The Titans' Orb: Breaking Dawn

by Mister Horncastle

Chapter Twenty-Three: A Waking Nightmare

Twilight fainted, collapsing to the floor with a heavy thud. Pinkie Pie, too scared to know what else to do, burst into tears, while the others just continued to stare at me with wide eyes, brimming with terror. Rainbow Dash latched onto her father for dear life, and Fluttershy began to hyperventilate. For a good few minutes, the whole room was left in this silent, deeply rattled state, paralysed in the wake of this unfathomable horror. Joshua, thankfully being more disjointed to all this than the rest of us, went to the kitchen and fetched some water for everyone. After taking a few sips, I was slowly but surely able to regain control over myself. I then remembered what Nah’Lek had said, and locked eyes with Rarity, raising a finger to point at her.

“When was the last time you cast a spell?” I demanded, my voice rapid and shaky.

“Um… I… I… N-Not since I tinted the bus windows, I think!” she stammered.

“You think!?”

“No-no! I know, for certain! Not since then, I promise!”

“That’s how he’s tracking us.” I blurted out, “He’s following the magic.”

Rarity nodded frantically, vowing not to cast another spell, no matter what. Looking over to Alex, I parted my quivering lips and blinked the tears from my eyes, desperately trying not to cry any more than I already was.

“He killed them…” I whimpered, “The old people at the house… Flayed them alive.”

“Oh sweet Jesus.” he gasped, clutching to his daughter even tighter.

Clamping my eyes shut, I tried to purge the sight from my memory, along with the smell.

“It’s what he does.” I said, inhaling shakily through my teeth, “He maims and tortures, gets all the information he can, then he mutilates the body. It’s why he’s called the Defiler, it’s not just an intimidating name to spook you, it’s his passion. It’s like art to him…”

My lost, hollow eyes fell upon Twilight, still motionless and sprawled out on the floor. I let out a slow, quiet breath, before I continued in the form of a whisper.

“And every one of his victims… a canvas for his cruelty.”

The others followed my gaze to the unconscious unicorn, and at last realised what Nah’Lek had been doing to her for so many nights on end; at least, most of what he had been doing… After taking another sip from my glass, I looked at Alex and narrowed my eyes.

“They were looking for you. All those accounts trying to meet up with you, and the fan-mail guy trying to get your address. It was all them, just trying to find you.”

His eyes widened, realising how close he had been to certain death. Had he agreed to meet up with just one of those so-called ‘fans’, Alex may very well have found himself in the same gruesome, anguished, skinless state. Steeling himself, he asked what ‘them’ I was referring to.

“People…” I sniffed, “Serving Nah’Lek against their will, touched by the Fel.”

“Like, um, you mean… like Twilight was?” Rainbow Dash asked, shaking like a leaf.

“Worse.” I replied, glancing at the pegasus, “So much worse.”

Twilight had only been given a taste of the Fel, trace amounts from the aftermath of Nah’Lek sending the Orb to Earth, where it had slowly fed on her, gradually warping her mind day-by-day. But those men? No, they had been given the real deal. I described them to the group, and how they had been changed by the Fel, physically altered to become demonic beings.

“Their skin was grey, like ash…” I murmured, staring off into space, “Their fingernails and their teeth were long and sharp, and black as night. And their eyes… like ink for parchment, glistening with emerald, full of rage, and suffering…”

I looked to Twilight, and began to weep once more as I breathed her name, realising that my beloved friend had been so close to becoming just like them. During our fight in Portugal, I had seen her eyes glimmering with the Fel in the same manner. It had almost turned her completely, and if it had been able to do so, the poor unicorn would have started undergoing similar changes, transitioning from a mere pony, to a reviled demon. Bringing me back to Earth, Alex asked what had become of these men, and if we still needed to be worried about them.

“They’re dead.” I croaked, still staring at Twilight.

“Okay…” he replied, nodding slowly and attempting to remain calm.

He then asked why they would be looking for him so intently, to which I gave a faint shrug and looked him in the eye.

“Isn’t it obvious? You’re Rainbow’s father.”

Burying my face into my hands for a moment and taking a slow breath, I speculated that Nah’Lek had most likely learned about Rainbow Dash’s time on Earth while perusing through Twilight’s brain. Having been inside her mind for so many months, there was every possibility that he had discovered the suppressed memories himself, without the poor girl even knowing. With this knowledge in hand, he would have known that Rainbow would eventually remember, and that we might come here. Sighing heavily, Alex admitted that the theory made sense. He then asked how much time we had before Nah’Lek arrived.

