[The interior of tavern is pleasantly warm despite the cold climate just outside, likely a result of the large amount of patrons filling the establishment known as Rogues Gallery, located in Canterlot. Ponies, griffons, zebras and even a few diamond dogs crowd around me as I sit at the table, awaiting the one I came to see. I can even catch sight of a few of the establishments more exotic customers. One of them is so large he fills up almost an entire corner by himself. Sitting atop his muscular shoulder is a tiny black imp like creature that watches me with vivid red eyes. Eventually Carrot Top arrives, setting aside an empty tray. Conversation is difficult to make out from the activity around us.]

So tell me, what was your overall experience regarding the Displaced?

[Carrot Top shrugs.]

Eh, not really much to say on that front to be complete with you. Most of the time I'm too busy taking care of my business to really take much notice of that kind of stuff. Of course, that's not to say that I've just been living under a rock these past ten years, I just never really had much time to let it become that big a part of my life, until recently that is. Since then it's been pretty much the same. I just have a few extra customers is all. But anyway I'm guessing that's not what you wanted to hear about. The first time I heard of the Displaced was actually when that one with the big red sword came in and ordered something off of the menu. I think it was about a month or so after her and her kind were initially classified as Displaced. I actually missed her, since I was on break that day, but from what the others told me she was pretty polite, even though they couldn't understand a word she said. It was a few days after that I had my official first encounter with a Displaced, when this weird dude came in. Nothing too special about him, not at first anyway. Nowadays he for the most part just comes around every once in a while for a drink and some info.

So he's a regular patron then? How did that arrangement come about?

Well, he's not really a regular per se. He's kind of. . . well, it's kind of a long story. I'd recommend you make yourself comfortable. Would you like me to get you something to drink in the meantime?

[I decline her offer as the interview proceeds.]

Suit yourself then. Anyway it was just a normal day like any other. Me and the rest of the girls were just doing our thing, running business as usual. Every once in a while we'd get somepony coming and having way more to drink than anypony in their right mind should. But I guess that's the point, isn't it? To get out of their right mind. Anyway, they weren't too much trouble most the time, we knew how to deal with them if things got out of hoof. That was not to say that everypony was compliant. Sometimes a few ponies, the ones that knew had too much just by looking, got a little bit, ah, grabby shall I say. You can't really blame them though, they were just looking for something to help forget life for a little bit, but that didn't mean we had to like it.

[Carrot takes a sip of her drink before continuing.]

Anyway it was around happy hour, when we're usually at our busiest, that this weird hooded guy came in and sat down at that table over there.

[She points with her hoof at said table, pushed up into an isolated corner at the back of the tavern.]

At first nopony really thought anything of it. Most just assumed that he was a minotaur because of how he walked. Real shady looking fella too, what with his hood up and everything, kind of looked like some sort of mercenary but hey, it's not like we haven't had worse come here you know. He didn't flag anypony down or say anything, he just sat there. After a little while one of the other waitresses, Sugar Plum I think her name was, went up to service him. It was only then that he talked. He asked for me.

He knew you?

[There is an unsettled look in Carrot Top's eye as she nods.]

By name no less. Now, understand I have no problem if somepony wants me to help them out. I mean, I am a pretty good looking mare after all, and I've kind of earned something of reputation in that part of town. But when somepony that neither I or anypony else has ever seen before, and trust me I would have remembered somepony like him, comes to my place of work and asks for me by name, that's when I start to have a problem.

What did you do?

I'll be honest when I say that I kind of panicked at that point. I mean, what was I supposed to think of that? How did this guy who by all rights should know absolutely nothing about know my name? Was he a stalker of some sort? I didn't know, and I sure as Tartarus didn't want anything to do to with him until I did. I tried to get one of the others to tell him that I wasn't available or something like that, but he just asked for me again. At that point I just wanted him gone, and the only way that was going to happen is if I went out there to see what he wanted. As I was on my way to his table I happened to pass by this one group of regulars that were always getting drunk off of their rockers. One of them, big burly fella who was always trying to grab a mares flank and whatnot, reached out for me and. . . requested my "services" if you will. I didn't have much to say to him, I was too distracted by our other guest to pay much attention, and I just told him that I would get back to him later. He didn't like that answer very much, and he just straight up pulled me up to him.

