Author's Note
Hello! I know I have a very bad track record, but please bear with me on this one...
Chapter 1
Roger was a big Destiny fan. And a big My Little Pony fan. So when he heard that Babscon and Bungiecon were not only in the same city, but also the same week, he knew that he had to go. He got the ok from his boss, who was also the leader of his Clan oddly enough, on the one condition that he and his daughter, who was also in the Clan, joined him for both.
"Sir, I'm not too sure if you'd even have fun at Ba-" Roger started before getting cut off.
"Roger, I main a Titan. I can handle the pastel colors of My Little Pony," his boss, Greg, explained, cutting him off. "And besides, Sarah would have my head if I didn't bring her along, it's a miracle vacation for the three of us! You and her are basically a match made in heaven since you both seem to love the same things."
"Er… thank you, sir, but… Are you sure about-"
"Take the week, or drop the topic. Your choice."
"Yes sir, thank you sir. Should I send a message to the rest of the clan, letting them know we won't be available for that week?"
"Nah, I'll send a message over in the Important Messages tab. Now get back to work, we have a deadline."
"Yes sir!" Roger gave a Warlock salute to Greg, causing him to chuckle a bit as he returned the gesture before Roger left, heading back to his desk so he could focus on his work.
Two months later saw the trio, Roger in his Warlock cosplay, Greg in his Titan, and Sarah in her Hunter, outside the doors to Babscon.
"Oh, hell, I feel out of place here…" Greg said as he looked around.
"Don't worry about it, Dad. The folks here are weird to begin with," Sarah said, patting her bulky father on his shoulder.
"Not as weird as your-" Roger started before stopping himself, knowing that if he continued he likely would be punched by both of them.
"My what, Roger? My wife? Or my mother?" Sarah asked, subtly prodding him to finish what he was about to say as she smiled beneath her Celestial Nighthawk mask.
"Nothing!" Roger quickly exclaimed, putting his hands up as fear flashed through his covered eyes and shaking both his head and his Nezarec Sin helmet.
Greg laughed and smacked him on the back as he walked past, heading inside with his daughter. Roger simply sighed and followed after with a smile on his face. His boss may be a dick when on the clock, but once he was off of it he acted more like Saint-14 or Shaxx, loud, funny, and somewhat odd.
Once inside, the trio stuck together, posing for a few photo shoots with fellow fans and even picking up a few nick-nacks here and there. It wasn't until they came across a merchant selling some non-pony items that they were truly intrigued by someone.
Sarah picked up a copy of Ace of Spades, causing the trio a bit of sorrow as they saw it. "How much for her?"
"For Ace? Twenty. I worked hard to get the details right, even down to the scratches from a certain mind controlled Awoken," the merchant replied, smiling weakly at her. They all knew he was gouging them, but for something like that? Something that had seen dedication and attention like that? It was worth it.
"And this?" Roger asked, hefting a Collective Obligation and looking it over. It was great for how he played his Warlock, especially when he needed to output massive amounts of Void damage in a short period of time.
"That one's a bit more expensive, mainly because of how big it is, coming in at forty," he replied.
"Hrmm… and how about this?" Greg asked, holding up a Loreley Splendor Helm with false flames being blown by a fan to give the appearance of being real flames.
"Ah, that one is the most expensive, coming out to almost $200. Fans small enough to fit, but still be strong enough and quiet enough to make the flames move without making the wearer basically deaf while they were on was difficult and expensive," the merchant said. He then smiled as all three of them approached, wallets out counting their money so they could pay. The trio all lumped their purchases together to try and save on tax, happy with their purchases.
Sarah stumbled a bit first, reaching up to hold her head as she felt like she was both falling and floating… Then Roger gripped the counter, trying to stay standing as the world around him spun quicker and quicker… Finally, Greg collapsed to his knees with a groan of pain as he felt like he was going to puke, his sense of balance telling him he was doing cartwheels while still on the ground. Soon, all three collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Little did they know, this would be the last time they slept in the dimension they were born in…
Roger awoke first, groaning and sitting up while holding his head. The last thing he remembered clearly was the entrance to Babscon… "Did we get drunk?" He asked, covering his eyes with one arm to block out the sun.
"Not quite, Guardian," a feminine voice said from beside him. He glanced over and saw his custom made Ghost shell, a Filigree of Light shell, laying beside him. At least, that was what he thought until it spoke again. "Hello. I believe you called me Anora-15?"
"HOLY FUCKING SHIT, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?!" Roger exclaimed, jumping to his feet before collapsing again, grasping his head in pain.
"Easy, Guardian… We don't know what's going on either…" the shell said, floating up and scanning him, making sure he was alright and healing him as best it could.
