Chapter Twenty One: Lest Not Abhor
“Callum! What in the hay is wrong with you!?” Applejack shouted, running towards me.
Ignoring the farm pony, I put a hand on Twilight’s upper chest and forced her up against the tree behind us.
“I know what you did, you bitch!”
“Get off me, I didn’t do anything!” she bleated out fearfully, struggling.
Applejack butted into me with remarkable strength, sending me skidding away from Twilight. She stood between the two of us and glowered at me, demanding to know just what in tarnation was going on here.
“The human’s lost his mind!” Twilight whimpered pathetically, “He attacked me for no reason!”
“No reason?” I gasped, gritting my teeth, “You made that clone feel pain, after lying to me that he wouldn’t, and I want that filthy little mouth of yours to admit it!”
Applejack glanced behind her to look at Twilight, demanding to know if this was true.
“I did no such thi-”
“Did you not hear the screams!?” I bellowed to the others, cutting her off.
“Yeah, we did.” Rainbow Dash piped up, stepping forward and scowling at the unicorn.
Everyone, including Blu, stared at Twilight and awaited her response, to which she innocently professed that the screaming was nothing more than a realistic simulation from the clone, a trick, devised solely to distract the crocodiles further.
“Obviously it worked, because you’re still here.” she finalised with a churlish huff.
“Are you for real right now?” I growled, shaking my head, “Do you honestly have the gall to lie to my face about this? I know myself Twilight, and I know what my own goddamn terror sounds like, that was no trick and you know it!”
I began striding towards her, my fists clenched tightly. Applejack held her ground despite her smaller stature, and warned me to stay where I was.
“Look Sugarcube, I don’t know which one of y’all is telling the truth, but we ain’t solving this with violence, do you hear?” she ordered, meeting my glare with her own.
From behind her honourable protector, Twilight raised her upper lip into a sneer.
“You see, human? You can’t turn my friends against me, even with your convincing little tantrum.”
“Oh, this has nothing to do with your friends.” I spat, tensing every muscle in my body, “This is between me, and you! You’ve put me through enough, and now you’ve crossed a fucking line!”
“Pfft, please!” she scoffed, throwing her head back, “What have I put you through exactly?”
“Only too much…” I replied, shaking my head, “You’ve insulted me and put me down every step of this journey. You don’t even give me the courtesy of addressing me by my name half the time! For crying out loud, you punched me in the face on the first day!”
Some of the girls gasped, realising that I hadn’t fallen over that day, and that I’d just been covering for Twilight’s inexcusable attack.
“So she did hit you! I knew it, I fucking knew it!” shouted Rainbow Dash, her eyes wild with anger.
Continuing, I told Twilight how she had needlessly vilified me on a daily basis. But now, by allowing my clone to suffer, by way of experiencing a violent and painful death, she had gone too far. Snorting, she clapped back at me without missing a beat.
“Oh let’s not kid ourselves, your species loves violence! Surely the past few weeks can attest to that? You know what this is about? You’re jealous! What, you don’t think I see those scars on your wrists? You’re so full of hatred that you hate yourself! I bet you revelled in the opportunity to stab your clone back in England, and now, you’re jealous that this clone got to die too!”
My mouth hung open in disbelief, I genuinely didn’t know how to respond, which of course, the unicorn interpreted as a guilt-ridden agreement. She looked to the others while pointing at me with a hoof.
“You see? I didn't do anything wrong, I've given this evil thing exactly what it wants!”
“Stop saying he’s evil, he’s not!” Pinkie protested, stomping the ground with a hoof.
“And how would you know that, huh?”
“Because my Pinkie Sense says so! And because he’s nice!”
“Oh, like how your Pinkie Sense told you how Princess Cadence was fine at my brother’s wedding? You know, when she was actually that bug-eyed changeling freak?”
Frowning and looking at the ground, Pinkie didn’t know what to say to that. Rejoining the argument, I directed the focus back to the here and now.
“Stop dancing around the fact, Twilight. You allowed my clone to feel pain, and unless you admit it, here and now, I am done being your guide!”
The girls all looked to me, aghast, suddenly threatened with the prospect of losing me. After what we had all been through, they knew that I wouldn’t make such a statement lightly. Wiping at her bleeding nose with a foreleg, Twilight was undeterred by my threat.
“Go on then, off you go! Now my magic’s back, I can teleport us anywhere. We’ll find the rest of the Orb without you, and you can have fun rotting in this jungle. Good luck with the crocodiles!”
“Don’t be so ridiculous!” Rarity shouted, “We are most certainly not leaving him here! And you, Miss Sparkle, are going to tell us the honest-to-goodness truth!”
“Yeah!” Dashie joined in, “We all saw what happened, and if Callum says those screams were real, then I believe him!”
“Out with it.” I commanded, taking a step forward.
Twilight bared her teeth at me, and I watched as the faint spirals on her horn began to light up, before the entire thing started to glow.
“I’m not afraid of you, human.”
“Bold talk from a pony cowering behind someone else.”
Without warning, she used her telekinesis to shove Applejack aside, sending her stumbling to the ground. The farm pony’s hat fell off in the process, and she gasped in disbelief.
“You, ugh! You know what? Fine! You’re on your own!” she huffed angrily, shaking her head.
Twilight stepped towards me, her horn still pulsating with light.
“I think it’s time this animal is taught a lesson…”
“Ohh, you're the one who's about to learn something.” I snarled back, flexing my fists.
Truth be told, it took every ounce of my self-control not to lunge at her there and then. I had already punched her once, so if I were to lash out for a second time, unprovoked, the others could very well see me as an aggressor, and I didn’t want that. But if Twilight were to attack me first? Well, then I had every right to defend myself, free of judgement.
“Please stop this, Twilight!” Fluttershy spoke up desperately, “Maybe if you just told us the truth…”
“Shut it Fluttershy!” the unicorn barked, “This doesn’t concern you.”
