//------------------------------// // Chapter 24- Calm Before the Strom pt. 2 [CO] // Story: Equestrian Psycho // by BlakeCorman //------------------------------// Chapter 24- Calm Before the Storm pt. 2 Everyone was suddenly at my home with Karen still hanging over my back."Your gonna fight Samson in Ponyville?" Asked Thomas."As soon as Karen is back online, we’ll fight." I nodded. "What about you, Nathan, you wanna fight Lightningman?" Asked Thomas. "Hell no! He's a (Beep)ing Jerry sue." Said Nathan. "Great, even the characters are complaining now." Grumbled the real author. "The intelligence is real. The powers are supposed to be fake. Don't complain about him being too smart. His powers are understandable about being complained about." "Just said he was op." Said Nathan defensively. "Well, you beat the man in a can," Samson said, stretching his muscles and cracking his joints and knuckles. "But out of curiosity, just how overpowered do you think you are?" "Out of 1 to 10? About a 7." "Sounds about right." Said Thomas. "More accurately, 7.333333333." Said Karen waking up. "Her speech is still screwed up." I pointed out. "But she's repairing." Said Nathan."Go ahead and power down Karen, take your time to fix yourself." Said Thomas as Karen powered down. "You do know how to do maintenance on her and the armor, right?" Samson asked Thomas, a worried tone carrying over in his voice and expression. "Don’t have to, she can do everything." Said Thomas. "What if she's damaged beyond her own self-repair?" I asked. "You need to know these things." "I have to agree," Samson said, wincing slightly. "AIs are awesome and can do a lot of amazing things, but at the same time, they still need our help." "I personally know Tony Stark... he can take care of it and teach me." Said Thomas. "Fine. Just make sure you do it when you leave. Until then, I'll fix your armor." I sighed. I then turned to Samson. "Ready?" Samson grinned widely, a spark jumping into his eye. "More than ever," he answered, his body already tensing. "You want to start slow or go full throttle?" "Slow at first, get used to each other's fighting styles. My body is still getting used to the power of my cards." I stretched and a few bones popped. I looked up and said, "Author? Stand proud please." I jumped back and got ready. “Fighter one ready." Said Thomas pointing at me. "Fighter two ready." He said pointing to Samson. "Both fighters ready, fight!" "Sounds good to me!" Samson shouted, tensing his arms and throwing them out, bluish-green electricity dancing over him. And with that, he ran forward, fist reared back as he accelerated to max speed. I saw him rushing in as I ducked down to avoid the punch. Once I did that I went behind him and grabbed his shoulder to steady myself and then elbowed the back of his neck. The ranger stumbled at the blow, looking like he was about to fall on his face only to reach his hand out and catch himself. The man lifted himself up on his hands and spun around, sending the heel of his boot towards my head. My increased heart rate started to send lightning through my veins. Which lessened the damage I took from the heel quite a bit. I smiled and pulled out my wand. "Minuo." I pointed the wand at Samson. Samson's eyes went wide and dark orange and yellow electricity replaced the bluish-green. An explosion rocked the ground as he disappeared from sight. "Hadouken!" The ranger shouted, his fist igniting in menacingly dark flames as the air around it shimmered from pure heat, swinging towards the hero in a blur of motion. "(Beep.)" I jump out of the way and see where it was headed. "PROTEGO!" I yell to protect the house. The wake that left Sam's hand traveled into the shield before detonating into an explosion. The man jumped back to make some space. "Well... that could've been a problem," he muttered, his Static canceling out. "Guess we should kick things up to the next level." He lifted his arm over his chest, sparks going over his watch before it turned into an oval-shaped device with a menacing looking, upside-down ‘M’. "It's morphin’ time," he said, taking a step back and putting his arm with his morpher at a ninety-degree angle, the index and middle fingers of his opposite hand on the face. "Go, Psycho!" He shouted, taking a step forward and throwing his morpher forward. Dark gray light covered him entirely before shattering outward, leaving Samson in the Psycho Shadow armor, scythe already in hand. I blink a few times before smiling. "Sam? Distress call to Darkning. I need my other half." He was soon there and he transferred himself to me. I felt myself become whole again. I put my cards in front of me and activated them, multiplying my power. I smiled brightly, yet a bit madly, before a loud crack was heard and I vanished, reappearing behind the shadow ranger and punching him in the gut. The punch goes through Sam's stomach and out his back. I widened my eyes. "Huh." I pull my fist out but don't let my guard down. "Funny thing about shadows," the Ranger said with a small shrug. "Ya can't touch'em... but they can touch you." Samson reared his unoccupied fist back and swung full force towards my chest. I widened my eyes and smiled. I got hit though. "Another thing about shadows?" I wheezed. "Show them the light and they disappear." I began to hasten my body’s circulatory system, causing the electricity to heat my body up and create light. Sam put an arm up to the visor of his helmet like he was trying block out the light only for the squares in his gauntlets to turn gold, the light getting drawn into them. "And sometimes the shadows devour the light!" The ranger answered before the golden squares glowed and an explosion of energy threw us both back. "Oof." I slammed into the wall. I shook my head. "Ok. Can't hit him, but if I get those gauntlets, he won't be able to absorb the light." I said to myself. Samson hit the ground and rolled several feet before he twisted up into a kneeling position, visors glued to me. "Note to self," he muttered quietly. "Absorption can be overcharged by distance." With that he got to his feet, his scythe reforming in his hand. He hefted the blade, squares on his gauntlets and leg armor turning black before he slammed it into the ground, sending a trail of rocky spires towards my position. I got up and began to overcharge my body with electricity, slowly creating fire with my lightning. It hurt a lot, but It would be worth it for what I had in mind. I ran towards him and began to heat him up with as much fire as I could. Taking his own lightning to fuel me. The Ranger tensed as he felt the elements of the Static shield go haywire, trying to manipulate the one element that was being fed into him, fire, to regenerate those being weakened. I smiled as I see him panic. I turned off my lightning and started to punch as hard as I could at the gauntlet. The magic of the cards really helping there as I started to see cracking coming from the gauntlets immediately. Sam gritted his teeth as he felt the ports of his gauntlets give way. In a last-ditch effort, he dropped his guard and leaned just out of reach of the punches, throwing up a leg and kicking me