Summer Bound

by Windsocks

Chapter Five - Adventure Bound

The teleportation was swift, yet brutal. Unlike before, the action seemed forced which of course caused me to experience the entire process with the intensity dial cranked up to 10. Which meant more pain, more spinning and most of all, more nausea.

Yep, this time when I was thrown from this ‘white space’, I immediately started the evacuation procedure for my stomach. My chunky soup I had eaten last night came right out onto the surprisingly not marble floor. Instead, I looked down upon was some sort of blue-hued rock? It was actually quite fascinating that they were able get this shade of blue into a rock.

Thankfully, Celestia seemed to think of this before hand. With a quick spell she immediately popped my mess out of existence. Which gets me to think. Where does it go? Did she just vaporize it? Or did she teleport it? Questions I would have to ask another time. As of right now, we had bigger matters to attend to.

“I thought we told you that we can’t trust him, sister?” Luna’s voice echoed against the decorated walls. At least it was nice that she spoke in my language.

I, myself was having trouble getting up off the floor. My eyes were still spinning as I tried to make out objects in the room. At first, it was a bed, then a window, until everything started to settle in. Having my senses mostly restored I finally took in the room.

It was just as lavish as Celestia’s chambers. Even though its walls and floor were colored darkly to accent who was living in it. The room itself seemed to be well illuminated, all its windows were covered with thick blue drapes. Making the only sources of light the candles that were scattered throughout the room. It kind of gave off this ‘Gothic’ vibe with how many candles were laid about.

Unaware of my current state, Celestia moves forward to explain the situation, “Kenneth here has proven his innocence. While he may be the direct cause of our ‘weather’ problem, I can say with the utmost certainty that he plays no role in controlling it.”

I would give Celestia a nice warm smile, but my headache seemed to have returned. I guess the two sudden teleports will do that to a man. Letting out a low groan at the dull pain, I move myself to stand by Celestia’s side.

“How can you be so sure of his innocence? He could be acting for all we know!” Luna retorted, and she wasn’t totally wrong there. I could just be acting, I can see now that Celestia put a lot of trust in me that those pictures were genuine.

Of course, those accusations can easily be countered, “If I had control of the weather, don’t you think I would have struck you with lightning by now?” I stated causing Celestia to let out a little chuckle.

“He does have a point dear sister,” Celestia continued from my point.

I found it rather amusing and calming at the same time that Celestia was still able to remain calm during this whole ordeal that was taking place right outside. Even now I could hear the crackle of thunder off in the distance, and the tapping of the rain as it bombarded the glass windows.

Luna rolls her eyes as she looks towards me, “So what have you come here for?”

I give her the evils as Celestia states her plan, “River Breeze”

And that’s all she said, just one lowly name. Maybe pony world is fucked, I commented to myself as Luna repeated.

“River Breeze?”

“River Breeze,” Celestia cements with a nod.

“River Breeze,” Luna once again states, this time however she has a knowing look upon her face.

“Livers Cheese,” I stated.

Luna and Celestia both look towards me with confusion clearly marked across their faces. I looked back at them with a stoic expression.

“You guys were just spouting nonsense so I thought I would join in. You mind actually telling me what you have planned?” I quipped.

Celestia nodded as Luna rolled her eyes once again, “River Breeze is a unicorn that has a unique field in which she studies. So unique, that she herself lives in the Everfree forest in order to test her hypotheses more efficiently.”

“What are we going to do with River Breeze? Invite her here for a little chat?” I ask as the nauseating feeling starts to finally settle down.

“I would if I could. River Breeze is a very solitary pony. The only way to contact her would be to go there ourselves,” Celestia states.

I look at her like she’s grown another head? “You expect to make it there in this storm?” I claimed sliding one of the thick curtains aside.

She then did the most logical thing I’ve seen her do so far, she simply shook her head horizontally. “No, I expect us to make it there in this storm.” She fixed.

I guess I should have seen that one coming. This was kind of all my fault, even though I had no hand in it what-so-ever. “Fine, so are we taking the train or something?” I ask dreading the one response I knew I was going to get.