“Wow, some friend you are…” I taunted, “Pushing Applejack down to the ground, shouting at Fluttershy when she’s done nothing wrong, really good friendship skills there, great job buddy! Keep going like this, and you’ll be crawling back to Celestia with just one piece of your precious Orb, having failed as a leader!”
Her eyes flashed with hatred, and her brightly pulsating horn flashed white, sending out a blast of raw energy. I was knocked back a good metre or two and hit the ground with a heavy thud, and it dawned on me that the mare was genuinely ready to hurt me. Rainbow Dash ordered her to stop, begging her not to take this any further, which was when my opportunity to strike arose…
Turning to look at the pegasus, Twilight broke into an angry rant, shouting to her about how I was the one who started this, and that I needed to be put back in my place. Getting to my feet, I strode to the unicorn with haste, something which she didn’t clock onto until it was too late. Upon reaching her, she whipped around and tried to send out another blast, but before she could do so, I instinctively lurched forward and gripped her horn with my right hand, squeezing it as tightly as I could. The magical energy was rampantly dispelled, and the mare clamped her eyes shut, releasing an almighty scream. In turn, as though I had forced my hand onto a cast iron skillet, long upon a flame, a searing agony burned into my skin, and I shouted out with pain. Releasing the mare and stepping away, I gripped my wrist and stared at my hand with tears already welling up in my eyes. My palm and inner fingers were now dark red, and darker still, were charred swirling lines. By way of a very severe second-degree burn, Twilight’s entire horn had been imprinted onto my hand.
“Dude, what the heck did you just do?” Dashie blurted out.
Forcing the pain out of my mind, I crouched beside Twilight, who had dropped to the ground, clutching at her forehead and emitting heavy, pained breaths. Without a shred of remorse, I took a fistful of her mane and forced her to look up at me.
“Tell them the truth.”
She continued to writhe, and I repeated myself, louder, and angrier. The others were just about to intervene when at last, the truth came babbling out of the unicorn in the form of a quivering yowl.
“Okay! I did it, alright? I lied! I made the clone feel pain! I did it on purpose!”
The others shook their heads with shame and disappointment for their friend, of whom had fallen so far from grace. Refusing to release her mane, I brought my face closer to Twilight’s with an expression of utter disdain.
“Why’d you do it, Twilight? Why?”
“I… I…” she stammered with her mouth agape, staring at me, petrified, “I don’t… I don’t know…”
“WHY DID YOU DO IT!?” I boomed at the top of my lungs.
Matching my volume with an ear-splitting shriek, Twilight insisted that she didn’t know. She then burst into tears and started shaking uncontrollably. Gritting my teeth and emitting a low rumble, I was mere seconds from violently shaking a true confession out of her, which was when Rarity loudly barked my name, snapping me out of my rage. I looked to the mare, and she sternly met my gaze.
“That’s enough.”
I opened my mouth to protest, only for her to silence me immediately, walking towards us.
“She says she doesn’t know, and for once, I think she’s telling the truth. Now let go of her, this instant.”
Releasing my grip on the unicorn’s mane, Twilight scrambled away from me and buried her face into her hooves, still shaking, and I realised that Rarity was right. Still infuriated, I stood up properly and walked over to the Orb shard, where I scooped it up and wiped the mud from it. Looking to the others, who were still shocked from the scene, I grimaced coldly.
“If you want this back, and for me to keep travelling with you, then your pathetic excuse for a leader needs to pull herself together, do you understand? I’m not travelling with a pony who can do something like this, and not even have the capacity to tell me why.”
Gulping, they gave me understanding nods, and I turned away to take myself off into the wilderness, picking up my rucksack as I did so. As soon as I was far out of eye-shot, I slumped down against a tree and took a great breath. Putting the Orb piece down beside me, I gripped my wrist again and stared at my burned hand, hissing in pain as I observed the dark red flesh.
“What made you like this…?” I growled quietly, thinking of that despicable unicorn.
The irony was that before meeting the girls, Twilight had always been my favourite; she was my main reason for watching the show. I was inspired by the pony, and watching as she transitioned from a socially inept loner, to the literal Princess of Friendship, had always brought me the hope that I could someday be like her, happy, and loved… In truth, I adored every aspect of her, from her love of science, books, the cosmos, and of course magic, to her very growth as an individual; overcoming odds and finding her place in the world. Admittedly, I was the type to become attached to fictional characters, but it was Twilight alone, who resonated with me in a way that I couldn’t quite describe.
But now, here she was, living and breathing before my very eyes.
And I couldn’t stand the fucking sight of her…
I had spent a good while stewing, when hoof-steps came into earshot. I looked up to see Applejack walking towards me, her face visibly rife with bitterness.
“Here to have a go at me?” I muttered, looking away from her.
“The opposite, actually.”
The farm pony came and sat beside me, sighing heavily and leaning against my shoulder.
“Sugarcube, I owe you an apology, a sincere one.”
Turning my head to look at her, I observed the orange mare’s frustrated expressions as she continued.
“From day one, I’ve been cautious about you. I didn’t think you were bad but, Twilight had me thinking there was something off about you, something you weren’t telling us. I thought she was onto something, like there must have been a good reason to be scared of you.”
She faced me and our eyes met, to which she slowly shook her head.
“I was wrong. What Twilight did to that there clone, it weren’t right, and it was all the proof I needed to know she’s full of hooey. You ain’t no monster, and you sure as apples ain’t no threat to me. I’m sorry it took me ‘til now to realise it.”
Gradually breaking into a weak closed-lip smile, I put my arms around the mare and hugged her, to which she happily reciprocated.
“Thanks AJ, and I’m sorry too.” I sighed, pulling away.
“What for?”
Gesturing to where we’d come from, I uttered Twilight’s name and hung my head.
“I’m sorry that coming to this place has made her the way that she is. I can’t even begin to imagine what Celestia said or did, but it’s turned one of your closest friends into, well…”
“An asshole?” she suggested.
