//------------------------------// // Case 12: A 'Piece'ful Vacation // Story: SPD Emergency // by cyberlord4444 //------------------------------// Cruger grinned, he was finally done. All of the paper work that he need to do was in his outbox, B and C squad had been promoted to active duty, and A Squad was starting runner simulations. All that was left was to work on the math for Eriba's Elysium jump, which wasn't really work, and pick a place to spend his week off. "What do you think miss Song, Cloudsdale or Manehatten?" Sorrow Song looked them over, "well, Cloudsdale's home to the Wonderbolts, odds are you could catch a show, but there is a new musical on Bridleway." Cruger sighed, "don't tell Rainbow Dash, but I'm not a fan of airshows, and keep Rarity away from the fact that musicals aren't generally my thing either, I'm still trying to figure out this dimension's version of Ross Petty, if there is one." Before either one could continue, Cruger's sword started flashing. "Tell you what miss song, let's take a break." Cruger opened a portal, "See ya soon." [POV Change: Sean] As the ten manticores surrounded me and Zecora, I reached into my pocket and took out the badge token. I looked at it and said, “I hope you’re a fighter Cruger because we’re probably going to need help with these manticores.” The front of the badge started flashing between a blue O and a red X for a few seconds before stopping on the O. It then floated off and grew, becoming what looked like a portal. Out stepped a tall humanoid figure with a blue dog head in a black trench coat with a sword at his side. He looked around before looking at me, “so, need some help driving these off or are you trying to tame them?” I arched a brow at him, “Taming a manticore?” He shrugged, “I’ve seen weirder things. I’ll take that as you wanting some help driving them off.” He cracked his knuckles, “at least I’m not stuck in a damn boardroom this time.” I stared at him for a minute wondering what he was talking about when one of the manticores jumped at me. I quickly brought my fist up and punched in the jaw, launching it backwards. Another manticore pounced, but I slid under it before grabbing its tail and slinging it at another of the beasts, sending them sprawling. “Not bad,” the dog headed stranger said while hog-tying another manticore with its own tail, “how much experience you got?” I chuckled, “Not much really. I’d practice with a punching bag sometimes, but I’ve only really started fighting since I reached Equestria a few days ago. Practiced a little with another Displaced, but that’s it.” Cruger whistled as he sidestepped a manticore’s charge, resulting in it hitting another, “consider me doubly impressed. By the way, who exactly are you Displaced as? If you don’t mind me asking of course.” “I’m Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece,” I answered as I stretched my arm out and punching a manticore charging behind him. The stranger frowned slightly as he kicked a rock into the head of another one behind me, “I’d ask why you got the hat wrong, but that can wait till we’re done. I’m an Anubis Cruger Displaced by the way, and you can call me Cruger as well.” “Well, it’s nice to meet you Cruger, though I wish it were under better circumstances,” I said, while tossing another manticore over the treetops and back into the forest. “Name’s Sean, didn’t really feel like going by Luffy.” “Good to meet you,” Cruger replied as he threw another with a shoulder throw, “looks like that’s the last of them. Now what say we continue this conversation at Sugarcube Corner, I always get a bit of a chocolate craving after training.” “Sure,” I said. I looked over to Zecora and was rather surprised to see three unconscious manticores around her. Shaking myself, I said, “I’ll see you later for more training, Zecora.” She nodded, “Very well, my stretchy friend, I too would like to see you again.” As we walked back to Ponyville, Cruger started making small talk, “so, now that we have bonded over shared adversity, mind explaining why you have a fedora instead of a, forgive me if I butcher this, mugiwara?” I snicker briefly, before a sad expression spread across my face. “It’s something that my mom and dad made for me,” I explained. “To me it’s the sentimentality behind the hat rather than the kind.” Cruger nodded, “so your hat is to you as Luffy’s is to him, a commendable reason, my condolences by the way.” “Thanks. I’m just glad that I wasn’t separated from