The Titans' Orb: Breaking Dawn

by Mister Horncastle

Chapter Twenty: For Future Reference

The credits came up, and with bellies full of pizza and alcohol, we all decided it was time to call it a night, especially after such an undeniably momentous day.

“I always forget how long that bloody film is.” I muttered, stretching.

“Long, but beautiful.” Rarity sniffed, wiping her eyes.

Fluttershy and Pinkie were also in a bit of a state; while I’d never really been one for crying at films, there was no doubt that Titanic was a certified tearjerker. Twilight had also cried once, although quite amusingly, it was at the scene where the musicians continued to play as the ship sank.

“So, what are we doing with sleep arrangements?” I asked openly, “Who wants to go where?”

Rarity insisted on having a real bed, so she was assigned to one of Alex’s guest rooms, where she would buddy up with Applejack. Josh insisted on sleeping in his bus, which made things a little more straightforward; Pinkie and Fluttershy were chill with sleeping on the sofa, and Rainbow Dash was eager to sleep close to her dad in his room. This left the second guest bedroom for me and Twilight, which worked just fine for us. We all got up and everyone headed off to their beds, with Alex offering to bring us all some water.

“Callum, can you give me a hand?” he asked me, tilting his head towards the kitchen.

“Yeah, no worries mate.” I replied, knowing he was secretly after a chat.

We went into the kitchen together, and once the others were out of earshot, he gave me a concerned look.

“So, what’s the deal with you and Twilight? Are you guys, uh…”

“Oh? Oh no, no, goodness no!” I laughed awkwardly.

“You sure?” he continued, “Because she was latched onto you throughout the whole dang movie, and now you’re getting into bed with her. Look, I’m not judging if you two are a thing, it’s not like they’re any different from people. Trust me, after all my years with Dashie, I know that better than anyone. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, I was just curious.”

Sighing, I decided to tell him in private just how badly Twilight had been affected by the Fel’s corruption, along with Nah’Lek’s relentless torture.

“When I was finally able to cure her, and drive that monster from her head, Twilight was left more broken and more vulnerable than you can imagine. She barely has an ounce of strength in her, I’ve had to be her strength. I can understand how things must look from the outside, but we’re not like that. She’s just incredibly fragile, and I’m being whatever she needs me to be to get through this.”

Dipping his head, Alex apologised for being presumptuous. After assuring him that it was totally fine, he poured seven glasses of water and we jointly brought them to everyone; we’d have brought one to Josh, but he had already headed off to his bus. We went upstairs together, and stopped at the door that led into my room.

“Well, goodnight Callum. Oh and again, thank you… so much.”

“You’re more than welcome.” I said warmly, “Rainbow deserved to see you, and you, her.”

“No, not that.”

Alex stepped forward and put an arm around me, making sure not to spill his water.

“Thank you, for keeping my little girl safe.”

Exhaling heavily, I realised what he meant.

“You’ve all been through some serious shit, and for every step of it, you’ve put yourself in harm’s way, ready to put my daughter’s life before your own. For all the money I have, there is nothing I could buy to express how thankful I am to you, Callum. When all this is over, you call me, and I’ll get you anything you need. A house, a car, a boat, damn it I’ll buy you a whole island if you want. You understand?”

“Sounds like a deal.” I quietly said, smirking.

We broke off the hug, and Alex bid me goodnight for a second time and headed off to bed. I opened the door to my own room and stepped inside, where I immediately noticed Twilight under the covers, beaming at me.

“What are you smiling at?”

“Nothing.” she lied.

“Oh really?” I chuckled doubtfully, shutting the door.

Taking a moment to remove my shirt and trousers, I hopped onto the bed and squinted at the unicorn, folding my arms.

“So, what are you smiling at?” I repeated myself, getting under the covers.

“It’s stupid.” she muttered quietly.

“Can’t be any stupider than the look on Pinkie’s face earlier.”

“What, during the sex scene in the movie?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Okay, fine.” she laughed, giving me a sheepish look, “I’m smiling because, it’s been a few nights now since it was just the two of us. And well, I really like it when it’s just the two of us, it’s when I feel safest.”

