Separation

by Maneiac

Canterlot Bound Part Five

These dreams were not my own.

They did not carry the warmth I had been expecting, nor was I led to believe that Equis was the planet on which I resided. Unlike the other, more familiar manifestations of my dreamscape - such as my Station of Awakening - this area was nothing more than a desert of purple colored sand, with a twinkling sky above wrapping around three moons arranged in a precarious and quite ominous position of a slanted ‘Z’. My gaze was drawn, captivated by the splendid canvas that portrayed the serenity of night with a pale yellow gaze.

This dream was definitely not my own.

The Station of Awakening was something I could understand; something I could assimilate into a part of myself and memories, for that’s what it was. That fictional plane of existence within my mind was crafted from a game I enjoyed playing once before, but I’ve never entertained nor seen a game with a purple desert before, and it wasn’t like this kind of landscape could just be dreamt from out of nowhere.

“There’s a connection here, and I’m simply missing it.”

My face jerked. The abrupt movement was fleeting, but left behind a sting on the offended cheek. I had been slapped. Someone in the real world was causing my body physical harm, but I couldn’t see nor hear who it was beyond this omnipresent veil of unconsciousness. My head felt the force behind another weighty blow, turning my large head to the right this time before I blinked in reaction to the impact.

In that blink, I was staring up at the roof to Sunset’s four-post, the nigh-transparent curtain surrounding me all around waving softly in the wind from a cracked window. The drifting breeze carried forth a delightful smell of sunshine, clear skies, wildflowers, and - much to my increasing chagrin - the scent of my love interest, I guess I should say.

Sunset Shimmer was currently posted up next to my head on the right side, her two-toned tail curled around her haunches as she sat on them. Her forehooves were straight, although the one on the right was slightly more red around the bottom. It didn’t take a genius to know which hoof she slapped me with as I sat up and worked my lower jaw around in slow circles.

I was in a foggy mental state as I’m quite wont to be upon waking up from a nap, but that dream felt so real that the purple sand which was betwixt my toes still gave me a haunting feeling of tangible form and sensation that I couldn’t explain. The whole thing was enough to make me twitch and flex my long toes a bit as I stared at them from my sat-up positioning next to Sunset.

“Well then,” She said, her voice breaking through the quiet stillness to fill my head with yet another train of thought. We were supposed to be leaving today for Canterlot; I would meet Flash Sentry, Harshwhinny will be coming along, and we’d finally be going towards that one place where Luna was. “I hope you didn’t forget about our little trip organized for today, Silas. Ms. Harshwhinny is in the living room enjoying tea and a blueberry muffin with all her bags packed.”

The news of that insufferable mare’s presence being so close to my own made me sigh in just a smidgen of annoyance. Shifting my eyes and head around so that I could better view her, I thusly lowered my head down so that I could plant a kiss upon Sunset’s forehead just to the right of her horn, feeling the long bone enter my hair and mingle with the strands as I broke the moment of intimacy by moving away just a smidgen.

“Fine,” I said after a moment to gather myself and stretch. “Can you keep her entertained until I get out there, or are you here taking a break from her company like so many others would?” My quip earned me a little bit of a glare from Sunset, but she wasn’t that good with her face yet; she couldn’t hide that brief flicker of amusement burning in her eyes as she turned and hopped off the bed.

“I expect you to be out in the living room in about five minutes, considering you’ll be packing all your essentials,” Sunset announced, her body moving fluidly with that grace she always kept packaged underneath her rather confrontational air of superiority and confidence. Twas there that her horn glowed and gave that mystical jingle as the doorknob took on her respective aura and opened just to close behind her softly on the way out.

I listened for her gait to carry her into the living room with my admittedly-massive ears before standing up fully with a loud yawn blowing the curtains on the wall asunder. A couple of her trinkets upon the boudoir against the wall I was facing shook and jingled before dumping their contents on the floor, one of them happening to be one of her many bottles of therapeutic oils. Io’s gift of Divine Comprehension allowed me to distinguish the bottle as the White Lotus concoction I rubbed upon her body before, making me feel a distinct heat rise to my cheeks as I strode over to her chair with a huff.

