//------------------------------// // Chapter Twenty-Four: A Bumpy Ride on the Road to Recovery // Story: The Titans' Orb: Breaking Dawn // by Mister Horncastle //------------------------------// Looking up from the map on Josh’s phone, I noted that we had a long old journey ahead of us. With a good thirty to forty hours of road between here and the airstrip in California, there was no way that we would be making the trip in one continuous drive. “How many stops do you think we should make?” I asked openly. “As few as possible.” Twilight grumbled with her head drooped, lightly swaying from side to side. Turning my head to the exhausted unicorn, I reminded her that she wasn’t the one driving. Looking to Josh, I asked how long he was comfortable staying behind the wheel. He proposed that we broke the trip down into four parts, with three overnight stays in hotels, before making the last leg to the airstrip. Being in full agreement, the girls and I looked at one another with enthusiasm, while Rommel gave a perplexed frown. “Uh, how exactly are we going to get six ponies into a hotel with no one noticing?” he asked. Looking to him with a smirk, I tilted my head towards Fluttershy, who opened her saddlebag and squeezed inside it. To emphasise the point, Pinkie, Rarity and Applejack all joined in on the fun and slipped into it as well, leaving our new companion in a state of utter bewilderment. “Never gets old.” I chuckled, grinning. Shaking his head, Rommel broke into a laugh and went over to look in the bag, astounded and amazed at the impossible sight before him. “I thought you couldn’t use magic now?” he pointed out, “What if… it… catches on?” “It’s an enchantment, not the same as casting a spell.” I explained, “Thankfully, it doesn’t give off a signal for him to pick up.” “Ah…” he murmured, nodding with understanding. “Tell you what…” Josh began from the driver’s seat, rapidly snapping his fingers, “Instead of a hotel, what if we booked somewhere on Airbnb? We could find one of those big places where you get the whole house to yourself?” “You mean like a holiday let?” I asked. “Yeah, one of those!” he chirped merrily, “Then we wouldn’t need to worry about other people, we’d just have the whole place to ourselves!” The idea was perfect, and everyone was wholly in agreement with it. Despite being scared out of her wits and exhausted beyond measure, even Twilight was able to smile at the thought of some stress-free nights in a private place, without the constant worry of remaining hidden from the public eye. Using one of Josh’s spare phones, I perused Airbnb for some nice-looking places without any overlooking properties. After browsing for some time, I found and booked three properties in Iowa, Colorado, and Utah. Each place was a contemporary house with six bedrooms, and the one in Colorado even had a swimming pool! Needless to say, we were all excited, and we most certainly deserved it before the luxuries went away. It would give Josh some more pleasant memories as well before we parted ways. Plus, it would give Rommel some time to properly get to know the girls. “Oh I’m most excited!” Rarity sang, grinning from ear to ear. “I bet you’ll be looking forward to that pool, ey Dash?” I said, nudging the pegasus with an elbow. Rainbow shrugged in reply, trying her best to be excited, but remaining understandably worried about her dad. Slinging an arm around her, I reminded her that Alex wasn’t an idiot, and that he would be perfectly safe in dealing with those runes. With a tenuous shake of her head, Twilight gave me a look from the opposite side of the bus, as if to say that my words were full of shit, and in truth, I doubted them myself. But still, Dashie needed to hear it, and I flashed the unicorn a scolding glance, subtly reminding her of that fact. “Speaking of Alex, I’m amazed he was able to find a plane and a private airstrip so quickly!” said Rommel. “Yeah, you and me both.” I agreed, “But I guess that goes to show what money can do for you. So long as you can pay, the world provides.” “You say it like my dad’s one of those rich snobs.” Rainbow growled. “Oh not at all!” I insisted, “I just mean that he’s a very resourceful person, and with money on his side, he was able to quickly help us out.” Huffing, she let the comment slip and leaned against me. In almost perfect unison, Twilight leaned sideways as well, mirroring Dashie’s movement. With nothing to lean against, she stumbled and let out a sharp gasp, causing everyone to look at her. Immediately beginning to blush, the unicorn sheepishly cleared her throat. “Go to fuckin’ sleep, Twi.” I droned, tutting. “I must concur, despite the foul language.” Rarity added, “You look positively dreadful, darling. Why don’t you hop into Fluttershy’s bag and get some kip?” “I’m fine.” she spat, sniffing. Knowing she was in one of those places, we chose not to press the matter, as it would only lead to conflict. The poor thing eventually drifted off anyway, and quite pitifully too, slumping backwards and nodding off while she was still sitting upright. Gesturing for Fluttershy to pass me the bag, I gently picked up the unicorn and slipped her into it with AJ’s assistance; the fact she didn’t even wake was a testament to how exhausted she really was. “Bless her…” Rommel muttered quietly. “She’s really bad off, huh?” Pinkie sighed, tilting her head. Nodding, I closed the flap to give the mare some darkness to snooze in, and kept it at my side. Slammed by a wave of emotion, I was unable to ward off the thoughts of what Nah’Lek had done to put her in this feeble, haggard state. Even after curing her of the Fel, and purging that monster’s shade from her mind, he still had so much power over her. Tears started to form in my eyes, as did a painful lump in my throat, and I was forced to subtly hold my breath, lest I was to cry in front of everyone. Fluttershy noticed, and slowly dipped her head to me with a weak smile, silently telling me that I wasn’t alone. Returning the gesture to express my thanks, I leaned against Rainbow Dash and sighed. Hours passed, and a little while after the sun set, we arrived at our first