Case 13: A Warrior, and a Teacher
[POV: Twilight Sparkle]
The day after Cruger showed up, he, Trixie, Spike, and I were sitting at the table eating breakfast. Spike, despite not having made it before, made some sausage for Cruger, so he could have a full breakfast meal.
Cruger grinned, “thanks again for putting me up Twilight, hope I didn’t keep you up while I was working though.” Today he was dressed in a more casual manner, blue jeans with a red T-shirt and a black hoodie.
Trixie shrugged, “We’re used to Twilight working at night.” Spike nodded and I blushed slightly. “But what were you working on?”
Cruger pulled out a folder, “equations for a transdimensional jump between two separate Elysiums, favor for a friend of mine.”
“Elysium?” I asked curiously.
“From what I can gather from my research, a combination afterlife and realm of the gods.”
“There are gods out there?” Trixie asked in shock.
Cruger scooped up some eggs before continuing, “you bet, some of them are actually nice. I should know, I babysat for one.”
We all blinked several times. “You foalsat a god?” my marefriend asked.
“No, Celestia and Luna are merely demigods, their mother was the goddess. Maybe you’ve heard of her? Her name’s Faust.”
I thought for moment before shaking my head. “I’ve never heard that name before,” I said.
Cruger shrugged before cutting some of his sausage, “guess mythologies aren’t a constant, though you’re taking the fact that I foalsat your mentor rather well if I may say.”
“Ashley mentioned it to us,” I said.
“I see,” Cruger took a bite out of his sausage, “by the way Spike, how did you get these?”
“I asked Ashley if she could supply us with some meat for your stay here,” he answered.
Cruger whistled, “Chaos magic is handy, not to say that Dimensional magic isn’t, but still. Oh, just a heads up, mind if I make dinner tonight? I’ve got this recipe for vegetarian lasagna that I’m trying to master, still can’t quite get the sauce to noodle ratio right.”
Spike nodded, “Sure, I’d like to see what you can make.” Trixie and I nodded in agreement.
Cruger grinned, “thanks, next step make a shopping list.” He pulled out a notepad, “let’s see, noodles, tomatoes, mushrooms, basil,” there was a knock at the door, “huh, that should be Ashley, here for more training no doubt.”
“Come in,” I called out.
The door opened and, like Cruger had guessed, Ashley walked in.
“Hey, guys. Not interrupting anything am I?” she asked.
“Not at all,” Cruger replied, “you do that homework I gave ya?”
She nodded, “Yeah, and I gotta say it’s really interesting magic that you use.”
“Glad you think so,” Cruger popped the last of his breakfast into his mouth, “ready for lesson 2?”
“Sure am,” she answered. “Should we head somewhere else?”
“Yep, to the market, time for practical applications 101”
[POV Change: Ashley]
Cruger and I stood in the middle of the market. It was early, so there weren’t too many ponies there, but there were a few.
“Alright, stay still.” Cruger took out a piece of chalk and drew a circle around me.
“What is that for?” I asked as I watched him draw the circle.
“A simple exercise that you can do yourself,” Cruger stood up and handed me a piece of paper, “I’m making lasagna tonight and you’re buying the ingredients, without stepping outside of that circle. You and Sean are invited by the way.”
“Thanks,” I replied. “Alright, let’s see if I can get this,” I muttered to myself. I focused my magic and began looking for two points I could fold or an already folded area. I soon found two points and began folding them. They connected rather easily and a portal opened up.
“Not bad,” Cruger noted, “definitely faster than yesterday. Now, without closing them, try moving the portals around, one in front of you, one in front of the stall.”
I concentrated on the tomato stall and tried moving the portal over to it. At first it didn’t budge, but soon it slowly started to move.
“Good start, once you get good enough the speed that you can move those at, as well as how easily you can make them, will improve.”
I stepped through the portal and was in front of the stall.
“Ah ah, I said don’t leave the circle. Try turning them horizontal and just sticking your upper body through.”
After stepping back through, I turned the portal horizontally and stuck my torso through it. I was about buy the fruit when I realized something. Looking back I asked, “How many?”
Cruger thought, “2 lbs, but it should be on the list.”
I looked at the list and saw that it was indeed on there. Chuckling sheepishly I bought the produce and pulled myself out of the portal.
Cruger took the tomatoes and placed them into a portal he conjured. “Good start, when you get good enough, you can increase the difficulty of the exercise by adding restrictions, such as reducing the size of the portals or needing to increase the number of portals you need to pass through. Oh, good morning miss Cheerilee.”
Cheerilee jumped slightly at suddenly being addressed, but when she saw us she smiled. “Good morning Cruger, Ashley,” she greeted.