my wife as well,” I said. Cruger raised one of his eyebrows, “a double Displacement, that’s going in my notes.” Before I could ask him what he meant, he did it for me, “I’m collecting data on the Displaced, primarily how they were Displaced. If you don’t mind, I’d like to invite you to my little reasearch group, as well as your wife if she’s interested.” “Sure, I’d be willing to help. Though, I should warn you, while I’m not stupid, I’m not exactly a thinker either,” I told him. “I’ll talk to Ashley about it when we see her.” [POV Change: Ashley] I was sitting in Sugarcube Corner, enjoying a strawberry milkshake and talking with Fleetfoot. I was explaining to her some of the things she was able to do with the Devil Fruit she’d eaten. The door opened and I saw Sean enter, however I was surprised by who entered behind him. He was a bipedal blue dog in a black trench coat. “Sean, who is that?” I called to him. He glanced over to me and smiled. He made his way over to us, the dog following behind him. “Hey, Ash. This is Anubis Cruger. He’s the Displaced that badge token belonged to,” he explained. “It’s nice to meet you,” I said. Crugger nodded, “same to you Ashley, forgive me but I got a bit of a craving, Pinkie!” “Yepperoony!” No matter how many times she pops out of nowhere, I can never get used to it. “I’ll have a milkshake. Chocolate ice cream mixed with chocolate fudge and chips, topped with chocolate whipped cream, and garnished with additional chocolate chips and a chocolate syrup drizzle.” Sean stared at Cruger for moment before saying, “Dude, I absolutely love chocolate and that seems like too much even for me.” He turned to Pinkie and said, “I’ll have a dozen cookies.” The pink enigma nodded before disappearing into the back. Cruger grinned, “It’s the same volume either way, it’s the fusion of different flavours and textures that makes it so good. By the way, 10 bits says she puts it on the menu by the end of the week, mine did.” “Not much of a bet if they’re as similar as I think they are,” I said. Cruger paled slightly, “oh man, just had a scary thought, what if all the Pinkies across the multiverse are connected in a sort of hive mind.” I thought for a moment before saying, “It would explain a few things to be honest.” Sean snickered at that. Cruger shook his head, “enough of trying to explain the half-draconequus, you know what happened to Twilight when she did. Ashley, I have a bit of a proposal for you and your husband.” “Yeah, I know what happened. Shoot,” I said. Cruger and Sean sat down with me, “well, in my admittedly limited travels across the multiverse, the subject of why all the Displaced were, well, Displaced, intrigued me. As such, I am putting together a little group to gather as much data as we can on the matter, and I would like to invite you two to it.” “I told him I didn’t mind, but made sure he understood I’m not much of a thinker,” Sean said. I thought about his offer. It would be rather interesting to find out why what was happening was going on. After a moment I nodded, “Sure, I’d be glad to help in anyway I can. How exactly would this work with you being in another world?” Cruger grinned, “quite easily as a matter of fact. You see, after my first excursion to another verse, a situation came up that required me to remain in contact with its Displaced. That was when I got the brilliant idea to place a communication spell on my Token. That way, even if both parties are in a different dimension, they can stay in contact. I also recently engineered a bleeding effect on it so that it will spread to every other Token in your possession, the only requirement being that you have to have each other's token. Huh, you know I think I’m the first Displaced to mess with his Token after they’ve created it.” We sat there for a moment, rather stunned at his explanation. “That sounds useful,” Fleetfoot spoke up. “Very,” my husband agreed. “Do you have our token?” Cruger shrugged, “not sure, but odds are I’ll get it automatically when I return,” he lifted his wrist to reveal a strange bracelet, “at least it did for this one.” “Who does that belong to?” Sean asked. “Pokemon trainer Displaced by the name of Zinnia. Quick warning though, she’s literally part Dragon Type, and quite possibly part succubus. By the way, her Equestria has Pokemon, Apricorns, and possibly other Pokemon elements in it, does this one have any One Piece elements?” In response to his question, I snapped my fingers and the