Son of a Kaiju!by Storm ShineChaptersWaking up with Dragon-breathOf Dragons and... Ponies?Jackets, Tokens, Parties, and Muffins. Can't forget the Muffins.Making a New Friend and Fighting some Old EnemiesWaking up with Dragon-breath"Woohoo~!" I cheered happily as I walked towards the entrance to the convention with my best friend Tony, "This is gonna be the awesomest day ever!" "Feh." Tony replied dismissively, "We'll see about that, but I wouldn't get your hopes up if I were you." "Aww~, come on and cheer up buddy! It's gonna be funtastic, just you wait!" I rebutted, pulling him into a one-armed hug. "Again, we'll see." Tony repeated, pushing me off of him with a small smile. I like cheering everyone up, and tony especially needs it. He almost never smiles, and never gives a big one! Well... Except that one time that I threw him a birthday party. He said he didn't want it, but that wide grin told another story. "Yay!" I cheered again, looking around like a kid in a candy store as we entered the convention. "Hey it's Dante! DANTE~!! DANTE~!!!" I quickly bounced over towards another of our friends, waving the whole way. "Hey guys! Enjoying the convention?" Dante asked with a grin as we caught up to him, by which time I as already pulling him into a friendly hug. "YEAH! " I cheered again. "This is so awesome!" "Whee~." Tony added sarcastically. "Don't mind him, he's just mad that we had the same cosplay idea! I offered to go costume-less, but he was still too annoyed to bother to wear his." I stage-whispered to Dante, indicating the casual clothes he was wearing. "Not sure why though... Lots of people are going around as Altair!" "I'm gonna go check out some stands..." Tony replied before walking away with a small frown, not really wanting to be reminded of that. I decided that was a great idea and began dragging Dante, as the only friend within arms length, around to look at some of the stands and stuff. There was some pretty awesome stuff around here! Some of it I recognized, and some of it just made me tilt my head in utter befuddlement... I think it's time to go see what Tony's up to! He usually has an eye for cool stuff. Looking around, I noticed him at a nearby stand with all kinds of cool replicas that looked real. Immediately I bolted towards him, arms prepped for hugging. What can I say, I'm a very affectionate friend. I neared him, nearly wrapping my arms around him as he left the stand, but suddenly... Poof. He was gone and I was without anything to stop me from crashing into the stand he'd just been leaving. The vendor there flinched slightly as I made an audible impact against the front of his stand. "Uh... You okay kid?" He asked somewhat hesitantly. I quickly hopped up to my feet, flashing a victory sign, "I'm okay!" I replied before noticing something distracting out of the corner of my eye, "Ooo~, what's that? It's shiny!" I asked, staring at a very shiny pink gem. "That's from Firebreather isn't it?" I continued, looking towards the vendor excitedly, "How much!? How much?" I asked quickly. It was one of my favorite movies after all, I loved it! "Uh.." The vendor collected himself for a moment, "How about you have it on the house? Think of it as a small consolation for losing your friend and hurting yourself on my stand." "I'm not hurt, but thanks!" I said cheerfully, grabbing the pink gem off the table as Dante came up behind me. "Wait, what was that other thi-" and poof, I was gone too. I yawned sleepily, stretching my arms as I woke up. "That was a good nap" I said to myself with a smile. "But how did I get home?" I took up a thinking position, wondering how I was suddenly asleep at home. A growling noise came from my right. "Shush! I'm trying to think here." I quickly shushed it, resuming my thinking. Wait... I don't have a dog. Looking over, I noticed a few... Wolves? They sure looked like wolves, but they were all wooden and stuff. And we were in a forest or something. "Nice doggies?" I asked, slowly getting up. Maybe they were friendly? One of them tilted their head as I reached out to it. Closer... Closer... almost there.. *Snap!* "AHH!" I quickly recoiled as it tried to bite my hand off. "Not nice, NOT NICE!" I yelled, turning around and bolting. They quickly gave chase, corralling me to some destination unknown. Every time I tried to turn, one of them would appear and snap at me. Oddly enough, I noticed I was running even faster than usual, the trees blurring slightly... And then, cliff face. *BAM!* "Oww...." I groaned, peeling myself out of the rocky imprint I'd created. "Not cool Cliff, what did I ever do to you?" Well... Aside from smashing into it at full speed. Turning around, I realized this must've been the plan. Corral me into a cliff face and surround me, making me easy pickings. "You don't want to do this.." I pleaded with the bark-dogs. I'll take the 'snapping their jaws at me' as wood-wolf language for 'Yes, we really do'... "GO AWAY!!!" I shouted, suddenly spewing flames from my mouth as I got desperate for survival. The wolves panicked, turning tail (Or maybe it was twig?) and running from the flames. I blinked, looking around at the now-burning shrubbery around me. "I.. uh.. what?" A sudden weight (Or maybe it's always been there..) made itself known in my pocket. "The pink... gem?" And suddenly it clicked as I looked at it, the image of one of my favorite characters of all time looking back a me, reflected a few times in the gem. The rumors about that creepy convention merchant were true... Now I feel bad for laughing at my more superstitious friends. Oh well, not like I can really apologize now... I wonder if he got Tony too? Maybe that's why he disappeared... I wonder if Dante will get sucked into the trap. Nah, Dante's probably one of the smartest among us. I really doubt that he'd fall for it. My confidence in Dante's smarts assured, I began wandering the forest randomly while simultaneously causing any forest obstacles to erupt in flames as I practiced my fire breath. Eventually I reached the end of the forest, "Finally!" I cheered, "Out of the forest and into.. Nothing?" I stopped short as I looked around. There wasn't anything here... No civilization, no anything. well, except that really tall mountain. Maybe it's a Volcano? Hmm... "I always wanted to try a (Non-deadly) lava bath!" I cheered happily, making my way towards the large possibly-volcano. Author's Note Well, Here's another story out. I took a bit of a break from writing, but I'm back and I'll be writing as much as I can. I wrote this, because I figured 'Hey, I made three characters in Promising Shadows, why not use them all?'. And so, here is the story of John. They will be interconnected in a way, and I plan on having them meet again at some point. And yes, for those wondering, there will be a story for Dante. ^ For those who want to see an example of Duncan breathing fire. Of Dragons and... Ponies?Scaling that mountain was a lot easier than I'd have thought it would be. Maybe that's because I'm half-kaiju...? Oh well, anyways I just now reached the top. "Finally!" I exclaimed happily, reaching the top. "That may have been easy, but it still took forever!" I'm a sorta impatient person, sue me. Well, hopefully not literally... you won't will you? No, of course you won't voice-in-my head. Back on track, "Woah!" I looked in awe at the large crater in front of me. The place was jam packed with Lava, jewels, and dragons! Cool! Taking another look around, I noticed most of them seemed old and grumpy, which meant I was probably better off leaving them be. Probably. But on the other hand, I saw a bunch of teen-looking dragons just over there! ...And a really small purple one that belched up a scroll? Meh, whatever. I can worry about that later, if at all. Right now, It's time to have some fun! I took a step back and launched into a running leap before hitting the ground at the bottom of the crater, rolling to keep my momentum I straightened up into a sprint towards the teen dragons. Coming to a stop just in front of what seemed like the leader of the group, I stuck out my hand with a smile. "Hi! I'm John, but you can probably call me Duncan!" I greeted cheerfully. "What's your name?" The red dragon looked at me blankly, "What the heck are you?" He asked bluntly. "And what do you think you're doing here? You aren't a dragon." I nodded, "I am indeed not a dragon." I agreed easily. "I'm a human. Well... Half human. The other half is Kaiju, though I never really learned how the heck that worked out... Then again, I'm probably better off not knowing." "Right..." The dragon replied, a little confused. "Well I'm Garble, and you're toast." He offered before sending a wall of flames at me. Still smiling, I scratched my head as the flames passed around me. When they finally finished, Garble and every other dragon there seemed pretty surprised to see me still there. Well, minus a jacket. "Darn, that was a cool jacket too..." I muttered to myself before looking up. "So is that some kind of Dragon greeting?" I asked curiously, before deciding to reciprocate. "Well, when in Rome." I told him before taking a deep breath and blasting him with my flames. I felt a little bad for the poor guy, seeing as he ended up getting knocked a good 10-20 feet away. I walked over to Garble, who was holding a claw to his head. "So, now that the greeting is out of the way, what do you all do for fun?" "I... Uh..." He seemed to have some trouble thinking, I guess he hit his head or something when he fell. "We..Uh... Tail Wrestle." He managed at last, shaking his head slightly to clear those annoying mental cobwebs. I looked at myself, examining my backside. "No tail here, can we skip to something else?" "King of the hoard?" Garbel tried. "Like king of the hill, but with jewels?" I figured, looking around at all of the stacks, mounds, and piles of jewels. "Yeah, basically." "Sure!" Of course, with my superior agility and abnormal strength... Well, I'm strong enough to throw the larger dragon a good five feet by accident so it wasn't really a contest. I got bored after a while and jumped off to watch. The little purple guy, nervous as he was, managed to win pretty much through sheer luck. Watching those dragons eat gems, I decided to try one. I reached for a nearby sapphire gem and tried a nibble... "BLECK!" agh, the taste! How can these guys stand these things!? I hope coal tastes better than this or I might just grow to hate eating... "So what's next?" I asked, eager to get to the next event. And to distract myself from the taste of that disgusting gem. "Lava Splash Contest!" Garbel declared, leading the way to the top of a rock cliff. "Biggest splash wins." One by one the dragons lined up, the largest one making a literal tidal-wive of lava. Finally there were only two creatures left to jump, myself and the small purple guy. "Hey kid." I said, nudging the shivering dragon with my foot. "No need to be scared man, it'll be fun!" "Hey, I'm not a kid! I'm a big dragon!" The kid cried indignantly, puffing his chest out. "And the name's Spike!" "Alright, nice to meet you Spike, I'm Duncan." I told him, kneeling down and holding out a fist. Hey I might as well use the name, right? I mean, I'm pretty much him anyways. Mostly. Physically. Spike bumped my fist a bit hesitantly as I gave him some advice. "Look, it'll be fun. Well... As long as you don't bellyflop." I told him sagely. Bellyflops hurt like hell! "You should probably go for a normal cannonball. I'll go first while you get yourself together Spike." With that said, I swiftly stood up and ran to the edge of the cliff. Doing a backflip as I reached it, I pulled my limbs into a spinning cannonball. "Always wanted to try this! WOOOO~!!" I yelled happily, the lava rushing up to meet me. The lava barely even splashed as I entered it... But hey, this contest was made for a dragon's weight, not mine. Surfacing, I looked up at the cliff. "IT'S ALRIGHT SPIKE, THE LAVA'S FINE!" I called up loudly, disregarding the hushed whispers from some of the dragons staring at me. The poor little guy looked about ready to back off... And then he jumped! Haha, way to go Spi- Yikes... I cringed more than a little, seeing the little dude take a major bellyflop. That's just not the kind of thing a human would walk away from... Then again, he's a dragon so maybe he's fine. No, yeah there he is swimming around and spitting out lava. Cool. And apparently that was enough to get him promoted to being a 'real dragon', whatever that means. Oh well, good for him! "Hey! If you think you can keep up for this next event, follow us!" Garble shouted at me. "Heck yeah~! More fun to come!" I pumped my fist happily before freezing. Tilting my head, I examined my arm. "Oh yeah, I forgot that this form thing was unlocked after Duncan fell into some lava. Cool!" so he was thrown, details details voice. Grinning, I used my now upgraded speed and reflexes to give chase to the flying dragons. "Wait you're gonna do what now?" I asked in disbelief, leaning against a tree with my arms crossed. "We're gonna grab those Phoenix eggs, and we're gonna smash 'em!" Garble declared proudly, pounding a fist into an open claw. "I'm not going with that." I replied, looking at him angrily. "You're trying to kill innocent and helpless creatures for what? For a laugh!?" "Well duh, it's not like we care about some stupid birds." Garble deadpanned. I took a deep breath, before making my way over to the tree with the nest. Quickly climbing the branches, I stopped as the Phoenixes took an aggressive stance and held my arms up in a very non-aggressive manner. "Hey, yeah I know I look a bit threatening..." I admitted to the two birds, "But I don't mean you any harm. I'm just warning you that there's some Teenage Dragons around here that are planning to smash your eggs." They eyed me suspiciously, scrutinizing my form and body language with cautious eyes. Finally one of them nodded before turning to the other. "What is that thing doing!?" Garble growled angrily, "No choice, forget the distraction, we go after them now!" He ordered, bursting from the shrubbery flanked by the other two goons. The phoenixes started in alarm, trilling loudly as they took flight carrying a single egg with them. Apparently the rest hatched, because a bunch of cute little fire-birds followed the two adults through the forest. The dragons were hot on their tails but, thanks to some sort of magical flashbomb, the birds managed to get away. I made my way to the ground as this happened, standing next to Spike as the spectacle unfurled. "YOU!" Garble roared loudly, "You ruined it! We had the perfect plan, and you ruined it!" "Yeah, because I'm not going to let you harm some innocent animals." I responded angrily, my slit pupils narrowing as they moved closer. "Well now we're gonna hurt you!" Garbel snarled, flaring his wings. "STOP!" Spike yelled, coming between us. "Can't we just talk about this?" "What, you mean like those namby-pamby ponies of yours?" Garbel laughed, "Yeah, right! Now move out of the way pip-squeak." "No!" Spike declared, rather bravely for something of his er... Diminutive stature. "What did you say..?" Garble growled, "Nobody says no to me!" He continued, advancing on Spike. I moved to step in, but was beaten to the punch by... Uh... Does that even classify as a dragon? And then the dragon jumped, wait no it was a costume. That makes a lot more sense than a dragon that actually looks like that. Anyways, the costume was thrown away and three oddly-colored and very furry people jumped out. one had wings, and the other two had horns. Tony would probably make a perverted joke about that... "Nopony's gonna lay a claw on him!" The flying girl said, glaring at the three dragons. "That's right!" The purple one added, shaking her fists for emphasis. " "Fighting's not really my thing, I'm more into fashion..." another spoke up, her clothing easily backing up her claim. Wonder if she knew where I could get some new clothes, seeing as mine are pretty wrecked... Except my strangely lava proof pants. "But I'll rip you to pieces if you touch one scale on his cute little head!" She yelled dangerously. Hmm... they have a good attitude, but something tells me they won't be able to help much in actually fending the dragons off. I'd better get some help. The dragons began laughing, "Oo~, scary." Garbel said sarcastically, "Spike, are these namby-pamby ponies your friends?" He asked, pointing at them. "Yes, they are!" He said firmly, stomping a foot lightly against the ground. And they're better friends than you could ever hope to be!" Spike began walking towards them, "Now, if you don't back off, you'll see what us ponies do when confronted by a huge group of jerky dragons!" "Oh yeah?" Garble snorted, "What's that?" "RUN AWAY!" Spike shouted, bolting. The three, what I guess must be ponies in this world, quickly following. As they ran, they seemed to have some sort of glow fading in and out around them before winking out completely. "I can't focus enough to teleport!" The purple one yelled fearfully, looking back at the dragons quickly catching up. Closer... Closer... BAM! "And it's a home run!" I called, catching the three dragons in the face with my makeshift baseball bat and sending them flying off into the distance. "Whew, look at'em fly!" I grinned, holding a hand over my eyes to block out any sunlight. "I think I hit the horizen!" The three girls, who had stopped running after I'd gotten a grand slam on the dragons, looked at me curiously. "Yo Spike, you alright man?" I asked, walking towards the group with my baseball bat hanging over one shoulder. "Y-yeah. Thanks Duncan." He replied, holding out his fist with a weak grin. "No problem little dude, happy to help out a friend." I replied, gently bumping his fist with my free hand. "Excuse me..." The purple 'pony' spoke up. "Isn't that heavy?" She asked, indicating my bat. "What, my baseball bat? Nah, hardly feel a thing." I replied, hefting it up and setting it down with a really loud *THUMP* and the sound of shaking leaves. "Baseball bat?!" She questioned incredulously, "That's a small tree!" "Your point is...?" I asked curiously, wondering where she was going with this. I'm pretty sure I already touched on the topic of my super strength... In my head at least. AKA here. Oh well. "Yeah, I'm fairly strong." I shrugged, letting go of the tree and allowing it to topple to the ground. "Nevermind..." She replied, seeming to already be exasperated. She doesn't have much patience does she? Then again maybe it's just the situation... Nerves and all that. "Hey, do any of you girls know a tailor? The rest of my outfit kinda burned away, so I need to get a shirt and maybe some shoes." I asked hopefully. By now I had already reverted to my normal orange and human-looking self instead of the demonic-looking form I was using the slap