Chapter 26: Goals In Recovery

[...]

“...”

“...”

A blank slate. The world and everything in it…silent.

“As per usual.”

groan! “Uuggh….” My head buzzed from the overstimulating pain. It sent shockwaves throughout my mind, imploring it to wake me up.

“Owwww….” I remember my consciousness awakening, slowly returning to the real world. It was all a daze, the colors blurry and dark in tone.

Finally, my eyes slowly opened, and there was this weird feeling. It wasn’t easy pulling my eyelids away from each other, most likely the crust from an extended period of sleeping gathering upon them. I couldn’t feel my legs or arms, but the world spun a bit.

It was…tedious to feel the world form around me. Feel…where I was….

My eyes opened and blinked profusely. They began to slowly adjust to the lighting of the…wait.

Where am I? my mind’s first thought echoed. The words within those words meant something completely different now, remembering what it once meant to me….

“Where are you, Alex?”

The memory of my oldest brother saying those words as we went through the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame stuck with me. Traveling to see the historical places, the monuments, and even the tourist attractions, the phrase ‘Where are you’ had a…different meaning back then.

Now…it revolved around a new term describing the thrilling journey I began. It spoke for what I was doing and was an easy word to understand, yet a grim subject when taken out of context….

‘Survival.’

As my mind came to, those senses in my head transferred to my arm nerves. Slowly, the ground I sat upon began to feel…rocky. I don’t remember when it occurred to me, but I tried to look at my surroundings and gues-no…remember where I was.

groan! “Auuh…whuh,” was the sentence that escaped my mouth. An unclear, incomprehensive sentence that happens when first waking up. The world felt…different from what I had imagined it to be…or how I remembered it.

As I slowly felt my hands and fingers again, I braced my arm on the ground. I brushed it aside wherever I was as I tried to get up with my arm muscles. The activity quickly depleted my strength, causing my arms to wail in agonizing pain and drop me back on my butt.

Funny, my mind thought weakly. Since when did I become so…weak? I adjusted my positioning and tried to feel out the ground beside me. As the smooth surface grazed across my skin, I exhaled loudly, my head drifting to the side slightly.

“It seems like however long you had been asleep for tuckered you out, huh?”

groan! “Uugh…N…N-Not g-gooood….” It was a slurred sentence, but one that may have saved me from doing anything stupid had it not been for…‘it.’

“...It? Who you calling an ‘it?’” a familiar voice slowly registered. My senses sharpened as my eyes blinked more, adjusting to the…wait.

A cave? my mind slowly remembered. Th-Then that means….

“Welcome back, Alexander,” the watch’s monotone voice said. “And yes, you will be hearing your full first name from now on.”

sigh “Whh-”

“You need food, and I have been patiently waiting for you to wake up,” the watch interrupted. “So, Alexander, what will you be having for breakfast?”

My palm met my face, an attempt at knocking some feeling into me. Ensuring I wasn’t dreaming, I threw down my arm and exhaled. “Fuggiinn…I don’t know,” I replied, giving a half-hearted shrug. “W…Waffles and…ugh, syrup?...”

ding! “Processing order. Please stand by, Alexander.” The watch sparked to life, allowing me a chance to look at the screen. My eyes blinked in response to the circle spinning, which made my hands go up to massage my temples. The impending headache was due to the bright, static screen that met my gaze, but then I heard another ding! and opened them.

“It’s highly recommended to eat in small portions for now, Alexander,” the voice cautioned. “Do not go ham on it just yet.” I looked at the food, my mouth beginning to water from the smell of the fluffy waffles. I slowly reached for it, a knife and fork appearing on a napkin nearby. “You’ll also need that, my bad….”

Grabbing the utensils, I slowly began to eat the food the watch’s AI had conjured up. It was surprisingly delicate in texture, the syrup complimenting the waffles perfectly. After a few more minutes, the two waffles were gone from the plate, and I wondered if I could get more.

“Hey, watch?” I asked softly before hissing in pain. “God…this headache….” I grabbed my head with my right hand, my forehead’s veins pumping blood loudly through my head and ears.

“Well,” the watch began to say. “Guess it’s time you knew what happened then….”

My eyes widened as I switched my arms, bracing the floor with my right hand while covering my face with the left. “What do you m-mean by that…M-Mikey?” I inquired worriedly. My sides shivered as I awaited the response from the watch.

There was a pause. A ‘long’ pause from the watch on my wrist. Finally, the screen buzzed momentarily before displaying a date and time.

“Alexander, you’ve been asleep for nearly a day and a half. Your bodily functions are progressively weaker than before, and we need to rectify it immediately.”

