//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Making Paths // Story: An Heir to Legends // by mattchilly //------------------------------// After Celestia left I went back to reading as the mane six told spike about the monster attack. ‘hmm so the you do levitation is to simply surround an object in a light cloak of magic. Sound simple enough, but probably hard to master.’ That was when I heard someone talking to me. “Hmm? Sorry I was deep in thought could you repeat that?” I asked. “I asked if you wanted to stay here, at least until the Princesses give you an answer.” Twilight responded. “I wouldn’t want to impose, but I don’t really have any place to go. Besides it would be nice to get to know all of you better.” I said. “I think its time we all got some rest, it has been along good night everyone.” Rarity said as she turned to leave but when she opened the door their was a unicorn guard out side. “Hey sis.” At this Twilight ran over to great the new pony. “Shining its great to see you! Everyone this is by big brother Shining Armor he’s the captain of the royal guard.” I smiled its always nice to see siblings who get along so well. I wiped a tear from my eye thinking about my own sis. “Hey Thrin, ya ok?” Rainbow asked. “Ya just thinking about my family.” After I said this an awkward silence filled the room before Shining gave a cough. “Anyways I am here with your share of the treasure Thrin, and I wanted to thank you personally for saving my sister.” “No problem I’m glad I could help.” Shining nodded and brought in a smaller chest. “I got to get going. It’s great to see you again little sis.” Shining game Twilight a short hug then left waving good bye. “Nice brother you have Twilight.” I said. “How come you never mentioned your bro was in the guard Twi?” Rainbow asked. Twilight blushed a little. “I never really thought it was that important.” To try to help Twilight I decided to change the subject.“So Pinkie any plans for my ‘Welcome to Ponyville/thanks for saving the town’ party yet?” “OH-MY-GOSH! You’re right! I should get started!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Just so ya know, I like red velvet and chocolate cakes.” I said smiling. “Thanks Thrin!” With this Pinkie ran out of the library. After Pinkie left all the others said there goodbyes as well and went home. “Spike why don’t you get started on dinner while I go clean up the guest room. Thrin go ahead and keep reading.” Twilight said as she began to walk to the stairs. “Nah I’ll come help. Where are the bookmarks?” After helping Twilight we went back down stairs to the kitchen I blinked in surprised. The dinner Spike made was pancakes with sunny side-up eggs. Two of the plates had some sausages and sliced ham. “After the day we’ve had I thought a simple dinner would be best. That plates yours Thrin. Hope you like pancakes.” Spike said pointing to one of the plates with meat while Twilight chuckled at my expression. “I bet you weren’t expecting meat in a herbivore's house right? While dragons eat gems for the minerals to harden their scales they need protein from meat to survive. Princess Celestia told me about this when I freaked out the first time I saw him eat some.” “Ya about that. How come Spike is still considered a baby dragon, isn’t he just a few years younger then you?” I asked sitting in the offered chair. “We mostly just say that to try to make others more comfortable around me.” Spike shrugged, “As for why I'm still so small, we don’t know.” “Well I’m positive we can figure it out.” I said before taking a bite out of sausage. “So while we eat do either of you have any questions for me?” “I do. How did you manage to survive that wound the orc gave you?” I was silent while I thought about how to answer her. “After the Orc Chieftain wounded me, my body reacted on its own, apparently if I get a lethal wound in one form, I change to a different form. I don’t know if this is correct but I’m not in any rush to test it.” I replied as Twilight hummed in thought. This time Spike spoke up. “Can you tell us about the forms you used?” “Maybe later, that’ll take a while and I don’t know about you two, but I just want to go to sleep after we finish eating.” Spike nodded then Twilight asked. “What book were you reading earlier Thrin?” “Oh that? Just a book on some basic magic. I’m pretty limited on what I can do in my true form at the moment and thought I should learn more about magic before trying some of my ideas.” I replied. “What kind of ideas.” Spike asked. “I have a lot of forms who use magic. So I might be able to write down how some spells work, while in those forms.” A few minutes later we had finished eating dinner and cleaning up. “Goodnight you two.” I called from the stairs. -The Next Day- *sigh* Once again my day starts with sun light in my eyes. After I got dressed I went down stairs to see that both Twilight and Spike beat me there. Spike was making a repeat of dinner, and Twilight was drinking a cup of coffee. “Morning Thrin, surprised to see you up so early.” Twilight said.  