The Titans' Orb: Breaking Dawn

by Mister Horncastle

First published

In the third instalment to the Titan's Orb saga, the stakes grow higher as Callum's newfound destiny is woven into his already treacherous mission, to protect his pony friends while they locate the remaining shards of The Titan's Orb...

Nearly a year has passed since a company of ponies arrived on Earth, and with Callum's help, they have since found half of the Orb's fragments. Their quest however, is far from over; the remaining pieces are still scattered to different parts of the globe, their whereabouts unknown.

Upon finding a mysterious underground desert temple, Callum makes a discovery there which only further solidifies his role in Equus' fate. But even with this newfound destiny, an ever lurking shadow looms over the seven friends as they hunt down the rest of the Titans' Orb.

Nah'Lek the Defiler, is closing in...

Prologue: An Alternative Approach

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“Where are they…? WHERE ARE THEY!?

The Defiler’s lifeless amethyst eyes became that of a glowing blood red as he used his staff’s magic to rip apart the mansion room by room, every furnishing and wall was completely obliterated until nothing remained of the building but splinters, torn fabric, shattered glass, and porcelain fragments.

“Uurrgh…” Nah’Lek grumbled, his violent tantrum eventually subsiding.

He had wasted almost a week in Ukraine only to discover a complete ghost town; the irradiated zombies which had once dwelled in Chernobyl had been wholly expunged by Hawnu Rey’eng, leaving absolutely nothing for both Nah’Lek and humans alike to uncover, as far as the outside world could ever know, people had simply died of radiation poisoning and rotted away. Elephant’s Tusk had reverted back into Elephant’s Foot, shrinking back to its original state and solidifying into corium, the multiple bodies of the scientists had simply burned away into nothing but dust and ash.

After tracing magical residue away from the site, leading him to a rotting bear corpse just across the border of Belarus, Nah’Lek realised he had been fooled by the guardian; the residue was already a month old and led to a remote location in Portugal. With no alternative, he pursued, and found himself stood amidst the blackened ruins of a stone compound, scorched away by a blaze of an unnaturally powerful fire.
The trail eventually ended at an abandoned mansion, with not a pony in sight. They had certainly been there however, for their tracks littered the entire building. There were hoofprints everywhere, and numerous brightly coloured hairs dwelled upon the pillows and sheets of each bedroom. He would have most certainly caught them if he hadn’t been duped by Hawnu Rey’eng. Although with that said, while the ponies were naïve, the human would have known better to stick around too long.
That damn human.

“Callum… Horn… castle…” He muttered, his mandibles clicking with irritation.

A mere boy, immune to the Fel’s corruption and capable of withstanding demonism after exposure to concentrated Fel; it was impossible, even Stardust Moonshimmer was vulnerable to the substance. What made this young creature so special? Surely his mental illness couldn’t have been the only thing sourcing such an immunity, his soul was vast and powerful, but what made it so? If Nah’Lek had anticipated him to be a genuinely challenging opponent, he would have delved deeper into the boy’s brain while infiltrated as a shade. Instead, he had grown too bold and chose to toy with Moonshimmer.

While vexation was common to the Defiler, (for his very own Fel-infused blood fed on rage and bloodlust), frustration at himself was exquisitely rare; Nah’Lek didn’t make mistakes. It became abundantly clear that this was no longer a simple hunt for pitiful sheep, for a wolf lurked amongst them, ceaselessly watching over them.

“Courage, loyalty, honour, and love. Weak-minded traits all, in which this guiding wolf gains his strength.”

Turning to the green skinned warrior that stood to his right, Nah’Lek placed a single claw onto the orc’s shoulder, its sharp tip faintly screeching against his metal pauldron.

"How would you hunt a wolf, Grommash?"

Without missing a beat, the orc raised his upper lip into a snarl and replied.

“I would drive it to its cave, where it feels safe. Only to realise it has no escape.”

"Good." Nah'Lek replied, satisfied with the answer.

"How?" Grom inquired, shrugging off his master's claw.

"We need not follow the human's trail any longer, but rather, lie in wait for one of his beloved sheep."

The second orc, the larger of the two, shouldered Grommash out of the way and bared his teeth at the Defiler.

“I will not sit in idle just to kill one halfling horse, demon! When you usurped Gul’dan and took his place, we willingly followed you and your promises for war and bloodshed, and yet we still have neither! You pledged to us that we would become conquerors!”

Surprisingly, Nah’Lek didn’t lose his temper, his head merely tilted no more than an inch to one side, such a subtle movement sent a faint chill down the spines of both warriors. Rather than replying to the larger orc, he continued conversing with the smaller one.

“Remind me, Grommash, who is warchief of the Horde?”

Raising his chin and sniffing, Grom answered with pride.

“My son, Garrosh.”

“And what is the young Hellscream currently doing?”

“Preparing the Horde, for war on Equus.”

“What were the Horde’s numbers before we left Draenor?”

“Nearly three million strong, half that in direwolves, two thousands of ogres, and forty ettins.”

Facing the larger orc once again, Nah’Lek leaned towards him menacingly, until their faces were merely a few centimetres apart.

“War is coming. Bloodshed is coming. And the Horde will have it all. You will, be conquerors. But this can only happen if the company of ponies on this world fail in retrieving the pieces of the Titans' Orb. Your presence alongside me is to ensure my promise is kept. Your boldness impresses me, Blackhand, but do not test my patience again.”

Blackhand, while fearless and audacious, knew he was inferior to the demigod. He reluctantly stepped back and dipped his head, spitting on the ground with distaste as he did so.


Walking away from the orcs and out of the mansion, Nah’Lek withdrew his staff and aimed it at the trees, which began to groan as the very life-force was drawn out of them. The bark turned black and the evergreen leaves grew brown and grey. It wasn’t much sustenance at all, t’was barely enough to conjure a demonic spell, but Nah’Lek had grown hungry. Whilst he was unimaginably more powerful than his old self when he was a mere mortal on Azeroth, the Fel always had a price, a price paid in lives taken. After all the trees in the area had withered and died, Nah’Lek was approached by Grommash.

“So what is your plan, Nah’Lek?”

“You said it yourself...” he replied, "Drive the wolf to his cave, and wait until he feels safe."

“But how? We don’t know where they are!”

“We do not, which is why we shall make our way to someone who does.”

Looking beyond the orcs, Nah’Lek chose not to speak in riddles, and elaborated.

“Twilight Sparkle told me much, the blubbering whelp gave me bountiful knowledge in order to prevent further agony. But there were things inside her head that even she was unaware of. Memories, long forgotten and shrouded in fog, suppressed by her beloved Princess Celestia. I was able to examine these memories, where I learned something most intriguing.”

The Defiler approached his green-skinned companions, and his mandibles quivered and clicked with excitement.

“What if I told you one of the Equus-born had been on this planet before? Sent here by mistake, and raised in secret, as a human's child?”

Perplexed, the orcs gave unsure grunts, gesturing for their master to finish, to which he gladly obliged.

“It’s time we pay a visit to a human by the name of Alex Griffon.
Known only to Celestia, as Rainbow Dash’s human father…”


Chapter One: A New Dawn

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Gasping loudly, the cold sensation subsided as the sword withdrew its freezing defence, I opened my eyes and stood completely rigid as the purified mana from Stardust’s soul flowed through me, repairing every wound I had, the kirikan claw inside my chest completely dissolved and the protruding tip fell to the ground. Finally, my muscles relaxed and I dropped down to one knee, sword still in hand; after a few faint breaths, I arose to take in my surroundings, the first thing to catch my eye was that the collar had come off my neck, it was most likely removed by magic when I first touched the sword to sever my connection to Twilight, which was probably for the best after all I’d just experienced.
The next thing I noticed was the sword podium, the transparent blue crystal was crumbling, with the lightest touch from my fingertips, it shattered into tiny grains. From the faintly glowing remains, a shape began to manifest, a thin cylinder, no bigger than a wallet, it had a rectangular loop on one side, a perfect fit for a belt; and on the top was a spherical dip with a horizontal slot, a perfect fit for the blade. After reaching down to collect it, I picked up the faint sound of hooves in the distance, I took off my belt and attached the weird item while I waited for them to arrive. Upon inserting the blade, I was amazed to find it was somehow deeper on the inside, the blade completely vanished into the slot, leaving nothing but the handle; it somehow remained bottom heavy as well, meaning that the sword wouldn’t ever fall out by accident.

CALLUM!” Twilight yelled at the top of her lungs.

I looked up to see the unicorn galloping towards me at top speed, she must have expected the worst after receiving no replies via telepathy, yet as she approached me, she found that I couldn’t be in a better state; I was standing upright and was in no pain at all, the only visible blood was that of the kirikan.

“You’re… You’re okay… I don’t understand.” She panted, out of breath.

“Yeah, I’m only just getting my head around it too.” I replied.

The others caught up to Twilight and surrounded me, all bewildered by my perfectly healthy condition.

“I thought a kirikan attacked you?” Applejack said, confused.

