The five of us just look to the spot the Geist Grimm was floating a minute ago in confused silence. As far as I know the only Grimm that could do things like that were from RWBY Chibi, which was supposed to be none canon. I swear if that was the one from that comedy spin off...
We just stand there in silence for a few more seconds before I let out a loud sigh and fall onto my back as my adrenaline runs dry, Penny following suit and laying her head on my chest as we both catch our breath from the fight. I hear some steps and see as Qrow and Shining look down at me.
“You really shouldn’t push yourself like that Adam. Magical exhaustion isn’t a joke. The fact you are still conscious at this point is shocking in and of itself.” Shining says. I just roll my eyes and try to move, my muscle sore from the fight. I look down at Penny, who is pretty much in the same boat as me, minus the magical part.
“I have to say kid, you have a lot of determination to power through all that. I know a few huntsman who would have thrown in the towel before this point.” Qrow says, crouching down to help me sit up, Ruby doing the same for Penny.
“Well, it wasn’t like these Grimm were just going to take care of themselves. I had to push myself to beat them.” I say, wincing a bit as I sit up. “Just..give me a little bit then we can head back to town.”
“Actually, Mr. Branwen?” Penny asks, getting the huntsman’s attention. “Maybe you should go on ahead to town and tell them that the threat has been taken care of. And maybe ask AppleJack if she can make some food for when we get there?” She requests with a growling stomach. Qrow looks like he is considering it before nodding to her. He turns and transforms into his crow form and flies off as Shining helps me back to my feet. Ruby helps Penny up as well, the two of us being a little wobbly.
“Well, it is probably going to take a while for us to get back to town, so we might as well catch you up on what has been going on here in Equestria.” I tell Ruby, walking through the quarry. The others follow me, Ruby staying next to Penny.
“Yeah, there are a few things I would like to know about. Like how the heck Penny is human?” She says.
“Honestly, my best guess is that the gods of Light and Darkness brought her and Pyrrha here and decided to turn Penny here into a human just for the hell of it.” I tell her. Ruby nods after a second and turns to Penny to talk. I look ahead of us and think to myself.
‘If Ruby, Qrow, and Oscar were sent here through a teleporter, than I am going to have a hell of a time when the rest of their teams show up. I can’t imagine Yang and Blake will like me. Though, I know Pyrrha will be exstatic when Jaune eventually shows up.’
Meanwhile, in Appleloosa...
The crowd was in tense anticipation at the barriers around the town. None could hear the sounds of the fight from the quarry any longer and they were tense, not knowing if Adam and the others succeeded or failed. Oscar and Applejack were waiting on the barrier for the main entrance to town looking towards the quarry.
“Do ya think they won?” AppleJack asks the young huntsman. He remains silent for a moment, just looking out towards the desert before his eyes light up.
“I believe Ruby, Adam and the rest have done what they can. That being said, we should still remain on guard until one of them arrives back.” Ozpin says, Oscar being lost in his own thoughts. AJ goes to talk again before hearing a loud caw. Looking up, the duo see as a red eyed crow flies towards them.
“Qrow!” Oscar calls with a smile. The others tense for a second before the bird does a flip and transforms back into the adult huntsman. The ponies and buffalo look to him in surprise as Oscar runs up to him.
“Qrow, are the others ok? What happened?” Oscar asks with worry. The older huntsman just chuckles and rubs the kids head.
“Relax kid. The others are ok. They sent my ahead to tell you guys that the threat has been taken care of, and to talk to someone called....AppleJake?” He says, the mare walking up.
“It’s AppleJack. That’s me. What did the others want?” She asks him. Qrow looks the mare over for a second, liking the look of hers.
“Penny asked if you can get some food ready for when they get back.” He says, taking out his flask and a drink. The others look a little surprised by this request before the sheriff and cheif walk up to him.
“So the monsters are dead?” The cheif asks, his spear on his back.
“Yup. We managed to take down most of them, the few that were left ran away and scattered. They shouldn’t be too hard to take them out if it is just one or two at a time.” Qrow says. The leaders smile and raise their arms, the gathered crowd cheering for the good news.
“Alright ya’ll! Let’s get some food ready for the returning heroes!” Braeburn calls out, getting a loud cheer of agreement. Qrow chuckles at their decision. AJ looks back into the desert and smiles.