“I heard that Sean’ll be helping out at the school,” Cruger said as I went to purchase the spices.
She nodded, “Yes, as you can imagine it’s difficult to keep an eye on so many foals, so he’s going to help me.”
Cruger grinned, “that they can. Hey, mind if I help out come Monday? I think they’ll get a kick out of learning from somebody from a different universe.”
Cheerilee giggle lightly “That they would.” She put a hand to her chin in thought, “I don’t see why not. As long as it’s suitable for foals.”
Cruger tapped his chin as I went for some jalapenos, “how does basic mechanics sound, levers, pulleys and the like?”
“Sounds interesting, but you’re going have find a way to get them interested. I’m not sure how excited they’ll be for that,” she answered.
“Not a problem, I’m a proponent of hands on learning. By the end of it the smallest student in your class will leave feeling as strong as Big Macintosh.”
Cheerilee smiled, “Alright then. I’ll see you Monday.”
“See you then,” Cruger looked at the pile of ingredients at his feet, “looks like that’s everything. So, what do you think of my little training method?”
“It’s interesting and effective. It isn’t easy, but not completely impossible,” I said.
Cruger nodded, “it’s a method than can be easily modified to help you practice almost any kind of magic, for example you can practice your pegasus magic by shopping without touching the ground. And you can replace grocery shopping with almost any chore.”
“That’s a good idea. I might try that with my other magic.”
“As would I if I had any,” Cruger sent the rest of the groceries through his portal, “now if you don’t mind, the sauce is a process that’ll take all afternoon. Why don’t you try opening the portal there? I marked the destination, all you have to do is connect there with here.”
“Alright,” I said and activated my magic. I grabbed a piece of reality near us while I looked for Cruger’s marker. In the distance, in the direction of what I believe was Twilight’s treehouse, was a small piece of what felt like Cruger’s magic. I grabbed it and pulled the two points together, creating a portal that lead to the library.
Cruger grinned, “that was a marker, think of it like a waypoint on a GPS. Now, how about a bit of a challenge?”
“Okay. What?” I asked.
Cruger stepped through the portal, “simple, figure out how to make a marker. I’ll check on you once I get this sauce simmering. It’s not like you’re going to learn anything if I hold your hand all the time.”
I nodded, “OK, I’ll try.”
“Do or do not, there is no try.” Cruger grinned, “Yoda is so quotable despite his unique speech pattern isn’t he?” Before I could respond, he closed the portal.
I rolled my eyes slightly before activating my magic. I began to focus on the location I wanted to mark. I decided on doing it just in front of the library. I began to concentrate my magic on the location. However, no matter how much I focused, I couldn’t seem to get what Cruger had done to happen. Remembering how he described them as GPS waypoints, I decided to change my target for here in the market. I concentrated on the tomato stall from earlier and tried again. This time I felt a similar feeling as when I felt Cruger’s marker. However when I removed my magic, it faded. I tried again a few times, but I couldn’t get it to stay. Then I realized, Cruger’s marker felt like it was partially inside of the fabric of reality, so I tried again, this time sticking my magic into the fabric of reality instead of just on top of it. This time the feeling stayed. As I congratulated myself, a small scroll fell on top of my head. “This must be how Celestia feels when she gets a friendship report” I thought to myself as I read it.
Well done, it seems that you’ve figured out how to make markers.
As you may have noticed, markers can be temporary or permanent, and can only be placed in your general vicinity.
Now, your homework is to place a few more markers. Put them in places you’ll want to be able to port to on a regular basis, Derpy’s house, the school, town hall, you get the idea.
Cruger
P.S. try altering the signature of each tag slightly, think of it as naming them so you can tell them apart.
P.P.S. Dinner’s at 7, invite Sean for me would ya?
“That will be useful,” I said to myself. I snapped my fingers and teleported to where Sean was.
[POV Change: Twilight]
I have to say, watching Cruger cook is kinda fun. He told me that he likes to mix using his Dimensional magic with everyday tasks to keep in practice, but watching him do it is rather impressive. He used portals to remove the spices from the bags without opening them, and used a series of portals next to each other to cut the vegetables and put them into the pot. He was also using his sword skills, dicing a few tomatoes in mid-air and chucking them into another portal that led to a small bowl. Any one of those would be impressive, but he was doing them all at the same time.
“Hey Spike,” Cruger called out, “mind giving those tomatoes a light toast?”
“Sure,” he said and blew a small flame over the tomatoes.