away from him as he jumped back. "Gotta admit," he called out as gridlines formed over his armor, the suit dissipating and leaving him demorphed. "That's actually pretty impressive. I'm gonna have to tell Chris about that when I get home." "Hmm... Maybe I can tell him myself." I smiled a bit and point my wand at his head. "MENTIS INFRACTIO!!" With that my consciousness was sent into his mind. I shook my mental head and looked around. I saw the body controls. But they were more complicated than I had anticipated. I shrug as I begin to associate certain parts with his body. I finally found the mouth and vocal cords. I activated them and said, "Testing testing. Is anybody listening? If you are, then I'm currently in your mind. Come get me." I turned off all motor functions before running towards the mental functions. Sam's eyes widened and he fell forwards onto the ground. His pupils shrank and he began to hyperventilate in panic. No, nonono! He screamed internally before an orb of light shot out from behind a building, rushing into him as a familiar weight entered his mind. "GET OF HIS HEAD!!!" A voice of rage shouted as a man with blonde hair and gray eyes appeared next to my avatar, punching me with the force of a freight train and launching me out of Samson's mental scape. I smiled as I felt this. "So you have a mental guardian?" I smiled brightly. "This is fun." I let Darkning have control of my physical body as I sent myself back in. I reactivated the physical functions since my real body had someone to control it. I looked around for the guardian. I began to whistle. "Yo! Where are you? I came here so I could leave a mental suggestion. I didn't mean harm him in here. I was literally just gonna leave a message like a voicemail." I heard some air being pushed and dodged to the left as a fist was sent flying at my head to get me out again. I grabbed the arm and forced him to the ground, preventing him from moving. "Listen... Wait. Are you Chris?" "Verdammt richtig!" The blonde answered, anger in his voice. "Why the Hölle would you invade someone's mind just to leave a message!?" "Chris...?" Samson muttered groggily as he stood to his feet shakily. "What are you... doing here...?" "Focus out there, Sam!" Chris interrupted, seeming to throw a look to the outside before focusing on me again. "Because most people forget about details when they get back home." I got off him and extended a hand to help him up. "Like me. Whenever I get home, I immediately forget most of the schooling that I had gotten that day, I figured this would be the same for Samson and whatnot." I shrugged. "Oh also..." I turn on the vocal cords. "Darkning. DO NOT ATTACK! I REPEAT! DO NOT ATTACK. I'm fine in here. I'm talking to Chris. Besides, Samson isn't used to other people in his mind. So it wouldn't be that much of a victory." I gave the vocal cords back to Samson as I helped Chris up. "There you go." I smiled. Chris took the hand and stood. "Our situation is a bit more serious than a day at school," he muttered before giving a sigh. "But I guess the concern is warranted. Oh, and there's no need for Darkning to go easy on Samson. He's completely fine with us in here. Right, Sam?" "We're talking about this when we get home," Sam answered darkly, lowering into a fighting stance and motioning for his opponent to come at him. "Now let's do this." "Hold on. You currently have an advantage with both your halves, Darkning needs me." I smiled as I sent myself back into my body. I sighed as I stretched. I then started to think. "Alright. I know how to beat Shadow Ranger. But Samson should have more up his sleeve than that." I chuckled. "This is fun. Darkning? You think you can take care of this? You're the anger. Use that." I gave control to Darkning and my body changed as well as my costume. "Now then," Darkning said. "Get ready." He looks up at the sky. "DUALITY!" "Ah, (Beep)," Sam muttered, tightening his stance. "Chris, hold on." Hanging on! Came the reply as Chris melded his consciousness with Sam's. A dark aura burst out around Sam, sweeping his hair up and filling the whites of his eyes with power as dark red and orange electricity danced over him. "Go, Psycho!" He shouted again, bringing up his morpher and letting the aura rush towards him and condense over his body. The light shattered and he was once more garbed in his armor, the color having changed to an iridescent steel color as dark gray, red, and orange energy swam in the ports of his reformed gauntlets and leg armor. "Let's rock!" Darkning immediately went on the offensive instead of making a plan like Lightning did when he faced him. He began to punch as fast as he could. The cards and his other half powering him up to almost breaking point. Sam became little more than a blur of electricity as he dodged most of the blows, catching those he couldn't with his palms."Back off!" He roared, taking a step back and rearing his palm back to slam it into Darkning's torso in a full-force palm strike that let out a resounding crack of the air pressure alone. Darkning keeled over. He shook his head and looked at the blur of lightning. He smiled and started to little by little take it away as he started to aim for the hand joints. Sam winced as he felt the shielding around his hands start to give out to the assault. With a growl, the energy in the ports of his armor glowed with orange and gold light before he disappeared from sight with a crack of the sound barrier."You guys don't let up, do you?" The Ranger called from the top of one of the buildings, the Obsidian Warscythe in his hand. "Giving up is not our strongest suit," Darkning replied. He then chuckled. "We don't even have a giving up suit. Just this." He then pulled out Sam and turned her into a sword again. He disappeared and reappeared right next to Samson. He swung his sword to hit the warscythe. Blade met blade in a clash of metal and sparks. "Good on you, then!" Samson cheered, the grin clear in his voice. "Let's make this fun!" With that, he forced the sword away, spinning the warscythe before swinging the blade towards his opponent's legs. Darkning jumped and landed on the blade of the warscythe. Taking his opportunity, Darkning punched Samson in the throat. "GAK!" The ranger gagged, stumbling back as his hand shot to his throat. His helmet raised to look at Darkning, a feral growl ripping through the air before the visor over his left eye cracked, black smoke leaking out. Sam, what are- "SHUT UP, CHRIS!" Samson roared, yanking the blade out from under his opponent's feet. He twisted the weapon until the butt of the staff faced Darkning, morphing into a lance head as the white of his armor turned pitch black, pools of energy shining in black and purple before he thrust the weapon forward. Darkning dodged to the right and grabbed his weapon. "Did we make the ranger mad?" Darkning laughed. He heated himself up and started to melt the metal of the weapon. "SHUT UP!" The ranger shouted, using his free hand to punch Darkning away from him. Without waiting, Samson rushed forward and knocked his opponent to his back, raising the blade of his warscythe up for the final blow. The edge