“It did attack me, and I would be dead, if not for this…”

Gripping the handle, I pulled out the sword, the blade grinding against the sheath as I did so, creating the most beautiful crystalline song; the blue light which it emitted lit up everyone’s faces as they gasped in awe at the relic.

“Whoa, dude, that’s a sword!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“That’s not just a sword, that’s a piece of art right there!” Rarity followed.

It took Twilight less than a second to understand what she was witnessing, and gulped loudly.

“Th-That’s… That’s… That’s Vitra ‘Aku…”

Everyone turned to face her with confusion.

“Vitra what-now?” Dashie quizzed.

With her lips quivering from the shock, Twilight elaborated.

“Vitra 'Aku, it's known more commonly as the Titan’s Sword. It was formally owned by Stardust Moonshimmer, the Forgotten Champion, and before him, the Regal Mother.”

“You mean to say… this is the Titan's Sword? From the old stories?” Rarity gasped.

“Oh my gosh…" Applejack breathed, "So it really weren't just some old story. Granny Smith was right, it's real…”

Licking her dry lips and gulping once more, Twilight nodded, before speaking under her breath at me.

“Which means… you… you must be…”

Without another word, Twilight gasped sharply and dropped down, bowing before me with respect, Applejack and Rarity followed suit, both of whom had the same look of awe upon their faces. The other three had absolutely no idea what was going on, but they also bowed out of courtesy. The most unexpected occurrence then followed; Twilight, Rarity and Applejack began speaking in unison to me, (although their heads remained bowed), and it seemed as though they were reciting a poem of sorts.

“O’ thee hath arrived before us all, with Vitra ‘Aku in tow.
Earned from the Champion before thee, with thy final killing blow.
Esteem for thee need not be earned, for the knowledge of thee is told.
Thine being here is welcomed, though thy reason shalt be cold.
For when Titans' chosen comes, Calamity's soon to trail.
So unto you we ask thee now, may you halt its deathly veil.
And when thy duty hath been done, may thy body lay to rest.
For when we art in need again, another may take thy test.
A newcomer that hath strength like thee, can fulfil thy mighty role.
For Equus shalt always be shielded, by possessor of Regal Soul.
O’ welcome thee, o’ welcome thee, we bow before thy thrall.
We hail to thee thine Champion, the saviour of us all.”

There were a handful of lines that Rarity and Applejack had forgotten, but Twilight recited it flawlessly. They looked up to me and I blinked rapidly, gulping. The poem was about me, but that wasn’t even the scary part; what concerned me more was that I knew exactly what it meant, as though I had heard it before. It was a welcoming recital for the new Titans' Champion, a grim acceptance that there were unavoidable dark times ahead. It was a poem for welcoming the apocalypse, and the gods' chosen to prevent it.

In simpler terms, something very bad loomed ahead, and it was my duty to stop it...


“Rise.” I spoke after a moment of silence.

They all did so, and I smiled to my friends and lightly shook my head.

“None of you are to bow to me. I’m your friend, not your bloody king.”

“You're something far beyond a king, darling." Rarity replied, "The Titans have chosen you as the next Champion! You are the Holy Soldier, the living blade of the gods!”

“You’ve seen them? Haven’t you?" Applejack spoke up, "You’ve seen the Titans?”

I nodded, and then held up the crystal blade.

“They live beyond death, inside this sword." I explained, "They're spiritual duplicates of their corporeal selves, similar to how Nah'Lek's shade works, I think. They exist there eternally, in a looped pocket of time, to test the next challenger and see if they're worthy to become Champion.”

What do they look like!?” Twilight yelled, and then covered her mouth with both hooves.

I raised an eyebrow at her, and she dipped her head.

“Sorry, I’ve been wanting to know more about them since I was a filly.”

“I’ll tell you more about them soon, but right now I need to wrap my own head around things, I’ve just been through one heck of an ordeal since encountering the kirikan.”

“So, uh, yeah… Can somepony please tell me what the fuck is going on?” Rainbow Dash piped up.

“Um, despite Dashie’s language, I’d also like to know what’s happening…” Fluttershy mumbled.

Chuckling lightly, I sheathed the sword and sat back down onto the cold stone floor, before explaining everything to them.


Starting off with how I broke down the door and discovered the underground tropical paradise, I explained in great detail about the kirikan which had emerged from the pond and attacked me, and how I used the sniper rifle’s piercing shot mode to kill it just as it leapt at me. Upon realising one of its claws had gone through my chest, I stumbled around looking for a way to find the girls, and then found the sword floating above a podium; upon touching it, my collar was detached from my neck and everything went white.

“So that’s why I couldn’t reach you… You scared the life out of me!” Twilight muttered loudly.

“I had no idea it’d happen, I didn’t even realise until I returned to my body.”

“Returned to your body?” She repeated in question, her brow furrowing.

“Ah… Yeah… Well don’t be alarmed, but I may have possibly died when I touched the sword.”

What!?” The girls all cried out in unison.

I continued to explain what happened, and how the sword possessed the ability to absorb souls; I told them how it had literally ripped the very soul out of me and trapped me inside the sword, where I met the Titans in person, within their pocket of looped time.

“That’s when I was pitted against the Champion before me, Stardust Moonshimmer.”

“Goodness, now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a while…” Rarity murmured.

“Wasn’t it Stardust who ended the Great War?” Applejack asked.

Nodding, I explained how I was made to fight him to the death in ritual combat, and I narrowly came out on top after a fight that felt like hours of dodging and deflecting hostile spells with the sword itself, while trying to land killing blows myself.

“So, you actually killed him? The actual Stardust?” Twilight quietly inquired.

I gave her a look of regret and sorrow, it was no secret that she was enthralled by the legendary unicorn and enjoyed his secret company, while she wasn’t as close to him as I was, she certainly considered him a friend.

“Yes, I killed Stardust.”

Despite the sadness in her eyes, she remained astounded by what had transpired, and hummed to herself.

“You defeated somepony with a Regal Soul, incredible…”

“A what?” I asked.

“A Regal Soul is what we call an extraordinary soul that has surpassed its natural strength, it is made up of an unusually large amount of mana, and gives the owner certain abilities, depending on their own personal traits, it ties into the same magic surrounding cutie marks. Very few beings are known to possess them, from what I know, the only Regal Souls belong to Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Discord, Hades, Starswirl the Bearded, and all the previous Champions.”

After a moment of taking in that information, I tilted my head.

“Do I have a Regal Soul now then? Seeing as I’ve absorbed Stardust’s?”

“I imagine so… Do you feel any different?”

Inhaling deeply, I shrugged and shook my head.

“Honestly, I couldn’t tell you, I feel really shaken up and weird right now. I think I need some time to adjust to all of this before being able to tell what’s changed within me. All I know is that I’ve got a neat sword, and this strange object.”

Standing up once more, I showed Twilight my magical sheath, and she instantly grinned proudly upon knowing what the object was; she went on to explain that the item was called a void sheath, a small and lightweight vessel for a weapon. Void sheaths were bigger on the inside; the only visible part of the blade would be the handle, with the rest suspended within its own pocket dimension, similar to the ponies’ enchanted bags.

“All Canterlot Guard Captains have one, although they’re nowhere near as exquisite.” She finished.

“You can say that again, it’s gorgeous!” Rarity exclaimed.

“More like awesome, you’ve got a secret weapon of mass destruction hiding on your hip!” Dashie added.

I couldn’t help but draw the weapon once more and inspect the design, causing everyone’s faces to gravitate towards it, awestruck by its brilliant blue glow.

{There’s so much going through my head right now…} I thought to myself while they were distracted.

This was all too much, it was like torrents of incomprehensible information was being processed all at once, was I ready for this? Like, actually ready for this responsibility? Did I need to act differently? More formal? Would I need to compose myself like Hawnu Rey’eng and be all mysterious and biblical in my speech?

I very nearly asked Stardust for some advice, expecting his words of wisdom to echo in my mind, but no such thing came, nor would it again; for I had killed my friend.

{I truly am a killer… A eighteen-year-old boy with a proficiency for ending life…} I thought with indignity.

How was that a Champion? How on Earth could I live up to Stardust’s legacy?

“Callum? You okay?” Applejack asked.

Coming back to my senses, I slammed the blade into the sheath and cleared my throat.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just taking this all in.”

Nodding with understanding, Fluttershy drew attention to the blood on my attire.

“So, I take it you’re not, um, dying? From the kirikan attack?”

“Thankfully not, Stardust’s soul repaired the damage when I absorbed it.” I replied.

“Can I take a look? Just in case?”

Knowing she would persistently worry about me if I refused, I took off the cloth shirt and couldn’t help but gasp, (as did everyone else), at my new physical state; not only had my friend’s Regal Soul repaired the kirikan’s attack, but it had completely fixed the damaged tissue across my body, my skin was smooth as a baby’s bottom, without a single scar to be seen; even the burn from Twilight’s fireball had vanished.
And that wasn’t even the best of it, it seemed that I’d undergone the Captain America treatment, as my muscles seemed somewhat bulkier; while I didn’t feel any stronger at all, I definitely looked it.

“Whoa…” Rainbow Dash exhaled.

“Bruh, I’m fuckin’ swole!” I exclaimed.

