The warm celebrations for my new-found friendship were abruptly brought to a close, as Pinkie backed away from us and started twitching uncontrollably.
“Pinkie? What's wrong?” I gasped.
“It's her Pinkie Sense.” Applejack pointed out, “What is it girl? What are you picking up?”
Quivering slightly, Pinkie looked over to us and grinned.
“Want to hear a joke?”
“Um, sure?” I replied with great uncertainty.
“What do you get, when you cross Steve Aoki, Laidback Luke, and Lil Jon?”
“Oh dear.” I spoke blankly, knowing exactly what she was implying.
Before the others could even begin to comprehend what Pinkie had said, the mare raised her head and opened her mouth in preparation to scream, followed by her sounding off like a goddamn air raid siren.
“WE HIT TURBULENCE!”
A heartbeat later, the plane shook violently and I was catapulted forward into Fluttershy, causing her to squeak like a dog's chew toy. Pinkie was sent into the pile of suitcases she'd been stacking throughout the whole flight, causing one of them to fall down and hit her in the head; much to my relief, her bouncy mane took most of the impact.
“Pinks! You okay?” I hollered over to her.
She responded with a nod, and then launched herself upwards and pounced on the suitcase, akin to an arctic fox hunting in the snow. Shaking my head in amusement, I helped Fluttershy up and apologised for knocking her over; she declared that she was fine, and I tried to make my way to a more stable location to plonk myself, as the turbulence continued to rattle us about like loose change in a tumble dryer.
Just as things were settling down, Pinkie yelled out “We hit turbulence!” for a second time. We were all sent stumbling around the cargo hold again, in which Twilight found herself cascading into my lap.
“Why hello there!” I sang cheerfully.
“Ugh!” she rasped, clambering off me and brushing herself down.
The others giggled at the scene, before Fluttershy inquired if such rough turbulence was normal.
“Yeah, this can happen. They're not always this wobbly, it just depends on the weather and whatnot.”
“Well thankfully, it'll be over soon.” Twilight grunted, “Our altitude is decreasing.”
“How can you tell?” Rarity asked.
Twilight explained that the pressure bubble was requiring less mana to uphold, meaning that the air conditions on the outside were slowly coming to match that of the inside. Eventually, Twilight was able to disable the spell entirely, and soon after that, we were all startled by the loud sound of heavy machinery, being moved by hydraulics.
“What the heck is that?” Rainbow shouted over the noise.
“It's too loud!” poor Fluttershy called out, her hooves covering her ears.
“I think it's the landing gear!” I announced.
Realising that we were soon to hit the runway, with no way of knowing exactly when, I shouted for the girls to get to the sides and hold onto something. They all rushed to one side and clung to each other, except for Pinkie, who dived headfirst into the pile of suitcases. Fearing for her safety, I tried to make my way over to her, which was when we hit the tarmac; with a horrendous jolt, I was also propelled into Pinkie's tower of luggage, which finally brought it tumbling down.
“Crap!” I cried out, before the mass of suitcases came toppling over me.
Despite a heavy one hitting me in the arm, I was unhurt, albeit buried alive. Once the plane stopped shaking quite so violently, the others came over to me, with Applejack and Rainbow Dash helping to dig me out.
“Dude are you alright?” asked Rainbow, offering me a hoof.
Taking it and being assisted to an upright position, I burst into a laugh and professed that I was fine; the others joined in on the laughter. Twilight's horn then lit up, and all our coatings of Thermic Hide wore off, leaving us feeling a tad colder.
“So, we’re here?” Rarity inquired.
Nodding, I confirmed that the passengers above us would be getting up to leave shortly, and that our hiding place would soon be opened, in order to retrieve everyone's luggage.
“So, what's the plan?” said Rainbow.
“Uh, let’s just get our flanks off this darn plane and find somewhere to hide first, then we can make a real plan, Rainbow!” Applejack interjected.
“That's what I meant AJ, a plan to get off this thing!”
“Oh.”
Cutting in, I proposed that we got off in the same manner we got on; Twilight could cast an invisibility spell, followed by us sneaking out and making a run for some cover, away from the airport.
“Not going to happen.” Twilight stated, shaking her head, “My mana's at dangerously low levels, after keeping that pressure bubble going for so long. Casting an invisibility spell on all of us would almost certainly cause me to blue out.”
