The Ensnarement of Dimensions

by Cyndaquil123

Here we have another pokemon/kingdom hearts fanfic that floats around in the thousands that already exist. This particular one is about three pokemon. Keldeo, Vulpix, and Sneasel. The world that they live in is different from the games and the show. It is also falling apart. So join them in their adventure as they try to save their world, and survive the horrors that they may see.

7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

They were everywhere. They were nowhere. They were the dark. They were the shadows. They were here one moment and gone the next. They did not make the darkness their ally. They were born in it.

These black…bugs? These…insect-like shadows with two antennae on their heads and beady, glowing yellow eyes. What exactly were they? What business did they have here, within Castelia City?

The events that played out between me, Foxfire, and her father were almost a blur me when these entities of darkness overwhelmed the city that I chose to venture to, to seek answers to my recurring dreams of an eclipse that was going to happen within this metropolis.

They say that dreams don't always come true for all of us, but mine did. Though I wish it didn't, now that I look back on it.

I hardly recalled the words I said and the words that Foxfire and her father responded back with. I just remember going by my honed battle instincts as I fought off these springing black bug-like shadows.

Alongside Foxfire, we held off against as many of these…shadows…as we physically could. And while the two backpacks that I had strapped onto me would've benefitted us with the medicines and supplies I had carried within them, they were torn to shreds and their contents lost, alongside the rest of their fabrics. Luckily for me, while I lost the backpacks, I didn't lose Foxfire when I put her in there during this fracas.

…Unfortunately, despite our hardest attempts to fight off these waves of living darkness, their numbers gave them an advantage I couldn't combat against, even with my extensive training and title as one of the four Swords of Justice.

One of them successfully blindsided me and tackled Foxfire. And before my eyes, I could see this living shadow seep into the hard tarmac that we were standing on, with her alongside it. I could see her trying to scream, but the shadows were suffocating her, paralyzing her.

"Foxfire!"

The drive to fight was fleeting, and was immediately replaced with the drive to protect her, as I promised her father that I would. Whatever attacks I was launching at these countless shadows instantly stopped dead, as I leapt into this forming pool of darkness, right after her.

But the moment that I did, Foxfire disappeared from view, and the darkness took hold of me. It felt…dense, almost like being surrounded in water but without the wetness of it.

And just like water, as I know all too well, I couldn't breathe through it, no matter how badly I want to.

Within this darkness, I lost all of my physical bearings with reality. My physical orientation was nonexistent, my five senses redundant. All that I was thinking about was the wellbeing of Foxfire, even when I slipped into unconsciousness.

The sound of deafening wind coursing through my ears and across my flowing red mane awakened me from my inadvertent slumber. And the first thing that I took note of when I opened my eyes was the clear blue sky above me.

The second thing that I noticed, with my body, was the realization that I was falling!

Reflexively, I twisted my body in midair, my hooves facing the earth below me. And when I did so, no water came out of my hooves to stop my fall. One, because I was miles above the ground. And two, the world below me was unlike anything I've ever seen before.

It was hard to describe the landscape below me without using the word "cartoon". But as for the mountain that I was rapidly approaching, that was a different matter. The mountain had a city on it, full of older-looking buildings that gave the place an Arthurian ambience. And right beside this city, clinging directly on the edge of this mountain, was a castle. This sanctuary had dozens of lofty ivory towers, with golden spires atop each and every one of them.

And at the rate that I was falling, I was going to hit one of those roofs.

I was falling too fast to slow my speed with water, and knew that the only way to stop falling was to stop abruptly. And unfortunately for me, that meant breaking through some roofs.

I knew this would hurt, so I curled my body to the point where I was near as makes no difference shaped like a ball, braced myself with an energy dome through PROTECT, and hastily slurred prayers to Arceus, to ensure my wellbeing.

CRASH!

I broke through the golden spires of one of that castle's towers...

CRASH!

And then I broke through one of the floors below.

SPLASH!

Luckily for me, my PROTECT lasted long enough to fortify me from two potentially fatal falls. And when my psychic shield disappeared, my surprising good luck saved me a third time, by having me land inside what appeared to be an indoor pond.

…Unfortunately, the water was shallow, no more than two feet deep. Also, when I landed, I fell flat on my back, with my hooves in the air. My bulbous nose stuck out of the water like a snorkel, and was the only thing keeping me from drowning.

That's a good thing. Because the hit that I took to the back of my head, as well as throughout my body, made it impossible for me to retain my consciousness.

"Heheheheh…" my eyes rolled around their sockets in two different directions, my head swaying like a metronome, and my mouth curled up in a goofy smile, while speaking bubbles within the pond. "Nap time!"

Once again, the darkness consumed me, but only because my eyes closed and my brain blacked out.

…

When I woke back up, I was still heavily dazed and seeing stars. But when my vision steadily stabilized, I found out that the stars that I was looking at was in actuality just one star, dancing around so that there appeared to be more than one.

Oddly enough, this star that I was staring at was the sun. But it didn't exactly appear to shine down on me with its almost heavenly if not searing light. It was quite pleasing on the eyes actually, like looking into a standstill portrait of the morning star.

…Until I realized that it was tattooed on the pale white posterior of a…something…and had a mirrored second sun, placed in the center of the other cheek. Though at this point, when I realized I was looking up at the butt of a…something…complete with a long, flowing, and almost ethereal tail that was eerily colored as similarly as rainbow sherbet ice cream, I couldn't help but find myself blushing heavily at this…mooning sight.

Then again, the simmering and steaming heat of this pond could be responsible for making my cheeks blush.

...schlurp.

All of a sudden, my eyes widened and I found myself unable to breathe through my nose, when this…female…sat down on my face, squarely on my nose. But this…odd moment quickly passed before I found myself thinking of thrashing to avoid suffocating, when she sat back up and quickly looked at me right in the eye, with a reddening countenance, as if I had just violated her.

And as I looked back into the eyes of a…winged unicorn, an awkward silence existed between the two of us.

I didn't move a muscle, but my face continued growing redder, until it was as crimson as hers. Then, her face grew even more crimson, scarlet even, when her obvious anger and embarrassment spontaneously combusted around her body in the form of flickering flames.

"(Oh my Arceus…)" Was all that I could think before I sprung into action.

Whatever was between me and this castle was either serpentined through or knocked away with a forceful, hastened spray of water. And when I eventually found myself exited through this labyrinth of a castle, I didn't even glance long enough to make out the citizens of this place that roamed about the place, unless they were in my way before I darted around them.

My eyes were opened wide, surveying my fleeing path while also avoiding the incoming fireballs that I was seeing fired upon me from this hellfire mare. My ears heard only my beating heart pounding away within the jail cell that was my ribcage. My rounded snout smelled only the forced inhales of the incoming breeze, alongside a hint of…vanilla…straight from that horse's bottom. My hooves only felt the paved gravel of the road I was travelling across. And my tongue could only taste the hoarse, unrelenting braying that I was making as I continued running for my life.

Then matters grew worse for me when I noticed I wasn't being pursued by just one flying unicorn. I was being pursued by another, one that appeared directly in front of me, black as the night, with a mane and tail emulating the constellations of stars and galaxies.

This dark horse flew low to the ground, and appeared ready to stab me with the horn on its head. And unlike what happened earlier between me and the white winged unicorn, I'm much too scared to gawk at and identify genders at the moment.

Reacting on instincts at this moment, I didn't even think of using HYDRO PUMP through all four of my hooves until I was made airborne by the propulsive force of water against the hard ground I was running on. I found myself "flying" up and over this second winged unicorn, somersaulting a couple of times to maximize my hang time and aerial distance, landing back down with four clops onto the earth, and instantly lose count of my steps as I continued bolting away from these two enemies I inadvertently made.

But I couldn't outrun them forever, as I eventually realized when I was busy passing through somewhat busy streets and hastily making my way through citizens with my agility or with my use of water. I had to do something against them, and the only option that I could think of was fighting them.

But do I dare gamble my life on my ability to defeat a pair of horned pegasi, whom I know next to nothing about in terms of their ability to fight? For all that I know, I could find myself shackled by a telekinetic force that they may possess that I'm unaware of until the moment it hits me. I am half Fighting-Type after all.

My body, heart, and mind say no, but my survival instincts are screaming yes.

When I appeared to be running straight into the wall of a building, I hopped on it and defied gravity by running on it for a few moments. Then, just before gravity could take over my running speed, I jumped off, speeding straight towards these white and black equines. And as I was maximizing my speed for a counterattack, I rolled repeatedly around myself, spraying water out of my hooves until I encased myself within my AQUA JET attack.

Astonishingly, they were taken aback by this, even though I'm almost positive they could've defended themselves or even evaded me. But they did no such thing, and I collided right into the two of them. I struck the flaming red one first, right on her pectoral muscles, to douse her flames. Then I rebounded off of her and struck the black one…square on her rear.

And when I "flew" away from the black one after bouncing off of her flank, a split-second glimpse of her allowed me to cement into my memory her features. There was a tattoo of a crescent white moon surrounded by a night sky, alongside both butt cheeks. And right between them, I confirmed the fact that it was actually another mare, based on her…anatomy.

When I landed and my AQUA JET attack vanished, I bought myself enough time to seek out a secluded alleyway, and hide within what appeared to be a dumpster. I didn't know how long I remained within it, within the stinking mush that was put inside my temporary bunker. I didn't know if those two femme fatales were hovering overhead of me, looking down to see where I had scurried off into, ready to unleash their rolling thunder at the mere sight of me. I only knew that I had to find out, and find out immediately.

Slowly, I opened the dumpster's roof, so that I could see out of it. Then, I opened it further so that I could just barely peek my head out of it and look up at the sky. And after a few minutes of tension and staring at the strangely fluffy clouds in the sky, I saw…

…Nothing.