‘Guess their tougher than I thought’
Back with Adam, A Half Hour Later...
Our group finally makes it back to the town after walking for about half an hour though the desert. Luckily it wasn’t as hot as one would expect so we weren’t too tired from all the walking. Plus we were able to stay distracted by talking to one another.
“So, let me get this straight. You are something called a Displaced, which is someone who got transported to another world as someone they were dressed up as and gained their powers. You were dressed up as Adam Taurus at a convention, where you bought your sword and then got transported here?” Ruby recaps.
“Yup. At the very least I know I am not the only Displaced, there are lots of us.” I tell her.
“Yeah, like when we met the Puppet Master or Xander after Adam found his token. I have a hard time wrapping my own head around it myself, but considering we are no longer in Remnant right now, I can extend my range of disbelief.” Penny says, fixing her hair again. Ruby just rubs her head and sighs.
“This is all just too wierd. And here I thought learning about the relics was complicated.” Ruby says as we enter the town. Looking around, I see that most of the town are out and about again and it almost looks like a party was set up.
“Adam! Penny!” Looking to one of the booths, I see as AppleJack walks up with Qrow and Oscar, the two humans eating some apple fritters.
“Hey AJ. What’s going on? It almost looks like a festival over here.” I say, grabbing the apple fritter she offered all of us.
“Yer not wrong. After this guy showed up telling us what happened, we decided to throw a bit of a victory party for ya’ll.” She looks to Ruby. “You must be Ruby. Nice to meet ya. Mah names AppleJack or just AJ to mah friends.” She says, offering her hand. Ruby raises a brow and shakes her hand after a second.
“Nice to meet you.” the young huntress looks around the town. “So, we are really the only humans here?” She asks.
“Pretty much. Aside from Pyrrha, you lot are the only humans in Equestria from what we know.” AJ answers as we all walk to the sheriffs building. All of us enter and I see Braeburn, Little Strongheart, Silverstar and Thunderhooves all talking to one another. They stop after seeing our large group walk in.
“Ah, Adam Taurus! Good to see you again my friend.” Thunderhooves says, walking up and clapping me on the back, almost making me fall over.
“Hey Chief. Good to see that the Grimm didn’t try to attack while we were on our way back. Though, is the party really necessary?” I say and ask. The two leaders just laugh a little.
“Well, now that the scare of the potential threat to the town has been dealt with, we decided the townsfolk could use something to unwind and have a bit of fun. Besides that, do you think you could write a report for the princesses?” Silverstar states.
I think about it for a minute and agree. After a potentially terrifying and dangerous event, it would be best to do something positive and exciting to become more positive. I nod and smile before grabbing some paper from the main desk and writing my report of the events at the quarry, with Ruby, Shining and Penny adding their own parts. Before I send the report I pause and think of a better way to send this report. I take out another scroll and begin to write.
Dear Princesses Celestia and Luna,
I am writing to you to report that the threat of the Grimm in Appleloosa has been successful neutralized. But not without the help of a new trio. During our way to the quarry to face the Grimm, my team and I ran into a trio of people who aided us in defeating them. These three are not ponies, and are actually from Remnant like Pyrrha and Penny.
Our group is going to be staying in Appleloosa for the night and then be coming to Canterlot to deliver the report in person. I would like if you can get the Elements and Pyrrha to meet us at the palace for introductions.
Thank you for your time again. Sincerely yours,
Adam Taurus
P.S: Just so you know, one of them is a rather heavy drinker, so expect him to have a hangover when we get there.
After I finish writing my letter, I seal it and raise it above my ring. Ruby and Oscar look to me in confusion.
“What are yo-“ Ruby didn’t get to finish as the silver fire comes out of my ring and burns the letter, the smoke going out the window of the building and towards the royal palace. The two younger duo look to me in shocked confusion.
“My ring is enchanted to send letters to and from the princesses. Penny and Pyrrha have their own enchanted rings too. Anyways, I told them that we would be staying in town for the night and head to the capital city tomorrow since it is starting to get a little late.” I tell them, the group all looking at their scrolls or the clock and seeing it was a little after five in the evening.
