Drummer Out of Time

by MrPip42

11 - The Night-Mare’s Drummer

Ditzy Doo had been tasked with her regular route through Ponyville. Her saddlebags are full of regular mail envelopes. No packages in sight. She still isn’t allowed to deliver packages until she can prevent an accident for one week. Ditzy did get close this week! No accidents for a whole day. Only six more days to go!… Oh wait, she did drop her bosses’ coffee on his hooves this morning. Oh well, a day was her new record!

Among the houses that were scattered around her regular mail route was her friend Doctor Hooves’ house. It was always nice to see the Doctor, he always had some fun words to say and funny things to talk about. Not that she really understood them. She was actually a pretty good student in school(2nd in her graduating class!), but the things Dr. Hooves talked about went in one ear and out the other for her. It was still pretty fun to listen to though! Maybe she just liked the sounds his accent made.

He had two pieces of mail today. One was another ad for Rich’s Barnyard Bargains. Filthy Rich keeps the post office budget afloat with his ad mail alone. The other was the only type of package Ditzy was allowed to carry. A soft envelope package carrying a small object. It was padded and secure, and wouldn’t immediately break if she accidentally dropped it.

Ditzy never got to give many packages to Dr. Hooves! Most of the packages he got were heavy or delicate. She was, of course, told to stay twenty feet away at all times from packages like that. Being able to give him a package was exciting! Ponies always looked so happy when they got packages. He wondered what the Doctor’s happy package face would be! Her favorite was anytime she got to deliver a package to Twilight Sparkle. Every new book she ordered made her squeal in delight. Except for that time she accidentally dropped a box on her. That squeal was a very angry squeal.

She did her customary knock on the Doctor’s door, Knock… Knock-Knock Knock! Then, she hummed and waited patiently, until finally the stallion himself came and opened the door. He looked tired, but not the same tired she normally saw him have. Most times he had this manic tiredness, the bags would run deep underneath his eyes, but his smile and energy still kept going. A constant fervor that he put into every project and job he worked on, no matter how little sleep he got.

Today? He just looked tired.

“Hello Ditzy, “ Doctor Hooves said, his voice breathy and weak. He barely put any effort into using his vocal chords to speak. “What do you need?”

“Good afternoon, Doctor!…” She tried to hold up a smile in front of her friend, but the concern she felt pushed it down. “Are you alright?”

“Huh? Oh, yes, yes I am,” He said in a dry tone. “Great, even, I have made a personal breakthrough on one of my projects.”

He didn’t seem too excited about that breakthrough. “Oh, okay, are you going to take a breakthrough nap, then? You look like you need it.”

“Thank you for pointing that out, Ditzy.” Dr. Hooves tried to add sarcasm to his voice, but he didn’t have the energy for it. “I probably will rest soon, I assume you have mail to give me first?”

“Oh! Yes, here you go!” Derpy pulled out the two pieces of mail she had for him. The Doctor took them from her, and looked curiously at the package. Here it comes, the happy package face!

“…What is this?” He asked her, “I didn’t order anything.”

Aw, there was only confusion on his happy package face, tired confusion. That was disappointing for Ditzy. She even had a camera ready! Ditzy put her camera away and shrugged. “I don’t know, it doesn’t have a return address on it, but it was in with the rest of the mail. Are you sure you don’t need anything before I go, Doctor?”

“Yes, yes I am sure. Thank you Ditzy, have a lovely day.”

“Okay, bye bye!” She waved before the door was shut, and the Doctor continued to look confused at the odd package in his hooves. Back down to the basement he went, the Barnyard Bargains ad in the trash. While the package was placed on a nearby table. He would open it in a minute, after he put the finishing touches on the newest device.

Out of any of the experiments he had conducted for Project Century, this experiment was far different. It used centuries old techniques that were already proven to work, and with enough personal research into magic connections, he was sure that this would be the one. He had found a way to bring High Rise back home.

Almost.

The device needed one final piece to function. An expensive magical tool that was often used by the higher nobility of Canterlot. A Surge Protector. A special bracelet that you place on a young foal unicorn. This bracelet was used to cut the connection a unicorn had with the magic around them. To prevent a unicorn that was undergoing magical surges from creating magic. Most unicorn foals simply dealt with the consequences of magical surges, a common part of unicorn growth. Nobility, however, did not like the chaos it could create. So they used ridiculously expensive jewelry to suppress it.

