//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 - Displaced Part 2 (Edited 5/10/2022) // Story: The Lost Ones // by Arceaion //------------------------------// Twilight quietly pushed the Library door open, allowing the group to enter, and turned back to shut the door with a tired sigh. Cador wasted no time fleeing to the nearest corner, trying to seem as small and insignificant as he could; Eris and Celestia, meanwhile, stayed at each other’s side. Red merely strode forward and plopped himself into one of the chairs with a relaxed sigh. Hearing their entrance, Spike poked his head out and began descending the stairs, looking the two newcomers over before turning to Twilight. “Hey, Twi? You need anything?” “Not yet, but thank you, Spike,” she said, giving a warm smile. The young dragon nodded, smiling back before glancing over at Cador. When nothing seemed suspicious about him, he turned his sights toward the other new occupant and shivered unconsciously. “So, uh? Is he the demon guy?” “Guilty as charged, chum,” Red confirmed with a salute. “Uh-huh,” Spike hummed, taking an instinctive step back and toward Twilight. “You don’t seem very demonic.” “Um, thanks?” Red asked as Twilight gave Spike a look that clearly said Shush! and turned toward the possessed being. “Sorry about all the hassle in getting you here,” she began, approaching the center of the room. “Anyway, I’m Twilight Sparkle… But, er, I guess you probably already knew that,” she realized, coughing awkwardly. Twilight shook her head and bowed slightly. “Regardless, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” “Likewise. Name’s Redsopine,” he clarified. “And that’s Cador,” he added, nodding to the boy. Red then reached a hand out. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Sparkle.” Twilight looked at the outstretched hand in confusion, but Eris interjected, “They don’t shake hands here, Red.” “They don’t?” Red asked, nonplussed before shrugging. “Well, whatever.” Though confused, Twilight elected to ignore that brief moment, resuming, “Moving on, from what Eris has told me, you both have had a rather… ‘Problematic’ day?” “That’s putting it mildly,” Cador muttered, flinching. “With that said, we would like to hear more about how you came to be in our lands,” Celestia requested, sitting down on a sofa set up around a small table and fixing Red with an inquisitive stare. “If you don’t mind, of course.” “Depends on whether or not you’re ready for an overly complicated backstory spanning several different universes and involving multiple eldritch demons,” Red casually replied. “Although I doubt anypony, except Eris there,” he said with a nod toward her, “will understand half of what I'm talking about.” “‘Universes’?” Twilight squealed, her eyes shining with scholarly excitement. “As in universes, plural?” “Universes, plural,” Red confirmed, resting his head in his hand. “And demons too? Of the eldritch variety?” Twilight asked, her excitement growing. “Mhmm.” “Multiple demons though?” Spike asked, wringing his claws anxiously. “Just how many of the things do you have inside you?” “Four.” Cador and Spike both gawked at him, and the latter bluntly asked, “How do you deal with that?” “Relentless belligerence and constant denial,” Red said, choosing to refrain from speaking of his other coping methods in front of the minors. Seemingly having not heard Spike, Twilight stood there for a solid minute, shivering slightly in her effort to hold back both a lengthy squeal and what was surely a hundred-or-so questions. Noticing this, Celestia commented, “That must be rather horrible for you to endure. It may not be much, but would you like a beverage? Perhaps a snack?” she inquired, shooting Spike a look as well. Red’s stomach let out a loud gurgle at the offer. Whether that was because he was genuinely hungry or one of his roommates was manipulating his body, he didn’t know. Either way, the sound was all the confirmation Spike needed to swivel around and volunteer, “I-I’ll go make us some lunch. Or dinner, I guess?” he ended, remembering the lateness of the hour. The baby dragon wasted no time sprinting out the door and as far away from the demonic entity as he could. That act seemed to snap Twilight back to reality, and she quickly said, “Sorry. Spike didn’t mean any offense, a-and neither do I, for the record,” she assured. “It’s just… It’s not every day a creature comes to our land, possessed by