Author's Note

Changed the fight scene so that the Paladin had trouble and was injured.

First Encounters Part 2

The saviors of Equestria charged forward, intent on saving the day, literally, and bringing justice to Nightmare Moon. Twilight Sparkle almost charged over a cliff in her enthusiasm to reach the castle. She was saved by her brave and loyal friend, Rainbow Dash, who had to catch her from running straight into the void. Following this, Rainbow Dash flew over the cliff and pulled up the broken bridge in order to allow them to cross. However, she was stopped by the Shadowbolts, evil creatures made from the magic of Nightmare Moon herself. Following this exchange, Rainbow Dash stuck by the side of her friends and denied the Shadowbolts their victory. After she reconnected the bridge, they planned to head inside the castle. The Mane Six were stopped, however, by thumps.

Thump, thump, thump.

The noise came from behind, and when they turned around they saw a fierce creature. It was a large, metal biped that held a massive shield, along with a hammer that could instantly crush any of the ponies present. Twilight Sparkle was the first to act.

“Quick, get behind me!” She said quickly as she threw herself in front of them. Just as quickly she formed a strong barrier capable of withstanding powerful magic attacks. However, she didn’t know if she could withstand the force of a Paladin.

Paladins were one of Equestria’s most ancient creatures dating back to the reign of Grogar, where they patrolled his prisons which contained high-value artifacts and creatures. Despite their corporeal appearance, Paladins are actually phantoms that create powerful armor for themselves through the use of their magic. The origin of these phantoms is unknown, as Grogar never revealed where he found them, but it is known that they are some of the most powerful spirits of Equestria.

The fact that Twilight was facing one herself was terrifying. Plus the Royal Guard was in no position to help at the moment as they were currently trapped in Canterlot fighting Nightmare Moon's army and cultists. They were all alone, with no backup nearby.

Suddenly, the Paladin stopped right in front of them, it held out its hands and pushed them forward and backward. Twilight, scared and confused, continued to hold her ground. When this failed to satisfy the beast, it began to make weird noises. It was deep and it sounded like grumbling. After listening for a while, Twilight realized the beast was trying to speak with her. So, in turn, she spoke back to it.

——————————

Jackson saw the purple pony jump ahead of the rest of them and create some kind of barrier around them. Putting two and two together, he figured the ponies were scared. So, he made a "stop" motion with his hands. Seeing as this did nothing, he began to speak, "Hello, creatures, I am Jackson. I am a creature that has been transported here through unknown means. I do not wish to enter combat with you, rather, I wish to make great partnerships with you and together we can strive to be better. Is that alright? Hello?" Jackson looked at the ponies as they looked at him in a confused manner. They seemed to no longer think they were in danger as they stared at him a little more. The purple pony began to make weird whinnying noises before Jackson noticed a beast behind them. It was a wolf that looked to be made of wood and had green, glowing eyes. Fearing for the group of pony’s safety, he yelled, "GET DOWN!"

——————————

Suddenly, the Paladin roared at the ponies and charged straight at them, hammer and shield equipped. The ponies quickly jumped out of the way as the beast barreled past them and right into something they didn't see. When they looked back they saw that the Paladin was now fighting with an Alpha Timberwolf. The Paladin had just charged into it with his shield and was now waiting for the Timberwolf to attack. The Timberwolf had already recovered and was now circling the Paladin. They stared at each other for a while, neither willing to make a move. Suddenly, the Timberwolf attacked, dodging a large hammer from the Paladin and striking it with the force of a car. The Paladin stumbled back, with the Timberwolf following him in order to get an extra shot on. However, the teeth of the Timberwolf was blocked by the shield of the Paladin, which nearly broke the Timberwolf's teeth in half. The Timberwolf whimpered, and ran away to try and avoid another attack. The Paladin threw the hammer straight at the Timberwolf, which barely managed to dodge the Timberwolf. Thinking the Paladin was now without a weapon, the Timberwolf advanced toward the Paladin. The Paladin's hammer then slammed straight into the back of the Timberwolf, taking out several chunks of wood with it. The Timberwolf, now enraged, charged toward the Paladin. It was too fast for him to try and attack as it scratched and bit him. The Paladin dropped the hammer and grabbed the Timberwolf by the tail. It threw the Timberwolf into a tree, breaking the tree in half and doing considerable damage to the Timberwolf. The Paladin threw his hammer once again, striking the Timberwolf in the head, nearly decapitating the Timberwolf and causing it to run off. Whimpering was heard throughout the Everfree Forest that night. The injured Paladin then went to check on the ponies, making sure none of them were hurt in the carnage.

“Wow, that was... quite the show.” Rarity commented from behind Twilight. The Paladin looked back toward the castle which was the destination for Twilight and her friends.

“Oh yeah, the Elements! Let’s go!” Twilight said as she zoomed past the Paladin. The others did the same, causing the Paladin some trouble in trying not to crush them.

The last one, a pony it had seen earlier while spying on the houses, quickly thanked him, “Thank you, mister, I would help you right now... but-um I have to go with my friends. I am sorry they were so rude to you, I'll try and make it up to you.”

When they finally passed the Paladin, it observed them rush into the castle. When it could no longer see the ponies, it shrugged and walked away.

——————————

“That was really weird.” Jackson thought to himself. He never thought that there would a massive freaking wolf made of wood try and hurt those ponies. That thing really hurt him too! Those scratches didn't just effect the metal.

“This world is strange, nothing here makes sense! Magical stuff and weird conscious ponies. What is going on? I’ll have to find answers, I guess. Well, at least I protected them. They should be safe and now I have good standing with them. Perhaps we can share things about ourselves later.” For now, though, Jackson wandered the forest. No creature dared step in the way of him, his hulking armor would prevent damage to himself anyway. He continued to wander throughout the night, eventually stumbling upon a hut.