I must insist we go with selection number two as it provides the most significant increase in efficiency to our goal.
I rolled my, well technically Shields’, eyes at his mental assertion. “Seriously, Sheilds? ‘Efficiency to our goal?’” I said aloud, “we’re picking colors to repaint a cottage not planning world domination. Besides, I see way too much yellow in this world as it is. We’re going with blue.”
If I am to suffer the indignity of sitting trapped in my cranium while you use my body for menial tasks, we should at least to so as quickly as possible so we can separate and go back to our original objectives.
“Don’t be such a drama bot, Shields.” I could sense him sulking in the back of my consciousness. “Inq wanted to learn about organic thought processes and the abstract concepts that motivated them in the war, right? The best way to do that is to mingle amongst them. We got the first step out of the way by making a positive impression during our first contact.”
I take it you are not including your ‘art’ that flooded the psychiatric offices with activity for weeks afterward? Shield’s thought came snidely.
“Shut up, Shields,” I snapped irritably as I tossed the color cards aside and started moving equipment from the walls. “Anyway, the next step we have to do is establish a safe ‘home’ that they can visit. We can’t have them thinking this place looks like a rusty chop shop out of a horror movie.”
So…the next step in diplomacy is making a rusty chop shop look like a blue chop shop?
“Hey, I didn’t say it was a big step.”
You realize there are more…essential matters we could attend to, correct? Shields hesitantly projected the thought with all the caution of navigating a mine field. Such as checking our restraints on the indoctrination fields to prevent further casualties? It may be wise to examine the mare’s level of deterioration to insure-
Shields never finished his thought as I activated the biotic generators and flicked my ‘borrowed’ hands sending streams of blue-white streams of energy lashing about me before fading away. Seconds later, a nearby titanium ingot burst into paper-thin ribbons separated at the molecular level.
“Shields, you will shut the Hell up and listen very closely,” I spoke in a voice that sounded cold and devoid of all emotion as it hadn’t in millennia. In fact, it sounded more fitting to my Reaper predecessor. “We caught the slip up in time. Nopony was indoctrinated to a point beyond treatment. Everything possible has been put into effect to insure this doesn’t happen again. And, more importantly, the mare has a name. Unless you want your minuscule personality purged from the system, you will not flippantly bring up that past incident again because of being pissy at having your body directed for a little home improvement. You will not describe her as some random variable in a report or an experiment. Do I make myself clear?”
…affirmative.
After letting the silence stretch for a time, I nodded my head and let the mood lighten up. “I realize using your platform so often has left a strain but I have a new platform in the works. Until it’s finished, I ask that you bear with the situation a bit longer. Then this platform will be strictly yours and you’ll be a proper assistant not a mental roomie stuck sharing one cranium space. Fair enough?”
Fair enough, sir.
After clearing some boxes, I stepped back and studied the wall through a frame made with Shields’ fingers. “So, MS,” I said, all trace of the cold anger gone from my voice, “got any ideas for a good theme? Perhaps something borrowed from my old memories on Earth? Something that would be similar enough to them to be familiar but still have than alien quality. I’m thinking either Hello Kitty or My little Pet Shop?”
I heard Shields give the equivalent of a snort from the back of my consciousness, Perhaps something along the parameters of ‘won’t break their universe if a pony walks in and sees it’ would be more called for?
“Oh, come on MS,” I groaned, “please don’t start again with your rubbish about the entertainment industry seeing the existence of other worlds across the fabric of reality. I refuse to believe the multiverse is so unimaginative as that.”
You would be surpr- WARNING! Incoming multiverse disturbance detected.
I looked quickly to my left to see a rift in the air. “What the He- Ack!!” *Clang* Something flew through the rift and smacked the side of my head, knocking me to the floor. After a moment sprawled on the ground, I shook my head clear and forced myself up to get a look around. The rift was closed and the offending object, a canister of some sort, lay beside me. I picked it up and gingerly opened it to check its contents. It was a letter.
To you who find this folder-
If you are reading this, you are what I refer to as a Displaced. Some of us are being held here, in worlds not our own, by one known as The Merchant, a Void-Dweller of great power. If you can use these notes to find your way back to your relative home, I wish you the best of luck. Either because The Merchant is not to be trifled with, or because finding your relative Earth in all the Multiverse is like trying to find a grain of sand in a sandstorm.