demons—” “Yet also retains their freedom and sanity,” Celestia concluded. “Nah, no offense taken,” Red assured, putting up the usual façade of indifference. “I get it. Besides, if you didn’t offer anything, I’d have probably raided your fridge in the middle of the night,” Redsopine commented before noticing their unamused stares. “What? I haven’t eaten in two days; I’m famished.” he whined, earning an eye roll from Eris and an excited look from Twilight. “So they don’t replenish your metabolic energy, hmm?” Twilight murmured, her horn flaring to life and summoning all manner of quills, scrolls, and books. She then drew up one of said scrolls and made some notes to it, muttering, “That’s Question Eighty-two Thousand Three hundred Twenty-two answered.” Red shot a panicked look Celestia’s way, and the Princess of the Day turned to give Twilight a warm smile, whispering, “Twilight...?” “Yes, Princess?” Twilight reflexively responded, looking up from her research material monsoon. “Hold off just a little longer, if you please,” she requested in a motherly tone; though Red suspected she was barely not giggling at her student’s antics. “We’d like to learn how he came to this world first, after all.” Twilight glanced at everything surrounding her, blinked, then blushed, setting them all onto the table and whispering a quick, “Sorry,” before sitting opposite Red. “Again, no problems.” Red assured. “Now, about how I got to this Equestria?” After roughly an hour of explaining things, Red leaned back in the couch and yawned. “And that's how I ended up in your Equestria with Cador.” “A truly horrifying story,” Celestia commented, her gaze distant as she thought over everything Red had told. “The Anziek, huh?” Eris hummed to herself, rubbing her chin in thought. “Can't say I've heard of them, and if I have, I certainly haven't heard of this ‘omniversal war’ they're apparently waging.” "Well, yeah. They're a thing," Red confirmed grimly before sending a sideways glance to Spike, who had returned mid-explanation with a plate of succulent rose-and-parsley crumpets. Needless to say, the dragon was absolutely terrified to learn of the Anziek, but unlike Cador, he had at least managed to remain conscious during Red's recollection. Regardless, Red winced internally and put on his trademark devil-may-care grin. "Luckily, they're also nowhere near this universe." "Th-They aren't?" Spike asked, his voice cracking and dripping with desperate wishing. "Eenope," Red reaffirmed, glad to see the entire room collectively relax. "But they will come eventually, will they not?" Eris guessed. "No, 'cause when I get back in my A-Game, I'm gonna wreck their—" Red shot Spike another look before course-correcting, "I'm gonna send all those monsters packing!" he declared, acutely aware of his roommates’ current silence. Celestia rubbed her chin in thought with the faintest of hmms. Afterward she spoke up again, inquiring, “Might I ask for clarification regarding something?” "Sure thing." “Your ‘roommates,’ as you call them… What is their relationship to the Anziek?” "Nothing really." Red answered aloofly. "They just know the Anziek are getting more powerful by the day and that their homes are on their radar. So they came to our world, latched themselves onto me, and turned me into their little superweapon for destroying the things," he half-lied. "And yet they control and harm you regardless?" "They know they can get away with it," Red murmured, looking away. The room fell silent for a moment, but both Eris and Celestia could have sworn they heard the rumble of quiet laughter at the edge of their hearing. They weren't mistaken either; Red refused to show the scowl this time, but it enraged him to no end to hear the siblings sinister snickering echo in his head like thunder. "If I may, I have a question as well..." Twilight finally spoke up, checking the massive wall of notes she had taken during Red's story. "Total shocker, that," Red quipped, taking the last remaining crumpet. "What's on your mind, bookworm?" "I know this might be a sensitive topic," she began warily. "But could you explain exactly how they all…” Twilight waved her hoof in the air for a second, searching for the words. “Got in you,” she finally decided on. Red took a slow bite of his crumpet and swallowed, answering, "Painfully." "O-Oh... Ummm?" "If you're wondering about the specifics, then I'm sorry, but I can't tell ya." "You can't!?" Twilight