The Titans' Orb: Breaking Dawn

by Mister Horncastle

[ OG ] Chapter 30: And Lo, the Dawn Breaks

Author's Note:

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This chapter is yet to be rewritten.
As such, it is only semi-canon in the TTO storyline.

If you wish to read on, please be aware that the writing quality is below that of my newer standard, and that some scenes, plot elements, and lines of dialogue are set to be altered.

Please follow me on FimFiction or join the TTO Discord Server for updates on new chapters.

Thank you.
- Mister Horncastle

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As night transitioned to morning, the light from the Moon Tree gradually intensified, until its silver glow was bright enough to wake me. Stirring, I felt a weight on my body, and slowly opened my eyes to find Fluttershy sprawled out on top of me, breathing sluggishly. Inhaling deeply through my nose, I slowly rotated my head to look around. We were still outside, having fallen asleep on the grass by the lake. Slowly but surely, some of last night came back to me, and I swallowed anxiously.

{Oh Callum, what have you done…} I thought to myself.

Waking up some more, I realised that I was absolutely parched, and with great care I was able to move the pegasus off me without waking her. Stumbling over to our bags, I took out my canteen and drank everything inside. I then searched around for my underwear, which I was thankful to find close by. After that I went to the nearby tree and collected my other clothes, which were still hanging on the low branch and now dry enough to put on. As I pulled up my trousers, I realised just how much my body was aching, which was for a multitude of reasons. For as much as I wanted to blame it on dehydration and malnutrition, those were only minor factors; there was very little we hadn’t done last night…

After doing some stretches to relieve the aches, I sat down close to Fluttershy and waited for her to wake up. I found it difficult to look at her, knowing the things we had done to each other. Every time I glanced at her soundly-sleeping body, all I could think of was where my hands had been, among other things.

This wasn’t right though, and I didn’t feel one ounce of pride. Sure, Fluttershy had been just as up for it as I; in fact, she had been even more so, demanding things that I would have never thought of doing… but none of what happened sat well with me now. I felt dirty, like I had taken part in someone else’s sick fantasy, gorging myself on someone else like a client in a whorehouse. What had happened was artificial; those mushrooms had compelled us to do this, or at the very least, they had drawn out the urge to act on desires not meant for each other. What we did, I wanted to share with someone I truly loved, to be adventurous with them after many happy years together. Not with a mere friend of mine, during a night of intoxicated debauchery.

Sighing, I tried not to dwell on it, what’s done was done, and there was no undoing it. With some of the finer details still hazy in my mind, I shoved it all down and refused to even try to remember the full spectacle. After another stretch, I allowed myself to properly look upon the pegasus, telling myself that this wouldn’t change things. As I had said last night, we had essentially been drugged, this didn’t truly mean anything. Fluttershy was my friend, and up until now, I had seen her more like a sister than anything else, which on an adjacent note, made this whole ordeal even more awkward and graceless…

Soon enough, the Moon Tree’s light roused the mare from her slumber as well, and as her eyes slowly opened, I gave her a bashful toothy smile, waving my hand in awkward greeting.

“Morning…” I chirped quietly.

Groaning her reply, the mare propped herself into a sitting position and licked at her dry lips. She lazily blinked at me with her eyelids out of sync, before they suddenly shot open as the memories came flooding back. Staring at me intensely, her face went bright red and she gulped loudly.

“Uh… um… h-hi…”

I looked away and cleared my throat. Clenching my jaw, I could only imagine how she was feeling. But much to my surprise, after the initial shock went away, the pegasus quite calmly came over to me and very simply asked if I had slept okay.

“Erm… yeah.” I replied, “I’m guessing you did too?”

Inhaling deeply, Fluttershy looked upward and let the breath out, breaking into a wide smile and slowly twirling around as she gave her answer.

“Oh, I slept more than okay. Last night was just wonderful, absolutely wonderful!”

Shaking my head in disbelief, I found myself falling over my words.

“It… It was? You… You’re not… like… upset or anything?”

