//------------------------------//
// (9) Mk. C: Ferrous Princesses 
// Story: A Four Letter Word 
// by RealityDowngrade 
//------------------------------//

 
Spinning on my heel, still amazed over my new-found flexibility and balance, I watched, back nearly horizontal to the ground, as the dodge-ball whizzed over my chest. Whipping back up, I had just enough time to stare at the glowing cloud of sapphire-sparks ringing the latest flying red-orb as it struck me square in the face and sent me sprawling to the ground.

Blowing her whistle, Spitfire shouted, “Sixth strike, The Guard wins.”

Rubbing the reflexive-tears from my eyes as I rolled back to my feet, I set about to retrieve the balls that littered my side of the field as the guardsponies did the same. I still couldn’t quite believe this was considered community service, but it was the princesses’ prerogative to decide what my duties were to entail, and if that meant acting as a target for six on one dodgeball, so be it.

After lining the mid-field, we went to our respective edges, eyeing the referee for the sudden inhalation of breath, but even when I knew it was coming I was still woefully slow to react once the shrill note came. The guards on the other hand had their hooves tearing into the dirt as I played catch-up, but my longer stride soon saw me grabbing an armful of inflated rubber just as the others kicked their own ammo back to ‘base’ and began to set their defence as I did much the same.

Carefully dropping my precious cargo to the ground, save the two I held in each hand, I arched my left arm for a shot that I, and everyone on the field, knew would go wide when, suddenly, someone whispered “Guardian” in my ear.

Flinching at the sudden noise, my shot struck the horn of an opposing unicorn, leaving a stunned look of surprise that one of my throws had actually hit its mark to mirror on our faces, save mine turned to a smile much quicker. However, my it soon shrank as I felt my feet slowly begin sliding backwards across the dirt-floor. Looking behind me to give a cry of foul to whatever unicorn was currently using magic to incapacitate a player, instead, I was greeted by a floating ring of shimmering golden-sand with a cold holding a swirling mass of emptiness at its center.

Black sand sprung up around me, painfully spiking into my shins and calves as it attempt to anchor me to the ground, but to no avail. Trying next for the shadows, I only found the pull intensified and was flung instantly into the swirling vortex as the golden light winked out of existence behind me, leaving me to fall through the void with the distressed-echoes of ‘Wayde’ to die in my ears.


***

Equestria: Version 1920.1518.13

I was cold, it was dark, and I was disturbingly aware of how close I was to eating my breakfast for a second time today as I rocketed through the void of wherever I was. That there was something that could be darker than what a lack of light could create might have frightened or even intrigued me were it not for the back-sand clinging to me like a swarm of angry bees, but I almost regretted their abandonment as the hateful golden-light flashed behind, or, in front of me, and deposited me in a twisted heap as my thoughts began the ardent journey of swimming upstream a demented whirlpool as my eyes waited for those damn green and blue motes to quit blocking the view.

Figuring I had nothing left to lose with all the symptoms of a head-rush and then some clogging up my senses, I slowly untangled my limbs from my jacket with every intention to get to a standing position, only to find I already was, but my victory was short lived as a sudden chill brought my knees cracking upon the very hard, and very real stone-floor beneath me. Just catching myself with my hands before my head met the same fate, I watched in something just past rapt-attention and before horror as my flickering-fingers left shrinking trails of dust upon the floor.

I didn’t know how or why I had been blessed with at least a single iota of belief, but my shrunken-form left no debate about the fact I was just one pony away from the black-tide that would force me into a state of bloodied-terror until nightfall, but first, I had to get away from wherever this was and find Luna. She could help.

Gulping down a breath of air, I dove to the shadows and, shaking away the last of the cobwebs, looked for the lights. Looking next to me, I found a singular light, but with too many unknowns my safest bet was to not waste my time with some random nut in a cave; not with every last drop of belief, save one, having fallen from me for no known reason, and especially not when I had someone of at least some known and appreciable power that might help me, and those chances only grew given the bizarre occurrences the bearers of Elements of Harmony, even after they’d passed to the next generation. With those thoughts in mind, I threw myself through the darkness towards the nearest cluster and the town that housed them.

Blinking away the abundance of light as it filled my vision, I surfaced, remaining a shadow under what was a decidedly clean-looking dumpster in a shaded alley. In the back of my mind it briefly occurred to me that traipsing around the world at the speeds I’d so readily accustomed myself to should have left me more disorientated, but the thought was quickly shattered and replaced by the pressing matter at hand: my survival.

