Meeting with the Golden Alchemist, Part 1: The Summoning
As the coin finished turning over in mid-air, I felt a bit of an idiot.
Twilight looked over at me, concerned. “Xante? Did… did it not work?”
I shrugged, a bit unsure of what had happened. “I, well, it SHOULD have worked. Maybe the person on the other side, this…” I looked at it, the coin denoted to a Auric… something or other. Looked human, at least, from the coin. “This Auric, yes, maybe he’s out or something.”
I picked up another coin. “Maybe try anot-”
And then a voice filled the air around us. “Hello? Hello in there. Can you hear me?”
I grinned. “Loud and clear, mister Auric. Now, there’s two of us, as I said. Any difficulty on your part?”
Twilight looked around. “Alright, how is this even working? I’ve never heard of a spell that could do this kind of projection before.”
I shrugged, “I don’t pretend to understand, but I’m pretty thankful that he responded. Now, we should probably get close, make his job a bit easier.”
I turned in his vague direction. “Anything you want us to do or are you going to pull us directly?”
“Well, it’ll take a bit on my end. Normally, I’m meant to go TO the Token. Pulling you here will be an interesting challenge. Along with testing the properties of the mirror and how far I can push them! It’d probably be best if you both touched the coin. Wouldn’t want to leave one of you behind without an anchor.”
I turned to Twilight. “You heard the magical voice in the sky, touch the coin.”
Twilight did so, with a sceptical frown on her face. “Alright.” She turned her face upwards.
“Thank you, Mr Auric!” She turned to me.
“Do you have any idea how fascinating this is? We’re travelling to an alternate dimension! Isn’t that just… incredible?”
“Not really. I’m pretty sure I’ve run across about...a half dozen at least people from alternate dimensions. Becomes old hat. Hang on to your bums, assuming you have them!”
I huffed. “Somebody has a nice sense of humour.” I turned to Twilight. “Try not to go TOO crazy going there, okay? Don’t want to alienate our rescuer.”
She blushed a bit. That’s kind of cute. “Oh, hehe… yeah, I’ll be quiet.”
“I doubt it, assuming she’s anything like this Twilight. Transporting in five…”
Another Twilight Sparkle? Like this one?
“Somehow, I feel like this is a bad idea all of a sudden.”
I winced, but my hand refused to let go of the coin. There was a sharp...pulling sensation, and the colors bled from around me before focusing to a silvery point. And on the other side stood, not a man, but an orange unicorn pony. One that was less anthropomorphic than the one I was currently stranded with.
And then it opened its mouth, removing all doubt that it was our rescuer. “Ah, there you lot are! Finding you was easy, pulling you here was interesting. I’ll have to ask why you were in the Void Eternal at a later date. For now, brace yourselves!”
The mirror rushed closer, and suddenly Twilight and I were being pulled through it to the other side, where the pony was. The sharp sensation of having actual ground under our feet caused us both to stumble a bit, before we regained our balance.
The room we were now in looked rather...bare. Bare’s a good word for it. And the pony next to us was panting as though exhausted. “Never had to pull two targets through one mirror before.”
Wait… pony?
I dismissed that, looking for our summoner. “Many thanks, master Auric. Now, let us actually meet, face to face. I dislike speaking to your puppet.”
The pony shook its head. “Sorry, but what you see is what you get. This is what happens in Equestria if you expend too much power and are foreign to it: it changes you until you get your strength back. Auric Fulcrum I am and will hopefully always be.”
Huh. Remind me not to ever do that much. “In which case, Mr Fulcrum, I apologise for my assumptions.” I bowed. “Please, accept my humble apologies.”
Twilight, meanwhile, was looking at Auric with a mixture of curiosity and respect. “So you’re the one who brought us here… well, this is all a bit new to me. So, would you mind if I-”
I caught her eye and gave her a bit of a glare. She stumbled a bit.