sliced through the air before the ranger's arm jerked to a halt, a silvery orb hovering above Darkning. "Hit him now!" Chris' voice shouted as an orange outline of the man holding back Sam's arm flashed around the orb. "All of you!" Darkning looked at the blade with mild interest. He then looked at Samson. He smiled and vanished, reappearing behind Samson and punching him in the back. Samson staggered forward onto his knees, the orb disappearing and reappearing behind the ranger before he was wrenched backward as if he was stuck in a hold."Hör auf herum zu ficken!" Chris shouted again, panic obvious in his voice. "Demorph him, NOW!!!" "What the?" Darkning was concerned here. He went up and looked for the problem. He finally decided to demorph him and figure out if he needed medical attention. "He's stuck in a rage!" Chris yelled as his projection struggled to hold back the Psycho Ranger. "You have to get him out of the armor!" "I'm coming in!" I jumped into Samson's mind while Darkning tried to get the armor off. Within Samson's mind, the young man's avatar struggled against a shadowy figure. "L-Lightning?" The man questioned before he shook his head. "Hit my armor with everything you've got! I can't power down while I'm fighting this thing!" "Got it," I called out of the body. "CODE RED! HIT THE BODY WITH EVERYTHING!" Darkning nodded and held out Sam. "Full power!" There was a crash from the library as the elements surrounded the wand. "EXPULSO!" There was a massive explosion as the spell hit Samson. The ranger was launched backward, grid lines forming over his armor before it dispersed. Samson hit the ground hard, rolling several feet before he stopped, vapor rising from where he'd been hit in the chest. As the vapor came off Samson's body, it started to swirl into two separate portal like things and out fell... two more humans. "OH COME ON!" I yelled exasperatedly once I was back in my body Both had spiky dark red hair, one short and the other stopping just past the shoulders. The former was dressed in a black undershirt, grey jacket, grey jeans, and black skate shoes with black and grey headset, two necklaces, one with claws and another with a drill-like key, a black handkerchief around his neck, black fingerless gloves, and a four inch long red and amber wristband. He also bore what seemed to be two katanas on his back with a red-bladed disk holstered between the handles. The other wore a black training tank-top with dirty yellow trim and pockets, an off-white robe lined on the inside with black material that covered most of his legs and all of his arms, a black headband with two horns and what looked like Japanese kanji between them on a metal plate, two gloves that also had metal plates, one having a circled carved out and the other a crescent moon, black pants, and shoes made of a strange material that went halfway up his leg and left his heel and toes exposed. He also had two huge swords on his back, one wrapped in bandages, two swords at his sides in scabbards, and a strangely familiar red and black metal brick hanging off the back of his belt, which kept his robes from flapping around in the wind. They were both out cold and on their chests and there was a strange weapon that looked to be a combination of a battleax and a double-edged scythe next to the latter. "Holy description, Batman," said the author as I sighed and picked Samson up. "Nathan, Thomas? You grab the new guys." I brought everybody to my home. I set Samson down on my couch. "Thomas, those guys might be threatening. When they wake up, aim your guns at them." "Way the (Beep) ahead of you there." Said Thomas. "Cool your jets, trigger finger, there's no indication their evil." Said Nathan. "They have weapons as their symbols." I groaned. "Who knows what their names are. I had a violent reaction to the word psycho." I sat down. "Just... make sure their good people before you introduce me to them. I'm gonna tell Twi what happened." I left to go to the library. From the couch, Sam let out a groan. "...Ow....," he murmured, bringing a hand up to his eyes. The redhead with long hair was first to awaken. He groaned as he lifted himself off the floor."The (Beep) happ- did I just beep?" He asked. "Sounds like it," said the other redhead, who was startled by the sudden beep. "Name?" "Alexander, but I prefer Alex. You?" "Masaru, but I prefer Sage. Keeps the ponies from flipping out, ya know?" Sage said. "Yep, totally understand. I almost leveled Equestria when I showed up." Said Alex. "What do you mean leveled?" Asked Thomas. "My true form is a giant lava dragon with extreme anger issues, what do you expect from something that's angrier than the Hulk on a bad day and the size of a mountain? Also, hello. Who are you?" Alex said. "Warmachine, but you can call me Thomas." Said Thomas. “And I'm Barricade, also known as Nathan." Said Nathan. "And I’m the author," said a voice from the walls. "A man in a suit and a Cybertronian... Sounds like a bar joke in the making." Sage said. "Alright scales, let's get you up." He helped Alex up before looking around, seemingly in search of something. "Yo Rip, where are ya!?" He called. "Out here! I was forgotten like last week's trash!" A deep voice replied. Sage left the house as Alex walked over to the rest of us. "The lump on the couch is Samson, nice to meet you," the redhead muttered irritably at being ignored, rubbing his head as he sat up. "For some reason, my gut’s telling me that bar joke is gonna get bigger." Said Nathan. "I had that same feeling, weird." Said Thomas. "Nice to meet you, Samson. Also, unless something happens to make it bigger, then it likely won't." Alex said. "’Sup, Samson? Also, I agree with Alex on that." Sage said, walking back in with the strange weapon resting on his shoulder, scythe pointed down. "I'd like to introduce you all to Ripper. Say hi, Rip." "Hey," Ripper said, causing the skull's mouth to glow, said skull somehow going unnoticed till now. "Is a talking weapon new for anyone else?" Samson questioned before a silver sphere formed next to him. "Pretty cool if you ask me," Chris said as he bobbed up and down in the air. "No one asked you." Samson's hot retort brought the sphere to silence, Chris lowering to float a few inches lower. "YOUR (BEEP)ING KIDDING ME! I’M HOUSING A SKULL WITH LASERS NOW!" I groaned as I walked inside. "Ju.... just..." I groaned. "I’m going to Fluttershy's. I haven't talked to her since we got together." I muttered as I left. "Bye have a wonderful time!" Said Thomas. "So, I guess that means we're hijacking this story... At least until he gets back." Said Nathan. "I’m still watching you," deadpanned the author. "Also nice American dad reference." "Well, that happened. Also no, my katanas have powerful dragons sealed inside them. It was done with consent, mainly because they would've died otherwise." Alex said, unsheathing his katanas. "Say hi you two." "Oi, names Ragnarok. Nice to meet all of you." The left katana, Ragnarok, said. "Same here. Names Yolkendov, I'm Ragnarok's twin brother." Said the right katana, Yolkendov. "For the record, I don't shoot lasers, that's Sage's thing. Rather, the glow is