"(*Sigh*)" I almost gasped after exhaling, from the fact that I was involuntarily holding my breath throughout that tense moment.

With my head out of the dumps, I proceeded to make the rest of me come out as well. But when I got my front hooves out, I looked to my right and cringed when I realized that I wasn't alone.

I was being quizzically watched, by a…unicorn…with taupe fur, brown hair, food service attire, and a sprinkled doughnut for a pair of tattoos on each flank. And with his glowing horn, he appeared to be holding a box of doughnuts, most likely having gone stale or something.

A few moments passed where we each looked at each other without budging an inch or making a sound. It felt as though time stopped for me, before I eventually thought of simply playing the situation as cool as water.

I greeted…him…by waving my hoof, then slowly slid out of the dumpster. I was about to walk away, but I saw the box of pastries and was beginning to feel somewhat famished.

"…Are you going to eat that?" I found myself saying without wondering if this…pony…could understand me.

Surprisingly, not only did he understand me, but he complied. I found myself suddenly carrying the box of stale doughnuts right on top of my damp, ruffled, red mane. And then I was on my way, glad that my composure had been regained where I can comfortably feign calmness.

As for this pony, he simply turned around and walked away as well, probably thinking that I was some dumpster diver or something.

The first thing that I noticed when I reached an outdoor patio and seated myself by a table where I could feel comfortable eating was that these doughnuts still tasted mostly fresh, and actually impressively delectable. It made me wonder why that unicorn thought of tossing them out in the first place. But in the end, I simply thought that he wanted the best for his customers, whether he works in a doughnut shop or actually owns it.

As I was happily and nonchalantly eating my fill, my eyes still wandered the skies, for any signs of those two winged unicorns that I narrowly escaped from. But at this point in time, I was seeing somewhat smaller pegasi soar the skies rather than those two lanky white and black mares.

When I looked back at ground level, I was finding it difficult to look at the skies once again. The multitude of equine life that I was witnessing here almost felt like I was dreaming in the middle of the day.

At first, I thought that what I was seeing was a new species of Pokémon, harboring a city of their own creation. But I quickly dismissed that idea because none of these…ponies…even remotely looked like Pokémon. They appeared far too simple to be Pokémon, based only on their physical builds. Also, all I was seeing were ponies, some with wings, some without, and most with horns. There were mostly unicorns, with the occasional pegasi and regular looking ponies. Most of them also had tattoos on their butts, with a few smaller and likely younger ponies having none. And outside of this, I saw no other apparent forms of life.

No…human life.

After finishing half of the doughnuts, I found it difficult to finish the others, because I was beginning to try to understand what had just happened to me, which distracted me from my normally big appetite.

"(I'm certainly not in Castelia City anymore…)" I thought, while seeing ponies of these three shared races go on with their days, mingling with each other, either wearing clothing…or entirely in the buff. "(I don't even think I'm in Unova anymore, or even in the world that I call home.)"

Suddenly, a flash of memories began to play within my mind. My conversation with Foxfire's noble father, the swarm of insect-like entities of darkness crawling over each other to fight me, Foxfire being assimilated into the darkness…

…!

…And me rushing recklessly to jump in after her to try and save her.

I found my appetite disappearing immediately, because it felt as though I had just swallowed a stone. My stomach weighed heavily with this metaphor, as did my mind and my head. I found myself looking down at the doughnuts and the pile of crumbs within this white cardboard box, but all I was seeing were my eyes beginning to water, and images of Foxfire disappearing within the darkness, while all that I could see myself doing was reaching out a helping hoof for her futilely.

But before I could feel myself begin to cry at my failure and my sadness, a hopeful thought echoed within my mind, and dried up my tears faster than harsh sunlight ever could.

"(I ended up right here, within this world of equines, after diving into the darkness…)" I began to speculate. "(Is it possible then…that Foxfire end up here as well?)"

Almost immediately, I could feel my appetite returning after thinking such a hopeful thought. But it didn't return instantly, only incrementally. And that was because I delved deeper within this possible outcome for her.

"(If she did, then where is she?)" I contemplated, looking around myself and seeing only historic-looking buildings for miles across this city. "(Is she here? Or is she elsewhere?)"

Looking back down at the six doughnuts that I've yet to finish, my appetite returned with a vengeance, and I pictured myself stuffing them down my throat with vigor. But as I opened my mouth and lowered my head to take another bite, I stopped cold when I heard a mature male voice speak to me.

"Is this seat taken?"

Almost hesitantly, I looked at the source of the voice right in front of me. What I saw speaking to me was a handsome-looking unicorn colt, about my size. He had white fur all across his body, light blue eyes, dark blue hooves, and a mane and tail that varied in three different shades of blue. Also, he appeared to be wearing a light suit of gold/purple armor, which only covered the core of his body. And as is the case with the vast majority of equines within this city―and perhaps throughout this bizarre world―he too had a pair of similar tattoos on his flanks. They resembled a dark blue shield, with three small and light blue stars above it, and one six-sided purple star right in the center.

…Wait a minute! Six-sided purple star?! It's just like the one I saw in my prophetic dreams! But…but what does it mean?

"Sir?"

Before I knew it, I was snapped back into reality and looked at this approachable stranger right in the eyes.

"…No. It's not. Go right ahead." I said so quietly it was almost a whisper.

He took a seat on the only other chair beside this patio table and promptly sighed in relief of…something troubling him perhaps?

"You would not believe the day I've been having lately." He continued speaking to me, as though we were lifelong friends.

"…You don't say." I mumbled again, finding this stranger to be a bit unsettling to me for some reason.

He looked down at the box of halfway finished doughnuts I had on the table. And upon looking at them, I was almost certain that I saw his eyes twinkle. "You have a big appetite to be eating a dozen of Pony Joe's Canterlot's famous doughnuts."

Canterlot? Pony Joe? Both of those new names floated around in my head for a bit before I made a connection with them. Canterlot must be the name of the city that I'm in, and Pony Joe is the name of that unicorn that I met as I was exiting the dumpster. It certainly couldn't be the other way around. Pony Joe doesn't sound like the fitting name for any city.

"I don't suppose I can have one?" He asked me politely.

For some reason, I could feel my appetite wane again, enough so where I could relinquish a doughnut or two.

"…Yeah…sure." I tried to speak up a bit. "They're a bit stale though… He was about to throw them away, but I…asked if I could have them. He just nodded and gave them to me…free of charge."

He didn't seem to notice my fabricated lie and plucked a doughnut without using his hooves, or without reaching over and plucking one with his mouth. My eyes targeted the light purple aura surrounding this colt's unicorn horn, and my body physically cringed at the sight of the telekinetic properties of his horn, causing the doughnut to hover over towards his open mouth. He happily began munching away at it, until nothing remained but crumbs on the table.

"That pony takes pride in his work." He continued speaking after swallowing and licking his lips. "He strives to make the best doughnuts he possibly can. And even when they're beginning to grow stale, they're still delicious."

"That's…impressive." I continued feigning having knowledge of that subject, but I didn't know how much longer I could last.

"If you think that's impressive, you should've seen his Donutopia creation." He went on, still speaking to me about thinks I discreetly didn't know, as though we were the best of friends. "My little sister and her friends saw it, before it was…destroyed and made into something else. Basically, it looked like the towering buildings of a metropolis, with the way the doughnuts were masterfully stacked over each other, and how he used their glaze to emulate lit windows. He entered it within Canterlot's National Dessert Competition."

For some reason, I could find myself easily imagining Castelia City as though it were made of doughnuts. It looked delicious, and would send anyone eating it on a sugar rush for days.

I gripped another doughnut with my hooves and stuffed it down my throat, finding it difficult to concentrate on its taste. "…Did he win first prize?"

"He actually shared first place with three other entrees. Too bad that at the time, almost all of it was eaten in one bite, by one pony. I would've killed to have a piece."

This talk about food didn't help make the four remaining doughnuts in the box disappear. I still found myself uneasy in his presence. And I was about to learn why.

"I have a question for you." He said warmly.

"…" Against my diminished appetite, I feigned hunger and put another doughnut in my mouth, chewing it slowly. "…What is it?" I garbled with my mouth full.

"What were you doing earlier in Canterlot Castle?"

The urge to choke on my food was real, but I didn't give in to it. I've done enough of that in the past anyway. All I did was swallow my food and continue playing this cool, even though I was feeling my stomach grow heavy again.

"What are you talking about?" I attempted to deny this, as though this colt knight in shining armor was being delusional.

"I'm talking about you, and your presence within Canterlot Castle's bathing pool." He stated, his voice suddenly taking the quality that an interrogator would possess. His posture changed as well, as did his countenance. This pony appeared to me now as a different entity entirely. "What were you doing in there?"

At this point, lying would make me seem hostile, so I stopped doing just that. "I fell asleep. I was out like a light."

He didn't think of my words as truthful. "Were you trying to get intimate with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?"

"…Who?" I said out of reflex, but found my statement redundant when I connected the fact that those were the names of the two winged unicorns that I escaped from.

"Or were you waiting to ambush them? To kidnap them or…or assassinate them?"

"…What?" This escalated quickly.

In a flash, he lunged right at me and held me by the light blue fur around my neck, with both of his front hooves. He held me up, dragged my body on top of the table, spilling both the chair that I was sitting on, alongside the box of remaining doughnuts, onto the paved floor. He looked at me with a face of growing spite towards me, and that was all I was focused on. Neither he nor I paid any attention to the fidgeting onlookers that saw this armored pony Poké-manhandle me.

"Who sent you to Equestria to kill our leader?!"

My attention diverted elsewhere. "How are you holding me up with your hooves like that? We don't even have fingers."

"What neighboring country sent you here?!"