“Yeah, to put it lightly.”
We both gave an amused huff, before she put a hoof on my wrist and tutted.
“Babe, it ain’t your apology to make. I don’t know what’s gotten into her, but this ain’t about you, not really. While I’d never question the Princess, it’s like you say, she said or did something that’s made Twi like this, and you ain’t to blame for it, understand?”
“I guess…” I replied, shrugging.
Applejack gave me one last hug and told me to take all the time I needed. She then took herself off back to the others, and I got to my feet. Now that my undies had mostly dried, I decided it was about time that I put some clothes back on. Once I was fully dressed, I made my way back to the group, now much calmer.
The girls were all emphatically pleased to see me upon my return, aside from Twilight of course. Pinkie literally ran to me, springing forward and latching onto me in a tight hug.
“Don’t leave us…” she breathed, squeezing me tightly.
“Agh, I ain’t going anywhere.” I replied in a low, soft tone, rolling my eyes.
“Ooh, thank-you-thank-you-thank-you!”
Releasing me and bouncing around excitedly, I smirked, realising just how close my bonds with these ponies had already become. Obviously I was never going to resign as their guide, that was only something I had said in the heat of the moment. But to see how much the sheer notion of my leave had shaken them, it was awfully comforting. I wasn’t just needed by them, I was wanted.
“I like the new clothes.” Rarity pointed out.
“Cheers.” I replied, still smirking.
It was then that Twilight began to approach me steadily. She made her way to me at a snail’s pace, her eyes fixed on the ground in front of her. The others respectfully began to move out, giving us a moment alone.
“I’m sorry…” the unicorn whispered upon reaching me.
“Beg your pardon?” I requested bluntly.
“I’m… I’m sorry…”
“Oh for pity’s sake, speak up if you have something to say to me, Twilight.”
Looking up at me with a furrowed brow, she finally spoke at a perceivable volume.
“I said, I’m sorry! Alright?”
I looked into her eyes and observed her for a second, before slowly shaking my head.
“No… No, you’re not sorry at all, are you?”
I bent down to her level and brought my nose right up to hers, pulling a face of absolute revulsion.
“You’re a liar, Twilight. You’re a manipulative, cruel, lying sack of shit. And you disgust me.”
Standing up straight and turning around, I walked away, leaving the mare in a silent state of shock.
Until…
“Callum! Please!”
Speaking my name was one thing, but it was the ‘please’ that really caught my ear. Stopping dead in my tracks, I looked back at the unicorn, just as floods of tears began to stream down her cheeks, and her mouth slowly fell open.
“I’m… s-sorry!”
Every muscle in her face seemed to contract as she broke into a most ugly cry. She fell to her knees, and looked at me with desperation, and the understanding that she had done something truly unforgivable. Spluttering for a second time that she really was sorry, the mare hung her head in shame, and just as before, began to quake irrepressibly as she sobbed.
{That, I’ll believe…} I thought, tightening my lips.
Stepping back towards her, I knelt down in front of her, where I clenched my jaw momentarily.
“Look at me.”
Doing as she was told, Twilight looked up and locked her already-bloodshot eyes onto mine. I sniffed loudly, trying to rationally piece my thoughts together.
“I don’t… I can’t, forgive you for this.” I began, “But if you really are sorry, and you want to make things right, then this needs to stop. The insults, the slander, all of it. As of today, you have royally fucked there ever being a chance of us becoming friends, but today is where you stop making an enemy of me.”
With tears still streaming down her face, she nodded faintly, gulping. With that, I brought my hand to her, where the Orb shard was still firmly in my grasp.
“Take it, it belongs to you.”
She sat up properly and did just so, collecting the fragment with both of her front hooves. I got back to my feet and looked down at her, my expression, blank.
“I’m your ally, Twilight Sparkle, and I’m going to help you find the rest of this bloody Orb. Then, we can go our separate ways. Now, you’re still free to hate me every step of the way, but from here on out, you’re to address me by my name, and to treat me with respect. You owe me that.”
After a moment of silence, the unicorn wiped the snot from her nose and shakily inhaled.
“Okay…”
For a split second, there was a glint of remorseful compassion in her eye, as though she wished to reach forward and hug me, to put an end to this once and for all. My own emotions were conflicted too; part of me wanted to reciprocate the notion, to put my arms around her and hold her close. Then, my clone’s screams echoed once again in my mind, and all I wanted was to strangle her. Turning away, I walked off for good, leaving Twilight to gather herself, and then follow, now truly humbled and full of shame…
The others weren’t too far ahead, and once all seven of us were trudging along together, the mood slowly began to improve.
“I can’t believe it, we actually have the first piece of the Orb!” said Rainbow Dash, trotting beside me.
“One down, five to go!” Rarity added, striding with purpose.
Applejack asked where I thought we’d be finding the next one, to which I gave a long hum. Eventually, I just said that I didn’t know, but so long as it wasn’t quite so humid, I didn’t really care.
“I second that!” Rainbow called out.
“As do we all, I think.” chuckled Rarity, “This place is, well… just a little bit dreadful!”
“Aye, and not to mention plagued with unpleasant wildlife.” I grumbled, looking at the bite on my arm.
“Hey!” Blu squawked loudly.
Laughing, I clarified that I obviously didn’t mean him, I had been referring to the blasted crocodiles.
“Speaking of, can we set up camp soon?” said Fluttershy, also looking at the injury, “I really want to take a proper look at that bite…”
“Actually, to be fair, I could do with a sit-down soon.” I admitted, “I’m bloody knackered.”
“Uhh, yeah, no kidding Sugarcube!” AJ exclaimed, playfully bumping into me, “You went diving in a croc infested lake, and then you had to wrestle one of the darn things!”
“Oh gee, thanks for reminding me.” I deadpanned loudly, pointing to the wound.
