//------------------------------// // 14 - A Nervous Drummer is a Chaotic Drummer // Story: Drummer Out of Time // by MrPip42 //------------------------------//    High Rise prided himself on his ability to socialize with anypony. He didn’t have royal etiquette or style, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t get a noble to crack a smile with him. His social ability, however, ended in front of an alicorn. There was something different about alicorns, their stature, their behavior, maybe just the mane? High Rise didn’t know exactly what it was, but whatever it was, it made High Rise feel small. Which is not a feeling a pony as tall as him often feels!     So when he stood in front of Princess Luna, all of his normal social confidence fell apart with it. Immediately, he felt out of his league, just like the first moment he saw Twilight Sparkle or Princess Cadance, High Rise choked on his words. Instead of saying anything at all, he brought himself down to bow before the night princess. What he didn’t plan to do was slam his muzzle into the water below, which is what he did.        Apparently, when you are having a lucid dream with the protector of the dream world, all of your senses are present. Which meant that the pain receptors in his brain sounded alarm bells when his face planted with the hard ground underneath the water. Luna, not too far away, let out a surprised gasp after High Rise yelped in pain. “Are you alright?” She asked him, her stoney expression wiped away with new concern.  “Yush Pwhrinsh…” High Rise pulled his mouth away from the water, but still kept it firmly pointed downward. “Yes, Princess, your holiness, ma’am… i’m okay… please, uh, forgive my… uh, rudeness.” “We are not offended, please rise, you have done nothing wrong.”     High Rise did, indeed, rise, but he was stiff as a board. Water dripped from his face while he stood perfectly still. “Yes, your highness… holiness…ma-“ “Stop that, Luna will do.”  “Luna… ma’am.”    She sighed, and her sigh echoed through the entire realm around them. As if it bounced across invisible walls that surrounded the two ponies. It made a pretty interesting sound, and High Rise wished he could have recorded it for a mix.  “We apologize for interrupting your slumber, sir High Rise. It is something that wouldn’t have been done if not for a good reason. We come with a warning, one thou must heed carefully.”    The fact she spoke in a mixture of ancient Ponish was one thing, but the warning made High Rise’s body tense. Well, it tensed more than it already was. He was already a statue.     Did the Princess know the truth about him? Had he done something to gain their ire? If there was one absolute worst case scenario, it was pissing off the Princesses capable of moving celestial bodies. There was a chance Princess Luna didn’t like a drummer, or a time traveler, or a time traveling drummer! Was she here to tell him off? Or he could be banished!! “Pleasedon’tputmeonthemoon!” “Thou must be informed tha-… Excuse me?” Luna raised a brow. High Rise fell onto his haunches and covered his face with his hooves. “I don’t know what I did to make you angry, Luna ma’am, but I really, really didn’t mean to do it!” “Sir High Rise, you are not in-“ “It was all an accident! I was just a bystander! If you need to punish anypony, punish he- wait no, don’t punish her!” “What are you even sayin-?” “She was just doing her best, please don’t put her on the moon! You can send me instead! I’’ll accept it as long as sh-” “SILENCE!” Luna’s Royal Canterlot voice echoed through the endless sea, and High Rise’s mouth shut tight. “Thou hast no need for hysterics! Pray clamp thine lips shut until we are finished!”     With his mouth firmly clamped, he nodded in response instead. Somehow, his nod made it feel like he said ‘ma’am’, which made Luna’s eye twitch.  “Thou… You are in danger, High Rise.” Luna did her best to ease off the old Ponish habits while she explained. “We…I cannot explain how I came upon this knowledge, but know that I have discovered a dangerous source of magical energy stored within you.”    She stepped forward, approaching High Rise until they were a few feet apart. Luna gestured for him to rise to his hooves, and surprisingly he followed her directions. The two ponies were the exact same height, and the princess could appreciate not having to look down like she did with most of her subjects, or crane her neck up when looking at her sister. High Rise didn’t feel any comfort from her height, her words, or her presence.  “Within your waking body is a torrent of chaos magic. Discordant energy that cannot be controlled by ponykind. I know not how you came to possess this chaos within you, but that does not matter for now. What matters is preventing any form of magic from being cast upon you.”    