“If he knew where we were…” I told him in a slow, rumbling tone, “we would already be dead.”

Shivers went down the spine of everyone present, but through the terror, we came to the understanding that technically, we were still safe. Josh then pointed out that so long as Rarity didn’t use any magic, nothing had actually changed, aside from us learning that Nah’Lek was close by. The others relaxed somewhat at that notion, but I could not, not after what I had seen. Fluttershy let out a steady breath and Pinkie stopped crying, wiping her eyes and then burying her face into Applejack’s shoulder.

“So, what actually happened?” Alex inquired, “Walk us through it.”

My jaw began quivering as I tried to find the words, which was when Rarity spoke up.

“What happened can wait, Callum’s clearly in shock. Besides, he needs to get out of those clothes.”

Alex nodded, and then Fluttershy suggested that I ought to have a bath, both to get clean and have some time alone while I gathered myself. It was a good idea, and I was about to get to my feet when Twilight came to, and almost immediately went back into panic mode.

“He’s going to kill me…” she whispered, looking around from face to face and breaking into an affrighted sob, “He’s going to find me! He’s going to find me and he’s going to kill me!”

Applejack rushed to her in an attempt to calm the mare down, getting to her knees to be on her level.

“It’s alright Sugarcube, he ain’t going to get you.”

Hearing none of it, Twilight pushed AJ aside and scrambled over to me. Staring into my eyes, she demanded to know how much time she had left. Through my broken state, I reiterated what I had told the others, that Nah’Lek wouldn’t find us so long as no magic was used from here on out.

“He’ll still find us…” she bleated through chattering teeth, “You don’t know him like I do. He’ll find a way, he will, I know it. He never gives up the hunt, he always finds you!”

Leaning forward and narrowing my eyes, I assured her that I was not going to let that happen. She tried her best to believe me, but I could see in her face that she didn’t. I asked if she trusted me, and after closing her eyes and swallowing, she nodded. Unable to remain standing, she staggered sideways and lowered herself to her knees, and continued to cry.

“I should go… get c-cleaned up.” I stuttered.

After taking one more sip of water, I shakily got to my feet. As I made my way out the room, Fluttershy approached her bag, to which I barked at her.

“Don’t touch that!”

Springing backwards and squeaking fearfully, Fluttershy apologised. Josh asked why we weren’t to touch it, and I said that I would explain later, but to leave it well alone for now. Knowing better than to question me at a time like this, nobody inquired further. Alex said that he could find me some fresh clothes, and that he would run my current ones through the wash.

“No.” I replied, looking down at my blood-splattered garments, “These need burning.”

Making note of how dark the stains were, I pointed out that this was technically demon blood, and carried trace amounts of the Fel. I wasn’t sure if the others touching it would do anything, but I didn’t want to take that risk.

“But, you’re touching it!” Josh exclaimed.

“I have an immunity to it.” I muttered, “Small amounts can’t hurt me.”

Giving a hum of understanding, Josh stood back and allowed me to leave the room, where I took my shoes off and made my way up to run myself a bath. I was halfway up when Twilight called to me from the foot of the stairs.

“Callum!”

I looked down at her, and her face began to scrunch up.

“Promise me… Promise me, he’s not going to find us!”

She clambered up the steps to meet me, and I crouched down to bring my face close to hers. Mustering up the strength to smile weakly, I gazed into her pin-prick pupils.

“Twilight, I swear to you… he is not going to find us, okay?”

Doing everything in her power not to crumble, she clenched her jaw and looked down.

“I’m so scared…”

“I know.” I breathed, sniffing, “But this isn’t the Frozen Forest, he doesn’t know where you are.”

Nodding, Twilight asked if she could join me upstairs, to which I gave an awkward huff.

“Uh, I think I’d rather be alone for a bit, thanks. I need a moment to think.”

Through the sniffles, Twilight dipped her head. I promised her for a second time that we were safe, and then instructed her to go back downstairs and have Alex pour her a stiff drink to calm her nerves. She obeyed my command and left me to make my way into the bathroom and strip down. While the tub filled up, I stared into the mirror by the sink and realised just how horrendous I looked. My face was pale as a sheet, and my eyes were bloodshot and glassy. There were a few flecks of dark blood on my forehead and neck, and my lips were dry and faded.

{I just saw Nah’Lek, in the flesh.} I thought, gripping the sink to prevent myself from stumbling back.