My emotions weren’t so exposed anymore, and I didn’t feel different in any way since having that dream as I snatched my jacket off the back of the chair with a few mumbled words of deep thinking. I could feel my eyes gravitating towards the bottom-edges of their sockets as I ransacked my brain for those images again that were once so vivid and breathtaking, instilling within my breast a sense of belonging so strong that everywhere else felt foreign and unknown to me. Nothing from Earth even remotely resembled that scenery, and nothing from the books Sunset kept around her house allowed my wonder to end itself.

“That place was on a whole other world. Perhaps it would be best to just allow this kind of thing to blow over and forget about it in the long run. I don’t really gain anything out of figuring out what that place means, anyways.”  Both of my arms found solace and comfort within the bounds of the soft material my jacket’s insides were made out of as they slid into the sleeves, my thought process stopping as quick as it came. Today was the day we’d be leaving Stonehaven behind and flying towards Canterlot for that fated meeting.

“So much has happened,” I thought with a bit of distaste as I remembered Granite Podium and the horrors within: the people, the friends, the glass friendships and acquaintances. A moment of silence was offered to those who were lost in that struggle before I tugged on the two sides of my unzipped jacket, making my way towards the door with naught but a little huff announcing the end of my troublesome thoughts passing away into nothingness.

Upon reaching the door and placing my claw on it, the sounds of a muffled argument graced my ears. My whole body went stiff as I heard my name mentioned by an elder mare’s voice, and then a set of vocals too tiddled with confidence to be that of any other mare but Sunset’s. “Harshwhinny and Shimms are arguing? And it’s about me?”

The sudden development left a tremble in my breathing, but I placed my large right ear against the door and quieted my roaring blood to better hear the voices beyond the wood and hallway just beyond.

“.... To continue on with him, Sunset Shimmer. He’s much too unstable upstairs, and above all else, a complete danger to you and those you might be caring for on the side.” That was Harshwhinny, no doubt, always willing to talk about me whenever I’m not listening.

“You are a respected member of Canterlot’s nobility,” Sunset said, her voice sharp but muffled thanks to the blasted door blocking my true aural quality from manifesting itself. “Your opinions, suggestions and critiques have been known to make or break major events and parties. I don’t seem to recall relationship advice to be among your repertoire of skills, though.”

“No, it’s not; but I can’t stand watching a well-off mare like yourself settle for something so... underneath your capabilities. You’re aesthetically pleasing to the eye, learned and firmly rooted in your studies, and even boast some of the strongest savvy with magic outside the Equestrian border. You deserve so much more, Sunset Shimmer.”

At that, my nails tore into the wood of Sunset’s door a little bit. “Harshwhinny is trying to break us up? Why? We’re taking the time out of our happy lives together in order to take her ungrateful-ass to Canterlot, and she’s just sitting there-”

“You’re right.”

My eyes widened, all thoughts shot through the heart as an icy dagger tore mine up from the bottom to the top. I was not disheartened yet, because I knew Sunset was going to go on with one of her tirades that would slowly build up to her getting angry and yelling at the dumbass in a purple suit. She always did that with me whenever I pointed out the obvious to her and used it as an argument.

But.. no words followed that. She wasn’t setting up for an epic comeback, she wasn’t leading Harshwhinny into a false sense of victory like she had with me on so many an occasion. There was simply no follow-through whatsoever when it came to her trying to repair my heart with but a single syllable following that statement; no, that agreement with the older mare’s cold words towards me and who I was and what I amounted to as a love interest for her.

“Ah,” Harshwhinny said after a moment, her voice carrying through gruffly as if she wasn’t expecting the answer either. “Then you do realize what I’m getting at, do you? I never said breakup with him; far be it from me to dictate how you should lead your life, but know that my special talent doesn’t involve mincing my words. The dragon - Celestia bless his problem-laden soul - offers you nothing in terms of bettering yourself. Being with him will only cause you stress and harm. It is the way with all dragons save for a certain Mr. The Dragon back in Ponyville, but I think that’s because he was raised under the tutelage of us Equestrians rather than his own kind.”

Sunset fell quiet for a couple of moments before she sighed heavily and - although I couldn’t see her, I knew she did it - nodded her head. “You are right in every regard, and if you’d notice, I never disagreed with anything you have said. I do wake up sometimes in the night and wonder if I rushed into this with him; I know nothing about him, I know nothing about what’s going on in his head, and I feel as though most of my attraction towards him happens to come from the fact that he’s exotic, he’s rather nice to me, and that he saved me from the horrors of that Granite Podium situation I told you about earlier.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The click of a teacup finding itself placed back onto a fancy coaster plate made me bristle a bit in sorrow. “But it was genuine; we connected far better than that, I thought! Did I scare her away by killing Dreggen and his brothers? Was I weathering the storm for naught but this situation here and now?” There were too many questions for me to think about and avoid breaking down at the same time. This was the worst pain I’ve ever felt; the pain of a broken heart, of a shattered soul. “... We have to be more than that... truly....”