========================================<>========================================

“Did it say, ‘a day and a half?’”

Unfortunately, yes….

“E…E-Elaborate,” I hesitantly asked while shaking my head in denial. “What do you mean by ‘nearly’ a day and a half?”

“I can’t elaborate further on something so obvious, Alexander,” the watch shot back, its tone changing to annoyance. “The message I’m saying is plain English. You were asleep for more than 35 hours, and now, your systems are having trouble rebooting to what they were before.”

I slowly dropped my hand and felt my stomach begin crumpling into mush. The unnerving feeling of bile rose through my throat, causing a warning light to flash on the watch’s screen. I attempted to calm myself as nausea suddenly overtook my senses.

“Seems like you don’t react well to unsettling health conditions, huh?”

That, and the sight of blood in large quantities outside the body.

“Aaah, gotcha. Wait…weren’t you fightin-”

I’m talking about…like, blood drive bags. When they get filled up by people donating blood to a noble cause, that’s what irks my stomach sometimes. It’s…no.

“Alright, I’ll leave it alone.”

gasp! “Pffuh,” I coughed, attempting to wipe my mouth.

“If you feel more comfortable listening now,” the watch said, “I can clarify what will happen to you due to this unfortunate circumstance.” I nodded while holding my stomach, trying to squash the queasy feeling from my intestines that wanted me to continue throwing up my breakfast.

sigh “Okay, Alexander. I shall proceed,” the voice said with an exhale. “You were asleep for nearly a day and a half, which will have consequences. This type of sleeping is uncommon but can occur due to your body’s response to a lack of sleep.” I tried sitting down again, clutching my stomach as the watch’s computer voice continued.

“Because your mind felt like it needed to ‘make up’ the lost hours of sleep you didn’t get,” it reiterated, “your body decided to shut down. Your mind may have felt that, by doing so, you would regain the hours lost and bring your body functions back to what they were before.”

I shook my head as I looked at the watch’s screen with sincerity. “Unfortunately, that’s not how things work, Alexander,” the watch replied, the screen slowly materializing into a diagram and table. “‘Catch-Up’ sleep does not work, making things worse for your body now.”

I dropped my left arm as I stared blankly ahead of me. I fucked up…badly! my mind screamed.

“You royally fucked up, Alexander,” the watch cursed out, which made me stare at it in surprise. “Pardon the language, but it is necessary to emphasize my point. This is bad….”

“Well,” I tried to say, nervously gulping before going on. “Wh-What can I d-do now?” The watch processed the question and made a big suggestion quickly.

========================================<>========================================

“Well, firstly, you will need to toughen it out for approximately one more day,” the watch replied, switching screens to a ticking timer. My eyes squinted before widening in surprise at its familiarity. “You remember this timer, correct?”

“Th-Th-That’s fo-for…” I stammered, shaking nervously at the sight.

“Your ‘health regeneration’ reactivation timer,” the watch answered. “The cooldown is 72 hours if deactivated, and now, you’re almost 24 hours away from getting the ability back. This will help heal your body’s decrepit state, allowing you to start over like new.”

My throat ran dry as I tried to call for water. The watch must have sensed it, spawning a bottle of water near my left side. “Sorry, you may need that.”

I drank from the bottle slowly, rinsing my mouth and wiping my lips clean. sigh “O-Okay,” I wheezed. “Okay, I think I get it now….”

“Good. I see that your registration and processing signals are still functioning…at an average level, though,” the watch sarcastically commented. “Might I need to explain it again so it can fully register as a memory, Alexander?!” I jumped slightly, the watch’s voice getting louder and echoing within the…th-the….

“...” My mouth closed as I looked at the spiderwebs off to the right. I don’t know when it happened or if it was just recently when I woke up, but…the sight of it immediately scared me.

gulp! “Mikey?” I asked the watch quietly while aiming the screen at the entrance to the hideout I was in. “Can you explain what I am seeing right now?”

The watch buzzed for a second before audibly gasping. As I suspected, it saw precisely what I saw, which was not good news for us.

“What? What was wrong?”

The entranceway that was sealed off by the spiderweb…was cut down in the middle. The webs protecting the hideout hung off to the sides, opening the alcove to the rest of the cave. I didn’t move from my spot, a realization creeping up my spine fast.

Somecreature…knows…. my mind said with terror. They ‘know’ we are here, but…they left me…alone? Then, I scratched my head, silently dropping to the ground before another realization slowly settled in.

“They’re…oohh. Shit.”

========================================<>========================================

“Alexander, m-might I m-make a recommendation?” the watch asked nervously.

