MandoPony, a prevalent fan musician in the MLP fandom, has a song titled "Shining Armor." I put the title down on my big list of story ideas. While playing with a random Pokemon generator, I got Meloetta and Golurk. The match was perfect.
How, though, could I execute the story? After writing the ending of "Rhythm of the Night," the idea came to me. It was so perfect, so simple, but so incredibly powerful.
"Shining Armor" was born.
SHINING ARMOR
One night in September, a meteorite hit the forest outside of the City. Nobody paid attention to it. Nobody, that is, but Melody.
Melody was a Meloetta. She could sing, dance, and, according to legend, heal wounds with her tears. If you asked her, she would say that was a lie. She had cried more tears than any Pokemon, and she hadn't been healed in the slightest.
Kicked out of her apartment because she couldn't keep up on the rent, Melody had started staying at the Café Na Rigara. The Pokemon there were kind to her. John gave her food and drink in exchange for cleaning. Estelle always made sure she had a room to sleep in. Davy and Paul included her in their one two pickle games. Bill, hearing her sing one day, starting helping her refine her talent.
Nothing, though, helped Melody. Aching from injuries in the past, she played one two pickle without cracking a smile. She didn't beam when singing with Bill. Not even hot food soothed her heart. So if you asked about the magical healing tears of a Meloetta, Melody would tell you that the legend was false.
Melody had taken to wandering in the forest at night. That was dangerous, as Bill often told her, for packs of uncivilized Pokemon roamed the forests and wouldn't hesitate to rip apart anything that entered their territory. She wandered anyway. This was why she was the only one who paid attention to the meteorite. This is where the story begins.
Melody picked through a patch of brambles, wincing as the thorns pricked her skin. She couldn't quite remember where the meteorite had come down, but she thought it was around where she was.
She was finally able to push her way out of the brambles after a few minutes. Brushing herself off, Melody grumbled curses on the fools who saw fit to plant brambles in the forest. As she looked up from brushing herself off, Melody froze. In front of her was a large crater. The blackened earth was still smoking. In the middle of the crater was a metallic pod. Lines glowed along the surface of the pod.
Melody's interest was piqued. She clambered down the broken earth of the crater until she reached the pod. It was a strange object, covered with writing that she didn't recognize. Tentatively reaching out a hand, she poked the object and ducked. When nothing happened, she straightened up and began walking around the pod. The writing, she saw, covered the entire pod except for a single spot.
The spot was circular. There were lines on the spot, marking out five fingers and a palm. Melody tilted her head and, acting on instinct, placed her hand on the lines.
Immediately the spot lit up. Melody pulled her hand away quickly, but the light started spreading across the pod. Whenever the light hit a symbol, the symbol turned black. Melody ran around the pod, following the light. When the light on the side she was on hit the light on the other side, a beam of light shot out of the spot where the two waves of light met. The beam grew taller and wider, growing brighter until Melody had to close her eyes.
The light died away as quickly as it had appeared. Melody slowly opened her eyes. To her surprise, a large metal being was standing in front of her.
"QUIS EST TŪ." Melody jumped. She stared at the being. It slowly inclined its head toward her. "QUIÉN ES USTED." Melody backed away. "KIU VI ESTAS."
"Um… I don't understand any of that…" Melody whispered as she backed away. A rock shifted beneath her feet and she squeaked as she fell down.
"ARE YOU OKAY." Melody looked up from cradling her ankle. "ARE YOU OKAY."
"I will be… What are you?" Melody asked.
"I AM A GOLURK, BUILT TO FULFILL THE COMMANDS OF MY MASTER. I WAS COMMANDED TO LEARN." The Golurk focused its eyes on Melody and seemed to become more sentient as it did so. "WHO ARE YOU."
"Melody," Melody gasped as a wave of pain grabbed her ankle.
The Golurk frowned. "YOU ARE INJURED. ALLOW ME TO CARRY YOU BACK TO YOUR ABODE." Melody didn't have time to turn the Golurk down before it reached down. She closed her eyes, expecting the Golurk to be rough and jerky in movement, but the hand that picked her up was gentle and smooth. Opening her eyes, she saw the Golurk looking at her. "WHERE IS YOUR HOME."
"Here we are," Melody said, and the Golurk set her down in front of the Café Na Rigara. "Thank you."
The Golurk inclined its head. "YOU ARE WELCOME." It turned its head back and forth. "WHERE CAN I LEARN."
"The University is down the road…" Melody trailed off, realizing what would happen if the Golurk showed up at the University. It would be taken apart and studied mercilessly. "No! Don't go there!" she called, stopping the Golurk as it began to take a step. The Golurk set its foot down and turned to Melody.
"WHERE MAY I GO TO LEARN." The same request, but a different answer popped into Melody's head.
"I'll teach you," she offered. "You can't go to the University. They would break you. But I can teach you."