By itself, the surge protector wouldn’t do anything more than prevent a foal from using magic. It wasn’t powerful enough to influence even earth ponies. However, the device the Doctor worked on would be used to amplify its effects. A series of enhancing crystals, coils and machines to bring the surge protector’s power high enough to even suppress a fully grown unicorn. High Rise was tethered to this point in time by magic. An anchor that prevents his body from returning to its natural point in time. As Star Swirl’s original spell was supposed to do. With this device and the surge protector, it will cut High Rise off from magic completely. Any spells or magic that affect him, including things as small as earth pony magic or their ability to grab things with his hooves, will be temporarily severed. Natural parts of his magic will return to him, but the magic spell will dissipate.

Once the anchor had been lifted, he would return home. High Rise would be one hundred years in the future again. The surge protector was expensive, but after a few more clock repairs, he would be able to afford one from Canterlot. It wouldn’t be much longer until he could send him home.

Beep!

This should be a happy moment, joyous, even. He had done it! He had found a way to save his friend. He could fulfill the promise he made on the very first day they met. All would return to normal again. So why did he feel so much guilt?

Beep!

There was no kidding himself, he knew why he felt guilty. If High Rise had gone and asked for Twilight Sparkle’s help, as he first planned to, he would have been home the very next day. As magic-focused as Twilight is, she would have noticed the problem immediately. Unlike him, she had access to unicorn magic. She could dispel the magic that anchored him, and that would have been it. The only reason High Rise was still in the past for two whole months was because of Doctor Hooves.

Beep!

The fact High Rise was anchored here was known to him since the very first day! He had the recording to prove that he knew. Every since the beginning he had this method in mind for returning High Rise home, but his excitement took over his rational thought. Project Century wasn’t a way to return High Rise home, it was a way for Doctor Hooves to try again at his lifelong dream. It was only after he exhausted all of his research yet again on the topic that he realized what he had really done. He had kept a pony from his home. Forced them to participate in ridiculous experiments that he already knew would fail, and acted as if the next one was going to be “the one” that did it!

Beep!

He had to make things right. He would finish this device, and send him home. The Doctor knew for certain that this one would work. All he needed was the final pie-

Beep!

“What in tartarus are you going off for?!” The Doctor glared at the hoofheld device tucked between stacks of boxes. His temporal anomaly detector. He had tucked it away after realizing that it would go off whenever High Rise was around, which was constantly. High Rise wasn’t here though, he was in Canterlot assisting Twilight Sparkle. It should have no reason to go off!

Beep!

…So why was it?

The anger he felt at the noise was soon subsided by a new curiosity. An anomaly has appeared in Ponyville! He hadn’t had any anomalies show up since High Rise appeared. The assortment of random objects he found in the past have largely been nothing important, but it was still a point of great enjoyment for him to find one.

His hoof grasped the device, and waved it around the room. The Beep!s stayed steady on one section of his basement lab, on a table near the staircase. The Doctor brought himself closer to the table, and it soon became clear what was setting off the detector.

Beeeeeeeeeeeee-! Click. He no longer needed the detector, he knew what the anomaly was. The temporal anomaly was the package he had just received from Ditzy. The package had time traveled to his time, and was delivered to his door.

“…Great… withering…”

“Stallions!”

---

“Alright everypony, give it up for… The Night-Mares!!” The orange announcer stallion exclaimed, and the crowd went wild as the next band stepped onto the stage. An all female group. The band consisted of Pink Lady, the singer and leader of the group. Flowing Strings, electric guitarist and energy behind the band. Low Tempo, the cool headed bassist.

And finally, the drummer.

High Rise was excited for this performance, but in the back of his mind, he feared the worst. His performance with them in Ponyville was something he greatly enjoyed, but a nagging feeling had left him worried. What if what he had done changed the future of the Night-Mares? Had he set certain expectations on them? Maybe they would have considered somepony else now. Maybe they wouldn’t get a new drummer at all! That feeling had sat at the pit of his stomach ever since he got to Ponyville. It was never as strong or as panic fueled as his other worries, but during today it had begun to creep up inside him.

