The Inventor and the Red Lady

by MadNimrod

Chapter 3: Brewing Storm

“This was an amusing chase,” the Red Lady admitted, “but the game ends here, child.” She was standing right next to Watson, with her head down next to his. The tan Paladin could feel her breath in his ear. He was completely paralyzed from fear.

“For one your size, you did quite well,” the scarlet alicorn congratulated. She started brushing Watson’s back with her wing (causing the small unicorn to blush uncontrollably) as she continued, “I am impressed with how far you got. I may be the Princess of War, but I am not without mercy. I am prepared to let you go, child. All you have to do is give these,” she patted his saddlebags with her wing, “to me. No lies, no strings attached. You return these to me, I release you.” She smiled. “Please be smart.”

What should he do? What could he do? One wrong move and he was dead. He promised his brother that he would get to Equestria. He would report to Phalanx and Celestia. He promised he would survive. Watson gave a sigh and lowered his head.

He wouldn’t be able to keep that promise.

---

Watson jerked awake to the sound of someone knocking on his window. Who would knock on his window at-what time was it?-11:30 at night? Walking to his window, he opened the curtains and saw a very serious-looking, grey-blue Pegasus.

“Ditzy?” he asked in a half-asleep haze.

“No time,” the cross-eyed Pegasus immediately replied. “Get dressed and meet us out front.” She trotted out of view. Us? Multiple Paladins were waiting for him? Shrugging off his sleepiness, Watson hurried to get dressed. He had never seen Ditzy look so serious before. Donning his vest and grabbing a small bundle from his dresser, Watson rushed outside.
There were indeed multiple Paladins waiting for him along with a flying carriage strapped to a pair of unknown pegasi. Along with Ditzy, there was Redstamp (without his trademark grin), Thunderlane and…

“Miss Cheerilee?” Watson asked. “You’re a Paladin, too?” He did not see that one coming.

The maroon Earth Pony gave a brief smile. “Always keeping an eye out for potential recruits. Now, get on the carriage, Watson. You’ve been Royally Summoned.” That was serious. Celestia, while being the more quirky Princess, was not prone to summoning subjects during the night without good reason. Hopping into the carriage, Watson gave the unknown pegasi a nod and they shot into the sky. Flying on either side were Redstamp and Ditzy. It wasn’t until now that Watson noticed that Red and Ditzy were in black plate armor with gold trim. Even their wings were covered in small plates. Pegasus battle regalia.

“What’s going on?” Watson asked Redstamp.

“The Princess and the Commander wanted to tell you in person,” the white Pegasus explained. “None of us know much beyond that Her Highness requested to see you immediately.” The remaining hours of the trip were spent in a contemplative silence. Watson looked at the sky as the carriage flew along. It was only a couple years ago when Princess Luna returned, and Watson had never seen so beautiful a night sky before then. As they landed at Canterlot Castle, Watson immediately noticed the increase of guard traffic. As a few of the guards took notice of the new arrivals, they rushed the Paladins to the throne room while the two carriage pegasi were unfastened from the carriage.

As they entered the throne room, Watson saw Celestia standing at the base of the steps, and next to her was Commander Phalanx. He was a tall grey Pegasus with a spiky white mane and two scars on his right cheek. His face was always serious, but tonight Watson could tell it was for good reason. Even Celestia herself lacked the kind, compassionate smile she usually had.

“Watson,” Celestia addressed, “I’ve called you here due to a matter of national security.” No pleasantries. This night was getting better by the minute. “A messenger arrived at the Castle a week ago. He was from the Shetland Territories.”

‘Crap,’ Watson mentally stated.

“He came bearing a message from his Princess,” Celestia continued, “It stated that she was willing to sign a peace treaty with us so we could pass through the Shetlands to start diplomatic relations with the nations on its other side.”

“That’s awfully nice of them, your Majesty,” Watson stated. “From my experience with the Shetland Ponies, it’s unlikely they’ll do this without getting something in return.”

“That is the case,” Phalanx sighed. “They requested two things in return: First, the return of all the files stolen during your mission four years ago.”

“Those?” Ditzy asked with a puzzled expression. “Surely, they don’t think we wouldn’t have made copies of them.”

“Actually,” Princess Celestia replied, “the note did say that she was aware we would make copies, but wants the originals since a few of them were more than a century old.”

“It’s the second thing that brings you here today,” the grey Pegasus continued. “The Red Lady also requested we turn Watson over to them.”

