The colt groans as he tried to open his eyes once again, but the bright lights from an unknown source made him cover his eyes. “Mrrrrph…” He groans, “Few… few more minutes…” The throbbing pain of the migraine however was enough to make him sit up and rub his eyes, until he stops and realizes what he’s using to rub his eyes. Looking down, he sees that he was still the green teal colt, and he was beginning to get scared and started screaming his head off.
His screams had alerted the guards that were standing stationed at infirmary door, one of which is the one who rushed him to the infirmary in the first place, Storm Rush. The sight of the guards made the young colt scream more, waking some of the patients in room, wondering why the foal was screaming. Storm Rush requests as he hurries to the colt’s side, “Get Princess Celestia and the Captain! Hurry!” He tries to calm Carson, “Hey hey, kid, calm down!”
Carson tried to struggle out of the jet black Pegasus’ grip on his front legs and tries kicking the guard’s chest… big mistake, as he kicked he chest plate, a sharp pain shot through the colt’s right rear leg making him scream louder. The Pegasus could feel the kick through his chest plate. This continues one for a minute and thirty seconds and Storm asked out loud, “Where’s the Captain when you need him?!” The sounds of heavy parting doors opening caught the attention of both boys.
“Storm Rush, what’s going on here?” Gleaming Sword asked his fellow guard. The distraction caused Carson to get out of Storm’s grip, tumbled off the bed, and made a mad dash for the doors. As Carson looked behind him, he could see that guard were about to follow him, they stopped dead in their tracks. He was stopped as he ran into something… or somepony, making him stumble backwards.
He quickly looks up and gasps in fright, standing in front of him is the Princess of the Sun and co-ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia. Gleaming Sword then spoke up with a salute, “Princess. We were about to escort the colt back to his bed a calm him down.”
Celestia looked down at Carson. The colt was beginning to feel like he was getting into trouble already, as if he felt like a little boy again. Celestia looks up and asked Storm Rush, “Has the treatment for his ailment been already taken affect?”
“Yes Princess, it’s already done a few hours ago.”
“Very good.” She nods as she back the colt again and knelt down, hearing a whimper from him, “It’s alright little one. Nopony here is going to harm you. You were in a very terrible condition. If Storm Rush, and Gleaming Sword haven’t found you in time, you would’ve met an awful fate.” The colt looked back at the armored stallions behind him and nodded.
“B-b-but, I don’t belong here!” Carson says to her, “I want to go home!”
Celestia could see the distress emanating from the foal, she then looks at the guards and requests, “Captain Gleaming, would you kindly escort the colt and myself to my room?” Gleaming nods and walks alongside her as Celestia used her magic to carry Carson and place him on her back, “We’ll talk privately about this situation little one, you’ll have plenty of time to tell me who you are.”
As they walked along through the Canterlot Castle’s halls, Carson then asks, “H-how did I even get here?”
“We found you after that shocking fall you took back in Everfree Forest,” Gleaming explains, “If we haven’t found you in time, you would’ve… died. Not only you’ve fallen off a cliff, you were also wrapped in Toxikí lepída vines, a kind of poison ivy that grows in the Everfree.”
Carson was in shock, this was completely new information of the Everfree Forest’s plant life. A type of poison ivy that could kill you? What kind of forest has a kind of killer plant in forest like that?! he thought to himself in shock, but then again, there are some plants that are deadly in the real world like the Deadly Nightshade that killed Macbeth’s soldiers, and the Water Hemlock that killed the Greek philosopher Socrates.
“However,” Gleaming brightens, “It’s thanks to Storm Rush’s speed that he got you to the infirmary so quick and provided the treatment you needed. I count that as very lucky, if I so myself.”
“Very lucky indeed Captain,” Celestia agrees, “I can’t even fathom what you had gone through in that forest. It can be very frightening for a lot of ponies, foals included.” As they continued to walk, Carson looked to his right to see the view of the mountains and the town of Canterlot below from the view of the castle. He never seen a view so breathtaking as that. As they reached the spiral staircase and to a door, Celestia dismisses Gleaming Sword, “Thank you Captain, you may return to your duties.”
“As you say, your highness.” The Captain salutes and trots back downstairs.
The Princess of the sun gave out a sigh as she opens the door and then closing it behind her with her magic. “Now, I believe that you mentioned that you’re weren’t meant to be here,” Celestia queried, she settles Carson on her bed as she lays next to him, “Would you please care to elaborate?”
The colt stared away from the alicorn princess, contemplating if he should tell her the truth, that their world is just a work of fiction in the mind of a human being and he himself is a human, but then again, this is Princess Celestia that he’s talking to. If anypony could help him get back to earth, it’s her. “W-what do you want to know?” He asks her.
Celestia giggled a little and said, “Well, as I mentioned, you proclaimed that you don’t belong in Equestria. I would like to know why you would say that.”
Carson took a gulp and begins to explain, “W-well, firstly, I’m not who or what you’d think I am.”
“That being?”
“I’m not a pony,” he clarifies, “I’m a human being from another world, a teenager to be specific. I made a wish from a shooting star to be a hero of my own story and to find happiness in life. Instead I got transported here by a light, following up by Twilight’s sudden surge of magic, and-”
“You were there?” Celestia asked him cutting off Carson’s explanation.
“N-not in the way you’d think,” The colt continues, “Y-you see… you and everyone here are a work of fiction, made and told in form of a show by humans. It became popular and got a following out of it.”
Celestia became silent for a moment, letting it sink in. She then asks him the obvious, “Then you know how this show happens? The events, characters, and story?”
Carson nods and adds, “Including some of the consequences of the future… even where Nightmare Moon rules Equestria.”
