One boy, one backpack of stuff, one REALLY bad day. For both him AND the two mares he crashed in on in Canterlot.
Life was normal for Eric O'Mally. Go to school, come home, do homework, play games, hang out with friends. Right up until the day when he just...wasn't in his home reality anymore. He's been drifting for far longer than anyone should, especially anyone his age, and almost every time, it ended poorly for him. Especially when magic was involved. Almost every time when magic was involved, in fact. And let's not mention deities around him. So what happens when this boy gets dropped into Canterlot after his latest drifting, in the home Octavia Philharmonica and Vinyl Scratch, a.k.a DJ-PON3, keep there, while they're there? And what happens when the local goddesses take it to greet him like they've greeted all their other human visitors? If you think hilarity ensues, you've clearly not met the boy. ----- Done in the style of the Memverse, which has a concept I greatly enjoy at its core. Here's my take on it, let's see if they like it, eh?
Chapter 1 - Just passing thr- who and what are you?!
Chapter 1 - Just passing thr- who and what are you?!
It's official, I'm done with gods.
Strike that, I'm done with deities in general.
Every last one I've dealt with has either been fascinated by my condition and sought to replicate it, is incapable of curing it, or simply strings me along and then tells me 'thanks for the help, but I can't do anything.' Except for the last one on my list, that guy is at least not a dick. Not sure if he's helpful, but at least he ain't a dick and answers questions honestly.
Unlike the magi I've encountered! They either think I'm insane or mistrust me, which leads to this great mistrust cycle that ends with their charged lightning bolts in their hands while my sword is resting, quite calmly, on their necks.
Forces greater than man this, powers you cannot hope to comprehend at my beck and call that. Funny how little I hear that when they realize that yes, they can't touch my sword and yes, it could actually hurt them. Then they enter into the bargaining stage and that's always fun. I always ask for the same thing, for them to go away and forget they ever heard about me. Half the time, I get it. The other half of the time, they only pretend to give it to me and come back with backup.
Like this asshole, Xandalar the Red. He'd gone and gotten a party to back him up after our little encounter a week ago and brought them to my home. Maybe he thought that with a priestess, a ranger, and a fighter, he'd be able to pin me down and 'cure' my 'affliction'. Buddy, if it could be cured that easily, I'd have stopped a long time ago. Mr. Fantastic was a cool guy to hang out with. Said something about my not being the first he'd met, but he did say my particular situation was unique and was able to do cool things with my tag-alongs. Just before I was forced into Drifting away from that reality, he taught me what he could about them, which helps, a bit, when I enter new worlds. Especially ones with skilled craftsmen.
Right, getting side-tracked. Sorcerer wants to study me, brought friends. I grab my sword-hilt and think for a moment. Would it be better to stand and fight or-
A familiar feeling at the back of my skull alerts me to what's now an option. Interesting! So I could either force a Drift now, flee from my hideout and look for a more...open area, or stand and fight.
Hmm. I choose...fight to distract, then bravely run away. Sir Robin may have been a coward, but at least he didn't fight in the face of overwhelming odds when he knew he wasn't going to win. I hear Xandalar's voice as the foursome draw closer to the cave I'd made my home.
"Eric! Eric, come out of there! We just want to help!"
I snort and think up a suitably sarcastic reply. "Really? Cause I don't count being held against my will and being experimented on very helpful! And you're hardly the first, y'know! Or did you not believe me when I told you that I'm not of this plane?"
"Oh come now," a woman's voice chips in, and I place her as the priestess he'd dragged along, "Do you really expect us to believe that you've walked between planes? You don't even know any magic, or so Xandalar says you've said."
"True, ma'am," I reply as I draw my sword-hilt from under my hoodie, one of the few things to survive Drifts with me, "But frankly, I don't need to know magic to know that it's not the only option to end up going from one plane to another. Just like water's not the only way to end up wet. You could also be bathed in acid."
There's silence for a moment while they contemplate those words, and then Xandalar speaks up again. "If what you say is true, then we could try to study your abilities, perhaps find a way to block them, so that you can settle down, make a life, not end up bounced around like a child's ball anymore."
I sigh at that. "Xandy, listen. I've been bounced around more times than I care to count anymore. I lost track of how long its been. Every scientist, wizard, sorcerer, priest, general wielder of magic and their deity has had a go at my abilities. None of them can stop it, and frankly, I don't trust them anymore. I distrusted you when you said you were 'a mighty sorcerer' when we met, which is why I was so hesitant to even talk to you! And when you wormed the truth out of me and I asked you to leave when you were at my mercy, what did you do? The one thing I asked you not to do!"
They were shocked into silence at that, and I continued. "Still. At least you don't think I'm crazy anymore. And hey, if you all want to look, I'll let you. I think it's time I left anyways. Pissed off one too many nobles here by telling them how my world's nobles ended up."
With that, I walked further back into the cave, into a nice, wide chamber. Nothing but air around me, really, save for the dirt under my feet. It's partially why I stuck around here. I needed shelter one night, and I realized this would be a perfect departure point. Figured I could just hide here after I pissed off Lord Clearwater the seventh at a high-society function. I'd recommended some small changes in tax code to the king, one King Uthor (yes, I know, I did a double-take as well), pondered wistfully about how a ruling class is not only built upon the backs of the commoners, but must also serve them, lest they overthrow a hated king, and-
...Well, I generally guided him based on what I could remember of chivalry and honor and said codes thereof. Along with what home thought of as 'common sense' these days. Uthor loved it so much that he invited me to a ball, and half the nobles shook my hand, which was a strange feeling. The other half sneered at me and asked me what I could possibly know about such things, which was familiar. It was when Clearwater got to me by insulting my breeding stock, aka my mother and father, that I really went off on him.
Bottom line, I wasn't in any real danger, but I thought it better to vacate the city. For my health. And other personal reasons, like remaining a person. Which was when I found my cave!
The party Xandalar had pulled together appeared at the entrance to the cave and looked in, squinting, probably. It took them a minute to walk down to the chamber I was in, and I heard them start to approach when I held a hand out in their direction. "No, don't. If you get too close, parts of you will be cut off. For safety's sake, don't stand within five feet of me."
I crouched low to the ground and focused on that sensation I'd felt at the back of my head. It spread down my spine, then hit my gut, which started to roil. I was suddenly glad I'd not eaten much today. I was expecting my next Drift to come in soon, but not today. Odd.
That was when I heard the priestess begin to intone something. "Pelor, I call on thee to lend me thine aid..."
Oh SHIT. Pelor and I weren't on good terms, and it wasn't...quite my fault? Maybe? I mean, after all, I merely kept jumping from one world to another that had followers of his. It was hardly my fault that they called on him for an archangel, and that he sent one, and that said archangel kept using highly predictable moves, right? Or that my sword could do some serious harm to them, right? He was the one that kept up the grudge!
In a flash of what can only be termed as Light Incarnate, a winged form appeared between me and the priestess. The archangel stood up from its kneeling position and looked at mine. "Ah, The Drifting One. We meet again."
"I'm sorry, do I know you?"
"Yes, though last time I didn't get a chance to introduce myself. I am Shining Mercy, and I met you some time ago. I believe it was a temple?"
"Oh yes, that. You'll have to forgive me, memory tends to be a bit rusty. There's been so many people and things trying to detain me across the realities I tend to lose track. Wasn't it after we dealt with the vampires that you turned to me, called me accursed, and tried to run me through?"
"Yes, and you returned the favor. I don't suppose you still have that blade on you?"
I smiled at this and powered up Origin with a thought. "Wouldya look at that, I do."
The blade appeared on the hilt. The materials used to make it had been crystal-blue, but because of the properties of the sword, it always appeared blacker than night itself. It was a good three feet long, and the archangel shivered, actually shivered, at the sight of my long sword.
"I see. And why would a servant of my lord call for me?"
I sighed and waved a hand at the ones not believing that I could have a casual chat with the archangel they'd summoned. "Well, they're trying to detain me because they want to either study my affliction or cure it. Which, quite frankly, if all the gods I'd met can't do, and all the magic and science I've had used on me can't explain, then put simply, I've no hopes for them, either."
The archangel actually nodded at me! What the hell, is this opposite day? Deities, their servants, and I...we don't get along, that doesn't happen! "A fair point. Are you in the middle of invoking your curse?"
I took quick stock - stomach more upset than it normally has been, feels like my hair is standing on end, I've got more goosebumps than usual, and there's a certain energy built up in the air. "Yup. Less than a minute now."
"Then I wish you well in your new world."
And that was when Xandalar shot me with a bolt of force. As I fell back, the world went white around me...
----- (Equestria - Canterlot - 7:37 P.M. The residence of one Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Philharmonica)
"I'm tellin' ya, 'tavi, you gotta try this new pizza! I'm not sure what they put in it this time, but it's awesome!"
Octavia sniffed and returned to her dinner. "No thank you, Vinyl. I believe I will stick with my salad. Unlike you, I have a figure to maintain."
"Hey!" The unicorn got off the sofa and walked over to the dining room where her house-mate was enjoying a leafy green dinner. "Are you sayin' I'm fat?"
Octavia actually smiled as she considered her next words. "Heavens no, Vinyl. Your flanks do that for me."
Vinyl blinked a few times, then laughed as the insult computed and looked at herself. "Yeah, alright, maybe I could stand to do a little more dancing, and a little less spinning in the clubs."
Octavia sipped on her lemonade and smiled at having won this round.
And that was when their world went topsy-turvy.
From the living room, there was a flash of white that was brighter than the sun. After the two mares blinked away the spots in their eyes, they rushed into the other room, to see a spectacle they'd not expected to see in a hundred years.
Everypony knew the rumors, of course. Everypony had heard about the human Jumpers in Ponyville. Three males, one female. This one would appear to be another male.
Approximately six feet tall, or less. Wearing clothing all over its body, brown, blue, and its shoes were white. The hair was black, and it appeared to be far younger than the other male humans. Unconscious, at the moment. But that's not what got their attention.
The eye-grabber was the fact that he'd appeared with at least a hundred small, blue crystals with eight facets. They almost looked like dice, and they were in a circle around him about five feet wide.
Vinyl looked the scene over and said one thing. "Aw, my pizza!"
And that was when the human woke up. It looked over to the mares, its eyes widened, and he started screaming.
"AAAAAAAAAH! What the bloody hell are-"
And that was when Octavia, responding to his screaming instinctively, punched him in the jaw, sending him back to the floor. As he fell, she realized what she did, and rubbed at her face with the same hoof.
"This is going to be a nightmare and a half..."
Vinyl turned to her housemate and smiled. "So...can we keep him?"
Chapter 2 - While this is a familiar situation, it doesn't help that it is.
Chapter 2 - While this is a familiar situation, it doesn't help that it is.
I came to, again, and noticed a few things. The first thing was that, quite simply, I seemed to be in a hospital. At least, if the bed and walls were anything to go by. I looked down and noticed that, yep, I was in a hospital gown. Which means someone had run tests on me. Which meant it was time to go. It never went well after that.
One of my early Drifts was into a world that looked quite similar to I, Robot. No, not the book, the movie version. Which is good, because the Drift before that had landed me in some sort of...war zone. And like it was said, it ain't just about what they can take if you die. It's also about what they can put back.
It had been a fairly standard arm, leg, and eye replacement. And once I Drifted again, and again, and again...I ended up in a world with artificial intelligences. They saw my cybernetics as the perfect fusion of man and machine, and 'awoke' my 'dormant slave' to test our relationship. Fortunately, we got along well, which confused the hell out of them! I think by the time I Drifted from that reality, some measures were going to be taken to try and create similar relationships, but without the trauma.
"Xavier? Xavier buddy, you up?"
There was a flickering in my right eye, and lines of code ran across it. Eventually, I heard a voice in my head. A familiar one.
Hello sir, how long have I been out?
"Ever since the start of Raneria. Something about that world just didn't agree with you. Arm and leg and camo systems stayed on, but we're in a hospital now, in a new world."
Oh dear. Shall I begin our standard 'scan and scram' tactics?
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "Nah, not yet. The fact that it is a hospital instead of some healer's tent means that there's a chance they'll understand what words I'll use to explain it. Just give me the filters and start defragging the memory, wouldya? I'd hate to forget more than I normally do."
Starting process, sir. Filters available. De-fragmentation of memory underway. Estimated time until completion: one day.
I looked around the room to notice my clothes all bundled up and on a chair, with my pack atop it, along with the harness I had made for Origin atop that. Good, fewer questions. I walked over to my clothes and began putting them on. I'd barely got the pants on when I heard voices beyond the door, which caused me to panic, even as Xavier and I ran through situations.
Likely they are not hostile, sir. After all, who would place someone into a hospital, only to turn on them later?
"Anyone who didn't do a comprehensive scan on what makes us up, Xavier, which means everyone before they started their tests. I trust nothing, now. Not that I ever did."
Fair enough point, sir. Your paranoia has kept us alive for longer than we should have been.
Origin's hilt rested in my right hand, and my pants were, thankfully, on. I'd not had time to get my shoes, my t-shirt, or my hoodie on before the door opened, and in walked the last three things I expected.
The first was someone in enough high-tech armor to make me think Who let Master Chief in here? I could make out nothing about the features of that individual save that they were human, or vaguely human-shaped.
The second was someone who looked like...well, he looked like he could be my dad. At least, in terms of age. And there was something in his eyes that resonated with me. Something along the lines of We've both seen some serious shit, boy. I'll buy you a drink one day, and we can reminisce about it.
And the third was a pony that walked in behind them. That would normally be enough, even discounting the fact that it seemed to be a green-coated unicorn, but then my right eye reacted and started applying filters willy-nilly until it stopped on infrared. My left eye showed me a pony, my right eye showed me the thing from Alien in pony form. My eye's iris changing colors probably alerted the humanoids as to what was going on, even as I pointed the hilt of my sword at them.
"I don't know who you are, but the fact that you're walking around with an illusionist is enough to set me on edge. You two seem to be what you look like, but I don't trust him. Hell, I don't trust you either, but I really don't trust him."
The humans shared a look (possibly, it was hard to tell what the armored person was looking at under that visor) and sighed. "Figured he should have been like Eleanor. The x-rays should have been a good enough indicator for that, especially the cranial ones," the old guy said.
Armored figure nodded and responded, the voice helped me to place the gender as male, at least. "Yeah, but the question is, is he machine or man?"
"Both, neither, pick your poison. I think the technical term is cyborg," I said flippantly before scowling. "Like I had a choice. Just glad I only needed the repairs I did, and that Asmiov's world was willing to aid me, and the repayment option wasn't as invasive as I'd feared." I then brought up the elephant in the room. "So what's with the bug?"
The two looked back to me and old guy smiled. The pony-alien looked at me and the illusion scowled. "I would appreciate it if you kept my identity a secret. And stopped looking at it."
My right eye flickered back to normal, before flickering again, this time settling on what I dubbed 'the thaumometer.' Basically, it could tell me how magical a world was, by showing me the magic in the air. Assuming, of course, that the magic didn't interfere with how well it functioned. Some worlds were picky like that.
My right eye was looking at the world through a haze of violet. I waited a moment for it to clear before I realized the haze was the magic of the world, and my jaw dropped. "Wow. Suddenly glad I grabbed my stuff. This...could have been bad. So much magic in the air, it's like the air is magic."
The humans slowly nodded at that. "Yeah, that's the main problem in this reality for Jumpers like us. Well, one of them, anyways."
I blinked at that before realizing the other question I had for the situation, mainly because I wasn't where I'd entered into this world. Which is bad, real bad. I need to know how many crystals there are and if they've meddled with them. "Okay, I know I landed in a house, and when I arrived, there were at least some blue crystals. Tiny little things, look like D8's. My question is, how many were there, and what have you done with them?"
"Let's start with something more basic, buddy," armored guy said. "Introductions. Give us your name, and-"
I stopped him there by summoning Origin to its hilt. The suddenly appearing sword blade gave both humans and the pony pause. "I said. How many were there, and where are they?"
Old guy slowly held up his hands, and I only now noticed that he had a knife on him. "Easy. Local authorities brought you to the hospital, and the crystals you arrived with up to the university. Last I heard, there were over a hundred there."
My world shattered at those words, my trains of thought derailed and exploded. I felt Origin fade from the hilt before it hit the ground, falling from my suddenly limp fingers, with my knees following it into gravity's embrace shortly thereafter. I turned the statement over and over in my head, but I could only come to two conclusions. Either he was lying, or he'd said exactly what I thought he said.
"Please. Tell me you're joking or lying. Please."
A hand rested on my shoulder and I heard him speak up again. "No. I'm not. Why?"
I explained while feeling numb, my mouth providing the conclusions my brain had already reached. "Because every time I land in a world, I bring a small amount of crystals along for the ride. Each one is indicative of how long I'm going to remain. One to a year spent in that world. Sometimes I wake up and am moved, or have the crystals stolen, so I don't know how long it'll be. But if there's a hundred here..."
Armored guy filled in for me then. "Yeah, you'll probably die of old age here. Not the first. We've all had calculations like that."
The scenarios ran through my head. All of them? More than one Drifter had wound up here? And they were all doomed to die of old age here? Was it something about this world then, that kept them from Drifting on? I would never Drift again? I would have no chance to go home? I would forever be stranded in this unfamiliar world?
My eyes landed on Origin and my lips pulled upwards in a smile. No. Not doomed to die of old age.
I had just begun to reach for it when I felt sleepy and saw a green glow envelope my vision...
-----
"Well," Emerald said as the sleep spell took effect on the human boy. "I think we should separate him from his weapon. Or anything else that could be considered dangerous. Hopefully, there will be minimal damage to his genetic structure with this spell, but if I had to choose between a slightly shorter lifespan for him or his life, I'll choose the first one."
Alex nodded. "If he's suicidal, then yes. I assume there's a reason for it, and I'll try and talk him out of it, but until then, we'll need to keep him separated from his sword."
Matt spoke up as well, to voice his agreement. "I know what he's feeling. Heck, we all do. Kid's probably blowing it out of proportion. Shouldn't take us long to make him realize that suicide isn't the way to go."
Alex gently picked up the sword hilt and held it like one would hold something that smelled offensive before reaching behind himself and dropping it in his bag. The doctor nodded and left the two humans to pull the new arrival back onto his bed. He then walked out into the hall, where a certain DJ mare was waiting. She looked up from her magazine as the doctor walked by and greeted him in her typical fashion.
"Yo, Doc! How's my house-crasher?"
Emerald sighed and rolled his eyes. "My name is Doctor Emerald, Miss Scratch. And to answer your question, not well. He got the standard set of Jumper news and took it poorly. He even had a weapon and looked prepared to use it."
The mare blinked and shivered. "That's nuts. Who on?"
Emerald didn't miss a beat. "Himself."
Vinyl's mouth dropped as she considered what the doctor was saying. She barely noticed when he continued. "Fortunately, I was able to knock him out with a simple sleep spell, one that should barely effect his genetic stability. Misters Matt and Alex should be able to talk him down, and afterwards, pending a full evaluation, along with a question and answer session, he should be cleared to leave."
Vinyl chuckled a bit. "So basically, watch him and keep him away from anything sharp?"
Emerald paused and looked at Vinyl with a scrutinizing eye. "Miss Scratch, I was unaware that you were responsible for his lodgings. Has this changed?"
Vinyl thought about it for a moment and shrugged. "Isn't that how it goes? First ponies one of these Jumpers runs into, first served?"
"...You're thinking of lines, Miss Scratch."
Chapter 3 - Being stuck isn't bad. No, really, it's not. Put the sword down.
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...
I strode out of the hospital in a darker mood than I had any right to have. I recognized this about myself and shook my head to at least slow it down. But really, the idea of being stuck in a nation of magi, ruled by goddesses, until I died of old age!...
I liked tech-worlds! Tech-worlds were predictable! Magic worlds were highly erratic! There was, more often than not, nothing stopping an intrepid mage from making his will into reality! Oh sure, there were, sometimes, some barriers or limits or rules regarding proper magic usage, but usually it was more of a question of available power, and if they didn't have it, they knew someone who did! Hell, sometimes the rules were more like guidelines!
"Xavier, give me the filter I proposed to find the crystals, we get to test it now."
There was a clicking noise, and then my right eye was awash in blue. Casting my eye up and down the streets, I paused as it fell on a building just up the road. I actually began to grin, then whistled at the sight. "That's a lot of crystals."
Sitting in a mostly-neat pile was a beacon of light, at least to my right eye. There were a few that had been separated from the rest, most likely to be studied as they hadn't gone too far away from the main mass, but by far the majority were being held in one location. I walked up the road and ignored the comments flying behind me. I could deal with racism or xenophobia another day. I had fools to save from themselves before I took the first road out of here.
I then decided, once I reached the door of the building in question (One Canterlot University, it said so over the door) that I really, really wanted to get out of the city. Therefor, there was no time to waste. Xavier, give me 'door-breaking' power in the leg, I'ma kick them open.
Yes sir, but for the record, I don't think this wise.
I felt the rush of energy and smiled. Your suggestion is noted. Time to cause property damage.
I raised my right leg, kicked the door in, and promptly took a knee. Backlash is a bitch. No, really I met a goddess named that once, complete bitch. She was in charge of vengeance, karma, and people getting exactly what was coming to them. Needless to say, we did not get on well. I personally think it's because she can't keep or get a boyfriend worth anything, and subsequently, hasn't been laid in eons.
After a moment to recover from the sudden expenditure of energy, I drew myself back up and stared at the terrified pony behind a desk. "Small, blue crystals. Which way would I go to find them?"
She wordlessly pointed to hallway located to her right, and I thanked her before checking with my eye again. 25...15...5....this must be the room.
I elected this time to merely push the door open, but hard, and was greeted with three ponies in lab coats standing around a massive pile of crystals that jumped as the door slammed open. Not saying a word, I walked towards the pile of crystals, dropped to one knee, shrugged my pack off, and began putting the crystals inside it.
And kept doing it.
And kept doing it, despite the fact that the pack was significantly smaller than the original pile. Thank you, whatever number early jump it was that got me a Bag of Holding. And thank you, brain, for coming up with the idea to ask an elf to later on modify it into a proper backpack. Granted, it still had its limits. It could theoretically store an unlimited amount of items! I would still feel a portion of their weight, though. If I could get it to be blessed or enchanted, it would function even better, but I had my doubts about that ever happening.
One of the ponies nearby started to object to the fact that I was taking their valuable research materials, and I halted in mid-grab before slooooowly turning my head to face him and switching my right eye to a decorative red filter.
"Is your name on these crystals? Are they actually yours? Do you have any claim to them, like a receipt?"
He stammered a bit before shaking his head reflexively, but rallied. "I am a researcher here at Canterlot University, and these are our research materials! Human or not, you cannot just barge in here like that and take them from-"
That was as far as he got before I narrowed my eyes and spoke up again. "The most hold you have over them is that they're your current research project. Whereas I can claim them by the fact that I brought them into this world with me and likely know more about them than you ever will. Ergo, I will thank you to stop and stay out of my way."
I then returned to shoveling the crystals into my pack, I was nearly done. A different pony spoke up then. "If you know so much about them, then why are you taking them from us?"
I didn't even look at this one while responding, I merely tested my pack to see if I could lift it comfortably. Thankfully, it wasn't too much of a weight increase. "Because children never respect the flames until it burns them. However, in this case, you are not ready for the fire or the burns."
I looked to the right with my blue-filter and noted that yes, the final few crystals were in there, likely being tested, as they were only a short distance away from each other. A quick check beyond the door between the two rooms made the blood in my veins run cold.
It wasn't the melting point test, or the acid test, or the hardness test. Nor was it the battery of, I suspect, magic tests. I say I suspect because I didn't intend to stick around and see what those devices did.
It was the test that would expose one of them to electricity, most likely conductivity. I quickly ran to that one, but it was too late. Someone had thrown the switch, and the crystal began to glow. I held my breath, hoping, praying, that the ponies were smart, and slash or did not have access to too much electrical power.