“You don’t need to,” I replied, aiming my wrists at the entranceway. Flicking both of my pinky and index fingers out, two strings of webbing flew across the room and latched onto the broken ends of the sliced web. As I flexed my wrists inward, the lines whipped, ultimately connecting the webs and returning the web barrier to its original state.

As I let go of the command, my heart rate cooled off, forcing me to bow my head in exhaustion.

“That took a lot out of you?”

Surprisingly, it did.

“Okay, let’s make a plan instead,” the watch chimed, reverting to the issue. “I have a program cued up here that may be able to help you with this predicament we are in. Alexander, have you heard of a ‘circadian sleep cycle?’”

“Duh,” I hastily replied nonchalantly. “It’s a natural sleep schedule…routine, thingy?”

“Ugh, yes,” the watch sighed. “You beat the hell out of it when you slept for four hours a night in high school, and it ended up screwing your sleep schedule when you got to college, remember?”

“Don’t get smart with me, Mikey!” I fired back at the screen, pointin-

bzzt! “Ow!” I yelped from the unexpected shock. It subsided after a few seconds, making me growl in frustration at the watch’s uncooperative nature.

“Now then,” the watch reiterated. “A ‘circadian sleep cycle’ allows us to form positive sleeping habits and gives us a proper time for our bodies to wake up. Usually, adults in their mid-20s will need approximately 7 hours of sleep a night to sustain their repetitive working lives. And, how many do you get, Alexander?”

I pouted and remembered the teaching years from my time on Earth…and the nights in Equestria when I needed to wake up at sunrise. groan “Fiivvuh….”

“Exactly. So we need to recreate a balanced sleep schedule, allowing us to retain our old self and its energy levels,” the watch replied in a nerdish tone. “Your metabolism was affected harshly by the ‘catch-up’ sleep method, which is why I would like to propose this theoretical version.”

I sat there with a frown before shrugging my shoulders. “I’m open to any ideas that could help, Mikey, so shoot it. What would I need to do?”

“Perfect,” the watch’s voice chimed cheerfully. “I’m so excited! This method is called ‘Periodic Sleeping Treatment,’ or PST for short. It is designed to help you smooth out your sleeping schedule, making your body feel physically and mentally healthier. Especially because this…‘however long it will be’ adventure you are putting yourself on is weighing down on you heavily, I suggest it may work in that it’ll keep you moving out of harm’s way.”

I prodded my chin with my hand, itching in thought. It sounds like a slam dunk idea, but there’s one problem, my mind thought worriedly. Somecreature could have reported us! We gotta get moving, and soon!

“B-But, Mik-”

“No buts, Alexander,” the watch rudely interrupted. “You have to do it. It’s the only way to correct your body’s initial response to sleep deprivation while getting you back to the healthy stability level you were at.” I glared at the watch, my mind seething at how it tried to control me. “Well, Alexand-”

“Say my full first name one more time, and I swe-”

bzit! “Fuck!” I howled, my right arm clutching my left arm in numbing pain. “Yo-You…You shocked me in my elbow!”

“Again, does that sound good to you?” the watch asked more harshly. I groaned in frustration at the numbness, quickly nodding my head to stop the traitorous AI from doing anything else.

“Good. We’ll need to start now to get the proper resting hours,” the watch instructed. “Firstly, you’ll fall asleep within 10 minutes of the timer starting, which shall be set for one hour. After that one hour is up, you’ll wake up, do activities or stretch for 20 minutes, then repeat the cycle. We’ll add an extra hour every time, rinsing and repeating unti-”

“B-But, wait,” I interrupted, looking at the screen worriedly. “You’ll be shut off. How will I-”

“The alarms won’t be shut off,” the watch replied, a flash of light appearing on my left side. I looked at the familiar device in shock, the memories slowly flowing back into my mind.

“HOW DO YOU REMEMBER THAT?!”

“You think I’d ever forget our childhood experiences, Alex?” the watch asked, my mouth dissolving into a smirk. A lone tear formed in my eye, my breathing slowing down as the warm memories caused my lungs to start joyfully choking.

shudder “G-Gahhh…God….” huff “…I gotta….”

“Let’s get some sleep,” the watch replied as I grabbed the DS. As I held it in both hands, the screen’s menu brought me back to when I was a small kid. How many times my brothers and I used to play Mario Kart DS in the living roo-

“We don’t got time to reminisce, Alex!” the watch snapped, waking me from my stupor. I nodded hastily and advanced the DS to the alarm clock system. Then, setting the timer for one hour from now, the DS’s bell chimed as it began to tick.

sigh “Alright,” I sighed, falling to my right side with an unceremonious flop. yawn “Goodnight, Mikey….”

