Meet Anubis "Doggie" Cruger, head of SPD, SPD Shadow Ranger, founder of the Equestrian Royal Guard, former human-wait, what were those last 2?
Hello my name is, well was, Scott. I was just minding my own business, exploring FanExpo in a sweet SPD Shadow costume when I meet this suspicious looking vendor. He offers to sell me Cruger's Shadow Saber, the only thing missing from my costume, for $10. Then it all goes downhill. First I get sucked into a world of multi-colored pony people, then I find out I've become a blue dog person(whatever race Cruger is), and finally I find out that there's another race of dog people who gives dog people a bad name. At least I've got my tunes.
This is a Displaced Fic, please do not hate just because it is one, it is also my first.
Okay, news. On December 18, 2015, 11:35 AM, this got featured. I would like to thank all my faithful readers for this, and I hope this brings a new level of respect for not just me, but Displaced Fics in general.
Why would't he? He had just finished his plan to enslave Equestria. He had all of the magic of the Unicorns, Pegusi, Earth Ponies, and the Alicorn Princesses. While they almost tripped him up by by putting their magic in a fourth princess he didn't know about (must have just ascended) he was able to gain her magic with a little bit of a hostage situation. He even managed to drain the mighty Discord of his power, fool didn't realize he would be betrayed until it happened. Not that it was his fault, Discord was always going to be drained. The only reason that Tirek tricked Discord into helping him was so that Discord wouldn't interfier until Tirek was powerful enough to drain him, that fact that he was able to accelerate the draining of the rest of Equestria was mearly a bonus.
Tirek's smile grew wider, their was no one left to oppose him now.
"STOP IN THE NAME OF THE LAW!!!"
Tirek's smile faded, almost no one.
Tirek looked to see who had the audacity to oppose him, he was sure he drained all of the ponies. On a nearby hill he saw a rather strange being. He, at least Tirek was pretty sure it was a he, was a tall bipedal creature with the head of a dog and blue fur, his face set in an expression that screamed determination. He was dressed all in black with silver detailing. At his side was a sword with a hilt shaved like a dog's head. However, the strangest thing was that he looked somewhat famillier.
"Well," Tirek thought to himself, "at least I didn't think I had drained all of the pathetic ponies while missing one. Not that it would have mattered," Tirek's smile returned, "or will."
"So," Tirek roared, "do you think you can beat me, little Diamond Dog?" Sure in his victory, Tirek closed his eyes and started laughing.
That was a mistake.
If he didn't laugh, he might have heard the blue stranger mutter "Diamond Dog?" to himself in a rather irate tone. If he had not closed his eyes, he would seen one of the eyebrows on that dog shaped head begin to twitch. But even with all of the noise he was making, even Tirek could hear when he stomped one of his booted feet on the hill, causing the entire thing to give way.
Tirek opened his eyes, and when he saw what was under the hill, he stopped laughing.
Beineth the mass of dirt was an enormous building, easily the size of Canterlot Castle. It was a behemoth of metal and glass a hundred stories tall. At the top, upon which the blue stranger now stood, was a mechanical looking dog's head. Upon the front was a peculiar insignia, a shield with the profile of a dog's head on it.
Tirek's smile disapeared as he remembered where he had seen that embilum before.
The Blue stranger started talking again as he pulled a device out of the pocket of his treanchcoat. "Nobody calls me a Diamond Dog, but I thought you would remember that from the last time I put you away."
From the depths of the Everfree Forest came a series of multicolored beams of light. As one they shot towards Tirek, dissipating to reveal the Mane 6 enfuzed with raw rainbow magic.
Of the 6, Twilight was the first to speak. "Alright Tirek, time to..." She trailed of as she saw the scene before her.
Tirek was there, on the ground, covered with bruises, sobbing like an infant. Standing over him was a giant, metal, thing. It stood on two legs, was garbed in mostly white armor, and covered with flashing lights and energy weapons of some sort. It's head was encased in a helmet reminicent of a dogs head with a yellow visor covering its eyes.
Noticing their arrival, the behemoth turned towards them. As the girls tensed for what seemed like an inevitable and difficult battle, the giant did the last thing any of them expected.
It saluted.
"Princess," a voice from the giant boomed, "good to see you here. Commander Cruger reporting for duty, and requesting assistance in the extraction of the stolen magic from the suspect."
After returning the magic stolen from Tirek and sending him back to Tarturus, more securely this time, the girls looked up at the giant that called itself Cruger. As the only princess present, Twilight took it upon herself to question the giant that had apparently subdued him. "So, Cruger was it?"
"Yes ma-am. If I may ask, your name would be?"
"Twilight Sparkle."
"Twilight Sparkle, nice name. Forgive me if I'm wrong but you haven't been a princess long have you?"
"Not really no."
"Thought not. Here's some advice, anything and everything is possible."
"I'll keep that in mind." She was a little concerned. Throughout the entire exchange, the giant hadn't moved a single muscle, not even it's mouth.
"Please do." The giant paused for a second, "perhaps we should continue this conversation face to face."
Twilight was puzzled, "Aren't we now?"
The giant chuckled, "Second piece of advice your highness, just because it's possible, doesn't mean it actually is. Case in point."
Twilight gasped as the giant transformed into a massive building. It looked like a cross between a Manehatten skyscraper and a good sized castle. The girls watched in silence until the front door opened. Out strolled a blue furred figure in a black trenchcoat, holding a small black box.
"Allow me to reintroduce myself. Commander Anubis Cruger, head of Space Patrol Delta." As he said that, he held out the box and pushed a button on the top. A panel flipped open revealing an official looking badge with the same symbol as on the building.
Rainbow Dash was the first to break the silence. "So, you're a cop or something?"
Cruger chuckled, "more like a super hero space cop in charge of a whole team of super hero space cops. And you are?"
"Awesome, I mean Rainbow Dash."
"Thank you, so what are the rest of your..." he began before he was interupted, guess who by.
"Hi I'm Pinkie Pie. So your name's Cruger? Where are you from? When's your birthday? What's your favorite food? What's that giant robot called? How many..."
"Pinkie!," Twilight yelled as she shut Pinkies mouth with her magic. "Sorry about that."
Cruger just grinned. "Toronto, October 31st, spagetti, Delta Command Megazord, didn't catch that last one."
Pinkie pulled her mouth from the purple field. "Wow, you're good."
Cruger grinned, "I try." He turned towards another member of the group, "and you are?"
"I'm Fluttershy"
Cruger pricked up one of his ears,"Fluttershy right? Suits you."
"Now how'd y'all hear that?"
Cruger pointed to one of his ears, "these aren't just for show miss?"
"Applejack, darn pleased to meat ya."
"Likewise." He turned to the last member of the group. "And last but most certainly not least?"
"Rarity Mr. Cruger. And might I say a lovely outfit you have there."
Cruger tugged at his coat, "thank you kindly, I've always liked it. And please, just Cruger."
"Likewise, although may I say I've never seen a Diamond Dog with a blue coat before."
Cruger's smile disappeared like a golf ball in a snow bank.
"Rarity, I am not a Diamond Dog. I dislike being called a Diamond Dog. I dislike people calling me a Diamond Dog. Please do not call me one again."
Rarity gasped, "my apologies, it won't happen again."
"As long as you don't know I don't like being called that, it can be forgiven." Cruger replied, his smile returning to his face. "Now how about we all head back into town so we can..."
He was interupted by a flash of light. It died down to reveal the other 3 princesses, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence. With her full regal bearing she addressed the group. "Well done my little ponies I knew that you would be able to stop..." she trailed off as she noticed the 7th member of the group. "Anubis?"
"Hey Tia, Lulu, long time."
As giant smiles grew on the faces of Celestia and Luna, looks of confusion appeared on the faces of the rest. Those looks only grew as Luna knocked Cruger down in a flying tackle.
"Doggie! I missed you"
Cadence looked on at a most unusual scene. A blue Diamond Dog was on the ground, tapping out and calling uncle repeatedly while the princess of the moon was on top of him, snuggling with childlike enthusiasum. Her aunt Celestia was crying and laughing at the same time, the mane 6 looked like they had lost a fight with a paint monster, and there was a massive building she had never seen before towering over it all.
After Luna finally got off of Cruger, and his face had returned to the proper shade of blue, they decided to retire inside the large building to discuss questions that were plaguing the majority of those present, after Celestia had sworn by the sun she rose each morning that it was safe to do so. While Twilight was initially sceptical about entering, she changed her tune completely once she entered.
She was like a ten year old in a candy store. Lining the walls were signs marked in several ancient languages, some of which she didn't even recognize. Behind the front desk were magical devices she had never seen before. Never before had she been in a place where she could learn so much outside of a library, and this was only one room.
Luckily Celestia managed to keep a level head. "Come on my little pony, we have to go now."
"Okay," the kid was just told that she couldn't have any candy.
Luckily, Cruger decided to take pity on her. "You can come back when we're fully staffed. Trust me, that's something to see."
Before Twilight could ask him what he meant by fully staffed, they arrived at an elevator. Once they all entered, a tight squeeze you can be sure, Cruger pressed the button for the top floor. Based on her experience with elevators in Manehatten, Twilight expected to at least ask 1 question before they arrived. Unfortunitly, the elevator was faster than she expected, the doors opened before she could finish putting the question together in her mind. Sighing, she turned to exit the elevator.
The kid just found herself in an even bigger candy store.
It was an octagonal room with a raised section around the edge. In the center of the room was a large podium that was designed to be accessible from all sides. Around the edge of the room were multiple workstations facing either the walls or the center of the room. On one side of the room was a large window overlooking the terrain. Opposite it was a large desk overlooking everything, manageing to look intimidating yet comforting at the same time, like that one teacher you had at school who was sweet as honey until you broke the rules. Sitting behind that desk was Cruger, looking like he belonged there as much as a fish belonged in water. Luckily he was in kind teacher mode.
He placed his hand on the desk, which caused the room to come to life. Large flat crystals at the workstations started to glow, a large 3D illusion of the symbol on Cruger's badge appeared and began to rotate, and a rather enticing smell emanated from a previously overlooked alcove on the wall.
"Coffee?" Cruger offered.
When everyone who wanted coffee had some, Cruger politely declined and Pinkie was not permitted to have any, and they all got comfortable, Cruger began his tale.
"As you may have already guessed, Celestia, Luna and I are previously aquainted. When they were young, I was their personal bodyguard and closest, and possibly only, friend."
"Nonsence," Luna interjected, "you are as much kin to me as my sister."
"But that's impossible," said Twilight, "the princesses are over a thousand years old. You couldn't possibly be old enough to have babysat them."
Cruger chuckled, "well maybe if I wasn't interrupted,-"he cast a look at Luna"-I could explain. Now, it all started when those two were mere fillies, Celestia 8 and Luna 5, I think."
(1030 years ago, give or take)
Two young alicorn fillies were deep in the woods, surrounded by Griffin bandits, intent on capturing the young ones for ransom. While there was originally a decent complement of guards, they were to a one slain by the savage sneak attack. Celestia placed herself between Luna and their attackers, ready to give her life to protect her sister if need be.
Luckily, she didn't need to.
Their was an intense flash of blue light, causing all present to shield there eyes. When the light died down, in it's place was a strange figure, garbed in strange, dark colored armor. Celestia did the only thing she could think to do.
"Help"
After a brief but impressive confrontation, I'd call it a fight but that would imply that the they stood a chance, the griffins were driven off. Several of them would be sporting new scars in a few days, but I digress. When he was sure that there weren't any bandits hiding just out of sight, he dismissed his armor with a flash of light. He then turned towards the two fillies to ensure they were alright. Luna was the first to break the silence.
"Doggie"
(Present)
"So that's why Luna called you doggie when she jumped you," Pinkie remarked.
Cruger smiled. "Pretty much, it became their pet name for me. Of course, that was after the whole incident with their mother." Cruger shivered.
"What do you mean by that," Twilight asked.
"Literaly 5 seconds after she said that, their mom arrived. Now picture what she saw: a stranger, surrounded by dead guards, standing over her two daughters. Can't say I blame her for making that mistake."
"You mean she thought..."
"Yep, luckily we got it cleared up before she started blasting me. Well anyway, I received a knighthood, became their personal guard, and turned the royal guard from a bunch of glorified doormen into a well oiled machine. After that the royals were trying to find a way to knight me twice. Anyway, I made it easy for them by asking to be put in charge of the finest squad in the guard, which I then named Space Patrol Delta. Anyway..."
(Approximatley 1020 years ago)
"What will you do for a headquarters?" Celestia asked.
Cruger was about to reply when a guard burst into the room. "Your magesties, a strange structure has appeared outside the forest."
"Well, unless I am very much mistaken, I will be using that one."
(5 years later, I think)
A very confused Tirek was in chains, before the thrones, escorted by a squad of SPD patrol troopers.
"How could you discover my plans so quickly?"
Cruger shrugged, "we got a tip."
(7 years later, probably)
Celestia, Luna, and Cruger stood on the outskirts of what used to be the Crystal Empire, frowns on their faces.
"We defeated Sombra, but why don't I feel like we won" Luna asked.
"Because," Cruger replied, "we didn't save the people."
(3 years later, maybe 4)
Cruger stood in front of Discord, ready to fight to the end. "Ready to go in a cage?"
"Not especially," Discord replied, "How about you?"
(Present day, again)
"So Discord locks me in my own Delta Base and buries the whole thing underground. Luckily the medical wing has a few stasis pods so I could wait it out. Considering the date is over a thousand years since I started my nap, it was a good call."
As he was telling his story, his audience listened quietly, all in their own way. Celestia and Luna, who already knew most of it, had nostalgic looks on there faces. Twilight and Dash were hanging onto his every word, Twilight for the historical aspects, Dash for the butt whoopin'. Cadence and AJ were a little uncertain if it was all true, even though AJ had seen him take down Tirek. Rarity listened politely, while Fluttershy was a little less shy by the end of it, and Pinkie, was Pinkie. At the end of it though, they all knew one fact to be true, Cruger deserved respect, and had earned the admiration the Princesses had for his abilities.
"So anyway," Cruger continued, "if you don't mind Celestia, I have a small request."
"Cruger," Celestia replied, "you have saved Equestria several times, not to mention that you are one of the few I can truly call my friend. What do you need?"
Cruger grinned, "well, it's just that SPD is a little, understaffed."
Why wouldn't he be? It was a nice day, he was out on his custom ATV, and SPD was beginning to fill up with qualified personel again. It was especially good to see his sorta nephew Gray Ghost join the ranks, though no surprise as he thought of Cruger as his father. It was truly a shame, son of Princess Luna, who became Nightmare Moon shortly after the Discord incident, and King Sombra, cruel tyrant of the Crystal Empire. No small wonder he set himself up in a time dilation bubble. Still, it was good to see the squirt try to make his name stand for something good. While the dark powers his father forced upon him were too unstable for Patrol work, his steel trap mind would make him a grade A Inspector in due course.
Cruger's mood soured slightly as he recalled what had happened to Luna. While he saw both princesses as little sisters, he connected a mite more with Luna. When Luna learned of the experiments that Sombra was performing on her own son, it was Cruger's shoulder she cried on. He saw the signs of Luna's desire for more ponies to appreciate her and the night she brought, and was able to keep them in check. If it wasn't for Discord, there would probably be no such thing as Nightmare Moon. At least in modern times that was no longer a problem.
The ATV hit a bump,bringing Cruger back to the present. He did enjoy his ATV, which he named the Delta Striker. It was one of the only two pieces of SPD equipment the the R&D team wasn't normally allowed to touch, the other being the Shadow Saber, his trusty blade.
Cruger's thoughts enevitibly drifted towards his budding R&D department, which honestly didn't get to do much back in the old days. His current research chief, Fetch, was a prodigy of cyber-magi systems, it took him about 5 seconds too figure out how to use a Crysterminal. He also knew more random trivia than a champion game show contestant, in fact, he probably was one.
His counterpart in maintanence was an odd duck named Steam Gear. While normally as talkative as Fluttershy, if you got him on the subject of wings, well.
Let's just say it's easier to get Pinkie to shut up, Gear didn't like cupcakes.
Cruger was silently glad that the Runner Bays were still shut down, poor colt might have a heart attack if he saw Delta Runner 2, to say nothing of the Delta Wingers.
Of course there was also that new assistant, Lunar Fang. Poor guy, in the 3 weeks since SPD resurfaced, the young thestral had gotten zapped, had somthing blow up in his face, or got whacked by somything at least a dozen times. Luckily one of the perks of belonging to SPD was that there was a state of the art medical center on site.
Speaking of thestrals, his new Head Trainer, Edge Case, was straight from Luna's personal guard. He filled every possible definition of elite guard. The only reason that Cruger didn't make him a Patrol Trooper was that he would be much more useful training other Troopers.
Cruger frowned slightly as he thought of the current state of the Patrol Squads. There were dozens of applicants, most of which went straight to the bottom of the pack, D Squad. Several transfers from the Guard, as well as some exceptional recruits, went to C Squad, which comprised the bulk of SPD's forces. What troubled Cruger was that not many qualified for the elite B Squad. To enter B Squad required the right blend of ability, experience, and character. Ponies like that Dual Star, former Royal Guard who considered anger to be a weakness. Of course he wasn't too upset that no-one qualified for A Squad, that was Cruger's personal squad. Nobody but NOBODY entered A Squad without being hand picked by Cruger himself.
Although there was at least one mare who he had his eye on.
Cruger's communicator started beeping. Pulling over, Cruger was a major opponent of driving while on the phone, he answered it. It was one of his Dispatch Operators, Blue Rush if he wasn't mistaken.
"Sir, Miss Song asked me to tell you that RIC was ready."
"Acknowledged," Cruger replied before hanging up, smiling. He thought of SPD as his family, and every good family should have a pet.
It was time to bring the family dog back from the vet.
Just as he was about to leave, he noticed a famillier blue figure on a low grey cloud.
"Good afternoon miss Dash."
Rainbow Dash turned around. While most people wouldn't have noticed, for the split second between her turning around and her seeing Cruger, there was a sad, confused look on her face which she quickly replaced with a friendly grin.
Cruger was not most people.
"Hey Cruger! What's up?"
"Nothing much, is something troubling you?"
"Well kind of," Dash admitted, "nothing really."
"Mind if I join you so you can talk about it?" Cruger asked with a friendly smile.
Dash laughed. "I'm on a cloud, you don't have wings, how do you expect to join me?"
Cruger's smile turned into a mischevious grin, "if i can stand next to you on that cloud, will you tell me your troubles?"
Dash returned the grin and nodded, "sure, why not?"
Grinning wider, Cruger walked next to the cloud, grabbed the edge, and vaulted onto it. Dash just watched, mouth wide enough to safely pass a supertanker through. Cruger just smiled and pointed at a small gem on his boot, "cloudwalking charm, birthday gift from Luna. Celestia got me a coffee machine that year, still don't know which one is more useful." His grin dropped, "now, what's wrong?"
Dash's expression returned to the one Cruger saw earlier, "nothing really. It's just that all my life I wanted to become a Wonderbolt. To protect the skies of Equestria and delight massive crowds with my raw awesomeness. To prove to everyone that I'm the best flier in all Equestria, if not Equis. But then you come along and bring SPD with you, which sounds just as awesome as being a Wonderbolt, if not more. I mean seriously, you have a giant robot, hard to get more awesome than that. So here's me, on one hand being a member of SPD might be more awesome than being a Wonderbolt, and on the other is a dream I've had before I could even fly. Do I follow the dream I had since I was little? Or do I abandon it because I found something I want to do even more?"
Cruger said nothing for a minute. "Well, I can't make up you mind for you, but if it helps," he said while standing up to leave, "a few Wonderbolts have transferred to SPD."
Dash raised an eyebrow, "really?"
Cruger nodded. "Now if you'll excuse me," he said while jumping off the cloud, "I need to get back. RIC's coming back from the vet."
As Cruger rode off, another question entered Dash's mind.
“Ok so the boss wants the staff here to record some of their experiences, so here goes nothing. First off I’m Doctor Plague, the Chief Medical Officer here at SPD. Now onto the main reason I am writing this, let’s start with what happened the second week I got here.” I say into the cassette recorder.
“It started as a normal sunny day with not a cloud in the sky, when I got a call from Blue Rush saying that I was needed in the operating theater. So I rushed there pronto, and what do I see when I get there? A bloody dragon, I mean seriously it shouldn’t have been possible but their she was laying on the theater’s floor. and as I am staring in shock at her she just looks at me and asks.”
“So you the one that’s going to be operating on me? Huh didn’t expect my doc to be wearing such a strange suit, but whatever let’s get this over with.”
“And I could hardly comprehend what was happening still, so I guess my body went into memory mode and after I got over what I was seeing I noticed that I had removed the dragon’s entire skeleton and replaced it with flexible diamond. And that Is why I am not allowed to do operations unsupervised by at least two unicorns or three earth ponies. So I guess that wraps this up seeing as that’s really the only notable thing to happened to me. Well that and that Parasprite thing, but we don’t talk about that... Ever.”
“So that is all, and this is Doctor Plague signing off
Case 5: A Dog's Best Friend is his Robotic Interactive Canine
As Cruger walked into the Delta Base, he couldn't help but remember how it was in its heyday. Patrol Troopers coming in from patrol, sometimes with suspects in tow, various civilians wait to speak to someone, personel chatting as they come on and off shift. Nowadays, not so much. SPD may have been gaining applicants, but it wouldn't be fully operational for a few more weeks, once the new recruits finished their training. Now the only one in the Atrium, aside from Cruger of course, was Time Stamp, the Desk Sargent.
"You should have been here 10 minutes ago," Time Stamp remarked with a frown on his face.
Cruger smiled and shook his head, "got held up." Time Stamp was excellent at his job, but was rather OCD when it came to punctuality, whether by ponies or reports. A few of the Ponyville residents who had applied called him a male Twilight, a nickname that quickly circulated. Cruger turned serious, "is the new wanted poster ready?"
Time Stamp's expression turned neutral as he pull out a crisp wanted poster from beneath his desk. On it was the name Starlight Glimmer, as well as a picture and list of her crimes, it was extensive. Treason, assault, theft, fraud, consperacy, she would regret what she did when SPD finally caught up with her. While Cruger didn't have a Cutie Mark, he understood their importance as well as any pony. For a pony to take away a pony's Cutie Mark, let alone manage to convince them that giving it up was a good idea, that was the work of a madmare, doubly dangerous since she had the skill and charisma to back up her insane goals, triply since she could forcibly rip the Cutie Mark off of an Alicorn Princess with little visible effort. If she could get close to Celestia or Luna, Cruger shuddered at the thought. He then gave silent thanks that Twilight was able to discover her plot, her new castle might look a little weird, at least to Cruger, but it had some sweet features. The first thing Celestia did when she heard was make the spell Starlight used illegal.
Cruger gave the poster a final once over before handing it back with a nod. One of SPD's lesser known duties was maintaining a list of criminals currently at large, and distributing wanted posters of said criminals. By this time next week, that poster would be in every post office, sheriff's office, and train station in Equestria, and a few places beyond. SPD once had treaties allowing them to operate in, and recruit from, practically every country on the face of Equis. The Griffin Empire, Yakyakistan, Roam, Zebrabwe, you name a country, chances are there was at least a token SPD presence. However, with the fall of SPD, well how long do you think ANY organization would last with both their commanding officer AND HQ MIA, those treaties had crumbled to dust. The second thing on Cruger's to do list, right after choosing his A Squad, was to restore those treaties.
"Tell Steam Gear to stand by," Cruger said while heading for the elevator, "I'm en-route."
While most companies didn't do this, the mantainance department was part of the same division as R&D. Cruger had a very valid reason for doing this. One of the mantainance department's duties was constructing the advanced magi-tech equipment that was one of the keys to SPD's success. And since the R&D designed said equipment, it was only fitting that the two divisions should work closely together. The R&D/M's labs and workshops comprised approxamitly a quarter of the entire base. One of those workshops was nicknamed "The Vet", and was responsible for the repair and maintanince of one specific piece of equipment.
Although Cruger would never even think of calling him just a piece of equipment.
"Here boy!"
From The Vet bounded a large robotic dog, who proceeded to jump on Cruger and attempt to lick his face clean off. The dog, called the Robotic Interactive Canine, or RIC as he likes to be called, was easily the single most advanced piece of tech in all of SPD. He had an advanced mana array processor, loaded with an artificial intelligence modeled after a hunting dog, with the playfulness jacked up a few degrees. His snout contained an impressive forensics sensory package, and his eyes could see in five different modes other than standard, including x-ray and infrared. He was powered by a ruby mana-reactor, and was able to support almost a ton on his back and still run at an impressive clip. He also had a few other surprises, but Cruger would keep them under wraps for now.
Steam Gear chuckled as he saw his boss get licked to death, "he seems to like you sir."
"Came with the house, though I'd never send him to the pound." He turned to his assistant, "anything else scheduled for today?"
Sorrow Song, his personal assistant, checked her daytimer. "You have a scheduled inspection of the new recruits in 2 hours, but other than that, nothing."
"Good, call me half an hour before then. If anyone asks, I'll be at home."
If anyone asked Cruger why he never seemed to go home, he'd just smile and reply, "the Delta Base is my home."
They would probably shake their head and laugh, at which point Cruger would inform them that he had an apartment on level 99.
It was here that Cruger now sat, drink in hand, listening to some music that came from his home. While he loved listening to it, it always reminded him of where he came from, and how he got here.
(1030 years ago, Toronto Convention Center)
Scott Franklin surveyed the various stalls at that year's Fan Expo. He was hoping to get a copy of Past Sins, although he wasn't dying to get it. He was dressed in a Shadow Ranger costume that he was quite proud of, he even managed to build a pair of headphones into his helmet so he could listen to his iPhone without taking it off. It wasn't quite perfect though, there was one thing missing.
"Hello friend, can I interest you in something?"
Scott turned to see who had spoken. He saw a man at a booth selling various props. He was dressed in a rather nice, if earie costume, long grey coat, bandages on his face, and on the ground was what looked like a cross between a coffin and a backpack. While Scott couldn't place who he was dressed as off the top of his head, he had to admit it was quality. With nothing better to do, Scott examined the stranger's wares, it was an impressive collection. Fake ears, a few weathered looking belts, was that a Klingon Bat'leth? His eyes eventually settled on a very specific sword.
"Ah, you are interested in the custom Shadow Saber I take it?"
The stranger was correct. The only thing missing from his costume was Cruger's signature weapon, the blades on the toy versions were so short they felt more like kitchen knives.
"Well, since I have such a big heart, and it would be a shame to leave such a wonderful costume marred by its absence, you can have it for a mere $10."
Scott, while a little suspicious at the price, handed over the money and took the sword. It was a beauty, someone had apparently taken a toy version, took it apart, used it for a mold, cast metal parts from it, then assembled it over the existing electronics and mechanical components. With a press of his thumb, Scott caused the head on the dog to open.
That was the last thing he did before a flash of light surrounded him. When the light had disappeared, so had he.
(Present Day)
Cruger was jolted out of his memory by a priority alert.
"All patrol troopers be advised, robbery at First National Bank. Suspects have commandeered a train, heading south on track 5. Suspects have hostages."
Cruger smiled as he went to respond, he could use the exercise.
The Delta Base. Home of the most advanced technology you could ever hope to find in Equestria or any other country for that matter. Home to a strange being that had a strange resemblance with a dog. Not that I would call Cruger that. He probably would be offended by the comparison. I could only imagine how many times he got called a dog, and I was definitely sensitive enough not to hurt his feelings.
And also, I didn’t want to get smashed into a bloody pulp like Tirek. I heard he was quite the mess, so I will admit, that I was a little afraid of him. Not that my fear was the main incentive to stay quiet about this, I really am sensitive! I mean sure, I’m also a curious one, but I can control these urges!
Well, I should probably introduce myself. My name is Steam Gear. I have a green coat with a darker green mane and golden eyes. The most obvious trait is probably my brown top hat that I’m always wearing. Oh, and I’m a Unicorn so that I have to cut a hole so I could even wear it. I’m also wearing a brown vest, white blouse and black trousers. You probably are not that interested in it, so I better get back to where I started my talk. The Delta Base.
It took some time for me to get settled in. You have to know, I’m always in a state of unrest when I encounter a new workplace, or anything new for that matter, as long as it wasn’t technology or wing related. It was nothing I could control. So you can probably figure out that getting acquainted with new ponies was also not my strong suit. Kind of a wonder why that was different with Fetch. I hit it off with him from the start. He wasn’t one of the pushy kinds and he often gave me the space to work and think, while still having some conversation from time to time.
My job here at the base is supervising and helping in the construction of new devices, as well as maintenance. So you could say that I keep things running around here, while making sure to realize all the necessary devices. Fetch was the one for the research and planning, I was helping him with the planning and build the devices then. So you could say we had a close work relationship.
Only downside on this job was that Cruger wouldn’t let me disassemble his ATV, no matter how much I tried to convince him, which probably sounded like begging to most other ponies. But still! Why wouldn’t he let me! I don’t understand his hesitation, I would piece them back together exactly as they were! Honest!
At this exact moment RIC, a robot dog in laypony terms decided to pounce on Cruger. I chuckled as I saw my boss get licked to death, "He seems to like you sir," I remarked.
It was moments like this that made me warm up around Cruger more. He looked strange and the stories about his great feasts might intimidate ponies like me, but inside he seemed to be a normal pony, uh, dog bipedal hybrid? Argh! Now it is bugging me again!
I was so focused on my thoughts that I almost missed his response. This happens too often for my comfort. I should learn to focus more.
"Came with the house, though I'd never send him to the pound." Cruger turned to his assistant, Sorrow Song a pure white mare, "Anything else scheduled for today?"
She then proceeded to check her daytimer. "You have a scheduled inspection of the new recruits in 2 hours, but other than that, nothing."
"Good, call me half an hour before then. If anyone asks, I'll be at home."
New recruits? Right the R&D needed more helping hoofs as well as some other departments. Fetch and I couldn’t run it on our own. Not to mention the other vacancies in the different departments.
I excused myself and made my way outside for a break, as my mind wandered back to RIC. I wonder if he will allow me to disassemble him?
The sky was a heavenly blue. A nice slight breeze could be felt at this time of day, and a sky blue pegasus pony was flying in the distance.
I love that this base is so close to Ponyville.
With haste I took out my spyglasses as I spied admired the pegasus from afar. This was by far my favorite pass time. She was quite a talented and daring flyer. She, the self-proclaimed fastest flyer in Equestria! Just look at these wing muscles. How soft one of her feathers might be? Maybe I should look for one in her trash cans?
No, I wouldn’t even reach her house in the skies. Maybe with a flying device? Fetch sure could help me build it.
…
Ok, just joking, that would be too creepy and I don’t want another charge.
At least that’s one thing we agree on, you creeper! said a harsh voice in my head. I just sighed at that.
Oh, you are there? I almost thought I was rid of you, I answered the voice in my head.
Many would probably say I was crazy at this point, but this brash voice formed itself over time to keep me in line and even help me to assert myself if need be. It does so in an insulting and annoying way, but it still holds some merit.
You wish! Oh, and by the way, you are drooling again.
This brought me out of my spying admiring. I wiped my muzzle with my hand, but then proceeded to watch her fly, only glad that no one was around at the time.
Can’t you go and play hide and seek in my head, while I’m trying to figure out the properties of pegasus wings?
Pffft! As if! You should better concentrate on your work! You still have to create the badges and spandex suits with Fetch.
I cringed at that.
You know how sensitive Fetch is about the suits, so don’t call them that! Oh, and by the way, we still have a lot of time for that. The A-Squad is not even arranged yet. Not to forget the new recruits Fetch and I have to introduce to their workplace.
I was starting to feel queasy.
By Celestia, meeting new ponies is just not my forte. I hope I can adapt to that quickly.
You wouldn’t have problems with that if you weren’t such a shut-in in the first place.
I’m not a shut-in! I protested, I merely like the peace and quiet. It is really relaxing.
Whatever you say, shut-in, he teased, Just get your rump back to work.
I sighed. Fine, I will do so in a minute, just let me enjoy this for one moment.
Just as I proceeded watching the rainbow maned pegasus again she flew right past the base. I let out a dreamy sigh. This really was the best location for my actions.
Normal actions. Not creepy ones.
I then held my breath as I saw something slowly gliding down.
A blue feather.
An honest to Celestia blue feather!
I instantly took it carefully in my magical aura and floated it towards me. I reached out with my hand and touched it.
It was soooooooooo soft and feathery! Oh, what would I give for a bed of these feathers! I could happily die then!
I wouldn’t mind if you did, taunted the voice again.
I ignored him. He couldn’t take this away from me.
With a bounce in my step I returned inside the base and walked to my quarters to bring my treasure to my quarters, before returning to work.
This was really the best location.
“Fetch? I’m back from the Vet,” I called out from the doorstep. An automatic door by the way. Wondrous technology. First thing I did was see how the mechanism worked. Cruger took it in stride, despite telling me to ask him next time.
He didn’t take too kindly to me disassembling things in the bathrooms though…something about exploding toilettes? In my defense, they had a self-cleaning lavatory seat system which was unheard of in Equestria! I just wanted to take a teensy little look at it. Yeah sure, I might have forgotten to return a screw or two as I assembled it back, but you can’t really blame me for that, right? …Right?
I sighed. Better not think about such small accidents and sacrifices for the greater good. Things like that happened from time to time after all. Exploding toilets weren’t THAT strange.
I had a plate with a grilled ham and cheese sandwich in hand, as well as a soda in the other. I casually walked into the research lab as suddenly the alarm rang.
"All patrol troopers be advised, robbery at First National Bank. Suspects have commandeered a train, heading south on track 5. Suspects have hostages,” boomed the voice of Blue Rush.
I tensed slightly at the alarm, but calmed as soon as it ended. It was nothing that concerned me, since I was not a patrol trooper. I was simply a gear in a well-oiled machine to support them and their mission. Only thing I had to do with this mission was the equipment check to make sure it worked once they were back. So simple maintenance work.
My walk continued and I soon found the unicorn with a dark yellow coat and his two toned mane, one strip black the other cyan. A pair of glasses sat on top of his muzzle and he seemed to be absorbed in his work at a table he sat on.
I sighed softly, as I sat the plate directly in front of him. He blinked owlishly at it, trying to comprehend what obscured his view.
“A grilled ham and cheese sandwich?” he asked, before suddenly his stomach grumbled.
I smiled at his antics. “Thought you might be hungry.”
I received a slight pat on my shoulder, which made me jump. “I agree! Even Fetch has to take nourishment to himself once in a while! He is going to starve himself to death otherwise!”
“Pony physiology can work at least three weeks without any solid food, so it is no big deal if I miss one meal, Princess.”
“You are missing meals on more than one occasion if Steam’s behavior is any indication. And on a long term base this simply isn’t healthy.”
I meanwhile stared at the creature behind me. She was a changeling, and none other than Princess Heart, daughter of Queen Chrysalis. I was not such a big fan of her to be honest. For me she was an alicorn, and I hated alicorn’s. And to top it all off she didn’t even have feathery wings! That alone was a crime in itself!
…Even though I was curious how they function.
Personnel File 3: The Wing And Nobility Discussion
“I think you should show more respect towards the Princess,” scolded Fetch.
I will be honest here. You all remember when I said that me and Fetch hit it off from the start? That we are a well-oiled machine? Well..there was one topic we weren’t on the same opinion. Nobility and alicorns. He thought of them as graceful, beautiful and fair rulers of the land. While I myself felt quite repulsed at the thought of nobility and titles, hence the argument.
“I only asked if she had not something other to do than loitering, since we have to work,” I protested.
“You should also use her title. Even if she is not one of our Princesses, she still is a Princess and deserves respect.”
I groaned as a response. “I’m not referring to her as ‘Princess’, and neither am I going to bow to her! I already told you why!”
“Because of your jealousy,” was his flat answer.
“It is not jealousy if I’m right! Why is it that only a few selected ponies get the right to have magic, along with soft, feathery, graceful and tender wings?! I myself couldn’t live without magic, so that I would never exchange it for wings. I’m just terrible with manipulating matter with hooves! Not to mention the superior attitude most nobles express towards ponies and other creatures without titles!”
“Just because you have met one noble who acted like that doesn’t mean that all nobles act like that.”
“Believe me, Fetch. I have met quite a lot of nobles. A whole lot of them have an air of superiority and conceit around them.”
“My point still stands. You can’t just judge all nobles upon meeting some, such as Prince Blueblood, who were acting less than ideal.”
“I-I…” I sighed, before grumbling, “Doesn’t mean that I have to like the system. A democracy would be a fairer system! I just can’t understand what ponies fascinates on the idea of a monarchy or diarchy. This system just screams corruption!”
Fetch suddenly sported a sly grin. “I could try and educate you on why it is fascinating again, if you would like.”
“NO!” I shouted immediately. Afterwards I corrected myself in a slightly calmer voice, “I mean, no. I think I will pass.” Truth be told I didn’t need another of his prayers about nobility.
“Um…”
I turned to my right and stared straight into the deep purple eyes of HEART, startling me slightly, as I stumbled back to bring some distance between us. I completely forgot that she was still standing there.
“If you really want wings so badly, I could offer you to turn you into a changeling. We have a way to transfer ponies, so the wing issue could be solved,” offered HEART with a comforting smile.
My eyes lit up with fascination and excitement of this news. Well, lit up until I remembered something essential that dampened my mood faster than it would take Pinkie Pie to eat all the cakes in a bakery, and let me tell you that is FAST. A lot of innocent treats lost their life on that day. I could only pity the lost sweets on that day. It was a WAR. Or maybe even more like a massacre of sweet goodness since they didn’t even stand a chance! They couldn’t even fight back!
“What good are wings then they are missing the most important trait? Feathery goodness!” I practically shouted with an arm draped over my head in a dramatic pose. Out of the corner of our room I floated a red couch behind me to fall on it.
I found it somewhere outside. Don’t ask me who leaves a couch as bulk garbage outside in the middle of town, especially one in such a pristine condition, but it sure helps to make this workplace comfy.
Meanwhile in Ponyville Spa
“Here we are Sweetie Belle! A relaxing day in the spa! There isn’t a better method for sister bonding. You have my word!”
“If you say so, sis,” said Sweetie Belle. She was rather happy to spend her day with her sister, even though it was her sister’s time to choose an activity together. Sweetie Belle would have rather spend the day outside. However the spa sounded promising enough, and it was only fair, after she talked Rarity into hiking the other day.
“We will take the ‘Sister Bonding Special’ exclaimed Rarity towards the spa ponies, Aloe and Lotus.
“That will be 42 bits,” was Aloe’s smiling response.
Rarity then rummaged through her handbag to pay the sum. She did so for a time and was getting rather panicky after a full 20 seconds.
“Don’t tell me I forgot my pouch with the bits. Of all the worst things that could happen, this is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!” She whined as she proceeded to drab a foreleg across her head while letting herself fall backwards, only to meet the cold unforgiving ground.
“Where is my couch?! How can I wallow in self-pity without my couch?!” she squealed in utter agony at having the comfort of her couch being robbed by an unknown entity.
She then slowly started to twitch at the ground as foam started to form on her mouth.
Sweetie Belle personally thought that she was overdoing it again and turned her head back to the Spa Ponies again.
“Can we put it on her slate?” she asked while making big puppy dog eyes.
“But of course. Rarity is our best customer after all,” said Aloe as she smiled. Lotus meanwhile dragged the foaming Rarity further inside, while Aloe led Sweetie Belle deeper into the spa. Maybe they could still enjoy a day of sister bonding after all.
But to get back, it was justified drama. It was really dramatic to discover that I could get wings, but they wouldn’t be what I wanted and dreamed of. I need something soft and fluffy! Strong and durable! Not some feeble insectoid wings! Best in the size of Celestia herself! Have you ever seen such an unbelievable, gigantic, awe-inducing wingspan? I bet you could travel through Equestria with ONE flap!
I also bet she is the one responsible for spreading wings out, as well as determining the span, so that she can keep the largest wingspan for herself! Kind of screams for a revolution against her tyranny, for free wings and wing spans! But I doubt Kruger would approve of it.
Not to mention that Rainbow Dash would have my flank for a coup. I don’t want her to…
Actually, this sounds like an interesting idea to get closer to those wings. Just let her come to me. Drawback is that she would kick my flank up and down the Delta Base. Kruger would probably join her in the flank kicking too…
…Would be totally worth it.
“-wings?” I heard HEART say, as I snapped back to attention once more with a shake of my head.
“WHERE?!” I replied eager to hear what she said about wings.
“Um, I just asked why you think feathers are so important for wings. I mean, my wings work as good as any other.” She demonstrated this by buzzing her wings and flying a feet off the ground.
Slightly brought out of my eagerness after having been denied the feathery goodness I answered, “No offense, but I’m not sure that changeling wings are as durable and strong as other wings.”
“I can assure you that our wings are very durable and flexible. Especially the wings of a Princess are superior to the ones of normal Changeling drones,” lectured HEART.
I scoffed slightly at that.
Oh, I’m a princess, and I get to have extra special wings, because normal ones just won’t do!
Just the thought of it repulses my very being.
“Whatever you say, I’m not interested,” I replied slightly annoyed at her attitude. I mean seriously, that even an alicorn race like the changelings has such vast differences! What about equality! Isn’t that worth anything?! Does there have to be pompous titles and differences in strength and abilities?! Who gets to say that one pony is worth more than the other?!
Just ugh!
“I’m going to check on the beverage dispenser. It seems to jam. I will be done in time for the inspection of the new recruits,” I said, as I walked to the part of our department where the machine was located.
I just needed some distance from her. This topic just really gets me worked up every time.
Best to try and take calming breaths, in and out.
I’m wondering what the new recruits will be like.
Back with Fetch and Princess Heart
PRINCESS HEART dropped her smile, looking slightly dejected at Fetch.
“Say Fetch, does he hate me?” She shook her head at that. “What a silly question, since I can sense his emotions. I just find it hard to determine when he is deep in his thoughts. I can feel hate, but that disappeared as soon as he came out of his thoughts, so I don’t know if it was aimed at me, or if he thought just of something he truly hates. But what I can sense is his dislike towards me. I hope this doesn’t have to do anything with the invasion. On the other hand, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was it. I just don’t know what to do with him.”
“Please forgive him Princess, I can assure you that his behavior has nothing to do with the invasion. He is just jealous of the traits of all alicorns. You probably noticed that he wishes to have the wings of a pegasus himself. Changelings being a race with horn and wings might sour his mood a little. Not to mention his foul impression of nobility, and since you are not only a Changeling but a Princess as well…let’s just say you seem to be the perfect combined object of his dislikes, and you don’t have feathery wings to make up for it, unlike the Equestrian Princesses.”
She nodded. “I understand. So at least he doesn’t hold a grudge against my people for attacking Canterlot. Maybe I can convince him then? Show him what a great race we can be? And maybe even befriend him?”
Fetch smiled at that, before making a short bow. “I would be most grateful, Princess. I already tried to convince him to let go of his distrust of nobility, but he is very stubborn on that subject.”
She stood firm with a look of determination on the metallic ground of the R&D department. “I will. As mother is my witness I shall make Steam Gear love the Changeling race in every aspect with a fiery passion in his heart! If it is the last thing I do!”
PRINCESS HEART slightly giggled at that. “I always wanted to say that!”
My name is sorrow song, I am the great granddaughter of coldheart the ice maiden and I became the second pegasi to learn to use our internal magic to affect the forces of nature.
When I turned 12 I found out I had a gift for weather manipulation, and like my great grandmother I eventually found out how to use my internal magic, but when I did the crystal heart gave me the memories of Coldheart, allowing me to understand the abilities I had and how to effect the forces of nature like her.
At 17 I learned to create ice anywhere and could use it to create blizzards and weapons of ice. Eventually I created a fighting style based off of using multiple ice swords, even using my ice to create an avatar, a golem like creature I could control from the inside.
At 21 I hit the peak of my power and found out I could lower temperature to absolute zero freezing anything nearby after finding out my parents planed to use me to give Coldheart a new body which would switch my soul with hers inside the crystal heart. I lost my parents that day and left the crystal kingdom leaving to find my place in the world and keep my ability hidden.
At 23 I joined SPD as Anubis Cruger's personal assistant, which I enjoy and will continue my job.
Should the need arise my ice shall protect and my enemies will freeze
My name is sorrow song and I'm the ice witch of SPD
The band of thieves had ditched their stolen train and holed up in an abandoned quarry. It suited their needs well enough, isolated, with a few shacks they could stay in till the heat died down. One of those shacks, a little set back from the others, held their captives. It was unguarded, mostly do to the fact that they wouldn't. Stop. Talking.
"This is all your fault Scootaloo!"
"And what makes you say that Sweetie Belle?"
"Oh I don't know, maybe the fact that it was your idea to try to catch the bank robbers."
"Well if you thought it was a good idea, why did you agree to help?"
"No, Apple Bloom agreed to help, you two just roped me into it, literally."
"AJ's been teachin' me some tricks. No rodeo cutie mark just yet, but I thought they might come in handy."
The three young fillies, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom, were a club called the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and tartarus bent on finding their cutie marks. Unfortunitly, this resulted them in getting into some form of trouble on a regular basis, case in point, trying to earn criminal catcher cutie marks while on a school field trip to the Canterlot Museum. Needless to say, it went less than spectacularly.
The three fillies continued bickering until they heard the door open. They immediatly clammed up, remembering the bandit's all too believable threat that they wouldn't get fed if they were caught arguing again. They looked up to see who it was, and their hearts sank.
It was Mr. Cruger.
This was not the first time that they had met, that had been a rather explosive situation involving an attempt to gain chemist cutie marks, but they remembered what he had said that day, "the next time I see you girls do something this stupid, I'm telling your folks." They were not looking forward to the punishment they would receive when they got home.
"Well well well, why am I not surprised?" Cruger asked while drawing his sword, "let's get you home and you might not get in trouble, for missing dinner anyway."
The fillies groaned as Cruger cut the ropes binding them. As Sweetie Belle was rubbing her wrists in an attempt to restore feeling in them, she noticed something, or technically the lack of something.
"Mr. Cruger, if you're here to rescue us, how come I didn't hear you beating up those big bullies?"
Cruger smacked his forehead with mock indignation, "I knew I forgot something."
The three fillies were gripped with fear at the thought of the bandits still out there, until Cruger turned it into anticipation with 2 simple words.
"Wanna watch?"
One could compliment the bandits on their racial tolerance, of the five, 3 were Earth Ponies, 1 was a Diamond Dog, and one a Minotaur. They were all male, so sexist comments are still valid.
One of the Earth Ponies was nervious, "I don't think going south was a good idea. Word is that there's a new division of the guard stationed down there."
The Minotaur, Bronze Horn, merely laughed. He was the leader of the band, and the largest Minotaur any of them had ever seen. At his side was a massive hammer, which he used to break down the door of the vault in one hit. "There is no need to fear the guard, I could take down a dozen of them with a single strike. As for why we're going south, those girls will bring a handsome price in the Roamin Underworld. Besides, those cowardly guards can do nothing while we hold them hostage."
"Unless of course the cowardly guard rescues them while you're all on your butts doing nothing."
The Bandits turned to see that Cruger had walked up, alone.
Bronze Horn laughed even harder than before. "One guard, I almost feel insulted."
Cruger grinned and brought up his personal Delta Morpher, it had been a long time since he said these words.
"It's time you learned the difference between quantity, and quality. SPD, EMERGENCY"
The bandits took one look at the strange armor their opponent now wore, one at each other, and charged.
Now this Cruger was different than the one he dressed up as all those many years ago. First off, he liked to listen to music while he fought.
One of the Earth Ponies charged him with a woodcutter's axe, Cruger sidestepped him easily and knock him out with a swift strike of the hilt of his blade to the back of the idiot's neck. The others took this as a sign to take a bit more care. Another Earth Pony fired an arrow from a crossbow, which Cruger deflected with his sword. He then showed another difference between himself and his fictional counterpart.
He could use magic.
Raising his hand, Cruger returned fire with a blast of navy blue energy. As the remaining Earth Pony and Diamond Dog stood watching the impossibility of a non-Unicorn using magic, Cruger charged his blade and knocked them down with a flying slash.
Bronze Horn was rather impressed, this guard had bested his entire crew in less than a minute. However, they were hired only to help carry the loot. Nothing could defeat a Minotaur warrior in single combat. Gripping their respective weapons, they circled each other, waiting for the other to strike.
Bronze Horn swung his hammer around, forcing Cruger to back up. Normally Cruger would wait for the pause when he started to swing the hammer back, but Bronze Horn instead used the momentum to loop the hammer around his back for a second strike. Cruger was impressed, he hadn't had this much fun since that time with the griffin mad scientist and his golem army. But it was time for Cruger to finish this, and decided to bring out his signature technique.
Dimension magic.
Back when he was the princess's guard, he found that he an aptitude for spells that handled manipulating dimensional energies, probably because he came from a different dimension. In fact, while Starswirl the Bearded invented the teleportation spell, Cruger refined it so that it didn't take nearly as much energy. Over time he combined it with his sword play to create the still legendary Silver Fang magic sword style. To this day it was studied by many unicorns, but none but it's creator ever mastered it. However, all practicioners agreed that if you mastered it, you were invincible.
Cruger flipped the catch on his sword, opening the wolf's head on the hilt. A flash of light traveled across the blade, turning it blue as it was infused with dimensional energy. With a flick of the tip, he conjured a small portal portal in front of Bronze Horn's hammer, shrinking it as the head went through. As Bronze Horn struggled to pull his hammer free, Cruger laid him out with a swift left hook. Cruger smiled, all the suspects were stunned and in a small pile, time for his favourite part of the job.
"You are charged with theft and kidnapping," Cruger stated dramatically, pulling out his Delta Morpher, "now face, JUDGEMENT!"
Cruger pressed the button on top of the morpher, revealing two panels, one with a blue circle, the other a red X. The bandits looked on with fear as the symbols flashed, until finally it stopped on the X.
"Guilty as charged," said Cruger, putting his morpher away. He then brought his sword in front of him, running his fingers across the blade, charging it with an obscene amount of dimensional energy.
Cruger let loose a charged flying slash of pure dimensional magic, which completely enveloped the Bandits. When the light died down, all that was left were five metallic cards, which apparently now contained the villians. Cruger reached down and picked them up, regarding the bandits now pounding at the walls of their new homes, "justice is served."
The suspects now in custody, Cruger waved his hand, dispelling the dimensional duck blind the girls were safely ensconced in. As they were stunned speechless by the display, Cruger thought it was a good time to ask an important question, "now what in the name of Celestia's morning tea possessed you to try and take on a group of bandits?" Sweetie Belle was the first to break the silence.
After Cruger sent the CMC back to the Delta Base via portal, once he radioed ahead for Time Stamp to hold onto them until he got back, he went to secure the bandits' loot. Once he had found the shack that they were hidden in, he prepared to send them back the same way he sent the CMC when something caught his eye.
Lying on top of the various sacks of coins and jewels was a strange necklace. It was made of iron with a leather strap, engraved with a somewhat sinister looking helmet. As he picked it up, he heard a strange feminine voice speak from thin air.
"To you, who hold this trinket. No matter if you wish to conquer or to protect. No matter if you wish to destroy or to create. I do not care if your Intents are black, white or any shade of gray, call my name and I will come. But be prepared for the judge of our actions will be Time alone. I am Umbra, the Overlady. The Mistress of Minions. And this is my token."
As the voice dissipated, Cruger was left wondering, "Umbra?". As soon as he spoke the word, he felt a surge of dimensional energy and noticed a flash of light from outside the shack. Cruger's mind flashed three very important thoughts.
One: odds were, Umbra was right outside the shack.
Two: checking, yes he was still morphed.
Third: he had to que up another song.
(Umbra's POV) In the typical bright flash of blue light, I appeared... in front of a really shabby looking shack? To say I was a bit miffed would have been an understatement, since whoever called me caught me just seconds before I could devour a piece of pastry that was left from my trip to Ponyville. For whatsoever reason, the baked good had not made the trip in this Verse even though I had it in my hand just moments before.
"Okay, whoever called me, you owe me a piece of marble cake with extra frosting! And where the fuck am I?" I yelled angrily.
As she was yelling, Cruger stepped out from the shack, "sorry, no cake here. But if you don't mind, I think the cafeteria's serving chocolate."
While Umbra studied the strangely armored figure, her gaze was drawn to the bags of coins behind him.
"What the freakin fuck?" Was that a honest to goddess Power Ranger? And more important, where this back full of gold coins behind him? That made me drool a bit, thankfully under my helmet.
"Heh, chocolate is fine too. So, I take you called me yes?" I asked in a chit-chat tone, my eyes still fixed on all that loot. "Hey, say, by chance, is that loot behind ya claimed allready?"
"If you mean the loot that I recovered from a group of bandits and am going to return to it's rightful owners," Cruger said while fingering his sword, "yeah. Why do you ask?"
"Aww, come on now. Don't be such a stick in the mud buddy. Bandits stole it hn? So, hey, I just thought, why don’t we tell the owners that you only found, dunno, some pocket change left and we split the rest between us hn?" I offered, feeling the urge to take it all for myself boil inside me. "Tell you what, since you did all the hard work, I´ll would even give you fifty five percent."
Just to be on the safe side, I called my Minions, Reds and Browns, amassing a veritable mass of kobolds behind me, leaning my mace on my shoulder in a casual way.
"Does not sound to shabby hn?"
Cruger chuckled as he pulled out his badge, "Allow me to introduce myself, Commander Cruger, Space Patrol Delta, a cop. Besides, 35? Really? I was hoping for a hundred, you know, like in the show. I raided mafia strongholds that had more guys."
"Aw bummer, I knew I had seen your armor somewhere." I responded, eying the badge. "Also, please don´t diss my little friends alright? They are way stronger than your regular mook, goon or whatever you normally get thrown at you."
I swung my mace from my shoulder in a slight arc in front of me. "So, I take you will try to arrest me now hn?"
Cruger put his badge away, "actually, since you were the first human I've seen in over a thousand years, and appear to have the abilities of one of my favorite games, I was gonna compare notes with you over a pizza. But if you want to try to take what ain't your's," Cruger drew his sword and energized it, "I can always put you in a containment card first."
I chuckled, gripping my mace harder. "Why, ain´t you a charmer. You at least invite a lady to dinner before breaking out the serious stuff." Sending the mental signal to my Minions to bet ready for battle, I focused Mana in my left palm, prepping a Fireball. "Well, normally I would accept dinner in an instant but you see, I feel a bit adventurous right now. Sooo... let´s scrap!"
My hand shot forward, sending my Minions into battle even though I added the mental command not to kill this guy.
Just a moment before my Browns got in reach, I threw my spell, toned down a bit but still strong enough to knock Mr. Mighty Morphin´ off his feet. Just before the spell hit him, Cruger slashed the air in front of him with his sword, creating a rift that swallowed the fireball before closing. With another swing, he made another rift that launched the same fireball into a group of Browns, scattering them like ninepins.
"Hey, that´s cheating!" I yelled, a smirk under my helm "I like ya!"
Cruger chuckled, "I aint yo momma's Cruger."
"Fitting reply!" I shot back, commanding my Reds to provide cover while the Browns and I charged. At this point, I really, really wanted to send that guy flying.
A mental command later, my Browns made for a pincer maneuver to take Mr. Cruger from both sides, which would allow me to punt his blue armored ass all the way over to Mount Canter. Maybe I would invite him for a beer afterwards, provided he would be a good loser. I wasn't prepared for him to open a portal beneath him for him to drop into. However, I was less surprised when my browns smashed into each other when he disappeared.
"You can port yourself too? Aw come on!"
I harshly addressed my kobolds who tried to untangle themselves "Get yourself together, up you wastes of souls!"
While I did that, I switched to my Ley sight. Maybe, just maybe I could track that fellows Mana residue, if his skills used Mana that is.
>>Alright, I can see it, there is his residue.<< I thought with some degree of satisfaction, following the smoky Mana residue left behind by Crugers skill. >>Now let´s see, he left there and now he is... got ya now!<< Following the trail, it lead behind me, while a bit distant. The Beast prepped for a swing, I twirled around.
Cruger was on a small hill with two small portals overtop each other throwing stones into them. Looking closer, there was a small waterfall of pebbles flowing between them. Noticing my gaze, Cruger turned towards me. "First rule of portals, speedy thing goes in," I paled as I figured out his plan, "speedy thing comes out." With a wave of his hand, Cruger dismissed the upper portal and summoned another, RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY FACE!
"OH FUCK!" was all I could yell before a hailstorm of pebbles rained down on me, clanking off my helmet for the most part but still enough of the stones it their mark and boy, did that hurt. Darkness be thanked for my sturdier body or I might had lost an eye. Still, that would leave me with a... well, blacker eye.
"Owowowowowowow, my face, my beautiful face!" I yelled, stumbling back in a fashion the monster of the day in a Rangers episode would to as soon as it got hit. After the last stone had hit me, I made a show out of pointing my finger at Cruger, proclaiming loudly "I´ll get you for that Ranger!"
Cruger chuckled, "you do know this isn't an 80's kids show right?"
"Way to make me feel old and kill the mood in one go." I grumped back, beginning to sprint towards Cruger with my Minions. During the sprint, I griped a Brown at his scruff and threw the happily gibbering projectile towards my opponent. The moment the Minion left my hand, I built up a new spell, this time my Corruption Burst. A hail of Firebolts from my Reds zoomed overhead.
Cruger swung his sword, using my thrown Minion's own momentum to cleave it in two. With another swing, he launched a burst of blue magic that swatted most of the fireballs out of the sky. However, to my great delight, he was unable to block my Corruption Burst. The disorientation allowed the remainder of the fireballs to hit their mark. I approached the resulting cloud of smoke with a bit more caution than previously, I may be as dramatic as a Power Ranger villain at times, but I was not as stupid. When the smoke cleared, he was nowhere to be found. Activating my Ley vision, I followed his port to the base of a nearby cliff. There was Cruger his armor scorched and looking rather pissed, that was when I noticed the boulders he was standing next to.
Uh oh.
"That's it, no more Mr. Nice Guy," Cruger growled as he opened portals beneath the boulders. I just managed to get out of the way before his impromptu meteor shower squashed half of my minions.
"Fucking fuck!" I just yelped as I scrambled to my feet. Quickly calling Minion reinforcements, I tried to come up with a good plan that would not involve ending up in a bloody smear.
I send the whole of my Minions, Reds and Browns alike in a wave towards Cruger, intending to keep the space doggy immobilized until he calmed down a bit. Dying over some bits in another Verse where death could be permanent, nope, not wanna.
The Minions gibbered happily as they threw themselves at the blue armored Ranger and clung to his arms and legs. He opened a portal beneath him, disappearing into it along with the minions holding onto him. While I readied my Lay sight to track him, the screaming of my minions made that unneccisary. Looking up, I saw that my minions had let go of Cruger, instead attempting to learn to fly as they fell from what looked like a thousand feet. The amusement of my minion's predicament prevented me from seeing the massive beam of energy until I was unable to dodge. As it hit me and everything turned black only one thing went through my head.
>>Fuck<<
I awoke, not really expecting to, in a strange white room. Looking around, I saw what looked like a piece of chocolate cake bigger than I was. >>If this is heaven, I'm cool with that.<< As I reached out to eat that cake from the inside out, my hands came into contact with a barrier. Just as I was bemoaning being sent to hell, I heard that bastard's voice.
"I told ya I'd put you in a containment card."
I hammered my fist against the barrier a few times, producing a gong like sound. With a pitiful moan, I then slid down the barrier. "You know that torture was banned by the Geneva Convention right?"
Cruger chuckled, "it's not torture, it's incentive. If you promise to play nice I'll let you out here and now. A little chat, a little triple layer chocolate fudge cake, and you can be on your way. Sounds like a good deal right?"
Grumbling something into my helmet, I raised a hand and mumbles a bit louder "Okay, uncle! There, I said it. Now please let me out before I go crazy because I have this ginormous piece of chocolate cake in front of me and can´t get to it."
With a flash of light, the room disappeared leaving standing in front of a table with a much smaller, though admittedly generous, slice of cake.
"Should have mentioned, objects outside of the card are larger than they appear."
I turned around to see Cruger outside of his armor, though I was surprised to see that he actually looked the lovechild of a blue lizard and a German Shepherd.
"Wow, no offense buddy but I suddenly have the overwhelming urge to rub your stomach to see if you would kick your legs." I stated as blunt as a battering ram. "Oh and... hehe ... sorry bout that whole thing over that loot. Guess being surrounded by dragons slash half dragons rubbed a bit off on me."
Cruger just chuckled, "not to mention a certain sentient walnut who says 'evil always finds a way' every other sentence if my guess is correct. Now, if you don't mind, how exactly did you make Gnarl's acquaintance?"
My eyes snapped back from the piece of heaven on a plate to Cruger. "Huh? Oh ya, Gnarl. Mind if we talk while we eat? My blood sugar is a bit low right now." Without waiting I took a seat at the table, that by the way stood in a rather spacious and Sci-Fi looking apartment , taking the fork besides the plate. My helmet found its place on the table for unhindered eating.
Cruger just smiled as he gestured to a counter with a various assortment of goodies, "and why do you think I made my famous spaghetti and meat sauce if I did?" He loaded a plate with the succulent smelling combination of pasta, tomatoes, and ground beef and sat across from me, gesturing for me to begin.
"Dude, I´m this close to smooching ya on the snout." I stated before stuffing my mouth with chocolaty goodness, not even bothering to suppress my blissfully moan. After swallowing and regaining my bearing a bit, I addressed the meat of the matter. "So I take that I am the first Displaced you made contact with then, yes?"
Cruger nodded, "Displaced huh? Well that at least makes me feel a bit better about my situation." I stared at him in confusion as he explained, "now which would be better, being the only shmuk in the multiverse that this happened to, or one of several?"
"Ah, so you know about the Multiverse theory already. Good, makes it easier for me there." I speared another piece of cake with my fork "First of, from what I have learned, each or better most of us bought something from a shady vendor on a Con and BÄMM! Grats, you are now in Equestria and are what you were dressed up as. Have fun surviving. Thus the name Displaced. In my case; I bought a new gem for my gauntlet and the next thing I remember was making an orbital entrance to the fucking planet. Fought for my life in the Badlands, met Gnarl and the Minions, erected a dark Tower and now I am jumping between Verses like a rubber ball on cocaine when I not try to find my lost hives." Again my taste buds where met by rich chocolate. "Sweet merciful Mother of Everything, this is some glorious cake! You with me so far?"
Cruger nodded, "for me, it was buy my sword, teleport straight to Equestria," I cursed the multiverse, I become a meteor while he just pops straight to ground level, "get in a fight with a dozen Griffins," okay, maybe it just screwed with different people in different ways, "rescue filly Celestia and Luna, almost get blasted by their mom over a misunderstanding, become their bodyguard for five years, head of my own SPD for the next 20, and finally get locked by Discord in my own HQ for the following thousand. By the way, you see your Discord, give him a punch in the snout for me would ya?"
"Will do. So, just to sate my curiosity, Celly´s and Luna´s Mom, is she really Faust? Y´know, white coat, maroon mane, Alicorn?"
Cruger nodded, "yep, at least in this corner of the multiverse. But be careful, her talent might be writing, but a close second is DEFINITELY combat magic." Cruger took a bite of his pasta, gonna have to try some of that next, and pulled out my token. "Next question, what's this?"
"Need to remember that. Kay, that, my dear canine friend is a token. More precise, my token. Imagine it as some kind of business card for us Displaced. It is more or less like the Soapstone's in Dark Souls, they let you call other Displaced for some jolly cooperation. They are made by infusing a item that represents you the best with a fraction of your essence/magical energy/ki/whatever you will call it and a catchy phrase. Then, the Void between the Verses sucks it in on its own normally and spreads it throughout the Multiverse. So far, I have these." I said, placing Wades Cube, Zinnias anklet and Black Alice's Ankh on the table.
Cruger studied them, as well as the one in his hand, before digging into one of his coat's inner pockets. He pulled out a silver shield shaped badge bearing the profile of a dog's head and the word 'POLICE' at the top. As he infused his token he spoke. "I am Anubis Cruger, the Shadow Ranger. Should you need my aid, or merely my counsel, call on me. But be warned, you, as well as your foes, shall face my Judgment." As he opened he a portal and prepared to drop it in, he looked at me, "what do ya think, too corny?"
"Puh~lease, you heard mine. I sound like a stereotypical bad OC, I mean, my color scheme even is red and black. All I now need is a katana." I responded, waving a hand around before re-collecting my own tokens, putting Wades token back in my pouch, tying Alice Ankh to my belt again and slid Zinnias token on my arm, even though it was meant for legs. "Well, that means you are now officially introduced to the Multiverse. Word of advice, tell your friends. Time works in strange ways when you are summoned. Days can be hours, seconds can be years and Darkness forbid, minutes could be decades."
Cruger chuckled, "I'll keep that in mind." As he dropped his new token into the portal and closed, he looked back at me, "I wonder who'll get it?" I was about to answer as a portal opened and dropped a copy of his token, squashing the remainder of my cake.
"Fuck you Murphy!"
As I bemoaned the loss of such perfection, Cruger mearly chuckled, "well, that's one of life's little rhetorical questions answered."
I did not respond to that, seeing as I was too busy licking the remains of my poor cake from my new token. Waste not, want not and all that. Finishing cleaning and stowing away my new token, I went for a plate of pasta myself. After taking a seat again, I took a look out of the window from where I sat. "Hey, what kind of Verse is this by the way? Feral or Anthro?"
"Anthro, and as you may have noticed, omnivorous." Having finished his plate, he went over to the counter. I didn't notice what he was up to, but I had bigger things on my mind. When he said his sauce was famous, I didn't quite believe him, now I did.
I was still slurping up the pasta when he returned, a plate of cake on top on a white box. He placed the box in front of me before removing his plate, "for the road." I salivated, knowing what was probably inside.
"You’re a Saint among us Displaced Anubis." I breathed, my eyes watering from joy. "Also, fuck me running with a chainsword, another Anthroverse. Soooo jealous right now."
"Please, just Cruger. Now, since something tells me that under normal circumstances these tokens have an arbitrary time limit, I think I can use my dimension magic to keep you from snapping back until after dinner."
"Aw, I was right, you are really a gentleman." I purred, batting my eyes for effect. Must have looked like when someone pulled a curtain over a light source I imagined. "Yes, you are right. Tokens have indeed a rather random time limit. Can be hours, days, weeks. There is a phrase to send a Displaced back too. Just say 'X, our contract is complete.' with the Displaced's name instead of the X."
"If it's all the same to you, I'll just pour a bit of magic into your token. Now if you don't mind, I think there's some Caesar Salad calling for me."
As we ate, we discussed various exploits we had, I laughed at his tale of the wannabe mad genius who tried to take over Canterlot with a swarm of rock eating Parasprites, while he flinched as I told him of my extremely unpleasant near death experience. As we finished dinner, well, ran out of food, I got to my feet, cradling that white box like it was made of gold.
Cruger fished out my token, "Before you go, want some advice?" I nodded. "First, you have skill, but not a lot of experience. I mean seriously, a simultaneous pincer attack on a single target by minions of dubious intelligence? You were just asking me to pull a disappearing act."
"In my defense, all I had to battle until now where Diamond Dogs and two Chimeras. So simple maneuvers worked pretty well."
Cruger nodded, "fair enough. Second, call ME a Diamond Dog and you go back in the card." There was a serious look on his face, he must really hate being called a Diamond dog.
"Yes sir."
Cruger's grin returned, "good. Third, I know you're an Overlord, but don't try teaming up with Tirek. Punching him, on the other hand, can be quite therapeutic."
"Hehe, shame I have no grenades." I smirked, giving my best impression of my Saints Row character.
Cruger chuckled as he charged my token, "finally, don’t use my token if your going to attack Equestria, I rigged it to explode if my summoner has bad intentions."
As I felt the familiar tug of the void, I couldn't help but notice that last part. "Wait, what?"
Before he could respond, I found myself back in my tower. Looking to see that the box was still there, I prepared to enjoy some chocolatey goodness when I heard Gnarl calling.
"Milady, Milady where are you?" The pitter patter of his feet grew louder and my advisor came around a corner, into the room. "Thank Darkness, there you are again Milady. You were gone for almost a whole day."
"Yeah, sorry Gnarl, I was summoned again." I admitted sheepishly.
An unamused expression settled in Gnarls wrinkly face as he noticed the box in my hands. With a sigh, he slightly shook his head.
Celestia sat in her private study. Here was where she preformed the day to day tasks to keep Canterlot running. Along with the throne room and Luna's study, it was one of the three most important rooms in Canterlot Castle. No-one entered it unless invited.
Celestia was beginning to regret who she just invited in.
"I cannot belive what you were thinking." Celestia winced, Cruger always had a way of making her feel like a child, even now. Right now he had his "intearagation face" on, neutral yet with eyes that looked into your soul. "Luna's actions I can understand, sanction even. Really, given the choice between attending the wedding of a niece that she barely knew or spending time with her son who's been in stasis longer than I have, I know what choice I would have made. But discounting the report of your own student, on a matter she's obviously well versed in, concerning a matter of potential national security, without even considering it possible, you young lady, dun goofed." While Celestia wanted to smile at his choice of words, Cruger's tone, coupled with the fact that he called her young lady, just caused her head to sink even lower. "Now," Cruger continued, "what is rule number one of leadership?"
Celestia looked up just long enough to reply, "anything and everything is possible."
Cruger nodded, "well, considering your mother and I pounded all those rules into your head since I put them together all those years ago I'm not surprised that you can't at least repeat them on command, but you need to understand them." Cruger sighed, "Luna was always better at following that particular rule, though she never could get the hang of 62, remember that one?"
"Don't make faces at the annoying petitioners until AFTER they leave the room," Cruger and Celestia said together. Celestia giggled, remembering some of the sillier, yet still useful, rules that they made.
"Glad to see you with a smile back on your face." Cruger had one on his face as well, "I'm sorry to have to do this kind of thing, but when someone makes a mistake of that magnitude, steps have to be made to prevent it from repeating, it's rule 7. The sad thing is that I heard it from Luna, who wasn't even there." Cruger pulled out a few pieces of paper from a satchel ad his side, "now I don't mean to sound like a snooty noble, but mind if we get to the primary reason I came here today."
Celestia looked at the various papers, they were deeds to a few properties, as well as a publishing house and a company that made carriages. While Cruger was first and foremost SPD, he also was a skilled businessman and inventor, and had a small fortune when he confronted Discord. "I'll ensure that all claims to your ownership are upheld. Anything else, old friend?"
Cruger grinned, "Well, there are currently 3 schools in Canterlot that claim to teach Silver Fang, and they're all trying to get my seal of approval. So they each chose a 'champion' for me to duel so I can see which one is 'worthy', wanna watch? I think Blueblood's one of my opponents."
Celestia smiled, "mind if I bring popcorn?"
"This is the mighty Cruger?"
Cruger frowned as the stallion, Blueblood if you were for some reason unable to guess, laughed at what appeared to a very stupid person as a non-threat. While Cruger was a bit on the thin side, he was more lithe than scrawny, plus not many thought that he could use magic when they first met him. In fact, even he wasn't aware that he could use magic until some time after his arrival. Combined, it didn't look like he could utilize Blueblood's variant of Silver Fang.
Cruger cracked his knuckles and drew his sword, "I guess we know who's going first then."
Blueblood snickered as he raised his broadsword and charged, he lasted 3 moves. Cruger used his sword to knock Blublood's out of his hand, slashed again to force him back a step, them hit him with a roundhouse kick to the chest, launching Blueblood out of the ring. As Blueblood lay on the ground, more out of shock than anything, Cruger sheathed his sword, "Here endith the lesson."
The other combatants looked on in wonder, while the school was mainly a cash grab using a modified Earth Pony style combining heavy blows with heavy flying slashes, Cruger managed to defeat a skilled practitioner without really trying.
"Poor nephew, do you require a healer?" Luna laughed while munching on a massive tub of popcorn. Both of the royal sisters were viewing from the bleachers, granting the entire proceedings an extra air of importance to the proceedings. All present were aware that if even one of the schools managed to impress him, Cruger would instruct it in the true Silver Fang style. However, if Blueblood's school was any indication, this would be a short session, and nopony would be granted the secrets.
Fancy Pants stepped up, "I beleve it is my turn." He stepped forward drawing an ornate raipier, while Blueblood's school was a farce that used high power strikes, Fancy Pants' used a bit more finnesse, and teleporting.
Cruger was assaulted from all sides as Fancy Pants rapidly teleported around him. While to a casual onlooker might be rooting for Fancy Pants, Cruger was able to block every attack half a second before Fancy finished teleporting. As Fancy ported behind Cruger for a finishing blow, Cruger hit him with a small blast of magic from his finger tips without looking.
Cruger blew an imaginary wisp of smoke from his fingers, "mediocre."
Luckily for Fancy Pants, the arena had a magical failsafe that teleported him out before he got hurt. There was only one candidate left, and no one thought that she would be able to do it.
"Well, it appears that it falls to me to show these brutes how it's done," Rarity said.
Sweetie Belle cheered from the bleachers, she was still grounded after the CMC's little incident, but she was allowed to come since Rarity didn't want to let her out of her sight.
As Rarity approached, Cruger noticed a few things that caused him to raise his guard a little. First, she was wielding a cutlass, an ornate cutlass but a cutlass all the same, not the sort of weapon one would assosiate with a mare of her sophistication. Second, her stance, unlike the other two, was that of a proffesional, side towards Cruger to minimize target, blade on shoulder to minimize fatigue, much like Cruger's own. Third, her right hand held a couple of small spherical gems.
When the bell rang, hit by Celestia of course, Rarity threw the gems at Cruger, giving them an addidtional boost with her magic. As Cruger blocked them, Rarity teleported behind him to strike. Cruger repeated the technique he used on Fancy Pants, but Rarity teleported away before it could connect. They continued like that for about a minite, Rarity alternating between using her gems, bolts of magic, and sneak attacks with Cruger countering them all. Finally, Cruger decided enough was enough and for the first time in the entire challenge, moved from his starting position.
As Rarity came out of a teleport, she found Cruger's blade at her throught. She knew she was beat, and yielded.
Cruger sheathed his sword, "there can be only one. And that one is your school."
Rarity gave a smile that would make Pinkie proud, "really? Thank you so much for this honor, you will not regret it."
As the crowd cheered, Cruger was approached by Sorrow Song. "Sir, you wanted to know when this came in," she said, handing Cruger a letter.
(Cruger's office)
Cruger smiled, today had been a productive day, he restored his ownership of his holdings, got some personal time with Tia and Lulu, and found a way to pass on his skills. He had to inspect the squads in half an hour, but he had more than enough time to write a very important letter.
Here I was now. The two hours were up and, with that, my time to prepare myself mentally for this new challenge. I’m going to meet a lot of new ponies after all. Not to mention that some are going to be my subordinates. A really frightening thought. Not that complaining could change that, I had to face the music, and that’s exactly what I did.
I stood ready at the doors to greet Kruger and the new recruits. Fetch wanted to finish a draft first. Said it would only take a minute, so I’m alone right now.
Not very reassuring.
Maybe I could short circuit the doors to prolong the inevitable?
My attention was brought from my thoughts back to the doors, as I heard the telltale whirr of the doors sliding open.
It was too late now.
I quickly turned my gaze to the doors, slightly queasy. However, what stepped through it left me slightly in awe.
Well, more like completely stunned in an awe-induced coma.
“I died and this is heaven,” I muttered in awe at the wing sporting staff that stood proudly before me. There were two thestrals, one pegasus pony and even one gryphon.
If there is a Santa Hooves, he decided that I was a very good colt this year.
Time to unwrap my presents!
Uh…I mean welcome the new recruits!
Just at that moment Fetch rounded the corner. He did a double take as he took a look at the new recruits and then eyed me warily.
“Steam, I know you like wings, but is there a good reason for why the R&D is basically an aviary?”
I was about to retort when I heard a chuckle. I turned my head to see it was Cruger standing behind the new recruits.
Huh, didn’t see him there, standing directly next to the new recruits in plain sight…I guess there is a reason why I’m not a patrol trooper. Attentive wise, mind you, I could easily build myself a weapon for self-defense. Of course a long range one. I’m not a fighter, so short range would bring me a huge disadvantage. Not that I ever would get in a fight here though. I’m just a simple engineer after all.
Cruger then stepped up to address us, “It is indeed a rather big coincidence that the selection consisted of them. I expected more unicorns to apply for the positions, but these four here were the best out of the applications for the more senior positions in the R&D department. But first let me introduce your new team.”
This got my attention. It was time to see which two I got. My giddiness ebbed away and was replaced with nervousness. I started a silent chant in hope to raise my chances to get my preferred subordinates. “Please let me have the pegasus and gryphon, please let me have the pegasus and gryphon, please let me have the Pegasus and gryphon.”
“First let me introduce Midnight steel.”
A female thestral stepped forward. She has a dark midnight-blue coat, piercing amber eyes and a tuft of fur on each ear, which I honestly found cute. I have a liking towards fluffy things after all. They don’t always have to be feathers.
“This is Midnight Steel. She is going to fill the place of the Maintenance Engineer as a Ranger Specialist, that means that she’ll be in charge of the stuff that the Rangers use in the field other than the Zords.”
She nervously raised a hand in greeting as she stepped towards me. “Hello. I hope for a good working relationship.”
I nodded and shook her hand in greeting.
I was maybe a little disappointed about not getting feathery wings appointed, but beggars can’t be choosers. And I sure won’t be rude towards my subordinate because of personal preferences.
“Next up is Manual Control,” said Cruger as a shy pegasus pony stepped forward.
He has a dark red-brownish coat, with red eyes and a two toned mane of yellow and orange. He was wearing green glasses and a Stetson. An odd combination in my opinion, since he was giving of a country feel on the one hand, and on the other the one of a pony you would see in a lab. Not that lab ponies couldn’t be country folks, it is just something you didn’t see that often, and it made me quite curious.
“He is appointed for the position Research Specialist: Design, he’ll be turning the concepts you boys and girls come up with into schematics for you to put together.”
My spirits fell slightly at that, but I got it under control pretty fast. I mean, he would be still in the same department, so there was really no point in complaining since we would still work together, just not as close as I had hoped.
“And this here is Flare Blast,” said Cruger as he motioned the gryphon forwards.
He had black feathers and dark gray fur with red yellow and orange highlights near the tips of the wings and orange eyes.
He seemed a little shy, just like me when I first encountered Cruger for the job interview. I mentally snickered at the memory. I got hot tea all over him by accident. At that moment I was sure I was done for, and I didn’t just mean my application. But he simply shrugged it off like it was nothing and calmed my panicking mind. I wonder how he did in his interview? Probably better than me. I guess he just needs time to adjust to this new situation too.
I sighed as I hung my head. I would really love a gryphon as my subordinate, but I doubt I have that much luck.
Just in that moment the gryphon stepped up to me and held out his talon, I blinked.
“Uh, yes?” I asked hesitantly.
Cruger just shook his head. “You need to pay attention, Steam Gear. You can’t always have your head in the clouds.”
Fetch had an amused smile on his face, as I looked around noting that I was the center of attention. I rapidly and nervously nodded, hoping to get on with whatever happened, to shove the attention off me. Thankfully Cruger had mercy on my poor soul.
He cleared his throat. “Like I said, Flare Blast is taking the position of Maintenance Engineer: Runner Specialist, he’s the one who’ll actually be working on the Zords.”
This instantly filled my whole being with giddy excitement and a toothy grin appeared on my face, as I eagerly reached for his talon and shook it vigorously.
“Nice to make your acquaintance!” I blurted out a little too loudly and eager, as Flare slightly flinched back at my outburst.
Cruger just shook his head again. “I should have known,” he said, before drawing all attention towards him again to introduce the last team member.
A thestral stepped forward.
“This is Lunar Fang. He is going to take on the role of the Research Assistant, he’ll come in handy, just don’t break him.”
The thestral stepped eagerly forward. He has a dark purple coat with a dark yellow mane and electric blue highlights. His sea green eyes stared eagerly into the round. And as eager as he was, he immediately stepped towards Fetch and greeted him just as eager. He seemed to be quite the motivated one.
With the round now complete Cruger decided to leave us to our devices. He told us to give them a tour of our department. I agreed to lead the tour. This would be so much fun!
“This is the beverage dispenser. You can get any kind of beverages free of charge here. No matter if you are looking for Dr Pony, Red Minotaur, cider or a simple iced tea,” I exclaimed proudly at my next stop. It was a rather fascinating topic after all.
“It may not look like it but it has a rather complex distribution system. If the stock reaches the reorder level, or at the end of the day, it will refill itself. Like magic! Just that it is technology. The computers always know the amount of available stock, so that they send out an order for the items that need to be refilled. The order goes directly into our storage room, where machines pick and arrange the items that have to be transported. After the arranging they get settled into the transport mechanism, which is a pneumatic tube system. This system then transports the cans directly into the dispenser. You can find these beverage dispensers spread over the whole base. And that my little ponies is the gist of how the dispensers work!” I exclaimed cheerily as I was in my element just now.
“Next up is the coffee machine!” I boomed with a happy smile on my face. “Would you believe that we have a cow extra employed for that one?”
I almost didn’t see the rising hand from my little tour group. With a wave of my hand I gestured for him to speak up.
“Sir, do we really need to get over every single device that has nothing to do with our job?” Lunar Fang asked.
“Why not?” I asked slightly confused. I mean these are rather interesting topics after all! We started with the door mechanism, to the automatic lights which turn off when the R&D is empty, to the self-cleaning lavatory seats and to the point we are now with the dispenser. What’s not to like about it?
I then looked around and noticed the slightly bored looks on the faces of most of my tour group.
“My bad,” I said slightly sheepish and coughed into my hand. “Well…what to do now…” I mumbled.
“Maybe you should show them the four different bays,” came Fetch’s voice from behind me.
I hummed slightly at that. This sounds like a good idea actually.
“That might be a possibility. Let’s start with the Runner Bay!”
“Just remember. No exploding toilets this time.”
“It only happened once! ONCE!”
Fetch snickered. “Yeah, with toilets. I don’t want to think about the other ‘incidents’. You would probably build a beverage dispenser that tries to take over the base!”
I snorted at that. “Yeah, right. The time that happens is the time I have a cozy brunch with Queen Chrysalis herself!”
POV: Flare Blast
“Excuse me, Steam Gear, could you lend me that loppy?” I asked in the middle of construction.
“Sure, catch!” Steam Gear said, as he threw it in an arc towards me. I catched it midair without a problem and continued my work immediately.
“How is the welding going?” asked Steam Gear the thestral whose name I believe was Midnight Steel.
“Almost done!” she replied cheerfully.
Cheerfully. The word that described our situation the best. I never would have expected we would end up doing what we are doing now as we stepped into the SWAT Bay.
“What are we doing again?” asked a slightly confused Manual Control from the sidelines.
A rather good question to be honest.
“Less questions, more BBQ sauce!” I heard Lunar Fang say.
I smiled slightly. A rather interesting outcome.
One Hour Prior
We stepped from the R&D department into the elevator. It was rather spacious, so it could hold us all without a problem and still had some room to spare. Probably because it led to the bays.
Steam Gear and Fetch decided to introduce us first to the Runner Bay. My future working place, since I’m the one responsible for the maintenance of the Zords. Rather interesting vehicles. And extremely complicate looking. It probably would take a while to get worked in. I will gather a lot of knowledge in this place, I’m sure of it. And this in turn will help me to help others. Enough in fact to build another and improved prosthetic leg for Midnight!
I smiled at the thought. The little bundle of energy definitely needs a more durable prosthetic to keep up with her.
“Can we use the turbines to grill?”
This question formed a huge question mark over my head and I turned my head to look at Lunar Fang. Every other pair of eyes was on him too.
“What? I’m just curious since I saw that one movie,” he stated slightly excited.
Fetch hummed at that. “I say that the thruster nozzles from the Fliers at the SWAT Bay might be the better choice for the task of grilling.”
Steam Gear got a pensive look as well.
“Problem is that it gets roasted in a charred sense of the word. And holding every single grillable up from a distance can get pretty tiring. I mean we would like to have some vegetables like potatoes and peppers into the mix too, right? To hold a metal bowl of the ingredients up might be a problem when it comes to the burning finger department.”
“So a grill maybe to distribute the heat equally and to grill more than a few grillables at once?” asked Fetch next.
Steam Gear lay a hand on his chin while getting even more pensive. “What about the danger that it still might get charred if we are too slow to retrieve it?”
“An assembly line then inside the grill?”
“To automate the process? Grillables in on the one side and grilled goods out on the other? Sounds rather reasonable. I saw a pizza store once use this technique. It might work.” Steam suddenly balked. “What about the tour? We probably have not the time for such an experiment.”
“I’m more worried about the time limit we have for the order from Cruger. Problem is we need to work our team in. Maybe we could use today as a team building activity to ensure our efficiency for the future?”
“I guess,” answered Steam Gear a little unsure as he relented.
Lunar Fang seemed to beam at the news. “So, BBQ?” he asked.
“BBQ,” Fetch nodded.
I, as well as most of the others, stared at the events rather dumbfounded. Still from the drool on the snouts of some of us I could tell that they approved of this idea. But probably none could exceed the starry-eyed Lunar Fang in the point of motivation who squeed at the thought of a BBQ, R&D Style.
Which brings us back to the present. I will admit that I’m looking forward to it, and I’m also having my share of fun in this little impromptu project.
Probably a little bit of an understatement with the wide smile plastered on my beak. I honestly expected my first day to be more…dull. Just like then Steam Gear explained the beverage dispenser actually. But then suddenly all seems to turn rather cheerful and crazy!
Still, I wonder if I fit in. I mean, I don’t think I have that special brand of crazy that Steam Gear and Fetch seem to share, or Lunar Fang for that matter. But I guess I shouldn’t think too much about it. It’s the first day after all, and Steam Gear seems to be pleased with my work.
He also seems to be extremely hungry, if the excessive drooling is anything to go by. I’m only wondering why he looks at me like that. Do I have something on my wing?
And now he seems to be a bit panicky and his head jerks from left to right, as if he was in an internal argument? He really is an odd one.
Other than Midnight Steel. She is just like me rather quiet, but a lot more cheerful like the rest of us since this team activity started.
Apropos project. Seems like we are finished.
We all stepped back a few steps to admire our work. The Research staff did a good job to deliver us the plans for this grill…monster? You probably could call it that. I mean, it is rather big and can hold quite a few grillables.
Now I wonder if this thing isn’t a bit excessive for our small round. I mean, it gets fired by one of the Fliers for Griffin’s sake!
Midnight Steel seemed to have read my mind as she spoke out exactly what I thought, “Excessive much?”
Lunar Fang simply shook his head. “No. This is glorious.”
“Still…we are not that many,” said Manual Control as he threw his own two bits into the discussion.
“Let’s just get this party started!” exclaimed Lunar Fang.
From the moment he took this words into his mouth, things really started to go crazy.
POV: Steam Gear
“Let’s just get this party started!”
I hummed at that in agreement. Why discuss over such trivialities? Even though I will admit that I didn’t like the word ‘party’. Maybe more like a little get together?
I shook my head. It doesn’t matter. The grill really was something. And in my opinion, you could NEVER be too excessive. Experimentation is healthy, and this grill seemed still little compared to things we could have done additionally. I mean, what about the possibility to build a machine who turns meat into burger and sausages? I think, I’m going to talk with Fetch about this later. Might be worth to talk about.
I was just about to test the grill out, as suddenly a pink blur appeared, or more precisely jumped out of the hatch of the grill.
“DID SOMEPONY MENTION A PARTY!”
My brain stopped for a short moment as I questioned how Pinkie could possibly get into the grill, since we just finished constructing it. I just shook my head. Better not think about it. I want to keep my sanity after all.
“In a sense, this could probably be called one,” answered Fetch before I could get out of my stupor.
“But there are no streamers and balloons and party games and there are a lot of party guests missing!” said the pink mare slightly disappointed at the lack of party supplies and guests.
“The reason we are so few is that this was rather spontaneous,” said Fetch.
“Ooh! We could gather all the ponies in the base!”
My alarm bells shrilled exactly in that moment and I immediately intervened.
“I don’t think that this is such a good idea.”
“Why not?” asked Pinkie innocently.
“Just look around you. None of them seems to be overly skilled in the art of socializing, and neither am I. Filling the place with people will only make us all uncomfortable. It would be better if we keep to ourselves with this. It is a R&D introduction party after all, and even then it is more a simple BBQ than a party.”
Pinkie suddenly took a notebook out of her mane, as well as a pencil…because why should she make sense and use her trouser pockets like normal ponies do? Better not think about how she holds the stuff in her mane or what else she might have hidden in that huge pink mob. Well, it’s not like she could hide a pony in there, so at least she follows some sense of logic by pulling things out of her mane that fit inside it.
She nodded as she scribbled in a serious fashion a few notes down. The seriousness made me slightly nervous. It was slight the contrast to her normal cheerful self.
“Okie dokie lokie. A small introduction party coming right up! It might be small, but she can help with a small party too!”
I was about to question her who she meant, when she suddenly pulled…HEART out of her mane...
...
I don’t even! How is that possible?! You know what? I’m not even going to question it. Nope. I’m just drawing a blank. Not even thinking about it.
So I just turned around back to the grill. The simplest thing in this entire hangar. The one that made perfect consistent sense.
Yes, sense. Just what I need now. I could only hope that Pinkie isn’t going overboard with her party planning, but as I know her this hope might be in vain. Well, I should best not think about it and concentrate on the BBQ. We had some empty stomachs to fill after all.
Portals! Yes, that has to be it! She is doing it with portals!
Despite me vowing that I would not think about Pinkie’s crazy mane that seemed to even accommodate changelings, I couldn’t quite let it go. If I don’t understand something, it just bugs me! Be it lavatory cleaning system, coffee machine or the mystery that is Pinkie’s mane.
I hummed satisfactorily at the thought that I might have a solution for the mane mystery.
Portals. Dimensional magic I think Cruger called it. It would make sense considering that Cruger is not a unicorn and can form portals. So thinking that Pinkie has a portal in her mane would make…sense. Even though I will admit that it might seem ridiculous to use the word ‘sense’ on her. But still…it might be the only possible explanation. An explanation that is crazy and logical enough at the same time. So Pinkie Pie logic. I mean, she is taking heavy artillery out of her mane! Cruger could probably make her a trooper with that useful ability.
I was brought out of my thoughts by a slight tapping on my shoulder. I turned around to look at Fetch.
“I guess Pinkie is too hyper for you too if you go and hide in a corner?”
I blinked at that. “Wait. So you don’t like Pinkie either? I thought I was the only one!”
“I wouldn’t go that far, let’s just say I like to relax and her sugary smell makes me queasy.”
“I know what you mean. Dislike is probably too strong of a word. It’s just that she is…pink and sugary and I doubt she ever heard of the word personal space before.”
“Pink?” Fetch asked raising an amused eyebrow.
“Ugh, don’t ask. I’m not a fan of that color. I can’t say I have any good memories connecting to it.”
Some things better stay in the dark, I thought as I frowned.
Fetch seemed to catch on my morose mood and quickly changed the topic. “So are you ready to give our grill a test run?”
I nodded at that. We had already a table with the grillables placed next to the grill, on the side where they would have to go in to get grilled. On the other side we had placed a container for the grilled goods to fall into where the assembly line ended.
And that’s pretty much how we started the grilling. Pinkie was meanwhile decorating with HEART. I slightly jolted at the realization. I never asked why she was pulled out of her mane. And maybe she can prove my portal theory?
“Are you not going to eat something?” asked Fetch.
“I am, but I was just thinking about something.”
“And what were you thinking about?”
“Just why HEART is here at the moment. It seems strange to me that she is helping Pinkie with the party, out of the blue.”
“Oh, that. I haven’t talked to her yet about it, seeing how she is busy with setting everything up. But I’m positive that there is an interesting story behind it.”
I chuckled slightly. “If Pinkie is involved that is probably guaranteed.”
I mean, you could say what you want about her, even if you were not a fan of her, but she still could make the days more interesting. Not that we needed that here at R&D. Our days were interesting enough as it is and I enjoy peace every now and then.
Too bad I’m not going to find my peace today.
POV: PRINCESS HEART
Perfect, I thought as I looked around.
The party was set up pretty quickly as Pinkie explained to me that it was only planned to be a small one for the R&D. It was the perfect opportunity to befriend Steam Gear!
Sure I hadn’t planned for it to happen on the same day, but Pinkie was unpredictable like this. I still remember when I met her this morning…
This Morning
I sighed as I was sitting on an outside bench at the base. How exactly do you befriend a pony who is rather skeptical about you? I do not have enough data to form a plan with a high success rate. So what do I do?
Just in that moment my world turned pink.
I was startled by the pink pony that completely obscured my vision. A big smile split her face.
“Let’s turn this frown upside down!” she exclaimed.
I recognized the mare. She was one of the Elements of Harmony. I certainly wasn’t ready to befriend her! I wanted to start small, one pony at a time!
Before I could say anything she shoved a cupcake in my mouth. I was still in a daze, but instincts worked for me as I slightly munched on it. Chocolate with cherries. It was pretty good.
Focus! I admonished myself, completely forgetting until now about my abilities to sense emotions.
This was always the first step. See what they feel and then develop several action alternatives, assess these, pick the best course of action and then act. All in a matter of seconds of course. Every good changeling had to be able to do that.
Her feelings were…surprising to say the least. Normally while exposed in our real form we get a range of negative emotions but hers seemed to be so innocent, pure and friendly. There was no disgust, no fear, not even anger, even though she was in the first row then it came to fighting our race at the Canterlot wedding fiasco.
“So?” she asked inquisitively as she cocked her head. The smile never leaving her face.
It took me a second to get what she was asking.
“It is rather good,” I admitted.
“See! Some days might seem dark and lonely, but your Aunt Pinkie will be there to show you that it isn’t that bad!” she exclaimed as she patted my head.
This brought a smile to my lips. This childish and carefree attitude was exactly what I adored. This was who I wanted to be in a way. Just to be able to do the right thing with a smile on my face.
But that smile soon vanished as I remembered my predicament.
Pinkie seemed to catch up on my mood immediately. “What’s wrong?”
“I was just thinking about this one pony. I was planning to befriend him, but have no idea how.”
It was rather interesting how I acted here. I mean, I completely forgot about who she was and talked to her like I would do to Fetch or any other pony or changeling I knew. She just brought me to open up to her with the warmth of her comforting feelings she sent towards me.
“Silly, the best way to befriend ponies is to make them happy!”
I looked up at that. “That sounds…reasonable. But how do I even start?”
“Everypony loves parties, duh! If you throw this pony one he might turn his frown upside down!”
I cocked slightly my head at that. “He? I never mentioned anything gender-specific, so how did you know?”
Pinkie blinked for a bit upon hearing the question with a blank look on her face. Only seconds later she started to take some cardboard cards out of her mane and looked at one before tossing it to the side, where I could see that on it was a picture of my own face with a speech bubble asking a question and then a picture of Pinkie answering the question. She kept on tossing the cards left and right, littering the floor with at least twenty of them, yet the stack in her hands never seemed to actually deplete. Then she suddenly exclaimed "AHA!" pointing at a specific cardboard card before putting all the cards away in her mane and somehow causing all the other cards on the floor to disappear as well before not actually answering my question.
"I believe you asked, But I know nothing about parties. How do I throw one?"
"But-" I tried to protest.
"You asked this," she told me with narrowed eyes. It was clear to me that this was not a question, this was a command.
I audibly gulped. "Yes Ma'am"
She nodded approvingly before she answered the ‘question’ I was supposedly asked. “I could take you as an apprentice and teach you the Art of Parties!” she shouted out in glee as she threw her hands up in the air.
My head hurt a little from her strange behavior, albeit I found it amusing at the same time.
I soon mulled her proposal over. If I learn the Art of Parties I might befriend Steam Gear, and even more, I might have an easier time befriending anyone else! It seems like too good of an opportunity to pass up! And I knew that she was sincere with it, her feelings told me so.
“I will accept. I only want to ask one thing in return.”
Pinkie nodded enthusiastically at that.
“Well I’m still a bit surprised and confused by your behavior and wanted to ask you: Why do you treat me like anyone else. You were fighting against changelings at the Canterlot wedding. You saw us at our darkest hour, so why did you cheer me up? And why do you want to teach me?”
She nodded sagely. “A frown is a frown, no matter which race it belongs. A smile is a smile, and heartwarming it is, no matter which race it belongs. None judge you should upon a single act, especially an entire race. Open your mind you must to fulfil the role you set as a party planner. As for the second… Always pass on what you have learned.”
I nodded, giggling slightly at her strange language and teacher like tone. “Then I accept.”
“Oh, accept it you will and I knew. Learning you do best by doing. Summon you I will if a party is ahead.”
And with that she dived into a conveniently placed flower pot next to the bench and disappeared.
This is going to be interesting.
I looked over to my teacher with a smile on my face. “Do you think he will accept my friendship today?”
“Patience you must have, my padawan.”
“…And I have no idea what that means.”
“Then much to learn you have.”
“…I better get going now. I have to see if Steam Gear is enjoying himself,” I told her.
As much as I would have loved to hang out with her some more, I had a mission to accomplish. And that was the only thing that was important.
“Oh, but focus you must on more than one!” she exclaimed in a chipper tone. She might have dropped the teacher tone there, but it still sounded funny enough. However I couldn’t help but wonder why she would suddenly build her sentences like that. It felt like I was missing out on some inside joke.
But that didn’t matter now. What mattered was that I disagreed with her. Best thing was to concentrate on my main objective, even though I was a little curious about these new recruits of the R&D. Fetch and Steam Gear mentioned the new staff beforehand, so them being here is not surprising. For the most part they didn’t seem to feel all that much fear towards me. Mostly some were nervous, while some others seemed to put more trust in me. Probably because of me helping Pinkie Pie out. If the Element of Laughter trusts me, it helps the population to trust me in return. Rather practical in fact. I might look into this as soon as I get Steam Gear around.
One step at a time.
I was just about to go on my own merry way to look for Steam Gear when my wrist was grabbed by somebody. I turned around to see my mentor with a huge grin splitting her face, which somehow made me shudder.
I have a bad feeling about this, were my last thoughts before she dragged me towards a small stage we build up.
“Time has come,” was her simple explanation that didn’t really explain anything. This mare was a real mystery.
Soon I was standing on the stage and Pinkie put a microphone in my hand and music started to play.
POV: Flare Blast
“So your main incentive is to help others?” asked Lunar Fang inquisitively.
I nodded. “You could say that. When I started engineering I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do exactly. One could build many things, but when I saw this disabled gryphon, I thought that I could use my abilities to help the ones who need it. And since Cruger is rather generous when it comes about the private use of this facility I could help others on a larger scale with this level of technology. Not to mention that alone working here is helping others as well. Probably not the most direct way, but like I said, I can still achieve that off work.”
The conversation that Lunar Fang started with me was pleasant to say the least. I was at the beginning a little hesitant, but that soon vanished with drink and food that helped to loosen up the mood.
“I fully agree. That is a nice incentive to have. I personally live by the motto: Evil wins when good people do nothing. Injustice is something we have to fight, no matter how small and petty it might seem, since even a small contribution can make a difference.”
I was about to reply as suddenly the lights went out. I was worried that we had a short circuit, but then headlights turned up on the stage and bathed the changeling princess HEART in a cone of light.
She looked rather nervous as the music started, but I could see Pinkie Pie trying to give her reassurances from the sidelines.
Suddenly music played out of the boxes on stage and PRINCESS HEART started to sing.
“Because this is a special day A day for you alone You can get away with anything you want to So today is your birthday And every little thing's gonna go your way Happy, happy birthday, baby You know I only have one wish for you That on your happy birthday, baby That all your dreams they will come true Happy, happy birthday, baby Happy, happy birthday, baby.“
I was left speechless. How did they know? I only told Midnight about this.
“They remembered my birthday!” I cheered.
Lunar Fang turned towards me a smile on his face. “Then happy birthday,” he said.
My smile only widened. This really is a perfect first day of work.
POV: PRINCESS HEART
The song ended, and truth be told I was rather surprised as a gryphon suddenly cheered that I was thinking about his birthday. I really only did what was natural and sang this song Pinkie set up for me.
She meanwhile was carrying in a birthday cake.
I knew it was rather silly to ask her about it, but I decided to do it anyway.
“How did you know it was somebodys birthday?”
“Birthday it is always for somepony,” she answered in her usual teacher tone.
I sighed in playful exaggeration. “And here for an explanation I had hoped!” I mimed her tone.
Pinkie giggled at that, dropping her teacher tone. “It’s my Pinkie Sense! It was telling me somepony here needed a birthday party!”
I looked back to the birthday gryphon. Not exactly a pony, but I guess the explanation was fair enough.
“Do you see it now, HEART? It might be super-duper fun to try and gain one friend, but it might be a whole phenomantastically more fun to make lots of friends! And you might have missed the chance if you would have only mingled with a single pony!”
“So you were teaching me a lesson? Not to be too fixated and observe my surroundings?”
“That I was,” she nodded sagely, causing me to giggle.
“I will remember that,” I said as the gryphon neared. A smile already formed on my face.
POV: Steam Gear
Things seem to have gone a little crazy. But a tolerable kind of crazy. Sure, I never expected HEART to sing, or to get here with Pinkie in the first place, but she didn’t bother me until now, so I didn’t mind all that much.
It was rather interesting to find out that it was Flare Blast’s birthday. He didn’t seem to be one who would mention things like that and keep it for himself, so that wasn’t surprising in a way.
There was cake delivered by Pinkie, as well as party games. Flare Blast also seemed to put some cake aside. I suppose he wanted to have some for later too, and you probably couldn’t blame him. Many people couldn’t get enough of cake after all. Not a sentiment I share though, since I was more into non-sugary treats.
The real problem started when Pinkie finished up playing party games…
“I think you’ve had enough!” I told the pink menace in a scolding and stern tone.
She only seemed to pout at that, pulling a puppy dog eyes trick at me. I never thought a grown-up mare could pull this foal trick off.
I steeled myself to avoid giving in to the gluttonous mare. Those eyes however turned out to be quite the hindrance. In the end I focused my eyes just on her chin, preventing direct eye contact.
Seeing as her technique failed this time, she tried a different approach.
“But I have to taste test the goods to make sure they are fanTASTEtic!”
“There won’t be anything left to eat for them if you stuff it down like that. Your flanks are already pudgy enough!”
“Hey! My flanks are that toned because they are filled with my reserves of manifested joy and laughter!”
“No matter, I will bring an end to this,” I said as I neared the site of the machine.
Pinkie meanwhile shrugged it off as she was still at the end of the assembly line, where she devoured mercilessly every treat that fell off the assembly line.
With a pull of the lever I turned the grill off. The pink mare didn’t take long to find out, as she shouted indignantly, “Hey! What happened?!”
She noticed me and narrowed her eyes at me. Her mane slightly deflating, making me a little nervous. Suddenly this didn’t seem like a good idea anymore.
The pink mare trotted up to me and instantly turned the lever down, activating the grill again.
I fought through my nervousness and pulled the lever up again, challenging the mare in a way.
She didn’t wait long to accept it and with a harrumph pulled the lever again.
My own nervousness melted as I started to get annoyed by her insistence and pulled it up again.
Her mane deflated some more and she of course pulled the lever again, a snarl adorning her face.
And so it continued.
Up.
Down.
Up.
Down.
Up.
Down.
Until we both grabbed onto the lever at the same time. We were both determined. You could see it at the look in our eyes as we tried to stare each other down. Her mane has gone completely flat in the meantime, and I would have probably tried to hide under my bed at her sight, weren’t it for the fact that I was quite annoyed at the moment and didn’t seem to register her look correctly. From what I have been told afterwards the R&D was cowering in fear of the pink menace.
Even as push comes to shove none of us were backing down. The metal of the lever seemed to creak and crack under our combined powers until it broke off completely.
The grill seemed to have completely lost it from there. No longer able to hold back as it couldn’t process the commands we tried to give it. The assembly line accelerated, smoke was rising from the grill itself, and I could see screws loosening as it shook violently.
“Well, I changed my mind you can have the lever!” I said as I pressed the now broken lever into her hands and took cover.
“EH?!” Was all she said as she did the same.
And then the grill exploded, accelerating the grilled goods at terminal velocity. Everyone tried to get down in time, but sadly a lone gryphon didn’t see this coming in time. The projectiles found their mark and he was knocked off his talons.
I cringed at the sight. He would still feel that in the morning. I could only hope the blame wasn’t pinned completely on me this time. I mean, the grill worked after all and didn’t explode because of a mistake I committed while building it.
Wait, I should probably call a Medic first, before trying to think of a way to appease the situation with Cruger.
But not everything looked bleak. I mean at least Flare Blast got some of the grilled goods! So mission accomplished, right?
I didn’t congratulate him yet, did I?
“…Well, happy birthday?”
POV: Blood Rush (At The Infirmary)
“Ok, what do we have here?” I asked as I looked at the X-ray picture of the gryphon that was rushed into the medical wing a short while ago.
He seemed to be stable, even though he was rather out of it. The description about the incident was rather…vague I suppose? We needed confirmation to see just how bad his condition was. An x-ray seemed like the best solution in this particular case.
I was just clipping the picture on the assigned wall as I noticed something strange.
There were three lumps to see in the stomach area.
I blinked owlishly as it slowly dawned on me what these three lumps were.
Grilled chicken.
“How?” I asked dumbfounded.
A question that went unanswered until I took a closer look at the file of the gryphon.
Department: R&D Direct Superior: Steam Gear
So there was only one possibility for this now…
I threw my head back and screamed: „STEAM GEAAAAR!!!”
POV: Steam Gear
Suddenly a cold shiver run down my spine.
“Hey, Fetch?”
“Yes, Steam Gear?”
“Can you maybe look for me after Flare Blast? I’m not really on good terms with the medical staff at the moment.”
“Is this about the pieces of porcelain they had to extricate out of the flank of one of the B-Squad members after the toilet incident, or was it the ice machine incident when you froze one of the medical staff?”
I trotted happily through the corridors this fine morning. Today I would start my mission to befriend Steam Gear and show him all the wonders of the changeling race.
I already knew how to do it.
After the party was over yesterday and I was visiting Flare Blast on the Medical Wing I met Fetch. I told him about my plan to use the Art of Parties to befriend Steam Gear. He only laughed at that and explained that Steam Gear is not even a fan of parties, which kind of shattered this plan completely, meaning I needed a new one. And for a plan I needed intel. It was probably a stupid idea to trust blindly that parties would solve this problem. To succeed I needed intel. Luckily for me, Fetch was more than happy to provide it.
From what I gathered from him, Steam could be a rather curious fellow, so information might be the key to bring him to my side of things. Other than that I would try to act as less superior as possible, since he seems to dislike a superior attitude. Not that hard for me though, since I’m not at all boastful. I just have to show him that I am just like all the other ponies and non-ponies around here.
But now to get to the first step. That mainly being a greeting and trying to have a friendly chat with him in his home. I might even find some clues that might further advance my mission there too. It couldn’t harm to gather further intel after all. I couldn’t help but smile.
This day is going to be perfect.
With that thought I made it to his quarters inside the base. It was rather practical that we were provided such since not all of us had homes in Ponyville or the bits to just buy us a home there. Of course renting a home was always an option, but getting quarters here at the workplace without having to pay any rent beat living in Ponyville.
I just knocked on his door and it creaked open. Curiously I took a small peek inside. This place was a downright mess. Tools and loose parts of metal and cables littered the tables. But what really got my attention was the display with a timer that counted continually down. It looked just like…
…a bomb!
I didn’t waste any time as I threw the door open concentrating my magic at the bomb.
“Blizzard!” I roared as the dangerous contraption turned to ice, the timer stopping just before reaching zero.
I breathed a sigh of relief and cheered at that. Seems like I just saved Steam Gear’s life, or at least his quarters if he is not here.
That’s what I call neighborly help!
But I think he should be more careful in the future. Exploding toilets are one thing, but to build a bomb on accident? That really takes the cake! He can be glad that I was here and found it just in time! However all that mattered now was that it was over. The day was saved and Steam Gear would be grateful for my help! I’m sure he would like to be my friend now!
This day was really going to be perfect!
POV: Steam Gear (A Few Minutes Prior)
I hummed happily as I tightened the last few screws. It was done! A toaster with integrated timer! A masterpiece if I do say so myself!
Admittedly it was quite the bother to get my hands on the display but in the end it was worth it.
Now I could finally toast my toast without fearing of it getting cold! It always was a bother never to know when the toast was ready, so that it could easily get cold while I was making myself a coffee for example.
But fear no more my delicious toast! Never again will you get cold!
You really should think about getting yourself a new hobby, taunted the voice in my head.
I just shrugged at this. You profit from this invention too, you know? I can’t imagine that you are enjoying cold toast.
That might be, but I doubt your crafting was worth the time you invested in building that little object.
I just shrugged again. Inventions are never a bad thing. You can only learn new things through trial and error after all.
Now that we talk about error, you were rather harsh to HEART yesterday.
This instantly threw me for a loop.
Wait, and that’s coming from you? You are normally the harsh one of us, you know?
That’s why I can see it better than you.
The message I delivered was not meant to be harsh, and I think it wasn’t. I just don’t trust her is all. Especially after she was flaunting her wings like that. I just can’t stand such bragging about superiority.
You never minded ‘her’ doing it, and she was quite the braggart if I recall it right.
She wasn’t THAT bad.
Oh, really? In which case does ‘Eat my dust and just accept your utter inferiority, you wimps!’ count not as bragging?
I huffed slightly at this. Stupid voice. Irritating since the first minute of the morning. I simply went to ignore it and placed some toast into the toaster before I adjusted it to give my toast a slightly golden brown color before switching it on.
Ninty seconds. Seems fair enough.
I then walked to the kitchen. The toaster would alarm me with a beep when it was ready.
I was walking to my kitchen counter to see if the coffee was ready. I took a whiff of the heavenly aroma and with a nod of approval set it back down. I then added some milk to it. I stirred my drink with a small spoon and took another whiff and nodded again in approval.
This day is going to be perfect. I just know it.
In exactly that moment I could hear my door burst open, as well as the telltale sign of magic humming from my living room. To say I was scared would probably be appropriate, so I slowly walked to the living room in a slightly crouched manner. I peeked through the door and immediately rushed outside at what I saw.
My toaster was completely frozen, as well as part of my living room. Also in the room was HEART. She was just sitting there on my half frozen couch! With a smile no less! Her tail wagging like a dogs who was expecting a treat after doing a trick.
I could easily assemble the pieces but needed clarification, just in case.
“What did you do?!” I yelled at her as I got closer to my now completely ruined toaster. I threw my hands up in despair.
“I stopped this bomb from destroying your quarters!” she said confidently, although I could see that it was more played confidence than real one.
“This is my toaster!” I yelled again as I looked it over, wondering if I could salvage it.
“Wait, toaster?” she asked confused.
“Yes! My toaster! I just finished building it no less!” I didn’t even try to hide my sadness and anger at this point. Well, I probably didn’t even from the moment I saw the popsicle of a toaster. I was really sensitive when it came to my inventions.
“But it had a bomb display!” she protested.
“Yes! To show me when the toast is finished!”
“…That doesn’t make any sense.”
“You bet your flank it makes sense!” I yelled yet again before sighing in annoyance. I was getting worked up again.
Breathe in and out, I said to myself as I did just that in an attempt to calm myself.
It helped.
I couldn’t do anything to change what happened so I had to just accept it. I turned my head to look at her again now a little more level-headed.
“Could you just leave, please? I need to try to salvage this,” I said as I turned my head back fussing over the toaster. She seemed to get the message, as I heard a door close shortly after that.
I suddenly doubted that this day was going to be perfect. Especially with another serving of cold toast on my platter. And this time the slices were quite a lot colder than usual.
POV: Fetch
Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock…
Late, I thought. Much too late.
I looked around to see that seemingly everypony was here. Everypony but one…
I sighed slightly in annoyance.
We need Steam Gear here. Somepony has to break in the new Engineering Crew. And that somepony is definitely not me. I was occupied with my own underlings. Just now I’m explaining to them that we have to bring up a concept and plans for the badges and the suits for the A-Squad. I heard the tests for the selection of the A-Squad start the next few days. Time is running out.
It doesn’t help that Flare Blast is absent due to last days events.
I sighed again, as I fidgeted with a pencil in my hand.
This is going to be a long day. I just know it.
Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock…
“So we have to create spandex suits?” asked Lunar Fang with a tilt of his head after my explanation.
*Crack*
And with that the pencil snapped in two.
“THEY ARE NOT SPANDEX SUITS!” I roared straight at Lunar Fang’s face.
In all seriousness, why does everypony say that? They don’t even have the same function! We are talking about highly advanced materials! The suit is going to be powered by the magical ambient field of the wielder, have climate control, be durable as steel if not better, and can be summoned via embedded teleporters in the badge. That is admittedly the short version of it. A lot has to be conceptualized first. But Cruger gave us thorough explanations and the information and material to work with. Teleporting devices that can summon a suit? Impossible before Cruger showed us the technology to do so. Normally only Unicorns could summon marked equipment with their magic. Such a technology was unheard of. Probably the reason why Steam Gear disassembled it. His disassembling mainly lead to the first of many holes in the wall of the R&D. Sure it was fixed, but Steam Gear was admonished to be more careful next time.
Funny. Cruger already expects a next time. Chaos is inevitable sometimes with Steam.
I huffed annoyedly as I looked from the now flinching Lunar Fang to the clock on the wall.
Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock…
Just what is he doing?
At that exact moment the doors to the R&D slid open. In came a slightly wheezing Steam Gear. Seems like he jogged here. Not that it explains or excuses his tardiness.
“You are late,” I said with a frown, showing clearly my disapproval to his tardiness. Especially at such challenging times.
“It’s not my fault! HEART was regressing my toaster back to the ice age!” he pleaded.
I raised an inquisitive eyebrow at that. “Beg your pardon?” I asked, making it clear that I wanted him to elaborate his point.
“Well, I was just finished with my new toaster and wanted to test him out. I just left the room for a moment when I heard the telltale sign of magic. Then I walked back into the living room my toaster was an ice block! And she was standing there with a smug look at her face and beamed at me! Like she just saved someponies life instead of ruining ones breakfast! I wasn’t sure before, but now I’m sure. I’m telling you Fetch, she is EVIL!”
“Did you ever hear her side of the story?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
It was clear that there was more to the story than that. No pony just freezes a toaster for no good reason, and I honestly doubted PRINCESS HEART would do that without a good one, especially after she swore to befriend him.
Steam Gear opened his mouth again, but closed it just as fast contemplating, before giving me an answer.
“Well, she said she thought my toaster was a bomb.”
“A bomb?” I asked with surprise grazing my voice, as my eyebrow instantly lifted an inch higher.
“A bomb,” he confirmed.
Slightly annoyed by his lack of elaboration I continued to interrogate him further, “And how exactly could she have gotten that idea?”
“She said something about my timer display looking like something a bomb would normally use.”
“…And why exactly do you have a timer for your toaster in the first place?”
He rolled his eyes as if the answer was obvious. “To know when the toast is ready, duh! I mean, you know the problem too, right? Standing an excruciating long time in front of the toaster waiting for the toast to get ready. You can’t simply use the time for something else, since you don’t know how long the toast will take to get toasted. If you take too long and miss the time, the toast will get cold! It is way more efficient if you know how long the toast takes, so that you can fill yourself a cup of tea while you are waiting.”
I’m not even going to question it. We all have our little morning rituals after all. I for example eat toaster waffles completely plain, while I eat fresh baked waffles with syrup, sausage and bacon if available. Besides, there was something more important nagging on the back of my mind.
“Where did you even get that display?”
“I took one from the training area.”
Now that set off some alarm bells.
“From a mockup bomb for training purposes I presume?”
“Yeah. I of course asked first. It didn’t seem to be a problem.”
“And you didn’t think that a bomb display might lead to a misunderstanding?” I asked driving my point finally home.
“When you say it like that, it doesn’t sound like such a good idea anymore,” he said slightly defeated. “Still doesn’t mean that she should freeze part of my living room,” he muttered with a slight pout.
I only sighed again.
I was doing that a lot today.
“Listen, Steam Gear. Maybe you should just try to give her a chance. You were rather harsh to her yesterday.”
He blinked at that. “I was only telling her my opinion about titles and alicorns, which wasn’t meant in any kind of insulting way, if I might add. Oh, and maybe declining her offer to turn me into her subordinate, but other than that I don’t see what you mean.”
“Just try to be civil and give her a fair chance.”
He huffed slightly at my indirect accusation. “I’m always civil.” After that he walked to his new crew.
Rarity and Rainbow Dash were having tea in on of the Delta Base's cafes. As SPD neared it's "official" reopening various shops had been erected around, and for a lucky few in, the base to cater to the various SPD personel, civilians, and contracters coming and going. Rarity was called in to assist with some minor redesigns to the uniforms while Rainbow had become, to the shock of the rest of the Mane 6, except Pinkie, do not question it, a member of SPD's B-Squad. Since they met up while Rainbow was on a break, they decided to discuss Rarity's recent performance during the selection duel.
"Well dear," Rarity replied, "during my time in Canterlot, Fancy Pants recommended that I take up fencing as a way to stay in shape. Well since his suggestion sounded so good that I just had to act on it. Well, I looked around for a place but they were all either borderline scams or a bit, eh... outside my price range. Well, just as I was about to give up and go to one of those charlatans when I finally found this lovely little place. Not long later and, well I think my results speak for themselves."
Rainbow laughed, "yeah, that they can. Well Rares, I'd love to talk some more but Cruger called a meeting for the entire B-Squad and I have to get going, see ya later."
As Rainbow left, Rarity couldn't help but wonder what would be so important that the head of SPD needed to take care of it personally.
"Alright my little ponies," Cruger addressed the gathered B-Squad, "you may be wondering why I brought you here. Well I have good news for you, 5 of you are going to be promoted to A-Squad."
Rainbow grinned inwardly, she had heard rumors about something like this, but she didn't think that she would qualify for it. She was amazed that she got to B-Squad, could things get any more awesome?
"And now for the bad news," Cruger continued. "Normally A-Squad members are chosen from those with extensive field experience, but since we're going to enter active duty in two weeks, we don't have the time. So, allow me to introduce Edge Case," he gestured to a scarred Thestral standing to the side, "head trainer, he will be in charge of putting you through a series of physical and mental tests to help me pick my team." He turned to Edge Case, "try to return them to me intact please."
Rainbow gulped as Edge Case addressed them, "welcome, to Hell Week."
Monday
"Why are we running while carrying giant weights?"
"Are you questioning me Hammer Fist!? 10 more kilos and 5 more laps!"
"I should have kept my mouth shut."
Tuesday
"Listen up ladies, you are going to go down into that pool then find the handle with your name on it. As long as you are holding onto that handle your time will count down, starting from five minutes. Until your time runs out, you are not exiting that pool. Any questions?"
"Ma-am, what is that guy dumping in the pool?"
"Why miss Pearl Spark, that's a whole lot, of ice."
"Fuck."
Wednsday
"Time for some target practice. In a moment, large wooden balls will be launched at you from all directions. Your objective is to hit one hundred of them using either ranged or melee weaponry. Oh, and one more thing, if they hit you," a ball hit Bright Shine in the back of the head, "they hurt, and ten balls will be subtracted from your score."
Thursday
"Time for something simple, sparring."
"Good," Night Stalker commented.
"While standing on small platforms balanced on very tall poles."
"Not as good," Night Stalker remarked.
Friday
Rainbow looked in front of her. Here she was, confronted by her worst enemy, one that took on many forms, and many names.
History of SPD 1 hour to complete
She could feel her brain melting out of her ears.
Saturday
"Now for your final challenge, a nice invigorating hike."
"A hike," Thunder Rift commented, "that doesn't sound so bad."
"Through the Everfree Forest."
"Now it does."
Sunday
Cruger looked at the files on his desk. He had read through them, evaluating them on a scoring system that was brutal, yet fair. As he gave the files a final look, a thought entered his mind, 'these 5.'
A huge crowd gathered on the lawn of the Delta Base, not surprising as the party to celebrate the reopening of SPD was about to begin. The actual ceremony had taken place earlier that day, it was rather lavish but they decided to put of the traditional feast till the party, much to the annoyance of certain nobles. Anyway, the Mane 6, minus Rainbow Dash were rather nervous, the first thing on the agenda was the announcement of the members of A-Squad. They were all coping in their own way, sort of.
Applejack was fingering her hat, while she looked casual to the uninformed eye it was a dead giveaway that she was nervous, and also the reason she didn't play cards with the rest of them.
Twilight was reading the book she used to help Rainbow with the written test, luckily they knew Rainbow's preferred study method ahead of time and Vinyl Scratch had lent them a tape recorder so they didn't have to get all of Ponyville to help, again.
Fluttershy just stood their fidgiting, nerviousness for her friend combined with nerviousness from being surrounded by lots of ponies she didn't know was taking its toll.
Rarity was taking everything in stride, using the party as an excuse to not only model the dress she was wearing, but bragging, in a very ladylike manner of course, that she had a hand in redesigning the uniforms that were going to be used by SPD.
As for Pinkie...
What do you think she was doing?
"Wow this is so amazing I mean Rainbow might become a super duper uper cop and stuff are you nervicited I know I am I don't think I've been this nervicited since Twilight first came to Ponyville and I was all *gasp* and then we went off to get the Elements and we all became bestest friendzies and."
"Quiet down sugar cube," Applejack said, putting her hand on Pinkie's mouth, "looks like we're about to find out."
True to her word, a spotlight focused on a temporary stage, illuminating Cruger. "Welcome fillies and gentlecolts, to the grand reopening celebration of Space Patrol Delta!" He paused as the crowd applauded. "As some of you may know, back in SPD's heyday, there was a group of officers who stood above the rest, fighting the battles that nopony else could. Now allow me to introduce, your new A-Squad."
Cruger brought forth 5 different colored envelopes. "First off, A-Squad, member 5," he removed a card from the pink envelope, "Pearl Spark!"
The crowd applauded as a white coated unicorn stepped forward from behind the curtain. While not as brilliantly as a crystal pony, she seemed to sparkle under the lights.
Cruger opened the yellow envelope, "member 4, Hammer Fist!"
This time a red unicorn with a black mane stepped forward, grinning like he had just won the lottery.
Cruger opened the green envelope, "member 3, Evil Breaker!"
The curtains parted to reveal a massive earth pony, no wonder he got in.
Cruger opened the blue envelope, "member 2, Night Stalker!"
The crowd gasped as a thestral stepped forward, his race wasn't widely accepted just yet.
Cruger opened his last envelope, a red one, "now, member 1, and field commander of A-Squad,
Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty!"
The crowd cheered as rainbow came on stage, only to be drowned out by a massive air horn, no prize to whoever guesses who brought that.
Cruger chuckled, "thank you for that show of support Pinkie. Anyway, give it up, for your new, Space Patrol Delta, A-Squad! Now let's get this party started! DJ, music!."
Music started playing as Cruger did the last thing anypony expected, and started singing.
"Congratulations Rainbow!" Twilight exclaimed, "I can't believe they put you in charge."
"What can I say? I'm just that awesome. Though to be honest, Cruger's still the boss."
"Hey, know what this calls for?"
"A party Pinkie?"
"Silly Applejack, we're already at a party for that, what we need is cake! I'll be right back." Pinkie dashed off leaving a cloud of smoke.
Rainbow just sighed, it WAS Pinkie after all.
"Good too see you come so far."
Rainbow turned around to see who had spoken, then saluted so fast it's a miracle she didn't put anypony's eye out. "Commander Spitfire!"
"At ease miss Dash, you don't report to me anymore," Spitfire replied. "Though if you ask me, it wasn't the wrong choice."
"What do you mean?"
"We Wonderbolts were originally formed to replace SPD after Cruger's disappearance, though lately all we do is air shows. We haven't been on a real mission since Tirek, and you know how that turned out."
"But, you're the Wonderbolts! The best flyers in all Equestria!"
"True, but we aren't the best fighters, not anymore." Spitfire's tone turned more thoughtful, "maybe once, but not anymore."
"Don't sell yourself short Spitfire," Cruger had come over, "I read the reports. You were starting to turn them into an actual fighting machine again, not bad." Cruger grinned, "but let us not dwell on the past, I believe that I said that we should get this party started, didn't I. Now," Pinkie had returned, "who wants cake?"
The members of the new A-Squad were awaiting their first briefing together as a team, although their minds were on a rather, different subject.
"Man, did you see those zombies?" Rainbow asked Pearl Spark, "Man I hope that we get to actually help in the next Code Blue."
"Nothing personal RD, but I'm having enough trouble getting used to being in, what to me, is the past. Fighting zombies in another dimension? Now I know why Cruger has a standing prescription for ultra-strength headache medication."
"How do you know that?"
"I heard that new guy in medical talking about it, I think his name was Blood, something."
"Huh, anyway what do you think this is all about?"
"Not sure, but is looks like we're about to find out."
The door to the briefing room opened as three figures walked in. The first was a tan colored unicorn with a black and teal mane dressed in a lab coat and round glasses. The second was a green unicorn with a two toned dark green/brown mane, he was wearing a charcoal suit and top hat. The third was a purple thestral with a dark yellow mane with electric blue highlights. While the other two were rather neat, his lab coat was covered in stains and scorch marks. He was pushing a small trolley, on which there were 5 small devices that looked similar to Cruger's Delta Morpher.
"Greetings A-Squad," said the tan colored pony, "my name is Fetch, this is my associate Steam Gear," the green unicorn nodded, "and my assistant Lunar Fang," the thestral waved. Fetch then removed one of the devices from the trolley, "allow me to introduce your new best friend, the Patrol Morpher."
"This is a nifty little gadget," Steam Gear continued, "it has three settings. The first is what we call Badge mode. In addition to being your new official badge, it allows you to equip a rather impressive suit." The front of the room glowed to show an image of 5 rather colorful suits.
"Looks like spandex," Night Stalker noted.
"THAT IS NOT SPANDEX!" Fetch roared, "IT IS A HIGHLY SOPHISTICATED *urph*"
"Sorry about that," Steam Gear apologized, holding a hand to Fetch's mouth, "he can get a bit sensitive about his work. Anyway, as he was saying," he released Fetch's mouth as the image changed to a detailed cutaway view of one of the suits, "your suits are composed of multiple layers of highly advanced materials." As he spoke, the various layers were highlighted, "the innermost layer is designed to not only be super comfortable, but also harness you natural ambient magical field to power the suit's systems. Moving outward, next is the climate control layer, a combination of a variable heat sink and heating element, both extremely flexible, that will allow you to feel exactly the same whether you're in the middle of a scorching desert or a frozen wasteland. Next is a layer of what we like to call "metal muscle", thousands of strands of metal wire that contract when exposed to an electrical current. Thanks to a combination of a sophisticated non-invasive neural scanner in the helmet, and their placement to mirror your own muscles, they will make you approximately five times stronger, and three times faster. Finally, the outer layer is composed of a graphene crystal infused fabric, making it as durable as dragon hide, we know, we checked." The image on the screen vanished, "when you activate the morphing sequence, a series of micro teleporters embedded in the suit automatically suit you up in less than 15 seconds. In addition, the sequence generates a small but sturdy force field to prevent interruption."
"Second is Comm mode," Fetch continued, "although it is quite a bit more. Comm mode allows you access to both civilian and SPD communication bands, as well as several forms of encryption. It can also store up to 2 terabytes of data in the form of images, text, audio, or video, as well as store that data on the SPD mainframe. You can also access data from the mainframe as well."
"Finally is Judgement mode," Steam Gear replyed, "and for this, we have a demonstration. Oh Lunar..."
"Yes?" Lunar Fang replied nervously.
"Looks like he wasn't told this would happen, does it," Pearl whispered to Rainbow.
Steam Gear pointed the Patrol Morpher at Lunar Fang, "guilty or innocent of taking the last slice of cake at lunch today." Steam pressed the button on the top of the Morpher causing the panel on the front to flip open. "Judgement mode uses a combination of bio-analysis, various forms of divination, and available evidence to determine a suspects innocence," the red X glowed, "or guilt, with 100% accuracy."
"All right, I'm guilty, but it was just, a piece, OF CAKE!"
"A guilty verdict enables containment protocol," a beam of light shot at Lunar, encasing him in a containment card, "containment cards are not only impossible to escape without outside assistance, but make transportation a non-issue."
Fetch picked up the card, "if for any reason you wish to release the subject just tap the card three times, holding down on the third for at least three seconds." Fetch proceeded to do just that, causing the card to disappear in a flash of light, leaving a disoriented but otherwise unharmed Lunar Fang in its place. "Any questions?"
"I have one," Evil Breaker asked, "what happens to someone while in a card?"
"Good question," Fetch replied, "well Fang, how was it?"
"Well," Fang answered, "it wasn't that bad, though I'm still upset about you just stuffing me in one."
Cruger groaned, he was in hell.
Around him were piles of various paperwork. Requisition forms, requests to various cities to form branch offices, applications for leave, and he hadn't even managed to get started on the calculations for the Elysium jump for Eriba.
"Can I have an emergency please, I need a break."
As he said that, the eyes on Cruger's sword started flashing, indicating that a Displaced had called.
Cruger grinned, "Faust, Odin, Zeus, Ra, I don't care who heard that, but I owe you a beer." Cruger drew his sword and slashed at the air, creating a portal. "Sorrow Song, hold my calls, Displaced business." Before she could reply, Cruger stepped through the portal.
Sorrow Song shook her head, "where is he off to now?"
Cruger grinned, he was finally done. All of the paper work that he need to do was in his outbox, B and C squad had been promoted to active duty, and A Squad was starting runner simulations. All that was left was to work on the math for Eriba's Elysium jump, which wasn't really work, and pick a place to spend his week off.
"What do you think miss Song, Cloudsdale or Manehatten?"
Sorrow Song looked them over, "well, Cloudsdale's home to the Wonderbolts, odds are you could catch a show, but there is a new musical on Bridleway."
Cruger sighed, "don't tell Rainbow Dash, but I'm not a fan of airshows, and keep Rarity away from the fact that musicals aren't generally my thing either, I'm still trying to figure out this dimension's version of Ross Petty, if there is one."
Before either one could continue, Cruger's sword started flashing.
"Tell you what miss song, let's take a break." Cruger opened a portal, "See ya soon." [POV Change: Sean] As the ten manticores surrounded me and Zecora, I reached into my pocket and took out the badge token.
I looked at it and said, “I hope you’re a fighter Cruger because we’re probably going to need help with these manticores.”
The front of the badge started flashing between a blue O and a red X for a few seconds before stopping on the O. It then floated off and grew, becoming what looked like a portal. Out stepped a tall humanoid figure with a blue dog head in a black trench coat with a sword at his side. He looked around before looking at me, “so, need some help driving these off or are you trying to tame them?”
I arched a brow at him, “Taming a manticore?”
He shrugged, “I’ve seen weirder things. I’ll take that as you wanting some help driving them off.” He cracked his knuckles, “at least I’m not stuck in a damn boardroom this time.”
I stared at him for a minute wondering what he was talking about when one of the manticores jumped at me. I quickly brought my fist up and punched in the jaw, launching it backwards. Another manticore pounced, but I slid under it before grabbing its tail and slinging it at another of the beasts, sending them sprawling.
“Not bad,” the dog headed stranger said while hog-tying another manticore with its own tail, “how much experience you got?”
I chuckled, “Not much really. I’d practice with a punching bag sometimes, but I’ve only really started fighting since I reached Equestria a few days ago. Practiced a little with another Displaced, but that’s it.”
Cruger whistled as he sidestepped a manticore’s charge, resulting in it hitting another, “consider me doubly impressed. By the way, who exactly are you Displaced as? If you don’t mind me asking of course.”
“I’m Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece,” I answered as I stretched my arm out and punching a manticore charging behind him.
The stranger frowned slightly as he kicked a rock into the head of another one behind me, “I’d ask why you got the hat wrong, but that can wait till we’re done. I’m an Anubis Cruger Displaced by the way, and you can call me Cruger as well.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you Cruger, though I wish it were under better circumstances,” I said, while tossing another manticore over the treetops and back into the forest. “Name’s Sean, didn’t really feel like going by Luffy.”
“Good to meet you,” Cruger replied as he threw another with a shoulder throw, “looks like that’s the last of them. Now what say we continue this conversation at Sugarcube Corner, I always get a bit of a chocolate craving after training.”
“Sure,” I said. I looked over to Zecora and was rather surprised to see three unconscious manticores around her. Shaking myself, I said, “I’ll see you later for more training, Zecora.”
She nodded, “Very well, my stretchy friend, I too would like to see you again.”
As we walked back to Ponyville, Cruger started making small talk, “so, now that we have bonded over shared adversity, mind explaining why you have a fedora instead of a, forgive me if I butcher this, mugiwara?”
I snicker briefly, before a sad expression spread across my face. “It’s something that my mom and dad made for me,” I explained. “To me it’s the sentimentality behind the hat rather than the kind.”
Cruger nodded, “so your hat is to you as Luffy’s is to him, a commendable reason, my condolences by the way.”
“Thanks. I’m just glad that I wasn’t separated from my wife as well,” I said.
Cruger raised one of his eyebrows, “a double Displacement, that’s going in my notes.” Before I could ask him what he meant, he did it for me, “I’m collecting data on the Displaced, primarily how they were Displaced. If you don’t mind, I’d like to invite you to my little reasearch group, as well as your wife if she’s interested.”
“Sure, I’d be willing to help. Though, I should warn you, while I’m not stupid, I’m not exactly a thinker either,” I told him. “I’ll talk to Ashley about it when we see her.”
[POV Change: Ashley]
I was sitting in Sugarcube Corner, enjoying a strawberry milkshake and talking with Fleetfoot. I was explaining to her some of the things she was able to do with the Devil Fruit she’d eaten. The door opened and I saw Sean enter, however I was surprised by who entered behind him. He was a bipedal blue dog in a black trench coat.
“Sean, who is that?” I called to him.
He glanced over to me and smiled. He made his way over to us, the dog following behind him. “Hey, Ash. This is Anubis Cruger. He’s the Displaced that badge token belonged to,” he explained.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said.
Crugger nodded, “same to you Ashley, forgive me but I got a bit of a craving, Pinkie!”
“Yepperoony!” No matter how many times she pops out of nowhere, I can never get used to it.
“I’ll have a milkshake. Chocolate ice cream mixed with chocolate fudge and chips, topped with chocolate whipped cream, and garnished with additional chocolate chips and a chocolate syrup drizzle.”
Sean stared at Cruger for moment before saying, “Dude, I absolutely love chocolate and that seems like too much even for me.” He turned to Pinkie and said, “I’ll have a dozen cookies.”
The pink enigma nodded before disappearing into the back.
Cruger grinned, “It’s the same volume either way, it’s the fusion of different flavours and textures that makes it so good. By the way, 10 bits says she puts it on the menu by the end of the week, mine did.”
“Not much of a bet if they’re as similar as I think they are,” I said.
Cruger paled slightly, “oh man, just had a scary thought, what if all the Pinkies across the multiverse are connected in a sort of hive mind.”
I thought for a moment before saying, “It would explain a few things to be honest.” Sean snickered at that.
Cruger shook his head, “enough of trying to explain the half-draconequus, you know what happened to Twilight when she did. Ashley, I have a bit of a proposal for you and your husband.”
“Yeah, I know what happened. Shoot,” I said.
Cruger and Sean sat down with me, “well, in my admittedly limited travels across the multiverse, the subject of why all the Displaced were, well, Displaced, intrigued me. As such, I am putting together a little group to gather as much data as we can on the matter, and I would like to invite you two to it.”
“I told him I didn’t mind, but made sure he understood I’m not much of a thinker,” Sean said.
I thought about his offer. It would be rather interesting to find out why what was happening was going on. After a moment I nodded, “Sure, I’d be glad to help in anyway I can. How exactly would this work with you being in another world?”
Cruger grinned, “quite easily as a matter of fact. You see, after my first excursion to another verse, a situation came up that required me to remain in contact with its Displaced. That was when I got the brilliant idea to place a communication spell on my Token. That way, even if both parties are in a different dimension, they can stay in contact. I also recently engineered a bleeding effect on it so that it will spread to every other Token in your possession, the only requirement being that you have to have each other's token. Huh, you know I think I’m the first Displaced to mess with his Token after they’ve created it.”
We sat there for a moment, rather stunned at his explanation. “That sounds useful,” Fleetfoot spoke up.
“Very,” my husband agreed. “Do you have our token?”
Cruger shrugged, “not sure, but odds are I’ll get it automatically when I return,” he lifted his wrist to reveal a strange bracelet, “at least it did for this one.”
“Who does that belong to?” Sean asked.
“Pokemon trainer Displaced by the name of Zinnia. Quick warning though, she’s literally part Dragon Type, and quite possibly part succubus. By the way, her Equestria has Pokemon, Apricorns, and possibly other Pokemon elements in it, does this one have any One Piece elements?”
In response to his question, I snapped my fingers and the table we were sitting at turned into glass. I snapped again, returning it to normal. “That and more,” I said.
Cruger frowned, “nothing personal, but that just tells me that you, like me, picked up some magic that your base doesn’t have, mind being a little more specific?”
I activated my pegasus magic and flew up a few inches. “I didn’t just learn this magic. I ate an Equestrian Devil Fruit that we’ve decided to call the Magic-Magic Fruit. I’m able to use all of the magic in this world.”
“Ah, that makes sense. By the way, I happen to be a Grandmaster in the art of Dimensional Magic, and before you say anything about giving myself a phoney title I have official documentation signed by both of the Diarchs, somewhere.”
Sean shrugged, “I wasn’t going to say anything. I have no idea how things work in other worlds. Heck, we haven’t even been to one yet.”
“I’ll be sure to invite you sometime. By the way, being a Grandmaster in a school of magic is basically a cross between a black belt and a Phd, might want to check this Equestria’s equivalent. Now where is that milkshake?”
As soon as he said that, Pinkie popped up next to us with a tray in her hands. She placed it on the table.
“Thank you Pinkie,” Cruger said as he grabbed his drink, “pleasure as always.”
“You’re welcome Cruger,” she said happily before bouncing back to the counter.
Cruger tilted his head, “I’d wonder why she knows my name, but that road leads to pain.” He took a sip of his drink, “ahh, bliss. So, why don’t you tell me a little more about your verse.”
Sean grabbed three similar cookies and tossed them in his mouth. After swallowing he answered, “Well, apparently compared to the show Nightmare Moon is a good pony here and Discord’s already been reformed.”
“I’d ask how Nightmare Moon is a good pony, but Past Sins is my favorite Fanfic. However, what do you mean about Discord being reformed already? Cause unless this is either Season 2 or early 3, he’d be reformed either way.”
“The changeling invasion just happened and he’s reformed,” I said.
Cruger frowned, “the Crystal Empire?”
“That hasn’t even happened yet,” I told him. “If it does happen. With how some things are turning out I wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t happen for while or even at all.”
Cruger put down his drink and steepled his fingers, “so, how did Discord get reformed?”
“Fluttershy protected him from getting hurt by Rob Lucci,” Sean said.
“Rob Lucci, Rob Lucci, not sure I remember exactly who he is, but I can guess that he’s a One Piece villain, am I correct?”
My husband nodded, “Yeah, and one of the worst. He was the leader of the CP9 if you remember them. He was a very sadistic person.”
“User of the Cat-Cat model leopard, said he’d kill the Straw Hats if Robin didn’t help him kill the mayor of that boat building town, first recipient of Gear Third, am I right?”
“The very same,” I said. “Thankfully, he’s been banished to Tartarus.”
“You’d better keep an eye out for him come 4’s finale, and it looks like I need to keep an eye out for Grumm when I get back.”
“Who in the world is Grumm?” Sean asked.
Cruger looked at him like he’d grown a new head, “Emperor Grumm, primary villain of Power Rangers SPD, archenemy of the original Anubis Cruger, are you seriously telling me you’ve never heard of him?”
My husband chuckled sheepishly, “I remember now. Sorry, it’s been several years since I’ve watched Power Rangers SPD. Only really watched it in the first place because the kids in the orphanage wanted to watch it.”
“Very well, not that it concerns you. Anyway,” Cruger took another sip of his drink, “it just so happens that you’ve caught me just as I was starting my first vacation in a thousand years, no that is not a joke. Mind if I spend it here?”
We were shocked to hear he was probably as old as the Princesses. Shaking myself, I said, “There shouldn’t be a problem with that.”
Cruger grinned, “thank you, just a moment.” He pulled out a black box that I think was his morpher and flipped it open, then started using it like a cellphone, “Sorrow Song, about my vacation, yeah I found a place to take it, another dimension if you must know, yes it’s a Displaced thing, hold down the fort for me, thank you bye.” He put it away, “sorry, that was my personal assistant. Before you ask why I need one, let’s just say I inherited more than Cruger’s good looks.”
I rolled my eyes slightly, while Sean snickered. He then asked, “So you got their headquarters in that Equestria or something?”
Cruger grinned, “try my own SPD, Rainbow Dash is my Red Ranger.”
Sean let out a low whistle, while Fleetfoot asked, “She’s not trying to be a Wonderbolt?”
“She had her reasons, reasons that I can understand. Speaking of, aren’t you supposed to be one?”
The pegasus shrugged, “I ate a Devil Fruit so that I could help fight any others that are like Rob Lucci. I figured doing that and being a Wonderbolt would wear me out, so I left.”
Cruger nodded, “as long as you had a good reason. By the way, Ashley, care to learn some Dimensional Magic?”
“If I’m able to sure. What does it do anyway?” I asked.
“To be honest, I consider it one of the most versatile. While a beginner can only use it to teleport and the like, a master, like me, can use it to protect against certain kinds of magic, turn intangible, cut through anything, and move faster than light.”
“Those sound like they would be very useful,” I said. “How should we begin?”
“Well, step 1, finish our lunch.” Cruger sipped on his drink. “Step 2, move to a wide open area.”
<~~>
After we finished our snacks, we head to the Whitetail Woods so we would have an open area to practice and not have to worry about anything like manticores or timberwolves. Me and Cruger were standing in the middle of an open field while Sean and Fleetfoot stood to the side. Twilight and Trixie somehow found out about what we were doing and were standing next to the two.
Cruger began, “okay, lesson 1, portals.” With a snap of his fingers, he created two portals in midair. They looked similar to the ones in the game Portal, except they were both blue, “these are your first tools when using Dimensional magic. While a flash type teleport might be easier, a portal can be used in a whole lot more different applications. Now, can you sense these with your magic?”
I focused on my magic and tried to sense the portals in front of me. I felt a small sensation, but not much. “Only slightly. I haven’t had my magic long,” I told him.
“Not to worry, while portals do take a bit of energy to create, they don’t take a lot to maintain. Now, focus on the, let’s call it flavor, of the magic in these portals. Think you can do that?”
I nodded slightly and tried to focus on the kind of magic these portals were using. I started to feel something and was surprised to see that it felt different than the magic that I knew of.
“What you’re feeling is the combination of my magic, as well as the fabric of reality. Dimensional magic is using your own magic to bend it. Now, see if you can find that feeling in the surrounding area.”
I extended my senses and tried to feel what he was talking about. After a moment, I felt something and activated my magic. A spark appeared in the air, but nothing more.
Cruger grinned, “very good, you managed to touch it. Now, to create a portal, you need to cause two points in reality to touch. Think of it like folding a piece of paper, grab two points, and pull them together.”
I reached out again and felt the sensation. My hands glowed orange and I tried to do as he had instructed.
“It looks like you’re tapping into it. Quick word of caution, don’t force it. If you force it, you run a high chance of tearing it. I don’t think I need to tell you that tearing reality would be bad.”
I gulped in nervousness. I slowly tried to fold the points of reality. After a moment I felt it resist me. I stopped and tried somewhere else.
“Good, you sensed it resisting. Dimensional magic is not about power, it is about using it in the right direction. If you can’t go one way, go another. Try to look for a pre existing fold, should be easier than trying to make a new one.”
I felt around the area and soon found what seemed to be a folded area. I focused my magic into it and a portal opened up.
Cruger grinned, “excellent. The first one is always the hardest. Now, I think we should call it a day. Your homework is to use your magic to explore the fabric, you don’t have to create portals, but you should try to bend it a little to know its limits.”
I nodded, “Alright, I’ll be sure to explore it and get enough practice.”
“I don’t doubt it. Once you’ve mastered folding it, we can move onto stretching it, which is the entry into subspace techniques.”
“Stretching reality?” Sean spoke up, approaching us.
“Yes, you can think of the fabric of reality as a kind of nylon. Truly advanced spells involve basically using it to create five-dimensional origami. For example,” Cruger surrounded himself in a blue glow, “you can create a pocket of space-time with you inside it, rendering you intangible. Try and touch me.”
My husband shrugged and swiped his hand at Cruger. His arm passed straight through his body.
“Subspace techniques involve sending you to partially out of your own reality, allowing you to decide which laws of physics apply to you.” The glow around him disappeared. “A master of Dimensional magic cannot be bested.”
“You can choose which laws of physics apply to you?” Sean asked, and Cruger nodded. “You sure Pinkie doesn’t know them then?” he asked with a slight smirk.
“I looked into it, my results were inconclusive, just looking at her reality gives me a headache. By the way,” he turned towards me, “once you get good enough at sensing reality, you are able to sense the reality of objects, rendering any invisibility or illusion spell that does not use Dimensional magic useless.”
“Well, that’ll come in handy if we ever run into someone who’s eaten the Clear-Clear Fruit,” Sean said. I nodded in agreement.
Cruger nodded, “that would be a good application, though a paintball gun might work too. Anyway, I have a week to answer any questions you might have, so you might want to pace yourselves. By the way, where am I staying? I don’t mind camping, but I’d rather not if I didn’t have to.”
Sean smiled nervously, “Well, actually Ditzy is letting us stay with her until we get enough bits to get our own place.”
Twilight then spoke up, “We have a guest room if you don’t mind staying in a library.”
Cruger smiled, “my definition of happiness is a good meal, a good book, and good friends to share them with. We already took care of the first, Golden Oaks will take care of the second, and I hope that you all will allow me to complete the third with you.”
“We’d be happy to have you as a friend,” Sean said. “Right everyone?” We all nodded in agreement.
“Thank you, I think I’m going to have a good time this week. Now, who wants to bet that Pinkie will have my welcome party ready when we get back?”
“You keep trying to bet on Pinkie doing something every one of us know she’s going to do,” I said, giggling slightly.
“She has a point Cruger,” Fleetfoot said. “I barely know her and I wouldn’t take that bet.”
Cruger shrugged, “I don’t like leaving things to chance.”
<~~>
As we all figured, Pinkie had put together a party for Cruger in Sugarcube Corner. There was a good amount of ponies in attendance and they all paused when they saw the guest of honor.