shrieked, her eyes bulging in shock. "Nope. Sorry," Red apologized with a shrug. "Is that because they won't let you explain?" Celestia wondered. "Pretty sure they wouldn't be happy about that, no. But it's also because, well? I'm not entirely sure what I should or shouldn't say, given the whole multiverse thing," Red said, taking another bite of his crumpet. "Either way, I know for a fact my Celestia and Luna would be furious to know I spilled what I do know to you girls." "So, wait! Does that mean nothing you've told us is the full story!?" Twilight yelped, rapidly drawing up every note, book, and scroll. "All of it was only half-true at best!?" "Relax, bookworm, everything I told you was true," Red assured while Spike patted the panicking Twilight's back. "The war, the Anziek; my roommates… All of it,” she swore. “There are just some things I'm probably not allowed to say and don't want to risk saying anyway." "Oh. Oh." Twilight did her breathing her exercise, calming down slightly, if still frustrated at not knowing everything. Thankfully, Red took pity on her and continued around the last of his crumpet, "I will say you were wrong about something though." "About what?" "The food thing." Red swallowed and said, "They don't substitute my nutritional needs because they're too lazy or evil to do so; though I wouldn't put it past them," he added under his breath. "Rather, it's because they convert anything I eat or drink into fuel for their own magic." "Really!?" she squeaked, writing the information down. "Fascinating!" "But... They're demons?" Spike said, nonplussed. "Literal demons! Don't they have, like, unlimited magic or something?" "I don't know; evil elemental demons need to eat too, I guess," Red said with another shrug. "Of course? It is a bit annoying though; having to eat for five creatures makes me one hungry boy..." he groaned, eyeing the last half of Eris' own crumpet. She caught his eye, blinked, then proceeded to eat the last of it in one big bite, much to his saddened pout. "Fuel their magic, you say?" Celestia said, equally as curious as Twilight. "Now, that's something I definitely don't know the specifics of," Red preemptively clarified. "But basically, yeah. They can also draw in the ambient magic around me as well as use my own pool of mana." "Wait, your magic is separate from theirs?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow. "I would think, if they're technically incorporated into your entire physical being, that their magic pools would have become one with your own?" "I literally just said I don't know the specifics," Red deadpanned, drawing an embarrassed blush from Twilight. He then shook his head and grinned, saying, "Regardless, their power is indeed separate from my own. Probably for the best though; my magic isn't exactly… Great." "Though you can't say they use this magic wisely," Eris jibed, ignorant to the infuriated growl her words drew from Ignis. "If they truly wanted to use you as a soldier, the last thing they would want to do is waste whatever power they have actively tormenting you. And yet…?" Umbra tried to seize control, but Red pushed him back, saying, "Yeah, I know. But don't worry, they know I'm their meal ticket. It's why whenever I get so much as a paper cut, they clamber over each other to heal it back up." "Only for you to clamber over yourself trying to cut yourself even more," Gelu sneered in his mind. "So their magic can induce accelerated physiological regeneration?" Twilight asked, eyes sparkling with wonder. "If that's the nerdy way of saying I have a healing factor? Yeah. I have a healing factor." Twilight squeed and wrote that down, following it up with several dozen more annotations regarding the fact. Eris, meanwhile, simply asked, "To what extent are their healing abilities?" "Depends. Lost a wing in one of my first battles, and they healed it in under a minute. Lost an arm in another, and it took over a month." Red grimaced and said, "At this point, I think they heal me however fast or slow they want just because they can. And then of course,” he continued on. “There was this one time where they managed to—" Red's body seized up, and through his mouth came Terra's voice. "My apologies. Our host was about to make a rather terrible joke—one even we couldn't stand. Please pay him no mind." He then returned control to Red who gasped for air and snarled, "Screw you, Gramps. Screw you…" The others all