Being practically launched onto Twilight, the mare cried out and instinctively sat upright to defend herself upon such a sudden awakening, to which her horn narrowly missed my left eye and jabbed me in the cheek; I apologised to her and scrambled to my feet.
“What’s going on!?” Fluttershy squealed from her bunk bed.
“Probably just some rough weather.” I grumbled in response.
Almost instantly after finishing my sentence, we were rocked sideways and Rarity rolled out of the top bunk, hitting the floor with a loud thud and a louder yelp.
“Jeez Rare, you okay?” Applejack called out.
“Been better!” The unicorn barked back.
“Rough? This is worse than rough! I’ve just had a human catapulted onto me!” Twilight growled.
“I said I was sorry, Twi!”
Slightly unsheathing Vitra ‘Aku, I used the brilliant cerulean glow from the relic to guide my way out of the sleeping quarters and into the main hull, where I found Rainbow Dash on the stairs and soaking wet.
“Shitty weather?”
“Shitty weather.”
Due to the boat’s broken door window, a fair amount of rain had entered the boat, with plenty more still splashing in, I’d have to board that up shortly.
“Tell the girls to put their bags up high, we’re going to have quite a bit of water indoors by the time this passes. I’ll take watch from here if you need some rest.” I offered.
“Actually I’m good thanks, I’ve got quite a lot on my mind at the moment.”
A bright light emitted from outside, followed by a crack of thunder almost instantly afterwards, indicating that we were very much within a storm, shitty weather indeed.
“Penny for your thoughts?” I asked, combing my fingers through Dashie’s soggy mane.
I leant up against the wall beside her and allowed her to divulge to me, all while I continued to stroke her mane softly to comfort her.
“Ugh, I don’t know, it’s hard to explain, there’s a lot of things.”
“Pick one.”
“Well, honestly, the biggest thing on my mind at the moment is what happened in Brazil.”
“With what happened to your wings?”
“Mostly, yeah.”
With hand now wet and lightly covered in shed hairs of many a colour, I stroked across her back to the joints of her wings, lightly massaging the muscles and tendons that powered the unbelievably strong limbs.
“I was so powerless, they just held me down and there was nothing I could do, they just kept pulling feather after feather, laughing at me while they stripped away the only talent I have.”
In the dim light my sword provided, I could see the tears welling up in her eyes as she looked onward into empty space, deeply recalling the incident.
“I didn’t even care about the pain, it was my flight being stripped away that really hurt, they took away my wings Callum, and I’m nothing, nothing, without my wings…”
“Dashie-”
“No, dude, don’t give me any BS about it. I’ve been completely useless throughout the majority of this damn mission after losing my wings. No magic, no earth pony strength, nothing to offer at all, just admit it, I was nothing but a liability.”
Squatting down to be on her level, I looked into her eyes and cupped her chin.
“I won’t admit something that isn’t true, you are far more than just your wings. You are Rainbow Dash for crying out loud, you’re one of the six representatives of the Elements of Harmony! You’re gifted with speed, agility, and more bravery than a whole bloody legion of soldiers.
In Chernobyl, you were at my side and stood fearless in the face of zombies, literal, zombies!”
Saying nothing, Dashie looked deeply into my eyes, the watery eyes beginning to grow more hopeful; I continued before doubt had the chance to transpire within her.
“I know Brazil was traumatic, it was absolutely awful what happened to you, but they never took away your worth. Your loyalty and your endless courage has helped spur us on, no less so than Pinkie’s ability to stay upbeat and smile through it all.
We’ve always needed you Dashie, with or without your feathery back flaps.”
Breaking eye contact and dipping her head with a light chuckle, she insisted that I never called them ‘feathery back flaps’ ever again, before wrapping her forelegs around me in a tender hug.
“Thanks dude, I appreciate it.”
“Always. Now what else is bothering you?”
Before she could reply, the boat was viciously cast to one side, causing the both of us to cascade over into the puddle that was once the floor, causing the both of us to groan in unison.
