Only in my dreams

Celestia observed a single strand of lonely grass among a large hill. It was strong and healthy, while everything in a large radius was covered in nothing but sand. It amazed her at how a single thing could live such a health life while everything around it turned to ash and dust.

After finishing her observation, she got back to all fours and continued her short journey. Already, sweat rolled down her back and neck as the heat of the day pierced her fur and skin. Her breath was hard on her throat, constantly keeping her from making the progress she wanted. Her hooves nearly never landed where she wanted them to, causing her to constantly trip over herself.

By what seemed to be luck alone, she finally reached the top of the small hill. Far ahead of her, she could see massive metal structures that looked like they touched the sky. The suns rays reflected off their shiny surfaces, yet it was clear that whatever had built them was long gone as made obvious by the lifeless streets.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind came in from behind, blowing her mane off of her shoulders  and in front of her face. She could feel every brittle piece of sand hit her legs and fly off. It stung ever so lightly, but it was far from her limits.

Just a second later, the gust of wind caught up to the ground below her, sending sand and ash alike into the roads of the dead city below, making it seem all the much more eerie. But for some reason, she felt the need to continue on. Like something was pushing her forward.

She moved downward and onward toward the city, every movement causing her to come closer to what could easily have been one of the most horrifying things she’s ever seen in her life. Not by looks, but instead what she wondered could reside inside.

Eventually, after several long minutes, she reached the outskirts of the city. Trying to ignore her fears, she closed her eyes and rushed in. The sound of her hooves clopping against the solid sidewalk gave her the courage to open them

With nothing happening, she let out a breath that she had been holding. The strang fear that had been residing in her chest quickly turned to courage as nothing jumped from the shadows.

As she made her way through the lifeless streets, she noticed that the structures that surrounded her had started to look less and less deserted, and more lively than before, eventually getting to the point where they looked like they were still being maintained regularly.

Celestia looked around in every corner, looking for signs of life. “ This certainly is-” she started, before getting cut off by a massive bang that filled the air for what felt would be miles.

Then she heard what sounded like a bell off in the distance, followed by silence.

Celestia faltered. With no room to turn back, she waited for something else to happen. But a minute later, her patience was answered as bipedal beings, the same as Jesse, started pouring in from every direction. Some coming from the alleyways and a single person even materialized directly in front of her.

She looked on with awe as more and more people filled the streets, creating a mass larger than she had ever seen even from the bustling city of Canterlot. She was then hit by the realization that while she could see her own physical manifestation, not a single person that passed her  had even glanced her way.

She looked down at her own hooves, not sure what to do while in this world. And so, she allowed her curiosity to drive her forward.

Trotting slowly through though the roads, she came to a large fenced in building. It was a single story complex that she felt like she felt she vaguely remembered.

How do I know this place, she thought to herself, knowing that somewhere in her mind, she did in fact know this location. Now only if I- Her thoughts were once again cut short as the sounds of screaming and yelling came from the building, joined by waves of children rushing past her.

Suddenly, she felt herself recognizing her surroundings. The building she was looking at was the very school that Jesse went to, and if she could tell anything from what was happening around her, the school day was just ending.

Immediately, she took the the sky, going to the one spot she knew she would find Jesse. As always, he was walking along the western side of the school, coming to a stop across from another street that led to his house.

He crossed the road, making his way to his house, completely unaware of the presence watching him.

oOo

Celestia flew down beside Jesse as he approached his home, her hooves making no sound as she landed in the grass. She continued to follow him as he treaded along the short walkway that lead to the front door.

Once inside, Jesse walked directly to his room, ignoring anything and everything that would have otherwise caught his attention.

Upon entering his room, he laid down on his bed. To Celestias surprise, the light of the day past, and the gentle caress of the moons own light took its place.

She sat herself next to his bed to wait for something to happen. As if on cue, the door opened, revealing his father. He wore an enraged face about his head with eyes that looked like they could cut through solid sheets of steel if he focused hard enough.

Jesse quickly flipped on his side, away from Celestia and to his dad. Even without being able to see Jessie’s face, she knew that he was scared. She could almost feel his fear radiating off of him.

Within the second, his dad grabbed Jesse by the scruff of his neck and lifted him into the air. Instinctively, Jesse tried to pry his hands away, only to have failed from the very beginning. He screamed and kicked, but to no avail, he remained in his fathers hands.

Seemingly getting angrier every second, he slammed Jesse into the wall hard enough to make Celestia wince. Tears rolled down the poor boys cheeks.  “ THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” Jesse’s father screamed into his ear.

Wanting nothing more, he slapped his son across the face and threw him down onto the bed.

Everything happened too fast for Celestia, which of whom was unsure of what to do while Jesse laid in a lump on his bed,crying.

Jesse’s dad left the room and stormed down the hellway, the sound of his feet against the floor rung in her ears. She closed her eyes, hoping to find some answer as to what she could do. Instead, she was met only by the whimpering that came from the crying boy.

Minutes passed and his crying faded to sniffles, and then to silence. He turned himself over to where he was facing Celestia and looked her in the eye. “ You know,” He sniffled. His voice gurgled with the build up in his throat. “ I thought you’d never come back.”

oOo

The burning raze still flamed over his face, causing tears to keep forming in the corner of his eyes. Only now, with a few minutes passing from the time his father had slapped him, was he able to hold back the tears the longed to flow past his cheeks.

It felt like hours had passed in a matter of minutes as his thoughts overwhelmed him. He never knew why his father hated him, nor did he ever understand what the man wanted from him. All he knew was that he had done something. Something grievous. Something he could never take back.

