Dusk - 12th of Solarus ‘15 EoH - Late Morning

So, that was what a hotel bed was like. Never again.

I rolled over and slid out of the hellish torment that had surely been designed by my brother and proceed to pop every single vertebra in my spine back into place. A simple stretch didn’t cut it. I’d have to use magic to get the job done. Fortunately, Derpy hadn’t noticed the faint gold shimmer, she was busy getting out of her own voluntary torture device on the other side of the room.

“Nnn…” She moaned, “I’ve literally slept on pointy rocks more comphies…”

I watch her to a little hoping-skip sort of dance of joint pops, and winced. “Yeah… Healing potions should come with the room… Who knew a bed could hurt that much. Must have been built out of the bones of an ice giant and anointed with the blood of a silver dragon.” I joked.

“Nah,” Derpy said with a little grin, “probably just built by a dubious company for one of their bunkers.”

I cracked a smile, even though she had no idea who I was, Derpy still found the joke funny. I wonder how hard she would have laughed if she’d known the joke was ‘this bed is so bad it hurts gods.’.

I’d had a great night, and Derpy was awesome, but sadly I had work to do. First off, find an apartment or something in Ponyville for the sake of looking like a normal pony. Second, my home dimension was not exactly welcoming to me now, I should get my stuff out of it.

“Well… Thanks for letting me share a room with you,” I said feeling the urge to leave before a nice evening of chatting and talking spilled over into a whole day of chatting and talking.

That would be nice, but well, I was pretty sure Dawn had found some way to sell my stuff at a garage sale by now.

“Aww… Taking off right away?” Derpy asked with a frown, then winced. “Darn it… The bed messed up my wings.”

She sat down and stretched a wing forwards, gently preening her feathers. I frowned sympathetically as she started to painstakingly push each feather back into place.

“That looks very irritating.” I said to keep a conversation rolling.

“You have no idea!” She lamented between licks and nudges of her features, “I didn’t even know hotel's were allowed to have low-thread sheets anymore.”

“How’s the thread count make a difference?” I asked curiously.

“Lower thread count, bigger holes between fibers. Bigger holes, more chances for feathers to get caught in them as you move. The more that happens the worse your wings will be… Pegasi friendly sheets are always above six hundred… Or enchanted.” She answered, quickly adding, “Uh… This will take about a half hour… I’d understand if you wanted to take off but, well, I was hoping to get breakfast at least. And I remember saying you can live with me while looking for a place of your own. Wouldn’t you want to see the place?”

I visibly winced as she pleaded with her crossed golden eyes for me to stay. It would have been hard to leave before, with just her cuteness keeping me here. But now, after the whole evening spent getting to know one another? This mare had traveled the world over looking for home, been through more than most and faced it all with her cheerful grin.

Derpy was a mare who had buried many friends along the roadside, mourned them, even avenged them, but never lost her happy carefree nature. My brother had decided to give her both barrels pointblank, and she took it like it was just a spit wad. I admired the hell out of that.

It literally hurt to lie to her… But I had to. I’d screwed up with the direct approach last time. She needed to know me first. I couldn’t make the same mistake twice. Half-truths were the best I could do, and even they felt wrong.

“I… I do want to stay.” I started truthfully. “But well… I need to get my things from my parents. I don’t want to subject you to that… I’ll probably be at it all day too. I can find your place, I’ll just meet you there.”

Her ears fell sympathetically. “They live nearby? I’m sorry… Oh! I can have a nice drink waiting for you when you get to my house! Not an alcoholic one, but still really good!”

“Don’t sweat it,” I sighed, “I’ll have my cigs to calm myself with.”

“You smoke?” Derpy asked with a critical frown.

“Uh, yeah. Is that a problem?” I asked in return.

“Well… No… I guess not. I just hate the smell.” Derpy admitted, “And the taste…”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s easy enough to not smoke up somepony’s home. I’m not addicted.” I answered truthfully. “I normally only smoke my own hoof rolled stuff too, just tobacco, no crap. I like the flavor.”