stop in Iowa. The host had left a key under the mat as they weren’t present, and we let ourselves in. Immediately heading to the kitchen, Josh investigated the food situation, where he found the fridge to be completely empty, bar a small carton of milk. He offered to go out and get us some food, to which I shook my head. “Let’s just order a delivery from somewhere.” I suggested, “I’d rather we all stuck together from now on.” Nodding, he got onto his phone in search of places that delivered, while I took Fluttershy’s bag upstairs and picked one of the bedrooms for me and Twilight. I was certainly spoiled for choice, as each room was massive, and the beds were all queen-sized. It was certainly a step up from that EconoLodge just the other week. Once I had chosen a room, I closed the door and gradually pulled the unicorn out, gently placing her on the bed and putting the soft throw over her lower half. Looking down at the unconscious heap, I let out a heavy, pensive breath. It hurt to see her like this, so broken and exhausted that she couldn’t even comprehend being moved around like a bloody rag doll. The girl deserved all the rest she could possibly get, and so despite the time, I did not wake her. Heading back downstairs, I joined the others to find them placing food orders. With pizza from Domino’s on the menu, I elected for the meatiest pizza they had, which brought forth an alarmed expression from Mel. “Chillax bud.” I assured him, “They know we eat meat, it’s not a big deal.” “Oh, right.” he chuckled nervously, “Well in that case, I’ll have what Callum’s having.” Everyone laughed, and Josh finalised the order. While we waited for it to arrive, we sat Rommel down and went over some cultural exposition, making sure he knew the difference between the make-believe elements of My Little Pony, versus the gritty and at-times-unpleasant reality of Equus. Watching another brony receive such enlightenment was nothing short of a treat for me, and the questions he asked ended up teaching me a thing or two as well. For instance, I learned that unicorns wishing to learn new magic could purchase spellbooks from the Equestrian Magic Administration, known as grimoires. These grimoires contained a small selection of learnable spells, pertaining to a specific field of magic. “So basically, any unicorn can learn any spell?” Mel pressed, craning his neck. “Not quite.” Rarity replied, “Some spells are of course, very powerful. More than half the spells Twilight’s capable of would have me bluing out immediately!” {At least, the spells she was capable of.} I thought, bitterly exhaling through my nose. Continuing, Rarity explained that with such magic being potentially dangerous in the wrong hooves, the EMA refused to sell grimoires unless the buyer presented a special permit, known as a Constel. Being derived of course from the word ‘constellation’, a Constel was a thin silver wire which housed a number of enchanted beads, called Asters. Each Aster represented a different field of study at a magic school, which would be awarded upon passing the field’s exam with an acceptable grade. “Damn, this goes deep.” Rommel breathed. “In essence,” Rarity continued, “grimoires can only be purchased if you have the matching Aster. You could be a fiercely powerful unicorn, but if you lack for instance, the Auramancy Aster, then you would be forbidden from purchasing any Auramancy grimoires.” “Ah, right.” I hummed, leaning forward with interest, “So, I’m guessing there’s dozens of Asters, which all together complete the Constel?” “Why yes, that’s exactly right, dear!” Her praising voice brought a smile to my face, and I inquired further as to how many Asters she had, to which the unicorn humbly professed the ownership of two; the Illusory Aster, and the Enchanting Aster. I asked why those two, to which she explained that there were a handful of spells in those respective fields that had vastly aided her in her profession as a high-end couturier. “Along with saving our hides a few times!” Applejack said with a chuckle, “Remember in Brazil when you conjured that big old smoke cloud?” “I’ll be honest darling, I try to forget about our time in Brazil as often as I can.” “Fair point.” Moving on from the subject, we decided to find a film on the host’s Netflix account, so we had some entertainment with our soon-arriving pizza. In dire need for something light and easy, we settled on the live-action Paddington movie. When the food delivery at last arrived, Josh went out to collect it, and then we got ourselves comfortable and pressed play. It was admittedly a little strange to not have Twilight at my side throughout the film, but in her absence, Rainbow Dash took the opportunity to sit beside me, clearly in the need of some close comfort. As the credits came up, the weariness kicked in, bringing forth yawns from all eight of us. We took ourselves off to bed, and I brought the leftover pizza up for Twi, knowing that she would likely be awake soon. Putting it on the bedside table, I got under the covers, which was when the unicorn opened her eyes and sniffed heavily, before mumbling to me in a barely coherent manner. “Huh… What’s… Where’s? What time is it?” “It’s nearly midnight.” I told her, reaching over to rub her upper foreleg, “You’ve been asleep for a while.” Groaning, she sat up and asked where we were, and I explained that we had arrived at the first stop. Pointing to the pizza and saying it was for her, the mare’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. Not hesitating, she seized the box and began chowing down. “Oi, pace yourself.” “I’m hungry!” she munched back, frowning at me. “Yeah, because you’ve been too anxious to eat anything for the past two days!” I snapped back, “And if you wolf down that pizza too quickly, you’re going to end up feeling sick.” Reluctantly grunting that I was right, she slowed herself down, and began to eat with a sense of modesty. “Anything happen while I was out?” “Nothing much.” I replied, “Chatted a bit and watched a film. Oh, Rarity told us all about Constels and Asters. That was pretty cool.” “Oh yeah, I never told you about those, did