{I like Regal Souls…} I thought to myself, grinning.

“Are you sure you don’t feel any different?” Twilight asked.

“Honestly, I don’t feel a bit different. Maybe I’m in shock? I don’t know.”

Humming, Twilight agreed with that theory and decided to drop it, and so I moved to another subject.

“So, guys, we really need to figure out what to do next. Are we heading straight for the next shard? Or are we resting for a while? I’m not sure about you lot, but it’s been a long few weeks.”

Mostly nodding in agreement, the girls and I went into a discussion about our further plans, and eventually decided to set up camp in the underground tropic area and rest up for a few days, before embarking on our new destination, the fourth shard of the Titan’s Orb…



Six Days Later



My eyes shot open as the screaming echoed through the underground garden, I rushed towards Twilight’s tent with a hand firmly grasping Vitra ‘Aku’s handle, ready to engage; the other girls emerged from their own tents and followed suit. The adversary, however, turned out to be nothing but one’s memories of torment. Gripping Twilight’s shoulders, I shook her awake and she lashed out in all directions, (thankfully not hitting me in the process), until she eventually opened her eyes and recognised me.

“It’s him, Callum! He’s back! Nah'Lek's back!” She wailed.

Shaking my head in response, I sat down properly beside the unicorn and held her tightly.

“Nobody’s here, just me and the girls.” I replied.

As her wild lashing slowly came to a halt, she looked around and then back to me, before burying her head into me; I rocked her side to side as the girls watched awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

“Another one in the Frozen Forest?”

Her answer was to splutter heavily onto my collar, coating my neck in saliva.

{Thanks for that.} I moaned in thought.

I decided it might be a good idea to use the collars to visit the forest again at some point, and see how much her mind had healed since purging her brain of the Fel, perhaps it would serve as some exposure therapy?
Now wasn’t the time, but I’d certainly keep it in mind.

“False alarm gals, head on back to bed, I’ll keep an eye on this one.” I commanded.

Nodding, everypony wearily went back to bed, while I remained until Twilight had calmed down; when the tears finally came to a stop, I zipped up the tent and lay down beside the unicorn.

“You’re staying?” She asked.

“Would you like me to leave?”

Shaking her head, Twilight flopped back down and sniffed a few times, before taking a deep shaky breath.

“Why were you still up?”

“How’d you know I was awake?” I replied.

“You’ve still got your boots on, you never took them off when we all went to bed, you’ve been pacing around the sword room again, haven’t you?”

Sighing, I nodded.

“Observant as always.”

“Of course.”

Chuckling, I put an arm around her and caressed the sword’s handle, still around my belt.

“It’s been about a week, and I just can’t wrap my head around this Champion shit, I’m really struggling with where I’ve come, and the choices I’ve made…”

Now it was my time for the waterworks; quite unexpectedly, a wave of emotion came over me, and I couldn’t help but face Twilight and press my cheek against the fluffy part of her chest.

“… I’ve killed so many people, Twilight.”

“Oh, Callum.”

Putting a foreleg around my neck, she returned the comforting gesture I’d given her only a few moments prior, and held me while I let out the months of pent up stress.

“I didn’t mean to… I didn’t want to… I had to keep you all safe! But it feels so normal to me now, like I was born to do it. I don’t like how that feels, Twilight, I want it to be difficult, I don’t want to be a psychopath, I really don’t!”

Easing herself to a position where she could face me, Twilight grabbed my shoulders and pressed her nose to mine, being sure not to gouge an eye out by accident with her horn.

“Listen to me. You are not, a psychopath.”

Sniffling, I let her continue, trying to track with her words and not break down further.

“You’ve done nothing but protect us from day one, and I never saw that until recently. What happened with the clone at the airport started all this, and it was my fault, and I’m so, so, sorry…
I started messing with your head from the very beginning of all this, and that’s on me, but you’re not a psychopath, there’s not been a single death on your hands that wasn’t to protect someone, everything you’ve done, you’ve done for a reason.”

“But, I don’t feel anything anymore, there’s no shock, no remorse!”

“What do you call this then? Huh? You’re in tears, buried in my chest, crying about it. If that’s not shock and remorse, then I need to retake my psychology exams, because how you’re behaving right now is exactly how a psychopath wouldn’t be.”

Wiping my eyes, I sniffed.

“I don’t enjoy killing.”

“I know, trust me.” She breathed.

Knowing she was referring to when she killed someone in Portugal while under the Fel’s corruption, I knew that she had once felt a true desire for causing pain and death, Twilight knew better than anyone what it felt like to have pure evil flow inside your veins.

“Now stop this nonsense, Callum. I just woke up from my own spooky memories, I don’t need you breaking down on me too, okay?” She teased.

“Spooky? That’s the word you’re using to define it?”

Even in the dark, I knew she was now emitting one of her famous sheepish grins.

“You know that’s what we’re calling them now, right?” I chuckled.

Her response was to moan with playful annoyance, and we settled on calling Twilight’s night terrors ‘Spookies’, and that they would be the code word for whenever Twilight had a bad night, so I could look after her accordingly during that particular day.

Yawning, I realised how tired I was, and decided to call it a night.

“Well, I should let you get to sleep, and I’m knackered, so yeah.”

“Please don’t leave, I don’t want to be alone.” She requested.

Rolling my eyes, I zipped the tent entrance shut and flopped next to the unicorn.

“Yay…” She whispered.

“Mm’hmm.” I hummed back dully.

Giggling, she got comfortable and placed a foreleg over my shoulder, and we drifted off together.



{Bloody weird dream…} I thought, rubbing my eyes.

Having just dreamt about Nah’Lek wearing a fez, attacking me with oversized maracas, I chose to get up and begin the day; Twilight still slept soundly beside me, clutching my pillow to her chest, this explained the crick in my neck.

{Huh, so that’s where that went.}

Slowly unzipping the tent and standing up outside, I had my morning stretch and looked around for anyone else who might be awake, and thankfully found Applejack and Rarity a few yards from the tents around a cookpot.

“Morning, darling!” Rarity sang.

“Howdy.” Applejack added, yawning.

“Heya.” I replied, sitting down beside the farm pony.

Before I could respond, a cup of tea was levitated towards me, I gladly took the cup and took a sip.

“Ooh, that’s some good tea.”

“Well, I’m glad someone likes it!” Rarity said, glancing at Applejack.

“Oh, har har, don’t make remarks just because I don’t like your hot dish water.”

Before they could begin the day on a squabble, I asked what was in the cookpot, which turned out to be potato and leek soup, my favourite.

“Just using up the last of my spuds, thought it would be nice to start the day well fed.” Applejack explained.

Nodding with agreement, I gratefully accepted a bowl and proceeded to consume it within seconds, Applejack couldn’t help but emit a small laugh.

“Well I’ll be, Sugarcube, someone’s appetite has grown. I hope just a mere bowl of soup can suffice for the mighty Champion’s stomach!”

“I can cook something more filling if you need, m’lord.” Rarity offered.

“Oi, what did I say about that, Rare? I refuse to be addressed like some sort of deity.”

Apologising, Rarity awkwardly filled my bowl with some more soup for me. Afterwards, I got up and went to drink from the nearby basin in the sword room; from what we’d discovered, the whole underground temple ran on water, which was continuously replenished via the lake at the centre of the tropical zone.
We had also found a prayer room full of skeletons, which gave us a clue to whom had built this place; Twilight’s theory was that when the orb shards and the sword came to Earth, Hawnu Rey’eng had helped a small group of people to build a technologically advanced temple underground, where they would live and thrive on endless water and food from the tropical zone. In return, they would worship him and protect Vitra ‘Aku until the ponies discovered it.
The inhabitants of the temple had since died out from unknown causes, (most likely just from the lack of sunlight and continuous inbreeding), and their temple remained sealed off. We speculated that Hawnu Rey’eng had then somehow brought a kirikan from the Everfree Forest to Earth, and set it loose into the tropical zone to continue guarding the sword chamber after his worshippers had died off.

“Callum.”

I turned around and found Rainbow Dash stood before me, her eyes bloodshot, and the fur on her face soaking wet with tears, it looked like she’d been crying for the past few hours; I rushed towards her and gave her a tender hug, before wiping some of the tears away from her cheeks.

“Oh Dashie, what’s wrong, sweetie?”

She looked at me, shaking like a leaf.

“I remember.”

Tilting my head, it took me a moment to realise what she was saying, and when the penny finally dropped, all I could do was hug the mare; it was no wonder she’d been crying so much, the emotional toll such a thing would have taken on her brain was beyond comprehension.
Rainbow Dash now had the memories of two lives, two childhoods, and two fathers.

“Oh god, I had a feeling this was going to happen at some point…” I sighed.

“You knew, this whole time?”

Nodding, I explained to her that it was Celestia’s decision to erase the memories of Earth from her mind in order to spare her the emotional distress, and believed that her brain physically wouldn’t handle the raw impact of two entirely separate lives, on completely different planets for that matter; the sheer amount of information for her brain to process could have possibly damaged, if not killed her. Understanding why I’d kept such knowledge from her, she didn’t feel angry towards me, but certainly felt like she had been lied to by the princess.