“Don’t worry everypony. Cruger here’s a good guy,” Sean said. Everypony eased slightly and went back to what they were doing.
“Ah well,” Cruger sighed, “I suppose that was to be expected. It’s not every day that you meet an alien, unless your name is Jean-Luc Picard.”
“Well, they were just invaded by a species they didn’t know even existed. It’s kind of expected that they’d be on edge still,” I said.
“True,” Cruger mused, “but you’d think that if Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter, was throwing somepony a party, they would at least give them a chance. And yes, I know about Gilda.”
Sean looked confused at the name, but shrugged. “To be honest these ponies seem very skittish to me. I mean we look very similar to them, but I could tell they were scared.”
Cruger shrugged, “you may have a point. Anyway, let’s stop discussing the possible xenophobia of anthropomorphic equines and party down, I think I see an entire table dedicated to the milkshake I ordered.”
I giggled, “That’s Pinke for you. She saw how much you liked it and made a bunch for you.”
“True enough, now why don’t you introduce me to Ditzy? I haven’t had the chance to meet my version yet and I would love to make her acquaintance.”
“Sure, in fact I see her over there with her daughters,” Sean said, pointing over to the table with the muffins.
We walked over, Cruger grabbing a milkshake on the way, “good evening ma'am, you are Ditzy correct? My friends Sean and Ashley said that you were kind enough to host them until they got their own place.”
Ditzy blushed slightly, “It was the least I could do since he saved my daughters.”
“I told her she didn’t have to, but she insisted,” Sean said.
“While she didn’t have to,” Cruger replied, “you need to look at it from her point of view. You saved her family, putting you up for a while is just her way of trying to pay you back. Not to say that she wouldn’t help you if you didn’t save them, but you get my meaning.”
“Yeah, and I am grateful for her hospitality,” my husband said.
“I’m glad,” Ditzy said, smiling.
“As long as you’re aware. Now if you don’t mind, there is a little habit I picked up when I became a Displaced that I intend to indulge.”
Before we could ask what he meant, he walked over to the DJ stand. He picked up a microphone, “everyone, I hope that you don’t mind, but I make it a point to sing one song at every party I attend. And since this is my party, I intend to do just that.” He fiddled with his morpher for a bit, and music started to play.
“I ain’t rich, but I damn sure wanna be Working like a dog all day, ain’t working for me I wish I had a rich uncle that’d kick the bucket And that I was sitting on a pile like Warren Buffett I know everybody says Money can’t buy happiness
But it could buy me a boat, it could buy me a truck to pull it It could buy me a Yeti 110 iced down with some silver bullets Yeah, and I know what they say, Money can’t buy everything Well, maybe so, But it could buy me a boat
They call me redneck, white trash and blue collar But I could change all that if I had a couple million dollars I keep hearing that money is the root of all evil And you can’t fit a camel through the eye of a needle I’m sure that’s probably true, But it still sounds pretty cool
‘Cause it could buy me a boat, it could buy me a truck to pull it It could buy me a Yeti 110 iced down with some silver bullets Yeah, and I know what they say, Money can’t buy everything Well, maybe so, But it could buy me a boat
To float down on the water with a beer… I hear the Powerball Lotto is a-sitting’ on a hundred mill… Well, that would buy me a brand new rod and reel…
And it could buy me a boat, it could buy me a truck to pull it It could buy me a Yeti 110 iced down with some Silver Bullets Yeah, and I know what they say, Money can’t buy everything Well, maybe so, But it could buy me a boat
Yeah, and I know what they say, Money can’t buy everything Well, maybe so, But it could buy me a boat It could buy me a boat.”
Everypony stood shocked that Cruger suddenly started singing. Sean cheered and began clapping with a large smile on his face and I joined in with him. Slowly, everypony started clapping as well.
When Cruger finished, he raised one of his hands, “thank you all. Now, before we turn it back to the talented miss Scratch, does anypony else think they could top that?”
Sean smiled and walked up to them. “I don’t know about topping it, but I’ve really taken a liking to singing,” he said. He pulled out his iPod and started looking through the songs.
Cruger walked towards him, “you too huh? My iPod got fused with my morpher. So, what’s your preference? As you can tell, I’m a country fan, as well as a few others.”
“To be honest, I’m probably a bit strange in I like just about everything except for Heavy Metal,” he said. After finding the song he pressed play and Cruger handed him the mic. He smiled widely as he began to sing.
Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed She was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb In the shape of an "L" on her forehead
Well, the years start coming and they don't stop coming Fed to the rules and I hit the ground running Didn't make sense not to live for fun Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb
So much to do, so much to see So what's wrong with taking the back streets? You'll never know if you don't go You'll never shine if you don't glow
Hey, now, you're an All Star, get your game on, go play Hey, now, you're a Rock Star, get the show on, get paid And all that glitters is gold Only shooting stars break the mold
It's a cool place and they say it gets colder You're bundled up now wait 'til you get older But the meteor men beg to differ Judging by the hole in the satellite picture
The ice we skate is getting pretty thin The water's getting warm so you might as well swim My world's on fire. How about yours? That's the way I like it and I'll never get bored.
Hey, now, you're an All Star, get your game on, go play Hey, now, you're a Rock Star, get the show on, get paid And all that glitters is gold Only shooting stars break the mold
Somebody once asked could I spare some change for gas I need to get myself away from this place I said yep, what a concept I could use a little fuel myself And we could all use a little change
Well, the years start coming and they don't stop coming Fed to the rules and I hit the ground running Didn't make sense not to live for fun Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb
So much to do so much to see So what's wrong with taking the back streets You'll never know if you don't go You'll never shine if you don't glow.
And all that glitters is gold Only shooting stars break the mold
As the song ended, Sean handed the mic back to Vinyl. Everypony began clapping again at his performance.
Cruger chuckled, “is it wrong that I can’t ever listen to that song and not think of Shrek?”
“Not really. I mean all I can think of is that Digimon movie that used it,” Sean said.
Cruger shrugged, “to each their own. Hey Ashley, care to give it a try?”
I was surprised by the sudden question, but shrugged and walked up to them. I whispered to Sean what song to play. He snickered and quickly found the song. I began singing when the song started.
I love it when it's loud I love it when it's big You could feel it in the crowd come on, bang dem sticks I said I love it when it's loud I love it when it's big 'Cause you could feel it in the crowd Come on, bang dem sticks
The dumb drummer, Sicker than the swine flu Don't really need medication He gotta tissue, uh And when he bang bangs don't need to boogie but, He might be sweeter than my, my favorite cookie When he plays, uh, he got a hold on me In a race yeah he's got that winnin streak, uh And ain't nobody got a drummer like mine He can bang dem sticks he can throw dem high, ha!
I got a thing for drummers How the beat shakes up my heart I got a thing for drummers So, baby, show off all dem tricks and bang dem sticks I got a thing for drummers How the beat shakes up my heart I got a thing for drummers So, baby, show off all dem tricks and bang dem sticks
I love it when it's loud I love it when it's big You could feel it in the crowd Come on, bang dem sticks I said I love it when it's loud I love it when it's big 'Cause you could feel it in the crowd Come on, bang dem sticks
I don't think they're ready, it's OK
Triplet triplet, all dat shit He looking so good when he bang dem sticks He could do the paradiddle With a little bit of samba And all the girls scream "I want yo drummer's numba!" But wait a minute? What the fuck is going on? You here to see MTrain Because you love my songs But there he go again with the double stroke And I ain't talking dirty I ain't makin no jokes nu uh nu uh And he could play all night whatever get you hype girls whatever gets you high. 'Cause ain't nodody got a drummer like mine, He can bang them sticks He can throw them high come on!
I got a thing for drummers How the beat shakes up my heart I got a thing for drummers So, baby, show off all dem tricks and bang dem sticks I got a thing for drummers How the beat shakes up my heart I got a thing for drummers So, baby, show off all dem tricks and bang dem sticks
I love it when it's loud I love it when it's big You could feel it in the crowd Come on, bang dem sticks I said I love it when it's loud I love it when it's big 'Cause you could feel it in the crowd Come on, bang dem sticks
Come on and bang dem sticks So, baby, show off all dem tricks and bang dem sticks Come on and bang dem sticks Till everybody get the drummer
Despite the song denying anything like it, I could tell several of the ponies in the crowd looked rather flustered at some of the lyrics. Sean laughed at their expressions.
Cruger chuckled, “are you sure you should be singing that? There are foals present.”
I shrugged, “It explicitly said that she was talking about loving drummers. They think of something else that’s either the parents fault or they know more than they probably should know.”
“Fine, but if said parents start coming after you, I will say I told you so, repeatedly.”
“Fair enough,” I said. Sean walked over to a table with a platter of cookies on it and I followed him. We grabbed several cookies and setting them on a plate. “Want some?” I asked Cruger.
“Thank you,” he grabbed a chocolate chip cookie and started munching on it.
“You know I just realized that you didn’t really react to the fact that the ponies here were anthro. Are they like that in your Equestria?” Sean asked.
“That they are, although, I think mine are stranger than yours, the Ponies in my Equestria are omnivorous.”
I blinked several times. “Well… that’s rather unexpected,” I said, my husband nodding in agreement.
Cruger shrugged, “hey, an infinite number of universes out there, at least a handful of them are probably gonna have omnivorous, anthro, ponies, I just happened to land in one of them.”
“True, there’s no telling what other kinds of things are out there,” Sean said.
“Oh, just getting this out of the way, I helped raise my verse’s Celestia and Luna.”
We stood there in stunned silence at this piece of information. “Wow,” we both muttered.
“Yeah, well that’s how it is, one minute you’re at a convention, the next you’re saving a filly Celestia and Luna from bandits. It would be weirder if they didn’t make me their bodyguard.”
“True,” I said. “So what were they like when they were younger?”
Cruger grinned, “well, Celestia was quite a serious young filly, always reading and such, think Twilight pre-season 1. As for Luna,” Cruger groaned, “take the CMC, combine them, remove the need to find a cutie mark, then give them the power of an alicorn. At least she settled down when she got older, and I started teaching her basic hand-to-hand.”
I shivered slightly, “I don’t know what would be worse giving the CMC the power of an alicorn or Pinkie Pie chaos magic.”
Cruger frowned, “who says those are mutually exclusive.”
I giggled, “True enough. One would be as bad as the other, just for different reasons.”
“I meant that they could both happen.”
We both arched a brow at him. “How could that happen?” I questioned.
“Pinkie Pie gets chaos magic then gives the CMC alicorn power.”
“Pinkie would still have to gain chaos magic first,” Sean countered.
“What makes you think she doesn’t have it already, it would explain a few things.”
“The fact that there aren’t cotton candy clouds raining chocolate milk,” I said.
Cruger nodded, “fair enough. Now, mind telling me how you two got Displaced.”
“Wasn’t really that interesting. We saw one of Zoro and Tashigi’s swords and thought they’d be cool to have. He decided to give them to us for free. Which really should have been a clue that he was up to something,” Sean told him.
“Yeah,” Cruger said, “third rule of leadership, and first rule of life, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. On a related note,” Cruger tapped his sword, “my Displacement purchase was a sword too.”
“You too? You pay him or you get it for free too?” I asked.
“Kinda both, 10 bucks, still had to pay, but I spent more on lunch.”
“That still seems rather cheap for something bought at a convention,” Sean said.
“Like I said, kinda both. So, I came down in the middle of a kidnapping attempt, how about you two?”
“Right in the middle of the Changeling invasion,” Sean said. “It was from them that I save Dinky and Amethyst. Fought Chrysalis herself when we were taken to her.”
“How’d ya do?”
“Actually headbutted her at first. Got in a few hits after that, mostly because of surprise. I held her off until Shining Armor and Cadance brought up a shield that shot her and the Changelings out of Canterlot,” my husband said.
Cruger grinned, “nice, no one expects the Gum-Gum Bell. By the way, what techniques do you have access too? I’m teaching your wife Dimensional magic, might as well try to help you too.”
“I managed to use the Gum-Gum Gatling, if you’re talking about those techniques. If you are talking about haki, I’ve managed to use the Armament Haki several times and am getting there with Observation. I also used the Conqueror's Haki once on accident when I was getting onto Angel,” Sean said.
“Fair enough, sounds like you just need practice with those,”Cruger said, “what about your Gears?”
“Haven’t tried either of them yet. I haven’t really thought about or needed to use them,” Sean explained. “And if you’re wondering why I said either instead of any, it’s because I doubt I’ll get the Fourth Gear down any time soon.”
“Might want to get some practice in with them though, especially considering Third’s side effect. I’d be willing to spar with you.”
“Yeah, the Third Gears side effect is going to be pain until I can get it down. And sure, it would probably be a big help to spar with someone,” my husband said.
“No problem, not today though,” Cruger replied, “today is party, then get settled in at Twilight’s. What’s going on tomorrow?”
“Nothing that I know of,” I said. “In a couple days Sean’s going to start as an assistant to Cheerilee.”
Cruger’s eyes sparkled slightly, “mind if I join you for that? I would like to help the little kiddies learn.”
“I don’t see a problem with it, though you should probably talk to Cheerilee about it so that she knows,” Sean answered.
“I’ll speak to her tomorrow, mind vouching for my teaching skills Ashley?”
“Sure, I think you’ll be great at teaching them,” I said.
“Thank you,” Cruger looked around, “now where is Pinkie hiding that cake?”
Lying on the mat, sweat weighing down her normally lionesque mane to half its normal size, Marri O’ Nette only just managed to fight down a shiver as she continued to breathe.
Cracking open a tired, violet eye she took stock of the training room: a grey-silver expanse of wall and padded floor whose circular area rivaled that of a hoofball stadium, and standing nearly as tall, laid empty, save for her own scattered limbs and torso. Through, that made sense, given how late it was.
Sucking in a breath, fighting back the urge to hack up the painfully cold air, pale strings of magic sparked across her horn, spiraling out to pull the scattered sandalwood-furred torso and appendages back together. Errant pops of poorly channeled magic continued to play across her fur even as she shut off the spell, her flesh sealing seamlessly back together as her horn was once more lost to her bone-white mane. Then, with an all too unfeminine grunt, she pushed off the sweat-stained floor, arms threatening to revolt, until she wobbled into a sitting position.
Looking to the bench nestled between the control-panel and exit door, Marri, as she preferred to be called, contemplated simply levitating the water-bottle to her until her body, hot and tired as it was, gave the tell-tell sign of an oncoming Charley horse lest she stand up and preemptively massage out the oncoming kink.
Silently groaning to her hooves, she slowly plodded her way to the precious liquid, wringing out her sodden mane as she did so, careful to keep any of the chilling sweat from falling onto her.
Dropping onto the bench, she unscrewed her thermos and chugged the ‘heated’ water, though really it was what should have been the room’s temperature. She knew that there was no real benefit to keeping the room at this temperature, not in the long run, other than the mental fortitude for dealing with nearly winter-like temperatures. She very nearly hated it, and might have stopped doing so entirely were it not for the singular fact she could see her breath.
It was… comforting, reminding her of Crimson Jazz the fire-breather from back in her old circus days. At least it certainly felt like the old days, though really it had only been seven months since she’d joined the newly re-established Space Patrol Delta. The long lost Chief, Anubis Cruger, reappearing from some prank of Discord just in time to save the whole of Equus from the power-hungry Tirek. It was still a little intimidating to think that the very building she sat in could, at the Chief’s beck and call, turn into a giant mechanized warrior, the Delta Command Megazord.
Turning her thoughts back just a few months prior to her academy days, housed just a few floors below her in fact. Her body, toned from years of acrobatics and shows, had outperformed many of the royal guards who had been transferred from Canterlot during the physical tests and examinations, easily landing her a spot on beta-squad. Really it was quite the accomplishment, an honor to be actively part of such a legacy that was, as she had learned, the inspiration for such organizations as the Wonderbolts and the Royal Guard themselves, but, deep in her private thoughts, she still couldn’t help but feel she might have been able to make Alpha, if only had she but heard of S.P.D. sooner.
Remembering her first, chance encounter with Rainbow Dash, The Red Ranger, and the Element of Loyalty to boot, at her inauguration to the force, Marri could still clearly remember the sudden and conflicting emotions of pride, admiration, and disgust. Rainbow Dash, skilled as she was, talented as she was, moved and breathed with an air of self-important, almost self-aggrandizing, showmareship that rubbed Marri O’ Nette, somepony who had made a living off of boasting, the wrong way. It was just hard to believe that somepony like that had the mental capacity to be, well, the head of Alpha-Squad, but apparently it took all sorts to be in S.P.D., her own fellow troopers had proven that much. Bright Shine, a grown pony, fantastically skilled in light-magic, had a near crippling fear of the dark, and was assigned day-shift for mental-health reasons. Then there was the Walker Twins. They weren’t really twins, just brother and sister, but the they had powers that went far beyond your typical pegasus and earth-pony.
Not one to complain, out loud, the show must go on and all, Marri simply inhaled, pulling down her negative thoughts to where they could be of some use, stoking the dying fires of her drive into new life. Her scheduled two days of R.D.O. were coming up, and that, plus the renewed fire in her gut, was all the excuse she needed to earn one more layer of bruises before calling it a night.
Centering herself, she called on her magic. It came, sluggishly, though two hours of training would do that to anypony. Magic flowing through her, Marri’s limbs detached from her body, splitting again at her knees and elbows, and finally her head as new strength surged through the cold lilac-flames connecting them. Standing, now twice her diminutive height of five foot nothing, Marri’s upper arms and legs began to slowly orbit their respective halves. She could push farther, had pushed farther, but her useful combative capabilities would only allow for so many moving parts.
One more breath, steeling herself, her record stood at fourteen minutes and thirty-seven seconds, a far cry from the score of five minutes that was required to successfully pass this particular trial, but if she could whittle it down to thirteen and a half, she would deem it a victory worthy of gratuitous self-indulgence; two gallon-tubs of rocky-road would likely suffice. All of alpha squad had done this together, and if she was going to show any merit worthy of interest to her superiors with a beat as quiet as hers, then it would have to be from her level of professionalism and preparedness.
Releasing her breath Marii stated wearily, “Activate Hell Week Protocol: Dodgeball.”
Voice command recognized, the hiss and whir of machinery filled the air. Hidden hatches in the walls slid open, pocking the walls with circular black pits, and wooden projectiles the size of medicine balls clacked into their firing positions as the five-pony training simulation began once more.
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.
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?'
Before they could continue their friendly banter, alarms started blaring. The members of A-Squad rushed to the command center, ready for anything.
"Welcome Rangers," said Sorrow Song, who was in charge of operations while Cruger was away, "we have a situation."
"About an hour ago we received a call about a suspicious pony in downtown Manehatten, specifically the financial district," said Blue Rush, who had recently been promoted to head of dispatch. "As there was a pair of C-Squad agents in the vicinity, they were sent to investigate. Twenty minutes later, they reported nothing overly suspicious, however the suspicious pony was identified as an investment broker out for a stretch. However, five minutes ago, this appeared," he pulled up an image on the pedastal.
"Since then," continued Blue Rush, "it has been robbing banks by destroying the structure and sucking up the contents of the vaults using its turbine."
"Rangers," said Sorrow Song, "your assignment is to travel to Manehatten and stop this machine, by any means necessary."
"About time," said Night Stalker, "training was getting boring."
"No kidding," replied Rainbow Dash, "now what did Cruger recommend we say to help us get pumped up again? Oh yeah! It's Morphing Time!"
Once they had morphed, they entered a hatch that had opened in the wall. It led to a slide that deposited them into their Delta Runners. The side of the Delta Base opened up, allowing them to drive out. At the end of the slightly over-sized road was a metal arch, this was the Delta Gate, a device Cruger had designed to allow SPD to travel anywhere in Equestria in seconds. The Runners drove through the archway, which was generating a blue film of energy inside itself, and arrived in downtown Manehatten, where the machine was tearing into another bank.
Hammer Fist activated the loudspeakers on his Runner, "ATTENTION, YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF SEVERAL FEDERAL LAWS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: DESTRUCTION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY, DESTRUCTION OF FEDERAL PROPERTY, AND THEFT IN EXCESS OF 50000 BITS, SURRENDER AND SHUT DOWN YOUR MACHINE!"
"Huh," Pearl Spark wondered aloud, "he's good at that."
"Not gonna happen," called a voice from the machine, "now get out of my way." The machine turned towards the runners and charged, apparantly with the intent to run them over.
"Right back at ya," said Night Stalker, as he activated his Runner's Turbine Gatling, firing a barrage of lasers from his Runners turbines.
"Count me in," said Evil Breaker as he deployed the Delta Blaster from the side of his Runner and started firing.
"Don't leave me out of this," said Rainbow Dash, "Evil Breaker, Hammer Fist, Patrol Saber protocol."
"You got it" they both said as a blade launched out of Delta Runner 3 and the loudspeakers launched off of Delta Runner 4. A pair of mechanical arms deployed from Delta Runner 1, caught them and combined them into a sword, which then attached to the right side of the Runner. Rainbow then brought it up on its left wheels, giving the sword a good angle to slash at the machine.
"I've had about enough of you," said the machine. Without warning, it started firing lasers. One of them hit one of Delta Runner 2's turbines, but it managed to keep flying.
"Are you guys done?" asked Pearl Spark, "because I thought somepony wanted to try out the Megazord in real life."
"Oh yeah," Rainbow said as she pushed a button on her dashboard, "initiate Delta Squad Megazord sequence."
"Roger," said the others as the pressed the same button on theirs.
"Now you're really gonna get it," said Rainbow Dash.
"Get this," the turbine on the machine reversed, sending a storm of rocks hurtling towards the Megazord.
"We have to take out that turbine," said Night Stalker.
"Let me try something," said Evil Breaker, as he pressed a button on his console. The middle barrel on the Delta Blaster shot out a stream of police tape, tangling up the turbine.
"No!" shouted the driver of the machine, "I just bought this thing."
Just before the machine blew up, an escape pod managed to launch from it, landing a few meters away from the wreckage. The Rangers exited the Megazord and reached it before it opened, reveling a light blue unicorn stallion.
"Why you little," he raved, "everything was going so well until you showed up. Broodwing said I could rob Equestria blind with that thing, but just had to come in and screw it up."
"Who's Broodwing," Night Stalker demanded.
"I don't have to tell you nothing."
"Be that as it may," Rainbow interjected, drawing her morpher, "you are charged with destruction of property and theft, it's Judgement Time!"
As Rainbow picked up the card, Night Stalker couldn't help but wonder to himself, who was Broodwing?
In a dark chamber, somewhere, a thestral started pacing, "Well, that was a bust. So much for getting 30% of everything he stole. At least I still have the down payment."
"Relax Broodwing," said a cultured voice, "we may have lost out on some bits, but we've gained useful intel. Soon we will be able to put my plan into action."
Hello, My name is Jack Hunt. I live in Ponyville and I am a SPD Patrol Trooper, Squad B member. What does SPD mean, well it stands for Space Patrol Delta, but it also means Serve, Protect, Defend. I wasn’t a SPD Trooper for long in fact I just got accepted 2 weeks ago. I just came back from a job in Manehattan with a new member of my family. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you about myself first. I was a bounty hunter for at least 7 years. I liked bounty hunting but when you are a bounty hunter you get looks as if you were the bad guy. I ignored it for a while but eventually I got sick of the dirty looks I was getting and quit. It was hard finding a job for someone with my background. I looked for a while until I heard that there was a new type law enforcement around. It sounded pretty cool and it went along with what I stood for in the world so I sent in a application letter and my resume in hopes I can become a SPD Trooper. After a day or so I got a letter from them so I opened it and it said this.
"Jack Hunt
This is to inform you that you have been accepted into Space Patrol Delta. Position: Patrol Trooper, B Squad.
Responsibilities include: patrolling Equestrian cities, intervening in crimes in progress, securing crime scenes, arresting suspects.
Promotion to A Squad may be granted pending a formal performance review.
Congratulations on your new position, do not dishonor it.
Serve. Protect. Defend. SPD."
Signed Commander Anubis Cruger.
I just stared at the paper for a few second until I let out a girly squee of delight. I looked around and somehow no one heard that. The letter also came with the package and inside was a uniform with the logo SPD on it and a badge with the same logo. I was so happy that I got accepted that I went to tell my girlfriend Sapphire who I was living with about the news.
"Hey Sapphire I have some wonderful news." I told her as she turned to face me. Sapphire was a light blue Pegasus with purple mane color and a black tail. Her cutie mark is a cloaked pony with a scythe. Never really asked what that meant but I don't bother to ask. I mean my cutie mark is a sword with a hourglass.
"Hey Jack baby. What news is it?" she asked me.
"I found another job." I said to her. She ran over to me and gave me a hug.
"That great honey! What kind of job is it?" She asked me and I told her about it and she was skeptical. " I don't know honey. This job sound dangerous." She said to me and I chuckled a little bit.
"Honey. It's no more dangerous than my bounty hunting. I will be fine." I told her and we shared a kiss. I put on my uniform and she commented on it.
"It looks good on you honey." She smiled as she said this. I smiled back I told her I was off on patrol. She said good bye and then I was off.
So as you imagine I was hoping that I was going to take down crime organizations and becoming famous. but then I remember that it's not about fame or glory it's about helping out ponies and being the best you could be. I traveled to different cities in search of crime. Instead I was helping cats out of trees, settling arguments between families, and I was helping old mares across the street. It was nice doing all those things but I want something more you know? So as I was patrolling around Manehattan I heard a cry for help and I went off sprinting towards the sound. I found 3 guards and a criminal holding a filly with a knife to her throat. My eyes went red but I remained calm as I approached the situation. One of the guards saw me and approached me.
"Stay back citizen. We got this covered." He said. I rolled my eyes and said.
"It's ok pal. I am here to help. SPD Patrol Trooper Jack Hunt at your service." I said as he looked at me with confusion. I quickly explained to him who I was and what SPD meant and then he had a small smile on his face.
"It's good that you are here. We've been trying to get this guy to let go of the filly for a little bit now and it's not going well." He said in a frustrated tone.
"Let me try guys." I said as I walked towards the stallion. I can tell that he is mean and on edge as I approached him. He looked at me and shouted.
"Stay back! Don't come any closer or this filly gets it!" He said in a angry tone. He moved back a bit until I said
"Freeze Criminal! Come quietly or there will be." I pull out my sword, pointed at him and then said "Trouble!" I told him. He laughed at me and said.
"Oooo Some sort of Space cop is trying to tell me what to do. Fuck off before you get hurt pal." He said while still laughing at me. I glared at him and said.
"Let the filly go scum." I said to him in a angry tone. The little filly was scared and crying as she said.
"P..please mister.. just let me go." The filly said as the criminal took his knife and cut the fillies arm. My eyes went wide as I saw blood coming from the filly. Now I don't get angry to much but when someone hurts a filly then I just lose it. My eyes went red and the criminal just froze and dropped the filly. She ran off to the guard and then I approached the criminal with my magic charged. I charged at him with some lightning chains that I made and I chained him up. The three guards were stunned at how fast I subdued the criminal as they dragged the criminal away. The Guard I talked to before came to me and said.
"Thank you for the help man. If you don't mind we will take him to custody." He said as I nodded my head and they took him away. I walked over to the filly who had a bandage around her cut as I could see the guards tended to her. I got on one knee and said to her.
"Are you ok little one." I said in a sweet voice. She looked up at me.
"Y..yes I am.. T..thanks mister for saving me." She gave me a weak smile.
"It's was nothing little one." I said as I looked at her arm "Give me you arm for a second." She did just that and then I used my lightning magic to heal the cut on her arm. "There. The cut on your arm should be gone." She gasped and removed the bandage to see. When she saw that it was gone she smiled brightly and gave me a hug.
"Thank you so much Mister!" She said to me. "What is your name?" She asked me.
"My name is Jack Hunt. What is your name?" I asked her and she said.
"My name is Lin." She said with a smile on her face.
"What nice name and you don't want to call me Jack you can think of a nickname for me." I said with a smile on my face. She thought about for a bit and then said.
"I'm going to call you Mr. Bubbles!" She said while giggling. I don't know why but for some reason I like that nickname.
"Ok. I am Mr. Bubbles now. So let’s take you home to your family." I said this and then Lin got sad hearing this.
"I... I don't have a home or a family." She said as she was starting to cry. I quickly hugged her and petted her head. He felt bad for her. Being all alone in a big city like this. Then he got a idea.
"Hey. Do you want to come live with me?" I asked her. Her eyes brightened up when I asked her that.
"R..really? Can I live with you?" She asked me. I nodded my head and said.
"Yes you can." I smiled and then she hugged me again as we went to the train station and went home to Ponyville. Then something dawned on me as we were riding back home. How the hell am I going to explain this to Sapphire.
Cruger looked at his Morpher. It was a good Morpher, and it did what it was supposed to do, but nowadays it felt a bit lacking. All it had was a single form, a good form but still only one. If he could do things the original Cruger couldn’t, why couldn’t that apply to his Morpher as well?
Before he could consider the matter further, he felt a surge of dimensional energy. Picking up his Morpher, he went to investigate. “Well,” he muttered to himself, “let’s go see what happened this time.”
“Guten Morgen~!” a very strange and echoing voice called out, its source completely hidden from sight.
“A good morning to you too,” Cruger shouted back, “at least I think that’s what you said. Now, since you are in my verse, the polite thing to do would be to introduce yourself.”
“Ah, where are my manners?” A shadowy being coalesced in front of Cruger, eldritch and multidimensional in nature, yet oddly flat and ill defined. “My name is Aaron Heibai, Mister Cruger. A pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise,” Cruger frowned, “so, how did you know my name?”
Aaron’s shadowy face split into a smirk, a line of bright white tracing its way across his head area like a jack o’ lantern smile. “I know approximately 99.99% of Everything, mate. Oh, and I read the script.” He held up a sheaf of papers, then casually tossed it to the side, where it dissipated into a flock of doves.
Cruger’s eyes tracked the doves for a few seconds before they returned to Aaron, “Discord or Pinkie?”
Aaron shrugged, “Neither. Both. Either or. Personally I think it’s neither. I’m just a shopkeeper, you know.” He pet a few of the doves as they settled on his shoulders, then let them vanish back into the eldritch energy they spawned from.
Cruger’s eyes widened slightly, “Shopkeep? You have my interest, let’s see if you can get my attention.”
With a wink and a twirl, Aaron dissipated back into shadows, anticlimactically revealing a simple pair of glass automatic sliding doors. As the doors slid open, Aaron walked through, revealing a seemingly endless shop behind him. “Tada~”
Cruger whistled, “You my good sir make Walmart look like a 6 year old’s lemonade stand. Now, what say I tell you what’s on my wish list and you tell me where I can find them.”
Aaron nodded and let Cruger in through the doors, “Well, to be honest, the shelves are for show. Too many people get lost wandering through them without a map, y’know? I’ll do you one better. Tell me what you need and I’ll get it for you.”
Cruger nodded, then tapped his chin in thought. “Well, first off I was an engineer before I was a Displaced, so a few new tools. How about a DS9 Tricorder and the Tenth’s Sonic Screwdriver.”
“Done.” Aaron pulled the requested items from a nearby portal, setting them upon the checkout counter behind him. “Is there anything else you’d like to purchase?”
Cruger grinned, “Well, I don’t want to sound too fanboyish, but how about a bat’leth?”
Aaron snickered, “Always a classic, that one. Done.” Said bat’leth dropped seemingly from nowhere, clattering to a halt on the checkout counter.
Cruger’s grin shifted to one that was a bit snarkier, “Now, let’s put that claim that you have everything to the test.” He pulled out his morpher, “Think you got an upgrade for this? Specifically one that will allow me to acquire additional modes.”
Aaron examined the morpher closely, rubbing his chin, “Hmm… a first generation Patrol Morpher, eh? Boy, haven’t seen anyone use a relic like this in a while. You’re in dire need of an upgrade, mate.” Tapping the surface of the morpher, Aaron smirked as he infused the morpher with swirls of arcane energy. “There. Seventh generation Patrol Morpher for just about everything you’d need.”
Cruger looked at it, “Two questions. First, did you leave my music files alone? I recently traded a number of songs with a Displaced I met on vacation that I have yet to listen to.”
“Of course I did. I only added, I didn’t take anything away.” Aaron crossed his arms and snorted, moving behind the counter and ringing up the purchases.
“No offence, just making sure,” Cruger replied. “Second, and slightly more seriously, does it come with a bunch of preset modes that I have to use or a bunch of empty slots that I can fill with whatever I want?”
“Bit of both. You get like fifteen presets and ten empty slots. Your total is, well, good thing for you since you get a first-timer discount, five hundred bits.” Aaron, slid over Cruger’s requested items and waited patiently.
“Mind cutting it down a bit if I offer other stuff?” Cruger opened a small portal and pulled out a textbook, “to start, how about this primer on Dimensional magic I wrote myself?”
“....” Aaron looked flatly at Cruger, “... Mate. You just offered a book on Dimensional Magic… to an eldritch abomination that routinely travels across the multiverse to sell people things.”
“Never said you had to use it, you got a store, put it in the book department. But if you’re gonna be that way,” Cruger pulled out an ingot of silvery metal, “Dimensium 5, cast aluminum rendered molecularly stable via Dimensional magic. I’d take a shield made of that stuff and pit it against Cap’s any day of the week. I normally use it for Zord construction. If you don’t like that, I’ve got a bunch of other kinds to offer ya.”
“Hmm… that’s useful. I’ll take six and waive the rest of the cost. Unless you have something even better?” Aaron raised a shadowy eyebrow, looking at Cruger expectantly.
“I do, but I’ll save that for if I have to purchase a Deus Ex Machina from ya,” Cruger replied snarkily as he fished six more ingots from the portal, “so, six ingots of Dimensium 5 for the Morpher upgrade, bat’leth, Screwdriver and Tricorder, plus one more for a tip. We good?” Cruger held out a hand.
“Of course we are,” Aaron shook Cruger’s hand and took the ingots, dropping the rest of the goods in a paper bag and holding it out to Cruger. “There ya go.”
“Thank you,” Cruger replied before dropping the bag into another portal. “By the way, if I wanted to shop here again, how would I?”
“Well, I added my contact info to your morpher, so there’s that.” Aaron smirked again and saluted. “Everything good?”
“That it is. By the way, before you go, I think I know where you can make a bit of a bundle.”
“Oh? Do tell,” Aaron raised a curious eyebrow.
Cruger tapped Zinnia’s Token, “it’s a Pokeverse where the only Pokeball in existence is a Premier with a spell that allows it to replicate itself when you catch something with it. Add to that the fact that they are under attack by no less than two evil Legendaries, one of which is a brainwasher. Sounds like you could unload few Pokeballs there, high demand low supply and all that.”
“Mm, I’ll keep that in mind, thank you. Now if you’ll excuse me….” Aaron and the shop abruptly disappeared, the only trace of it ever existing was a receipt fluttering in the breeze, and the faint scent of of chocolate ice cream and ozone.
“Try not to gouge them,” Cruger called out. He then turned and walked back to his apartment, flipping his morpher open, “Hey Zinnia, got some good news on the Pokeball front…”
Cruger was in a clearing in the Whitetail woods, having completed some practice with a few of his new modes, when he felt a disturbance. Finding it familiar, he held out his hand as the Token materialized, falling into it. He looked it over, it was a necklace consisting of a black ankh with a white lightning bolt shaped crossbar, along with a horn and feather. As he held it, he heard a female voice "'I am Black Alice! If you need help beating the shit out of someone/thing, need some healing or just want to hang out then summon me and I'll be there."
Cruger put it on and placed a finger on it, "Miss Alice, I offer my services as a mentor, should you accept of course."
Black Alice was sitting through a lesson of advanced herbalism with her best friend Little Strongheart when she felt a familiar tug.
"Excuse me teacher, I hate to interrupt your lesson but there is something I must attend to right away but I'll be back." Alice said.
"Is it another one of those Displaced you called them?" Little Strongheart asked.
"Yes but it's not one I'm familiar with so it's not Zinnia or Umbra or any of the others." Alice replied before opening a rift into the void.
"Be careful Alice."
Alice merely smiled before disappearing.
When Alice arrived at her destination she was not prepared for the sight that greeted her. A large, blue, anthropomorphic dog that she was all too familiar with but hadn't seen in years. The mere sight of him made her blood boil with rage.
"Unfucking believable! Of all the Displaced to summon me I had to be called by a pretender!" Alice roared.
The dog frowned, "You had better explain yourself. If this is you preferring the Sentai to SPD, I might be able to let that slide, but if you're insinuating that I'm not as good as the original Anubis Cruger, we're gonna have words, at minimum."
"Don't you tell me I "better" anything! I don't take orders from fake Power Rangers!" Alice shouted before saying in a much softer voice, "Though I'll admit the theme song was catchy and I'll give them points for originality on the whole alien anthro dog with the name of the Egyptian god of death as the leader of SPD, but still," Alice glared at Cruger, "That still doesn't excuse that fact that you are a pretender and a traitor to the originals! And you have the nerve to order me around?! If you were Jason or Tommy that'd be one thing or hell even their replacements when Jason left I might consider listening but seeing as you're not you don't get to order me around!"
"I'll have you know Linkara considered Cruger one of the greatest Ranger mentors ever, even superior to Zordon himself in some areas. Besides," Cruger's face shifted to a smug grin, "would a mere pretender have their own SPD with a mandate from Celestia herself?" He pointed behind him, "to say nothing of their own Delta Base."
Alice was speechless.
"S-superior to Zordon?! Blasphemer! None are superior to him! I don't care what you have from Celestia, you are no Power Ranger!" Alice shouted.
For a time Alice was sorely tempted to kill Cruger right on the spot for defiling her childhood heroes. But then a sudden realization struck her: She was acting just like those psycho Star Trek and Star Wars fans that gave the true fans of those respective series a bad name and poisoned the good rep of Steven Universe. And that thought horrified her to no end. Not to mention when she thought about it, getting angry at a person for liking one of the many spin-offs of the original Power Rangers was rather silly.
"I'm sorry." Alice said in a much softer tone than she had been using.
Cruger waved a hand, "No problem, fan is the root of fanatic. Although I must admit, you have me at a disadvantage. I have no idea who's power set you got saddled with."
"It's hard to explain but the simplest version is that I can have anyone's powerset that I want, provided that they are magical." Alice replied simply.
Cruger whistled, "Man that's handy, what'd you buy to get Displaced as that bag of awesome? I only ask because I'm compiling a database of such things."
"I didn't buy anything, well I did but that's not how I got here. I got sent here by a freebie. What I bought was a complete encyclopedia to the DC and Marvel multiverses, but what sent me here was a free Death Note that was given to me by the person sold me those books." Alice explained.
"Sounds valid, the encyclopedias at least. By the way, concerning the Marvel one, I'd recommend Doc Strange, Ghost Rider, and Arana for sorcerer, DPS tank and assassin respectively." Cruger turned, "by the way, care for some lunch? The ponies here are omnivorous and I'm making bacon cheeseburgers."
"Don't tell me how to utilize my powers. Besides, I don't think I can use the powers of Marvel characters, Black Alice is from DC after all. So unless there's a Displaced version of those characters out there somewhere I'm out of luck. And I've tried but so far no response." Alice growled.
"Well, maybe I can help with that," Cruger opened a portal, "I happen to be a bit of an expert on Displaced gaining powers their base didn't have. By the way, still waiting on whether or not you want lunch."
"Tch I doubt it. As for lunch yeah I could eat. I did skip out on breakfast to attend herbalism class." Alice replied curtly.
"No problem," Cruger replied as they walked through the portal, "lunch should be just a minute, I made the patties ahead of time so I just have to grill them up. By the way, do you still have those books? I was Displaced by purchasing my sword, and messing with it is what unlocked my magical potential."
"If I had them we wouldn't be discussing leveling up my powers in the first place." Alice answered.
"So, your Items disappeared when you got Displaced? A little unusual, but I've heard weirder. One Displaced I've met actually had sex with their Displacer, then got Displaced by getting eaten by a Void Dragon." Cruger chuckled as he set the patties to grill.
"Oh I'm quite familiar with Zinnia's "escapades" and it's not all that weird as it is....arousing? embarrassing? disturbing? Eh I'm sure there's a word for it somewhere."
"To be honest, I was mostly referring to the fact that most Displaced simply appear in a flash of light as opposed to eaten. By the way, small multiverse, isn't it? What are the odds that we both know the same Draconid?" Cruger placed the patties on a platter, "by the way, I'm the guy who put that communication spell on your token, so you have me to blame if you were doubting your sanity when it started talking."
"What communication spell? My token has never talked in the entire time I've had it. But then again I haven't paid much attention to it since my encounters with Zinnia and Umbra." Alice said.
Cruger grabbed a bag of buns from the cupboard as he replied, "First, if you weren't paying attention you might have missed it, kind of hard to hear a cellphone if you left it on your desk at home. Second, you met Umbra too? Man, Multiverse is smaller than I thought. Genderbent Overlord right?"
"Well it's hard to pay attention to it when the Helmet of Fate is giving you lip. Indeed. As for the small multiverse I think it's more that those two are more active and social than other Displaced." Alice grinned as she thought of the crazy Overlady, "Yeah I met Umbra. She is the first Displaced I met and the one who briefed me on what happened to us. What about you?" Alice asked.
Cruger grabbed some condiments from the fridge, "Umbra is the first other Displaced I met as well. Now what say we change the subject before we start freaking out over the cavalcade of coincidences. Grub's up, and before you ask, the bacon and cheese are inside the patties."
Alice stared suspiciously at the food before her, she muttered a quick spell to detect any signs of tampering, such as poison, truth serum or mind controlling thingies and other various drugs. She detected none but cast spells of protection just in case before indulging in the foodstuffs provided.
"So," Cruger asked as he put salsa and hot sauce on a burger, "any bleed through events in your verse yet?"
Alice raised a brow, "Bleed through events?"
"You know, things from your base that appear in your Equestria? That's what I call 'em anyway," Cruger replied before taking a bite out of his burger.
Alice thought for a moment, "Nope. Nothing so far but when Zinnia was with me we were attacked by the Wrecking Crew. Though I have the feeling something big will happen soon. So for now I'm playing the waiting game." Alice responded between bites.
"Man, the one game that even Pinkie hates. In all seriousness, did you try tapping into their powers? While I admit my knowledge of those guys is somewhat limited, I'm 85% sure they're magic types," Cruger asked as he finished off his own burger.
Alice scoffed, "No. For one I was too busy keeping Zinnia and myself alive, for two I already had plenty of magic going on, for three why the hell would I want their powers they suck, not to mention none of their abilities are useful to me. Finally you are correct they are magical."
"While that might be the case, I'd recommend you at least see if you can access them. The last thing you want to do is make assumptions on the limits on both your abilities and those of your opponents, I learned that the hard way." Crugers expression turned thoughtful as he reached for another burger.
"Hmph. Please. I know more about my abilities than anyone else ever could. That's part of the advantage of being who I am, practically no one knows who I am and what I can do. Because Black Alice is a minor character in the comics people don't pay attention to her. They're too busy fawning over the big names like Batman and Deadpool or ridiculous characters like Squirrel Girl or those freaks from FnaF. They never give characters like Black Alice a second thought unless they have a TV show, movie, videogame or is part of the latest stupid meme. Which works for me just fine. Gives me the element of surprise. Which is all the more reason why I'm experimenting." Alice finished her rant and began muttering obscenities from three different languages under her breath.
"I'd still give them a try if I were you, at the very least to see if you can use the powers of those who enter your verse. It's always better to have it and not need it than to need it but not have it. By the way, didn't the Wrecker gain his powers because he was mistaken for Thor?" Cruger asked.
"No. He got his powers in order to beat Thor." Alice replied offhandedly. "Has it even occurred to you that I might already have access to the Marvel universe and I'm just not telling you because it would reveal one of many trump cards hidden up my sleeves."
"What about the fact that I already asked about the whole Marvel ability thing, you said no, and my lie-detector spell didn't go off? By the way, I'm not offended by the check you did on the food, but you could stand to learn a little subtlety," Cruger replied with a slightly smug grin on his face. "By the way, why would we ever come to blows outside of a friendly sparring match?"
Alice gave a savage grin, "Because dear Anubis I'm a great liar and my magics are more powerful than yours, it would be cake to fool your lie-detector spell. I wasn't trying to be subtle I wanted you to know and do I look like the kind of person who would care if you were offended by me ensuring my own safety? I would think a so-called elite cop would appreciate my caution." Alice gave Cruger a funny look, "Its super-hero/super-villain 101. Heroes or Villains nearly always fight each other briefly for some reason or another before teaming up to take on a much bigger goal. It happens all the time in virtually every form of media."
"Well, I tried to be nice, but if you don't want my help," Cruger replied with a shrug, "Black Alice, our contract is complete."
A tumbleweed blew by them.
Alice smirked. "I'm not bound by the usual rules of the Displaced. Much like Zinnia I leave when I want to. Besides I never said I didn't want your help. I just find it hard to believe you can give me the help I need. Last time I checked the Power Rangers's magic isn't as malleable as others."
"I can give you two very good reasons. First, like the original Cruger, I am as much mentor as Ranger, I'm good at teaching. Second," Cruger flipped open his morpher, causing a dozen holographic images to appear in the air behind him, "as I said, I'm an expert in gaining powers outside of your base."
"I also never said you weren't a mentor. But I need a specialist like Dr. Doom or Ibis the Invincible to help me hone my technical magic. But that's beside the point, the real question is how did you know I require aid with my abilities? I never sent out an Ad for a mentor." Alice glared suspiciously at Cruger.
"Because when I summoned you, I offered my services as a mentor if you needed one? Didn't you hear that? I usually hear what the others say when I get summoned," Cruger's face was confused, "by the way, did I not just use magic to get us here? I happen to be this verse's foremost practitioner of Dimensional magic."
Alice thought for moment trying to recall Cruger's message before answering, "I must have missed that part I was in the middle of a class, I assumed you needed my help with something or simply wanted to talk. Dimensional magic is one of the easiest branches of magic there is. Why else do you think weaklings like Twilight Sparkle are capable of it? It's so easy even none magical beings are capable of using it to an extent such as the Flash, Deadpool and the Folding Man. Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissing your skills and I apologize if it seems like I am."
"And that is exactly what I'm talking about, underestimating your opponent's abilities. For you see, the thing about true Dimensional magic," Cruger tossed the bottle of mayonnaise into the air, "is that it can do a whole lot more than just teleport stuff," he launched a beam of blue magic at it, freezing it in place, "such as pin objects in space-time. Go ahead, I doubt Superman could budge it."
"I know that. I was using teleportation as an example. And maybe Superman can't but that doesn't mean others can't." Alice stated.
"True," Cruger waved a hand, causing the bottle to fall into it, "but it's damn useful none the less. Well, nothing personal, but those additional modes you saw? Only got'em yesterday, haven't finished trying them all out yet, mind if we wrap up this little debate?"
"Fine with me. Personally I've been waiting for a monster to attack for sometime now. I could use the practice." Alice closed her eyes and sighed "Where's Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd when you need them? Hell I'll even take that asswipe Tirek or any version of that douch Loki, at this point."
"Yeah, well, let's see if it works this time, Alice, our contract is complete."
Birds chirped in the background.
Alice stared at Cruger blankly "I said it before I don't go unless I want to. And I'm not going until one of my goals is met. You’re the commander of SPD right? That means you must have Zords and or a team of other Rangers backing you up right? I want to see them. Please."
Cruger sighed as he finished his burger, "Fine, I think A-Squad's training right now, but how about we go for an inspection of the Runner Bay?"
Stars appeared in Alice's eyes "Yes! Yes! Yes! Let's do that. While SPD may be inferior to Mighty Morphin they are still Power Rangers and I've always wanted to see the real thing. But alas we don't live in a universe like "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" so this is the next best thing."
"Tis a cruel world indeed, by the way, want your mind blown?"
Alice nodded.
Cruger grinned, "You are currently inside a Zord, what say you to that?"
Alice raised a brow "Which Zord? And prove it. Is what I say to that."
"Delta Command, aka the Delta Base, elevator's right over there."
"Wait, wait, wait. The base can become a Zord?" Alice asked
"You got mad because I was 'impersonating' Cruger, but you don't know what his personal Megazord was? Turn in your Power Rangers Fan Club Membership Card," Cruger held out a hand.
"Ok first of all I wasn't mad you were impersonating Cruger. I was mad because you were impersonating the concept of the Power Rangers which ended when they stopped making sequels with the original cast or their successors and started making spin-offs such as SPD. And of course I wouldn't know what his Zord is I never went past the first few episodes of SPD. And I'll turn in my membership card when I'm dead!" Alice said defiantly.
Cruger laughed, "Alright, just as long as we both agree that the decision they made for Turbo Blue was weird, we're good. So, ready to see the latest advancements in giant robot technology?"
"Ugh, don't even mention Turbo to me. Their movie was bad enough to make bad spin-offs like SPD look as good as Mighty Morphin. Anyway, yes I want to see giant robots." Alice said as her eyes switched from being stars to galaxies.
The two of them entered the elevator, Cruger placing a hand on a scanner, "Runner Bay." With a lurch, the elevator descended. When the doors opened to a catwalk, Cruger pointed down, "sorry you had to see them during maintenance, but I personally like seeing them like this. Well, what do you think?"
But Alice couldn't hear him as she was too busy imagining herself piloting the robots,
"Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself, etc!" her imaginary self shouted as she stomped all over Equestria, destroying everything in sight and laughing maniacally.
As she was in dreamland, Cruger waved over a Griffon who was leading the repairs, "Yo Flare! How are they doing?"
Flare Blast grinned, "We managed to get 2's rotors realigned and were just about to pull the blaster out of 3 for some calibrations."
"Excellent, ahead of schedule as always," Cruger turned to Alice, "want to see the biggest laser gun you've ever seen?"
Alice snapped out of her daydream. "Sure but I doubt it'll be the biggest laser gun I've ever seen."
"We shall see," Cruger turned to Flare Blast, "don't let me stop you."
Flare Blast turned to the crew surrounding Delta Runner 3, "OPEN'ER UP!"
With the push of a button, the right side of the Zord moved outwards, revealing a triple barreled laser pistol so large that Big Macintosh could use the trigger guard as a hammock.
"So," Cruger asked Alice as workponies attached a crane to it to pull it completely out, "Impressed yet, or do you want to wait till they bring out the blade?"
Alice smirked, "While I can appreciate it's size it is still not the biggest I've seen. By all means pull out the blade."
Cruger huffed, "Young people these days, no appreciation for quality, am I right Flare?"
"True enough sir," Flare Blast replied, "we can have the blade out and ready for inspection in 10 minutes if you wish to wait."
Alice snorted, "Please. I appreciate quality but you didn't ask for my opinion on the quality. You asked for my opinion on it's size. And I'm telling you the honest truth: I've seen bigger."
"Mind if I ask what could beat that?" Flare asked incredulously.
Black Alice smiled wolvishly, "Well there's the Brahmastra. Which is pretty much the size of a planet if not a moon. And then there's the various Gundams so yeah."
"Um Gundams are smaller than Megazords," Cruger interjected.
"It really depends on which Gundam you are talking about because keep in mind there are more Gundams in existence then there are Power Rangers. I know for a fact that Epeyon is bigger than the White Tiger Zord." Alice countered.
"While that may be true, have you actually seen any of those in person?" Cruger asked somewhat smugly.
Alice glared at him "And just what are you insinuating?"
"Umbra and Zinnia don't have Gundams, so unless you've met other Displaced who do, or are from an Earth where those things are real, this is the first giant robot you've seen in real life, even if it is in the shop," Cruger explained.
"Well actually I've seen three before I got Displaced. The first was just a giant statue though." Alice admitted.
Cruger stared for a minute, then turned around and placed his head against a wall, "Of course, you've been to the moon, they've been there twice."
"Are you kidding? I have a chair made out of the very cosmos itself with two Suns as armrests. I did that when I was trying out the Spectre's powers. It was very surreal, a lot like that time I went exploring underwater as Aquawoman." Alice answered casually.
Cruger turned his head and looked at her, "Are you done, or would you like to pound on my ego some more, I think there's still some life left in it."
"No I'm good but thanks for offering." Alice said teasingly before bursting into laughter.
"Oh man. You know Cruger, you're an alright guy/dog/alien-thing. I take back every bad thing I ever thought about you. Except for the parts about being inferior to the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, that I still stand by."
"That I can let slide," Cruger replied before turning back towards her and sticking out a hand, "friends?"
"Sure. Anyone who can get me to laugh especially after that emotionally-draining experience I had with Zinnia is ok in my book. Friends." Alice grabbed Cruger's hand and shook it.
"Now are you going to show-off to me your squads or am I going to look for them myself?"
"One sec," Cruger flipped open his morpher, "looks like training is done for the day, so they should be in the lounge." Cruger opened a portal, "what say we take the express this time?"
"Sure. I'm game if you are. By the way, I've been meaning to ask, did Zinnia put the moves on you too?"
"She tried, but I turned her down," Cruger replied as they walked through the portal, "good to see you Rangers."
"Commander Cruger, good to see you," replied Night Stalker, "who's the civilian?"
"A Displaced who refuses to leave until she met you guys," Cruger answered with a sigh, "Rangers, meet Black Alice, Black Alice meet Pearl Spark, Hammer Fist, Evil Breaker, Night Stalker, and you probably recognize Rainbow Dash snoozing on the couch."
Alice was silent. "What color is RD?" she demanded in a tone that sent chills down everyone's spine.
"Red, because she earned it, is that a problem?" Cruger replied, fingering his morpher.
Alice closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "No. I'm just surprised that RD of all ponies made Red considering it's legacy of excellence. I would've figured her for Blue or Black but definitely not Red. So color me impressed." Alice gave a half-hearted smile.
'This RD must be smarter than she looks to make Red. I should give her the benefit of the doubt, after all G'nort became an excellent Green Lantern until he died, so maybe this RD is like him.' Alice thought.
"So," Cruger asked, "ready to go home, or do you have another request."
"Well let me check my list," Alice pulled out a sheet of paper. "Let's see all that's left on the Power Ranger Edition besides piloting a Zord is 'Super-hero Team up with the Rangers to destroy the obligatory monster (that should've shown up hours ago!) and have a sparring match with each Ranger....but I might have to pass on that one in this case."
"Piloting a Zord is out, DNA based security," Cruger replied, "I'm not gonna be one of those guys who lets the bad guys steal a Megazord. As for the team up," he tossed Alice his token, "how about this, you supply the bad guy, I supply the team, it's only been two days since the last one."
Alice smile grew bigger, "Any preferences?"
"Preferably a big one, you want to see the Megazord in action don't ya?"
"Of course! I just wanted to know if there was a specific monster you wanted to fight."
"Well, if you're taking requests, I've always wanted to go up against Galactus," Cruger put on his best pair of puppy dog eyes, "pretty please?"
Alice was shocked at Cruger's request, "Galactus?! Are you crazy? You'd would not only kill yourself and the entire SPD but you would also doom the entire planet. Galactus is way out of your guy's league. Besides even if he wasn't I don't want to risk putting any of the Marvel universes in danger by him being destroyed, injured or imprisoned. He's a necessary evil. Choose someone/thing else
"Fine, Fing Fang Foom then, even if I am at the level where I can curbstomp Tirek when he's at full power," Cruger pouted, "might as well give these guys some practice."
"Now Fin Fang Foom I can do. But be warned Foom is nothing like Tirek, he is actually competent. But for now I shall take my leave. Until next time. SHAZAM!" Alice shouted.
KKKRRAAACCKOOOM!!!!
A bolt of Divine Lightning came down and struck her. And when it vanished, Black Alice was gone.
With a start, Rainbow woke up, "Hey guys, did I miss something?"
It was a peaceful, some would say beautiful day in Ponyville, at least during the morning. Once 1:00 PM rolled around, a portal opened up out of nowhere and launched a figure into he local flower shop. He was dressed in a black suit with colorful armor, a red helmet, yellow arm pieces, and green leg pieces. On his chest was a circular emblem consisting of a red hawk, a yellow lion, and a green grasshopper. Any fan of Japanese live action superhero shows would recognize him as Kamen Rider OOO, although he prefered to be called Katsuo by his friends. [POV Change]
Katsuo groaned as he pulled himself up, using the remains of whatever he had smashed into to pull himself up.
“Damn it. You’re not getting rid of me that easy,” he growled as shook the stars from his vision. He then noticed three familiar ponies looking at him, all completely terrified and shivering in fear. He then took a closer look at what he fell on, seeing it to be their flower stand. “Oh, um. I'm so-”
“MONSTER!” one of them screamed before all three sprinted off.
“THE HORROR! THE HORROR!” another screamed as they fled.
“‘Monster?’ I thought they would've been used to me by now,” he muttered. Then something hit him. “Wait, if this is Ponyville, then why isn't it all messed up?”
Before he could continue trying to figure things out, he heard a familiar voice, “Hey, what’s the big idea?”
“Huh?” Katsuo turned to see Rainbow Dash glaring at him. “Rainbow! You're ok! Wait, what are you wearing?”
“My uniform,” she replied, “now, I’ve never met you before, I think you’re some kind of spy, I’m gonna bring you in.”
“Um, Dash,” said an Earth Pony he didn’t recognize wearing a similar uniform, “I don’t think we can arrest anypony for just acting suspicious, even if they are weird looking.”
“He broke the flower shop,” Rainbow replied, “we can bring him in for destruction of private property, then grill’im. Now, hands behind your back.” Rainbow brought out a pair of handcuffs.
“‘B-Bring him in?’” Katsuo stuttered. “R-Rainbow it's me, Katsuo! You know, ‘Short Stack?’ You and I practice when Applejack is done working me to the bone!” He reached behind and and pulled out Medalijibur. “Remember? You keep asking me to use this in our-”
“He’s armed!” shouted a Thestral in yet another similar uniform.
“That’s it, Morpin’ Time,” shouted Rainbow. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small device, “you guys ready?”
“Ready,” replied the Thestral and Earth Pony, as well as a Crystal Unicorn and a regular Unicorn, as they all pulled out similar devices.
As one, they all held out their devices and shouted, “SPD, Emergency!” They pushed a button on the top, causing a panel on the front to flip open. With a flash of light, they had donned futuristic looking suits.
“Last chance,” Rainbow said while pulling out a pair of blasters, “surrender and put your hands behind your back.”
“Wh-what the-!? Ranger morphs!? What!?” Katsuo spluttered, still trying to process what he was seeing.
“We warned you, Rangers, take him down!” As Rainbow finished talking, she opened fire as the others moved around him to surround him, the Thestral even took to the air above him.
Katsuo crouched down and launched himself onto a rooftop and away from the blasts using the Batta legs. “Damn it. I don’t know what’s going on,” he began before turning the OOO Driver straight and pulling out the three medals. “But if I have to beat you up to get you to listen,” he continued as he grabbed the needed core medals from his leg holsters and placing them in the proper slots. “Then that's what I'll do!” He shouted as he turned the belt buckle and ran the disc along it.
KUWAGATA!GORILLA!CHEETAH!
Katsuo’s armor changed to match the combo before he slammed both his fists together, causing a loud bang to ring out. “Sorry about this. I’ll try to take you down as quickly and painlessly as I can.”
“Likewise,” said a voice behind him. Before he could turn around, he was kicked off the roof by the Thestral. Before he hit the ground, the Earth Pony hit him with an uppercut to the jaw.
Katsuo landed hard on his back and groaned. “OK, maybe I shouldn’t have been talking,” he muttered. He quickly got up and sprinted at the Earth Pony, punching him square in the chest faster than he could blink and sending him flying backwards. The then quickly turned and fired off his fists which struck the two still surprised unicorns. He then drew Medalijibur and raced at Rainbow, trying to cut her along the chest, but she flew up to avoid him. He followed up by firing lightning bolts from his head at both her and the thestral, but both barely managed to dodge.
“I’M SORRY!” he called as he kept firing at them, racing around to try and catch them off guard and at different angles.
As he was chasing them, he was unprepared as the unicorn in pink shot him in the back. As he turned around, Rainbow used the opportunity to deliver a storm of energy bolts from above. While he was attempting to block that, the other Rangers surrounded him and started shooting him from every angle.
Katsuo panted as he fell to his hands and knees. “Ok. Different tactic,” he wheezed. He then sprinted away, dodging blasts and hiding behind a building before switching out his medals again.
PTERA!KUJAKU! TYRANO!
Wings sprouted from his back and took to the skies before turning to face his opponents, shooting blasts of fire from his arm. Some of them retaliated with shots from their blasters or blasts of magic, which he either dodged or blocked with his shield. Rainbow and the thestral flew at him dodging his blasts, but when they got close he activated the Tyrano tail, the extra appendage sprouting from his waist. He spun and smacked Rainbow aside before running his clawed feet along the thestral’s chest, then grabbing him by the neck and diving down before slamming him into the ground.
Before he could celebrate his partial victory, a robotic dog jumped on top of him. Before he could throw it off, it jumped off on its own towards Rainbow Dash, who was holding a metallic bone-like object.
“Time for you to go down, RIC, fetch.” She threw the bone in the air, the dog-bot jumping after it. As it caught it in its mouth, it transformed into a dual barreled cannon, that was caught by the Rangers.
“Oh crap!” Katsuo shouted. He quickly opened the Taja Spinner, pulling out three of the Cell Medals and replacing them with the three Core Medals in his belt before closing it up. He then pulled out the lever at the bottom before quickly bring the scanning disc to it.
PTERA!KUJAKU!TYRANO!GI-GI-GIGIGA SCAN!
“Canine Cannon!” Rainbow shouted as she pulled the trigger, a massive bolt of energy erupting from the barrels.
“SEIYA!” Katsuo shouted, firing off a spinning wheel of energy as he punched forwards.
The two attacks collided in between them, resulting in a massive explosion. The force of it blasted Katsuo back several meters, but since the Rangers were braced for it, the shock wave did little more than buffet them.
“Had enough,” Rainbow shouted, “or do I have to bust out the Rainboom?”
Katsuo groaned as he pushed himself up. “Ok... Five against one... Not good odds.” He shook his head, stumbling a bit as he attempted to not fall over, reaching for a new set of medals and replacing them almost subconsciously. “But, I’d never forgive myself… If I just gave up…”
“Wait! NOT THAT ONE!” he shouted, reaching for the belt, but it was too late. A loud hiss came from the belt as it finished its display.
Burakaaaaawani!
Suddenly Katsuo stood up straight, without any signs of fatigue. The purple lenses on his helmet flashed orange for a moment, a loud hiss accompanying it. After that he quietly took a ready stance, waiting for the rangers to make the next move.
“So, want some more?” Rainbow asked, “fine by me. Fire two, Canine Cannon!”
As the bolt of energy approached Katsuo, he brought his forearms together. His gauntlets flashed and an orange barrier appeared in front of him. Though he was pushed back somewhat, the blast of energy otherwise had no effect.
“Huh?” Before Rainbow could fire a third time, Katsuo charged. Rainbow fired again, but Katsuo actually managed to push forwards against it this time. After it ended he dropped the barrier and punched Rainbow in the face, managing to make let go of the cannon. He quickly followed up with a spinning kick to the face which, right before contact, produced and ethereal orange alligator head that clamped its jaws down on Rainbow’s head before disappearing, causing her to shout in pain as she stumbled back. The others quickly fired at him with magic or their blasters, but he expertly used his gauntlets to deflect them as he charged the Earth Pony.
He attempted slam both his fist on Katsuo’s head, but his gauntlets easily repelled the hit, causing the Ranger to stumble back. Katsuo capitalized on this and struck with another alligator kick, causing him to fly backwards. The two unicorns unloaded on him with magic blasts, only for all of them to be deflected. Katsuo then swung his arms in several fluid motions and a moments later a king cobra rose from the back of his head. The two looked stunned, providing a chance for it to strike, knocking them to the ground with its strikes. The thestral tried to attack from behind, but the Cobra knocked him out of the air before wrapping around him. It quickly raced around and wrapped up the other Rangers before slamming them into the ground in a group.
Katsuo then grabbed his scanning disc and ran it along his belt.
SCANNING CHARGE! *Hissssss*
Three rings of orange appeared, all pointed at the rangers who struggled to recover, before Katsuo ran forwards and then dropped for a sliding kick. As if moved by an unseen force he slid along the ground, weaving through the rings, before leaping up and hitting them with a more powerful alligator kick. The explosion of force sent all the Rangers flying, their morphers deactivating as the flew through the air.
“No… No way…” Rainbow groaned as she struggled to stand up. She saw Katsuo turn to her, watching in fear as he once again brought the scanning disc to his belt.
SCANNING CHARGE! *Hisssss*
The rings appeared again and Katsuo ran forwards. Before he could continue, he was hit by several bolts of energy.
Katsuo looked to see another Ranger riding in on an ATV.
“Commander Cruger,” moaned Rainbow Dash, “sorry, we tried.”
“You did as well as could be expected, now,” Cruger turned towards Katsuo, “I’m Cruger, the local Displaced, and who might you be?”
Katsuo didn’t reply, only taking a battle stance in response.
“Well, looks like somebody’s gone berserker.“
Katsuo once again made fluid motions with his arms, summoning the cobra from his hood, which hissed at it wriggled back and forth, looking for the perfect moment to strike.
“Well, looks like the perfect time to try this out,” Cruger pulled out his morpher, “Pursuit Mode!” A small portal opened on the front of the morpher, expelling a toy sized car that looked like a cross between a police car and a Lamborghini. The buckle on Cruger’s belt split open to hold the morpher as a strange looking bracer appeared on his wrist. Cruger grabbed the car and flipped the back section around, then inserted it into the bracer. “As you Kamen Riders say, Henshin!” Cruger pumped car up and down once, as a voice sounded, Type: Pursuit.
A ring of energy surrounded Cruger, before splitting in two and depositing various new pieces of armor. The armor appeared as if it was made out of pieces of a police car, it even had a set of lights for shoulder pads. The rings then rejoined over his head and turned into a metallic tire, which then attached itself to his back.
Katsuo stepped back a bit, seeming to sense this was a much more powerful opponent. The cobra took a quick bite at Cruger to test his response. Cruger grabbed it out of the air, and then use it to throw Katsuo over his shoulder.
“This is for your own good,” Cruger said, “you need to calm down before you hurt any civilians, or yourself.”
Katsuo quickly flipped to his feet before drawing his sword, holding defensively out in front of him, slowly and cautiously circling Cruger.
“Look, I’m sorry that my team attacked you, but you need to calm down and disengage your Henshin,” Cruger said as he followed him with his head.
Katsuo stopped and reached for his Cell Medals, placing three in the slot of Medalijibur in a slow and methodical manner, almost as though it was instinct instead of conscious decision.
“If that’s how it’s going to be,” Cruger pressed the button on his morpher, “so be it,” he pressed the button on his bracer. The voice sounded, “Hissatsu!”
Katsuo reached for his scanning disc, but stopped. He held still for a moment before slowly lowering his weapon.
“Very good,” Cruger replied, “now, remove your Core Medals so we can talk about this like civilised Displaced.”
Katsuo shifted his driver and disengaged his Rider form. Not a moment later, he fell flat on his face, completely unconscious.
“Huh, good,” Cruger said as he removed his Morpher and Shift Car, demorphing, “now let’s get ya to medical.”
Katsuo woke with a throbbing headache, closing his eyes against the light that, to him felt like looking straight at the sun.
“Ugh… what happened?” he asked aloud.
“You should really be more careful with that thing,” said a voice, “it seems to have some nasty side effects.”
Katsuo looked to see Cruger unmorphed, “how ya feeling?”
Katsuo just stared for several seconds. “I would say Diamond Dog, but I was told they were filthy. Also, that sounds kind of racist. Or, whatever “-ist” is the word for a species.”
“Well, looks like we’re gonna get along just fine then, I hate being called a Diamond Dog.” He held out his hand, “Anubis Cruger, but you can just call me Cruger.”
“Katsuo Pollux,” he replied shaking his hand. “So what hap-? … Oh wait, now I remember. I did a full combo, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, Cobra, Turtle, Crocodile to use the English terms, and based on the footage it looked like you knew that it would happen.”
“Sort of. I guessed since I wasn’t empty of desire it might have an effect on me, unlike Eiji, that it might make me go berserk.” Katsuo’s eye’s widened with fear and realization. “Oh god, what did I do?”
“Smack around my Rangers and do some property damage, you’re lucky I showed up when I did,” Cruger sighed, “could’ve been a lot worse.”
“So… I didn’t kill anyone? Or hurt any of the townsponies?”
“Nope.”
“OH, THANK GOD!”
“Glad you’re feeling better, now,” Cruger parted the privacy curtain, revealing a bruised but okay Rainbow Dash, “I believe you have something to say?”
“Fine,” said Rainbow Dash, “sorry I called you a spy.”
Katsuo just chuckled. “Heh. No problem. You kinda did that to me to first time we… wait no, no that doesn’t make sense. Why are you a Ranger?” he then turned to Cruger. “And why have I never heard of you before? And why isn’t Ponyville all messed up from chaos magic?”
“Well, this is new, usually first timers are the home team,” Cruger said, “tell me Katsuo, have you ever heard of something called, the Displaced?”
Katsuo shook his head.
“Well anyway, you were at a convention dressed up as a fictional character, bought something from a shady merchant that your costume was missing, and was sent to an Equestria before you could blink with the abilities of said character, am I right or did something slightly different happen?”
“Well, pretty close. I was dressed up like Eiji and I came across a Kamen Rider Joker tending a stand with a crap ton of Kamen Rider stuff. I bought a ton of it from him, all my money actually. Then all of a sudden he offered to cure me of my ailment and changed into Kamen Rider Kabuto. Then he became Decade and said I was chosen to be a Kamen Rider. I… I kinda shook his hand without really thinking and then he changed into some creepy looking shadow… thing with glowing red eyes and a creepy smile. Then I… um… accidentally got sent to the moon with Nightmare Moon… and am kind of responsible for Greeeds appearing in my Equestria…” he finished, looking both ashamed and embarrassed at those last two.
“Yeesh, talk about an oopsie,” Cruger replied, “so, I assume that Discord broke free just before you arrived?”
“Yeah, that’s…” he began only for realization to dawn on him again. He then reached up and grabbed Cruger by his suit. “YOU’VE GOT TO SEND ME BACK! I HAVE TO STOP DISCORD! I’M THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN!”
“You’d be surprised, tell me, do the girls have the Elements?” Cruger asked.
“YES, BUT IT DIDN’T MATTER! RAINBOW DASH RAN OFF! EVERYONE BUT TWILIGHT GOT HYPNOTIZED! TWILIGHT, OH GOD TWILIGHT SHE JUST GAVE UP! I COULDN’T FIND CELESTIA AND I WAS THE ONLY ONE LEFT! PLEASE, IF I DON’T GO BACK SOON, HE’LL-!”
“Hold it there buddy,” Cruger interjected, “we’ll go back right now. 5 bits says Twilight either already got things under control, or is well on her way. Now, just need to lock onto your Dimensional vector and,” Cruger opened a portal, “voila.”
Katsuo practically leaped into the portal, a look a pure desperation on his face.
“Someone’s a bit hasty,” Cruger said as he followed. They arrived just in time to see Katsuo’s Mane 6 blast Discord with a fully functioning Elements of Harmony, “I believe you owe me five bits.”
Katsuo merely replied with a quick “I agreed to nothing,” before springing towards the girls and Spike, calling out to them and practically tackling them to the ground.
“Oof! Watch it, Short Stack!” Rainbow Dash said as she struggled to pull him off.
“Oh thank God, you’re all back to normal!”
“Yup! No more greys here!” Pinkie added happily.
“What did I tell ya? I told ya that they’d pull through,” said Cruger.
“What the-? Who in the hay is this feller?” Applejack asked, looking completely stunned.
“Goodness! This is the first time I’ve seen a Diamond Dog who actually knew who to take care of his appearance! And he’s done quite the fantastic job as well,” Rarity commented.
Cruger frowned, “I know we haven’t met before, but not only am I not a Diamond Dog, but I dislike being called one, why does that happen every damn time, thank you for the compliment though, name’s Cruger.”
Before Rarity could even properly apologize Twilight sprung up, producing a quill and a notepad. “A new species!? Please, tell me about yourself! What kind of food do you eat? What sort of habitat do you find ideal? Are there more like you? What’s your governmental system-?”
“Twilight!” Spike shouted, cutting her off.
“Oh, um… sorry,” Twilight said sheepishly.
“Not a problem, I can answer whether not there are more of me, the answer is yes,” Cruger pointed at Katsuo, “there’s one.”
“Huh?” the seven replied.
“I’ll explain on the way to Sugarcube Corner, you girls beat Discord, that calls for a celebration, I’m thinking cookies.”
“But we need to inform Princess Celestia!” Twilight exclaimed.
“Done,” Spike said simply before burning a scroll and sending it away.
“And I’ll get on those cookies!” Pinkie added.
“See Twilight, we have time,” Cruger said, “besides, I’m going to be teaching you about something, wouldn’t you like that?”
“L-Like what?” she asked, her eyes showing anticipation.
Cruger gestured with a hand while walking towards Sugarcube Corner, “As I said, we shall walk and talk. Now, have any of you heard of the Multiverse Theory?”
Twilight practically began salivating as her eyes shined.
“Oh boy, now you’ve got her going,” Katsuo groaned.
“Well, as you know, but the others probably don’t, there are literally an infinite amount of worlds, some very different, others similar. For example, I met Kats when Discord sent him into my Equestria, where he met another Rainbow Dash.”
“‘Kats’?” Katsuo parroted. “... Huh, kinda like it. Better than ‘Short Stack’, at least.”
“Hey, you know you like it,” Rainbow said with a soft punch to the shoulder.
“Yeah, I guess so. Right back at you, Bird Brain,” Katsuo replied, responding with his own punch.
“So, what was that about another Rainbow Dash?” Spike asked.
“Like I said, I was in another Equestria up until five minutes ago. It had it’s own Celestia and Luna, it’s own version of all of you guys, even it’s own *sigh* Discord. Hey Rainbow, mind doing me a favor and doodle on him with permanent marker later? My Discord locked me in my own home for a thousand years, so as you can imagine I don’t like him.”
“An amusing thought, but I’d like to avoid stooping to his level,” came a voice from the doorway. Everyone turned to see Princess Celestia walking in.
“Princess!” Twilight exclaimed. All the ponies and Spike got up and bowed to her. Katsuo quickly fumbled out of his seat to do the same.
“At ease, my little ponies. I left my guards behind so I wouldn’t have to deal with such formalities.” She then turned to face Cruger. “And I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure?”
“Not in this verse ‘Tia, but I helped raise you and Luna in mine,” Cruger nodded his head slightly, “Commander Anubis Cruger, head of Royal Guard Special Division Space Patrol Delta, Grandmaster of the School of Dimensional Magic, and foremost expert on the Displaced in at least 5 separate universes. And before you ask, Katsuo and I are Displaced, and I was just about to explain what that is to your student and her friends here, and you are welcome to join us.”
“‘Displaced?’” she asked.
“Basically, the same situation I was in,” Katsuo explained. “He went to a con like me and bought something from a shady merchant that brought him to another version of Equestria.”
“Although, from the sounds of things, not the same one I met. The one most Displaced have had the misfortune to run into generally don’t give their targets a choice,” Cruger added.
“Interesting. So would that make you a Kamen Rider as well?” Celestia asked.
“You’d be half right,” Cruger said, “I’m actually what is known as a Power Ranger, which was adapted from a series known as Super Sentai, which is made by the same people who do Kamen Rider.” He turned to Katsuo, “guess that kinda makes us cousins in Displacement, of a sort.”
Katsuo smiled back. “I wouldn’t mind having an extended family. Although I guess this would make you an honorary Apple as well.”
“Yup. Katsuo here’s been stayin’ with us down at Sweet Apple Acres,” Applejack explained. “It’s the least we can do for ‘im, what with everythin’ he’s done for us.”
“Glad to see that Apple Hospitality is a multiversal constant.” Cruger grinned, “Also ‘Tia, there are more kinds of Displaced then just Rangers and Riders. Pokemon, Dragonball, One Piece, Overlord, DC Comics, there are probably more kinds of Displaced than the amount of possible combinations for a three scoop cone of ice cream, and that’s only taking into account the fictional works they could be based on, to say nothing of the individual characters themselves.”
“Oh man, can you imagine what could be out there? Superman? Goku?” Katsuo smiled. The his expression turned more fearful. “Oh crap, and what else could there be? Kefka? Galactus? Oh man, there could be some real nasties out there.”
“Just because their base is a bad guy, doesn’t mean that they are. For example, I met a Majin Buu displaced that helped defend a city, Baltimare unless I’m mistaken, from a localized zombie apocalypse. Anyway, I’m holding out for a Toriko Displaced. Have you tasted the food a standard Equestria has? Imagine what they could do with something like Ozone Grass?” Cruger drooled slightly.
“Uh… what?” Rainbow Dash asked. The two Displaced looked to the rest of the group and saw that they were utterly lost.
“Oops? Uh, guess we got carried away,” Katsuo said nervously, scratching the back of his head.
“Girls, remember what you do when Pinkie does something crazy?” Cruger asked, “just do the same thing when Displaced talk about such things, don’t question it.”
“Please don’t remind me,” Twilight muttered.
“Anyway, if you could continue the story. How exactly did you two meet?” Celestia asked.
“I’m not really sure myself,” Katsuo replied. “I’m holding my own against Discord, and then something falls out the sky and hits him in the head. He picks it up and the next thing I know I’m falling out of the sky and I crash into a flower shop.”
“Sounds like he had a little fun with my Token, which brings me to the next lesson on the Displaced, as well as the only thing we really have in common, the ability to create Tokens.” Cruger turned to Pinkie, “Did you happen to see a silver badge around where you beat Discord, around yea big?” he made a triangle with his thumbs and first fingers.
“You mean this?” she asked, holding up the item in question.
“When did you-?” Rarity began to ask.
“Plot convenience. Happened offscreen.”
Rarity just stared. “...What?”
“Huh?” Pinkie replied quickly.
“Pinkie Pie,” Cruger simply said, “don’t question it, do exploit it. Anyway,” Cruger took the badge, “this is my Token. Think of it as my calling card, you can use it to call me into your verse if you need a hand, or just somebody to talk to. All Displaced have the ability to make one, care to make one of your own?”
“Uh… I guess I probably should. So, how do I?” Katsuo asked.
“Quite easily, step one, select an item that represents you, I’d recommend a Cell Medal in your case, unless you have a better idea?”
“Not really, no,” he replied before reaching down for his belt, only to find it wasn’t there. “What? OH NO! WHERE IS IT!?”
“Like I’d leave something that powerful in lock up,” Cruger said, opening a portal and taking out Katsuo’s OOO Driver, “hope you don’t mind that I removed it, standard procedure and all.”
Katsuo sighed as he took it back. “No, I guess I should’ve expected. I did kind of beat up your top agents,” he replied before slapping the driver to his waist, causing the belt to appear. “I really need to apologize to them for that,” he continued as he reached into side pack and pulled out a Cell Medal. He then noticed that the straps on his legs that held his Core Medals were gone. “Guess you took those too, huh?”
“As I said, standard procedure,” Cruger replied before removing them from the portal as well, “and don’t worry about it, your little altercation was completely self defense until you went berserk, it was Rainbow’s fault for assuming.”
“YOU WENT BERSERK!?” Twilight shouted, equal parts upset and terrified.
Katsuo flinched. “I-It was an accident!”
“HOW WAS THAT AN ACCIDENT!?”
“I-I was getting smacked around. I-I did a combo without really thinking. My hands kinda moved on their own,” he explained, shrinking down like a child being scolded by their mother.
“Now, now, nopony was hurt and we learned from the experience,” Cruger said.
Twilight growled but then sat back down. “We’re not done here,” she proclaimed with a stern gaze. Katsuo nodded sheepishly in response.
“Now Token creation step two, infuse the chosen object with some of your energy and add a message that the other Displaced will hear when they find it.”
“‘Add energy?’ How would I do that? I don’t have any magic.”
“Try concentrating on it maybe?” Cruger said, “if a Monkey D. Luffy Displaced can do it, you can.”
“Hm.” Katsuo closed his eyes and focused on the Cell Medal, picturing it in his mind as he held it in his hand. “... I think I’m starting to feel something.”
“No kidding! Look at that!” Pinkie exclaimed.
“Huh?” Katsuo opened his eyes and saw that the medal was glowing faintly. In addition, so were all the medals in his side pack. “Whoa!”
“Huh, that’s new,” Cruger said, “granted, I’ve only been present for the creation of one Token other than my own but still. Anyway, any idea what your message will be?”
“So, this message, it will be what every other Displaced that gets this token hears?”
“Unless it glitches out and fails to play, yeah.”
“Hm…” Katsuo closed his eyes and thought about it. After a few moment he stood up. “To anyone that needs a helping hand, to those who fight to keep hope alive, just flip this medal and Kamen Rider OOO will come to your side,” he said before smirking and flipping the medal in the air before catching it. “Free of charge.”
“Actually, I needed it for the final step anyway,” Cruger opened a portal and tossed it in, “have a Displaced with the ability to do so send it out into the void so that it can multiply and go to various Displaced,” as he closed the portal, another one opened over his head and dropped a medal, “this one is mine.”
“Oh good. I was afraid I was going to have to do that for a bunch of those myself. They may not be Core Medals, but they’re still valuable,” Katsuo said. Then a smile began to creep onto his face. “Say, any chance I can commission some work from you?”
“No problem, you’d actually be the second one I’d be doing it for,” Cruger replied with a grin, “what do you need?”
“Do the names ‘Candroid’ and “Ride Vendor’ mean anything to you?”
“Oy, big order there, I’m pretty sure I can work up some schematics,” he held up Katsuo’s Token, “at least we don’t have to worry about powering the things. However, I’m gonna have to ask for something in return.”
“Ok. What would that be?”
“Nothing big, I’m putting together a group of various Displaced to find out more about the Displacers. It’s not a whole lot you have to do, just whenever you find something out let me know about it using the communication spell integrated in my Token.”
“That sounds acceptable. I don’t know how much help I’d be, though. I’ve been here for a few months and you’re the first Displaced I’ve met, and I doubt the Displacers are more likely to show themselves. Though, if I could tell you one thing about the guy who sent me here, he seemed… well, I don’t want to say ‘nice’, but certainly not evil. He even said he’d make sure my family knew I was still alive before he sent me here.”
“That’s already new information,”Cruger said, “as for not meeting Displacers, I know a Displaced who is, shall we say intimate friends with theirs. Anyway,” Cruger opened a portal, “one last thing before I leave, under normal circumstances, which this obviously isn’t, you can send a Displaced home by saying ‘X, our contract is complete’, replacing X with their name of course.”
“Gotcha. But, uh… I can’t exactly let you go back alone. After all, I kinda need my Core Medals back. And I want to apologize to the Rangers. And, um… I was kinda hoping for… maybe one other thing?”
“What is it?” Cruger asked.
“Um… I was kind of hoping… I mean, if you have the chance… Possibly- Oh screw it, can you train me?”
Cruger grinned, “not a problem, if you don’t mind ‘Tia?”
“Hm… I suppose it would be worth it. I can take over the responsibilities of fighting the Yummy’s for a while,” she mused.
“Oh crap, I didn’t think about that!” Katsuo slapped his forehead. “Celestia’s the only other one here who’s strong enough to deal with the Yummy’s! Even the girls can barely hold them off long enough!”
“Not exactly true,” Celestia smirked.
“Huh?” they all asked.
“You’ll find out soon.”
Cruger grinned, “I think I can guess, I can’t wait for the birthday.”
Celestia blinked, confused. Katsuo, on the other hand, slapped his head again. “I really should’ve been looking for someone else to wear it, shouldn’t I? I guess I’ll start on that when I get back.”
“What do you mean?” Celestia asked.
Katsuo smirked. “You have you surprises, I have mine.”
“Hold on a moment! If you’re going to be training, I want to be there, too!” Twilight exclaimed. “If I’m going to be your support I need to be familiar with everything you can do,” she explained, pulling out the case full of the backup Core Medals.
“Well… Is that Ok?” he asked Cruger.
“Assuming Ponyville can handle two Twilights, I don’t see why not,” Cruger gestured towards the portal, “ladies first.”
“Aw, come on, how bad could it-?” Katsuo began.
“DON’T JINX IT!” everyone aside from Twilight and Celestia shouted.
“I know. I mean, I’ve heard it, and I believed it, but to actually see it.”
Both Twilights were just staring at each other, poking and prodding each other with fascination.
“How long do you think this can go on?” Katsuo whispered.
“Not sure, might be a while,” Cruger whispered back, “maybe we should come back? The Delta Base has security cameras in case they do anything worth watching.”
“I dunno, this is pretty fun to watch as it. Egghead in stereo,” Rainbow Dash joked.
“Tell ya what, tonight we can go to the security office and grab a copy of the tapes, I’ll bring the popcorn,” said Cruger.
“Deal. So, how we gonna start this off? I kinda want to get back at you for kicking my flank, Squirt,” Rainbow said with a smirk.
“I preferred ‘Short Stack’,” Katsuo mumbled.
“Come on,” said Cruger, “dojo’s this way. You can spar with them while I get started on your order, what is a Rider without a Ride?”
“... A Walker?” Katsuo replied.
Cruger chuckled, “Gonna have to remember that one. Think you can take it from here Rainbow? I have to design a vending machine that turns into a motorcycle that can combine with a robotic can of soda.”
“Seriously?” Rainbow asked.
“The theme of the show was ‘Desire’, and what better representation for that than things that resemble and run on money?” Katsuo responded.
“Yeah, though I much prefer Fourze if you don’t mind me saying so,” Cruger said as they approached an elevator, “workshop.”
“I couldn’t pull off the pompadour. Besides, OOO was the one that got me into Kamen Rider. I found it’s theme about balancing abstinence and greed pretty mature myself. Also, lots more combos.”
“To each his own,” Cruger said as the doors closed, “what about Wizard? 9 separate forms that can be used safely, a whole lot of magic spells that would make Twilight drool, plus that message about not giving into despair is one to live by.”
“Hey, they’re all good, but I’ll always have a soft spot for my first. Besides, I felt I related more to Eiji at the beginning. It made me feel like I could actually help people instead of… just being a burden.” Katsuo deflated a bit at the end.
Cruger frowned, “I’m sorry that you ever felt that way. However, I feel compelled to quote Spider-Man, when you took that Driver, you gained great power, and with great power…”
“‘Comes great responsibility.’ Seriously, you might as well design a religion around that kind of outlook.” Katsuo then turned to Rainbow. “So, are you lost yet?” he smirked.
“Nah,” said Rainbow, “8 years of living in the same town as Pinkie taught me to just roll with this kinda stuff.”
“A sound philosophy,” Cruger said as the doors opened, “now if you’ll excuse me.”
“See ya later boss,” said Rainbow, “dojo.”
“Maybe since it’s only one of you, I might be able to win this time,” Katsuo grinned.
“Yah right,” Rainbow grinned back, “morphers aren’t allowed in the dojo, no fancy armor for you.”
“... I’m so screwed.”
Rainbow’s grin turned slightly evil, “that you are.”
Katsuo gulped. “It’s for my own good. It’s for my own good,” he kept muttering to himself.
“Don’t worry, nothing’s going to happen until we get there.” As rainbow said that, the doors opened.
“Morning Dash, good to see you up.”
“Phft, like a few bruises could hold me down for long, I’m too awesome for that.” Rainbow turned to Katsuo, “Squirt, meet Night Stalker, Evil Breaker, Hammer Arm, and Pearl Spark.”
“The other Rangers?” Katsuo asked.
“Hey Dash, who’s the bloke?” asked Hammer Arm.
Rainbow Dash sighed, “The guy we fought yesterday that Cruger chewed me out over.”
Katsuo stepped forward and quickly bowed, bending completely at the waist. “I’m so sorry for what I did. I didn’t mean to cause trouble or wound your pride. Please, accept my apologies.”
“No problem,” said Pearl Spark, “we blame RD for that.”
“Hey,” Rainbow shouted indignantly as the other’s chuckled.
“Th-Thank you. Honestly, I thought you’d be angrier,” Katsuo said as he rose. “Um, my name it Katsuo Pollux. But you met me as Kamen Rider OOO.”
“Please, we got hurt worse during training,” said Evil Breaker, “such, brutal, training.”
Katsuo gulped. “I, um… might be going through that training,” he whimpered.
“Yeah,” said Rainbow, “think you guys can help whip Squirt here into shape?”
“I don’t know,” Pearl Spark said with an evil grin on her face, “think we should start with the pool, or a round of Dodgeball?”
“Um… I may be setting myself up here, but… dodgeball?” Katsuo suggested hesitantly.
“He asked for it,” said Night Stalker, gesturing to a metal door, “might as well give it to him.”
Katsuo gulped and walked towards the door. Opening it, he found himself in a large spherical room, with holes erratically spaced on the walls.
“Have fun,” said Rainbow as she closed the door behind him.
“Wait, I’m not against you guys?”
Before he could say anything else, balls started shooting from the holes in the walls at random.
“SONUVABITCHAGODDAMNITWHYYOUEVILBASTARDS!” he screeched out as dodged the incoming projectiles.
“Gonna have to do more than just dodge,” said Rainbow’s voice from a speaker, “this ends when you hit 100 of’em.”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, ‘HIT’!?” he shouted back, only for one to come flying at his leg. He quickly pulled it back and kicked the ball back, luckily managing to knock another one headed for his face away.
A holographic counter appeared, on it was ‘Katsuo: 002’.
“Huh,” he mused. “GAH!” he then shouted as he ducked away from another headed for his head.
What then followed was a display that could not be described as ‘graceful’ by any definition of the word. Katsuo flinched away from most of the balls, managing to smack away some that were in prime condition for him to kick or punch away, but for the most part just dodging in almost cartoonishly exaggerated motions. To his credit, though, not a single ball had struck him. At least not for the first two and a half minutes. After that Katsuo’s low stamina started to catch up with him, and it was all he could do not to have every inch of his body turn black and blue.
Then, almost out of nowhere, things changed completely. Katsuo grit his teeth, held his ground, and proceeded to rather impressively punch and kick any ball that headed his way with almost machine-like precision. Within another few minutes the exercise was over and the doors opened to reveal an impressed looking A-Squad. Before any of them could say anything, however, Katsuo fell to the ground and began wailing in pain.
“OOOOOWWWWW! OH GOD, IT HURTS, WHYYYYYYY!”
“That is somehow both one of the most impressive and most pathetic things I’ve ever seen,” Night Stalker commented.
“ICE, PLEASE!”
“Not a problem,” said a voice he didn’t recognize. Before he could see who it was, a thin layer of snow covered every square inch of him.
Katsuo screeched like a little girl before his scream quickly morphed into content sigh as he pressed himself further into the snow. “Thank you.”
“I see you’ve met Sorrow Song,” said Cruger. Katsuo looked up to see a white pegasus mare. “Due to certain circumstances that she doesn’t wish to share,” Cruger continued, “she has a particular affinity for ice and snow. Still don’t know why she’s content as being just my personal assistant.”
“Pleasure to meet you Katsuo,” Sorrow Song said, “always nice to meet someone new, as long as they’re not annoying.”
“Likewise,” he replied with a smile as he rolled over onto his back, sighing contently. He then turned to face A-Squad. “Do you guys go through this every day?”
“No,” said Night Stalker, “only on wednesdays, on other days we do other exercises of similar difficulty.”
“And I’m gonna have to do those, aren’t I?”
“Yep,” said Cruger, “care for a drink?” In his hand was a bright red can.
“Yes, but somehow I don’t think I’m going to be getting it from this,” he smirked as he took the can and popped the top.
With a sudden motion, the can unfolded into a robotic hawk. “Actually,” Cruger said, “you will. Mind getting him some water?” The hawk screeched in response, and went to grab a bottle of water from a bin in the corner.
“What is that?” Hammer Arm asked.
Katsuo squeed as he took the bottle. “Taka Candroids! Yay!”
“Only a prototype,” Cruger said as it suddenly stopped moving, “I figured out a way to create them out of Cell Medals, but using normal aluminum gives them a bit of a power capacity problem, I ran out just before I made this guy.”
“‘Aluminum?’ I think they need to be a bit tougher than that. The Taka, Tako, Kujaku and Ptera Candroids can actually attack and damage Yummys. I think maybe we should call the Sparkles in to help out.”
“Like I said,” Cruger replied, “this was a prototype to get the design,” he pointed to a rough looking device on a trolly behind him, “and that is a the prototype for the Candroid Dispensor. Give it a try?”
Katsuo got up, groaning as he did with joints popping before bringing the OOO Driver to his waist and summoning the belt. “What functions does it have?” he asked, reaching for a Cell Medal.
“Not a whole lot,” Cruger replied, “it takes a Cell Medal, renders it into a material it can use, and forges a Candroid out of it. Right now it’s hardwired to only produce Takos, but the version that I’ll put in the Ridevendor will be able to create any Candroid it has the data for.”
“Alright then.” Katsuo inserted a Cell Medal into the coin slot and pressed the button. The blue can fell to the bottom and he picked it up. He was about to pop the top when he stopped and grinned. “Hey Dash? Dodgeball!” he shouted, popping the lid and throwing it at the mare. The can opened into a small octopus they kept afloat by spinning its legs like helicopter blades as it flew towards Rainbow.
“Heh,” Rainbow said as she dodged it, “that’s kinda awesome.”
“From what I can tell,” Cruger said, “a single Candroid has the ability to run continuously for 15-20 minutes. After that, it dissipates.” He held out a hand, the Candroid flew back towards him and collapsed back into a can, “Also, they can remain in can mode pretty much indefinitely,” he continued, tossing it back to Katsuo, “and the final version will have them obey whoever ordered them, just in case Twilight or somepony else wants to use them for something.”
“That’ll probably be best. I don’t want anypony to be sunk if I’m not around,” Katsuo agreed. “Also, it’ll probably be best if Twilight could get the schematics so she and a few others could remake them in my world. Wouldn’t want to have to bug you all the time for a resupply. Could probably help out the Royal Guard, too. From what I understand, they don’t do so well against the Yummys either.”
“Don’t ask me how to spread the cans around,” Cruger replied shrugging, “I’m just designing them. Speaking of which,” Cruger pulled a sheet of paper from his coat, “you don’t mind if I make some original Candroids do ya? Say hello to the Wani Candroid.”
“No way!” Katsuo exclaimed as looked at the specs. “You’re updating it! That’s awesome! Man, you know how to go the extra mile!”
Cruger just shrugged, “to be honest, I just like creating my own arsenal for existing Riders. The Orange series Candroids are designed to assist in combat. The Wani’s snout can not only deal damage by biting, but can also function as a drill for subterranean movement or for armor piercing attacks. The Kame Candroid will have a shield generator, and let’s just say the Cobra Candroid will be a spitting cobra.”
“Nice! How are their Cell Medal collecting abilities? I don’t have an Ankh to help me with that?”
Cruger shrugged, “not too great, but that’s the focus of the Grey Series. You did see what the Gorilla Candroid can do right? Why mess with something that works.?”
“Eh, I guess I’m a guy who likes covering all his bases. Like when I fought A-Squad and I chose GataGoTah. Super speed, powerful melee, and two projectile options.”
“To each his own,” Cruger shrugged, “now, I think you might be interested in your results from Dodgeball.”
“You mean where I looked like something out of Looney Tunes chase sequence?” he rolled his eyes.
“Actually,” Sorrow Song interjected, “your final time was 11th best overall, and you currently hold 7th for most balls dodged.”
Katsuo just stared at her for a few moments, blinking. “You mean… I don’t suck?”
“To be honest,” Cruger replied, pulling up a holographic screen, “you almost did. Look here.” On the screen was a recording of Katsuo’s run. “For the first 2-3 minutes, you were a dodging machine, if balls dodged was counted towards your score, you would have completed it in 2:18. However, fast forward to 3:08,” the image on the screen shifted accordingly, “you run out of steam, looks like we should focus on your stamina. However, something interesting happens at 4:49, take a look.”
The screen showed Katsuo taking down balls left right and centre, “Yeah, I was kind pissed right then, but Rainbow Dash, uh I mean my Dash, taught me that getting pissed is the best way to lose. So I I just focused on venting out my anger on the balls without going mad like an idiot. It wasn’t until after it was all done that I realized how much my arms and legs hurt from hitting the balls.”
Cruger nodded, “I’m of the personal opinion that harnessing your anger instead of suppressing it is the way to go. As you can see,” Cruger gestured at the screen, “it can be quite effective if done correctly.”
“Yeah, too bad it doesn’t stop the damage,” he said as tried to make a fist, only for his fingers to crack and pop, the pain being too great. “Man, I’m gonna feel this tomorrow.”
“Never said it did,” Cruger said. He looked at a clock on the wall, “Think we should check on Twilights?”
“Yeah, that would probably be best. Need to make sure they eat, and I want to stop them in case things get… weird.”
“Like they haven’t already,” Cruger chuckled, “by the way, that reminds me, is your Equestria vegetarian?”
“Yeah,” Katsuo sighed. “Celestia sends me some meat when she can, but that’s like once a month and only enough for two or three meals. My protein comes mostly from eggs and nuts.”
“Man am I glad I got sent to an omnivorous Equestria,” Cruger looked at Katsuo, “want some burritos tonight?”
“What kind?” Katsuo asked, his eyes wide like a madman.
“I usually use ground pork, but if you have a preference?”
“Steak. It’s been too long since I’ve had cow. Oh, and can I have some lamb, too? Maybe a gyro? Oh, and the spicier the better.”
“Nothing personal,” Cruger said, “but I already got the fixings for burritos ready, but I can change it to steak fajitas if you’re that fixated on it.”
“I’LL TAKE IT ALL!” Katsuo shouted in a fervor. “I WANT EVERYTHING! BARBEQUE RIBS, HONEY-BAKED HAM, PULLED PORK SANDWICHES, BEEF CHILI-EVERYTHING MEAT RELATED YOU HAVE! I HAVE NO IDEA WHEN I’LL BE ABLE TO EAT SOMETHING MADE PROFESSIONALLY AGAIN!”
The room was quiet as they saw the saw the boy panting like a madman with a disturbingly wide smile and drool starting to drip down his chin.
“And now I am really glad I got sent to an omnivorous Equestria,” Cruger said with a slightly disturbed look on his face, “you good?”
“Uh huh,” he replied with a quick nod.
“Uh… wipe your face there, champ,” Dash commented.
“Huh?” the boy asked, only to notice the feeling of wetness on his face. “Oh God!” he cried as he quickly grabbed his shirt and started to wipe. “Oh, I am so embarrassed,” he muttered.
The cafeteria was silent for the most part, most of the attendants not moving an inch. Some cautiously ate their food, but all had their eyes glued all the new arrival.
Katsuo shoved another fajita in his mouth, devouring quickly. Barely seconds after swallowing he began to attack a pound burrito, the tube of food quickly disappearing with each rapid bite. The sound of a wood chipper being dubbed over the scene would’ve seemed rather appropriate.
“So, how’s the salad K’light?” Cruger asked.
“Huh? Oh, um, it’s pretty… Wait, ‘K’light’?” the Twilight from Katsuo’s universe asked.
“Katsuo’s Twilight, and until further notice, my Twilight is C’light,” Cruger said, “unless you want to be confused if we call you both the same thing.”
“I don’t know how I feel about those names,” C’light commented.
“And I don’t think those names will stick anyway,” K’light commented.
“Hey K’light, hey C’light. Enjoying the show,” Rainbow asked as she sat down from grabbing seconds.
Both of them groaned and narrowed their eyes at her.
“Uh,” Cruger said, “I am sorry.”
They both sighed. “It’s not so bad,” they both replied simultaneously.
“Egghead in stereo,” Rainbow chuckled.
“Ok, see, I’ve gotten used to that one,” they both said, again at the same time.
“Are you sure you haven’t rehearsed that?” Cruger asked.
“Rehearsed what?” they asked.
Katsuo almost spat out his food, barely managing to hold it in and then swallowing before laughing out loud. “You don’t even know you’re doing it, do you?” he asked through his merriment.
Rainbow laughed as Cruger merely chuckled, “I know, you two are almost the same pony, but this is ridiculous.”
“Yeah, ‘almost.’ Those really caught me off guard,” K’light said as she pointed to her counterparts’ wings.
“Sorry,” C’light said, “but Cruger said it would be a bad idea to tell you how I got these.”
“Nothing personal,” Cruger said, “but messing with timelines is just asking for trouble.”
“No kidding. I’ve watched Back to the Future,” Katsuo added after swallowing his food.
“If I may ask, how are things different?” K’light asked.
“Now that I’m a princess?” C’light replied.
“Now that you can fly,” the other clarified.
C’light cringed, “actually…”
“She’s not that great,” Rainbow said, “although she is getting better, she only crashes on landing once every 10 times now.”
“Dash,” C’light moaned as Rainbow snickered.
“Wow, she makes it sounds like even I could give her lessons,” Katsuo smirked.
“To be honest,” Rainbow said, “you’re not too bad, not Wonderbolt material, but not bad.”
“Wait, me or her?”
“Kats,” Rainbow deadpanned, “what did you think I meant?”
“Just checking. So, what’s the rest of our day look like?”
Cruger looked at his morpher, “Well, I have to get back to the workshop to work on the framework for the Ridevendor, even with a time dilation field and an internet connection to earth, that’s going to take a while. You Kats, have a date with the track.”
“Running? That shouldn’t be too bad. I’ve built up a little leg strength working with Rainbow and AJ.”
Katsui shrugged. “Hey, it’s not like I thought you’d go easy on me. Besides, I didn’t hear anything about being beat up, and it’s not like I was expecting to break any records around here anyway.”
Cruger shrugged, “Suit yourself, just don’t expect dinner until you’re done, you and K’light are invited to my apartment, and I’m making pizza.”
“I’d really like to take a look at the video feed of Katsuo’s fight with A-Squad. From what you told me, the Berserk mode he went into didn’t sound quite like the way he warned us it might be like,” K’light said.
“Not a problem, Rainbow can show you to the AV room,” Cruger said, “that reminds me, I have a theory about your combos that might help you control them.”
“All ears,” Katsuo replied.
“Well, I have absolutely nothing to back this up,” Cruger began, “but it seems that each combo has a different form of berzerk, your orange combo was a cold, calculating, I’d say snake like berzerk. Well, since each combo has a different berzerk, maybe, just maybe, each one is based on a different kind of desire as well. If you can gain a mastery over different kinds of desire, you may have a mastery over the equivalent combo as well. Like I said, that’s just a theory, but it’s something.”
“So, until I master it, they’ll each be a different flavor of crazy? Yeah, that’s comforting,” Katsuo groaned. “It’s certainly an idea, but I hope you don’t mind if I say I won’t be testing that anytime soon.”
“Never said it would be,” Cruger said, “just that I had a theory. Well,” Cruger said while standing up, “I’d best be off, Katsuo, ladies.”
Katsuo wave, before turning back to his food, only to stop mid bite.
“What’s wrong?” K’light asked.
“... I just realized that maybe I shouldn’t have eaten so much,” he groaned before banging his head on the table. “This running is going to suck.”
(3 days later)
“Man, I’m not feeling so good,” said Katsuo. Over the last three days, he had been through a veritable gauntlet to increase his stamina, his weakest attribute, and hone his reflexes, his strongest. But now it was time for his greatest challenge, full contact sparring.
“No offense, but I’m kind of impressed you’ve lasted this long at all. Even I was starting to wish I’d never signed up for this by the last day of training,” Hammer Arm replied.
“No offense taken. I know I’m a twig. That’s what happens when for nineteen years of your life you’ve had to avoid even running to fast lest you trip break every bone in your body.”
“Luckily for you,” said Cruger, “we’ll be starting you off relatively light.” He gestured towards a unicorn mare, “Meet Marri O’ Nette, she’s a member of B-Squad, which is just below what it takes to become a Ranger, although it’s mainly because she applied literally the day after A-Squad was chosen.”
“And now I understand why you said ‘relatively’,” Katsuo commented before walking up to shake her hand. “Nice to meet you, though I hope you don’t take it personally that your name makes me a bit nervous.”
“Just as long as you don’t call me by my full name,” she replied, shaking Kats’ hand, “the only thing you have to worry about is me taking you down on the mat.”
“Um… Ok. What do I call you then?”
“Just Marri will be fine,” she said as they walked to the mat, “now, shall we?”
Sorrow Song was refereeing, “Best of three hits, morphers, magic and flight are prohibited. Marri, are you ready?”
Marri took a stance, “Born.”
“Katsuo, are you ready?”
“My ass is ready to be kicked,” he joked as he took his own stance.
“Begin.”
Marri started things off with a sweep kick which Katsuo which he quickly hopped over and away from, putting more distance between him and her. Using her crouching position, Marri chased after him using a slide tackle. Katsuo managed to dodge to the side, but was hit by a surprise sidekick.
“Marri, point,” said Sorrow Song as Katsuo and Marri went back to their starting positions, “round two, begin.”
Katsuo took the initiative this time, taking a roundhouse kick at her head. Marri managed to duck, but Katsuo used his momentum to continue spinning and deliver a kick to Marri’s legs, which she couldn’t avoid.
“Katsuo, point, final round, begin.”
Katsuo charged forwards, raising his leg for a kick, before quickly dropping it and sidestepping, then punching towards her chest. Marri swept it away, throwing her own punch in the same movement. Katsuo managed to stop the attack, grabbing her by the wrist, before pulling her towards him for a gut punch. Marri managed to twist her body almost out of the way, but Katsuo’s fist managed to clip her abdomen.
“Katsuo, point,” Sorrow Song said as various gathered spectators either cheered or groaned, depending on who they had bet on, “victory Katsuo.”
“I… I won?” he muttered.
“You really don’t have a lot of confidence in yourself, do you?” Rainbow Dash commented.
“I… I guess not. Like I said, I’ve only been at this for a few months. You guys are professionals.”
“Don’t be so modest,” said Marri, “while that little tap might not have done anything in a real fight, the way you set it up was a textbook counter.” She made a small bow of respect, “I may be excellent at reading feints, but you are a skilled fighter in your own way.”
“Well,” said Cruger, “looks like we know what your forte is, countering. By the way, I’ve never heard Marri lie about things like that, and getting a compliment from her is high praise indeed, both reasons I chose her as your opponent.”
Katsuo blushed as he scratched the back of his head. “Um, heh, thanks.”
“Anyway,” Cruger continued, “looks like you’ve got the basics down, I think you’re ready to go home.” He pointed at a vending machine in the corner, it’s display window showing two red cans, two blue cans, two black, and two orange.
“Sweet! Did you give the schematics to K’light?”
Cruger held up a file folder, “Actually I was waiting until just before you left so she couldn’t lose them.”
“Never said you would, I actually only finished it this morning anyway.” Cruger sighed, “Create a device that turns coins of solid energy into robots, easy; create an engine that runs on said coins, even easier; create a vending machine that turns into a motorcycle? not so much.” Cruger shook his head and turned towards Katsuo, “Ready for a test drive?”
Katsuo put the OOO Driver on his belt and but in three Core Medals before activating it.
TAKA! TORA!BATTA!Ta-To-Ba!TaToBaTa-To-Ba!
Katsuo pulled a Cell Medal out of his side pack and was about to put it in before he stopped. “Um, should I really be activating this in here? I would think you wouldn’t want tire marks all over the dojo.”
“True,” Cruger said. With a snap of his fingers, a series of portals transported everyone, and the Ridevendor, outside.
“That is almost unfairly convenient,” K’light commented.
“Hey, maybe you’ll figure out how to do it one day,” Katsuo said before depositing the Cell Medal into the machine. It quickly closed in on itself before falling forwards, now in the shape of a motorbike with the engine already revved up. “So cool,” he whispered before mounting the vehicle. Then, for a moment, he just sat there. “Um… I just realized I’ve never driven a motorbike before. Or a motor anything, actually.”
“Well,” Cruger said simply, “good thing that you’re wearing armor.” He passed the folder to K’light, “Here you are, it also contains the blueprints for the four types I’ve finished, Taka, Tako, Gorrila, and Wani. Also, Red Series is for Aerial Support, Blue for Tactical, Green for Information, communication and the like, Yellow for Pursuit, Grey for Collection, Orange for Combat, and Purple for Extreme, at least that’s what I’m going to follow.” He grabbed a styrofoam box out of a portal, “For you Kats, just a little something to get you through the month, apple smoked bacon.”
The next moment the cycle came to a screeching halt right in front of Cruger, Katsuo leaping off like a lion pouncing on its prey. Cruger barely managed to dodged as Katsuo grabbed the box and landed on the ground.
“My preciousssssss,” he hissed as he affectionately rubbed his head against the box.
“Yeah yeah Gollum,” Cruger chuckled, “just don’t eat it all at once.” He turned to K’light and handed her a helmet, “I think you’re gonna need this.”
K’light took the helmet and placed on her head, strapping it into place. “Hey, it fits perfectly!” She then used her magic to lift Katsuo and his new prize up on the ground. “Doesn’t interfere with my magic either! Thank you!”
“Just something I picked up from the local sporting goods store, it’s the same kind C’light uses,” Cruger said, “she always wears one when she flies.”
“It’s not because I’m bad,” C’light said, “I’m just being safe.”
“Uh huh, sure,” said Rainbow causing C’light to give her the stink eye.
“Well, um. I guess we’d best be off. Thank you for all your help,” K’light said with a quick bow after removing the helmet.
“And though I doubt you’ll need it, if you guys need a hand, you can call on me!” Katsuo added with a thumbs up. “Us tokusentais’ gotta watch each other’s backs.”
“That we do,” Cruger said, “one thing before you go, when I make a new Candroid, hold my Token up to a Ridevendor so it can download the schematics, I included a wireless network in them so you only have to do it once.”
“No problem,” said Katsuo.
“Alright then,” Cruger said, “Katsuo, K’light, our contract is complete, see ya on the flipside.”
“See ya,” said Katsuo as a portal opened in front of the Ridevendor. “Hop on, Twi!”
“Um, ok,” K’light said before putting on her helmet before joining him. He revved the engine and drove the vehicle the few yards he needed to before entering the portal.
"Well," said Rainbow, "they were certainly interesting, weren't they C'light?"
C'light groaned, "I reallyhope that doesn't stick."
"Don't worry, that'll be gone next chapter," said Pinkie, as everyone else just stared, wondering what she meant and where she popped out from.
Case 19: Space Marines, Spartans and Rangers, Oh My
Cruger was riding hard towards the Apploosan Desert, he’d felt a signature that felt like an incoming token, but unlike the others it wasn’t in his general area. Granted, he was on his way back from negotiations with the Minotaurs, but it still puzzled him.
He arrived at the site to discover not one, but two tokens, although they were slightly different from the others he’d acquired. ‘Man,’ he thought to himself, ‘Good thing I found these before somepony else, these are dangerous.’
One was a simple looking assault rifle, it looked somewhat familiar but he couldn’t place it. The other looked like a cross between a chainsaw and a machete. As he picked them up, he heard a pair of voices.
"This is Sebastian of the Dark Angels Chapter... And I'm Spartan Sebaste-915 of the UNSC.... Together, we are humanity's last hope in the future. If you're in need of the galaxy's most powerful supersoldiers, or if you are needing to bring Death to the enemies of the Imperium and the UNSC, we will answer the call... AVE IMPERIATOR, FOR THE UNSC, FOR TERRA!
Cruger chuckled to himself, “Another paired Displacement huh? That being said,” he crossed them over his head, “Sebastian, Sebaste, I’d like a word.”
A portal opened up, but something wasn’t right, a bright light could be seen coming out, then a cry of “AAAUGH!” was heard as two armored figures fell out of it followed by a plume of fire.As the portal closed, one of the figures said, “Damn it, Rainborg’s gonna pay for that!” before noticing Cruger.
“You’re the one who summoned us?” The figure asked, revealing himself to be a red and silver Halo 4 Orbital Spartan with a few Mk.IV (B) armor pieces mixed in.
“That I am, call me Cruger, Power Rangers SPD Displaced,” Cruger said, “might I have the pleasure of knowing who you are?”
“The name’s Sebaste, my friend in the Adeptus Astartes armor is Sebastian, but he prefers to be called Sasha.” The Spartan said, “SPD, ey?, I’ve seen a few episodes of it, really good show!”
“One of my favorites of all the Power Ranger series,” Cruger replied, “though if I knew back then what I know now, I might have gone with Kamen Rider Drive instead.” Cruger looked up at the sun, “Looks about noonish I’d say, Appleloosa’s not far off if you’d rather continue this in a more comfortable environment, I don’t suppose you have a Warthog?” Cruger asked while looking at Sebaste.
“Warthogs? Why ride one of those when you could ride this?” Sebastian said before summoning a Land Speeder Tornado.
“Because I know what Sebaste’s base is and not yours?” Cruger asked sarcastically as he straddled his ATV, “Follow me, and try not to shoot anything.” As he said that, he rode off.
Both augmented humans lept into the Land Speeder and followed Cruger to Appleloosa, as they headed towards the town, Sebastian asked, ”Have you ever heard of Warhammer 40,000?”
“That I have,” Cruger replied, positioning his ATV so that it was about 2 feet in front of the Land Speeder, “but my only exposure to it was a copy of it that I got secondhand that wouldn’t let me play it because of reasons, and a few episodes of ‘If The Emperor Had A Text to Voice Machine’.”.
“I’ve always been a WH40K fan, the army that I would play most were the Dark Angels, but when I went to that convention, I was going as a Astartes from that chapter, and now, I’m stuck as one thanks to that thrice damned merchant!” The Astartes said, “Since then, it’s been a rough time for me, both me and Sebaste had just come back from fighting Empire forces with a few other Displaced on the Alliance…”
“I’d like to hear about this Empire/Alliance thing, but first,” Cruger said as they arrived at the outskirts of the town, “you should put that away. It’s badass looking and all, but I’d rather not have the entire town run off before we get to eat. Hope you're hungry, this Equestria is omnivorous, and I know a place that serves the best meatloaf this side of the Griffon Kingdoms.”
“Don’t worry about that.” Sebastian said before making it vanish, “Let’s see about that meatloaf.”
Cruger led them through the streets. While the various inhabitants, pony and buffalo, were a bit nervous about the two heavily armored humans, Cruger managed to put them at ease. They stopped in front of a medium sized building. “Welcome to Cracker Barrel’s general store and eatery,” said Cruger, “Amazing the parallels you’ll find in the multiverse isn’t it?”
“Yep, it is amazing.” Sebaste said, deadpanning under his helmet at the irony of it all, “So, I’m guessing that you have your own version of the Rangers here?” He asked Cruger.
“Have it, I founded it,” Cruger deadpanned back as he held up three fingers at the mare responsible for seating. As she lead them to their table, Cruger continued, “I’ve been through some crazy stuff since coming here a thousand years ago, I even helped raise Celestia and Luna.”
“You helped raise the Princesses?!” Sebastian asked in disbelief, “How did that work out?”
“First thing I did when I got here was save them from a kidnapping attempt,” Cruger said, “Second was convince their mom I wasn’t the one trying to kidnap them. Sweet Apple Acres Black Label,” Cruger told the waitress.
“When we first arrived in our version of Equestria, we got Twilight out of a tight spot with some Timberwolves, but soon after that, we were attacked by a squad of Chaos Marines.” Sebaste said,” And before you ask, our Twilight’s still a unicorn. After we fought them off, we trained as Guard Reserves.”
“Pity I couldn’t see her like that, I got sealed by Discord inside my own base when he first popped up, and only woke up to knock Tirek into next week,” Cruger turned to the waitress, “I think they’ll have Black Label as well.”
“Haven’t encountered him yet, and we’ve met Discord, at least a version of him on the Alliance ship.” Sebastian said, ”I’ve met a lot of Displaced, but there is one group you need to avoid, Ahriman and the New Black Legion, we’ve had the...displeasure...of meeting them when Ahriman summoned us, and after we managed to beat two of his entourage and wound a third, they’re out for our blood.”
“Well, at least you don’t have to worry about fighting giant monsters every week,” Cruger replied as he looked over his menu, “that’s how it’s looking like my life is turning out. Hmm, do I want the meatloaf or the fried chicken?”
“I’ll do the fried chicken.” Sebaste said, while Sebastian chose the meatloaf, “Well, we’ve had to fight two mobs of Orks, and a small Covenant remnant storm lance, plus a tyranid swarm. We ended up having to summon two displaced to help defeat the orks.” Sebastian said.
“My usual interactions with Displaced normally consist of me helping them by teaching them something, on second thought I’ll have the hamburger steak, and we’ll all have Mac and Cheese and grits for sides.” The waitress nodded and took their menus. When she left, Cruger continued, “By the way, mind filling me in on what you were talking about earlier, the Alliance and Displaced and all that?”
Sebaste nodded,”There’s a massive war going on between two factions of Displaced, The Empire of Nightmares and the Alliance of Heroes. Both of us are with the Alliance, and just recently, there was a prison break on one of their ships. The Empire tried to save some of their commanders but both sides were stopped by a third faction, the Neutrals. This war is known as the War of Shadows, and many Displaced have flocked to it.”
Cruger whistled, “sounds serious, mind if I ask how it got started?”
“Two Displaced, Lee and Folteren, were going after a whackjob named Killjoy, and Folteren’s daughter Darkaloo, who’s his version of Scootaloo, was accidently hurt in the fight. Angered, Folteren killed Lee’s Twilight and things escalated from there. Now multiple Displaced have joined this war, and we’re the newest additions to it.” Sebaste explained, “And it’s not pretty, I can tell you that.”
Cruger steepled his fingers, “I’ve heard of worse reasons to start a war, but not many. Mind explaining who the neutrals are?” Cruger asked as the waitress returned with their drinks.
“Not much is really known about them, but what I do know is that they’re like the police force of the war, and that it’s a good idea not to annoy them. We know, because we’ve faced off against one.” Sebastian said.
“Nothing personal,” Cruger said as he sipped his drink, “if I were to join any side in that, I think I’d be a neutral.”
“Hmm, it would suit you.” Sebaste mused, “Out of curiosity, who’s on the A-team?”
“Well, the only member of the Mane 6 on it is Rainbow, Red if you’re curious. I’ve also got a thestral, an earth pony, and two unicorns, all very skilled.”
“Rainbow’s the Red Ranger? That’s impressive actually, it would suit her, though I thought she was Wonderbolt material…” Sebaste said, he then looked up at the doorway, “Um, don’t look now, but I think we’ve got company. And I don’t mean the friendly kind. ”
Cruger looked to see a group of rough looking stallions. “Let’s ignore them for now,” said Cruger, “If they do cause trouble, there's one for each of us.”
Sebaste nodded and sat back down. “Sorry, being a Spartan usually I’m always on the edge in case something popped up.” he said.
“Good policy, as long as you don’t descend into total paranoia, looks like our lunch is coming out.” As the waitress exited the kitchen with their food, the three stallions started making unwelcome advances towards her.
“Come on,” said one of them, “what mare wouldn’t want a piece of me?”
“I believe you mean us,” said another, “so hot stuff, how about a little rodeo?”
“Excuse me,” said Cruger, “I believe that she’s not interested.”
“Shove off, Diamond Dog,” said the third stallion as the other two laughed.
“Diamond… oh you just crossed a line,” said Cruger. He turned towards his two guests, “Anyone else feel like being a gentleman and assisting the young lady?”
“You don’t have to ask.” Sebaste said, cracking his knuckles.
“This should be good…” Sebastian smirked as he summoned a pair of Lightning claws, “So who wants Ugly number one?” He asked the other two.
“Who are you calling ugly?” said the first Stallion.
“Did I say ugly? I meant stupidhead number one.” Sebastian taunted, “By the way, did your mom dance with a goat or something? Because you’re being a ‘butt’ head!”
“Why don’t we take this outside?” said the second.
“Sounds good to me,” said Cruger, “Mind holding onto those for a minute, my friends and I need to work up an appetite.”
“We’ll see who’ll be walking back in here, and who’ll be crawling in pain,” said the third.
“Then let’s start with you.” Sebaste said before grabbing said stallion and throwing him out the door, while Sebastian tossed the other two after their fellow and walking outside.
“If you don’t mind me saying, some might consider that overkill,” Cruger said as he cracked his knuckles, “that said, I don’t. Try not to do anything permanent.”
“Believe me, I’ve managed to do more damage on Rainborg, I don’t plan on killing a few hoodlums!” Sebastian laughed, before delivering a powerful punch to one of the stallions charging at him, “Here’s a knuckle sandwich for ya!” He said as the stallion was send flying.
“Well, as long as you’re careful, go ahead,” Cruger said as he put the second stallion in a headlock.
Sebaste ducked under a wild haymaker from the third stallion, then delivered a hammerblow that stunned him long enough for the Spartan to summon a battle rifle equipped with stun rounds. A few shots later and the stallion was unconscious within seconds. Sebaste then looked up just in time to see Sebastian go flying from a well placed buck.
“OOF!” The Astartes grunted, before summoning a power maul and slamming it on the stallion’s head, knocking him out instantly.
“Now, I thought the Emperor’s chosen would be able to handle small fry like these,” Cruger teased as he held his stallion on the ground, “I managed to take mine down in 3 moves, without resorting to using any weapons, you boys need to practice your CQC.”
Sebastian glared at Cruger, “I did have him, he caught me by surprise! And for your information, I usually use close combat weapons in battle.”
“While that may be true, you should both brush up on your unarmed CQC, might come in handy.” Cruger turned towards the stallion he had pinned, “Now, how do we treat mares?”
“With respect.”
“And why don’t we insult people?”
“Because they might be able to kick my flank.”
“Nice guess, but wrong,” Cruger said as he twisted his arm a little more, “Try again.”
“Because I should treat everyone how I’d want them to treat me?”
“Very good,” Cruger said as he let them up, “Now get your friends to Doc Brown, and tutor them on what I taught you.”
“Yes sir,” he said as he moved towards his fallen comrades.
“Good lad.” Cruger turned towards the others, “Now, I don’t know about you two, but I’ve worked up an appetite.”
“Same here.” Sebaste said as he took his helmet off.
“You’ll have to show us the HQ sometime, it’s pretty interesting that it turns into a Megazord” Sebastian said as they went back inside.
“Maybe another time,” Cruger said as they arrived at their table, “Right now I’m starved.” As they sat down, the waitress arrived with their food, which they then proceeded to devour.
“Throne, that was great!” Sebastian said as they exited the restaurant, “I really missed eating meat.”
“Agreed, it’s been a looooong time since I’ve had chicken.” Sebaste said in agreement.
“Glad you liked it,” Cruger said as he picked his teeth with a toothpick, “I’ve got a little something for ya before ya go if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.” Sebaste said, “What is it exactly?”
“Just a little something to help you with your CQC,” Cruger said as he opened a small portal and pulled out a book, “SPD hand-to-hand training manual, should come in handy.”
“Thanks Cruger, and it was an honor meeting you.” Sebastian said,”May the Emperor smile on you and help you.”
“And may your mind be as sharp as your blade,” Cruger replied, “Our contract is complete.”
As the portal opened, Sebastian handed a pair of lightning claws to Cruger and said,”These are The Wolf’s Claws, a specially made pair of lightning claws that allow you to be able to move as swift and silent as the wolves of Fenris. Use them well.”
“Nice,” Cruger said as he took them in his hands, testing the feel, “Should come in handy for a stealth build.”
“Which Spartan armor do you like, really quick?” Sebaste asked.
“I’m not well versed in the different kinds,” Cruger admitted, “But if you’re offering, something streamlined, with a lot of storage pouches.”
“Hmm, let’s try this..” Sebaste summoned a suit of Scout armor with a Commando chestplate and GUNGNIR shoulder pads colored in grey and silver, “This okay?” He asked Cruger.
“Looks good,” he said as he opened a portal to put it in, “you don’t mind if I mod it a bit do ya?”
“Not at all.” Sebaste said, then both he and Sebastian entered the portal to their universe.
After the portal closed, Cruger grinned to himself, looking at his new Claws, “Well, I know what I’m doing when I get back.”
Peering into the gloom, Marri knew she wasn’t going to see anything but shifting colors of green standing out on sun dappled hillside, but even from there, the scent of the forest, of soil, rich with the bodies of countless fallen plants and animals, of waxy resins and candied nectars all caught on the gentle breeze, it sent a shiver down her spine. It was so peaceful, but she knew better.
Sliding up the palm-sized motion tracer from its thin, brown plastic carrying case strapped to her right leg, Marri thumbed down the silvery power-button, watching as the liquid-black screen morphed from a dull reflection of herself to a dull mossy screen, and waited. The device, compensating its backlighting for the additional sunlight, needed at least a few seconds for the 220 kHz sound waves, something she’d been assured was far above any animal’s range of hearing, to finish bouncing off the landscape and returned to parse out the ambient movement signatures likely to be a creature from those likely to be the forest.
Holding a thumb to the bottom of the screen for three seconds, the light vanished and sent out a vibration, silent, as per her specifications, down her hand and forearm. Sliding it back into the dulled casing, she briefly recalled the odd little pony responsible for it, Steam Gear. She’d heard many things about that shamrock unicorn across the mess hall. Rumors of hour-long rants against imagined slights from nobles he’d never met to arguing with voices in his head abounded, but if there was one thing everypony was quite certain of, it was his unprecedented skill in all things magi-mechanical. They would have to be. It certainly wouldn’t do to have members of engineering come to their crew chief with questions he couldn’t answer outside of permission for more funding. That was for the colts in accounting to decide. And, much to her surprise, the personal request for a portable motion sensor had proven a relatively simple feat for the, decidedly chipper, pony, who’d managed to build the damned thing himself in a single afternoon.
Descending the hill, Marri, refocusing on her objective, diverted from the trailhead, stepping directly into the dense, undisturbed foliage of the Everfree Forest. Immediately, bits of fern and low hanging branches assaulted her from all sides, no doubt disappearing any number of burs and stickers into her fur and mane that she’d be combing out for weeks to come. Taking it slow, recalling the videos and guides of the forest she’d been reviewing for the past two weeks, she paused, allowing her eyes to adjust to the seemingly perpetual twilight of the fabled woods. Chirps, squeaks, and all manner of rustling and fussing came at her from all sides, nearly overwhelming, but Marri wouldn’t, couldn’t, let that stop her. She had to do better. Had to make up for her defeat at the hands of Katsuo The Displaced.
Ears swiveling, eyes straining to catch every piece of information surrounding her, to decide how much of a threat, if any, it posed, Marri came short, a small clearing in the forest opening before her. She immediately zeroed on the infamous cluster of tiny blue flowers sparkling under the pitiful rays of what meager sunlight had stolen down from the canopy. Of course she wasn’t in any particular danger, at the moment, but all the same, she found herself holding her breath as she edged around the stationary threat, now glad of how the dense foliage stifled the air, making it that much harder for the wind to lift the cursed pollen from the prankster plants’ petals.
Moving forward, her thoughts returned to her failure. A single week of training with the commander, and that was all it took for him to eke out a win over her. Was she really that weak, or was he simply that strong? True, that last winning point-strike wouldn’t have so much as knocked the breath from a filly, but he was like the commander, a displaced. What good was she if she couldn’t defeat something like that? Had it been anything but a simple hand-to-hand sparring match, she doubted she’d have landed a hit at all.
She’d heard the talk in the mess hall. When Katsuo had “arrived”, nopony was ever any less vague than that, he’d transformed, much like a Ranger, but… different. And even before his training with Commander he’d managed to take on the whole of Alpha Squad and hold his own, quite readily if Evil Breaker’s account was to be belie-
*BZZZt* *BZZZt* *BZZZt*
‘That can’t be right,’ Marri thought, eyes scanning the brush-riddled horizon. There should have been a steady increase to the vibrations if she were approaching something big enough to send the A.M.T. into such fits it was threatening to shake out of its case.
Darting aside, she put her back to a conifer whose trunk was nearly twice as big around as she was tall, noting the strangely tropical looking trees ringing it.
Still keeping watch around the small clearing, Marri slid the A.M.T. up, just to the bottom of her vision, and saw the motion ring. It was little more than a darkened distortion of the forest, sections flashing briefly red before falling back into the background noise of the surrounding plant-life, but it was closing in on her. Sliding the scanner back in place, powering the distraction off, it wasn’t going to help her anymore now, she waited, painfully aware of the deafening silence.
A whispering hiss was all the warning Marri was given before verdant streamers began exploding from the treetops. Lighting her horn, streak of violet seeping through her lionesque mane, Marri’s vision swept the squirming green floor, as long ropey strands, big around as her wrist, twined tightly back together, creaking under their own pressure.
‘Vinepers,’ Marri cursed, already moving down the list of things she didn’t have. Fire, ice, electricity, any manner of elemental spellwork would have been useful to neutralize or at least slow down the circling beasts, had she use any of them. Nearly despairing, she also noted the long, purple petals that frilled the sides of their heads. Poisonous monkshood or foxglove no doubt, though she was unwilling to take a closer look in the gloom. ‘Theymust have been strung up along their way here,’ she thought, slowly losing track of their full numbers as they slithered across one another, tightening the circle, ‘not that blunt-force trauma would do me any good against things that can just keep pulling themselves back together again.’
‘I’ve only,’ she thought, spellwork crafting upon her horn, ‘got one,’ vinepers rising up like a grove of misshapen saplings for the strike, ‘chance.’
All at once the orb of magic, just contained within her mane, burst. Hundreds of wiry strings twisted through the air, sending the vinepers to strike, their reedy fangs glistening with venom sap, disrupting a third of the clustering strings before they hit their mark, buying her a few precious seconds more as the magic struck the dirt. Yanking her head back, exposing her throat, the glowing strings held for a splintered second before audibly snapping back, dragging up the shadows pitched against the surrounding vinepers, trees, and bushes. No time to dull the edges, thin arcs of blue fire flared along the shadow blades edges, literally cutting through the air. Too thin to singe so much as a dust mote, they shrank, even as they passed soundlessly through the vinepers.
The light of the fires consumed the flickering shadows, the spell sputtering to an end without anything for the magic to anchor on, as Marri leapt towards the heads of the five vinepers blocking her exit. The heads fell, the meager displacement of air she created at her fore and in her wake being all it took to impart the gravity of the situation to the encircled predators.
Dashing back the way she came, branches smacking into open eyes she dared not close for fear of tripping over some unseen root or rock, Marri grunted back a sudden cough. Her stunt would only give her seven seconds tops before…
*CRACK*
‘Keep breathing,’ she thought, not allowing herself to focus on the sound of trees breaking asunder in the lightning-wake of the vinepers rage merged into one massive and angry snake. Her horn ached, sending twinges of pain coursing down her scalp and into her neck thanks to her crude spellwork, and almost missed the drop of blue in the ocean of green.
Realigning, Marri cut through the meadow, running side by side to the returning poison joke before crashing back into the forest, the keening roar of the giant vineper sending all manner of wildlife scurrying for their holes and squawking into the air. More prey for the vineper to distract itself with for all she cared, glad to hear that even other plants held a healthy fear of those flowers.
Breaching the last of the forest, Marri blinked hard, blinded by the brilliant light of the unobstructed sun, skidding to a halt as she continued to suck in more air to appease the fire in her lungs. When white in her eyes cleared, she saw the trailhead she’d left not but thirty minutes ago.
Her horn gave another twinge, shaking her from any budding thoughts of running along the edge of the forest and keeping the danger from coming to Ponyville as her ears flicked away in annoyance from the cacophony of birds’ busy shouting in the treetops behind her.
‘But if the birds are giving away their positions, then…’
She let the thought fall as her knees turned to jelly, landing unceremoniously on her rear, tail bunching up to one side. Her brown, knee length shorts and green t-shirt now, scratched as they were from her ‘surprise journey’, let in the breeze, chilling its way across her sweat stained fur. Nothing immodest, thankfully, but she would much rather nopony see her in such a trashy state.
Unhooking the water bottle from her belt loop, unscarred and unblemished from her hike into The Everfree, she began drinking her way back to some semblance of normality, plans for the next performance already under way. Though, maybe not until next month, nopony just falls into the sort of power Katsuo had after all, you had to work for it, and that meant knowing when to recuperate, and especially knowing what questions to follow up on to make sure you could perform.
Cruger was walking through the Whitetail Woods searching for the source of a strange anomaly. In a small crater, he found a small statue of what looked like a cross between an egg and a seed, as well as a hexagon shaped device.
“Is this? Please say it is,” Cruger said as he picked up the device and placed it on his wrist.
“Hi, we are Jack and Jen, The Spectrobe Masters. If you are in a position that is too big for you to handle alone, or simply want to talk, just hold this token in the air and call on us and we will come to your aid.”
Cruger grinned as he tapped the device, causing it to open up, “Cruger to Spectrobe Masters, you are cleared to verse jump.”
A worm hole then appeared above Whitetail Woods before a spaceship exited it and flew by overhead. Cruger summoned a small ball of light in each of his hands and started waving in the direction of a nearby clearing for them to land in. As it turned to land, Cruger grabbed the fossil and went to meet it. He arrived at the clearing just as the vessel powered down its engines and the door opened.
“Well Jen, it appears we are in someone's reality. and being I saw someone with some lights guide us in, I can imagine they’ll be able to tell us more about why they needed us.” Said a red haired human male as he walked out of the spaceship.
“So we were summoned? But by who?” Said a feminine voice before a human girl with pink hair followed the boy out of the same spaceship.
The red Haired boy then looked towards Cruger before saying “I’d guess the guy infront us Jen… maybe it would be better to ask him?”
“Jack? I think I know who that is…” Jen said as she stared at Cruger with bugged out eyes.
Jack then looked towards Cruger before saying “I’m sorry she going to be fangirling for a while… sorry in advance.”
“Not a problem,” Cruger replied, “she won’t be any worse than the last fan I met.”
“And now we need to worry about Murphy’s Law” moans jack whist pinching the bridge of his nose.
Cruger merely grinned, “The last one was an emo chick who called SPD a cheap knockoff, I don’t think even Murphy could beat that.”
“You really are going to wish you hadn’t said that” admitted Jack.
“Probably,” said Cruger, “now, mind helping me with this?” Cruger held up his fossil.
“Cruger just asked us… to help him…” Jen muttered with a grin that could rival Pinkie Pie’s before fainting.
Jack then sighed before picking her up bridal style, “Sorry about that… yes we can help you, follow me.” With that he turns back around gesturing for Cruger to follow him back into the ship.
“I can slightly relate,” Cruger replied as he followed, “before this happened to me, I was an engineer. Tinkering helps me keep in touch with my old self, as well as a way to give me and my allies an edge. I wouldn’t mind showing her my private workshop when we’re done here.”
Jack then smiles before saying “that it does, and I bet she would be likely to lose it.”
“What happened?” Jen asked groggily as she started to wake up from fainting.
“You fainted because Cruger asked us to help him with a fossil he found... please don’t say you found it in your universe.” Jack muttered hopefully.
“Maybe?” Cruger said sheepishly, “I did find it beside your token, it could have just hitched a ride?”
“Let’s hope that’s the case, we don’t want too many people dealing with the Krawl.” admits Jack
“Nothing personal,” said Cruger, “but i don’t think they’ll be a match for my giant robots.”
“Krawl can assimilate machines… and some can be as big as a megazord if given time to grow…” Jen said while blushing at her current situation, “Jack? you can put me down now, I’m starting to get embarrassed…”
Jack then smiled before saying “What? I thought you wanted to spend time with me.” before putting her back on the ground
“If you don’t mind me asking,” Cruger interjected, “the relationship between you two is…”
“He’s my boyfreind…” Jen said before trying to act as professional as possible, “Sorry about earlier… I’m a huge fan of Power Rangers…”
“As am I,” said Cruger, “how do you think I got stuck with this handsome mug?”
“I would say muzzle but that would probably end with a bad pun.” Jen giggled, “So you found a fossil? which one?”
Cruger held up his fossil, “It's been a long time since I’ve played, but i think it’s call a Seg...something.”
Jack then looks at it before saying “I think it’s the fossil for Segu… would you want to take it as your spectrobe?”
“I wouldn’t mind,” said Cruger, “I already met someone who’s gonna help me get a Pokemon, why limit myself?”
“This displaced thing just gets more and more fascinating!” Jen giggled to herself before hurrying off. “I’ll prep the lab!” She called back from a room she went into.
“If you don’t mind me saying,” Cruger said to Jack, “she crazy. That said, I’ve met crazier.”
“She may be crazy… but heck she’s the only one I need.” admits Jack
“Gah! get back here!” Jen shouted from the lab as explosions and other miscellaneous noises could be heard.
Jack then sighs before muttering “we better get in there before she hurts herself… again.”
A small chimera like creature then flew out of the lab and past Jack and Cruger’s heads while holding something as it laughed.
Cruger frowned, “Hello Discord, long time.”
“Hey pally,” Dicord replied, “you’re not still mad about that little joke all those years ago, are ya?”
“Yes,” Cruger said, before he punched him so hard that he left a few teeth behind as he went flying out the hatch. Cruger turned to Jack, “Sorry if I scared ya, bad blood, long story.”
“I’m not going to question anything in your personal life” admits Jack.
“It’s nothing too terrible, let’s just say that he’s one of the few being that can get me truly mad.” Cruger grinned, “Now, let’s see what he did to your girl.”
“That's probably a good idea” replies Jack before walking into the lab.
“Can someone get me the number of that chimera so I can beat the stuffing out of him?” Said a pissed looking pink mare that was sprawled on the ground in the lab as it tried to keep on some cloths that Jen had been wearing.
Cruger chuckled, “Uh dude, question, it wasn’t Jen’s body that you’re interested in, was it?”
Jack then glared angrily at Cruger then shouted “You ever even think that's all I care about her and you will regret it!”
“Jack, he’s joking. Though I would appreciate being turned back now.” Jen deadpanned.
“Standby,” Cruger said as he opened a portal, reaching in and pulling out a bruised looking Discord. “Now, what did we say about changing people into whatever you want?”
Discord humphed, “Well I see no reason to turn her back, she looks cuter this way.”
Cruger frowned, “I’m giving you one chance to change your mind on this subject.”
Discord grinned, “Or what, you gonna put me in one of those card thingees? I could use a vacation.”
Cruger grinned too, “No, I’m gonna let her figure out how to change herself back, by examining you,” Cruger turned to Jen, “think you’re up to being the first scientist in the Multiverse to figure out how this guy ticks?”
“I never dissected a living thing before… But I think it would be interesting to find out how that jerk ticks.” Jen replied with an evil grin of her own.
Jack then ginns sadisticly before saying “I bet Swift would love to help.”
“Oh yes~” Jen purred before she tapped her prizmod, bringing out the sword shaped spectrobe.
“Last chance,” Cruger said as Discord litterally turned white, “turn the mad scientist back, and leave in one piece. or become her new project, and leave in several pieces. either way, no one will notice the difference.”
Discord just screamed, “UNCLE!!!” as he snapped his fingers, changing Jen back and disappearing.
“Shame, I wanted to try firing him out of a cannon,” admitted Jack.
“I’m just glad to be human again… I will never part with my hands and legs!” Jen said as she hugged herself, before noticing that some of her cloths were on her the wrong way… “I’ll be right back...” She said while blushing before running off to another part of the ship to reorient herself.
Cruger just sighed, “Vengeance feels good. By the way, didn’t anyone warn you about the lord of chaos?”
“The lord of what now? Never came across him back home.” admitted Jack with a shrug.
“Lucky duck,” Cruger pouted, “well, we might as well hatch this thing, assuming of course there are no further interruptions.”
“I’m back… Sorry about that…” Jen chuckled nervously as she ran back into the lab, “Now let's revive that spectrobe!”
“Finally,” Cruger said as he handed Jen the fossil, “well, you’re the mad scientist, where do we start?”
“Well, first we awaken it.” Jen said as she put the fossil into the computer through the liquid screen as if it was a portal to a pocket dimension.
“I remember this bit, just didn’t know which machine it was.” Cruger said, “Now assuming we follow the method in Beyond the Portals, I have to do this.” Cruger started whistling a steady note.
“Yep… you’ve got the idea,” agrees Jack.
As Cruger whistled, the fossil started glowing. Once it was a bright as it could get, it burst open, revealing a green seed looking creature with little wheels for feet.
As it leapt out of the screen, it started wheeling around, trying to stay between Cruger and Jack and Jen. Cruger chuckled, “Stand down, they’re friendlies.” The Segu stopped moving, but it kept on giving Jack the gimlet eye. “Protective little guy, isn’t he?” Cruger said as he picked it up, “think I’ll call you Bunker.”
“The defence classes usually are.” Jen giggled before she reached over and patted Bunker, “You want to keep him as a child form? or would you like to evolve him?”
“Well, he is useful for finding things right now, and cute in an armored badass kind of way, but I think he’ll be even more useful when he’s a bit more grown up.” As Cruger said that, Bunker spun his wheels, apparently in agreement.
Jack then walks towards a nearby desk before picking up four minerals and saying “you may need these to evolve him to his adult form.” Before passing the minerals over to Cruger.
Cruger set Bunker on the ground, “I know how this works, ready for some munchies Bunker?” Bunker spun around, which Cruger took as a yes. One at a time, he gently tossed the minerals to Bunker, who snapped them up. After eating the last one, Bunker started sparkling. “Mind giving me a hand triggering this?” Cruger asked.
Jack then smiled before flipping a small pen like object in his hands before passing it to Cruger and saying “just put him in the incubator system in the computer and then it’s the same process as in the games.”
Cruger nodded, “Got ya, ready to grow up Bunker?” Bunker simply leapt into the screen. Cruger chuckled as he used the pen to trigger his evolution, turning him into a much larger being, looking like a floating wooden ball with a pair of shields attached by branches.
As Bunker floated out, Cruger rapped one of his shields with a knuckle, “Ready for some action buddy?” Bunker just did a one-two punch with his shields in the air. Cruger nodded and turned to Jack, “So, why don’t we continue this at my base? I’m pretty sure we can fit this on one of the airship docks.”
Jack then laughed before saying “Well, if that's where you feel the most comfortable, Jen is there anything else you want to sort first?”
“NO! SPD BASE! NOW!” Jen said with a crazed look like she had just consumed a mountain of caffeine before running off to the spaceship’s cockpit.
“Okay then, Cruger would you like to join us in the cockpit?” Asked Jack calmly.
“Don’t see why not,” Cruger said, “you’ll need me to get landing clearance anyway.”
“That we do... come on, we best get moving.” Jack says as he walks towards the Cockpit. “oh, and keep a close eye on Jen when we're in your base.”
“Don’t worry,” Cruger replied, “I can deal with Pinkie Pie, Jen will be easy in comparison.”
“I’ll hold you to that” laughs Jack as he continues to walk to the pilot's seat.
“COME ON, COME ON, COME ON!!! YOU TWO ARE GOING TOO SLOW!” Jen said as she bounced around the cockpit.
Jack them sighed before saying “we’re coming Jen, we’re coming.”
Cruger chuckled as he punched some coordinates into the computer, “Delta Command, course laid in, we may depart whenever you’re ready.”
“Ok then… You may want to get seated, this may be a bumpy ride… i’m still new to this” admits Jack before preparing the ship for take off.
“Well, this should be interesting,” said Cruger as he took his seat. Bunker nodded before going into Anubis’s Prizmod.
“Okay then heading towards Delta Command” announces Jack before the ship begins to head towards the pre-entered coordinates.
As they arrived at one of the airship docks, Cruger beamed with pride at the opportunity to show off his hard work. A crew of technicians awaited them, even if they were unsure how to service the vessel. When the ship touched down, Cruger simply said, “Welcome, to Space Patrol Delta.”
Jack slowly got up from his seat before saying “I will admit this place looks amazing… and if the ride here was a bit bumpy I apologize.”
“Not a problem,” Cruger said, pointing at Jen, “though you may want to open the hatch before she pops.”
Jack then laughed before saying “yeah… probably a good idea” as the doors slowly began to open.
“When does the tour start?” Jen asked eagerly, barely containing her excitement.
“That depends... if you want the public tour, there's one every half hour. but if you’d prefer, the Displaced Special starts as soon as your friend here opens the hatch.”
Jack then laughs before saying “I’d better get the hatch open faster then.” as the hatch hits the floor of the hanger.
“Well, follow me,” Cruger said, “where do you want to start? The gym? Short term holding? R&D?”
“Did you say, R&D?” Jen asked with a twinkle in her eye.
“That I did,” Cruger replied as they approached an elevator, “so, Runner Bay, central lab, or my personal workshop?”
“Let's go in that order.” Jen said, internally fangirling.
“Sounds like a plan,” Cruger said, “Runner Bay.” With a lurch, the elevator started downwards. After a minute, the doors opened to a large, dark, cavernous room. With a mighty thunk, the lights turned on, revealing something that caused Jen to immediately start salivating.
“Oh… My… GOD! THE SPD ZORDS!” Jen squealed with all the enthusiasm of a legion of pink party ponies hyped up on sugar before running off in their direction.
“Um, you might wanna,” before Cruger could finish, a beam of light hit Jen, encasing her in a bubble of energy and rendering her immobile. Cruger chuckled as he walked towards her, “Sorry, you didn’t give me a chance to mention our security systems.”
“Fascinating…” Jen muttered as she observed the technological wonders around her.
“Told you I could keep her out of trouble,” Cruger said as he pressed a button on a console, releasing Jen, “now, no more running off.”
Jack then smiled before saying “I guess I was wrong… you can handle her”
“You know it,” Cruger said before turning to Jen, “so, want a look under the hood of one of these?”
“YES! YES! YES!” Jen cheered as she bounced in place.
Cruger grinned as he brought them towards Delta Runner 4, which was in a minor state of disassembly. “What do you think? We’re in the middle of upgrading them from a mark 4 mana reactor to a mark 5, but the primary drive system’s intact.”
“Whats a mana reactor? and why aren't you using fusion reactors?” Jen asked as she started rummaging through the zord and analyzing its systems.
Cruger grinned, “Mana reactors tap into the planet’s natural magical field to generate energy. While admittedly they don’t generate quite as much power as a fusion reactor of the same size, they’re cleaner, safer, cheaper to build, and you don’t have to worry about running out of fuel.”
“If you say so.” Jen said as she finished examining the zords mechanisms, “Also, I can make a list of things you can do to improve its performance and durability.”
Cruger passed her a tablet, “Here, put your ideas on this, I’ll take it back before you leave.”
“Thanks.” Jen said before grabbing the tablet and starting to jot down notes upon notes for Cruger to use.
“So,” Cruger continued, “ready for our next stop?”
“Yup!” Jen said as she followed Cruger while still jotting down notes.
They re entered the elevator, arriving at a good sized laboratory, with various scientists and engineers working on various projects.
“So,” Cruger said, “see anything that strikes your fancy?”
Jen then wandered in and started looking around like a kid in a candy store.
“I’m going to look around for a bit…” Jen said before disappearing from view.
Jack then looked at Jen as she disappeared before saying “She really is one in a million.”
Cruger shrugged, “She’s your girlfriend. By the way, mind if I ask what other Displaced you’ve met?”
“We met a guy called Sun who was displaced as Sun Wukong from RWBY and we met two Kamen Riders called Natsumi and Haruka.” said Jack.