“Good,” Cruger placed a small cheesecloth over the bowl, opened up a small portal over the bowl. Before I could wonder what he was up to, a bowling ball dropped out of it. Cruger then started rolling the ball, presumably to get all the tomatoes that weren’t squashed in the initial impact. Once he was satisfied, he removed the ball and cheesecloth and spooned the tomatoes into the pot.
Trixie shook her head, “I have never seen anypony prepare food with such, gusto.”
Cruger grinned, “I must admit, my first instructor was a little eccentric.” As he stirred the pot, he started humming to himself, “yein, not shmur, ya do, cadishcado, iko yashmerdy ho bork bork bork.”
“What is that you are humming?” I asked curiously.
“Let’s just say my first instructor sang that a lot and leave it at that.”
“Well, it’s very interesting,” I said.
“True, now if you don’t mind, this needs to simmer for several hours. I hope that if I’m unavailable, you could give it a bit of a stir every 15 minutes or so?”
I nodded, “Of course. Are you planning to do something or are you saying just in case?”
“Just in case,” Cruger replied, “you know how crazy Ponyville can get.”
We all chuckled at that. “Yeah, but it’s a wonderful place regardless,” I said.
<~~>
Cruger might be eccentric in the kitchen, but he sure can cook. The lasagna he made was excellent, if a little runny. The sauce was a little spicy, but just enough to give it a bit of a kick. He used a small mountain of cheddar, swiss, and mozzarella cheese, and each layer had thinly sliced stir fried mushrooms to give an excellent texture. He even managed to make homemade garlic bread. In addition to the food, the company was great as well. Me, Cruger, Spike, Trixie, Sean and Ashley were all having as great a time as we could imagine, although I couldn’t help but groan at some of the subjects being discussed.
“So you have some superheroes called Power Ponies?” Sean asked. Sean and Spike had somehow gotten onto the topic of superheroes and comics.
Spike nodded, “Yeah, they’re Masked Matterhorn, Zapp, Fili Second, Mistress Mare-velous, Radiance, and Saddle Rager.”
Sean snorted at almost all of the names Spike listed off. “So what are their powers?” he asked.
“Masked Matterhorn can shoot a variety of energy beams, Fili Second is the fastest pony in Maretropolis, Zapp can control the forces of nature, Radiance can make energy constructs with the jewelry she wears, Mistress Mare-velous has a lasso that she can psychically control, and Saddle Rager can turn into a huge monster when she gets angry,” he explained.
Sean hummed in thought, “Except for Matterhorn, they all sound like superheroes from our world.”
“Really? Who?” Spike asked, curious.
“Hulk who’s the same as Saddle Rager, Storm who’s like Zapp, Flash is similar to Fili Second, Mare-velous sounds similar to Wonder Woman (except for the psychic link to her lasso), and Radiance is like the Green Lantern,” the rubber man told him.
“Huh, that’s pretty interesting,” Spike said. Trixie and I rolled our eyes and, while not as exasperated as us, Ashley didn’t look like she was really listening to the conversation.
“Nothing personal,” Cruger interjected, “but I’m more a Iron-Man fan myself.”
Sean shrugged, “Everyone has their own likes and dislikes.”
Spike frowned, “who’s Iron-Man?”
“You know that armor that the guard wears?” Cruger replied
“Yeah,” Spike answered.
“Now imagine one that allowed its user to fly, and shoot lasers and missiles.”
“Cool,” Spike said. “But what are missiles?”
“They are explosives that people are able to launch and they fly a good distance to reach their target,” Sean answered.
“Huh, I wonder if there are any Iron-Man Displaced out there?” Cruger wondered aloud.
“Could very well be,” Ashley said. “No telling how many people have been Displaced after all.”
“It would be interesting to meet him if there is,” Sean said.
“That it would,” Cruger replied, “by the way, mind if I ask what other Displaced you’ve met?”
“Besides you, we’ve only met one other. She was a genderbent Fire Fist Ace,” Sean answered. “We also met a Displacer that was helping her, though.”
“Not all Displacers are jerks? That’s going in my notes. Well, my turn.” Cruger removed an iron pendant from around his neck, on it was a black helmet, “this is for Umbra, a genderbent Overlord Displaced with a slight case of sticky fingers. Also, she’s Zinnia’s girlfriend,” he tapped on the bracelet on his wrist, “so I’d be careful if you got in a scrap with either of them.” Cruger put his pendant away and pulled a yellow buckle with a stylized M out of his pocket, “this belongs to Eriba, an age regressed genderbent Majin Bu. She’s the one I’m helping with the Elysium thing I told you about.”
“You’ve met quite a few Displaced. And they all seem rather interesting,” Ashley said.
“Majin Bu? Like Dragon Ball?” Sean asked.