“Upset?” she echoed, tilting her head, “Why in the world would I be upset?”

To that, I reminded her that we hadn’t been in control of ourselves last night, pointing out that we had been somewhat forced into last night’s position; or positions, as it were… With a giggle, Fluttershy said that she didn’t care in the slightest, and that she would have been far too timid to do even half of what we did last night if not for those narcoshrooms.

“And that’s a… good… thing?” I queried, furrowing my brow.

“Oh absolutely!” she beamed, “Do you know what it’s like, being so shy that you can’t see yourself ever doing the things you want to? There have been so many things I’ve wanted to try, that I’ve been too scared to try, and those mushrooms finally let me try them! You, finally let me try them…”

“You’re um… You’re welcome?”

Giggling even more, the mare was practically on cloud nine, skipping around me in a state of absolute euphoria. Quickly becoming aware that I wasn’t feeling at all the same, she tilted her head for a second time and asked what was wrong. Dropping my shoulders, I admitted that I wasn’t okay with how involuntary last night’s activities had been, and that although I certainly wanted it then, whilst intoxicated, I didn’t know if I wanted it now.

“Right before we, well… you know…” I began, “I felt really out of control. I was scared of myself, Fluttershy! It was great in the moment, but when I woke up this morning, all I could think of was how awkward things are going to be now.”

“Why, because of what you said?”

“Uh, what I said?” I echoed.

“Yeah, that thing you said when you were about to-”

“You don’t have to describe it!” I blurted out, cutting her off, “And no, I can’t even remember saying anything. It’s all still a bit of a blur for me.”

To this, Fluttershy gasped, widening her eyes as she realised that I didn’t know. Clearly trying to stifle a smile, she broke eye contact and informed me that I had supposedly said something rather surprising during our little soirée. Shaking my head, I refused to let her tell me; whatever it was, I didn’t want to know. Huffing, I expressed that it wasn’t just any particular thing that had me feeling awkward, it was all of last night. The mushrooms had forced me to do things that I would never have done normally, and although I didn’t feel assaulted by any stretch of the imagination, I very simply felt bad about it, like I had done something wrong. Frowning and putting her mouth to one side, Fluttershy said that she understood, and that she was sorry for her part to play in it.

“You don’t need to be sorry.” I told her, “We were drugged, with barely an iota of control. But you know what? If last night made you feel good, then I’m happy for you.”

“Well, it did.” she confirmed with a smile, “You helped me get over Middy for good, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that. Now I can really live my life, without holding onto something that was never going to be. Plus, to be totally honest, I’ve always been kind of curious…”

“What, about me?” I asked.

“Yeah.” she answered, blushing, “It was mainly just intrusive thoughts at first, but ever since you and Rainbow Dash started doing things, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like for myself.”

“Blimey, you’re not beating around the bush today are you!?” I scoffed nervously, “Who are you and what have you done with Fluttershy?”

Laughing, she reinforced the point that last night wasn’t something she felt awkward about, and that it had been a gigantic confidence boost for her. Whether such self-assurance was temporary or not, she didn’t know, but for now she just wanted to go with it and finally be a mare who could proudly speak her mind. Despite still feeling uneasy for my own reasons, it was admittedly very uplifting to see her so happy and full of life, and it certainly helped me feel a bit less regretful.

“Well, where do we go from here?” I inquired with a hefty shrug, “The last thing I want is for things to get weird, and if it’s all the same to you, I’m not sure if I’d want to do something like this again.”

“Goodness, I wouldn’t dream of making you do something you weren’t comfortable with!” she assured me, “This was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, I promise. Nothing has changed between us. If anything, it’s even less weird now, because now I don’t have to be secretly curious any more!”

“Oh, I uh… hadn’t considered that…” I confessed as my eyes darted around.