“-would you mind answering a couple of questions that I have?” From a small pocket, she withdrew a notepad and pencil, and hesitantly opened it. The pony that was Auric snorted a bit, but smiled.
“Just like this Twilight. So long as you respect me when I say there are things I would like not to try to answer or explain, then yes. I can answer your questions.” He then turned to me. “And don’t give me that ‘humble apologies’ shtick. I’m not some malevolent guy who’ll blast you for speaking your mind.” He turned to one side and muttered something incomprehensible.
I raised an eyebrow, and started probing for his chakra gates. The results I got were… interesting. “You’re quite an interesting being, aren’t you? Neither mortal nor immortal, but in an in-between place.”
He chuckled at that. “Interesting that you could tell, but yes. Ever heard of the Golden Sun?”
I racked my memories for something relevant. Nothing came. “Sorry, but is that an ‘Earth’ thing you’re talking about? I’m afraid that I don’t understand.”
Auric waved a hoof around as he began explaining. “Sorta-kinda. Out there in the Multiverse somewhere is Weyard, land of Psynergy. Command over the Elements is something that comes natural to them. When all four Elemental Beacons are lit, they combine into a Golden Sun that shines on the land. He who stands there gains power unmatched and immortality.”
He then grinned at both Twilight and me. “Fast forward to now, here, in this Equestria, I made one happen, with a bit of help. And I was standing there. So yeah, immortal.”
He sighed wistfully as he looked at a plain wooden door set in one of the stone walls. “Gave it up, though. Had to. Measured Thought was dying, and breaking it was the only way to save her, to get the power to save her. We’re both...ageless now. And assuming we don’t die beforehand, we’ll be immortal together.”
I was impressed with him. With a grin on my face, I replied. “You truly have a far nobler spirit than I. My method of immortality, I achieved with a lot of effort, out of a rather selfish desire. I wanted to see death for myself, and be able to report on it. Mine is not easily giveable, but you have my genuine admiration.”
Twilight, meanwhile, was fascinated with this. “So, could you tell me a bit more about this ‘Psynergy’ of yours? If it’s not too much bother, that is.”
His grin never faded. “Sure, let’s head down to the first floor.” And with that, he walked directly to the wooden door. After some slight hesitation, we followed, Twilight eager and myself curious to see what wonders there were in this place.
On the other side of the door was a bathroom. Auric grunted and shut it. “No.”
It was rapidly opened again, revealing a kitchen. “No.” And slammed shut just as quickly.
Again it opened, to reveal a mare checking a bedroom for anything missing. “No, but keep that one in mind. Oh for goodness sake.”
The door was closed again, but Auric glared at it. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
How very fascinating. “Let me guess. There’s a portal in the door, and it connects to other portals throughout this place. I’ve never relied on them myself- they fail too easily, right?”
Auric snorted slightly. “No, the door just has a mind of its own - unless you ask politely, it’ll take you where it wants you to go, rather than where you want to go. So now I ask, can we please go to the ground floor?”
The door shuddered a bit, and when it was next opened, it revealed a large, spacious entryway with four other doors placed around the perimeter. On each were symbols carved into them. One a flame, one a water drop, one a gust of wind, and one a mountain.
“So, which first? Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, or Mars?”
Twilight looked at them. “This is incredible! An entirely different branch of magic… this, well, this is simply amazing! The things I could research with this...” She shook herself out of her wonder.
“Um, Jupiter first.”
Auric nodded. “This way, then. Mind yourself, though. If your hair starts to gain too much of a charge, tell me.” Auric made his way to the door with a breeze on it and pushed it open.
Instantly, the sense of electricity, of being in the center of a storm, filled the air. “Jupiter, element of air, wind, and all it controls. Storms are second nature to those with the potential to wield it!” Auric walked in, seemingly uncaring. Sparks crackled in my minds’ eye, and I started thinking quickly about defensive spells in case this did go haywire. I trusted Auric, yes, but I didn’t live for a thousand and six hundred years by not being cautious either. Just then, he called back to us.
