//------------------------------// // Chapter Thirteen: For Flying Out Loud // Story: The Titans' Orb // by Mister Horncastle //------------------------------// After a few relaxing hours of music and daydreaming, I turned off my phone and sat up to find Applejack and Rainbow Dash snoozing; Twilight had also drifted off to sleep as well, her legs twitching quite substantially. Rarity was resting her chin on her forelegs, calmly watching the spinning light at the far end of the cargo hold. Looking across from her, I noticed Pinkie was also staring at the light, just not as calmly, her face was rotating around and around to follow it. Fluttershy was the closest to me, scrawling something into a little book. I shuffled over to her, curious about what she was writing. “What’s that you got there?” Caught off-guard, Fluttershy yelped and jumped a good metre away from me, dropping the book. Twilight sprung up to her hooves and rushed towards me, her horn glowing. “Caught you!” Suddenly, my wrists were enveloped in hot pink magic and were forcefully pulled down to the floor. I had no choice but to drop down to my knees before my arms were practically pulled out of their sockets. "Ow! Twilight, stop! Jeez!" I blurted out, gritting my teeth. Everyone else rushed to the scene, with Rainbow Dash standing directly between me and Twilight to break her telekinetic hold on me. Applejack loudly demanded to know what was going on, Twilight shoved Dashie to one side and glared at me, her pupils like pinpricks. “I caught him attacking Fluttershy!” “WHAT!?” Applejack and Rainbow Dash both hollered. “No I bloody didn't! What the hell is wrong with you, Twilight? I was just going over to have a chat with her!" I shouted defensively, desperately pulling back against my magical restraints. “Liar! You came up behind her and tried to grab her, that's why she screamed!” All I could do was open my mouth and shake my head in sheer disbelief at such an absurd claim; I had simply been curious about Fluttershy’s notebook, and here Twilight was, accusing me of trying to harm her! Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked back and forth from me and the unicorn, unsure of whom to trust. Who was telling the truth, their close friend, despite her evident paranoia? Or this alien creature, of whom they'd only just met? At last, Rarity brought an end to the mad conspiracy, as she made her way to us and loudly cleared her throat. “I’ll have you all know that I witnessed the entire situation.” Everyone looked to face her, and I sighed a breath of relief as she calmly explained. “Twilight dear, I know you don't trust Callum, but there is really no need to overreact like this. He was merely curious about Fluttershy’s diary, and came over to have a look, there was no ill intent. He simply caught Fluttershy unaware and made her jump.” Everyone relaxed, except for Twilight, who didn't want to let this go. She whipped around to face Rarity, and began to insult her fellow unicorn's eyesight, implying that she was too blind to see what had actually happened. With Rarity being one of Equestria's finest seamstresses, Twilight's insults were nothing short of comical. But for as much as the others were amused, I was still absolutely livid that I'd just been accused of attacking Fluttershy, and couldn't help but speak my mind. “You sound, insane. Do you realise that? You should be medicated.” “Fuck you Callum!” she spat back. The cargo hold went quiet, we were all left speechless. Did... Did Twilight just, curse at me? The others looked just as aghast as myself, all caught completely unaware by this new height to the unicorn's hostility. Twilight then realised what she had just said, and blinked rapidly, anxiously breaking eye contact with me. Everypony else looked to me, waiting to see how I would react. “Well… At least you had the courtesy to say my name.” I replied bluntly, dipping my head. Without uttering a word, Twilight turned away and sullenly made her way to the other side of the pressure bubble. The others let out sighs of relief, and it was clear that I had won a great deal more of their trust now. {Well played.} I thought to myself. It wasn't that I was trying to sway them into trusting me more than Twilight, but having their faith would certainly help in preventing instances like this from happening again; the more they believed in my genuinely good intentions for them, the less opportunities Twilight would have to make any further accusations. The ponies dispersed, with Fluttershy going to pick up her diary, and Rainbow Dash off to find a comfy suitcase to perch on. Applejack went over to Twilight in attempt to get her back on-side, while Pinkie had thankfully shrugged off the incident entirely. The mare was wandering around aimlessly, humming a tune, clearly already off in her own little world. “Thank you…” Rarity said quietly, who was still stood beside me. “What for?” I asked, tilting my head. “For not rising to what Twilight just said, I'm sure you were tempted to.” she answered, dipping her head, “I genuinely cannot