With a faint smile, I looked back at her and thanked her for being so relaxed about this, as the last thing I wanted was for this to make things awkward between us. I then followed up by saying that I was genuinely happy to have helped in fulfilling some of her fantasies. With a coy grin, she thanked me and tentatively put a wing over my shoulder and asked if I was okay. Lying that I was, I gave a weak smile, but she saw through it immediately. Knowing that I still wasn’t feeling good, she asked if I wanted to talk about it.

“I think I could do with the opposite, actually.” I laughed awkwardly, “The sooner, the better.”

Dipping her head, we drew a line under it, and I did everything in my power to purge last night’s activities from my mind. Fluttershy could do as she wished with the memories, but I certainly didn’t want them.

After recovering some azulberries for our breakfast, I went and found my collar. The very act of picking it up sent a cold shiver down my spine. Thinking on how viciously Twilight had spoken to me, I dreaded putting it back on. The feeling of someone being upset with me had always been hard for me to handle, but this took it to a whole new level. After all we had been through, after all the hurt, and anger, and spite, Twilight and I had overcome it all, and forged a bond unlike anything imaginable. And now? Now, I felt like I had broken it, all because I didn’t want to disturb her with any indecent thoughts of mine at the narcoshrooms’ behest, and boy had there been a lot of them…

“What do I say to her?”

“Whatever feels natural to say.” Fluttershy said kindly, “Just be calm and friendly, okay?”

Nodding, I let out a sighand clipped the collar around my neck, but felt no tingle up my spine.

{Twi… you there?}

Nothing, utter silence. She hadn’t put it back on. Almost immediately, my eyes began to water up as I started to panic. Not over her safety for once, but for the simple fact that if Twilight hadn’t put her collar on by now, then her outburst last night wasn’t just a fleeting thing.

She hated me again.

Gritting my teeth, I couldn’t stop my face from scrunching up as I began to cry. Fluttershy did what she could to console me, bless her, but to no avail, I sobbed harder and harder as the belief that I had just ruined my friendship set in. The pegasus tried to assure me, suggesting that Twilight probably just hadn’t woken up yet to put it back on. But I knew Twilight, she was too practical; even if she was upset with me, she would have put the collar back on before drifting off. With us all being separated, she would value the necessity of contact over her own personal feelings. She must have genuinely despised me now to warrant keeping it unequipped. Worst of all, if this was really over me sleeping with Fluttershy, then what defence did I have to rectify this situation? I HAD slept with Fluttershy! I may not have harmed her as Twilight now possibly believed, but it didn’t negate the fact. She told me that if I took my collar off, she would know exactly why. She might have then taken hers off first, but who knows, maybe she had put it back on at some point to apologise, only to find me gone, thus proving her right and fuelling her resentment. Unless Fluttershy could work some sort of miracle in convincing the unicorn otherwise, I had butchered our relationship, all because I had been too weak-minded to say no.

“Alright, that’s it. Up!” Fluttershy commanded, nudging me to my feet.

Before I could ask what she was doing, the pegasus grabbed my backpack and tossed it to me. She then put on her own bags, and said that we were leaving. With the suddenness of her instructions snapping me out of the tears, I sniffed loudly and began to protest.

“I thought we were staying here another night, to rest your ribs?”

“Well, my ribs can deal with it.” she clapped back, “Staying here is only going to upset you more. We have a Moon Tree to reach, a piece of the Orb to recover, and six friends to find. Now you, mister, need to put one foot in front of the other, and protect me on the way. Are we clear?”

Having become her ‘patient’, I knew that arguing with the pegasus was folly, even more so with her newfound boost of gusto and confidence. Replying with a simple nod, I prepared myself to move after going over all my things. Still in possession of Rommel’s Glock, I decided to actually test the damn thing, especially since it had been submerged in the river just three days ago. After giving Fluttershy a warning, I turned off the safety and aimed for the lake, giving the trigger a tight squeeze.

Bang!

A bullet whizzed into the lake and sent all the nearby birds scattering. Needless to say, the pistol worked just fine, and I put it back into its holster after turning the safety back on.

“What if the big thing heard that?” asked Flutters, anxiously biting her bottom lip.