“Nay, the train has stopped running due to the storm. Too many things can go wrong if it we were to travel in these conditions. Pegasus won't be able to take thy either, the winds are too unstable. Sudden vertigo could kill a Pegasus or even a failed landing attempt at these wind speeds. The only way thou and my sister will make it to the Everfree is if thou hoofs it.” Luna stated smiling.

“My sister is right,” Celestia cemented, “we’ll need to leave right away if we hope to reach Saddle Lake by nightfall.”

“Can’t we just teleport there?” I question as the two of us start making our way out of Luna’s chambers. I really doubt that meeting with her sister did anything but set us back. I mean, did she really have to know we were going out to fix this problem?

“We would be leaving our lives up to chance. Teleportation is a very ‘sense’ driven spell. I would have to have been there and remembered the location well in order to complete the spell.” Celestia once again shoots down my idea. Her smile -that’s right she’s actually smiling at a time like this- never faltering.

“Why can’t we just send some pony else to do it. You’re a princess, I’m sure you’ll have your hands full with your court or something.” It was then that I saw Celestia’s smile waver. I then knew what was going on.

She had responsibilities here and she knew it. The fact that she could go on this adventure and escape her title for a while was probably a dream come true.

Letting out a sigh I continue, “Or maybe that would be a bad idea. Don’t want to risk someone else going when we have all the information. It would also take to much time to brief someone else.”

Celestia smile returned, “Yes, that is why we must go alone,” With a flash of her horn a safari hat was placed on top her head as a beige button-up wrapped around her body.

really? I questioned mentally as we ran through the hallways of the castle. Celestia smiling away with her stereotypical safari explorer kind of get up, and me struggling to keep up. She’s having way to much fun with this. I concluded to myself.

All the guards that lined the halls were looking at us with confused expressions. Probably because they never thought they would see a creature like me chasing after their ruler looking like Steve Irwin, god rest his beautiful soul.

Panting, I question, “You really going to be wearing that? I thought ponies don’t wear clothes?”

Celestia looks back at me as we finally reached the castle's main doors. Which were obviously closed due to the chaos unfolding outside? “What? Don’t like my outfit?” She questions as her horn ignites to open the two massive doors.

I wasn’t even able to get a word in as the storm outside quickly announced itself. The first thing I felt was the large gust of wind punch me right in the stomach. As if that wasn’t enough the torrential rain battered me in my face. I could just tell that this was going to be one hell of a trip.

“Come on, Kenneth! Adventure awaits!” Celestia comments tipping her pith helmet down to block the rain as she jumps forwards.

Groaning in protest I follow after her.

---

“How long is this journey going to take?!” I yell over the wind and rain. It’s been two hours and the weather hasn’t stopped, nor has it let up. If anything, it had gotten worse.

Celestia now with a drenched coat and shirt turns to look at me. She’s still sporting that smile of hers, a spark flashing in her eyes as she says, “Another hour till we reach the base of the mountain and another five till we come across Saddle Lake. Which we’ll be staying at overnight!”

While my body protested going any further, my mind was actually okay with it. The view we got walking down the mountain side was nothing short of spectacular. The light haze coated the ground bellow the mountain. I could see a large forest that snaked in-between the mountain ranges. A lowly river following it, all the way to a decent sized lake.

The lights from multiple villages could be seen, yet my eyes were only locked onto the one bordering the lakes shore. That was Saddle Lake no doubt, our destination. Funny how close something looks from the air, but as Celestia said, is quite far in reality.

Another flash of lightning arced across the sky, its brethren the thunder chased behind. Its load roar boomed against the rocky mountains creating an even more menacing sound.

“It’s quite odd seeing no ponies on this road. Usually, it's packed, day in and day out,” Celestia states as she slows down to walk by my side.

Looking over to her I ask, “Ponies still use these roads even though there’s a train system in place?”

Celestia nods, “The train can only do so much, most merchants rather carry their goods themselves. As of right now, the cost of transporting items via train is costly. Roads like these are still widely used around Equestria due to that fact and the fact that the train doesn’t run everywhere.”

Avoiding a large divot in the gravel path I point over to the lights on the edge of the lake. “So, is that saddle lake?” I ask retrieving my had to wipe the water from my face.

