The Titans' Orb: Breaking Dawn

by Mister Horncastle

Chapter Twenty-One: Man to Man

Twilight and I played Dark Souls long into the evening, before we eventually decided to give the game a break as the others wanted to watch another film with dinner. Alex had decided to whip up Rainbow Dash’s favourite childhood meal, Mac and Cheese with mashed potatoes, mixed into each other with herbs and black pepper, and a dollop of salted butter. There was also a salad on the side, and some little cocktail sausages for us humans.

While he cooked, the rest of us all had a lengthy debate as to what film we would be watching; this very nearly ended up becoming a full-blown argument, as everyone wanted something different. Rarity wished for another romantic tale, meanwhile Fluttershy was eager for something adventurous, with lots of interesting creatures in it. After the slow-paced and historical setting of The Titanic last night, Applejack and Rainbow Dash both wanted to see lots of fantastical action, and Twilight was practically begging for something in the realms of science fiction. The only one who wasn’t too picky was Pinkie Pie, of whom was happy to watch anything, permitting that it had lots of bright colours, and a happy ending.

Desperate to please everyone, I racked my brains in search of a flick that could meet all of those criteria, which was when Josh thankfully came to my rescue.

“You know, The Titanic wasn’t the only movie directed by James Cameron…” he hinted, smirking.

Clapping my hands together, I sighed a breath of relief, as the perfect film came to mind. Rarity picked up on our delight, and raised an eyebrow.

“It seems you two gentlemen have come up with a solution?”

Nodding, I told them of a film that would superbly match everyone’s specific cinephilic desires, and without giving away too much of the plot, I was able to get each girl intrigued and eager. Alex emerged from the kitchen and asked what we were watching, to which I snapped my fingers and grinned.

“We, my friend, are watching James Cameron’s Avatar!”

“Ooh, good choice!” he hummed, “I’ll have to rent it from Amazon or something, it doesn’t come to Disney Plus for like another six years. Actually, come to think of it, Disney Plus doesn’t even exist yet!”

“What’s that exactly?” I inquired.

“It’s basically Disney’s own version of Netflix.”

“Oh, interesting.”

“Make sure you rent the extended edition!” Josh insisted.

“Well duh, I’m not an idiot!”

I laughed, as did Josh, and Alex went to his laptop to acquire the film from somewhere online. After that, he zipped back into the kitchen and dished up our dinner. We retrieved our warm bowls and got ourselves comfortable on the sofa, and Alex hit play. I took my first bite and hummed merrily; the buttery, salty, carby meal was absolutely delicious.

“Damn, I can tell why this is your favourite dish Rainbow!” I exclaimed.

“Sshh!” went Twilight, trying to watch the film.

“It’s literally just the opening studio logos Twi, chill.”

“Sshh!”

Quietly snickering to myself at how invested she already was, I kept quiet and tucked into my food as the film properly started. Alex’s surround sound speakers began to fill the room with the sound of drums, followed by Jake Sully’s opening dialogue.

“When I was lying there in the VA hospital, with a big hole, blown through the middle of my life…
I started having these dreams of flying, I was free…
Sooner or later though… you always have to wake up.”

---

The credits came up, and the girls all let out heavy breaths, releasing all the tension and emotional investment that had accumulated over the cinematic experience, which had completely and utterly captivated all six of them. I had to remind myself that Equestria didn’t have cinema quite like this, so to watch something in live-action with so much lifelike CGI must have totally blown their minds.

“Wow…” Twilight breathed.

“That was, incredible.” Rarity added.

Everyone murmured in agreement, with me admitting that it was far better than I had remembered it to be. Despite the plot being rather unoriginal, (it was essentially a sci-fi Pocahontas), the world of Pandora itself, and the amount of world-building that James Cameron had put into it, was nothing short of utter perfection.

With it now being a little past midnight, the majority of us were ready for some kip, and we decided to call it a night. Everyone dispersed to get ready for bed, while I helped Alex take the dishes to the kitchen.

“You going straight to sleep?” he inquired, popping the leftovers into the fridge.

“Not sure yet, why?”

“I was wondering if you fancied a drink or two first?”

Humming, I wasn’t all that sleepy yet, and I most certainly wasn’t going to pass up on alcohol.

“Yeah sure, why not.”

Nodding, Alex set the dishwasher to start, and then we went back into the lounge, where I told Twilight that I was going to stay up for a little longer; yawning, she dipped her head and took herself up to bed. I gave Fluttershy and Pinkie a quick goodnight hug, before they got under their blankets and slowly drifted off on the couch.