my... well, the best way to explain it would be to call it 'reaper energy' since my blades are covered in a fire of the same colour when reaping souls, which is a baby blue, in case you were wondering what the exact colour was," Ripper said. His eye sockets lit up with blue embers acting as eyes to prove his point. "Don't tell Lightning this. He reacted violently to psycho." the author sighed "So no telling Lightningman about the dragons got it. I'm guessing we should also avoid mentioning how I'm the Incarnation of War and Destruction as well as a Demon King?" Sage said. "I'm also a Saiyan and infected with Blacklight, which is a sentient shapeshifting virus that's entirely under my control, in case any of you aren't aware of the game Prototype" "Remind me not to get on your bad side," Alex said, staring at Sage in shock. "Do I even want to ask how you managed to get all of those?" Samson questioned, Chris floating up a bit only for the man to raise a finger angrily to stop his brother. "Now I want to have a violent reaction." There were a few seconds of some clicks from a mouse when the author said. "There. Your powers are locked until I trust you both more." "I got the king status from killing the last one and the incarnation status was earned over time as my power grew. I started out as an Ageless of War and Destruction, which is weaker than a god, and worked my way up from there. Then again, I run on a system called the Tiers of Divinity, with Ageless being the weakest and Incarnation being the strongest. I'd assume there are other systems out there which could leave me weaker than anticipated." Sage replied appearing to not have heard the author. "And I thought my powers were complicated," Samson said, starting to stand up only to wobble a bit. "Ow... (Beep), that spell hurt a lot more than I thought at first...." It took a moment for the author's words to settle into the two new human’s minds. Once it finally did, there was an instant change in both's demeanor. Alex began to have a panic attack, muttering things like "I need to hide." and "I need to avoid anything deadly." While Sage just placed his hands on the swords at his side and visibly put his guard up. "Guys. I’m the author. I want to do something, I do it. I’ll give you back your powers tomorrow. For now Lightning should be back." A few clicks and the table was full of food. "As the celebration for his winning the title as Prince of Equestria." The voice cut out as I walked back inside and saw the food. I smiled and began to eat, not questioning it. "Seriously, you really don't think that's too far?" Samson questioned, going over to Alex and attempting to calm him down. "What happened?" I look at them. "Alternate universe breakdown?" "Author you took their powers," Sam answered darkly, eyes narrowing. "Which, by the way, uncool." "I don't know what the deal with Alex is, but the only reasons I'm not flipping out is Blacklight and my confidence in my physical capabilities," Sage said. "Also, Ripper and my robes should be disappearing soon." Just as he said that his robe dissipated like mist and Ripper shattered like items from SAO. This left the items attached to his belt on the floor, having fallen when his robe disappeared. "Ok. I understand, but seriously?” Lightningman questioned. “You can't live a day without your powers?" "Doesn't seem like it," Sage said. "Not exactly. I have a factory and a cave that's cut off from magic, but I've never spent more than ten hours in there. I should be good so long as I treat the situation like I'm in my factory." Alex said, starting to calm down. "As long as you stop freaking out." Said Nathan. "Yep, done having a panic attack. Honestly, the same thing happened when I first put the anti-magic barriers in my cave and factory. Had to have someone slap me silly to recover from it." Alex said. "Well, since that's settled, time to eat!" Sage said, digging into the food. "Mh! Gulp Might wanna make the food respawn, author. The lack of ki is making me extremely hungry." "Ya know," Samson started, taking a seat at the table. "Despite the number of worlds I've been called to, I've still yet to actually eat anything." "Then go ahead and eat. My last meal was those s'mores that we had yesterday night. So the author should have provided us with lots of food as recompense." I continue to eat. "I'm not sure if you forgot, but I happen to be a Saiyan. I have Goku's appetite," Sage said. "Actually, I usually keep a pouch of infinite jerky on me." He pulled a pouch out of his right pocket, checked it, and placed it on his lap before continuing to eat. "That's actually an ingenious solution," Chris said, coming to float at the table next to Samson as the man began to eat."Maybe when we get home we can implement it with the resistance's basic gear." The only reply he got from his brother was a sharp grunt as he rolled his eyes and kept his focus on chewing. "But if we run out of food. Just ask the author." I shrugged. "My universe is probably already used to all of the constant 4th wall breakings. So a bit more food shouldn't do us in. I'm surprised I didn't think about it before." I suddenly groaned. “An endless supply of food does sound useful." Said Thomas sitting down at the table. "I guess me & Karen are the really lucky ones, we don't need to eat." Said Nathan. "Doesn't that make you feel a bit..." Samson trailed off as he tried to think of the word he was looking for. "...Inhuman?" “Not really no, I can still eat... I just don't have to," said Nathan ."Technically, I don't need to eat either since viruses aren't known to do so. I just eat because I can," Sage said. "Also, Samson, you sounded like you were in pain earlier. While I can't throw a healing spell or technique at you like I usually do, I do have something else." Sage pulled a small green bean from his right breast pocket and offered it to Samson. "What is it?" Samson questioned, his grudge against his brother seeming to fade as he took the bean and held it up for both he and the silvery orb to inspect. "Senzu bean. I've seen it heal fatal injuries like it was nothing. I don't use them much since I can easily stimulate my Blacklight to regenerate, but they're still useful to have on me," Sage replied. "They also fully restore your stamina." "They’re also one of the Dragonball franchise’s biggest Deus ex machinas, as far as I'm aware," said Nathan. "Given I only watched DBZ Abridged." "Same," said Thomas. "Anyway," I said once I finished eating. "Its time for your tour. I haven't given Samson one yet." "Sounds like a plan, man," Samson said, standing to his feet. "Just lead the way." I got up and groaned. "We'll begin at Twi's and make our way around town until we hit Fluttershy's" "That's cool with me. I need to move my stuff anyway," Sage said. He went over to his swords and metal block and rested them against a wall. While he did this, Alex nodded in agreement. "I'm okay with that as well. What about you two? Will you be joining us?" Alex asked, looking at Nathan and Thomas. "I will be, I haven't gotten the tour yet," said Nathan."Might as well join ya," said Thomas. Sam fell silent after hearing what their