weren't particularly tall. I just grew up, but, I was once a very tiny filly like you. With about half the energy you seem to have," Twisted chuckled as the filly ran circles around her.

"So do you mean I can grow up to be as tall as you!" Lily asked, stopping in shock. "Do you think I could be an amazing paladin? Could I really!" Lily asked, hopping up and down on the spot.

Twisted looked down, stopping as the filly did. She liked children, particularly ones like Lily. Unafraid of people, or to speak their mind. "While your height is in the hands of the Wake, my little pony, your actions are your own to make. You decide what fate you wish to persue. It may be hard, and the world will at times seem to want nothing more than to see you fail, if you want to become a paladin, then you need to have the strength to tell the world that your destiny is to become one. Do you understand?"

The filly nodded. "Can I see your sword?!" She asked, typical of a child. The way thoughts and idea's flowed in their minds truely was, beyond nothing else, in Twisteds mind, the most beautiful manifestation of the Wake she could consider. The longer she spoke to Lily, the smile on her face only grew. Contagious, children were.

"While I would think my sword a touch heavy for you, I may have something better suited for you," Twisted said, going into her saddle bag and pulling out a decorative knife. It was small, a little work could make it sharp, but even Twisted knew it was just a very nice decorative peice. There were better weapons out there for sure, but this was a child, and the child didn't need a weapon. She needed inspiration.

So, Twisted kneeled down, holding the knife in her magic. "Lily, before I give you this, I need you to answer a question for me," She said, her tone taking a more serious edge. "If I give you this, you need to promise me, you will only ever draw it when the life of someone who is innocent, or yourself, is in danger. You will take care of it, and you will strive to be the best pony you can be. Can you promise me that?"

The filly was calm, for the first time since they had started talking, looking at the decorative dagger that was being offered to her. The words slowly sank into her head, and after a few very long moments, Lily nodded. "I promise Miss Visions. I'll be the best pony Equestria has ever seen."

"Good. Maybe, if we have time, I will show you how to use it. Only if you're the best Filly Equestria has ever seen for the remainder of our trip," Twisted said, getting up. "Now, I've kept you from your mother for far too long. You should go tell her about your new blade, but remember what I said. Do not draw it," Twisted said, ushering the Filly to run to her mother, which she did. The mare watched as the girl ran, then laughed. "Paladin of Discord... An entertaining title to be sure," She sighed, before going back to scanning the horizon for anything strange.

It wasn't long after Twisted and Lily spoke, that they had made it back to the the settlement previously mentioned. Twisted looked about, and felt it was rather quaint. Not well built, but she could see there was clearly some effort and thought up into the settlement. It was all built around what appeared to be a school building. There was a town not far off, which Twisted personally would have used, but the ability to have land to farm made the spot ideal in the sense of resources. Their return brought a crowd out, most speculating on the mare in the shiny armour.

The whispers of the rumour mill filled the air, but Twisted was used to such things. She was particularly regal, compaired to the industrialism of the groups of soldiers, such as the Steel Rangers or the NPR, or the Savagry of the Raiders. She carried herself, quite literally, like a knight, and while her posture was strong, her smile still shone. It wasn't until a very old pony walked up to her, that she was directly spoken too.

"And who might you do, young lady?" He asked, voice aged well. He was a light purple unicorn, with a dark blue mane, with just a hint of grey going through it. He himself had been aged well.

"Grandpa! She's a paladin!" The excited voice of Lily shouted from behind the tall mare, making twisted sigh in amusment.

"Yes, I suppose that would be a good thing to call me, I suppose. A warrior with a holy mission," She confirmed.

"Hmm, I thought your kind died out quite some time ago," The old stallion said, looking Twisted over. He stopped at the pendant around her neck. The wings of discord around a sword. "Strange... I know that symbol from somewhere..." He said, narrowing his eyes.

This revelation took Twisted by surprise. Someone who knew her pendant? "That is perculiar indeed. My order has not been in Equestria in some time, though we are making our way to help how we can," Twisted said simply.

"I will have to see if I still have the book somewhere, but I will be honest. I recall having mixed feelings about it. Perhaps you may be able to shed some light on it, where I have lacked information," The old pony, explained, but Twisted noticed a slight change in the ponies around them. A touch more concerned. This man, was quite clearly the one they all looked to for guidance.

"Well, then, I would be more than happy to help you shed light on your concerns. If it helps, I have no intentions of causing you or your people harm," Twisted responded, before Lily ran up to the stallion.

"She said I could be a paladin! Like her! She saved us from raiders with her sword!" Lily exclaimed, showing off her knife. Twisted was glad to see she did not pull it out of the sheath. "She was all like hooah! Yah! Hey-yah!" The filly continued, pretending to sword fight. "The cultists didn't stand a chance!"

Summer walked up, taking the knife away from Lily. "I told you not to go doing anything silly with it!" She scolded, to which Twisted frowned. The girl was a child, clearly prone to excitement. The priestess did not approve of the disaplinary action, but wasn't about to say anything.

"You should listen to your mother Lily," Twisted said softly. "Remember what I said about being the best filly," She added, catching a glare from Summer.

"She's my neice, first off, and second I wanted to talk to you about that. How da-" she started, before Plank jumped in.

"Woah now! Take a breath, this can all be settled when we aren't surrounded by everyone else. No need to air out our problems like this," The younger stallion said, standing between the two. Summer, anger clear on her face, while Twisted maintained her calm demeanor.

"Yes, Blitz seems to be in need of some care. Let's settle down, and we can bring this conversation somewhere a little more private. Shall we?" The older stallion said, waving off the crowd. "Nothing exciting to see here, I'm sure you'll all get a chance to meet the... Paladin... Should you wish it."

The crowd murmered and then wandered off gradually. Blitz was taken somewhere to heal, and the elder pony lead the group off to the school house. Twisted followed, but for the time being she wasn't quite paying attention to everything around her. What she was thinking about, was the slight wince Lily had made after Summer's comment. Something... Twisted did not like the feeling of.