“I need to go see him, I’ve got to find my dad…” She told me.

Before I could open my mouth to speak, she continued with an unexpected bombshell.

“Alone.”

This was a problem, a very big problem.
I could only imagine what Dashie was feeling right now, but I knew there was no way I could outright deny her to see her human father, but vice versa, it would be impossible to let her go and see him all by herself; as both the Titan’s Champion and the ponies’ guide, I felt like it would end up being my decision, but I wouldn’t make it without heeding council from everyone.

“Okay, well it’s not my call right now, we need to let everyone know and explain the situation. From there we can plan our next move and see where the road takes us.”

She seemed to take that answer well enough, and bowed her head. Getting onto my knees and giving her another hug, I lifted her chin and forced her to make eye contact; her pupils were extremely dilated and her eyes were still very bloodshot.

“Dashie, are you alright?”

“What kind of question is that? Of course I’m not alright dude!” She barked back.

“I’m sorry, that was a stupid question… Look, I meant to say, are you as okay as you can be? You are experiencing a traumatic event that I can’t even begin to comprehend, so I need to know if you’re still in the game, Rainbow.”

Sighing, the pegasus broke eye contact and looked at the sandy dirt around her hooves.

“I haven’t a clue… Everything feels fucked up right now…”

After a moment of pondering, she looked back up at me with a solemn expression.

“Look, I don’t think we can have sex anymore dude, not for a while anyway. Looking at you right now, it feels like looking at my dad, and I’m not into that whole ‘daddy-daughter’ shit, I’m sorry.”

I exhaled out of my nose with surprise, and smiled warmly.

“Dash, you don’t need to be sorry, not in the slightest. I wholeheartedly understand and I actually agree with you. You’ve got to clear your head and process all of this, us not sleeping together will help that in my opinion. Besides, we’re just friends anyway, we just had some benefits on the side for a while.”

Smiling back at me, Dashie gave me a reassured nod and planted her forehead into my chest.

“Thanks bro, you’ve always understood me.”

“What can I say? You’re easy to understand.” I replied teasingly.

“Am not!”

“Are too.”

“Go on then, sum me up!” She challenged.

“You’re a thrill seeker with a deep underlying anxiety problem, you’re socially insecure and cover it up with daring acts of bravado in a desperate attempt to be respected and seen to be without weakness.”

Rainbow Dash stared at me with her mouth agape, before shaking her head and frowning at me.

“Yeah? Well… Well… Eat a dick!”

Raising an eyebrow, I raised my hands to my chest.

“I admit defeat, your original and well-thought-of insult has wounded me to the core.” I stated dryly.

Before Rainbow Dash could tackle me (as she was clearly planning), Twilight came into the sword chamber and called out to us.

“There you are!”

“Twilight, what’s up?” I asked.

Galloping over to us and skidding to a halt, she focused on Rainbow Dash and instantly noticed her bloodshot eyes, and grabbed her face with both of her front hooves to examine her.

“Oh my… Oh dear… You’ve remembered too, haven’t you?”

“Get off my face, egghead!”

Looking up at me, Twilight took in a deep breath before unleashing a hyperactive burst of dialogue.

“So, back when we first met, I explained that a year in your world is a day in ours, and somehow you already knew that, well now I know how you knew that! Rainbow Dash was caught in an experiment of mine years ago and was sent to Earth, and was somehow turned into a filly, where a human found her and raised her as a daughter, which is how the Princess knew of this place, and it’s why the Titan’s Orb came here in the first place! All the dots are connected, it all makes sense Callum! IT ALL MAKES SENSE!

Gasping for air, Twilight panted with verbal exhaustion, while I slowly raised an eyebrow.

“It appears Rainbow Dash isn’t the only one to regain her memories.”

Shaking her head to regain focus, Twilight turned to Dashie with an expression of melancholy endearment, clearly only just realising the emotional impact this would have caused.

“Rainbow… Are you okay?”

The pegasus remained silent, and I knew she needed to be left alone for a bit to think on this further.

“Twilight, do you mind if we had a moment to talk? Perhaps with the others as well?” I requested.

It took less than a second for her to clock on, and nodded keenly. I gave a tender hug to Rainbow and left her alone to her thoughts; while on the way back, I thanked Twilight and asked her further about her memories of the ‘My Little Dashie Crisis’.

“So how’d your memories come back exactly? Was in it a dream? Or did you wake up with them?”

“Both really, I had a dream of the moment we came back to collect her, but it didn’t feel like a proper dream, it felt really real, the details were too fine. When I woke up, it all just hit me that we’d been to Earth before, and then the memories came flooding back.”

{Curious…} I thought, humming.

I’d originally thought it was due to the circumstances that Dashie had finally regained her memories, but now it seemed far too coincidental that Twilight had remembered during the exact same morning; my guess was that Celestia’s spell (unknowing to her), could eventually wear off.



After gathering the girls and having them seated with a bowl of soup each, Twilight and I broke the news to them about Rainbow Dash, and gave an in-depth explanation about what had happened, and that her memories had returned; needless to say, everyone was startled and confused at first, but were soon able to get enough of a grip on the situation.

“So how does this come into play, in the grand scheme of things I mean?” Rarity asked.

“Well, that’s the issue I wanted to bring up, because I thought it would be best if we all made a group decision on this matter before making our next move.” I said.

Sighing, I looked around at everyone and read their facial expressions for a few seconds, hoping to foretell their judgements before telling them.

“Rainbow Dash wants to leave the group, to find her human father.”


Chapter Two: A Means of Locomotion

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“For the sixth time, we cannot control her, if she wants to do this, then we must let her go!”

“It’s not happening, we are a unit, we stick together!”

“She deserves to see her dad, Twilight!” Applejack shouted back.

For the past few minutes, the girls had been arguing over Rainbow Dash’s request, while I’d sat back and listened to their opinions in attempt to gauge which would be the best decision.

“You’ve been awfully quiet, Callum. What’s your take on this absurdity?”

Raising an eyebrow at Twilight, I finally gave my tuppence-worth to the debate.

“I’d hardly call this an absurdity, Twilight. Rainbow Dash has a very valid reason for leaving, there is no doubt about that. What matters overall is the entire group’s safety, along with the efficiency of gathering the orb shards. So long as both of those standards are being met, there’s no reason Rainbow Dash can’t leave.”

But-” Twilight tried to speak, but I continued.

“However, there’s no possible way we can guarantee Rainbow Dash’s safety if she’s all alone, so I can’t in my good conscience allow her to head off without any way to contact us.”

“Congratulations, you’ve just talked yourself into a circle, without coming to a conclusion.”

“I’m just vocalising my thoughts on the matter, Twilight!”

Will you all just shut the fuck up!?” Rainbow Dash screamed.

Everyone whipped around to find Dashie stood nearby, her teeth gritted and her wing feathers ruffled with frustration; she stomped forward and butted Applejack out of the way in order to stand in the middle of the group.

“This decision doesn’t belong to you, any of you!

“Wrong! You belong to this company, Rainbow Dash, and are bound to it until you have upheld your duty, just like the rest of us!” Twilight barked in response.

“He’s my dad, and I’m going to see him, I have to, I have to!

The arguing continued, and I could tell that is wasn’t going to come to any conclusion any time soon; as predicted, the decision came to me (despite Rainbow’s statement). Thankfully, an idea had come to me during the girls’ bickering.
Grabbing Vitra ‘Aku’s handle, I twisted the blade slightly while ripping it upwards, causing its ordinary crystalline song to be amplified tenfold, the high-pitched resonance clearly affected the ponies more than I, as their large equine ears flattened down and their bickering ceased. Not only did the noise silence them, but the mere act of drawing my sword and drenching them in its blue glow was enough to firmly grasp their attention.

“Thank you…” I sighed.

Throwing the blade into the ground, I was impressed how deep it lodged itself into the turf, its sharpness was unlike anything I’d ever seen.

“Now, I believe there might be a compromise here, but it comes down to where the next shard lies. Sadly, due to losing my phone back in Portugal, we can’t use a GPS to find it, but this sword is made from the same material as the orb, so I have reason to believe that I can use it to point us in the right direction at least. Once we know where we’re going next, we can see where Rainbow Dash would need to go in conjunction to that. Personally, I think she has every right to see her dad, and I am in support of that, but I want to be in a close enough proximity to aid her should any emergency come about.”

Exhaling, I looked around to find the girls in agreement, Dashie included.

“So, how do we pinpoint the next shard exactly?” Twilight asked.

I pointed to Rarity and tilted my head slightly.

“Remember how you enchanted my phone in Brazil?”

Responding with a concerned ‘mhmm’, Rarity let me continue.

“I’d like you to cast the same enchantment, on Vitra ‘Aku.”

“Hm, I can try darling, but I doubt my magic is strong enough to bind the enchantment to such a powerful item, there’s no way it would be permanent.”

“That’s just it, I don’t need it to be permanent. I’ll hold the sword in hand and attempt to harness your spell, you’re essentially casting the enchantment on me, via the sword.” I explained.

