//------------------------------// // Displaced explained, and Sombra gone (Old) // Story: Red Thunder // by Naturefang //------------------------------// Once I spotted the Scythes I moved as fast as I was able from a stand still, vaguely hearing two distinct booms of the sound barrier being broken. One from me, the other from Smarties' direction. Guess she really was fast if she could break the sound barrier from a standstill. Taking advantage of my sped up perception, I first grabbed hold of Shanghai and held her to my chest, then I looked around as I ran to see how the others were doing.   A.J. was deflecting every blow with the handle of her Axe and her gauntlets, Smarties was actually moving at what looked like a normal speed to me, deflecting what she was unable to dodge with a Sword Breaker in her left hand in proper Main Gauche form, Rarity was simply side stepping them and redirecting those she couldn't with a palm strike to the flat of the blade, and Alex was dodging with the skill of one familiar with such situations, even using the flats of blades as footfalls to help her be more agile in her movement.   Once I looked back up to my own situation, I realized I was led into a trap, me and Shanghai were surrounded in Scythes, and I had no way over them, so I stopped running and let time return to normal. “Oh no…!” Shanghai said, sounding scared. “We've been caught in a dead end… Now what will we do?”   Even with the helmet on, I am told you could hear the smirk in my voice as I placed her on my shoulder and dug my claws into the earth around me, and ripped it upwards into a cylindrical wall around us. “This, an earth barrier should help.” Just as I finished, the sound of a blade hitting stone echoed repeatedly around us, only one Scythe found its way to the top of the barrier and down the opening.   Shanghai then jumped from my shoulder without warning, and planted her feet on the ground in front of me. If we were in a less serious situation, I would have laughed at the sight of a 1-foot doll standing in front of me. She then stomped one foot forward and swiftly brought both her arms up, emphasizing the movements.   Shanghai [Stone Wall]   To my surprise, Shanghai summoned a wall of stone in the Scythe's path at the last moment. There was the clang of crystal on stone as the Scythe was deflected by Shanghai's own Stone Wall. It seemed that Smokey wasn't trying very hard with this attack on the city, since the onslaught of Scythes ended and his cloudy form retreated back into the distance. Alex then came running over to us.   “Shanghai!” Alex said in surprise and awe. “How did you use this man's ability like that!?”   “Um…” Shanghai started, now floating in the air again. “Well, when he made a wall of rocks, I suddenly had a really strange feeling, and after that, I realized I was able to do the same thing on my own.”   Alex then scrunched up her face in thought. “Did you… somehow inherit the ability…?” Alex speculated quietly. “Judging by the context of the circumstances,” she continued. “It seems like you inherited that one particular skill after seeing it in use while in physical contact with the user… I had no idea you were capable of something so amazing Shanghai.”   Shanghai blushed in embarrassment. “I didn't know either,” she answered.   “Anyway,” Alex said, turning to me. “Now that Sombra has been deterred, I would like to explain Displaced and Tokens to you.”   “Just keep an eye out for the evil smoke wizard while you do it,” I said after I dismissed my helmet from the Morph, letting me stay ready for a fight whilst being able to have my face visible.   “Alright,” Alex started. “So, first I'll explain Displaced to you. Displaced are individuals that have been removed from their reality on Earth and inserted into a different dimension. That would make both you and I Displaced,” she explained.   “Simple enough, I knew some creatures like that back home, although we had a different term for it, we called them 'The Lost Ones' since they were lost from their home,” I said in return, glad I was a member of the magical world back on Earth, otherwise this would be hard to wrap my head around.   “Well, the similarity would depend on another factor,” Alex answered. “Another defining feature of a Displaced is that all of them take the form of a fictional individual once they've been inserted into a separate dimension.”   “That is definitely different from The Lost Ones, they were just that, lost, nothing more. They were still only themselves.”   “Well, that's about it for Displaced,” Alex said. “Next, I'll explain Tokens. You still have the miniature Shanghai doll from earlier, right?”   “Not right now, but I will when I De-Morph,” I said simply.   “Alright, what matters is that you know what I'm talking about,” Alex said. “That doll is an example of a Token. Every Displaced is capable of having a Token, but all Displaced start off without a Token. Tokens are items that a Displaced puts a portion of their essence into, then it's dumped into the void where it multiplies and is spread across the other dimensions for other Displaced to use. When a Displaced uses the Token of another Displaced, the owner of the Token is summoned to the user's dimension. The miniature Shanghai doll you found is my Token.”   “Fucking…. Sigh, why did it have to be Void Magic?” That explained it, Void Magic was foreign to my world, it ignores all the rules I grew up with. “Sorry about that, it's just, Void Magic is something my home never understood, it ignores all the rules of every type of magic we know of, even the ones of Chaos Magic, and those are pretty vague considering the nature of chaos, literally one rule, 'Only a god can rip holes between dimensions'.”   “Hmmm… well, I'm not sure if this 'Void Magic' is behind the functionality of Tokens, but I will say that there's more or less nothing known about the void itself,” Alex said. “Everything I know is that Tokens are thrown into the void to be distributed among dimensions, and a Displaced makes a very short trip through the void when summoned by their Token. That's it.”   “Then I think I know what I'll use as a Token, I just need a mold capable of holding molten metal and a chunk of gold, about the size of a bit from the harness of a horse.”   “Here!” Pinkie said after she walked up behind me. “I have more back home in Ponyville.” With that she handed me a literal Bit made of pure gold.   “Give me about an hour,” I said with finality, before walking further into town.     An hour later i walked back with a gold pendent in the shape of a very familiar logo in my hand on a leather strip for a string. “Now what do I do?” I asked.   “Well,” Alex started. “You hold it in both hands, and will your essence into it. While your essence is being transmitted into the item, you speak whatever message you want other Displaced to hear when they find your Token. Make sure to include a particular phrase they have to speak to properly summon you.”   “I guess I should go by the name of the character then, huh?”   “If you want to,” Alex answered simply.   “My name is Conner McKnight, Red Dino Ranger. If you seek the force of ages to help you save the innocent from whatever evil forces you face, then call for Red Thunder, and victory shall be ours forever more!” I said to the pendent in my hands. “Now what?”   “Now, I need you to stand back for a few moments,” Alex said.   “Okay…?” I said taking a step back.   Alex then closed her eyes, focusing intensely with her two hands held close together, palms inward, fingers upright and slightly curled. Gradually, electricity began to build up between her palms, reaching a rather high intensity in only several seconds. With a strained look on her face, Alex opened her eyes, her brows furrowed, and threw her hands forward.   Void Sign [Dimension Piercing Bolt]   An impossibly slim bolt of electricity shot from between her hands and seemed to strike a point in midair. The point that was struck suddenly split open, revealing a tear leading to what I can only assume is the void that she had mentioned. The tear was only just large enough to fit the pendant inside.   “Well then,” I muttered looking into the hole in reality. “Guess I just put you in the portal then huh.” With that I walked up to the tear and placed the pendant in the space, watching as it drifted away and split into an uncountable amount, two of which came right back through the tear.   Alex grabbed both as the tear closed and, after a moment with a confused look on her face, she handed one to me. “This is my first time helping another Displaced create a Token, so I don't know if this is normal, but… I guess the second one is yours? I'm not really sure what a Displaced would be able to do with their own Token though…”   “A spare for those you summon maybe?” I said as I placed the pendant around my neck.   “I guess that could make sense,” Alex answered. “Anyway, I'm not sure how the time dilation will work between my world and any other given world, so it's probably best if I return to mine now.”   “We can handle Sombra from here, Darling. Let her go home.” Rarity spoke up from behind me. “Fine,” I said as I summoned my helmet and placed it back on my head. “How do I send you home?”   “From the experience I had with the first Displaced I summoned, all it takes is for you to give me verbal permission to return to my world,” Alex responded.   “Well then, I'll see you later Alex,” I said holding my clawed hand out to shake hers, “and feel free to call me if you ever need 'The Force of Ages' on your side.”   Alex reached out and shook my hand without hesitation. “I'll be sure to call you if I find myself in trouble,” she said.   “Good working with you, and thank you for all the help, you can go back home now.”   Right as I finished speaking, a tear just like the previous one, but much larger, opened nearby. “I'm glad I was able to be of some assistance,” Alex said before walking over to the tear. Just before entering, she turned back to us, and both her and Shanghai waved to us. After that, she turned back around and entered the tear, which closed itself behind her.   “Speakin' o' that varmint Sombra,” A.J. spoke up, pointing towards the horizon. Sombra was walking up with a white Unicorn with a blue mane and a Pink alicorn with a mane of pink, yellow, and purple in his grasp, holding his weapon to both their throats with his magic.   “Return my kingdom to me, or they die,” was all he said before a pulse of power shot through the land, throwing him into the distance but leaving the rest of us all untouched.   “Guess Twilight and the others found the Crystal Heart,” Smarties said in a matter-of-fact tone.