“Goodnight, Alex,” the watch said as my mind drifted off. “Entering ‘Sleep Mode.’”

========================================<>========================================

“Hmmm….”

“What’s wrong, Luna?”

“Just as I suspected, dear,” I replied with a disapproving headshake. “Alex has finally realized what he’s doing to himself, and now he’s trying to rectify his mistakes.”

“You mean the ‘sleep deprivation’ thing?” Commander Shifting replied in concern. I nodded my head and closed my eyes in thought.

“It was clear to me when I went to the dream realm and saw his dream bubble again,” I recalled aloud. “But, a few minutes later, it disappeared quietly, which made me believe his body had forced itself awake. There’s a problem, though….”

“What would that be, Luna?” Shifting inquired in curiosity.

“Alex’s dream bubble reappeared after another 30 minutes or so,” I proclaimed, biting my lip in frustration. “I have been checking for the past 7 hours, and whenever I see it disappear, it’s…it feels like a pattern.”

The Commander’s ears perked at that, standing up from his spot beside me. Stretching his back a bit, a few cracks! sounded, causing the stallion to sigh in relief. sigh “That feels much better….”

giggle “That sounded like it helped you a lot, dear Shifting,” I teased. The Commander turned his head to look at me, an unsettling smirk dawning on his face as he pivoted.

“Weelll, Your Highness,” the stallion slyly remarked, “I have a question. Are you getting jealous of my ability to help myself?” I blushed profusely as two hooves came to my mouth. The stallion chuckled, his grin growing as he took another step forward.

“S-S-S-Stop!” I stuttered, my wings flaring in embarrassment. Commander Shifting stopped mere inches from my face, his eyes widening in surprise at my reaction.

“That’s all it took for you to ‘pop a wing,’ Luna?” Shifting responded with shock. “Wow….”

I shook my head in frustration, taking a deep breath before exhaling. The stallion remained before me, stopping the stalemate with a quick kiss.

“Sorry, dear,” Shifting chuckled as he returned to my left side. “I couldn’t resist.”

“Stars above, Shifting,” I sighed, checking my wings to ensure they had returned to my sides. “Please, don’t do that again. It’s embarrassing for a mare in public.”

“Fair enough, dear,” the stallion said, sitting beside me. Shifting leaned in and whispered into my ear, “Only in private, Luny.” smooch

My sides trembled as a laugh escaped my mouth. I opened my eyes and looked at my special somepony, Shifting’s smile warmly inviting me toward him. I leaned in toward him and gave him a long, soft kiss, enjoying the moment we were intimately shari-

poof!

“Good evening, Your Highneesssss….”

========================================<>========================================

My eyes shot open, and I peered to my right quietly. The slender shape of a familiar draconequus stood at the base of the throne’s stairs, munching on some cookies in silence at the scene.

“Hmmf,” Discord shrugged, turning around and heading for the door. “Maybe another time?”

sigh “Discord,” I exhaled, adjusting myself on the throne and addressing the draconequus with a hoof. “Come back with your news, please. We’re terribly sorry about that….”

“Sorry? Sorry for what?” Discord asked, shaking his head. “I don’t control what you two do with your personal lives. Remember, ‘you do you.’” Shifting inhaled and began to chuckle audibly, covering his mouth with a hoof. I rolled my eyes and shook my head with a smile.

“Quoting our human friend’s favorite lines, are we, Discord?” Shifting inquired, suppressing his laughter quickly. Discord nodded in approval and finished off the last cookie in his paw.

“Mmm! These cookies are so good,” Discord commented with a smile, licking his fingers to snap them, bringing out another jar of cookies. snap! “Hungry?”

I shook my head in response, as did Shifting. “Well, suit yourself then,” Discord sighed. We sat there patiently, waiting for the draconequus to address why he was here.

“Discord, what are you doing here?” Shifting asked with a huff, catching his attention. “You came here for a specific reason and have piqued our interest. Sooo….”

“I haven’t even said anything yet, and you are already making baseless assumptions,” Discord answered, shaking his head. “Oh…wait. Yeah, I did.” chuckle “Sorry, you two. My apologies.”

“Discord,” I said, steering ourselves back to the unknown topic. “What is it you would like to talk about tonight?”

“Well,” the draconequus elongated before snapping his fingers again. The jar of cookies disappeared as he began approaching us. “I overheard you two said something about Alexander Walkerson and wanted to offer my assistance in tracking him down.”