table we were sitting at turned into glass. I snapped again, returning it to normal. “That and more,” I said. Cruger frowned, “nothing personal, but that just tells me that you, like me, picked up some magic that your base doesn’t have, mind being a little more specific?” I activated my pegasus magic and flew up a few inches. “I didn’t just learn this magic. I ate an Equestrian Devil Fruit that we’ve decided to call the Magic-Magic Fruit. I’m able to use all of the magic in this world.” “Ah, that makes sense. By the way, I happen to be a Grandmaster in the art of Dimensional Magic, and before you say anything about giving myself a phoney title I have official documentation signed by both of the Diarchs, somewhere.” Sean shrugged, “I wasn’t going to say anything. I have no idea how things work in other worlds. Heck, we haven’t even been to one yet.” “I’ll be sure to invite you sometime. By the way, being a Grandmaster in a school of magic is basically a cross between a black belt and a Phd, might want to check this Equestria’s equivalent. Now where is that milkshake?” As soon as he said that, Pinkie popped up next to us with a tray in her hands. She placed it on the table. “Thank you Pinkie,” Cruger said as he grabbed his drink, “pleasure as always.” “You’re welcome Cruger,” she said happily before bouncing back to the counter. Cruger tilted his head, “I’d wonder why she knows my name, but that road leads to pain.” He took a sip of his drink, “ahh, bliss. So, why don’t you tell me a little more about your verse.” Sean grabbed three similar cookies and tossed them in his mouth. After swallowing he answered, “Well, apparently compared to the show Nightmare Moon is a good pony here and Discord’s already been reformed.” “I’d ask how Nightmare Moon is a good pony, but Past Sins is my favorite Fanfic. However, what do you mean about Discord being reformed already? Cause unless this is either Season 2 or early 3, he’d be reformed either way.” “The changeling invasion just happened and he’s reformed,” I said. Cruger frowned, “the Crystal Empire?” “That hasn’t even happened yet,” I told him. “If it does happen. With how some things are turning out I wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t happen for while or even at all.” Cruger put down his drink and steepled his fingers, “so, how did Discord get reformed?” “Fluttershy protected him from getting hurt by Rob Lucci,” Sean said. “Rob Lucci, Rob Lucci, not sure I remember exactly who he is, but I can guess that he’s a One Piece villain, am I correct?” My husband nodded, “Yeah, and one of the worst. He was the leader of the CP9 if you remember them. He was a very sadistic person.” “User of the Cat-Cat model leopard, said he’d kill the Straw Hats if Robin didn’t help him kill the mayor of that boat building town, first recipient of Gear Third, am I right?” “The very same,” I said. “Thankfully, he’s been banished to Tartarus.” “You’d better keep an eye out for him come 4’s finale, and it looks like I need to keep an eye out for Grumm when I get back.” “Who in the world is Grumm?” Sean asked. Cruger looked at him like he’d grown a new head, “Emperor Grumm, primary villain of Power Rangers SPD, archenemy of the original Anubis Cruger, are you seriously telling me you’ve never heard of him?” My husband chuckled sheepishly, “I remember now. Sorry, it’s been several years since I’ve watched Power Rangers SPD. Only really watched it in the first place because the kids in the orphanage wanted to watch it.” “Very well, not that it concerns you. Anyway,” Cruger took another sip of his drink, “it just so happens that you’ve caught me just as I was starting my first vacation in a thousand years, no that is not a joke. Mind if I spend it here?” We were shocked to hear he was probably as old as the Princesses. Shaking myself, I said, “There shouldn’t be a problem with that.” Cruger grinned, “thank you, just a moment.” He pulled out a black box that I think was his morpher and flipped it open, then started using it like a cellphone, “Sorrow Song, about my vacation, yeah I found a place to take it, another dimension if you must know, yes it’s a Displaced thing, hold down the fort for me, thank you bye.” He put it away, “sorry, that was my personal assistant. Before you ask why I need one, let’s just say I inherited more than Cruger’s good looks.” I rolled my eyes slightly, while Sean snickered. He then asked, “So you got their headquarters in that Equestria or something?” Cruger