//------------------------------//
// Chapter Four - Electrify 
// Story: Summer Bound 
// by Windsocks 
//------------------------------//

As I expected when I came to, I took sight of the same bland white ceiling. The mumbled voices in the background resembled the static coming from my phone. In all honesty, the talk could have been the static, seeing as I couldn’t understand their language either way. 

Time at this moment seemed to drag on longer than it should’ve. Thankfully, one good thing had occurred, my headache seemed to be gone. The pain that was once pulsing inside my head had left. A welcoming feeling if I’ve ever felt one. 

Using this to my advantage, I took the liberty of sitting up in the hospitals bed. My quick glance around revealed nothing out of the ordinary. Organized counters laid peppered with a multitude of medical equipment. 

The only thing that really stood out was the nurse pony that shuffled through one of the many cabinets. Celestia herself was nowhere to be seen. Not really a surprise, I would have expected the princess to sneak out sometime during my slumber. 

“Do I really have to lay in bed all day? Or can I just get up and walk around?” I asked the mare. As expected the nurse turned around and gave me a confused look. 

“Say nothing if I can leave the hospital,” I state with a small smirk on my face.

The nurse didn’t say anything, she just continued to look at me with a confused expression. Letting out a little chuckle at my antics, I turned my body so my feet dangled from the bed. So far so good, the nurse was still just watching me.

What I wasn’t expecting, however, was for a voice to come from behind me, “Just because you stated your actions, doesn’t make them right.”

I almost jumped right out of my skin as I turned around to see Celestia sitting down on the other side of the bed. Why had I not checked the other side? I have no idea, probably something to do with the fact that I was still extremely tired.

Quickly recomposing myself from that mini heart attack, I replied, “It would have at least made me feel better, unlike your little stunt.”

“Stunt? I was here the whole time,” Celestia retorted. She seemed a little off, her tone almost sounded hostile.

Sighing I brought my hand up to massage the bridge of my nose. In doing so, I saw my hand flicker. I’m not even kidding either, it flashed on and off like a lightbulb. “Jesus, are you seeing this?” I question holding my flickering hand in front of me. After a couple of seconds the flickering stopped causing me to let out a breath of relief.

Celestia nodded, “You’ve been doing that for the past two hours in your sleep. Everypony including me and my sister are completely stumped as to what is affecting you. It doesn’t help either that I’m getting a lot more paperwork than usual from Cloudsdale. Pegasus being unable to move clouds, as new ones seem to form all on their own. Interesting that this would all happen the moment you arrived.”

“Are you putting the blame on me?” I question giving her a strong glare.

Celestia once again nods, “You’re a strange creature, Mr. Kenneth. One that I’m still not one hundred percent sure is innocent.”

“How could you just say that? I thought we came to an agreement with the integration program?” I countered. 

I really had no idea why she was blaming me, sure it looked suspicions but I was out cold when these reports started to come in. Surely, there’s something bigger at play here rather than just the weather. Which by the way, was kind of hard to believe. Weather is natural not man made, ponies can’t just manipulate it.

It was my turn to question her now, “Then how do I know you're innocent too? Maybe you’re just using me as a scapegoat for something that went wrong while I slept?”

Celestia scoffed, “Fine if you won't take this matter seriously then I’ll just have to show you.” Celestia commented as I felt myself being pulled sideways again. My stomach lurched, twisted and turned as I floated throughout white space. Again as soon as it started it was gone, and I found myself lying on my belly against the cold marble.

Nausea once again wracked my stomach. Having nothing to prevent it, I once again vomited onto the marble. “A little warning would’ve been nice,” I commented as I struggled to my feet.

“I should be the one saying that to you,” Celestia stated as she motioned out towards the window. 

My jaw could’ve hit the ground and I wouldn’t have noticed from the view I got. The city was in a mass panic, ponies all around were running through the streets. The skies above were covered in dark clouds as lightning flashed every couple of seconds. The rain droplets that battered the windows weren’t streaking down like they should be, they were sliding sideways from the gale force winds.

“Even, Discord claims he has no control over what is happening here. Which only leaves one person left. What is it that you wish to accomplish with this Mr. Kenneth?” Celestia prodded as she glared daggers at me. “My pony’s safety is at the forefront of my list and you are endangering every single one of them. Tell me one good reason I shouldn’t dispatch the world of you right now?”