“Mind, I only do storm research on Wednesdays! And today’s minor stuff, just studying charges and how wind moves. It’ll sting, yeah, but unless a visiting Djinn takes real interest in you, then you should be fine!”
Twilight’s ears perked up at that. “What’s a Djinn?” She had to shout over the rising winds. Auric nonetheless replied.
“Look up!”
We did so, and I was now flabbergasted for the fifth time since coming to this plane of the multiverse.
“In all my long life…” I murmured, unable to think of anything else I could say. Auric laughed at that.
“Surprised me too! Fifteen hundred years ago, there was only one of each element! Ol’ Puck figured it out, probably. He always did have a mind for mischief. And these are just the ones that listen when I ask! More wild ones are out there!”
Sitting up on clouds and controlling the movements of the indoor tempest were a half-dozen purple creatures with eyes of polished sapphire. They didn’t seem to need to exert any real force while making the wind move as they wanted it to, and one even charged the cloud it was sitting on, turning it into a thunderhead!
“Wow…” Twilight whispered, and I agreed with her.
“So, these are the elemental spirits of Jupiter? The embodiment of the storm, eh? Fascinating.” They were majestic, if not in form then in spirit.
“Yeah, wind and storm given form. These ones are immature though, none of them have earned a name yet. They’ll figure it out one day.”
Auric then turned to one, and it obliged, hopping down from its cloud perch and landing on his back. “Jupiter, known as air, can control the winds, direct lightning, and even have access to a host of status effects. I’ll...not show that off. Just know that Jupiter isn’t a school you want to piss off.”
I nodded. “While I’ve never really wanted to control the violent energy of the storm, I can see its beauty. And there are more schools- Venus, Mercury and Mars. I’m guessing Mars is fire, Venus is… earth, and Mercury is water.”
Auric nodded. “Quite astute, but storm and wind are not the only things Jupiter has dominion over. Jupiter is the only school with any access to techniques that afflict the mind. Due to this, all Jupiter Djinn can talk. Or at least, sound like they do. I’ve never asked how they do it.”
Mind Read, but instead of reading your mind, we alter your perception of hearing, so that you hear the voice we want you to. Other Djinn have it harder, they have to actually connect with your mind on some level!
Auric merely nodded at the sound of the voice coming from the Djinn on his back. “Thought it was something like that.”
Twilight, meanwhile, was squeeing over them. “Aw, they’re so cute! Like little mind-reading blobs! And,” she coughed, remembering herself, “also elemental embodiments of the air. So,” she looked at the Djinn on Auric’s back, “is there anything you can tell me about the Djinn? Where you’re from, for instance, if that’s not too personal.”
The Djinn and Auric shared a glance before turning back to her and sighing. “That...is sorta my story. All Djinn know it. And...it’s not the best one. Suffice to say, I found the first four Djinn a long time ago. And one day, they figured out how to harness magic and elemental energies, binding them into more Djinn. Thus, Djinn are ‘made,’ but typically, the more Djinn that partake in a ‘molding,’ the more unique the next Djinn will be, and the less it’ll drain them. I wish Terra, Dracen, Puck, and Newton knew that then. They might still be around...”
Twilight nodded, scribbling all that information down. “And they’re… immigrants? From another world.” She turned to me.
“This is genuinely a huge discovery. I mean, Mr Auric, it’s YOUR discovery, obviously, but could I… write a bit? Please? Just… make a couple of notes from what you’ve found? If it’s not too much. I won’t share them, or whatever, if that’s what you’re thinking, but I’ll make you the main creditor and researcher behind this.”
Auric shook his head. “Really dear, I don’t think you should. It’s not because I don’t want you to,” he said, at Twilight’s disappointed face, “It’s that...you’re in another Equestria. One that may be quite different to your own,” and here he gestured between his own pony body and Twilight, “But think. Beyond this difference, what would you think is the same between our worlds?”