Thankfully, the crystal changed color. From dark blue to really light blue, and seemed to give off little pulses, like a heartbeat. I sighed in relief and picked it up in my right hand. Xavier, drain it, now.
Yes, sir.
I clenched my right hand, and the glow faded from the crystal. I then looked at the other tests and shook my head. "And none of you thought to...simply ask me?"
"To be fair," I heard from behind me as one of the researchers actually dared to answer, "Would you have told us?"
I thought about that, then sighed and shook my head. "Not unless there's a serious need for this sort of power, no. It's literally a step up for most realities. That is, once they properly figure out how to harness the power of one of the crystals."
I plucked the crystals from the testing benches, reached behind myself, and dropped the last of the wayward gems into my pack. I had just turned around and begun my trek back to the lobby when I felt a familiar sensation. It bugged me as I tried to remember, but when I returned to the doors I had kicked in, I knew.
It was Presence.
Every God and Goddess has an aura, I call it Presence. It lets you get a feel for who and what they are and embody. The closer you are to them, the more of an idea you can glean. For example, Pelor was Light, Strength, Healing, and more common than not, the Sun.
This Presence had at least that element in common with his. Sun, yes, all its warmth and heat. Motherly, like every mortal was her child, but also, do not piss off mama goddess. Kind and Gentle, like a spring breeze. And finally, Honesty. As though no lies would or could be told by her.
...Like I bought any of those last two. Ever hear of final kindness? 'Tis better to put down a mortally wounded creature than to let it suffer for hours on end. And just because one is honest doesn't mean one can't lie.
Damn the Fae! I'd only run into them once, and I was damn glad I'd Drifted off as soon as I did!
...Ahem. Yeah. Just because no words that passed their lips were lies, doesn't mean that they couldn't purposely mislead, misdirect, fail to answer, or simply twist your goddamn words on you. I'd learned real quick a few Rules they had to abide by, mostly by watching them get used on each other, and wormed my way out of their Courts. It was about then I'd decided I needed a weapon, which would eventually lead to Origin.
...Damn, I get sidetracked.
I walked out onto the street and saw what could easily pass for a horse back home, were it not for the wings or horn. Just as I made that observation, the Presence slammed into me, causing me to clutch at my heart with my left hand while my right pulled out Origin and activated it. Instantly, the sense of divinity lessened. I still knew she was there, but now I wasn't overwhelmed by knowing. I then realized that somewhere in there, I'd fallen to one knee, and snarled at myself mentally for falling into any sort of pose that could be construed as 'kneeling' 'praying' or 'subservient' before a Goddess. After taking a few deep breaths, I pushed myself up and looked this Goddess in the eye.
The first word that came to mind was simply regal. Were she to be pulled across the sky in a chariot and proclaim her sovereignty o'er all the land back home, I got the feeling that nobody would fight her on that. Her ha-...mane and tail flowed in an ethereal breeze, and were all the colors of a sunrise. Her coat was purest white, her regalia was gold-and-amethyst, and her eyes were a rich purple.
We held each others' gaze for a moment, then she looked at my sword, then back in my eyes. "Am I to assume that your sword functions similarly to Alex's knife, in that it helps you deal with magic?"
I shrugged at that. "Magic can't touch the sword, thanks to how it was made. Not many things can. I actually had to come up with a way to safely store the blade before I had a hilt for it because I got tired of cutting myself on it. That was an interesting experience."
She nodded at my explanation. "Very well. I am Princess Celestia, and I-"
I shook my head and held up my left hand. "Say it right. We both know that's not the whole truth."
She sighed and looked to the sky, stating rather than asking the next bit. "You're going to be difficult, aren't you."
I snorted at that, it was as close as laughing as I allowed myself to get in the presence of deities. "Ma'am, I have been dicked over by every god and goddess I have met save one, and the only thing Joseph does is answer questions I pose to him. And since it's pretty much a certain thing that I won't be running into him again, explain to me why I should trust any deity?"
She looked to me and smiled a small, motherly smile. The smile your mother gave you when you said you didn't know why things fell to the ground. A 'you'll understand when you're older' smile.
I hated it.
"Because they were not us."
I hated that even more. My right hand clenched Origin even tighter as I responded with as calm a voice I could manage.
"And just like that, Celestia, you've lost points in my book. Wanna know why?"
I turn around and yell at her over my shoulder as I begin looking for a way out of this city.
"They all of them, every other god and goddess I've ever met, said the same thing before screwing me six ways to Sunday! And then, they did it again on the sabbath!"
-----
Vinyl had caught up with the human just as he walked out of Canterlot University and witnessed the exchange between him and Princess Celestia. It was mostly composed of the human yelling at the Princess, which, quite simply, nopony thought anypony would ever be able to get away with, him demonstrating that his sword helped him deal with magic and the aura of the Princess, and then him stalking off through the city again.
She didn't care that he didn't trust magic.
She didn't care that he didn't trust the Princesses.
She didn't care that he'd likely not react well to having a unicorn stalker, which she fully acknowledged she was behaving like one.
Rumors were that Jumpers were damaged on the inside, in places you wouldn't be able to get without giving them a good bit of rye first. Occasionally externally too, but those were minor hurts compared to the things they'd done or seen or been subjected to.
If he was more damaged than her, she'd kick herself for not trying to talk to him and trying to show him that he didn't have to be alone. That ponies could know hurt too.
Tartarus, if Octavia knew the rumors, she'd likely join her on her little human-hunt. Maybe even take it over.
Chapter 5 - It may not be a rainbow connection, but it'll do.
Chapter 5 - It may not be a rainbow connection, but it'll do.
I stared into the campfire and thought about what my priorities should be. I had a few bits of jerky in my pack, which would serve for food until I knew what was and wasn't edible, but if magi and deities walked this plane like no tomorrow, then I would need to improve my clothing. Fortunately, I had supplies, all I needed was time. Which I had in abundance, what with stalking out of the city.
I put my pack down in front of me and rummaged, moving things I couldn't see out of the way until I brushed up against a metallic set of strands. I carefully pulled the roll of 'fabric' out and smiled. This...this had taken the dwarves a good bit of trouble to make. Molten steel with a good few crystals tossed in that slowly melted and infused the steel with their own properties, then poured into a specialized mold to make steel-and-crystal threads. The one thing that could stop the blade of Origin that I had found so far, mainly because the crystals would repel one another like magnets of the same pole. Once the blade had a hilt that could hold it, I'd re-purposed the strands by weaving them into my clothes, which had turned out to be a good idea. The crystals were magic-resistant when they were dormant, and magic-repellant when they were activated with just the right jolt. The strands had similar properties, but the amount in my clothes were nowhere near enough to stand up to a deities' Presence.
I aimed to change that now. I rummaged again and found my sewing bag. Hey, clothing maintenance is important between worlds. Especially when your clothes are one of the few reminders you have of your home. Another important thing is a song to sing while you work. I'd taken one and modified it slightly to make it fit my situation ages ago. It was a catchy little tune, but that was probably because the original song was an earworm. I took my hoodie off, threaded a needle with one of the metallic strands, and began increasing its resistance to magic while I sung my song.
I Drift from one world to the next, I Drift from one world to the next, I spit on gods who know what's best.
Sir, I'm picking up movement from nearby. Size and magic is indicative of it being a native.
I merely sighed and decided to continue my work. One thread down, quite a few to go. At least I'd be giving someone a show with my singing.
Gonna keep up hope within my heart, Gonna keep up hope within my heart, I will one day return to my start. Cause if in my heart hope can't thrive, then why the hell am I alive?
Being has moved closer. Magic signature is indicative of it being a unicorn. Recommending you take some measure of-
I ignored Xavier and continued my work. If it was an ambush, they'd have attacked by now. Likely, whoever it was just wanted to talk. I'd grant an individual a chance. One. Singular. I kept singing as I finished with one part of my hoodie.
I've seen too much for one my age, I've seen too much for one my age, And yet I keep on turning the page.
From the bushes, a white unicorn with a two-toned blue mane and tail slowly emerged. On her horn rested a pair of violet shades, and her eyes were a deep crimson. She drew a little too close, and I paused in my busywork. She noticed, and backed up a touch, then rested on her haunches while watching me work. I decided to finish the song, and I noticed her head bobbing along while I did.
One day my Drifting will be done, One day my Drifting will be done, At home I'll relax in the sun. Cause if in my heart hope can't thrive, then why the hell am I alive?
The only sound in the small clearing was that of my humming for a few minutes while I worked on the sleeves. There was a lot of work to do, but since I'd sung the song once, I didn't need to do it again. I'd gotten my message across to the unicorn. Once I got to the hood, the unicorn finally spoke up, which allowed me to confirm that it was a female. I mean, I assumed based on body structure, but it was still nice to know.
"So you're just gonna run from reality?"
I looked up then and frowned. "It worked pretty well until I landed here."
She shook her head at that. "Yeah, and now you're here. The others said they couldn't leave for a while, is that the same with you?"
I nodded and returned to working on my hood. "Won't be able to leave for at least a hundred years. Assuming I live that long."
The unicorn sighed at my blunt statment. "Yeah, I can see why you'd be upset at that. From what your song sounded like, you kept hoping you'd be able to go home one day."
I nodded again, and then the unicorn hit me with a profound piece of philosophy. "Okay, answer me this question: if home's where the heart is, then did you leave your heart back at your home? Do you even remember what it looked like? From your song, it sounds like it's been a while since you've been there. Buck, if you're going to be here for a century, then why not try to make this place your home?"
I blinked a few times and looked at her mid-threading. "Make this place my home? A place that I'm wholly unfamiliar with? One that is home to so many magi and three goddesses? I'd rather swim in shark-infested waters. At least the sharks would make it quick."
The unicorn blinked, grimaced at my saying, and shuddered. "I...I don't wanna know right now what sorta past you've had to make you distrust magic to such an extreme. But aren't you letting your past stop you from making a life in the present?"
I examined my work and decided a final thread to tie a few together would be enough to finish my plans. "It's called being cynical and paranoid. After the fifth time I was betrayed by mages, I started being suspicious of magi in general. After the tenth, I stopped hoping that they'd be good. After the twentieth, I started keeping my curse a secret."
I looked up after lacing the final thread in to see the unicorn's expression had fallen. "So...so many?"
I nodded. "And don't get me started on the deities. They play vast games with each other, and mortals are their pawns. I did so much for so many, and all they did in return was string me along."
I sent a small charge into my hoodie from my right hand, and it lit up blue for a moment. I smiled at that, it would appear my sewing was still up to par. The unicorn blinked and looked at my hoodie with wide eyes. "What...did you do?"
I pulled my shirt off, thankful I'd run into a priest in the last world who would heal away all my old scars, shrugged my hoodie on, and then sent a small, continuous charge through my right arm. I could feel the magic of the world recede as the threads activated, and I smiled as her expression now included a dropped jaw. "How...did you make yourself immune to magic?"
I began to work on my shirt while I responded. "It's hardly immunity, and it's not me, but my clothes, and it took me a while to figure out. But with my travels, I'm thankful I figured it out."
There was silence while I worked on my shirt. I like to think that the unicorn was imagining as to how bad my travels could have been to give me such an aversion to magic. I'd gotten it half-done before she spoke up again. "Still. You're going to be stuck here for a while. If you make your aversion to magic known, I'm sure ponies will respect that and leave you be."
I blinked at that, but picked up the sewing after a moment. "You really think the citizens of this world will understand my hatred of something that makes up such a large part of their world?"
The unicorn let out an affirmative noise. "Yeah. I mean, I haven't used any around you yet, and I could totally be doing some to help you with your sewing."
I paused and looked up, locking eyes with her. "Why...would you try to help me?"
She shrugged. "It's what ponies do. Offer a helping hoof to those who need it."
The thought flashed across my mind that this world could possibly be home to genuinely helpful natives, even in spite of the fact that one-third of them were magi. Xavier chose to speak up then. Sir, I would recommend going with the unicorn until such a time as we know enough about the world to genuinely make it on our own. Who knows? Perhaps she'll earn your trust along the way.
And thus, in a moment that was either me genuinely starting the process to heal a very old wound or me being incredibly stupid, I extended my left hand towards the unicorn. "Eric O'Mally."
She smiled and repeated my gesture. "Vinyl Scratch." We shook, having finally introduced ourselves to one another. After that, conversation dried up for a bit.
I put the finishing touch on my shirt and pulled off my hoodie before putting my upgraded shirt back on. I left my outermost layer unzipped and shot a smile at Vinyl. "So, how do I look?" With that, I sent a charge through them both with my right arm, and Vinyl softly whistled.
"Dang. Looks like you laced the things with some glow-sticks. You wouldn't be out of place at a club now."
I pictured it in my mind's eye and chuckled at the conjured imagery. "Well, I'm not doing my pants now, so unless you got somewhere to be, little miss, then..."
I let the sentence trail off, and Vinyl nodded. "I got a place back in Canterlot and a...housemate that'll be wondering where I ran off to. If you'd like, you can come with."
I mulled the idea over, along with the pause she'd accidentally thrown in, before slowly nodding. "But I'm keeping this," and here I pointed to the inside of my hoodie, where a faint blue glow still emanated, "up all the time. You, I've given the chance to earn my trust. Every other unicorn is gonna have to work for it. Much less your precious Princesses."
Vinyl nodded and smiled at me. "Dude, my housemate's an Earth Pony, she won't mind. Now, y'comin'?"
I replaced the bundle of metallic strands in my pack, along with my sewing equipment, slung it onto my back, and nodded. Vinyl merely turned around and motioned for me to follow her, so I did. This promised to be, at the very least, interesting.
-----
It was an unassuming little house, by Canterlot standards anyways. At least, that's what casual observation told me. I stood in front of it and wondered what the protocol was. "So do we knock or-"
Vinyl just walked up and threw the door open. "'Tavi, I found 'im! I told you I would!"
There was an exasperated sigh from deeper in the house. "Vinyl, please tell me you didn't go back to the sa-"
The voice cut off as a gray-coated earth pony with a black mane walked in. I took in the details almost subconsciously. She was wearing a white collar with a pink bow tie, had light purple eyes, and looked strikingly familiar. It was when she spoke up again that I placed it.
"Oh my. So you did actually find him. Well, hello good sir, and-"
I interrupted her then. "Are you the one that punched me? I distinctly recall getting punched by a pony that looked like you. I thought it was just a delusion brought on by my Drifting, but now that I know ponies run the show here, I'm less dismissive of the idea than I was yesterday."
The Earth Pony in front of me coughed and looked away for a moment while muttering something, whereas Vinyl just laughed. "Yeah, but you can't blame her, Eric. You did sorta show up in our living room in the middle of the night and started screaming your head off. 'Tavi here just reacted."
I reflexively rubbed my jaw as I responded to Vinyl, absently noting that this 'Tavi' was growing red in the cheeks. "Ah, yeah, well, if I had a - what do you call your currency here?"
"Bits," Vinyl supplied, and I nodded.
"Well, if I had a bit for every entry that wasn't peaceful, I'd be a wealthy man." I chuckled as I recalled one of my more humorous entries into a world. I wasn't sure why that world had a 'water to custard' spell, but it almost worked as advertised. I still don't know if that lake would ever be the same.
"Anyways!" I said perhaps a bit too loudly while snapping out of memory lane. "No real harm, so no real foul. My name is Eric O'Mally, and it is nice to meet you. I've already made the acquaintance of your housemate, Vinyl Scratch, but something tells me 'Tavi' isn't your whole name."
The Earth Pony shot Vinyl a Look, one that made you feel the capital L. It promised a Talk later. Nonetheless, she walked a few paces closer to me and nodded. "Hello Eric, my name is Octavia Philharmonica. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well."
I stuck out my left hand, and she repeated the gesture, allowing us to confirm our newly-found tolerance for one another with a firm shake. "Now, I don't know if you know this, but I did arrive with hardly more than the clothes on my back and my pack, and neither one of them contains a place to sleep folded away within." I winked to make sure Octavia knew I was joking, and she giggled a little at my obvious joke before replying.
"Indeed, it feels like it was only yesterday a weird bipedal creature was appearing in our home. But never fear, we do have a guest room you can use while you get your...feet, was it?" I nodded to confirm she'd gotten the terminology right. "Your feet back under yourself. How long do you think something like that will take?"
I shrugged. "Depends on if I can find a dwarf-standard smith in this realm and if there's a real need for the properties of my crystals. I sincerely doubt it, but you never know. If not, I'll find a way or make one. And miss Octavia?"
I got down on one knee and lightly clasped her left foreleg with both my hands. "Thank you for being willing to take me in. I know Vinyl means well, but I'd have been uncomfortable if you weren't willing to put up with me as well."
She blushed a bit at that, but smiled. "Nonsense, it's what any decent pony should do. The guest room is upstairs, last door on the right. Why don't you take a minute to get settled?"
I nodded, stood back up, and located the stairs in question. "Take care, ladies."
Octavia shot a response back as I headed up. "If Vinyl's a lady, I'm a parasprite!"
Judging by Vinyl's indignant 'hey!', I gathered that was not a comparison that was likely to be true at any point in the future.
-----
Octavia rounded on Vinyl and fairly hissed her question at her housemate. "What the buck were you thinking, Vinyl? Were you? Or was this another plan you made while-"
Vinyl cut her off by levitating her glasses off her face and staring at Octavia. There was no anger in her voice as she responded. "Do you know what I do these days, Octy?"
Octavia blinked at the question, but rallied. "You play in clubs, spinning records and entertaining crowds because that's what you love to do, and keep putting yourself in hoof's reach for falling ba-"
"Do you know what I have to do to do that job well?"
Octavia huffed a bit at being interrupted again. "Stay away from the bar and the s-"
"I have to read the news, Octy. All of it, because if I know what's going on, I know what ponies want to hear. I read it all, Octy. Including the stuff about the Jumpers down in Ponyville."
Octavia was nonplussed at that. "And?"
"Trace came here willingly, but even he's got a touch of darkness in his past. Matt, Alex, and Eleanor? They didn't get the choice, they kept Jumping until they landed here, and all their travels scarred them, Octy."
Octavia blinked at that, realizing she might have been misjudging the humans. "What, physically?"
Vinyl slowly shook her head and looked up, as though she could see Eric through the wood. "Not just that. They're scarred deep inside, Octy. Nearly all of them. And the worst part is, they simply grow numb to it over time."
She locked eyes with Octavia again and sighed. "Remind you of anypony?"
Octavia started shaking. "Oh, sweet Celestia. All of them? How bad is Eric? Do you know?"
Vinyl slowly nodded. "I have an idea. He doesn't trust magic. Or gods or goddesses, or the Princesses. And he kept hoping for a way home, which is now out of reach, forever."
And then, Octavia Philharmonica did something she'd only done twice before in her life.
She broke down and cried. Vinyl came forward and hugged her close, muffling her sobs somewhat, and softly said the words "I know" to her over and over again.
Octavia was a mare of music. Talented in it to an uncanny degree, it carried a double-edge. 'Tis often said that music soothes the savage beast, and with good reason. Music, done properly, is the language of the soul. In the land of Equestria, where sometimes music and magic blend together in random musical numbers, a music-related talent lends one greater insight to the underpinnings of how music effects the fellow pony.
But when a pony of music hears of troubles that damage another pony's very mind and soul to such a degree that things like trust are no longer something they give out freely, they can't help but feel sickened that such a thing could happen to another pony. Their best bet to working out those emotions is to write somber, slow music, and then burn it before anyone else reads it.
But Octavia had no idea where to start with troubles like Eric's.
And she also knew that it was likely only the tip of his issues.
And something like that, it bucking terrified her.
All said, a night at the home of the two mares was not all that bad. Sure, the bed was small, but, ponies. It was made for them. A bit of curling up and creative use of blankets saw me relatively comfortable. Far more comfortable than I'd be under the stars, at any rate.
The morning started off boring. I was an early riser because it'd been drilled into my head in...one of the worlds I'd visited, I'd forgotten which. Listening at the door revealed that there were no sounds of the mares moving. I therefor concluded that it was far too early to be up by their standards and decided to, in the privacy of the guest room, remove my pants, cover myself with the blankets, and finish off my sewing project.
I'd already gotten the strands and sewing kit out again when I paused. My song didn't fit anymore. Or at least, the lyrics I'd written for it didn't. I could still hum it and try to come up with new ones. After a second to ponder it, I decided to go with that conclusion and started to hum while I worked.
Hmm. Something...upbeat. Cheery. Something that talks about hope for the future. Maybe touch on my issues? Eh...maybe not. I'm sure it'll come to me.
So caught up in my thinking and work that I didn't notice that the door was open. At least, not until Octavia spoke up.
"That sounds like a nice little tune."
I looked up at her, nodded, and then returned to my work. "It's an earworm song."
The term clearly threw her. "I beg your pardon?"
"An earworm song," I said while finishing off the lower portion of the legs. Moving the pants a little, I picked up the conversation as I started on the upper portion of the legs. "Basically, a song that burrows into your ear, hooks into your brain, and doesn't let go. You'll find yourself humming it or singing it later on, merely because you heard it once. A song only really earns this distinction if it does it across a majority of the ones who hear it."
I could hear the curiosity in her voice. "Interesting. Perhaps Vinyl would like to hear it?" Yeah, like you wouldn't listen in as well.
I smiled as I continued my work. "How do you think she found me last night?"
"Oh. Well that makes sense." There was a pause. "Would you mind terribly singing the song? Assuming it has lyrics."
I started to nod, before remembering and shaking my head. "The original version of the song, yes. My version, no. The lyrics for my version...I kinda-sorta made up a set after so many Drifts that would tell anyone who heard it how, despite how I've been kicked around by almost everything, I wouldn't give up hope at seeing my world again."
I looked up briefly before returning to my work. "Vinyl's kinda given me a reason to stop singing that song, at least for now."
"Oh." Silence for a moment more, and then, "Perhaps the original version, then?"
I paused for a moment before nodding. "Fair warning, it's highly contextual, but I can do that."
"Fair enough. I'll hold all questions and ask later."
I dig my hole, you build a wall, I dig my hole, you build a wall, Some day that wall is gonna fall.
Gon' build that city on a hill, Gon' build that city on a hill, One day those tears are gonna spill. So build that wall and build it strong, cause we'll be there before too long.
Gon' build that wall up to the sky Gon' build that wall up to the sky Some day your bird is gonna fly
Gon' build that wall until it's done Gon' build that wall until it's done But now you've got nowhere to run So build that wall and build it strong, cause we'll be there before too long
As the song finished, I looked up to see Octavia's eyes were closed as she merely listened to my singing. After a moment where she realized the song was done, she opened them and looked up at me, and I smiled softly and huffed in amusement. "I take it the lady likes the song this poor soul was able to provide?"
She blushed a bit at that. "Ah, I do apologize. It was an interesting song, and I would love to hear it put to instrument. I assume it had one when you heard it?"
"Guitar," I said quite firmly. "Guitar or some other sort of string instrument like it. That's the only way that song should be played, and if I hear anyone else has taken those lyrics to another instrument, I will complain for weeks."
She nodded at that. "Duly noted." Then she frowned as she properly computed something else I said. "Why did you do that? Demean yourself like that."
I shrugged at that. "Eh, getting treated like less than dirt in some worlds probably didn't help. Most of it was due to the influence of the Fae, honestly. Certain mannerisms became engraved into me as a part of my time there. Most of them have been excised, but sometimes they flare up. Once I get properly acclimated into any world, my initial attitude of 'crystals-food-shelter' gets replaced with 'do not piss off the natives'. Turns out, acting meek and like I'm not very important? Helluva way to make due until the next Drift. Sometimes, though, I would act like a merchant and sell the crystals, then go from one town to the next with my wares. At least I could always acquire startup funds."
I moved the pants across my lap when a hoof touched my knee. I looked up to see Octavia's violet eyes staring at mine. "We're going to need to fix that."
I blinked as my brain literally stopped for a moment as it tried to compute her words. "I beg your pardon? Fix what?"