I chuckled in response before saying. “Kinda hard to sleep in when the sun shines right into your eyes. Are you two always up this early?” This time Spike spoke up, “No after yesterday we both had trouble sleeping. Also do you want and coffee?” Spike asked. “That’s understandable and no thanks Spike I’m not a fan of coffee. So whats the plan for today?” I asked. “Not much. Pinkie will probably have your party ready soon. I think we all just need a day off to relax.” Twilight said. Just then Spike burped his green dragon fire to reveal a letter. “I wonder if that’s Tia’s and Lulu’s response to my request.” I said. Spike handed Twilight the letter, before returning to making breakfast. I walked over to the table and sat down. “Whats the letter say Twi?” I asked. “Princess Luna will be coming to town next week for he first Nightmare Night and she would like to see you. She also said that you can move into there old castle after it’s repaired.” “Well then I have a lot of work to do and little time. Better go see Rarity today, I’m gonna need some more clothes. We should also tell the others that Luna's going to be here and tell Pinkie not to go on about Nightmare Moon.” I said after I finished before tilting my head. “Then again maybe we can come up with a plan that brings up Nightmare Moon but not in a way that makes Luna uncomfortable.” “I like the first idea better maybe we can come up with a plan next year.” Spike said before placing a couple plates with waffles on the table.“I hope you two are done because breakfast is ready.” Once breakfast was done the three if us headed to the Carousel Boutique. “Thrin how are you going to get supplies through the Everfree? It’s one of the most dangerous places in Equestria.” Twilight asked. “I already have an idea actually, I might be able to make a clear path to not only the castle but Zecora’s as well. As for how I think I’ll wait to explain that.” I replied deciding to be a little cryptic. “If your idea works it would be a lot of my mind, knowing that the CMC will be safe when they go visit Zecora.” Twilight said. During walk to Rarity’s a lot of the residents waved at us. “I’m glad that everyone can go about their day. Ponyville really is a beautiful town.” I said waving back. The visit to Rarity’s wasn’t that bad, part of me was worried that Rarity would go into a small frenzy with inspiration but while she did jot down a few ideas the experience over all was a pleasant one. Once Rarity was done taking measurements the four of us went to to Sugarcube Corner for the party, but since there was still a lot the needed to be done fixing up Ponyville the party was rather short. “It’s a shame the party was cut short but at least this give me a chance to see if my idea on making the paths will work.” I said before drinking the last of my strawberry shake. “Whats the idea Thrin?” Rainbow asked. “If I can combine the powers of two of the Champions I can transform into, I might be able to make some safe roads in the Everfree Forest. One to Zecora’s, another to the castle and one from the castle to Zecora’s.” I said. A few minutes later the eight of use were standing at the edge of the Everfree forest, on the start of the path that Twilight and the others took the first time they went to the old castle. “Just so you all know. This is most likely going to take a while, maybe even the rest of the day. Now then lets get this started. CHAMPION TRANSFORMATION. ZILEAN!” Replacing my form what that of an old man in blue robes with a rope belt holding what looks like a coin to my abdomen and a single red sash. My hair was now light blue and pointing up. I also had a beard that reminded me of Gandalf the Grey, floating just off of my back was a giant brass clock. “All right, now to see if my plan works. With Zilean’s time magic I should be able to place a ‘Time Bubble’ around the forest while excluding Zecora’s and the castle.” I explained, while hovering just off of the grass. “Hey Thrin how come your voice doesn't change when you transform?” Pinkie asked. “That’s not entirely true Pinkie, when I saved Ponyville I changed into two female Champions. The first was  Annie who’s a very young girl, the other was Ahri who’s much older. My voice changed then.” I replied. “Darling isn’t it a bit awkward to change genders like that?” Rarity inquired. “Rarity I accepted a LONG time ago when, Discord helped me train in my metal landscape, that if I restricted myself just because some of the forms because their female, I would never be able to reach my full potential. Now forms of villains and people who I consider jerks are another story, I don’t want to use those forms until I find a way so they don't influence me or I have no other choice. Now please, I need to concentrate since I'm not used to using ability's other then the four I'm familiar with.” I said. Silence filled the air as I closed my eyes and focused on the kind of ‘Time Bubble’ I wished to create. One that would not only keep the castle and Zecora’s untouched but also one that would leave all the creatures that lived in the forest untouched. From behind be I heard seven gasps which caused me to open my eyes, in front of me shining over the forest was a golden bubble and I could FEEL that It was doing exactly what I wanted. Time for the plants was moving faster while leaving everything else untouched. “Well that’s part one down. Now for the part that will take a while. CHAMPION TRANSFORMATION. IVERN!” Now standing in my place was a very tall man made out of wood. “What can that form do Thrin?” Spike asked. When I turned to look at him, his eyes were wide and full of childish glee and wonder. “This form can talk to all forms of nature whether they be plant, animal or insect. I plan to try to talk the spirit of the forest into moving the trees to allow the roads to exist. The time bubble is to make sure that even if the conversation takes years in there, I can take care of it in a day real time… hopefully.” Taking a deep breath I walk inside the ‘bubble’ and dig my root like toes deep into the ground reaching the roots of the trees.. * Several ours later, third person p.o.v.