Shifting’s head tilted to the side as my eyebrows went up. “Discord,” I replied with intrigue. “Aren’t you already helping us with information about his whereabouts?”

snap! “Yes, but not formally,” Discord said, making a quill and parchment appear out of thin air. “If I were to join in on this mass hunt for Alex, maybe I should be formally added to the list?”

“Whu-Discord! What list? There is no list!” I fired back, my head shaking in bewilderment. Discord’s eyes rolled, which made Shifting slowly get up.

“Discord, what are you up to?” Shifting asked quietly. Discord stood there quietly before sighing in defeat, throwing his paws into the air. They did a flip before landing back on his arms and reattaching themselves.

“I-I….” ahem “I don’t get it,” I commented after watching the display from the draconequus. Discord, however, summoned a chair and sat down.

“Princess Luna,” Discord explained. “I can’t participate in this search as an individual party because chaos doesn’t choose one side. It is ‘chaos’ for a reason. But, if I were to formally join a side, then you can trust that I wouldn’t do anything to help Alex evade capture.”

Both Shifting and I looked at each other in shock. The Commander’s eyes squinted after hearing that last statement, turning back to look Discord in the eyes. “What do you mean by ‘trust I will not help Alex evade capture?’” Shifting asked quietly.

“Oh, you sure are a card, Commander Shifting,” Discord chuckled, a deck of cards appearing in his claw. “Allow me to simplify. By joining your side, you can trust that I’m not helping Alex evade your capture. Ultimately, the ‘King,’ ‘Queen,’ ‘Jack,’ and ‘Ace’ will stop the ‘Joker.’”

“A-A…Are you…?” sigh “I don’t get it,” I sighed in defeat, shrugging my shoulders toward the Commander. “Discord, are you helping Alex, or are yo-”

“No, I am not!” Discord barked back, getting on all fours for a moment. His eyes widened as he stood back up and chuckled. “Sorry, that was weird of me to do. Anyways, I am not participating in this fully due to my obligations in Chaosville, but I feel I should be aiding you more in this fun adventure we find ourselves in.”

“So…you want to…help?” Shifting inquired slowly, his mind sputtering in confusion.

“Precisely!” Discord replied cheerfully. “I feel as though I could make a strong impact on finding this human for you, seeing as I have located the dimension he’s actually from!”

========================================<>========================================

My jaw dropped in shock, causing me to stand up quickly. “Wait, YOU FOUND IT?!” I exclaimed, the draconequus nodding his head with a smile.

“Found it, finally…it wasn’t easy,” Discord said as he wiped the sweat from his brow. “There were so…many…alternate timelines created, and a sock puppet nearly dragged me into one….” The draconequus paws came together, clapping in delight. “Ooo! But I finally found it!”

“That’s incredible!” Commander Shifting said as he trotted forward. Suddenly, he stopped and looked at Discord out of curiosity. “...if I may ask, Discord. What does it look like?”

Discord’s eyes blinked as he looked at him. “Whyyy?” the draconequus replied hesitantly.

“Heh, we-well…what if we want to tell him this information?” I asked with a chuckle. “Su-Surely, we would have to confirm some information with Alex to ensure its the right on-”

fwoosh!

“See for yourself and take down all the info you need,” Discord motioned, a portal appearing beside him. “But, I must warn you. Do not get too close because it could drag you in.”

I looked at the interdimensional portal and shrugged my shoulders toward my special somepony, who backed off. As I flew down and landed at the base of the stairs, I felt a slight tug from the portal pull me toward it. As I planted my hooves in the ground, I keenly observed the scenery.

As it cleared up, a green bed appeared on the right side of the small room and a wooden desk off to the left. Some shelves were set up behind it with a boat display upon it. Some medals were hung alongside many trophies adorning the green walls, my eyes wandering to the window. The darkness in the window shades signaled it was most likely the same time of day as it was now.

“Okay, I believe that will do for now,” I acknowledged, nodding in approval. “Thank you, Discord.” Discord quickly closed the portal, a wheeze escaping his mouth. He staggered briefly before looking into the air frantically, flying upward hastily to catch…his breath.

I watched in awe as the small cloud of air swam around the spacious throne room, chased after by the ‘God of Chaos.’ After catching it, Discord came back down and bowed unceremoniously.

“You are most welcome, Your Highness,” Discord sighed heavily. sigh “Takes a lot out of me.”

“Well, make sure to get some rest then, Discord,” Shifting recommended, motioning for the draconequus to leave. “You’ll need it if you would like to start helping us find Alex tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Commander. And good luck to you two tonight as well!” Discord concluded with a wink. I blushed as Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared into the nightly air.