“And why in the world would that be stupid?” I said, tickling the side of her neck, evoking a giggle from her.

“I don’t know, I guess…”

Not sure how to continue, she adjusted her pillow and tried to get more comfortable.

“I know that I shouldn’t need you this much. One day I’m going to be back home, and I’m going to have to be fully responsible again, for Spike, and for myself. There’s going to come a time when I’ll have to stop being so damn weak and helpless, and carry on living my life, even if my magic never comes back.”

Propping herself up and looking into my eyes, she gave a melancholy sigh.

“I’m not ready for that yet, and thanks to you, I don’t have to be. There’s only so many nights I have left where you’ll be here, keeping me safe, and letting me be as pathetic as I need to be right now. So yeah, that’s why I’m smiling, because I don’t have to be strong when I’m alone with you.”

Slowly closing my eyes and breathing out through my nose, I smiled warmly and put both of my arms around her, holding her close to my chest.

“You know, that Titanic film sure does have some emotional moments.” I whispered into her ear, “But it’s got absolutely nothing on some of the things you say sometimes, do you know that?”

We both broke into a quiet snickering, before she rolled over and turned off the bedside lamp. I then coiled my hand around her waist and pulled her into me, silently telling my little spoon that she was safe. After a few seconds of lightly wiggling to get ourselves properly comfortable, we loudly exhaled at the same time, finally ready to drift off.

“Goodnight Twi.”

“Goodnight Cal.”

There it was again, that shiver, like from before in the EconoLodge. Deep within me, from my diaphragm to my throat, I felt a tightness, and a warmth, what was it? I speculated to myself that it was finally a sense of true happiness, because despite all the more mirthful moments of my journey with the girls, my depression had always caused something of a bottleneck. Even at the best of times, it always felt like something was missing; like a delicious meal that wasn’t quite filling enough, or a fresh drink that just couldn’t quite quench my thirst. There were plenty of times, granted, when I had experienced genuine happiness within my mind. But within my heart? No, there was always an emptiness there, an ever-present void of cold bitterness, of which could never be filled, not even during my short time with Bunnie, or my even shorter time with Phoenix.

But here and now, in this moment? It wasn’t there anymore. At last, it didn’t feel like anything was missing. There was something about the way Twilight had called me ‘Cal’ that caused the dark nihility in my chest to finally dissipate, unlocking a new feeling within me. And although I didn’t know why just yet, it was enough for me to know that I genuinely felt happy, from the very depths of my soul.

Lightly pressing my face into the back of Twilight’s mane, I picked up the incredibly faint scent of lavender and vanilla, from when I’d washed her hair in the hot tub, back on the yacht. And in the darkness, an almighty grin crept upon my face and my eyes began to water.

“You okay?” asked Twilight, sensing the welling emotions behind her.

I held her just a little tighter, and exhaled heavily through my nose.

“Yeah…” I replied, “Never better…”

The next morning, Alex went out to get us all some breakfast from a local bake shop called Tim Hortons, it was hardly the healthiest breakfast, as he returned to us with a wide variety of doughnuts, muffins, and bagels. The lot of us didn’t hesitate for a second to gorge ourselves on morning sugar.

“Damn, I’m guessing you’ve not had sweet treats any time recently?” Alex chuckled.

“Nope!” Applejack munched, “Ever since Pinkie stole all the Threezies, we’ve just been getting by on my stock, and whatever Rarity’s still got in her bag.”

“Wait, food from Equestria?” he quizzed, scratching at his cheek, “How the heck hasn’t it spoiled yet? Have you got MREs packed or something?”

“I ain’t sure what an MRE is Sugarcube, all I’ve got is rice, bread, beans, potatoes, leeks, carrots, all that sort of thing. As for why it don’t go bad? I’m the wrong pony to answer that.”

Stepping in to educate, Twilight enlightened him about how pocket dimensions worked, and how at the Princess’ request, Discord had made sure that Applejack and Rarity’s bags were permanently attuned to Equestria’s time via something called a ‘reactive enchantment’. This allowed stored goods to remain fresh for a handful of years while on Earth.