This was insane! She was Insane! One bad thing happens and she immediately blames me for its arrival. I guess it is a bit suspicious that it would come when I first arrived here, but that was just it, a coincidence, nothing more nothing less.

“Because I may actually have nothing to do with it! Have you ever actually thought of the possibility that I may not even be the cause?” I yelled, anger filling my voice. I never did do well with blind accusations, “Killing me will do nothing to stop this.” I continued pointing my once again flickering hand towards her.

This time, however, it did not stop. Raising both of my hands I come to see that both of them are flickering out of control like some kind of glitch in a game. I was in a state of shock, mesmerized by what was happening to me.

Celestia on the other hand wasn’t looking at me, instead, she had a wide-eyed look as she gazed out of the window. Taking a look back outside I come to see that the lightning in the sky had frozen. Large beams of electricity staying stationary, lighting up the entire sky. Each one dimming from bright to dull like a broken light. Bringing up my arm to the glass I come to see them mimicking my own flashing.

“You claim to have not caused this, yet you seem connected to it,” Celestia points out.

I was getting quite annoyed at her constant bickering. Walking next to her I place a hand on her hunch in an attempt to defuse this situation. “I’m just as clueless as you-” And that’s all I got to say before the lightning outside continued with a bright white light that blinded both me and Celestia. 

The light did not fade as a tingling feeling shot through my body and down through my arm. Soon enough my whole body felt like it was engulfed in flames as my vision turned completely white. I couldn’t even see Celestia that was supposed to be right in front of me. 

Before I could yell out in pain, the sensation was gone and with it the white light. Looking around I found myself back next to the fireplace in the cottage. To tell the truth, I was really glad that I was back here. Pony world was messed up, and to make matters even worse I knew that I was bound to go back there. At least here nobody was pointing fingers.

“Where have you taken us?” An all too familiar voice commands.

Oh, for the love of god, please don’t tell me… I trailed off as my eyes met her magenta colored ones. I could have sworn I saw a small flame in them.

“Tell me, Kenneth, if that is your real name,” Celestia stated giving me an icy glare.

“We’re back on my world Earth,” I commented walking over to a nearby window. It was currently night time. Squinting my eyes a bit I could see that there was no snow on the ground, it was either summer or spring. I had jumped forwards in time again, or was it backwards?

Celestia, however, was not having any of it. Which in all regards is understandable, she had been taken out of her world and placed into mine. 

“Why have you taken me here?” Celestia asks.

“For the last time, I’m not the one controlling anything. I’m just as confused as you are. You know what, screw this,” I state reaching over and grabbing one of her forehooves. She instinctively tries to wiggle free but is unable to, her magic fizzling out as if it were a sparkler.

“Unhand me!” She yells.

Rolling my eyes, I do the one thing I probably should have done a long time ago. I turned around and slapped Celestia straight across the face. “Get a hold of yourself! Your panicking isn’t going to get us anywhere!” I yelled right back at her. Her eyes turned wide, but this time when I pulled her forwards she harbored no resistance. 

Arriving in front of the fireplace I gesture towards the pictures on the mantel. Celestia rubs her sore cheek as she walks over to the pictures. Taking one with her hoof she stares at it. It's a picture of me when I was a kid fishing out on the lake with my father.

“Does that look like someone that would cause your world trouble?” I ask. 

Celestia doesn’t answer she just continues to stares into the picture emotionless. Removing the picture, I place another one in her hoof. This is one of the whole family a couple years back on my mother's birthday. We all had silly smiles, a large piece of strawberry cake lay in the middle with multiple candles depicting her age. Everyone was wearing those goofy party hats, some even had those party buzzers in their mouths.

“Does that look like someone that would put the lives of someone else in danger?” I state taking the picture away before placing the last one in her hoof.

This one was taken only a year ago, me and two of my friends were leaning up against a glass window in the terminal of an airport. The plane behind us was getting loaded up as another one took off in the background. It was my trip to Italy with my friends. We all had the stereotypical tourist shirts as we smiled at the camera.

“Is any of this getting through to you? I’m not some monster from another world out to kill you and your ponies. No, I’m just as confused as you are, maybe even more so.” I yelled really letting her have it. I guess that’s what you get when you place the blame on someone without any real evidence.

What happened next hit me like a freight train, no scratch that, a freight ship. Celestia’s hoof started to tremble, the glass from the picture rattling against the frame. That’s when it hit me, a lone tear dropped from her muzzle and impacted the glass. She was crying, Celestia the princess of Equestria was crying right in front of me.