fathom what's gotten into her lately, but I have a bad feeling this is just the start of it.” “Yeah you and me both.” I grumbled, “Do you lot honestly not know what's going on with her?” “I swear, we don't know.” she sighed, giving her head a defeated shake. Tutting with frustration, I looked over to the purple unicorn, now talking to Applejack in a friendly manner, as though none of this was a big deal. Sensing that I was irritated, Rarity decided to change the subject. “You know I must say, you really do fit in with this group, despite her transgressions.” “Really?” I replied, taken aback. Nodding, she reflected on my supposed 'vibrant' personality, in which I had qualities that allowed me to gel with everypony here with relative ease. I asked for examples, to which she pointed out the love I had for my dogs, my athleticism and competitiveness, my broad sense of humour, and my ability to hold a soulful conversation, such as the one we were currently having. “I've not known you long, granted, but it's clear to me that you have a lot to give.” “Pfft, Rarity...” I scoffed awkwardly. “I mean it! Now, I can't assure what the future holds for your relationship with Twilight, but as for the rest of us? Well, if you continue to be the person we've seen so far, then our time together throughout this trip is going to be most pleasant indeed.” Unable to prevent the smile from creeping onto my face, I dipped my head and thanked the unicorn for her kind words. “What are you two lovebirds talking about?” Rainbow asked, squeezing in between us and causing the both of us to jump. “I beg your-” “Oh chill out Rare, stop getting so blushy over it.” Rainbow teased, cutting Rarity off. “I think the word you’re looking for is flustered.” I informed the pegasus. “Egghead.” “Bovvered?” I clapped back, immediately revving up my Catherine Tate impression. “Don’t you dare…” Dashie growled playfully. “Don’t tempt me then.” I retorted, flexing my eyebrows at her. We all chuckled, before Rarity broke into a yawn, covering her mouth with a hoof. “Tired?” I asked. “A little, I didn’t sleep very well. Especially with Rainbow Dash's snoring last night.” “Hey, I don’t snore!” Rainbow protested. “Oh-puh-kh-ff!” the unicorn spluttered, “Rainbow Dash darling, if you don’t snore, then pigs have wings!” “Uh, well, they did when Discord broke free and took over the place!” Dash retorted. “Hm, touché…” Rarity hummed, “Either way, you snore, very loudly.” “No I don't, shut up!” Rainbow Dash whinged. I joined in on the banter by lying on my back and imitating the pegasus, pretending to snore loud enough to startle Pinkie on the other side of the pressure bubble. “No! Not the Yakuza!” she shrieked at the top of her lungs. She then immediately went back to reading all the labels on each suitcase, merrily humming once again. After staring at her with the utmost confusion for a few seconds, I looked back to Rainbow Dash and Rarity and shook my head. “Is she…?” I began slowly. “She’s fine.” Dash confirmed, rolling her eyes. Rarity yawned for a second time, which caused the contagious yawn effect, something I personally liked to call the Mexican Yawn, (derived of course from the Mexican Wave). I opened my mouth wide and yawned in my usual fashion, which always created a high pitched whine; upon hearing it, Rarity looked at me in confusion. “What?” I asked. “Your yawn, it’s very… Well, dog like.” she pointed out, chuckling nervously. “Ugh, if only I had a pound for every time I’ve been told that.” I grumbled playfully, “Yes, I know, I sound like a dog when I yawn. And no, I don't put it on, it's just how I yawn.” “Fair enough dear. Also, a pound?” Rarity repeated with curiosity. “England’s form of currency, it’s like one of your bits, basically.” “Aaahh, I see…” she replied with understanding. With that, I announced that I was going to go and chat to Fluttershy, and then try to get some sleep. I thanked Rarity again for her kind words, and then made my way over to the pegasus, who was in the middle of stuffing her diary into her bag. “Heya.” I said quietly. She flinched and turned around. “Oh, um, hi…” “Look, I just want to say I'm sorry, for making you jump earlier, I really didn’t mean it.” “Thank you Callum, but it wasn’t your fault.” Fluttershy replied, “I'm the one who had a big silly reaction, it was because of me that Twilight got mad, and I'm really sorry for that.” Properly sitting down beside her, I protested that she needn't be silly; she was clearly deep in thought, and I shouldn't have got so close to her without making my presence known. “It was totally my bad, and I'm the one who's sorry.” “Well, um, I'm sorry for putting you in a position where you felt the need to be sorry.” Fluttershy mumbled. “That is not something you have to apologise for.” I instructed, smiling warmly. “Alright... Sorry...” “Stop it.” I ordered, now grinning. “Okay…” she whispered. The mare paused for a handful of seconds, before sheepishly looking back up at me. “Sorry.” I planted my palm into my face and broke into a laugh. Fluttershy too, broke into a