“Then we’d better get a bloody move on.” I replied, winking.

Moving on the double, we left the glade and found an uphill path, taking us out of the lowlands and back up to the main open part of the giant cavern.

Reaching some long grass, I couldn’t help but fear a repeat of recent events. Being on edge, I took the Glock out and held it in my left hand, while I clutched Vitra ‘Aku in my right. Without even trying to, the sword’s unfathomably sharp edge cut the grass at even the faintest of touches. I had to admit, the anxiety over our current safety helped me focus less on my despair over Twilight, to the point where I even took my collar off again, choosing to direct all my attention to the here and now. For as much as this was a good thing from my perspective, Fluttershy could tell that I was just shoving things down.

“You know, I really think we should talk about last night.”

“I thought we were drawing a line under it?” I replied bluntly.

“About what we did, yes. But I think we need to talk about how it’s making you feel. You know you can’t hide it from me, Callum. I can tell when you’re struggling.”

Stopping in my tracks, I whipped around and frowned at her.

“What is there to talk about, Fluttershy, huh?” I snapped, perhaps a little too harshly, “We got drugged, we did stuff, you’re happy about it, and now my best friend hates me, big deal. Look, not every single issue in life needs to be deeply addressed. At the end of the day, yes, I don’t feel great about what happened, but there’s no changing that now. I can’t go back and get undrugged, and I can’t go back and unfuck you. What happened, happened, and I want to move on from it. I didn’t ask you to play the role of my therapist, I don’t want to talk about it, okay?”

Despite my sudden hostility, the pegasus was undeterred for the most part. Raising her chin in defiance, she firstly told me not to swear at her like that, and secondly, told me that my current attitude was nothing but proof that I did need to talk about things. More than that, she supposedly knew the real reason why.

“Oh, do enlighten me, Miss Therapist-That-I-Didn’t-Ask-For.” I scoffed, rolling my eyes, “Tell me what’s going on inside my own head, which I supposedly don’t know about?”

With an angsty sigh, Fluttershy told me that I was being unnecessarily rude to her. To this, I let out a huff of disbelief and stretched my arms out, raising my voice.

“So what, we’re adding gaslighting to the mix now? I didn’t ask you to bring this up! You are backing me into a corner and I’m defending myself! We literally agreed just a few hours ago to draw a line under it, and now you’re already trying to dig it back up!”

Taking a step towards her, I ended up doing the exact thing I didn’t want to do; talk about it.

“Look, I’m not okay, alright? I didn’t want last night, and I tried very hard to resist it. And because of what we did, I’ve now lost my best friend, so I’ve got every damn right to feel shitty. I’m really glad you had a great time, I really am, but do you want the truth? I feel dirty! I feel like I’ve done something that I wasn’t supposed to do, and if Twilight’s reaction was anything to go on, I probably have.”

“But that’s what I’m trying to tell y-”

“Stop!” I shouted, “Just… stop it, Fluttershy! I don’t want to talk about it any more. Like I said earlier, it was great in the moment, but until I can process this shit, and figure out why I feel so awful, on my own terms, I don’t want to talk about it! You said you wouldn’t make me do something I wasn’t comfortable with, so how about you put your money where your mouth is, and stop trying to be my damn therapist!”

With both her ears and her confidence flattened, Fluttershy finally backed off. She blinked the tears from her eyes and wiggled her jaw with irritation. Now even more stressed out than before, I turned around and continued marching through the grass. The yellow mare followed me in silence after that, and although I felt bad for shouting at her, I also felt like I had every right to do so in this instance. Did I need to talk about it? Most likely. Was I ready to? No, I wasn’t, and that was okay too.

As my aggressive stride took us along, Fluttershy soon started to fall behind.

“Can… Can you slow down?” she panted, “My ribs are hurting…”

{I thought your ribs could deal with it?} I thought bitterly.