“What would happen if you went inside it?” Josh inquired, his mouth full of bagel.

“You’d be on Equestrian time, so everything outside would be going three-hundred and sixty-five times faster.” Twi hummed, sipping at her coffee, “While we’re all stuck here on Earth, getting fully inside one of those bags and closing it would be an absolute catastrophe. It would literally take a few weeks to climb back out without assistance!”

“Doesn’t that pose a risk whenever you go to get food then?” asked Alex.

Shaking her head, Twilight explained how that’s where the reactive enchantment came into play, which was essentially an enchantment that would only be active when certain conditions were met.

“Just as an electrical circuit needs to be faultlessly connected in order to function, the bag needs to be properly sealed for it to sync up with time back home.”

“Ah, I see! Well that’s really something!”

“You can say that again.” said Rarity, “We really would have been left in a most terrible situation without these enchantments! I dare say we all might have died from starvation at times, especially in Portugal.”

“Was Portugal the worst place you’ve been to so far then?”

“Hmm, yes and no.” the mare hummed, “Worse things happened in Brazil, especially to poor Callum and Rainbow Dash, at the hands of that dreadful beast of a human, what was his name again?”

“Inigo Montenegro, the Bogeyman of Brazil!” I hollered, stuffing some buttered bagel into my mouth.

“That’s right! Well, anyway…” she continued, “That ruffian did things most abhorrent, and even after we escaped his compound, we had a boiling jungle with angry crocodiles to contend with! So Brazil was definitely worse in that regard, but Portugal was also truly difficult due to us being separated from Callum. Without our protector, we mainly travelled in the dark of night, fearful and paranoid. It was also a cold time of year, so we ate more, in a dire attempt to keep ourselves warm. For all that said, I’m most grateful for our bountiful supply of food.”

“Gosh, that sounds, ugh…” Alex groaned, rubbing at his forehead.

“Yeah, it wasn’t ideal.” I grumbled, shrugging.

After breakfast, I decided it was time to finalise recruiting Rommel. I explained the situation in full to Alex, and he gave me a laptop so that I could access Skype.

Hey Mel, I’m in Michigan now.
Yes, with the girls.
If you’d like to come and be a hero, call me.

Sending the message, I told the girls to get ready to say hello to him on camera. It didn’t take long for Rommel to see the message, to which he immediately called me.

“Hello mate!” I greeted him upon answering the call.

“Well, let’s see them then?” he clapped back, raising an eyebrow at me.

Rolling my eyes at his sceptical impatience, I rotated the laptop to reveal Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Twilight, all sat comfortably on the L-shaped couch. Pinkie then bounced into the frame and grinned.

“Hi! Callum says you’re going to be our new friend!”

Turning the device back to me, I couldn’t help but laugh at Rommel’s expression, the lad’s eyes were so wide that they could have practically fallen out of his head! Folding my arms, I asked if he still thought I was bullshitting him, to which he blinked rapidly and gave his head a firm shake. After taking in a large breath, he shrugged his shoulders and began to laugh.

“You know what? Okay fine, I’m sold. Hello everyone! Or, uh, everypony!”

Everyone cheerily greeted him through the camera, and then he asked me where in Michigan he was supposed to be heading to, and which firearms he wanted me to bring.

“A town called Owosso, hang on a second…”

Looking over to the kitchen door, I called out Alex’s name, to which Rommel quizzed me on whom I was asking for.

“Rainbow’s dad, give me a second will you?” I snapped back.

“Wait, what!?”

Grinning, I passed the laptop to Pinkie for a hot second and went over to the kitchen, just as Dashie’s father emerged from it. Upon receiving a request for his home address, his face quickly became clouded with worry, and with a furrowed brow, he asked if I was absolutely sure that Rommel could be trusted.

“Yeah, a hundred percent. He’s a good friend of mine, I’ve known him for years. He’s just as reliable as Josh over there, just far more proficient with the shooty bang bangs.”

“Alright, I trust you.” he conceded, “I just get really iffy about this sort of thing.”