I?” Shaking my head, I asked how many Asters she owned, to which Twilight raised her chin proudly and said that she had earned every single one of them. “Holy shit, that’s incredible!” I exclaimed. “Yeah, it was…” she uttered solemnly, looking down and sniffing. “Hey.” I spoke firmly, “It’ll come back.” “You don’t know that.” “Yes I do.” Reaching forward to cup her cheek, I locked eyes with her and told her that even if her magic didn’t come back naturally, there was no doubt in my mind that the Princess would know how to restore her abilities upon returning to Equestria. Shrugging, she tried her best to believe that. Moving my hand upwards, I slowly traced a finger up the spirals of her horn, while telling her that she was the most incredible unicorn that had ever been. “You will get your magic back.” I told her, “Be it tomorrow, or years from now, it will happen.” Shivering at my touch, she closed her eyes and took in my words. With a nod, she perked up slightly and carried on nibbling away at her pizza. “I’m going to get some sleep now, okay?” I said, yawning. “Alright, but can I wake you if I need you?” “Of course you can.” Smiling, she put her hooves around me for a quick hug, before I rolled over and got myself comfortable. Uttering my usual goodnight to her, I couldn’t help but smirk as her reply came to me in the form of a muffled munching, with her entire left cheek stuffed with pizza. “Goo-might Cuhr.” Upon the first light of the day, I was rudely woken by a blunt pain in my ankle. Rolling over, I found Twilight asleep beside me, but it was far from peaceful. The poor girl was twitching and kicking out, and her face was strained, and her cheeks wet with tears; another Spooky. “Oh Twi…” I groaned. Giving my head a shake to properly wake up, I pulled her towards me and spoke softly to her, letting her know that she was safe, and that I was close by. Hearing my voice but still trapped in the night terror, the mare damn-near broke my heart, as she started reaching out and whimpering my name, desperately trying to find me. “I’m here, I’m here.” I cooed into her ear, “I’ve got you.” With a gentle nudge, her eyes shot open. Gasping repeatedly, she latched onto me and buried her face into my chest. Pressing my fingertips into her back and lightly kneading, I was able to relax her, and as per the usual outcome of these Spookies, she wept for a while. Once she had settled, we went downstairs for an early breakfast, and for some much-needed coffee. We watched the sun rise together, and as we sipped away at the morning brew, I noticed her once again enacting patterns of four. After every four sips, she would lightly tap her mug four times with the tip of her hoof, before taking another four sips. With no one else awake yet, I finally plucked up the courage to ask about it. “Twi, what are you doing exactly?” Gulping, she looked down into her coffee and refused to make eye contact. After a few seconds, she told me that it was nothing. “Cut the bullshit.” I ordered, “What’s going on?” “I…” she began, swallowing, “It’s dumb.” “Twilight, it’s me.” Sighing heavily, she looked back to face me, and at last divulged as to what was happening. “I can’t really explain, but if I don’t do it, he’s going to find us.” “Him, you mean?” Shuddering, she nodded, and I asked her to elaborate. “I keep getting these thoughts, little flashes in my mind…” she told me, straining her brow, “Flashes of him finding us, torturing us, killing us…” Pausing to take a sharp breath, she clamped her eyes shut, and then took four small sips of her coffee. “I’m having them right now, and they’re going to come true, if I don’t do it.” “Do what?” I pressed gently, “Stuff in fours?” “Yeah.” she murmured, her eyes welling up again, “It’s like, my brain is literally telling me, if I don’t tap this mug four times, he’s going to skin me alive.” “Blimey…” I whispered, “Twilight, that’s not going to happen.” “But it will, if I don’t do it!” she insisted. Taking the mug from her, I put it down by my feet and then rested my palm on one of her front hooves. After taking a second to inhale and gather my words, I told her with the upmost kindness that she was beginning to lose her grip on reality. “We’re safe, okay?” I said with a degree of sternness, “We’re miles away from him now, and we’ll be leaving the country soon. There isn’t a hope in hell that he’ll ever find us, and your brain, phenomenal as it is, cannot change that fact, alright?” “But, it feels so real in my head.” she protested, “I know it doesn’t make any logical sense, but I can’t stop thinking about it. No matter what I say to myself, the voice in my head is so much louder, telling me over and over that all the horrible stuff I keep thinking about is going to come true! The only way I can make it stop is by listening to these urges to do things in fours!” “Oh jeez…” I muttered, putting down my own mug, “Twi, I think you’re developing OCD.” “What?” she asked nervously, “Wh-What’s OCD?” “You don’t have this in Equestria?” I asked, narrowing my eyes, “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?” Shaking her head, she claimed to have never heard of it, and so I explained. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder was a mental and behavioural disorder, in which one would routinely suffer from unwanted and unpleasant intrusive thoughts. These thoughts could be unrelenting at times, and bring on crippling levels of distress. The only alleviation from them would be to act on repetitive behaviours, called compulsions. This could range from excessive cleaning, to repeatedly checking if doors and windows were closed, to performing actions in multiples. “There was a kid at school who had it.” I told her, “He was called Miles, and he genuinely couldn’t leave a classroom without zipping and unzipping his pencil case five times. It was always five, it had to be five, otherwise he was going to fail his exams. That was what he said. Sound familiar?” Staring at me with wide eyes, the unicorn swallowed. “Um, everything you just said, describes what I’ve dealt with… my whole life.” Still staring at me, she beckoned for her coffee, which I