tour would consist of, Chris' orb coming up to hover next to his shoulder. "You okay, bro-" "Shut up, Chris," Sam interrupted in a small voice, falling in behind the others. "Anyway, gather around. I'm gonna apparate us there." "Daijōbu. Come, friends! Adventure awaits!" Sage exclaimed. He walked over and put his hand on me. "Hai!" Alex shouted in reply, doing the same. I smiled and turned on the spot, dragging all of the other humans along with me. Eventually, there was a loud crack as we appeared right outside of Twilight's home. "Everyone. This is Twilight’s home. Although since you are all displaced, I assume at least, then you should know this already. Come on, she's probably studying or something." I opened the door. "Does that pony ever not study?" Asked Nathan. "I don't think so," said Thomas. Samson went up to the tree and put his hand to it. "You know, no matter how many times I see this place," he said before looking at the entire town around them. "I still can't quite connect it to Midnight's castle...." "I see books... A lot of books." Sage said, looking around. "Probably shouldn't smoke in here then, what with the lack of fire alarms and the countless flammable objects," Alex said. Sage and Alex shared a look before grinning. "Guess who!?" They shouted at the same time. "Guess who?" I looked in confusion. I shook my head. "But Twilight put a flame retardant spell on everything here. You'll be fine." "Is Twi even back? Didn't we leave her at Canterlot?" Asked Thomas. "I'm Pretty sure we did," said Nathan. "But keep in mind she can teleport." "Hold on." I disapparated and apparated with all the girls a few seconds later. "I feel like that's cheating the system." Said Thomas. "Keep in mind Thomas that we are currently in a universe that treats the fourth wall like scrap," said Nathan. "Whether it's cheating the system or not, it's obvious this isn't a Displaced universe so the fourth wall was (Beep)ed before we even got here as far as I'm concerned. The only good thing about the current situation is that Alex and I can't access our powers. I firebend when I'm startled and I'm guessing he breathes fire or spits lava when he's startled as well," Sage said. "It depends on what form I'm in. I'm more likely to torch your face then melt it," Alex replied. "I told you, you would get them back tomorrow," said the author. "Why do we always ignore the ponies in the room?" Asked Thomas. "Probably because they let us," Samson answered with a shrug. "That or we're more entertaining to watch." "That's a fair point." Said Nathan. "Actually I'm thinking that it's because they never interrupt us. They want to, but know we would just continue talking." I smiled. "So are we gonna keep ignoring them or will we address them?" Sage asked. "Honestly, I'm fine either way," Alex replied. "Whatever the case," Samson said with a little shrug. "At least they're here." "True." I shrugged as I turned to them. ¨Girls, we have new guests and some people that you might have seen but weren't introduced to. This is Thomas and Nathan." I pointed to them. "Howdy, y'all," said Nathan. "I'm pretty sure we've met actually," said Thomas. "My name is Masaru Ametsuchi, but I prefer Sage," Sage said. "And I'm Alexander, but I prefer Alex. I believe I speak for both of us when I say that it's a pleasure to meet all of you," Alex said, looking at Sage, who nodded. "Samson Jaeger," the ranger greeted with a bow of his head as he ignored the silver orb floating behind him. "At your service." "My apologies, my name's Barricade, but you can call me Nathan." Said Nathan. "Now that we have introduced ourselves, I believe it is only customary for you to return the gesture," Sage said. "Geez, you really are a ninja aren't you? You've been giving off that vibe, but to pull such a clean change of feel like that is certainly something expected of one," Alex said, looking at Sage from the corner of his eyes. "You're just realizing that? I thought the headband and face mask would've been a clear indication. Then again, I'm not exactly wearing my mask right now... eh," Sage replied, crossing his arms. "Anyway," I said to them. "I'm taking all of them for a tour. Next stop? Sweet Apple Acres." "Another place I've never been," Samson muttered before he hit the heel of his fist to his other palm. "Actually, I could use this to get an accurate feel for enemy territory! Why didn't I think of that before?" "Yeah, and it's also not like you haven't known about them before you got here anyway," I said. "Actually, I haven't officially met them because I live in the Everfree and sneak around Ponyville whenever I do visit back in my Equestria," Sage said. "Me and Nathan where Displaced to Equestria Girls universes," said Thomas. "And my Equestria is stuck in a war that has forced every free being into the Castle of Two Sisters," Samson said, putting his hands in his pockets. "The only time I’ve been in Ponyville was an infiltration mission." "Yeah. I guess," I rubbed the back of my neck. I then waved it off. "Pinkie will give you a party when we're the done the tour." At that moment I vanished to avoid a shot from the party cannon. I reappeared. "PINKIE!" I said short and loud. "Why'd you aim it at me?" "Because I knew you'd avoid it!" She smiled innocently. She then frowned and began to bang the cannon. "This always jams." It then fired again and I ducked to avoid a punch bowl. The punch bowl soared towards Sage, who quickly vanished in a blur, reappearing next to Lightningman, revealing Alex who had been standing behind him. "Genki-ippai." Alex deadpanned, getting covered in punch and receiving a new hat immediately after. "You suck, Sage." "PFFFT! HA! Reflex?" "Hahaha... That's a classic," said Nathan. "It's not that funny," said Thomas. "It kinda funny," said Nathan. Samson let a little smile cross his face. "Glad to see that some things never change," he said with a lighter tone. "Anyway..." I rolled my eyes. "SWEET APPLE ACRES! HO!" I grabbed them all and apparated us to the farm. "You know... I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing all those apples," Sage said. "Two things. One. I agree, and if they're anything like the ones from my Equestria, they're heavenly. Two, what the (Beep) keeps letting you speak before me most of the time?" Alex asked. "(Beep) if I know. Fate? Heard she can be a (Beep) sometimes." "Eh..." "Knowing this universe's lack of a fourth wall, I'd say the reason Sage almost always talks first is because of your Author," said Thomas. "That sounds creepily accurate," said Nathan. "Can we please not talk about some higher power using us as puppets?" Samson grumbled, a small tick in his eyebrow as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Because to quote a certain chilly individual, ain't no strings on me." The silver orb behind him sank a little and drifted away from him a bit. "If you're like me. It's not a higher power. It's just you from the future," I stated. "I actually highly doubt that," Samson muttered, throwing a look over his shoulder at the silver orb and forcing his brother to sink a bit lower. "Well, it makes some form of sense," said Nathan. "Yeah, I'd