The Hollow Vesselby JahbrazChaptersPrologueThe ArrivalFirst MeetingsPonyvilleCanterlot and suspicions about CadenceThe False QueenAftermathPrologueBlackness. That’s all Hornet could see. Thankfully, it began to edge out of her vision. Getting up, she quickly grabbed her needle. Looking around, she saw bits of Void goop seeping from everything in the Black Egg. Walking forward, she felt her foot brush against something. Looking to her right, she gasped. It was the shell of her half-sibling. Putting her hands to her mouth, tears welled in her eyes. Deep below, below the Forgotten Crossroads, below the Queen’s Station, below even the Ancient Basin, the shades and siblings of the Hollow Knight and her brother, the Knight, having already sensed the freeing of their adult sister, and the death of their brother, had gathered in the center of the mass of discarded shells for a funeral of sorts. Suddenly, one of them sensed a great ‘disturbance.’ It realised, it was time to go back home. Balling up, the shadowy inhabatant of the void phased through the ground, returning to its’ rightful place. Seeing their sibling do such a thing, the others looked at each other, before following their comrade-in-arms. Hornet, sobbing, fell to her knees. She’d lost the only sibling she’d really known. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Whirling around, she held her Needle to the throat of her supposed assailant, tears still streaming down her face, before gasping as she realized who she was dealing with. The Hollow Knight themself. Trembling, she lowered her Needle. But instead of hurting her, the great bug of the past hugged her. “Sister!” the Hollow Knight said. Shocked into speechlessness, Hornet shook her head, and said, “What! How!? Vessels aren’t allowed to speak! They can’t feel emotion! And how are you my sister!?” Immediately the Pure Vessel’s expression became grim. “I was never really ‘pure’ in the first place. Well, I was at birth, but the Pale King showed affection to me. I guess that’s what made me impure, since it allowed me to feel emotion. As for me being your sister, well, the Pale King is my father, too, you know!” Hornet was shocked. She hadn’t known that her ‘sister’ had been impure. Suddenly remembering little Ghost, she felt her eyes well with tears again. “What’s wrong?” Hollow Knight asked. “It’s another of your siblings. He’s..” Hornet began crying again. “Who was i...” the Impure Vessel began, before she came across the Knight’s broken shell. “Oh, brother....” she said. Looking up, Hornet asked, “He?” “Somehow this sibling of mine was pure enough to stop the Radiance. But he was never pure at birth. At first, when he was born, he’d performed excellently in the art of combat. But it was discovered that the little Vessel had a gender, and so he was deemed impure and cast into the Abyss. Somehow he managed to climb back up. I even ended up seeing him clinging to that one ledge leading out of the Abyss. He fell off, after a few seconds, before I left with Father. Ironically, he was the one to stop the Radiance and purge the Infection once and for all,” The Hollow Knight explained. “Then may he Rest In Peace,” Hornet sobbed. The Hollow Knight pulled her sister into a hug and comforted her as best as she could. Unbeknownst to them all, the Knight was very much alive. And he was heading to a new world, albeit not of his own will. Author's Note Basically, this is one of the endings of Hollow Knight. To help you understand what the Knight would be like. And, also, I changed it to show that Hornet cared for little Ghost. That she thought of him no longer as a ghost, or monster, but rather as family. The ArrivalIt remembered blackness. Then fighting its’ sister to free her from the Infection that had plagued Hallownest for so long. Then making a choice that led the Vessel to the source of Hallownest’s woes. The Radiance. The Knight had fought it, beat it in combat, before unleashing its’ shade, breaking its’ shell, while the Vessel’s sister, the Hollow Knight, restrained the creature. Lashing out with a shadowy arm, the Knight had scratched, slapped, and hit the former god until it’d split open, spilling the energy that powered the bug’s Dream Nail everywhere. Then it’d all gone black. It was a bright, sunny day in Ponyville. Everypony was going about their business, and the librarian of town, Twilight Sparkle, was hard at work organizing the books she’d put in the library she called home. Her ear pricked up as she began to hear a rumbling. “Now what could that be?” She wondered. Suddenly, Twilight cried out in pain as she felt a wave of magic unlike anything she’d seen before pass overhead. Groaning, she got up as Spike ran over, concerned for her health. “Twilight! Are you okay?” the little dragon questioned. “I’ll be okay, Spike, it’s just that, I felt a wave of magic pass above us. It was so powerful... What could it mean? Where did it go?” she asked. “I don’t know, should we g-“ Spike was cut off as Twilight’s friends burst inside. “Twi! Did you see that wave of magic pass overhead?” Rainbow shouted. “Yes, I did, and you don’t have to shout!” Twilight answered. Flustered, the rainbow-maned pegasus blushed and said, “Sorry. I guess I forgot.” Piping up, Fluttershy said, “I-i saw that wave of magic head over to the E-everfree Forest. I-it didn’t look like it went too far in, though.” “Twi, ah say we head in after it. Who knows what that coulda been,” Applejack suggested. “I was about to say the same thing,” Twilight replied. “Fluttershy dear, are you sure you saw that wave of magic enter the Everfree Forest? That place is dreadful, and I’d rather not go inside it and ruin my mane...” Rarity asked. “I’m sure...” the timid pegasus affirmed. “Alright then, let’s get going,” Twilight said. The six ponies, along with one young dragon, filed out the door, and headed towards the Everfree Forest. Awaken. ‘W-what?’ ‘Who are you?’ Little one, you are needed. You must get up! ‘Alright, I’m getting up...’ The little form that laid on the ground of the dark forest began to stir. It groaned, before pushing it self off the ground, albeit quite unsteadily, and inspected itself. ‘Good, I still have everything I got while on my journey through Hallownest.’ It then inspected its’ surroundings. ‘What in the name of the Pale King!? This looks a bit like Greenpath and the Fungal Wastes, but I’ve never seen plants like these. And what are these vines?’ Something else caught the Knight’s attention. ‘Oh, my... the SKY.... my goodness, this is starting to be too much to take in....’ Panic was beginning to set in. Hyperventilating slightly, the bug chastised itself for panicking like this. ‘Get ahold of yourself! You’re a Knight! You should be able to deal with this!’ Pulling itself together, the Knight began to explore its’ surroundings. Hearing a rustling noise behind it, the Vessel whirled around, Nail at the ready. Expecting to see a Mossy Vagabond, it was shocked to see a strange creature, unlike anything the Vessel had ever seen before. It didn’t even look like a bug! Stranger still, it seemed to be made of wood. Growling the... thing... leapt at it, forcing the Knight to leap backward to avoid the attack. ‘What ARE you!?’ Darting forward, the Vessel slashed at the creature with its’ Nail. The Knight breathed a sigh of relief when the Nail slashed through the wooden body, killing the feral beast instantly. ‘Wait...’ It’d BREATHED a SIGH of RELIEF. ‘I’m not supposed to be able to do that! I’m a Vessel! A Vessel isn’t allowed to speak! They can’t have feelings!’ Again hyperventilating, and too confused and scared to calm itself, the Knight dropped to its’ knees, panicking. “Oh, lord.... what’s happening to me?!” The Knight said, out loud. It froze. “I.. can talk....” “I can speak....” The Knight, already scared and exhausted, passed out from the strain. Author's Note Yes, I know the Knight would be more stoic and wouldn’t react like this. But remember, he’s got his emotion and his voice back. He’s also quite young. In fact, he’s still only a child! He remained silent and unfeeling throughout Hallownest because he didn’t have much emotion (in my version of Hollow Knight, he is slightly impure, so he can get scared sometimes). So now that he has emotion, he’s allowed to panic since he got the ability to panic. He also didn’t notice that he had gotten emotions until later because of the fact he was impure and had gotten scared or had panicked before. This takes place several days before the Canterlot Wedding. How will The Knight react to the changelings, since they are bugs like him, but extraordinarily different? First MeetingsOnce again awakening and getting on his feet, the Knight shook his head, still shell-shocked about what had happened. ‘First I can feel, now I can talk!’ “This is going to be a weird day...” the Knight said. Hearing voices behind him, he turned and listened, standing out in the open in case these were hostile creatures. “It’s this way, everypony!” Eyes widening as he realized that whoever these creatures were, they knew where he was, he pulled out his trusty Nail, which had been reforged into a Pure Nail. Shouting out a warning, he said, “Whoever you are, I would suggest you leave!” “And why would we do that, punk? Huh?!” Jumping into the air like an idiot, he whirled around only to see the the strangest thing he had ever seen here. It was a... flying creature, but its’ wings were flapping slower than the normal speed needed to fly, at least for a bug. “What.. are you?!” He asked, bewildered. “And just what are ya, huh?” It countered. Hearing rustling behind him, he whirled around to see five more of these.. things.. burst from the bushes. “Oh no ya don’t!” Dashing backwards, the Knight just barely manages to avoid the flying creature’s grab. “Stop! There’s no need for conflict!” He shouts. “Rainbow, stop! He’s right! He doesn’t mean to hurt us!” The purple one says. “But he whirled around like he was going to attack, Twilight! And how can you believe him! And how do you know it’s a him, anyways!?” The creature named ‘Rainbow’ shouted back. “Alright, Alright, break it up, all o’ you. Ya’ll need to calm down!” The one with a mask on her head said, The Knight watches while the one with a mask-hat drags Rainbow, by her tail, all while trying not to snicker. “Alright, now that no one’s trying to kill each other, who are you?” Twilight asks. “Just call me... The Knight.” He answered. “The Knight? Are you a royal guard?” Bewildered, the Knight responds with a no. “Well, then, let me introduce myself and my friends. I’m Twilight Sparkle, the pegasus over there who fought you is Rainbow Dash. The one with the Stetson is Applejack-“ Twilight is cut off as the last of the group introduce themselves. “Little one, I am Rarity. I must say, while that cloak looks horrible in that slate grey, and it looks to be in bad condition, I can fix you a new one,” The one with purple hair says. “I’m quite alright with my cloak. Thank you, anyway. I will allow you to fix it, though,” The Knight replies. “Dear, I must insist, your cloak is a crime on fashion!” Rarity begs. “Bugs don’t really care for fashion. Not when they had a job to get done.” He coldly replies. “Wait a minute... y-you’re a bug?” A voice says. Looking around, confused, the Knight jumps into the air, startled, upon seeing the timid yellow pegasus in front of him. “Eek!” “Wah!” Both parties fall on their backs, their limbs flailing. “Ow...” he groans. Immediately, the timid pegasus rushes over to him. “OhmyCelestia! Are you okay!? Oh you poor thing!” The pegasus asks, concerned for his safety. “I’m okay..” he groans. “I’m Fluttershy. May I check to see if there are any injuries? I-i mean, i-If that’s okay w-with you, I-I guess,” she questions, blushing. “Sure, I don’t mind,” he says, getting up. Examining the bug, Fluttershy gasp at the extent of the scars the little bug has. “Oh... my....” “What is it, Fluttershy?” Twilight asks. “He has so many scars... Oh MY! Is that dried blood!?” she screams. Immediately upon hearing this, Applejack and Rainbow Dash get into defensive stances, with Dash giving Twilight a look that said ‘I told you so.’ “Wait! Yes, that is dried blood, and yes, I have killed. But they were trying to kill ME. They were infected, and it was my job to purge that Infection. In fact, I just saved Hallownest, my home, from the Radiance, the source of the Infection,” he says, attempting to do damage control. At this, the ponies relax slightly, but Rainbow is still tensed up. “And how do we know you’re not lying?!” she says, suspicious. “Because Ah’m The Element of Honesty, Dash. I believe him. If he was lyin’, Ah’d know,” Applejack says. “Okay. But I’m keepin’ my eye on you, punk,” Rainbow says. “Noted,” The Knight says. Looking around, the Knight asks, “Where might the nearest settlement be? The last one I knew of back in Hallownest was Dirtmouth, the fading town...” “Right this way, Knighty!” “Ah! Who are you?” He asks, startled for the umpteenth time that day. “I’m Pinkie Pie! I need to throw you a welcome party!” The bubbly pony says. The Knight watches, bewildered, as Pinkie runs off to Ponyville to prepare the ‘welcome party.’ “Well, she certainly is hyperactive,” he quips. “You have no idea,” Twilight says. Author's Note So I finally broke the 800 word barrier. I hope to break the one-thousand word barrier, then the two-thousand word barrier. Alright, back to business! Here’s the meeting between The Knight and the Mane Six! PonyvilleNOTE - FROM NOW ON, EVERY CHAPTER WILL BE IN FIRST PERSON POV FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE KNIGHT, UNLESS THE PERSPECTIVE CHANGES TO A PONY. As we walked into the town Twilight called ‘Ponyville,’ I caught a number of stares being directed at me. I guess these ponies have never seen something like me before. Following Twilight, I saw a strange building. It was a tree, but the inside was hollowed out into what looked like a library. “I’m guessing this is your home, Twilight?” I asked. “Yes! I’m quite proud of how many books we have here, and I’ve made sure to organise every single one,” she answered. On the way here, Twilight had told me about herself and her friends, and I had gotten the feeling Twilight was one of those people who loved reading books and had a huge thirst for knowledge. Walking inside, I was met with a huge amount of books, and bookshelves. Staring, dumbfounded, I was startled by a hoof reaching onto my shoulder. “It’s a lot to take in, huh?” Twilight giggled. “Yeah, it’s just that... even though the Pale King’s library was undoubtedly a thousand times larger than this, this is still a lot of books,” I said, having pulled myself together. Cocking her head, Twilight asked, “Who’s the Pale King?” Sitting down on a nearby chair, I beckoned her to sit with me. “This is going to take a while to explain, you might want to get comfortable...” “So, this, ‘Infection,’ causes bugs to go mad, and also ended up being what destroyed your home?” “Yes.” “That’s horrible!” I had just finished explaining the history of Hallownest, my mission, and how everything had ended to Twilight. “I know,” I said. “If only we could’ve been there, perhaps we could have used the Elements of Harmony to save everypony...” she lamented. “Elements of Harmony? Something tells me it’s your turn to explain,” I joke. “And so, we’ve just sort of... been the heroes of Equestria, I guess,” she finished. I remain silent for a moment, before I speak up. “I’ve seen magic, but none as powerful as your world’s. I mean, I can expel spirit in the form of a fireball, and that’s magic, but I’ve seen you use what you call ‘levitation’ magic. Where I’m from, we don’t have that,” I say. Suddenly, a strange creature walks in. “Hey, Twilight! How’d your search for that thing go....” it asked. “The search went well, Spike, and we found somepony when we got there. Spike, meet Knighty!” Twilight said. “Knighty?” I asked. “Well, we can’t really introduce you as ‘The Knight,’ ponies might think you’re lying, or are being a snob,” she explained. Suddenly, Twilight’s eyes went wide. “What is it?” I ask, concerned. “I almost forgot! My brother’s wedding! Oh, I still need to pack everything and buy gifts! Oh, what am I going to do!?” She says, hyperventilating. “Hey, Twilight. It’ll be okay. I’ll help you pack. I’ll come along, too, as I still need to meet your princesses and see if they can find me a way back to Hallownest,” I say. “You’re sure?” She asks, shocked that I would do such a thing for her. “I’m sure. You’re my friend, after all,” I affirm. “Friend?” She says, even more shocked. Canterlot and suspicions about CadenceBoarding the train, I waved to the ponies of Ponyville (no pun intended), before stepping in and taking a seat with the six ponies I knew to be the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. We sat in silence as the train began moving along, before Pinkie Pie decided to break the silence. “So, Knighty, what do you think of Ponyville, and Equestria in general? Is it cool? Is it funny? Is i-“ The hyper party pony was quieted as Applejack put a hoof over her mouth. “Now, now, Pinkie. Don’t want t’ scare ‘im any more than he is now. He’s scared enough as it is,” the cowpony said, chastising her friend. “Oh! Sorry, Knighty! I get SUPER hyper sometimes,” Pinkie apologised. “It’s okay,” I said. While we waited for the train to get to Canterlot, I busied myself by looking out the window, admiring the scenery and wondering what the rest of Equestria is like. But before long, the fatigue that I had powered through for so long finally caught up to me, and I fell asleep. “Hey, look, we’re almost here!” Twilight exclaimed. Shaken from my slumber, I look out the window, seeing a majestic-looking castle attached to a mountain. “Huh. That’s a beautifully designed castle. While the Pale King’s palace certainly had better architecture and defenses, this castle is still well designed. And protected,” I said, analysing the castle’s architecture and design. “Yep! Before construction began on it, Princess Celestia brought together some of the smartest and brightest architects to help design it. It took years to complete, though, since it wasn’t just a castle, because it was part of the city of Canterlot,” Twilight explained. Both of us were interrupted, though, when Pinkie shouted, “We’re here!” “Ah, it’s good to be back in Canterlot. Still so beautiful,” Rarity said, as we exited the train. “Twily!” Turning my head in confusion, I saw a white unicorn stallion with a blue mane embrace Twilight. “Shining! It’s so good to see you!” Twilight said. Then, a pink pony with a horn AND wings came up. “Twilight!” She shouted, overjoyed. “Cadence!” Twilight said. Running over to each other, they did a strange sort of... greeting. Confused, I piped up. “What was that?” Bewildered at where the voice had come from, the two new ponies looked down and saw me. “Oh, who are you little one?” Cadence asked. “I.. just call me Knighty for now. Normally I’m just called ‘the Knight,’ but that would sound like I’m a ‘snob,’ as Twilight over here put it,” I replied. “Well, aren’t you cute? You’re so tiny!” She da’awed. Surprised, I feel my cheeks heat up for some reason. “W-well I’m a-a young bug! Don’t b-blame me for b-being so tiny!” I sputter. Cadence just giggled, while the girls hooted with laughter. Even Shining Armor was amused, and I could hear him snickering. “Oh, lord....” I moan. Later, as I walked to the throne room to meet the other princesses, I ran into Cadence again. “Ew, a bug! Someone get rid of it!” She screeched. “I beg your pardon!” I said indignantly. “You’re disgusting, you have germs all over!” ‘Cadence’ said, before she trotted away, huffing. ‘That isn’t Cadence. I met her just earlier! She didn’t act like that!’ I thought. Walking up to the doors of the throne room, I encountered two Royal Guards. “Halt! State your business, creature!” They barked. “I apologise for the inconvenience. I was here to meet the princesses to see if they could find me a way back home,” I explain, not intimidated in the slightest by these guards. “Remain here. I’ll go check with the princesses,” one said. “That won’t be necessary, Sergeant,” said a (strangely calming) new voice. Knowing who it’d be, I turn around and kneeled before Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. “Your majesties,” I said out of respect. “You may rise, young one,” Luna said. Standing up again, I began to talk with the two alicorns about me and my past. “I am what you would call a vessel. Me and my siblings were born and infused with the energy of the Void. We were created to contain a terrible evil, known as the Infection. The Infection was like both a mental condition and a virus. It got inside a bug’s mind, drove them insane, and in extreme cases, the Infection would actually manifest on the outside of the bug’s body as large sacs filled with the Infection, which would cause the poor soul to mutate. By then, all that’s left is a wandering husk bent on killing everything in it’s sight. I stopped the Infection once and for all, by destroying its’ source, the Radiance. By then, though, my home, Hallownest... was in ruins, and what little bugs that had survived the blight of the Infection were fading, as the number of bugs left kept decaying.” Looking up at the princesses, I was shocked to see both were horrified at what had happened to my home. Noticing the look on my face, the two princesses faces became those of sympathy and sadness. “I am sorry for the loss of your home, young bug,” Celestia said, distress and sympathy in her voice. “It’s okay, Celestia. My home isn’t completely gone. There’s still one town left in Hallownest, Dirtmouth. If the kingdom is rebuilt, that’s where it’ll begin,” I said. Walking towards a window, I looked outside, chuckling when I see ponies frantically scrambling about trying to set up and obtain all the requirements for the wedding. My face fell and I frowned as I saw Princess Cadence shouting at the ponies. Quite harshly, too. Turning to the princesses, who had watched me the entire time, I voiced my concerns and suspicions about ‘Cadence.’ “Celestia, Luna, I have a suspicion that Princess Cadence may have been kidnapped and replaced with an imposter.” Both princesses were taken aback. “Are you sure?” Princess Celestia asked. “I’m sure. While I don’t have enough evidence to expose the imposter yet, I still have a bit of proof. When I first met Cadence, she was very kind and caring, and she... fawned over me when she saw me. She even said I was cute,” I said, blushing. Hearing some snickering, I shot a glare at the two royals. “Not. A. Word,” I snarled, embarrassed. “Continuing on, when I was heading to meet with you, I ran into Cadence again. This time, though, she acted as if she never met me, called me disgusting, and demanded someone remove me from the castle. Not the Cadence I met just hours ago,” I said. “There is a chance that she’s just nervous about the wedding and is strained. She also may not have recognised you in the hall,” Celestia said, seeing other reasons Cadence might have been so rude. “Okay.... I’ll quiet down on the whole ‘Cadence is an imposter’ thing for now, but I’m going to keep an eye on her. You can never be too careful,” I said, backing off. “Good. Now, why don’t you help set up the wedding?” Luna suggested. ‘Wait....’ Startling the princesses, I shouted, “I don’t have anything nice to wear! All I have is this cloak, and while it might look nice in terms of being a bug, you’re all ponies, not bugs,” I said, panicking. Widening her eyes, Celestia turned to one of her messengers and shouted, “Send for the royal tailor! This Knight needs a suit!” Author's Note I beat my goal of 1,000 words! Yay! Anyone else see what’s coming? By the way, the panicking Knight was inspired by a Halo fic, where Spike is a descendant of the Sangheili. The scene I took inspiration from was when Spike panicked and said he didn’t have any nice clothes for Cadence’s wedding. The False QueenI fiddled with my bow tie, before sighing. Luna walks up and lays a comforting hoof on my shoulder. “It’ll be okay, Little Knight. Everyone’s nervous, but I’m sure you’ll do fine,” she chirps. “I know,” I said, nervous. “It’s just that, I can’t shake the feeling that the city’s going to be attacked.” “As do we. We have increased the security for the wedding. We just hope it will help,” she says, surprising me. “You speak the old dialect?” I ask. “Yes, though we are trying to get used to the new dialect,” she explained. “Your world has many surprises, I tell you. First, the dominant species here aren’t bugs, but rather ‘ponies,’ then I learn you all can use magic that is much more advanced than mine,” I pondered, chuckling. “Well, little Knight, we hope thee have a wonderful time here,” Luna said. I wasn’t paying that much attention to the wedding until Twilight bust in. Even then, I was focusing on ‘Cadence,’ who I still suspected to be an imposter. Then Twilight revealed that she suspected the same thing, and the real Cadence showed up. “No! This is my special day!” Cadence shouted. “How did you escape!? My bridesmaids held you there!” ‘Cadence’ shouted back, clearly infuriated. Feeling that I must step in now, I got up and spoke, startling many of the ponies attending the wedding. “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but I must ask you to leave. While you may have kidnapped Cadence and Twilight, I am offering you a chance at mercy,” I said, attempting to negotiate. Then, Twilight shouts, “This so-called Cadence is not a pony! She’s a Changeling!” That surprised me. I had read every single book in Twilight’s library, so I knew about changelings. They happened to be bugs like me. But if this imposter was a changeling, then why had they been so hostile to me if I was a bug, too? My thoughts were interrupted as ‘Cadence’ suddenly let out an evil laugh, before green fire washed over her, revealing the imposter’s true form. “Queen Chrysalis!” Celestia shouted, startling me. I didn’t know she had entered the room. What happened next was a clash of magic so powerful, my jaw would’ve touched the ground, if I had one. I saw Celestia fire a beam as hot as the sun she moved at Chrysalis, who fired a green beam in return. I smirked (figuratively), as the sun princess’ beam pushed forward, but the false queen wasn’t done yet. “NO! I will NOT lose! Not now! You will all FALL!” She screeched, before her beam began pushing forward, and magic flew everywhere, harming several ponies. Alarmed, I dodged a stray bolt of magic, before rushing forward to assist my comrade. Unleashing my Vengeful Spirit, I fired the magical missile at the Changeling Queen. To put it simply, the powerful projectile did shit against her. (Yes, bugs swear.) Then the beam of energy reached Celestia. “Tia!” I shouted. Rushing over to her, I kneeled next to her and got out the first aid kit I got when I came to Canterlot. “Knighty..” Oh, lord, now everyone’s using that name. “You have.. to stop.. Chrysalis.” “But.. you’re hurt!” I cry. “I will.. be okay. Now, go!” She said, wincing. Getting off my knees, I shouted to guard. “Hey, sir!” He rushed over. “Quickly, get her somewhere safe. I need to stop that false qu- AAGHH!” I’m interrupted as a bolt of magic impacts my back and sends me flying out the window, screaming in pain. I couldn’t tell how far and how long I fell for, but when I landed, my already abused body is knocked senseless. I think I felt my shell crack. Getting up, I hold back a groan of pain. My vision’s blurry, my suit’s ruined, and... Oh shit. I’m surrounded by thousands of changelings. And they do NOT look friendly. “Surrender, now, weakling!” one shouts. “Like shit I will,” I growl. ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ All at once, they come at me, hoping to kill me through sheer numbers. And, yeah, they’re probably going to get close. But they made one mistake. They left the sky open. Opening my Monarch Wings, I flap them before drawing my Pure Nail, just as the changelings crash into each other in the spot I was just in. Looking up, they snarled, before opening wings of their own. Well, looks like I’m outgunned, too. My Monarch Wings don’t allow for actual flight, rather a flap that would serve as a double jump. But these guys can fly. They grin as they realise the same thing. Two words exit my mouth before they swarm me. “Oh shit.” They’re on me in seconds. I can’t even slash my Nail before they dogpile me, trapping me under their weight. What they don’t realise, is that I have another trick up my shell. I unleash my other spell, the other version of the Vengeful Spirit, the one that aims upwards. The result is all the dogpiled changelings atop me getting vaporised. Sitting up, I survey the carnage around me. Changelings are attacking the entire city. They assault stallions in the street, fly around firing bolts of magic at other ponies, and... Oh, by the Pale King, no. They’re attacking mares and their foals! That false Queen shall pay! Battling my way back to the castle, I run into Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow! Quick, we need to get to the castle and stop Chrysalis!” I said in an urgent voice. Strangely, she says nothing, and walks forward with a frown on her face. Realising that ‘Rainbow’ is a changeling, I unsheathe my Nail, but before I can attack the fake, the real Rainbow slams into her imposter and sends it flying into a wall, where it slumps downwards, unconscious. “Thanks, Rainbow! Now, quick, get your friends! We need to get to the castle and stop Chrysalis!” I shout. “Yes, sir!” she says, before zooming off. I turn my head back to the castle and narrow my eyes as hundreds of changelings approach. I ready my Nail, before I lower it in shock as every single one of the bug-ponies disguises itself as a random member of the Mane Six. I sigh, seeing their stupidity. I shout to the imposters, “You know, you suck at espionage!” They all get an insulted look on their face, before the real Mane Six arrive. Seeing my problem, they quickly get into a battle stance, while I heft my Nail. Silence reigns for a few seconds, before the fakers charge at us. It doesn’t take long for me to see we’re surrounded, and I shout, “Twilight! You and your friends need to get inside the castle!” “But how!” The unicorn said. “Hang on to me!” I yell. Twilight reluctantly grabs on to my shoulders, while the other five ponies quickly grab onto their ‘leader.’ I then jump onto a wall, grab on, then fly forward as I unleash my crystal dash. Humorously, all six of my passengers are screaming their heads off. I smash through the huge double doors leading into the castle, but my crystal dash disengages right then, and I crash into the floor before smacking into a wall. The Mane Six were luckier, since they slid across the floor before stopping. Unfortunately, I think I’ve cracked my shell more. Bugger. I run into the throne room and find the cursed queen sitting in Celestia’s throne. “Chrysalis! Call off the attack!” Twilight shouts. “Yeah! Or we’ll make ya!” Rainbow boasts. “And give up such a good source of food? I think not!” Queen Chrysalis hisses. I take a step. The Queen looks at me, and her eyes widen slightly in recognition. “I remember you! I met you in the hall to the throne room! Then again during the wedding! You puny bug!” She said. Suddenly two changelings dash in front of me. I ruthlessly slash at them with my Nail, and they fall dead. Ignoring the gasps from behind me, I talk to Chrysalis. “Oh? You call me puny? I was born and made to contain the greatest evil ever known to my home. I had no name, no mouth to speak, and no emotions to get the better of me. I’m a Knight, and I served Hallownest before its’ fall. Then I sealed away the blight that caused the fall of my home, and destroyed its’ source. I’ve had to kill to save my home. What makes you think I won’t do the same here?” I growl, angry that this false Queen would think me puny. I smirk as the queen’s smug face becomes one of shock. She quickly recovers, and she screams, “You killed my children! You bastard! I’LL KILL YOU!” She rushes at me in a blind rage, and I parry a blow from her sharp horn. And so begins the boss battle of the False Queen. After I parry her blow, I attempt to lunge at her and get in a good slash, but she teleports behind me and double bucks me in the thrones. Groaning, I get back up and quickly block an attempt by her to ram me with her horn. I try to dislodge my Nail from the block, but it gets stuck on a groove in her horn. “Damn it all!” I curse. She smirks, before she taunts me. “Aw, little grub too weak to defeat me?” I groan in annoyance, but not because of her taunt. “The second stage of my life cycle is the nymph (skin 1), not the grub! Remember, I’m a different species from you!” I groan, dragging my hand across my face. Chrysalis just looks at me incredulously, bewildered that I didn’t get angry about the taunt, but rather, how she got it wrong. I use this moment of confusion to lunge at her, and I successfully manage to get a few slashes in. I dash backwards as she swipes at me, and I see her horn begin to glow. ‘Oh, crap.’ I get flung into a wall by the Queen’s magic, picked up again, then flung into another wall. This process repeats for several minutes. When Chrysalis is finally done with me, I groan in pain, before staggering to my feet. “How are you so resilient!? I’ve been smashing you around, yet your exoskeleton doesn’t even look cracked!” She rages. I rush at her in her moment of rage, but she sees the attack coming, and before I can adjust my course, I end up on her horn. She flings me off my horn towards the girls who scream when they see my broken body sliding towards them. “KNIGHTY!” “NO!” “COME ON, KNIGHT! GET UP!” “I... will.. not.. FAIL..” I groan. Getting up, I cry out as a jolt of pain sweeps through my right leg, and fall onto one knee, panting. Closing my eyes, I begin focusing my SOUL. I hear the girls gasp as my body begins glowing, before I feel my wounds healing themselves, cell by cell. Slowly, but surely, my body stitches itself together, and I stand back up. Opening my eyes, I see the shocked Changeling Queen standing in the hall. I grin, and heft my Nail. But before I rush at her, a wave of pink overtakes my vision. As my vision clears, I witness the changelings get flung out of Canterlot by a strange barrier. Suddenly, I remember Celestia. Rushing outside, I quickly locate the hospital, and I begin dashing my way there. Quietly opening the doors to the Canterlot Hospital, I walk up to the receptionist’s desk. “Excuse me, I’m looking for Princess Celestia’s room,” I ask. “She’s in room 027,” she said, before looking up. The poor pony pales considerably, before asking, “W-why m-m-might you want t-to v-visit her?” “I was at the wedding ceremony when Chrysalis revealed herself, and I attempted to help Celestia when the two rulers dueled, but Celestia lost, so I told a guard to bring her here,” I explained. “O-okay...” she said, still a bit unnerved. I rolled my eyes before making my way to Celestia’s room. “Hello, little Knight,” The princess said. “Greetings, Princess,” I said, bowing. “You don’t have to do that, Knighty,” she giggled. I blushed before griping, “Great, now you’re calling me that all the time.” I glared at the princess as she snickered at my misfortune. She may be a royal, but if she keeps this up there’ll be some bits to pay! “I thank you for saving my life back there, and stopping Chrysalis,” she said, grateful. “You’re welcome, though in a way, protecting you and your subjects is my job, if I’m a Knight!” I joked. Suddenly, she got serious. “Knight, I promise you, we will find you a way home. Until then, you are welcome to stay in Ponyville and safeguard it from danger. We owe you that much,” Celestia offered. I thought for a moment, before I came to a conclusion. Aftermath“Yes, I will,” I answer. “I expected that you’d agree,” Celestia said with a warm smile. Suddenly I began to feel light-headed. “Oh... crap..” I groaned, wincing as pain stabbed through me. “Oh, no! You’re bleeding, and bad! Nurse! NURSE!” She screams, as I totter over to a desk and begin leaning on it. My vision’s blurring, I’ve got to stay conscious, I can’t die now... My eyes dilated as my windpipe begins to constrict. “I-“ *HACK* “can’t brE-“ *COUGH* “aaAAHH-“ *CHOKE* *SPLUTTER* “HELP ME!” I scream, and is that blood on my arms!? I struggle to keep Celestia updated on condition while I cry out in pain, all the while I can tell I’m going to lose consciousness, no matter what I do. A nurse rushes in, and seeing my condition, gasps and rushes over to me, and attempts to help me to a hospital bed. But blackness begins to overtake my vision and my weight is enough to rip me out of the nurse’s grasp as I fall to the floor, unconscious. The last thing I hear before everything goes black is “KNIGHTY!” *THIRD PERSON POV* As the Knight falls out of the nurse’s grasp, Celestia leaps out of her hospital bed and bolts to the unconscious bug’s side. “He’s gravely wounded, Princess! I can see cuts and stabs all over. The Element bearers told me he healed himself after getting stabbed by Chrysalis’ horn, but it seems it wasn’t enough. Wait a minute... oh, no.. WE NEED TO GET HIM TO SURGERY! NOW!” the nurse barks. Celestia immediately, but gently, grabs the wounded bug and gallops at full speed towards the nearest operating room, with dozens of Equestria’s best doctors, surgeons, and nurses right on her heels. Breaking the doors down by accident (but paying them no heed), the Princess places the Knight on the operating table, a grim, but determined expression on her face. The receptionist, annoyed that this random pony had just burst in without an appointment looked over her desk, about to reprimand the pony, before paling as she realise who the pony was. “U-uh... Princess? Do y-you have an appointment?” the receptionist nervously asked. “No, but this is urgent. I have a being here who has been gravely wounded during the battle with the changelings in Canterlot. He was the one who stopped Chrysalis, and he needs surgery, now!” Celestia said. The receptionist quickly went back to her desk and put the appointment on the top of the priority list, while the dozens of medical personnel galloped in and headed to sterilise their hooves for surgery. Celestia began to pace inside the room, her head low. ‘I hope he makes it,’ she thought, as she allowed a tear to roll down her face. Twilight and her friends galloped into the hospital, concerned for their friend. They’d just gotten the news. Knighty had been wounded, and had to go into the operating room. “Are you the Element Bearers?” The receptionist asked, a look of urgency on her face. “Yeah! What happened to Knighty? How bad is it, and will he be okay?!” Dash asked. The others looked at Dash, surprised. Rainbow Dash hadn’t trusted Knighty much up until now, and had been slightly hostile to him when they got to Ponyville. To see her this concerned for him was a surprise. Noticing her friend’s stares, she blushed slightly, before answering her friend’s unsaid, but obvious questions. “He saved us back there. To be honest, he’s REALLY cool. Maybe even cooler than me! If he can stand up to Chrysalis like that, the I think he’s gonna pull through.” Looking at each other, they all thought simultaneously, ‘she’s got a crush on him,’ before shrugging. “It’s good to see you trust him now, Dashie! I still need to throw him a Welcome Party, and a ‘Yay, we beat Chrysalis!’ party,” Pinkie said, “but I don’t know if I’ll get to throw them for him, now that he’s...” she broke off, her mane deflating. Seeing her friend in distress, Applejack piped up, “Ah’m sure he’ll pull through, Pinkie. He’s made ‘o tough stuff, ah tell you. He’s brave fer somepony that young.” Pinkie looked up, her face brightening slightly, but still unsure. “How can you be sure? I got a look at him just earlier while he was visiting Celestia in here, and he was doing well, until he winced and began leaking blood everywhere, and began choking on his own blood, all the while SCREAMING FOR HELP! I EVEN SAW CELESTIA CRY!” she said, her voice starting out quiet, but raising in volume before ending in a scream. “Because Equestria’s best doctors and surgeons are working on him now,” a voice behind them said. Turning around, Twilight, recognising the pony, lunged at them and pulled them into a hug. “Princess Celestia! You’re okay!” She cried. Wincing, Celestia quietly protested her student’s actions. “Twi-ow-light, you’re-ouch- crushing ME!” the Princess, said as Twilight squeezed her harder. “Oh! Sorry, Princess,” Twilight apologised, blushing, while she released her teacher. “It’s okay, my student. My injuries aren’t too bad, I just need to take it easy for a bit. As for the Knight... well, you heard from Pinkie about his deteriorated condition,” Celestia said. “Yeah, I hope he makes it out okay... at first I thought he’d pull through, after all, he survived Chrysalis’ horn, but after hearing Pinkie’s account, even I’M not so sure anymore,” Rainbow Dash said, her voice low. “I assure you, he will survive. He just exited surgery, one of the surgeons sent me the message via telepathy several seconds ago, and his vitals are stable. We’ll get the details on his injuries... and one the nurses told me the reason they needed to operate on the Knight is because there was a lot of foreign contaminants and shrapnel lodged inside him, some just inches from his vital organs...” Celestia explained. Everypony in the room breathed a sigh of relief they didn’t know they’d been holding, overjoyed that their friend was on the path to recovery. A doctor stuck his head out into the hallway and shouted, “Celestia! We’re wheeling him into Intensive Care now. You should be able to visit him.” Hearing that, everypony looked at the Princess. “What are we waiting for, girls? Let’s go visit our friend!” Twilight said. Trotting down the hall towards the Intensive Care wing of the hospital, the seven ponies talked amongst themselves about what will happen next. “So, What are we going to do after Knighty gets out of the hospital?” Rainbow asked. “The wedding of course,” Celestia answered. “Huh. I thought you might do it without him,” Dash said. “Well, he deserves to be at my wedding after he defeated the witch who ruined it,” a new voice said. “Cadence! You’re okay, too!” Twilight squealed. Doing their trademark greeting, the two hugged. “How’s Shining? Is he okay?” Twilight asked. “He’s fine, just tired after being sapped of energy by Chrysalis,” Cadence said. “Are you also coming to visit Knighty?” Pinkie said. “Yes I am! Oh, one other thing - when I get my hooves on the Queen that hurt the poor little bug, I swear, I will tear her apart!” Cadence fumed, prompting reactions from the Mane Six. “Aye!” “Yeah!” “Me too!” “I’M - ah! - NOT LITTLE!” a voice screeched from the room they were outside. Raising their abused ears, the ponies looked at each other, before trotting inside. “Knighty! You’re awake!” Pinkie squeaked, before rushing over and crushing Knighty in a hug. “Pinkie-gasp-can’t-ack-BREATHE!” he rasped, prompting Pinkie to put him down. Groaning, he was propped up by Twilight’s magic. “It’s good to see you’re recovering, Knighty,” the unicorn said. “Yeah, although my back is killing me, not to mention I actually woke up during surgery. Oh, god, the pain,” he said, shuddering at the memory. “Try not to dwell on that memory, Knight. In the meantime, let’s think about the future,” Rarity said. “Like making me a new suit for the wedding?” he asked his voice dry. “Yes, and what we’ll do after the wedding. Like, maybe your name! We can’t just call you, ‘the Knight,’ ‘Knighty,’ or ‘Knight’ all the time, since the first and third are titles and not real names, and the second is more of a childish nickname. Although you are basically a child,” Rarity replied. “Yeah, you’re right...” the bug said, pondering for a moment. “Call me... Noble Guardian.” Author's Note AND now we have a name! (I can’t stop having the word ‘Noble’ in every name I create!) Unfortunately, it comes after a harrowing near-death experience for the Knight, but at least Chrysalis is gone and everything’s going right!