grinned, “try my own SPD, Rainbow Dash is my Red Ranger.” Sean let out a low whistle, while Fleetfoot asked, “She’s not trying to be a Wonderbolt?” “She had her reasons, reasons that I can understand. Speaking of, aren’t you supposed to be one?” The pegasus shrugged, “I ate a Devil Fruit so that I could help fight any others that are like Rob Lucci. I figured doing that and being a Wonderbolt would wear me out, so I left.” Cruger nodded, “as long as you had a good reason. By the way, Ashley, care to learn some Dimensional Magic?” “If I’m able to sure. What does it do anyway?” I asked. “To be honest, I consider it one of the most versatile. While a beginner can only use it to teleport and the like, a master, like me, can use it to protect against certain kinds of magic, turn intangible, cut through anything, and move faster than light.” “Those sound like they would be very useful,” I said. “How should we begin?” “Well, step 1, finish our lunch.” Cruger sipped on his drink. “Step 2, move to a wide open area.” <~~> After we finished our snacks, we head to the Whitetail Woods so we would have an open area to practice and not have to worry about anything like manticores or timberwolves. Me and Cruger were standing in the middle of an open field while Sean and Fleetfoot stood to the side. Twilight and Trixie somehow found out about what we were doing and were standing next to the two. Cruger began, “okay, lesson 1, portals.” With a snap of his fingers, he created two portals in midair. They looked similar to the ones in the game Portal, except they were both blue, “these are your first tools when using Dimensional magic. While a flash type teleport might be easier, a portal can be used in a whole lot more different applications. Now, can you sense these with your magic?” I focused on my magic and tried to sense the portals in front of me. I felt a small sensation, but not much. “Only slightly. I haven’t had my magic long,” I told him. “Not to worry, while portals do take a bit of energy to create, they don’t take a lot to maintain. Now, focus on the, let’s call it flavor, of the magic in these portals. Think you can do that?” I nodded slightly and tried to focus on the kind of magic these portals were using. I started to feel something and was surprised to see that it felt different than the magic that I knew of. “What you’re feeling is the combination of my magic, as well as the fabric of reality. Dimensional magic is using your own magic to bend it. Now, see if you can find that feeling in the surrounding area.” I extended my senses and tried to feel what he was talking about. After a moment, I felt something and activated my magic. A spark appeared in the air, but nothing more. Cruger grinned, “very good, you managed to touch it. Now, to create a portal, you need to cause two points in reality to touch. Think of it like folding a piece of paper, grab two points, and pull them together.” I reached out again and felt the sensation. My hands glowed orange and I tried to do as he had instructed. “It looks like you’re tapping into it. Quick word of caution, don’t force it. If you force it, you run a high chance of tearing it. I don’t think I need to tell you that tearing reality would be bad.” I gulped in nervousness. I slowly tried to fold the points of reality. After a moment I felt it resist me. I stopped and tried somewhere else. “Good, you sensed it resisting. Dimensional magic is not about power, it is about using it in the right direction. If you can’t go one way, go another. Try to look for a pre existing fold, should be easier than trying to make a new one.” I felt around the area and soon found what seemed to be a folded area. I focused my magic into it and a portal opened up. Cruger grinned, “excellent. The first one is always the hardest. Now, I think we should call it a day. Your homework is to use your magic to explore the fabric, you don’t have to create portals, but you should try to bend it a little to know its limits.” I nodded, “Alright, I’ll be sure to explore it and get enough practice.” “I don’t doubt it. Once you’ve mastered folding it, we can move onto stretching it, which is the entry into subspace techniques.” “Stretching reality?” Sean spoke up, approaching us. “Yes, you can think of the fabric of reality as a kind of nylon. Truly advanced spells involve basically using it to create five-dimensional origami. For example,” Cruger surrounded himself in a blue glow, “you can create a