“So you might lose magic for a few weeks, big deal!” Rainbow butted in, “It's better than getting caught in this damn plane, and being hauled off to heck-know's where!”
“I mean, she's got a point.” I added.
The look of fear in her eyes told me she had made up her mind; the door to the cargo hold made a loud clunk, and the unicorn quickly lit up her horn and cast Invisipone onto the lot of us, saving me for last. Twilight then sighed heavily, before collapsing, which I could only just gather from the pinkish haze that outlined her body.
“Twilight!” Fluttershy gasped.
We all circled around her, with one of the girls prodding her with a hoof, which garnered no response.
“She definitely blued out.” Rarity sighed.
“She didn't say anything about passing out when it happens!” I exclaimed.
“Because ponies don't normally pass out!”
The cargo door clunked again, followed by it slowly opening.
“What do we do!?” Fluttershy squeaked.
“I've got her, everyone keep quiet, and make your way out.” I ordered.
Feeling across the unicorn's body with my hands, I assessed how she was oriented, I then scooped her up and slung her over my shoulder in a fireman's carry. Two airport workers then reached the cargo door and clambered inside to grab suitcases.
“Vamos lá, vamos trabalhar, rápido!” one of them shouted.
Whatever the heck that meant, told me that I needed to get a move on, I didn’t know much of Portuguese, but I knew that ‘rápido’ meant ‘fast’. Slipping past the men, we were all able to get out and onto the conveyor belt. I was temporally blinded by the bright sun, and had to furrow my brow to properly see where I was going. We reached the bottom and hopped off the belt, which was when Twilight started to come to; I placed her down and quickly explained that I'd carried her off the plane, and that we still needed to get somewhere safe.
“Are you alright?” Applejack asked her.
“I can still carry you, if you need?” I offered.
“I'm fine, and never put your hands on me again without permission.” she spat.
“Where to now?” Rainbow Dash piped up, ensuring we remained focused.
“Away from the airport, that's a start.” I commanded.
We scarpered off, until we reached a small patch of foliage to catch our breath.
“How long do we have left on these spells, Twi?”
“Like, twenty minutes tops, maybe less for you.”
“Alright, we need to bloody move. Rainbow Dash?”
“Yeah dude?”
“Can you fly up for a moment, tell me where we are?”
Without uttering another word, the pegasus shot into the sky, before returning a few moments later.
“We're on a frickin' island!”
{Shit...} I thought to myself.
Until now, I was completely unaware that Rio's airport was situated on Governador Island, which was sat in the middle of the gargantuan Guanabara Bay. Rubbing at my temples, stressed and panicked, I tried as hard as possible to formulate a plan. This was my duty now, to guide these girls, and I wasn't going to fail at the first hurdle.
“What's the best way off it?” I asked.
“We're close to a road, but there are loads of cars and stuff on it, and there aren't any walkways underneath.”
“Where does the road go?”
“It becomes a huge-ass bridge! There's a load of trees and stuff on the other side though.”
“Uhh... Um...”
Taking in a deep breath, I turned to Rarity and asked if she was capable of any sort of portal magic.
“I'm sorry darling, I can't do such things. The best of my abilities consist of illusion spells.”
“Twilight, is there nothing you-”
“No.” the unicorn growled, interrupting me, “Thanks to you, I won't have magic for the next fortnight at least! Now hurry up and think of a way to get us out of here!”
With my synapses firing harder and faster than ever before, I racked my brains.
“Rainbow, the trees beyond the bridge. Are they dense? Could we hide in them?”
“From the looks of things, yeah.”
“Right, you and Fluttershy, take all our bags and fly there. Find a good place to hide.” I ordered, “The rest of you, with me.”
Everyone shed their gear, which both pegasi collected; they took to the air and I followed their course, with the other four sticking close to me.
“What's the play?” Twilight asked.
“We're going to get to the road, and see if we can catch a ride.”
“We just got out of a moving vehicle, now you want to get back in one!?” Applejack remarked.
Stopping for a moment, I confirmed my plan.
“Not in... On...”
We reached the road, and there was thankfully a break in the chain-link fence to get right up to the traffic, where I waited until things slowed down.
“Why are we just standing here? Clock's ticking!” Twilight barked.