“Sarcasm isn’t very befitting on you Callum, do you know that?” Rarity teased.
Looking to the unicorn, I went cross-eyed and put on a lisp, responding to her in a singsongy voice.
“No… is it not? Really?”
Everyone laughed, and we finally came across a nice dry patch that would serve as today’s camp. The tents were unpacked and we plonked ourselves down, where Fluttershy applied some Oozima to my bite. Just as she was finishing up, she spotted my scorched hand and gasped.
“Callum! That looks so painful!”
“Funny enough, it’s actually quite numb.” I replied, lightly prodding the dark leathery skin, “Like, yeah it hurts, but not as much as you’d think, especially on the surface.”
“That sounds dangerously close to a third-degree burn…”
Fluttershy then dug more thoroughly into her saddlebag, until her entire top half was inside it. Tilting my head, I asked if she had anything for burns.
“Perhaps another concoction from Zecora?” I suggested.
“Not from Zecora, but I do have something.”
The pegasus removed a long syringe, to which I pulled a face and gulped.
“Not a fan of needles?” she inquired.
“I don’t think anyone’s really a fan of them, Fluttershy.”
Chuckling, she explained that unlike Zecora’s Oozima, the solution before me needed to be injected directly into the bloodstream. Simply known by the name of Bloom, the stuff worked by binding magic-infused particles to the platelets in one’s blood, altering their properties. Upon making contact with damaged or destroyed tissue, the cells would break down and disperse Bloom directly to the site, where it would aid in rebuilding the tissue. It did this across multiple fronts, from doubling the rate of collagen distribution, to supercharging the cells themselves as they multiplied and reconstructed the damaged area. In short, it could heal injuries that would normally require serious medical attention, and at thrice the speed.
“So, it’s basically Oozima, but for more complex injuries like burns?” I asked, tilting my head.
“Pretty much, yeah. That and internal injuries.” Fluttershy explained, readying the needle, “Most patients are given a shot of Bloom after invasive surgeries, to quicken the healing of cut tissue and stuff. Internal bleeding can be remedied with Bloom too…”
She took a moment to stare thoughtfully at the fluid.
“This stuff has saved a lot of lives back home.”
“That’s actually, really cool.” I said, also observing the fluid, with newfound respect for it.
“Oh isn’t it?” she agreed, “We ponies may not be as advanced as you with technology, but with the help of magic, our medical science is absolutely incredible!”
“You’re telling me…” I murmured, before sticking my hand out, “Alright then, shoot me up.”
It didn’t take long for her to locate the best vein; her experience with so many different animals definitely came in handy there. I gritted my teeth as she slid the needle into me, and with her second hoof, steadily injected the serum into me. Other than it being slightly cool, I didn’t feel any noteworthy sensations, and the whole ordeal was over in mere seconds.
“Thanks.” I said as she removed the syringe.
“That’s alright.” she replied, getting up to pack away her medical supplies.
She then went off to interact with Blu, and I slumped back to relax. My quietude didn’t last long, as I was soon disturbed by something hard, lightly prodding against my arm. I turned my head, and to my surprise found Vladimir’s knife, floating beside its sheath, both surrounded in a pink glow. Beyond that, was Twilight.
“You forgot this. I thought, I don’t know… I thought you might want it.”
Raising an eyebrow, I took the items and dipped my head to her. And then without asking for an invitation, she came and sat close by, still looking at the knife solemnly.
“You know, in old Equestrian history, it was a custom for warriors to have a signature weapon, which they would often give a name to. Seeing as that knife’s saved your skin a few times, perhaps you could make it your signature weapon?”
It was clear that she was trying to make amends, and despite saying that I would never forgive her, I appreciated the sentiment nonetheless.
“Thanks.” I muttered, only glancing at her briefly.
After sitting there awkwardly for a moment, the unicorn took herself off. Exhaling through my nose, I contemplated what the future meant for us. I was so angry with her, and yet, even if against my own words, I pondered all the same… could there be a chance for us? Could I ever forgive her? Was a friendship with her at all possible? I sat there with these thoughts until dinner, fiddling with the knife as I ruminated, and after some consideration, I came up with a name for the weapon.
“Krocsbane, with a K.” I said with confidence, branding it forevermore.
Having taken down two crocodiles with it, the name was perfect. As for the K, I decided that it gave the name more of a Russian aesthetic; a perfect nod to Vladimir Kikashkov, the blade’s former owner.
While the lot of us ate our supper, we discussed at length what the next step was for finding the next piece of the Orb. There was a lot of back and forth, but after assessing that harnessing the electrical frequencies from an airport would aid Twilight substantially in pinning down the next shard, we came to a group decision that returning to an airport was a good start.
“If we’re going as far as an airport, why don’t we board another plane too?” Rarity proposed, “That way, we could escape this dreadful heat!”
“I guess that’s not entirely out of the question…” I murmured.
“Uh, why don’t we just go back to England?” Rainbow Dash pointed out, her mouth full of food, “I don’t know about you guys, but I could use a damn break after what we’ve been through.”
Rarity tilted her head and gave an expression most keen, clearly intrigued by the idea.
“You know, despite your lack of mealtime etiquette, you might be onto something!”
Clapping her front hooves together, Rarity furthered Dashie’s suggestion by proposing that with each piece of the Orb we find, we could make our way back to England. That way, we could take a moment to rest and recover in a familiar environment, before continuing the mission when we were all ready.
“That’s… actually brilliant!” I cheered, nodding with enthusiasm, “If we were to land at Gatwick, we’d be close to my old home. We could camp out at the end of the land, perfectly safe and hidden away!”
Looking to Twilight for approval, I noticed that she was kneading the ground anxiously with her hooves, clearly opposed to the idea, but not wanting to make a fuss. Her eyes darted from pony to pony, reading everyone’s demeanours and quickly gathering that her whole troop were in favour of the plan.
“Okay.” she agreed at last, “That’s what we’ll do.”
