//------------------------------// // Chapter Eleven: A Mad Dash to Safety // Story: The Titans' Orb: Breaking Dawn // by Mister Horncastle //------------------------------// Ahead in the distance, was a US Coast Guard ship, at least that’s what it looked like judging by the sheer size of the bloody thing, it was easily over four-hundred feet long. The vessel was as white as the clouds above us, with a large red strip by the front, and directly in our path. “Rare, grab the rifle so I can get a better look at that thing.” I commanded. “Right away!” “What shall I do?” Twilight asked. “Pack all of your things, and instruct everyone else to do the same, we need to be ready to move at a moment’s notice.” Dipping her head, the unicorn limped down from the flybridge and went to find the others, just as Rarity returned to me with the Piercing Shot Rifle, I took it from her and switched the mode to maximum magnification, before resting it on the closest railing and inspected the ship. My suspicions were correct, it was a US Coast Guard cutter, most likely here to intercept us, as they would (and rightfully should) do so for any unknown vessel approaching the country from the open sea. “How on Earth are we getting out of this…?” I murmured to myself. “I take it we can’t fight this one?” Rarity inquired. “Well, if I switched to Piercing Shot mode, I could definitely fill it with holes and sink it, but you don’t understand, this is human military we’re talking about. If we fire on them, not only will they fire back, but they would call in reinforcements, we’d have multiple vessels and probably a helicopter or two on our ass, so no, we can’t fight this one.” I explained. “So, we just flee? Can we outrun them?” “Same issue, they’d probably call in a helicopter to pursue.” “What’s a helicopter exactly?” “It’s a flying vehicle.” “Like an aeroplane?” “Much different, it has a big spinning blade on top, along with one on the tail, which allows aerial agility. It’s also got vertical take-off and landing capabilities, so it’s all-round much better suited for pursuits and darting from location to location.” “I’m struggling to picture it.” “Okay, um… Imagine if an aeroplane was some sort of bird, with its two big wings either side of it. Well a helicopter would be more like an insect, like a mosquito or something. But as I said, it’s got a big spinning blade on top of it.” “I think I know what you’re getting at.” Rarity hummed. “Well, it doesn’t matter, because hopefully we aren’t going to meet one today. Gather your things with the others while I try to think of a plan.” Nodding, she darted off, leaving me to irritably rub my temples with my fingers and try my hardest to formulate some sort of plan. My first draft seemed like the only option, have the girls hide inside one of the bags again, and surrender myself to them; from there I could just bullshit my way into the country by pretending to be a US citizen or something, perhaps claim to be one of the many people that had been captured by Inigo Montenegro’s cartel in Brazil, and that I’d finally found my way home upon this yacht that I’d admittedly stolen from them. Casting my mind back, there were plenty of American prisoners back in the Stock Heap, I perhaps could try to impersonate one of them? No, they’d never buy that, but maybe they didn’t have to? I could just use any dumb name and say that I’d stolen a yacht to escape the cartel, and even if they didn’t believe me, they’d still take me back to the states for questioning, then I’d just need to escape with the help of the girls, and get as far away as possible. But then they’d see my face, they’d take a mugshot and then I’d have the law searching for me, anywhere with a CCTV camera wouldn’t be safe, I’d probably end up on local news as a ‘dangerous fugitive’ or something, encouraging locals to report me if they recognised me. No matter what, I couldn’t let them take any pictures of my face, and what if they checked my fingerprints? That would lead directly back to a deceased British citizen, and then I’d have the US government aware that a supposed corpse had returned from the dead! Oh god, and if they did a forensic inspection of the yacht, they would find literal alien DNA all over the place, the hot tub alone now easily contained a whole handful of shed hair from Twilight’s mane, not to mention all the other girls’ bedsheets and pillows! Oh, what to do? What to do? Did we burn the evidence? Yes, we needed to burn it, there was no way in a million years that I’d let the bloody Yanks become aware of the ponies’ existence. As far as any human on that damn cutter would be concerned, this was a decoy ship for some cartel or something, rigged to go up in flames. I rushed down to the main deck and went into the kitchen, where I spotted Fluttershy’s mushroom stir fry on the cooker, despite the panic and sense of urgency, I couldn’t help but grab a small handful out of the pot and have a little taste. {Damn, that’s some good shit.