Sitting down between Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, I grinned excitedly as Rarity levitated a paper bag over to me, along with a small wooden skewer. To the best of my memory, the last time I'd eaten a marshmallow was around six years ago on a camping trip with my dad, back before everything had gone to shit. Remembering that fact helped me to really appreciate this moment; I retrieved a white marshmallow from the bag and passed the skewer through it, and then shuffled closer to the fire to roast it. The girls watched intently at my hands as I used my fingers to consistently rotate the skewer, ensuring the heat was evenly distributed. Attempt number one was a grand success; crisp and brown all the way around.
“Nice one!” Rainbow Dash praised.
“Heh, thanks.” I replied merrily, popping it into my mouth.
My senses were immediately flooded with the treat's warmth and sweet crispy goodness, perfectly complimented by the foamy consistency inside. I let out a delighted hum as I was transported away to merrier memories of happier times. Then it dawned on me, these marshmallows had come from Equestria; I was eating Equestrian food, hoofmade by Equestrian cooks, most likely produced by Mister and Missus Cake from Sugarcube Corner.
“Oh muh gud, this thastes so uhmazing!” I moaned, my mouth still full.
The ponies giggled, and Pinkie then proceeded to jam four marshmallows into her mouth at once. I looked around and it dawned on me that Twilight was nowhere to be seen, and I guessed that she was lurking in one of the tents.
“Glad you like 'em, do you have marshmallows on this planet?" Applejack quizzed, eating a marshmallow of her own.
I swallowed before I confirmed that we did, elaborating that I hadn’t had one in a good six years, so alongside such a delicious taste, I was also feeling rather nostalgic. At that, Pinkie Pie cried out in surprise, firing half-eaten marshmallows at me like a cannon.
“Six years? You went SIX YEARS without eating any marshmallows!?”
Laughing awkwardly, I brushed off the sticky gloop that had stuck to my shoulder, all the while explaining that it had been during a camping trip with my dad, back when he still lived with us. Rarity's horn lit up and another marshmallow floated out of the bag, to which she punctured it with her own skewer and began to roast it.
“Funny you should mention your father, that’s something we’ve been wondering about..."
"Oh?"
"Well, I hope you don't mind me asking, but since getting here and observing you from afar, we've not seen or heard anything concerning your father. Obviously none of us have wanted to presume anything, but I'd be lying if I said we haven't been a little curious of your family dynamic.”
Admitting that it was a perfectly fair curiosity to have, I shrugged and took a deep breath. It wasn't easy to find the right words to describe my father, nor the ruinous decisions he had made. I anxiously rubbed the back of my neck, as I briefly explained the situation that had befallen my family.
“For the most part, he was a genuinely good dad. He loved Oliver and I dearly, and had all the time in the world for us. Despite how things are now, there was a time where things were actually pretty good, we were a happy family, because my dad held everything together. He was a good man, and even to this day, I believe his intentions were always good."
"He sounds lovely." Fluttershy hummed.
"So, what happened? Where is he now?" Rainbow Dash asked.
“Look, I'd rather not get into it too much. The short version is, he gambled away a load of money and almost left us in financial ruin. My mum kicked him out, and I've never heard from him since. He never tried to come back, not even to apologise. I figure that he probably decided we were all better off without him, and so he took off for good. I haven't a clue where he is now, and these days, I don't really care either... Anyway, as I said, I'd really rather not talk about it too much, so I'd appreciate if we could just leave it at that.”
"Of course, darling. But thank you for elucidating us for as much as you did, I'd like to think we all understand you a little better now." Rarity spoke softly, dipping her head to me in respect.
"I appreciate that.” I replied with a weak smile.
“Hey, let’s play a game!” Pinkie suggested, trying to lighten the mood.
Rainbow Dash agreed, muttering that it was about time that we did something besides trudging around for miles, and hiding from the police.
“And fallin’ from trees.” Applejack added, chuckling.
Just as she said that, Rarity jumped up and quickly trotted over to one of the tents.
“Oh, I’m so glad you mentioned that Applejack. I completely forgot that we needed to put some Oozima onto that cut on your leg, Callum!”