“There’s no way that would work, you’re human, you can’t harness magic.” Twilight chimed in.

“No, I can’t, not via flesh anyway. But when I fought Stardust within the memory of the Titans, I seemed to have a way to channel a spell’s energy somehow. The old bastard was fond of lightning attacks, and shocked me a few times, but with the sword in hand, I could somewhat absorb the spell and cast it back at him.”

What!? That’s incredible! Why haven’t you mentioned that sooner?” The unicorn demanded.

Shrugging, I simply stated that it hadn’t come into conversation yet, until now of course.
With everyone now on the same page, we went ahead with the plan and Rarity prepared the enchantment, while I firmly grasped the blade’s handle and waited with anticipation.

“Are you sure about this, darling?”

“Go for it, love.”

Nodding, her horn lit up brightly, and the spell was cast onto the sword; the blue crystal began to glow brightly in response, and I soon felt a warmth around my fingertips, it was working.

“You alright, Cal?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, I’m feeling something, nothing significant yet, just a warmth… No, wait!”

The girls gasped and leaned in closer with worry, while the warmth became a sharp tingling pain, akin to pins and needles; the sensation travelled up my arm and into my chest, and upwards towards my head.

“It’s working, I think… It feels weird though, it’s travelling from my hand up to my head…”

The sensation was getting stronger, it was pretty painful, the human body was definitely not compliant with magic, I’d need to train my body to handle it better.

“Put it down, you’re hurting yourself!” Fluttershy ordered, panicked.

“She’s right, let go of it!” Rarity agreed.

“It’s fine, I’ve got this… I just… AAH!” I yelped as my vision went white.

“Callum! Callum! What do you see?” Twilight called out.

Her voice seemed faded, as the spell seemed to numb my physical senses; well, aside from the pins and needles that now swathed every facet of my body.

“Nothing, it’s just white!” I called back.

Finally, my sight returned, but I wasn’t with the girls.

“I’m flying, really high up… Holy shit, I’m in space!” I breathed, astounded.

And what a view it was… I could see the whole globe, above me was the beautiful terror that was the endless void of space, and below me was the ball of dirt and water that I called my home. The view couldn’t be appreciated for long however, as I began to hurtle down towards the Earth at great speed.

{Where are we going?} I thought.

I seemed to be headed east, far east.

{Somewhere in Asia?}

Nope, I was flying south now. The wind in my ears was deafening, yet it didn’t take from the sheer brilliance of this experience, the spell had quite literally taken my soul away to see the world.

“What are you seeing now?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I’m gliding across the planet, I think we’re going southeast, Australia maybe?”

Wrong again, as I streaked across the sky like a missile, the notorious country of deadly animals faded into the distance, there was only one more option it seemed, New Zealand.

“No, it’s not Australia, so it’s got to be New Ze- wait… what!?

Just like every country I’d passed, New Zealand soon went out of sight, I was simply gliding across the open sea, now lost and confused, although it seemed like I was heading slightly further north.

“Where in the blazes are we going?” I muttered.

Eventually, my flight slowed down, and an island appeared in the distance, this had to be it.

“I’m seeing an island, just approaching it now.” I informed the girls.

As I came up to the landmass, I found that it was pretty much barren, there was nothing but a few palm trees and a small mountain in the northern region; closing in on the mountain, I grew closer and closer to the ground, there was no doubt about it, the shard was on this island somewhere on the South Pacific Ocean, roughly between New Zealand and the Americas.

“What’s happening now?” asked Twilight.

“I’m heading towards a mountain, I think I can see a cave embedded in the side of it.”

As soon as I had mentioned the cave, I began soaring towards it. It didn’t take long to reach the opening. My flight became more of a slow float, and I drifted into the mouth, where everything grew dark. And then, from the shadows, a pair of bright yellow eyes blinked at me.

“Uh, what is that…?”

Without warning, it lunged at me, and I was greeted with rows of sharp teeth.

Fuck!” I yelped, stumbling back.

Dropping the sword, the enchantment broke away and the vision faded from my mind. I fell back onto my arse and shook my head, feeling dizzy and shocked. The girls crowded around me, and Pinkie Pie took the liberty of jumping onto me.

Big scary lizard!” she screamed.

Gently pushing her off and getting up, I shook my head and picked up the sword, sheathing it and dusting myself down; Twilight came forth and grabbed my arm, desperate for the knowledge of my vision.

“What happened? What did you see?”

“What she said.” I grumbled, gesturing to Pinkie with a thumb.

“A lizard?”

Nodding, my response was that of a distracted grumble, my attention more on the vision than on Twilight.

“I think so.” I muttered, “Some creature with yellow eyes and sharp teeth. The Orb shard’s definitely there though, but getting to it is going to be an absolute nightmare. I’m not sure how we’re going to get there without magic.”

“Why? Where is it?” asked Fluttershy.

“It’s on the other side of the planet.”

Everyone gave mutters of sheer disbelief, and Rainbow inquired as to how this played into seeing her dad. Breathing deeply in through my nose, and then out with my mouth, I assembled a plan within my mind for the road ahead, and soon settled on something I considered the best option.

“If we head west until we get to Morocco, we can travel to America by sea somehow, and when we get there, you can search for your father. After that, we’ll find a way southwest to Hawaii, where we’ll have to travel by sea again down south, until we find the island.”

“Sounds like a plan.” stated Applejack with confidence.

“Pony party world tour, yay!” Pinkie sang.

Twilight asked if this was truly the best route, and not just some massive detour to find Rainbow’s father. With what confidence I had, I gave her a nod. I then knelt down and sighed, anxiously pressing a palm into my forehead; they needed to hear the real gist of this plan.

“Guys, this is not going to be a fortnight gallivant, this is going to be a bloody long journey, it could take months just to get as far as Morocco, let alone the states. We don’t have long range teleportation on our side, so we absolutely need to find a vehicle, a decent one at that. Otherwise we’re not getting that shard for at least a year, and that’s being generous.”

“So, what’s the game plan?” Twilight asked without missing a beat.

“I think you lot should stay here.” I replied, “Continue resting up, while I search for the nearest settlement. Hopefully I can find a car or something. Then I’ll come and pick you up, and we can drive off with haste.”

“You’ll need a scout, someone to fly above and spot for you.” said Rainbow, stepping forward.

Shaking my head, I told her that the main threat in this part of the world was angry people, armed to the teeth with guns; a single bullet was all it would take to snip her out of the sky, and I wasn’t going to run that risk.
However, I had a better idea.

“Rarity, come here.”

Nervously stepping forward, the unicorn looked up and awaited my command.

“In Brazil, you saved my life once. You drove a knife into Vladimir’s neck with the intent to kill him, and it was thanks to that dedication that we got out of there alive.”

The reminder of the event seemed not to faze her, which is exactly what I had hoped for.

“Would you show that dedication again, at a moment’s notice?”

Gulping, she nodded.

“I’ve come a long way, darling. Whichever route we have to take, I intend to see this through.”

“Good, because you’re coming with me.”

What!?” gasped Rainbow Dash, glaring at me intensely.

Before the pegasus could argue, I explained that Rarity’s magic on the ground was what I needed, and that if she wanted to get out of here and see her father, she would need to follow my lead. Aside from swearing under her breath, she accepted my decision.

“Rarity, while I’m a decent shot, I’m confident that you would be far more efficient with the rifle Hawnu Rey’eng gave me. Your lifetime in fashion has given you extreme visual accuracy and flawless coordination, you could thread a needle with your eyes closed. With that, I’d like to make you our marksman.”

“Um, d-darling, I’m not sure… I’ve never handled one of those things, I-I don’t even know how they work!”

“That’s why I’m going to teach you before we head out.” I assured her, smirking, “Look, I can’t do this on my own and I need someone who can cover my arse in a firefight. Can you do that for me, Rare?”

I placed a hand on her shoulder, and after a brief silence, she nodded, prepared for the challenge.

“Right then.” I said, dipping my head, “Follow me, we can practice for a bit, and then let’s get moving.”

The group dispersed to help gather our supplies, while I took Rarity to the more open part of the underground temple to practice wielding a gun.


“Now, you don’t want the scope too close to your eye. Even with this thing’s good recoil, it jumps back, so you need to hold it an inch or two forward, or it’ll take your eye out.”

We had gone over all the basics, the safety, the two fire modes, how guns actually work in general, all that sort of thing; all Rarity had to do now, was fire.

“Unless you’ve got a bloody good duplication spell, these are all the bullets we have. So to conserve ammo, I’m only giving you a couple shots, so let’s hope you’re a bloody natural.”

“No pressure then, dear?”

“None at all.”

Chuckling nervously, Rarity levitated the gun with her telekinesis and aimed for a coconut on one of the trees; breathing steadily and remembering all I’d taught her, she distributed some of her magic to slowly pull the trigger.

BANG!

The bullet struck true, obliterating the coconut and spraying its milk all over the ground. Catching the rifle from a startled Rarity, I cheered with pride.

“Bloody good shot, madam! Bloody good shot!”

“That was… incredible!” she exclaimed.

“I knew you’d be a natural, you stayed perfectly calm and kept your eye on the target.” I praised.