PrologueBlackness. That’s all Hornet could see. Thankfully, it began to edge out of her vision. Getting up, she quickly grabbed her needle. Looking around, she saw bits of Void goop seeping from everything in the Black Egg. Walking forward, she felt her foot brush against something. Looking to her right, she gasped. It was the shell of her half-sibling. Putting her hands to her mouth, tears welled in her eyes. Deep below, below the Forgotten Crossroads, below the Queen’s Station, below even the Ancient Basin, the shades and siblings of the Hollow Knight and her brother, the Knight, having already sensed the freeing of their adult sister, and the death of their brother, had gathered in the center of the mass of discarded shells for a funeral of sorts. Suddenly, one of them sensed a great ‘disturbance.’ It realised, it was time to go back home. Balling up, the shadowy inhabatant of the void phased through the ground, returning to its’ rightful place. Seeing their sibling do such a thing, the others looked at each other, before following their comrade-in-arms. Hornet, sobbing, fell to her knees. She’d lost the only sibling she’d really known. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Whirling around, she held her Needle to the throat of her supposed assailant, tears still streaming down her face, before gasping as she realized who she was dealing with. The Hollow Knight themself. Trembling, she lowered her Needle. But instead of hurting her, the great bug of the past hugged her. “Sister!” the Hollow Knight said. Shocked into speechlessness, Hornet shook her head, and said, “What! How!? Vessels aren’t allowed to speak! They can’t feel emotion! And how are you my sister!?” Immediately the Pure Vessel’s expression became grim. “I was never really ‘pure’ in the first place. Well, I was at birth, but the Pale King showed affection to me. I guess that’s what made me impure, since it allowed me to feel emotion. As for me being your sister, well, the Pale King is my father, too, you know!” Hornet was shocked. She hadn’t known that her ‘sister’ had been impure. Suddenly remembering little Ghost, she felt her eyes well with tears again. “What’s wrong?” Hollow Knight asked. “It’s another of your siblings. He’s..” Hornet began crying again. “Who was i...” the Impure Vessel began, before she came across the Knight’s broken shell. “Oh, brother....” she said. Looking up, Hornet asked, “He?” “Somehow this sibling of mine was pure enough to stop the Radiance. But he was never pure at birth. At first, when he was born, he’d performed excellently in the art of combat. But it was discovered that the little Vessel had a gender, and so he was deemed impure and cast into the Abyss. Somehow he managed to climb back up. I even ended up seeing him clinging to that one ledge leading out of the Abyss. He fell off, after a few seconds, before I left with Father. Ironically, he was the one to stop the Radiance and purge the Infection once and for all,” The Hollow Knight explained. “Then may he Rest In Peace,” Hornet sobbed. The Hollow Knight pulled her sister into a hug and comforted her as best as she could. Unbeknownst to them all, the Knight was very much alive. And he was heading to a new world, albeit not of his own will. Author's Note Basically, this is one of the endings of Hollow Knight. To help you understand what the Knight would be like. And, also, I changed it to show that Hornet cared for little Ghost. That she thought of him no longer as a ghost, or monster, but rather as family.
The ArrivalIt remembered blackness. Then fighting its’ sister to free her from the Infection that had plagued Hallownest for so long. Then making a choice that led the Vessel to the source of Hallownest’s woes. The Radiance. The Knight had fought it, beat it in combat, before unleashing its’ shade, breaking its’ shell, while the Vessel’s sister, the Hollow Knight, restrained the creature. Lashing out with a shadowy arm, the Knight had scratched, slapped, and hit the former god until it’d split open, spilling the energy that powered the bug’s Dream Nail everywhere. Then it’d all gone black. It was a bright, sunny day in Ponyville. Everypony was going about their business, and the librarian of town, Twilight Sparkle, was hard at work organizing the books she’d put in the library she called home. Her ear pricked up as she began to hear a rumbling. “Now what could that be?” She wondered. Suddenly, Twilight cried out in pain as she felt a wave of magic unlike anything she’d seen before pass overhead. Groaning, she got up as Spike ran over, concerned for her health. “Twilight! Are you okay?” the little dragon questioned. “I’ll be okay, Spike, it’s just that, I felt a wave of magic pass above us. It was so powerful... What could it mean? Where did it go?” she asked. “I don’t know, should we g-“ Spike was cut off as Twilight’s friends burst inside. “Twi! Did you see that wave of magic pass overhead?” Rainbow shouted. “Yes, I did, and you don’t have to shout!” Twilight answered. Flustered, the rainbow-maned pegasus blushed and said, “Sorry. I guess I forgot.” Piping up, Fluttershy said, “I-i saw that wave of magic head over to the E-everfree Forest. I-it didn’t look like it went too far in, though.” “Twi, ah say we head in after it. Who knows what that coulda been,” Applejack suggested. “I was about to say the same thing,” Twilight replied. “Fluttershy dear, are you sure you saw that wave of magic enter the Everfree Forest? That place is dreadful, and I’d rather not go inside it and ruin my mane...” Rarity asked. “I’m sure...” the timid pegasus affirmed. “Alright then, let’s get going,” Twilight said. The six ponies, along with one young dragon, filed out the door, and headed towards the Everfree Forest. Awaken. ‘W-what?’ ‘Who are you?’ Little one, you are needed. You must get up! ‘Alright, I’m getting up...’ The little form that laid on the ground of the dark forest began to stir. It groaned, before pushing it self off the ground, albeit quite unsteadily, and inspected itself. ‘Good, I still have everything I got while on my journey through Hallownest.’ It then inspected its’ surroundings. ‘What in the name of the Pale King!? This looks a bit like Greenpath and the Fungal Wastes, but I’ve never seen plants like these. And what are these vines?’ Something else caught the Knight’s attention. ‘Oh, my... the SKY.... my goodness, this is starting to be too much to take in....’ Panic was beginning to set in. Hyperventilating slightly, the bug chastised itself for panicking like this. ‘Get ahold of yourself! You’re a Knight! You should be able to deal with this!’ Pulling itself together, the Knight began to explore its’ surroundings. Hearing a rustling noise behind it, the Vessel whirled around, Nail at the ready. Expecting to see a Mossy Vagabond, it was shocked to see a strange creature, unlike anything the Vessel had ever seen before. It didn’t even look like a bug! Stranger still, it seemed to be made of wood. Growling the... thing... leapt at it, forcing the Knight to leap backward to avoid the attack. ‘What ARE you!?’ Darting forward, the Vessel slashed at the creature with its’ Nail. The Knight breathed a sigh of relief when the Nail slashed through the wooden body, killing the feral beast instantly. ‘Wait...’ It’d BREATHED a SIGH of RELIEF. ‘I’m not supposed to be able to do that! I’m a Vessel! A Vessel isn’t allowed to speak! They can’t have feelings!’ Again hyperventilating, and too confused and scared to calm itself, the Knight dropped to its’ knees, panicking. “Oh, lord.... what’s happening to me?!” The Knight said, out loud. It froze. “I.. can talk....” “I can speak....” The Knight, already scared and exhausted, passed out from the strain. Author's Note Yes, I know the Knight would be more stoic and wouldn’t react like this. But remember, he’s got his emotion and his voice back. He’s also quite young. In fact, he’s still only a child! He remained silent and unfeeling throughout Hallownest because he didn’t have much emotion (in my version of Hollow Knight, he is slightly impure, so he can get scared sometimes). So now that he has emotion, he’s allowed to panic since he got the ability to panic. He also didn’t notice that he had gotten emotions until later because of the fact he was impure and had gotten scared or had panicked before. This takes place several days before the Canterlot Wedding. How will The Knight react to the changelings, since they are bugs like him, but extraordinarily different?
First MeetingsOnce again awakening and getting on his feet, the Knight shook his head, still shell-shocked about what had happened. ‘First I can feel, now I can talk!’ “This is going to be a weird day...” the Knight said. Hearing voices behind him, he turned and listened, standing out in the open in case these were hostile creatures. “It’s this way, everypony!” Eyes widening as he realized that whoever these creatures were, they knew where he was, he pulled out his trusty Nail, which had been reforged into a Pure Nail. Shouting out a warning, he said, “Whoever you are, I would suggest you leave!” “And why would we do that, punk? Huh?!” Jumping into the air like an idiot, he whirled around only to see the the strangest thing he had ever seen here. It was a... flying creature, but its’ wings were flapping slower than the normal speed needed to fly, at least for a bug. “What.. are you?!” He asked, bewildered. “And just what are ya, huh?” It countered. Hearing rustling behind him, he whirled around to see five more of these.. things.. burst from the bushes. “Oh no ya don’t!” Dashing backwards, the Knight just barely manages to avoid the flying creature’s grab. “Stop! There’s no need for conflict!” He shouts. “Rainbow, stop! He’s right! He doesn’t mean to hurt us!” The purple one says. “But he whirled around like he was going to attack, Twilight! And how can you believe him! And how do you know it’s a him, anyways!?” The creature named ‘Rainbow’ shouted back. “Alright, Alright, break it up, all o’ you. Ya’ll need to calm down!” The one with a mask on her head said, The Knight watches while the one with a mask-hat drags Rainbow, by her tail, all while trying not to snicker. “Alright, now that no one’s trying to kill each other, who are you?” Twilight asks. “Just call me... The Knight.” He answered. “The Knight? Are you a royal guard?” Bewildered, the Knight responds with a no. “Well, then, let me introduce myself and my friends. I’m Twilight Sparkle, the pegasus over there who fought you is Rainbow Dash. The one with the Stetson is Applejack-“ Twilight is cut off as the last of the group introduce themselves. “Little one, I am Rarity. I must say, while that cloak looks horrible in that slate grey, and it looks to be in bad condition, I can fix you a new one,” The one with purple hair says. “I’m quite alright with my cloak. Thank you, anyway. I will allow you to fix it, though,” The Knight replies. “Dear, I must insist, your cloak is a crime on fashion!” Rarity begs. “Bugs don’t really care for fashion. Not when they had a job to get done.” He coldly replies. “Wait a minute... y-you’re a bug?” A voice says. Looking around, confused, the Knight jumps into the air, startled, upon seeing the timid yellow pegasus in front of him. “Eek!” “Wah!” Both parties fall on their backs, their limbs flailing. “Ow...” he groans. Immediately, the timid pegasus rushes over to him. “OhmyCelestia! Are you okay!? Oh you poor thing!” The pegasus asks, concerned for his safety. “I’m okay..” he groans. “I’m Fluttershy. May I check to see if there are any injuries? I-i mean, i-If that’s okay w-with you, I-I guess,” she questions, blushing. “Sure, I don’t mind,” he says, getting up. Examining the bug, Fluttershy gasp at the extent of the scars the little bug has. “Oh... my....” “What is it, Fluttershy?” Twilight asks. “He has so many scars... Oh MY! Is that dried blood!?” she screams. Immediately upon hearing this, Applejack and Rainbow Dash get into defensive stances, with Dash giving Twilight a look that said ‘I told you so.’ “Wait! Yes, that is dried blood, and yes, I have killed. But they were trying to kill ME. They were infected, and it was my job to purge that Infection. In fact, I just saved Hallownest, my home, from the Radiance, the source of the Infection,” he says, attempting to do damage control. At this, the ponies relax slightly, but Rainbow is still tensed up. “And how do we know you’re not lying?!” she says, suspicious. “Because Ah’m The Element of Honesty, Dash. I believe him. If he was lyin’, Ah’d know,” Applejack says. “Okay. But I’m keepin’ my eye on you, punk,” Rainbow says. “Noted,” The Knight says. Looking around, the Knight asks, “Where might the nearest settlement be? The last one I knew of back in Hallownest was Dirtmouth, the fading town...” “Right this way, Knighty!” “Ah! Who are you?” He asks, startled for the umpteenth time that day. “I’m Pinkie Pie! I need to throw you a welcome party!” The bubbly pony says. The Knight watches, bewildered, as Pinkie runs off to Ponyville to prepare the ‘welcome party.’ “Well, she certainly is hyperactive,” he quips. “You have no idea,” Twilight says. Author's Note So I finally broke the 800 word barrier. I hope to break the one-thousand word barrier, then the two-thousand word barrier. Alright, back to business! Here’s the meeting between The Knight and the Mane Six!
