The Inventor and the Red Lady

by MadNimrod

Afternoon

She was toying with him. That much was obvious. She was airborne and firing spells down at Watson as he ran, spells that would incinerate him, but they would just barely miss. The ground would always get rent apart from the spell, but Watson was unhurt. Then she would laugh. This was a game to her. Watson did not like that one bit. ‘Alright,’ he thought to himself, ‘let’s play.’ Pushing aside his fear, Watson turned and fired a bolt at the alicorn above him. This surprised her and the magic grazed her face. A shallow cut, nothing more, but this was a cut on her. Instead of anger, however, she smiled again. This toy had teeth.

As she fired another spell, the small unicorn disappeared in the explosion only to slam into her back. She barely lost any altitude but looked at Watson in surprise as he bucked her in the face. With little effort, she shook off the unicorn and he fell. In a wink of green magic, he disappeared again. He didn’t reappear. After a few moments, the Red Lady landed and looked around the now-jagged cliff. She could recognize a teleport spell a mile away, but she didn’t feel any bursts of magic. Where did he go?

Watson was hiding behind a pile of boulders and debris. He wanted to take loud, deep breaths, but his training made him only take shallow, quiet breaths. The Red Lady was only a few yards away, on the other side of the same debris pile Watson was leaning against. Poking his head out ever so slightly, he saw her back was to him. She couldn’t see him. She turned her head left and right, and then trotted away from the boulders. Watson leaned back behind the cover and gave a quiet sigh of relief. Once he caught his breath, he would make a dash for the edge and jump, teleporting whenever he could to decrease the distance to the ground and slow his descent. Once he landed, he would cast a haste spell and-

“Found you,” said a soft, velvety voice from behind Watson.

---

Watson was trotting back home from his latest job. That unicorn in the library (Twilight, was it?) had him fix her telescope, and she paid him a pretty bit for it, too. She didn’t need to, because it was an easy fix. By easy, he meant nearly every internal part needed repairing. It was easy to him, though. His cutie mark was a set of three gears. He was bound to be good at mechanical work.

He trotted down the street, taking in the various sights and sounds. Carousel Boutique looked fancy as ever. A couple mares were walking out in dazzling dresses, one pink, the other a bright blue. Behind them came a tall stallion in a tight, black suit. It looked sharp and high-class. Watson gave a short laugh.

He wouldn’t be caught dead wearing one of those.

As he got further, he passed Rose’s flower stall. She waved as he passed, and he waved back. She was a nice mare, pretty too. Pretty deadly with a pair of spiked gauntlets. She didn’t look it, but what else could one expect from an undercover Paladin of Equestria?

Looking around again, Watson could spy other Paladins here. There was Sea Swirl, master of water magic, talking to Mjolna, an Earth Pony of indescribable strength. He noticed some before, but after the Elements of Harmony were re-attuned, many more Paladins arrived to safeguard the Bearers. Say, wasn’t Twilight a Bearer? He’d have to ask later. At the moment, Watson was the least bit envious of these Paladins. During his time in the Paladins, Watson never got an undercover protection assignment. He was always sent on spy missions. The sort where he couldn’t afford to make friends the way the Paladins here in Ponyville could. Couldn’t risk being discovered.

Dang, he was thinking depressing thoughts again. Turning his head, he spotted Sugarcube Corner a block away. Maybe something sweet would cheer him up. As he turned, a white blur landed in front of him.

“Watson!” he exclaimed. “Knew it was you!” Addressing the small unicorn was a tall, white Pegasus with a red mane and a cutie mark resembling a postage stamp. Redstamp, a Pegasus of Cloudsdale, and courier for the Paladins. “How’ve you been, kid?”

“Been okay, Red,” Watson smiled. “How about you?”

“Scooting by. Not much has changed these past few years.” Spotting Sugarcube, Redstamp announced, “Say, I’ve got a few minutes. Wanna grab a bite?”

“Did Phalanx send you here?” Watson asked. He might have been a Knight-Commander in Celestia’s court, but Watson wouldn’t put it past that grey Pegasus to try and use and old friend to bring him back.

“You kidding?” the Pegasus asked. “Near as Phalanx is concerned, I’m on my way back from delivering a message to one of our guys in the Outer Lands. I’m not due back until sundown, but I caught a good long tailwind.”

“In that case,” Watson walked past his taller friend, “come on. I was headed this way anyway.” The two trotted into the sweet shop, placed their orders and waited as Mr. Cake took the orders to the kitchen. The two friends could hear cheerful singing coming from the kitchen as they sat at one of the tables.

“Does the cook usually sing?” Redstamp asked.

“Only the pink one.” Watson replied.

“Oh. Well, I didn’t know you moved here, Watson,” Redstamp stated. “I thought you were still in Canterbury. When did you move here?”

“Four years ago,” Watson replied, “a bit after the Shetlands assignment.”

“Gotcha.” After a brief moment, Redstamp said, “I know it might be a bit late, and I know I’ve said it already, but I’m sorry about what happened to Dawson. Wish I could’ve been there.”

“No you don’t,” Watson shook his head. “Even your speed would have been of little help.”