“Yep, although she’s not quite up to par yet,” Cruger replied, “something about getting hit by the Elements, still waiting on the full story.”
“Can’t really imagine what that’s like,” Ashley said. “I’ve seen them used, but I wonder what it’s like to be hit with them.”
“Probably not too bad unless you’ve been naughty,” Cruger grinned, “it did do a rather nice evilectomy on Luna.”
“True,” Ashley agreed. “Though it separated the two here.”
“First rule of the multiverse, there is no such thing as a constant,” Cruger replied sagely.
“So we’ve been gathering,” Sean replied. “Especially with the show’s we’ve been Displaced from influences appearing.”
“Wonder if it’s the Displaced’s arrival that causes the changes, or the Displaced being sent to a world that they match?” Cruger asked.
“Something else for your new team to research I suppose,” Ashley said.
“That it is,” Cruger replied, “though I think you mean ‘our’.”
“Well, you’re the founder and probably leader aren’t you?” Sean questioned.
Cruger chuckled, “true, but it’s as much your team as mine. Now, who wants seconds?”
“Me!” we all chorused.
[POV Change: Sean]
Cruger was a great help these last few days, helping Ashley get the hang of all of her magic, not just Dimensional, but also with Twilight’s research and sparring with me. However, today would bring a challenge that I’m not sure he could handle.
“Good morning children,” said Miss Cheerilee.
“Good morning Miss Cheerilee,” the class chorused.
“I have two announcements,” she started. “Starting today Sean will be helping me in keeping an eye on all of you and he might teach us some things about his world.”
I waved at the foals from the corner of the room.
“Also, today we have a guest teacher. He’s rather different, but he’s a good pony. You can come in Mr.Cruger,” she said.
“Good morning children,” Cruger said.
“What could a Diamond Dog teach us?” Diamond Tiara sneered. Before Cheerilee could reprimand her Cruger interrupted.
“I’ll have you know that I am not a Diamond Dog, miss Tiara, and I dislike being called one. Anyway, today I’m going to be teaching you something so useful, your parents will want to know it.”
“Business advice?” a white and brown colt asked.
“How to sew?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“How to get a mare?” a pegasus colt guessed. I fell to the floor laughing at that. Once I’d calmed down, Cruger spoke.
“Not quite, today I’m going to teach you some simple mechanics.” He pulled out two brooms and a length of rope, “now, can I get some volunteers?”
Dinky and Applebloom’s hands shot up.
“Thank you you two, but I need one more, how about you?” He pointed at Scootaloo, “care to join us?”
The pegasus filly shrugged and walked up to him, the other two joining them.
Cruger tied one end of the rope to one of the broomsticks and started wrapping the rope around both of them. He handed one of the brooms to Applebloom and the other to Scootaloo, then handed the free end of the rope to Dinky. “Before we start, can anypony take a guess as to what will happen when they all start pulling?”
Thoughtful looks spread on most of the foals faces, minus Diamond Tiara who wasn’t really paying attention. Then almost in perfect synchronization they shook their heads.
I chuckled at the sight of this.
“Well let’s find out.” He nodded to the girls who started pulling. The children's looks turned to awe as Dinky, who was by far the smallest one in the class, was overpowering two of the school’s best athletes. As the broomsticks touched, the class started clapping.
The three fillies all looked shocked at what had happened. “How?” they asked simultaneously.
Cruger spread the broomsticks apart, “this is a simple pulley system, notice how the rope loops around the broomsticks several times?” The entire class nodded. “Well, that’s a pulley system. Every time the rope loops, it increases the amount of force pulling the broomsticks together, multiplying the force, as well as the distance you need to pull the rope. Since there are 6 loops, Dinky’s force was multiplied by 6, at the cost of having to pull the rope 6 times as far.”
“Why would you want to pull something farther?” a white filly with a red mane asked with a lisp.
“Well, it’s not that you want to pull it farther, simple mechanics just allows you convert force into distance. You’re still doing the same amount of work, just in a different way.” Cruger wrote on the chalkboard ‘W=DxF’, “doing a job always requires a certain amount of work,” he pointed to the W, “you just get to choose if you’d rather use a lot of force,” he pointed to the F, “or move a longer distance,” he pointed to the D. “This equation doesn’t just apply to pulleys, it also works for ramps and levers. Can anyone think of an example of where you can use a pulley, ramp, or lever?”
“Lifting something to the upper level of the barn?” Applebloom guessed.
Cruger nodded, “you can use either a pulley to lift it up, or push it up a ramp. Anypony else want to take a guess?”
They all shook their heads, seemingly unable to think of another example.