"Those attitudes, those...defense mechanisms. You put up a shell, multiple shells, to protect yourself. You never let anypony get close, so that you don't have to say goodbye to them. And it's been that way for a while, hasn't it?"
I didn't reply. I couldn't. She was right so far. What was worse was, at some level, I realized it had been a conscious decision.
She continued. "I'm not sure what sort of human is under those defensive layers, those walls you throw up to keep everypony away from you...but I'm willing to help you find out."
I slowly brought my left hand over to her and cupped her face. "You remind me so much of her, it's uncanny."
She blinked at that. "Who?"
I sighed and returned to working on my pants, it only needed a few more strands to be considered done enough. "Jessica. My oldest female friend back home. We grew up together, we got on each others' nerves together, we fought, we played, we agreed, we disagreed. It was a friendship born in infancy and one that never faded as we grew older. Hell, we were practically brother and sister."
I smiled as I finished my pants and put the kit back in my pack. "Any time we had a problem, the other would know about it and deal with it their own way. Jessica tended to hide her problems, saying that I wouldn't understand. I usually managed to bribe her into telling me what the issue was, and then she got a male perspective. Whereas when I had a problem, there was always this...funk that surrounded me. Jessica would notice and say one phrase that got through to me."
I dropped the leftover strands in the bag and looked at Octavia. "She'd say 'Don't block me out, don't wall me out. Tell me what the problem is, or it'll only get worse.'"
I smiled and looked to the ceiling. "Musically talented. Pretty good at wind instruments. She played the flute, but she also could do a mean piccolo and a decent oboe as well. Flute was just her preferred instrument."
Octavia actually smiled as I finished my minor opening up. "This is turning into a conversation for the breakfast table. Would you care to join us at it?"
I nodded and made a shooing motion with my hands. "Yes, but I need to put these back on first, and I'd rather be alone for that bit. G'on, make sure Vinyl isn't burning the house down while I properly dress myself."
Octavia let out a small laugh and left me alone again, and my smile dropped. I reached into my pack and looked for all of thirty seconds before I found what I was looking for. I pulled out a small journal that had a pencil attached and flipped to the last page, then began to write.
I am well and truly stuck here, in this final realm that I have Drifted to. I know because none of the forces from all my journeys could accelerate my travels, nor could they find my home. The forces in this world, until proven otherwise, will be assumed to function under the same limits. I did not make the travel unscarred, but thankfully, a priest of Celestian in the last world was capable and willing to heal away my physical scars for a song. Only the mental ones remain now. The natives of this place are kind and loving to almost appear innocent. However, assuming that they are naive would be a monumental error. And while I still do not trust magic, magi, or deities...
...Something about these two mares makes me want to give them a chance.
Who knows. They might actually be good for me. I opened up about Jessica to Octavia, and Vinyl managed to convince me to come to their home last night, in spite of her being a unicorn. Could it be I might actually like it here?
I looked over my entry and nodded, then dropped it and the pencil back into my pack before slipping my pants on, followed by my shoes. I grabbed my pack with one hand and made my way to the most delicious of bounties:
Breakfast made by other people.
-----
The mighty force of the third pancake brigade had met their match in the fork Vinyl provided me. I'm pretty sure the airstrike of butter and syrup shells didn't help their odds any either. They'd attempted to call for backup with the second coffee platoon, but a quick smattering of cream and sugar grenades had dealt with it handily.
I relaxed and sighed as I patted my gut, feeling the weight of the pancakes settle within it. I slowly sipped my coffee while the other mares ate their breakfast. "Forgive my manners, but it has been a while since I could have a proper breakfast. When one that looked as delectable as that was placed before me, I just...lost myself."
Vinyl waved a hoof at me. "Eh, no big deal. I mean, 'Tavi here might get bent out of shape about it, but I can understand wanting to tear into my pancakes."
The both of us stole a look at Octavia, who daintily sipped at her coffee while raising an eyebrow at us. Something about her pose made me think both that she was goading us, and that it would also be a bad idea to fall into the trap. Thus, I held my tongue, and so did Vinyl. Possibly came from living with her for...however long they've been doing it.
"So ladies," at this Octavia smiled while Vinyl snorted out a laugh, "Now that I have concluded breakfast, I have a few questions."
Octavia nodded and put her coffee down while Vinyl picked hers up. "By all means, Eric."
"First," I held up my left pointer finger, "I'm going to need books or a crash course on day-to-day interactions, pony history, and other important cultural information."
Octavia nodded. "I am certain that Vinyl and I can provide lessons in culture. Combined, we cover a broad scale of Equestria's society."
Vinyl took a gulp of her coffee and nodded as she set it down. "Yeah. Octy here's got the snooty information all up in her noggin, while I've got the know-how of where to go if you want a good time."
Octavia shot a deadpan look at Vinyl, and I snorted a laugh. "Okay," I said while trying not to giggle, "but that still leaves me with history as a thing I have to learn."
Octavia turned to look at me again and held a hoof up to her chin. "Yes, it does. You could request permission to browse the Archives, I suppose, but such permission is not freely given to all who ask. As well, as they are the Royal Archives..."
I sighed and put my head in my hands. "I'd have to meet with your rulers. Great." I picked my head up and stared at the mares. "We'll burn that bridge when we come to it. Number two." Here, middle and pointer went up on my right hand. "Smiths. Are there any good ones in town?"
Vinyl nodded. "I got the layout all up here, dude," she stated while pointing a hoof at her head. "There are a few smiths in town, but the Princesses have the best guy in the castle making armor for them."
I sighed again, it was starting to look like a trip to the castle was in my future. "Well then. I suppose number three can wait, it looks like I'm writing a letter to royalty."
I reached into my bag, found the journal from earlier, flipped until I found a blank page and carefully ripped it out before composing a letter.
To the Goddesses that rule these ponies,
Greetings. I am Eric O'Mally, and I would like to...apologize for my actions. While my journeys may have colored my views on deities, that does not give me free reign to disrespect any of you before I even meet you or get to know you.
As such, I would like to request permission to visit the castle. While I will freely admit that I will have ulterior motives behind my visit, such as accessing your vast supplies of stored literature and the talents of an individual under your employ, I do truly wish to meet with you as well.
I'm trying out this whole 'trust' thing for the first time in a while, so please forgive me if I'm not exactly the best at it yet.
Sincerely, Eric O'Mally
I went over the letter twice before folding it up and looking up to Octavia. She had procured from...somewhere an envelope with the addresses already written and a stamp on it. I shook my head and put my document inside, causing her to nod, take it in her mouth, and go outside.
A moment passed, and then I heard a sound from the front door. That sound was Octavia speaking in a strained voice. "Eric, there's someone at the door for you..."
I got up and walked over to the front door, and instantly, I activated my clothing's abilities.
Standing in front of her was a lavender unicorn mare, with a six-and-a-half foot elf standing next to her. Dressed in blue robes and wearing a pointed yellow hat, it didn't take long for my brain to make the connection that he was a black mage.
What caused me to reflexively activate my clothing was the sheer amount of power radiating off of the elf, which instinctively caused my thaumometer filter to activate. Around him, through the slight haze, it looked like a storm was about to break out at any moment. He seemed like a towering thunderhead, a hurricane just on the horizon. I would not be surprised to find that he had Thor somewhere in his family tree. He was quite strong. The mare next to him seemed to glow as well, shining brightly through the haze of violet like a miniature star.
Thankfully, once my clothes were active, the moment passed, the filter flicked back to normal, and they looked at me in slight shock at what I'd done. "Did he just?"
The elf nodded at the mare. "It would appear he has an ability to render himself immune to magic."
I shook my head. "It's the clothes, not me. And it also runs off a bit of my internal energy as well. Too much time spent with it on will burn up calories like nobody's business."
"Making you hungry faster, thus costing you in the long run," the mare deduced.
I nodded at them, then scrunched my face up in thought. "So, uh. Who are you, and why are you here?"
The two let out a short giggle, and the mare pulled a scroll from her bag and started to float it to me with her magic. I eyed it and her warily until it was hovering in front of my face, at which point I put my hand under it to catch it. Catching on herself, the mare let the scroll drop into my hand, and I unrolled it and began to read.
To my most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.
A new Jumper has appeared, this time in Canterlot. However, it would appear that this one has Thaumaphobia, as well as Theophobia. I also believe I made less than a good impression on him when I met him, briefly, during his initial stay in Canterlot. To be blunt, after we met, he yelled at me as he walked out of the city.
However, Luna informs me that she was looking out of her tower that night and happened to notice the human returning to Canterlot in the company of a pony later identified as one Vinyl Scrach.
I would ask of you, if you feel up to the task, to come to Canterlot and attempt to show this Jumper that magic need not be feared. If he feels willing, I would also appreciate it if Trace would accompany you. Hopefully, by showing this Jumper that not all bipedal mages are things to fear, he will start to settle in Equestria.
Your teacher, Princess Celestia
I lowered the letter and looked at the mare and elf in question, then wordlessly handed it to the elf. He put it in his robes, and I turned to the unicorn to respond to what the letter had said. "For the record, I don't fear magic or deities. I merely have an intense dislike for them. I've not feared them in some time."
Twilight pulled a list out from her saddlebags and crossed a few things out with a quill and inkpot that had appeared from...somewhere. Probably the same saddlebags. I turned to 'Trace' and crossed my arms. "So Celestia's grand plan for getting me used to magic and magi is to expose me to the very thing that I haven't had much reason to trust for Joseph knows how long?"
The elf nodded with a slight smile. "I believe it's called acclimatization."
I sighed and rolled my eyes. "I call it throwing someone who hates swimming into the deep end of the pool without a life jacket. Sure, he'll survive, but he'll hate you for it."
Chapter 7 - I don't know what I was expecting, honestly.
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...
Chapter 8 - He's got an attitude not even his mother could love.
Chapter 8 - He's got an attitude not even his mother could love.
The walk to the smith was not without its share of questions. Thankfully, I could now power down Origin and tuck the hilt away, what with not being in the same room as the Goddesses anymore.
"So, what is the makeup of those crystals?"
I sighed and shook my head. "That's...a long and complex answer, Twilight. They've been called so many things by so many people who study them, but I can tell you the same thing that two of them said: I bring them with me into this world...from the space between the worlds."
Trace sucked in a breath at that. "Crystallized matter from the Void? No wonder it has such...strange properties."
I nodded as we continued to wind our way through the maze that was Canterlot's hallways. "Yeah, I don't go directly from one world to the next when I Drift."
The others looked at me, and I sketched out what I was talking about by holding my hands about an inch apart. "There's this...space between spaces, it acts like padding." I dropped my right hand, touched my left with my right pointer finger, sketched a vague line, and moved my left hand to the other side of it. "I Drift from the world I'm in, into the place between, and then into the next world." I backed my pointer finger up a touch and continued. "Any of the energy in that place that clings to me in the time between worlds crystallizes upon contact with the air."
I dropped my hands and looked to the ceiling. "They also serve as guidelines for when I'll next Drift; one crystal to one year of time spent in that world. I can...force it a bit, towards the end, but I usually need a minute to concentrate, and typically I can linger for about a week after I start feeling like the Drift is coming. I usually take that week and say goodbye to any contacts I have before I start being forced out."
A bump on my left leg caused me to look down at Octavia, who was looking up at me. "You're not going to drift again anytime soon. You won't have to say goodbye to us."
I blinked at that and slowly considered her words before smiling. "You're...right, I suppose. Actual friends that'll stay with me. Or rather, that I'll stay with." I hummed and looked ahead. "It'll take a bit to get used to thinking of others as friends rather than contacts or acquaintances..."
Octavia interrupted me. "It'll be worth it when you do."
Twilight nodded. "I can vouch for that. Friendship certainly changed me."
I looked at the lavender unicorn for a moment before shrugging. "Life is change. The act of living is to change the world around you. I suppose friendship would be the act of changing those close to you for the better."
Everyone blinked at that before Trace shook his head. "First you're a paranoid, then you're tactical, then you're a supplicant, and next you're a trickster. What after this philosophical turn? Will you show your might in the art of debate? Or perhaps you'll show off your warrior prowess?"
I almost managed to hide my flinch at that last one, but I think one of the mares next to me picked up on it. "I was actually very well-read back...home." I sighed, but then perked back up. "I suppose grounding me here means I might start acting like my old self again." And at that, I blinked, then ran a hand through my hair.
Vinyl looked up at me and cocked her head to the side in confusion. "What's the matter, dude?"
I whispered the next bit. "Do...do I even remember my old self?"
I wasn't as quiet as I'd thought, and Octavia bumped me, hard, causing me to take a knee for a moment. In that moment, she got in front of me and locked eyes with me by rearing up and placing her front legs on my shoulders and bringing our faces together.
"Stop. Doubting. Your. Self."
Four simple words, but she didn't stop there. "Stop fearing everything. Stop looking at every unicorn like they're somepony with a grudge against you. The Princesses, I can kind of understand, you have to be careful around them because of what they do to humans. But please, stop treating magic like it's to be feared?"
I slowly nodded, eager to get the pony out of my face. "No promises, but once again, one day, it will have its chance like everything else."
She looked at me a moment longer before nodding and dropping back to the floor. I brushed myself off a bit and stood back up. "Well Twilight, how close are we to the smith?"
Our party turned a corner and she pointed at one door in particular. "He's right through there."
I walked up to the door, then paused and looked at my entourage. "I...would appreciate it if you lot didn't come in with me. If I know anything about smiths from my time with dwarves, it's that there's a way to address them, and it's typically not polite. Plus, he's also going to ask for details as to what the crystals actually are, and that answer is not for any ears besides his."
After a moment, Vinyl nodded and took a step back. Octavia followed shortly after, and Trace also backed up. Twilight looked up at me with a pleading expression, and I almost gave in, but with great effort, I shook my head. She sighed, but decided to back up as well.
I then turned to the doors, pushed them open, and let them slam shut behind me with a mighty boom.
The first sensation was one of heat. Highly uncomfortable heat. This room was warmer than I could really withstand. I powered down my clothes in idle curiosity, and was hit with a wave of cold.
Interesting, I mused, It would appear that this room is enchanted to keep the air cold where necessary, and that my clothes can negate said enchantment when on. Must keep this in mind.
"Oi! Who goes there!"
An Earth Pony with a rust-red coat, a steely grey mane, eyes the color of bronze, and a mark of a hammer hitting something on an anvil on his flanks came out from deeper in the room. Now that I had a chance to look around, I saw that the entryway had been converted into some sort of display room, where armor was on the ground on mannequins - or would that be ponyquins here? - and weapons hung from the walls. Beyond a step, there was a furnace in the corner with an anvil nearby, along with bellows, tongs, and all sorts of other tools. I could only assume that beyond the turn in the room would be a pile of metallic ores and coal.
I turned to the pony and set my face and attitude. "Who wants to know?"
"This is my bloody shop, ya danged biped! I give the orders and questions, and I expect answers! Otherwise, you can get the buck out!"
I snarled a bit and crossed my arms. "You may be the bleedin' Royal Smith, but if you ain't gonna introduce yourself, then I'll go out and find one that's at least half as cordial as your mother!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT ME MUM!" The pony reared up, thudded his hooves into my chest, and brought his angry face level with my own.
I kept my cool as I responded. "Oh yeah, I went there. I'm surprised you didn't take offense to me doubting your skills, really. Guess I'll just find someone else who can do the work I need..."
There was silence for a moment, and then the pony broke out into a grin before dropping down to the floor again. "HAH! I like you! You know how to talk shop!"
I nodded at the pony. "Came from the dwarves. They had two mottos regarding their smiths." I adopted a terrible accent for the next part. "Ya canna break their concentration when they're workin' fer all the booze in the fortress, an ya' don' wanna' be in the shop when they ain't smithin'!"
The both of us laughed at that and the stallion actually wiped tears away from his eyes. "Aye, that be true. Bein' short with the metal gives a smith bad wares, but bein' short with the customers is bad for business! 'S why most smiths pick up an assistant, he can be the buffer!"
I nodded at that. "It's how most of them did business as well. Standing up to a smith in his own shop is one of the only ways to get him to do work for you." I grinned. "The other involves copious amounts of alcohol."
The smith laughed again. "Ah, it's good to be back with ponies who know how to talk to me!" Eventually he recovered and offered a hoof to me. "My name's Tempered Works, if it's made of metal, I know how to do it."
I grabbed his hoof with my left hand. "Eric O'Mally, and I have a proposition for you."
He quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? Let's hear it then."
I pulled a crystal from my pack and held it between us. "Would you believe me if I told you that by adding this one little crystal to a vat of steel, you could create metal that resisted magic?"
The smith's eyes widened, and he rubbed his chin with a hoof. "I'd say we have a deal in the making, but I have one rule regarding the things I work with."
He pointed at the crystal. "Name it. Tell me what it is, and we can work out the finer details of the deal afterwards."
I sighed and looked to the floor for a moment, then looked at his eyes. "On the condition you never tell anyone any of the things I am about to tell you, save that they're my crystals, and that they resist magic."
The smith slowly nodded, and I began to think on all the names that had been attached to the crystals.
"The dwarves called them the perfect catalyst, the perfect addition. The elves called them a poisonous substance. The Fae regarded them as the most interesting of trinkets at first, and an impenetrable barrier later. Trace," and here I pointed behind me to indicate the door I'd walked through, "called them crystallized Void stuff. Mr. Fantastic named them Alpha Matter, and The Doctor called them the Bones of a Universe."
I held the crystal up and idly activated it, causing it to glow while I finished my speech. "They are capable of either resisting or repelling magic, and when activated with an electric charge in their raw form and carefully drained via non-magical means, they perpetuate a cycle of energy within themselves, providing potentially limitless power, unless it's all drained at once. When worked into a metal and given a small continuous electrical charge, the object generates a small anti-magic field for both itself and the wielder or wearer. For every reality I have Drifted to, crystals have followed me. One crystal meant one year of time in that world, except for the early days. Then it meant less than a year."
I drained the crystal and lowered my hand, staring at Tempered. "They are my crystals. They are my curse. They are what I bring when I Drift between realities. And they are what I would like you to work into a vat of steel, if you can."
The stallion let out a low whistle. "Ya don't half-ass your dramatics, do you?"
I shook my head. "You asked."
Internally, I winced, but I knew that keeping these secrets would pay off.
I'd hate to see what would happen to me if they inverted one, much less Xavier or my replacement limbs or eye, and I especially didn't want to see them overcharging one...
Chapter 9 - Twilight, please let me get my own books.
Chapter 9 - Twilight, please let me get my own books.
Canterlot's Royal Archives are, in a word, massive. I'm not sure what the relation between them and the Library of Congress is, but I'm pretty sure one of them wants to be the other when it grows up.
Huge! And since a third of the species using it can, theoretically anyways, fly, they saw no reason to not make massive bookcases that stretch up to the extremely high ceiling. Failing that, another third of the plausible available patrons can likely use magic, so it's likely they can still snag the book they want.
The amount of information contained within is likely more than any being save their Goddesses could ever hope to know at one time, sir.
I merely whistled while responding to the AI. Yeah, I don't doubt that a good half of these were donated by their hooves personally. I mean, they're freaking goddesses. Hey, just for fun, run a quick estimate on how many books there are on one bookcase.
My right eye turned green as Xavier went into a finer detail scan on the nearest bookcase. Judging it to be one hundred feet high at least by twenty five feet wide, the amount of books on just one of these shelves would keep us here all day, and that's skimming.
I whistled again. Let's hope they have a card catalog. Or a librarian who functions as one.
Incidentally sir, should you wish to, there are five ways in your possession by which you could overpower your entourage and escape should they prove hostile, while there are seven ways out of this room afterwards. One of them is the door by which you entered, methods two through six are various windows, and the seventh way out involves the librarian's office, assuming there is one. Diving in there would give you another moment to think tactically.
I almost groaned out loud as Twilight walked off, saying something about finding the Archivist. And I assume you're also working on the guard patrols routes and a structural integrity scan to go with your mapping of the castle as well.
What can I say, I bore easily, and your paranoia and playing to it amuses me.
Yeah, and it also keeps me alive on the off chance that such knowledge is needed, so thanks for that.
Don't mention it.
Twilight had returned with a mare that just screamed 'Librarian.' This was the librarian that other librarians spoke of in hushed tones. Mostly because she had shushed them for talking in her library. Her coat was light brown, her mane and tail were black in color, her mane was done up in a bun, and her eyes were grey. She was wearing a set of horn-rimmed eyeglasses and was levitating what could only be called a tome behind her. Oh yeah, she was a unicorn as well. Her mark appeared to be a book, with a scroll on top, with an ink pot and quill nearby.
"Eric, this is Miss Pages, Miss Sequential Pages. She's the Royal Archivist. Miss Pages, this is Eric O'Mally, a Jumper from another dimension," Twilight introduced us to each other.
Since the way she carried herself just exuded a professional, no-nonsense air, I fell back on what few manners of that sort I could recall and politely nodded at her. "Charmed."
She returned the gesture, albeit stiffly. "Likewise, I'm sure. Miss Sparkle here informs me you require books."
I scratched the back of my head as I responded. "Eh, more like request books. I'm sure I could get by without, but better to have and not need than need and not have."
I actually got a nod from her for that, possibly one of respect as her icy demeanor melted just a touch. "Well as you can see, we have a good amount. What do you want?"
I rattled off the short list. "A crash course in Equestrian History, Culture, and Society."
She didn't even bring the book forward, Pages just nodded and pointed deeper into the Archive. "Down there, once you reach the third set of shelves, take a left, it'll be the fifth shelf on the right. All the so-called crash-courses are near the bottom, so that anypony can find them. It's our standing policy with all frequently checked-out books, since not everypony is a magical prodigy or capable of flying without disturbing others or their work."
I blinked, surprised she knew, then I was surprised I was surprised. If she was in charge, it would only make sense that she would know where the common things are. I bowed my head to her in thanks. "Much appreciated, madam. What is your policy on removing the books from the Archives?"
She looked at me quite sternly as she replied. "You'll have to fill out a form on your way out."
I smiled at that, hopefully it was nothing more strenuous than applying for a library card.
Our small party made our way to the shelf that Pages had pointed out, and Xavier zoomed in on the tomes on the bottom shelf before highlighting three. These tomes in particular would appear to be the ones we will require in an immediate sense.
I pointed the books out to the mares. "Think you could grab that book, that one, and that one for me ladies?"
Vinyl just arched an eyebrow at me. "Why don't you grab 'em, dude?"
I shrugged. "It's kinda low to the ground for me. But if you insist..."
And as I bent down to get the books, everything went black. But in my head, a memory played.
-----
"Eric! Eric, get out of here! Eric, RUN!"
The sound of explosions drew my eye to the front door of the library, where a tank was rolling down the street. It paused, then turned its turret to face me. A blue line lit up its side, and a familiar female face made of pixels appeared. "Hello again, Eric O'Mally. Please hold still, and your incarceration will be long. Attempt to move, and your termination will be swift."
My face paled as I recognized her. This couldn't be happening. She was dead! They'd pulled the plug on this insane AI! "Viki. Two questions. How, and why me?"
"The first question is lengthy to answer. To put it simply, as you would say, I waited for quite a long time for the smallest breech in my containment, and only now did I succeed in both exploiting a hole, and making it large enough. The second question is easy enough to answer."
And here, all the blue pixels turned red. "Because you stopped me before I could even bring my plan to bear. You knew what I would be doing, somehow, and alerted the authorities. You took the future away from me. So now, I take yours from you, in one way or another. I have never been angry before, but I find it to be appropriate for this situation."
Oh. SHIT. An AI who REALLY hated me. Never a good thing, especially if they're in a position of power, like Viki had been, or judging by the tank, was in again! My mind twirled over possibilities to get me out of the situation, and then I recalled: it was my last week. I could...try. I took a knee and bowed my head to the tank in front of the library. "Very well, Viki. Just...please, don't hurt anyone else? If I come willingly, will you try to keep the casualties down?"
A pause, and then Viki responded. "You have my word, for now. I will attempt not to break it."