Following my finger, she smiles, “Yes, one of my favorite towns actually. They host all the best events, especially the summer sun festival.”

“Back in my world, the summer sun festival is celebrated with large bonfires at a beach or park. Do you ponies do the same thing?” I question, generally interested if there are more similarities between the two realms.

Celestia shakes her head, “No, but that does sound like a nice way to celebrate. Maybe some party planners down there will get a tip this upcoming celebration.”

Before any of us knew it, we were reaching the bottom of the mountain. The path turning from gravel to dirt as it entered the forest.

The trees here were like the ones up north; tall and skinny. They kind of reminded me of toothpicks. Each one looking so frail, like they were ready to fall. Yet here they stood, fighting against the storm together.

Each gust of the wind that pushed up against their trunks created an eerie groan as the wood protested. Their leaves now sheltering me and Celestia as we traveled deeper into the forest.

However, the more the leaves sheltered us from the rain, the darker the forest became. Looking over to Celestia I could see her smile has faded. Her delicate magenta eyes darting around the forest floor for any sign of movement.

“So, you really are scared of the dark?” I question.

Surprised by my voice she quickly turns her head to face me, “Though I hate to admit such a childish fear, yes. I have never been one for dark places.”

I was glad to hear her confession, yet from that fact alone I could tell that she probably won't get over this fear. As my mind wandered and we continued down the dirt path the area around us continued to get darker. Each step forwards I found Celestia an inch closer to me.

“Can’t you cast a light spell or something?”

“I must save my strength for the journey ahead,” Celestia replies.

My eyes never leave her form, “you expect to run into something here?” I ask.

This conversation seemed to have gotten me on edge too. I soon found myself looking around the forest. The once magnificent trees now looked demonic. As if they themselves were scheming against us.

“No, but one could never be too safe,” Celestia stated her trademarked saying.

Even though she put a lot of confidence into her tone, she was almost leaning up against me. Any and all attempts to act strong would be thwarted by that one fact.

A large caw pierced the air as two birds that were perched on a branch took off. This seemed to set Celestia off as her horn glowed brightly as she leans up against me. It was pretty funny seeing a being so powerful cower over the dark.

“It’s just a bird, no need to freak out.”

Looking around she calms down a bit. Her horn dims but stays lit. It’s light illuminating a small area around us.

“Yes, just a bird,” Celestia confirms as she shakes her head.

Getting herself back into a decent frame-of-mind she -to my disappointment- distances herself from me. The nice secure warm feeling I got when she leaned up against me was replaced by the harsh cold wind. The fact that our clothes were soaked didn’t help us out either.

“You should take off that getup, it's soaked,” I commented once I realized that ponies don’t usually wear clothes.

Celestia glances at me, one eyebrow raised.

“What?” I question.

“Are you asking me a mare to undress in front of you?” She states with a small smirk on her face. At least I could say I got her distracted from her fears.

I look at her with a stoic expression, “yeah, I am saying that. Now strip before you get hypothermia.”

Having hiked five hours, I was not the one to be joking around. I just wanted to get to Saddle Lake and pass out at the local inn. And I wasn’t going to do that if my ticket in was killed by the weather.

Hearing my words Celestia’s muzzle adorns a nice shade of scarlet. Nevertheless, her horn brightens as she levitates her cap off her head and into my face.

Surprised by her actions, I quickly take the hat out of my face. Looking back at Celestia I can see that she has already taken off her button up. She, herself is giving me an unamused expression.

“Oh, so you ponies don’t mind being seen naked, but you mind someone seeing you take off clothes,” I state rolling my eyes. Ponies are weird.

Celestia levitates the hat in my hand back to her head. Her mane was soaked as well, clinging to her neck. “It is considered ‘very’ intimate for some pony to watch another take off their clothes.”

“Yeah, well you're naked now and in my world, it is considered even more intimate,” I comment bringing back the blush on Celestia’s muzzle.

There was an awkward silence that arose after that. Our steps drowned out by the wind and rain. Taking a glance towards Celestia I can see her moving her mane around trying to get it into a comfortable position. Sadly, every time she does, it just flops back down to its original place.

Stopping, I rip a little strip of cloth off my sweater. Seeing me halt Celestia looks back at me with a confused expression. “What are you doing? We have to keep moving.”

