Chapter 7; Unexpected Meeting

Trying to ignore the calling, I was forcing myself to sleep on a cushioned sleeping bag in my new house. Everybody else was fast asleep, Twilight's spell still going on, I exited the house to see the moon with the mare in it. I looked over to the side to Friendship Tree I'd call it, due to the events prior. I climbed up to a branch and went outward towards a clearing. I looked again at the moon, it glared a flash at me as I heard Luna's voice again. "Why thou up so late during this night?"

"I can't sleep, I felt something strange, like nothing I've ever felt. It happened the night before too." I said.

"hmm... I hast not heard of such, nor felt anything. Are you just tired?" Luna asked in concern, though I myself can't answer that. "I'm not tired, something is calling me at the same time when I try to sleep."

"I will send forth news to my sister, we will have a meeting. Tomorrow at the highest point of sun, take the train with the others, you are heading to Canterlot. And do try to sleep." Luna concluded, I can do so I guess "Will do, thanks for the talk."

"Sleep well, foreign one." The Night Princess finished.

The mare pattern flashed once more before disappearing off the moon. She is right, I should get some sleep. I yawned before starting my way down the tree. At the base to my suprise was Twilight, clouded in sleepyness, she asked; "Mike, what are you doing up so late at night?".

"I couldn't sleep, I was talking with Princess Luna, We're heading to Canterlot tomorrow at noon." I stated, feeling tired myself. Twilight awoke herself better when she comprehended what I'd just said. "We're going to Canterlot, tomorrow?!" She hesitated.

"The others too, I have a meeting I must attend with Celestia herself, we have some issues to discuss." I stated once more. "Well tell us again in the morning.." She yawned "I'm going back to bed, Night Mike."

"Cya in the morning Twilight." I said as I looked back at the moon, and started back into the newly built house. I curled up into my own sleeping bag as I was deep in thought. Twilight didn't seem to mind being human at all, I actually think she enjoyed so. Things slipped away as I fell asleep to a dreamless sleep. It felt like minutes passed when Twilight awoken me by shaking me relentlessly. "Mike! Wake up we're going to be late for the train!" I got up instantly, pushing off the unicorn, knowing that she changed herself back.

"I slept that long?!" I panicked as I got myself ready. Rainbow Dash went on her own road of thoughts "You're the heaviest sleeper in Equestria!"

I finished throwing my bag over my shoulder "Blast that, lets get going."

We charged toward the train station. Noticing the sun's location, I went from a jog to a sprint, starting to outrun the others as I parkoured through market stands, boxes and barrels. Though they did adjust their pace to mine. We got to the train just as it was about to depart. Fileing in, I said tiredly "Ya won't see many humans do that, most of them are too lazy to, and the fact I'm the last one."

Nobody really caring due to panting breathes, we waited on the train ride, me looking out the window as the others conversed in issues I didn't pay attention to. Subduing myself in the scenery of a city hanging off the side of the cliff, suggestivly Canterlot as it grew bigger as we travelled. I had thoughts of what the strange feelings may have been. Cycling myself in dreams of thoughts and ideas, until Twilight went to speak with me. "Hey Mike, what were you talking about last night with princess Luna?"

My thoughts were elsewhere, but I began anyways; "Uhh, I couldn't sleep last night, so I stepped out to gaze the skys, and I saw the sign of her on the moon. Most likely wanting business or to converse, I climbed the tree and began talking with her, I had the same feeling as the night before at your place. She has no idea what it could mean so she decided to make plans for a meeting today. After that, we finished and I went back down to go in when I saw your sleepy head out of bed."

She had some curious tone as she spoke this time "I wonder what that could mean myself, but we'll figure it out here soon. So anyways, how do you like Ponyville?"

"I find it great so far, I kinda think I need a break from everybody's, or ponys', curiousity. I know I'm like nothing they've ever seen but it gets annoying after a little." I said, really thinking about how annoying it gets at times.

"Well, why don't you ask somethings about us? I'm sure you have some questions yourself." Twilight-bulbed in solution. I thought about it for a second, I knew plenty already. "Thats just it, back where I came from, our history, especially Greek mythology dealt with it, Pegasi being a rare sighting, able to fly with great speed. The best example I remember is of a hero named Hercules, who was born a god, and had great strength. He was givin a Pegasis as a gift from his father, Zeus, King of Gods." I said as if I were teaching history class.

"What about Earth ponys and Unicorns?" She asked.