shared a glance at the momentary interruption, but Twilight was the one who broke it, asking, "How easy is it for them to do that to you? To take control like that?" Red met her eye for all of a second before looking away, remaining silent. Though he didn’t remain as such for long; the awkwardness was simply too much to bear, so he swiftly stood up, yawning and stretching out his wings from beneath his cloak. Twilight’s somber expression was then replaced with a look of confusion as she squinted at Red’s wings, now noticing their mismatched appearance. “Would you mind if I raid your fridge?” Red asked her, hoping to postpone that particular conversation for just a while longer. "Spike's food was great and all, but I’m still hungry. Plus? I kinda need to eat enough to regrow an arm so I can get rid of this one," he said with a chuckle as he waved his still dragonian arm. Twilight looked as confused by the arm as she had his wings, asking, "I…? I didn't even notice it was like that!" "Yeah, well? You were a tad distracted looking at those papers of yours," Red acknowledged, drawing an embarrassed chuckle from her. "Regardless though, not everyone is going to be so quick to overlook this stupid thing." "I'm surprised they haven't healed that yet." Celestia admitted, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. "Especially since you've been sitting there for so long, and they've certainly been feeding off the ambient magic of myself and Eris, have they not?" "Wait, what?" Twilight blurts out. "Yeah, well?" Red quickly began, once again stopping Twilight from questioning further. "Why would they get rid of this when it makes it easier for Iggy to control me at the drop of a Bit?" he countered with a scowl. "No— No worries, Mr. Redsopine,” Twilight said, trying to keep up with the pace of the conversation. “The kitchen is through that door; just please don't eat Spike's gems." “Yeah, don’t do that, would ya?” Spike pleaded, deadpanning. “I’m saving ‘em for a rainy day.” "No promises, kiddo," Red claimed with a wink before walking into the kitchen. Once Red left the room Eris turned to Celestia, a dark look in her eyes. "One of his demons knows about me," she said calmly. She then lowered her voice and added, "And he fears me." “They’re also afraid of us knowing too much about their host,” Celestia added, looking toward the kitchen doors. “I wonder what injury they stopped him from telling us about; it must have been particularly noteworthy if they were so bold as to possess him in front of us.” “I take that more as a sign of just how apathetic they are to their host,” Eris countered, crossing her arms and frowning at the floor. “Which, in turn, makes me ever gladder I came across him before they thought to destroy his mind entirely.” “‘Destroy his mind’?” Twilight and Spike both echoed, the former’s voice cracking. “Don’t tell me you didn’t think they could do that if they wanted to,” Eris responded, raising an eyebrow. “Though that begs the question of why they haven’t yet done so,” Celestia interjected. “Sadism is my bet,” Eris sneered. “Thankfully for us all, I offered to train him, help him learn how to control them or fight off their own attempts.” “You have?” Celestia asked. “I have. Not sure how well it’ll turn out, but…” She shook her head and sighed. “He’s not our enemy; he’s a victim.” “And his demons?” “Hard to say. They’re definitely demons, but from what I’ve seen, they’re a far cry from your world’s version.” “They can still control him at will.” “Which, as I said, is why I plan to teach him how to fight ‘em off.” “I know, and I thank you for that,” Celestia said, gracing Eris with her trademark sunny smile. “Regardless of what world he’s from, I wish only the best for that pony.” She then frowned, somberly. “Even so… Do you think he’s a threat? That they would make him a threat?” Eris snorted. “They could try. And if they worked together and actually cooperated, they might stand a snowball's chance,” she laughed. “As it stands now, he’d have a better time knocking down brick walls with a wet paper bag. And that’s assuming they don’t tear each other part first.” "Hey, Sparks!" Red suddenly yelled from the kitchen. "Who's the meat in the fridge for!?" "That'd be mine," Eris yelled back. “Don’t. Eat it.” A moment of silence… "I'm gonna eat it anyway!" he declared, barely biting back a laugh. "I'd rather you didn't," she countered, her tone turning venomous. "Thanks