Personally, I do not desire to leave. True, abandoning my life on Earth seems cowardly. But the power I now wield confers a responsibility, one that I fulfill willingly. And life in Equestria is more likely to be peaceable than life on Earth.
To those that want to return, I wish you the best of luck, and tell you that the best of results could be gathered by using something that you brought with you.
To those that wish to remain, I tell you that these notes can easily be reversed and used to shield your home from intrusions. Most notably, Discord could find them useful.
To those of you that wish to try to fight The Merchant, I tell you that he will likely not go down easy. Your best bet is to find the one known as Xante and team up with him.
And to those of you that wish to drag us all back...
Do not test me.
-Auric Fulcrum, Master of Psynergy, Wielder of the Flames of Alchemy, Slayer of the Wise One, Knight of the Eclipse, Lord of Eureka, Blade of Understanding
So, he continued his little schemes, Shields said thoughtfully.
“You think this ‘Merchant’ might be the same one Inquisitor ran into?”
You needn’t make hasty assumptions, sir, Shields remarked dryly, I’m sure it could be one of the other Interdimensional beings using enchanted items to fling humans across the multiverse while calling himself ‘The Merchant.’
I face palmed at the remark. “Yes, MS, I’m well aware the foundation of your AI is based on my own cynicism. Even so, would it be too much to ask you crank down the snark?”
No promises.
I sighed and looked back at the letter. “Still, I’m actually surprised the guy kept on with his little pranks after that scare from Inquisitor.”
The multiverse is in a constant flux. It is possible this letter was written by and to displaced that were thrown around before we ever met The Merchant, Shields pointed out. Furthermore, the only agreement made regarding his activates was that nothing would impede the mission left to us by Inquisitor. That doesn’t necessarily forbid him in interfering with the lives of others.
“True enough,” I conceded, looking over the letter with an intense stare, “and this Auric character sounds interesting. Alchemy? Blade of understanding?
It could just be organic superstition.
“From someone able to send messages throughout the Mulitverse?”
Fair point, Shields said darkly.
“I wonder how many others may be out there?”
Well, if- WARNING! Incoming multiverse disturbance detected.
“Aw, crap. Not this agai-” a rift opened in the air again, this time burying me in an avalanche of knickknacks and memorabilia. When the rift finally closed, I pulled myself from under the pile and took stock of how much came through. There seemed to be enough items to start a curio shop. And every one of them had a magic signature indicating links to another universe.
Based on the evidence before us, I would say that many, Shields said sarcastically.
I ignored his attitude in favor of staring at my new treasure-trove of interdimensional beacons.
“Shields,” I breathed, “do you realize what this means?”
Indeed I do, sir, Shields said grimly, so many displaced in the universe poses a significant liability to our mission and the safety of this universe. I will see to-
“THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE I CAN TALK TO NOW!!!”
FOR THE SAKE OF ALL SENTIENCE, WOULD YOU SHUT UP AND THINK THINGS THROUGH FOR A CHANGE!?! I blinked at Shields’ outburst. After taking a moment to collect himself, he started speaking in slow tempo and a tone one might have heard an adult use to a child; a very hyperactive child with the attention span of a gnat and severe brain damage. I realize your old human needs for interaction are still flaring after a very very VERY long time in solitude, but let’s go over all of the facts, shall we? Considering the impact our own intrusion has had on this world, it may not be prudent to introduce more influences from other sections of the multiverse.
He waited for me to nod slowly in acknowledgement before he continued, What’s more, even factoring how erratic humans in general can be, there’s no predicting how each one may have been affect by the artifacts they received from The Merchant. Some, if not all, may well have been driven violently insane by their own journeys and artifacts. And even if only a few are hostile? They could very well still be in conflict with one another; the sort of conflict that tears whole worlds apart.
For both the sake of our mission and the safety of this world, the best thing we can do is focus on using this equation to seal off our section of the multiverse; whether putting this Discord to work, using our own resources, or a combination of the two.
