//------------------------------// // Reasoning // Story: Jumper // by KMCA //------------------------------// “Are you telling me that magic exposure for humans is bad enough that we need to take safety measures? Someone get me my helmet, please.” There was a cold tone to my voice that shocked all the ponies. Alex paused for a moment before speaking. “How about we trade, your gun for your helmet. I couldn’t draw your sidearm but I did manage to remove your tonfa.” His voice was polite and light, the ponies didn’t notice it but to me it was an obvious taunt. He held a big bargaining chip, if I agreed then he disarmed me. If I threatened him then he knew his concerns were justified. Deploying the blade on my left gauntlet I sliced through the medical gauze that had been wrapped around to prevent me from drawing it. Drawing my sidearm I activated the user lock, no one but me could fire it now. I hesitated for a moment when he held out his hand for it but handed it over all the same. Aside from my gauntlet blades and the collapsible shield on my back I was now unarmed. “I hope you put the safety on. I don’t want any pony accidentally firing it off. I just don’t know how effective their telekinetic fingers are at trigger discipline.” “Just don’t lose it, now helmet please. Oh and if you can get it to shoot you can keep it.” He looked surprised that I had just handed over my sidearm. Trust has to start somewhere and since it obviously wasn’t going to start with him I figured that I would be the better man... Also I was hoping that Applejack would keep him from trying anything, she seemed to have my safety in mind. Alex exited the room and returned a moment later with my helmet, when he held it out I took it slowly from his grip, examining the exterior for damage. Finding none I slide the helmet over my head and sighed in relief when the helmet announced contact with the armor systems. Various readouts scrolled before my eyes at a speed that still made me dizzy, the system checked for damage before examining outside conditions. A hazard icon popped up in a corner of the Heads Up Display, Unknown Radiation. I looked at the icon and blinked at it twice in rapid succession, a breakdown of everything the suit could understand was shown. I wasn’t a science genius so I stuck to the simple information. Lethal longterm levels, causes DNA damage in the form of accelerated cell aging, damage minimized but not neutralized by medical nano-machines. Too bad mine were busy trying to fix my leg, otherwise it wouldn’t bother me. Assuming I was here for six months like I had been in the last three realities I would only lose a week or two of my life if I walked around naked. With the bodysuit and armor offering some protection from the radiation I would lose only a few hours. The ponies and Alex were starting to look concerned, I hadn’t visibly moved in over three minutes, I was about to turn on the external speakers so they could hear me but I glanced down at the estimated jump time. Estimated time until reality shift: 50+ years. I didn’t know how the jump timer worked but it had been perfectly accurate the last two jumps. I leaned against the wall and slid to the ground, not caring about the fact that the shield on my back cut a line through the wallpaper. I held my head in my hands, not wanting to accept the fact. I could hear everyone mocking me with their concern but only Alex was brave enough to try and shake me out of it. “Come on kid, answer me. What’s wrong?” I blinked at the voice icon, “Over 50 years... How. How am I going to live here for fifty years? I have no money, I have have no skills that will earn me money and the rations in my pack will last me three weeks tops and I’ll be hungry the entire time... What do I do?” My voice sounded cold and dead over the helmet speakers which is exactly how I felt. I heard the sounds of hooves on tile and felt someone, or rather some pony put a comforting hoof on my shoulder. I looked up into the eyes of Bon-Bon and saw the concern in her eyes, not fake or forced but genuine concern. I was grateful for my helmet as it hid my crying eyes from sight, I tried unsuccessfully tried to fight back a sniffle, but that only seemed to increase the look of understanding in her eyes. I could see Alex tense up as I raised my hand to rest on Bon-Bons hoof. It was a simple and silent thank you. She smiled gently at me and looked me right it the eyes, how she managed that with an opaque visor between us was beyond me, but all the same I bathed in the feeling of peace that it brought me. I tapped her hoof and she backed away, holding her hoof out to me. I took it and with some effort pulled myself to my feet. “You know if all that armor is too heavy you could always take it off, I’m sure it’s uncomfortable.” As much as he was beginning to piss me off I had to give Alex credit, he was doing a fantastic job at trying to get my equipment away from me. “I`m sleeping with it on until I feel safe, which considering that the last time I slept without it on I ended up with a bullet shredding my leg might take me awhile. Nice try though, ‘A’ for effort.” I gestured to Bon Bon and followed as she led me down the hall, I managed to walk with only a slight limp and set my sensors to eavesdrop down the hall towards the room I had awoken in. “I still think this is a bad idea, a unicorn would be able to keep him under control with magic, a pegasus could always fly away if he gets aggressive... But an earth pony? With that armor on I bet he’s just as tough you or Big Mac. This is really dangerous for her, what were you thinking?” “Alex sugarcube, look how he reacted to her. Why he was completely gentle with her, I don’t think he’d do anything to hurt her. Besides, she asked me to take him in, I think she’s hoping that Lyra will calm down about humans if she has to live with one for a week or two. Anyways I think we