for the snack, Eris!" "You will regret this," Eris vowed neutrally. "Don't care," Red replied back. The sound of the fridge closing echoed from the kitchen and was quickly followed by a wicked giggle and the clattering of Red eating his stolen meal. Eris grit her teeth in anger before taking a deep breath and forcing herself to calm down, doing her best to also ignore Spike’s subdued snickers. Celestia also had to hide a snort but was far more successful in her endeavor, and once Eris had truly calmed down, the Princesses said, “Getting back on topic, I'll take your word that Redsopine is no threat. However? I'll still have a few undercover guards keep an eye on him. If nothing else, they can alert us should his demons attempt something heinous." “Sure, whatever,” Eris said with an indifferent shrug. "What you choose to do is your own business, but I’m still training him.” “Of course. For how long do you intend to do so?” Celestia inquired. “However long it’ll take,” she replied, already planning to wreak her vengeance upon the irritating food thief through her training. “He’s powerful, no doubt, but right now, he’d likely die if he went against one of your world’s demons.” “The library’s always available too if you need to practice magic,” Twilight offered without hesitation. “As am I.” “Thank you for that, Twilight. But I'll be taking him into the Everfree to train. It's safer there for everyone involved, and definitely more friendly than the Castle or the town would be,” she explained calmly. “At best we'll probably be here only at night for sleep or early in the morning. Plus, you have your other duties to attend to, don’t you?” Eris added, smirking. Celestia smirked slightly herself at how sad Twilight looked to be reminded of that fact, but her grin soon turned into a thoughtful frown once more. “You claim Red is no threat to you or this world, but… What of his allies? Or these Anziek he spoke of? These destroyers of worlds…?” Eris frowned as well, leaning back into the couch and pondering on the matter. “Depends on how powerful these allies would be. But as for these monsters he spoke of…” Thinking on it merely resulted in an uncomfortable shudder running down her back. “Anything that’s world ending to a being like Red and his demons…? I doubt it’s something I could fight alone,” Eris forced herself to admit. “…I see,” was all Celestia said. Awkward silence descended upon the Golden Oaks Library once again, but thankfully, it was mercifully shooed away by Spike saying, “But you’re not alone though.” “Pardon?” Eris yelped, ripped from her sullen reverie. “I mean, you’ve got us!” he acknowledged, smiling confidently. “If those Anziek things come knocking, we’d help you fight ‘em off. And Red said he’d help fight too, and he seems pretty strong! I-I guess it would be hard to win, but… Not impossible. Right?” Spike mumbled, fiddling with his tail. The three girls all blinked at Spike, but Twilight soon broke out into a teary smile, swooping him up in a tight hug, assuring, “Of course we’d win, Spike. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.” “Hey, I’m supposed to say that you!” he playfully whined, hugging her back. “Let’s promise each other that then, ey?” she giggled. Celestia shared in the smiles, glancing back to Eris and finding her torn between shock at Spike innocent optimism and her own experienced cynicism. In the end, however, Spike’s smile was far too sweet for her to heartlessly crush. “Y-Yeah, Spike,” she began, choosing her words carefully. “It would be hard, but like you said, not impossible.” Spike’s smile only widened, and Eris couldn’t help but smile a bit herself as a result. “That said, however,” she continued. “I would need the aid of other powerful Displaced. There are some out there I'd ask for aid if the time for such a battle came, but…” she trailed off. “How can we help you?” Celestia asked, placing a comforting hand on Eris’ shoulder. “Is there anyone you need assistance contacting? Favors you need doing?” “I’ll get back to you on that last one, but as for the first…?” Eris rubbed the back of her head in thought before one name in particular came to mind. “One Displaced I’d like to reach out to is Edward Elric, the Crimson Sage.” “Ooh, who’s he!?” Twilight asked, a fresh set of scrolls and quills already at the ready. “A Displaced, like me. Only a millennia older, and even more powerful.” “More powerful?” Celestia