Using her magic, the white unicorn levitated Fluttershy's bag out of the tent and opened it up, retrieving a strange wooden bottle of sorts. It looked awfully primitive at first, but as Rarity brought it closer I noticed many intricate patterns engraved into it; still, it had a very tribal look to it. Upon removing the cap, my nose was immediately bombarded by the hefty aroma of various chemicals and herbs, my mouth began to water, as it often did when my nose detected something with strong spices involved. Somehow the concoction smelled sour, sweet, salty, bitter, minty, and hot all at once.
“Did you have to open it out here, why not in your tent?” Rainbow Dash coughed.
Rarity ignored Dash and walked over to Fluttershy and passed the bottle to her.
“Fluttershy's doing it?” I quizzed.
At that, Rarity giggled.
“Darling, I’m a fashion designer. I don’t know the first thing about applying salves and ointments to wounds. Fluttershy here on the other hoof, has taken a two-year course in nursing, and used to have a part-time job at the Ponyville hospital.”
“Wow!” I exclaimed, “The more you know…”
Fluttershy approached me and gestured for me to show her my injured leg, I obeyed and lay on my side so she could get at my calf easier.
“Hey Callum, I dare you to take a great big whiff from the bottle.” Rainbow Dash challenged.
“Oh don’t be so silly Dashie! Remember what happened when you got Twilight to do it?” Fluttershy scolded, frowning.
“Yeah, it was hilarious! She didn’t talk to me for like a week!” Dash laughed.
Now that Dash had mentioned Twilight, I couldn't help but realise that she still hadn't come out to join us; that misery guts must still have been sulking in one of the tents. I pursed my lips and sighed through my nose.
"I can already smell it from here, so I'm guessing it's not the nicest experience?"
Choosing not to elaborate, Rainbow Dash simply grinned and said I'd forever be deemed a scaredy cat if I didn't do it, and much to Fluttershy's reluctance, I took the bait. I’d never backed down from a dare, and I never would. Not that I was arrogant, but as soon as the word 'dare' was involved, I simply couldn't back away from the temptation of doing something that I'd otherwise, not do. Needless to say, this had landed me in a fair bit of trouble and injury throughout the years. With a combination of school peers, my brother, and my short time in the local Scouts group, I’ve performed many a dare; I've told strangers on the street that I loved them, I've eaten spiders and other insects, I'd even cartwheeled off the side of the Scout Hut while yodelling, which was by far my most dangerous dare that almost resulted in me breaking my legs. My most outlandish dare involved me stripping down naked and running across a football pitch during a match, however the worst dare I've ever had to do, was to suck someone's big toe, and it was utterly disgusting.
Ugh... I would never forget that accursed flavour...
To cut a long story short, if Rainbow Dash was into dares, this adventure was going to become a whole lot more interesting.
“Challenge accepted!”
I seized the wooden bottle from Fluttershy and jammed my nose into the opening, before inhaling deeply. It was in this moment that I immediately regretted ever being into dares, as I endured one of the worst physical experiences I could have possibly imagined. Bursting into the most abhorrent of splutters and gasps, I collapsed onto my side and clawed at the ground in agony; Fluttershy took back the container and sighed heavily with shameful pity for me. It genuinely felt like someone had funnelled gasoline into my nostrils and then set light to it with a blowtorch. My throat almost completely closed up and my eyes had become a cascading waterfall in mere seconds.
“IT BURNS! IT BURNS US!” I screeched, hissing and spitting everywhere.
Although I was in complete agony, I had asked for this, and totally deserved it. Rainbow Dash and Applejack roared with laughter, which I could just about hear over my own wails of despair, even Rarity was chuckling at the spectacle. The pain only got worse as it spread to my mouth; it felt like I had just chewed an entire handful of Carolina Reapers, I continued to splutter and cry as my tongue lolled out of my mouth, dribbling everywhere.
“This is better than when Twilight did it! You put your nose right in there!” Rainbow Dash yowled, tears streaming down her face.
She fell onto the floor and continued to laugh; Applejack was also in bits with laughter, while Rarity slowly began to sympathise with me, realising just how much pain I was in.
“Will somepony get the poor boy some water!” she giggled.
“Paaaain…” I groaned loudly.
Applejack, still chortling loudly, got up and headed into one of the tents; she shortly emerged again with her personal canteen, which she offered to me. I sat up and grabbed the water without saying a word, unscrewing the cap and latching on like a suckling babe, I nearly chugged the entire bottle. Thankfully, the fumes in my airways began to dissipate and I flopped back onto the ground, gasping with relief. A few moments later, Rainbow Dash came over to me with a massive grin upon her face.