“Yeah, didn’t you say that a bunch of creeps were trying to meet up with you?” I recalled, gesturing to him with a finger.

Nodding, he said that he would explain after we’d finished up with Rommel. I went back over and took the laptop from Pinkie, who had been briefly telling the truths surrounding the My Little Dashie story.

“Is this really true?” Mel asked, gesturing to Alex as we sat down together.

“Yup, it’s true. Raised her for fifteen years.”

“Damn…” Rommel murmured, scratching at his black-haired chin.

Alex looked over to the cyan pegasus, sat comfortably in his father’s old chair. With a smile, he added that it was the best fifteen years of his life, causing Rarity to daintily flap her hoof in front of her face, rife with emotion. He then leaned across me and typed his address into the Skype chat.

“That’s my place, do not share it with anyone.”

“I won’t, promise.”

Getting back to the topic of firearms, I essentially told Rommel to bring everything he had.

“Variety is the spice of life, I guess.” he chuckled.

Twilight then scooted over to be in the frame, and spoke her mind with a hint of trepidation.

“So uh, now that you know this is all for real. What’s your stance on joining us? It would be good to know if you’re for sure coming with us or not. As I’m sure you can imagine, it would be a big deal to suddenly have another human at our side.”

After a moment to think, Mel confirmed that he wanted to join our mission, with the girls’ permission of course. Recalling our previous conversations on the matter, everyone gladly accepted.

“Well, that settles it. Rommel, I officially welcome you to my company!” Twilight announced, grinning.

Merrily giving a grin of his own, Mel said that he would need a few days to tie up loose ends. Unlike me, he didn’t wish to end his former life to begin a new one. He wanted something to go back to, after his time with the girls was over.

“I’ll quit my job, tell my family that I’m going travelling, and don’t worry Alex, I won’t say where to. Then I’ll pack some gear and be on my way. I’ll send a message here on Skype when I’m on route!”

“Sounds like a plan.” I replied.

“Cool, well uh, see you all soon!” he chuckled nervously.

The girls and I sounded off a merry farewell, before I ended the call and closed the laptop.

“Well, that’s that then.” I hummed, passing the device to Alex.

He went and put it away, and returned to the kitchen to continue whipping up lunch for us.

I decided that it would be good to see if anything interesting was going on in the world, so I put the TV on and switched to a news channel. We had been watching for a little while, when a vaguely familiar face appeared on the screen.

“Hey look Callum, it’s that orange guy again!” Twilight exclaimed, pointing at the TV.

“Oh let me guess, Donald Trump?” Alex hummed loudly, sticking his head back into the room.

“How do you know him, Twi?” Rainbow asked, puzzled.

Twilight then explained how she and I had seen him on the news back when we stayed in the hotel room in Ocean City, which brought forth murmurs of understanding from everyone.

“Is he bad news then?” I inquired, guessing from Alex’s uncertain tone of voice.

“Eh, some and some. Personally I liked him, but his time in office definitely saw a lot of division in this country. Without getting too much into it, he was very upfront with his views, and not everyone agreed with them, and most of the people who did agree, were pretty damn radical about it.”

“Ugh, the red hats…” Rainbow grumbled.

“You remember, Dashie?”

“Just now, yeah. You talking about it reminded me.” she hummed with a thoughtful expression, “I remember seeing it on the TV. All those protests and stuff, everyone waving their guns around, those people were crazy!”

Chuckling, Alex alluded to how the supposed ‘MAGA’ group essentially formed a cult around the man, and would probably eat their own children if Trump said it was a good idea. All in all, America was in for a wild ride over the next few years, where both ends of the political spectrum developed very radical ideologies, with both being as bad as each other.

“Basically, the left get lefter, and the right get righter.” he finalised.

“And you get richer, I presume?” Rarity teased, “Knowing that he’s going to be instated, I mean?”

Cackling to himself, Alex admitted that the election was going to make him an absolute fortune. More interested in the politics than the rigged bet, Twilight inquired further about the supposed encroaching division in the nation.

“Eh, like I said, his views got a lot of people riled up, both for and against. And for as much as I like how he gets shit done, there’s no denying he’s got a very loud mouth, one that says some stuff that it shouldn’t.”