Can I assume at this point that your newest patron became involved?

You could say that. Nopony even saw him get up and move, he was just. . . there, grabbing the stallions arm. The guy let go of me instantly, and I fell down as he started to scream out his lungs. The others got up to to help him out, but when they guy looked at them. . . they just froze, like a windigo was staring them down or something. . . they don't come around very often anymore.

Do you think this incident is what sparked the nobles to act against the Displaced by enacting certain laws?

I don't know if it was caused that, but it definitely added fuel to the fire I'll tell you that. I didn't mention this, but we already weren't doing well financially at the time, and the fact that this dude pretty much broke a guys leg because he didn't realize what he was doing, it didn't help a lot. Ponies began accusing us of harboring monsters and thugs. I'm not saying we didn't get involved in the occasional but of. . . unscrupulous activities, which we were already suspected of mind you, but they sure as Tartarus weren't doing anything to put a stop to it before hoof. It was only when they heard that a Displaced had supposedly started a quote unquote "all out bar brawl" that they started cracking down by way of propaganda. You should've seen some of the headlines about it, they were so ridiculous and contrived. After that it was really hard to stay afloat, and we almost went under. A lot of us had to take second or third jobs just to feed themselves.

Do you resent Displaced for that?

[Carrot Top shrugs.]

The one that helped me out? No. The ones that were already out there, making a mess of things? . . . I don't know. I don't really resent them, I don't think. I mean, just take a look around. A few of them are even some of our best customers nowadays. If I was so petty as to think that every one of them was bad, I wouldn't have them around. But don't get me wrong, there were a few points at that time when I wished that they had never showed up and changed everything.

What about these other Displaced? Are there any you remember that stand out to you, whether you witnessed it or simply heard of it?

I can't really give you much on that one. The only other Displaced I've officially met was this one that Gai, the one I already mentioned, brought with him. Well, not really brought, more like unintentionally recruited to join him. He didn't like her being around for some reason.

So they were hostile with each other. Would you compare it to how other Displaced were oftentimes hostile to their own kind, often resulting in ponies getting caught in the middle?

It was less like open hostility and more like he was berating a sibling for going somewhere dangerous. True, he could have handled it better, but this general area isn't a place for little girls. As for ponies getting caught in the middle... well, trouble seems to follow the infamous "Silver Scourge" like an overly loyal stray puppy. He didn't have a bounty on his head for nothing, after all.

I've heard of that term being used before. Can you tell me where it originated, and how it applied to this particular Displaced?

Well, I'm no history buff, but from what I've heard it was used to refer to smugglers and pirates back then that had a bounty placed on them that was always paid for in silver, hence the term, "Silver Scourge". It just so happened that Gai himself was a pirate, or at least that was what he claimed, and he just so happened to have a bounty on his head.

[Carrot Top points to a framed picture. Upon closer inspection I see that it's actually a faded wanted poster depicting who I can only assume is Gai. The bounty listed for his capture is five hundred thousand Equestrian bits.]

Those posters started showing up everywhere around nine years ago, a little while after the public heard of his various "crimes".

And what was the general public opinion where you to have a pirate with such a large bounty on his head?

[Carrot Top laughs a little.]

Are you kidding? Every lowlife in Equestria basically went up in arms trying to either collect the bounty, steal his power, or get him on their side. I can't tell you how many times I've had someone or somepony come in trying to get any scrap of info they could on him. Of course I had to disappoint them, even if I did know how to nail him down, but that info's not for sale. Sorry hon.

Erm, that's alright, I wasn't going to ask anyway. Ahem, so anyway, about these lowlifes. While it is understandable they would go after him given the large reward, you mentioned they were also trying to either sway him to their cause or use his power. Can you give any insight on what exactly their goal was in regards to that?

[Carrot Top points at the picture again, indicating his garb.]

You see that suit he's wearing? They were all after that. I can't begin to tell you what it was made of or what it was intended for, but from what I understand that suit basically makes you near invincible to anything that's not magical in nature. Stuff like that is really rare to come by. I man, it was basically outlawed by the Princesses, so you can imagine it would have been pretty valuable to anypony that either wanted to sell it or use it for themselves.