pocket of space-time with you inside it, rendering you intangible. Try and touch me.” My husband shrugged and swiped his hand at Cruger. His arm passed straight through his body. “Subspace techniques involve sending you to partially out of your own reality, allowing you to decide which laws of physics apply to you.” The glow around him disappeared. “A master of Dimensional magic cannot be bested.” “You can choose which laws of physics apply to you?” Sean asked, and Cruger nodded. “You sure Pinkie doesn’t know them then?” he asked with a slight smirk. “I looked into it, my results were inconclusive, just looking at her reality gives me a headache. By the way,” he turned towards me, “once you get good enough at sensing reality, you are able to sense the reality of objects, rendering any invisibility or illusion spell that does not use Dimensional magic useless.” “Well, that’ll come in handy if we ever run into someone who’s eaten the Clear-Clear Fruit,” Sean said. I nodded in agreement. Cruger nodded, “that would be a good application, though a paintball gun might work too. Anyway, I have a week to answer any questions you might have, so you might want to pace yourselves. By the way, where am I staying? I don’t mind camping, but I’d rather not if I didn’t have to.” Sean smiled nervously, “Well, actually Ditzy is letting us stay with her until we get enough bits to get our own place.” Twilight then spoke up, “We have a guest room if you don’t mind staying in a library.” Cruger smiled, “my definition of happiness is a good meal, a good book, and good friends to share them with. We already took care of the first, Golden Oaks will take care of the second, and I hope that you all will allow me to complete the third with you.” “We’d be happy to have you as a friend,” Sean said. “Right everyone?” We all nodded in agreement. “Thank you, I think I’m going to have a good time this week. Now, who wants to bet that Pinkie will have my welcome party ready when we get back?” “You keep trying to bet on Pinkie doing something every one of us know she’s going to do,” I said, giggling slightly. “She has a point Cruger,” Fleetfoot said. “I barely know her and I wouldn’t take that bet.” Cruger shrugged, “I don’t like leaving things to chance.” <~~> As we all figured, Pinkie had put together a party for Cruger in Sugarcube Corner. There was a good amount of ponies in attendance and they all paused when they saw the guest of honor. “Don’t worry everypony. Cruger here’s a good guy,” Sean said. Everypony eased slightly and went back to what they were doing. “Ah well,” Cruger sighed, “I suppose that was to be expected. It’s not every day that you meet an alien, unless your name is Jean-Luc Picard.” “Well, they were just invaded by a species they didn’t know even existed. It’s kind of expected that they’d be on edge still,” I said. “True,” Cruger mused, “but you’d think that if Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter, was throwing somepony a party, they would at least give them a chance. And yes, I know about Gilda.” Sean looked confused at the name, but shrugged. “To be honest these ponies seem very skittish to me. I mean we look very similar to them, but I could tell they were scared.” Cruger shrugged, “you may have a point. Anyway, let’s stop discussing the possible xenophobia of anthropomorphic equines and party down, I think I see an entire table dedicated to the milkshake I ordered.” I giggled, “That’s Pinke for you. She saw how much you liked it and made a bunch for you.” “True enough, now why don’t you introduce me to Ditzy? I haven’t had the chance to meet my version yet and I would love to make her acquaintance.” “Sure, in fact I see her over there with her daughters,” Sean said, pointing over to the table with the muffins. We walked over, Cruger grabbing a milkshake on the way, “good evening ma'am, you are Ditzy correct? My friends Sean and Ashley said that you were kind enough to host them until they got their own place.” Ditzy blushed slightly, “It was the least I could do since he saved my daughters.” “I told her she didn’t have to, but she insisted,” Sean said. “While she didn’t have to,” Cruger replied, “you need to look at it from her point of view. You saved her family, putting you up for a while is just her way of trying to pay you back. Not to say that she wouldn’t help you if you didn’t save them, but you get my meaning.” “Yeah, and I am grateful for her hospitality,” my husband said. “I’m glad,” Ditzy