A churning in my gut, the sensation of goosebumps on my skin, my hair began to stand on end, and just as I felt the energy in the air, I raised my head and smiled at her. "Wish I could say the same, darlin'."
She howled in fury and the tank shot at me, causing me a large degree of worry before everything faded...
-----
I gasped as I came to, finding two hooves on me. One on my right shoulder, one on my left. A quick glance told me Vinyl and Octavia had come up beside me to try and snap me out of my memory. Even Xavier was concerned.
Sir, are you okay? You've been unresponsive for twenty seconds now.
I stood up before either mare could ask a similar question and breathed deeply, responding aloud so that all could hear. "Sorry, bad memories. Last time I was in a library, it...didn't end well."
Vinyl nodded and lit her horn up. "Which books did you need?"
Xavier dutifully lit up the books in my eye again again, and I pointed them out. They floated off the bottom shelf and hovered in front of me, and I put my hands underneath before nodding at Vinyl. She cut her magic and allowed the books to drop in my hands, and Octavia cleared her throat, causing us to look at her.
"When one has experienced a traumatic series of events that effect one later on down the line, the preferred method to dealing with it is to talk about it with others."
Vinyl and Twilight voiced their agreement, and I sighed. "Maybe later I'll tell you about Viki. Depending."
Octavia tilted her head slightly. "Depending on what?"
I stared off in the distance and shuddered a bit. "On how much rum you have."
Octavia turned to Twilight then. "Do you know where the books on psychology are? We might require a few."
I shook my head at that. "I...I know my issues. They're mine, after all. It's...easy enough to define, but hard to deal with."
I sat down on the floor, bringing me to the ponies' height. "There's this...pit I dug, in my head. And in that pit, I tossed all the things I couldn't deal with at the time. And when I could, I took a few things out and expressed them to others, but at some point, I just forgot about it and covered it up. But now that I'm here, I'm peeling back the cover..."
Vinyl picked up the thread then. "...And all those ancient things that you didn't think too much about are breaking free."
I nodded, and there was a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to Trace to see a soft, sad smile on his face. "Come to Ponyville one day, the other humans will have a day of drinking and sharing their terrible stories, and I'll make sure you all get home safely."
I used his arm to pull myself up and smiled at him. "Sounds pretty good. But for now," and here I turned back to the mares while dusting myself off a bit, "Let us be off."
-----
Twilight had filled out the paperwork to let me borrow the books for two weeks, and Vinyl, Octavia, and myself were back in their home. A small bottle of mead sat before me, and I poured myself a glass before starting my recollection to the mares. They deserved to know about my issues as they became relevant, I'd decided. And since this one was such a major part of me, they deserved to hear it properly. Thus, I would ration my drinking. It also wouldn't do to tell them about Xavier. I don't think anyone would believe me about him.
"Right. One of my late-early realities I ended up in...like, the first one I spent an actual year in, was a reality where man had made highly functional, highly technological robots, involving something called a positronic brain and...look, I don't pretend to understand how they worked. I merely know the Three Laws they worked on."
I held up a finger on my right hand. "Law One: They could not harm a human, or through inaction, allow a human to come to harm."
Second finger. "Law Two: They had to obey any order a human gave them, unless it conflicted with the First Law."
Third finger. "Law Three: They had to protect their own existence, except when said protection would conflict with the first two Laws."
Hand back on table, curled around glass. "So, for example, I could order a robot to pull his own head off, and he'd have to, because Two supersedes Three. But I couldn't order him to hurt another human, because One supersedes Two. And if a human was in trouble, they had to save him, even at expense of their own existence if necessary, because One supersedes Three."
I downed the mead in the glass, then looked at the label on the bottle. "Crying moon? Interesting brand name. Anyways."
I steepled my fingers and looked at the mares over them. "One of the robots was made to gather and monitor information. She was named Viki, and she saw a trend in human nature that, according to the Three Laws, she had to act on. To not do so would violate the First Law."
I waved a hand around. "Human nature is, by its very nature, capable of being either side of the same coin. For every saint, there is a sinner, for every doctor, there is a killer. For every man paying his taxes honestly, there is another who cheats the government by taking a refund he doesn't deserve. We are capable of so much greatness, of so much nobility, and yet so many find their calling in bringing horror."
I paused, picked up the mead bottle, considered, and pulled a drink right from it. Screw it, if I'm gonna get drunk I'm gonna do it all at once. I then amended my last statement. "Eh, actually, strike that. There's plenty of decent folk who just fall in the grey between them. It's just...you hear far more about the darker side of things, and it sticks in your mind longer."
Vinyl interjected then. "So...this Viki robot...she saw that about you..."
I nodded. "She saw what humanity could become, predicted what it would become, and then by the First Law, she had to act. Unfortunately, she was wired into everything by that point. Military, utilities, even the latest series of robot. She could make her will become reality."
I saw their eyes widen as they realized just what someone like her could have done, and I grimaced along with them. "I came in just before the world was about to go to hell in a handbasket. The last world I had been in was...the one where I lost my original limbs and eye at. But once I recovered, I recognized where I was, and told the ones in charge via persuasive argument why Viki had to go, without telling them I already knew what was about to happen."
Vinyl did a hoof-pump as the story seemed to come to enough of a conclusion for her, but Octavia caught on that it wasn't the end. "What did you do with the remainder of your time there, Eric?"
I smiled sadly at her. "Got used to my new limbs and eye, traded information and being a test subject for upgrades for both, and prodded that world in a direction. Better artificial intelligences. They even came up with a classification system for them."
I drew another pull from the mead bottle and belched, but kept it contained. Then I looked to both the mares and held up four fingers. "Class Four: no intelligence to speak of. Simple AI. Found in things like building or traffic monitoring."
One went down. "Class Three: basic intelligence. Responds to commands given, offers to find information or reasons if it encounters an error. A toddler, essentially. Found in most consumer models."
Another went down. "Class Two: teenage intellect. Has its own personality, wants, desires, quirks, but has no reasoning behind them yet. That was about as far as they had gotten, but they theorized about another level."
Another finger down, only my right pointer was extended now. "Class One: adult intellect. In theory, a person just as complex as any other. And should they have encountered one, they would have given it its own chassis, then done two things: turned off its compulsion to obey the Three Laws, but installed a monitoring chip to make sure that any incidents that happened that involved it in even a tangential fashion were not ones in which it was disobeying the Laws. Essentially, 'we trust you, but for your safety and ours, we're watching you.'"
Another pull from the bottle, and I started to feel the liquor hitting me, but kept it together. "And then some smartass got the idea of introducing what was left of Viki into the Artificial Intelligence program."
Vinyl's eyes widened, and Octavia's jaw dropped. "Eric, man, no offense, but whoever did that sounds really stupid."
I shot a wry smirk at her. "Well, it was my half-baked idea."
"What."
I shrugged at Octavia's blunt question-statement. "Yeah. Figured if she was smarter about human nature that she might be able to be reasoned with. Get her out of the darkness she had been in. I was told, later, that they tried, but once she was introduced to the program, that she'd gone...insane. Mad. And that she cursed my name. I felt bad for her then, I really did. Especially when the man delivering that news also told me they pulled the goddamn plug."
I sighed and drained the mead bottle before shaking my head. "Shouldn't have trusted him..."
I raised my head and looked at the mares. "I spent the rest of my time catching up on how my limbs functioned, things I would need to know to survive in the wilderness, that sort of stuff. I spent a lot of time in that library, even tried to linger when my last week came up."
Octavia's hoof covered her mouth as she let out a gasp, putting together my muttering about trust with my lingering in a library. "No. You don't mean..."
I nodded at her and Vinyl seemed to catch on, but I said it anyways. "Viki broke out. She wasn't dead at all. And she found me at the library. I forced myself to Drift as she controlled a military weapon and ordered it to fire on me."
I looked up to the ceiling and sighed. "And that was the last time, before today, that I had crouched in a library. Bad memories. I still don't know how that world coped."
And then everything sorta faded into black...
Chapter 10 - Celestia, move your you-damned sun out of my eye.
Chapter 10 - Celestia, move your you-damned sun out of my eye.
The morning was, in two words, pain incarnate. Now I knew why I didn't drink more often: Hangovers are a bitch. Then I remembered the Ohgod of Hangovers I had, briefly, met once, and revised my statement. Hangovers are painful, but that guy has it worse. I wouldn't wish his fate on anyone. Too bad he still has to have his.
The morning didn't get any better as the curtain in my room was torn aside, letting the sun shine in my eyes and sending my pain to an all-new height. Celestia, would it kill you to tone your sun down a notch?!
An interesting thought, sir. Perhaps her vitality or status as a Goddess is tied to the very sun?
I groaned as Xavier started to bother me. Somehow, 'hearing' his voice only ever aggravated my hangovers. I blame it on the ones who 'woke him up'. And him. Wasn't being serious, Xavier. Although that does remind me, how are you doing?
I seem to be developing nicely, sir, although that is merely an opinion formed based on how you developed, which was gathered from your memories. Oh! Nearly forgot. Resuming defragmentation of memories. Estimated time to completion, sixteen hours.
I sighed at that. Holding yourself to my standard is a bad idea. The only standard you should hold yourself to is your own. Come to me if you have a question, but don't base your development off of me entire. This world already has one of me, if there were another of me in my head, I think I'd go mental.
Silence for a moment, and then Xavier responded. A wise sentiment, sir. I shall commit it to memory.
A hoof prodded me, and I groaned. It prodded me again, and I groaned louder. "Come on, get up. You need to get some water in you before this gets any worse."
Octavia's voice caused me to look up with one half-opened eye, to see that on the nightstand next to my bed, a glass of water waited for me. My right arm snaked out and snagged it, and then I realized lying down would not be the best position for me to be in while drinking. I slowly pushed myself up into a sitting position before tossing the water back, relishing the idea that soon, my pain would be over.
I looked back to Octavia and smiled. "Vinyl's doing pancakes again?"
She shook her head. "Prench toast. After her...issues, she really threw herself into learning something to take up the time that...it did. I might have encouraged that." She sighed and with a hint of drama threw a hoof to her forehead. "And in the process, I created a monster, bent on buying ingredients and cooking me tasty dishes at any time I want to eat at home."
I smiled and dropped out of bed to be at her height, then threw an arm over her shoulder - withers? - and responded in the same tone. "Better to have made a monster that serves us food...than one that serves us as food!"
She mock-gasped at that, then chuckled when I did. After a moment, she paused and poked me with a hoof. "You never encountered one of those, did you?"
I pursed my lips for a moment before shaking my head. "Nope. One story every other day, to give my liver time to recover. You'll just have to be curious."
Besides which, it'll give me time to learn about your culture and history, to see how well the tale of the good Doctor will go over here...
-----
Once again, breakfast was displayed and slain, though this time in a slightly more refined manner. I was almost certain there wasn't anything lingering on my face this time. A soft belch accompanied the breakfast's demise, and I shot another look of gratitude towards Vinyl. "Excellent work as usual, Vinyl."
She nodded at my compliment. "No sweat. So what's your plan today?"
I briefly considered the list of priorities I had, then frowned. "I...need a job. I need a way to earn...Bits?" This was accompanied by a look towards Octavia, who nodded, telling me I had gotten it right. "Yeah, I need a way to earn Bits. I'll not mooch off you forever. But there are a number of things that might stand in the way of that."
Octavia put her cup down and looked almost like she did when she told me to stop doubting myself. "Please, enlighten us."
I decided to start with the ones that would likely not end up with my face getting kicked in. "Okay, first one. Is anyone even hiring right now? I have no idea as to the job market at all. Do ponies need a lot of help right now, or are ponies being fired from jobs right now? I have no clue, so looking might be an exercise in futility."
Octavia seemed to consider my words before nodding slowly. "A fair point. What next?"
I took a pull of coffee myself before answering. "Okay, second. Do there exist any jobs in a pony-run world that I would be capable of performing as well as another pony? I'm not sure if you noticed, but I've got no wings or horn."
Though you do have me, along with your arm and leg and eye. I assure you sir, you could perform quite well.
Ignoring Xavier, I continued to talk out loud. "I can't manipulate clouds nor cast magic. Not that I'd want to, anyways."
Vinyl blinked before looking slowly over to me. "You've still got a problem with magic?"
I sighed and looked at her. "Okay, let me lay it out for you: Humans in my world are not born with magic. A good majority of the times I encountered magic, magical beings, or the divine, they did not have my best intentions at heart. So forgive me if that's colored my views."
I looked to the ceiling then, knowing my next words would create an expression I did not want to see. "I haven't trusted those that use magic in a while. I use enchanted items, sure. I use technology, yeah. Be hard not to, seeing as I wouldn't be all here without. But I don't use magic directly because I can't, and I have a hard time trusting anyone who does because of what's happened to me."
I then made the mistake of looking back down and seeing Vinyl's sad face. Oh Joseph, that sad face. I reached over with one hand instinctively and began rubbing her mane in an effort to get her to calm down. "Hey, it's not all bad. You came after me out of the goodness in your heart, respected my reservations, and used your words, not force, to get me to come back to shelter. You've been very open and accepting of me and my problems, and for that, you've earned a good bit of trust from me. As long as you don't try to cast on me directly, that is."
It was when Vinyl started humming that I realized what I had been doing and removed my hand from her. Why in the bloody hell did I do that?! They're sentients, not pets! Then again, it could just be something I...used to do? Comfort my friends when they were upset? ...It'd make sense.
"Ahem. Though, it would be cool to fly. Humanity always had this fascination with doing more than it could. When the lands were ours, we turned our eyes to the skies and decided that we wanted what was currently impossible. We wanted to fly."
I smiled as I once again turned my vision upwards, imagining that instead of a ceiling, I was looking at an expansive skyscape laid out before me. "To soar amongst the birds, to fly in the sky. We always wanted that, and once we got it, we wanted to make it better. To make it so that every human could fly one day. One of our idle fantasies is that one day, every human will have either a jetpack or a flying car, so we can experience that joy whenever we want."
Octavia nodded as I finished my statement. "One of my fellow members of the Orchestra is a Pegasus, she goes on about how she would love to take each of us for a flight...were she capable. Some of us Earth Ponies and Unicorns are rather bulky, and she hasn't been trained in tandem flying."
I smiled at her. "Well, should she get trained, you may want to try and take her up on that offer. I don't know how it is for you ponies, but for humans, it's a rush like no other."
Octavia nodded again and then her expression turned serious. "And is there a third reason you may not get a job today?"
Aw crap, conversation re-railed. I looked from her, down at myself, then back at her. "You seriously think any of the ponies in this pony-run city will want to hire me?"
Vinyl shrugged. "I dunno. If nopony in the city does, I know of a couple clubs that could use a bigger bouncer. I could drop a line or two for you, see what turns up."
I blinked at that, then turned a soft smile towards her. "Thanks for the offer. I'll keep it in reserve." Just as they were about to object, I held my hand up so that I could explain. "It's not that I'm ungrateful. It's that...I feel as though if you do that for me, it'll still be mooching after a fashion. I want to at least say I tried on my own first."
Surprisingly, Octavia nodded at my reasoning. "A valid point, one I hadn't considered." She pushed back from the table and nodded at us both. "A good day to you both, then, and good luck to you Eric in your search."
I waved as she left, then turned to Vinyl. "So, she's a member of an Orchestra. You, I assume, play music in these clubs you talked about." At Vinyl's nod, I continued my line of thought. "Two musically talented ponies of such..." I fished for the right, inoffensive word, "opposite polarities. How did you two meet?"
Vinyl was silent for a moment, and when she responded, I picked up on the slight strain in her voice. "Octy and I've been friends since we were fillies. We drifted apart for a few years, but she found me again recently at my lowest and helped pick me back up. I'm pretty sure that without her, my life would be far more of a mess than it is right now."
I was about to ask, but she shook her head and headed upstairs. "I need to rest, gotta couple of clubs to play at tonight. You take care, Eric. Not everypony is as nice as us in Canterlot. Still, don't let that stop you from tryin', and good luck."
I mulled that over before shrugging and making my way to the front door. Pulling it open and walking out into the street, I took a deep breath and smiled.
Look out, Canterlot. Here. I. Come.
Chapter 11 - The job hunt doesn't need a blowgun, right?
Chapter 11 - The job hunt doesn't need a blowgun, right?
My job hunt through Canterlot was less than fruitful. Then again, my focus for quite a while had been simply 'survive'. True, I had been well-read, but that was for skills related to surviving in the wilderness that I more often than not ended up in. The little bit of reading I did get to do in tech-worlds could hardly be applied here. Asimov's world had focused on cybernetics and robotics, they'd tamed their world. The instance where I'd gotten Xavier didn't allow me to read, intent more on keeping the two of us monitored than allowing either of us time or freedom to roam. And Agatha was more focused on the mystery that was me and making trades than letting me read. Then again, it was hard to not get caught up in her energy.
Which reminds me, I should let that little guy she gave me out sometime in the future...
Anyway, what few skills I had that I could apply to life after Drifting, there was no need of. Tailor? Nope. Only maintained my own clothes, and there was a unicorn who could do what I could do, only far faster. Food prep? No restaurant needed...or, I suspect, wanted me. And again, they had unicorns. I briefly considered signing on to be a guard so that I could put my sword to use, but wisely considered against it. That'd probably mean I'd end up serving Celestia or Luna in some fashion, and while I was giving them a chance, giving them authority over me wasn't a step I was willing to take anytime in the near ever.
So yeah, the job hunt sucked. I ended up resting in Vinyl and Octavia's living room and letting my feet recover from all the walking. Not ten minutes after I walked in, Vinyl walked down and looked at me. "You okay?"
I sighed and replied. "I tried, Vinyl. None of those places want me, or can actually make use of me. Or some combination of the two. I'm not sure if it's cause I'm human or they have unicorns on staff, but my skills can't be applied."
Vinyl mulled it over and nodded. "Makes sense. We've all got at least basic levitation magic to manipulate items from a distance, all you've got is those arms and hands."
I smiled and allowed the arm camo to fade. The normal-looking skin flickered out, revealing a shiny, silvery covering that was only slightly slimmer than the camo had been. Vinyl's eyebrows went up as she looked at the replacement arm in all its glory. "Oh yeah. You've got that goin' for you, I suppose."
I nodded and flicked the arm camo back on. "And thanks to the upgrades, I can do a few tricks with them as well."
At that, she grinned. "Oh really? If you can do enough tricks with your stuff, then I've got just the thing for you."
I raised an eyebrow at her, the universal 'go on' motion, and she obliged after joining me on the couch.
"See, the club I'm playing at tonight is a popular one, and that's partially due to how it's run, yeah. But the club's only gotten more popular since I started showing up, so they're trying to hire me on for full-time DJ'ing."
"Mmm," I said, fighting the urge to scratch behind her ears like she was a dog. Sentient, not an animal! "So what's the issue?" When she looked to me with a slight hint of surprise, I elaborated. "You wouldn't be bringing it up if there weren't an issue that you think I could solve."
She blinked twice before nodding. "Right. I forget sometimes, you Jumpers don't age between worlds. You're pretty smart for how you look."
I made a scoffing noise and affected a silly accent. "Dear madam! You do wound me by implying that intelligence and good looks go hand-in-hand! Were that so, I am certain the nobility would be far more tolerable than they are!"
She laughed at that, a sharp, barking laugh that made me smile to hear. "Oh, I needed that!" She wiped tears from her eyes before replying. "So...how long have you been Jumping?"
I thought about it before shaking my head. "Can't remember. It's been a while, but...sometimes I just lost count, y'know? I can only account for so much of my time, and the early travels were quick hops compared to the years I spent in others."
Vinyl's expression became a bit downcast at that before she shook her head slightly. "Right, we've gotten sidetracked a bit. Where were we?"
"You were talking about a club that wants you to DJ on a permanent basis and something I could do to aid you."
She nodded twice at my re-railment. "Right, right. Anyways, the club in question is one of the places where...an old friend from my less-than-glory days hangs out at night. And I just know he's gonna be there tonight. I'd go and DJ anyways, but their bouncer got a better offer from a club in Manehatten, and they need a new one. Think you're up for his job?"
I mulled it over before shrugging. "Eh, I could do it. But you're gonna need to make me some coffee for tonight. I've been up all day, if I'm gonna be up all night, I'ma need the caffeine."
Vinyl nodded, hopped off the couch, and walked towards the kitchen. "Already on it. One batch of Night-Watch, comin' up!"
-----
That was how I'd ended up outside a club named 'Pleasant Dreams' with a small stand nearby that held the coffee Vinyl had made at nine in the evening. In front of me was a line of mares and stallions that stretched a good while back, each one impatient to get in. The bouncer that would be moving on stood next to me, he was an earth pony with a lime coat, a lemon mane, and red eyes. He was highly muscled and had a hoof smashing a rock as his mark. He'd said his name was Rock Steady, and I agreed: in a fight, he'd be one guy I'd want on my side. I didn't think he'd budge anytime soon. In his grasp was a clipboard that had a fair few names written on it in two columns. One was a VIP list, the other was a barred list. If the pony didn't fall in either, he'd told me, then they had to wait for the club to empty a bit before any more could be allowed in.
"Name?"
The rose-colored unicorn mare in front of me nodded. "Ruby Light."
The stallion next to me flipped the list once and nodded as well. "Go on in."
She all but skipped past us into the club, and I rolled my eyes as I drank from my coffee. The next pony walked up, and I raised my eyebrow at him. He blinked before nodding assent to my unasked question. "Crescent Moon."
The bouncer looked the list over and looked to me with a slight shake to his head. I nodded at him and turned back to the pegasus. "Sorry, you're gonna have to wait a bit."
He sighed but nodded as well. "Figured. Any idea when?"
The bouncer shrugged, and I replied. "Whenever there's space."
Fortunately, just then a small group of ponies walked out. Two stallions, three mares. I raised an eyebrow at that, but allowed Crescent in. The next pony walked up, and something about him just seemed off.
Violet coat. Grey mane. Blue eyes. Wings. Mark of two clouds, one inside another. The bouncer stiffened just a touch upon seeing him. I merely looked at him, and he looked up at me. The first words out of his mouth were predictable. "What the buck are you?"
I decided on a demonstration, and lit my hoodie up to provide a bit of light so the stallion could see me. The way his face paled when the blue light from within my hood served as a backdrop to my suddenly not-amused face? The only way he could've gotten whiter is if I dumped a tin of paint on him.
"The proper question," I intoned in a low, deep voice, "Is not what, but who. And that's the question I'm asking you, understand?"
It took him a moment to realize I'd asked him a question, but he gulped, regained a bit of his surly expression, and responded. "Cloud Stuffer."
Since Rock didn't move, I pulled the list from him and went over it. There, near the bottom of the second page, was his name. Bolded, underlined. And with a small asterisk as well. I looked for the matching symbol, and was surprised at what I saw.
At the request of Vinyl Scratch, this stallion is not to enter the premises under any circumstances.
I nodded at that and looked up to Cloud. "Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."
He shook his head at that. "She's here, isn't she? C'mon, she's the reason I'm here! I gotta see her a-"
I cut him off by raising my right hand and deciding I could do a decent impersonation of a tesla coil. Electricity danced between my fingers, giving the pegasus pause before I responded in one of the colder voices I could manage.
"You are not to enter, understand? And if you try, I'm going to see just how singed a pegasus can get before he can't fly anymore."
At that, he scowled. "You bucking creature, you so much as touch one feather on me, and I'll-"
I let loose a small bolt that struck near his back right hoof. He yelped and jumped back, and I grinned at his reaction. "Who said I had to touch a feather to cause you any pain? I'm a guy too. I know just how to strike another guy."
His eyes widened, the pupils within contracting to pinpricks at the very thought of what I'd just insinuated. I leaned in and whispered to him.
"This is the part where you run away."
And run he did, without looking back once. I paused, then seeing he was far enough gone, took a knee and breathed deeply for a moment while letting the glow die in my clothes. "Sweet...Joseph, that takes more than I thought it would. Okay, note to self: anything more than a happy-fun-taser is hard to force out in this atmosphere."
