Drifting Through Realities

by Thadius0

Chapter 7 - I don't know what I was expecting, honestly.

Drifting Through Realities

Chapter 7 - I don't know what I was expecting, honestly.

"Are you certain, Miss Sparkle?"

Twilight nodded her head and replied to the guards standing by the front door. "Quite certain, sir. These four are with me."

'These four' were Trace, myself, Octavia, and Vinyl. When I mentioned that I had things I'd intended to do, such as sending a letter to the royalty, Twilight had responded with a simple 'Oh, I can get you in' sort of statement. I then asked if she would extend the offer to the ones who housed me, and she replied in the affirmative. When prodded, Vinyl announced she was coming, which prompted Octavia to say she would follow along. While the guards had initially been resistant to the idea of letting so many ponies and others in the palace, apparently Twilight's credentials were enough to get us in.

The guards nodded and their horns lit up, covering the doors in a similar aura. "Very well, Miss Sparkle, but any incidents will be on your head." With that, the doors opened, and we all walked in.

"So, what would you like to do first?"

I hummed at Twilight's question. "While what I'd like to do first is see the smith, then hit up the Archives, while putting off the meeting with your rulers for as long as possible, logic dictates that I see your Goddesses first, because I don't think that the smith will treat with me or whoever is in charge of the Archives will let me in unless I have their blessing."

Twilight blinked a few times at my statement, but Trace nodded. "A sound set of reasoning there. Twilight, if you would be so kind?"

She shook her head to clear some sort of daze she had fallen into and nodded once. "Right. Throne room, this way everypony."

The lavender unicorn began to lead our small party through the castle's many hallways, and as we passed them, I began to wonder just how anyone would find their way through this...maze. "Just how can you know where everything is? It seems uncanny and impossible."

Trace chuckled. "From what she's told me, Twilight practically lived here during her younger years. She is Celestia's student, after all."

I blinked and looked at the mare with a bit more respect and scrutiny. After a quick recollection as to what I'd seen with the specialized filter, I nodded my assent. "Eh, I buy it. So it's a skill you have to learn, then."

Twilight nodded while still guiding us. "I know how to get from one end of the castle to another in the shortest amount of time possible. Most ponies end up lost in here for at least the first few times they try."

I was about to question her further, but we arrived at a set of doors guarded by a few ponies in armor. The looked to us, then specifically to Twilight. "They're with me," she said, and after a moment, the doors swung open. Instantly, I felt the Presence, even through my clothes, but it was less than normal. This time, all I could determine was there were two entities. One for Sun, one for Moon.

Celestia was in the throne at the moment, but sitting just a small distance away was a blue mare. She had a mane and tail that resembled the night sky, and I swear I saw stars in it. From this distance, it would be impossible to judge properly. But the closer we got, the more the Presence slammed into me, until even with my upgraded clothes, I was forced to stop, draw Origin, and activate it before I could get any closer. Doing so brought a few murmurs from my entourage and the guards in the room, but Celestia spoke up before anything happened.

"Guards, like the other humans, this one also has trouble when in the presence of Alicorns. However, his sword, when drawn like that, acts like a buffer for him. I would ask that you not take his only shield that lets him think and act clearly in our presence."

I smiled at that before drawing myself up and stopping a comfortable distance away from the mares. Now that I looked properly, the blue mare was only slightly smaller than Celestia, those were definitely stars in her mane and tail, her regalia was opals on black, her eyes were cyan, and if I had to pick a color for her coat, I'd...go with cobalt. She too possessed a set of wings and a horn, marking her as one of the three Goddesses that walked this world. If I had to guess, I'd go with her name being Luna.

"Celestia. Luna." I paused for a moment while I got my thoughts in order and sat at a provided table. Vinyl came up on my right side, Octavia on my left, and Twilight and Trace took up another side. "I'm going to be blunt here. Is that alright with you?"

The two mares looked at each other before Celestia nodded. "That sounds fine."

"Very well. My name is Eric O'Mally, and to be perfectly honest...I'm confused by you two. So far, it is not an honor, pleasure, or privilege to meet you two. At the most, it is a refreshing change of pace. As of right now, you're not like any of the deities I've met before. To be very blunt, I was wondering if I would have to use my crystals on you three when I was stalking out of the hospital, just to ensure the land that I would come to die of old age in would not screw me over for a very, very long time."

At this, everyone in the room muttered a bit, save for the two mares sitting on the raised dias. "And praytell, Eric O'Mally," Luna asked, "How would thine crystals aid thee in incapacitating us for any length of time?"