passed to her. After taking a big sip, she explained that ever since she was little, she had been terrorised by thoughts of bad things happening, which she could prevent by obeying the compulsions in her head. Before I could say anything, she sprang into giving me examples. “Okay so, I feel the need to clean the library and reorganise the books four times every month, which I always do on a Thursday, because it’s the fourth day of the week. And, whenever I don’t do it, I feel like something awful’s going to happen, like I’m going to choke on my food and die or something. Oh, and when I was little, I couldn’t go to sleep until somepony told me that I was going to be alright.” Practically necking the rest of her coffee, Twilight explained that the number four had always felt safe to her, and if she was ever stressed or scared, patterns of four could comfort her. Adding to that, she expressed how terribly anxious she was about time; the very notion of being behind schedule horrified her, and was one of the main catalysts for her intrusive thoughts. Casting my mind to the cartoon, I thought about her obsession with checklists, and avoiding tardiness. Slowly but surely, it all started to make sense… Thinking directly to one particular episode, I recalled how Twilight had once been so obsessed with getting a letter to the Princess on time, that it had driven her to the point of madness. The letter in question needed to cover a resolved friendship problem, and without one at hand, she went to the extent of creating one just to solve it. While I didn’t know how closely that episode represented true events, it was certainly enough to add to my conclusion. “Oh Twilight…” I tutted, shaking my head, “You’re not developing OCD, you have OCD!” Cursing under her breath, she admitted that I may have been right. “Wait, n-no…” she stammered, blinking rapidly and shaking her head, “Self-diagnosis is seldom correct, especially for hypochondriacs, of which I am. I need to speak to a doctor when I go home and get a professional opinion.” “If it doesn’t exist in Equestria, how are you going to get diagnosed with it?” I pointed out, “Look, I’m no professional, but I’ve seen OCD with my own eyes, and I know its symptoms, and you’ve just described to me a very clear-cut case of it.” “But how?” she argued, “How can I have a condition that doesn’t even exist in my world!?” “Well obviously, it exists.” I retorted, “It’s just not something that’s been documented enough in Equestria to warrant a name and diagnosis, which baffles me honestly, with how seriously you responded to me having depression.” Clenching her jaw, Twilight conceded with great reluctance that I wasn’t wrong, and that she may as well accept the reality of the situation; she had OCD. Hanging her head with a sense of dismay, she professed that her obsessive behaviours now made a lot more sense, and that it confirmed her inner fears that she wasn’t normal. I was about to speak, when she whipped up to look at me. “Is there like, a cure? Treatment for it? Can it go away?” The desperation in her eyes brought a pang of agony to my soul, because I knew exactly what she was feeling. Being autistic, I knew all too well what it meant to be born different. I had wondered for years if my abnormal brain could be corrected, if there was some drug or surgery that could fix me. “It doesn’t work like that.” I breathed with a touch of remorse, “Aside from antidepressants, or some behavioural therapy, it’s just something you have to learn to manage.” After a moment of silence, Twilight sniffed loudly, visibly angry at her predicament. She then requested another cup of coffee, and I went to retrieve the pot from the kitchen, as it still contained a few cups’ worth. We continued to speak at length about the condition, and I was able to slowly convince her that she wasn’t broken, or worth any less. “Don’t forget, I’m different too.” I told her, giving a weak smile. “I know…” she replied, before exhaling sharply through her nose, smiling, “You know, for what it’s worth, I actually like you the way you are.” With a sheepish grin, I thanked her, and said that it wasn’t all bad being a little wonky, especially now that it meant we were a little more the same. Thankfully taking that as a compliment, the unicorn flopped into my lap and released a heavy breath. She remained quiet for a while, deep in wistful thought, before she finally spoke up again. “How can I beat this, Callum?” she sighed, pressing the side of her head against my body, “I don’t want it to have this much power over me.” Humming, I thoughtfully moved my mouth to one side, holding her a little closer as I did so. “Well…” I started, “It’s obvious that the other night made it worse, much worse. It’s like you’ve picked up trauma-induced OCD on top of your regular one, if that’s even a thing. The thought of him being close by, in the flesh, is sending that noggin of yours into overdrive.” Wincing at the very suggestion of Nah’Lek’s presence, Twilight shifted with unease, almost dropping her coffee as she did so. Taking the mug from her until she was ready to hold it again, I went on to speculate that this revelation could serve as a tool for her. “From now on,” I began, “when you get those horrible thoughts and your brain starts telling you shit, try to remember this conversation. You know now, indisputably, that this is a mental affliction. It’s quite literally all in your head, and for as special as you are, you’re not special enough to actively worry things into existence. That smart little brain of yours needs to acknowledge that fact.” Repositioning myself so that I could properly cradle her in my lap, I continued. “You’re a bit messed up in the head, I’m afraid, but that doesn’t make you bad. Once you accept the things that are so-called ‘wrong’ with you, and you make peace with them, they can no longer be used against you. This isn’t something you can cure, Twilight, but it is something you can control.” After a moment of thought, she looked into my eyes and strained her brow. “Promise?” Smirking, I answered by asking her if she had ever seen me have a screaming fit, or