All my anger seemed to wash away, only to be filled in with guilt. I may not have caused the chaos that was reeking havoc on Equestria, but I single handily caused the chaos shooting through Celestia’s mind. The metaphorical tables were flipped, she was now a lost soul in my world.

Then with one simple word she broke through my shell, “yes.” Still, with tears in her eyes, she looked at me, “Yes you got through to me.” And just like that without even a warning, she latched onto me in a large hug. I could feel her trembling in the embrace, this really got to her.

Seeing as she realized her mistakes, I gave her a soft hug back. She let the dams open fully now as she continued to cry into my shoulder. I patted her on the back not saying a word. She was clearly overstressed from the sudden events, it was good that she was letting it all go now. I out of all people know that keeping your emotions bottled up is not healthy.

I had no idea how long it lasted, but eventually, Celestia’s cries stopped. Looking over I could see both of her eyelids closed as her head rested on my shoulder. She was fast asleep.

Which was cute in all, but in reality, really problematic. Of course, I would take her to the bedroom to get some proper rest, but she wasn’t exactly all that light. Taking in a large amount of air I reached my left arm under her back hooves and stood up. I’m no athlete so doing just this much was impressive for me.

Like a penguin, I waddled my way through the cottage until I came upon one of the three bedrooms. Not wanting to carry this heavy mare any longer I placed her onto the bed and pulled the covers over her. Wiping the sweat from my head I wander over to the closet.

Having been waiting for a long time to do this, I slide open the closet door and take out a simple t-shirt, pants, underwear, sweater and socks. The family always liked to store some emergency clothes in the cottage just in case someone forgot something back at home.

Knowing that she’s sound asleep, I don’t even bother leaving the room to change. Within seconds I’m back into some normal clothes. No longer running around in my swim trunks. Kicking my swim suit into the closet I close the door and make my way back into the living room of the cottage. Having thrown up twice, it came to no surprise that I was a bit hungry. In fact, I was starving, I hadn’t had a proper meal in what felt like forever.

Walking over to the kitchen I open the door to reveal a whole lot of nothing. We never left a lot of food in the fridge when we were gone for obvious reasons. Next up I opened multiple cupboards around the kitchen. Finally, I came up to one that had something actually edible in it. Some canned soup.

Taking the can out, I slide it over towards the stove and take out a pan from the other cupboard. Tossing it onto the stove like the can, I move onto another drawer that held the basic cutlery. Reaching in I take a knife and a spoon out and place them next to the stove as well. Having everything in front of me I started to cook myself up a nice bowl of chunky soup.

Time flew passed as it usually does when you’re occupied, and I soon found myself sitting down in the living room eating some soup. It wasn’t really all that good, but it brought forth the nurturance I needed to live another day. Setting the bowl down on the table I take large swig of water from my cup.

My mind was going a mile a minute as it usually does in these types of situations. I was contemplating whether or not I should tell my friends about what was happening here. That idea was thrown out the window, I had no idea how much time passed here on Earth. Sure, it looked like it just changed seasons, but it could have been years. If that was the case it’s probably best that I don’t contact anyone and solve this problem myself. That way I don’t have people waiting around for me.

Reality as it usually does, started to settle in. I couldn’t believe that this was all happening to me of all people. I was teleporting! The things of science fiction! In truth, I was scared out of my mind. What if I messed up? Not only that but I seemed to have been thrown into this mess in Equestria. Why me? Why now? I continued to ask myself.

Letting out a large sigh, I look out the large window and passed the porch towards the lake. It’s wavy waters reflecting the light of the moon as it hung gently in the night sky. It was then that I wondered how long it would take to get my life back to normal, or if it would ever return to normal. With that in mind, I let my eyes slowly shut.





A small poke to my right arm rustled me from my dreams, “Five more minutes.” I commented flicking away the intruder with my left arm. This, however, made my situation worse as the intruder poked me again this time harder.

“What? What do you want?” I state slowly cracking my eyelids open.

The moment I did, I regretted it, the sun's rays bombarded my eyes. Shutting them closed again I brought my hand up to shield the light before opening them again. This time I came to see Celestia looking down at me, her hair drooping onto my chest. Her soft smile she gave looked beautiful on her as the sun rays came across her face. It looked like a little angel.

Yup, mornings really did make me think weird stuff. 

“I require your assistance Ken,” Celestia commented.