That feeling was immediately washed away when he saw her step onto the stage. The fourth member of the Night-Mares. High Rise’s personal idol since he was a foal. The mare who taught him how to play the drums. She was there, in front of him, on the stage next to the mares he already met before. Her light red fur was covered in a simple t-shirt with the words “Night-Mares” written upon it. Her cutie mark was a single slice of cake, with a cherry on the top. Her messy pink mane was styled into a loose mullet, ending just above her half lidded eyes.

Cherry Cake, the drummer for the Night-Mares.

“It’s her! It’s her! It’s HER!” High Rise half whispered, half squealed into Twilight’s ear. Twilight recoiled from the sudden breath on her ear.

“What?” She asked, confused, but High Rise had already turned towards Star Sign.

“We’re gonna see Cherry Cake play on stage. This is the best day of my life!”

High Rise had gotten so close to Star Sign that his head accidentally touched her horn. A slight graze, but it was enough for her to jump back in surprise. Not that he noticed, he was already back to squealing over Cherry Cake. What Star Sign had felt when her horn touched him was unlike anything she had felt before, and it took her a few moments to repose herself afterward. Even as Pink Lady approached the mic, she continued to give sidelong glances to High Rise. He, however, was lost in his own world.

“How are we doing, Canterlot?” Pink Lady asked from the microphone, and despite every other band doing the exact same opening line, the crowd was just as loud as the first time it was asked.

“We want to give thanks to the Princesses for letting us perform here tonight! In honor of the return of Princess Luna, here’s our newest song, Mare in the Moon!”

High Rise’s excitement couldn’t reach higher. It was in the clouds, beyond Celestia’s sun, into outer space. Where it mingled with meteors and blue songbirds. He was practically vibrating in his seat, anticipating the moment with so much intense focus he couldn’t possibly have noticed the concerned look the two mares on his sides were giving him. High Rise looked ready to fulfill his namesake and launch into the sky.

Any moment now, any moment and the single greatest moment of High Rise’s life was about to begin. One of his favorite songs, from his favorite band, with his idol drummer, live on stage, in front of him. He could die today and be happy, as long as he got to live long enough to sit through this one moment. Any moment now, any moment now, any momen-.

Bum-Bum! Cherry Cake’s drumsticks met the drum kit in front of her, and Pink Lady’s voice took over the stage.

I trot alone upon an empty mind, waiting to find my way!

Bum-Bum!

Back to warmth among your side.

Bum-Bum!

But I won’t find kindness in my heart when I set upon the land. Twisted by desire-!

Bum-Bum-BaBaBaBa-BumBum-!

Suddenly, the Night-Mares erupted into a slow, discordant melody. At first, it sounded like it was a mess of harsh noise, with no cohesive flow. But a few moments in, even Twilight could begin to hear the tightly woven song that they formed together.

For High Rise, he was lost in another world entirely. His eyes were shut while listening. The world around him shifted and fell apart to show a cold and lonely landscape. Gray land as far as the eye could see, with the planet of Equus in all of its glory high above the black emptiness of space.

In this cold and empty place was a single mare. Her form shifted and changed in High Rise’s mind. He didn’t know what she looked like, but he knew she was there. Mare in the Moon was a song dedicated to her, and the pain of what she had been through.

The mare stood on that cold, lifeless land, shadowed by a world she once called home. A home that no longer welcomed her. The terrible wrong she committed had placed her here. A wrongful, terrible act that still festered within her, wanting to take more. She had to stay, but she still longed for the warmth of her home. Of the ponies she once knew, and most of all, the family that she had torn asunder.

Her place in the endless gray sea saw the mare cry out in song, scream the pain and misery from every pore in her body. She tried to release it all, to let anger leave her saddened heart. Only to find the fury inside of her become endless.

She remembered the love and happiness that she once felt, and for a moment, the gray expanse had color. The color of her love for her sister, for the ponies she once ruled over, even the celestial body she now resided upon. The memories overwhelmed the sea of nothingness, and brought life to her solitude.

But like any memory, the feelings will soon fade, and the fury is all that would remain. Fury with no purpose, and she cried out yet again to be released from it. For the Mare in the Moon wanted to be home again.