“I just kept thinking to myself, thread the needle, thread the needle…

“Well you damn well threaded it alright.”

Tightening the shoulder strap to suit Rarity’s size, I returned the rifle to its new rightful owner.

“You can keep this, marksman.”

Happy with her new title, and confident in her natural talent, Rarity confirmed that she was prepared for the journey upward and out into the open desert; we joined the others to say our farewells and receive wishes of good luck, and also to receive some necessary supplies.

“Seeing as we’ve got an endless supply of water here, it only makes sense for you to carry all the water bottles, you’ll need it out there.” Said Applejack, passing my bag to me.

“Cheers.”

“And as you’re insufferable without it, here’s your umbrella.” Twilight teased, giving the brolly to Rarity.

Rolling her eyes with playful annoyance, Rarity put it into her bag, while also equipping the saddle mount so she was prepared to wear the umbrella when needed.

“How are you going to find us on your way back?” Rainbow mentioned.

“Shit, I hadn’t thought of that…” I muttered.

“Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!” Pinkie Pie emitted loudly.

Unnecessarily launching herself towards me, she jammed a hoof into her mane and rummaged around, before unveiling what appeared to be a rocket of some sort.

{Jeez, Pinkie! How long has that thing been stored in there? A better question being, how was that thing stored in there!?} I thought with surprise.

“Um… Pinks… What is that?” I asked.

“It’s a flarework!”

“A what?”

“It’s a mix of a flare and a firework, it shoots up super bright, and then explodes into a whole rainbow, you can see it from miles away!” She gleefully sang.

“I’m not even going to ask how you have this, but good job Pinkie.”

My praise caused her to curl into a ball and roll around like a marble, I looked to the others and raised an eyebrow, which caused some chuckles here and there.

“Be sure to drink before leaving, a head start will do you good.” Applejack encouraged.

“But not too much!” Twilight butted in, “Or you’ll need to pee and dehydrate yourself!”

Reminding the lavender unicorn that I wasn’t an infant, I took a drink alongside Rarity and then received our final send-off, being escorted to the surface to face the heat once again…



“Huh, it’s not as bad as I remember.” I murmured.

“That’s because you’re well hydrated and more prepared, trust me, it’ll get worse if we spend too long out here. Let’s try to get a move on.” Rarity replied, adjusting the rifle onto her back.

Nodding in agreement, I marched forward with her up the sand dune from whence we once came, hoping to find some sort of landmark to help distinguish where we were.

“Right, look over there, see that canyon?”

“What about it, darling?”

“That’s the only thing that stands out around here, I suggest we head through it and use it as a marker for when we come back this way. I’m not sure how effective Pinkie’s flarework is going to be and I don’t want to miss it.” I explained.

“Sounds like a plan!” She agreed.

As we made our way down the dune and towards the canyon, Twilight’s voice resonated within my mind.

{How’s it going up there?}

{Not burning to death so far, we’re just heading towards a particular landmark so we can retrace our steps at a later date. I’ll keep you up to speed.} I replied.

{Good to know, stay safe!}

Choosing to not reply, I focused on the trek ahead and quietly trudged along with Rarity.



“Finally, some shade! I very almost got out my umbrella!”

“Don’t get used to it, I highly doubt we’re going to magically find a fully functional car with a full tank around the corner, might be a day or so until we find something.”

Replying with an exasperated grumble, we trundled deeper into the sandy valley.

“Say Rare, do you have any sort of marking spells? Like some magic spray paint or something we could use just to ensure we know we’re in the right place upon our return?”

My inquiry only bore a single fruit, as Rarity explained that the best thing she could do was use her gem locating spell to trace some sort of ‘breadcrumb trail’. The only issue was that we had no gemstones, nor breadcrumbs to trace.

“Unless… We did…” I murmured.

“What ever do you mean?”

“The sword podium back at the temple. It shattered into a huge pile of dust, we could head back and collect it, and then sprinkle really small deposits as we go. The sand should conceal it too, so it’ll essentially become a trail that only we could follow.” I elaborated.

“Good plan, I like it.”

“As it’s only a couple miles away, do you think you could teleport back real quick and get it?”

“Ugh, fine, but I can’t teleport multiple times like Twilight could. I’ve only got enough mana for a single trip, even for short distances, then I have to wait a couple of hours to recharge.”

Confirming that was fine, I told her to find me further down the canyon, as I’d continue exploring it while waiting for her. Nodding, the unicorn lit up her horn and charged up the spell, before flashing brightly and disappearing.

“Well… That’s that I suppose.” I mumbled.

It was annoying that I hadn’t thought of the idea prior to leaving, but it wasn’t too much of an inconvenience. Taking a sip of water, I marched on further down the canyon.



For about half an hour, my lonely wander had been utterly silent, with nothing but the wind whistling above to be heard; that was until a rather disgruntled Twilight telepathically made herself known.

{Gee, Callum, well thanks for running that plan by me, Rarity just teleported a few metres away and scared the crap out of us! Rainbow Dash nearly tackled her to the ground!}

{Oops.} I thought back sheepishly.

{Why didn’t you just take the dust before leaving?}

{Because I only just thought of it, you twat!}

{You do realise she can’t teleport back for another few hours now?}

{Yes, Twilight, we’ve gone over that. I’m just exploring this canyon and going no further, you know I’m not a complete imbecile, right?}

{That’s a matter of debate.}

{Be wary with thy tone, you insult thy Champion.}

There was a pause, and Twilight then promptly and sincerely apologised, to which I emitted a light chuckle; this whole ‘Titan’s Champion’ malarkey would very much play in my favour. With the subject now in mind, I thought I’d get more used to the sword and try some fight stances, while I’d proved a decent combatant over my time as the ponies’ guardian, there was no harm in some solo training.

“I’m never going to grow tired of that noise…” I murmured upon drawing the blade.

Playfully swaying Vitra ‘Aku around, I found that it continued to sing with faint ethereal whooshes when swinging with enough force, as the air rebounded off the asymmetrical body of the weapon. After spending a short while amusing myself with this aesthetic, I took to my old boxing stance and altered it for swordplay; from there, I did something I would do as a child, fight imaginary enemies.
Now, there was certainly a difference between wielding a large wooden stick and wielding an ancient sword of immense power, but there was no difference in the slightest when it came to leaping around slicing at thin air. Regardless, I tried to take myself seriously as I tried my best to envision various weapons coming towards me and react accordingly. My vivid imagination grew more and more precise as the empty canyon soon transformed into a treacherous valley of death, in which no mortal man has traversed; I was to be the first, and charged through enemy by enemy with relentless determination.

While having tremendous amounts of fun, my imaginary conquest came to a halt upon delivering a killing blow to an axe wielding orc; I’d become so engrossed with my training that I completely ignored the boulder, as my blade went straight into it, slicing completely though it and leaving an enormous gash.

“Whoa…”

{Yo, Twilight, you’ll never guess what.}

{What?}

{I’ve been training with Vitra ‘Aku for a while, and just sliced open a boulder, it went straight though like it was made of butter or something!} I exclaimed.

{Wow, that’s incredible! Goodness, I thought its sharpness was a mere legend.}

{What do the legends say?} I asked.

{Well, the books I’ve read all say the same sentence. Vitra ‘Aku was sharp enough to cleave through flesh and stone alike, a shield of metal is met like a disk of parchment, and a mountain is all but a carving block.}

{Huh, that’s pretty damn sharp then. Does it never dull?}

{Well, it has clearly maintained its sharpness after all these thousands of years, so don’t you think the answer to that is a little self-explanatory?}

{Hm, true that.}

{Well, have fun training, I’m currently working things over with Dash about her past, I’m trying to learn more about her life in America. It’s still a bit foggy, so I’m trying to find certain buzzwords that’ll trigger another memory.}

“Hm.” I hummed to myself.

It was ironic how I was more alone when speaking aloud than when thinking, come to think of it, I hadn’t had any actual privacy since Brazil, what with Stardust stuck in my head, and now Twilight via the collar. Over time I’d lost the appreciation for a moment of true isolation, and the realisation of that was quite a mood killer.

“C’mon, depression, not now…” I groaned as the dark mood came over me.

Trying my best to shrug off the sudden wave of lethargy and dullness, I quietly trudged further down the canyon, my pace much slower.



Quite some time had passed by, although I’d not kept track of how much exactly. The ground had very slowly begun to slope upward, it wouldn’t be long until I reached the exit and back into the desert. Pausing to rest my legs for a moment, I heard the clanking of metal up ahead.

“Finally, something interesting.”

Keeping my blade sheathed as not to draw attention to its bright azure glow, I crept along one side of the gorge until locating the source of the noise. Soon enough I encountered three men huddled around a few wooden crates, two of them were in possession of assault rifles and the third had a bill hook machete; what they were doing out here was unknown, but they were an obstacle regardless.

“I’ve played enough stealth games to handle this…”

My whispered statement, while satirical, would indeed be my strategy; picking up a rock, I through it to the opposing side of the canyon, drawing their attention to my direction.

“Madha kan hdha?” One of them spoke roughly.

“Sawf ‘ulqi nazra.” Another replied.