“What’s your drink?” Alex inquired, heading over to the bar in the corner of the room.

“Rum, if you’ve got it.”

“Spiced?”

I nodded enthusiastically, to which he retrieved a bottle that I immediately recognised from my drunken misadventure with the girls in Portugal; it was Kraken Rum. Smirking, I took the bottle as he passed it to me, along with a very fancy-looking glass, brimming with ice cubes. We left the living room and went out to sit on the deck at the back of the house, as not to disturb Fluttershy and Pinkie. Alex switched on the patio heaters to keep us warm, and we plonked ourselves down on two of the wooden chairs that were present.

“Well, this is snug.” I sang cheerily, basking in the hot glow of the heaters.

“Yeah, they’re some of the best things I’ve ever bought.” said Alex, gesturing to the heaters, “Honest-to-God, you can sit out here in the winter, and still be warm. Especially with a stiff drink in your hand.”

Raising my glass to that, I once again took in the fine details of the vessel, it was hand-cut and flowing with intricate patterns, and it glistened in the low light unlike any ordinary drinking glass.

“I’ve got to say, this glass is lovely on the eyes.” I murmured.

“Heck yeah it is, expensive too. Cost me eight-hundred dollars!”

“For one bloody glass?” I gasped.

“Well, four glasses, they came in a set.” Alex clarified, raising his own identical glass, “They’re antiques, pure crystal, imported from Ireland. I figured that if I’m going to drink expensive whiskey, I should do it out of an expensive glass.”

At this, I raised an eyebrow.

“Ireland you say?”

“Uh-huh, it’s from the very original Waterford Glassworks company, one of the first and finest crystal makers in the world. Well, before they went out of business, that is.”

“Say that again please?” I demanded, my eyes widening.

“They’re uh, one of the first-”

“No-no-no-no, shut the fuck door. Did you just say, Waterford Glassworks?”

“Yeah, why?”

Staring at the crystal vessel, my mouth fell agape, as I came to the realisation that I was holding a relic from none-other than my own family’s business!

“My family, ran that company.” I uttered, mesmerised.

“What? No way.” Alex denied, shaking his head, “This is like, from a super ancient crystal manufacturer, dating all the way back to the seventeen-hundreds.”

“I’m aware.” I replied bluntly.

“Are you sure we’re talking about the same-”

“Google it, right now.”

Taking no time at all to whip out his phone, he looked up the Wikipedia page for the antiquated glass’s manufacturer. He began to read off his screen, making sure I couldn’t see it.

“Let’s see… Waterford Crystal is a manufacturer of lead glass, yada yada yada… Oh here we go! It says here that the origins of crystal production in Waterford, date all the way back to Seventeen-Eighty-Three.”

“Where the Waterford Glassworks company was founded by my ancestors, George Penrose, and his nephew, William Penrose.” I interjected, still staring at the glass.

“Well I’ll be damned…”

Looking to Alex, it dawned on the both of us that he had somehow acquired a genuine piece of my ancient family’s legacy, the man was literally in possession of my own history.

“Okay that’s, actually crazy. What are the odds?” he laughed nervously.

“Very damn small, that’s for sure.”

Shaking my head in sheer disbelief and grinning with amazement, I studied the glass for a little while longer, before filling it with rum, and raising it into the night sky.

“Well, this one’s for you, Will and George. Here’s to mad coincidences, I guess?” I laughed.

Alex poured his own drink, and we took our first sips together, both still totally bewildered by such an unreal happenstance. I closed my eyes, savouring the familiar flavour, while memories from the mansion danced around upon my tongue.

“So…” I began tentatively, after a short silence, “Are you doing okay?”

“What do you mean?” he chuckled.

“Well, your daughter, who you thought you’d never see again, has been living with you for the past two days, along with the girls and two people you’ve never met before.” I pointed out bluntly, “I think it’s safe to say that’s a mad situation to be in.”

Sighing, Alex dipped his head.

“Well I’ll admit, it was a little bit of a headfuck at first. But honestly, since getting over the initial shock, I just can’t be happier. So yeah, I’m doing okay.”

Pouring his drink, he went on to admit that deep down, he had always hoped to see his Little Dashie again somehow, and that for as crazy as this situation was, he was more than ready for it.

“My life, in of itself, has been something of a fantasy ever since the Princess took me back.” he said, taking a sip from his whiskey, “It’s all a bit false, you know?”

I gave a hum of acknowledgement and nodded my head, which was when he snapped his fingers.