Staggering over to the tub and slowly getting in, I realised just how close I had been to death. The vibrating phone in my pocket had caught Nah’Lek’s attention, and if that bear hadn’t shown up, there was no doubt in my mind that I would be a flayed corpse by now. This mission was almost over tonight, and the supposed Champion of the Holy Titans would have been powerless to do anything about it. Splashing my face with water, I began to doubt my resolve, and direly wished that I still had Stardust in my head for guidance.

“How did you do it?” I mumbled, looking upward and wishing he could hear me.

The Champion before me had encountered the Defiler in person, and instead of cowering inside a bag, he had drawn his sword without hesitation and thrown himself into battle. Not only had he survived to tell the tale, but with the assistance of Celestia and Luna, he had defeated Nah’Lek, and personally hauled him down to the lowest reaches of Tartarus to imprison him for thousands of years. He had told me the story a dozen times, and had always just described Nah’Lek as ‘one big ugly fucker’, without so much as a shred of fear in his voice. He had even taken to mocking the Defiler, giving him the nickname ‘Spindles’. Casting my mind back, I recalled the time I had met Nah’Lek’s shade inside the Hollow Forest, my brainscape; Stardust had called him that name, and he became so enraged that his eyes literally changed colour, turning from their usual amethyst to a bright blood-red. How had Stardust been so cocky against such an adversary? After all I had been through, I deemed myself a rather brave individual; I could hold my own in a fight against numerous foes, be they human or otherwise. But Nah’Lek? Nah’Lek terrified me. That monster was an unstoppable inflictor of death, of whom I had no chance against. The shade I had defeated in my brain was a lesser version of him, with merely a fraction of his true might, and even that took the help of Twilight, Hawnu Rey’eng, and Stardust himself. How could I be considered a Champion when I paled so greatly in comparison to the unicorn before me? And with Hawnu Rey’eng in mind, where even was he? That winged tin can may have been busy with other matters, but surely this degree of danger warranted his presence, did it not? That was when I reflected further on Nah’Lek’s words tonight…

“I am relocating. There have been whisperings that he may dwell in the adjacent town…”

My eyes widened slightly, as I realised that the mysterious guardian may have been closer than I realised. Was he here in America too, throwing off the scent? Surely it wasn’t a coincidence. Dipping my face into the water, I decided to run with that theory, and tried to convince myself that the guardian was close by, doing what he could to keep us from Nah’Lek’s clutches. This was something I needed to believe if I were to maintain the confidence to lead this company. Twilight more than any other, needed me to remain strong. And so, despite being more scared than I had ever been in all my life, I avowed to myself that I would not let that monster terrorise me to the point of breaking. Pulling out the plug and beginning to rinse off in the shower, I let out one final bout of tears, sobbing heavily to myself and letting out all the childlike fear that tonight had filled me with. With a new set of clothes, which Alex had kindly left outside the bathroom door, I returned to the living room, where I found everyone sitting in uncomfortable silence.

“Get me a drink.” I ordered, looking over to Rainbow’s father, “It’s time I told you all what happened.”

Alex got up and was about to head to the kitchen, which was when I snapped my fingers to grab his attention, and then pointed to his mini-bar.

“Ahh, that kind of drink.” he said, nodding.

I sat next to Twilight, who was halfway into an amaretto. She hugged me tightly, and I rested my hand against her cheek, rubbing it gently with my thumb. Once Alex had passed me a hefty glass of rum, and I had taken a few sips while he got comfortable next to Rainbow Dash, I told everyone of the harrowing events that had occurred tonight…

---

“I’ll be the one to say it…” Applejack murmured, “That there was a horror story.”

“I feel quite ill.” added Rarity, blinking rapidly.

Finishing my drink, I sighed and professed that I hadn’t exaggerated the story to scare them, it was just the hard truth about what had happened. Retrieving Fluttershy’s bag, I pulled out the runestones Nah’Lek had created and gently placed them on the coffee table. Recoiling, Twilight glared at them intensely.

“If those break, we die.” she breathed, mostly to herself.

“Yes.” I replied.

I wasn’t going to be reticent about the facts, everyone in this room deserved to know exactly what we were up against. Looking at me with a shocked expression, Twilight asked me what bout of madness had led me to take the runes and bring them back with me. Looking at her calmly, my reply came in the form of a whispering croak.