* “THIS IS SO BORING! How much longer is he going to take? At this rate the sun will set before he’s done!.” Rainbow dash complained. During the long wait Rainbow had gotten a few clouds and some sandwiches so they could at least wait in some comfort. Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack had gone home a few hours ago since they had some work to do. “Thrin did say that the conversation could take him years within that bubble. Who knows how much time its been in there.” Twilight said. Just then the golden bubble popped with the sounds of wood scraping on wood and stone. *Thrin First person P.O.V.* “Man it’s a good thing I also took on Ivern’s life span otherwise I never would have been able to do that, but man I am completely drained.” I said talking to no one in particular. “Looks like your done Thrin, how was it?” Fluttershy asked. “Depends, on one hand it was a very unique experience that I can’t put into words. On the other incredibly tedious and aggravating. The trees of the Everfree complain like kids throwing a tantrum.” I said a thoughtful look on my face. “I don’t really know how to respond to that. Anyways are the new paths finished and how long did it take?” Twilight asked. “Yup, all three are done. There is a split in the road about a minutes walk down the path, the one to the left goes to Zecora’s, the right one goes to the castle. As for how long, I can safely say that I never want to spend a century like that again.” I said. “I hope you have a plan to fix that awful old bridge Thrin.” Rarity said slightly exaggerating. “Unfortunately only a temporary one. At least until I can get a professional bridge builder to help since there is a specific design I want to use.” I sighed. “Does it have to do with another Champion? How many are there anyways?” Pinkie asked. “Yes it dose,her name is Taliyah she is known as The Stoneweaver. Since she can manipulate the earth as easily as Twilight can her magic. As for how many there are, I think around a hundred.  Its been a while since I last went through them.” Just as I finished a point of some kind of metal thing appeared out of nowhere in front of use and moved downward leaving a tare in reality behind it. Out of the rip in reality came a tall man with two black crow like wings, a sky blue tank top and shorts that had a mountain range pattern. He was also wearing very odd shoes, they seemed to have only two main parts one on the flat of the foot with the other pointing down from the middle, this seemed to be the only place the shoe met the ground, and seemed be made of wood, he also had a red hat with two black strings that went down either side of his head with white fluffy balls on them. “Oh hello hope I’m not interrupting anything.” He said with a smile as if nothing odd had happened at all. “Umm…no not really, but I do have two questions. One, how did you do that, and the all important question, who the heck are you?” I asked. “I’m Arashi, nice to meet ya.” He said with a wide grin on his face. “OH BOY! ANOTHER NEW COMER TO PONYVILLE! I CAN’T WAIT TO hmmmghgm…” Prinkie Started until Applejack put her hoof in front of Pinkie’s mouth. “Sorry about that, Pinkie can get really exited some times.” She said. “It’s not a problem, I’m use to Pinkie’s antics from the Equestria I am from. To answer your unasked question the Multiverse is real. Anyways may I know your name Mr. Displaced?” “I’ve already told them that the Multiverse is real. I’m Thrin, and what do you mean by ‘Displaced’?” I asked before noticing that Twilight seemed ready to burst with questions. Arashi noticed this two, and pulled some kind of small yellow crystal out of thin air. “Here you go. This is a magic crystal called a Lacrima containing a kind of magic called ‘Archive’. Its basically a magic computer with all I know of the Multiverse. It’s also connected to my Archive magic, so when I update the information yours will update as well. To activate it just place it on the ground or table and say ‘Archive Activate’. As for your question Thrin, a Displaced is someone who was sent from their home dimension to a version of Equestria, some times they get a new form but they always with new powers.” “Most of us got sent to Equestira after we bought a item from ‘The Merchant’ at a convention. My case is different since Yukari Yakumo from Gensokyo is my Displacer. Now each Displaced has what is known as a ‘Token’ think of it as a calling card. With a Token you can meet other Displaced. I’ll tell you how to make a Token in a bit, everything else you need to know is in the Lacrima.” Arashi said before pulling an exact copy of his hat from nowhere, “Here is a