gawked. “Surprised?” “Considerably.” Eris rolled her eyes, smiling all the same. “Well, what do you expect from someone who can access the full Vault?” “But you said you can’t do that?” Twilight acknowledged, tilting her head in confusion. “Yes, I’m well aware of that,” Eris grumbled, her mood souring. Twilight winced. “S-Sorry.” “It’s okay,” she assured, eyes still downcast. “I understand I just haven’t proven myself worthy of the Vault’s power. Yet,” she emphasized more to herself than the others. “But I will. I got access to the Gate of Babylon after all, and not even Elric can attest to that; his is false,” she ended, forcing a small chuckle. “I’ll prove myself worthy…” she whispered. “Many of these subjects still confuse even me, but I’m nevertheless willing to help you however I can,” Celestia promised, watching Eris carefully. “Yeah, Eris,” Twilight said, smiling encouragingly. “What do you mean you need to prove yourself worthy? Is it similar to the Elements of Harmony, maybe? Can we help you do it?” Eris remained taciturn for a moment, but soon, their words drew forth a small smile from her. Though she was having fewer and fewer reasons to smile as of late, she truly did appreciate the ponies’ apparent knack for always getting a genuine one out of her. That said, however…? “Thank you for the offer, girls, but for now it’s my problem to deal with,” Eris maintained, waving her hand dismissively. Deliberately ignoring their worried expressions, she added, “If it becomes necessary later, I won’t hesitate to seek your assistance, but for now, we have greater problems to worry about.” Though Celestia was troubled to see Eris so stubbornly shouldering her burdens alone, she more than respected her decision. “Alright then. Just know we really are here whenever you’ve need of us.” Eris met her eyes and nodded, glad Celestia wasn’t pushing the issue. “I understand. Thank you again.” Twilight was still concerned for Eris, but even she could tell the Displaced wanted the matter dropped. Thus, she did exactly that, against her better judgment, instead asking, “What should we all do now?” “Well, I don’t know about you lot,” Eris began, rising from the couch and stretching. “But I need to focus on Red’s training.” “And I should get going myself,” Celestia remarked, standing as well. “I’ll need to update the guards of these recent developments as well as Mayor Mare. The poor girl’s probably still worried that the ‘vagabond’ we caught is another demon in disguise,” she lamented. “You do that then. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a student to beat on,” Eris muttered grimly, striding for the kitchen doors but pausing before she entered. She then turned and looked at Spike, asking, “Oh, and, ummm…? C-Can I get that crumpet recipe?” she asked, a faint blush rising to her cheeks. “Huh? You— You want my crumpet recipe?” Spike asked, dumbfounded. “Yes. Please. Thank you,” she said through grit teeth. Spike’s eyes twinkled with delight, and he hastily nodded. “Oh! Sure, I can give it to you, Ms. Eris! Whenever you want it, just say the word.” “Thank you again. Those things were delicious,” she confessed. Twilight and Celestia joined Spike in smiling merrily at her, resulting in her blush deepening. “Stop smiling!” she barked, turning about and entering the kitchen proper just as they all burst out laughing. Luckily, Eris had a target for all her embarrassed frustrations in the form of Redsopine, staring at her midway through polishing off her plate of food. “Uhhh…?” he hummed, leaning away from her. Eris’ eyes flashed and she declared, “I told you, Redsopine. You shouldn’t. Have. Done that,” she seethed, leveling a smirk eerily similar to Ignis’ own. Red blinked. “D’oh crap!” he blurted out, scrambling from the chair and making a break for the backdoor. A dark giggle escaped Eris as she became cloaked in a shadowy aura, her crimson eyes shining through the ebony, and she lunged for him, grabbing him by the muzzle and dragging his kicking, screaming body out through the same door he hoped to flee through and toward the Everfree Forest. “Oh yes,” her voiced rumbled through the air eldritch fury. “You will regret your filthy food thievery immensely!” Eris guffawed. “Is it too late to say sorry!?” Red squawked, still thrashing about in hopes of escaping her hold. “Yes!” she shot back. And with that, the Displaced vanished into the dark of the night and the vines of the Everfree.