…

His eyes opened when he heard the crowd erupt in cheers. The band he had waited all day to see were bowing their heads, and their moment in the spotlight had ended. His vision was tinted slightly by the pair of goggles that had fallen over his eyes, or did he put them there? High Rise wasn’t sure. The song was over, the audience cheered to bid the Night-Mares farewell, and the stage was prepared for the next of the few bands remaining.

It was perfect.

---

The song was, in Twilight’s opinion, alright. Which was a higher rating than what she had thought of it at the beginning. For a tribute to Princess Luna, she wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. She could feel the pain and heartache that the Night-Mares had meant the song to be. A heart wrenching cry for help from the mare in the moon. Only to be met with silence and sorrow.

She knew Princess Luna, and already knew some of the struggles that she had faced while banished to the moon. This song, however, recontextualized it. Twilight never thought about the depth of her banishment. One thousand years, ten whole lifetimes for the average pony. A millennia of nothing but your own thoughts, and most of those thoughts were of the things she had lost.

Twilight Sparkle tried to imagine being in that position. Alone in the world, with everything she cared for taken away from her. Spike, Shiny, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, her parents, Princess Celestia, Owlicious. The list kept going, and the longer the list went on, the deeper that pit in her stomach felt. She would have gone insane if placed in the same position as Princess Luna.

Star Sign must have felt similar to Twilight. Tears streamed openly down her face.

High Rise’s reaction was the most peculiar. The moment the song began, he had brought his goggles down to cover his closed eyes. For the entirety of the performance, his forelegs followed the movements of the drummer Cherry Cake. Imitating every hit of the drum down to the tiniest detail. He was lost in the world he had created in his own mind, all while he blindly mirrored the drummer on stage. When it was over, his eyes opened, and he looked very confused.

“Is something wrong, Twi? You’re staring at me funny.” He asked her with a flick of his ear,

“I don’t think I've ever seen you wear those goggles before, High Rise.”

“Huh? Oh!” His hooves reached up and pulled the goggles back up to his forehead. A ring around his eyes had formed. Where the fur had been pressed in. “I wear them when I get pretty into it.”

“I see that. Have you heard this song before? You seemed to know the drums for it.”

“Yeah! It’s the best song they ever made! Of course I know how to play it.”

But isn’t it their newest song? Twilight thought, but her pondering was interrupted as Pink Lady approached them in the crowd. The pink on pink mare(notably lighter shades of pink compared to Pinkie Pie) was smiling wide as she came up to them. Her eyes were centered on High Rise.

“High Rise! I’m so glad you’re here!” She exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell us you were back in Canterlot? We would have gotten you tickets.”

“Hey Pink Lady! How did you know I was here?”

“Are you kidding?” She laughed, “Only one colt we know would start air drumming during our songs.”

Her laugh continued as High Rise’s cheeks began to match her shade of pink. A different voice cut in, Twilight speaking up to her. “You know High Rise, Miss?”

Pink Lady turned her head to Twilight, she raised a brow. “Friend of yours?” She asked towards him, before addressing Twilight directly. “Yeah, he helped us out big time before. Filled in for drums during a gig in Ponyville. I’m Pink Lady, you are…?”

“Twilight Sparkle.” She reached up and shook hooves with the other mare. “I thought that High Rise came to Ponyville to attend your show, I didn’t know that he played in it.”

The pink on High Rise’s cheeks grew to a deeper shade of red. “Really? You were keeping that a secret, High Rise?”

“To be fair, she never asked!”

A pink hoof came down to bonk High Rise on the head. He whimpered, even though it barely hurt. “What, not proud of playing with us?”

“No! No! It was the best day of my life! Second best after today!”

“Good! Then boast about it to your friends, dummy!”

“I will! I will!”

“Even gooder!”

Twilight Sparkle couldn’t help but watch this interaction with a chuckle. Even if it left her with more burning questions. She had to actively tuck those thoughts of hers away, lest they accidentally ruin the budding friendship she was building.

“With that sorted, want to come backstage, High Rise? Tempo and Strings wanted to see you too. You can bring your friend if you want to.”

Their gazes were on High Rise, who immediately went to speak. His eyes were wide with excitement, but hesitation held his voice back. Hesitation for what? Twilight had no idea, but he was about to miss out on talking with his favorite band.