========================================<>========================================

“Well, what do you know?” Shifting remarked, a smile forming on his face. “Alex can finally get his long-awaited wish….”

sigh “Yes, but that also means he’ll leave for good….” My eyes widened after uttering that sentence, and a hoof came to my mouth. My stomach shuddered, my lip trembling at the thought of Alex…possibly never returning.

Shifting moved toward me and placed a hoof onto my back. “It’s okay, Luna,” my special somepony assured me. “Maybe…but maybe Alex could come back. If we tell him this…new information…hopefully, it can right a huge wrong for us.”

I looked at the Commander and took a staggered breath in. As I closed my eyes, the stallion pulled me in for a hug, and tears began to trickle down my cheeks. His comforting hoofpats attempted to soothe me, but thinking of watching the human walk without another care for us?

It…It hurt me….

And as Commander Shifting continued to comfort her, he would eventually teleport them away from the throne room. Wherever they were, most likely in their private chambers, the thought was that they would return after recollecting themselves.

However, I returned to my room in ‘Chaosville,’ and looked at the picture frame on the wall beside my desk. The human that smiled back while surrounded by all those animals in the sanctuary caused my body to shiver.

I exhaled while looking at the picture, shaking my head in frustration. “Maybe,” I spoke to myself. “Maybe I’ll hold off on telling him this….”

Moving toward the bed, I sat on it and sighed deeply. “Fluttershy!” I called out. “I need a hug!”

creak!

“Discord,” the shy yellow mare replied, pushing the door aside with her wing. Flying through the air, she smiled and extended her hooves out toward me. It allowed me to catch her and bring my special somepony in for a big hug.

sigh “Thank you, Fluttershy,” I said softly, clutching the mare tightly.

giggle “You don’t need to thank me, Discord,” Fluttershy replied with a squeak! “I-I would love my hugs too if I could get them every day for the rest of my life, hee hee.”

I chuckled and closed my eyes in contempt as the mare’s warmth began lulling me to sleep. As Fluttershy rocked me back and forth, an idea suddenly plucked at my mind’s strings.

I’ll keep the human moving, I thought firmly. And when Alex tries to move back south, I’ll gently nudge him off course here and there to keep his focus on the now. That way, The Crown won’t suspect anything and let me prepare for my confrontation with Alexander Walkerson.

“Discord?...” Fluttershy asked softly, her words trailing off as I made my choice.

One thing’s for sure, my mind concluded. Alex will not be caught…not under my ‘watch.’

========================================<>========================================

“So, where were we?”

On the last sleep cycle, I assume.

It had been tedious going through this damn sleeping therapy…thing, attempting to resolve my body’s physical issues. The problem wasn’t getting the sleep I needed. Instead, it was my mind forcing itself to stay awake.

But, anyways, the last sleep cycle was set to wake me up after six and a half hours from the moment I fell asleep. It was more than the previous five-hour sleep period, but it was necessary.

“Why was an extra half hour important?”

Because then, the time waiting for the health regeneration ability to reactivate would be less. I didn’t want to wait another 40 minutes for the one powerup I needed to have on. It was…doable.

Yeah, we literally ‘screwed the pooch’ on that one, the right side of my mind scoffed.

It was an emotionally charged decision, the left side fired back. We had no choice but to conserve our limited energy reserve, which you approved.

It wasn’t an emotionally charged choice, dip. It was an immediate response to us losing power rapidly, my right side shot back. After all, you suggested it! And Alex spoke it into existence!

…Okay.

Guys, seriously, my thoughts chimed in. Don’t make me come up there and have you apologize to each other. This ain’t couple’s therapy.

“I need to get new consciences,” I muttered in the dreamverse….

“...W-Wait a second. Did you say the ‘dreamverse?’”

I knew when my body was experiencing a dream or not. As the hippogriff doctor once put it, “The ability to ‘lucidly dream’ is what you are describing, Alex. And it’s incredible, isn’t it?”

My mind firmly nodded, allowing my eyes to open as a scene began to…‘replay.’

“Replay?”

It was a core memory from my high school days. When I would walk the halls during my teenage years, experiencing what it felt like to be a high school student.

“These were…you at your best, right?”

You could say that. I frequently attended classes and meetings, scheduled practices, and worked on my game to improve my physicality. And I made sure all the homework I got was turned in on time. Sure, I was a bit of a nerd, but I was an important student-athlete.

‘The’ student-athlete at that school.

“Is this the humble bragging thing now?”

No, but maybe we should be allowed to tell it from our perspective, right? my mind said.