Her ears flipped back up to a happy pose. “Oh! That’s completely different then! As long as you can control it, it’s not going to be a problem… Just um… If we get serious please use mouthwash before kisses, okay?”

I smirked. “Already thinking of kisses, huh?”

She stuck her tongue out at me playfully then went back to preening. “Well… I’ll see you in Ponyville later today then. I’m going to fly back, 'cuz uh… Didn’t bring enough money for a double bedroom and the train back… Heh…”

I felt my heart fall a bit, “I’m sorry! You could have said something, I’d have slept on the floor of a single… Been more comfortable anyways.”

“Don’t worry!” Derpy giggled, “I’m a great flier! Just a bad lander… Without covering one eye at least. I’ll be home in a few hours. Uh… Hey, how will you get back with your things without train fare?”

“I’ve got friends.” I said giving her a small grin to help the deflection skate by.

“Oh! Right, I remember, you said hi to them last night.” Derpy said nodding to herself. “Well, as long as you have help… See you later then?”

I nodded. “Yep! Big oak tree next to Eyesore Palace, right?”

“Right.” Derpy replied with a completely straight face.

“I’ll see you there later then.” I promised moving to the hotel room door to make my exit and avoid the post-stating-I’m-about-to-leave conversation every mortal ever seems to do.

“Is that a date?” Derpy said teasingly.

I put a hoof on the door knob. It would be easy to giggle say ‘goodbye’ and leave. I didn’t have to make a counter-joke an-

“Sure is! Bye cutie.” I said on autopilot, in a serious tone.

God dammit…

I stepped through the door before I could make a bigger idiot out of myself, closing the door an instant before she replied, “Bye!”

Oh great Dusk… You just made yourself look like a lonely chick trying to hard to look cool. You know what, you pretty much are. Hopefully, that doesn't bite you in the plot.

I quickly looked around the hallway. Empty. Just a long straight stretch of white walled, gold decorated, red carpeted Canterlot fanciness. I hated how it took physically turning my head to see that. Stupid lack of three-sixty vision…

I braced myself for the transition to six-dimensional space, closed my eyes, stepped left… And found myself having literally just stepped a bit to the left. Same hallway, same carpet, not my intended destination of my old living room.

“Huh.” I mused, shrugging to myself.

It had been a while since I messed up a dimension hop. I must have been just a bit nervous about having looked like a needy dork just now.

I took a short breath to calm myself, closed my eyes, focused again, and stepped to the left.

Still in the hallway.

“Seriously?” I grumbled to myself. “She’s cute, but not anchoring you to this dimension cute!”

One more bucking time. Close eyes. Picture home in all of it’s detail. The flat light emitting sky. The infinite flat plane of hills, forests, plains, and deserts. The small city inhabited by my fellow deities, each home unique to it’s creators desires. The small room set in a dirt lot that I called my own.

I could see it, feel it, smell it. My memory was perfect. It burned in my mind like a beacon, I was properly attuned, the world consumed my every thought. I stepped left, sure to cross the boundary of space and arrive home.

I felt my shoulder thump into a wall. Panic instantly filled me past the breaking point!

“No! Home!” I barked, throwing myself left, not caring about the wall in my way.

My shoulder rammed into the wall again. Then again. And a third time. I felt the plaster start to give way.

“Oh sure! The matter just gives way!” I growled, panic igniting rage.

The hotel room door flew open, Derpy jumping out, going from ready to fight to concerned almost instantly. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“I can’t go home!” I barked unthinkingly, ears flattening in anger.

“Oh… Do you need help facing your parents?” She offered, “I know you don’t know me well but-”

“No! I mean I physically can’t go! Watch!” I growled.

I closed my eyes, focused, and stepped left, hitting the wall again. I opened my eyes to find Derpy giving me a curious look.

“See!?” I grumbled, “I should be home now, but noooo! Suddenly meta-spatial barriers apply!”

“You’re not from this world, are you?” Derpy asked, still curiously looking me over.