PonyvilleNOTE - FROM NOW ON, EVERY CHAPTER WILL BE IN FIRST PERSON POV FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE KNIGHT, UNLESS THE PERSPECTIVE CHANGES TO A PONY. As we walked into the town Twilight called ‘Ponyville,’ I caught a number of stares being directed at me. I guess these ponies have never seen something like me before. Following Twilight, I saw a strange building. It was a tree, but the inside was hollowed out into what looked like a library. “I’m guessing this is your home, Twilight?” I asked. “Yes! I’m quite proud of how many books we have here, and I’ve made sure to organise every single one,” she answered. On the way here, Twilight had told me about herself and her friends, and I had gotten the feeling Twilight was one of those people who loved reading books and had a huge thirst for knowledge. Walking inside, I was met with a huge amount of books, and bookshelves. Staring, dumbfounded, I was startled by a hoof reaching onto my shoulder. “It’s a lot to take in, huh?” Twilight giggled. “Yeah, it’s just that... even though the Pale King’s library was undoubtedly a thousand times larger than this, this is still a lot of books,” I said, having pulled myself together. Cocking her head, Twilight asked, “Who’s the Pale King?” Sitting down on a nearby chair, I beckoned her to sit with me. “This is going to take a while to explain, you might want to get comfortable...” “So, this, ‘Infection,’ causes bugs to go mad, and also ended up being what destroyed your home?” “Yes.” “That’s horrible!” I had just finished explaining the history of Hallownest, my mission, and how everything had ended to Twilight. “I know,” I said. “If only we could’ve been there, perhaps we could have used the Elements of Harmony to save everypony...” she lamented. “Elements of Harmony? Something tells me it’s your turn to explain,” I joke. “And so, we’ve just sort of... been the heroes of Equestria, I guess,” she finished. I remain silent for a moment, before I speak up. “I’ve seen magic, but none as powerful as your world’s. I mean, I can expel spirit in the form of a fireball, and that’s magic, but I’ve seen you use what you call ‘levitation’ magic. Where I’m from, we don’t have that,” I say. Suddenly, a strange creature walks in. “Hey, Twilight! How’d your search for that thing go....” it asked. “The search went well, Spike, and we found somepony when we got there. Spike, meet Knighty!” Twilight said. “Knighty?” I asked. “Well, we can’t really introduce you as ‘The Knight,’ ponies might think you’re lying, or are being a snob,” she explained. Suddenly, Twilight’s eyes went wide. “What is it?” I ask, concerned. “I almost forgot! My brother’s wedding! Oh, I still need to pack everything and buy gifts! Oh, what am I going to do!?” She says, hyperventilating. “Hey, Twilight. It’ll be okay. I’ll help you pack. I’ll come along, too, as I still need to meet your princesses and see if they can find me a way back to Hallownest,” I say. “You’re sure?” She asks, shocked that I would do such a thing for her. “I’m sure. You’re my friend, after all,” I affirm. “Friend?” She says, even more shocked.
Canterlot and suspicions about CadenceBoarding the train, I waved to the ponies of Ponyville (no pun intended), before stepping in and taking a seat with the six ponies I knew to be the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. We sat in silence as the train began moving along, before Pinkie Pie decided to break the silence. “So, Knighty, what do you think of Ponyville, and Equestria in general? Is it cool? Is it funny? Is i-“ The hyper party pony was quieted as Applejack put a hoof over her mouth. “Now, now, Pinkie. Don’t want t’ scare ‘im any more than he is now. He’s scared enough as it is,” the cowpony said, chastising her friend. “Oh! Sorry, Knighty! I get SUPER hyper sometimes,” Pinkie apologised. “It’s okay,” I said. While we waited for the train to get to Canterlot, I busied myself by looking out the window, admiring the scenery and wondering what the rest of Equestria is like. But before long, the fatigue that I had powered through for so long finally caught up to me, and I fell asleep. “Hey, look, we’re almost here!” Twilight exclaimed. Shaken from my slumber, I look out the window, seeing a majestic-looking castle attached to a mountain. “Huh. That’s a beautifully designed castle. While the Pale King’s palace certainly had better architecture and defenses, this castle is still well designed. And protected,” I said, analysing the castle’s architecture and design. “Yep! Before construction began on it, Princess Celestia brought together some of the smartest and brightest architects to help design it. It took years to complete, though, since it wasn’t just a castle, because it was part of the city of Canterlot,” Twilight explained. Both of us were interrupted, though, when Pinkie shouted, “We’re here!” “Ah, it’s good to be back in Canterlot. Still so beautiful,” Rarity said, as we exited the train. “Twily!” Turning my head in confusion, I saw a white unicorn stallion with a blue mane embrace Twilight. “Shining! It’s so good to see you!” Twilight said. Then, a pink pony with a horn AND wings came up. “Twilight!” She shouted, overjoyed. “Cadence!” Twilight said. Running over to each other, they did a strange sort of... greeting. Confused, I piped up. “What was that?” Bewildered at where the voice had come from, the two new ponies looked down and saw me. “Oh, who are you little one?” Cadence asked. “I.. just call me Knighty for now. Normally I’m just called ‘the Knight,’ but that would sound like I’m a ‘snob,’ as Twilight over here put it,” I replied. “Well, aren’t you cute? You’re so tiny!” She da’awed. Surprised, I feel my cheeks heat up for some reason. “W-well I’m a-a young bug! Don’t b-blame me for b-being so tiny!” I sputter. Cadence just giggled, while the girls hooted with laughter. Even Shining Armor was amused, and I could hear him snickering. “Oh, lord....” I moan. Later, as I walked to the throne room to meet the other princesses, I ran into Cadence again. “Ew, a bug! Someone get rid of it!” She screeched. “I beg your pardon!” I said indignantly. “You’re disgusting, you have germs all over!” ‘Cadence’ said, before she trotted away, huffing. ‘That isn’t Cadence. I met her just earlier! She didn’t act like that!’ I thought. Walking up to the doors of the throne room, I encountered two Royal Guards. “Halt! State your business, creature!” They barked. “I apologise for the inconvenience. I was here to meet the princesses to see if they could find me a way back home,” I explain, not intimidated in the slightest by these guards. “Remain here. I’ll go check with the princesses,” one said. “That won’t be necessary, Sergeant,” said a (strangely calming) new voice. Knowing who it’d be, I turn around and kneeled before Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. “Your majesties,” I said out of respect. “You may rise, young one,” Luna said. Standing up again, I began to talk with the two alicorns about me and my past. “I am what you would call a vessel. Me and my siblings were born and infused with the energy of the Void. We were created to contain a terrible evil, known as the Infection. The Infection was like both a mental condition and a virus. It got inside a bug’s mind, drove them insane, and in extreme cases, the Infection would actually manifest on the outside of the bug’s body as large sacs filled with the Infection, which would cause the poor soul to mutate. By then, all that’s left is a wandering husk bent on killing everything in it’s sight. I stopped the Infection once and for all, by destroying its’ source, the Radiance. By then, though, my home, Hallownest... was in ruins, and what little bugs that had survived the blight of the Infection were fading, as the number of bugs left kept decaying.” Looking up at the princesses, I was shocked to see both were horrified at what had happened to my home. Noticing the look on my face, the two princesses faces became those of sympathy and sadness. “I am sorry for the loss of your home, young bug,” Celestia said, distress and sympathy in her voice. “It’s okay, Celestia. My home isn’t completely gone. There’s still one town left in Hallownest, Dirtmouth. If the kingdom is rebuilt, that’s where it’ll begin,” I said. Walking towards a window, I looked outside, chuckling when I see ponies frantically scrambling about trying to set up and obtain all the requirements for the wedding. My face fell and I frowned as I saw Princess Cadence shouting at the ponies. Quite harshly, too. Turning to the princesses, who had watched me the entire time, I voiced my concerns and suspicions about ‘Cadence.’ “Celestia, Luna, I have a suspicion that Princess Cadence may have been kidnapped and replaced with an imposter.” Both princesses were taken aback. “Are you sure?” Princess Celestia asked. “I’m sure. While I don’t have enough evidence to expose the imposter yet, I still have a bit of proof. When I first met Cadence, she was very kind and caring, and she... fawned over me when she saw me. She even said I was cute,” I said, blushing. Hearing some snickering, I shot a glare at the two royals. “Not. A. Word,” I snarled, embarrassed. “Continuing on, when I was heading to meet with you, I ran into Cadence again. This time, though, she acted as if she never met me, called me disgusting, and demanded someone remove me from the castle. Not the Cadence I met just hours ago,” I said. “There is a chance that she’s just nervous about the wedding and is strained. She also may not have recognised you in the hall,” Celestia said, seeing other reasons Cadence might have been so rude. “Okay.... I’ll quiet down on the whole ‘Cadence is an imposter’ thing for now, but I’m going to keep an eye on her. You can never be too careful,” I said, backing off. “Good. Now, why don’t you help set up the wedding?” Luna suggested. ‘Wait....’ Startling the princesses, I shouted, “I don’t have anything nice to wear! All I have is this cloak, and while it might look nice in terms of being a bug, you’re all ponies, not bugs,” I said, panicking. Widening her eyes, Celestia turned to one of her messengers and shouted, “Send for the royal tailor! This Knight needs a suit!” Author's Note I beat my goal of 1,000 words! Yay! Anyone else see what’s coming? By the way, the panicking Knight was inspired by a Halo fic, where Spike is a descendant of the Sangheili. The scene I took inspiration from was when Spike panicked and said he didn’t have any nice clothes for Cadence’s wedding.