Twilight put a hand on her chin, thinking. “Hmm… well, from what you said in the Void, there’s another version of me, as well as other versions of my friends, so… wait a minute. I’m- I mean, this me- is already researching this and you, right? And I probably accidentally trod on your feelings, didn’t I.” More of a statement than anything else. Auric sighed and looked at his hooves.
“More of a painful memory. See...this Twilight has been kinda...manic about trying to understand me. And I may...have said a lot of hurtful things. When I thought she couldn’t hear me. But she could, and it sorta...well, it hurt her. And me.”
Twilight’s ears drooped. “Yeah, I kind of get a bit like that. When something really interests me. In fact, had you not warned me… I might have repeated that mistake.” I grinned at her.
“Well, at least you’re honest about it. Imagine how this other Twilight is feeling. You should probably go and talk to her-” Suddenly, I remembered something very, very important.
“Mr Auric, what date is it and what year? It’s important.”
Auric flicked his ears as he considered the question. “I’m...not certain. I’ve measured time differently than most, thanks to that whole Earth thing. I could call for Measured, she might know. I think she’s the only one with a calendar in this bloody tower.”
“Call her. It’s important. Or it might not be. It all depends on the date.”
Auric nodded and moved to the lab door. “You’re going to want to leave before me, the doors shut if I’m not in here. And don’t open.”
I nodded, gripping Twilight’s arm. “Come on, let’s meet this Measured pony. It’ll be vitally important. Or not, as I said.”
Twilight seemed confused. “Why would it matter what the date is?”
Auric filled in as we entered the main room. “Time, unlike what you’ve been told, is not a river. It’s more like an ocean. It can be rewritten, save for fixed points. And depending on when you entered this world and when you left yours, you could experience things you weren’t meant to know about. What was the last major event you can recall happening? I’m talking things like Discord here.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Well, we just got back from the Crystal Empire, which is where we encountered Xante. We’d already beaten Sombra, he just showed up slightly later.”
“Are we around that point? If so, then that’s good. If not, then you should keep in the tower, to avoid spoilers for your own future. Trust me, you DON’T want to know the future.”
Twilight nodded. “I know that much.”
Auric sighed. “Season three opener. We’re in Four by now. Or as you might understand it, a good few months to a year beyond your own world. And yeah, I know things. Important things, but you DON’T want to or NEED to know them.”
I sighed. Time dilation at its finest. “Well, that’s pretty bad. Back when I was at home, it could take between a simple three month difference in time to four years when I travelled to Earth. But this is good! You won’t see how you’re going to die, unless this Twilight’s contracted something life-threatening or is much older.”
Auric held a crystal-blue hoof to his chin. “I’m...not sure how I’d tell anymore, to be honest.” His eyes widened. “Oh crap, that was nearly a spoiler, wasn’t it?”
Twilight looked between us, confused. “What’s going on?”
“Cover your ears, don’t listen in. It could possibly change the future of your world forever if you had dangerous future knowledge.”
I walked over to Auric. “What’s this Twilight caught? Cancer? Diabetes? I’ve seen a fair few universes where an unhealthy student diet took its toll on her figure.”
Auric shook his head and brought his mouth close to my ear. “A case of Alicorn. She fixes a spell of Starswirl’s and ascends.”
I blinked. “Starswirl the Bearded? How interesting.” I noted that down in my mind for future reference.
“What’s this about Starswirl the Bearded?” Twilight must have overheard that very last bit, but fortunately hadn’t heard the context.
Crap. Save face. “Oh, uh, I… beat him in a drinking contest.” Always tell the truth.
Auric rolled his eyes. “And in this world, I had a run-in with him when the Princesses wanted to figure out how I did the things I did. Great stallion. Bit pompous. Thought I could use an instruction in ‘proper’ magic.”