Cruger shrugged, “fair enough. How about this, when you’re next out and about, look around. See if you can spot somepony using a pulley, ramp, or lever. Um, would you mind if assigned a small bit of homework Miss Cheerilee?”
She smiled, “I don’t mind at all. It sounds very useful, what you’re teaching them.”
Cruger nodded, “anyway, I would like all of you to find either a pony using a lever, ramp, or pulley, or a pony in a situation where one would be helpful, and write about it. Now, this was meant to be Sean’s time, so I’ll let him get to it, can’t cover for him too much on his first day.”
I rolled my eyes, “I’m mostly just here to help Cheerilee however she needs. Though I suppose I could think of something.” I rose a hand to my chin in thought. I snapped my fingers as I thought of something. I looked around the room and said, “You all have been rather quiet about it, but I bet you’re wondering about the two of us correct?” They all nodded and I continued, “We are what’s known as Displaced. We can come in many forms as you can see.” I gestured between the two of us, “We can look similar to you all or there could very well be dragons or some other big Displaced out there. Wouldn’t really be surprised considering some of our media.”
Cruger continued, “we also can visit each other using special things we call tokens. If any of you pick something up that you think might be a token, would you mind taking it to Sean or Ashley? You can tell if it’s one if it plays a message when you pick it up.”
The students glanced at each other then nodded.
I smiled, “That would be very helpful, thank you.” I then said, “Something else you should know and be wary of is that more than likely most Displaced will have some kind of power. So be cautious, but don’t outright avoid them. After all they could be friendly, like Cruger here.”
With that, the bell rang, signalling the end of the school day.
I blinked in surprise, “That seemed rather quick.”
“Alright children, Cruger gave you some work to do and I expect you to do it,” Cheerilee said to the class.
“Yes, Miss Cheerilee,” they all said.
Cruger turned towards me, “well, today’s the last day of my vacation, I hope I wasn’t too much of an imposition.”
I smiled, “You kidding? It was great meeting you. Plus, you’ve helped us learn several things. From about the multiverse to helping Ashley learn some new magic.”
Cruger grinned, “glad to, I might be a cop, but I’m also a teacher, mentor Ranger remember. Hey, what do you say to one last sparring match before we head to Pinkie’s farewell party, you’re getting good with second gear, and you might be able to make me morph this time.”
“Sure, it’d be cool to get you to do that before you left,” I said with a slight smirk. “So the Whitetail Woods or the Everfree?”
“Whitetail Woods,” Cruger opened a portal, “I’d rather not have a cockatrice interrupt a friendly sparring match, again.”
I shuddered slightly. That thing’s ability was disturbing. “We took care of it rather easily considering,” I said.
“True enough,” Cruger replied as we stepped through the portal, “now, shall we?”
I nodded and bent to Luffy’s signature pose and activated Second Gear. I stood back up and focused on Cruger.
He drew his blade, “after you.”
I pulled my right arm back while aiming with my left. When I lined up, I started to move, but before I punched I moved to his side and threw my fist forward. He moved his head to the side slightly, causing my fist to miss. Stretching my leg I swung it at his back. He went into a forward roll, causing to miss by the slimmest of margins again.
Cruger grinned, “good work, I’m dodging by less than two centimeters now,” he pulled out his morpher, “you’re finally good enough for me to get serious, SPD EMERGENCY!”
I watched as he was quickly covered in the Power Ranger armor. It was blue and black and had a red outline of the number 100 on a piece of chest armor. The symbol from his badge was in the middle of his helmet, which had two ‘ears’ sticking up from it. A pair of red lights was on the sides of the helmet, and they flashed once, signalling the start of round two.
I whistled, “Much cooler to actually see it.” I then charged and threw a punch at his chest. He brushed it aside with his blade, sending a punch at my head with the same movement. Luckily he didn’t put any haki into the punch and it just sent my head back without any pain. Taking advantage of the moment I pulled my head forward for a headbut. However, he managed to grab my neck and threw me over his shoulder. After bouncing off of the ground, I jumped to my feet. I threw my leg forward for a kick, but he managed to step over it. I wrapped my leg around a tree and pulled myself toward Cruger and tried to clothesline him. He managed to dodge it, but not without falling flat on his back since he was still a little off balance from my last attack. Unwrapping my leg, I stopped myself from moving and ran to Cruger. Once over him, I pulled a fist back and threw down a punch. He managed to escape by opening a portal beneath him. As I looked around trying to find him, I heard him chuckling.
“Well done, I was half expecting you to force me to morph, but to make me tele-dodge?” I saw him standing not too far away, “you have done well my student.”