“Ugh, I’ll head out and make sure the sail doesn’t get damaged or something.” She said, quickly taking herself out into the storm without a moment’s hesitation.
Shrugging, I got to my feet and drained some water out of my short hair by pressing my index fingers lengthways against my forehead and sliding them to the back of my head like a squeegee.
“So, how bad is it out there!?” Rarity called out from the sleeping quarters.
“Very bad! Put all your belongings high up, we’ve got water coming in!” I replied.
As though the universe wanted to prove a point, the boat collided with another big wave, sending a bucketload of water through the window and directly into my face.
“Right, I’m boarding that up.” I grumbled.
Getting to my feet, I looked for something to block the window hole with; there was nothing much to offer, forcing me to become extremely creative. The boat’s welcome mat was the only thing before me that could reasonably cover the hole and effectively keep the water out.
Grabbing some of the thin spare rope onboard, I stabbed four holes into the door around the window frame; Vitra ‘Aku pierced the aluminium effortlessly, it might as well have been made of sponge cake with the blade’s phenomenal sharpness. Making four equally placed holes into the welcome mat and cutting the rope at equal lengths, I threaded the holes and lashed them tightly, and at long last the water ceased to invade our vessel.
“Rarity! Magic user required please!” I beckoned.
A slightly concussed white unicorn emerged, to which I asked her to clear the water out of the living quarters before it spread to the rest of the boat. She gladly obliged, and enveloped as much water as she could in her telekinetic grasp; I opened the door for her and she chucked it out as quickly as possible to prevent more rain coming in.
“Thank you dear!”
“Welcome darling!”
Another heavy wave struck the boat, resulting in Rarity cascading across the floor and into my arms.
“My my, a little forward, aren’t we dear?” I teased.
“Oh get lost! Unlike Rainbow Dash, it takes a little more than some average charm to woo me!”
“I believe foreplay should be at least half an hour.” I replied blankly.
“MARRY ME, SIR!”
We both burst into laughter, and I helped the unicorn to her hooves; she shook herself and pushed her mane out of her face and back into its usual position with her hoof. Escorting her back into the sleeping quarters, we joined the others in moving our belongings to the upper bunks.
“Well, this isn’t ideal.” I grumbled after our stuff was safe and dry.
Everyone mumbled in agreement, and we all sat around miserably hoping that the storm would pass over sooner rather than later.
“Say, where’s Rainbow Dash?” Applejack asked.
“She went out to secure the sail, I think she wants to be on her own.” I replied.
“Out there? In this weather? Is she crazy!?” Twilight exclaimed.
Shrugging, I told the girls that she was in a bit of a wobbly state at the moment, and was undoubtedly suffering some post traumatic stress from all the shit we’d been through.
“If she truly wants to be out in the rain on her lonesome, then that’s on her.” I finished, exhaling deeply.
“Well, each to their own I suppose.” Applejack hummed.
“Everyone has a different way of processing, I can imagine Dashie’s using the storm to block out unwanted thoughts and emotions, and if it’s working, then more power to her.” Fluttershy chipped in.
“I couldn’t agree more. In all honesty, I think I’ve been through some sort of processing of my own over the past month or so.” Rarity added.
“Care to share?” I offered.
“Sharing is caring!” Pinkie peeped loudly, before receding back into her duvet.
Clearing her throat, Rarity went on to elucidate how she felt like a completely different pony over the course of this journey, with her biggest eye-opener being the bear attack all the way back at the Romanian border. Despite being so long ago now, it was still a fresh memory to me; how could one ever forget the event with the thick scars that now ran down the back of her neck?
“Once my wounds had somewhat healed and I’d gotten over the shock, I realised how mortal I am, and it suddenly dawned on me that I was mere inches from never seeing Sweetie Belle again, nor my parents.
