A Roegadyn in Equestria

A Roegadyn in Equestria.

Chapter 69: The Pair Ride Again.

*Point of view: Brex Mith*
*Location: Canterlot*
*Time: Ten in the morning*

Brex was currently standing in a section of Canterlot that had most of the taverns situated both near and yet it felt so very far away from the uptight nobles by the looks of the rustic décor. Sure, the city itself was clean but there were other sections in what was for those people of lower status resided. The roads were a bit narrow so there wasn't anything left to add a real sidewalk. The shop windows were either a little dirty from not being cleaned on a regular basis or had some tinted glass put in place to make it difficult for outsiders to look inwards.

The road that he was waiting on was just a little wider than what a standard carriage would require to move through without hitting any of the signs or open doors for the nearby shops. To Brex, it kind of reminded him of something he saw in a movie that involved some small kid going to buy magical supplies for attending a School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Well, if one were to take the usual outfits of the coming and going adventurers that he could see from where he was, then it wasn't all that far off, especially with some of the spellcasters that would wear those pointy hats.

The Roegadyn just happened to be standing there for the last twenty minutes and got a few odd looks from a couple of the drunken patrons that would come out of the nearby shops and local taverns, but otherwise he was left alone for the most part. He was just about to contemplate whether he should give a call through the Link pearl he had pinched between a couple of his fingers when he heard someone calling out to him from just a short distance away on his left-hand side.

“Yo, what's up! Ready to get sloshed? hmm. I might be using that word wrong. Maybe it's hammered? Hey, you know what I mean, let's just get drunk off our asses!” This turned out to be an orange Earth Pony with a dirty blonde mane and tail. From a glance he was most likely around six feet and five inches tall. He was wearing pretty much the same thing as what he was on the train. But the armor meant to be underneath was replaced with an undershirt and not wearing his helmet. He was also without his gloves. Although, he still had his Pip-Boy strapped onto his left arm.

As he was getting closer, he was waving his left hand and giving this big smirk. As soon as Brex saw this he grumbled underneath his breath. “Just great. I feel like I'm the only displaced out there that doesn't drink. Or it could just be my luck that I just attract those types. I'll just have to make sure that we don't end up in some type of drinking contest again.” As soon as the two got close enough that they were just out of arm's reach of the other. The Pony reached over his shoulder with his left hand so that he can indicate behind himself with his thumb as he spoke.

“I hope this doesn’t’ become an all-day thin'. I promise to meet someone so they could show me the guild.” Slightly tilting his head to that, Brex asked his question. “You're going to join the Adventurers Guild?” This got a hearty laugh from the pony before replying. “You're darn tootin! Can't make the scene without the green. Huh? Wait, they use gold coins, so I got to come up with a new saying. Ah heck to it, you know what I mean. Follow me. I found a place last night and we could talk over there. Even has a room or two in the back for those private meetings.”

Brex nodded to that and allowed him to lead the way. but during their walk that took about a minute. Brex heard the orange Pony talking over his shoulder in a volume that only the two of them could hear with their proximity. “I never really said it, but I think it's way past overdue. The names Engineer. Full names Engineer Grave.” Gambit responded to that as he was looking the guy over. “I go by Gambit.” This got a laugh from him as he slowed down enough so that the two of them were walking side by side and he gave Gambit a light punch to the arm as he spoke up.

“Gambit huh? Now that's a mighty kick-Ass name. You know, I was really surprised that you didn't want to talk back on the train. Must have a million and one questions in that melon of yours. I really didn't think I'd run into you there. Even had a whole set of the Elements of Harmony thrown in the mix.” Brex was now narrowing his eyes slightly as he kept his sights glued to Engineer as he spoke. “Quick question, just how much do you know about Equestria?”

Engineer started to scratch the back of his head as he was looking towards the sky that was just barely visible between the buildings as he answered. “Not much really. Just whatever that book that came with me and put into this head of mine. I know about the Elements of Harmony and who has them along with what they're meant to do. Then I got places and other important names. Oh, and not to mention the important things such as customs and what was see as the norm so that I can fit in better.”

Brex hummed to that when they came to where they were heading for and entered one of the smaller taverns with a dark atmosphere set as the theme. It was set up in what one would consider an attempt at mixing and medieval drinking establishment with that of a hint of country thrown in. There were a couple of patrons scattered here and there with most of them being on their own. These were mostly comprised of Ponies of the three tribes. However, there were very few Unicorns thrown in, as a majority of them were of the earth pony persuasion.

Engineer led them both to the counter and got the bartenders attention. He tried to order two drafts of their strongest beer, but Brex waved his hand and said that he would just be fine with water. But shockingly enough. Engineer turned around and said that he was only ordering for himself, so the two drafts were still going to be coming his way. The bartender turned out to be a stallion and he carefully eyed the two of them for a second before closing his eyes and giving a light shrug and started on getting the drinks prepared.

The pair waited silently until the bartender returned and engineer inquired as to whether or not the back rooms were open. Once the go ahead was given, the pair walked away from the counter and off to a side hallway and found an unlocked room and went inside for their chat. Once there and the door was closed. Engineer made his way to the one table in the center of the room that had a couple of chairs around it. He was just about to say something when Brex held up his right hand to motion that he should wait.

This got a curious raise of the eyebrow from him as Brex performed his usual check of the room that he was so accustomed to doing that it may as well have been second nature by now. After casting his spells in order to detect any type of bug that could have been planted. He paused and looked at one of the two light fixtures and pointed a finger towards it without saying a word. This was because this one essentially pinged his radar as something that would ease drop on their privacy.

This was immediately followed with him taking out a Link Pearl and giving it a toss so that it went over the table and was caught by engineer. Once this was done, Brex could feel something appearing in his hand and upon looking at it he discovered it to be a copy of the one that he just gave away. After some concentration was given. The special effect he had placed on this token activated and he started speaking to Engineer.

To anyone else apart from the two of them. All that would be heard was an odd language that coincided with nothing that was spoken on this planet. However, the two would still hear a second layer of language underneath the one that they can understand as their own and this unsurprisingly confused engineer as he furrowed his brow, while watching Brex take a seat across the table.

“Make sure you hold on to that or place it on yourself while concentrating and no one will be able to understand us. That light fixture over there is a bug. I've come across a few of them so I kind of expected that in a shady place like this.”