smack my head repeatedly against a wall while having a meltdown in front of everyone. Giggling at the thought, she confirmed that she hadn’t. “That’s because I’m in control of my autism.” I told her, “Over time, I became more aware of my own behaviour. It took a while, granted. But with time, I learned that the way I was behaving wasn’t acceptable, and that I needed to take a long hard look at myself, and get a bloody grip.” “So, you’re basically telling me to get a bloody grip?” she asked, mocking my accent. “I mean, it’s not exactly the same, but you do need to try and ground yourself in reality.” I said, giving a sincere expression, “You’ve been through enough already, you don’t deserve more torture, especially not from yourself.” With her ears drooping, she said that she would try her best, and we decided to leave things there. After finishing our coffee, we cuddled on the sofa until the others were up and awake, and after they'd all had their breakfast, we got onto the bus and embarked on the next leg of our journey. Although Twilight’s tapping did continue, I noticed a few instances where she stopped herself, closing her eyes and silently telling herself to remain logical. For the whole trip, she wrestled with her brain for dominance, and over time, it seemed like she was winning. It helped that she wasn’t quite so tired, we all noticed that she wasn’t quite so snappy today; it was no secret by now that she struggled more when she hadn’t slept. As the hours went by on the road, the lot of us had mountains of conversation, and Rommel really started to blend in with our dynamic. At first, he had just sat back and listened in, but by the time we reached the next stop in Colorado, he was nattering away with us as though he had been a part of the group for weeks. It was clear that he had gravitated mostly to Applejack, of whom I knew was his favourite pony in the show, so it made sense. On a more sombre note, it seemed as though Rainbow Dash was more in need of support for once, as for the whole drive she appeared to be on the cusp of blowing a gasket. Every so often, she could be seen frowning and wiggling her jaw with irritation. Being sat next to her, I could even hear her grinding her teeth. Nobody made any comments, but we were all well aware that she was pent-up. We went indoors, and unlike the last place, the fridge and freezer were stocked up with goodies, there were ice creams, microwave meals, plenty of milk, and a couple bottles of prosecco. “We have alcohol!” I announced, shutting the fridge door. Much to my amusement, the girls cheered from the living room, and I went in to join them as we continued exploring the house. The bedrooms were a little smaller, but still more than adequate for us. Once we had chosen our rooms and were all settled in, we sat around and watched some TV, until we were all startled out of our wits by a knocking at the door. Everyone sprang up, with Fluttershy almost hitting the bloody ceiling. “What do we do!?” she squeaked fearfully. Ordering the girls to hide upstairs, I prepared myself for anything. That was when Josh emitted a gasp, as though he had just remembered something, which as it happened, he had. “Oh, that’ll be my order!” Whipping around to look at him, I glared intensely. “What?” Ignoring me, he went to the living room window and looked outside. “Yup, that’s my order!” Grinning, he skipped merrily to the front door and opened it, where he heartily greeted the mysterious knocker. Rommel and I zipped over to the window and realised that it was just a delivery driver, and in the driveway, was a dark blue truck with the Amazon logo on it. Puffing with relief, I shook my head and pursed my lips. What on Earth had Josh gone and done? Once the front door closed and the driver was back in his truck, I stormed into the entryway, where I found Josh surrounded by parcels and boxes. “Care to tell us what the bloody hell’s going on here?” I demanded, folding my arms. Looking up from all the cardboard, he gave me a sheepish grin. “Well you see, after you booked this place, I took the address, and I may have made a few little online purchases…” Opening up one of the boxes, he unveiled a collection of romance novels, some of which I recognised the titles of, namely The Princess Bride, the Fifty Shades trilogy, and The Fault in Our Stars. “Before you ask, they’re not for me!” Josh insisted, before leaning into a whisper, “They’re for Rarity.” Dropping my shoulders and exhaling, I realised exactly what was going on here, and my previous state of alarm and anger completely dissipated. “Josh…” “I wanted everyone to have something to remember me by.” he cut in, “So with tomorrow being our last full day together, I thought I’d get some surprise gifts for everyone.” “Dude, that’s so kind of you.” said Mel, tilting his head. Coming forward to hug him, I told Josh that he really hadn’t needed to do this, but it was incredibly sweet of him all the same. Rommel helped him smuggle the gifts onto the bus, while I went upstairs to assure the girls that we were totally safe, and that it was a false alarm. “Then who was at the door?” asked Twilight. “Just a postman.” I told her, which was technically true. We came back downstairs and slowly relaxed again, and just as the day before, we used the host’s Netflix to watch a film with dinner. Settling on How to Train Your Dragon, we tucked into the microwave meals and washed it down with prosecco. After that, a handful of us decided to take advantage of the pool. Mel and Josh chose not to partake as they lacked swimming trunks, and although I did as well, I was more than comfortable just swimming in my underwear. Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash all hopped in, and although Twilight was too sleepy to swim at this point, she happily sat by the water’s edge. Fluttershy and Rarity weren’t in the mood for getting wet, and so they elected to stay indoors and watch TV with the guys. “So, how are you guys finding Rommel?” I asked, floating on my back. “Ooh, I like him, he’s nice!” Pinkie squeaked. “You think everyone is nice.” Rainbow teased, splashing water at her. “Nuh-uh!” she protested, splashing back, “There have been some real meanies on this trip!” Rolling her eyes with amusement, Applejack joined in the conversation to admit that Mel was a fine addition to the group, and that his straightforward and no-nonsense demeanour was awfully refreshing. “Am I not straightforward?” I quizzed, spinning around in the water to face her. “Not always.” she laughed, “You’re honest, for sure, but you take a while to get to the point. But that Mel? His words are as blunt as the broadside of a barn door, and I like that.” “I second that.” Rainbow chipped in, snickering, “You can turn small-talk into a whole dang essay, dude.” “Oh… do I?” I murmured, my mirthful demeanour dropping almost immediately. Realising that she had upset me, Dashie swam over and assured me that it wasn’t a bad thing. “Well you made it sound like a bad thing.” I retorted quietly. “It ain’t!” Applejack insisted, “We just mean that with Mel being new and all, it’s nice to know exactly where we stand with him. He’s nice and direct, you know?” Exhaling through my nose and raising my chin, I turned my head away. “Hmph, fair enough.” Knowing that I was being playful, Dashie rolled her eyes and splashed some water at me. I looked over to Twilight and realised that she was falling asleep sitting up again. Rainbow noticed too, and I immediately spotted the devious look in her eye. “Don’t.” I warned her before she could splash, “You know she doesn’t need that right now.” “Ugh, you’re no fun.” Huffing with amusement, I swam over and gently roused the unicorn, instructing her to take herself off to bed. Yawning, she obeyed and stumbled indoors and up to our room. With the rest of us still enjoying ourselves, we remained in the pool, floating around listlessly as we reminisced on our adventure. As time went on however, I noticed Rainbow getting more and more bothered again, to the point where she was aggressively doing laps in the pool without even realising it. “You alright there, Sugarcube?” AJ chuckled. “Fine, why?” she spoke back angrily. “Because you’re about to turn this pool into a bloody maelstrom!” I laughed. “Yeah Dashie!” Pinkie chipped in, “You’re getting all frowny!” “I said I’m fine!” she barked, before stopping mid-paddle to glare at us, “Gee, it’s not like my dad’s gone off to blow up some runes that’ll summon that… that… thing! What if it gets him? What if it gets in his head and stuff, like he did to you and Twilight?” she blurted out, pointing a hoof at me. Emitting an empathetic sigh, Applejack swam over and put a foreleg around the back of the pegasus’ neck. “Oh hun, you’re still this worried about him?” “Uh, duh!?” she drawled loudly, sticking her tongue out as she did so. Smacking the water with a hoof, she lamented over the fact that she had never wanted Alex to go through with his plan, and that we had all agreed to it so hastily, without a shred of care for his safety. Copying Applejack’s approach, Pinkie swam over and tried to comfort Rainbow with a big hug, only to be shaken off. Crossing my arms, I reminded her of what I had told her yesterday, that Alex wasn’t stupid. Giving her a warm smile, I assured her that he would be careful, and that he was going to be absolutely fine. Shaking her head defiantly, Rainbow Dash bared her teeth. “I really want to believe that, but I’m just so worried about him!” “I know, Sugarcube, I know.” Applejack cooed, giving the pegasus a nudge, “I don’t think it helps that we’ve been on the bus for so long, and now we’re stuck in and around this here house. You’re an active gal even on a slow day, you must be going stir-crazy!” “Exactly!” Rainbow exclaimed, throwing her hooves into the air and showering us with water, “When I get stressed, I need to be doing something! Sitting around with nothing to do just makes it a million times worse. I’m up to my ears in stress and there’s nothing I can do to get rid of it!” Letting out an angry grunt, the pegasus hit the water once more. Still frowning bitterly, she looked over to me, and after a few seconds of staring at my face, a new expression began to form. Still glaring with questionably hostile intent, the corners of her lips slowly began to raise, and I gulped. “Uh, why are you looking at me like that?” Choosing not to answer, she paddled over to me and started forcefully shoving me towards the steps at the shallow end. “Out the pool,” she ordered, “right now!” Confused and bewildered, I did as she said. We clambered out together and she shook herself like a dog, sending water in all directions. Then without warning, she gripped my wrist with one of her wings and marched me back towards the house. “You’re coming with me!” she growled, her tone rife with authority. “Wh-Where are we going?” “To have sex!” “Err, wha… I… uh… um… o-okay!” I bleated, my voice cracking. Without giving me a chance to look back at Pinkie and AJ, Rainbow opened the door to the house and shoved me inside, not caring in the slightest that we were still dripping wet from the pool. As we passed through the living room, Rommel asked if something was wrong, noting the contorted expression of fear and excitement on my face. “Nothing’s wrong, can’t talk, busy!” Rainbow Dash shouted, headbutting me in the back, “Keep moving!” I was shoved out of the room and up the stairs before I could say anything, and once we were in Rainbow’s bedroom, she slammed the door shut, hard enough to make the house shake. “S-So um, I…” I stuttered, raising a finger, “I thought this was something we weren’t doing anym-” Silenced by her lips, she kissed me, and then pushed me onto the bed. Pouncing on top of me, her feral eyes gleamed with ravenous intent. With her gritted teeth on full display, she made her stance on our previous agreement very clear, seizing my soaking wet boxers with one of her hooves. “Take… these… off…” Staring at the ceiling, we lay there on the bed, still out of breath and drenched in sweat. With a gulp, I slowly raised the damp sheets to cover myself. “So that was, uh…” I trailed off, clearing my throat. “Yeah…” Rainbow exhaled loudly. “I wasn’t erm, prepared… for things to get that rough.” “Heh, I