Now he thinks I'm a spy. "…Did that doughnut you ate have too many sprinkles or something?"

My smart mouth was the first thing that he targeted, and I suddenly found myself flying back when he hit me with a magenta-colored projectile attack that he fired directly from his horn. I was launched back and skipped a couple of times on the sidewalk, like a smoothed stone over a calm pond. But I was quick in recovering myself from this and slid backwards on all four hooves until I stopped.

And before my eyes, I could see the citizens of this Canterlot city begin to scatter, like aboriginal Pokémon during a forest-fire. But one of these ponies didn't scatter, and that was the one that attacked me just now. Amongst the throngs of scattering ponies, he walked through them, focused entirely on me, a dark scowl marked on his white face. His horn continued glowing magenta, a strong sign that he wishes to finish the battle he began.

Part of me honestly wanted to join these screaming, fleeting ponies and run away from him. Part of me even wanted to tuck my tail in between my legs and bray at the top of my lungs again. But those thoughts were faint, because this pony that decided to confront me had no wings, and was slightly smaller than those two winged unicorns that I faced earlier, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna as I've now cemented their names to my memory.

In other words, I was confident in my abilities to take this cocky colt out.

He stopped walking forward when there was about twenty feet separating the two of us, with no other equine between us or around us, having fled the scene to avoid this inevitable confrontation altogether.

"You may have escaped from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, but I won't let you escape from me." He spoke confidently, convinced of himself and of his abilities in battle. "As Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard, it is my sworn duty to protect them from any confirmed and potential threats made onto them."

It turns out that my initial feelings of him were accurate. He appeared friendly but he was a hostile opponent to me. His armor, his explained rank to me, and now his currently arched battle stance proves it.

"Start talking. Why are you here?" He practically growled at me.

I wanted to tell him the truth, but I also had a strong suspicion that he wouldn't accept it. So I told him anyway, and left it up to him to decide.

"I don't know. All that I know is that I'm not from here, and neither is my friend." I explained. "You wouldn't happen to have seen a Vulpix here, have you? She's knee high, has red fur, and has six tails."

"…" My words appeared to stun him for a moment, but he appeared to shrug it off with a doubting countenance and quickly fired another one of those projectile attacks from his horn at me.

Another PROTECT in my part proved more than enough to make his attack pointless on me. And then when my shield disappeared after its one-time use, the drive to fight instantly transformed my body from its Ordinary Forme to its Resolute Forme.

The "Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard" took immediate note of this and showed some apprehension to my slight, yet significant transformation.

"…What did you just do to yourself?"

My answer was immediate. "I just took on a form more suited to riding your pale white pony ass with."

Blazingly faster now, I ran right towards my opponent. I leapt once and the water spraying from all four of my hooves quickly spiraled around me for an AQUA JET attack. My opponent was taken entirely by surprise of my mastery over water, and took the full force of my attack, looking like a Bug-Type Pokémon on the windscreen of an incoming vehicle.

Like a jetpack that uses water for propulsion, I carried myself and him far across this Canterlot City in next to no time. We left the city limits and found ourselves over a vast open field, where he regained enough of himself to break my AQUA JET attack with a stab of his horn.

This disrupted the two of us and caused us to fall back down to grassy earth, rolling like tumbleweeds before regaining our postures on all four hooves. And when that happened, I found this resilient colt immediately return on the offensive against me. His horn still glowed magenta, and he elongated it through means that I don't entirely understand. He came rushing towards me with his horn made into the shape of a blade.

…Only for me to clash against it with my SECRET SWORD attack.

"Who are you?" He said with grit teeth and a clenched countenance masking a sense of astonishment over me. "You just fired water from your hooves without using any magic!"

"(Magic?)" This time, I kept my lack of information to myself and cemented that word into memory.

"What kind of a pony are you?!" He struggled to overpower me, but it felt like I was fighting a child.

I told him what I was because he was now partially listening. "I'm Keldeo, a Sacred Swordsman and one of four Swords of Justice!"

"…A Sword…of Justice?"

The information ingrained itself into his mind, but it also distracted him. I was able to parry his blade and give one rising slash across his underbelly. And were it not for the suit of armor he was wearing, I'm almost positive that I would've been able to see his entrails by now. But instead, I had the satisfaction of seeing him catapulted into the air, with the scar of my SECRET SWORD lining his plackart, before he landed directly on his head and then collapsed into a slump of himself.

My blade remained put, because I was almost certain that he wasn't rendered unconscious by my strength. And as it turns out, I was right. Although, when he did get up, he got up feebly, the blow to his head greatly affecting his sense of balance.

And as he was getting up, I couldn't help but notice a delivery truck floating in the air, with a handful of pegasi unloading its seemingly heavy cargo, items that wouldn't seem out of place in a cartoon gag.

In fact, from the looks of the gray pegasus with a yellow mane and tail, that I'm almost certain appears cross-eyed, there would be an accident waiting directly below where they were flying over.

And it just so happens to be this colt that I was clashing blades with earlier.

When he got up, he had no clue of the accident waiting overhead, and I felt it within my power to guide him towards it.

…So to speak.

I began with something simple. "What's your name, Captain of the Royal Guard?"

He appeared to be in a daze, from the way his eyes were rolling in two different directions and the way his body was swaying against the force of the gentle breeze passing by us.

"You mean…you don't know my name?" He slurred his words and appeared to have difficulty looking me in the eye.

"I told you I'm not from here." I continued speaking, looking up discreetly to see that cross-eyed pegasus begin to be handed a set of heavy items.

"My name…is Shining Armor." He identified himself to me. "Recently titled prince…after marrying Princess Mi Amore Cadenza…or Princess Cadance for short."

"(…Another princess?)" I digressed in thought, after recalling my near-death experience with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I almost didn't pay attention to this colt's name as a result, and I almost didn't follow up with my crude plan of shaking him off of my tail. "I have another question for you…Shining Armor."

"What…what is it?" He said while still dazed.

"Are you on pot?"

Like a perfectly timed joke, I could see a cascade of items begin to fall down from the sky, and onto Shining Armor's unprotected head. The first item that came down was a potted plant, and it left him stunned even further than when I flipped him.

"Pot head," I added, smiling at his misfortune.

Then an anvil came down from the heavens, and it crashed down on his head without crushing his skull or making him budge, as though he were a cartoon character in a kid's TV show. All it did was stop with a resounding clang, but now his eyes appeared to repel against each other, almost like magnets. And around his head, he was literally seeing stars.

"ACME called. They want their anvil back." I continued joking at his misfortune.

Now came down a wooden wagon with hay, and it buried him underneath the broken wood and piles of silage.

"Heeeeeey!"

Now came down one of the most clichéd props in a cartoon's arsenal. A piano. Shining Armor had already disappeared underneath the collection of splinters and straw, so the piano dropping down on him was the cartoon's equivalent of a good measure, almost like if a safe were to drop on him instead. And like the hay wagon, the piano just added to what has now become a pile of firewood.

"…I got nothing." I shrugged my shoulders and felt like I had overstayed my welcome here, if I was being hunted down by the authorities.

With my opponent defeated, I felt my body revert back to its Ordinary Forme and I fled the scene, galloping calmly rather than hastily, because there was nothing chasing me down now, and I intended to keep it that way if I come across another obstacle.

I didn't even pay any attention to what happened to that grey pegasus that dropped all of those items inadvertently down on Shining Armor. My guess is that he or she is being reprimanded.

When I was nearing what I presumed to be the city limits of Canterlot, I noticed a train station directly in front of me, ready to depart.

When I saw this, a multitude of thoughts raced across my mind. I contemplated that trains only exist to connect one place of civilization to another, meaning that this train station was connecting Canterlot to…potentially another pony civilization. Alongside this, I still held my hopes up that Foxfire had ended up within this world and that she was here somewhere.

Now was the perfect time to look elsewhere, because I highly doubt I would be given the chance to look in Canterlot if I remained here any longer.

"(Foxfire, wherever you are, I'll find you.)" I thought with determination and with commitment to the promise that I made to her father.

Just as I was seeing the steam engine blowing smoke and the train departing the station, I was still a minute or so away from reaching it. And just as this train had left the station altogether, I continued going after it, by reaching this station and turning sharply in the direction the train was barreling down, running alongside the tracks now. And when I did so, I'm almost certain I was receiving a few looks of astonishment at either my choice of actions or the sheer speed I was galloping down now.

…Or maybe because I had to pay to use this train or something. But I have no money, not on me or in me.

Once I was coming up on the caboose of the train, as it was now appearing to travel at full speed, I gave myself a rocket jump with water swiftly fired from my four hooves, somersaulted once, landed squarely on the roof, and successfully caught the rear car of this train.

I'd give it a nickname, but this isn't exactly the first time I've caught a train before in my life. It's my second time actually, and the first time that I've done so of my own free will.

Anyways, at this point in time, I simply dropped down onto my knees and belly, relaxing myself as I was enjoying the sights that this train was passing by.

This train passed through the mountainside that housed the city Canterlot that I escaped from. And after passing through the mountain tunnels, the train was chugging along on the ground, with valleys and hilltops in the distance. I found myself enjoying the view by my left and right sides, as well as the growing distance of Canterlot in the background. But when I traced my eyes along the train tracks to see where this locomotive was heading towards, my eyes quickly centered around a peculiar settlement.

A village, as large as a city.

As the train drew closer and closer by the second, I could see the little details of that town. I could see that almost all of the houses closely clustered around the land area―which in itself was almost entirely undisturbed but simply worked around―were thatched roofed, almost like cottages but belonging to buildings that mostly had one to three floors to them.

There was a relatively large mountain within what appears to be walking distance of this simple-looking city. And alongside this, there was an unbelievably large settlement of land neighboring this area that composed of one farm and what appeared to be tens of thousands of apple trees, maybe even more.