I had thought of that, and began again. "Earth ponys were an abundant population, they were used as the work force for farmers and rangers, until replaced by machines, they were still a popular ranch animal. Unicorns are a specimin I hadn't heard from much, but the best example is a fool at the McDonalds Drive-thru." Then I thought, "Now that I think about it, you got magic, how does that work? The only magic I know is sleight of hand and optical illusions."

Twilight smiled, "Smart little cookie, Magic is a talent that certain unicorns who pursue it. There are many spells out there, from levitation, to minor-time travelling. I know alot because I was taught under Princess Celestia herself!"

"Well then, should I call you royalty then my highness." I said letting out a chuckle afterword.

Twilight noticed the joke, let out some giggles and began "Well, no not really."

Forgetting the joke, I looked around a bit, noticed Rarity to be a unicorn as well. "What about Rarity over there, she go along with you in magic classes?"

"No, I met her when I first moved to Ponyville. I don't recall seeing her at all in Canterlot." She said with some thought.

"Eh, I getcha, I just wonder what Celestia and I will be discussing on short notice..." I said cutting myself off in thought.

"Whatever the cause, it can't be anything bad, right?" Twilight seemed unsure at that point, but I responded in my thoughts "I'm not certain at all."

"Well anyhoof, once business is dealt with, we'll roam the city, so you check it out."

Just as she was finishing, I had the feeling again, following up with a nasty migrain. It felt stronger now, closer, as if it were breathing down my back, saying 'You can't escape' strong.

"Mike, are you alright?" Twilight said in concern as I began rubbing my temples.

"Errg, the feeling is back... Fricking strong ass migrain too..." I struggled saying.

"Guys, he isn't feeling good!" Things started getting blurry, my hearing was being muffled as I faintly heard what Twilight said. I heard Applejack's voice and blacked out with the sight of them looking at me in concern.

I knowing I was in a dream, got up, I was in a dark castle ruins. It was a little foggy as I looked around, it was the throne room, I was at the foot of the throne. "Hello? Ya guys there?" I asked yelling out, to only here my echo. I started down the stairs on the other side of the throne room. Travelling through far enough to see a strange, branched out pedestal with 5 slots, all empty. I then walked outside to what was night time fog, and a bridge that was out.

"Hello?" I yelled once more to get a response of the bridge fixing itself. The hell was this trickery, I didn't know, but crossed it anyhow to find the Everfree Forest. I entered with a sigh of disappointment, knowing I wasn't going to like what I would find, yet finding nothing but a raging river. Nobody else around, yelling once more to get the response of a smooth river. Sighing again in disbelief, I crossed the river to hear a sinister and ghastly voice, "You're welcome, jerk!".

"Who's there?" I said in surprise and releasing my hidden blades. The voice ominously responded "Me you twit!"

"Can I hear a name please? Cause I don't think I know you or do I see you..." I asked keeping my stance as it responded once more; "My name is not important, Mike, why did you leave us?"

Appearing in my face were blackened flames, emerging was another, familiar, but ghastly human. Then it hit me, I knew this man. "Dave? Is that you????"

"Dave I am," He crossed his arms, "you remembered my name atleast, but you left us to die! What type of friend are you?!!"

"Look, I wasn't even sure if my machine would work in the first place, and as glad as I am to see your face again, I had no choice but to go, I didn't know if you were even alive or not." I said retracting my blades.

Dave sighed, and... "I WAS AT YOUR FUCKING CELLAR DOOR!!! I DIED TRYING TO GET IN THERE!!! DAMN IT MIKE, YOU KILLED ME!!!" he yelled to my shocked.

Dave continued to go on, I didn't pay attention as I was thinking elsewhere. How to help him? Celestia voice then echoed, I knew what to do "Jeeze man, I got a plan, just it'll take some time."

"And... Wait, really? How do you plan to bring me from the dead? Go back in time and alter the course of history? Phff." he said in disbelief and went on. Ignoring his words, "Actually, yes, thats my plan." I said with pride, trying to keep myself serious. "Wait, what now?" he said with some confusion.

"I'm going to restore my Time machine," I began "which I found the remains of, and go back in time to December of 2017, a month before the war."

Dave closed his nearly transparent eyes, began rubbing his chin. "Its a possibility, but my ghostly self will cease to exist til new times. Alright, you got a week to restore it and get me." I said without my say.

Knowing that the materials I need may not exist, I started persuading; "I'll need alot more time than just a week. I got to sign a contract. I live in new lands, peaceful one too. The owner, Princess Celestia, says I must only allow trusted people from the past, so forth, I'll have t forge new tools, find and melt metals, generate lots of electricity and go, not to mention return machine. New callobrations, altogether, it'll take bout a year Dave."