Cruger nodded, “I’ve met a Kamen Rider myself, I’m working on something for him that I’ll show ya when we get to my lab. I’ve also met a female Overlord named Umbra, a female Majin Bu named Eriba, a half Salamance named Zinnia, a Monkey D Luffy Displaced named Sean and his wife Ashley, there’s Black Alice, she’s that emo fangirl I mentioned earlier, oh and I almost forgot this guy called Aaron, he’s an interdimensional salesman. Oh, and that Kamen Rider I met is named Katsuo.”
“you’ve met a pretty large variety of us, although we’ve only been around for a few days… although during my last displacement Jen was injured and time worked differently so a few hours turned into a week for her.” explained Jack
“Yeah, that happens sometimes,” Cruger said sagely, “by the way, watch out if you meet Zinnia, the only reason she won’t want to sleep with you, is if she wants to have a threesome with you and your girl. She’ll understand if you say no, but still.”
“So in short if we meet her be prepared for a bit of ‘fun’” Jack replied cheekily.
“When you’re not fighting evil mind controlled pokemon, yeah.”
“sound’s like we’d have a ton of fun if that happened.”
Cruger shrugged, “To each his own, I like a good spar, but I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t like starting fights, ending them on the other hand...”
Jack then sighed before saying “Sometimes though you can’t avoid starting a fight… when that happens you need to accept whatever happens.”
“Wise words,” Cruger said, “now, what has your girlfriend been up...” Before he could continue, he was interrupted by an explosion.
“I dread to think what she’s just done.” Jack admits before a small bird appears beside him and he says “Go see if Jen’s okay would you Aoi?” with that the bird began to fly around the room.
“To be honest, this shouldn’t be too bad,” said Cruger, “it came from the direction of the weapons lab, and the alarms haven’t gone off.”
“apart from the fact that she loves to mess around with any technology… as helpful as it is, she has caused damage in the past,” admit Jack.
“Good thing the firing range is about as durable as a Vault then,” Cruger said as they arrived, “what’s the damage Fetch?”
“Good morning sir,” said Fetch, the head of research, “Good news, that Displaced you brought us managed to fix the bugs we’ve been having with the sonic breach charges.”
“And the bad news?” asked Cruger.
“We’re going to need a new firing range,” Fetch admitted sheepishly.
“I’m ok!” Jen called from inside the ruins of the firing range.
Cruger starred, “Remember how I said I met a Majin Bu Displaced?”
“yeah,” replied Jack.
“Your girlfriend’s scarier,” Cruger deadpanned.
“well, I did warn you.” Jack replied whilst rubbing the back of his neck.
“That you did,” said Cruger before crying out to Jen, “hey, ready to see my personal workshop?” a second after he said that she was standing next to him.
“Sure!” Jen replied, “Hey Fetch, thanks for sharing some of your designs with me. Let me know if you have any bugs you need fixed in the future.”
“No problem,” said Fetch, “just try not to destroy the testing facilities next time.”
“Hey! It’s not my fault that the testing facility was so weak!” Jen defended, puffing her cheeks and crossing her arms.
Jack then sighs before saying “Jen, manners.” He then looks towards Fetch before saying “I’m sorry about her.”
“Don’t be, she helped us figure out something faster than any of us projected it would take, we can replace the range with the remaining budget,” Fetch replied offhandedly.
“Well, why don’t we go before she completes another weapon project shall we?” said Cruger.
“Oh, and I think that combination weapon you wanted to test for the rangers should be in working order now.” Jen said to Fetch before pulling back out the tablet from earlier and proceeding to make more notes, this time on things that could be done to improve the base.
“OK, moving on,” Cruger said as they moved to the elevator. A while later they arrived at a rather thick looking door, “Watch your step when entering, there is a time dilation field in effect.”
Jack then sighs before saying “why is that not a surprise?”
“Because you know me.” Jen teased as she followed cruger into the room.
“Hey,” Cruger said, “I’m a master of Dimensional Magic, and the Runner Bay we were in earlier was actually in a pocket dimension, slowing down time in a relatively small area is child’s play. So, want to indulge in a second fandom?”
“Which one would that be?” Jen asked.
Cruger just picked up a grey and white can from a workbench, “Tell, have you ever watched Kamen Rider OOO?”
“Not really… I usually tried to avoid Kamen Rider… Too many bugs…” Jen shuddered.
“And I never heard of it until I was summoned to a Kamen Rider Displaced’s world,” admits Jack.
“Well, I think you’ll like this,” Cruger said. As he popped the top, the can transformed into a rhino with tank treads instead of feet, “Meet the Sai Candroid.”
“That's from Kamen Rider!? I didn't know they had cool non bug related tech!” Jen said as she stared at the Candroid.
“If you think this is cool,” Cruger said, “in Kamen Rider Fourze, they had little robots that transformed into fast food. Hey, got something I can load video files onto?”
“Wait… Food? seriously?” Jen asked with an unamused look as she handed the commander an object that looked like an Iphone.
“In other word Power rangers beat them to the normal choices” Jokes Jack.
“You’d be surprised,” Cruger said as he started transferring files to the device, “there’s this one season of Super Sentai, which is actually what Power Rangers was based on and is basically Kamen Rider’s brother, that has a camera that turns into a gun, and a pair of binoculars that turns into a sword.” With a beep, the files finished downloading, “Here, Kamen Rider Drive, my personal favorite, and reasonably bug free.”
“Thanks,” Jen said as Cruger handed her device back to her, “I’m going to look into this and see if I can use any of it for my designs.” she then stuffed the device in her pocket.
“As long as you show me the results,” said Cruger, “that’s the only project I’m currently working on, how about we grab some lunch?”
“Sure, and maybe we can meet the rangers?” Jen said hopefully.
“It is lunchtime,” Cruger said shrugging.
“I’m with you on that one, I could use a bite to eat.” agrees Jack.
“Well, what are we waiting for then? lead the way!” Jen said.
“Nothing really,” Cruger said as they headed back towards the library, “I think it’s tacos in the cafeteria today.”
“Nothing like good old Taco Tuesday’s back home” Jack said whilst laughed uncontrollably.
“Today’s Thursday actually,” Cruger chuckled as they entered the elevator. After a bit, the elevator opened to reveal a modest sized cafeteria. “Hey Dash.”
“How ya doing boss,” said Rainbow Dash, “Who’re the guests, more Displaced?”
“Yep, meet Jack and Jen,” Cruger replied, “Jack, Jen, meet my SPD, Pearl Spark, Hammer Fist, Evil Breaker, Night Stalker, and you probably recognize Rainbow Dash.” As Cruger said their names, each of the Rangers either nodded or waved in greeting.
“Nice to meet you all.” Jen said. “And what do you mean by recognize Rainbow Dash?” She said specifically to Cruger.
Cruger raised an eyebrow, “Really? OK, I’m going to list off a few names, you let me know if they sound familiar, Rarity.”
“Not ringing a bell.” admits Jack.
“Applejack?”
“Nope.” Jen shrugged.
“Fluttershy?”
“Whats a fluttershy? It sounds adorable.” Jen said.
“Pinkamena Diane Pie? She also goes by Pinkie”
Jack then looked up before saying “That does sound familiar, but I haven't met anybody by that name.”
“Twilight Sparkle?”
“Professor Sparkle? She’s a unicorn that is the head scientist of the PPP back in our dimension.” Jen commented raising an eyebrow herself.
Cruger sighed, “Man oh man, you guys have a problem. Dash, I’m gonna grab a bite for me and our guests, mind explaining to these guys why they should find the rest of the girls?”
“No problem boss,” Dash replied, giving a mock salute as Cruger walked off.
“I don't get it… What's going on? Is there some kind of reason he mentioned You, Twilight, and four other people’s names?” Jen asked Dash.
“Well, it looks like good old Rainbow Dash needs to educate ya on the pure awesomeness of the Elements of Harmony,” Rainbow said proudly. “Okay, there’s these magic jewel type things called the Elements of Harmony, each one chooses their own wielder, and together they can do some pretty awesome stuff. I’m the bearer of the Element of Loyalty, at least I was until some stupid stuff that Discord did came to bite us in the butt and we had to give them up, but that’s not important. Anyway, AJ’s Honesty, Rarity’s Generosity, Fluttershy’s Kindness, Pinkie’s Laughter, and Twilight’s Magic, together we’ve saved Equestria at least a dozen times, with and without the Elements. Pretty cool huh?”
Jen just sat there, her eye twitching before she began to massage her temples. “I’m going to see if my communicator works…” She said before messing with something and a holographic screen appeared above her palm, “Sweetie Drops? you there?”
“Jen? Is that you? whats going on?” Came a reply as the image of sweetie drops head appeared on the screen.
“Cool! The communicators work across dimensions! Anyway, I need to ask you something.” Jen said, “Can you check for any records on some ponies named Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkamena Diane Pie? As well as for anything called the Elements of Harmony?”
“Sure, just give me a minute… Lyra! Get away from that!” Sweetie Drops replied before the communicator cut off.
“Man, how did those two get so important?” Rainbow asked, “Here they’re just a musician and a candymaker, good ones, but still.
“I don't know about Lyra, besides the fact that she’s Sweetie's girlfriend, But Sweetie Drops is actually one of the patrol officers of the PPP. She’s also the one who found us when we appeared in their solar system.” Jen said with a shrug.
“Wait, solar system?” Rainbow asked, “as in, you go to other planets?”
“Yeah, why?” Jen replied.
“What else would we have our massive spaceship for?” asks Jack.
“That’s, so, awesome,” Rainbow squeaked, before Night Stalker stuffed a taco in her face to calm her down.
“I don't get it, SPD stands for Space Patrol Delta… Dont you go into space to deal with alien criminals?” Jen asked.
“You didn’t,” Cruger said as he returned, tacos in hand, “did you just invoke Murphy?”
“I… Crap…” Jen said facepalming, “Well, at least you won't have to deal with the Krawl.”
Jack then sighs before saying “we better get out Spectrobes ready Jen because I bet you’ve just screwed us all over.”
“What’s a Spectrobe?” asked Pearl Spark.
Jack then turns to Jen before saying “do you want to show them or should I?”
“Let's start with just the child forms unless a fight breaks out…” Jen groaned, “Swift, come meet some new friends.” A moment later a ball of light came out of the pink hexagon on Jen’s arm before forming into a half fish half sword like creature that floated by her shoulder. “Everyone, meet Swift.” Jen said as the spectrobe flew around for a bit before returning to hovering by her shoulder.
Jack then smiled before a similar light appeared from his Prizmod and a red, yellow, and blue bird appeared on his shoulder before he said “And this is Aoi.”
“Huh, I bet Flutters would love to see those,” Rainbow Dash commented.
Jen’s communicator then came back on and Sweetie Drops head appeared on the screen again.
“Hey Jen, I looked into what you asked and those five ponies and these ‘Elements of Harmony’ don't exist in our solar system.” Sweetie Drops said.
“Thanks Sweetie, talk to you when we get back.” Jen said before turning her communicator back off.
“I don’t exist?” Rainbow said, a look of disbelief, “but that’s…”
Cruger held up a hand, “In their solar system Dash.”
“At least it just makes you that much more unique?” Jen offered.
Cruger frowned, “Well, this could be a potential problem, if your travels take you to other systems, which they probably will, trying to locate them should be one of your highest priorities, they will come in handy, even if they don’t seem like it at first.”
“I doubt we will find them, they sound as fictional as that Discord thing from when we first got here. I say fictional because I know he doesn't exist back where we come from.” Jen said shaking her head in frustration.
Cruger chuckled, “Fictional you say, and I just suppose gaining the abilities of characters from a fictional game, and being sent to a world based on a fictional TV show, is impossible as well?”
“I… Um… Uh…” Jen stuttered as steam began to come out of her ears and her eyes started to gloss over.
“Wait back up a second…. Fictional TV show… did I hear that right?” asked Jack in disbelief.
“That’s right,” Cruger said, pulling up a video on his tablet, “take a look.”
“Uh,” said Rainbow Dash, “I’m leaving before I have another, what did Twilight call it, essential crisis.”
“Existential,” corrected Cruger, “I was gonna ask you to leave anyway.”
“What did we do wrong?” asked Jack in confusion.
Cruger chuckled as he shook Jen awake, “Just watch the video, you’ll see.”
“Wha?” Jen said as her mind rebooted.
As soon as jen got her bearings they started the video, and after it finished the two Spectrobe Masters just sat there stunned, until Jen asked a specific question.
“There are princesses?” Jen said with slight confusion.
“Well I understand about the Princesses, I met a Twilight from another reality who was a Princess for crying out loud,” admits Jack.
“I can't imagine Twi being a princess.” Jen said.
“well it exists and she was well… a royal pain.” admits Jack.
“That pun was bad and you should feel bad,” Cruger deadpanned, “besides, she just needs some experience.”
“But seriously, who is this Celestia and Luna!?” Jen asked, “There are no princesses back where we come from.”
Cruger sighed, “Well, I’ll say this much, you two have earned the title of ‘Most Divergent Universe’.”
“I still don't get it…” Jen grumbled, not liking that her question was being left unanswered.
“Let’s just say they’re basically demigods and leave it at that,” Cruger responded.
“That's quite the simple answer for such a complicated question,” joked a voice that seemed to come from out of nowhere.
“I try,” said Cruger, “now, come on out before I show you why one of my nicknames back in the day was ‘The Blue Wolf’.”
“What fun would that be?” The voice asked as Jen froze before her eye began to twitch.
“No… No, no, no… That's not possible… How is HE here!?” Jen said as she started looking all around her, even checking above and below her.
“I warned you,” said Cruger. With a flourish, he surrounded his hand with a blue glow, then reached out and grabbed something in midair, “The reason I was called ‘The Blue Wolf’, was that I always got my prey.”
“Do you even know what you just grabbed kid?” The voice asked.
Cruger frowned, “You just pulled a substitution, didn’t you?”
“Woop~ Woop, Woop, Woop, Woop~” The voice said, imitating a certain alien lobster from Futurama.
Cruger opened his hand to reveal a note that said ‘Nice Try’, “Been a long time since I’ve had a challenge.”
Jack then sighs before saying “So i’m going to ask you the same thing as last time we heard you… who are you.”
“You can call me Crux.” Said the voice as a mysterious being wearing a blue cloak materialized next to Cruger.
“Pleasure to meet you,” replied Cruger, “mind explaining why your dimensional signature is so complex?”
“Dimensional signature? I still have one?” Crux said with mock astonishment, “Just kidding, it’s from my Displaced’s universes. Two of whom are here with you.”
“Really, you’re a Displacer, that changes things,” Cruger said as he dropped the paper, “I have a question for you, and a proposition depending on your answer.”
“Go ahead.” Crux laughed.
Cruger pointed at Jen and Jack, “Did you give them a choice?”
“Kinda? It was more of an offer.” Crux said with a shrug.
It took Jen a moment to get over the shock of what just transpired, but once she did she had to vouch to the guy, he did keep his promise… even if it hasn't happened yet. “He offered to reunite Jack with his relatives and I got dragged along…” She said, explaining what happened.
“But my words at the time were prove it and instead he pulled us into our reality.” admits Jack
Cruger sighed “Well, at least you are relatively decent. Now my proposition actually is for all three of you, if you’re interested of course.”
“Proposition?” Jen asked.
“Nothing too crazy,” Cruger said, “it’s more like an invitation. I’m creating a group with the goal of discovering everything there is to know about Displacement, and I’d like you three in it.”
Jack then looks towards Cruger before saying “wait back up, you want us to help you with a subject we know so little about ourselves?”
“Well, that’s the whole point,” Cruger said, “no one Displaced knows a whole lot about Displacement, but if a lot of Displaced from a lot of different universes with a lot of different skills all work together, we can figure out the truth.” Cruger looked thoughtful for a second, “Truth, catchy, looks like I figured out what to call this little group.”
“Well, it sounds interesting… though, how would I be of help? and how could this benefit me and my displaced?” Crux asked.
“Well,” Cruger said, taking out a Candroid he had in his pocket, “I was thinking of expanding Truth’s mission from just exchanging information to support as well, for example I’m developing equipment for one Displaced that his base has but he doesn’t, and I’m helping another with accessing a plane of existence that hold equipment she needs to save her verse but is unable to access normally, just waiting for the right alignment on that last one.”
“Sounds interesting, You piqued my interest so I guess I could hang around for that… Besides, I could use some new entertainment.” Crux said, “Well, I don't want to destabilize your dimension, so ta-ta for now!” He then disappeared in a puff of smoke.
“Did he just call us entertainment?” Jen asked.
“yes he did and I am not pleased about it.” admits Jack.
“We’re gonna be doing crazy stuff anyway by dint of our situation,” Cruger said, “it doesn’t make too much difference whether or not he’s watching.”
“Oh, and you have aliens incoming!” Crux said, popping back just to say that before disappearing again.
Cruger sighed, “Case in point.” Cruger opened a portal and grabbed his sword, “Red Alert, Authorization Sierra Romeo Delta Montreal Dash One Zero Zero.” As he said that, alarms started blaring and people started running to their posts.
“Jack?” Jen said turning to her boyfriend.
“Jen, what's wrong?” asked Jack calmly
“Your plan?” jen deadpanned.
Jack then smiled before saying “Well… i’d say we let Cruger decide where he needs us and help them repel the aliens.”
“A wise decision,” Cruger said as he opened his Morpher, “what we got Rush?”
“Sir, we’ve got incoming,” a voice sounded from the Morpher, “we don’t know what they are, but they’re big. We’ve determined three main variants: one looks like a green spider with black stripes, the second is a blue humanoid with black stripes and two heads, the third is a red blob with arm like tentacles and black stripes. Standard defenses are having minimal effect.”
Jack then looks towards Jen before saying “Krawl… they are in this universe as well.”
“Hopefully they just piggybacked off your arrival,” Cruger said, “have all units stand down Rush, I’ll take care of it with the aid of two specialists.”
‘Understood sir, good hunting,” Rush replied before communications ended with a click.
“Cruger, Do you want us to help you stop them?” asks Jack
“I think that's what he meant by two specialists.” Jen sighed.
“Rule of Leadership 32,” Cruger said as he opened a portal to the battle, “nothing trumps experience.”
“He’s right, you can’t beat an expert at his own game… unless you cheat that is.” Jen said as she returned Swift to her pink prizmod.
“True enough,” Cruger said as they walked through the portal, “well, looks like it’s time for some fun, eh Bunker?” Cruger tapped his Prismod, allowing Bunker to emerge.
“Time to deal with some nuances Tank.” Jen said before a red Spectrobe that looked like a cross between a samurai and a rhinoceros beetle appeared next to her.
Jack then nodded his head before he said “When you're ready get everyone that's being deployed to our ship.”
“Everyone who’s being deployed is already here,” Cruger said, “by the way, got any Flash?”
“I’m prepped for that” replied Jack as a Spectrobe that looked like a samurai appeared beside him and said “I’ve got Samurite by my side.”
“Good,” Cruger said, “I’ll get the blue ones, you get the red ones, Jen, you get the green ones, got it?”
“Ok and if either of you get overwhelmed i’ve got a backup of each type of Spectrobe.” replied Jack calmly.
“Good,” Cruger said, “let’s roll.”
“See you guys in a bit then.” Jen said while jumping on her spectrobes back before he charged off towards where the green Krawl were.
“Time to roll Bunker,” Cruger said as he ran towards the blue Krawl, Bunker floating close behind.
Jack then shouted “good luck both you!” with that he jumped onto the back of Samurite as they charged towards the group of red Krawl.
*Jen*
As soon as Jen and her spectrobe arrived near the Vizepi she hopped off his back.
“Ok Tank, Smash them!” Jen said as she drew her sword before charging into the fray. A moment later her spectrobe followed her as it smashed Krawl left and right with it’s horn.
Seconds later Jen looked behind her to see that she was slowly being surrounded by a small group of Vizepi with Tank being held back from reaching her by the rest of them.
“Not good, Grilden! I need backup!” Jen shouted, calling out her second adult form spectrobe. As soon as she said that a spectrobe that looked like a blue two headed dragon appeared next to her, causing the Krawl to begin slowly backing away.
Seconds later Grilden fires off three blasts of energy the destroyed three of the Vizepi instantly before it turned around firing continuously at them at intervals.
“Great job Grilden, Now let's go give Tank some backup!” Jen said before she and Grilden charged to Tank’s side while annihilating a few Krawl along the way. While this was happening Jens pulse began to race causing bits of white stuff with black stripes to form on the back of her left shoulder.
As soon as the remainder of the Krawl she was tasked with stopping were destroyed Jen looked around to see that she was alone before recalling Tank and Grilden.
Seconds later Jen vision began to drift as she began to fall towards the ground, however she managed to regain her composure. “Crap… It’s happening faster than I thought…” She said before stumbling back over to the others while covering her shoulder with her right hand.
*Cruger*
“Well, Bunker,” Cruger asked, “ready to go?”
Bunker clashed his shields together in agreement.
Cruger nodded while making an adjustment to his morpher, “Got it, I’ll call the targets, hunker down and watch my back.” Cruger pushed a button, causing his battle music to play.
Cruger and Bunker then started mowing through the Krawl, though each in their own way. Cruger used hit and run tactics to to hit stragglers and draw them in close, where Bunker used his heavy shields to knock down large groups of foes while blocking their attacks. Eventually, all the Krawl were grouped up around them.
“Ready to end this Bunker?”
Bunker clashed his shields together again.
Cruger placed his hands on one of Bunker’s shields, causing both of them to glow. Bunker then started spinning, tearing through the remaining Krawl as electricity arced across his surface.
“Well, that’s what I call serving Judgement,” Cruger said as explosions flared up behind him and Bunker.
*Jack*
As Jack approached the group of Krawl he realised that they all consisted of Swar, causing him to smile before saying, “Swar seriously, man I drew the short straw.”
Seconds later a large golden beetle appeared beside him before he said “Vilakroma, Covering fire.” Within second of him ordering the command a bright white burst of energy erupted from its cannon slamming into a large group of Swar instantly obliterating them whilst causing some of the others Swar to turn and look towards him before they began charging the Spectrobes.
Jack then looked towards Vilakroma before saying, “keep eliminating any large groups once you're charged, Samurite you focus keep them off of Vilakroma.”
Seconds later another group of them were destroyed by Vilakroma whilst Samurite sliced any Swar that got close. However seconds later a blast from Vilakroma changed direction and fired two vollies of energy off into the distance, before turning back towards the remaining Krawl.
Seconds later both him and Samurite began to glow causing before Jack smiled before shouting “combination attack” before what appeared to be meteorite began to appear to fall towards the remaining Krawl before obliterating them.
As soon as the flames began to die down Jack looked around to see that there was no Krawl left as he recalled Samurite and Vilakroma before Leo appeared beside him before he said “Let's find the others Leo”
Within seconds Leo lowered its head before Jack jumped on before the began to head towards the others.
“So how did you do for your first fight?” Jen asked Cruger as she limped over to the two other displaced already waiting at the rondevu point.
“You think this was my first fight?” Cruger asked.
“Against Krawl, and using a spectrobe.” Jen clarified as she leaned against a tree for support.
“Not, bad, Bunker’s pretty good for someone born today,” Cruger said while dodging a swing from Bunker, “by the way, you feeling alright?”
“Spectrobes are creatures of light that exist to fight against the shadows of evil like the Krawl.” Jen chuckled, “And I’m just exhausted, it’s nothing for you to worry about.”
Jack then sighs before saying “Jen you're holding your shoulder, what happened?”
“Like I said, nothing for you to worry about.” Jen grumbled.
“Jen… I know you better than anyone, you know you can’t lie to me… what happened.” Jack asked clearly worried.
“I can’t tell you.” Jen replied before wincing.
“Jen… you realise how worried I was when you were injured before… I don’t want to lose you.”
“And that's why I can't tell you, I can't let you worry over something like this… You wouldn't be able to do your job if I did.” Jen snapped before wincing again.
“I’d be less able to if i wasn’t focusing on trying to understand what’s wrong… Jen, please let me help you.” Jack asked clearly scared for her.
“Jack, I love you… But you can't handle the truth of what's going on!” Jen shouted.
“Jen, I’ve stood by you through every mistake we’ve ever made… i’m sure this can’t be as bad as all the experiments that went wrong.”
“The accident is nothing compared to the implications of what's going on, please don't force my hand here.” Jen pleaded.
“Jen… you already know my answer… don’t make me worry, about you… not again, you know what i’d be like.”
“Can we just save it for when we get back to our dimension?” Jen asked.
Jack then sighed before saying “As long as you promise that you will explain once we’re home.”
“Fine…” Jen said sadly.
“Not to get in between a couple with problems,” Cruger said, turning to Jen “but there’s something that I need to talk to you about.”
“What do you need?” Jen asked with a weary smile.
Cruger lightly smacked her on the head, “That’s for bringing down the wrath of Murphy on us.”
“Sorry…” Jen chuckled as she rubbed her head with her left hand.
“Just don’t do it again,” Cruger said as he opened a portal back to Jack’s ship.
“Well, It's been nice meeting you Cruger. And maybe next time it can be a simple, stress free, get together.” Jen chuckled dryly before she wobbled through the portal and went to the ship's lab.
Jack the sighed before saying “well Cruger… thank you for everything… do you want anything before we head back”
Cruger shook his head, “Nothing off the top of my head, but here,” Cruger tossed him a copy of his token, “It comes with communication capabilities, and it’ll spread to the rest of your tokens.”
Jack then smiled as he caught the token before saying “thank you, If you ever need help again don’t hesitate to give us a call.”
Cruger smiled back, “No problem, I’ll need to call anyway when Bunker’s ready to evolve,” Cruger stuck out his hand, “seek the truth my friend.”
“You too my friend” replied Jack as he shook Cruger’s hand before slowly walking towards the portal. Jack the turned around before saluting him and walking through the portal to the ship.
“Our contract is complete, tell your Dash when you find her that I said hi,” Cruger said before closing the portal.
Cruger and A-Squad were out on a vehicular training exercise when he got a call from a Displaced. "Hey, any of you want to join me on a verse jump?" he called to the others.
"Like you need to ask," said Rainbow. The others also made there interest known.
"All right," Cruger said as he opened a portal, "but watch for pedestrians." As they passed through, they immediately encountered a monkey/human hybrid. Most of the Rangers were able to avoid him, Pearl Spark and Night Breaker on the other hand...
“OWW!! SON OF A B*TCH, THAT HURTS!!”
“Pearl, Night,” Cruger yelled, “What part of ‘keep an eye out for civilians’ did you not seem to get?”
“Sorry chief,” called Pearl from her jeep, Hammer Fist groaning in the passenger seat, “but I couldn’t see him lying there.” Night just stayed quiet on his bike
“You’re lucky he appears to be alright,” Cruger said, “we’ll discuss what to do with you two when we get back.” Cruger walked towards the monkey, “You doing ok bud?”
“Yeah, but it could’ve been worse,” the monkey replied, taking out the weapons that he had on his back as he put them on his shoulders. “If you ran over my back, you would’ve crushed more than my spine.”
“Sorry,” Cruger said, “first time driving into a new verse.” He stuck out his hand, “Anubis Cruger, SPD Shadow Ranger Displaced, no hard feelings?”
“Guess so,” he sighed. “Sun Wukong. Faunus.” He soon shook his hand as he had both pairs of weapons collapse down into his staff and held it in one hand while shaking with the other.
“So,” inquired Night, “Why the weapon?”
“Watch it Night,” said Hammer, “you remember what happened last time.”
Night just huffed, “Well excuse me if I’d like to know if we run a risk of being attacked.”
“I’m not going to attack you guys… Besides, how else are you suppose to protect yourself from Grimm?” He asked, having his weapons be Gunchaku again. “Besides, like with almost all weapons here, it’s also a gun.”
Cruger frowned, “That sounds familiar, where have I… oh yeah! Death Battle, Tifa from Fantasy vs Yang from RWBY, I assume your base is from the latter?”
“Yeah, a lot of the Displaced here are from RWBY. You have Ruby with a Scythe/Combat action sniper Rifle, Her sister with shotgun gauntlets, and some others just to name a few. One girl even has a handbag that turns into a freaking minigun.” He explained. “Mine is a bo-staff and nunchaku that are also shotguns…” Turning to look at the group, he chuckled a little. “What brings you to this neck of the woods?”
Cruger shrugged, “You called us, these jokers just happened to be nearby when I got your call and they wanted to come along. By the way, that’s Evil Breaker, Hammer Fist, and Rainbow Dash, the ones who ran you over are Night Stalker and Pearl Spark.” As he said their names, Cruger pointed at each of the ponies with him in turn. It was during this thought that Sun turned his head to notice somepony he knew coming out of the cottage.
“Sun, what’s with all the-.” Fluttershy spoke, only to see the mass amount of ponies and strange vehicles while she was trotting over. “-noise…”
“Wow,” said Dash, “four legged Flutters, kinda weird.”
“It’s alright, Shy. They’re friends…” The Faunus said, turning to Cruger’s Rainbow Dash, “And she’s my Marefriend.”
“Huh,” was all Dash could say.
“Putting cross-species relationships aside for the moment,” Cruger interjected, “Mind if we continue this somewhere else? I don’t know about you but I prefer talking shop with other Displaced over lunch.”
“Sure,” Sun Wukong told him. “We can go to Beacon, but it’s still under construction… One thing first.” He then raised one of his weapons, firing it once as a beowolf Grimm dropped from the trees above them. Fading as it hit the ground with a hard THUD! “Stay too long out here and the Grimm would want to get you for a meal.”
Cruger sighed, “Of course, as soon as I meet a new Displaced these days, we go straight into the fighting. Might as well make the most of it.” Cruger mounted his ATV, “Mount up! Sun, Flutters, in the jeep, time for some vehicular combat practice.”
“Tempting… Weren’t we planning to talk at Beacon…?” He asked, springing himself over the top of the trees and using his weapon to pole vault himself upward.
“We’re not talking right now,” Cruger said as he gunned the engine, “right now we’re headed to Beacon, and smacking down any beasties that lie between here and there.”
“Yeah… Grimm attacks don’t happen often. They’re only attracted by negative emotions such as sadness, pain and rage. One of the other Displaced, Fox, was out scouting earlier and there were no signs so far in the Everfree.” He said, “The one above me was probably from when Pearl ran over my tail.”
“I said it was an accident!”
“Well, no sense in getting hyped up to do nothing,” Cruger said before turning to Rainbow, “Thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Race?” she asked expectantly.
“Race,” Cruger replied before turning back to Sun, “So, you in?”
That was when Cruger heard Fluttershy speak up. “Actually… he just got a head start with the… Spectrobe I think it was called, that two other displaced let him have.” When the rest of them turned around, they saw the Faunus speeding down the hill with his Torgazar as he was going around Ponyville. “You might want to catch up with him.”
“That’s it, let’s show him why cheaters never prosper,” Cruger said before they all raced along after him, causing Fluttershy to start screaming.
Sun himself though, had a reason for starting ahead as he was approaching Beacon. “Hey Twilight! We got some guests coming.”
“Guests? Who-?” She stopped speaking, her eyes widening at the sight of Cruger and his crew.
“Those guys. We’re going to need a big parking lot to fit all of those.” He said, looking back at the Princess. Who now just stared in shock… “And you might not want to stand in the road.”
Quickly, she ducked for cover as Cruger and the others rolled into town as Sun dismissed Torgazar, looking back at the Shadow Ranger as he and the others soon slid to a screeching halt. “Sorry about that. Needed to make sure that Princess Sparkle here prepared for your arrival so you don’t cause a panic.”
Cruger’s frown softened slightly, “Fine, I suppose that make sense. By the way,” Cruger tapped the prizmod on his own wrist, “I believe we share a common acquaintance.”
“Looks like you met Jack and Jen,” The Faunus chuckled, showing his own prizmod on his gauntlet as he smiled a little at Cruger. “Those two will be teachers at Beacon here once this place is open in the spring. Since it’s going to be an academy for the ponies here and also Displaced.”
Cruger whistled, “Sounds like a worthy enterprise, if you don’t mind I have a little proposal for you.”
“I’m listening.” The Faunus replied as they began to walk to where Twilight’s Castle was. Where most of the construction was taking place.
“Well, I’m a founder of a multi displaced group called Truth. The primary goal of this group is to learn as much as we can about Displacement, but we also provide various forms of support to one another, whether in expertise, supplies, equipment, you get the idea. Anyway, my proposal has three main parts, first I’d like to extend an invitation to you, and any other Displaced you may know, to join Truth.”
“Sounds interesting. I have family that have been Displaced that might be up for that,” The Faunus replied. “What about the other two?”
Cruger chuckled, “Patience, I was getting to them. Well, second, I wouldn’t mind teaching here as well, when I’m not busy fighting crime back home of course. To be honest, my SPD is so efficient that I have a lot of spare time on my hands.”
“Welcome aboard,” Sun chuckled. “Remind me to introduce you to Asphyxious next time you're here. He’s a lich who is also a teacher here and a Displaced.”
“I might take you up on that,” Cruger said. “Now that the stuff that I was fairly certain you’d agree to out of the way, I think it’s time to move to the one that isn’t. To be honest, when I heard that you were building a school that had Displaced as teachers, I thought that it might make an excellent semi-official headquarters for Truth. I’m not saying that you have to be a part of Truth to be a student or teacher here, but it would be nice for us to have a place where we could swap notes or just hang out with other members.”
Sun scratched his chin for a minute, but was soon grinning. “That actually sounds like a good idea. I like the way you think.”
Cruger grinned, “Thanks, now, if you don’t mind, I need to take a peek at the blueprints. My first contribution to you will be to outfit Beacon with some of the latest SPD tech, including a Mark 5 Mana Reactor, an Armor III Shield Generator, a Biblos Computer Core, and a few other minor things.”
“Sure thing. Might want to take to Sage on that-,” Sun replied, turning around to notice his partner and friend. “Speak of the devil, there he is.”
“Sun?” He said, noticing Cruger. “Who’re these guys?”
“Commander Cruger, SPD,” Cruger said, “You’re Sage right? I’ve got a few improvements to Beacon that I want to run by you. Dash, this is gonna get technical and boring, take the Rangers and test out the exercise yards.”
Dash chuckled, “No problem chief, come on gang, time for some fun.”
“I can go with them if you want to talk with Sage, Cruger.” Sun offered.
“Sounds good,” Cruger replied, “this is going to get really boring for anyone without an engineering degree.” The Faunus chuckled, watching him follow Sage as he went to catch up with Dash and the others.
“Cruger’s kind of awesome, don’t you think?” Rainbow commented, “He’s a total egghead when it comes to machines, but he can kick some major butt.”
“I can tell. You guys see him as a good leader,” Sun replied. “Trust me though when I say that a lot of the Displaced here have a bunch of tricks up their sleeves… Which makes me wonder… have you encountered anything that’s like Androids or Synthetics?”
“We drive a giant robot, and have a pet robotic dog that turns into a cannon,” Dash replied, “Does that count?”
“Yup. That does.” Sun replied as he followed them. “So, what’s the first step in the training exercise?”
Dash laughed, “You thought he was gonna make us do actual training? Cruger can be a bit strict when he’s teaching, but he’s not that strict. Telling us to test out the exercise yard was him telling us to have some fun without losing the whole ‘I’m the boss, respect my authority’ thing he’s got going on.”
“Well that’s something I wasn’t aware of.” Sun scratched the back of his head as he looked back at them. “So, what is it that you plan to do for fun then?”
“Well, I was thinking we could shoot some hoops,” said Evil Breaker.
“Sounds good to me,” Dash replied as the others nodded in agreement, “and with Sun here, we can have some 3v3.”
“I’m up for it.” The Faunus replied, looking back at them. “It’s been too long since I’ve done that.”
“Just a quick warning,” Breaker said, “We’re the best of the best back home, and we tend to get a little intense during sports.”
“Heh. I’ll still be up for it. It’ll be a nice change of pace.” He replied.
“Good,” Breaker replied, “So, where can a group of mighty warriors find a basketball court around here?”
“Mighty warriors huh, so I guess you’ll be sitting this one out eh Breaker?” joked Hammer Fist.
“Laugh it up,” Breaker replied, “we’ll see who’s laughing when you lose.” Breaker then turned to Sun, “Seriously though, where’s the court?”
“Honestly, the only court I remember is the one by the playground where Cheerilee’s school is,” Sun shrugged. “Unless you want to think of a way to improvise?”
“Leave that to me,” said Rainbow Dash. Before anyone could say anything, she flew off and returned with two small clouds, which she shaped into hoops. “Yo Pearl, got a ball?”
“Not a problem,” Pearl said before opening a small portal and pulling out a basketball, “Sure am glad Cruger doesn’t mind sharing a few of his tricks.”
“No kidding,” Dash replied, “sure wish I could carry a bunch of stuff with me wherever I go, I’d never run out of pens to sign stuff with.” It was then though that she heard something else zip around in the air and the next comment that Sun said had Rainbow look up… to stare at her pony counterpart.
“Well then… Dash meets Dash.”
“What the hay-?”
“This is a bit surreal,” Cruger’s Dash said, “Ah man, just remembered.”
“Remembered what?” Sun’s Rainbow Dash asked her. “Better yet, why do you sound like me?”
“Cause I’m you from a different universe,” Cruger’s Dash said, “And now we gotta figure out nicknames for us so that we don’t get confused when someone says our name.”
“Actually, I was just about to head home,” The Pegasus replied. “See you tomorrow Sun.” With that, the pegasus took off into the sky, almost sounding like she cracked the sound barrier as she zoomed through the air.
Dash grinned, “Glad to see I’m fast in any universe, so ready to go?”
“Whenever you are.” Sun replied, cracking his knuckles.
The next hour passed pleasantly for all involved. There were several bruises from players colliding with each other, but they were shrugged off within seconds. By the end of it, they were sweaty, and had no idea who won since none of them had bothered to keep score, but smiling after a game well played.
“Well… I highly doubt at this rate anyone would want to call it a tie.” He said, gasping for air a little.
“We should have brought Twilight,” Rainbow said, drinking a bottle of water, “she would’ve kept score.”
“I agree on that one.” He sighed, looking back at the others for a brief moment.
“You know,” panted Pearl Spark, “we could have… asked… this Twilight.”
Rainbow facepalmed, “Aw man.”
“She’s probably busy with something going on right now. Not only is she a princess but once we hit the ground running, she’ll be Beacon’s Headmaster.” Sun sighed. “Even though I haven’t… actually told her yet.”
Rainbow chuckled, “Man, that is gonna be one epic freak out.”
“Let’s save that for another day. You think Cruger might be finished with Sage?” He asked, looking back towards where they once were.
Before his eyes a portal opened and Sage and Cruger stepped out, discussing something on a piece of paper. “The tricky thing about Mana Reactors is that they’re dependant on ambient magic, you gotta factor the position of nearby ley lines if you want to put one in a building,” said Cruger “I’m telling you we’ve got to put it in the southeast tower.”
“Where it may be open to sabotage? Doubt it. Basement is better in my opinion.” Sage replied as everyone now noticed the huge broadsword on his back.
“And limit it to 78% efficiency?” countered Cruger, “If we put it in the tower, the shield can prevent destruction by bombardment, and if a saboteur can get in the tower, they can get in the basement. Putting it in the tower would also prevent them from being able to tunnel in.”
“If that’s the case, then how do you propose securing it?”
Sun rolled his eyes, seeing this. “Here we go…”
Cruger pointed to something on the paper, “The support beams here run straight down to the foundation, we can secure the reactor to that. If you mean security, we put it in this room, no windows, thick walls, and that tower was going to be a low traffic area anyway. Mana reactors are light weight anyway, it won’t fall through the floor.” The Faunus was surprised to see that Sage was having to keep up with him on an intellectual level without getting utterly confused.
“Is this normal?” He asked Dash.
“When he’s working on a project,” Dash answered, “told ya he was an egghead.”
“I heard that,” Cruger said without taking his eyes off the paper. Soon though, it seemed like Sage was nodding his head at one of his proposed suggestions.
“I think you got yourself a deal-.”
“Hey Sage. I noticed the ATV outside. What’s with the-.” Everyone turned to see Neptune walk in on the group as they were talking. “Sage, please don’t tell me you called the cops… I have Ruby causing trouble all over town with that robot girl Penny and now I come back to find you guys. Please don’t tell me these guys have a warrant to search this place.”
“Search it?” Cruger said, “I’m helping redesign it. Anubis Cruger, Displaced. What’s this about a robot girl causing trouble?”
“Don’t worry, that’s normal for Penny.” Sun sighed. “She really can catch you off guard at times. She’s a displaced as well, but is a Synthetic with an actual living soul.”
“Might like to meet her next time,” Cruger said before turning to Sage, “So, anything else we need to iron out?”
“From the looks of it, we covered everything… Unless there was anything your companions needed to remind you about.” Sage replied, looking over in Sun’s direction.
“Don’t look at me,” Rainbow said, “I just catch crooks.” The other Rangers nodded in agreement.
“Well, guess it’s time to go,” Cruger said as they headed back to their vehicles, “Now let’s head ba…”
Rainbow Dash started laughing, with the others quickly joining in. Fluttershy was still on the jeep, and holding one of the roll bars in a death grip.
“Okay, what did you do to Shy?” Sun asked. “It looks like you killed a puppy in front of her.”
Cruger managed to stop chuckling, “Sorry, guess we went a little too fast for her, she’s probably never been in a car before.” Cruger snapped his fingers in front of her face, breaking her out of her trance. In doing so, She fell into the Faunus’ arms and instead, held onto him as she shivered a little. Looking at her, Sun chuckled as she curled up in his arms like a young filly.
“Dude, you scored.” Neptune stated, causing Sage to facepalm himself as he groaned while Sun just rolled his eyes and looked back at them.
Cruger chuckled as he mounted his ATV, “Why do I get the feeling that he gets smacked on a regular basis?”
“Not always… Just once in awhile. Ruby here is really the one with the low IQ. She thought that I was a saiyan upon first glance.” Sun told Cruger as the rest of the squad returned to their own vehicles. “I’m going to guess that this is goodbye?”
“Of course not,” Cruger said, “This is a see ya later. I’m coming back to teach at the very least, plus I’ve got to make sure Sage put the designs I gave him together right.”
Sage just nodded his head, giving a fake salute with one of his hands.
Cruger returned it before turning back to Sun, “Well, if you don’t mind?”
“Oh yeah,” He said, taking a deep sigh. “Cruger, our contract is complete. Have a safe trip home.”
Cruger nodded as a portal opened up in front of the convoy, “Take care of yourself monkey boy, and don’t forget to give my offer to everyone else.” He then turned to his team, “Alright gang, let’s roll out.”
Cruger looked over the reports, apparently there were a string of robberies of pharmacutical plants, and there was no evidence of who did it. He sighed, “This is gonna be like Man Bat, I know it.” Before he could figure out what to do about the situation, a portal opened, dropping a card. Cruger grinned as he picked it up, and it only grew wider when he heard its phrase.
“I am the Dark Magician, the ace to the king of games, co protector of all Elements and CMC, the watcher of all displace, co founder of Neo Domino Town and co bearer of the millennium Items of understanding. If you need my help raise this card into the air and call my name and I will come to light your darkest hour.”
“Well, I know what I’m doing. I summon Dark Magician in attack mode,” Cruger cried as he slapped it onto his desk.
A portal open up and out step the Dark Magician along with the Dark Magician Girl. “I summon myself in attack.” Dark Magician Girl said with a giggle.
“Hello Cruger. I was wondering when I was going meet a Power Ranger Displaced.” Dark Magician said as he offered a hand to Cruger.
“Good to meet you as well,” Cruger replied shaking his hand, “so, mind if I ask how you knew my name?”
“Simple. I am a watcher of Displaced good, bad and inbetween.” Dark Magician said with a grin.
“Plus we watched every version of Power Rangers when we was growing up on earth.” Dark Magician Girl said smiling as she jump up and down like Pinkie Pie.
Cruger chuckled, “Well, as long as you’re here, want to give me a hand with something?”
“Sure I got nothing much to do apart from helping out in two wars. So how can we help?” Dark Magician asked while looking around a bit.
Cruger tapped a few keys on his terminal, “Well, there’s been a string of robberies lately, and I think that I’ve determined the next target. So, care to join me on a stakeout?”
“Sure and I got the stakes.” Dark Magician Girl said while holding some stakes.
Cruger chuckled, “Not that kind of stakeout, however,” Cruger pulled out a cooler, “I do have some steaks if you’re hungry, I’ve seen enough verses to know how blessed I am to have been sent to an omnivorous Equestria.”
“I know you lucky dog. So let’s get going and maybe I could bring my sister along to help the steaks.” Dark Magician offered.
Cruger examined his terminal for a second before opening a portal, “Well, shall we?”
“Lead the way.” Dark Magician said.
As they stepped through the portal, they arrived in an unoccupied apartment opposite an industrial looking building. “While at first glance, the robberies appear to have nothing in common except for the fact that they all produce pharmaceutical products,” Cruger explained, “they all share one similarity, they all produce the same uncommon chemical, Cytosin, which is used to help treat cases where a person’s internal magic channels suffer damage. Judging by the robberies committed so far, this one should be next on the list.” Cruger opened the cooler, “It’ll probably be a while before we see anything, so why don’t we indulge my habit of swapping stories over a bite?”
“Sure want to bring my sister here to help cook the steaks?” Dark Magician asked while holding a Sol Emerald.
Cruger shrugged, “Don’t see why not, she can stay for the stakeout too if she wants.”
“Ok. Hey Blaze mind coming over to help cook some steaks?” Dark Magician said to the Sol Emerald token as a portal open up as Blaze the Cat step out and spot Cruger.
“There’s a cat and dog joke somewhere around here.” Blaze said with a deadpanned look to her face. “Sure I need something to take my mind off of my mayor duties and a displace war.” She added as she BBQ the steaks.
Cruger frowned, “That makes two, what is this Displaced war you’re talking about?”
“Remember those two displaced that told you about the War of Shadows. Well their Equestria is getting attack another Displaceds the Warriors of Chaos from the War of Shadows and they calling for as displace they can to help defend it.” Blaze said as she took a bite of the steak. “Me, my brother, Dark Magician Girl, RED Scout and Erza Scarlet are helping to defend that Equestria.” She added.
“Plus me and Dark Magician Girl are in the War of Shadows too.” Dark Magician said adding his two cent in.
Cruger nodded, “Well, looks like you guys are in a bit of a pickle. So, Dark, since you know so much about me, I assume you know what I’m going to offer you.”
“Yes. Offer me a place at your group called Truth.” Dark Magician said with a nod. “I wouldn’t mind joining. I could let you know of any new Displaced that might pop up as well.” He Added.
“Can I join too?” Dark Magician Girl asked with puppy dog eyes.
Cruger grinned, “And what possible reason would you not be allowed? Of course you can.”
“Yay!” Dark Magician Girl said in joy as she give Cruger a hug.
“Gag me.” Blaze said with a roll of her eyes.
“You know,” Cruger said, “the offer’s open to you too.”
“Love too but I will too busy being the Mayor of Neo Domino Town to come specaily when helping help out in a war.” Blaze said as she eats. “Plus I need to keep on the revives that live in as well.” She added.
“Isn’t that Dashie’s job.” Dark Magician asked.
“She is just one Revive Rainbow Dash she will need an extra pair of eyes for the job.” Blaze said.
“Well, it’s not like you’ll have to do much,” Cruger said, “the main purpose of Truth is to share information, all you’d really need to do is keep your ears open and share what you find out about Displacement, Dark can give you the details.”
“I will keep that in mind.” Blaze said as she finished eating her food.
“Hope that you…” Cruger started before he looked out of the window. “So, who’s up for some fun?” He asked while taking a bite of potato salad.
“Does that mean beating bad guys time?” Dark Magician Girl asked while wearing some boxing gloves.
“Possibly,” Cruger said, “let’s go.”
They went out to see a figure in a brown cloak. “Well friend,” Cruger said, “it’s a lovely night for a walk, wouldn’t you say.”
Without a word, the figure tossed an object at them, which erupted into a swarm of huminoid robots.
“Crybots,” Cruger said, drawing his sword, “well, all hopes of a future fighting standard MLP baddies just went down the tubes. Try not to damage their memory cores.”
“It already went down the tubes when one of SPD baddies name was said in your Rangers first Megazord fight.” Dark Magician as he blast a Crybot while Dark Magician Girl is putting sappers on them while dressed as the TF2 Spy.
“Well excuse me if I don’t like making assumptions on just one data point,” Cruger said as he went towards the cloaked figure, “you know that old saying about them making an ass of you and me.”
“Well that Megazord was when you was off helping that one piece displace.” Dark Magician said as he blasted another Crybot while Blaze just melting some with her fire.
“These Crybots are having a meltdown.” Blaze joked.
Cruger chuckled as he blasted the cloak off of the figure, revealing it to be another robot with a blue head, “You couldn’t resist, could you.”
“It was too hot not too pass up.” Blaze chuckled.
“Enough with the fire puns or you will be burned out of them.” Dark Magician Girl giggled at her joke while she mowing the Crybots down with a minigun while dressed as the TF2 Heavy. “Cry some more!” She shouted.
Cruger chuckled harder as he bisected the Bluehead, “You are Pinkie Pie if Pinkie Pie could fight. Well, that looks like the last of them.”
“Looks like it.” Dark Magician said as he check for anymore.
“We had sented these maggotbots to the scrapyard.” Dark Magician Girl now wearing a TF2 Soldier outfit.
“I still don’t know where she gets of those outfits from.” Blaze said as her left eye twitched.
“Never question the art of the Pinkie Pie.” Dark Magician Girl said giggling while Blaze just facepalmed.
“When I said you were Pinkie Pie, I was joking,” Cruger said, “how’d you learn to do that?”
“I am more of a Surprise but I alway act it like Pinkie even before I was displace.” Dark Magician Girl said as she put the outfit away.
“Yeah. So let’s check what these Crybots got for us.” Dark Magician said.
“On it,” Cruger said as he pulled out his Tricorder. “Hm, looks like you managed to follow my advice, none of these memory cores has so much as a ding.”
“We do our best.” Blaze said as she pull memory core from a melted Crybot.
“Well, I think you deserve some compensation for your assistance,” Cruger said as he pulled a part from one of the Crybots and handing it to Dark Magician, “this is the part that allows them to combine into that small sphere, it’s magitech so you should be able to do something with it.”
“Maybe or I could give to one of the revive Twilights Sparkles or to Saxton Bale of Mane-Co and see what they can do with it.” Dark Magician said as he look at the magitech part.
“Eggheads.” Blaze said with a eye roll as she notice Dark Magician Girl pulling out two red tool boxes from out of nowhere.
“Here are teleporters you might find useful for your base.” Dark Magician Girl said as she hand them to Cruger.
Cruger took them with a nod, “Thanks, I don’t need to use them personally, but I bet my R&D team could make good use of them, speaking of which,” Cruger set the toolboxes on the ground, then conjured portals beneath them and the Crybot remains, sending them back to the base. “Well, that looks like everything, so see ya next time?”
“Yes. We will see you next time. But before we go I would need you to be on the lookout for any Number monsters that might appeared in this Equestria.” Dark Magician said simply.
“Like Utopia, got it,” Cruger replied, “and I know just who to call if they have under 2500 ATK.”
“Dashie my first revive Rainbow Dash controls Utopia and Number monsters can only be destroyed by another Number Monster.” Dark Magician said with a grim look to his face. “Plus my Equestria’s Fluttershy controls the Blue Eyes White Dragon.” He added.
“My earlier statement still applies, you just have to bring Dash along with ya,” Cruger said with a chuckle, “now, since you were the one who summoned your sister, I’m pretty sure you should be the one to send her back.”
“He don’ts need to. I can send myself back.” Blaze said as she open a portal. ”See you next time Ranger boy.” She added as she jumped in as the portal closed.
“Okay, need to remember that,” Cruger said as he pulled three badges out of his coat, handing two to Dark Magician and one to Dark Magician Girl, “make sure your sister gets hers, you remember its special feature right?”
“Yes I know.” Dark Magician said with a nod as he give Cruger a copy of Blaze’s token.
“Oh heres my token.” Dark Magician Girl said as she give Cruger her token that is a card as well.
“I’am the Dark Magician Girl, the student to the ace to the King of games, co protecter of all Elements and CMC, cheering upper of all the Revives, co founder of Neo Domino Town and co bearer of the millennium Items of understanding. If you need help just call me and I will come to put a smile on your face. P.S If you are male. Don’t stare at my breasts OR I WILL KICK YOUR BALLS SO HARD YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO TAKE A PISS FOR A YEAR! Okay? Good.”
“Extreme much?” Cruger said as he heard the token’s phrase.
“Well yeah. There are lots of pervy displaces out there and Dark Magician is the only male that I allow to stare at my breasts.” Dark Magician Girl said with a nod which made her breasts bounce up and down a bit.
Cruger shot a look at Dark Magician, “She doesn’t know about Zinnia, does she?”
“Oh She know and she fine with females looking at her breasts it just males she not fine with. Scout learned that the hard way.” Dark Magician said with a wince.
“Ouch,” was all Cruger could say, “well, how about I send you two back while I’m still capable of procreation?”
“Yes you can and see you next time.” Dark Magician said with nod.
“Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, our contract is complete,” said Cruger, “let Erza know I’d like to spar with her if she doesn’t mind.”
“Of course I will tell her.” Dark Magician said as a portal opened up and he step in.
“Bye bye.” Dark Magician Girl said has she left something on a table before stepping into the portal before it closed.
Cruger shook his head, “Why do I meet up with so many eccentrics?” With a snap of his fingers, he opened up a portal of his own and pulled out the head of the Bluehead, “Now, what do you have to tell me?”
“Ok, no reason to be nervous Dusk. It's just an entrance exam they aren't going to find out about ‘that’.” Dusk said to herself as she approached the entrance of SPD headquarters.
Dusk then walked through the front entrance before approaching the reception desk. “Um, I’m here to apply for one of the patrol trooper positions?” She told a green earth pony with a red mane behind the desk, according to the name plaque his name was Time Stamp
“Name?” Time Stamp asked as he pulled out a device with a list of names on it.
“Dusk Roze.” She replied, trying to not let her nervousness show.
“Dusk, Dusk, Dusk… Aha! Here you are, and right on time too!” Time Stamp said as he smiled at Dusk, “Good to see a pony who appreciates punctuality.” He then handed her a folder, “Here’s your room assignment and ID, preliminary testing starts tomorrow. You here because of the chief’s big recruiting push?”
“More like I finally worked up the nerve to try out.” Dusk chuckled weakly as she acepted the folder and ID from Time Stamp.
“Well,” Time Stamp said, “if it’s any comfort, you definitely won’t be the weirdest one here. Doc’s got that honor, although Heart and the Walker twins are strong contenders. Hope you make it.”
“Heh… Thanks.” Dusk said before walking further into the headquarters.
After she was sure that no one else was around she sighed in reliefas she walked down the halls of SPD headquarters in search of the room she was assigned in the barracks. After a couple minutes of wandering around and acquiring a map of the base she eventually found her room and happily went inside before locking the door behind her.
“Now I just have to continue hiding ‘that’ and I should be perfectly fine.” Dusk sighed as she walked over to the nearby desk and set down the folder and ID she had been given before she flopped onto the bed, falling asleep a few moments later.
After a good few hours of sleep Dusk yawned as she woke up and crawled out of the bed. After doing a few stretches she grabbed the folder off the desk and her ID before leaving her room. Pulling out the map she scanned over it a few times to get the layout of the headquarters before heading back to the front desk.
Once Dusk reached the front desk she tapped the bell to get Time Stamp’s attention. “Um… Where is the exam being held?” She asked politely.
Time Stamp sighed, “Orientation’s in Briefing Room B, level 48, which it clearly stated in the folder I gave you yesterday.”
Dusk blinked a few times before smiling sheepishly. “Oh... sorry, I forgot to read it…” She apologized before quickly galloping over to the nearest elevator and pressing the button for floor 48.
As the doors closed she quickly pulled out the folder and opened it, she then took out the keychain and put it and her ID in her pocket before skimming over the training information and orientation pamphlet. As soon as the elevator doors opened on floor number 48 she quickly got off and put the folder away before quickly making her way towards Briefing Room B. Once she reached the room she quickly went inside and got a seat in the back corner as the other applicants started to arrive as well.
As soon as the other applicants got settled a black thestral covered in scars walked up to the podium at the front of the room before clearing his throat. “Welcome to SPD cadets. I’m Edge Case, head trainer here. Now, I bet some of you are wonder how exactly SPD is different than the normal guard. Well, I can answer that for you, we make the guard look like foals playing pillow fort. SPD is a proud organization that was founded before Nightmare Moon, and let me tell ya, it has aged well. You remember Tirek? Well, after Princess Twilight Sparkle, with the combined power of the other princesses, failed to beat him, COMMANDER CRUGER MADE HIM CRY LIKE A LITTLE FILLY!!! The wedding of Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, that was interrupted by Changlings? For SPD that’s a normal work day. Make no mistake, SPD doesn’t go after petty pick-pockets or punks who like spreading graffiti, we go after monsters that you’d see in your nightmares, we know, Princess Luna confirmed it. Now, we’re not going to send you after them in a pretty dress, SPD is the most well equipped of any law-enforcement organization on the planet, Faust, the building you’re standing in can turn into a giant robot. However, we hold our personnel to as high a standard. Thinking of getting a free ride because your mommy’s a noble? Think again and give me 20 while your at it. Transferring from the regular guard and got a gold star because you kept your armor shinier than everypony else? Well maybe you can keep the bathrooms clean, cause that’s not gonna help when a dragon decides to eat a town. Prepare to work your flanks off, because starting now, you are no longer a pony, or mule, or griffin, you are a member of Space Patrol Delta, and it’s time you learned how to act like it.’”
Dusk silently stared at Edge Case for a few moments after his speech ended, feeling quite impressed by the Thestral. Shortly afterwards though the applicants started being split up into groups of 15 or so as they were led out of the briefing room. The groups were then led through the base to an outside training yard which consisted of running tracks, an obstacle course, what looked like some kind of soccer field, Etc… Over the next few hours, she put them to good use. She went through various different exercises, from 100 meter dashes to a kilometer long marathon. Long jump, hammer toss, obstacle run, and every exercise had the trainer in charge write down how well she did. To her relief she hadn't had to use ‘that’ the entire time, while it caused her to be more exhausted from not using it relying on it during the exam would surely get her caught and persecuted.
The groups were then dismissed, being told that the first part of the exam was over. Dusk then smiled as she slowly walked back to her room, stopping by a water fountain on the way before realizing she hadn't eaten anything yet.
She sheepishly looked around to make sure no one heard her stomach growl before she quickly pulled out her map and made her way towards the mess hall. After reaching the mess hall though all she could do was stare in shock at the size of the place. “Woah… It's bigger than my dad’s mansion in here!” She muttered from just inside the doorway.
“Must not have been a very big mansion then,” said a tan unicorn beside her, “hey, I’m Tome Guard.”
Dusk squeaked in surprise, not expecting anyone to hear her. “Um, hi… I’m Dusk Roze…” She said sheepishly.
“So,” Tome said, “how’d you do today?”
“Good I guess?” Dusk said as she fidgeted with a piece of her mane nervously.
“Okay…” Tome replied, “well, I heard that we had a few dropouts, mostly noble brats. Guess Edge wasn’t kidding huh?”
“I think he’s kinda cool, but yeah.” Dusk replied as she started walking towards the line to get food.
“True but I heard he can be a bit sadistic when he wants to be,” Tome replied, “you ever heard of something called Hell Week?”
“No? What's that?” Dusk asked, her interest piqued.
“Not sure,” Tome said, “but I heard that it’s so tough, that almost half of those who went in dropped out on the first day, and everypony who participated was a B-Squad trooper.”
“Sounds like something I’m going to avoid for the foreseeable future then…” Dusk replied, chuckling nervously as she got a plate and started piling food on it.
“No kidding,” Tome said as she filled her own plate, “although, there is another rumor that doesn’t sound so bad.”
Now normally Dusk wouldn't get involved with gossip but she couldn't resist due to everything around here seeming to be so interesting. “What is it?” She asked.
“Well,” Tome said, “you remember reading about code blue in your orientation pamphlet?”
“Sortof? I only skimmed over it.” Dusk admitted as she finished filling her plate and headed over to one of the tables to eat.
“Well,” Tome whispered conspiratorially, “I heard that the last time code blue was declared, this entire base went into another dimension. On top of that, I heard that the commander regularly meets with beings from other dimensions as well. In fact, I think there’s security footage of one of these beings, as well as two Twilights.”
Dusk just stared at Tome for a few seconds as her jaw metaphorically fell off. “SERIOUSLY!?” She shouted before covering her mouth, “You have to be pulling my leg, that's practically unheard of!”
“No joke,” Tome said, “I heard one of the R&D guys talk about it, something about a ‘Displaced’ somepony helping them finish a project, then Cruger and two unknown people fighting off an alien invasion with strange monsters they commanded.”
Dusk stared in shock for a few moments before shaking herself and started eating. After she and Tom finished eating she decided to continue the conversation. “I knew this place was going to be interesting, but not that interesting…” She sighed, “so what is there to do around here? I want to have a look around before the next part of the exam tomorrow so I don't get lost again like when I first got here yesterday...”
“I’m not too sure myself,” Tome admitted, “I just arrived yesterday too, rather late. How about we explore after the tests are over, deal?” She asked, raising her glass.
Dusk was bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning as she and the other not as excited applicants entered the space they had been told to be at first thing that morning. According to the map and the equipment around the room it was supposedly a gym… Though she was slightly uncertain due to the firing range and other various things you wouldn't expect to find inside a gym. To her credit, she used them all. While her unfamiliarity on the weapons at the firing range threw her off, and her bench press wasn’t quite as good as some of the others, she managed to hold her own everywhere else, especially on the sparring mats.
After the training in the gym was over the applicants were released for lunch break to which everyone gratefully used. As they made their way to the mess hall Dusk decided to see if she could find Tome Guard to see how she was doing. After a bit of wading through the crowd she eventually found the unicorn she wanted and smirked as she snuck up on her from behind.
“Hey there!” Dusk shouted, jumping in front of Tome Guard when she least expected it. With a shriek, she instinctively encased Dusk in a binding circle.
After seeing who it was Tome released the circle, and smacked her, “Dusk, don’t do that.”
“But it was funny!” Dusk giggled, not the least bit fazed that she had been placed within a binding circle only moments before. “So how did you do this time?”
Tome sighed, “not too great, I think I’ll do fine this afternoon during the mock takedowns, but this morning i was average across the board.”
“I see, so you aren't that into the physical aspect of things then?” Dusk asked, putting her hands behind her head as she walked backwards in front of Tome Guard.
“Not really,” Tome admitted, “I’m pretty good with wards and the like, but when it comes to physical fighting? Not so much.”
“I’m pretty good with physical combat and some, other things… But that’s mostly due to having so much experience from back home.” Dusk chuckled nervously, almost letting her Earth Pony disguise slip on accident.
“I’ll say,” said somepony behind them, “you keep this up, you might break one of my records.”
Dusk turned to see who was talking to them to see A blue pegasus with a rainbow mane. “And who are you?” She asked politely.
“You seriously don’t know,” said Rainbow Dash, “I need to work harder then. Can’t go having ponies not knowing who I am.”
“Sorry, it’s just that I don't get around much. Being the daughter of a wealthy businessman in manehattan is not as easy as people think.” Dusk sighed. “The name’s Dusk Roze, what’s yours?” She said in introduction while sticking her hand out for the prismatic mare to shake.
“Rainbow Dash, the one and only,” she said.
Tome looked at her for a few seconds, then her eyes turned wide, “Wait, the Rainbow Dash? Element of Loyalty? Personal friend of every princess? Leader of A-Squad!?”
Dash chuckled, “Looks like I do have fans, you want your autograph now or later?”
“Wait, she knows the princesses AND is the leader of A-squad!?” Dusk gasped, falling backwards. “I’m ok!”
“Yeah,” Rainbow said nonchalantly as she helped her up, “I sometimes have that effect.”
“I was there when you and the other members of A-squad used that giant robot of yours to destroy that oversized blender that was destroying the city!” Dusk said, gaping at Rainbow. “Just wait till I tell my father that I met one of the ponies that saved his business from that attack!”
“Ah it was nothing,” Dash admitted with false modesty, “it was kinda awesome though.”
“Nothing? NOTHING!? You literally saved my family's livelihood! If it weren't for you and the other members of A-squad my family would be on the streets right now!” Dusk shouted, her yellow eyes growing to the size of dinner plates.
“Well,” Dash said, “If you want to thank me and my team, why don’t you join us.”
“For lunch,” Dash said, “you’re gonna need to prove your raw awesomeness if you want to become part of my team.”
Dusk gulped nervously before turning to Tome Guard. “What do I do!?” Dusk whispered, panic evident in her voice.
Tome got a grin on her face as she shoved Dusk after Rainbow, “We do the polite thing and say hi.”
Dusk’s eyes then shrunk to pinpricks as she followed Rainbow. ‘I hope I don't screw up and reveal myself…’ She thought, hoping that no one would figure out her ‘secret’.
Entering the mess hall, they grabbed some food and went to join the rest of A-Squad. “Hey guys,” Dash said, “hope you don’t mind that I invited some new friends.”
“Not a problem,” said Pearl Spark, “we’ve got room.”
Dusk gulped before she walked over and sat down alongside Tome Guard, hoping to avoid drawing too much attention to herself.
“Well,” Tome said, “I heard you fought off that big machine that attacked Manehatten a few weeks ago.”
“That we did,” said Hammer Fist, “Cruger said that it probably won’t be an isolated incident, good thing we’ve got cadets like you to help us out.”
“Well, Dusk here wanted to thank you for that, since you saved her father’s business and all,” Tome said.
Dusk gave off a nervous chuckle as she fidgeted with part of her mane before waving at the rest of the members of A-squad.
Night Stalker frowned slightly, “A black coat is common enough, but yellow eyes not so much.”
“It runs in the family!” Dusk blurted out before blushing and started to eat, not making eye contact with anyone.
“I can’t help but think that I’ve seen some pony else with yellow eyes though…” Night said.
“Maybe you’re thinking of Ghost?” Pearl theorized.
“Maybe,” Night said, “he’s got some unique parents though.”
“Who’s this Ghost pony? And How do I remind you of him?” Dusk asked, pausing from her eating as she looked at Night Stalker.
“Grey Ghost, he’s an investigator, and the son of Princess Luna and Sombra,” Night said, “you’d better ask him if you want more details though, he’s a bit private.”
Dusk flinched at the mention of Sombra but acted like nothing was wrong. “Sure… I guess I could should I ever meet him…” She chuckled nervously.
“Odds are you won’t,” said Pearl, “he doesn’t socialize much.”
“He likes Cruger just fine though,” said Evil Breaker.
“Well, the commander’s and old friend of the diarchs,” said Night.
“I heard he was their foalsitter,” said Rainbow.
“Wait, the commander was mistress luna’s foalsitter!?” Dusk said in shock before covering her mouth.
“OH! I know this,” said Tome, “according to history, the commander appeared out of nowhere and saved Celestia and Luna from kidnappers when they were little fillies. As a reward, Queen Faust made him their personal guard until they grew up, at which point he founded SPD. Then he went on to protect Equestria from several major threats until Discord sealed him in this very base that was then buried.”
“Looks like you’ll do just fine for the history exam,” Dash said, before shuddering at the memory of her’s.
“So! What were you saying earlier about me nearly beating your record?” Dusk asked, trying to change the subject.
“I believe the word I used was might,” Dash said, “but then again, that goes for everypony at this table.” She ducked a bread roll playfully thrown by Pearl before continuing, “Anyway, you’ve got some great potential kid, odds are you’ll make B Squad easy.”
“Thanks, though having experience with combat helps.” Dusk chuckled.
“Really, when’d you get that?” asked Hammer.
“Erm… Beating up kidnappers and back street thugs?” Dusk said sheepishly. “You’d be surprised how many people have tried kidnapping me to use for ransom against my father…”
Rainbow whistled, “Man, being rich is tough, good thing I’m planning on being famous.”
“I’m just glad I’m not a noble… I hate politics.” Dusk chuckled. “I prefer to stick to the shadows, fame and fortune aren't really my scene.”
“Your right!” Dusk gasped, noticing the time before starting to stuff her face with what was left of her food.
“Well,” Dash said, “don’t worry too much about today, tomorrow however…”
“I still don't want to risk it, I have too much riding on me getting into B-squad. ” Dusk said as she finished eating, she then quickly got up from the table and sprinted off to the second part of that day’s tryouts.
Rainbow shook her head as Tome followed, “Looks like they’re going to find out the hard way, day 3 is the tricky bit.”
Dusk yawned as she got up, glad that the previous two days had gone smoothly. She then quickly changed into her cloths that she had washed before going to bed and grabbed all her materials before leaving her room and checking her schedule to see where to go. To say she was worried would be an understatement when she realized they had to return to Briefing Room B for whatever they were doing today.
After maneuvering through the headquarters and arriving at Briefing Room B she quickly sat in the same seat as last time before the rest of the applicants groggily filed in before taking random seats, giving her a sense of deja vu.
Adding to the dejavu, Edge Case was on the stage. Once everyone was settled, he began to speak, “I’m glad to see that so many of you managed to survive to the last day. Before I reveal what the final exam will be, a word of warning. The tests you’ve done the last few days, they were pulled straight out of SPD Trooper conditioning training, so expect to do them again and again during your time with us, but not all at once, we’re tough, not sadists.” After a round of chuckles, Edge continued, “Now, for your final exam, you’ll all be going in the simulator for a round of capture the flag. The rules are simple: each team will have a colored backpack somewhere within their base, those are your flags. If one of your team manages to secure the other team’s pack while your’s is in its cubby, you score a point. First team to 3 points wins. You will each start out with a standard blaster, and additional weapons will be scattered within the arena. In addition, any other techniques you can use are allowed. If you’re hit, you will be teleported to a waiting room for 30 seconds before being sent back to your team’s spawn room. Any questions?” When no one said anything, Edge grinned, “glad to hear it, the commander himself will be watching, so give it everything you’ve got, DISMISSED!”
Dusk went into a silent panic, if the commander was watching she was going to have to be extra carefull should she use her ‘secret’. Luckily Tome Guard spotted her and snapped her out of her panic before she got left behind.
“You doing ok?” Tome asked.
“Oh, um… Sorry, I was just thinking of something…” Dusk said nervously as she got out of her seat and followed Tome out of the room.
“Well, at least I think I can do well in the game,” Tome said, “it’s capture the flag, I can protect my team’s flag with my wards. You give any thought on what you’re gonna do?”
“W-well, I’m probably going to focus on capturing my opponent's flag. Seeing as I’m more suited to sneaking around than defending something other than myself.” Dusk replied, rubbing her arm nervously.
“I hope we’re on the same team,” Tome said.
“Yeah, I don't think I would want to be on the team opposing you… You're my only friend here so far and I don't want to do something that would jeopardise that…” Dusk admitted.
“Come on,” Tome said, “it’s just training, it’d take more than that to break a friendship, probably.”
“Lets hope so…” Dusk muttered as they got on an elevator.
After a quick elevator ride and a little guiding through the halls they eventually arrived at the simulator room they were going to use for the capture the flag test.
Waiting for them was, of all things, a Changling. “My name is Princess Heart, don’t bow, and I’ll be overseeing this round. Now, to start, we need to choose teams, so let’s get started.” A mass of blue circles and red Xs appeared in the center in the room, which then shot towards everyone except Heart, hovering over their heads. Dusk had a circle, as did Tome. “I don’t think I need to tell you, but the color above your head is the color of your team. Now for the fun bit, which map?” A screen appeared in thin air, which then started flashing various images. Eventually, it stopped on an industrial complex. “The map is Factory,” Heart said, “one of the smaller maps, so expect to run into fights a lot. Time to begin.”
With that, the simulator generated the map, and Tome and Dusk, as well as the rest of Blue team, found themselves in a large room with a supply cabinet, blasters at their hips. Out of nowhere sounded a voice, “Mission begins in 60 seconds.”
“So what do we do? Set up teams to deal with certain tasks or do stuff individually?” Dusk asked.
“No time,” Tome said as she and a few others rooted around in the supply cabinet, “but here, you should find these useful.” With that, she tossed Dusk a headset and another blaster.
“Fine, individuals it is… See you in a bit.” Dusk said as she put on the headset and held the second blaster at a ready position before stepping up to the door.
“Mission begins in 30 seconds”
Around her other cadets were prepping in their own way, some were panicking, not sure what to do, others were going over what they knew. Most had gotten a headset, and those who didn’t were clustered around the supply cabinet to grab one.
“Mission begins in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.”
With that, the doors opened, and everyone exited enmass. Tome went down a set of stairs towards the flag room, while Dusk and almost everyone else headed for the exit.
Dusk had managed to make it to the exit first and stepped aside to let the others swarm out. After they had all exited she watched to see which directions people hadn't gone and took one of those paths. Aftera bit of wandering and not encountering anyone she found a spot where no one could see her before sighing.
‘I hope that changeling doesn't try reading my emotions… She would suspect me almost immediately if she did…’ She thought with a shudder before scanning around to make sure noone was looking still. Once she was certain that no one would see her she began to draw on her powers as her mane and tail turned pitch black and her eyes began to glow. “Now… Lets get that flag.” She said as she then dissolved into a shadowy mist and floated into the air vents.
Upon exiting, she found herself in what appeared to be a sewer area. Also there was a unicorn who either had the same idea about being stealthy, or was guarding against anyone else who did.
‘Rookie, he probably won’t be expecting me…’ Dusk thought with a chuckle as she floated back into the vent before reforming her body. “Now, Let's give him a little surprise.” She muttered before she burst through the air vent and started firing her blaster at the unicorn when his back was turned. Before he could turn around, several blast hit him, causing him to vanish.
“Ok… Where to next?” Dusk wondered as she started walking through the sewers, looking for any clues as to where the enemy flag room may be. relying on her night vision to alert her if anyone was nearby she wandered down the sewers for a bit until she spotted a door, out of curiosity she snuck over to it and began to crack it open. Inside was a few materials, bleach and the like, but two things caught her attention. One was a pulse blaster, a magic shotgun that fired a pulse of energy instead of a spread of pellets. The other was a grappling gun, which would make scaling walls easy, even without her powers.
Shrugging Dusk grabbed the grappling gun and the pulse blaster before hooking them to her hip alongside her main blaster, she then strapped the shotgun to her back before closing the door. “This should be fun.” She purred as she turned around to see flashlight beams heading in her direction. She smiled as she readied her backup blaster that was in her hand before grabbing the pulse blaster and cocking it, hoping to get a decent amount of exercise out of whoever was coming if they were on the opposing team.
“Are you sure there's someone down here?” Said one of them.
“Positive,” said another, “Iron Hide was down here, and he says someone got him.”
“But are they still here?” asked the first.
“Hello~” Dusk called, making sure to stay out of the light produced by the flashlights the trio were carrying. She then allowed her eyes to glow as she opened fire on them. She managed to hit two of them in the first volley, but the third managed to duck out of the way before she could get tagged, and fired a wild shot.
Dusk jumped out of the way of the shot before grabbing the magic shotgun off her back and firing multiple rounds at the remaining pony, making sure not to lose track of her other weapons.
She managed to dodge most of the rounds, but one managed to clip her, sending her to the waiting room. Then, a message came over Dusk’s headset.
“Alert: The enemy has taken our intelligence.”
“Someone got past Tome?” Dusk wondered as she quickly reverted to her Earth pony disguise, turning her hair dark blue and negating the glow from her eyes before anyone could see her. “Tome! Are you there?” Dusk asked as she turned on her headset.
“I’m here,” Tome said over the headset, “sorry, they had a sniper, my wards failed the moment he tagged me.”
“Thats ok, its not your fault… Which direction did they go?” Dusk asked.
“I don’t know, but you should keep going,” Tome said, “remember, if they don’t have their pack, they can’t score. Besides, others are already on it.”
“Roger that.” Dusk chuckled as she turned off her headset before recollecting her weapons. “Looks like I’m going to get a tad serious.” She muttered to herself as she put on a poker face and ran in the direction that the three ponies she had just defeated came from. At the end of the sewer she found herself at the bottom of a large pipe, which she was able to ascend easily with her grappling gun. At the top she looked around, but noone was there.
“Rookies…” Dusk muttered to herself as she climbed out of the pipe before putting the grappling hook away. She then looked around before spotting a door leading to the back of the enemy base. Being a silent as she could she snuck up to the door before cracking it open to see if there was anyone there.
She managed to see the red pack, as well as a guard who had managed to find a riot shield. His back was to the wall, and unless she used her powers, there was no way to sneak by.
“Dang it… It's times like these that I wish I was a unicorn like my dad instead of a shadow pony…” Dusk silently cursed before an idea came to her, it was risky but it should work… Hopefuly.
Crack Horn stood watch over his team’s pack. He was one of the few non-ponies in this class of cadets, a minotaur to be exact, and proud of his position. He had already managed to stop an attempt on the pack, a bunch of amateurs who used swarm tactics, but they didn’t come close.
There was then a loud clang sound near the main entrance, making Crack Horn look towards the doorway for a split second, but that's all it took. Dusk used the distraction to run up to him before vaulting over the shield and shooting him in the face.
As he appeared in the waiting room, Crack Horn couldn’t help but think to himself, ‘whoever that was, she’s good.’
Dusk sighed as she wiped the nervous sweat from her forehead before she grabbed the red backpack and ran back the way she came.
While she was running, she was hit by two more messages, one expected, one not so much, but welcomed all the more.
“You have taken the enemy intelligence.”
“We have recovered our intelligence.”
Dusk broke her pokerface and smirked to herself before she jumped down the pipe she had come from and started running through the sewers back to her base. Luckily she didn't encounter any opposing team members along the way to the air vent and strapped the red backpack to her back. Scanning around to double check she wouldn't be seen she activated her powers again and turned back into her true form before dissolving into mist with her new equipment and quickly traveled through the air vent.
After exiting the vent and rematerializing she deactivated her powers once more and ran to the base, making sure her eyes weren't glowing as she moved some of her blue hair out of the way of her sight. As she entered her team's base she threw the red backpack into the room where theirs was kept and collapsed on the floor. “One down… Two to go…” She gasped.
“Success, we have captured the enemy intelligence.”
Up in the observation booth, various eyes watched the progress of the game.
“What’d I tell ya boss,” said Rainbow Dash, “that Dusk’s got some potential.”
“That she does,” Cruger said, “looks like stealth’s in her blood.”
Dusk sighed as she sat in the waiting room, sweat drenching her fur. “Keeping from being shot once is harder than I thought…” She chuckled .
“At least it’s over,” Tome said.
“I wonder how those ponies I mowed down when they tried swarming me feel? I unleashed a bullet hell on their flanks…” Dusk wondered as she grabbed a nearby towel and started to dry herself off.
The round had been close, but it ended 3 to 2, Blue team’s win. All that was left was waiting for the observers to catalog the data and a little speech at the end.
“So where do we go for the final results and speech thing?” Dusk asked as she and Tome Guard joined the rest of the applicants, after she finished drying off.
“Back at the main hall,” Tome said, “by Celestia, I’m nervous.”
“You're not the only one.” Dusk chuckled as she, Tome Guard the other applicants started heading for the main hall.
Upon entering, Dusk saw several people at the front. Various trainers she saw during the past few days, what she assumed was the head of each division, Rainbow Dash, and Cruger. Once everyone had settled in, Cruger stepped forward and gave his speech.
“Welcome Cadets, to your last day of being called a cadet. Once you walk out those doors when I’m finished speaking, your assignment will be posted outside the door, so you don’t have to worry about whether or not you made it, and can skip straight to the drunken celebrations. Now, once you put on your uniform and take the oath, you are no longer your own pony. Your life belongs to Equestria, and its allies. Some of you might be thinking, SPD is an Equestrian organization, and looks after Equestrian interests only, you’d be wrong. We take care of those outside of Equestrian borders, and I’m not just talking about the Crystal Empire. Any member of of any race has a right to the protection of SPD. And this is not just lip service, I’m an alien from another dimension, miss Heart is a changeling, and more than a few of you aren’t ponies. At SPD, you don’t differentiate between race, the only categories you put people in are the following I’m giving you right now: the civilians you are sworn to protect, the criminals you are charged to put behind bars, and your brothers and sisters who serve beside you, no matter what country they serve. No matter what your race, or past. from this day forward, you are, first and foremost, a proud member of Space Patrol Delta.”
“Wha…” Dusk said smartly as she stared at Cruger, not expecting him to claim to be an alien from another dimension. “Is he seriously an alien!?” She whispered to Tome Guard.
“That would explain a few things,” Tome whispered back.
“I wonder if it would be safe to… No that's ridiculous.” Dusk sighed as she and the other applicants began to get up.
They all filed out of the chamber to 4 large sheets of paper posted on the walls. Each one had every cadet’s name printed on it as well as their assignment, the reason there were 4 was so that not everyone had to crowd around one.
“Let’s see, here we are,” Tome said, “looks like I’m in C Squad. Well, I guess I could see that one coming. How about you?”
“I’m... on B-squad…” Dusk said as she read the board before groaning, “Oh joy…”
“What’s the matter?” Tome asked, “I thought you were aiming for that.”
“I was hoping you would be in the same squad as me is all…” Dusk sighed, “Welp, at least it's not flooded with other ponies… I don't work well with large groups of ponies I don't know.”
“It’s not like it’ll be too bad,” Tome said, “we’ll see each other in the gym, plus there's weekends.”
“True… So it won't be as lonely.” Dusk chuckled as her mood improved.
“Come on then,” Tome said, “we said we were going to explore this place after training, or we could get started on that drunken celebration Cruger talked about.”
“I dont drink…” Dusk said. “So where should we go first? R&D? I can think of a couple Pranks we could leave for them.” She then suggested as she started making her way towards the nearest elevator while pulling out her map and chuckling like a madmare.
“So what do you think?” Asked Fetch his colleague Steam Gear, eying the new recruits.
Both were present as Cruger gave his little speech after the final day of testing. The room slowly emptied out as all rushed to the boards to see which Squad they belong too. Fetch and Steam Gear however didn’t need to look at it to know who would enter the B-Squad. They got notified beforehand. It was one of the perks of being the leaders in the R&D department.
“The earth pony, Dusk I think, did a good job with the equipment she found. I wonder how she would handle the Chicken Launcher, since it is only really effective if you take aim correctly.”
Fetch snorted at that. “As if that would ever make it out of the R&D. Sometimes I wonder what goes on in that head of yours.” After a shake of his head he turned back from his observation of the recruits to his working partner Steam Gear. “Never mind that though. More importantly we should probably prepare for her arrival in the R&D. She is in the B-Squad after all and has the right to choose her own equipment directly from the R&D. We might as well get on with the protocol.”
Steam Gear sighed. “True enough.”
Fetch lifted an amused eyebrow. “What? Are you pouting because she is no Pegasus?”
“Nothing like that! You know that we still have our ‘other’ project. And it irks me a little that we lose some time we could invest in it.”
“You are acting as if we had to keep a deadline. Our duty includes first and foremost the SPD, and not some private project. Besides she might be an interesting character to talk too.”
No further words were exchanged between the two, only a nod as they slowly walked back towards the elevator to prepare for their newest arrival.
“So Dusk,” Tome called, “what you up to now?”
“Well, I think I’m going to go prank R&D while I can. There not likely to be in their lab right now so I’m going to go leave them a little surprise.” Dusk cacled, Flashing Tome a crazed grin as she pressed the button to call the elevator.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Tome said, “there might be worse things than ticking off the ones responsible for maintaining your equipment, but I can’t think of any.”
“Yeah yeah, I know that. That's why I’m not going to get caught.” Dusk said as the elevator arrived. “Why don't you stay here and I prank them by myself then? It would be much safer.” Dusk then suggested.
“Your funeral,” Tome said, “I’d rather stay on their good side.”
“I’ll let you know what happens tomorrow then!” Dusk chuckled as she got in the elevator and punched in the floor number to R&D.
A minute or so later Dusk had gotten out of the elevator and had wandered over to the entrance of R&D, hoping that it was empty she then opened the door.
What greeted her was a large metallic room. It was filled with a variety of different contraptions meant for all kinds of metalwork. Toolboxes as large as tables on wheels were set around the room, always where it was needed or a pony, or even Griffin, were at work. Some working tables adorned the room too, albeit some were heavily littered with unfinished projects and all kinds of metallic parts and cables which Dusk could not even begin to fathom.
At least that was one side of the room.
The room was in itself divided in two as a straight line trailed along the ground. The other side of the room held more tables, some even for drawing with lamps, as well as flipcharts, blackboards, computers and other learning materials. In contrast to the table on the other side, these tables held way more paper in form of research stacks. The theoretical theme was noticeably dominant in this area.
It was quite clear here where the R ended and the D of it started.
“This is going to be way too easy.” Dusk said as she entered, grinning impishly as she began sneaking around the room while staying out of sight of the few members of R&D present.
After a while she had managed to mess around with some of the things around the lab enough to bother whoever worked at the unattended stations without being noticed, and was setting up a trap with some kind of contraption that launched chickens that she found when the doors opened again...
In stepped the last two Unicorns she would have liked to met at the moment. She hastily finished setting up the prank trap and then dived behind one of the tables. The two leaders of the R&D were none the wiser.
However, Steam Gear was wiser about one thing. Some of his equipment was touched. He could see small disruptions a mile away. It might have also helped that he build motion sensors. Let’s just say he was cautious like this. With Pinkie Pie and HEART on the loose it couldn’t hurt. Both had an air of curiosity around them which could unleash some disasters. Not to mention a certain foal that sometimes visited the R&D to see her father who was working there.
But that put all aside it was important and Steam Gear doesn’t need another incident. He had enough that would suffice for a lifetime. Blood Rush would give him living Tartarus if another pony, Griffin or simply put ANYONE would have to go to the medical wing because of one of his inventions.
With that he strode forward, not noticing the tripwire. The only warning he got was a soft clack as the trigger was pulled. His eyes widened as well as his mouth as he shrieked in surprise unintentionally giving room for the projectile as it slammed into his mouth and down his esophagus.
Dusk immediately used the upcoming confusion as everyone in the room went towards the fallen engineer to try and escape. Fetch was the first to kneel down to examine him and then the contraption. He heard the soft whirr of the doors as he looked around and saw a figure slipping through it.
“Seems like she knows how to handle your Chicken Launcher. Right Steam Gear?”
Said pony however was completely out of it. He was quickly carried into the medical wing to a slightly disgruntled but then surprised Blood Rush. Never had he thought that the inventor would fall prey to his own inventions as well as karma considering that he normally send others to the medical wing. Reason enough that he couldn’t help the grin that was on his face.
“Justice!” Blood Rush crowed.
As soon as Dusk was certain that she was safe she fell over and burst into laughter. ‘By the stars! His reaction! I feel bad for whoever that was… But it’s too funny!’ She thought before slowly regaining her composure, she then looked around and decided to find out what happened to the poor stallion... as well as get better acquainted with the place for future pranking.
Dusk then trotted down the hallway as she then began to poke around the entire R&D division as stealthily as possible.
When Dusk woke up the next morning she quickly ran to the shower and bathed herself after changing out of her pajamas. After her shower she then quickly put the pajamas away with the packages of her things that her parents had sent over yesterday afternoon before putting on a blue tanktop and a pair of black shorts. She then began to dry her hair while combing it, enjoying being able to properly prepare for the day when she got up instead of rushing for the first time since she arrived when there was a knocking at the door.
“Hey Dusk,” said Tome, “so, how mad is the R&D department?”
“I dont know.” Dusk said as she opened the door and welcomed Tome in. “Though I am probably going to have to go apologize later… I ended up sending someone to the medical wing I think.” She sheepishly admitted.
Tome sighed, “Figures, I can’t leave you alone for 10 seconds without you getting into some sort of trouble.”
“Hey! I stayed out of trouble perfectly well before I came here!” Dusk defended as she crossed her arms across her chest.
Tome chuckled, “Well anyway, why don’t we go look around, before you piss someone else off.”
“Haha, very funny.” Dusk said, rolling her eyes as she grabbed her ID. “So where shall we start?”
“Well,” Tome said, “I heard some of the older troopers say good things about the simulators, how about we try one of those?”
“Shure.” Dusk replied with a shrug before leaving her room.
“So,” Tome said as they walked towards the elevator, “what exactly did you do?”
“I messed with their desks just enough to give anyone with ocd a headache and then set up a trap involving some kind of contraption that shot fried chicken…” Dusk said, chuckling nervously as she scratched at the back of her head.
Tome gaped, “Why would they even create a chicken cannon?”
Dusk simply shrugged, not knowing the answer to the question. “So, what are we going to do in the simulators?” She then asked, changing the subject.
“Not sure,” Tome said, “but I heard that it can be used for training or down time.”
“Training sounds fun, I wonder if there would be anyone there to spar with?” Dusk wondered, staring into space as they got on the elevator.
“Not sure,” Tome said. After a few minutes they arrived. What met them was a hallway lined with doors on either side.
“Hey, do you think I could beat one of the members of A-Squad if I tried?” Dusk asked, a trollish smile spreading across her face.
“Maybe,” Tome said, “but I heard that the only one allowed to promote someone to A-Squad is Cruger.”
“I’m not looking for any promotion.” Dusk said, waving off the idea. “I just want to have some fun, nothing more nothing less.”
“What about being able to drive one of those cool Megazord things?” Tome asked.
“While that would be cool, unless they built one designed for stealth I can't see myself pulling it off…” Dusk said, scrunching her muzzle.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Tome admitted, “now, how do you think we turn one of these things on?”
“Um… I thought you knew…?” Dusk said, blinking owlishly.
“I know where they were,” Tome replied, “I didn’t get a manual.”
“Maybe we should ask for help…” Dusk said as she started to look around for anyone that could help them.
“Nah, I think I got this,” Tome said, pressing buttons on the console, eventually getting the door to open, “there we go, I think.”
Dusk looked at the door cautiously before asking, “Are you sure? What did you set it to?”
“WCS-047,” Tome said, “seems simple enough.”
“Umm… I’ll take your word for it…” Dusk said, not having a clue how that string of letters and numbers could be considered simple. She then walked into the simulator alongside Tome before the door closed behind them.
“Program enabled,” said a voice from hidden speakers, “Worst Case Scenario 47-Zombie Apocalypse.”
Dusk’s eyes immediately reduced to the size of pinpricks. “You have got to be bucking kidding me…”
“Um, oops,” Tome said sheepishly.
“What was that you were saying earlier about getting into trouble?” Dusk asked as the simulator began to generate the map for the training exercise, the interior of a somewhat dilapidated house.
“Don’t look at me,” Tome said, “I just pressed the button that said ‘Load Previous Program’.”
“Uh-huh…” dusk said with a smirk, “Next time, we're asking for help.”
“Shut up and grab a gun,” Tome said, grabbing a shotgun from a nearby table.
Dusk Complied and grabbed a pair of pistols and stuffed them into her back pockets before strapping a shotgun to her back and grabbing a sword. “Ready when you are rookie.” She teased as she spun the sword in her grasp like a baton.
“We’ll see,” Tome said as zombies started crashing through the windows, “here they come.”
Dusk immediately grabbed the shotgun off her back and started mowing down zombies like a pro while still spinning her sword like a baton, occasionally using it to cut any zombies that managed to get too close to her in half. Tome was proving more of a defensive fighter, laying down trap wards and shooting the zombies in the face with her shotgun when they got stuck.
Dusk sighed as she cut off the head of the last zombie before walking over to Tome Guard, sweat dripping from her drenched fur. “That went better than expected.” She said, dropping the sword she had been using before tossing away the empty shotgun and pistols.
“Yeah,” Tome said while panting, “I thought for sure that those super fast ones would get us, luckily I know how to set explosive wards.”
“True, but we wouldn't have survived those giant ones if it weren't for my ninja like skills.” Dusk bragged before holding out a hand to help Tome back to her hooves.
“Wave 1 of 10 complete,” said the voice, “continue?”
“NO!” Dusk and Tome shouted in unison.
“Understood, would you like to save your progress?”
Dusk raised an eyebrow, “Save progress? What's that about?”
“If you wish, you may save your progress so that you may continue where you left off instead of starting from the beginning,” explained the voice, “would you like to save your progress?”
Tome shrugged, “Why not, it was kinda fun once we got into it.”
“Understood, please name your save file.”
“Um… How about Tome’s karma?” Dusk joked.
Before Tome could protest, the voice replied, “Acknowledged, file saved as Tome’s Karma 001, ending program.”
As the virtual house vanished, Tome turned to Dusk, “Did you have to name it that?”
“And why not? That is technically what caused this mess to begin with.” Dusk replied as she booped Tome on the nose with a mischievous grin.
“Whatever,” Tome said, grinning despite herself, “let’s grab some lunch. Maybe we can come back later.”
“After you learn how to operate it,” Dusk replied.
Tome sighed, “I’m never hearing the end of this, am I?”
“Nope,” Dusk said, grinning from ear to ear. They then wandered off to go get lunch and then wandered around a bit more before deciding to go separate ways after their eventful morning. Taking this opportunity Dusk decided to go back to the R&D today and apologize to the poor pony she had accidentally sent to the medical wing with her prank if she could find him.
As Dusk got off of the elevator she then started to make her way towards R&D when a piece of chicken flew past her head. She stared at the flying piece of food as it flew further down the hall out of confusion before turning to find where it came from.
In the room she could see the two Unicorns from yesterday. They seemed to be arguing, while one took her pranking weapon out of the other’s hands.
“Even though I will not call this a weapon, you shouldn’t shoot randomly around with it!”
“That one shot was an accident! And I doubt someone got hit by that stray shot anyway. Still doesn’t mean that my Chicken Launcher is to be sneezed at. It put me in the medical wing yesterday, so it IS a dangerous weapon!”
Dusk couldn't help it as she started giggling, remembering yesterday due to the Unicorn’s rambling. She then slowly walked over to the two ponies before clearing her throat. “U-um… Hi, I’m Dusk Roze… Sorry about yesterday, I didn't mean for my little prank to put you in the medical wing.” She said sheepishly.
Steam Gear blinked as he looked at her. “Huh. And here I thought it was little Midnight who was playing a prank on me. On the other hand tripwire doesn’t really sound like her. She usually doesn’t use such finesse for her mischievous actions.”
Fetch looked from Dusk back to Steam Gear. “I wanted to tell you, but as soon as you got here, you were going about a rant about how your Launcher should be the standard weapon for the C-Rangers! You can’t save the world with grilled chickens Steam Gear!”
“But I can try!” he answered like a petulant child, completely forgetting about their guest for the moment.
“Um, whats a C-Ranger?” Dusk asked, slightly confused.
At that exact moment a female cheerful voice sounded behind her, startling Dusk as she flinched in surprise.
“That’s an easy one! A C-Ranger is a member of the C-Squad! And since you passed your tests rather well you became a B-Ranger. So a member of the B-Squad!”
Dusk already had a bad feeling about this. She heard that voice before… at her test.
She slowly turned around and right behind her was none other than PRINCESS HEART, Changeling princess and emotion sensor. The probably biggest threat around for her secret, right after the medical wing. She squeaked as she quickly backed away from HEART, mentally cursing herself for dropping her guard.
Fetch noticed that and immediately set a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“No need to be afraid of her. HEART here is the most considerate changeling you will find around these parts, and probably even beyond.”
“I-I see…” Dusk said nervously, faking a smile as she removed Fetch’s hand from her shoulder.
Then Steam Gear stepped forward, a slight smile on his face.
“I can vouch for that too. She is in no way a terrible evil that tries to befall the world and suck everyone empty for their love and claims the prettiest wings all for herself! I will admit that it took me some time to get around that fact, but I can be rather stubborn sometimes.”
Said words no matter how nice they were meant earned him a disapproving glare from Fetch’s side. In an attempt to save this conversation Fetch stepped forward and immediately changed the topic.
“I assume you are here for your weapons?”
“Um, what do you mean?” Dusk asked, trying to avoid talking about herself or Changelings. She didn't want to hurt anyones feelings but she had to keep her secret safe no matter what.
Fetch blinked. “Your weapons. What else could you possibly here for? Didn’t you read the file with information for B-Rangers that were send to you?”
“File? What fi- Buck, I did it again…” Dusk said before groaning and facepalming.
“I assume you are not one for reading scrupulously through your paperwork?” A sigh then escaped his muzzle. “I guess it doesn’t matter. You wouldn’t believe how often that happens around here.”
“Sorry… I’m not really the type for paperwork, that was my dad’s thing not mine.” Dusk chuckled nervously. “I personally prefer using my fists and hooves to solve my problems…” She added, playing up her Earth Pony disguise.
Steam Gear perked up at that.
“I’m sure we could help with your fighting.” With a spring in his step he went to the area in the back where some of the weapons were stored. All others followed him, Fetch already knew what was coming. Before any of them could say something against it music started to play.
“Now then Dusk here I heard you were in a plight! But it’s abundantly clear that somewhere in here is the weapon to help in your fi-mphf!”
Before Dusk could comprehend the situation a Thestral with a dark blue fur and a dark green mane stepped forward and stopped Steam’s impromptu performance as she stuffed an ice cream cone with ice cream in his mouth.
“No,” was all she said before Steam swallowed the ice cream and took the cone out of his mouth.
“But-!”
“No. The song was enough the first time you did perform it.”
Steam Gear grumbled at that.
“Fine…”
The newcomer then turned around and looked Dusk up and down.
“So you are the new member of the B-Squad? I’m Sky Gear, member of the B-Squad and with that your new colleague, but please call me Sora since Sky might get confusing since it is a rather popular name and you don’t want four or five Sky’s replying when you try it.”
“Um… Ok?” Dusk said, starting to feel very uncomfortable with so many new faces surrounding her including a Changeling that could possibly be reading her emotions.
Steam Gear got a pensive look as his so called cousin tried to pick up a conversation with Dusk. Something Fetch took notice of.
“Do you have something on your mind?”
He shook his head slightly. “No. Just thinking about how suddenly everywhere characters pop up. I’m half wondering that little Midnight is not jumping out from under one of the desks, though how high would the chances for that be? I’m sure everything is going to be fine!”
As luck would have it, or maybe as retribution for tempting Murphy’s Law everything was not going to be fine. Much too late noticed Steam Gear and Fetch the little Earth Pony filly in question with her cobalt blue coat and dark blue mane with a gray streak, as she took a small round object from the table with the experimental weapons in her hand.
Before anyone could do anything about it she pressed the button on it and the Goo Grenade exploded encompassing the entire party as well as half the room in a thick sickly green glowing goo, constricting any possible movement.
The following incident was forever known in the SPD as the Goo Incident. It took a day's worth of work to finally free all ponies, Griffins, Thestrals and Changelings out of the gooey trap. Not to mention a few days of extra work to clean the R&D completely from the sticky substance.
“While annoying… back in the day I might have requested something like that.” Dusk joked as she was picking green goo from her hair while standing next to Steam Gear and Fetch after the three of them were freed.
“I hope they don’t blame me for this again. Not to mention what if Cruger finds out about ‘that’ project?” asked Steam Gear sighing slightly as he hung his head.
“Don’t worry too much about it. You weren’t the only one in on ‘that’ project. And no one has to know about it. As far as they know we were just inventing a new weapon and it went wrong… Again.”
“What do you mean again? Does stuff like this happen a lot?” Dusk asked as she got the last bits of goo out of her mane.
Fetch snickered at that. “You don’t know the half of it. Things blowing up is pretty much a daily occurrence. It doesn’t always end up that badly but we have the highest rate of hospitalization in the whole SPD. You can probably imagine what that says about our department, considering we are not the ones stepping in harm’s way to fight crime.”
“...” Dusk just stared at Fetch, her eye twitching.
“And we never got to the part where we let you choose your weapons,” said Steam Gear a little forlorn. “It will probably take some time to clean all this goo to get to them. I guess you have to take the standard weapon kit like the C-Rangers for now. But rest assured, we will correct that later.”
“What did you have there anyway?” Dusk asked, curious as to what she could have gotten had that incident not happened.
“Pretty much anything you can imagine. From Magical Shotguns to Energy Shields, as well as close range weapons like Shocking Gloves. Not to forget my Chicken Launcher. But we can also fulfill personal requests. If you have an idea for a weapon you are free to tell us and we see to it and try to make it reality if possible.”
“Could you possibly make me a suit that boosts my strength and also can turn me invisible?” Dusk asked, slightly curious.
Steam Gear hummed at that in thought. “Boosting strength is possible without a problem since we have the metal muscle we used to create the A-Squad suits with. So it is an integral part of some of the suits already and adding it will go without a hitch. Turning invisible however… What do you think Fetch?”
“We learned a thing or two since we are here and were researching something like this at the moment. Not the exact same thing, but something comparable. Our new knowledge of changelings might be just the key for your request. We still might need some time, but it is nothing we shouldn’t be able to pull off.”
“Cool. Oh, and could you make the suit auto equip itself or put itself away with the push of a button like those suits I heard the A-Squad has?” Dusk then added as the gears in her head began to turn.
Fetch nodded. “A morpher shouldn’t be a problem. We will just add it to the requested features of your suit.”
“Perfect!” Dusk said happily. “Well, I guess I’ll let you two get back to your cleaning!” She then said before running off to avoid being dragged into helping clean up.
It had been a day since the ‘Goo Incident’. Truth be told, it was quite funny how fast people would come up with a name to cement this silly event. Some might even say that this shows the kind of reputation the R&D made for themselves in the SPD. Probably not the most flattering one, but they worked hard for the reputation nonetheless, even if it was anything other than planned.
As HEART heard the soft whirring of the doors as they slid open she could see that the ‘Goo Incident’ was far from over. A good part of the department was still a glowing green, hampering the R&D team from finishing their respective workloads.
At one side of the room she could see Steam Gear standing with a sprayer which had a pipe leading up to a small tank with some liquid on it. He sprayed it on the goo and it seemed to slowly dissolve.
HEART was at this point glad that they had taken the samples of her saliva. It was the natural solvent for this gooey mess. Of course people weren’t that eager to get sprayed with a chemical which was nothing less than synthesised changeling spit, but it was better than the alternative of being trapped in a goo block.
She approached him slowly not wanting to disturb him while working, especially since she felt guilty about this whole mess. She was the one who asked them for their aid and equipment after all. Sure, the Goo Grenade was not her idea, but she didn’t stop them either.
“Hi there,” she greeted sheepishly.
However, he didn’t seem to hear her the first time. So she decided to give him a little poke, while repeating her greeting.
“Hi.”
Steam Gear this time reacted, slightly jumping in surprise. Seemed that he was lost in his thoughts, like usual.
He brightened slightly as he saw her.
“Hi HEART,” he said, but then sighed as he looked back at his mountain of work, “Seems like the first prototype of the Goo Grenade worked a little too well… We definitely need to adjust the goo production rate of the core so that it only envelops about four square meters at max.”
“I hope you and Fetch didn’t get into too much trouble because of it. I’m really sorry about that.”
Steam Gear just waved it off.
“We are the R&D department. It would be strange if we don’t have an incident a day,” he then shuddered at a thought, “even though Blood Rush might view that differently.”
HEART slightly giggled at that.
“I take your word for it.”
Steam Gear then got pensive and he winced.
“We probably didn’t make such a good impression on Dusk though, now that I think about it. I mean, her first trip to the R&D and she got trapped in goo and then sprayed off with changeling spit? I wonder if she would even want to come back after that.”
HEART had to wince herself now. He was right in a way. And the ‘Goo Incident’ probably didn’t help to make a first good impression. She could already feel her tension and nervousness around her before the grenade, and such a changeling based weapon probably didn’t help her opinion on changelings either. I mean getting trapped in goo right after meeting a changeling didn’t scream: ‘friendly intentions!’
“So she did know that it was spit?”
“Cele-, uh, HEART forbid! I was glad she DIDN’T know about this. Huh… Maybe she might really come back. She only thought she was slimed and not spat at after all.”
HEART’s lip twitched slightly in amusement until she noticed something about his vocabulary that confused her.
“Did you just replace Celestia’s name with mine there?”
Steam Gear nodded as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
“Someone told me that things like ‘Celestia forbid’ might contradict with my beliefs about nobles. I mean, I’m all for democracy, yet I use Celestia’s name like she is some godly being? It is kind of embarrassing after I thought about it. That’s why I’m currently looking for a replacement. And since you were just in plain sight… Probably not the best improvement, but I think of it still as an improvement now that I think about it. Had I known more nobles like you, maybe I would have seen things differently at our first encounter.” He shook his head. “I’m getting sidetracked now, don’t I? You probably had something to ask and I’m just here babbling about goo and linguistic patterns.”
She waved her hands placatingly.
“Nothing to worry about. I was the one who got you into talking about it after all. And I don’t mind a little small talk before getting down to business. But to get back on topic… I wanted to ask you for your help again.”
Steam Gear nodded.
“As long as it is not needed immediately. I think this cleaning will take us the rest of the day. But you can tell me what you need me to build and I can think it over while doing this work. It is rather monotonous after all. It probably would make it more enjoyable to think about something other than this!”
He waved his sprayer shortly over the retreating goo, indicating his predicament.
HEART nodded in response as she continued.
“Well, technically it has nothing to do with the equipment I ordered. I was more thinking about… Dusk.”
Steam Gear stopped moving for a moment and mulled over the thought. It took him some time to remember that she was a little nervous around HEART.
“About her being nervous?” he asked hesitantly, trying to confirm his suspicions.
HEART nodded glumly.
“Yes. I mean you know that I want to befriend all the people in SPD. One person at a time. And now I have set my eyes on Dusk.”
“I know, even though I can’t follow how I could help you with that.”
“You were once there Dusk stands now.”
“For different reasons,” he intercepted, “I doubt that she was wary of you because of a show of your wings and a frozen toaster.”
“Still… I think I could use some help to solve this. Two heads are better than one to solve a problem, and another view of perspective might just do the trick. We could try and make up a plan while working.”
“We?”
“Yes. I thought that I should help you and the others out since it started with my equipment. It’s not like I have anything better to do anyway.”
Steam Gear nodded appreciatively before he stopped his work for a moment to get another sprayer for HEART.
They then both proceeded the work to rid the R&D of its slimy shell.
At least until Steam turned to look at her and asked.
“So do you have an idea?”
“Firefly to Top Hat. Firefly to Top Hat. Can you hear me?”
“Top Hat here. Hear you quite clearly, Firefly. It is my equipment after all we are using. And what I built is as stable as a nuclear reactor.”
“That point is debatable, Top Hat. But more importantly have you located the target?”
“Yup, the crankshaft is set in motion.”
“...What?”
“The petrol vapour has sparked?”
“...”
“The wrench left the toolbox?”
“...So does this mean you found her or not?”
“*Sigh* Yes, I did. I just can’t wrap my mind around the fact that you wanted to use code names but can’t even figure out the language that goes with the package.”
“I have no degree in engineering, so you can’t expect me to be on the same level regarding this topic.”
“...Oh, right. Uh, whatever. Important thing now is that she is approaching the front entrance. I will seek contact and commence the mission.”
“Understood, Top Hat. Good luck.”
“What could possibly go wrong? Top Hat, roger and out.”
And with that he took his first step closer to his intended target, who was just walking out the front door of the base. She was wearing her SPD uniform and seemed to have a light sheen of sweat on her coat.
Steam Gear could only hope that she wasn’t doing anything too strenuous, as this might jeopardize their plans. When push comes to shove he just had to use his puppy dog stare. An ability he had trained after he discovered it from foals and found the benefits to be quite intriguing. The power to convince others by just playing with one’s own facial expression was better than any mind control, and it was completely free of any charges. Sure, he hadn’t tested it yet, but it couldn’t be too hard to pull off.
With his contingency plan in mind he finally reached his target. He walked around her and in front of her, completely non-suspicious by the way.
“Hey, Dusk!” he tried to greet her with a genuine chipper smile. “Fancy meeting you here! Say, you wouldn’t mind helping me with a project, do you?”
“Huh? U-um, what is it?” Dusk asked, seeming to be in a bit of a hurry for some reason.
“Oh, just some teensy little project. Another level for the training simulator. Maybe you have seen it once before? That’s the one with all the nifty monsters and zombies you can fight in,” he said completely oblivious to her demeanor.
“How did… Nevermind, what do you mean?” She asked, stopping to hear him out.
“A parkour, combined with battles and a rescue mission.”
“Huh? And who would the rescue target be? And what would you be rescuing them from?”
His eyes suddenly gleamed in delight. His cheerful tone suddenly got as genuine as he had just tried it to be, maybe even a bit cheerier, as a huge toothy grin graced his features.
“Your job will be to save one of the most graceful fliers Rainbow Dash, who was kidnapped by the malicious Princess Celestia, also known as the Sun Tyrant. She couldn’t bear that there was a being with wings more beautiful than hers, and so she wants to keep her all for herself! Imprisoning her in a cage, while she can only wait like a true damsel in distress and wait in her pretty pink frilly princess dress for her heroes to save her from her woeful situation!” he finished as he dramatically draped an arm over his head. A gesture that would make Rarity proud.
Dusk just stared at Steam, her jaw hanging wide open in shock. “What!?” She shouted, not believing what she just heard.
“I know! I really outdid myself! Sometimes I wonder why I didn’t get a cutie mark in writing out such ingenious scenarios!”
Dusk chuckled nervously as she backed away from Steam gear very slowly. “O-oh really… How, interesting.” She said with an expression of pure terror before starting to run away towards the Everfree forest, “Sorry, but I’m going to be late! So I can't help you!”
“B-But-” he started to say as he saw her become a point in the horizon. “I never got to use my puppy dog eyes stare…”
Suddenly a chill went down Steam Gear’s spine. Something that felt rather chilly, almost like...killing intention? Nah, that couldn’t be right.
He sighed to himself, as he turned around to get back to HEART, as he bumped into someone.
Right before him stood none other than the prismatic mare that was just topic of his presented scenarios. A dark aura surrounding her form.
“H-Hey there!” he said, for some reason suddenly being nervous.
“What is this about the princess being a tyrant and me as a damsel in distress while wearing a pink frilly dress?” Rainbow asked, her voice sounding slightly strained.
Whatever some people might think about Steam Gear. He wasn’t dumb by any degree. He could build the strangest contraptions, even though some of them had the tendency to backfire. So he really wasn’t dumb, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t oblivious. So like the oblvious fool he was he instantly ignored all his instincts that told him to run and never come back. Instead he just got his wide toothy grin back as he swooned over his new project.
“The new parkour for the simulator! I was planning to publish it sometime in the future. You even got a main role in it! It is just like you said. You got all the main parts right. You got even your own speak role along the lines of: ‘Oh, save me, you brave heroes! The Sun Tyrant has kidnapped me to keep the prettiest wings for herself!’ I’m sure it is going to be a pretty big hit with the troopers!”
Rainbow Dash's eye twitched as her hands balled up into fists, the dark aura of bloodlust she was emitting tripling in size. It was enough that Steam Gear finally noticed the trouble he was in, even though he couldn’t comprehend why she was reacting in such a violent way and to what.
She just pulled her fist back as Steam Gear slightly backed away. There was no time to dodge, and he wasn’t the best at dodge ball anyways. Always got shot down as one of the first. But he had a secret technique he could use to defend himself. Probably the only thing he could use as he was not equipped inside of the base. It was not like someone was dumb enough to attack the base and take it over after all.
So with that he moved the muscles in his face and eyes, forming the perfect ‘Puppy Dog Eyes’ defence. Only a completely heartless beast would now hurt him, given that he now adorned the innocence of a foal. It was truly a foolproof plan.
And just like he predicted the fist stopped only moments before his face. Pride swelled inside of his chest.
“I really did it! The secret ‘Puppy Dog Eyes’ technique is mastered!”
But before he could revel in his success anymore he was feeling an arm on his shoulder.
“Are you alright?” an all too familiar voice asked.
He turned to could see the worried look on HEART’s face.
Steam only nodded. “Yeah, seems like I just stopped Rainbow with the foals technique ‘Puppy Dog Eyes’!” he exclaimed in a rather cheerful manner, such as he always did after one of his inventions or plans were an absolute success.
“Actually…” HEART started slightly hesistant, “I was the one who used a spell on her.”
That made Steam Gear blink. “A spell?”
“Yeah, the spell ‘Stop’. A time spell that makes all of her movements freeze for a limited amount of time.”
Steam Gear looked back to the stock still form of the prismatic pegasus.
“That is rather fascinating.”
HEART only shook her head.
“Not important now! What happened to Dusk?”
“Oh, right! She said she needed to go and took off like a jet towards the forest, which is kind of a pity since I’m sure she would have loved to play that scenario for the Simulator.”
HEART nodded curtly before taking off towards the Everfree Forest. She didn’t know why she was running straight into it, but she sure as hay didn’t want to see her get hurt in there. Sure, she probably could take care of herself, but that doesn’t mean that a little extra help could hurt.
Dusk sighed as she arrived at her destination, the old castle of the two sisters. “I’m here! Sorry for being late I got held up.” She called out.
Moments later a earth pony mare that looked like a much older version of Dusk stepped out of the shadows. “I see, so how are you doing?” The mare asked, a gentle smile crossing her features.
Dusk smiled as she ran up to the mare and hugged her. “I’m doing great, I actually managed to get in!” She said excitedly.
“Congratulations Dusk, me and your father are so proud of you.” The mare cooed as she stroked Dusk’s mane.
“Thanks mom!” Dusk said cheerfully.
The sound of a twig snapping was suddenly heard echoing throughout the ruins, ending the moment.
“I have to go now. I’ll make sure to tell your father about your achievement and we’ll come visit by train.” Dusk’s mom said before turning into a cloud of smoke with glowing yellow eyes as she backed away into the shadows before disappearing.
Dusk sighed as her mother left before turning around to face the entrance of the castle ruins and walking outside. “Who goes there!”
“Just me,” HEART said as she buzzed into view, landing near Dusk. “I heard from Steam Gear that you run off into the forest right after I saved him from Rainbow. So I thought I might as well take a look.”
“I see, so you just got here?” Dusk asked.
“Yeah, you could say that. It took me a bit to catch up with you.”
“So, what happened to Steam Gear? Last I saw him Rainbow Dash was going to send him to the emergency room.”
“Well, I just came in time to use a time spell on Rainbow, freezing her movement in time. It has only a short duration of effect, though. But I’m sure Steam Gear didn’t hang around Rainbow long enough for it to wear off, so he should be completely fine… Wait a moment. Did you just say that you saw that she was about to punch him straight into the medical wing of the base and you just walked away?! I mean, sure I know that he has his quirks and faults, but just to leave him in a dangerous situation like that?! What were you thinking?!” HEART fumed, her caring side taking over at the thought of her friend being abandoned to a beating like that.
“Um… Well, I was kind of in a hurry when he stopped me to ask if I could test his simulator idea. And since I was running late as well as the fact that I couldn't afford to get into a fight with my superior, I decided to run away.” Dusk said nervously as she backed away a bit, “I know it's not a proper excuse, and I’m sorry for leaving him, but what I was doing was really important. Sorry.”
HEART sighed. “I see... I’m not really sure if I can approve of this, especially as a superior with my position, but if it really was so urgent I won’t bother you about it. However this begs the attention just what you are doing at the Castle of the two Sisters. You shouldn’t venture into this place alone. It is dangerous!”
“Dangerous? How so?” Dusk asked as she walked alongside HEART away from the castle.
“You know, the usual schtick. Manticores, Timberwolves and what not. Sure a trooper is prepared for such things normally, but even the strongest can get taken by surprise. Pride has let to the fall of quite a few powerful beings. I include my mother in that. Don’t understand me wrong! I judge what she did back then! It was just a completely objective point of view to prove my point!” HEART suddenly rambled on in panic before she stopped herself to take a calming breath. “I… Sorry. It’s just that the sins of my race weigh heavy on me, especially as a princess. It is sometimes not so easy with my family. Mother especially. Sorry, I’m rambling, aren’t I?”
“It’s ok, I understand how you feel.” Dusk sighed, “My family is... kinda similar to yours in that aspect.”
“Heh. So also a bunch of trouble makers? Guess we both aren’t having it easy then.”
“Yeah…” Dusk chuckled nervously, “So if this place is so dangerous, why isn't there warning signs posted around it saying do not enter?”
“Because it is general knowledge around here. Also every Trooper gets the information about the forest as soon as they are enrolled. But I guess you didn’t read that information through, did you?” said HEART before giggling at the sheepish look Dusk gave her.
“Well, paperwork isn’t really my thing… Wow this is starting to sound like a catchphrase with how often I have been saying it lately.”
They both chuckled good humouredly at Dusk’s little joke. The little banter certainly lifting the mood and helping these two along to get on their good side.
But all good moments are meant to end sometime.
“Help!” Shouted what sounded like a group of fillies somewhere nearby.
Both of them shared a look before they started to run towards the voices.
The thorny shrubbery of the Everfree clawed at their uniforms as their hooves thundered through the night. their lungs burning with the fresh air as they could hear themselves nearing the distressed fillies.
As they finally broke through the shrubbery, Dusk stumbled at the edge of a cliff having seen it too late because of the thick forest canopy. Though HEART managed to grab her hand just in time and helped her to steady herself.
They could then see three small forms standing on the other side of the cliff. As they narrowed their eyes, they could make out the crouched forms of a pack of timberwolves, baring their fangs as they were eager to devour an easy meal.
It wouldn’t be long until they made their pounce. Problem here for Dusk was that the other side of the cliff was higher, making it impossible for her to jump to said side, not to mention that she couldn’t use her powers right in front of HEART.
“HEART! You think you can fly up there and distract those timberwolves while I attempt to get over there?” Dusk asked hurriedly.
HEART nodded, a bit of doubt in her eyes as she could not fathom how she would actually cross that cliff without the use of magic or wings. But time was of the essence, so she zipped forward towards the fillies, a spell already at the ready.
HEART would have loved to actually use one of her fire spells on the wooden beasts, but the close proximity of the wolves to the fillies, as well as the fact that they were standing on the edge meant that such spells could either harm the fillies or push them over the edge. She needed something more delicate, yet not too powerful as not to harm them. Something simple. And she new just what spell to cast.
“Blizzard!” she roared as she encased one of the mutts in ice, drawing all of their gazes to this new threat. She smiled at that. Seems like this little display worked well enough for her purposes.
But then the Timberwolves’ attention changed again as they began to growl threateningly at something behind her.
A body made out of shadows climbed up the cliff, it’s shadowy tendrils waving around threateningly as a pair of glowing yellow eyes peered over the cliff edge at the timberwolves. Just as HEART made herself to turn slightly, Dusk morphed herself back to her usual self, the shadow tendrils dissipating as quickly as they appeared. For all intents and purposes this made it look like Dusk just had climbed up the cliff wall.
“What are you looking at!? Keep your attention on the wolves!” Dusk shouted as one of the wooden creatures pounced at HEART.
HEART blew a raspberry as she summoned a lance of ice and impaled the creature.
“I have one eye at all times on the wolves,” she said as she disposed the body into the cliff, “There is a reason why I’m a trainer.”
“Showoff.” Dusk said with a smirk as the fillies were now staring at their rescuers in bewilderment.
“Just being honest. But you know, we might as well treat this as a training lesson. Training Scenario Number 13: Saving hostages from voracious beasts,” she said while swinging her spear in a wide arc. “Ready, when you are.”
“Understood, proceeding with operation.” Dusk said, getting serious as she flipped over the fillies and landed next to heart before charging straight at the timberwolves. She then gathered and formed the shadows around her into gauntlet like armor under the gloves of her uniform so they wouldn't be seen by HEART as she prepared to beat the sap out of the monsters.
“Rule Number One: Always keep your charges in your back,” HEART droned as they shielded the fillies, the wolves cautiously eyeing the two, before they started to bark at them. HEART could already see some other wolves try to use this distraction to get in her peripheral vision. A quick blizzard spell was her answer.
“Rule Number Two: Don’t neglect your sides.”
As if to answer the call, Dusk grabbed the pouncing timberwolf of her side by the throat, making it choke, before throwing it at the ones in front of her, making a few of them comically tumble back into the forest.
HEART nodded appreciatively.
“Rule Number Four: Intimidation over force. Wild creatures are driven by instinct. Show them you are a big enough of a threat and they will retreat since you are not worth the risk. It is especially useful if the enemy comes in superior number and defeating all of them might be a challenge.”
With that said she pointed her icy spear in the air before in an intimidating display roared, “Fira!” sending a pillar of flames into the night sky, which made the timberwolves fearfully step back.
Dusk chuckled to herself, a hidden irony to what HEART said in comparison to her own past as she made sure that neither the changeling or fillies could see her face for what she was about to do. Certain that it was safe, Dusk then allowed her face to melt into its shadowy true form… but then her glowing yellow eyes shrank and changed colors to resemble glowing red dots as the shadows making up her face parted to reveal a pony like skull as she hissed at the timberwolves, dark purple streaks of magic leaking from the sides of her eye sockets. “Begone foul beasts… Or face my wrath.” She whispered to the nearest timberwolf, causing it to yelp and run off into the forest with its tail between its legs, the rest of the pack following suit just before Dusk’s face reverted back. “Like that?” She asked HEART with a cheeky smile, allowing herself to face the changeling and fillies once she was certain that her face had completely reverted back so they wouldn't see anything.
HEART nodded proudly, while keeping her eyes on the retreating mutts.
“Yup, that’s good. And now we come to Rule Number Five: Stay alert, even when the wild beast has run of since it can be a fluke, closely followed by Rule Number Six: After the beast has fled, make a lot of ruckus, to ensure your dominance over this area.”
HEART was just about to fulfill that point she puffed her chest out proudly as she took in a deep breath for a mighty roar, until Dusk stopped her.
“Why don’t we just take the fillies home? The Timberwolves shouldn’t be back for quite a while…” Dusk said, jinxing herself and HEART.
Murphy decided that this was a good point to screw with them, as suddenly the large alpha of the pack stepped out from the treeline. Four timberwolves accompanying him.
He let out a loud howl and the four wolves beside him responded in kind as their magic overlapped and they broke apart to gather all the parts at their alpha.
As the morbid transformation of twigs and shrubbery was complete, the huge timberwolf loomed over the two rangers and their charges. Sap hungrily dripping from his wooden lip.
“...And that is why Rule Number Five and Six are important,” concluded HEART as she readied her spear.
Dusk readied herself likewise, not liking the situation just as much as being proven wrong.
However, just before the beast pounced a loud bang echoed through the forest, quickly followed by an explosion on the alpha’s body as it stumbled back.
Only seconds later a SPD Cruiser made Its way towards them, firing against the wooden beast, which howled out in pain from each shot that hit its mark.
The fire went on relentlessly while HEART led the fillies to the cruisers, with Dusk following behind. She was a bit surprised by the sudden appearance of the SPD. HEART who noticed that look shot her a smug grin.
“Rule Number Three: Always use a flare to call for help,” she stated, before adding, “The fire pillar was not just for intimidation purposes, you know. So win-win.”
Dusk had to smile at that as she looked at all the hard working rangers that were practically ripping the timberwolf apart as a team, like it was nothing.
The howls had went quiet as they were warmly welcomed by their teammates.
“Today sure has been crazy…” Dusk said once they finally returned to SPD base, the fillies having been returned to their homes for a heavy scolding. Heart and Dusk were currently filling out the necessary paperwork for the incident.
“Yup. It had been fun, and it also gave me a good assessment of your abilities,” she said while tapping the paper with her pen. “Now that I think about it, that was a neat hiss for intimidation, not to mention that you somehow managed to get over that cliff without much problem as an earth pony. Say…are you by any chance…”
Dusk’s heart skipped a beat. Sweat instantly forming on her brow as she leaned back from HEART in her stool. Would her identity be revealed so soon? Would she really fail so miserably at something her family succeeded in for years?
“…a changeling?”
Dusk immediately fell backwards out of her stool with a mighty ‘thump’ before slowly getting back up, giving HEART a deadpanned stare. “No, I’m not a changeling,” she said before getting back in her seat.
“...Are you sure?”
“Positive…” Dusk said as she returned to filling out paperwork. “And as for how I did those things, every mare has her secrets correct?” She then added, attempting to end the conversation and derail the changeling from attempting to discover her secret.
“A secret that enables earth ponies to hiss like a changeling or a thestral? Not to mention the feat of actually making your way across that cliff? Biology is not one of my weak points, you know. Changelings have an excellent education system in that area. We already learn the basics on body functions and reproduction in the first month after our hatching.”
“Uh… well, it has been nice chatting with you, see you later!” Dusk blurted out as she swiftly finished filling out her paperwork and skurried away.
HEART looked after the suspiciously quickly retreating mare. A curious glint now shining in her eyes, as a broad grin spread across her muzzle.
“Hmm, you know what? It has been to long since I was on a battlefield, so maybe I should pay a visit to the simulator.” Doctor Plague, Chief Medical Officer for the SPD, thought to himself as he left the theater and headed for one of the simulation rooms, and as he arrived at one, he noticed that someone had accidently left the monitor on and one of the worst case scenarios was highlighted. And being the curious doctor that he is, he selected it.
“Computer, activated WCS-101, medical version activated.” Said the computer and in moments I instantly realized that I had made a horrible mistake, for the sight that greeted me was Cruger lying on a battlefield cot strapped to multiple machines with a hole where his heart was supposed to be.
“Doctor! He’s losing to much blood and we are rapidly running out of options! What do we do?!” Shouted Blood Rush, one of SPD’s Medical personnel, with worry and fear filling his voice.
“Keep pumping blood into him, and I need four heart clamps and a pump.” I told the rest of the doctors as calmly as I could, who rushed to get the requested supplies and during this time I worked to see if there was any other damage done to the Commander, and after five minutes the doctors returned with the requested supplies and I got to work.
“Blood Rush, I need you to hold open the wound so I can clamp the veins and attach the pump.” I told Rush who nodded and did as instructed and while he did that, I began putting clamps on each of the four main veins that would lead to the heart as well as connecting the ends of those veins to the pump that had been brought to me. Only for the worst possible news to come only moments later.
“Doctor, we don’t have enough blood to keep him stable. Unless we can keep the blood in him and if that pump works, he won’t survive.” One of the doctors told me and in my heart I knew that I couldn’t make either of those things work, and it tore me apart when twenty minutes later, Cruger flatlined and we couldn’t bring him back.
“WCS-101, medical version has been completed. Please exit the simulation room and we here at SPD wish you a happy day and night.” Was what the computer greeted me with when I exited the simulation. Only. I couldn’t find it in me to move let alone walk, as the tears fell down my face. And the only sound that filled that room for three hours, were the muffled sobs of a distressed doctor, until he cried himself to sleep. Where he would be found the next day by Cruger when he was passing through the area.
“So,” Cruger said, “what’s eating you?”
At the sound of Cruger’s voice, Plague instantly shot up and began hugging him. Babbling about how he couldn’t save him and that he was sorry.
“Let me guess, WCS-101-M?”
All he got was the feeling of a head nodding against him and more apologies.
Cruger chuckled, “Yeah, the old Kobayashi Maru. You know, you were never going to be able to beat it.”
*Sniff sniff* “What?” Was all Plague could get out as he looked up at Cruger in confusion.
“The KM is designed to be a no win scenario,” Cruger explained, “it tests what you do if you fail.”
“I don’t understand. I-I would think that everyone who is here’s reaction would all be negative to losing you. I mean, you're either a father figure or like a brother to everyone here. So how can that work?” Plague questioned while sniffling.
“To be honest, the fact that it was me blown to kingdom come was completely random,” Cruger replied, “it selects a member of SPD that you know, sounds like you need to make some more friends.”
*Sniffle-sigh* “Maybe, but who would want to be friends with what could be considered a walking biological weapon,” asked the doctor, “I mean, would you want to be friends with someone who if they get even the tiniest hole in their suit, it would kill you? Plus, I don’t know how to really make friends anymore. It’s been such a long time.”
“Hey, the guy inside the suit is worth it, even if he is a crybaby,” Cruger chuckled. “Anyway, on your next day off, head into town and go to Sugarcube Corner and ask for Pinkie, she’ll get you sorted.”
“I guess I could try sir, and thanks for not just leaving me here. Also, just for that crybaby remark, you aren't getting any health care.” The doctor replied.
“Good, annual physicals just give me a headache anyway,” Cruger chuckled.
“Yeah, but now you have to go to Colgate for your teeth because you're plan involved dental and she is crazy about teeth.” Plague remarked with a sinister chuckle. “Anyways, I think I should go. Been away from the theater for too long already. And again, thanks.” And with one last hug, Plague left the room.
Delta Headquarters, base of the Space Patrol Delta and a whole economic trade area that was very profitable if you could situate yourself there and get a clear supply line. I myself live at that base and who am I? Sky Gear though known by many by just Sora, B Squad Trooper, returning from patrol actually. Having just cleaned up, I checked myself in the mirror of my apartment wonder where the years have gone. A comb was picked as I used to straighten out of my dark green mane that came down a bit beyond my shoulder before flicking some of it that come down and hung over the middle of my face, my dark blue fur having been stained brown just a few minutes before while my Orange eyes scanned around my face and my apartment in a way that I only knew how. I picked up my pain underwear and put them on, knowing the discomfort that was walking around commando, before picking up a pair of blue linen pants, a sleeved shirt that was black and after putting those on I picked up and put on my belt where my many pouches were filled with useful tinkering tools and an multitool, with each being constantly traded for better version when possible. Picking my goggles from a bookcase I looked them over, the lenses absolute black from just a glance but they were see through when you put them on, customized by me to have multiple functions beyond just hiding my eyes that seemed to really startle other ponies. I pulled it over my head and let it rest on my neck before locating my brown hooded jacket on the couch, I picked it up and put my arms through the sleeves before eyeing the zipper in front before deciding against zipping it up and letting it just stay open. My wrists felt a bit empty, but I did feel two weights in the jacket’s pockets and pulled out a pair of iron bracelets that went on my wrists me eyeing the pearl on the right one and the onyx of the left one.
Feeling sufficiently clothed I picked up my badge plus pistol that was in a holster and pocketed one while attaching the other to my belt before heading out of the apartment and back to the main area within the base. I had just come back from Manehatten and during my patrolling had two encounters; first were a pair of thieves robbing someone in an alleyway which honestly made them easy to spot, before assisted with stopping a pair of ponies getting away with a bank heist, the two thieves and six robbers are most likely still behind bars in that cities’ local police station and the reasons for me to actually get changed. The first one happened quite often from what I hear around home base and I, Sky Gear was always one to listen, second one didn’t happen as often, but once a month was still quite allot even for compared to other city standards. Then again this is Manehatten we’re talking about, high towers and tons of ponies working to the bone to just be able to pay the rent on one of the many small rooms that the workers overpay to live in, so in other words; a city of Greed.
That greed came with big distinction between the rich and those in poverty, which quickly leads it to having quite a few more thieves, robbers and general more alive underworld then even the tame Underbelly of Canterlot. Perfect place to get blackmarket items, but beyond that it was just ponies who were trying to make a earnest living by selling goods they knew they could get, which included the best metals to create energy siphoning contraptions.
Anyway I’m digressing… and now I’m mentally talking to myself and even called myself out in third person, sweet Moon I really needed to get some friends and talk out my issues. Boss Kruger is good enough guy, just kinda a higher up that needs to take care of beings of other dimensions and the fate of their and our world, so he’s kinda busy most of the times. I wonder if it’s Cruger or Kruger? Well they sound the same so it won’t matter to him. Also there is my “Cousin” Steam Gear, not actually cousin if you haven’t see the quotation mark, but I like hanging around him and he’s good for a conversation plus working with him is quite fun. That being said I don’t think I should do that today, my body isn’t actually all that ready to go through passionate Research and Development after all that patrolling and what will be a painfully long paperwork session, even if it’s partially automated by the terminals we get to use to fill it in. Besides, I’m sure they’ll think that I’m just hindering their progression, I mean I do from time to time do drop in when I don’t have patrol routes to go through what they made and point out what would go wrong, but those mistakes lead to data they can use. I’ll just decide when I get finished with my paperwork, minds can change in time.
I got to the offices and walked for bit along the aisles before finally finding an empty terminal I could use, scanning my badge along it, as the badge was pretty much my key and identification, unless you liked remembering codes. The terminal started up as I sat down and quickly got to see that there were two reports I needed to fill, arrest papers as well as an assist papers.
I knew that this work would stay with me even if I would walk out of the standing guard as I did, paper work and money made the world function with some sort of order and chaos. Starting to work on the each of forms I had to fill I came to the problem with me, I remembered so many details and it asked for them so I’d be taking longer than the usual pony to fill this stuff in. All for the sake of having every action documented I guess.
Four hours, four hours… FOUR HOURS! I’ve finally finished and that’s how long I’ve been sitting on this chair doing this crap? It’s nearly as bad as doing the taxes! Well atleast someone saw my predicament and brought me some coffee, good amount of sugar and cream that I usual take and brought in a nice mug. That was the sign of a Party Pony or someone who had one of those fancy memories that could remember everything after they seen it once, something I would love to have, but sadly I’ve just got good memory that last for a bit like pretty much every pony else. Picking up the mug, I finished the coffee and set my terminal to shut down before moving my chair back and standing, poping most of my bones as I did which sounded out around the office where it was mostly just the noise of hands tapping on keyboards or the like.
I took to the kitchen and dropped the mug off before heading to the post room where I had the papers printed and then sent via magic to the Manehatten police bureau while an extra copy stayed inside the system and our archives. Then I head towards the training rooms, feeling the need to get the kinks out of my body and get some feeling back in my legs that even now feel like they’re half asleep. Dodgeball sounds good, should hurt myself good enough to get me awake and make me more aware of my surroundings.
Setting my belt and jacket aside in my locker in the training rooms locker room and using a vending machine to get a pair of water bottles and set them in the locker for ease of access, before heading into the dodgeball training hall. I was alone, which was odd considering where we were. I activated the whole system through the terminal instead of the voice command that everyone usually used, I needed that breath and concentration in this dodge hell and said concentration would disappear with a word getting me out of the zone I was currently in. I walked back to a central point before flaring my wings a bit, signalling the start of training session before closing them as the dodge balls started to shoot forth, I took a step back with my right hoof to decrease my profile allowing a dodgeball to pass where my right shoulder used to be before going into my hand-to-hand stance and charged into the fray.
Laying on her couch after a long day of training, Sky was enjoying cooling off and drinking a nice cup of iced tea. Then her Walkie-Talkie, an old communication device which was given because of the lack of actual communicators, made its connection with the other, she got up with a groan and grabbed it before shuffling to the coach and dumping herself back onto it, “Yeah?” “Well, Hello to you too walking rumor.” On the other end was one of her friends. A Stallion Zebra named Watch Eye who was a morning Security Officer who usually kept an eye on her when she was actually goes and attempts to construct something in the morning. Before she accidently caused an explosion once and that had gotten Boss Kruger to get mad at her and she got a lecture out of him, before he assigned Watch Eye to take care of her and call the medical bay when she does something stupid again. “Walking rumor?” “Yeah well, I’ve been hearing about a certain glaring Thestral talking about herself the whole day.” “... Please don’t say…” “It was you, I would recommend not having any “mental” discussions with yourself.” “Shut up you.” Moped Sky as she cradled herself in her couch trying to find any good way stop her stupid talking to herself when she was actually suppose to keep it in her mind. “You are still talking to yourself~” “MOON DAMN IT!” It was another day for Sky Gear known to most by the name Sora, she knew she would be having this day quite a few more times.
Twilight and Wyatt stepped outside of Photo Finish’s studio, and everything seemed the same, except for one detail, a large building with a dog head on top was off in the distance.
“Where are we?” Twilight asked, gaping at the building.
“Looks like we’re in Doggy Cruger’s world,” Wyatt answered.
“How did you… Wyatt, what happened to your clothes?” She asked. He looked down and saw that he was in a strange uniform with fuchsia running up one side, and his buckle and card case prominently displayed.
“Umm, good question,” he nodded. “In the show, Decade would get put into different roles depending on which universe they were in. Guess this world is making me a member of Space Patrol Delta. I think the first thing we have to do is go to that building,” he concluded, pointing at the command center in the distance. He pressed the pink button on his watch, summoning his motorcycle. “Good thing we don’t have to walk.” The two of them got on the cycle, putting on helmets, Twilight’s having a hole to make room for her horn. Wyatt started up the cycle, smiling to himself as he started cruising through the streets of the alternate Ponyville.
“Wow, this thing handles like a dream,” Wyatt commented, turning down another street.
“Umm Wyatt, what does this Doggy Cruger you mentioned look like?” Twilight asked, looking behind them.
“Oh, you can’t miss him. He’s a giant, blue dog-man.”
“Ok, cause he’s behind us.” Wyatt peered into his rearview mirror, and sure enough Doggy Cruger was on their tail, riding a black atv.
Cruger pulled up to them, “Hey pal, mind pulling over?”
“What seems to be the officer, problem?” Wyatt asked with a nervous grin, just as he started to pull over, putting down his kickstand and shutting the engine off.
“Nothing really,” Cruger replied as he pulled up alongside him, “just that the last Displaced that showed up unannounced caused a huge misunderstanding which involved my A-Squad getting their butts handed to them, rather not repeat that if you don’t mind.”
“Displaced?” Twilight repeated, pulling off her helmet. “Wyatt, isn’t that what’s written on your blank cards?”
“Yeah, it is,” he nodded to her before turning back to Cruger. “Listen sir, we’re not here to cause any trouble. We barely understand how we even got here.”
Cruger sighed, “It’s like deja vu, a Kamen Rider Displaced shows up without being summoned, and I’ve got to teach him and his verse’s Twilight what the Displaced are. At least this time I don’t have to worry about one of your forms making you go berzerk, do I?”
“No, I mean, I haven’t used all my forms yet. But I’ve been able to control my powers for the most part,” Wyatt explained. “And you’re telling me that you’ve met another Kamen Rider?”
“And you’ve met other versions of me?!” Twilight asked excitedly. “This opens up so many new opportunities for my studies!”
“Want to meet her?” Cruger asked.
“Is that okay?” Twilight asked, taken aback. “Aren’t there serious ramifications to the fabric of space-time if I come into contact with her?”
“Didn’t happen last time,” Cruger said, “and the other Twilight visited for about a week.”
“Okay, then I’d be more than happy to visit her… or I guess I should say me,” she answered with a giggle.
“Suit yourself,” Cruger said as he started up his ATV, “just a heads up, there’s something you should know.”
“What would that be?” Wyatt asked, starting his cycle again.
“This verse is a little ahead of yours timeline-wise,” Cruger said as they headed out, “and during that time, let’s just say, Twilight gets… promoted.” They stopped at a large building that looked like a crystalline tree. Twilight got off the bike, gaping at the tree.
“Umm, something isn’t right… this is where my library should be. I can tell because we passed Quills and Sofas about a minute ago.”
“I’m guessing this crystal tree is part of your Twilight’s promotion?” Wyatt asked, turning to Cruger.
“Yeah, although that’s not the major thing,” Cruger said as he glanced up at the sky, “incoming.”
Before either of them could ask what he meant, a violet blur shot down, leaving two long skid marks in the grass.
“Not bad Twi,” Cruger said to the new arrival, “looks like you’ve finally gotten the hang of landing.”
“Thanks Cruger,” the figure said as she took off her helmet, “I think I’m finally starting to get why Rainbow likes flying so much.” Turning towards them, the figure turned out to be another Twilight.
Wyatt’s Twilight had to pick her jaw off the ground before she could speak. “You’re me,” she started in wonder. “But you can’t be me. You’re an alicorn, and I’m not an alicorn. I don’t even know any way a unicorn could ever become an alicorn. I mean, I’m sure that Princess Celestia...”
“Ease up there, Twilight,” Wyatt interrupted, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Just stop, I think I’m starting to see smoke coming out of your ears.”
“Yeah,” Cruger said, “assuming nothing too crazy happens to change your timeline, your future includes becoming the Princess of Friendship, surprise.” Wyatt’s Twilight gaped, and every now and then her right eye would twitch. Wyatt waved a hand in front of her face, not getting any reaction.
“Well, looks like you broke her, Doggy,” he sighed. “Gonna have to deal with her going over hundreds of hypotheses when we get back to my universe.”
“Or I could tell her myself,” Cruger said as he walked right next to her, “I think I even have a book on the subject.”
Wyatt’s Twilight snapped back to attention with a grin leveled at Cruger. “I would love to get my hands on a book like that.”
Cruger chuckled, “Works every time. What say we get inside where it’s comfortable and I’ll give you a crash course on Displacement, and a copy of my notes on the subject.”
“Sounds good,” Wyatt nodded. “And thank you for all the help.”
Cruger waved his hand dismissively, “Think nothing of it, if it wasn’t me, someone else would be teaching you this stuff.” As they walked into the castle, Cruger continued, “Now, let me guess, you were at a convention dressed as Kamen Rider… well, you were dressed up, and a shady Merchant sold you something you were missing from your costume am I right?”
“Yeah, he sold me this card case,” Wyatt answered, handing Cruger the case. “I got it because I was curious about all the blank cards in it, even though all the main ones were there. Then, this weird guy talked to me, and led me to an empty room. Next thing I know, I’m in the hospital with talking ponies all around me.”
Cruger hmmed, “That’s interesting, not as unusual as other Displacement stories I’ve heard, but more so at the same time. By the way, which Kamen Rider’s your base? I know that’s a Driver on your waist, but I can’t remember which one off the top of my head.”
“Oh, my base form is Decade,” Wyatt answered with a smile. “Though I was thisclose to going as Kiva,” he chuckled.
“Thanks,” said Cruger as they arrived at the library, “that was going to bug me. Twilight, no going crazy with the books.”
“I know how to control myself,” Wyatt’s Twilight huffed.
“Umm, did you forget that little mental breakdown you just had?” Wyatt asked with a grin.
“Oh, I’m sorry, how would you react to learning that you were going to become an immortal princess?” She shot back.
Cruger chuckled, “I’m guessing you only moved to your Ponyville recently.”
“Umm, define recently?” Twilight asked, her nose scrunched up a bit in thought.
“What’s the last major event that’s happened in your verse, other than meeting,” Cruger looked slightly sheepish, “oh man, where’s my head at, I never got your name.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Wyatt waved him off. “The name’s Wyatt Carter,” he said, stretching his hand out.
“I go by Cruger these days,” Cruger replied before turning back to Twilight, “so, what’s the last major thing that happened to you before you met Wyatt?”
“Umm, the biggest thing that happened was Discord returning, other than that there was a time travel incident. One that’s… kind of embarrassing,” she chuckled, rubbing the back of her head with a small blush on her cheeks.
“Okay, so you're there,” Cruger said, “by the way, when you get back, ask Shining about Cadance.”
“Uhh, okay,” Twilight nodded, not sure what to make of that.
“Don’t worry, it’ll make sense when you ask him,” Cruger said before turning back to Wyatt, “so, any bleedthrough yet? Anything from your base’s verse that entered yours?”
“Yeah, I had to fight an Undead when I was released from the hospital. Twilight and I think that I might have to fight all the types of monsters from all the different Rider’s universes. Though I haven’t fought anything else yet so we haven’t been able to confirm it,” Wyatt explained.
Cruger sighed, “Well, when a Spectrobes Displaced came over, we ended up fighting some Krall, odds are you might find out before you leave. By the way, you mentioned Displaced before you knew what they were, mind if I ask how you knew that?”
“Open the case,” Wyatt said, pointing to Cruger’s hand that still held it. “Those blank cards I mentioned earlier have that word on them.”
Cruger opened it and pulled out a few of the cards, “Well, let’s see, Kamen Ride, well, that sounds self explanatory, Attack Ride, well you gotta do those finisher somehow, ah here we go Displaced Ride.” As he held the card, it and two other cards started glowing as images appeared on them. “You are welcome.”
“Whoa,” Wyatt said, taking the new cards from him. “Looks like I got the Shadow Ranger card, along with a Final Form Ride card. Think I should try out the Shadow Ranger card? See how it works?”
“How about at the Gym at my Delta Base,” Cruger said as he opened up a portal, “I’ll show you a few of the bonus features that I got.”
“Alright, I was thinking that I needed to do training to be a better Rider,” he nodded, walking up to the portal. “But I should put away my cycle first,” he finished as he pushed the pink button on his watch, “and done.”
“Dimensional Pocket Garage huh?” Cruger said as they walked through the portal, “we’ve got something similar for our zords.”
“I’ve just been calling it my magic button,” Wyatt laughed. “But what you said sounds cooler. Oh, speaking of zords, would you be offended if I asked to ride in one? I totally promise not to touch any buttons.”
Cruger chuckled, “Easily arranged, you’re in one now.”
“Kind of meant actually riding around in one, but eh, not important. Sorry, bit of a fanboy fantasy. Anyway, how about you call members of your staff? Blow their minds when they see two Shadow Rangers running around?” Wyatt suggested, a grin on his face.
“Odds are that they’ll be around here somewhere when they hear that there’s a Shadow Ranger sparring,” Cruger said as he pulled out his morpher, “shall we?”
“Alright,” Wyatt smiled, holding up the Decade card. “Gotta go base form first, you know how it is. Henshin!” he called out, putting his card in and pressing in the handles of his Driver. A moment later, he was standing in his Decade armor. “And now for the new form,” he said as he put in the new card.
“Displaced Ride: Shadow Ranger!” A mysterious voice called out, as the Decade Armor was replaced with the Shadow Ranger suit.
“Your turn, put on your spandex and let’s do this,” Wyatt laughed, waving his hand to Cruger.
Cruger grinned somewhat evilly, “Oh you just insulted the suit, you’re gonna pay for that, SPD EMERGENCY!”
“Show me your moves,” Wyatt laughed, shadow boxing as the two Shadow Rangers stood across from each other. “‘Cause they’re my moves too now.”
“You may have my moves,” Cruger said as he drew his sword and took a stance, “but you don’t have my experience.”
“Isn’t that the point of training me?” Wyatt asked as he slotted another card.
“Attack Ride: Shadow Saber!” The voice called out, a sword dropping into Wyatt’s hand and he attempted to copy Cruger’s stance.
“Remind me to tell you about Beacon after I kick your butt.” Wyatt gave him a thumbs up and charged at Cruger, attacking with a horizontal slice. Cruger ducked under the slash and knocked Wyatt’s feet from under him. “Experience, accept no substitute.”
“Yeah, yeah, have fun picking on the new kid,” Wyatt groaned as he picked himself up. “You wouldn’t be so high and mighty if I was in my Kabuto form.”
“Why don’t we find out,” Cruger said, giving him the classic ‘let’s go’ taunt.
“Alright, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Wyatt grinned as he pulled out two cards.
“Kamen Ride: Kabuto!” The voice called out, followed closely by, “Attack Ride: Clock Up!” Wyatt changed into a new armor, and everything seemed to slow down around him. He felt pretty good about himself as he walked up to Cruger and tried punching him in the stomach.