} I thought to myself, humming. Returning to the task at hand, I opened all of the cupboard doors until I finally located the cooking oil, to which I grabbed the whole bottle. “What are you doing with that?” Applejack asked, putting the last of her items into her saddlebag. “Preparing to cook something, clearly. Find me something to start a fire! Oh, and please bag up that stir fry, that shit’s delicious and I’m not letting it go to waste!” I barked in response. “You’re the boss!” She replied, giving a salute. Zipping to the lowest deck bedrooms, I didn’t hesitate to empty all the cooking oil onto the beds, drenching every pillow in the stuff. I then ran back out to the rear of the yacht and hollered for Rarity to assist me, she rushed out to find me just as I was unscrewing the fuel cap. “Remember how you siphoned the fuel out of that Land Rover, back in the desert?” “Yes, why?” “I want you to suck out every damn drop out of this yacht and carry it downstairs, splash it all over the lower deck, every single room, understand?” “Got it!” Rarity’s horn lit up and out came all the diesel, it all came together into a single floating blob of fluid and the white mare rushed away with the stuff to implement my command. I then darted to the storage room to grab the jerry can which had some extra fuel in it. Once the girls had finished packing and took their bags out to the rear of the vessel, I upturned the cannister to splash the remaining fuel all over the main deck floor, hopefully all of this would be enough to set the ship ablaze in no more than a jiffy. Was I running almost entirely on panic right now? Absolutely. Was I going to take any chances with the US government? Absolutely fucking not. Applejack returned to me with a box of matches from her bag, to which I took them and thanked her. “So, what are we doing now?” She asked. “I’m thinking…” I muttered. It was then that Twilight called to me from the rear of the yacht. “Uh, Callum? If you’ve got a plan, now’s the time to hear it!” Dashing out to join her, I looked out to the cutter and spotted a smaller black boat beside it. A boarding party was being prepared. “Fuck!” I growled. “What if we all get inside one of the bags again? Just like we did before?” Twilight proposed. “And then what?” I snapped back. “I… I don’t know!” “I’m scared…” Fluttershy mumbled. Pacing in circles and repeatedly tapping my forehead, I stared at the floor and looked at our long silhouettes in the setting sun’s light, and amongst them, I spotted the answer. It wasn’t exactly the best of ideas, in fact, I didn’t even want to suggest it at all, but we didn’t have any better options, and we were out of time. “Rainbow Dash.” I spoke softly. “Yeah?” Turning to face the pegasus, I sighed heavily as the words harrowingly left my lips. “How long can you stay airborne?” “My record is like five or six hours, why do you…” She trailed off and her eyes widened, as she realised what I was asking her to do. After a few seconds, she gathered the confidence in herself and nodded, gulping. “Wait, you can’t be serious! You said we were a whole day away, if not more, and that’s by boat! There’s no way you can expect Rainbow Dash to fly that far without a rest!” Rarity exclaimed. “What else do you propose, Rarity? We have no choice, and no time!” “There’s got to be another way!” Ignoring her, I asked Fluttershy to get her bag ready, (as hers had the most space). She reluctantly obeyed and forced the contents into Dashie’s, just like last time. She held it open and Pinkie immediately dived in headfirst. “Weeeee!” “At least someone’s fine with this plan.” I uttered under my breath. Everyone very reluctantly started clambering into the bag after her, along with their own bags, while Rainbow Dash started stretching her wings and taking some deep breaths. I went back inside with the matches and found the smuggler’s drug bag, I took out the cigarette rolling paper packets and ran to the bedroom to dump them all into a pile on the floor, along with draping the corner of the duvet onto the pile just to ensure it caught light. I struck a match, and placed it at the bottom of the pile, to which the papers very quickly caught light, along with the back of my hand, which I didn’t realised had a small amount of fuel on it. “Ow! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Hot! Fuck! Fucking! Hot! Fuck!” I placed my hand under my armpit to smother the flame and fled the room as quickly as possible, I had made it out just as the flames spread across the bedroom floor and began to consume the room. {Well at least that part of the plan worked!