“Really? We were drinking buddies. We met in a rather dismal bar, I wanted the last dregs of the barrel, so did he, and before you know it we’re having a drunken wizard’s duel.”
Auric rolled his eyes again. “Ah yes. Because magic and alcohol mix so well. Well, I assume they would if you didn’t have to worry about your liver anymore.”
I nodded, grinning widely. “If I was alive, I’d be needing a new liver.”
Auric poked a hoof at my robes. “Assuming there was a place to put it. Sheesh. If you had to rely on physical strength alone, even Fluttershy could take you.”
I was a bit hurt. “Oh yeah? I’ll lift you.” Before he could react, I gripped him and strained. “HUURGH!” My teeth gritted, my knees started cracking, and I felt my undead ichor pulsing, but I lifted him over my head.
“Multiclass in Monk and mastery over my own lifeforce means that my muscles are strong where they count.” My arms snapped at the elbows, and I collapsed, Auric falling on top of me.
“Ouch! I will never understand why-” And that’s as far as he got before a sudden rush of inspiration filled my mind.
I could see it. I saw the multiverse in one glance. It was beautiful, but then I saw it. The Merchant, hiding somewhere-
The vision faded, and I rolled onto my front, arms still off. I wheezed, trying to draw air into my lungs. Twilight hurried over to me, hauling on my stumps. “Xante? Are you alright?”
“...I saw him.” It came out as a whisper, but Auric heard me. He froze up and looked at his hooves before slapping himself in the face with one.
“Damn it damn it DAMN IT! I am so sorry, Xante!”
I got up, and with a flare of rainbow energy around my stumps I recalled my arms. “No, you don’t understand. I SAW HIM. The Merchant! He’s hiding, and I didn’t see where! If I can get him, then I can go home! I can leave this plane, and I can go home! It’s incredible!”
Auric shook his head. “No, you don’t get it. I once wielded a blade, Eureka, the Blade of Understanding. When I became what I am, the blade was placed in my hooves.” He held one up for us to look at.
I was mildly curious. “But I NEED to find The Merchant. He’s breaking so many laws, bringing humans from Earth into this plane, or others, that it isn’t funny. There might be one, there might be several, but I NEED to see where he is. He’s holding me here, in this plane and I-”
Auric interrupted. “When I was human, on Earth, I asked myself the question. An innocent question. ‘How does everything work?’ And I got an answer. I saw the Multiverse in all its glory and horror. The Void Eternal and That Which Fills It. From the substructure of an atom to the full view, my mind flipped between them both. It broke me, and Eureka contains that moment. Now, when I don’t watch my words when I’m touching others with my hooves, they might experience that moment too.”
That humbled me. “Understanding… true understanding…” I’d felt it- I’d SEEN it. I looked at him with a renewed sense of admiration. “And you’re still lucid… that’s what I like about Earth, the humans there are so indomitable.”
He nodded. “I...never really recovered. Not from that, you can’t. It’s still there, like a hole that’s just been patched over. As Discord said after he touched the blade, ‘Limitless knowledge is fine and dandy until you gain limitless understanding.’”
“Wise words.” I stretched, an amazing fatigue flowing through my limbs.
“But the Merchant is a threat. Let me explain. Is there a table nearby? Somewhere where I can sit and get some much needed caffeine?”
Auric went to the door and made to open it, before narrowing his eyes at it. “The odds of you acquiescing are low, aren’t they? So why don’t we skip that. Please take us to the kitchen.”
The door rumbled and when Auric opened it, a kitchen we got. One that was surprisingly Earth-like. I staggered in on legs that still hadn’t been really repaired and sat down, trying to get rid of that small fragment of understanding. I knew the multiverse, but not all in one glance. Twilight looked at Auric. “So, nice kitchen.” This bit of small talk seemed a bit unfitting for the general area.
“Coffee. I really need some coffee. Or tea.”
Auric went over to a coffee pot and paused before turning back to face me, a slightly manic smile on his face. “You just want normal coffee, or do you want something more...fun?”