“Going by that retort, I’d like to say that I was right after all; you’re not sure if the feelings you have for him actually come from your desire to be with him, or be protected by him,” Harshwhinny deduced, her snobbish voice making me want to puke. “I never enjoy playing with marriage or relationships of another feather, but the flock remains the same, and since you asked for my opinion... I will give it.”

A long silence fell over everything as I pressed my head closer to the door, feeling the dagger in my heart get close to the tip before it would eventually cleave in two everything I cared for when it came to Sunset Shimmer.

“End it. Do not mince your words, look him in the eye, and break it off. There is nothing to come from you shackling yourself to some otherworldly plebian to entertain your delusions of falsified affection. If you do not break it off, you will only be causing yourself more pain. He’s too unstable, and as my friend and acquaintance, I will not stand by idly and watch this self-destruct sequence activate and complete itself eventually.” Her opinion given, I could practically hear the tips of Sunset’s eyelids slam into the bottom portion as she winced.

“Your honesty is appreciated and considered, Ms. Harshwhinny. Thank you.”

My knees thundered against the floorboards as I collapsed, much like the world I had created with Sunset as the very cornerstone. After we conversated with Luna in Canterlot, my mind had settled on Sunset being the person keeping me bound to my place of perfected peace and comfort; she was the rock I could lean on when the storms quaked the ground and shattered the sky with bright whips of lightning. All of my rage at Granite Podium was just torn away at that moment, when those two words ending that part of their conversation were spoken by my own love interest... supposed love interest, that is.

I felt nauseous, and for the first time since living on Earth all years of my life without Old Man Sam, utterly alone. My tendencies for making a bad situation worse was no different now that I was beholding the naked truth among all things possible; Sunset Shimmer was a unicorn from a well-off family in Canterlot, served Princess Celestia - whom I understand to be the elder sister of Princess Luna, the royal alicorn we’re supposed to be meeting - as her faithful student, and even wrote some pretty high-grade spells on magic itself as a living force of energy and sustenance.

And then, there was Silas Epista. “Nothing besides Unsung Hero of Granite Podium to his name....” I hissed as the first tear tore itself down my face with horrendous tons of ferocity, sizzling in the air as it dropped onto the wooden floorboards below and melted through the timber as if it was nothing more than paper doused in lighter fluid. A black hole was left in the drop’s wake, and as it went, I eventually felt more tears clawing themselves from my eyes much to my annoyance and chagrin.

“How pathetic is this, Justin?” My question dropped into my body like a swing from the executioner’s ax. The answer was too apparent for me to bear as I snarled and wiped my face on the sleeve of my right arm, quickly standing up to my own two feet and that hunched-over pose that allowed me to navigate Sunset’s house without any hindrance whatsoever. From this newly-found stance, I made sure no traces of crying were seen in my eyes by turning my head to look upon the mirror centerpiece of her boudoir before turning back to the door and opening it after sighing once.

The creak of the door hushed the mares in the living room like I thought it would, which was why I had opted to eavesdrop without opening the obstacle beforehand. As my steps reverberated throughout the entire household with every stride given, I had about two seconds of being by myself before I beheld Harshwhinny and Sunset sitting opposite from each other in two floral-patterned recliners that looked too soft to be real; the long table separating them only having their teacups, their two coaster-plates, two small plates for their muffins --- which was odd since Harshwhinny still had a full muffin while Sunset’s was all but gone, and an elegant kettle matching the floral patterns of the recliners they were currently in.

Next to Harshwhinny was that stapled traveling case that I mistook for Sunset back at Town Square the other day, and from the bemused look on her face, I could tell that the elder mare had her suspicions about whether or not I had been eavesdropping on their little heart-to-heart. I did my best to hide my knowledge from her as I turned my head from that analytic gaze, instead finding Sunset’s unsure eyes and hesitant glances. If we were still an item, I would have asked her what that puppy-dog look was for, but since it was clear what was in her heart towards me, it took everything I had to keep my feelings in check and remain from crying once more.