“I’d love to join, come on, High Rise!” Twilight got up on her Hooves and smiled wide at him. Her confidence was just the boost he needed, and he rose up to his hooves as well. “Of course! Oh, hey, Star Sign, wanna come too?”

He turned to look at the unicorn who was currently wiping away tears. She looked up in surprise, and shook her head. “We are fine, thank you for your offer. We shall be departing soon anyways.”

“Too bad, nice meeting you Star Sign alright see you later bye!” High Rise rushed out his farewell to her before happily trotting off with Pink Lady. Twilight took the time to wave goodbye properly, then followed along behind them.

Star Sign kept her gaze on High Rise as he left, and shuddered at the feeling she had when her horn connected to him.

---

The reunion with the Night-Mares was not anything grand or special for High Rise, but seeing them again was a welcome bonus to this already awesome day. Flowing Strings had immediately bombarded him with questions as soon as they entered their small backroom. How was he? Was he still in Ponyville? What is he doing back in Canterlot? Did he try the cakes at Sugarcube Corner?

Low Tempo only had one question for him in contrast. This question was if Twilight Sparkle was his new marefriend. The question made her erupt into a flustered tirade about their platonic relationship, and made High Rise roll on the ground in laughter. He was joined by Strings, she was good at matching his energy.

After their questions were (mostly)answered, Twilight asked a few of her own. She asked them how they met High Rise, and they told the story of how he attended one of their gigs in a Canterlot music club. Oddly enough, she started taking down notes as they detailed the way he was air drumming their songs. Or how he happily accepted the offer to play with them in Ponyville, in return for a train ticket, but rejected the offer to continue playing with them afterward.

“Do you know how bummed we were when you said no, man?” Flowing Strings huffed at him. “Here was the best drummer we’ve ever played with, and we only got to play with him once!”

“Really bummed,” Low Tempo agreed.

“Sorry, but you girls got a really, really good drummer now. It worked out great!” High Rise grinned, and the two bummed mares had to nod in agreement.

“Cherry is pretty great, but we were pretty lucky to get her.”

He tilted her head at Pink Lady, lucky? It was always meant to happen! High Rise wanted to say that, but Flowing Strings spoke up before he could. “Yeah! She missed the audition time by nearly an hour!”

“Exactly,” Pink Lady continued, “We were going to pack up the audition and try our luck elsewhere, but Tempo reminded us of what you said. We’ll find a mare who can play the drums better than even you in Manehattan. You told us that, so we decided to stick around for a little bit longer. Just as we were about to give up, in comes Cherry Cake.”

“Mhm! She was traveling a lot with family and got the time zone messed up. She still thought she was an hour behind like it is in Appleoosa.” Strings chimed in.

“Wait wait, you were this close to missing out on Cherry Cake?” High Rise asked.

“Yup,” Low Tempo said drolly, “If it weren’t for you, we’d still be looking for a drummer.”

High Rise smiled, but behind that smile was a deep confusion that he felt. If it weren’t for him? There was no way. They would have stayed longer even if he hadn't said what he said. It was a nothing sentence, just meant to reassure them so he could leave. Cherry Cake was always meant to be with the Night-Mares.

The description of the Butterfly Effect came into his mind, and he quickly squashed that thought.
There was no way.

“Well, I'm excited you've got such an amazing drummer now!” He said hesitantly, “Where is she, anyways?”

“Bathroom.”

Fluuush…

The door to the room opened, and the short and stout mare named Cherry Cake walked in. All eyes were now on her, and she had no idea how to respond. The tall brown stallion at the center of the room looked at her with the most fanatical, excited smile she had ever seen.

“Uh… hey?”

“Hey Cherry,” Pink Lady replied, “This is High Rise and Twilight Sparkle. High Rise filled in on drums for us before you joined in.”

One little known fact about Cherry Cake, that even a time traveling super fan like High Rise didn’t know about…

She was incredibly awkward when meeting new ponies.

“…Um.” She pawed at the ground and looked away, “Nice to, uh, meet you… what was his name again?”

“High Rise.”

“Yeah, um, that name. High Rise. I’m Jerry Bake… uh, Cherry Cake. You were the, uh, dude that was miming my drums, right?”