“Dude, that's made my whole damn week.”
“I no longer like you...” I groaned pathetically.
Fluttershy walked over as well, the bottle of foul gel still in her grasp.
“Can we actually put this on your leg now?”
I leaned back and stretched my leg out once more so Fluttershy could get to the injury; she turned the bottle onto its side and allowed some of the thick goo to ooze out onto her hoof.
“Now, this might sting a little bit, but it’s really good for the cut. It'll stop all and any infection, and it will speed up the healing process like you wouldn't believe." she explained.
Simply nodding in response, I allowed her to smear the goo over it. She wasn’t kidding about it stinging, it felt like someone had forced the wound back open and rubbed salt into it. I let out a small growl, baring my gritted teeth as I did so.
“Oh shush you.” Fluttershy giggled.
Had she seriously just spoken to me like one of her animal patients? Not that I would be mad if she had, on the contrary, her nonchalant dismissal of my aggression accompanied with that giggle had been utterly adorable; my heart melted, and my pain with it. Fluttershy removed her hoof from my leg and let the goo settle, I inspected the substance and noticed that it was faintly bubbling as it grew thicker and thicker, until it eventually formed a dry skin over the top, and at last, the whole thing solidified.
“So, what the heck even is this stuff?” I inquired, astounded.
“It's a healing gel that Zecora was able to mix together for us. She called it Uzima Ooze, which means something along the lines of 'Life-Giving Ooze' in her native language, so we've come to call it Oozima to keep it simpler. It activates when it comes into contact with damaged tissue, going solid and distributing a whole bunch of different chemicals that all promote healing. It can fix wounds that would usually take months to heal in just a matter of days!” Fluttershy explained.
“That’s... That's absolutely incredible!” I exclaimed with my eyebrows raised.
“Yeah, it's something pretty special alright. Zecora was commissioned personally by the Princesses to create a large batch for us, it contains some of the rarest ingredients in the world.”
With an impressed hum, I studied the dry substance on my leg once again, now with a newfound appreciation for the stuff.
“When are we playing our game?” Pinkie called from the other side of the campfire.
She then bounced over to us with a big frown on her face. Rarity gave her a friendly nudge and tried to remind her to be more empathetic.
“I'm sorry darling, but we've been busy sorting out Callum’s leg. You wouldn't have wanted to play while someone was in pain from an untreated injury, now would you?”
Pinkie hung her head and swayed it from side to side.
“Would it cheer you up if you got to pick the game?” I asked with a smile.
She immediately perked up, bouncing up and down with a grin, nodding her head frantically and then skittering around the tents like an absolute nutcase. I couldn't help but laugh, her personality and ability to become this hyperactive so quickly was a hilarious sight to behold, it wasn't too dissimilar to when cats and dogs got FRAPs, (more commonly known as the 'zoomies'). When she finally calmed down, she pointed out that we still had plenty of marshmallows, and suggested that we all played a game of Fluffy Bunnies.
“I love that game!” Rainbow Dash cried out.
I tilted my head on one side, I had never heard of the game.
“What’s Fluffy Bunnies?” I asked.
Rarity sighed heavily and informed me that it was a vulgar, uncouth game that involved stuffing one's face with marshmallows. Pinkie bounced right up to me and pressed her nose into my cheek, clearly without a shred of awareness for my personal space, and gave her view on the game.
“It's a game where you put a marshmallow in your mouth, and say fluffy bunnies! Everyone takes it in turns and you keep putting in more marshmallows until you can’t say it anymore, whoever can fit the most marshmallows and still say it is the winner! Oh, and you’re not allowed to chew them, that's cheating.”
I could tell why Rarity wasn't a fan, as it certainly didn't sound like a very civilised game. However, being civilised at every waking moment was a dull affair, and sometimes one just needed to let loose. Fluffy Bunnies sounded like it would be a right old laugh, and as someone with a very sweet tooth, I'd most certainly be giving Pinkie a decent challenge.
"Well, I'm game. Who else is playing?" I announced, looking around at the others.
“Me!” Pinkie yelled in my face.
“And me!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
“Me too!” Applejack cheered.