“Uuuugh, okay. I’ll listen….”

“Thank you,” my dream self acknowledged, slowly materializing in the school’s main lobby. “Trust me, this is important stuff.”

========================================<>========================================

“Well, why is it important to know?”

Well, for starters, it becomes a huge deal when your school gets put under a heavy magnifying glass for a competitive basketball team continuously destroying opponent after opponent.

Especially for my rural hometown, information in Kentucky quickly traveled when it was about our school’s athletics department.

“Most notably, the basketball program’s prominent talent and star…me,” I chuckled, a shy smile accompanying my face.

“Here we go….”

I’m not going to lie. All I wanted to do was play the game I grew up watching and enjoying. Growing up, some of the kids on my block were interested in football and deck hockey, while the others, including my family, grew up playing pickup basketball in the neighborhood streets.

My brothers occasionally joined in on the fun, causing some balancing issues between the teams. But we had…‘fun,’ whenever we played. No media attention or refs to call fouls. It was good old-fashioned ‘streetball.’

However, during those school years, I tried everything I could to improve and become the best. Every time those interviews happened, they asked the same questions, resulting in me always downplaying the records and team’s successes with one motto: “We want one more.”

“What do you mean?”

It became a staple of the school’s fighting spirit to be prepared for the next challenger. The students took it to heart, and the basketball team was no exception. We strived for consistency, and with us, the wins kept piling up every season.

After games, press conferences with the school media, interviews, you name it. That one phrase was sentimentally shared by the whole team, the athletics department, and the entire high school basketball organization.

“We. Want. One. More,” I said in my first interview after a game. “This win is special, so we want another one to get that same feeling again! And we’ll be ready for our next opponent.”

“It’s a great thing to keep in mind. Especially since…were you guys underrated or something? It feels like you were taking this personally.”

Heh, yeah. I took it personally, but it wasn’t for being doubted or ‘slept on.’

“Then…why?”

They didn’t give proper credit to the one that truly started the mantra. The one that made it all possible and infused that mindset.

“...I’m not following.”

sigh

Me, dude. I was the one who slept for five hours a night, warmed up, and lifted weights for hours before school started. Attended my classes, learned the material, and got the homework done before the school day was over.

After the final school bell rang, go to practice, practice, and practice harder. Sometimes, we had to face an opponent or train until we were kicked out of the building.

Afterward, I went home, hung out with the family, enjoyed the night, and slept. Usually, I was tired before 11pm, resulting in my knockout at midnight.

Rinse and repeat for over three years, including the summers.

“...Not all four?”

You really need to pay attention, dude, the right side piped up.

Don’t you rememb-

Don’t remind him! my brain shouted. Because now I’ll play that disc again, and we’ll sit here with this sobbing mess again….

“...”

Yeah, that’s my inner self talking. It gets pissed off at the slightest mention or remembrance of it.

There wasn’t anything wrong with being a music teacher since that was the second career I chose. But…I was supposed to be on a different trajectory. The primary goal had died….

“Yeah, that’s…that was something to go through, huh?”

Yep.

sigh “When did we leave this path?” I reminisced while walking the halls of my alma mater. It was silent as my shoes squeaked against the freshly waxed tiled floors, looking at the cream-colored walls. As I moved down the stairs, the metal bars underneath clacked against my shoes, bringing me down to the first floor.

As I went through a double-door entrance, the athletics wing appeared to my left, to which I slowed my walk and closed my eyes. I envisioned it almost like it was yesterday….

The students filling the halls on their way to the next period, most of the gym kids standing in the hallway outside the main gymnasium, or the occasional teacher greeting the kids.

Then…there were the pictures that adorned the walls, showing the teams forever ingrained within the school’s history. The players that shattered records, which stood for decades before another athlete would break them and add their name to the ‘Wall of Fame.’

And, most importantly…the ‘moments.’ That wall was off to my right, and a specific three-year reign lined it for what felt like an eternity.

They’re still there, my mind thought. Those moments and memories are still here. Putting my hand up to the one titled ‘A Historic Game For Number 14,’ the picture…was incredible.

“...I think I wasn’t there to see it because I don’t remember hearing about it.”

Unbelievable, my mind thought. Probably before ‘it’ happened to you, but had this moment not been captured…no one would have known. I trembled, my head shaking in sadness.

“Where?” my dream self whispered. Wh-Where did w-”

clack-clack! clack-clack!

========================================<>========================================

My eyes shot open as a distant noise rang in my ears. It continued to echo through the halls as I looked up at the ceiling, trying to listen for which side it was coming from.