Luckily, his shout of terror stirred Sarah and Greg, causing them to get up as well, their own Ghosts also scanning and repairing them. Roger quickly tore his helmet off, feeling his face… Or what should've been his face. He could tell that he was now an Exo, just like his Warlock in Destiny 2. In fact, it was a stipulation for their Clan that your main class be an Exo, since the name was Shards of Cayde.
"Holy fuck… are we…? Am I…?" Roger couldn't understand what was going on. Try as height, his mind couldn't- wouldn't, wrap around how this happened.
"Roger… Stop swearing… At least in front of- WHAT THE SHIT!?" Greg shouted, bolting up and away from Roger, staring at him in shock. He looked like Roger's Warlock when he would take his helmet off… But if that was the case, then did that mean he and his daughter were also…? He shakily reached up, feeling along his neck for anything that would tell him otherwise… and finding nothing to the contrary of what he had just realized. "We're Exo's…"
"You mean that we're our characters… Ugh, my head…" Sarah said while gently shaking her head as she stood up, stumbling a little.
"I… Yeah… we are our characters now…" Roger said in confirmation, staring off into the distance.
"If I might interject? We are surrounded. I would recommend pulling your helmet back on, Guardian," Anora-15 said after she finished repairing him and vanishing, projecting her voice into the trio.
"I must agree with Anora. We should get moving, Guardians," Greg's Ghost, who was named Pallet, said before vanishing as well, leaving Sarah's Ghost the last to vanish.
"Guardian, are you alright? I'm detecting large amounts of-" the Ghost started before Sarah cut it off.
"I'm fine, Nomu," she snapped, glaring at the Ghost from beneath her mask. When it didn't budge she sighed and held it, whispering something to it that the others couldn't quite catch before it vanished.
"Well… if we're expected to fight our way out, then I think we should get started then…" Roger said, laying a hand on his helmet and willing it back on as Collective Obligation materialized in his hands. He wouldn't go down without a fight.
"Right… Right," Greg said as well, pulling out his Titan's main means of add clearing, Vex Mythoclast.
"Already on it!" Sarah said, her anger clear in her voice as she readied Ace, fully prepared to go down swinging just like Cayde did.
She managed to take the first kill, getting a headshot on what looked like an anthrofied Changeling from before they reformed and causing an explosion of Solar energy that claimed the lives of another five that were too close. Roger threw out his Suppression grenade, dropped his Empowering Rift, and then released his Pocket Singularity, all within a few seconds and claiming multiple kills before he even fired a single bullet. Luckily, with how Nezarec's Sin worked and how heavily he stacked into grenade spam, he had a second Suppression grenade ready by the time he was ready to start. And once he started, he noticed that when he Suppressed a target, his gun would "eat" the Suppression. It was annoying, but he didn't care right then. Greg was having the best time of them all, using Mythoclast to snipe the ones with rifles while he ran around, smacking the rest with his hammer. He only stopped when he blew himself up as what appeared to be a bio-organic exploder Shank came out from behind a tree and right the path of his hammer.
Upon seeing that, Sarah and Roger bolted over to his body and, with immense strain, picked him up and carried him away, taking the occasional potshot at the encroaching horde of enemies. They luckily didn’t need to go far to find another team of Guardians, but they didn’t seem too friendly… At least, that’s what Sarah and Roger thought since all they could do was slow to a stop before what appeared to be a Griffin teleported over to them with what looked to be Void Light and beheaded them both with blades of that same Light.
Author's Note
These next three chapters will be of the "heroes" travelling with someone or otherwise fleshing out the world a bit.
Chapter 3
Roger ran through tunnels and underground rooms, trying his best to look for a way out. Anora-15 hadn't been able to fully map out the tunnels when they had been dragged into them, and she soon noted that the tunnels had changed. "It seems our canine kidnappers changed things around… And quite quickly too. Strange, considering they had no particular reason to due to how little threat we pose…"
"Is it possible they're enemies?" Roger whispered as he dove behind what he assumed was a bartop in order to hide.
"Negative. They are… neutral at worst, and friendly at best. Hopefully it is a mere misunderstanding…" she replied.
"Shit… Do you think it might have something to do with-"
"HERE IT IS! I found the Mino Psio!" A voice shouted from above him.
"What?!" Roger looked upwards, seeing a large dog-like being glaring down at him. He scrambled to dodge a spear that it had thrust downward at him.
"It wants to run! Hurry!" The dog shouted over its shoulder, trying to impale Roger again… Who managed to dodge once more.
"I'm not a Psion! Or a Mino!" Roger snapped as he began to run again.
"No lies, Minotaur scum! You tell how you escape!" Came another voice from Rogers left as he passed an intersection just outside the room he was just in.