“Madness? No… It was a bout of mercy, Twilight. At some point, those bodies are going to be found, and if these runes ended up in someone else’s hands…”

Not even needing to finish the sentence, everyone understood. No innocent person deserved to meet the same fate as those poor elderly people at Alex’s old house. Picking up one of the pitch black stones, Alex gave a thoughtful hum, before offering to take them off my hands and put them somewhere safe, where they wouldn’t be found. Nodding, I allowed him to take them to the far end of the room, where he put them in a cabinet.

“I’ll find a better place for them soon.” he clarified, clearing his throat.

“So, what do we do now?” asked Rainbow Dash, tilting her head, “Surely we can’t just sit here and do nothing while we wait for this Rommel guy to show up, right?”

“There’s nothing else we can do, so yeah, that’s exactly what we’re doing.” I told her, shrugging, “But we’ll give him a call, see if we can get him to hurry along.”

Alex went to grab his laptop, and while we waited, I looked from face to face and tightened my lips, noting just how scared everyone still was.

“Look…” I began, swallowing, “As Josh pointed out, we’re not actually in any more danger. The only difference is that we know he’s close now, and with that knowledge, we can remain hidden.”

Taking an inward breath and sitting back, I released the tension in my stomach and exhaled slowly.

“Tonight was… terrifying.” I admitted, “But we’re actually safer now than we were before. After I’ve contacted Rommel, we all need to get some rest, and start tomorrow with a positive outlook.”

“Yes sir!” said Pinkie, giving me a salute.

She then turned to the others and squinted her eyes.

“You heard the man, ladies! If I see just one frowny face tomorrow, it’ll be cupcake puns for the rest of the month, do you understand me!?”

Everyone broke into smiles and huffs of amusement, and I silently thanked Pinkie for doing her duty as the Element of Laughter. Giving me a big toothy smile, she raised her chin and then stuck her tongue out. Alex then returned with the laptop, and I quickly got to booting up Skype and giving Mel a call. Answering almost immediately, he asked what was up. Before I could even speak, Twilight put her face in front of the screen and demanded to know how much longer he was going to be.

“I was going to head out tomorrow afternoon.” he answered, “I’ll stay in a motel along the way, and then I’ll get to you the day after.”

“Can you make it sooner?” I inquired, keeping a calm demeanour.

“Uh… sure, I guess.” he replied, “Why, is something wrong?”

Remaining as measured as possible, I kept things brief and explained that someone was after us, and that we wanted to be out of here sooner rather than later, for the sake of everyone’s safety. As expected, he wanted to know more, to which I simply told him that the escapee from Tartarus I had previously mentioned was now on Earth, and there was some degree of urgency for us to get moving.

“Oh damn, for real?” he exclaimed, “Okay sure, no problem, I’ll get on the road tonight!”

Thanking him, I ended the call and turned off the laptop. Giving it to Alex, I asked him to make sure that the seaplane was ready for collection, to which he nodded and went to his office to finalise everything. Rainbow Dash asked what we ought to do for the rest of the evening, to which I necked the rest of my drink and said that I honestly just needed to go to bed. Taking myself off upstairs, I stripped down to my boxers and got under the covers, making sure Vitra ‘Aku was within arm’s reach.

“I thought we were safe?” said Twilight, standing in the doorway.

“We are.” I told her, sniffing, “But after tonight, I just want it close by.”

Nodding with understanding, Twilight got into bed with me and said that she needed me close by. Putting an arm around her, I held the unicorn close and exhaled deeply. She rested her head on my shoulder, and after a moment of silence, she inhaled sharply.

“Callum, I want you to promise me something.”

Remaining silent, I waited for her to continue. Pulling away, she looked up at me and strained her eyebrows, swallowing nervously.

“If he does find us… If he really, does, find us, and there’s no escape from him, then…”

She paused and gave a long sniff, swallowing for a second time.

“I want you to kill me.”

Blinking rapidly, it took me a few moments to take in what Twilight had said. My lips trembled slightly, and I opened my mouth to speak, which was when she cut me off.

“You know what he’ll do to me, Callum. I can’t go through that, not again. He’ll do it to me for real this time, and he’ll keep me alive, so he can do it again, and again, and again…”

Glancing at Vitra ‘Aku, she tightly shut her eyes, before opening them again and staring into mine.

“You’re the only one with the power to stop that from happening. So please, if he finds us… promise me, that you’ll kill me.”

Taking one of my hands in her hooves, she blinked away her tears and began to shake slightly.