While I didn’t understand their language, as it was most likely Arabic, I could tell from their body language that they weren’t so much alarmed, but rather curious. One of them instigated a mild investigation, casually strolling over by himself to check out the noise; thankfully, I had a cluster of rocks to hide behind so I could bait him further away. Tossing another rock back to where I’d come from, he quickly picked up on the sound and wandered out of sight from his compatriots.

{Let’s take you out nice and quietly, so nobody gets alarmed.}

{What!?}

{Ugh, nothing Twilight, not right now, I’m busy.}

{Enemies?}

{Yeah, three of them, I’m just engaging the first, so let me focus, I’ll get back to you.}

{Right, okay, good luck, and please don’t die.}

{Duly noted.}

I knew I didn’t have time to wait about, as he could turn around at any moment, so I scuttled out of my hiding place and towards him with haste, slowly lifting Vitra ‘Aku out of its sheath while being sure to make as a little noise as possible; while it made a faint squeal, it wasn’t enough to catch his ear.
While edging towards him, I had the wonderfully unpleasant conundrum of deciding how to kill him without causing him to cry out and alert the others; going for the throat was the obvious option, but I had to strike from directly behind to prevent any chance of him spotting me.

{With a blade this sharp, I could just lop his head off…} I thought.

{Okay, that’s sickening.} Remarked a disgusted Twilight.

{Still sure I’m not a psychopath?}

{Yes I’m still sure, just get it over with.}

Rolling my eyes, I cast my thoughts aside and crept up behind the man, delivering a cunning stab deep into the back of his neck, driving it all the way through in order to sever his spinal cord, windpipe, and major arteries all in one fell swoop; needless to say, he instantly dropped to the ground without making a sound, besides some post-death gurgling.
What happened next was truly marvellous, akin to my killing of Stardust, wisps of blue energy seeped out of the man’s fatal wound and into the dark sphere within the sword’s hilt.

His soul had been absorbed.

“Damn…” I murmured.

The transpiration that followed caused me to yelp like a girl, as the other armed individual spotted me and then promptly opened fire, he must have grown curious at his associate’s absence and followed him. Dropping to the ground, I grabbed the dead man’s corpse to use as a meat shield, pulling him on top of me; his gun was only slightly out of reach, more bullets smacked into the rocks around me and into the body, making blood burst in all directions. The shooting stopped, presumably for the assailant to reload; taking the opportunity to grab the rifle, I cast the body aside and darted towards the gun, grabbing it and aiming towards my foe. That’s when I realised he wasn’t reloading, he had baited me; before I could pull the trigger, my body was met with the searing agony of three bullets as he sprayed the last of his magazine in my direction, two bullets had skimmed my thigh and waist, while the third struck true, making contact with my outer right collar bone and shattering it; the sheer force of the impact brought me to the ground.

Fuuuck!” I spat, growling deeply in agony.

“Laqad darabtah!” The gunman shouted.

Picking up the rifle once more with my left hand, I swung the weapon to face his general direction and held down the trigger, emptying the cartridge at him; the recoil alone almost broke my wrist, certainly spraining it, but I was lucky enough to catch him with a single bullet, hitting his knee and bringing him down to a similar state I was in.

“Abn aleahira!” He screamed, evidentially having a much weaker pain tolerance than I.

Dropping the gun and weakly getting to my feet, I gawked at the golf-ball-sized hole in my upper torso and groaned as I saw fragments of shattered bone amongst the flesh and blood.

“I hate guns…”

Withdrawing Vitra ‘Aku with my left hand, I closed my eyes and squeezed the handle tightly, mentally commanding the blade to heal me. Amazingly, the sheer act of willing the relic to do my bidding was all it took, as the cooling sensation of pure mana seeped into my body, blurring and whitening my vision as the substance flooded throughout my entire being and overstimulated my senses; the coldness then spread to my most severe injury, almost instantly undoing the damage that had been done.
My vision returned to normal and the sensation faded, leaving my collar practically good as new, with only a minor rip in the skin from where the consumed soul wasn’t large enough to completely heal me.

“Huh…” I murmured.

Before I could properly take in the spectacle which had just occurred, I heard footsteps rapidly approaching me; whipping around, I found the last remaining enemy rapidly advancing towards me, his hooked blade held up above his head and ready to strike me down. Although I had raised my sword in preparation to engage him, no further combat took place as a bullet whizzed past my head and struck him in the left hand, completely obliterating it and causing his fingers to promptly depart in all directions. Screaming in agony, the man instantly dropped the blade and grasped his bloody and mangled stump of a wrist, completely forgetting my presence.

Did I get him, darling?” Rarity called from afar.

Slicing upward into the man, I quickly ended him and took his soul in the process. I then turned back to whence I’d been and quickly spotted the pearly-white unicorn trotting towards me, the piercing shot rifle floating beside her.

“You nearly took my bloody head off!” I hollered playfully.

“I was aiming for his hand!” She responded sheepishly.

“That’s exactly what you hit, but you almost blew my head up!”

“Oh, so I did get him?”

“Ugh, yes! Now stop shouting and get over here!” I commanded.

Turning away from her, I used the newly absorbed soul to finish healing and then proceeded to hunt down the gunman, who had attempted to crawl away.

“You know it’s easier to escape when you’re not leaving a trail of blood, right?” I asked, reaching him.

“La taqtalni…” He whimpered.

“Sorry mate, I don’t speak your tongue, and even if I did, I most likely wouldn’t give a shit.” I spoke dryly.

Planting Vitra ‘Aku into his thorax and twisting the blade, his dying cry softened and then stopped altogether, and my third soul was claimed, which I chose to store within the sword for another time. Rarity finally emerged from around the corner and stopped beside me, momentarily glancing at the body and grimacing.

“Ghastly business.”

“Quite.” I replied, wiping the blood from my blade.

Sighing, Rarity released her telekinesis and the rifle happily dangled in its harness, which was now tightened to better fit her equine body.

“I think it’s safe to say I’m comfortable using this weapon, it’s amazing how simple it is.”

“Glad you like it, I however am definitely sticking to the sword, it just saved my life.” I hummed.

“What do you mean?”

“I got shot right before you turned up, took a bullet to the collar bone and was bleeding pretty badly, but I used the sword to absorb a soul from one of these blokes to heal it up!”

“Goodness, that’s insane!”

“Yeah, utterly mental.”

“So, what now?”

Humming in thought, I went to inspect the weapon crates and found them to be full of guns, ammunition and rocket propelled grenades, along with various wires and metal parts.

“An arms deal perhaps?” I murmured to myself.

“What was that, darling?”

“I’m thinking these three were about to initiate an arms deal or something, perhaps more people will show up soon to collect this stuff, and we can ambush them. Who knows, they might have a vehicle.”

“Well, if you think that’s for the best, I’m in no hurry to get back into that scorching desert, let’s stay put and hope you’re right.” She agreed.

Opening up the crates again, I took one of the rocket propelled grenades, along with a launcher, sometimes going loud was best. Rarity and I hid the bodies and relocated some rocks to make bunkers either side of the canyon to use as cover. From there, we simply had to play the waiting game…



Soon enough, after nearly two hours of waiting, our patience had paid off as we heard the rumble of an engine in the distance, possibly two engines by the sounds of it.

“Well, talk about perfect.” Rarity whispered over to me.

“Heh, too right.” I chuckled back, loading the grenade into my launcher.

The transport came into sight, not one, but two Land Rover Defenders, not too dissimilar from my brother’s one back in England, a true all-terrain jeep, capable of just about anything; it was the perfect vehicle for us.


The first jeep pulled up beside all the crates, presumably to be loaded up; this theory was confirmed by the rear jeep slowing down and coming to a halt much further back, with men clambering out of the back.

“Don’t damage the vehicles.” I ordered before they were in earshot.

“Well, duh!” Hissed Rarity in response, rolling her eyes.

Focusing on the group of men, I counted eight of them, all of them armed with smaller assault rifles than the first men I’d killed, (I presumed they were the AK-Seventy-Four-u variant). Rarity slowly raised her own rifle, I couldn’t help but smirk at the determination on her face, she showed no fear, only readiness and commitment to our cause.

It became quite clear that something was wrong, the men were on high alert and had their weapons drawn, most likely due to their dealers being missing, but there was no way I could have taken their place in disguise as I couldn’t speak a word of Arabic, opposed to the infamous ‘Allahu ackbar’ aphorism. Still, the men continued their operation and approached the boxes, opening them up and nodding to one another, a few of them chuckling menacingly in response to their new arsenal.

“Aintazar, ‘urid aikhtibarah awlaan.” One of them spoke, presumably the leader.

Picking up a rocket launcher and one of the grenades, I assumed he was testing out the merchandise, the only alarming thing was that he was now aiming the launcher in my direction; remaining calm, I awaited his next move and gave Rarity a signal to hold her fire.

That’s when the most unanticipated thing happened, the man simply detonated on the spot, sending sparks and scorching shrapnel in all directions, hitting the crates and setting off a chain reaction as the whole lot exploded. Three additional men were killed in the blast and the entire right front of the Land Rover was obliterated, both of the front tyres also being punctured from the shrapnel.
Needless to say, the remaining men instantly retreated in fear, sprinting to their other jeep in attempt to turn it around and drive away, I broke from my cover and tried to reach them.