Oh… bucking… sonofa… “Ponyfeathers…” I groaned, letting myself fall to the floor as I held my head in my hooves. “So much for blending in…”

There went a whole night of work. A budding relationship I had liked. All that work, wasted…

“Is this your first time in another world? What magic type are you able to use? I don’t recognize the golden glittery stuff, but you’re probably just not using a clear enough focus.” Derpy asked in a surprisingly helpful and kind tone.

“Uh… what?” I asked slowly looking up at her.

“I’m not…” She started, biting her lip in search of words, “Well, I was born here… But I didn’t grow up here. The journey I told you about… Uh… It kinda was through a few different universes… You don’t have to be afraid! I’m a Traveler too! We can talk, maybe I can help you home.”

“The flying buck is a Traveler?” I asked, emotions ping-ponging from panic to anger to panic, to curiosity and back again.

Derpy gently took my hoof and led me back into the hotel room, closing the door with her wing as we passed through. “It’s… Not a good idea to talk about it in a hallway.” She said as she let go of my hoof.

“Seriously, what is a Traveler?” I asked, a mix of horror and wonder creeping up in my mind as I realized that Derpy had said universes, plural.

Traveler implied someone who traveled meaning in this case probably someone who went between universes. A thing I didn’t know was a thing. Dimensions, sure, plenty of those within the universe, but other universes entirely? Oh my god, Echo had said multiverse!

“I think I really need to know exactly what is going on here.” I said doing my best to calm down and pay perfect attention.

Derpy’s ears drooped a little. Not in fear, but in embarrassment. “Oh… Heh… So I’m the first person you’ve met who's universe hopped too. This is so weird. I was on the other side of the this last time.”

She took a second to compose herself. “You obviously know there are two worlds, your home, and this one. Well, there’s actually an infinite number of worlds, some big and some small. A long time ago, a few different species found ways to travel between worlds. People who do this are called ‘Travelers’... Yeah I know not creative at all, but that’s just the word.

“Most of these ways are unique to a species, I’m guessing yours is one of those, right? Uh, well anyways, there’s actually a lot of people who travel the multiverse, some for fun, some for profit, others for well, personal reasons. That’s what I did. I wanted to find my homeworld. Traveling is pretty popular with super science types, archmages, and other people like that, but sometimes common people find ways too.

“Some worlds are, or have, places for Travelers to meet and swap stories or trade goods. This isn’t one of those, Equis is pretty out of the way… Which made it very hard to find...

“So… What’s your story? Where are you from?”

“H-how?” I asked, reeling from the blow to my conception of this mare.

“How what?” She asked with a frown.

“How does a pony just… Go to another universe? You’re not even a unicorn!” I felt this needed to be addressed first.

“Oh! I use D’ni books.” She answered. “My mom taught me to write them. A Traveler helped her and her people set up the village I grew up in, and he left behind a few books. They are books that you write in magic glyphs that describes a real world in perfect detail that become a portal when finished… It’s tricky to make them, but at least they always work.

“I um… It would probably take a year to make a book to get you home, but if you tell me how you do it I might be able to do something to help.”

I blinked a few times and slowly realized that of all the people on Equis, Derpy might literally be the only one I could tell the truth too without her thinking of me as more than just a person. Even Lily saw me as a god, a friendly one, but a god none the less.

But Derpy? A mare who apparently had crossed universes just to find her home and live there? A mare who I now realized had befriended people of completely alien races and held them as true friends… We were in the same league, so to speak.

“Okay… So um… I’m actually from this universe.” I said honestly, “Just… Not the three dimensional part of it. I uh… I sort of am native to six dimensional space.”

Derpy’s eyes lit up with intrigue, “Really? Cool! I’ve never met a higher dimensional entity that acted like a person before!” Her ears instantly drooped. “Uh, I don’t mean to say you’re not a person. Just, well, usually people like you look like a ball of light or some huge tentacled scary thing, not well, a person. Also they act like… Um… Well you know...”

“Like they are better than you?” I asked with a long sigh.