those dragons away with a tree. Still not sure why my pants are lava-proof though. Or how for that matter... The fashion-conscious girl moved forward with a small smile, "My name is Rarity, and I happen to be a tailor. I would be happy to make some clothes for you Mr... Duncan, was it?" "Yeah my name's Duncan, nice to meet you Rarity. Don't bother with that mister stuff though, that sounds weird coming from someone who's probably around my age." I replied easily, scratching the back of my head. "Ah... How old are you exactly?" She asked curiously. "19" I responded, turning towads the other two, "And you two are?" "Eighteen, same as her." The blue one said, jerking a thumb at Rarity. I laughed, "No, I'm asking your names." "Oh, I'm Rainbow Dash. The awesomest pony in all of Equestria!" She boasted with a huge grin. "Equestria huh..." I said, scratching the side of my face in thought. "Where have I heard that word before..." "How are you not familiar with Equestria?" The purple one asked, squinting at me like I was some sort of puzzle. "And that's Twilight, resident Egghead." Rainbow Dash offered, rolling her eyes slightly. "Come on, let's go home already. I'm missing out on a lot of napping time." Rainbow complained. "Welcome to my Carousal Boutique!" Rarity exclaimed dramatically, "Where everything is chic, unique, and magnifique!" "Cool." I replied, looking around. It was pretty fancy, not that that was a surprise though, just one look at her and you could tell that she would prefer things like that. I described my old shirt and jacket to her as best as I could, making sure to ask her not to make it too fancy or anything, just something simple to wear. After a few minutes, she help up a sketchpad with a pretty stylish design. "Awesome!" I told her with a grin, "If I can get that in blue, then you have to be some kind of angel." Blue is my favorite color after all. I know Duncan wore red, but I'm allowed my preferences. My comment caused her cheeks to color slightly, though I hardly noticed it through my thoughts of an awesome blue jacket. "Well it should be done in the next few hours." She told me after taking a moment to clear her throat. "Alright, thanks." I nodded, smiling happily. "Excuse me Duncan, but do you have a place to stay?" Twilight asked as I walked outside. "Not really, no..." I replied, scratching my head. "I hadn't really thought about that." Twilight sighed, "Well I suppose we'll just have to try and find a place for you to stay temporarily... Maybe Applejack wouldn't mind you staying at her farm in exchange for a bit of extra help." "You'd really help me with finding a place?" I asked happily, "Thanks!" I exclaimed, scooping her into a hug. Twilight eeped and teleported out of my grasp. Looking over at the flustered pony, I scratched my head, "Sorry about that." She shook her head slightly, "Come on, I'll introduce you to Applejack." she told me, walking off. I hope I didn't make her upset... "Say what now?" Applejack asked Twilight curiously, "Ya want me ta house him? I dunno Twi, I'd love to help out but it's just..." She sighed at Twilight's pleading look before turning her head towards me. "You think he can pull his own weight?" Twilight giggled slightly, remembering the tree incident. Oh how easy it is to look back at an odd situation and laugh. "Don't worry about that Applejack, he can definitely carry more than his own weight. Applejack raised an eyebrow at her, silently asking for an explanation. "Well~..." Twilight tittered, "Spike decided to follow the dragon migration, so Rarity, Rainbow, and I followed Spike. We also got into a little bit of trouble when I couldn't concentrate enough for a Teleportation Spell to get us all out of there." "An' what does that have to do with him?" She asked, jerking a thumb in my direction. "Well, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself but..." Twilight trailed off. "Spit it out Twi!" Applejack urged. "Well, he..." Twilight took a deep breath. "He took out the three teenage Dragons chasing us." Applejack looked surprised, "Well I guess-" "By hitting them. With a Tree." Twilight finished, cutting her friend's response off. "Uh... Ya mean that he tricked them into hitting a tree, right?" the farm-pony asked. "No." Twilight shook her head, "I mean he took a tree, and swung it at them." Applejack blinked owlishly, "Yer pullin' mah leg, right?" She asked slowly. Twilight shook her head, "No, I saw him do it with my own two eyes." "Jeeze..." The blonde earth pony looked my way again, "He don't look like the kinda feller that could lift a tree." "I don't look like I can breath fire either." I piped up. "You.. Breathe fire too?" Twilight asked curiously. "May I see it?" I shrugged, "Sure why not? We're pretty far from any shrubbery and stuff after all." I replied. Taking a breath, I let a steady flame flow from my mouth. "Amazing!" Twilight exclaimed, "Are you a dragon? Is that why you were with those dragons?" I shook my head, "Nah, that was just coincidence." I told her. "I'm half-kaiju." "Kaiju?" The ever inquisitive pony asked, "I don't think I've ever heard of those before." I shook my head, "Yeah. That's a good thing." I told her. "Most Kaiju are violent, and tower several hundred feet above the ground." Twilight tilted her head, "But aren't you a kaiju?" "Half. I'm half Kaiju." I reminded her. "Okay, so You're extremely strong and can breathe fire. Based off of that hide of yours, you're also extremely durable... What can't you do?" The unicorn asked curiously. "Well I can't fly... Yet." I muttered the last part. "Yet? you mean you will be able to later?" Twilight asked, her ears perking as she heard that. Those pony ears of theirs are really something.. "Uh, maybe? Anyways..." I turned towards Applejack, "Would you mind if I stayed at your farm? At least until I find somewhere else to go? I promise I'll work my hardest to help out wherever possible." And I'd really appreciate it if you could get me away from the unending interrogation too, if possible. "Uh... Yeah sure, ah'll just... Show you to yer room then." Applejack responded distantly, possibly dazed by the unbelievable stuff she had been hearing. I wonder if there's anybody else around here who can lift a tree... Well.. This has certainly been an eventful day... I mused, lying in the guestroom. "Oh well, better get some sleep. Aj said I'd have to wake up pretty early tomorrow after all." I yawned, turning off the lamp and falling asleep. Jackets, Tokens, Parties, and Muffins. Can't forget the Muffins.I yawned and stretched as I woke up, getting out of bed to better stretch my legs. Once I'd woken up enough, I went downstairs. Upon my arrival downstairs I had something that smelled like food shoved into one hand, while my other hand was used to pull me outside. "Wha?" I asked, my mind trying to process this odd turn. "That there's an apple fritter, go on and eat it an' we'll getcha started learnin' ta help work the field." Applejack explained, pulling me towards the nearest gathering of trees. I shrugged, quickly mowing down on the food in my hand as my mind caught up, allowing me to actually start walking instead of continuing to get dragged. By the time I'd finished what was probably the best fritter I've had in my life, we were already at the nearest tree. "Now then, based on what I've heard from Twi, ya should be strong enough to help us buck the apples an' carry 'em back." She told me as we stopped I shrugged for the second time that day, "Probably... what do you mean by 'buck the apples'?" I asked curiously. Instead of responding verbally, she looked at the tree and did a martial-arts-style kick thing. She moved forward, pivoting on her lead foot and bringing the other down to take it's place, slamming the originally pivoting foot into the base of the tree. The tree shook slightly, a veritable rain of apples falling into the buckets I hadn't even noticed until now. Wow, I use a lot of overly complicated words and stuff when I'm tired. weird... "All right, now let's see what you've got." She told me, pointing at another nearby tree. I walked over to the tree, eyeing it up. It was fairly big, with lots of ripe and juicy looking apples hanging from it's branches. "Don't feel bad if ya can't do it on yer first try." Applejack told me from behind, "Most can't quite get the timing of the kick right, takes a few tries. Ah didn't even get it right the first time ah tried." Meh, why go through all those motions when I could probably just punch the tree? And so I did, I punched it right in the knot. After I did that, the poor tree shook violently for a bit with a couple of odd groans, before pretty much every apple jumped ship; throwing themselves into the barrels for safety. Well, that's how I saw it at least... Most would probably just say it rained apples or something, but what's the fun in that? I turned back to the slack-jawed mare behind me, "Is that good?" I asked curiously, wondering when she'd stop imitating a fish. I mean it's kinda fun to do sometimes, but I usually only do that when there's fish around. I think it makes them more comfortable around me. And before you ask, no genderless voice-in-my-head, I'm not crazy. I just like to look at the world differently than some people. "Uh... Doesn't that hurt yer hand any?" Applejack finally managed to ask, pointing at the hand I'd used to introduce myself to my new tree buddy. I looked at my hand, flexing it slightly "No, not really. Should it hurt?" Maybe it was the scales, nice smooth in some places but rough in others. They make great armor, so I guess it might have hurt to do that if it weren't for my awesome scales. "Honestly, ah'm not sure if that should've hurt ya. But I do know that most ponies probably would've hurt themselves tryin' that, even mah brother Big Mac wouldn't have tried that." She replied, shaking her head. Probably already deciding that it was better off not putting me to pony standards. Possibly. It might even help prevent headaches in the future. "Anyways, Twi wanted me to let ya know that Rarity finished your coat an' such. I'll let ya go pick it up, but I expect you to be back soon to help out in the field." She told me, gesturing out towards town. I smiled and thanked her before running off towards town, letting a large dust cloud tag along behind me. Oh man, I really really hope she made it blue! I quickly arrived at Rarity's clothing shop, happily walking in through the front door. "Hey Rarity, Applejack said that you finished my coat?" I called out to the mare, smiling. Come on blue! Let it be blue, let it be blue... Rarity quickly appeared from somewhere in the store with something draped over her arms, "Yes, I did and they look absolutely wonderful, if I do say so myself. Though I really think they would've been better if you had let me to put a bit more flair into them..." She told me, handing over a couple pairs of the jacket. "Just in case one should get ruined. I hate to even think that something terrible might happen to the clothes but I have had several dresses ruined by rather unexpected circumstances, so I thought it best to be safe." I quickly shrugged one on, admiring the dark blue color. Sure it stood out against my orange skin, but what can I say? I like blue. "Thanks Rarity, you're amazing!" I exclaimed happily, bringing her in for a hug. "These are absolutely perfect!" Rarity had a bit of red on her otherwise perfectly white cheeks and coughed slightly as I let go. "Yes, well... I do try." She said. "Though you know, you should really be more aware of personal space." I tilted my head as I thought about that, "You know, lots of people have told me something like that." I shrugged helplessly, "But I just can't help it, I like showing affection to my friends." Rarity shook her head slightly, "You and Pinkie would get along great, I bet." She decided. "Pinkie? Pinkie who?" I asked. "Pinkie Pie, a friend of mine. I'm sure you'll be meeting her soon enough." Rarity said dismissively. "Oh, okay. Well I'd better get back to the farm, Applejack said she wanted me back right away to start working and stuff." I replied, waving as I walked out the door. "Bye Rarity!" "Bye Duncan, I hope you enjoy your new jacket." Rarity replied, watching as I left. "I wonder how he'll react to Pinkie's party..." She asked herself as she got back to work. I'm just going to say it. This is boring~! I mean sure, it was fun to watch the apples all somehow miraculously fall into their buckets like they were trained acrobats... For the first three or four times. Now that magic is gone, I'm faced with the reality of this boring work. I bet the trees are laughing at me now, like 'Haha, not as fun to hit us as you thought it would be, huh?' and stuff. Well if they didn't want to be hit, then they really should've chosen someplace else to grow. Oh well. After I finished off another few trees and brought some buckets back, I paused. "Hmm..." I hummed, thinking about the gem in my pocket. There were supposed to be like.. Token things and stuff for the displaced, right? So they could meet and greet, and help and stuff. Maybe I should try making one. I set the apple baskets down with the rest, walking outside as I took the pink gem from my pocket. "Lemme see here... Umm..." I scratched my head as I thought about how this would work. "I think it's something like energy and a message and then toss." Well, if my friends were to be believed. Though it makes me wonder how people know so much about this displaced stuff if they were, ya know, Displaced. Did they find a way to talk to friends and family or something? Oh well, on with the token making. I bathed the gem in my fire for a few minutes, causing it to shine brightly. Once I cut the flames off the remnants seemed to be sucked inside, creating a sort of inner fire effect... Cool. Anyways, time to add a message. "Yo, I'm Duncan Rosenblatt, the Half-Kaiju Firebreather here! Feel free to call on me for help with fighting, problem solving, or just to hang out." I said before tossing the gem forward, watching as it vanished. Guess they were right... Not the most well-worded message, but it works. Somehow the weirdest part of all this isn't the fact that it worked, but that I somehow managed to get my gem back. I'm not even sure how either, I just suddenly felt it in my pocket again. Though I have to wonder how the heck anybody knew this stuff. Seriously... I shrugged before getting back to work, striking it off as another of life's mysteries that I may never know... I leaned backwards as I walked, sighing in satisfaction when my back popped. Yep, that's better. I was currently walking to someplace called 'Sugarcube Corner' after Applejack suggested it, giving me a small bag of bits for the day's hard work and telling me to get myself a treat. Once she mentioned Muffins I was sold. I mean, who can resist that? I probably should've asked for directions though, I doubt I'm going to just stumble across it. I stopped in front of what seemed like a giant candy house. I've heard of gingerbread houses before, but that is just... Awesome! I quickly ran up to the giant dessert, sniffing it to see if it was real, and pouting when I found out it wasn't. I looked up at the sky to question why the gods would torment me with such a delicious looking fake, and noticed a sign proclaiming 'Sugarcube Corner'. Well, at least there's sweet-tooth sating items inside, right? Yay! Hmm... It was oddly dark as I walked in. I'd almost think the place was closed if it wasn't for the 'open' sign and the unlocked door. And then... "SURPRISE!" A large crowd called out as the lights came on, a particularly quick pink pony quickly shoving a party hat on my head and pulling me in for a hug. Even as surprised and confused as I was, I happily hugged the pink mare back. Once I regained my bearings, I looked at the pink pony. "This... Is... AWESOME!" I exclaimed happily, swinging her in a circle before placing her back on her hooves. Turns out they actually have somewhat odd hooves for feet but hands for hands. go figure. "I'm glad you like it! I would've gotten your 'Welcome to Ponyville party together yesterday, but I didn't have a chance. So I got it together today!" She blew on a noisemaker, "I'm Pinkie pie!" "My name's Duncan and I love parties!" I told her excited, immediately launching into the tale about the first time I threw my friends a party as I nabbed a muffin from the snack table. She nodded along at some points, inserting some tips and opinions on the parties themselves at others. Once I finished talking about my first party, we went back and forth trading party stories. "And that's all the parties I've thrown so far." I finished, happily scarfing down my forty-third muffin. Pinkie (I learned her name during our talk) giggled, "Always nice to meet a new pony, especially a fellow party-lover!" We exchanged a little more small talk before she bounced, literally bounced, off to make sure 'everypony' else was having fun. I like her, she's cheerful. And she throws parties with muffins. Muffins. Any person, pony, or other creature who plans a party with a good supply of muffins is okay in my book! After a bit at the 'muffin-bar' as I called the table that held seemingly infinite amounts of muffins, another mare came over. This one had grey fur and wings along with pretty gold eyes, though they seemed a bit skewed. Her mane and tail were also of the gold-ish coloring. I have this feeling that we're going to be great friends. She gazed at the huge table of muffins with drool hanging out of the corner of her mouth. "Muffins~..." Yep. We're gonna be awesome friends! "You should try the lemon poppyseed! It's absolutely amazing. Then again, muffins in general are amazing..." I told her, trailing off thoughtfully at the end. "Mmm... Muffins..." Yeah, I sorta fell into a muffin trance. I randomly reached out, nabbing the Nth muffin for the night. Oh come on, you really can't expect me to keep track of how many muffins I've eaten so far, can you? I ate forty three during the party conversation alone, and that was only a half-hour conversation! "I like the lemon surprise best." The mare replied, snagging one of the lemon poppyseeds for herself. "But you're right, muffins are all amazing." We smiled at one another, beginning to converse about muffins. We didn't stop until the party was almost over, because the awesomeness that is muffins demands a proper conversation. Between the two of us, we managed to prove my 'Infinite Muffin Table' theory wrong by the time the conversation ended. "Mommy, we've gotta go." An adorable little unicorn girl said sleepily, tugging on Derpy's (Yes, I learned about her name in the conversation too. You'd be surprised at how much you can learn during a conversation about muffins, Voice.) sleeve. "Okay my little Muffin." Derpy replied, picking the kid up in her