should be more worried about what Lyra does to him rather than what he does to her. How long do you think he’ll last before he comes running to you, begging for a less creepy place to stay.” I stopped in the hall pretending to adjust the armor on my leg, there was no way he’d be expecting me to overhear this but I wanted to know exactly what they were planning for me. The silence dragged on long enough to make me uncomfortable, what had I gotten myself into? “Elusive buddy, you’ve been pretty quiet. What do you think about all this?” “I don’t like anyone who makes you upset like this Alex, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so terrified of anything, and when you were sitting there just toying with your knife, well I don’t even want to know what was going through your head. If it were up to me we’d just send him away somewhere just to keep him away from you.” I’d heard enough, I deactivated the eavesdropping array and followed Bon Bon out into the night. I didn’t feel like I was in any danger, but neither did I feel like I was a welcome guest. Was the moment of understanding earlier just an act? Somehow I didn’t think so, and yet Applejack seemed to be convinced. Anthropomorphized ponies or not I couldn’t be sure I had read her correctly. Another thing I noticed is that ponies move a lot faster than a limping human. Bon Bon would slowly pull farther and farther ahead, every so often stopping and waiting for me to catch up. Her home, seemed to be on opposite end of town from the hospital I had woken up in but we made slow and steady progress. I found myself wondering exactly what she sounded like, she had four or five voices on the show and some of them had been rather different. As we got closer to her home she started walking slower and looking more depressed. Even an alien like myself could tell that something was bothering her, when she stopped right beside a park bench instead of continuing on I dropped onto the bench and gestured beside me. I wanted to lean back but all the equipment on my back forced me to sit straight. “Come on Bon Bon, grab a seat and tell me what’s bothering you. I promise I won’t get angry or hurt you.” I took off my helmet if only to reassure her that I wasn’t a faceless monster, I couldn’t tell if this relieved her worries or not, I was a predator with forward set eyes and a mouth with sharp teeth. Perhaps a faceless visor was the friendlier face of the two. “Please, it’ll make us both feel better.” I put just a hint of pleading into my voice causing her to sigh and climb onto the bench, she sat down and facing me but couldn’t seem to meet my eyes, was it shame, guilt or just trying to avoid eye contact with a predator? “I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I’m not bringing you home to be nice to you. I’m bringing you home to try and help me deal with my Marefriend. I think that Alex cast a spell on her that makes her obsessed with him.” She didn’t sound remotely like any of her show voices, I started chuckling at the fact that she had yet another voice. Five voices on the show and yet her real voice was different still, I couldn’t help but find that funny. “What’s so funny?” She sounded offended, I stopped laughing immediately. There was no way that I could afford to piss her off, right now she was my only friend in this reality, I came up with an excuse faster then Rainbow Dash could fly ten feet. “Assuming he’s from the same reality as me it’s impossible, we can’t do magic Bon Bon. We don’t even have magic like earth ponies or pegasi and to be perfectly honest I have no clue how the hell magic even works.” Bon Bon smiled at me, looking reassured and slightly mischievous. “If that’s the case then let me apologise in advance for how Lyra reacts. She can be alittle intense but her heart is in the right place.” “With a name like Heartstrings it’d better be.” I muttered absentmindedly but got no response from Bon Bon. Maybe her hearing wasn’t the best. I felt the need to try and relieve her guilt. “Sometimes it’s your intent that matters. I’ve been going through reality shifts for around two years and I’ve done some terrible things. I did them thinking that they were the right thing because I didn’t have all the facts or because I was scared. Does that make it right? No, would I have done the same thing, I doubt it but if you could go back would you? and if you did would it be for the same reasons? The best way to look at it is learn from your mistakes.” It was an excuse, but it let me sleep at night... most of the time. I felt a chill run down my spine as I remembered the screams on that fateful night. “You didn’t do anything wrong anyways, you’re just trying to take care of someone who is very important to you. I can’t be mad at you for that... just do me a favour and don’t hide it from me. People are always surprised how understanding I can be... Maybe ponies will too.” I got to my feet and replaced my helmet, taking comfort in the climate control and extended senses that it provided. Bon Bon hopped off the park bench and led the way to their home. It was a mid sized house that like most of the buildings of Ponyville managed to pull of a middle ages look while somehow maintaining a light and happy feel. I could see a mint green mane with a white streak sitting with her back to the window, by the glow of her horn I guessed that she was holding something in a magical grip. “This is my home, it’s not the best looking house in Ponyville but it’s my home and I couldn’t be happier with it.” She looked back at me with a proud grin. “I never had a house of my own back home, I’ll admit that I’m kind of jealous. Anyways, I think I’m ready for your crazed marefriend.” She smiles at me in a way that left me feeling like I should be afraid for my life and soul. I knew I was perfectly capable of defending myself as long as I was in my armor or rather I thought I was.