All I could think about was everypony at my funeral, and my boutique being sold away, perhaps even demolished. No more would ponies travel to Ponyville for my dresses, and Sweetie Belle would have to move back in with mum and dad. The name Rarity would fade into distant memory, and I’d eventually cease to exist forever, all because a bear wanted the food in my saddlebag.
Life is so very fickle. One moment you’re on an astonishing adventure with your closest friends…”
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, before dipping her head and continuing with indignity.
“…And the next, you’re literally torn open, lying in your own blood and urine, gasping for air, while being in the worst pain you’ve ever experienced, terrified and confused, almost wishing you'd die just to make it all stop.
For a while the anxiety would gnaw at me in the night, I was constantly terrified of the next thing we’d encounter that could bring such a harrowing nightmare into reality, it was overwhelming.
It was the aftermath of the fight in Portugal that snapped me out of it, when we dug Callum out of the rocks and found that he was still alive, I saw with my own two eyes how much strength comes from emotion and purpose. From that day forward, I found a new inner strength and made a vow to myself that I’d do anything to get back home to Equestria, no matter the cost, nor the danger.
Hades will have to wait quite some time until we meet, because I’m not going down until I’ve fulfilled my duty, recovered the Titan’s Orb, and held my little sister again…”
Silence, wide eyes, and dropped jaws were the responses Rarity received; there was so much depth to her words that it had touched every one of us in a very personal way. She had been so raw with her words, and so honest. Prior to my knowledge of the ponies’ existence, I would have described this as a very human moment, but now I had no suitable word for it other than real, (or perhaps soulful?).
We had all experienced a lifetime’s worth of traumatic experiences, and we were all dealing with it in different ways, but Rarity’s fable had allowed us to reflect a little bit and be more honest with ourselves that we had all been changed by this quest, but that was okay.
Emitting a quiet cough, Rarity nervously looked from face to face.
“So, uh, to cut a long story short, I think I’ve done some processing of my own.” She repeated.
“Rarity, that was… that was beautiful, thank you for sharing all that with us.” Fluttershy finally spoke.
There were tears welling up in everyone’s eyes, even mine. I noticed Twilight slowly bury her face into her forelegs, clearly affected most by the divulgence, which was hardly a surprise to me; there were no words to describe, nor any amount of empathy that could comprehend the trauma she’d faced under Nah’Lek’s influence and nightly tortures.
{I wouldn’t mind using the collars again soon, see how her mindscape is getting on…} I pondered to myself.
Applejack swung a foreleg around Rarity’s shoulder, pulling the unicorn in for a tender cuddle.
“Sugarcube, I think I speak for all of us when I say it was really good to hear this, we’ve been on the move for so long that it’s hard to look back and realise just how much we’ve gone through together.”
“You can bloody well say that again…” I said, raising my eyebrows slowly.
“Brazil was, really, really scary…” Pinkie Pie murmured.
“Aye, it sure was, Pinks.” AJ agreed, allowing Pinkie to scuttle over and join in on the cuddle.
“So, anyone else want to share their tales of woe?” I offered playfully.
Before anyone chose to speak out, we noticed that the storm had almost completely died down; the rain was much quieter and the water felt almost entirely still. Although there was a sense of relief amongst the group, I couldn’t help but notice the look of fear in Twilight’s eyes, whom had risen up from her reclusive slump.
“What is it Twi?” I quizzed.
“The storm.” She murmured, more to herself than to me.
“I know, it’s fantastic, it’s finally passing!” Rarity replied merrily.
The lavender unicorn shook her head, frowning and looking down at her hooves.
“That’s just it… Storms don’t die down that fast, it’s not natural.”
She was right, Rarity’s conversation hadn’t simply distracted us whilst it died away, it was like the chopping waves had stopped almost abruptly, something was wrong, very wrong.
Getting to my feet, I stuck my head out of the sleeping quarters and called out to Rainbow Dash.
“Dashie? What’s going on out there?”
There was a pause, before her raspy voice finally called back to me.
“I don’t know, there’s so much fog. I can’t see shit out here!”