“What?” Redstamp spoke up. “You sure she wants Watson?”

“She requested him by name.” As everyone was in a stunned silence, Celestia lifted a long scroll and read, “The note states, ‘The second thing we require for the treaty to be signed is for you to give us custody of the unicorn agent responsible for the theft of the aforementioned files. He is a tan unicorn with a dark brown mane and tail. His eyes are blue and his cutie mark is a set of three machine gears. His most notable features are that his horn is bent forward towards the tip and he is exceptionally small. To avoid any confusion, his name is Watson MacMaren.’ That is too clear cut to be able to send a body double.”

“Wait,” Ditzy asked, “how did she learn your name? Did you tell her back then?”

“Of course not!” Watson denied. “I would never reveal my identity like that. Putting that aside,” he turned back to Celestia, “are you going to turn me over? I have no qualms if you do, but…”

“Don’t worry,” Celestia shook her head. “We brought you here to place you under protective custody.”

“Why?” Redstamp asked. “Wouldn’t he safer in Ponyville? I mean, I’m a family friend and I only recently learned he was living there.”

“Not as safe as you think,” Ditzy stated.

"You see,” Phalanx clarified, “the messenger arrived a week ago, and we’ve been stalling him ever since. However, the Shetland Princess is rather determined. One of our agents in Manehatten spotted a known Shetland agent asking around for a unicorn of your description last week. The day after the messenger arrived, a Shetland agent was questioning residents of Canterbury.”

“And earlier today,” Ditzy finished, “I stopped a pony that was going from house to house looking through the windows. As I was ‘interrogating’ him, he dropped the fact that he was a Shetland Pony looking for a tan unicorn.”

While Redstamp pondered what Ditzy passed as “interrogating,” Watson was in shock of how badly the Red Lady wanted him. “W-why does she want me so bad?”

“Maybe because you got away?” the white Pegasus asked. “She might want you back to finish the job.”

“If she wanted me dead,” Watson asked, “why not kill me when she had the chance four years ago?”

“I concur,” Celestia nodded. “She is the Princess of War, after all. If she let you live, I doubt it’s so she can kill you later. However, I’m not willing to risk losing one of my subjects by just handing you over.”

“What do you propose?” the former Paladin asked.

“I will speak to her directly,” Celestia responded. “It will take time to set up a meeting, so in the meantime you will stay here.”

“In the same place as the very messenger I am to hide from?” Watson asked. “Forgive my lack of wisdom, but this seems like a bad idea.”

“Not after I do this,” Celestia smiled for the first time that evening. Her horn chimed with a small spurt of magic and she pointed it at Watson. He felt warm and tingly for a brief moment as her horn quieted down. “I’d like to see those Shetland Ponies try to see through that.”

“See through what?” Watson asked. He saw Ditzy give him a bewildered look while Redstamp tried (and failed) to stifle a laugh. “What?” Phalanx gestured to the floor, which was polished to the point of being reflective. Watson looked at his reflection and choked. There wasn’t a tan unicorn looking up at him. There was a white Pegasus in guard regalia. Looking over his shoulders, he saw wings. Big, white, wings. “Sweet YOU, Celestia! Are these REAL?”

Princess Celestia giggled. “No, it’s just an illusion, so don’t jump out of any windows. You’re going to have to pose as a guard for a while. Your quarters are already arranged. Redstamp, Ditzy Doo, you two will also stay to provide extra security.” The Princess of the Day gave a yawn. “Best get to sleep everyone. We’ll have some long days ahead of us.”

---

Long was right. Watson was forcibly reminded why he joined the Paladins and not the Guard as his legs cramped up for the sixth time that day. If he were running, jumping or even crawling it would be okay, but as a “guard” in the throne room, he just stood by the throne the whole time. He wasn’t even able to pace. How did the other guards keep their legs from cramping?
It had been two weeks since Watson was taken into “protective custody.” He spent most of that time in the throne room, the library or his quarters, which was a recently repurposed storage room. Oddly enough, the lingering smell of potatoes had a relaxing effect after a long day of standing guard.

Meanwhile, Redstamp and Ditzy flew around Canterlot, keeping an eye out for potential Shetland agents. So far, none had been seen. Even the messenger, who was staying at the castle until the files and pony could be produced, spent most days in his chambers. Watson caught a glimpse of him once, but it was a fleeting glance and the messenger was gone before Watson fully realized what he saw. He knew the illusion that Celestia threw over him would hide his identity, but he still didn’t want to see how close a call he could make.