“Mother was right in one regard,” I thought bitterly as I made an immediate right to push open her front door and head outside, towards the woodpile and chopping stump where I did my most relaxing work around this place and where I kept Devotion. “Relationships... nothing ever good comes from them, especially the ones created on a whimsy. Maybe that’s why, in the back of my mind, I always felt that what Shimms and I had was never meant to last. The size difference should have been a big enough indication of that, ironically enough.”

Bitterness swelled in my breast like a cancerous tumor, causing me a slight pain even as the midday breeze carried with it the sound of a sorrowful sigh being given by a mare that had just stepped outside. Devotion’s mighty handle drew my attention more than that pony behind me ever could at the current moment, even though I felt that familiar tug on my soul to turn around and see to whatever was bothering her. It was as if my body was being split in two, the half behind me stretching and clamoring for the unicorn while I, the one with the lesser amount of drive, took Devotion’s cylindrical handle into my massive claw.

All it took was a single thought to have the massive ax melt and shift down into its baton form, where it was then situated upon my right hip and behind the black belt. I wasn’t ever going to tell Sunset that I overheard everything she and Harshwhinny were conversing about, and I wasn’t ever going to blow up at her for not telling me how she felt sooner instead of leading me on in such a way. But the realization that I was nothing more than a great nourisher to her exotic species fetish was something that coerced a silent burp and gurgle from my belly.

I felt sickened that my will was so easily manipulated; the worse part being that I actually found myself not caring all that much about this development. The feeling that my body was willing to answer to her, to heed and always seek compromise when I wanted nothing more than to distance myself for some coherent thought; so I could lose myself among every train leading me to a sense of self-closure that could put us back together.

“Silas, I-”

“No,” I barked, a snarl working its way across my lips as I turned my head to the left some, angling my head as far away from her as possible as if her snout was on the right side of it. My claws tightened themselves into balls of representative internal battle; turn around, don’t turn around, and so forth. “Just... give me a bit of time.” I granted myself the wish of turning around at that moment, my face hot with boiling blood and - at the same time - a frostburn-inducing coldness that stemmed from the realization that there was no going back from saying how I felt as I looked upon Sunset’s shocked features.

I was practically looming over her, she was so close, with her eyes wide and ears pinned to her head as those pupils shimmered - ironically - with the sun’s embrace. Part of me wanted to compliment her deep down, but the other 87% wanted me to finish what I was going to say. “Give me a bit of time from you, to be exact.” And with that, I tucked my claws into my pockets and walked past her, my wince all too clear to me as I practically trampled her wildflowers upon hearing her lungs work again to usher forth a pained inhale like she had been stabbed.

Harshwhinny was on the dirt road just as I got out of the flowers, some tulips stuck between my toes as she borderline glared at me in my peripheral vision. “Running away from your problems by being abrasive as Tartarus again, I assume?”

I had taken one step past her positioning before that questioned reached my ears, making me stop mid-step and whirl on the perfection-obsessed mare. “I am in no mood for your shit, you hag! Instead of snooping around in matters that don’t concern you,” My arm snapped up into the backhanding motion as Harshwhinny made to open her mouth and interrupt me, the action stopping that syllable short of utterance as I glared. “And I don’t give a rat’s ass how much Sunset respects your opinion or if she even asked for it; this little fallout between both her and myself was eventually going to transpire, but you had no right speaking on this matter.”

Harshwhinny waited for me to stop and lower my claw before frowning deeply; violence didn’t sit well with her when threats were behind it. “What transpired betwixt your love interest and myself,” She air-quoted with her hooves, making my own snarl intensify in ferocity as she mocked our relationship even more. “Was meant to stay exactly that; between Sunset Shimmer and Ms. Harshwhinny; not the whiny little prat insinuating that my advice was actually going to be heeded by the unicorn currently crying her sorrows onto her torn-up garden over there!”

Her logical rebuttal made me angrier, but I knew she had me beaten in that scenario; there was no way I could know that was what Sunset was thinking about when she approached me, and now she definitely knew that I had overheard them thanks to the shouting match I just had against the prestigious earth pony in front of me. Harshwhinny was actually giving me a real scowl, not her neutral mean mug, allowing me to see just what she looked like when real anger was applied to the mix of sour emotions she operated within any nominal situation.