I rubbed my eyes. I felt tired, more tired than I’d ever felt in all my long years of life. “As long as it’s highly caffeinated, I don’t really care. Surprise me.”
“One Hellbrew, coming up! Not even Measured drinks this stuff!”
I looked at the steaming mug and raised an eyebrow. Then, I lifted the mug to my lips and drank. The black ichor flowed through my old, mouldy body and invigorated my system. Then, my eyes shot wide open as the caffeine shot through my head. Unconsciously, my hands started twitching. With a momentary flare of power, my gloves shot right off, and my full magical might, hit by unexpected caffeine, flared outwards, forming a rainbow-coloured skull around me. Frost spread all around me in a snowflake pattern as the coffee turned my brain to mush then reconstituted.
“I’ll take that as a ‘my compliments to the chef,” Auric commented, “Or is there something else I should take it as when my coffee makes you magicgasm?”
“B͉̿͑͗̐aͣͨ͗'̤̟ͧḊ̢ͧ̄́ͣͫu͈̺̎̅ͫ̂̑̋v̟̹̗̯͎͗̀e̿̌r̗̘͐͗̌̓́a̘ͧͨ͑̀ ̛̹̼̠͈̻͐͐D͉̼͙̥͇͕͎͊ͯ̔̍a̭̞̫̽͗̾ͅn̿ͮ̏̒҉͖ị͈̭̻͍̠̻ͪ͘t̝̱̯̓͆͗̉͊̅̿o̬!̖͍̘̼̏ͩ̆̏͠ ͒̅̀͆̋̇̚”
I coughed awkwardly as the eldritch swear words rolled off my tongue. “Don’t repeat that one to my mother. Long may she be dead.” Well, Understanding was buried in the aftermath.
“Anyway, Mr Auric. I presume you’re from Earth. Well, I’m not.”
That was the easiest bit to say. Auric rolled his eyes again. “No, really? I would think someone would have said something about an ancient lich wandering the world, freezing everything, and looking fabulous while doing it.”
I nodded. “I come from a world known as Ranreia.” Unconsciously, my hand tugged at my robes, opening them quickly. Ping Pong Circulate started playing loudly as I started talking.
“You see, when I was twenty years old, I attained Epic-Level status, and became… well, immensely powerful in the process. But I wanted to experience death, so I became a lich to satisfy my morbid obsession.” I threw my upper robe off, nipples starting to glow. Twilight gagged and tried to look away as I continued.
“But I saw one Earth where a man dressed in armour, with a tabard of the sun was handed a staff and disappeared. Seeing that some reckless fool was giving Earth humans magical artifacts and sending them somewhere here.” That said, my hands quickly unclasped my myriad belts.
“But then I met The Merchant. He might have looked human, but he wasn’t. He was one of The Things That Fill The Void, and he had a purpose. I know not. I confronted him, and due to a lapse in judgment, I was sent to Equestria. The rest, as you say, is history.” The lower robe was thrown off, onto a counter. I stood up, only my black silk undergarments and hat still on. My nipples glowed brightly, and I arched backwards.
“From your being here, I presume that you must have met the same merchant.” My hand tugged at my undergarments-
“Whoa there. This ain’t a strip-joint. Keep your underpants on, please. I’m still straight, thank you very much. It’s not that I have a problem with those who like their own gender, I just have no desire to look at yours.”
I nodded. “Sorry, it’s just a habit I picked up. There’s nothing more disheartening to a hero then seeing their sworn enemy start to strip in front of them.” With rainbow circles surrounding my hands, my clothes returned onto me.
“Thank you. And yes, I did meet a merchant. Sold me the sword. Now I know why. Would never have pegged him as an Eldritch Horror, but then, you never do until they start chanting in tongues not meant for mortal kind.”