“I’m begging you, Callum, please. Please, can you do that for me? I won’t ask you for anything else, ever, but can you please just do me this one thing?”

Dipping her head and beginning to cry, her begs came as a faint whimper, full of desperation.

“Please, Callum, please… please kill me if he finds us!”

Taking a deep breath, I cupped the underside of her head with both of my hands, and sternly but gently, I brought her face closer to mine, close enough for the tip of her horn to be resting against my forehead.

“Look at me.” I spoke, my eyes unblinking.

Obeying, the mare and I locked gazes, and as calmly as I could, I gave my answer.

“He is not going to find us, I swear it to you. But if he does, I will…”

Flinching at the very thought, I paused for a second, shutting my eyes and gulping. The words were like stones in my heart, and just thinking it, let alone saying it, made me want to be sick again. But for the sake of Twilight’s peace of mind, and for the hard truth that dwelled in her words, I forsook my feelings and gave her my solemn vow.

“I will do as you ask, you have my word… He will never hurt you again…”

Hearing the sincerity in my voice, she knew that this was a promise I would uphold. Giving a most gentle nod, she whispered a quiet 'thank you', and began to calm down. She slumped into my arms and I quickly began to drift off, the exhaustion from tonight, finally overtaking the terror within me.

“G’night Twi…” I mumbled, closing my eyes.

“Goodnight Cal…”

I woke in the exact same position I’d fallen asleep in, and still firmly in my arms, was Twilight. Sniffing emphatically, I blinked a few times and realised that she was awake.

“Hey…” I groaned, yawning.

“Morning.” she replied blankly, staring out the bedroom window.

“You didn’t sleep, did you?”

“Not a fucking wink.”

Sighing, I sat up and stroked down the back of her neck. The poor thing had been lying there all night long, letting me hold her, and waiting with bated breath for the Defiler to come for her. After getting dressed, I sat on the bed with her until she was finally unable to stay awake any longer. I helped her drift off by doing something that my father had done to help me get to sleep when I was little… Placing a thumb on the top of her nose, I pressed down lightly and slid along her muzzle and up her forehead, until I reached the base of her horn. Repeating the action for a minute or so, Twilight finally lost consciousness. Her head rolled to one side and she began to breathe sluggishly from her mouth. Smiling weakly, I draped the covers over her, and then I made my way downstairs for some coffee.

“Morning Sugarcube.”

“Morning AJ.”

Stumbling over to give the farm pony a hug, I asked if she wanted anything from the kitchen as I was heading that way. With a shake of her head, she quickly moved on to asking if Twilight was okay, to which I shook my head back at her and told her that the unicorn had only just been able to get to sleep. Tutting, Applejack tilted her head.

“She ain’t going to be alright for a while, is she?”

Breaking eye contact, I cast my face to one side and speculated that Twilight would be something of a wreck until we were out of the country. Nodding, Applejack turned her attention to Rarity, of whom had just come downstairs and announced her presence with a yawn. I gave her a hug too, before heading off to the kitchen. Just as the coffee machine finished filling the pot, Alex came in and greeted me, his face contorted with grief. Before I could ask him what was up, he beckoned me to take my mug outside and speak to him on the deck. Taking the same seats as we did the other night, Rainbow’s father told me what dwelled on his mind.

“You know, once you’re gone, that thing is going to keep looking for me.”

“How’d you reckon?” I inquired, pursing my lips.

“Come on, man, think about it…”

Sighing, he explained that even if Nah’Lek missed us, he would still seek Alex out, as he knew where we were going. For as long as Alex had that knowledge, he was a target. Closing my eyes and bowing my head, I knew that he was right.

“You need to disappear.” I told him, “As soon as we’re on the road, you need to pack up and get the hell out of dodge.”

“I know.” he replied, inhaling deeply, “But I think I can do more than that.”

I gestured for him to continue, which was when he brought up the runes.

“Breaking those will alert him, right?” he began, “Well, what if I took off in the opposite direction to you guys, and break them on purpose? I could set them off in different parts of the country, lead him on a wild goose chase. It would leave him totally confused, and make for absolute certain that he won’t find you.”

Shaking my head firmly, I told him that I couldn’t let him do that.

“It’s too dangerous.” I said, “Rainbow’s only just got her father back, don’t go taking that away from her again, not with some dumb act of heroism.”

“I’m…” he started, taking a pause to inhale, “I’m not her father, Callum.”

Before I could ask what he meant, he carried on.