I chuckled slightly, “Thank you sensei.”
Cruger’s stance shifted to a defensive one, “now, let’s see you get serious, show me the Gum Gum Jet Gatling.”
I paused, but did as he asked. I started throwing my fists forward in quick succession. Although they moved faster than the eye could see, he was able to dodge or block every single one. I blinked several times at the speed he was exhibiting.
“How the hell?” I questioned.
“An advanced form of Subspace-Accel, your wife might be able be able to dash at 1.5c, but I can still see her clearly when she does. I’ll leave notes for her to study when I go.”
“That’d be helpful if we run into any of the other CP9,” I said. “Thanks Cruger, for everything.”
Cruger demorphed, “it was a privilege. Now if you don’t mind, I do not want to find out what happens if you miss a Pinkie Party, especially if you’re the guest of honor.”
<~~>
I didn’t think it was possible, but Cruger’s farewell party was bigger than his welcome party. This time, most of the ponies smiled at Cruger when he entered the building. A lot of the guests had one of the milkshakes Cruger had when he first arrived, Pinkie was calling them Chocolate Galaxies, and the whole place was lively and energetic.
I chuckled, “Looks like you added a dessert to their menu.”
“And they are delicious,” Eclipse said walking to us.
“Ah, Cruger this is Shadow Eclipse, though she prefers Eclipse,” I introduced. “She’s another pony who’s eaten a Devil Fruit.”
“I apologize for not meeting you before, I was otherwise engaged.”
“It’s fine. Nice to meet you before you go,” she said.
“Likewise,” Cruger replied, “if it’s not too much of a bother, might I ask what Devil Fruit you ate?”
“We’ve decided to call it the Rainbow-Rainbow Fruit,” she answered as her eyes shifted to every color of the rainbow before settling on yellow. “It allows me to control certain elements,” she said as electricity sparked off of her.
Cruger nodded, “a rather useful ability. If you don’t mind me saying, I’d recommend that you practice shifting between different elements quickly so you can perform combo techniques. Here’s one that could be useful, freeze your target solid then hit ‘em with a boulder.”
“Sounds kind of brutal, but I get what you’re saying,” Eclipse said.
Cruger shrugged, “I never said you should use it on somebody, but if you need to break down a reinforced door, it could come in handy.”
“I see. Thanks for the tip,” she said.
“You give really good advice,” I complimented.
“Oh that?” Cruger mocked confusion, “that was just a modified version of a technique I use in video games. By the way, do not challenge Twilight to a strategy game, I did once, she took over the entire map before I could blink.”
I snickered slightly, “Yeah, she seems the type to do very well at those kinds of games.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice, she broke my Carrier Command Gaea Mission multiplayer winning streak in 35 minutes flat, and I play against Luna.”
“Luna likes games?” I asked with a grin. “Might introduce her to them and she how she reacts. Nightmare Moon too.”
“My Luna does, I wonder what other MLP memes exist out in the multiverse?”
“I don’t know, but if socks are a thing, I don’t know whether I’d find it funny or weird,” Ashley said, as she approached us.
“Socks?” I asked in confusion.
“There’s this thing on the net where socks are basically the pony version of lingerie,” Cruger explained.
I stared at the two for a moment before facepalming, surprising several ponies as I’d never done it in front of them. “Our world, honestly,” I muttered.
“Yeah, let’s just say I’m not looking too hard for a way home,” Cruger replied, shaking his head.
Ashley shrugged, “Depending on the artist they could be rather cute.”
Cruger groaned, “I’m gonna go indulge my habit before this gets any weirder.”
Cruger walked up to the stage, Vinyl Scratch cutting the music and handing him a mic once the current song ended.
“Thank you everypony for attending,” Cruger called out into the mic. “This is certainly a better party than my welcome party, but still not the craziest I’ve heard of, that would belong to the Kelligrews Soiree. Pinkie, take notes.”
“You may talk of Clara Nolan's Ball or anything you choose,
But it couldn't hold a snuffbox to the spree at Kelligrews;
If you want your eyeballs straightened just come out next week with me,
You'll have to wear your glasses at the Kelligrews Soiree.
There was birch rind, tar twine, cherry wine and turpentine,
Jowls and cavalances, ginger beer and tea;
Pig's feet, cat's meat, dumplings boiled up in a sheet,
Dandelion and crackie's teeth at the Kelligrews Soiree.
Oh, I borrowed Cluney's beaver as I squared my yards to sail,
And a swallow tail from Hogan that was foxy on the tail;
Billy Cuddahie's old working pants and Patsy Nolan's shoes,
And an old white vest from Fogarty to sport at Kelligrews.