giggling of her own, before sticking out just the tip of her tongue; it was by far the cutest thing I had seen so far out of these girls. It took a great deal of willpower not to clutch at my chest, in fear that Pinkie would try to break my ribs again. "So, what sort of stuff do you write in there?" I asked, gesturing to the diary that poked from her saddlebag. “Um, um…” “You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.” I said, smiling. My smile got to her, and she smiled back and reached for the notebook to show me. “It's just, um, some personal stories and some of my feelings about things that have happened in my life.” Just as she had acquired the diary in one of her hooves, some light turbulence caused her to drop it out onto the floor, causing some of the pages to flip open. Squeaking with embarrassment, she dived onto it to cover something I was clearly not meant to see, which accidentally sent two loose slips of paper directly into my lap. Instinctively, I picked up one of them and turned it over, which revealed a purplish blue colt with a cyan mane. {So, Rainbow Dash was telling the truth about this, Midnight fella…} I thought to myself. I turned over the other picture, and my eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “No!” Fluttershy gasped. Before I had a chance to properly take in what I was seeing, the pegasus practically barrelled into me in order to seize the images. She stuffed them back into her diary, slammed the notebook shut, and stuffed it into her bag swiftly. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Twilight glaring at me. Blowing her a kiss out of sheer mockery, I looked back to Fluttershy, who now red as a beetroot. “I... I... Um... I...” “I didn't see anything.” I smirked, giving her a sly wink. Gulping and giving a slow nod, the pegasus cleared her throat and composed herself. It was then that my mood dropped considerably, completely out of the blue, and Fluttershy seemed to notice. “Is something wrong?” she asked. “I'm not sure.” I replied. Puzzled, she put her head on one side and asked what I meant. Thinking on it some more, I tried to analyse what I was really feeling, and why it had brought me so low, so suddenly. Obviously, I was overjoyed that the ponies were real, and that I was travelling with them; and now with a true purpose as their guide and protector, I most certainly felt fulfilled. But nothing was ever truly clear-cut, and with these incredible positives, came some negatives. I had forever sacrificed a normal life, I had given up my beloved dogs, along with all forms of electronic leisure, which meant no internet, no TV, and no videogames. As for my friends on Facebook and Skype, I would never speak to them again. Faking my death hadn't been all that fake in one sense, because I had well and truly killed my old life. From here on out, the majority of my time would be spent on the move, transitioning from location to location in search of the pieces of the Titans' Orb, encountering goodness knows how many dangers... At last, though all this thinking, I clocked onto what had brought me down; it was the images from Fluttershy's diary, this Midnight fellow had reminded me of something else I was giving up, something far more valuable. “Love...” I tenderly whispered to myself, much too quiet for Fluttershy to hear. I had relinquished the possibility of ever having a girlfriend, a companion to love, and be loved by. This path I had chosen meant for certain that I would never meet someone that I could form a real relationship with. For a split second, I pondered on if a relationship with one of these ponies was an option, which I immediately cast aside in vague disgust. What I wanted was a human woman at my side, and now, I would never have that. “Callum, are you okay?” Fluttershy murmured, gently poking at my wrist. Realising that I had been quiet for some time, I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “Sorry, I was just thinking.” I replied. “Want to talk about it?” she asked quietly. “No, it's fine. I was just thinking about the stuff I’ve left behind, that’s all.” “Oh, I’m sorry…” she said, looking down. “Honestly, it’s fine.” I reiterated. “Alright, if you say so...” Rubbing at my wrists where she had poked me, I slowly recovered from the low mood, how could I not when Fluttershy herself was sat right beside me, real enough to physically touch me? I turned my head, to find I was still being glared at by the purple menace; rolling my eyes, I turned away from the unicorn and decided to lie down for some rest. "Do you mind if I take a nap close-by?" "Not at all, go ahead!" Fluttershy replied, smiling kindly. Using my rucksack as a pillow, I curled up and tried to drown out the noise of the aircraft, along with the thoughts that were still swimming around in my head. It took quite a while, but I was eventually able to switch my brain off, and drift off for a couple hours of kip. “So Callum, I was wondering… Um, could I ask you some questions?” Fluttershy inquired. I had only been awake for a handful of minutes, and by