“Yeah.” She returned blushing shyly. “Not to sound like a jerk myself or anything… I mean, you’re nice! So um… Just a quick question, is that what you really look like, or do you do that thing where people looking at you see what they think you should look like?”

“I have an actual body. This is what I loo- oh…” I said trailing off in sudden realization.

Of course I couldn’t go home. Echo expressly told me I had a body now. Only energy lifeforms could travel to the sixth dimension without help. I’d need a tool, or an energy based lifeform to help me… I was forever locked out of my home dimension.

“Are you okay?” Derpy asked in genuine concern.

I shook my head. “No… I realized why I can’t go home… And it’s super obvious…”

The inevitable wave of sadness hit me like a tsunami. I’d never had my vision blurred by tears before. It was scary, and that made the whole situation even worse!

“So I just revealed myself to you for no good bucking reason…” I continued, unable to stop talking. “Making a real relationship impossible because I’m not a mortal and you know that now so you won't treat me lik-”

I was interrupted by the sudden hug Derpy threw around my shoulders, “Don’t cry. It’s okay, I’m not going to leave you just because of who you are.”

She said who! Not what, or ‘because you’re a god’. Who. Like a person. An equal.

Thank you Uncle Luck!

I hugged her back. “Thank you… I… It’s just… I’ve always been the most hated god ever…”

“I’m sure that’s not true.” Derpy said without missing a beat. Then a few moments later, “Oh! So your species does the whole ‘gods’ thing? That’s cool!”

“Well… I’m not quite one of them anymore…” I sighed. “You know, you’re taking this really well.”

She nod-noded. “Of course. It’s not like I have a whole history of you as an earth pony in my mind. It would be hard for me to come to terms with this if there were, but well… Dusk, I’ve been to a world where… Hold that thought, what were your duties back when you were working with your ‘family’?”

Oh shit… Here we go. “I uh… I sorted souls into the appropriate afterlife for their deeds in life.”

Derpy smiled, “Okay! That’s less than I thought, actually.”

“Less?” I asked in surprise.

She nodded, “Mhm! I uh… Lost my book for the world, but I once lived in a place where I had a friend whose species literally lived in that worlds hell. Just on the first layer, but still. My point is you guys are just extra powerful people.

“Look at this universe! Celestia wakes up and literally moves the sun. Most universes I’ve been through would call her a god just for that. Sort of made me think that the gods for this universe, well, did more then move souls.” Her ears drooped as she finished. “No offense intended.”

“I also created the afterlives for each soul.” I added defensively. “But yeah… I sort of was the equivalent of a customer service rep…”

“That must have been hard…” Derpy paused, eyes widening a bit, “Oh! So uh… That means you fighting with your brother…”

“Yeah…” I sighed. “Got most of the power knocked out of me.”

“So, your ‘friends’ were also gods?” She asked curiously. “I’m not in the middle of some kind of heaven & hell war because I hugged you, am I?”

I laughed, a half genuine half bitter chuckle, “No. That’s over. I lost. Those friends are mortals, they helped me with a plan to get rid of Chrysalis. That was my doing, by the way. Well, sort of. I meant for a lot less people to die but my brother… He found a way to kill me. I wasn’t there for the end.”

“That’s rough.” Derpy said, giving me another quick hug. “So, you’re a mortal now? Trying to just live a normal life?”

“Sort of… More like a different sort of god I guess. I’m just over Alicorn level, if I’m feeling my energy right. But yeah, I’ve got a shot at living a new life now.” I admitted. “Are you sure you don't think of me differently? Okay, you’ve traveled between universes, but you are a pegasus, right?”

Derpy blushed and grinned in embarrassment, eyes crossing, “Uh, well… I’m not a normal mare ether… Remember how I said I’d tell you about my mom later?”

Oh.

I nodded. “Yeah...” I said slowly.

“She’s a dragon.” Derpy said after a short pause. “A dragon from another universe, that’s pretty different from Equis dragons. And remember how I said she used a spell to help me do things her species could?”

“Ohhh…” I said, grinning a little bit. “So you’re not exactly a pegasus.”

