This story is a sequel to An Exercise In Management

- Huh, featured on 27.11. by chapter THREE. I smell black magics!

The little drone who made his way into becoming the loved and respected boss of his tiny hive has been through a lot, good or bad. He found friends, purified the hive mind of furious and toxic echoes of the ancient changeling rulers, and even earned respect of Chrysalis herself (well, the echo of her imprinted inside the hive mind).

He was so close to building peace in the big city of Las Pegasus as a scary and somewhat sexy tourist attraction (love and lust go hoof in hoof, of course), but in the end Celestia's paladins found him and his friends, deeming them a threat to Equestria which had to be purged with no mercy. Unable to help protect his hive due to undergoing physical metamorphosis into a proper king, he was left in the care of Eight, and carried off who knows where along with his cocoon while the paladins rampaged through their hideout.

Now his hibernation is over, and it is time for the boss to either find anyone who might have survived, or enact his revenge on the paladin leading the hunt for him - Star Trail.

(Suggestions or any comments are always welcome.)

After losing her hive, Queen Chrysalis is forced to start another one. Luckily she has the help of a few loyal subjects who never accepted their fellow changelings new way of life. They must stay hidden from enemies, collect enough food to survive and rebuild their strength. Now the first brood has hatched and there is something very different about one of the larva.

[Rationalfic Deconstruction / Subversion of Displaced]
You’ve read the stories of people from Earth being “Displaced”: Their bodies are changed, their minds are warped, and they’re thrown across the multiverse, to whatever world and timeline their supernal "Displacers" decide upon.  Well, this story isn’t one of them...

...because when they tried to remake me, I didn’t let them.

A Rationalist Horror story, in which an Occultist from some version of Earth (implied to be the World of Darkness) undermines her own Displacement and ends up as a Self-Modifying Construct. Scientific Inquiry, Philosophical Debate, Rational Discussion, Body Horror, and Existential Hijinks ensue. Themes, Concepts, and Style inspired by HP Lovecraft, Elizer Yudkowsky, Gordon R Dickson, Edgar Allen Poe, Modern Prometheus (Frankenstein), Dresden Codak, World of Darkness, and Friendship is Optimal.
^{Front page on JUL 28th, AUG 12th, OCT 30, and every update after that.}

Your story breaks the shitty norm that most displaced stories have in common by being an 'actually interesting story' instead of a powertrip for a horny teen.

This is like brain porn. My head hurts but in a good way.

Author’s Notes

I often find Displaced fics to be more often Miss than Hit with me. Often, they're generic, poorly written, or just do not do anything worth reading with the concept.  This is an experiment to trt out a few other concepts which aren’t used often, even by me, including some which directly subvert Displaced as a genre, and maybe even come up with some advice for those authors. This is also a crossover with the upcoming Dragon: The Oroboroi Chronicles, a World of Darkness rulebook which I lead the development team for.

I hope you all enjoy this, and I implore you to leave some feedback in the comments section: I'll experimenting with a few uncommon concepts here, and I'd like to know how people feel about how they're coming across. :3

FAQ

Because people keep bringing these things up...

Horror/Dark Tags

I've had multiple people ask "how bad does it get?" Note the lack of the "gore", "sad", or "mature" tags or anything like that. Yes, there is blood and death at some point in this story, but the real horror of this story comes from the philosophical and scientific quandaries the characters go through: this is "intellectual horror", not "visceral horror".

Length

In the interest of this NOT becoming one of those long, sprawling fics, I plan to keep this limited to a manageable 10 chapter limit, not counting Prologue and Epilogue. No one wants to read something that long, and I'd rather not be stressing over this 6 months from now.

Sequel

The Sequel is already in the works, with scenes already written. It will be a more episodic story revolving around world optimization and interplanar hijinks.

Crossovers

To be clear, I do plan on having the main character make one of those "Token" things, but as they often get in the way of actual stories, that won't happen until the end of the story. The Sequel will be crossover-heavy.

This story is a sequel to Fecundity

Mount Everhoof. Tallest peak in the world, jutting up to stab the sky like a tall, cruel fang. The mountain’s western slope has held a secret since before the three tribes were founded, but few who seek it ever return. Those that do always speak of a foul magic that attacks the mind—horrors brought to life, paranoia unending, and a blind, murderous rage that sets even family against each other.

In olden times, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna heeded their elders and forbade access to the western slope. That forbiddance continued after the rise of Nightmare Moon, for Celestia realized even alicorns can go mad. The last ones allowed passage were a team of ponies sent by Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor two years ago, and of the seven that set out… only one came back.

But the mystery may be on the verge of being solved. The defeat of Tirek has awakened a new power in the Elements of Harmony, one that can resist Mount Everhoof’s empathic magics. With the aid of Maud Pie’s expertise in geomancy, Twilight Sparkle and her friends now venture up Mount Everhoof in search of an artifact belonging to the late King Sombra. They’ve yet to learn what connections the Mad King had with the mountain, but they know they must locate the cursed artifact and destroy it…

...before it can cause any more harm.