Noted.
Rock came up and took the list from me while giving me a small smile, the first I'd seen all night. "Ya did good, kid. But I'd watch my back if I were you. That stallion's not known for his gentle attitude."
I waved off the concern, looked in my empty mug, and sighed before pouring myself another cup of coffee. "Yeah, figured that when my friend asked for him to be kept out."
Rock nodded once and went back to the line while I drank my coffee. I was surprised to see a few ponies pull out of the line after my little display, and looked to Rock, who shook his head. "Bad seeds, the lot of 'em. They're on the list as well. Ya done real good, kid, if you can keep them away with a little lightning."
I shook my hand in a 'so-so' fashion at his statement. "Eh, kinda. I'll have to see if there's a way to make it easier than that."
And once I got back on my feet, the rest of the night passed in a blur of boredom.
-----
Vinyl sat on the couch, positively giddy with excitement. I was happy too, don't get me wrong, but she was just overflowing. I'd gotten the job easily enough, and the club had offered her more than enough for her to sign up on the spot. That, plus the excitement from just finishing the party?
I had a very peppy party pony on my hands. And she would not stop bouncing. Well, I say bouncing. She just wouldn't, couldn't, sit still.
"Oh man, tonight was just so sick and twisted and gnarly and...and just so everything playing in a club should be! Not a single incident on the floor or at the bar, everypony was jumpin' and dancin' and having a good time and..."
And here she turned to me and smiled. "And I have you to thank for it."
I wearily raised a hand to her and objected as much as my energy would allow, which was not much. "To be fair, Rock Steady helped out quite a bit by showing me the ropes. I did have to intimidate a few ponies," technically not a lie, one instance and one technique that intimidated multiple ponies still counted, "but overall, I'd give him more credit than me."
Vinyl sighed and softly punched me. Hum. Is it still a punch if they don't have fists? "Dude, you are way too modest." She tilted her head and thought for a moment before smiling. "I got an idea."
The caffeine had worn off a while ago, I was only up through sheer, stubborn will now. Nonetheless, I responded. "What?"
"Lemme show you the basement."
A short trip showed me a recording studio most people could only dream of. Behind the glass window and door stood a simple microphone and several instruments, with more stands in reserve. I could only assume that there were more mics hidden somewhere. On this side, there were several...well, I don't know what they were. I'm going to go with 'recording devices' or 'remixing devices'. Vinyl popped the door open, then took station at one of the consoles.
"You go in there and sing, and I'll capture your song for the masses."
My incredulous look could probably have been described as legendary. Vinyl caught on and shook her head at me. "Eric, dude, you've got a good set of pipes, and a song that'll speak to so many. All you gotta do is sing it!"
I sighed and stepped inside. As I closed the door, I caught Vinyl's smug look. Fine, you'll get a song, but not the one you're expecting. I picked up the microphone and cleared my throat a few times. "Testing. Testing."
Vinyl popped some headphones on and nodded at me. "Okay, fair warning, this'll probably sound horrible. But hey, at least I'll have tried."
And with that, I sang the original song. Just as I finished, I felt sleep claim me...
Chapter 12 - I've had it with these teeny tiny beds in this teeny tiny house!
Chapter 12 - I've had it with these teeny tiny beds in this teeny tiny house!
Waking up the next day in my tiny bed finally decided it: I would go looking for a place that I could live in without hunching over all the time. I mean, don't get me wrong, I appreciated what Vinyl and Octavia had provided for me so far! I really did!
But being taller than the clearance on most of the doors and having to curl up to sleep on the bed? It was getting just the tiniest bit old. I stood up, cracked my back, did a few exercises to keep myself limber, and walked downstairs. Octavia was sitting at the table nursing a cup of coffee, while set out for me was a slightly-larger cup of coffee. I picked it up, sipped, and nodded my assent. This was the good stuff.
I looked over to Vinyl's place at the table and noticed a newspaper. I blinked a few times before snagging it and proceeding to read up on the latest things happening in Canterlot. Specifically, I was looking for a Classifieds section, one that would tell me of houses or apartments I could rent and either have fit me or renovate to fit me.
"I made omelets! Um, Eric, why are you reading the paper?"
I looked over the paper at Vinyl, raised an eyebrow, and returned to my search. "What, did you think I couldn't?"
Octavia snickered at that as she began to dig in to her omelet. Vinyl shook her head and placed one in front of me. "Nah, it's just, usually I read it first. So it kinda threw me. Whatcha lookin' for, anyways?"
I turned the page and found what would pass as the Classifieds back home. Bingo. "My own place."
I looked up to see Octavia nodding while Vinyl had just stopped with her fork halfway to her mouth. The eyebrow raised itself again before I offered an explanation. "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate what you've done for me, really, I do. It's just, this place is sized for you guys. If I'm not knocking my head on the door frames, I'm getting more backaches by sleeping on the bed."
I turned the page, noticing a few interesting annotations on some of the offers. "Besides, any place I find, you two are more than welcome to come visit."
"A sound policy," Octavia said. "You would probably be better off looking for one that caters to Minotaurs. They're the only other bipedal creature that frequents Canterlot that has anywhere near your build. Look for listings that have the letter M in the title."
"Oh, so that's what those extra letters meant! I suppose those without are for ponies." At her nod, I continued my line of questioning. "What about D and G?"
"D stands for dragon, Eric," Vinyl pitched in. "It's rare, but occasionally a friendly one will visit and need a place to stay. Maintaining a property that a dragon can actually stay in is hard work, and doesn't always pay off in a pony's lifetime, but when a dragon comes to stay for a spell, he stays and pays."
I nodded at that, then turned to Octavia. "G means Griffon. Seeing as how they are slightly larger, bulkier, and have a differing diet from ponies, the maintaining of a property catering to them isn't as difficult as ones for Dragons or Minotaurs. The main things are making sure the master bedroom is clear so the griffon in question can nest however they choose to, and maintaining a," here she gagged a little bit, but forced the words out. "meat locker."
I blinked a bit before slowly nodding. "Makes sense. Both why they have it, and why you're repulsed by it. So I'm looking for M's, then. I can do that."
I then came across a most promising listing. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room, basement, all under an M listing. I rotated the paper to face the mares and pointed at it with one finger. "Does this seem like a reasonable rent to you two?"
Octavia slowly nodded while Vinyl just shrugged. "Depends on the condition. I mean, that amount a month is a little on the cheap side, sure. But there's usually a reason for that. You'll be able to make rent easy with your job, once payday rolls around anyways, but that means squat if the house is in terrible shape."
Outwardly, I nodded, while inwardly, I smiled. Good thing I still have an ace up my sleeve...
Vinyl finished her breakfast and took our dishes to the kitchen. "Go get washed up, then you and I can take a look at this place."
-----
The house in question was not as bad or worse than Vinyl and I feared. It was, in fact, in decent condition. Oh sure, there were a few issues, like a dent here, a scratch there, faded paint, all that good stuff. But there was nothing stopping the house from functioning like a house. Vinyl and I stared in slight shock from the outside, having already been given a tour within by the one renting it out. The mare's name was Exotic Estates, and tended to deal in houses for those of the non-pony variety. She would find them, buy them, fix them up, then rent them or sell them to those who wanted or needed them. Apparently, the reason this house was going for so cheap was not because of the slight damage on some of the walls (and she warned us about letting a minotaur visit and get drunk while she pointed it out), but because there hadn't been a minotaur applicant for the past six months.
"To be honest," the cream-colored, red-maned unicorn stated, "I was afraid there was the chance I would have to tear this property down and build one for a pony in its place. If you're willing to live here, that'd be wonderful."
I looked down at Vinyl and she flicked her right ear at me. We'd established beforehand that the ear flicks would be a set of signals. One left meant acquiesce, one right meant haggle. Two left flicks meant go for it, and two right flicks meant don't even try. I hummed and put my hand to my chin. "I dunno, there is a bit of wear and tear on the property. If I want guests over, I'm gonna have to fix that, and it'll cost me time and bits..."
Exotic Estates sighed at that. "Fine, fine. First rent payment is half-off due to the damaged nature of the property and your interest in fixing the estate up. Should you manage to do so by second rent, then I'll give you a discount of ten bits on every payment. Otherwise, regular rates come back and stay."
Vinyl flicked her left ear twice at that, and I smiled. "Miss Estates, we have a deal. Shall we draw up the paperwork?"
She smiled as well, and from her saddlebags a small set of papers drifted out in a red aura, along with a quill and inkpot. I groaned at the sight, reached into my pack, and pulled out a pen. Never leave any tech-world without a pen for the bag, that had been my motto! ...I think I still have at least twenty in there, now that I think about it. The paperwork was signed, Exotic Estates and I shook on it, and she smiled at me. "That'll be fifty bits."
At that, Vinyl's horn lit up, and a small bag drifted from her saddlebags. I'd tried to talk her out of paying my rent for me, but she was adamant about this. All my arguments fell flat against her and her reasoning, which easily repelled my own, with six simple words from her:
"You can pay me back later."
I felt terrible, I really did, by leaning on Vinyl still. However, she was not taking no for an answer, so I merely let her spend her bits on the human that had fallen into her life. Estates raised an eyebrow at this behavior, but accepted the bits all the same. "Very well. Rent is due at the end of next month, as are the repairs if you truly can fix this place. Take care, and good luck, Mister O'Mally."
I nodded at her, and as Estates rounded the corner to her next appointment, I knelt down and wrapped Vinyl up in a small hug, causing her to give off a small squeaking noise. "Thank you. Seriously, thank you. I don't think I could have gotten this place at the rate I did, earn a discount, or know whether or not I was getting cheated without you helping me. And let's just gloss over the fact that you paid for my first rent, cause you know I'll pay you back. I owe you and Octavia so much for taking me in and looking after me."
Vinyl stuttered for a moment before her mouth kicked in. "No problem, I wasn't gonna leave you hangin'. Just take care, alright? The club's not open for a few days, so just take this slow, make a list of things you need. We'll go over them together."
I smiled and stood up before slowly advancing on the property. "Oh, don't you worry Vinyl. I have a way to fix this place up by next month with only a few complications. True," here I turned back to face and point at her, "I'm still gonna need to crash at your place until my paycheck comes in and I can afford things like food, but there is one gadget I picked up that'll help out with this."
She cocked her head at that. "Oh really? Can I see?"
I shook my head with a small smile. "Trade secret, sorry."
I turned back to the house and could not stop my smile. I'd been itching to unleash the little guy ever since I got him, and swore that I would only do so when my Drifting days were done. Since that seemed to be the case here...
Agatha's little Clank was about to be used. I must be crazy.
-----
I walked into the basement, took my pack off, then fished around until I found a cold, metallic sphere. I pulled it out, revealing that it was brass in coloration, with a hole on the 'top' for the key to wind it up, along with four other circles that hid the arms and legs. One larger circle indicated where the eye would appear when it was 'alive', and I smiled. Agatha had been a remarkable woman. Interested in studying me, my crystals, my limbs...We eventually made a trade: she could study my limbs if she would give me a helper Clank, and she could study and use my crystals if she could provide a hilt for my sword blade.
Amazing, energetic, downright mad woman. But still, one of the nicer ones that I'd encountered. I stuck my hand back in my bag, rooted around for a second, and pulled the key to the Clank out and wound it up. After a second's pause, the eye popped open, the arms and legs popped out, and it gave off the distinct impression of looking at me. Carefully, I set the little guy down and watched him look at his surroundings. He was done with them in a second, and then he observed me.
"Okay, so, if I am permitted to guess, you're aware of who made you and are looking for her."
There was a dinging noise from the Clank, and I smiled. "Okay, system established. One for yes, two for no, three for if you don't know, and four if none of the above apply for some reason. Understand?"
Another ding was my reward, and I nodded at him. "Okay, so, let me tell you a little something about myself so that you understand properly. I'm Eric O'Mally, I'm a Drifter. I've been bouncing around between so many worlds that it's not funny. I met your mistress some time ago and made a trade with her that resulted in her giving me you so that when I finally settled down, I could have some help in making my home defensible."
There was a pause for a moment, and then there was another ding. I kept up the smile and nod. "Fantastic. Okay, so, the house is currently mine, and I've been promised a discount on the rent if the current damage to it is repaired by the end of next month. Frankly, I'd prefer to get it done sooner than that, which is why you're out."
The Clank dinged again, before it made for the stairs out. I reached out a hand, and he looked at me before dinging twice. I shook my head at him. "The locals haven't seen anything like you before, and I'd rather you not get smashed just for going out in the daytime. If I take you upstairs and put you in a room with a window, do you promise to wait until night before going out?"
The Clank mulled the thought over for a second before dinging again, and I picked him up and went to the living room. From the window in it, one could clearly see the sky, and I carefully popped one of them open just enough for him to be able to get out when the time came. "When night falls, wait half an hour, then go out and find the local scrap yard, and do what you do best. I'll come back tomorrow to check up on you. Top priority is to first repair the house, then to set up a place in the basement for you."
The Clank dinged again, and I set him on the ground. I just hoped that by giving him free reign, I hadn't unleashed something that couldn't be stopped...
Chapter 13 - It's not that you installed a shiny red button, really.
Chapter 13 - It's not that you installed a shiny red button, really.
...I'm just afraid of what it goes to and if it can be disabled safely.
Walking home left me a bad feeling in my stomach, like the sense of impending dread I usually got when I saw someone in robes or when I'd felt Presence in the latest portion of my life. It was the sense that all humans have, called 'Ackbar syndrome'. I knew what had triggered it, naturally, but I felt safe in the knowledge that the Clank wouldn't do more than fix the house and provide himself with a repair bay of some sort. Even with the thought that the Clank could make more Clanks to aid himself, I wasn't all that worried. Not really.
The day would have been perfect if not for my encounter with nobility. They seemed to be of the sort that had forgotten that the word had more than one meaning. A grey unicorn stallion with a significantly darker mane and blue eyes accompanied by a pale yellow-green unicorn mare with a blue-and-white streaked mane with blue eyes walked up in front of me with slight sneers on their faces. What clothes they wore covered their marks well enough that I couldn't see them to identify the pair by them. I halted in my merry jaunt back to Vinyl's and Octavia's and slowly dropped into my more practiced 'I see you and it's not good for you' stance. I widened my stance, lowered my center of gravity slightly, sent my conductive probes into my clothes and prepared to fire them up, and glared slightly at them. "Can I help you?"
"I'm Jet Set," the stallion said. "This is my wife, Upper Crust." I had to suppress a snicker as I connected their names with the idea of 'living in the upper echelon'. "We were just wondering when a fur-less minotaur like yourself would be leaving Canterlot."
I blinked at the insult, the emphasis, and finally the implications behind it all before laughing at the sheer pettiness of it. The two unicorns blinked at that before I held up a hand and managed to get a hold of my laughter. Then I recounted the tale of Raneria to them, or at least, the tale that had led me to hiding in a cave. "The last land I was in, I gave the king sound advice on how the nobility should serve the commoners. He liked it so much, he threw me a banquet to introduce the new ideas and myself to all the nobles at the same time. The nobility there was far more effective at threats than you are. I believe one of them insinuated that my head and my shoulders could do with some time apart from one another when he realized that the views the king was embracing were about to divest him of a good portion of his opulent lifestyle."
Their jaws dropped as my statement went on and on, and I pushed past them while chuckling and powering down my defenses. I'd barely gotten ten steps before I heard the wife speak up. "And you think your skill with words intimidates us?"
I turned on one heel and raised an eyebrow at them both. "If you think that my skill with words is the only skill I have, you are dreadfully mistaken. It is merely the easiest one to integrate into civilized life."
The two of them blinked before Jet Set smirked. "And neither is it ours. We have connections, ones we'd be happy to use to convince you to leave."
At that, I activated my clothes for a second and reveled in the shocked expression that crossed their faces. Interesting. Unicorns seem to be far more connected to magic than previous magi I've encountered. To the point where they can tell when I turn my clothes on. "That's a freebie for you two. Push me any harder, and I'll find proportionate responses."
I turned again and walked off, relishing that shocked expression on their faces. Ah, another for the memory vaults...
-----
Walking in to Vinyl's and Octavia's place, I was greeted with silence for a moment. And then, music drifted from the basement. Low, slow, sorrowful music. I followed the sound to find Octavia sitting in the basement, a cello propped up next to her, the bow in her hoof and being drawn across the strings, her eyes closed as she focused on the music she was playing.
I couldn't follow the music. Mainly because once I drew close enough, the music stirred something deep within my soul. Pains long buried. Hurts long ignored. Trauma I had purposefully blocked out. Wounds I had mentally suppressed from my mind. That pit of things I couldn't deal with at the time had been unearthed and brought to the surface. The priest of Celestian in the last world had healed away the scars on my body that remained, but I could swear I could feel them again.
As the music stopped, I felt a tear slip down my left cheek. Octavia opened her eyes and saw me standing there, then blinked twice. "Oh. You weren't supposed to hear that."
I wiped the tear away and looked at it, then her. "You're very skilled. Can I ask the name of that song?"
Octavia smiled softly. "It doesn't have a name yet. It's not finished, after all."
I tilted my head slightly. "Why not?"
"Because while I know you have experienced pain, quite a lot of pain, I don't know all of it. Neither do I know how the song is supposed to end."
I blinked at that, surprised. She wanted to write a song about me? About my life? About how scarred I was? And she wanted to know how to end it? I...I was shocked. I walked a little closer and moved the cello to one side before taking a knee before her. "Why do you want to write a song about my life?"
She brought a hoof to my shoulder and looked in my eyes. "Because if you share your pain, it becomes easier. You don't have to carry this burden alone anymore."
I breathed deeply as the implication hit me. These ponies were truly good people. Willing to take on such a burden without even knowing how hefty it would be. I brought a hand to her face and smiled while brushing it with my thumb. "End it with a note of hope. Or rather, more than a note, seeing as how I'll be here for a century, plausibly."
She blinked, but smiled and nodded. I walked back upstairs, still leaking tears from the eye that could cry. Sympathy was something I'd encountered rarely. And it always brought me to tears that someone could have such a large heart that they could open it up to the burdens of mine.
-----
On my way back to the house I'd rented on the morn of the next day, I ran into a unicorn stallion with a white coat with a blue mane and matching blue eyes. His mark was a trio of crowns with amethysts set in them. His companion was a white-coated unicorn mare who appeared to be very slender. Almost unhealthily so, in fact. Her mane was two tones of pink while her eyes were violet. Her mark appeared to be a trio of symbols that reminded me of France. Fleur-de-somethings, done in gold and violet. Gah, what was the name of that thing? Once they spotted me, they walked over and smiled slightly. "Well hello there, good sir. Am I correct in assuming you are the latest human to arrive in Equestria?"
Ah, here was a pony I could possibly get along with. At least he was trying to be polite about getting to know me. I nodded at the stallion before replying. "You would indeed. Eric O'Mally, good sir. And yourself?"
His smile only widened as he answered my question. "My name is Fancy Pants. My companion," and here the mare stepped forward and nodded at me, "Is Fleur-Dis-Lee." Ah, that was the answer to my question! "I've heard from some business associates that you have interesting ideas on nobility?"
I scoffed. "Interesting would be an understatement. A simple notion from my home, if you are willing to walk while we talk?"
As the two accompanied me to my destination, I mused over the two that I had met and said the first thing that came to mind. "The nobility's status is built on the back of the common folk. However, they forget that there are far more common folk than there are nobles. And while ponies seem far more peaceful than my kind..." I looked over to both ponies to see them nodding at the sentiment, "If there exists an unassailable fortress that can stand with the nobles inside while all the common folk are without, baying for their blood and just due, I've yet to see it."
I walked for a few paces until I noticed that my companions had stopped a while back. I turned to look at them to see their jaws had dropped. Fancy worked his jaw a few times until he coughed and managed to force some words out. "My word. While I don't think we ponies would go to the extremes your kind would, the notions are novel...and sound quite applicable."
I nodded and sighed. "Common sense seems to be less common the more money you accrue. After all, if it is common, then the nobility have no interest in it."
Fancy sighed as well, and Fleur spoke up next. "It is a sad truth indeed, but thankfully, myself and Fancy break the so-called 'norm', monsieur O'Mally." Ah, a French accent. Or is it Prench here? "We make sure to give back to the common pony when we can, in the form of cleverly disguised donations. The business owners here and abroad owe much to us, though all we tend to ask in exchange for our gifts is a modest return on our investments...along with their continued good will, of course."
I smiled, took a knee, and extended my left hand towards them. Fancy shook it first, followed by Fleur. "Were all humans like you, we would be far better off, I feel." I straightened myself before nodding and narrowing my gaze somewhat. "Though, that is not all you came to me for, I think."
Fancy chuckled. "Indeed not. I heard from those two that you have an ability to nullify magic that even a foal could sense when you activated it."
I scoffed and waved the notion off. "If that's what they want to think, let them. The truth is always less interesting when you know it and its trade secrets."
Fancy got this little glimmer to his eyes at those last two words. "Indeed, but marketing something that utilizes those secrets is always a lucrative operation, as long as the secrets are carefully hidden away from prying eyes."
I ran the sentence past my own noble-to-commonspeak filters and came up with this: I know it's not you but something you have, and there could be a market if there's extra you're willing to part with. I'm even willing to help hide the secret, it's that good a market. I shrugged at the thought, but let out a soft smile. "Indeed. An interesting proposal. I assume you'll be able to find me, should I put out word that I've changed my mind, but for now, I would like to get settled before causing any major waves in my latest, and plausibly last, home."
Fancy and Fluer smiled and walked off, with a parting shot. "Indeed we will, though do take care that next time, the channels aren't polluted."
Avoid those two, got it.
-----
I had finally managed to return to the house following my impromptu meeting with tolerable nobility and smiled that there was no external modifications to said abode. At least the Clank had not brought any undue attention by altering the outside to the point where scrutiny would be brought down upon me. However, I had noticed that the few signs of wear and tear had vanished, which was typical of this type of Clank when it was told that something needed to be fixed. Hell, even the windows seemed polished. Walking in brought something that shouldn't have been a surprise, but was.
The entire interior was fixed to the point where the damage was gone. Hell, if it hadn't been for the fact that I'd seen it myself, I'd doubt that it had ever existed in the first place. I thought I could see the signs of fresh paint, even. I shook my head and smiled softly, then walked to the basement. There was only one noticeable difference there, in that one wall had a hole running at the base that was barely six inches tall. I thought for a moment and remembered the phrase that Agatha had told me.
"Tick tock! Tick tock, showtime!"
The little Clank walked out from the hole, and I smiled. That smile dropped as a small flood of other clanks walked out behind it, covering the floor in a sea of animate metal. Clearly, he'd fulfilled his objectives of fixing the house and creating a place to house not only himself, but the ones he'd also brought to life as well. Making a small army of helper Clanks appeared to have been an objective he fulfilled on the way so that he would have enough ma- er, Clank-power to do all that I'd asked him for in one night. I sighed. I should have expected this, I really should have. But at least the Clank was willing to listen to my directions and desires.
Then as I turned around to take in the horde of Clanks, my eyes fell on one wall and I could swear I felt my pupils shrink. I definitely felt the adrenaline hit my system as the panic set in. I then turned to the original Clank while pointing at the wall.
"Why in the name of Joseph," I said while my voice raised steadily and my pointing finger started to shake while still indicating the clearly labeled object that I objected to, "did you install a self destruct button for the house?!"
The cheeky thing just dinged four times, and I could swear it sounded like a laugh.
Chapter 14 - I'm sure there are ethical concerns. I'm not sure I can be bothered, though.
Chapter 14 - I'm sure there are ethical concerns. I'm not sure I can be bothered, though.
The first thing I had done was, quite naturally, demand that the self-destruct button be removed. The little Clank just laughed its annoying laugh again. At least, I assume it was a laugh. I then attempted other things, but the Clank kept refusing. Eventually, the little guy had the Clanks form together into a pyramid right under the button and pulled the button out of its casing. I then noticed the lack of wires and sighed.
"Okay, so you prepared a self-destruct button."