After her botched introduction, she held out a hoof to High Rise. The only stallion in the room began to vibrate violently. His voice was a high pitched squeal that was barely audible to pony ears. Any moment now and he would shoot off into the sky.

Then his brain short circuited and he promptly fainted on the spot.

---

“Dad, these girls suck! Can we go back to the cartoons?”

“Oh come on! You sang along with me last time.”

“That was uncool me, cool me knows the Night-Mares are lame!”

“Cool you, huh? So this vintage Night-Mares CD I found in your room is lame?”

“…uh, yeah! Duh! I mean, why would I ever want that dumb thing?”

“Of course, of course. You can throw away that dumb thing then, whenever you want to, i’ll just leave it right here.”

“I-I’ll put it in the trash tonight!”

“Okay, I believe you, now enjoy your cartoons.”

His dad left his room, leaving the Night-Mares CD on his nightstand. High Rise grumbled and moaned about how he was gonna destroy that stupid CD. His dad liked the Night-Mares, and all the foals at school said that liking the things your dad likes was lame! He wasn’t lame, High Rise was cool!

That CD was gonna be torn to little pieces!… After one more listen. He popped it into his cd player and turned up his headphones.

As soon as the first song on the track began to play, High Rise had his hooves in the air, drumming along to Cherry Cake. His dad watched from the slightly open doorway, and smiled.

---

When High Rise regained consciousness, his immediate thoughts from before he fainted came back in full. She said my name! Cherry Cake said my name! I get to shake her hoof! Her hoof is right there! I’m going to die!

Then he woke up to the familiar sound of a train whistle. Sat comfortably in a chair, with Twilight Sparkle next to him. Her notepad was floating in the air in front of her, eyes scanning each line to review what she had written. When High Rise began to stir, her notepad floated to the side and she smiled towards him.

“Did I… faint in front of Cherry Cake?”

“Yes, yes you did.”

“Sweet Celestia…” High Rise groaned and brought a hoof up to slap his own face. “My chance to meet the one and only Cherry Cake, and I faint. This will be part of my memory forever. Burned into my psyche! I’ll never live this one down! No, actually, life is just over. Please, Twilight, release me from the pain of life.”

“You are being very dramatic,” Twilight said with an amused eye roll. “Besides, you’re already friends with their group. I’m sure they’d love to see you again!”

“If there is an again…”

She frowned, obviously there could be an again! It wasn’t like the Night-Mares were going to disappear after today. High Rise was just being melodramatic over his fainting episode. Luckily, she had gotten just the thing to cheer him up.

“Oh, well if you don’t want to live anymore, I guess you don’t want this signed autograph card from Cherry Cake?”

High Rise turned to her, and in her hooves was a Night-Mares branded card. His pupils took over the whites of his eyes. “Nevermind, life is precious. I want to live forever!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes I am sure!”

She giggled, and held out the card to him. It was snatched from her grasp faster than a teleport spell. High Rise’s eyes were glued to the back of the card, where writing in red, scratchy ink had dried.

Thank you for being my first ever fan.

-Cherry Cake

Underneath her signature was a poorly drawn image of a cake with a cherry on top. It was a downright awful drawing, the worst signature ever from an amateur band’s drummer. High Rise loved it with all his heart.

“Twilight Sparkle, you have made today one of the best days of my life.” His smile took up his entire face. The gratitude he felt pouring out in every word he said. “Thank you, really, thank you.”

The smile she returned was just as genuine. “You are very welcome, High Rise. I must say that you fulfilled your role today admirably as well.”

“Oh? Have I gotten you to like rock music now?”

“Not in the slightest!” Twilight said it in such a tone that there was no room for questioning. “But I did come to understand it. I know now why you or Star Sign or Rainbow Dash can enjoy it. Music that can channel negative or more passionate emotions, and turn them into something good. Not only is it a fascinating idea to research, but I learned a valuable lesson as well.”

“And what was that lesson?”

“Never close the door on something that, at first, seems like something you wouldn’t like. Because even if it isn’t something for you, you may learn something important in the process. You may just make a new friend.”