“You mean, against her?” Redstamp asked. “Maybe, but I still feel bad. I was stationed in Drackenridge. That’s just a few miles from Percheron Ridge. If I had known-“

“Stop,” the smaller of the two ordered. “We came here to talk about happy times, not talk about that time.” Great, Watson was feeling bad again. “I got away. That’s what’s important. Anyway, I’ve been here since then, working as a handypony and trying to get admitted into the Science Academy. It’s not the best paying line of work,” Watson gave a snarky smile, “but it beats being chased by eighteen love-struck gryphons, right?”

“You’re never gonna let that one go, are you?” Redstamp laughed. “Phalanx and a few of the other pegasi wouldn’t shut up about it for weeks! Dust Devil started calling me “Lovestamp” after that! I didn’t ask them to chase me!”

“Yet you did drink that attraction potion Graphite was testing.”

“I thought it was milk!”

“It was purple! What kind of animal makes purple milk!?”

The two friends laughed at the sheer absurdity of that event as Mr. Cake came back with their dozen doughnuts. Watson and Redstamp continued to talk about the old days, before their time as Paladins, for the most part. They spoke for another hour before Redstamp figured he couldn’t keep Phalanx waiting.

“You know how he is,” the white Pegasus chuckled. Furrowing his brows, he impersonated his commander. “Con-sarnit, you foals! When I say be here by such-and-such time, you should ask me if I want you to bring any bagels, not argue! Now fall in line before I punt you out the window!”

“That’s him,” Watson agreed. “It was nice seeing you again, Red.”

“Nice seeing you, too.” Redstamp turned to leave, but stopped and asked, “One more thing: Got any girlfriends?”

“Redstamp!” Watson exclaimed before his Pegasus friend shot into the sky with a laugh. The unicorn gave an annoyed sigh. How could a total goofball like him be a lieutenant-colonel? Watson never understood that. Admittedly, it was nice to see on old friend again without having them try to bring him back to Canterlot. With a chuckle, Watson turned and headed home.

His house was a short distance outside of Ponyville, on the opposite side from the Orchards. This way, if any invention got out of control, it wouldn’t do any real damage to the town. Other than the fact it was built to his scale, it hardly looked any different from the other houses. Looks could be deceiving, however.

Watson walked up to the door and used his horn to twist the door knocker upside down. When he did this, the doormat flipped downward and Watson fell into the ground. He didn’t fall far. This drop-off was just a way to quickly access his workshop. When he landed, he looked up to make sure the mat swung back into place. It had a habit of staying open. This was particularly troublesome during the rainy seasons. As it swung closed, Watson pulled out the scroll from his bag. While repairing Twilight’s telescope, her dragon assistant belched up a scroll. While this act was surprising to Watson in-and-of-itself, even more surprising was that it was addressed to him. There was some writing on the side requesting that Spike deliver it to Watson. It was mighty convenient he was there. He waited until he got home before reading it to avoid attracting attention. It read:

“Watson MacMaren,

“I have been trying to contact you for a few days. Phalanx only recently told me you currently reside in Ponyville. As I said four years ago, you have my condolences over the loss of your brother, Dawson. He was a good Paladin, just like you were. I’ve heard you had a hoof in defending Ponyville from the Changelings, so I feel you should be rewarded, despite your retirement. Enclosed with this scroll is a ticket to this year’s Grand Galloping Gala. It might be a good idea for you to talk to some old friends. You may be cheerful on the outside, but I can tell you’ve closed yourself off from others. Attending the Gala might be a good idea.

Princess Celestia Tia Chronos

P.S. Phalanx wanted me to try and recruit you back into the Paladins. He’s been moping since you sent back his last letter unopened with a big ‘NO’ on the back. I say you don’t have to come back. You were a good Paladin, and you’ve earned your retirement.”

Watson smiled. The Princess always was a compassionate soul. Maybe he would attend this year. He’d have to get some fancy clothes, though. Didn’t look forward to that one bit. Oh wait, there was something else.

“P.P.S. Don’t worry about fancy outfits. You left your Paladin regalia here at the castle when you retired. You can use the Gala as an opportunity to retrieve them.

P.P.P.S. No, I’m not trying to recruit you again, and I’ve told Phalanx to leave you alone for the duration of the Gala.”

Well, that solved that problem. Watson always did like the dark blue uniform with its gold trimming. Admittedly, the medals would weigh it down (he was a skilled Paladin, after all), but that was only a minor worry. The tan unicorn smiled. Maybe this Gala would help him out. Give him time to relax amongst friends, revisit old haunts, and maybe talk to the Princesses.

His train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door. Probably Ditzy with the mail. Feeling better than he had in years, Watson rushed up to greet the mail pony. It wasn’t a good idea to keep her waiting.

Ditzy Doo was a Paladin of incredible strength, after all.

---

Celestia was in her throne room, dealing with the usual court duties, when a green-maned Pegasus guard rushed in. He ran right up to the steps leading to her throne, removed his helmet, and bowed.

“My Lady,” he addressed, “a messenger just arrived at the castle gates.”

“A messenger?” the regal white alicorn asked.

“Yes,” the guard replied. “A messenger from the Shetlands. From the Red Lady.”

Author's Note:

Hello! I finished chapter two! I know it's a bit slow, and maybe rushed, but don't worry! Chapter three will be a bit more exciting.