The False QueenI fiddled with my bow tie, before sighing. Luna walks up and lays a comforting hoof on my shoulder. “It’ll be okay, Little Knight. Everyone’s nervous, but I’m sure you’ll do fine,” she chirps. “I know,” I said, nervous. “It’s just that, I can’t shake the feeling that the city’s going to be attacked.” “As do we. We have increased the security for the wedding. We just hope it will help,” she says, surprising me. “You speak the old dialect?” I ask. “Yes, though we are trying to get used to the new dialect,” she explained. “Your world has many surprises, I tell you. First, the dominant species here aren’t bugs, but rather ‘ponies,’ then I learn you all can use magic that is much more advanced than mine,” I pondered, chuckling. “Well, little Knight, we hope thee have a wonderful time here,” Luna said. I wasn’t paying that much attention to the wedding until Twilight bust in. Even then, I was focusing on ‘Cadence,’ who I still suspected to be an imposter. Then Twilight revealed that she suspected the same thing, and the real Cadence showed up. “No! This is my special day!” Cadence shouted. “How did you escape!? My bridesmaids held you there!” ‘Cadence’ shouted back, clearly infuriated. Feeling that I must step in now, I got up and spoke, startling many of the ponies attending the wedding. “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but I must ask you to leave. While you may have kidnapped Cadence and Twilight, I am offering you a chance at mercy,” I said, attempting to negotiate. Then, Twilight shouts, “This so-called Cadence is not a pony! She’s a Changeling!” That surprised me. I had read every single book in Twilight’s library, so I knew about changelings. They happened to be bugs like me. But if this imposter was a changeling, then why had they been so hostile to me if I was a bug, too? My thoughts were interrupted as ‘Cadence’ suddenly let out an evil laugh, before green fire washed over her, revealing the imposter’s true form. “Queen Chrysalis!” Celestia shouted, startling me. I didn’t know she had entered the room. What happened next was a clash of magic so powerful, my jaw would’ve touched the ground, if I had one. I saw Celestia fire a beam as hot as the sun she moved at Chrysalis, who fired a green beam in return. I smirked (figuratively), as the sun princess’ beam pushed forward, but the false queen wasn’t done yet. “NO! I will NOT lose! Not now! You will all FALL!” She screeched, before her beam began pushing forward, and magic flew everywhere, harming several ponies. Alarmed, I dodged a stray bolt of magic, before rushing forward to assist my comrade. Unleashing my Vengeful Spirit, I fired the magical missile at the Changeling Queen. To put it simply, the powerful projectile did shit against her. (Yes, bugs swear.) Then the beam of energy reached Celestia. “Tia!” I shouted. Rushing over to her, I kneeled next to her and got out the first aid kit I got when I came to Canterlot. “Knighty..” Oh, lord, now everyone’s using that name. “You have.. to stop.. Chrysalis.” “But.. you’re hurt!” I cry. “I will.. be okay. Now, go!” She said, wincing. Getting off my knees, I shouted to guard. “Hey, sir!” He rushed over. “Quickly, get her somewhere safe. I need to stop that false qu- AAGHH!” I’m interrupted as a bolt of magic impacts my back and sends me flying out the window, screaming in pain. I couldn’t tell how far and how long I fell for, but when I landed, my already abused body is knocked senseless. I think I felt my shell crack. Getting up, I hold back a groan of pain. My vision’s blurry, my suit’s ruined, and... Oh shit. I’m surrounded by thousands of changelings. And they do NOT look friendly. “Surrender, now, weakling!” one shouts. “Like shit I will,” I growl. ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ All at once, they come at me, hoping to kill me through sheer numbers. And, yeah, they’re probably going to get close. But they made one mistake. They left the sky open. Opening my Monarch Wings, I flap them before drawing my Pure Nail, just as the changelings crash into each other in the spot I was just in. Looking up, they snarled, before opening wings of their own. Well, looks like I’m outgunned, too. My Monarch Wings don’t allow for actual flight, rather a flap that would serve as a double jump. But these guys can fly. They grin as they realise the same thing. Two words exit my mouth before they swarm me. “Oh shit.” They’re on me in seconds. I can’t even slash my Nail before they dogpile me, trapping me under their weight. What they don’t realise, is that I have another trick up my shell. I unleash my other spell, the other version of the Vengeful Spirit, the one that aims upwards. The result is all the dogpiled changelings atop me getting vaporised. Sitting up, I survey the carnage around me. Changelings are attacking the entire city. They assault stallions in the street, fly around firing bolts of magic at other ponies, and... Oh, by the Pale King, no. They’re attacking mares and their foals! That false Queen shall pay! Battling my way back to the castle, I run into Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow! Quick, we need to get to the castle and stop Chrysalis!” I said in an urgent voice. Strangely, she says nothing, and walks forward with a frown on her face. Realising that ‘Rainbow’ is a changeling, I unsheathe my Nail, but before I can attack the fake, the real Rainbow slams into her imposter and sends it flying into a wall, where it slumps downwards, unconscious. “Thanks, Rainbow! Now, quick, get your friends! We need to get to the castle and stop Chrysalis!” I shout. “Yes, sir!” she says, before zooming off. I turn my head back to the castle and narrow my eyes as hundreds of changelings approach. I ready my Nail, before I lower it in shock as every single one of the bug-ponies disguises itself as a random member of the Mane Six. I sigh, seeing their stupidity. I shout to the imposters, “You know, you suck at espionage!” They all get an insulted look on their face, before the real Mane Six arrive. Seeing my problem, they quickly get into a battle stance, while I heft my Nail. Silence reigns for a few seconds, before the fakers charge at us. It doesn’t take long for me to see we’re surrounded, and I shout, “Twilight! You and your friends need to get inside the castle!” “But how!” The unicorn said. “Hang on to me!” I yell. Twilight reluctantly grabs on to my shoulders, while the other five ponies quickly grab onto their ‘leader.’ I then jump onto a wall, grab on, then fly forward as I unleash my crystal dash. Humorously, all six of my passengers are screaming their heads off. I smash through the huge double doors leading into the castle, but my crystal dash disengages right then, and I crash into the floor before smacking into a wall. The Mane Six were luckier, since they slid across the floor before stopping. Unfortunately, I think I’ve cracked my shell more. Bugger. I run into the throne room and find the cursed queen sitting in Celestia’s throne. “Chrysalis! Call off the attack!” Twilight shouts. “Yeah! Or we’ll make ya!” Rainbow boasts. “And give up such a good source of food? I think not!” Queen Chrysalis hisses. I take a step. The Queen looks at me, and her eyes widen slightly in recognition. “I remember you! I met you in the hall to the throne room! Then again during the wedding! You puny bug!” She said. Suddenly two changelings dash in front of me. I ruthlessly slash at them with my Nail, and they fall dead. Ignoring the gasps from behind me, I talk to Chrysalis. “Oh? You call me puny? I was born and made to contain the greatest evil ever known to my home. I had no name, no mouth to speak, and no emotions to get the better of me. I’m a Knight, and I served Hallownest before its’ fall. Then I sealed away the blight that caused the fall of my home, and destroyed its’ source. I’ve had to kill to save my home. What makes you think I won’t do the same here?” I growl, angry that this false Queen would think me puny. I smirk as the queen’s smug face becomes one of shock. She quickly recovers, and she screams, “You killed my children! You bastard! I’LL KILL YOU!” She rushes at me in a blind rage, and I parry a blow from her sharp horn. And so begins the boss battle of the False Queen. After I parry her blow, I attempt to lunge at her and get in a good slash, but she teleports behind me and double bucks me in the thrones. Groaning, I get back up and quickly block an attempt by her to ram me with her horn. I try to dislodge my Nail from the block, but it gets stuck on a groove in her horn. “Damn it all!” I curse. She smirks, before she taunts me. “Aw, little grub too weak to defeat me?” I groan in annoyance, but not because of her taunt. “The second stage of my life cycle is the nymph (skin 1), not the grub! Remember, I’m a different species from you!” I groan, dragging my hand across my face. Chrysalis just looks at me incredulously, bewildered that I didn’t get angry about the taunt, but rather, how she got it wrong. I use this moment of confusion to lunge at her, and I successfully manage to get a few slashes in. I dash backwards as she swipes at me, and I see her horn begin to glow. ‘Oh, crap.’ I get flung into a wall by the Queen’s magic, picked up again, then flung into another wall. This process repeats for several minutes. When Chrysalis is finally done with me, I groan in pain, before staggering to my feet. “How are you so resilient!? I’ve been smashing you around, yet your exoskeleton doesn’t even look cracked!” She rages. I rush at her in her moment of rage, but she sees the attack coming, and before I can adjust my course, I end up on her horn. She flings me off my horn towards the girls who scream when they see my broken body sliding towards them. “KNIGHTY!” “NO!” “COME ON, KNIGHT! GET UP!” “I... will.. not.. FAIL..” I groan. Getting up, I cry out as a jolt of pain sweeps through my right leg, and fall onto one knee, panting. Closing my eyes, I begin focusing my SOUL. I hear the girls gasp as my body begins glowing, before I feel my wounds healing themselves, cell by cell. Slowly, but surely, my body stitches itself together, and I stand back up. Opening my eyes, I see the shocked Changeling Queen standing in the hall. I grin, and heft my Nail. But before I rush at her, a wave of pink overtakes my vision. As my vision clears, I witness the changelings get flung out of Canterlot by a strange barrier. Suddenly, I remember Celestia. Rushing outside, I quickly locate the hospital, and I begin dashing my way there. Quietly opening the doors to the Canterlot Hospital, I walk up to the receptionist’s desk. “Excuse me, I’m looking for Princess Celestia’s room,” I ask. “She’s in room 027,” she said, before looking up. The poor pony pales considerably, before asking, “W-why m-m-might you want t-to v-visit her?” “I was at the wedding ceremony when Chrysalis revealed herself, and I attempted to help Celestia when the two rulers dueled, but Celestia lost, so I told a guard to bring her here,” I explained. “O-okay...” she said, still a bit unnerved. I rolled my eyes before making my way to Celestia’s room. “Hello, little Knight,” The princess said. “Greetings, Princess,” I said, bowing. “You don’t have to do that, Knighty,” she giggled. I blushed before griping, “Great, now you’re calling me that all the time.” I glared at the princess as she snickered at my misfortune. She may be a royal, but if she keeps this up there’ll be some bits to pay! “I thank you for saving my life back there, and stopping Chrysalis,” she said, grateful. “You’re welcome, though in a way, protecting you and your subjects is my job, if I’m a Knight!” I joked. Suddenly, she got serious. “Knight, I promise you, we will find you a way home. Until then, you are welcome to stay in Ponyville and safeguard it from danger. We owe you that much,” Celestia offered. I thought for a moment, before I came to a conclusion.