He ducked beneath another spear, this one having been thrown, and managed to somehow only get it stuck between the horns of his helmet. That was when he had a thought and tore off the helm, dropping it and turning to face the dogs that were now slowing down to stare at his robotic face. "I'm not a Minotaur! Or a Psio, whatever the fuck that is…"
"You… you are Guardian…? But… Why you wearing Mino head?" One of the two asked.
"It's a… Relic, I guess… When I defeat something with Void Light, my abilities recharge faster… And because I specialize in the Void, it really adds up…" Roger explained, slowly relaxing as he watched a small crowd of rowdy dogs began to grow and calm down. "So uh… where am I…?"
"You in New Dirt!" One of the dogs in the back shouted when a different one, this one far more aggressive and femine than the others, spoke from behind Roger, correcting it.
"Gaia Nuevo, you dolt! Haaa… The guards mean well, Guardian, but they are fairly… Ignorant, to put it lightly. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Reginhald. The leader of this pack and tunnelcity. I apologize for the rude treatment… Scout Dogs are only marginally smarter than Guard Dogs…" The Dog said, introducing herself as Roger carefully pulled his helmet back on.
"Right… And where was I when your… Scout Dogs found me?" Roger asked as he watched the crowd of Guards slowly disperse to go back to their various posts. It wasn't until one began digging straight into the floor that he realized that they were Diamond Dogs.
"Ah, that one is a bit trickier. See, they keep saying that a wingless Griffon was carrying you, so they chased the 'traitor' away and dragged you down into the prison area to be questioned later. Again, Scouts are only marginally smarter than the Guards, so I have a feeling this 'wingless Griffon' was one of your friends, yes?" Reginhald asked, leading the way to a table in the bar area Roger had just left. "If so, then I'm sorry to say that another Griffon Guardian found them…"
"Is she ok…?" Roger asked, sitting down across from her. 'If she died again, they might have thrown her back into that forest… Though why they did that last time is weird…'
"From what the Merchant Goldie said, yes. She is fine, and currently traveling towards one of the Twin Travelers," she answered, smiling a little when Roger sighed in relief, relaxing ever so slightly.
"Ok… Well I need to go meet up with her and her dad, so-"
"She is alone. If there were three of you, then chances are that your third companion is still in the Eternal Shifting Forest…"
"Eternal… What?" Roger was confused. There was only one forest between both Destiny and My Little Pony that could even potentially fit either bill was the Infinite Forest of the Vex and the Everfree Forest outside of Ponyville where Zecora lived. Nobody could ever get a proper map of the area around Equestria back on Earth, and he doubted even Faust could tell someone with any amount of consistency about various locations…
“The Eternal Shifting Forest was cursed by the Umbral Ponies that were summoned when Princess Amore first tried to create a safe haven in the Frozen Wastes to the far north. She knew the location was a place of strong power, but could not explain what called her to it. So when she first dug into the land to create the Crystal Heart, she had set the foul beasts free,” Reginhald explained. “Mind you, this was also after the Twins arrived many centuries ago. We have a tunnel leading to the outpost near the edge of the Forest if you wish to leave, though I would recommend not wearing the Sin of Nerz’al. The other Guardians on post out here are a touch trigger happy and won’t hesitate to strike down something resembling an enemy.”
“Well that explains why the Griffin cut our heads off I guess… Doesn’t explain how we wound up back in the… What did you call it? The Eternal Shifting Forest?” Roger asked, mildly confused.
“Correct. And this Griffin, did they by chance wield one or two blades? And if it was two, were they Void?” She asked in return.
“Uh… It all happened so fast that I couldn’t tell you for sure, but… I think they were?” Roger replied, silently asking Anora to hide his helmet.
“Hmm… That means it was one of two Griffins…" Reginhald sighed, stressed about how to explain what she learned to the other Guardians in the outpost. "We should get going… The sooner we get this taken care of the better."
"Wait, why did they throw us back into the forest? If they really had thought we were enemies, then why waste time potentially getting lost in the-"
"The entrance to the forest is… what did they call it…? Qua… Qua…" Reginhald scrunches her muzzle in agitation as she tried to recall what the Guardians had called it.
"Quantum locked?" Roger asked, raising an eyebrow as he did. When Reginhald nodded furiously, Roger sighed in defeat since that meant they likely just tossed their bodies back into the Forest while one or two of that patrol watched where they entered so they wouldn't end up getting stuck inside. "Great… Doesn't explain how we got lucky and escaped twice, but whatever I guess… Well, let's get going then. Hey, what's the name of the place we're going?"
"Outpost PNY-45. Or Ponyville for short," Reginhald replied, leading the way out while Roger laughed at the name. 'Maybe he thinks it's as bad a name as the others?'