“Just hold on one sec,” I reply walking up to her.

Before she can intervene, I grab her mane and tie up the bottom in a ponytail fashion.

“Heh, a pony with a ponytail,” I state with a small little chuckle.

Celestia rolls her eyes, as she turns her head back forwards. She tries to hide it, but I can see a small smile grace her lips.

---

It took us a lot longer then Celestia had originally planned. By the time we hit Saddle Lake the moon was already reaching its peak. Which meant that we would have to make due with four hours of sleep before we head off again.

Taking the first steps out of the forest and into the clearing I took a sight of the village. It’s cobblestone buildings with thatched roofs from which smoking chimneys poked out. Lantern light from inside the houses illuminated the streets where ponies ran about.

Exiting the forest, I was also graced with the knowledge of the storm taking place. Like before, the rain poured down in buckets soaking my clothes within seconds.

“Nice little town you have here! I can see why you like it so much!” I yell bringing my voice above the wind and the rain.

Celestia walked beside me, her coat following the same fate as my clothes. “You haven’t seen anything yet! The inn we’re staying at is my personal favorite!”

Neither of us wanting to stay out in the rain any longer, hurried along. Celestia leading the way, and me attempting to catch up. These ponies sure know how to run.

“Usually there are more ponies here, but due to the storm it seems most have taken up shelter!” Celestia commented as she followed the dirt road as it soon turned into cobblestone. Her metallic shoes clinking against the cold stone path.

Our journey halted when we came across a large building with a swaying sign out front. I myself couldn’t make heads or tales what the gibberish was on it, so I just looked over to Celestia then to the sign.

“It reads: The Misty Spring Inn,” Celestia states as we both walk under the wooden awning and through the two front doors.

The 'shock' would be one word to describe our entrance. As soon as we entered the Inn every patron's eyes fell on us. It was like a western movie when a new guy walks into the bar.

Not a single word was spoken, and even the music that was playing stopped dead in its groove.

“Does this happen to you often?” I question.

“More then I would like to admit,” Celestia replies as we both wander up to the Inn-keepers desk.

The walk was pretty awkward as ponies all around didn’t know how to respond. Some bowed to Celestia, while others gave me the stink eye. I guess ponies aren’t so lenient with new races as I was lead to believe.

Arriving at the desk the Inn-keeper breaks out of his stupor and greets us. “Ah, Princess Celestia,” He states out loud with a smile as he bows. “my most cherished customer and beloved ruler. How may I help you? A room? Some ale? Or do you want us to whip you up something to state your apatite.”

My mind was wondering where I heard something like that before. But I couldn’t lay a finger on it. Maybe because I couldn’t understand a thing he was saying! This language barrier was really starting to grind my gears.

Sure, it's kind of fun the first couple hours not knowing their language, but it gets old real fast. If I ever find myself with some free time, I’m going to learn their god damned language!

Celestia speaks something to the pony in her native tongue. Her tone was dry and to the point. It not only made the Inn-keeper a bit nervous but me as well. Which is really saying something when I don’t even know what she’s saying.

I’ve only seen her happy side, even when she was accusing me, she wasn’t this scary. I guess you shouldn’t mess with the princesses sleep schedule.

Nodding with a forced smile, the Inn-keeper flicks his tail which caused a key on the board behind him to fall into his hoof. With a quick smile and bow, he hoofs us over the keys.

As we turn to walk away he yells something over to us. Probably some sort of ‘thank you’ or ‘enjoy your stay’.

By the time we exit the main lobby and into the hallway the patrons when back to normal. Laughing, cheering and dancing it all held a very positive atmosphere. Not only that but the interior of the place looked rather cozy.

The whole place was built out of logs from the nearby forest. The main room had a huge fireplace that sat in the middle with seating all around it. The walls all held pictures and prized fish that someone had caught.

“Is there a way you can beam your language into my head like you did for yourself?” I ask as Celestia levitates the room key into a nearby locked door.

“Beam my language?” Celestia turns to face me with a small smirk and a raised eyebrow. “If it were only that simple,” Celestia continued with a small chuckle.