“I’ll tell you what it’s like.” he began, “It’s like life’s a video game, and I’ve been taken back to an earlier save file. I’m all the way back to an earlier stage, but I now know all the exploits and cheat codes. I know where all the enemies are going to be, and where the best loot is and stuff.”

“That’s a really good way of putting it.” I said, taking a sip from my own drink.

“The thing is, right.” Alex continued, “For as fun as it’s been at times, it’s also been, well, boring. Don’t get me wrong, the rich life has been fucking awesome, and I’ve had all the time in the world for my hobbies and stuff, life’s been great! But at the same time, there’s been this emptiness, which I guess is the hole in my life that Dashie left behind. So in truth, I’ve been kind of waiting for something like this to happen, you know? Something to give my life meaning again.”

Inhaling deeply, I told him that to some degree, I understood what he meant.

“I know it’s not, exactly the same, but before meeting the girls, I went through something similar.”

I closed my eyes, and told him something that I had never told anyone else before…

Never had I been a religious man, but ever since I was little, I used to believe that the stars could hear me; that someone, be it a deity, or aliens, or something else entirely, was listening. Whenever I was alone at night, I’d look out to the stars and talk to them. I would tell them how miserable I felt and all that shite, and how desperately I wanted another life, a chance to be someone else, somewhere else.

“Again, I know it’s not exactly the same…” I sighed, “But, I get what it means to feel completely devoid of a life worth living, and to desperately long for an intervention, otherworldly, divine, or otherwise…”

Rubbing at the back of my neck, I told him that when my dad left, and everything at home started getting so much worse, I used to go outside almost every night.

“Whenever my er, non mother, passed out drunk, which was often, I’d sneak into her room and steal a bottle or two of whatever alcohol she hadn’t finished.” I explained, “Then I’d go outside and lay on the grass, drinking myself into a stupor, pleading up at the night sky for an escape. I’d spend hours out there, just drunkenly sobbing to the stars, begging for something more.”

After a good moment’s silence, Alex smiled warmly.

“Well, I guess we both got our wish.”

Huffing with a smirk, I dipped my head.

“Yeah, I guess we did.”

We both raised our glasses to one another and gently clinked them together, before taking long, thoughtful sips at our respective drinks.

“You don’t think, Celestia heard me, do you?” I spoke after a while, looking up at the sky.

“What do you mean?”

Shrugging, I speculated that perhaps, while the Princess was in search of a worthy guide for the girls during this mission, she might have somehow heard my pleas to the stars.

“Hm, I hadn’t thought of that.” Alex mumbled, “It’s definitely possible though.”

“Guess we’ll never know.” I muttered.

“You really don’t think there’s a chance for you? Going there, I mean?”

“Nah…” I rasped, shaking my head, “Celestia’s made her stance on the matter very clear, and I’ve made peace with that. Once every piece of the Orb’s been recovered, I’ll give up the sword, and they’ll go home. That’s the way it needs to be, and I’m okay with that.”

“Okay but, hear me out…”

Taking another sip from his drink, Alex readjusted himself on the bench, turning to face me more straight on.

“You’re the Titans’ Champion, right? Doesn’t that mean you’ve basically been accepted by their literal gods as someone who’s welcome on Equus? I know humans in general don’t belong there, but aren’t you like a special case? An exception to the rule?”

Looking away, I thought about it for a moment; he certainly had a point. But eventually, I tutted and shook my head.

“The way I see it, I was only chosen to make sure this mission succeeds, nothing more. The mantle of Champion isn’t some long-term hero gig, the whole point is that I’m a tool, elected temporarily for a purpose.”

I took a moment to finish my first glass of rum, before telling him that safeguarding the girls while they recovered the Orb was that purpose. After that, the sword would be returned to its rightful place in Equestria, to await the next Champion, if and when such a time arose again. Shrugging, he said that I knew best on the matter, and we put the conversation to bed. Changing the subject, we decided to talk about Rainbow Dash. For what felt like hours, we traded stories about her, laughing over amusing anecdotes, and solemnly lamenting over the sadder ones.

“I can’t believe she’s…” he trailed off, as I told him about the first man she killed.

“Yeah, I know.” I grumbled, inhaling deeply and taking a long hard look into my glass, “To be fair, all six of them have done things I didn’t think they were capable of. Rarity and Twilight have taken lives as well, and hell, Fluttershy of all ponies has literally sutured bullet wounds, she’s basically a bloody combat medic.”