In response, I pulled my pack in front of me, rummaged a bit, and pulled one out. "In their inert state, they are merely magic resistant. Run the correct charge through them..."

I did so, lighting the stone up, and there were raised brows all around. Twilight, meanwhile, gasped as the familiar sensation finally made sense. "And they become magic repellant." I paused to let Twilight pounce on the chance, and she did not disappoint.

"That...that's so similar to what it felt like when you...activated you clothes, was it?" I nodded to tell her she'd gotten the terminology right. "Then somehow you must have found a way to incorporate them into your outfit. But how are you activating it with the correct charge without magic? So far, Trace is the only human here with magic abilities."

I turned to look at both her and Trace and shook my head. "Okay, one, Trace is an elf, don't bloody lie to me." At this the two of them smiled sheepishly. "And two, that's...a long story."

"Would it have something to do with your right arm and leg being made of metal?"

The innocent sounding question from the solar mare churned up a handful of bad memories, and I drew in a deep breath before slowly letting it out. "That...is part of it. Suffice to say, I lost the originals, and one of the worlds I ended up in made replacements in exchange for information at first, then they wished to study both me and the crystals. In exchange, first I only demanded replacements, but as they desired more information, I made more demands as well. Better versions of both that could be camouflaged to appear normal, and then added features that would aid my survival in later worlds."

"Such as your eye," Celestia noted, and I winced again.

"That was another thing I lost, yes. And fortunately, replacing it was easy enough, and the upgrades to it merely involved a lot of filters, with the ability to create new ones as needs must."

Vinyl poked my right arm a few times. "Woah. So this isn't even your real arm?"

I shook my head. "It's as real as any other part of me. It's not the part I was born with, but it's the part I use now."

And then Twilight had to ask the question. The damnable question. "How...did you lose the originals?"

I sighed at that and turned to her and Trace. "That...is a story for when I find a liquor capable of knocking out most of my inhibitions without knocking me out. If even then."

The assembled mares and elf nodded at that statement. I then looked more directly to Twilight. "To answer your original line of inquiry, there is a way to work these crystals into my clothing, but it's not easy. That's one reason I'm here."

I then turned to Celestia and Luna. "With your permission, your Graces, I would appreciate it if you would allow me to make use of your smith. If anyone in this reality can do what I have in mind, I assume it'll be the best of the best."

They exchanged a look again, and this time, it was Luna who spoke up first. "I assume this is related to the crystals. How is a molder of metal meant to aid in the working of stones such as these?"

I smiled and held one in front of me, focusing more on it than my surroundings. "The dwarves found out many things about this stone when I first met them. They called it the perfect catalyst. They were trying to make an alloy and failing. Mythril, stronger than dragon scales, but light and incapable of holding an edge. Adamantine, sharper than razors, but soft, not meant for blunt weaponry. They were hoping an alloy of the two metals would 'fix' both of their issues, but they refused to mix. And then, one of my crystals fell in the vat."

I lowered the crystal and looked up to the ceiling. "The reaction that had been brewing, one of explosive failure, calmed down in an instant, and the two metals started to mix. A minute later, it started to bubble and boil again, and I threw in half the crystals I had acquired upon entry into that world into the vat. When the noises stopped, we all looked at the vat to see that no Adamantine or Mythril or any crystals remained, but instead, a metal that was as blue as the crystals themselves rested within."

I then tapped the flat of Origin on the table, and everyone there looked to it. "The metal was tough, sharp, and durable. They allowed me to name it, and all I could come up with was Azure-steel. The moment the metal was forged into the blade of a sword, we discovered something about its cutting properties."

I held the blade close to a nearby sunbeam, and everyone there realized that the blackness of the blade only increased. "If there exists something this blade can't cut, I've yet to find it."

Twilight recovered quickly enough. "That must have made it difficult to get a hilt for the blade. Much less store it."

I nodded and moved the sword back in front of me. "The first I'll not go over, it's not related. But the second, that's where the dwarves pulled through again. I dropped another crystal in a vat of steel they were making, and they made specialized molds to make really long and thin wires. Almost fabric threads, really. And when those threads were woven together into a single piece of metallic fabric, we found that the blade could be wrapped up in it. The crystal essence in both of them repels each other, like magnetic poles."

Twilight blinked, but it was Trace who recovered first. "I thought you said you didn't know of anything the blade couldn't cut."

I smirked at him. "Technically, the blade is stopped just short of the fabric, it never gets the chance to try."