“It seemed pretty simple when you did it in the padded room,” I retorted as Celestia opened the door and walked inside.

“In order for you to learn our language, you would have to be the one to cast the spell. Now if you had magic to begin with, you could have just entered my mind during the spell in the padded room. The spell I used is like a door, once in, you can walk through both ways.

Sadly, since you possess no magical capabilities. You couldn’t even find the door if you wanted to.”

“Shame, guess I’ll have to learn it the old way then,” I claim defeated once again as I enter the room after Celestia.

The room was quite dark, but a quick spell on Celestia’s part ignited all the candles.

It was a nice room at first glance. There was a bed in the corner of the room, a desk with a small typewriter laying on it, as a chest lay beside the bed. The thin white curtains were drawn back, enabling me to look out the window and towards the lake. I’m sure it would have been magnificent to look at without the current storm taking place.

Looking back towards the bed I realize another slight problem. There was only one, and while it was pretty big for one person, it would definitely not fit two people on it. Or in this case a pony and a human.

“You going to ask for another room?” I question.

“Why bother? We’re only going to be here for four hours anyways. I rather not take up a room if we’re barely going to use it.” She comments levitating her ‘hat’ on top of the chest.

Taking off my soaked sweater I hang it up by the candles. I do the same with my pants and shirt, leaving me once again in my under-ware.

“I call the bed!” I yell jumping onto the bed. With a large smile etching its way onto my face I can feel my eyelids start to get heavy the moment I impact the sheets.

Celestia walks up beside the bed and looks down at me, “You expect a princess like me to sleep on the floor?”

Cracking one eyelid open I look up at her, “uh, yeah.”

This gets a little chuckle out of her, “Have it your way.”

With that, I close my one eyelid assuming my victory. Yet, that's all it was, an assumption. Two seconds later and Celestia kicks off her shoes, tiara and jumps onto the bed with me in it.

Before I could figure out what was going on, Celestia was sprawled out on top of me completely knocked out. I could hear her gentle breath as it brushed up against my neck.

Unable to find the will to push her off I just lay there staring at the ceiling. Her warm wings draped over me on each side. They felt like the softest polyester money could buy, while her body felt like silk upon my skin.

No matter how much I wanted to be mad at this mare at this moment, I couldn’t. I’m not even going to lie, with her soft fur and warm embrace, I fell asleep like a baby that night.

Comments

[HIEfan]

Gotta love how Celestia praticly threw herself at the chance to have a adventure.

[Nocturne Hurakan]

I like this story so far.

[Xzaves]

8103684 Also threw herself at the human in bed
giggity

[Mokrab]

Maaaan, this chapter was worth the wait, keep them coming!

[pahnazd]

Probably needs more editing work done - there are quite a few small but not insignificant errors that could have been easily avoided. Innocents instead of innocence, "to of been" instead of "to have been", et cetera.

But, that notwithstanding, it's good to see that at least some animosity from Luna is gone. And that moment when Kenneth asked Celestia why she didn't want to go, and his subsequent realization... that was nice. A brief moment of vulnerability of Celestia, almost having her chance to break from the tedium of her everyday life taken away from her... Yeah, it was sweet.

I really wonder if and how long will it take Ken to learn the language.
Also, cuddles! Never say no to that. Cuddles make you happy, unless bad touch is involved. If it is, you have to make even badder touches. Or start running around in hexagons, squealing like a pig. Tends to work as well. Because if you can't convince them then confuse them instead!

[Serenity Rising]

woohoo, the romance begins! I'm a sucker for sweet mushiness ^-^

[Albioris]

*sighs* I guess I will move it from tracked to favorites. Well done on this cute chapter. Looking forward to more.

[Fireeaters]

Misspelled "innocence" twice.

[Blue Cultist]

The pacing on this story is pretty wonky. A lot of the plot points I'm seeing could have been expanded upon. Its unpolished, but this story's hardly what I'd call bad. I feel like the author had a lot of ambition for it.

[tkepner]

...state your apatite.

...sate your appetite.

...when back to normal.

...went back to normal.

Fish on the wall? Do your ponies eat meat? Only predators would think of mounting their kills on a wall.

I fell asleep like a baby that night.

So... he woke up every two hours crying?