“For real? Damn…”

“Crazy right?” I huffed, “As for Rainbow, she saved my life by doing what she did. On quite a handful of occasions now, she’s been the reason we’re still alive today. You should be nothing but proud of her.”

“Oh trust me, I’m damn proud of her.”

Alex fell silent for a time after that, before eventually looking to face me, furrowing his brow.

“I know, by the way.”

It took me a second to realise what he was referring to, at which point I opened my mouth slightly to speak, only to close it again.

“Right…” I spoke at last, gulping.

{Shit…}

Maintaining an unreadable demeanour, Alex went on to explain that earlier today, before he’d started cooking dinner, he and Rainbow had gone into his study for a private heart-to-heart, father to daughter. They had talked about the more serious elements of our journey, in greater detail, in which she had divulged to him about our history; our very, very, physical history.

“Erm…” I began.

“I’m going to be frank with you Callum, I asked her.” he cut in, “You have to understand, with my daughter growing up in a human world, she was always going to end up having an interest in human men when she matured, I suppose it’s only natural.”

He finished his second glass of whiskey, before continuing.

“So this morning, I started thinking to myself… My little girl’s been travelling for nearly a year with this guy, a guy that, given your closeness with Twilight, is obviously very comfortable with pony company. Now, at first I just asked if she liked you, if you were a nice person to be around and stuff, you know? And that’s when Dashie just talked and talked about you, singing your praises from the goddamn rooftops. From the second I asked, she didn’t want to shut up about you, and it became clear as day that she’s into you. So, naturally, I asked if there was anything I needed to be worried about, and that’s when she told me.”

Remaining silent and nodding my head in understanding, I looked away, unable to maintain eye contact. He itched awkwardly at his beard, and then pressed on with what had essentially become a concerned father’s grilling.

“Now, she tells me that it was this ‘on and off’ thing, that she wanted. According to her, she came on to you, and that you never forced yourself on her. I just wanted to give you the chance to be straight with me, is she telling the truth?”

Steeling myself and quietly gulping again, I looked firmly into his eyes and gave him an expression of complete and utter sincerity, answering with absolute honesty.

“She’s telling the truth.”

He lowered his head, gesturing for me to continue. I went on to tell him that I had been aware of Rainbow’s attraction for a good while prior, but I had never seen her, or any of the girls for that matter, in such a way. Stumbling over my words with consistent starts and stops, I elaborated that it was only at the point where she had come onto me, that I had reciprocated.

“And yeah, from-from then on, like she says, there was this sort of, ‘on and off’ thing.” I said slowly, doing my best to stay composed, “But I’d like to be absolutely clear, that, erm, that I never, approached her, you know? Uhm, things only ever err, happened, when-when she uh, approached me.”

Remaining perfectly nuanced for what felt like forever, Alex’s piercing stare bore holes into my skull, before at last he spoke.

“Okay, I believe you.”

Breathing heavily out my nose, I dipped my chin and shifted uncomfortably. Itching at his beard again, he puckered his lips and made one further inquiry before letting me off the hook.

“Look, I don’t want any details, at all.” he started, leaning towards me, “But I’m going to ask you plain and simple. Did you treat her well? Kindly, and respectfully, I mean?”

“I did.” I replied, “You have my word.”

“Alright then.”

His demeanour warmed up again, and upon noticing that my glass was empty, he told me to fill up before the rest of my ice melted. I didn’t need telling twice, my mouth felt drier than the Sahara Desert now, and I knew first-hand just how dry that place was. Smirking, Alex realised that he had given me a bit of a scare, and scooted over to give me a firm pat on the arm.

“Hey, we’re good, alright? I just wanted to talk to you, man to man, and make sure you’re not doing any wrong by my daughter, you know?”

“I understand, fully.” I replied.

Pouring his third glass, Alex stated that he wasn’t one of those delusional fathers, of whom couldn’t handle the prospect of their daughters growing into mature adults, with their own needs and wants.

“Dashie’s a grown mare, and I respect that.” he said, tutting, “And if you swear to me that you’re not hurting her, then there’s no problem here, capiche?”

“Everything except capiche.” I answered bluntly.

Breaking into a chuckle, Alex complimented my sense of humour, and raised his glass to me as we returned to a far more relaxed state. After a couple more glasses, we decided to call it an evening; I bid him goodnight and made a quick trip to the bathroom, before taking myself up to bed.

Quietly opening the door and entering the bedroom, I immediately realised that something was wrong. Zipping over to the bed, I found Twilight twitching violently under the covers, whimpering and murmuring. Pulling the covers off the unicorn, I slowly put my hand on her back as not to startle her; the poor thing was completely drenched in sweat.