No, that was too cold. Stopping immediately to let her rest, I scolded myself for even thinking such a spiteful thing. It didn’t matter how upset or angry I was, such a thought was uncalled-for. Fluttershy was only trying to help, and I reminded myself of that fact. Closing my eyes, I dropped to my knees and apologised for being so belligerent. With a shake of her head, she insisted that she was the one who was sorry, and that she shouldn’t have pushed me so soon if I needed time to process things.

“I appreciate that, but I still shouldn’t have snapped at you.” I confessed, “So whether you like it or not, I’m the one who’s sorry.”

“Yeah, well… I’m sorrier.” she retorted, smirking ever so slightly.

Exhaling heavily through my nose with amusement, we forgave each other with an affectionate hug. As I held her tightly, I couldn’t help but notice that it didn’t feel awkward in the slightest. A smile broke out onto my face and I let out a comforted breath, as it dawned on me that last night truly hadn’t changed things between us. Pulling away, I looked into her eyes and smiled even wider.

“Good to go?”

She nodded, and I stood up properly, only for my blood to run cold.

Grabbing her upper foreleg, I yanked Fluttershy out of the way just as the Astutosaur lunged for her, snapping at where she had been just milliseconds ago. The pegasus gasped loudly, and I thrust Vitra ‘Aku forward without a shred of hesitation. Piercing the raptor’s head, it dropped to the ground, dead in an instant.

“These damn things don’t give up easily…” I growled, yanking out the sword and looking around for more.

Noting how it had attacked immediately without trying anything tactical, I could only imagine that this one belonged to the same pack from before. They must have learned by now that we didn’t give a toss about their clever antics, and that a direct attack would be more successful. The theory rang true, as seven more of them came bursting from the tall grass in a ravenous frenzy.

“Fly! Fly!” I bellowed to Fluttershy, who quickly obeyed and shot into the air.

With pistol and sword, I defended myself, shooting two raptors and cutting down a third. A fourth then jumped at me and I shot it square in the chest, to which itswrithing body smacked into me as I held out the sword, skewering it upon contact and finishing it off. The impact knocked me to the ground and the sword slipped from my hand, and with three more astutes almost upon me, I had no time to retrieve it. Resorting to the gun, I shot another down with the last of my magazine, leaving the remaining two to have at me. Tucking tail and running, I sprinted as fast as I could, darting between bushes and large rocks in an attempt to get some distance.

“What do I do!?” Fluttershy squealed from above.

“Stay with my sword!” I screamed, not wanting to lose it.

Clearing the grass, I came upon a wide shallow river. There were large boulders all around, and I took to scrambling up one. My plan was to hop from boulder to boulder in order to slow the astutes down, then once I had time to loop around, I would run back to Fluttershy and grab my sword, where I could finally finish these bastards off. The boulders were slippy, but I was just about able to hop across them. Attempting to follow, the astutes scrambled up, and although they were able to make their way after me, I gained a lot of distance. My plan was going perfectly, until the rock I was standing on shifted sideways.

“Shit!” I yelped, slipping off and splashing into the foot-deep water.

The raptors almost seemed to mock me, emitting shrill cackling sounds as they hopped down to join me. As they made their approach, I prepared to make my stand, knowing full-well that I would probably lose. That was when the very boulder I had fallen from darted forward at a barely perceptible speed, and from it came a fat sticky tongue, which latched onto one of the astutes. Splashing away from it, I realised that it was no boulder at all, it was some sort of giant horned frog. Easily the size of a car, the stone-coloured toad had been blending in with the surrounding rocks, waiting for prey to come close. It now held the astute in its mouth, and no matter how hard the raptor clawed and gnashed for its freedom, the amphibian was very clearly unfazed. Lifting its large foot to its mouth, it repositioned the squealing reptile, before biting down harder. There was a slow drawn out crunch, and the Astutosaur’s cries came to a halt, going limp after a few final pitiful attempts to struggle free. The frog then sucked the raptor in further, and with another bite, the predator had vanished, now prey within another’s gut.

“There’s always a bigger fish…” I said with a gulp, my eyes wide as dinner plates.

