The princesses and the beast

Princess Celestia had one last present to give you for the rest of your journey. It was a new weapon to replace your handmade spear and was certainly very well made, but was no longer worthy of what you were becoming. So she gave you another once-secret item, a double edged blade that could be separated into two short swords and matched your size to handle it to its full potential.

Now you didn't know if you could still be called Lance, as your father only gave you that name because it was your weapon of choice. A new style of combat will have to mean a new name for you.

But you decide not to think about it, focusing instead on your current mission. Princesses Celestia and Luna had not studied the magic of portals in detail, but they could still open them if they concentrated enough on the task. It was in another room of the castle that he would appear.

"I can create one and keep it for about an hour, but I can't close it while you're still on the other side. I need a full day's rest to open a new one, so we're limited in time and the portal will be visible to the other world." Princess Celestia explained, making everyone understand the risks.

"I'll be as quick as I can Princess Celestia, you have my word." Did you promise before you put your helmet on your head with a few squeaks of steel between them.

"I don't doubt that, Lance, but I don't control or invoke it. Luna, Twilight, Shining Armor, you should stay alert and act if a Draconian notices us."

"Count me in, sis." Nodded Princess Luna, followed by Princess Twilight and your Captain Shining Armor. "I just have one last thing to do first." She said before she approached you.

The Princess Luna lit her eyes in contact with yours, then closed them and admired the result.

"I cast a vision spell on you, so I can see what you see in this world." She explained.

You didn't know if it would work, or even if they could talk to you telepathically, but you might as well have the odds on your side. Taking the double blade in one of the clawed hands of the armor, you nodded.

"I'm ready to go."

"Well, in that case, good luck, Lance!" Says Princess Celestia.

She began to shine her horn intensely, invading the room with her burning light. After about fifteen seconds of effort, a small portal appeared in the center of the room, the same as the one from yesterday's attack. She made it grow until it could afford to accommodate you.

You decide not to waste any time and leap inside, passing your head and then the rest of your body into another dimension of reality. Once the last hair on your tail has passed through it, the first thing you notice is the heavy air in that place. You are almost struggling to breathe and the heat is already starting to build up in your armor.

You raise your head to see that you are in a gigantic cave, the sky being replaced by a thick layer of red rock a few hundred metres above you. Even as you look into the distance, you see no way out, giving you the impression of a prison thousands of metres in diameter. Then, buildings come in front of you, dark stone foundations of several storeys with dozens of holes dug inside. You deduce that one hole corresponds to a draconian den and notice that all of them are empty.

They must probably be training somewhere, you think, wanting to avoid direct combat as much as possible given your position.

Finally, the last thing you see is probably the most important thing, as it is the only structure that is not made of stone, standing out from the rest. In the distance, you can hardly distinguish because of your reddened vision a triangular shape, similar to those you saw in a library book called "pyramid". Its blackened and thin surface you must think that it was worked by hooves, or rather by hooked hands.

"Lance, can you hear me?" Suddenly you called out a path that you recognize directly in your mind.

"Yes, Princess Luna, I can hear you just fine." Answer you loudly, not thinking you can talk to her with your mind like she does.

"Well, this world is a very strange place, so be on your guard!" She said, seeing it all with your own eyes.

"Got it!"

After this immediate report, your first reflex is to lower yourself to the ground, the gate being several meters above it. This pyramid must be important, think about it when you decide to approach it, starting to fly in its direction. You can still see it thanks to its impressive height, overhanging all the other buildings.

"I'm heading towards this Princess Luna kind of pyramid, please advise Princesses Celestia and Twilight and Commander Shining Armor." Ask yourself as you begin to fly through the huge rock beams.

"I don't have to, we can all hear you, Lance. You can fly low as you do, watch your surroundings, no draconian must see you." Warns you she's warning you.

You know better than anyone how dangerous this enemy is, and you'd better keep a low profile. You almost graze the heated floor of this world as you move around with your armor covering you completely and the double blade in its claws.

Your metal casing makes no annoying noise as you flap your wings slowly but surely, bringing you closer to the monument.

"SPEAR, WATCH OUT!" You alert the Princess Luna.

Between two rocky buildings is a draconian patrol ready to land on your position. You must act quickly. Flying higher won't do you any good, and hiding behind one of its structures would only be temporary. You opt for a more effective solution until they notice you.

On the ground there is a fence along the road leading to what could be perceived as a sewer. You don't know why they would need it in this more than dry weather, but enjoy it anyway. You remove one of them and put it back behind you, enclosing yourself inside the lane wide enough to let your massive body pass through. You don't make a noise anymore, just lay gently on the hard ground waiting for a movement from them.