After listening to Shields lay out his points, I nodded sadly and gave the pile of beacons a dejected look. “You’re right, of course, MS,” I sighed. “It’s probably for the best. Afterall it’s the only logical, responsible choice. It only makes sense that we should- YOINK!!!” I yelled out grabbing a random object before Shields could object and reveling at the pull by another universe.
DAMN IT, WHY DID MY CREATOR HAVE TO BE SUCH A GLITCHY BAST-!?
When I saw the title and the pic, I thought you were intending a cross over between MLP and the new orleans saints. Sorry, wrong saints....
… I call dibs.
Just kidding. I'm not ready to write again yet. I'm taking a temporary vacation from writing. I'll be back on my feet in a while. Just need some time to cook up a few ideas. Especially for Blazing Skies.
hah, that ending. xD
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I am far from publishing, let alone being ready for fic crossovers, but hell yes I am going to use this at some point.
Pleeeeeeeeeeease keep any ridiculous Displaced crossover completely separate from this main story. Crossovers like that are always so terrible.
5487030
Yes if you do this you will have my down vote, it's a good story don't kill it .
Wow... Reapers starting up in other displaced realities...
I can think of a few characters that'd probably shit their pants.
5487073
5487030
While I respect others opinions, isn't that kind of strong hate without even getting the whole story first? To those panicking over this, looking at it now maybe random seeming, decision please at least look at the following before freaking out.
1) Part of the reason I joined displaced grp was that there were authors on board whose work I respected and would like to work with at some point. Part of the reason I joined the site was to improve my writing style and one way many will tell you is to learn to work with others in the craft.
2) Contrary to the appearance of complete randomness the last chapter, I am being highly selective of which story this one might collab with. There were specific stories in displaced I saw where certain characters and/or story plots looked like they would work well with what I have in mind. When I get PMs of authors whose stories I didn't see yet, I plan to proceed carefully to make sure it doesn't devolve into a rush job done just for the sake of seeing a cameo.
3) This story is in its infancy and I am well aware that it may evolve into something that's not suited for the displaced universe. That's why I brought this chapter in as a separate side piece. Ever seen Marvel and DC use some of their stories with AU one-shots? What if stories? Even if the story itself remains standalone, I still plan to leave openings where I can have the opportunity to at least have one-shots that can take advantage of some of the concepts that caught my attention here: Fighting in a multiverse wide conflict such as the war of understanding, seeing Jeff's reaction to the superpowers of the group and vice versa, the reaction of seeing others (good guys and bad) having to call on a mad Reaper to help save the day, seeing how his Reaper tech reacts with other powers and people ( is he hindered+/strengthened, are they helped+/hurt, or something in the middle), and more besides?
So in short: yes, there is a method to the madness.
Above all, I'm here to have some fun. I came here to share my interest with others, goof around, and meet and talk with others online with a like mind. If you have a concern about it feel free to write it in, I did say I'm open to suggestions, but you needn't feel obligated to come running with the Flame Stick or the Dislike Doom Gun first thing(on me or on others).
5486998
5486794
Thanks for the compliment. Hope you continue to enjoy.
5486651
5486527
I'm flattered that you've considered. When you finished don't hesitate to shoot something by and us work something out.
Moarrrrr
5487655 For example
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/93383/five-score-divided-by-four
https://www.fimfiction.net/group/199509/ponyearthverse
and also that universe I can't remember where a griffon starts an army, gets a huge air ship, gets with Gilda, etc. And another story in that universe is a mute diamond dog who communicates by writing words in the air with his chaos claws.
and many many more.
Basically they are all shining examples of fanfiction on the internet. It's not like those stories are automatically bad just for being what they are... but they are still written poorly the vast majority of the time and are in general 'not good'.
5489380
I see your point and, again, respect your opinion and appreciate how much you value this story I worked to make. I only ask you remember these things before assuming the worst.
1) I'm not rushing into this without thinking it through. There are backdoors and contingencies left to make sure the writing itself doesn't suffer. At worst, this may be a onetime chapter and/or lead to a separate story elsewhere.
2) Technically, all stories (good or bad) are counted as fanfic on site simply for the fact that it can never make professional publish as it borrows an existing from somewhere. I am no exception. Just trying to have fun while improving skills.