“Twi, Twilight, wake up! You’re having a Spooky!”

Kicking out with her hind legs, the mare faintly hissed through her gritted teeth, and I instinctively began to knead my thumb into her spasming back muscles, hoping it could calm her down. It worked for a time, before she started to shake and cry out again.

“Twi, it’s Callum, wake up.”

Continuing to lightly rub at her back, I brought my face closer to her head and whispered into her ear.

“I’m here Twi, come on, please wake up.”

With one small nudge, her eyes shot open, and she gasped loudly, backing away from me.

“Get away! Get away! No! No! No please!” she whimpered, lashing out with her hooves.

“Twi, Twi, it’s okay! It’s me, it’s me, hey, look at me, it’s Callum!”

Hearing my voice and recognising who I was, the poor whelp lunged forward and burst into tears, latching onto me and sobbing into my neck. I held her close and hushed to her, gently patting at her sopping wet back to the rhythm of a heartbeat.

Pat-pat… Pat-pat… Pat-pat…

“It was just a Spooky, you’re alright, you’re safe…” I breathed to her.

Twilight just cried and cried into my neck, shivering and spluttering, and the first comprehensible words to eventually come babbling from her mouth, practically destroyed me.

“I don’t… I can’t… I can’t do this… I can’t do this anymore… I don’t want to live!”

“Oh Twi… Oh Twi…”

Almost brought to tears myself, I held her tighter and rocked her from side to side, while she let out all the raw emotion that dwelled within her, which had been severely exacerbated by the unimaginable horrors of which she had just woken from. As she quivered in my arms, I remembered what I did the first time I had found her experiencing a Spooky. Adjusting my grip on her, I cleared my throat, and began to sing.

“This feels right, and I'm letting it… and now I know just what to do.
Tire of me if you will, my dear… but I will not tire of you.

And this is the world as I see it now… turns out that nothing is fair.
You can leave me if you wish, my love… but I'm not going anywhere.

And please do not hurt me, love, I am a fragile one, and you are the light in my eyes.
Please do not break my heart, I think it's had enough pain to last the rest of my life…

Endless distraction, you worry me… but I'm trying to figure out how.
You don't have to make any promises, love… I'm afraid I might die for you now.

And I'd kill just to watch you as you're sleeping… I hope that you'll let me, in time.
You don't have to call me yours, my love… but damn it, I'm calling you mine!

And please do not hurt me, love, I am a fragile one, and you are the light in my eyes.
Please do not break my heart, I think it's had enough pain to last the rest of my life…

My life…

And I will not tire of you…”

Pulling away from me, Twilight looked into my eyes, her lips quivering.

“You s-sang that to me in P-Portugal…” she wheezed, wiping her eyes.

“Thought it might help.” I shrugged, smiling weakly.

“It did…”

Resting her head against my chest, the mare finally calmed down, gradually sliding into my lap. I ran my fingers through her mane, as I had done the other day, and lightly massaged her scalp.

“It was a really bad one.” she breathed, dipping her chin.

“I know…” I hummed softly, “You got trapped under the covers and overheated, I don’t think that helped much.”

“No kidding, I’m soaked…”

“The joys of having fur and being able to sweat.” I chuckled, “With humans, it evaporates nice and quickly.”

She tutted with annoyance, and I suggested that she should take a shower, or better yet, a nice hot bath.

“It’s nearly three in the morning.” she protested.

“Yeah, but you’re drenched, and I’d rather not share a bed with a sweaty, stinky unicorn.”

“Mmmmnnnnnnn!”

Rolling my eyes, I offered to help her rinse off, and she reluctantly agreed. Delving into her saddlebag, I found her shampoo and we made our way into the bathroom.

“I’m really sorry about thi-”

“Shut.” I ordered bluntly.

Dipping her head and smirking, Twilight accepted my help as she clambered into the large oval tub, which thankfully had a shower head attached to the tap. I was about to turn it on when there came a faint knock on the door. Heading over and opening it, I found Rarity, sleepily looking up at me.

“Is she alright? I heard through the wall.”

“Yeah, she’s okay.” I replied, “We’re just getting her cleaned up.”

“Ah, did she, erm… wet herself?” she whispered, raising her eyebrows.

“No-no, not at all. She got trapped under the covers and overheated, poor thing’s soaked.”

“Oh bless, let me see to her.”