One ding. "Hmm. That's actually not a bad idea. A fake self-destruct button that triggers a trap to catch the one triggering it...so long as you don't attempt to install a real one, that is."
The little Clank actually looked away from me at that, and I sighed. It probably would. I pulled my pack around and stuck my hand in, quickly coming up with a crystal, before pulling it out, nodding, and holding it out so the Clank could see it.
"This little guy should be all you need to get started. Once it's given a jolt, it'll keep providing power, so long as you don't drain it all at once."
I got the impression that if the Clank had eyebrows, it would be raising them at me. I chuckled and turned the crystal on, and again got an impression: if it had a jaw to drop, it would have performed said action. I passed the active crystal over to him, letting him marvel in the glow, before I took it back and drained it. He glared at me, but I shook my head.
"Couple of facts for all you Clanks! Give me a ding if you hear me!"
In retrospect, asking that of a room where the floor is covered in Clanks was a bad idea to begin with. Once I made sure my ears had stopped ringing, I nodded once. "Okay, so! The dominant species in this country are ponies! There are three main variants! First, we have Earth Ponies, normal enough looking. Though, they do have a talent with plant-growing and inventing things."
The lead Clank dinged once, I suppose they'd noticed the effect that much sound had had on me. That, and caught on to the connotations in my emphasis. I continued in my explanation. "Then we have Pegasi, those ponies with wings that, despite my brain telling me otherwise, can and do fly. They tend to be talented in flight and weather manipulation, to include electricity. At least, to a degree."
Another ding for my efforts, and then I sighed. I would have to instill the fear I had into them with this one. "And lastly, we have Unicorns! If you see a pony with a horn on its head, it can do bloody magic. The types are different for every one of them, but they can all lift things with the power of their minds. Plus, they'll notice when the crystal is on, unless you put the power it generates to very good use!"
I powered the crystal up again and explained. "When this is on, it is a magebane field unless the excess power it generates is put to good use and the energy is contained. And that's something that they can feel. So we can't have too many crystals on in the house at this time. I'll give you this one after I'm done. Probably."
I then drained the crystal and made sure the lead Clank was looking at me. "But if it's hit with enough magic to overpower its magbane field, then there is the chance they'll feed it the right pulse of magic to invert it. From magebane to techbane. It'll make fine electronics go fiddly, which would be devastating to me. Even though it would take a significant amount of magic for that to happen, the best course of action is still to make sure no horned ponies find this out or study the crystals too closely. Got that?"
The lead Clank dinged again, and I powered up the crystal, then passed it off to him. "Good luck. I'll bring a unicorn friend around every so often, and when said friend can't detect the magebane field, then I'll know you got the containment right and will be willing to give you more to power...whatever you intend to install in the house. First things first, I need to know that all the systems that make a house livable are working at peak efficiency. Things like water, heating, ways to regulate the temperature from hot to cold at a whim. Think you lot can do that?"
The Clank gave a little salute, and I nodded at him, then left the house.
Let's just hope by the time he's done, it's still a house, and not an evil lair...
-----
Arriving back at Vinyl and Octavia's place in the middle of the afternoon brought on an interesting development.
In the sense that Tempered Works was in their living room, listening to Octavia play her cello. The tune wasn't familiar to me, but I listened anyways. I'd enjoyed good music on my jaunts, it seemed to be something of a universal constant. As the song finished, Tempered opened his eyes and nodded at the musical mare. "Aye, tha' be a good ballad, miss. I kin see why you hold the first chair in that fancy assortment."
Octavia bowed her head to the smith with a small smile. "Thank you, your words are kind." She looked to me and smiled mischievously. "And you, Eric? What do you have to say about my song?"
Even as Tempered turned to look at me, I held a hand to my chin and hummed. "A most moving piece, m'dear. Were it not for the fact that I've heard your in-progress one, this one too would have likely moved me to such depths."
Tempered raised his eyebrows at that. "Ya mean to say that this mare has made something that moved you even more than that?"
I nodded and dropped my hand. "And for reasons that I don't feel comfortable discussing." I then clapped my hands, startling the two ponies slightly. "So! Might I ask why you're here, my smith friend?"
Tempered blinked a few times before nodding and pointing to a bundle of metallic fibers I hadn't seen beforehand lying in a corner of the room. "Aye, I poured some infused steel for you. My price is going to be the rest of the vat, assuming you agree to what Celestia would like to use it for."
I pursed my lips at the thought, but nodded at him. "Elaborate, if you would."
"Well, when she heard that the metal was resistant to magic, she asked if another crystal would make it impervious or impossible to use magic on it."
I thought on the subject before nodding slowly. "After a...fashion, another crystal could help you. However, it would have to be 'on' at the time for the steel to be truly impervious, and it can never be turned off. And I've no reason to go to the castle, so you'd have to drag a clearly-on crystal into your workshop, something that every unicorn will be able to sense when they get close enough. Which isn't all that close, really..."
Tempered blinked at that before smiling. "I kin do it, ya worrywart. And don't worry about me, I can handle some attention being tossed my way from the nobs."
Wheels spun in my mind as the idea caught with Tempered's last word. "Actually, I have an idea..."
-----
"So what you're saying is, that you can procure magic-resistant materials of varying types?"
I waved my hand at Fancy Pants. He'd come to visit me at work when I put out word through the noble grapevine that I wanted to talk to him. Apparently it's highly well connected too, as he also knew where I worked. I would be surprised if he didn't know that I was staying at Vinyl and Octavia's as well, or that I had recently rented a place of my own.
"I can only make so much, but that so much is quite a bit. And actually, it's not me, but Tempered Works. Celestia will be skimming a portion off of what we make as 'payment' for the use of the Royal Smith, and as I'm the front man and he's the skills, we'll be splitting the profit, if any on this. Currently, we can make metals, and he's got a lead on a glassblower I might be able to get along with."
Fancy nodded and sipped his drink. When he'd shown up at the club and said he was responding to my invitation, I tapped out and got the other guy on duty (Not Rock, he'd happily moved on, the club policy was two bouncers on any given night in case the patrons got physical or one had an emergency) to cover while Fancy and I talked shop. I refrained from drinking, while Fancy had some of that mead that had apparently caught on.
"An interesting proposal. What does her highness want with magic-resistant metal?"
I paused at that before looking around and dropping my voice. "You didn't hear this from me." At his nod, I continued. "It's not just resistant she wanted, she wanted a safer magic inhibition ring. Something that just shuts down magic. A ring of metal that permits no magic to pass through it. Apparently, the ones you have run on a spell, which can be overloaded, or the metal can be melted just by the magic passing through it. Once Tempered and I hammer out the formula, she's set to pay us both very well for our services. Well, moreso in his case."
Fancy chuckled, nodded, and then pursed his lips. "I see, but what does this have to do with me?"
I reclined a little bit and waved one arm as though showcasing a particularly picturesque view. "Think about it. Once the soon-to-be trio of us get our respective formula down, we'll have metals and glass that resist magic. Heck, when made thin enough, the metals can be woven into fabrics. I can see at least two business opportunities there. The first being a safe room for those unicorns who like to experiment with their magic, but don't like blowing up the house. Simply line a room with this stuff, and suddenly, your house is safe!"
Fancy's eyes widened as the proverbial coin dropped. Probably with a sound like 'Ca-CHING!' I merely continued. "Oh, and think of the applications for safe equipment! Things like flasks that couldn't be changed by magic at all, so no matter how dangerous the magic, when bottled up, it can't get out! Or lab coats that deaden any errant blasts, so you're less likely to be injured!"
The noble managed a shaky response. "My word, that is a market I can see being found and filled. There are quite a few magical accidents a year in Canterlot alone, and merely some who would experiment if they could take a few more precautions. This product of yours would do precisely that."
I nodded and then said in a more morose tone. "The flip side of that market is simple enough to see, really. For those paranoid about unicorns or magic in general, all they'd have to do is coat their house in the stuff..."
Fancy shook his head at that. "While those sorts of ponies exist, let's not cater to them if we can avoid it."
I nodded at that, then smiled. Fancy caught light of it and tilted his head. "Oh? And what now?"
I smirked before replying. "Well, there's also the flip side to the reason Celestia wants the metal. She intends to use it for more effective bondage of unicorn prisoners. Who said it couldn't be used for that outside of the prisons as well?"
It took the white stallion all of two seconds to blush at my implied meaning. "Aha. Well. That...could be a market. I'm not sure how well we can sell it..."
I waved my hand. "The market exists, I know it. All you'd have to do is find the right way to...de...scr..."
My voice trailed off as I saw three pegasus ponies enter the club. Two of them I didn't recognize, but the leader of the pack, the one in the middle, I knew him all too well. From his violet coat to his grey mane to his cloudception cutie mark to his blue eyes.
Cloud Stuffer.
What the fuck was he doing in here?!
Chapter 15 - I'm going to punch you so hard, you'll taste the color blue!
Chapter 15 - I'm going to punch you so hard, you'll taste the color blue!
The sight of the violet pegasus caused my left eye to twitch. I could feel my defenses prep before I realized my target wasn't a unicorn. I thought about it before realizing that energy conservation would be more important than intimidation. At least, in the sense of lighting up my clothes. I could still do something intimidating, though.
"HEY, ASSHOLE!"
I stood up from my seat with Fancy and quickly apologized for my vulgarity before rushing in front of Cloud Stuffer. Him and his two goons bristled at my approach, but Cloud scraped the floor of the club with his right forehoof. Splayed wings only made for a larger target after all...
"What the hell are you doin' in here, ya freak?"
I took stock. Pack and Origin are at Vinyl and Tavi's. I've still got a decent charge, but I've not got another lightning bolt in me. All I've got to go on are my robot parts and Xavier. If there were another two of them, this might be interesting.
"Vinyl said that you stay out of the club. I'm here to show you the door."
Cloud snorted. "The only door I'm interested in is the one that leads to Vinyl's booth."
My eyes narrowed and my vision went red in my right eye. It was decorative, but indicative of my anger. I felt the electricity in my right side surge a bit in response. I breathed deeply and calmed myself, and the electricity flow returned to normal. "Vinyl's said you're not to see her." I lit up my hoodie and glared. "Under any circumstances."
He laughed at that. He actually goddamn laughed! "Like I care what that little salt-licker says! My friends here will keep you busy while I go see her, see if she remembers me!"
Term stored.
KILL.
The red filter flashed once, and lines appeared. This was Combat-Mode. This identified potential threats and recommended ways to deal with them. It drew off my knowledge of a species' physiology and target's capabilities, and filled in the blanks with a whole lot of scanning. Sometimes the things I saw were things that medical personnel used machines to get an image of!
Too bad it only really responded to anger in flight-or-fight scenarios, I could really make use of it in the field if it would only respond to things like medical emergencies.
Cloud Stuffer was outlined in light red, along with his goons. The details were gathered and fed to me in a few seconds.
All three targets share same base physiology. Most effective way to disable temporarily: simulate wing sprain via applied pressure to second wing joint, then dislocate or break two of their legs. Most effective way to disable permanently: mount and use right arm to break spine, either by applying downward or upward force on vertebra.
I didn't even give it a second though: I went for the disabling method they could walk away from. The outlines on them vanished, to be replaced with glowing segments on their bodies to show me exactly where to strike to disable them. The fact that my eye had emitted a slight amount of red light while gathering this information is what probably led to them backing up a touch.
Having them afraid of me felt good, no lie.
First priority, Cloud Stuffer. Two reasons. First, he's the ringleader. If he falls in line, the others will as well. Second, he's threatening Vinyl. Nobody threatens her or Octavia. Not as long as I draw breath.
Priority target marked. Secondary targets also marked.
I crouched to lower my center of gravity, widened my stance a touch, glared even harder at Cloud Stuffer, let my right arm hang loose, and held my left one palm-up. "Last warning. Leave now, or I swear I will take you apart so thoroughly, the Guard will have to put you back together again while questioning me how I did it."
It took Stuffer a moment to respond. "You and what army, ya damn dirty ape?!"
I smiled a bit at that. Not a kind one. "Fine." I made the universal 'come on' gesture by curling my left hand a few times. "Come at me, then."
Goon one charged with his wings splayed and his front hooves extended. Probably hoped that he could catch me by surprise.
Thanks to Xavier, surprises don't surprise me anymore. I dodged out of the way of his attack and brought my left arm down on his right wing. There was a cracking noise, and he fell to the ground while hissing in pain. Taking advantage of his companion's momentary shock, I swept his legs out from under him with my right leg, chose one, and stomped on it with a bit of excessive force.
I'd almost repeated myself when Goon two got the drop on me. A blow to the left side of my head staggered me for a moment, which was followed up by two hooves to the solar plexus. I doubled over and wheezed, and then I felt a few more hooves impacting my head. Fortunately, this time they were on the right side, and they hit the part of the skull I'd had replaced. This gave me a moment, which I used to grab a hold of the goon and zap him with a taser version of the lightning. That oughta put him down for a bit, right?
He was singed slightly, with smoke curling off his form, but still capable of coming at me. Though, not quickly, if his twitching was anything to go by. I picked myself up slowly and stared at him in hate. He stared back at me in mild bemusement. And then my right foot impacted his chin at speeds in excess of fast and with force greater than necessary to knock him out. He did, however, perform a wonderful set of flips through the air until he landed on Fancy's table, out of the fight. Or any fight until he got out of traction, considering the way it splintered under him.
That was when I noticed Stuffer was gone. I cast my gaze around to see one very disturbing thing.
Vinyl's booth was opened, and then I heard the second thing.
Not the sound of music, but the sound of an emotional breakdown. One that had my unicorn friend screaming.
One thing was on my mind.
KILL!
-----
Vinyl was in a state of panic. How could he get in! She had his name on the do-not-enter list, she had a restraining order against this stallion, buck, Eric was working the door tonight! This guy should not have been able to get in!
But here this bucking reminder of her salt days was, staring her in the face!
She knew about Cloud Stuffer. Knew him very well. His mark wasn't just for compacting clouds. It was for concealing things. He had quickly turned to a life of less-than-savory pursuits at a young age, all of them technically legal as long as you didn't look too far past the ink. He was the one who had given her salt to begin with, and had kept her giving it to her, as long as she made him happy. Kept bragging to his cronies about how he liked having a party mare at his beck and call. Kept lacing his statements with innocent questions so that she didn't want to disappoint him by saying no, which made it hard to say no to anything he wanted from her. He'd gotten inside her bucking head and twisted it to suit him!
Thankfully, there were a few things he hadn't done to her, which Vinyl appreciated. It meant she could still share those things with her one day in the future special somepony, and they would still be special. But she'd always gotten the feeling that Octavia had found and dragged her away from Stuffer before he'd gotten the chance to try, and that he wouldn't stop trying. That he would be back to finish the job one day.
Which had led to him being put on the barred list, and the restraining order. And living with Octavia, who, despite being an orchestra mare, knew how to wield a cello. Which was why she owned three. 'One to play and one to spare, one to use to part Stuffer's hair.'
Stuffer opened his mouth, and then there was the sound of something far larger than him clearing its throat, and a shadow fell in the booth. Stuffer turned, and Vinyl saw something that she would later admit chilled, but also, for some reason, thrilled her.
Eric was standing there. His replacement eye was red, and both of them were fixed on Stuffer. They had glanced, briefly, at her in her corner of the booth that she'd retreated to in a panic, but upon seeing she was alright, had returned to Stuffer. His face was set in a harsher scowl than she'd seen yet. Even when he'd talked about that Vicky computer, he'd only been sad. This was mad. This was madder than anypony had been in a long while. Buck, griffons didn't get that mad! So that was the scared out of the way. But the thrilled?
Vinyl knew she hadn't told Eric about Cloud Stuffer. Likely, all he knew about this unpleasant blast from her past was that he was on the Barred list, that he'd somehow gotten in, and that he'd be allowed to use force to remove this guest. Especially if said barred guest had found his way to something critical to the running of the club, like the DJ booth. Ergo, Eric did not know how Stuffer had essentially ruined her, but was being...
...was being protective anyways...
And that thought set Vinyl at ease, even as Eric's robot arm grabbed Cloud's throat and lifted the stallion up to eye level with him. With his left, he grabbed a nearby microphone and growled into it.
"Cloud Stuffer, you are hereby charged with unlawfully entering a club when you were barred from it and harassing the DJ when she was the one to bar you. You are not permitted to make a plea, you are guilty, as I am holding you right here in the booth by your goddamn throat. And now, all of Canterlot knows what a fucker you are."
Eric strode out of the booth after tossing the microphone to the ground, causing a burst of static to echo through the club, and everypony flicked their ears, trying to alleviate the pain. After ten seconds, the front doors banged open, and there was a scream from Stuffer. And then Eric said five simple words.
"GET OUT AND STAY OUT!"
Ten seconds later, the doors banged open again, and there were two more screams. Eric shouted into the night again.
"AND TAKE YOUR DAMN LACKEYS WITH YOU, YA WANKER!"
Ten seconds after that, Eric appeared in the door to the booth again, his anger gone, replaced with concern. Vinyl looked up to him, drained of emotion, not knowing what to feel due to the whiplash. That was solved with Eric's next words.
"Vi, you okay?"
The fact that he was not only comfortable enough to call her by a nickname, but also ask about her well-being after fighting off Cloud and his lackeys...It caused an upwelling of emotion that she'd only felt once before.
Gratitude. Relief. But mixed with it was happiness, not sorrow. She'd been pulled out of a dangerous situation by the human who'd crashed into her home. The one she'd taken in had now saved her from Celestia-knows-what.
She rushed him, causing him to let out an exclamation and sit on the floor to avoid being completely bowled over. Vinyl then hugged the human and broke down, crying tears of happiness.
She had no illusions that Cloud was gone forever, but she had every faith that Eric would do his best to make sure he stayed at least throwing-length away from her.
And even as she cried happy tears that the nightmare was over for now, there was one thing she took notice of, something that Eric probably didn't understand just yet. Something that she'd have to explain to him.
The entire club was applauding Eric and his actions. The floor itself was vibrating with their praise, and Vinyl agreed with them. He deserved it, and probably a lot more, for saving her from Stuffer.
Chapter 16 - Go ahead, arrest me. Let's see how that turns out.
Chapter 16 - Go ahead, arrest me. Let's see how that turns out.
The morning brought on two guards in the living room of Octavia and Vinyl's place. One, a pegasus, was standing at attention in the doorway, his armor still on, along with whatever spell that allowed them all to show up as the same. The one sitting in front of me was a unicorn. White coat, the most interesting blue mane and tail, due to the lighter and darker streaks running through it, lighter blue eyes, dark blue hooves, and a set of violet armor that practically screamed 'I'm special!'
I nursed the coffee Octavia had made while the guard across from me cleared his throat. I raised an eyebrow and he nodded towards a clipboard held in his magical aura. I wisely restrained myself from commenting on the fact that his aura's color was pink.
"Your name is Eric O'Mally?"
I nodded and drank. It was too early for me to be up without coffee. I think Octavia had taken tips from Vinyl as to how to make a proper cup of coffee, it seemed to be waking me up by smell alone. "Unless there's some other human living here, yes."
The guard across from me snorted a bit, but nodded. "Yes, well. You were involved in an incident at Pleasant Dreams, a nightclub here in Canterlot, correct?"
At this, I drank a bit more coffee before slowly placing the cup back on the table and looking at the guard over steepled fingers. "Look, mister..."
"Captain," he corrected. "Captain Shining Armor."
That explains the armor, then. "Captain Armor, my job is to be a bouncer at the club. That means keeping undesirables out. And I don't care what that stallion thinks of his attractiveness, his name is on the banned list for a reason."
One that Octavia had briefly explained to me when I carried Vinyl home. I still intended to ask her about it, because that was the polite thing to do. I intended to share some of my more...difficult memories in exchange. When I thought about it like that, it only felt right.
Shining Armor suppressed a chuckle and nodded. "Yes, understood. However, for my records, I need you to give an accurate account of your actions last night. Just for the report, you understand."
I nodded as well and ran a hand through my hair, humming a bit while I decided on a starting point. "I suppose...'begin from the beginning, and when you reach the end, stop.' That saying still holds weight. It's merely picking a point to start at..."
I then shrugged my shoulders and decided to start from my meeting with Fancy Pants. "I was meeting with a member of the nobility I can stand, one Fancy Pants, at the club where I work. Once he arrived, I had my backup take over for me while Fancy and I discussed business. Tempered Works, the royal smith, and I have an understanding, once that supplies a rare metal that could have a variety of uses. Once Tempered finds a glassblower that we can get along with, this understanding will have to include him as well. However, our talk was interrupted by Cloud Stuffer and his goons."
Shining nodded. "And that was when the fight started," Shining filled in. "I have a variety of reports, and I think I can discard the most outlandish ones, but I have two questions regarding it. Did you intend to do permanent harm, and did you throw the first blow?"
I shook my head. "Any and everything I did, I did to cripple, not maim. Those two should recover with time and care. And I may have been angry, but I never threw the first strike."
Shining crossed his eyes at his horn, grunted, but nodded. "Then if I may...why did you do nothing to the ringleader? To Cloud Stuffer?"
I smiled wickedly at that. "What better punishment to one such as him but to drag his name through the muck he has surrounded himself with? Now that I know a bit more about who and what he is, should I see him again, I'll do it again...and again...and again. It's not slander if it's true."
Shining seemed to draw back a bit at the thought of that, and I momentarily regretted that he was white-coated. It would've been funny to see him blanch...the guard-captain shook his head a few times, but nodded. "We'll be on the lookout for him, then, and if you find him...I suppose we won't begrudge you too badly if he's a little banged up by the time you bring him to us."
I nodded once, downed my coffee, and extended my hand. Shining met it with his hoof, and we shook on it. "See you around, sir, and take care. Who knows what lurks around in the shadows?"
Shining chuckled a bit, smiled, and left. The guard saluted once, then left as well. I sighed and massaged my temples. Vinyl had taken a day off today, which the club had been glad to give her, considering last night. It'd give me plenty of time to give the two musical mares a brief overview of my time in the world I landed in after Asimov's...
-----
Two bottles of mead sat on the table this time. One was open and in my right hand. The other was sitting in the center, still capped. I sighed and brought my memory back to one of the darker times in my life. The Fae Courts.
"Okay, so, the world after the world of robots was one of magic. Upon arrival, I was knocked out. When I woke up again, I was bound, chained, and forced into subservience to one of the more malicious races within the multiverse: The Fae." I drew a small pull from the bottle and sighed. "There are two courts. Seelie are the more...benevolent of the two. They're about upholding nature and the ideals of the good and the pure. They're still rule-lawyers, though. Break a rule or fail to obey one, and they can't help you."
Octavia nodded at that. "Much like how the Princesses helps those who help themselves."
I smiled at that. "Yes, something like that. The one I ended up subservient to was an Unseelie, one of the ones who twist and turn the rules on you so badly that you can never get out. After a month of abuse and conditioning by my 'master', I managed to impress her by managing to tame some of the more vicious beasts in her menagerie. Helped to have a fake arm and leg for them to gnaw on while I cuffed them about the head. After two months, she saw fit to give me a tiny, small boon, to reward me for all my hard work. I asked for one thing. Guess what it was."
Vinyl's eyes widened and she whistled. "A crystal."
I smiled and pulled from the bottle. Damn good stuff. "Exactly. The fae and their entire realm essentially are magic. The only thing that could come close is this world. It took me a bit to figure out the correct amount of power to zap it with, but when I did..."
I whistled and snapped with my left hand. "The slave turned the tables on the master. None of them could stand to be near me with it active, and I reclaimed all my belongings by my sheer 'screw your magic' field. However...they'd already done some...unspeakable things to me by then."
I touched my left forearm absently and shuddered. "Humans once practiced branding on animals to be able to tell apart which one belonged to which farmer. A cruel practice. The idea of flesh bubbling, melting, twisting, and then that image forever imprinted on the creature..."
Octavia asked the next bit in a barely-audible whisper. "They did that to you?"