Those last few words set into High Rise. Burying deep within his chest, unable to be dug free. A new friend of Twilight Sparkle’s, and her eyes were dead set on him. High Rise was Twilight Sparkle’s newest friend. He was friends with Twilight Sparkle.

High Rise and Twilight Sparkle are friends, and that didn’t bother him in the slightest. “If you’re going to be my friend, then I'm gonna have to give you a secret.”

“A secret?”

“Oh yes, only the closest of friends can repeat to me. Are you ready?”

Twilight leaned towards him, and he brought his muzzle to her ear. Gently, he spoke out his greatest secret.

“My friends call me Hi-Hi.”

Immediately, Twilight Sparkle burst into a fit of laughter. Her notepad fell on the ground, and the kicks of her hooves startled a few ponies nearby.

“Hi-Hi?? THAT is your nickname!?”

“My best friend’s the only one that uses it. Also not so loud! Secret, remember?”

She tried everything she could to suppress her laughter, but only succeeded in turning it into a fit of giggles instead. “Hi-Hi, that’s really not a good nickname.”

“If you wanna make it worse, you can call me Hee-Hee instead.”

“Pfft-!” And there she went again. All the way back to Ponyville they went. Two new friends, laughing the day away.

---

Celestia had just finished reading her latest friendship report from her faithful student. A smile formed on her lips. It was a valuable lesson that she had learned, and one she didn’t need to go on a crazy adventure to understand. She had learned to understand the different interests of ponies that she didn’t like herself, and even befriended somepony because of it.

She always found her mood lightened whenever she received a friendship report. Celestia had begun to get reports from all six of the ponies in Twilight’s friend group, and each one made her smile more than the last. Her plans for Twilight were grand, she knew that, but if anypony would be capable of surpassing even her expectations. Celestia knew in her heart that it would be Twilight Sparkle who would do it. After all, she already had confirmation of it. A stallion from the future already proved it.

That stallion, High Rise, was one of the next visits she had to make among her schedule. First, the announcement of Shining Armor and Princess Cadance’s engagement would be decreed tomorrow. Then the day after will be her long awaited National Baking Competition. Celestia could barely keep the saliva in her mouth at the thought of all the treats that she would eat in two days.

After the announcement, plans would have to be arranged for the wedding itself, such as its party planner. Shining Armor has already expressed that he has the perfect mare for the job. Only after all of those are settled, will she and Luna make a private trip to Ponyville to meet the time traveler. High Rise had shown no signs of being a threat in his time here, and Luna vouches for his innocence from her dream observations.

That still didn’t leave Celestia completely free of doubt. She had experienced a great many peculiar things in her long lifetime, even time travel with Star Swirl the Bearded, but not even that compared to this. A time traveler from a very distant future, who has somehow stayed in the past for over two months. She was cautious for a reason, and until she knew of his full intentions, she would stay that way,

Celestia hoped it would be for nothing.

“Sister!” The door to Celestia’s private study slammed open, and the mare Star Sign walked inside.

“Good evening, Lulu. Or should I say Star Sign? Did you enjoy the concert?”

Star Sign looked down at her body, realized her illusion was still present, and promptly removed the false image. The regal form of Princess Luna replaced Star Sign. “We did quite enjoy it, thank you. It was… more heartfelt than we expected, but we have pressing news.”

“What happened?” Celestia now gave her full attention to Luna, placing the friendship report to the side.

“As we sat for the concert, we found ourselves sitting next to the time traveler himself. He and your student Twilight Sparkle had attended the show together.”

“That is… unexpected, did he do anything suspicious? Was there anything off about Twilight?”

“Not at all, thou’s student and High Rise were on friendly terms. He was excitable to the show and tried to teach Twilight about rock music. That is not what is important, however.”

“I see, then what is?”

“We had a brief moment where our horn brushed against High Rise. What I felt was dangerous magic upon him. Only one other uses such magic. The Time Traveler is filled with chaos magic!”

Five days remaining.

Author's Note:

Now i’m officially out of ready chapters! No more daily chapters, for real this time.

I’m continuing work on the upcoming chapters, things will begin to ramp up. So if you have enjoyed so far, please look forward to it!

If you have any thoughts about the story so far, any mistakes you notice, or anything you want to say. Please feel free to leave a comment. Thank you for checking out everything so far, and have a nice day!