Within the town itself, I could begin to see a circular area of land that was mostly undisturbed, save for a circular building that I could only assume is like their town hall, with an elected official that runs the city.

But at the outskirts of this municipality, I could see a castle, composed of what I'm almost certain appears to be a crystalline tree. And on the apex of this castle, I could see what appears to be an eight-sided star, similar to the six-sided purple star I've been seeing in my dreams (and in reality) lately, but at the same time so very different.

And if I looked a bit further from this established settlement, I could see a wide expanse of land that looked as though two earthbound gods had themselves a vicious duel. The sky had the slightest tint of red, the earth was in pieces, and there appeared to be a trench dug out by means that looked far too rough to have been done by hand.

It looked as though it was created through a devastating beam of some kind, something that I find myself shuddering at the speculation of what exactly fired it, and who was the recipient of it.

But those thoughts ceased when I found myself narrowly toppling over the side of the roof when the train abruptly stopped against my attention. I felt my legs spread apart thinner than butter on toast, just to keep me balanced when the train came to a somewhat sharp stop. But when the train inevitably stopped at this station, I immediately jumped off and landed with a short burst of HYDRO PUMP to cushion my descent.

And the first thing that happened to me when I touched the soil of this city…

"HEY YOU! I've never seen you before!"

…was a greeting from two entities. One of them was a female pegasus with sky blue fur, magenta eyes, and a mane and tail that almost unnaturally emulated the six identifiable colors of a rainbow. And the other was the palpable ego that this winged pony possessed.

But when I found myself reeling my head back in fright at this spontaneous stranger, I realized that there was someone she was holding in between her hooves.

Someone that I was searching for, but didn't expect myself to find so quickly.

"Keldeo! I'm so glad you're here!"

"Foxfire?" I said, feeling a weight lifted off of my shoulders after seeing her wellbeing.

"What's going on, Keldeo?"

Naturally, she was just as clueless as I was when it came to where we were and how we got here. And while we both might not make any progress based on what we two alone know, a hypothetical and speculative conversation concerning such matters might enlighten us.

But before I could say a word, my excitement over Foxfire made me completely forget about who was carrying her.

"'Foxfire'?" The rainbow pegasus said after understanding what I said. "You know this fox?"

I found myself stalling for time when I realized that this flying horse understood the words coming out of my mouth, but not the ones coming out of Foxfire's mouth. Perhaps it had something to do with the reality of this world. After all, she is a pony. Every form of sentient life that I've encountered, when you erase their horns, wings, and bizarre choice of aesthetics on each of their…cheeks…is a pony. And as if Arceus has blessed me with good fortune, that will work in my favor in making my voice heard.

"Well? I'm waiting." She persisted. "I don't have all day you know!"

"…Yes! Yes, I know her." I finally exclaimed, and had my mind work overtime to formulate another lie. "She is my pet fox. She ended up behind when I caught the train to Canterlot. And in a panic, once I reached Canterlot's train station, I hitched a ride on the train returning back, to look for her."

Both this sky blue pegasus and the Vulpix that she was holding gave me quizzical looks, one for wondering if I was telling the truth or not, and the other for figuring out what this "Canterlot" place is, by my best guess. Nevertheless, after she thought it over, she saw no reason to doubt me, and she immediately landed on the ground and let Foxfire go. And like a puppy, Foxfire was all over my front left leg, hugging it tightly, comforted and reassured by my presence.

"Well, I can't argue with that logic. She is your pet." She stated after seeing Foxfire's immediate reaction to me. "Though I still think my tortoise is 20% cooler. After all, he can fly."

Then she turned her back to me to fly up, up, and away. And before she disappeared into the sky and took shelter in one of the clouds in the distance, I could see the tattoo she apparently wore on both of her flanks. It resembled a white cloud, with a lightning bolt that was colored blue, red, and yellow.

I looked back down at Foxfire, seeing that she was still clutching my front left leg tightly, albeit looking up at the rainbow pony that held her earlier as she had made her way back into the atmosphere. She looked back in to my eyes and appeared much more composed now that she was staring at a cool, familiar face.

…Even though the only thing separating me as a stranger in her eyes was one day's time.

"So Keldeo," She said with regained composure. "D-do you know what's going on?"

I'm sure she thought that I had all of the answers, or at least had a better understanding of our environment and present predicament than she did. But unfortunately, I only had this response for her, and it didn't make her feel any better.

"I'm just as clueless as you are, about where we are and how we got here." I began. "I just know that when you were assimilated into the darkness, I jumped after you to pull you out of it. But the darkness consumed me as well. And as it turns out, it transported us here, into a world where the word Pokémon doesn't seem to exist. Only the word 'pony'."

"Oh…" She loosened her grip on me, looked down to the dusty ground below our feet, and sighed. "H-how will we get home? W-will I see my father again?"

It seemed impossible, but that's because we had no concrete leads on where to begin, no obvious targets to look out for.

"Don't worry, Foxfire." I reassured her, even going so far as to lovingly nudge my face into her cheek. "We'll find a way. I promise you that."

With that said and done, I helped her onto my head, where she promptly hopped onto it and nestled herself within my red mane, almost in the same way that a motherly Zoroark would to her Zorua pup. She didn't get her entire body into my mane. Just her lower half. But when I felt her stop fidgeting herself once she was in a comfortable position, I felt equally comfortable in hoisting my head back up and making my way over to that town that I've departed the train to visit.

But I didn't get a chance to walk two steps forward before I felt something strong strike my ass and send me flying.

Foxfire and I separated in mid-flight and we both tumbled a few times on the dusty floor before coming to a halt. Foxfire was slower than I in getting back upright, mostly in part to the difference in experience we both possess. But as I was getting up, I realized that it wasn't under my power, because I was made paralyzed by whatever it was that struck me, when I noticed I was not only surrounded in some sort of light blue aura, but rising off of the ground because of it.

And when the source of this magic aura made itself present before me by flapping down from the skies, I felt myself grow cold at what stood before me.

It was another female winged unicorn, my third encounter with one today. However, unlike the white and black pair of horned pegasi that I now know as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, this one appeared a bit smaller, but still possessed their similar lanky build. She was pink, her eyes were purple, and her mane and tail shined in three core colors: cream, magenta, and violet. She wore gold horseshoes, a small golden crown, and a gold necklace. And as for the gold tattoo she had on each side of her butt, they each displayed what appears to be a crystal heart, with mirror-like facets on the left and right side.

"So you're the Canterlot Castle intruder that my aunt has been talking about." She spoke with a surprisingly authoritative tone emanating from what I'm certain is a gentle and loving voice. "You're the little assassin or infiltrator or pervert that invaded Princess Celestia's and Princess Luna's bathing pool. And you're also the pony responsible for putting my husband in the hospital."

The strong urge to flat out deny her words as baseless claims escaped me when I found myself once again taking key information from the equines that I find myself speaking with. Within her three sentences, she states that Princess Celestia is her aunt (which would explain her strikingly similar appearance and features) and that Shining Armor is her husband (who I basically left for dead when I fled Canterlot).

"I don't know who sent you here or what business you have in Equestria…" She continued speaking, staring daggers into my soul. "But I'll see to it that you stand trial for your crimes committed here."

Equestria. That name was now mentioned twice to me. And now that such a name has stuck, I'm almost certain that "Equestria" is the name of the place that both Foxfire and I have found ourselves in, and that I've inadvertently gathered a bad name in.

…Speaking of Foxfire!

Lucky that I was still able to see her while paralyzed by this pink pony's power, I noticed that Foxfire had just managed to regain her quadrupedal posture, but lost it alongside me when my capturer captured her as well.

I wanted to say something, but my jaws were uncooperative and forcibly clenched shut. I was about to say something in Foxfire's defense through my telepathy, for fear of what this horned pegasus could potentially do to harm her. However, I found myself stunned at her spontaneous change of character.

"Aww! What a cute little foxy!" She squealed like a female human child. "I've never seen one with six tails before!"

I…didn't know what was stranger, the fact that she broke her serious character before me at the sight of a Pokémon that seems to be generally regarded as cute, or that she completely disregarded the purple Power Stone that she was wearing around her neck like a collar.

Her character didn't remain broken for long, after she looked back to me. "Shame on you, for dragging this poor little creature alongside your path of crime!"

I noticed that when Foxfire regained her senses, the first thing that she did was roll her eyes, as though she had been placed in a similar position before.

"If our court of justice puts you away for life, I'll be sure to take care of this 'widdle' cutie in your absence."

Her breaks of character made it difficult for me to take her seriously. But the fact that she had me at her mercy, both professionally and personally, I wasn't really offered a choice on the manner.

And in moments, this pink pony took flight, carrying the two of us alongside her for the ride, through what I've come to learn to be her "magic".

What happened after this was a story with a beginning, an end, and a big gaping hole in the middle. The beginning of this story was me returning to Canterlot Castle, where the pink pony cast a spell on me that made me fall fast asleep. After that, I don't know what they did to me in the middle, where they took me and what happened to Foxfire, though I do believe that she is safe because the pony life here think of her as irresistibly cute. And one does not simply kill cute.

The end of this story has me waking up in what appears to be a dark and depressing dungeon of sorts, incarcerated within one of its cells, with a locked wall of iron bars in front of me for a door. And to my sides, I saw what you could expect to find inside of a jail cell.

A crappy bed, an indiscreet toilet, and a sleeping white pegasus roommate with rippling muscles, shortly cut dirty-blond mane and hair, as well as a tattoo of a dumbbell on his buns of steel.

"(…Holy shit!)"

My senses returned to me at the sight of this gargantuan individual, and I found myself scooting ass backwards into the opposite wall, hoofs flailing and metallic chains jingling.