Picture by Silfoe.

"Humans.... Quite possibly the most infuriating mythical creatures in existence. If you ever have the 'luck' to meet a Human in your travels across Equestria, then you must be careful. Humans are extremely powerful creatures, some would say more so than Celestia or Luna, they are also more unpredictable than Discord. They can help you in a tight spot if you're lucky, or play nasty tricks on you if you don't hold the Human's favor. In my time I've seen a Human give a filly pounds upon pounds of gold, and the same one turn greedy ponies into gold. The only one I ever have seen 'face-to-face' was in my earlier years, he helped me repair my wagon when it broke down in Everfree Forest, by fix I mean a whole new one appeared not ten feet away, and the only thing the Human asked for in return was a spindle.... But be warned, never anger a Human, a trick or two in fair game is fine, but if you ever manage to truly anger a Human...... you'll be part of the small number ever to meet non-existence." - Star-Swirl the Bearded.

A silly nonsensical story, not to be taken seriously. Some chapters are not connected to others.

Once, long ago, two children made a bet with Death over the soul of their hamster. Death lost, and by contractual obligation became their "Best Friend Forever". Together, the three went on countless adventures, facing off against foes both supernatural and mundane. But when a portal goes awry, they find themselves in a strange new land. With no immediate way to get home, they're going to have to try and blend in with the locals to survive. But it's hard to remain inconspicuous when the sheer magical presence of a Reaper acts like a beacon to every two-bit monster and crackpot whack-job for miles around.

It's a wonder they don't go mad.

Tags may swap around a bit as we go.

In the midst of Twilight's efforts to save the Crystal Empire from Sombra's return, she comes across an ancient artifact hidden away by the dark king. When she accidentally activates it, she brings two strange beings from an entirely different world to Equestria.

A Steven Universe crossover

It has been one of the closest guarded secrets of Canterlot's royalty. Deep in a specially constructed dungeon, surrounded by warding spells and powerful magic barriers, exists an enigma. Within a cage that could only be described as something out of a nightmare, it waits and watches all of Equestria. A creature that cannot age, is immune to disease, does not thirst nor hunger, and resists all injury. But, it also holds secrets and knowledge that could safeguard the kingdom. Its powers are frightening, but it is civil enough for debate when patience permits.

Princess Celestia has sought counsel with the creature before, enduring it making deal after deal for its services. The Princess walks a fine line when dealing with it, knowing full well anything could give it an advantage despite its imprisonment. She has had to go back on her word in these dealings, and from this a deep animosity between them has been born. It is a necessary evil as she is convinced this is a being capable of untold evil far and above anything Equestria has ever dreamed of. So long as it remains within the confines of its cell, her kingdom is made safe. So much magic has been woven to ensure that, there is little chance of escape.

So long as the magic holds, there is no danger. So long as the cage remains strong, the nameless creature stays enthralled in his cavernous dwelling. If that were to change--if the magic failed--not even the wisest could say. But one thing is assured, it does not bode well for Equestria.

Sundial is not your average pony. Most would assume this is readily apparent, considering he is the adopted child of Princess Celestia herself. Though not many wonder why exactly Princess Celestia so suddenly decided to adopt a little colt. Nopony really wonders why the Prince rarely makes public appearances. Nopony in Canterlot Castle really questions the strange happenings centering around Sundial.

This is all because, for lack of a better word, Sundial is special. He can use telekinesis without magic, he can fly without wings, he has the strength of ten stallions, and perhaps most significantly... he can see how things work. Sundial is a colt gifted with many more extraordinary abilities. Most would say these are blessings, but when you have to spend the majority of your childhood in isolation so you can train yourself not to kill everypony in the room by sneezing, you begin to rethink such a thing. It most certainly doesn't help that he would prefer to keep his abilities a secret...

(Well, I've never written any fanfiction before in my life, so I decided to try my hand at it. I have yet to see a Heroes crossover on FiMFiction, so I figured 'why not?' Knowledge of the television show Heroes helps, but is not required.)

(EDIT: For the time being, this story is on haitus due to a busy life and general lack of inspiration. I'll come back to this at a later date, but don't hold your breath; you'll suffocate.)

Pinocchio wasn't the only wooden puppet to become a real person.

There are other puppets out there, animal-like beings controlled by quasi-intelligent trees. Ponies call them timberwolves and know them as nothing but beasts. But what happens if one of those beasts were to gain the intelligence and ambition of one of the most successful hunters in the universe, a human?

This story loosely shares continuity from Split Second: An Eternity Divided. Reading that is not required at all.

Has a Tv Tropes page.
Featured on EQD: 10/2/2015