} I thought to myself. Returning to the back of the yacht, I found only Rainbow Dash, with the last of Applejack’s tail disappearing into the bag. I approached the pegasus and placed my hands on her shoulders. “Look, Dashie, I’m know what I’m asking you to do here is bloody extreme, but I don’t know what other choice we have. If there was another way, I wouldn’t be asking you to do this.” I told her. “It’s okay, I know. I’ll do my damn best to get us there.” She replied, puffing her chest out proudly. “I know you will.” “Quick question though, which way do I fly?” “The sun always sets in the west, so get above the clouds and follow the sunset. You chase that motherfucker for as long as you can, and after that, just pray you’ve stayed the course.” I instructed. “Got it. Oh, and Callum?” “Yeah?” Before I knew what was happening, Rainbow Dash lunged forward and kissed me, hard. I was shocked at first, but quickly leaned into it and reciprocated, a couple seconds later, she pulled back with a gasp. “That’s just in case we don’t make it. Now get in the damn bag, stud.” “Y… Yup!” I stammered back, clearing my throat. I squeezed my way into the pocket dimension and plopped down right into Pinkie’s lap. “Your face is red!” She giggled. “Your face is pink.” I retorted. “Hm, touché.” Dashie stuck her head into the bag after me and looked down at everyone. “You all ready in there?” “Yes, just please don’t drop us and kill us!” Rarity replied. “Way to doubt the best flier in Equestria.” Rainbow tutted, rolling her eyes. “You have every ounce of our confidence.” Said Twilight. “I call bullshit, but thanks!” Closing the flap and encasing us in near darkness, Rainbow Dash put the bag onto her back, tightened the straps, and took to the air. The sound of the rushing wind came through the thin gap in the top, which was also our only source of light. “Whoa! Dude that’s awesome!” Dashie shouted. “What?” I called back. “The yacht’s already burning like crazy!” “Brilliant! Now get out of there, that boarding party might see you!” I ordered. “And stop talking, you’re wasting energy!” Twilight added. “Yes, eggheads!” Dashie shot upwards and took us into the clouds, enveloping us in complete darkness. About ten to fifteen seconds later, deep orange light flooded into the small space, indicating that we’d made it above the clouds; I’d have stuck my head out to take in the view, but I didn’t want to add so much as a hair’s weight onto Rainbow Dash, not even for a second. “Do you think she’ll be okay out there?” Twilight asked. “You tell me. You girls are the ones who have known Rainbow for years, how often have you seen her fly for long durations of time?” I replied. “Only a few times, but she’s always ready for more.” Applejack said confidently. “I’m more worried about her wings than I am about her stamina, it’s only been a couple of months since she’s been able to fly again, I hope they don’t give out on her after so long without proper use.” Said Fluttershy, anxiously biting her bottom lip. “Nah, she’ll be fine in that regard. In Portugal, she literally lifted me off the ground and carried me above the treeline, and that was after she just started flying again.” I added, folding my arms. Humming, Fluttershy leaned back and gave a shrug, suggesting we simply have faith in Rainbow Dash and try to get comfortable as it was going to be a long ride in the saddlebag. Agreeing, I unbuttoned my jeans as the waistband was quite tight in my current position, and then snuggled up between Twilight and Applejack, both of whom leaned back into me as we all tried our best to make do with the limited space available. “So, how does this compare to travelling via hot air balloon?” I teased. “I mean, the company’s good at least?” Twilight chuckled in reply. “Awh, shucks.” I deadpanned, placing a hand over my heart. “As lovely as the company is, I’d certainly appreciate it if someone would get their hoof out from beneath my rear!” Rarity barked. “Sorry!” Pinkie squeaked, pulling her leg back and shuffling around to get comfy. “This is going to be quite the ride.” Applejack mumbled. “Well, at least we’re not in human captivity, ey? Because we were just moments away from being in just that, I’d much rather the bag.” I remarked. “Hmph, I guess.” “Let’s just try to make the most of the situation we’re in. As Callum rightly says, this is far better than being captives. So, how about a story? Does anypony have a good story to tell?” Said Fluttershy. Pinkie instantly disrupted everyone’s vague comfort by uprooting herself yet again, clambering over us to reach Fluttershy. “Ooh! Ooh! Me! Me! I have a story!” “Sit back down, you buffoon, I had only just been able to get comfy!” Rarity scolded. Whining like a dog, the pink pony sat back down, her puppy-eyes glistening in the ever-dimming orange glow of the sunset’s light. “And yes, you can still tell your story.” I added. “Oh, goodie!” Pinkie rubbed her front hooves together in anticipation, before telling us all about the story of how back in