He sighed, and Twilight made the connection and gasped. "So when you got a hilt, you didn't need the fabric anymore, and started to weave it into your clothes!"

I smiled and nodded at her. "Full marks. But," and here I turned to Luna and Celestia, "If I'm to stay here in this world, I'll need more than the paltry amount I have to keep myself insulated from magic, especially if I should acquire more clothes. Heck, the amount in my clothes right now could probably only stand up to one of you."

And the two of them nodded at my words slowly before Celestia spoke up. "What you say makes sense. I am not certain if the smith is capable of performing the feats the dwarves did - I certainly do not know if we have the metals that make up your sword handy - but he is more than welcome to try his hooves at spinning steel of the sort you need."

I shrugged. "More like want, in all honesty. And the other thing I require while I am here is access to your Archives, so that I can learn terminology, history, societal interactions, the whole nine yards."

Luna nodded at that one. "It only seems logical that you would look into such matters, Jumper Eric. When I returned from my sojourn on my moon, I too required such materials."

I blinked at that, not sure what to say, before Celestia giggled a bit. In a moment she was all composed again, but I swear there was a hint of mischief in her eyes. "If that is all?"

Octavia bumped me gently, and as I looked to her, I recalled the letter I had been about to send that morning. I sighed softly and looked back to the Goddesses. "Not...quite."

Their eyebrows raised at this, they had probably been expecting our business to be concluded. I sighed and ran my left hand through my hair. "I...was wrong to be angry and dismissive of you, Celestia. My past dealings with deities had left me embittered to the idea of living in a land ruled by the divine until my clock ran out. Much less the idea of every third pony in the streets being at least a basic magus, when magi in general haven't been very...kind to me."

I looked her in the eyes as I said the next bit. "I'm not saying I trust you. I'm not saying I like you. What I am saying is it was wrong of me to act like I disliked and mistrusted you before we got to know one another. What I am saying is I'm willing to give you," here I turned to look at Luna, "the both of you, a fair chance. Heck, even Cadence can have a chance, I'm feeling generous."

The ponies in the room giggled a bit, and I turned to Trace. "You, sir, terrify me, but you can have a chance as well. It would hardly be nice of me to judge you based on my past with magi."

Even as he nodded at me, Twilight decided to butt in with another question. "And what about me? Or those mares next to you?"

I pretended to mull it over. "Well, I dunno about you, but these two took me in. Heck, this one," and here I nudged Vinyl with my right foot, causing her to squeak, "Came out into the wild, tracked me down, then talked me into taking shelter, so she's got a chance as well. And this one," here I absently patted Octavia on the head, "not only took me in, but is quite adamant about me becoming a better person as long as I'm within arms reach of her, so she's getting a chance too."

Twilight sighed at that. "I guess I don't get one, then."

"I never said that, but if that's the way you want to think..."

Her head whipped up and her eyes narrowed. "Then why did you-"

I merely smiled at her. "Remnant from my time with the Fae: Say exactly what you want, word for word, or they will twist it on you. But also, your reaction just now? Priceless."

Even as I laughed, I caught sight of Octavia sighing, shaking her head, but smiling. Vinyl chose to join me in laughing, while Trace and Twilight face-palmed/hooved. The slight twitter from the throne told me that the Goddesses had enjoyed my joke as well.

...Life here might actually be fun, if their divine rulers can take a joke...

Comments

[Amethyst Blade]

Interesting...
fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/102/f/e/woona_hat_and_science_by_sintakhra-d4vzhzv.png
You have my attention...
s.mlpforums.com/uploads/post_images/img-1624283-3-296454__safe_princess-luna_princess-celestia_animated_filly_cute_adorable_woona_younger_heart-attack_artist-zev_cutelestia_adorable-as-fuck_50df8b93a4c72d5f110001c2_50e8353ca4c72dbd2a00111.gif

[GamermanZendrelax]

It certainly appears that Eric's time with the Fae had a greater impact on him than any of his other jumps. So much so that one wonders at the backstory that lies there...

[Thadius0]

4796718
There is one saying that every author who treats with Fae regards as truth:
Do not fuck with the Fae.

[GamermanZendrelax]

4796746
Truer words have ne'er been spoke.

[musicluvr1974]

4796746 In either the clean or the profane sense, I'd imagine.

[Blaze Song]

4796746

As soon as someone mentions The Fae.. I tend to start wanting to hide, the Fae are Notorious for twisting ones words.. to their own benefit..