some sheer miracle amidst the plane's rattling, Rarity had been able to make some tea for us all, which was a really nice treat to wake up to. “Sure thing, what sort of questions?” I quizzed. “Well, I'm still really curious about your world, and um, you. I just wanted to learn a little more, if that's okay?” said the pegasus, prodding at the floor with a hoof. “By all means, fire away.” I replied happily, taking a sip from my cup. “Okay, well, um... Firstly, I was wondering about the wildlife, and how the natural world works. Like, um, why are all the animals here so wild? Feral, I mean. It seems like most creatures here behave like they do back in the Everfree Forest.” Scratching at my chin, I hummed that it was a good question, and then explained how unlike in Equestria, nearly all creatures in this world lacked any form of sentience. “Besides humans, well, and a few vague exceptions like dolphins and elephants, animals on Earth lack the capacity for selfhood or complex thought. They run predominantly on instinct, with no intention to live outside of the 'wake, eat, breed, sleep, and eventually die' routine.” “Oh, I see...” the pegasus mumbled. “That's not to say there isn't intelligence or emotion in the animal kingdom though.” I added, “There are a great many species that thrive on social bonds and unique survival methods. Cats for instance, were intelligent enough to domesticate themselves, by altering their meows to better mimic human baby cries! Over hundreds of years, they adapted to exploit our empathy, tricking us into taking care of them. They may not have true sentience, but that kind of intelligence speaks for itself.” “That's incredible!” Rarity remarked. “You can say that again.” I agreed. Fluttershy too, murmured in agreement, before prodding at the floor again. “So, um, there really aren't any other sentient races on this world? Like griffons and minotaurs?” Shaking my head, I confirmed that we were very much alone on this planet when it came to an equal species. “Probably because they exterminated the others.” Twilight suggested, sneering at me. “Nope, but good on you for adding to the conversation.” I retorted without missing a beat. Kissing her teeth in revulsion to me, Twilight went back to her silence. “Hey, I've got a question for you!” Rainbow Dash piped up. Gesturing for her to proceed, the pegasus inquired as to whether humans had any powers or not. “Like, we pegasi can fly and have extra stamina, unicorns have magic and all the smarts, and earth ponies are extra strong, with tougher skin and stuff. Do humans have anything like that?” “Hah, I wish!” I laughed, “Without magic in this world, we don't really get any bonuses like that, but to be honest, we don't really need them. The human being has enough merits as is, we naturally have good stamina, half-decent strength, and then there's our intelligence of course.” Gesturing all around, I pointed out that we were flying across the sea in a gigantic metal machine, hurtling over the clouds at hundreds of miles an hour; the tools and machines we created was a testament to our mental capacity. “Using nothing but the various metals beneath the soil, we can manufacture the means to reshape the very ground we walk upon, and conjure devices of near-unlimited potential. I guess, thinking about it, we do have a power of sorts, it's just not a magical one. It's quite simply, our ingenuity.” “Whoa, did anyone else just get goosebumps?” Rainbow Dash breathed. “Oh I felt a shiver alright.” Applejack replied, chuckling. Smirking to myself, I took another sip of my tea and then had a little stretch; I rolled my shoulders back and received a few satisfying crunches in my upper spine, along with a nice pop in my collar bones. After a few moments of silence, Fluttershy moved on to another question, although it was more of a long-winded request. “I, um... I was wondering... You know how Pinkie told you her life story earlier? Would you be able to tell us yours?” “Oh, what a great idea!” sang Rarity, nodding in full agreement. “Blimey, uh, where to begin...” I said nervously. “At the start!” Pinkie squealed, giggling. Huffing with amusement, I started to cast my mind back to my earliest days, and slowly but surely, I was able to piece together a coherent narrative, and began telling them all of my life... I was raised in a town called Redhill, and my early memories were mostly pleasant; my family was loving and supportive, and I was deeply cared for. At the age of five, I was diagnosed with autism, which began to manifest more and more as I transitioned from infancy to childhood. When out of my comfort zone, I was prone to meltdowns, screaming fits, and all the other accompanying traits of an out-of-control child. My father was incredible at handling it, and was so unbelievably patient with me, not once did he give up in learning how to manage me, his love was unparalleled. My mother, as one might imagine, was not so forgiving, and very clearly held a great deal of contempt for her defective child. When I came of age to attend primary school, things