First Contact
"Summer's almost over. During the school year there's too much to do, and during summer there isn't anything. Can't I just get a nice happy medium of a little busy. Still, I'm looking forward to getting out of the house. Living all on my own." Alex thought to himself. Having literally nothing to do was wearing on his nerves. He was actually excited when some strong winds blew down his fence, because that meant he could fix it. He didn't have a workshop in his garage, meaning he couldn't do his woodworking, which he loved.
"I guess I'll just go to bed early."
Celestia had taken to working shorter days. Luna held night court, but since almost nopony came at night, she decided to start taking over the evenings, leaving the sun princess with even MORE time to herself. Of course, she knew exactly what she was going to do with it.
Helpful Hints
Only the most skilled conjurers can have multiple summons. While having several inanimate objects at once is a moderate skill, having multiple sentient conjurations is only possible for the most talented of casters.
If a conjuration is destroyed or dies, it is not gone, simply sent back to it's own world, in the same state it was in when it first arrived in our plane. It may then be resummoned immediately. The exception is an unbound. Not being tied to the caster means that it is severed from it's own world. The world it is brought into becomes it's new realm, and upon death, will not return to it's location of origin.
"Who thought of all this? They must have been at least as talented as Starswirl, if not more so. The time and effort that went into this research must have been enormous." Celestia said to herself. Having picked up a completely lost art, she'd never be able to ask it's inventor.
"Perhaps something from another world in the first place? A dimensional traveler who gave the knowledge to the ancient ponies? But for what purpose?" She had so many questions, and almost no answers. She felt something she hadn't felt in a long time, something Twilight was well acquainted with. Hunger. She NEEDED to know. Her curiosity was unparalleled. What was originally simply a way to waste time had, in the months she practiced, consumed all her free time.
Continuing to read through the various spells, she came across a 'reanimate corpse' spell, which she knew immediately not to go anywhere near. Calling a soul from the afterlife to posses it's former body allowed for a resilient summon, but it broke every moral she had, and she decided not to go down that road. They didn't need zombie ponies running around. At least she knew where the old mare's tale had come from, presumable a necromancer pony at one point.
"Maybe I'll try for something random. Just cast out a line, using only a little magic, and see what I get. Of course I'll put up a barrier spell first."
Celestia drew am ornate looking circle on the ground, with a thick line coming out of it, going to a plain, hoof sized one. She had learned her lesson in accidentally messing up the runes, and with this method, she could be in contact with the design without actually touching it. Then she drew another around the first, to contain whatever came through.
"What do you mean full? I signed up six months ago! Processing error? You've got to be kidding me!"
Alex was mad. Extremely so. He had been waiting to go to college for months now. He finally arrived at the school, only to find that his name wasn't on any roster. His classes had been confirmed, but due to a computer error, he had been taken off the program list. In that time the classes filled up, and he could no longer take them. This meant he'd have to wait an entire year before being able to sign up again, before he could get out of his dead end job, and start his career. The school had just thrown a year of his life out the window, and they couldn't care less. He called his family, who decided they would get on a plane and fly up to the school. They would all go on a quick tour of the city before heading home. That way, his trip to the school wouldn't have been a complete waste, and they could get rid of the bad memories by replacing them with good. It was just the way they worked. It was a rather good philosophy after all.
Still being in a rather foul mood, he decided to head to the campus bar. He didn't usually drink, and when he did it was never in excess. This time was going to be an exception. Walking back to his dorm, (they conveniently remembered that he had rented one, and paid in advance for the first month) feeling dizzy, he felt like he needed to lay down. Rather than fall on the cement path, he walked over to the grass, and let himself fall over. What he felt when he landed was not soft earth, but hard tile.
"The hell?" Alex said. His voice however was in stereo, as if someone else was saying it at the same time. He stood up, and what he saw defied all logic. A large horse, with wings, a horn, and a mane that seemed to be made of the stars themselves, flowing in a non existent breeze.
"Okay, I may be drunk right now, but not THAT drunk. Someone must have spiked my drink."
"You... you can talk?" Said the horse.
"Oh great, a talking unicorn with wings. Or is it a pegasus with a horn? Now I know I'm crazy." He replied.
"Actually, I am a pony. I am Princess Celestia" She introduced herself.
"Okay, so a magical, talking, pony princess. And yes I can talk, why wouldn't I be able to? Other than being near to passing out due to alcohol consumption. Wait a minute. Ponies don't talk, they don't have horns or wings, and they certainly aren't royal. I'm definitely hallucinating." Despite being drunk, his speech was not slurred at all. Apparently, his cognitive function was fine, just his balance was off.
"Wait, you're drunk? Oh my. Why would you drink so much alcohol?" She asked.
"Because I've had a very bad day. It's a long story, so I'll just give you the short version. The ones completely in charge of my future career lost my paperwork, and so a year of my life has just gone down the drain. I don't normally drink, but today is a day I'd rather forget."
Celestia looked at the strange creature sitting in the middle of the runic circle with sad eyes. A simple error on the part of the education system caused him to lose an entire year of his future.
"Ehm, perhaps I should send you back, at least until you've sobered up?" She suggested.
"That would probably be a good idea. I would very much like this hallucination brought on by a mixture of alcohol and whatever drugs someone slipped into mine to end. I'm laying on the lawn outside my temporary home at the moment, and should probably find my way to a bed. Please don't bring me back for three days. My family is coming to visit, and I would rather not start going crazy in front of them." He replied. With that, she cast the 'unsummon' spell, and sent him home.
"He thinks that none of this is real. Then again, he just got dragged into a new world when he wasn't of sound mind, I wouldn't blame him. Still, I won't bring him here for three days. It would be bad if he vanished into thin air right in front of his family, and judging from what he said, explaining to his family that a magical talking pony just conjured him wouldn't be a good idea. He was rather pleasant though, even while drunk." Celestia giggled to herself. Since she had already summoned him once, she just had to keep the circle there. It would save on having to remake it, as the preparations were quite extensive, taking up a good two hours making sure it was all done correctly.
"I've never been this giddy before. He was nice, despite having a bad day. Maybe we could be friends." She was laughing like a school girl. It's like having an imaginary friend, somepony only you could see, but this time around they were real. Even though he thought he was crazy, he still took it in stride and played along. He probably had a good upbringing, whatever he was, and wherever he was from. Although he hadn't introduced himself, he was in no state to do so, so she would forgive him of that, at least until the next time they met.