arms. "Sorry Duncan, I've gotta get Dinky home so she can get some rest for school tomorrow." She explained apologetically. "No no, I totally understand!" I replied with a smile, waving my hands in front of me. "She needs her rest. I hope you see you around though Derpy, you're the first fellow Muffin enthusiast that I've had a conversation with in... Ever!" She nodded, "Yeah! Maybe you can stop by sometime for muffins." Dinky yawned, "Yeah, mommy makes the best muffins." "I definitely will! After all, who can resist an offer of muffins?" We shared a small laugh before waving goodbye. It was already getting pretty late, so I took a bit of initiative and helped Pinkie clean up most of the party mess before thanking her for the party and leaving. By the time I made it back to the dirt road leading to the farm house, it was already well into the night. The moon was out and it was a cloudless night, giving me something to light the way and admire on the way back. "Man, I know I should be upset at being thrown into all of this or something... But it's just so cool! I've already met two others kinda like me, one with muffins and one with parties and stuff, and I've got a pretty good job and cool powers!" I sighed happily. "My only real problems here are that I have no idea where Tony and Dante are... Well, maybe we'll be re-united one day. But in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy my new life to the fullest!" I pumped my fist happily. Unfortunately, I had no idea that very soon, I would be adding more problems to my little list. BIG problems. Author's Note Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Son of a Kaiju everypony! I plan to try and write more very soon! I've got a good amount of free time for the foreseeable future, and I plan to use it to work on my fanfics! I don't really have much else to anounce, aside from the fact that I might be doing my first crossover chapter with another author soon (YAY! ). Here's a good picture of the Gem. I own the movie on Itunes and got a good screenshot of it: Other than that; please let me know what you thought of this chapter. I love happy comments, and I also love constructive criticism! So feel free to leave plenty of either or both. (Flames will be used in an old-fashioned oven to help bake my muffins .) Making a New Friend and Fighting some Old EnemiesI yawned and stretched as I woke up, heading downstairs once again to the bottom floor of the barn at Sweet Apple Acres. Nabbing an apple muffin off the table on my way out the door, I made a beeline straight for the nearest tree to begin work for the day. After a few hours of punching trees right in the knot, I heard a bunch of odd noises coming from the nearby Everfree. I looked between the apple trees and the Everfree for a bit before shrugging and deciding to investigate, I was sure Applejack wouldn’t get too upset at me for taking a five-minute break. I took off at a run, my Kaiju-enhanced speed getting me to the edge of the forest within a couple minutes. I peered inside for a bit, trying to figure out what had made the sounds. After a few minutes of fruitless searching I shrugged and walked in, keeping an eye out for any of those twig dogs or other dangerous wildlife. Another few minutes of travel later and I began hearing the sound of breaking branches and leafy canine growls. I also heard what sounded like someone talking. I walked through the foliage to get closer, figuring that I would never really find anything out by just waiting around. Once I managed to get through the foliage, I heard a loud shout. One that didn’t sound like a wooden wolf at all. “SWORD FIRE!!” The next moment, a powerful fire filled shock-wave went off, sending a few Timberwolves (Ooo~, I like that one! From now on, I'm going to call them Timberwolves. Wonder what their actual names are though...) flying several feet behind me and one that would have nearly hit me if I hadn’t moved at the last second. “Woah, that was awesome!” I exclaimed with a grin, “Wonder what threw those things away?” I began moving forward again, eager to find out who had shouted. After another few minutes, I found the source of the voice and the flying Timberwolves. As another two of them sprung forth, a young warrior in a Red cloak used what seemed to be magic to hold off his attackers as a rune in his hands exploded, throwing the beasts into a nearby tree. Before long though, one last Timberwolf came at him and with it, the warrior swung at him like his sword was a baseball bat. Sending the wolf into my face. I blinked when the Timberwolf exploded on contact with my head, the pieces flying off somewhere behind me as I thanked my awesome half-kaiju durability(My scales rock!). I whistled slightly, looking around at all of the Timberwolf pieces littering the clearing. “Wow, they really picked a bad fight, huh?” I joked, walking over to the somewhat shorter person. Nicko was surprised to see the other human like individual as he dismissed his sword with his magic. “You can say that. Not to be rude, but who are you exactly?” He asked, folding his arms. I put one of his hands out with a smile, “Duncan Rosenblatt at your service, nice to meet you.” I greeted with a friendly tone. “What’s your name?” “Nicko. Nicko Nocte.” He replied, offering a hand to shake. I firmly shook the offered hand, “Nice to meet you little guy.” I said, looking down a bit to meet the warrior’s eyes. What I didn’t realize was that the comment I'd made caused Nicko’s ears to twitch. To my surprise, the Rune Slayer soon tightened his grip and then pulled me towards him before throwing me with enough force to cause the ground to shake. “Next time, pick your words a little more carefully.” He said, cleaning a little bit of dirt from his clothes. I got off of the tree that had broken my fall (and just broke) popping my back as I stretched. “Got it.” I replied, checking my coat over for any damage and sighing with relief when I found none. “So what are you doing here anyways?” I asked curiously. Nicko sighed, going into one of his pockets. “Well, that’s sort of complicated. I’m assuming that you are a Displaced?” When he finished the sentence, he pulled out the jewel that I immediately recognized. A copy of the gem I had received seconds before ending up in Equestria. I grinned as I recognized it, “Oh, yeah. That’s mine, I just made it yesterday in fact.” I replied. “Cool that someone’s already gotten hold of one.” Nicko grinned a little, partially showing his teeth. “Well, I guess that answers my question.” However, one thing that distracted me was that while looking at Nicko, I could see a silhouette of another being. One that looked almost like him. But he had blue hair, a serious expression and a different set of clothes along with a Katana blade. “You know, you sort of make me think of my teacher actually.” I scratched the side of my face in confusion, “Why’s that?” I asked. “Did he act kind of like me or something?” “He’s a dragon. He has a human appearance, but can take on multiple forms and also become a dragon.” Nicko replied. I nodded, “Yeah, that does kinda sound like me. Except the dragon part…” I grinned, “I met a few dragons when I got here though. They were being a bunch of jerks, so I hit them with a tree.” “Well, sorry to disappoint you on that part, but Ryu’s a jerk. But it’s for a reason. He’s been alive for a LONG time and is also Applejack’s uncle in his world.” Nicko told me. “But he’s the one who actually taught me how to fight better and how to use my spells in different ways. Ryu isn’t the only dragon I met though. There is one other one that I know who also has a lot of weight on his shoulders…” I scratched my head, “Applejack’s uncle?” He asked, “Is he like a really small dragon, or is it an honorary thing?” “He’s taller than me, lived over 1000 years and is referred to as a Elder Dragon. He prefers to go by the title of Kaiser though.” Nicko replied. “Let’s just say he’s very… blunt in terms of speaking. How he teaches his lessons is not through telling you how to do things, but by having you figure it out while he’s attacking you. Not to mention he can combine his spells together to form new powers.” “Woah..” I blinked, “That sounds like pretty tough training… I just kinda experiment with my powers and stuff.” I added thoughtfully. “Experimentation is one thing. Actually getting it to where you find out what works for you is another thing. Neltharion though, he’s different.” Nicko said, remembering the Earth-Warden. “Different how?” I asked curiously. “He’s the size of a freaking mountain. The Avatar of the world. The World Given form. The Cataclysm. Those are only some of the names he has. One though, might cause a chill to go down your spine and I had his token be socketed in my sword, Rovaniik.” He said. Rovaniik was only one of two swords he had. In the dragon language, it meant Wanderer. But thanks to Neltharion's token, the earth and nature around him could bend to his will. “And that name is…?” I prompted. “Deathwing.” I did indeed shudder slightly. I wonder what kind of thing that Neltharion could’ve done to earn that name. Nicko soon threw an index card the size of a piece of paper. On it was the dragon he was referring to. “Have a look for yourself.” I caught the card, looking at it carefully. “Well, he’s definitely intimidating.” I agreed with wide eyes. “Once you get to know him though, he’s quite interesting. And that’s just only two of the Displaced that I’ve met. Besides having to take a temporary break when I got myself turned to stone briefly.” I nodded for a bit until the last sentence caught up with me, “Wait what?” “Long story short, a psychotic Esper that wanted to take revenge on the Royal Siblings deflected a blast from the elements of harmony towards my brother, I took the hit instead, and I wake up seven years later. Ironically, the one who got me out of stone was my brother’s daughter, so now I’m an uncle. Other then that, I met some… interesting people.” “Cool.” I replied, “Hey you wanna move this discussion out of the Everfree?” He asked, looking around. “If you want. Lead the way I guess.” I grinned before walking back the way I had come from, towards Sweet Apple Acres. On the way back, I could see Applejack, who seemed to be looking for me. “There you are, Duncan-. Who or what in tarnation is that?” She asked, pointing a finger at Nicko. “Hey Applejack, sorry for leaving the field during work-hours, but I found somebody fighting those twig dogs in the Everfree. His name is Nicko!” I replied, introducing my new friend. Nicko did a simple wave with his hand, following that up by saying, “Hello there.” “Howdy, nice to meet a friend of Duncan’s ah guess. Though ah gotta ask why you were in the Everfree, if ya don’t mind explaining.” She replied, raising a brow curiously as she waved back. “Let’s just say I was traveling and ended up landing on top of a timberwolf. Had to fight the rest of the pack and teach old dogs new tricks. Specifically, rolling over and playing dead.” Applejack blinked, “Ah guess that makes sense.” She replied, scratching her head. “How were ya able to defend yourself though?” “Oh I used my magic… and one of my swords.” I chuckled, “Yeah he was sending those things flying all over the place. One of those twig dogs smashed right into my head, even.” Applejack shook her head, “Somehow, ah don’t think I really wanna know anymore. Ain’t worth the headache.” She sighed, “Just make sure ya get your work done for the day Duncan.” I snapped a mock salute, “Will do!” Applejack walked back towards the field, only to soon see Nicko mess with his magic by briefly channeling a small rune before dismissing it. Looking at it, she soon thought that the moment Twilight saw him, she would be all over him about what he was capable of. Nicko soon walked over to the bottom of a tree and cracked open a book he had on him. His spellbook. The Rune Slayer was taking the time to look over some of his skills and refresh his memory. Still though, this didn’t come without anypony not noticing. Soon though, Applejack soon noticed a familiar face. She personally cursed her timing on thinking about Twilight. For she was walking down the road towards the Orchard’s entrance. Twilight hummed a bit as she walked towards Sweet Apple Acres, a quill and several stacks of parchment following along in the grip of her magic. She figured that it would be best to learn as much about Duncan as possible, seeing as he was quite possibly a new species of some sort. Besides, she wanted to send Princess Celestia a letter with more than ‘an unknown hybrid saved me and my friends by smacking dragons with a tree.’. She walked through the gate, looking around for any sign of Duncan or Applejack. Noticing Applejack over in the fields, she started heading towards her orange friend while giving a wave in greeting and calling out her name. “Hey Applejack!” “Howdy Twilight!” the Earth Pony replied. “What brings you to Sweet Apple Acres?” She personally already knew the answer, but asked anyways. “Well I figured I would check to see how Duncan was settling in and maybe ask a few questions. You know, figure out a bit more on his capabilities and personality.” “There may be a bit more to figure out than you might think. Duncan happened to make a friend this morning.” Applejack told her, nodding her head in Nicko’s direction. “Do you think he might be a ‘Half-Kaiju’ like Duncan?” Twilight questioned curiously, looking over at the reading Rune Slayer. “No. He’s a different case. Especially if he, from what he told me, took on a pack of timberwolves and lived to tell the tale.” As Applejack spoke, Nicko turned another page in the book. Now at the section with the notes from Starswirl the Bearded on Runic Magic. Notes that only he and one other pony back in his world could read. “Did he say how he did that?” The purple unicorn asked, looking at Applejack. “He said he used his magic and a sword. But I don’t-.” At that second, Nicko summoned the sword that he used earlier to inspect it after reviewing some attacks involving the use of his weapon. “-Okay, ah take that back. He does have a sword.” Twilight looked at the newly materialized sword with a critical eye, already attemtping to decipher what sort of spell he could’ve used. “Maybe some sort of pocket dimension spell? no, no…” After about five minutes of muttering to herself, she decided to just go over and ask. Walking up to Nicko, she cleared her throat slightly. “Excuse me?” She asked politely. Nicko looked up, closing the book and dismissing the blade. “Yes, Miss? How can I help you?” “I was wondering how you managed to simply vanish and rematerialize your sword. What kind of spell do you use?” She asked eagerly. “Honestly, I just summoned them. They are enchanted swords.” Nicko said back. This though, didn’t satisfy Twilight’s curiosity. “Well I suppose that would make sense..” Twilight replied with a nod, “But what kind of enchantments are on them?” “I wouldn’t know. I just summon them by calling their name. Then again, Dyntos did reforge my main sword and allowed me to keep the blade I used during his trials.” He said to himself. The name he mentioned peaked the pony’s attention. Curious to find out who’s this Dyntos person he mentioned. “Dyntos?” Twilight asked, “Is he some sort of unicorn blacksmith?” “You’re a little off. He’s the god of the forge and maker of all weapons.” He told her. The sound of the word god cause Twilight’s eyes to widen. For a moment, she just stared at him in shock. Nicko honestly thought that he caused her to crash. Twilight blinked, her mouth opening and closing on occasion but no sound escaped. After a few minutes, she managed to gather her thoughts and ask an actual question. “A god!?” Though it wasn’t the most intelligent question she’s ever asked. “Yeah. That only happened yesterday for me, so I don’t really remember all the details.” He turned to his right, noticing me. While Twilight was stuck in thought, he walked over to me. “Duncan, I think I caused your Twilight to flip out.” I waved a hand in front of Twilight’s face, taking note of her expression of shock, “I think you broke her Nicko.” “Well, great. All she did was ask me who made my weapons and now she crashed like a computer on windows vista. Perfect…” He sighed. I, personally, was curious about what exactly Nicko said to Twilight to cause her to shut down. “So what did you say to her?” I asked, poking Twilight’s shoulder in an effort to get a response. “I told her that Dyntos made my weapons and when I told her who he was, she flipped. That’s what I get for telling her about the God of the Forge.” “A god, huh?” I replied, putting a hand to my chin, “Yeah, I guess that’d be pretty surprising for just about anybody.” “Yeah. I had to pass his trials in order to get my stuff.” Nicko said. “Three, hard, trials. Not to mention the third trial involved fighting my parents… Yeah, my parents are actually Displaced as well.” I nodded, “Cool. Well… Not cool that you had to fight them, but pretty cool that your parents are Displaced.” I blinked as I remembered something, “Oh hey, speaking of which… If you ever meet someone name Tony or Dante, their actual names not their Displaced names, could you let me know? They’re like my best friends, and I’m pretty sure that at least Tony got Displaced too.” “Sure, if I come across them. Otherwise then that, I’m not sure where they might be. Besides, like I said before, I met a LOT of Displaced. One of them that happens to be Handsome Jack.” I shrugged, “That’s all I can really ask, the whole ‘if you come across them’ thing, ya know? Anyways, Handsome Jack huh? I sorta remember him, I didn’t really play Borderlands much before getting Displaced though. It was a fun game, but it was just a bit lower on my list since I prefer Fantasy over Sci-fi.” “Wait till you meet Loki. He’ll definitely make your head spin.” I blinked, “Literally or Figuratively?” I asked curiously. “Because I’m pretty sure Loki is the name of some sort of… What was it, Norse? Norse trickster god.” “He’s a Displaced Discord. A Draconequus… You weren’t told about him now were you?” “Wait, what’s a Draconequus?” I wondered, scratching my head. “Spirit of Chaos. He has the talon of a hawk, paw of a lion and other numerous animals parts that are part of his body. Since he controls chaos, logic doesn’t apply to him. One time, I heard he made it rain chocolate.” I grinned, “That sounds awesome! Do you think he could make it rain Chocolate Muffins instead?” I asked, drooling slightly, imagining the skies filling with clouds that would rain chocolate muffins upon the world. “The only limit he has is his imagination-. Oh hey, Twilight’s back.” Nicko said, the Rune Slayer pointing at the Unicorn. “You might want to wait a bit before mentioning Discord though. He’s… thrown this world into chaos before. Something tells me that with time, he’ll be reformed. Let’s keep that between us for now.” I nodded, “No problem dude, my lips are sealed.” I then turned and waved at Twilight, “Hey Twilight, welcome back from… Wherever it is you just went.” Twilight groaned, “Duncan, in the three days I’ve known you, you’ve already proven to be able to cause nearly as many headaches as Pinkie…” I shrugged, “I didn’t even know she caused headaches, she seemed nice enough to me.” The unicorn sighed, shaking her head and deciding not to bother with that. “Forget it.” “Be thankful you haven’t met Amy.” Nicko muttered. “She’s a bit… Reckless. Think Deadpool, but different.” I blinked in confusion, “Different how? Like, less violent or just more random?” “Think her making the walls of a classroom look like blood is dripping down and her pretending to stick herself in a wall, asking ‘Hey kids! Wanna see a dead body!?’