“I suppose it is getting rather late in the afternoon. Besides, I am curious about what this town has to offer as opposed to Ponyville.” Penny says, turning to Strongheart and Braeburn, the trio leaving together. I just chuckle and head to the door before turning to AJ.
“Hey AppleJack? You mind staying with Ruby and her group and telling them about some of the customs here in Equestria?” I lean towards her ear. “Qrow especially.” I lean back and she nods at me with a smile and I leave the building, intent on enjoying myself for the rest of the night.
After about an hour later I get a reply from Celestia saying she will have everypony at the palace when we arrive and that ‘someone I know well’ will meet us at the station. That was odd because I didn’t know anyone from Canterlot all that well aside from the royal family. I just shrug and go back to shooting arrows with some of the buffalo warriors.
The next day...
I yawn as I lean against the train station. It was around eight in the morning and me and my group, minus Qrow, were waiting for the train to Canterlot to arrive. I readjust my sword on my waist along with my new bow on my back. After a really great party last night the Chief decided to make me an honorary member of his tribe and had me make a bow of my own to commemorate it. Of course Little Strongheart taught me how to make it, but otherwise, I think I did a pretty good job. I plan on decorating it once we get back home.
Penny had actual made a couple friends with some of the farmers here in town and Ruby had been socially awkward as expected. Qrow got hammered, no surprise there, and actually beat the Chief in a drinking contest, to the shock of the tribe.
I turn as I hear a pair of hooves and feet walking up and see as Braeburn is supporting a hungover Qrow over to us. Perfect timing too, since the train was approaching. The train whistles and Qrow places his hands on his head in pain from the loud noise. I just chuckle at this, seeing another reason for me to not drink as much as him. The train rolls up and the doors open, only three ponies walking out and sending odd glances at our group. Soon the conductor comes out the front.
“Next train to Canterlot! All Aboard!” He calls out. I can see Qrow cringing in my peripherals again, but ignore it as I turn to the sheriff, Braeburn and Little Strongheart.
“Looks like we are out of here.” I say. The group nodding.
“Hey now, if you ever find yourself nearby don’t be a stranger, ya here?” Braeburn says, shaking my hand.
“I won’t be. It was nice meeting you lot. Take care of each other.” I tell them with a smirk. The nod to me with a smile as our group walks to the train. Before I get into the cabin I turn back to them. “Oh yeah, and Braeburn?” He turns to me. “Hurry up and take her out already.” After I say that I retreat into the cabin with a huge grin at seeing both of their flushed faces. The others see their faces as well and AJ chuckles at her cousin. The others just smile.
Soon the train begins to leave the station towards Canterlot. Shining and Applejack take out books and begin to read as I take out my scroll and headphones, handing one to Penny and playing my music on shuffle again. The two of us just zone out into my music again, Penny laying her head on my shoulder like before.
The three newcomers are at a loss for what to do as the three of us do our own thing. Except Qrow, who passed out as soon as he sat down in his seat. Shining and AJ see Oscar and Ruby just awkwardly sitting in their seats and pass then two books for them to read on the way to the city. Ruby’s was the first Daring Doo book in the series and Oscars was a book on pony customs and nature. They look to one another, then to their respective books before shrugging and beginning to read. The cabin was in a relaxed state of silence aside from the slight sound of my music and the trains natural noises.
While my music is playing I am going through my scroll and am trying to get into those locked files again, without much luck. I have been trying to unlock them for over a week, but nothing I do seems to work. I tried every password I could think of connecting to the White Fang and Adam Taurus, then I just tried ones connecting to other members of the show. Right now I am trying some that connect to Blake.
I type in ‘Deadly Night Shade’ and suddenly an alert comes up and one of the files is unlocked. I raise a brow at this and look through it, seeing it actually has information on Blake that was not told in the show. Odd. It has rather personal info, like height, favourite food, her three sizes, and even what her first words were in their world. This is all sorts of weird. Why would this information be in a locked file on my scroll? I look further and I see...a timer?
Looking at it closer, I see it is indeed a timer that is set to hit zero in two weeks and two days. The heck? Now I really wish I could talk to the Merchant that brought me here and ask what the heck all this is. I mean, why would this file with tons of unknown personal info on Blake be locked with the password being what her last name relates to.