said, smiling. “As long as you’re aware. Now if you don’t mind, there is a little habit I picked up when I became a Displaced that I intend to indulge.” Before we could ask what he meant, he walked over to the DJ stand. He picked up a microphone, “everyone, I hope that you don’t mind, but I make it a point to sing one song at every party I attend. And since this is my party, I intend to do just that.” He fiddled with his morpher for a bit, and music started to play. “I ain’t rich, but I damn sure wanna be Working like a dog all day, ain’t working for me I wish I had a rich uncle that’d kick the bucket And that I was sitting on a pile like Warren Buffett I know everybody says Money can’t buy happiness But it could buy me a boat, it could buy me a truck to pull it It could buy me a Yeti 110 iced down with some silver bullets Yeah, and I know what they say, Money can’t buy everything Well, maybe so, But it could buy me a boat They call me redneck, white trash and blue collar But I could change all that if I had a couple million dollars I keep hearing that money is the root of all evil And you can’t fit a camel through the eye of a needle I’m sure that’s probably true, But it still sounds pretty cool ‘Cause it could buy me a boat, it could buy me a truck to pull it It could buy me a Yeti 110 iced down with some silver bullets Yeah, and I know what they say, Money can’t buy everything Well, maybe so, But it could buy me a boat To float down on the water with a beer… I hear the Powerball Lotto is a-sitting’ on a hundred mill… Well, that would buy me a brand new rod and reel… And it could buy me a boat, it could buy me a truck to pull it It could buy me a Yeti 110 iced down with some Silver Bullets Yeah, and I know what they say, Money can’t buy everything Well, maybe so, But it could buy me a boat Yeah, and I know what they say, Money can’t buy everything Well, maybe so, But it could buy me a boat It could buy me a boat.” Everypony stood shocked that Cruger suddenly started singing. Sean cheered and began clapping with a large smile on his face and I joined in with him. Slowly, everypony started clapping as well. When Cruger finished, he raised one of his hands, “thank you all. Now, before we turn it back to the talented miss Scratch, does anypony else think they could top that?” Sean smiled and walked up to them. “I don’t know about topping it, but I’ve really taken a liking to singing,” he said. He pulled out his iPod and started looking through the songs. Cruger walked towards him, “you too huh? My iPod got fused with my morpher. So, what’s your preference? As you can tell, I’m a country fan, as well as a few others.” “To be honest, I’m probably a bit strange in I like just about everything except for Heavy Metal,” he said. After finding the song he pressed play and Cruger handed him the mic. He smiled widely as he began to sing. Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed She was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb In the shape of an "L" on her forehead Well, the years start coming and they don't stop coming Fed to the rules and I hit the ground running Didn't make sense not to live for fun Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb So much to do, so much to see So what's wrong with taking the back streets? You'll never know if you don't go You'll never shine if you don't glow Hey, now, you're an All Star, get your game on, go play Hey, now, you're a Rock Star, get the show on, get paid And all that glitters is gold Only shooting stars break the mold It's a cool place and they say it gets colder You're bundled up now wait 'til you get older But the meteor men beg to differ Judging by the hole in the satellite picture The ice we skate is getting pretty thin The water's getting warm so you might as well swim My world's on fire. How about yours? That's the way I like it and I'll never get bored. Hey, now, you're an All Star, get your game on, go play Hey, now, you're a Rock Star, get the show on, get paid And all that glitters is gold Only shooting stars break the mold Somebody once asked could I spare some change for gas I need to get myself away from this place I said yep, what a concept I could use a little fuel myself And we could all use a little change Well, the years start coming and they don't stop coming Fed to the rules and I hit the ground running Didn't make sense not to live for fun Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb So much to do so much