She had taken the words from my mouth and mind, wiping it clean with that thundering sense of surety that eradicated any false inkling of defiance I had left. And when that ran out, my defiance, I felt my anger subsiding and morbid grief taking hold where once hot blood ran. It was enough to make me shiver and look towards Sunset slowly, watching her shuddering and hunched-over form shake involuntarily of her will. I had succeeded in making a mountain out of an anthill as I was always wont to do back on Earth... glorious.

“This is exactly what I warned her about, which I’m sure you know of what I’m referring to.” The snobby voice laced with an irate disposition made my body shiver along the back of my legs as I turned my head back to look upon Harshwhinny’s features, not really knowing if she had calmed down or if she had merely kept the same stank-face she had when she was livid. “You bring her pain and suffering merely being around her, and she’s too accepting of a stranger in order to turn you away. That’s her major problem, and why she opted to move out into this hick-forest away from the minotaurs of Stonehaven.”

I could only avert my eyes and stare down at a particularly interesting procession of black ants currently marching their way across the dirt road that I was close to passing on my way to the back of the cabin. She had defeated me on the one thing I prided myself the most with; sheer logic and determination which would cumulate into a great sense of self. She had robbed me of the deepest part of myself... this was defeat far worse than anything compared to a physical nature. And it wouldn’t be a lie if I said that a large majority of me wanted to go over to where Sunset was, get on my knees, and cry alongside her.

Harshwhinny might be an unpleasant, perfection-obsessed, mean-faced cunt; but she was a necessary evil to sort me out and sort out Sunset. In a way, I couldn’t be that upset that she managed to do this to me; everything she had said to Shimms was the absolute truth. There was absolutely nothing I had to offer other than pain and hardship, as stupid and emo it sounded. I had no skills, no money, no real solid ground in this world, and now - based on the order that Io had given me in regards to slaying Tiamat - an apparent death mission if the slightest thing went wrong.

Gritting my teeth in bitter acceptance, I merely placed the foot that was still slightly raised for my next step through the right side’s wildflower garden in order to settle it on the dirt road Harshwhinny and I were sharing. There was a hollow feeling deep in my chest that I couldn’t explain, but as I turned my attention back onto the sharply-dressed mare, the feeling of half-assed acceptance seemed to dwindle back down into nothingness as I heaved a sigh.

“Well... now I feel like absolute shit. Thanks for that.”

“Anytime,” Harshwhinny responded quickly, almost as if she was expecting me to say that right from the get-go. “I’m not the one you should be talking to and trying to make pitiful amends with. And I won’t tell you to approach her now, but it’s an event that must unfold in order for you two to even have the ability to look at each other without feeling ridiculously awkward.” Her opinion given once more, Ms. Harshwhinny grabbed her traveling bag with that floral arrangement in her teeth, hoisted it up, and made her way behind the cabin without another word or a second glance back to me or Sunset.

She was ready to go, and yet, I was here creating drama and stalling our progress for no reason whatsoever other than to satisfy my sense of Get Them Before They Get You. But I was now left with two options at the present moment, and they both sucked so much in their own way that it was impossible for me to choose without giving it some serious thought.

“Option 1: Turn around, walk to Sunset, and try to apologize without sounding like a dick.” One would think this to be simple and easy to carry out, but when in regards to myself and the way I think and always get defensive, there was no real way of saying that everything would go according to the plan. Who knew me better than myself, and if the answer really is myself, then I also knew this was a fool’s errand since the bittersweet feeling was still lodged deep within my thick chest; an unknown pressure that sought to crush my rib-cage to pieces and shatter my heart like porcelain dropped from on high.

“No, that won’t suffice right now. I’ll say something and end up fucking us over even more, especially now that I know I’m... well... not really desired or needed. I hate being a doormat, but you have no other choice when you fuck up so often, I guess.” Shaking my head a bit whilst stuffing my huge claws into the pockets of my exotic pants, I couldn’t help but notice how much of that was true. In hindsight, I had always been a doormat when it came to my emotions and principles, no matter how much I tried convincing myself otherwise with idle words and distracting thoughts. I joined the Four Suits Mafia simply because I was trying to cure my spineless persona and replace it with something more... assertive.