The Golurk narrowed its eyes slightly. "CAN YOU TEACH ME."
Melody wasn't quite sure, but she thought she could get Bill and Estelle to help her. "Of course I can."
Eyes returning to normal width, the Golurk looked at Melody as it picked her up. "THANK YOU, MELODY. I WILL BE ABLE TO FULFILL MY MASTER'S COMMAND."
"Wait! If I'm going to teach you, I can't just call you 'the Golurk.' Do you have a name?"
The Golurk closed its eyes for a moment. It opened them again and looked at Melody. "WHAT IS A NAME."
"It's what you call yourself. I'm called Melody," she explained. "Do you have a name?"
"NO. I AM A GOLURK. THAT IS ALL."
Melody rubbed her cheek. "I could give you a name, if that's okay." She hoped it would be okay.
The Golurk inclined its head again. "IF I CAN BE MORE THAN A GOLURK, I WILL BE ABLE TO FULFILL MY MASTER'S COMMAND."
"How about… Armor?" Melody asked, pulling inspiration from a childhood dream.
"ARMOR." The Golurk closed its eyes. "ARMOR." It opened its eyes. "ARMOR IS A GOOD NAME. I AM ARMOR."
Melody nodded in satisfaction. "We'll start tomorrow, Armor."
The next morning, Melody convinced Bill and Estelle to come with her into the forest. Armor had gone back to his pod after receiving his name.
"Why are we going into the forest so early?" Estelle asked, lifting her skirt to avoid a puddle. Melody hadn't thought it necessary to tell them what was going on right away.
"Oh, a project." Melody pushed aside some vines and let them fall back behind her. Bill lifted them again to allow Estelle to pass.
Beyond the vines was the clearing where Armor was waiting. Melody gestured to Armor, and when Estelle saw him, she nearly fainted. Bill steadied Estelle and glared at Melody.
"What is this, Melody?" His voice was dangerously low.
"This is Armor, Bill. I promised to teach him, and I thought you and Estelle could help me with things like science and math." Melody looked up at Armor. "Say hello, Armor."
"HELLO, FRIENDS OF MELODY. I AM ARMOR." Armor looked down at Melody. "HELLO, MELODY. WILL YOU TEACH ME TODAY."
Melody nodded. "I won't be the only one teaching you, Armor. Bill and Estelle will be helping."
"Melody…" Bill growled. "Can I talk to you?"
Pulling Melody a little into the trees, Bill glared even more sternly at her. "What is going on here?"
"Armor was commanded by his 'master,' whoever that is, to learn. I can't teach him everything!" Melody exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air. "I hoped you could help me…"
Bill put his head in his paws. "I suppose we don't have a choice?" he asked, voice muffled.
"Well, you always have a choice," Melody pointed out. "I'd just love you two even more if you chose to help!"
Estelle had recovered from her near-faint. "Bill, she's right. Melody can't teach Armor everything."
Bill stared at Estelle. "Now you're talking like it's some thinking being! It's a robot, Estelle! You can't teach a robot to think!"
Estelle gazed steadily, unflinchingly, at Bill. "You don't know that, Bill. Until today, you and I thought that robots were something from fairy tales." Estelle turned to Melody. "I'll help you, Melody."
"Fine, fine," Bill grumbled. "I'll help, too. I need to make sure that you two don't get yourselves killed."
"Thank you!" Melody yelled, grabbing Bill and Estelle and hugging them. "Let's go!"
The teaching of Armor started slowly. He was prone to slipping into different languages, ones that Bill hadn't even heard before. Once they were able to start teaching Armor how to write, things began to progress very quickly.
Within three days, Bill found it necessary to pull out his old University textbooks. Armor had read and absorbed everything in the high school texts in two hours. Bill hoped that the University texts would hold him for at least three.
Armor accepted the University texts with his usual solemnity. That night, Bill, Estelle, and Melody left Armor in the clearing as he studied a philosophy book.
"MELODY. WHAT IS CHOICE."
Melody looked up at Armor with confusion. "What do you mean, Armor?"
"WHAT IS CHOICE." Armor held up the philosophy book. "AMPHAROHN SPEAKS OF THE LAW OF CHOICE. I DO NOT KNOW SUCH A THING." Armor handed the book to Melody, who almost fell over from the weight of the book. After steadying herself, she flipped through the book to the section Armor asked about. Quickly scanning the section, Melody frowned.
That's a hard concept for Armor, she thought to herself, re-reading the passage. He was built to follow commands. How do you teach choice to one who is built….
"Choice," Melody said, choosing her words carefully, "is when you are presented with two options and you decide which one to pursue. It is… making decisions on your own, based on desire, not based on what you are commanded."
Armor lowered his head and closed his eyes. Melody had learned that this was how he processed information.