. That’s only the tip of the Iceberg.” “Okay…” I shook my head, “That’s.. Well, I’ll definitely agree that it’s different.” Suddenly there was a huge roar that pierced the air, causing my eyes to widen. “Oh you have got to be kidding me.” Nicko, hearing that, summoned his second blade Ebalon and turned around. “Friends of yours?” I shook my head, “No, definitely not. Not if that was what I think it is.” “Well, whatever it is- OH SH*T!” Now what I was thinking about was coming into view. “Is THAT what you think it is?” I looked at the approaching creature with a frown, shrugging off my jacket and placing it on a nearby tree branch. “Unfortunately, yes.” “Well, I was getting a little bored standing around.” Nicko smirked, two runes glowing at the bottom of his shoes before launching forth in a burst of speed. “Right behind ya on that one!” I replied, shifting into my second form with a grin and running towards the Kaiju. Nicko watched the beast burst forth from the ground and jumped to the side as it’s tail slammed down. As it turned, the tail smacked me into a mountainside. Nicko, seeing this, moved forward, placing a rune on the ground where the tail then landed. On contact, the back end of it froze. A trick with Nicko’s Ice Rune that he used to hinder an opponent's mobility. Now, he just hoped that Duncan could get back up from being knocked back. I pulled myself out of the crater I had made on impact, shaking my head with a frown. I quickly ran back down towards the Kaiju, my enhanced speed getting me there just after it’s tail had been frozen, “TAKE THIS YOU JERK!” I shouted, smashing into the frozen tail at full speed, shattering it. The Kaiju roared in pain and anger, swiping at the me and Nicko. I quickly back-flipped away, clearing a fairly large distance before blasting the creature with my flames. However, one second later, the monster that was there disappeared. “Ah great. It’s a burrower.” Nicko growled to himself, calling the monster the nickname he thought of after thinking about Rek’Sai from League of Legends. Before even getting the chance to think, he felt the ground rumble beneath them. “It’s under you-!” Before I could hear my new friend’s response, the Kaiju burst from the ground underneath my feet, grabbing hold of me. Nicko, thinking quickly, focused his next spell towards the monster’s claws that held his friend and fellow Displaced. Casting Wind Blade, a huge astral sword sprung forth, cutting off the Kaiju’s claw and freeing him. The Kaiju roared in pain, stumbling back as it held the stump that used to hold it’s claw. “You alright?” “Yeah, I’m good.” I replied, “I was going to break his fingers, but now I think I’m just gonna make him hit himself.” I grinned, picking up the now detached limb and rushing at the burrowing annoyance. “You do that, I got an idea to deal with this jerk once you stagger him.” The Rune Slayer shouted back, channeling his mana into his sword as he let me throw the Kaiju claw at the creature’s face. “I’m just going to need a bit of fire.” I jumped at the Kaiju’s head, “Hey ugly, I think this is yours!” I shouted as I swung the claw straight into the side of it’s head, making the monster jerk to the the side and stumble from the impact. I landed next to Nicko, using the beast’s neck as a springboard. “You need fire, you’ve got it!” My flames had Nicko’s blade heat up like it had come straight out of the forge. Just the way he needed it. Thanks to me, the Kaiju’s neck was exposed. That was a weak point if anyone had ever seen one, that's for sure. Launching himself forth again, he swung downward, delivering the killing blow as the hot metal sliced the head of the monster clean off. “Well, no need to call Pest Control now. Let’s just hope this guy doesn’t have any… friends.” I sighed, “Unfortunately, he probably does. If there’s one Kaiju here, I’m willing to bet the others are somewhere too.” “You think that any of them could be on your side?” Nicko asked. “Surely, some of them have the will to make their own choices and not be mindless drones.” I shrugged, “Well if Beloc is here, he might be on my side. Aside from that, I have no idea.” “You mean him?” The Rune Slayer asked. Dismissing his blade and pointing behind somewhere behind me. I spun around, looking where Nicko indicated. Though I guess I didn’t really need to be exact, it was pretty hard to to miss that giant behemoth. “Yeah… That’s Beloc alright. Though I guess I should be calling him ‘Dad’ now.” Now it was Nicko’s turn to react to that last comment. “Wait, what?” I laughed at that, “Yeah, that’s Duncan’s dad. My dad now, I guess.” I gave a little shrug, “Don’t ask how the whole ‘Kaiju + Human’ thing works though, I never found out but I don’t really think I want to know either.” “Why do I have the feeling that we’re in trouble?” “Well the show’s Beloc was pretty set on testing Duncan and making him stronger.” I explained, “So who knows what he might do, he even threw Duncan into lava after all.” “ … Okay, I’m just going to only ask questions when necessary. It’ll save us a LOT of time.” Nicko replied as Beloc landed in front of the two Displaced. “Duncan…” Beloc rumbled out, bringing his currently draconic head down to examine the Firebreather. “You are stronger than I expected, but you aren’t strong enough. You should have been able to handle him alone.” I rolled my eyes, “See what I mean?” I said to Nicko. “Point taken. It doesn’t hurt to have a helping hand sometimes.” The Rune Slayer shrugged, sitting down and using the dead Kaiju’s head as a chair. Beloc growled, “Duncan needs to be able to show the Kaiju that he is strong enough on his own, if they are to ever accept him as my Heir.” He smirked slightly though, looking at the Rune Slayer. “Isn’t that chair a bit big for you, little one?” Nicko’s ears twitched again. Now he was getting irritated. He got off the 'chair' that he was sitting on before sending it flying to where it was pierced on top of a tree like a spike. All that with just a single kick. “I would like to warn you, the past few times someone referred to my height, I had to teach them a lesson in pain. Ask Duncan, he learned the hard way.” I pounded a fist into my hand, my eyes lighting up in realization. “Oh so that’s why you threw me into that tree…” Beloc laughed, “Well at least you have strength. Size matters little when you have enough power.” “That and my teacher was a Kaiser who’s version of training involved almost killing me.” Nicko replied. The Kaiju’s King nodded, “That sounds like a proper training session to me.” He rumbled. Nicko himself smiled. “Nothing better than the feeling you get when you feel alive, that’s for sure. Especially since I don’t have any healing magic.” Turning his head, he soon noticed that what was going on had attracted some attention. And by that, it included Applejack, Twilight, and the rest of her friends. Even the Princesses had just arrived by the time he noticed. “Duncan, were you planning on having an audience?” “No, not really. Wh-...” I cut myself off as I looked over at the gathered crowd. “Oh.” Nicko sighed. “Yeah. My thoughts exactly.” Twilight teleported up to me, “What is that!?” She asked, pointing at the dead creature and Beloc. I scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, “Well that-” I pointed at the dead creature, “-Is a dead Kaiju. And that-” here I pointed at Beloc, “Is my Father, Beloc.” Twilight stared, “Uh…” She looked between Duncan and Beloc a few times, “How the hay does that work?” I sighed, “Don’t ask… Seriously, just… Don’t.” Though now I'm hoping I don't have to worry about bringing any potential girlfriends to his house when I start dating. Having a dad who could just as easily squish someone as he could roast them would probably send them packing, if my looks don't do it first. “I don’t think she would want to know anyway.” Nicko snickered. “If she couldn’t handle what I told her, I’m not quite sure if she could handle what you had said. I would pay a little more attention to the others though. Royalty is coming.” The two Alicorns in the vicinity made their way over, prompted Twilight to bow. “Princesss Celestia! Princess Luna!” She exclaimed in surprise, “I hadn’t known you were coming.” Princess Celestia patted Twilight on the back gently, “It’s quite all right Twilight, we hadn’t expected to have to make a sudden trip to Ponyville either, to be honest.” “What brings you to Ponyville?” The purple unicorn questioned. In response, the Alicorn raised a brow, a nod of her head indicating the two Kaiju (And the one half-Kaiju, AKA me.). “Oh… Right..” Twilight giggled nervously. “I’m beginning to think that I’m one of those reasons now, aren’t I?” Nicko asked, sarcastically. “Indeed.” the second alicorn spoke up, “Thou art a curiosity, just as much as those creatures.” “Which one? The one standing there or the one whose head I kicked into a tree?” Nicko asked, honestly this time. “Both.” Princess Celestia spoke once again. “Both of those creatures are unknown to us, and to Equestria as a whole. As such, they are a curiosity.” She explained, “And your ability to perform magic without being a unicorn is a second, and no less important, curiosity.” “Hmm… Which one were you planning on finding about first? Because I believe Beloc might be losing his patience.” Nicko had noticed that the Kaiju King had been… irritated… for the past few moments and he’d rather not try to get on his bad side. Beloc stood, shifting from a quadruped to a more bipedal form as he did so. “Indeed. I grow weary of being spoken of as though I were either mindless or absent.” He rumbled ominously, towering over everyone and everything. “Go ahead then, I can wait.” Nicko offered. He then sat down on the ground, summoning Rovaniik to lean himself against. The Kaiju King took this as a sign for him to now speak. And speak he did. Beloc looked down at the two creatures that he assumed to rule the rest, as made obvious by their brief interaction. “I am Beloc! King of the Kaiju.” He began, reaching down and picking up Duncan. “And this is Duncan, my Heir.” He looked at the small gathering of creatures for a moment, deciding what to say next. “The Kaiju are an ancient race, lost to Fairytales and Legends, until even those had forgotten about us.” Beloc explained slowly. “Many of us are now waking after a long sleep, finding that the world is not as we had left it. That it has been overrun by new species.” “Many of my kind are angry, and see you all as invaders. I have forbidden them from attacking many of the new species of this planet, but I do not know how many will obey.” Here he sighed, “Many who disagree will likely come after Duncan, seeking to challenge him for the right to succeed me. Any can challenge him at any time, as decreed by our laws. Should any of the Kaiju manage to kill him, it will be unlikely that your races will survive for long.” Princess Celestia flew up to his head, hovering as she looked at him. “Are you not the invaders then?” She asked, “If you are as ancient as you say, would you not have given up your rights to it by leaving the world for so long?” “You are wise; but that is not how the Kaiju see it.” Beloc rumbled with a small smile. “It is still our world. And our kind are split on how we should see it. There are those who would prefer to live peacefully, attempting to co-exist with the creatures who have claimed it.” He frowned. “And then there are those who would prefer to see it all destroyed, and to have our world reclaimed through force.” Beloc gestured to the corpse behind him, “That is Felinon. He was of the War Faction. Unfortunately, any fight between my kind is a fight that leads to death.” He told the two pony rulers, “I know your kind detests killing, but for my kind it is nearly a necessity. I ask that you not look at my son harshly for doing what is necessary.” The Sun Goddess fixed him with a hard look, but nodded. “Very well. But we will discuss this later. I have a feeling I will need to learn more of your kind, should they end up threatening my little ponies.” Soon, Celestia redirected her gaze back at Nicko. “For now, I have a few things to ask of you though, Mr…?” “Nicko Nocte, your highness.” He replied, greeting her with a friendly bow after getting off of the ground and dismissing his sword. “What questions do you have for me?” “I suppose the most obvious question, is the question of how you are able to perform magic without a horn.” Celestia replied. “Ah the most common, yet tricky one,” Nicko started to speak. “I’m a Rune Slayer. Runic Magic is my specialty and also, like Duncan, I’m a Displaced.” Nicko then noticed a very puzzled look from Luna, who followed up with a question to his statement. “What is this… Displaced… That thou speakest of?” The Moon Princess asked, testing the odd word. “Displaced is short for Dimensionally Misplaced. There’s a scientific theory involving the possibility of many versions of different worlds. I just happened to be from one of them. Because where I’m from… things are quite different.” “The Multiverse Theory?” Twilight asked eagerly. “That’s real?” “You’re in a world of magic? The line between real and not real is pretty thin. Especially since in my world, Luna is a guy. Gonna have to tell Artemis about that next time I see him...” I laughed at Twilight’s sheepish expression, and Luna’s fish impression. “Yeah, I’m surprised you really manage to doubt much of anything!” I yelled before jumping off of my dad’s hand (Wow, I've accepted that surprisingly fast... Meh, oh well. Is what it is). “I mean, Magic. That’s pretty much already able to bend the rules of like… Everything, right?” “Magic has limits depending on the type.” Nicko replied. “Mine though is different because I am pretty much the only one who can channel it. The only other pony who could conjure it is dead.” “Well even if each type has their limitations; in general Magic can pretty much do anything, right?” I prodded curiously. I mean, if that one guy can make chocolate rain, than what's the true limit of magic? “Wait…” Twilight said, pushing my question to the side. “Who was the other pony who used your type of magic?” She asked Nicko. “Starswirl the Bearded. In fact, my spellbook has what remains of his notes.” Nicko replied. “However, since it’s written in Runic, only I can read it.” Twilight joined Luna in her imitations of a fish, looking at him in shock. I waved a hand in front of her face, getting no response. Then I looked at my fellow Displaced with a raised brow. “You broke her again Nicko.” “Dang it. That’s twice today.” Hearing that, Nicko noticed a certain cyan pegasus uncontrollably laughing her flank off as she looked at the expressions of both the Unicorn and Alicorn. “Well, someone finds it hilarious.” I chuckled, “You do have to admit that ‘Imitation fish’ is a pretty funny look for them.” I said with a grin. Only to realize that one other princess was in the vicinity. I looked over at Celestia quickly, “Er… No offense.” The white Alicorn waved it off, “It has been quite a while since I have seen my little sister bear a look of shock. I’ll agree that it is quite amusing.” “Yeah… Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to break them like that. Plus, there’s a lot of things that might break almost everypony. Including you I think.” Nicko was unsure about saying the last part, but to his surprise, Celestia was curious. “I highly doubt that.” Celestia told him, “Though I would like to know what sort of things you think could possibly shock me that much.” “Well… you are married and have two kids.” “Married? Married to who, exactly?” The Sun Goddess asked. “Discord.” And so Celestia joined her sister and student in imitating a fish. “Well, I broke three ponies. That’s a new record.” Nicko said, sighing to himself. Shifting in his pockets, he pulled out his own token. A Rune Slayer’s mark. “Hey Duncan, I think I’m going to have to take my leave. Keep this.” When I turned around, quick reflexes was all I needed in order to catch the token that was tossed my way. “It’s my token. If you need me or anything like that, just use it and I’ll come on by. Now… if you would excuse me, I need to talk to my Discord about something important.” With that, Nicko used his token to tear a brief hole in the void before stepping in and disappearing. As he left, Pinkie Pie soon walked over, looking at the three fish faced ponies with overwhelming curiosity. “Oooh. I wonder what’s gotten the Princesses and Twilight so puffered up.” she giggled to herself at the pun as she examined the three ponies. “Any ideas, Duncan?” I thought about it for a bit, “Well when I’m in shock, I know a good muffin or a hug snaps me right out of it! Usually anyways.” So saying, I went over and pulled Twilight into a hug. “Hmm… oh I know!! GROUP HUG!!” Pinkie exclaimed, stretching out to hug both Twilight and me at the same time. I laughed, managing to free one of my arms to wrap around Pinkie as well. “Group hugs are always a good idea!” “Oh… My head… Hunh?” Twilight snapped out of her shocked trance, seeing that the Rune Slayer was gone. “Where did he go? I had more questions for him!!” I chuckled as I continued to hug both Twilight and Pinkie, “He went back to his dimension.” I answered easily, “Though I think the more important question is which tree I hung my jacket on…” I continued, a breeze against my back causing me to realize that I was pretty much half-naked. “Or for that matter, how to wake up the Princesses.” Author's Note Hey everypony, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know I had a lot of fun writing it, along with FrostTheWolf! I'd suggest that you check out his stories, especially if you like Displaced stories, he's got some great ones! This particular chapter is crossing with his story Of Magic and Machines. I added links straight to pictures in the story this time, just in case you wanted to see them before the author's note. Lemme know how you feel about that. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, because I know I had fun co-writing it! Storm Shine, Shining out for now.