I don’t get a chance to dwell on it as I see Canterlot coming up fast through my window. I look to my side and see Penny is asleep again and that the others are all reading through some books, Ruby being completely absorbed into hers, as seen by the speed in which her eyes are moving, and Qrow is still passed out. I pause my music and shake Penny awake again. Her eyes slowly flutter open and sees herself holding onto my arm like I was stuffed animal. She looks at my eyes and see my raised brow and blushes, lets go and hands me my headphones back without saying a word.
I nod to her in thanks and put my things away before clearing my throat and getting all but Qrow’s and Ruby’s attentions. I motion to the window and the others see we are about three minutes out. They nod and pack up their own things, Oscar returning his book to Shining. I look and see that Ruby is still zoned into her book so I cover it with my magic and lift it out of her field of vision, getting her attention. She looks to me with slight annoyance before she feels the train slowing down and realizes what’s going on.
I look to the sleeping Qrow and smirk as an evil idea comes to mind. Taking out my water bottle, I splash him with its contents, the huntsman waking up with a start and falling off his seat. All of us laugh at his reaction while he just looks to me with annoyance. Not long after, the train finally stops and we get ready to depart.
Exiting the train and stepping onto the platform of the Canterlot train station, I look around the small crowd of ponies, a majority looking to my crew in confusion and curiosity, but I don’t see anyone I recognize.
“Hey Adam? Wasn’t someone supposed to meet us here?” Ruby asks.
“Yeah, the princess said it would be someone I know well, but I don’t see anypony I recognize.” I reply, scratching my head. Before the others have a chance to talk we hear someone yelling out.
“ADAM!” I suddenly feel a weight on my right arm and look down to see a familiar orange pegasus.
“Hi.” Scootaloo says. I lift my arm with her still attached to it and she just smiles at me. “Oh, I am so happy you’re ok! Did I ya miss me? Did ya miss me?!” She says to me with a wide grin. I just keep a blank expression before smirking at her.
“Nope.” I say before flipping her around and getting her into a loose headlock and giving her a noogie.
“Please don’t noogie the pegasus!” She yells with a laugh. I just laugh with her and place her back on the ground, some of the ponies nearby smiling at our exchange, while more just turn their noses ups. Pompous jerks.
“Seriously, good to see you Scoots. I take it Celestia asked you to meet us here?” I ask her, getting a rapid nodding from the filly. I just smile and pick her back up before placing her on my shoulders.
“Then let’s go!” She cheers as I begin to head to the castle, the others all just following me silently.
“So....are you going to introduce us, or what?” Ruby says after we walk for a couple minutes.
“Oh! Sorry Ruby. This is Scootaloo, a friend of mine from Ponyville and most would say, my surrogate little sister. Scoots, these three are Ruby Rose, her uncle Qrow Branwen and her friend Oscar Pine.” I introduce them all.
“Hi! Wow, I never thought I would meet any more humans aside from Penny and Pyrrha! You guys are pretty cool. I mean, not as cool as Rainbow or Adam, but still up there.” Scootaloo says from my shoulders. The trio just chuckle at the fillies antics.
“Nice to meet you too Scootaloo. I have to admit, you look pretty cool yourself.” Ruby says with a smile. I just smile at the huntress’s reply. Not long after we make it to the main gates to the castle, the guards stationed there seeing our group and tensing somewhat at the new additions. I see them tense and place Scootaloo down before walking up.
“At ease gentlecolts. These three are friends of our. You don’t need to get all tensed up.” I tell them, the two stallions looking over the three again before nodding.
“Alright Sir Taurus. If you say so.” One of the guards say. After that, our group walk into the castle itself.
“Sir Taurus?” Ozpin questions. My eyes widen as I remember I hadn’t told them about my duel with Luna. I facepalm at that, confusing the trio.
“Sorry, I forgot to tell you three. The day I arrived here in Equestria, I had to defend Ponyville from a horde of Grimm. After I was able to take them down I came here to Canterlot with my friends to file a report about it. After that, one of the princesses, Luna, actually challenged me to a duel.” The trio’s eyes widen in surprise.
“Well? What happened?” Oscar asks, clearly curious.