“She’s my little girl and she always will be. But her father, her real father, lives in Equestria. I’m just the guy who kept her safe and loved her on this Earth when no one else did, or could have. Now she has her home, and her friends, and her family. Now she has you. But while that thing is out there, trying to hunt you all down, I can’t rest easy just running away. No, I want to do the right thing, and lead him away from you.”

For as much as I admired his bravery, and his willingness to do something so risky, I held my ground. After taking a sip from my coffee, I reminded him that Rarity’s magic was the only way Nah’Lek could trace us, and now that we knew that, we were safe; there was no need for such a distraction.

“Look.” I huffed, shrugging, “If things change, and we find out that he’s onto us somehow. Then I won’t stop you. But until then, you keep yourself alive, got it? I want that private island when this is all over.”

Emitting a small laugh, he accepted my order, reaching over to give me a pat on the arm.

“You’re a good man, Callum.”

“Nah, I’m alright.” I grumbled in reply, shrugging.

We finished our coffee and went back indoors, where we found everyone else up and awake, all but Twilight of course. It was a very sombre day, one littered with awkward silences and uncertain glances. After everything I had described yesterday, it was hard for everyone to accept that we were safe, myself included. Twilight eventually woke up and came down to join us, and as expected, she immediately found herself at my side, fearfully latched on to me like a frightened animal. After watching a little TV, I got on the Xbox for a while and was able to distract the both of us with some Dark Souls, until we heard the rumble of an engine outside.

“Is that Rommel?” asked Rarity.

“It had bloody better be.” I muttered.

Moving to the front door and opening it, I looked out to see a silver car in the driveway, a Hyundai Tucson if I wasn’t mistaken. The headlights were turned off, and out clambered Rommel; at last, he was here. Stepping outside and making my way over to the car, I grinned widely as I received the pleasure of meeting yet another of my online friends in person. I had only wished it were under better circumstances.

“Well-well, look who made it!” I greeted him.

“Hey man!” he called back, coming forward for a brief hug.

He was wearing camo trousers and a dark grey button-up shirt, along with the Stetson hat that he often liked to wear, not too dissimilar to Applejack’s hat. Beckoning him inside, we walked back towards the house. I asked him how the drive was, to which he said that it was easy going, with little to report. Nodding, I stepped back into the house, where I found the girls anxiously waiting.

“Ladies, I’d like you all to meet Rommel.”

Mel stepped inside and then froze on the spot, staring at the girls in sheer disbelief. Everyone shyly greeted him, and he puffed with amazement.

“Wow…” he exhaled with a shake of his head, “You’re all really real...”

“We sure are!” Pinkie squeaked, coming forward to shake his hand with her front hooves.

He grinned with excitement upon his first physical contact, and everyone else came forward to meet the newest member of our party. Applejack complimented him on his hat, which he thanked her for and reciprocated the gesture. Once everyone was more properly acquainted, we came into the lounge to give him the full rundown of what was going on. Alex then confirmed that the plane was all ready for us, and gave Josh the address for the airstrip where it was located. Apparently, all we needed to do was go there and inform the owner of who we were, along with providing them with a passphrase, which had been aptly decided as ‘Dash Away’. We would then be given the keys to the plane, and the rest was up to Rommel.

“Wait, I’ve just realised something.” said Twilight, “How are we going to find the island without using Rarity’s gem-finding spell on the sword, like how we did in the desert?”

“Shit.” I murmured.

She was right, without Rarity’s magic, we would be flying aimlessly across the sea, without any knowledge of where the island actually was. We needed her to cast it, at least once. Looking to Alex with a grim expression, I gave him a most reluctant nod.

“Okay then…” he sighed, garnering everyone’s attention.

Clearing his throat, Alex explained what he had proposed to me earlier today, which immediately brought forth shouts of adamant disapproval from Rainbow Dash. The others weren’t okay with the idea either, but with no other choice if Rarity needed to use magic, it was what needed to happen.

“You can’t be serious Pops!” Rainbow growled, “He’ll kill you!”

{Or worse.} I thought, grimacing.

Shaking his head, Alex professed that he had a plan, and that he was going to be smart about it. Elaborating, he explained that he wouldn’t destroy the runes by hand, but rather, by detonation.

“You’re telling me you have explosives?” I inquired, raising an eyebrow.

“Of sorts.” he replied, smirking.

Alex went on to tell us that like any other proud American, he was a big fan of the Fourth of July, and had a plentiful stash of fireworks in the attic. With his engineering prowess on full display, he confidently went on to say that he could very comfortably construct a handful of makeshift bombs with all the supplies he had.