I was about to come out and join her, when I suddenly heard her call out once more.
“Wait! Something’s going on, it’s getting darker!”
Gulping, I placed a hand on Vitra ‘Aku and warned the girls to get to their hooves and prepare for anything, whatever was going on, it wasn’t good. Surely Nah’Lek hadn’t been able to find us, not out here on the open sea, and especially not after teleporting to the bloody Sahara Desert from Portugal and then travelling to Morocco via jeep; no, this was something else.
It was then that Rainbow Dash shrieked at the utmost top of her lungs.
And what she shrieked sent an ice-cold surge down every one of our spines.
“WALL! THERE’S A WALL AHEAD!”
Sprinting out of the sleeping quarters and out onto the deck, I grasped the railings and stood beside Rainbow Dash to observe the oncoming wall, and it became very apparent what the threat was; there was nothing supernatural nor sentient that loomed before us, it was quite simply mother nature and the raw power she possessed.
A rogue wave.
“Oh shit.” I murmured.
The others came rushing out behind me and all gasped at the tidal monstrosity before us, easily towering over sixty feet high, the wave advanced towards us with the clear resolve of engulfing the boat and sending it to the bottom of the ocean. It was far too high for our vessel to ride over; it was inevitable that we were going to be enveloped and thrashed by its force.
“What do we do!?” Rarity yelled, trembling.
“The saddlebags! Get into the saddlebags! It’s the safest place we have!” Twilight commanded.
She was right, being pocket dimensions with their own centre of gravity, it was the one thing that could stop us from being battered around the boat like pinballs. Everyone scrambled down below deck and rushed towards the sleeping quarters where the bags had been stashed, everyone except Rainbow Dash.
“I’ll fly above it!” She announced.
“Don’t be stupid, get into one of the saddlebags!” I barked.
“If this damn boat sinks, you’ll need someone outside the bags to get you out!” She protested.
“She’s got a point, Callum. If she can get above that wave, then by the Titans, let her!” Twilight ordered.
There was no time to argue, I gave Rainbow Dash the nod and she prepared her wings for flight.
“I’ll come with you!” Fluttershy bravely proclaimed.
With both pegasi charging outside, the rest of us opened up the first saddlebag and squeezed into the entrance one by one; the boat suddenly began to tilt upwards as the wave reached us.
“Hurry up! Hurry!” Rarity cried out, pushing the rest of Pinkie Pie into the bag.
Twilight went in next, leaving me and Applejack left.
“Go on, get!” The farm pony urged me.
I didn’t hesitate, grabbing the bag with both hands and essentially jumping into it feet first.
“Ow!” Rarity yelped as I accidentally kicked her in the shoulder.
Tucking my legs up and giving myself a firm wiggle, I slid into the bag and quickly turned around to help Applejack, grabbing her front hoof and attempting to pull her in.
Everything lurched suddenly and we all tumbled around inside the pocket dimension as the wave finally began to break, collapsing over the boat and sending it cascading into the air. To my absolute horror, Applejack was practically ripped out of my hands and sucked away and out of sight.
“AJ!” I screamed, frantically trying to reach out to her.
The wave finally struck in full force, sending me flying back into the girls. Rarity quickly used her magic to seal the compartment, enveloping us in darkness.
“What the hell are you doing!? She’s still out there!” I bellowed, turning to face her.
“You want us to drown in here? Because if this bag sinks underwater, we’re as good as fish food!”
“But Applejack!”
Twilight grabbed my shoulders with both hooves and tried to calm me down.
“What use are we if we all drown? She’ll be okay, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy will help her.”
Sighing heavily, I shut my eyes and scrunched up my face with frustration, they were right, but I hated it with every fibre of my being. Time felt like it had slowed down as we endlessly tumbled and tossed around the small compartment together, I could only imagine what it was like on the outside, it would be an absolute miracle if Applejack made it out of this unscathed.