“Uh, fine… But only because you’re all doing it.” Rarity huffed.
“What about you Fluttershy?” I asked, turning around.
As I came to face the pegasus, I realised that she had disappeared, I then saw her tail disappear into one of the tents.
“I guess not then.”
Applejack came over and explained to me that the last time they'd played this game, Fluttershy had accidentally inhaled a marshmallow and nearly choked to death, and had been left utterly terrified of the game, to the point where she couldn't even watch others play it in fear of them choking too. I gave an "Ah..." of understanding and shrugged, moving my pillow over to Pinkie and getting comfortable by her, now prepared to play with just the four of them. The others followed suit and we sat in a circle, while Pinkie clutched at the paper marshmallow bag, grinning like a maniac.
“As the Ponyville Champion, record holder of seventeen marshmallows, I shall start us off!” Pinkie declared.
She stuck her head into the bag, scooped out a marshmallow and stuffed it into her cheek.
“Fluffy bunnies, easy peasy!” she squeaked.
Rarity was next, she removed a marshmallow and did the same as Pinkie.
“Fluffy bunnies.”
Next was Rainbow Dash, who stuffed her head into the bag, much like how Pinkie did.
“Fluffy bunnies!”
She gave me the bag, and I took out a white one. Rainbow Dash pointed to it and giggled.
“Guys, we need to stop taking all the white ones, it’s not fair to keep eating Rarity’s kind like this!”
Applejack and I both laughed heartily, while Rarity frowned.
“For the last time, I am not a marshmallow!” she shouted.
This caused her marshmallow to shoot out of her mouth, it landed into the fire and melted away into a blackened gooey sludge.
“Mini Rarity! No!” Dash cried out, lying on her stomach in fits of laughter.
All of us burst into hysterics at that, even Rarity was forced to let out a small chortle, rolling her eyes.
“Looks like you’re out Rare.” Applejack said.
“That is so not fair, I was provoked into spitting it out!" Rarity protested.
“Oh, give her another go.” I insisted.
Everyone agreed to let her try again and I handed Rarity the bag. As expected, she took out a pink one, not white.
“I told you she’s a marshmallow, she never takes the white ones.” Dash hissed to me, still giggling.
“I heard that.” Rarity growled as she popped her marshmallow into her mouth and said ‘fluffy bunnies’.
I did the same, and the wonderful taste flooded my mouth once more, it was so good that I almost ended up chewing it, but I resisted and focused on winning the game, I was going to make Pinkie work for a victory. Speaking "fluffy bunnies" with ease, I passed the bag to Applejack, whom did it with just as much ease as the rest of us.
“Time for round two!” Pinkie yelled.
And so the bag went back to Pinkie, and I wondered how long this game would last…
Five minutes went by in the blink of an eye and we had all managed to make it to round five, and it looked like Rarity was going to lose first, she was having to hold her marshmallows in with her hoof.
“Flooffy boonis!” Pinkie squealed, before passing the bag to Rarity.
By now, we had stopped trying to announce new rounds, due to our mouths being stuffed. Rarity let out a deep groan as she attempted to force her next marshmallow into her mouth.
“Frirf-” was all she could manage, before most of her marshmallows were ejected out onto the ground.
Pinkie laughed madly at the scene, but somehow managed to hold in all her marshmallows. It was clear that she was most certainly going to win, but I was going to give her a good run for her money. Rarity accepted her defeat, then chewed and swallowed her other marshmallows.
“Well, I've beaten my last record of only five, so it’s not a total loss.” she mused, giving the bag to Rainbow Dash.
"I thought this was a vulgar and uncouth game?" I said teasingly, almost losing my own marshmallows.
"Uh, well... Okay, fine! I suppose it can be quite fun." she huffed, crossing her hooves.
The next to go out was Applejack, whom met her fate on a valiant round eight.
“Gosh darn it!” she grunted, munching on the marshmallows that she hadn’t fired all over the camp.
The remaining contestants, myself included, dared not laugh and risk joining the farm pony in defeat. Pinkie Pie retrieved a marshmallow and stuffed it into her mouth, it looked like she was finally beginning to struggle, but she still managed to shout a muffled ‘fluffy bunnies’. The bag then went to Rainbow Dash, whom was on the verge of breaking, it literally took her needing a hoof just to cram her ninth marshmallow in.