There was Dan Milley, Joe Lilly, Tantan and Mrs. Tilley,
Dancing like a little filly, 'twould raise your heart to see;
Jim Brine, Dan Ryan, Flipper Smith and Caroline,
I tell you, boys, we had a time at the Kelligrews Soiree.
Oh, when I arrived at Betsy Snook's that night at half past eight,
The place was blocked with carriages stood waiting at the gate;
With Cluney's beaver upon my pate, the first words Betsy said,
"Here comes the local preacher with the pulpit on his head".
There was Bill Mews, Dan Hughes, Wilson, Taft and Teddy Roose,
While Bryant, he sat in the blues and looking hard at me;
Jim Fling, Tom King, Johnson, champion of the ring,
And all the boxers I could bring to the Kelligrews Soiree.
"The Saratoga Lancers first," Miss Betsy kindly said,
I danced with Nancy Cronin and her Granny on the Head;
And Hogan danced with Betsy, well you should have seen his shoes,
As he lashed the muskets from the rack that night at Kelligrews.
There was boiled guineas, cold guineas, bullock's heads and piccaninnies,
Everything to catch the pennies you'd break your sides to see;
Boiled duff, cold duff, apple jam was in a cuff,
I tell you, boys, we had enough at the Kelligrews Soiree.
Crooked Flavin struck the fiddler and a hand I then took in,
You should see George Cluney's beaver and it flattened to the rim;
And Hogan's coat was like a vest, the tails were gone you see,
Says I, "The Devil haul ye and your Kelligrews Soiree".
There was birch rind, tar twine, cherry wine and turpentine,
Jowls and cavalances, ginger beer and tea;
Pig's feet, cat's meat, dumplings boiled up in a sheet,
I tell you, boys, we had a time at the Kelligrews Soiree,
I tell you, boys, we had a time at the Kelligrews Soiree,
I tell you, boys, we had a time at the Kelligrews Soiree.”
While they seemed slightly confused by the lyrics, everypony began clapping and cheering for Cruger.
Cruger bowed and returned the mic and walked back towards us, “ah Newfoundland, when I find your Equestrian equivalent I will be a happy man.”
“I thought you were trying to get away from the weirdness,” I said with a smirk.
“Music is not weird, it is merely eccentric at times,” Cruger replied with mock indignation.
I chuckled, “True enough.”
“Well this should be interesting,” Cruger said, “looks like Twilight’s stepping up to bat, so to speak.”
We all turned and were somewhat surprised to see her on the stage.
“If she starts singing A Modern Major General, I will be unsurprised,” Cruger mused
As if hearing him, Twilight smirked and music I was not expecting started to play.
Ready for the big time, ready for the small
Whatever's comin' to me, I'll be ready for it all
Sometimes it ain't easy, sometimes it's not polite
Some days I don't get it, some days I get it right
It's in my heart, it's in my head
That's what i said
Hey Colts are you ready for the shock
I'm living proof, the fillies can rock
Spread the news around every single block
Hey colts, the filly can rock
Standin' in the spotlight workin' up a sweat
Givin' all i got and lovin' what i get
I can't hold back what i feel inside
and if i make you nervous, you better step aside
It's in my heart, it's in my head
That's what i said
Hey Colts are you ready for the shock
I'm living proof, the fillies can rock
Spread the news around every single block
Hey colts, the filly can rock
The filly can rock
Don't say maybe or call me 'baby'
I ain't crazy at all
It's in my heart, it's in my head
That's what i said
Hey Colts are you ready for the shock
I'm living proof, the fillies can rock
Spread the news around every single block
Hey colts, the filly can rock
It's in my heart, it's in my head
That's what i said
I'm gonna live it up
I'll never give it up
I'm gonna spread the news around the block
It ain't no shock...the filly can rock...the filly can rock...the filly can rock
Yeah, Rock!
After getting over the initial shock, I chuckled and clapped at her performance. A lot of the ponies in the crowd looked rather shocked as well, even Trixie, though I saw Spike snickering behind his claws.
“Did I expect that, no, do I mind, not at all,” Cruger commented.
“Same here,” Ashley said. “She seems a bit more outspoken than I first thought.”
“First rule of the Multiverse,” Cruger merely said.
My wife nodded, “Not everyone is like they are from the show. Like Trixie, for example.”
“Indeed,” Cruger replied, “well, we might as well mingle, I’m leaving first thing tomorrow and I plan to make as many memories as I can.”
<~~>
The party was excellent, but soon enough morning came, and with it Cruger’s departure.
“It was great meeting you Cruger and I can’t wait till we do again,” I said, holding out a hand.
