Band of Five Attributes (Re-Written)

A pair of armored ponies trotted in the streets of a mountainside city overshadowed by a literal castle nearby. Between the two trotted a green stallion with emerald mane, eyes, tail, and hooves. His mane shrouded the right side of his face in a feathered half-crescent, and the left side was devoid of hair save for small bangs. The backside of his head had a thin streak of green mane before some of it fluffed out in a small tuft. The various ponies in the streets, many of whom had either been armored pegasi or wealthily dressed unicorns, eyed the one being ushered to the castle who lacked horn and wing.

The green stallion looked relatively bruised and battered, considering bandages on his legs and neck. He had a saddlebag that housed a green blade with a blue hilt, which also happened to have been his cutie mark.

“And why are we going to the castle?” Inquired the green stallion, looking relatively calm despite his ordeal. He did not even arch an eyebrow.

“We must report to the Princesses about the...thing we’ve seen you fight. I feel you are the only reliable witness.” Answered one of the armored pegasi.

“Princesses, huh? Did I land in some sort of monarchy?” He thought, still keeping his calm demeanor.

“It’s a pain since ya don’t have wings or a horn to teleport with, so we gotta take the long route.” Spoke the other guard, looking at the bandaged pony.

“I am perfectly fine with that. We all must take a long road sometimes.” The green stallion quickly pointed out, a small smile adorning his muzzle.

“He has a point. Let’s just keep going and avoid unneeded dillydallying.” Spoke the first guard as he and the other two trotted along their selected path. It was quite a lengthy walk just traversing through these pristine streets, but the guards seemed to have known where they were going, so the green battered pony followed them like a dog.

Eventually, he got a much closer glimpse of the mountainside castle firsthand in all its glory: it had pristine white walls, purple roofs and golden gates, elegant towers and graceful balconies. The gardens were absolutely breathtaking, and it sat next to an amazing waterfall to boot. Sure, the structure of the damn thing was a bit erratic, but that only served to enhance its overall beauty.

The trio crossed the relatively small drawbridge, but the guards did let their guest stop to marvel the outside beauty of the place for a few more moments. He did not seem too impressed if his currently-expressionless face was anything to go by, but he certainly couldn’t be denied this sight. For all he knew, it could’ve been a once-in-a-lifetime event. Afterwards, he followed his makeshift Sherpa guides down some vast hallways lined with marble pillars, stained glass depictions, and red carpets.

Another walk that lasted about thirty minutes or so had earned the trio the sight of grand double doors, which for some reason had been amethyst. The doors opened, and sitting in two thrones were alicorn mares, one being white with a mane the colors of the waking dawn and magenta eyes, and the other one night blue in wispy mane and solid body and eyes of turquoise. Aside from another few guards here and there already present, the alicorns and the trio who’d just entered were the only ones in the room. A golden aura closed the doors after the trio trotted in.

All three approached, and the guards quickly took their place before the green stallion and bowed in respect. The stallion, figuring it was the best thing to do, also bowed, but he was a bit of a klutz at it. He fell on his face and had to quickly right himself.

“We see thou hath brought us a visitor. What doth thou have to report about him?” The night-blue alicorn asked, looking at the guards as she spoke.

“Yep. It’s a monarchy...or diarchy, in this case.” The stallion thought, careful not to think aloud as a frown adorned his face.

“Well, Your Majesty, it’s kind of difficult to explain, which is why the visitor is here in the first place. We had seen him in the outskirts of town, looking like he was fired out of a cannon or something from the way he landed in the ground.” Answered one guard.

The other guard continued, “We were surprised he was even able to stand to begin with. At first, we thought he was a low-life scumbag since he still had a sword in his mouth, only for a...thing to show up and start wailing on him.”

“A...thing?” Asked the white alicorn mare, raising an eyebrow. “Do continue.”

The guards gulped, then the first one resumed, “What was phenomenal about it was, once we got a look at the thing, it was part pony and part carriage. When it was felled, it...vanished.”

The second guard then spoke up, “And our guest was standing on his hind legs, holding the sword in his front hooves!”

“He did? But that shouldn’t be possible--” Started the blue alicorn, only to now notice that the green stallion was indeed on his hind legs at this time, and he seemed to have had no trouble walking on them. It was as if he defied logic on purpose as he stretched his front legs as far as they could go. Her eyes widened and her jaw hung slightly ajar at the sight.

“Please, humble guest, return to four legs.” Spoke the white alicorn, quite shocked herself with widening eyes. It didn’t show as much as the blue alicorn, though. The guest quickly complied, making sure not to touch the guards who escorted him here in the process. The white alicorn then looked at said guards and nodded to each of them, and both trotted out of the room in short order.

“Tia, we’ve yet to hear of this stallion’s name.” Stated the blue alicorn, turning her head to the white alicorn briefly.

“And I’ve yet to hear of yours just the same. Then again, I never asked to begin with.” Spoke the stallion, nodding with closed eyes and a soft smile on his face. “So, before we carry on with our discussion, I’d like to know who introduces who first.”

The alicorns exchanged glances, then looked back at the stallion.

“If you happen to be wondering, I am not from around these parts. I’m not even sure I’m from this world.” Spoke the stallion, eyes opening. He fixated his partially-shrouded gaze towards the mares before him.

“I am Princess Celestia,” Spoke the white alicorn, “and I raise the sun.”

“I am Princess Luna,” Said the blue alicorn, “and the night is my domain.”

The stallion was silent for a few moments, as if to absorb the new information he’d just received. Then, his lips parted. “My name is Nagare.”

"Could you tell us about the...thing the guards mentioned earlier?" Celestia asked, looking at the green pony.

The doors to the throne room burst open, and in trotted a giant hourglass with metal legs and a head bearing a horn. The hourglass also had wings on its frame, and it soon roared at the lot of guards, the princesses, and the pony who had his back turned to it.

Nagare turned around, calm as ever while he stared at the hourglass who trapped the guards in some kind of strange bubble. “Talk about perfect timing, for I was just going to explain to you about these monstrosities, Princess.” He said, still grinning despite the situation.