Dave looked at me again "Your joking.. Right?"

"Unfortanatly, I'm not, I would just go on first notice, but I can't. Dave, I am truly sorry but I could of helped you, yet I never noticed you. Trust me on this, take my soul if I can't, I will come for you, and save your ass bro, ya got my word." I said, actually being serious about it.

"Uuhhh, as much as I'm fustrated, and how much you're right, just try to get me ASAP, I'll check up with you. But you have to come into this God forsakin forest, My lingering soul can't go an inch out of here." He said with some sorrow. "Ya got it, it is nice to see ya again." I said remembering about the others, and this being a dream

Dave began walking towards me "It took awhile, but I learned some magic mate, ya should try it! You can enter people's dreams with it, and interact with it, just as I'm doing now."

Reaching over with his hand, Dave touched my head to some magic I supposed. Suddenly I received memory of doing the spell. I learned how to Dream Stalk, just like Princess Luna, but more anonymously and unnoticed.

"Cool bro, again sorry, I will come and get ya." I apologized once more.

"No problem, I'll let ya go now. Nice talking with ya 'gain, Mike. I'll see ya soon. And come back later, I've been working on other spells." Dave concluded. "K, catch ya later." I said as things grew white.

I woke up in a hospital like room, a nice one too. I got up and looked around, the other ponys were asleep. I looked around a little bit more, thinking about what Dave had said, and heard a familiar voice as I looked at the ceiling; "Well Mike, thou hast awaken!"

"Princess Luna, I got lots to explain and-" I began to be interrupted. "Rest young one, I must explain first. You fell out black on the train ride. I tried entering your dreams, but a force pushed me out, care to explain?" She asked with authority in her voice. "I will, just lets do so in the meeting, I'm assuming I missed it while drifting off." I said trying to escape one on one situation with her.

"Yes, indeed you missed it, but we cancelled it once we got word from your friends." Luna answered.

"Alright, lets try again tomorrow, I'm tired and I got to collect my thoughts so I don't leave a fact out." I said, I was still a little dazed so I was cutting corners.

"Wise I must say, Good night once more." She said as she began to left the room. I fell asleep till the dawn of the morning, no dreams, just your average sleep.

I got up after faking pretty much the rest of the night away, only to be suprised. Everypony had gathered around me hugging me in joy and relief. Twilight being first to speak, "Mike, you scared me back there!"

"You really shouldn't stress yourself too much, its bad for your health, but I'm just sooo happy I could just" Fluttershy began inhaling a large amount of air "yay..!"

Applejack Continued on; "Sugarcube, don't get us all worked up ova' nothin again. Alright?"

"Feeling better? Cause I feel like racing today for sure!" Rainbow Dash challenged.

Finally, I got my chance to talk "Yes, Yes, it was something I didn't see coming and-" Being interupted by Pinkie Pie firing her party cannon and playing a bunch of instruments.

"Pinkie Pie, We don't need the party, theres a time and place. As I was saying, I-" Being interupted again, but by Princess Celestia this time.

"Nice to see you awake Mike. We must start our meeting, we have lots to discuss and little time to do so." Celestia began and concluded.

"Can I explain one simple thing before I'm interupted a third time?" I said on my last straw "An old friend of my had found a way to tell me something important, but he is passed at the time. He used a spell so he could discuss with me, he wants to join me here, but for ya'll to talk to him, ya gotta be with me in the Everfree Forest, where his soul is stuck."

"HAH! I told ya somepony did it!" Rainbow Dash gloated. I began again "Somebody, he too, was a human. But details will be discussed later, I have to go attend this meeting, Princess Celestia, do you still have that contract, I will be remaking my time machine to bring him here, I trust him fully that he will not abrupt great problems." I concluded in a business attitude. I started getting out of the equipment and hopping off the bed.

"Yes, I have it still, we can discuss that in the meeting." Celestia concluded as we walked towards the small hospital room's exit.

"This might take awhile guys, so cya'll." I said through the door to my friends. I followed the Princess through the castle to her throne room, as the guards left the room, closing the doors shut.

"Now, Mike." The Princess began. "You have been a guest to my land for about a week, only caused a couple felonys in which were pardoned and finally, passed out due to a ghost of your friend. I'd wish to know more about your backround if you wouldn't mind." I had an assumption on where this was going, but I ain't got any reason to lie.