“Same here,” Ashley said.
“It was for me as well,” Cruger reached into a portal and pulled out two file folders. “A parting gift,” he handed one of them to Ashley, “you’ve mastered portals, and have breached subspace, this contains everything you need to finish getting the hang of it.”
“Thank you,” she said with a bow of her head.
Cruger replied with a bow of his own, “it was a privilege to pass my techniques on.” He handed the other folder to me, “this is a little something I’ve been working on in my spare time, schematics for your own Thousand Sunny.”
I grinned widely, “That would be awesome to have for if/when we have to sail somewhere.”
Cruger grinned, “it can do a whole lot more than that. It has a mana-reactor instead of a cola engine, and can either be converted to a standard zeppelin type airship, or fly on its own with its anti-grav array. I’d recommend using the first option for long journies though, the anti-grav needs a ton of power to run. Plus it has a set of landing gear, you could use it as a house.”
“Those sound amazingly useful,” I said. “Does the mana-reactor recharge on its own?”
“Think of it like a windmill, just replace wind with ambient magic.”
“I see,” Ashley said.
“Well,” Cruger picked up his suitcase, “I’ve got to get back to work. If you would?”
We both gave him a confused look. “Do what?” I asked.
Cruger raised his eyebrow, “send me back? Are you telling me you don’t know how to do that?”
“The last Displaced we met was with a Displacer remember?” Ashley reminded him.
Cruger sighed, “yeah I know, I just thought that he might of passed that along. Time for one last lesson, to send a Displaced back, just say ‘X, our contract is complete’, replacing X with their name of course.”
“Ah, I see. Cruger our contract is complete,” I said.
A portal opened behind Cruger, “well, Ashley, Fedora no Sean, it was a pleasure, my place next time though?”
As I snickered at what he called me, Ashley nodded, “That sounds great.”
“Glad to hear it,” Cruger replied as he stepped through the portal, “however, you’re on your own for filling the soldier dock.”
“What about you getting our token?” I called out.
One of Cruger’s hands poked back through the portal, in it was a slip of paper with the Straw Hats’ Jolly Roger on it, “is it this?”
“Yep that’s it. It works like a Vivre Card. Just focus on whoever you want to find and it will lead you to them,” Ashley explained.
“Gotcha,” Cruger called back as the portal closed, “see you later.”
[3rd POV]
Cruger returned to his office, refreshed after a good vacation. Before he could get back to work, an alert sounded on his computer. It was nothing major, just a signal that the Delta Runners were returning to base. Cruger wondered to himself, 'why did they need them in the first place?'
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Woot, new chapter! by the way, my guys are up for crossovers if you want to do one!
Umbra: Hmmpf, I object to the statement that I have sticky fingers. I just like my shinnies, espcialy when they belong to others.
Another great chapter and I am kinda disappointed that more people haven't written more stories for the other story.
6745062 As do I, it is a shame, it could be a good way for new authors to gain experience before working on their own stuff.
6745094 So true so true. Any way have a great day and a merry christmas or what ever it is you celebrate.
Actually, Radiance's power looked similar to Star Sapphire than Green Lantern.
6745399 That part was written by the other guy.
6745419 And I put the exact same thing on that one.
6745440 As you were.
6787965 I'll have to put that in somewhere, thank you.
Hmm, that was intriguing, so far. Though, I would like to see how he manages to train is own troopers and/or maybe deals with my displaced, if the idea interest you.
6744807
Zinnia: "Mhmmm, I beg to differ." *licks lips*
6791078 First, if that is a request for a crossover, I accept. Second, while it isn't out of character for her, don't blame me if a Draconoid comes looking for you for putting words in her mouth.
6791603
First, neat. *smiles*
Second, last time I checked sand-storm does 1/8 of your health each turn, and no one ever said Phantom Force had to end on the beginning of your second turn, it's just the soonest you can attack.
6791720 Wha?
I was just talking about Zinnia hurting you for impersonating her, when did Pokemon moves get pulled into this?
6791743
*embarrassed* I... might have a displaced story where the character controls a kinda-sorta form of sand and can go intangible, was sort of a war of attrition joke/not-joke.
6810923 Consider that out of date, currently the only requirement is that they have to be an equestrian citizen.
when i saw 'spd' in the title I thought about our lame excuse for a government.
6819802 How so?
6819833 Part of our govenrment(?) is called SPD (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschland) and this on the other hadn reminded me of Angie and how her current PR is. It sucks being her right now.
I would only vote her to further listen to the funny radio shows about her... :/
She's CDU
Oh god, can not believe I missed the obvious Swedish Chef reference...