“You mean like that one time when he said you could grab a woman by the pu-”

“Dashie!”

Undeterred by her father’s scolding, Rainbow tittered to herself and looked over at me to not-so-subtly mouth the word ‘pussy’ at me, to which I rolled my eyes and shook my head, tutting.

“Ooh! Ooh!” Pinkie squealed, “What’s some of the craziest things that happen in the future?”

“Yeah, tell us!” Josh joined in, clapping his hands.

I sighed a breath of relief; anything to evade further politics. I had never enjoyed the ever-heated discussion of one’s ideas of other people’s ideas. Laughing, Alex said he’d tell us over lunch, and went to finish up in the kitchen. Once the food was ready, we all tucked in, and Josh and I began peppering him with questions about the future.

“Well, funny enough, watching the Titanic last night reminded me of an event that’s going to happen in Twenty-Twenty-Three, when a bunch of rich people implode on a submersible.”

“Oh?” I hummed, tilting my head with curiosity.

Explaining a little further, Alex told us how some company called OceanGate would go on to make a crudely designed submarine in a few years, for visiting the wreckage of the Titanic. However, every facet of its creation had been achieved through cutting corners, and using the cheapest methods possible.

“It got to the point where a whistle-blower in the company spoke up. He pointed out that it wasn’t safe to descend past a thousand metres, let alone the near four-thousand metres where the Titanic is!”

“And I’m guessing they didn’t listen?” I tutted, shrugging as I did so.

“Nope, instead they fired the guy and sued him for breach of contract.”

“Jeez…”

Alex explained more on how the CEO, along with four other people, went down to visit the wreckage, where the vessel imploded, killing them immediately. Due to the casualties being a company CEO, three vastly rich people, and one of their children, the tragedy received a lot of attention and media coverage.

“So, what you’re telling me, is that some rich people died at sea, due to their vessel’s collapse, while attempting to gawk at the site where some rich people died at sea, due to their vessel’s collapse?”

“Callum, have some decency!” Rarity scolded, “People have died for goodness’ sake!”

“Well, not yet.” Rainbow Dash added, snickering quietly.

“Wait, hang on.” I continued, trying (and failing) to keep a straight face, “Does this mean that well over a hundred years later, the Titanic’s death toll has… increased?”

Dashie, Alex, and Twilight were unable to contain their laughter, while the others gave me a fierce look of judgement. Quickly attempting to change the subject, I asked Alex if there was anything else in the future that was interesting or noteworthy.

“Well uh, the biggest thing was the Coronavirus Pandemic, that was pretty nuts.”

“Oh I remember that!” Dashie cried out, “You got it twice, and the first time nearly killed you!”

“And it probably would have, if not for you looking after me…”

I pressed for Alex to go on, to which he explained how at the tail end of Twenty-Nineteen, a nasty new virus was going to emerge from China. It was debatable whether the Chinese had manufactured it or not, but either way, it would rapidly spread across the globe, creating mass panic.

“Jeez! How bad does it get?” Josh gasped.

“That’s the thing, it differs from person to person.” Alex explained, dishing up another plate of food for himself, “Some people get it and have literally no symptoms, and other people straight up die! It’s basically a super-flu that some people are naturally unaffected by, or something like that. As Dashie just said, I got it really bad, twice!”

Elaborating on his symptoms between mouthfuls, he went on to reinforce Dashie’s statement of how the first contraction of the virus had almost killed him, and that it was only down to the pegasus’ persistent care that helped him pull through.

“So don’t get it twisted, a lot of people end up dying from it.” he told us, munching away, “But honestly, the virus itself ends up doing far less damage than the damn hysteria over it. I’m talking global lockdowns, travel bans, riots, small businesses falling apart… Oh, and a temporary shortage of toilet paper!”

“Toilet paper, why?” I asked.

“Just dumb people panic buying and shit.” he replied, “They thought it was going to be some kind of end-of-the-world apocalypse or something, so they started hoarding all sorts of stuff. But weirdly enough, it was mostly toilet paper.”