“Are you kidding me? I'll make sure to tell Daring Do about it when I see her again.”

“You know about Daring Do?”

“Yep! Met her on my very first day here. Helped her out of a tight pinch and we've been traveling together ever since.”

“So, I take it she was the other presence I felt in the baggage car. I can only guess that you're going to meet her later when we’re all wrapped up with our business here.”

“That's right. Oh wow, OK now that’s really weird with the way my voice is sounding. So, what do you want to talk about?” As soon as he had said that. Engineers started to drink away after pouring some of the gold liquid into a smaller glass to make it easier to consume.

“It's really simple. I just want to know what your intentions are in this world and how is it that I saw memories of another. Yet for some reason you’re registered to this world instead as your point of origin.”

“Well, all I know is that I'm here to lend you a hand. And as for where I was before... uh. I guess you could see it as a testing ground if I’m looking at it the right way.”

“A testing ground? Okay wait, do you know anything about the Displaced? don't tell me you're a newbie.”

“I got no idea what a Displaced is.”

“Okay, maybe we should start at the beginning.”

“That would be the smart plan. Go ahead and use that trick of yours again. Now that we've got all the time in the world and we won't be bothered, it's a good time as any to get a better look.”

“Again, I’m rather surprised you let me do that so casually. It also makes me wonder how you know so much about the Echo when you just said you have no idea about what the Displaced are.”

“Oh, that was one of the things that was in the book. I got a basic rundown on who and what you are, but not a whole lot else. Why else do you think I'd back off and not make things escalate back on the train? Between you and me I rather not have you pissed.” Brex gave a small huff, before he nodded and started to use the Echo. As this was happening. The world around him began to twist before fading into black as he felt that his mind delving into a pool.

Unlike all the other times where it was almost instant after letting things have time to come into focus. This time around Brex found himself in an odd void with these weird blotchy images that could just barely be made out in the distance. When he tried to gauge his situation, he immediately discovered that he couldn't even see his own body, so he was in a sense, a floating consciousness.

After a few seconds of ominous silence going by. He could tell that everything had this bluish hue to it, and something appeared right below him and started to make a walkway of sorts that oddly resembled neuro pathways and clusters. In the beginning it was just a few pieces that were trying to line up together until it was going straight ahead and slightly curving off to the left as it was going at a slight angle of elevation.

That was when he began to think to himself in a voice that gave an odd echoing effect. “I think I know what's going on here. All I need now is some screwy doctor giving me directions and some commentary and we’re all set. Well let's dive into his mind, shall we?” And with that, Brex began to slowly trudge along the winding path set before him. It did not take long at all before it brought him to a section of memory that displayed a schoolyard meant for kids that might have been in middle school.

The courtyard showed a bunch of kids fooling around in the distance. But the scene close to where he was standing, or in his case floating. Showed two boys ganging up on a single child. The image was stuck in the freeze frame position as the kid with an orange skin and blonde hair was punched in the side of the face and could be seen in the middle of being knocked over. As for the two assailants, their skin could be seen as variations of pale green.

A few seconds went by before he began to hear Engineers voice that sounded a little more monotoned than normal. “Engineer Grave. Born on December twenty-fifth. Has a sister that was three years younger than himself. Always got into fights and made plenty of mistakes along the way.” The image that was being shown started to gray out, as another set of walkways could be seen extending on the other side of the memory and going to another one that could just barely be made out in the distance.

Brex followed that until it led to another scene where a kid that looked to be like the one before. Although, he was just a bit bigger and could be seen standing in the middle of a crowd full of blurred out images along with another figure that was smaller than himself at his side. When he got a little closer, he nearly fell into a large rectangular shaped hole in the ground and managed to keep himself from falling in and coming to the realization that this was a funeral.

Engineer's voice came again as it now hit a somber tone. “His parents died in a car crash, so the only ones left were him and his younger sister at the age of six. Due to their age, they stayed with a distant family member and moved away from their home country of New Zealand. Even with this tragedy. They were quite lucky that some inheritance was left behind, so they at least had enough to live off from until they came of age to work.” When the commentary was over. The scene greyed out once again and produced another path.

Once Brex got to the next one. Engineer's voice started up just as everything came into view. “From there the kid started to clean up his act and everything was looking great. But it looked as though fate was resolute in kicking him down and he ended up losing his sister at the age of sixteen. After that, everything went to shit after he finished high school. He got a job as an engineer at a great company. But that was as good as it got because of the horrible manager he had to work under that always abused his power.

The scene shows engineer as an adult with the same orange skin and yellow hair. He was working in a factory and moving around some equipment that was on a cart. Behind him was this arrogant man who was the stereotypical old guy that should have retired eons ago and he was in the middle of yelling and throwing papers into the air. The boss looked quite old and very thin. The guy’s face was twisted and shriveled up that he could have easily convinced a random person in a dark alley that he was a walking zombie.

When it came to Engineer, he had bags under his eyes and nearly hollowed out cheeks to show that he was both sleep-deprived and was both likely made to work past his brakes in order to keep up with the tyrant and his absurd demands. Upon closer inspection of the background. Brex could tell that there was hardly anyone around and one of the windows could clearly show the moon high in the sky. Which meant that he was working late when most of the other workers had already left and gone home.

On the next scene to be shown. It depicted Engineer inside of a blue jumpsuit and coming out of the ground thanks to a circular elevator that was only a few feet from reaching the top. The world around him looked exactly how it did in the Fallout 4 game, when the Vault dweller first started after getting out of the underground facility that he was frozen inside of. He was already wearing the Pip Boy and shielding his eyes with both of his hands from the bright sun.

That was when Engineer’s voice could be heard again. “It wasn't long until I was struck down in the middle of the night as I was going home after another twenty-hour shift at work. I really had no idea what had happened. But in one moment I was alive and the next I was laying on my back with my eyes closed and unable to speak or move even a muscle.”

“After a few minutes of freaking out and calling for help in my mind. Two voices came out of the darkness, and it really surprised me that they were from two children. The two of them were talking immediately one after the other. The first sounded like a boy as the second was from a girl that was probably at the same age of eight or less.

“Oh, come on! Help me out here, it was a mistake. I had no idea this was going to happen!”

“You never think things through at all, now do you? You're lucky I didn't tell the others of what you did already. And why is he even here?”