…Metallic chains?

I stooped scooting back almost as quickly as I began, when I realized that I was carrying much more weight on my hooves than I normally never do. I found out that all four of my hooves were being consumed by what appeared to be metallic bowling balls, most likely placed to prevent me from walking (or shooting water out of my hooves). And these four balls were connected to each other by three rows of chains, connected to each other to resemble a capital letter "I", and made short enough where bucking and running was entirely out of the question. Lastly, I noticed that I was wearing a bizarre helmet of sorts, one that only covered my horn instead of my skull, likely to prevent a "unicorn" such as myself to fire any "magic" from it.

The only thing that wasn't covered that I could channel my Fighting-Type or Water-Type attacks through was my mouth. And I was contemplating using either of the two to break myself out of these shackles and then out of this jail cell. But then I heard my roommate stir within our single bed, and open his red eyes at me.

The first thing that popped into my head was a hyperbolic fear of becoming a prison bitch and losing my virginity to a pony on steroids if I so much as dropped the soap in the shower we'd likely be sharing. But the first thing that I heard, from this ripped horse with puny wings and a gold earring on his left ear, was the absolute last thing that I expected from him.

"Hey, Keldeo!" he exclaimed in almost the same manner than a happy child would. "Did you sleep well?"

"…" Suffice to say, I found myself at a complete loss of words at this muscular pony's surprisingly gentle nature. So all I did was remain seated on the cold floor and nod with my head lurching forward after having been arched far back.

"So did I!" He shouted again, as though he was unable to or unaware of his volume of voice. "I dreamt that I was frolicking across the flower fields within Canterlot, picking up flowers for this cute yellow pegasus with a pink mane and tail."

"…Okay." I tried to relax immediately, but found myself doing so incrementally.

"Her name is Fluttershy!" He continued speaking with an arena voice instead of a 12-inch voice, and his eyes began to flitter, as though he was stricken with love. "And I hope to win her heart one day!"

I was beginning to relax a bit more now, enough so where I can strain a normal conversation with my…cellmate. "…She sounds like an angel."

"She is…" He sighed passionately.

Whoever this "Fluttershy" is, I had never met the damsel. And even if I had, I doubt she would be of interest to me. The closest individual that I have to a love interest is Virizion, but she's more of a mother to me.

I was about to change the topic and say who he was, but the sounds of unlocking doors at the end of the hallway echoed about this dungeon. Then the sounds of creaking, seldom used doors opening replaced the sounds of unfastened locks. Then the sounds of clopping hooves replaced the sounds of neglected doors. And then the sight of that same pink winged unicorn, alongside a couple of armored ponies that I'm almost certain were members of the Canterlot Royal Guard, replaced the pitter-patter of their approach to us.

Both of her Royal Guards―one pegasus and one unicorn―simply stood behind her, watching me closely and only me. Not this pallid powered-up pegasus.

And then this winged unicorn calmly opened the jail cell with the use of her magic, and looked at my cellmate with a comforting smile.

"Bulk Biceps," she addressed him by what I'm almost certain is his name. "Thank you for keeping an eye on Keldeo. You're free to go."

"Anything for you, Princess Cadance!" Bulk Biceps redundantly shouted as he got off of the cell's bed, bowed once for her, and just trotted away.

I couldn't help but notice how easily he took this as he disappeared from sight. "What was that about?"

Surprisingly, her tone of voice to me was loving, despite our present environment. "Oh, don't worry about him. He was just repaying me back for a favor in learning about writing love letters to a pony that he admires."

"So he was never doing time here to begin with?"

"Exactly." She responded a bit too cheerfully.

I found myself doubting this. "But he looks like he's on horse steroids!"

"I know. Even cross-eyed ponies can see that." She added. "But Bulk Biceps is one of the kindest ponies that I know. And I know one pony that can vouch for my claim."

"…Fluttershy?" I guessed.

She spontaneously looked at me quizzically. "How do you know her name?"

"Bulk Biceps told me, after I woke up." I said honestly, before looking down at my hooves. "…After I woke up with these balls and chains on me."

"Alright then." She stated positively, as though my physical bondage held no weight on her. "Can you still walk with those on you?"

Her presently tender loving voice was dubious to me, but I said nothing about it and just followed her commands, which were sounding more like polite favors. I got off of my rear and took a few slow steps towards her. My steps were slow because my movement was restricted, not because I was weighed down. After all, I'm half Fighting-Type. And those types of Pokémon are known for their strength.

"Yeah, I still can." I assured her, wondering why she was behaving so positively to me, when everybody seems to think that I'm a criminal.

"Good." She tilted her head to the door. "Come with me then."

With the gesture of a raised eyebrow, I did as Princess Cadance said and loudly made my way out of the cell. I found myself walking alongside Princess Cadance down the hallway, with both of her Royal Guards closely behind us, in case I tried anything funny. But I didn't wish to. I've already done so enough inadvertently, and I'm not a Pokémon that would do so deliberately.

That being said, I still had a question or two to say to my "Pokémon Trainer".

"You're acting surprisingly nice to me, even after what happened to your husband."

Her face showed the slightest signs of me pushing a wrong button, and frowned ever so slightly. However, it appears as though I didn't press the wrong button, or didn't press enough of them, or didn't press it hard enough. Because, her response back to me was one of reassurance, not to herself but to me.

"All you did was fight him. You didn't injure him." Princess Cadance began to explain. "You were defending yourself against Shining Armor. Your one and only strike on him was against his armor. You could've easily decided to aim elsewhere, but you simply flipped him."

"How do you know that?"

"He told me himself, after I visited him in the hospital." She told me, with next to no spite towards me for fighting her husband.

"…How did he survive those objects that fell on him anyway?"

"He's had worse," She assured me, in the same way that a black knight would shrug off a mutilated arm. "Besides, a splitting headache, some lacerations, embedded splinters, and broken bones are easy to tend to with healing spells, potions, and a bit of rest. He'll be sore tomorrow morning, but he'll be just fine the day after that."

Shining Armor's condition couldn't help but astound me. "(He may not be a Pokémon, but he certainly heals like one.)"

"Would you believe that the same exact thing happened to my sister-in-law?" She joked. "And by the same pony too. Ditzy Do is her name, but everybody calls her 'Derpy Hooves'."

"I'll have to thank her if I ever meet her again." I found myself saying.

"Perhaps, or perhaps not." She replied ascetically. "Whether you're proven guilty of your accused crimes or not, in court, will determine that."

"…Do you think I'm guilty?" I told her.

Her response felt honest to me by how quickly it was thought out. "I don't know. Personally, I've never seen your face here before, but you don't seem hostile. One look at your face tells me that you fight for good, not evil. To me, you just seem to have gotten yourself into some situations beyond your power to control."

"That's…reassuring." I muttered, before find my eyes opening wide after recalling what she did to me and my friend. "What did you do with Foxfire?"

"Who?" She said at first, before her face spontaneously became as adorable as the Pokémon I was with earlier. "Oh! You mean your cute widdle fox. Don't worry. I left her under the care of the friends of your lawyer."

By now, we were clearly out of the holding cells and making our short way to what appeared to be a pair of doors that led to a massive room, based on the fact that no other doors could be seen across this hallway. A hallway that looked exactly like that that I made a braying mad dash across, when I was still in Canterlot Castle.

When we stopped walking, her last sentence led to my last question.

"Who's defending me in court?"

Princess Cadance simply smiled at me before giving me her short answer.

"My sister-in-law."

When the doors opened, what I saw before me was a sight that, despite being a Pokémon representing justice, I had very little knowledge of.

I saw a courtroom, a full courtroom, with benches and tables and sides dedicated to those for the officials involved in…my trial. The entirety of the area appeared…Greek, from the wooden carvings to the white stone pillars acting as the walls and the supports for the high ceiling.

And as Princess Cadance signaled me to step in, I could see and even feel the cold metal of the dagger-like glares of the ponies within this building. In fact, I found myself briefly scanning myself to see if I wasn't bleeding.

After that, I didn't look at anyone straight in the eye. I simply remained calm, walking forward to my designated location, knowing my side of the story and hoping that side of the story is made clear by whoever is defending me…and whoever is prosecuting me.

But as I found myself taking a seat in the witness stand, front and center within the courtroom, and looked around myself at the key players that were around me, I noticed that there was no one of the sort. I saw no lawyer, no prosecutor, and even no judge.

However, I did see Foxfire within the spectator gallery. She was surrounded by five other ponies. One of them was that rainbow-mane pegasus that apparently found Foxfire for me. Another one was a pegasus with yellow fur and a pink mane and tail. Futtershy perhaps? And as for the other three, I had never seen them before. One was a pink pony with a cotton candy hairstyle, another was a white unicorn who appears to pamper her appearance with cosmetics, and the last was an orange pony with a cowboy hat. They all appeared to take turns with holding Foxfire, caressing her, cuddling her, much to her trying patience of their showering and respectfully silent affection.

She was the only individual within this room that wasn't glaring at me.

"Don't worry, Foxfire." I spoke to her through selective telepathy. "Whatever they're accusing me of, I know for a fact that I'm innocent. And after showing them my side of the story, we'll begin looking for answers in how we were transported here."

Foxfire wanted to nod back to me, but too many gingerly petting hooves were making it difficult for her.

Then I heard Princess Cadance begin to speak.

"All rise for the Honorable Judge Last Rites."

"(Wait, what was his name?)" I found myself thinking nervously.

Before my eyes, I saw every single colorful and diverse pony within this courtroom stand up one by one, until they were all standing and staring intently at the area where the judge was supposed to be seated.