“Humans really are strange creatures…” Twilight mused, resting a hoof against her chin.

“I take it things get under control afterwards though, right?” Josh inquired.

“Oh yeah, some vaccines get rolled out and everyone calms down after a couple of years. By Twenty-Twenty-Three, it’s no different from the common cold, or the flu at worst.”

After a few more questions on the matter, I went on to ask if anything significant would go on to happen in the United Kingdom. To this, I quickly found myself wishing that I had never asked, upon receiving news that was most wounding to me.

“Ah, uh… Well I’m not sure how much of a royalist you are, but your queen dies.”

The girls all gasped and craned their necks to stare at me. It took a few seconds for the information to process in my mind, and when it did, all I could do was hang my head and loosely part my lips.

“Oh…”

Looking back to face him, I asked when it would happen and how, to which he explained that it was simply of natural causes, in September of Twenty-Twenty-Two. Inhaling deeply, I came to understand that in just six years from now, my queen was going to pass away, bringing an end to the longest reigning monarch in British history, along with the legacy of an undeniably incredible woman. Being ninety years old, it was obvious that her passing was on the horizon, but that made the news no less difficult for me to swallow.

“Should I have not told you?”

“No it’s fine, it’s just a lot to take in.” I murmured, “I can only imagine how poor Philip will feel when it happens.”

“Oh, her husband? I probably should have said, he dies first, just the year before she does.”

“Jeez dad, double-whammy much?” Dashie blurted out loudly.

“Oops.”

Shrugging, I admitted that Prince Philip was older than Elizabeth, so it made sense that he might go first; and in fact, it was probably his passing that brought along hers.

“How come?” Josh asked.

“They’re very much in love, a happily married couple if there ever was one.” I replied, “It’s actually quite common for old couples to die around the same time. When the love is real, they’re each other’s strength, and aren’t long for this world without one another. I reckon that once Philip goes, Her Majesty’s strength goes with him, and every second between Philip’s death and hers is nothing but borrowed time.”

Upon saying this, Twilight let out a long sigh, her ears drooping faintly.

“That’s, really beautiful actually…”

“In a very painful way for my country, yes.” I replied, nodding in agreement.

“Well, I know it hasn’t happened yet exactly, but I’m truly sorry for your loss.” said Rarity.

“Yeah, we all are.” Fluttershy added.

Everyone dipped their heads in respect, and I gave a weak smile in return, before trying to break the depressing tone with a dash of humour.

“The old gal could have held on for another four years at least, made it to one-hundred. Then she could have sent a telegram to herself!”

My reception was mostly that of pity laughs, with a curious Pinkie asking what I meant. Taking a little stretch, I explained that whenever a British citizen reached the age of one-hundred, they would receive a personal telegram from the reigning monarch, congratulating them and commemorating their longevity.

“Wow, I had no idea that was a thing.” said Alex, finishing the last of the lunch.

“Yeah, it’s a nice touch.” I concurred, “It’s a long-standing tradition, dates back to Nineteen-Seventeen if I’m not mistaken, during the reign of King George the Fifth.”

Neatly placing his knife and fork on his plate and pushing it away, Josh commented on my knowledge on such things, deeming me quite the historian. I chuckled, and admitted that I used to be quite pedantic on learning all I could about my national heritage. In my eyes, a crucial part of knowing where you’re going, is knowing where you’ve been.

“How poetic.” said Rarity, placing a hoof to her chest.

“Speaking of poetry, Callum, would you help me write something down again later?” Twilight asked.

“Of course!” I happily agreed with a smile.

Changing the subject, I wanted to ask Alex about the supposed ‘creeps’ that had been trying to meet up with him. Seeing as I now longed to bury the looming thoughts of Queen Elizabeth dying within the next decade, now was better than ever. Upon asking him, he took a long sigh and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Okay, so basically it’s been the same few guys, practically begging me to hang out with them in person. I’ve said no every time, but they keep on asking. They’ve now taken to making multiple accounts, I guess in the hopes that I’d say yes to at least one of them.”

“Blimey, that’s pretty damn creepy.” I hummed.