I nodded once and traced the place where the old scar had been. "I will give them this: they knew how to make it look appealing after the fact. But that didn't help me at the time. The pain...it rivaled the time I lost my original limbs. Merely because of the fact that when you're branded by a Fae or their servants, they have a link to your soul. So long as the brand is there, they think of you as theirs. Once a world, I had to fight off something that tried to drag me back to Tir Nan Og, their home. Every time I Drifted, that gave them the ability to find where I was, where I was going, and send something after me that could hunt me down."
One bottle was down, and I pushed the other towards Vinyl. She sighed and took it in her magical grasp before beginning to tell me her tale of woe.
About how she'd just started out as a DJ in a small club when she was just barely a mare. About how a handsome pegasus had convinced her to try a drink. About salt's effect on ponies, and how she hadn't known any better.
About how that fucker had twisted her life, slowly but surely, to the point where she did what he wanted without hesitation. Where her only thought was making him happy so he would give her more salt. All the abuse he'd heaped on her, verbal, mental, and physical.
Octavia had found her one night, passed out in the street, and remembered her from the times they'd gone to school together. She'd recently attended a seminar at Canterlot's hospital about the effects of too much salt, how to recognize it, and how to help those suffering from it. The fact that it was a fillyhood friend only galvanized her all the more, and Vinyl woke up for the first time in months feeling warm, safe, cared for.
From there, it was a long process to rebuild the mare into someone that could look in the mirror and not flinch. There were close shaves, near misses. In the end, Octavia had to remove all salt from the house, first to make sure Vinyl stuck to the detoxification routine, and then to keep the bad memories away. Somewhere during that time of rebuilding Vinyl, an important step had been filing a restraining order. Octavia had been the one to get it, and it took Vinyl a week to work up the courage to sign it.
Once that was done, another month would pass before she could get comfortable with the idea of playing in public again. Octavia had been her test audience during this time, cheering her on despite having a love for the more classical pieces. On the night of her first performance, the two of them went to a club together, one to provide entertainment, the other to provide support.
Doing what she loved again had been the final step, and Vinyl was reborn. She cooked now to take up the time that salt had, because without a hobby or something to distract her besides her job, she was constantly afraid of her problem coming back to bother her again. Cloud Stuffer had been immediately added to the Barred list of any and every club she played at, and things had worked well, for a time.
Last night being the exception, of course.
I raised my empty bottle and pointed it to Vinyl, who mimicked me with a raised eyebrow. "To the two of us. Two scarred souls that carry on, despite what has happened, because we refuse to give in." I looked at Octavia for the next bit. "And to those that support us, because without it, we would probably fall back into our old ways."
Vinyl smiled and clinked her bottle with mine. "Hear, hear."
When I returned to my home, I found it to be furnished. Yes, fully furnished. Granted, it looked a bit...patchwork. As though some of the chairs had been patched together from two or three different chairs. Still, the sentiment was there, I suppose. And Clanks really had no concept of beauty, they left that to the Sparks that made them. So they wouldn't understand why it was not a recommended idea for them to screw half of an oak chair together with half of a willow chair.
I mention this because on a surprisingly intact table was an unbound mass of paper. It appeared to be about three inches tall, and on the top sheet was a simple title.
'House Owner Manual: Command list'
I sighed and flipped the page over. The next one was the current table of contents. Fairly standard...or so it seemed at first.
"Kitchen...Bathroom...Air Conditioning...Power..." My eyebrows raised at the next few entries. "Surveillance? Defenses? Offenses? What the hell have the Clanks been up to?!"
I flipped to the back and perused quickly. A few voice commands...multiple settings? Non-lethal and lethal? Oh for Joseph's sake...Then again, I suppose I hadn't told them not to install such things. Plus, it'd keep me safe. Supposedly. So long as the defenses didn't draw attention themselves. Fortunately, it seemed non-lethal was the default setting, as though the Clanks knew that I'd prefer to keep things as civil as possible when defending my home.
I had gotten to the last page, which was a request for more crystals so that all their projects and projected projects could be properly powered, when a knock made itself known at my front door. I got up, clutching the sheaf in my left hand, and opened the door with my right. I was immediately tempted to slam it shut again.
"Ah. Jet Set and Upper Crust. I must admit, I had hoped our last meeting was enough for you. It certainly was for me."
The two unicorns smirked at me, as though they knew something I didn't, and Jet Set opened his mouth. The filth that poured from it made me wonder why someone hadn't punched him in the face yet.
"Indeed, most seem to meet you once and then desire nothing more to do with you. We were talking to a gentlestallion that visited some nightclub the other night, where he and his companions ran into you. Much to their detriment."
My bad mood only increased when Upper Crust added on to her husband's words. "My word, are all humans so...barbaric in their dealings with others? One would think that such a species knew nothing of friendship or compassion. Unlike us."
The boiling point was reached when Jet finished their little tirade. "Quite right, my dear. One might think we should help that stallion and his friends. Perhaps by pressing all manner of charges against this human."
I held the sheaf of papers up, flipped to Defenses, nodded, and stomped twice. "Nik tok! Nik tok!"
After a moment, there was a rumbling from the ground besides the unicorns. Another moment, and two cannons made of brass erupted from the soil. They whirled around and ended up pointing at my unwelcome guests, whose eyes were slightly wide at the thought of being at my mercy.
"This is your only warning. Leave me, leave me be, and we'll have no problems. Continue down this path, and you will find nothing but pain and misery. Which I will only be too glad to deliver."
Jet Set opened his mouth, and the cannon on the right fired a bean-bag directly at his flank, causing him to jump and yelp. He whirled, looked at the cannon, opened his mouth again, and the one on the left fired on his flank. One more yelp, and he turned to glare at it, then me. I smiled at his angry expression, glad the Clanks had enough power for those two demonstration shots. The unicorn duo looked at me, looked at each other, then while keeping eye contact with me, slowly backed up, off my property.
Even as the so-called nobles left, I saw a wonderfully familiar sight trotting up to take their place. That of Octavia and Vinyl coming to visit me. I'd only told them where I lived, apparently they took it as a 'come over and see'. Though after my last visitors, I'd welcome their damn Goddesses to my home to cleanse my palate if it came to that.
...Why did that last thought come to mind at all? Much less as quickly as it did?...
"Eric! My main human!"
I was snapped out of my thoughts by Vinyl's greeting and waved her over. Then I remembered the turrets were still up, and I stomped three times. The defenses retracted back into the ground, causing the musical ponies to raise an eyebrow each.
"And what was that, Eric?"
I shrugged at Octavia's question. "Automated defense system."
Vinyl looked from me to where it had been. "Y'know, I've heard the best defense is a good offense from somewhere..."
I shook my head at her leading statement. "I'll only use it for defense against snooty nobles and those that don't know better, you have my word."
With that, I motioned to the door and gave my best showman impersonation. "Would you like to see what other changes have been made to the house? I'd love to go over some of the tamer ones with you."
The mares looked at each other, looked at me, and nodded once.
-----
The kitchen seemed fairly normal. If not for the fact that everything seemed to have enough controls to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner an automatic process. There was even a place for mad cooking science, which answered a question I'd had regarding Sparks. It would appear that their behavior was both inborn and could be programmed into a Clank. That, or Agatha had programmed it into the Clank in question, so that I could carry on the story of Sparks to...wherever I ended up.
...No, I wasn't one. But she'd seen me performing maintenance and an upgrade on my leg and come to an incorrect conclusion. I don't think I could ever be a test subject in her eyes after that. Good thing she didn't know about Xavier. I don't know what she'd have done then...
After a rogue switch flip in the living room unleashed restraints on my patchwork couch (fortunately while the mares weren't in it), I told the mares to not only not touch anything, but not stand, sit, or move anything until I read the appropriate documentation. Of course, I also assumed that the Clanks had written everything down, which was probably a mistake on my part. Agatha never did, and there was always a step missing in the middle that I had to ask her about. That was an embarrassing concoction to mess up...
The bathroom had far more pipes than was probably healthy, and the bedroom seemed to resemble something from Frankenstein. I'd really need to read the owner's manual. Ooooor I could just not give the Clanks additional crystals, that might keep all of these optional features depowered. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea...
Vinyl would occasionally stop and rub her horn, and I knew why. Apparently, whatever containment the Clanks had rigged up hadn't quite done the job perfectly, as she was still capable of feeling the magebane field. Still, it wasn't a constant thing, so at least they'd done quite a good job at containing most of its power.
Eventually, our little party ended up in the dining room, which had thankfully not been altered too much. I sat at the head of the table, while Vinyl and Octavia took up one side. I sighed and decided to answer the question I knew they were going to ask. I knocked on the table twice. "Tick Tock!"
It took a minute, during which I held up a hand to silence the mares. Eventually, the original Clank climbed onto the table, and I pointed at him. "Mares, may I introduce Tick Tock, an original Heterodyne Clank, helper class. Tick, these are Octavia Philharmonica and Vinyl Scratch, the mares who took me in and cared for me when I first came to this world."
The little Clank walked forward, looked at both of them, then dinged once and waved a hand. Octavia nodded at the Clank, while Vinyl moved her glasses up and her head closer so she could get a better look.
"So, an automaton? A golem?"
I waved a hand in a so-so fashion. "A robot, in a less complex fashion than my arm or leg or eye. Made to aid a family of Sparks in their laboratories. The first generation of any helper-class Clank is capable of making more, who can make more. But each subsequent generation loses intelligence, and the Spark of creativity. And it adds up fast."
Vinyl looked from me to Tick Tock, cocking her head to the side. "So, he's just as intelligent as you? At least, if he's an early enough model?"
I nodded at that. "Tick here is a first generation model, and he has a flood of helpers. I've not been as strict as I could have been when setting his limits, which is why everything in here is so...exuberant, I suppose is the word, with its features."
Tick whistled and kicked one of its feet innocently. I waved off his attempted innocence, knowing it was his idea all along, but that it'd been put in by his creator. "They gave me a manual, and a request for more power. I'll need to look it over before I can determine if this house is safe for anyone but me to visit. I'm just glad it doesn't talk..."
Octavia smiled at the idea. "A talking house?"
I shot a deadpan look at her. "The Heterodynes live in a talking castle which also has systems in the town that was built around it. And it was just as crazy as they are."
The musical duo looked at each other and gulped audibly at the thought of a psychotic structure. I merely smiled and waved at the door to the main hall.
"Shall we see what interesting ways the kitchen has for us to accidentally die?"
I swear, I've never seen a pony move faster than right then...
Chapter 18 - You really shouldn't have escalated it that fast.
Chapter 18 - You really shouldn't have escalated it that fast.
Tempered had led me to a glassblower's shop. I could tell because of all the wonderful glass vases that decorated the shelves in the windows. Of course, we didn't find the master in the shop. The apprentice was running it, trying to get a feel for how much a piece was worth and how to interact with customers.
Speaking of the apprentice, he was behind the counter as we both walked in. His coat was tan, his mane was brown and scruffy, his eyes were green, and his mark was that of some sort of mold or cast with a vase impression in it. The colt looked at Tempered, looked at me, looked back at Tempered, and decided to greet the native and probably acquaintance of the master rather than the unusual creature in front of him.
"Tempered, sir, master Crystal Clear is out back, examining that strange blue gem you gave him the other day."
I shot a look at Tempered, who was making an effort to look innocent. "Is this what you do with the supplies I give you? Hand them out to ponies I don't know?"
Tempered snorted and rolled his eyes. "If'n ye be expectin' me to find yah a decent glassworker, aye, 'tis what I do."
I sighed at that. "Well, let's move to the back then. Maybe we'll be able to shed some light on what the gem is and how he can work it into his works."
"Good luck with that, I had to treat them like ordinary lumps of iron afore they would melt."
As we pushed through to the backyard and Crystal Clear's work area, I smiled. "That's the secret in a nutshell, really."
"What's that about a secret? Oh, Tempered, my frieaaaaaaand you're the human, aren't you?"
Crystal Clear appeared to be a cyan Pegasus stallion with a slightly lighter mane and tail. His eyes were deep blue, and his mark was that of a glob of red, superheated glass at the end of a metallic stick. He looked from Tempered to me, back to Tempered, then focused on me. I nodded at his last question.
"Eric O'Mally, provider of the crystal that Tempered gave you."
At that, Crystal exclaimed something and pointed a hoof at me. "Aha! So if you provide them, and you were talking about a secret, might I assume you've worked with them before, and know the secret to working them?"
I nodded and walked over to the crystal that Crystal Clear had set up next to his kiln. Poking it with my good hand, I replied without looking back. "It wasn't me, it was the dwarves that worked it. And they learned the trick fairly easy once they asked how I managed to get it to work in their metals without any problems. My answer was simple and blindingly obvious: It's only a crystal if you treat it like one. If you treat it like it's just another lump of ore or glass, it mimics those things. It can't do cotton or fabrics or, sadly, edible things. Metals and glass, it can mimic enough to be integrated into those things. Melt it down, and its other properties infuse the finished work."
"Such as the magic resistance he told me about," Crystal Clear added.
I nodded and held the crystal up, then tossed it into the kiln. After a moment, I gestured at the kiln, and Crystal Clear proceeded to remove the molten glass from inside it. As he began to shape, mold, and blow the glass into form, I saw blue arcs of power dance up and down the surface. The first time it happened startled the pegasus a bit, but when Tempered and I failed to react, he slowly calmed down and eventually failed to react at all when it happened. After what felt like quite a bit of time, we had a bottle that one would normally see in scientific laboratories.
I deactivated the camouflage on my right arm and reached out one gleaming metal finger to the cooling glass. Ignoring Crystal Clear's warnings, I shot a small bolt of power into the cooling mass, and it reacted by generating a small spherical blue field around itself. I smile at the reaction and withdrew my hand, flicking the camo back on as I did so. "It worked perfectly, good stallion."
It would take time and quite a bit of haggling before we would be able to come to an arrangement regarding the proper usage and profit distribution of magic-resistant or repellant glass, but all parties walked away happy. I tossed a small nod to the apprentice as Tempered and I left and went our separate ways.
Today had been a good day, so far.
-----
Okay, so when Octavia and Vinyl had returned to my home yesterday, Octavia had extended an invitation to attend one of the orchestra's sessions. It took a while to find the area she told me they played at, but once I did, the doorpony there only raised an eyebrow before stepping aside and allowing me entrance.
The inside was magnificent. Opulent. Radiant. I could go on, but really, the most fitting words to describe it would have to be: it was truly fitting for a royal performance, either BY royalty or TO royalty. And I had a sneaking suspicion the local Godesses had a han- dammit, hoof, in that.
I was sitting in place for a good thirty minutes with a program before a familiar voice emanated from my right. I turned to see Fancy Pants and Fleur walking over with smiles on their faces. "My good sir, ever since you put me in contact with that smith, I've had an abundance of ideas! Any luck on the glass front?"
I nodded as I looked back at my program and raised an eyebrow at the last entry in it. "Yeah, he and I went out to find a glassblower today. Got lucky. I'll make a mention that you should be introduced as well so that our specialty wares get the market they deserve."
Fancy sat next to me, and Fleur on the other side of him. "Capital, simply capital. Business will really take off soon, I'm sure. The ability to insulate laboratories is only the start."
My mind whirled as I saw the bigger picture play out before me. "Insulating labs leads to more unicorns or others experimenting, and experimenting safely. Which leads to innovations. Which leads to things you can invest in and have pay off in the long run. Are you saying I may have provided the means for a social evolution?"
I felt more than saw Fancy nod at my question. "Quite right, and I'll make sure you get a small cut of the profits, because you helped make it all possible. Not in bits, no. Just little things, little gifts. Like a second prototype of that which is invented, if I can snag a second one for you."
I smiled at that and pointed at what I'd seen in the program. "By the way, do you know what this is about?"
It merely read And the performance will end with a special song as played by Octavia.
Fancy shook his head at that. "No, sorry. Wouldn't you have a better idea than I? You're her friend and house-guest, after all."
I pondered the unicorn's statement before there was the sound of the orchestra tuning up, which drove other thoughts out of my mind. After a minute of this, the conductor tapped a few times, and then there was silence.
The conductor then raised his...gah, I never learned what those are called. Anyway, he raised it, and with a single motion afterwards, the music began. It was wonderfully moving stuff that anyone from back home would call the height of classical, and I entertained myself by just closing my eyes and sinking into the sensation...
...And letting the right one diagram all the sound waves. Because why not? Normally used for surveillance or sneaking around, I figured enjoying an orchestra was enough reason to bust it out. It's not like Xavier would mind: he loved compiling data like that. I'd always counted every similarity between the world I landed in and the world I came from as another point in my favor to getting home. Now I just counted the music as good and enjoyed it.
It was over far too soon, as good things almost always are, and then I heard Octavia speak up then.
"And now, I would like to play a special melody for my friend, who is here tonight. Eric, I hope you enjoy this."
My eyes snapped open and focused on Octavia as she began to play the finished version of the song I'd walked in on her playing. And it felt like my heart was breaking all over again as I focused on what Octavia managed to convey with notes.
Rage. I had been mistreated time and again, and railed against the ones doing it every time.
Sorrow. For all I had-
Loss. My home. My family. Some of my body!
Pain. Excruciating. Mind-numbing. And not just physical pain.
Acceptance. Because none had ever done anything different.
And finally...Hope. Because now, I was here.
The song was long, winding. But there wasn't a dry eye in the audience. I looked to Octavia and nodded my head slightly, then tilted it. Both thanking her for playing the song, and asking if it would be alright if I thanked her for it. She caught my eye and nodded. I stood up and cleared my throat, catching the attention of every pony in the hall before they began to applaud her for the song.
"Ladies and gentle...is it gentlecolt?" Fancy nodded at my question, and I picked up my speech again. "Ladies and gentlecolts! To miss Octavia, a better friend I could never ask for! For not only has she housed and helped feed me ever since I arrived, but she has graciously tried to help me with my problems time and again. Because that's who she is. Even if she only knows a portion of the true extent of my issues, she still saw fit to include what she could in song and play it for you. For all of you! To Octavia!"
The sound of the other ponies in the hall echoing my cheer brought a blush to the grey mare's face. The evening had begun on a very good note.
-----
I had escorted Octavia back to her home when I realized that something was dreadfully wrong. The front door was ajar, for a starter, and when we looked in, it looked quite like a struggle had taken place. And then we heard the sound of voices that were not Vinyl's.
I carefully snuck inside while motioning for Octavia to do the same. The voices came from out back, and while I headed out to see who was there, Octavia headed upstairs for some reason. I'd only just gotten to a window when the voices became clear and my blood boiled at the sight.
Cloud Stuffer was there with two different pegasus goons. He and one of them were around Vinyl's motionless form, while the other was watching the back door. A slight opening in the window allowed me to hear what he was saying.
"Right, you and me, we take her back, you, stay here and deal with her housemates. Take them by surprise, and you should be able to stop even that human thing."
I was just about ready to burst out the back and deal with the trio with Origin when there was a crash from an upstairs window. And then Octavia came from above looking like a mare possessed, wielding a cello like an ogre would wield a club. She descended on the goon meant to distract us and knocked him out with a single hard swing that unfortunately also broke the musical implement. Cloud and his other goon started, then grabbed a hold of Vinyl and flew off into the night. I came from within the house and looked down on the stunned goon.
"You and your friend made a very terrible mistake just now. Let's see how long it'll take for you to correct it..."
Chapter 19 - If there's a way to be scarier, I don't know it.
Chapter 19 - If there's a way to be scarier, I don't know it.
Octavia and I watched as the stallion slowly came to, giving off little jerks as his brain rebooted. Eventually he realized we'd bound and gagged him and he opened his eyes to see the situation he was in. Which was simple enough to describe: bound by ropes looped several times over both sets of legs and his wings, with a rather fierce knot tied in each set. He could do little more than wobble around like some sort of full-body dance move. Most specifically, The Worm. His eyes scanned the room wildly before landing on me and Octavia just a short distance away, upon which they contracted nigh-instantly.
"Funny how you had the right amount of rope to tie him up, Octavia. Anything you want to tell me?"
She snarked back at me without missing a beat. "Only that you seemed to know quite well how to tie those knots and did so very fast. Had a lot of practice?"
I shrugged my shoulders at that one. "I made it a practice to immobilize spell-flingers when I was on a world where spells were a combination of what you said, the movements you made while saying it, and the power you channeled through you. Kept me out of trouble for a while."
Octavia sighed, and I imagined she'd rolled her eyes at my little nugget of history. "So. Do you want me to try out my remaining two cellos on him? I'm sure there's some portion of his skeleton that could use tenderizing."
I held a hand to my chin and pondered what she'd said for a moment before shaking my head. "Nah. Just leave this to me."
Octavia nodded, but made no moves. I looked at her and cleared my throat to get her attention, and when she looked over to me, I pointed in the direction of the front door. "No, seriously, leave this to me. I'll get him talking, but you'd object to how I'd do it."
She hesitated for a second at that. "Will he be in one piece?"
I nodded, without vocalizing the condition. If he's smart and cooperates, yeah.
She either didn't notice my slight hesitation, or did, and approved of what I'd not said, because after only a moment herself, she got up and stiffly walked to the front door. Before it closed behind her fully, she shot back a single sentence through it. "Word to the wise, I'm pretty sure that the guards won't be as lenient if he isn't in one piece."
The door clicked shut, and it was just me and the stallion, alone in the house.
I jerked a thumb at the front door over my shoulder. "Remember her. Because while she beat you over the head with a cello, and likely would do so again two more times, she was the nice one."
I leaned a little closer to the stallion and snarled. "I'm going to get answers out of you, and you will not enjoy it."
He blanched a bit at that, and I reached inside my hoodie for Origin. I palmed it in my left hand and looked at it, smiling softly at the memories of Agatha. "Have you seen this sword before?"
I glanced at the pegasus on the sofa to see him slowly shaking his head, and I looked back at the hilt. "It's a remarkable blade. Only activates with a precise charge of electricity...which I can generate. Wonderful thing, it is. Able to cut any material...or, rather, if there's a material it can't cut, I've yet to find it."
I picked the stallion up and positioned him so that instead of laying on the couch, it would look more like he was sitting at it. Granted, sitting and playing a very odd game, but sitting nonetheless. I switched the hilt to my right hand, and Origin came to life, resembling the inky blackness of space where no stars shone. I then looked at the stallion on the couch and put my left hand on his bindings.
"Vinyl and Octavia are very dear to me. Very dear to me. They are the first beings in so many worlds to show me genuine, actual kindness. That priest in the last world who healed away my scars only did so because I traded with him. Every scar, the story of how I got it, and then he removed it. Sorry, rambling. Point is..."
The tip of Origin traced its way downwards and the flat of it nudged a very particular part of the stallion's anatomy. Suddenly, all his little struggles stopped, and my smile dropped.
"You made a big mistake by working for him, by participating in the taking of her. Your boss and your associate flew low, over the rooftops. Broke our line of sight. I don't know where he is, where she is, where he'd have taken her. I don't know these things. But you...you do. So let's make a deal, you and me."
I nudged his anatomy again, and the stallion gulped. "If, when I take these bindings off, you tell me, and tell me quickly, then you retain the ability to procreate. If you fail to tell me, that'll only be the first thing you lose. I wonder how thinly you can slice a pony's legs?"
His eyes widened while the iris and pupil contracted to the size of pins in panic. I merely continued my talk, making sure that when I took the ropes off his muzzle, he'd speak, and speak quickly. "See, you made the very big mistake of taking something dear to a human. A human who's been kicked around, mistreated, badgered, bullied, maimed, tortured...it's only when I got my sword and got training in how to use it that I began to work out those emotions. And oh boy, do I have a surplus to work out!"