“Flub… Fooghb… Flooughb… Flubbu bummies!” she exclaimed at last with great difficulty.
She had passed by the skin of her teeth, but there was no way she’d get past round ten, and we all knew it. The bag then came to me, I took out my ninth marshmallow and found a nice pocket for it in my cheek.
“Fruffy bunnies!” I shouted merrily.
Pinkie passed round ten with just as much ease as she had the round before, but just as I had expected, Rainbow Dash met her end. Unlike Rarity or Applejack however, she actually managed to keep all the marshmallows in her mouth, she just couldn’t get the words out.
“Fff, fub… Frrububur! Murrb!” she muffled loudly, before bowing her head to admit an honourable defeat.
She chewed up and swallowed her marshmallows before sitting next to the others who didn’t win.
I took my marshmallow and popped it into my mouth.
“Fruffy bunnies.” I said, not taking my eyes off Pinkie’s.
“Round eleven!” Rarity shouted.
Pinkie removed a pink marshmallow from the bag, and found a place to squeeze it in.
“Fruffy bummies!” she squeaked.
I took a white marshmallow from the bag, but I didn't take my eyes off Pinkie, whom was squinting at me intensely, I squinted back as I put the marshmallow into my cheek.
It, was, ON!
“Frooffy boonnies.”
I passed round eleven with no more difficulty than Pinkie, and if anything, I'd found it easier than she had. She may have possessed a slightly bigger mouth than me with that pony muzzle of hers, but it seemed that the elasticity of pony cheeks possibly weren't quite as forgiving as human ones. Maybe, just maybe, I had a chance?
“This is going to be close!” Dash called.
The bag went back to Pinkie…
Six rounds passed, this was it, this was Pinkie’s record. She took out her seventeenth marshmallow, there was no way she could do this, surely? Both her cheeks were bulging to near cartoonish proportions. As she opened her mouth to insert the marshmallow, a generous amount of drool dripped from her lips, missing her pillow by mere millimetres. Rarity cringed and looked away, while Rainbow Dash burst into yet another fit of laughter.
“The two of you look ridiculous!” she howled.
"Your cheeks look like darn apples!" Applejack added, hooting loudly.
Curious at all the commotion, Fluttershy bravely came out of her tent to see how the game was going, took one look at me, and flared her wings in horror, her great blue eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.
"How is he doing that with his face!?" she shrieked, diving back into her tent and zipping it shut.
Amazingly, Twilight emerged from her tent to witness the outcome of the game, and quickly covered her mouth to obscure her irrepressible smile upon seeing the state of us. Pinkie put her marshmallow against the sticky wall that had once been the opening of her mouth, and used her hoof to force it in.
“Frr, Frrb, fff…” she muffled.
The corners of my bulging lips began to raise as I realised that she couldn’t say it, Pinkamena Diane Pie had finally reached her limit, and if I could handle just one more marshmallow, I would win.
“Faf, fuff bub!” she muffled again, more desperately this time.
She made an attempt to move the marshmallows out of the way with her tongue, to which some of them must have moved to the back of her throat, as she suddenly gagged and shot her marshmallows at me like a goddamn claymore mine! I was peppered by the slimy projectiles from head to toe and I clamped my eyes shut, desperate to contain myself and ascertain my victory; I wiped the marshmallows off as Pinkie looked at the floor.
“I… I couldn’t do it… I just couldn’t do it…” she sighed, her ears falling to the side of her head.
After a brief moment of accepting that her record wouldn't change today, her ears perked up again as she quickly got over it and tossed me the marshmallow bag.
“Well, your turn. Let’s see if you can do it!”
The others all crowded around me as I lifted the marshmallow to my face.
“If you do this, you beat the Ponyville champion.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Yeah, but at such a high score, I’d be honoured if Callum beat me!” Pinkie squeaked merrily.
That remark made me feel a little bit better about winning, I was glad that Pinkie wasn’t a sore loser. If I were a less competitive person, I'd have probably failed on purpose so that we could have ended on a draw, but unfortunately for Pinkie, I was not a less competitive person; I wanted to become the new champion.
With great care and difficulty, I stuffed the marshmallow into my mouth and used a finger to force it into my cheek, which was now in agony. And then, with a great deal of arduousness, I stated my victory.