Waking up with Dragon-breath"Woohoo~!" I cheered happily as I walked towards the entrance to the convention with my best friend Tony, "This is gonna be the awesomest day ever!" "Feh." Tony replied dismissively, "We'll see about that, but I wouldn't get your hopes up if I were you." "Aww~, come on and cheer up buddy! It's gonna be funtastic, just you wait!" I rebutted, pulling him into a one-armed hug. "Again, we'll see." Tony repeated, pushing me off of him with a small smile. I like cheering everyone up, and tony especially needs it. He almost never smiles, and never gives a big one! Well... Except that one time that I threw him a birthday party. He said he didn't want it, but that wide grin told another story. "Yay!" I cheered again, looking around like a kid in a candy store as we entered the convention. "Hey it's Dante! DANTE~!! DANTE~!!!" I quickly bounced over towards another of our friends, waving the whole way. "Hey guys! Enjoying the convention?" Dante asked with a grin as we caught up to him, by which time I as already pulling him into a friendly hug. "YEAH! " I cheered again. "This is so awesome!" "Whee~." Tony added sarcastically. "Don't mind him, he's just mad that we had the same cosplay idea! I offered to go costume-less, but he was still too annoyed to bother to wear his." I stage-whispered to Dante, indicating the casual clothes he was wearing. "Not sure why though... Lots of people are going around as Altair!" "I'm gonna go check out some stands..." Tony replied before walking away with a small frown, not really wanting to be reminded of that. I decided that was a great idea and began dragging Dante, as the only friend within arms length, around to look at some of the stands and stuff. There was some pretty awesome stuff around here! Some of it I recognized, and some of it just made me tilt my head in utter befuddlement... I think it's time to go see what Tony's up to! He usually has an eye for cool stuff. Looking around, I noticed him at a nearby stand with all kinds of cool replicas that looked real. Immediately I bolted towards him, arms prepped for hugging. What can I say, I'm a very affectionate friend. I neared him, nearly wrapping my arms around him as he left the stand, but suddenly... Poof. He was gone and I was without anything to stop me from crashing into the stand he'd just been leaving. The vendor there flinched slightly as I made an audible impact against the front of his stand. "Uh... You okay kid?" He asked somewhat hesitantly. I quickly hopped up to my feet, flashing a victory sign, "I'm okay!" I replied before noticing something distracting out of the corner of my eye, "Ooo~, what's that? It's shiny!" I asked, staring at a very shiny pink gem. "That's from Firebreather isn't it?" I continued, looking towards the vendor excitedly, "How much!? How much?" I asked quickly. It was one of my favorite movies after all, I loved it! "Uh.." The vendor collected himself for a moment, "How about you have it on the house? Think of it as a small consolation for losing your friend and hurting yourself on my stand." "I'm not hurt, but thanks!" I said cheerfully, grabbing the pink gem off the table as Dante came up behind me. "Wait, what was that other thi-" and poof, I was gone too. I yawned sleepily, stretching my arms as I woke up. "That was a good nap" I said to myself with a smile. "But how did I get home?" I took up a thinking position, wondering how I was suddenly asleep at home. A growling noise came from my right. "Shush! I'm trying to think here." I quickly shushed it, resuming my thinking. Wait... I don't have a dog. Looking over, I noticed a few... Wolves? They sure looked like wolves, but they were all wooden and stuff. And we were in a forest or something. "Nice doggies?" I asked, slowly getting up. Maybe they were friendly? One of them tilted their head as I reached out to it. Closer... Closer... almost there.. *Snap!* "AHH!" I quickly recoiled as it tried to bite my hand off. "Not nice, NOT NICE!" I yelled, turning around and bolting. They quickly gave chase, corralling me to some destination unknown. Every time I tried to turn, one of them would appear and snap at me. Oddly enough, I noticed I was running even faster than usual, the trees blurring slightly... And then, cliff face. *BAM!* "Oww...." I groaned, peeling myself out of the rocky imprint I'd created. "Not cool Cliff, what did I ever do to you?" Well... Aside from smashing into it at full speed. Turning around, I realized this must've been the plan. Corral me into a cliff face and surround me, making me easy pickings. "You don't want to do this.." I pleaded with the bark-dogs. I'll take the 'snapping their jaws at me' as wood-wolf language for 'Yes, we really do'... "GO AWAY!!!" I shouted, suddenly spewing flames from my mouth as I got desperate for survival. The wolves panicked, turning tail (Or maybe it was twig?) and running from the flames. I blinked, looking around at the now-burning shrubbery around me. "I.. uh.. what?" A sudden weight (Or maybe it's always been there..) made itself known in my pocket. "The pink... gem?" And suddenly it clicked as I looked at it, the image of one of my favorite characters of all time looking back a me, reflected a few times in the gem. The rumors about that creepy convention merchant were true... Now I feel bad for laughing at my more superstitious friends. Oh well, not like I can really apologize now... I wonder if he got Tony too? Maybe that's why he disappeared... I wonder if Dante will get sucked into the trap. Nah, Dante's probably one of the smartest among us. I really doubt that he'd fall for it. My confidence in Dante's smarts assured, I began wandering the forest randomly while simultaneously causing any forest obstacles to erupt in flames as I practiced my fire breath. Eventually I reached the end of the forest, "Finally!" I cheered, "Out of the forest and into.. Nothing?" I stopped short as I looked around. There wasn't anything here... No civilization, no anything. well, except that really tall mountain. Maybe it's a Volcano? Hmm... "I always wanted to try a (Non-deadly) lava bath!" I cheered happily, making my way towards the large possibly-volcano. Author's Note Well, Here's another story out. I took a bit of a break from writing, but I'm back and I'll be writing as much as I can. I wrote this, because I figured 'Hey, I made three characters in Promising Shadows, why not use them all?'. And so, here is the story of John. They will be interconnected in a way, and I plan on having them meet again at some point. And yes, for those wondering, there will be a story for Dante. ^ For those who want to see an example of Duncan breathing fire.
Of Dragons and... Ponies?Scaling that mountain was a lot easier than I'd have thought it would be. Maybe that's because I'm half-kaiju...? Oh well, anyways I just now reached the top. "Finally!" I exclaimed happily, reaching the top. "That may have been easy, but it still took forever!" I'm a sorta impatient person, sue me. Well, hopefully not literally... you won't will you? No, of course you won't voice-in-my head. Back on track, "Woah!" I looked in awe at the large crater in front of me. The place was jam packed with Lava, jewels, and dragons! Cool! Taking another look around, I noticed most of them seemed old and grumpy, which meant I was probably better off leaving them be. Probably. But on the other hand, I saw a bunch of teen-looking dragons just over there! ...And a really small purple one that belched up a scroll? Meh, whatever. I can worry about that later, if at all. Right now, It's time to have some fun! I took a step back and launched into a running leap before hitting the ground at the bottom of the crater, rolling to keep my momentum I straightened up into a sprint towards the teen dragons. Coming to a stop just in front of what seemed like the leader of the group, I stuck out my hand with a smile. "Hi! I'm John, but you can probably call me Duncan!" I greeted cheerfully. "What's your name?" The red dragon looked at me blankly, "What the heck are you?" He asked bluntly. "And what do you think you're doing here? You aren't a dragon." I nodded, "I am indeed not a dragon." I agreed easily. "I'm a human. Well... Half human. The other half is Kaiju, though I never really learned how the heck that worked out... Then again, I'm probably better off not knowing." "Right..." The dragon replied, a little confused. "Well I'm Garble, and you're toast." He offered before sending a wall of flames at me. Still smiling, I scratched my head as the flames passed around me. When they finally finished, Garble and every other dragon there seemed pretty surprised to see me still there. Well, minus a jacket. "Darn, that was a cool jacket too..." I muttered to myself before looking up. "So is that some kind of Dragon greeting?" I asked curiously, before deciding to reciprocate. "Well, when in Rome." I told him before taking a deep breath and blasting him with my flames. I felt a little bad for the poor guy, seeing as he ended up getting knocked a good 10-20 feet away. I walked over to Garble, who was holding a claw to his head. "So, now that the greeting is out of the way, what do you all do for fun?" "I... Uh..." He seemed to have some trouble thinking, I guess he hit his head or something when he fell. "We..Uh... Tail Wrestle." He managed at last, shaking his head slightly to clear those annoying mental cobwebs. I looked at myself, examining my backside. "No tail here, can we skip to something else?" "King of the hoard?" Garbel tried. "Like king of the hill, but with jewels?" I figured, looking around at all of the stacks, mounds, and piles of jewels. "Yeah, basically." "Sure!" Of course, with my superior agility and abnormal strength... Well, I'm strong enough to throw the larger dragon a good five feet by accident so it wasn't really a contest. I got bored after a while and jumped off to watch. The little purple guy, nervous as he was, managed to win pretty much through sheer luck. Watching those dragons eat gems, I decided to try one. I reached for a nearby sapphire gem and tried a nibble... "BLECK!" agh, the taste! How can these guys stand these things!? I hope coal tastes better than this or I might just grow to hate eating... "So what's next?" I asked, eager to get to the next event. And to distract myself from the taste of that disgusting gem. "Lava Splash Contest!" Garbel declared, leading the way to the top of a rock cliff. "Biggest splash wins." One by one the dragons lined up, the largest one making a literal tidal-wive of lava. Finally there were only two creatures left to jump, myself and the small purple guy. "Hey kid." I said, nudging the shivering dragon with my foot. "No need to be scared man, it'll be fun!" "Hey, I'm not a kid! I'm a big dragon!" The kid cried indignantly, puffing his chest out. "And the name's Spike!" "Alright, nice to meet you Spike, I'm Duncan." I told him, kneeling down and holding out a fist. Hey I might as well use the name, right? I mean, I'm pretty much him anyways. Mostly. Physically. Spike bumped my fist a bit hesitantly as I gave him some advice. "Look, it'll be fun. Well... As long as you don't bellyflop." I told him sagely. Bellyflops hurt like hell! "You should probably go for a normal cannonball. I'll go first while you get yourself together Spike." With that said, I swiftly stood up and ran to the edge of the cliff. Doing a backflip as I reached it, I pulled my limbs into a spinning cannonball. "Always wanted to try this! WOOOO~!!" I yelled happily, the lava rushing up to meet me. The lava barely even splashed as I entered it... But hey, this contest was made for a dragon's weight, not mine. Surfacing, I looked up at the cliff. "IT'S ALRIGHT SPIKE, THE LAVA'S FINE!" I called up loudly, disregarding the hushed whispers from some of the dragons staring at me. The poor little guy looked about ready to back off... And then he jumped! Haha, way to go Spi- Yikes... I cringed more than a little, seeing the little dude take a major bellyflop. That's just not the kind of thing a human would walk away from... Then again, he's a dragon so maybe he's fine. No, yeah there he is swimming around and spitting out lava. Cool. And apparently that was enough to get him promoted to being a 'real dragon', whatever that means. Oh well, good for him! "Hey! If you think you can keep up for this next event, follow us!" Garble shouted at me. "Heck yeah~! More fun to come!" I pumped my fist happily before freezing. Tilting my head, I examined my arm. "Oh yeah, I forgot that this form thing was unlocked after Duncan fell into some lava. Cool!" so he was thrown, details details voice. Grinning, I used my now upgraded speed and reflexes to give chase to the flying dragons. "Wait you're gonna do what now?" I asked in disbelief, leaning against a tree with my arms crossed. "We're gonna grab those Phoenix eggs, and we're gonna smash 'em!" Garble declared proudly, pounding a fist into an open claw. "I'm not going with that." I replied, looking at him angrily. "You're trying to kill innocent and helpless creatures for what? For a laugh!?" "Well duh, it's not like we care about some stupid birds." Garble deadpanned. I took a deep breath, before making my way over to the tree with the nest. Quickly climbing the branches, I stopped as the Phoenixes took an aggressive stance and held my arms up in a very non-aggressive manner. "Hey, yeah I know I look a bit threatening..." I admitted to the two birds, "But I don't mean you any harm. I'm just warning you that there's some Teenage Dragons around here that are planning to smash your eggs." They eyed me suspiciously, scrutinizing my form and body language with cautious eyes. Finally one of them nodded before turning to the other. "What is that thing doing!?" Garble growled angrily, "No choice, forget the distraction, we go after them now!" He ordered, bursting from the shrubbery flanked by the other two goons. The phoenixes started in alarm, trilling loudly as they took flight carrying a single egg with them. Apparently the rest hatched, because a bunch of cute little fire-birds followed the two adults through the forest. The dragons were hot on their tails but, thanks to some sort of magical flashbomb, the birds managed to get away. I made my way to the ground as this happened, standing next to Spike as the spectacle unfurled. "YOU!" Garble roared loudly, "You ruined it! We had the perfect plan, and you ruined it!" "Yeah, because I'm not going to let you harm some innocent animals." I responded angrily, my slit pupils narrowing as they moved closer. "Well now we're gonna hurt you!" Garbel snarled, flaring his wings. "STOP!" Spike yelled, coming between us. "Can't we just talk about this?" "What, you mean like those namby-pamby ponies of yours?" Garbel laughed, "Yeah, right! Now move out of the way pip-squeak." "No!" Spike declared, rather bravely for something of his er... Diminutive stature. "What did you say..?" Garble growled, "Nobody says no to me!" He continued, advancing on Spike. I moved to step in, but was beaten to the punch by... Uh... Does that even classify as a dragon? And then the dragon jumped, wait no it was a costume. That makes a lot more sense than a dragon that actually looks like that. Anyways, the costume was thrown away and three oddly-colored and very furry people jumped out. one had wings, and the other two had horns. Tony would probably make a perverted joke about that... "Nopony's gonna lay a claw on him!" The flying girl said, glaring at the three dragons. "That's right!" The purple one added, shaking her fists for emphasis. " "Fighting's not really my thing, I'm more into fashion..." another spoke up, her clothing easily backing up her claim. Wonder if she knew where I could get some new clothes, seeing as mine are pretty wrecked... Except my strangely lava proof pants. "But I'll rip you to pieces if you touch one scale on his cute little head!" She yelled dangerously. Hmm... they have a good attitude, but something tells me they won't be able to help much in actually fending the dragons off. I'd better get some help. The dragons began laughing, "Oo~, scary." Garbel said sarcastically, "Spike, are these namby-pamby ponies your friends?" He asked, pointing at them. "Yes, they are!" He said firmly, stomping a foot lightly against the ground. And they're better friends than you could ever hope to be!" Spike began walking towards them, "Now, if you don't back off, you'll see what us ponies do when confronted by a huge group of jerky dragons!" "Oh yeah?" Garble snorted, "What's that?" "RUN AWAY!" Spike shouted, bolting. The three, what I guess must be ponies in this world, quickly following. As they ran, they seemed to have some sort of glow fading in and out around them before winking out completely. "I can't focus enough to teleport!" The purple one yelled fearfully, looking back at the dragons quickly catching up. Closer... Closer... BAM! "And it's a home run!" I called, catching the three dragons in the face with my makeshift baseball bat and sending them flying off into the distance. "Whew, look at'em fly!" I grinned, holding a hand over my eyes to block out any sunlight. "I think I hit the horizen!" The three girls, who had stopped running after I'd gotten a grand slam on the dragons, looked at me curiously. "Yo Spike, you alright man?" I asked, walking towards the group with my baseball bat hanging over one shoulder. "Y-yeah. Thanks Duncan." He replied, holding out his fist with a weak grin. "No problem little dude, happy to help out a friend." I replied, gently bumping his fist with my free hand. "Excuse me..." The purple 'pony' spoke up. "Isn't that heavy?" She asked, indicating my bat. "What, my baseball bat? Nah, hardly feel a thing." I replied, hefting it up and setting it down with a really loud *THUMP* and the sound of shaking leaves. "Baseball bat?!" She questioned incredulously, "That's a small tree!" "Your point is...?" I asked curiously, wondering where she was going with this. I'm pretty sure I already touched on the topic of my super strength... In my head at least. AKA here. Oh well. "Yeah, I'm fairly strong." I shrugged, letting go of the tree and allowing it to topple to the ground. "Nevermind..." She replied, seeming to already be exasperated. She doesn't have much patience does she? Then again maybe it's just the situation... Nerves and all that. "Hey, do any of you girls know a tailor? The rest of my outfit kinda burned away, so I need to get a shirt and maybe some shoes." I asked hopefully. By now I had already reverted to my normal orange and human-looking self instead of the demonic-looking form I was using the slap those dragons away with a tree. Still not sure why my pants are lava-proof though. Or how for that