I nodded to her faintly, privately acknowledging that she had chosen to consent to this for the group, despite her own reservations. After a little more chatter, and some laughable antics from Blu, we called it a night and went to bed.
Screams, shouts, and roars… Metal, clashing against metal… Raging fires and pillars of smoke…
Blood all around me… Oh heavens above, there was so… much… blood…
From my slumber I saw it all, legions of ponies, griffons, and minotaurs, locked in an eternal combat with one another, tearing each other apart. As real as the day, I saw myself in the form of a unicorn, gracefully dancing upon a battlefield, dodging blows from all sides, swifter than the wind itself. My pelt was a pale sky blue, so pale that it was almost grey, and my mane was a dark brown, no different to my own hair in the waking world. Axes, spears, arrows, horns and talons tried to claim me, but not one of them could touch me. Minotaurs and griffons alike fell by the hundreds as I cut them down with my blade, floating at my side and igniting the darkness with gleams of moonlight.
Amidst this battle, there were flashes which took me elsewhere, all lasting no longer than half a second. They were glimpses of this unicorn’s life, my life. Some flashes were met with sharp pain and the sense of bitterness, I was fighting, killing. Other flashes were met with a surge of pleasure, I was making love with mares, our bodies writhing, and our breaths, rapid and heavy. Through innumerable experiences, I drifted, and the names of legends tumbled into my mind… Celestia, Luna, Viodin, Gloomwing, Shep, Hades, Discord, Brighthorn, Starswirl, and Spindles; hundreds of names danced upon my tongue, all of them carrying great meaning to me.
The battle was over, a mountain of corpses, shifting and hardening into rock and stone. I was at the peak now, pure white snowflakes danced all around me, and the wind battered my hide. Before me, was an almighty sphere, glowing and swirling with colours; it was The Titans’ Orb, whole and unbroken. I felt a warmth at my side, and a wing, great and powerful, draped across my back.
“Are you sure about this?” a voice spoke softly.
I nodded, closing my eyes.
“They will forget you, my Little Star…”
“Let them.” I replied, “Let the whole world forget me, I need not their requiem.”
I raised my head and sucked the cold air into my lungs, before opening my eyes once again.
“There’s only one that need remember me. The only one who ever mattered…”
Looking to my side, I came face to face with her.
“Very well.” said Princess Celestia, with tears in her eyes, “Then it shall be my burden to bear.”
She removed her wing from my back, and I took a step forward, gazing into the Orb. Taking my last mortal breath, my horn lit up, and I uttered my final words.
“Lest not abhor, he who brings me back to you, but love him rather, as you once loved me…”
My senses were flooded with indescribable pain, and my vision was engulfed by the brightest white imaginable. The cold of the mountaintop dissipated, as did the howling winds…
Sitting bolt upright with a start, I gasped and panted, my senses overstimulated and my mind swirling.
“Callum? You okay?” Fluttershy asked, rolling over to face me.
“Y-Yeah…” I replied, still gulping down air, “Bad d-dream…”
Ripping myself free from the sleeping bag, I tumbled out of the tent and staggered away from the camp. I clutched at my throat and took in heavier and heavier breaths; it felt like I wasn’t getting a shred of oxygen. My vision began to blur as I descended into a full-blown anxiety attack. Fluttershy came out and chased me down, where she found me on my knees, hyperventilating beside a tree, sweating profusely.
“Hey-hey, you’re okay, you’re alright.” she said soothingly.
I rocked back and forth as I desperately tried to regain control. That dream had felt so real, all the sights and sensations were as though I had just experienced them in my waking reality. It wasn’t like other dreams of a vivid nature, I hadn’t just imagined all those scenes, I had relived them!
“I’ll fetch you some water.”
Fluttershy zipped off, and I clutched the sides of my head, trying to process everything I’d just seen. Who was I in those memories? Clearly some warrior of unmatched skill, and someone very close to the Princess; was he her lover? She had called me her Little Star, and that the whole world would forget me…
As I calmed myself, the exact details slowly began to slip away, and I clenched my jaw as I desperately tried to remember it all, I needed to know! And then, it was gone. The only thing I could remember were those final words spoken to the Princess. I murmured them aloud to myself.
“Lest not abhor, he who brings me back to you, but love him rather, as you once loved me…”
What did it mean?
“Lest not abhor… Lest not abhor… he who brings me back to you…”
Fluttershy returned with her canteen, shaking me from the obsessive need to understand. I thanked her and took a swig, and was finally able to calm down properly.
“Do you want to talk about it?” she offered.
Shaking my head, I explained that I could barely even remember it now, only that it had been something very intense. She yawned loudly and pressed up against me.
“Well, I’m here if you need me, okay?”
“Thanks Fluttershy.”
She nuzzled my arm, before taking herself back off to bed. After a little while looking up at the stars in the night sky through the treeline, I did the same.
In the morning, once we were all up and awake, we went over the plan one final time. I whipped out my phone to check for the nearest airport, which turned out to be Eduardo Gomes International, in the city of Manaus, easily a fortnight’s walk away.
“Surely there’s a quicker way?” Rarity grumbled.
“Well, looking at the map, Manaus is connected to a lot of rivers.” I began, biting my bottom lip, “Tell you what… if I remember correctly, Inigo’s compound was by a river. I’m sure there’d be a dock there, the cartel would need one to get product in and out.”
“You can’t be serious.” said Rainbow Dash, frowning, “You’re saying we go back there?”
“And risk getting captured again!?” Twilight added.
Holding my hands up, I reminded them how the riot had totally obliterated the cartel, not to mention the fact that Inigo was dead. A week had passed since then, and it was hardly likely that anyone would be there by now.
“We don’t even have to enter any buildings, we just find the dock, grab a boat, and then we can speed our way to the airport. We’ll be back in England this time next week, I guarantee it!”
“Well thank pickles for that!” Pinkie shouted out suddenly, “Here I was, thinking it would take another twenty chapters just to get back!”