You don't see them but hear their aerial movement, which results in friction giving you the information they were just passing by, already moving away to another point. The princesses and your commander cannot know your situation without you talking, but taking that risk is probably not worth it.

"Are they gone, Lance?" Princess Luna asks you.

You choose to answer with a simple nod of the head confirming it, as Princess Luna sees it from your gaze. You continue on your way through the underpass, allowing more discretion in return for increased difficulty if you are spotted in that long cage.

You raise your gaze to review your objective, the pyramid is very close and this alternative seems to lead you there. Flying straight ahead, you see a stage in front of you, which is occupied by several draconians feasting. You also notice that one of them has four front legs, all equipped with a sharp blade, this one being larger than its fellow draconians.

"This dragon is weird, she looks like their queen I think!" Warns you Luna always in your mind.

You hadn't even noticed she was a woman, but the mention of Draconian queen is familiar to you.

You can see, just before the path takes you below this stage, a small transparent sphere with something inside. Something alive, struggling to emerge from its glass prison. It was a strange life form, made up of several species to form this...

...amalgam.

As the realization comes to you, the path you take opens onto a huge, empty room, corresponding to the inside of the pyramid. You stop by understanding where you are and in what situation your goal is: Discord.

"Princess Luna, Celestia, Twilight, Commander Shining Armor, I think I saw Discord, it was enclosed in a crystal sphere the size of a small helmet!" Tell you what, by controlling your voice count, the draconians are just outside.

"What? How could Discord get trapped and made smaller? I thought there was no magic here!"

"I think I get it, there's a type of magic that works here. The kind that's in the objects." Said you as you stared at your double blade that was starting to rattle in the claws of your armor.

"Really?! Then I think I've already figured it out!"

"I think so, too!" Acknowledged you as your blade shone.

If it started this phenomenon here, it must have something to do with the pyramid, it's not just a structure. It's the same with the Sphere, it must have magical potential, but it can only be activated here.

"Dear Subjects, thank you for coming in such great numbers!" Begins an unknown path outside. "We will now proceed to the sacrifice of our guest, and with his blood we will open a new portal to Equestria to take our revenge and satisfy his incapable ponies!" Growled the way as he used that last word.

She's the draconian queen, she wants...

"Sacrifice Discord to open a new portal from Equestria!" Princess Luna continued, briefing the others in the room. "Lance, you must stop them, use your weapon, the more powerful the bearer, the more effective it is!" she said without delay.

They seemed to know what was going to happen, so you nodded.

"Yes, Princess Luna!" Said while taking a blade in each hand and moving into position, your hind hooves firmly planted in the ground.

The magic that emanated from your blades eventually showed itself, enveloping your entire body and armor before storing up for good, to be released.

"I AM NOT TO BE SACRIFICED, ME, DISCORD, I WILL BE RELEASED!" Scream an angry Discord from the other side of the pyramid.

"TRY IT!" replied the amused queen.

"TO, TO THE HELP!!" he shouted next, giving you the signal to intervene.

Let's see what this weapon is capable of.

In a fraction of a second you drew your blades forward, striking into the void as hard as you could. The next second, the magic in your weapons was projected into the wall of the pyramid and pierced it with a deafening crash. Despite the thickness of the wall, a gigantic hole was dug inside, sending some of the debris to the stage and the draconians around.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" The queen reacted before a piece crashed into her face, spanking her back and taking out her blades in defense. Other draconians approach to protect their commander.

Now is the time.

"LOOK!" Alert one of them.

After reattaching your weapon in one, you lunged forward into the now-deep hole. The speed you were travelling at created a slight shockwave, pushing the debris close to you. You passed between the draconians attacked by pieces of their beloved pyramid and, with a movement of your right arm, had caught the sphere still containing Discord while flying away.

"I'VE CAUGHT DISCORD, I'M GOING TO THE PORTAL!" Did you shout to your teammates for this mission between the screams and the rubble.

"WELL DONE LANCE, GO FAST !" Princess Luna told you, informing the others of your situation.

"LANCE, YOU COME... to save me." Said in her sphere the imprisoned being for whom you had come.

"I leave no one in Equestria!" Did you respond by rushing at high speed to the position of the portal Princess Celestia held still open, being your only option now.

"FUCKING STALLION!!" Did you hear behind you, realizing you were not yet out of the woods.

"HAAA! Step on it, she's right behind us!" Warn Discord who was always locked up and helpless here.