About the bounty, wasn't it placed him by the, uh. . . Zangyak, was it? Yes that's it. From what I heard the nobility contributed to most of it, but they offered to pay the five hundred thousand bits for him before the Princess absolved him of it once the incursion was over. From what I understand they were attempting to conquer Equestria, but were of course were slowed down by the already present Displaced, yet nopony seems to know exactly where they came from. Some ponies think they were just a group of sociopathic Displaced. Was that true?

Gai mentioned once that they were from the universe's greatest space empire... though I can't really back it up with any evidence. They're not really the friendliest bunch around, bastards are even willing to gun down civilians.

[Carrot's face darkens.]

I take it you had some experience in dealing with them. It's alright if you don't want to say anything more.

No no, it's fine. It's just. . . . I really doubt that there's anypony who didn't lose something during their so called invasion, my story's not all that special. At least it got the Guard off it's collective ass.

Barring the bounty that was placed on Gai, which of course has been redacted by the Princess, what was the general opinion of him?

[Carrot Top shrugs.]

He's more or less still hunted by the criminal underworld as far as I know. He made a bunch of enemies that want nothing more than to see him dead. . . . He doesn't come around very often anymore because of that. Doesn't want any of us to be in harms way. As for the general public. . . I doubt there's anypony who sees him as anything more than "Just another pirate taking advantage of the weakened country". Not that he's really done much to sway public opinion in his favor, I don't think he cares what ponies think about him.

Do you think that stems from a bias against Displaced in general?

Most likely, but what else else are they supposed to think when they've already caused so much trouble? I realize that a lot of the time they don't mean to, that most of them are generally good folks, but it gets rather hard to keep believing that after everything that happened. It doesn't help that they pretty much lost almost all their faith in the Royal Guard too ever since a whole battalion was sent to try and quell that Zangyack uprising in Manehatten. It was only thanks to some Displaced name Boro or whatever getting involved that there was no major loss of life, just tons of property damage. The Equestrian government tried to keep a lid on it, but word still got out about the incident, and the Royal Guard has suffered a lot of bad publicity since.

A lot of ponies seem to believe that Celestia should have simply evicted the Displaced from Equestria altogether based on that. This was before she actively began to bar entry to this realm altogether of course. What is your stance on that?

She's free to try, but I think you and I both know she wouldn't get very far without with that plan without some massive casualties. Pretty sure just one Displaced is enough to level a city block sometimes. Given that, I'm equally sure that ponies have more or less just given up trying to force them out and are just trying to live with them, as you can see from this lovely establishment of ours.

What about you though? Are you happy knowing that at any given moment, a power mad Displaced could destroy everything that you have, or do you just not care given the fact Equestria seems to endure calamities on an almost monthly basis even without them?

Tell me then, what would you have us do Mr. Interviewer? We can't force them out, and we can't police them either, not without getting them on our side. And we both know how well that worked out for everypony involved. The way things are now, it's no different than a natural disaster destroying a house, it's just now the force of nature has a face to hate. But you know something? I refuse to live like that, to just perpetually hate something for whatever crap went down. I tried that once already, back when I was about to lose my livelihood thanks to the law breathing down my neck for harboring Displaced. And guess what? it payed off. Those same Displaced that were apparently so evil and monstrous went up in arms and defended everypony when the really bad stuff started to happen, and I mean just what happened with the Zangyack. And you know what? I learned something. For however many villainous or outright evil Displaced there were at the time, the good ones, like Gai, were definitely in the majority, no matter what those snobs up the higher rungs of society continue to say.

After some convincing, I finally accept that drink Carrot Top offered. As I watch the mare walk around serving her guests, be they pony or otherwise, I am fully aware of the small imp once more looking at me. She nods in my direction as she gives a snaggle toothed grin]

Author's Notes:

Soory for making this take so long. Bunch of other RL stuff came up that had to be taken care of, but anyway I'm back now. I hope that The Villain in Glasses doesn't mind me taking certain liberties with his story, Gokai... PONIES?! to better fit the overall theme of this one.
As always I hope you enjoyed reading this installment, and that you keep suggesting ideas for new entries.
Dilos1