We all stopped in our tracks and looked at her, and I gave her an expression of utmost confusion.
“Erm, what?”
Undeterred, Pinkie continued, bouncing around and ranting maniacally at the top of her voice.
“I mean, come on! What was he thinking, putting in all that walking and talking? We’re done with the filler! It’s time for less jibber-jabber, and more getting me the heck out of this hot and humid rainforest, I hate it here! I swear to Princess Celestia, if you don’t get me out of Brazil by the end of the next chapter, I will crawl through your gosh-darn screen, and I will eat your limbs! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?”
I stared at the mare in genuine shock, blinking rapidly.
“Pinkie…” I said at last, “What the hell are you on about?”
Pretending to hold a cigarette to her mouth, she chuckled to herself madly, before looking off into the distance, replying with a low and raspy croak of a whisper.
“You wouldn’t get it…”
Tutting and shaking my head, I speculated that this was just Pinkie being Pinkie. Realising how jolted I was from her outburst, the girls laughed and confirmed to me that it was indeed just Pinkie being her crazy, unpredictable self. Returning to the matter at hand, Twilight pointed out that my entire plan depended on there even being a boat to be found.
“True…” I admitted, shrugging, “But if there is one, we’ll be out of here in no time.”
Nobody was very keen on the idea, and I didn’t blame them. After what Inigo had put us through, returning to that hellhole wasn’t exactly ideal, but I deemed it a worthwhile endeavour. We discussed it a little further over breakfast, and despite a bit of ire towards me for suggesting it, we settled on going back.
“Just to make it perfectly clear though,” said Twilight, “if we get captured again, I’ll help with the torture this time.”
“That’s fair.” I replied with a shrug.
Sighing, Fluttershy pulled a face.
“Twilight, that isn’t funny.”
“Oh, I’m not joking.” the unicorn replied.
“Careful now, Twi…” I warned softly, showing my burned hand to her, “You wouldn’t want me to give that horn of yours another little squeeze, would you?”
Without warning, Rainbow Dash suddenly burst into a fit of laughter, taking us all by surprise as she fell to the ground. It was so unexpected that we at first presumed that she had been injured somehow. It didn’t take long for us to realise that she was laughing over my threat to ‘squeeze Twilight’s horn’, to which Twilight and I looked at one another with a dull expression. And for the first time, the two of us shared a genuine heartfelt agreement; Rainbow Dash was a rancid, dirty-minded sex pest…
The days went by pretty quick, and with Twilight behaving herself, along with having the Orb shard in hand, we marched on with confidence. With Blu flying overhead and helping with direction, we made phenomenal time, and by the fourth day, we were nearing the compound.
“My hooves hurt…” Pinkie moaned.
In one of her more annoying moods, Rainbow Dash took to copying Pinkie, mimicking her high-pitched nasally squeak.
“My hooves hurt…”
“My hooves hurt! Caark! My hooves hurt!” Blu squawked, mocking the both of them.
The bird dive-bombed Rainbow’s head, and then took off cackling to himself when the grounded pegasus tried to catch him.
“To be fair, my hooves are aching too…” Rarity sighed, “Are we nearly there yet?”
“Yup, shouldn’t be much further.” I confirmed, letting out a long groan, “My feet hurt too.”
“You know, whinging isn’t going to make it any better.” Twilight huffed, her expression, dull and lifeless.
“Oh give me a break, Twiggie. I'm not in the mood for your lip today.”
Stopping in her tracks, the unicorn whipped around and glared at me.
“What did you just call me?”
“Something more pleasant than what I had in mind.” I grumbled, “Keep moving.”
Swallowing an insult most scathing, the unicorn gritted her teeth and did as I said. Rarity slowed her pace to walk beside me, and looked at me with disappointment.
“She’s doing better, Callum. Don’t aggravate her like that.”
Rolling my eyes, I gave her a nod of understanding, and we trudged on in silence from then on.
At last, we reached the complex. Finding a decent hiding spot, we sent Blu over the wall to look around, and it didn’t take long for him to return.
“So, the dock?” I inquired.
“It’s there alright! Six boats! Six boats!” the parrot declared, bobbing up and down.
“Any people around?”
“Oh yeah! Lots of them! They came on the boats!”
Everyone’s faces dropped, mine included.
“You could have led with that…” I grumbled.
Shrugging his wings, Blu elaborated further that the men were all armed, and were wearing dark blue uniforms.
“Well they’re not Inigo’s men then.” I hummed, “His lot wore red.”
“A different cartel perhaps? Taking over?” Rarity speculated.
“The police maybe?” said Applejack.
“Both of those are possibilities.” I muttered.
Rainbow Dash asked me what the play was, to which I scratched my stubbly chin and huffed.
“You’re all going to hate me for this, but I think we need to do what we did on the day we were captured. Cause a distraction, and while they’re occupied, make a quick getaway on the boat.”
“You’re right, I hate you for that.”
“Thank you Twilight.”
I pointed out that the distraction had actually worked last time, and that the only reason we were caught was because I had chosen to stupidly give our position away, by clearing the street with gunfire. Additionally, this time we had two major advantages. Firstly, Twilight had her magic back, meaning she could get us out of a bind, if things went pear-shaped. And secondly, we had Blu.
“I’m important! I’m important! Quaark!”
“Very much so.” I agreed, “You can warn us if we’re about to get seen.”
Despite everyone’s lack of confidence, they put their trust in me, and we got to work. I took Inigo’s pistol and its holster from my rucksack, and strapped it to my leg, just in case of emergency.
“Aren’t we supposed to be sneaking? Those things couldn’t be any louder!” Twilight pointed out.
“Oh I don’t plan on using it.” I assured her, “It’s just in case things go tits-up.”