Watson gave a sigh of relief as the cramp in his leg disappeared. Maybe he would ask Redstamp to pick up some doughnuts the next time he went out. His shift was almost over. Just one more hour by the throne and-

Watson never was so lucky. The doors burst open and in came one of the largest Unicorns Watson had ever seen. He was tall as Phalanx and had black fur. His mane was a fiery red and his eyes literally glowed with purple magic. He wore red-and-black armor with gold trimming. His helmet was emblazoned with black fire. It was the Shetland messenger.

“This waiting has gone on long enough!” the messenger shouted with a gruff voice. “I have been here nearly a month, Celestia, and you have yet to produce that damnable unicorn! How hard can it be to find one unicorn!?” As he was shouting, the unicorn was stomping towards the throne. Before he could reach it, seven guards, Watson included, leaped in his way. The messenger only stopped when he saw the wall of guards. Upon closer inspection, Watson could see a long, thin scar on the right side of this unicorn’s face.

“You,” Watson growled, “will refer to her as ‘Princess Celestia,’ Shetlander.”

“Those manners,” Celestia calmly reprimanded, “will not speed up the process.”

“The Red Lady could have searched all of Equestria three times by now!” the messenger shouted.

“Your Princess,” Celestia calmly explained, “is requesting I find one unicorn. There are over three million ponies in Equestria alone, and my knights have yet to search the Outer Lands and the settlements around the Dragonmount. That will take several more months at least.” The Princess of the Sun descended from her throne as she continued, “If you wish, you may return to the Shetlands with the files, and I will inform my dear cousin when I find this small unicorn.”

The messenger was silent for a brief moment before stating, “I was ordered to remain here until the search was done. To return without Watson MacMaren would be…dishonorable.”

“And your little outburst was honorable?” one of the other guards asked. This question startled the messenger. He thought for another moment, and then sighed.

“Forgive my outburst, your Majesty,” the Shetland Pony bowed. “I am…eager to return home. Surely, you must know what is like to be away from your family for a long time.”

“I do,” the ivory alicorn nodded. “If you wish, I could write a note for your Princess explaining everything.”

“The offer is appreciated,” the giant unicorn smiled, “but it wouldn’t help. My Lady is adamant in her orders. Not even your intervention would help.” He looked at all the guards and nodded. “I will return to my chambers now.” Without any more words, the messenger turned right around and left the chamber a lot quieter than when he entered. The six actual guards moved back to their positions while Watson stood still for a bit longer.

“Is everything alright?” Celestia asked.

“Milady,” Watson stated, “I’ve met that unicorn before.” This caught the Princess by surprise.

“What? When?”

“Four years ago,” the former Paladin replied, “when Dawson and I were trying to flee the capital. He was there.”

“Are you certain?” Celestia asked with a tone of concern.

“I’m the one who gave him that scar on his face.”

---

Watson was running down one of the Shetland capital’s many streets. Behind him was a large unicorn with black fur. The Shetland unicorn was firing blasts of magic at Watson, but the small unicorn was proving to be a difficult target. It appeared even the added weight of two filled saddlebags did nothing to slow down the Equestrian unicorn.

“Hold still, you runt!” the unicorn roared as his eighteenth blast missed its mark completely.

“Make me!” Watson replied. The Shetland Pony fired another spell, but this one only barely missed. Almost reflexively, Watson turned and fired a bolt of his own. There was a scream of surprise as Watson’s bolt grazed the soldier’s face. Without another thought, Watson’s horn hummed again and the piles of trash nearby flew at the soldier unicorn. He screamed again as the trash knocked him off his hooves and piled on top of him. It was an almost comical sight. With a short laugh, Watson turned and fled from the scene. He could see his brother a bit further away. They waved at each other and ran to rejoin.

Neither of them heard the roar of magic until it was too late.

---

Watson finished his account of his encounter with the knight. The two had moved to her private study so nopony else would hear. Celestia contemplated this recent development while Watson tried his hardest not to relive what happened next. The memories still flooded in, unfortunately. Finding his brother lying in a pool of his own blood, the Shetland Ponies approaching…

“This complicates matters,” Celestia broke the silence. “The illusion I cast changes your appearance, but not your voice. Do you suppose there is any chance that the knight would remember your voice?”