“He died because of me, and you know we can't interfere directly when it comes to them. Oh man oh man oh man oh man I'm in really big trouble! I'm going to get grounded again! I just know it!”

The other voice was completely exasperated and was trying to calm things down as she spoke in a way that made her seem older than what her voice portrayed. “Let me guess… You want my help specifically to try and get you out of this mess?”

“YES, YES, YES! You know me so well. Okay, go and do your zippity zap and put him right back!”

“You do know that that's not how it works. Especially if you want this not to be found out. Besides, you already showed me the aftermath. There's nothing left, not even ashes. He's already been declared dead for a few days now and there's no way that we can make him a new body that won't pop up on the records. I'm sorry to say this brother but you really messed up big time.”

“Well! I can't send him to the afterlife either! There's literally no way to push him into that line without the proper documentation. The second I do; he's going to pop up as being smited by me! Can we just put him somewhere else?”

“I really don't know if I should... that would be breaking at least six rules right there. You've already broken five before you even brought me into all of this.”

“Pretty please~. I'll do you a favor!”

“Ugh! Fine, fine. I'll add this to the bucket of favors you still owe me... You're really going to regret it once I start cashing all of those in.”

“Haha jokes on you, that's the future me that has to worry about that! Now what'cha gonna do? Are you going to turn him into a frightening beast that will go on a killing spree or do that really boring thing and just put him in a tinny worm to go through the cycle? Oooooh! Let’s give him a spacesuit and a ray gun! He could have a talking dog to go on adventures in space.”

“Bart! You really got to stop comparing me to the others. If you really wanted the worm option to happen, then you should have just gone to the other dimension and asked one of the other ones to do this instead of coming straight to me.”

“You know I can't do that. if I did, they would just go and tell Mother!”

The little girl began to make some thinking sounds that consisted of heavy humming and a few disgruntled grunts that indicated that she was against some idea. Her tone of voice then came back, but it was a little more excited than before. “If you're willing to put in the effort, then we could try this...” What came next was a nearly non-stop set of whispering that was coming from the two before the boy's voice could be heard.

“Oh, come on! That sounds like way too much work man! Can’t we just toss him somewhere and pretend we know nothing about it?”

“I would like to remind you that I'm a girl, so that doesn't really count.”

“You know how I get when you try to be all politically correct. You know exactly what I meant! I'm just saying it's going to take a whole lot of work and you know that I just want to relax and mess around.”

“Well… it's either this or mother finds out and you have to deal with her directly before we get the chance to show that we're trying to clean up your mess. If you won't do it on your own, then I'm perfectly willing to cash in on all of those times that you owed me one. And I promise you that I won't hold back in the least. First off, I'd like to go to a place that's full of flowers and all the books we could read out loud to all those starving children. Oh, and we can’t forget the adorable puppies!”

The girl’s voice was quickly drowned out as the boy began to sing an obnoxious tune of lalala's before speaking again. “For the Love of-. Why is it only times like these that you remind me that you are my sister! That's just evil... Okay, Okay. Fine! You have it your way I'll help. I can't believe it. You go and hurt one mortal by mistake and get all this trouble for it.”

When the voices began to fade out. Brex found himself at the end of the trail and at a new scene. There was Engineer standing alongside Preston from the Minutemen. He was all decked out in his current gear that was seen on the train. The scene showed a still image of the man firing his laser powered rifle in one direction, as Engineer was using a pistol and pointing in another way. They were within some old rundown town with a church nearby, where most of the buildings were caved in. While others were just simply gone as if sections were torn away.

On one side had a couple of people wearing broken bits of metal and wrappings, along with pointing their weapons at the duo. The other showed a small gang of chard and half naked people. These seem more like zombies as a few could be seen missing some teeth, but all of them had glowing yellow eyes and were moving in a way that showed that they were working on more animalistic tendency’s rather than running in a normal manner that did not require arms flailing and mouths wide open.

Engineers voice came once again. But it sounded a little more tired and grown up when compared to the others. “I woke up taking the identity and life of Nate from The Fallout 4 game. I played through that along with New Vegas after I tried exploring some more. You'd be surprised just how much one has to do when all of the downloadable contents are thrown in. It was actually pretty fun being the figurehead of the Minutemen and taking down the Institute.”

“What I would have traded, where all the things that was done to me whenever I got shot, stabbed, burned, or even blown up where I lost a limb. Survival mode on a screen is a cakewalk when compared to real life survival, where you can literally feel everything happening to you. I can't even tell you how many times I've had to recover from broken bones. Well, that was until I got that one perk to make them as strong as metal, so that happened a whole lot less.”

That was when everything went black, and a new scene was shown of Engineer and Brex both sitting in the room right before the Echo was used. Everything was still frozen in place as Engineers voice was now coming from his motionless body that was looking at Brex's own. “And here we are now. Two beings that don't belong in this world and sitting at a table.” There was a slight pause before he started to chuckle a little bit before continuing.

“It must have been years for me, but I could still remember hearing those two talking to me the moment I got out of that vault. I can almost remember it so clearly that it may as well have come from just yesterday. They told me of how I was accidentally killed and that I was given another chance. They plucked from my memory my favorite game and threw me in as the main protagonist. I was given the option of living out my life in any way I wished there until the day I died.”

“Or I could prove to them what kind of a person I am and earn the right to go to a world that was not destroyed by nuclear bombs. The only condition is that if I do pass their little test, then I was to lend a helping hand to another just like myself.” There was another moment of silence before his voice turned a little cheerier. “Well, I suppose that's pretty much the long and short of it. These would have to be the most important parts and I doubt you want to see every moment of my life. But go ahead and poke around if you don't feel convinced.”

For Brex. He was not only watching the images and hearing Engineer explaining what was shown. The Roegadyn was literally feeling the emotions that were pouring into his soul. Even though there wasn't a whole lot. Brex felt as if he literally lived through another person's life. The pain of loss… The frustration of being powerless when others held all the control. The fear and confusion upon his apparent death. Even the mounting levels of pain that Engineer had to endure after being placed into a new world.

It was just as he assumed when he last used the echo on someone that was not from this Equestria. The emotion from Ryu and Engineer were so intense, that Brex did everything he could in order to ground himself so that he would not get overwhelmed and lose sight of who he was. As this was all happening, he released his hold on the Echo and allowed himself to wake up in his own body and already clutching at his head. At the same time, he was gritting his teeth so hard that it made an audible grinding sound before letting out a hiss of pain through his lips.