“Well, here’s the thing, and I’m probably just being paranoid about it, but something really weird happened the last time I gave someone my address. Some guy was trying to send me some fan-mail, really obsessive type, and I accidentally gave him my old address. Two days later, the people that live there now, were reported missing.”

Some of the girls gasped, with Rarity stating that a cold chill had just gone up her spine.

“Yeah, that’s a damn good reason to be suspicious, Pops…” Rainbow Dash muttered.

“I really hope it’s not connected.” Alex huffed, “But I just can’t stop thinking that it is, and it’s had me on edge for the past month. You’re very lucky I agreed to meet at that McDonald’s dude, I literally flipped a coin to decide.”

“Glad it landed the right way up.” I responded, “Where did you live before? Is it far from here?”

“Not far at all, about a ten-minute drive. It’s actually the same place I bought when I lived with Dashie.”

“Our place by the woods?” said Rainbow.

“Mm-hmm, I lived there for a couple of years. But after a while, I just couldn’t handle being there, knowing I’d never see you again, too many memories, you know? I sold the place to a nice elderly couple, real friendly folk. Seeing their faces on the local news was bad enough, but the fact that it might be my fault they’re missing? Makes my blood run cold man…”

“Goodness…” Fluttershy whimpered.

“When did this happen?” asked Rarity.

Tutting and shaking his head, Alex said that it had happened only two weeks ago. After taking a moment to think on it, an idea came to mind.

“What if I went there? I could check things out, see if there’s anything that gives away what happened to them? Or at the very least, prove that it’s not related to this fan-mail guy?”

“Really? You’d do that?”

Nodding, I said that after everything I’d been through thus far, investigating an empty house and possibly coming across a deranged psycho or two was hardly the biggest threat to me.

“What if I went tomorrow night?”

“That would be, amazing actually. It would take a huge load off my mind.”

Dipping my head, I agreed that I’d do it, with the girls supporting me in the act.

“Just so long as you’re careful, and you take Vitra ‘Aku with you.” Twilight instructed.

“Well duh, I wouldn’t go there unarmed!” I scoffed.

She stuck her tongue out at me, and with the plan established, I asked Alex if I could play on one of his games consoles, as I literally hadn’t touched a controller since just before our departure to Chernobyl.

“Of course, be my guest! What sort of game do you want to play?”

After thinking for a moment, I decided that I wanted to play an RPG, something along the lines of Skyrim or Dark Souls, to which Alex snapped his fingers and grinned.

“You know what, the third Dark Souls came out just last month, I’ve been seeing trailers for it constantly. Do you fancy playing that?”

“Uh, absolutely!”

After specifying that I’d prefer to play on his Xbox over the PlayStation, Alex booted up the console and casually purchased the game as though it didn’t cost a dime, which in his world, it didn’t. Twilight then asked what Dark Souls was about exactly, so while we waited for it to download and install, I gave her a recap of the franchise’s story and lore.

I ended up going on for quite a while, and by the time I was finished wrapping things up, the game had already been installed for a good five to ten minutes.

“To be honest darling, the whole thing sounds rather ghastly.” Rarity remarked, whom had been listening in.

“I like it, it’s poetic.” Twilight opposed, “From the sounds of things, it’s an allegory for the never-ending cycle of existence itself. Every beginning must have an ending, which inevitably springs forth another beginning. All life ends in death, but from that, comes new life.”

“You’ve pretty much hit the nail on the head.” I hummed, “It’s essentially that, along with the notion of how those in power will do anything to retain their position of authority. There are a few other elements mixed in too, all grounded in a dark and oppressive medieval fantasy world, which most humans are absolute suckers for, myself included.”

“Hm, fair enough I suppose.” Rarity hummed.

“Well, fun as that sounds, I’m as bored as a plank of wood here indoors.” Applejack chuckled.

“I could show you my trucks if you like?” Alex offered.

“Sure!”

“I could do with stretching my legs too, have fun with your game Callum!” Dashie chipped in, hopping out of the recliner.

Most of the others also ended up going out for some fresh air and a walk, leaving just Twilight, Josh, and Fluttershy to accompany me. I booted up the game and created a character, and began my digital journey into the crumbling lands of Lothric.