copy of my Token, feel free to let me know if you need a hand or someone to talk to.” Arashi smiled before continuing, “After all I can’t just leave an alternate version of me hangen ya know?” At this everyone stooped and stared at Arashi who merely laughed. “Lady Yukari told me. If there are alternate versions of Equstria and its residents then why Earth? In fact you’re the third ‘me’ I’ve met. I’ll give ya a copy of there Tokens in a moment, I’ll also give ya some other Tokens of friends of mine. By the way what kind of Displaced are you, as in what series do you get your powers from?” “League of Legends. Do you know anyone who mainly uses dark magic? Some of the Champions use it and I don’t want to turn into them until I know it wont corrupt me, that is if it can since not every kind of dark magic corrupts people ya know?” I asked. “Hmm I think i have a token for someone like that. Give me a moment to look through my sub space pockets.” Arashi brought up his own Archive magic and began searching thought the files. “Let’s see here…ah here we go.” Arashi summoned a brown bag and a large black shield with a diagonal blue stripe. “In the bag are a few tokens. The bone summons Sans the Skeleton, this shield calls for Cecil or as he is more commonly called Franky, I also threw in some other tokens for some people that might be able to help you out.” “Which ones are the versions of…you, me, us…man this is confusing.” I said while scratching my head. “Yeah it can be. The other versions of us are Sans, and Cecil. Sans is from the game Undertale and Cecil is the Knight from Dragon’s Crown.” After Arashi said this I gave a bark of laughter. “I’m already dealing with monsters from there. It’ll be good to have some allies who can help me deal with them, they might also be able to help with the Dragon Quest monsters.” I looked at my new friends and they nodded agreeing with me. “If your dealing with monsters from both Dragon’s Crown and Dragon Quest then there might be other displaced here, you might also have to deal with some of the monsters or people from League of Legends. Ether way you need up get the upper hand the monsters and maybe even the displaced if they’re evil and I know just they guy to help.” At this Arashi brought out what seemed to be an old fashioned garage remote. It was a simple black plastic box with a white square button on the top. When Arashi pushed the button a pair of glass sliding doors appeared in front of him. “Whats in there?” Twilight and I asked. “This is a store run by an acquaintance of mine. He goes by the name ‘Shopkeep’ since his real name doesn’t translate well into any mortal language because he is a eldritch being. He’s a member of a merchant guild that does business across the multy-verse. If your looking for something, chances are he has it in stock. Besides hes just a great guy, really friendly and fair when he does business.” Arashi said walking up to the doors that slid open. “Yo Shopkeep. How have you been?” “I’ve been good Arashi. Who's your new friend?” Shopkeep said. He was of average height, his blond hair was neatly combed and he wore a simple dark red suite. “This is Thrin, he’s a League of Legends displaced who’s having problems with monsters from both Dragon’s Crown and Dragon Quest. Possibly even other Displaced. What would you recommend to give him the upper-hand?” While Arashi was talking to Shopkeep I looked around. The room we were in was just a simple corridor with a single wooden door on the other side. Shopkeep was standing behind the register on the right, the left wall was barren of pictures. I also noticed that only Arashi and myself had come through the doors. “How come only Arashi and I came in?” I asked.  “Only people I allow can enter my store, now magic tomes that teach Dragon Quest magic is a must, and even some magic staves from Dragon’s Crown but I’m unfortunately sold out at the moment. Maybe even Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy magic. As for weapons…” Shopkeep said before looking me over, “It seems to me more like a one-handed sword or dagger would fit your normal from better then say an ax or mace. Now Thrin is there a series that has that kind of weapon that your fond of?” “Well Dragon Quest has some good daggers and magic. Elder Scrolls also has some stuff I might want. Fairy Tail has a lot of items and magic that could help. I can’t think of any other series right now, unless you have something that teaches me how to summon the minions from League of Legends or build the turrets. But how am I going to pay for anything? All my money is at Twilight’s.” Shopkeep smirked before saying, “All that and more Thrin, go ahead and see for your self, I’ll wait here for when your done. As for how you’re going to pay I might have a few ideas. You looken for anything Arashi?” “Just a few items, and Yukari says hi.” I didn’t hear the rest of the conversation since I walk through the doors and stopped wide eyed. The room I had entered was massive, it was like half of a mall was shoved into one room. The room it self had several rows of shelf's on the left and right side leaving the center of the room full of different tables. Above the tables and at the entrance of each of the rows was a sign saying which series the items came from.