Pretty much every part of his head was now pounding with so much pressure that every thump of his heartbeat was only giving the impression that someone was sending a railroad spike into his brain at every conceivable angle. His eyes were clenched tight for a couple of seconds, before the pain subsided just enough to allow him to open his eyes again and speak out in a not so happy tone. “Why... is it so much more painful to do that with someone who's not from... Erk… this world? I should really make a habit of taking some heavy-duty Ibuprofen before I do that ever again as a precaution.”

He then allowed his headache another moment to subside, while slowly turning his head from side-to-side before speaking again. “That was a little different.” Engineer raised an eyebrow before taking another drink and asking the question on his mind. “Oh really? I’d like to know how.”

Brex was now clutching his head again and taking a big swig of water before he answered. “Instead of me just seeing things play out, I was put into a Kellogg mind reading scenario.” The Pony across the table made an "O" shape with his mouth, before holding on to his own head with his free left-hand and giving a loud chuckle.

Unfortunately for Brex. The laughing only brought back the pain and he released another groan of discomfort. “Gah... please, just no loud sounds for a few minutes. Nuhg... if this turns out to be a constant factor, then I might have to hold off on reading the minds of other people again and stick to those that don't come from another dimension.” Brex was so distracted by this, that he reached up to try and pinch the bridge of his nose and bumped his fingers into his mask. This nearly caused it to fall off before he caught it in time.

Engineer gave him a few more minutes and pretty much finished off all his alcohol, before leaning back into his seat with his hands knitting their fingers behind his head and looking up at the ceiling. He even went so far as to push back and place both of his legs onto the edge of the table to balance on the back set of legs before talking again. “What's the plan now? You got a good looky-lou, so do I pass your inspection list?”

Brex had his right eye open and looking at the orange pony right in front of him before answering in a relieved tone. “The only thing I have a hard time believing in, is that you haven't gone completely mental after living in a world that would kill you in order to take all your stuff or even just to eat you in a form of cannibalism.” He then covered his face with his right hand before leaning back into his own chair in almost mirroring Engineers actions. The only real difference was the way the chair was creaking to give off the early warning signals that it was about to break under his weight.

Once he saw what was going on. Brex blinked a few times before putting himself back down again and giving a small chuckle of his own before he spoke. “It's going to take a little bit for my head to sort through it all. It wouldn't be too surprising if I started to sound like Applejack anytime soon. But yeah, you passed. I'm glad that you are just like Ryu and are perfectly fine with going through a background check.” Engineer looked a little confused as he raised an eyebrow. He then asked, “Who's this Ryu character?”

From there, Brex took the time to explain about the displaced and what the general rules were that he knew about. It didn't take much time at all before the orange Pony attempted to make his own token by taking out one of his extra bullets and putting his own phrase before he tossed it into the air in hopes of it going into a portal. Unfortunately, it did not do anything aside from tumbling to the ground and rolling across the floor once this was done. This act was attempted several more times before Engineer turned to Brex and asked what was wrong.

This started a go between the two of them as they rapidly fired off one question and answer and the other one's direction. The first one to start, happened to be Brex as he was tapping the chin of his mask. “Well… this is weird. I don't see why that's failing. In all the stories I've read, that was the bare minimum to get a token sent out.”

“Dang nabbit! This is a real bummer. You know, I never really came across a token while I was on my world.”

“Hmm... you know what? I've only ever come across Ryu's token now that I think about it. It's understandable that I may have not been summoned. But there are so many Displaced out there in the multiverse. Odds are I would have come across another during my time here. Oh, I know! Let me try this. The Pearl you have just has the added effect of translation. Let me toss you my real token.” He then took his white Link Pearl with the gold markings and tossed it over to Engineer, who immediately caught it in the air.

“Whoa where did it go?”

“Huh? what do you mean by where did what-.” The Roegadyn's words suddenly came to a stop when he felt a round object between his fingers and looked back down to see it was his token back in his hands. From the angle of the item itself looking towards the ceiling. The site of Brex and Engineer leaning over so that they are looking straight at the link Pearl and almost bumping the tops of their heads together could be seen. This was followed with a shared pair of awkward and confused sounds.

“Soooo~. What does this mean?”

Brex brought the item up so that he can look at it a little closely as it was pinched between his thumb and index finger before he stared at it awkwardly and answered. “I'm... not entirely sure. Oh, hold on! When I saw your memories there was something off that I really didn't put too much thought on. Would you happen to know why everybody has colors in the same way the ponies do here?”

“Okay now you're just getting me all confused. The ponies here have the same colors as all the humans.”

That answer alone caused Brex to straighten up while carefully eyeing the pony in front of him for a few seconds before he slowly asked his next question. “So… everyone back home before you were killed had the wide range of rainbow colors to their skin? If so, then I take it you've always been orange?”

The Pony started to answer back, but halfway through his voice turned a little accusatory as he was looking at Brex with a shifty look. “Yeah, I've always been orange. Why? Do you have a problem with orange?”

This earned the Pony a set of awkward sounds as Gambit's face contorted into one of confusion from behind his mask. He lifted his right hand and extended a single finger up and found that he kept opening his mouth, only to immediately close it and purse his lips together as if he were sucking on a very strong lemon. He then lowered his head and used his right hand in order to place his thumb and middle finger across his forehead so that they were touching where the temples should be on his mask before speaking up again.

“I probably have an idea, but I need to ask one more question... Does everyone back home have the same kind of name set as those here?’ This got him another confused look from Engineer before he continued with some awkwardness in his voice. “What I mean to say is... are there people in your world that have names like Jack, James, Susan, Sarah... You know, like that?” This only got the pony to look at him as if he were crazy before he slowly shook his head to indicate that those were not common.

“Hmm, the only time I've heard anything like those would have to be my short time while in the Griffin Empire.”

“Okay-okay, umm... let's try this! You wouldn't happen to know of a place called Crystal prep or Canterlot High? Or maybe you heard of another Pony's name that is the exact same as someone you knew back home? Especially when they seemed to have the same color scheme and personality.”

