Drifting Through Realities

by Thadius0

Chapter 3 - Being stuck isn't bad. No, really, it's not. Put the sword down.

Drifting Through Realities

Chapter 3 - Being stuck isn't bad. No, really, it's not. Put the sword down.

Coming to for a third time wasn't any different than the first two times. Except this time, I was ever so slightly angry. I was going to be stuck in a world for a hundred years with magi who cared. Or at the very least, claimed to care.

...Me and magi don't have any better of a track record than me and deities do. So, first thing first. Silently commune with Xavier, figure out what's going on. Xavier buddy, you still with me?

Of course, sir.

Halt the defrag for now. Run a systems check, a magus just knocked me out, I wanna know what, if anything, is different.

Yes, sir. And might I say while doing so, that while I don't agree with how they did it, I do agree that something needed to be done. After all, I'm in your head, and I still find your reasoning deplorable.

I was silent as Xavier ran his check. I'd been looking for a way back since this mess started. I'd never given up hope that one day, I could backtrack or merely find someone who could send me home. It was the dream at the end of the road. But it looked like that dream was forever out of reach, now.

Preliminary check complete. No physical abnormalities. Mental monitoring will commence. Based on responses to locals, I will compute if any compulsion or mind-altering magics have been laced into your brain.

Thank you, Xavier.

You're welcome, sir. And if I may offer some advice?

I mentally groaned at this. Xavier had never stopped trying to get me to get along with the locals, no matter the situation. Go ahead.

If we are to be stuck here for a hundred years at least, then not only will there be a large supply of crystals, which you could use to barter for a place to live here once you inform them of their properties, but you could actually make a life here. So why did you just try to take it?

The advice and question hit me in the same moment, and I turned it over in my head, even as I started to stir. My eyes opened, and the two humans from before were in the room with me. Wherever the illusionist pony was, it wasn't here. Which improved my mood a good deal. I looked from the armored guy to the older guy, then to my clothes and pack.

It hit me, then, that Origin wasn't in sight. Not that I could blame them, really, but I'd be wanting my sword back eventually. I looked back at the old guy and sighed.

"Lemme guess, introductions this time?"

He nodded at me, and I sighed again. "Eric. Eric O'Mally. Been Drifting for...I don't even know how long anymore. Always wanted to just go home. Being told that's no longer an option...I kinda had a minor break."

The old guy scoffed. "Alex Roberts. Been Jumping for sixty years, had a wife and kids, so I understand your position."

We then looked to the guy in armor, and he gave a slight nod. "Mathew Brennan. Been Jumping for just a little bit." That seemed to be all we would get from him, as they both turned back to me, and Alex raised an eyebrow. I sighed for a third time and tried to find a starting point.

"So, where shall we begin? What abnormalities of me would you like to discuss?"

The two shared a look before Alex spoke up again. "How about you get dressed while we tell you of this world?"

I shrugged and made my way over to my stuff, picking my pack up and setting it aside. Alex looked at it for a moment while I pulled my shirt on. "Fair enough. So the creature that came in with you. I'm assuming that it had an illusion up for a good reason?"

Matt responded this time. "His name's Doctor Emerald. And yes, the form you saw is his normal form, but he can put up an illusion to blend in among the locals. Only a very few know about this secret of his."

I nodded, then frowned. "Wait. A world of sentient quadrupeds?"

There was silence for a moment, and I took the chance to shrug my hoodie on. "Um, yeah."

I ruminated on this for a moment. "Huh." I then shrugged and grabbed a hold of my shoes before sitting in the seat my stuff had occupied. "Fair enough. I've seen a lot of other weird things, this barely ranks."

Alex at least looked amused, and both of them chuckled. "Yeah, well, welcome to Equestria, your opinion is going to change by the time we're done here."

I winced at that, remembering how long I was doomed to be here. The other two caught it and Alex sighed. "Poor word choice, huh?"

"Just a bit," I snarked. "So, Emerald was a magus. Any other magi or deities I should be aware of?"

Matt laughed then, actually laughed. "Any deities, he says. Go on, Alex. You know this place better than I do."

Alex smiled faintly at that. "Well, the main inhabitants of this land are ponies."

I nodded and gestured to the door. "Figured that one out."

"We have your, well, regular ponies, though they call themselves Earth Ponies. The broad generalization are they either work the land for food, or go into mechanics. Regardless, magic flows through them to make them strong and durable."

Druids and Sparks with a permanent toughness boost, noted. "Noted. Next?"