My eyes looked over towards the Judge's dais, just in time to see a flash of light around his seat. And when the light ceased as quickly as it came, as if by magic, stood a bald and elderly unicorn with a white beard as long as my red mane, wearing a black judge coat that covered everything that wasn't his face, and carrying a wooden gavel with his glowing pallid horn.

I looked at him briefly, and found myself looking away when he scowled back at me.

And then Judge Last Rites spoke, and I could tell from his deep tone of voice that alongside his somewhat advanced age, he carried immense authority and experience.

"Please be seated."

As though this pony's words were holy law, everybody seated themselves, and I could hear the upholstery give way to the rear ends of at least a hundred horses.

"Very well. This court is now in session."

Last Rites seated himself down as well, but his magic grip on his gavel never faltered. He stroked his beard and darted his eyes over to his left side, which was also at my own left. And in the area where my defense should be, there was still nothing. Everybody had their eyes trained there, and stared on at something that doesn't exist.

Or so I thought.

"Is the Defense ready?"

All eyes were trained to the sight of another brief flash of light. And as was the case with Judge Last Rites, another pony teleported out of nowhere and appeared here, as if by magic. Or a powerful use of psychic abilities? I'm still unsure.

She as well as her eyes was purple, with a long and somewhat simple hairstyle to both her mane and tail. And the color of her hair was dominantly a shadowy purple, with both a magenta and plum streak running down the middle of both her mane and tail. Also, she was yet another winged unicorn, much like the Princesses Cadance, Celestia, and Luna that I've encountered and met before her.

Her "butt tattoo" however, was what drew my attention when I eventually found myself looking right at it. It is precisely what I saw in my dreams.

And right alongside her was another individual that I almost overlooked. He was a dragon, a baby dragon, adorably small and only tall enough to reach the flank of whom I presume to be is my lawyer. He's bipedal, light purple, with grass green eyes and equally so scales lining the entirety of his arrowhead tail, up his back, and making up the "mohawk" on his head. His underbelly and the scales making his "ears" were a green of a paler variety.

And in his arms was a small stack of paper files, which he immediately put down on the table with determination and vigor.

"The Defense is ready, Your Honor." She said simply, a look of uncanny determination clear on her…strangely befriending countenance.

Before my ears, I suddenly heard the sounds of cheers and applause for this purple pony. I found myself taken aback by this, especially when I noticed that the Judge himself joined in on their merriment.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle and Spike," Judge Last Rites addressed them by their names, names that I find myself quickly committing to my memory. "The Honor is your own. Your recent actions alongside your friends have prevented all of Equestria from falling into the control of Lord Tirek."

"Thank you, Your Honor," She replied humbly. "But my actions and newfound position as The Princess of Friendship would not be possible on my own."

Trying my hardest to contain my astonishment at the fourth winged unicorn princess, I noticed that she and Spike looked over into the spectator gallery, and those five ponies that were "taking care" of Foxfire were waving their hooves and cheering her. And within my mind, I found myself making more connections about these particular ponies.

"(So this Spike and those five ponies are friends of Twilight Sparkle's.)" I contemplated, before realizing something else. "(And Twilight Sparkle is Princess Cadance's sister-in-law…which would make Shining Armor her brother.)"

"Our friendship is magic." Twilight continued speaking admirably and respectfully to those that she loves, as though her words were an unquestionable truth. "And together, we can overcome anything."

Judge Last Rites stroked his beard with closed eyes and nodded at the understanding of this, apparently having heard so much about Twilight Sparkle, her friends, and her accomplishments alongside them. Unfortunately for me, all I know is that her ass―the six-sided star on her ass― is what I've been seeing in my dreams alongside in reality, and that she is defending me as my lawyer, her and Spike both.

And then I saw Judge Last Rites look over towards his right, and everybody else did so as well. But they did so with much less immediateness, and appeared much more apprehensive of the matter.

"Is the…Prosecution ready?" He said with a heavy sigh.

The way he said that made it seem as though a bad omen took the form of my prosecution. And in a way, he was right. Because as was the case before, we all found ourselves looking at nothing before nothingness gave way to something. And when this something appeared in the form of a plume of smoke taking the form of a tall, thin figure, I still found myself thinking of it as a "something".

Because what I saw, as the prosecutor of this trial, was something that resembled a dragon. Of course this "something", through my comprehensive power in attempting to make sense of it, looked as though Arceus Itself created it after having gotten drunk on gallons of fermented Berry juice. There was no uniformity whatsoever with this beast. I saw far too many random parts making up one body that it was painful of me to contemplate what body part belongs to what animal.

So I stopped thinking about that, just in time to hear a collection of groans and even a rise of boos and hisses echo about this courtroom.

But to this…chaotic amalgamation of biology, its reaction to this was to laugh, and laugh heartily.

"The Prosecution is as ready as ever, Your Honor." This beast spoke with a male voice and a silver tongue, making his words seem almost irresistible and impossible to ignore. "And by the sounds of my standing ovation, they're as eager as I am to get this case underway."

In response to this, more boos and hisses were heard throughout the courtroom. However, a small collection of individuals didn't boo him. This collection included Princess Cadance, Twilight Sparkle, her five friends, Spike, Foxfire, myself, and Judge Last Rites.

Of course, he might not be doing so because he was focused on the gavel he was lifting up with his magic.

DUNN! DUNN! DUNN!

Just a few forceful smacks of his gavel against its respective wooden block was enough to silence the throng of spite towards this long and slender…dragon?

"Members of the Jury," Judge Last Rites reprimanded. "You are implicated to disregard any personal feelings towards these individuals, no matter how…perfidious these individuals used to be."

The Judge then gave one brief glance to the prosecutor, before rolling his eyes at the sight of him.

"…Discord." He said his name, making it now known to me, but probably uttered it to prove his point.

"Guilty as charged, Judge." Discord continued to sweet-talk the highest authority in court. "And I'm glad I didn't get away with it because of these six meddling ponies and their baby dragon."

"…" Judge Last Rites appeared distraught, before looking over towards an individual he appeared to tolerate unanimously better. "Twilight Sparkle, remind me and the adjudicators why he isn't being charged with treason, let alone doing time in prison or facing a death sentence?"

"To make a long story short," She began to explain. "The Magic of Friendship gave him a change of heart."

"And I'm very much thankful of that, Princess of Magic." Discord added.

Then, before my eyes, he disappeared from his side of the court and appeared directly beside Twilight Sparkle, with no sense of respect for her personal space, or personal space in general. He was practically speaking right into her ear, and Twilight didn't seem to mind.

"Nevertheless, despite what bright futures we may share together as friends, I'll never forget the first time that we met."

"…As enemies." Twilight said flatly.

"Correct. And this will be just like old times. Only the stakes are no longer that of Ponyville being made into the Chaos Capital of the World. They are of the fate of this little pony with a herculean water retention deficiency."

"(If I had a Berry for every time I heard something like that told of me…)" I thought, feeling my eyelids close halfway. "(…I'd be obese.)"

SNAP!

"You are the lawyer…"

SNAP!

"And I am the prosecutor."

With a snap of his fingers, I noticed that Discord gave himself a magenta suit, Twilight Sparkle a blue suit alongside a strange spike "manestyle", and Spike a black dress that looked completely out of place on him, because it is best worn by one of those busty human females who feel that they should show off a bit of cleavage. Discord teleported back to his respective spot, losing his suit as a result. Twilight used her magic to strip down back to her buff, and shook her head to revert her mane back to normal. And Spike hastily burned down his gender-bending wardrobe with a breath of green fire.

With the bizarre theatrics between these two out of the way, Judge Last Rites turned his attention towards me.

"Defendant," he referred to me by. "Please state your name and occupation for these good folk."

Now I felt like I was back on the hot seat, when all eyes turned towards me. Only now, I have three extra pairs of eyes staring right into me. And of those three, only the purple eyes of Twilight Sparkle were the ones that I saw the most comfort in. But after looking at Twilight's comforting and reassuring face, I looked back at the Judge and stated myself for these ponies.

And I held nothing back.

"My name is Keldeo." I said with honor for myself and for my actions. "And I'm not of this world."

When I dropped that bombshell, the courtroom was echoing the resurgence of commotions of the ponies in attendance to my trial. Everybody appeared to look at me with a new light, not seeing me as a pony, but now seeing me as an alien.

Everybody except for Foxfire, as well as the four individuals that were responsible for the eventual outcome my trial. Spike and Twilight Sparkle didn't seem entirely fazed by this revelation, as though they suspected this and now knew for certain. Discord appeared to find this amusing, and I could almost see the gears turning within his head. And as for Judge Last Rites, well, he just kept on stroking his beard with closed eyes.

I continued. "In the world where I come from, I'm not labeled as a pony, but as a Pokémon."

"And what in Celestia's name is a…Pokémon?" Judge Last Rites asked, speaking for everyone in never hearing such a name before.

"It's actually an abbreviation for 'Pocket Monster'." I added in quickly before returning to the topic. "Anyway, within that world, I'm no ordinary Pokémon. I'm a Legendary Pokémon. And Pokémon labeled as such are elusive Pokémon, with greater levels of strength than most others."

"'Labeled as such'?" The Judge repeated my words. "How many 'Legendary' Pokémon are there."

"Dozens."

Once again, more commotion was audible within the courtroom. Because now, as my words were being believed, I was more than an alien. I was a rare alien. One who bears a mighty title.

"Dozens?" Judge Last Rites said in mild astonishment.

"That's right, your honor." I confirmed and continued. "Every single Pokémon, where I come from, possess powers that I'm certain many of you listening to me right now have trouble fathoming. Most Pokémon can wield the elements, manipulate their environments, or create matter out of nothing. The most powerful of Pokémon, the Legendary Pokémon in particular, are labeled as such because their power, in comparison to others, commonly borders on the line of absolute."