matter... The fashion-conscious girl moved forward with a small smile, "My name is Rarity, and I happen to be a tailor. I would be happy to make some clothes for you Mr... Duncan, was it?" "Yeah my name's Duncan, nice to meet you Rarity. Don't bother with that mister stuff though, that sounds weird coming from someone who's probably around my age." I replied easily, scratching the back of my head. "Ah... How old are you exactly?" She asked curiously. "19" I responded, turning towads the other two, "And you two are?" "Eighteen, same as her." The blue one said, jerking a thumb at Rarity. I laughed, "No, I'm asking your names." "Oh, I'm Rainbow Dash. The awesomest pony in all of Equestria!" She boasted with a huge grin. "Equestria huh..." I said, scratching the side of my face in thought. "Where have I heard that word before..." "How are you not familiar with Equestria?" The purple one asked, squinting at me like I was some sort of puzzle. "And that's Twilight, resident Egghead." Rainbow Dash offered, rolling her eyes slightly. "Come on, let's go home already. I'm missing out on a lot of napping time." Rainbow complained. "Welcome to my Carousal Boutique!" Rarity exclaimed dramatically, "Where everything is chic, unique, and magnifique!" "Cool." I replied, looking around. It was pretty fancy, not that that was a surprise though, just one look at her and you could tell that she would prefer things like that. I described my old shirt and jacket to her as best as I could, making sure to ask her not to make it too fancy or anything, just something simple to wear. After a few minutes, she help up a sketchpad with a pretty stylish design. "Awesome!" I told her with a grin, "If I can get that in blue, then you have to be some kind of angel." Blue is my favorite color after all. I know Duncan wore red, but I'm allowed my preferences. My comment caused her cheeks to color slightly, though I hardly noticed it through my thoughts of an awesome blue jacket. "Well it should be done in the next few hours." She told me after taking a moment to clear her throat. "Alright, thanks." I nodded, smiling happily. "Excuse me Duncan, but do you have a place to stay?" Twilight asked as I walked outside. "Not really, no..." I replied, scratching my head. "I hadn't really thought about that." Twilight sighed, "Well I suppose we'll just have to try and find a place for you to stay temporarily... Maybe Applejack wouldn't mind you staying at her farm in exchange for a bit of extra help." "You'd really help me with finding a place?" I asked happily, "Thanks!" I exclaimed, scooping her into a hug. Twilight eeped and teleported out of my grasp. Looking over at the flustered pony, I scratched my head, "Sorry about that." She shook her head slightly, "Come on, I'll introduce you to Applejack." she told me, walking off. I hope I didn't make her upset... "Say what now?" Applejack asked Twilight curiously, "Ya want me ta house him? I dunno Twi, I'd love to help out but it's just..." She sighed at Twilight's pleading look before turning her head towards me. "You think he can pull his own weight?" Twilight giggled slightly, remembering the tree incident. Oh how easy it is to look back at an odd situation and laugh. "Don't worry about that Applejack, he can definitely carry more than his own weight. Applejack raised an eyebrow at her, silently asking for an explanation. "Well~..." Twilight tittered, "Spike decided to follow the dragon migration, so Rarity, Rainbow, and I followed Spike. We also got into a little bit of trouble when I couldn't concentrate enough for a Teleportation Spell to get us all out of there." "An' what does that have to do with him?" She asked, jerking a thumb in my direction. "Well, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself but..." Twilight trailed off. "Spit it out Twi!" Applejack urged. "Well, he..." Twilight took a deep breath. "He took out the three teenage Dragons chasing us." Applejack looked surprised, "Well I guess-" "By hitting them. With a Tree." Twilight finished, cutting her friend's response off. "Uh... Ya mean that he tricked them into hitting a tree, right?" the farm-pony asked. "No." Twilight shook her head, "I mean he took a tree, and swung it at them." Applejack blinked owlishly, "Yer pullin' mah leg, right?" She asked slowly. Twilight shook her head, "No, I saw him do it with my own two eyes." "Jeeze..." The blonde earth pony looked my way again, "He don't look like the kinda feller that could lift a tree." "I don't look like I can breath fire either." I piped up. "You.. Breathe fire too?" Twilight asked curiously. "May I see it?" I shrugged, "Sure why not? We're pretty far from any shrubbery and stuff after all." I replied. Taking a breath, I let a steady flame flow from my mouth. "Amazing!" Twilight exclaimed, "Are you a dragon? Is that why you were with those dragons?" I shook my head, "Nah, that was just coincidence." I told her. "I'm half-kaiju." "Kaiju?" The ever inquisitive pony asked, "I don't think I've ever heard of those before." I shook my head, "Yeah. That's a good thing." I told her. "Most Kaiju are violent, and tower several hundred feet above the ground." Twilight tilted her head, "But aren't you a kaiju?" "Half. I'm half Kaiju." I reminded her. "Okay, so You're extremely strong and can breathe fire. Based off of that hide of yours, you're also extremely durable... What can't you do?" The unicorn asked curiously. "Well I can't fly... Yet." I muttered the last part. "Yet? you mean you will be able to later?" Twilight asked, her ears perking as she heard that. Those pony ears of theirs are really something.. "Uh, maybe? Anyways..." I turned towards Applejack, "Would you mind if I stayed at your farm? At least until I find somewhere else to go? I promise I'll work my hardest to help out wherever possible." And I'd really appreciate it if you could get me away from the unending interrogation too, if possible. "Uh... Yeah sure, ah'll just... Show you to yer room then." Applejack responded distantly, possibly dazed by the unbelievable stuff she had been hearing. I wonder if there's anybody else around here who can lift a tree... Well.. This has certainly been an eventful day... I mused, lying in the guestroom. "Oh well, better get some sleep. Aj said I'd have to wake up pretty early tomorrow after all." I yawned, turning off the lamp and falling asleep.
Jackets, Tokens, Parties, and Muffins. Can't forget the Muffins.I yawned and stretched as I woke up, getting out of bed to better stretch my legs. Once I'd woken up enough, I went downstairs. Upon my arrival downstairs I had something that smelled like food shoved into one hand, while my other hand was used to pull me outside. "Wha?" I asked, my mind trying to process this odd turn. "That there's an apple fritter, go on and eat it an' we'll getcha started learnin' ta help work the field." Applejack explained, pulling me towards the nearest gathering of trees. I shrugged, quickly mowing down on the food in my hand as my mind caught up, allowing me to actually start walking instead of continuing to get dragged. By the time I'd finished what was probably the best fritter I've had in my life, we were already at the nearest tree. "Now then, based on what I've heard from Twi, ya should be strong enough to help us buck the apples an' carry 'em back." She told me as we stopped I shrugged for the second time that day, "Probably... what do you mean by 'buck the apples'?" I asked curiously. Instead of responding verbally, she looked at the tree and did a martial-arts-style kick thing. She moved forward, pivoting on her lead foot and bringing the other down to take it's place, slamming the originally pivoting foot into the base of the tree. The tree shook slightly, a veritable rain of apples falling into the buckets I hadn't even noticed until now. Wow, I use a lot of overly complicated words and stuff when I'm tired. weird... "All right, now let's see what you've got." She told me, pointing at another nearby tree. I walked over to the tree, eyeing it up. It was fairly big, with lots of ripe and juicy looking apples hanging from it's branches. "Don't feel bad if ya can't do it on yer first try." Applejack told me from behind, "Most can't quite get the timing of the kick right, takes a few tries. Ah didn't even get it right the first time ah tried." Meh, why go through all those motions when I could probably just punch the tree? And so I did, I punched it right in the knot. After I did that, the poor tree shook violently for a bit with a couple of odd groans, before pretty much every apple jumped ship; throwing themselves into the barrels for safety. Well, that's how I saw it at least... Most would probably just say it rained apples or something, but what's the fun in that? I turned back to the slack-jawed mare behind me, "Is that good?" I asked curiously, wondering when she'd stop imitating a fish. I mean it's kinda fun to do sometimes, but I usually only do that when there's fish around. I think it makes them more comfortable around me. And before you ask, no genderless voice-in-my-head, I'm not crazy. I just like to look at the world differently than some people. "Uh... Doesn't that hurt yer hand any?" Applejack finally managed to ask, pointing at the hand I'd used to introduce myself to my new tree buddy. I looked at my hand, flexing it slightly "No, not really. Should it hurt?" Maybe it was the scales, nice smooth in some places but rough in others. They make great armor, so I guess it might have hurt to do that if it weren't for my awesome scales. "Honestly, ah'm not sure if that should've hurt ya. But I do know that most ponies probably would've hurt themselves tryin' that, even mah brother Big Mac wouldn't have tried that." She replied, shaking her head. Probably already deciding that it was better off not putting me to pony standards. Possibly. It might even help prevent headaches in the future. "Anyways, Twi wanted me to let ya know that Rarity finished your coat an' such. I'll let ya go pick it up, but I expect you to be back soon to help out in the field." She told me, gesturing out towards town. I smiled and thanked her before running off towards town, letting a large dust cloud tag along behind me. Oh man, I really really hope she made it blue! I quickly arrived at Rarity's clothing shop, happily walking in through the front door. "Hey Rarity, Applejack said that you finished my coat?" I called out to the mare, smiling. Come on blue! Let it be blue, let it be blue... Rarity quickly appeared from somewhere in the store with something draped over her arms, "Yes, I did and they look absolutely wonderful, if I do say so myself. Though I really think they would've been better if you had let me to put a bit more flair into them..." She told me, handing over a couple pairs of the jacket. "Just in case one should get ruined. I hate to even think that something terrible might happen to the clothes but I have had several dresses ruined by rather unexpected circumstances, so I thought it best to be safe." I quickly shrugged one on, admiring the dark blue color. Sure it stood out against my orange skin, but what can I say? I like blue. "Thanks Rarity, you're amazing!" I exclaimed happily, bringing her in for a hug. "These are absolutely perfect!" Rarity had a bit of red on her otherwise perfectly white cheeks and coughed slightly as I let go. "Yes, well... I do try." She said. "Though you know, you should really be more aware of personal space." I tilted my head as I thought about that, "You know, lots of people have told me something like that." I shrugged helplessly, "But I just can't help it, I like showing affection to my friends." Rarity shook her head slightly, "You and Pinkie would get along great, I bet." She decided. "Pinkie? Pinkie who?" I asked. "Pinkie Pie, a friend of mine. I'm sure you'll be meeting her soon enough." Rarity said dismissively. "Oh, okay. Well I'd better get back to the farm, Applejack said she wanted me back right away to start working and stuff." I replied, waving as I walked out the door. "Bye Rarity!" "Bye Duncan, I hope you enjoy your new jacket." Rarity replied, watching as I left. "I wonder how he'll react to Pinkie's party..." She asked herself as she got back to work. I'm just going to say it. This is boring~! I mean sure, it was fun to watch the apples all somehow miraculously fall into their buckets like they were trained acrobats... For the first three or four times. Now that magic is gone, I'm faced with the reality of this boring work. I bet the trees are laughing at me now, like 'Haha, not as fun to hit us as you thought it would be, huh?' and stuff. Well if they didn't want to be hit, then they really should've chosen someplace else to grow. Oh well. After I finished off another few trees and brought some buckets back, I paused. "Hmm..." I hummed, thinking about the gem in my pocket. There were supposed to be like.. Token things and stuff for the displaced, right? So they could meet and greet, and help and stuff. Maybe I should try making one. I set the apple baskets down with the rest, walking outside as I took the pink gem from my pocket. "Lemme see here... Umm..." I scratched my head as I thought about how this would work. "I think it's something like energy and a message and then toss." Well, if my friends were to be believed. Though it makes me wonder how people know so much about this displaced stuff if they were, ya know, Displaced. Did they find a way to talk to friends and family or something? Oh well, on with the token making. I bathed the gem in my fire for a few minutes, causing it to shine brightly. Once I cut the flames off the remnants seemed to be sucked inside, creating a sort of inner fire effect... Cool. Anyways, time to add a message. "Yo, I'm Duncan Rosenblatt, the Half-Kaiju Firebreather here! Feel free to call on me for help with fighting, problem solving, or just to hang out." I said before tossing the gem forward, watching as it vanished. Guess they were right... Not the most well-worded message, but it works. Somehow the weirdest part of all this isn't the fact that it worked, but that I somehow managed to get my gem back. I'm not even sure how either, I just suddenly felt it in my pocket again. Though I have to wonder how the heck anybody knew this stuff. Seriously... I shrugged before getting back to work, striking it off as another of life's mysteries that I may never know... I leaned backwards as I walked, sighing in satisfaction when my back popped. Yep, that's better. I was currently walking to someplace called 'Sugarcube Corner' after Applejack suggested it, giving me a small bag of bits for the day's hard work and telling me to get myself a treat. Once she mentioned Muffins I was sold. I mean, who can resist that? I probably should've asked for directions though, I doubt I'm going to just stumble across it. I stopped in front of what seemed like a giant candy house. I've heard of gingerbread houses before, but that is just... Awesome! I quickly ran up to the giant dessert, sniffing it to see if it was real, and pouting when I found out it wasn't. I looked up at the sky to question why the gods would torment me with such a delicious looking fake, and noticed a sign proclaiming 'Sugarcube Corner'. Well, at least there's sweet-tooth sating items inside, right? Yay! Hmm... It was oddly dark as I walked in. I'd almost think the place was closed if it wasn't for the 'open' sign and the unlocked door. And then... "SURPRISE!" A large crowd called out as the lights came on, a particularly quick pink pony quickly shoving a party hat on my head and pulling me in for a hug. Even as surprised and confused as I was, I happily hugged the pink mare back. Once I regained my bearings, I looked at the pink pony. "This... Is... AWESOME!" I exclaimed happily, swinging her in a circle before placing her back on her hooves. Turns out they actually have somewhat odd hooves for feet but hands for hands. go figure. "I'm glad you like it! I would've gotten your 'Welcome to Ponyville party together yesterday, but I didn't have a chance. So I got it together today!" She blew on a noisemaker, "I'm Pinkie pie!" "My name's Duncan and I love parties!" I told her excited, immediately launching into the tale about the first time I threw my friends a party as I nabbed a muffin from the snack table. She nodded along at some points, inserting some tips and opinions on the parties themselves at others. Once I finished talking about my first party, we went back and forth trading party stories. "And that's all the parties I've thrown so far." I finished, happily scarfing down my forty-third muffin. Pinkie (I learned her name during our talk) giggled, "Always nice to meet a new pony, especially a fellow party-lover!" We exchanged a little more small talk before she bounced, literally bounced, off to make sure 'everypony' else was having fun. I like her, she's cheerful. And she throws parties with muffins. Muffins. Any person, pony, or other creature who plans a party with a good supply of muffins is okay in my book! After a bit at the 'muffin-bar' as I called the table that held seemingly infinite amounts of muffins, another mare came over. This one had grey fur and wings along with pretty gold eyes, though they seemed a bit skewed. Her mane and tail were also of the gold-ish coloring. I have this feeling that we're going to be great friends. She gazed at the huge table of muffins with drool hanging out of the corner of her mouth. "Muffins~..." Yep. We're gonna be awesome friends! "You should try the lemon poppyseed! It's absolutely amazing. Then again, muffins in general are amazing..." I told her, trailing off thoughtfully at the end. "Mmm... Muffins..." Yeah, I sorta fell into a muffin trance. I randomly reached out, nabbing the Nth muffin for the night. Oh come on, you really can't expect me to keep track of how many muffins I've eaten so far, can you? I ate forty three during the party conversation alone, and that was only a half-hour conversation! "I like the lemon surprise best." The mare replied, snagging one of the lemon poppyseeds for herself. "But you're right, muffins are all amazing." We smiled at one another, beginning to converse about muffins. We didn't stop until the party was almost over, because the awesomeness that is muffins demands a proper conversation. Between the two of us, we managed to prove my 'Infinite Muffin Table' theory wrong by the time the conversation ended. "Mommy, we've gotta go." An adorable little unicorn girl said sleepily, tugging on Derpy's (Yes, I learned about her name in the conversation too. You'd be surprised at how much you can learn during a conversation about muffins, Voice.) sleeve. "Okay my little Muffin." Derpy replied, picking the kid up in her arms. "Sorry Duncan, I've gotta get Dinky home so she can get some rest for school tomorrow." She explained apologetically. "No no, I totally understand!" I replied with a smile, waving my hands in front of me. "She needs her rest. I hope you see you around though Derpy, you're the first fellow Muffin enthusiast that I've had a conversation with in... Ever!" She nodded, "Yeah! Maybe you can stop by sometime for muffins." Dinky yawned, "Yeah, mommy makes the best muffins." "I definitely will! After all, who can resist an offer of muffins?" We shared a small laugh before waving goodbye. It was already getting pretty late, so I took a bit of initiative and helped Pinkie clean up most of the party mess before thanking her for the party and leaving. By the time I made it back to the dirt road leading to the farm house, it was already well into the night. The moon was out and it was a cloudless night, giving me something to light the way and admire on the way back. "Man, I know I should be upset at being thrown into all of this or something... But it's just so cool! I've already met two others kinda like me, one with muffins and one with parties and stuff, and I've got a pretty good job and cool powers!" I sighed happily. "My only real problems here are that I have no idea where Tony and Dante are... Well, maybe we'll be re-united one day. But in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy my new life to the fullest!" I pumped my fist happily. Unfortunately, I had no idea that very soon, I would be adding more problems to my little list. BIG problems. Author's Note Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Son of a Kaiju everypony! I plan to try and write more very soon! I've got a good amount of free time for the foreseeable future, and I plan to use it to work on my fanfics! I don't really have much else to anounce, aside from the fact that I might be doing my first crossover chapter with another author soon (YAY! ). Here's a good picture of the Gem. I own the movie on Itunes and got a good screenshot of it: Other than that; please let me know what you thought of this chapter. I love happy comments, and I also love constructive criticism! So feel free to leave plenty of either or both. (Flames will be used in an old-fashioned oven to help bake my muffins .)