Engineer was about to deny it as his head was beginning to shake. But he stopped halfway. His eyes were trailing straight ahead and looking at nothing as he took on this intense stare of concentration before speaking. You know now that I think about it. I don't know why I didn't think about it before… But the one called Princess Celestia has the same name as someone I heard about back home. She was called Celestia too, but I never really met her in person. I think she was an upperclassman in high school, but she was a couple of grades ahead of me. The only reason I even know the name is because she was popular for being on the student council. You know, I think she may have been the president.”

From his side, Brex really was put into a difficult position. Going off what was just said. He had a very… very, strong suspicion that Engineer did not come from his Earth. If anything, it sounds too much that he may have come from the other side of the mirror that Twilight ends up going through shortly after becoming an Alicorn in the future. Now the real question for him was either to throw this theory out into the open and possibly witnessing what might become of it or keep it to himself until the time was right.

It took him a couple of seconds to run a few scenarios through his mind on what either of those options would bring about and concluded that it would be best to get it out there now. So, after taking in a deep breath to study himself. Brex said the following as he was keeping a close eye on Engineers reactions. “Okay, two things I really should point out. The first one being that you and I come from two distinctly different Earths. Where I'm from, we don't have a wide range of skin colors. Whereas on yours, it seems to be just like the ponies here. This also includes everyone’s names.”

This got an odd look from the orange Pony that conveyed he was in thought before slowly nodding to what Brex said. Inside his head, Brex was mentally wiping his brow as he was glad to be past that with relative ease before he threw out the next part. “I might know of a world that is closely resembling yours. Mind you, there is an infinite number of Earths out there and this may not be your point of origin.” After not hearing anything, Brex continued now that it seemed to be going smoothly, so he was feeling a little bit more at ease

“I may have heard about a magic mirror that connects this world to another where the occupants show the same similarities as yours. They also have the same naming conventions as here in Equestria. Unfortunately, it's locked away and can only be used under strict conditions. Now my real question is this... If you had a choice, would you want to go through the mirror to get back home?” As soon as the question left his lips. There was an awkward silence as engineer just gave him a blank stare that made Brex feel he was not looking at him, but more like he was looking past at something in the distance.

The orange Pony placed his chair forward until it was back onto its four legs and leaned forward in order to lay some of his body weight onto his elbows with the help of the table. He then closed his eyes for a few moments before opening them again and showing a small smile on his lips as he slightly shook his head before responding in an oddly calm voice. “If I had a choice. Then I'd say no to going back to my old home. Sure, a visit would be nice, but I think I'd rather stay here.”

Brex was about to ask why he made such a decision so quickly. But Engineer beat him to the punch after letting out a small chuckle and looking at him with a sincere smile as he spoke. “My life wasn't exactly great and being thrown into another where I literally have to fight for my life is not something I would say is better. But call me crazy, but I prefer this way more. I literally had no more immediate family there.

He paused for a second while lifting both of his hands as if imitating a scale as he continued. “Sure, I had a nice job, but I didn't much care for the people I had to work under. At least now I'm my own boss and in a weird sense there's a lot more freedom. I used to get into fights almost all the time even when I wasn't the one that started them. You wouldn’t believe how many times I got beaten up and it was somehow my fault to everyone else.”

“But now I can do pretty much anything I want and even though it's a fight for my life on a near daily basis, I’d prefer it. At least now I'm in another world where it makes less sense but is not as dangerous. There's actually clean water and food. I don't have to sleep in a broken-down building or slapped together pieces of metal out in the wilderness where you'd be lucky to see a blade of grass. Yeah, there's monsters I'll give you that. Not to mention magic and a bunch of different races. Heck, I even got someone already looking out for me even though she plays hardball.”

Brex gave him a long stair down For What seemed like forever, but was in reality, only six or seven seconds before he spoke to reply to what was just said. “Hm. I guess you and I probably have something in common with not wanting to go back to our worlds in the very least. And judging from what I saw, then I'm sure that you're not going to take advantage of your situation. But there's just one thing that I really need to talk to you about and that concerns this little baby right here.”

After going into his inventory and pulling out the bullet from the train. Brex placed it onto the table right in front of Engineer to see. The peace of metal was partially deformed from being stopped by the bone in his arm, but still retained most of its original shape. It was then pointed to before Brex spoke in a serious tone. “I picked up what I think is trace amounts of radiation when I got this inside me. Does that Pip-Boy of yours work at picking up anything that's radiating off of objects with a weak amount?”

Engineer reached over and picked up the used bullet and began to carefully examine it as he rolled it between his fingers. He then brought it close to his Pip-Boy and got not even a single static sound from the instrument before he placed it back onto the table. The orange Pony then said, “I've never really had this thing go off unless I'm literally next to barrels of nuclear waste or inside of the glowing sea. It might be that it's not sensitive enough to pick up anything beyond a certain limit that would cause bodily harm.”

Brex hummed to himself as he pinched the bottom of his masks chin as he thought of something and spoke his opinions. “Is it possible that I can ask you not to fire any of your weapons or use the ammo you brought from your world until I can put together a more sensitive piece of equipment to test your items?” He then started to eye the pit boy and also stroking the bottom of his mask in a thinking gesture.

After a second or two passed by, Brex said, “I'm just worried about the negative effects of radiation when it comes in contact with magic. I can detect whenever I suffer any type of special ailments such as poison and magical effects that would either boost or negatively impact me. But all I got was a radiation symbol and no real information as to whether it was doing any damage.”

Engineer than said, “Well, that's going to be a pretty tall order. How long do you reckon that you're going to need to make one of these? I don't exactly want to be caught with my pants down without a piece in my hand if you get my drift.” Brex didn't want to say it, but he already sent a message to one of his body doubles that was working away inside of his private lab to start putting together a Geiger counter with much more sensitive calibrations and that it would take several hours to even get the components ready to assemble.

Whether it was just coincidence or plain luck on his side. Rex did recall videos on the subject of how Geiger counters work, so he had a general idea of how to build one. Of course, several the gases that could be used in its make were not available thanks to the overall technology level in the world. But there were a few on hand that he could still use. Honestly, the whole thing would be solved a lot quicker if he used magic, but he did not want to chance it. So, in this case. It would have to be an item that was made purely through technology alone without any type of assistance on the mystical side.