I took a step back as Rare slipped into the room and went over to give Twilight a hug. The unicorns had a sweet little moment together, before she bowed her head and left us to it, wishing us a good night. I got the water running and adjusted the temperature, and then held it close to Twilight’s back, moving it up and down to give her a thorough rinse. That was when the bathroom door opened and Rarity once again stepped into the room.

“Sorry, just realised how badly I needed a tinkle. Don’t mind me!” she giggled.

Despite my inner curiosity as to how a pony actually sat on a toilet, I respectfully averted my eyes, with the sound of the shower masking any audio as well. She flushed and then went to bed, bidding us a good night for the second time. I reached for Twilight’s shampoo and got to work, using my fingernails to lightly scrub it into her pelt; the mare hummed and rolled her eyes back as I got to her shoulders and neck. Once she was all lathered up, I rinsed her off. With the unicorn now clean as a whistle, and permeating the scent of lavender and vanilla, I turned off the shower and used my hands as a squeegee to help her get dry quicker. She clambered out onto the bath mat, and I retrieved a towel for her from Alex’s airing cupboard; it was nice and warm thanks to being so close to the boiler. Kneeling down, I began at her mane, towelling her down from top to bottom, making sure to squeeze as much water out of her thick tail as possible; just as I was almost done, she began to cry again.

“Hey…” I breathed softly, putting the towel down, “You’re alright, I’m here.”

“That’s just it…” she sniffled, “You’re not always going to be!”

Sighing, I embraced her lovingly as she tried desperately not to fall apart.

“I know it’s going to be hard, but when that day comes, you’ll be stronger than you are now, I promise.”

“It’s not just about being stronger Callum, I don’t want to leave you!”

Gritting her teeth, she hissed painfully through at the notion of someday never seeing me again. I exhaled heavily from my nose and stroked her damp mane.

“Let’s get you back to bed, yeah?” I suggested, wiping the tears from her cheeks with my thumbs.

Nodding with a loud sniff, she let me pick up the towel and finish drying her. I was then able to make her laugh, by pointing out that she was making her face wetter again, making my job harder.

“Seriously Twi, you’re taking the piss.” I teased, “Here I am in the early hours, drying you off, and all the thanks I get is more water to mop up!”

“Okaaaay, I’m sorry!” she giggled through the tears, rubbing at her nose with a foreleg.

The waterworks came to a close, and Twilight leaned forward to plant a small peck on my left cheek.

“Is that a better thanks?”

“Yeah, I guess that will do.” I replied, breaking into a grin and rolling my eyes.

Getting to my feet, I put the towel in the hamper by the door, where Alex had told us to put any dirty laundry we had, so he could put it through the wash for us. I then went to the tub and quickly hosed down the shed fur around the sides of the tub’s basin, not wanting to be disrespectful to Alex’s home. It collected around the plug hole, and I scooped it up to put it in the bin. It was a strange thing, holding the loose fur of a pony; it was another mortal aspect to the girls that reminded me of just how real they were, and that one day, they would grow old and perish.

We entered the bedroom and I shut the door behind us. Hopping into bed, I found the sheets were still damp with sweat, so I stripped the mattress and we slept on top of the comforter instead, using the soft throw at the end of the bed as a stand-in duvet.

“Seriously Callum, thank you so much.” Twilight sighed heavily.

Putting my arm around the mare and bringing her closer to me, we nestled into each other and I replied with just a single word, encapsulating everything that needed saying in just two syllables.

“Always.”

---

Comments

[PonyJoe1]

“I know, by the way.”

The second he said that, I knew this chapter was gonna be absolutely golden.
After all he's been through, Callum being so meek in the face of a 'dad grilling' tickled me pink.

The bit with Twilight was very tender too. Seeing trauma being handled so respectfully in this story is one of the main reasons I've come to love it so much. The Titans' Orb has always touched on very raw moments, but Twilight's PTSD and Callum's tending to it, is such a cut above.
As always, amazing chapter!

[MikiStenbeck]

is that true callum? did your famliy run Waterford? Waterford Glassworks.

[Mister Horncastle]

11754936
Eeyup.

The Penrose family are my direct ancestors. One of them was also a famous physicist, having received a Nobel Prize and worked with Stephen Hawking, he was the creator of the Penrose Triangle, often known as the 'Impossible Triangle', a shape which most will recognise, even if not by name.
His son, Sir Roger Penrose, is still alive today, and is a famous mathematician, having also worked with Stephen Hawking and received many honours for his work in his broad fields of work.
Here's a link to his wikipedia page - Roger Penrose - Wikipedia