rather believe me from the future is in charge of all of this bull(Beep) then some higher being," said Thomas. "I like to think that one's imagination is the window to parallel universes and alternate realities that only you can access unless you write or type it somewhere. Also, Samson, why so harsh on the silver, wingless Zelda fairy?" Sage asked, turning to Samson. Alex followed suit, also curious. "I think it's best we didn't pull the pin on that grenade...," Chris answered hesitantly, floating a little higher. "Yeah," Samson agreed before his teeth grit together. "Let's not explode in front of a bunch of people were still getting to know." "The fairy is Samson's other personality. Chris. I don't see a difference appearance wise." I smirk underneath my mask. "Hahaha... That was both offensive and funny," said Nathan. "I have to agree with him on that one," said Thomas. "Enough of that. We're here on a tour, not a roasting parade." Sage said. "So says the firebender." "I haven't had a roasted dragon in a while." Alex shuffled slightly away from Sage, who only smirked evilly. "Riiight...," Samson said slowly before he rolled his shoulders and cleared his throat. "But Sage is right about the tour." "Yeah." I nodded. I then smelled something. I looked around and smelled my clothes. "WHOA!" I backed up. "Guys. You continue on the tour. Ask the author for the next location. I need to get myself clean. I haven't had a shower in a few days." I turned and disappeared. "Well... Now what? Explore the orchard or next location?" Alex asked. "I have a pretty good idea since I, admittedly, tend to steal apples from here now and then, so my vote would have to go to next location," Sage replied."I'm down for a change of scenery," said Nathan. "As am I," said Thomas. "Oh. Thomas? Nathan? I think I figured out a way back for you. Basically, all of our universes have a specific target code that needs to be shown for you to get into your world. Thomas? I Think I'm close to yours. It's EQG-WM2001," said the Author. "Cool, at least I'll be able to get back home. Think I'll stick around till the end of the tour first tho," said Thomas. "Does that mean I can stay even after he leaves?" Asked Nathan. "If you want to, yeah." They could almost hear the author nod. "I haven't figured out your universe coordinates yet. But I'm close. It's something like Blank-TF1876. Which universe are you from? MLP or EQG?" "EQG, like Thomas." Said Nathan. "Ok. Then yours is EQG-TF1876." "Cool, I'll be sticking around awhile then," said Nathan. "Well, I'm still leaving after the tour," said Thomas. "Alright. Next location then." There was a snapping sound and everyone was at Sugarcube Corner. "Now this place I've really wanted to see," Samson said with a wide grin before his brow twitched and he looked over his shoulder at Chris. "...What? I've got a sweet tooth." The orb said nothing, only bobbed in the air a bit as if to shrug. "I've got a sweet tooth also," said Nathan. "Where do I order?" He asked. "I'd assume over there at the register," said Thomas. "Five says Pinkie shows up when the bell rings," Alex said, gently elbowing Sage. "Deal. Anyone else want in on this?" Sage asked, walking up to the counter. "I'd get in on that action, but there's a cop right here," said Thomas, Nathan holding up a rude gesture in response. "I'd go for that," Sam replied before something suddenly struck him. "But I don't have any bits... which also means I can't buy anything... (Beep)." "No problem," said the author. A faint jingling was heard and grew louder. Suddenly a bag crashed through a window that took minimal damage and the bag landed in front of Samson. "Um...," Samson hummed as he picked up the bag and checked inside. "Thanks?" "I don't know if that's legal or not," said Nathan. "(Beep) if I know, but I haven't gotten arrested for it yet. Then again, my existence isn't a well-known thing," Sage said. "I just summon bits from my vault when I need them, so I haven't had a reason to find out," Alex said. "It's not illegal," the author said. "And even if it was, I have diplomatic immunity." "Fair enough," Said Nathan. "OK, let's eat," said Thomas, as he walked up to the counter. Samson followed, trying to hide the giddiness he felt. "Anyway..." the author's voice faltered. "(Beep). Guys? Get Silent. Tell him the manticores are here. I'll get your food." "I'll go get my stuff. Let's meet up at town hall. Yo Author, you willing to unlock my Spirit Energy? The swords I left behind have a slashing ability that's fueled by it," Sage said, barging out the door. "If you do that for him then how about my Equestrian magic?" Alex asked. "I'd like to whip out some fire damage and I need magic to activate the runes.” The Author hesitated before saying this."Fine. But this is Silent’s fight. He was the one who provoked them." The author unlocked their powers. Samson let out a sigh as he sat the bag on the counter. "This job is never done, is it?" He muttered before starting towards the door. "If Silent doesn't handle this quick, I'm getting my hands dirty." "Yo, Author, bring in some popcorn, I wanna watch this fight." Said Thomas. "Who the (Beep) is Silent?" Asked Nathan. "Hold on." There was a crack and a young pegasus colt in a white coat covering his face appeared before them. "This is Silent Power." "Nice to meet you, Silent," Said Nathan holding out his fist for Silent to fist bump. "Sup, Tick-Tack?" Asked Thomas. "Call me that again and I'll give you worse than a damaged shoulder plate," Silent said in his unusually deep-voice as he hoof bumped Nathan. "He damaged your shoulder plate?" Asked Nathan. "He had a great audition, but it'll never happen again," said Thomas. Silent smirked before running behind Thomas and jamming his sword into a thigh plate, prying it off and leaving the wiring completely open and giving Silent the choice to make the leg useless or not. "Try me, you tin can." "Is it wrong to want to hurt a child?" Asked Thomas. "Yes, yes it is," said Nathan. "Don't care," said Thomas as he kicked Silent over to the Manticores. "(Beep)ing worth it." He said .Silent shook his head and looked at the manticores. "You want to settle your fight with me? I’m busy with him." He pointed at Thomas. "Deal with him first and I’ll fight you." The manticores roared and charged at Thomas. "You little (Beep)," said Thomas as he pressed the button that let him grow. "You really wanna take me on you pussy cat's?" He asked as he stepped on one, crushing it. "You know, I just realized Fluttershy is going to hate me for that." "Well, then it's a good thing you're leaving after this," said Nathan. "I knew they wouldn't be a challenge. I just didn't want to fight them. BYE." With that Silent left. “Probably best he jumped ship," Samson muttered with a tick in his brow, turning away from the carnage left behind. "Fluttershy wouldn't be the only thing he'd be dealing with. Now, if you'd all excuse me, I'm going to go try and settle this before any more lives have to be taken." With that, he started towards where the other manticores had run off to. "Might as well come with you," said Nathan "Doesn't seem like I have anything better