“What?!”
“B-but that never happens!” Carson was quick to reassure the Princess of the sun, “Twilight and friends were able to stop Nightmare Moon and have your sister reformed as Princess Luna!”
This calmed Celestia for a moment and then says, “But still, my own sister… what kind of event would lead to such possibility?”
Carson shook his head and answers, “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”
The Princess gave out a sigh and then asks her next question, “Well, if you do know what happens here, I could assume you know how this show ends?”
He nods, “Twilight’s been made as the ruler of Equestria, and you and Luna have retired from that role.” This made Celestia raise her brow, her and her sister? Retiring as rulers of Equestria? “I know!” Carson exclaims, “I don’t know what the show producers and writers were thinking of doing that either, but it happened!”
Celestia just shook her head, “I would never abandon my position, even if Twilight is made as ruler, she still has much to go through before my and Luna’s time are done. I never heard of such absurdity.” The thought of her retiring, maybe when she’s too old for sure, but she’s practically an immortal! She looked down at the colt and then asks, “Then I suppose you would want to return to your world before you, in your view, would cause a denture in this timeline?”
“Would you be able to?” Carson asked hopefully, “You’re one of the most powerful magic users even known to ponykind.”
Celestia sighs sadly and explains, “Even if I could my dear, it would take up a lot of magical energy for me to cast such a spell, and even then, finding your home world will be much difficult, given the fact that my faithful student had used so much magical energy, it became somewhat unstable.” Carson’s ears went flat as Celestia tells him her answer, “unfortunately, it would be impossible for me to replicate what Twilight has done. I’m sorry little one.”
Carson’s hung head down, his ears went lower. “N-no…” he whispered, he was scared to death to imagine how his father would react if he went missing, he wouldn’t stop until he would find him, but what if he gave up? What if something were to happen to his father? A thousand scenarios began to play in his mind and each and every one of them scares him.
Celestia looks at her sun, realizing that she needs to lower it for the sunset, it was getting late. She then tells him, “For now, I’m afraid you’re stuck here. However, I don’t think that this is a bad thing. I believe that there are a set of circumstances and a strange power that has brought you here to our world. I know that your first day here may be a rough start, but I believe that there is some good that’s going to happen for you tomorrow. For now though, I suggest that you should get some rest, the treatment that you went through wasn’t a pleasant experience.”
Carson then says somberly, “I don’t think I could fall asleep now I won’t get home now… even if the bed is comfortable.”
Celestia gave him a little smile and reassures him, “I have a spell for that. I used this prank on Luna once and nopony could even try to wake her up.” It’s ironic for her, she used it for fun and games with her sister, now she has to use it to calm somepony’s fears… if only Luna would be here to watch over this colt’s dreams, she would’ve given him the most happiest of dreams. Her horn lit up and casts an aura around the colt. “There, that should take an affect with a few minutes.”
He nods as he lays down on his left side looking at the princess. “Thank you Princess.”
“You’re very much welcome… oh! I apologize, I never asked for your name.”
“Carson…” He says as he gave out a yawn, “Carson Andrews…”
She gave him another small smile, “That’s a very lovely name. I think, for now at least, we may need to change your name.”
“Like…” He yawns in mid-sentence, “what?”
She titters and says, “We can work that out tomorrow, for now, just get some rest. Just let the stars guide you peaceful dreams.” As she says those words, Carson’s eyes grew heavy, the spell’s affects were starting to take hold on the colt. Once the colt was fully asleep, there was a knock on the door. She looked at Carson, tucked him under the blanket and announces in a mid-hushed tone, “Come in.”
The doors opened to reveal commander Shining Armor, his parents Night Light and Twilight Velvet, and his little sister Twilight Sparkle. “Forgive me for the intrusion Princess,” Shining apologized, “My sister wanted to show you something.”
Celestia smiles and then was about to ask her what she had find, but she was cut off by her faithful student as the filly asks her teacher, “Who’s that?”
Celestia looked the colt asleep from the spell, then back at her student, oh the joys of the curious youths these days. “He’s just a colt Twilight. He’s been having rough day today. Your brother and the guards found him at the outskirts of the Everfree Forest.”
“Oh goodness.” Twilight Velvet gasps, a hoof to her mouth.
Celestia nods, then she looked at Shining Armor and motions her head to come with her. Shining does so, having the two of them privately discuss about the colt. “A colt, in the Everfree Forest?” Night Light asked his wife, she could only shrug at his question understandably shocked as he was. This made Night Light crossed, “What kind pony would leave their own foal in a forest like that? Everypony knows that a forest like the Everfree is dangerous, especially to foals.”
Twilight wasn’t paying attention to her parents’ conversation as she was more focused on the colt. She got on the bed and could see that he had restful look on his face, she could tell from some of the healed cut on his cheek that he looked like he had a rough experience from whatever that waited him in that accursed forest.
As she continues to examine him, the more she got close, his ear began to flicker. From what it seems despite being asleep, he seems to be responsive, albeit unconsciously. Wouldn’t this be the moment that the princess would kiss the sleeping prince? she asked herself in thought, … or is it the other way around?
Suddenly, Princess Celestia and Shining Armor returned in room, to which the Princess of the sun suggests that Twilight could show her what findings she’s discovered or new spell she’s been using outside of her chambers and leave the colt be for now. They all agreed and they head out of the room, the lilac filly took a moment to whisper to the colt, “I hope you feel better. Maybe we can be friends one day.” She gave him a quick kiss on his cheek where the cut was and she left the chamber.
If she had stuck around for a little bit longer, she would’ve saw the colt’s lips curve into a smile. As fate decrees it, his wish had came true, he just didn’t know it yet.