//------------------------------// // Arrival // Story: (Not) Black and White: A Displaced Fic // by Masterweaver //------------------------------// You know, when you really step back and think about it, the recruitment method makes a lot of sense. Conventions: Big. Lotta people. Hundreds--thousands! It's partly expected to make new friends, spend time with them in off-the-road places, maybe occasionally head home with them? Disappearances 'just happen', and while people might worry after a bit there will, at first, be a bit of an assumption that they just got a little lost, they'll be back. By the time that it's a real concern, the merchant has packed up and left. And can we talk about merchants? Crafty. "Oh, I'm just an ordinary stall-tender, selling my artistic wares. See, look at all the cool details. Oh of course it's not REAL, nobody would sell a REAL gunsword at this sort of place. Just plastic and foil. Say, aren't you a fan of this series? You must know every detail, you are a real connoisseur. Would you like to look at this utterly fake gunsword and fangasm over how much it looks like the real thing?" Their targets too--cosplayers. Devoted enough to wear very detailed and not necessarily comfortable outfits, designed with varying precision to mimic a wide scope of fictional characters. Science fiction, fantasy, human or not, good lord. That stuff requires a very particular sort of mindset--or a combination of mindsets working together, and it's that particular sort of mindset they're looking for. The smart merchants actually scope ahead and enchant their artifacts for specific individuals. And their choice of world--let's talk about Equestria, shall we? It's very balanced--civilization here and there, with not too few monsters in between and a smattering of real threats. No matter the particulars of the version they toss you into, nine times out of ten you're guaranteed to pick up useful skills that will make you an incredible servant of their world-hopping network. Not that the Equestrians ever agreed to this, the ETSAB in particular considers them to be an organized crime ring... Which, let's be honest here? They kind of are. Oh the ones up top go on about keeping the multiverse stable, needing us to work in dying or damaged worlds--and they have the nerve to whine when one crops up with a guardian that is not only patching things up, but flat out rejects their influence (that merchant wouldn't eat oranges for a month!). What it boils down to: Kidnapping, unwilling transformation, a candy-coated boot camp, and then it's off to be a pawn of the guys who want to keep all the chessboards in order. Displaced. Yeah. Nice innocent term, isn't it? Of course, I didn't know all that at first. No, no, I wasn't even a cosplayer. I arrived to the con early, and decided "Hey, so long as I'm waiting, I'll help set things up!" And there was this one guy everyone else was ignoring, I walked over, we got to chatting, he suddenly shouted 'No Wait Don't Touch That, and then... I don't think blacking out is too shameful in this incident. A combination of the weird feeling of having my body warped and the strange twisting coloration of cross-dimensional transit--frankly, anyone who could remain awake during and after that, they have my respect. However, I will note that the sound of the portal vworping shut behind me was enough to snap me back to awareness, so I was only out of it for like... two, three seconds, tops. When I came to, I discovered that somebody had signed me up for skydiving lessons without my permission, and also had the gall to tell the instructor I didn't need a parachute, since obviously the trees would be enough to break my fall. I had about two seconds to consider the implications of this turn of events before I hit the branches. I decided to wait on that and panic first. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I swung up one hand, instincts I didn't know I had reaching for the blade I had forgotten was on my back and folding it in a way I didn't remember was possible before launching it through the trees. It hooked onto one of the branches, and with a tug on the ribbon that I discovered tied to my arm, my trajectory changed from 'flailing wildly all the way down' to 'arcing in a half-controlled swing while trying to avoid arm-sized splinters." My feet hit the ground running, and I rolled to a standstill, absently tugging at the cloth I was gripping to bring the blade to my hand. Then the last few seconds caught up with me. "Wait, how did I do that? I don't know how to do that!" I looked at the object in my hand, which resembled nothing so much as a pistol with a blade slapped on top of it. "What even--wait, is that my voice?" My other hand went to my throat. "Is that my--hold on, too much. Stop. Got to think. Got to--" A low rumble caught my attention. The adrenaline still flowing in my blood tried to convince me it was a dinosaur or an on-coming train, but I retained enough of my rationality to decide it couldn't possibly be that, and slowly turned to face the source of the growl. It turned out to be