Looking at the encroaching vehicles, I spotted a large truck in the distance; as it grew closer, I noticed that it had a trailer, carrying planks, pipes, and other scaffolding materials.
“You all see that big one there? With the platform behind it, with all the pipes and stuff?”
“Ooh, ooh, I do!” Pinkie sang.
“When I say so, get on that platform.”
Without any other plan, this was our best option; the truck came alongside us, and by some sheer miracle, the traffic slowed to a near stopping point.
“Go! Go! Go!” I hissed.
We charged forward and onto the road, where we clambered onto the trailer, just as the traffic began to move at regular speed again; it was as though the very universe had slowed it down for us. I let out a huge sigh of relief, and we were soon enough on the large bridge that took us away from the island.
“What's the next step exactly?” Rarity asked.
Pointing out the huge greenery up ahead, I instructed everyone to jump off once we reached it, where we'd make for the trees and properly regroup, upon being properly submerged in the jungle.
“And... Jump!”
We hurled ourselves from the trailer and into the bushes, where we all tumbled into a ditch.
“AAAARRRGH! My darn leg!” Applejack cried out.
Rushing to her side, I realised that she had fallen into a load of discarded litter, which included a handful of broken bottles; and one of them I noticed, was now slick with blood.
“Oh Jesus...” I murmured.
“We need to get deeper in, let's go!” Twilight snapped.
Looking down at the farm pony, (or at least, her hazy outline), I asked her if she needed a lift.
“I'm okay... I just wasn't, expecting it... AAH!”
“Come here for goodness sake.” I muttered.
Despite her protests, I put my arms underneath the mare's belly and hoisted her up, before running into the trees with the others, and not a moment too soon, as my dose of Invisipone wore off. We didn't stop until we were a good fifty metres in, which was when everyone else's invisibility wore off too.
“Fuck...” I murmured, realising how bloody Applejack's leg was.
Setting her down, I inspected the wound; it was a very deep nick, just halfway up her shin. I wasn't squeamish by any standard, but seeing one of the ponies' blood like this made me feel woozy.
“We need Fluttershy!” Rarity pointed out.
“This is your fault, you know?” Twilight said to me quietly, who was stood beside me.
“Oh yeah, because I put those glass bottles there, didn't I?” I retorted.
Overhead, we heard the beating of wings, followed by Rainbow Dash landing close to us.
“There you guys are! I was wondering when you... Oh shit!”
Zipping up to Applejack and seeing the injury, Rainbow took no time in zooming back to where she'd come from, to grab Fluttershy and the medical supplies.
{So much for not failing at the first hurdle...} I thought to myself bitterly.
We had barely been in Brazil for an hour yet, and it was already trying to kill us...
Once Fluttershy had finished stitching up AJ's leg, applying a small dollop of Oozima, and wrapping it with a bandage, we were good to go; taking out my phone and showing Twilight the map, she indicated that we needed to be much further north, as the Orb fragment had landed deep in the jungle somewhere in the upper half of the country.
“Well, there's no time like the present. Let's head north!” I announced.
Using the map to look out for potential hazards, I noticed that we were close to some sort of construction material storage area, but I hardly expected that to be heavily populated; regardless, we stuck close to the water as we progressed, so that we could avoid the most of it. Eventually, we were back in secluded greenery, but another snag was now before us; the mouth of the Meriti River. Easily four-hundred feet wide, it wasn't exactly an easy cross, especially with Applejack's leg needing some time to remain clean and dry while the Oozima did its work. There was a bridge further downstream, but that also involved crossing into an urban area, which we all agreed would be far too dangerous until nightfall.
“Suggestions?” I asked openly.
“Ooh! What if we get on a boat?” Pinkie cried out.
“Nope! No more human vehicles!” Twilight dismissed immediately.
Emitting an amused huff, I agreed with Twilight; without invisibility, strong magic, or any means of self-defence, hijacking a boat could prove disastrous. At this, Pinkie puffed with disappointment.
“Fine, but mark my words... One day, we're getting on a big boat, and we're going to take it across the whole ocean! We'll be like a merry crew of swashbuckling pirates!”
“Sure thing Pinkie, whatever you say.” I chuckled.
Rainbow Dash then suggested we stole some materials from the site we'd just passed.
“Thievery, really Rainbow?” said Applejack, raising an eyebrow.