"Then we have Pegasus Ponies. Magic allows them to fly, even when physics says otherwise, and they actually work the weather around here, to the point where they can manipulate the clouds as though they were solid objects. Quite a few actually live in cloud houses when they can."

Okay, revising statement. Earth Ponies are permanently tough and either agromancers or Sparks, whereas the pegasi manipulate the weather and can walk on it like it was ground. "Noted. Next?"

"Your final pony type is Unicorn, and they're the spell-casters. All unicorns can at least levitate objects, and their other spells tend to revolve around their talent."

...A land where one-third of the population is at least a basic magus. What fresh hell is this.

"Then we have the alicorns, those rare individuals who embody all three tribes. Celestia raises and sets the sun each day, whereas Luna does the same for the moon, and Cadence embodies love."

The information caused even Xavier to stop for a moment while I processed it. I spoke low and slow for the next bit. "So you're telling me...that I landed in a world where one-third of the population is at least a basic magus...and there are three deities incarnate walking around amongst the populace...and I'm stuck here for the next hundred years?"

The two looked at each other again before turning back to me. I picked my pack up and held a hand out to Alex. "Give me my sword back, please. I swear I won't use it on myself anymore, or anyone else without just cause."

Matt growled a bit at that. "And how can we trust that word?"

I sighed and looked pointedly at him. "Because that's one of the few things I have that have come with me from world to world and takes up no space, so I try to keep it? But if you must have some proof..."

I pondered for a moment before deciding screw it and pulling out the one vow I always kept. "I swear by Joseph, the one god I truly admit is not a dick, that I will not use the sword on any sapient, including myself, unless the need is dire or in self-defense."

The two blinked at that before Alex reached behind himself, fished around for a moment, and pulled Origin's hilt out and handed it to me. I reattached it to its harness and made for the door. "Where are you going?"

I turned to Matt, then Alex, and replied with as much anger as I could muster. "I have been dicked around by magi and deities so often, I've lost all faith in the gods. Mages are incapable of aiding me and rarely actually try to. The divine have played with me enough that I'm thinking of getting a library check-out card attached to myself somewhere. And now you tell me I'm in a land where a third of the population are magi and three gods incarnate walk this earth?"

I opened the door and flipped the two humans off as I began to leave. "Yeah, no. You two can keep Equestria. If I'm going to be stuck dying here of old age, I'll do it elsewhere, even if I have to build it myself."

-----

Vinyl watched the human leave his room after shooting off a scathing remark to the other humans. He didn't even look at her, just walked off with a scowl on his face. A minute passed before the other humans walked out of the room and began looking for the new one. They, at least, noticed her. "Miss?"

She snapped back to reality and looked to the humans. "Yeah?"

"Where did the boy go, miss?"

Vinyl laughed weakly. "Okay, first off, name's Vinyl, not miss. And second, he went that way."

Vinyl pointed down the hall, and the humans began to follow, but Vinyl spoke up then. "Can I ask you guys something?"

They paused at that, and one of them turned to look at her. Vinyl took this as a good sign and continued. "Why did he look so angry while he left?"

The unarmored one sighed. "Because his travels have been harsh to him. Earning his trust isn't going to be easy, especially for a unicorn or the Princesses."

Vinyl, however, was undeterred. "That's what'll make it all worthwhile when we do, right?"

"We?" The armored human spoke up and put a hand on Vinyl as if to keep her where she stood. "No, you're not coming with us. Me and Alex here, we could probably get him back. But we're not taking any ponies with us, and we're not going at this without a plan."

The two humans shared a look as they realized what had just been said. "Twilight?"

Matt nodded. "Twilight."

Meanwhile, Vinyl's brain had been pointedly not listening to their sudden planning. All it took note of was the fact that they weren't going to take her with them, which meant if she wanted to gain the trust of the human, she'd have to go it alone...

Comments

[Borderline Valley]

This.

This, is a HiE premise I can really get into.

I can't wait to see where you take this, I like your protagonist already.

[hs0003]

I hope you keep your writing focus on the main character.

[Moonshine-Dusk]

4773910 Why not have multiple protagonists eh? Single perspective is overused.. And I wonder if he'll get those crystals back...

[musicluvr1974]

4773420 Tastes differ. There are some "generic" ones out there I really like. You're right, though, about one thing: this one's standing out already.

[ThEvErYdErPyBrOnY]

4773420 lol

[The Shade]

I'm bored.
I'm only on chapter 3, and I trust that this will kick up later, but right now, it's just... Boring, like what motivation do I have to keep reading? All i'm seeing is a Human in Equestria that hates life.
(Ie all HiEs out there.)