My eyes still locked onto her magenta ones, “And why do you need my help?”

“I have set your stove on fire,” she stated in a completely normal tone.

“You WHAT!” I exclaimed rolling off the couch. Why did I pick the couch instead of a nice warm bed?  I’ll never know.

Sitting up in my spot I look over to the kitchen where a small fire lay in a frying pan. Black smoke bellowed from the pan as the fire slowly spread to the entire top of the stove. Quickly running towards the door, I grab the nearby fire extinguisher and haul it over. 

I’ve never used such a device in my life, but I was not going to let this fire win. Pulling the pin, I take the hose and aim it at the stove. Pressing the clamps together the fire extinguisher spewed forth what looked like powder.

I honestly didn’t care about the mess as I swept over the entire stove. Within seconds the fire was gone. I stood there watching the dust settle, the entire kitchen was a mess with this powder substance all over the place. Looking onto the pan I come to see a burnt pile of something.

“What the hell were you trying to cook?” I asked putting the pin back into the fire extinguisher and hanging It back on the wall. In all honesty, it was probably overkill to use an extinguisher on such a small fire, but when shit happens you have to act fast.

Celestia walks over to the frying pan with a frown on her muzzle, “It ‘was’ supposed to be a pancake. The servants back home make it look so easy.”

Maybe because it ‘is’ easy, I commented to myself as I learned a valuable lesson this morning. Never let Celestia cook again. “Why were you trying to make pancakes if you’ve never cooked before.”

“Because I wanted to make it up to you for placing the blame on you,” Celestia stated with a defeated sigh.

I let out a little chuckle at how absurd this all was, before walking up next to her. “It’s the thought that count’s, but a simple pancake is not going to magickly mend our relationship,” I comment.

“I know, but it was a start,” Celestia replied.

“Yeah, it’s a start. Now you can start repaying me by helping clean this up,” I motion towards the kitchen. It looked like someone dragged a large broken bag of flower around. This was going to take a while.

This inadvertently gave us some time to discuss what was going to happen. “What are we going to do when we get back to Equestria?” I brought out the elephant in the room.

“We need to find out why these teleports are happening, and more importantly why they’re connected to the weather,” Celestia stated as she attempted to sweep the floor. I say attempt because her hooves aren’t really the best things to hold a broom with. Not only that but the broom wasn’t really cleaning it up. It smeared the powder rather than group it.

“Do you have any ideas as to what may be the cause?” I question bringing out the vacuum and plugging it into an outlet.

Celestia nodded, “It’s definitely you which is causing the disturbance. I know now that it was unintentional- WHAT IN MOTHERS NAME IS THAT!” Celestia screamed as she backed herself into a corner from the sound the vacuum made when I started it up.

I let a little smirk adorn my face as I pushed it towards her. Immediately she lifted up her left for hoof trying to squeeze herself further into the corner. A look of pure horror adorning her face, she was just like an oversized cat. 

Chuckling I pulled the vacuum away from her and started to clean up the mess. “Think of it like a broom but better,” I state cleaning up the floor in a matter of minutes. I would have to mop it as well, but that can always wait.

As I shut down the vacuum Celestia seems to visibly ease as she walks circles around the vacuum. “Why is it so loud?” She questions poking it with her hoof. When it does nothing, she turns her gaze towards me.

“The motors that spin the bristles and create the suction is what makes the noise,” I comment cleaning the counter and stove with a wet cloth.

Celestia now looks at the vacuum with awe sparkling in her eyes, “So this is the technology you’ve been talking about. You were not fibbing.” Looking back at me her smile fades, “It is time.”

“Time for what?” I question looking towards Celestia. I, however, didn’t need an answer as I looked towards my hands cleaning the counter. They were once again flashing on and off. It was time to switch worlds.

“Right, grab a hold of me,” I state.

Celestia nods as she brings her hoof into contact with my leg. Within seconds the flickering increased in speed before I felt the same tingling sensation. A bright white light blinded both me and Celestia. The burning sensation came back, but just like before I couldn’t yelp in pain. The process was over before my mind could even figure out how to react.

I and Celestia found ourselves back where we left off, in front of the window. It looked as if not even a minute had passed here when a full day passed on earth.

“We must speak with my sister and get to the bottom of this before the storm hurts somepony,” Celestia commented. Clearly, time was of the essence, I could easily be whisked away at any second. In order to save time Celestia once again lit up her horn and I felt the same sideways pull.