Luna could tell that High Rise wanted to ask a question, or maybe his tapping was getting annoying. “You may unclamp.”    The floodgates opened, “What is chaos magic? Why would I have chaos magic in me?… What happens if magic is cast on me?”    It was, surprisingly, coherent. The seriousness of the situation overtook the rising nervousness about being in front of an alicorn in High Rise’s mind. He needed answers, just as much as Luna needed to answer.  “Chaos magic is the magical energy of disharmony, the direct opposite of harmony. We ponies use harmony for our magic, and chaos magic is its antithesis. It is a form of magic that cannot be controlled by ponies, and attempts to do so produce… chaotic results.” “How you came to possess chaos magic is an answer I cannot give. Only you would have the knowledge necessary to understand how you came to have it. What I do know, is that the chaos within you is only rivaled in size by the spirit of disharmony himself.”    Tap Tap Tap. “Chaos magic does not react well to the magic of our kind. You cannot control it, and nopony else can either. One errant spell may set off the built up energy within you. I come to warn you of this, High Rise, and tell you to avoid being the subject of any spell, at any cost. Do you understand?”    TapTapTapTapTapTapTap    High Rise’s crazed tapping was stopped when a silver horseshoe pressed into his shoulder. Princess Luna stared into his eyes. A gentler and more calming gaze looked at him, and the firm hoof on her leg held his tapping still.  “Take the time you need to breathe. You are not in immediate danger. The chaos within you has already stayed dormant for several months. You have avoided setting it off so far, and need only continue as you have been. Now with the knowledge necessary to make no mistakes. I ask that you keep following the same, safe path you have taken so far. In a few days, we will be able to help you find a way to contain this chaos.”    Luna let go of him, and his tapping didn’t return. Stepping back from High Rise towards the endless night sky. “Sleep peacefully, High Rise, and await our return.”    The princess’s steps faded into the sky that surrounded them, until her entire form blended into the sea. High Rise was alone, and moments later, he slept without any dreams to stir him.    High Rise felt well rested, and that alone was enough to keep him from exploding. The Princess’ message to him last night was still vividly present in his mind. It was an idyllic morning, birds chirping, Ponyville residents just starting their day. High Rise, however, would not move an inch. He was staying in this room until tomorrow.     Knock Knock. “High Rise? Are you still asleep? It’s almost noon!”  “I’m still asleep! Come back later!” “That is not funny, I'm coming in.” Time Turner did not wait for his protests before opening the door. A stack of pancakes balanced on his back. “You aren’t an early morning pony, but even this is a long time for you, is everything alright?”    High Rise used his sheets to create a cocoon around him, eyes darting nervously towards the Doctor. “Everything’s fine, why wouldn’t it be fine? I definitely didn’t just learn I am a ticking time bomb waiting to explode or anything like that!”    Time Turner stared blankly at High Rise. Hysteria was slowly setting in, if the way he rocked back and forth in the bed meant anything. Gently, the Doctor placed the pancakes on the edge of the bed. “You can explain to me what you meant by that… but only after you eat.”    …Hysteria could wait until after pancakes. A single hoof reaching out from the bed cocoon to get the plate. High Rise didn’t have a proper dinner yesterday, and already missed breakfast. This brunch was a sorely needed meal that helped to calm his nerves just as much as the peaceful rest did. Which is to say it afforded him five minutes before he started tapping again. This time the tapping was to the tune of Equestrian Idiot by Green Mane, but nopony would hear it from the muffled fabrics.    When enough pancakes were shoved down his throat, High Rise explained what happened. How he was approached by Princess Luna in his dreams, and what she said to him. High Rise notably didn’t mention what happened with him and Spike, but that event was well past his mind at this point.     