to see So what's wrong with taking the back streets You'll never know if you don't go You'll never shine if you don't glow. And all that glitters is gold Only shooting stars break the mold As the song ended, Sean handed the mic back to Vinyl. Everypony began clapping again at his performance. Cruger chuckled, “is it wrong that I can’t ever listen to that song and not think of Shrek?” “Not really. I mean all I can think of is that Digimon movie that used it,” Sean said. Cruger shrugged, “to each their own. Hey Ashley, care to give it a try?” I was surprised by the sudden question, but shrugged and walked up to them. I whispered to Sean what song to play. He snickered and quickly found the song. I began singing when the song started. I love it when it's loud I love it when it's big You could feel it in the crowd come on, bang dem sticks I said I love it when it's loud I love it when it's big 'Cause you could feel it in the crowd Come on, bang dem sticks The dumb drummer, Sicker than the swine flu Don't really need medication He gotta tissue, uh And when he bang bangs don't need to boogie but, He might be sweeter than my, my favorite cookie When he plays, uh, he got a hold on me In a race yeah he's got that winnin streak, uh And ain't nobody got a drummer like mine He can bang dem sticks he can throw dem high, ha! I got a thing for drummers How the beat shakes up my heart I got a thing for drummers So, baby, show off all dem tricks and bang dem sticks I got a thing for drummers How the beat shakes up my heart I got a thing for drummers So, baby, show off all dem tricks and bang dem sticks I love it when it's loud I love it when it's big You could feel it in the crowd Come on, bang dem sticks I said I love it when it's loud I love it when it's big 'Cause you could feel it in the crowd Come on, bang dem sticks I don't think they're ready, it's OK Triplet triplet, all dat shit He looking so good when he bang dem sticks He could do the paradiddle With a little bit of samba And all the girls scream "I want yo drummer's numba!" But wait a minute? What the fuck is going on? You here to see MTrain Because you love my songs But there he go again with the double stroke And I ain't talking dirty I ain't makin no jokes nu uh nu uh And he could play all night whatever get you hype girls whatever gets you high. 'Cause ain't nodody got a drummer like mine, He can bang them sticks He can throw them high come on! I got a thing for drummers How the beat shakes up my heart I got a thing for drummers So, baby, show off all dem tricks and bang dem sticks I got a thing for drummers How the beat shakes up my heart I got a thing for drummers So, baby, show off all dem tricks and bang dem sticks I love it when it's loud I love it when it's big You could feel it in the crowd Come on, bang dem sticks I said I love it when it's loud I love it when it's big 'Cause you could feel it in the crowd Come on, bang dem sticks Come on and bang dem sticks So, baby, show off all dem tricks and bang dem sticks Come on and bang dem sticks Till everybody get the drummer Despite the song denying anything like it, I could tell several of the ponies in the crowd looked rather flustered at some of the lyrics. Sean laughed at their expressions. Cruger chuckled, “are you sure you should be singing that? There are foals present.” I shrugged, “It explicitly said that she was talking about loving drummers. They think of something else that’s either the parents fault or they know more than they probably should know.” “Fine, but if said parents start coming after you, I will say I told you so, repeatedly.” “Fair enough,” I said. Sean walked over to a table with a platter of cookies on it and I followed him. We grabbed several cookies and setting them on a plate. “Want some?” I asked Cruger. “Thank you,” he grabbed a chocolate chip cookie and started munching on it. “You know I just realized that you didn’t really react to the fact that the ponies here were anthro. Are they like that in your Equestria?” Sean asked. “That they are, although, I think mine are stranger than yours, the Ponies in my Equestria are omnivorous.” I blinked several times. “Well… that’s rather unexpected,” I said, my husband nodding in agreement. Cruger shrugged, “hey, an infinite number of universes out there, at least a handful of them are probably gonna have omnivorous, anthro, ponies, I just happened to land in one of them.” “True, there’s no telling what other kinds of things are out