a creature that was vaguely lion shaped. In the same way that a wolf is vaguely corgi-shaped. "So.... can, can I just say you're annoyed that I woke up your nap and back off slowly?" I asked. "Like, you're not going to try to attack me for intruding on your territory, or because you're hungry, we can just forget this ever happened?" The tips of the creature's whiskers shimmered as its growl intensified, a segmented tail ending in a stinger rising over a small pair of bat-like wings. "Ah. That's a no then. Um." I tried to subtly readjust my grip on the pistol sword thing. "See, the thing is, I'm forcing my voice to be calm, because I don't want you to know I'm panicking. You're some sort of wild animal, so I figure acting like I'm not taking you seriously will be enough to unbalance you and--" The creature lunged at me--I jumped on its face and threw the blade-thing--it hooked into the branches--the stinger just missed my leg--I kicked off and swung--the creature whirled about-- --and I was hiding in the branches, trying to keep my breathing still. Just to be clear--I had gone from a convention to a forest in the span of a few seconds, found I had tools and abilities I did not remember having, also found that I was probably no longer exactly in my own body, and encountered a deadly predator that I had no idea existed and which, quite demonstrably, wanted to eat me. Or possibly just maul me. Being killed was a serious possibility. Needless to say, I was not... okay, let's not even lie, I was entirely terrified. Don't pretend you wouldn't be too. I think the fact that I managed to hold it together as much as I did is laudable. So the fact that I noped out of there when the creature turned, sniffing at the air, and peered suspiciously at the very tree I was hiding in--I don't think that's exactly something to be ashamed of. Also I learned I was able to hop from tree branch to tree branch pretty easily. I mean, sure, I was panicking and I had pulled off some pretty awesome physical stunts just a few seconds ago, but that was still pretty surprising. I won't say I wasn't healthy before all this, but I wasn't, ahem, fit. So once I was far enough that I was pretty sure the creature would not be able to find me, once I had a moment to stop and think, I... Yeah, I kind of had to doubletake at myself. "That--oh. Okay, I... that was... what. That was what. And my voice is what, and this blade is what, and this forest is a whole lotta what what what." I took a deep breath. "No. First question: am I safe for now?" I examined the area, noted the absence of any dangerous-looking creatures, and concluded that, yes, for the moment I was safe. "Next question, what is my physical state?" I lifted a hand up. "Okay, that's... paler skin then I'm used to, the hand's smaller too, definitely less body hair. And--" I looked down, and froze at the sight of a gentle valley wrapped in white and bordered with black lace. For a moment, I just watched as it rose and fell with my breath. "...those are new," I finally squeaked. "Would... would explain the voice change though--don't freak out. Freaking out is bad. Got to keep, keep it together." Forcing my eyes away from my newfound assets, I examined the bladed object in my hand. "Okay. So whatever this is, I apparently know how to use it. Yay? And there's something on my back..." With slow motions I reached behind myself. The object came off my back with only a slight tug, and I brought it forward for examination; a long, thin metal box, with a slot on one end and a handle-like hole near that. In fact, it looked familiar... "Wait." I looked at the bladed object in my other hand, flicking it back to its unfolded state. "Wait, just a minute." Very carefully, I slid the sword into the sheathe. "I know what this is..." My eyes narrowed. "This is the thing that merchant told me not to touch! What the heck!" I tilted my head. "I mean, I guess I should have listened because it could have been delicate and all that, it would have been polite, but--sending me here with... with transformy stuff and, whatever? That's... that's just not right. That's a trick that would... Oh, geeze, is this some sort of secret fairy wizard thing? Is that what this is?" I let myself lay across the branch with a groan. "Great. Just great. Narnia or Wonderland, or is it some grimdark place with shadow monsters? I don't know, I just up and pluck the enchanted thingamajig and--!" A frustrated sigh escaped my lips as I stared up at the leaves above me. "And maybe I'm not even the right person for this. Argh. I hope the fate of the world isn't resting on my shoulders. That would really suck." For a moment, I just let myself lie there, contemplating the unfairness of my situation. Then I sat up. "Okay, first thing's first. Gotta find... survival things. Water, food... not shelter, yet, plenty of trees. People would be nice, I guess. Unless they're the cryptic kind of people that twist their words..." And with that, I continued my journey through what I would later learn was the Everfree forest, completely unaware of the eyes watching my every step.