“Stop it, dude. You just got yourself together. Option 2 is leaving her alone for a bit and then casually bringing it up on the trip to Canterlot while we’re in Judgement. Considering the situation at hand, that sounds like a far better alternative than what was previously thought up.” A nice breeze rolled by at that point, blowing a satisfying gust of air that managed to scoop up some of Sunset’s mane and drift it about lazily in my peripheral vision. It was hard to miss things when you were almost as big as the trees surrounding the house you were made to reside in for a while.

Twas here that I made out the movement she made; a simple raising of her head and stopping of her sniffling. An eerie silence broke out as I turned my head completely to behold her still form as she gazed out over the trees in the distance, almost as if she was lifting a silent prayer to the gods of the forests in order to make them bloom even more gorgeously than they were right now. And it took everything I had to not choke on my next inhale as she practically snapped her head around to glare fire through my being, her heart speaking louder than her words ever could as she stood and aptly started a brisk walk towards the back of the cabin on her side.

She didn’t want to be near me.

“Option 2 it is...” My thought was pathetic; almost a whisper as I sighed deeply and went behind the cabin on my own side, my large size carrying me faster than her brisk walk as I past her parallel to her own path towards Judgement. Harshwhinny was already tapping her hoof expectantly as her suitcase or traveling bag or whatever the fuck that thing is sat next to her and leaned against the ship itself. She didn’t seem that impressed that an alien craft was behind her.

Upon catching my gaze and then briefly looking to Sunset’s approaching figure, Harshwhinny redirected her gaze back towards me; the only noticeable difference was that she was now sporting a raised eyebrow as if she was silently asking: “Are you kidding me? You honestly said nothing to her?”

All it took was a glare from my end to make her sigh deeply and turn around, picking her bag up in her teeth. Like a gentleman, I averted my eyes to make sure I wasn’t getting a good eye on her ass and the like; such things would no doubt piss Sunset off further if she was taking subtle glances at me like she’s wont to do when terribly upset.

“Siri, extend the boarding steps, please.” My order was given via our telepathic link through the Sirios Unit, the tiny A.I. colored a pink draconian floating out of the device to shoot me a quick glare before flying into the ship and getting its side door opening with the stairs all but rocketing out into the ground. I had to roll my eyes. All the women were ganging up on me.

Of course it wasn’t fair in my eyes, but their actions were all too justified. In the back of my mind, I was somewhat happy that they had the ability to synchronize like this and really screw the pooch over harder than what was originally needed in terms of comeuppance; they were vengeful vixens cooperating to make sure the one guy was gonna regret ever doing this to them. “There you go again, Justin; always searching for a way to make this their fault somehow. You fucked up, not them.”

Before I could take my first step onto the ship, Harshwhinny was already entering the craft. Sunset, however, decided she was going second, and froze my leg up in her aura of strong magic as she practically bullied me out of the way to allow herself passage. It wasn’t until her flanks disappeared around the corner did I feel and see that beautiful blue aura leave my leg, a distinct tightness able to be felt in the appendage as she almost snapped it clean in two. The pain was enough to make me wince minutely at the sore appendage before trudging my way up the stairs, cursing under my breath because of the lack of a railing.

“Guess that pegasus is already on my ship,” The final step that brought me into the log cabin-esque cockpit that I left Judgement in was taken, and when I entered the ship, my large ears picked up on the slamming sound of the steps entering the ship’s innards as the door closed behind me. Where Sunset had grabbed my leg with her magic I’ll never know exactly, but it itched to all hell near the shin.

And it was at this moment that I realized Siri, Sunset, and Harshwhinny all had their own varying glares of disappointment going for them. The realization was enough to make me sigh deep enough to blow forth a plume of black smog from my nostrils and flatten my ears against my head. “This.... this is gonna be a long-ass trip.”

“Whoa,” A new voice drawled out on my left, making me snap my head around instantly and perk my ears right back up into the sky. The pegasus currently flapping at my head’s level of height had wide eyes of nice blue and a matching mane and tail of the same coloration, his hair being that of gold just like Sunset’s. I could tell from the bolder chin that he was male, and by the voice as well, and to my displeasure, he was within arm’s reach of me even though I had no idea who he was. Apparently, the stallion had no concept of personal space. “... You’re a lot bigger than what Shimmy explained.”

I just stared at him for a little bit before slowly turning my attention away from the stallion, soon making my way over to the Captain’s chair in order to relax into the cushions as I sat down and closed my eyes. “... Longest. Fucking. Trip. Ever.”