"…" Judge Last Rites abruptly stopped stroking his beard, and all surrounding ambience ceased.

"Legendary Pokémon rule the skies, the weather, the oceans, and the land. Some can infiltrate dreams and cause nightmares. Others manifest emotion, knowledge, and willpower. And a select few of these even reign over space and time itself. But none of this wouldn't be possible if not for the Original One birthing the universe when only chaos and nothingness existed when It came to be."

"…'It'?" Just Last Rites almost struggled in saying that.

"Yes." I confirmed once again. "Arceus is Its name. And where I come from, just about every Pokémon alive considers the Alpha Pokémon as our God."

I almost expected more commotion from my onlookers, but all I was feeling was more dagger-like glares. However, these glares felt dulled and rusted, as though the wielders behind them were feeling the same way.

Out of fear.

But those of my pair of lawyers and of my prosecutor felt as sharp as usual. Perhaps because they have a better imagination compared to others? Or perhaps because they understand the word "power" better than most? I can't say for certain because I can't read minds.

"…And what can you do?"

"Me?" I expected this question. "Where I come from, I'm one of four Legendary Pokémon that either goes by the titles 'Sacred Swordsman' or 'Sword of Justice'."

"So you're like The Three Pony Musketeers?" A rough and childlike voice suddenly spoke up.

All eyes, including my own, turned to the baby dragon known as Spike. And when all eyes turned to him, he noticed this and appeared to succumb to a bit of stage fright.

"Who?" I asked him, never hearing this comparison before.

"You know… 'All for one, and one for all'?" His voice grew meek but he still spoke to me to get his point across. "It's the story of a young pony named d'Artagnan as he leaves home to Maris, Prance to join the Musketeers of the Royal Guard."

"Spike, how do you know that?" Twilight said, obviously unaware of Spike's knowledge of the matter.

"Eh, I got bored and read one of your books during a rainy day." He said straightforwardly and with a shrug.

Even though Spike's story of The Three Pony Musketeers sounded like something I've never heard of before, the brief synopsis he gave me was something that I found…nostalgic familiar.

"…Yes." Was all I could say on the matter.

Judge Last Rites immediately chimed in. "So you're no stranger to fighting and killing then?"

My attention returned to My Honor. "Fighting, yes. Killing however is something that, as a Sword of Justice, we resort to as our absolute last option."

"Explain." He said simply, the use of the word "killing" obviously having a pronounced weight in a Court of Law.

"I don't kill others for the sake of it, and certainly not for the enjoyment of it or for the benefit of another. If I have killed others, then it's simply self-defense in my part…"

I briefly looked over to the spectator stands, and tried my best to point a weighted hoof over at Foxfire.

"…to protect those that I love, such as my pet Foxfire up there."

To the five ponies that were holding her and keeping her company, they could see their held Vulpix wag all six of her tails.

"So, Sword of Justice," Judge Last Rites concluded. "You fight for the sake of protecting others. Is this correct?"

"Absolutely." I nodded, feeling my truthful story begin to make an impression in this trial. "That's what heroes do anyway."

"Interesting," was all that he said before he changed the subject abruptly. "Because, Keldeo, you presently stand in court under a multitude of charges that 'heroes' don't normally succumb to."

I knew this, but found myself silenced by the weight of the matter.

"You are charged with trespassing, vandalism, stalking, sexual assault, rape, voluntary manslaughter, conspiracy, assault with a deadly weapon, disturbing the peace, evading a Peace Officer, hit & run, and robbery."

"…" I felt myself go dry at the mouth when I heard the list of charges pressed against me. "…In that order?"

"Yes." Judge Last Rites said simply before he looked over towards the creature of a dozen assorted animal parts. "Prosecutor Discord, bring out the first witness."

"Oh ho ho!" Discord's first reaction to this was to laugh, at a joke that I fail to see the punch line of. "I'm gonna need some popcorn for this."

The instant that the first witness was brought in, I could see the fire burn within her eyes, which thankfully remained as so.

…Until she suddenly rushed me, and her nose was practically glued right on my own.

"How dare you break into my castle, invade my bathing pool, rape me, and flee!" Princess Celestia practically breathed fire upon me.

I may not be a Fire-Type Pokémon, but water can still boil and heat up as intensely with the lot of them.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?!"

I didn't appreciate her getting all up in my face like this, and decided to throw her off. "Where's your trial?"

"…Excuse me?!"

"I'm being tried for rape. Why aren't you being tried for attempted murder?"

Her fire quelled, but she was still in my face. "…Are you saying that I tried to kill you?"

"I'm saying that my nose was sticking out of the pool, allowing me to breathe above the water's surface, like a snorkel." I felt like explaining myself. "You came along, sat on me, and I couldn't breathe."

"…What are you saying?"

"Do the terms 'Third Base' or 'Drowning in Pussy' mean anything to you?"

Her pale white face began to glow bright red, as did the majority of everyone else's within the courtroom.

"Oh, you are so d―!"

"Also, I can still smell vanilla." I added that in as my final verbal blow to her.

"…!"

When she realized that, her reaction was nothing short of priceless. She sniffed my snout, then stepped back as though I spooked her. Her face was now a bright red, out of genuine embarrassment instead of rage. And the growing laughter within the courtroom only made her recluse herself even more.

She still glared spitefully at me, but I was laughing too hard to care.

DUNN! DUNN! DUNN!

"ORDER! ORDER, I SAY!" Judge Last Rites silenced us all with his authority and hammer. "Defense, you may begin to cross-examine the―"

The Judge was silenced when he noticed that both Spike and Twilight appeared…indisposed. Twilight was lying prone on her table, unconscious, with her tongue sticking out and blood running down her nose. And as for Spike? Well, I can't see him. I guess he fell back when he fainted and is now lying on the floor.

"…witness."

With a groan and a roll of his eyes, Judge Last Rites reluctantly turned his attention over towards the prosecutor. But when he did so, he had no words to say.

Discord appeared nonchalant of the…perverse situation, and was holding a steaming cup of coffee, a mocha from what I found myself still fortunate for being able to smell anything that wasn't vanilla. The prosecutor smelled the warm, chocolaty aroma of his latte, and drank a few mouthfuls of it. And then out of nowhere, he did a spit take with his beverage, and passed out alongside my Defense.

What happened after this was the Judge sighing heavily at the chain reaction of events that just happened, and Princess Celestia alongside Princess Cadance rushing over to the aid of both the lawyers and the prosecutor.

"…We'll just take a 15 minute recess now." The Judge said before dunning his gavel in defeat. "And then bring out our next witness."

Part of me felt like this was more of a scripted courtroom drama between numerous actors, and I was in the front row amongst the audience. Because, when Princess Celestia left after nudging Discord, Spike, and Twilight Sparkle back to consciousness, and then tended to Twilight's nosebleed, Judge Last Rites was already calling forth the second witness.

Of course, as it turns out, he didn't come alone.

When the doors to the entrance of the courtroom opened, I saw a familiar face. The face of Shining Armor, partially wrapped up in bandages alongside about a fourth of his body. He was sitting in what appeared to be a wheelchair that was modified to work on ponies, and was being wheeled in here by a pale white unicorn with a nurse hat and a red cross for a "butt tattoo".

She positioned Shining Armor in the center of the court and stood by his side, just as Twilight Sparkle grasped the moderate extent of her brother's injuries, and reacted as expected to them.

"What happened to you, B.B.B.F.F.?!" She exclaimed in horror, understandably discarding her sense of professionalism.

"(…'B.B.B.F.F.'?)" I thought, confused by the abbreviation.

"Twily!" Shining Armor responded to the concern of her sister, before addressing her question. "Don't worry about me. It's just a flesh wound."

Then he looked over towards me and square in my eyes, even though I was presently distracted by my own thoughts at the moment.

His eyes narrowed at the sight of me. "Are you…defending him?"

"We're in a courtroom, and Spike and I are his lawyers." Twilight explained. "So, yeah. I'm defending Keldeo."

"(It sounds an awful lot like 'B.F.F.')" I continued digressing. "(And if my memory of human sayings is true, then that acronym stands for 'Best Friends Forever'.)"

"…Why?" Shining Armor said sourly.

"It's because he's different." Twilight explained. "Do you recall my initial experience with Zecora, how my friends and I alienated ourselves from her?"

"…Yes." He said, getting a feeling for where this was going.

"(So then what does the first and second 'B' stand for?)" I thought. "(I'm almost certain I already know.)"

"Well, we ultimately learned that she wasn't an 'Evil Enchantress'. Just a Zebra that came from a culture and a lifestyle that was vastly different from our own."

"And do you think your client is anything like her?" Shining Armor put me right into the fire.

"To a similar extent, yes." She strongly believed.

"What if he's evil?" He said flatly.

"Does he look evil to you?"

Once again, Shining Armor looked my way, straining his neck and his injured body as a result.

"(…Oh! It stands for 'Big Brother'. 'Big Brother Best Friends Forever'!)" I finally figured it out and smiled dumbly at my success.

"…" Big Brother was watching me, even when I wasn't at the moment.

When I found myself looking at him right in the eye and noticing his countenance, the first thing that I did was pause for a few seconds because he was using Glare like a Seviper. But then, I strained myself a bit to raise my front right hoof at him and wave it casually.

"Sup!" Was all I said before my balled hoof came down with a metallic clang.

"…Something in my gut still tells me that I can't trust him."

I noticed that his belly was unscathed, and found myself shuffling nervously at the recollection of sending him flying with a slash across his torso.

"Don't worry, Shiny." Twilight said almost teasingly. "I'll prove to you that he's innocent."

With that, the Judge spoke after his brief hiatus. "Bring out Exhibit A."

