"I shouldn't be gone for more than a few days," a woman said as she straightened her black cloak. "I can't have her running around causing more chaos in other worlds."
A man stood next to her, decked in intricate black and gold armor, lacking a helmet that revealed his blond hair and intense red eyes. "I don't disagree with you," he said. "But the people "
"Must understand she is a threat that I alone have to deal with." She reached into her cloak and pulled out a magnificent broadsword, humming with a white aura and crafted out of what appeared to be diamonds. "I honestly thought she could only cross into a single universe at a time, once she was connected to ours."
"You won't stay long, I hope?" the man asked as a structure in front of them lit up with a blue light.
"Of course not," the woman said. She seemed to smile from under her hood. "Not when I have too many people back here."
The man smiled back. "Then please, get back as soon as possible," he asked of her.
"Always," the woman said.
"Who do you think that is?"
"I wouldn't know! I've never seen somepony like this before!"
"But...she doesn't have a muzzle. Or hooves. Or big ears."
"Hold on, Starlight. Are you suggesting she is what Twilight refers to as a human?"
Lucina groaned as she opened her eyes slowly. The sun was brighter than she was used to, and the dawning day never seemed so...peaceful.
She knew almost immediately that wherever she had arrived was not Ylisse.
"Looks like she's woken up." Lucina had to sit upright to get a better look at who was talking. But as she turned, she instinctively unsheathed her sword and was on her feet in seconds.
Two ponies stood in front of her. And they could talk.
"What in the name of Naga?" Lucina whispered under her breath.
"Whoa!" Starlight and Rarity took a step back as their fear began to spike. Rarity exchanged a glance with her friend and whispered, "I think Twilight never told us all humans had swords on them."
"Well, I guess we're learning that now," Starlight whispered back.
"What are you?" Lucina demanded, readying her sword to strike. "How are you able to speak? Where am I?!"
"Maybe if you put down that sword of yours, we can talk," the pony with indigo eyes said nervously.
Lucina looked at her sword intensely. Her only form of protection in case anything were to happen to her in a new world, a world she had never been in before, full of unknown threats waiting to strike her dead.
"Hey, is that yours?" The same pony pointed with her hoof to a golden shield that was snuggled into the ground next to Lucina.
"What the...?" Lucina sheathed her sword and reached for the Fire Emblem, the most sacred treasure in Ylisse. It still shimmered in the early light of day, but where the Five Gemstones were to be placed on it in order to overthrow the Fell Dragon Grima were empty.
She didn't know what to think. The Fire Emblem hadn't been anywhere near her since she left...to where? And why? The world she was in now certainly had no idea who she was or what the Parallel Falchion was. And why were the gemstones gone? There were too many questions that Lucina wanted the answer to, yet she wouldn't be able to gain any in this land.
"Are you alright, darling?" the pony with sapphire blue eyes asked, looking genuinely concerned.
Lucina bit her lip. "Why would it matter to you?" she snapped. "I'm not from...wherever I am. I need to get back to Ylisse." Her eyes widened as she remembered what had occurred before waking up.
That strange hooded figure...an army of Risen...her father...
"My father," Lucina whispered. She turned suddenly and saw the pond, glowing faintly with the same blue light that an Outrealm Gate would emit.
"This portal..." She crouched down, staring at it with an intense expression. The pond, she noted almost immediately didn't show her reflection. Instead, it looked just like the Outrealm Gate. "I couldn't have possibly come from this..."
Lucina tentatively lowered her right hand over the pond and lowered her fingers with caution.
The moment her fingers came into contact with the portal, an explosion blasted Lucina off her feet, causing her to fly several feet back into the forest behind her.
"Oh my goodness!" Rarity cried. "Starlight, we have to "
Starlight was already galloping towards the strange woman's crash landing. Regardless of whether she was a threat or not didn't matter; she needed help.
Meanwhile, Lucina tumbled away from the ponies when she had landed, slowly losing her momentum. She reached out and used her shield to stop her from losing track of the portal she had arrived from.
Lucina could hear galloping in the distance and tried to bring out her sword. Unfortunately, her scabbard had been unhooked from her belt from her landing. She tried to get up and gasped as she realized her leg was broken, causing her to fall back down.
"The Fire Emblem," she mumbled. It was no longer in her grasp, gone with her sword.
This had to be insane. A broken leg was stopping her from getting up, but nothing had held her back when Lucina needed to escape the future.
But trying to turn herself, Lucina knew more damage had been done to her than she had anticipated. Her right arm wasn't supposed to bend at an odd angle. And her ribs weren't supposed to be on fire.
"Damn," she mumbled, resting back onto the grass. Her mind pounded, thoughts on her father flooding her mind. He didn't stand a chance against an army with a powerful enemy, even if his master tactician was with him.
"I'll come back, father," she whispered. "I promise."
But the air was fresher than it ever was in Ylisse. The sunrise danced with gorgeous colors, calming Lucina's pounding heart.
"A little sleep won't hurt," Lucina mumbled as her eyelids relaxed.