Rainbow Dash snickered upon hearing the word ‘tits’, and we slinked into the compound. It didn’t take us long to understand who the men present were, as they were all carrying large duffel bags from the main building to the dock. They were a clean-up crew, most likely sent by Inigo’s boss, Hoyt, to recover as much of his product as possible. The few men that weren’t carrying bags, were dragging bodies from the riot, cartel and captive alike, and slinging them into a large pit, where someone was pouring canisters of fuel.
“I don’t like this…” Twilight hissed to me, “I don’t like this at all.”
“We’ll be fine, just keep low, and trust the bloody bird.” I replied, looking up to Blu.
Sticking to the outskirts, we reached the dock, where the next step was required. Nodding to Rarity, she anxiously lit up her horn, and from the other side of the compound, came a large crashing and banging sound. Working just as effectively as before, everyone was put on high alert, and drawing their weapons, moved as a unit to investigate, giving us a clear path to the dock. Clicking my tongue with satisfaction, we skittered down the dirt road and to the dock, where there were indeed six RHIBs sitting on the river.
Bar one, all the boats had stacks of duffel bags loaded on to them, and by the looks of things, they were the type which required a key to start the engine. There was a dockside cabin close by, so we made a quick meander to it in search of the keys.
“Bugger.” I muttered upon entry.
The second the door had swung open, I was met by two men, staring at me intensely. The first was a short elderly man, easily in his late seventies. He had thin wiry hair, and in the crook of his arm was a double-barrelled shotgun. The other man was outlandishly different. Staring at me through his tinted sunglasses, the man was tall and sleek, in a well-tailored suit. He was clean-shaven, spare the jet black pencil moustache upon his upper lip.
“Mentlegen.” I greeted, dipping my head respectfully.
Not wishing to find ourselves captives for the second time this month, we sprang into action. Twilight’s horn lit up, and the shotgun was yanked from the old man’s arms. I meanwhile, darted forward and delivered a swift uppercut to the sleek man’s jaw. One strike was all it took, and he was on the floor in two seconds flat, out like a light. The old man rushed at me, grabbing at my face with his wrinkled hands and shouting hoarsely. I only needed to hold him off for a split second, as Twilight used the stock of the gun to smack him in the back of the head, sending him clattering to the floor like a sack of spuds.
“Nicely done.” I praised, smirking at the unicorn.
She huffed through her nose emphatically, and I took the shotgun from her telekinetic hold.
“I think I’ll hold onto this.”
“That’s three weapons you have now, sure you’re not getting a little carried away?” Rarity remarked.
“Not at all.” I denied, grinning, “When gun don’t work, use more gun!”
She rolled her eyes and ordered me to search for the keys, which I was quick to find in the sleek man’s jacket pocket, just as he was coming to.
“Callum, he’s waking up!” Applejack gasped.
“I know, I know!”
“Quem… Quem és tu?” the man slurred, trying to sit up.
Without a word, I struck him in the head with the shotgun, immediately rendering him unconscious again. With the keys now in our possession, I promptly ordered the girls to get onto the unloaded boat. Just before leaving, I also searched the old man, where I found a few more shotgun shells in a pouch. Thanking both comatose individuals, I turned tail and got to the boat as quickly as possible.
“All aboard!” I announced, standing at the dashboard and inserting the key.
“You know how to operate one of these, right?” Twilight asked.
Chuckling nervously, I licked my bottom lip.
“Do you ponies have the term, ‘learning on the job’, back home?”
“We’re doomed.” the unicorn sighed.
Turning the keys, the engine came to life, and after a moment of fiddling around, I figured out how to make the damn thing move forward. Laughing maniacally, I engaged the throttle and down the river we went!
“Yeehaw!” Applejack cried out.
We all broke into a laughter, and having just stolen an aquatic vessel, I found it only fitting to break into a shanty, lightly smacking the side of the dashboard to create a drumbeat. The girls watched me intently as song escaped my lips for the first time in their presence, and even Twilight couldn’t prevent herself from smiling, as the tune of The Wellerman made its way across the Brazilian waterway.
“Soon may the Wellerman come, to bring us sugar and tea and rum!
One day, when the tonguin' is done, we'll take our leave and go!”
Stats
Page generated in 0.058 seconds
Total duration
1,000 users online
232,061 hits today, 2,004,447 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
For goodness sakes, Twilight! Give him a f***ing chance to prove he's not like the evil humans!
You're the one who's being a monster, Twilight!
Twilight is such a freakin jerk
Ok Nipercrab seriously. How long is this bullshit with Twilight going to take? Seriously. This is bullshit at this point. That is not Twilight Sparkle. Someone who is afraid of a Human doesn't do things that only a monster could do and certainly doesn't try to make his life a living hell. Every character in every story has a breaking point. Any character in the place of Callum that has sacrificed a lot would say screw this and let them on their own not caring anymore.The story is starting to become annoying and not enjoyable anymore. Where is the ego of Callum?
And Celestia being a racist asshole? What the hell?
Are we in a Conversion Bureau story and I don't know?
Seriously Nipercrab it is time to end this annoying farse.
6062584
I understand your frustration, and will work on it over time.
Twilight's behaviour has reason.
Originally, I decided to reveal it in one moment later on.
But I can see how this behaviour is bothering you as there's no reason behind it.
So I will slowly reveal the reason over time before a big conclusion.
This chapter slightly reveals something.
It explains that it's the human species as a whole, not just Callum.
I'll reveal little bits over time and slightly reduce Twilight's bitchy moments.
Thanks for the feedback, it helps me mould the book around my fans, not just myself.
There is no excuse for that behavior. Not all humans are monsters. In fact both the Human and pony Society has the equal Number of monsters. She doesn't have any excuse for what she is doing. It's not about being bitchy. It is out of character for Celestia also to claim that all humans are monsters that should be cleansed. I would understand if we had the Evil Celestia from the Conversion Bureau series that wanted to ponify all humans to make them pure but this isn't the case here.