very quickly went downhill. With stunted social abilities, I was almost immediately ridiculed as the freakish outcast, and forming friendships was nigh impossible. My teachers were also entirely without mercy, and took the stance that I was just a ill-behaved brat, in need of a good hiding. By my third year, I had to be dragged into the schoolgrounds, literally kicking and screaming. “Running away became a frequent habit for me, and eventually, I ran out of chances.” I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck with embarrassment, “Against my father's wishes, I was deemed a case too far gone, and was relocated to an institution for severely troubled children.” “Gosh...” Fluttershy whimpered. “What was that place like?” Dashie inquired. “Oh it was awful, I'm talking padded rooms, being heavily monitored at every waking moment. I spent three years in there, missing out on my education, surrounded by screams.” After taking a moment to finish my tea, I continued. I barely had any social contact, and was left stunted in all mental growth. But at last, there was a turning point, when my father bought a dog for me, a Cocker Spaniel like Chilli, but with black fur. We were truly inseparable, and despite still being a young pup without an ounce of training, she was the truest and most dedicated support dog; she could sense when I was upset or anxious, and would come to comfort me. She would wait at the front door for me every afternoon, to the point where she could identify the engine of the bus that brought me home every day, and would jump into my arms the very instant I stepped through the front door. “Her name was Inca...” I breathed, closing my eyes and picturing her in my mind. Despite being just a dog, Inca was my only friend. Alongside my dad and my brother, she prevented my communication skills from stagnating, and was the key to the eventual overcoming of my social ineptitude, but this did not come without a cost... One day, when I was nine years old, Inca changed, for the worse. For no apparent reason, she started to become confused and violent, and although she never once attacked me, she consistently went for the rest of my family. After a trip to the vet, it became apparent that Inca had developed a brain tumour, which was causing the behaviour. I arrived home one day to discover that she had been put to sleep, without being given the opportunity to say goodbye. Needless to say, I didn't take this news well; and after having an almighty meltdown, I found myself plummeting into a pit of emptiness and despair. Just finding the motivation to get out of bed was nigh impossible, I wasn't even a decade old yet, and I was legitimately uninterested in living anymore. I began to consistently have bitter and angry thoughts, and while in this horrible place, a darkness started brewing within me, a shadowy heaviness that sapped away at all my emotions. “I don't like this story anymore...” Pinkie whimpered, her eyes full of tears. “I can stop if you wa-” “No, please! Carry on...” Twilight blurted out, before clamping her mouth shut. I looked at the unicorn in disbelief, was she really this invested in my story? And had she said please!? The others, as emotional as they now were, had also been completely taken aback by Twilight's sudden interest. Clearing my throat, I chose to acquiesce her request; if hearing this story had the chance to form a positive connection with the unicorn, then there was no way in hell that I was going to pass up on that. Continuing from where I'd left off, I explained that from this place of darkness, something else in me had changed, and for the first time, I started to become incredibly self-aware. The way I talked, the way I behaved, even the way I dressed, every aspect of myself was noticeable to me, and I realised how abnormal I was. I finally understood why I had been bullied at school, and why the teachers had been so exasperated with me. They didn't just think of me as a freak, I was a freak! From then on, I started analysing the people around me, from my family, to the staff at the institution, to characters in live-action films and TV shows; I began learning how they conversed with each other, and how body language and eye contact worked. Then I began mimicking this behaviour, and lo and behold, it worked! Everyone started to realise that my father had been right all along, that I wasn't some lost cause, and that I deserved another chance at school. I shortly thereafter began secondary education, at a boy's only boarding school, a place for children with mild special needs, such as dyslexia, speech impediments, and mild autism. I started to make friends with my peers, and I was able to catch up on all the education I'd missed out on, with teachers being genuinely astounded at how quickly I was learning, calling me 'gifted' and the like. I soon went on to become one of the top pupils, but that was only academically speaking; I was no teacher’s pet, that’s for sure. “I cannot even begin to stress how much trouble I got into.” I chuckled, “I was always