“Ff, fruf… Frubbu… Fabbu… Fuffy bummies!”
Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped.
Rarity’s eyes widened.
Applejack removed her hat.
Pinkie fell back onto her bottom.
Fluttershy unzipped her tent and peeked out through a thin gap.
And Twilight, to my amazement, stuck her head out with a raised brow, impressed.
“Dude… No way…” Dashie breathed, taking a step back.
"I don't believe it." Rarity murmured.
“Fillies and gentlecolts… We have a new Fluffy Bunnies champion!” Applejack cried out.
They all cheered and swarmed around me, Pinkie Pie gave me a heavy pat on the back, turning me into Planet Earth’s first ever human-shotgun. My mouth's haul fired out all at once, making contact with the broadside of Miss Rarity; the unicorn let out an almighty scream, and frantically attempted to brush them off herself.
“No! Get them off! Get them off!”
Rainbow Dash pointed at the shrieking unicorn and guffawed uncontrollably, pointing at her with an outstretched hoof.
“Hey look! The mini-Rarities have returned to their queen!”
“Shut up and get them off me! Eww they’re all sticky! Ew! Ew! Ew!” Rarity whined.
All of us had a good few minutes of laughter at Rarity’s distress and Dashie’s brilliant comment. When we had all finally settled down, Pinkie came over and raised a hoof to me.
“I am honoured to have been beaten, that was such a great game!”
“The honour is all mine to have surpassed the one and only Pinkie Pie.” I replied as I shook her hoof.
We both went and sat down, rubbing our aching cheeks. For as fun as the game had been, my mouth had suffered from it, my cheeks, jaw and tongue were all sore; I couldn't see myself wanting to play that again for a while.
After a few jokes and a bit of friendly banter, Applejack made note of how dark it was getting, and suggested that we should get some shut-eye soon. Twilight had already left again, most likely to avoid company more than anything; I took my phone out of my pocket and checked the time, it was a few minutes past nine.
“You’ve got a clock on that thing too? That’s awesome!” Rainbow Dash said with her eyebrows raised.
“Eeyup.” I replied with my Big McIntosh impression, which was spot on.
“You sound just like my brother when you do that.” Applejack giggled.
Lowering my head and smirking, I continued the impression.
“Well you see sis’, that’s exactly who I was tryin’ to impersonate.”
“Alright stop that, that’s too good, it’s creepy how well you do that!” Applejack chortled as gave me a light push.
"So what's the time then anyway?" asked Rainbow Dash.
“It’s nine o’clock.”
“Oh, so it's not that late.” she responded, rolling her eyes.
“Not for you maybe, but some of us actually enjoy getting a good night’s sleep.” Rarity remarked.
I expressed that in my normal day-to-day, I'd often go to bed anywhere between ten and midnight, so I was more than happy to stay up with Rainbow Dash for a bit longer while the others went to bed now. Everyone seemed fine with that arrangement; Rarity headed off into the largest tent with Pinkie, and Applejack got into the smaller tent with Twilight. Fluttershy went alone to the third tent, which was the same size as Twilight and Applejack's.
“And then, there were two.” I said ponderously.
“So, what do you want to talk about?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Come to think of it, there was an absolute mountain of things I wanted to talk about; for starters, I wanted to know more about this Orb, and why it was so important. I was also pretty curious about the colt that had been mentioned earlier, the moment Dash had mentioned him, it had caused Fluttershy to become an anxious blushing mess, so he was definitely a crush of hers or something.
“Well, I’m rather curious about this Orb that I’ve forsaken my entire life to help you look for, so perhaps you could give me a little more info on that?”
“When you put it that way, I feel pretty bad for getting you to help us.” Dash muttered, looking down.
“Oh I'm jesting! Let’s be honest, my life wasn’t exactly great before you lot came along.” I chuckled.
This caused her to crack a smile, and she admitted that I didn't seem to have much going for me.
“So, what do you want to know about the Orb?” she quizzed.
“Well, I barely have a crumb of context to what it actually is! Something was said about Titans too? Look, I don't know a damn thing, so just tell me everything you know, I guess.”