Time Turner needed time to process this information. High Rise only gave him five seconds to do so. “What am I supposed to do?! I’m a bomb, Doc!” “H-Hold on, High Rise. Please calm dow-“    He reached a hoof to gently rest on High Rise’s shoulder, but retracted it after he saw him recoil from his reach. “D-Don’t do that! I don’t want to blow you up!” “High Rise, you aren’t going to blow me up.” He replied calmly and evenly. “If that were to happen, why did it not already happen when I conducted several very physical experiments on you. Remember the rubber mallet? Or the twisty chair?” “…That twisty chair really hurt.” “And I apologize for that, but it didn’t set off this… magic within you. I believe it’s safe to assume that anything short of a magical spell will not set it off.” “That is what she said…” “And the Princess is a trustworthy source of information. There isn’t a higher authority in Equestria, only her sister. She told you herself that you do not need to change your daily routine, did she not?” “Yeah…” “Then we should follow her advice.”    High Rise had stopped tapping, his gaze pointed towards Time Turner. It was hard to gauge his emotional state from the expression he gave him. If he had to guess, the closest emotion it could be was fear. “What does this mean for our experiment, Doc?”    The hesitation was clear from Dr. Hooves, and High Rise’s fears were not tempered by recognizing that. “I should have the device finished by tomorrow… but this new information requires me to rethink our method. I am not at all knowledgeable on chaos magic, I wouldn’t even know where to begin.” “I promised not to tell another soul about your circumstances, but if this is all true, I must ask that we reconsider that. A pony with more magical expertise would be better suited to help with this. We have a pony who could be considered a magical prodigy here in Ponyville. With Twilight Sparkle’s help, we could-“ “No! Not her, anypony but her!” High Rise snapped.  “But-“ “Look, Doc, I can’t prove this for a fact, but I know that the things i’ve been doing here? They have had a real impact in the future. I practically saw one of them with my very eyes yesterday! I don’t know if it’s the causal loop thing or something else entirely, but I do know that me being here is making tangible differences to the future!”    Time Turner had no idea what he meant by that. Of course he wouldn’t, High Rise never explained the Spike story to him. There would be another time to go into detail. “The fact I can call her my friend is already too much! What if all this chaos surrounding me is the reason Twilight, Future Twilight, goes missing!?” “Alright! Alright!” The Doctor could try and make several arguments against that ridiculous claim. How could it possibly connect? Time Turner guessed, however, that such arguments would only send High Rise further down his nervous breakdown. Giving in would keep him calm, at least he hoped. “Twilight will not be involved, I promise, but the Princess also made a promise to you. She said she would come to help in a few days. It may be in our best interests to tell her the truth.”    That… was likely the correct choice. Even a panicking High Rise could agree. If there were any ponies knowledgeable enough in magic to help him, they were Twilight(out of the question) or the two alicorn princesses who were over a thousand years old and could move the sun and moon at will. That also meant they were knowledgeable enough to question why he had a hurricane of chaos magic swirling around inside him. He couldn’t answer that question, he had no idea why he had it. Unfortunately, ‘I don’t know why I have the most dangerous form of magic trapped inside my body waiting to explode’ probably won’t cut it as an answer for an ancient princess. “So, we wait for the Princess, and… that means waiting on the experiment?” “Indeed. I will finish it, but I don’t want to take any risks when it comes to your health. I’m sorry.”    Time Turner didn’t see High Rise tapping his hooves, he was no longer breaking down into a nervous wreck. What he had done, however, was look downward in defeat. A silent, saddened acceptance. It hurt more to look at then the panicking.  “Look, High Rise, we will find a-“ “No, no, it’s alright Doc. We’ll find a way, I know it too.” High Rise rose from the bed and stood in front of Time Turner. His hooves wrapped around the Doctor’s neck, squeezing tight. “You’ve always done the right thing for me. I’ll wait.”     If only I had done the right thing. Dr. Hooves thought.  “I just remembered, I promised Fluttershy I would come see how her animal choir are doing today. Wouldn’t want anypony to think I went missing and put up all those missing colt posters again. So I'll go swing by her place and come right back.” He smiled weakly at Time Turner as he let go. Immediately heading for the door.     The Doctor decided this wasn’t the best time to stop him. High Rise would need time to process all this. He was a day away from going back home, and that hope was taken away in a single night. The revelation of the magic inside of him was shocking, but if it had been there this entire time, changing how life has been was more likely to set off what is inside of him than letting things continue as they have been. One day alone with his friend shouldn’t be dangerous at all.    …Right?    The meeting with Fluttershy was… quieter than normal. Which was saying much, given how quiet Fluttershy normally was. High Rise was normally the chatterbox, with Fluttershy chiming in.  “… Did you, um, want to talk about anything?” Fluttershy asked him while they worked in the kitchen. They decided to cook lunch for the animals before he listened to the choir. This was when most of their conversations would happen, but High Rise never spoke up. In a surprising turn of events, Fluttershy was the one to start the conversation! “I could tell you about the Dessert Competition? It became a really good story.” She said with a smile, but was only met with a weak smile in return from High Rise. The story wasn’t enough to stir him, and at this point Fluttershy could tell something was wrong. “High Rise, are you okay?” She asked gently, stepping away from the kitchen counter to walk over to him. “Do you need anything? Somepony to listen? A hug?”    His smile grew wider, but it was still forced. “Thanks, Fluttershy, but it’s nothing important.” He waved his hoof to try and ease her concerns, not that it worked. “It’s always important when one of my friends is feeling down. If there is anything I can do…” “No, there… actually, yeah, there is.” He plastered on the best smile he could, one that didn’t look so meek. “I’d love to hear how the choir is doing, did the metronome help?”    His change in conversation topic succeeded in letting Fluttershy ease off of him. Returning back to the kitchen counter. “Oh yes, Dotty must have been having an off day, a few practice songs with the metronome got him right back on his talons. They’d be happy to show you right after this.” “Perfect, I'd love to hear it!”    Even though he held that positive attitude, the conversation did not continue. They finished the meals quietly, and handed them out without anything of note happening. This would normally be Fluttershy’s best interaction with a friend. Quietly spending time together while taking care of animals, but she knew that High Rise wasn’t like that. He was energetic and emotive and talkative. It only made her more concerned, and that concern didn’t go away as her birds gathered together on their choir tree. “Alright everyone, let’s do it just like we practiced.” She smiled warmly to all her gathered singers. Dotty, a pigeon that was slightly larger than the average pigeon, puffed out her chest. She wanted to impress today, and she would put her all into it! High Rise sat on a nearby stump and waited, that same still smile on his face, “And a one, and a two, and a one, two, three, four.”    The birds began in unison, and the song that played from their combined voices was beautiful. A violinist would spend years of their life replicating the delicate flow the choir performed. It was so perfect, in fact, that High Rise was left with nothing to say. Even Dotty was singing perfectly in tune. A fact that made the bird dance with joy after it was finished. High Rise clapped his hooves together in applause.  “That was fantastic! You could play that at a royal wedding!”    Fluttershy blushed at the compliment, and Dotty looked incredibly smug. The entire choir chirped at his words. “That’s um, I don't think that would ever happen, but thank you. It was nice that you got to hear them sing one last time.”    …Wait a minute. “Uh, what do you mean?” He asked her. Clearly, Fluttershy didn’t expect her words to be questioned. A small squeak escaped her. “W-Was I not supposed to know that? I’m sorry…”    She recoiled, and High Rise shook his head. “No, no, it’s not that. I don’t understand, why would it be the last time?”    Now Fluttershy blinked, High Rise was even more confused, and he blinked too. His confusion fed into her confusion, until they were an endless cycle of shared bewilderment. Fluttershy finally answered to clear this never ending circle.  “Spike mentioned to us that you would be leaving Ponyville soon. Was that not, um, is that a lie?”    Now the dominoes fell into place. Immediately it clicked, and a weight dropped into the pit of High Rise’s stomach. He did say he was leaving Ponyville to Spike, and that was why they couldn’t hang out again… Except he wasn’t leaving now, and they still couldn’t hang out again. After learning about the magic inside him, he didn’t want to interact with anypony that wasn’t absolutely necessary. That included Spike, dragons could send messages with their magic firebreath, what if he accidentally got licked by one of the flames? Would that set off the chaos magic? There was no way he would risk that… even if it meant he lied now. “Ah.” Was all High Rise said, his ears flat on his head. Fluttershy, being the empathetic pony she was, immediately saw this and approached him. She went to wrap one of her wings around his barrel, but held back when she saw him tense. Clearly, he didn’t want to be touched… “I’m sorry if that wasn’t something you wanted others to know, High Rise.” “I’m not unhappy about that, no. I just…” High Rise didn’t want to say he wasn’t leaving. He was, he just had to wait until this chaos magic was fixed. That probably meant a few more days of staying here, possibly a week or two more… He didn’t want to think about any possibility of it being longer than that. “Well, my departure got delayed. I’ll be in Ponyville for… a little bit longer.”    