At long last, the wrath of Poseidon subsided and gravity within the pocket dimension came to a standstill, we braced ourselves as Rarity’s horn lit up and opened the saddlebag, and almost instantly sealed it again as torrents of water came cascading in.
“Ah! Cold! Cold! Cold!” Pinkie Pie squealed.
“Great, we’re underwater.” Twilight grumbled.
“Well before we sink any further, let’s get out.” I replied.
“And fill our only air pocket with water? Are you mad?” Rarity exclaimed.
“What good is an air pocket if its at the bottom of the sea, huh?” I retorted.
“I’m sure Dashie or Fluttershy will get us out soon enough.”
“Oh, I hadn’t realised pegasi could breathe underwater. Fair enough, let’s just wait a few minutes until we’re nice and snug amongst the crabs until they arrive.”
Despite a laugh from Pinkie, the sarcastic reply had definitely unsettled the others, who agreed that I should get out and try to carry the bag upward above the water.
“Pinks, can you give me a boost when the bag opens?” I requested.
Nodding and giving a jolly “mhmm”, the earth pony arranged herself so that my feet rested against her back hooves so that she could spring me out at a moment’s notice. Tutting with doubt and fear, Rarity’s horn lit up and we once again prepared for more water.
“If we drown, I blame you.”
“Noted.” I replied, rolling my eyes.
As soon as the flap opened and the water came rushing in, I took a deep breath and Pinkie pushed me headfirst into the flow, propelling myself against the surge until I was fully out of the saddlebag; Rarity sealed the partition behind me and I grabbed the bag, before swimming blindly upwards. Soon enough I was able to touch the ceiling of the sleeping quarters, which was entirely underwater.
{Please don’t be deep… Please don’t be deep…} I begged openly in thought.
I opened my eyes in attempt to see where I was going, only to be met with darkness, there wasn’t a single light to guide my way; feeling my way out of the room, I was able to make my way into the living quarters and thanked my lucky stars to find air. Taking in a breath of air and opening my eyes, I found that the boat was almost completely on its side, with the lower end completely submerged.
We hadn’t sunk yet, but we were sinking.
Plonking the saddlebag down on a ledge and giving it a few heavy taps on the side to imply the girls were safe to emerge, I quickly began to search for Applejack. Moments into my search, I heard the clatter of hooves on the deck and was met by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.
“Oh goodness, you’re okay!” Fluttershy cried out.
“Have you seen Applejack?” I shouted back desperately, not even acknowledging the greeting.
“She wasn’t in the bag!?” Dash yelled, her pupils shrinking with terror.
“No, the wave hit before she could get inside!”
“Oh fuck! No, we’ve not seen her!”
Without uttering another word, Dashie ran back outside and took to the air, just in case Applejack had fallen into the sea during the mayhem; Fluttershy meanwhile helped the others clamber out of the bag.
“Rarity, give me a light!” I commanded, diving back into the flooded sleeping quarters.
A bright blue light appeared behind me as I searched the room, despite the sting of the strong salt water, I forced my eyes to remain open and search for our lost friend. Through the dim and blurred vision, I found the rest of our belongings, including Applejack’s hat, but no Applejack.
“She’s not here!” I called out, bursting out from the water.
“Oh gosh… Oh Celestia, I’ve killed Applejack…” Rarity breathed, falling back onto her rear in shock.
“Don’t say that! Don’t say that!” Pinkie shouted, covering her ears and clamping her eyes shut.
Twilight wrapped a hoof around the now very distressed pink pony and frowned at Rarity.
“We don’t know that, she might have just gone overboard.” She said as some assurance.
“Dashie’s out there looking for her right now, we’ll find her, I promise.” I joined in.
“Rarity, you’re the only one here who can use magic, now buck up and get some of this water out before the boat goes under!” Twilight ordered sternly.
Shaking her head, the defeated unicorn protested that she didn’t have enough mana to siphon out such a large amount of water, it was then that I had a genius idea of how to save the boat from sinking.