Dashie chuckled and reluctantly told me that she wasn't much of a historian, so there wasn't much that she knew about the ins and outs of things; all she knew was that were were six gods called the Holy Titans of Harmony, who had created their world, along with Princesses Celestia and Luna. Then one of them supposedly went mad and ate the other five, and would have consumed Equus as well, but he was stopped by some ancient hero of a long-forgotten age.
My eyebrows were practically dancing as I took in the information, astounded at everything I'd been told. I was sure now that I hadn't misheard anyone, Equus was the name of their planet, which meant Equestria was just a country, this meant there were other landmasses and nations out there, just as most bronies had speculated. It also completely changed my original ideas for the Princesses' parentage, I had always liked the Fausticorn theory, but here I was, being told that they had been birthed into the world by the very gods.
“What were the Titans' names? Do you know why one of them ate the others?” I quizzed, tilting my head.
“Not a clue. Like I said dude, I’m no historian.”
"Fair enough." I murmured, shrugging.
It seemed that to learn the history of these Holy Titans of Harmony, I'd need to talk to Twilight, she would almost certainly know more about them than anyone else. Perhaps it could serve as a trust-building opportunity for us, we could bond over history lessons.
“Hey, I was also wondering... Earlier today, you mentioned some colt that Fluttershy knew, as soon as you said it she got really flustered, what's that all about?” I queried, lowering my voice just in case.
Rainbow Dash chuckled a little before answering.
“Ah, him... Yeah, he’s some colt that Fluttershy’s known since she was a filly, and she’s got a major crush on him, they were practically made for each other!”
I leaned in closer, now very much intrigued.
“Ooh, the plot thickens... What's his name?”
“It's Midnight something, Midnight Breeze maybe? No, it wasn't that. Ugh, I don't know, Fluttershy just calls him Middy so I haven't heard his full name in years.” Dash replied.
“So, what does he look like? What does Fluttershy like so much about him?” I pressed.
Rainbow adjusted herself on her cushion and hummed for a moment, recollecting her knowledge of the colt.
“Um, his coat is dark blue, and his mane is a much lighter pale blue. As for why she likes him? Well I’ve only met the guy a few times, but from what I’ve seen, he’s pretty nice. One of those sensitive guys, you know? Real soulful like. He was pretty shy when I first met him, but apparently he's got a hyper side to him. Oh, and the dude’s obsessed with birds, he’s got his own aviary. Owls, eagles, hawks, finches, ravens, you name it... If it has feathers, Midnight almost definitely has one as a pet.”
I scratched my chin, quite perplexed at how much this ‘Midnight’ character sounded an awful lot like Bruce; for he too was a total bird lover, and he had a very ‘shy one minute, hyper the next’ temperament. After a few moments thinking about it, I shrugged it off as a coincidence. Dashie then leaned over and whispered into my ear.
“Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but Fluttershy brought a few pictures of him on this trip, I've seen her looking at them once or twice before going to sleep.”
She then lightly chuckled to herself, while I didn’t find it so funny. Personally, I found the ordeal a whole lot more cute than I did amusing, it sounded like a pretty serious crush; what's more, I was surprised that Fluttershy had even admitted all of this to Rainbow Dash of all ponies.
“How come Fluttershy's told you about him, but nopony else?”
“Because we’ve known each other since we were little fillies! We played together, we went to flight school together, we practically lived together! Flutters and I have a special bond, we’re more like sisters than friends. She’d trust me with her life, let alone a secret crush.” she declared proudly, raising her chin and smirking.
As much as I tried, I couldn’t stop myself from letting out an “Aww…”
“That’s really sweet, Rainbow Dash! It’s really nice to know that you two have such a special bond.” I said warmly.
“Yeah, but I’m sure you’ll bond with her as well. Like I said earlier, she’s warmed to you really quickly.”
“Any reason why?”
Rainbow shrugged and suggested that it was probably because I wasn't a pony.
“She loves interacting with other species, being such an animal lover and all that.”
I raised an eyebrow, loudly clearing my throat, and Dash suddenly realised what she’d just said.
“N-Not that you’re an animal or anything! That came out wrong, I mean that she just-”
“I knew what you meant.” I interrupted, grinning.
She took a small sigh of relief, glad that she hadn't actually offended me; if anything I quite liked the sentiment. I sat forward and stretched, causing my upper back to give a small crunch.
“Ugh, right then, who’s sleeping in which tent tonight?” I asked, finishing my stretch.