“What? All we'd need is a few wooden pallets or something, we could put a little raft together!”
Humming, I murmured that it actually wasn't such a terrible idea. The site looked mainly unoccupied, it wouldn't be too difficult to find some pallets and some rope to lash it together.
“Off you go then.” Twilight ordered.
“Stop being ridiculous, we're coming with him.” Rarity tutted.
After a brief argument, we eventually went together, leaving just Pinkie and Fluttershy behind to keep an eye on Applejack, who had been ordered to rest her leg for a moment.
“Okay, you all stay by the outskirts, see if you can spot any rope. I'll look for some pallets.” I told them.
Entering the material yard, it didn't take me long to find some large rectangular pallets that would serve us perfectly; now all we needed was rope...
Heading back to where I'd left the girls, I spotted a worker by his lonesome, heading into one of the little modular offices that were always present at large sites like this. It was then that I heard a shout from inside, followed by a scream.
“No...” I breathed.
Sprinting full-pelt to the building, I found the man pointing at Twilight, Rarity and Rainbow Dash, who must have come in here looking for rope.
“Seus demônios! Eu vou matar você!” he shrieked in Portuguese.
He clenched his fists and took a step forward, and I burst into action; lunging forward, I wrapped my right arm around his neck, cutting off his air supply. I then pulled him back and away from the girls, with the man flailing his arms around, completely taken by surprise. Falling out of the doorway, we both tumbled down the small steps, and still on top, the force of my body weight pushed him down with great velocity, just as his head collided with one of the concrete blocks at the bottom. Realising that he had stopped struggling, I released him and got to my feet, panting. Upon noticing that he wasn't moving at all, I figured that I'd knocked him out, until I saw the blood, splattered against the concrete.
“Callum...” Rarity murmured from the open doorway.
Rainbow and Twilight emerged too, saw the body, and both of their ears flattened in shock, with their pupils shrinking drastically.
“Did you just...” Rainbow Dash began, before trailing off.
I looked at the girls blankly, before slowly looking back to the man, which is when I realised what I had done.
“We need to go, now.” Twilight ordered.
Snapping back to the urgency of the situation, I told Rainbow to help me grab one of the pallets.
“I uh, found some rope...” Rarity added, unable to make eye contact with me.
Rainbow Dash blinked a few times, before giving her head a shake and walking down the steps to assist me, while the others ran back into the cover of the foliage. As we walked towards the pallets, Rainbow Dash gave an awkward tut, before asking if I was alright. All I could do was shake my head, and she pursed her lips. Neither of us uttered a word after that, as we grabbed a pallet each and dragged them back to the others. It didn't look like Twilight or Rarity had said what had happened yet, as they all greeted me with great enthusiasm.
“You guys okay? Y'all look like you've seen a ghost!” Applejack remarked, chuckling.
“Someone, saw us...” Rarity said finally.
Fluttershy, Pinkie, and AJ all gasped.
“Oh my gosh, what in the hay happened?”
Taking a deep breath, Rarity explained in full what had just occurred.
“Wait, you don't mean...” Applejack began, “Are you telling me, Callum just...”
Slowly shaking my head, I quietly professed that I was just trying to pull him away, with the sole intention of knocking him out, I hadn't meant for...
“You saved us, dude.” Dashie spoke firmly.
Looking to me and puffing her chest out, Rainbow Dash suddenly came to my full defence, and emphasised how the man was about to attack them, and that I had kept them from harm.
“They both fell down the steps, and the guy just, hit his own head! It was a total accident!” she finalised.
Rainbow's words had definitely helped rationalise things, but there was still an uneasy aura amongst us now, because accident or not, there was no denying this, I had just murdered someone...
With the pallets lashed together, everyone hopped on, bar for Rainbow and Fluttershy. The plan was for them to fly just above with some rope in their mouths, in order to tug our makeshift raft forwards and upwards, preventing it from sinking. It worked without a hitch, and we made our way across the river with ease, with Applejack's leg left completely untouched by the water. Hopping off, we stepped into the marshy vegetation on the other side, and continued making our way north, all saying very little to one another.
We had been walking for some time, when the humidity and heat started to really work away at us, with some being affected more than others. Dropping to her knees, Twilight gasped loudly, squinting her eyes shut and gritting her teeth.