Sliding up to the nearby wall, the sun provided me an unobstructed sight of a saccharinely-bright replica of a gingerbread house. It was Sugarcube Corner alright, and as I pulled further up along the “icing”-laden roof I was just able to make out the gleaming city upon the hill, and immediately fell back to the deep-dark, found the light-cluster, and rose back to the surface once they were within reach.

Sliding out from a bed which housed equal parts sweaty gym-gear and old pizza slices with, now, extra mushrooms, I moved for the window and, ignoring the looks of wonder and fear at the sight of a shadow with no body, flew across the technicolor-sea of ponies along the main boulevard and through the Canterlot Castle gate.

Pausing just long enough to spy which tower held a diminutive telescope, I scaled the sheer walls without thought and slid under the balcony door to the curtained room within where Princess Luna laid sprawled, her celestial mane as much a tousled mess as her twisted bed-sheets.

Pulling up from the shadows, I stepped over the hastily thrown regalia to the bed and called, “Princess Luna.” When no reply came I did the next logical thing and leaned forward, ready to grab and shake her until she was awake, only to watch in dumb-shock as my hands ghosted through her.

The sand began to rustle in the darkness around me.

‘Impossible,’ I mentally fumed as a jet of air whistled out my nose, ‘who could-’

Looking back down to Princess Luna, all the while feeling as though the whole of the universe had come to bear against me, I took a breath that utterly failed to help collect myself and, with mounting frustration, took the plunge.

Placing my hand above the Princess’s brow, I slowly slid it forward and into her dreams. At first it pushed back, through, all things considered, some form of resistance was to be expected as a crackle of indigo power tried kept me at bay, but I only pressed harder in response. A bubble of energy began to grow out of Luna’s horn, but it collapsed into a hail of arctic-blue sparkles. And, as I broke through, I got a distinct impression of a giant waterslide before the flow of fear, my fear, began to wash over her dream. Flashes of flames and shadows quickly filled the ephemeral landscape from end to end, but none so much as the echoing laughter. Tears began to trickle down Luna’s shuttered eyes, a whimper dying in her throat as a dark scowl claimed her. Eyes crashing open, light pouring from them, Luna’s search-light gaze zeroed in on me, and if anything, her scowl deepened. Horn ablaze, a circle of energy bloomed and cinched around my neck, roughly pulling me into the open air.

“YOU DARE TRY TO ENSLAVE US AGAIN?!?” Princess Luna boomed in her Royal Canterlot Voice. “WE SHALL NOT FALL TO YOU OR YOUR VILE WORDS AGAIN NIGHTMARE!!”

Now, scrabbling at my throat, I managed a strangled choking sound as I felt my face begin to over-heat.

Princess Luna, her gaze unwavering, flicked a strand of magic behind her, bringing forth a brilliant silver-blade to bear. Glowing with a sapphire light all its own, Luna’s indigo-aura suffused only the grip as it slowly, but surely, moved point to block the sight of my left eye.

An easy grin spread upon her face in stark contrast to a mane bursting with novas, “Your petty lies will not work upon Us,” she menaced, “now speak, for what reason do you dare come to Canterlot, and in so alien a guise Nightmare?”

Trying to gasp out a reply, and forever etching into the bedrock of my mind to never again wake up Princess Luna as she loosened the ring of energy around my neck just enough for me to take a whistling-breath of air and wheeze, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you so bad. I just needed some help.”

“Why in Equestria would I ever help you vile shade?” she growled, lightning crackling in her eyes.

“Princess, it’s me, Wayde. Don’t you remember?” I coughed, eyes bulging.

“What trickery is this?” came the skeptic reply.

“Wayde,” I coughed again, “Saddle Arabia, Discord captured me, you, urk, went into my dreams on the train ride back?” Despite the spots of purple beginning to cloud my vision, it was clear Princess Luna wasn’t convinced. Discord couldn't have had something to do with it, right? With what little oxygen remained in my brain I added, “You, you gave your word that you would,” I coughed, the ring of energy beginning to clench, “help me.”

“Thou speaketh lies. We would never rely upon that vile trickster!” She accused, inching the blade closer.

Affronted, even in these dire straits, I managed to suck in enough air to grunt, “I would never,” only pausing to get enough air in to finish, “and especially not to you.”