{Here I am, The Titans’ Champion…} I thought, {Chosen hero of Equus’ gods, custodian of the Mane Six, and possessor of a Regal Soul. Sat cross-legged on a couch, playing video games.}

The thought was enough to bring forth a chuckle from me.

“What is it?” Twilight quizzed, tilting her head.

“It’s just… Do you think The Titans ever foresaw their next Champion being some autistic kid from another planet, still obsessed with video games?”

“Probably not, but who knows?” she giggled, “I mean look at me, I represent an Element of Harmony, and am the protégé of Princess Celestia herself. And still, I do crazy experiments underneath the library, and am secretly obsessed with Spike’s comic books!”

“For real?” I laughed.

“Yup! Whenever he’s done reading them, I pretend to take them back to the book store to switch it out for another one for him, when I actually just take them down to the laboratory for myself!”

“That’s actually incredible.” I said, shaking my head.

I looked over to Josh and Fluttershy, both of whom were curiously very close together, comfortably pressed into each other as they watched me light my first bonfire in the game.

“What does ‘Bonfire Lit’ mean?” Twilight asked.

“It’s a save point basically.” I elaborated, “If I die in the game, I’ll respawn at the last bonfire I rested at.”

“Ah, I see.”

Twi scooched up to me, and watched as I made my way through the game’s first area, and as she clutched at my left arm with her forelegs, I felt a warmth wash over me. It was similar to how I felt last night, especially when yet another strangely comforting shiver went through me. The sensation slowly faded away however, as Iudex Gundyr, the game’s tutorial boss, proceeded to kill me twelve times.

“Oh my god…” I gasped upon my thirteenth death, “I’m shit at video games!”

“I can see that.” Twilight giggled.

“No-no-no, you don’t get it, I used to be really good at stuff like this. Adventuring with you ponies has tarnished my skills!”

“Wait, so you’re blaming us, just because you suck now?”

“Correct.”

Bursting into laughter, Twilight snatched the controller from me.

“Pfft, good luck, you don’t even have thumbs!” I scoffed.

Carefully using her chin, along with the edges of her front hooves, the unicorn dextrously harnessed the controller and tactfully made her way through the Cemetery of Ash, and after a long and strategic fight, she vanquished the boss without a single death.

“I hate you.” I grumbled, snatching the controller back.

Grinning from ear to ear, Twilight looked up at me with her great big twinkling, dorky, perfect eyes, and flexed her eyebrows with well-earned arrogance and pride.

“Get good, bitch.”

---

Comments

[Comet_Chaser]

She just pulled the "git gud" card on him. Fuckin 10/10

[Mister Horncastle]

11682853
: "lol, sounds like a skill issue."

[PonyJoe1]

So you know how I said before how "Goodnight Cal" actually meant "I love you", and Callum felt it, even if he doesn't fully understand yet?

I think he's starting to.
And it's not a one-way street... 😗

[GoldOsburn]

if only we can get some fan art of Twilight and the hero fighting over the controller with Josh and Fluttershy chilling together probably as he's petting her like a cat

[Mister Horncastle]

11683299
Now THAT, I would love to see.

[Bossypants]

The next morning, Alex went out to get us all some breakfast from a local bake shop called Tim Hortons, it was hardly the healthiest breakfast, as he returned to us with a wide variety of doughnuts, muffins, and bagels.

OHHHHH CAAANNNNNAAAADAAAAAA!!!!!

(I know they are in the U.S, sue me)

[Bossypants]

Looking back to face him, I asked when it would happen and how, to which he explained that it was simply of natural causes, in September of Twenty-Twenty-Two. Inhaling deeply, I came to understand that in just six years from now, my queen was going to pass away, bringing an end to the longest reigning monarch in British history, along with the legacy of an undeniably incredible woman. Being ninety years old, it was obvious that her passing was on the horizon, but that made the news no less difficult for me to swallow.

*Cough, cough,* "JShlatt" *Cough, Cough*

[Mister Horncastle]

11764826
I fail to understand what this means.