However, Cruger glowed slightly and moved even faster, “One of the many cool things about Dimensional Magic, you can travel at warp without a starship.” Before Wyatt could respond, Cruger chopped him somewhat lightly on the back of his neck. Wyatt was sent skidding across the floor, grunting in pain.
“Anything else I should know about?”
“I can walk through walls,” Cruger deadpanned.
“Pretty cool,” Wyatt nodded, pulling the handles on his Driver and reverting to Decade. “Though maybe we should actually train instead of trying to one up one another?”
“That’s what Beacon’s for,” Cruger said as he pulled out a gold coin from thin air, “it’s a school for Displaced that I’m going to be teaching at, I didn’t found it, but this is the Token of the guy who did, I can make a copy of it if you want.”
“Umm… what’s a token?” Wyatt asked.
Cruger facepalmed, “Man, I forgot about that, want to head back to the castle so I can teach both you and your Twilight, as well as make sure she didn’t go too nuts?”
“Alright,” Wyatt said, pulling the handles of his Driver and reverting to normal. “Probably a good idea. Guess I’ll have to train later.”
“Never a bad idea,” Cruger said as he opened the portal, “after you.” Wyatt walked through the portal and immediately facepalmed.
“We leave for a minute and she’s got herself a book fort,” he sighed.
“Have to admit, I did not see this coming,” Cruger said, “I thought it was only filly Twilight that did this.”
“Hmm?” Twilight asked, looking up from the book she was reading. She then looked around her and chuckled. “Sorry, I was already invested in this book when I started picking up other books I didn’t recognize. Guess I fell into an old habit.”
“Well, I’ll say one thing,” Cruger said, rapping one of the walls with his knuckle, “you’ld make a half decent architect.”
“Guess I got a lot of practice over the years,” Twilight chuckled again.
“Anyway,” Wyatt chimed in, “Twilight’s possible new career aside, you said you were going to teach us about tokens?”
“That I was,” Cruger said as he demorphed and pulled out another coin and a badge from his pockets. “The only thing that you can take as a constant when it comes to Displaced, is that we either can make or have already made a Token. A Token is an item that signifies you, that other Displaced can use to summon you for any reason, though usually it’s to hang out or if they need help in a fight.”
“That’s all really cool,” Wyatt smiled. “And I’m kinda glad I’m not alone in all this craziness. So, how do I make a token?”
“It’s a simple process,” Cruger said, “Step 1: choose an item.” Wyatt, scratched his chin in thought before his face lit up and he pulled out one of his blank cards.
“Think this’ll work?”
Cruger looked it over, “Looks good to me, now step 2: infuse it with some of your energy and add a message for people to hear when they pick it up.”
“How do infuse it with energy? Is it similar to how I normally bring out my Driver by picturing it?”
“Pretty much,” Cruger replied.
“Okay,” Wyatt nodded as he looked down at the card and concentrated. “If you’re hearing this, then I am Wyatt Carter, a Kamen Rider. If you ever need help fighting monsters, or just need someone to hang out with, then call on me.” Wyatt looked back to Cruger and asked, “How’s that?”
“Looks good,” Cruger said as the card gained the image of Wyatt’s base form, “okay, last step: throw it into the void,” Cruger opened a small portal, “i.e. here.” Wyatt flicked his wrist and the card disappeared through the portal.
“Looks like that’s done,” Wyatt said with a smile. “So I guess that means I can expect to get summoned sometime down the road?”
“In the words of Big Macintosh, eyup,” Cruger said as a copy of the token floated down from a small portal that appeared above his head, “while we’re on the subject, I think you should have copies of these tokens here, if you’re interested.”
Wyatt took the tokens and looked them over. “This is the token for that Beacon guy and I’m guessing yours?” Wyatt asked.
“Eyup,” Cruger said, “and this last one is for the other Kamen Rider Displaced I’ve met, his name’s Katsuo and his base is OOO.”
“Thanks, I’ll be sure to give him a call at some point. If he doesn’t end up summoning me first,” Wyatt chuckled and shook his head.
“Good idea,” Cruger said waving his hand over the tokens, causing duplicates of the tokens to appear in Wyatt’s hand, “speaking of which, unlike most tokens, mine allows you to talk to me, and any other Displaced you’ve swapped tokens with, to talk to each other without needing to verse jump.”
“Cool, that’s gotta come in handy,” Wyatt nodded.
“That it will,” Cruger said, “I’ll give you a call when the school’s ready to take on students.”
“Thanks, think you could recommend me for a scholarship?” Wyatt asked with a chuckle.
“Pretty sure it’s funded by the crown, but if not sure,” Cruger said, “you do have potential, just not a whole lot of experience. By the way, if you’re up for some tutoring, I’ve got some advice for ya.”
“I’ll take anything you got,” Wyatt nodded. “If I’m going to be a good Rider then I’ll do what it takes to get strong.”
“Alright, I’ll give you some advice about fighting and about Displaced. First, never underestimate your opponent, ever, you know what happened when you underestimated me right?”
“To be fair, how was I supposed to know you had some serious upgrades?” Wyatt asked with a weak smile.
“And that is the main reason you lost,” Cruger replied, “if you assume that you know all of your opponent’s capabilities, you can find yourself on an express train to Tartarus, and yes, I mean that in the afterlife sense.”
“Alright, fair enough,” Wyatt sighed. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for that.”
“Just keep it in mind,” Cruger said, “as for the Displaced stuff, you meet a Pokemon Displaced by the name of Zinnia, expect to be propositioned, sexually.”
“Wh-what?!” Wyatt cried with a deep blush. “Uh… I mean, I’ll keep that in mind. Heh, yeah…”
“Just giving you fair warning,” Cruger said before pulling out a file folder from a portal and handing it to Twilight, “these are dossiers on every Displaced I’ve met so far.”
“Thank you,” Twilight smiled. “This should be interesting to learn. Do you think it’ll help me understand the strange magic surrounding Wyatt’s Driver and card case?”
Cruger shrugged, “Beats me, I don’t know everything about the Displaced, and I’ve started a group for that purpose, figuring out stuff about the Displaced I mean.”
“Well, even if it doesn’t at least it’ll help Wyatt understand the situation he’s in,” Twilight offered. “That means you have to read this too, Wyatt.”
“If I can tear you away from it,” he chuckled.
Cruger chuckled as well, “Well, as long as you’re verse jumping, I don’t suppose you’d mind adding to those files?”
“Not a problem,” Twilight smiled. “I’ll have Wyatt let me use your token and I’ll relay everything I can gather.”
“I can do ya one better,” Cruger said as he pulled out a piece of paper and wrote something on it, “can I see my token for a second?” Wyatt tossed him the token and arched a brow at Cruger.
“What’re you doing?”
“Just another modification to my communication spell,” Cruger said as he pulled out Wyatt’s Token, “now, if I just, that should do it.” Cruger touch the paper he wrote on to his token, and a copy appeared over Wyatt’s, “There we go, I turned it from a phone to a fax machine.”
“That should make relaying information much easier,” Twilight beamed. “Thank you, Mr. Cruger. I’ll be sure to be as thorough as possible when I run into new Displaced.”
“Thanks,” Cruger replied, “well, maybe you should get going, don’t want Murphy getting bored.”
“Isn’t that tempting fate?” Wyatt asked, blinking a few times.
“Hopefully not,” Cruger replied, “it’s not like I said Murphy’s favorite phrase.”
“You mean, ‘What’s the worst that could happen,’?” Wyatt asked.
Cruger facepalmed, “Yeah, that,” as a wave of energy passed over the town, causing everything to slow to a crawl.
“Oh come on, I wasn’t seriously asking that!” Wyatt groaned.
“Like Murphy cares about such technicalities,” Cruger replied as he generated a glow around himself and Wyatt, causing them to return to a normal speed, “you’ve got Drive right?”
Wyatt looked through his cards, smiling to himself when he found it. “Whaddya know, I do. And I’ve got the Wild, Technical and Formula form cards.”
“And I’ve got a way to handle Roimudes myself,” Cruger replied, “shall we?”
“Yeah, gotta clean up the mess I made,” Wyatt nodded.
“Well, let’s go, SPD EMERGENCY!”
“Henshin!”
“Kamen Ride: Decade!” the mysterious voice called out and Wyatt appeared in his Decade form.
“Can you tell where the source of the disruption is?” Wyatt asked, turning to Cruger.
“I know something that can, Pursuit Mode!” A portal opened on his morpher, and out popped a little Shift Car, “Deja Vu again, the last time I used this little guy, was when Kats came over, Henshin!”
If Wyatt’s mouth was exposed, Cruger would have seen it gaping. “Did… did you just do what I think you did?”
“Turn into my own version of Kamen Rider Drive, yup,” Cruger replied, “got an upgrade for my morpher from a guy named Aaron, he’s in the file.”
“Nice, the police lights are a good touch,” Wyatt complimented as he started heading for the exit.
“I thought as much,” Cruger replied, opening a portal, “let’s take the express.”
“You got it,” Wyatt nodded, pulling out a card. “Let’s take these roidmudes on a drive,” he said as they ran through the portal.
On the other side was a humanoid robot with batlike ears and the number 107 on its chest.
“Alright Number 107, you’re under arrest!” Wyatt called out as he held up the Drive card.
“Oy,” Cruger interjected, “I’m the cop here.”
“So am I, it's my role in this universe,” Wyatt replied.
“I’m still your superior,” Cruger replied, “so what say we show mister one-oh-seven why the only thing more powerful than one Kamen Rider is two?”
“Sir, yes sir,” Wyatt nodded slotting his card into the belt.
“Kamen Ride: Drive!” the mysterious voice called out, leaving Wyatt in the Drive armor.
“What are your orders, commander?” Wyatt asked, getting into a stance.
“Simple,” Cruger said as he drew a pistol with lights on it, “take him in.”
“In one piece?” Wyatt asked.
“If he comes quietly,” Cruger replied before turning to the Roidmude, “so, are you?”
The Roidmude responded by fining energy bursts from its fingertips.
“Looks like we’re doing this the hard way,” Wyatt sighed, slotting another card.
“Attack Ride: Steering Sword!”
“I’ll keep his attention, you fire at him when you get a clean shot,” Wyatt said, holding his sword at the ready.
“Not a problem,” Cruger replied, ducking behind cover, “go.” Wyatt charged, seeming to be using the same tactic he used on Cruger. However, at the last second, he turned the steering wheel on his sword, and in a flash of movement he was behind the roidmude. He then sliced at its back, sending sparks flying.
“Clear out!” Cruger called, just before firing a storm of shots into the Roidmude’s head, severely disorienting it, “what say we end this?”
“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Wyatt asked, holding up the new Final Form card.
“I like your style,” Cruger replied before shifting back into his standard form. Wyatt shifted back into his standard form as well and slotted the card.
“Final Form Ride: Shadow Ranger!”
“This might tickle a bit,” Wyatt stated, putting his hands on Cruger’s back. He then pushed them into Cruger, causing him to transform. When it was over, Cruger had become a giant version of his Shadow Saber. “Alright Roidmude, time to show you what happens when Riders and Rangers work together,” Wyatt called out, slotting one final card into his belt.
“Final Attack Ride: Sh-Sh-Shadow Ranger!”
Several portals appeared around the Roidmude, as well as one in front of Wyatt. Wyatt stabbed Cruger into the first portal, and the blade extended through the other portals in sequence, skewering the Roidmude repeatedly. Wyatt slowly pulled Cruger out of the Roidmude, turning his back just as it exploded.
“That should put an end to the disturbance,” Wyatt commented.
Cruger flipped back to normal, “That was weird, kinda cool, but still weird.”
“Well get used to it, you can do that whenever you want now,” Wyatt chuckled.
“Hope you don’t mind if I keep it to a minimum,” Cruger replied, “well, maybe you should go while Murphy’s still recharging.”
“Alright, guess I’d better grab Twilight. Don't want her making another book fort or something,” Wyatt nodded, pulling the handles on his Driver and reverting to normal.
“Low chance of that,” Cruger replied as he demorphed, “Slowdown field remember?”
“Never doubt the powers of a super-nerd,” Wyatt smiled. “Especially when that nerd is a magical unicorn.”
Cruger sighed, “Hopefully my Twilight kept her in check.”
“Maybe,” Wyatt shrugged. “Hope you’re right. I mean, how much damage could my Twilight really do?”
Cruger facepalmed, “It’s official, Murphy loves you. Now let’s get back before he get’s any momentum from that one.”
“Good idea,” Wyatt gulped. “Would you open a portal for us please?”
Cruger snapped his fingers, opening a portal, “You’re the one who’s gonna answer to my Twilight you know.”
“Ugh I think I’d rather deal with an army of monsters,” Wyatt groaned as they walked through the portal.
Waiting on the other side was an irate looking alicorn, “Well, I suppose I have you to thank for my counterpart’s arrival?”
“What did she do?” Wyatt sighed, slumping over.
Cruger’s Twilight just pointed in the library, “She found the coffee machine.”
“Massive book fort?” Wyatt deadpanned.
“78.326% of the library so far,” she replied.
“Really?” Wyatt asked. “That's pretty impressive for how short we were gone.”
Twilight sighed, “Not if account for the fact that Luna got me hooked on a rather, strong blend. It’s not recommended for unicorns.”
“So we’re dealing with a powerful unicorn hopped up on super coffee? How hyper and crazy are we talking about on a scale of 1 to Pinkie?”
“Pinkie, plus 15.”
“Lead the way, let’s see the damage,” Wyatt sighed. They entered the library to see a massive, functional, book fort. The drawbridge lowered to reveal Wyatt’s Twilight, twitching like crazy.
“Twilight, are you okay?” He asked carefully.
“I’m more than fine!” Twilight said with a toothy grin. “I found a book here that taught me how to make a functioning drawbridge, and one that taught me interesting facts about snails!”
Cruger sighed, “Twilight, you got the stuff right?”
Cruger’s Twilight held up a syringe, “High grade tranquilizer, grabbed it just as you arrived.”
“You’re gonna tranq her?”
“You got a better idea?” Cruger replied, “or would like to wait until she crashes?”
“Well, she is pretty harmless right now,” Wyatt offered. “And I could just turn into Kabuto and put all the books back once she's normal again.”
“It’s your Twilight,” Cruger shrugged, “I just like having as many available options as possible.”
“I just don't want to show up in my universe with an unconscious mare. Might send ponies the wrong message.”
“Fair enough,” Cruger Twilight said as she put the syringe away, “but you are cleaning this up before you go.”
“Yes your highness,” Wyatt said with a dramatic bow. “Now, how much longer is that coffee gonna last?”
“How long ago and how much?” Cruger asked his Twilight.
“Half a pot, 44 minutes ago.”
“Now, assuming her metabolism is the same as yours was,” Cruger said as he did some math on his fingers, “I’d say she’ll conk out about, now.” Just as he said that, a loud snore echoed through the library.
“Good timing,” Wyatt complimented.
“Well, better get cleaning,” Cruger’s Twilight said, “and remember to sort them.
“Yeah yeah, shouldn't take long,” Wyatt sighed, putting a card in his belt.
“I’ll be done before you can say henshin,”
“Kamen Ride: Kabuto!” He then slotted another card. “Attack Ride: Clock Up!” Wyatt then rushed through the library, leaving Twilight up by Cruger and putting all the books back. Wyatt sighed, and pulled the handles of his Driver.
“There, that oughta do it.”
Twilight glanced around, “Well, it appears that everything is where it should be.”
“You would know,” Cruger said, “now I don’t mean to be rude, but maybe you should go before you do a hat trick.”
“Alright, be sure to call me if you need anything,”Wyatt offered, stretching his hand out. “Or when Beacon’s open.”
Cruger grabbed his hand and shook it, “I’ll see you in class, as long as you don’t bring Murphy with ya.”
“What if there's show and tell?” Wyatt joked.
“Then you can bring your cards,” Cruger chuckled.
“Alright, I’ll get out of your hair, Wyatt smiled, shaking his Twilight awake. “Come on, we’ve gotta get home before I cause a monster attack and you become the princess of the Book Castle.”
“My head hurts,” Twilight groaned as she got up.
“Well,” Cruger’s Twilight said, “that’s what you get when you drink dragon coffee.”
“Sorry,” Twilight said with a sheepish smile as she and Wyatt started to leave, walking out the front door.
“See ya on the flip side, Decade,” Cruger said.
“Same to you, Doggy,” Wyatt nodded, pressing the button on his watch and got on his motorcycle. He then revved the engine and pulled away.
Cruger was getting a status report from forensics, "So, what do you have on the Crybots?"
Case Closed looked through some papers on a clipboard, "Well, we managed to crack the encryption on their hard drives and find out where they were going to drop off the loot. But, since it's been so long..."
"They're long gone by now," Cruger sighed.
"You don't have to be an Investigator to figure that out," Case replied morosely.
"Find out what you can about the location," Cruger said, "discretely. If we're lucky, they won't figure out we know we cracked the codes."
"Which means they won't change them and we can access them in time to catch them next time," Case replied, "not bad."
"I have my moments," Cruger replied before taking a look at a clock, "7:52, maybe we should call it a night."
As he left, Cruger's morpher rang. Opening it up, he was pleasantly surprised to hear Eriba on the other end.
"Hey Cruger... do you have the time for a half-chaos spirit to come and relax? I need something to take my mind off of my work since it's just too quiet."
"Sure," Cruger answered, "I've been meaning to talk to ya anyway, come on over.
“Cruger… um… I’m not quite sure how to travel across dimensions…” Eribia replied.
“Not a problem,” Cruger replied as he fished out her token, “Eriba, I summon thee!”
The air distorted, depositing Eriba with a wierd prolv, “Oh… perhaps a more stable portal would be better… getting turned inside-sideways, even if you’re made of bubblegum, never feels good.” She groaned.
“Could be worse, I know this one girl who jumps dimensions by getting eaten by a Void Dragon,” Cruger replied.
“Honestly… compared to what I just went through… I’d be willing to give that a try.” Eribia grumbled as she slowly began to sit up. With a slight wobble she managed to get to her feet and pat some of the dirt off of herself. “So… what can we do first? blow up a mountain?”
“No,” Cruger said as he walked towards an elevator, “first, you tell me exactly what’s got you so wound up over some pulled pork sandwiches. Then we’ll see if your problems warrant a heavy combat exercise in the simulator, this Equestria doesn’t have a lot of mountains.”
Eribia sighed as she fell into step next to him. “I could actually go for a pulled pork sandwich… being a half-magical being who doesn’t need to eat, sleep or breathe kinda makes me miss being normal… that and how the entire world feels like paper mache if I don’t hold back.”
“Ah, I remember feeling like that when I first cracked subspace,” Cruger replied, “although I learned how to cope. Quick pro-tip, find a way to limit yourself, then a way to switch between limited and full throttle modes quickly.”
“That’s the thing though, I’ve been in my limited power form so much that at least a good seventy-five percent of my power is still locked away, I could easily create a crater just by unleashing my power alone… Sure, the Elements of Harmony got rid of a lot of my magical power, left me with just Discord’s, but I still have all of my Chi and that’s even locked behind a reflexive barrier” She leaned up against the side of the elevator and began to rub her forehead. “I just… I’ve held back so long and I know that I’m going to need everything I have in order to defeat Razul… I have nowhere to really let out all of my power without causing too much destruction.”
“Have you tried high orbit?” Cruger asked as they entered the elevator.
“Well, no… only because I don’t want to destroy the atmosphere on accident…” Eribia replied honestly. “I… well… I can feel that I have so much power, but I haven’t ever had a need to use it all… and now that I need it, I don’t have it.”
“Well,” Cruger replied, “it’s actually good that you have this problem, if you’re having trouble controlling your power when you’re at 25%, imagine how dangerous it would be if you were at 100%?”
“Exactly, which is why I wanted to talk to you… I was hoping that you may have a way to help.” Eribia replied as she shifted a little to lean up against him, her head only coming a little past his waist.
“Well,” Cruger said as the elevator opened, “how about after dinner I take you to where I mastered ftl travel, by the way, there’s something you should know.”
“What?” Eribia asked as she looked up at him.
“Nothing too earthshaking,” Cruger replied as he exited the elevator into his apartment, “remember the Elysium jump you had me working on?”
“Yeah… did you already make the connection to the elemental plane of air?”
“Try Elysium itself,” Cruger replied with a smug grin on his face, “took me a while to piece things together, we call it something different here. Anyway, I’ve done the math, our respective Verses are coming into alignment, tomorrow will be the best time to do it for, oh I’d say 72 years give or take.”
“That’s amazing! We need to get there to fix the connection to Elysium on my end then as soon as possible.” Eribia said with a smile as she began to bounce around the room. “by the way… where are we?”
“My personal apartment,” Cruger said as a timer dinged, “and that would be dinner.”
“Ooh! Do you think I’d be able to have a chance to beat up the best fighters in this world before tomorrow?” Eribia squeaked. “So many fights to be had… I hope you made a lot of dinner!” she squealed with excitement as she began to explore.
“Well, let’s see,” Cruger said as he lugged a pot from the kitchen, “there’s Lord Iron Arm the Wise of the minotaurs, wait, that was a thousand years ago, he’s out. Fang the Book Hoarder? nah, the only reason we fought that one time is because he wanted access to SPD databases, I gave him limited access. Although, there is this one guy I know.”
“Well… is there anyone like you I can fight? I want to fight as many strong fighters as I can.” Eribia replied.
“He’s known by many titles, to the Dragons, Scalebreaker; to the Griffions, The Untouchable; and to the Diamond Dogs, The Blue Alpha.”
“Hmm… I wonder who he is… I really wanna deck him in the shnoz… although, he might go down in one hit.”
“Alright, but can it wait after dinner?” Cruger asked as he heaped some meat on a bun, “I really hate fighting on an empty stomach.”
“Why would you be fighting? I’m going to look for this blue alpha guy, I should probably negotiate with a diamond dog.” Eribia said as she sat at the table.
“Seriously?” Cruger deadpanned.
“Of course.” Eribia replied with a cheeky smile. “Big guy like you doesn’t look like a guy with any of those names, so I’ll just have to find the guy that does.”
Cruger facepalmed, “Can’t tell if you’re joking, or just dense.”
“Of course I’m joking, I’d be happy to wipe the floor with you.” Eribia laughed.
Cruger chuckled, “Exactly how much combat experience do you have?”
“Well, I remember a lot from my previous life as Majin Eribia… the world destroyer… so… apparently my tactics were usually blow up the world.” She admitted sheepishly.
“Well,” Cruger replied as he licked off some barbecue sauce from his fingers, “I have over 20 years of experience, plus I’ve bested no less than two beings who held the title ‘Lord of Tartarus’, three if you count Tirek. I doubt I’ll go down in one hit.”
“Eh, you don’t look like you could stand too many if I did go all out.”
“Well,” Cruger said, “we’ll just see when we get to the Rock, you can breath in space right?”
“What part of ‘don’t need to breathe’ didn’t you hear?” Eribia laughed as she swallowed one of the sandwiches in one bite.
“Just double checking,” Cruger replied, taking a look into the pot before scooping himself another sandwich, “so, anything else you need to get off your chest, or was it just the over nine-thousand power level that’s got ya in a fit?”
Her smile fell just a little. “Well… that… and what I did before the Elements of Harmony hit me a second time, really it was more about what I did the first time around… I just… I’m not quite so sure I was supposed to be the one picked for the regalia of good…” She leaned back a little, crossing her arms over her chest like she was cold. “I… before the Elements hit me the first time… when I woke up in Equestria… I kinda lost myself, when I first noticed that unicorns were the strongest beings that could focus magic I began to absorb as many as I could so that I could build up my magical power quicker… I was also a little taller too...”
Cruger sighed, “Man, can’t say I can help ya with that one. Getting royally pissed off and ending someone is an experience I’m familiar with, and no I am not going to share it with you. However, I might be able to point you in the direction of somepony who’s gone through something similar.”
She lets out another small breath. “I think I’ll just go with a battle, I need to build up magic a different way than I used to… then again I think the whole fact that I’m part Discord might have something to do with what’s going on with me.”
“Fair enough,” Cruger replied, “but when you get back, ask Luna about Nightmare Moon. So, ready to rumble?”
“Yeah, whenever you are.” Eribia replied.
“Just let me change into something more appropriate,” Cruger said, pulling out his morpher, “SPD, Emergency!”
Eribia closed her eyes as her form shifted into something a bit more form-fitting, much like a flight-suit. “So, you wanted to suit up before we got there? or did you want to fight in your apartment?”
“Option 1,” Cruger said as he opened a portal, “did you forget the venue? Unlike you, I can’t breathe in space so good.”
“Oh yeah, welp… let’s go.”
“Wait till you see this,” Cruger said as they walked through the portal. “Welcome to the SPD Extreme Combat Training Grounds, aka The Rock. It’s the largest asteroid in the Equestrian asteroid belt, it used to be second largest until, well let’s just say there’s a reason I only develop new techniques up here.”
Eribia chuckles as she steps out onto the rock, letting her Chi flow and swirl around her like a pink flame. “So, how much of a warmup will we be doing?”
Cruger drew his blade and gave it a few lazy swings, “First to three hits?”
“Sounds good to me, perhaps when we’re done here I can fight your strongest fighters? see if they can handle an interdimensional warrior yet.” The Majin chuckled as she vanished, reappearing for a roundhouse kick towards Cruger’s chest.
Cruger vanished and reappeared on a nearby asteroid, “Well, you’re currently facing the strongest fighter in this verse, so I guess we’ll find out. By the way, you didn’t wait for the starting signal.”
“Neither do our enemies, besides… we’re just sparring aren’t we?” Eribia smirked as her pink aura flared up and propelled her towards him in a mere second with her fist on a path towards his face.
Cruger caught her fist just before a gong sounded, “And that would be the signal.” Cruger pulled her in and landed a knee in her gut, “That’s 1-zip by the way.”
With a slight scowl Eribia brings her other fist up and unleashed a beam of pink energy at the Shadow Ranger with a shout.
Cruger backflipped out of the way, Eriba’s proximity allowing him to hit her with a bicycle kick in the chin, “2-zip, I’d watch that temper if I was you.”
She vanished once more and reappeared several rocks away with her hands outstretched to her sides with energy sparking along her arms that coalesced into two spheres of energy. She brought her hands together and unleashed a huge wave of energy. “Final Flash!” The Majin shouted.
Instead of dodging, Cruger charged at, then straight through the beam. He emerged in front of Eriba, armor glowing red hot but otherwise intact, and flicked her on the forehead, “3-1, by the way, I specialize in fighting straightforward fighters like you, you might want to expand your repertoire.”
“Well, sometimes you need straightforward… it’s better to know who you’re fighting anyway…” Eribia pouted.
“True, but taking them by surprise when they think they’ve got you figured out is even more so,” Cruger replied, “admit it, you didn’t see how I took care of that last move coming, did ya?”
“From what it looked like your armor barely managed to keep you from getting vaporized.” The child-like Majin replied as she took off the rock.
“To be honest,” Cruger replied, “I was intangible for most of it, only reason I turned it off a bit early was to give you a hit, and because it looked badass.”
“What? So now you’re part ghost-boy or something?” She scoffed. “Sounds like something out of a cliche superhero show.”
“Can’t say I’ve watched Danny Phantom before, you know,” Cruger replied as he opened a portal home, “but it should teach you the merits of being unconventional with your powerset.”
“What are you talking about? I shoot energy death beams and can move faster than the naked eye can track…” Eribia asked with confusion.
“And I can outrun the Enterprise D,” Cruger replied, “in fact, that’s what got me thinking about my unconventional usage. By the way, I’ve got an idea you can try for when you get home.”
“The what?” Eribia replied in continued confusion. “Wait… is that one of those Star Wars things that everyone was going on about on earth?”
“Star Trek,” Cruger corrected, “don’t mix the two up if you’re near a fan of either unless you want them howling for your probably bubblegum flavored blood, you want to hear my idea or not.”
“Sure… it couldn’t hurt.” Eribia replied.
“Instead of a single giant death laser, try deploying your chi in a swarm of smaller beams,” Cruger replied as they went through the portal, “could be useful if you’re dealing with a swarm, like how zombies tend to do.”
“Do you mean like the spread energy wave?”
“Possibly,” Cruger replied as he closed the portal and demorphed, “your current moveset is geared towards single targets, not the best choice against a zombie horde, unless you count the thing I blew away with my giant robot.”
“My chi attacks are primarily meant for one on one combat, my fists are fine against multiple opponents.” Eribia replied. “a zombie horde isn’t really what I’m supposed to fight anyway…”
“Fair enough,” Cruger said before yawning, “sorry, I’ve had a long day, and we should probably get ready for the jump tomorrow, can we call it a night?”
“You can rest if you want… I still want to fight someone… I’ll find someone to spar with, where’s your training room?”
Cruger handed her an access card, “Simulator’s on level 48, map’s by the elevator, try WCS 42, elder dragon hoard, should tire you out.”
She nodded and made her way down to the elevator so that she could train. With a sigh she let the elevator ride take as long as it needed to. Eribia looked at each of the walls surrounding her as the elevator made its way down. “Perhaps… perhaps instead of fighting… I should fly… I’m on a different world after all, making my own tour of the world could be useful…” She mumbled as she pressed the ‘first floor’ button.
Before she reached the bottom, the doors opened on level 48 to admit a unicorn in SPD gear. “Oh,” she said, “hello, didn’t think anyone else was up.”
“Yeah… gonna head out for a flight, I’ve got a lot on my mind and it was mid-day when I left my world so I didn’t realize that it would be night here.” Eribia replied. “Who are you?”
“Oh,” she said as she pressed a button, “I’m Tome Guard, I was just getting in some practice in the simulator, you know Cruger finally managed to make Princess Twilight change her mind about having guards. Cruger’s going to start handpicking Troopers for the job soon, I hope I get picked.”
“I’m Eribia, on my world I’m known as the ‘new spirit of chaos’.” The pink majin chuckled. “Do you happen to have a ship you can take? I’d be happy to have some company.”
“Sorry,” Tome blushed, “some of the unicorns are training in those ‘helicopter’ things, but I’m more interested in the containment spells, wards and such are my special talent after all.”
“Hm… perhaps you could teach me some?”
“Maybe,” Tome said, “although they can get pretty tricky, the first ward I ever did had 3 separate layers, although it did earn me this.” Tome tapped a patch sewn on the shoulder of her jacket, which depicted her Cutie Mark, a book secured with silver chains and a shield shaped lock.
“Well… I’m half-discord, so I’m pretty sure I can get the hang of magic without a problem.” Eribia chuckled. “Okay… maybe a little less than half but I can still do plenty of magic… it’s just not quite as reality-bending anymore.”
Tome sighed, “Alright, I can put some notes together if you’re still here tomorrow.”
“I’m pretty sure I’ll be here a while.” Eribia replied as she waited for the elevator to get to the first floor. “Man… this place is big…”
“You’re telling me,” said Tome, “I’ve heard a rumor that one of the A-Squad guys still gets lost.” The elevator dinged, “Level 22, this is me, see ya Eriba.”
“A-squad?” Eribia asked curiously as she held the door open. “H-how long do you plan to be awake?”
“Well, I was thinking of doing some light reading for a bit,” Tome said, “but I take it you have something else in mind?”
“I was thinking… perhaps a bit of education… I’m pretty good when it comes to planet-busting… but not much else.” Eribia admitted sheepishly.
Tome sighed, “Come on, we can start with basic runes.”
“I’d be glad to.” Eribia chuckled as she got off the elevator.
“Ugh, it’s too quiet around here,” Dusk complained, her echoing hooffalls all the more noticeable in the empty hallways of S.P.D. headquarters. ‘I might as well get some exercise since I can't sleep,’ she thought on a whim, veering towards the nearest elevator, figuring she might have some fun picking up on the simulation from yesterday without anypony watching since it was so late.
Stepping across the small distance from the elevators, she saw the yellow light hanging above the closed grey doors. Somepony was already inside. Then, the motion sensor activating, the doors hissed open as a line of thin and similarly yellow lights lit up, forming an outline, squaring just past the control box inside, leaving just enough space to reach the bench along the wall.
Past the designated protected zone, a tan mare was busy dancing her way through a hail of medicine ball sized rubber projectiles blasting at her from all sides. But, while the wiry strands of violet magic that stretched out from the obstructive mass of mane was eye-catching, what really caught her attention were the darkened blades on their ends. If anypony knew a shadow when they saw one, it was her, and she marveled as they effortlessly halved the flying balls, sending them to thump upon the padded flooring.
After a few more dizzying seconds, a buzzing klaxon went off. The launchers in the walls reset, hissing closed as hatches in the floor hinged open, disappearing the spent and ruined rubber, leaving the tan mare to brace herself against her knees, breathing noisily as her spell fell to bits of violet glitter and paling shadows under the quiet and sterile lighting of the empty room.
“Whoa,” Dusk said, her bright yellow eyes going wide, “that,” wondering what else this mare was capable of, “was impressive.”
Lifting a hand to raise the drooping bits of mane covering her eyes, the tan mare looked up, blinking until she could spare the other to wipe away the sweat stinging at them. Even still, it was a few moments more until the mare had gulped enough air to steady herself, and, dragging her hooves towards the benches said, “Thanks.”
Sitting down, hard, the tan mare then busied herself with unscrewing the cap to her large thermos, chugging down the rest of its contents, and screwing the lid back on. Wiping her lips with the side of her hand, she turned her head to the black furred mare beside her, and then asked, “You new to the night shift or something?”
“I’m new, yes. But I’m not part of any night shift, I just couldn't sleep because this place is too quiet.” Dusk giggled, “What are you doing in here? Other than training obviously.”
“Nothing,” she replied, shaking her head, her mane slowly repeating the action. “Name’s Marri by the way,” she said, pausing, head tilting tiredly to the side, then added, “I was just about done,” slowly rising from the bench, “nice meeting you miss ...”
“Just call me Dusk.” Dusk replied with a smile. “So,” she fidgeted, glancing to the side.
“Don’t worry, I won’t stay around to gawk,” Marri said, moving slowly for the door, “she’s all yours,” tossing a limp hand over her shoulder to the training room behind.
“O- ok,” she said turning towards the control panel. “Um,” she paused, biting her lower lip “Dusk Roze, requesting to resume Training exercise ‘Tome’s Karma’, please?”
The room clicked into motion, white light flaring first into thumb sized cubes and then dimming into the worn wreckage of the randomized cityscape while the atmospheric lighting glowed into a ruddy twilight over their hard-light brethren. A torn and distant mumbling and groaning sounded through the streets of the simulation as a computerized voice, hidden in speakers across the room, gently stated, “Program: Worst Case Scenario 47 - Zombie Apocalypse selected. Resuming File: Tome’s Karma.”
“Whut,” Marri blinked quietly from the doorway, turning drunkenly on one hoof, “there’s a protocol for a zombie attack?”
A wide, white weapons rack extended up from the floor beside the manual control panel. Moving quickly, Dusk grabbed a pair of standard issue pistols, a short sword, and a shotgun, securing them to her person and moving to stand in the red circle at the center of the room.
Flaring yellow, and then green, the circle disappeared as zombies began pouring from open windows and staggering out of misshapen doorways, shuffling their way to the only live meat in the ‘city’. Unholstering the first pistol, Dusk lined up her sights and began to fire, each successive shot splattering rows of festering grey matter, courtesy of the undeads’ helpful bottlenecking in their mindless shamble to reach the living mare first, leaving Dusk ample time to duck into the windowless alley and put some distance between her and the ever growing hoard.
Still in the doorway, Marri watched from the monitor in the main control panel as the program kept a clean third-person view on Dusk’s movements. Swooping under the clumsy blows of the zombie apparitions, leaping over, and even onto the upturned carts, benches, and newspaper vending machines of the simulation to keep the toxic splatter of gore at a distance, Marri stood, transfixed by Dusk’s marksmareship, fluidly switching from her spent pistols to the automatic shotgun strapped over the sword at her back, pumping it in a quick, but controlled bursts as fresher zombies, still retaining more useful muscle mass, began to break through the crowd with disquieting speed.
Weaving through the shuffling carnage, Dusk found herself scaling the emergency ladder to a warehouse, her shotgun discarded, no use holding onto it in this particular scenario, when the roll-up doors of the loading bay groaned into a screeching rent of metal, and, from the twisted hole lumbered out an amalgamation of blistering flesh and protruding bones, a unicorn, though it was hard to tell from the way its massive chest-muscles barreled up into its head, obscuring the lower half of its face, leaving a sickly purple smog of magic to ooze out from its distorted orifices. Giving a roar, the beast made for Dusk. Ignoring the feeble, metal stairway to the roof, it, instead, punched holes straight into the brickwork of the wall, heedlessly turning its unfeeling hands into mush as it hauled itself up.
Steeling herself against the lone adversary, Dusk still couldn’t help but hold a sideways-grin as the meat-tank charged its perspective meal. Her yellow eyes flared with an internal light as her body lost all definition, parting like blackened fog as the beast decapitated itself on the sword that was held aloft by the smoky black tendrils clouding around it.
Marri rolled her eyes, “great, now we’ve got another Walker sibling,” she mumbled, turning back to the hall as the earth pony reconstituted herself, the training doors finally hissing closed, signifying her, now, very apparent exit.
Ears twitching towards the sound of what should have happened fifteen minutes ago, Dusk swung her head towards building directly between her and the exit, again reminded of just how unalone she really was as zombies from the building’s internal stairwell splintered through the door. Taking full advantage of her distraction, their hits landed upon her physical form, ending the training program.
Dashing for the exit as the cityscape twinkled away, ignoring the computer’s call to update the saved file, Dusk focused on only two things: reaffirming her earth-pony form and catching up to Marri. Running down the hallway, the elevator’s lights still dead, she made for the showers, catching up the white maned mare along the bend, and, leaping to a halt in front of her breathlessly huffed, “How much did you see!?”
“Huh?” Marri blinked, slouching a bit further as she stepped back, squinting as she once more raised the mane from over her eyes to get a better look at the wide-eyed mare. “Am I not supposed to know about that training mode?”
“No, not that! The other thing!” Dusk said frantically.
“Uhhhh,” Marri croaked.
“I don't care if you saw the training thing but please don't tell anyone about the other thing you saw!” Dusk begged, “Please, I don't want to be burned at the stake like some witch or a monster!”
Marri stood there, silently, her face slack before her eyebrows slowly rose, and then fell. “You do know that being an Earth Pony with special power isn’t really new here, right?”
“But I’m NOT an Earth Pony!” Dusk wavered, her eyes watering.
“Eh,” Marri sighed, “you’ve lost me.”
“I’m a bucking Shadow Pony!” Dusk shouted, throwing out arms that melted away to darkness, her body fully reverting to her true, if still pony shaped, light devouring, glowing-eyed form.
“Huh. Neat.”
Dusk’s left eye twitched, reverting back to her Earth Pony disguise before running off, tears glistening down her face. Understanding only that she had been caught and making for the only safe place in her spiraling world, her room down in the barracks and wanting only to hide away from the oncoming torches and pitchforks bound for her once Marri told somepony.
Now alone in the corridor, Marri felt like she was missing something important, but she was already running on fumes, and, whatever it was, she wasn’t going to be able to do anything about it in the scant few minutes she had before she was going to pass out. So, with a small effort of will, Marri started, again, on her path to the showers, making sure to scribble a note into her locker for her to reread in the morning after she’d gotten a good night’s sleep back in her extra-firm bunk.
[ the next day... ]
Opening her locker door, Marri noticed the folded sheet of yellow notebook paper atop her uniform. Grabbing the enfolded, questionably-legible message, it read: Dusk. New Girl. Fur: Black. Mane/Tale: Dark Blue. Distressed that I know she is a shadow pony.
“Oh dear,” Marri sighed, crumpling the message back into her locker before putting on her uniform. Then, exiting the locker room, she made for Time Stamp, the desk sergeant.
Mr. Jolly Green himself, while a bit busy, assured Marri that he’d be sure to pass along her message to the new recruit: that she wanted to talk, and that she’d be taking her lunch break at precisely one o’clock.
[1:01 post meridian]
Keeping an eye to the entrance, Marri sat alone, per usual, in her seat in the cafeteria’s leftmost corner, her back to the wall, giving her a full view of any potential threats without unnecessary blind spots. Taking another bite of today’s chicken, grilled, she watched as the midnight mare cautiously made her way inside and looking repeatedly over her shoulder, almost as if she expected someone to spring up on her.
Grabbing a tray, Dusk filled it, making her way down the cafeteria’s lunch line as she scanned the room for Marri. Spotting the unicorn as she paid for the meal, she made her way timidly over to the table in the corner and sat down, her hands trembling too much for her do more than hold her fork.
“So,” Marri said, keeping her voice respectfully low, watching Dusk ignore her grilled chicken, “being a shadow pony’s got you upset it seems.”
“Please don't tell anyone.” Dusk whimpered, drawing in on herself “They'll hunt me down and kill me like that monster Sombra.”
“Okay,” Marri replied, shrugging as slivers of violet flared under her mane into strings of magic that then spiraled down her arm to worm into the flesh of her wrist, whereupon it split cleanly from her arm, cold lilac flames extending the severed hand as she forked up another slice of chicken from her plate as the flames curled it back up to her mouth. Chewing quietly, Married reattached her wrist, letting the magic come to a sputtering close.
“Wha...?” Dusk sniffed, staring at the, seemingly, healthy looking hand.
“The guys back at the big top called me The Phantom of The Circus, but,” Marri said, looking up, “you could call it something a bit... monstrous. Though, that’s hardly a fitting descriptor given some of the things I’ve seen the foals around here pull off. Why, I’ve even heard that we’ve got a few ‘retired’ assassins on the payroll. Apparently, it takes all sorts here.” Taking another bite, this time without the aid of magic, she then added, “even you.”
Silently, Dusk looked down at her food, pushing it aimlessly around her plate, occasionally glancing towards Marri, still busy eating. Then, taking a breath, she asked, “Why are you being so nice to me even though you know my secret? My mom told me that ponies would have run away while screaming ‘monster’ if they found out... but not you. Why is that?”
“Because I am an actual member of S.P.D.” Marri replied flatly, forking up a new bite even as she continued to chew, “Serve and Protect. So don’t sweat the small stuff. If you don’t want anypony else to know, then they won’t. Now eat your chicken.”
Dusk looked back down, blushing at her foalish actions as the pit in her stomach finally started to unclench, and began to eat. Silently cleaning her plate, having skipped breakfast in her worry, gathering her nerves, she then asked, “So… what squad are you in?”
“A-Squad,” Marri replied, chewing for a few more moments before adding, “eventually.”
“I hope you make it,” Dusk smiled. “Oh, uh, I’m in B-Squad.”
“Well then, I’ll probably see you around,” Marri nodded, wiping her mouth.
“Want to go to the training simulators? We could work on our skills together.” Dusk suggested, her smile growing.
“Huh,” Marri said, standing up, “you know, I have been wanting to try Hell Week Protocol: Steeple Strike. It’s the only simulation I can’t do on my own.”
“What’s this ‘steeple strike’ thing?” Dusk asked, following beside her, stacking their trays into the ‘return’ pile.
“Oh, it’s the one where you and your opponent are placed on two small standing circles, and you're supposed to knock the other one off.”
“That doesn’t sound so-”
“From fifty feet up.”
“I see,” Dusk said, her gaze falling to the floor before a smirked wormed onto her face. “Challenge accepted.”
Eribia breathed slowly in and out as she stood in the middle of a wasteland, her eyes were closed as her aura began to flare up around her with pink flames. “Oh… I missed letting out my power…” She mumbled as more and more of her power began to flow and crack the ground. Her body began to swell a little as the power flowed to her muscles. “Wow… I… I really am out of shape…” She sighed as a wave of energy swept away from her and kicked up a huge dust cloud as she collapsed to her knees and shifted back to regular size.
Around her the wasteland shimmered and shifted until it revealed a huge, paneled room. “Alright… I think I’m good for a little while.” Eribia panted as she shifted back into a sitting position.
With a woosh, the door opened as Cruger walked in, “Enjoy your morning calisthenics?”
“Yeah, a few more days of that and I’ll be able to bring out my full power.” Eribia replied with a smile.
“Well sorry if I’m cutting it short,” Cruger replied, “but we have a Deus Ex Machina to grab.”
“It’s not quite a Machine God… it’s more of a power boost.” Eribia said as she rolled her eyes and made her way over to the door.
“It’s a set of armor made by divine beings for use in theological debates and your adversary is looking for its evil counterpart assuming he doesn’t have it already,” Cruger deadpanned, “that sounds like a Machina to me.”
“You do realize that Machina is latin for machine… right? And that Deus Ex Machina means god of machines…” Eribia chuckled. “I’m actually hungry for once… do you guys have fifteen layer chocolate cakes here?”
“Celestia probably has at least three in her private stash,” Cruger said as he shouldered a large backpack that was leaning on the wall, “but why don’t we wait until after, Pinkie’s probably gonna throw you a party when you get the armor. By the way, a Deus Ex Machina is one of those things that a hero pulls out of their ass when all seems lost and use it to save the day, think Rainbow Power.”
“It’s something I have to get because it will put me on equal terms with him, the regalia of good might would cancel out the power of the regalia of evil might.” The pink child explained as she flourished a hand. “If not for the fact that the regalia of evil might would make him stronger than me I would wipe the floor with him…”
“Either way, we might as well get going,” Cruger replied as he pulled an ornate golden key out of his pocket.
Eribia nodded once more as she made her way over to him. “So… step one on our journey to Elysium?”
“That’s easy,” Cruger said as he inserted the key into thin air, “we go through the door.” Cruger turned the key, causing a door to appear out of thin air, the key in its lock. “Welcome, to the Divine Court,” Cruger said as he opened the door.
The young-looking majin looked around slowly as she walked through the door with him. “Kinda nice…” She said with a slightly impressed tone when she saw the sheer size of the place.
“That it is,” Cruger sighed, “haven’t been been here for a while, wonder what’s changed?”
“Not a whole lot, Mr Anubis,” said a voice.
Cruger sighed, “I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times, it’s just Cruger.”
The owner of the voice chuckled as she came around the corner, “You know I’m teasing, who’s your friend?”
“This is Eriba, my first student,” Cruger said, “Eriba, meet Faust, Alicorn of Fate, First Chair of the Divine Court, mother of Celestia and Luna, etc.”
“Good to meet you.” Eribia replied with a bow. “I’m Eribia… the spirit of chaos and planet destroyer.” She said with a smile.
“Oh you don’t have to go into detail,” Faust replied with a grin, “I know everyone.”
“She’s not kidding,” Cruger said, “Faust has the ability to see the past of everyone she meets, although she generally sticks to just reading the cliffnotes to allow them some privacy.”
Eribia chuckled a little. “Well… where are we heading in order to get to Elysium?”
“Um, we’re there” Cruger said, “don’t you remember what I said about it being called something different here?”
“Oh… well… I’m still working on that… so… how do we use this place to repair the path to Elysium in my world?”
“Mythbusters style,” Cruger said as he pulled an object from his pack, “with gratuitous amounts of high explosives.”
“But I don’t need to use dynamite in order to make things explode… and how does explosions repair a bridge… or path…?” Eribia began to chuckle.
“Well, I have an answer to that, technically three but that’s besides the point,” Cruger said. “First, we aren’t using dynamite, we are using resonance ordinance keyed to your dimensional signature. Second, I said we’re in Elysium, but we’re in mine, not yours, I’m going to use the RO to temporarily make a gate between the two for us to cross. Finally, you use explosives to fix a path, when it goes through a collapsed tunnel.”
“I see… that does make a bit more sense…” the majin replied as she leaned against a nearby pillar.
“Sense or not, you might want to take cover,” Cruger said as he used his magic to set up the bomb in thin air, “this is gonna be big.”
“And where would I take cover at that wouldn’t get me caught in the blast?” Eribia asked with a raised brow.
“Over here missy,” Faust said as she raised a shield.
Eribia nodded a little and floated over so that she could stay within the shield.
Cruger finished checking the bomb, then went to join them, pulling a detonator out of his pocket. “Well, in the words of the irreplaceable Scott Savage, firing in 3, 2, 1.” Cruger pressed the button, causing an explosion that literally punched a hole in reality, “Well, that’s our ride.”
“This seems… incredibly unstable…” Eribia commented as she looked at Cruger. “Seriously… just using explosives to do this seems like it would break the fabric of reality more than fix anything.”
“I know what I’m doing,” Cruger said as he walked towards the portal, “I did the math five times, then again once a week while I was waiting for everything to line up. Plus, the explosion was laced with my own magic, it’ll hold plenty long enough for both of us to go through, then collapse with no permanent damage done to space-time, you coming or what?”
“Yeah, whenever you’re ready.” She replied.
“Well then, in the words of the greatest time traveller in the history of fiction, Allons-y!” Cruger jumped into the portal, Eriba following.
With the feeling of reality shifting its gravity sideways for a moment the pair of dimension-hoppers found themselves standing in the center of a large garden that was suspended in the air with waterfalls pouring from fountains that seemed to have nearly endless amounts of water. The air itself seemed to be filled with a relaxing aura that pleasantly asked them to relax and enjoy themselves with the beauty of the world around them.
“I… I’ve never seen a place so beautiful…” Eribia said in awe as she slowly began to float off the ground. “I… I want to see everything about this world… but don’t feel any need to hurry…”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Cruger said as he pulled a lawn chair and a book from his pack, “now, what say we chill until something notices our presence.”
The pink majin landed on the platform again and slowly walked over to the edge just to gape in awe. “Those… that… I… that’s the biggest plain that I’ve ever seen…” she said with awe as she fell to her knees and simply let her eyes flow over the landscape.
On a platform that was a few hundred feet away several green pegusai brought trumpets up to their muzzles, seconds later a beautiful tune began to play from the brass instruments while something that seemed like the remainder of an orchestra began to join in.
Cruger peeked over his book, “Gotta say, whoever’s coming, they know how to make an entrance.”
“No… that’s just the usual friday performance… everything, colors, music, heck… even food is much more delicious.” A dark navy unicorn with a long beard chuckled as he took a seat next to Cruger. “The Archons here have quite the schedule they love to stick to.”
Cruger nodded, “Fair enough, although I think that beings such as Eriba or myself, to say nothing of our method of arrival, should be enough to warrant their attention.”
The elderly unicorn chuckled and stretched a little, letting his wings mimic his arms before he laid back. “Oh no, the Archon council has already taken notice of your presence… they’re simply waiting on the fates before they decide what to do, of the five Archons two of them are against you both being here, two are eager to have a champion and the last is waiting on the fates to inform them whether Eribia should be here so soon.”
“So,” Cruger asked, “is this a case of, take a number?”
“Perhaps… although do be sure to stay here no longer than a couple days… as any chance of leaving begins to slip away after the first week.”
Cruger put down his book, “Sounds like my cue, so, where’s the gate to her Equestria, I’m here to fix it.”
“That’s the thing, there isn’t quite a gate, per-say… by having Eribia reach the Elysium of your world it began the process of repairing the path to this Elysium… with just a ripple of power by the archon council of your world would have fixed it.” The elderly alicorn replied. “Hmm… you’re honestly the first canine non-archon that I’ve ever seen.”
Cruger packed up his stuff, “I’ll take that as a complement, you won’t be offended if I send a pig through the pipeline, will you?”
“What do you mean?”
“A pig, at least the type I was refering to, is a large metal slug sent through a pipeline to clean it and prevent clogs,” Cruger explained, “I was going to use Displaced void magic to send Eriba back to her world to ensure the path between them is all hunky-dory.”
“I still don’t see what that has to do with metal invertebrates and farm animals…” The stallion chuckled.
Cruger sighed, “Forget I said anything, do I have your permission to double check the connection between here and there?”
“It’s not for me to say… The archon council rules this place… as far as I’ve seen you can do nearly whatever you want.” The navy stallion replied.
“Nothing wrong with being polite,” Cruger answered.
“To let you know… it’s likely the Archon council will send you both back themselves. While the Fates never get their predictions wrong… they rarely communicate unless it’s a very important matter.”
“Well, if it’s all the same to you,” Cruger said, “I’m gonna take her home so she can wait for their call.”
“I recommend making sure she can unlock her full power before you both part, if she is unable to see what her current maximum is she won’t be able to get here when she’s supposed to.”
“I’ll do what I can, and I have a very good idea, but that’s mainly on her.”
The stallion nods a little. “Be sure that she does… we wouldn’t want Razul to win now would we?”
“As I said, I’ll do what I can,” Cruger replied before turning to Eriba, “ready to go?”
The pink child shook her head. “no thanks…”
“That’s what I mean…” The stallion said. “After a while your desire to leave disappears and soon enough a mortal will forget their life and desires… unable to leave of their own volition.”
“Good think my method probably won’t require her cooperation,” Cruger said as he placed a hand on her shoulder, “Eriba, our contract is complete.” With a *vlorp*, they were transported from Elysium to Eriba’s Ponyville, “You weren’t kidding, that did feel weird.”
“Of course it does when you do that… we just got torn between two realities…” Eribia groaned as she began to get up from the dirt.
“Sensei!” A certain white pegasus called out as he managed to round up several of the nearby ponies. “Where have you been?”
“What are you talking about Snowflake? I’ve only been gone a day…”
“Nuh uh… Nightmare Night is tomorrow, you’ve been gone for three months.” The pegasus replied.
“Oh yeah, probably should have mentioned,” Cruger said, “the rules of Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey apply when you’re visiting another ‘verse.”
“Such as?” Eribia asked. “Aside from the spending a day on your world is three months here of course…”
“It could have just as easily been the other way around,” Cruger replied, “the relative flow of time between verses is never constant.”
“Well… how long has it been since I called you to my world?” The pink child asked as several of the townsfolk began to crowd around them. “Alright everyone! I’m heading to Sugarcube Corner, you guys can tell me your progress there.” she sighed.
“Sugarcube corner, sounds good to me,” Cruger said as they started walking, “by the way, assuming you were talking about the first time, about a month.”
Eribia let out another small sigh. “Sounds about right then… it was a little over a week the second time I called you.” She explained as the bakery quickly came into view. “What is really all that different about your world compared to mine? I did only get to see the inside of your base after all.”
Cruger tapped his chin in thought, “Well, admittedly I only saw the inside of your verse’s palace and Baltimare, but offhand I’d say they’re pretty similar, except mine has less zombies, more giant robots, is a little further into the future, and omnivorous Equestrians, assuming yours aren’t of course.”
“I haven’t really checked on their eating habits… I do know that they have these Equestrians have really big reptiles that they’ve used kinda like humans used horses back on Kalendas. Different breeds and everything from your typical beasts of burden to trained war mounts.” Eribia said as she entered the bakery, “Pinkie! If it’s okay I’d like a white chocolate parfait!”
“Comin’ right up!” Came the bubbly tone of the well-known party pony.
“Don’t have that at home, then again one of the more subtle effects of my arrival in my verse was a spike in tech-level,” Cruger replied, “I’ll take the chocolatiest thing you got.”
It was a few seconds before Eribia noticed just how quiet the bakery had gotten, till she noticed everyone staring at them. “...And when were you going to tell me about your boyfriend?” Pinkie asked with a pout from behind the Majin, making her jump.
Cruger chuckled, “I’m not her boyfriend, I’m her mentor. Besides, she’s not my type, no offense.”
“Oh, it’s okay, everyone knows I’m supposed to meet everyone who’s new in town… so… what are you? You look kinda like the shepherd breed of Diamond dog… but you’ve also got scales like a dragon.” The pink pony takes a huge gasp. “Are you a half dragon, half diamond dog!? AWW! I bet you are so awesome at outdoor grilling! Do you breathe fire like Spike does!? And if you do, is it blue like your scales?!” she began to ask excitedly, every ounce of her previous upset mood gone.
Cruger sighed, “I’m not a Diamond Dog, or part dragon. I’m actually part of an alien race known as Sirians. Although, like Eribia, I used to be a human before coming to my Equestria.”
“Oh…” Pinkie replied in a much more quiet tone. “Well, you should probably stay away from Twilight then… Celestia knows what she would do if she found out you were an alien.”
Cruger glanced around, “She’s in Canterlot right?”
“Yeperoonie! But she’s coming back for Nightmare Night with Spike… I think she said something about the princesses in her letter, OOH! I can go get it for you Eribia! I’ll be right back!” The pink party pony replied before she seemed to zoom away upstairs.
“Ooh… wow… I know I’m not good at sensing energy… but I think that chill I just got was from Luna’s power… Her magic has started growing off the charts.” Eribia said in slight shock as she looked in the general direction of Canterlot.
“She’s Celestia’s sister, an ancient immortal alicorn, and raises and sets the moon, you expected her power to be average?”
“Of course not… but… wow… I… I really think she’s a lot stronger than I was at my full power… if her magic matches her Ki… I… I wouldn’t stand a chance in a one on one duel with her.” Eribia sighed as she sat at one of the booths.
“Power isn’t everything,” Cruger said, “want to know something?”
“What?” Eribia sighed as she put her chin on both of her arms.
“My magic levels, they’re average,” Cruger said, “during our little sparring match, if it was just a matter of power, it would have been the exact opposite of what actually happened.”
“That’s because it was supposed to be a warmup, I wasn’t trying to kill you… normally all I have to do is punch my problems a few times and they either go away or become a crater…”
“Wouldn’t have mattered,” Cruger said, “you may have had more power, but I had more experience, a larger repertoire of skills, and superior equipment. In terms of pure advantages, I had you beat 3 to 1. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be proud of your power, you should, I’m saying that you need more than just power.”
“Well… I’ve got no one who can really do that… most of the people here prefer one on one bouts, anything else is either a war with armies going at each other or what even the criminals here think is unsportsmanlike.” Eribia replied. “Even when I used to fight against Luna and Celestia, on even terms with both of them I might add, they never both attacked me at once… they were too proud to do it until they had to use the elements…”
“That’s something I can help with,” Cruger said, “you know the webshow RWBY?”
“Uh… I think I saw a trailer for it once…” Eribia replied as she rubbed the back of her head.
“Not a problem, intimate knowledge of it is not required,” Cruger said. “Anyway, a RWBY Displaced by the name of Sun created his own Beacon Academy to train Displaced. I’m going to be a teacher there, and if you like I can enroll you.”
“Uh… sure… sounds like that could help, then I could take up the mantle of Planet Buster again.” Eribia began to giggle.
“Sounds good,” Cruger said, “also, think you might reconsider sending out your Token?”
“I might… well… do you want to stay for Nightmare night? You might be able to talk to Twilight without her dissecting you if she thinks that you’re wearing a costume…” Eribia replies as she starts to smile a little.
“Sounds good to me,” Cruger said as their orders arrived, “although, hmm I wonder?”
“Wonder what Crugey?” Pinkie asked as she leaned on the table in front of him, her work attire giving him a fairly generous view of her powerful, yet soft frame.
“Back in my Equestria, my birthday’s on Nightmare Night,” Cruger replied, “I was wondering if it still counted if I was in another dimension.”
“Of course it does my puppy pal! What kind of cake do you want?” Pinkie asked with glee as she pulled him into a hug.
“Chocolate fudge,” Cruger said, “and don’t you dare go easy on the frosting.”
“I wouldn’t dare! Eribia loves to be my taste tester for my sweet treats! She’s always the first to make sure they’re enough to make ponies leave with a belly full of happiness!” Pinkie giggled as she straightened out and began to bounce away.
“She’s not wrong… I might not need to eat… but it certainly helps make me feel normal, Pinkie’s been one of the biggest supports to making me feel-...”
The door to the bakery nearly crashed off its hinges as a grey pegasus slammed through them and tumbled through the bakery just before bouncing off of one of the patrons and landing in a very alert position as her golden eyes scanned the room. As soon as one of them locked onto the pink Majin though, there was a grey blur before Eribia was pulled out of her seat and into a bone-crushing hug. “Don’t you ever leave for so long without telling me again! Do you hear me Eribia! I was so worried about you…” Ditsy sobbed as she squeezed the Majin into a hug.
“Something you want to tell me Eriba?” Cruger asked, with a massive smirk on his muzzle.
Ditzy gave a mostly-confused look to the Sirian at the table. “Who’s your friend Eribia?”
The pink mass that was forcefully pulled into a hug managed to wiggle away just enough to get some air. “Well… Cruger… this is my mom… mom… Cruger… He’s a cop…”
The grey mare let out a gasp. “Did you get in trouble while you were gone!?”
“No,” Cruger said, “I’ve been teaching her a few things.”
She gives him a scrutinizing eye. “What kind of things…?”
Pinkie bounced up with a smile. “She’s been going over to his world to learn how to be just like him… I think she’s got a crush… or it’s the other way around.” She says with a smile, causing the wall-eyed mare to almost focus both of her eyes on the leader of the space police.
Cruger sighed, “I’m not teaching her to be like me, I’m teaching her some basics so she can be the best her she can be. By the way, anything else you want to tell me Eribia?”
“Other than the fact that I’m a creature that you probably know about already… nothing comes to mind… why? are you trying to get with my mom?” Eribia asked, getting the grey pegasus to blush.
“But… mister Cruger… really?” Ditsy asked with a flustered sputter. “You’d be interested in a mare like me?”
Cruger sighed, “No, I was referring to the fact that apparently Eriba’s crushing on me.”
“Am not!” Eribia shouted. “It’s clearly your own fault!”
Ditsy chuckled a little. “It’s alright mister Cruger, will you be staying for Nightmare Night tomorrow? There’s been rumors that Princess Celestia might actually leave her study to visit the Equestrian cities tomorrow.”
“But of course,” Cruger said, “I’m actually going to be having a Nightmare Night/Sorta-Birthday Party as well, consider yourself, and your daughter, invited.”
“What about Dinky though…?” Ditsy asked.
“Of course she’s invited! Everyone’s always invited to a Pinkie Pie Super Duper Birthday Party!” Pinkie exclaimed. “You could even bring Time Turner! He could use a break from his clock business.”
“To be honest,” Cruger said, “I was actually talking about Dinky. If I wanted to invite Eriba, she’s right there, you’re invited too by the way.”
“I kind of assumed so…” Eribia replied. “...I could use a bit of fresh air.” The child-sized Majin said as she passed a few bits to Pinkie. “Want to join me for a walk around town to see how everyone’s training is going?” She asked Cruger.
“Don’t see why not,” Cruger said as he finished his cake, “might try sparring with them myself, might do them some good.”
Eribia pried herself from her adopted mother’s grasp and began to walk towards the door. “I’ll see you later mom… tell Dinky we should meet at the usual place.”
“Okay Eribia… see you later…” Ditsy said with a smile as her wings fluttered a little and she turned to Cruger. “Please… take good care of her when I’m not able to…” She asked with a pleading look.
Cruger grinned softly, “Whenever I can, cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”
Cruger grinned as he put the finishing touches on his costume, “Not everyday you get to have your birthday twice in one year, huh Eriba?”
“Certainly not.” The pink child replied with a smile as she pet him on the shoulder.
“Well,” Cruger said, “we’d better get to Sugarcube, don’t wanna be late.”
Eriba had to admit, Cruger’s costume was very impressive. It was a set of golden plate armor, intricately engraved, with a matching axe and shield. Her own costume consisted of a dark grey jumpsuit that had a white chestplate and matching white boots and gloves, a curved shape that looked a lot like a leaf was emblazoned on the upper-left portion of her chest. “Then let’s go, can you fly? Or do we need to walk?” She asked with a smile as she walked out of Ditsy’s home.
“I can teleport, but I’d rather walk,” Cruger replied, “might as well see what everypony else is doing.”
“Fine, besides… It’ll be nice to have a look at the town just before the real Nightmare Night starts.” Eribia chuckled as she brought her hands up behind her head and walked at a leisurely pace in the slightly-chilly night air.
The various ponies were dressed up in every kind of costume imaginable. Witches, firefighters, one filly was even dressed up as a ladybug. Although, their homes were just as extravagantly done up, there wasn’t a porch in town that didn’t have at least 1 Jack-O-Lantern sitting proudly.
“I don’t know why… but… I remember the human that I used to be stopped celebrating whatever holiday was like this one back where she was… I… I think it was right around High School.” Eribia sighed. “It’s… a little hard looking around like this actually…” Her pace slowed just a little more as she watched all of the ponies making their way towards Sugarcube corner. “Even among this sea of color… I don’t know, I just feel so… alien…”
“Well, I know something that might get in the spirit,” Cruger said as he picked up some pebbles from the ground, “I assume you know Bu’s signature technique?”
“...who?” Eribia asked.
“The guy you were Displaced as?”
“If you couldn’t tell… I’m not a guy.” Eribia replied. “Actually… now that I think about it, my current form is actually a mix of the original Eribia, a human… who’s name I haven’t been able to remember, and Discord.”
“Well anyway,” Cruger said, “you’re close enough that it should still apply, and if not you can use your Discord bit to compensate. Anyway, Majin Buu liked to turn his victims into candy. Think you could do the same to these?” Cruger held up the pebbles.
“Oh… that… well… yeah.” She replied with embarrassment as she pointed at the pebbles, a quick flash of pink later and there were several hard caramels in the palm of his hand. “That one… was actually one of the few powers I got to experiment with before everything went sideways…”
“Well, it’s the perfect power for today,” Cruger said as he popped one in his mouth, “tonight’s all about the candy, costumes, and one other thing.”
“Admittedly I’ve only gotten caramels to taste right… so I’m kinda limited in that aspect.” Eribia chuckled just a little. “So, what’s that third thing?”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Cruger said, “let’s just say it’s related to why I asked you to talk to Luna.”
Eribia nodded just a little as she picked up a few more pebbles and turned them into chewy caramels. “So… uh… how often do you have to fight on your world?”
“Let’s see… back before my Discord sealed me I got in a major confrontation every month or so. It’s been quiet since I’ve gotten out, but evidence suggests that thing’s will be picking up,” Cruger said, “of course if you’re talking small fry, every week or so.”
Eribia nodded. “Oddly enough, outside of that attack on Manehattan… there hasn’t been anyone for me to fight…” She tossed another caramel into her mouth. “In a way, that whole training the town thing was in a way… something to help.”
“It’s done more than help!” A muscular white pegasus with a buzz-cut blonde mane replied with a smile as he picked up the diminutive Majin. “Applejack’s made enough cider to get the entire town set for the night with Cider. Though you’re going to have to stay away from the adult party when Nightmare Night is done.” He chuckles.
Eribia frowned at the pegasus. “You do realize I’m a lot older than you… right Snowflake?”
“Then why are you still a child?” The pegasus smirked.
“Because she acts like one,” Cruger smirked.
“Of course she does, but she’s the best… second-best thing to happen to this town since the Apple family set up their farm here.” The white pegasus laughed. “So, where are you two off to?”
“My semi-birthday party,” Cruger said, “didn’t you get your invite? I’m reasonably sure Pinkie invited the whole town.”
“She did, but that’s not going to start for another hour.” Snowflake replied. “Anywhere in particular that Eribia was showing you to?”
“No Snowflake… and I distinctly remember you not showing up to our last sparring match…”
The pegasus got a little nervous. “I had a family matter I had to deal with… Cousin’s in town and I had to say hi.”
Cruger frowned slightly, “That all you were doing?”
“Of course not… had lunch, talked… found out how he was doing in that crazy monastic order thing of his he had joined… turned out he’s been doing pretty well, even found himself a girlfriend before he left.” Snowflake replied.
“Fair enough,” Cruger said, “just tell him to be careful about that order thing, wouldn’t be good if he joined a cult by accident.”
“Oh no, this order’s been around since Celestia… Princess Celestia, had that whole nightmare moon incident with her sister, they’re a bunch of ponies, griffons, minotaurs and… uh… well… anything else really, that go out and fight monsters to protect the innocent. He’s real good at that stuff.” Snowflake replied. “Princess Celestia herself is the one that established it.”
“Fair enough,” Cruger said, “just as long as he doesn’t get too overzealous. Just because something’s a monster doesn’t mean it’s evil, Eriba for example.”
“Well yeah, but he goes after stuff like dragons that raze towns, manticores that attack outlying settlements, monsters in general that attack for no reason than to cause suffering.” The pegasus said with a smile.
“That seems fair enough,” Cruger said, “but tell him to be careful all same?”
“I’ll be sure to.” The pegasus replied as he let Eribia down from his shoulders. “Take good care of her.” He laughs before flying off to Sugarcube corner.
“So, what will you be doing when you head back to your world?” Eribia asked.
“Get ready,” Cruger said, “as I said, things back home will probably be escalating soon, I’m already getting some bleed through.”
“What kind of bleed through?” Eribia asked curiously as she walked a little closer to her friend.
“Crybots, and an enemy giant robot,” Cruger replied, “at the current rate I’ll probably start running into monsters of the week soon after I go back.”
Eribia nodded as she made her way toward the bakery that was their destination. “You know… I wonder just how Luna’s going to look when she gets here… as far as I know she’s been training non-stop since the last time you were here.”
Cruger grinned, “Assuming we’re when I think we are, you’ll have the chance to ask her before the night is through.”
“Of course, after all… Twilight did notify the town that Princess Luna was going to be attending… although, apparently the day courts haven’t seen much of Celestia since that incredibly rude statement you made when you left… in fact, I really should give you a punch in the future children for that.” Eribia narrowed her eyes a little as she looked up at him. “Why would you even say something like that?”
“It was a joke,” Cruger chuckled, “besides, if she’s to have a chance against mr big bad, she’ll need to be able to handle that kind of thing at minimum. Here’s today’s lesson, not all attacks are physical.”
Eribia sighed. “Whatever…” She looked off in the distance. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a proper drink… I’m not even sure if they’ll affect this form… you think you’d like to join me at the adult party where they serve the Hard Cider?”
“Why wait,” Cruger said as he pulled a bottle and two glasses from a portal, “tell me, ever try mead?”
“No… but I’d rather wait until after the kids are done with their Nightmare Night festivities.” She says. “It keeps me from thinking of ways to project a negative impression.”
“Not a problem,” Cruger said as he put them back. Casting a glance towards Canterlot, he grinned slightly, “By the way, you might want to cover your ears, if you have ears anyway.”
“Why?” Eribia asked as her head shape changed to make her ears less obvious.
Cruger grinned as an airborne carriage came into sight, “Let’s just say that Luna doesn’t have an indoor voice.”
“She spoke indoors just fine with us when you came by…” Eribia replied as the carriage landed, letting a dark curtain pull away from the covered carriage in a swarm of pitch-black bats.
Standing in full light of a shimmering moon was the very bulky form of the princess of the night, towering like an amazon over the populace with teal eyes that were hardened with years of battle. ”CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE! WE HAVE COME TO GRACE YOUR TOWN WITH OUR PRESENCE, TURNING THIS INTO A MOST GLORIOUS HOLIDAY!”
Eribia blinked a little. “Wow… you weren’t kidding.”
“Royal Canterlot Voice,” Cruger said, “still makes me flinch.”
”WE SHALL TURN THIS HOLIDAY FROM ONE OF FEAR INTO A GLORIOUS FEAST!”
“Did you hear that!? Nightmare Moon is gonna feast on us all!” Pinkie squealed before she and a large group of foals began to bolt away from the clearing. Leaving a shocked populace and a princess who stood with her mouth agape in confusion.
Cruger sighed, “Pinkie, why do you have to do these things?”
“Because that’s who she is…” Eribia sighed in response as she watched the princess ineffectively attempt to get the populace to mingle with her, though the armor made of training weights didn’t exactly help her image… neither did the flowing dark cloak that helped make her look like a warlord.
“Well, can’t say I didn’t expect this,” Cruger said, “think you can calm Pinkie down? If you can get her to stop screaming, the kids should follow suit.”
“Eh… I’m sure it’ll sort itself out, Things that deal with her generally solve themselves in the end anyway…” Eribia said as she pet him on the arm. “Let’s go say ‘hi’ before she makes a fool of herself and gets mad at the town.”
“Might as well,” Cruger said as they walked towards her, “and it looks like somepony else has the same idea.”
“...Commendable costume, you even got the bells right…” Luna finished as the two displaced approached.
“Thank you! You’re the first one who realized who it was without making some sort of ridiculous assumption… I mean, it should have been easy, I did model my costume after the most famous unicorn in history after all.”
“That he was,” Cruger said, “although I have no idea why he was so obsessed with bells.”
“That’s because sound can help with meditation, when you have a gentle jingle or a gentle hum you can focus a lot easier.” Eribia replied.
“Exactly! How do you know about that Eribia?” Twilight asked with slight astonishment
“I am a Majin after all… a being created mostly of magic…” Eribia replied. “It kinda comes naturally…”
“I have to admit,” Cruger said, “I didn’t know that. Still doesn’t explain it though, when I said obsessed, I mean obsessed, his birthday cake was shaped like one for Zordon’s sake.”
“Hey… you can’t beat a good-sounding bell… that reminds me, Luna… you look like you’ve gotten much more toned.” Eribia stated with an impressed look as she looked at the mare of amazonian stature.
“Thank you for your compliment, we have been trying to get our Sister to do the same, but the words from this heathen last we met have kept her from even attending court.” Luna finished with a slight glare at Cruger.
“Like I told Eriba,” Cruger said, “it was a joke. Sheesh, you’d think being over 1000 years old would give her at least a partial tolerance to that kind of thing.”
Luna’s eyes narrowed dangerously as her hand quickly shot out to strike the Syrian across the face. “My sister doesn’t take such insults lightly, and the fact you lasted this long without imprisonment is a testament to her leniency. Be sure not to try my patience.” The Night Princess almost hissed.
“I suppose I deserved that,” Cruger said, “tell Tia I’m sorry when you get back?”
“It will likely take more than a ‘Sorry’.” Luna replied. “Unlike in her youth my sister is a much more sensitive mare now, so many a noble has grated on her frayed nerves the past millennium that your words were the… ‘camel that broke the straw’s back’ as it were.” She huffed.
“Okay… well… I’ll admit I really wasn’t expecting the Princess to be confined to her chambers over what Cruger said either…” Eribia started as she tried to keep the two of them apart. “But… shouldn’t we be getting to the party? I mean… Pinkie would be awfully upset if we missed such a great one… Right Pinkie!?” the Majin ended with a slightly elevated tone.
As if on cue a pink and white blur dashed between Luna and Cruger, with only a moment’s notice to realize that Eribia wasn’t between them anymore.
Cruger sighed, “Well, I guess that’s that. Come on Luna, looks like Pinkie’s not interested in being at my party.”
“HOLD IT!” Came the high-pitched shout that paused the Syrian in his tracks, well… more like everyone in the area paused in their tracks. “I’m the one who planned the party, of course I’m gonna be there you silly puppy.” Pinkie giggled before looking over at Luna, her face turning from mirth to shock and horror. “NIGHTMARE MOON! RUN!” She screamed before bolting away.
“And that’s why you’re on the verge of being uninvited,” Cruger said, “Luna’s just trying to have a good time and put it behind her, but you’re just assuming that she’s still Nightmare Moon because she’s had a little growth spurt, not to mention planting that idea into everypony’s heads. Only a real mean pony would do something like that, and I don’t invite mean ponies to my parties.”
Pinkie glared at him as she seemed to reappear on his other side. “What? So you think spoiling the spirit of Nightmare Night for the kids is more fun?” She accused. “They’re looking forward to the end of the Nightmare Night Trick or Treating you know. Or should I tell them that I had to cancel the super-awesome Cruger party because he didn’t want the kids to enjoy the holiday?”
“Did you forget, this is Luna’s first Nightmare Night,” Cruger countered, “all she knows about it is that it was created because of a stupid story that Nightmare Moon ate ponies. Now how would you feel if someone made a holiday where ponies had to make an offering of cupcakes because they thought that you’d turn them into cupcakes if they didn’t?”
“Pfft… that’s ridiculous, ponies don’t taste good as cupcakes. Besides, the holiday would be about me passing out cupcakes because that’s just how great I am.” Pinkie giggled.
A dark-navy hand placed itself on Pinkie’s shoulder, causing the earth pony mare to turn towards a pair of vibrant teal eyes. “Oh but Miss Pie… Ponies make absolutely delicious meals!” Nightmare Moon hissed with a fanged smile. Needless to say, the chicken fainted on the spot, causing the nearby foals to make a frantic dash towards Sugarcube Corner. With a laugh Luna hoisted the unconscious mare onto her shoulder. “We read up on the local customs since our return Sir Cruger… in a way, we… I quite enjoy this method of celebration a bit more, it helps with the process of making one’s blood race without risking bodily harm.” She smiled as she pet him on the head. “Thank you for sticking up for me… but it’s much better than the fear of a battlefield.”
Cruger grinned, “Well, to be honest, I prefer the dressing up part myself.” Cruger then waved one of the caramels he had under Pinkie’s nose, “Wake up, I still have a point to make.” It seemed all for naught as her muzzle seemed to clamp down on his whole hand without moving too far. A faint giggle wiggled its way out of her throat though, so it seemed that the fainting spell was an act to scare the foals. “Anyway, as I was saying,” Cruger continued, “if you were so upset about Luna getting rid of the Trick-Or-Treating, my second favorite part by the way, why couldn’t you try explaining all the good stuff about Nightmare Night to her? Either way, replacing the offering with a feast sounds like a good idea to me any way you slice it.”
“Duh… because she already knew it…” Pinkie replied as she sat on the Princess’ shoulder. “Spike’s been at the library the whole time Twilight’s been up at Canterlot, we planned for that entrance.” Pinkie explained as she tossed a chewy candy in her mouth. “B’shides, we w’rs alr’dy planin’ a... “ She gulped down the candy. “We were already planning the feast to happen after the trick or treating, it was supposed to be part of your party.”
Cruger facepalmed, “You mean I planned that whole epic speech to get Pinkie to accept Luna, and I use it on the only Pinkie in the Multiverse who did it on purpose? With her Luna’s approval and support!?”
“Yepperoonie!” Pinkie giggled as she popped another piece of candy into her mouth.
“Well, you can’t win every battle Cruger.” Eribia laughed as she started to hover off the ground. “Maybe you could learn something from her, eh?”
Cruger sighed, “I need chocolate, let’s just get to my party.”
It wasn’t long before the party was underway, with Princess Luna sitting in one of the largest chairs in the building. her posture was relaxed, with one arm resting on the arm of the chair as she eyed the gathering with a smile. “How are you enjoying your celebration of birth Sir Cruger?”
“Pretty good so far,” Cruger said, “I don’t remember mentioning it, but Pinkie made my favorite, spaghetti bolognese. Not to mention, great company, and I think that cake she made is 45% frosting by volume.”
“And all natural ingredients!” Pinkie cheered from the impromptu konga line that sprung up in the middle of the bakery.
“Verily, we use no artificial sweeteners in our country.” Luna called out as she raised her mug of cider, which was met by several varying mugs of cider throughout the room.
“Well,” Cruger said, “I suppose now’s a good a time as any to indulge in my little habit. Anyone up for a bit of a singalong?”
“Of course! We must raise our voices in celebration!” Luna cheered as she got up from her chair, wobbling just a little as she stood. “Woo… not used to the strength of this cider yet…” She muttered.
Cruger grinned as he pressed a button on his morpher, “Well, I think you’ll love this.”
As the drums started, holographic screens appeared in front of everyone present, with a little bouncing ball to track the lyrics. By the end, every hand had a mug of cider, not all of them were still full. Even Eribia had shifted her appearance to look more like an adult as even she sported a thick blush on her face while banging against a pair of drums that seemed to have come from nowhere. Luna was laughing as she sat back in her chair. “Oh… Sir Cruger, the words were a little different but I should have guessed you would know some of the old Diamond Dog Mining songs.” She giggled as she downed another mug of cider. “Ah… sweet memories of times long past… good times, when you had to think with your axe and only had to carry out what wasn’t nailed down in a dungeon.”
“I’m not a Diamond Dog,” Cruger said, “although that does sound pretty interesting.”
“Oh yes, Lord Barkus the third was indebted to myself for single-handedly clearing his mine of Destrachans that had decided his dogs were a decent meal.” Luna said with a smile. “We drank a fine dragon wine that night… didn’t regain my senses for three days afterward.”
“Well then, maybe you’ll appreciate this,” Cruger said as he pulled a bottle out of a portal, “my own personal blend honey whisky, aged a thousand years, mostly because that’s how long I was sealed, but fine none the less.”
With a snap of her fingers Pinkie, in a bit less modest of a chicken costume, appeared with another mug so the Princess could hold out a fresh cup. “Let us see then.”
“Just so you don’t get any misconceptions,” Cruger said as he poured them each a glass, “this doesn’t have a high alcohol content, it’s the flavor that makes this special. To friends, old and new.”
Luna’s eyes seemed distant as she looked into the mug. “To friends lost… may their memories live on so that they may never truly die…” She said almost quietly. Eribia leaned back in her chair as she eyed the drink, she blinked away a couple of tears before quickly starting to drink.
Cruger frowned, “I know that feeling all too well. Here’s to you Judge, give ‘em one for me.” With that, he sipped his drink, reminiscing about his original team.
After putting her mug down Luna stood and let her horn glow, it fizzled a little the first time she tried to use her magic but she managed to create a small portal that she reached into. “For those of you who are interested in the best of weeks that you will likely not ever truly remember… make sure thy children have someone to make sure they attend their normal day activities….” She announced before muttering something about using drunk casting.
“Okay,” Cruger said, “I’ll bite, what are you planning?”
She pulled out a very round bottle with a long, narrow neck. “A drink that was given to me a thousand years ago, after nearly another thousand years in the possession of an ancient red dragon.” She said with a smile. “The last time I drank this… I woke up a week later with a blanket of mares.”
“Sounds… interesting…” Eribia said with slight interest.
“I think I’ll pass,” Cruger said, “I think I need to head home anyway.”
Luna gives a shrug. “More for us then… but… Sir Cruger… You’re still an asshole for calling my sister fat.”
“Woah… Luna?” Eribia said with shock.
“It is true…” Luna stated adamantly. “...He’s simply not a complete one… just in certain areas.”
“Yeah, for example,” Cruger said as he reached into a portal, “I know how to say sorry.” He pulled out a cake, written on it was ‘Sorry I called you fat, Cruger’.
Luna took the cake and put a stasis spell around it. “I’ll be sure to give it to her… not sure how receptive she’ll be for it…”
“That’s all I ask,” Cruger said, “enjoy the whisky and dragon wine.” He opened up a portal and stepped through, “Oh, before I forget, Eriba, don’t forget what I said about talking with Luna.”
“Yeah… yeah… I’ll talk with her plenty…” The majin replied. “Our contract’s done…”
“See ya later, try to keep the drunken escapades off Facebook,” Cruger said as he ducked completely through the portal and closed it behind him.
Cruger was patrolling Manehatten, while officially he was here to inspect the recently constructed SPD Local Station, he was also keeping an eye out for anything related to the previous incidents.
As he was walking along, he heard a commotion from a nearby taco shop. Cruger sighed, “I really hope that’s not Sonata, I have enough to deal with without those three showing up.” Entering the store, Cruger’s eyes widened behind his helmet as he say who was causing the disturbance, “I take it back, I’d rather deal with a legion of sirens than this.”
“Ah, flattery will get you nowhere,” said the figure gobbling up tacos. He was wearing a red bodysuit with a mask, which he was apparently able to eat tacos through, and armed with two swords and two pistols.
Cruger sighed, “Of all the possibilities in the multiverse, all the Displaced I could run into, it just had to be Deadpool.”
“The one and only, at your service,” Deadpool said as he wolfed down another taco, “so what are you supposed to be? Some kind of Robot Lucario?”
“Wow,” Deadpool said, “I’ve never met a blue Diamond Dog before, is that natural or did you dye it to stand out?”
Cruger frowned, “I’m not a Diamond Dog.”
“Whatever you say,” Deadpool replied, “Mr Diamond Dog.”
“And what makes you say I’m a Diamond Dog,” Cruger said as his eye started twitching.
“I have no idea what alien species you; I can already tell you're not Mexican, nor a human, but you have the head of a pooch, so, you are now A Diamond Dog!” Deadpool rambled.
“Okay pal,” Cruger said as he cracked his knuckles, “You feeling strong, call me a Diamond Dog... one. More. Time.”
Deadpool teleported beside Cruger and whispered in his ear, “Diamond Doge.”
“Shut up!” Cruger barked.
“Ah! I see what you did there!” Cruger punched the Mercenary in the nose, a loud ‘Crack’ was heard. “AHH!!! F**K!!! That hurts!!! Son of a b***h! … literally. Give me a sec.” Deadpool turned around and took his mask off. Though Cruger couldn't see it well, he saw a bit of Deadpool’s reflection in a mirror, inside a bathroom with a door open. Deadpool cracked his nose back in place, though he winced in pain. “Oh sweet Jesus, that hurt!” He turned around, putting his mask back on. “Okay, now that that's over-”
“You look like a ghoul.” Cruger commented.
“What?”
“Your face. You look like a ghoul from the Fallout games.” Silence came in between the two as they stared at each other.”
“...I'm gonna f**king kill you.” Deadpool quickly grabbed a burrito and threw it at Cruger’s face. He ducked before it could hit him.
“Really? You're gonna use- OOF!!!” Deadpool tackled him and the two crashed through the doors of the stand. All the civilians either flew up, teleported away, or took a few steps back as Deadpool tossed Cruger to the wall of another building.
“Ha!!! I call that ‘The Burito-straction’!” He pulled his swords out. “Now, let's dance!” Cruger looked at the maniac in front of him, but got up, wiping the debris off of him.
“Fine then. SPD, EMERGENCY!!!” *Video of change* Deadpool stared, but slapped himself across the face.
“How can I be so stupid!? Blue Diamond Dog in shiny spandex!? Power Rangers SPD!!!”
“Quit calling me a Diamond Dog!”
“Never!!! I always preferred Time Force to your Space Cops! DIE!!!” Cruger pulled out his blade and defended himself from Deadpool’s attack from his swords. Cruger got up and charged at the Merc, both of their swords clashing. With one good swing, Cruger sliced Deadpool’s left arm off. Deadpool stopped and looked at his fallen arm.
“Now, give yourself up, Deadpool.”
“‘Tis but a scratch.”
“A scratch!? Your arm's off!”
“No it isn't!”
“... we’re going to do the Monty Python and the Holy Grail Black Knight skit aren’t we?” Cruger deadpanned
“I've had worse.”
“True, being the Hulk’s landing pad has got to hurt”
“Come on, ya p***y! SNEAK ATTACK!!!” Deadpool, with his right arm, swung at Cruger. Cruger sliced his other arm off, both arms on the floor.
“Looks like I win.” Cruger turned around and began to walk away.
“DROP KICK!!!” Cruger fell as Deadpool, well, Drop kicked him behind. He turned around to see Deadpool jump right back up, though struggled to keep his balance.
“Look, you idiot!” Cruger stood right back up, dusting himself off “You have no arms!”
“Yes I do!”
“What do you call this then!?” Cruger pointed to the arms.
“...It's just a flesh wound.”
“What is wrong with you!?”
“PLENTY!!!” The Mercenary began to kick Cruger’s shins, causing the Power Ranger to flinch.
“Stop that!”
“Chicken! Chicken! Ba-Gawk!!! Now hold still while I aim for your balls!” Sighing in anger, Cruger sliced Deadpool’s right leg off. Deadpool now bounced on his left leg. “Alright! Now I'm p***ed!”
“Oh! What are you gonna do? Bleed on me?”
“I will! Taste my cancerous blood!!!” He stained the Shadow Ranger’s suit with his blood.
“Stop that! You're ruining my suit!”
“I'M INVINCIBLE!!! Deadpool never loses to anyone!!!”
“You're a Looney!”
“I'M INSANE IN THE MEMBRANE!!!” Cruger sliced Deadpool’s last leg off, leaving him as a limbless stump in the road. Deadpool looked at himself, seeing the pickle he was in. “...ok. Want to call it a draw?”
“We are past draw.” He grabbed and held the rest of Deadpool like a bag. “Let's see how the cells will hold you.” He began to walk away with the Merc, though his prisoner was struggling.
“Put me down, you b*****d!!! I swear, if I didn't have my mask on, I'll bite ya hands off!!!”
“Try all you want, but you can't-OW!!!” Something hard hit the back of his helmet. Turning, he saw Deadpool’s limbs together, both legs ‘standing’, while Wade’s left arm tosses a rock in it's only hand, and the right, though tapped impatiently, gave Cruger the finger.
“Ooh!!! You made my limbs angry! Get ‘im!!!” The limbs ‘charged’ at Cruger.
Cruger sighed, “I am so, done.” Cruger charged his sword and slashed, containing Deadpool and his wayward limbs in a containment card, “and that, is how we do things around here.”
Unfortunately, when Cruger looked at the card, not only was Deadpool whole again, but he was flipping off Cruger with both fingers.
“Yeah! See that!? That's how I feel about you! I'm gonna get outta here, one way or another, and I'm gonna leave this Fanfic and head back to mine!”
“...Fanfic?”
“Oh man! Prepare to have your mind blown!!! You are, in fact, a-” Cruger’s communicator interrupted Deadpool. “MOTHER F**KER!!! Cop out!!!”
“That pun was bad and you should feel bad,” Cruger said as he opened his morpher, “talk to me.”
“Sir,” answered Blue Rush, “we have a code Sierra Zulu.”
Cruger palled, “Tell me this is a drill.”
“Afraid not sir, the Princesses have requested you come straight away, 3 Trooper squads are already enroute to assist.”
“Damn,” Cruger said as he put away the morpher, and absentmindedly placed Deadpool’s card in his pocket.
“Hey! It smells like balls in here!” Deadpool painfully joked “...Get it!? I'm near your balls and you're a dog! Dogs love balls!!! Both versions, of course.”
“Shut up!” Cruger quickly spoke, turning and opening a portal to his destination.
“Shall I play some fitting music in here? City Escape, perhaps?”
“I’m going to go fight an unstoppable eldritch abomination,” Cruger snapped, “keep talking and I’ll throw you to it.” On the other side of the portal was a unicorn from Celestia’s personal guard, “Situation.”
“Sir, the breach occurred a little under an hour ago. UEP battle mages are attempting to hold it back with flame magic, but if it weren’t for your troops and those thermal lasers of yours, we would have certainly lost containment.”
“Has it started singing?”
“Not yet sir.”
“Good, all accounts say that it doesn’t start singing until it’s at %100, looks like we still have a chance.”
“Slime beneath me! Slime above me!” Deadpool sang a song that Tim Currey sang in a certain animated movie. The unicorn stared right at Cruger’s pocket, as he face palms himself.
“Sir?” The unicorn asked “What was that?”
“I'm the Ghost of Zordon!” Deadpool spoke in an exaggerated ghost voice. “Notice how everything I say is in italic!”
“Before you called,” Cruger spoke, taking Deadpool out “I had a run in with this idiot.”
The unicorn looked at Deadpool, who was, somehow, taking a shower, complete with water running, shampoos on the walls, and Deadpool, despite being fully clothed and a man, had censor bars over his lower belt area and chest area, as he also wore a shower cap on his head. Deadpool turned to the unicorn and let out a woman scream. “PERVERT!!! PERVERT!!!” THE unicorn blushed in embarrassment and ducked away.
“I'm not a pervert, you are just being an asshole.!” Cruger shook the card in anger.
“EARTHQUAKE!!!”
“Can you shut up for a minute!?” Cruger growled.
“I see what you did, again! And as for you, Cruger, I'm called “The Merc with the Mouth”, not “The Merc without a mouth that ruined an already s***ty X-Men prequel starring Hugh Jackman as a fuzzy little midget”. That's too long and I'm past that… phase, if you wanna call it that. BTW, you got something in your teeth.” Cruger let out an annoyed sigh, placing Deadpool back in his pocket. Not sure if he should trust him, he looked into a nearby window to check his teeth. “MADE YOU LOOK!!!” Cruger growled before turning his attention back to the situation at hand.
“Okay, you have two choices, shut up, or help us with that” Cruger said as he pointed the card at what appeared to be a large, purple mass of slime.
“Ooh! You don't want to do that. Trust me, the last time that happened, I had to wait another 4 years to get my movie. And as for your problem? Heh, Challenge Accepted!!! Stand aside!” A jingle was heard as Deadpool did a dance. “Blue skidoo, We can too!” No amount of logic could explain it, but not only did Deadpool, somehow, phased his way out of his holding card, but grew back to regular size in seconds.
“WHAT THE-!?”
“Ahh! Smell the fresh air!!!” He let out a long, immature, fart. Cruger could only Face Palm himself
“I’d ask how you were able to do that,” Cruger sighed, “but I like my sanity.”
“Blues Clues, Blue. You'd enjoy it. Now! For the Muc!” He put on a hat from a famous anime. “POKEBALL!!! GO!!!” He threw a rock, which landed on the mass, but did nothing. Deadpool blinked blankly. “Welp. I'm outta ideas. … Oh! This should do!” He ran to the mass, but stopped just a few inches from it. The sound of something unzipping was heard, but a yellow stream came out, right between Deadpool’s legs. “Oh yeah~! That feels good.” He zipped his pants back up. “Uh… anyone have some soap? Hand Sanitizer? Or some Francis?”
“Francis?” a guard asked Cruger.
“I neither know, nor want to,” Cruger said before turning back to Deadpool, “by the way, I’d step back if I were you.”
“Ha! With me, I can ‘Yolo’ all I want and never die! … YOLO!!!” He jumped into the, which practically dissolved him. The mass shook upon his impact, and the skeleton of Deadpool came out. The unicorn stared in shock.
“Is he… dead?” The skeleton looked up, now with eyeballs.
“BOO!!!” The skeleton yelled. The guard screamed and hid behind Cruger’s legs. The skeleton stood up, regaining it's organs, muscles, and flesh, revealing the ghoul-looking-mercanary back from the dead. “Hey! I don't look like ghoul!” The ponies gasped at his look. “Yeah! Like my powers! Like my sexy ass! Like my-Whoops!!! Give me a sec!” He teleported away, then returned with his clothes, mask included. “My bad! … Or maybe not, to you mares. I may be a human, but you just saw why women call me a stallion. Raow!”
“So,” Cruger said, “would you like to know exactly what we’re dealing with, or would you like to fool around some more?”
Deadpool, in a blink of an eye, had a suit on with glasses, behind a booth that read “Butt Stallion” with, below it, one million dollars. “I'll take goofing off for a small loan of a million Dollars more. That, or Kanye West for 52 million.”
Cruger sighed, “I think you’ll change your mind after hearing this, every heard of the Smooze?”
Deadpool stared at Cruger, then turned to the mass, back to Cruger, back to the Smooze, and back to Cruger. “That's the Smooze!?” he asked “That purple thing that looks like a certain Pokemon that, if spelled backwards, spells something WAY too inappropriate for kids?”
“Please,” Cruger said, “Muk’s got nothing on this thing. The Smooze is a magical creation that predates Hearths Warming. Anything living it comes in contact with gets corrupted, why it didn’t happen to you I’m gonna chalk up to just you being Deadpool, everything else, it eats.”
“DAMN STRAIGHT!!! So how are we gonna get this thing out? Or, like a lot of you supercops, ‘How are we gonna contain it?’, as if THAT works!”
“To be honest, I’m not %100 sure. The only thing we know for certain is that it doesn’t do so well against extreme heat, so,” Cruger opened a portal and pulled out a pot and a small red bottle, “five alarm chili and concentrated Dragon Jalapeno essence, let’s see if it can survive you.”
“Nah, I got my own Spicy thing.” he pulled out a bottle that, upon close inspection, seemed to have souls coming right out, and small screaming inside. “Hell in a jar. One of my favorite spices I got from my other girlfriend; Death herself! Trust me, just one tip of this will burn anything to the ground! Perfect for Chimichangas!” he pulled out a toothpick. “Let's test it out!” he pulled the cap off, the screaming of the damned was heard, making everyone cover their ears, but was short as Deadpool took a pick in, and walked over to the Smooze. He tossed the toothpick into the Smooze..*Insert Spongebob Squarepants explosion clip* what was left was a small, burnt up crater. “... I think I added too much.”
Cruger whistled, “To be honest, it would have taken us two weeks to just shove it back into the mountain, consider all charges that you accumulated within your arrival cleared.” Cruger turned back to the gathered ponies, “What are you standing around for, cookies? Make sure he got all of it!”
A shadow loomed over them. They looked up, only to see the Smooze falling down to them. “LOOKOUT!!! AN EXCUSE FOR A LONGER CHAPTER!!!” Everyone ran away as the Smooze fell back to Earth, landing with a large Splat, but was much bigger and glowed purple.
“What the-!? I thought it worked!”
“Same thing here! Hold on a sec.” he pulled the bottle out. “Warning: the following contents are meant for you, Deadpool. Any Mortal, besides fast healers, are sure to die within 2 seconds. If given to something with or born from magical elements will become stronger than they were.Sincerely, Death.” Deadpool blinked blankly again, then turned to Cruger.
“Woah woah woah, you’re thinking of using that?” Cruger exclamed, “what part of ‘magical creation’ didn’t you seem to get? You use that on the Smooze and it’s gonna be impossible to reseal”
“Well EXCUSE~ me, Princess! In retrospect, both of our hindsights were 20/20.” The Smooze let out an Earth shattering roar, and it slowly made it's way to the city. “OH S**T!!!”
Cruger sighed, “I’ve got an idea, think you can use that hell in a jar to make airborne again?”
“...Maybe. 10 bucks says it fails!" He handed Cruger the sauce. “And whatever you do, don't chug it! I want the rest of it for later! And… wear gloves. Trust me on this, though it seems you're prepared.”
“Not a problem, I just need it to not touch anything,” Cruger said as he pulled out an eye dropper, “otherwise there would be severe collateral damage.”
“Whatcha gonna do with that? Make me eat so I can explode from it's awesomeness?”
“No, I’m gonna use it to get it into the air, then I’m gonna hit it with a move so powerful, that I’d be nervous about the entire planet getting destroyed if I hit it with it while it was in contact with it,” Cruger replied as he filled the dropper.
“Like hell you are! I'm gonna do that! You keep that for ‘research’ to ‘make a safer world’ and ‘save millions of lives’. I'm gonna be the comedic badass I am!” He chugged the sauce down like it was a tequila shot. A loud rumble was heard in his stomach. “ONE PUNCH MAN TIME!!!” A loud fart was; it was so loud, Princess Luna woke up, thinking something was trying to destroy Canterlot, Powerful enough to Blow Cruger and the others away, and so smelly… Cruger had to Morph into the Shadow Ranger for fresh air, and the others gagged, followed by puking, and some plants dying. Deadpool, however, was fired up into the air; he was so high, he went out of the earth’s orbit, where he directed himself around the sun (cooked in the process), and fell back down to the Smooze. “I'm bad, and that's good. I'll never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me… unless I'm Deadpool, which I am! Yet, I didn't kill as many civilians as Superman in Man of Steel, so I'm not much of a villain as that a**hole, and-” He landed on the Smooze, which caused an explosion that not only decimated the Smooze, but left a large crater that could be used for the Grand Canyon 2. Cruger and others followed and made it to the large crater, seeing the mangled body of Deadpool
“Deadpool? Are you still alive?”
“...ow.” Cruger sighed.
“One can only dream. Get him out of that crater! I need to have a word with him.” The various guards entered the crater and dragged Deadpool out.
“Oh great, a word from Dog headed, double eyed Nick Fury. Let me gues… ‘With great power comes great responsibility’? ‘You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain’? ‘When I was you age’ Bulls**t?” He was dropped at Cruger’s feet, all his limbs healed.
“None of those, really.” He held his right to Deadpool. Deadpool looked at it, but accepted ot, standing right back up. “I wanted to tell you that you're a complete psychopath, irresponsible, out of control, Wild card.”
“Eh, I've heard worse.”
“But… Thank you, as much as pains me to say it.”
“Que?”
“You're methods are weird, but effective. So, thank you for your service”
“Ooh! Do I get to become a Power Ranger!?”
“NO!!!” Cruger opened a portal “All you do get is a one way trip back to wherever you came from.” He extended his arm out. “Hopefully, we'll never see each other again.” Deadpool blinked for a bit, but sighed.
“Is it alright if you show me your face one more time?”
“...Why?” Deadpool pulled out his phone.
“So I can show my friends who I meet, today!” Cruger looked at the phone, but sighed.
“Fine, but only one picture.” He powered down. Unfortunately, he should've learned not to trust Deadpool, as he took his mask off and lunged at Cruger, holding Cruger as Deadpool delivered a truly passionate kiss that Cruger could only struggle and screamed, though muffled. Deadpool parted lips and placed his mask back on.
“I'll be seeing you later, Diamond Dog!!!” He hopped in the air, let out two ‘Meeps’, and ran away in a burst of dust to the portal, which closed as he entered. Cruger only stare blankly at what just happened, though the guards could only laugh at what happened. He turned to them, in which they stood up straight, but struggled to hold in their laughter.
“Don’t… tell anyone… about this.” He felt something on his back. Taking it off, Deadpool left a note on his back.
“But the Readers will!” it read. “Hope our authors will do another crossover, soon!”
“...I need to see a therapist, and gargle with sulphuric acid, ASAP.”
(Back in the evil lair)
"How did you fair," Grumm asked.
"Clean as a whistle," Broodwing replied, "with the entire guard occupied, I was able to get the rest of what we need, and some extra stuff so we can pull a profit, with no one the wiser. Good work on the distraction by the way."
Grumm chuckled evilly, "That it was, although the distraction was merely a byproduct of my goal."
"What do you mean?" Broodwing asked. Grumm replied by extending one skeletal hand from the shadows and pointing at a thick glass cylinder, containing a viscous purple ooze. "You managed to gather Smooze?"
"It is the last ingredient for the serum for, less than cooperative subjects."
"Speaking of which, when can get started on it?"
"As soon as the first batch is mixed we can begin testing," Grumm replied, "I have already acquired a subject."
"I noticed," Broodwing said as he turned his gaze towards a cage containing a bound, unconscious mare, "I don't suppose you'd mind if I, kept her company, while the serum is prepared?"
"Go ahead," Grumm replied, "the plan is proceeding afoot."
Rainbow Dash was doing a solo patrol flight over the Everfree. According to Fluttershy, there had been something strange going on with the animals in it, and Cruger agreed that it would be worth sending out patrols to see if there was anything amiss.
So far, it had been pretty quiet, but Rainbow saw something odd and went down for a closer look. Once she got close enough to see what it was, her face turned into a snarl as she went into a dive. “Looks like I get to have some payback,” Dash said as she landed and pulled her blaster, “Hands up, Chrysalis.”
The changeling queen, who had her back turned to where Rainbow landed, jumped a little, and looked back. “Oh, great,” Rainbow heard her say. “We’re back here.” With that, she turned around, letting Rainbow see a device on Chrysalis’ left arm, one that was colored to match her skin and hair. In her right hand were five cards. “May as well get this over with so I can get back an tell them we’re here.” With that, she placed two of the cards on the device, and a purple worm with needles appeared, alongside a giant grasshopper. “Okay, Needle Worm, Pinch Hopper, you two know what to do.”
“Looks like you’ve learned some new tricks,” Dash said, “so have I!” With that, Dash unleashed a barrage of shots into the grasshopper, causing it to shatter into pieces. She then took to the air before the worm could get her, “I’m not letting you get within spitting distance of Ponyville.” Dash pulled out her morpher and set it to communication mode, “This is Alpha 1 requesting backup, I’ve engaged Queen Chrysalis and she’s acquired summoning magic.”
“As well as other tricks,” Chrysalis said. “You destroying my Pinch Hopper lets me summon my Insect Queen from my hand.” She threw down another card, and this time, a giant insect appeared, with red chitin over the wings, a black body, a near pony like face, though flat, and blue highlights. She then spoke into her device. “Guys, I may need some help. We’re back in Equestria, and I just encountered Rainbow.”
“Right,” a male voice said from her device. “We’re on our way now.”
“What’s the status on that backup!?” Dash shouted into her morpher.
“Hang tight, Cruger’s enroute,” replied Blue Rush, “eta 3 minutes.”
“Got it,” Dash said as she put her morpher away. “Well, time for a little pest control.” With that, Dash started firing on the larger insect, to minimal effect.
“Whatever you’re using, Rainbow Dash,” Chrysalis said, “it won’t work. Her chitin armor is tough to begin with, and for every insect, it only gets stronger.”
“Well, in that case,” Dash changed targets to the worm, destroying it almost instantly. “You know, telling your enemy your plan is pretty dumb.”
“And you are as cocky as I remember, as I can now remove my Hopper and Worm to another dimension to summon Doom Dozer, who is on the same level as my other queen,” Chrysalis said as a red centipede appeared, it being just as tall as a pony, and longer than the Insect queen, with black armor on the top, and massive pincers. “Maybe you should think before acting.”
“Buck me…” Rainbow started firing in earnest, but was unable to do much more than get them angry. After the tenth shot on the giant centipede, her finger, for some reason, wouldn’t do as she wanted. “What the-” she said before one of Chrysalis’ allies walked into view.
“You know, Chrysalis,” Twilight, wearing a blue outfit with a mini skirt and a black shirt that went just above her stomach, her hair now with greenish blue stripes along with the usual, the same device on her left wrist but differently colored, said as she came into view, “you could have had them out sooner.”
Rainbow could only gape. “What?!” She yelled. “Twilight, what are you doing with her?! I saw you just this morning, no way she could brainwash you that fast. Unless you’re a changeling meant to replace Twilight,” Dash said before firing a nonlethal shot, which was blocked by a lavender field.
“Chrysi, I don’t think we’re in our Equestria,” Twilight said.
“Agreed,” Chrysali said. “Maybe another Displaced?”
“Probably,” Twilight agreed. “And Josh is a minute away.”
“And so’s my help,” Rainbow said. “Just surrender, and I might not have to bring out the big guns.”
“Yeah, no chance of that one,” Chrysalis said. “How about you stand down, and take us to the displaced here. If there is one.”
Before Dash could reply, the sound of a rapidly approaching vehicle could be heard, along with sirens. “Don’t have to, here he comes now,” Dash said, grinning.
“So, what should we do?” Twilight asked Chrysalis.
“Let them come, and tell them what’s going on,” Chrysalis said. “Obviously. I figured someone with your intellect could figure that one out.”
“Oh, shut up, Chrysalis.”
With a crash, Cruger rode in on his ATV. “Status?” he asked rainbow Dash.
“Sir,” Dash replied saluting, “I encountered Chrysalis during my patrol. I ordered her to surrender, and she responded by summoning two large insects. I managed to defeat them, but she summoned more powerful ones. Then this Twilight copycat showed up, although she’s not a very good one if you ask me, can’t even get the hair right.”
“Understood,” Cruger said before turning to Chrysalis and Twilight, “so, any particular reason you assaulted one of my officers?”
“She attacked us first,” Chrysalis said. “I was simply acting in self defense. “You’re the displaced for this Equestria?”
“Yes, and don’t bother lying,” Cruger said, “a law enforcement officer telling a potential threat to surrender is not them attacking first. So, judging by your Duel Disks, I assume that we’re waiting for one more?”
“Yeah, me,” a third person, this one being recognizably, to Cruger, anyway, a human, who wore the outfit that the main character from Yugioh five ds wore. He stopped as he walked out from the brush. “Okay, blue anthro dog. Either a diamond dog, or you were displaced as Anubis Cruger from Power Rangers SPD.”
“The second,” Cruger confirmed, “and please don’t call me a diamond dog, personal pet peeve.”
“Noted,” the human said. “Name’s Josh, by the way. Chrysalis, Twilight, stand down, guys.”
“You sure, Josh?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Same to you Dash,” Cruger said, “head on home and let our Twilight know she’ll be meeting another her, Dual Star can take over your patrol.”
“Yes sir,” Dash replied before taking off.
“You know,” Josh said as he watched Rainbow fly off, “a second Twilight may help. How we got here is in need of repair.” He then looked at Cruger and said, “Before you ask, it was the Interdimensional matter transporter trap card that got us here with no planning on our side.”
“I’ll take a look at it,” Cruger said as he opened a portal, “I’m pretty good at that sort of thing.”
“Then come on,” Josh said. “It’s this way. Tell your Dash to tell your Twilight to be at the edge of the Everfree. I’ll have a friend of mine lead her there. Chrono?”
“With pleasure,” the Machine King said before he appeared, and made his way to the Ponyville edge of the Everfree.
“Have it your way,” Cruger said as he closed the portal. “So, how did you get Displaced if I may ask.”
“Would you believe me if I said those two,” Josh said, gesturing to the two royals, “and our versions of the others summoned me, with my most powerful card in terms of ability having had a hidden part in it?”
Cruger whistled, “man, and I thought getting eaten by a void dragon was the most unique way of getting Displaced, before you ask, it wasn’t me, it was a friend. By the way,” Cruger asked turning to Twilight, “mind if I get a copy of that spell? Consider it payment in full for my services.”
“It’s a standard unicorn spell,” Twilight said. “Well, for me, anyway. No idea here.”
“How about a deck?” Josh asked as the group began moving.
“That sounds interesting,” Cruger said, “but I offer one to one. How about this, you tell me about a problem in your verse, and I give you a solution in exchange for the deck?”
“You got a solution to remove from power a guy who has one, if not all three, of the sacred beast cards who was able to mind rape Cadence, Luna, Celestia, Shining Armor, five of the Element bearers, and probably all of Equestria?”
Cruger sighed, “Geeze, what is it with Displaced and their verse’s getting attacked? Anyway, in all seriousness, how far along is your verse’s Dueling, in terms of YuGiOh seasons?”
“Up to the Paradox movie.”
“That’s the original, GX, 5Ds crossover, right?”
“Bingo,” Josh said. “Thankfully, so far, the Order, the group that took over our Equestria, hasn’t used those cards. I just know that it’s at that level because I can essentially make any card I’ve had in real life or one of the various games.”
“Well, good news is that I have two, maybe three solutions,” Cruger said, “unfortunately, odds are they’ll only give you a temporary boost until they start using them themselves. Okay, first, and only unguaranteed, solution. Tell me, did any of the Order use, a Duel Runner?”
“No, but there’s a whole temporal displacement, meaning one universe travels through time faster than the other-we’re in our universe’s duel monster world when we came here-who knows when we’ll return.”
“At least it’s a possibility, kinda hard to Turbo Duel without speed spells,” Cruger said, “even if you’re Rainbow Dash.”
“So, what’s the second?” Chrysalis asked.
“Second, and third, are related,” Cruger said, “when I was Displaced, there were two additional seasons, and each brought something new. I’m almost certain that the Order doesn’t have any Xyz or Pendulum monsters.”
“You mean like the badass known as Utopia?” Josh asked. “You know, never tried to bring him into play. May try when we get back. Shouldn’t you tell Rainbow to tell your Twilight to follow Chrono, by the way, so she can help you help us?
“Not really necessary,” Cruger said as they arrived, “I already sent someone else.”
“When?” Josh’s Twilight asked. “You’ve been with us for the entire walk, and you’ve only talked with us.”
“I’ve only talked with you verbally,” Cruger said as his Twilight walked up, along with Bunker.
“Mental link?” Josh asked.
“Not very strong, but yeah,” Cruger said, “plus Bunker was watching from the treeline when I arrived. Once you said I should bring my Twi, I signalled him to do it.”
“In that case,” Josh said as he brought this duel disk up to his mouth. “Chrono, come back. Cruger has a mental link.”
“Of course,” Chrono replied.
“And can I just note?” Josh asked as he turned to face Bunker. “Creepy as fuck to watch someone from the shadows, dude.”
Bunker just shrugged as Cruger chuckled, “Don’t blame him, I was the one who decided to have him be on standby, consider it me having a face down trap card as it were.”
Josh chuckled. “Fair point,” he said as he turned to face the two Twilights, who were, not very surprisingly, asking each other questions, oblivious of the world around them. “You know, you never asked why Chrysalis was out and about.”
“You say that like I couldn’t take her,” Cruger said, “besides, I figured I’d give her the benefit of the doubt, innocent until proven guilty and all that.
“Yeah, well, it was to stop ponies like Dash from finding us so we can repair the thing in peace.”
“Speaking of which, better get started,” Cruger said before turning to the Twilights, “Twilight, you remember that diagnostics spell I showed you?”
“That I do,” Cruger’s Twilight said before casting it on the transporter, generating a 3-D model of it.
“Let’s see what we’ve got,” Cruger said as he examined it, “looks like an easy fix, this was designed to send its target to a random dimension, but I could easily rig a connection to your Disk to allow you to pick and choose.”
“Now that’s what I call terrible planning,” Josh said. “I mean, who makes these kinds of things, with no way to go to a dimension of your choosing? It’s stupid.”
“The original IMT card removes a card from play right?” Cruger asked.
“Then returns it a few turns later, yeah,” Josh replied. “In game, anyway. For me, it acts like a normal dimensional transporter.”
“Well, no one ever thought to designate exactly where removed from play is,” Cruger said, “it looks like it does have a function to maintain a lock on the transported party, but it’s kind of useless if it’s transported as well.”
“Can you take care of that?” Josh asked. “Maybe put some kind of recall feature on it?”
“No problem,” Cruger said as he pulled up a holographic terminal, “it’s mostly programming I need to change. Twilight, can you get a mark 2.5 QEC?”
“No problem,” Cruger’s Twilight said before teleporting away.
“Thanks for helping out,” Josh said.
“No problem,” Cruger said as he typed furiously, “this is actually a hobby of mine. There, looks like I’ve successfully added a control subroutine to the dimensional selection process, and the recall systems have been tweaked to allow it to lock onto a location as well as a person, all that’s left is to install the QEC, and we should be good.”
“Right,” Josh said, not understanding most of that, as Chron returned, and vanished back into his card and Cruger’s Twilight teleported back.
“Here you go Cruger,” She said as she handed two objects to Cruger.
“Thank you,” Cruger replied. Cruger opened up a panel on the transporter and plugged in one of them. Closing the panel, he turned to Josh, “If you would?”
“Right,” Josh said. “So, what next?” He asked after removing his disk and handing it to Cruger.
“All I need to do is install this transmitter/receiver into your Disk,” Cruger opened a panel on the Disk and plugged it in, “and download the HMI. 40%, 70, done,” Cruger handed the disk back to Josh, “that should do it, it’s the button that looks like a double headed arrow.”
“Thanks,” Josh said as he pressed the button and handed Cruger a card. “In case you need my help,” he said. “See ya next time.”
“Just a minute,” Cruger said, “aren’t we forgetting something?”
“What?”
“I fix your teleporter and give you advice that can potentially save your verse, you give me a deck and a copy of the spell that Displaced you,” said Cruger.
“Well, tell me what cards you want, and talk to Twilight and Chrysalis,” Josh said.
“To be honest, I did have Warrior’s Strike structure deck, and I felt a connection with Gemini monsters, especially Phoenix Gearfried.”
“Then here,” Josh said as there was a small flash, and a deck of cards appeared before handing it to Cruger. “Gemini cards,” he said.
“Thanks,” Cruger said, “although, if you don’t mind, I would like to ask a favor.”
“What?”
“Nothing too big, but since I’ve got this, I wouldn’t mind trying it out, specifically with one of those two,” Cruger said, pointing at Josh’s Twilight and Chrysalis, “I’ll throw in a bike you can convert to a Duel Runner.”
“Next time,” Josh said. “Sorry, but we need to get back so Ra doesn’t freak out.”
“Fair enough,” Cruger shrugged, “just gives me time to strategize.” Cruger handed him a copy of his Tokens, “call me if you need an extra Disk.”
“We will,” Josh said before he, his companions, and the IMT vanished.
Cruger looked at his new deck, “Welcome to the team, Phoenix.”
As if in response, the deck glowed gently for a moment.
Cruger was patrolling the Everfree. Whatever was causing the local wildlife to act strange still hadn’t been found, and it was starting to get worrisome. All of a sudden, he felt a familiar pull from his token. He pulled out his blade and opened a portal, but before he could pass through himself, two figures fell out and almost crushed him.
“Ow…” A male voice said. “You just had to play with the thing, didn’t you Arcee...” The majority of the weight lifted off of Cruger.
“Sorry… I couldn’t help it, you know how I get when I’m curious…” A female voice said as the rest of the weight lifted off of Cruger.
“You know,” Cruger said, “I’m doing just fine, thank’s for asking.”
“What the-!?” The male voice yelped.
“You know,” Cruger said as he picked himself up, “next time you should watch where you’re going when you pass through a portal.”
“Eep!” The female voice squeaked.
“I’m not saying I’m mad, I’m just saying,” Cruger replied, “name’s Cruger, mind if I ask who you are?” Looking up, he saw a pair of Dragons, “Well, can’t say I’ve seen whatever you’re bases are.”
The female dragon quickly hid behind the male one, who seemed stunned. “What kind of name is Cruger?” He asked.
“It’s mine,” Cruger said, “and I noticed that you didn’t give me yours.”
“I don’t give my name to just anyone…” The male said, eyes narrowing. “What’s going on? Where are we?”
“Well,” Cruger said, “you piggybacked on my token’s portal, long story short, you just jumped from your Equestria to mine.”
“Uh… There are more…?” The male asked. The female dragon poked her head out from behind the male.
“You’re new to this whole Displaced thing aren’t ya?” Cruger asked.
“Disco- what?”
“Displaced,” Cruger said, “let me guess, you were at a convention in costume, bought something that was part of that costume, then appeared in your Equestria five seconds later.”
“Nope…” The male dragon said. “Went to a movie, bought a ticket, now here we are.”
“Which one?” Cruger asked.
“A rerun of the first Transformers movie…” The female dragon replied.
“Nice, love that one,” Cruger said, “so, I’m guessing that you were still dressed up as a Cybertronian anyway, right?”
“Who says we were transformers?” The male asked, but sighed. “Ugh… Fine, we were… Now tell us how to go back home.”
“To be honest, I’m not one hundred percent sure how,” Cruger said, “you two piggybacked on my Token, which has only happened to me once before, though not in quite the same way. Either way, I’m going to need to know your names before I can even start, it’s part of the void magic that Tokens use.”
The male growled. “Skywarp…”
“I’m Arcee…” The female replied shyly as she started to come out from behind the male dragon.
Cruger sighed, “Not my first choice for my first Transformers Displaced, but I’m glad to meet some all the same.”
Skywarp transformed into his robot form and pointed his arm cannon at Cruger. “What was that? Are you making fun of my choice?”
“No,” Cruger replied, pushing the gun away with a finger, “just saying that my favorite Transformer is Metroplex. By the way, I must say you have some nice taste.”
Skywarp rolled his optics as he lowered his cannon. “In any case… What’s a Displaced?”
“It means Dimensionally Misplaced, or something along those lines,” Cruger replied, “and I already told ya the standard version. Guy goes to convention in costume, buys something from a shady vendor…”
“Okay, okay, I get it.” Skywarp interrupted. “Who exactly are you? I get your name, but that’s just that, a name.”
“Well, to be honest my name used to be Scott,” Cruger said, “but I decided to change it to match my base. Maybe this’ll ring a bell, Power Rangers SPD?”
“Power rangers?” Arcee asked, Transforming into her robot mode. “I heard of it…”
“I watched a couple of them… Meh…” Skywarp shrugged.
“I take back what I said about your taste,” Cruger said, “so, ready to head home?”
“Wait, you said this is another world right?” Arcee asked, a glint in her eye.
“If you want to stick around for a bit, I don’t have a problem with it,” Cruger said.
“... What have you done…?” Skywarp said.
“You’re a Displaced,” Cruger said, “visiting other Displaced in their Verses is kinda our stich.”
Arcee then transformed before flying off at breakneck speeds.
Skywarp transformed himself, groaning. “Now I’ll never catch up…”
“Don’t be too sure,” Cruger said as he hopped on top, “you’ve got a teleport ability if I’m not mistaken?”
“I’m not wasting my energon. And it’s only for short range.” Skywarp said.
“Then you are an amature,” Cruger said, “let me show you how to port.” With that, Cruger generated a blue aura around himself and Skywarp. With a flash, they appeared directly in front of Arcee.
“Wha!” Skywarp yelped, before Arcee crashed into them.
“I got ya,” Cruger said. With another flash, they all appeared on the ground, unharmed. “Probably should have mentioned that I’m a master of Dimensional Magic.”
“Oww… My head…” Arcee groaned as she got to her feet, “What's the number of the bus that just hit me?”
“Uh… Dunno…” Skywarp said. “Do I have a number?”
“I said you could explore,” Cruger said, “I didn’t say I was done talking.”
“She does that a lot…” Skywarp stated.
Arcee shoved Skywarp before turning to face Cruger, “Sorry, so what were you saying?”
“Well, I was going to give you two a tour,” Cruger said, “Twilight loves meeting new Displaced.”
“Well, okay… But I want to make the introduction to this… ‘Vampire’…” Skywarp said. “Wait… That can’t be right… Who the blizzard is Twilight?”
“Don’t mention that book,” Cruger said, “anyway, my Twilight is an alicorn princess, though she might not be one in your verse, and a good friend of mine. By the way, I’m putting even money on her geeking out over the two of you, but not because you’re robots.”
“Why then?” Skywarp asked.
“Because you’re living robots, I don’t really use AI myself,” Cruger said, “not to say I don’t like AIs, EDI’s one of my favorite Mass Effect characters, but I’ve watched Terminator.”
“We’re not AI.” Skywarp said. “Lead the way.”
Cruger opened a portal, “After you.”
“Ladies first. Arce.” Skywarp bowed, gesturing to the portal with his talons.
Arcee looked towards Skywarp before raising an eye ridge before rolling her eyes, “Uh-huh, Whatever ya big goof.” She said before walking through the portal.
On the other side was a large service bay. “Hope you don’t mind,” Cruger said as he stepped through, “but I’d like to let the rest of Ponyville know you’re friendly before we go sightseeing.” With that, he walked up to a phone set on the wall and started talking.
“Ooh! What's that?” Arcee asked as she poked around the service bay, not paying attention to Cruger in the slightest.
“A pneumatic wrench attached to a robotic arm, might want to leave it alone,” Cruger said before turning back to the phone, “yeah Twilight, similar to Kats, no they didn’t bring their own you.”
“You’re not gonna leave it alone, are you?” Skywarp asked.
“Leave what alone?” Arcee asked as she messed around with the pneumatic wrench. All of a sudden it started up, and moved around, darting at Arcee and pulling back. She squeaked in surprise before backing away from it, deciding to leave it alone as she started messing around with something else.
“What did I say?” Cruger said, “you’re just lucky it was just looking for a tire to change, you might not have been so lucky with the plasma cutter.”
“Then I’m glad I don't transform into a motorcycle anymore...” Arcee shuddered as she walked over to Skywarp, having decided against messing around with anything else for now.
Cruger hung up the phone, “Twilight’s expecting you, think you can handle getting there on your own? Her place stands out like a sore thumb, so odds are you won’t get lost.”
“What is it?” Skywarp asked.
“A giant tree shaped castle made of crystal,” Cruger said, “like I said, sore thumb.”
“Your friend lives in a castle!?” Arcee said in shock.
“What part of her being an alicorn princess did you not hear?” Cruger asked with mock incredulity.
“The whole Alicorn, Princess, and the point of all of those.” Skywarp said. “But I assume Princess means she’s a damsel… So I’m gonna look for a dark castle for her kidnapper.”
“Her name’s Twilight, not Peach,” Cruger said, “she actually has combat experience, went full on DBZ level smackdown with a pseudo demon who eats magic.”
“So Zelda…” Skywarp said, his face totally serious.
“Pretty much,” Cruger replied.
“Uhh… What just happened?” Arcee asked, having zoned out the moment Skywarp started talking.
“I was making fun of Cruger’s damsel.” Skywarp said. “Oh, Mulan!”
“Oh, ok.” Arce said as she started to turn around before freezing, “Um, where do we go?”
“Skywarp knows the way,” Cruger said, “I need to take care of something before I catch up with you.”
“... I know the way?” Skywarp asked.
Cruger facepalmed, “I told you what her castle looks like.” He then opened the outer door and pointed, “I think you can find it.”
“You… Didn’t… All you said was it was weir-”
“Last one to the castle is a rusty piece of scrap!” Arcee called as she ran out the large garage doors.
Skywarp flew out in a flash and headed for the castle. “Winner makes loser do whatever they want!”
Cruger sighed before opening a portal, “Kids…”
After Skywarp made his little input to the wager Arcee’s face turned bright red as she put on a extra burst of speed to try and stay ahead. Sadly, she got distracted the moment she saw the castle… Allowing him to pass her. “Whoah thats huge… Scrap!”
“Haha!” Skywarp laughed.
“Oh no you don't!” Arcee shouted as she started catching up with Skywarp as they passed over the village next to the castle.
“Are you serious!? Yes I do!” Thad gained an extra burst of speed. To add to that, he teleported farther ahead. He finally landed at the castles doors and face planted into it.
A few moments later Arcee darted over before panicking, not knowing how to stop. She then crashed into the stairs just behind Skywarp, face planting as well.
“I win!” Skywarp triumphantly declared. “Now you gotta be my blanket!”
Before Arcee could retort, the door opened. “Hey, watch it!” said Spike.
“You watch it!” Skywarp growled.
“My head…” Arcee whined.
Spike stared, “Woah, Twilight said something about new Displaced coming over, but I didn’t know they’d be dragons.”
“We’re not dragons… We only look like Dragons.” Skywarp said. “Mind letting us in?”
“Sure,” Spike said, “Twilight’s in the library, follow me.”
Skywarp picked up Arcee and placed the disguised Transformer on his back before following. “So who are you?”
“Name’s Spike,” Spike said, “I’m Twilight’s number one assistant.”
“Skywarp.” Thad stated. “And this is Arcee.”
“Cool names,” Spike said, “here we are.”
“Uh-” Skywarp cut himself off as he shot a flame out of his mouth by mistake.
“Excuse you.” Arcee said from Skywarp’s back, still dazed from her crash.
“Spike,” called a voice from within the library, “I thought you were over your cold.”
“It wasn’t me,” Spike protested, “it was one of those Displaced that Cruger mentioned.”
“Really!” With a bang, Twilight burst out of the library, “oh this is so exciting, there are so many Displaced to meet!”
“That won’t be fun…” Skywarp grumbled.
Twilight blushed, “Sorry, I’m just so excited. Cruger said that you were new at this whole Displaced thing, ask me anything.”
“You you have any gems?” Skywarp asked.
“A few,” Twilight said, “Spike, think you can bring some?”
“No problem,” Spike said, before running off.
“Look at the pretty birdies~” Arcee giggled before falling off Skywarp’s back. “Ouch! What the… where are we? Weren't we just outside the castle…?”
“You were out of it… By the way, you’re gonna be my blanket for a week.” Skywarp said, sitting down.
“W-w-what!?” Arcee stuttered, her face turning bright crimson.
“I won the race, now you’re going to be my blanket when I shut down… But way better.” Skywarp stated.
Arcee grumbled before sitting down next to Skywarp.
“So,” Twilight said, “do you have any questions about Displaced?”
“What exactly is a Displaced…” Skywarp asked.
“Well, I don’t know all the details,” Twilight said, “nobody really does, but Displaced are people that are taken from their world and sent to an Equestria with the powers, and sometimes appearance, of a fictional character, usually whichever one they were dressed up as at the time. Most are Displaced by a real jerk called the Merchant, but some Displacers can be rather nice.”
“... They steal people? And they’re nice?” Skywarp crossed his arms.
“Usually the nice ones give the Displaced to be a choice of whether or not they want to be Displaced,” Twilight explained, “one Displaced Cruger knows for example was in a mental hospital after her brother disappeared. It was a choice of either being locked up, or be Displaced and try to find her brother, who was Displaced as well. To be honest it wasn’t much of a choice, but she’s very happy in her new life.”
“Is there something we should be worried about?”
“Not that I know of,” Twilight said, “but most Displaced usually need to deal with things from their base’s universe.”
“Is there a way to keep them out of our Universe?” Skywarp asked.
“Not sure,” Twilight said, “although there is a way to make fighting them off a bit easier.”
“Yeah?” Skywarp asked.
“You can make a Token,” Twilight said, “Tokens allow Displaced to call up other Displaced, whether to talk or if they need a hand.”
“... Nope.” Skywarp said, crossing his front legs.
“Why not?” Twilight asked.
“I don’t like people…” Skywarp explained. “If people can piggyback on a token into our world, then I don’t want one.”
“But what if you know who is in our world? We could use all the help we could get.” Arcee pointed out.
“No we don’t…” Skywarp grumbled.
“You’re not Optimus Prime, we’re going to need backup no matter what you say. ” Arcee stated.
“That you will,” Cruger said as he walked in, “morning Twilight.”
“Morning Cruger,” Twilight replied.
“I’m not! It’s going to just be distracting! Plus, who knows how many bad… Displaced there are!” Skywarp transformed into his robot form, causing Twilight to gawk.
“That there might be,” Cruger said, “but there are also a ton of good ones. Trust me, there are far more pros than cons.”
“I don’t like people…” Skywarp growled, crossing his arm.
“Very well,” Cruger said before turning to Arcee, “would you like to make a Token?”
“Sure,” Arcee said before transforming into her robot mode, “And yes you are Thad, I don't want you getting yourself killed because you didn't want to make friends.” She then added while staring down Skywarp defiantly.
“The dragons turned into robots?” Twilight said, “how is that possible?”
“We’re robots in disguise.” Skywarp said, getting up before walking away. “I’m gonna take a walk…”
“You might want to stick around for a minute though,” Cruger said, “one of the steps for making a Token is that you have to add a message that everyone who picks it up will hear.”
“I don’t care. Arcee can make a Token but I’m not.” Skywarp said, leaving the castle.
“Get your antisocial butt back here!” Arcee shouted as she chased after Skywarp.
“Arcee… Just don’t…” Skywarp said. “I can’t take any of this… The only reason I’m not freaking out is you. I need to take a walk...”
“Fine… but you are making a token thingy with me whether you like it or not once you get back.” Arcee huffed, tripping Skywarp over before going back inside.
Skywarp glared at the ground. “I hate my life…”
“No you don't~” Arcee called from inside.
“Well,” Cruger said, “I suppose his can wait. How about I show you how to do it and you can teach old grumpy gears later.”
“Sure.” Arcee replied, giggling at Crugers joke.
“Well, step 1 is to choose an object that represents you to serve as your Token,” Cruger said as he reached into his pocket, “I hope you don’t mind, but since you two don’t really have pockets, I took the liberty of creating something suitable.” Cruger pulled out a pair of pewter keychains. One had the Autobot symbol wreathed by a pair of dragon wings, the other was the same, only with the Decepticon symbol.
“Um… Maybe?” Arcee replied with a shrug, “Though we were planning on making our own faction separate from the Autobots and Decepticons…”
“Oh,” Cruger said, “it was just an idea, if you don’t like them we can go with something else.”
“We can figure this out later…” Arcee groaned, “Why don't you show me around? I’m curious as to what's around here… And we should probably find Skywarp while we're at it…” She then transformed into her dragon mode.
“Not a problem,” Cruger said as Spike walked in with a bowl of gems, “mind if we take those to go?”
“Sure,” Spike said as he handed it to Cruger, “just bring the bowl back.”
“Aww~ Is he a baby dragon? He’s so adorable!” Arcee said, forgetting what was going on the moment Spike walked into the room.
Spike scowled slightly, “I’m 13, I’m not a baby anymore.”
“Oh… Sorry?” Arcee said, chuckling nervously. “Um, what were we doing again?”
“Looking for grumpy gears,” Cruger reminded.
“Oh! Right…” Arcee said, rubbing the back of her neck before walking out of the castle.
“Let’s see,” Cruger said, “normally I’d start with Sugarcube corner, but I’m not sure in this case. It tends to attract a lot of ponies, something that Skywarp will probably avoid, and I’m not sure if you and Warp eat cupcakes.”
“We could probably try and eat them… Though they wouldn't do anything for us.” Arcee said, frowning as she realized that most of the foods that she used to eat she wouldn't be able to anymore.
“Maybe, maybe not,” Cruger said, “we’re going, might as well see if you can still eat regular food. That and Pinkie might be upset if there were new Displaced in town and she didn’t get to meet them.”
“Pink what now?” Arcee asked, pausing to give Cruger a confused look.
“Pinkie Pie, Ponyville’s Premier Party Pony and unofficial welcome wagon,” Cruger said, “she makes it a point to meet everyone who at least passes through. In fact, I’d bet good money that she and Skywarp have already met.”
“Oh slag…” Arcee said, her eyes reducing to pinpricks before darting off.
Suddenly, an explosion was heard.
“And that would be Pinkie,” Cruger said, following after.
Arcee and cruger quickly made their way through the town as they searched for where the explosion came from until they came across a rather irate Skywarp and a cheerful Pinkie Pie.
“No… We aren’t going to be friends…” Skywarp snarled.
“Not yet,” Pinkie said, “but give it time. I’ll be throwing you a party soon anyway, I’m sure you’ll make some friends there.”
“Please tell me she didn't say what I thought she said!” Arcee said as she started panicking.
“Rule number 2 when dealing with Pinkie Pie,” Cruger said, “a party’s never far away.”
Arcee then grabbed Cruger suddenly before jumping behind the nearest cover. “Hit the deck!”
Skywarp threw Pinkie and shot her with a laser, sending her off towards Cruger and Arcee.
Cruger looked down at Pinkie, “How’s it going?”
“This guy’s a toughie,” Pinkie replied chipperly, “I haven’t had a challenge like this since Cranky.”
Skywarp transformed and flew away.
“Fly away for now,” Pinkie said, “but know that one day, you and I will be buddies.”
“You do know you're going about befriending him the wrong way, right?” Arcee said, not registering that she was talking to a pony. “Anyway… I should go after him.” She then jumped into the air and flew after Skywarp.
Arcee flew as fast as she could, trying her best to catch up with Skywarp. After a short while she eventually reached him and proceeded to latch onto his leg out of exhaustion.
“Arcee… What are you doing?” Skywarp asked as he stopped.
“... Okay, catch your breath.” Skywarp said, petting her head.
Arcee smiled at Skywarp before crawling up his leg and onto his back. “So, feeling better?” She asked nervously.
“Yeah… Why?” Skywarp asked.
“That's good…” Arcee sighed, “So, you want to go look around with me?”
“Fine…” Skywarp grumbled.
“Come on, don't bee like that… Think of it like…” Arcee said, trying to think of something. “A date!” She then blurted in desperation before freezing, “Erm…”
“Sure.” Skywarp said.
Arcee stared at Skywarp for a bit as she blubbered incoherently, before proceeding to faint with a goofy smile plastered to her face…
Skywarp grabbed Arcee before she fell and landed quickly. “Alice… Wake up.”
“He said yes~” Arcee giggled incoherently before she began to come back to her senses.
“Yes he did, now get up before you miss your first date with the guy you’ve crushed on forever.” Skywarp said.
Arcee quickly snapped back to her senses as her face turned bright red. “Erm, Uh… Yeah…” She said nervously as she slipped out of Skywarp’s grasp and got to her feet, “Sorry about that…”
“It’s okay, you’re cute when you do that.” Skywarp said, grinning.
If Arcee had a heart it would have skipped a beat at that moment as her legs went limp. “M-me? C-c-cute? H-he things I-I’m c-c-cute…?” She muttered to herself.
“Yep. I do.” Skywarp said. “You were always cute… I just thought you’d never think of me the way you do.”
“Well,” Cruger said, “looks like somebot’s not a total grumpy gears after all.”
“Now can you see why I don’t want to be alone?” Skywarp asked, crossing his front legs. “What do you want Cruger…?”
“Just wondering why you went all super laser on Pinkie,” Cruger said, “you’re lucky she can defy the laws of nature.”
Skywarp cleared his throat. “I. Don’t. Like. People. Only seven people have gotten through to me, including my family and Arcee.”
“Well, I guess I’m going to need to bring my Dremel next time,” Cruger said, “why don’t I send you off and tell Pinkie you had to go. If you stick around when the Pinkie Party starts, well let’s just say you’d have an easier time escaping a black hole.”
Arcee managed to get herself together before facing Cruger, “Well, Could we look around and possibly get sent back at the last minute? I still want to wander around and where we come from we have yet to meet the inhabitants…” She said in an attempt to play it cool.
“You want some cake don’t you?” Cruger said.
“No.” Skywarp said.
“What he said…” Arcee said, chuckling weakly.
“Well, why don’t you tell me what you’re verse is like,” Cruger said, “no two Equestrias are exactly the same.”
“Well, could you explain what we've seen so far?” Arcee asked Skywarp.
“War, some pegasus with a metal wing, no castle, kinda all looked brown.” Skywarp said.
“So you’re in one of those verses,” Cruger said, “I don’t have any firsthand knowledge of it, but I know enough to get you started. First off, the pegasus with a metal wing? Help her out. Trust me, she’s one of the good guys, helping her out should make things easier for ya in the long run.”
“Okay…” Skywarp said, tapping his foot.
“Second, here’s two names I want you to remember, Celestia and Luna, they’re the Diarchs of Equestria and basically in charge. Get on their good side, you’re going to have an easier time settling down.”
“Great…” Skywarp groaned.
“Oh hush, I agreed to handle all the up front stuff with the natives for you.” Arcee said as she playfully shoved Skywarp while rolling her eyes.
“Don’t worry, you’re going to like this last one. There’s this Unicorn called Sombra, he’s a grade-A big bad, evil enough to make Megatron look like Prime material, one of his pastimes is enslaving innocent ponies to do his bidding. I don’t think I need to explain what I think you should do when you meet up with him.”
“... By brony friend complained about how lame Sombra was… Said even G1 Megatron was more menacing.” Skywarp said.
“Seriously? Didn’t G1 Megatron turn into a pistol or something?” Arcee said, confused as to what was going on.
“He turned into a pistol weaker than his own weapon, which Starscream uses…” Skywarp said.
“Season 3 premier Sombra maybe,” Cruger said, “but the Sombra you’re facing, not so much. He singlehoofidly plunged all of Equestria into war, that takes a badass.”
“Megatron single handedly plunged his entire homeworld into a war that spanned eons…” Arcee pitched in, struggling to keep up with the conversation.
“The Sombra you’ll be facing has helmets that brainwash their victims into mindless troops for his army,” Cruger said, “do your verse a favor, remove him from power.”
“...” Arcee tried to come up with a counter but decided to give up, “Ok…”
“Why don’t his enemies take the helmets away?” Skywarp asked.
“Even if they could remove the helmets from those already wearing them, all Sombra has to do is make some more helmets and put them on some more victims,” Cruger countered, “like I said, I don’t have any first hand intel on it, but what I do know makes me want to bend my 1 rule.”
“What's that rule?” Arcee asked.
“Same as Batman’s,” Cruger replied, “thou shalt not kill.”
“Thou?” Skywarp asked.
“Shut up,” Cruger said.
Skywarp transformed and aimed his cannons at Cruger. “Make me pretty boy!”
“I once turned an asteroid to dust with one hit,” Cruger replied, fingering his sword, “I think you’ll take 2.”
“I opened a pickle jar in two seconds!”
“Ok! Break it up!” Arcee shouted, the situation going over her head. “You need to take a chill pill, and you… Touch one servo on him and you will regret it for the rest of your life.” She then said to Skywarp before threatening Cruger.
“Chill pill taken.” Skywarp said, moving his hands away.
“It wounds me that you would think I’d attack unprovoked,” Cruger grinned, “all I was saying was that I would win if he started anything.”
“You are a huge show off…” Skywarp said.
“Not showing off if you can back it up,” Cruger replied, “so, ready to go, or shall we continue our sword measuring contest?”
“I don’t think you know what ‘show off’ means…” Skywarp said.
“Lets just go…” Arcee whined, clinging to Skywarp’s leg.
“Oh come on, you enjoyed me being a fool.” Skywarp whispered to her.
“Anyway, call me up when you’ve figured out your new symbol,” Cruger said, “I’ll help you make your Token.”
“Ok, but until then… Adventure awaits!” Arcee shouted, crawling onto Skywarp’s shoulder before transforming into her robot mode.
“Good luck, Skywarp, Arcee, our contract is complete, don’t lose my Token.”
“Wait, what?” Arcee asked, staring at Cruger for a minute as nothing happened.
“Need to give a kickstart then, fair enough,” Cruger said as he drew his sword and slashed at the air, opening a portal, “that way leads home.”
“But I wanted to look around before we left… We haven't even been here long.” Arcee complained.
“You can come back when you’re ready to make a token,” Cruger said, “and if you can get grumpy gears to not be grumpy.”
Cruger was out on a patrol of Rainbow Falls when he heard a scream. Following it, he found himself face to face with a skeletal figure standing over a pair of fillies.
"I was wondering when I'd finally run into you, Grumm," Cruger said as he drew his sword.
"Well, it appears that I need to execute somebody," Grumm replied, "I thought that I kept myself unknown to all save those who served me."
"Don't bother, I'm just knowledgeable when it comes to supervillians."
"Supervillian? I feel insulted, I am an emperor, or at least will be when my work is done."
"You're a criminal, I already have you on supplying equipment to a known felon, and that machine in and of itself was illegal without the proper permits, which I don't think you have. Now, as cliche as it is, easy way or hard way?"
"Actually, you have bigger problems." Grumm laughed evilly as his holographic projection flickered and died.
Before Cruger could figure out what he meant, his communicator beeped. "Sir, you need to get here NOW!"
(15 minutes earlier)
"Uh, I'm bored, why can't something interesting happen?" Dash moaned. They were currently patrolling the Everfree for the umpteenth time, and nothing had come of it.
Before anyone could respond a cloaked figure stepped out of the bushes. "Greetings."
"Finally, something."
"Identify yourself," said Night.
"You may call me Broodwing, but I'm not what you have to worry about right now." As he said that, a strange looking bat flew out of his cloak and flew towards the Delta Base.
"What was that thing?" asked Pearl Spark. As if in answer, a massive explosion came from that direction, prompting them to look. When they turned back, Broodwing was gone.
"We'll worry about him later," Dash said as she sprinted back, the rest following suit soon after, "I've got a bad feeling about this."
"It may not be the time, but I told you so."
A giant, blue, vaguely T shaped monster was attacking the Delta Base. Luckily between the base's armor and shields there wasn't much damage, but there was enough that it would take at least a week to fix, assuming the monster stopped now. More importantly, the access door to the Runner Bay was rendered unopenable by debris.
At the same time, Cruger arrived via portal. "So what's... oh, that's what's going on."
"Sir," Dash shouted in relief, "the Runner Bay's blocked, how are we going to get the Megazord?"
"Let's see, they blocked the primary access quite thoroughly, but..." Cruger pulled out his Morpher and set it to comm mode, "Deploy the Delta Runners via the secondary access." As he flipped it closed, a massive door opened on the opposite side of the base then usual, and the Runners shot out."
"Gonna have to remember that," Dash said, "thanks boss!"
As the Rangers boarded their Runners and formed the Megazord, Cruger felt slightly uneasy. "That's T-Top, or a version of him anyway, I wonder." After about a minute, the Megazord was about to finish it. "Wait a minute," Cruger called out over his Morpher, "scan to make sure, I've got a weird feeling about this one."
"Understood," Dash said as she activated the Megazord's integrated Judgement Scanner. However, the result surprised everyone, except Cruger.
"INNOCENT!?"
Cruger sighed, "I figured as much, cuff 'em."
As the Megazord used an oversized, even in comparison, set of handcuffs to transport it to a containment facility, another alert came in.
"Sir, we have an intruder in R&D."
"En route," Cruger said as he opened up a portal. When he arrived, he found a feminine looking plant creature in a purple outfit messing with the mainframe, surrounded by unconscious staff. 'Of course, where T-Top goes, Hydrax is sure to be, taking advantage of the confusion,' Cruger thought to himself as he drew his sword. "I'd recommend you surrender, I'm not as easy to take down as a bunch of scientists and engineers."
"No matter," Hydrax said as the words 'File Sent' appeared on the terminal she was using, "my mission is complete, although I would still like to leave." With that, Hydrax suddenly turned around and shot a stream of super high pressure water at Cruger, who simply turned intangible to dodge it.
"I don't think so," Cruger replied, before dashing forward and subduing her with a Vulcan Neck Pinch, "I believe the good doctor would love to know how exactly you and your associate gained your current appearance." As a group of B-Squad troopers cut through the jammed door, Cruger turned his gaze onto the terminal, "You may have hit my home Grumm, but like the Van-Dorns, we never give up, never."
(Back at the evil lair)
"A toast to a job well done," Broodwing said as he poured himself and Grumm a glass of wine.
"Yes, both versions of the serum performed most adequately," Grumm said as he took his glass, "and that mercenary was able to send us the data we required."
"Pity she got captured though," Broodwing said as he took a sip, "she didn't come cheap."
"No matter, now that we can show proof that it works, would-be criminals will pay anything for a taste of that power."
"A toast to a most profitable future," Broodwing said, raising his glass.
"Profit will be the least of it," Grumm replied as he clink his glass.
Cruger was overseeing the repairs to the Delta Base. Grumm’s debut had caused a lot of damage to the surrounding area, and several dozen people were injured, luckily there were no fatalities.
Fetch came over with a damage report, “All teams are reporting that repairs are ahead of schedule. Assuming that nothing else happens, repairs will be finished by the end of the week.”
As soon as those words left his mouth, a hole opened up in the earth and four crystal pillars shot up around it. Out of it walked a nine-tailed fox, who looked extremely drunk carrying a resigned looking Trixie in some of her tails.
“Yes sir,” Fetch replied remorsefully as he walked off.
“Ohhhhh. Look Trixie it’s a dogfish!” The fox said as she pointed at Cruger with a paw.
“Yes, yes this world has the diamond dog equivalent of the sea ponies.” Trixie said in a bored tone. “Can you put Trixie down now? And perhaps this time you can go through this world without razing the dead?”
“Look at the big dog house! Let’s go see what’s inside!” The fox shouts as she runs into the base through a hole in the wall.
“Oy, get back here!” Cruger called, chasing after them. When he got inside he found the fox with her back to the ice tea dispenser with her head leaned back with her mouth wide open letting the sweet tea poor into her mouth. Trixie just hanging there in the fox’s tails with a plate in her magical grasp eating a slice of pie like nothing was happening.
“So,” Cruger said, “Displaced?”
“She is.” Trixie confirmed. “And Trixie would like to apologize in advance for any pranking, raising of the undead, property damage, Unwanted hugs, or wedgies that may occur due to Rin being drunk off her plot. We’ve been world jumping for a while now and those are the most common things she does. She’s normally not this bad but… Trixie has learned to fear the effects of dwarven ale.”
“Unless you’re a dwarf of course,” Cruger said, “so, want some help?”
“Trixie would appreciate th- oh here we go again.” Trixie shouted as Rin took off into the hallway taking Trixie with her. When Cruger ran out the same door there was no sign of anyone there.
“Well then,” Cruger said to himself, “we’ve got a drunk nine-tailed fox of significant magical power running around my already damaged base. I’d ask how things could get any worse, but I am not a stupe.”
“Help!” called someone from deeper in the base. Cruger rushed towards the voice to find the Walker twins with their pants down and their naked butts super glued to the ceiling. What looked like a fox’s face drawn by a five year old marking their foreheads.