“Don’t worry, I’ll sort it.” I announced.
Grabbing the already soaking saddlebag, I dived into the sleeping quarters once more and swam to the bottom and opened the bag. Being so much bigger on the inside, the pocket dimension drained enough water to raise the boat back to its upright position.
“Applejack! She’s here!” Twilight yelled loudly.
I rushed back into the main cabin to find an unconscious Applejack had fallen out of the storage cupboard in the corner of the room, drenched from ears to tail. The poor girl must have stuffed herself inside it to prevent being tossed around the whole damn boat like a ragdoll, which in all fairness was probably the smartest thing she could have done. Fluttershy instantly scurried to her side and began checking her over while I went outside to dump the water overboard.
Rainbow Dash landed down beside me with a look of utter hopelessness as I held the bag upside down and gave it a firm shake, unleashing torrents of water.
“I can’t find her anywhere!”
“It’s okay, we found her inside.”
“Is she okay?”
Choosing not to answer, I slung the saddlebag over my shoulder and headed back inside to see for myself if Applejack was okay, to find Fluttershy desperately thumping against her abdomen.
“Come on! Come on AJ!” She panted angrily.
Upon seeing me re-enter, she notified me that she wasn’t breathing; I rushed over and placed two fingers against her neck just beneath her jawline to check for a pulse. Thankfully I was able to find a very weak fluctuation of pressure in her carotid artery, Fluttershy’s compressions had almost certainly saved her thus far by keeping her heart pumping. Applejack wasn’t dead, but she was dying. With my neurons and synapses working faster and harder than ever before, I scooped up the farm pony and attempted an unorthodox manoeuvre that I’d seen once on The Yorkshire Vet; holding her upside down by her ankles, I jangled her up and down briefly before bringing her down vigorously onto the floor.
By some sheer miracle, the trick worked. The forceful shock of hitting the floor caused her to jerk violently and bring up the water that had dwelled in her lungs and stomach, all of which was followed by a ginormous gasp for air.
“Applejack! Oh thank heavens!” Rarity cried out, breaking down into a sob.
“You saved her… Callum, you saved her…” Fluttershy whimpered.
I looked to Applejack and gently lifted her head.
“Hey partner, still with us?” I asked softly.
Blinking slowly and shivering from the shock, a half-conscious Applejack did her best to make eye contact.
“I hate fuckin’ sailing.” She murmured, before passing out once more.
Scooping her up once more, I placed her on the soggy sofa which had thankfully remained intact.
“Is she going to be okay?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Yeah, she just needs rest.” I replied, with Fluttershy giving an approving nod.
{God, that was fucking close…} I thought to myself.
The harrowing thought of me being unable to revive her sent a chill down my spine, despite being able to save her, we were very close to just losing a member of our party, along with the Element of Honesty herself; I sent a silent prayer of thanks to the universe for such a fate not unfolding.
“Well Rarity, if your talk of mortality didn’t stick earlier, it sure has now.” I spoke softly, yet deeply.
Gulping, the girls were most certainly thinking the same thing that I was after this event.
Clearing her throat, Twilight took charge once again and ordered us to start gathering our things and continue emptying water out from the boat; this ordeal would take some time to recover from, but thankfully we were still afloat and no lives had been lost, which was the most important thing.
We spent about an hour repairing the damage before Applejack finally came to, being her usual hardworking self, she instantly attempted to get to work as well, to which we all scolded her and ensured she stayed put for the time being.
“So, what even happened?” Rainbow Dash prompted her.
“Well, after the wave hit, I was sent flying out of the room, felt like I’d broken my darn back from the impact. Then I just made a mad rush into the cupboard and held on for dear life, then the boat flipped and everything went black, must’ve hit my head on something…” She explained.
“That explains the egg sized lump on the back of your head.” Fluttershy sighed remorsefully.
“Yeah, that’ll explain it…” She grumbled.