You could have destroyed his prison with your claws, but that was not the time to do so, Discord might not know how to get out of your grip. And anyway, he seemed safe inside for now. You deduced this by hearing the arrows being shot behind you, the muffled air giving you the information that he was trying to shoot you down before even catching you.

"YOUR ARMOR'S SLOWING YOU DOWN, WE'RE GONNA GET YOU!" The queen grunted as she seemed very close.

You kept going straight ahead, until you saw the tiny portal, seeing the Twilight Princess on the other side. She seemed to be shouting something to you but you couldn't hear it. Your constant acceleration wasn't enough to get the Queen ahead of you and positioned herself in front of the portal, blocking your way out.

"YOU HUMILIATE US ON OUR OWN TURF, I'LL IMPALE YOU MYSELF!" Did she scream as she stood with her four blades in front of her, ready to do what she had just said.

"THROW, THEY'RE WAY BEHIND YOU, DON'T SLOW DOWN!" Discord warns you again, truly fearing for her life.

With the countless enemies, your only option was always the same, run through the portal, just solve the queen's problem.

"TWILIGHT, CAST A SPELL ON HER!" Ordered the Princess Luna you could still hear in your head.

The portal expanded to let you in, and you saw the Princess Twilight's spell being cast behind your enemy's back. But the spell dissipated as soon as you crossed the border between Equestria and this other world, leaving the horrified princesses to come to terms with it.

It was with only one free shoe and your gun in it that you moved forward, trying to figure out what to do now that you were within a few yards of her and the exit. The queen then rushed at you, thinking you couldn't dodge.

Now!

Stopping you abruptly, you changed your flight path by giving a further downward wingstroke, spanking you in a spin as the queen's attack passed beneath you. Once back in place, you took off one last time, towards your due.

"STOP IT!"

Turning around, the queen saw your silhouette and the sphere containing Discord pass through the portal in the colors of the Sun Princess. She and her henchmen rushed at you.

"PRINCESS CELESTIA, CLOSE IT!" Did you ask as you passed your last hoof to the other side.

Your request wasn't complete that the portal shrank so quickly that nothing could get through. The draconians on the other side, with their fury and blades blazing, disappeared in a flash of light, signifying the closing of this door between the two worlds.

You did your best to land on your hind hooves by scraping the floor of the room. Only with a partially destroyed tile floor at your feet did you straighten up, the sphere and Discord in one hand, your weapon in the other. You wanted to take off your helmet and destroy the glass prison of Amalgam, but Princess Twilight had already thrown herself at you, seeing that there was no more danger.

"LANCE, YOU'RE SAFE!" Did she scream before she hugged what she could without cutting herself with the many spikes at the ends of the metal plates.

"Wait, Princess Twilight, it's dangerous to come near me in this armor." You said, quickly throwing your weapon to remove your beast-headed helmet.

Once your head was uncovered, it came back to charge, taking it in its arms as it floated by you.

"When I saw that my spell was ineffective, I thought you couldn't come back!" Did she plead by sticking her cheek to yours.

"Twily, you don't have to worry anymore. Lance is back and unharmed as well. Soldier, it's a remarkable job you've done today and I gladly accept you to be my sister princess's personal guard. You'll do an incredible job, I have no doubt." Nodded Commander Shining Armor to your success with a military posture.

As Princess Twilight stepped aside, continuing to smile at you and you prepare to respond to her newfound praise, Princess Luna finally released Discord. Who seemed infinitely grateful for your intervention, having the same reaction to you as the Princess Twilight did.

"LUNA, THANK YOU, I DON'T KNOW WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT YOU! I NEVER THOUGHT I'D BE INDEBTED TO A PONY EVER!" He said as he wrapped your armor in his own serpentine body, changing his entire body structure so he wouldn't hurt himself by squeezing you.

"The most important thing is that Discord is well and the draconian pyramid has been destroyed." Did you answer, just before you straightened up by removing the amalgam from your armor. "I thank you for your praise, Commander Shining Armor, I was only doing my duty." And then you cried out...

"I think you should go back to Ponyville now, tell everyone the good news." Began Princess Celestia. "As for me and my sister, we're going to make sure you take your rightful place in the Royal guard." She promised you.

"If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask." The Princess of the Moon replied.

To this statement, you took the perilous mission you've just come out of out of your head and returned to another of your occupations. You had with you a new fighting style, new armor and a magical weapon. This required one last change according to you.

"Before I go back to Ponyville, there's something I'd like to know." You ask to the princesses. "Can I... change my name?".