“Thou just did,” Luna growled. “Thou art just like that tiny, hornless metal-minotaur that chimed for peace while dooming an empire!”

“This is bad,” I said, feeling like an idiot before I could even finish spitting out the banal phrase.

“As the foals say, ya think? But,” she paused, turning to the hall-door as a flicker of magic pulled the door open, “because we are so kind, we will not only let thee explain to me exactly what thou art talking about,” Luna said, suddenly smirking as she unclenched the magic around my neck just a touch more as my feet and hands slammed into their own floating shackles, “but to our sister as well.”

With the new windfall of oxygen, I spent the next few moments silent for no other reason than for want of more, but as my unwilling journey continued I couldn’t help but notice a few things that just felt... off, like a passing a maid that looked so very much like the frightened young lady who had come to my room just yesterday, but was wearing a charm necklace with different kinds of miniature golden-gnomes adorning it, her chief fear being timberwolves. Still, she could have had a sister, or a lookalike, but as things began to grow louder, approaching the more used sections of the castle, I couldn’t help but notice the change in décor, not that I was particularly observant about such details, but when someone puts in stain-glass windows, they don’t typically change position, nor do the figures within the scenes either, like a great white unicorn from some odd battle in the past charging on the left-hand side of the winning charge rather than he and his companions charging from the right.

Certainly I was missing the ground right about now since I had enough time to worry over it now, Princess Luna having forgone the weapon while in the open halls for a number of blinking-enchantments whose runes were busy swirling about my wrist, ankles, and neck in a very worrisome manner. I might have even contemplated turning to shadow, though I had sagely confined that to the rubbish-ideas-bin when I found out I couldn’t since I was too busy floating in the air with a Darth Vader grip, away from any solid walling or floor. Still, I could always try to call my nightmares for some help to either push me down or distract the princess, but I wasn’t quite desperate enough to chance the runes being explosive or ruining the only real chance I knew of to talk with ponies with experience living in a fantastical world I’d only ever seen through a narrative-driven window. I could still wait, for now.

With that last thought in mind, I watched as the cranky Princess of the Night regally stomped her way past the line of petty nobles and other citizenry with actual problems, and pushed her way past the massive doorway, flinging the surprised door-guards a few feet in either direction, as the rest of the room’s staff saw prudent to find anything else to do away from the wild-maned alicorn who was busy glaring across the great chamber.

My breath caught in my throat as I was pulled in, whatever had happened, whatever that golden circle had been, it was big. With every inch I was brought forward it was made abundantly clear just how different things had become if Princess Celestia was sporting a new center of fear. Gone were her tentative misgivings at what every one of her actions might signify to her ponies and the world around her, instead, was the deep and abiding fear of how lost her ponies would be without her. Her insides were screaming as though war might rain down upon her at any moment, but outside, she was as calm and collected as ever. Even her fear was safely tucked away in her, seemingly unaware of her own change.

Out of the corner of my eye, I just caught the previous petitioner, a rather grubby looking griffin, winging out of the room, the massive doors slamming behind him, as Luna finally said, “Sister, We wish to speak with you,” trotting up to the thrones’ steps.

Smiling, clearly all too grateful to have an excuse to pause from her current activities, Princess Celestia gave a small giggle, and said, “Luna, didn’t my student teach you something about your old speech-patterns?”

Even from behind it was easy to tell just how hard Luna rolled her eyes, “Yes sister, we have obtained lessons from your student, as you can tell from our lowered volume. But back to the matter at hoof,” she said, jerking her head towards me, “We would have words about your recent pranks.”

“Oh, and why might that be,” she smirked, casually eyeing the far off corners of the room around her.

“Perhaps it would be a dream-corrupting being that just gives me a headache,” Luna replied gruffly.

“What’s this about dream-imps?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“I’m in no mood for this Tia,” Luna snorted, blowing an errant strand of mane from her disheveled face, “who else but you could have sent this creature behind me.”

As the blue-ring pressed more firmly into my jaw-line, Celestia only gave another chuckle before saying, “Lulu, I think we’ve both progressed past the ‘I captured an invisible monster’ gambit.”

In a choking breath I said, “I don’t think she can see m-”

But, before I could finish, Luna jerked her head back and hissed, “Shut thy mouth creature,” and was rewarded by my prompt effort to pull my dangling legs to my chest, much to her pleased and toothsome grin.