This is so wrong in so many levels. She is presented as a monster that likes to torture humans while insulting them acting like she is superior. What the hell. Callum is acting completely out of character. He does not even defend himself enough. And what about her friends? They are just sitting there taking it obeying her orders without questions not even doing anything. The whole team is acting like they are her slaves or something. Please end that annoying farse with Twilight cause it is starting to get boring.
Callum and Twilight must sit down and talk and find out why Twilight is acting like this. They need to settle this thing once and for all as simply or else they cannot continue the quests like this.
6063275
And they shall.
In time, my friend.
I've already written a chapter ahead of time, at the VERY pinnacle of the hostility between Callum and Twilight.
After serous conflict, there is a resolution..
While the main storyline is set in stone, I can adjust a FEW things, like this, to make the story more enjoyable to read.
But this conflict between Callum and Twilight sprouts a LOT of character development and a whole side-story later on in the story.
That's all I will say.
I am glad that this situation will be resolved once and for all cause at this point the group pretty much understands that Twilight is damaging the Mission. There are two options either Twilight admits her mistakes, make up for what she is done or else she better return to Equestria and let the rest continue on their own.
6066143
I've taken in your feedback, and will act on it.
Thank you.
Normally, I dislike critics as they take away my motivation.
But for once, I think critics are more helpful than fans.
Thanks bud.
Have a moustache.
If this crap with Twilight goes on, fair enough.
I just want to know WHY!!!??
WHY BOY!?
WWWHHHHYYYYYYY?!!?!?!?!?!??!?!!?
Seriously though...
Why name it Wrinkleboom...?
6082047
You pay attention to detail...
Yes, they were based of Sgt Nicolas Angel and PC Butterscotch.
6082039
Hehe, if I ever come by a grocery store I may do that scene again.
Next up...
Skips...
6082261
Aye. Nicole, William, Conor, Lewis and Jayce are all real people.
6082287
OMG Nicole is real!?
Pictures or it didn't happen...
6082292 scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/v/t1.0-9/p720x720/11024716_10152679658678144_4093688213068139536_n.jpg?oh=97000edeb1941ed0fd11409c267d1fe5&oe=55F6A46A
Boom.
6082297
Dear Sweet Mother of Celestia's Royal Fuck...
6082094
The sentiment is shared.
6109601
I'm about half-way through writing it.
I'm just coming to the end of my exams and am dealing with some family problemos.
I am grateful for everyone's patience at the slow updates of these chapters.
I've been watching this story for a while, and I just wanted to add my thoughts.
First I believe the whole conflict between twilight and callum has to do with the world wars, the two worst times for humanity. Second the friend of callum who consoles him , is probably rainbow dash cuz it's not flutter shy rarity loves being soppy so not her, definetly not twilight, and applejack would have an accent. So it's either rainbow dash or maybe pinkamina
6122203
1stly, an interesting concept for the hate between Twi and Callum, it's good to think ahead and predict stuff.
Motivates me to write more.
2ndly, YAY! Someone who thought about the unknown friend!
I was REALLY hoping someone would take note of that scene.
6123020 Yeah I also have been thinking that celestial was working off of outdated and probably biased information. Secondly I am wondering when the next update might be out, I'm not trying to rush I'm just interested because I am a closet brony so I don't get to check stories or write my own very often.
6125583
The next Chapter is on its way.
I have a LOT of home-related issues going on in my personal life.
So I don't have as much writing time as I once did.
The chapter upload rate is rather slow.
But I'm passionately writing the story nonetheless.
6127032 ok! Well thanks glad you like what you write
6127151
Oh definitely!
I'm not actually a writer, I'm a drama student at college!
I write the story because I'm passionate about it.
Not for the sake of writing.
6127432 Well if you think about it drama has to do alot with your story, so think of it as a creative outlet. Also I agree with the whole twilights beef with callum is kinda ridiculous. Not so much that I dont like, infact I love drama. It's just the fact that it is not progressing, if you just move it along more it would be great. But im not gonna criticize you, you can write your story how you like. I will continue to read no matter what, luv ur story.
6127557 Thanks bud
Comments like that keep me writing.
Have a moustache!
6129646 Why Thank you good sir!
Also its stories like this that keep me going. I wouldn't say that I have a rough life, I just feel that life is so depressing, what with isis and terrorism and, "Racism". Everyone is just so unhappy, people always want more for less. And being a closet brony is no help, cant watch the show, can barely check my fimfic, infact the last time I even tried to write a chapter for my tory wwas 2 months ago. And then their is school, DO you work be good get a's dual enroll get your associates degree by 18, no, no time for fun no time for games no time to just relax. I mean im on vaca rigth now and my parents are making me do school work! (Im homeschooled)
You know, Twilight's mindless hatred is REALLY old by now. Either Celestia is a complete heartless cuntbag or Twilight is just being mean for no reason. If she ends up realizing her GRIEVOUS error and merely apologizes for the way she acted and Callum just accepts it... there would be no justice in the world. Glad to see that the one guy was just a clone though.
7465027
Well this is set in the my little Dashie universe and Celestia didn’t give any fucks about him only about rainbow Dash and getting her weapon back(elements of harmony).
.................. why do i get the feelings that’s a bad foreshadowing?
9772722
Oh this is MIGHTY foreshadowing.
use, it. BURN HER! you can place it where ever you want to,
okey, chucklefuck, 😆😆😆😆
no, i get it, XD
i really do, :D
STOP BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL PINKIE!! we don’t have a lot of them left ya prick, i mean The Animaniacs is responsible for we have less then 2.000 of them left ffs,
i just fucking obliterated around 50 of them didn’t i? FUCK! and
your worse in the show!
the best part about The Animaniacs is it’s gonna get a fucking Reboot sometime in 2020 :D, so old as well as new peeps can enjoy those three wacky............ i wanna say cats, but I’m not sure what they are to be honest, hell, to be fair, not even they’re 100% sure on what they are themself,