didn’t even know I could be that rough.” she replied, chuckling, “Sorry I bit you so hard.” Upon her mentioning it, the dark reddish-purple bruise on my lower neck throbbed with a blunt pain. Clearing my throat for a second time, I told her it was fine. Rolling over to face her, we studied each other’s faces for a few seconds, before breaking into a fit of snickers and laughs. “I really didn’t think we were going to be doing this again.” I wheezed, shaking my head from side to side. “Me neither.” she replied with a sheepish grin, “I don’t know what came over me. I was just so stressed, and you were floating there in your underwear, and my body kind of, took over.” “Well, feel less stressed now?” I inquired, pulling a face. She nodded enthusiastically, and we continued to laugh for a while, before realising just how bad the state of the bed was. It was soaked down to the mattress protector, and although it was mainly just water from the pool, there was also a lot of sweat; we had been going at it for quite some time… “We can’t leave the bed like this.” I muttered, still chortling, “We need to strip it all down and put it through the washing machine.” “Where are we going to sleep then?” Humming, I suggested that with this being an Airbnb, there were probably some spare sheets in the airing cupboard. At the mention of us sleeping together, I found myself struck by a wave of confusion. Despite how great this had been, it had been a long old time now since Rainbow and I had slept together, and now that I had assigned myself to looking after Twilight, I admittedly felt quite torn. If I ditched Rainbow now after having just, well… it wouldn’t be very fair on her. To do so would run the risk of coming across like I was only interested in her body, without a care for her company as a friend. But on the flip-side, I didn’t want Twilight to wake up alone and worry about where I might be. {And what if she has a Spooky?} I thought. No, I was overthinking this. For as much as Twilight needed me, she wasn’t a child, she was more than capable of surviving a night without me, just as she had done during my night with Phoenix back in Ocean City. Tonight, I would stay with Rainbow Dash, and that was final. With my inner conflict concluded, I put an arm around the pegasus and gave a roguish smile, and she in turn pressed up against me. We took a few more moments to revel in our lascivious antics, before we stripped down the bedding, giggling to ourselves all the while. Noting how sweaty we still were, we made a quick trip to the bathroom in order to rinse off in the shower together. After getting dry, I realised that all my clean clothes were still in my room, where Twilight was currently sleeping. Refusing to go downstairs without anything on, I temporarily slipped back into my soggy boxers and crept into the room, where I found the mare still sound asleep on the bed. I retrieved my backpack and made an attempt to sneak back out, which was when the unicorn opened an eye. “Callum?” she mumbled groggily, “That you?” “Yeah, just grabbing my bag.” I whispered, “Go back to sleep.” “Mmn, okay… You coming to bed soon?” I froze on the spot, not quite ready to profess that I was sleeping with Rainbow again. Rapidly thinking up something to say, I told her that I was feeling restless, and probably wouldn’t be coming to bed. Giving a sleepy grunt of understanding, she curled up and went back to sleep. With a gulp, I took my bag back to Rainbow’s room and shut the door, quickly slipping off my wet undies and changing into some dry clothing. Dashie and I then took our damp bedding and made our way downstairs. Upon entering the living room, we found everyone bunched up on the sofas, watching TV. They all looked at us in unison, and I could genuinely feel the blood rushing to my face as I became flushed with embarrassment. Our journey to the washing machine became that of a walk of shame, or at least, it did for me; Rainbow Dash on the other hand raised her chin and smugly strutted into the room with a great sense of pride. “Good evening, you two.” Rarity sang, fighting to retain a straight face, “I trust you’re both well?” “Yeah, just grand, thanks.” I replied hastily, only glancing at her momentarily. The piercing stares from all six individuals had me passing through the room very swiftly, with Rainbow Dash scampering along behind me, unable to hide her devilish delight in our little scandal. After bunging everything into the washing machine and setting it on a cycle, I re-entered the room, where I was yet again pelted with intense looks. Unable to resist, Rarity raised a hoof and pointed towards the kitchen, doing everything in her power to remain composed. “There’s ice cream left in the freezer, if either of you need to… cool off?” “And water, if you’re feeling dehydrated.” Applejack added. Tightening my lips with annoyance, I frowned at them and remained silent. “You know, I am kind of thirsty.” Rainbow Dash piped up, grinning from ear to ear, “Thanks guys!” We went into the kitchen together, where we both necked a pint of water, exchanging amused glances all the while. I then opened up the freezer and found the ice creams; they were called Drumsticks, and reminded me an awful lot of Cornettos, of which were a personal favourite of mine. Helping Dashie to unwrap her one, we went back to the living room and sat down on one of the sofas beside Pinkie Pie. “So…” I began awkwardly, gesturing to the TV, “What have you guys been watching?” Still looking at me funnily, Josh explained that they had all been taking turns to change channels, letting each pony select a different show of their preference. It was then that Rarity cupped her mouth with her hooves, finally unable to contain herself. With her eyes flittering between me and Rainbow, her lips formed into a tightly pursed smile. “So, in other words…” she began, lightly convulsing with suppressed laughter, “You could say we’ve been going… repeatedly back and forth for a while.” She burst into a loud giggle, and everyone else joined in as well, including Rainbow Dash. They released an array of titters and cackles, while I huffed loudly