She nodded, “Mhm. But well, um… I like my pony half best. So I came here to get to be a normal pony, or well, try to be. Also I wanted to know who my real parents were.

“But yeah! We both can travel between worlds, and both have abilities normal ponies don't, but are still ponies. Still just a couple mares. We’re the same!” She finished with an excited grin.

“Huh… We are, sort of.” I was forced to admit. “So, what’s this mean?”

“Well it means we both have somepony we don’t have to hide part of ourselves from!” Derpy said cheerfully.

Oh snap, it did! That was a pretty big deal actually.

Derpy continued. “But we’re getting off track! You said you wanted to get things from your home. How do you get there normally? I’m sure I can help!”

“It won’t work.” I sighed, “I forgot that matter doesn't like to cross over into the sixth. I have a body now, so I can’t go without help or a tool, or a portal. But for the record, normally I would just step over the meta-spatial barriers to the place I wanted to go.”

“Like teleporting?” Derpy asked taking a step to the side as she flicked a still feather-ruffled wing to try and shake the features into alignment.

“More like using a portal, really. It’s a spatial bridge.” A thought occurred to me, “I hope I can still do that at all!”

“Oh! We could test it!” Derpy pointed out eagerly. “Could you take us both back to Ponyville and save me the flight and um…  You the however?”

“Yeah, if everything's working normally except for moving up past the fourth dimension, that’s the same as just walking across the room.” I replied, ears falling a little. “But, well… Going out on a date with you kind has me wanting to take a while to live a normal pony style life. I’m not a unicorn. I don’t want to be seen appearing out of nowhere.”

“We could appear in my house.” She suggested.

“Uh, no offense, but, obstacles. You have furniture, right?” I asked.

She nodded.

“If I haven't been somewhere before, I can't pinpoint my point of arrival without using a remote vision power that I don’t have anymore.” I sighed. “If you have a totally empty room, I can try that.”

She shook her head no, then sat down putting a wingtip to her lips in thought. After a few seconds Derpy’s eyes lit up, “Oh! There’s an abandoned house a few blocks from mine. I use it to Travel so if something follows me back they don’t go directly to my home first. It’s totally empty, the bank took everything I guess.”

“Totally empty?” I asked. “You’re sure there is absolutely nothing?”

“Just shelves here and there and an old bookcase near the front door.” She answered. “There isn't’ even a fridge, or oven.”

I took a few moments to consider it. It would save a lot of time. If the house was abandoned there wouldn’t likely be anypony there to see me. Unless…

“There won't be a repair crew or a realtor there by chance, will there?” I asked just to be sure.

“It’s been abandoned for almost fifty years now.” Derpy answered. “Since newer houses have been built, nopony has interested in it. There’s still the foreclosure sign from the bank on the front door.”

“Well, that should do nicely then. Pack up, and while you’re at it describe every last detail of that place you can to me, okay?” I asked.

“Okay!” Derpy agreed eagerly.

I sat back and listened.

It was a small house, one story, with a formerly lovely yard. The Ponyville standard waddle and daub exterior with a thatched roof on the outside, all the modern comforts mimicked through magic on the inside. It’s most unique feature was the large weeping willow tree in the front yard.

It was old and worn. The roof needed rethatched in many places. Some walls had the plaster daub crumbling away to show the lattice of sticks beneath. The only uncracked window looked out over the front yard, and it was uncracked because it was completely destroyed.

To be honest, I liked the sound of the place. It was a beat up old place that a loving hoof could make into something nice. Like a lot of the old junk I collected back at my old place, only a place I could put that junk into.

I figured if I could teleport successfully there, I’d see about buying it. It had to be cheap, being abandoned and rundown.

As Derpy slid her saddlebags onto her back I gently touched a hoof to her left shoulder, and not wanting to ruin my concentration by talking, stepped forwards.

The room around us warped, folding and sliding into a new arrangement. The floor beneath us was simple planks. The window to my right a shattered hole. The ceiling was rough cut timber, and water stained walls surrounded us on all sides. A successful warp.