there,” Sean said. “Oh, just getting this out of the way, I helped raise my verse’s Celestia and Luna.” We stood there in stunned silence at this piece of information. “Wow,” we both muttered. “Yeah, well that’s how it is, one minute you’re at a convention, the next you’re saving a filly Celestia and Luna from bandits. It would be weirder if they didn’t make me their bodyguard.” “True,” I said. “So what were they like when they were younger?” Cruger grinned, “well, Celestia was quite a serious young filly, always reading and such, think Twilight pre-season 1. As for Luna,” Cruger groaned, “take the CMC, combine them, remove the need to find a cutie mark, then give them the power of an alicorn. At least she settled down when she got older, and I started teaching her basic hand-to-hand.” I shivered slightly, “I don’t know what would be worse giving the CMC the power of an alicorn or Pinkie Pie chaos magic.” Cruger frowned, “who says those are mutually exclusive.” I giggled, “True enough. One would be as bad as the other, just for different reasons.” “I meant that they could both happen.” We both arched a brow at him. “How could that happen?” I questioned. “Pinkie Pie gets chaos magic then gives the CMC alicorn power.” “Pinkie would still have to gain chaos magic first,” Sean countered. “What makes you think she doesn’t have it already, it would explain a few things.” “The fact that there aren’t cotton candy clouds raining chocolate milk,” I said. Cruger nodded, “fair enough. Now, mind telling me how you two got Displaced.” “Wasn’t really that interesting. We saw one of Zoro and Tashigi’s swords and thought they’d be cool to have. He decided to give them to us for free. Which really should have been a clue that he was up to something,” Sean told him. “Yeah,” Cruger said, “third rule of leadership, and first rule of life, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. On a related note,” Cruger tapped his sword, “my Displacement purchase was a sword too.” “You too? You pay him or you get it for free too?” I asked. “Kinda both, 10 bucks, still had to pay, but I spent more on lunch.” “That still seems rather cheap for something bought at a convention,” Sean said. “Like I said, kinda both. So, I came down in the middle of a kidnapping attempt, how about you two?” “Right in the middle of the Changeling invasion,” Sean said. “It was from them that I save Dinky and Amethyst. Fought Chrysalis herself when we were taken to her.” “How’d ya do?” “Actually headbutted her at first. Got in a few hits after that, mostly because of surprise. I held her off until Shining Armor and Cadance brought up a shield that shot her and the Changelings out of Canterlot,” my husband said. Cruger grinned, “nice, no one expects the Gum-Gum Bell. By the way, what techniques do you have access too? I’m teaching your wife Dimensional magic, might as well try to help you too.” “I managed to use the Gum-Gum Gatling, if you’re talking about those techniques. If you are talking about haki, I’ve managed to use the Armament Haki several times and am getting there with Observation. I also used the Conqueror's Haki once on accident when I was getting onto Angel,” Sean said. “Fair enough, sounds like you just need practice with those,”Cruger said, “what about your Gears?” “Haven’t tried either of them yet. I haven’t really thought about or needed to use them,” Sean explained. “And if you’re wondering why I said either instead of any, it’s because I doubt I’ll get the Fourth Gear down any time soon.” “Might want to get some practice in with them though, especially considering Third’s side effect. I’d be willing to spar with you.” “Yeah, the Third Gears side effect is going to be pain until I can get it down. And sure, it would probably be a big help to spar with someone,” my husband said. “No problem, not today though,” Cruger replied, “today is party, then get settled in at Twilight’s. What’s going on tomorrow?” “Nothing that I know of,” I said. “In a couple days Sean’s going to start as an assistant to Cheerilee.” Cruger’s eyes sparkled slightly, “mind if I join you for that? I would like to help the little kiddies learn.” “I don’t see a problem with it, though you should probably talk to Cheerilee about it so that she knows,” Sean answered. “I’ll speak to her tomorrow, mind vouching for my teaching skills Ashley?” “Sure, I think you’ll be great at teaching them,” I said. “Thank you,” Cruger looked around, “now where is Pinkie hiding that cake?”