“You okay?” I muttered, approaching her.
“Don't you dare touch me, murderer.”
Just hearing that word nearly made me sick. Gulping, the emotions I'd been trying to force away slowly bubbled to the surface. Refusing to look at anyone, I began to sniff loudly and continue walking, occasionally wiping at my eyes as I wept to myself.
I had thought stabbing my clone would have prepared me for something like this, but I was absolutely not bloody prepared. What the fuck was happening right now? Just this morning, I was still in England, drinking tea and happily munching at my first Threezie; now I had taken someone's life, on the other side of the globe. It felt as though there was suddenly no oxygen in the air, and I began taking deep, shaky breaths. My forehead began to sweat heavily, along with my vision going in and out of focus, and despite all the heat, my skin felt icy cold.
{I just killed another person, I've ended an actual person's life…} I thought to myself.
That man had been someone's son, and maybe he had sons of his own! Had I just taken a father away from someone, like mine had been so unfairly taken away from me? I felt nauseous, so unbelievably nauseous. The image of the man's bleeding head on the concrete popped into my mind, which almost sent me over the edge, I got pins and needles in my face and gagged, but was just able to keep it down. After a good twenty minutes of nearly hurling, the sensation slowly faded, and everything started to go numb, both emotionally and physically, as though I myself, was dying...
For quite some time, the others hung back, letting me take the lead, completely unprepared for this in their own rights. After about an hour, I finally calmed down and forced myself to get a grip, burying the event deep into the darkest corners of my mind, where it belonged; my duty was to protect these ponies, not succumb to the shock of doing whatever it would take to ensure their safety.
“Look, I know things got a little dicey back there.” I started, swallowing, “Now firstly, I didn't mean for it to happen, how it happened. But secondly, you all need to understand, that it might not be the last time someone tries to hurt you, and I am going to do whatever it takes, to keep you all safe.”
Sighing heavily, Rarity admitted that as horrible as the ordeal had been, she understood.
“I think, we're just in a bit of shock, darling. The Princess did warn us of the dangers, and that things may get, as you put it, 'a little dicey'. But none of us could have foreseen it really coming to this, especially not so soon.”
“I disagree.” Twilight stated boldly, “I knew this was going to happen from day one.”
Clearing her throat, the unicorn elaborated how she had tried to tell the group of my species' lust for violence, and that they shouldn't be surprised in the slightest by this development.
“He's not your friend, and he never will be. He's a weapon.”
“No he's not! It was an accident, and you know it!” Rainbow shouted, flaring her wings in anger.
“Call it what you like, but the facts are the facts. Our guide is responsible for another human's death, and even if it was to protect us, my point is no less valid that he's a violent creature, one that isn't to be trusted.”
“Well I trust him!” Pinkie squeaked, bouncing forward and giving me a hug.
“You... You do?” I spoke, amazed.
“Yep!”
Scoffing, Twilight asked for one truly valid example of how I could possibly be trustworthy, in which the pink pony gave a reply so emotionally charged, that it sold the rest of the group.
“He keeps his friends safe... Even at the risk of them not liking him anymore...”
“Pinkie...” I breathed.
Grinning, Rainbow Dash came forward and joined in on the hug, and one by one, my companions regained their confidence in me, and I was yet again enveloped in a group hug. Rarity proposed that we put the matter to bed, and despite Twilight's protests, we continued our bushland trek as a merry band once again.
We walked until the sun set, and after finding a relatively dry clearing, we deployed the tents and got some rest, all equally exhausted from a most trying day. If this was just day one, who knew what else Brazil had in store for us?
Over the next few days, everything went completely back to normal; all and any anxiety about the 'incident' had faded away, and Applejack's leg was all healed up in no time. We had made great progress in distance, especially after cutting through some urban areas in the dark of night, giving us plenty of wilderness to freely move in, including our first real patch of proper Brazilian jungle.
The sights, sounds and smells of the jungle were like nothing I’d ever experienced, everywhere I looked was a sea of green, the sound of birdsong and the buzzing of insects was almost deafening; the smells were so fresh and natural, it put English woodland to shame, that was for sure. The trees towered above us, with small rays of sunlight peaking through the canopy and flickering against every surface they touched. A bright blue bird flew above and looked down at us, before flittering out of sight.