It’s getting louder, my mind thought with worry. Where…?

clack-clack! clack-clack!

clack-clack! clack-clack!

The noise was so loud I swear my ears began to hurt. Grabbing them with my hands, I tried to subdue the noise, but it reverberated within my head harshly.

slide! “ALEEEX!!”

Immediately, a voice screamed out, calling my name. I looked behind me and down the hall I had emerged from. One…‘familiar’ creature stood in the middle of the hall, staring me down as her wings unfurled rapidly.

My brain began to sputter as her face remained trained on me, and my mind began to panic. “Sk…Skystar?” I stammered in confusion. “Wh-What are yo-you doing here?”

huff! “You’re not leaving me yet, Alex!” Princess Skystar cried out. Her hind legs planted into the flooring as she began to crouch down. I looked at her with worry, unable to comprehend why or how this was all happening.

“I-I-I don’t understan-”

“You’re not leaving Equestria!” the hippogriff princess shouted. My eyebrows shifted upward as she audibly snarled. “They may have found a way to get you back home, but YOU! ARE! NOT! LEAVING! ME!!”

“Wait, I don-”

But it was too late. The hippogriff princess took off from her position, sprinting toward me at full speed. I nearly fell back, turning around and hastily running in the opposite direction.

“Get back here!” Skystar called out as I looked behind me.

“Not until you stop and calm down!” I yelled back.

“I AM CALM, ALEX!!”

As my head turned back around, a door suddenly opened at the end of the hall, with a wall of white coating its frame. My legs continued to run head-on toward it, but then…it happened.

The walls, floors, and the entire hallway got larger and rapidly extended outward. The door shot out farther away, causing me to hyperventilate from the scene unfolding. I turned my head quickly and glanced at the hippogriff, who continued to get closer and closer to me.

“D-Don’t leave me!” Skystar’s words cried out, an audible sniffle accompanying her words. “I’m not letting you go anywhere! Not until I say so!”

“Skystar, wait!” I cried, her figure getting even closer. Her wings grew as large as her entire frame, my pupils dilating at the sight. The hippogriff enveloped the hallway, the cracks in the walls beginning to disfigure the school’s athletics hallway. I slowed down without realizing it as her body was a few meters away, her eyes hungrily trained on me.

One thought escaped my brain’s shell and entered my throat as her mouth slowly opened.

“Ooohh…fuuuc-”

durh-durh-durh! durh-durh-durh!

bam!

========================================<>========================================

gasp! “Gah!” I woke up, startled and hyperventilating uncontrollably. My hand grabbed my chest immediately, attempting to calm myself down to no avail.

The dream, I thought in panic. It felt…too real. I…remember it, and yet…is this…?

durh-durh-durh! durh-durh-durh!

durh-durh-durh! durh-durh-durh!

As I looked down to my right side, a device rang loudly and prompted me to investigate it. Only now, my eyes popped open at seeing the DS system. Wait, my mind realized. That’s the alarm.

gasp! “Oh…my…goodness,” was my only response as I fumbled for it and hastily opened it up. The screen flashed brightly, showing the current and elapsed time. From where I had last left off, it had been more than six and a half hours, signaling the end of the ‘sleep treatment.’

I looked up and fell back against the wall, my breathing progressively getting slower. I lay there motionless, unable to comprehend the dre-em, nightmare, and what I had witnessed. And not only that, but my body refused to budge due to my weakened state.

We have to get going, remember? the left side of my mind attempted to reason, wrestling my legs into standing up. They didn’t move as the other side spoke up.

Hold up, the right side replied. Hold on, wait! Something…doesn’t feel right. That…dream….

ding!

I looked down at the noise generated and inhaled silently. Then, while bringing my left wrist up to my face, the screen buzzed to life, displaying a timer with all zeros. Then, a green check mark appeared briefly before returning to the main power-up menu screen. Only this time, another power-up had reappeared on the availability list.

“Yes,” I whispered. Finally, clearing my throat, I spoke into the watch firmly. “Mikey?”

“Yes, Alex?” the watch replied. A grin formed as I vigorously shook my upper body to wake up.

“You’re back….”

“Hmph…activate the ‘Health Regeneration’ ability, please.”

“With pleasure, Alexander Walkerson. Please stand by.”

Author's Note

Oh brother. Here we go again...

Thank you all for your continued support! A big shoutout to Radbunny for the awesome suggestions, and another big shoutout to my big bro, since he visited us last weekend. Got me back in the groove and even has his own book he's planning on continuing to write (Hasn't touched it in two years and I offered to edit it).

Anyways, thank you again, and until next time! BYE!!

-Harpy