“I doubt it,” Watson replied, eager to shake off the depressing memories. “I only spoke a few words when we met, and it did happen four years ago. Although, I will still take precautions so he does not get the chance to investigate if he became at all suspicious.”

“That is wise,” the ivory alicorn agreed. “I’ll have you stationed in the gardens for the next few days. I sent my meeting request the day you arrived, so I should be getting a reply any day now. Take the rest of the day off.” Celestia started writing on a scroll while Watson stood in place, clearly thinking something. “Is there something else?”

“In the throne room,” the tan unicorn said, “you referred to the Red Lady as your cousin. Is that true?”

“Indeed it is,” Celestia replied. “All of us Elder Royalty are related. We were all the firstborn of Chronos and Flora or Solarion and Fauna. Luna and I are of Chronos' line. She and her siblings are of Solarion's line. Why?”

“Well,” Watson explained with some hesitation, “if she’s related to you, why don’t you refer to her by name? I mean, everyone calls you Princess Celestia, your honored sister Princess Luna, and your niece Princess Cadenza, but I’ve never heard anyone call the Princess of War anything but the Red Lady. Why is that?” Celestia left her desk and walked to the window overseeing the gardens.

“She and her siblings,” Celestia explained, “are special, even among the Elder Royalty. Their names are words of power among the rest of us. If I say her name, her influence will come over me. I would become angry, destructive even. That is why you won’t hear me say any names. That’s also why even the Paladins don't know the names of alicorns beyond Luna, Cadence and myself.”

“Her influence?” Watson asked. “Does that mean if I say it-’’

“No,” Celestia interjected, “You won’t be affected. The influence only affects alicorns. Normal ponies won’t be affected. Anything else?”

---

Watson patrolled around the castle gardens, clearly enjoying this more than his throne room assignment. It had been a few days since Celestia told him of the significance of royal names. True to his word, he had not told a soul, not even Redstamp and Ditzy. The two pegasi were still keeping an eye out for Shetland agents, but that task had lightened up since the throne room confrontation. No new reports came saying that Shetlanders were searching for Watson. In fact, many Shetlanders actually left Equestria, returning to their native country.

Meanwhile, Celestia was still awaiting a reply from the Red Lady. She admitted that it was unusual for her to take so long with a reply, but told Watson not to worry anyway. That didn’t stop him from worrying. The thoughts of the Princess of War plagued his mind while Watson walked through the gardens. What was she doing? Why did she want him so bad? As he was lost in thought, the disguised unicorn wandered into the Statue Side of the gardens. Soon, his thoughts were on admiring the detailed statues and the ponies they immortalized.

To Watson’s left was a statue of Star Swirl the Bearded, a unicorn Watson felt wasn’t known enough. To his right was Laurel, the Earth Pony flag bearer of Celestia and former Element of Loyalty. Ahead of him was a small statue of Clef Spellmane, the youngest Archmage of Equestria’s Magic Academy. His statue had a wreath of flowers at its base. Watson bowed his head reverence. Clef had given his life to end the war against the Gryphon Kingdoms a hundred-fifty years ago. The former Paladin always respected Clef, but hoped he wouldn’t share the same fate. Then his eye caught a statue a bit away from the rest.

It was a tall, thin statue of a non-pony. It was an amalgamation of various creatures. One foot was a hoof; the other was a three-toed foot. One arm was like a lion’s and the other was similar to a hawk’s leg. It held its arms out like it were trying to stop something and its face was contorted in fear. Watson glared at this statue and spat on it. This was the petrified Discord, Lord of Chaos. While Watson didn’t face him directly two years ago, he did deal with some of the chaos he spread. Watson did not enjoy fighting his own inventions.

“If you can hear me,” Watson told the statue, “I hope you stay in there for a lot longer than last time.” After that, he noticed a small cluster of statues behind Discord.

There were four alicorns in a semicircle facing outward. Only one of them looked like a traditional alicorn, if such a thing were possible. The alicorn second-from-the-left was gaunt with sunken eyes, and its feathers were curled in like a hand in a partial fist. Next to this one was an alicorn that looked like it was made of insects, snakes and scorpions. Its eyes were beetles, and its wings looked like they had exoskeletons. The last one on the right also had sunken eyes, but looked way healthier than the gaunt one on the other side of the bug-alicorn. Its wings were skeletal, with no flesh attached to them and seemed to have way too many bones. While these were freaky enough, what startled Watson was the alicorn on the far left.

The one on the far left was the Red Lady.