Making a New Friend and Fighting some Old EnemiesI yawned and stretched as I woke up, heading downstairs once again to the bottom floor of the barn at Sweet Apple Acres. Nabbing an apple muffin off the table on my way out the door, I made a beeline straight for the nearest tree to begin work for the day. After a few hours of punching trees right in the knot, I heard a bunch of odd noises coming from the nearby Everfree. I looked between the apple trees and the Everfree for a bit before shrugging and deciding to investigate, I was sure Applejack wouldn’t get too upset at me for taking a five-minute break. I took off at a run, my Kaiju-enhanced speed getting me to the edge of the forest within a couple minutes. I peered inside for a bit, trying to figure out what had made the sounds. After a few minutes of fruitless searching I shrugged and walked in, keeping an eye out for any of those twig dogs or other dangerous wildlife. Another few minutes of travel later and I began hearing the sound of breaking branches and leafy canine growls. I also heard what sounded like someone talking. I walked through the foliage to get closer, figuring that I would never really find anything out by just waiting around. Once I managed to get through the foliage, I heard a loud shout. One that didn’t sound like a wooden wolf at all. “SWORD FIRE!!” The next moment, a powerful fire filled shock-wave went off, sending a few Timberwolves (Ooo~, I like that one! From now on, I'm going to call them Timberwolves. Wonder what their actual names are though...) flying several feet behind me and one that would have nearly hit me if I hadn’t moved at the last second. “Woah, that was awesome!” I exclaimed with a grin, “Wonder what threw those things away?” I began moving forward again, eager to find out who had shouted. After another few minutes, I found the source of the voice and the flying Timberwolves. As another two of them sprung forth, a young warrior in a Red cloak used what seemed to be magic to hold off his attackers as a rune in his hands exploded, throwing the beasts into a nearby tree. Before long though, one last Timberwolf came at him and with it, the warrior swung at him like his sword was a baseball bat. Sending the wolf into my face. I blinked when the Timberwolf exploded on contact with my head, the pieces flying off somewhere behind me as I thanked my awesome half-kaiju durability(My scales rock!). I whistled slightly, looking around at all of the Timberwolf pieces littering the clearing. “Wow, they really picked a bad fight, huh?” I joked, walking over to the somewhat shorter person. Nicko was surprised to see the other human like individual as he dismissed his sword with his magic. “You can say that. Not to be rude, but who are you exactly?” He asked, folding his arms. I put one of his hands out with a smile, “Duncan Rosenblatt at your service, nice to meet you.” I greeted with a friendly tone. “What’s your name?” “Nicko. Nicko Nocte.” He replied, offering a hand to shake. I firmly shook the offered hand, “Nice to meet you little guy.” I said, looking down a bit to meet the warrior’s eyes. What I didn’t realize was that the comment I'd made caused Nicko’s ears to twitch. To my surprise, the Rune Slayer soon tightened his grip and then pulled me towards him before throwing me with enough force to cause the ground to shake. “Next time, pick your words a little more carefully.” He said, cleaning a little bit of dirt from his clothes. I got off of the tree that had broken my fall (and just broke) popping my back as I stretched. “Got it.” I replied, checking my coat over for any damage and sighing with relief when I found none. “So what are you doing here anyways?” I asked curiously. Nicko sighed, going into one of his pockets. “Well, that’s sort of complicated. I’m assuming that you are a Displaced?” When he finished the sentence, he pulled out the jewel that I immediately recognized. A copy of the gem I had received seconds before ending up in Equestria. I grinned as I recognized it, “Oh, yeah. That’s mine, I just made it yesterday in fact.” I replied. “Cool that someone’s already gotten hold of one.” Nicko grinned a little, partially showing his teeth. “Well, I guess that answers my question.” However, one thing that distracted me was that while looking at Nicko, I could see a silhouette of another being. One that looked almost like him. But he had blue hair, a serious expression and a different set of clothes along with a Katana blade. “You know, you sort of make me think of my teacher actually.” I scratched the side of my face in confusion, “Why’s that?” I asked. “Did he act kind of like me or something?” “He’s a dragon. He has a human appearance, but can take on multiple forms and also become a dragon.” Nicko replied. I nodded, “Yeah, that does kinda sound like me. Except the dragon part…” I grinned, “I met a few dragons when I got here though. They were being a bunch of jerks, so I hit them with a tree.” “Well, sorry to disappoint you on that part, but Ryu’s a jerk. But it’s for a reason. He’s been alive for a LONG time and is also Applejack’s uncle in his world.” Nicko told me. “But he’s the one who actually taught me how to fight better and how to use my spells in different ways. Ryu isn’t the only dragon I met though. There is one other one that I know who also has a lot of weight on his shoulders…” I scratched my head, “Applejack’s uncle?” He asked, “Is he like a really small dragon, or is it an honorary thing?” “He’s taller than me, lived over 1000 years and is referred to as a Elder Dragon. He prefers to go by the title of Kaiser though.” Nicko replied. “Let’s just say he’s very… blunt in terms of speaking. How he teaches his lessons is not through telling you how to do things, but by having you figure it out while he’s attacking you. Not to mention he can combine his spells together to form new powers.” “Woah..” I blinked, “That sounds like pretty tough training… I just kinda experiment with my powers and stuff.” I added thoughtfully. “Experimentation is one thing. Actually getting it to where you find out what works for you is another thing. Neltharion though, he’s different.” Nicko said, remembering the Earth-Warden. “Different how?” I asked curiously. “He’s the size of a freaking mountain. The Avatar of the world. The World Given form. The Cataclysm. Those are only some of the names he has. One though, might cause a chill to go down your spine and I had his token be socketed in my sword, Rovaniik.” He said. Rovaniik was only one of two swords he had. In the dragon language, it meant Wanderer. But thanks to Neltharion's token, the earth and nature around him could bend to his will. “And that name is…?” I prompted. “Deathwing.” I did indeed shudder slightly. I wonder what kind of thing that Neltharion could’ve done to earn that name. Nicko soon threw an index card the size of a piece of paper. On it was the dragon he was referring to. “Have a look for yourself.” I caught the card, looking at it carefully. “Well, he’s definitely intimidating.” I agreed with wide eyes. “Once you get to know him though, he’s quite interesting. And that’s just only two of the Displaced that I’ve met. Besides having to take a temporary break when I got myself turned to stone briefly.” I nodded for a bit until the last sentence caught up with me, “Wait what?” “Long story short, a psychotic Esper that wanted to take revenge on the Royal Siblings deflected a blast from the elements of harmony towards my brother, I took the hit instead, and I wake up seven years later. Ironically, the one who got me out of stone was my brother’s daughter, so now I’m an uncle. Other then that, I met some… interesting people.” “Cool.” I replied, “Hey you wanna move this discussion out of the Everfree?” He asked, looking around. “If you want. Lead the way I guess.” I grinned before walking back the way I had come from, towards Sweet Apple Acres. On the way back, I could see Applejack, who seemed to be looking for me. “There you are, Duncan-. Who or what in tarnation is that?” She asked, pointing a finger at Nicko. “Hey Applejack, sorry for leaving the field during work-hours, but I found somebody fighting those twig dogs in the Everfree. His name is Nicko!” I replied, introducing my new friend. Nicko did a simple wave with his hand, following that up by saying, “Hello there.” “Howdy, nice to meet a friend of Duncan’s ah guess. Though ah gotta ask why you were in the Everfree, if ya don’t mind explaining.” She replied, raising a brow curiously as she waved back. “Let’s just say I was traveling and ended up landing on top of a timberwolf. Had to fight the rest of the pack and teach old dogs new tricks. Specifically, rolling over and playing dead.” Applejack blinked, “Ah guess that makes sense.” She replied, scratching her head. “How were ya able to defend yourself though?” “Oh I used my magic… and one of my swords.” I chuckled, “Yeah he was sending those things flying all over the place. One of those twig dogs smashed right into my head, even.” Applejack shook her head, “Somehow, ah don’t think I really wanna know anymore. Ain’t worth the headache.” She sighed, “Just make sure ya get your work done for the day Duncan.” I snapped a mock salute, “Will do!” Applejack walked back towards the field, only to soon see Nicko mess with his magic by briefly channeling a small rune before dismissing it. Looking at it, she soon thought that the moment Twilight saw him, she would be all over him about what he was capable of. Nicko soon walked over to the bottom of a tree and cracked open a book he had on him. His spellbook. The Rune Slayer was taking the time to look over some of his skills and refresh his memory. Still though, this didn’t come without anypony not noticing. Soon though, Applejack soon noticed a familiar face. She personally cursed her timing on thinking about Twilight. For she was walking down the road towards the Orchard’s entrance. Twilight hummed a bit as she walked towards Sweet Apple Acres, a quill and several stacks of parchment following along in the grip of her magic. She figured that it would be best to learn as much about Duncan as possible, seeing as he was quite possibly a new species of some sort. Besides, she wanted to send Princess Celestia a letter with more than ‘an unknown hybrid saved me and my friends by smacking dragons with a tree.’. She walked through the gate, looking around for any sign of Duncan or Applejack. Noticing Applejack over in the fields, she started heading towards her orange friend while giving a wave in greeting and calling out her name. “Hey Applejack!” “Howdy Twilight!” the Earth Pony replied. “What brings you to Sweet Apple Acres?” She personally already knew the answer, but asked anyways. “Well I figured I would check to see how Duncan was settling in and maybe ask a few questions. You know, figure out a bit more on his capabilities and personality.” “There may be a bit more to figure out than you might think. Duncan happened to make a friend this morning.” Applejack told her, nodding her head in Nicko’s direction. “Do you think he might be a ‘Half-Kaiju’ like Duncan?” Twilight questioned curiously, looking over at the reading Rune Slayer. “No. He’s a different case. Especially if he, from what he told me, took on a pack of timberwolves and lived to tell the tale.” As Applejack spoke, Nicko turned another page in the book. Now at the section with the notes from Starswirl the Bearded on Runic Magic. Notes that only he and one other pony back in his world could read. “Did he say how he did that?” The purple unicorn asked, looking at Applejack. “He said he used his magic and a sword. But I don’t-.” At that second, Nicko summoned the sword that he used earlier to inspect it after reviewing some attacks involving the use of his weapon. “-Okay, ah take that back. He does have a sword.” Twilight looked at the newly materialized sword with a critical eye, already attemtping to decipher what sort of spell he could’ve used. “Maybe some sort of pocket dimension spell? no, no…” After about five minutes of muttering to herself, she decided to just go over and ask. Walking up to Nicko, she cleared her throat slightly. “Excuse me?” She asked politely. Nicko looked up, closing the book and dismissing the blade. “Yes, Miss? How can I help you?” “I was wondering how you managed to simply vanish and rematerialize your sword. What kind of spell do you use?” She asked eagerly. “Honestly, I just summoned them. They are enchanted swords.” Nicko said back. This though, didn’t satisfy Twilight’s curiosity. “Well I suppose that would make sense..” Twilight replied with a nod, “But what kind of enchantments are on them?” “I wouldn’t know. I just summon them by calling their name. Then again, Dyntos did reforge my main sword and allowed me to keep the blade I used during his trials.” He said to himself. The name he mentioned peaked the pony’s attention. Curious to find out who’s this Dyntos person he mentioned. “Dyntos?” Twilight asked, “Is he some sort of unicorn blacksmith?” “You’re a little off. He’s the god of the forge and maker of all weapons.” He told her. The sound of the word god cause Twilight’s eyes to widen. For a moment, she just stared at him in shock. Nicko honestly thought that he caused her to crash. Twilight blinked, her mouth opening and closing on occasion but no sound escaped. After a few minutes, she managed to gather her thoughts and ask an actual question. “A god!?” Though it wasn’t the most intelligent question she’s ever asked. “Yeah. That only happened yesterday for me, so I don’t really remember all the details.” He turned to his right, noticing me. While Twilight was stuck in thought, he walked over to me. “Duncan, I think I caused your Twilight to flip out.” I waved a hand in front of Twilight’s face, taking note of her expression of shock, “I think you broke her Nicko.” “Well, great. All she did was ask me who made my weapons and now she crashed like a computer on windows vista. Perfect…” He sighed. I, personally, was curious about what exactly Nicko said to Twilight to cause her to shut down. “So what did you say to her?” I asked, poking Twilight’s shoulder in an effort to get a response. “I told her that Dyntos made my weapons and when I told her who he was, she flipped. That’s what I get for telling her about the God of the Forge.” “A god, huh?” I replied, putting a hand to my chin, “Yeah, I guess that’d be pretty surprising for just about anybody.” “Yeah. I had to pass his trials in order to get my stuff.” Nicko said. “Three, hard, trials. Not to mention the third trial involved fighting my parents… Yeah, my parents are actually Displaced as well.” I nodded, “Cool. Well… Not cool that you had to fight them, but pretty cool that your parents are Displaced.” I blinked as I remembered something, “Oh hey, speaking of which… If you ever meet someone name Tony or Dante, their actual names not their Displaced names, could you let me know? They’re like my best friends, and I’m pretty sure that at least Tony got Displaced too.” “Sure, if I come across them. Otherwise then that, I’m not sure where they might be. Besides, like I said before, I met a LOT of Displaced. One of them that happens to be Handsome Jack.” I shrugged, “That’s all I can really ask, the whole ‘if you come across them’ thing, ya know? Anyways, Handsome Jack huh? I sorta remember him, I didn’t really play Borderlands much before getting Displaced though. It was a fun game, but it was just a bit lower on my list since I prefer Fantasy over Sci-fi.” “Wait till you meet Loki. He’ll definitely make your head spin.” I blinked, “Literally or Figuratively?” I asked curiously. “Because I’m pretty sure Loki is the name of some sort of… What was it, Norse? Norse trickster god.” “He’s a Displaced Discord. A Draconequus… You weren’t told about him now were you?” “Wait, what’s a Draconequus?” I wondered, scratching my head. “Spirit of Chaos. He has the talon of a hawk, paw of a lion and other numerous animals parts that are part of his body. Since he controls chaos, logic doesn’t apply to him. One time, I heard he made it rain chocolate.” I grinned, “That sounds awesome! Do you think he could make it rain Chocolate Muffins instead?” I asked, drooling slightly, imagining the skies filling with clouds that would rain chocolate muffins upon the world. “The only limit he has is his imagination-. Oh hey, Twilight’s back.” Nicko said, the Rune Slayer pointing at the Unicorn. “You might want to wait a bit before mentioning Discord though. He’s… thrown this world into chaos before. Something tells me that with time, he’ll be reformed. Let’s keep that between us for now.” I nodded, “No problem dude, my lips are sealed.” I then turned and waved at Twilight, “Hey Twilight, welcome back from… Wherever it is you just went.” Twilight groaned, “Duncan, in the three days I’ve known you, you’ve already proven to be able to cause nearly as many headaches as Pinkie…” I shrugged, “I didn’t even know she caused headaches, she seemed nice enough to me.” The unicorn sighed, shaking her head and deciding not to bother with that. “Forget it.” “Be thankful you haven’t met Amy.” Nicko muttered. “She’s a bit… Reckless. Think Deadpool, but different.” I blinked in confusion, “Different how? Like, less violent or just more random?” “Think her making the walls of a classroom look like blood is dripping down and her pretending to stick herself in a wall, asking ‘Hey kids! Wanna see a dead body!?’