3) Discounting your wariness of verse stories in general think, reeeally think, about this chapter plot.
Immortal cyborg/computer Jeff is staring at a pile of artifacts leading to a host of potentially insane and powerful beings. For the sake of talking to someone else with his perspective he is grabbing out going "ME WANT ME WANT!" Meanwhile, poor Marauder "Jiminy Cricket" Shields is desperately chanting "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!" from inside his head. Can you honestly say that isn't funny? I couldn't. So, even if this were never to hit the Displaced verse, I would still have written this chapter.
5489626 Fair enough. And also I guess I was in a bad mood this morning >_< sorry.
I do think it would be best to keep the Displaced thing to a separate side story if you were to do it. Maybe it wouldn't be awful. I like your writing :P
"Don't drop the soapstone"
-Solaire of Astora
I here by abandon ship. Had enough of this displaced fad.
5510952 wus
Oh great. It's one of THOSE stories. And it seemed so promising at first.
<points a shaking finger>
Fuuuuuuck you, Auric! Your story was only good for as long as Headless not Heartless ran. Anything past that was beating a dead horse!
Also, why do you call it Displaced? It's LoHAV(League of Humans Acting Villainous). It started as LoHAV and will always be that in my heart...
Though it suffered a fate a lot other Collabs have... Being filled with stories of bad quality. I mean, one didn't have to read em, but sometimes a story I liked had a crossover with terrible story I tried reading but gave up on... Causing me to stop reading if it had huge impact on main storyline
5600600 My thoughts exactly. I got worried when last chapter mentioned a convention, but this one sealed it.
What the- what was all that nonsense at the start? I feel like I suddenly missed half a story or somethi-
5486651
5487073
Please, listen to them. This story involves a freaking Reaper making first contact and trying to build trust and understanding with Equestria. There is freaking countless ways you could advance this story without letting it become so ridiculous. None of this displacement stuff is needed. Everything about this story, the title and description and everything else, says that this is Mass Effect. If this continues, then all of that will be nothing more than a lie. I just can't comprehend why you would do something like this just when the story was getting good. Sure the main character is annoying, but all the others are very in-character and interesting to read about interacting with an alien presence. Please don't ruin everything you've built up like this. Have you heard of K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid)? That's what you need to do. This is definitely not KISS.
I'm sorry to be so blunt about this, but I have never seen a story do something like this which didn't immediately suffer a massive drop in quality, become abandoned, or lose any sense of coherency (sometimes all of the above). No offense, but I really don't see it ending any differently if done here. One big warning sign is the call for crossovers in the authors note. Bringing in characters from other stories (especially since they're almost all self-insert garbage) just can't end well for this story. There is seriously no reason for any of this stuff to be added. There just isn't. You've got enough material here already for a hundred stories. Why more?
5487655
The problem here is that this isn't a displaced fic. Nothing ever indicated such a thing (except for that one contrived part which, of course, completely disrupted the flow of the story), and whether you like it or not doesn't change the fact that it doesn't fit in a story like this. If nothing else, it would make things so unbelievably needlessly complicated. Not only that, but pretty much 99% of those Convention (League of Self-Inserts Failing to be Witty While Failing at Characterization and Pretty much Anything Else in the Writing) fics are just terrible. That you might start bringing those characters into this story...
Sorry, but even if you did the collab with the best authors from the group (whose stories might have even been very good), it still doesn't change the fact that this story just doesn't fit with those displacement fics. This is a ME crossover fic with everything so far explicitly being ME related only. I just don't see any possible way changing that this far in won't end badly for the fic in an almost uncountable number of ways. It doesn't even have anything to do with your writing abilities; you could be the best writer ever and I wouldn't see it working out.
Honestly, I'd say just leave it as a separate story. Any time something from the displacement group would be added, just have a separate fic to put it in, and leave the main story as is. Better yet, just have the other fic start out with the displacement stuff already involved so it doesn't seem so forced.
I am both confused and worried; I didn’t even know this was a displaced story, I thought it was an au with ME
DA FUQ?—
JUST, WHY?!...