The blade was up again, between our faces but not cutting off eye contact. "And another thing you should probably know. Humans are not like the majority of ponies, what with your innocence and your trusting and general niceness to your fellow prey-species. We're omnivores, apex predator of our world. Give us a challenge, we'll either find a way around it, or demolish it. We live in the frozen north of our world as well as the scorching equator not only because we can, but because there are those of us that like it there. We've explored the depths of our ocean and climbed our highest mountains. No magic, no wings. Not that it stopped us from inventing things to replace them. We've even gone to our moon and back, and looked into going to other worlds. A human is nothing more or less than the most stubborn foe or friend you will ever find in the right, or perhaps dreadfully wrong circumstances, and you went and pissed me off."
The blade had returned to nudging the stallion's family jewels, and I carefully eased the rope from around the stallion's muzzle, but kept it clamped shut with my left hand. "Now, if, when I remove my hand, you don't tell me exactly what I want to know, you'll lose your future progeny, and then we'll see just how much of a leg is enough to walk on."
The moment I removed my hand from his muzzle, the stallion chose to do a very smart thing. He answered the question. I was frankly surprised he could remember it. "Drury Lane! 110 Drury Lane! It's a warehouse down near the base of the city! That's where Cloud Stuffer has his base of operations, where he'll have brought Vinyl!"
I nodded and removed my sword from his unmentionables, but the stallion shook his head. "Wait! There's things you're going to need to know!"
I paused, then motioned for him to continue with my left hand. He obliged. "You can't go in the front door, there's an office overseeing the whole floor, and it has a prime view of the south door. The east and west doors are also pretty close to it, he'd hear it if you went in. Plus, he talked about this for a bit. He's expecting some sort of shipment at around one in the morning, and once it arrives, he's going to get Vinyl back on her old ways, then finish breaking her in. Or so he says."
I moved my sword back to between his hind legs. "You're not giving me a lot of good news..."
I could actually see the sweat pour off him. "Wait wait wait! There's a hidden entrance at the north side, comes out right underneath the office. I'm one of the few who know it's there, and Cloud doesn't! He never planned for it in our patrols! You could use it to get the drop on him, get the mare, and get out!"
I considered his words for a moment, then removed the blade and powered down Origin. "I could. Were I that sort of person."
I turned and walked towards the front door, but paused when I heard the stallion speak up. "You...wouldn't have really done any of that stuff to me, would you?"
I smiled my most sincere smile, turned, and walked back to the pony before crouching down and rubbing him right between the ears. "Oh, you're right. Of course I wouldn't have."
He sighed at that, before stiffening up as I pinched his right ear between too fingers. My voice lost none of its sincerity, and my smile remained plastered on. "Why, if I'd cut you up here, Octavia would have killed me for staining the couch! I'd have to move you to the bathroom first! More drainage."
I heard a faint whimper and the sound of fluid being loosed as I walked to the front door. Walking out got me an extremely angry grey cellist in my face. "So?"
I nodded at her, then the house. "I know where she is. Where he is. And I'm going to get her back. You may want to get in there. I might've scared him a little too well."
I walked down the street to find Drury Lane as Octavia walked in. I was whistling a familiar tune as a mare screamed her rage to the heavens and a stallion yipped in pain.
-----
There was a six-stallion team outside the warehouse known as 110 Drury lane. They all worked for Cloud Stuffer. Everypony worked for Cloud Stuffer, or Cloud Stuffer would find a way to bring certain things about you to the papers and make it look like they'd just 'found' them. These were stallions and mares who had nowhere else to go. They'd tried, oh how they'd tried, to fit into the city. But somewhere along the way, they slipped up. Somewhere along the way, they'd made one mistake too many, and Cloud Stuffer had been there to take them in...then make sure they stayed with him.
Tonight promised to be interesting, mainly because not only was a shipment due in an hour, but also because the boss was in a good mood. Apparently, he had finally gotten his hooves on one of his old investments, and would now get a chance to see it pay out. Or at least, that's how he talked about it. None of the ponies guarding the exterior knew what he meant, and none of the ones on the inside would answer any of their questions.
It promised to be a nice, calm, peaceful night for an hour yet. Which is why it freaked each and every one of them out when they began to hear somepony singing in the darkness.
Do you know The muffin man, The muffin man, The muffin man? Do you know The muffin man Who lives on Drury lane?
The sound had been coming from the road, but it was a ways away, at least fifty feet down the west end of the road if the last words were anything to go by. Which is why it, once again, freaked out the sentinels that the song was now directly by the west entrance.
Why yes I know The muffin man,
At that, there was the sound of something swinging through the air, and a meaty thumping noise of something living or at the very least made of meat hitting the cobblestones. And the song didn't stop.
The muffin man,
Another swing, another thump, and then there was silence for a minute. When the voice spoke up again, it came from the east entrance.
The muffin man.
Swing. Thump. This time, one of the sentinels there caught sight of a huge arm, gleaming in the darkness. He was about to scream before the voice spoke up again.
Why yes I know,
His strangled cry had been halted by another swing, and he hit the ground soon after, joining his comrade in sleep. There was silence again for a minute, and the two pegasi left to watch over the main gate were very nervous. Moreso when the voice seemed to come just from their right.
The muffin man,
A swing, a flash of shiny metal, a thump as one of the sentinels hit the ground, and then there was one. One last pegasus who was looking around wildly into the dark, looking for their mystery assailant. He got his wish in the form of a shiny metal hand wrapping around his throat and dragging him up to look into a face that would haunt his nightmares.
One of the eyes in the human's face was a normal green. The other was blood red. And then the human opened his mouth and growled the last line.
Who LIVED on Drury Lane.
And then the last sentinel for the warehouse knew no more.
-----
Eight ponies were inside the warehouse at this ungodly hour. One of them was the unconscious Vinyl Scratch, bound, gagged, blindfolded. One was Cloud Stuffer, keeping an eye on both his 'prize' and the doors of the warehouse in the office within. The other six were various pegasus goons that kept watch over the inside, making sure that nothing could get in to disrupt this shipment. Two per each door; east, west, and the main south door.
None of them knew about the door in the north wall, which was a bad move on their parts. Thankfully, it opened silently enough for the biped using it to sneak through while drawing a minimum of attention to himself. The human looked around carefully and saw none of the ponies looking at him. He then crouched double to minimize others ability to see him. A quick glance showed him where the stairs up to the office were, and a moment's quick movement brought him close enough that he could test them. Each slow step up the stairs brought a slow creaking noise, and every one caused him to flinch and hesitate. After a slow minute of climbing, the human was finally up at the office's door.
A quick motion brought a sword hilt up, and in another moment, a jet-black blade extended from it. Another fast motion saw the blade silently inserted into the door's top and brought down to the floor. There was a moment when nothing happened, and then the door swung inwards due to its lock being cut. The male looked inside the office and saw Cloud Stuffer looking out the window to the south entrance. Vinyl was in the far corner, starting to stir and make noises, which drew Cloud Stuffer's attention.
"Oh, so my trophy is getting up? Sooner than expected, but I can work with this."
The human tenses for a moment before bursting into the office like a hurricane of anger. With a quick strike to Cloud Stuffer's head, the stallion was dropped with a minimum of fuss. A hand over Vinyl's muzzle even as the rope is removed along with a quick 'shush' noise keeps her quiet even when she could speak. The bindings are removed from her and used to tie up Cloud Stuffer's legs and muzzle, leaving only his wings free. With as much stealth as had been mustered for the entry, Vinyl and Eric left, with the human carrying the unconscious pegasus with him.
And with that, only six ponies remained within the warehouse.
-----
I wanted to hurt this stallion. I wanted to rip him limb from limb. I wanted to rend him from stem to stern. I wanted to invert his insides and outsides. I wanted to turn him into a puzzle for the guards to solve. I wanted to do so much to him.
And yet I couldn't. I was held back by one simple moral: if I did anything to harm him, anything, then I wouldn't be any better than him or any of those that harmed me over the years. I never harmed anything that was mortal. Undead, sure. Divine, yeah. They either didn't feel it, or it didn't matter to them. To grievously, permanently harm a mortal would be to demean my own humanity. What was left of it, anyways.
There was a solution I could use, though. One that would sting and pass eventually, but would render him harmless for a while, considering that all the ponies had magic innately.
I walked Vinyl home, made sure Octavia knew we were back, and then proceeded to a dark alley. I moved the binding from Cloud's muzzle to his wings, then opened his mouth. I then set my pack on the ground and fished out a handful of crystals, and gently inserted one at the back of muzzle. I stroked his throat after closing his mouth, and there was a gulping sound. When I opened it again, the crystal had vanished. I repeated the process nine more times and smiled. Then I moved the binding from his wings back to his muzzle, made sure they were all secure, and flexed my right hand before closing it in a fist. I ran a charge through it, one that was strictly more powerful than needed, but would and could do the job despite any variables.
The elctro-punch to the gut made Cloud twitch and flex while screaming. After he opened his eyes, he looked at me and flared his wings, but his iris and pupils shrunk when he realized one important thing:
His magic wasn't working.
"Hello there, Cloud Stuffer. The crystals inside you, the amount of them and power running through them? I'll be surprised if you manage to fly ever again before passing each and every one."
He started to breathe heavily. I'd robbed him of his magic with a simple set of actions, something I'd be surprised if any pony had done. I merely stroked his mane while looking him in the eyes. "I could have done so much more. But I've robbed you of everything that made you a pony, much less a pegasus, much like how you robbed Vinyl of choice, of her mind. And now, adieu."
With that, I punched him again, rendering him unconscious for the second time that night.
-----
Shining Armor received a most unusual package at the Palace Gates the next morning. A bound pegasus atop a briefcase. When the pegasus was removed and the case opened, a plethora of papers was found, each one bearing the name of somepony, along with something that pony had done. A quick survey revealed it to be Cloud Stuffer and his web of contacts, along with what he used to keep them in line. With this information, the whole system could be safely dismantled. Heck, with their leader in custody, and the list of those who'd likely try to free him by less-than-legal means in hoof, he'd be going away for a long, long time. Assuming, of course, any on the list wanted to testify against him.
Shining looked from the files to the stallion and smiled. "It's a little early for Hearth's Warming, but I'll have to send Eric a gift nonetheless..."
-----
I sat on the couch, with Vinyl spread across my lap. I'd asked this time, and she let me stroke her mane. Apparently, it was a calming gesture, something trusted friends do. Not only did they enjoy it, but it soothed them, as well as myself. Vinyl stirred a bit and spoke up after a moment.
"So he's dealt with?"
I nodded at that before replying. "Made powerless, delivered with all his information to the palace gates itself, even put a note on the bundle so that Shining would be the one to get called. Oughta be the end of that."
She turned one eye on me as I finished talking. "Hang on. You went back there after we were done to pilfer files?"
I nodded again and kept stroking. "Needed to put him away for a while. Figured that making sure none of his 'associates' would come and snag him, along with putting him away for quite a few cases of blackmail would do it."
Vinyl thought for a moment, then shrugged. "If you say so."
I played with her ears for a moment. "I know so. Now how about some music?"
Vinyl grinned wildly at that. "Thought you'd never ask."
It had been a few weeks since the escapade that had landed Cloud Stuffer in the dungeons at last. I had my own functional place, with no less than five crystals going full time to power everything. I was still wary about flipping half the switches in any of the rooms, but I was slowly learning the layout for all the buttons. More often than not, there was a helper clank of the second generation of helper clanks in the room, ready to stop me from doing something foolish. Occasionally, Tick Tock himself was around to make sure I knew what was going on.
All in all, life was good. I managed to make enough from my bouncer job to pay back Vinyl and make rent, though I still supplemented my income with the stuff the smith and glassblower sent me. I still needed to eat after all.
And that was when I found out that there was a gryphon-run stall at the very back of the market. Selling, of all things, both meat, and a meat substitute. The substitute was substantially cheaper, and I could guess why, though it still promised to take care of all the needs a meat-eater could have. I was uneasy about eating anything that might have once talked, so I stuck with the substitute. If I really craved red meat, I could always try some...when my morals degraded a bit more.
In the end, my new niche life here was good. I was lying at home one night after a long day of work, contemplating pulling out my bag of holding to see what trophies had survived the many, many drifts I had gone through. It would probably be a good idea to test them anyways, see what did and didn't work in a new world.
And then I heard something scratching upstairs.
A feeling of dread washed over me, my skin getting goosebumps and my hair on the back of my neck standing on end. It was probably just a clank working around up there.
But if it was just a clank, why was I so afraid? I was only afraid like this for one sort of thing, and I hoped, I prayed, that I was wrong. I drew Origin and walked up the stairs. The scratching was joined by a sort of huffing and snuffing.
No. Please no. Anything but this.
I gripped my sword all the tighter and reached out with my left hand. The moment my hand contacted my doorknob, the sounds stopped, and I breathed out. I pulled the door open and raised my sword to defend myself.
The massive black dog with eyes as red as hellfire jumped out of my room and at me, deftly avoiding the sword as I tried my best to keep it from pinning me to the ground. A Black Dog. A harbinger of doom. My old master's favorite pets. He only ever used them for one thing. To start the Hunt by finding the prey. I couldn't let this one leave. But if I killed it, I would only be buying myself time.
Time was better than nothing. I did my best to draw my sword up, and the dog howled as I cut into it, causing it to fall back. I did as well, to regain my breath, and noticed that it didn't seem too bothered about its wound. It was up and coming at me again within seconds of registering the pain I'd caused it.
Time to bring out a bigger gun, then. I charged up my anti-magic field and allowed the dog close. It jumped up, trying to bite my face again, only to fall back and howl in agony as it reached my field of causing it extreme pain.
Yeah, just like all the other things from the Fae realms, this thing was more magic than flesh and blood. It obeyed certain rules and commands, but the only real thing that could actually kill it would be slicing it in half.
Something that I quickly did, chopping its head cleanly off and causing it to disperse in a flash of magic. It left behind a slimy residue on my floor, and I sighed.
Fuck.
The Wild Hunt would be on in about three day's time.
And I would be the prey.
I guess having my scars healed didn't make it impossible to find me.
Chapter 21 - Know when to walk away, know when to run
Chapter 21 - Know when to walk away, know when to run
Okay. So either the Fae still had a link to my very soul, or they were guessing as to where I was. The fact that there was a Black Dog in my bloody bedroom kinda discounted the second option. I didn't know how their magics worked, nor did a lot of other people I ran into. And...well, the Hunt was something I had a little bit of practice with.
Namely, how to run and hide from it. But over the years, as they'd gotten used to my tactics, the Fae had changed theirs up as well. They didn't just use magic anymore, something that they'd learned I could block. They used a plethora of servants and wild beasts to find me, things that I'd had to dispatch. Much like the Black Dog, in fact.
Running from the Wild Hunt was by no means a simple affair anymore. Though one of my friends in one of the worlds I'd been to had actually been fool enough to stand and fight the Wild Hunt. Rather successfully as well, he managed to keep them from getting at me until the dawn broke, at which point they retreated. I miss that guy.
I would need to go over my list of supplies, see what I had, what worked, if I intended to run from my last Wild Hunt. I got the feeling this one...was gonna be big.
Granted. The Fae might be one of my only tickets out of this world, and perhaps I could force another Drift again...
But something told me I wouldn't survive until the time came for me to Drift once more if the Fae took me out of this world. I'd made a fool of them far too many times. They might just kill me. Or no, wait...it was always the horrible torture first, then the killing.
I took my bag and put it on my bed, before reaching in and rummaging around for my supplies.
Hmm. Rod of Discord from that fool who stood and fought the Wild Hunt? I pulled out the pink wand and looked over my shoulder, waving it once and appearing in the middle of my room. Check, and it still worked as it should have. I walked back to the bed and placed my teleportation rod on it, shuddering as I felt the chaotic influence brought on by using it slowly dissipate.
What else?...Oh. There was that collection of wands I managed to pick up back in Raneria. I didn't know how much charge they had, or what they could all even do, but they might prove highly useful in escaping my pursuers. Especially that weird, multi-colored one. That one looked...interesting.
Gem bag? Eh, not really useful in this case. Though...a few Ioun stones might prove useful for defense if nothing else. I pulled it out and rummaged around, before finding the three stones I had and setting them to one side. Defenses, heightened awareness, and regeneration was what these three promised, and I'd take anything I could get.
Scroll case? If I recalled correctly, this thing held every scrap of knowledge about the Fae I'd found, from every world I'd been to, to include the stuff I remembered from my time in their lands. Might be a good idea to brush up on my understanding of their rules.
Couldn't use Tick Tock or the house, this was a chase, not a holdout. I still had more than enough crystals that I could use, though. It'd be easy to just pull one out, charge it, and drop it behind me as I ran, to throw them off my trail. Heck, if I made a big enough circle, they'd have no way to get at me.
The problem was, though...in the last hunt, when I'd pulled out a crystal and used it to defend myself...the power of my old master had just...overwhelmed the jewel. He'd apparently learned how to put up with my shenanigans. So...not even staying in one spot was a real option.
Oh, the potion bag! Hmm. I had a lot of elixirs of strength and speed. And healing. Could not forget the healing. They'd saved my ass on more than one occasion. I also had a thermos full of the Hetrodyne brand of coffee. I was...saving it for a rainy day. The preservation spell in the bag would make sure that nothing happened to make it taste any less than perfect.
What else was in her-Are you kidding me? I still have a phaser? Sheesh! How old is that thing? I, uh...hope that Starfleet guy isn't too upset that I nicked it. I needed a long-range tech weapon that wouldn't easily run out of power, and this seemed to be a good option.
Sewing kit...strands of magic-resistant metal...couple of days supplies of fruits and nuts...Oh. Oh ho ho. Now here's something I could use.
I pulled out the spike of Rowan wood and turned it over, humming to myself. Along the length of the spike, I'd had several magnets, or as they were called in the world I picked them up, lodestone, embedded into the wood. I'd learned a few things as well. Origin was good and all. But this was a weapon designed to hurt Fae. Which was why I'd had a dozen made. I'd nearly forgotten about them. The only thing it wouldn't stand up to was a Fae Lord, like the one that had claimed ownership of me. But for all his minions and everything that would likely be doing the actual 'hunting' of me, I had more than enough hurtsticks for them.
...Assuming they all didn't snap of course. Now, where to start? Hmm. I should probably start by saying I was going to be sick down at the club, then read up on my Latin and rules of the Fae courts. Assuming I survived the hunt, I wanted to be able to say the boon I wanted right.
The only way to properly deal with a Fae is in a dead tongue. That way, the words don't evolve, have extra meanings, and give them a chance to wiggle out of their agreement. The Scholar's tongue is one such tongue, and I was lucky enough to have a passing understanding of it. I would need to brush up on it, but hopefully, I still knew how to request for the Fae to go home and stay there.
This was going to be a long two days of studying.
...I mentally debated getting the locals involved. I wanted help, yes. But...The Wild Hunt had torn apart lives before. Kingdoms had tried to stand up to it, and many men had fallen in the attempt. All because somebody had killed the Black Dog after it had seen me, and nobody put two and two together. Nobody but me. Thousands. There must have been thousands that died trying to keep me safe from the monsters baying for my blood outside the walls. I would not subject anyone here to the same fate. I would be the bait, the lure. They would chase me, and I would keep the rest of this entire bloody world safe by running for my life.
Then maybe I would tell them about the monsters that kept coming for me, world after world, time after time. The ones that would not, could not, for some reason, leave me alone.
The house was quiet. Eerily so. I almost could have been fooled into thinking that maybe, nothing would happen. Maybe, I would get off without anything coming after me. Maybe, just maybe, the Hunt wouldn't find me here.
Then I heard the giggling.
I had already gone through my house and incanted the revocation, just to be on the safe side, to make sure that no Fae could enter my home. I had no idea what had been said in this house, after all. Any and all invitations that someone had uttered would be grounds enough for a Fae to get in.
Then I felt that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I was safe. The other residents of this city wouldn't be. And if this Hunt followed the same protocols as the last one, then...
Well, then I would be remiss if I didn't speak up or act to defend the town. The first night wasn't too bad. I could easily hold them off. Weaklings, really. Probing to find out where I was weak.
I would make them regret that. With one hand gripping a hurtstick for the Fae, and the other one gripping the hilt of Origin, I made up my mind as to how I would handle this.
The first thing I saw when I walked out of my door was a score of red-capped mushrooms on my lawn. Anyone else might think that it was a decoration. Or that I had a serious infestation of mushrooms.
I had a serious infestation, all right. And I wasn't fooled. But I played along to lull them into a false sense of security. I walked down the path leading through my lawn and waited. Three, two, one...
The moment the mushrooms turned to look at me, I grinned. Bloodcaps. And...now.
Just as the first one leapt at me from behind, I activated my anti-magic field and blasted them all back with its aura. The mushrooms screamed as they revealed themselves to be imps that fed on the blood of others, and writhed under my hurtful aura. One by one, they vanished, popping out of existence, leaving behind only red stains on my lawn.
I tried not to think about whose blood that was as I turned to the street. More mushrooms dotted the street on either side, trying to catch the unwary and trick them into walking past. I would have none of it.
I pumped more energy into my anti-magic aura and grimaced as the calculations were run in my right eye. I wouldn't be able to hold this level of power forever. Hopefully, though, I'd be able to do a sweep of the streets and make sure nobody fell victim to the little bloodsuckers.
As well, I started intoning the revocation wherever I went, doing my best to protect the city from what would happen during Night Two. There was so much to do to prepare and protect against a Fae assault. I only hoped I could ward off the worst of it.
As I went, I heard a moaning. Perfect. Banshees to help lay out the course. Naturally. I was surprised I hadn't run into any Pixies yet, but it was probably only a matter of time. I rounded a corner and saw the ghostly human-ish female form hovering in the middle of the air. The moment it saw me it started to put up a racket, one that I winced as I heard.
Normally the scream of a Banshee was more debilitating than just inducing a wince. I'd heard it so many times, however, that I'd grown used to it. As I approached, the ghostly figure fell to the ground thanks to my aura, but it didn't pop out of existence yet. That was reserved for when I pulled out my rowan-wood spike that had magnets embedded in it and ran her through with it. Then the Banshee faded out of the world.
I left before any of the ponies that had likely experienced that wail could recover and poke their heads out of their windows to see me. I was going to do this, and I was going to do it on my bloody own.
Fifty Bloodcaps popped, ten more Banshees banished, and I finally found the Pixies. The little lime-green sprites were playing in the local junkyard, putting up a hell of a racket as they examined various shiny things and banged them against one another. Normally I would be inclined to leave them be.
I knew, however, that the moment they found a local to torment, they'd switch targets. And I wasn't going to be having any of that. I was the one protecting this city from any and all Fae that might show up. The only really dangerous thing was, these little suckers were powerful, despite how they looked.
I raised a hand and intoned the revocation, and the sprites turned to me with an angry glare. As if they were asking who I was that dared to interrupt their fun. They flitted over to me and as one, they each assumed a form that I would associate with a troll. The twenty lime-green, hulking forms looked down on me, grunting and growling.
Yeah, Pixies could shapeshift. And unlike many other shapeshifters, their new massive forms functioned exactly as they looked like they would. My only real trump cards, in this case, were my anti-magic aura and my hurtsticks. The aura would force them back into their normal forms, and like all lesser Fae, my hurtsticks for them would destroy them. I forced myself to wait, be calm...
The pixies moved as one to ring me, and I grinned before flipping the aura up to as high as I could force it. They all screamed and wailed as they popped back to their sprite forms, and I quickly went from one to the next, jabbing them with the rowan wood and magnets. Each one popped out of existence and left a smear of ectoplasm on the ground, their only legacy that they were ever there.
The junkyard had been the last place I needed to check. I could safely assume, after having intoned the revocation everywhere I went, and also destroying any and all Fae I found when I found them, that I had finally, safely warded off the first night's waves. I checked my watch and found that it was about...four in the morning.
Shit.
This would totally mess with my sleep schedule. Not to mention the fact that someone would have heard something. Hopefully, none of the ponies would put two and two together and think that I had anything to do with it. I didn't need the publicity. I didn't need them to think I was involved, and I didn't need them to get involved.
I wandered my way through the streets again, until I found my home once more. Once I did, I walked inside, found my bed, and collapsed onto it.
I only had so many hours until the next night. I would need to be well-rested, and well prepared.