. That’s only the tip of the Iceberg.” “Okay…” I shook my head, “That’s.. Well, I’ll definitely agree that it’s different.” Suddenly there was a huge roar that pierced the air, causing my eyes to widen. “Oh you have got to be kidding me.” Nicko, hearing that, summoned his second blade Ebalon and turned around. “Friends of yours?” I shook my head, “No, definitely not. Not if that was what I think it is.” “Well, whatever it is- OH SH*T!” Now what I was thinking about was coming into view. “Is THAT what you think it is?” I looked at the approaching creature with a frown, shrugging off my jacket and placing it on a nearby tree branch. “Unfortunately, yes.” “Well, I was getting a little bored standing around.” Nicko smirked, two runes glowing at the bottom of his shoes before launching forth in a burst of speed. “Right behind ya on that one!” I replied, shifting into my second form with a grin and running towards the Kaiju. Nicko watched the beast burst forth from the ground and jumped to the side as it’s tail slammed down. As it turned, the tail smacked me into a mountainside. Nicko, seeing this, moved forward, placing a rune on the ground where the tail then landed. On contact, the back end of it froze. A trick with Nicko’s Ice Rune that he used to hinder an opponent's mobility. Now, he just hoped that Duncan could get back up from being knocked back. I pulled myself out of the crater I had made on impact, shaking my head with a frown. I quickly ran back down towards the Kaiju, my enhanced speed getting me there just after it’s tail had been frozen, “TAKE THIS YOU JERK!” I shouted, smashing into the frozen tail at full speed, shattering it. The Kaiju roared in pain and anger, swiping at the me and Nicko. I quickly back-flipped away, clearing a fairly large distance before blasting the creature with my flames. However, one second later, the monster that was there disappeared. “Ah great. It’s a burrower.” Nicko growled to himself, calling the monster the nickname he thought of after thinking about Rek’Sai from League of Legends. Before even getting the chance to think, he felt the ground rumble beneath them. “It’s under you-!” Before I could hear my new friend’s response, the Kaiju burst from the ground underneath my feet, grabbing hold of me. Nicko, thinking quickly, focused his next spell towards the monster’s claws that held his friend and fellow Displaced. Casting Wind Blade, a huge astral sword sprung forth, cutting off the Kaiju’s claw and freeing him. The Kaiju roared in pain, stumbling back as it held the stump that used to hold it’s claw. “You alright?” “Yeah, I’m good.” I replied, “I was going to break his fingers, but now I think I’m just gonna make him hit himself.” I grinned, picking up the now detached limb and rushing at the burrowing annoyance. “You do that, I got an idea to deal with this jerk once you stagger him.” The Rune Slayer shouted back, channeling his mana into his sword as he let me throw the Kaiju claw at the creature’s face. “I’m just going to need a bit of fire.” I jumped at the Kaiju’s head, “Hey ugly, I think this is yours!” I shouted as I swung the claw straight into the side of it’s head, making the monster jerk to the the side and stumble from the impact. I landed next to Nicko, using the beast’s neck as a springboard. “You need fire, you’ve got it!” My flames had Nicko’s blade heat up like it had come straight out of the forge. Just the way he needed it. Thanks to me, the Kaiju’s neck was exposed. That was a weak point if anyone had ever seen one, that's for sure. Launching himself forth again, he swung downward, delivering the killing blow as the hot metal sliced the head of the monster clean off. “Well, no need to call Pest Control now. Let’s just hope this guy doesn’t have any… friends.” I sighed, “Unfortunately, he probably does. If there’s one Kaiju here, I’m willing to bet the others are somewhere too.” “You think that any of them could be on your side?” Nicko asked. “Surely, some of them have the will to make their own choices and not be mindless drones.” I shrugged, “Well if Beloc is here, he might be on my side. Aside from that, I have no idea.” “You mean him?” The Rune Slayer asked. Dismissing his blade and pointing behind somewhere behind me. I spun around, looking where Nicko indicated. Though I guess I didn’t really need to be exact, it was pretty hard to to miss that giant behemoth. “Yeah… That’s Beloc alright. Though I guess I should be calling him ‘Dad’ now.” Now it was Nicko’s turn to react to that last comment. “Wait, what?” I laughed at that, “Yeah, that’s Duncan’s dad. My dad now, I guess.” I gave a little shrug, “Don’t ask how the whole ‘Kaiju + Human’ thing works though, I never found out but I don’t really think I want to know either.” “Why do I have the feeling that we’re in trouble?” “Well the show’s Beloc was pretty set on testing Duncan and making him stronger.” I explained, “So who knows what he might do, he even threw Duncan into lava after all.” “ … Okay, I’m just going to only ask questions when necessary. It’ll save us a LOT of time.” Nicko replied as Beloc landed in front of the two Displaced. “Duncan…” Beloc rumbled out, bringing his currently draconic head down to examine the Firebreather. “You are stronger than I expected, but you aren’t strong enough. You should have been able to handle him alone.” I rolled my eyes, “See what I mean?” I said to Nicko. “Point taken. It doesn’t hurt to have a helping hand sometimes.” The Rune Slayer shrugged, sitting down and using the dead Kaiju’s head as a chair. Beloc growled, “Duncan needs to be able to show the Kaiju that he is strong enough on his own, if they are to ever accept him as my Heir.” He smirked slightly though, looking at the Rune Slayer. “Isn’t that chair a bit big for you, little one?” Nicko’s ears twitched again. Now he was getting irritated. He got off the 'chair' that he was sitting on before sending it flying to where it was pierced on top of a tree like a spike. All that with just a single kick. “I would like to warn you, the past few times someone referred to my height, I had to teach them a lesson in pain. Ask Duncan, he learned the hard way.” I pounded a fist into my hand, my eyes lighting up in realization. “Oh so that’s why you threw me into that tree…” Beloc laughed, “Well at least you have strength. Size matters little when you have enough power.” “That and my teacher was a Kaiser who’s version of training involved almost killing me.” Nicko replied. The Kaiju’s King nodded, “That sounds like a proper training session to me.” He rumbled. Nicko himself smiled. “Nothing better than the feeling you get when you feel alive, that’s for sure. Especially since I don’t have any healing magic.” Turning his head, he soon noticed that what was going on had attracted some attention. And by that, it included Applejack, Twilight, and the rest of her friends. Even the Princesses had just arrived by the time he noticed. “Duncan, were you planning on having an audience?” “No, not really. Wh-...” I cut myself off as I looked over at the gathered crowd. “Oh.” Nicko sighed. “Yeah. My thoughts exactly.” Twilight teleported up to me, “What is that!?” She asked, pointing at the dead creature and Beloc. I scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, “Well that-” I pointed at the dead creature, “-Is a dead Kaiju. And that-” here I pointed at Beloc, “Is my Father, Beloc.” Twilight stared, “Uh…” She looked between Duncan and Beloc a few times, “How the hay does that work?” I sighed, “Don’t ask… Seriously, just… Don’t.” Though now I'm hoping I don't have to worry about bringing any potential girlfriends to his house when I start dating. Having a dad who could just as easily squish someone as he could roast them would probably send them packing, if my looks don't do it first. “I don’t think she would want to know anyway.” Nicko snickered. “If she couldn’t handle what I told her, I’m not quite sure if she could handle what you had said. I would pay a little more attention to the others though. Royalty is coming.” The two Alicorns in the vicinity made their way over, prompted Twilight to bow. “Princesss Celestia! Princess Luna!” She exclaimed in surprise, “I hadn’t known you were coming.” Princess Celestia patted Twilight on the back gently, “It’s quite all right Twilight, we hadn’t expected to have to make a sudden trip to Ponyville either, to be honest.” “What brings you to Ponyville?” The purple unicorn questioned. In response, the Alicorn raised a brow, a nod of her head indicating the two Kaiju (And the one half-Kaiju, AKA me.). “Oh… Right..” Twilight giggled nervously. “I’m beginning to think that I’m one of those reasons now, aren’t I?” Nicko asked, sarcastically. “Indeed.” the second alicorn spoke up, “Thou art a curiosity, just as much as those creatures.” “Which one? The one standing there or the one whose head I kicked into a tree?” Nicko asked, honestly this time. “Both.” Princess Celestia spoke once again. “Both of those creatures are unknown to us, and to Equestria as a whole. As such, they are a curiosity.” She explained, “And your ability to perform magic without being a unicorn is a second, and no less important, curiosity.” “Hmm… Which one were you planning on finding about first? Because I believe Beloc might be losing his patience.” Nicko had noticed that the Kaiju King had been… irritated… for the past few moments and he’d rather not try to get on his bad side. Beloc stood, shifting from a quadruped to a more bipedal form as he did so. “Indeed. I grow weary of being spoken of as though I were either mindless or absent.” He rumbled ominously, towering over everyone and everything. “Go ahead then, I can wait.” Nicko offered. He then sat down on the ground, summoning Rovaniik to lean himself against. The Kaiju King took this as a sign for him to now speak. And speak he did. Beloc looked down at the two creatures that he assumed to rule the rest, as made obvious by their brief interaction. “I am Beloc! King of the Kaiju.” He began, reaching down and picking up Duncan. “And this is Duncan, my Heir.” He looked at the small gathering of creatures for a moment, deciding what to say next. “The Kaiju are an ancient race, lost to Fairytales and Legends, until even those had forgotten about us.” Beloc explained slowly. “Many of us are now waking after a long sleep, finding that the world is not as we had left it. That it has been overrun by new species.” “Many of my kind are angry, and see you all as invaders. I have forbidden them from attacking many of the new species of this planet, but I do not know how many will obey.” Here he sighed, “Many who disagree will likely come after Duncan, seeking to challenge him for the right to succeed me. Any can challenge him at any time, as decreed by our laws. Should any of the Kaiju manage to kill him, it will be unlikely that your races will survive for long.” Princess Celestia flew up to his head, hovering as she looked at him. “Are you not the invaders then?” She asked, “If you are as ancient as you say, would you not have given up your rights to it by leaving the world for so long?” “You are wise; but that is not how the Kaiju see it.” Beloc rumbled with a small smile. “It is still our world. And our kind are split on how we should see it. There are those who would prefer to live peacefully, attempting to co-exist with the creatures who have claimed it.” He frowned. “And then there are those who would prefer to see it all destroyed, and to have our world reclaimed through force.” Beloc gestured to the corpse behind him, “That is Felinon. He was of the War Faction. Unfortunately, any fight between my kind is a fight that leads to death.” He told the two pony rulers, “I know your kind detests killing, but for my kind it is nearly a necessity. I ask that you not look at my son harshly for doing what is necessary.” The Sun Goddess fixed him with a hard look, but nodded. “Very well. But we will discuss this later. I have a feeling I will need to learn more of your kind, should they end up threatening my little ponies.” Soon, Celestia redirected her gaze back at Nicko. “For now, I have a few things to ask of you though, Mr…?” “Nicko Nocte, your highness.” He replied, greeting her with a friendly bow after getting off of the ground and dismissing his sword. “What questions do you have for me?” “I suppose the most obvious question, is the question of how you are able to perform magic without a horn.” Celestia replied. “Ah the most common, yet tricky one,” Nicko started to speak. “I’m a Rune Slayer. Runic Magic is my specialty and also, like Duncan, I’m a Displaced.” Nicko then noticed a very puzzled look from Luna, who followed up with a question to his statement. “What is this… Displaced… That thou speakest of?” The Moon Princess asked, testing the odd word. “Displaced is short for Dimensionally Misplaced. There’s a scientific theory involving the possibility of many versions of different worlds. I just happened to be from one of them. Because where I’m from… things are quite different.” “The Multiverse Theory?” Twilight asked eagerly. “That’s real?” “You’re in a world of magic? The line between real and not real is pretty thin. Especially since in my world, Luna is a guy. Gonna have to tell Artemis about that next time I see him...” I laughed at Twilight’s sheepish expression, and Luna’s fish impression. “Yeah, I’m surprised you really manage to doubt much of anything!” I yelled before jumping off of my dad’s hand (Wow, I've accepted that surprisingly fast... Meh, oh well. Is what it is). “I mean, Magic. That’s pretty much already able to bend the rules of like… Everything, right?” “Magic has limits depending on the type.” Nicko replied. “Mine though is different because I am pretty much the only one who can channel it. The only other pony who could conjure it is dead.” “Well even if each type has their limitations; in general Magic can pretty much do anything, right?” I prodded curiously. I mean, if that one guy can make chocolate rain, than what's the true limit of magic? “Wait…” Twilight said, pushing my question to the side. “Who was the other pony who used your type of magic?” She asked Nicko. “Starswirl the Bearded. In fact, my spellbook has what remains of his notes.” Nicko replied. “However, since it’s written in Runic, only I can read it.” Twilight joined Luna in her imitations of a fish, looking at him in shock. I waved a hand in front of her face, getting no response. Then I looked at my fellow Displaced with a raised brow. “You broke her again Nicko.” “Dang it. That’s twice today.” Hearing that, Nicko noticed a certain cyan pegasus uncontrollably laughing her flank off as she looked at the expressions of both the Unicorn and Alicorn. “Well, someone finds it hilarious.” I chuckled, “You do have to admit that ‘Imitation fish’ is a pretty funny look for them.” I said with a grin. Only to realize that one other princess was in the vicinity. I looked over at Celestia quickly, “Er… No offense.” The white Alicorn waved it off, “It has been quite a while since I have seen my little sister bear a look of shock. I’ll agree that it is quite amusing.” “Yeah… Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to break them like that. Plus, there’s a lot of things that might break almost everypony. Including you I think.” Nicko was unsure about saying the last part, but to his surprise, Celestia was curious. “I highly doubt that.” Celestia told him, “Though I would like to know what sort of things you think could possibly shock me that much.” “Well… you are married and have two kids.” “Married? Married to who, exactly?” The Sun Goddess asked. “Discord.” And so Celestia joined her sister and student in imitating a fish. “Well, I broke three ponies. That’s a new record.” Nicko said, sighing to himself. Shifting in his pockets, he pulled out his own token. A Rune Slayer’s mark. “Hey Duncan, I think I’m going to have to take my leave. Keep this.” When I turned around, quick reflexes was all I needed in order to catch the token that was tossed my way. “It’s my token. If you need me or anything like that, just use it and I’ll come on by. Now… if you would excuse me, I need to talk to my Discord about something important.” With that, Nicko used his token to tear a brief hole in the void before stepping in and disappearing. As he left, Pinkie Pie soon walked over, looking at the three fish faced ponies with overwhelming curiosity. “Oooh. I wonder what’s gotten the Princesses and Twilight so puffered up.” she giggled to herself at the pun as she examined the three ponies. “Any ideas, Duncan?” I thought about it for a bit, “Well when I’m in shock, I know a good muffin or a hug snaps me right out of it! Usually anyways.” So saying, I went over and pulled Twilight into a hug. “Hmm… oh I know!! GROUP HUG!!” Pinkie exclaimed, stretching out to hug both Twilight and me at the same time. I laughed, managing to free one of my arms to wrap around Pinkie as well. “Group hugs are always a good idea!” “Oh… My head… Hunh?” Twilight snapped out of her shocked trance, seeing that the Rune Slayer was gone. “Where did he go? I had more questions for him!!” I chuckled as I continued to hug both Twilight and Pinkie, “He went back to his dimension.” I answered easily, “Though I think the more important question is which tree I hung my jacket on…” I continued, a breeze against my back causing me to realize that I was pretty much half-naked. “Or for that matter, how to wake up the Princesses.” Author's Note Hey everypony, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know I had a lot of fun writing it, along with FrostTheWolf! I'd suggest that you check out his stories, especially if you like Displaced stories, he's got some great ones! This particular chapter is crossing with his story Of Magic and Machines. I added links straight to pictures in the story this time, just in case you wanted to see them before the author's note. Lemme know how you feel about that. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, because I know I had fun co-writing it! Storm Shine, Shining out for now.