He released a sigh as he decided that it wasn’t worth taking the time to think about. At least, not while he had company.  Wasting no more time, he turned to face Celestia.

He had known about her presence since the moment that her hooves touched a single blade of grass on the lawn. She never tried to be quiet, instead, she moved as if nobody could see her. Like she didn’t even exist but to him alone.

Not that he cared if somebody had seen her. It had been years since she had last visited him. And when she did, she told him that she would get him out of ‘here’.

When the first year passed, and she hadn’t even returned like she had promised him, he started to think of her as something more like his father than a loving being that could never tell a lie. It came o the point where he thought Celesta was just a part of his imagination that cried to be released from the deathly claw of his father's grasp.

With the one previous time that she had visited, when he was just six years old, he decided that it would be a safe assumption that he could put his trust into her. Celestia sounded like she sincerely meant what she said in taking him to someplace better. Never at that time had he even thought to himself that he was crazy for believing the words of some alien being.

He only wished to be removed from his position.

Now with his eyes planted firmly to hers, half his mind burned a hole in his head, telling him that what he was looking at was nothing more than fake. The other telling him that the pony princess was real and that she had returned to whisk him away to some magical land where he would be free of the tyranny called dad.

With Jesse staring back at her, she tensed. Their eyes locked together. Jesse wanted to feel mad with Celestia for leaving him behind. Instead, he felt relief in that she had, in fact came back.

Celestia on the other hand (Hoof?) felt remorse. Not for something she had done, but instead for what she couldn’t do. Ever since her dreams started, she wanted nothing more than to save him from the hardships of life, only to be forced into years of waiting for the correct spell to be created. Now, she had just watched his father beat him and didn’t even attempt to help.

With the moment passing, and the silence stretching into awkwardness, Jesse broke the silence that had formed between the two of them. “ You know,” He started in a hushed voice. His emotions started to flood into him. No matter how much he despised her for lying to him those four years ago, she still had a motherly nature to her that he long to have in his life once again. “ I thought i’d never see you again.”

Celestia sat there, dumbfounded. She took a staggered breath as her excitement caught up with her. Now, not only was she able to watch Jesse, but possibly talk to him as well. Suddenly, she was hit by a realization that she had failed to notice just a moment ago.

Jesse had said again like he had seen her before. Instead of questioning him, fearing that she would do something regrettable, she decided that she would instead go along with what he said.

“Now what would cause you to imagine anything of that sort?” She asked.

“ It’s been four years since you last came. And you said you’d get me out of here. And that you would take me somewhere better!” Again, tears started pouring out of his eyes.

Celestia closed the gap between the two of them. She brought her hoof to his chin, raising so to look at him directly. “ And here I am. But sadly, I cannot bring you along with me yet young one. The spell is yet to perfected.”

Jesse wrapped an arm around Celestia and pushed himself into her coat. “ Please!” He begged. “ I don’t want to stay here!” Again, he had turned to begging her.

In response, she slowly ran her hoof down his cheek. “ One day, I will bring you to someplace better. Someplace where you can feel free.”

Celestia could feel the strings of reality pulling at her. The time that she was given was nearly gone, and once again, she would leave the boy alone and scared for his life. Even if she had no recollection of the last time they had spoken, she still felt pained for leaving him, to him, once again.

Jesse could feel her presence leaving as well. “ Please!” He cried. “ Don’t leave me here!” He grabbed at the fur on her chest, only for his hands to go through it like it wasn’t there.

“ I must go now, “ Celestia stated. “ Be patient. I will come back.”

“ NO! Please, no!” He screamed. Tears flowed freely once more as she disappeared from in front of him. “ I don’t want to be alone.”

oOo

Celestia stood directly across from Bliss Endeavor, the unicorn stallion that had played such a large role in the creation of the spell she had put them to work researching just a few years back.

A single bead of sweat ran down the old stallions brow, his gut telling him that everything happening wasn’t right, and that something was going to go wrong. He quivered at the thought that the princess could possibly cause many ponies their lives if she were to make a single mistake.

Celestia, however, feared nothing of the sort. She was confident in her abilities as a princess, and as the most magically talented entity to ever exist. She understood her powers to the fullest extent, and believed that she could cast the spell with precision. Even if it wasn’t yet finished.

Celestia took a single demanding step forward and the stallion took one back. He, horrified, she, engrossed in the campaign of retrieving what was so far finished of the spell.

“ I am your princess. You will do as I command you.” Her voice dripped with venom.

The stallion shrunk back with fear, knowing that giving Celestia the spell was likely going to lead to nowhere pleasant. “ P-p-p-p-princess, “ He stammered , “ I beg that you please don’t do this!” He curled up against the desk closest to him by instinct.

Celestia only responded by holding out a hoof. “ Now.” She managed to hold her tongue from lashing out at  Bliss.

Bliss Endeavor sighed in defeat. Several cabinets opened from the back of the room. Out came what looked like several hundred scrolls. Celestia took every one of them into her own magical grasp. “ I’m pleased to see that we came to an agreement.” She stated as she walked off, scrolls in tow, allowing Bliss to release a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

The stallion returned to an upright position and looked back to where his colleagues had been watching from. All faces were flushed. Never before had any of them seen Celestia remotely angry, making this their first encounter with an angered princess.

Even while knowing that she couldn’t use magic due to her lack of a horn, Celestia could still be terrifying if she wanted to be.

All of Bliss’s colleagues stared at him, either feeling sorry that he had to be the one stand up to Celestia, or feeling lucky that they weren’t the ones in his place.

With his gut feeling back in place, he asked,  “ Any of you guys know what she was so worked up about?”