“You should have seen it you guys! It was incredible! Adam and Princess Luna both gave it their all, they used all their tricks and in the end, it was a draw.” Scootaloo says in excitement. The trio look to me again in shock, probably because I fought royalty and ended in a draw.
“Even though I haven’t been officially given a title or anything like that, just for the fact that my duel ended in a tie, most here in Canterlot see me as some knight from a distant land and things like that. Though, it honestly gets annoying after a while, ponies trying to kiss up to you in exchange for training or something.” I say to them. Not long after we reach the doors to the throne room. I turn to the three huntsman, motioning for the guards in front to listen as well.
“Alright, here’s how this is going to go. Me, Shining, Penny, AJ and Scootaloo are going to go in first then I will tell them that there is a trio they need to meet. After that, you three will come in and introduce yourselves. Alright?” I say and ask, getting three nods in reply. I look to one of the guards and he nods, opening the door for my group to walk in.
My group of five walk in and I see the three princesses, the rest of the elements, the rest of the CMC and Pyrrha all talking to one another by the thrones, Pyrrha being back in her armor. After we walk in, all attention is brought to us.
“Big sis!” Applebloom runs forward and embraces her older sister, Cadence doing the same for her husband. The others all smile and greet us in their own ways.
“Hey guys. Glad to be back.” I say. Celestia walks a couple step off the throne and summons a table for all of us to sit at.
“Now that you all are here, we can record what happened at Appleloosa in detail.” She says. Before any could sit however, I raise my hand to stop them.
“Before we do that, there is a trio of individuals I would like you all to meet.” I say and Celestia and Luna seems to get a look of realization on their muzzles.
“Ah yes. The trio that aided you in the quarry. Where are they?” Celestia ask. I look to the guard by the door and nod to him. He nods back goes to open the door.
“Pyrrha, get ready for a shock.” Penny says. The huntress looks to her in confusion, but before she can talk, another voice breaks the silence.
“P-Pyrrha?” Her eyes widen and Pyrrha looks to the door and sees Ruby, Qrow and Oscar as they walk in. The two huntresses look at each other in silence before Pyrrha walks forward.
“Ruby?” She asks in disbelief. Ruby numbly nods and silence returns before Ruby begins to sniffle and tears appear in her eyes. Before any could react, Ruby bursts into rose petals and tackles the taller huntress with a hug.
“PYRRHA!!” The duo fall to the ground the ponies look worried before seeing the duo crying into each other’s shoulders. “H-he told me you were a-alive, but ‘sniff’ I needed to see it to believe it!” Ruby sobs out. The ponies look to them with sad smiles, realizing they are friends. Luna walks up to me while looking at Ruby all the while.
“Adam, isn’t that..?” She didn’t finish, but I know what she is asking.
“Eeyup. That is Ruby Rose, the last person to see Pyrrha alive back in Remnant.” I say to her. Luna looks to the two crying girls and smiles at their reunion. They cry for about two minutes before stopping and standing back up.
“S-sorry everyone. I-I just..” Ruby struggles to talk, wiping her eyes.
“There is no need to apologize Miss Rose. Being reunited with a lost friend would cause any to react the same way.” Luna says, summoning a box of tissues for the girls. The duo dry their faces and smile to one another, Penny coming up with a small waste paper basket. The duo smile to her and the three of them have a group hug. I just look to them and smile.
‘Three lost huntresses, reunited.’ I think to myself. I then take off my mask/token and look to it in thought. ‘Nat, Sora, Lex. I know I will find you three. I just need to be patient.’
“Adam?” I look up and see Penny looking to me with worry, the others looking both concerned and curious. I just smile and put my mask into my pocket.
“Sorry, just lost in thought.” I say. The others don’t look entirely convinced but don’t push the subject. I clear my throat and motion for Ruby and her group to start. They nod and Ruby steps up.
“Hey there! My name is Ruby Rose, youngest huntress accepted into Beacon academy and leader of team RWBY.” She introduces herself. The others look to her in surprise for the two claims.
“Wait, you were the leader of your own team?” Rainbow asks, flying up to the girl. Ruby nods with a smile and Rainbow turns to AJ.
“She’s tellin the truth.” AJ said bluntly. The others look to her and then Ruby in surprise before nodding. Qrow comes up next.