with annoyance, far less amused at the ongoing humiliation. “Okay, I get it.” I droned, rolling my eyes, “Har har, two grown-ups did grown-up things, very funny!” “We’re just poking fun!” Applejack said dismissively, batting a hoof in my direction. “Yeah, well forgive me for thinking we had left these jokes behind in Portugal.” I grunted. “Wait, you two have been boning since then!?” Josh exclaimed, his mouth falling open. With a dumbfounded expression, Pinkie Pie whipped around and looked at us with a gasp. “Ohh, so that’s what you two were doing up there…” After taking a second to process the information, her face became contorted with disgust. “Ew.” Ignoring her, I explained to Josh that it had been an on-and-off thing, which had stopped immediately after Rainbow had recovered her memories of Alex and her time here on Earth. Boldly joining in on the fun, Fluttershy made a quip of her own. “Well that certainly isn’t the case anymore!” If it were anyone else, I would have been angry, but the comment coming from Fluttershy was enough to break away my defensive shell, and after releasing a weighty huff, I finally joined in on the banter. “Zip it, Shy.” I warned, pointing at her, “I’ve acquired a taste for pegasus.” Applejack and Rainbow burst into laughter, while Pinkie gave a much louder, whinier ‘ewww!’ and shoved me away from her. Shocked by the insinuation of my threat, all the others looked at me with a mortified stare, while Fluttershy receded into her mane, now blushing like a beetroot. Noting the piercing glare from Rarity, I insisted that I was just joking, and she let me off the hook, tutting loudly. “So, are you two a thing then?” Rommel asked, shrugging, “Like, are you dating or something?” “Oh heck no!” Rainbow laughed, “I don’t do dating.” Draping a wing over my shoulder, she declared that we were strictly friends, but just as our time in Portugal had been, tonight was simply a bit of consensual fooling around between two adults. “Oh, that was consensual, was it?” Rarity inquired, raising her eyebrows, “With the way you shoved the boy through here and up the stairs, I wasn’t sure if he had a choice in the matter.” “I didn’t.” I uttered dryly, causing everyone to laugh. Apologising a second time for being so belligerent with me, Rainbow Dash chuckled and said that I could have tapped out at any time if I really needed to. Without missing a beat, Rommel leaned forward and smirked. “You know, this takes horseplay to a whole new level.” “Ha!” I bellowed, pointing at him and then clapping my hands together. The room was met with a confused silence, and I had to explain to the girls what ‘horseplay’ meant. Thankfully they then joined in on the laughs, and we then finally began to move on from the situation, quite ironically putting the subject to bed, as it were… With it being Fluttershy’s turn to select a channel on the TV, we sat through one of Sir David Attenborough’s nature documentaries, and then headed off to bed. Rainbow and I collected some spare bedding from the airing cupboard, and after bidding the others goodnight, we departed to her room. “Well that was bloody awkward.” I moaned after shutting the door. “Oh quit whining.” Rainbow teased back, “It was funny as heck and you know it.” Blowing a raspberry at her, I got to putting the fitted sheet on, while she put on the pillowcases. After switching off the light and getting undressed, I hopped into bed. She did the same, and was quick to nestle against me. We talked for a while before she eventually rolled over to let me spoon her. A fair few minutes went by, and for whatever reason, I started feeling more and more haunted by a sense of unease. Try as I might, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that I wasn’t supposed to be here, as though I were meant to be somewhere else. Sensing the malaise, Rainbow asked if I was okay, briefly snapping me out of it. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I murmured, not wanting to get into it. “If you say so.” she hummed, “Oh, can you hold me a little lower? Your arm’s squishing my wing.” “Oh, sorry.” I obeyed her command and moved my hand down her belly, and then immediately recoiled it upon accidentally reaching a little too far down. “It’s okay, dude, you can touch those.” she assured me with a giggle, “I’m fair game, remember?” Taking my hand with both of her hooves, Rainbow slowly moved it back, causing me to gulp. I allowed her to guide me, until she began emitting soft, satisfied groans, evidently loving what human hands were capable of. However, even in spite of what we did earlier, I still couldn’t escape the looming guilt. It was like I was going to get in trouble for this somehow. I spent a good while in this befuddled state, half-fondling, and half-warring with myself, until Rainbow eventually stopped me. “Callum, what’s going on?” “I don’t know.” I told her honestly, “I’m just a bit stressed too, you know? I’m more in my head than anywhere else right now, it’s like a hurricane in there. I’m sorry, I just… I can’t focus.” Rolling over to face me, the pegasus smiled, which I could only just perceive in the low light. “It’s all good, I totally get it.” Gently nudging me onto my back, Rainbow Dash began to clamber on top of me, and despite us being cloaked in darkness, her intentions were as clear as day. “Err, Rainbow… I just said I can’t focus. Not sure I’m going to be much good at whatever you’re thinking.” The nigh-imperceptible glaze of her eyes flashed with impish delight, and she leaned forward to whisper into my ear, lightly nibbling at the lobe as she did so. “Oh, you’re not going to have to focus for this…” Lowering herself down, she kissed me, far softer than her usual, untamed manner. She then planted more kisses down my body, until she eventually disappeared under the covers, where she hissed deviously. “Now then… how about I give you a real apology for being so rough earlier?” There was a moment of silence, before a new sensation suddenly had my eyes nearly bulging from their sockets. Tightly clasping the bedsheets, I let out the faintest, daintiest, most high-pitched sound I had ever made. “Meep!”