“Well, looks like I’m okay to go other places. Good.” I said happily.

Derpy groaned and staggered away from me towards the nearest wall. “Ugh… That… Uff…”

“That made you dizzy?” I asked in surprise. “It’s never made anyone dizzy as far as I can-”

“Strabismus.” Derpy moaned, leaning against the wall, resting a hoof and head on it for support.

“Huh?” I asked, cocking my head.

“Eyes… Should have closed eyes…” She added.

“Oh!” I winced, “Sorry. I forgot you’re cross eyed.”

“It’s alright,” she said taking a deep breath and let go of the wall, “it’s getting better now. Just, ugh… Seeing ten of everything moving all differently, guh.”

Derpy took a step away from the wall and wobbled a little. I took a step to try and steady her as she let go of the wall. Just before I could gently steady her, she took a second step, her hoof catching on the uneven floorboards, prompting her to fall flat onto her chest! Her left rear hoof kicked out as she landed, smashing a hole in the wall about as easily as one would put a hole into a sheet of paper.

“Ow…” Derpy groaned.

“You alright?” I asked in concern.

She nodded and stood up, dizziness still there but nowhere near as bad. “The ow’s are reflexive. Is the wall okay?”

“Uh...” I turned to look at the hole, she could easily have put her hoof clean through it.

The hole only penetrated the inside of the wall, and looked like somepony had gouged a chunk of plaster out with a sledgehammer. The particular chunk hadn’t even been dry rotted.

“Geeze. You have one heck of a kick!” I whistled.

“Half dragon.” She admitted with a blush. “Do you know how many thing’s I’ve broken because I get excited and forget how fragile ponies make everything?”

“A lot I bet.” I chuckled.

I was about to turn away from the hole when I noticed a bit of silver glinting from the lower left side of the hole. A curious leaning in look showed the corner of a steel box embedded in the plaster.

“Huh…” I mused, before gently scraping some of the plaster away to see exactly what this was. “This house is pretty old, does it have electrical wiring?”

Derpy shook her head. “It’s not pre-arcane power old. Why?”

“There’s a metal box embedded in the wall.” I informed, scraping more plaster aside now that I knew it wasn't just a junction box.

Derpy hummed and moved alongside me, moving into help scrape away at the wall. After a few minutes work the plaster was all pulled away and what was left was a small, steel scroll case lid facing out towards us, with a simple four leaf clover etched into the center of the lid.

“Well, this is interesting.” I mused looking at the lid. “We have to open it, right?”

Derpy nodded. “Totally!”

Another few minutes of work had the box completely free of the wall. A series of runes ran along the edges of the lid, forming a simple ward spell. I rolled my eyes and pushed the spell’s charge out of the steel and into the air, letting the magic return to the aether.

“Uh, that’s warded.” Derpy warned as I moved to open the latch.

“Disarmed it.” I grunted.

As soon as I could, I popped the latch my curiosity rose even further. Sitting in the box was a wax sealed scroll case, also warded. This ward was much more well done, the inks used to inscribe the runes held diamond dust, letting it contain much more thaumaturgic current than a simple steel etching.

“You got this one too?” Derpy asked hopefully.

“Yeah, but it’s a bit more tricky.” I replied.

I took the case and pushed my magic into it, slowly nudging the charged spell out of place, rune by rune, until the original energy was scattered throughout the air. That done, I retracted my own energy, and twisted open the scroll case.

Instantly a bolt of lightning slammed into my chest, throwing me a good five feet across the room!

“Luna!” Derpy exclaimed, “Are you alright?”

That clever dick boobytrapped the inside of the case too!

“Yeah. Fine. Just tossed is all.” I informed as I stood back up. “Is the scroll melted?”

Derpy picked up the scroll case, and stuck a wingtip inside, sneaking out a rolled piece of paper. “Yep it’s okay!” She quickly transferred the page to her hooves and unrolled it, nearly dropping it in surprise. “Whoa!”

“What is it?” I asked curiously.

“It’s a page from a D’ni book!” Derpy exclaimed.