“Perhaps you should return to bed,” Celestia intoned, “I think your wits are still as sleepy as the rest of you.”

“Indeed, though both would be getting their well deserved rest had you not sent this,” Luna said, bringing me forward, “to awaken me, and so early in the day.”

“Um,” I stammered, not quite believing what I was about to do to try and prove my dangling existence despite the incremental clenching around his neck, “tell her ‘he told me that you used the mirror to see Sombra again even after Starswirl’s warnings’.”

“She what,” Luna gasped before looking up to her sister, “Celestia, is this true?”

“Is what true?” Celestia smirked.

“That you snuck behind Starswirl back and continued to use the mirror in spite of his warnings?”

Celestia’s hair fell limp, her pristine white coat turning a few shades paler. “How, you... what did you say?” came the harsh whisper, her eyes turning to pinpricks.

“You heard me well and good, sister. The dream-creature seems all too aware that you continued to visit other worlds even though Starswirl bade you not.”

Princess Celestia, chest now heaving shallowly, turned her head from her sister to the small circles of indigo energy around me before she gave an almost inaudible gasp. Rubbing at her eyes, I felt as she began to get a feel for my existence.

“What. Is. That?” Celestia demanded, her eyes turning to slits.

Coughing past the lump of air I’d tried to swallow down, I gave a feeble wave and said, “Wayde Molan, your,” I coughed, “your majesty. Glad to see you again.” 	

“Have we met before?” Celestia questioned, raising an eyebrow, “I think that I would remember somepony as distinctive as yourself.”

“I would have thought so too ma’am. But I think someone is trying to prevent you or your,” I coughed, “sister, from remembering.”

“Funny, the only one that might do that was Discord and he is in stone.  You are even welcome to go check.” Celestia said.

“Um,” came my intelligent remark as I looked down in the direction of my magical shackles.

“In fact, I am quite busy, so perhaps you should go to keep yourself busy.” Replied Celestia with a smile.

‘The hell is she talking about?’ I thought, rapidly looking from princess to princess to see if I had simply missed something in the conversation. Had I blacked out for a second?

“No hoofing this off to me Celestia,” Luna cut in, raising her prisoner higher to her sister’s throne, “our need for a conversation on you little adventures without me aside, what exactly is going on here?”

Celestia then put a hoof to her chin.  “I might have an idea.  About an hour ago, I was going to use the portal to go to that cake dimension, when the portal started to ripple and close.  Before it did however, I could almost see a small stream of gold in the shape of a lasso, pulling a black sphere through the dimensional-barrier.  I think that our shadowy guest here is this black sphere.”

“What?” I so dumbly managed whisper.

Tapping her chin, Luna added, “That would make a lot of sense. For one, it would certainly explain why he thought we met before.”

“So,” I gulped, squirming against the energy-circlet more out of my mounting frustration rather than any particular chaffing. After all, I mean sure, why not, at least this time I was being told it was probably due to some mad wizard or something. “Can you ladies send me back home then?” I asked, portals seemingly more in vogue here if Princess Celestia was just going to pop over into one for a bite of sweets.

With a flash of her horn, the enchantment around me fell to sparkling-mist as I promptly fell to the floor, just catching myself at the last moment when Princess Luna said, “A lovely idea, except, I should think you might like bring your kidnapper to justice.”

“What was that,” I asked, taking a few exaggerated breaths, rubbing his neck.

She cleared her throat and said, “WE WANT THOU TO FIND THY KIDNAPPER AND BRING HIM TO JUSTICE. WE WOULD ALSO WANT THOU TO HAVE A GUARD ESCORT THOU!” Luna, then, turning off The Royal Canterlot Voice cheekily said,  “Did you hear that?”

“Yes ma’am,” I winced, a little shaken at her rather un-princess-ly behavior, “but,” I sighed, feeling the heat of excess blood finally leaving my head, “how exactly do you know who stole me, and how am I supposed to deal with someone with the power to play with dimensions?”

“You were connected to the golden-light while it was pulling you, and by extension it was connected to you. Such energy is easy enough to track due to the distinct thaumic-residue it leaves from the mingling of magics from differing worlds. Allow me to show you,” Celestia said, her horn glowing a pale-yellow which slowly left her horn to spread around me in a twisting mist, and then behind me in a thin, but distinct, line from where I’d been carried. “As for why I presume that you might be able to do anything, it is already some great coincidence that there are now two similarly shaped bipeds in our land, and it would seem to follow that you would have a trick or two more you’ve yet to reveal beyond sneaking into my sister’s room without tripping off any of the guards, mages, or wards that surround it. That is why I know you have the power to deal with such foes, be they crossers of dimensions or otherwise,” she finished, leaning in to better show the smug-grin firmly set upon her face.