Brazil, we were all captured by a “big ol’ meanie”, and then Rarity saved the day by poking a big man with a spatula. Needless to say, we all knew this story, and decided not to correct her on how Rarity had literally stabbed Vladimir in the back with his own knife. “Um, Pinkie, we know that story, we were all there.” Said Applejack. “Yeah, but you don’t know the best bit!” Pinkie protested. “I think I can safely say the best bit was when we all escaped with our lives.” Twilight nervously chuckled. “No, the best bit was when I got so scared that I tinkled on the floor, and one of the mean men slipped over on it when he was trying to put me in a cage!” Silence followed such a statement for quite some time, before the lot of us roared into laughter in unison, between gasping for air, I demanded clarification. “You… You mean to say… You pissed yourself? And then one of the bad guys slipped in it?” “Yeah! Face first!” The laughter only grew louder as we all envisioned one of Inigo Montenegro’s thugs slipping over in pony piss, albeit rather disgusting, the thought of the incident was every bit as funny and more. “Okay, that was actually quite a decent story.” I admitted, still laughing. “Yeah, it’s almost as good as when I stole a bag of cocaine from the building as we were escaping.” The laughter stopped almost immediately, and I tilted my head on one side. “I beg your pardon?” “It looked like flour, and I wanted to bake some cupcakes with it. But they didn’t turn out very well, I tried one of them and it was disgusting, made me feel very strange too.” She admitted. “I remember distinctly telling you not to touch that stuff!” I exclaimed. “And I remember distinctly ignoring you!” I rolled my eyes and sighed in disbelief as it dawned on me that Pinkie had literally ingested cocaine. “When the heck did that happen?” Applejack demanded to know. “When we got back to Callum’s old house and met his brother. You know, when Twilight went to the wobbly place by herself? I tried to bake them while Oliver and Callum were at the funeral.” Ignoring the fact Pinkie had just described Chernobyl as ‘the wobbly place’, I went on to ask what Pinkie had done with the remaining cocaine cupcakes, along with the remaining cocaine. “Oh, I put the whole lot of it in the trash.” “Well that’s a relief.” Reaching forward and giving the pink mare a playful cuff on the back of the head, I told her that what she did was very dangerous and that I’m glad she was okay. Pinkie responded by looking down and shuffling her back legs. “So, you really can’t use that stuff as flour?” She asked me. “Absolutely not.” “Um… In that case…” “Pinkie?” I growled in a low, authoritarian tone. Pinkie shuffled even more, anxiously wiggling her back hooves. “Well, you know how there was a black bag on the boat? With some white powder in it?” “Pinkie?” I growled even louder, and angrier. “Please don’t be mad.” “Oh for goodness’ sake, you’ve stolen more cocaine, haven’t you?” Rarity gasped. “May… be?” I outstretched my arm and opened my hand, gesturing for her to give it to me, to which she jammed a hoof directly into her mane and rummaged around, before eventually yanking out a wrapped block of cocaine. “Jesus Christ…” I sighed, taking the block off her. Standing up (with great difficulty) and spreading the opening of the bag above us, I tossed out the block and it was quickly whisked out of sight. “What the heck was that!?” Rainbow Dash shouted from outside. “Don’t worry about it, just some very unneeded merchandise! Fly safe!” I called back, closing the bag. I slumped back down beside Twilight and Applejack and frowned at Pinkie, whom apologised and gave her word that she wouldn’t ever take mysterious packets of white powder again. After enforcing her to make a Pinkie Promise, I relaxed, unlatching my void sheathe from my waistband and used the natural glow from Vitra ‘Aku to help light up the area as the sun’s light had almost completely faded away by now. “Well, with that out of the way, anypony else have a story to tell?” Fluttershy suggested. With a hum, I realised that despite being in possession of this sword, I knew very little about my predecessors except for Stardust Moonshimmer, whom was now dead and could offer me no insight on the matter. “I want to know more about the past Champions.” I declared. “Golly, that’s a good idea! What, with you being one now.” Applejack concurred. “That’s actually a really good call, what did you want to know? I’ve done so many studies on the ancient history of Equus, and the Champions of Old show up all over the place!” Twilight blurted out, clapping her hooves together. “Well firstly, the obvious question. Who was the first Champion?” “Oh that’s an easy one. His name was Brighthorn, ancient texts describe him as a daring unicorn adventurer from before the Age of the Sisters, he was the first pony to reach the