“Some scenery huh?” Applejack said, noticing my amazement.
“Yeah, I’ve seen nothing like it. It's like a new world to me.” I answered, still star struck.
“How do you think we feel, Sugarcube? We’re actually on a new world!”
“That is a fair point.” I conceded, chuckling.
Wiping the sweat from my brow, I looked back behind me to make sure our stragglers were doing okay; Pinkie and Rarity were practically dying in the heat, and right at the back, was the worst victim. Still reeling from bluing out on the plane, poor Twilight had collapsed a handful of times, and needed multiple stops to drink water and rest up.
“Can you tell when your magic comes back?” I asked.
“No, it'll just happen. Now stop talking to me, the sound of your voice makes me want to thr-”
“Alright!” Rarity bleated, panting heavily, “I'm queasy enough in this accursed heat, I don't need you talking about such things. Especially not with that unsavoury attitude of yours!”
Moving to the front of the group, I strode along beside Rainbow Dash.
“The egghead still being an asshole?” she asked.
“Yup.” I replied, tutting.
We then heard a clatter behind us, followed by Twilight hissing a number of expletives.
“Twilight, language!” Rarity scolded.
“Bite me!”
Realising that Twilight had dropped her canteen, I went to help her retrieve it, feeling a pang of pity for the unicorn. Picking it up and popping the cap open, I passed it to her and she took it without uttering a word.
“Here, I'll put the cap back on.” I offered when she was finished drinking.
“I don't need your help.” she spat.
“Alright then, have fun with that.” I grinned, walking away.
I hadn't even gone three steps, when she asked me to wait.
“Here...”
Taking the canteen, I kindly put the cap back and handed it back to her. Reluctantly dipping her head in thanks, we continued, with a smirk now upon my face.
“So, here's a thought.” started Applejack, “If Twi don't get her magic back soon, how are we going to pinpoint exactly where we're supposed to be going? Like, I know we're going north, but when do we stop going north?”
“Oh my, that's a good point.” Rarity concurred.
“What about your gem-finding spell?” I theorised.
“Hm, that's a good thought, dear. But sadly, that spell only works if the gems are close by.”
Scratching at my chin, I tried to think up some sort of solution.
“What about your cutie mark story? When your horn pulled you towards a load of gems, surely you have some inherent ability to find rare stones from your world.” I said.
Tutting and shaking her head, Rarity explained how that was a one-off occasion, and wouldn't be able to replicate such a feat.
“Come on, surely there's something!” I puffed, using a thumb to clear the sweat from my forehead, “What if you were able to enchant something?”
“Ooh, now there's an idea!” Rarity gasped.
“Wait, what did you just say?” Twilight demanded, now glaring at me.
“I said, uh, we could enchant something? Like, using Rarity's magic?”
“How do you know about enchanting!?” Twilight shouted, pointing a hoof at me, “I thought humans didn't have any magic!”
“Yeah, there’s no way you should know something like that, what gives?” Applejack added in agreement.
Clearing my throat, I explained how we humans were obsessed with fantasies, mainly of the medieval genre, which included a great deal of magic. Although seemingly baseless in how real magic worked, it appeared as though we'd struck all the right notes, with attributes such as enchantment, intelligence, and even mana itself!
“Wow, that's incredible!” said Fluttershy.
“And hard to believe.” Twilight snorted.
“Look, when we get out of this place, I'll show you!” I insisted, “But for now, know that I'm telling the truth.”
Everyone else was happy with my testimony, and we moved on to the subject of actually enchanting something.
“So, what if we used your gem-finding spell, and enchanted a stick with it!” I proposed, “Perhaps it could glow when it's pointing towards the Orb piece?”
“A nice first draft.” Rarity giggled, “But a stick? A tad unreliable, don't you think?”
“How about your hooves or something? Then you’ll constantly be pulled in the right direction!” Dashie cackled.
“Um, how about ‘no thank you’? I’ve been physically dragged halfway across a country at the behest of gems once before, and I shan’t let it happen again.” Rarity dismissed, rolling her eyes.
“Beep boop beep!” Pinkie squealed.
“Shush Pinkie dear, we’re trying to think.” Rarity hushed.
“Beep boop beep!” Pinkie squealed again, louder.
“Pinkie, Sugarcube, please contain yourself for a moment!” Applejack laughed.