But Brex did say the following while lifting his right hand up so that the palm was facing downwards and slightly tilting it from left to right. “We can know for sure by later tonight or tomorrow morning. All that I ask is that you use a weapon from this world and just avoid doing anything that would warrant you to have to pull that gun of yours out until then.”

This got a low Grumble of annoyance from Engineer before he waved his hand in a dismissive manner. He then said, “Fine. I'll play it your way. All I need is something to use until then. You wouldn't happen to have any extra weapons lying around at home, would you? I'm not just restricted to guns. I could use melee weapons or go unarmed if I really need to. I’ve been in a few bar fights.”

Brex started to inspect Engineer from were he sat to see what kind of class he was registered as. After a few seconds past and his window appeared at the side of his vision. Brex noticed how it was phasing in and out between the usual border lines he was used to seeing and an odd green computerized version. One second it would say he was a vault dweller and the next it would show nothing but garbled letters and symbols when it came to trying to say what he was when compared to Final Fantasy Fourteen standards.

Brex started to roll his shoulders to show that he was letting out a sigh before he spoke. “Yeah, I'm not sure what it is. But you're not really registering as any of the classes that I'm accustomed to. On one second, it's showing what would be displayed on your Pip-Boy and the next I'm getting this bugged out version of my inspection screen. Here I thought you would come out as a Machinist seeing as you like to use guns. So, who knows what you're going to turn out as when you go and register at the guild. I can't even get a grasp on what your level would be in this world.”

Engineer gave a quick laugh as he pointed to himself with both of his thumbs on either side of his body. He then triumphantly said with a proud tone to his voice. “Ha! You're looking at someone who's maxed out his chart so I'm at level two hundred and eighty-six when it comes to Fallout 4. This also includes the DLC's from Nuka Cola World and Far Harbor. There’s also New Vegas.”

He only continued after taking his right fist and pounding it on his chest. “I'm really strong and really fast. My body is as tough as metal… Well, at least my bones are. I have all the required intelligence and skills to build pretty much anything from my Game World. Not to mention I have the stats put into Charisma and Luck that could probably make me the best gambler in the world. Hahaha! I wouldn't be too surprised if I was maxed out here as well.”

Brex nodded to himself before going into his item box again and pulling out a number of weapons and placed them onto the table. These mostly consisted of level fifteen weapons and below. Starting from the left side was a short sword. The next was a bow. Next up were a pair of knives and the last item was a spear. Brex then said the next part while sounding a little unsure of himself.

“Odds are you can at least use these. No idea on just how strong you really are and until we know for sure that you’re not a health hazard, then these would at least help in making you look normal and minimize any unwanted attention in the meantime. I can understand that you might be able to use the guns of the Machinist, but I've been trying really hard to keep firearms from becoming a thing here. Well at least not in the eye of the public.”

This got an odd reaction out of engineer as he slightly winced and was now giving the Roegadyn an awkward smile. This caused an uneasiness to form in Brex's guts as he waited for the orange Pony to talk. “Hehe-hehe… I may have... already done that. Haha-Haha!” This just got an awkward silence between the two before he elaborated. “I may have put together a pipe pistol for Daring Do. And when she last went to go check in at the guild a couple days ago... she said that her adventures plate gave her the new job title of Machinist. Soooo~. Oops!”

Brex nearly pulled off his own mask upon hearing this to directly pinch the bridge of his nose. He then pursed his lips together while trying to hold back his frustration and taking in a sharp intake of air through his nose that could plainly be heard throughout the room. That was when he waved his hands over all the weapons to make them disappear back into his item box so that they were instantly replaced with an old-style musket with some Final Fantasy flare thrown in. It was just a little longer than Engineers arm and was mostly using wood as the base.

Brex then said, “Go ahead and try picking this up and see what happens. It's called a Steel-barreled Carbine. It's meant for level 30 but I'm guessing you're at least that strong if going off of your base stats are any indication. It's designed to be loaded with seven bullets at a time. There is a lever underneath to get the next bullet in the chamber. Think of it like one of those shotguns you see the Terminator swinging around to reload the next shell. This can be a placeholder until we get your other stuff checked out.”

The orange Pony got up from his chair and picked up the weapon and started to go over its design as well as the loading mechanism with great interest. Engineer then said while pointing it at one of the walls away from Brex and looking down the gun sight, “Not two different from the hunting rifles I picked up from random Gunners. Think I can also get that one short sword you had earlier as a backup weapon?” This got a shrug from Brex as he pulled the weapon out again and placed it on the table. It was quickly picked up and given a few swings before it was put back onto the table along with the gun.

Engineer gave it a couple of seconds before he nodded his head and spoke. “I reckon I can make do with these. Just don't take too long with putting that counter together. Oh, hold on do you think I need to wear clothing from this world too?” Honestly Brex didn't even consider that his clothing might be radioactive and now that it was brought up Brex gave a firm nod to this. The Roegadyn then said, “Yeah, that would be a good idea. If you're strapped for some cash, I can lend you some now and you can use it to get some appropriate gear.”

This got a hearty laugh from the pony before he waved It off and replied. “I'm already covered on that. Daring Do talked my ear off about not standing out so much so I went ahead and got something. I guess I'll change into that before I head out to meet her at the Adventurers Guild. Oh, dang nabbit! I completely lost track of the time! I'm not going to make it there before she does if I don't get a move on it!” Brex was now smirking from behind his mask as he went ahead and placed a few more items onto the table before turning around to leave.

These turned out to be several vials that made up four medium health potions and three Mana potions of the same grade. There was also a couple of status remedy potions that were meant for getting rid of temporary blindness, petrification, poison, disease and paralysis. There was also a bottle that contained a type of poison that would act as a tranquilizer. This was an item that could be applied to a weapon to give it the desired effect for a short time.

Brex then said over his shoulder, “I'll be seeing you around. Ah and one more thing! When you go to register, you may want to keep a pair of sunglasses on hand. I just got this small hunch that you may need them.” And with that Brex left the bar and went down the alley and disappeared after rounding a corner. But instead of going back home. He made his way over to the nearest Adventurers Guild and waited close to a block away as he was standing near the opening of one of the alleys so that he can keep an eye on the front of the building.