The final Astutosaur had run off, startled by the larger predator’s ambush. However, I knew it would be lying in wait somewhere, and so I quickly made my way back to Fluttershy, being sure to give all the boulders a wide berth. The second I left the river, the astute made its presence known, emerging from a bush and charging without hesitation. What the feathery bastard hadn’t accounted for however, was that I had reloaded the Glock with the additional magazine on my way back, and upon reaching me, it was met by five rounds of nine-by-nineteen Parabellum. Its body skidded to a halt in front of me, and without so much as an ounce of shame for an act of such corniness, I put the upright barrel to my mouth and blew the smoke from it. After putting the safety back on, I attempted to twirl the gun, only to drop it onto the ground, quickly putting an end to a moment that I had hoped to be unquestionably badass. Cursing under my breath, I picked it back up and put it into its holster.

“Well, at least no one saw that…” I muttered.

Upon spotting me, Fluttershy galloped towards me and checked me over, asking if I was alright. Confirming that I was fine, I went over and retrieved Vitra ‘Aku from the dead astute, slotting it into its sheath. We then heard a distant roar, followed by a tremble in the earth.

“This is the part where we leave.” I chuckled with a hint of dread, swallowing.

With the Apollyonosaurus on its way, we fled the scene, thankfully escaping before it arrived.

Crossing the shallow river, I pointed to the boulders and was able to spot the very same giant frog that had eaten the Astutosaur. Fluttershy was fascinated by the creature, but knew all too well not to trust the denizens of this world and kept her distance. We clambered up a steep slope, and soon enough we reached a nice rocky overpass. Making our way along, we found a cave that would serve well for tonight’s camp.

“What if something lives in there?”

“Then it gets evicted.” I huffed, withdrawing the sword.

Knowing we didn’t have a choice, Flutters reluctantly obeyed my blasé approach. Together we entered and with the blade’s glow as our light, we made it to the back. Nothing was here currently, but there were definitely signs of life. Claw marks dotted the floor and walls of the cave, and the air was musky, not unlike the smell of wet dog.

“I’ll keep watch tonight, just in case.” I offered.

“Okay, thank you.”

We got ourselves situated, and after a moment of catching our breath, I got a little fire going outside. Once the flames crackled to life, I told Fluttershy to keep it going while I went on another food run. Without any guidance from Twilight, I had no way of telling what was edible other than what we already knew, and so I was forced to head all the way back down to the river to find some savoroot.

I found some rather quickly, but before I could dig it up, I was forced to lie low as another predator chose to reveal itself. Utilising the same camouflage as the giant frog, what had formerly appeared to be a boulder came to life, rising up out of the river to reposition itself, scuttling around in search of a more comfortable hiding spot.

Something of a twenty-foot crayfish, the moss-covered creature lazily moved further up the river, with patches of its visible shell shining brightly in the light. Its claws were outlandishly long and thin, clearly built for skewering prey, as opposed to grasping. Its long black eyes wiggled, and it picked at the ground for a moment, before flattening back down and disguising itself once again. As soon as it had stopped moving, I quickly dug up the savoroot and got out of there as fast as possible.

Clambering back up to the hillside cave, I presented them to Fluttershy and was about to cut them up, when she complained that I hadn’t washed the sword since killing the astutes.

“I don’t have to.” I explained, “The void sheathe does it for me.”

“It does?”

“Uh-huh.” I confirmed, “No matter how dirty it gets, when I slot the blade in, it always comes out cleaner than Rarity’s crockery, and no, before you ask, I haven’t a clue how it works.”

Lifting my chin and humming, I jokingly theorised that the sheath perhaps housed a bunch of little people with soapy wash-cloths and sponges. Giggling at the thought, Fluttershy allowed me to get on with cutting the savoroot. I then placed them neatly into the surgery tray and put them on to boil. When it was ready, we sat side by side and tucked in, watching as the Moon Tree’s radiance began to wane.

“Are you feeling any better?” the mare inquired, nudging me.