“Really?” Cruger said. The Walker twins had no comment. Cruger sighed as he went over to a wall panel. “Attention,” Cruger said over the intercom, “we’ve got a drunk Displaced in the base, extreme magical power, looks like a nine tailed fox and is carrying another verse’s Trixie. And send a member of engineering to section 1-14, with a ladder.” With that, Cruger went to find the fox, after snapping a picture of the Walker twins.
“This is Steam Gear, the fox is in the R&D department! Requesting immediate assistance! Oh dear Celestia not tha-!” The voice on the intercom cut out with a popping sound. “That...is not how you use the chicken gun.” The voice of Steam Gear wheezed.
“The fox has just entered the Runner Bay! She has grown into a giant and is painting the Delta Runners!” A Flare Blast said over the intercom.
Cruger facepalmed, “Teleportation, perfect.” All of a sudden, he grinned, “It’s a good thing she hasn’t tried anything to me yet.”
“Wait! She’s gone! And all of the Runners look like glorified clown cars!” Flare Blast shouted in anger. Looking around Cruger waited...and waited. When he was about to move on he felt a tug at his leg from a rope that was suddenly tied to it which dragged him into a nearby bathroom and stopped when he was in front of the stalls. He was only just barely warned of what was about to happen by the beeping sounds coming from inside the toilets before the water erupted from them like a row of geysers. Just before the water came down Cruger teleported out of the room. Out in the hall an invisible fox dropped her scrying spell with a frown.
“What’s going on? Normally you’d be laughing by now.” Invisible Trixie asked from the fox’s tails. Rin didn’t answer but turned around, to see Cruger standing there, sword on his shoulder.
“So,” he said, “are you going to stop with the Discord impersonation, or do I have to beat you until you reached the ‘passed out’ stage of being drunk?” Rin froze before slowly raising her head to look up at the displaced.
“Challenge accepted!” Rin called out before a hole opened up in the ground and she jumped in. Her invisibility melting away as she fell through.
Cruger jumped in afterward, finding himself in Ponyville. “So, you thought you’d be safe coming here?” he asked.
“Beep beep!” Rin shouted. Hopping with each beep before blowing a raspberry and cast the haste spell on herself before running down the street.
“Very well.” Cruger said before taking a deep breath, “PINKIE!!! THERE’S A NEW DISPLACED IN TOWN!!!”
“Where!!” Pinkie said as she ran up to him out of nowhere.
Cruger pointed, “By the way, she’s a little drunk, so we need to get her to sit still until she sobers up so she can enjoy her party.”
“Don’t worry,” Pinkie said as she pulled out her cannon, “I’ve got just the thing.” She fired the cannon, launching a barrage of tranquilizer darts, every one of which hit their mark.
Cruger looked at the aftermath, “Do I want to know?”
“Well, since that Grumm meany pants is turning nice ponies into giant monsters, I thought I’d find a way to help,” Pinkie explained. Rin and trixie just finished rolling painfully across the ground from Rin losing her balance at super speed. Both fox and pony groaned in pain as Rin tried to get up but her wobbly legs made it impossible.
“Ahh, ahh…. Achooo!” With that sneeze Rin fell over and pulled Trixie in to use as a teddy as she fell asleep.
“...Trixie is too tired to care.” Trixie grumbled before laying her head down and following the fox into dream land.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next day. (Rin’s POV.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Ohhhhh… My head. What happened.” I groaned as I got up and look around at the unfamiliar room I’m in. The room looked normal enough except for the steel door and the strange things all over the floor. “What?” I asked aloud as I pick up a piece of old looking paper with what looks like a kid’s drawing of Horny with a friendly smile in crayen with the words ‘angel of mercy written at the bottom. “...If Horny saw this he would tear his way through the multiverse with the power of his rage to kill everyone on the planet this came from.” I groan as I collect everything on the floor with my magic and send it to my dungeon. I can tell by how stretched the connection with my heart is I’m off world but I can feel one minion near by. Using my sight of evil spell I can see Trixie in what looks like a cafeteria sitting with a blue dog man. With a grunt I create a portal to that location and walk through and sat next to the blue unicorn.
“Welcome back.” Trixie said making me groan again.
“Head hurts. Talk quieter please.” I request as I cast the create imp spell and send it to get me water to rehydrate. “What happened? I remember something about pokemon… Then we saved a dwarf kid and we had a party but nothing after that.”
“Well after you managed to drink an entire barrel of dwarven ale. By the way you are now an honorary member of the Iron Hyde clan for managing to drink all of that and not pass out. You let slip that you were royalty so the leader came down and got wasted for what the dwarves called drunk politics. Which they insisted was far more effective than regular politics and you entered a trade agreement with them and gave the head dwarf your token so you could find them again.” Trixie said with a wave of her hoof. “You’re now trading spider’s silk and gems for dwarven crafts.” I sigh in relief that I’m only trading what I can produce myself indefinitely.
“That’s impressive,” said Cruger, “I’m not sure even Luna could negotiate a trade agreement while drunk.”
“Well apparently the dwarves refuse to negotiate anything unless all parties involved are drunk.” Trixie said with a shrug. At this point my imp returns with a plate filled with glasses of ice water and I quickly took one and started drinking.
“Ok. So I made a great deal trading for the two things that I could never run out of. What next?” I asked after I finish my glass.
“After that you healed a cut on a dwarf that fell down with your necromancy and that led to talk about something called a lich in the area that was attacking travelers to create an undead army and you, me, and several dwarves formed a party and attacked its tower. While the dwarves and I fought its minions you snuck off and found something called a phylactery and sucked all the magic out of the soul inside and that killed the lich.” Trixie said before taking a bite out of her lunch. “After that we split the treasure then you took the lich’s spellbook and had your imps raid the lab and library.”
After hearing this I close my eyes and focus on my room which is the most likely place I would have sent a lich’s spellbook and see a book I don’t recognise on my bed. So I grab it with my hand and drop it into my paws before opening it up.
“What are you doing?” Trixie asked.
“Hoping against hope that a lich would have a cure hangover spell.” I grumble.
“Be careful. Who knows what kind of evil spells are in that thing.” Trixie warned.
“... The first spell in this thing is summon harem…”I say with a deadpan.
Cruger facepalmed, “I do not want to know.”
“...Trixie does. And more importantly can Trixie cast it?” Trixie asked with hopeful eyes.
“It’s not dark magic so yes. According to this it summons a large number of magically constructed slaves. They can be any race the caster chooses and they come out naked and the embodiment of beauty for whatever race and gender the caster chooses. They do whatever the caster wants and how long they stick around depends on the strength of the caster. Man Asphyxious would kill for this spell.” I say before shrugging it off and flipping through the pages. “Expeditious retreat, stone skin, create undead, these are all D&D spells...What’s the point in making it rain blood for two days?” I kept searching till I found something that might help and I grab my now empty glass and cast the spell. “Ohhhh that’s so much better. Thank you liquid pain.” I say as droplets of a strange glowing red liquid started appearing in the cup. “Now I just need to keep this up till I’ve fully rehydrated.” I say before downing another glass.
“A healing spell?” Cruger asked.
“Liquid pain takes the pain of the one it’s cast on away and turns it into a material to boost the power of my spells or to use for enchanting. Or if you’re dumb enough to drink it a potent and highly addictive drug. In the game it takes one full day to make one bottle of the stuff. Probably because of how slowly this glass is filling up. This is great. I’ve pushed my necromancy studies and now there is no better healer on my world than me because of it. But stopping pain was something I could never do before. This was a lucky find.” I say with a happy smile. “Oh sorry how rude of me. My name it Rin. What’s yours?”
“Call me Cruger,” Cruger said. “So, forgive me if I’m totally and completely wrong, but based on that little spell you did, I’m thinking, Dungeon Keeper?”
“You mean the create imp spell? Yes I’m dungeon keeper Rin. A pleasure to meet you. So what are you from exactly?” I ask before downing another glass.
“Power Rangers SPD,” Cruger replied.
“Oh. Haven’t seen that since that Z guy showed up. When the weakness of his guys turned out to be the big Z emblem on their chests I just stopped watching after that.” I say in an apologetic tone.
“Don’t worry, the cheese doesn’t last forever,” Cruger chuckled.
“Anyways after that we left that world and wound up is some kind of multidimensional shopping mall.” Trixie continued.
“Did I buy anything nice?” I asked.
“You did buy one thing.” Trixie confirmed and she took a remote control looking device with one big, red button on it out of her hat and set it on the table in front of me.
“What is it? Some kind of calling button for a giant robot or something?” I ask her.
“Just push the button.” Trixie said in a bored tone. I lift my paw up and press the button. The device made that charging up sound as electricity arcked off of it. It had that ‘going to explode’ look about it and I back up away from it. Cruger generated a small forcefield around it. POP!
“...is that?” I ask in wonder as I looked at the steaming lump in front of me. “A muffin button!?”
“Yes.” Trixie said in a deadpan as she looked at the device.
“Well then,” Cruger said, “I know what Derpy would like for Hearth’s Warming.” As soon as the shield was down I picked up my muffin and happily started munching on it while sending my button to my room.
“After that we just jumped from world to world, several of which you now have cults worshiping you, until we got here. You know some of the people that work here are still finding the surprises you left around the place during your drunken pranking spree.” Trixie deadpanned. “These guys are cops and they don’t need distractions like ungluing plots from ceilings or dealing with toilets yelling at them when they’re trying to use them.” Trixie chastised.
“I’m sorry.” I say with my ears folded back as I give Cruger the puppy eyes.
“You were drunk off your rear, I won’t hold it against you” Cruger said as he placed a slip of paper on the table, “that said, as an officer of the law, here’s your fine.”
“Quick question. Are gems valuable here?” I ask as I look at the distressing number of zeroes on the paper.
“Depends on the type,” Cruger said, “by the way, they’ll be worth more if they have magical properties.”
“I was talking about regular gems. Or are you talking the kind best used for material components and enchanting? If that’s the case will these do?” I ask as I use my hand to grab a large number of diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds and dropped a huge pile on the floor stacked taller than Cruger. “Those are great for spells.”
Cruger counted off a few gems then handed the rest back, “Consider your fine paid. So, what’s going on in your verse?” I sighed in relief as I sent the rest of my gems back.
“Well aside from a fanatic group obsessed with killing be because of my dark magic? I’ve been hunting this guy that’s working with them but so far I can’t find the bastard. You see in my world I’m Celestia’s and Luna’s aunty and when I was off world he attacked them. Torchered them even. Broke their horns of and literally skinned them alive only to repeat the process again and again as they regenerated. When I got home I had to use my magic to put their organs back in the right places. It burns me that no matter what method I try the Juggernaut remains hidden. In fact I should get back to my world and start looking again.” I say as I look up at Cruger.
His face was contorted in a rather scary looking frown. After a few seconds, he released it, “Sorry, I kinda raised my Verse’s Celestia and Luna, so you saying something like that happen to them just… well let’s just say you should be very happy you’re not him.”
“Trust me I know. What I wouldn’t give to get that guy.” At that moment I felt my token being used. Umm aunty. He’s back and we can use some help here. I jump up and create a portal back to my home world. “Thank you Murphy! Trixie come on the Juggernaut is attacking again!” I shout as I jump into the hole.
“Oh buck me.” Trixie groaned as she followed.
“Oy, mind if I give you a hand?” Cruger said.
“Mite as well we can use all the help we can get.” Trixie said before passing through the hole in the ground.
------------------------------------------- Back at the palace in Rin’s world -------------------------------------------
I come out to a once more trashed palace grounds followed closely by Trixie and Cruger and we all had to dodge to the side as Discord came flying by.
“Discord’s out? How much did I miss?” I ask before my attention was drawn to the behemoth that was walking towards me carrying a sack on his back. “Trixie go hide.”
“Ok.” Trixie said timidly as she vanished in a puff of smoke.
“Oh goody. The fluff ball’s here. I’m glad you could make it. I’ve already got a coffin made just for you with the perfect lining for you. Even used what was left to make myself a blanket. What do you think?” Juggy asked as he opened his sack and pulled out a poorly stitched together blue and white blanket with Celestia’s and Luna’s cutie mark sprinkled around it. “Nice pelts don’t you think? I cleaned them myself.” Juggernaut said in a taunting tone.
“Self control Rin. Self control.” I say through clenched teeth. I create a portal and using my magic bring the gun in but I almost fall over when it fell into my paws. What? Why is it so heavy all of a sudden? I think to meself.
“Well, well, well,” Cruger said as he walked through the portal, “so, you’re the one who hurt the Diarchs so bad?”
“What you want my blanket now? I do a better job as sewing than I thought.” Juggernaut said as he folded the blanket made from my girls pelts before putting it back in his bag. “Now step aside blue boy. This is between me and the fuzzball.” Juggy said as he marched forward.
“No,” Cruger simply said, “now, I’m giving you one chance to explain your actions. Depending on your answer you might walk away from this with your dignity.”
“Nothing to explain. I just felt like doing it.” Juggernaut said as he got down on the ground like a football player and shot forward.
“Very well, kiss your dignity goodbye. SPD Emergency! Breach Mode!” Cruger was enveloped in a flash of light. As Juggernaut reached him, a large mechanical fist punched him on his left side and knocked him off course if just slightly sending him running through a wall. The light died down to reveal that Cruger was now encased in an impressive set of power armor. “Now,” Cruger said, cracking his knuckles, “unstoppable force, meet immovable object.” The wall next to Cruger exploded outwards as the Juggernaut crashed through it and grabbed Cruger in a hug as he barreled through the next wall and the wall after that before coming back around and throwing Cruger at me like a missile forcing me to catch him in my magic.
“So much for unmovable.” Juggernaut said as he ran at us. “Credit where it’s do though. It takes a lot of force to make me change directions.”
I have only one shot at this. I think to myself as I lift my gun and try and take aim. BANG! Juggernaut slowed to a stop as he slowly looked down at the hole in his stomach. A growing look of incomprehension on his face. Crap. I was aiming for his heart.
“Stand down,” Cruger said, “I’ve got this, gravity anchors just take too long to charge, need to fix that.” With that, the boots of the power armor expanded, revealing various components that glowed with a blue light. “Round 2, dumb dumb.”
“H-how?” Juggernaut asked as he looked at his own blood on his hands.
“You’re too reliant on your invulnerability. You never try to dodge or block anything. Now surender. If my friend here doesn't take you down in your weakened state I have five more bullets with your name on them.” I lied. I was hoping that he would take my bluff and raise his hands in surrender but instead from the look in his eyes I can see something else. For once in his life the Juggernaut had to take his fight seriously. Quickly grabbing the ground he ripped out the floor and tossed it at us before running at us again only instead of a straight charge he sacrificed speed so that he could react if he saw me lift my gun again. As he came in to punch Cruger I lifted my now much lighter gun and Juggernaut tried to duck low and keep the other displaced between himself and me. Even if the gun is empty he doesn't know it so I can still use it to influence the fight. I thought to myself. Juggernaut threw a punch at Cruger in an attempt to send him flying at me to knock me down long enough to get close to me. Cruger grabbed the fist before it could make contact, then delivered several blows to his helmet butting a few shallow dents into the metal.
Juggernaut grunted and grabbed Crugers arm back before pulling him taking a large chunk of the floor that was still attached to the displaced feet spinning Cruger around and tossing him through a was before taking cover in the entrance to another hall huffing and wheezing. “That...Shouldn’t have taken so much effort.” Juggernaut said between pants. “What happened to my strength?”
“I’m impressed,” Cruger said as he walked out, “I was basically connected to the planet’s surface and you could still throw me. I’ll have to take a look at the data later, but I think it’s time to end this.” With that, several lasers emerged from his gauntlets and fired at Juggernaut's helmet.
“...We’re on the top floor of the palace, not counting the towers. How can you do that without being pulled down through the rooms below?” I asked as I backed away while keeping the gun fixed on the hall the Juggernaut is heading in. Unable to see what’s happening with that beam. But I can hear the Juggernaut grunting in pain.
“Really? Huh, maybe I just connected to the bit I was standing on, enough talk though, time to end this.” With that, he shut off the beams. Walking forward, he grabbed Juggernaut’s now red-hot helmet, and yanked it off. “I don’t suppose you’d mind ending this? Assuming you have any form of telepathy of course.” I attack his mind with everything I have but all I’m getting is cries of pain.
“Celestia! Luna! I could use some help in here! I’m not very good with mind magic!” I shout out as Juggernaut gets up and starts running away while holding his head. “No, no, no!” I shout but before the giant could get away Celestia teleported in and added her own assault of the mind. As the titan fell to his knees Luna flew in and as the strongest amongst us with mind magic put him down.
“Where were you?” I asked them as they glared down at the Juggernaut.
“Evacuating the area.” Celestia said as she lifted Juggernaut in her magic. “We have a cell made just for you.” Celly said to the unconscious giant.
“You do?” I asked in surprise.
“Of course. Considering what he’s done in the past it would be foalish not to find a solution to deal with him once defeated. Didn’t you think of something?” Celestia asked as she looked down at my gun before looking at the wound on the Juggernaut.
“...Yes.” I say as I send the gun away.
Celestia gave me a disappointed look before walking down the hall. “Come. We can talk more once this criminal is put away.”
“About that Celestia,” Cruger interjected, “I said that I’d take away his dignity, and I’m not quite done with him yet.” Celestia stopped and looked back at Cruger. “I have a set of magic damping manacles,” he continued, pulling them from a portal, “the people should see that he’s been defeated. By the way, if you don’t mind, I’m gonna need to borrow a sturdy wagon with a crane mounted on it, a team to pull it, lots of chain, and a set of baby clothes that’ll fit him if you want to be really mean.”
“Yes let’s do it sister!” Luna said excitedly.
“I don’t know. It sounds dangerous. Even if I were to agree to this it will only be if all three of us were there to take him down again should he wake up.” Celestia said with concern.
“I still don’t see the problem, be good for the populous to see you three there, triumphantly leading the procession,” Cruger said, “besides, did you not see me curb stomp him five minutes ago? And that was my first time in Breach Mode. To be honest, the main reason I left him for you to finish him off was so that you three could get some closure.”
“...” Celestia looked back at the man that had skinned her and her sister not long ago.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Why must I wear a dress?” I asked sourly as I sat in my moble throne next to my girls as we were being driven down the street right behind the Juggernaut who was hanging limply from the steel, magically reinforced arch attached to a wagon made from the same materials for the cheering ponies on either side of the road.
“It’s just for the parade just grin and bear it.” Celestia said while she waved at her little ponies.
“Cruger gets to wear something cool” I grumble as I look over at the blue dog man who walked next to the Juggernaut’s waggon. He was in his dress uniform and sporting a shiny new medal. Though I must admit that it’s amusing how all of the children in the crowd were calling him Mr. Dogfish. In his hand was an air cannon, which he was using to launch candy at the crowd.
“Thank you our little ponies! And give an applause to Mr. Dogfish! Who fought so bravely while helping us bring this villain down!” Luna shouted out. Taking great amusement at Cruger’s new nickname.
“Dogfish! Dogfish! Dogfish!” The crowd cheered for the hero. Cruger responding by sending an extra sour batch of candies directly into their mouths. “THE NAME’S CRUGER!”
After the parade we all moved to the airship dock and moved to a nearby mountain. Once inside the cave near the top we went through steel door after steel door and guard after guard till we reached the center of the mountain where a powerfully enchanted ring was placed on the Juggernaut’s head.
“We enchanted this ourselves to to keep him asleep.” Luna boasted before the Juggernaut was placed in a room carven into a perfect circle.
“This one was my contribution.” Celestia said as she activated the complex set of runes that covered the walls creating a powerful and controlled gravitational pull in the middle of the room making the Juggernaut’s sleeping form float out of reach of the ground and walls.
“And you’re sure this will hold him?” I ask.
“The sleep spell is the most powerful we could create. He can not leave if he can not wake up.” Luna replied.
“And even if he did he can’t touch anything to move. So we should get plenty warning should he awake.” Celestia added. Besides I can tell that he lost almost all of his magic during the fight. Can’t you take what’s left?”
I look up at the Juggernaut’s floating form. Trying to gage his power.
“No I can’t.” But exposing him to that bullet just a little longer will. Just as soon as my imps find it.
“If it helps,” Cruger interjected, “I happen to know the most effective sealing spell, period. It contains the target in a pocket dimension, then siphons their magic to sustain it. If you want I can add it to the mix.” Celestia looked him up and down before glancing at eachother.
“If you can do it without messing with the magic keeping him asleep.” Celestia said.
“No problem,” Cruger said, “stand clear.” We all stepped back to watch. Cruger brought out his morpher and held it out. “Juggernaut, you are charged with assault on royalty, terrorism, torture, attempted murder, and various other charges, face your Judgment.” Cruger said. With that, he pressed the button on the top, causing the front to flip open revealing a red X and blue O that flashed in sequence.
“Why is that device flashing between the X’s and the O’s like a game of roulette?” Luna asked in a tone of confusion.
“Safety feature,” Cruger replied, “this particular spell is hard-wired so that it can’t activate without a guilty verdict from a Judgment Scanner. And before you ask, a Judgment Scanner takes thousands of data points, ranging from surveillance footage to forensic reports to the suspect’s body language to deliver a 100% accurate determination of the suspect’s innocence,” the Scanner stopped on the X, “or guilt.” With that, Cruger flipped the morpher closed and pointed it at Juggernaut like a remote. “Confinement!” A beam of white light shot out from the Morpher and enveloped Juggernaut. When the light faded, all that was left was a metallic card. “There we go,” Cruger said as he picked it up and handed it to Celestia, “should have mentioned it also makes transporting them a breeze.”
“...wait. This world has no surveillance tech, magic or otherwise. Info will be in hard copies and you were never near them. And the Juggernaut was in a forced sleep so no body language. What was that thing using exactly to decide he was guilty?” I asked as I look at the card.
“Well, there was the built in camera and voice recorder in my uniform,” Cruger said as he pointed to the gold bar on his uniform, “the security footage when we talked about him, plus the lie detector spells with the footage, the fact that the Judgment Scanner can use hard copies, plus if all else failed it could have looked at Jug’s Acastic Record, which it didn’t need to anyway.”
“Okay then. Thanks for the help. I feel like I should give you something for your help. Want to come to my dungeon? You can pick out some gems, or if you would like some spider’s silk. Stronger than steel. Bet engeneering would like to work with that stuff.” I say while creating a portal.
“Why not,” Cruger said, “might be interesting.”
---------------------- In the dungeon. ---------------------
We came out in the room where I kept the shrunken changelings in their tank. Looking down at them one of them was right at the edge making faces at us by pressing her face to the glass.
“Just give me a moment I need to receive the regular welcome home greeting before we can go anywhere.” I say as I walk over to the door and wait.
“Do I want to ask?” Cruger said.
“Just my dog. She can always sense when I get home.” Just as I said that the ground started to shake from Sasha’s running. I didn’t need to wait long before I was pind down by the giant pup and getting a thick layer of drool coating my body as all three heads bombard me with puppy kisses. “Ok, ok Sasha that’s enough! I’m glad to see you to.” I say as I use my magic to lift her off of me and set her down to me left. I get off and try to shake off as much drool as I could wile Sasha moves over and starts sniffing Cruger’s butt.
“Back off.” Cruger said as he moved away. All three of Sasha’s heads tilt in confusion before they apparently come up with the idea that he wanted to go first so they turn around and lift their tail and put their but his his face.
“Ahahahahahahahaha!” I laugh at the look on his face. “That’s so sweet. She’s trying to make friends with you!”
“It was bad enough when I was just being mistaken for a Diamond Dog,” Cruger said, “Sit!”
“Wait don’t she...why would you tell her to sit when she had her butt hanging right over your head?” I ask the pend ranger before picking my dog up with my magic. “Sasha I’m sorry but I think this one is going to be a grumpy doggy. Why don’t you go play with your shadow wolf friends.” I say as I send Sasha back to her room and drop some shadow wolves in with her. “You going to be ok?” I ask Cruger.
“I am going to need to do a WCS simulation when I get back to reassert my masculinity.” He replied as he got up.
“Ok, well come on you can take a look at my products and take what you like.” I say as I turn and walk down the hall. “I hope you don’t have a fear of spiders.” I say as we enter the spinner room where my giant spiders were busy spinning rolls of silk for me. “Go ahead and take some.”
Cruger examined some of it, “Rather nice looking, comfortable to the touch, nice tensile strength, I think I know what the new dress uniforms will be made of.” With that, he grabbed a few bolts and placed them in a small portal. “So, let’s see, smacked down Jug, paraded Jug, confined Jug, got reimbursed for confining Jug, all that’s that left is for us to exchange Tokens I think.”
“Ok. And if you need any more spider’s silk for your uniforms just give me a call. Selling these things is how I make my living and you’ll get the friends and family discount.” I say as I paw him a mini dungeon heart. “Oh and quick question. Have you been in your office yet since I went on my drunk rampage?”
“I am suddenly very nervous,” Cruger said as he handed me a badge. “By the way, think you could do me a favor?”
“Depends on the favor but probably. As for your office… Check under your chair before using it.” I reply with a nervous grin.
“Got it,” Cruger nodded, “as for the favor, please for the love of all the ancient alicorns make sure they get my name right. I am Anubis Cruger, Commander of Space Patrol Delta, not Dogfish.”
“...Nightmare!” I shout out causing the wraith like creature to appear. “There are some ponies working on a statue of this guy for the hall of heroes. I need you to give them a message to change the plaque for me.” I say as I conjure up some paper and a quill and write down what Cruger said. “And please be quick.” With a mock salute it grabbed the parchment and took off. “There that should do it.” I say with a smile.
“Thank you,” Cruger said, “well, see you later. By the way, you teaching at Beacon?”
“Beacon? No I don’t teach. Well I did teach this one displaced how to safely wield the darkness. Dark magic is my thing. That and being a trickster. Why do you ask?” I ask him.
Cruger shrugged, “Just curious, I’ll be teaching there and wanted to see if we’d be working together.”
“...Ok, what is this school about and why did you think I would be a teacher?” I asked. “What are you teaching anyways?”
“You seemed like a Displaced that knows what they’re doing,” Cruger replied, “as for my subjects, I was thinking engineering, battlefield or otherwise, tactics, and advanced combat techniques.”
“...A school for displaced? I guess I can check it out. Now that I think of it didn’t Asphyxious say something about becoming a teacher? Anyways how do I find this school?” I ask. Who knows they might have something for me to learn as well.
“It’s in a verse that’s filled with RWBY Displaced,” Cruger said, pulling a coin out his pocket, “this Token belongs to a guy named Sun, he’s the one who thought of it in the first place. If you want, I know a duplication spell.” I nod and hop up and down excitedly as he uses his magic and I take the token.
“Thank you. I’ll look into it soon. Now I should look into what other damage I did while drunk and I’m sure you have things to do so Cruger our contract is complete.” I say aloud.
. . . . . .
“...Oh ya I never summoned you. Can you find your way home on your own? I asked the still present displaced.
Cruger chuckled as he drew his sword, “No problem.” Slashing at the air, he opened a portal that he stepped through, “Hope to see you there when it’s done.”
“See ya later!” I call out before the portal closes. “Alright let's see.” I say aloud as I use my powers to search my dungeon for anything new. ...I have a death claw?... Hmmm oh that room is full of stuff. At that thought I use a portal and go to what was once an empty room now filled with random things from the multiverse. “Hmmmm Oh sweet pokeballs!” I say as I pick one out and toss it only to be surprised by what comes out.
“...It was so cramped in there.” Trixie whispered as she lay curled up on the floor.
Cruger looked over the reports, damage from Grumm’s attack were all nearly repaired. The base’s exterior needed a coat of paint, but other than that everything was, thankfully, back at 100% barring any unexpected irregulariti-
‘I just jinxed myself, didn’t I?’ Cruger thought, pinching the bridge of his nose, his comm-link already chirping at the incoming call.
“Sir, we’ve got a problem,” Blue Rush said.
“What is it?”
“A full plated, brown-armored biped has just appeared in the cafeteria. It doesn't appear in any of our records, but it largely resembles past displaced body-types, and it’s currently busying itself by emptying our stores. And, based on it current progress, it might just be able to.”
“I’m on my way,” Cruger replied, sighing as the link ended.
Stepping briskly down into the emptied cafeteria, he found the large, armored warrior stuffing everything he could get his hands on through the parted visor of the his helmet. And, just a few tables over was a green canine, who, despite a quadrupedal body type, sat up on its hind end, sipping a cup of tea in its forepaw.
“You know,” Cruger said, edging slowly closer, “it’s considered bad manners to enter someone’s house without permission.”
“Hm?” the warrior grunted, leaning up, his face still hidden in the shadow of his visor. Gulping down his latest mouthful with a swig from his cup, he said, “Sorry, been awhile since I ate. So, um…” he belched, “you look kinda familiar for some reason.”
“You’re probably a fan of Power Rangers then,” Cruger replied, glancing briefly to the large naginata strapped to the warrior’s back, “Anubis Cruger, SPD.”
“Actually,” The warrior clanked with a shrug of his massive shoulders, “I stopped watching after Time Force, but I did see Linkara’s History of Power Rangers. I thought your name was Doggy?”
“You’re thinking of my Sentai counterpart.”
“Mrmmh, not sure,” the warrior said through another mouthful. “Also,” he gulped, “I’ll cook dinner to make up for this.”
“That would make a nice change,” Cruger replied, “usually I’m the one making dinner when a Displaced comes over. By the way, I never caught your name.”
“Oh, sorry. I’m Gilgamesh, and this here,” he said, thumbing back to the lion-sized wolf, “is my traveling companion, Enkidu,” who then nodded back to them before taking another quiet sip of his tea. “And yeah, sorry about my entrance, it’s usually much more entertaining.”
“Trust me,” Cruger said, relaxing his stance, “after the week I’ve had, a boring entrance is good.”
“You sure? It usually involves a musical number.”
“I fought the G1 Smooze with Deadpool, went toe to toe with the Juggernaut, and Emperor Grumm attacked my base with a giant monster. I need time to cool down.”
“Deadpool? Huh, I don’t know why I’m surprised there’s a Deadpool Displaced. Anyway, what’s this universe's situation?”
“Standard Power Rangers fare so far, except that the big bad actually appears to be competent.”
“Well, I can’t promise to stay, buuut I’d be more than happy to help you. What can I do?”
“Not a whole lot. I don’t mean to brag, but I’m kinda on the level where I can curb stomp Tirek.”
Gilgamesh smirked. “Tirek? Is that the extent of your power?”
“I said I curb stomped him, which rather implies that he wasn’t a challenge.”
“Look,” Gilgamesh chuckled, “if I asked you ‘could you win if every single person on this planet attacked you at once?’ and your answer was anything less than ‘might be a bit difficult’, you’re not in my class.”
“To be honest, I never considered that scenario. Of course, there’s that sim where you have to fight off a hundred elder dragons, I can solo it in 5 minutes.”
Gilgamesh just smiled and stood up. “You know what, I think I’ll stop with the dick measuring contest here as I’ve just thought of a way to help you out.” Removing his helm, he stood to attention and stated, “Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Supreme Commander Gilgamesh, head of the Global Equus Military, blessed by her Grace the Lady Fausticorn, Slayer of Warlock Exdeath. And I hereby do offer my services in training the members of your organization.”
“Sounds like an option, but I hope you’re not too offended if I chose to confirm your credentials myself.”
“By all means.”
“Mind if we take this outside? We just finished repairing this place.”
Gilgamesh grabbed the naginata from his back and cut open a hole in reality. “After you.”
As they walked through the portal, Cruger drew his morpher, “Mind if I set the tone?”
“‘Tone?’ Waaaiiit,” Gilgamesh intoned with a sly grin, “do you mean musical accompaniment?”
“And here I thought I was the only guy who did that,” Cruger said as he started the music.
“Really?” Gilgamesh deadpanned, “This is what you want to fight to?”
“To be honest, I kinda hate fighting to the same music twice in a row. Besides, you’ll be singing this soon enough.”
“Eh,” Gilgamesh shrugged, “I prefer the version by The Clash.”
“To each his own,” Cruger replied, throwing a out a mach punch to Gilgamesh’s still exposed head.
Gilgamesh took the blow in the cleanly, sliding back several yards, but did not fall. Dust trails settling, eyes glowing red, he then cracked his neck and calmly said, “Thank you, sir. May I have another?” before twin heat-beams lanced from his eyes.
Cruger, tilting his head to avoid the blast, grinned, and said, “Well, since you asked so nicely,” and launched a barrage of blows, each just as fast as the first, if not faster.
Gilgamesh held up his guard, each blow continuing to push him back just a little farther, suffering little, if any, damage before leaning, back leaving Cruger dangerously overextended, allowing him to grab both of Cruger’s wrists and headbutt him. Immediately afterwards, another blast of force sent Cruger flying backwards.
“Oh, did I forget to mention? I can absorb all kinds of energy, including kinetic energy,” Gilgamesh shouted up to the airborne opponnent.
“Not bad,” Cruger said as he landed on his feet, “I guess we’ll have to finish this later, don’t want you to get hurt too bad before you teach my guys a few tricks.”
Gilgamesh simply smirked. “‘Me get hurt’, huh? Well, we’ll see about that another time. I wonder if you’ll be one of the few Displaced I’ve fought who I’ll actually have to try to win against.”
“Please, anyone who knows anything about Power Rangers could see I was holding back,” Cruger said as they walked towards the group of onlookers that had formed.
“Oh, certainly. I may not be as familiar with Power Rangers or Super Sentai as I am with Kamen Rider, but even I know you didn’t give me much of anything. No super lasers, no Megazords, no Battlizers. But you’ll forgive me, if just for my ignorance, that I doubt the full power of a Ranger could match me.”
“You say that like I’m a standard Ranger, I’ve got some tricks.”
“Oh, is that so? I can’t wait to see them. But for now, do I meet your qualifications?”
“I thought I already said yes to that?”
“Did you? Let me check back a few paragraphs,” Gilgamesh muttered before pulling out an iPhone. “Let’s see ‘May I have another?’, ‘We’ll have to finish this later,’- Ah, here it is. You’re right, I missed that, my bad,” he said before pocketing the device.
“Great, I thought that I was through with that kind of stuff after I met Deadpool.”
“Oh don’t worry, I’m not quite at that level. So, I believe the first thing on the schedule is making up for all the food I ate? I was actually surprised by all the meat you had in stock.”
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m so glad I got sent to an omnivorous Equestria.”
“Wow, lucky. But, correct me if I’m wrong, I thought I saw some steak? Do you eat… cow?”
“They’re not sentient, or anthro here, still hungry?”
“Eh, a little. I had quite a bit already. Besides, I may not look it, but I actually am a pretty good cook, and I do enjoy seeing others enjoy my dishes. Anyway, are Cragodiles or Hydras endangered species here? Because I’m thinking of preparing a few more unorthodox dishes than usual.”
“Not really, but there is a fine for hunting them without a license.”
“Ugh, never mind then. Don’t exactly have bits to spare. Do you at least have a wide selection of fruits and bakery materials?”
“No worse than any other Equestria, we do have our own Pinkie Pie and Applejack after all.”
“Perfect!” Gilgamesh exclaimed as he clapped his hands together. “You gather your troops, I’ll head to the kitchen!” He then used his weapon to cut open a hole in reality and jumped inside.
***
Cruger looked over the training grounds where most of SPD had gathered. “Alright, as you know, our recent encounter with Grumm has taught us that we are solely lacking in experience. Luckily, we have a Displaced who has volunteered to aid us in this regard. Meet Gilgamesh, and good luck, something tells me you’re gonna need it.”
“Hola, chicos y chicas! Como estas?” The large armored warrior asked as he waved in a friendly manner.
“Is anyone else just a little bit scared from his size? It can’t be just me. Also Commander, I can just tell you’re a sadist,” said SPD’s resident doctor.
“‘Sadist’? That’s rude. What makes you think I’m a sadist?”
“Possibly the fact that this guy has muscles on his muscles and that he has that disturbingly creepy grin that just shouts ‘in five minutes you are going to be hurting everywhere’.”
“You said the same thing about Edge Case, and the cadets under his tutelage were okay weren’t they?”
At this Plague gave Cruger a ‘really?’ look, “I had to treat each of those cadets for mental trauma caused by him. Also and no offence Mr. Gilgamesh, but you look like you can do a lot more than mental trauma.”
“You say that, but you have to admit that they were able to outperform every other division in that joint exercise thing last month, no risk no reward,” Cruger commented.
“Oh I’m not questioning the effectiveness of it. I’m just mad about all the paperwork that I had to do because of the trauma. I mean, Edge is the reason why we have such a good psychology department. Oh and Rainbow Dash might need her head checked, because she said that she could beat the next displaced in a one on one match.”
“pfffFFFT-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-! Oh ho-ho, ooohhhh. Sorry,” Gilgamesh apologized, releasing his sides as he bent back up. “Ahem. Also, Darth Plagueis was it? No offense meant, but I kinda can’t tell if you’re concerned about your patient’s health or annoyed with having to deal with healing them.”
“No,” he replied tersely, “I am Doctor Plague, and I’m very concerned about their health. I’m just tired of all the mental problems you people give them before they even see the battlefield. I’d be far more comfortable with merely sawing off limbs and replacing them,” the ‘good’ doctor finished, frowning through his mask.
“Ooo, do you have cybernetics here? Or limb regeneration?” Gilgamesh asked, seemingly undisturbed by the thought of amputation.
“Ehh, it’s a relatively new thing, but I think Steam Gear is working on improving them. When he isn’t working on that damnable chicken gun.”
“Meh, I’ve heard worse. So Cruger, I have to say this looks like an impressive group you’ve got here,” he began as he looked over the crowd, his eyes stopping on PRINCESS HEART. “I’m also glad to see how,” he trailed off, turning to face a midnight-black mare with gleaming yellow eyes, smirking. “inclusive, your organization is,” he finished, causing the mare’s eyes to widen for a moment. “I’m a bit curious though,” he continued, turning back the SPD Commander. “You’ve got ponies, griffins, changelings, and minotaurs. I can understand there being no dragons, and I guess I can understand no zebras or buffalo, but is there reason why no Diamond Dogs are here?”
“Can’t hire ‘em if they don’t apply,” Cruger shrugged.
“Have you made sure they’re aware? I don’t want to insinuate anything, but back in my dimension no one had even considered asking for their help until I suggested. And this was after we’d already enlisted the dragons and the changelings. And ours was literally a war for the existence of the world.”
“Hey, I took one of the SWAT Flyers on what was basically a job application bombing run over the more remote parts of Equestria, I think they at least saw them.”
“Didn’t mean to offend, it’s just I’ve come across a few… Xenophobic Equestrias in my travels. Just wanted to make sure the same thing wasn’t happening here. Anyway, what’s first on the to-do list?”
“Hey, this is your show, I’m just the one with a bucket of popcorn and a notepad.”
“Well, I was trying not to make it feel like I was taking over, but…” he trailed off, cracking both sides of his neck, arms folding squarely behind his back, “ATTEN-TION!” he shouted to the gathered crowd, jolting a few of the whisperers. “Now, as your commander mentioned, my name is Gilgamesh. I happened to come across your sorry little group in my travels, and now you little shits are fortunate enough to have me stick around and give you a hand. And, in case any of you smart-asses were curious, know that I’m not just some random Displaced that happened to pass through, I am Supreme Commander Gilgamesh of the Global Equus military that happened to pass through. Back where I’m from, every. single. sapient being on the planet either salutes or bows to me. And yes, that does include the dragons and the Princesses, all of them. So, as long as you are under my tutelage, you can all just think of me as your new god. Do I make myself clear?”
“Sorry sir, but I only bow to the Que- I mean the princesses.” The doctor said to the very imposing man after catching his slip up.
“That’s fine. Like I said, this isn’t my dimension, but I will still have your respect, maggot,” he replied with a wink. “I’m glad to see you’ve at least got the ‘Sir’ part down.”
“Yeah, you’re gonna have do a lot more than just tell a story to earn my respect,” said Rainbow Dash.
Gilgamesh’s mouth curled into a menacing grin. “Of course! And I’m so happy to hear you’ve volunteered yourself and your squad to help me with that! Is there anyone else that would like to join them? B-Squad, perhaps?”
“You sure? They may not have morphers, but they’re a tight knit crew with over a dozen members, and the training for all Troopers focuses on group combat,” Cruger commented.
“Perfect! Getting a group of idiots to work in sync is usually the first and one of the biggest hurdles I have to overcome! Glad to scratch that one off the list right away!” He then turned to the crowd and began to clap. “Good job! Such good little boys and girls you are!” He complimented condescendingly.
“I don’t like where this is going…” a dark mare with the yellow eyes squeaked as she hid behind a pale mare that was standing next to her.
“Personally I find it interesting and a great learning experience” said PRINCESS HEART said to the dark mare she was next to. “I have some summons and magic to hone.”
“Volunteers? Volunteers?” he asked in a sudden and exaggerated attempt of a Trottingham accent.
Cruger sighed, “Looks like you’ll have to content yourself with just the A-Squad, you don’t mind if they’re Morphed, do you?”
“‘Don’t mind?’ My friend, please allow them to use whatever they wish! The more of a beating they can take, the more I can,” he trailed off and looked to Rainbow Dash and her teammates. “...play with them,” he grinned.
“If I may sir, could you not as you put it, play with them to hard? I don’t feel like resetting bones and doing paperwork.” Asked the ‘totally’ caring doctor.
“Oh don’t worry, I won’t break them… this time. So, where do we start? Usually I take this kind of thing outside and far away from civilization to avoid collateral damage.”
“Quick question, you know Fallout?” Cruger asked.
“You know, been meaning to get to it. I know some of the lore, but I haven’t actually sat down and played any of them yet.”
“Let’s just say that the hardened areas of this base, such as the weapons testing range and training dojos, make Vaults look like oversized cardboard boxes.”
“Ah, perfect! Show the way, please! Oh, and I insist the rest of you watch, provided you don’t have any urgent work to get to,” he told the crowd.
“You want to know something funny?” Cruger asked as he led them to one of the larger dojos, “once upon a time, I was content with them merely being on-par with a Vault.”
“Why would you be content? As a warrior, I’ve trained myself to never be complacent, and I’d like to think you’d be smart enough to apply that to all things.”
“Because I considered the Vault-Tec standard to be a bit on the overkill side, until a Displaced with a bit of a mad scientist vibe blew up a firing range. Good news, she managed to figure out a new type of ordinance we’ve been working on.”
“Oh really? Who was that?”
“Jen, a Spectobe Displaced, don’t suppose you know what that is do ya?”
“Nope. Man, so much research I need to do. So, how big is this training ground?”
“I’d say,” Cruger started as they arrived at a door, which opened to reveal a room the size of a soccer stadium, “pretty big.”
“Oh, wonderful! This should do nicely. And, where shall our audience be watching from?”
Cruger simply pointed at a series of transparent windows circling the grey room, high in the walls, and then to the elevator button to their left.
“Nice. So, let’s get it set up!” He then turned to A-Squad. “I’m assuming you’ve been well-trained enough to have your morphers and any weapons you need on you at all times.”
Night Stalker flicked his wrist, causing a weapon that looked like a cross between a taser and a hidden blade to pop out from his sleeve, “You could say that.”
“Wunderbar! Take your positions, please!”
As they took positions on opposite sides of the room, Cruger’s voice sounded over the PA, “Want to stick with this, or should I show you my favorite thing I copied from Star Trek?”
“Let me guess, digital terrain?” Gilgamesh asked.
“The official term is Holodeck, and I’ll take that as a yes.” With that, various screens appeared, which rapidly cycled through various landscapes before finally settling on a ruined cityscape. The air flickered for a moment before a projection of it appeared in the room. Once it had settled in, a mechanical voice started counting down.
“... Huh. I always wondered what that would look like seeing that happen right in front of me. So, on to your first lesson! You’re goal is… hit me.”
“Ha, easy.”
“Now hold on, let’s make sure there are no misunderstandings here. When I say ‘hit me’ I don’t just mean ‘touch me’. I mean to land a direct hit, no being blocked, and no glancing blows. Anything other than that is fair game.”
“If you say so,” Dash said, before suddenly drawing her blasters and firing a barrage of shots.
Gilgamesh jumped high into the air, spinning gracefully as music began to play, and then landing on his toes, both arms held above him in a ballet pose. As the opening chords ended and the song began to start in earnest he began to pirouette, seemingly unconcerned with the rest of the group.
A-Squad spread out and began to fire from all sides, Dash and Night taking to the air in case he started to jump again. Gilgamesh’s only response was to begin moving towards them, making quick steps as he balanced perfectly on the ends of his toes.
“Curb his movement,” Hammer Fist said as he ducked into a building, with the rest of A-Squad following suit.
“Really? If you intend to make this a shooting gallery, you’ll find that things are heavily in my favor,” Gilgamesh declared as he stopped to pose, arms outstretched as he balanced on one foot.
“Who said anything about a shooting gallery,” Night said, as he emerged from his hiding spot behind him, billy club swinging.
Gilgamesh easily bent backwards to avoid the hit while simultaneously kicking the thestral in the face with his outstretched leg, then grabbing his wrist before flipping the pony over him and slamming him into the ground. He then quickly hopped onto Night and began to dance over his face, each step producing a stomp that bashed his head into the pavement.
“Is this a game to you?” Dash shouted.
“For now, yes,” Gilgamesh replied before quickly hopping off Night and then kicking him into the nearest building hard enough to smash through the virtual concrete. “So far you’ve failed to give me reason to treat this otherwise.”
“Then how about this,” Dash said as she brought out the Command Bone, “RIC, Fetch!” Out of seemingly nowhere, RIC jumped and caught the bone and turned into cannon mode, which the Rangers caught.
“Pulling out one of your finishing moves already? I expected more,” Gilgamesh pouted.
“Shut up,” Dash said as she pulled the trigger. The blast fired straight at Gilgamesh who just stared impassively as it sped towards him. The attacks seemed to hit… until it dispersed and there was no Gilgamesh to be found.
“Bonjour,” came a voice from behind them, give them just enough time to turn their heads before Gilgamesh punched the four of them away. Dash tried to pull out one of her blasters to shoot him, only for him to quickly grab both her wrists and hold them to the sides. He then pulled her until she was pressed against him. “Merci.”
“Wait, what?” was all she was able to utter before he began to spin, pulling her along for the ride. It was quite as sight for the rest of A-Squad to pull themselves up, only to see what looked like their leader trying and failing to dance with the warrior.
“Do you ever take anything seriously?” asked Pearl Spark.
“Yes, just not you,” he replied before dipping Dash backwards. “Un,” he said before pulling back up and swinging her out with one arm. “Duex,” he said as he forced her to spin in place by twirling her arm. “Trois!” he shouted as he let go of her before striking her in the head with a roundhouse kick, sending her slamming into Evil Breaker and Hammer Fist.
“We’re taking this seriously, why won’t you?”
“Your goal was to land a hit on me. If you can’t do it while I’m playing around, what makes you think you could do it if I actually tried?”
“Try us.”
The music cut out and Gilgamesh chuckled. He then threw his head back and laughed. “Ok then,” he said after calming down. "But you asked for it," he said as a new song began. He then began to slowly walk towards them for a moment before picking up speed and running at them. Before they could properly respond he uppercutted Hammer Fist into the air before kicking Dash in the back of the head. Before he could continue, Night Stalker and Evil Breaker charged from opposite sides. Gilgamesh quickly grabbed both of them and slammed both of their heads together, then dodging a magic blast from Pearl Spark. He then grabbed Hammer Fist by his leg before he hit the ground, finally coming down from the uppercut, and swing him like a bat, hitting all four of the other rangers and sending them into one of the buildings before hurling the earth pony in after them. He then jumped and entered the same building from a higher level.
“This is completely one sided.” Dusk commented as she watched, still hiding behind the pale mare. She was still scared but her professional side just couldn’t stay quiet about what she was seeing anymore.
“You know, I was tempted to hit the intercom and say ‘Yes?’ when Dash said ‘Fetch,’” said Fetch, half watching the battle, focusing more on the data the various scanners were collecting on both Gilgamesh and A-Squad. “But I didn’t think A-squad would care for that sort of humor during a beatdown.”
“I agree Dusk, it is one sided. Gilgamesh is totally destroying them in the fight and it’s just a sparring match and that’s just with him screwing around for crap and giggles. It’d be even more so if he was destroying them without even touching them.” PRINCESS HEART said to Dusk.
“I have to agree as well. Against an opponent like Gilgamesh, they’re fish in the barrel.” Agreed Dr. Plague, while comfortingly patting Dusk on her head. Dusk immediately moved to the opposite side of the viewing room.
“Is that so now Plague? Huh, I wonder how Gilgy would fare against a master of magic then with summons? I really do need to hone my magic more if I’m gonna help out around here, especially if I’m ever needed out in the field.” PRINCESS HEART stated.
“I don’t know how he would fair against magic alone, but I bet if you add in some lead with that, he wouldn’t last long. And yeah, I feel you on the training thing. My aim has gotten real bad.”
“Lead huh? How do you mean Plague?” HEART asked.
“Well, personally I use this.” Said the doctor, as he showed her a musket that, if not from pre-unification, then modeled after one.
“I see, through, something tells me he’d just shrug it off like it was... a um… Fire spell I suppose? Light damage and all.” PRINCESS HEART guessed.
“Probably, but we should get back to the fight my Que- friend,” he chuckled, quickly adding, “don’t you think?”.
“Agreed. Back to the action. Heheheh. And it’s princess actually, I’m not a queen till mom steps down.” HEART giggled in amusement as she watched the beatdown unfolding before her eyes.
Marri looked up from the silent beating going on below to the sound of clicking hooves rounding the bend. She’d specifically chosen the opposite side of the observation deck to be free of the others constant chatter to better focus on the ensuing combat, but relaxed, some, when she saw it was only Dusk. Still, even with the multiple viewing screens implanted into the walls above her, it was still anypony’s guess what this Gilgamesh was trying to accomplish. Dash had used the RIC seconds into the encounter, and the giant displaced hadn’t so much as flinched. Compared to that sort of firepower, she wasn’t sure what the other members of A-Squad were hoping to accomplish spread out like they were.
Dusk silently walked over and stood next to Marri, feeling slightly awkward, but glad to be away from the doctor... and his needles.
When the midnight mare remained silent for a few moments longer, Marri rolled her eyes, then said, “I don’t suppose I blinked and missed where A-Squad came together to combine their firepower after Ms. Dash fired RIC and it had no effect on this Displaced, did I?”
“No, you haven't missed anything.” Dusk said.
“Then,” Marri paused, furrowing her eyebrows with a sigh, “what do you think they’re planning then?” squinting, struggling to keep track of the combatants, particularly the red and brown ones who were blurring up into near rainbooming magnitudes of speed.
“Whatever it is, it’s not going to work.” Dusk admitted, arms flickering briefly to shadow as she crossed them beneath her chest.
Dash flew around the battlefield, trying to keep a bead on Gilgamesh. However, when she blinked, he disappeared. She turned her head around franticly, trying to relocate him, when she heard something from right behind her.
“Peekaboo,” was all she heard before she was grabbed by the legs and thrown down into the building below her with enough force that she smashed through every level and hit the bottom floor. Dash groaned as she got to her hands and knees.
“PAIN TRAIN, COMIN’ THROUGH!”
She looked up to see Gilgamesh, carrying Pearl Spark in one hand and Evil Breaker in the other, barrelling towards her. She barely had time to react before he slammed her two teammates into her, causing her to be taken along for the ride as they all smashed through the back of the building. Gilgamesh stopped and all three of them tumbled through the street.
“And you wanted me to be serious,” Gilgamesh taunted.
“Guess we did,” Dash said as she fired off a shot. She was immediately met with a foot to her face as her shot missed it’s mark.
“So that just leaves, you,” he began as Night Stalker tried to rain blasts down on him from above, only for a tornado to spring up out of nowhere and suck him inside before releasing him, slamming him into a building before he plummeted to the ground. “And you,” he finished as Hammer Fist came flying out of a nearby building, pulled by an unseen force, before being clotheslined by Gilgamesh, flipping several times before landing back first on the ground. “So, want to keep at it? Or do you finally have an idea of just what kind of difference there is between our weight classes?”
“Fine,” Dash said as she tapped the ground.
“So, you speak for the rest of them? All of you calling it quits?”
“For now,” Night said as he and the rest of A-Squad made their various signals for surrender, “next time you won’t be so lucky.”
“I think that’s a nice segway to my next point. I’ve got one question for all of you: Why did you lose? What’s the main reason you all didn’t have a chance against me?” Gilgamesh asked.
“Cause you’re 52 tons of pure badassery in a 3lb sack?” Hammer Fist guessed.
Gilgamesh laughed. “Colorful metaphors! I like it! But no, that’s not why. Don’t forget, your task wasn’t to beat me, it was to hit me? And you didn’t even need to actually cause damage to complete this assignment. So once again, why?”
“Hey, we had you surrounded and the only time at least one of us wasn’t shooting at you was when Night was going for the sneak attack,” Dash shouted, “I’d say we did pretty well considering.”
Gilgamesh exhaled sharply and shook his head. “So, you still don’t get it, huh? Alright, looks like I have to spell it out for you. You all lost… because you all thought you were hot shit. You thought you were badass, that you were the cream of the crop. Even if you realized in your conscious minds that there are others who could be more powerful than you, in the back of your heads you kept telling yourselves you were untouchable. That’s why you lost.”
“You’d think they’d have at least partially grown out of it when they couldn’t summon their Zords because only the primary access was blocked during a giant monster attack,” Cruger said, walking in as the hologram faded. “seriously, they didn’t even consider trying to clear it out. Guess it couldn’t be helped when the only real combat experience they had was against an oversized fan.”
“Is that so? Well, I have a few ideas about that then. But first off,” Gilgamesh began before facing the rest of SPD. “This is the lesson you all should learn today, to have cemented in each and every one of you down to the last fiber of your being: No matter what your area of expertise, there is always someone better than you. It’s a lesson I have to remind even myself of once in awhile, and have had beaten into me at other times. I can literally bench press mountains, I can, and have, wiped an entire city off the map with one swing of my weapon, and aside from maybe your commander here, if I wanted to wipe out every single living being on the face of this planet there wouldn’t be a damn thing you could do about it. And yet I know, and have met, people who could swat me aside like a mosquito. No matter how hard you train, no matter how good you get, never forget there is always someone better than you. The moment you forget that lesson, you’ve already lost.”
“Well, guess one of us gonna have that particular lesson reinforced soon enough,” Cruger said as he pulled out a manilla folder, “by the way, you might like to read this for inspiration.”
Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow and took the folder. He was about to open it when he stopped and cast a suspicious glance at Cruger. He then levitated the folder about a yard away from him and opened it.
Cruger sighed, “It’s not a bomb, it’s just a rather extensive list of the various tests that I used to select these guys. I’m particularly proud of the stuff involving the pool, I think the Walker twins are still mildly hydrophobic.”
Gilgamesh took a look at the page and raised an eyebrow. “Actually surprised they’re not scarred for life with all this stuff. However, I do have some ideas of my own,” he replied before stuffing the page back into the folder. “A-Squad, you have not yet failed in the task of landing a blow on me. For you to fail, the test would have to be over. This lesson will continue tomorrow as well. You may use any and all SPD assets in order to complete this task. In addition I will be testing your preparedness and critical thinking skills the moment you wake up tomorrow. Until then, you’re dismissed.”
“Um Mr. Gilgamesh?” Dusk asked as she shyly tugged on Gilgamesh’s cape, “What exactly do you have planed for B-squad?”
“Hm… Guess I need to come up with something. Can’t quite knock you around the same way I did to them. You are without morphers, after all.”
“You know, B-Squad’s main role is basically to back up A-Squad, maybe they could benefit from having the same level of training. As for the lack of Morphers,” Cruger’s gaze turned to Dusk briefly, “let’s just say that more than a few have ways to compensate.”
Dusk immediately broke into a full on nervous sweat as she backed away from the two displaced.
“Interesting… though that does give me one idea, but I need you to confirm something for me. How well does A-Squad, particularly Dash, know the rest of SPD? The members, I mean.”
“More or less I think,” Cruger said, “I personally make it a point to at the very least know all of my crew on sight, except the new guys for obvious reasons, but the various divisions like to mostly stay together. You get some co-mingling, but as a general rule, the R&D guys aren’t going to put the Dispatchers at the top of the guest list for one of their barbecues.”
“Barbecues, huh? Better than expected, but I think I might need to make some changes,” Gilgamesh muttered. “Alright, that’s it for the day everyone! Return to your duties, and make sure to take a trip to the cafeteria when you get the chance. I’m making beef tacos, five alarm chili, pastrami sandwiches, ceviche, antipasti salads, and parfaits. Make sure to take a look at the ingredients, I don’t want anyone getting food allergies. See you then!” he announced before swing his arms back and lifting one leg, about to do a classic cartoon sprint. Before he left, however, a throwing knife shot at his head, which he narrowly dodged. He turned back to see that Night had just thrown the knife and, after a moment of staring, clapped his hands. “Ten points for advance problem solving. Nice to see someone isn’t doing everything I say like a robot,” he complimented before slamming a pie into Night Stalker’s face and dashing off.
Night just wiped the pie off his face, “Next time, razor wire.”
“That was a good try Night. It’s my turn now though. I wonder how Gilgy will handle ninjitsu magic?” PRINCESS HEART said as she thought of her plan of attack. “By the way why just 1 knife instead of multiple from all directions?” She asked him.
Night shrugged, “No prep time.”
“I see.” She said as she sweatdropped. “Think I should distract him with music as I plan the spells? He claims to be pretty strong so let's test his concentration skills.” She stated.
“I’d rather go for him in his sleep,” Night said, “cliché, but effective.”
HEART looked at Night with a deadpan look. “Really, in his sleep? That seems like the most failed plan against someone like him. I’d say anyone would have as much a chance as succeeding at that as trying to kill Celestia in her sleep and succeeding. Impossible give their experience and instincts.” She pointed out to Night.
As HEART and Night continued to plan, Cruger just chuckled, “Better send a call to the R&D guys, I think if they converted that super-grill into a popcorn maker, we might just have enough.”
“So a test of a new augmentation of the Ranger Suit?” asked Sora as she handed her badge to Midnight Steel, fellow therstal and smith. “Well I’ve been trying to get a kink out where it locks up when in high heat levels.” explained the Ranger expert as she linked the badge with the lab terminal where the data for the alterations of the suit were implemented. “That sounds a bit worse than just a simple Kink, what temperatures are we talking about here?” asked the test subject who was now afraid. “Above 100 Degree Celsius… around there the systems starts overworking.” explained Midnight as she handed the badge back to Sora now that the data had been uploaded. “Right… Test Dummy?” “Test Dummy, then you get to sit in the heated room while fighting basic level test dummies.” smiled the R&D member “When Gilgamesh is going to train me… he’s just going to have to blow on me to cause me to crumble.” deadpanned Sora as she walked into a test room and fixed her badge onto a holding port on a test dummy that was standing there, ready for the basic tests.
When Sora returned to the viewing room, Midnight activated the morpher’s ability remotely and the pair therstal watched as a suit appeared on the dummy. The suit was brown colored and lacked the number plus the black left part of the suit which the A Squad had. “Always feels kind of lacking with the number missing and that dull color as a base.” “It’s basic, but yeah… I think you could make it a bit more colorful, I need to stand out a bit so that people can notice me when I do use it. I mean if I am using it, it means that there is a big emergency and it’ll be more about saving the ponies then taking down the bad guy, that’ll be Squad A job.” agreed Sora as she watched the test dummy demorph before morphing again, 100 times. While that was being done, she and Midnight checked their terminal about the information that the sensors within Test Dummy and the room said about the transformation and the suit. “... Okay there doesn’t seem to be too much pressure, so that I won’t turn into bloody pulp.” muttered Sora as she headed back into the testing room and took her badge from the test dummy, and wheeled it out of the room. "Oh yeah... and then we'll see you in the sick bay cryin' to yer mum that ya got pummeled by a beastie you couldn't handle." Midnight snarked, not interested in seeing another teammate in a full body cast. "Welp, now that we've got the preliminaries done let's get you stress testin' this bad boy. Strut your stuff like a peacock." The thestral chuckled as she took out a small tablet-like device and began doing some busy work on another design while she waited. “Right, as if I really have much to actually strut.” responded Sora as she reentered the test room, standing in the middle of the room before hearing a buzzer going off signaling she could start.
Sora changed the mode of her badge to morph, before with her right throwing it up in the air, “SPD Emergency.” She then caught it with her left hand and pressed the top button which forced the badge open then Sora called in synch with the device, “It’s morphing time.” She then closed her badge as a silver belt constructed on her waist and slid the device in place in the belt buckle before her whole body shined white constructing partially the suit that had appeared on the test dumy, before shimmering once more and going into another alternation. The brown shifted to a deep purple as a black zero with a white inside appeared on the chest area before segmenting the suit with lines of silver separating her stomach level and chest as a device manifested on the back which looked like a pair of small air tanks with between them a metal panel where ruby shimmered with magical heat and fire. Slime Silver gauntlets appeared on the suits hands [while a pair of bat-winged shoulder pads appeared on the shoulders. A Silver line went down each legging before forming together to a pair of metal shoes. Finally the helmet appeared looking simple and a recolor of the normal suit before the sides altered to look more like bat ears. “Midnight… Why am I?” "You got a problem with the theme? Cuz' I can dress ya up ta look like a ballerina if you'd prefer. I edit these suits in real-time ya know." Midnight answered with a look that dared the other thestral to say something. “Fine…” muttered Sora even if she was smiling underneath the helmet she was wearing, she cut down slanted with right hand while taking a step forward with her right foot as she shouting out, “SPD Violet Echo Trooper!” she then cut right horizontally with her right hand and stepped forward her left foot before sticking out her left arm horizontally while her right hanged a bit away from her hip, “Echoing hope and despair, Judgement has Come!” her helmet's sirens blared as behind her a purple explosion went off. “That was awesome! I’m glad I was recordin’ that!” Midnight squealed a little as she tapped the screen on the tablet she was using. “Midnight…” whined Sora before laughing it out, then checked the whole suit, “You’ll need to add a silver line from the zero to the neck area, the silver neck area is kinda odd without any origination point.” “Noted.” said the Suit expert as she put a few more notes on the tablet, “The Steam system is fully complete, just hope that the suit doesn’t lock up while you’re bein’ a showoff.” “You’d just make a heatsink or venting system than, but that doesn't help if the whole things lock up when doing a maneuver… I see where you're coming from.” expressed Sora before holding her right hand out and tried to use the steam system. A whole five minutes passed before super heated steam came out of left elbow, experimenting a whole 30 minutes before she had finally some semblance of control, but the suit did seem to be getting quite warm. “Anything to note before we actually get this thing tested in combat?” asked Sora as she gave a few jabs and did a flip before stretching a bit. “The Zero Echo Trooper Suit or ZETS for short disallows the ability to use one's wings if the wearer has them, beyond that the extra weight and extra armor has been included but were a traded in for a bit a strength and quite a bit of speed. Pretty much you're protected better or ya fly better... not both so be careful which ya choose ta use. Get hit hard enough between yer wings and ya become little more than deadweight." informed Midnight. “So it’s sadly just simply weaker than the normal suits, still the change to allow higher amount of heat tolerance should be sufficient of a mission.” replied Sora with a bit of sadness in her voice, it was her partial design so hearing that it was obsolete struck a chord for the tinker. “The design is fine, now let’s start the test, shall we?” asked Midnight, Sora could tell that the mare was really anxious to see if the suit functioned as she wanted. “Well then! Echo out my burning soul!” called out Sora as the heat of room increased and what she understood as a hard light hologram appeared as grey pony shaped being. Sora let out roar as she dashed forward and forced steam to come out from the bottom of her back to give herself an increase of speed that without the system wasn’t possible with this weight. “She looks like she’s having quite a bit of fun.” said Midnight chuckling as she watched the fight before her and then at the data she was getting.
“Tomorrow a day of pain, last minute training should be fine to get myself ready for whatever lies ahead.” said Sora as she took off her goggles and belt and placed them in her locker before taking water bottle and heading into the Training Room. The therstal’s eye then fell upon the indicator for one of the rooms being in use, “Maybe I can challenge someone, I do hope it’s someone I can take on. Last time I tried with Hammer Fist and all I felt was pain with him plus no lesson for either of us, well beyond I need to become stronger.” with that she headed towards the occupied room and looked at whoever it was doing whatever challenge. What she didn’t expect to see was a small city environment, obscuring any sight of who or what the trial was for now, she used the terminal to locate the user and found the Earth Pony Dusk Roze in a room with a group of white hooded ponies who she was fighting against. The Program was called “Ending the Creed.”. “A trial against assassins, now this should honestly be entertaining to look at.” stated Sora before thinking, nodding and flaring her wings before flying into the arena towards where she knew where the fight was happening. “ Zero assassins remaining, Winner Dusk Roze. Time: 00:32:42” the time surprised Sora as she thought no-one would really be able to take so short to take out enemies which were that hard to track or find. The landscape started to deconstruct itself before Sora could get to the point where the fight had happened, though she landed before everything was a white room again, “Geez, that was quite a speed. Got lucky and hit a highscore?” Sora questioned the younger mare that stood a small distance from Sora’s landing point. “Huh?” Dusk asked, blinking owlishly at the unexpected newcomer. “W-who are you? And when did you get here?” She asked sheepishly. Sora placed a hand against her forehead and with a really fake sadness in her voice she called out, “I can’t believe a fellow B Squad member can’t remember a colleague she’s only met once before! Am I cursed to being forgotten forever.” Sora chuckled before shaking her head and placing her hand back to her side, “I’m Sky Gear or Sora, we met each other before and I honestly just got here a few minutes ago, saw you were in and thought you might want some company while training, we do go out in teams you know.” “Oh, um, uh…” Dusk stammered, nervously rubbing the back of her head. “Sorry, I’m Dusk Roze. And sorry about that, I was a little preoccupied during whenever we probably met. So what's this about wanting to train together?” “You were talking to my cousin, Steam Gear in R&D when we met. And if I heard correctly, among the few of B Squad who actually got a morpher.” “Oh, that thing I requested from R&D? Yeah, it's more to help me whenever I eventually get called into the field. I’m a bit self conscious about being seen… Why am I admitting to all this?” Dusk said with a confused expression. “You do know that Kruger doesn't really like anyone beyond A squad using the morpher, we need to do quite a bit of paperwork if we ever want to use the morpher. That being said, you haven’t been on patrol yet?” questioned Sora wondering why the new blood hasn’t had some time to see what they do on the field. “Not really, I haven't really done much except keep in shape since I got here…” Dusk said, trying to be a little more carefull with her words as to not accidentally let anything slip. “Lucky, I get to learn how tarmac tastes about 4 times a week,” complains Sora with a sigh before tossing Dusk the water bottle she had grabbed in the Locker room, “You’ve atleast learned the protocols and how to apprehend the criminals if you ever do go on field… right?” Dusk caught the water bottle, staring at it like it was an alien object before realizing she was asked a question. “Protocols? Which protocols? Wait, were they in that folder we were given during tryouts?” She asked, tilting her head to the side as she simply held the water bottle. “Well okay first of, you twist the cap off of the bottle and then drink the water within that’s within it to hydrate yourself so you sweat more, or atleast that’s the reason which was given by about every medical personnel that I know.” Sora thought to herself for a moment before continuing to talk “And secondly, no. It’s among the many programs which you can train here in the training room, though the folder did say that you should try it out. So seeing as you haven’t read it, otherwise I don’t see the point for you having brought it up, I see why you haven’t done it yet, that being said there is also quite a few rules you’ve got to learn when dealing with cities that you should also review. You’ve got quite a task ahead yourself youngster.” Dusk just stared at Sora, her rant having flown completely over her head. “You lost me there.” She said, handing back the bottle of water since she wasn't thirsty. Sora just shook her head before accepting the bottle and looking down at street clothing for somewhere to put it, sadly there wasn’t, “Okay, there is a program in this room which has you take down someone and then capture them in a card, beyond that there are special rules you must follow in each city which you must follow else there would be grand amounts of paperwork on both side. Those rules should be studied at the office space.” Sora looked Dusk up and down, “Bit of a slow one aren’t you.” “H-hey! I’m not slow! I’m just… Gah!” Dusk shouted, her face turning a shade of pink out of embarrassment. “Why didn't mom and dad ever prepare me for these sorts of things? I’m sure they could have afforded private tutors for this sort of thing...” She grumbled to herself. “Ah a rich sort… sorry if I don’t have any sympathy for you from this junkyard dweller.” stated Sora knowing her own bias against the rich. “Hey! Just because I’m not very good at paperwork, or cooking, or, or… GAH!” Dusk shouted again, dragging her hands down her muzzle. “Nevermind, I don't care anymore. After all, I bet you haven't had to fend off assassins and kidnappers targeting you before!” She then said, puffing out her chest in challenge. “And you’ve become pretty much an anti-Assassin type, well when that was happening I was being thrown through the ranks as a royal guard at Canterlot, learning how to do guard stuff while also engineering and blacksmithing… okay yeah you’ve got the one up on me there.” said Sora nodding to herself, not very put off about losing said challenge. Dusk glared at Sora before sighing. “Why is it that no matter how hard I try I cant be useful without jeopardising myself?” She wondered before walking towards the exit. “Whatever, the training room is yours now.” Sora hummed for a moment, “That’s no fun… how about we do something together, System start now, Escalation Maximum.” The room shook before the area where the two were morphed into a grand volcano that was erupting, with ruins everywhere alongside the mountain. The drops and levels of elevation was different, but some looked really perilous, not to mention the molten piece of rock that was constantly falling down from the sky and striking piece of the active volcano, “Now this is some fun.” stated Sora with a laugh before heading down a bit of the mountain but not actually going far from the start to wait for Dusk before talking a bit more to herself, “Let’s see how this amount of pressure affect this, little green horn.” “Whats going on…?” Dusk asked, having paused and turned back to look and see what was going on before she reached the door, resulting in her being teleported to the starting point where Sora had been. “You don’t know?” questioned a jogging in place Sora, stopping to look as Dusk was pulled in, “This is Maximum Escalation.” Sora jumped to the side as a partially melting rock slammed into the place where she was before she jumped, “A get the heck out of dodge before the whole thing explodes simulations, personal favorite of mine.” Sora then grabbed Dusk’s hand and dragged her away from the spot and down wards to the base, A large lava dragon came out of the volcano and bit off the ground where Dusk had been standing, “This honestly is among my favorites of the “Escape” style trainings!” Sora had a spark in her eyes as the two headed down before swerving to stop a boulder from smashing them into paste. “WHAT!?” Dusk shouted as she started running by herself, having pulled her hand free of Sora’s grip. She then started running ahead of Sora as a lava geyser went off right behind her. “Geez, no respect for the chaotic side of things.” Sora shook her head before going into a full dash to catch up to Dusk while dodging obstacles that appear before her, she then quickly grabbed Dusk’s hand before they came to a part which looked like just another simple slope but was instead a dive right into a ravine with a suddenly higher other side. Sora opened her wings and with one flap got both them across, “Odd I thought you would a bit more calmer than this, guess you don’t have that zen mood like this, pity.” Sora let go of Dusk’s hand and shook her head as she started down the mountain again. “Well, I wasn't expecting to be running for my life today, sorry!” Dusk shot back, diving out of the way as volcanic rocks shot out of the ground where she would have been standing had she not jumped to the side. “Your a Trooper of the SPD, be ready for the unknown at any moment.” said Sora as she stopped for a moment before running to the side as large wall of extremely warm steam erupted from the ground a few moment later, “You are now in service of the ponies and other beings of Equestria, this one and sometimes other ones. I know you are a lot stronger than you seem, I do wonder how you will grow.” all the while Sora talked she had a calm visage on her face, not scared at all about the situation around her. Dusk simply grumbled in response as she finally started to get serious, dodging and maneuvering through the terrain like a professional freerunner and even jumping through a small area where the steam wall didn’t protrude as she started to gain ground on Sora. “Seems like you're getting serious, but you’ve got keep your emotions there, just tossing them aside isn’t any good.” stated Sora as she stopped in place before being forced upwards by the rock she was on being forced up, before jumping off of it and landing on a higher edge that would’ve required a moment longer to climb, “Hope you can keep it up without tiring out!” Dusk merely snorted in response before she jumped up and kicked off the wall before kicking off the piece of rock that had launched Sora into the air and landing next to her, she then broke into a full tilt sprint down the hill. Sora dashed after the mare, but not going full tilt, before feeling a shifting in the ground. Stopping and touching the ground to feel the shifts, she then locates a nearby piece of broken wall and held on as the whole mountain started to rotate quite fast, “I hate when they include this…” Much to Sora’s surprise, Dusk was still running down the hill, almost as if the shifting ground wasn't affecting her, though the wind it was generating was certainly affecting her hair. “Luck- Moon damn it.” Sora couldn’t move without flying, which she wouldn’t want to do since this was a running trial this time around. As such she couldn’t actually easily dodge the large boulder of volcanic rock that was falling from the sky and would crush her and the wall she was hurdling against to wait out the twisting of the mountain. Hoping she didn’t sense this too late, Sora jumped out of her cover, but she was a partially too late and the boulder and wall fell down and destroyed her legs. Getting the sense of being legless made the therstal bite her teeth together in pain before crawling away. “Crud… this area.” Sora started as she noticed a certain landmark, the ground beneath her crumbled showing a lake of lava, she hopped and flapped her wings once to get to the next falling segment of ground before the next jump resulted her slamming head first into another piece of ground, falling down with the segments of ground towards the lava pool. Dusk suddenly appeared in front of Sora and grabbed her hand, pulling the thestral to safety before starting to carry her down the mountain as she continued to run. “Next ledge there will be a giant tail of the dragon that’s in the volcano, beyond that it just a run towards the exit.” Sora sounds partially in pain and partially upset. Dusk nodded as she powered on, her eyes feintly glowing as she used Sora’s tip to maneuver through what was left of the course. The pair got to the end which was sounded a buzzer going off and the volcano started to deconstruct itself, “Goal reached, Dusk Roze 00:15:10 Sky Gear Did Not Finish” “Another DNF, just my luck.” said Sora now standing on her power, “Guess I’m not talented, like I keep on reminding myself.” “Next time, pay less attention to where you are, and more attention to where you're going.” Dusk said, a sly smile on her face. “Sadly I can’t do much without my legs, they weren’t there when you were carrying me. System… progress of Sky Gear on Maximum Escalation.” “Fastest time 00:24;19. Completed 14 times and Did not finish 48 times.” “New record, joy of joys.” commented Sora shaking her head. “Just think about what I said, and maybe you won't lose your legs again.” Dusk said as she left the training room before going down the hall. “Now was that her, or was that another her in the spectrum.” wondered Sora before pulling down her pants a bit to look at her cutiemarkless behind, “Still nothing.” she then pulled up her pants and undid the cap of the water bottle that was still in her hand as it was from the beginning. “Well one thing for sure, I suck.” she then took a swing of water, “And the water is warm, great.”
Night Stalker’s eyes slowly opened, his body already adjusted to waking up on time. His vision adjusted a moment before he noticed that something wasn’t quite right. A large… something was looming over him. The pain in his still sore body reminded him of what happened yesterday… and it clicked just what, or rather who, was in front of him.
“What the-!?” was all he managed to blurt out before a fist connected with his face hard enough to smash him both through his bed and the floor beneath, crashing into the floor of the room below, startling Jack Hunt.
“NOT PREPARED!” was the only explanation he received before the massive displaced opened a portal and disappeared.
Rainbow Dash ran her hand through her mane, the hot shower doing wonders for easing her sore muscles from yesterday’s training session. After turning off the water she opened the shower door and prepared to step out, only to find a certain armored displaced standing in front of her. Her cheeks flushed red and she couldn’t decide between wanting to hit him or covering herself.
“The buck are-!?” she exclaimed, only to be cut off by a huge boot slamming into her stomach with enough force to smash through the wall and right into Steam Gear who happened to be walking there at the time.
“NOT PREPARED!” was all she heard as she groaned.
That son of a-!
“F-Fluffy…” came a dazed voice. Rainbow suddenly realized just what situation she was in and blushed again. She turned to see the stallion still under her, who wore an expressions somewhere between shocked, mortified, and ecstatic. He seemed to finally snap out of it as she grabbed his neck and raised her fist. “I-I-I can delete this from the security footage!” he quickly shouted.
Rainbow turned to see the security camera in the top corner of hallway. She grit her teeth and gave him a half-hearted punch to the chest before walking back through the hole in her bathroom, grabbing as towel as she headed into her room and closed the doors.
“... To experience both heaven and Tartarus simultaneously,” he muttered as he got up and headed to the security room, still remembering the feel of her feathered wings against him.
Pearl Spark touched up the last bit of styling her mane as she looked in the mirror. A wince of pain in her shoulder caused her to drop the brush, which she caught with her magic. She levitated it back into her hand and turned back to look at the mirror, only to find it wasn’t her it was reflecting. She stared slack jawed for a moment, trying to process what she was seeing, before the figure in the mirror punched her in the face, causing her to fly back and become embedded into the wall.
“NOT PREPARED!” the being shouted before pulling himself back into the mirror and walking away.
Pearl Spark groaned for a moment before she slid out of the body shaped crater in the wall and fell flat on her face. She then noticed her broken brush.
“Mother-bucker!”
Evil Breaker panted for a moment as he finished his form, having gotten up earlier than usual for his practice in the dojo. He levitated his water bottle over to him and screwed off the top. The next thing he knew something hit him in the chin and sent him flying upwards hard enough to smash through the ceiling. After recovering from the shock and pain he pulled his head out of the floor of the briefing room and fell back to the floor of the dojo on his back. He then saw a familiar fist sticking out of his water bottle. It quickly wrote “NOT PREPARED!” into the dojo floor with the water that had spilled out before flipping him the bird and disappearing back inside.
Evil Breaker just scowled, then turned to one of the speed bags. Just because a male Pinkie Pie was putting him and his team through insane training didn’t mean he would miss his workout.
Hammer Fist made sure the door was locked, all the windows were locked, and the blinds were closed before opening his closet. He then gently opened up the chest stuffed into the back to reveal an old but well-kept for stuffed bear. He let out a quiet squee as he picked up and hugged his oldest “friend”, letting out a content sigh. He knew he should’ve discarded or gave away the thing to somepony else by now, but nothing helped ease him quite like it did.
Suddenly the stuffed animal somehow wriggled out of his grip and fell on both feet on the floor, taking a fighting pose. Hammer First was too shocked at the thing even moving, much less what it was doing, and was completely unprepared for it to hop up and land an impressively painful punch right between his legs. As he held his jewels and collapsed to the floor, the bear spoke with a painfully familiar voice.
“NOT PREPARED!” it bellowed before suddenly falling limp. Hammer Fist whimpered and let out a few tears, not only for the pain he was in but because he felt like an important part of his foalhood has just been killed.
All five members of A-Squad met in the cafeteria for breakfast, all glancing towards each other and exchanging angry, frustrated, or pained looks with each other.
“... You guys, too?” Dash asked. They all nodded in response. She sighed as they all sat down and she reached for her muffin. Just then her mouth snapped open as an arm somehow shot out of her own throat, grabbed the muffin and pulled it inside, both disappearing. Everypony else just stared before Gilgamesh's’ head popped out of her left ear, face covered in muffin crumbs.
“Not prepaaaaaaaaared,” he whispered in a sinister voice before disappearing back inside of her ear canal.
Rainbow’s eyes were wide and she shook in both fear and disgust. “I feel violated.”
Cruger chuckled as he looked at Gilgamesh’s antics from a temporary setup in the Runner Bay. It turns out that the R&D team had already rigged something to use the turbine of Delta Runner 2 to power a massive hot-air popcorn maker for a movie night, and Cruger didn’t want to have to miss anything by going out to refill his bowl.
“‘Sup dog?” came a familiar voice from behind him. “Enjoying the show?”
“Although it is entertaining,” Cruger said without turning to look, “think you could turn down the toon physics a hair? I know that you’re trying to get them to be prepared for anything, but let’s try to stick to things that are physically possible for now.”
“Why? They need to prepared, both from unconventional attacks and from being attacked at their most vulnerable. I thought at least Night Stalker would’ve slept with a weapon under his pillow or something.”
“Actually according to him that’s just a myth, the lump makes getting comfy next to impossible, plus it’s the first place they look. He keeps his personal gear in a concealed compartment in the floor next to his bed.”
“Hm. Not bad, but I probably could’ve easily taken that and killed him with it if I wanted to.”
“I’d just watch out for his counterpunch, lack of skill isn’t the reason he’s no longer an assassin.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt it. He’s one of the few members of your whole group that doesn’t seem to think strictly like a cop. That’ll be good for him, especially if things with Grumm are going to get as bad as they did in the show.”
“He already used a giant monster attack on my base as a distraction for another to sneak into my base and steal R&D’s entire production database. Fetch says it should encrypt itself if not viewed on a SPD terminal, but he hadn’t gotten around to actually verifying that feature. I’d say things are getting pretty bad already, might need to bump up a few things on the whole to-do list.”
“Well, I already seem to be taking the role of Sergeant Silverback to some extent. I don’t suppose you’re working on S.W.A.T. armor?”
“Mk 3.5, luckily it was in my personal database so it didn’t get swiped.”
Gilgamesh chuckled. “I looked up that episode last night, so I know what you’re talking about. Also kinda funny to see you getting kidnapped by a pair of souped-up street thugs.”
“I’m not that Cruger, although I do give you permission to laugh for a week if it does happen, no longer than that though.”
“Nah, I’ll cut you a break. My base character isn’t exactly known for his competence either.” Gilgamesh held quiet for a moment before speaking up again. “Um, hey Cruger? I uh, got something I need to ask you.”
“Go ahead,” Cruger said as he put down his popcorn.
“I know I volunteered to train them, and I’ve got plenty of ideas how, but… Well, I’ve trained armies, not cops. I’ve trained my soldiers to do everything it takes to win, to use whatever force and dirty trick necessary, to be prepared for an enemy just as willing and desperate to kill you as you are to kill them, because only one of you is getting out alive. I had to, because we were fighting an enemy that wanted not just to claim victory but to wipe every one of us out. But you guys are police, protectors. I’m not sure what I’m going to teach them is going to mesh… but at the same time, I don’t want them to die because I didn’t give them the proper training. What do you think?”
Cruger sighed, “Way to put me on the spot. Well, to be honest, there’s only one major difference.”
“What would that be?”
“Why, life and death?”
“What do you mean? Like, the difference between goals of armies and police?”
At that moment, a certain shadowy mare ran past, screaming as she was chased by a very angry looking vending machine.
“Why is Dusk getting chased by a vending machine?” Cruger asked, “and why am I not surprised by it?”
“If I had to guess, disproportionate retribution against the class clown?” Gilgamesh suggested.
“Anyway as I was saying,” Cruger continued, “soldiers need to ensure that the enemy dies, cops need to make sure as many people as possible live.”
“Even a giant monster murdering civilians beneath it’s uncaring footsteps? But,” he frowned, “I see your point. Soldiers protect the citizens by keeping the fighting away from them entirely, at least in an ideal situation. Cops have to do the same with them caught in the crossfire. But, that leads me back to my question. Should there be some things I shouldn’t be teaching them?”
“Double taps come to mind, as well as spray and pray. Focus on CQC, primarily submission techniques, target identification, and look- Just from the way you carry yourself I can tell you know more than enough about combat, real combat, but if anyone is going to teach my men how and when to take a life, it will be under my direct tutelage.”
The angry vending machine from a moment ago suddenly comes flying from where it had chased Dusk before crashing into the ground at Gilgamesh’s feet, some familiar looking torn clothes in its dented in gaw.
“... I hope she has enough left so that she’s not giving everyone else a show,” Gilgamesh commented.
Cruger sighed as he pressed a button on the console, “Have a support team report to Runner Bay 1, we have a wardrobe malfunction and a crazy vending machine.”
“Wow, does that happen enough that you just make that call? Please don’t tell me your guys in logistics have a keyboard code for team kills,” he joked.
“Let’s just say that more than a few guys call R&D the nuthouse, remind me to tell you about the chicken cannon.”
“Heh, are you sure Pinkie isn’t a member here? Sounds like something she’d do. Anyway, I think Dash and I need to have a talk about leadership. She needs to realize what it really means to be A-Squad’s Red Ranger. Spoiler alert: It’s not just the person who leads A-Squad,” he said before cutting open a portal with his naginata. “Also, thinking of making neighponeses for dinner. Sushi, takoyaki, ramen, tempura, all that good stuff. I’ll check the kitchen again and let you know what I need, k?”
“I’ll have a yakisoba, but for right now,” Cruger looked at his now empty popcorn bowl, “I require more kernels.”
Gilgamesh chuckled before stepping into the portal.
A-Squad flinched as they saw Gilgamesh falling out of a portal and landing on one of the seats at their table. “‘Sup guys?”
“Dude, not cool with the whole appearing out of my body thing, not to mention snatching my muffin,” Dash said with a shudder as she glared at Gilgamesh.
“You must be prepared to be attacked at your most vulnerable,” he replied. As if to prove his point, he caught a knife that Night Stalker threw at him between his fingers. “Anyway, Dash, we need to talk,” he continued as he tossed it aside.
“Yeah what is it?”
“How well do you know SPD? I’m talking about the members, not the system,” he asked as a blast from Pearl Spark’s horn stopped before it reached his head, hovering there for a moment, before shooting straight up. “Also, nice job guys, way to take every opportunity you can. Keep it up.”
“Well enough, I know my team, I know my backup, and I know the guys who take care of my gear,” Dash replied before taking a shot at him under the table.
Gilgamesh moved to another seat in a flash of movement before continuing. “Not good enough. Tell me Dash, what do you think it means to be A-Squad’s Red Ranger?”
“I lead my team to fight monsters, duh.” As she was speaking, Night placed a concussion mine on an empty seat.
Gilgamesh sighed as he shook his head, the mine levitating off the table before imploding in on itself. Gilgamesh pulled a neighponese tea set out, seemingly from behind himself, and began a tea ceremony. “Trixie Lulamoon. Captain. Unicorn. Member of the Spy and Sabotage division. Wields throwing and combat knives, flashbangs, and grenades. Adept in illusion spells, creator of the Enigma spell. Trained in Zebafrican shaman arts by Zecora. Became the first pony to perform changeling disguise magic, taking it further than they ever had by performing feats like making her body as hard as metal. Spent her time training under Zecora at my own suggestion after being freed from the Alicorn Amulet and joined the war effort both to protect Equus and to make up for her past deeds. Holds Princess Twilight Sparkle in high regard and sought her approval, even when the Princess was initially ranked lower than her. Refuses to buy more than one drink for 2nd Lieutenant Rainbow Dash due to the one time she passed out drunk, putting all her drinks on Trixie’s tab.”
Dash scoffed, “Of course you know a senior member, and I don’t pass out.”
Gilgamesh continued, seemingly ignoring her response. “Wriggler. Staff Sergeant. Changeling. Wielded two throwing sickles and scimitar. Proficient and melee combat, rather lacking in magical abilities except for levitation spells, which he was particularly adept at. Participated in the invasion of Canterlot during Shining Armor and Cadance’s wedding. Stated that he found pony dancing and music to be particularly interesting and was thinking about finding somepony to study under, particularly for musicals. KIA at the battle of the Omega Ambush.”
“So you know who the fighters are, big whoop, you need to know who might have your back.”
Gilgamesh continued, performing the tea ceremony as he went. He began listing name after name, each one including their ranks, species, weapons, abilities, and whether or not they were KIA at minimum. Ranks went from Commander Rudolph of the Reindeer to Private Strong Stance of the Equestrians. Some he only knew the base information of, others he knew down to their favorite foods and even what kind of tells and twitches they had in combat. By the time he had reached his fifteenth name all of A-Squad was just sitting there and listening. By the time he reached the thirtieth he had begun to attract the attention of the other SPD members in the cafeteria. By the time he reached the sixtieth there were quite a few impressed expressions looking at him. Some of the names weren’t even of soldiers, including cooks, blacksmiths, and even record takers. Something everyone noticed was that a lot of the KIAs happened at something called “the Omega Ambush.” Gilgamesh’s eighty-second name caught Rainbow’s attention in particular.
“Rainbow Blaze. 1st Lieutenant. Pegasus. Wielded two short swords and wing blades. Ex-Wonderbolt Reserve, but never was called onto the main team before he retired. Born and raised in Cloudsdale, single father to Rainbow Dash who he raised on his own after her mother left right after her birth. KIA due to his wounds at the battle of the Omega Ambush. Managed to stay alive long enough to tell his daughter he was proud of her before he died.”
Dash cringed slightly before responding, “Yeah yeah I get it, you know them all, but you’re the big boss, I’m just a division lead.”
“That might be what you think now, Dash, but let me ask you this,” he replied before taking a sip of his tea. “If something happens and Cruger isn’t here or can’t be contacted because he’s not in the same universe, or too busy with another assignment, or, heaven forbid, something happened to him, who do you think everyone in SPD will be looking to for leadership?”
“We’ll just follow the Hydra contingency,” Dash smirked, “in the event that the SPD Commander is unavailable in an emergency situation, the heads of each division, acting or otherwise, will assume joint command under the direction of the member with highest seniority.”
“And do you know who would be in charge of each division if that was to happen right now? Do you know how they act and how they think well enough to work with them? To play to their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses? Do you know just how they like to solve their problems?”
Dash opened her mouth, but then closed it and grinned sheepishly. “Well, I think it would be Sorrow Song that would be in lead, she’s Cruger’s right hand and all.”
“And what if something happens to her? What if she gets killed or kidnapped?”
Dash tried to come up with a counter argument, but failed, “I’m last in the chain of command for the Hydra Contingency anyway.”
“Which means that if everyone else dies, goes missing, or is incapacitated, you’re in charge.”
“Shut up,” Dash retorted as she fired another shot under the table.
Gilgamesh appeared behind her, her blaster in his hand. “The chain of command is just that, Rainbow Dash: a chain. And, as the expression goes, a chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link. You may not want to think about what could happen if the worst happens and you become the senior authority here at SPD, and in fact it may never happen. But it can happen, and I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that many catastrophes were preceded by someone thinking ‘that’ll never happen.’ You’re not just the leader of A-Squad, Dash. When you’re out there in the field, you are the senior on-site member, and Cruger won’t always be there to take that responsibility from you. Command can issue you orders but they aren’t at the center of the action, which means it’s up to you to make the snap decisions.”
“I can issue orders to my team just fine,” Dash sulked as Night placed another mine on the chair Gilgamesh just vacated.
Gilgamesh sighed. “Dash, I’m not trying to be an asshole here, but sometimes you need to hear things you don’t want to. Back in my universe, I didn’t start at the top of the system, even though everyone around me wanted me to take that position. I knew I wasn’t suited to that task, but I did take the Commander position alongside many of the other world leaders, while Celestia took the Supreme Commander position. Basically, I was the equivalent of one of your Hydra Contingency senior officers. But I learned, I taught, and I did what was necessary. Within about two years Celestia stepped down and I took charge, and by that time I could truly say every soldier was mine. Not because I was their CO, but because everyone in the military had been trained by me or had be trained by someone who was trained by me. And that’s where I learned one of the most important lessons as a leader: Every time things go right, it’s because of you. And every time things go wrong, it’s also because of you. When you’re out there in the field A-Squad’s actions are your actions. When you’re out there with more than just A-Squad, the lower ranked teams, their actions are yours as well.”
“Fine I get it, I need to work on some stuff,” Dash said, “now if you don’t mind, I’m trying to have breakfast.”
“You can work while you eat,” Gilgamesh replied, dropping a handful of files on the table, the first one labelled “Dusk Rose.”
“OH COME ON!!”
“Got to get started on it sometime Dash. I knew at least the most basic of information of every member of my military by heart, and at its peak that was over five million members. I think you can at least learn the names, faces, and positions of the two hundred or so members of SPD within a few weeks,” he said before walking off. He then stopped for a moment, snapped his fingers, and Midnight Strike had suddenly been moved to new seat. A beeping came from under him and before he could even react was exploded into the air. “We’ll be having another training exercise at 15:00 hours in the Simulation Room, same as yesterday. Use whatever assets you deem necessary,” he ordered before walking off.
As Dash looked at the folders, a rather devious thought came to mind. If Gilgy said she could use whatever she wanted, she would.
“Don’t worry Dash, we’ll give you a hand,” Pearl Spark said as Night fell to the floor with a thud, grabbed a folder before sitting down next to her.
“Thank’s guys,” Dash chuckled as the rest of them grabbed a folder, “now it’ll only take a small eternity.”
The rest of the crew chuckled as well before turning to their folders. After a few minutes, Pearl spoke up, “Well, this won’t take too long if they’re like this.”
“What do you mean?” asked Hammer.
In response, Pearl turned the folder around to reveal it’s contents. Whole sections of her bio were redacted, primarily the earlier parts, as well as her race for some strange reason. There was enough to get the basics, but details were unobtainable. Also, her medical section consisted of a single slip of paper that read ‘Classified: Need To Know Only’.
“I really hope this isn’t some kinda test,” Dash said, “but if that’s the case, I know just what to do.”
“And what would that be?” Hammer asked somewhat nervously.
“I’ll sic Rarity on her.”
As the rest of A-Squad laughed, Night poured over the report on Doc Plague. “Well, this is interesting.”
“What is?”
“Looks like our dear commander isn’t the only one who spent a thousand years in stasis,” he replied as he pulled the bio section from the folder and placed it on the table. Unlike Dusk’s there wasn’t any redactions, although what they saw almost made them wish it was.
“This guy was an old-timey plague doctor and a changeling?” Breaker asked somewhat incredulously.
“Apparently he was one of the pioneers for the cure,” Night continued, “apparently he got pretty close too, before he got infected and decided to wait it out in a rather experimental stasis spell.”
“Oh, is that why he’s always wearing that hazmat suit? Habit and all that?” Pearl asked.
“Something like that,” Night replied as he tucked the files back in the folder. He’d be having enough trouble sleeping, no sense in disturbing his teammates.
“Speaking of very long naps,” Hammer said, “looks like they’re more common than you think.”
“Don’t tell me the lunch lady’s a millennial too.” Pearl moaned.
“Nope, Grey Ghost. Looks like he’s the kid of Luna and, his father’s redacted. Anyway, it looks like after, something, he went into a time dilation field.
“Isn’t anyone who works here normal?” Pearl said.
“Looks like a few are,” Dash replied, looking over Bright Shine’s folder, “although to be honest it’s mostly relative.”
“Looks like Gilgamesh had a point,” Hammer said as he pored over Steam Gear’s file, “we didn’t really know our coworkers as well as we thought.”
Dash shushed him, “Do you want Gilgamesh to hear you?”
“I. HEAR. ALL,” a booming voice echoed through through the halls. “Nah, just kidding. I’m only doing this to annoy you,” it added moments later in a less dramatic voice.
“Laugh while you can buster,” Dash said as she looked over the folders, “laugh while you can.”
Gilgamesh lay on his back on a hammock, listening to the waves crash against the shore while he sipped on a pina colada. He had set up the simulation room for a relaxing beach getaway and waited for 3:00 PM to roll around and for A-Squad to show up.
Hopefully she’s got some brains under all that brawn and has managed to pick up on my hints, he thought. Just then a timer went off, showing that it was almost the appointed time, and rolled out of the hammock.
“Ok, Steam Gear! Kill it!” he ordered to the control box. The scenery derezzed until the Simulation Room was back to normal.
As the simulation faded, the door opened and A-Squad walked in, fully kitted out, although for some reason Dash was carrying a large red toolbox.
“Glad to see you’re punctual!” he announce. “Please, take your time to set up what you need.”
“Thanks,” Dash said before she set the toolbox on the ground, “done.”
“... Huh?”
“You see, when you interrupted my breakfast, you made a big mistake,” Dash kicked the toolbox, causing it to to fall open and reveal a device that deployed and start spinning, a glowing disk appearing over it, “you made me mad.”
With that, various holes opened up in the ceiling, causing more toolboxes to fall from them and deploy.
“Well, nice to see your rage doesn’t make you stupid,” he replied, folding his arms and smirking. “But please tell me you have something more than teleporters up your sleeve.”
As if in response, the floor under him shot upward on a spring, catapulting him into the air. Rather than smashing into the wall his body stopped suddenly and he began to hover in the air. “Well, well, well. When did you set this up?” he asked before taking a sitting position in mid-air.
“Got started after breakfast,” Dash replied as various people appeared from the teleporters and the area shifted to look like something out of Tron, “you of all people should know how fast I am.”
Gilgamesh looked over the rapidly increasing numbers of SPD members appearing out of the teleporters and smiled. “So you finally figured it out, huh? I gotta admit, that’s faster than my own Rainbow would’ve picked up on it back in her first year of service.”
“You’re the one who basically shoved it in my face,” Dash said as she drew her morpher, “ready to get schooled?”
Gilgamesh slowly descended to the floor. “I’m the teacher here, Dashie. And it’s time for a good old lesson right out of the School of Hard Knocks.”
“We’ll see who learns what, SPD Emergency!”
Gilgamesh smiled and held his arms out to the side. As the music began, there were two flashes and rocket launchers appeared in his hands. He took aim at A-Squad and smiled. “Dodge,” he smiled, and fired.
Scattering almost immediately, only a few being caught in the initial crossfire, one of the personnel took the opportunity to don a cardboard box and sneak around behind Gilgamesh in the growing combat, but, when she tried to stab him, a large exclamation point appeared above Gilgamesh’s head, which he then grabbed and used to smack the mare like a golf ball into the other side of the stadium sized room.
“YOU’RE NOT SNAKE!” he shouted before snapping his free hand. Two burst of smoke puffed out before his feet, filling the air with the sound of whirring metal, revealing twin, crimson machine gun turrets that were already firing wildly at the other SPD members before the smoke could fully dissipate.
Seconds later, the turrets clicking with empty chambers, one of the C-Squad troopers took the initiative and threw a gleaming knife the size of his forearm at him, screaming wildly drunken slurs about father and elderberries. Gilgamesh lazily dodged the unbalance projectile, dispersing his weapons into buzzing bits of metal and wire with a single sweep of his left arm, only to keep his momentum going as he reached behind his back, pulling out a stuffed cow.
“Dost thou even know what thou reference!?” he shouted, lobbing the bovine, leaving the poor trooper to gaze dumbly up at the descending projectile before it flattened him like a mountain before Zeus’s lightning bolt.
And in the background “Adlib adlib, intentional dialogue, stuff that makes the story progress,” giggled a white pegasus with golden locks to Gilgamesh as he backpedaled from a string of sniper fire.
“HOW DO YOU KNOW THESE REFERENCES!?” he shouted, mowing through a line of cadets before leaping the distance from him to the hard-light platform sheltering the sniper, spiraling through the air before throwing his shield, striking the sniper right in the forehead and knocking them out.
“Sounds like A-Squad has been perusing the Commander’s video collection” Fetch muttered, smirking, glad there were enough bodies to at least keep this Gilgamesh busy for more than a few seconds as the scanners continued recording energy expenditures, heat signatures, and even evaporated sweat composition of the tower of muscle safe within the confines of the control room. “Oh dear,” he frowned, looking at the latest combat printout, “Good thing he is on our side.”
Exhaling, Marri watched from the observation deck. “This would be so much easier without any pegasi,” she muttered, pushing a blade of shadow out from her hooves and through the reinforced glass. Further shaping the spell, thickening its two-dimensional edge just enough to keep from burning itself up through the air, she sent it hurtling, hopefully, towards the Displaced oversized arm muscles. But, at the last moment, the blade suddenly froze in mid-flight, inches from Gilgamesh’s back, held by an invisible force. Sending an elbow to shatter it with a twist of his back, he jumped, hovering eye to eye with only the glass of the observation deck between them.
“No backseat fighting!” Gilgamesh shouted, smashing the window with a flick of his wrist, sending a rain of shards cutting into her arms, shielding her face, as he grabbed her by the front of her uniform and tossed her into the battlefield below.
“Bullshit. I call bullshit! I’m done!” Cried Doc, leaving the sparking control room to Steam Gear and Fetch for the comfort of a drink, lots of drinks.
PRINCESS HEART rushed a few feet behind the descending Gilgamesh, horn aglow with a sickly green flame. “Ok lets try this one on him: Transmorph!” she yelled, firing the spell.
Gilgamesh, rolling his eyes at the oncoming beam of energy nearly twice his size, reached behind himself and pulled out an orange street sign pointing left, labeled ‘detour’. Planting it easily through the reinforced ground directly in front of the blast, to everypony’s shock and awe, the spell turned a sudden ninety degrees and flew off into the unsuspecting Dusk in a brilliant rainbowed explosion.
“P-phhht!?”
“Holy crap, she’s a fluffle-puff pony!” Gilgamesh exclaimed, clapping his gauntlets to the sides of his helm.
“Huh?” PRINCESS HEART asked, shoulders falling, head lolling to the side in her utter confusion. That was not the spell she’d cast.
“Somepony hit him!” Rainbow Dash ordered, unloading her blasters in his shifting direction. Night Stalker flew up across from her and followed suit as the rest of A-Squad attacked with magic blasts or blasters in kind.
“IDEEE-AAH!” Gilgamesh sang, jumping at Dusk and disappearing into her new, cumulous-like fur.
Dusk, to her credit, only started screaming as she began running back and forth, in a circle, her arms tangling in her new, thick fur as she tried to remove the mad displaced.
“How the hell did he do that!?” Hammer Fist shouted. Before anyone could answer his question missiles began to shoot out of Dusk’s fur in all directions.
“Scatter!” Evil Breaker shouted as he and everyone else struggled to avoid the hailstorm of explosives that was somehow radiating out from a very frightened and confused Dusk.
At that moment the Simulation Room booted up a new program, one that encased the fluffle-pony in a dome of metal. The sound of muffled explosions came from inside. Rainbow turned to see Stream Gear in the command booth giving her a thumbs up, having obviously changed the terrain to their advantage.
Just then Gilgamesh burst out of the metal dome, holding the now soot covered and scorched Dusk in one hand before punting her at Pearl Spark, whose body got stuck in the all-consuming fur up to her legs just before she began to run around in a panic.
Dusk quickly regained her bearings before pushing herself off of Pearl, after getting the other mare untangled from her fur she then glared at Gilgamesh before running off.
Gilgamesh drew his naginata, taking a stance as wind swirled around him. “Hissatsu, Part 1,” he began before launching up into the air. “ULTIMATE ILLUSION!” he shouted before slamming his weapon into the ground, causing several pillars of energy to erupt from the ground across the room, sending anyone unlucky enough to be caught in it flying. Even the pegasi and griffons in the air felt the blast, being knocked into the ceiling. Immediately afterwards, Gilgamesh had summoned two submachine guns and began firing them in all directions while performing what could only be called a breakdancing spin.
The troopers, ducked and weaved, doing what they could to avoid the the hail of lead being fired everywhere. Steam Gear initiated another program, providing several walls for the troopers to hide behind.
“Well if this is how you’re gonna fight then let’s kick it up a notch a bit Gilgy!” PRINCESS HEART said. “Protectga, Shellga, Hastega!” She yelled, circles of white energy blooming briefly, enchanting around everypony within earshot as she began stride regally towards the collective opponent.
“Well, isn’t that interesting?” he commented, stopping his assault. “Mighty Guard!” he called, causing the buffs of Haste, Protect, Shell, Reflect, Float, and Regen to activate simultaneously.
PRINCESS HEART only smirked in response. “Oh ho, big maaan,” she cooed. “Stoneskin II, Carbuncle!” She yelled out, further buffing everypony, summoning the cute Carbuncle to her side, and then casting reflect for good measure. “Now then, let’s duel Gilgy!” She said, horn spiraling green flame into her hand, growing in size until, in a flash, the flames were replaced by her special weapon. “CHANGE MACHINE GUN: Gunblade mode! Banishing Strike!” She yelled charging Gilgamesh, teleporting just to the side of him before striking at him. But, to no avail, and, just like every other attack, it too failed, Gilgamesh easily catching the blade between his thumb and forefinger. But still PRINCESS HEART grinded, because even without damaging him, touch was all that she needed for her enchanted weapon to strip the displaced of all his enchanted buffs.
“Interesting,” he commented. “But you’re not the only one that can do that. Dispel!” he shouted. A bright light enveloped the entire room, removing all of PRINCESS HEARTS enchantments to the sound of shattering glass, as he slammed his knee into her royal stomach, winding her, before lazily backhanding her away.
Struggling to her hooves, the second fall back from the roof still making her vision skitter across the floor, Marri did her best to focus on the brown-armored behemoth from what little she could make out of her unblackened eye. “COMMANDER!” she shouted, violet light streaking up through her tangle of a mane, “MOVE EVERYPONY OUT!” as the magic continued to ball into her outstretched palm.
The air shifted, holes dropping atop everypony in the room, leaving Marri to struggle in silence before she heard the clank of the man in the armored suit turning his full and undivided attention upon her.
A burst of conditioned air opened above her, and as it descended Marri pushed the palm sized orb of, now, blinding white light from her as she disappeared from the training room, leaving the sliver of dead skin she’d peeled from herself to just begin floating down to the dust of the floor before the delayed spell activated, cleaving the atoms within.
An explosion of pure energy radiated out through the Simulation Room, sending a small mushroom cloud rocketing into the roof before doubling back down to the floor even as the contained shockwaves reverberated within itself, shaking the the whole floor.
The members, safely outside in the hall, raised their heads from their huddled positions, turning to the camera feed to look upon the damage back inside.
“And you complain about what I do,” Steam Gear said to Fetch.
“Holy crap, did that really just happen!?” PRINCESS HEART stated, jaw dropping as automated decontamination fields started up.
They all watched from the observation room, stunned at what their teammate had did. Marri, however was focused on something else. “Where is he?” she asked. True enough, the room was empty of any signs of Gilgamesh.
“Did you atomize him!?” Evil Breaker asked, clearly disturbed at the idea.
Just then something wrapped around their midsection before pulling them into a hole in the air. Then were then deposited back in the Simulation Room right as the scrubbers had finished their jobs. Everyone looked to their waists to see they had been grabbed by lassos of licorice.
Gilgamesh stuck his head out of hole in reality. “Using your body and your segmentation abilities to make a mini-nuke. A for effort, but you forgot I could do this, didn’t you?” he asked as he dropped out of the hole. He raised one arm of and clenched his fist, a violet aura erupting from around him and electricity crackled along his arm. He turned to them, his eyes glowing red. “And now this ends,” he announced in raspy voice before slamming his fist into the ground. The explosion sent them all flying with enough force to embed themselves into the metal walls. As for the floor itself, it was cracked all the way through, and impressive feat considering the strength of the HQ’s metal.
Gilgamesh dispersed his more intimidating displays before applauding. “Bravo to all of you! That was quite a show, and you all give it your best effort! Still, you didn’t hit me, but I think I might let you pass anyway after an impressive display like-!”
Suddenly from out of nowhere a large black mass of fur swung in on a vine and glomped onto gilgamesh’s head with the sound of someone crashing into a tree, almost knocking him over. As he recover his balance he pulled the fluffy offender off his face to find FluffleDusk smirking triumphantly at him.
“Phhht!”
Gilgamesh just stared for a moment before smiling. He lifted her above his head and shouted. “YOU PASS! BEHOLD YOUR SAVIOR!”
“Oh you don’t get off that easy,” Hammer Fist said as he whacked him with a sledgehammer, which he didn’t even flinch from “that’s for what you did to my foalhood!”
“I was gonna apologize for that,” Gilgamesh assured him.
“Catharsis is more satisfying.”
“Meh,” he shrugged before tossing FluffleDusk to PRINCESS HEART. “That’s your problem to figure out. Everyone else, you’re off for the rest of the day! I’m making neighponeses for dinner!” he announced as he casually walked towards the exit.
Cruger grinned as Gilgamesh walked out the doors, “So, what do you think of my crew now?”
“They’re… adequate,” Gilgamesh replied. “They’ll need more practice in teamwork through. Both as Squads and a whole organization. Also, I think I should give them more options.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, maybe a joint training exercise? I could possibly pilot the Omega Cycle as a giant monster stand in.”
“Good thinking. In the meantime, with your permission, I’d like to see if I can teach them to use a few different energies and fighting styles. I think if they have more abilities and options available to them, they’ll think more creatively. Personally, I think the best weapon is one that can’t be taken from you.”
“Quite a few SPD personnel are way ahead of you, or didn’t you notice the improvised nuke? That said, Kamehameha?”
“Please, as if I couldn’t pull off something even more devastating. And more hadouken, but not limiting it to that either. See, I’ve learned that there’s no problem in having some redundancy in your arsenal. For example, I have multiple options for flight and levitation, back ups in case one of them fails.”
“Versatility, one of the four things that separates a fighter from a warrior in my opinion, the others are control, knowledge, and power before you ask. Anyway, there’s something we need to do first,” Cruger said, fingering his sword.
“Oh?”
“So, you faced off against SPD, ready to face their commander?”
Gilgamesh smiled. “We’re doing this already? I hope you realize I haven’t used anywhere near my full power against these guys, or even all my techniques.”
“Gilgamesh, views on biological warfare?” Grinned the doctor, pushing his mask slightly up, the quiet squeak of gas escaping a high pressure tank sounding from afar.
“Extremely against it,” the displaced replied grimly. “There are other more humane methods for killing if such a high number of casualties are necessary. I’d even prefer burning people to death instead.”
“I see, so you may want to run then, because in a second or two you’re going to be infected!” The madpony cheered, wisps of blackish gasses coming from his failing containment suit.
“Hm… maybe this could be a good chance to test and build up immunity to so such attacks…” he muttered nonchalantly. “Very well, you may fire when ready.”
“Uh, why was Dr. Plague smoking?” Dusk asked, slowly stepping towards the doctor.
“Why my dear Dusk, didn’t you get the memo?” The doctor asked, keeping his distance from the creeping mare, “I am classed as a class-6 biological weapon and need my suit to keep what makes me a biological weapon contained! ” Turning towards Dusk and removing his mask to expose the rotting chitin beneath.
“Huh, so you are a changeling. Glad to see my aura sense was right,” Gilgamesh muttered.
“... I don't get it?” Dusk said as she stood there as if nothing was going on.
“Huh, weird. You should have collapsed by now from the plague eating away your lungs. Also, Gilgamesh, have you ever felt as your entire body is constantly eaten away and then regenerated at the same rate in a perpetual cycle? It hurts like hell.”
“Nope. And I’ve experienced several kinds of pains and injuries in my lifetime,” Gilgamesh replied.
“...” Dusk stared at the ‘good’ doctor and Gilgamesh with a horrified expression before meekly backing away in a similar fashion to a certain pink maned pegasus.
“... So, should I be feeling anything now?” Gilgamesh asked nonchalantly.
“Well I should think so. I mean, there is the possibility that the plague wouldn’t affect you, but otherwise you should be slowly losing flesh as it is eaten away.” Plague explained.
“... Mmmmmnope. Nothing.”
“Huh, well I guess I can go spread it around the SPD building and then go for a walk, also have you seen my pills? I forgot to take mine today and I forget why, but they are supposed to stop something but I can’t remember what. Also Dusk, your appointment is scheduled for next week.” Said the doctor, acting like he was doing nothing wrong.
“I’m a being from another dimension who’s shrugged off meteors hitting him dead on, please don’t compare my body to your co-workers and use them as experiments. Also, I think those are your pills,” he pointed to a bottle on the table with the warning label “For Dr. Plague. DO NOT FORGET TO TAKE,” written in bright red.
“MINE!” Shouted Plague as he dived towards the pills and began nomming on a couple.
“Oh, that’s right, I forgot!” Gilgamesh began. “My armor protects me from ‘Status effects’. I guess your disease falls under ‘Poison.’ That’s why it doesn’t work.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?... Why can I see clearly?! Where’s my mask?!” Shouted Dr. Plague as he began searching around while trying to stay away from the personal that stayed behind.
“You… took it off? Don’t you remember?” Gilgamesh asked, obviously confused.
“... I forgot to take my pills again didn’t I?” *Sigh* “Every time, why can’t I remember to take the bleddin pills! I know I need them, so why can’t I remember!”
“Maybe you need an assistant?” He suggested. “Also, I figured out why I survived your disease, but how did you manage to survive it, Dusk?” When he got no response he turned to see she was gone. “Oh. Well, probably a smart move. I wonder what she is, though?”
“Yeah, what a mystery,” agreed the doctor, shifting his eyes back and forth.
“Probably some kind of ‘darkness pony’ or something, afraid of being ostracized if anyone finds out, maybe has been her whole life. Poor girl, I wish her the best. Oh, and don’t worry, I won’t let anyone know you’re a changeling. You should probably tell them anyway, though. I’m sure it won’t be a big deal. Just use the ‘you never asked’ excuse,” Gilgamesh said simply.
At this the doctor simply turned his head to stare at Gilgamesh, “I am both a changeling and undead and my body looks like a corpse. How can that go over well?”
“My adopted son is a displaced, the grandson of a goddess of death, the final member of an ancient race of violent ice giants, has an advanced alien watch that can transform him into thousands if not millions of different species, and was raised by a human who once travelled to Equestria to a time well before the Princesses. He’s been coronated as an Equestrian Prince and married to both Rarity and Queen Chrysalis and is seen as a hero by both ponies and changelings.”
The doctor just stared, a no doubt befuddled look under his helmet.
“My point is, I’ve seen many versions of Equestria accept weirder than you, and this seems to be one of the more accepting versions I’ve seen.”
Plague chuckled. “You know, the Commander said the same thing to me basically. Maybe there is some truth to it. Also, I really should go talk to HEART. I doubt she even realizes who I am anymore. It’s been so long since I last saw and talked with her.” The doctor mumbles to himself as he begins to walk off in search of HEART.
“Ending simulation, welcome back Dr. Plague and Gilgamesh. We hope you had fun being idiots.” Said the computer and after we got our bearings, we decided to never speak about what happened in the simulation and we went our separate ways.
Case 34: Where are Wiz and Boomstick When you Need Em?
“So, would somepony tell me why I wasn’t alerted to their being a new displaced until a whole day and a half after he got here!?” Twilight asked angrily.
“Same reason I didn’t introduce you to Deadpool,” Cruger said as he flicked through a holographic display on his morpher, “didn’t want you to go through another Pinkie Sense incident.”
“Besides, he’s been too busy kicking SPD booty!” Pinkie added, handing her friend a cupcake.
“Well, that’s about to change,” Cruger said as he closed his morpher and looked at the stands she had set up.
“So you think,” Gilgamesh smirked. “Oh and Celestia and Luna, nice to finally see you both. Quite fetching, as always. Especially you, Lulu,” he finished with a wink.
“Okay, now I have another reason to smack ya,” Cruger said as he opened a portal, “now if you don’t mind, let’s do this somewhere without potential collateral damage.”
As he and Gilgy stepped through the portal, followed by a couple of surveillance drones to transmit the fight back, Pinkie and Twilight headed to the commentator’s box. As they settled in, Celestia turned to her sister, “My my Luna, I didn’t know you were a fast worker.”
“Silence thy tongue,” Luna replied blushing.
“You always did like the ones who had more muscles than a clam bake.”
Luna simply slumped in her seat, turning redder than a tomato. Luckily for her, holographic screens appeared showing an SPD logo and Pinkie’s voice sounded out over the speakers, accompanied by some rather epic sounding music. “Alright fillies and gentlecolts, it’s what you’ve been waiting for. These two legendary leaders have massive experience leading troops against incredible odds, but they’re no slouches in doing a little dirty work themselves either!”
“They’ve faced against giant monsters, massive armies, and beings that could be considered gods, but now they face their greatest challenge, each other,” Twilight continued.
“Gilgamesh, Combat Incarnate.”
“And Commander Cruger, the Shadow Ranger.”
“I’m Pinkie and she’s Twilight, and it’s our job to commentate and see who will win this Awesome Showdown! Ha! You can’t sue us for that, ScrewAttack!”
Just as the music ended Rainbow Dash smirked. “Finally. It’s time to see that jerk get put in his place.”
“Is he really all that, Rainbow?” Applejack asked. “Ah mean, Ah know he’s one of them Displaced fellers, but it sounds pretty crazy ta think he could take ya all on at once.”
“Well, he’s certainly no gentleman that’s for sure,” Rarity replied, “although I have to admit, that scarf of his is quite lovely.”
“And, um, he can’t be all that bad. Not if he’s got such a nice friend,” Fluttershy added as she continued to scratch Enkidu behind the ears who moaned contently as he leaned into her fingers.
“Doesn’t matter. He’s about to get what’s coming to him,” Dash smirked.
“Somehow I doubt that Rainbow. I mean he did pretty much pummel A-Squad like you all were nothing and managed to deflect a spell of mine to Dusk. Lets not count Gilgy out just yet when the fight’s yet to start especially since underestimating someone like him can be very dangerous if we had to fight someone similar to him for any reason.” PRINCESS HEART stated.
“Considering that he can bend the rules of reality as easily as Lady Pinkie,” said Fetch, “and it took a nuclear detonation to even make him blink, the Commander has his work cut out for him.”
“Well then I suppose we’ll see when it does.” Dash retorted.
“For those watching at home the rules are simple,” Pinkie began. “This is a one-on-one match, with no help from the outside. All abilities and weapons are free for both fighters.”
“The battle ends when one side forfeits, is knocked unconscious, or is otherwise incapacitated,” Twilight added. “Killing is illegal and dismemberment is discouraged. Medical staff is on standby if things get too out of hand.”
“Our combatants are free to begin whenever they wish! It’s time for an Awesome Showdown!!!!”
“Well, time to see if you’re really as much as you say you are,” Gilgamesh said, cracking his knuckles. “If nothing else, this’ll give me a chance to show off what I can really do.” He began before crossing his arms. He then swept them out to the side before bringing his hands together and extending them. “Henshin!” he shouted as he turned them, causing a bright light to emanate from his body. When it receded his appearance had changed drastically, switching out the faceguard for a red hood, horned helmet, and kabuki paint. His armor was now predominantly grey with parts of it being neon green and shining. The two biggest changes were the four extra arms and the jump in height from eight feet to twelve. “Oh, and just so we’re clear, this is my final form. No Frieza jokes here.”
“Wait, what!? He’s had something like this up his sleeve the whole time!?” Dash shouted.
PRINCESS HEART smirked when Gilgamesh did that. “See what I mean Dash?”
Dash grumbled a bit with her arms folded when HEART said that. “Fine so it might not be so easy then. Still, it will be interesting to see what Commander Cruger can do against him.”
“These readings can’t be right” said Fetch with a worried look on his face as he looked at his handheld monitor. “His power tripled?”
“Cool, SPD Emergency!” As Cruger finished Morphing and drew his sword, he chuckled, “By the way, unlike the original Cruger, that old meme does apply to me.”
“Oh is that so? Well, it’s a good thing I’m not done setting up,” Gilgamesh replied before taking a familiar hand sign. “Kage Bushin-no-Jutsu!” A large puff of smoke came, obscuring him. When it disappeared there were several more present, each wielding a different weapon or power. One held two machine guns, two submachine guns, and two rocket launchers while another held six katanas. Two took battle stances back to back, one cloaked in a violet aura with glowing red eyes and growling menacingly, the other surrounded by a blue aura with white shining eyes and a neutral look on his face. One inhaled deeply, causing and electric force to crackle around him, while the one next to him produced six metal balls that spun rapidly in his palms. One clenched its fists tightly, causing its whole body to turn black, while the last one levitated before being cloaked in flames.
“Now, let’s see what you’ve got!” the eight of them shouted simultaneously as music began to play.
“Oh, this is gonna be so cool,” Spike commented.
“FIGHT!” a deep voice shouted from nowhere.
The battle was underway, the firearm Gilgamesh unleashing a storm of lead and rockets while the sword Gilgamesh dashed forwards, weapons at the ready.
“Looks like I gotta go fast, Pursuit Mode, Henshin!” With a flash of light, Cruger shifted into his Kamen Rider like form and dodged the flurry of attacks before drawing his weapon. After sending a few shots at the gun Gilgamesh, forcing him to take cover, he straightened it out into a billy club and clubbed sword Gilgamesh over the head, causing him to reel back. As he recovered, Cruger removed the Shift Car from his brace and installed it into the Siren Striker, causing it to flash. “Hissatsu, Full Throttle: Smash Pursuit” The rod glowed red and Cruger hit Sword Gilgamesh with it twice, causing a red X to appear briefly before the Sword Gilgamesh vanished in a puff of smoke.
The Gun Gilgamesh came out from cover and fired, forcing Cruger to take cover himself. Cruger shifted his weapon into gun form and shot a few semi-blind shots at him, then reinserted the Shift Car. “Hissatsu, Full Throttle: Shot Pursuit” The barrel of the gun glowed blue as a blue ring formed around the end. As Cruger pointed the gun towards the Gun Gilgamesh, the ring shot off and expanded, enveloping the Gun Gilgamesh and freezing him in place, allowing Cruger to blast him with a massive blue energy bolt. After the explosion the clone disappeared in puff of smoke.
“Ha, so it looks like the Ranger can Rider as well!” Steel Ball Gilgamesh said.
“But this isn’t over by a long shot!” the Burning Gilgamesh added. In a flash of light each of the clones now had their own guns and rocket launchers hovering next to them, while also having a katana in each hand. The exceptions was the Steel Ball Gilgamesh, who also had the swords hovering around him. “WE’LL JUST ADD WHATEVER YOU DESTROY TO OUR OWN POWER!” they all shouted. In addition to that they all cast Mighty Guard on themselves, buffing every area of their stats.
The Dark Gilgamesh dashed forwards at surprising speed, firing bullets and rockets as he did, before swinging wildly at Cruger, each slash leaving a trail of violet fired. Cruger managed to dodge the swing and deflect or dodged the projectiles. Dark Gilgamesh brought one sword down for an overhead strike, which Cruger managed to sidestep. The aftereffects told him that was the right decision as the blade cut a miles-long gash into the earth, and deep enough that he couldn’t see the bottom.
He moved to retaliate only for three objects to hit him in the back, almost seeming to try and drill through his body and with enough force to send him into the air. The pain stopped and he looked down to see three steel balls fall back into the sand, still spinning before rocketing back towards Steel Ball Gilgamesh, who caught them easily. While he was still recovering Dark Gilgamesh dispersed his swords and cupped his hands. “MESSATSU!” he shouted before thrusting his hands forwards and unleashing a building sized beam of violet energy.
“Breach Mode!” Cruger shouted just before the shot connected. As the beam faded, Cruger reappeared in a large silver power suit, with various glowing panels, “Who wants some?”
The Black Gilgamesh replied by launching into the air before swinging all six of its blades down, somehow all black as well. Cruger blocked the attack, and a massive shockwave of force emanated from the blow, causing a crater to from underneath him and send sand and wind in all directions.
“That all you got?” Cruger asked before delivering an uppercut to Black Gilgamesh’s chin. As he recovered, a few latches on the suit’s right forearm released, and the fist started hammering in place like a jackhammer. Cruger then hit Black Gilgamesh with it several times, before deploying a chainsaw from his left arm and finishing him with it. Once again, the Gilgamesh disappeared in a puff of smoke. “Running out of decoys!” boasted.
In response the Light and Dark Gilgamesh’s positioned themselves right next to him, dispersing their weapons as they, and all the other Gilgamesh’s, turned black as well.
“METSU!” the dark one shouted, just as the light one shouted “SHIN!” Both shoved three fists straight into the stomach of the power armor, managing to actually lift him off the ground. Both then drove their other three fists into his chin before jumping upwards. “SHORYUKEN!” they both cried simultaneously, the combined attack powerful enough to send the armored Ranger shooting upwards. Within seconds he was no longer visible.
After a few seconds, a portal opened and Cruger stepped out, armor severely dented but otherwise operational. “Looks like I’ll need a more subtle hand with you two, Spectre Mode!” As the light died down, Cruger reappeared in an all black Haloesq suit of armor covered in various pouches, with a collapsed sniper rifle on his back and a set of claw blades retracted into his gauntlets. Cruger pulled a set of smoke grenades from one of the pouches and tossed them on the ground, enveloping the area in thick smoke.
All of the clones responded by grabbing their scarves, flicking their wrists to transform them into dragon-like wings, and taking to the skies. The Burning Gilgamesh then waved one of his hands, causing a gale to pick up and clear the smoke. To their surprise, Cruger was nowhere to be seen. Before they could start looking for him though, the Light Gilgamesh’s head exploded before it disappeared in a puff of smoke. They turned to see that Cruger was lying on a hill, sniper rifle in hand.
Dark Gilgamesh growled and brought its arms back before rapidly thrusting them forwards, unleashing a massive barrage and spread of violet fireballs at the sniper. When they hit, Cruger popped like the balloon it actually was. Dark Gilgamesh landed to see what happened, but all he found were scraps of rubber. Before Dark Gilgamesh could find out where he had gone, a knife erupted from his throat. He disappeared in a familiar puff of smoke, revealing Cruger retracting a hidden blade.
Blazing Gilgamesh took on Dark Gilgamesh’s aura, while Steel Ball and Electric Gilgamesh took on Light Gilgamesh’s arua. The two light colored ones shot forwards, but Steel Ball reached him first. Cruger tossed a couple of flashbang grenades at him, but they were intercepted by two of the steel balls, sending them away before they exploded. He threw another two straight at Cruger, who ducked under before dashing forwards and sinking his wrist claws into his chest. Surprisingly, they didn’t go all the way through, stopping at his skin. Cruger noticed that the clone was spinning the last two balls against his wrist, and it was somehow tightening his skin enough that Cruger’s claws couldn’t pierce it. The clone quickly grabbed him with its other four free arms.
Before Cruger could pull himself free he felt his body start to go numb. He looked past Steel Ball Gilgamesh and saw Electric Gilgamesh’s thrusting his swords into the ground, causing a current to spread out in all directions, and raced up Cruger’s body. Blazing Gilgamesh then pulled all six of his arms back, tornadoes of fire spinning around his wrists. “HOLY FIRESTORM!” he shouted as he thrust them forwards, causing a funnel of flame the size of a mountain to shoot at Cruger and Steel Ball, it’s speed covering the hundred yard distance in less than a second and engulfing them both.
Before it could hit, Cruger surrounded himself in a blue aura, allowing him to slip through Steel Ball Gilgamesh’s hands and sink into the ground, causing Steel Ball Gilgamesh to be hit by the full force of the attack. Once the attack had subsided, revealing a scorched but still standing Steel Ball Gilgamesh and a completely glassed desert, Cruger reemerged from the ground a few meters away. “Looks like I’ll have to take care of those balls if I want to take you down, Sheriff Mode!” This time Cruger reappeared in something similar to his usual form, only with a dark blue duster instead of the chest armor, and his helmet now had a few additional pieces that made it look like he was wearing a stetson. Cruger brushed back the lower part of the duster to reveal a pair of futuristic looking revolvers, which he then used to shoot the steel balls into pieces. Once the last ball was no longer able to reinforce Steel Ball Gilgamesh’s defence, he started shooting at him at gattling like speed. Once Steel Ball Gilgamesh resembled a sculpture made of swiss cheese and puffed into smoke, Cruger twirled his pistols before holstering them.
Electric Gilgamesh charged, throwing all six of the steels balls now in his possession before summoning his blades, which both turned black and arced with electricity. Cruger smirked before turning intangible again, only for the blades to somehow strike him, sending him tumbling back.
“Wh-What!?” he stuttered.
Electric Gilgamesh smirked as he continued to rapidly slash his opponent. “Guess you need to do some more reading. The black power coating us both now? It’s Armament Haki!” he exclaimed before stopping for a moment to inhale deeply, the electricity crackling even more intensely. “Sunlight Yellow OVERDRIVE SLASH!” he shouted as he slashed at Cruger with blinding speed before unleashing one last powerful hit with all six of his blades, sending Cruger into the air. This was followed second later by six steel balls hitting him in the chest, grinding on his armor, just before Blazing Gilgamesh appeared in front of him. “Fire Blast!” he shouted before unleashing a kanji shaped blast of fire that exploded as it hit Cruger dead on, sending him shooting towards the ground.
“Dimension Magic counts as a Logia, good to know,” Cruger said as he coughed, “but I think it’s time for me to get up close and personal, Strike Mode!” This time, Cruger was dressed in a dark blue gi with shin guards and gauntlets. After bouncing on his toes a few times, Cruger shot forward faster than the normal eye could track, stopping just in front of Blazing Gilgamesh. Both of them drew their fists back before sending out a super fast barrage of punches while calling out a battlecry. “Tubatubatubatubatubatubatubatubatubatubatuba.”
The punches each reverberated outwards, each as loud as a cannon blast, before both managed a cross-counter on each other’s faces, sending them both sliding backwards.
“Wait, did you really just reference Big Band?” Gilgamesh asked.
“What, he’s awesome.”
“I’m not complaining, just surprised.”
“Well, time for you to go poof,” Cruger said before charging back in and unleashing a massive uppercut.
Blazing Gilgamesh met the attack with an overhead strike, both attacks connecting. “Not that eas-!” he began before noticing Cruger’s other hand positioned against his chest in a familiar stance. “Oh no,” was all he managed to say before being hit by a devastating one-inch-punch. Blazing Gilgamesh flew backwards several yards before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
The last Gilgamesh went flaming as it summoned his katanas. He then let them go only for them to hover in the air around him before summoning six giant and unique blades. “Time to finish this!”
“Agreed. By the way, I’ve been waiting to use this particular form for over a thousand years, mind if I change the music?”
“Sure,” he replied as he cut off his own music. “I can give you that much, I suppose.”
“Thank you kindly, SWAT MODE!” Cruger’s form was quite impressive. It was based on his base form, but that was where the similarities ended. He had a black trenchcoat under an even thicker set of chest armor. He also had armor on his shins and forearms, as well as a rectangular device on his left arm. The lights on his helmet had popped out to deploy a set of communications gear and cameras. His trusty sword, which wasn’t present in his other alternate forms, hung on his left hip, and he had an assault rifle on his right.
“Game Theory? You sure have a strange way of putting things together,” Gilgamesh commented before taking his battle stance.
“Not my fault it’s awesome,” Cruger said before drawing his blaster, “now hold still so I can shoot you.” With that, Cruger shot a stream of laser bolts at Gilgamesh, which he managed to deflect with his blades.
“Did you really think theses were for show?” he asked before the guns and rocket launchers fired back. The steel balls shot towards Cruger as well before veering off at odd angles, swarming like a group of angry bees. Cruger ducked down and activated the device on his wrist, which deployed into an energy riot shield which blocked all the projectiles. While behind the shield, Cruger flicked a switch on his blaster, which caused it to extend into a sniper rifle, which he then used to return fire.
Gilgamesh deflected the blasts as he walked forwards, then pointed one of the swords at Cruger. “Firaja!” A massive pillar of fire erupted under Cruger, extending high into the sky, before he pointed another of his swords at his opponent. “Aeroga!” he shouted as a funnel of wind blades dispersed the fire and rapidly slashed at Cruger’s shield.
Cruger detached himself from the shield and kicked off it, launching himself high into the air. “Time to finish this,” he said as he pulled an empty containment card from his pocket and swiped it through a slot in the gun, causing a slot he could insert the card into to pop out. Cruger did so and folded it back in, causing the blaster to supercharge. With that, he remotely disengaged the shield, allowing him a clear shot at Gilgamesh, which he took, firing a massive blast of energy at him. As he landed, a containment card landed next to him, which coughed up a cloud of smoke.
“FOOL! AS IF YOU COULD CONTAIN ME SO EASILY!” Gilgamesh bellowed as he swung a blue lighting shaped blade down. The movement severed the beam in two, sending the two halves to either side. In addition, a beam shot from the blade, cleaving the land and even the sky in two. Cruger dodged at the last minute, avoiding damage, but the attack did manage to slice through his gun. “BESIDES, THAT WOULD’VE BEEN A TOTAL COP-OUT FOR THE READERS!”
“Fair enough,” Cruger said as he drew his sword, “let’s end this.”
“Huh talk about magical potential, and holy crap did you guys just see that!? Gilgamesh just slashed the confinement beam in freaking half! That’s the first time any of us has seen someone somehow nullify it.” PRINCESS HEART exclaimed in surprise as she had not anticipated Gilgamesh to even be able to do that of all things. “Also judging by how the battle’s going and that everyone is making bets, I’m just gonna wager 100,000 bits to everyone that this will end in a tie somehow given their abilities and reasons.” PRINCESS HEART stated to everyone around her as they accepted the bet, believing the battle could go either way.
“Heh very well then HEART, you’re on.” Dash stated accepting the bet as did everyone in hearing range of HEART’s bet.
“Princess, not all of us have those sorts of bits to pay out if if the bet goes against us” said Fetch looking at HEART sternly. “I for one shall not accept your bet. In fact, I think I’m the only one watching who didn’t bet on this fight at all, as I’m too busy with all the data being recorded. Steam Gear may need to make something that can stop one of them someday.”
“Fair enough Fetch. Pretty much only accept the bet if you are able to pay it off should you lose. I believe that logically that’s the best course anyone can go through when betting.“ PRINCESS HEART stated as she accepted Fetch’s refusal to bet.
Gilgamesh spun his swords for a moment before crossing his arms. “Swords, shimmer!” he commanded before sprinting forwards. “Hissatsu, Part 2.”
“Silver Fang Style, 100 Strikes 1 Cut!” Cruger said before charging himself.
“Bitter End!”
The two crossed each other, Gilgamesh swinging all six of his swords, Cruger swinging his one. The two held for a moment before Cruger fell to one knee, panting. Gilgamesh stood up straight and chuckled.
“Classic,” he muttered before falling forwards onto his face. For a moment, it looked like it was all over… until Gilgamesh disappeared in a puff of smoke.
“SHIN KIKOHO!” bellowed a voice from above as a massive blast of energy shot down at Cruger.
Without looking, Cruger opened a portal in front of the beam, and another beneath Gilgamesh, causing him to be hit by the full force of his own attack. “Really? You try to use teleportation to trick a master of Dimensional magic? That was never gonna work, now you go night night.”
Gilgamesh fell from the sky, completely scorched black… only to disappear in a puff of smoke.
“Wh-What!?”
Just then, another portal opened up right next to Cruger, Gilgamesh poking his torso out, pointing one finger at him. Cruger could swear he saw his fingernails spinning.
“Tusk Act 4,” he announced before firing his fingernail at Cruger.
Cruger responded by attempting to shoot the fingernail down, but it managed to slice its way through the blast. Cruger then teleported out of the way of the nail by several meters, only to find something forced its way down his teleportation path. The creature was human sized and seemingly mechanical in nature. It possessed two arms with massive shoulder pads, a thick torso, two legs, a what could only be described as an armored linked skirt running down to its ankles. It’s head rested in front of it’s chest rather than on a neck above its shoulders and had two star shaped eyes and a jaw that looked like it was made for crushing rocks, and had a horseshoe in the middle of it’s forehead. Pink was by far the dominant color, but its hands and feet were grey and there were several small yellow stars all over it’s body.
“Chumiiiiiiiiiin!~” it cried in a high pitched voice before ripping the portal tunnel open and lunging at Cruger. In a last ditch effort, Cruger used a portal to retrieve his shield and hunkered down behind it. He felt the creature hit the shield and then, to his surprise, shoved both its hands through the center before tearing it in two. Just as it was about to hit, Cruger instinctively turned intangible, only for the creature to radiate a similar aura to him.
“Oh dang it,” was all he could utter before the creature unleashed a flurry of rapid punches on him.
“ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!”
The creature then delivered one final punch to the gut before seeming to condense its body down to a single point. All that remained was its head, which spun rapidly as it drilled into his body. It then passed right through him, causing a shockwave of energy to radiate out from the point before sending Cruger flying, bounding along the ground like a rag doll.
Gilgamesh chuckled. “And now, it’s over.”
“It’ll take more than a Bullet Punch to take me down,” Cruger said as tried to get to his feet, only for his leg to give out and fall onto his face. He looked back and saw that his ankle was bent backwards, and his knee wasn’t facing the right direction either. More importantly, however was that it looked like his leg was made of several different layers stacked on top of each other, and they seem to be falling apart. It was then he noticed that both his arms had the same problem, fingers bent at odd angles and seeming to fall apart. Looking closer he noticed that he could see several small discs between the gaps spinning rapidly and getting faster by the second. He also noticed that his eyes were now misaligned with the rest of his face.
“That’s more than just a ‘bullet punch,’ as you called it. That’s the Super Spin, the Infinite Rotation. You can feel it, can’t you? Your body breaking down? It doesn’t hurt, but you can feel your strength leaving you. That’s your cells, your molecules, and your atoms spinning faster and faster. The power of the Rotation is causing them to pull themselves apart. In about five minutes, there won’t be anything of you left. Your body will separate itself into nothingness.”
Cruger attempted to teleport away from the source of the Rotation, only for his segmented body to pull him back and slam him into the ground.
“Sorry, but that’s not gonna work either. See, you’re also being pulled in towards that spot. It may not be an instant kill, but is an assured kill. This effect will follow you across dimensions. If you had a way to switch your body out for another, it would follow you through that, too.” Gilgamesh chuckled. “Now obviously I know how to undo the effects, and I’m going to. But first, I want to hear those three little words. It starts with ‘I’ and ends with ‘up.’”
“Nothing personal, but I don’t like saying those word either,” Cruger said as he brought his hand in a position to snap his fingers as blue flames appeared around it, “Forbidden Technique, Flames of Dispersal.” As Cruger snapped his fingers, the flames around them disappeared before reappearing on Gilgamesh’s arm.
“What?” Gilgamesh asked aloud as he looked to his arm. Gilgamesh waved his arm to try and disperse it, but it failed. He then try to cast a water spell on it only for the spell itself to catch fire. “What!?” Growing desperate he moved to pat it down, but stopped realizing that would probably be a bad idea. Instead he shoved his arm into the sand, hoping to smother it, only for it to catch as well. “WHAT!?”
Cruger chuckled, “The Flames of Dispersal, those flames are actually the result of molecular bonds breaking, in a few minutes, you’ll be nothing more than a collection of various gases and powders. And like your little Rotation trick, I’m the only one who can stop it. Now, there are two ways this could turn out, 1: we play the highest stakes game of Chicken in history.”
As he spoke the fire spread across the ground to Gilgamesh’s feet causing his legs to give out and to fall over onto his back. “Oh shit, and what’s 2?”
Cruger grinned, “We call it a draw and depart as friendly rivals.”
Gilgamesh laughed. “I’m fine with that. Just one problem though.”
“If it’s about your missing bits, the first thing I did when I made that move was create an inverse.”
“Uh, thank you? Actually, what I was gonna say is that you’re gonna need to deactivate yours first. In the state I am now, I physically can’t undo what I did you.”
“Very well, Mists of Reconstruction.” Cruger snapped his fingers, causing the flames to turn into a blue mists that filled in and restore the missing parts of Gilgamesh and the landscape.
Gilgamesh sighed in relief. “Thanks. Now get ready, because this is not going to be pleasant,” he said before dashing away a few hundred yards before sliding to a stop. He then sprinted towards Cruger and pointed a finger at him. “Tusk Act 4!” he shouted and fired another nail bullet at Cruger that transformed into the creature from before.
“What the….”
The Creature began to lay into him with rapid punches, bellowing the same “ORAORAORA!” battlecry as before as Cruger was once again hit with the same hits that put him in his state in the first place, including the gut punch and spinning head shooting through him.
Cruger strained to get up after his bouncing trip. “I thought you said you were-!” he began before noticing his body was back to normal.
Gilgamesh smiled and held up two fingers, each one’s nail spinning. “Two powers of equal but opposing force,” he began before touching the two nails together, causing them to immediately stop. “Cancel each other out. The first shot was clockwise. The other, counterclockwise.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Cruger said as his body started pulling itself back together, “but a little warning might have been nice.”
“Sorry, but I felt time was of the essence. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the reason I couldn’t deactivate it before was because I needed momentum.”
“Fair enough, although now we have to deal with something rather problematic.”
“What?”
“Everyone who bet on at least one of us, I think the betting pool hit 7 figures.”
“Ooh, that is a bit of a problem,” Gilgamesh agreed, bringing his hand to his chin. “Well, I think I have a solution.”
“Better be a good one, and if it’s something cliche like teleporting until the heat dies down, I will be disappoint.”
“Of course not! I’m just thinking of adding it to my next training session!”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean there are three powers and abilities that I wanted to teach your members. If they can master all three, I’ll give them triple their bet. Two, double. One, they’ll get back their input, and for none,” Gilgamesh smiled. “They’ll be paying me.”
“Sounds like an option, although if you don’t mind I’ll be working on refining our procedures and things like that, as well as thinking up a few new moves for our rematch.”
Gilgamesh, surprisingly, groaned. “‘Rematch’? Come on. We’ve both put all our cards on the table. The only way that I can beat you now is to actually kill you.”
“Hey, we’re rivals now, the rematch is inevitable. Just try not to be as annoying as Gary please?”
Gilgamesh grinned. “Well, I’ll try. I’m gonna go and prepare a feast. Everyone watching is free to come!” he announced before returning to his base form and cutting open a hole in reality with his naginata. “Smell ya later!” he said cheekily before jumping in.
“I must say, I haven’t had fun like this in a while,” Celestia commented, watching the organized members of SPD from an observation booth nearby, who were assembled in front of Gilgamesh.
“Indeed. I am quite looking forwards to the kind of techniques he will attempt to impart onto these noble peacekeepers,” Luna added, taking a sip of wine. “I must admit, I’m also looking forwards to seeing just how someone like him teaches. I have a hard time imagining it at all.”
“Are you sure you aren’t just here to scope out a potential suitor?” Celestia teased back.
Luna huffed. “Still thy tongue, sister. We spoke already, and he apologized for it.”
“‘Apologized?’”
Luna sipped her wine again before exhaling. “Unfortunately he’s already quite smitten with the Luna of his home dimension, and his flirting was nothing more than a leftover of his earlier days when he flirted with the Lunas of other dimensions to work up the courage to talk to his own.”
Luna’s face grew beet red as she glared at her sister before taking a rather large gulp of her wine.
“Well everybody, I hope you enjoyed the show between me and your Commander yesterday,” Gilgamesh began. He already noticed the greater level of respect from the crowd in front of him than before. It was one thing for him to be strong, but another for him to be equal to Cruger at his best. The change wasn’t significant, but still noticeable. “And I’ve got some great news for all of you! Remember those techniques I used against the boss dog in our match? Well you’re gonna get to learn some of them! Can I get a ‘heyo!’”
The gathered troopers replied with a semi enthusiastic response. They were still a little bummed out from Cruger’s draw yesterday, and their humiliating defeat the day before, but were more than willing to learn a few tricks from the guy who was able to pull both of those off.
“So, let’s start off with the first technique. Those of you who can master this ability will find that learning the other two I have planned for you to be much easier.” He exhaled for a moment before inhaling with a long and sharp breath. As he did, electricity began to spark all along his body. “This power is called ‘Hamon’ or ‘The Ripple’, if you’re against japanese naming for some reason. It is a power that draws its energy from breathing and causes the body to produce an energy of a similar wavelength of that of the rays of the Sun. Those who master it will find their strength and stamina increased, their pain reduced, and their aging slowed. For those of you who can master this, if you can keep it up I can almost promise, with diet and exercise, you can add at least another twenty years onto your lifespan. You’ll probably even be able to fight pretty decently at age ninety.”
“Ooh, I must see if I can get him to teach me that,” Rarity said to herself from the sidelines.
“First and foremost, however, was the reason this technique was created in the first place. Namely as a way for humans to combat supernatural enemies like zombies, vampires, and really anything that would have a weakness to sunlight. That’s not to say, of course, that it has no effect on living beings, this is basically the power of the Sun you’re wielding, and at great enough intensities this power can even melt flesh.”
Gilgamesh cast a glance towards both Dusk Rose and Dr. Plague, seeing if they had any hesitations about being anywhere near this power. (Authors will write their characters either slightly nodding or shaking their heads, signifying whether or not they’ll be ok interacting with it)
“Now before I go on, I’d like to mention that it’s possible for all of you to learn this, but some of you will find it much more difficult than others. The people who have had greater hardships in life, having been beaten by the pressures of misfortune and the stress of danger, will find that they are more likely to be able not only to inherit this ability, but also utilize it to a much greater extent. The rest of you, well not to say you can’t learn it, but it might take you years if not decades to get it done, and unfortunately, I just don’t have the time to wait around for that.” Gilgamesh crossed his fingers and summoned shadow clones, one for every member present. “Alright, I hope you’re all ready. Three. Two.”
The next moment one of the clones was in front of every single member, all sparking with Hamon energy.
“Here comes the pain,” was the last thing he said before all the clones shoved a pinky harshly into the members’ diaphragms, with enough force to lift them off the ground and knocking the breath out of them completely. Some of them stumbled a moment before feeling energized, Hamon energy sparking along their bodies for a moment before dissipating. Most, however, fell to their hands and knees and gasped for breath, looking like they were about to lose their lunches.
“Well, looks like we’ve separated the wheat from the chaff,” Gilgamesh announced as his clones disappeared in puffs of smoke. “Those of you who didn’t start retching, step forwards. The rest of you can take a break in the seats provided for you. Enjoy the refreshments that I made earlier this morning, they’ll help you regain your strength.”
“I am very glad I’m only observing this” said Fetch in the observation booth, keeping an eye on the recording equipment. “But an ability that claims to borrow Princess Celestia’s power? That seems almost treasonous.”
A duplicate of PRINCESS HEART appears next to Fetch and started talking to him. “Well actually Fetch the power of the sun isn’t limited to just Celestia. Remember Discord and the unicorns of old were able to harness the power of the sun and move it. Even Twilight is capable of that if her attempt at it while Tirek was on the loose was any indication.” She explained to him. “Also if you’re wondering how I’m here and over there trying to learning the Hamon technique, this is a duplication of mine, hive mind connected to the original. Ninja magic I think the appropriate term is for it. It’s pretty useful in different situations and I figured I might as well train it too. As for the technique, all in all I think I’m off to a good start as I didn’t regurgitate like the others.” She said as she sat down next to him while the original trained with the rest of the troopers.
“Princess Twilight had Princess Celestia’s power at that time, Princess.” said Fetch with a smirk. “Oh, and please be careful using Shadow Clones. You will feel it if they get hurt.”
“While that’s true Twilight’s an alicorn and thus has a massive boost added to her magic. She being a master of magic much like myself should be able to move the sun and moon without Celestia’s power. She’d have to be able to if worst case scenario happens and both Celestia and Luna and/or Discord were all killed or put in a deep coma they might never awake from by a nearly invincible enemy or something otherwise our world would be doomed to eternal day and night on both sides of the planet.” PRINCESS HEART pointed out to Fetch. “Personally I hope that scenario never even gets to the point where it starts to happen period or it’d be...tragic and grimdark I suppose they call it?” She asked as she thought of the terms. “The thought truly terrifies me.”
