Dreams of Equestria

by Caelus Storm

Chapter 6: A World Apart

Chapter 6: A World Apart

Celestia stared with thinly veiled curiosity at the human that stood before her. It had been many years since she had last seen one. He was nearly as tall as she was, and thin in build. He had thick brown hair on top of his head, and almost pure blue eyes. However, despite his height, he had a young looking face. Celestia judged his age to be around fifteen years. he was wearing a simple ensemble of light pants and a plain white shirt. He didn't appear to be carrying any weapons, or even standing in a threatening stance. If anything, he appeared to be a little dazed and confused. She could easily believe that he had been asleep when he ended up here. The how was what troubled her, though. It took incredibly powerful magic to cross between worlds. humans occasionally dreamed themselves into Equestria,but never enough to completely cross over.

The boy shifted uneasily at the long silence. He looked down at the floor, hiding his face from view. She sensed him trying to figure out what was going on. the curiosity of his mind reminded her of the presence she had felt four nights ago. Had this human already visited Equestria by accident.? Or at least tried to, if unintentionally? But he was here now, and that presented several problems.

"sister, what shall we do?" Luna asked, turning toward her sister.

"We must send him back," Celestia murmured. The boy, Seth, suddenly looked up.

"but how is this possible?" Celestia heard him mumble under his breath, "Isn't Equestria a fictional place? That shouldn't be possib..." The boy's eyes fluttered and he collapsed to the ground for the second time today.

"Oh dear," Celestia muttered.

* * *

Seth found himself once again waking up in an unfamiliar place. He was laying on a couch in a small, study-like room. The room was richly decorated. the floor was covered with a thick plush rug. There were a few bookshelves crammed with books, and a writing desk crafted out of some dark wood. Spread out on the floor were several cushions, upon which three figures were reclining. One was Princess Celestia, another was Princess Luna, and the third was Twilight Sparkle. the two princesses were talking softly to each other, while Twilight stared at Seth with barely suppressed wonder. She looked like she was about to start asking questions at any moment.

Seth blinked a few times and sat up, pushing a palm against his forehead until the dizziness had passed. When he opened his eyes again, all three figures were looking at him. Seth fought the urge to squirm under the scrutiny of their gaze.

"Here, drink this," Princess Celestia said, levitating a cup in front of Seth, "it will help with the dizziness."

Seth grasped the cup carefully with both hands. he felt a slight tingle when his fingers touched the aura of magic around the cup, but the feeling quickly faded. he took a cautious sip of the tea. He felt a warmth spread through his limbs and a calmness settle over his mind. He took another sip. "this is good," he said, then remembered his manners, "Your Highness."

He finished the cup of tea as quickly as courtesy allowed, savoring the last few sweet drops. He felt calmer, and his mind felt clearer, as if a haze had been lifted from the back of his mind.

"Now that that's out of the way," Princess Celestia said, taking a sip from her own cup of tea, "You must explain to us how you came to this world. Every little detail."

Seth gulped. It made him nervous, thinking about how he had been dreaming, and the thought of sharing those dreams. He took a deep breath. "It started four days ago, or at least, four days for me. It was a Friday night. I remember having a dream where where I was in a light forest. I heard laughter nearby, so I went to investigate." Seth recounted the events of his first two dreams. he explained how each time he had been unable to see any of the figures clearly, and that though they couldn't see him, they seemed to sense him. In his one daydream, he had heard the voices of Twilight and Spike through the walls of the library. It was only later that day, when he was walking home from school, that he had found out that the voices, names, and figures weren't just figments of his imagination, but they came from characters in a children's television show that he had never heard of. That night, the night he had somehow arrived in Equestria, he had been doing research to try and figure out more about this fictional world that he had dreamed of before he knew it existed.

"I remember thinking I was dreaming, when I heard you and Twilight talking below," Seth said to Princess Celestia, "But then I suddenly got very dizzy, and the next thing I knew, I was falling."

Princess Celestia was silent for a long moment. Seth began to think she wouldn't say anything when she finally spoke. "A long time ago," she began, "humans would occasionally visit Equestria. that was when Luna and I were still young, and the nation of Equestria was still unfounded. however, as time went on, it became apparent that human beings were becoming a more and more violent and chaotic race, unlike us ponies, who are peaceful by nature. Luna and I decided that it was necessary to create a barrier that separated our two worlds, in order to keep the growing violence of humankind out and protect the peace of ponykind. Myself, Luna, and over a hundred unicorns pooled our magic to erect the barrier. Many unicorns died to provide the necessary magic." Princess Celestia stopped for a moment, closing her eyes. "Into the barrier we wove a memory spell so that any humans who somehow stumbled through the barrier would be confused and disoriented. For several centuries, this worked, with only two humans making it to Equestria, purely by accident.

"One day, almost two thousand years ago, a human stumbled through the barrier, much the same was you did, through a dream. The difference was that with this one was that the memory spell only slightly hindered her memory. She went by the name of Faust. Naturally, Luna and I went to go send her back to where she had come from, fearing she would taint this world. Instead, we found someone who accepted this world for what it was, a place of peace and harmony. She didn't want to leave." Celestia smiled slightly. "We spent several days debating what to do. We finally sent her back to her world, but let her keep her memories of her visit."

Princess Celestia took a deep breath before she went on. "After that day, though, Luna and I strengthened the barrier in order to keep more humans from venturing into our world. And until today, it had worked."

Seth was silent for a long moment. "Faust," he said, rolling the name around in his mind. "but how is that possible? You say she visited here nearly two thousand years ago, but in my world, she is still alive. In fact, she created the television show that I believed this was all from." He paused. "I guess it was the opposite. But then how could she know about Twilight and all the rest? They weren't alive back then."

"I suspect that though she cannot return physically, her mind still does return in her dreams," Princess Celestia said. "Also, time does not always flow the same between our worlds."

Seth thought about that for a minute. "What happens now?" he asked.

"It will take Luna and I a couple of days to make preparations, but we will send you back to your world," Princess Celestia said. "Until then, you will be given a room to stay in. please do not leave it. It will cause no small amount of confusion through out Equestria."

"Thank you, your Majesties," Seth said, rising to take a bow. "It is a kindness that I would not have expected."

The white alicorn nodded. "Luna, take our guest to his room," she said.

"Yes, sister," Princess Luna said. She walked over to Seth, her horn surrounded by a glowing blue aura. There was a bright flash of light, and suddenly Seth was standing in a new room in the castle. His whole body was tingling from the effects of the magic. Princess Luna stood in front of him. Seeing that he hadn't collapsed again, she turned toward the door.

"Feel free to rest," she said as she left the room, closing the door lightly behind her. Seth was left alone in the room. Overcome with a sudden weariness, he found his way over to the bed. He pulled back the covers, and was asleep the moment his head touched the pillow.

Author's Note:

Well, her we go. One chapter, as promised.
As always, I want your feedback.
Will I ever get around to introducing the main plot? Will we ever learn why Seth landed in Equestria for no reason? Will I stop asking you these rhetorical questions?
Yeah, wouldn't you like to know.

-C.Storm