Aftermath“Yes, I will,” I answer. “I expected that you’d agree,” Celestia said with a warm smile. Suddenly I began to feel light-headed. “Oh... crap..” I groaned, wincing as pain stabbed through me. “Oh, no! You’re bleeding, and bad! Nurse! NURSE!” She screams, as I totter over to a desk and begin leaning on it. My vision’s blurring, I’ve got to stay conscious, I can’t die now... My eyes dilated as my windpipe begins to constrict. “I-“ *HACK* “can’t brE-“ *COUGH* “aaAAHH-“ *CHOKE* *SPLUTTER* “HELP ME!” I scream, and is that blood on my arms!? I struggle to keep Celestia updated on condition while I cry out in pain, all the while I can tell I’m going to lose consciousness, no matter what I do. A nurse rushes in, and seeing my condition, gasps and rushes over to me, and attempts to help me to a hospital bed. But blackness begins to overtake my vision and my weight is enough to rip me out of the nurse’s grasp as I fall to the floor, unconscious. The last thing I hear before everything goes black is “KNIGHTY!” *THIRD PERSON POV* As the Knight falls out of the nurse’s grasp, Celestia leaps out of her hospital bed and bolts to the unconscious bug’s side. “He’s gravely wounded, Princess! I can see cuts and stabs all over. The Element bearers told me he healed himself after getting stabbed by Chrysalis’ horn, but it seems it wasn’t enough. Wait a minute... oh, no.. WE NEED TO GET HIM TO SURGERY! NOW!” the nurse barks. Celestia immediately, but gently, grabs the wounded bug and gallops at full speed towards the nearest operating room, with dozens of Equestria’s best doctors, surgeons, and nurses right on her heels. Breaking the doors down by accident (but paying them no heed), the Princess places the Knight on the operating table, a grim, but determined expression on her face. The receptionist, annoyed that this random pony had just burst in without an appointment looked over her desk, about to reprimand the pony, before paling as she realise who the pony was. “U-uh... Princess? Do y-you have an appointment?” the receptionist nervously asked. “No, but this is urgent. I have a being here who has been gravely wounded during the battle with the changelings in Canterlot. He was the one who stopped Chrysalis, and he needs surgery, now!” Celestia said. The receptionist quickly went back to her desk and put the appointment on the top of the priority list, while the dozens of medical personnel galloped in and headed to sterilise their hooves for surgery. Celestia began to pace inside the room, her head low. ‘I hope he makes it,’ she thought, as she allowed a tear to roll down her face. Twilight and her friends galloped into the hospital, concerned for their friend. They’d just gotten the news. Knighty had been wounded, and had to go into the operating room. “Are you the Element Bearers?” The receptionist asked, a look of urgency on her face. “Yeah! What happened to Knighty? How bad is it, and will he be okay?!” Dash asked. The others looked at Dash, surprised. Rainbow Dash hadn’t trusted Knighty much up until now, and had been slightly hostile to him when they got to Ponyville. To see her this concerned for him was a surprise. Noticing her friend’s stares, she blushed slightly, before answering her friend’s unsaid, but obvious questions. “He saved us back there. To be honest, he’s REALLY cool. Maybe even cooler than me! If he can stand up to Chrysalis like that, the I think he’s gonna pull through.” Looking at each other, they all thought simultaneously, ‘she’s got a crush on him,’ before shrugging. “It’s good to see you trust him now, Dashie! I still need to throw him a Welcome Party, and a ‘Yay, we beat Chrysalis!’ party,” Pinkie said, “but I don’t know if I’ll get to throw them for him, now that he’s...” she broke off, her mane deflating. Seeing her friend in distress, Applejack piped up, “Ah’m sure he’ll pull through, Pinkie. He’s made ‘o tough stuff, ah tell you. He’s brave fer somepony that young.” Pinkie looked up, her face brightening slightly, but still unsure. “How can you be sure? I got a look at him just earlier while he was visiting Celestia in here, and he was doing well, until he winced and began leaking blood everywhere, and began choking on his own blood, all the while SCREAMING FOR HELP! I EVEN SAW CELESTIA CRY!” she said, her voice starting out quiet, but raising in volume before ending in a scream. “Because Equestria’s best doctors and surgeons are working on him now,” a voice behind them said. Turning around, Twilight, recognising the pony, lunged at them and pulled them into a hug. “Princess Celestia! You’re okay!” She cried. Wincing, Celestia quietly protested her student’s actions. “Twi-ow-light, you’re-ouch- crushing ME!” the Princess, said as Twilight squeezed her harder. “Oh! Sorry, Princess,” Twilight apologised, blushing, while she released her teacher. “It’s okay, my student. My injuries aren’t too bad, I just need to take it easy for a bit. As for the Knight... well, you heard from Pinkie about his deteriorated condition,” Celestia said. “Yeah, I hope he makes it out okay... at first I thought he’d pull through, after all, he survived Chrysalis’ horn, but after hearing Pinkie’s account, even I’M not so sure anymore,” Rainbow Dash said, her voice low. “I assure you, he will survive. He just exited surgery, one of the surgeons sent me the message via telepathy several seconds ago, and his vitals are stable. We’ll get the details on his injuries... and one the nurses told me the reason they needed to operate on the Knight is because there was a lot of foreign contaminants and shrapnel lodged inside him, some just inches from his vital organs...” Celestia explained. Everypony in the room breathed a sigh of relief they didn’t know they’d been holding, overjoyed that their friend was on the path to recovery. A doctor stuck his head out into the hallway and shouted, “Celestia! We’re wheeling him into Intensive Care now. You should be able to visit him.” Hearing that, everypony looked at the Princess. “What are we waiting for, girls? Let’s go visit our friend!” Twilight said. Trotting down the hall towards the Intensive Care wing of the hospital, the seven ponies talked amongst themselves about what will happen next. “So, What are we going to do after Knighty gets out of the hospital?” Rainbow asked. “The wedding of course,” Celestia answered. “Huh. I thought you might do it without him,” Dash said. “Well, he deserves to be at my wedding after he defeated the witch who ruined it,” a new voice said. “Cadence! You’re okay, too!” Twilight squealed. Doing their trademark greeting, the two hugged. “How’s Shining? Is he okay?” Twilight asked. “He’s fine, just tired after being sapped of energy by Chrysalis,” Cadence said. “Are you also coming to visit Knighty?” Pinkie said. “Yes I am! Oh, one other thing - when I get my hooves on the Queen that hurt the poor little bug, I swear, I will tear her apart!” Cadence fumed, prompting reactions from the Mane Six. “Aye!” “Yeah!” “Me too!” “I’M - ah! - NOT LITTLE!” a voice screeched from the room they were outside. Raising their abused ears, the ponies looked at each other, before trotting inside. “Knighty! You’re awake!” Pinkie squeaked, before rushing over and crushing Knighty in a hug. “Pinkie-gasp-can’t-ack-BREATHE!” he rasped, prompting Pinkie to put him down. Groaning, he was propped up by Twilight’s magic. “It’s good to see you’re recovering, Knighty,” the unicorn said. “Yeah, although my back is killing me, not to mention I actually woke up during surgery. Oh, god, the pain,” he said, shuddering at the memory. “Try not to dwell on that memory, Knight. In the meantime, let’s think about the future,” Rarity said. “Like making me a new suit for the wedding?” he asked his voice dry. “Yes, and what we’ll do after the wedding. Like, maybe your name! We can’t just call you, ‘the Knight,’ ‘Knighty,’ or ‘Knight’ all the time, since the first and third are titles and not real names, and the second is more of a childish nickname. Although you are basically a child,” Rarity replied. “Yeah, you’re right...” the bug said, pondering for a moment. “Call me... Noble Guardian.” Author's Note AND now we have a name! (I can’t stop having the word ‘Noble’ in every name I create!) Unfortunately, it comes after a harrowing near-death experience for the Knight, but at least Chrysalis is gone and everything’s going right!