“No... Beep! Boop! Beep!”
“I don’t get it.” Rainbow Dash sighed.
Pinkie then walked over to me and forcefully prodded my thigh with her muzzle.
“What is it Pinkie?” I asked fondly, finding her behaviour both adorable and incredibly strange.
“Beep boop beep! Beepity beep! Boop bubba beep!”
She continued to poke at my thigh, very nearly in the crotch.
“Cut it out Pinks!” I chuckled awkwardly, pushing her face away.
“Vvvvrrrr! Vvvvrrrr!” she buzzed.
“Ugh, it's official. This heat's made Pinkie's last loose screw fall out!” Rainbow Dash groaned.
I rubbed at my leg where she’d been so forcefully sticking her face, and ran my fingers over the shape of the phone that dwelled in my pocket.
“Vvvvrrrr! Vvvvrrrr!” Pinkie continued to buzz.
{Pinkamena Diane Pie, you impossible little so-and-so…} I thought to myself, shaking my head in disbelief.
Noticing my expression, Rainbow Dash inquired as to what the matter was.
“I just figured it out…” I mumbled.
“Care to share?” Rarity asked.
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the device and quickly navigated to the settings menu, where I selected the vibration test, to which it gave off a loud ‘Vvvvrrrr. Vvvvrrrr.’
“Get out…” Rainbow Dash breathed quietly.
“Unbelievable…” Rarity mumbled, putting a hoof to her mouth.
“Pinkie you're an absolute genius!” I shouted merrily, pointing at her with a huge grin.
“Woop! Woop! Woohoo!” Pinkie squealed, breaking into a little dance.
Now knowing that it was possible for magic and technology to be combined, thanks to Twilight's exploits in the flight control tower, we theorised that Rarity could enchant my phone with her gem finding spell, which would hopefully allow the device to reveal the Orb piece. Choosing not to dilly-dally, I opened up my offline map application and held out the device.
“Go for it.”
Rarity’s horn lit up, and she brought it close to my phone; as soon as she made contact, the screen began to flash and flicker. It then began to vibrate intensely, and it became incredibly warm, almost too hot to handle. The hairs on my arm began to stand on end, as static electricity radiated from the device.
“Bloody hell…” I mumbled.
Eventually, the glow of Rarity’s horn died out, and the phone screen went black, I touched the screen and nothing happened.
“Huh, I think, uh... I think you've killed it.” I said blankly.
“Well that sucks.” Rainbow Dash hummed.
I hit the power button, and still nothing happened.
“Perhaps it needs to cool down?” Rarity suggested.
“Possibly.” I shrugged.
We then started to notice that it was getting dark, so we decided to set up camp and have some dinner; we would check in on my phone a little bit later. During our hunt for somewhere suitable for the tents, Fluttershy made quite an odd request.
“Could um, could you all go on ahead for a moment? I wanted to ask Callum something in private.”
“Uh, sure, I guess.” Applejack replied curiously.
Shrugging, everyone took off, leaving me alone with the pegasus.
“What's going on?” I inquired, tilting my head.
Nervously crossing her front legs, Fluttershy spoke her mind.
“I, um... Wanted to ask you something, just to be absolutely certain...”
“Alright, well, I'm all ears.”
“Back at your old home, I don't think you were being completely honest about something. It's been bugging me ever since, so I just wanted to be brave and ask you again, if you don't mind...”
Gulping, I started trying to think back; what hadn't I been honest about? Giving her a nod to proceed, she told me exactly what I hadn't been honest about, and I broke into a cold sweat.
“Pinkie asked you about the kind of foods you eat, and you said that you eat food similar to us ponies. But I can't help but notice, whenever you smile, that you have some sharp teeth too...”
“Oh…” I said.
{Well, fuck…} I thought to myself, swallowing slightly.
“Do you… Um… Do… You…?” Fluttershy started and stopped, trying to find the words.
She looked at me with a troubled expression, not exactly sure how to ask the question without causing offense. She then gave me a look as if to say ‘you know exactly what I’m trying to ask you’, and she was absolutely right; I knew what her question was, and it was a question that I had been dreading since I met the six. I sighed before giving my answer, preparing myself once again for the fear and mistrust of my newfound pony friends.
“Yes Fluttershy... I eat meat…”