Sora took a deep breath as she sat and watched the ponies that actually could use this Hamon, she was sad that she couldn’t actually use the ability but was at least glad that she wasn’t reacting as badly as the few others she had seen. Taking a bite from a sandwich she had grabbed from the refreshments before looking around at her colleagues and silently wondering if she would get stronger and if she was going to get her money for betting on a tie before shaking her head and clearing her mind so that she wouldn’t start speaking her mind again.
“Alright, so around forty of you out of about two hundred. Not bad, all things considered. I’d advise those of you who didn’t make the cut to still pay attention, as you aren’t yet exempt from learning this power. In addition, it’d be best to know what your compatriots can do,” Gilgamesh continued as he walked over to a pitcher of water. “Now Hamon isn’t just the ability to produce heat or energy from your body, and in fact it’s versatility may be its most powerful attribute.” He poured some water into a glass before grabbing it and lifting it up to show the crowd before turning it upside down. Not a single drop of water fell from the glass. As if that wasn’t impressive enough he then stuck his finger into the water and pulled the glass off, leaving the water to keep its glass shape.
“One of Hamon’s most impressive abilities is control of whatever it comes in contact with. The relationship between the Hamon-user and what it interacts with can be incredibly varied and has a variety of uses.” He then walked over to the nearby wall, still not releasing the water from his finger, before placing the fingertips of his other hand against the wall and breathing deeply. His body sparked for a moment before he lifted both off his legs off the ground, hovering over the floor with only his fingertips connected to any surface. “These are but two example of how Hamon can interact and change the reaction to its environment,” he explained before bending his wrist backwards, pulling the rest of his body up with his feet pointing towards the ceiling. “Now the reason I can do this to such an extent is due to my own physical strength, but the connection to the wall is all from full control over Hamon. I’m sure you would find the ability to scale walls without the need of gear or even a foothold to be of use out in the field, especially for those of you who can’t fly,” he suggested before touching ground.
“But sticking to walls isn’t the only way it can manipulate the world around you,” he continued before relaxing his breath, causing the water to finally obey the laws of physics and fall to the ground with a splat. He scanned the crowd for a moment before pointing to Sky Gear. “You. Take your blaster and shoot me when I say.”
Sora blinked as she was chosen before nodding at the the great armored warrior. Standing up and walking a bit away from the others so she had a clear shot, she drew out her blaster from its holster before turning the safety off and aimed it at the teacher, “I wonder what’s he’s going to do.”
Gilgamesh reached under his helmet and pulled a clump of hair away from his ponytail. He then inhaled, causing the Hamon to crackle along his body. If one paid close attention, they could see the hairs in his hand go rigid. “Alright, you may fire when ready.”
Sky Gear didn’t hesitate pulling the trigger at her current target. Gilgamesh threw out a his clump of hair in response. The strands of hair hovered for a moment, spread out in a large cloud stretching about three feet in all directions, with Hamon energy crackling in between them. The laser blasts, amazingly, were detonated upon collision with the barrier of hair and Hamon.
“Man, I wish I could do that,” Lunar Fang commented, “I get blown up way too often.”
“As you can see, an object doesn’t need to be in contact with a user to have Hamon in it. Objects, both organic and inorganic, can be imbued with Hamon,” he explained as the clump of hair began to fall limp and drop to the floor. “At its most extreme extent… well, I think a demonstration will be more entertaining.” He scanned the crowd before smirking. “Evil Breaker, I’d like it if you could participate in something for me.”
Evil Breaker grinned, “Lay it on me coach.”
“Oh, no no no. You see, you’re only half the equation.”
“Oh really? So, who’s my unfortunate sparring partner?”
Gilgamesh stifled his laughter as much as he could, causing a giggle to escape his lips. He then cleared his throat and turned to the observation balcony. “Fluttershy, if I could trouble you for a moment?”
Fluttershy meeped before ducking behind Rarity, who sighed and teleported her in front of Gilgamesh.
Twilight whistled in appreciation, “Not bad, when’d you get so good at teleporting?”
“Well it is the cornerstone of Cruger’s fighting style, or had you forgotten that I’ve been taking lessons?”
“Thank you, Miss Rarity,” Gilgamesh said before gently taking Fluttershy by the hand and walking her over to Evil Breaker. “Now Fluttershy, I’m sorry for putting you out into the spotlight, but I just felt that you would be perfect for this little demonstration.”
“Um, really? Because I’m sure there’s somepony else who would do just as well.”
“Oh, don’t sell yourself short, my dear,” he began before patting her on the head. “After all, you might not be a combat trained, but you’ve still stood up to things even hardened soldiers haven’t been able to overcome. If bravery is defined by doing what’s necessary even though you’re afraid, then you’ve got my vote for bravest pony in the world.”
Fluttershy simply grinned slightly at the praise, while simultaneously whimpering and trying to hide behind her mane due to the attention his comment had directed at her. To her credit, she kind of succeeded.
Gilgamesh then inhaled, activating his Hamon power, before patting her on the head again. Her body went completely rigid for a moment before relaxing, her head slumping forwards and her shoulders sagging, but not falling over. For a moment she just stood there before standing up straight and looking forwards, her mane falling away to reveal a blank expression on her face. After a period of nothing Fluttershy quickly flared her wings and crouched into a sprinting stance. In an instant she closed the distance between herself and Evil Breaker who, to his credit, managed to raise his arms and block the punch to his chest with his arms, the force sending him sliding backwards a few yards. Fluttershy disappeared in another burst of speed, reappearing behind the stallion before striking him in the side with a roundhouse kick, the force managing to lift him into the air. She then shot towards the wall, landing on both hooves before pushing off, flipping forwards before extending her leg and striking Evil Breaker in the face with an axe kick, sending him crashing into the ground. She followed up by diving down at him, her fist raised. The earth pony barely managed to roll out of the way before Fluttershy slammed her fist into the ground, producing enough of an impact to send out a loud ring through the room. Fluttershy slowly stood up and stared at Evil Breaker, not making any movements and still having that blank expression on her face.
Rainbow Dash scowled, “Hey, what makes you think you can just mind control one of my friends!?”
Gilgamesh just stared. “Really? No reaction to the physically weakest pony present completely owning a trained A-Squad SPD member?” he asked before turning to Cruger. “Just what have you done to make these guys so jaded?”
“They’re not jaded, it’s just their training. What do you think a cop would focus on first, the fact that someone’s butt has been kicked by a wimp, or the fact that said wimp was the victim of one of the few crimes that still carries the death penalty? By the way, you have 5 seconds to explain yourself before I start trying out my new moves on your ass.”
“Eh, it’s less ‘mind control’ and more ‘suggestive hypnosis’. I couldn’t make her do anything that she wouldn’t be unwilling to completely conscious,” Gilgamesh explained before inhaling. He tapped her on the muzzle with a “Boop,” causing Fluttershy to go limp and begin to fall, Gilgamesh catching her before she hit the ground.
“Ugh… What… What happened?” she asked as her eyes began to flutter open.
“Thank you very much, dear Fluttershy, you’ve been a wonderful participant,” Gilgamesh said before gently helping her to her hooves.
“Um thank you…” Fluttershy said, before seeing Breaker and started helping him.
“How the buck did she do that?” PRINCESS HEART asked, a sentiment shared by everyone else watching based on their expressions.
“Oh, well, as I’ve already explained, one can use Hamon as a form of suggestive hypnosis to get them to act without their conscious mind interfering,” Gilgamesh repeated. “As for her physical prowess, one of the effects Hamon can have on a user is increased strength and stamina. I just transferred that power over to her, essentially supercharging her muscles. This is an advanced technique, by the way, not just anyone with Hamon control can do it.”
“But Fluttershy would never hurt anyone like she did, she’s not a fighter, no offence darling,” Rarity said.
“Oh yes, of course, she’s certainly not someone who would wish pain on others, even those who would wish to harm her. To be honest, it was kind of a gamble, but I guessed that deep down she had a subconscious desire to gain power to prove herself more useful and carry her weight as one of the Elements of Harmony. Not to mention wanting to gain her best friends’ approval,” he explained, casting a glance towards Rainbow Dash. “Looks like I was right.”
Dash huffed, although her scowl did abate slightly, “She didn’t need to prove anything, I saw her stare down a dragon, that makes her pretty awesome in my book.” The rest of the Mane 6, aside from Flutters, nodded in agreement.
Fluttershy smiled while shrinking down a bit, hiding part of her face with her mane. “Thank you very much, Rainbow. It’s just, well, I guess he’s kind of right… maybe. I mean, I know you all appreciate what can do but, well… Sometimes I just, um, wish I could more. If that’s ok, I mean,” she explained as she shuffled her hooves slightly.
“HNNNNNNNNG!” Gilgamesh exclaimed while clutching his chest before falling over. “... I can’t believe I’m still not used to that.”
“I am, but that’s only because I survived an assassination attempt that literally involved weaponized cute, Luna’s still sore I wouldn’t let her get to the cookie jar.”
“DOGGY!” Luna shouted in anger, her face red, as Celestia burst out laughing in a very unroyal manner.
“Hey, blame your mom, she’s the one who set the limits on sweets, I just enforced them.”
Gilgamesh got up and dusted himself off. “Luckily for my own pride, I have no problem with making myself looking like an idiot,” he muttered before clearing his throat. “Fluttershy, thank you once again for your participation. You’ve been spectacular,” he said with bow.
Fluttershy smiled in appreciation, then shot back to the stands with a meep and hid behind Rarity’s hair.
“Awww, so cuuuute!” Gilgamesh said under his breath smiling goofily. He then turned back to the crowd, smug grins on nearly all of their faces. “What? I’m perfectly secure.”
“Doesn’t mean we’re not gonna tease you about it from now until eternity,” Cruger replied.
“Pfft. I’ve had worse.”
“I must say I’m impressed with the move all things considered Sir Gilgamesh.” PRINCESS HEART stated after watching the display with Fluttershy owning Evil Breaker.
Sky Gear could only look on as she reactivated the safety then holstering her blaster which she had been holding during the whole demonstration with Fluttershy and wondered few things before just shaking her head clear of such thoughts and sitting down again on the chair she used before. Sora took a drink of a bottle that she had grabbed besides the sandwich. “I really hope that the other things being taught will be as awesome as Hamon and I honestly don’t get what an overdoses cute can actually do to someone.” shaking her head she continued to watch the lesson hoping no-one would, again, look at her weird for her inability to keep thought internal.
“Weaponized cuteness perhaps Sky?” PRINCESS HEART suggested to her.
“Right… maybe.” said Sora not correcting PRINCESS HEART about calling her Sora and not Sky, she could already see a few looking up when the changeling said Sky before looking back at the lessons once they noticed they weren’t actually the one being talked to, with Sky Gear silently looking at the lesson while her hands took out small components from her pouches before putting together something semi-consciously.
“So, he has a version of one of Discord’s tricks as well” said Fetch, checking the read-outs. “Another reason why it’s a good thing he’s on our side.”
“Either way Sky, this Hamon move can be very helpful against any villains we may have to face later. Even that Emperor Grumm did Cruger call him? He seems like a rather nasty kind of villain to face.” PRINCESS HEART stated.
“Hypnotizing someone to do what they won’t want to do is impossible as stated by our current teacher Gilgamesh, as such unless one of opposing factions have some other feelings about the situational operation that was in play, only then would such Hamon maneuver do more then leave two units open for engagement for both sides to take an opportunity for a killing blow. Such Hamon maneuver should be reserved for usage on another trooper who is having a breakdown middle of a battle to allow them to keep alive before they go through therapy for what caused said breakdown. Such situation would be easier to encounter than having a chance that the one we hypnotized be actually willing to fight against their Operators, Masters, Work Enforcer or Emperor.” stated Sora as her mind worked down the basics of what she knew of hypnotism and a bit what Gilgamesh had said about the technique in question, she then noticed quite a few ponies looking at her so she bit her tongue and put more of her concentration on the small gadget she was putting together, keeping her teeth down on her tongue so it wouldn’t move with her thoughts and keeping only an ear out for the lesson.
“True, still Hamon appears to do more than just Hypnosis so it’s effective in other ways Sky.” HEART said as she thought it over.
“Anyway, let’s continue, shall we?” Gilgamesh began again while pulling some pony sized training dummies from nowhere. “What I’ve shown you are some of the more advanced or creative uses of Hamon, but let’s try a few that are a bit more straightforward.” He set one down in front of him and took a few steps away from it before taking a fighting stance. He extended his arm towards the dummy slowly, his fist about a foot away from hitting the dummy’s face. “Watch closely,” he said before pulling his arm back. He inhaled slightly and threw another punch, and amazingly his arm seemed stretch as he did, his fist connecting with the dummy and sending its head flying. His arm seemed to snap back to its normal size as he pulled it back. The whole thing happened so quickly many wondered if their eyes were working properly.
“D..Did Gilgamesh’s arm just extend itself like elastic or rubber?” PRINCESS HEART stated in shock.
“What component did he alter in the arm.” wondered Sora as she looked up, she heard the extension and retraction of the arm but only PRINCESS HEART’s comment really told her what truly happened, “Bones are possible and most likely, but muscles are also a possibilities.”
“Not quite, but on the right track,” Gilgamesh answered. “What you saw was the ‘Zoom Punch.’ What happened was that when I threw my punch I dislocated my shoulder, elbow, and wrist to allow my arm to stretch. The Hamon makes sure to numb the pain to the point it's barely noticeable, keep the muscles and skin from tearing, and ensuring that everything snaps back in place when it's done. It also, of course, inflicts Hamon energy on the target.”
“That honestly sounds like one of the worst techniques to mess up part of the way.” muttered Sora in response of the explanation that was given, before shaking her head partially wincing as she mentally constructed a wrongly put together arm.
“Agreed, if you’re not careful it could recoil on you badly and harm you instead of your target.” PRINCESS HEART observed.
“Well, you’re certainly right that it can go horribly wrong if you don’t know what you’re doing, but that’s true of many things in life,” Gilgamesh commented. “For something a little less body altering, let’s try this.” Inhaled again before slamming his fist into the ground. A pulse of energy raced from his fist across the ground, exploding under the dummy with enough force to get it lodged in the ceiling. “The Hamon Overdrive has many forms, but the shockwave is the simplest form of it. And just in case any of you were wondering if it was limited to the ground,” he trailed off before slamming his fist into the ground again. This time the wave of energy raced along the floor up the wall, and to the ceiling before exploding on the dummy again, sending it crashing into the ground and destroying it.
PRINCESS HEART mouth dropped open as she witnessed that move. “T...That was an impressive shockwave combo Sir Gilgamesh. I’ve never seen such a combat technique before.” She said in awe of the moveset Gilgamesh demonstrated. “So what other abilities can the Hamon do exactly besides the Hypnosis and Shockwaves?” She asked him with curiosity.
“Glad you asked,” he began before approaching another dummy. “If you need a little heat, then there’s always,” he paused to inhale, Hamon sparking along his body. “Scarlet Overdrive!” he shouted as he threw his punch, his arm lighting on fire as he did and scorching black the parts of the dummy it didn’t eat through. “And, one last little technique, for those who have the control.” He whistled towards Enkidu, who actually groaned a bit before walking over. He then stood up on his hind legs and leaned against one of the dummies. Gilgamesh summoned his power before punching Enkidu right in the barrel. Fluttershy yelped in fear only to gape as saw the dummy behind the canine explode. Enkidu settled back down onto four legs, shaking his fur and looking no worse for ware. He then cast Gilgamesh an annoyed look. “I’ll make you a sloppy joe later.” Enkidu’s eyes narrowed. “Ok, ok, a lobster dinner!” Enkidu smiled and walked off, his head held high.
Gilgamesh sighed. “I swear, he’s getting more and more spoiled with each apology meal I have to give him,” he muttered.
“You just punched your buddy and it blew up the dummy without so much as a scratch on him...HOW!?” PRINCESS HEART asked shocked at the turn of events.
“Like I said, Hamon’s greatest strength is versatility. By controlling the flow of energy I basically treated him like the floor and walls from before, causing it to flow through him and only release it’s destructive force after it had reached its destination. I’m sure such a thing would be useful for hostage situations.”
“So basically in short, in a way it’s like you also treated him like a ghost turning intangible and firing the move through him at the target where it would only work once it impacted said target exactly, correct? A piercing technique, and yes it would be very helpful as any idiot stupid enough to pull one off would be caught off guard the moment Hamon was fired at them from outside where they couldn’t see it coming til it’s too late, thus saving the hostages and allowing us to storm the place and apprehend the culprit.”
Sora looked between the interaction between the displaced and the changeling finding it a quite funny discussion between the two, so had quite a few troopers. “I wonder why she’s playing the fool, I mean Hamon seems just like a different type of magic that ponies can use and like all magic it has its specialities which become quite spectacular at high level of conduct. Then again I’ve haven’t seen magic that relies on a breathing technique before, but beyond that this among the more tamer abilities we’ve seen with things happening around SPD being concerned.” Sky Gear couldn’t see it but a few ponies around her nodded to her remark before they wondered if Sky Gear and PRINCESS HEART were actually acting as commentator panel to get explanations from the expert aka Gilgamesh.
“Hm. Never had it described that way,” Gilgamesh replied, answering PRINCESS HEART. “But really, like I said, it’s just the flow of energy. Think of it kind of like… oh, let’s say a Newton’s Cradle, since both objects were next to each other the energy flowed all the way to the end, not stopping in the middle. Anyway, let’s continue,” he said as he pulled out a chair and table from nowhere, as well as a plate of black noodles. “Ah, spaghetti al nero will always be a favorite of mine,” he muttered before digging in. It was a testament to how used to this the members of SPD were that they didn’t question this at all. “Anyway, as I keep mentioning, Hamon’s greatest strength is its versatility, but that’s not merely in the way the energy behaves. Since Hamon must be conducted through something, there are many… very interesting reactions that can come about from its usage,” he continued as he ate. “Those who have skill or fascination with improvised weaponry will find this particularly to their liking. After all,” he lifted up a few small noodles with his fork. “In the hands of a Hamon user,” he said as the energy sparked along his body, causing the noodles to go straight. He then pointed them at the group sitting down and refreshing themselves before using one finger to curl the noodles back. “Anything is a weapon,” he finished.
The eyes of all the members widened and then Gilgamesh let his finger go, causing the noodles to shoot off the fork like bullets, flying towards the group. They barely had enough time to flinch before the noodles imbedded themselves in a glass of water, piercing all the way through to the other side and being embedded in the object. The shots were so perfect that no liquid seeped out through the holes.
“Scarves, string, flowers, anything and everything that can be a conduit is a deadly weapon to a Hamon user,” Gilgamesh continued as he stood up, pulling out a bucket of water and some soap. He began to wash his hands as the rest were still stupefied at what he was able to do with nothing but food. “And, perhaps the most unique example,” he trailed off before slapping his hands together and slowly parting them, creating a large bubble. He breathed deeply, causing Hamon to spark along his body, before rapidly thrusting his hands at one of the last few dummies, causing a swarm of bubbles to approach it. As they popped against it the dummy began to get singed, as if each was a tiny ball of fire.
“I must say I’ve never heard of weaponized food before. That gives a whole new meaning to the term food fight if you can greatly harm one with simple food like noodles. Certainly a useful tactic. And did you just make a bubblebeam torch the dummy?” PRINCESS HEART asked him.
“If Gilgamesh wasn’t a Displaced, I’d say he was Discord” said Fetch up in the observation room. “Which does bring up a question. Has Discord been seen at all during the time Gilgamesh has been here?”
“Have we really ever seen him near the base whenever the Boss is around?” asked Sora as she had walked up to Fetch and his observation point, “You getting plenty of information through these demonstrations, Fetch?” looking around for Steam Gear caused Sky Gear to sigh wishing that her cousin was around,
“I almost forgot that the Commander is one of the only lifeforms in the multiverse that Discord is actually afraid of” said Fetch with a smile. “Tons of info, Ranger Gear. More than enough to know that Susanoo has a lot of work to make sure Delta Base’s defenses can withstand more than five minutes of that level of power, and that if anything else comes from where Gilgamesh is from, I’m going to hide surrounded by as much shielding as possible.”
“Hey if you need any backup for the shielding I could always summon up a little buddy to be a Hulk for you. Hmm...Bahamut or OMEGA could work. You never mess with a dragon king/god and/or a super weapon that can beat the ever living crap out of you if you threaten the planet itself.” PRINCESS HEART stated, the summoner changeling knowing how devastating her little friends can be in battle if it came to that.
“Why didn’t you bring one of them to help in the sparring against Gilgamesh, Princess?” asked Fetch. “Didn’t want to show all your cards?”
“Well there’s that for one but the main reason was I didn’t actually get a chance to. After he dispelled everyone, he started that combo move didn’t he? Then Marri O’ Nette used that nuking move after which Dusk blindsided him in the face still as a fluffle pony and the sparring match ended there. I was actually getting ready to unleash a summon before the combo thing happened.” PRINCESS HEART explained to Fetch.
“I see” said Fetch with a smirk. “So, Princess needs a touch of Speed Training. I’m sure Edge could help you with that.”
“True, and I probably could use training there along with my summons and highest level spells. I mean, I have pretty high stats I think you all call them, but Gilgamesh just reacted faster than any of us could for the sparring match. I’m sure that it would be far different one on one with him, especially since as a master of magic, my spells can get stronger fighting him being a master of magic as well.” She said as she thought it over.
“Hold on, stop a moment.” Said Sora looking at Fetch, “I’ve told you to call me Sora, and I’m pretty sure I do help with ranger suits once in awhile, but I’m not allowed to do that outside of the lab, as such I’m not a ranger.”
“But I like calling you Ranger Gear” said Fetch with a grin. “You carry enough of it anyway. But that is enough chatting for now” said Fetch with a grin. “Back to watching the Action!”
“Agreed. And I must say Ranger Gear has a nice ring to it.” PRINCESS HEART said as she nodded, listening to Gilgamesh again and giggling in the process. Sora could only look at the two with a disgruntled expression before sighing and sitting down on the ground to continue to watch the lesson.
“Anywho,” Gilgamesh started, getting everyone’s attention again. “Shabon Launcher is more than just a ‘Bubble Beam,’ as you said. It has a few more variations, including,” he trailed off before producing more bubbles, this time holding them between this fingers, causing them to flatten into discs. “Shabon Cutter!” he cried as he threw the bubble discs, which actually began to slice into the dummy before exploding. “Shabon Barrier!” he shouted as he threw another swarm of bubbles at the dummy. This time they all converged into a large bubble surrounding the dummy, lifting it into the air before violently popping, destroying the dummy. “And last but not least,” he began before summoning the bubble discs again, this time throwing them up into the air. “Shabon Lens!” The discs began tilting and magnifying the light that went through them into beams. They were redirected several directions between the bubbles until they finally shot out towards the floor, producing enough heat to burn what they touched black. “These are just some of the ideas that Hamon users have come up with,” he explained as he dispersed the bubbles. “I can’t wait to see what those of you with the aptitude can come up with in the future.”
“But now, onto the weaknesses of Hamon. First, as you’ve probably noticed, you can’t just shoot Hamon through your body, it has to be conducted through something. Second, if you can’t breath, you can’t use Hamon. Period. If you can’t get air, if you have to hold your breath for some reason, if someone tries choking you or knocks all the air out of your body, you can’t use this technique. And third and most important, you have to have full control of your breathing at all times in order to use Hamon. That means not only will exhaustion interfere with this ability, but so will excessive anger and, most importantly, fear. If you can’t keep the same kind of breathing in a life or death situation, all these techniques might as well be elaborate party tricks.”
“You’ve also likely noticed that even those of you who have shown the aptitude for this power aren’t generating any Hamon now. Quite simply, it’s because you’re not breathing right.”
Gilgamesh removed his chestplate and untied the kimono underneath, showing off his muscled chest and abdomen.
Applejack whistled, impressed. “Hay, he’d give Big Macintosh a run for his-”
“Woof!”
Everyone on the balcony turned to look at Luna, who was staring at Gilgamesh with a little bit of drool coming down the side of her face as she smiled. After a few seconds she turned to notice everyone looking at her, specifically Celestia’s smug grin. Realizing what she did her face turned beet red before she grabbed a bottle of wine and began chugging. Much to her own appreciation, no one in the training area had heard her.
The PRINCESS HEART duplicate giggled when Luna did that and gave her 2 cents on the matter. “Heheheh woof indeed, Luna, woof indeed. Seems Gilgamesh is not only buff but has really been working out.”
“Most of your life you’ve probably been chest breathing, like this,” he explained before emphasizing his breaths, causing his chest to rise and fall. “This actually limits the amount of air you can take in at once. What you need to do is use your diaphragm, or ‘belly breathing’, as it might be called.” As he began to inhaled his stomach extended, then exhaling it seemed to recede almost beyond his rib cage. “Any of you who do meditation, yoga, or even have some singing lessons will likely be familiar with this,” he continued as he put his armor back on. “What you need to do is make it so that you’re breathing like this all the time, completely subconsciously. Those of you who have shown promise, try taking in a big breath using this method now.”
All those who had gained the aptitude before inhaled deeply. Some were able to cause Hamon to spark along them the first time, others took a few tried but got it down. Some of them were still unable to after several tries.
“It’s fine, you’ll all get it eventually. After class today, I’ll make sure to give you a list of exercises I want you to practice. For now, let’s move onto the next technique,” he said as he summoned a cube of metal into his hand. With a flick of his fingers the cube began to spin rapidly, to the point it was just a blur. After a few moments it stopped, and was now perfectly spherical in shape.
“Now that was impressive.” PRINCESS HEART said, Hamon sparking as she talked, hands together in a yoga based stance.
Gilgamesh smirked. “If you think that’s impressive, then listen to this: My strength had very little to do with converting that cube into this sphere. True, I did use my considerable strength, but not to crush the cube. Instead, it was to generate force. In other words, it was the immense force of spinning that forced it to change shape. This is the force I will be teaching you: ‘The Rotation’, or ‘The Spin’ if you prefer to call it that. In addition, what I hold in my hand is the Rotation’s primary conductor, its greatest tool and weapon: the Steel Ball.”
He then pulled his arm back for a pitch, the ball spinning in his hand, before hurling it at the wall. The steel ball kept spinning, sparks flying off it as it did, not moving from where it hit the wall, before shooting back towards Gilgamesh, who caught it effortlessly. The ball still spun in his hand, and the wall now had a perfectly circular indentation in it.
“Cool. It’s like a boomerang or Yo-Yo designed for combat. Very effective weapon Sir Gilgamesh.” PRINCESS HEART commented.
“You are really easily impressed, Princess Heart.” stated Sora with a small chuckle as she looked at the ninjutsu clone of the changeling before looking back at the wall, “But what caused the rebound, the spin itself would have caused a return that is angled because of the rotation affecting how the air moves around the sphere.”
“I agree it should’ve ricocheted at an angle instead of acting like a yo-yo of sorts.” PRINCESS HEART stated.
“Breaking physics” said Fetch with a groan. “I wish Steam was here to give a proper rant about this. Where is he anyway?”
“Did something happen with the Chicken-LauncherTM, again?” asked Sky to Fetch before thinking for a moment, “If not, maybe it’s just him having an idea and making it. Though we’ll need to make sure he didn’t do something stupid like take a display from the bomb defusal practice kits, again.”
“Steam may be a unicorn, but he can be such a featherbrain” said Fetch with a smirk.
Gilgamesh chuckled. “What you’ve got here is much more than a mere ‘yo-yo’, Princess. This is a conductor for an energy as powerful and varied as Hamon. In fact, I think it would benefit you all to know exactly what this technique was created for. Hm, let’s see, I’ll need a volunteer. How about… ?”
“If you want Sir Gilgamesh I’ll volunteer. Why not get a first hand experience correct?” PRINCESS HEART offered.
Gilgamesh smiled and motioned for he to come over. “You’re quite the eager volunteer, Princess. I do appreciate that,” he said as he pulled out a large wooden block from nowhere and set on the ground. “It’s a real shame too because you’re probably not going to want to be my volunteer after this.”
PRINCESS HEART looked back to him curiously. “Why would say-?” she began only to be cut off as Gilgamesh pushed the spinning steel ball into her back between her shoulder blades. The changeling instantly fell limp, and even her shadow clone disappeared in a puff of smoke. Gilgamesh guided her body down so that her torso was on the box, with her head hanging off of it.
“The Steel Ball was developed in a certain country, a kingdom. This specific technique and style was carried down through a family in service to the king,” he continued as he stepped back, leaving PRINCESS HEART’s body on the wooden block, the ball still spinning on her back. “To carry out their task they learned biology, anatomy, and martial arts. They trained their bodies, their minds, and their techniques for one purpose: to provide a quick and painless death.” He unclipped his naginata and raised it above his head. “For this was the family of the royal executioners.” He swung his weapon down, faster than anyone could react, only to stop just before touching the Princess’s neck. “As you can see, she didn’t even flinch,” he said as he pulled his weapon away and clipped it onto his back. “Despite being perfectly aware of everything around her she couldn’t move her body an inch. This isn’t due to magic or mind control, it’s simply applying the right kind of pressure to the right part of the body.” He held out his hand and the steel ball jumped up from her back into it, giving her back control of her body.
“Well, oh my, that...that was certainly something Sir Gilgamesh and oddly exhilarating. A pressure point based attack is very useful for different enemies. I’ll definitely want to remember that one.” PRINCESS HEART stated as she regained control of her body.
“Glad I remembered something my past self noted down in my mind. A note to self from when I joined the garrison in Canterlot, wait until after being explained what one will be volunteer for before volunteering and always be ready to move with others so not to be volunteered.” chuckled Sora looking over the situation before muttering to herself, “So now we are either going to be given a book of pressure points, if I remember one of my books correctly about that term, or is this going to be a whole different power to do this, which would be odd since those points would still have to be researched and at least self-tested to know where to strike.”
“Oh, it’s much more than simple pressure points, Sora,” Gilgamesh explained. “As you will now help me demonstrate.”
“I walked right into that one, didn’t I?” remarked Sky Gear with a sigh before flapping her wings once to get her standing before walking over Gilgamesh, standing partially rigged but also partially calm before the hulking man, “I would be lying to say that I was ready to be demonstrated on nor am I happy to have been volunteered.”
“Ah, don’t worry, your life won’t be in danger,” he replied before tossing Sora a belt with a revolver pistol in the holster. “Don’t worry, it’s not loaded,” he assured Sora before clipping a pouch to his waist which carried two steel balls. “Now on the count of three, I want to you to try and shoot me with that gun.”
“This should be interesting.” PRINCESS HEART commented.
Sky Gear sighed as she undid her own belt and set it aside before putting on the given belt, she then took out the revolver and looked at it analyzing it before aiming it up then pulling the trigger slightly to feel how much force the trigger would need before using both hands to hold the grip. She placed the revolver into the holster with a hand over it, ready to draw on any notice, while her bat wings flared out ready to be used.
Gilgamesh unclipped the pouch at his. “One… Twoandthree!” He said quickly, grabbing the ball and cocking it back for a throw, the steel ball already spinning. Sora pulled out her gun lifted it towards the armored displaced. Gilgamesh hurled the ball and it hit her just as she got it level. The ball burrowed into her shoulder but she felt no real pain, but instead a strange tightening sensation in her skin and muscles. The steel ball shot from her body back into Gilgamesh’s hand, who placed it back into his pouch in one smooth motion, the sphere still spinning inside. Sora, confused but still wary that nothing big seemed to have happened, noticed her gun was still leveled and aimed at him. She tried to squeeze the trigger but instead her arm curled, her elbow quickly closing causing a quick reaction from the therstal, which was grabbing the traitor arm with her other arm and wings before breaking the wrist and forcing the arm to be dislocated, both without much of a grunt from Sora, before forcing it away from her body. Her entire arm was held back in this position for a good twenty seconds before she felt her muscles finally began obeying her commands, as such she took the revolver with her other hand and placed it back in the holster.
“Well that was something.” muttered Sky Gear as she used on her wings as a cast for her wrist and keep her arm straight so that she could place it back into its socket as she took off the belt before tossing it back to Gilgamesh and using a hoof to throw up her own belt before using one hand and a wing to put on again.
“So what just happened there exactly?” PRINCESS HEART asked.
Gilgamesh removed one of his gauntlets and held out his arm before dropping the spinning steel ball on it, causing his fist to clench. “Muscle control. What you saw was me using the Rotation and the steel ball to wind up her muscles in such a way that when she attempted to pull the trigger it would instead cause them to act as they just did. Of course, it wasn’t just the Rotation itself, but a proper application of it. If I had thrown it differently, I could’ve taken her arm and a large chunk of her torso clean off instead.”
“I would have honestly prefered that instead of losing control of my arm.” muttered Sora
“So you say,” Gilgamesh said before taking the steel ball and putting it back into the pouch and putting his gauntlet back on. “Now, two more demonstrations are in order. Is anyone going to volunteer or do I have to pick and choose once again?”
“I’ll stay on.” volunteered Sky Gear before forcing her arm back into the socket before feeling her right wrist, “Even if I do have a broken wrist.”
“Ah, let me fix that first,” he said and approached. He held her wrist in hands before inhaling deeply and activating his Hamon. He snapped the wrist back in place, yet despite the cringeworthy noise she didn’t even flinch. “There we go.”
“Thanks…” muttered Sora as she flexed her hand, “Ah right, Sky Gear, Trooper who’s only good quality is pain tolerance hope I can prove adequate enough for this next demonstration.” she introduced herself with a small smile and a mock salute.
“That definitely had to hurt Sky Gear. Need a healing spell?” HEART asked her.
Sky Gear turned her head to HEART and shook her head as she replied to HEART. “Gilgamesh has taken care of the problem, so there is no need. But thank you all the same.” She turned back to Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh chuckled. “Glad to see you can joke! Now if you’ll follow me please,” he said as he lead her over to the front of the group before stepping a few yards away from her. “Now, if you could hold up your hands like this,” he asked, holding up his arms in a surrender position.
Sky Gear nodded before copying the man but not without making a very quiet remark, “I honestly wish what I said earlier was a joke.”
“Well, as it turns out, pain tolerance is exactly what I need here,” he quipped before quickly tossing both of his steel balls at her, each one landing right into her palms. The sensation of her skin tightening distracted her for a moment from what he brought out next, until she heard the click of the submachine gun readying. She forced herself to stand still despite her training yelling at her to dodge out of the way, but that led her to stumble back as she felt the pain of the bullets hitting her skin.
“LIVE AMMO, ARE YO-!?” she screamed out only for him to stop firing and for her to notice she was still very much alive. If that wasn’t enough she saw a whole magazine worth of bullets on the floor around her and her body without any holes in it. “-u trying to... “ she didn’t complete her sentence taking a few deep breaths before looking in Gilgamesh’s eyes, “You wouldn’t tell me that would happen even if asked, would you?”
“Of course not. You might’ve flinched or done something else that could’ve caused me to screw up,” he replied as both balls launched from her hands and his before he put them both in the pouch.
Feeling her skin ease up Sora flexed her hands a bit before sighing, “I’ve got at least that amount control that I wouldn’t flinch for gun fire and being targeted, I almost jumped even though I wouldn’t have come far with your speed anyway.”
“That’s pretty impressive,” he said before turning to the class. “And just in case you’re wondering, if you master the Steel Ball and the Rotation you’ll be able to cause this effect on yourselves. That’s how one of my clones was able to take Cruger’s sword without taking any damage. Of course, I’m able to do that due to my own strength and durability. The rest of you would be able to take lead bullets as shown, but you probably won’t be able to stand up to anything armor-piercing. Also, as you can tell, it still hurts.” He turned back to Sora. “Thank you for being a wonderful sport. You can join the rest of the class again.”
Gilgamesh brought a hand to his chin and pondered for a moment as Sora rejoined the group. “On second thought, that’s enough demonstrations for today. Let’s get you all started.” He then pulled out a bucket and set it on the ground. “Everyone come and take one.” After a moment of hesitation they came forwards and saw the bucket was filled with champagne corks.
Sora stopped half way from the man before using one flap of her wings to redirect herself back towards Gilgamesh and noticed the corks, which she took one out and held it up to her eye before taking a few flaps and going into the sky so that the others could have space. She landed a distance away before holding the cork in her palm, wondering what this training would be.
“I must say these are quite the interesting techniques Sir Gilgamesh and very effective too.” PRINCESS HEART said as she took one of the champagne corks. “Well this should be fun.” She said as she went to rejoin the group.
“Now as I mentioned when we started out, the skills that will help you master Hamon will help you master the other two powers I will teach you, but that doesn’t mean their directly related. Those of you who have shown aptitude for Hamon may not be able to learn the other two. Those of you who failed to show the aptitude may be able to learn both of the others. Maybe you’ll be able to do all three, maybe you won’t be able to do any of them. The point is, do not look at your success or failure in one as a measurement of your aptitude in another. With that said,” he picked up a cork out of the bucket and flicked his fingers. The cork began to spin in his palm, almost like a bullet ready to be fired. “You will all try to be able to cause the corks you now have to spin in your palms with nothing more than one flick of your fingers. It doesn’t have to be as perfectly controlled as what I’m doing right here, it can even fly out of your hands. The point is you’ll be trying to make a powerful spinning motion in one movement. I’ll be giving you two days to get this down, which should be plenty of time to figure out if you can do it or not. This should also give those of you who can do Hamon time to practice some breathing techniques.”
A flash of green raced through the group and those who had shown the aptitude now had a folder in their hands. It took them a minute to figure out where they come from until they noticed Enkidu smirking smugly in the corner.
Night Stalker took a quick look into the folder and scanned the exercises. Some were simple things like meditation, others were a bit more extreme like holding one’s breath while sitting at the bottom of a pool with a heavy rock as assistance. The most impressive and daunting one was using the power of Hamon to actually walk on water.
“Alright class over for the day, I’ll see you all the day after tomorrow,” Gilgamesh stated.
“Um, didn’t you say that you’d be teaching us three things?” Jack Hunt asked.
“Well, first of all I don’t want to overload you with too much at once. Second,” he paused to look up at Cruger. “I need to have a little chat with your commander about specifics.” He turned back to the group. “Make sure to practice until then. Also, we’ll be having Prench cuisine tonight, courtesy of yours truly, so I hope you look forward to that. Until then, dismissed.”
“Very well then Sir Gilgamesh, I suppose I’ll see you later then.” PRINCESS HEART stated as she walked off practicing the spinning cork move.
“Prench? If that means he’s making it a fancy dinner, I’ll be in R&D with a linguica pizza and a bottle of Dr Pony” said Fetch as he gathered up his scanners.
“I’ll check out the food before most likely following you up with the rest of R&D.” said Sky Gear as she aided with the gathering of the scanners, “Besides I’d like to see any changes to the designs you can create on the fly with all this data.”
“If there is one thing all of R&D agrees on, it’s that we HATE fancy dinners” said Fetch with a smile. “Heck, getting some of us to remember to eat is hard enough. Too much stuff to do.”
“Hear, Hear to the simplicity. Though it’s kind of sad it’s me that has to tell you all to eat time to time.” said Sora with a shake of her head, “Though I still remember the time when you all suddenly started to shout because Pinkie came by and gave you all a Midnight Cupcake.”
Time had passed and the sky was darkened by the night. A top that spins around and around on a simple coffee table, with Sky Gear watching it spin before looking down at the cork in the palm of her hand while sitting on her couch within her apartment within SPD Base. She had been trying to get the get cork to do more then spin for less than a second the entire day, sadly the cork didn’t seem to want to be controlled by the special Rotation. She sighed as she stopped the top and placed it back in a box among the small knickknacks she made or found, she gave the cork one final spin before spacing out while muttering her thoughts, not noticing it fly out of her hand while still spinning. When she came to she just shook her head, stood up while also picking up a empty can of apple juice and headed to bed after tossing said can into the kitchen garbage bin, tired in body and mind. If she looked back she would have seen the cork spinning away on the floor for 3 minutes before stopping spinning and lying down asleep much like the one that spinned it. But it didn’t have the same thought as her, ‘Did Princess Luna really bark like a dog at Sir Gilgamesh, when he took off his armor and clothing that was hiding his chest?’
PRINCESS HEART concentrated as the cork that spun on her palm then stopped before spinning again as she tried to get it to continuously spin for 2 minutes at the very least. “Come on, Come on, keep spinning...” She said as she concentrated more, her aura glowing purple around her. Suddenly as if drawn by the aura, the cork glowed as well before starting to spin faster and faster til it fired out of her palm to the wall piercing it and going through every wall after till it ended up somehow above Rainbow Dash’s head narrowly missing her as it landed in the cloud wall while spinning for a while longer before finally stopping, HEART’s eyes glowing white as her magic surged before canceling out finally, eyes returning to her natural color. She looked at the cork sized hole made in the wall and commented on it. “Huh...well that happened? Did I just succeed at the exercise?” She asked herself in surprise and confusion. “I should probably get someone to fix the walls, otherwise this will be awkward to explain to Commander Cruger...as cool as it is to see that actually happen in the first place.”
“So, what exactly did you want to talk about?” Cruger asked from behind his office desk.
Gilgamesh inhaled for a moment. “First, is about one of the tools that the Rotation can use,” he said before holding up a steel ball, this one having about five or six smaller balls resting in on it it. “It’s called the Wrecking Ball, and it a very powerful weapon that has it’s own uses. It even has an ability that’s unique to it. However, there’s one little problem. While the Steel Ball can be used to kill, this was made to kill. I want to know if you have any reservations about teaching how to use it to your troopers.”
Cruger looked over it for a minute before answering, “I suppose we can treat it like SWAT, training for it is separate, and only for those with the experience to use it wisely.”
“Alright,” Gilgamesh replied putting it away. “And secondly is about the third power I intend to teach them. There are two ways I can train them. One is more general, and though I won’t be able to help them develop it much it is safer. The other I’ll be able to help push them much further, but it comes with a risk. Remember how two of my clones took on different auras? The darker one is what I’m concerned about. It’s incredibly powerful, to the point that it can give a person enough destructive force that they could shatter an island to pieces with a punch. But this power is like a drug, it’s addictive and it can warp your mind. There are ways to suppress it, even safely use it in small doses, and there’s even an exact opposite force to it that doesn’t have such negative qualities. But the fact remains it’s one of the few powers I have that even I might call ‘evil.’ I’ll be honest, one of the only reasons I can use it the way I have is due to me being a displaced, and a powerful one at that. I’d of course teach them how to handle, but… well, there’s a difference between knowing how to do something and being able to do it.”
“It’s the Street Fighter ki right? Psycho Power? Or was it that other one?”
“No, not Psycho Power. It’s the two sides of Ansatsuken, the dark Satsui no Hadou and the light Mu no Ken. Or, to use their English names, ‘Assassin’s Fist’, ‘Surge of Murderous Intent’, and ‘Power of Nothingness’.”
“Ah yes, now I remember, Ryu vs Scorpion. Yeah, that’s a problem.”
“So, what do you think? Just general Ki manipulation, or something more involved that carries a risk?”
“Sorry, but I’m not sure I can take the risk. However, I do know a DBZ-verse Displaced, so I have a source for some next level ki.”
“Alright then, general Ki manipulation it is. Glad we could get that hashed out,” Gilgamesh replied, actually looking a bit relieved. “So, one last thing I want to ask. What are your thoughts on having a little get together here at SPD?”
“Let’s just say that our R&D department is currently on the verge of usurping Sugarcube Corner as Ponyville’s Party Central.”
Off in the distance something Pink shouted in anger.
“... I am suddenly terrified. You should at least make her a regular cook to ease the blow to her pride. But so long as you’re ok with it, I think she and I will do a bit of planning for something a few days from now.”
An invitation for a party planning party floated down from the ceiling to on top of Gilgamesh’s head.
“... Yeah, I should’ve expected that. And speaking of which, on a personal note, there’s something I want you to answer.”
“Ask away.”
Gilgamesh smirked. “When’s the last time someone was brave enough to actually ask your two royal charges to dance?”
Cruger chuckled, “A while. Although if you do plan on courting them, I will play the overprotective father role, and you know from experience that when I threaten to tear your heart out if you break theirs, I have the skill to back it up.”
“Hey hey, no courting here. My heart’s taken. But to be honest, I think they could actually do well from someone trying. They might be millenia year old royals, but they’re still mares. And if they’re anything like mine, they get tired of being put on a pedestal that no one thinks they can reach.”
“Celestia maybe, but I have it on good authority that Luna’s enjoying modern night life.”
“Oh ho, is that so? Maybe you’re not as strict a parent as I thought you were! Anyway, I’ve got some party planning to do and a few more lessons to hash out the details. Later puppy dog.”
“See you there, and don’t call me that again.”
“Whatever you say,” Gilgamesh said with a grin as he walked out the door.
Cruger looked at the new recruits going through basic training, they were going to be needed if Grumm’s threats weren’t exaggerations, which they probably weren’t. He looked through his list to see the names of all of the new recruits.
“Hm… everything seems to be in order.” He said to himself, then turned to the recruits. “Alright! Listen up! I am Anubis Cruger, but please, just call me Cruger. You are all going to have your full effort if you want to become members of SPD! Some of you are here because you want to protect your country and loved ones, others because you’ve already lost someone and don’t know what to do with your lives, and I think that maybe one or two of you joined up so that you can get an impressive dress uniform so you can get a date. Regardless of your reasons, if and when you graduate, you will no longer be who you are right now, you will be forged into a member of the greatest law enforcement unit on the planet, Space Patrol Delta, DISMISSED!”
“YES SIR!!!” The recruits saluted in unison before walking away in a single file line. Cruger turned, but stopped as a certain someone leaned against the wall.
“Quite the display you have there.” He commented. “I do wonder, though; How do you handle that power without getting a little mad?”
“I was autistic before I got Displaced, I’d say I’m a little mad already,” Cruger replied, “anyway, mind telling me why you’re here Wade? I want to know if I need the extra-strength Tylenol, or the prescription grade stuff.”
“Oh...Autistic?” he pulled out a notebook and wrote it down. “Gonna have to control myself around you then… oh! Forgot! I'm not here to bother you, Buddy. I'm here to drop someone off! Come on and meet your Uncle Cruger, Neaera!” Stepping around the corner was something Cruger hadn't seen; It was a teenage, Human-pony hybrid with a healthy tan coat all over her body, the head of a pony with a large horn & a blue & orange eye, hair that looked short & normal up front but transitioned to Luna’s long mane in the back, and wore black, UFC looking matching bra & shorts.
Cruger’s eye twitched, “Wade, is this who I think it is?”
“Yep! She's my daughter!”
“HI.” Nearra greeted meekly. “Dad. You never told me Uncle Cruger was a Diamond Dog.”
Cruger let out an annoyed sigh, “I am not a Diamond Dog, seriously if I had a bit for every time someone called me that I’d have enough for a second Delta Base. Anyway, while I’m flattered that I’m her honorary uncle, why exactly is she here?”
“That?” Deadpool asked. “Well… blurt it out kid.”
“I wanna be a hero!!!” She blurted.
“Yeah… that. And if you're gonna ask, no, I didn't contact anyone else, and yes, I tried to teach her the basic, but it's just as effective as a blind man describing a movie.”
“Yeah, you teaching heroics sounds about as effective as Dan Hibiki teaching combat,” Cruger said, “I assume you want her to learn from the master?”
“Yes. And here,” he gave Cruger a suitcase. “That contains all of her information that you should know about her, f***ing bureaucrats,along with all of the cash needed to help her out, and extra for damage. Just as a heads up, she ages seven times faster than everyone else, just like you. What you're seeing isn't a 14 year old, but a 2 year old.” He walked to his daughter and rustled her hair/mane “Now be a good girl while I'm away. No doubt Luna’s already crying for you.”
“I will, dad.” Nearra replied. “I'll give my maximum effort here as you will with mom.”
“Oh yeah… me gusta… “
“... Dad?” he shook himself.
“Sorry!” He turned to Cruger. “And yes! Her mother is Princess Luna! I'm Sterile! How did it happen, I don't know!?”
“I’m chalking it up to what you would call plot convenience,” Cruger said, “now get going, I need to make a training plan.”
“Got it!” Deadpool said while pulling out a gallon of lube. “HERE I COME!!!” He disappeared in a puff of smoke.
“... So… how are you?” Nearra asked. “When do we start?”
“As soon as you put this on,” Cruger said as he pulled a training uniform out of storage, “we’ll start relatively easy, give me 20 laps around the track while I go over your info.”
“20 laps!? Hold on, is this 20 100 meters or 20 400 meters?”
“It’s just a standard jogging track,” Cruger said, “now get going before I make you run the whole perimeter of the compound 20 times, I think it’s about 1k per lap?”
“GAH!!! Yes, Uncle-Sir!!!” She hastily put on the standard suit, hopping on one leg for the pants, and began her jog. Cruger opened the case; a cardboard cutout of the “shut up and take my money!” Fry popped out, holding a bunch of cash to him. Underneath the cutout was documents regarding about Neaera… and various strange artwork of Deadpool making love to Princess Luna, ending with Deadpool having the troll face, asking “U Mad, Bro?”
“Yes Wade, I am very mad,” Cruger said as he placed the pictures into a paper shredder.
“So, how you feeling?” Cruger asked as Neaera finished her run.
“... Hungry.” She said like a zombie. “Need… food!” She fell to the floor and crawled like a zombie. “Food… need… food… but gluten free!”
“Yes, your files did indicate your dietary requirements,” Cruger said, “unfortunately for you, it’s 10:30, lunch is at 12:00. Since you’re already down, why don’t you give me 20?” She pulled out 25 dollars.
“Keep the change.”
“Looks like you’ve inherited your father’s sense of humor,” Cruger said. “Look, I don’t care if you think I’m being mean, but this is nothing compared to what you might face. Do you think Doctor Doom is going to time his attacks for just after you’re finished lunch?”
“... Martha! The panther God! Fant4stic! I'll use those on him! Brains over brawn.”
“Yeah, how about if the Juggernaut comes after you? You just going to let him turn you into an actual two-dimensional figure?”
“... X-men 3 and bad usage of Internet memes.” Cruger began to lose her patience.
“Okay then, let’s say you’re trapped alone with… let’s go with the Iron Monger, what then?”
“...Fly high. And use lemon juice when he reveals his face… they hurt, you know.”
Cruger sighed, “Wade, you ruined her. Not every battle can be won with memes, your dad has swords and guns for a reason. In fact, follow me.” She inched like a worm, following him. After a bit they arrived at a door, “Welcome to the simulator, ready to try some actual combat?” She jumped right up.
“Ha!!! I'm ready!!! Let's do this, chumps! LEEROOOOY JENKINS!!!” She ran in.
“Oh my God, she just ran in.” An operator added.
Cruger chuckled, “Well then, let’s teach her the dangers of judging a book by it’s cover, load up the rabbit.”
The operator chuckled, “This is gonna be fun.”
Inside, Neaera stood, looking around.
“Come on! Give me your hardest!... Just not that, though.” The simulator booted up, and Nearra found herself in front of a cave. “OOH!!! What's this!? An Ogre!? A dragon!? BILL WATERSON’S HOME!!!” Out of the cave came a white, regular sized rabbit. “... A BUNNY!?!?!? REALLY!?!?? Oh, what do you want me to do? Pick it up and snuggle with it!?... Hm… not a bad idea actually… perhaps I should-” The rabbit lunged at her, biting her neck with razor sharp teeth! “AHH!!! BUNNY ATTACK!!! BUNNY ATTACK!!! CURSE YOU DAD FOR NOT SHOWING ME THE CLASSICS!!! GET IT OFF!!! GET IT OFF!!!”
Cruger and the operators couldn't help but laugh hysterically at the sight. “All right, shut it down,” said Cruger. The simulator powered down and Cruger entered. Neaera was still on the floor, screaming. As soon as she realized it was over, she rolled into a ball and cowered.
“B-bunnies… s-s-so… evil!”
“Now, what did we learn today?” Cruger asked over the intercom.
“Never trust a bunny!”
“No, we learned that A: appearances can be deceiving and B: you need to learn how to fight.”
“... Okay… I'm sorry! I-I'll listen! No more bunnies…“
“As you wish,” Cruger replied, “let’s go with something a little easier.” The new program loaded, revealing a white void with various floating platforms. “Time to learn some free running, let’s see how many checkpoints you can hit before lunch.” She stood right up, a bit shaken,but calmed down.
Neaera stood at the firing range, took a few shots at the target with a blaster, and missed them all.
Neaera ran towards a set of giant red balls, jumped and landed on the first, then slipped and landed in the pool
Neaera walked into a sparring ring, then was thrown back out 5 seconds later.
Neaera struggled to bench press a bar without any additional weight on it.
Neara shot at the target, most of the rounds hit, but they were all over the place.
Neaera jumped onto the first red ball, made it to the second, then slipped.
Neara entered the ring, then lasted 45 seconds before limping out.
Neaera slowly but steadily bench pressed a bar with a pair of 50 pound weights.
Neaera plugged a target at 500 meters right in the center of the head. Then Cruger set the same target to 1000 meters and turned it into a smiley face.
Neaera performed a veritable gymnastics routine as she lept over the balls.
Neaera entered the ring, then threw her opponent out 2 seconds later.
Neaera bench pressed a bar loaded with 500 lb like it was nothing.
(End music)
“I can't believe we did all of that in another Montage!” Neaera spoke, looking at herself in a mirror. She wasn't fat when she entered, but she was skinnier, and most of her mass became noticeable lean muscles. “Oh man! Mom and Dad are gonna be proud!”
“Oh, but what about your Uncle Cruger?” Cruger asked, opening the door.
“GAH!!! What are you doing here!?”
“This is my office you're in.”
“... Oh… guess we skipped that part about my dorm, eh?” she laughed awkwardly.
“Well, I was going to call you here anyway so no harm done,” Cruger chuckled. “So, your foundational training is finished, there is only one last thing to do before I can send you back in good conscience.”
“What's that? I did everything you said, and, though you don't like it, but I gave it my maximum effort, just like what Dad says all the time.”
“First, I would never dislike anyone for doing their maximum effort, unless their max effort involves trying to take over the world. Second, this is about something else.” Cruger pressed a concealed button on his desk, causing it and the floor around it to descend. “As I said, your foundational training is complete, but that’s only going to get you so far. You need to find what you’re best at, and polish it. And there’s no better place to start,” the lift stopped, revealing an armory, “by selecting your personal signature loadout.” Nearra looked everywhere, and drooled.
“So… much… weapons…“
“Before you get any ideas, there’s no ammo in the entire room,” Cruger said, “but you can look around and see what you like.” She got up and looked around, about as excited as a kid at a candy store.
“OH!!! SO MUCH TO CHOOSE!!! Shotguns!? Sniper rifles!? Bazookas!?... No… not the Bazookas… can't go full on Michael Bay….Dad hates Michael Bay, along with his films but The Rock and 13 Hours.”
“If I may,” Cruger said as he pulled a halberd from its rack, “perhaps something like this? Tell me, did Wade, in his vast knowledge of Pop Culture, tell you about RWBY?”
“... No,actually. He and the Author have only seen a few clips and the Death Battle with one of the characters. What the heck does that do?”
“Well then, here’s the main thing you need to know. In RWBY, almost every single weapon,” with a flick of the wrist, Cruger changed the halberd into a sniper rifle, “is also a gun.” She gasped and reached for it.
“Gimme!!!”
“No way, this is mine,” Cruger said as he held it over his head and out of reach, “why don’t you decide what two weapons you want to combine and we’ll head to my personal forge?”
“... My mind has been blown.” She ran around the armory, though, unbeknownst to Cruger, she had her own voices in her head, like her father.
“We gotta get something awesome!” Her crazy yelled “We gotta get something that'll hurt those bad guys!”
“True, but it can't kill them.” Her Stuffy added. “And it should honor our mother as well.”
“Hm… What type of swords do you got?” Nearra asked.
“Let’s see… we’ve got your standard broadswords, not the most unique of options, but reliable.”
“Eh, it's gonna be special when it's mixed. You allow twin weapon mixes?”
“I said I was making you a RWBY weapon, they’re mixes by default. Although, if you want to make an impression, how about a claymore?”
“A claymore?”
“You know, Braveheart? William Wallace’s sword?”
“Before Mel Gibson went insane? Yeah, I saw that film, but… Oh! You have that sword!?”
“Yeah, although now that I think about it it might not match with your fighting style, you’re more ninja than barbarian, and I mean that in the best possible way.” She blushed.
“Aw, shucks! I probably won't be assassinating anyone, not unless I become the biggest hypocrite. (Batman to you, folks at home)”
“Maybe, but better to need and not have. Speaking of which,” he pulled down a pair of curved short swords, “how about dual-wielding a set of these beauties?”
She took them from him, “Hm… I'll call this one Slicey McGilligan, and this one Shank McGee! Do you teach how to keister things?”
“You’ve been sparring with fight sticks, you should be able to use those with minimal problems. By the way, we’re only half done, time to pick out your ranged option.”
“Oh, that's easy! For Mel Gibson, yes, I'm calling the Claymore that, a sniper, and for the couple, semi auto machine guns… or Uzis, as most people call them.”
“Most people are wrong,” Cruger said as he grabbed a set of the requested weapons, “Uzi is a brand, not a type. Anyway, why don’t you take these over to the testing range,” Cruger opened a pair of portals, “I’ll get started on the Beacon grade weapons, shouldn’t take too long thanks to time dilation, I’ll let you know when I’m done.” She jumped and hugged him.
“Thanks, Uncle! I didn't want to say it, but, you're tough, and I don't care, but, I love you!” She hugged him even tighter.
“Does this mean I’m invited to Christmas?” Cruger said as he struggled to escape the death grip.
“Of course! But, it's gonna be in the summer, since Jesus wasn't born in the winter, and it's technically a pagan holiday… that, and my dad killed Santa, along with the Illuminati leading Christmas specials.”
“Okay, don’t think I want to hear about that one. Now, if you don’t let me go I’m not going to be able to make your new toys.”
“Toys!? Where!?” she jumped off and ran away. “I WANT MY BARBIE!!!”
“How's my Girl doing!?” Deadpool asked. “I see you have new weapons.”
“Yeah!” She replied. “I did such an awesome job!”
“That's good! I got a gift you!”
“Ooh! What is it!?”
“Ta-Da!!!” Deadpool pulled out a bunny. Nearra stared, shivered, and let out a scream, running away in fear.
“DON'T LET IT NEAR ME!!!” Deadpool blinked, but turned to Cruger. Despite wearing a mask, he was pissed.
“What. Did. You. Do?”
“Monty Python and the Holy Grail sim, in my defense, it got her in the mood for a training montage.” Deadpool glared at him, silent like. Many of the employees who remembered Deadpool took a few steps back, never seeing this… angry, nor silent.
“...You're lucky you're the main character of this fanfic. If you weren't… I'd drop you off at China.”
“You’d try,” Cruger chuckled, “anyway, I think you’ll be pleased with the results.”
“... Other than her fear of bunnies, lean muscles, and those RWBY-esque guns, what are they?”
“Hey, Nearea, why don’t you show him exactly how well you can use your new gear?” A barrage of bullets shot into Deadpool chest, followed by her, as a near, blue blur, slicing him up. Deadpool looked fine.
“... Huh… I feel nothing.” holes of blood poured from his body. “Oh… that's not good.” he fell into sliced pieces. “... Ow.” Nearra picked his head up.
“Dad, pull yourself together.” a ‘Ba-Dum-Tish’ was heard.
“Ugh! That was a terrible joke!... Glad to see you still have my sense of humor!”
“Please, you say that like I could get rid of it.”
“We both heard you say that.” Both daughter and father spoke in unison.
“Anyway,” Cruger continued, “she’s ready for basic level hero work. She has zero real world experience so you should probably accompany her for her first supervillain.”
“I know just the guy!” Deadpool said, putting his body together.
“Who is it!?” Nearra asked.
“You'll meet him when you're a bit older… so some time after your third birthday. He's a special guy; he made me… well… Me!”
“... Should I get him the lady bug outfit?” Deadpool snickered
“I see what you did there. DO IT!!! And if you're wondering who I'm talking about, watch my movie, folks… then a Bug's Life. For now, keep on training,Nearra.”
“Speaking of which,” Cruger said, “if she ever wants some more advanced training, a fellow Displaced is opening a school for Displaced and I’m teaching there.”
“... What's a displaced, dad?” Nearra asked.
“Some cosplayer that winds up in Equestria.” Deadpool answered. “Though, it seems I'm one… not so sure about you, though. You're… well… a Mary Sue.”
“...is that bad?”
“Varies, but you're better than those Other Sue's. And who's this guy, Cruger?”
“Sun Wukong, RWBY character, not that monkey, want his token?”
“Sure.” Nearra replied. “Can't hurt just to learn some new moves. Who's his author’s name?”
“I have no idea, but I did meet up with him before, use your powers of the fourth wall,” Cruger said as he tossed him the coin. She grabbed it and observed it.
“Eh, I'll get MrAquino to do it.” Deadpool said. “And I am quite surprised that you haven't used your infinity stone, Cruger ol’ buddy ol’ pal.”
Cruger sighed, “Tell me, have you been in the company of time travelers?”
“Nope.” Nearra said “But there's always a first.”
“Wait a minute.” Deadpool said with skepticism. “You don't have one yet? Which means… MY GOD!!! So that's why you weren't so surprised when-” Nearra covered his mouth.
“Shh! Spoilers!!!””
“In the words of Doctor Who, Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey.”
“... Great… now we gotta think like time travelers.” Deadpool said. “Hopefully, it's not going to be as bad as that Turkey film… and Terminator Genysis.”
“So far it’s nothing too bad,” Cruger said, “all I know is that I’m getting a sweet upgrade in the near future, now shut up before you rip reality a new one.”
“You don't think I know that!? I've been time traveling before you were born!... Literally. But, I guess since you gave me a punch when you returned to my past… and your future… then this should keep the time/space continuum going.” He punched Cruger below the belt, making him fall.
“Dad!!!” Nearra yelled.
“CHEESE IT!!! It's my past self’s problem!!!” Deadpool ran into the portal he came through. Nearra gave Cruger a kiss on his cheek, along with a piece of paper.
“Here you go, my number, in case you want to talk.” she gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I'll see you soon. Hopefully, I won't be in trouble.” She followed her father into the portal. One of the nurses approached to Cruger.
“Do you need an ice pack, sir?” she asked.
“No, cryo grenade, and my notebook,” Cruger groaned, “I have payback to plan.”
Flare Blast was performing a final inspection of the Runner Bay doors. They had just managed to clear out the debris that was blocking it and pounded out all the dents. It was the last bit of damage that needed to be taken care of to restore it to full functionality. All that was left was to fire up the super-grill for the wrap up party.
Just then however, a large red object appeared in the air beside the base. It looked like an old tall ship, although it was completely red and it’s sails looked more like those of a Chinese Junk. Along its side was a set of cannons, which opened fire on the base with no warning. Although the damage was mainly cosmetic, numerous windows were obliterated, to say nothing of the rooms behind them. As Flare contemplated the week’s work at minimum that was just added, a second volley fired. As a third was launched, he couldn’t help but make his displeasure known.
“STOP BLOWING HOLES IN MY BASE!”
The ship fired a fourth volley into the base before continuing on it’s way, cannons and beam turrets firing off at random intervals before coming to a rest over the Everfree Forest. It’s gun batteries falling eerily silent before it vanished completely. Flare pulled out his communicator and flipped it open, “Flare Blast to Dispatch, tell me you felt that.”
“Roger that,” replied Blue Rush, “What was it?”
“Giant red airship of some sort. It has some kind of cloaking tech, came out of nowhere and fired a few volleys before heading to the Everfree. And I might be wrong, but I think it had a flag like you see on those pirate ships in the movies.”
“Understood, scanners register it, it cloaked but the gravimetric sensors are showing... nothing? That’s impossible, those things can beatChangeling grade cloaks.”
Flare thought for a minute before snapping his fingers, “Try the Paint Bomb.”
“Acknowledged,” Rush replied. A few seconds later, a hatch on the top of the base opened allowing a funny looking missile to streak out. Once it was over the forest, it exploded in a ball of bright pink paint. Most of it landed on the trees, but some landed on the ship, outlining it.
Flare grinned, “Tell the boys in the lab it worked a treat.”
”Will do, we’ll also be trying out the new deployment shuttle, A-Squad’s already morphed and loaded up.” With that, an unpainted large-bodied shuttle launched from the upper hanger and made a beeline for the ship.
“Navi! Turn the guns off! I don’t know how, but I think we lost them.” Gai said, turning on the ship’s cloaking to max, he’d rather not have to apologise for the rather rude and aggressive bombardment of whatever building he had just flew by. “Navi, can you give me a location on where we are?”
“The scanners are going haywire! I can’t pull up an area map!” Navi cried from a terminal in the main quarters.
“Dammit...” Gai muttered, rubbing at the chin of his helmet, “what about our passengers?”
“Kettle hit his head on the doorframe to the kitchen, he’s out cold. Rainbow Dash’s wound opened up again, Pipsqueak and Flurry Heart are treating her now.”
“Good, I’ll be out in a sec, just gotta confirm that we’re clear.”
At that moment, the ship’s proximity projectile alarm blared a warning, drawing Gai’s attention to the missile streaking directly towards the Galleon, it was already too close to dodge.
“Everyone! Brace for impact!” He shouted, adjusting his stance to take the impact that never came. Instead, the warhead detonated, scattering a fine pink mist over the trees below as well as, much to Gai’s chagrin, all over the Galleon.
“Is this… paint? Oh this had better wash off!” Gai half growled, half shouted to no one in particular.
“Gai! We have a small transport coming in!” Navi said, “It’s coming from the same direction as that missile!”
Gai’s eyes narrowed behind his helmet, “aww hell no. Navi! Prime the cannons, we’re gonna shoot that thing down!”
“Aye sir!”
“3 minutes till drop!” The pilot shouted back towards Dash and the rest of A-Squad. Dash nodded, although behind her helmet she was seething. She had just finished her workout and was about to have some of her personal stock of cider, when the first volley caused a piece of wood to knock her stien out of her hand, as well as punching a big hole in the barrel causing it to spill onto the floor. By the time the alarms sounded she had already planned 3 separate forms of the most vile retribution. 2 were quite good, the 3rd was rather tricky, it involved chopsticks.
All of a sudden, the vessel uncloaked, then started firing with a combination of the main cannons it used on the base as well as beam weapons. The pilot managed to evade the projectiles from the main guns, but the beams weren’t as easy. Luckily between the dropship’s shields and armor the damage was minimal. Unfortunately, the evasive maneuvers were making the Rangers without wings very glad that their helmets included a way to ensure that their puke didn’t stay in them.
“I’m gonna have to do a drop and dash,” the pilot said as they approached, “it’s too hot for me to land.”
Dash grinned as the others blanched beneath their helmets. “You don’t mean…” Pearl Spark started, before the floor beneath them opened up causing them to fall onto the deck of the ship, although not all of them landed on their feet. “Why does this always happen?” Pearl asked nobody in particular as she got up from a rather, ungraceful, head first landing.
Only to be laid out flat on her back as a beam of blue light impacted her forehead.
“So, they sent more of their attack dogs after me, huh? Guess I’ll have to break more of their toys.” A voice said from the far end of the deck, “I don’t suppose I could ask phantoms of dead heroes to get the hell off my ship?”
Rainbow Dash simply drew her blasters as another form of retribution for hurting one of her teammates took shape in her head. Due to its graphic nature, all that can be said about it is that it involved barbecue sauce, a bouncy castle, and 37 toothpicks.
“I’ll take that as a ‘no’,” the voice said, “since you’re the phantoms of the former DekaRangers, I’ll do this a little differently. Gokai Change!”
“DEEEEEEEEEKARANGER!!!” Another voice cried out as a figure in white stepped out from behind the main mast of the ship.
“Facing outrageous evil! Smashing the darkness of fear! Detective of the Daybreak! Dekabreak!” He shouted, the sirens on the side of his helmet flashing twice. “Let’s make this showy!”
Dash’s eyes widened in shock, she recognized it from one of Cruger’s concept sketches he showed the R&D team, but it was nowhere near ready. Whoever this guy was, he was impersonating an officer of Space Patrol Delta, and that royally pissed her off. She mentally added a swarm of Parasprites to the retribution before she and the rest of A-Squad still standing opened fire.
“Kosoku-ken! Lightning Fist!” He shouted as he was enveloped in small explosions, smoke obscuring him.
Dash grinned, “Got ‘im.”
“Is that so? You’re pretty naive for a phantom.” The figure said, stepping out of the smoke completely unharmed, “and I think you dropped these.” He opened his left hand, letting the small balls of glowing energy drop to the deck, each encased in their own stasis field.
“Wha-” Dash stammered before she was cut off by the figure’s left hand clamped over her face, “Dengeki-ken!” he said, revving the device on his wrist, “Electro Fist!”
Dash screamed as a high voltage current coursed through her body, the noise muffled by the figure’s hand.
“And then there were three, it’d probably be best if you just let me turn you back into keys now and save me the trouble.”
In response, Dash grabbed him in a one-armed suplex and threw him on the ground. “You call that a punch?” Dash said, “compared to Gilgamesh, you’re nothing.”
“Ooh, feisty.” The figure said, looping his legs around Dash’s and bringing her crashing to the deck with a twist before vaulting back to a standing position using one hand as leverage. “I guess they gave you that smart mouth of yours for interrogation purposes, huh?”
“No, that’s my job,” Night Stalker said before he used his baton to strike at all of the figure’s pressure points.
“Was that supposed to hurt? Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” The figure said, revving the device again, “Tatsumaki-ken! Tornado Fist!” He shouted, punching Night Stalker in the stomach before a whirlwind blew him headfirst into the ship’s main mast. Before he could make another comment, Evil Breaker and Hammer Fist lept down from the mast they were waiting on and simultaneously kicked him in the face.
The figure turned with the blow, using the momentum to spin himself into a mule kick that impacted both ponies where the sun didn’t shine.
“If this was the extent of the DekaRangers’ abilities, I’m sorely disappointed.” The figure said, standing and rolling his shoulders as if this were an easy workout for him.
“I don’t know what you mean by DekaRangers,” Dash said as she backed up a few steps, “but SPD doesn’t go down easy.” She then shot forward, doing a Sonic Rainboom just as she tackled him.
The figure let out an oof as the scarlet ranger barreled into him, losing his breath before being smashed against the quarterdeck wall. She didn’t stop there, continually whaling on the figure with her fists and legs, slamming him from all angles to keep him pinned against the wall. “Eat this!” She shouted, raising a fist to smash it into his helmeted face, only to have it grabbed by the figure.
“Nice shot,” He growled, twisting her arm so that it was pinned behind Dash’s back, “guess they upgraded you guys.” A resounding crack could be heard across the deck of the ship as Dash’s shoulder was dislocated before she was slammed headfirst into the deck, denting it.
“Cho Goriki-ken.” He said, revving the device again, “Super Power Fist!” He shouted, bringing the finishing move down on the back of Dash’s head, creating a crater in the center of the deck with Dash’s head stuck in the middle.
“Funny, pretty sure that was a killing blow there, should’ve turned back into a ranger key by now.” The figure muttered, grabbing the device’s handle again, “maybe one more for posterity…”
“Or you could just stand down Jack.”
“Who’s there!?” The figure said, looking around.
“The most powerful being in this dimension,” Cruger said as he stepped out of a portal fully morphed, “Ranger or Sentai?”
“DekaMaster!? How is that possible!?” The figure said, a silvery light enveloping him as a silver figure with a gold trident took his place. He pressed a button on his belt, causing the central plate to flip over, revealing a smaller figurine of Cruger’s fully morphed form, “Your key’s right here… what the hell is going on!?” He said, pointing his trident at the Ranger in front of him.
Cruger sighed as he drew his sword, “It’s Kat’s all over again. Now, I’m going to give you a choice, you’re going to apologize for blowing holes in my base that just got repaired and beating up my team and I take you back so I can teach you a few things. Or, I knock you senseless, and then take you back so you can apologize and I can teach you a few things.”
“Base? Do you have medical staff there!?” The figure asked, lowering his trident, “I have someone with a sniper wound to the shoulder on this ship, and another with head trauma.”
Cruger sheathed his blade, although he kept a hand on it, “Demorph and allow me to pilot it back to base, and they’ll have first class accommodations in an ICU before dinner.”
“I can only do the first,” The figure said as he undid his transformation, “the steering wheel’s fingerprint locked.” Standing in front of Cruger was a human with a mop of light brown hair wearing a silver long coat over leggings and a simple shirt.
“As long as I’m in the cockpit with you, I will allow it.”
“Right, gonna have to tell Navi to not try and claw your face off,” he muttered, grabbing Dash by the leg and pulling her out of the hole her head had been stuck in, “name’s Gai, by the way, Gai Ikari, future captain of the next Gokaigers.”
“Cruger, although something tells me you could have guessed that.”
Gai smiled ruefully, “Well, since you’re not trying to cut my head off like this guy here,” he held up the small figure, “there could really only be one other option. So I’ll return your earlier question, Ranger or Sentai?”
“Ranger. Oh by the way, you started it.”
Gai shrugged, “last thing I remember, I was trying to shoot down a potential doomsday weapon before it could have a proper detonation,” he opened the door to the living quarters, “next thing I know, that building was on the receiving end of a full salvo barrage. Which makes me question what was in that warhead to begin with.”
“Probably a warp generator or something. I hate to break it to you but you’re in a whole ‘nother dimension.”
Gai mulled it over, scratching at his chin, “that makes more sense, though I wonder where that lunatic got it from...”
All of a sudden, a red metal bullet collided with Cruger’s face, clawing and scratching at his helmet, “Take that! And that! No one messes with this ship!” Navi cried, her little parrot talons hardly leaving a scratch on the visor.
Cruger turned his head towards Gai, “So, care to call of your ProfNav?”
“Navi, you’re being rude to our guest,” Gai deadpanned, grabbing the offending parrot with one hand, “sorry about that, but you might as well demorph, you’re kind of imposing like that. And we’ve had trouble with that suit before.”
“I guess it wouldn’t be the worst, unlike most Rangers I’m not a total pushover when unmorphed, Power Down.”
“Huh, I’ve always wondered how you were ever able to cram that muzzle into a human-shaped helmet.”
“I refuse to answer that question,” Cruger grinned, “more importantly, I believe we have some patients?”
“This way, and it wasn’t a question.” Gai said, entering the main living quarters, “Dash, Flurry, Pipsqueak, we have a guest, so no pistols, paper fans, or frying pans, ok?”
“We’re clear.” Dash deadpanned, stepping out from behind the central pillar, lowering her pistol. A wide eyed Pipsqueak crawled out from under the table, clutching a small saucepan. Flurry Heart got up from behind the couch, her unusually destructive paper fan clutched close to her chest, “who is this, mister Gai?” She asked, looking curiously at Cruger.
Cruger grinned and bowed slightly, “Call me Cruger Princess Heart.”
Flurry Heart curtsied, “it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mister Cruger.” Then she cocked her head, examining him curiously, “forgive me, but I’m curious, why would a Diamond Dog know about me?”
Cruger facepalmed, “Why… every time… I need a t-shirt that says ‘I am not a Diamond Dog’ or something. Your highness, I am a Sirian, not a Diamond Dog, and unless I am very much mistaken Gai and I come from the same place, same continent at the very least.”
“About that,” Gai said, ignoring the profusely apologising princess, “we still need an explanation on the whole ‘different dimension’ thing.”
“I’ll brief you on the specifics after we get these two to Doc Plague, don’t worry it’s only a name, but for right now,” Cruger pulled off his Dash’s helmet, “let’s just say it’s not the first time I’ve dealt with such things.”
Dash’s eyes widened, “captain... why is the blue alien holding a copy of me in DekaRed’s suit?” she said, slumping down on the couch and putting pressure on the bandages on her shoulder.
“I think I’ll have the rest of you sit in on the debriefing then,” Gai said, scanning the room, “where’s Kettle?”
“He’s passed out by the kitchen,” Pipsqueak said, pointing with a thumb, “he’s too heavy for us to move, and Dash couldn’t help because of her arm.”
“I see...” Gai muttered, “we’ll be heading to some proper medical facilities soon, we can get help then.” He turned towards the manual control room, “this way, Cruger.”
Cruger nodded and followed before opening his communicator, “Cruger to DCB, have medical standing by.”
Gai opened the door, and stepped up to the wheel, turning the ship towards SPD headquarters, “your guys are gonna need medical assistance too, especially the guys who lasted longer than one headshot against me.”
“According to the built in sensors, they’re not too bad, but a checkup never hurt anyone.”
“I slammed blue boy into the main mast head first at near terminal velocity, shot pink in the head, mule kicked both green and yellow in the nards so hard that every male on the planet probably felt it, dislocated red’s arm and smashed her head into the deck with enough force to crumple the hardened alloy plates, which is enough to survive a skirmish with an entire armada out to kill me, and they’re ‘not too bad?’ I think you and I need to have a talk about your definition of ‘bad’, Cruger.”
“1, their suits are so well armored they make Abrams look like tin cans. 2, they just got off a training camp with one of the most powerful warriors in the multiverse. It’ll take a lot more than that to do serious injury to them while morphed, and they haven’t even earned SWAT Mode yet.”
“Huh, damn. Guess I better hurry with recruitment then, Dash is the only member I have so far, and she hasn’t even gone through the severe training it takes to even handle the transformation into Gokaiger. But then again, I did kinda kick their asses with just DekaBreak, so I guess they still have a long way to go as well.”
“I’ll take care of that soon enough don’t you worry,” Cruger said as they approached the base, “now, let’s get your wounded prepped for transport.”
“Right,” Gai said, mooring the Galleon next to the base, “I’ll get Kettle, I assume you’re gonna use that portal magic to get your guys to the infirmary?”
“It’s an option, but the docs get mad if I do that, something about teleportation aggravating injuries? Anyway there’ll be plenty of gurneys waiting for us.”
“With a lot of ice packs for Green and Yellow, I hope!” Gai snickered, slinging Kettle over his shoulders, “jeez, he is heavier than before.” He glanced at the stallion’s wrist, eyes widening at what he saw there, “dammit Kettle!” Gai shouted, ripping off the training brace off of Kettle’s wrist, “you could have easily died!”
“What’s wrong, Mister Gai?” Flurry Heart asked, concern in her eyes.
“What’s wrong is that this big lug is a gigantic idiot for touching something he shouldn’t have,” Gai growled, hefting the unconscious stallion onto his shoulder, “you owe me a drink when you wake up, asshole.”
“Let me guess, DBZ grade training gear?” Cruger asked.
“Not exactly,” Gai said, lifting the cuff on his left sleeve, revealing a similar brace, “It makes the user experience just enough increased gravity to not kill them as well as causing injuries to do more damage. If they’re maxed out like mine is, they act as a limiter, both magical and mundane.”
“Sounds DBZ grade to me.”
“DBZ grade doesn’t automatically adjust for increases in strength.”
“No, just manually.”
“Touche” Gai pushed a button on the terminal, extending the ship’s gangplank to the ground.
Cruger just chuckled before turning to the medical staff that were waiting, “A-Squad is a bit banged up, and there are 2 others who need possible surgery. Also, alert the base that Displaced protocols are in effect, we’ve got another Dash.”
“Rolling out the red carpet already? You flatter me, Cruger,” Gai said, handing an unconscious Kettle to one of the medical staff, “does this happen that often?”
“Visitors from another world, yes.”
“That, is some straight up RPG shenanigans right there man - wolf - dog - person, I’m kinda confused on which word to use here...” Gai scratched at his chin, “I guess ‘man’ works, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that you were once human?”
“Yep, although as possible options go, I’m glad I didn’t go Omega.”
“I guess it would be kind of awkward to go around as a ball of light unless in combat.”
“Anyway, you hungry? I just learned a new recipe for ramen from a friendly rival of mine and I’ve been dying to try it out.”
Gai’s face paled, “I just remembered something really important,” he locked eyes with Cruger, “I haven’t eaten a full meal in the better part of a week, I’m really only running on adren-” without warning, Gai collapsed, face planting in front of everyone present.
Cruger sighed as he hoisted him over his shoulder, “Noob Displaced, no stamina.”
Gai’s nose twitched, the delicious aroma of… something, he couldn’t tell, was slowly drawing him from the pitch black abyss he currently found himself in. He groaned, stirring a little bit as his eyes slowly cracked open.
“Thought that might do the trick,” Cruger chuckled, “smelling salts have nothing on good food am I right?”
“You have no idea, is that what I think it is?” Gai said, pointing to the steaming bowl in Cruger’s hands, salivating a little.
“Hope you like beef, my Equestria is omnivorous.”
“Same,” Gai grabbbed the bowl of ramen, “itadakimasu!” With that, he began to slurp up the noodles with reckless abandon, “Kettle actually ran a curry shop in Manehattan,” he gulped, “at least until some Zangyack goons decided it was a good idea to blow it up and interrupt my first meal in about a week.”
Gai set the empty bowl down, stifling a belch, “time?” he asked, looking pointedly at the stopwatch Cruger was holding.
“8.13, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you were a Jump Displaced.”
“Ramen was always my favorite, even back when I wasn’t like this,” he wiped his mouth, “now I burn more calories than I ever did. You wouldn’t happen to have like, seven more of these, would you?”
“Are you sure you’re a Sentai and not a Jump?” Cruger asked as he simply pointed to a set of large pots on the stove.
“Well, I have the Gokai Galleon, the ability to transform into literally any member of Super Sentai as long as I have the key for that member, and I use the japanese names for my forms and attacks. Pretty sure I’m not Naruto.” Gai said, taking a newly filled bowl from Cruger.
“Fair enough. Oh, by the way, your Dash and Kettle just finished up getting treated, want me to call them up so that I only have to explain things once?”
Gai nodded, “what about Flurry and Pipsqueak?”
Cruger simply pointed at a nearby table, where they were enjoying some ramen of their own, albeit at a much slower pace.
“Alright, time for explanations then. They still don’t know anything either, I’m surprised at how well they’re taking all of this...” Gai said, watching the two with a soft smile.
“In a minute, or are you forgetting your first mate and cook?”
“No, I was waiting on you to call them in,” Gai shot him a wry smile, “and technically, Dash is the only formal member of my crew, the other three are victims of circumstance.”
Cruger shrugged as he typed out a message on his comm, “Forgive me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that how half of Luffy’s crew joined up?”
“I guess so, but I have no intentions of getting them involved any more than they already have, I may be a space pirate, but I’m not really into hostage-taking.”
“Give them the option, they deserve that much.”
“And what, drag Equestria’s last living royal, a street urchin, and a retired Guard into a conflict that’ll get them killed? I don’t think so.”
“And if you just kick them off, odds are they’ll just head in on their own anyway. I talked to Pip while I was cooking, if you don’t make him a cabin boy at minimum, odds are he’ll just go after Zangyack anyway, without the support of one of the most powerful beings in his dimension.”
“Out of the question,” Gai said, shooting the sheepish teenaged colt with a glare, “I’ll explain why when we’re alone, this isn’t something for them to know about.” He whispered to Cruger.
“Just be careful, we Displaced are pretty big butterflies.”
Gai gave a slight nod, turning to hear the whooshing noise of the powered door opening, allowing Dash, Navi, and Kettle to enter.
“How’s your shoulder, Dash?” Gai asked, looking pointedly at the fresh bandages over the bullet wound.
“It’ll take me a while to get back to one hundred percent, but I’ll live,” She said, rolling her uninjured shoulder, shifting the mechanical parrot violently, causing her to let out a squawk and take to the air, landing on Gai’s shoulder.
“No, I’m fine, thanks for your concern.” Kettle deadpanned, taking a seat next to Flurry Heart, “not like I also had a bullet wound and head trauma or anything.”
“Kettle, the bullet only grazed you, you’ve already been patched up. And the head trauma is your own fault for putting on the training brace without permission from me, you owe me a drink at the nearest tavern for that headache.”
“Anyway,” Cruger interrupted, “would you like to have some grub before or after I start explaining?”
“After prison food for ten years? Anything would be good.” Dash said, taking a seat next to Pipsqueak.
After Cruger passed everyone a bowl, he began. “Now Gai, what’s the last thing you remember before you ended up in command of the Galleon?”
“I was at Fanime back home, I was about to leave when this creepy guy sold me my Gokai Spear, in hindsight, someone dressed up as Xur complete with the wispy tentacles coming out from the hood standing at the entrance to the venue was probably one of the shadiest things I could have ever come across.” Gai said, a distant look in his eye.
“Pretty standard, although I’m not sure if that’s the Merchant we Displaced all know and loath or a new guy. Anyway, once you made that purchase, you became a Displaced, one of at least several dozen scattered in Equestrias across the multiverse, welcome to the club.”
“I would say it's an honor, but I really would have preferred to just walk out with my sweet new trident.”
Cruger chuckled, “Yeah, that would be preferable. So anyway, I believe it’s time I taught you how to make your Token.”
“Whats a Token?”
Cruger pulled his badge from his pocket and tossed it to Gai, “This is mine. Tokens are basically a Displaced’s calling card. You make one, send it out into the void, and other Displaced can use it to summon you if they need a hand or just to have a friendly chat.”
Gai’s eyes narrowed, “Any Displaced? Anyone from back home could summon me anywhere at the drop of a hat?”
Cruger frowned slightly, “You aren’t your verse’s only Displaced are you?”
Gai shot him a look that said: “later.”
Cruger nodded, “Well, my Token has a safety feature, and I do know a few Displaced who can control whether or not they go, so I think you’ll be fine.”
“That so? Alright, how do I go about making one?”
“Step 1, pick something that represents you. If it’s something you only have one of, I know a duplication spell.”
Gai held up the Gokai Silver key, “pretty sure this is as good as it gets, can you duplicate it?”
Cruger snapped his fingers, and suddenly Gai was holding two keys. “Next step, concentrate on it to infuse it with just a bit of your essence, and add a message you want people to hear when they pick it up.”
Gai put away the original key and focused on the duplicate in his hand, if he was right, then channeling to this would be the same as imagining the Gold Mode key. With a spark of light, a piece of his essence jumped into the key, causing it to glow with a silvery light.
“To all that discover this hidden treasure, know that I am Gai Ikari, The Silver Scourge, captain of the Gokai Galleon and leader of the Gokaigers. If you wish to call upon me and my crew, simply insert this key into any lock. But woe betide those who wish harm upon me, or those under my protection, for they will be consumed by the Black Fog.”
“Um, if you don’t mind asking, the Black Fog is?” Cruger asked as the glow subsided.
“Just hope you never find out,” Gai said, grinning, “How do I add the safeguards?”
“If I may?” Cruger asked as he held out his hand.
Gai handed him the key, “what now?”
“I’m infusing your Token with a caller ID spell,” Cruger said as the key glowed blue, “when someone uses it, the name and base of the summoner will appear on your morpher, as well as an option whether or not to pick up.”
“Guess that negates the necessity of the booby trap that I hope was set properly.” Gai muttered.
“Oops,” Cruger said as the glow faded, “you want me to set up a remote detonation or something?”
“If the trap works as designed, it’ll read the intentions of the person summoning me, and unleash the aforementioned Black Fog on them if they have bad intentions. Better to just change it so that it’ll only read me the caller ID if they pass the trap.”
“Done,” Cruger said as the key glowed again slightly, “now the last step is to cast it out into the void for it to propagate.” Cruger opened a portal and dropped the key in.
“You’ve really gotta show me how to do that one of these days.” Gai said, watching his Token vanish into the void.
“Possibly,” Cruger said as a portal opened and dropped a key into his waiting hand, “I’ll give you a primer for Dimensional Magic before you leave.”
“Convenient.” Gai turned to the other ponies in the room, “could you guys give us the room? I want to talk to Cruger alone please.”
“What’s this about?” Pipsqueak asked, eyeing the human suspiciously.
“It’s nothing to worry about, just gonna be doing some reminiscing of our old world with someone from there.” Gai said, waving him off.
Pipsqueak stared at him for a second before following the rest of the group out of the room, Navi perched on his shoulder.
“So,” Cruger said as the door closed, “unless I’m mistaken, the other guy purchased a rather unique trumpet?”
Gai chuckled, “yeah, I wasn’t alone at that con, but you’ve guessed that already. My best friend Jacob went as Basco ta Jolokia.” He pulled out a silvery hip flask from his coat, “sake? It’ll make this go a bit smoother.”
“I’m more of a whisky guy, but sure.”
Gai withdrew two sake cups from the folds of his coat and poured a serving into each cup, offering one to Cruger, “the guy was like a brother to me, the both of us raided Zangyack supply transports and searched for the ranger keys together.” He drank from his sake cup, “did your medics find the matching scars on my back and torso?”
“Starvation doesn’t send you to the infirmary, it sends you to the galley, but I’m betting they’re pretty bad.”
“Guess where I got them?” Gai said ruefully as he took another sip of sake, “after we finished gathering the keys he began to slip a little. It wasn’t much, so I didn’t notice, next thing I know, I have a sword in my gut and the bastard was running off with nearly all of the keys.” Gai finished and refilled his cup, “he used them to curry favor with Zangyack and got a letter of marque and a new ship in exchange for supplying them with soldiers made from the powers of the thirty four Super Sentai.”
Cruger took a sip of his sake and sighed, “It’s a pity. I’ve been mentoring gender-bent Majin Buu who’s rather nice, if a bit lost. Just because you’re Displaced as a villain doesn’t mean you have to be one.”
“You’ve got that a little bit wrong there, Cruger.” Gai said, taking another sip, “he doesn’t see himself as a villain, he sees himself as a god. He’s gone off the deep end and there’s no pulling him back.”
“Let’s hope you’re wrong about that, plan for the worst, but hope for the best. If there’s a chance that we can snap him out of it, we should take it.”
“I already tried that, he completely kicked my ass,” Gai muttered, downing his sake in one go, “enough about that, the less I mull over it, the less I’ll hesitate when I meet him again.”
“Agreed, let us move on to more pleasant matters,” Cruger said as he downed his, “you pilot your Megazord yet?”
“I haven’t needed to, and I don’t think Gojyujin will come out in other dimensions.” Gai sighed, “I do have Gokai-oh, but I don’t have the other Gokaigers to pilot the other components.”
“Something tells me that won’t be a problem for much longer, just remember to call me when you get you know what.”
Gai scratched his chin, “That might be a while, Zangyack only dispatches it’s ‘special battalions’ under extreme duress. And only one team per sector.”
“I’m a patient guy, but make sure you call me, might need me to unlock it. Besides, it’ll be awesome to watch.”
“My verse’s Cruger equivalent has been dead for ten years, same with all the Super Sentai members and the Princesses, with the exception of Flurry Heart of course. My point is, I’ll probably be able to use it regardless as long as I oppose Zangyack.”
Gai looked up thoughtfully, “Although… I might be able to turn A-squad’s morphers into temporary keys so we could try it out the next time something bad happens, which it almost always does. How far are you guys into the SPD storyline?”
“Rather early, just faced T-Top.”
“Yeesh, your proteges really do have a long way to go. I wonder if I can help them along?”
Cruger grinned, “What do you have in mind?”
Gai grinned evilly, “Do you remember the bomb terrorist from DekaRangers?”
Another day another chaotic situation that the SPD found itself in. Sky Gear, or Sora as she liked to be called, pretty much knew it would be like this time to time with all the Displaced mishaps that happened before, but this rapidfire shot of crazy was a bit much. “This one I don’t mind though, that pre-battle call was pretty amazing and he was pretty strong.” muttered out loud Sora as she walked.
She then noticed that someone was going to go around the corner so she waited a moment before noticing that it was the Displaced and… a steamwork parrot? That confusion caused her to lean forward and make a fumble into the pair accidently, “Curse me and my analytical nature!”
“Whoa, you okay there?” Gai asked, helping Sora to her hooves, “gotta watch where you’re going, kid.”
Sora look irritated at Gai, “I may be young compared to you, but age 29 isn’t a kid!”
Gai raised his hands in surrender, “sorry, you look younger than me so I assumed you were one of the staff’s kids, and I’m 20 by the way.”
“Okay I think we should just go back to the beginning and start over, I’m Sky Gear or Sora. A simple Trooper of Squad B here at SPD, You’re the Silver Pirate aboard the Grand Red Galleon, right?”
Gai chuckled, “yeah, that’s me. Gai Ikari, the Silver Scourge. Captain of the Gokai Galleon and wanted for 500,000 bits by my last estimate.” He held out a hand.
Sora let a smile go onto her face as she shook Gai’s hand, “‘Enemy’ of all Equestria?”
“Only to the evil space empire currently occupying it.”
“... Hold on, Bits is a universal currency?”
“No, Zangyack tends to offer rewards in local currency, encourages the locals and doesn’t cost them a thing since they captured the entire Equestrian Treasury… which I’ve mostly stolen back by now.”
“If our initial scans of your ship are anything to go by, it has the ability to turn into a giant robot, it’s dealt enough damage that would require the rest of the treasury to be used for repairs, right?” She then looked up at Gai’s companion, “Oh and who is this?”
“I’m Navi!” she squawked from Gai’s shoulder.
“She’s the Galleon’s resident navigator, as well as the first member of my crew.” Gai explained, patting the clockwork parrot on the head, “and as for costs: the Galleon’s a very durable ship, and I have other things to pay your boss with. My Equestria will need the bits to rebuild, after all.”
“It’s good to meet you then Navi.” said Sora with a smile before looking over the steamwork parts before making a flap with her wings, “Hmm… she’s quite sturdy and has quite a fews parts I wouldn’t know what function they would have, must have been quite the being the one who built her.”
“From what I understand, she runs on perpetual motion, and her AI can predict the future to some degree.”
“I’m pretty amazing, aren’t I?” Navi said, small puffs of steam escaping from her beak.
“Don’t get a big head, Navi. You only tell it in cryptic riddles after all.” Gai scolded.
“Magic and science does what they do, or maybe the creator is subtle or just an ass.” stated Sora before wondering the last part.
“I wouldn’t know, I don’t have any memories before meeting Gai.” Navi said.
“Pretty sure that meeting would be quite chaotic.” said Sora with a snicker before shaking her head, “So what are you two doing around here?”
“Looking for R&D, I’ve got… plans for a certain set of spandex-clad fighters...” Gai said, a sly grin on his face.
“IT’S NOT SPANDEX!!!” a voice roared from somewhere in the building.
“He’s really got to get over that, people will call it spandex. So you’re going to plan an exercise for your crew?” asked Sora.
“Nope, Imma torment the A-scrubs a bit,” Gai leaned in, “wanna help?”
“If it can challenge their wit and maybe knock a bit of ego off of Red SPD I’m all for it.” grinned Sora before pointing a direction, “Let’s talk as we walk, this way to R&D.”
“Excellent...” Gai said darkly, wringing his hands like a saturday morning cartoon villain, “come, minions! To work!”
“Wait hold up! If you go left you’d go to the wrong side of the building!”
“Come this way, minions! THIS way to work!” Gai said, turning an about-face and going down the other hallway.
Sora sighed as she followed after Gai a smile on her face before she turned to Navi, “Is he always like this?”
“Only when he’s having fun, if he were serious, well...” Navi trailed off.
“Let’s just stick to fun, though I do wonder if he wouldn’t mind checking some of the personalized suits I’ve made… you two know a bit more about the Ranger suits right?”
“Gai wrote an encyclopedia on all the Super Sentai thus far, so I’d say so!” Navi chirped, landing on Sora’s shoulder.
“I’ll be sure to ask for a copy when all the scheming is done.”
“So welcome to R&D, palace of technology… and chaos… and parties for some reason.” stated Sora before looking around for someone of the R&D team and not actually finding anyone, “Everyone must have found something to test elsewhere, I’ll help where I can while they're away. Captain Gai.”
“Excellent… PINKIE!!!” Gai called.
“You rang?” The local party pony said, popping out from inside a test tube.
“I have a… special request for you, I need enough confetti cannons to cover three Manehattan blocks in red and orange confetti.”
Pinkie Pie saluted before disappearing inside the test tube again.
“Hold on Pinkie, could you not reappear from something breakable, we don’t want that incident happening again.” stated Sora out, completely unfazed by the appearance and disappearance of said pony.
“Sorry!” Pinkie’s voice echoed from the test tube.
Gai clapped his hands, “Now then, to work! How much do you know about remote-controlled explosives?”
Sora walked up to a shelf and took out a book and showed it to Gai, it was titled ‘Bombs And How to Explosively Construct Them’, “I’ve got some knowledge of them, team doesn’t let me make them though, something about not wanting to cause harm to villains?”
“Well, this time they will be directed at a very overconfident prismatic pegasus, can you make it so that they can be diffused by a simple button press? The ‘explosive’ being a transmitter to the confetti cannons of course.”
Sora took a moment before heading to some scrap and gathering some components which included a keyboard, “You want to customize the devices?”
“Can the ‘bomb’ pop open and reveal a chibified Gokai Silver?”
“Sure, I’ll need Pinkie to go over and do some custom jobs for the doll, but the box and stuff and transmitters can be easily reused from the components and jack-in-boxes that Steam wanted to use to construct a Olive Thrower.” said Sora as she got to work already into the construction of the ‘Bombs’
“Excellent,” Gai said, clapping his hands together, “if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be using this terminal to craft the virtual love child of HIV and Ebola!”
Pulling out a key and the Gokai Cellular, he inserted the key and shouted, “Gokai Change!”
MEEEEEEEGARANGER!!!!
Standing in Gai’s place was a silvery figure with a black dome head and a computer-like circuit panels on his chest. The figure turned to one of the many computer lab terminals and placed his hand on the monitor.
The computer flashed to life, streams of code scrolling past on both the monitor and the dome-like display on Gai’s helmet.
Sora blinked at the change and almost went back to work before noticing the sound of the mock alarm going off, “He bypassed the alarm but made the mock alarm trigger… I don’t know what that suit does, but it’s quite powerful to interface with the crystal network of SPD… hold on, aren’t R&D androids suppose to appear after the mock altar activates?”
“01010100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101000 01110101 01110010 01110100 01110011 00100000 01101100 01101001 01101011 01100101 00100000 01100001 00100000 01100010 01101001 01110100 01100011 01101000 00100001 00100001 00100001” screamed Gai, twitching as more lines of code appeared over his eyes.
“And not replying normally means it’s up to me to take care of the androids, great.” muttered Sora as she stepped up and saw faceless crystal golems walk in, “Lower grade series, great.” She pulled out her badge, “Morph mode.”
She was about to equip her suit when she noticed the golems slump before reactivating and walking over to her work place and start working on the ‘Bombs’, “Really powerful…” was all Sora muttered before placing back her badge and getting back to work.
“That’s the Denji Sentai’s sixth member: Mega Silver. That computer brain isn’t anything to sniff at.” Navi said, setting down on the work table.
“Mega Silver… sounds cool.” muttered Sora before sighing, “Sadly for us, morphing is restricted to A squad, the rest of us are allowed to, but need to go through quite some paperwork afterwards, making it not worth the hassle.”
“Is that the reason you’re helping Gai?”
“Well he’s challenging our strength by attacking the system and Rainbow Dash. We either become stronger because we failed or we’re strong enough to endure, Gai isn’t going to end lives of innocents willingly, so I’ll go with anything he wants for this challenge.” explained Sora.
“I see...” Navi muttered, before looking to the still squirming Gai.
“And done, now all we need are the things we need a Pinkie for.” stated Sora as she looked worryingly at Gai, who was slumped on the floor with smoke curling from his ears, clutching a flash drive.
Suddenly, he sprung up, “Excellent… PINKIE!!!”
“Here!” Pinkie Pie called, appearing out of the barrel of a highly experimental weapons prototype.
“PINKIE, OUT OF THE CHICKEN CANNON MK 3!”
“Sorry!” She said, reappearing out of one of the ‘Bombs’.
Sora could only sigh and pat the mare on the head, “Just be careful, I worry that you might injure yourself if you do such things. Keep yourself just appearing from doors that appear out of nowhere, the ceiling or floor on this room for now. Okay?”
Pinkie Pie saluted, before turning to Gai, “I’ve set up those confetti cannons you asked for! All they need is to be synced with the transmitters!” she said happily before turning back to Sora, “aaaand here’s the stuff you were going to ask me for!” she said, handing the objects to her.
“Thank you Pinkie. Oh and I’ll eat the cupcake you gave to me when I can.” Said Sora with a smile as she placed the objects besides the cupcake which wasn’t there a moment ago, much like the one in Gai’s hand.
“No problemo! Now to preserve continuity...” Pinkie said, putting on a pair of shades and holding up a pen-like object, “please look at this little red dot for me.”
“Do we have to Pinkie?” asked Sora, her goggles on as she was tinkering.
“Yes! The future of this Displaced fic demands it!” she said, grabbing both Gai and Sora’s heads and forcibly drawing them towards the pen-like object, “say cheese!” she cried before pushing the button on the side, a blinding white flash permeating the room, “I was never here, you guys did all the setup yourselves.” Pinkie said in a hypnotic voice before diving into a hole that opened up under her.
Sora held her head for a moment before looking around noticing the cupcakes, “Huh… I guess Pinkie went by without me noticing. Anyway, we’re done with everything… I’m drawing a blank on how we got the dolls again.”
“I think we just got flashed, and not in the ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ way.” Gai groaned, holding his head, “01100001 01110010 01100111 01101000 00100000 01101101 01111001 00100000 01101000 01100101 01100001 01100100 00101110 00101110 00101110” he muttered, before shaking his head again to rid himself of the various lines of code that still swam before his vision.
Taking a bite of the oddly plain looking cupcake, Sora just shrugged before looking at the ‘bombs’, “So where do you want to place these?”
“I can handle that much myself, did most of the planning beforehand anyway.” Gai said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“Well you’re going to do this in Manehattan, maybe you should take some looks at a map of the area before deciding where to place them. Differences between worlds are possible.” suggested Sora.
“Did that while I was frying my brain, thanks.”
“Should have asked me to just have given you access to that level of clearance, saved you some headache. Unless said headache is making you learn how to think faster.”
“Said headache was caused by crafting a virus that’s capable of instantly hacking any system it’s put into… while hopefully keeping it from infecting my thought process.” Gai took a swig from his hip flask, seemingly recovering from his headache with the power of alcohol.
“Fermented Rice… that’s a new one.” said Sora as she smelt the content of the flask despite not closing the distance between the two, “Ah right… I was hoping you could check a suit of mine…”
“Shoot.”
“So um just transform here?”
“I don’t see why not.” Gai said, putting his flask away, Navi flying to his shoulder, “unless you wanna go somewhere more private?”
Navi smacked him.
“Well here goes.” Sora changed the mode of her badge to morph, before with her right hand to throw it up in the air, “SPD Emergency.” She then caught it with her left hand and pressed the top button which forced the badge open then Sora called in synch with the device, “It’s morphing time.”
She then closed her badge as a silver belt constructed on her waist and slid the device in place in the belt buckle before her whole body shined white. A Deep purple suit started to appear as a black zero with a white inside appeared on the chest area before segmenting the suit with lines of silver separating her stomach level and chest as a device manifested on the back which looked like a pair of small air tanks with between them a metal panel where ruby shimmered with magical heat and fire. Slim silver gauntlets appeared on the suits hands while a pair of bat-winged shoulder pads appeared on the shoulders. Finally the helmet appeared looking simple and a recolor of the normal SPD suit before the sides altered to look more like bat ears.
She cut down slanted with right hand while taking a step forward with her right foot as she shouting out, “SPD Violet Echo Trooper!” she then cut right horizontally with her right hand and stepped forward her left foot before sticking out her left arm horizontally while her right hanged a bit away from her hip, “Echoing hope and despair, Judgement has Come!” her helmet's sirens blared as behind her a purple explosion went off.
“... I automatically said my pre-battle line, this is embarrassing…” was all Sora said as she slumped.
“Why are you embarrassed!?” Gai exclaimed, taking Sora by the shoulders, “the pre-fight line is what makes the fighter! You can’t just enter a fight unannounced! Now, one more time with feeling!”
“Yes sir!” said Sora now grinning before doing her rollcall once more, but this time at the end a pulse of hot air and killing intent was added after the explosion, “That was awesome… never actually put that much feeling those lines.”
Gai clapped his hands, “excellent! That’s how it’s done!” He pulled out the Gokai Silver key, “but I can’t let myself be outdone by my kouhai, now can I?”
“Here we go again...” Navi muttered, flying to a safe distance.
Gai inserted the key into the Gokai Cellular and crossed his arms over his chest, “Gokai Change!” He shouted before thrusting the Cellular up and forward, a silver light enveloping him.
GOOOOOOOKAIGER!!!! A mysterious voice announced, as if crying the news to the world.
“The Pirate Clad in Shining Silver: Gokai Silver!” Gai cried, swinging his Gokai Spear around in an arc as a silver-flamed explosion rocked the lab behind him.
“Awesome…” stated Sora and it was quite easy to see she was grinning underneath her mask.
“GAI!!!! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO DO THAT INDOORS!?” Navi screeched, smacking Gai’s helmet with her wings, “JUST LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO THE LAB, YOU IDIOT!!!”
“Just some scorches… I don’t see the problem…” said Sora as she partially tilted her head.
Navi let out the robotic equivalent of a disgruntled sigh, gesturing to the smoking hole behind a sheepish Gai that had enveloped several of R&D’s projects… including the chicken cannon.
“That happens pretty much every week.” said the thestral with nod, “But I guess we’ll go to a test room so I can show the well... Ability of this suit, if you want to see it that is?”
“I’d love to!” Gai said, grinning under his helmet.
“I’m done...” Navi moaned.
Looking around at the padded room, Sora felt a bit odd with only Gai, Navi and her in the room. Shaking her head she concentrated on the system, steam escaping all the small vents on the suit.
Feeling enough control, she looked up at the training dummy she had set up, before making her gauntlets change and become clawed. She then dashed forward and made stayed in the air using the steam to drive her forward, “Steam Hell Slashing!”
Sora dashed right through the training dummy before making the claws retract as large amount of claw gashes and heat burns appeared on the dummy. “Man… I’ve seen the other just using the baton and then hitting the thing into two sliced pieces…”
“Don’t worry too much about it, from what I’ve seen so far, you’re suit is more suited to a roguelike assassination fighting style.” Gai said, walking towards her, “that being said, would you like to learn a new move I think you’d be able to pull off?”
“I’d love to!” said Sora as her wings which were hindered by the back attachment came out of the suit and wiggled uselessly behind her.
Gai chucked, “alright, simmer down there. Step back a bit for me.”
Using the steam network, Sora hovered a bit backwards.
Gai faced the dummy, stepping into a stance where the head of the Gokai spear was facing down towards his front leg, with a breath, a field of shadow extended in a circle around him, reaching the dummy and surrounding it in a field of crackling blue electricity.
“Gokai Revenant!” Gai shouted, before suddenly appearing on the other side of the dummy.
“Speed exceeding SPD 1. Energy beyond what I can see with basic analysis… what power…” muttered Sora before letting out an ‘eep!’ as the dummy seemingly exploded into shreds of it’s own volition.
“Gokai Revenant, a finisher that tears your opponent to shreds using the injuries they’ve already sustained.” Gai explained, “needless to say, it’s not a move cops would typically use.”
“The moment I get into such a suit is a moment that things start going to worse, sometimes Cops and Guards have to kill for the sake of safety of others. I’m willing to do that, besides I’m never going to be strong enough to save everyone, so I’ll save who I can.”
“Well said, but that’s exactly why you need to get stronger, isn’t it? Heroes are selfish, they have to have all the civilian lives spared before they can feel satisfied.” Gai said, lowering his spear, “but don’t be so willing to kill so easily, it's one thing to say that, taking a life is another thing entirely.”
“I’ve heard as much from many of my seniors, but for now I’ll try to do what I can to help the world… if the event presents itself, I’ll decide then how I will act. Because I can’t now, since then is then and now is now.” said Sora while looking at the roof.
Gai grinned under his helmet, “excellent answer, ready to learn the secret?”
“Beyond; practice practice and more practice?” asked a joking Sora as she looked Gai in the eyes.
“Nope, the secret is ‘mercy’.”
“Mercy for those who deserve it, or mercy for the world for being so cruel?”
“Mercy for those that suffer by your hand.”
“Guess I can grant them that, mercy from anymore pain and honor I can grant them. I give it all when fighting for my Pride as a Fighter, use everything and fight with all your might.”
“Start by taking a deep breath and closing your eyes, try to expand your senses beyond that of your body.”
Doing as such, Sora expanded her senses and the feeling of wind and heat surrounding her within this room started to come to her and bit for bit something beyond the room which was too vague to actually pinpoint for her sense.
“Excellent, now try and reach out a little further, as far as you can. Focus on my voice.”
Chaos… so much chaos of the forest, then order and harmony a bit beyond that and beyond that the feeling of home, she took it all in while still using her ears to listen to now.
“Do you sense me at the fringes of your mind?”
“Partially… I think, I feel… a powerful energy and a ring holding it back.”
“Imagine a tether between yourself and that energy.”
“A tether… a line… a thread.” muttered out Sora as she tried to do it, not knowing the the web she was weaving was doing it’s job.
“Focus Sora, you’re spreading yourself too thin.” Gai said, loosening his limiter to make his own beacon brighter.
“Focus Focus… Chaos… Order… Harmony… Focus.” muttered Sora as her sense went crazy taking in everything more and more, before dulling out and then reigniting only on Gai.
“Excellent, now, draw your consciousness towards me as fast as you can.”
“Consciousness?” asked Sora, her voice sounding a bit different now she was in this different state.
“Everything you perceive as ‘you’. Send it hurtling down the tether until you feel it reaching me.”
The mare took another deep breath and did as Gai asked, it was hard but bit by bit she could feel something happening.
“Now… let your body follow through.” Gai said, snapping Sora out of her trance.
She realized that she had become somewhat detached from her body, she was currently looking at her mortal coil from Gai’s point of view.
Suddenly, her body vanished and the next moment, she found herself looking at Gai, considerably closer than she was before. She was so very glad that she was wearing her suit since she was blushing heavily, but underneath it all she was giggling and giddy, “I did it, I did it!” she then hugged Gai.
“It’ll only get easier with practice,” Gai said, struggling a bit to breathe under the thestral’s rib-cracking hug, rapidly tapping her arm.
Sora backed off and noticed a bit of spark that noted damage on Gai’s suit, “Um… sorry?”
“It’s fine,” Gai said, waving it off, “part of this move is the field that debuffs your opponent’s defenses.”
“What did my field look like?” asked Sora since she herself hadn’t noticed it.
“Almost the same as mine, but the electric field was violet.”
“Odd… thought maybe it would a wind or fire field since I’m more versed into those than electric, but oh well, it was shocking nonetheless.” Sora then laughed, “Yeah that was bad.”
“Terrible.”
“... it’s been 30 minutes!?” stated Sora suddenly, “It felt like it was a lot less!”
“To be fair… it took me about twice as long to finally establish a location long enough for my first flash step.” Gai said, rubbing the back of his helmet.
“Well I guess I had luck then, but I’ll train all the same.” said Sora before demorphing by taking out her badge from her buckle, her face still stuck in a smile, “Now let’s get the prep of the city done with, oh I know of an exhibit in the museum which has tons of naked statues!”
Gai demorphed and grinned evilly at his partner in crime, “I like the way you think, my apprentice.”
A-Squad was in the training room, practicing the techniques that Gilgamesh had taught them. They had mastered the basics, but they still wanted to polish them a bit more before they used them in actual combat.
“Can’t believe he beat us like that,” Dash grumbled as she launched low power Hadokens at a target.
“At least you managed to get a few hits in,” Pearl said as she spun up a few corks.
“Well, next time you’ll get your shot,” Dash said as she blasted a target to pieces, “assuming there’s anything left after I’m done.”
Suddenly, the base’s intercom crackled to life, “wow, that is some confidence you’ve got there, Dashie. How’s your shoulder?” A tinny replication of Gai’s voice asked.
“Why don’t you come down here and find out, I could use some practice.”
“Trust me, as fun as it would be to ‘displace’ your shoulder again, I need all A-squad bitches to come to the command center because...” The base’s alarms went off “... that just happened.” Dash could almost hear the smug grin in his voice.
“Come on, let’s get moving.”
When A-Squad arrived in the command center, it was chaos. Almost every monitor had the same logo as Gai’s ship, and the central podium was projecting Gai himself.
“Welcome to the thunderdome!” Gai said, chuckling, “like what I’ve done with the place?”
“Guess you are one of those evil Displaced Cruger told us about,” Dash said, cracking her knuckles, “now, why don’t you tell me where you are so I can arrest you?”
“Aww, but then we wouldn’t get to play the fun game I had in store for us today!” He whined, channeling his inner Pinkie Pie before reaching up and pulling down a curtain with a video of an overhead shot of a building streaming on it, “this was a building in Ponyville a few seconds before I hacked every system in your base,” suddenly, the building was consumed in a fiery explosion that bloomed from the inside, “can you hear that? I think I just heard Michael Bay swoon,” Gai said, holding a hand up to his ear and sighing.
“What did you do?” Dash scowled.
“I believe I just showed you, I blew up a building in Ponyville to show you that I was serious. Now I’m going to explain the game we’ll play!” A lavish throne suddenly appeared behind Gai, who immediately reclined on it, his head resting on his fist.
“You know Manehattan, right? The most densely populated city center in Equestria? Well, I’ve hidden several of my ‘presents’ throughout the city, the biggest of which will take out the entire planet. All the others are capable of covering a city block in the fineries of yellow and red.”
“Why you-” Dash growled before being silenced by a raised hand from Gai.
“There are rules to finding them, however. Violations of these rules will result in immediate detonation of all explosives, including the planet-buster.”
Dash growled, “Alright, we’ll play your little game, for now. What are the rules.”
“Rule one: Cruger can’t help in any way, shape, or form. Not that I have anything against your boss, but he’s a bit too OP for this game. Besides, he’s preoccupied right now.”
“Rule two: No transforming, I’ve hacked your morphers to make sure you follow this one.”
“Rule three: only ONE member of A-squad can participate in this game, and you can’t change once you’ve made your selection.”
“Rule four: the remaining members of A-squad can’t help once the selection has been made.”
“Rule five: Any move to evacuate the citizens of Manehattan is a big no-no. Wouldn’t want them to miss the party, right?”
Gai clapped his hands together, “that should cover it! The participant will be taken directly to where he or she will receive their next instructions, so will the participant please step forward?”
Dash stepped forward, “Consider your game won, you bloody pirate.”
Gai sighed, “honestly, how predictable can you cops be?” He snapped his fingers, and the next instant Dash was swallowed by a portal that snapped shut as soon as she cleared it.
“As for the rest of you, get comfortable, because I’m sealing you all in.”
Dash fell to the ground, tucking into a roll so she wouldn’t damage anything and took a look at her surroundings.
She was in an alleyway, brick buildings on either side of her. Trash heaps lined the walls awaiting collection. Getting up from her crouch, she approached the alley’s exit, squinting as daylight hit her eyes.
“Papers! Get your papers here!” A voice cried out from a newsstand across from the alleyway entrance, “How about you, miss SPD? Hear about the explosion in Ponyville yet?”
Dash’s eyes widened and she approached the newsstand, leaning over the counter to the familiar face inside.
“You just gonna stare at me kid? Or are you gonna buy a paper? The Captain doesn’t have all day.” An older version of herself said, crossing her arms over her chest.
“So this is how it feels,” Dash said, “guess I can’t make fun of Twilight for this any more.”
“How is she anyway? Haven’t seen her in ten years, she kinda died on me.” Older Dash said, “or Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack...” She shook her head, “enough of that, you sure we should be wasting time? The planet doesn’t have much left after all.”
“Yeah yeah, there’s a clue in there right?” Dash said as she tossed a coin to her.
“How did you guess?” Older Dash said, handing her a rolled up newspaper. Dash could feel something else inside, “you probably shouldn’t open that here.”
“Yeah yeah… hey, why you with him anyway? He’s trying to blow up the planet!”
Older Dash sighed, “was I really this arrogant...? Look, I may be from another world, but I’m still the Element Bearer of Loyalty, and right now my loyalties lie with my Captain.”
“Whatever, we’ll continue this after I beat this little game,” Dash said before pulling out her morpher, “hey Fetch, I need your help with something.”
Static crackled from the other end, causing Older Dash to grin, “sorry kid, but the Captain did say that only one member of A-squad could participate.”
Dash just grinned back, “Yeah, that’s me, Fetch is part of R&D, not A-Squad, I could use his brains for this.”
“Sorry, but I think he hacked your morpher for more than just your fancy suit.”
Dash looked to see that the communications screen read ‘No Signal’. “Fine, I’ll just use a public phone and call Twi.”
Older Dash shrugged, “See how well that goes for you, he did say only one member of A-squad could participate, I don’t think you wanna try his patience.”
“Dang it, thought I had a loophole, better get moving then.”
“Did you forget who’s judging this game?” Older Dash said, opening the side door to the booth and walking towards the alley, “I’ll see you if you survive. Then we can have our talk.” She waved before diving into a portal that opened up inside the alley.
“Oh we’ll talk alright, although it’ll kind of hard for you since you’ll be speechless,” Dash said as she opened the paper. Inside was an old-fashioned phone with a lanyard attached and a map of Manehattan. The map had a grid over it displaying the city’s various locations in coordinates marked in groups of three numbers. Suddenly, the phone rang.
Dash fumbled for the pick up button, “hello?”
“Did you have fun talking to yourself? I should warn you now, this phone will trigger the planet-buster if you hit the ‘hang up’ button, so you’re kinda stuck talking to me.” Gai’s voice said, “point 8-6-2, you have thirty minutes. Go.”
Dash smirked as she brought up the map, “Please, I was head of the weather patrol before I was a Trooper, maps are no problem.”
“If you don’t take this seriously, I might be tempted to just trigger the bomb now and cost you your first clue to the planet-buster’s location,” Gai said, “to say nothing of the civilian lives lost on your conscience. You were right, you are too arrogant for your own good.”
“Like Cruger sometimes says, it’s not arrogance if you can back it up, see you soon.”
“I remember dislocating your shoulder and knocking you out without even getting serious, and you call that backing it up? My trigger finger is getting itchy and you only have twenty eight minutes left before another kaboom.”
“Don’t need it,” Dash said as she closed the map and took off. After a minute, she arrived in front of a large field in central park with a small, grey box sitting in the middle with a red button on top. “That button could either disarm it, or trigger it, mind giving me a clue?”
“What? If I made the bombs too complex, you’d never get any of the clues! Just push the damn button.”
“Fine, but if it blows up, I’m coming for you,” Dash said as she used a stick to press it from a distance.
Suddenly, the box popped open, causing a spray of confetti to blast Dash in the face, a small, spring-loaded Jack-in-the-box Gokai Silver holding a card and a slip of paper.
“Really? These things have a payload for an instant explosion the size of a city block, and you think you’d be able to escape?”
“All I needed was a bit of distance to catch the shockwave and get clear. So, where’s the next one?”
“Even with your speed, I doubt that… Anyways, my little buddy there has your clue and your instructions.”
Dash grabbed the card and the paper, turning the card over she saw the number eight on the back, “Is this the number of bombs remaining or something?”
“Nope, it’s a clue.”
Dash pulled the paper open, revealing the message inside: Congratulations! You’ve found the first normal present! Three more left! Although now things will get more interesting! You’re no longer allowed to fly/use magic anymore! The next present is located at point 4-7-1! You had twenty five minutes from when you opened the first present! A chibified Gokai Silver was holding a banner with the words: Good Luck! Written across it.
“Knowing how many left makes things easier,” Dash said as she checked the map, “looks like I’ll be done with this before lunch.” Dash then ran off, using her wings to boost her speed while staying on the ground, before arriving at the Manehattan Sports Stadium… in the middle of a hoofball game. “Sweet, the Cruisers are up, now to make sure they can win the whole thing.” She then sped towards gate 8, to find nothing there. “Better hold onto the card then,” she muttered before heading inside and checking the stands.
It took her a while, the cheering crowd was certainly not helping her cause at all, but eventually she found the bomb under a seat with a rather large and excitable stallion sitting on top of it with ten seconds to spare. Luckily, she still had the stick from earlier and was able to press the button without any trouble.
The second box opened, revealing a second chibified Gokai Silver holding a mask, a card, and a slip of paper.
Dash snatched the card, which had an upside-down triangle on it, before looking at the note.
Congratulations! Two presents left! Time for a new rule! You have to wear that mask for the rest of the game now! Failure to do so results in BAD THINGS, so be sure to wear it over your face! Also, use of alternate transport is now off limits! A silvery band shot out of the box and attached itself to her leg, So this GPS tracker will make sure you don’t pass a certain speed! Point 6-2-8 is the next location, and you have fifteen minutes from opening your present! The same chibified Gokai Silver held up the “good luck” banner.
Dash frowned before looking at the mask, which looked like a pair of panties. She growled before putting it on, then glanced at the map before running off.
Dash ran as fast as she could, the next set of coordinates leading her to the Manehattan Museum of Art. Dash just shook her head as she had never been one for art before heading inside. The second she entered the door however, shutters over her eyeholes slammed down, cutting off her vision. “Oh, you bastard.”
“What? I couldn’t really call it a game if it didn’t get harder for you.” Gai’s voice said, belying the laughing he had been doing seconds before, “you still only have six minutes to find the present in this huge building, so use your imagination and find it before bad things happen.”
“Well, joke’s on you,” Dash said as she closed her eyes beneath the mask, “I already learned how to fight without my eyes.” Listening closely, she heard a faint but noticeable beeping sound, similar to that of the other bombs.
“Uhh, miss? I think you’re in the wrong section of the city for… that sort of thing.” The voice of the museum security guard said, obviously as embarrassed as Dash was to be wearing the mask in the first place.
Dash simply flashed her badge, “SPD business, don’t ask.” Using other sounds, mostly other people chuckling at her, she reached the source of the beeping without incident and felt around for the bomb, her hands passed over several things that the previous bombs didn’t have, “what exactly am I touching…?”
“That would have to be the nude bust that forms the centerpiece of the collection you should be in,” Gai’s voice said, barely containing his laughter, “if I gauged your reach just right, you’re probably fondling the chest area.”
“That’s it, I’ve changed my mind. Instead of going straight for you when I finish with the last bomb, I’m going to grab the biggest hammer I can find first.” Dash then used her wings to create a gust of wind, then used the change in sound to find the bomb, which she then disarmed.
“How kinky,” Gai said as the shutters over Dash’s eyes opened, allowing her to see the shocked faces of everyone in the gallery. Dash just groaned and grabbed the clue and the note before leaving.
Dash turned the card over in her hand, revealing the greek sign for “omega” before opening the note: Congratulations! ONE PRESENT LEFT! It’s at point 3-0-7, better hurry because you only have TEN MINUTES! The chibified Gokai Silver once again held up the “good luck” banner.
Dash cursed under her breath before glancing at the map and running off, performing feats of parkour that would turn the head of any athlete. Despite this it took her five minutes to reach the final bomb’s location: Mane Central Station.
“Seriously!?” Dash gasped as she beheld the behemoth of a building with the multitudes of ponies milling about in their usual daily routines.
“And just in time for the lunch rush hour too!” Gai’s voice chimed in from the phone.
“I don’t need your sass!”
“But you do need to find my present.”
Dash groaned and began pushing through the fresh crowd of ponies coming out of the building, frantically looking for the bomb. Dash spotted a set of scaffolding left by a group of painters on their lunch break, and used it to get up and over the crowd, spotting the bomb tucked beside a garbage bin.
Just as it’s timer was counting down from sixty seconds.
With a cry, Dash leaped off the scaffolding, roughly pushing through the crowd and tackled the trash can, causing its contents to spill out onto the floor. Dash scrambled to her hands and knees, slamming her hand onto the ‘disarm’ button with seconds to spare.
The box popped open, revealing a final chibified Gokai Silver holding a single card.
Dash snatched up the card, and turned it over, revealing a blank side with nothing on it, “what?” She said, panting slightly, “where’s the clue and the instructions!?”
“You already have them,” Gai said calmly, “you now only have one minute to tell me where the planet-buster is hidden.”
“What do you mean one minute!?” Dash shouted into the phone, waving the blank card around, “I’ve got no clue where it is!”
“No you have four, and forty seconds to figure it out.”
Dash pulled the rest of the cards out of her pockets and laid them out in front of her, scanning them intensely, “come on, Dash. Think! What would Twilight do in this situation?”
“Probably freak out, thirty seconds.”
“You’re not helping!”
“Obviously not, I’m your ‘bad guy’, remember? Twenty seconds.”
The eight was the only card that made any sense, but the triangle, omega, and blank cards all completely confused her. There has to be a pattern here somewhere! She thought as she began rearranging the cards in a variety of orders, trying to figure out what the secret to these clues were.
“Ten seconds...”
Dash scratched at her mane, ruffling it.
“Seven seconds...”
“Aargh! Just tell me!”
“Eenope, four seconds...”
Tears began to leak out of Dash’s eyes as she looked at the cards that still eluded her.
“Three...”
Dash began to cry out in desperation, clawing at her mane, c’mon Dash, THINK!
“Two...”
Dash sat in silence.
“One...”
It was over.
“Zero.” Gai said, as a white gloved hand scooped up the four cards in front of her, “time’s up, Dash.”
Rainbow Dash looked up to see a figure in a green suit with a gold chestplate standing over her. The figure glowed green before the light faded, revealing a stone-faced Gai standing in it’s place.
“You just made a big mistake,” Dash said, before launching a punch at his face.
Gai knocked the fist aside and slammed a palm into Dash’s sternum, causing the brash young pegasus to keel over to catch her breath, “can’t say I’m surprised,” he said, snapping his fingers to bring a portal into existence, “come on, Cruger’s waiting.”
“Wait, what?”
“This was a test, you failed. Now come on.” Gai said as he slung the protesting pegasus over his shoulder and carried her through the portal.
“Welp, she managed to meet all my expectations, including failing where it really mattered,” Gai said, walking through the portal before setting an exhausted and out of breath Dash down on the floor of Cruger’s office in SPD. “Her athletic abilities aren’t really anything to sniff at, but she lacks the one thing that separates a Deka from a regular Mall Cop.”
“Hey, the detectives are their own division, and even I had no idea what that clue meant,” Cruger replied.
“You forget,” Gai said calmly as he folded the four cards lengthwise so that all the symbols were folded in half, “that your ‘A-squad’ aren’t soldiers, they’re elite cops that are specially trained to deal with especially violent and cunning criminals.” He held up the three symbols, tossing away the blank, revealing the set of numbers: 3-7-2. “The whole purpose of this elaborate setup was to test them for real-world action against a serious threat.”
Gai tossed the cards over his shoulder, allowing them to flutter down to where Dash was still slumped on the floor, “and you’re the one who agreed to this test.”
“Only because it was an exercise,” Cruger said as a map came up on the screen behind him, “if this were real, Dash would have played along, while satellite surveillance found the bombs and you, and members of B and C Squad came after you in full force. In my SPD, you don’t get to face just one of us, you face all of us. To be honest, when Dash left, in addition to telling the rest of SPD that is was a drill as we agreed, I enacted my own drill for everyone else on standard protocol.”
Gai chuckled, “The only things that weren’t real here were the supposed ‘civilian casualties’ from the explosion and the bombs in Manehattan. The hack attack never ended after Dash left, and to her, it was all real.” Gai shoved his hands into the pockets of his long coat, “and if I were Basco, you’d be lying on top of a mountain of dead SPD by now.”
Gai looked up, his eyes going misty, “there was one thing he said during our last encounter, one thing that didn’t make sense until after you explained the whole ‘Displaced’ thing.”
“What was that?”
“After he reappeared after two days’ disappearance, he told me he had gotten stronger ‘through the blood of our compatriots’, he wasn’t lying. Don’t you get it? He’s turned this whole thing into a blood game spanning dimensions, one where he gets stronger every time he wins, and it’s not a matter of if he’ll show up here, it’s a matter of when.”
Gai returned his attention to Cruger, “and when he does, he’ll have done his homework and he will have a game plan ready specifically to end you. Whether or not he has to destroy the planet to do so is irrelevant to him.”
Cruger grinned, “He can try, but just so you know, I’ve got a contingency.”
Gai facepalmed, “Now is not the time for bravado, Cruger. I don’t know how many other Displaced he’s killed, but I do know that each murder makes him stronger. Eventually he’s gonna surpass you or anyone that’s brave or foolish enough to stand up to him.”
“Anyone, maybe. But I happen to have the Tokens of several super powerful Displaced, including a Majin Buu, a guy who knows a technique that can kill anything, and Deadpool. Besides, I happen to be rather powerful myself, and I don’t plan to just wait for him to come to me.”
Gai sighed, “Nothing I say is gonna change your mind?”
“Nothing personal, but I could beat you without Morphing. As soon as we’re done here I’ll put out an APB on him, if someone spots him, I can take him down before he gets to try anything.”
A wicked Grin sliced across Gai’s face, “Well then, count me in. Basco is my baggage, no one gets to him without me there. I may not have my full crew yet, but the Gokaigers can help, because I seriously doubt anyone’s gonna see him unless he wants them to.”
“My rival Gilgy might disagree, his hobby is wandering between verses, plus there’s this Dark Magician Displaced I know who’s got an all seeing eye, you underestimate the power of networking.”
“Maybe, but consider this: did your ‘networking’ help prevent the murders of god knows how many people from home? The Free Joker has just as much stealth tech as the Galleon. At least with my help you can move without him knowing about it.”
“I found you didn’t I? With paint no less. In all seriousness, I’m betting on him doing the one thing all bad guys do.”
“What’s that?”
“Get cocky and slip up. And before you say anything, I know this from experience.”
“Get cocky? Maybe, but he never does anything without a game plan or a hostage. And about the paint… I wasn’t exactly expecting most of my ship’s optic camo to fail as a result of dimensional travel, and you’re gonna help me clean it off. Pink? Really?”
Off in the distance, a certain Pink Pony screamed in rage.
“Don’t worry about it, all you need is a mixture of Citric acid and water, and it’ll rinse right off. By the way, it was loaded with micro trackers, so even if you extended the cloak to cover it, it wouldn’t have done much.”
“One: I already know about the trackers, I fried them during my hack of your base’s systems, among other things. Two: there’s no way in hell I’m cleaning that off by myself. Three: that’s not how optic camo works. And four: you have yet to see me without my limiter on.”
“Your so cute, you think you hacked me when I just let you in.”
“Keep talking, Doggie. The virus isn’t gone yet. I made it using Mega Silver’s computer brain, and I was a CS major before all of this.”
“The only way to access the mainframe is with a direct physical connection, which you wouldn’t have been able to get if you were actually my enemy. Also, your virus might still be in the system, but it’s quarantined. Anyway, if you don’t mind, I’d like to test something out while cleaning your ship if you don’t mind.”
“Fine,” Gai sighed, “I guess I’ll just return all the personnel files I downloaded then.”
“Excellent, even if you just got the public access versions.” Outside the window, a massive blue tanker truck rolled up next to the base, and started using the water cannons on its roof to hose off the Gokai Galleon.
Gai tossed him a flash drive, “There, I also included a little present of Dash’s various escapades throughout Manehattan. I think a few of them are illegal.”
“And who do you think is responsible for that?” Dash said.
“For you bending over a stallion in a very unbecoming manner and fondling the chest of a priceless artwork? That bit was all you, Dashie. I had no bearing on how you moved your own body.” Gai chuckled, “For every member of SPD to have a livestream of the events on their own SP license as well as their own hard copy? Yeah, that was totally me.”
Rainbow Dash paled as Gai began to spasm in a fit of hysterics, tears rolling out of his eyes.
“You know, I’m having a hard time believing you’re the good guy,” Cruger said.
Gai shrugged, “I may not be evil, but I’m still a pirate with a large bounty, and she’s still the leader of the band of merry spandex-clad troopers that rubbed me the wrong way.”
“It’s not spandex!” A voice roared from the direction of R&D.
“You started it.”
“I was trying to prevent a real armageddon in my verse, thank you very little.”
“All I’m saying is that cloaking immediately after sending several volleys at someone isn’t the best way to make a good first impression.”
“I’m not saying it is, I’m saying I didn’t know about this whole ‘I’m in a whole ‘nother dimension’ thing yet. At that point, I thought Baso’s ship was right on my tail. He might have even followed me for all I know.”
“Don’t worry, I only sensed you entering my verse.”
“Well good. That’s one less god-like maniac I have to watch out for right now.”
“Anyway, before you go, is there anything you want to do while you’re here? It’ll take me a bit to do the math to send you home.”
“Maybe retrofit the Galleon so that it doesn’t knock me out from suddenly being thrown across the multiverse and restocking on supplies? I kinda ran out of food three days before I was sent here.” Gai snapped his fingers, opening a portal, “I also have a gift and a request, but those can wait until later.”
“Fair enough, we can discuss your payment then.”
“Dude, stone. Cold.”
“Don’t worry, I have a rather reasonable payment plan in mind.”
“Just as long as the price tag doesn’t include an exorbitant sum or ‘my immortal soul’ on it.” Gai muttered.
Suddenly, a faint roaring could be heard, followed by a large tremor. One that Dash didn’t seem to notice.
“What the hell was that?” Gai asked, pulling out his Gokai Spear in gun form, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up.
Cruger looked out the window, “Remember I said that you were the only ones who entered my verse?”
“Yeah?”
“That was true, up until 15 seconds ago.”
“We need to get to Ponyville, now. If it’s who I think it is, they’ll go for civilian targets first.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Cruger said as he pressed a button, causing alarms to blare, “they’re headed here.”
Gai and Cruger stepped out of the portal outside of SPD base, “You’ve gotta be kidding me...” Gai breathed as he beheld the two giant robots currently stomping their way through Ponyville, “he went so far as to send the Go-Ongers after me?”
“Could be worse,” Cruger said.
“They’re currently stomping through the buildings of Ponyville, shouldn’t you be a little more concerned?” Gai deadpanned.
“Not really, all cannons fire.” As he said that, beam turrets hidden all over the base began to open fire on the two enemy megazords.
Gai grabbed Cruger’s shoulder “Oi! Did you forget!? The sentai versions of these things are made up of sentient beings, and I don’t think they’re doing this willingly!” Gai said over the thunder of the cannons.
“Oops, used to the RPM versions, cease fire.”
“Have A-squad sortie in their megazord, I’ll get mine. But they follow my lead on this one.”
“Got it, Deploy Runners, Displaced will be taking point.”
Gai pulled out his Gokai Cellular and punched in the Galleon’s launch code.
“GOOOOKAI GALLEON!!!” The voice cried as the Galleon flew out of a cloud bank.
“I always wondered why it does that every time,” Gai muttered as he grabbed onto one of the ropes and allowed himself to be pulled inside. Not wasting any time, Gai rushed to the cockpit of the Galleon.
“Kaizoku Gattai!” He cried, activating the Galleon’s transformation sequence, the other components ejecting themselves from the Galleon and recombining to form a humanoid figure.
“Kanzen! Gokai-Oh!” Gai said as the giant robotic pirate landed.
“Not bad,” Dash said, “but let’s see how it stacks up to the Delta Squad Megazord.”
“Stuff it, kid. We need to get those mechas away from Ponyville before they stomp on any more civilians. Overall game plan is to force the pilots out without causing too much damage to the mechs themselves, they’re victims in this just as much as the residents of Ponyville are.” Gai said, all business now.
“Your target is Ganbaru-oh, that would be the one with the giant gun for an arm. I’ll take Engine-oh.”
“Got it, watch and learn.”
With that, both megazords charged the two attacking mechas, tackling and dragging them to the outskirts of Ponyville, out of reach of civilians.
“Engage your target, but remember, nonlethal so no judgement finishers, got it!?” Gai said as Gokai-Oh drew it’s pair of cutlasses.
“Not a problem,” Breaker said as the DSM drew it’s blaster, “now let’s dance.”
“Cocky little kids...” Gai muttered as he charged his opponent, slamming the guard of the right cutlass into Engine-Oh’s head while simultaneously sweeping the legs out from under it, causing the whole mech to topple over before Gokai-Oh spun and landed an axe kick straight into the chest region of the mech.
At the same time, the DSM had also drawn it’s sword and was using it to deflect blasts from Ganbaru-Oh while returning fire. Ganbaru-Oh responded in kind, deflecting shots with it’s cutter arm while also returning fire. The battling mechas finally reached each other and locked blades, both of them looking and wrestling for a firing line for their respective guns. The DSM then hooked one of it’s legs behind on of Ganbaru-Oh’s and threw it to the ground, holding it’s blaster at it’s head.
“Arresting it isn’t enough, you gotta force the combination to cancel!” Gai called as Gokai-Oh continually pummeled it’s opponent, forcing the Engines apart.
“Got it,” Pearl said, before the DSM used it’s blade to slice at the connection points of the 3 Engines that formed the mech, causing them to separate.
“Don’t let them all join up,” Cruger said over the radio.
“Already on it,” Dash said, as the DSM jumped on top of Carrigator, preventing it from moving.
Suddenly, the brainwashed Engine roared to life, accelerating with the DSM struggling to hold on.
“What did you expect to happen?” Gai said, trying very hard not to laugh at the ridiculous scene, “the Engines are giant vehicles, and that one’s a member of the Gian race!”
“Not helping!” Dash said, gritting her teeth as the DSM was thrown off by the centripetal force of one of Carrigator’s turns.
“ENGINE GATTAI: G6 FORMATION” A robotic, zombie-like voice rang out as all the separated Engines rushed together, recombining into an even bigger mech.
“ENGINE-OH G6, TUNE UP” The voice said again as the extremely bulky mech towered over Gokai-Oh and the DSM.
“Hey Cruger.” Gai said over the comms.
“If you want some backup, I have 2 possible options.”
“No, I was gonna tell you to try not to choke on your foot.” With that, Gokai-Oh leapt out of the way as G6 took a wide swing at him with it’s cutter arm while simultaneously shooting at the downed DSM.
“Less blaming who invoked Murphy, more smacking down on G6,” Cruger said as the DSM rolled out of the way, “besides, I was talking about the possibility of G9, which if anyone you would command.”
“My guess? Basco hasn’t managed to catch up with any of the Wing race. Hopefully it stays that way. Besides, if G9 was a feasible threat, then Seikuu-Oh would’ve been raining death from above,” Gai said as Gokai-Oh darted in to slash at G6’s leg, “and that would make way more problems because none of our mechs can fly yet.”
“Well then, want to hear my backup options?”
“Nah, I got this, just need to borrow a little firepower from A-squad.” Gai snapped his fingers as a series of portals appeared in each of the Runners’ cockpits, “listen up A-scrubs, I need you guys to back out for now and then drop your morphers into these holes, uncle Gai’s gonna show you something cool.”
“Do it, I know what he’s planning, and it will be glorious,” Cruger replied.
“If you’re sure boss,” Hammer said as they placed their morphers in.
“Yessss, yessss, listen to your boss and hand over your morphers!” Gai said in his best villain impression as the five morphers dropped into his waiting hands, “let’s just hope this works!” Closing his eyes, Gai forced the image of five keys shaped like A-squads suits to form in his mind. Suddenly, he felt the morphers shift in his hands as they became smaller and more key-shaped. Gai opened his eyes, “it worked!” He cried, inserting all five ranger keys into slots on his command console, “Ranger Key, set! Let’s go!”
“Go get ‘em,” Cruger said, “Authorization Granted.”
All the parts of Gokai-Oh opened up like treasure chests, light shining out of them. When the light faded, Gokai-Oh now had signal lights coming out of each limb, two large blasters gripped in each hand with police sirens blaring from unseen speakers.
“Kanzen! Deka Gokai-Oh!” Gai cried out, his excitement apparent in his voice.
“Did he just steal our Megazord’s look?” Pearl Spark asked, realizing she had detransformed.
“Yep,” grumbled Dash, remembering how the same pirate had impersonated an SPD member to kick their tails the day before. She added yet another way to kill the crazy pirate to her already long list, this one involving root beer, rubber bands, and sushi.
“Yeehaw!” Gai whooped as Gokai-Oh ducked and weaved through G6’s melee attacks while simultaneously taking potshots at the various joints in the giant mech until it looked like it was ready to come apart at any time.
“Time to end this!” Gai cried as he turned the keys in their slots, causing the Deka parts to come flying off of Gokai-Oh and recombining into a recreation of Delta Runner One with several Gokaiger insignias stenciled in,replacing the SPD logo.
“Gokai Pat Striker!” Gai shouted as the pirated patrol car raced towards the enemy mech, it’s wheels spraying bullets as it spun around like a top, crashing into G6, and forcing the Engines apart once more.
Rainbow Dash added a sock to her new assassination plan.
“Aaaand boom goes the dynamite!” Gai said, chuckling as the Engines were separated back into their souls and casts, their pilots having leaped out of the deactivated vehicles.
Gai followed suit, along with A-squad, all of them facing off against a group of five multicolored figures. “Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present the thirty second super sentai team: the dimension-traversing Engine Sentai Go-Ongers. Also known as the attack dogs for a certain someone. No offense, Cruger.”
“None taken, I don’t like being called a dog anyway.”
“So I’ve noticed.” Gai said as the red figure threw a silver ball towards him.
As soon as Gai caught it, a figure dressed in a garish shawl and gaudy tricorn hat appeared as a hologram, “Hi~ Ika-chan!” The figure said, waving to no one in particular. Gai instantly scowled, a dark shadow passing over his face.
“So, I bet you’re wondering: ‘Oh mister Basco! How ever did you find me! I thought you flung me across dimensions when you shafted me with that warhead. Please don’t hurt me!’” The figure chuckled, “Unfortunately, I only just sent the Go-Ongers after you at random. As much as I hate to admit that I didn’t have some ‘master plan’ to find you, I really didn’t. No, I just told them to rampage until they detected your dimensional signature!”
“Basco...” Gai growled, shaking with rage at the sight of the figure before him.
“Hey, hey, can you guess how many of our fellow Displaced I’ve managed to remove from the game? Go on, guess! You can’t? It’s five! Yep, five of our compatriots bit it to help me get more powerful, isn’t that great? Well, ta ta for now! I’ve got verses to traverse and Displaced to slaughter! Buh bye!” With that, the figure winked out of existence.
“BASCO YOU BASTARD!!!!” Gai roared, crushing the message and startling A-squad.
“So,” Cruger said, “I don’t suppose it crossed your mind that I could have used that to try and find him?”
“Cruger, take A-squad back to base.” Gai said, his voice deathly calm, “I need to work off some steam, and I’d rather not have your kid’s corpses on my conscience.” Gai reached for his limiter brace and twisted it, causing the thick metal band to fall to the ground with a *thunk*.
“Just so you know, our simulator rooms can withstand multiple nuclear bombs, and I took a photo of Basco for the APB, but I could make you a holographic punching bag of him,” Cruger said as the DSM separated and returned to base.
“Why? I have five perfectly good punching bags right here!” Gai said, his cheery tone belying the ungodly rage that festered behind his eyes, “just be ready to redraw the maps of the local area when I’m done.”
“Fine, just remember to clean up after.”
“Oh don’t worry, these guys are self-cleaning! At least when there aren’t Gormin inside them...” Gai said, cracking his knuckles, “Now if you don’t mind clearing the area for me.”
“Pretty sure the giant robot smackdown took care of that, I’ll be working on my Stroganoff recipe if you need me.”
“Fine, I’ll do it myself!” Gai huffed, snapping his fingers as a series of portals opened up under A-squad, sending them aboard the Galleon, which flew back towards SPD base.
Gai cracked his neck with a sharp twist of his head, “oh yeah, I’m gonna enjoy this…” he said, sheer bloodlust in his voice as he strode towards the Go-Onger phantoms, “any time you’re ready, gents...”
The Sentai drew the blasters at their hips and opened fire on the pirate, only to have their target disappear before their shots even left the barrels.
“Gotcha.” Gai whispered from behind Go-On Yellow before tearing through her chest with a single punch, the limp phantom body hanging from Gai’s forearm. “Get off please. Gokai Mjolnir.” He said softly as he bought his arm down like a hammer into the ground, causing it to erupt and create a crater the size of a small meteor strike. The other phantoms leaped out of the way to avoid being caught up in the concussive pressure wave.
“Thank you,” Gai said to the crumpled remains of Go-On Yellow, “you can rest now.” Gai looked around, the other phantoms were nowhere to be seen. He clapped his hands together, “a game of tag, huh? I love tag! Guess I’m it though. Boo.”
It didn’t take long for the other members of the sentai to be found, they all ambushed him as soon as he crossed the edge of the crater, “idiots,” Gai muttered as he grabbed them by their helmets one by one and flung them off into the distance, “how am I supposed to blow off steam if you all come at me slower than I can kill you?”
He charged, his hands digging into the ground as he ran, leaving a small fissure in his wake before ripping his hand out of the earth right before crashing into Green and Black, causing a giant rock fist to blast the pair a mile into the air, “Gokai Gaia Hand!”
“Gokai Rising Phoenix!” Gai said as flames enveloped him, and he jumped up after them, rocketing up and grabbing the pair by their necks before the flames around him erupted into a glorious conflagration that looked as if Celestia herself had decided to bring the sun down to her subjects.
Green and Black’s charred and burning bodies came crashing down, leaving small craters on impact with the ground, “and then there were two...” Gai muttered, scratching his neck, “these guys are dropping like flies! This is why I wear my limiter, fights against weak opponents are sooooo boooooring.” He whined childishly.
“Uh, you feeling okay?” Cruger asked.
“Oh, I’m fine. Just peachy! Now where, oh where are those little piglets...”
“Oh man, here we go,” Cruger said as he warped in, “tell me you’re not going berserker.”
“Nope!” Gai said with a too-wide grin, flash-stepping and grabbing the throats of the Red and Blue phantoms that had tried sneaking up on Cruger, “tag! You’re it!” he giggled, clenching his hands, and audible *snap* echoing through the area as the phantoms’ ‘necks’ broke. “Hey Cruger.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you strong? I’m bored.”
“I was afraid of this,” Cruger said as he drew his sword, “I should introduce you to Kats sometime.”
Gai grinned, drawing his spear in gun mode and leveling it at Cruger, “you called me ‘Jack’ before, right? Well… I guess it’s time for Jack to let ‘er rip!” He fired off several shots at Cruger.
Cruger raised his hand and conjured several portals to redirect the shots back at him, “Last chance, stand down or get rekt.”
Gai let the shots land, seemingly completely unfazed, “FITE ME IRL SCRUBLORD, I’LL PUNCH YA RIGHT IN THE GABBA, SWEAR ON ME MUM! CUTLASS MODE!” On command, the barrel of the gun extended, a blade of blue energy appearing in the shape of a cutlass, Gai switched his grip on the handle before lunging at Cruger, their blades clashing as Gai continued to charge, dragging the pair of them deep into the Everfree.
“You know, if you wanted to minimize civilian casualties, all you had to do was ask,” Cruger said as he turned intangible and let Gai pass through him, “now, stand still so I can knock you out.”
“NO WITNESSES, NO CRIME! GOKAI THANATOS GRASP!” Gai shouted as he slammed his free hand onto the ground, causing it to erupt with clawed hands made of black crystal, all grabbing onto Cruger, despite his intangibility, and he could feel something being ripped from him.