The thought of her unconscious in there as the small space filled up until she started unknowingly inhaling water made me shudder, it most certainly wouldn’t have been the best way to go.
Changing the subject, a very merry Pinkie Pie comforted us with the news that her bag had survived the flooding and that her board games were perfectly intact, we all had a hearty cheer at the prospect of winding down later with some Sorry-Not-Sorry once we had got our vessel back on track.
I went above deck with Rainbow Dash and Twilight to assess the damage to the sail, which had thankfully made it out in one piece thanks to Dashie securing the sail earlier. The metal mast had been bent out of shape slightly, but it was nothing that couldn’t be fixed, at least we’d be able to deploy the sail again once the remainder of the storm had passed.
It was still raining quite heavily, but the wind was certainly weaker and the waves weren’t too rough, I supposed the ocean had taken pity on us after just abusing us so violently.
“This one’s certainly going in the book.” Twilight mused to herself quietly.
“Book?” I quizzed, tilting my head onto one side.
“Oh, I’ve been writing a little book of poems since Portugal. Hawnu Rey’eng suggested it to me, he said it would help to channel the trauma, and I have to say it’s been very helpful.”
“That’s fantastic! I’d love to read them!” I emitted happily.
“Well, you won’t be able to yet, as I’ve not actually been able to write anything yet thanks to losing my magic, I’ve just been memorising them in my head.”
The tone in her voice told me that she was very much keen on having them on paper, and so I offered to sit with her in private on some occasions and write them for her.
“Really? You would do that?”
“Absolutely! I love poetry and would be honoured to hear what you’ve come up with.”
Rainbow Dash pretended to gag and rolled her eyes.
“Ugh, get a room you guys.” She groaned.
“Aren’t you the one with a sexual thing with Callum?” Twilight retorted.
“Oh absolutely, but it’s you who’s got a romantic thing for him.”
“I do not!” The unicorn growled defensively.
“Aw, I’m heartbroken.” I teased, dramatically wiping away an imaginary tear.
I continued to untie the sail and get the rigging sorted out while Rainbow Dash and Twilight argued over what sort of relationship they were in with me, which was incredibly entertaining to be a bystander of.
Eventually the sail was back in business, and with perfect timing too, for the storm was finally breaking apart, revealing a few patches of violet dusk with stars faintly appearing as the darkness of night slowly conquered the day. We headed in and Rarity used her magic to help us all dry off, and then we all settled down with a much needed few games of Sorry-Not-Sorry. After that, Rarity and Applejack worked together on dinner, making a very comforting leek and potato soup.
Absolutely exhausted from the day’s aquatic anarchy, the girls went to bed, I had offered to keep watch for the night and went above deck. Getting myself comfy on the outside seating, I stared into the night sky and allowed myself to zone out for a while, before finding my eyes growing heavy.
“Looks like I came at the right time.” Twilight hummed from behind me.
Turning around, the unicorn was awkwardly carrying her pillow, along with her blanket draped over her back, before I could ask what she was up to, she simply grunted that Rainbow Dash’s snoring was keeping her awake, and that she’d rather camp out here with me.
She made herself comfortable beside me and then plonked her pillow onto my lap.
“I didn’t know Titan Champions could also be used as beds…” I muttered playfully.
“Oh yeah, it’s a little known fact, only the best historians know about it.” She teased back.
Rolling my eyes, I pulled her in closer and allowed her to rest up against me. She let out a long sigh and shut her eyes, letting the sound of the faint wind and ocean waves soothe her to sleep.
“Hey Callum?”
“Yeah Twi?”
“Thank you.”
“Whatever for?” I asked, tilting my head.
“Being there for me, after everything that’s happened. After all the damage I’ve done, after all the pain I’ve caused, you have no right to be as kind as you are to me, but you are, so thank you.”
Placing a hand gently onto her head, I started playing with her mane affectionately and slowly shut my eyes, replying to her with a single word that carried all the meaning it needed to.
“Always…”