"I've got no problems with that. I was born in the year 1996 to a somewhat higher middle-class family. I was the third of 5 kids, so I am right in the middle, but that doesn't stop a dream. In my life, I played many games, did many things, one of few notable, Inventing and engineering, I knew for many years, since the age of 10, that the government was unstable, that the people would revolt. I was right, just 12 years later, a war broke out in late January of 2018. My country's government was over thrown, thus making it a vulnerable target to conquer with nobody in control. So early in the next two monthes did many nations try to take control, killing one another for power, power that many knew was out of reach and not worth it. That was me, sitting in my cellar for 2 monthes. I may have had the slightest case of insanity when I got here, not talking to anybody but myself for 2 monthes, waking up in a strange new world, I was shocked. I grew used to it, and here I am now."

A couple of seconds past as I watched Celestia's face for explainable expressions, before I could make it out she began; "Alright, thats believable. Now, who may this ghostly friend of yours?"

"His name is Dave, I met him when I was 12, been friends since. I want to bring him here so I don't have to grief for him, I had actually been the person who killed him for not opening my cellar to him, though I could not hear him over the other noise pollution during the war." I said, to have her respond almost instantly "Do you believe he will be stable enough to understand what you do now?"

Letting out a sigh, I said "I predict that he'll be some trouble getting to come with me, but he will be in a more mind stabled shape if I got back a month before the war began."

"Very well," Celestia agreed while making the scroll appear once more. "just sign the contract, remember, only Dave will be brought back, and make sure that you have proper calibrations to get there and back, and by back, I mean at least a minute after you leave, so no time paradoxes are made." She seemed ensuring.

"Hey, I'm smart enough to know this stuff if I had built it before." I said trying to get some sort of emotion out of her, I gotta figure her out to understand her face. Rereading the contract, I signed it, and handed it back. She signed and stamped it. The contract was approve, and I could bring Dave back now.

Celestia began again "You have the right to repair and build your time machine once again, but use it only for saving Dave. Now that thats settled, is there anything else you would want me to know or ask me about?"

"Yah, one thing." I had something lingering in my head; "On the train before I went out, Twilight was telling me about magic, and in the dream, Dave showed me how to go into somebody's dreams. those strange feelings I got was only him trying while I was awake, and he did the last one forcefully, causing me to go out. And well now I'm left to the question, do ya think I could be taught how to do some magic, cause all I've known are little Illusions and speed."

"hhmmmm... I suppose I could try to teach you, but it will be different than how we do so." Celestia stated in some noticeable confusion. "Not really, see my hands? I have fingers, they are just as good, if not better than horns." I clarified.

"Let us leave that for another day though, Twilight could teach you a thing or two about magic." Celestia said wanting to get off the topic. "I'd guess, she has some books bout it too." I agreed.

Celestia then caught me off guard with the simple statement; "I have just one last question for you." I took a sigh after thinking about it, and finally said, "Alright, hit me up."

Celestia took a breath, "Do you trust your friends, do you care for them as they do for you? They were truly trusting and having faith in you while you were out."

"Doosy indeed." I began with a bit of thought. "I have faith in them, just I should tell them how I feel about each one of them. I am a little pestered when they get all curious and into my business, and I understand why. I should be the same with them, but I know so much already about Earth ponys and Pegasi. My uncle used to own what you would call an Earth pony, we called her Choco because her fur looked like chocolate. She did not speak the tongue we do now. Pegasi were never seen in my eyes, but there were myths of them in our history." Pausing to breath a little; "Finally Unicorns had the mystery wrap, not heard of often in myths, nor history, but at restraunts."

Celestia answering; "Then you'll do just fine, this meeting is over unless you have anything else." Not having anything in mind, "Nada."

"Very well, you may leave." Celestia finished as she turned to the side and began walking. "Thanks for ya time Princess, and thanks for forgiving me of my actions." I said in hopes of increasing her mood, which seemed odd now.

She left without another word, I headed towards the doors in which I came from. Something just ain't right, she doesn't trust me fully, I just know it! I should worry less about that, I got curious friends to deal with. Trust is a treasure, yet also a foe, no matter who you are.

Author's Note

I'm sorry I got this out so late, I had lots of things to do this week and the plain fact, I had to almost retype this whole chapter. I will try better to get the next few chapters re-formatted for you, the reader, to enjoy.
Other than that, I have been considering making animations to fit the story. Still only a thought, nothing in progress there yet, but if I do then just message me here on fimfiction, and I'll get to it.

~Bronyrite