It did not take him all that long at all until he saw Engineer rushing to the front doors and frantically looking up and down the street for who he assumed was Daring Do. Brex was just about to leave after a few seconds of watching the human turned Pony, when he heard a familiar voice coming from behind him and causing the Roegadyn the curl his lips into a playful grin. “I didn't take you for the type to slink around the shadows… Hmm, never mind. I can see you doing that now that I think on it more.”

He only did a half turn to his right and found it to be Daring Do. But instead of her usual adventuring type of outfit being worn. She was wearing a conservative dress along with doing her hair up in a bun and wearing a set of large reading glasses. The mare then continued. “Is that partner of yours here as well?” Brex only shook his head before answering. “Nope. Blaze Caster is away doing something else. It's been a while, hasn't it?” The disguised Daring Do walked up so that she was side by side with him and glancing down the street to catch the site of Engineer waiting before she responded.

“Not since the two of you help me with one of my quests nearly a few years ago. Don't tell me you're accepting them again? Ever since you were put up as a bounty for that one Quest. Talk of you as drop down to nearly nothing.” All Brex did was to casually point towards Engineer who is still waiting right outside the guilds doors before he spoke. “Caught your eye, has he?”

When Daring Do took a glance at just what he was pointing at. The mare gave a light cough and started to stick her nose in the air while trying to keep her professional type of attitude from fading away out of surprise. However, Brex did happen to catch the small hint of a blush that lasted for only a slit seconds to appear.

She then said, “I, er. Ah, that makes perfect sense. You two are cut close to the same cloth. Too bad that neither one of you has that perfect balance. You are far too quiet and from what I've heard, would spur the advances of the ladies. Whereas he gives off the impression that he'll jump anything that opens its legs wide enough to him.” Brex turned his mask, so he was facing her, but he did this at a very slow rate to give the impression that this was the equivalent of raising a skeptical eyebrow at the mare.

Having caught this, Daring Do awkwardly pulled out a handkerchief and started to do that fake cough before she seemed to rephrase what she was saying. “Well not that I have seen him do it, but he is always hitting on me at every turn he gets.” Brex gave a disbelieving hum before Daring Do went on. “Ah, before I forget! Take these. I've been holding on to them for a little while and hopes that I'd come across you.” And with that she reached into her pouch that was tied to her waist which turned out to be a bag of holding and pulled out a brown envelope that was tied with a black cord to keep it sealed.

Once Brex had it in his right hand. The mare immediately went to where Engineer was waiting after giving a goodbye and the pair went inside after exchanging a few words. Once they were no longer in sight. Brex backed up so that he was inside of the alley again and went right to work and undoing the twine. He then reached inside with his right hand and pulled out a stack of papers that were comprised primarily of handwritten notes and a couple of slightly blurry pictures. Among these, there was only one picture that seemed to be almost perfect on top.

On that, it showed one of those charcoal imprints that one would make when placing a paper over some scratches on a wall and run some charcoal to get an impression of what was underneath. At first glance, it looked like nothing but gibberish. But then he noticed how his chat window on the bottom of his vision was beginning to slightly glitch out. Suddenly, words were appearing and disappearing constantly with the green and red arrows on either end to indicate it was doing a translation function.

After several seconds went by with this happening and the words coming and going. He finally got to see some red texts that indicated that an error occurred, and the translation eventually failed. However, there was a few words that popped up just beforehand and these were labels for different languages that just made a massive line going down and causing the scrolling icon to rapidly shrink as a result.

These consisted of English, Spanish, Norwegian, Swedish, German, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Arabic, Egyptian, Greek, Hebrew, Yi script and even some binary code and that was just the tip of it. After scrolling up he counted nearly one hundred distinct languages that were apparently on this one piece of paper alone, before he had to stop with the way it just kept on wanting to go.

Upon seeing all of that he took a closer look and all he did happen to catch at the start was a bunch of barely discernible squiggles. But after taking a long minute to stare at it, did his eyes become slightly unfocused and he began to notice that some of the lines didn't match up with some of the others. In a strange way, it was as if somebody wrote an entire paragraph in different languages and kept turning it repeatedly so that it was going up and down left and right until it pretty much covered everything in the same way that a person would just keep jotting down over existing words.

He placed that paper back in and grabbed on to one of the photos. This one showed a mural that was carved into solid rock. Whatever it was, the thing was twice the size of a normal Pony and showed two figures side by side. The one on the left took on a cloud like shape but still retained a bi-pedal form. The only thing that seemed to be sharp enough to make out were two slitted eyes where the head should be. There were also some depictions around it that showed a bleak background with jagged trees and a skull in the distance.

The other was someone wearing some heavy armor. But their entire form was slightly suspended off the ground after a large blade had been run through their body and the tip of the weapon was jammed into the ground right below. It was unfortunate that time itself had withered away most of the details. So, there was not too much to go on when it came to who or what these two figures were. Brex just stood there while looking at the pictures for a good five minutes before placing them all back inside and tying the folder up again. From there it was placed into his item box and an instruction was given to one of his body doubles to go over the paperwork to try and make sense of it all.

Now feeling that it was time to return and find out how well Rory took control of what was happening at home. Brex started to turn away in order to go into the shadows. This was right as he heard someone screaming from inside one of the buildings. The Voice came from some random Mare, and it appeared to be emanating from Canterlot's Adventurers Guild Hall. At first, he felt alarm after hearing it. However, this changed and he was now developing a smirk from behind his mask as he heard the same mare listing off the following numbers. “Thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven!”

When the numbers reached forty. That smirk of his grew into a full laugh when bright yellow lights could be seen shining through the windows of the building and out into the street. There was even a vaguely familiar ringing of a gong that was echoing along with the number count. But what really got the Roegadyn to break down and hold on to his stomach while laughing to himself. Was the familiar voice of Engineer who was screaming the following. “My eyes! My eyes! They burn! Whose bright idea was it to make it do that?!” Although it didn't stop there as a few seconds later, Brex heard the unfamiliar female's voice again. “Your level forty-six?!?!”

It took a couple of seconds for Brex to finally gain control of himself to where he could go into the shadows once everything started to die down. However, before he did. He lifted his right hands index finger and made the motion of wiping underneath one of his eye holes in the same fashion that one would when trying to wipe up some tears. He also said, “Well, let's see how well you do with being the highest Adventurer on record. If word about you gets out, then everyone back at home will just forget about me and I can get some peace and quiet for a bit.”