top of Mount Cantermore, which was simply known as the Great Mountain at the time.” “That’s the mountain where Canterlot is, right?” “Yup.” Continuing, Twilight explained that Brighthorn had discovered Vitra ‘Aku at the very top of the mountain, and upon touching it, was spoken to directly by the Titans as they proclaimed him as their first Champion; he went on to live an abnormally long life and became one of the pillars of early civilisation. “Right, so this was like, long before the Princesses?” I asked. “Oh goodness yes, by thousands of years!” Twilight confirmed. “Blimey, I didn’t think Equestria had much history prior to them.” “Callum, more than half of our history predates the Princesses. It was only when Appelox turned on the other Titans did Twilus create Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, which funny enough, involved the Champion before Stardust.” “Huh, and who was that one?” Putting a hoof to her chin and humming, Twilight admitted that the Champion before Stardust was the most mysterious, to the point where no one even knew her name. The only title she ever had was the Regal Mother, which was where the name came from when referring to Regal Souls. With my head already whizzing, I asked if she could tell me about the Regal Mother another time, and cover the Champions in chronological order instead. “Yeah, that’s probably for the best.” she chuckled. Clearing her throat, Twilight went on to enlighten me on how Brighthorn the First used his new position to appoint himself as a monarch, and founded the most basic of societal infrastructure for whomever chose to follow him and his rule. He was sometimes referred to as the Lonely King, due to him never taking a wife. Without an heir to inherit his throne, order gradually collapsed after his death, and his kingdom slowly reverted back into a divided tribal nature. “How did Brighthorn die?” I inquired. “Well, the Lonely King wasn’t a lazy one, his thirst for adventure never dulled during his time on the throne, and one day he went spelunking into a cave system down south, where he was killed by a pack of Diamond Dogs, or as they were called back then, the Hounds of the Deep. The poor stallion’s body was never recovered.” “Jesus…” “Yeah, those creatures are not to be messed with.” Twilight hummed. “Don’t remind me.” Rarity grumbled. “Well, the cartoon just showed them as brutish underground dog-people that like gems. They were ill-mannered, but otherwise didn’t seem too dangerous. What are they like in real life?” I asked. “Worse, so much worse!” Rarity practically howled, resting a foreleg against her brow. The white unicorn went on to elaborate further about the time she was been kidnapped by the dreaded Dogs of the Deep, and despite her flair for drama, I could hear the very legitimate trauma in her voice. “Those wretched things taunted me day and night, endlessly barking and gnashing at me. They only spared my life and dignity because of my ability to find gemstones with magic. I’ll never forget what their pack leader said to me when we arrived back in their den, I can remember it like it was yesterday, along with that deep, rumbling voice of his…” “What did he say? If you don’t mind me asking, of course.” I probed. Rarity shut her eyes and then recited what the pack’s leader, Rover, had said to her. "Have you ever felt true dread, with your whole being? No, apparently not. You are but a lamb, a stranger to the Deep, ignorant of your own ignorance. You know how to find them, the stones that shine in these tunnels of mine, you can see them in the walls. Be thankful of your gift, it is all that keeps your death and defilement at bay. Ah, now you feel it, the dread... the realisation that you are no longer safe, and no one is coming to help you. I can smell it on you, on that fear-ridden sweat, leaking from that tender skin. Down here in the Deep, there is nothing quite so delectable as a fresh pony, ripe and waiting. So don't you go testing my patience, you will find the gemstones, or I will have my way with you, and then devour you, while you're still warm, and struggling." “Bloody… hell.” I murmured. “Yeah, it wasn’t the best of experiences to say the least, that’s for certain. I had to make myself abundantly clear that I would only find jewels for them, if they didn’t touch me. And even then, they were basically ravaging me with their eyes, panting and sniffing at me, the filthy beasts! They had me locked in a cell for three days, with only water and a bucket to do my business in, and yes, they watched me the whole time for that too. Diamond Dogs are absolute savages, you’d have better luck taming a wyvern than one of those monstrous cretins. At least they were a civilised pack, capable of speaking the common tongue. Otherwise, I really don’t know what they’d have done to me.” “That… That was considered a civilised