After a remarkably short period of time, what was brought out as a first piece of evidence to confirm my guilt or innocence was the armor that Shining Armor originally wore when we clashed briefly. And as it was examined, the graze that I left across the plackart was highlighted, and pointed directly towards me by Prosecutor Discord that I attempted to land a fatal blow on him.

"He believed wrong of me from the start, just as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna before him." I explained for myself. "Celestia thought that I vandalized her castle, but I simply dropped in from my home world, through forces that I have difficulty comprehending. She thought that I raped her, but she simply sat on my nose without even knowing of my presence."

Discord appeared to tremble when I mentioned the fact that Princess Celestia sat on my face. He briefly looked away from me, making it impossible of me to gauge his emotions. For all that I know, he's hiding a blush, or perhaps something else. Envy? Anger?

"...What's your point with your defensive claims?" Discord eventually commented, a lingering growl in his words.

"The graze that I left on his armor was meant to keep him away from me, not kill him." I continued explaining for myself. "He picked a fight with me, shortly after I sheltered myself from both Princesses. And if I wanted to kill him―which I'm not saying I wanted to―, why would I aim for the part of his body that was protected? I would've aimed for his neck or his head, areas that I feel the Canterlot Royal Guard should be better protected from."

My rebuttal came from Shining Armor, and it wasn't in the form of a rebuttal.

"If I had my helmet, I would've stood a better chance against you."

"Where is your helmet then?" I asked him.

In moments, all eyes turned to Discord, because he was literally wearing the answer.

On his head, Discord was wearing the gold/purple high-ranking helmet with the brush crest on the crown. And when Discord noticed that all eyes were on him, his reaction to this was of absolute nonchalance.

"How do I sign up for the Canterlot Royal Guard?"

One witness led to another. And the witness that followed after Shining Armor was a pony that I didn't expect.

It was that cross-eyed gray pegasus again. Derpy Hooves was her nickname, even if there were some ponies that didn't know that.

"Ditzy Do," Judge Last Rites began. "If you would please be kind as to―"

"It's Derpy Hooves, sir." She said, having difficulty looking at him with both eyes.

"Pardon?"

"Everyone calls me Derpy Hooves," She continued.

"…Why?" Judge Last Rites wondered why she would favor a nickname over her real name.

"I think it's because of my special eyes." She said so innocently. "Ponies like my special eyes. And I like them too."

"…" Judge Last Rites stared at her quizzically, unsure of which eye to focus on because they both looked on in two completely different directions. "…How do you function?"

"Just like everyone else in Equestria." She missed the point. "I pay my taxes one leg at a time. I wake up in the morning, kiss my husband before he going to work, take my daughter to school, and enjoy a muffin for breakfast, then one for lunch, one for dinner, and sometimes―"

"I meant how you function with those 'special eyes' of yours." Judge Last Rites corrected, almost raising his voice as a result.

"Oh…my bad…" Derpy prolonged saying that word when she understood what the Judge meant. "Well, I've had my eyes like this for as long as I can remember. They make it hard for me to fly without bumping into things. But they do help me see two things at the same time."

"So you saw the moment where Keldeo and Shining Armor confronted each other in combat?"

Her thinking face was unusual. Her eyes centered around the bridge of her nose, and her face puckered. She remained like this before nodding, recalling what she saw.

"Then please, enlighten the court with what you witnessed."

"Okay!" She said happily, before turning to face Twilight Sparkle. "I'm sorry."

"We've been over this before, Derpy," Twilight explained out of nowhere. "I'm fine. No long-term harm done."

In my mind, I recalled that Princess Cadance told me that Derpy dropped a collection of items on Twilight Sparkle before, and I kept that thought to myself as I overheard her.

"Oh… Okay!" She drew out her words again like a child, before facing Shining Armor this time. "I'm sorry."

At first, Shining Armor appeared a bit livid from his current condition because of her, but that moment subsided after looking at both of her eyes. "…It's alright. Accidents happen."

After that, she turned over towards me and tilted her head in both directions as she appeared to be analyzing me with each eye.

Her carefree and straightforward glance towards me was welcoming, albeit a bit odd with the way her eyes worked. "Uh…hi?" Was all I said as she was inspecting me.

When she was done, she smiled at me with closed eyes and a happy countenance. "I really like your mane."

I wanted to give her my thanks for the actions that she inadvertently did on Shining Armor, but instead, I found myself saying "Thank you" for her compliment.

These three witnesses, as it turns out, were the only three that were brought in for questioning. Their individual testimonies all involved me and my actions that have led them to believe that I was some sort of assassin, sexual predator, and/or spy. And while the only evidence of this case came in the form of Shining Armor's Royal Guard chestplate, alongside the hole I left in Canterlot Castle, that wasn't enough to prove to them that I was guilty.

And as my word was taken as equally as their testimonies, my truth publically dissected in court, to see if it was genuinely so or just a lie in disguise, the truth of the matter became clearer and clearer to Judge Last Rites, Lawyers Spike and Twilight Sparkle, and Prosecutor Discord.

But as this puzzle was coming together, one piece remained elusive.

"So, Keldeo," Judge Last Rites began to conclude. "Review to me what you're standing so strongly on."

"You mean these balls and chains that I have on my hooves?"

"…" Judge Last Rites had no sense of humor, and gave me a cold stare.

"Sorry." I said before explaining myself for the final time. "I'm saying that, shortly after coming to this world, I regained consciousness and discovered that I was freefalling. I protected myself when I crashed into Canterlot Castle, and ended up passing out again, inside the bathing pool that was about to be used by Princess Celestia. And after she sat on my face and I felt my snout delve into one of the places in her body where the sun rarely shines…"

"Why you little―!" Princess Celestia was about to swear to me, but Bailiff Princess Cadance kept her aunt in check.

"…She pulled out of me and I found myself braying for my life as I ran away from her and Princess Luna. Shining Armor encountered me later and confronted me on those matters. I fought defensively against him, until Derpy Hooves dropped her entire load all over Shining Armor's body."

"Heh heh…" Derpy Hooves laughed at the sound of that, before her face puckered once more. "Wait a minute…"

"After that, I fled Canterlot and boarded a train towards Ponyville, so that I could begin my search for my lost friend Foxfire."

"You're welcome!" The rainbow pony shouted at me, much to the displeasure of most of the ponies in the room.

"And just after she and I were back together, Princess Cadance arrested me and here I am now."

The only piece missing to the truth of my puzzling story was one that Judge Last Rites attempted to seek an answer to.

"Do you know what exactly brought you and Foxfire into Equestria?"

"Unfortunately yes," I still recalled those black bug-like shadows vividly. "In short, they looked like eminences of darkness."

"But you don't know what they are specifically, do you?" Twilight Sparkle wondered.

"Unfortunately, no," I looked her way and told her. "I don't even know how they came to be, where they come from or what agenda they may have."

"I know how I came to be." Discord spontaneously began to speak. "But alas, I can't begin to describe my birth without scarring a few dozen souls."

Some eyes turned to a few ponies in the spectator gallery, while others turned to Spike.

Judge Last Rites appeared to disregard Discord's statement to the best of his ability before focusing on mine. "Well, unless we've seen these creatures for ourselves, my verdict can't be established until more information regarding these entities of darkness has been brought into light."

At first, I felt like protesting against his choice of actions because I knew that I was about to be proven innocent. But what stopped me wasn't an outcome against my hard-worked intentions. Instead, it came from an ominous chill I felt run across my spine.

Of course, that chill came from a cool breeze that I felt was coming from behind my back, shortly after I heard the doors open with a resounding crack against the walls.

I turned around behind my back to see that the court room door was open, just as everybody else noticed alongside me. And all eyes quickly widened by what we saw standing in the middle of the passageway.

Princess Cadance. Her pink hide appeared battered, bruised, and even bleeding in a few areas. She appeared to us as if she had just escaped within an inch of her lives, as evident by the fact that she quickly toppled over onto the hard floor and passed out from whatever ordeal she appears to have endured.

"Princess Cadance!"

I overheard Twilight Sparkle shout in concern before flying over towards her. But as I soon noticed, she never made it past halfway. In fact, nobody else appeared to react to her condition and tend to her. And the reason for that became clear to me, even if it left me perplexed.

"Did…did time just stop?" I muttered, seeing the courtroom around me pause like Dialga's heartbeat.

Not surprisingly, I found myself startled when I felt a hoof poke me a few times on the shoulder. I turned around, wondering what was currently defying my present perception of reality, only to see the other Princess Cadance standing before me, staring warmly into my eyes, as if she were suddenly enamored by my flowing red mane or my bulbous nose.

The urge to properly respond to this Princess Cadance almost overpowered me, but I suppressed it long enough to realize that something was amiss. There were now two winged unicorns of the exact same living being present within the court room, which means that one of them is an imposter. The condition that the second Princess Cadance was in led me to believe that she is the real one.

Then, that would make the first Princess Cadance the‒

*Smack*

I found my thoughts careening to a dead halt when I felt her suddenly kiss me in the lips, eyes closed and her upper limbs wrapped over my back in a loving embrace. I found my eyes growing heavy from the passion of this moment, for all of the wrong reasons. Because when we broke apart from this kiss, my eyes continued to droop and her lavender eyes still looked at me amorously.

But when they flashed a sickly green, and her tender countenance warped into one of malevolent ambition, I felt something was amiss.

"You belong to me now, unicorn." She spoke with a voice unlike that of Princess Cadance. It sounded malevolent, distorted, belonging to a femme fatale villain instead of a sweet and loving monarch.

"Who…who…are…y…"

I felt the power of my voice disappear alongside my consciousness. And moments before it disappeared, I saw the princess that held me shed her disguise, but could see nothing more than darkness before my view was consumed by it, either by her body, her actions, or her perky laughter.