“As far as I can believe, he had specific targets. People who would become disaffected, people who would fall into abusing power. He might have misjudged you. In any case, he sold it at a Convention. You’d find vengeful, angry people who only need the right push to make them complete psychopaths.”
Auric hmmed at that. “That explains the Triad…And...possibly some others…”
“The Merchant is preventing me from leaving. I like this place, but I don’t want to die here. And I won’t.” I disliked thinking about that. Auric nodded at my statement.
“You like it here, but not enough to bring your toiletries over. You’d like the option to go home, but can’t because you have to get past the fat bastard in the door blocking it. I never sought to go home...but if he’s keeping you here…”
I frowned. “I’ll go home eventually. At least one future has that. A rather nasty one, to be sure.”
Auric shook his head. “Not what I was getting at. After all, who can tell what the future might hold for any of us Displaced? No, if he’s keeping you, a centuries-old lich, from breaking through to your home, then what hope is there for those of the Displaced that want to return?”
I tapped my fingers. “It’s not that I can’t break through, but the results would be bad. A Cascade would happen.” If he knew the whole Multiverse, then he knew what happened when you poked too hard.
“A Cascade?” Twilight was interested in that. Auric chimed in. “I’ve...heard of a resonance cascade, where two worlds merged or some such thing. Would this be similar, or are we talking about something far worse? Like, end of the multiverse worse?”
I gripped the mug so tight that cracks formed. “When I was young, my grandmother told me of a story of another Ranreia. There were wizards there, who for their own pleasure pulled warriors to fight for their own amusement. At least one looked like Darth Vader. But the prisoners tried to return, resulting in a Cascade.”
The mug shattered in my hand. “A Resonance Cascade, like you’re describing, isn’t too dangerous. But if the worlds’ don’t resonate, then… it’s just a crash. The Void is the buffer, but if worlds collide without anything too similar… the worlds cease to ever have been Like, retroactively. My grandmother was there, and she barely escaped. She took me to the patch of Void where that universe stood. Total nothingness. Two universes retroactively wiped from existence.”
Auric blinked a few times and looked at the shattered mug. “To think, some scientists back home thought two universes accidentally bumping one another is what started the Big Bang. Well. Now I know what not to ever ever do.”
“The Merchant is afraid of me, as well he should. I’ve killed many of his kind before, and I’m perfectly prepared to hunt him down. But he’s hiding on the other side of the multiverse, some distant plane that I cannot reach.”
Auric smiled up at me, though the look in his eyes was not one of joy. “Hiding in all of inifinity is easy...it’s hiding and not being found that’s hard. And you think you’re capable of taking him down? I took down the bloody Wise One, supposed Master of Psynergy.”
I nodded. “I’ve fought gods before, and I won most rounds.”
Auric shook his head. “It wasn’t a fight, it was a slaughter. I sealed his strength, then deconstructed him on the atomic level.”
“Eesh.” I stretched, tired. “Well, I do want to see what this plane has to offer before leaving. But right now, sleep sounds good. I haven’t had a proper night’s sleep for a thousand years.”
“Try being chained up for fifteen-hundred some time. Sets things in perspective.” Auric walked over to the door and knocked on it once. “Guest room, please.”
The door opened to the bedroom we’d seen once before, this time absent a mare checking it over. “And while I’d normally delight in giving you a tour of this plane, Xante, more bipeds walking around wouldn’t be a good idea, especially when one’s a dopple of Celestia’s favored student.”
I turned to Twilight. “I’ll take some photos for you, okay? But you heard him. YOU’RE already here, so don’t try any hiding spells, mkay?”
“Okay…” she grumbled, choosing a bed and getting in. I flopped on mine and fell asleep practically instantly.
Auric watched from the door, then sighed. “Gonna need to write up a list...a long list…”
The door shut, and silence reigned.
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Just a heads up, it appears as though everything after
is in italics.
Gotta say, one of the funniest quirks I've read about is Xante stripping whenever he starts monologuing.