Why did Celestia have a statue of the Red Lady here? Now that he thought about it, Watson figured that Celestia would have statues of her relatives, since she rarely left Equestria. Or even Canterlot, for that matter. It would make sense she would have statues commissioned so she could see them, in a manner of speaking. Looking down, he saw each statue had a nameplate by their front hooves. The Red Lady was, of course, named the Princess of War. The gaunt one next to her was the Princess of Famine. The one with the bugs was the Prince of Pestilence. The last one on the right was the only one with an actual name: Mauso’Liam, the Prince of Death. In front of all the nameplates was a large plate that said, “The Heirs of the Last Days.”

“That statue doesn’t do her beauty justice, does it?” asked a voice behind Watson. The disguised former Paladin turned around and saw the Shetland unicorn standing next to the petrified Discord. Only this time, something was different. The messenger’s eyes weren’t glowing.

“What do you mean?” Watson asked.

“You’re not that good at deflecting topics,” the messenger replied. “Don’t get me wrong, that’s a good disguise, and I barely saw through it, but my Lady taught me something that pierces through all but the toughest illusions with ease.” The truth hit Watson like a brick in the face.

“Your eyes,” Watson stated. “That was a True Seeing spell, wasn’t it?” He actually felt embarrassed that he didn’t catch it back then, and a bit confused as to how Celestia didn’t seem to notice it either.

“Even if I didn’t have it,” the big unicorn grinned, “there’s no way I’d forget the voice of the unicorn that buried me in trash. It took weeks for the smell to wash off. Plus, there’s no way any Princess would hire a guard your size.” He took a step towards Watson, and the two were alone in the Statue Side. No hope of reinforcements for Watson.

“Do you know what she wants with me?” Watson asked. No point in denying who he was now. “How does she know my name?”

“No clue to either of those,” the Shetlander admitted, “but I live to serve my Princess, just as you live to serve yours.”

“You have me,” Watson explained, “but you’re also deep in enemy territory. There’s no hope of transporting me from here to there.”

“Oh,” the Shetland unicorn’s horn started glowing red, “isn’t there? Give my regards to-’’ Watson barely caught the last word before red magic swirled around him. He tried to use his own magic to break the spell, but it was of no use. The magic was too strong, and it enveloped him quickly, dispelling the illusion in the process. In mere moments, the magic vanished, taking the small unicorn with it. Smiling with satisfaction, the unicorn pony didn’t notice the dark clouds above him before he heard a loud thunderclap. Not liking the rain one bit, he turned to head back inside, not expecting to come face-to-face with an angry, ivory alicorn.

---

Watson spun around and around, propelled by magic through that null-space that creatures passed through while teleporting. While he was immune to teleportation sickness, he was still getting motion sick and dizzy. Suddenly, there was a flash and he felt himself hitting the ground. Everything was blurry, but he could see the vague outline of ponies nearby.

“It’s him!” one of them shouted. “Do it before he recovers!” Without warning, Watson felt himself get teleported again. In a few moments, he hit the ground again, only to be teleported away again before he could react. Then it happened a third time, then a fourth. Although dizzy, Watsons’ mind was straight enough to realize what they were doing. The Shetlanders were putting him through a series of Link-Teleports. By using one unicorn as the sender and another as an anchor, creatures and objects could be teleported a much greater distance than with one unicorn alone. Unfortunately, Watson was too dizzy to realize anything beyond that.

After the ninth or tenth teleport, Watson hit the ground and lay there. There were no voices, no more teleports. Slowly getting to his hooves, the small unicorn looked around in a daze. As his eyes focused, he saw it had turned to night and he was in a ruin of some sort. It was a large and spacious room, lined with broken windows and overgrown pillars. Between the windows were tapestries in an advanced stage of disrepair. Each depicted a different scene, but each also had a scarlet alicorn as the most prominent figure. The dizziness left Watson right there. He knew where he was.

“Hello, child,” a smooth, velvety voice said right behind Watson. The tan unicorn stiffened at the voice, his eyes shooting wide open. He had heard that voice only once, and that was four years ago, but there was no way he could mistake it for anypony else. Slowly and fearfully, Watson turned his head and saw a large red face with deep blue eyes. The last word the Shetland unicorn said in the garden immediately came to mind, and Watson couldn’t help but say it. The name of the Princess of War.

“Malice…”

Author's Note:

Egad, things escalated quickly, huh? Now what could possibly happen next?