goofing around during and between classes. There were just far too many open goals for me to not assume the comedian's role. Besides, people actually found me funny and likeable for once, and I wasn't going to give that up.” Sighing, I reflected on how at long last, I had transitioned into something of a decent early teenage life. My story very nearly had a happy ending, until my father came clean about his gambling addiction, followed by his accumulation of a very serious debt. He was forced to pay it off with my family's funds, to the point where we had to sell our home and move into my mother's old place in Ifield; she immediately gave him the boot and he vanished from the face of the Earth, leaving her to raise my brother and I. She very quickly descended into alcoholism, abusing her sons in both a verbal and physical nature, with my poor brother taking the brunt of it. Eventually, Oliver grew wise enough to manipulate her back, and the two of them turned on me, and there was only so much I could take. Soon enough, the abyss inside me began to manifest again, and it had grown stronger; it would have totally consumed me, if not for two things. “Firstly, there was getting into boxing.” I said, readjusting my position as my legs were beginning to go numb, “Learning to fight helped me immeasurably. To take all that anger and bitterness, and apply it to a combat sport in a controlled environment. It absolutely stopped me from going off the deep end.” “And the other thing?” Rarity quizzed, offering me the last of the tea from the teapot. Gladly accepting, I elaborated that the other thing was, well, them! Watching My Little Pony had brought so much colour and light into my bleak and grey existence, the boxing would have meant diddly squat if I didn't have that show alongside it. It was that cartoon, based on the very ponies before me, that allowed me to retain my true nature, along with my desire to be a good person. “A bit ironic, isn't it Twilight? You seem to think I'm some sort of monster, when you're part of the reason I'm not one.” I pointed out, shrugging. Not giving her a chance to respond, I finally brought the story to a close, as I'd been talking for bloody ages. “Anyway, I was planning on running away at some point. But then you lot showed up, and you know the rest.” I wasn't at all ashamed of how I'd just lied to them; I had told these girls enough heaviness for one day, and I didn't want to go overboard by telling them how I'd actually attempted to take my own life, and despite that failing, I was secretly planning to try again, meaning that these girls had in fact saved me, in the most literal sense. “Well, that's the story!” I announced, clapping my hands together, “Sorry that it was so long-winded and depressing, I hope you didn't find it too bori-” I was cut off as Fluttershy lunged forward and wrapped her hooves around me, tightly hugging me and breaking into a sob. This set the others off, with Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie also bursting into tears; Rainbow Dash was clearly trying her best not to join in too, while Twilight observed me with glassy eyes, her expression deeply saturated with unknown thoughts and feelings. “I... I can’t believe you’ve been through, so much!” Fluttershy whimpered, “I’m so sorry… You poor, poor thing…” “Honestly, I don't know how you've been able to get through all that.” said Applejack. “You are... So incredibly brave...” Rarity spoke solemnly, with tears slithering down her cheeks. “Hey, come on girls. I didn't tell you all this just for some big emotional reception. I'm fine, really!” I protested. “No one is just fine, not after all you've been through.” Fluttershy choked, looking up at me, “How? How did you cope?” Patting at the pegasus' back to the rhythm of a heartbeat, I settled her down as I repeatedly assured everyone that I was okay, and that this big emotional reaction wasn't necessary. “We just feel bad for you, dude.” Rainbow Dash joined in, “Sure, some ponies can have it pretty bad back in Equestria, but nothing like this. You had a really rough start, and then just when things were going well, bam! It gets so much worse!” Shrugging, I admitted that I had definitely not had it easy, but none of that mattered anymore; I had a whole new life now, and although I didn't know for sure what lay ahead for us, it was safe to say that it wasn't going to be quite so bleak and lifeless. Upon hearing this, Fluttershy wiped her eyes and calmed down, as did everyone else. “Well, you know what Callum?” said Dashie. “What?” “I know you went a long time without any friends, and that sucks. But in this new life, you don't have to wait so long, because from here on out, you've got me, got it?” “Really?” I huffed, slowly breaking into a smile. “You've got all of us, darling.” added Rarity. Everyone bar Twilight got up and came over to me, and before I knew it, I had been sucked into a big girly group hug, and all I could do was burst into a ginormous grin, shedding a few tears of my own. These five ponies, were my true friends now.