“So, you want to play hardball, we can do that,” Cruger said as he teleported out, “SPD Emergency! Spectre Mode!”
“Ooooh! Fancy suit! Gokai Change!”
GOOOOOKAIGER!!!
“And one more! Gokai Change!”
SHUUUUUUURIKENGER!!!!
Standing before Cruger was a green figure with a golden chest piece and a sword at his side. “Chou Ninpo! Kage no Mai!” Gai shouted, clasping his hands in a handsign as he vanished entirely, several shadowy copies bombarding him with kicks and slashes from all sides.
“Two can play at that game, Active Camo,” Cruger said before disappearing himself.
“Oooh sp00py!” Gai said, holding up a green sphere, “Chou Ninpo! One Thousand Knocks!” He cried as he swung his sword in it’s bat-like scabbard, launching copies of the ball in all directions, smashing through trees and foliage indiscriminately with no sign of slowing down.
‘Let’s give him something to focus on,’ Cruger thought to himself before deploying several decoys he had scattered around while in Camo.
“Ooooh! Copies! I can do that too! Chou Ninpo! Bunshin no Jutsu!” Gai cried as multiple clones appeared and began fighting the copies while more began scattering more of the destructive green spheres to the point where the forest became a bullet-hell game.
Cruger grinned to himself as he drew his rifle, ’All too easy.’ He then started sniping at the copies with impunity, teleporting to a new perch whenever one of them or one of the balls got too close.
Finally, Cruger managed to hit the one that appeared to be the real one, the bullet going square between the eyes. The figure collapsed spread-eagled on the forest floor. ’Better make extra-double sure,’ he thought to himself before scanning him with infrared.
Suddenly, the figure erupted into white smoke, revealing a straw dummy with a piece of paper stuck to it’s face. Cruger barely managed to make out the words: ‘too bad!’ before a crackling blade of plasma energy severed his rifle in half, nearly taking his head off with it. “LEEEEEEROY JENKIIIIINNNS!!!” Gai screamed as he streaked past Cruger.
“That was my favorite gun,” Cruger said before extending his wrist blades.
“Cruger! Cruger! Can you hear me!?” A voice squawked over Cruger’s built-in comms as he and Gai clashed in a flurry of blades.
“Roger, who is this?”
“It’s Navi! You have to listen to me very carefully! Gai took off his limiter brace, right?”
“Let me guess, he’s gonna stay nutso until it’s back on his wrist right?”
“Last time he was like this, he tore open a new canyon in the badlands and murdered three Elder Dragons in a blood rage, and even after that it took him three days to get tired enough for me to put it back on! He’s undergone mental training to prevent the rage, but with Basco pushing his buttons like this...” Navi’s voice dropped off, “let’s just say I think this was planned.”
“Understood, now if you don’t mind, I’m gonna finish this.”
“You don’t get it! He won’t stop until he’s dead or we reattach his limiter! Did you see it when you started this?”
“No,” Cruger said, ducking under a swing from the bat-like scabbard and parrying a follow up slash with his wrist blades.
“That’s what I was afraid of...” Navi muttered, “We’ll have to attach a new training brace, it won’t stop him until the brace adjusts itself to contain him, so you’ll have to tire him out.”
“Actually, I have a better idea,” Cruger said before retracting the blades on one arm, “Knocking!” With that, Cruger jabbed at several points on Gai’s body, paralyzing him.
“Oooh, nerve attacks! Good thing I heal fast!” Gai said, his inner magic pushing back against the pressure point attack and restoring his faculties, “ice ken!” he cried as he slashed Cruger, the absolute zero temperature freezing him solid instantly. “Fire Ken!” Gai cried as he bought the blade back around, thawing Cruger and then some, the intense thermal shock causing multiple fissures to appear in his armor.
“I told you! He won’t stop until he’s dead or limited again!” Navi cried into Cruger’s ear, “why does nobody listen to the parrot!?”
“Why does everyone underestimate me?” Cruger asked no one in particular, “I grabbed it back before we started fighting, and put it on him during the 2 seconds he was Knocked, honestly I need a PR guy.”
“I SHALL NOT BE SILENCED!!!” Gai roared, slamming his fist into Cruger’s chest, the severely fractured armor shattering from the force. “I WILL NOT BE SUBDUED!!! I AM THE NIGHT! I AM VENGEANCE! I AM SUPER HUNGRY RIGHT NOW!!!!” Gai cried as he scrabbled for the limiter brace, attempting to remove it.
“I don’t think so, Knocking!”
Gai’s internal magic pressed against the pressure attack, only just barely managing to keep it off this time, “NOT THIS TIME, DOGGIE!” Gai roared, gripping the clasp on the limiter and tearing it off, “ROUND TWO! FIGHT! GOKAI CHANGE!!!”
TIIIIIIMERANGER!!!!
Gai’s form shimmered with with red light, when it vanished, Gai was wearing a red and black suit and leveling a blaster at Cruger’s exposed chest, “DV Defender!” He cried, pumping Cruger full of laser bolts.
“Okay,” Cruger said as he coughed a bit of blood, “you wanna play little gopher? Strike Mode!”
“Gokai Change!”
DAAAAAAAIIIIIRANGER!!!!
Gai rolled his shoulders, taking a fighting stance, “Kung Fu time!!!! Ki Ryouku!” He shouted, extending his palm, causing the ground to erupt under Cruger, flinging him into the air.
“Time to finish this, Moonwalk.” Cruger lept from one patch of thin air to another, grabbing the training brace before heading back to Gai, “Bullet Punch time.”
“Not likely! Gokai Mjolnir!” Gai shouted, slamming his fist into the ground, blasting Cruger away with the pressure wave before lunging in, his palm crackling with electricity, “Gokai Zeus!” he cried, as a lance of lightning arced it’s way into Cruger… and the forest behind him.
“Well then, if you’re gonna be like that, it’s time to end this, Dimens-Knocking!” Cruger summoned several large needles of energy and jammed them into Gai. “Don’t bother trying to escape,” Cruger said as he clasped the limiter around Gai’s wrist and started wrapping it with duct tape, “those spikes are locking you down at the quantum level, no amount of struggling will get you loose.”
“One last resort then,” Gai said, detransforming into Gokai Silver, “Gokaiger forbidden killing technique! Gokai Black Fog!” Gai took a deep breath before a thick, black mist poured out of his helmet’s mouthpiece, clinging to the needles and eating away at them. “The Black Fog eats away at the target’s magic and physical strength, just like Thanatos Grasp, but there is no escape, it seeks it’s target and eats it away until there’s nothing left.” Gai chuckled, “I was saving it for Basco, but this works too.” The needles shattered and Gai was able to jump away, “having a strong opponent to focus on helps when trying to come out of a blood rage, thanks for that Cruger.”
“So, are you sane again? Or do I have to break out SWAT Mode?”
“I’m good, but at the same time...” Gai tore the limiter off his wrist again, “I kinda wanna finish this out. Gotta prove I’m not a scrub, right?” Gai said as he pressed the button on his belt, causing all the sixth ranger keys to spill out and coalesce into a golden anchor key.
“You already made me use my trump card, so it’s only fair we finish this good and proper.”
“As long as this has moved from trying to reel in a nutjob to a friendly spar, I have no objections, SWAT Mode!”
“Gokai Chaaaaaaange!” Gai shouted, inserting the anchor key into the Gokai Cellular.
GOOOOOKAI SILVER!!! GOLD MOOOOOOOODE!!!!
In a flash of golden light, a giant gold anchor appeared over Gai’s head, dropping down and encasing him in golden armor. The Gokai Spear head turning to look more like an anchor and the upper part of his helmet dropping down to become a visor.
“These two are a pair of reckless idiots...” Navi muttered over the comms.
“Well then, shall we make this a One Strike Battle?” Cruger asked.
“I have five minutes like this before I collapse from the strain of fifteen combined changes, I kinda wanna make this showy.”
“If you’re sure, then so will I.” Cruger drew his sword and inserted it into a slot on his shield, causing it to become a massive energy sword, “Hope you don’t mind, but the Delta Damocles needs field testing.”
Gai grinned under his helmet, taking a combat stance, “bring it, ya’ old dog!”
“Let’s go.”
Both rangers lunged in, swinging their respective weapons, Gai’s spearhead clashing against Cruger’s energy blade, neither one giving an inch, the ground cracking from the strain of supporting the melee.
“You know, you’re not bad, for a rookie.”
“Thanks, but I did just spend the last year fighting a kinda one-sided war you know.” Gai chuckled as the two broke apart, sweeping the other end of his spear low, taking Cruger’s legs out from under him and bringing the spearhead down on the energy blade again as Cruger blocked.
“Please, that kinda thing’s standard for us Displaced. Besides, I meant that I’m the first Displaced you’ve met,” Cruger replied before drawing his blaster and firing.
Gai staggered back, allowing Cruger to get up again, “That’s not entirely true. I’ve met Basco, haven’t I?”
“You were Displaced together, doesn’t count,” Cruger replied before jumping back, “so, ready to finish this?”
“Oh yeah.” Gai said, pulling out the Gokai Silver key and inserting it into the spear, causing both it and his armor to glow.
FIIIIIIIIINAL WAAAAAAAVE!!!!
“Go time,” Cruger said as he pointed his blade at the sky. The shield section launched into the air and grew in size until it was as tall as the Delta Command Centre.
“Gokai Legend Dream!” Gai cried as fifteen ghostly figures appeared at either side of him, each representing one of the keys that made up the Gold Anchor Armor. One by one, each of these ghosts slashed at Cruger giving Gai time to finish his windup, the head of the Gokai Spear glowing with a bright, golden light.
“I don’t think so, Delta Punisher!” Cruger swung his sword, which was connected via energy tether to the giant one, which swung as well.
Gai flash-stepped in, slashing twice before getting hit by the energy sword while stepping out of the attack.
Silence.
Both fighters stood completely still, not moving a muscle as a soft wind blew across the now desolate landscape.
Cruger slumped to one knee, “Well then, I have to say, you’re pretty good, guess I don’t get to call you rookie anymore.”
Gai chuckled, relaxing the hold on his spear, “you’re not bad yourself, we should do this again sometime when I’m not stir-crazy from going all out against weak opponents.”
“No problem, I’ll let Doc Plague know you need a bed.”
“Heh, thanks.” Gai said as he detransformed and collapsed face down in the dirt, a wide contented smile on his face.
Gai groaned, clutching at his ribs. “Damn, still sore,” he muttered, “those needles really don’t feel good.” He glanced around, taking in his surroundings.
“Huh, for an infirmary, this isn’t half bad. I was expecting things to be a bit more cramped.”
“To be honest, this is more like a full fledged hospital,” Cruger said from beside the bed.
“Never did like hospitals, way too quiet. And I really hated needles as a kid,” Gai said, pulling himself up with a grunt, “what about the Go-Onger keys? They were still lying around when I… you know.”
“You mean these?” Cruger said, holding them up.
“Those would be them, yes. At least now the Engines will be safe from whatever Basco did to catch them, traversing the parallel dimensions within my verse would probably be difficult without these.” Gai said, pocketing the figures, “And the Engine Souls and Casts?”
“Hope you don’t mind, but I packed them to go,” Cruger said as he pointed to a large silver case that was lying on the bedside table.
“Thanks.” Gai said, snapping his fingers, causing a portal to appear under the case, “It’s amazing what you can learn when you can dilate time using Time Fire’s key...” he muttered, watching the case disappear into the Galleon’s cargo hold.
“To be honest, you’re still a noob with that compared to this one gal I know.”
“Who would that be?” Gai asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Her,” Cruger said as he pointed to a flower-pot, just before a fuzzy pink head erupted from it.
“Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie! So you’re the new Displaced Pirate huh?”
Gai winced, “no fair, nothing trumps Pinkie Pie, not even extra-dimensional space pirates!”
“Well Cruger said that I couldn’t throw you a party till you woke up, and you’re awake now so, party time!” With that, Pinkie grabbed Gai and ran with him out the door.
“Ah! Pinkie! Not so faaaaaaaaast!!!” Gai cried, absolutely helpless against the fuzzy pink ball of hypercompressed randomness.
After about a minute, Pinkie stopped so suddenly that Gai was pleasantly surprised he didn’t have whiplash, “We’re heeeeere!”
Gai opened his eyes to see that a truly amazing party was in full swing. At least a dozen buffet tables were loaded with food from every country Gai could think of, from Japanese Ramen to German Bratwurst. Several party games were in full swing, including 3 separate games of Pin the Tail on the Pony. And the music was incredible, the DJ playing catchy music loud enough so that you could hear it from anywhere, but low enough so that you didn’t have to shout to make conversation. There were also a couple of flags with the Gokaiger logo on them strung up for decoration.
“Hope you don’t mind, but I started the party already for your friends, your Dashie seemed really happy about it for some reason.”
Gai smiled, “I’m not surprised, she hasn’t been able to see any of her friends in ten years. But that’s not really my story to tell.” Gai then turned towards the party, grinning madly, “AVAST AND PREPARE TO BE BOARDED!!!” he cried, charging towards the buffet table.
Cruger chuckled as he walked in, “I think he likes it.”
“Yup,” Pinkie grinned before lunging into the festivities herself. However, before he could join her, Cruger noticed Twilight walking towards him with some difficulty. When she cleared the crowd, the source was apparent, Flurry Heart was clinging onto one of her legs with a death grip.
“Auntie Twilight! I missed you so much!” Flurry Heart cried, tears welling up in her big turquoise eyes.
“Cruger,” Twilight asked, eye twitching, “why is she calling me ‘Auntie’?”
“Simple, she’s Cadence’s kid,” Cruger said as he helped himself to some punch.
“Wha... bu… she’s not even pregnant?”
“Yet, based on Gai’s Dash and the alicorn currently fused to your leg, his verse is several years ahead of this one. That said, if my calculations are correct, Cadence not being pregnant shouldn’t be a factor for much longer.”
Twilight just sputtered for a few seconds before huffing, “I swear, if I find out I’m gonna be an aunt by letter the day before it happens, Shiny’s going to attend her birth from the next bed over!”
“Don’t worry about it, I think he learned his lesson last time,” Gai said through several mouthfuls of food, “besides, the announcement of a new royal baby isn’t something to be nonchalant about, especially with the ‘baby shower’ Flurry Heart had.” Gai swallowed, “oh yeah, got a few things for you Cruger.”
Gai snapped his fingers, a portal dropping a small silver case, a rolled-up tube of papers, and a large barrel out of it. Gai winced, “that probably could’ve come out smoother...”
“I can show you a trick for that later if you want,” Cruger said before opening the case, revealing two rows of six grey, cylindrical objects. “So, what are these?”
“Gokai cylinders,” Gai explained, picking one up and showing Cruger the keyhole on one end, “these form the core of the Gokaiger arsenal, allowing us to access the equipment and powers of the sentai member whose key we insert into it. I had some spares lying around, but I’m sure you can find use for these.”
“Was planning on making some new divisions with other seasons, this just makes things easier. Got Go Go V, Magi and Buster?”
“Only the full Busters team, all the other pre-35th sentai are still under Zangyack control but that’s what this is for.” Gai said, holding up the tube of papers, “blueprints for a ranger key foundry, I already included up-to-date data on all the super sentai up until I got Displaced, you just need to build it.”
Cruger pulled out one and looked it over, “Seems simple enough, I can modify one of my extruders. Anyway,” Cruger replaced the paper before tapping on the barrel, “is this what I think it is?”
Gai grinned, cracking the keg open with his fist, “Minotaurian ale, it’ll put hair on your chest, sort of an apology for shooting up your base.”
Cruger conjured himself a glass and dunked it in, “Let’s see about that.” Cruger took a sip, then coughed, “Woah, sure this stuff isn’t Screech?”
Gai laughed, knocking back a shot of the ale, “Nope, but you gotta love the Minotaurs’ high constitution modifier though!”
Cruger just grinned before warping in a keg of his own, “Why don’t you try some of this, Dragon Honey Whisky, aged 100 years, and smooth as silicon.”
Gai knocked back a shot of the brew, grimacing and swallowing thickly, “Damn, that’s some strong stuff! Too bad I’m not allowed in the Dragon Lands anymore, that’s some good booze!”
Cruger slid the keg towards him, “Consider it reimbursement for helping me test some new moves.”
“Anytime. Besides, it was fun to trade blows with someone who could take me on and wasn’t trying to kill me… well, not entirely anyways.”
“Remind me to give you a copy of Gilgamesh’s token before you go, he’s my rival for a reason. That reminds me, I have something for you before we get completely hammered.”
“Oh? And what would that be?”
Cruger reached into his coat and pulled out a folded piece of thick looking paper, “Just a little something to keep you out of trouble.”
Gai unfolded the paper, revealing an official-looking certificate with several signatures scrawled at the bottom, “A Letter of Marque? Guess that means I’m legal now… wait, that came out wrong! Damn this booze!” Gai groaned, knocking back another shot of the Dragon Whiskey.
Cruger chuckled, “I got my Celestia, Luna and Twilight and your Flurry Heart to sign it, so it should be good. So, how did you get kicked out of the Dragon Lands?”
Gai’s face fell, “you remember how Navi told you about the three Elder Dragons I killed in my last blood rage? One of them was former Dragon Lord Torch.
“Ouch, that’d do it. Why don’t we drink until we forget about that?”
Gai snorted, “sure you can keep up with a Displaced college student?”
“Challenge, accepted,” Cruger said before summoning about a dozen kegs of various different brews.
Older Dash grinned as she watched Gai and Cruger race to the bottom of a barrel of unidentified alcohol, sipping from a glass of punch at the fringes of the party, watching her old friends simply hang out like they used to back in her own Ponyville.
“So,” the Younger Dash said as she walked up, “glad to see that I’m still awesome in a few years.”
“Not to mention wiser, wish I had that slice of humble pie Gai gave you ten years ago.”
“Please, your coltfriend might be good, but he’s got nothing on the guy who taught me this,” Young Dash said before lighting up one of her hands in a blue aura.
“Huh, glow in the dark hands, neat.” Older Dash deadpanned, taking another sip from her glass before conjuring a small storm system in the palm of her hand, “I’ve got parlor tricks too, kid. And he’s not my coltfriend, but that’s besides the point.”
“Who said anything about a trick?” Young Dash asked before launching a small bolt of energy at the cloud, dissipating it. “Your coltfriend’s lucky I’m still practicing.”
A small blush appeared on Older Dash’s face, “One, he’s not my coltfriend, he’s my Captain. Two, that hot-headedness of yours is gonna get you and everyone you care about absolutely wrecked when it comes down to it. And three… you’re not even listening, are you?”
“To be honest, Gilgamesh’s the one who beat that particular lesson into my head, so no, not really.”
Older Dash sighed, before smirking at her younger self, “So, is he your coltfriend? If my fetishes are the same as yours then I’m pretty sure I can imagine what he’s like.”
Young Dash laughed, “Are you kidding? 1: he’s a Displaced who was only here for a week. 2: he’s already going steady with his Luna. 3: I don’t find popping out of my ear and stealing my donut sexy.” Young Dash shuddered at the memory, “Besides, he’s a giant musclehead, you know we like ‘em sleek and fast, kinda like Gai.”
The blush on Older Dash’s face intensified, “He’s way too young for me, eight years is a lot of headway on somepony.”
“Our Luna’s gone clubbing with guys 1000 years younger, 8 years is nothing.”
“I don’t think the Princess’ ‘moonlighting’ is a good-”
“Hey Dashie!” Gai slurred from his drinking contest with Cruger, the pair were already staggering, several empty barrels between them, “Y-you’se besht pone, ya know that, righ?” He squinted, “Why are there four of you?”
Young Dash grinned as Older Dash’s face lit up like a Hearth’s Warming Tree, “Looks like he likes his mares a little older, doesn’t he?”
“C-CAPTAIN!” Older Dash stammered, covering her burning cheeks, only to have her younger self burst out in uproarious laughter.
“Ugh, this is worse than the time Fluttershy kicked my flank during sword practice...” Older Dash groaned, her tail swishing from side to side in embarrassment.
“Wait, what?” Younger Dash said, “I know Fluttershy’s awesome and all, but she beat us in a straight fight?”
“Don’t be so surprised, you think just anypony can stare down a dragon and toss a bear around while giving it a massage? No, Fluttershy’s her own brand of badass, she used to tear through Gormin like a tornado. They called her ‘The Hurricane’.”
Older Dash took another sip of her punch, “and before you ask, no. My Fluttershy was just as quiet and kind as yours is, the fact that Gormin are lifeless robots that hurt her friends helped her along with fighting alongside the rest of us ten years ago. Even came up with her own sword move that she taught me.”
“Huh,” Young Dash said, “well she did do pretty good when Gilgy hypnotized her so it’s not completely unbelievable, but all 5 of us?”
“Easily, if she could be bought to harm anything with a pulse.”
“Anyway,” Young Dash said, “I bet you picked up that move in 2 seconds, and made it 20% better.”
“Actually, it took me a while. The move requires absolute focus on a single target, about as much as a unicorn’s teleportation spell. I’ll show it to you after the party.”
“Heh, kinda like my Ki, no problem. And I guess that explains why she’s the one who made it, Flutter’s Stare is scary.”
Older Dash shuddered, “You have no idea, kid. She can be scarier than the meanest demons in Tartarus if she wanted to be.”
“Okay, moving on before I get nightmares, what’s the biggest thing you’ve taken down?”
Older Dash thought about it for a moment before answering, “The Sugormin have a function that lets them change their size once authorization is given by a Zangyack action commander, so probably that. I wasn’t a member of the sentai until now, so fighting them without a small army backing me up was pretty much my only option.”
“Pfft, me and my squad took down a monster almost as tall as our base on our own. We did do it in our Megazord, but I still win.”
“Not all of us had fancy strength-enhancing suits and giant robots at our beck and call, we had to fight those things in the flesh, kid. Most of the earth ponies just got stomped on before they could get close.”
“Was AJ...?”
“No, she got executed as an example after the war ended. We lost by the way.”
Young Dash smashed her fist into a table hard enough to crack it, “And the others?”
“You’re looking at the last Element Bearer. They saved ‘Loyalty’ for last.” Older Dash scoffed, “Flutters and I tried to escape once, we got separated and I haven’t seen her since. But judging by what I heard that night, she was gunned down without a second thought.”
Older Dash pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to forget that night, “But that’s my beef, not yours. You should be glad you can still see your friends.”
“Yeah, I am. That said,” Young Dash turned towards her older counterpart with a murderous look in her eye, “you find them, give ‘em one for me.”
“I intend to pay them back with interest. That’s why I joined up with Gai.”
“Good, I need a drink, preferably a strong one.”
“Then I suggest we engage in some piracy of that booze that Cap and your boss are currently guzzling.” Older Dash said with a sly grin.
“Speaking of which, looks like my boss is winning.”
“Nah, Cap’s just getting his second wind.”
“We’ll see about that,” Young Dash said as they walked up. Cruger was slumped slightly in his chair humming a tune while Gai stood upright but swaying.
“Wash wroooong Dooggie? F-f-finished already?” Gai slurred, “I can go a-a-all day...” He slumped onto a table.
“Looks like I -hic- win,” Cruger said as he started sliding off his chair.
“You ain’t won s-s-shit, ya’ old dog!” Gai shouted, his voice muffled by the table.
“I am the mighty -hic- Commander Cruger, slayer of Deamons, founder of the Silver -hic- Fang Style, rival of Gilgamesh, I best Luna herself in Star-hic-craft, I don’t go down easy.”
Gai giggled, “Y-y-you -hic- dammit… You ain’t dealt wish Gaaaai Ikari, Shilver Shcourge, destroyer of Zangyack b-b-bitshes ansh slayer of all thinsh daaaank as fuuuu-”
“I think you’ve had enough you two, save some for the rest of us!” Older Dash said, barely containing her laughter.
Gai turned his head at a seemingly impossible angle, fixing the two Dashes with a relaxed stare, “Oi Cruger, look who it ish, isht besht pone!” Older Dash’s blush returned with a vengeance.
“Come to -hic- join us?” Cruger asked, “we saved you some Crystal Wine.”
“Thanks...” Older Dash mumbled, accepting a mug of the stuff, raising it to match Young Dash’s own, “To fallen friends and comrades.”
“To future victories and learning from past losses,” Young Dash replied before they both shot down their drinks.
“Hear hear!” Gai mumbled, waving his mug around in a lazy figure-eight pattern.
“We need music,” Cruger mumbled, “not a party without music.”
“Capitol idea, my canine friend.” Gai said, reaching up and grabbing a mic that was flung across the room by Pinkie with uncanny speed and accuracy, “should I go firsht? Or you?”
“You da -hic- guest, is only polite.”
“Oooookaaaay thennnn~” Gai slurred before stumbling his way to the stage, “Thish one’s dedicated to besht pone and mate a pirate could ashk fer. Rainbow Daaaash!” He said into the mic, pointing at the aforementioned pegasi, the older of which was blushing profusely while her wings stood entirely erect.
Gai raised a finger into the air, “hit it!” he cried, as music began to play.
Yeah I own this beat
You can call me the king or the ruler
Felon on bass, getting hoarse at the mic
We're getting 20 percent cooler
We had a great day out
Calling my name like Ferris Bueller
It's time to wrap this up
We're getting 20 percent cooler
7 colors in your hair
Get your boots on dear 'cause we're going out there
Don't care bout the dress code
Put it on, let's go
Girls go wild 'cause we're going "al fresco"
Ha!
No need to perform
Hands on our bodies gonna keep our skills warm
We need social reform 'cause we're just so criminal
Linguist subliminal, damages minimal
Top percentile, largest fraction
Massive attraction, girl-on-girl action
Stop that, I'm gonna need a redaction
Drop that, you already got your reaction
Me? I'm gonna keep on smiling
You? You're gonna need restyling
I got the quote back
From the jeweler
You're getting 20 percent cooler
Yeah I own this beat
You can call me the king or the ruler
Felon on bass, getting hoarse at the mic
We're getting 20 percent cooler
We had a great day out
Calling my name like Ferris Bueller
It's time to wrap this up
We're getting 20 percent cooler
We're getting 20 percent cooler! x4
Shhhhhhhh
Reduce that treble
There's an 8 or 9 who think they're on my level
Like a rebel in a bunker getting shelled with a mortar
Bump up and down cause I think you ought'a
Place your hand on my thigh
Don't be coy, I can hear you sigh
Grinding your hips, I'll be flashing my pink
And in ten seconds flat you'll be back with a drink
Wooo!
Bring out the Bacardi
Twilight, Sparkle, up in the party
Tap that, like a phone in the cold war
Room on the third floor, knocking at my front door
Me? I'm kind of a rarity
You? Work that dexterity
Lean back now, here's what I meant
Getting cooler by 20 percent
Yeah I own this beat
You can call me the king or the ruler
Felon on bass, getting hoarse at the mic
We're getting 20 percent cooler
We had a great day out
Calling my name like Ferris Bueller
It's time to wrap this up
We're getting 20 percent cooler
We're getting 20 percent cooler! x4
Yeah I own this beat
You can call me the king or the ruler
Felon on bass, getting hoarse at the mic
We're getting 20 percent cooler
We had a great day out
Calling my name like Ferris Bueller
It's time to wrap this up
We're getting 20 percent cooler
“Scratch that, this is the worst thing ever!” Older Dash cried, burying her face in her hands, trying desperately to force her stiffened wings into a folded position again as Young Dash laughed.
Cruger frowned, “You call that a drinking song? This is a drinking song, an Irish Drinking Song!”
Gather 'round ye lads and lasses, set ye for a while,
and harken to me mournful tale about the Emerald Isle.
Let's all raise our glasses high to friends and family gone,
and lift our voices in another Irish drinkin' song.
Consumption took me mother and me father got the pox,
me brother drank the whiskey 'till he wound up in a box.
Me other brother in the troubles met with his demise,
me sister has forever closed her smilin' Irish eyes.
Now everybody's died, so until our tears are dried,
we'll drink and drink and drink and drink and then we'll drink some more.
We'll dance and sing and fight until the early mornin' light,
then we'll throw up, pass out, wake up and then go drinkin' once again.
Ken was killed in Kilkenny and Claire she died in Clare,
Tip from Tipperary died out in the Derry air.
Shannon jumped into the river Shannon back in June,
Ernie fell into the urn and Tom is in the tomb.
"Cleanliness is godliness," me Uncle Pat would sing,
he broke his neck a-slippin' on a bar of Irish Spring.
O'Grady he was eighty, 'tho his bride was just a pup,
he died upon the honeymoon when she got his Irish up (OI!).
Now everybody's died, so until our tears are dried,
we'll drink and drink and drink and drink and then we'll drink some more.
We'll dance and sing and fight until the early mornin' light,
then we'll throw up, pass out, wake up and then go drinkin' once again.
Joe Murphy fought with Reilly near the cliffs of Dooneen,
he took out his shillelagh and he stabbed him in the spleen.
Crazy Uncle Mike thought he was a leprechaun,
but in fact he's just a leper and his arms and legs are gone.
When Timmy Johnson broke his neck it was a cryin' shame,
he wasn't really Irish, but he went to Notre Dame.
MacNamara crossed the street and by a bus was hit,
but he was just a Scotsman so nobody gave a shit (OCH!).
Now everybody's died, so until our tears are dried,
we'll drink and drink and drink and drink and then we'll drink some more.
We'll dance and sing and fight until the early mornin' light,
then we'll throw up, pass out, wake up and then go drinkin' once again.
Ole!
Drunken Uncle Brendan tried to drive home from the bar,
the road rose up to meet when he fell out of his car.
Irony was what befell me Great Grand Uncle Sam,
He choked upon the very last potato in the land.
Connor lived in Ulster town, he used to smuggle arms,
until the British killed him and cut off his lucky charms.
And dear old Father Flanagan who left the Lord's employ,
drunk on sacramental wine beneath the altar boy (HEY!).
Now everybody's died, so until our tears are dried,
we'll drink and drink and drink and drink and then we'll drink some more.
We'll dance and sing and fight until the early mornin' light,
then we'll throw up, pass out, wake up and then go drinkin' once again.
Someday soon I'll leave this world of pain and toil and sin,
the Lord will take me by the hand to join all of me kin.
Me only wish is when the Savior comes for me and you,
He kills the cast of Riverdance and Michael Flatley too.
Now everybody's died, so until our tears are Dried,
we'll drink and drink and drink and drink and then we'll drink some more.
We'll dance and sing and fight until the early mornin' light,
then we'll throw up, pass out, wake up and then go drinkin' once again,
then we'll throw up, pass out, wake up and then go drinkin' once again,
then we'll throw up, pass out, wake up and then go drinkin' once again.
“I didn’t know it needed to be a drinking song...” Gai said sullenly.
“Well we are drinking… what are we drinking again?” Cruger asked before looking at the label of the bottle he was about to pour. Cruger grinned, “We’re drinkin’ Bink’s Sake.”
Gai stared at Cruger, their eyes locking in mutual understanding, “shall we?” He asked.
See the sky! The birds singing in circles passing by!
Bid farewell to weaver's town!
Say so long to port renowned!
Sing a song, it won't be long, before we're casting off!
Cross the gold and silver waves
Changin' into water sprays!
Sailing out on our journey,
To the ends of the sea!
Gather up all the crew!
Time to ship out Bink's brew!
Pirates we, we'll divide and conquer all the seas!
With the waves to rest our heads,
The ship beneath us as our bed!
Hoisted high up on the mast our jolly roger flies!
Somewhere in the endless sky,
A storm has started comin' by!
Waves are dancing, having fun,
Time to sound the drums!
If we let blow winds of fear, then the end of us is near!
Even so, tomor-row the sun will rise again!
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,
Gather up all the crew!
Time to ship out Bink's brew!
Could be today, could be tomorrow,
Twilight dreaming.
No longer now can we see, shadow hands still waving free
Why worry, there's sure to be a moonlit night again!
Gather up all the crew!
Time to ship out Bink's brew!
Sing a song, a lively song,
For all the oceans wide!
After all is said and done,
We all end up skeletons!
Endless, aimless, the story on the uproarious seas!
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho.
Suddenly, a great rumbling roar, snapped the two Displaced out of their drunken reverie, a pulse that only they could feel racing through them. “Cruger, we have a visitor.” Gai said, recovering instantly from his drunken state.
“That we do,” Cruger said recovering from his, “let’s see who had the stones to interrupt a Pinkie Party.”
Gai nodded, pulling out the Gokai spear and rushing outside, Cruger following closely behind.
“BARI BARI BARI!!!” A zombified mechanical voice cried out as a giant formula one racecar tore across Ponyville, scattering houses and trees alike.
“It’s probably a good thing that basically the entire town was invited,” Cruger said as the cannons on the base took aim.
“Hold up, that’s Machalcon. Speedor and Bear-V’s kid, I’m pretty sure he got caught up in Basco’s dragnet too. He’s probably been sent to see if I had turned this place into a smoking crater by now, which means...” Gai jumped up onto a roof, pulling a small knife-like object from the folds of his silver long coat, “...that he’ll have to report his findings to the big douche himself.” Gai finished, throwing the portable GPS tracker onto Machalcon as he raced past.
“Good plan, here’s mine, corral him.” As the words left his mouth the guns opened fire, coming close enough to steer him away from any more potential collateral damage, but never hitting him.
“You got my dimension’s coordinates locked in, right?” Gai asked, hopping down from the roof, “Can you open up a big enough portal to send him back?”
“That was the plan, ready the gate.” The large transport gate rose out of the ground and powered up as the cannons drove Machalcon into it. “And that is why I’m the boss, I have the good ideas.”
“Dude, totally not cool.” Gai muttered, snapping his fingers as a leather bound tome dropped into his hands, “Since I won’t be here to help out with training the new divisions, you might wanna have your candidates read up on their sentai history from this encyclopedia, a foal would become an expert with this. I have copies, so you can keep it.”
“I’ll make some copies, thanks,” Cruger said as he took it, “so, you want to take the portal now, or wait until the party’s over?”
“Eh, I think my Dash had some knowledge to drop on yours, so I’ll wait until after. Besides, you’d have to be insane to think of leaving a Pinkie Party without the head mare’s approval first. Let’s try to get our buzz back, shall we? I believe I was winning.”
“As I recall, you were swaying and slurring while I merely had the hiccups, from an empirical point of view that means I was winning.”
“Says the guy who slumped over way before me.”
“That was because good whisky always leaves me relaxed, you’re the one who did a faceplant on the table.”
“Oh, you are so going under the table before me, never underestimate a college student’s drinking prowess! Especially if said college student is also an extra-dimensional space pirate!”
“I went to college myself, and I was part scottish before I was Displaced, you do not scare me.”
Gai and Cruger’s eyes locked. “Bring it.” They both said in unison, charging back towards whatever alcohol was left at the party.
“Uuuuuuuuugh” Gai groaned, lying down over a barrel, “I -urp- think I won, my head is still above that table.” Gai said, pointing a shaky finger towards the table Young Dash had smashed earlier.
Cruger attempted to reply, but quickly shoved his head back into the portal it was stuck in a moment before.
“Victoryyyyyyy~” Gai said listlessly, before snapping his own portal open and shoving his head inside, retching violently.
“Nope,” Cruger said as he pulled his head out, “I woke up first, I win.”
“I never went to sleep.”
“Would you two stop it!” Flurry Heart said, smacking the two Displaced over the head with her paper fan, causing them both to wince and rub the impact site.
“Honestly, I can’t imagine how you can function without me,” Sorrow Song said as she walked in with a pot of coffee and a pair of mugs.
“Simple, not very well,” Cruger said as he accepted the life-giving elixir.
“What did I tell you? A pair of reckless idiots,” Navi lamented from Sorrow Song’s shoulder.
“Stuff it Bird, your voice is too loud” Gai moaned as he accepted his own mug of elixir.
“Excuse me!?” Navi exclaimed, drawing a wince from Gai, steam puffing from the crest on her head, “How dare you! You two are the ones who decided to get absolutely plastered by drinking enough alcohol to poison an entire army! I don’t know why I bother with you, you *****ing *********** son of a *************!!!!”
Navi’s tirade continued, the tireless parrot screaming expletives of such a graphic nature that even Sorrow Song looked shocked.
“Again,” Older Dash said, turning the hand crank next to her, causing a cacophony of noise to erupt from the various cans and metallic objects surrounding the younger pegasus.
Young Dash cringed from the noise, her ears flattening against her head, as she began to channel her internal magic into the cutlass she had borrowed from Older Dash, the blade glowing white and crackling with electricity as she began to slowly move it in a circular pattern before drawing the flat of the blade against her arm, as slight sound of metal on metal echoed as she finished her windup. She began to focus more on her target: an apple resting on a post ten feet away.
Then suddenly, the magical field around the blade was broken with the sound of shattering glass, the backlash whipping Young Dash’s head back.
“Argh! What the hell!? It should be working!” Young Dash said, groaning in frustration, ramming the cutlass blade into the ground. They had been at this for hours, the skill sounded simple in theory, but the unexpected difficulty had left the young pegasus reeling.
“This is nothing like channeling Ki,” Older Dash observed, walking up to Young Dash and taking the cutlass from the ground, checking for damage to the edge with a practiced eye, “You’re trying to force it, pegasi were never meant to be able to direct their internal magic this way. Our wings are the conduit for our magic, the same way as a horn is for a unicorn. What we’re trying to do here is swap our wings for a sword.”
She lightly pushed her younger self aside, taking a fighting stance, “A pony’s internal magic is a manifestation of their soul, Ki is something you consciously generate through breathing. Your magic can’t be wielded the same way as you would fire a blaster or channel ki, you are just it’s guide, not somepony pulling a trigger.” The cutlass blade began to glow and crackle, the white light shining like the sun as she finished her wind up faster than her younger self, before slashing twice, the white light tracing an ‘X’ and racing towards the apple, passing through it before vanishing.
“Nothing happened...” Young Dash muttered, examining the apple.
“Wait for it...” Older Dash said, sliding the cutlass home in it’s scabbard.
As if on cue, the apple’s skin peeled off in a single strip, the fruit itself splitting apart into equally sized slices, leaving the core standing upright.
“You actually use this technique all the time while cloudbusting, without even knowing it.” Dash said as she sauntered over to the apple, picking up a slice and munching on it, “There’s no race to win, no clock to beat. If you try to force your magic out, it’ll be like trying to knock yourself out with a single punch: you’ll just end up holding back on some level.”
Older Dash tossed the sheathed cutlass back to her younger self, “Not to mention the stress of battle will also be a factor, once you can do it with two swords and with the background noise, then you’ll have mastered this skill.”
“I use it while cloudbusting huh?” Dash said to herself as she brought herself into a new stance, with her wing extended and her cutlass beside it. As she focused on the feeling she had when cloudbusting, small sparks jumped from her wing to the blade. Once enough energy had traveled to the blade to cause it to glow, Dash shot forward to the post, stopping just before she hit it and swung her sword. A gust of wind blew through the room as a blade of cerulean energy shot forward and through the post before colliding with the wall.
“Not bad,” Older Dash said as the post slid apart neatly in half, “we just need to work on control,” She continued as a large chunk of the wall suddenly tore open, spraying the two pegasi with rubble. “This move responds more to feeling than anything else. It is a manifestation of our soul, after all.”
“Probably has something to do with me using the one sword,” Young Dash said, “I felt way off balance, bet I’ll do better with two.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, starting with one sword is how you build up a new magical pathway from your magic to your hands. You have to train it like any other muscle.”
“I don’t know if you could tell, but I was using my wings. And do you think it’s possible to fly with just one wing? We’re good, but not that good.”
“Trust me when I say you’ll end up building more control this way than if you try to rush it. That was my main problem when learning this move. Again.”
Young Dash sighed, “Fine, but I’m alternating each time, no sense overbuilding one wing.”
Older Dash flicked her younger self on the forehead, “no wings, only your arm this time.”
“Slave driver,” Young Dash muttered as she settled into a similar stance from her last attempt, only with the other hand and her blade a bit farther from her wing.
“If you grow too reliant on just your wings, you won’t be able to do jack when they’re taken from you.” Older Dash said, extending her wing and revealing her trimmed primaries, “again.”
Young Dash stifled a gasp as she concentrated on the feeling she had before. After a minute, familiar sparks jumped from her hand to the blade as it gained a vaguely wing-shaped aura.
“Good, now channel and focus it towards the point of the blade.” Older Dash said in a soothing tone, stepping out of the way.
Young Dash focused as the aura became more defined, before slashing with it. The aura separated from the blade, transforming into a pair of soaring wings before fizzling out halfway to the post.
“Not a bad attempt, a bit more practice and you’ll be able to do it with one sword.”
“Hey, this is me we’re talking about,” Young Dash said before frowning at her sword, “say, does it have to be a sword?”
“It’s the easiest conduit for this technique, if that’s what you’re asking. Flutters tried it with blunt weapons, but she never could get it right.”
“It just doesn’t feel right to me, give me a sec,” Dash said before handing Older Dash the blade and grabbing a blaster from a locker. “I’ve trained with this little beauty for months, something tells me that your Flutters made a mistake with her technique.”
“She never did like guns, always said they were too mercilessly destructive, only used a weapon where she could choose to spare her target rather than outright kill it every time. Me? I’m just a bad shot.”
“Not what I meant,” Young Dash said as she started charging the blaster, which happened much faster than with the blade, “maybe what weapon it works best with depends on the one using it.” Dash pulled the trigger, causing an arrow of energy to blow through several barriers that popped out of the ground. “Now that felt right.”
Older Dash shrugged, “it’s crude, and way too brute-forced for my taste, but I guess the simplest solution is always the best when we we’re involved. But it still needs some control, obliterating a target is the job of a missile, saving a life is the job of a blaster.”
“Preaching to the choir, or did you forget that I’m a cop,” Young Dash said as she tossed Older Dash a blaster, “and as long as you’re teaching me this cool new move, I might as well return the favor. Let me show you how to shoot.”
Gai whistled, admiring the view of his shining ship, “now that, is some quality repair and clean up.”
“We’ve been getting a lot of practice lately,” Cruger said as he took a sip of his coffee, “personal recommendation, get your Franky next.”
“I’ll meditate on that, but no promises. I don’t just let anyone join.”
“Good policy, but you should still try to find someone who you can trust who can keep your boat afloat. Fanon likes to paint Applebloom as an engineer, might be a good place to start.”
“I’ve got no idea where she is, or if she’s even still kicking. The Element Bearers aren’t exactly around anymore.” Gai turned to Cruger, “did your mechanics install the warp drive?”
“The emitter is in the prow, no promises if it’ll work in Mega mode. That said, I was planning on sending you back via Delta Gate, your drive needs to calibrate in your home dimension, which is a lot easier if that’s where it’s initial start-up happens.”
Gai nodded, “I’ve got one more request then, actually two.”
Cruger sighed, “Fine, but be advised that I reserve the right to call in my favors at any time.”
“Fine by me, the first is if you could place a sample of your DNA on this.” Gai held up the Deka Master key.
“No problem.” Cruger summoned a sterile swab from the infirmary, swabbed the inside of his cheek, and dabbed it on the key, “although I am wondering why.”
“Bottom line is, I don’t see why Basco gets to be the only one who gets stronger with every Displaced he meets.” Gai said as the key began to glow, absorbing Cruger’s essence into it, “I’ve got my own key foundry on board that I can use to make blank keys, I’m sure you know what I’m getting at.”
“I have a bunch of new forms that I got by meeting with a Displaced shopkeeper, just seems like good sense to me. Just watch yourself when you use it, could damage reality if you’re not careful with my unique abilities.”
“That’s why I’m restricting it to SWAT mode only, Delta Punisher was pretty awesome.”
“That it was, although to be honest it’s one of my weaker finishers, make sure to try out Wheatley's Revenge when you get a free moment.”
“Oooh, sounds fun!” Gai said before tucking the newly infused key into his silver long coat, “now for the less fun request.”
“If it’s about the APB, it’s already out.”
“I want you to tell me the moment you pick up on him. Basco is my mess, I’ll clean it up.”
“I’ll call you, but I will pursue him at the same time. I’m a cop, he’s a murdering psychopath that would make the Joker want to trade tips, it’s nature. Besides, you might need backup.”
Gai grinned, “fine, but I don’t think I can afford to let you just take him in, he’ll be dangerous in or out of bars - or containment cards, but you get the idea.”
“I do, I’ve had to make that call once before,” Cruger said as his face turned dark. Before Gai could ask, Cruger’s face brightened, “Looks like our Dashes bonded quite nicely.”
“Yeah, I wanted to remind her of her reason for fighting before we left, hence staying after Machalcon showed up.”
“Good call,” Cruger said as the Dashes walked out, exhausted but grinning ear to ear.
“Hey boss,” Young Dash said, “granny here taught me a new move that Edge might want to put into Basic. On a completely unrelated note, training hall 3 needs some repairs.”
“Who the hell you calling ‘granny’ you brat!” Older Dash said, landing a chop on top of Young Dash’s head, “you’re just jealous because you’re still flat as a washboard!”
“Hey, flat means aerodynamic, I bet you couldn’t hit 150 kph. Anyway Gai, I’ve got something for you.”
“What is it?” Gai asked, as Older Dash went on a rant about easily being able to reach that speed if her wings were working.
“Copy of the security cams from last night’s party,” Young Dash said as she held up a thumb drive, “figured you’d want it since you were too plastered to remember it otherwise.”
Gai placed a hand on his chest, a look of mock horror on his face, “why, Rainbow Dash, are you insinuating that I wasn’t kicking Cruger’s canine tail during that drinking contest?”
“You wish,” Cruger said, taking another sip of his coffee.
“Actually, from what I can tell you two passed out at the same time, so it’s a draw,” Young Dash said as she tossed him the drive.
“Traitor,” Cruger mumbled.
“Hey, perjury is a crime. Anyway, you’ve got a pretty nice set of pipes on ya, you might want to share your little solo with your whole crew, be a crime otherwise.”
“Huh, not a bad idea...” Gai muttered, tapping the thumb drive on his chin.
“No, bad idea, bad BAD idea!” Older Dash said as she stormed over to her captain, taking the thumb drive and smashing it into the ground. Surprisingly, it didn’t break, even after she stomped on it several times.
“Gotta love Dimensium casing,” Young Dash said as she picked it up and handed it to Gai, “reasonably cheap to make, but you could probably drop Canterlot on it before it breaks.”
“Awww, so I didn’t need to clone it using the arbitrary laws of Dimension magic?” Gai said, pouting slightly as he held up several copies of the same thumb drive between his fingers.
“Hey, now you have several indestructible thumb drives,” Young Dash said as Older Dash started sputtering and turning red like she had eaten a tub of habaneros.
“Methinks the lady doth protest too much,” Cruger said to Navi, who was currently perched on his shoulder.
“Hmph! I have nothing to say to the both of you!” She huffed, the crest on her head still puffing steam.
“Aww, come on Navi! I’ll oil your joints when we get back,” Gai said.
Navi glanced in his direction, “promise?”
“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Thunder boomed as the Pinkie Promise was sealed.
“Deal!” Navi chirped, flying over to Gai’s shoulder.
“Anyway,” Cruger said as the Gate started rising out of the ground, “if you’ll just move your ship to the launch zone, we’ll send you home.”
“Right, it was nice to meet you, Cruger.” Gai said, extending a hand to the blue alien.
“Likewise, you’re not quite at the level that I’d call you a rival, but a friend no doubt,” he replied as he shook the hand of the silver garbed pirate.
“Well, I guess that makes you my first hurdle then!” Gai said as he snapped his fingers creating a portal, leading a still protesting Dash through it.
As soon as the portal snapped shut, the Gokai Galleon began to lift off and move into position on the runway. Once it was in position, powerful magnets held it in place as a large yellow robot rose up beside it on an elevator.
“Is that…?” Gai muttered before his eyes widened, “oh god damn that blue space dog!” Gai’s next few words were drowned out by the screams of the Galleon’s crew as the robot smacked the stern of the ship, sending it rocketing through the gate.
Cruger chuckled as the gate powered down before turning to Dash, “Think I should have warned him?”
Looking over the party the thestral could only let a meek cry as she watched from a distance, her nature not allowing her to really interact with the whole group. Though she did talk to Pinkie a bit, it was nice to talk to someone solo in such an environment and not lock up. She then noticed the teenage form of somepony she didn’t think she would see outside of Ponyville, she walked up to him curious, “Pipsqueak?”
“Yeah?” He said absentmindedly, watching Gai and Cruger’s drinking contest unfold.
“So it is you, never thought I would really see you this thin and unfed.” said Sora looking quite sad at the teenager.
Pipsqueak turned to the thestral, “that tends to happen when you live on the streets of Manehattan during an alien occupation.” He said sourly.
“But you're alive and kicking aren’t you?” stated Sora with a soft smile, “I’m sure you have quite an enduring spirit, though for reasons nopony should really have been through.” Sora didn’t want to ask about his parents, already expecting the worst.
“Lucky me.” He scoffed, munching on one of Pinkie’s cupcakes.
“Yes, Lucky you. Now can you can change things for others who have the same problem, right?”
“I would, if Gai would let me join his crew.”
“You might not be in his crew, but you’re along with him on the ride for some time. You can use that time to train yourself and then show Gai why you’re strong enough to join his crew. Or use what you’ve learned to make your own.” said Sora, watching the eyes of the youngster.
“He won’t let me stay that long, and I can handle myself, thank you very much.” He said, holding up her badge.
“Well at least you’d be skilled enough to become a magician.” said Sora not really minding that the child got his hands on her badge.
“Not really any job openings for something like that. Mostly because large groups are heavily discouraged.” Pipsqueak said, tossing her badge back, “that’s what your change device looks like, huh?”
“Well at R&D you can change the appearance if you want, but I went with function so I put together a morpher, communication device and judgement caller.” responded Sora as her wing grabbed the morpher out of the air in a flash, “Besides nopony would notice it because everyone has them.”
“Navi told me about you, purple, right? I hear you and Gai trained a bit.”
“Yeah, though it was honestly just me showing off the suit I could never use at first. Then he asked if I wanted to learn a powerful move, and of course I accepted.” said Sora with a small blush on her face, “Never actually expected to pull it off, I tend to fail at everything. Ah…” she didn't know what to say about her getting trained while he wasn’t.
“Well at least you got to try. Must mean he saw some potential in you...” Pipsqueak grumbled.
“Potential in this old sack of meat?” wondered Sora with a sigh, “I think he just saw what I did and felt sorry for me, I lack any strength and anything else. I mean I don’t even have a cutie mark, how sad is that?”
“So? That just means you have the potential to do whatever you want, the rest of us are tied down to ours.” Pipsqueak said, shrugging slightly, “mine’s in thievery, so I’m forever stuck being a criminal.”
“I’ve tried everything I liked and only come barely able to follow the others who did the same, I don’t want to do anything else and yet there elsewhere is my ‘Talent’. Honestly at this point I’d like to have it, but if I had do something like becoming a lawyer or a teacher, then I rather stay with my blank behind.” said Sora with a dry chuckle, “And your thievery is just want your talented as, doesn’t mean you have the steal anything. Maybe you just need to steal other people's fear and give it to the ones you feel in need of it.”
Pipsqueak looked at her incredulously before laughing out loud, “s-seriously? A lawyer or teacher would be way better than a cutie mark I got by cutting somepony’s purse for the first time. ‘Stealing fear?’ Really?”
“Magic is what magic is so it should be possible, but you could steal fear by beating up Zangyack, the ponies of Equestria would have the fear stolen and the Zangyack Empire would have their hope stolen.” said Sora at least glad that Pip was laughing.
“You’re a weird one, I’ll give you that.” Pipsqueak chuckled, “one thing’s for sure, your talent isn’t in motivational speeches.”
“Weird huh, yeah I guess I am weird in some ways. And for motivational speeches, it’s at least got you laugh, so I call it a win.” said Sora a small smile, “Besides I’m sure you’d just steal the future you want.”
Pipsqueak snorted, taking another cupcake, “I never did get your name though.”
“Sky Gear, but everypony calls me… Sora.” She said into Pipsqueak’s ear as he picked up the cupcake before disappearing into the crowds.
Pipsqueak blushed furiously, biting into his cupcake in the hopes that the pink frosting would cover his embarrassment.
Sora could only laugh a little bit as watched Gai recovering from the killer hangover, she gave him some water, “You really shouldn’t have drank that coffee, water now is really the only thing you need to rehydrate yourself from the headache.”
“Oi, this isn’t my first rodeo Sora.” Gai groaned as Navi continued her tirade off to the side, shocking everyone with her… impressive vocabulary.
“And yet you went ahead and didn’t eat anything for quite some time before drinking tons of alcoholic beverages. Honestly.”
“‘Twas a duel between men!” Gai groaned, shoving his head back into the small portal and retching violently.
“More like a duel to see who can lose the most of their weight afterwards.” mumbled Sora as she looked over to Navi. She then fished through her belt and found a small bottle of oil and a mouth to the bottle, “Navi, you’re moving too much, let me oil you up.”
Navi just continued her extremely violent torrent of expletives, heedless to what was going on around her.
Seeing the lack of response, the thestral just grabbed Navi by the left leg and sat down with the parrot and oiling the joints, “If you keep doing this someone might shoot you when you're so angry.”
“LET GO OF ME *********! ********ING ************ !!!!” She screeched, slashing at Sora with her talons before flying off, crowing an even more furious string of curses now involving Gai and Cruger’s lineages… how she knew them, nopony knew.
“She quite the character.” muttered Sora before looking at Gai as she thought for a moment before nodding, “Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah?” Gai said from inside the portal.
“What was your life before you got Displaced?” asked Sora quite curious on that matter.
“In one sentence?” Gai said pulling his head out from the portal, “antisocial, lazy weeaboo with only one friend.”
“That would be you, but what about your life, I mean was it despite your own faults fun and happy?” stated Sora.
“To be honest… despite my laziness, I was an adrenaline junkie, so regular day-to-day living was too boring, but at the same time, I didn’t really want to even leave my room. So… I guess the word I’m looking for is dull?”
“And then you were thrown into an extreme of the other side, right?”
“More or less,” Gai said, grinning, “but the cost was too much. Guess I need to fire my agent.”
“Pretty sure Fate can’t be fired.” noted Sora with a smile before looking up at the ceiling, “I don’t think I could withstand the loneliness and not being able to see my family again.”
“Didn’t really get along with them, never fit in with the ‘family dynamic’. So I guess I got it better than most other Displaced.”
“I still think they would have missed you and you missed them.” said Sora with a small smile before pulling out an odd blade that looked like a crimson version of Cruger’s sword, “Though I did want to show you this.”
“And this is…?” Gai asked, taking the blade in both hands and examining the dog head near the guard.
“H-blade Cerberus. Weapon I forged from stuff I got from roaming around the safer areas in Tartarus, meant to be used with my ranger form.” she looked a bit embarrassed as she added, “I’m just not as good with a sword.”
“Swordplay can be learned,” Gai said, taking a few practice swings with Cerberus, “how you fight is dependant solely on you.”
“If you-” started Sora before seeing that the whole weapon heat up and the edge become superheated, “Swing it like that it will activate the heat within the metal it was made of.”
“Huh, not bad, an excellent weapon. Versatile too.” Gai muttered, examining the blade.
“It’s got heat edge which ignites after every few swings, it has an odd ability to send out a pair of chains which while draining all the power from Cerberus also renders it unable to cut anything while sealing most creatures that it’s holding. Didn’t know the chains would happen, but the magics that held those underground probably partially transferred into the blade.” explained Sora, “Though maybe it has to do that Chomps’ tooth was added the alloy mix…”
Gai grinned, “careful there Sora, the Jigoku no Banken over there might get jealous.” He said, gesturing with his thumb over to Cruger and Sorrow Song, who was still stunned by Navi’s tirade, “I think Navi broke her.” He snickered.
“Jigoku no Banken?” she asked, totally butchering how it was suppose to sound.
“Cruger’s base has a Sentai counterpart who was known by that name before he became head of Earth’s SPD, it means ‘Guard Dog of Hell’. Supposedly he made the devil himself quake with fear,” Gai explained, handing Cerberus back to Sora, “that is a very good weapon you have there, Sora.”
“I’m pretty sure there are better around.” said Sora mutely before humming, “Guard Dog of Hell, So kinda like Chomps, he’s the Three Headed Hellhound that protects Tartarus’ gate. I visit him in my spare time, though usually he doesn’t acknowledge me unless I have a ball to play with him.”
“Chomps… you mean Cerberus? That’s one hell of a playmate you’ve got there, my apprentice.” Gai chuckled, “I’m sure he’s just waiting for you to build up some confidence.”
“As if, he’s just sits there and I have pretend conversations with him. Or I bounce a ball with my head to him and he bounces it back while having said pretend conversation.” said Sora blushing because of her embarrassment, “I mean at least he let me get the materials needed once the base of my ranger suit was done.”
“If he didn’t acknowledge you, I doubt that would be the case. If the lore about Cerberus is true, he only responds to the strongest of individuals, or the one he perceives as his master.” Gai rubbed his chin, “kinda fits with the whole theme of your suit actually: SPD’s own Goddess of Tartarus, Sky Gear!” He said, striking a pose, his index finger sticking upwards in the air in a backwards ‘L’.
“Wouldn’t it be Hell Bat, Sky Gear?” questioned Sora, “besides I’m not that strong compared to any of the A-squad and those with crazy power in B-squad. I mean even the secretary has powerful ice powers.”
“Strength isn’t always in your body, Sora.” Gai said, placing his fist against her chest, “believe it or not, I wasn’t even able to transform for the longest time because my body was too weak to sustain the transformation.”
“But you got stronger, I know I’m strong in my own ways. But so far I can’t seem to ever use those strengths to do anything within SPD.” was her response.
Gai’s grin widened as he snapped his fingers, causing a portal to open in the air above his free hand, a gold bracelet dropping down from it, “well then, you’re only answer is to become so overpowered that nopony could ever question it, not even yourself.” He held the band out to Sora, “put this on, it’ll help.”
She blinked and nodded before picking up the band and looking at it for a moment before putting it on.
Suddenly, she collapsed to the floor, her legs unable to support her own body weight.
Killing intent started to escape the mare as she tried and barely got up a centimeter before falling down onto the floor once more, “Damn it! You didn’t have to do something at this level!” her voice was quite harsh, Sora using all of her might to get herself to kneel and glare up at Gai.
“I think I did, the one thing holding you back is your lack of self-confidence. You’re already more than strong enough to make A-squad, I’ve seen you in action and you’ve been holding out on me. Since you won’t break out of your mental shell, I’ll give you a physical one to focus on. That band will adjust to your strength level and constantly force your body to become stronger, whenever you think of doubting yourself, just take it off and see how strong you really are.”
He knelt down to her level, “all you need to do is believe in the ‘me’ that believes in you.”
Killing intent spilled more and Sora could only growl out, “I’m weak since I’m only strong enough to kill someone, not take them down without damage myself or anyone I could protect. I’ve been beaten down time and time again and I know I’m weak, when the thought of killing somebeing is what gives you strength then it’s just anger and hate. As a reader I know that’ll just lead me down to hell.”
Gai grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him, “the only one who can change that is you. You have the tools and the ponies to help you along, but you have to take that first step.”
The thestral looked at Gai sternly before all the killing intent dissipated from around her, “I tried… I tried so hard, here at SPD, back at military school and even in my youth. I’ve made the first step always to find a freaking wall that everyone else doesn’t have.” a hollow laugh filled the room.
Gai grinned, “then break it. I refuse to give up on you, Sora. You’ve got a level of inner power that I’ve never seen before, so use it! Chomps already sees it, what’s stopping you? Some stupid wall? That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Some ponies are just not as talented, they’ve tried their whole lives and won’t become stronger because of their ‘never give up’ attitude, I don’t want to be one of them.” muttered the mare, “But I am, I won’t accelerate forward without end, I will just train on and on. But I’ll never reach a height where I can be a main character, besides my own little story of life.”
“Then what the hell are these for!?” Gai said, grabbing her wings and unfurling them, drawing a gasp from the downed thestral, “why have wings if you were never meant to fly? Doesn’t seem fair to us wingless folk.” He joked, “your potential is greater than you know because you’re starting from rock bottom. So fly!”
“I don’t know how to use them properly okay!?” she said out agitated in small voice, “I’m a daughter of a junk trader, someone bound by the ground. I learnt to fly by myself and I’m just so old that it’s humiliating to ask anypony to help me learn how to fly.”
“Well then, that’s your first task, isn’t it? After standing up, of course. I’m sure there’s somepony who will teach you to use your wings. After all, one of my greatest heroes started out as a junk trader.”
“I… if I tell anyone, they’d just laugh and say I was telling a joke. I’ve had it happen 15 times, they say I fly well enough already. Yet every time I try to go fast I lose control, every time I dive deeply then my wings start going a bit out of control.” Sora just groaned, “Can we continue on somewhere else, anywhere but here where Boss Kruger can hear it?”
“Why do you call him that?” Gai asked, cocking his head, “it’s ‘Cruger’ isn’t it?”
“Um… you can notice the difference?” asked Sora suddenly put off by the sudden out of left field question.
“Yeah, why not? You’re pronouncing his name weird.”
“It just feels right, like calling him boss.”
“Huh, anywhoo… Let’s go ask somepony to teach you to fly, if they laugh, I send them flying. That sound good?” Gai questioned, standing up.
“But… you have to go soon...” mumbled Sora.
“Well then, we’ll have to be fast, won’t we?” Gai said, slinging Sora over his shoulder before dashing out the door to Sugarcube Corner.
“So I guess this is it then, Boss called you and your crew to return to the hanger since the Gokai Galleon is completely patched up.” said Sora, a bit saddened that the person who had granted her quite a boost of strength was leaving.
“Guess so, can’t take advantage of the old dog’s hospitality forever,” Gai said, grinning at the thestral.
“Still, you’ve got someone to show the light to, right?” said Sora knowing that Gai had his mission and she hers.
“Yeah… yeah I do.” He pulled a small, white figure out of his coat, “I’m gonna need all the strength I can get, so can I borrow some of yours? Just put a sample of your DNA on this.”
She used a nail to cut her finger, before using the wound to place a drop of blood on the white figure, “You brought quite a bit out, so it’s partially your power. But, of course you can borrow it.”
Gai closed his eyes, the white figure shining with a brilliant white light. When it faded, the figure had turned into a representation of a familiar purple figure, “this,” he said, holding it up to her, “represents the power you accrued through your own effort. I have no doubts that it will be a great asset to everypony in this dimension.”
“And now in your dimension as well. But I’m sure both of us will grow stronger and maybe with our bond, when I reach a new limit then the key will open a new door for you as well.” said Sora with a nod.
“Just so we’re clear, the next time I show up, I’ll expect you to be ten times as strong. I won’t have my apprentice slacking off during her training, got it?” Gai said, grinning mischievously.
“Hey I’m standing up already… so don’t worry too much, maybe prepare a reward for me just in case.” was her response grinning herself.
“I’ll put some thought into it.” Gai said, before his face grew serious, “remember, all it takes for you to move forward is someone who’s got your back. And you have all of SPD to fall back on, not to mention one hell of a crazy pirate! Always remember: you can be a hero.”
The Bat Pony nodded, “As long as you Reach out and Seize your dreams, because you have a crew that's growing and people who you will rescue out there. If I can be a hero, then a Displaced like you can become a Savior, a beacon of hope.” Sora chuckling a bit, “Geez all of this sounds so cheesy.”
“I wanted to make sure you got your daily dose of calcium.”
Sora tapped her goggles that were on her neck, “I’ve got everything I do recorded on here, so I won’t forget.”
“Excellent, a balanced diet also helps, sometimes even more than belief!” With that, the two fell into a fit of uproarious laughter.
Sora then went through one of her pouches for a bit before pulling out what seemed to identical pair of goggles, “Here, something else to remember me by. Don’t worry about me not having spares, I’m going to build more anyway.”
Gai took the silver-rimmed goggles before slipping them over his head, letting them rest on his chest, “thanks Sora.” He said simply, smiling at her.
“Well it’s also partially a multi-tool of sorts, multiple vision settings with each their own problems that might cause eye damage, but also recording systems for sight and sound.” explained Sora before scratching the back her head, “Sorry that yours is barebones in the color department, never really thought about colors in the design.” her own grey goggles looking quite plain on her neck.
“Don’t worry about it,” Gai said, waving it off, “I’ll just have to make my fights extra showy!” He pumped his fist into the air, “HERE I COME, ZANGYACK SCUM!!!”
Sora ears went flat when she noticed he was about to shout, sadly the volume still caused her feel it in her head, “Ow….”
“Ah! Sorry! Forgot about bat pony ears being extra sensitive...” Gai said, visibly deflated.
“More sensitive and can pick up higher pitched sounds, part of me wonders how I even get to function normally when in a suit.” Sora then got into a thinking pose with a finger on her chin, “Would my suit grant you extra sensitive hearing as well as my wind sensing?”
“Why don’t we find out?” Gai said, pulling out the Gokai Cellular and inserting her key into it, “Gokai Change!”
EEEEEEECHO TROOPER!!!! The voice cried as Gai was enveloped in a violet light.
When the light faded, Gai was standing in front of Sora wearing a male version of her suit, the broader shoulder pads and flatter chest plate coupled with the pirate’s taller stature made him look more intimidating.
“It worked!” He said, excitedly examining every part of the new suit.
Sora hummed for a moment before tapping her goggles a bit before putting them on and looked through some stuff before making them emit a sound that she could hear and it was partially irritating because of the higher constant sound.
“What’s that noise?” Gai asked, searching around for the source.
Shutting off the sound, Sora could only smile and nod, “Test one complete, Sound Listening at higher level than before, going to Test two, feeling movement of wind.” She then started to walk around behind Gai.
“Well, I definitely would be able to sense that, even without the suit.” Gai said, crossing his arms and taking a more relaxed stance, “elemental magic user, remember?”
“You never said you could use magic.” Deadpanned Sora.
“How do you think I was able to hurl lightning at your boss? Or roast those two Go-Onger phantoms?”
“Um… abilities of the suit was the answer I came to since I don’t know the basics of the suits beyond the ones we use here at SPD.” said Sora before snapping her fingers, “Can you place your hand together in front of yourself before spreading out while saying “‘Sword Draw’?” She hoped that the summoning of H-Blade Cerberus would be possible.
“Right.” He placed his hands together in front of him, “sword draw!” He cried, drawing his now flaming hands apart, the flames coalescing into a crimson blade.
“It works, it works!” cheered Sora hopping on the spot.
“Not sure I feel right stealing your sword like this...” Gai said, rubbing his helmet, “the suit was replicated using your DNA as a base for the key, but the blade is unique to you. Pirating it like I do would take it from wherever it was previously.”
“And the construction of it can’t be done through normal means of the SPD suits since the materials are odd and require a good mix. So either I make a second sword, or maybe I can build you a new one, or maybe… can your device construct anything it has a design of?”
“As long I have the materials and the correct image… what did you have in mind?” Gai asked, banishing the sword.
“Super compressed white diamonds in the form of a sword, maybe change the crossguard to have another image, something like that.”
“I think I can manage that and infuse it with some other fun stuff...” Gai said, rubbing his hands together.
“Oh can you also add a scanner for cards on the bottom?” asked Sora.
“What for?”
She took out a card from her pouch with on it was the image of a Cybernetic Hydra, handing the card over to Gai he could easily feel that it wasn’t made out of cardboard but instead a metal of sorts, “Data cards like this plus dimensional magic… should have some interesting results.”
“Summons? I can get summons!? Oh my yes!” Gai exclaimed, his voice going a few octaves higher from excitement.
“It’s a possibility, but all that depends on if your magic can actually interface with these data cards.” suggested Sora, “But that’s all speculation of what is possible. I’ve got Cyber Hydra, Cyber Manticore and Girder Wolf cards, they are the creature with the most data I’ve been able to get, I don’t know what to do with them since it’s just a card with data and design plus extra stuff I’ve got about them.” Sora blushed as she handed the two others she had with her, “I really shouldn’t be using my time like this so often.”
“No, this is amazing, I think I can make this work.” Gai muttered, looking over the cards, an image forming in his mind.
“You should gather a database, which by using your goggles to scan opponents is possible, and then find a way to construct these cards yourself using that data, it’ll add more to your collection.”
“I’ve got that covered,” He said, scanning the cards with his goggles, “so, when can we get started?”
“Scan for backup data, nicely thought out. Well the cards use iron as a cover and the insides are programmable Crystals, so once you’ve got those you could make a machine to make these cards where you can put in data. Beyond that, you need your HyperDiamond Blade which still needs a name, how about ‘S-Blade Lucifer’…” Sora nodded, “Yeah that sounds like a strong name for a strong pirate to wield.”
“A nice name…. Lucifer, the one who heralds morning....” Gai muttered, rubbing his chin.
“Glad you agree. So once you’ve constructed your blade and add some feature where you can test out what you can actually do with these cards, only then you can really get started.” She then noticed someone approaching, “Oh hey Pipsqueak!” She called as Gai detransformed.
The young earth pony waved, before walking up to them, “Cruger told me to tell you that Flurry’s finally separated from Twilight, probably not going to last very long.”
“... I’m kinda glad that Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Shining Armor didn’t appear, by the moon she wouldn’t want to leave.” muttered Sora shaking her head.
Pipsqueak shuddered, “it would not be pretty, I can tell you that much.”
“Wonder if even after this that she’d force a bridge between our worlds to exist so that she could become her own aunt.” said Sora smiling.
“Somehow, I think that our worlds might end up closer than you might think sooner or later...” Gai muttered, putting the newly-dubbed DekaZero key into his coat pocket before snapping his fingers and opening a portal, “Pipsqueak, can you make sure she doesn’t blow a new hole into the side of the ship in some misguided escape attempt?”
“So… like incapacitating her with painkillers or something like that?” asked Sora not knowing that it had happened before.
“More like… keeping her occupied with sleight of hand tricks so she doesn’t freak out while we’re leaving.” Said Gai, wincing slightly at the memories of Pipsqueak’s medical incompetence.
“Oi! That was ONE time! ONE!” Pipsqueak huffed indignantly, “not my fault I never finished primary school...”
“Are we forgetting the time aboard the Galleon when we first arrived here? Didn’t think so.” Gai said to Pip’s floundering expression before lightly shoving him into the portal, closing it behind him.
“You know… I don’t think not being able to read a container and primary school correlate all that much.” noted Sora.
Gai shrugged, “just give this one to him, to be fair, both times were in very violent situations.”
“You’ll likely be in another one once you leave.” said Sora as she looked at the roof of the hallway they were in.
“With my luck? Pretty much guaranteed, but that’s what makes it fun, right?” Gai said, booping Sora on the nose before snapping open another portal, “better get going before Flurry decides to cause another apocalyptic blizzard.”
“Ah before that… two more things I kinda wanted to tell you.” said Sora taking a deep breath, “Well first off, I’ve gotten quite a few modifications of the suit. Is there anyway you’d be able to use them when not interacting with me?”
Gai rubbed his chin, “not sure, I think it might adjust since some of your blood is used, but I’d need to be aware of any changes to use them.”
“Probably have to find a way to force you to summon Cerberus once I’ve attached a data crystal on it.” muttered Sora before taking another deep breath and letting it out slowly, “And… I think I’ve got feelings for you.”
Gai’s face became pensive, “I see...” he muttered, breathing deeply.
“I guess you’ve already got someone you’re look forward to seeing again, with that expression. Sorry to have bugged you with such a statement, I just wanted to have it off my chest. Honestly I don’t know what to do with this being my first crush, I think.” said Sora shaking her head and turning to leave, “I’ll let you gather your thoughts before you leave.”
“Sora, that’s not it, it’s just...” he chuckled a bit, “you kinda caught me off guard there, I’m not sure how I should react.”
“Confused and uncertain. We’ve only interacted for a few days so it is pretty sudden, and I’m sure I’m just a friend in your eyes. But in time we probably could become something, but we’re both got our own duties and the distance is a bit much, so I think I better just find someone closer to home to actually like.”
“I’m sure you can find someone in this verse who will think the world of you, Sora, and until then, I’ll be rooting for you as your mentor and friend.”
“I don’t know what caused me to fall for you in the first place, so who knows.” said Sora not facing Gai, “I’ll find a way to inform you when Ruin and Victory Modes of the suit are done.”
“Sora,” Gai said, turning her to face him, “don’t worry about it, I’ll be fine if that’s what you’re worried about, you just focus on getting stronger. You’re going to be a hero, right?”
Sora turned to tear filled eyes to Gai’s eyes before nodding, “Yeah… I’ll be a hero one day, and I’m not worried about you, its just,” Sora took a moment to find some words, “I guess I feel disappointed my feelings weren’t reacted to, even if I knew they wouldn’t…”
“Sora, look at me. I do care about you, that’s why I know you’ll make me proud here. I can’t return your feelings because I know that this is where you belong. Cruger’s SPD is where the strong gather to bring hope to those who don’t have any. Me? I’m just a Gai with a fancy ship and a penchant for blowing things up.”
“Just a Guy with a heart of Chaos, maybe that’s what I like about you. But then again, I guess we both dislike agreeing that we’re more than what we see ourselves as, right?”
Gai chuckled, “I guess we both need someone to lean on from time to time. I’ll see you again, Sora. And then I’ll see how much stronger you’ve gotten.”
“Maybe then we can both use magic and then see which of our attacks are the strongest. But you’ve got a crew to get to and I’m sure she’ll be a pony that you can lean on.” smiled Sora, “I’ll make the updates obvious when they happen, black for Ruin and white for Victory.”
Gai nodded, smiling at his pupil, “until the next time, Sora.”
“Until we stand below the same moon once more, Gai.”
With a nod and a wave, Gai stepped through the portal, the hole between spaces closing shut behind him. Sora smiled as she watched the space before blinking before tilting her in confusion head, “Why am I thinking about that giant yellow robot that the Boss wanted R&D to build now of all times?”
Sora shook her head and knew what she had to do, “First I train a bit more, then see my new teacher to learn how to fly properly, and then maybe if possible learn magic, Discord maybe?” she then walked off feeling heavy yet light at the same time.
Case 42: How to Deal With Your Teenage Robot Dragon
Cruger was fine-tuning the designs for the Aqua-Base for an upcoming project, when he felt a rip in reality. “Let’s see what noob landed in my dimension this time,” he said to himself as he opened a portal. On the other side was a small crater, and a rather familiar looking dragon.
Arcee crawled out of the crater, looking like she was muttering something to herself as she shook a tallon at the sky. It didn't help her situation that where the crater was now a house had been standing moments before. Luckily, there wasn’t anyone there, and it was condemned anyway.
“So, you didn’t even make a Token yet, how’d you get to my verse this time?” asked Cruger.
“Huh? Oh hi Cruger!” Arcee said a she noticed him. “Um… Personally I have no clue how I got here but I think your token thing hates me…” She then added sheepishly, responding to Cruger’s question.
“Might need to update it again,” Cruger mumbled to himself as Rainbow came down to land beside him.
“Anything we need to worry about?” she asked.
“Not really, just Token trouble again.”
“... Um, did you by any chance ever have a cybernetic wing or walk on four legs before by any chance?” Arcee asked the prismatic haired pegasus as she pointed at her, tilting her head to the side out of confusion.
“Uh… no?”
“I see you’ve met your verse’s Dash,” Cruger said, “how’d it go?”
“Wait... that was the Rainbow Dash pony you mentioned?” Arcee asked as she began to sweat. “Scrap…”
“What happened?”
“Um, I may have… Hehehe… Possibly snapped at her?” Arcee said sheepishly, an apologetic grin plastered across her face.
“And…”
“May or may not have… Traumatized her? I don't know, she was unconscious when Skywarp told me to spit her out…” Arcee confessed before holding up her talons defensively, “B-but I acted in self defence! She attacked Skywarp because I was cuddling some pretty white pony with wings and a horn that had been yelling at us for some reason!”
Dash’s eye twitched, as Cruger facepalmed, “That was probably Celestia.”
“Celestia? It said that was its name but I don't understand the significance. Also, would you like me to demonstrate how I was cuddling it to prove I was doing nothing wrong?” Arcee said innocently.
“No,” Cruger said as he grabbed her where her ear would be if she had one before turning to Dash, “let Pinkie know that I’ll be back with her and Grumpy Gears soon.”
“I don’t think she deserves her party, but I get that you don’t have much of a choice,” Dash said.
“Owowowow… What's going on? Did I do something wrong!?” Arcee asked, not understanding what was happening.
“What’s going on is that you’re going to go apologize to your Rainbow Dash,” Cruger said as he opened a portal back to her Equestria.
“Why!?” Arcee whined, believing that she did nothing wrong.
“As if you have to ask,” Cruger said as he stepped through the portal into Arcee and Skywarp’s cave, before getting his bearings, “you met your Dash in Canterlot correct?”
“I don’t know what canterlot is, but if you're talking about that castle on the side of a mountain she attacked us when we were flying in that direction to have a look around…” Arcee whimpered as she was dragged through the portal, though Skywarp was nowhere to be found when they arrived.
“That’d be Canterlot then,” Cruger said as he looked through the walls of the cave, “there you are, know that massive presence anywhere.” With that, he opened another portal straight to Canterlot palace.
“Halt! Who goes there!?” Shouted a white unicorn in purple plate armor as Cruger pulled Arcee through the portal only for them to be surrounded by a well armed contingent of guards.
“Ah, Captain Armor, Commander Cruger, SPD,” Cruger saluted with his free hand.
“How do you know my name Diamond Dog!? And what is this SPD that you claim to be a commander of?” The unicorn demanded, glaring at Cruger through his helmet.
“One, I’m not a Diamond Dog, I’m a Sirian, and calling me a Diamond Dog is something I take offense to. Two, I know you because we’re coworkers in another dimension, feel free to be present when I brief the Princess. Three, SPD is a special division of the Royal Guard of that dimension tasked with guarding against threats to the entire planet. As to why I’m here,” Cruger brought Arcee forward, “I’m here so that this little troublemaker can apologize for traumatizing Rainbow Dash, forgive me for not using her rank but I am unaware as to what it is.”
The guards all looked at one another in confusion as Shining Armor just gaped at Cruger, his left eye twitching. “I don’t even…”
“What is the commotion out here?” A regal voice shouted before Celestia stepped out of the front entrance of the castle to investigate personally.
“Ah princess, pleasure to meet you, before we continue however,” Cruger pulled out an ornate looking medal that resembled a golden sun wreathed by wings, “perhaps this could serve as my credentials?”
“How did you get that? And what's that thing doing here!?” She demanded before going into shock when she noticed Arcee.
“You gave it to me, well, the you from another dimension did anyway,” Cruger said as he put it away, “and she is here to say sorry, aren’t you?”
“But all I did was cuddle her!” Arcee whined, causing all the guards to gawk as the princess blushed at that certain memory.
“I was referring to you using Rainbow Dash as a chew toy. Speaking of which, would one of you mind fetching her? We have another appointment that I dare not miss.”
“General Armor? Please fetch Captain Dash, it looks like it’s going to be a Long day…” Celestia groaned, facehoofing. Shining armor swiftly saluted before teleporting away. “Now, Since I can tell you're most certainly not of this world please explain to me what the buck is going on?” She then asked Cruger, since he seemed to be more friendly than she remembered Skywarp to be.
“Short version, Arcee here was trying to contact me and in the process I discovered her, shall we say treatment, of you and Dash. As such, me being the lawman that I am, decided to bring her here so she could apologize. If you would like the long version, could we perhaps go inside? Nothing personal, but standing out in the broiling heat isn’t the best idea.”
Celestia sighed as she motioned for Cruger to follow her as she re entered the palace before heading to the throne room where she went up and got comfortable before speaking. “First of all, I would like to apologize for the heat, it has been getting harder and harder to control the day and night cycle as of recent years and my lack of sleep. Now would you like to fill in any details about the situation?”
“Of course,” Cruger said as he released Arcee, “well to start, there’s something you should know about my dimension. Aside from a few cosmetic differences, let’s just say the main difference is that, the Elements have their bearers.”
“I knew I should have listened to Starswirl…” Celestia muttered to herself, not paying attention to Arcee who was creeping behind her throne for some reason since she believed Cruger had the dragoness under control.
“Well, now, lets see what I need to cover… how much did Arcee’s companion explain?”
“That the two of them are sentient alien machines…” Celestia managed to tell him before Arcee pounced “Noo!” She shouted in surprise, attempting to escape as Arcee started petting her and cuddling her again.
Cruger sighed as he opened a portal and pulled Arcee through it, “Excuse me, but we’re trying to have a conversation. Now, are you going to behave, or do I have to start practicing my sealing spells?”
“But… She’s so cuddly!” Arcee whined, giving Cruger the puppy dog eyes.
“You’re not Agnes, now behave or get a timeout.”
Arcee merely continued to pout as she crawled into a corner and curled up, glaring at Cruger the entire time as she continued to pout.
“Apologies,” said Cruger, “now where were we?”
“Ahem…” Celestia said as she cleared her throat, attempting to salvage what was left of her dignity. “The one calling himself Skywarp said that they were alien machines with sentience that also had similar capabilities to Changelings, though those were not his exact words that's about all I managed to get out of him before he vanished…” She said, eying Arcee nervously.
“Don’t worry, I know the species, and they’re generally limited to two forms,” Cruger said, “anyway, what he didn’t mention is that, via a rather mysterious being that I am currently investigating, he was ripped from his home and brought here, as were countless others across the multiverse, including myself.”
“What!? How is something like that possible? And who would be mad enough to send creatures like those two here? It's bad enough with Sombra’s legion of slaves and cyberponies!” Celestia groaned, dreading the thought of more beings like Skywarp and Arcee showing up.
“As I said, I’m investigating him. I’m probably the multiverse’s foremost expert on Displaced, what we call ourselves, and even I know next to nothing about him. By the way, in case you were wondering, the Merchant only sends one set of Displaced to each reality.”
“Who’s the/this merchant?” Celestia and Arcee asked in awkward unison, causing them to stare at one another.
“The guy who sends at least 80% of all Displaced to their Equestria, so named because he appears in the guise of one, and his victims are sent after purchasing something from him.”
“But there wasn’t anyone dressed like that around when we wound up here…” Arcee stated, looking at Cruger with a confused expression as Celestia became curious.
“Then that just means you’ve been Displaced by someone else, I did say 80% did I not?”
“Great, that means that I have more chaos to look forward to…” Celestia groaned.
“Could be worse, he could be up and about.”
“Who’s this he?” Celestia and Arcee asked in unison again.
“Okay, that’s just freaky,” Cruger said, “and while I can understand Arcee not knowing, you don’t remember our friendly neighborhood draconequus?”
“There hasn’t been a draconequus in Equestria since long before my reign so whomever you're speaking of I do not know.” Celestia said, shaking her head.
“Consider yourself lucky,” said Cruger, “now, two more things I should mention about Displaced. While we all have our home dimension, we have our ways of visiting one another, as you can see. Second, while I’m good, as Arcee and Skywarp are also good, not all Displaced are.”
“We prefer neutral.” Acree interjected.
“My point is, just because someone is a Displaced, doesn’t mean that they’re on the side of Alicorns, especially this guy,” Cruger pulled out a wanted poster of Basco, “this guy handed his Equestria over to an alien invasion, and is currently going on a multiversal sightseeing trip, and murdering every Displaced he comes across. Do us all a favor, you see him, contact me immediately, then run.”
“Will do, especially since that being you just described sounds similar to a spy that we failed to capture years ago before he managed off with many important documents as well as General Armors infant sister as a hostage.” Celestia said remorsefully as she took the wanted poster in her magical grip and handed it to one of the guards before he ran off to put it away for his princess.
“Damn it, how’d it end up for her?”
“We do not know, but the last trace of him we ever found lead over the border to the Crystal empire.” Shining armor said, sounding very upset as he entered the throne room with a certain Rainbow maned pegasus.
“My condolences General, and apologies for referring to you as Captain before, it was your rank back where I’m from and was unaware that it wouldn’t be here.”
“It’s alright, it’s nothing more than a title, I wouldn't expect a foreigner to be able to guess it.” Shining armor said forgivingly before bowing to his princess along with Rainbow Dash.
“Speaking of apologies…” Cruger turned an eye to Arcee.
“But!” Arcee whimpered, causing Rainbow to take notice of her and start to go pale.
“No buts, you traumatized her, now say you’re sorry.”
“Fine… I’m sorry pony that tasted like skittles…” Arcee said to Rainbow Dash, who simply stared at Arcee in confusion now, though still not moving an inch out of nervousness.
“Okay…” Shining Armor said, “First of all, what are skittles? And what the hey did that dragon do to our best flier?”
“Skittles are a rather delicious fruit flavored candy that comes in a rainbow of colors, although personally I prefer Reese's Pieces,” said Cruger. “As for what she did to Dash, ever seen a dog chase a ball? For all intents and purposes, that.”
Shining Armor at first just gaped at cruger before turning to face Rainbow and Arcee… Before reluctantly snorting as he tried to hold in his laughter as he imagined Arcee as a giant dog and his subordinate as a candy flavored ball. “I hate to say it, but while I feel bad for you Dash, the way Mr Cruger has described what you went through is quite silly.” He said, causing Rainbow to blush.
“I-it’s not that funny! She somehow caught up to me despite using my sonic rainboom! It was terrifying!” Rainbow defended, though was more embarrassed than terrified now. She wasn’t the only one as Celestia couldn't stop imagining a large dog whenever she looked at Arcee now.
“Um, what's going on? And why is everyone looking at me funny?” Arcee asked, unable to understand the situation.
“Let’s just say I was successful in ending Dash’s trauma,” Cruger said as he tried to hold back a laugh himself.
“... Ok?” Arcee said, deciding it was best to give up on trying to figure out the situation. “Can I come out of the corner now though? I’m starting to get a cramp…”
“I never sent you in there,” Cruger said, “come on out. By the way, I completely forgot to ask, why were you contacting me again?”
“Oh, me and Skywarp were ready to make our token! But it seems I’m stuck handling it by myself…” Arcee said before pouting again.
“Token?” Shining armor asked.
“Don't ask, even I can hardly understand it.” Celestia said, shaking her head.
“Remember when I said we Displaced had ways of visiting each other? That’s how,” Cruger said as he turned to Arcee, “so, do you just need my instruction, or would you like the services of my pewter smelter?”
“Um… I don't know what a smelter is, but we don't have a way to make our token on our own.” Arcee admitted.
“Back home it is, by your leave princess?”
“You may go, I think we have had enough for one day.” Celestia sighed, preparing herself for the large amounts of paperwork she was expecting to come in the near future due to these Displaced.
“Very well, oh before I go,” Cruger pulled out a notepad and pencil and jotted down a spell formula, which he handed to her, “a sealing spell of my own design, easy to cast, but incredibly effective, might come in handy.”
“Why thank you.” Celestia said, accepting the second piece of paper with her magic but tucking it under her wing instead of handing it to a guard this time.
“So…” Arcee said, crawling out of the corner and around the room until she was standing next to Cruger. “Shall we go?” She then added, not comfortable with going back through the main entryway or getting dragged again.
“We shall,” Cruger said as he opened a portal, “ladies first.”
Arcee rolled her eyes as she started to go through the portal… before a pair of pink arms stretched through it and grabbed her and Cruger before yanking them through. Causing the Princess, Shining Armor, Rainbow, and the guards in the room to all simply stare at the portal before it closed like a zipper. “What was that!?” A random guard then said in surprise, speaking everypony’s mind.
“What the!?” Arcee sputtered, suddenly finding herself somehow sitting in front of a large picnic table with Cruger next to her and a pink pony standing on the table in front of them.
“Hi, it’s about time we met, I’m Pinkie Pie, Ponyville’s Premier Party Planner! I had a whole Welcome to our Ponyville Party for you and the other guy but you left before it started. Luckily I hadn’t sent out the invitations yet so I could cancel without making anypony feel bad and there was a birthday party I could use the cake for so it didn’t go to waste but I made Cruger Pinkie Promise to bring you here the next time he saw you and you do not break a Pinkie Promise.”
“Believe me, you can’t, it’s been tried,” Cruger said as he dusted himself off.
“... Okay? So whats going on then? I’m confuzed…” Arcee said, only catching the part about promises from Pinkie's rant.
“That’s pretty standard when you meet Pinkie Pie for the first time,” Cruger chuckled, “short version, when someone new comes to Ponyville, Pinkie throws them a party. Since you and Grumpy Gears left before you had yours, she made me promise to bring you for yours the next time I saw you. And trust me, breaking a Pinkie Promise ranks in the top ten of things it would be a very bad thing to do, right under ignoring her Pinkie Sense if I’m right.”
“Huh, that's interesting… So, what do we do then? Go to this party then make me and Skywarp’s token, or the other way around?” Arcee asked, though she did hope she would have time to poke around a little later.
“Party first, or did you want the cake to go stale?”
“Um… Cake can go stale?” Arcee asked, having honestly never had cake before.
“Duh, yeah it can!” Pinkie said, “if you leave it out to long it get’s all dry and bleagh, you need to eat it while it’s nice and moist.”
“Oh, ok then. Though I don't know if I can eat cake… not as I am now that is.” Arcee said before transforming into her robot mode as she stood up, causing her to tower over the pink mare.
“Can’t eat cake!!” Pinkie exclaimed as she pulled Arcee’s head into her face, “this is serious! We need to determine your cake eating capabilities, STAT!”
“Wha?” Arcee asked, startled and now also a bit intimidated by the strange mare, before she was yanked unceremoniously off. After a few minutes, or seconds, she found herself in a chair, sitting in front of a massive slab of chocolate fudge cake.
“Well… give it a try!” Pinkie said, grinning.
“Um… Where are we?” Arcee asked first, looking around in confusion.
“Explanations later, now eat!”
Arcee shrugged before transforming back into a dragon and taking a bite out of the piece of chocolate cake in front of her, she chewed it for a bit then swallowed as she stared at the cake.
“And?”
“I… Honestly haven't tasted anything like it before…” Arce said before taking another bite, then another, and then another until she couldn't stop stuffing her face uncontrollably. “It tastes too good!” She shouted, her eyes became overly dilated for some reason.
“Aww, they’re so cute when they have their first slice,” Pinkie said as she wiped a tear from her eye.
“Must… Have… More!” Arcee practically roared, drooling energon uncontrollably as she gave Pinkie a crazed look.
“And then they go crazy and aren’t cute any more,” Pinkie said as she slowly pushed the rest of the cake towards her.
Arcee scarfed the rest of cake down uncontrollably until there was nothing left, after which she started sniffing the air in search for more.
“Need a hand?” Cruger asked from the doorway.
“Yes please, she’s worse than a parasprite, at least those’ll stop when I bring out the bagpipes.”
“No problem.” Cruger waved his hand, and several magical circles appeared on the walls of Sugarcube Corner, which then shot chains that bound Arcee securely.
At first Arcee merely stared at the chains, but then she began to thrash and gnaw at them as she tried to get lose and find more chocolaty treats.
“Normally this is where I bring out the sedatives, but I don’t think morphine works on robots.”
“More chocolate!” Arcee roared, before suddenly biting a chunk out of one of the chains holding her.
“I’m impressed,” Cruger said as he conjured more chains, including three which wrapped around her mouth, “those are pretty sturdy.”
Arcee continued to thrash, and attempted to open her mouth to no effect. Geting both annoyed and hungry she continued to thrash harder and harder, attempting to get loose while whimpering for more sweets.
As she struggled, Rainbow entered, “So, how did… woah, do I want to know?”
“Apparently she has a thing for chocolate,” Pinkie said.
Suddenly there was an explosion as the energon that Arcee had been drooling ignited from a spark produced by her claws scraping at the chains, resulting in her getting free...
“Note to self, Chain Glyph can be countered by energon detonation,” Cruger said as he pulled a red blaster from a portal, cocked it, then used it to spray down the flames with fire retardant.
At that moment, there was a loud crash as Arcee suddenly started raiding the counter of all its cakes uncontrollably, leaving a trail of energon drool in her wake.
“I got this,” Dash said. As a result, Arcee’s head immediately shot up from the now empty counter and looked towards Dash, her stomach gurgling.
“Skittles…” Arcee droned, almost sounding like a candy crazed zombie.
“Looks like it’s sugar that set her off,” Dash said as pulled out her blaster, “stand down or you’re going through the wall.” Arcee in response simply appeared in front of Rainbow Dash before eating her blaster.
“THAT’S IT!!!” Dash yelled before delivering the Hadoken she was charging in her other hand in Arcee’s face, sending her through the wall and into the streets. Moments later it was followed by the sound of citizens screaming in fear and a dragon roaring “More candy!’’ as what sounded like the window to BonBon’s candy emporium next door was shattered.
“Sure you got this?” Cruger asked.
“Just get me a new blaster.”
After Cruger passed her a new blaster, Dash charged after Arcee.
As soon as Rainbow Dash showed up, her new blaster in hand, Arcee had already started chowing down on all the candy she could find… Bonbon and Lyra cowering in a nearby corner.
“Hey, Sugar Wings, over here!”
Arcee turned her head to face Rainbow, tilting her head to the side in confusion.
“Don’t ya want some Skittles?”
Arcee looked like she was thinking for a minute, but when her stomach gurgled again her eyes suddenly shrank to slits, her full attention now on Rainbow.
“Then come get it,” Dash said before flying out of the store at full speed.
Arcee didn't waste a second, her wings springing out as she charged after Rainbow, before flying through a couple buildings that were in her way to catch up.
‘That’s right, follow me’ Dash thought to herself as she made a beeline for the Everfree.
At that moment Arcee roared as boosters folded out of her shoulders, she then activated the thrusters causing her to break the sound barrier and start swiftly catching up to Rainbow faster than she could reach the Everfree.
‘Not bad, that might’ve worked on the old me, but I’ve got way more than just speed these days.’ Just as Arcee reached her, Dash grabbed her by one of her arms and used her own momentum to slam the dragon into the ground.
Arcee roared in pain but ignored it as she pulled herself out of the crater she had made, the synthetic skin on her back now missing as well as the membranes from her wings as sparks arced across her back. Attempting and failing to get lift off again, Arcee resorted to running after the pegasus on the ground, breathing pink fire at the pegasus at the same time to try knocking her from the sky.
“Come on, is that all you’ve got?” Dash taunted as she dodged the blasts, turning so that they were head to the base.
Arcee suddenly paused... then holding her maw open, started gathering energy as a pink sphere began to grow in the back of her throat.
“I should probably have kept my mouth shut huh?”
As if in response, the energy gathered at the back of Arcee’s throat fired out of her mouth as a large pink laser with electricity arcing along its trail as it sped towards Rainbow Dash.
“Yeah, should have kept my mouth shut,” Dash said as she dodged it.
The laser arked past its intended target and speed straight towards SPD base… before impacting and exploding, punching out a window or two and leaving a huge scorch mark. At which point Arcee had started running after Rainbow again, roaring in hunger.
“Guess I can’t just tire you out,” Dash said as she charged her blaster with her magic, “say cheese!”
Arcee, noticing the blaster charge up, started running faster, intent on disarming what looked to her right now like a flying bag of skittles.
“See ya when you wake up,” Dash said before firing a massive bolt of energy at Arcee, causing an explosion that both sent her flying back a couple meters as well as pass out, even more of her synthetic skin now missing as well as chunks of her cybernetics.
Arcee’s body twitched a few times from the shock before her eyes opened as they turned a dull solid grey, energon leaking from her wounds as she went still.
Arcee’s eyes suddenly flickered back to normal as she regained consciousness… “Ow, my head…” She groaned as she tried to look around but was unable to move her body for some reason. “Um, h-hello? W-what's going on!?” She demanded, fear surging through her functioning circuits.
“What’s going on is that Dash had to subdue you after you went on the mother of all sugar rushes,” said Cruger from outside of her line of sight, “by the way, don’t have candy again, ever.”
“Oh, I always wondered why mom never let me have candy again after my fourth birthday.” Arcee said, calming down now that she had been told what happened... and knowing that she wasn't being dissected. “So, why is it that I can't move for some reason?”
“Same spell that I gave Celestia,” Cruger said as she noticed the ethereal chains binding her, “Chain Glyph, easy to cast, but so versatile.”
“Oh, Um, could you let go of me please?” Arcee asked, finding the restraints very uncomfortable.
“No problem,” Cruger said, dispelling them, “to be honest I used it mainly since I was a bit out of practice with it, Dimens Pin kinda made it superfluous.”
“I have no idea what that is, but ok.” Arcee said, attempting to stretch after being freed from her restraints only to flinch in pain. “How exactly did you say I was ‘subdued’ again?” She asked, moving as slowly as she could to avoid irritating the area’s of her body that were stinging.
“In her defense, her first idea was to lead you around until you crashed on your own, but after you shot a laser cannon at the base she decided to take you down hard.”
“Laser cannon? I can do that?” Arcee asked, somewhat surprised before the rest of the sentence registered. “Um, define hard? Because I feel like I was hit by a transport truck and then left to a group of not very hungry piranhas...”
“Supersonic faceplant into the dirt, followed by pegasus-magic infused laser blast. On a related note, your synth-skin’s growing back nicely.”
“Wha…” Arcee slurred in shock before looking herself over, and then squeaking as she tried to cover her circuitry that was exposed with a blush.
“Anyway, why don’t we get back to the reason you wanted my aid?”
“C-can I have some privacy to cover myself first?” Arcee asked nervously, her face red as a tomato.
Cruger simply exited the room.
With no one looking, Arcee quickly transformed into her undamaged robot form, making herself much more comfortable now that her innards weren't being shown off to the world. She then walked out of the room to where Cruger was. “Ok, I’m ready. I just hope your staff doesn't overreact to a sentient robot twice as tall as them walking around.” She commented, stretching a little to get any leftover stiffness out of her servos.
“We’ve had a drunken Kitsune running amuck in these halls, trust me, you’re nowhere near the weirdest thing SPD’s seen, or the largest.”
“If you say so, though a sentient robot does stick out like a sore thumb…” Arcee said, looking around to make sure. While a few glances were shot her way, they were more taking note of her presence than gawking at her.
“Anyway,” Cruger said as he passed her a tablet, “mind drawing out what you’ve picked? Kinda hard to make something if I don’t know what it looks like.”
“Oh, ok… I’ll try?” Arcee said, accepting the tablet which fit into the palm of her hand before attempting to draw something on it. After a bit, she then handed the tablet back to Cruger, a drawing that could have belonged to a three year old covering the screen in the form of a combination of the Autobot and Decepticon symbols in the form of a badge.
“Let’s take a look,” Cruger said as he accepted it back. After a glance, he brought up an official image of the Decepticon and Autobot symbols. With a few button presses, he cut them up and put them together like Arcee tried to do. “Is this what you were going for?”
“Yes.” Arcee admitted, fidgeting with her fingers a little as she looked at her feet.
“Don’t worry, I’m not the best artist myself, why do you think I Shopped it? By the way, you want those dragon wings?”
“Which dragon wings?” Arcee asked, knowing that he wasn't referring to her own.
“The ones from my previous work,” Cruger said as he pulled out the pendants he made for her and Skywarp before.
“Hmm, no thanks. After all, these dragon forms might not be used by all the members we may get in the future.” Arcee said, a glint in her eye as the image of a future much brighter than her past flashed through her mind.
“I meant just for the token, but if you don’t want it, it’s your commision.”
“This token is going to be used by our entire faction, like I said.” Arcee said with a shrug.
“Very well,” Cruger said as they arrived at a small workshop, “stand back please.”
“Gladly.” Arcee said, making sure she was way out of range of the equipment inside the workshop.
Cruger set the tablet on a stand and cracked his knuckles before surrounding the station in a blue bubble. Inside, Cruger was a blur, metal melting, being poured into a handmade mold, and cooling in less than 30 seconds. Once he was done, he dispelled the bubble, “Time dilation fields are so handy don’t you think?”
Arcee merely gawked in amazement, unable to verbalize her opinion. “H-how!?” She eventually managed to say.
“My signature technique is Dimensional Magic, further detail would put you to sleep. So, like it?”
“Yes, thank you.” Arcee said. “Though, me and Skywarp had one thing we couldn't figure out… How do we change the emblems on our bodies?”
Cruger tapped his chin, “Not sure, you could try scanning it perhaps?”
“Hmm, I’ll try that when I get back… so what is there to do around here? I want to take a quick look around before I have to go home this time.” Arcee commented before a portal opened next to her and spat Skywarp out, still in his dragon mode. “What the… Skywarp!? Where have you been?” She asked in bewilderment.
“Oh my gosh!” Skywarp screamed, before transforming into his robot mode. “Run!”
suddenly, a very pissed off green dragon came out of the portal, it’s yellow eyes burning in rage.
“Let me guess,” said Cruger, “you forgot to check that the previous tenant had moved out before you moved in.”
“No! I dropped the token once Arcee used it and it somehow landed in the Everfree.” Skywarp explained, before running.
“So why is the dragon chasing you?” Arcee asked as she and Cruger jogged alongside Skywarp down the halls of SPD.
“Let’s just say, anything in a dragon's territory is apparently owned by said dragon!” Skywarp shouted back.
“You know you’re handling this the completely wrong way,” Cruger said.
“Oh yeah!?” Skywarp screamed.
“Running just makes them think you’re weak, you want him off your tail permanently you have to show you’re the alpha. Besides, you’re an alien robot dragon, I think you can take him.”
“Personally, I think I’m done running for today.” Arcee said, stopping and turning to face the angry dragon.
“That thing’s ten times bigger than me!” Skywarp glared, “I’m not strong!”
“Well, then I guess I just have to defeat it then?” Arcee asked, a dangerous glint in her eye as her hands morphed into blasters. “Huh, so that's how I do that…”
“Alice, you can’t! I tried blasting it and all it did was bounce off!” Skywarp tried to reason, his cowardice getting the better of him.
“Then I better not set mine to stun then!” Arcee giggled dangerously as her blasters charged up and she stepped in front of the mad dragon’s path.
It instantly breathed fire hotter than Skywarp’s flamethrower directed at Arcee, engulfing the female robot in the flames...
Arcee’s laughing instantly stopped as she coughed up some soot before looking down at her soot covered armor, she then looked back at the dragon as her eyes started to glow red. “You didn’t… you did NOT, just burn, MY PAINTJOB!” She snapped.
“My condolences buddy,” Cruger said as he erected a barrier, “but like they say back home, ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’.”
“She’s… She’s… Ugh…” Skywarp rubbed his faceplate in annoyance. “Nevermind.”
The dragon began closing in on Arcee, but Skywarp began blasting it. The lasers didn’t bounce, but they barely did anything, as the energy used to power them was almost nothing.
Arcee, running off of pure fury, charged her blasters to their limit and then aimed right at the dragon’s face, killing intent oozing from her circuits. “I have two rules, just two rules, you want to know what they are mister?” Arcee hissed at the dragon. “One, you never touch my Thad without my permission. And two, you never mess with what I find cute!” She then screeched as she fired the her blasters, filling the area where the dragon was with pink light...
When the light cleared, there was only a pile of ash left in the hallway. Skywarp stared at the ash, petrified.
“Uh… Thanks for the save, Alice.” Skywarp said, shaking a bit in exhaustion.
“I think I’ll take a nap now…” Arcee said, plopping onto her metal butt in exhaustion due to low energon levels.
“Not bad, for a rookie,” Cruger said as he passed her a sugar free energy bar.
“I need energon…” Skywarp groaned.
“Try this,” Cruger said as he handed him an energy bar, “we’ve already determined that you can eat regular food, and I think the sugar thing was just her.”
Skywarp ate it, but didn’t feel any different. He then spat it out. “... Nope.”
Cruger shrugged, “Just trying to help, I’ve got degrees in Forensic Science and Theoretical Magic, not Cybertronian Biology.”
“Shut up, or I’m leaving with Arcee.” Skywarp snarled.
“Someone’s touchy,” Cruger mumbled to himself, “anyway, I’ve finished up your Token, we were waiting on you to do the finishing touches.”
“What finishing touches?” Skywarp asked.
Cruger held up the pendant, “Nothing much, just need to infuse it with some of your energy to prime it, add a message, and send it out into the void.”
“I’m… Low on energy.” Skywarp muttered. “If you haven’t noticed.”
“Doesn’t take a lot, about as much as you’d find in a AA. Besides, since you’re sharing, you two should charge it together.”
“Fine. But first, I want a few gems.” Skywarp demanded.
“Might as well see how well they charge you up,” Cruger said as he tossed him a few rubies from Rin’s fine.
Skywarp transformed and ate them, charging up a bit.
“You want some?” Cruger asked Arcee, holding up a sapphire between his fingers.
Arcee instantly dived for the sapphire, consuming it in her now fully repaired dragon form as she purred.
“Well then, I suppose you’re ready to charge it. Just touch it while imagining some of your energy going into it. And don’t forget to add your message if you have one, just speak it while you’re charging it.”
Arcee looked at Cruger as he explained how to finish the creation of their token before turning to Skywarp expectantly. “What would we put for the message?” She asked, nibbling on a couple more sapphires she had grabbed.
“We’re more than meets the eye?” Skywarp suggested.
Cruger chuckled, “You might need a little more than that, but maybe put it at the end? Just introduce yourselves, and say what you stand for, or something along those lines.”
“What we stand for? Like a faction motto?” Arcee asked, now nibbling on a ruby after having finished the sapphires.
“I’ll tell you mine, might give you some inspiration,” Cruger said before clearing his throat, “I am Anubis Cruger, the Shadow Ranger. If you require my aid, or merely my counsel, call on me. But be warned, you, as well as your foes, shall face my Judgement.”
“Huh, how about… We are the, whatever we call ourselves. call upon us if you are on the side of equality and either want to make a new ally or require assistance, but call upon us at your own peril for we are more than meets the eye?” Arcee suggested, her head feeling a bit numb afterwards.
“Good framework, although you might want to polish it a bit,” Cruger said.
“Why equality?” Skywarp asked.
“Because we’re neutral!” Arcee stated. “And would you honestly help anyone who looked down on others?”
“I look down on a lot of people.” Skywarp stated emotionlessly. “Anyways, equality doesn’t mean neutrality.”
“To be honest, equality might be the better option,” said Cruger, “less likely to run into crazy hermits who want to eat your face. Although Starlight wanted equality… never mind.”
“I already dislike you, so I’ll ignore any advice you have. The way you talk bugs me.” Skywarp glared. “Not to mention you’re extremely unhelpful in every way, say things that don’t matter like with whoever Starlight is, and act as though you’re better than us.”
“And you wonder why I call you Grumpy Gears,” Cruger mumbled to himself, “so, you want to figure it out here, or should I make you a do-it-yourself kit to bring home?”
“Oh, and another thing, you talk like a six year old.” Skywarp added, crossing his arms.
“I’m over a thousand years old, I reserve the right to hold onto any vestige of my youth I see fit. But if you want me to act my age, Arcee can vouch for my ear-tug and scold.”
“I find pinching her nose easier.” Skywarp stated, matter-of-factly. “Anyone can scold, I’m a year or two older than Arcee and I do it. That doesn’t make you act your age, or any age beyond ten. Now, neutrality sounds nice, equality sounds dumb since I doubt there’d be many equal rights idiots that we’d get along with. So how about we leave it vague who we’d help?”
“Sounds reasonable,” Cruger said, “What you think Cee?”
“Ok, I was never the best at coming up with things anyway.” Arcee shrugged, pointedly ignoring the part of the discussion about them scolding her.
“Aw, don’t say that. You came up with most of it!” Skywarp said, slinging an arm around Arcee in a one armed hug.
Arcee blushed as she tried to come up with a protest, and failed miserably as she fidgeted with her claws.
“Okay, so which one of us should relay the message?” Skywarp asked.
“W-well, I could if you want?” Arcee offered, currently trying to get her wings to fold up.
“Sure, you have a better voice than I do.” Skywarp declared, then flicked one of the wings playfully... causing her to flinch and blush harder before she managed to wiggle out of his grip.
“S-so! Let’s g-get to that!” Arcee stuttered, trying to get ahold of herself as she swiftly walked over to cruger and retrieved their token.
“Well, just think of a good thing to say, touch the Token, and say it,” Cruger said, “then we can go to the last step.”
“Which is?” Skywarp asked.
“Let’s get this step out of the first if you don’t mind,” Cruger said.
“Alright.” Arcee said, managing to finally fold her wings away despite her face still being as red as a tomato. She then walked over to Skywarp and held out the emblem so that he could hold onto half of it while she held the other half. He grabbed it, and two sparks of energy left their hands and went into the emblem. “So, what are we going to call our faction anyway?” She then asked.
“Cybertrons perhaps?” Cruger suggested, “just a thought.”
“How about Autotrons then? It sounds interesting enough.” Arcee then asked, combining the two suggestions.
Skywarp mentally groaned, but didn’t want Arcee sad. “Sure.”
“Ok then!” Arcee chirped, before reciting the message for their token. “We are the Autotrons. We are a neutral group but if you wish to make allies with us or simply wish for assistance of some kind call upon us. but if you have bad intentions call at your own peril, for we are more than meets the eye!” Once she finished, the token began to glow bright blue before turning into a sphere of energy and shooting up through the ceiling and into the sky. “Uh, was that supposed to happen?”
“It’s unique, I’ll give you that, but it looks like it just did the last step on its own,” said Cruger.
“Now I have a request. Can you replace our symbols with the shape of our token?” Skywarp asked in the nicest voice he could muster.
“We can try my original idea in 3, 2, 1.” Cruger held out his hand, as a beam of light shot down into it, before turning into their Token, “Try scanning it.”
Arcee, shrugging, transformed before she scanned the emblem token… moments later her autobot emblem dissolved as the new emblem took its place. “Huh, so that does work…” She muttered before noticing her still burnt armor. “I think I’ll need to get myself a new paint job before we leave…”
“We’ll see what tickles your fancy,” Cruger said as he scrolled through his tablet, “I know you can scan a paint job without changing your alt-mode, so that’s not a problem.”
“Hey, do you have any F-15 Eagles?” Skywarp asked.
“Sorry, but how about one of these?” Cruger turned the tablet to show him one of their new drop ships.
“... Nah. Maybe I’ll find one some day.” Skywarp said coldly. “Let’s go home, Arcee”
“Aw, fine… See you later Cruger!” Arcee said, pouting over having not been able to explore this equestria for a second time in a row.
“Feel free to call, and don’t forget your trash,” Cruger said as he held up the remains of the dragon.
Arcee rolled her eyes and took the bag of dragon ashes, wondering what she would do with them. “And don’t you forget to call should anything happen that you need the expertize of your local transformers for.” Arcee said, standing next to Skywarp and waiting to be sent back to their Equestria.
“Or if I just want to talk,” Cruger said as he opened a portal, “see ya later.”
“Or not.” Skywarp replied grumpily, before walking into the portal.Arcee waved as she and Skywarp went through the portal before it snapped shut, the only sign that they had ever been there the damage that Arcee left behind.
“Can’t this place go a week without getting blown up?” Flare Blast asked no one in particular as he started unbolting damaged wall panels.
“Who knows?” A pegasus mare with pitch black fur and yellow eyes replied as she voluntarily started helping Flare Blast with repairs, attempting to keep her blue mane out of her face in the process.
A simple bracer with a slot where a small toy, a black and white car with headlights, was slotted into lay on the ground, as a thestral who looked to be moving very slowly hit a button on the inside of the bracer before going at normal speed and hitting face first the ground. “Note to self, never ever do that again,” was the mare’s first comment to herself before getting up, dusting herself off, then picking up her prototype and examining the bracer, “Shift Cars… their energy source, Core Driviars.”
She headed out of the testing room, and back into R&D labs proper. It was early, before her shift, and she wanted to get in a little test after she got the guts to actually ask for a few items from Commander Cruger.
“I’ll need to ask the others for some actual help, that is going to be a first for me. But the usage of this power has a large amount of opportunities to be used for good and bad, Researching it, at the least, so that we can construct ways to stop it would be best.” The thestral hummed to herself and nodded, “Well I should ask somepony from the R&D team to help me, hopefully they’ll agree to work together.” She smiled and shook her head, “Since my I’ve gotten my drive I’ve made quite a lot of progress, some time with this Shift Car and I’m sure the team and me will find a way how to work with it!”
“So that’s what happened,” stated Sora after she joined the others for breakfast and explained what she had done.
“I don’t see why we haven’t done this before now!” responded Steam with an enthusiastic smile, “Well done my cousin!”
“So how’d you even come to find such a powerful source of energy?” asked Fetch who was thinking about a location for such an energy source.
“I noticed it in the energy readings of the fight between the Boss and Gilgamesh, I remembered the Shift Car he was using, so I just asked and I got it,” explained Sora before taking a bite to eat before continuing, “I built a simple prototype and then I found out that it could send out a field which seemingly slows down time, which is why I wanted to get you four to help me with gathering info and then constructing things to counter it but also utilize this energy.”
“Temporal manipulation, we can handle,” said Fetch. “If it becomes temporal relocation, we might need the Commander’s help.”
“The Core Driviar, and yes it’s officially called that because there was data within the core which called it that and I know it’s an odd name but just go with it,” stated Sora, “Anyway so far my prototype has indicated that beyond temporal manipulation that it also acts as a deterrent for those who held it. While the sensor indicates that movement is slowed, processing was going at normal levels.”
“So you could think normally, but your movements were slowed down,” said Fetch. “Sounds to me like you might have put a part in backwards, since it should have looked to you that everything around you was in slow motion, while to an outside observer, you’d be moving at hyperspeed.”
“Should have?” questioned Sora as she looked at Fetch, “Well I expect that would be how things would have gone for anyone else if I was wearing the bracelet and not dropped it in surprise when the field did go up,” she took a bite of her food as she blushed a bit in embarrassment, “But what do you mean with should have, do you know more about this?”
“Ah. That explains it,” said Fetch with a smirk. “You need to be wearing it for it to function properly. I suggest you put the activation button on a part of the bracer you can touch while wearing it. Similar to the morphers other Rangers used, such as the Space Rangers.”
“Denji Sentai Megaranger’s Degitaizer,” muttered Sora before nodding and remembering a few things, “Yeah, I guess it would work, but I think something a bit more basic.”
“Oh, please don’t use those Neighponese names,” said Fetch with a groan. “Until that Displaced showed up, all of Kruger’s files list Rangers. Now, they have the info on their Sentai counterparts as well, and it’s giving me a headache.”
“I have to agree with Sora here, I actually rather like the name. It’s rather exotic,” chimed Steam Gear in, while Fetch only shook his head.
“Of course you would agree with her. That probably comes from the Neighponese shows you are watching lately. As for your question Sora about the more basic things,” he said with a smirk “the problem is you need the space to put the ‘toy car’ into. You could try a belt with a ‘holster’. Just push the ‘buckle’, and you’ll go from Ranger Gear to High Gear.”
“High Gear?” questioned Sora with a chuckle, “Try another name, Fetch. Also I’m glad that you also say Kruger the same way I do, everypony says it’s wrong for some reason. Also Gai did give us a lot more complete information then what we had. And for your idea, it has merit but..” she took out the toy car, “Justice Hunter here can do this,” she spun the back making it look more like a lever.
“And what does that do?” asked Fetch.
“It was part of the design, so maybe we can use it to make a bracer which uses this shift car and any other ones we make as levers to function as something,” said Sora, “But I guess your system would be more easier.”
“System,” said Fetch. “Core, Shift, DRIVE! And I’m sure if I look in the files, the Drive is a belt. It makes sense, considering there are likely a lot of those Cores, so you’d need to be able to carry them on you easily. From the files I have read, it seems that other Ranger groups had much more complicated equipment than SPD does.”
“Well one that have something like what we can use would be…” Sora took out from seemingly nowhere a folder and flipped through it, “Ressha Sentai TOQgers!” She then showed a bracer that the team used.
“I just remembered,” said Fetch. “These cars are not Ranger tech, they are from another Displaced. The one with the vending machine robots. Are we sure they are compatible?”
“So these would be… Kamen Rider Tech then, because… that guy was Kamen Rider OOO wasn’t he?” stated Sora while having a scrunched up face, “We’ll just have to see if they are, but where would Boss Kruger get these Shift Cars which are Rider Tech?”
“Commander Kruger has been making and improving tech for all of the Displaced he’s come across that allow him to,” said Fetch. “And since he prefers to do it himself, it means Steam and I are stuck reverse engineering it from what we can observe. Partly because Steam doesn’t want to wait for Kruger to share the notes, and partly because Steam wants to prove that he is the best engineer ever.”
As if to underline the statement, Steam Gear proudly puffed his chest out, making Fetch roll his eyes. Sora shook her head at the two, before getting back to the topic at hand.
“You’ve never just asked if you could get some notes or stuff like that?” asked Sora to Steam and Fetch with a raised eyebrow, “Because I did just simply ask for usage of a few things. Is how I got Justice Hunter here,” she looked down at the car before returning it to it actual car form.
Steam Gear got a pensive look at that as he tapped his chin.
“...Well, I personally prefer things I can disassemble. You know, just to slowly take it apart and figure out how things work like that. You can’t really take apart a note. At least it wasn’t funny the one time I tried it,” he shrugged.
“Other than Steam I’ve actually asked,” said Fetch. “I get one of three answers: -It’s already in your computer.- -When I’m done with it.- -You don’t have clearance for it.-. The first one is the most annoying, because he will NEVER tell me what he named the files. I spent over a day trying to find info on a former Ranger, and they were in a file labeled GWRB that was in a folder labeled Paleontology.”
“GWRB… GWRB… GWRB?” questioned Sora before shaking her head, “Maybe we need to get the whole system into a overhaul, especially if those two divisions are coming into effect.”
“Oh, the Commander only does it for the info he doesn’t want just anyone to have access to,” said Fetch with a smile. “All the info about SPD and the other divisions is easily accessible. Oh, and the file name stands for Green White Red Black. Apparently the Commander didn’t want info on that particular former Ranger to be too easy for Rainbow Dash to access. She’d very likely compare herself with that Ranger, and then she would work herself into the hospital trying to be better than he was. Kruger would not be happy if his Red Ranger was on the disabled list due to such a crazy notion. I still wonder if we’ll come across a Displaced of that Ranger. That will likely be a very crazy day.”
“Don’t the Sentai counterparts have some equally odd and big achievements,” questioned Sora before looking down at the folder, “And didn’t everyone get one of these folders?”
“Various versions of the folder,” said Fetch. “Different departments had certain parts of it prioritized or removed. Only Commander Kruger has the complete unedited version. And Princess Twilight has the complete edited version. The only difference being that there was apparently a message to the Commander in the original.”
“That side track aside, we still don’t have anything clearly planned for the research and development pertaining towards the shift cars,” stated Sora trying to get the whole conversation back onto the tracks, “Besides us being in a place where we shouldn’t really say anything top secret, we should just really get to work finding out about our current shift car and work up from there.”
“That would be up to Steam, Sky,” said Fetch with a smirk. “Who has been surprisingly silent as of late. I am beginning to wonder if Lady Rarity’s cat absconded with his tongue last time he went there to get his lab coat repaired.”
“Just thinking on it,” said Steam. “I mean, the way you are talking about it just made me realize that this really gives us some possibilities and I want to make sure it doesn’t blow up again,” he quickly waved his hands, “Not that anything is wrong with explosions! It is a sign of progress after all! I only don’t want to get in more trouble. I’m on probation in a way, so we really need to be careful.”
“True, but I’m more scared that if we created similar items that we might accidentally have them… I don’t know, create a field that will cover the whole planet?” stated Sora with a shudder with a shake of her head, “Sorry, I probably overthinking about it.”
“Reminds me of the Goo Grenade, to be honest. Just imagine it, something like that covering the entire department, or even the entire base! Everyone would move slow motion! Might even have the potential for a grenade, now that I think about it… Slowing evildoers down like that could be pretty useful,” Steam suggested, his eyes already gleaming in delight at the thought of building something like this with the alien technology, before a frown crossed his face. “Still need to be careful though. I really have to suppress these urges! Have you any idea how hard it is to hold back and simply not go all out on an inventing binge? It’s the horror! The horror I tell you!”
“Right Mad Scientist, now do you guys have anything important in development or can we start with scanning and drawing up blueprints?” asked Sora cutting through the usual tirad she expected from Steam, she herself remembering from her other two projects she was still busy with.
“With all the explosions and other incidents that have occurred in R&D,” said Fetch “I am surprised that the scanners haven’t been destroyed. I wish I could say the same for my desk.”
“What?” asked Steam innocently, “Your desk was a necessary sacrifice for testing! Besides, you will get a new one!”
“The Commander is not happy with R&D being wrecked once a week,” said Fetch. “He told me if we need to keep rebuilding R&D, we will either be building it from scrap or moving R&D to the Badlands before there is no base left. Also, we are Pink level lucky that none of us have been killed or even seriously injured. Though, I have heard that the Doc is running a betting pool on when one of Steam’s inventions puts himself or another member of R&D in the ICU. What did you do to make the Doc dislike us so much?”
“Actually, I didn’t even realize he dislikes our department. But then again I guess Blood must have badmouthed us, considering he doesn’t like me all too much. Kind of the reason I hope this time everything goes swimmingly. I mean, I don’t think they will all of a sudden send us an inspector to clean up our department even if it did end up with an explosion, but they might punish us by taking our ice cream or coffee machine away!” Steam elaborated, shivering at the thought of losing their self-built luxuries. Especially considering how many sacrifices such machines were affording. He still remembered the ice cream incident. Suffice to say Blood Rush wasn’t pleased that day, considering it was the start of his dislike towards him.
“Would that bet count if I fell into the ICU?” wondered Sora for a moment before blinking and shaking her head, “No, wait this is the wrong time for that. Can you two anwser my question from before, please?”
Steam Gear blinked owlishly. “What question again?” he asked before pondering, “Something about grenades and ice cream… An ice cream grenade? Or a grenade that engulfs someone in ice? No, that would be too close to the Goo Grenade… Hm…”
“Do you guys have anything currently planned which is currently in development which takes priority over this project I’m suggesting the R&D start on.” explained Sora to her Cousin with a small smile on her face.
His face instantly lit up, “Oh right! That question! As luck has it we currently are free, if I recall it right, so there is no concern and we could build some grenades with the wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey thingy you have there.”
Sora started mumbling things, getting her thoughts into order while also telling everyone around her thought process before nodding then facing her Cousin, “I don’t think we can make a grenades, At most a generator. But I don’t think we should do that as that might get taken and then used by our enemies. This is one technology I don’t want them developing.”
“I believe it would be best if we kept it as a one user Speed Booster” said Fetch. “And at the rate we keep modifying you Sora, I think we are going to make you into the 6th Ranger for our team of Rangers.”
“Or a backup ranger,” said Sora with a sigh, “But I’m doubting that Kruger would allow that.”
“Considering that, according to the files,” said Fetch “the B-squad Rangers were the ones that actually saved Earth and that their 6th Ranger showed up clear out of the blue, I think he’s been waiting for you to either just do it or ask him. You do have your own Morpher already. Do you think that Commander Kruger would allow you to have it if he didn’t want you in the field?”
“Considering they’ve got paperwork dedicated to non A squad morphing I don’t think that’s a thing. Also I’m pretty sure it’s you guys that granted me the Morpher, that plus I’ve gotten my own custom made suit, which you guys also help make, so I wouldn’t know what to do with the Omega Morpher or the Omega Suit,” retorted Sora.
“Sora, we don’t have the Omega Morpher,” said Fetch. “What do you think we’ve been trying to emulate with yours? Besides, Purple is a nicer color than silver. And the whole thing about no one but A Squad morphing? It states right in the paperwork: ‘without authorization of Commander Kruger OR two high ranking members of SPD’. Steam and I gave you authorization. So if the Commander has any problems with you showing up to help A-squad, it’s on our heads. But I’m pretty sure he won’t. As long as you don’t cause too much property damage.”
“Hold on, won’t it be easier now with all the data you got from when Gai came in and turned into the Sentai Counterpart, DekaBreak. Not to mention the key from the forge which has the data of DekaBreak easier to use,” asked Sora.
“You’d think so,” said Fetch. “But it’s at a higher tech level than SPD. Some parts of its construction come up as unknown. Also, the Commander told us to leave Omega Ranger research alone until he finds a worthy candidate for the honor. I think he’s just trying to keep me from staying up too late researching and Steam from-” “Blowing himself up?” filled in Sora “Exactly,” said Fetch with a smirk. “Hey!” came Steam Gear’s indignant protest but was ignored by the two.
“Still DekaZero or SPD Violet is still not as strong as any of the other suits since it’s less reinforced because of the steam system, it is specced in a different way but is still in the same ballpark of the other suits,” commented Sora sounding very much sad about that fact, “Yet the Sixth ranger slot is always filled with the team member which is stronger than the others and has more options.”
“You are right about that,” said Fetch. “However, B-Squad is supposed to be able to assist A-Squad. Which I’m pretty sure means they, including you, should be able to Morph. And from the list of old Ranger team Morphers that the Commander had me compile for him recently, I’m pretty sure many members of SPD will soon be saying that classic phrase. Annnnnnnnnnnd Kruger is going to likely use me as a chew toy when he finds out I’ve been telling secrets. I told him that we researchers are terrible at keeping secrets.”
“We’ll just not say that we talked about anything secret… geez, we went off track again!” placing her stuff to the side Sora then slammed her head against the table.
“Sorry,” said Fetch as he hung his head in shame. “Going off course is something I sadly am good at. Which is why I’m not allowed to use any of the vehicles. I crashed all of them, in the simulator, at least three times.”
“How can you do that, those are so simple,” Sora looked at Fetch with a raised brow, not knowing that her own pretty high score wasn’t all that common.
“I have a lead hoof,” said Fetch with a frown. “And my reflexes aren’t very fast. Part of why I’m a researcher and not an explorer. But, back to the main topic. Steam, can you actually build this device into Sora’s suit?”
“Hm… I think I can. If you give me additional time and materials I can even include a small coffee machine in the suit, in case you get thirsty.”
“May I ask something which is very complex and very important?” asked Sora, “Since when did we have a design of a device for an item that we have yet to analyze or experimented with?”
“We don’t have one yet. But I have a design for implementing a coffee machine in that suit of yours. It really is rather slim so you probably won’t feel it that much. This also makes me wonder if we can use this time manipulation to accelerate the process of making coffee,” Steam mused with his hand on his chin, “As another side note, can it be used to manipulate the near vicinity? Maybe it could create some type of time shield around you that slows down the target when it tries to attack?” Steam’s eyes lit up, “Ooh! Maybe a coffee shooter when they are slowed down and in your near vicinity?”
“We have designs for things which are totally impractical, things that violate at least one law of physics, and things that would likely kill us as soon as they were built,” said Fetch with a smirk. “And a few things that are totally sane and practical, but those would be no fun for Steam to build, now would they?”
“Just how he is I guess,” Sora could only smile before sighing and turning to her Cousin with a serious look on her face, “You can make a weapon that also acts as a coffee machine, but nothing in the suit will be making coffee am I clear?” She shuddered, “Last thing I want is someone asking where I got a burn mark and I have to answer that in battle my suit had a malfunction and that is why hot coffee seared my body.”
Steam Gear instantly fistbumped at his victory, glad that he was finally taken serious! He had the design for the coffee machine in his locker for months now after all. But for some unknown reason none of the squad members wanted to use it. Probably not a fan of coffee like drinks.
“And if you get burned, it won’t be long after that your dear cousin will be feeling your wrath,” said Fetch with a smirk. “Just please do leave him able to work. The Commander would be a might displeased to have to find a new department head, and I don’t want to go through all the hassle of learning how to handle a new work partner. Steam is great to work with. Though, I do wonder why he hasn’t yet tried to put a Flight mode in all the suits, considering how much he loves wings.”
“I’d probably just break his legs,” mentioned Sora with a serious face, which made Steam Gear slightly shrink back as he put some distance between him and her. However, Sora quickly lost her serious composure and closed the distance to hug Steam with a smile on her face, “Geez, I’m just teasing you a bit cousin. Besides I’m not the type to really to react all that angrily about anything.”
Steam nodded, “Yes, that is true. You didn’t use violence to interrupt me breaking into song in our first meeting. Even though you weren’t all that pleased by it. Makes me wonder if I really am such a terrible singer...which makes me instantly wonder what type of weapons or defense mechanisms one can build with the help of one's vocal chords…”
“Talking about sonic weapons aside, when do we start working?” asked the still smiling bat pony.
Steam Gear cocked his head up to look at the cafeteria clock, “Approximately 2 minutes and… Oh,” Steam said as a tinge of nervousness graced his voice.
“What is it now?” questioned Fetch.
“I just noticed that we spent our whole time talking instead of eating and have now only 2 minutes left to finish our complete platters of food!”
Sora blinked and looked at her own empty platter of food, “Well better get to it or else you’ll want to eat in the labs and you know how that goes.”
“I am surprised at you Steam,” said Fetch right after he finished his last bite. “I was sure you had learned the art of eating during a conversation by now.”
“Multitasking is a lie,” Steam Gear instantly whispered conspiratorially, “It’s just an invention by Celestia to appear more capable for her rule. But in truth one's brain can only switch from one task to another, which means I had to offer my full brain capacity to the conversation, since I didn’t want to miss one part, while my brain was busy with eating.”
“Then thou art a fool,” said Fetch with a smirk. “Eating while doing other things is something we busy ponies just learn to do. Without it, we’d likely drop dead of starvation at our desks.”
“... Didn’t that happen like twice already for Steam?” asked Sora her eyes roaming around as she tried to remember both times where she did find him ‘dead’ at his desk.
Steam instantly crossed his arms while puffing out his cheeks in a pout, “I know that I’m right.”
Sora could only laugh at that reaction, these were the ponies where she could be loud by herself. She was going to protect them with all of her might and all the might they will be giving to her.
“Eat fast Steam,” said Fetch with a smirk as he got up. “Or are you going to walk and eat back to the lab?”
He shook his head, “That would only mean I couldn’t enjoy the meal fully since my brain would have to switch between walking and eating.”
A forlorn sigh escaped him before he tore down into his meal of spinach, potatoes and an egg sunny side up. His taste buds reveled in the pure unadulterated flavor he got by simply only concentrating on his meal.
“You're having those weird thoughts again,” simply stated a smiling Sora from behind Steam as she waited for him to finish, “Come on, concentrate through that food and let’s get building that coffee weapon of yours.”
Steam could only nod as he stuffed his face with the last of his meal and he followed the two with his cheeks still puffed out.
The computer program booted and Chris was looking at himself. “Awesome, it works,” he exclaimed with a huge smile on his face. “Now to just….” He typed in a few commands and a ‘record’ icon appeared in the top left corner of the screen. “Alright then, let’s get started.” Chris cleared his throat. “So journal one of Chris Scott. Don’t know exactly why I’m doing this, but Trixie said it would be cathartic, so here I am. It’s been about a week since I woke up in the med hall. Since then, Nightmare and the personal teachers she picked out have been running me ragged to get me ready.
Sure enough, Shining has been my combat trainer, teaching me as much as he can about combat and tactics. He’s had my lessons split into three different sections; teaming with Sweetie, against Sweetie, and completely solo. Two days apiece for teaming and solo, and one for versus. Starlight is teaching me to control my magic. No idea how I managed to get magic, but apparently I’m a fire mage. She’s been kind and patient, giving me plenty of time to get my head around each technique before moving.And lastly, there’s Trixie. I don’t know why but Nightmare decided I needed to be a little more zen. Trixie’s perfect for the role, seeing as she’s learned to actually control the Alicorn Amulet. Pretty cool stuff if ask me.
“But now for the fun part. In my free time, I’ve been helping out in the engineering department. I’ve upgraded the computer systems, designed new communicators for field ops. We’ve pretty much jumped technology forward at least a few years. Speaking of tech, the Psycho Morpher has been… interesting to study. During training, I managed to summon the Psycho Rod and Bow. I got curious, so I started poking around in the Morpher’s code. What I found was a series of blocked data streams. Of course my first reaction was to hack in and find out exactly what was behind all the locks. I only managed to get through one before the morpher gave me a nice zap. I ended up with a nice long nap and the Psycho Axe for my troubles, but I think I’ll hold off on trying to hack through the security for now.
“And one more thing before I go. The morpher’s primary is a wave of static energy that increases the speed, strength, and defensive capabilities of the user by at least double. I discovered that the suit itself is covered in a condensed field of the stuff, doubling the suits body modifications as well. Overall, I believe that wearing the suit with the field increases my natural abilities by at least ten. I even figured out that I can transfer some of this energy to others. Me and Sweetie have been experimenting with it, and she seems to be getting the hang of handling the Psycho Rod and channeling her magic. I can only transfer through a one person link for now. We tried with Shining and it only managed to cover his arm. I’ve gone to calling this stuff Static, seeing as it manifests itself in an electrical form.
“That’s all for now. Me and Sweetie are scheduled for patrol this afternoon, so I better not keep her waiting. Until next time, Chris Scott, signing out!” He typed in a command and the recording stopped. He typed another command and the computer turned off with a blink.
Chris and Sweetie traipsed as silently as they could through the foliage of the Everfree. Nightmare had sent them out on their first patrol together, saying it would be little more than a routine vigil That didn’t stop the two from being cautious, though. They’d been out there for almost two hours with no signs of activity or disturbance save for the lone timber wolf that had given them their space. All was pretty calm and both fighters had started to unwind a little.
“Well, this is boring,” Chris said, finally standing out of the semi-crouching position he’d been in for most of the time.
“I agree,” Sweetie replied, following suit. “Usually with my luck, something would have happened by now.”
“Same,” Chris concurred, putting his hands to hips and taking a good look around.
Suddenly, a loud blaring startled both pony and human, who immediately took up fighting stances, back-to-back with one another. It took Chris a few seconds to figure that the noise was coming from his communicator.
“Verdammt,” he said with a bit of a sigh. “I gotta change that ringtone.” He lifted the device on his wrist to his face pressing the crown down with his left hand before speaking. “Chris and Sweetie here. What’s up?”
Sunset’s voice came through from the other side. “What’s up is that we got a major disturbance in dimensional magic near your location. We need you guys to check it out.”
“Right,” Chris replied slowly. “Didn’t the last time you guys picked up a signal like that I came running out of the woodwork like a man on fire?”
“Yes!” Came the irritated reply. “Now get over there!”
“Roger!” Chris answered, ending the connection quickly. He looked to Sweetie, who nodded nervously. He nodded back with confidence, clicking the knobs on his communicator to move it to morpher mode. He flipped it open to reveal the screen inside and a radar appeared on it. It showed a yellow blip in the middle, him, a green dot to his side, Sweetie, and a blue dot Northwest of their position. He dropped his arm again, and turned to Sweetie. “Let’s go.”
“Right,” she replied.
They started sprinting towards the location, making good time. It took them a little while for them to find the exact location, but soon they arrived in clearing that seemed undisturbed.
“Okay,” Chris started, “I don’t see anything.”
“Me neither,” Sweetie answered, surveying the clearing. “Let’s just do a sweep of the place and get outta here. This is giving me the creeps.”
“Yeah,” Chris agreed as they moved to check their surroundings. They spent a few minutes looking around but didn’t find anything.
“This is weird,” Sweetie told Chris as they met back in the middle. “There’s nothing here.”
“Hm,” Chris hummed, “Let me check something.” He lifted his morpher once more and opened the radar again. He put both his middle finger and thumb on the screen and pulled them apart, zooming in the screen until it showed a more realistic diagram. The blue dot appeared to be to their rear left. Chris turned and followed the radar until he was right on top of whatever was giving off the signal. He put the morpher away and kneeled down. He rubbed his around in the grass until he felt his fingers brush something metallic. “I found something,” he called over his shoulder.
“Don’t touch it,” Sweetie warned, coming closer.
“Okay.” Chris pulled his hand back and what he saw he almost couldn’t believe.
“What is it?” Sweetie asked over his shoulder, looking at the strange object.
“It’s a Power Rangers S.P.D. badge.” Chris moved to pick it up. Sweetie grabbed his arm and pulled it back.
“What are you doing?” She demanded in surprise, fearing this weird badge.
“Relax,” Chris said, gently pulling his arm back. “It’s just a piece of memorabilia.” He reached out and grabbed the badge, holding it up so he could get a better look. Suddenly, a voice went through his head: “I am Anubis Cruger, the Shadow Ranger. If you require my aid, or merely my counsel, call on me. But be warned, you, as well as your foes, shall face my Judgement.”
“What the hölle does that mean?” Chris asked out loud.
“What does what mean?” Sweetie asked, not having heard the voice.
“I think,” Chris paused, staring at the badge, “I think I can call on the Shadow Ranger for help.”
“Uh,” Sweetie mumbled, concern in her eyes. “Maybe we shouldn’t mess with that until Scootaloo and her team can get a look at it.”
Chris shook his head. “I’d rather test it here than around a whole bunch of others just in case it is dangerous,” he explained. He looked around until he found what he wanted and pointed to a large tree on the opposite side of the clearing. “Go stand over there just in case you need to get away.”
Sweetie frowned, but nodded and began jogging to the tree in question.
“And put up a force field, just in case,” he called after her. She waved him off and kept up her pace. Once she was safely behind both the tree and a magic field, Chris dropped his eyes back down to the token. He closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly. Here goes nothing, he thought. He concentrated on the badge in his hand and sent out a simple message. Uh, hello? Anybody out there?
In response, a blue circle appeared on the front of the badge, before being replaced by a red X, and switching back and forth for a few seconds before stopping on the circle, which then floated off and enlarged. Once it became about as large as he was, a lighter blue energy field appeared within it, out of which stepped a figure Chris had only seen on TV.
“Holy scheisse,” he said in shock, because in front of him stood the great Anubis Cruger in the flesh.
“Morning,” Cruger said, “unless it’s the afternoon, kinda hard to tell when you just arrive in another Verse.”
Chris just stared dumbly for a time before babbling like an idiot. “You-how-why-just-and the-judgement-WHAT!?!” He finally got a hold of himself and began to step forward. “You’re Anubis Cruger, and you’re here…. How?”
“Take a breath, I can explain everything but I’d rather we get indoors fist,” Cruger said before turning to Sweetie, “speaking of which, mind leading the way Sweetie? I think fanboy here’s brain still needs to reset.”
“Um, uh,” Sweetie started, dropping her magic field. “I guess we shou-”
Suddenly, Chris’ morpher started blaring a warning, catching everyone’s attention.
“Scheisse,” Chris muttered under his breath as he static-stepped next to Sweetie. “Cruger, incoming!”
“Well, I don’t mind a bit of exercise,” Cruger said, cracking his knuckles.
Chris summoned the Psycho Sling as cogs began to pour into the clearing on all sides. “Sorry, Sweetie, I should have been paying attention.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she said charging magic in her hands.
As the cogs made their way out of the tree line, Chris and Sweetie let loose with their respective weapons, felling quite a few in the first wave.
“Have to say, not bad,” Cruger said, standing in front of a large pile of Cog parts.
Now, that’s just no fair, Chris thought, glancing over to SPD commander. The cogs were starting get in too close, pressing the pair closer together. “Now or never,” Chris mumbled, “Sweetie, I need some breathing room!”
“On it!” She answered, raising her hands over her head before smashing a wave of magic through the ground sending the bots backwards.
Chris grinned. “Alright. It’s morphin’ time!” Chris slid into his stance and performed the actions he had grown accustomed to. “Go, Psycho!” His body was surrounded in black energy that erupted into the basic underarmor of the suit. Red energy from his limbs and chest brought forth the white and red armor for his arms, legs, and torso. He rotated his arms over his face, a red gid of energy staying behind and forming the helmet as his arms moved back into place. The black visor slid into place over his eyes, completing the transformation.
“I’ll ask why you’re an evil Ranger later, for now though,” Cruger pulled out his Morpher, “it’d be bad manners if I didn’t join in. SPD, Emergency!” A holographic field of a neon SPD sign appeared as he pulled off his trench coat, revealing a glowing bodysuit, before jumping down a tunnel. When he landed, the glow subsided revealing his armor as his helmet shot towards him, covering his head. “Shadow Ranger!”
“Oh, that was cool,” Chris said, before turning back to the cogs that were getting their second wind. “Shall we?”
“You say that like you think I wouldn’t,” Cruger said, drawing his sword and energising it.
Chris let out a chuckle, before getting serious. “Ready, Sweetie?” He asked, putting his left hand on her shoulder and summoning the Psycho Rod in the other.
“Ready,” She stated standing firm and taking the Rod when Chris handed it to her.
“Static!” Chris cried, electricity moving from his hand and covering them both, red on Chris and green on Sweetie.
“Let’s go!” They shouted together, charging forward in tandem and building off one another as they fought.
Cruger slashed left and right almost without looking, every swing slicing completely through whatever got in it’s path, usually a cog. Meanwhile, Sweetie and Chris worked like a living tornado, Chris slashing and stabbing with the Psycho Sword and Sweetie using the Rod as either a club or to focus magical blasts through. Eventually, Sweetie’s Static wore off and she was forced to teleport out of the fray, firing off bolts from the rod at any cogs that either ranger passed over.
“Well, that was quite bracing,” Cruger said as the last cog fell, “oh dang it.”
“What’s ‘oh dang it’?” Chris asked, turning to the veteran ranger.
“Nothing really, I took down 76 cogs, hoping for a hundred, still haven’t managed to relive that scene.”
“Ah,” Chris said in understanding. “That’s a bummer.”
“Guys,” Sweetie called from behind them to get their attention. “Can we go home now?”
Chris looked to Cruger who simply shrugged, “Didn’t I already suggest it before we were interrupted?”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Chris replied shyly, rubbing the back of his head as he demorphed. The Psycho Rod disappeared from Sweetie’s hands as well and she started to topple forwards. “Wow, there,” Chris said, rushing to support her with a burst of static. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she answered, sweat coming off her brow. “I guess actual combat is a lot harder than training.”
Chris chuckled, turning around and offering his back for a piggy back that she didn’t bother refusing. Once she was secure, Chris looked to Cruger and motioned further into the forest with his head. “Right this way. Commander.”
“If it’s all the same to you,” Cruger said as he opened a portal and pulled out his ATV, “I’ll drive. Room for you two if you don’t mind getting close.”
Chris threw a questioning glance to Sweetie, who nodded vigorously. “No offense, Chris, but you’re not exactly the most comfortable stead.”
Chris shrugged in agreement and let her down so they could walk to the ATV. They piled on the vehicle, Cruger driving as Chris sat between Sweetie and Cruger.
“Alrighty,” Chris said once they were situated. “To the Castle of the Two Sisters.”
“Hang on,” Cruger said as he gunned the throttle. Despite his speed, he was able to easily avoid crashing into anything. Within a few minutes, they arrived at the bridge, “Everybody off, I’m pretty sure the bridge isn’t rated for vehicles.”
“Sorry about that,” Sweetie said, snapping her fingers to dispel the illusion around the bridge. “We’re kind of careful around here.” The once rickety bridge was replaced by a solid cobblestone one.
“Definitely gonna have to remember that trick,” Cruger said as he crossed the bridge. It didn’t them long to get to the castle, guards rushing out to meet them as they dismounted the ATV, Sunset not far behind them.
“Uh, oh,” Chris muttered quietly, “think we’re in trouble?”
“I seriously hope not,” Sweetie whispered back with a shudder.
The guards lined up on either side of the trio as Sunset stomped forward. “What happened out there?!” She shouted in front of Sweetie and Chris. “And who the hay is that!?!” She shouted again, pointing at Cruger.
“Commander Anubis Cruger, Space Patrol Delta,” Cruger said, “a pleasure to make your acquaintance ma’am.”
Sunset’s eye twitched. She turned hauntingly back to Sweetie and Chris. “We’re going to talk about this later,” she warned, “but until then….” She let out a long, heated breath and stood up straight. “Can we trust him?”
“Not even a question,” Chris stated without hesitation.
Sunset sighed and rubbed her face. “In that case,” She turned to Cruger, a polite smile on her face and her hand outstretched. “Sunset Shimmer, leader of the Special Operations in the Equestrian Resistance Force. Welcome.”
As Cruger shook her hand, he leaned towards Chris, “We need to have a bit of a talk later.”
Chris let out a nervous chuckle. Great, he thought, I get to have TWO little chats.
Sunset released Cruger’s hand and stepped back a little. “Well, make yourself at home. Chris will be your guide if you need anything. In the meantime,” she turned her gaze on Sweetie, “me and Sweetie Belle are going to have a long conversation about this.” She turned and walked away hotly, Sweetie trotting after her, mouthing, “help me,” as she passed by Chris. Chris’ only response was a nervous smile and wave before turning to Cruger.
“So, about that talk,” he started, rubbing his hands together. “The most private place I can think of is my workspace in the engineering lab.”
“Lead the way, and don’t worry, you’re not in trouble,” Cruger said as he demorphed.
Chris let out a sigh. “That’s at least one worry off my back,” he nodded his head towards the castle. “Right this way.”
Chris gave one last glance around the engineering department as he closed the doors and flipped the switch that would kick in the sound proofing. “Alright, make yourself as comfortable as possible,” he said, offering the only chair in the cluttered space to Cruger as he leaned against his work table.
“Alright then,” Cruger said, “I noticed that a certain unicorn was in the wrong dimension, anything else I should know about?”
“Sunset and Twilight. The best I can tell they swapped that one part in their personalities that got Sunset banished and made Twilight the Element of Magic. Instead, they flip-flopped. Now Twilight is Midnight Sparkle. Other fun details of this world include, but are not limited to; Luna not getting transformed back from Nightmare Moon despite being on our side, Big Mac and Sweetie switching places with their sisters as the Elements of Honesty and Generosity, the changeling population being reduced to three, Tirek and Discord out of the picture, one dead, the other in stasis with serious injuries, Sombra joining forces with King Mondo and Midnight, and all with Celestia MIA.” Chris let out a sigh and crossed his arms. “Honestly, the Resistance is pretty gefickt.”
“Alright then, doesn’t explain the cannon fodder we dismantled 10 minutes ago.”
“King Mondo showed up almost nine years ago,” Chris explained. “Took Canterlot like that.” He snapped his fingers. “Happened right in the middle of the fight between the new Elements and Nightmare Moon.”
“Yeesh. By the way, which one was Mondo again? I didn’t really watch too many of the seasons.”
“Zeo,” Chris answered simply.
“Got it. Anyway, your turn for the questions I think, only fair.”
“Okay,” Chris said, shrugging. “How about, ‘how in the world are you here and not surprised by any of this’?”
“Ah, a first timer, glad to meet them in their home Verse for once. Anyway, I assume that last thing you did before arriving in Equestria was making a purchase, probably at a convention?”
“You assume correctly,” Chris replied. “Got a Psycho Yellow helmet from a guy that looked like the bounty hunter from Lost Galaxy that gave Deviot the Psycho Data Cards.”
“Um… then why are you Red, if you don’t mind me asking.”