"I DO NOT HAVE CHOICE. I WAS BUILT TO FOLLOW COMMANDS." Armor sounded, Melody thought, almost forlorn.
"Of course you have choice!" Melody insisted. "Every being has choice. Every being can choose to do this or that, be happy or sad, or what to eat. It's part of us." She didn't know why she was arguing the point. Armor had told her multiple times that he was built to be commanded. Something, though, told her he could choose. "You are who you choose to be."
"THEN WHY DO YOU NOT CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY," Armor asked. Melody looked down at the ground.
"I'm not ready…" she whispered. Armor cocked his head slightly.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR."
She looked up at him, eyes watering. "My knight in shining armor." Then she told Armor about her childhood, her loneliness, her fears and concerns, even her fast-fading hopes. He absorbed it all quietly.
Melody stopped speaking, lowered her head again, and began to cry. Armor reached down and patted her gently on the back. She turned to him, tears falling steadily.
"YOUR KNIGHT WILL COME," Armor said confidently.
The next day, Melody arrived at the clearing to find Armor staring at the sky. She craned her neck to look with him, but she didn't see anything.
"What are you looking at?" she asked, dropping the bag of books she was carrying. Bill came out behind her, panting under a load of thick texts. "Thanks, Bill."
Bill wasn't able to set the texts down before falling over. "No problem," he groaned.
"I AM LOOKING AT THE STARS, MELODY," Armor said. He glanced down at a large paper he held in his hand. "THE STARS ARE MAGNIFICENT. THEY SCATTER ACROSS THE SKY."
Melody frowned. "You can't even see the stars!"
Armor marked the paper with a small tree, blackened by fire. "I AM ABLE TO SEE THE STARS, EVEN IN DAYLIGHT. I HAVE BEEN MAPPING THEM. I HAVE ALSO FLOWN TO MAP THEM." He showed Melody his paper. There were thousands of dots on it of varying sizes, each one representing a star.
Bill had managed to get to his feet. "That's impressive," he said, examining the paper. "That's one of the best star maps I've ever seen. You can fly?" Bill had, by degrees, warmed up to Armor. The previous day, Melody had caught him singing to himself as he carried the University textbooks.
"I CAN." As Bill continued to examine the star map, Armor turned his eyes to Melody. "IS IT TRUE THAT YOUR TEARS ARE MAGICAL."
The second bombshell in as many days. Melody closed her eyes and sat down. "No."
Armor handed Bill the paper and picked up a book. "DECATHA SAYS THAT THE TEARS OF A MELOETTA CAN HEAL WOUNDS. IS DECATHA WRONG."
"Yes."
Armor looked at the book. "DECATHA HAS DOCUMENTED EVIDENCE. BUT YOU ARE A MELOETTA. HE MUST BE WRONG." Bill looked up from the star map, brow furrowed at Armor's tone.
"Are you disappointed, Armor?" Bill asked.
"I AM DISAPPOINTED, BILL. I WONDERED IF MELODY'S TEARS COULD HEAL THE WOUNDS OF HER PAST. I…" Here Armor paused. This was an oddity, but Bill was excited. He had taken enough philosophy and psychology to know what was happening to Armor. "I WISH HER TEARS COULD HEAL HER," Armor finished simply.
"I do as well, Armor."
Melody did not return to the clearing for many days. Bill and Estelle took up the burden of teaching Armor, who was learning everything they had to show him with incredible speed.
Then one day, something unexpected occurred.
As Melody was walking down the path to the clearing, a blast of light temporarily blinded her. When it disappeared, she rubbed her eyes and looked to the sky. Her eyes widened.
"ARMOR!" she shouted, bursting into the clearing. She found him gazing up, looking at the same object she had seen.
"IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN, MELODY."
"What is that?!" she asked, nearing hysterics.
Armor lowered his gaze to Melody. "IT IS AN ENERGY BURST FROM YOUR SUN, MELODY. I HAVE BEEN TRACKING IT FOR TWO DAYS. I HOPED IT WOULD NOT ENTER THE ATMOSPHERE, BUT IT HAS."
"What do we do?" Bill's voice came from the forest. He and Estelle entered the clearing. "All the City officials have ordered an evacuation, but everyone knows that it's fruitless."
"LET US GO TO THE CITY." Armor began walking toward the City. Bill picked Melody up and raced after Armor, Estelle following close behind.
"Listen here!" a large, pompous Wigglytuff bellowed. "Evacuation is the only way I- I mean, we- can survive! Hurry up and move out!"
"Move yourself, fatty!" John called. "Bill," he said as Bill came up, "I don't think we're going to make it. Mayor Winston is adamant that we evacuate, but I don't think there's time."
"You're right. There isn't time," Bill said, looking at the sky. "We couldn't even get a mile away before it impacted."