pack?” I blurted out, legitimately astounded. Twilight joined in on the conversation and decided to put it awfully bluntly, much to the distaste of the others. “Sadly, yes. A lot of packs can’t even speak our language, and the ones that can? Well, I assure you, they are not interested in dialogue. If they catch you, they’ll rape you to death, eat your flesh, and sew your skin into their clothes. And if you’re very, very lucky, they’ll do it in that order.” “Twilight!” Applejack gasped, her eyes wide as dinnerplates. “What? It’s true!” “Still, some things go without saying, Twi!” “Well, I just wanted Callum to understand just how dangerous they really are.” “Oh, trust me, I very much understand now.” I said, gulping. “I can’t believe you just said that aloud, especially with Pinkie in earshot.” Applejack tutted. After glancing at Pinkie Pie, who seemed to be unbothered and practically zoned out, Twilight shrugged and continued to explain that Diamond Dogs were simply too savage in nature to befriend, and that every single attempt at diplomacy with them had failed, even when one of them was a Champion once. “A Diamond Dog was a Champion!?” Rarity and I both exclaimed in unison. “It’s hard to believe I know, but yes. In fact, it was none other than Brighthorn’s killer whom took the sword and was chosen by the Titans to succeed him. His name was Shep Two-Furs, and I’ll give you one guess as to how he earned that name…” “I don’t think I want to know.” Rarity muttered with a grimace. “Me neither…” Fluttershy whimpered. Rolling her eyes playfully, Twilight leaned over and whispered into my ear how Shep had killed his own brother and skinned the body, before sewing the pelt into his own skin, wearing his brother's remains like a cape, establishing unquestionable dominance over the rest of his pack. A very small handful of records had even mentioned this cape bearing the cutie mark of a pony sewn into it as well, presumably Brighthorn's. “Right then! So basically, Shep Two-Furs was as mad as a box of frogs?” I said with wide eyes. “Oh terribly so, he was the most violent Champion we’ve ever had." Twilight confirmed, "But that said, in his defence, such unmatched ferocity was exactly what was needed to help build Equestria into the nation it is today.” “Go on?” “Well, without Brighthorn's influence, ponies were back to living in simple clans, divided, raiding and pillaging one another! Among all that chaos, there was a relatively large group that had remained loyal to Brighthorn’s old kingdom, led by several ponies called the Unicorn Lords. They were basically trying establish a new kingdom that spanned across the whole country. They were constantly at war with the countless clans that resisted. When Shep Two-Furs arrived, it was quite literally a godsend, for he had been instructed by the Titans to serve as a living weapon for the Unicorn Lords. Being a creature born for violence, he gladly obliged, and was sent into countless short-lived wars against the rebellious pony clans, and anyone who didn’t coalesce with the kingdom were decimated. Legends tell of Shep’s wolf-like battle cry before every skirmish, it would spark terror into thousands of ponies. Heck, some clans would just surrender upon hearing it, and over time, Shep would come to be known as The Howling Warlord.” “Fucking, awesome.” “Language, Callum.” Rarity growled. “C’mon, that’s so awesome though!” I argued. “I’ll admit, that does sound quite cool.” Applejack joined in. “Well, cool as it may be, I’m tired, stressed, cramped, worried about Rainbow Dash, and don’t need you foul-mouthing over a grim tale about tens of thousands of ponies being slaughtered by a Diamond Dog!” “Okay Rare, well how about I just finish up about Shep and then we get some rest?” Twilight suggested. “Fine.” Applejack looked at me and rolled her eyes in playful annoyance, to which I lightly chuckled, and then allowed Twilight to continue educating me about Shep Two-Furs. “Eventually, the warring clans were subjugated, to which they agreed to live by the laws and standards set by the Unicorn Lords. Villages had to agree to meet the supply and demand of one another’s resources, along with a small portion of those goods being donated as tax to the Lords, so that they could effectively manage the kingdom.” “Huh, so they were basically medieval England at this point.” I hummed. “How so?” “Well, that’s almost exactly what happened in the early nine-hundreds. All the various warring Anglo-Saxon clans and kingdoms were unified by King Æthelstan into the singular kingdom of England. All territories were made to follow the same exact laws, follow the same religion, and use the same coinage. Æthelstan was the first Saxon king to command loyalty from the whole of Britain, and he was basically the foundation for the later establishment of the United Kingdom.” “Hm, I’ll admit that’s