“I don’t know.” I confessed, “I just… I just can’t shake the feeling that I’ve done something wrong, that I’ve been… disloyal, somehow.”

After a moment of silence, Fluttershy turned to look at me properly and asked me something I wasn’t quite expecting.

“Have you felt like this before? Recently, I mean. Like, over the past few months?”

“Um… yeah, I have.”

Closing my eyes, I told her that I had felt like this in America, when we had platonically slept together to show up Rainbow Dash. And the night before that, I had felt it even more intensely when I had slept with Dashie, in a far less platonic manner. Shrugging, it seemed like I always felt this way whenever I was intimate with the girls, physically or otherwise. I went on to guess that I was feeling guilty because I was abusing my position of power, and my duty as their appointed protector.

“I’m the Titans’ bloody Champion for crying out loud.” I muttered, “I should be keeping you all safe, and yet I keep finding myself in your beds, using you for comfort.”

To that, and much to my surprise, Fluttershy let out a laugh most unlike her. Before I could even begin to ask what was so funny, she told me that I could be awfully dramatic when I wanted to be.

“Oh Callum, you’re such a klutz.” she snickered, “You, much like the rest of us, are a very emotional individual. You just enjoy a good cuddle, and in Dashie’s case, sometimes a little extra. That’s not using us, and it’s actually quite insulting that you think we’d let you if it was!”

Going quiet, I realised how my words could be seen as an insult. I was about to apologise, when Fluttershy went on.

“Besides, you’re not being totally honest, are you?”

“What do you mean?”

Leaning forward, she narrowed her eyes and told me exactly what she meant.

“You don’t get that guilty feeling when you’re sleeping with Twilight, do you?”

Recoiling from her slightly, my eyes widened.

“Um, well… Uh, I-”

“Callum, come on.” she hinted, smirking at me, “It’s pretty obvious.”

“I… genuinely don’t know what you mean.”

“Oh don’t be stupid, you know exactly what I’m talking about… You and her!”

Shaking my head in denial, I tried to reinforce the same argument I had always given. Twilight was a deeply traumatised individual, with damage that would haunt her for the rest of her days. What she needed was therapy, and until she could get it, I was willing to step in and allow her to remain dependent on me until she returned home. I was being what she needed me to be, and that was what I truly believed. At least, that was until now, as Fluttershy took it upon herself to crack into me, and make a revelation that would change everything.

“Callum, there’s something you need to know… about what happened last night.”

Remaining silent, I waited with anticipation.

“When we… When you… um…” she began uneasily, blushing, “When you were… getting close… you um… you…”

“Geez Fluttershy, out with it!” I insisted, immediately regretting it, for what she said had my eyes almost bulging from their sockets.

“You shouted out her name!”

In stunned silence, my blood ran cold for the second time today. With the truth out, Fluttershy went on, repeating herself with greater emphasis.

“You shouted out her name, Callum! Things were getting really intense, and you got completely lost in the moment. You were holding me by my mane, and you had your eyes closed, and… and…and you shouted out Twilight’s name!”

Shuffling away from the pegasus, I continued to stare at her with wide, unblinking eyes. As my hands began to tremble and my breaths became short and rapid, I shook my head and desperately tried to make a stuttering excuse for an event I couldn’t even remember.

“W-We were h-h-high as fuck, Flutters… I-I-I was out of m-my mind! Either one of us could have s-s-said anything crazy like that! It d-d-d-doesn’t mean anything!”

“Oh my gosh, you…” she tutted, getting up to stand in front of me, “Callum, over the past year, I have found you to be one of the smartest, most tactful, quick-thinking individuals I have ever met… but Dear Sweet Celestia, you are so stupid!”

Reaching forward, she cupped my cheeks with both of her hooves and glared into my eyes.

“You… are… in… LOVE… with her!”