Someone forgot something important. Namely: to turn off italics.
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Thank you for that. Been fixed now.
oh this will be fun
So, question, is this a direct copy of Thadius's chapter. Just asking.
4354358
... yes.
I'm not proud of it, but we worked on it together, so... technically half copy?
4354524 I'm not blaming you for taking it, I was just wondering because I Favorited both stories and I wanted to know if it was because when this showed up I just got done reading Thadius's chapter and I didn't want to read the same chapter twice.
4354546
Fair enough.
thanks for the update!!
4354524 Nah, I think it works really well this way, you both worked on it, you both submitted it. On that note, I think this is much better than the last cross-over you worked on, Auric is in full character and Xante is noticeably silly, despite the seriousness of the situation he is in. Only thing that seems to be missing is the running joke of ponies not getting his name right (with an X, not a Z) and a few more of his quirks, but those may be in the part 2 bit, as he would probably act more like himself when not stuck in the Void Eternal. So here's to giving Measured Thought a measurable breakdown.
Everyone who decided to make a fic about a displaced villain from another universe is now coming together to make a massive continuity with more continuity than the show itself.
… I like Xante… too much… Now I can't choose between wether he should look like a Hollow (Dark Souls) version of Aikuro Mikusugi, or Richard… SON OF A F-
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4355285
I'm sorry. Just for you, the next two chapters are going to be devoted to this crossover.
I laughed way too hard for a normal person at the stripping scene.
4356180 I couldn't help but laugh at his reasoning... I mean, it's perfectly sound, that's something no hero would ever expect.
How do you do that effect?
Is Xante's stripping habits inspired by the leader of Nudist Beach from the anime Kill La Kill? The way you described the pose and him stripping reminded me of it.
4359425
̱͇̤̙̗̺̳̫̪͌̊̑ͦͩ̚Z̗̬͎̮̖̰̥̭̫͐̈́͆A͍̟͙͔̺̜̣ͮL̞̗̩̮̞̐̒͋̓G͙͕̼͔̙̾̂̚O̙͍͔͓̺͎̟̓!̣͉̲̦͍̬͈̤ͨ̓
Yeah. Don't get caught up in it, mate.
Actually, a resonance cascade is when the energy is pushed through certain materials to the point that they become simultaneously self-sufficient and cyclically charged, leading to the energies exponentially increasing in power until it eventual rips a tear in the fabric between worlds. This is what lead to the invasion of Earth and the seven-hour war.
4637642 F̦̪̯̩̓͐ͪ̅̊͟u͖̠̳c̛̱̊̔k͏̹͔̤̥ͅ ̝̹̳̀à̻͖̝̝̞̖̓͐̿̅ͧ̿ͅ ̠̥͈͉͙͔̮͜Ḍ̗͉̝̎̏̆û̃̆͑̈ͯc͓̝̦̼̲̄̃ͥ͘k͏̙̻͓̘ ̩̗͍̮̐̒̓͊͟u̠̠̝̠͈ͨ͛ͧ̀p͉ͭͮ̃͟ͅ ̹͆̄̋͞t͓͠h͈̝̅̔ͣ͞ḛ̏͂̾͋ͮ ̝̞ͪ͆͑͋̀͂ͪb͕͙͇̥̹̻̂û͑ţ̪̯̖̬͊ͩ̅̂̒ť̛̠̑
kill la kill references.
11/10 - Even though I hate multiverse stories.
Good explanation. As a general rule, however, revelations or epiphanies of this like are even better when there were more hints, or some kind of character dialogue, leading up to them. Xander just threw that bombshell in as mundanely as one might talk about the weather. Gotta go for drama!
...Even if in this case, it was anything but a great revelation, at least from Xander's PoV. Still, as an author, you have an obligation to sensationalize these sorts of things as much as possible.
I remember this crossover.
4383238
I'm pretty sure it's them and Gray Fullbuster from Fairy Tail.