“I’ll make a nice long fuse, light it, then drive like hell before it goes off.” he told us, grinning, “By the time the rune is toast, I’ll be on the road and nowhere to be seen.”

Chipping in, Rommel also suggested that Alex could take some of the hand grenades he had brought for a little extra kick.

“How on Earth did you get those?” asked Josh, his eyes wide.

“Ah, you know how it goes…” Mel chuckled, “I know a guy, who knows a guy, yada yada yada.”

Graciously accepting the offer, Alex stood by his plan with confidence. Still firmly against it, Rainbow Dash refused to let her dad go through with it, far too worried about his safety.

“This isn’t up to you, Dashie.” Alex spoke softly, “There’s no other way for you to find that Orb, so this is what’s happening, alright? I’ll be fine, I promise.”

Stamping her hoof hard enough to dent the floorboard, Rainbow stormed off out of the room, cursing under her breath. Deciding that it would be best to let her sulk for a while, nobody went after her. Moving the focus to our new arrival, I asked Rommel to show us the goods he had brought, to which he eagerly led us back outside to his car. He opened up the back and pulled away a wool blanket, revealing something of an armoury.

“By the power of Grayskull…” I breathed, my eyes flashing with awe.

Before me were two rifles, an AR-Fifteen, and an M-Four Carbine. There was also an Uzi submachine gun, a revolver of some sort, and a Glock handgun. Beside it all, were cases upon cases of additional ammunition for each weapon, along with a bag full of the aforementioned hand grenades.

“You really weren’t messing around.” I chuckled, eyeing up all the gear.

“You did tell me to bring everything.” he replied, folding his arms.

“Well, you certainly haven’t disappointed.”

I ordered him and Josh to move the gear to the bus, and Alex said that Mel could leave his car here, where it would be taken care of. Too enthralled with the girls to be concerned for the vehicle, he merrily obeyed, and over a few minutes, the bus was stocked up, leaving behind just three grenades for Alex’s explosive scheme. After a while, Rainbow Dash came around, joining us as we went back indoors to relax for one last night together. Tomorrow, we would depart for the West Coast, and with our gunman now in tow, I felt slightly confident about our future, even after the harrowing experience I had yesterday. Twilight on the other hand, was still a mess; her eyes were dreadfully bloodshot, and I had noticed that she had been anxiously tapping her front hoof every so often since getting up earlier. Being new to the fold, Mel was naturally curious as to what was so wrong with her. Taking a moment to pull him aside, I explained with as few words as possible that she was more afraid of Nah’Lek than the rest of us put together, and with very good reason. Leaving it at that, I rejoined the group with him, and we had something of a decent evening, all things considered.

Eventually calling it a night, Rommel was given the couch to sleep on, with Pinkie and Fluttershy joining Josh in the bus. Heading upstairs with two glasses of water, I hopped into bed with Twilight and we lay there for a while in the dark, staring up at the ceiling.

“How’re you feeling?” I asked her.

“You know how I’m feeling.”

Rolling over, I placed a hand on her chest and lightly caressed the softer fur there.

“You’re not going to sleep again tonight, are you?”

“Probably not.”

Sniffing, I watched Twilight’s face, and in the low light I could see her blinking rapidly in patterns of four. One-two-three-four, pause. One-two-three-four, pause. I was about to ask what she was doing, when she rolled over to face me.

“I’m really scared, Callum.”

Moving my hand up along her neck to lightly scratch behind her ears, I told her that I knew that, but there was no amount of fear in her that would change the fact that I would keep her safe. Closing her eyes, she swallowed and gave me a faint nod, and after a few moments of physically comforting her, I scooped her up and began to drift off to sleep, while she slowly relaxed in my arms.

“Goodnight Twi.” I whispered, resting my chin on top of her head.

There was a long pause as Twilight clung onto me tighter. Her horn rubbed along the side of my jaw, and her warm breath brushed against my Adam’s apple. The scent of her recently washed mane wafted into my nose, and I was just losing consciousness, when at last she replied.