A little stunned at her perceptiveness, but, if she, the Princess of Equestria, thought I was really ready for this sort of task, even after so little time, who was I to argue?

Standing tall, finding I only just came up to the base of Luna’s throat, and despite the little knight in me practically squee-ing over the chance to be sent on a proper quest, keeping a level tone, I said, “What do I need to do?”

“To be frank, you need to stop him. We have limited knowledge of this person even after all this time, but we do know that he previously befriended and worked as both playwright and personal accountant for the pegasus Surprise of the former pegasus-kingdom of Pegasopolis. Simply put, he is a master of all things mechanical.  Besides his learned classification of ‘party pony’, which includes such abilities as warping short distances, firework generation, and a protective form,” she paused, seeing whatever my face looked like as I imagined Pinkie Pie growing a turtle-shell, “while we haven’t quite pinned it down, nearly all party-ponies have a, transforming ability which allows them to use their cheer-bringing powers in a wholly destructive manner. During this time they have enhanced speed, durability, reaction time, and a distinctive mane-style as well.

“But, as I mentioned, his penchant for machinery shone through when he entertained colts and fillies, but such were his inventions that many a mares and stallions would marvel at the wit of his creations as though they were part of an elaborate magic show. Such wonders as a pink and white suit of armor that dispensed ice-cream from its gauntlets were common, but when danger would strike, as it often did during the days of the three tribes, suits were seen to have popped out from his luggage to do battle with such creature deadly creatures as tatzelwurms, sea-monsters of every description, and even hydras by firing destructive beams and miniature ballistics which gave the most terrific explosions upon impact. Once, he was seen using a hulking armor thrice his own size to make physical-combat with an Ursa Minor and return with nary a scratch.

“I allowed him free range under our fledgling kingdom, seeing as he only ever seemed to bring some modicum of safety to my little ponies, even if his ability to avoid collateral damage was almost nonexistent, until one day, when he got in his head to breach enemy lines in a time of war against King Sombra and his Crystal Empire with his friend.  From my scouts, I have since learned that a great sound of tearing-metal could be heard screeching across the ice-swept tundra, and then a bright light, which my soldiers informed me, flung them out from where once an entire town had stood. No magic was ever detected in our later investigations, leaving him as the only culprit. He was later caught and put on trial for destroying an empire and was sentenced to petrifaction by Harmony.  But, unlike like Discord, his spot in the Canterlot Garden has changed without either my own or my sister’s permission. But even now, I would never have thought him so far gone that he would tear someone from their own dimension for mere amusement. He must be stopped.”

This guy sounded insane, just imagining what levels of technology and magic must have been put into works of machinery that got even the attention of the Princesses was troubling enough, but what was more so was my penchant for over-analysis shone through as I blurted out, “But what about Sombra, what makes him so blameless?”

“He was taken out as well, why would he make himself vanish?” Asked Celestia, the room beginning to jump a few degrees, “Unless you think that he and his empire are not destroyed, which would be ridiculous.”

I was at a loss. Here was one of the oldest creatures in Equestria, who had held personal dealings with a radical tyrant and countless monsters besides, being a previous Element Bearer, and I was questioning her because of things I’d seen in a cartoon? And what’s more, a cartoon in which had never had some great armorer who cared so little about the lives of everyone during a fight. Cheeks darkening I gave a quick, “Sorry, I guess things are different here.”

“It’s fine,” Celestia replied, the air cooling, “but please, time is of the essence, and the longer we wait, the more the dimensional-tether will weaken. So I ask you, will you help protect our little ponies?”

“Of course,” I replied. What other choice did I have?

“Excellent,” Celestia smiled, “Luna, please summon the mages.”

“At once,” she called, vanishing in an indigo orb.

Alone in the room, Celestia rose from her throne, and, walking serenely towards me said, “while I am glad of your fortitude, it would be prudent if you would tell me what exactly you are capable of so that we might have at least some sort of plan of action to back up with.”

“Yes ma’am,” I replied, working to keep my chest from puffing out too much. Best to not get too heady.