to do right now," Alex said, following them. Just then there was a crack as Lightningman appeared in a fresh suit and smelled much better. "There we go. What did I miss?" "A lot," said Nathan. "First off, Manticore's started looking for a colt named Silent, who then tricked them into fighting Thomas, who killed two of them making them go back to chasing Silent. Then Thomas left fearing the wrath of Fluttershy, can't blame him there. Now we're all going to fight a bunch of Manticore's with Silent." He said. "Also, Sage is getting his stuff. Although, he might already be helping Silent if his speed back at the library is anything to go by," Alex added. I frowned at the news. "Ok. but I wanted to give him a card so he can call me when he needs me. Ehh. I’ll give it to him later." "Not to be a stick in the mud," Chris said, the silver orb floating up next to them."Buuut, we may want to catch up before Samson can screw something up in his temper." "Right. I also had an idea about that psycho dude in his head." I nod. Chris jerked back for a moment before zooming to catch up with the superhero. "How did you know about that!?" The orb half demanded, hysteria already forming in his voice. I gave him a deadpan look. "I was in your head. There's clearly another person in there. I just took to calling him psycho because of your powers." The orb shimmered in what seemed to be a shiver before replying. "He's sealed," Chris murmured. "There's no way he can get to us...." The voice didn't sound very sure as it shook, the orb's light dimming slightly. "Well, if worse comes to worst, the Author can completely unlock my power and I can seal him up tighter than Fort Knox in a black hole," Sage said, suddenly appearing with his swords in his hands. "First of all, holy (Beep)!" Alex shouted. "Second, are those swords Sandalphon and Nehema from Date A Live?" "Someone knows their anime weapons." In Sage's left had was Sandalphon and in his right was Nehema. "Lightningman; when I leave, give Thomas's card to me. I've got a gut feeling I'll see him again soon," said Nathan. "Now, let's go fight some Manticores." I nod. "Alright." I put my hands on their shoulders and apparate us all to the manticores. I quickly form a megaphone with my aura and yell, "STOP!!" "You guys certainly took your time," Samson greeted, kneeling on the ground as Pink Static sparked over him and was starting to pulse through the ground toward the manticores. "Hey. I needed a shower." I shrugged as I walk towards the manticores. I frown at them and speak. "παιδιά. Αφήστε. Δεν θέλεις να μας πολεμήσεις. Ένας από μας θα μπορούσε να σε σκοτώσει χωρίς δεύτερη σκέψη. Τι θα συμβεί όταν είμαστε τρεις;" "Three? Counting Silent, there are six of us here." Sage said. "How did you...?" "Spent a few centuries in a Greek dominant world. Had to learn the language quickly or I would've been picked out like a large black dot against a white background." Sage replied. "Also, who do you refer to when you say 'One of us could kill you without a second thought'? And where did Thomas go? He would make our numbers seven instead of six." "I said Three? I thought I said 5." I shrugged. "I'm not very good at Greek." "We don't need seven people though, the five of us is overkill for this amount of Manticore's," said Nathan. "(Beep) that. Even with just Spirit Energy, I, myself, am overkill for just 5 manticores. I could beat their (Beep)es in a heartbeat. Literally," Sage said. "I'm kinda the same. While I can't beat them solo, Yolkendov and Ragnarok certainly can, even with their powers sealed," Alex said. "I can seriously just put bullets in all their heads," said Nathan. "Me, the weakest one here, can kill all of them easily." "Or we could take the pacifist route and wait for me to finish my nature spell so we don't have to do any more killing today!" Sam said through gritted teeth, the pink-colored electricity reaching one of the manticores and establishing a mental link with the monster. "Exactly," Sage said. "Heh. I can only imagine what you'd tell the girls. 'Hey, girls! I just got back from kicking some Greek mythological butt with a God, a Demon King, a guy in a WarMachine suit, a Power Ranger, a colt with the deepest voice I've ever heard, and a guy that's biologically half lightning!'. Sounds like another bar joke, except with more (Beep) kicking." Alex joked, looking at Nathan. "Our lives are probably gonna be filled with bar jokes like that," said Nathan. "A man walks into a bar with a slab of asphalt. He says to the bartender 'A beer please, and one for the road,’" Sage joked. "There's your bar joke. Would you like another?" "No, I think I've had enough today, it's not even 5 PM yet," said Nathan. "It's 5 o'clock somewhere~" Alex sang. "True enough." Said Nathan. "One down," Samson muttered as the manticore he'd been communicating with made its way back towards the Everfree. "And now for the others." Another burst of Pink Static sent a shockwave of the colorful electricity dancing over the ground towards the remaining monsters. "The peaceful approach, I am both pleased and annoyed with that solution," said Nathan. "Peaceful approach, huh... Gabriel: Solo!" Sage declared. A huge church organ rose from the ground behind Sage, with the keyboard rising in front of him. "Y'all might wanna cover your ears. Solo is a hypnotizing ability that uses sound waves." "Well (beep), better hop to it," Alex said, summoning a pair of earplugs and putting them in his ears. "Huh." I covered my ears."This is gonna be interesting," said Nathan as he turned off his audio receptors. "Fire at will," Sam muttered, Green Static dancing over him alongside the pink before a wall of air surrounded and condensed around his head. The silver orb that was Chris hesitated a moment before flying towards the young man, fusing with his body with only a small jerk from the ranger. Sage disappeared from his spot, reappearing a moment later. "Silent's good now." "Hold on a sec," Alex said, throwing up a sound deflecting barrier with a net-like dome of fire on the outside to keep on looking ponies out. "Alright, hit it!" Sage nodded before lifting his hands to rest just above the keys. "Sing, Gabriel, sing." With those words, he slammed his hands upon the spectral keyboard. When he finished, he lifted his head and revealed his eyes, which were closed and previously hiding in the shadow of his hair. Alex took that as the cue to lower the barriers. "Leave, and never return," Sage said, eyes open and glaring at the remaining manticores, all of whom turned away and strode back to the Everfree, disappearing into the dark forest. Alex removed his earplugs as Gabriel sunk back into the ground. "Well that's over," said Nathan as he turned his audio receptors back on. "D... Did you just do a Naruto song?" I blinked a few times. "Never liked it, but I will admit it was a good instrumental." Sam groaned as he got to his feet, wiping the sweat from his forward. "You can get out now," he murmured tiredly, Chris' orb leaving his body quickly as the Green and Pink Static died down around him. "Whew... that was exhausting...." "Funny story there. This body of mine is descended from Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Chouji, Shikamaru, Ino, Kiba, Hinata, and all of the other academy students that made a reappearance in later episodes. I was actually born with the name Masaru Uzumaki Uchiha. My grandmother on my dad, Keiichirou Uzumaki's side was a Hyuuga and my grandmother on my mom, Minami Uchiha's, side was a Yamanaka. My grandma was part of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. So, yeah, my sis and I had some serious stuff to live up to, and boy did we do so. We became so powerful individually that the Hokage was forced to have us leave. Four years, one war, the death of a goddess, and two new Rikudo Sennins later, I was wearing a custom made Hokage robe, the hat, and sitting in my new office for the first time." Sage said. "You off your soapbox?" Alex asked. "Yep, sorry." "You lost me as soon as you started saying the names. Like I said. Never liked it." "Eh, to each their own," Sage said. "So, now that that's done, what next? To be honest, I'm a little disappointed by the lack of fighting, but getting to see not only Sandalphon and Nehema in person, but Gabriel too, was a nice experience," Alex said, crossing his arms. "Now you get these," said the author as a bag of baked goods dropped in front of them. "Sweet, sweets!" Sage said before he was stopped by Alex's magic. "Share," Alex said, staring at Sage with a deadpan expression. "Oh, fine. Killjoy. Not like I wasn't planning to in the first place," Sage said, picking up the bag and taking a baked good before passing the bag to Alex, who also took a baked good before handing it to Nathan. "Hold on," said Nathan as he threw the bag into the air then turned into his cop car mode and his holoform stepped out of the car and caught the bag then took a sweet out of the bag. "Not bad," He said after he took a bite. "You gonna pass the bag or lay claim to the whole thing?" Samson questioned jokingly, quirking an eyebrow as he grinned. "Here ya go." Said Nathan passing the bag to Samson. "Thank you, sir," the ranger said, taking the bag before reaching into it. He pulled out a pastry with a spark in his eye, biting into it before holding the bag out to Lightningman. "Et Tu, Lightning?" "Ehh. What the hell. It's not a peanut butter or sugar cookie. So I'm fine." I began to eat. "Also, not allergic, I just don't like them." There as a distinctive gasp from somewhere and some wind rushing as I said that. "Aaand cue that one episode from season 7, but with far less RD and pie, and a lot more Lightningman and cookies. Possibly," Sage said. "Season 7?" Alex asked. "Well, yeah. Haven't you heard of season 7 yet? The finale was recent." "Nope. Got displaced sometime after season 4 ended. 'Woke up', per se, a few days before EQG." "Then you're in for a treat. If your Equestria is anything like the source verse, you'll meet Starswirl at some point. Also, Pinkie's possibly related to the Apples." Sage said. "Well (Beep)." "Oh... Um... I also haven't fully watched season 7 yet. I'll need to catch up when I get back home in the Equestria Girls Universe." "Wait, what?" Asked Nathan. "You're from the EqG world? And the show still exists there?" He continued. "Well, I believe so. I'm from the future relative to this time. So the first Equestria Girls could either still be the past, or it's the correct time. Either way, it should be home." "And here I thought things were complicated in my world," Samson said, scratching at his temple for a moment before he let his eyes fall and crossed his arms. "Speaking of, I should probably be getting back. There's... something I- WE need to take care of...." "Ok. Here." I handed him an Unknown Shores card. "Simply say where you want to go and you’ll be there. But to go across dimensions you need to know the coordinates. I believe yours are MLP-PR1352. And if you need my help, simply say 'request MLP-D901'" "Thanks," Samson said, taking the card and holding it up for a second. "Hope you enjoy trashing bots as much as you enjoy kicking the (Beep) outta would-be princes. Anyway, I'll see you guys around." He stopped and cleared his throat. "MLP-PR1352." A portal opened up behind him and, with a small wave of his hand, he turned and walked through it, the doorway closing behind him. Equestrian Psycho “Trixie doesn’t understand,” the blue mare fretted, her horn glowing with red light as she used the power of the Alicorn Amulet to help her search. Artemus only frowned in response as she stared at the comatose face of the Spirit of Chaos. “From what little I understand,” the older mare began, turning her eyes on the worried unicorn. “Samson, and, subsequently, Chris as well, were simply called by another displaced. There should be no need to worry.” Trixie stopped and looked at her leader, staring at her for several moments before a small breath escaped her. “You’re probably right,” she relented, letting her magic die as her shoulders relaxed. “But it didn’t seem… right.” The alicorn’s frown deepened. “It does sound much more aggressive than it was described to me,” she admitted, turning to look at the mare properly. “Tell me again what happened. From the beginning and spare no details.” “We came down here to-” The magician began on to be cut off as a portal burst open in the air behind Artemus. The silver mare flashed in light, appearing in front of Trixie as she brandished her twin blades and dropped into a battle stance. Out of the portal stepped Sam, his form a glowing black avatar of his human form, dark red and orange energy swimming through him. And he was angry. “CHRIS!” The man shouted before rushing the door, condensing into a sphere as he ran. The spirit ball slammed into the door as the portal closed, the door flying open and slamming into the wall. Both mares flinched as they watched Samson fly away, Trixie wearing a confused look. “What do you think that was about?” The blue unicorn asked, looking up at Artemus before stopped at the wide-eyed look the powerful mare held on her face. “...We have to get to them,” was all she said before she sprinted after the sphere of spiritual energy. Trixie stared after her, a look of confusion and fear taking over her features. “Oof!” Chris let out a groan as he pushed himself up off the floor. “Gotta figure out a softer landing,” he muttered as he stood, taking a look around his empty lab. “...Sweetie?” He called out, a puzzled look coming over his features before he felt something tick in his mind. “Sweetie!” He ran to the door and yanked it open to reveal his and his marefriend’s room, making the unicorn jump a bit as she sat on the couch with her legs folded under her as she read. “Chris?” She questioned as she closed her book and swung her legs to the floor. “Chris, what’s wrong?” “Sweetie, you need to get out of here,” the young man stated, walking to her as she stood at the urgency in his voice. “Why?” She asked, fear filling her eyes as the man put an arm around her and started to herd her towards the door. “Because it’s about to get really, really ugly in here,” the man replied before he stopped short as the door was slammed open, the angry avatar of Samson standing in the way. “CHRIS!”