As the words hit me, my heart skipped a beat, and set off a chain reaction within me that rapidly led into a full-blown panic attack. A dam within my mind had burst, and with it came a new feeling, something that had been locked away for a very long time, and I never even knew it. It was something that had been there all along. Hundreds upon hundreds of memories then started to replay in my mind, but this time, they carried an entirely new meaning to me. It was every interaction that I had ever shared with Twilight, and this time, I could feel it…

Every smile. Every laugh. Every tender embrace.
Every tear I had wiped from her cheeks, in the embittered moments of sorrow and anguish.
Every song I had sung to calm her down, in the wake of her flashbacks and her night terrors.

Every word. Every breath. Every stolen glance.
Every new day from the moment I laid eyes on her beautiful, dorky, stupid, perfect face.
Every night as I yearned for the break of dawn so that I could see her again in the light.

Every heartbeat. Every blink. Every fragile silence.
Every trice we shared together without speaking, where I found solace within the spaces between our wordless breaths.
Every time our eyes met and the world stopped turning, where I gazed for a thousand years, and a thousand years again.

Oh god, she was right… Fluttershy was right!

Stumbling over to the cave’s mouth, I put my hand against the stone to prop myself up, unable to maintain my balance. I felt dizzy, like I was going to faint. How hadn’t I known? Why from me, had my own brain concealed this life-altering verity? Now trembling like a dry leaf, and about as delicate as one too, I looked out beyond the clifftop and gazed at the vast, dangerous world around me. She was out there somewhere, Twilight was out there… and she hated me now, just as I had learned the very opposite.

“I… I love her.” I wept, at last crumbling to my knees.

Fluttershy, with her eyes holding tears of their own, watched on as I shook emphatically, gasping for air as my respiratory system refused to cooperate. My whole body for that matter felt like it was shutting down, overwhelmed by the impact of this new understanding. Gritting my teeth and wheezing, I could feel my heart thumping faster and faster.

It thumped for her… it had always thumped for her…

I clutched at my chest as it felt like the organ was going to burst. It radiated an agony stronger than I knew how to contend with; it was even stronger than… than with Bunnie! Though it ought to be nonsensical, the pain from losing my lover long-past paled in comparison to this. It could not be, and yet it was. What manner of love was this? It couldn’t just be a physical thing, surely this couldn’t just be physical! This went beyond mere thoughts and chemicals, was this… was this magic I could feel? It burned through my core, and I felt its fire coursing through the marrow in my bones; every fibre of me was engulfed by the excruciating flame of this sensation. Even as the tears left my eyes, I was left blinded, for my very reality was now an overstimulated blur. The only thing clear to me was this pain, this o’ so blissful pain… this rampant crescendo of beautiful, terrifying agony, carrying with it a catalyst that split open my very soul, and bled the truth into every facet of my being.

I am in love with Twilight Sparkle…

---

Comments

[Not_RealZakk]

gyatt DAMN
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/KreeftbijDenOsse.jpg/220px-KreeftbijDenOsse.jpg

[PonyJoe1]

Well dear me... my eyes appear to be leaking.
I mean, we all saw it coming, but it didn't make it any less impactful.
The drugged up Flutterbone was one hell of a bait and switch, with it all leading to the realisation that Twilight's the one for him. I didn't see that coming whatsoever (pun not intended), so very well played...

Every smile. Every laugh. Every tender embrace. Every tear I had wiped from her cheeks, in the embittered moments of sorrow and anguish. Every song I had sung to calm her down, in the wake of her flashbacks and her night terrors.

Every word. Every breath. Every stolen glance.
Every new day from the moment I laid eyes on her beautiful, dorky, stupid, perfect face.
Every night as I yearned for the break of dawn so that I could see her again in the light.

Every heartbeat. Every blink. Every fragile silence.
Every trice we shared together without speaking, where I found solace within the spaces between our wordless breaths.
Every time our eyes met and the world stopped turning, where I gazed for a thousand years, and a thousand years again.

This shit gripped my heart and fuckin' SQUEEZED it.

What a beautiful final chapter.
I can't wait to see them get together in Book 4.
After all the shit Cal and Twi have been through, they deserve a win.