awfully similar.” Twilight said by her own admission. “I know right? Well anyway, what happened next with Shep?” “Okay so, with his holy work complete and with no more wars to fight in, Shep left the continent, heading eastward in search of new battles. He eventually reached the Griffon Kingdoms, and supposedly offered himself as a mercenary, where he was eventually killed in combat by a griffon named Qhe'keck.” “Who… became the next Champion, right?” I quizzed, already guessing the answer. “That's right!” “Wonderful... from the paws of one savage beast, to the claws of another. Now can I please get some sleep?” Rarity groused, loudly huffing with annoyance. “Did you seriously just take in all that history, only to insult two of the most important individuals our planet has ever had?” Twilight snapped back, tutting. “Ugh, I’m sorry darling. Like I mentioned just a moment ago, I’m tired, stressed, a tad claustrophobic, and really don’t like that we’re being carried across the open sea, by a pegasus with wings that weren’t even capable of flight a couple of months ago!” Placing a hand on one of her ankles and giving it a gentle squeeze, I assured Rarity that we would be okay and to simply have faith in Dashie. Soon enough we’d reach the states, and then I’d take charge again and figure out a safe place to crash for the night. But for now, there was nothing we could do but rest, and so I properly sheathed Vitra ‘Aku and darkness enveloped our cramped fibrous capsule. After a few moments of silence as everyone tried (and mostly failed) to get comfortable, we shut our eyes and attempted to drift off to sleep, most succeeded, but I lay there wide awake, thoughts about the past Champions whizzing around the inside of my skull. Well over two hours later, and I still couldn’t sleep, and it seemed I wasn’t the only one, for Twilight was very quietly mumbling something to herself under her breath. Choosing not to startle her, I gradually moved my hand to one of her forelegs and lightly gripped it, caressing it back and forth with my thumb. Upon realising I was awake, she leaned forward and whispered into my ear. “I’m not sleepy in the slightest…” “Join the club.” I breathed back quietly. “Want to put the collars on? We could have a nice chitchat via telepathy.” “That’s not too bad an idea, alternatively, we could see how your mindscape is getting on?” “But then we’d be unconscious, and I’d rather be able to react quickly when Rainbow Dash makes landfall.” “Actually, yeah, that’s a good point. Good thinking.” “Well you know, being the smart one is kind of… my thing.” “Oh shut up.” I teased, poking her chest. Twilight carefully opened her own bag to retrieve the collars, when suddenly we were all startled by the entire pocket dimension shaking, causing us to wobble from side to side, jarring everyone awake. “For goodness’ sake, I had only just drifted off!” Applejack barked. “Rainbow Dash? Everything okay up there?” I hollered. After hearing no response, I stood up and pulled apart the opening, the wind was still rushing above us, but far quieter than before, Dashie had slowed down quite substantially. “Dash?” I called out to her. “L… La… Land… ahe… ahead!” The pegasus wheezed, panting heavily. Raising just the top of my head out of the bag, I looked ahead and saw lights in the distance, and relief flooded over me as it dawned on me that Rainbow Dash had done it, she’d flown us from Christ-knows where in the open sea, to the United States of America. But even with our destination on the horizon, Dashie was exhausted, the poor thing was struggling to fly straight and was continually dipping and then catching herself mid-fall, which explained the shaking we’d just experienced. “Come on, just a little further, you can do it!” I encouraged. The girls beneath me all called out too, shouting words of inspiration and praise, and it was just enough to get the shattered pegasus through as she continued to flap her wings defiantly and bring us closer and closer to the shores of the country. We were nearly there when Dashie began crying through her gasps for air, her poor wings must have been in agony, and were most likely cramping too. “You’ve got this, Rainbow Dash. You’ve got this!” I yelled. “Where… sh-should… I land…?” “Anywhere on the beach, somewhere without any buildings or lights.” Nodding, Dashie began her descent, only for one of her wings to completely seize up as it cramped beyond her control, I stuck my arms out of the bag and forced it back open, holding it in position so she could at least glide down, but it was almost certainly going to be a crash landing. Crossing my fingers and uttering a plea to the universe, I prayed she wouldn’t end up with any broken bones. “Everyone, brace yourselves!” I shouted below. I kept a firm hold on Dashie’s wing, gritted my teeth, and prepared for a very unpleasant touchdown.