Armor was standing in the middle of the street, looking at the chaos around his feet. "I CAN STOP IT."
"What?!" Melody shrieked. "NO!" Bill tried to hold onto her, but she wriggled out of his arms. "Armor, don't!"
"YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE IF IT HITS." Armor seemed confused at Melody's behavior.
"I know!" she screamed. "I don't want to lose you, though…"
"I DO NOT WANT TO LOSE YOU, EITHER," Armor said. "BUT IF YOU DO NOT SURVIVE, YOU WILL NEVER HEAL. YOU WILL NEVER FIND YOUR SHINING ARMOR. I WANT YOU TO FIND THESE THINGS." Armor turned and walked away from where Melody stood, stopping in a clear part of the street.
"NO!" Melody screamed as Bill held her back. "DON'T GO!"
Armor looked up into the sky, then back at Melody. "I CHOOSE TO SAVE YOU. THIS IS MY CHOICE." Armor looked back at the sky and the approaching burst of energy, bent slightly, then pushed himself into the air. Thrusters kicked in to propel him towards the energy.
"NOOOO!"
Armor flew toward the burst. No one knew where it had come from. No one knew what to do. Armor, though just a Golurk, instinctively knew that he could stop the energy.
You are who you choose to be. Melody's words echoed in his head. He narrowed his eyes at the energy. Steam began rising off of his skin.
"I CHOOSE TO BE YOUR ARMOR."
On the ground, all the inhabitants of the City watched in amazement as Armor impacted with the energy burst. There was a brilliant explosion and the inhabitants had to cover their eyes.
When it was safe to look, Bill let Melody go. Melody searched the sky for Armor, but couldn't find any sign of him.
"Armor…"
"Look!" Estelle shouted, pointing at a dot. The dot grew larger. "It's Armor!"
Melody looked up and jumped to her feet just in time to see Armor crash into the forest outside of the City. "ARMOR!" she yelled.
"Wait!" Bill's cry went unheeded as Melody dashed off into the forest.
"ARMOR!" Melody called as she pushed through the brambles. "ARMOR!" Didn't he fall around here? Her thoughts were interrupted by a flicker of blue in her peripheral vision. She spun around and dashed toward the blue.
A crater smoked in the earth, and Armor's bruised and broken body lay in the center of the crater. Melody couldn't speak as she raced into the crater and climbed onto Armor's chest.
"Armor?" she asked. She waited. "Armor?" There was no response.
"Armor! Please… please wake up. Please!" Tears were streaming down Melody's face and onto Armor's chestplate. "I need you, Armor. Wake up. Please!" Melody sniffed. "You're my knight in shining armor…"
The tears rolled down Armor's chestplate, leaving tracks in the grime and soot. Melody waited, hoping against hope that Armor would spark back. But he didn't.
Fresh waves of tears fell onto Armor as Melody collapsed and curled up on his chestplate. "Armor…" she whispered. "Come back… Armor…" She shuddered at a cool wind. "Armor…"
Melody lay on Armor's chestplate, whispering his name and begging him to come back. She was still doing it when Bill and Estelle found her.
"Melody!" Bill called. "Melody?"
"She's in denial, Bill," Estelle muttered. "The best we can do is to give her a blanket and leave."
Bill opened his mouth to speak but a noise stopped him. The noise came from Armor. Melody didn't seem to hear the noise. "What was that?" Bill asked. Estelle shrugged.
The noise came again, then once more. "It sounds like… grinding gears," Estelle said hesitantly. "But that blast should have put Armor out of commission for good."
The noise occurred once more, but this time it was smoother and constant. Another noise signaled the moving of a second gear, then a third, until the noises became smooth enough to be silent.
Melody was crying and hiccupping when she felt something move. She shook her head, refusing to hope. A second movement rocked her, and she squeezed her eyes shut. There was no way that Armor could be back.
"MELODY. WHY ARE YOU CRYING."
Gasping, Melody started violently and fell off of Armor. He raised his hand just in time, though, catching her as she fell.
"You're… alive?" Melody asked breathlessly. "You're alive?"
Armor nodded slightly. It was all he could do while on his back. "I AM. YOUR TEARS WASHED AWAY THE FATIGUE. THEY ARE MAGICAL TEARS."
Melody just looked at Armor. Armor's mouth twitched, then spread into an awkward smile. "I CHOSE TO BE YOUR KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR, MELODY."
More tears welled up in Melody's eyes as she hugged Armor tightly. "Never do that again, okay?" Melody was trying to scold Armor, but she couldn't keep the happiness out of her voice.
"I AM YOUR KNIGHT, MELODY, AND SWORN TO PROTECT YOU. BUT I WILL NOT DO THAT AGAIN. DO NOT WORRY, AND DO NOT CRY."
With a thumb, Armor wiped the tears from Melody's face. And for the first time in a very long time, Melody smiled.