“Goodnight Cal…”

The next day was a very difficult one, and one unbearably heavy with emotion. With our visit to Alex cut short, and with his plan to destroy the runes, the peaceful farewell we had hoped for had been robbed from us. Rainbow Dash sobbed her eyes out for well over an hour, not yet ready to say goodbye, and knowing that this would truly be the last time she would ever see him again. At least this time around she was able to take some solace in knowing that it was on mutual terms; at least this time, she wasn’t being pulled away from all she ever knew, and having her entire life here erased from her mind. Now that she possessed her true memories of Equestria, she knowingly had a place for her to go back to, with a life she very much loved, with friends, family, and the beginnings of her career as a Wonderbolt. Still, it didn’t make things any easier in the moment, and the poor thing just sobbed and sobbed. Alex cried a fair amount too, but through the tears, he was visibly at peace, thankful to have seen his surrogate daughter one last time. Still in possession of her old grey hoodie, Alex gave it to her as a parting gift, for her to wear whenever she missed him and needed his comfort. Once Dashie was on the bus, he came over and wrapped his arms around me.

“You’re going to keep her safe, yeah?”

“On my life.” I replied.

Squeezing me tightly, he thanked me profusely once again for bringing his little girl to him, and wished me the best luck in the world with our adventure to come. I in turn, ordered him not to fuck up in detonating those runes, which was my own way of wishing him luck. After a firm pat on the back, he let me go and went over to shake hands with Josh and Rommel. I clambered into the bus and sat by Rainbow Dash, who was still sniffling loudly. Putting my arms around her, I comforted the pegasus as well as I could. Rommel watched us from beside Applejack, with a pained expression painted on his face. It must have been absolutely wild for him, having just met the girls in person, and then immediately being witness to such a raw and intense situation. I felt bad for involving him at such a difficult time, but there was no changing that now, and through something of a baptism by fire, Mel quickly learned how serious this adventure was.

Josh hopped into the driver’s seat, and after one final goodbye through the window, we rolled out of the driveway and were on our way. Alex ran out onto the road behind us, and we watched him waving to us until he became little more than a pinprick in the distance. Once he was out of sight, Rainbow took a great big sigh, and flopped into my side, completely defeated by all the emotions. Playing with her mane to console her, I looked over to Twilight who was sat opposite me. Having not slept again, as predicted, the unicorn was barely able to stay upright, and yet again, I noticed her subtly tapping with her hoof. Just as it was with the blinking last night, it came in patterns of four; tap-tap-tap-tap, pause, tap-tap-tap-tap, pause. Now wasn’t the time to ask about it, but then again, did I really need to ask? It was obvious that she was stressed to no end about Nah’Lek, and the tapping was probably something of a comforting stimulation. Being autistic, I was no stranger to stimming during stressful situations, so it made perfect sense to me.

With the airstrip being all the way in California, we had a long way to go, and it went without saying that we would need to stay the night somewhere along the way. Thankfully, this had already been taken into account, and prior to leaving, Alex had transferred a very generous sum of money into Josh’s bank account for food, hotel fees, and fuel. With the amount he had given, there would easily be a few thousand dollars left over, which Alex had insisted Josh consider as a personal thanks for being our driver. There was no denying that Josh was invaluable to us, and that traversing the United States without him would have been stressful, dangerous, and incredibly lengthy. Pinkie made some off-comment about how without Josh, our time in the country would have taken a whole twenty chapters, if not more. Rolling my eyes at her nonsense, I leaned into Dashie as she started crying again.

“Hey, I’ve got you.” I said to her, smiling warmly.

Sniffing, she turned into me and rubbed her cheek against my shoulder, trying her best to focus on the here and now. I tried to do the same, but deep down, an uneasy feeling dwelled in my gut. The memories from the other night came swimming into my head, and I started getting queasy. With my mouth heavily salivating from the sickly feeling, I looked out the window just as we were leaving the town of Owosso. Despite now being on the road, speeding away, I could feel in my heart, a crude sense of dread. Twilight was right, Nah’Lek would never give up the hunt, and even if we had been able to evade him this time around, somehow, I could just feel in my heart, he was going to find us one day.

The question was never a matter of if… it was a matter of when.

---

Comments

[Bossypants]

And here… we… go…!

[PonyJoe1]

Um, I've just realised something really fucking harrowing...
Callum agreed to kill Twilight if Nah'Lek finds them - which btw, MY HEARTSTRINGS!
But then the chapter ends with acknowledging that Nah'Lek WILL find them one day.

Bruh...
Is Twilight going to die?

[Bossypants]

11764992
Jshlatt is a YouTuber who predicted the Queens death. The joke was he caused it.

[Mister Horncastle]

11765093
Ah, I see. Thanks for explaining, I was most confused.

[Sorentis Stars]

“On the road again”