“Well, Applejack shares with Twilight in that tent.” Dash pointed to one of the tents. “Me, Pinkie and Rarity are in the big one there, and you’re in there with Fluttershy.” she finished, pointing to the other two.
“I would have thought you’d be in with Fluttershy, seeing as you have that special bond.” I quoted.
Dashie gave an amused huff and rolled her eyes.
“Oh spare me! We have a great bond and all, but I’d rather be in with that miserable egghead than stay with Flutters overnight.” she replied, chuckling to herself.
“Elaborate?” I requested, tilting my head.
“It’s an absolute nightmare camping with Fluttershy. She's got the bladder of a damn mouse I tell you, she always needs to get up in the middle of the night to go pee, but surprise surprise, she is too scared to go out alone! So somepony has to go with her, and until tonight, that's been me.” Dash explained.
“I see, and so you've decided to stick me in the tent with her, so I can be the one to deal with it from now on?” I asked dully.
“Not even going to beat around the bush. Yeah, that's exactly what I did.” she admitted, laughing.
“Thanks, I appreciate it.” I said sarcastically.
“Anytime. There's even a sleeping bag in there for you, hopefully it's big enough.” she replied.
"I'm sure it'll be just fine, thank you."
I took a gentle sigh as I flopped onto my back and looked into the night sky. It was a lovely night, not a cloud in sight; the two of us stopped talking for a while and just gazed at the stars, taking in its splendour.
“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” I asked after a few minutes of silence.
“What, the stars?”
“Yeah.”
“Not really, they're just glowing dots.”
“Oh come on, just look at them! All the details, the little variations in colour, the patterns, the constellations!”
“Now you sound like Twilight.”
“I do?”
“She loves the stars, spends hours looking at them at night sometimes, apparently.”
“Hm, perhaps that's something she and I could bond over? Not sure about her, but I could easily look up at that gorgeous twinkling canvas all night long.” I hummed merrily.
“Pff, gay.”
"Says the one with a rainbow coloured mane." I scoffed in retort.
“Oh, whatever!” Dash grunted, sticking her tongue out at me.
We chuckled, before I decided with a yawn that I was tired enough to go to bed. Rainbow Dash concurred, and stood up to stretch in a very cat-like manner.
“Well, see you tomorrow dude.”
“Yeah, see you.”
“Nice chat by the way, we should do this again sometime.” she said with a smile.
“Definitely.” I replied, before I turned towards my tent.
I walked over and unzipped the flap, taking off my shoes and leaving them at the entrance so that the bedding didn't get dirty. As I entered the tent, I saw Fluttershy's dim form quickly hide something under her pillow.
“Oh! Um, hi Callum!” she greeted me, acting as though I hadn’t just seen her frantically shifting around.
To spare her the embarrassment, I went along with it and pretended to see nothing, simply saying that I hoped I hadn't woken her up, although I knew she had most likely just been coddling that picture of her 'Middy'.
“No, I was still awake.” she replied.
As I crawled over to my sleeping bag, I told Fluttershy that I hoped she was okay with us sharing a tent together and that it had supposedly been Rainbow Dash's idea. She said that it wasn't an issue at all, and that the company was very much appreciated.
"Okay, glad to hear it. I was worried that it might be a bit anxiety inducing to share a tent with someone you've only just met. Truth be told, I'm a bit nervous myself."
"Don't worry, I'll keep you safe." Fluttershy giggled.
{Oh Flutters, you adorable little so-and-so...} I thought to myself, grinning uncontrollably.
"Thanks." I whispered back.
Getting into my sleeping bag, I emitted a heavy long sigh; today had been a long day, a very long day...
I had trashed my house and killed a clone of myself; just thinking about the latter part made my stomach turn. I had given away my beloved Chilli and Archer to Bruce, I had experienced teleportation, I had hidden from the police, and I took away Pinkie Pie’s well-earned title of Fluffy Bunnies Champion.
All I wanted now, was a good long rest; I snuggled down and closed my eyes...
A few minutes later, however I was disturbed by a hoof prodding my arm, I rolled over to see Fluttershy sitting up with her legs crossed; she didn’t need to say anything for me to know what she needed.
“Um… Callum… I hate to ask, but...”
Ugh, it would seem that Rainbow Dash hadn't been bluffing. Someone needed a wee...