“Hey. Names Qrow Branwen, professional huntsman and I am the uncle and trainer to the squirt here.” He says motioning to Ruby. The group look to the duo a couple times before Celestia turns to me.
“I take it he is the heavy drinker?” She says, and we all look as Qrow is about to take a drink from his flask. He pauses and sees all of us looking at him before shrugging and taking a swig. Some of the group chuckle at this. All eyes turn to Oscar, who looks a little uncomfortable.
“Um, hello. My name is Oscar Pine. But I am also known as....um..” he pauses, trying to gather his thoughts. I just sigh and look to him.
“Ozpin, the only one who knew about you are Pyrrha and Luna, so how about you take over?” I say, and the two mentioned females look to the boy in shock. Suddenly his eyes light up and he straightens up and seems to get more confidence.
“I suppose it would be a little less awkward if I was the one in control.” Ozpin says, the ponies looking to the wizard in confusion. Pyrrha looks to him in shock.
“Professor Ozpin?” She asks in shock. The young wizard turns to her with a sad smile.
“Hello miss Nikos. In truth, I was not expecting this to happen, ever.” He says. Pyrrha is just frozen in shock at this.
“Can somepony explain what’s going on?” Twilight asks. I just nod and stand beside Ozpin.
“Everyone, meet the second personality within Oscars head. Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon academy.” I introduce him, the ‘boy’ giving a bow. The others all look to him in befuddlement.
“I don’t understand. How is this possible? I thought he was killed by Cinder during the Fall of Beacon?” Luna asks, the ponies looking to her in shock at this. Ozpin just nods to her.
“That is correct, I was killed during my battle against Cinder. I underestimated her and didn’t take her as seriously as I should have.” He looks to his cane at his side and sighs. “You see..I am...cursed. For a thousand years I have lived on the world of Remnant, dying and being reborn in the body of a likeminded soul. Oscar just happens to be next in line.” He explains, Twilight taking notes about all this. Celestia and Luna look to the wizard in shock.
“So, you are immortal?” Celestia asks.
“Yes and no. This curse of mine does stop me from passing on, but with every iteration, I gain a new identity as both the souls within the body eventually merge. Oscar and I will eventually become one being, at which point ‘Professor Ozpin’ will cease to exist as an individual.” He explains further before looking to the side, and I could somehow tell that he was talking to Oscar.
“Well this is certainly surprising. That being said, I welcome the three of you to Equestria. I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of this country along side my sister Luna.” Celestia says, Ruby and Oscar bowing to her and Qrow just nodding. Once they get up the others all introduce themselves, Ruby and Oscar laughing at Pinkie Pies antics.
After introductions, the six of us begin to describe how things went in the quarry, me, Shining and Penny explaining up to the point we ran into Ruby and Oscar before they add their own perspective of the events. The gathered ponies were shocked and worried about the fight I had with Ruby and the princesses were especially concerned about the presence that took control of her.
After that, we gave our own descriptions of the battle against the Grimm, the CMC, Rainbow and Luna all paying close attention to that part. They were curious on how the newcomers all fought and Ruby just extended Cresent Rose in response, most of the girls jaws hitting the table at sight of her weapon. Luna in particular being amazed by the scythe. Ruby smirked at their reaction and retracted her scythe again and we continued on. The gathered group, Pyrrha in particular, were all curious and confused about how the Geist acted, none of us really having an idea of the how or why.
After that, Ruby and Oscar explained what they were doing back in Remnant before being sent here, Twilight and Celestia seeming to consider several things after hearing about the teleportation mishap.
After we finish the report I check my scroll and see it is ten passed noon and I was getting a little hungry. Celestia looked to the sun outside and seemed to get the same idea as me.
“Well, I believe that now would be a good time to get something for us to eat before all of you head back to Ponyville.” She turns to the new trio. “I believe that it would be best for the three of you to stay with Adam and his house mates until we can find a way to get you all back to Remnant.” She says. The trio nod after considering for a moment.
Once all that is done, our increased group leaves the throne room and heads to the dining room to eat. I look over the ponies and humans in the group with me and let my mind wander a minute.
‘Ruby and Oscar arrived yesterday. Qrow arrived over two weeks ago. I wonder, who is next?’