A Century Removed

Rorrick glanced around as he walked along the street, keeping his head low and frowning at everything. He'd heard of Manehattan as a young colt. "An amazing city with all the new innovations coming out of it," they'd said. It was where all the big innovations came from, like electric lights and spells that could snuff out entire forest fires. Rorrick sneered as he passed beneath a large glowing sign, powered by electricity and held aloft with magic. Manehattan certainly was full of new things, but instead of being excited at the prospect of finally being in this marvelous metropolis, Rorrick only glared. Everywhere he looked he saw things he'd helped build the prototype components of. Electricity? Ha! He laughed at electricity. Before his accident he'd been close to making it an antique. Suspension bridges? Freestanding skyways had been number fifty-three on his to-do list. The Statue of Liberty? Triplicate the height and halve the weight, then he'd be impressed. Without him this city would only recently have built any of the old things taken for granted here. And what thanks did he get? What recognition? Even a bloody mention!? No! None! Zero! Those unscrupulous pigs he called friends had screwed him over and left him for history's dustbin like an old piece of trash!

Rorrick stopped walking when he noticed his jaw was hurting. He blinked and found he was grinding his teeth like a grain mill, actually making an audible sound like scraping rocks. Shaking his head he sat back on his haunches and rubbed his jaw, "Ow," He muttered, the pain dulling his surge of anger. He grunted and pushed thoughts of his old life away. Someday he'd try to right the wrongs done to him, and Celestia knew that would be a challenge, but not today.

That thought did so much as to make Rorrick smile briefly. Celestia, maybe not everything had changed. Equestria still had its kind hearted ruler, and if you believed the stories, her sister had even returned from her supposedly eternal exile. Rorrick snorted derisively at that thought. Many things had changed, but some things he knew were absolute; fixed. Reassured by this idea, Rorrick continued his walk, eventually reaching the end of the street and beholding the trees and grass of Centrot Park.

He gave another brief smile as he stepped off the paved road to walk on the grass. Still the same soft earth and towering trees Equestria had always had. Not everything had changed. His smile vanished as he breathed deeply and sighed loudly. He still had to confront the fact, the world was different. It wasn't the one he'd know. He was new to this strange land, this Equestria, and he needed to find his place again.

And so, coming full circle after a fashion, Rorrick retreated into thought as he wandered the park. He abandoned pesky emotion for the moment in favor of cool logic, his oldest, truest, last friend. He treated his situation like he had lab problems. The situation? He was a hundred years removed and had, for all intents and purposes, been born yesterday. Objective? To return to his old life or, barring that, begin a new one. How was he going to complete the objective?

Well, that was going to take a few more laps around the park to figure out.

Renaultar loved his patrols, but the park area was more of a break from that if anything. The guardpony found this day to be easier than most others with the surprising turn of weather. While it was getting cloudy fast, the temperature was cool and breezy.

He slowed his pace down, letting the light breeze cool him off from being in his armor all day. He hardly paid much attention to the ponies around him since the park was one of the most peaceful areas. Only the occasional glance and nod to a pony every now and then. Mares though would get special treatment as his gaze would linger a bit too long.

With a smile on his face, Renaultar trotted through the park, sometimes not watching where he was going as some ponies got his attention more than others.

*My bank account maybe? I could see if the interest has, wait, blast! I was going to start an account tomorrow, a hundred years ago, in the future. Now the past. The present?* Rorrick shook his head and ground a hoof against his forehead with a scowl, "Gah! Damn this accursed time travel! And I thought just the theory was complicated enough." He grit his teeth and hunched his head down, staring at the ground in front of him and mouthing his thoughts, sometimes shouting hoarsely as he discarded one idea after the next.

He was weaving through the trees with no destination in particular in mind, nearing the edge of the park. Still looking at the ground, he marched around a tree and smacked his face straight into somepony's breastplate. Clang! He yelled a curse that made a mare walking nearby blush and glare reproachfully at him before trotting off in a huff, "Sweet Celestia blast you! My face! What have you done to my face you bumbling oaf!?" Rorrick staggered a bit and yowled, scrunching his eyes closed and feeling his face with a hoof (It wasn't even bruised that bad). "Watch where you put your hooves next time you young, filthy piece of-" He opened his eyes to look up and glare at his "assailant." He paused and went stock still, except for his eyes, which slowly bugged out as he stared up at Renaultar.

Renaultar was very surprised by the sudden impact of the pony. While he hardly felt it and nearly kept on trotting, there was more of an emotional pain than physical.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't see you there. Are you alright? Do you...need medical assistance?" He held out a hoof to offer a steady grip. A closer look at him would show that the guardpony had an eye patch over one eye.

Renny was hardly a pony to not stop for every trouble in sight. This pony was no exception.

Oh dear, i hope he isn't the kind of pony that will threaten to file a lawsuit or something.