*Point of view: Third Person*
*Location: Canterlot Adventures Guild*
*Time: A few minutes later*

Engineer was leaning over the counter with his left hand rubbing away at both of his eyes as he slowly started to blink. Still clutched in his other hand was a now emptied bottle that was given to him by Brex to alleviate blindness. He then said in a voice that was a mixture that was heavily leaning towards irritation and only a little on playfulness. “He really should have been more specific when it came to why I needed sunglasses!” When his vision came back, he looked around and saw that Daring Do was still in the middle of recovering but was otherwise okay.

The rest of the guild members were pretty much in the same state. But when he turned his attention to the front and saw that the mare who was giving the test to be just fine. He began to wonder as to why she was able to still be reading out his level when she should have been blinded as well. But that question was easily answered when he spotted the edges of a set of sunglasses that was tucked away in her shirt pocket. That was when he pointed with his left hand before speaking to the desk mare. “You knew that was going to happen, didn't you?”

The mare in question gave him a wry smile as she quickly responded after finishing with a chuckle. “I got word from one of my cousins and Ponyville that's something similar happened. So, word got spread around to carry a pair of these at all times when giving the test. It's only happened once before so it completely slipped my mind. Sorry about that.” This earned her a flat stare from engineer for a few seconds before he rolled his eyes. Daring Do’s voice could be heard right next to him as she was looking down at the plate which was still on the testing device.

“Engineer. Earth pony. It says your age is 25 and your class is Machinist. I knew you were strong, but I didn't think you were that high. Well, well. I guess you'll just breeze right through those quests and rank up pretty quick if you put your mind to it. Most to start at the bottom are lucky to be at ten.” The Pegasus quickly turned her attention over to one of the boards nearby that had a bunch of quests tacked onto it and pointed over while looking at Engineer as she spoke up again. “I know I said we'd be parting ways, but now I'm interested in seeing how well you handle your first quest.”

Daring Do started to move around Engineer to make for the job postings as she spoke over her shoulder again. “I'll make sure to pick you out a good one. Why don't you talk to her about what you need to know. Can't have a newbie trip over their own hoofs and disregard the rules, otherwise it'll hurt all of our reputations.” Engineer gave her a snarky remark as he was rolling his eyes. “Yes Mom~.” His tone then changed to one that was a slightly bit more serious when he spoke under his breath. “Not like I've never done a Quest before. It better be interesting.”

Over with Daring Do. She glanced back and forth to see if anyone was watching and when she was sure that none were. The treasure seeking Pegasus in disguise turned her head and quickly darted out her tongue before returning her attention to the board that she had just gotten to. The mare went over to the beginning quests section and was lifting her right hands index finger while reading them out to herself.

“Okay. Hmm. I probably should pick something that will keep his attention. Let's see, let's see... Fix a leaky faucet in an apartment building... Walk someone's dog... Find a lost parakeet... Wow, I forgot how lame these are. Here's one for garbage cleanup. Another to help with painting a wall. Oh, come on already! There’s got to be something here! Nope. Nope. Nope. Why is this even a quest? Nope-nope!” Daring Do was beginning to show more disinterest as she was combing through one after another. She soon added, “Who has the patience to do all this? The first month nearly drove me mad when I had to go through the same thing.”

After getting sick of seeing the same type of quest being posted for the umpteenth time. Daring Do moved over from the “F” rank's and on to the “E” ranks for anything that was interesting. This was due to the rule that allowed someone to try for one rank up. And seeing as he was at such a high level there was no doubt that the receptionist would allow it. Even if it was literally his first hour on the job. It did not even take three seconds before she saw a few that peaked her interests and began to go over them in detail in her head.

“This one is for an escort mission for some Noble that will be going out on the town. I suppose it would be a good idea to get that one for the opportunity to get known in the field.” Her face then turned into a small frown as she continued. “Eh... Probably shouldn't. Chances are he'll end up killing the noble if they push his buttons.”

She didn't say the next part out loud, but she started to envision the noble being one of those posh mare’s and possibly hitting on Engineer during the assignment. The image quickly turned to Daring Do herself appearing and putting a gun to set mare’s head. This got the Pegasus to blink dumbfoundedly while also shaking her head of those thoughts and also looking quite confused.

After getting past whatever was bothering her off of her mind. Daring Do went on to the next listing. This consisted of trying to put together a small group for an expedition into some nearby woods. This was because of an odd monster report that was submitted a few days ago. She thought about that one for a bit but decided against it. It would have been a good choice but not quite something that should have been his first assignment. The last one was a missing person’s report. According to the information. A noble requested some additional help in finding her daughter who had gone missing nearly two days ago.

She reached up and plucked it off the board and gave it a good look before turning around and heading over to the desk. When she got there, she was standing to the left of Engineer, who was just going over the last of the do's and don'ts of the guild. Without even giving either the receptionist or him a chance to acknowledge her presence. Daring Do already went right ahead and slammed the quest paperwork onto the table with a heavy thud and slid it closer for the mare behind the desk to take.

With a serious look about her. She glanced over at the orange stallion for but a second, before bringing her attention to the mare on the other side as she spoke and placed down a calling card next to it. “He's going to be taking this quest along with this mare.” Engineer was arching an eyebrow as the receptionist picked up the quest along with the card. She then spoke with an astonished tone towards the pair. “Oh my! You both know Daring Do?”

After around five minutes later. The pair could be seen coming out through the doors of the guild building and Daring Do who was still in disguise, could be seen pulling him along. Engineer was looking confused at the action and was glancing between the Pegasus mare and where they were just at for a few times before he finally spoke up. “Hay, do you mind filling me in on what just happened? Weren't you going off on your next trip after getting me signed up?”

Daring Do did not even acknowledge his question as she was still pulling him along by his arm until they rounded a corner and stopped due to a passing wagon on the street. Now that they finally got a chance to talk. Engineer leaned over so that he could see her face. But his words stopped once he realized the expression on her, as she was looking straight ahead and clearly off in the distance. “The mare that's missing is… someone I know.” This got the reaction from Engineer of him having his own serious expression before straightening out.

The once human and now earth pony placed a hand onto Daring Do's right shoulder without even looking directly at her and only keeping his eyes straight ahead. He then spoke in an unusual calm voice that was oddly stern for him. “Fill me in on the way and don't leave a single thing out.”