Fluttershy’s wing were brought back in. The pegasus mare approached him from the front now with attentive eyes, and looked up into his downward cast ones. “You’re… not leaving? At least, not yet?”    He nodded.    What did he expect would be Fluttershy’s reaction to that? Relief that her friend was sticking around? Sympathy for his sadness about the delay? Those were the most likely outcomes. What High Rise actually saw was a look of surprise and fear wash over Fluttershy. “O-Oh dear, I have to tell you something, then. Um, how do I say this-.”    Fluttershy didn’t have to say it, as a pair of baby blue eyes met High Rise’s. “Hi there, Hi-Hi!” Pinkie Pie said with less than a centimeter’s space between the two ponies. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”    You quickly learn that when you are friends with Pinkie Pie, you will have to learn how to quickly process information. Such as how she will appear right in front of you at any time or moment. If your vision suddenly becomes a blur of pink, blue eyes, and more pink, don’t panic, it’s just Pinkie. High Rise properly learned that lesson the fourth time he nearly shit himself after a morning greeting from her.  “Hi, Pinkie… Did Twilight tell you about that nickname?” High Rise asked. He only told her that a few days ago, surely she wouldn’t have spilled the secret that quickly! “No, silly. It’s the nickname I made for you, duh!” After the first greetings are exchanged, Pinkie Pie usually steps back from her jumpscare greetings. This time, however, she was still face to face. In the physical sense, their faces were touching. His cheeks could really use a break from the pink fluff pressing onto them. Her breath smelled like strawberry frosting. “What, uh, were you looking for me for, Pinkie Pie?” He asked, but before Pinkie answered, the meek voice of Fluttershy tried to cut in. “Um, Pinkie, before you say anything, could I talk to you?” She pleaded. “Of course, Fluttershy! But only after I get help with something that only one super duper drum pony in Ponyville could help with!” “But… Pinkie, he’s…” “You need help with some drums?” High Rise asked. “Pinkie…” “Yup! I have this drum I need to get ready for an extra special surprise party I have planned tonight, but I can’t get it right! Could you help me with it, Hi-Hi?” “He’s not…” “… Alright, as long as it doesn’t take too long. I said I'd be back home right after this to Doc.” “Don’t worry! I’m sure he’ll understand!” Pinkie Pie grinned wide, which really wasn’t that different from normal, but it felt different. The glint in her eye spoke of a hidden meaning to her request. A glint that High Rise missed, but Fluttershy didn’t. Fluttershy didn’t have another chance to protest. Pinkie Pie grabbed High Rise’s hoof and began to pull him back towards Ponyville at a surprisingly fast gait.  “C’mon, Fluttershy! You come too!” Pinkie exclaimed. “…Oh Dear.”    High Rise had no idea what drum related emergency could be so urgent. Her grip on his hoof was tight, and he doubted he could slip out of it if he wanted to. Wherever Pinkie Pie was taking him, he had little choice but to follow her. It was better described as being dragged, but Pinkie had the patience to let him stay on his hooves at the very least.     The gingerbread looking building of Sugarcube Corner soon approached. High Rise hoped that he could fix the issue with Pinkie’s drum without any issue. Being in the center of Ponyville after what he learned last night was bringing to light an anxious energy he had been holding down. His eyes nervously glanced around, surprised to see how few ponies were actually outside in the afternoon. Was it normally this quiet? High Rise supposed he had to count himself lucky, he didn’t know how to feel about moving through a crowd right now.    Thankfully, drums are definitely not magic, and he was pretty knowledgeable about most percussion instruments. He would help out Pinkie, and be on his way. She stopped them just outside of Sugarcube Corner, and allowed him to open the door. Just a quick fix and then back to the Doctor’s Ho-    “SURPRISE!”