“Asides from the, ‘why wouldn’t I be,’ there’s something weird about the code for my morpher. Come take a look.” He moved over to his computer and turned the screen on, plugging a cable into his Morpher as it went through it’s boot sequence. He typed in a few keys and multi colored lines of code started running across the screen. He stared for a while, occasionally typing in commands until he found what he wanted. “Look here,” he said moving over for Cruger to take a look.
“Looks like a series of control locks, preventing certain functions from being accessed unless certain criteria are met. Can’t tell what said criteria are though, need to decompile the entire thing to hunt ‘em down.”
“Precisely,” Chris said, getting fired up over the topic. “See, I got a good look at the code on about the fourth day of my training. I when I looked through it, a huge portion was locked. But as the days went on, I made a connection. Every time I used a new weapon, be it the Rod or Bow, a little bit more of the code unlocked. My theory is that the Morpher has access to all the Psycho’s powers, not just Red’s. I actually ended up hacking through it to unlock the Psycho Axe. I got a huge shock that had me passed out for several hours, but I did it.”
“That’s what happens when you don’t ground yourself. Anyway, back on topic. That guy was who we call the Merchant, and he turned you into what we call a Displaced. As you can guess, it means a person who gained the abilities of a fictional character and sent to Equestria.”
“So, there are others like us?” Chris asked, unplugging his morpher and turning off his computer. “Like other rangers?”
“Power Rangers, Kamen Riders, Pokemon Trainers, DBZ, Yugioh, you name it, odds are there’s a Displaced of it.”
“That’s really cool,” Chris said in awe, before his face screwed up into puzzlement. “Wait… something doesn’t feel right. That means that I’m probably not the only villain Displaced, and I’m going to assume they’re not all as friendly as I am.”
“You got that right,” Cruger said as he pulled out a wanted poster, “Basco here was Displaced as one of the main villains of Gokaiger, handed his Equestria to an alien invasion, and is currently enjoying his hobby of travelling to other Equestrias and killing their Displaced to absorb their power. You see him, you call me, then you run.”
Chris balled his hand into a fist. “I’ll call,” he growled out, “but I sure as hölle won’t run. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s a gott verdammt bully.” Static started shifting out of his Morpher in response to his emotion.
“Alright, but don’t blame me if I save you from otherwise certain death. By the way, you might want to cool off unless you like doing the electric two-step.”
Chris looked at his Morpher in surprise. “Sorry, about that,” he apologized, shaking his wrist, “Trixie keeps telling me that I need to keep my temper in check. Anyways,” he said focusing back on Cruger. “Anything else I should or you want to know?”
“Trixie being level headed, that I’ve gotta see. Anyway, one last piece of vital information before we wrap up, I assume you’d like to know exactly how I entered your Verse.”
“That has been a burning question,” Chris admitted.
“One with a simple answer. All Displaced are able to create a Token. It’s basically a calling card for us, and we can be summoned to other Verses with them.”
“Useful,” Chris commented. “Though a bit troublesome if your Token lands in the wrong hands, or you get summoned at the wrong time.” Chris paused for a moment before his eyes widened in realization. “Oh ,gott, I didn’t interrupt anything important, did I!?!”
“Just a buttload of paperwork, thanks by the way. Anyway, there are ways to safeguard yourself. For example, I assume you noticed the Judgment that happened prior to my arrival?”
“Oh, yeah,” Chris said with a frown. “Thanks for the heartattack. Thought I was a goner there for a second. So,” Chris raised an eyebrow, dismissing his frown, “how do I create a Token?”
“Rather easy all things considered. Step one, select an item that represents you, preferably something that can be easily held in your hand.”
“Hm,” Chris said folding his arms. “I don’t have anything on me, but….” He walked over to what looked somewhat like an old projector. He plugged in his Morpher, opening its displays and making a few swipes. He looked at the table in front of him and typed a command into a console at the side. The arm of the “projector” started moving back and forth, shooting forth light that solidified into a medallion in the shape of the upside down M on his Morpher, surrounded by a circle. He turned back to Cruger, the medal in his right hand. “Okay, now what?”
“3D printer, nice. Anyway, step 2 is to put in a bit of your energy and add a message. It doesn’t have to be as fancy as mine, but it should say something about you.”
Chris thought for a moment. “I got it,” he said, snapping his left fingers. He cleared his throat and let out a breath, static form around his Morpher and hand. “I am the shadow the darkness fears, the malice that quails evil. Call my name if you fight for justice, but beware the wrath of darkness if you chose wrong, for it is you who will face the dark clone. I am Psycho Ranger.” The static died down, as Chris blinked his eyes open. “Did it work?”
“Looks good to me,” Cruger said before opening a portal, “just toss it into the void to propagate, and we’re done.”
“You know,” Chris started, tossing the medallion into the portal, “I never asked how you could do that. Pretty sure normal Cruger couldn’t open portals.”
“Oh yeah, probably should have mentioned. Sometimes Displaced can pick up additional abilities, for example I happen to be a master of Dimensional Magic, and am quite skilled in spell design. Probably has something to do with Equestrian magic interacting with our natural abilities.”
“So that’s how I can do this,” Chris stated curiously, setting his hand on fire. “Wonder what else will happen?”
“My guess, unlocking other colors might grant additional elemental abilities, based on your morpher’s penchant for shorting, electricity seems like a safe bet,” said Cruger.
“Oh, that,” Chris started, waving his hand and extinguishing the flames, “it’s just Static. It’s the most basic functions of the morpher, but the most versatile. It increases speed and strength while also acting as a light shield. The Psycho Armor is actually surrounded in a field of condensed Static. It also helps Sweetie keep up since I can transfer some of it to others.”
“Doesn’t mean I’m wrong, electrical powers are always badass.”
“True,” Chris agreed, shrugging. “It’ll make fighting basic cogs easier if I can just short circuit the little buggers.” Chris looked at a digital clock and was surprised to see the time. “Oh, crap, where’s my head been? It’s almost dinner time and I haven’t even asked if you’re hungry. Would you like to grab something?”
“Might as well,” Cruger said as he stood up, “by the way, your Equestria omnivorous?”
“Eh, the ponies aren’t,” Chris admitted. “Luckily, the Resistance is filled with other races that do enjoy a good steak.”
“Good enough,” Cruger replied.
“Right this way, sir,” Chris said jokingly, swinging the door open and pointing out of the room overdramatically.
“Not gonna say you’re evil, but you’re definitely at least a bit PSycho,” Cruger chuckled.
Chris led Cruger to the mess hall. It didn’t take long, and Chris felt more chipper than usual. They got their trays and got into line.
“Good morrow, Miss Ladle,” Chris said light heartedly to the cream colored mare. “What’s on your spectacular menu today?”
“That’s ‘Miss Heavy Ladle’ to you, Mr. Scott,” she jokingly chastised. “And today is chicken fried steak, green beans, mashed potatoes, and an oats and barley salad for our vegetarians.” She shifted her gaze to Cruger. “Who’s your friend?”
“Anubis Cruger, and I’ll take the omnivore meal thank you.”
“Heavy Ladle, Mr. Cruger, it’s a pleasure,” she replied taking both trays a filling them with food. “Have a good one, you two,” she said with a smile, handing the food back to them. “And you stay out of trouble, Chris.”
“Will do, Heavy Ladle,” Chris replied with a smile as they walked away to find a seat. As he turned around to face forwards, he noticed how many of the ponies and other natives kept glancing his way.
He let out a sigh. “It’s gonna be one of those days,” he muttered.
“You’re a Displaced, it’s always one of those days,” Cruger said as they took a seat.
“I know,” Chris replied, “but I still think we should have waited for one of the Elements. That way this wouldn’t be happening.” He pointed to a dark blue earth pony that was getting out his seat, his eyes glued on the pair in what appeared to be anger or disgust. Chris let out one more sigh as the stallion approached.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got a few coping mechanisms,” Cruger said as he arrived.
“So, you finally come out of that lab of your’s,” the stallion began hotly, crossing his arms. “Finally want to join us ‘normal’ folk at lunch? Suddenly not so high and mighty.”
“First off,” Chris said taking a bite of his fried steak with gravy, chewing and swallowing in deliberate slowness. “I spend so much time in my lab trying to make this place better. That communicator on your wrist,” Chris pointed to the device, “you’re welcome.”
The stallion only glared and growled, snatching the gizmo off his wrist and throwing it to the floor. He slammed his hands down on the table, sending Chris and Cruger’s dinner into the air. “Look here, you son of-”
“If I may,” Cruger said, a plate of food in each hand, “there are a few things you seem to be unaware of.”
The stallion turned his head to the SPD Commander. “Butt out, Diamond Do-”
“First off, I’m a Sirian, not a Diamond Dog. Second, Chris here has the trust of no less than the Elements of Harmony and Nightmare Moon. Third, he’s also one of the few things standing between you, and a battalion of cogs ready to turn you into a smear on the floor. Last, and certainly not least, I could take you down in less than a 10th of the time it would take you to blink,” Cruger glared at the stallion, “savvy?”
The stallion only got angrier. “Oh, whooptie-FUCKIN’-do! He’s got the approval of a country bumpkin, a pegasus who can barely lift herself off the ground, another that’s to full of herself, a mare who should be in the dungeons for pure insanity, a little girl that can’t control her power, a legend that wasn’t true until a few years ago, and the student of the ‘oh-so-powerful’ Princess Celestia. And where is she? I’ll tell you where! She’s DEA-!”
Before anyone could even blink, Cruger had the stallion in a submission hold, “Oh yeah, 2 little things I forgot to mention. Where I come from, I helped raise the Diarchs, and I’m not one to exaggerate.” Cruger released him and sat back down, “Now, why don’t you let us eat in peace, before you find out what getting punched on every square millimeter of your body simultaneously feels like.”
The stallion gulped, but still didn’t back off. “Whatever,” he said turning back to Chris who had his head down, hair hiding his face. “You’re still nothing more than a worthless piece of shit!”
In a burst of static, Chris moved behind the stallion, grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and slammed his head into the table, breaking his nose. Chris threw the stallion away. He skidded across the floor, and came to a stop, blood gushing from his nostrils. He wiped his nose and looked wide-eyed between his hand and Chris. “I knew it, you are a monster.”
“Don’t ever call Chris ‘worthless’.” It was an extremely quiet statement but it still sent shivers down the spines of most present. “Chris” looked up at the earth pony with dark eyes. “If you ever say something like that to him again,” he cracked his knuckles by rolling his hand into a fist. “I’ll break you.”
The stallion gasped, got to his feet, and took off as fast as he could. “Chris” took a deep breath to steady himself and sat back down, head in his hands. What have I do-
It started slow, but eventually the cafeteria was in an uproar of applause and whistling. “Chris” simply looked around the room in shock before turning back to Cruger with a questioning look.
“It looks like we stood up to the local jerk,” Cruger said as he took a bite of his potatoes, “by the way, pleasure to make your acquaintance, Chris’ alternate personality. Um, you do have multiple personalities, right?”
“Chris” let out a mirthless chuckle. “You catch on quick. Name’s Samson Jaeger,” Samson answered putting his hand forth in greeting. His tone was darker than Chris’, not by much, but enough to be noticed, and his movements and attitude were overall more serious.
“Cruger, unless you already knew that,” Cruger said as he shook it.
Samson let out another chuckle. “I did. I share Chris’ memories, although he doesn’t share mine for whatever reason. He’ll probably come back to and wonder why everyone’s congratulating him.” Samson’s face got a little more serious. “Hey, Cruger, can I ask a favor of you?”
“Depends on the favor, but sure.”
Samson turned his gaze down for a moment before raising his head again, a look of pleading in his eyes. “Help Chris wherever you can. Please. I can’t be there for him like I used to back in our world. I have to use all of my focus to keep Psycho at bay, to keep him away from Chris.”
“So, you picked up an extra passenger in Chris’ head when you got Displaced huh?”
Samson nodded in agreement. “He came with the morpher, and the more Chris used it, the more control it had. It took me a while to find a solution. The only way to keep Psycho back is if I keep my entire focus on him. I can’t do anything like that. The only reason I’m here is because Psycho seems to be afraid of you.”
“Looks like he’s completely sane then despite being Psycho. I can help, but since this isn’t my home Verse, I can’t be here all the time. That said, I do have a plan.”
Sam raised an eyebrow. “What sort of plan?”
“Nothing personal, but I’d rather explain it once, so I should explain it to Chris. By the way, he know about you?”
“Oh, yeah, he knows. Thinks I’m the devil, but he knows. And as for explaining things once, I have an idea.”
“Which is?”
Sam grinned. “Chris installed a camera on his personal computer. It’ll be a good way for both of us to say what we need to say.”
“Sounds good, bring it out.”
“It’s in his room, so let’s finish dinner before I blow Chris’ mind with the whole, ‘I’m not actually trying to kill you’ speech.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Cruger said as he dug in, “mmm, good gravy.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sam opened the door to their room and moved out of the way to let Cruger in. “Make yourself at home,” he said, gesturing to the rooms meager furnishings.
“A little spartan, but you haven’t been here for long so it’s understandable,” Cruger said as Sam booted up the computer, “so, you wanna start it, or should I?”
“I’ll give Chris the run down, then you can take over and explain your plan. Sound good?”
“Yup.”
“Alright then,” Sam typed in a few commands and opened the video program. “And here we go.” He hit a few keys on the keyboard and started the recording. “Yo, Chris, how’s it going? As you can see, you aren’t here right now. Let’s just say that we had a bit of a hard time at lunch today, and I stepped in. But enough about that for now, Cruger has something he needs to share with you.” He moved away from the cam and gave Cruger the floor.
“Hey Chris, if people start patting you on the back, trust me it’s well earned. Anyway, Sam told me about the extra voice in your head, and how he’s been keeping it at bay. While cases like these aren’t my speciality, Luna/Nightmare Moon has the ability to enter the dreams of others. If you talk to her about it, I’m reasonably sure she can help you lock it down, that goes double if Sam can help. And don’t worry, you can trust him, I’m a master judge of character.” After pressing stop, he turned to Sam, “Pretty good plan, don’t ya think?”
“Sounds great,” Sam replied. “Chris is just afraid of what other’s will think if they found out. He’s kept me a secret for just about out our entire life. This will be good for him.” Sam leaned against the closet. “Is there anything we’re forgetting to cover for him?”
“I don’t think so, can’t think of anything else I can do without a Wizard Driver.”
“What’s a Wizard Driver?”
“Thing from Kamen Rider Wizard, has a function that allows the user to enter the mind of another, you can see why I suggested it.”
“Yeah, definitely.” Their conversation was interrupted by the blaring sound of Sam’s morpher going off. Both parties winced, and Sam quickly answered the call. “We gotta change that,” he muttered quietly before answering. “This is Sa- er, Chris, what’s going on?”
Nightmare answered this time. “Chris, I heard you have a new friend. I hope he’s strong, because we’ve got an incoming Machine Captain on the way.”
Sam shared a look with Cruger. “That’s not good. We’ll be right there.” He let go of the communicator and turned to Cruger. “Ready to have some more fun?”
“You heard the music,” Cruger said as he pulled out his morpher, “time to dance.”
Sam grinned. “I completely agree.” He shifted his communicator to morpher mode. “It’s cliche but, it’s morphin’ time!”
“SPD, Emergency!”
“Go, Psycho!”
Both Rangers were surrounded by light and appeared in their respective armor. Sam flexed. “Oh, wow, this does feel good. Ready to go?”
“After you,” Cruger said, opening a portal.
“Why, thank you,” Sam said darting through the portal.
He appeared on the other side of the bridge, the illusion back in place. He waited for Cruger to come through. “This is weird,” Sam began, “most machines refuse to come this far into the Everfree. Wonder what makes this guy different.”
“Possibly standard escalation tactics,” Cruger said as he stretched his arms, “or this could be a dedicated scouting mission.”
“Sounds probable,” Sam agreed, opening his morpher and looking at his radar. “But we won’t have to wait long.” As he put his morpher away, a large machine that looked like a sentient missile silo landed in front of them. “Oh, goodie,” Sam said sarcastically, “the walking pop quiz.”
“Rangers,” the automaton cried out dramatically. “I have a message from the great King Mondo for your miserable Resistance.”
Sam threw a look at Cruger and turned back to Silo. “Alright, I’ll bite. What’s the message?”
“Surrender.”
Cruger started laughing, “That’s… ha. Sorry, it’s just, with the timing and, it just got me giggling.”
Silo took a step forward. “You dare mock me and my king?”
“That’s based on the assumption that you’re worth mocking,” Cruger said before turning to Sam, “mind if I take this? Got a new move I want to field test.”
“Go for it,” Sam said, stepping back and summoning the Psycho Bow. “I’ll cover you in case he tries anything dirty.”
“Thanks,” Cruger said as he drew his sword, “but this’ll be over before he gets a chance.” With that, he started walking towards Silo while humming.
“Fool.” Silo launched the missiles from his wrist towards the Shadow Ranger.
Just before the they hit him, he suddenly appeared behind Silo, “This fight’s over.”
“Wha-”
“I already cut you,” Cruger said as he returned his sword to its scabbard, “Silver Fang Style, Kagegiri!”
Sparks flew out from around Silo’s torso as the robot slid in two, ending its life with an explosion. Sam stared wide-eyed at the display, dispersing the energy arrow he had drawn. “Geez, Cruger, that’s just… wow.” He walked over to the robots remains. “Did you hit the Successor Core directly?”
“The what?”
Suddenly, Silo’s remains began to glow a bright green as they formed back together and grew larger.
“Oh, shit,” Sam said quietly, dodging out of the way of a giant foot.
Silo leaned over and let out a laugh. “Now what, Power Rejects?”
Sam Static Stepped next to Cruger. “Got a plan?”
“This is rather standard, just bring out the Megazord, you do have a Megazord right?”
“The Psycho Rangers were monsters under their armor, so unfortunately not….”
“Well, what about the Astro Megaship? Think you might be able to use that?”
“It’d take too long to figure out how to pilot it,” Sam said, dodging another stomp. “The Delta Megaship would be a better choice, but we don’t have it.”
“Say that again in 10 seconds,” Cruger said as he pulled out a silver cylinder the size of a can of Red Bull with a keyhole in one end and a small figurine of the Red Space Ranger.
“Uh, okay,” Sam said puzzled. “We don’t-”
“Still got another 7 seconds,” Cruger said as he turned the figurine into a key with a flick of his wrist, “Delta Megaship, come on down.” Cruger inserted the key into the keyhole and turned it, causing it to glow. After a few seconds, the glow faded.
Sam looked around, expecting something to explode. When it didn’t, he turned to Cruger. “Well, that was a bit of a-”
“Wait for it.”
Suddenly, out of the cloud cover flew a black, slightly star-shaped ship, gatling guns blazing. The salvo hit Silo in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards.
“Is that what I think it is?” Sam asked in awe-struck wonder.
“Consider it a ‘Welcome to the Displaced’ present,” said Cruger.
Even under the helmet, Sam’s grin was obvious. “Oh, I’m going to enjoy this.” He leaped into the air, using Static to propel him into the cockpit. When he landed, he took the controls. “Oh, I am definitely going to get him a thank you present. You okay down there, Cruger?”
“Just missing some popcorn, show that oversized firework why Power Rangers are the masters of giant robot combat.”
Sam’s grin widened. “Gladly.” He flew the Delta around for another pass, firing the guns at the warheads on Silo’s shoulders. The explosives detonated, making Silo stumble and shout. “Now for the finale,” Sam said. “Delta Megaship, fighter mode!” The zord rolled in midair, folding out it’s and coming in to land in front of Silo, a panel on the lowering to reveal the Megazords face. “Delta Gyro Blasters, fire!” Shots of blue lasers sped from the Delta’s gatling hands and found their mark on Silo’s chest.
The robot sparked and stumbled for a bit before letting its arms fall. “King Mondo’ll get you for this, Rangers,” he threatened as he fell forwards. “I will be avenged!” The giant robot hit the ground and detonated.
“Hmph, not in this lifetime, scrap heap,” Sam replied to his fallen opponent. He had a sudden idea and hit a few keys on the zords console before a disk popped out. Sam grabbed it and leaped out of the cockpit in front of Cruger. “Now, that was something.”
“Yeah, I remember my first time piloting a Megazord.”
“We can’t thank you enough,” Sam stated, stepping a bit closer. “You’ve done us a great service. We may not ever be able to repay you, but maybe this will help.” He held the disk out to Cruger.
“Thanks, what is it?”
“A copy of the data for the Delta Battlizer. Something tells me you’re going to need it sooner than we will. Besides, we don’t even know if it’s compatible with the Psycho Armor.”
“I’ll keep it on file,” Cruger said as he scanned it with his morpher, “could come in handy.”
“I hope so,” Sam replied. “Last we checked, old Cruger couldn’t fly.”
“Anyway, I’d better get going. Which leads us to my last bit of advice, to send a Displaced you’ve summoned home, simply say, ‘Our contract is complete’, or some variation thereof.”
Sam chuckled and demorphed. “Well, if that’s the case.” Sam held out his hand one last time to the veteran Ranger. “Anubis Cruger, our contract is complete. It’s been a pleasure.”
“Likewise,” Cruger said as he shook it, a portal opening behind him, “keep in touch?”
“Definitely,” Sam affirmed, releasing Cruger’s hand. “Until next time.”
“Take care, and make sure Chris sees Moony,” Cruger said before stepping through the portal.
“I will and you, too” Sam said as the portal closed behind Cruger. Sam stood there for a moment, then let out a contented sigh. “That was fun,” he muttered to himself and turned to the still standing Delta Megaship. “Now what do we do about you?” Sam’s communicator went off and he answered it. “Hullo?”
“Hey, Chris,” came Sunset’s deceptively sweet voice. “Can I see in my office for a minute. It’s time for that chat.”
Sam gulped. “Y-yes, ma’am.” She hung up and Sam looked up to the giant robot. “Hey, Delta, do me a solid and step on me.”
Twilight sighed, after the near disaster of the Grand Equestrian Pony Summit, she was looking forward to heading home. As she heard the door open, she turned to see Spike. “All the delegates are headed home, although Celestia said she’d like us to join her and Luna for lunch before we go.”
“Sounds like a nice idea,” Twilight said as she folded her business suit, “I haven’t had a chance to just talk to them in… what’s this?” Under her skirt was a silver medallion with 3 black battle axes crossing each other.
“Think it might be one of those Token things?” asked Spike.
Twilight’s eyes sparkled as she considered it, “Oooh, so much to learn.” Twilight then cleared her throat as she picked it up, “Greetings, I would like to make your acquaintance if it isn’t too inconvenient.”
Nothing seemed to happen...
“Huh,” Spike said, “guess it’s just an ordinary pendant that got mixed up with your stuff somehow.”
“Guess we’d better find out who it belongs to,” Twilight said as she put it down. As soon as it touched the desk a faint rainbow glint flashed over its surface. “Let’s get to the dining hall then.”
“I still can’t believe that Spike didn’t just close the window,” Luna said.
“Well, you know how he can sometimes miss the simple solutions when he’s focused,” Twilight said as Spike blushed.
“I can’t imagine where he gets it from,” said Cadance, causing Twilight to blush.
“Now Cadance, you know it’s… what the hay?”
“Something the matter sister?” asked Luna.
“The chef’s made a very nice spinach quiche that I was keen to try, and now it’s gone,” said Celestia.
Suddenly a dish on the table full of apple wedges became surrounded in a light pink aura as it was slowly dragged to the edge of the table furthest from the four princesses and dragon before disappearing.
“What’s going on?” asked Twilight.
“Looks like we have a few uninvited guests,” Cadance said as she ducked her head beneath the table. When she came back up, she was slightly pale, “Um, you should see this.”
“Then let us not waste any time,” Luna said before levitating the whole table into the air.
Once the table had been removed The ponies and Dragon stared in surprise at a pair of fillies, one a thestral with light blue hair and the other a white unicorn with a pink mane, the both of them looking like they had just gotten caught with their hooves in the cookie jar. The two fillies immediately then grabbed whatever food they were munching on, including Celestia’s quiche, before galloping for the door and out of the room as fast as their little hooves could take them while leaving a trail of various crumbs.
“Wonder who they were?” Luna wondered aloud.
“They shared a similar body type to the Trixie who came with…” Twilight trailed off before looking at Spike, “You don’t think?”
“Don’t see any other explanation,” Spike replied.
“What are you talking about?” asked Celestia.
“Well,” Twilight started, “just before we came down for lunch, I found a strange pendant in my room. I thought was a Token, and tried using it, but nothing happened. Looks like that might not be the case.”
“Obviously,” Luna said as she set down the table, “but they do not appear to be Displaced themselves.”
“Must have tagged along. Spike, send a message to Cruger, he’ll want to meet them. Cadance, if it’s not too much trouble…”
“Say no more,” Cadance said as she got up, “been a long time since I’ve had to do this.”
“Excellent,” Twilight said, “Celestia, Luna, mind looking for the actual Displaced? If it’s not too much to ask.”
“Sounds like an excellent idea,” said Celestia.
“You know,” Twilight said as she swiped at the Thestral filly to no avail, “when I first came up with this plan, I thought this would be the easy part.”
“You clearly haven’t taken care of kids,” Cadance said as the Unicorn ducked a shield spell meant to trip her up. The fillies then suddenly ducked into a hallway leading to the castle basement, knocking over a couple pieces of furniture with flower vases on them to delay the two princesses in their wake.
“I’ll have you know that I’ve been tutoring three little fillies not much older than them,” Twilight said as they followed.
“So that’s a no then,” Cadance replied.
“You’ll never catch us alive!” The fillies sang before ducking back into the passageway they had decided to run into.
“Alright,” Twilight said as they resumed the chase, “I must admit that even they weren’t this much trouble.”
After a few minutes, they finally managed to corral the two fillies into a passageway that was a dead end. “Nowhere to run now,” said Cadance, “now why don’t you just come here.”
Looking around nervously, the now scared fillies tried to look for a way out of their current trap while backing up further and further into the corridor.
“Don’t worry, we’re not going to hurt you,” Twilight said, a few of her hairs springing from her mane, “now where are your Displaced?”
The two fillies, not knowing what Twilight meant bolted for the end of the corridor opposite of the princesses, crying in fear as they ran.
“In my professional opinion,” Cadance said, “you’d make a horrible foalsitter.”
“Then it’s a good thing that I’m a librarian-slash-inventor-slash-princess of friendship,” Twilight said before they followed. They ten watched as the fillies ducked behind something hidden by the shadow which filled the end of the unlit corridor.
Cadance sighed as she leaned down as she pulled a pair of cookies out of her pocket, “Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble, we just want to talk.”
“Go away!” the fillies shouted in unison, causing whatever they were hiding behind to shift slightly.
“Are you sure?” Cadance asked as she crawled closer, “because good fillies get cookies.”
Suddenly, a gigantic double edged ax crashed into the ground just in front of Cadance accompanied by a pair of glowing green eyes revealing themselves looking down at her. “And just WHAT are you planning on doing when they do come out miss?” the owner of the ax and glowing green eyes demanded.
As Cadance chuckled and moved back, Twilight giggled, “Finally, I get to meet the Displaced who they came with. Cruger will want to meet you, but I think he’ll be willing to wait until I’m done.”
“I have no clue what you're talking about lady, but you scared our charges, so don’t expect us to cooperate.” Said a second voice as a pair of glowing blue eyes appeared, this being only being half as tall as the one wielding the ax but still much taller than both of the princesses.
“Oooh, there’s two of you,” Twilight said, “well I suppose Cruger and I can just flip a coin as to who gets first crack at who.”
“Are you planning on dissecting us or something?” asked a third voice, a pair of golden horns and a large green gem on his chest the only part of him that could be seen, though this one seemed to be as tall as Cadance if she stood on the tips of her hooves.
“Three, oooh the things we could learn. I need to get my notebook.”
“Is she for real?” The second voice asked, sounding a little annoyed.
“Sorry,” Cadance said, having regained her composure, “she tends to get a little unstable under extreme stress, like having to chase those two fillies halfway across the castle.”
“Castle? What castle?” The third being asked as he seemed to turn to face the other two unknown beings.
“I don’t know, but it seems that tunnel we fell into leads to civilization, this should prove interesting.” The second being said, addressing the third.
“You’re in Canterlot Castle, the catacombs of it anyway. Oh, and where are my manners, I’m Cadance, and this is Twilight.”
“I’m Axonn,” The first of the beings said, pulling his ax out of the ground. “This is Knightmon,” He then said indicating the second being, “And Magna defender, or magna for short.” He finished by indicating to the third being as they all stepped into the light.
“Anyway, Cruger should be here by now,” Cadance said, “why don’t we go meet up with him.”
“Cruger? We don't know who you're talking about, though the name rings a bell.” Magna stated, putting a hand on the sword at his waist in warning towards Twilight.
“Don’t worry,” Cadance said as Twilight was muttering under her breath, “I’ll keep her under control until she calms down.”
“What are you talking about, I’m perfectly calm,” Twilight said, “is that axe made of the same stuff as your skeleton?”
“... what were you saying about keeping her under control?” Knightmon asked, giving the two mares a bemused look.
“This is her under control during one of her episodes.”
“Whatever you say.” Magna quipped, causing him to get a look from Axonn. “What?”
As they returned to the dining room, Twilight had managed to regain most of her sanity, and Cruger was waiting for them, “I trust you managed to recover the quiche thieves? They must have been hungry if they went for the spinach.”
“Oh? And what makes you think they might dislike spinach?” Magna joked as he and his two companions entered the room, the two fillies sitting on Axon’s massive shoulders.
“Because they’re 6,” Cruger chuckled, “by the way, pleasure to meet a fellow Ranger.”
“I knew we remembered the name Cruger from somewhere.” The three beings chuckled in unison.
“So someone mind explaining what is going on?” Knightmon asked.
Cruger raised an eyebrow, “You mean this is the first time you’ve been to another Verse?”
“If you mean other than waking up in the middle of a forest with these bodies then no, that's about all we can think of.” Axon replied.
Cruger turned to Spike, “You sure you found a Token?”
“See for yourself,” Spike said, holding up the medallion in question.
“Wait, what's a token? and someone seriously needs to explain what's going on…” Magna grumbled, rubbing his temples.
“That may take some time,” Cruger said.
“Why don’t you join us for lunch?” said Celestia.
“Might as well.” The three of them said in unison as they shrugged. “Just don't bring out any meat, these two young ones were about to be turned into stew by Skakdi before we rescued them and essentially adopted them.” Axon then informed Cruger and the princesses just to be safe.
“Fair enough,” said Celestia, “by the way, Twilight’s message said you were named Axon, Knightmon, and Magna, correct?”
“That is correct.” Knightmon replied with a nodd. “And what is your name miss?”
“I’m Princess Celestia, and this is my sister Luna.”
“You can't be celestia and luna!” The unicorn filly shouted, “Because I’m Celestia and this is my friend Luna!” She then said while pointing at the Thestral filly.
“Err, that can’t be right,” Twilight stammered, “Celestia and Luna are Alicorns, you are not.”
“What’s an Alicorn?” The filly Lina asked.
“Apparently they are little one.” Axon said while pointing at the Alicorn Celestia and Luna. The fillies blinked a few times at their counterparts before merely glancing at eachother in confusion and shrugging.
“They do kinda look like you two did when you were their age,” said Cruger, eliciting a chuckle from Magna.
“So, since everyone of importance has been introduced, you mind explaining that dimensional stuff you mentioned now?” Knightmon asked Cruger.
“Sure thing, but first,” Cruger turned to look at Twilight, who currently had litteral steam coming from her ears, “Spike?”
“I’ve got it,” Spike said before pulling her away, “come on Twi, let’s see if the library’s got any new books.”
As Twilight was lead away, Cruger sighed, “Sorry about that, it’s just that she needs time to process this stuff. So, is there a place you want me to start, while I start on this lovely Alfredo.”
“Well, you could start from the beginning? We know next to nothing about the situation and are barely holding onto our collective sanity.” Magna said as the fillies jumped from Axonn’s shoulders and onto the table before attacking a plate full of salad.
“Sounds like a good place to start. So, what’s the last thing you remember before arriving on your Equestria? Was it, a convention perchance?”
“Nope,” Knightmon replied. “I was sitting in my living room having a chat with a strange old man who had asked to come in to rest his legs...”
“Then the next thing I know he gives me three items that represent our current forms claiming that they belong to me…” Magna continued.
“And once I picked up the three items out of curiosity I was surrounded by a bright light and passed out before we woke up in a crater in the middle of a forest in our current forms.” Axonn finished.
“A mite outside of standard Displacement, but not by much,” Cruger said. “Wait, I?”
“Before being displaced my name was Maximus Garrison.” The three of them said in unison.
“And you split apart upon Displacement,” Cruger said, “have to admit, that’s a new one.”
“Funny thing is, we wouldn't have ever suspected to end up like this ever. After all, we didn't have anything like multiple personality disorder or anything.” Magna chuckled, making light of their situation and causing his two counterparts to roll their eyes.
“As interesting as it may be, we can come back to it later,” Cruger said. “Anyway, unless I’m very much mistaken, that old man was probably The Merchant, who’s responsible for the vast majority of all Displacement. Before you ask, there are hundreds of us, at least, although I’ve only met a handful.”
The three beings just stared at Cruger in shock. “Well, this will certainly be interesting…” Axonn then managed to say, getting nods of agreement from his counterparts.
“Understatement of the year,” Cruger said, before taking another bite of his pasta.
“Well, at least we got a pretty good loadout if this is going to turn out how we think it might.” Knightmon chuckled nervously.
“Don’t you just,’ Cruger chuckled. “Kanohi powers, digital combat, and of course the Power Ranger’s signature, pretty well rounded group if you ask me.”
“Indeed, especially since that Kanohi is the mother of all lie detectors.” Magna joked as he elbowed Axonn.
“Only problem is that the three of us have next to no experience in combat or in using whatever abilities we now have…” Axonn said as he tried to remember all the powers he and his two counterpart’s forms had.
“Well, you could come over to my base, we could do a little research, a bit of training, get you basically combat ready before you head home.”
“Well, that would help a lot… don't know how it will work out though.” Knightmon said.
“Don’t worry, this isn’t my first time doing this kind of thing,” Cruger said before opening a portal, “what say we leave the little ones here? Keep them out of trouble.”
“That's probably a good idea.” Axon agreed, glancing at the two fillies currently busy stuffing their faces.
“Thought as much, follow me,” Cruger said before walking through the portal.
The trio gave one last quick glance at the fillies before turning and following Cruger through the portal, hoping that the two fillies didn't cause too much trouble while they were away.
On the other side, they saw Cruger at a computer terminal, “So, shall we get started?”
“We have no clue.” The trio said while shrugging in unison.
“Anyway, step one is to figure out your full capabilities, luckily this base came with a read-only internet connection to earth, still not sure how or why though. Who wants to go first?”
“Might as well start with me.” Magna stated, “After all, it only gets more confusing from here.” He then joked.
“Don’t really need to do much research for that, I’m a Ranger fan myself. Your main weapon is your sword, when inserted into the scabbard and the hilt tilted down it becomes a burst fire energy rifle. All that with the addition of your Zord gives you a well rounded attack range, while admittedly without too many defense options besides your armor.”
“Yeah, I’m starting to remember some of this…” Magna said as memories of watching Power Rangers as a kid started flooding back. “I wonder if I can summon the original Magna Defender’s zord… don’t know if I will ever end up using the megazord but it would be awesome to know how.”
“Now don't get too excited Magna, we don’t need a zord crazed kid with ranger powers on the loose.” Knightmon joked, causing Axonn to chuckle as Magna groaned at the bad joke.
“Anyway, might as well get the next one done, who’s next?”
“Like I said, in order of craziness. So Knightmon is next.” Magna said.
“Ha ha, very funny Magna.” Knightmon retorted, rolling his eyes.
“Alright then, let’s just pull up the Digimon Wiki. Here we go, Knightmon, nearly indestructible armor, massive sword, known for their loyalty. Here are the cliffnotes, your main attacks involve swinging that massive sword around and group attacks with allies. Also, removing that armor may result in unleashing uncontrollable power, so just a heads up.”
“Huh, well that’s interesting. Now the only thing I have to do is worry about what I might evolve into if I ever do.” Knightmon chuckled, remembering that the few times Knightmon had appeared in the show they never gave much info on him.
“That’d be Crusadermon,” Cruger said, pulling up the page, “not too many differences, except you get a few ranged options, and might become a prick.”
“You certain? there might be more possibilities if my days of playing the videogames in the past mean anything.” Knightmon said as he walked over and took a look at the screen as well.
“Let’s take a look… ah here we go, Craniamon. Looks like a lot of requirements, but since the main one is friendship it should be easy. Seems like a superior option to Crusadermon too, look at that weapon.”
“Hey look, Alphamon…” Knightmon said as he pointed at the screen before clicking the link to the possible evolution. “Now it would be awesome to turn into him.” He added as he pointed at Alphamon’s moveset.
“That it is, gotta say, if you feel like going this route, I wouldn’t blame ya. I guess it’s your turn Axonn, that 1 or 2 ns?”
“Two.” Aconn replied simply. “And I already know my mask power but looking it up along with my other abilities may prove educational for you.” He added with a smirk.
“We’ll see. Hmm, Kanohi Rode, Great Mask of Truth, make lying to the wearer impossible, plus can negate invisibility and illusions. Other abilities include healing, energy and electrical blasts, stasis field generation, and mental protection. Gotta say, you’ve got an excellent move set.”
“It is pretty impressive isn't it.” Axonn said with a sagely nodd. “And that might not even be all of my powers since the original Axonn never used his full capabilities.”
“Just watch your temper, says here Axonn’s a Berserker class.”
“Whatever you say.” Axon commented. “So, whats next?”
“Well, a bit of sparring might be a good bit of practice,” said Cruger.
“Alright then, though who is going to spar with Axonn?” Magna asked.
“I will,” said Cruger.
“You shure? Wouldn’t a Zord make a better challenge?” Magna joked. “He CAN split mountains in two you know.”
“1: he needs to practice against opponents his own size. 2: so have I.”
“Huh, impressive.” Knightmon muzed. “But one problem, you aren't even half his height so how would that count as fighting someone of the same height?”
“It’s close enough. What say we take this to one of the training halls?”
“Lead the way.” Axon said as he and his counterparts fell into line behind Cruger.
“So, aside from adopting the future rulers of your Equestria, anything else happen?”
“Wait, what?” The three of them asked in shock.
“Oh yeah, probably should have mentioned. Things from your base’s verses might start popping up in your Equestria.”
“We know about that, we did mention the Skakdi that tried to make stew out of Celestia and Luna right?” Axon said, “But what do you mean by future rulers!?”
“Did you forget who you were having lunch with?” Cruger asked, “Celestia and Luna, rulers of Equestria, and the adult anthro alicorn forms of your two charges.”
“How…” They stammered, their eyes twitching as they tried to process this.
“Well, it varies, but eventually they become alicorns and wield the Elements of Harmony. To be honest, you three actually embody 3 of them. Or rather, your bases do.”
“What are the elements of harmony… and why do we feel like we just walked into a children’s tv show?” The three of them asked.
“In reverse order, you have, watch this,” Cruger said, handing them a tablet, “as for the Elements of Harmony, they’re a group of 6 magical items that each represent a portion of Harmony. They’re Loyalty, Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, and Magic/Friendship. Knightmon are known for their loyalty. Axonn, your mask is basically Honesty given form. And Magna, your base’s relationship with his son screams Kindness.”
The three of them just stood there, staring off into the great beyond once they finished the first two episodes and managed to process Cruger’s words. Their situation finally fully dawning on them.
“Yeah, on a side note, make sure Luna doesn’t get all mopey.”
“Got it…” The three of them said, having seen what would happen according to the two videos they had been shown as they continued to follow Cruger.
“Good, ah here we are,” Cruger said as they arrived at a reinforced door, “looks like it’s not in use, excellent.”
“What’s with the reinforced door?” Magna decided to ask.
“This thing was designed to handle extreme combat situations, so no need to hold back in fear of breaking anything. By the way, observation hall’s the door to your right.”
“Alright, then who’s first?” Knightmon asked.
“I believe Axonn volunteered,” Cruger said as he opened the door.
“I did?” Axonn asked, giving Cruger a questioning glance as his two counterparts shrugged and entered the observation room.
“Something along those lines,” Cruger said, “oh hello Dusk.”
The shadowy mare squeaked in surprise as Cruger walked in on her training by herself inside of the room he and Axonn had just entered. “H-hello Commander… Can I help you?” She sheepishly asked as Axonn gave her a questioning look.
“Just wanted to use the training hall with a few rookie Displaced, scanners didn’t pick you up, practicing stealth techniques?”
“U-um… Y-yes? Excuse me, I’ll get out of your way!” Dusk quickly stammered out before exiting the room in a hurry.
“That was… interesting?” Axonn said, “Do you usually hire creatures made of shadow? Because I know that that couldn't have been a makuta.”
“Relax, she’s a good kid. And don’t mention anything, she’s nervous enough without the whole base knowing.”
“Ah, I understand.” Axon replied. “Though you should probably know that she was lying when she said she was practicing stealth techniques.” He then added as he made his way towards the center of the training room.
“I was giving her an out,” Cruger replied, “she doesn’t even know I know, only reason I do is because I’m one of the few beings in this Equestria who even knows her race exists.”
“Ah, I see. Heh, smart.” Axon muttered as he took out his gigantic axe. “Now, shall we?”
“Fair enough, fair warning though,” Cruger said as he drew his sword, “I’m almost certainly stronger than you.”
“Don’t worry, we're fast learners.” Axon said, a glint coming off one of his eyes as he hefted his axe over his shoulder.
“Alright then, come,” Cruger said as he took a stance of his own.
Axonn suddenly threw his axe at Cruger, causing it to fly at him like it was shot from a railgun.
“Good opening,” Cruger said before using his sword to redirect it straight back at him, “although a bit of spin next time would definitely increase it’s effectiveness.”
The Axe suddenly shot back into Axonn’s hand as he smirked. “Duly noted.” He said before smashing the axe into the ground and creating a large crevice that made its way towards Cruger.
“Impressive,” Cruger said as he leapt in the air, “but not very effective against single opponents, save it for routing an army solo.”
“Hey, I’m testing out the moves I saw in the comics before I do anything really showy.” Axonn laughed as he grabbed one of the pieces of floor that was knocked loose when he created the crevice before tossing it into the air and using his axe like a baseball bat hit it towards Cruger. The piece of floor promptly shattered before launching in Cruger’s direction like the buckshot of a shotgun.
“Good use of the environment,” Cruger said before vaulting over one of the larger pieces and planting his feet against it, “time to see how you do in close quarters.” Cruger leapt off the rock, and shot towards Axonn, sword ready to swing.
Axonn’s mask became a poker face as he brought his axe back for a swing with one hand, before using it as a feint to clobber Cruger in the gut with the other and firing a beam of energy out of it at the same time, launching the SPD commander across the room. “Hows that?” Axonn then asked.
“Impressive,” Cruger said, revealing that he had blocked the punch with his sword, “time for one last test before we wrap up.”
“Oh? And what would that be?” Axonn asked, quirking a mechanical eyebrow.
“How you handle a superior opponent,” Cruger said, before becoming a blur. Before Axonn could blink, Cruger had struck him everywhere, twice.
“Okay, that I didn't expect.” Axonn admitted as he flexed his limbs to get the tingling out of them. “Let me guess, you were holding back?”
“I haven’t even morphed, what do you think?” Cruger replied, “so, think you could beat me?”
“Hold you off, possibly. Obtain final victory, not yet.” Axonn said as he shifted into a ready stance. “But that doesn't mean I’m going to concede during a training fight.” He then added before charging at Cruger shoulder first.
“Excellent,” Cruger said, sidestepping the charge, “the ability to gauge an opponent's strength relative to your own is a vital skill, and one I’m glad I won’t have to teach you. By the way, your analysis was spot on, assuming I didn’t morph of course.”
Axon planted his axe in the ground just as he passed Cruger and using it as an axis point spun around and delivered a drop kick as large as the ranger to his back. “It's easy when you can tell truth from feint with ease.” Axon commented as Cruger went flying again.
Cruger chuckled as he recovered, “I must admit, haven’t had this much fun since that match with Gilgy. But what say we call it for now, have to leave some gas in the tank for your brothers.”
“Might as well.” Axon chuckled as he relaxed before pulling his axe from the ground and returning it to its slot on his back.
“Alright then,” Cruger said as he pressed a button on the wall, “just need a bit of clean up first.” With a whir, the scattered rubble turned to dust before filling the newly created crevice and re-solidifying.
“Impressive, I bet that really comes in handy if there are more beings out there like us.” Axonn whistled as he made his way towards the entrance.
“To be honest, it’s a recent addition,” Cruger said, “so, who’s next?”
“I would say Knightmon since Magna will need the most training.” Axon said before exiting the room and making his way into the observation room, and after a bit of commotion Knightmon made his way into the training room.
“So. I’m up next I’m told?” Knightmon asked for confirmation as he took a ready stance.
“It appears so,” Cruger said as he did the same, “let’s see what you can do.”
“Might as well.” Knightmon shrugged before drawing the sword at his waist and removing his shield from his back before charging Cruger, shield at front and sword pointed ahead.
“A joust is it?” Cruger said before generating an energy shield and charging himself, “most appropriate.”
Knightmon rammed into Cruger’s shield at full tilt, his sword knocking the ranger’s aside as he stood his ground. “I’m just following through with what feels right for this body.” He said in a monotone.
“That’s good,” Cruger said before jumping back, “let’s see how you handle ranged.” With that, Cruger launched a charged energy slash.
Knightmon braced himself behind his shield as the energy slash connected before deflecting away from him. “That all you got?” Knightmon taunted as he charged towards Cruger again.
“Not even close, you?”
“Don’t know, but this is certainly funner than larping back on earth!” Knightmon said with a glint in his eye as he rammed into Cruger only to be blocked easily.
“That I can agree with,” Cruger said as they began clashing swords, “don’t forget your feet.”
“What?” Knightmon said before Cruger hooked his leg with his own, knocking him down.
“You have to make sure you have solid footing at all times,” Cruger said, holding the tip of his sword to Knightmon’s throat, “if this was a real fight, you’d be dead.”
“Heh, Well it appears that I’m currently the weakest member of the group until I learn to digivolve it seems…” Knightmon said as he slowly put his hands up in surrender, dropping his shield and sword in the process.
“Doesn’t mean you’re weak though,” Cruger said as he helped him up, “I know they say that a knight in shining armor has never had it tested, but you seem to be the exception, not even a scratch.”
“Really?” Knightmon asked as he quickly gave himself a once over. “Huh… Guess I have the highest defence of our group. That will certainly make up for my lack of versatility for now… Unless I fight someone with Digizoid weapons then I may be in trouble.”
“That may be a while, give you plenty of time to learn how to deflect blows. Now, one left for the crucible.”
“The crucible?” Knightmon asked as he picked up his shield and sword that he dropped before returning them to their proper resting places.
“Just a figure of speech, now send your brother in.”
“You got the brother thing from the fact that one of our members is a Bionicle didn't you?” Knightmon asked with a chuckle as he made his way towards the room’s entrance.
“No, the three of you used to be the same person, therefore you are related, I’m treating you as triplets.”
“Hmm, makes sense.” Knightmon replied before leaving the room, only for the space outside to be filled with laughter followed by the sound of metal connecting with heads...
“Ouch… Never knew I was so touchy…” Magna said as he was rubbing a comical red lump on the top of his head as he walked into the training room.
“Let me guess, Knightmon took umbrage at you commenting on his performance,” Cruger said as he rolled his shoulder.
“How’d you guess?” Knightmon asked as he stopped rubbing the top of his head and drew his sword at the same time as the lump disappeared.
“Just a bit of deductive reasoning, now don’t expect me to go easy on you just because we’re both Rangers.”
“Wouldn't dream of it.” Magna said dramatically.
“Alright then,” Cruger said, taking a ready stance. “show me what you can do.”
“Ok then.” Magna said before he started running sideways in an arc around Cruger before putting his sword back into its sheath and converting it to gun mode. He then took the blaster from his belt and took a shot at Cruger from the commander's right.
“Looks like you know how to shift your weapon’s modes,” Cruger said, blocking the shot with his sword, “although your aim could use some work.”
“Hey, you're the one who told me that it could do this and how to do it.” Magna chuckled as he started backing away. “That and we have never fired a gun before. Though we have built robots that are capable of firing guns back in college.”
Cruger whistled, “Which one was that?”
“University of military robotics. One guy had gotten ahold of a mech suit prototype which he was working on before we wound up here.” Magna laughed.
“Man, sounds like fun. Back on topic, let’s see your swordplay.”
“Ok then~” Magna said before converting his blaster back into a sword and charging Cruger, who leaned to one side and out of harm’s way, except for a foot, which tripped him up.
“Knightmon had the mass to make a charge work, and his shield prevented me from using that trick. Next time, plan to stop before you reach your target, not after.”
“Got it…” Magna said as he pushed himself up off the floor after Cruger caused him to faceplant. “Yeash, Those two really made it look easier than it really is.”
“Because they have the bulk to back up a heavy blow, lightweight fighters like us need to use finesse, which is much harder.”
“No kiddin…” Magna sighed as he stretched before jumping away from Cruger and getting back into a ready stance. “Ok, let's do this!”
Cruger chuckled, “At least you’re enthusiastic.”
“Hey, someone has to be the clown of the group. and it certainly isn’t going to be one of those two.” Magna said with a shrug before charging Cruger again...
“Well, at least you’re learning how to fall right,” Cruger said, standing over a dazed Magna.
“And they said that was a useless skill!” Magna joked as he stuck his fist in the air before proceeding to shakily stand up. “Woah… I think I’m having deadpool vision right now.” He then said as everything around him seemed to be spinning along with rainbows and other things that shouldn't be there appearing and doing random stuff.
“Hope that’s all you develop, I’ve already met an actual Deadpool, and trained his daughter, that’s my limit thank you.”
“Wut?” Magna asked before shaking his head, causing his vision to return to normal. “You met Deadpool? And he had a daughter? That sounds… both awesome and painful at the same time.”
“With his verse’s Luna. And yes, it was.”
“Yeah, definitely not letting him near the kids now.” Magna said as he wobbled his way towards the entrance to the training room. “Hey guys I know you're listening! Come over here and give me some help… Please?”
The door to the training room opened and Axonn stepped in before lifting Magna up and tossing his counterpart over his shoulder. “Hows that?”
“Just… Peachy…” Magna replied, causing Knightmon to snicker.
“Ok, so we have enough combat training to not instantly get ourselves killed. So now what do we do?” Knightmon said before both him and Axonn turned to look at Cruger for guidance.
“Well, assuming there’s nothing else we need to do here, we need to head back to Canterlot and pick up your charges,” said Cruger.
“I guess, I just hope they haven’t caused any trouble…” Axonn said, shortly followed by the sound of thunder booming overhead. “...That didn't sound ominous at all...”
Cruger looked out the window as they stepped into the hallway before muttering under his breath, “Of course, it would be you wouldn’t it?”
“What are you talking about?” Knightmon and Axonn asked.
“Nothing really, just one of my personnel being dramatic. Shall we?”
“Were right behind you.” Axonn said.
Cruger nodded before opening a portal and stepping through. But when they arrived they found the dining hall empty.
“Um… how long were we training for?” Knightmon decided to ask.
Cruger checked his Morpher, “About an hour. That said, this is the dining hall.”
“Then they must be somewhere else right about now then.” Axonn sighed in relief.
“Probably,” Cruger said before noticing a note on the table, “looks like Twilight took them to her castle.”
“Oh dear…” Knightmon groaned as he facepalmed.
“Hopefully it won’t be too bad,” Cruger said as he opened another portal.
“Yes, lets hope.” Axonn chuckled nervously, Knightmon nodding in agreement.
After they passed through, they couldn’t believe what they saw. The floor was flooded with water and the ceiling was filled with smoke coming from the direction of the library… and that was only the beginning of the chaos they found.
“You adopted them right?” Cruger asked, “hope Digimon don’t need sleep.”
“Don't worry, there are enough of us to take shifts even if they did.” Knightmon said as he and his two counterparts looked on in astonishment at the chaos before them, before a bone chilling scream broke the silence.
“Uh oh, that sounded like Twilight,” said Cruger.
Axon, Magna, and Knightmon all looked at eachother before suddenly running off in the direction of the scream. When they arrived, they saw Spike holding Twilight back, who had an incensed look on her face, and a slightly scorched and damp book in her hand.
“How dare you practice fire magic in a library!” she yelled at a penitent, and scared looking, Celestia, “if I hadn’t placed fire prevention magic on them, they would be ashes.”
“Scawy lady stay away from my sister!” Luna shouted before kicking a thundercloud over Twilight’s head, zapping the alicorn with a lightning bolt as a result.
Twilight turned to look at her, too mad to register the, admittedly weak, bolt, “And you, while I appreciate you trying to save the books, rainclouds are not for inside, you could have caused the ink to run from here to Appleoosa, to say nothing of the other mess you made.”
*Squeak!* Luna replied before speeding over to Celestia’s side where they cuddled up to one another and cowered like puppies that had just been kicked.
“Alright Twilight,” said Cruger, “I think they’ve learned their lesson.”
Twilight glared at him for a second before stomping off, muttering to herself.
“Ok, now that THAT’s over,” Magna said as he and Knightmon stopped restraining Axonn, who immediately ran over to the fillies and scooped them up into his arms while trying to comfort them. “What are we going to do next? Because I feel like something should have happened by now seeing as two rangers from different seasons have met.”
“Doesn’t always happen, had a Kamen Rider OOO Displace here for a week of training and nothing happened. Besides, what do you call this?” Cruger asked as he gestured to what used to be the reading room.
“Uh, good point.” Magna chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.
“So, any questions before we send you home?”
“Well, I guess.” Knightmon said before he go nods from his two counterparts. “Will we be able to contact you somehow when we need to? And do you have any idea what we should expect when encountering others like us?”
“My Token has a built-in communications function,” Cruger said as he tossed it to them, “although I don’t think I’ve explained them yet, have I?”
“No you haven’t.” Axonn said as Magna caught Cruger’s token.
“Well, a Token is a Displaced’s calling card, you can use them to summon other Displaced to your Verse if you need help or just want to hang out. Normally this would be where I’d teach you how, but it appears that the Multiverse has seen fit to create one for you.”
“Ok… So now that you have given us a rundown on this thing, what about the original question about what we should expect when meeting other Displaced?” Magna asked as he tried to figure out where to store Cruger’s token.
“To be honest, it depends on the Displaced. Some are nice, others are jerks. And don’t judge them based on their base, just because they’re Displaced as a villain, doesn’t mean they are one.”
“Ok then. So, how do we get back to ‘our equestria’?” Knightmon asked.
“Normally, the one who summoned you could send you back by saying ‘Our contract is complete’ or some variant, but I don’t think I’m the only one who wants Twilight to cool off.”
“Wait, what? You mean we fell into that hole because she called us with one of these token things?” Magna asked, him and his counterparts being somewhat surprised at this.
“Great, so we have to wait on her then I guess?” Axon groaned as he rolled his eyes.
“Not necessarily. While summoning does have a random time limit, I happen to know how to zero the timer early, so to speak.”
“And how's that?” Knightmon asked.
“Last lesson before you go, some Displaced gain additional abilities that their Base don’t. For example, I have Dimensional Magic,” Cruger said before turning to Axonn, “how did you think I moved so fast?”
“I see, that is certainly unexpected.” Axonn admitted.
“Anyway,” Cruger said as he opened a portal, “that leads home, hope to see you again someday.”
“Agreed, and good luck.” The trio said before walking through the portal with the fillies in their arms.
However, before Magna passed through, Cruger grabbed his arm, “Before you go, there’s something you need to know.”
“What is it?”
Cruger handed him a rolled up poster, “Some guys dressed as villains are evil. This guy makes it a hobby to wander the multiverse and murder every Displaced he comes across. You see Basco, you call me.”
“... got it…” Magna said, taking the poster from Cruger.
“Feel free to tell your brothers, only reason I didn’t tell you earlier is because I didn’t want to scare the little ones.” Cruger then added before the portal closed, "now, I'd better get out of here before Twilight lights up." Cruger turned as he heard a sound similar to the R&D team's super-grill igniting, "Too late."
“Hold on… Dusk and Marri as well?” questioned Sora as she walked up to the door of the briefing room she was called to moments before.
“Um, Hi? And you are?” Dusk asked meekly, not having a clue as to what was going on and a bit worried.
“I can understand meeting you here Dusk,” said Marri, “but you, not so much. I assume you’ve been asked to join this Games and Theory group as well?”
“Well yes, but there honestly a lack of information which is odd. Getting me here is strange as I’m not very distinct among the B squad unlike the two of you. Also are we really going to go through the whole “who are you?” thing again, Dusk Roze?” asked Sora before calming down and taking a hand and holding the training bracer that was on her left arm.
“Oh! Now I remember you, sorry I was a bit distracted being nervous about apologizing to Steam about the Chicken Launcher incident… Which I am recently hearing has made him obsessed with the thing… As well as other high stress incidents that have occurred recently.” Dusk said sheepishly, calming down since she felt like she was with friends despite having only met Sky Gear only once before.
Marri sighed, “Honestly, can’t those guys in R&D go one day without getting into trouble?”
“Failure is part of constructing a truly good product Marri,” Sora chuckled to the unimpressed unicorn, “Also Dusk, I’m pretty sure we’ve trained together and that your advice to me was… ‘Next time, pay less attention to where you are, and more attention to where you're going’” Sora sounded like Dusk, if she was quite a bit more serious, “... Boss better get here some time soon and explain what’s happening here. Oh and Steam was always a bit odd with his weapons, don’t worry, he was already obsessed before the incident between you two.”
“Well, ok then.” Dusk said with a shrug before sharply turning her head in the direction of the door as if she sensed something on the other side of it. “I think the commander just arrived…”
The door opened to reveal Cruger on the other side, “Come in, time to get this briefing underway.”
Sora saluted towards Cruger before heading into the room, partially confused. Dusk and Marri simply followed Sora into the room when the earlier of the two decided to make a comment. “Why am I getting a Charlie’s Pegasi vibe from this situation suddenly?” the shadowy mare asked.
Cruger snorted as he held back a laugh, “That’s more apt than you realize.” With that, he pressed down on the speaker of the conference phone in the middle of the desk. With a flash of light, they were no longer in a conference room, but a large circular platform with smaller pads, which each of which were now standing on.
Sora took a breath and she looked around before using her senses to feel the area around them, “Not inside the base, the feeling of the Everfree Forest is too far away.” she shook her head muttered, “This really is like Charlie’s Pegasi.”
Dusk merely stood still for a moment, almost as if she was paralyzed… That is, until she sprinted for the edge of the platform before losing her lunch.
Marri merely looked around, “Something tells me we’re here for more than just a simple reassignment.”
“Got it in 1,” Cruger said as he grabbed a can of ginger ale from a portal and handed it to Sora, “for your stomach, old sailor’s remedy for seasickness.”
“I think Trooper Dusk would have needed that… I’m fine at the moment Boss Kruger.” replied Sora.
“If you’re sure,” Cruger said before offering it to Dusk, who took it before chugging it down in hopes that it would make her stomach settle.
“Gah, the only thing that I can compare that to is getting hit in the stomach by Gilgamesh’s fist…” Dusk whined before letting out a small unladylike burp, causing her to blush a little.
Cruger winced in sympathy before turning to Marri, “You need one?”
“That was nothing compared to my trapeze training,” Marri replied, “that said, where are we?”
“Glad you asked, follow me.” As they started walking, Cruger continued, “Tell me, I assume you remember that big blue monster that attacked our home?”
“Not really… I think I was on patrol when that happened. Only heard that it happened from others.” said Sora looking around at things they were walking past.
“Same, I was a little preoccupied myself when it happened… Who knew that the training simulators had a program that involves death by bunnies.” Dusk commented with a shiver before handing a half empty bottle of the drink Cruger had given her back to him with a sheepish grin.
“I was… doing some personal training in the Everfree,” Marri responded, “so I only saw it from a distance, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.”
“Oi… shouldn’t you two have at least tried to help?” said Sora wondering why Dusk didn’t hear the commotion and most likely sirens that went off and why Marri didn’t attempt to at least help Delta Base.
Dusk blushed as she tried to avoid Sora’s gaze. “I… um… hehe...” She stuttered while ruffling her mane.
“By the time I arrived the Megazord had already finished up,” Marri countered, leveling a brief gaze at her.
“You omitted such information so I was misinformed Marri, so I don’t think I’m all to the blame for me being wrong.” started Sora with a sigh before looking to Dusk, “And please be ready for next time?”
Cruger just chuckled, “It was handled without any fatalities, so no harm done. That said,” Cruger stopped in front of a large window, “I’m thoroughly repulsed by the one who did this.” Marri, Dusk and Sora looked through the window to see a medical room similar to SPD’s emergency quarantine wing. Lying comatose on a bed was what looked like a blue unicorn mare, although there were several unnatural growths on several parts of her body.
“Oi… are we going to go and battle with mad scientist who modifies ponies?” questioned Sora as she put on her goggles to hide the anger in her eyes, but also record what was infront of her.
Dusk stared at the mare with both a mixture of horror and pity, wondering exactly what was going on now so she posed a question. “Why are you showing us this stuff, and what is with all the secrecy?”
“Before I tell you, let’s go over exactly what we found in her bloodstream,” Cruger said as he pulled out a datapad, “Poison Joke, probably for the transformation, the highly regulated and extremely dangerous steroid Ketracel Grey, a bunch of various other chemicals that lower intelligence, increase aggression and other nasty things, and raw Smooze.”
“Hold on… Smooze!?” exclaimed Sora looking to Cruger, “Didn’t SPD take care of that before this situation happened?”
“Whoever did this probably released it when they got a sample, probably on purpose when they were done so they could acquire the rest of the ingredients,” Cruger explained.
“So we were just pawns at that moment. We need to find out who is doing this and then end this.” said Sora as she slammed her hand into her fist, her anger radiating a bit off of her.
“That poor pony…” Dusk said absentmindedly as a mixture of emotions fluttered across her face before she calmed herself. “Yes I agree, let's put a stop to this.”
Marri turned to Cruger, her face set like cold stone, “What would you have us do?”
Cruger began walking again, “Right now, there are 2 suspects. 1 is a Thestral named Broodwing, although it is uncertain if that’s his real name. He was seen by A-Squad, and can be directly linked to the attack. The other is a being named Grumm,” Cruger pulled out a holographic emitter and turned it on, displaying a bust of Grumm, “he styles himself as a would-be criminal emperor, and I have no doubt that he was the mastermind behind it. You 3 are going to find his base, so that we can take him down.”
“Why us though, and how do you expect us to find this Grumm?” Dusk asked, her voice sounding a bit colder than normal.
“As you may know, I’m currently finalizing the formation of 2 new divisions of SPD, Lightspeed Rescue search and rescue division, and Twilight Sparkle’s new personal guard Mystic Force. What you don’t know is that I’ve also laid down the groundwork for a third division for covert operations, I assume you know where I’m going with this.”
“So… your eyes in the shadows, I get why those two are here then but why me?” asked Sora confused, “I’d get if you asked if I would help with Research and Development here, but being part of the team is kinda much. I’m training to become stronger, but I’m not there yet.”
“Maybe not,” Cruger replied, “but I’ve noticed your aptitude for adapting to unusual situations.”
“Hold on ‘adapting to unusual situations’ I’ve not done that… have I?” questioned Sora further.
“You’re the only member of SPD that hangs out in R&D that isn’t a member of it on a regular basis,” Cruger countered, “trust me, you’ve done it.” Sora nodded not knowing how to react beyond that.
“Personally, I think it makes sense for the two of them since they are a unicorn and a Thestral, but why little old me?” Dusk asked, trying to sound innocent despite being unable to take the icy edge out of her voice.
“Let’s just say that I believe that you’d do well in the shadows,” Cruger replied, “you were quite at home there during CTF training.”
“... I don’t know what your talking about…” Dusk said feigning innocence.
Cruger just chuckled as they arrived at a door, “All of you have skills that make you perfectly suited for covert ops, now,” Cruger opened the door to reveal a room with a table that had 3 objects that looked like they were meant to be worn on the wrist, “your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to identify and dismantle Grumm’s criminal network, with the final objective of locating his base so that we may take him into custody. If you accept, take up your Morphin Brace.”
“... I don’t want to make light of the situation or decision… but, Morphin Brace?” asked Sora, “I kinda feeling the morphine that feels off in the name.”
“I didn’t pick the name,” Cruger grumbled.
Dusk poked at the one to the far left, “Um, so we just put them on?” She asked before picking it up and strapping it on.
“That’s it,” Cruger said as Marri put on her own, “and Marri, I’d like you to lead this team.”
“It would be an honor!” Marri said as she tightened the straps on hers.
Sora sighed as she took off her training bracer before attaching it to her right arm, though this made her fall to the ground and took her a few moments before she stood up, “I’ll accept as well… I just hope you made the good choice in having me be a part of this team.” she picked up the Bracer and put it on her left arms where the training bracer used to be, before she started to play with it.
“I hope the specs for the suit I had asked Steam Gear to make me could be transferred to this… I don't think he has finished it yet but I don’t know how I would tell him to forget about it…” Dusk muttered as she fiddled with the dial out of curiosity.
“Um, careful with those,” Cruger said, “they have several features such as scanners and,” a cable shot out of Dusk and Sora’s Braces and pulled them into each other, “grapnels.”
“Ow…” was Dusk’s only comment as she remained as still as possible as to avoid falling over while tethered to her new partner.
“Sorry about that…” muttered Sora as she untangled the lines with an odd expertise before checking the bracer before nodding and retracting her own line, “I’ve also heard it state something about Morphing… so… Suits?”
“Isn't that kinda obvious?” Dusk asked, finally retracting the cable on her brace before walking over to cruger. “Um, is there a manual on how these things work?” She then asked sheepishly.
“Obvious… kinda, but as an Covert Operations Unit I would suspect that we would have different suits that would be more based around stealth or something less noticeable than the bright colors needed to get the attention of others that SPD’s old and new squads have.” She looked at Cruger, “So why do I have a bad feeling about this?”
“... I hope my suit is a dark color… I don't like bright colors…” Dusk admitted, agreeing with the comment Sora had just made.
“See for yourself,” Cruger said, “it’s the big button on the side.”
“Simple enough,” said Marri, “shall we?”
“... What, doing the special morphing sequence in synch?” asked Sora looking with a raised brow at Marri, “I don’t think we’re in synch enough to do that.” She didn’t actually touch the dial and watched the others.
“Its morphin time!” Dusk shouted excitedly while unintentionally striking a pose familiar to the commander, causing Cruger to chuckle slightly.
As they pressed the button, the clear section popped out and unfolded into a visor as a voice sounded from them.
It’s Morphin’ Time!
Sora looked as the suits constructed around the other two before looking back at her bracer and nodding, before moving the dial before it called out, “Morph.” then pressed the big button causing the glasses to flip up from the side, before the bracer called out “It’s Morphin’ Time!” looking at the green rings surrounding her, Sora smiled before bringing up her right arm to be horizontal before herself then pushed the side button of the bracer with right hand. Sora then called out, “Let’s Morphin!” as the glasses shot onto her face which formed a yellow helmet.
She took a moment to look her suit over before muttering “Guess I’m the Yellow Buster then.”
“Huzzah! I got blue!” Dusk cheered before freezing, “... You three have neither seen nor heard anything…” she said with a bit of embarrassment over her recent childish behavior.
“Seeing we’re a team and as such will need to get to know each other better, I think it’ll be better if we did.” said Sora with a smile as she shook her head, “Our weakness must be covered by each other, even that little blunder.”
Cruger clapped his hands to get their attention, “Now that you’ve agreed, there’s one last thing I need to mention. As covert ops, according to official records, this division doesn’t exist, and you three aren’t Rangers.”
“I agree to those terms, I hate the spotlight just as much as I dislike bright colors...” Dusk said while nodding her head, preferring her privacy a little more than most.
“Well be glad with blue, yellow and red plus not in their darkest version. Gobuster isn’t really thought about their stealth skills.. Which is why I’m wondering why your using this team for this squad Boss.” taking off the helmet, Sora looked confused at Cruger.
“Like I said, covert-ops. While Grumm’s focus remains fixed on SPD, and to a lesser extend Lightspeed and Mystic Force, you guys can hit where he’s not looking. Besides, it’s not like the ninja Sentai were any better. Also, nice initiative on taking a look at Gai’s parting gift.”
“Wait, who’s Gai? Did I miss out on meeting a Displaced again!?” Dusk asked with a pout.
“You need to get out of the simulator more often,” Merri sighed, “though I can’t for the life of me see how you missed the party.”
Guess you did miss Teach Gai and the Party.” said Sora with a chuckle before checking the whole suit a bit, “Also, of course I’ve looked through that book. It’s awesome and the data is great, but honestly the abilities of the Ninja Sentai have some stealth like abilities. Even if one of them outright states that they don’t hide.”
Cruger chuckled, “Ah Ninninger. Anyway, I wanted to go with a 3 member team, less people means you can operate undetected more easily.”
“Yet you went with the one with 3 main rangers and two extra with the Beet and Stag Busters and not a only 3 team of Sun Vulcan, Why?” asked Sora.
“Tell me, what does the Go-Buster’s full name translate to?”
“Special Operations Squadron Go-Busters” answered Sora looking a bit embarrassed before looking at the two others, “Ah sorry for holding up the rest of the explanation.”
“Now that that’s out of the way,” Cruger said as he addressed all 3 of them, “you’ll be operating off the books. According to the official records, this division is known as the theoretical situation identification office aka Games and Theory. But to us, and the men and women working here, it is known by it’s true name, Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters.”
Sora had said the name with Cruger and was quite happy before remember a few things, “Will we get beyond our normal workload at Delta Headquarters also a workload here?” There was one thing Sora despised the most, and that was more paperwork.
“Wait, you get work?” Dusk asked, “Also I get the feeling my experience as a former Vigilante is going to come in use for some reason… I should stop talking now shouldn't I?” She then ranted.
“Yes, you should,” Marri replied flatly.
“Considering we have freaking Assassins on the paycheck, it’s not much skin off of SPD’s back…” said Sora with a sigh, already dreading the extra hard patrols where beyond just walking around, she’d had to actually search for information about Grumm to add to the list of peacekeeping.
“My only real requirement is that you must have a good heart,” Cruger said, “and yes, I know how cheesy that sounds. And yes, you will be doing legwork from time to time, but you’ll have a full support staff once the current crop is done training next week.”
“I personally don't find the comment about having a good heart that cheezy.” Dusk told Cruger as she reminded herself of the true nature of her and her mother’s species.
“Cheesy?” questioned Sora, “This is Equestria we’re talking about, where we weaponize harmony, friendship and Love, now that is cheesy. Also… Moon damn it all… all those extra crimes I’ve got to stop because of that legwork… all that extra paperwork!” She slumped down to sitting on her hooves while scraping the floor in despair.
“Don’t worry, being an off the book division has it’s perks, like not having to do the paperwork required by the nobles, which is about 60-70% of it,” said Cruger.
“For you!” Accused Sora pointing at Cruger, “For us lowly peon it’s all about filling in papers on how the crime scene was, if we are able to be in court for a hearing, how did we apprehend the criminal and so much more, It’s SPD and the police divisions of Equestria that takes that workload and puts it on us!”
“... you really don't understand how off the books works do you?” Dusk asked, “Commander, have you done this before? And if so please explain it to her since I’m bad at explaining as well as giving advice it seems…”
“You guys are my first Go-Busters, but not my first off the books division. That said,” Cruger sighed, “the nobility have arranged a hearing about my misappropriation of funds and overstepping my boundaries, so I’m going to be spending the next week experiencing something I wouldn’t even wish on Grumm, probably. Anyway, off the books means that the only one who knows what you’re really up to is me.”
“Why was my part ignored?” muttered Sora under her breath before sighing and demorphing, “So we just do our best and keep low so that people who are breathing in your neck don’t notice that you’ve got a pawn behind them?”
“Thats sort of what he’s saying I believe.” Dusk said, demorphing as well before slumping against a wall. “Though now that I think of it, my mom is going to KILL me if she finds out I’m doing this kind of work again…”
“Hey, you’re still SPD,” Cruger said, “and you’re going to play a key role in taking down the vilest piece of scum Equis has ever seen, I can’t think of a mother who wouldn’t be proud of that.”
“... maybe, but if my identity gets out she’ll never let me hear the end of it… By the way, doesn't SPD stand for Space Patrol Delta, What's the Space part for? Are we going to end up dealing with aliens?” Dusk sighed before asking without regard for murphy’s law.
“Never said it was outerspace, just space so anywhere really counts.” stated Sora, “Also Displaced are kinda our Aliens and this has been already asked by a pair of Displaced, I was by their ship so I overheard that part… I think, or did I overhear it some other time.” She just shrugged.
“Ah, okay then.” Dusk said simply.
“And technically,” Cruger said as he pointed to himself, “Sirians are aliens, aren’t they?”
“Unless they are some kind of hybrid between dragons and diamond dogs, I wouldn't think so.” Dusk stated with a smirk, teasing the commander with a pet peeve of his that she had heard rumors about but was uncertain of. Sora could only facepalm.
“At least you didn’t actually call me a Diamond Dog this time. Now, before we get any further,” Cruger opened another door, revealing a rec room, and a full blown, if small, Pinkie Party, “I swear on the eyes of Faust I have no idea how she found out.”
“Hey Pinkie,” said Sora as she waved to the Pink Pony, “Was wondering when you would show up. Oh and since you finished your explanation I still have three questions Boss.”
“How did ...” Marri said, clenching her fists.
“It’s Pinkie Pie,” Cruger said as they joined the festivities, “questioning it is bad for your physical and mental health.”
“Really?” wondered Sora who had no trouble with following Pinkie. “Anyway my three questions are; 1: BuddyRoids, are we getting them? 2: when will the Powered Custom be possible and 3: do we have the powers that the three heroes have?”
“They’re in storage for now, once you have SWAT training, standard, now, shall we party?”
“Everything but the last one… Standard what does that even mean?”
“I hope that means that we just deal with our own power sets…” Dusk commented nervously as she remained near the doorway, unsure about the party or the strange mare hosting it.
“Plus a little extra that you’ll find useful,” Cruger said, “now, party while you can, tomorrow you hunt a psychopath.”
“Guess we’ll dine in hell tomorrow.” sighed Sora before walking into party, followed by a now grumbling Dusk and a perplexed Marri.
Twilight sighed as she and Cruger walked down the hall of her castle, “I’m still not sure this is one-hundred percent necessary.”
“For the last time,” said Cruger, “having your own personal guard is something you have to have as a princess. Besides, Ponyville and the Tree of Harmony are also part of their charge if it makes you feel better.”
“But they still answer to me. I don’t know anything about leading a guard division, I’m going to mess this up, which means that Celestia…” Before she could go into a full blown nervous breakdown/rant, Cruger snapped his fingers in her face.
“You’ll be fine, you have me, Celestia, and Luna to ask for help if you need it. Ready to meet them?”
“No.”
“Too bad,” said Cruger as he opened a set of doors to a large room that held 5 rather interesting looking individuals.
The first one was a white furred unicorn with a black mane and tail. He is wearing a suit of leather armor with plate segments overtop for extra protection. On his right hip was a bastard sword, and on his shoulder was a phoenix. His eyes were his most defining feature, them being an icy blue, and slitted like a dragons. “Greetings.” He said, nodding his head, “I am Thunder Quill.”
Beside him was a red furred unicorn in a traditional neighponise kimono. His mane was black and red. On his left side hung a wakizashi that he held his right hand over in a palm up position to show he had no intent to draw his sword. As Twilight looks at him, he bowed in a neighponise traditional greeting shallow to show respect while not so deep as to reveal the back of his neck. “Konichiwa.” an accent easy to hear in his voice. “I am Nise no Ken. You may call me Ken if you prefer.”
Next in line was yet another red unicorn, his mane an electric blue and yellow. He wore basic brown combat pants and boots, a blue shirt that matched his hair, and a black trenchcoat with yellow flame patterns around its edges. “Pyro Mance, Princess Twilight,” he introduced himself, putting an arm over his chest and nodding. “At your service.”
But the next one in line shocked Twilight with his presence, having already faced him once before. Standing there was a unicorn with an olive coat and gray mane, his blue navy jacket reaching to his knees while also covering up the old, rusty cutlass at his hip. With a sigh he opened his mouth to speak, His gold tooth shining as it always did. “Ello there Miss. Sparkle,” He slurred without even the slightest bit of respect for the lavender alicorn in front of him. “You remember ole’ Jolly Rodger, don’t ye?” He asked with a cheeky grin, enjoying the angry and confused face that Twilight gave him.
“Put a sock in it,” said the last one. Unlike the others, she was a pegasus. To be specific, a blue one with a white mane in a Wonderbolts uniform, “Fleetfoot reporting.”
“Explain this to me Cruger, why are these the ponies that are going to protect me?” questioned Twilight. “Especially, Him!?” she asked as she pointed at the smug pirate unicorn.
“Well, to be honest, the specific Ranger team that I chose required users that are rather elementally inclined, so to speak. These are the best of the bunch. Roger’s here because A: this is rehab for him, B: like it or not, he’s an incredible Aquamancer, and C: I couldn't really find anyone else.” That wanted the position, was instantly what Twilight tacked on at the end.
“So that means you're stuck with me!” Jolly cackled with delight. “I can tell that this will be a good day,” he added as his laughter came to an end.
Pyro rolled his eyes at the eccentric pirate. “I’m not sure about the others, yet, but I’m guessing more than a few of us have experience protecting something or somepony we care about.”
“I was a crown certified bounty hunter and mercenary for several years.” Thunder commented, “I am well aware of how to protect beings.”
“And while I, may or may not have protected others, protecting ye is my only ticket out of here so ye have my word, Miss Sparkle.”
“This is far from my first time protecting a noble, Princess. Back home in Neighpone I was a samurai for many years before my lord fell ill. Just because I am ronin does not mean I can not keep you safe.”
“I joined the Wonderbolts more for the whole ‘emergency response force’ thing than the shows, although I have to admit, the fans, they weren’t so bad.”
“Alright fine, I get that their qualified for their station I understand that, but where will they be positioned, I’ve got my own experiments plus Friendship missions that I have to do.” Mentioned Twilight, trying one way or another to have this not happen to her.
“Well, you’re always saying that you’ve got too much castle,” said Cruger, “I’ve already identified an entire wing that’s both out of the way from your living space, and ideal as a barracks. It’s got a great balcony for launching the Racers too.”
“Sir, what are the ‘Racers’ exactly?” Ken said, curiosity on his face.
Cruger just opened up a closet and pulled out a broom.
“Um, seriously?” Pyro Mance asked in confusion.
“Just give me a second, what was that spell again?” Cruger rubbed his chin for a few seconds before snapping his fingers, “Now I remember, Galwit Mysto Aerotan!” With a flash, the broom turned into a futuristic looking motorcycle, except for the fact that it had no wheels and hovered in midair.
“Dibs!” said Fleetfoot.
Ken just stood still, mouth open in shock. Before quietly whispering to himself, “Yata!” With a fist pumping by his side.
Thunder looked between the Racer and Cruger, “Can I try that for myself?” He asked.
“I got to get meself one of those!” Jolly whistled.
“Oh, Mira is going to be so jealous,” Pyro said as he rubbed his hands together.
While this was happening Twilight somehow got a few pieces of machinery into the room and was doing some tests on the changed broom and one of the still brooms.
“Cool your jets, that’s merely the least of the toys you’ll be getting,” Cruger said as he placed his hand on a recessed panel, causing a hidden drawer to extend. Inside were 5 cell phones, one of which he tossed to each of the 5 new bodyguards.
“Cool!” Pyro said enthusiastically until his brow forwarded. “What is it?”
Thunder examined the device, “It looks like, I think people call them Cell Phones?”
“Nani?” Was all Ken muttered as he caught his. Obviously curious once more.
“What is this “Cell Phone” that ye speak of?” Jolly questioned as he held the device.
“Open them up, then press the little button on the side,” said Cruger.
Shrugging, Pyro did as Cruger said, only to have the cell phone in his hand unfold into what looked roughly like a wand. Pyro simply stared. “What?”
Doing the same, Thunder noticed the special insignia, “What does this symbolize?”
“Let’s just say it’s your personal insignia and leave it at that for now,” said Cruger, “so, ready to give them a test drive?”
Thunder nodded, “Ready as I'll ever be.”
Jolly looked at the phone, still confused a bit. “I guess I be willing, if I get me freedom and all.”
“Ready,” Pyro answered simply.
“Hai.” Ken said. His tone matching Pyro exactly.
“Sounds like fun,” said Fleetfoot.
“So how are they going to do this “test drive”? The SPD rangers didn’t have such a thing as they do, it seems overly complicated.” said Twilight standing behind Pyro to examine his phone.
“These are your Mystic Morphers, they are also your primary tools,” said Cruger. “While in wand mode, you can use various spell codes to activate various effects, everything from physical augmentation to summoning weapons. As you gain familiarity with them, I’ll unlock new spell codes for you to use. Ready for your first one?”
Thunder nodded, “Again, I'm ready.”
Jolly nodded his bony head until it almost fell off. “I would like that.”
“Sir!” Ken said, finally returning to a language the rest of the room understood.
“Let’s get going already,” said Fleetfoot.
“Alright then,” Cruger said, pulling a large book from the drawer, “Xenotome, let’s start them off easy, unlock spell code 1-2-3, morphing sequence.” As soon as he said that, the book, as well as the 1, 2, and 3 buttons on their morphers started glowing. “Have fun.”
“Let us try it out then.” Ken said as he looked at the others. He than proceeded to punch in the code.
“How do these work?” Jolly asked as he punched in a bunch of random numbers at once, not having a single clue what he was doing.
“This should be fun,” Pyro said as he input the code with his thumb.
Thunder punched in the digits in on his morpher, “It’s morphing time!”
“Let’s go,” said Fleetfoot, punching it in eagerly.
In a flash of light the five figures changed to that of Rangers.
Thunder stood there, admiring his new uniform. The primary color was that of red, with black lines and gold highlights. His visor shape was that of a phoenix with it’s wings spread, and a red cape flowed behind him. “This is amazing!”
Ken looked down at his hands, now garbed in green. The color scheme was the same as Thunder’s yet the red switched for green and his visor depicted a Minotaur’s head. “Shinseina fakku.”
Pyro looked down at his yellow uniform, the visage of a Thunderbird on his helmet. “Well, isn’t this… shocking.”
Jolly looked down at his uniform, his jacket somehow being above the blue ranger outfit. He tried to move only to discover that his uniform was tight...very tight. “For fuck sake! This is a mare’s uniform! I’m wearing a fucking skirt!”
“Sorry,” Cruger chuckled as he leafed through the book, “original Mystic Force Blue was female. Let’s see, Titans, Solaris Knight stuff, ah here we go.” With a flash, Jolly’s suit became more suited to his gender.
“I don’t suppose I could get a color change,” Fleetfoot said, wearing a pink version of what Jolly was wearing a few seconds ago, with a butterflyesq visor, “I hate pink.”
Thunder stopped admiring his new outfit for a moment and looked to Cruger, “Will we be able to use that spell for the Racers?”
“In due time,” Cruger replied, “let’s start by getting used to the initial toolkit shall we?”
“You mean these?” Pyro asked as he pulled out the scepter hanging on his belt.
Cruger nodded, “Those are your Magi Staves, they’ll act as a focus for your magic, plus they can transform into weapons, give ‘em a try.”
Ken reached down for his Magi Staff drawing it and willing the weapon to form. As the shape of a Battle Axe was taken he drooped his head saying “Burūto no buki.” disappointment clear in his tone.
Pyro looked between Cruger and his Staff before he shrugged and mentally commanded it to transform. Light glowed from the staff and it changed into the shape of a crossbow. “Huh,” Mance said, “Guess I'm going to be visiting the shooting range a lot more.”
Jolly held his staff in his hand, not really caring as he mentally commanded it to change. In a flash, the staff turned into a trident. With a smile he twirled it around with his one hand. “Ah...fitting.”
Thunder drew the blade with a flourish, noting that the ‘M’ of the blade could seemingly slide. Sliding it a few inches, he gripped the former top of the staff as a blade shot out of the other end, forming a full sized blade. “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” He exclaimed, flourishing it a bit more.
Fleetfoot slid the M section down halfway the shaft before it stopped, then rotated one of its arms 180°. The staff glowed as it shifted into an oversized 4-bladed throwing glaive. “Now this looks like it can do some serious damage,” she said appreciably.
“I could help you learn to use that with great skill, friend.” Ken said after seeing Fleetfoot’s reaction.
“Appreciate it Kenny,” Fleetfoot replied.
“My name is Nise no Ken, or Ken for short. Please refrain from turning it into ‘Kenny’.” Was the dull toned response to the sudden nicknaming. “If you’ll excuse me a moment, I need to check on something.” With that he darted out of the room, still in morph.
Thunder sheathed the blade and looked back to Cruger, “Is there anything else in the ‘toolkit’?”
“Nope, that’s your starting gear in a nutshell,” Cruger said as he put the book away, “but once you get the experience, you’ll get access to all kinds of neat tricks. For example, there’s a reason you’re the only division without a Zord hanger, if you get my meaning.”
“Understood, Sir. Fleetfoot if you wish for me to help train you with a glaive, meet me at the path into the Everfree tomorrow,” Ken said.
“Sir.” Thunder said, “I’m not sure what you mean by we’re the only division without a Zord Hanger.”
“You don’t have Zords, I’m pretty sure that it was pretty obviously what the statement that Cruger constructed meant.” said Twilight having been taking notes about everything the whole time and she was looking at them right as she responded to Thunder.
Pyro had a sudden flashback of one of his lost abilities. “We’re going to get a great look of Ponyville from above, aren’t we?”
“Well you do have flying vehicles.” stated Twilight like it was obvious.
“Perhaps I could just give you a taste,” Cruger said as he pulled the book back out, “Activate spell code 1-2-5, single use, red only. Better go outside for this.” Twilight turned to look at Thunder with a great attention, a notepad and quill in hand.
Thunder glanced at Cruger as they walked outside, with slight concern, before shrugging and pulling out his wand before punching in the spell code. A loud echoey voice called out, “Galwit, Mysto, Prifior!” As magical energy began to surround Thunder. As a spell seal began to form around Thunder’s feet, his phoenix companion, Eterna, swooped down and landed on his shoulders. “Mystic Phoenix!” Thunder yelled as the magic surrounding Eterna completed, the seal reaching her, and Thunder was replaced with a massive, armored figure. A sword appeared in his hand, and he gave it a bit of a flourish as he finished transforming.
“...I want,” Mance said in awe after coming out to watch the display.
Thunder looked over his new form as he towered above all the other buildings. “Now this, is amazing.”
Twilight look up in awe before a huge worried look came into her eyes and she started to rant to Cruger on how much chaos this event alone would cause and how this was all such a bad idea. Sadly for our Commander this is what could be discerned from long words and paragraphs and paragraphs of ranting and raving.
“Calm down Twilight,” Cruger said, “they can’t do that unless you or I unlock the Spell Code for them. Besides, I think that Ponyville’s used to giant robots walking around, don’t you.”
“We’ve seen them launch, we’ve seen them in the distance training, but they haven’t actually ever been inside of Ponyville.” Countered Twilight as she thought about it, “Instead we have more displaced appearing here and we’re quite used to having somepony appear out of midair.”
“You mean, like this?” Ken said with a laugh as he popped out of the air in front of Twilight, who reacted automatically and tried to punch him. “Sorry, you’ll need to have better form if you wish to surprise me.” He said after executing a simple block with a swipe of his hand taking the fullforce of the alicorn’s punch.
“Either way, looks like the populous seems rather keen on the Mystic Titans,” Cruger said, pointing out the window where several kids were trying to climb Thunder’s foot.
“... Honestly you should make toys out of these designs.” said Twilight with a huff, “Maybe also ask them to read a book for a change.” She then got a little serious and looked at Cruger after stepping away from Ken who had her distrust, “I don’t trust at least two of them and I only fully trust Fleetfoot, can’t you have somepony looking over them in case they do try to do something?”
“I have somepony looking over them, somepony very responsible, you,” Cruger replied, “you should really trust yourself more, I do.”
Thunder was trying to keep still, so that he didn’t accidentally hurt somepony with his newer, larger, and more metallic form. “As amazing as this is… It might be a smart idea for me to change back to normal.” He said, “I don’t want to hurt somepony.”
“Just think of shrinking,” Cruger yelled up to him, “the Spell Codes are for activating abilities.”
Thunder nodded, before concentrating on being smaller. After a moment, he was back to his normal size and form, with his phoenix companion flying beside him. “That… Is really cool.”
“I wonder.” Turning to Cruger, still unfazed by Twilight’s punch, Ken asked a question that just popped into his mind. “Sir, What would the rest of us become using this spell?”
“While not exactly the same, Thunder’s Titan is based on a phoenix, your Titans are,” Cruger pointed to Pyro, “Garuda,” Ken, “Minotaur,” Jolly, “Mermaid,” Fleetfoot, “and Sprite.”
“Don’t think I’ll be letting you use those forms any time soon,” stated Twilight to the others still disliking the whole guard situation, “I’ll just use them for experiments… yeah, that and all of their abilities and equipment aswell, just think of this as a big experiment.” She then looked at Ken and Jolly, “A very very irritating experiment.”
“Come now, Princess,” Pyro said, stepping forward while trying to defuse her mistrust. “We’ve all sworn to protect you, and your town, even if some of us have… questionable motives.” At this he glanced at Jolly Rodger before turning back to her. “It’s just like back in my classroom, only now the entirety of Ponyville’s citizens are my students.”
“I can tell you do not like me, Princess. I mean to keep from you no secrets, ask and I shall reveal.” Ken said, a look of seriousness on his face.
“Well, as much as I’d love to stay and help you work out the kinks, I have business in Manehatten,” Cruger said before half bowing in Twilight’s direction and turning to leave. “2 down,” he muttered to himself, “1 to go.”
On Mane Street, the Aristocat Luxury Apartment Building is currently ablaze. Most of the ponies have been evacuated, the only ones left are on the uppermost floors of the building. Up on the top floor, the fire still burns. But that doesn’t stop these two firefighters, these two in particular happen to be father and son duo. Fire Hazard and Pyro Hellfire Tech respectively, have been working together for seven long years allowing both ponies to be more than used to and ready for this situation.
“Pyro, I’ll take the left side you get the right” ordered father to son.
“Roger!” was the quick response Pyro gave as he followed orders.
A door, that at one point have been of luxury quality was now mere tinder for this inferno. Pyro called out to any potential survivors in the area. Fortunately or unfortunately, no response could be heard in response. He then opened his senses to the environment.
Opening said sense also made him lay communications within his mind ‘Okay boys… time to get to work.’
‘Technically, we’ve been working.’ responded Fire Spark.
‘Shut up nerd!.’ was the quick retaliation that Fire Spark got from Nitro Glycerin.
‘Everyone shut up! Now I sense two sources ahead, at least three rooms further to the left.’ stated Hell N. Fire having enough of the chaos.
Pyro nodded after his sensed picked up what Hell Fire had also felt, ‘Okay, I sense it too. Good work guys!’
‘No problem!’ sounded Fire Spark as Pyro used his fire axe to chop down the door, allowing him to get inside where he found a colt huddled in the corner with an infant in his hands and surrounded by fire. Pyro moved in to inspect the two young ponies, ‘The colt isn’t moving and the baby isn’t crying. This is bad.’
“FIRE HAZARD! I need evac immediately” shouted Pyro into his earpiece before giving Fire the location within the building. The senior quickly met up with his son which then took command. “Take these kids out of here! There is still someponies in the area which I’ll go after!” stated Pyro.
“Got it, I’ll be back ASAP, but you be careful!” Fire then took the two younglings and rushed them to safety.
Pyro then made his way to where the three life signs were detected, but was deeper into the inferno. All the while Pyro was muttering to himself, “Please be okay.” Then he heard some loud coughs. Those simple coughs were more than enough to be a guiding beacon for Pyro. He quickly found a door in the way of where he needed to be and as such broke it down, finding a teenage pegasus and an earth pony mare in front of a fallen wood pillar. Underneath it however, was the unmoving body of a earth pony colt. Dreading the worst, Pyro rushed to the trio.
“Are you alright? What happened.” asked Pyro as he already was assessing how to get the pillar off the injured colt.
“Th-the pillar…. It just fell…” the pegasus tried to speak but was unable to complete his sentence due to the fire, smoke and fear.
Fire Hazard then came on scene, having been asked by Pyro over the radio just in time to hear the mare answering the same asked question. “The pillar fell on my son! Please help him!” pleaded the earth pony.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get him out, I promise!” said Pyro.
“Let me get you two to safety.” answered Fire, before silently telling Pyro that both younglings he found earlier were out of the building and should be in intensive care.
“No, not without my son!” cried the mare in protest taking a grip on Pyro in fear of losing a family member.
“Madam, Listen to me! I know it’s hard, but you need to do this! PLEASE! WE promise you that we will save your child. But you have to trust us!” said Pyro trying to calm down the distressed mare and to get her to cooperate and let him do his job.
“Listen, this here is my son. We both go through things like this every day. You can trust him. He will get your son out of here.” stated Fire Hazard.
The mare looked at the two unicorns in front of her. Finally, she came to a decision, “Okay. But please! He’s my baby!”
“I understand fully, Ma’am!” said Pyro.
As Fire Hazard escorted the two out of the building. Pyro then shifted his attention to the colt once more. Said colt is starting to wake up. As he observes his surroundings, he clearly understands the danger he is in. He then does what any other child would do in this situation: cry. He cries out for his mother and older brother.
It was then he saw Pyro in full firefighter gear. What the colt sees though is a monster. A face that is disguised by the intimidating oxygen mask and demonic looking helm that Pyro is wearing. The colt reacts by screaming out in fear.
“Woah, woah calm down kid. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to get you out of here.” said Pyro in a calm voice. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work. The child before Pyro cannot interpret things properly as he is: he is afraid, in pain, and most importantly confused. This combination of emotions and thoughts turn the situation for the worst.
Pyro then kneeled down next to the trapped colt, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you….” Pyro took off his oxygen mask in the middle of the burning building, full of smoke to show his face with a comforting smile while keeping back any coughing he wanted to do. “...See? I’m not a monster. I’m here to get you out of here”. Pyro had red fur with red and yellow mane like the flames of the building.
The colt then stopped crying, instead he starts screaming in fear. It wasn’t at Pyro though, but because another pillar that couldn’t take the damages of the flames was falling down on Pyro and the child
Pyro then covers the colt with his body to protect the young boy from the falling debris. But instead of pinning Pyro to the ground, when the large wooden object does hits the unicorn, it breaks into pieces! The child is in awe of the stallion in front of him as he continues to protect the child from the remaining shards of burning wood.
“What's your name kid?” asks Pyro after making sure nothing else starts falling down on the pair.
“I-its Straight Edge” answered the colt still in awe of this pony before him.
“Well Straight Edge, my name is Pyro Tech and I am going to get you out of here” stated Pyro talking to the child in as a way to calm him. He then goes to the pillar the colt is trapped under and after a moment of examining it and finding the correct point, before effortlessly lifting it off the Straight Edge and casts it gently aside.“Do you think you can you move?” asks Pyro while taking in the external damage of Straight’s lower half which was under the pillar.
“Ye-yeah I can….Ow, my leg!” the child grasped at the leg which the pain originates from.
“Okay, hold still. I’ll get you out of here” said Pyro, cursing his lacking medical knowledge.
At this point, the ceiling above them is starting to fall apart even faster. Pyro scoops Straight Edge from the floor and quickly but softly to not hurt the damaged any leg more, the two of them moves into the hallway. As he makes for the stairwell, the ceiling comes down partially but the floor held on constructing a blockage.
‘Well shit, our exit is gone.’ deadpanned Hell Fire.
‘We’re going to have to find another way out!’ announced Fire Spark.
‘It looks like we’re going to have to use the window, again’ complained Nitro Glycerin.
‘Looks like it, and we have to hurry!’ He glances around him and see’s that the ceiling and floor is on the verge of collapsing at any moment. Pyro then looks at the kid he had in his arms and asks, “Hey, Straight Edge. Do you trust me?” Straight Edge nods. “Well then, hang on!”
Pyro took a few steps back to the wall opposing a window before charging out said window, as he exits, a backdraft fire causes the window behind him to explode. Pyro then hits the pavement, leaving a crater behind. But Pyro and the colt remain unharmed.
“I need a paramedic over here!” shouted Pyro as he staggers to his hooves and brings down Straight Edge to lie down on the ground.
“Right here,” said a white mare with a pink mane wearing a nurse’s uniform, bulky first aid kit in hand.
“Okay thank you. Don’t worry Straight Edge she’s going to take… care... of… you….” Pyro started to say and then he recognized the pony in front of him. The mare’s name was Redheart. Nurse Redheart if you want to be accurate. The mare has an… interesting history with Pyro’s family.
“Nothing too serious,” said Redheart as she treated the colt’s wounds, “It’s been a long time Pyro, is your father around?”
“Ye-yeah… he is… hey uhhh how- how’s work? Is the hospital still in one piece after his last… check up?” asked Pyro nervously.
Redheart shot him a look, “What do you think?”
Pyro visibly flinched and responded, “Well, you are here INSTEAD of Ponyville. At this point, I should expect the worst.”
“Actually I’m here on business,” said Redheart as she finished up, “Tell me, you ever been to Manehatten?”
“Yes actually. Wait… why?” asked Pyro.
Redheart smiled, “Let’s just say someone big has an opportunity for you.”
Great Silver Stone Mine. 1218 Hours
Another day of work and another day down in the mines for the miners, quality stone for the stone farmers and building of all sizes around Equestria…
Is what Granite would like to say, but as a Diamond Dog all he can worry about is the tunnel that being dug out underneath the tunnels of the ponies, structural problems because the close proximity could cause collapses with either tunnel resulting in either ponies or dogs harmed.
“Oi digger, keep digging.” Granite could only sigh as his Overseer vocally forced him forward to stand side by side his digging brothers once more, “Come on dogs, we need to bring in some silver, can’t let those dastardly ponies take over what is ours.”
Suddenly earth started to shift, unlike any earthquake or the like. This caused our tunnels partially got damaged, but from the sounds of it the pony tunnels got hit harder and started to collapse.
The Overseer heard the commotion a bit above aswell and was now grinning like a mad dog, “Now this sounds like a chance.” he turned to all of us diggers who had stopped digging to listen or hold up the dirt before barking orders, “Dig upwards dogs, gather everything those ponies hold and return to the den!” the shouts of war sounded from every dog.
Fire, debris and ground was everywhere in this tunnel that Granite surfaced into, this didn’t irritate any of the other dogs who were surfacing alongside him. They just went where their noses told them where something valuable was and grabbed all the minerals that they could find in the tunnels they were in.
Granite nearly followed them but then he heard them; fearful heartbeats, crying wails and yells of desperation to save a loved one. Images of other events screamed in his mind, memories of sadness and loss of his own. This drove him forward towards the large mound of earth that was between him and whomever was in peril and started to dig as fast he could, not for the dogs that raised him but for those that had died in front of him and for himself so he could forgive himself.
A paw grasped Granite’s shoulder, “Oi leave them alone and digger, grab the goods.”
“No” This stopped the Overseer who looked at the usually very lazy digger that had to be forced into action actually doing something else then sleeping and fighting.
“Ju-” his voice stopped as cold look forced him back, “Fine I’ll inform the den that you deserted then, traitor.”
That was fine for Granite and he forced forward despite the fact that part of the dirt he was digging out was covered in burning oil as such burning some of his fur, “I’ll save you, just hang on.”
-
Why, why was it today that his little filly had to come in and join him digging for silver. “Damn it all, just go already!”
“No! I won’t let you die here dad. I can’t lose you, I can’t!” The young foal by me tried to push the large beam of wood that had crushed the legs of her father, me, the exit was already partially blocked by fire, then things got worse when another large shake happened. The shaking freed a support beam that was above the pair, I wanted to push away my daughter but I couldn’t get enough power to actually push her back the first time so I had only enough time to look in absolute terror as she noticed and looked up and stared in horror at the falling beam.
Then a miracle happened, a large body pushed the beam out of it’s course and onto the tunnel floor where it tumbled for a moment. This weary miner could only breath out in relief before I finally noticed the figure who had pushed away the beam: a Diamond Dog.
It’s brown fur glowed a bit in the flames, while eyes that had a kindness that my daughter and I couldn’t didn’t see often in ponies, a sad kindness that shone in his soft grey eyes. It quickly got to one side of the beam that was holding down this sad stallion and raised it, this allowed my filly to drag me out of the situation.
“Are you two okay?” the voice coming from it sounded not all that old, teenager years. My daughter nodded and took hold… of its large claws, which unlike it’s fur was pure black and reminded this old miner more of large clawed gloves more than hands. “Can you show me the way out?”
“That way.” along with with pointing to the flame covered passageway was my little fillies answer.
It just nodded before placing a claw on a wall and then digging with speeds which were beyond me and any other miner away at the wall creating a quick passage way, before appearing before us both and helped me go through with my foal walking after us. I didn’t understand this dog, but for now I’ll trust him, he saved my daughter and that’s all that matters at the moment.
-
Granite could only scratch his cheek as he watched as 25 ponies thanking for his actions. He saved their lives or the lives of a being they knew so he understood where they came from and the praise really was enjoyable, they probably noticed his wagging tail.
“What can we ever do to repay you?” Granite blinked when asked this by a woman that was holding the young girl that was among the first that he had saved.
“Well praise-” this got a laugh from the pair of ponies, “-but beyond that I need to have a new place to go to as my old den won’t be all that possible with my clan thinking me as a traitor.” Granite tugged a bit on his gray jacket, softly though as he didn’t want it to rip anymore than it already had.
This made the woman hum for a moment before snapping a finger, “I know just the place.”
“You do?” this couldn’t be that easy, could it?
“Do you know about a little organization called, SPD?”
Vanhover, The old port 1604 hours
“Man, today was another bust.” Abyssal Shield, a light grey coated unicorn wearing a black jacket and shades with a Sword on his back mumbled as he walked the boardwalk to a inn. As he continued to walk he heard a distant screaming “What the.” He said as he rushed to find out who was screaming.
He stop in front of a Warehouse that was on fire with many workers standing outside scrambling around trying to do something or panicking. “Help!” the same voice from before came out from within the warehouse. Without thinking Abyssal rushed in.
“Hel-” a cough fit interrupted the cry, “Help!” The voice had sounded from the upper floors. Abyssal got to the first stairs he could find within the burning building, but just as he was about to walk up it, all of it crumbled and fell into the floor
He looked around for another quick way but couldn’t locate anything nearby and the fires weren’t getting any better. “Now how can I... Right of course.” He said as he unsheathed his sword, holding it out before him and concentrated magic into it which caused the blade softly glow light blue.
“Hope this holds.” he muttered between his concentration as made a ice ramp where the stairs used to be. Once he steadied himself after the usage of his magic, he carefully traversed up the ramp, before repeating the process.
Once Abyssal finally gotten himself to the top floor he quickly searched around before hearing coughing from a room that was down the hall he was in. Breaking down a partially burning door, Abyssal came face to face with a earth pony stallion that was stuck under some debris. “Oh thank Celestia..” was first thing that the distressed pony said relieved for finally having a rescuer.
“Hold on.” Abyssal said as he started to move the debris off of the trapped stallion, carefully and safely with his magic making sure to not cause the floor to collapse much like the stairs did.
“Thank you.” The stallion said once the last pieces of debris was lifted off of him and set aside. Abyssal made simple checks and found the stallion without many injuries, likely because of his Earth Pony heritage.
“Don't thank me yet...oh no.” Abyssal said as he noticed that he room they were in was quickly losing strength, the pair agreed to get as fast as possible, the two headed towards the stairwell which was lacking a frozen ramp that Abyssal had placed not that long ago.
“What was that?” mentioned the earth pony as the pair heard all the cracks of the floor beneath them and the ceiling above them.
“We got to jump. Like now.” Abyssal said as the flames started to fan up and take more of the building, smoke partially blocking sight, but because of his nature Abyssal still could see a certain spot which they could land safely.
“Wait what. Why wou-.” The stallion yelped before descending into screams as Abyssal picked him up and jumped down to the floor below, just getting onto some safe ground.
“See wasn’t that so scary.” Abyssal said as he put the shaking stallion down quite near the entrance as most of the rest of the building started to descend into fire, smoke and debris.
“Y-Ya” the stallion said still shaking as two firemen came bursting through the door, surprised about the two being so close to the entrance yet being covered in ash and soot.
“Is everypony alright” One of them asked as the room that the stallion was in came crashing down in the distances. Causing said stallion to look quite appreciating at Abyssal.
“Ya We’re-” Abyssal started to cough uncontrollably due to him breathing in too much smoke.
“We got to get them out of here. Stat.” The other fireman said as one of them rushed both stallion to the paramedics so they could be thoroughly checked.
“Abyssal Shield.” said Stallion looked up from the aid he was given, a mare dressed in a black suit and tie, “We’re in need of someone of your talents.”
“I see, for what exactly?” He asked as the aid finished taking his blood pressure, while a breathing mask was still on his face.
“We’re preparing a special team, a team needing many talents but also a great will that wants to save others.” Stated the mare as she looked Abyssal right in the eyes, “You possess both, abilities which like many, aren’t known to the world and a someone who has a true soul who wants to rescue whoever is in trouble.”
“Interesting. What will I be doing?” He asked as he was given the all clear.
Baltimare 1505 Hours
The Baltimare Third District School was Stern Lecture’s pride and joy. Sure, it was nothing as grand as Celestia’s School for gifted Unicorns all the way up in Canterlot or just like the First District School but not everypony could be such a brown nosing bastard like Silver Tongue, always sucking up to the superintendents and cashing in all aid funds she could get her grabby mitts on before her colleagues could.
Stern Lecture prided himself with being a fair principal, one who was willing to give second chances if an individual seemed honest, repenting and willing to give their absolute best. He was also not afraid of bringing the whole might of the educational system down on hopeless ne´er-do-well´s, which the Earth Pony stallion had to do quite a bit too often for his tastes but given that his school was a melting pot for the children from the lower middle and the whole lower walks of life in the district, he was still convinced to do rather well overall.
And then there were the ‘special’ cases.
Just like Whisp.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Stern fixated the young Thestral with a stare that was rumored to be unwavering enough to withstand a Cockatrices cursed glare.
The youth replied with a huff and a defiant stare of her yellow eyes, one halfway hidden under her peculiar manecut. The very picture of a rebel, albeit a very queer one, Stern Lecture thought to himself. Despite wearing an armless and frayed denim jacket over a blueish black Nightmare Moon shirt, a short plaid skirt and those infuriating, thigh high ringed socks in black and dark purple, Whisp was a decent student in most classes, normally not disruptive in her overall behavior. She could do a little better in PE and home economics but most mares her age these days seemed to have that problem.
Unless something like this happened.
With a weary sigh, Stern addressed the student sulking on a deliberately uncomfortable chair. “I take you know very well why you are here today Whisp?”
More sulking silence was the answer to his question.
“Physical assault is a serious matter young mare,” Stern continued ”Something that can and will end your days in this learning facility, given who your victim is.”
That however got a reaction out of Whisp.
“But Roller totally deserved it! He would go on and on and on about what a poor joke my family is, even when I told him to stop five times!” She almost yelled, pointing an accusing finger at High Roller, the young Unicorn stallion on the chair next to her, who was still nursing a heavily bleeding nose with a cloth.
“That is no argument and you know it Whisp. Instead of giving him a bloody nose, you should have come to a teacher or even me. This is a school where you learn how to conduct yourself like a proper member of society, not a dank backyard where your only arguments are your fists.” Stern Lecture countered. “You are a bright, young mare Whisp and I honestly do not wish to expel you from my school but with the Sisters as my witnesses’, I will do so if you don´t show as much as bit of humility and apologize to High Roller and I want for you to mean it.”
Whisp was about to jump from her chair as a voice from behind her made her stop mid motion.
“Whisp, honey, please,” Ink Tempest pleaded with her child “you know principal Lecture is right. Violence is not the answer or the right way. You worked so hard until now, to get good grades, to have a foundation for your future, please do not throw it away over something silly like this.”
Whisp´s mouth opened and closed wordlessly as she stared back at her mother, the older mare slightly averting her face, her eyes obscured by her long bangs just as always.
Deflating, Whisp sunk back into her chair and grumbled something incomprehensible.
Folding his hands in front of his face, principal Stern Lecture leaned forwards on his desk. “What was that young lady? I am afraid I could not hear you. Would you kindly repeat yourself?”
“`msorry.” Whisp grumbled louder this time.
“Again, please.” Stern Lectures voice was professional, void of anything but authority.
Gritting her teeth and balling her fits in her lap, Whisp´s head slumped visibly obscuring her face behind her mane. “I am very sorry that I gave you a bloody nose High Roller. That was absolutely undue for my part and I deeply regret it. Please forgive me.” She pressed out, each word sounding forced, her voice nearly cracking.
A smirk playing over his lips, High Roller nodded as much as his wounded nose allowed him too, speaking for the first time since they entered the office. “Well then, I guess I´ll be the greater pony then and graciously forgive you. After all, you are just a Thestral brat and…”
“Mister Roller, I too advise you to choose your words carefully in my office. Your father might have some sway in the political scene of this city but I assure you, that amounts to nothing inside these walls.” Stern Lecture spoke in the same manner as he had before with Whisp.
“Yes, of course principal Lecture.” High Roller replied, his voice still sounding a bit distorted because of his wounded nose.
Leaning back in his chair, Stern Lecture gestured towards Whisp and her mother. “Allright, that would be everything then. It is getting quite late so I will dismiss everypony now. Mrs. Tempest, thank you for your time and I am sorry that you had to come here on such short notice.”
Before Ink Tempest could say anything, her daughter almost literally flew from her chair and out of the office, leaving her mother to mumble a quick apology before following her distraught child. *** The early evening sun painted the streets of Baltimare with warm rays as mother and daughter made their way back to their little apartment. Plastic bags filled with a small assortment of groceries for dinner rustled to accompany their steps.
Deciding to break the uncomfortable silence that hung about their heads since they left the school, Ink put a hand on Whisp´s shoulder, squeezing it gently.
“Honey, do you want to talk about it?” She asked.
Silence.
“Honey? Are you… are you mad at me?”
Whisp flared her wings, her head abruptly panning around to face her mother. “Of course I am mad Mom!” the teen half yelled, anger and sadness showing in her eyes “That buckface Roller is making fun of you and your work ever since he found out you work as a freelance novelist, saying that it’s a meaningless job for ponies who are unable to deal with reality. For ponies who are not fit to earn their bits how they are supposed to be. He called you an escapist good for nothing hippie who flees into her little fantasy worlds so she not has to deal with her dirty Thestral daughter for crying out loud! Each and every day I have to listen to that shit, just because he is the son of some small fry politician he thinks he is so great. Seven hours a day, five days a week I have to listen to him brag about how important he is and how grateful I should be to be allowed to go to the same school as he does. How was I not supposed to deck him in the face Mom? Tell me!”
Tears glistened on Whisp´s face, tying her mother’s guts into knots. Following her instincts, Ink embraced Whisp, caressing her mane in a soothing manner. The groceries laid forgotten at their hooves.
“Oi, ain´t that a touchin´ scene boys?” A rough voice shattered the tender moment.
Looking up, Ink and Whisp found themselves surrounded by three Earth Pony stallions, each showing pronounced muscles and sporting the distinctive clothes of one of the cities many smaller street gangs consisting of muscle shirts, khaki trousers and bandanas tied around their wrists or biceps.
“Yeah, goes right to ma heart.” Another thug chimed in, chuckling darkly.
Swiveling her ears around nervously, Ink Tempest held Whisp close to her while trying to weave around the stallions. “Ah, I'm sorry sirs, just passing through. We want no trouble.” She says with a shaky smile, only to have their way blocked by a tattooed arm.
“Listen to that boys, we´re sirs now.” The first thug sounded amused “Right `n proper gentlestallions eh?”
“Totally!” another said pretending to twirl an imaginary moustache while the third did something akin to rightening an invisible monocle.
“Well then, what kinda sirs would we be if we would not take care of two mares shakin´ their asses around on our turf all by themselves eh?” the first thug continues, looming over the two mares.
“We just want to go home please,” Ink pleaded, nervousness flaring up in her stomach “Just… let us pass through and we´re out of your manes.”
“Nah, I don´t think so.” The first thug replied, now sporting an ominous grin that showcased a gold tooth as he took out two brass knuckles from his pockets and put them on.
“Oh just get it on with already! I have way more interesting places to be.” A new voice came from behind the thugs, causing both Ink Tempest and Whisp to turn their heads as one as High Roller stepped into view.
“Oi, don´t get cocky pretty boy or you´ll end up eatin´ sidewalk too!” One thug shouted angrily but High Roller was left unimpressed. Instead the Unicorn produced a large coin pouch from his jacket, making its contents jingle.
“Oh please. Just do as I told you already and you can spend the next week drowning yourself in booze and whatnot.”
Whisp was the first to find her voice again. “Roller, what the buck is this? If the principle hears this…”
“Then I´ll deal with him too. Bits rule the world you stupid bat bitch and now be quiet and take your punishment for ruining my face!” High Roller interrupted her aggressively and snapped his fingers audibly.
“Well, ya heard da ‘boss’ boys,” the first thug said to his fellows “Let´s get crackin´!”
Without much ceremony, he swung at Whisp, aiming straight for her face.
Whisp found herself pushed to the side and out of the way of the attack, leaving her to witness her mother taking on the attacker on her own.
Ink Tempest moved in a fluid motion, deflecting the massive blow by moving along and up the thugs arm before she separated and at the end of her movement, took a martial arts stance with her hands open and facing her opponent.
Seeing as his initial attack failed the thug gritted his teeth. He was not used to his victims avoiding his blows.
“So you have some moves eh? Took some o´ those housewife self-defense lessons ey? Well, these ain´t worth shit out here!” the thug sneered and went in for his next attack.
But Ink was not there anymore. She dove under the attack, moving along her opponent’s body with the same fluidity as before and drove her own hand right into his solar plexus with unexpected force, knocking the air out of him and leaving him to collapse with a whimper.
“Sirs, how about we forget this please?” We go our ways, you go yours, this does not need to end in more violence. Same goes for you High Roller. Just go home and forget about this yes? I am sure your father would be unhappy to hear you consort with gangers.” Ink offered, looking from the thugs to a fuming High Roller.
The thugs did not took kindly to that offer however. One brought out a switchblade while the other took out a short baton.
“Bitch, we gonna mess up your ass now!” the knife wielder proclaimed and both rushed the mare at the same time.
The knife flashed forward but again, Ink deflected the attack that meant to carve into her stomach and answered with a palm strike against the thugs elbow. A nasty crunch sounded through the street, followed by a pained cry as the thug lost his weapon and broke down too, clutching his now useless arm.
The last thug tried to use the distraction and knock his weapon into Inks head but the mare managed to step under and away from the attack just in time, the baton only grazing her mane.
In return, Ink Tempest crouched down and kicked the legs out from under the thug, leaving him to crash hard onto the street, dazed from the impact and letting go off his baton.
“You stupid mixed breed bitch, who do you think you are? Messing with me like this?” High Roller yelled, his voice nearly breaking with anger at seeing his hired goons defeated.
Ink was about to respond but was cut off when High Rollers horn began to glow in a bright light as the enraged Unicorn readied a spell. “I´ll make you a smear on the wall bitch. And then, your daughter! No one messes with High Roller!” Roller yelled. Then his world turned upside down.
His legs got kicked out underneath him and two strong hands took hold of his right arm, bending it behind his back and the other took hold of his horn strong enough to make him wince in pain and he found himself on the ground.
Pressing a knee into High Rollers back and pulling his head back by his horn, Ink Tempest looked down on him.
“Now I want you to listen and listen carefully young man.” Inks voice was calm, despite her breath being a bit hitched “You will stop this nonsense, you will stop antagonizing my daughter at school and most of all, you will not try anything like this in the future ever again. Am I understood?”
Squirming, High Roller ground his teeth. “Do you even know who my father is? I´ll gonna make your life a living Tartarus you bitch, I´ll...” He started but was cut off as the pressure on his horn intensified so much that he felt it start to crack.
“Am I understood?” Ink Tempest repeated, yellow eyes shining from behind the curtain of her bangs as she pulled the fuming teens head back more by his horn.
A pained howl escaped High Roller and he used his free hand to slap the street repeadeatly “Yes! Buck, yes, yes, yes, yes! You are understood ma’am! Argh, please stop it already! It hurts!”
After a few seconds more, Ink released her hold on High Roller and stood up.
“Good then,” she turned to her daughter, finding Whisp staring at her with an unreadable expression. “Come Whispy, let´s get home.” *** The atmosphere in Ink Tempests kitchen was tense after mother and daughter arrived at the apartment complex they lived in.
Ink stood at the counter, ingredients for sandwiches strewn all about the counter top. Whisp stared at her from the door leading into the room.
“Are you alright honey?” Ink asked, looking up from a halfway finished PB and J sandwich.
“No I am not alright mom!” Whisp snarled, making her mother flinch “How comes you can pummel these goons AND Roller into the ground but when I do that, I get chewed out and nearly kicked out of my school?”
Putting down the butter knife she held, Ink sighed. “Honey, that was different. I was defending us but you took to being the aggressor with High Roller. You just went up to him and broke his nose. Violence only brings on more violence.”
“The buck that was different!” Whisp countered hotly “I saw what you did to those gangers Mom! Those were offensive moves, you could have used at least ten other ways to incapacitate them but you choose the few that required you to act instead of reacting!”
“Honey, that…”
“Don’t you ‘honey’ me,” Whisp interrupted her mother, making one step forward “I have it till here with all of this. Do you want to know why I really decked Roller in the face? Because he was right! He was right and I hated him for it! You are an good for nothing escapist, with all those crappy stories and novels you write! We barely manage to scrape by every month, just because you are unable to have a normal job, like a normal pony would! Why? Why can´t you just be a normal Mom? Somepony I don´t need to be ashamed off, like everypony else´ parents?”
Inks mouth opened wordlessly as her daughter’s words stabbed at her, unable to formulate a comeback.
Whisp slammed her fist against the doors frame, shaking her head, framing her tear streaked, snarling face with a halo of her mane “You know what, forget it! I´m going to my room and listen to Maretallica until I fall asleep! Don´t bother with letting any food outside my room!” With that, Whisp left, stomping off angrily and leaving her shaken mother behind. *** “… and with that we conclude our report on the newest monster activities and the resulting actions taken by the special task force known as the SPD. I am Newsreel for Baltimare Nine-O-Five, your radio station of choice for all your news needs. Now, here is some Sapphire Shores with her newest hit single ‘Shine like the Sun, glow like the Moon’. Have a pleasant evening everypony.”
With another sigh, Ink popped another deep fried cricket into her mouth, barely savoring the taste of her soul food as the upbeat tunes from the small radio that hung from her wrist filled the air around her.
Sitting on the front stairs to the apartment like many other citizens of Baltimare often did, Ink Tempest stared at the beautiful evening sky, trying to find comfort in the gentle orange of the clouds.
The words from Whisp still pierced her heart like daggers.
“A Mom you can be proud of hm Whispy?” She said more to herself, helping herself to another cricket “I really, really want to make you proud honey but…” She looked at the travel radio as it continued to play upbeat music. “I´ll guess these SPD guys don´t have such problems. Everypony seems to absolutely love them. I mean, of course they do. They fight monsters and catastrophes and help everypony with their amazing powers. Of course they are loved and respected by all. If I could be one of them, my Whispy surely could finally be proud of me too.”
Inks tufted ears dropped as she slumped down. “Oh who am I kidding? All I have are those Thestral martial arts lessons from mother. Even if I went all the way to Ponyville and told those SPD guys I wanted to join them, what are the chances? They are already full of amazing ponies. What could a nopony like me, who´s only talent is to make her daughter upset, possibly contribute to them?”
“Well, your heart seems in the right place, for once.” A new voice said, causing Ink Tempest to look up and meet the gaze of a mare dressed in a black suit and a tie. “Also, is there not the saying that you are not born with greatness but that you achieve it?”
Furrowing her brows, Ink looked at the newcomer quizzically. “Excuse me Miss but… who are you again?”
At that, the mare smiled enigmatically. “Someone who was rather impressed with how you handled those thugs earlier. You have a rather distinctive style there. You don´t see the Thestral Gentle Breeze, Sundering Palm style outside Tramplevania that often.”
“How… did you know that?” Ink asked, taken by surprise.
At Inks reaction, the suited mare gave a good natured grin. “I like to do my homework Mrs. Tempest. As for who I am, let´s just say I am someone for works for the SPD.” She extended a hand to Ink Tempest “Care for a short walk and talk? I know a place that serves great coffee around here.”
Granite kicked his legs a bit as he watched the ocean as he sat on the pier, wondering why he was asked to come here of all places. Though they were at least good enough to get him a new spiffy SPD jacket and tried to get him in pants… that didn’t really go as well as he wanted. Still he was now here waiting for something or other.
Still the wait was boring so he started to read a book that he was given, still it was kinda sad it was a children’s book, but what could he do, he didn’t know how to read after all.
Ink walked down the pier, nervously playing with the sleeves of her long sweater. That suited mare had told her to come to this place and look for a small group but as far as she could see, there was only one other person present and it was no pony.
Sitting there was a rather large Diamond Dog, showing her his back and obviously busying himself with something she could not see. That made her a tad nervous. Of course Ink knew not all Diamond Dogs could be judged by few bad examples but still. As she stood there, internally debating if she should look somewhere else, she finally noticed the emblem on the jacket the dog was wearing. It was the SPD emblem. And was not the leader of the SPD a Diamond Dog, as everyone said? Could it be that her new employer came to meet all of them in person? A lump of renewed nervousness formed in Inks throat but then, she made a step forward. She had to ace this, if not for herself then for Whisp.
“Ehrm, excuse me? Sir?” Ink asked, her voice trembling slightly “Are you by chance Mr. Cruger? One of your employees told me to be here today, for the team assembly. Ehr, oh, my name is Ink Tempest, it is an honor to meet you sir.”
“While it would be fun to think certain things, I am not Cruger. I even heard he dislikes being called a Diamond Dog from what I heard at the Headquarters.” answered Granite, having easily heard her with his enhanced hearing, “I am merely a Diamond Dog called Granite, I have also been asked to be here to wait here for something or other.” Granite hummed in concentration as he tried to read the book infront of him and looking quite silly doing so, with in his large claws being a children’s book of all things.
Inks ears splayed back as she felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment and she quickly buried her face in her palms. “Oh my Luna, I think I want to crawl into a hole now and stay there until next Hearth's Warming!” After a moment and realizing she did not melt from her faux-pas, she peeked out between her fingers and noticed the book. Clearing her throat a bit, Ink pretended to never had said something stupid, still making a mental note about her future bosses dislike about being compared to a Diamond Dog and peaked onto the pages. “Oh, I know that book. Whisp loved it when I read it with her. Ehr, Whisp is my daughter you see? Well, she loved it when she was a foal, I mean...”
”You're rambling” interrupted Granite
Another wave of heat flushed Inks cheeks. “OhmyLunaImsorryIgotnervousand…” she started but clamped her muzzle shut, instead reaching into her long skirts pocket, fishing out a small paper bag. Opening it with a bit more force than necessary, she fished out a handful of deep fried crickets and wolfed them down, hoping to find some comfort and direly needed calmness in the snack.
Granite chuckled and poked Ink on the forehead with one of tips of his claws, despite their large and stone texture he knew how to be gentle with them. “You aren’t here because you did something wrong, right?”
Swallowing the snack, Ink shock her head slightly. “No! I mean, I hope not. You see, this mare in a black suit talked to me after my daughter and I got attacked by some gangers back home in Baltimare. I, ehrm, I used martial arts to defend us and I guess that somehow got her attention.” Her tufted ears swiveled a bit “I also might have fantasized out loud a bit after I had an argument with Whisp. Something silly about me being part of the SPD… and now I am here.”
“Then that means she saw something in you then.” stated Granite in response before petting Ink on the head, “So calm down, you’ve got nothing to worry about.” He gave her then a calm smile, hoping to calm her down since his ears was aching a bit because of the talking, hell he still could hear the traffic nearby through the dock they were on.
Abyssal drove up in his motorcycle up the dock and saw two beings, a Diamond dog and a earth pony. Letting out a sigh he got off of his cycle, stored his helmet before walking up to them. “Sorry if am am late there was a lot of traffic.”
Ink straightened up, only a bit startled and turned to the newcomer, which caused Granite to raise a brow and held up a claw since he was half expecting her to fall into the water. “Oh, h-hello,” she gave a little wave and a smile that showed her fangs just a bit, happy her bangs shielded her eyes “Nice to meet you. I just got here too. My name is Ink Tempest.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Abyssal Shield.” He said with a smile that also showed his fangs as he put on his sunglasses.
Granite looked over his shoulder for a moment before returning his attention to the book before him, both of them didn’t look like something he could use to alleviate the boredom he was in, so he let them have their discussion.
“Oh, that there is Granite,” Ink pointed at the reading dog, who waved over his shoulder in response “He was here before me and was nice enough to bear with me.”
“Its nice to meet, you Granite… Haven’t seen a Diamond dog in quite a while ever since that one..” Abyssal said but started to mumble something about a dragon and a goat which ended up somehow underground and a whole lot of chaos. He shook his head to get back on track, “Anyway it really is nice to meet you.”
“I hope we will all get along together.” Ink smiled at Abyssal “Say, that motorcycle you used, is that hard to learn? Driving I mean? My daughter keeps pestering me about allowing her to learn it but it looks so… unsafe. So fast and nothing around you to protect you.”
“It took me some time to learn, but I guess it all depends on the pony.” Abyssal scratched the back of his head. “And there is a spell I use to keep me safe on the road.”
“Well, that sounds a bit better than. Still, my Whisp is such a rowdy flier, I wonder if that would translate to driving.” Ink said more to herself, twiddling with her sleeves again.
“Shouldn’t the fear of death stop such thoughts?” questioned Granite, who was bored to tears about this boring conversation, but was having quite a hard time with the book before him.
“I would guess so, but she is in her ‘Nightmare Moon phase’ right now as it is. Even though she claims that it is not a phase. Nothing but loud, quite aggressive music and wearing these socks. I really hope this blows over soon. She was such a cute filly back then…” Ink lost herself in motherly nostalgia, absolutely oblivious that she lost Abyssal and Granite.
She lost Granite on the ‘Nightmare Moon phase’ and socks, the earth were those? “Everybeing constantly changes, don’t look at the past for what you had.” he remembered the pup years of himself, he wished he was back there, but knew he couldn’t, hopefully Ink could understand where he was coming from.
“Hmm, I wonder where the others are. This can not be everypony right?” Ink wondered out aloud, which had Granite sigh as he was ignored. “Maybe they mixed up the address?”
As if on que a sound enters everyone’s ears. It could be described as a tired frog trying it’s damndest to make an impression of nails on a chalk board. Nearly everyone turns to see a unicorn on a moped pull up to the pier next to where everyone was at. The moped and the diver himself look like they took a trip through Tartarus and back, then had to go back into Tartarus because he left his cell phone there. The unicorn himself is wearing boots along with blue jeans. Up top, he is wearing a red shirt and a jacket. The thing is, all of said clothes were torn up or dirty in some way of form.
The sound of water moving could be heard before movement from shore took over, this all pointed that Granite had fallen into the water due to the noise then had came back onto the dock. Shaking himself dry, he returned to his spot, sat down before opening the book he left there and returning where he was.
The unicorn leaves his moped and slumps down on a nearby bench with a long exasperated sigh. He reaches into his coat and pulls out… a sparkler. He then snaps his fingers near the sparker, from it sparks of fire light it up.
The unicorn then sighs to himself again, “What am I even doing here? Honestly, Redheart comes out of nowhere telling me to get to Manehattan saying something about an ‘opportunity’ then leaves. When I get back to base, the Chief tells me the same thing. I pack up my things and get on the next train with my moped. During the what? Two hours, I had to listen to a pair of kids arguing with each other, followed by a teenaged mare who just KEPT TALKING! When I finally reach the city, I make it halfway to the dock when suddenly, a truck carrying crates of eggs and milk crashes into me and my moped. Goodness knows, how that got resolved quickly. Definitely caused some traffic there. And now I am here….. Sigh…. rotten luck” mutters the unicorn in his negative state.
It was then that he noticed the group of individuals next to him. “Oh, uh don’t worry…. I don’t smoke. This is just a rare thing”
Granite could only look at the others sans the newcomer with one expression, ‘What the hell is up with this idiot?’
“Ehrm, that is not a cigarette.” Ink pointed out, one finger half raised in confusion.
“Yeah, I know. Cigarettes are bad for you, sorry about the second hand smoke” said the unicorn in a stress filled daze.
“Seriously, where did you even get that?” Ink asked, slightly worried about the newcomers state “It's way out of season.”
“Not like I haven’t been near anypony that smoked before.” Abyssal said as he remember someone he use to work with that smoked way too much.
“Ah, I just realized something…” announces the unicorn in his stupor.
“And that is what, Mr. Unicorn?” questioned Granite.
“I gave my cigarette to Dad back at Canterlot…. Huh” states the unicorn. “....wait, who are you again?” asks the unicorn, sparkler still in his mouth.
“You never asked, so you don’t know.” simply stated Granite like the unicorn was an idiot.
“Oh right, how rude of me. It’s common courtesy to say my name first, sorry about that. My name is Pyro H. Tech. Nice to meet you” states Pyro as he wipes one of his hands on his jacket and gives a somewhat clean hand out for a polite handshake.
“Yes, nice to meet you. I´m Ink Tempest.” Ink introduced herself, carefully shaking the offered hand, discreetly wiping her own afterwards.
After Ink pulled her hand away from Pyro’s, the bench underneath him broke which caused him to sit in an quite awkward position. He sighed, and muttered “...rotten luck…”
He then pulls himself out and dusts himself off. After an awkward pause, Pyro speaks up; “Um… this probably sounds kinda weird, but…”
Granite offered Ink a handkerchief he always had around with him before looking up at the now named Pyro, “But?” the Diamond dog wanted the unicorn to continue what he was saying, really feeling like the tolerating the bullshit meter was getting quite full.
“...was anyone else called out here by a mildly annoyed nurse? Oh wait…. Now that I think about it, am I even on the right dock?” he says quickly looking around in a panic.
“Well, it was a mare in a black suit for me. Kind of like in these movies, Mares in Black.” Ink offered.
“If it's about an offer to join SPD then you are on the right dock. Abyssal Shield, it's nice to meet you.” He said as he kept an eye on his bike.
“Oh um, nice to meet you to… wait, what was that about SPD?” responds Pyro to Abyssal in a confused tone.
“They did not tell you why the wanted you?” Abyssal said in a confused tone, not knowing why anyone would go somewhere without know what for.
“‘They’? What ‘they’? I was only told by Redheart to come here. Seriously, what was that about SPD? I think it’s an important question considering they’re basically super cops” asks Pyro with a hint of concern.‘Oh crap! Did I do something wrong? What the hell did I do that had to get SPD’s attention?!’ he thinks to himself as he makes a quick list of the misfortune he had in the past ten minutes.
“All I know they are looking for people to help out with something.” Abyssal said sheepishly, remembering not paying attention at that point of the convection.
‘ ‘Helping out’? Is that code for something?!?!’ thinks Pyro, panic growing steadily with every word. He then puts out the sparkler with his fingers and quickly chomps down on it until he successfully swallowed the freshly put out sparkler.
At that, Ink turned a bit green “That… can't be healthy.”
“What can’t be healthy? Smoking? I thought I already said that?” asked Pyro.
Before they could discuss further, they heard an engine approach as a yellow jeep pulled up beside them, Cruger at the wheel with Nurse Redheart riding shotgun. “Looks like you’re all here,” said Cruger, “get in, I’ll explain what you’re all doing here on the road.”
“... Um I don’t think we’d fit…” noted Granite as he tucked away his handkerchief back in it’s spot, doing the same for the book he was reading, ‘ I don’t get why others think this Cruger even looks like a Diamond Dog, he feels all different and smells different as well.’
“...um, there isn’t a meter around here. Can you like, wait five minutes so I can park my moped?” asks Pyro meekly. ‘Oh crap… he is the head of SPD… what the hell did I do?!?’ thinks Pyro.
‘Oh my Luna, he really somewhat looks like a Diamond Dog! Just blue. Argh, don't let him notice you thought that!’ Ink almost bit her tongue, trying Tartarus to look nonchalant as she approached the jeep.
“Same, I need to park my bike.” Abyssal said pointing to his bike ‘So that's what he looks like… I can see the resemblance to a Diamond Dog’ He thought
“I’ve got them,” Cruger said as he stepped out of the jeep and unfolded a rack from the back. He then placed the moped and bike onto it before strapping them down as everyone else took a seat in the jeep. “Okay, here we go,” Cruger said as he retook the wheel as the others piled into the jeep and drove off, “so tell me, why do you think you’re here?”
“And there goes the Boss with that band of misfits, so much for the GoGoFive team.” muttered Sora as she placed away her binoculars and untapped the listen devices that was attached to the dock, it was sadly a place where many ponies went and that included criminals. Using them to listen through her Morphin’ Brace was an easy task, she looked towards her comrades in arms who she still didn’t understand, Dusk.
“They certainly were interesting, though I’m more concerned about what might happen with the group assigned to Princess Twilight. I'll never understand how Cruger chooses all these misfits, including us.” Dusk muttered, staring after the group with her faintly glowing yellow eyes.
“He atleast had some data on us via the test we’ve done and how we’ve interacted with others.” responded Sora with a sigh, “But I agree about the Twilight Guard, most of them feel like beings that have a high flight chance considering who they are.”
“Seriously, who takes a thousand year old criminal and a strange shapeshifter into a police squad meant to protect someone like a princess? What in Luna’s name is he thinking…” Dusk asked no one in particular before going quiet...
“Maybe that the Princess can Frienship them all?” was all Sora could try to respond with, adding a shrug.
“Uh, lets go with that…” Dusk said awkwardly as she scrunched up her face. “You think we should head back and report to Marri, or do you think you can sneak past the entrance and keep following them?”
“We should back, no need to trigger an alarm by accident and cause panic by accident.” noted Sora in response as she stretched a bit, “Besides I think they’ll have their hands full enough with what I suppose the Red Ranger will be… the Unicorn who ate that Sparkler, which I think Marri went and followed partially since she wanted to see a fellow red and how she measured up against him”
“I hope it went well for her... Well you should go on ahead of me, I'm still a little uncomfortable with the teleporters so I'll take the long way.” Dusk said as she started to walk off.
“Right I’ll see you back at base.” with that a cloud passed overhead and both mares were gone from the area without anyone noticing.
“Right now? I or somepony related to me caused some property damage that belonged to or was related to Nurse Redheart and am currently here to discuss the repercussions. Speaking of which…” says Pyro as he turns to looks at Redheart. “ Redheart. I promise whatever I did, it was not necessary to bring in the chief of SPD in!” says Pyro to Redheart in an exasperated tone.
“Trust me, if you were in trouble I wouldn’t need to bring anyone in, let alone the chief,” Redheart said tersely as Cruger chuckled.
“No! Really? I had no idea!” replied Pyro in a heavily sarcastic tone.
“Ehrm, I don't really know. I just defended my daughter and myself against some street thugs and then your representative talked me up out of the blue. She said I had potential and that I could be part of something big, achieve greatness maybe. She also treated me to some coffee.” Ink answered, her gaze flitting from one inhabitant of the car the the next. “Honestly, this still feels surreal to me.”
“I signed in with SPD, before they took a report from me about what happened in a mine. Then they contacted some others before telling me to head here since I was being recruited to a new division since I had certain traits that would help me aid them in situations they dealt with.” stated Granite as he tried his best not to feel sick with the movement of the Jeep, it was a new experience that was for sure. A really uncomfortable one as his tail was slightly being sat on by Ink, not to mention he had to place his claws on his own shoulders since he was so cramped and less said about his paws the better.
“I remember them telling me they are looking for someone with my talent and skills, so it can be anything.” Abyssal said as he was being squished by Pyro.
“You’re all partially right,” said Cruger as they approached what appeared to be the entrance to an underground parking lot. A large door with a symbol that kind of looked like a metal snowflake was on it.
“I am?” asks Pyro, bewildered by his current situation.
“Except for that, you’re not in trouble,” Cruger said as the door opened, “yet.”
“Oh thank goodness… wait what was that last part?” asked Pyro.
Cruger just chuckled as he drove through the door, leading them into an underwater glass tunnel. “However, there's one tiny misconception I need to clear up, you’re not joining SPD, not exactly.”
“Sir? What?” Ink asked flabbergasted.
“Well we’ll just join Not Exactly SPD and do whatever you want us to do, same difference if we were being put into SPD.” noted Granite not really caring where he was going, just that he had a place to go to.
“Then what are you joining then?” Abyssal asked as he raised an eyebrow
“....... wait what was that about SPD?” asked Pyro still confused.
“First thing’s first, you may now respond with awe,” Cruger said as they rounded a crest, revealing a massive underwater structure amongst a spectacular vista.
“Nice view….” states Pyro in a noticeably calmer tone. ‘...even though we could probably get a similar one at the local aquarium. Still nice though.... Is that a car under some rubble over there?’ he comments to himself.
“Wow, this looks like something out of these books I read for inspiration when I was preparing for some semi-dystopian alternate reality stories about Equestria.” Ink said, her dismay from moments earlier forgotten.
Granite looked around in awe of the view before him as he muttered out loud, “There are still such majestic views on this world, I hope I will see more as time comes and go.”
“Now this is something I don’t see every day.” Abyssal said in awe.
Cruger stayed quiet as they entered the base, bringing them into a large hanger that also contained 5 massive train engines. “I’m assuming you know SPD’s mission statement, ‘Protect the citizens of Equestria from threats beyond common sense’, by punching them in the face with giant robots.”
“.....I like giant robots…. They’re cool...” commented Pyro as he thought about the various mechas he’s seen from anime.
“I think that would be a great line for one of my short stories. Maybe even for a book?” Ink wondered idly.
“So which train is going to be the fist that punches those ‘threats beyond common sense’?” asked Granite quite curious as he had seen a few times the Megazord of the SPD and the zords that became it.
“Actually the Rail Rescues are mainly transport for the Zords,” Cruger chuckled.
“Pretty sure they still can turn into a giant robot.” responded Granite with an odd certainty.
“Not until you’re sufficiently trained, if you take the job I’m about to offer you of course.” “..... I’m sorry what was that about a job?” asked Pyro.
“Just let think, where was I? Explain your not gonna be SPD, take ya to the Aquabase, punch in the face, ah yes. While SPD has law enforcement on lockdown, it’s severely lacking in the areas of fire-fighting, search and rescue, disaster response, etc. So, I had two choices, expand the training of SPD, which would require more paperwork than I’m willing to undertake, or create an entire new division, Lightspeed Rescue.” explained Cruger
“....wait…. Does that mean… you’re asking us to be Power Rangers? Sweet!” responded Pyro.
“It doesn’t have to mean that, he could just be asking us to become part of this division, that being said, all things pretty much point towards that… which is odd.” muttered out Granite.
“That… wow, that would still be something enormous either way.” Ink nibbled at her lip as she digested the news.
Cruger chuckled as a technician handed him a metal case, “Firecracker’s right, you guys are Lightspeed’s short list, aside from miss Redheart here who’s already accepted of course.” Nurse Redheart lifted her arm to reveal an odd device on her wrist with the same emblem that was on the door.
“That’s not really my name sir, but I don’t care! Ah, the colt in my is crying right now!” announces Pyro.
“I think I have a loli somewhere if you want.” Ink offered from the sidelines. “If you don't mind blueberry-rhubarb flavor.”
“How about giving him another firecracker to smoke instead?” Cruger chuckled as he pulled a set of files out of his coat, “In all honesty I didn’t choose you by putting a bunch of pictures on a dartboard, you all have excellent skillsets in addition to an instinct to help. Mr Granite, you have a natural instinct for geology, able to determine with your five senses what would otherwise take sophisticated equipment. You can enter an unstable cave, brace it, and get the victims out while anyone else would still be setting up their gear. I’m sure with the right training this can be expanded to unstable buildings as well.”
“If you see this potential and possibility within me, then I’ll stay with this den and see where it brings me.” noted Granite with nod, ready to try at this.
“Abyssal Shield,” Cruger said as he opened up his file, “your talent in ice magic is ideal not only for putting out fires, but generating cold to prevent explosions that would otherwise make a bad situation worse. Not to mention your past and training as a merc will allow you to handle a variety of changing environments and situations on the fly.”
“I just like helping people… And you kind had to learn Ice magic because of an old partner I had.” Abyssal said as he straightening up his back.
“Should be lucky you’re not stripping,” Cruger said under his breath as he pulled Ink’s file to the forefront, “Ink Tempest, single mother, freelance investigative journalist, au-natural sonar highly tuned, trained in a highly effective Thestral martial art that I still need to figure out, and knows exactly when not fighting is the appropriate response. Sounds like the ideal spotter, gotta know where the victims are before they can be saved right?”
“If you say it like that it sounds so grand… Mother taught me all I know. Father too. To use what Luna gave me, to help those around me.” Ink responded, nervously nestling with her sleeves before straightening herself and giving what she hoped was a proper salute “I will certainly try my best sir.”
“All I ever ask,” Cruger grinned, “Redheart was formerly a medic of the Frontier Guard. The action she saw combined with the weekly shenanigans of Ponyville have molded her into an excellent paramedic with zero tolerance to bullshit.”
“And that includes you,” Redheart said.
“I believe you mean another individual that is related to me” countered Pyro.
“Yes your grandfather is one of her regulars isn’t he?” Cruger said as he pulled out Pyro’s file.
“Yes sir… he is very sorry for everything….. Seriously he is……… don’t look at me like that Redheart” muttered Pyro.
Cruger just chuckled as he looked over the file, “Excellent fire mage, which is actually surprisingly useful for fire fighting despite what logic would have you believe. Certified pyrotechnician, easy enough to upgrade that to the equally entertaining high explosives. And like everyone but Granite you’ve got some combat training.”
“...... that is literally the kindest thing anyone has said to me today…. Thank you…” said Pyro.
“Just play nice with Abyssal,” Cruger said, “fire and ice mages not getting along is a stereotype I’d rather avoid.”
“You won’t have to worry about that! My best friend is an water and ice mage!” responded Pyro with a smile.
“Alright, you know why you’ve all been chosen, make your decision now,” Cruger said as he opened the case, which contained 4 devices identical to the one Redheart wore, “before you do, know that this will be dangerous work, and I won’t think any less of you if you say no.”
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, so why would anyone say no to this...Also my parents would kill me if I would say no.. My mom always wanted me to be in the royal guard, just like her and I think this is more exciting. Count me in.” said Abyssal
“Mr. Cruger, sir. I am a faithful otaku with dreams and wishes of my own. You are giving me the opportunity to join a tokusatsu like team AND pilot a giant robot…. As well as allow me to perform the duties given to me in my previous job… unless you throw a massive curve ball at me, then you got yourself a ranger!!” announces Pyro with a salute.
“I came all the way here because somepony and someone I never meet before believed I could make a difference, for Equestria and everyone in it. What kind of mother would I be if I not tried my hardest to really make this difference? Please count me in sir!” Ink Tempest said, standing tall with her eyes sparkling from behind her bangs.
Granite looked at the devices and could only state one question, “Those things don’t have small buttons on them… right?” he was scared that if they did, well he couldn’t actually use them since despite what he wanted, he didn’t have simple point since his claws did have claws, which meant small buttons didn’t work well with him.
“That depends, you consider 1x2 inches small?” Cruger replied.
“... Yes.” muttered Granite with a sigh, he had oversized claws not his fault he was given these on birth.
“Don’t worry, there’s only one button, the rest is mostly voice controlled.”
“Very well, well to one canine like to another, I’ll go along with this plan.” said Granite with vigor.
“What is it powered by? Fighting spirit? Radiation?” asked Pyro.
“I would guess some really advanced technology. Or maybe these things are alive by themselves and form a symbiotic relationship with their users, lending them strength in return for some excess energy?” Ink speculated, going along with Pyros enthusiasm.
“I think your head is just too much in the clouds.” stated Granite to Ink before flicking her forehead to get her back to earth.
“Let me have this! Please!” pleaded Pyro which had Granite sighing but keeping calm because he couldn’t care less if they were loud as long as they acted professionally during work.
“The Morphers, and by extension the suit, are powered by a unique Mana Reactor that uses the user’s magical field instead of the environment’s,” Cruger explained, “speaking of, catch.” With that, he tossed each of them a morpher.
“Is this…. What I think it is….” asked Pyro as he caught it in his hands.
Granite caught the morpher before looking at Redheart, then placing his own morpher like her, since he expected that was how he was suppose to wear the item.
“This is making me feel excited. And nervous.” Ink caught the little device and fumbled a bit with it before she decided to imitate what Granite did. “Hmm, like this?”
“It seems so.” Abyssal said as he put on the device. “Fits like a glove.”
“Alright then, little slider on the side sets the whole thing in motion, take em for a spin,” Cruger grinned.
“Uhm, is there a certain catchphrase or something we need to recite? Usually, there is one on these kind of things.” Ink wondered while carefully tapping the slider. “How about... Lightspeed Rescue, go?” A moment after she said that, Ink found herself snugly fitted into her new green ranger outfit. Inspecting herself, she muttered “Well, this certainly is different. Pretty thight around the chest though.”
Granite looked at the device before flexing his claws before calling out, “Equip On!” then pressed the slider on the side and allowed himself to covered in the suit, though he was surprised when he looked at his hands which looked normal and then fell over and he looked at what was hooves, “Hooves… really?” he never understood how the ponies stood with those things.
“Here, lemme help you up” says Pyro as he helps Granite get up.
“Thanks.” muttered Granite trying to stay balanced on the hooves the suit had, “Would it be so hard to give me paws down there… also my lack of tail is making things worse to me sense of balance.”
Abyssal looked at the slider before sliding it. “Lightspeed Ranger Go!” A moment late he had on blue ranger outfit. “It's a Little snug...But wearable.”
“No offence to you guys, but you’re doing it wrong. Trust me, I’ve seen this a million times. You gotta put more emotion into it! Here watch me!” Pyro states as he clears his throat. “Hen-shin!” he calls out as the suit covers his body. He then shouts: “Pony lives are the planet’s future! We won’t neglect any in peril! We pledge our hearts to the peace of the planet! Blazing rescue spirits! Rescue Rangers! Lightspeed! Rescue!” announces Pyro as he strikes a pose.
“... we’re going to have to pose with him aren’t we?” commented Granite with a sigh as he held his face with his left hand.
“Welcome to the life of a Power Ranger, I promise the last thing it’ll be is boring,” Cruger chuckled.
