[DISPLACED] Trespasser's Journey

As the duo of Silphen and Aurana left for the mare's home, she turned to look up at Silphen, a single question in her mind… "Why?"

"Hmm?" Silphen asked, glancing down at her, slightly confused by her single word question.

"Erm… Why were you down there? If the guards didn't know you were in there to start with, then how'd you get there and why were you there to start with…?"

"Ah… shit. Should've seen that question coming… Um… well, you see…" Silphen started, trying to come up with a believable lie for her. He didn't want to risk making her leave him because she found out Celestia wanted his head…

Aurana caught on to his hesitancy, and smiled faintly. "So which one is it that hates you?" She asked, easily deciphering it.

"Celestia," Silphen replied without a second thought. Cursing himself as Aurana stopped mid step to look back at him in surprise.

"Huh… Only reason I can think of for that being the case is that you can use magic she's declared black and to be destroyed, even if in another's land… Right?" Aurana asked, nervous that she had been helping a potentially world ending threat unknowingly.

"Magic isn't inherently good or evil. It just exists. What about a priest using healing magic on someone while they're being tortured so they don't die? Are they good? A necromancer resurrecting someone so that their loved ones can say goodbye. They evil? The way I see it, magic is a means for good and evil, and it doesn't pick sides. Not because it doesn't understand, but because it knows all too well what would happen if it did," Silphen replied, explaining his take on what it means to be 'good' or 'evil' as best he could without tipping his hand.

"Ok… But have you used any spells in an evil way? Or any spells that the solar princess would call evil…?" Aurana asked, now even more nervous as she slowly started to back away from him. Silphen winced slightly as he saw this, hurt that he was no doubt only making the matter worse…

"No, Aurana… I'd never do that. Besides, I only got the book a week ago," he said as he held up the bag he used to carry his spellbook, too scared to take it out in case Celestia could track him that way. Luckily his answer seemed to calm her down as she sighed in relief and stopped backing away.

"Good… well, we're here then," she said, pointing to an abandoned and boarded up hut that looked like it barely held a single bed.

'This is where she's living with her little sister…? No wonder she's sick… the place itself looks like it breeds black mold…!' Silphen thought as he looked at it with a scowl. "Well then… I guess it's about time we got the two of you out of here then, right?" He asked as he began to make his way to the door.

"Wait!" Aurana called out, stopping the wolf in his tracks. "Let me go in first, so she doesn't freak out, ok…?"

Silphen shrugged as he stepped to the side, letting the mare go in first. He heard a hushed argument and caught the words "Shifting" and "Hybrid". Soon after Aurana opened the door and motioned for him to come inside. As he stepped closer, he heard a shout from down the street and an arrow embedded itself into the wooden frame stopping the wolf from entering.

He turned around and saw the group of Solar Guards rushing towards him, and paled slightly. "Aurana, Jade, stay here for a bit… I'll lead the guards away and come back to get you guys, ok…?"

Silphen didn't even bother waiting for a reply as he took off towards them, leaving the two ponies safely inside...

Sam had done it. He had made the solution to so many problems the world had, with this creation he could effortlessly demolish world hunger in ten to twenty years, with this invention, he could unlock the secrets of perpetual motion, solving the energy crisis and baffle scientists. With this item, he was all powerful and could ignore the worst heat imaginable, land safely no matter what, and solve many more problems.

Sam had crafted a bucket.

Was it a special bucket? No, it was made with three bars of iron, which as he created it on the crafting table, the iron seemed to melt around his hands and take the shape he desired, just like with his Diamond tools. Was it magical? Nope, just an ordinary bucket.

When he scooped up water however, it seemed to defy physics, as he poured the water out, and when the bucket was empty, the water stayed there like a block of jello. Only it still flowed infinitely, like some sort of portal to a world of water. It gave him a headache.

But minecraft is as Minecraft does…

Silphen grunted as he was pinned by a pegasus crashing into his back, struggling as he tried to throw them off… only to shatter like a mirror, much to the guards surprise. "IT'S AN ILLUSION!"

Silphen groaned as he got up from the ground from in front of the hut, stretching his back as the Mirror Shatter Switch wore off.

"Fuck that hurt… Still, good for getting away, I guess… Aurana, Jade, you two still in there?" Silphen asked as he knocked on the door.

Aurana opened the door slowly, peeking outside as she checked to see if there were any guards out there with him. "Yeah… How are you back here again? I thought you left."

"Well I did. After setting a spell that would bring me back once I was across the city or got caught. Whichever came first," Silphen explained.

"I… what?" Aurana asked, confused.

"Illusions and teleportation magic," Silphen replied, bringing out a piece of chalk and beginning to draw on the stones in front of the hut, preparing a group teleportation spell.

"Oh. And this?" She asked, pointing with a hoof at the circle he was drawing now.

"Group teleport circle. Single use, so go get Jade and I'll get us out of here," he responded, focusing as best he could on the images his mind was giving him as he drew. Aurana nodded as she ducked her head back inside to get her little sister. When the duo came back outside, Silphen had finished and was trying to figure out which rune was used to power it so he could get the three of them out of the city.

He didn't have long to search as a guard, a single unicorn, rounded the corner and shouted for them to stop. He grabbed the two mares beside him, threw them into the circle and slapped a rune, pushing his magic into it as the circle flared to life, teleporting them away…

Several hours later…

Silphen and Aurana collapsed, having finally found some water that didn't look like a festering pool of disease and plague.

"About… time…" Aurana said as she dragged herself to the running clear life giving liquid.

"Y-yeah…" Silphen said as he set Jade down, who had long ago collapsed and seemed to have a fever. He had to do something about it, but he wasn't sure what… He didn't want to risk pulling his book out in Canterlot in case Celestia could track him due to how close he was, but now he needed to read from it.

As he pulled it out, he shuddered as he felt the weight, both physically and magically as the very air felt like it became supercharged. He flipped to the back, thinking he could find something there… Aurana seemed cautious at first, but when Silphen told her what he wanted to do, she relaxed. Maybe she could trust him… for now…

A figure in dark armor covered head to toe in spikes and a tail that seemed to end in a serrated arrowhead smiled as his newest informant gave their report. 'A dark mage, eh…? Could use that for some tasty destruction, hehehe…'