“Shoot the driver! Don’t let them get away!”

Rarity did her best to keep up, but by the time she’d moved around the burning crates and lined up a shot, the men were already driving away at top speed and there was no hope in hitting the driver, let alone without possibly damaging the jeep.

“Drat.”

“Drat indeed.” I sighed.

“What in the name of Celestia just happened?”

There was only one thing that came to mind, the ammunition was spiced.
Spicing ammunition was an unorthodox tactic of warfare, in which certain batches of supplies were sabotaged by their own creators and intentionally left in compromising locations for enemies to steal; guns would almost always jam, explosives would go off early, and artillery would always fall short of its destination. While many people didn’t know this type of military tactic still existed in the modern world, my childhood fascination with the military had brought me to unearth many interesting facts.

“My best bet is that this batch of weaponry was spiced, this whole ordeal was a trap. Can you put out that fire? There’s still unburnt fuel in that Land Rover and I’d very much like to save it.”

Nodding, Rarity summoned some sort of thick mist around the flickering flames, dousing them into submission; the vehicle itself was in no hope of repair, but if we could track down the other Defender, we would have another load of fuel to get us further.

“I presume we’re going after the other one?”

“Read my mind, Rare.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I went back for the podium dust then.”

Responding with a light huff, I took one of the AK-Seventy-Fours and the magazines from the bodies.

“I thought you wanted to use the sword?” Rarity teased.

“Well yeah, but not for long range combat, you numpty!”

Laughing, the both of us left the canyon side by side, pursuing the tyre tracks across the sun scorched sands of the desolate Sahara…


Chapter Three: Globetrotting

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“Ugh, this heat is making me nauseous.” Moaned an exhausted Rarity.

“Good thing there’s a ridge ahead,” I huffed in response, “even if the Landie isn’t there, we get a few moments in the shade at least.”

“I certainly hope it’s there, I’m hardly the hiking sort of pony, especially in this heat!”

“Well, stay on your guard, you’ll probably spot it before I do with that rifle of yours.”

Rarity simply wheezed in response, mainly focusing on the walk ahead. Reaching into the pouch that dangled at my waist, I sprinkled another deposit of crystal onto the ground and kicked some sand over it to prevent it blowing away.

“How much of that do we have left?” Rarity inquired.

“About a quarter of what we started with. We’ll have to make fewer tracks if it’s not at this ridge.”

“Then let’s hope you’re right, darling.”

“Well, in the case that I am, it might be best for you to lose the umbrella.” I chuckled.

Sheepishly giggling in response, the unicorn reluctantly removed the brolly from its mount and put it into her saddlebag; it didn’t take long before she was reaching for a bottle of water.

“You really don’t like the sun, do you?” I chortled.

“Pfft, like you enjoy it any better.”

Flexing my eyebrows and shrugging in passive agreement, I decided to check up on Twilight.

{What’s up, Sparklebutt?}

{Please never call me that again.}

{No problem, Sparkypants.} I teased.

{Or that.}

{What about Book Horse?}

{Right, I’m taking my collar off.}

{Jeez, okay! No more names, I just wanted to check on how the Dashie situation’s getting along.}

{It’s going rather well actually, she’s remembered the state where her father’s home is, so at least we have a vague idea of where to go once we reach America.}

{Okay, good to know. Which state is it?}

{A place called Michigan, does that ring any bells?}

While I knew of the name from hearing of a place called Lake Michigan once, I hadn’t actually a clue where in the state itself was, I’d need a map as soon as possible.

{Yeah, I vaguely know of it. Did she remember it on her own or did you give her a buzzword?

{A buzzword, oddly, the phrase ‘alarms’ triggered the memory.}

Humming, I recalled on the fanfiction and how it told of Rainbow Dash’s flight lessons in a rundown park in the middle of a suburban area. When performing her very first sonic rainboom on Earth, it set off numerous car alarms.

{That’s interesting, have you tried the phrase ‘hugging in the forest’ at all?} I asked.

{Why in Equestria would I have tried that exactly?}

Elaborating, I explained to her that the writer told of Rainbow Dash first discovering the My Little Pony cartoon and completely freaking out, (rightfully so), and how she had run away into the woods; her father came after her and they eventually reconciled, emotionally hugging it out in the pouring rain.

{Huh, that’s incredible! Thanks Callum, I’ll try talking to her about that!} She exclaimed.

{No problem, good luck!}

{How’s it going up in the world above?}

{Pretty good actually, we’ve already found a vehicle, two actually!}

{Shut up, no way! So, are you on your way back already?}

{Not quite, one of them has been damaged and the other has driven away, but we’re currently tracking it and closing in on a ridge where it might be hiding. On the way back, we’re going to salvage some parts and fuel from the damaged one as well, that way we can get a long way before needing to worry about fuel.}

{Sounds hopeful, I’ll leave you to it!}

From her voice alone, I could tell she was instantly off to try out my suggestion; I couldn’t help but smirk to a feeling of warmth and hope. She might have been severely damaged and suffering from PTSD, but the real Twilight was still there, enthusiastic and eager to learn.

CRACK!

“Shit!” I yelped as the bullet smacked the sand, no more than a metre away.

Well THAT was one way to change the bloody subject! Diving onto my front, I scanned the ridge ahead for movement and found none, Rarity had followed suit and was laying low with her rifle drawn, quickly trying to identify our assailant.

“See anything?”

“Nothing yet, dear.”

“Well look harder!”

THMACK!

Jesus! That one nearly hit me!

Shaking the sand out of my hair, I squinted my eyes and frantically searched left to right along the rockface, soon enough they’d get a lucky shot.
There! A glimmer on the rockface! T’was the glint of a sniper’s scope, and it had given them away.

“Rarity, near the top, left side!” I barked.

“Got you!” She hissed in reply.

BANG!

Silence.

“So much for sneaking up on them...” I grumbled.

“I got him, but there could be more.”

“You think?” I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

As predicted, more bullets came down at us, smacking the sand all around; the assailants were clearly inaccurate with their guns, for bullets were hitting all over the place. Rarity quickly pinpointed their locations and fired two shots, which I could only presume hit their targets.

“Switch the rifle mode to Piercing Shot, it’ll help you spot them!” I ordered.

Doing just so, Rarity was able to count another four men on the ridge and promptly took another four shots, before releasing the rifle and looking over to me.

“Three of them are gone, and the fourth is missing an arm now, dear.”

“At long last, she finally misses a clean kill.” I teased.

“Oh no, darling, I injured him on purpose so that you didn’t feel useless!”

Blinking twice and then shaking my head, I stood up straight and stared at her.

“You’re telling me that you haven’t missed a single shot? Not one?”

“Well, no, this weapon is extremely accurate! Besides, the purpose is not to miss.” She replied innocently.

{Damn, this bitch straight-up has aim-bot activated.} I thought to myself.

{What now?}

{Not now, Twilight. Rarity’s cheating.}

“Come on, let’s go find that car.” I commanded.

“Right behind you, darling!”

{When you say cheating, do you mean she’s better with a gun than you?}

{Ugh, shut up Twilight… Yes.}

{Ah hah! Called it!}

{Haven’t you got a book to be reading or something?}

{Haven’t you got a car to find?}

{Piss off, Egghead Sparklebutt!}

{Look Callum, if you want to do name-calling, I can and will outdo you.}

{I dare you, Book Horse.}

{You’re literally a hairless ape with depression.}

Changing tactics, I thought I’d toy with her.

{You just insulted the Titan’s Champion for the fifth time today.}

{Oh my gosh, I completely forgot…}

{You forgot I’m the Champion? Now that’s an insult, consider that’s the sixth time.}

{No, no! I just mean, I need to remember who I’m actually talking to! I’m so sorry!}

{Twilight.}

{Yes?} She replied nervously.

{I’m playing with you.}

I’d have continued the game, but she was clearly getting distressed over the matter; for someone who enjoyed a bit of banter, she was prone to taking things too literally at time. Then again, I supposed that was to be expected of Twilight.

{Oh…}

{Go on, you numpty. Go and torment Rainbow Dash some more, Rarity and I are busy.}

{Alright, good luck!} She giggled sheepishly.

Continuing my walk in silence, I smiled to myself warmly.

“And what are you smirking at?” Rarity inquired.

“Oh nothing, I was just teasing Twilight via telepathy.”

“How so?”

“Just about the whole Champion thing.”

“Ah, I see. Well, as far as I’m concerned, you’re the same Callum I know and love, just with a much greater responsibility that commands greater respect.”

“That’s how I see it, I suppose. No need to treat me differently, I’m still me.” I agreed.



Closing in on the ridge, our conversation came to a halt as we shifted our attention towards the environment to scan for any potential threats. The tyre tracks became thinner and thinner as the sand transitioned to stone, it had better be in this area somewhere or we might end up losing it altogether. Soon enough I came across the first corpse, a mangled body from one of the gunmen higher up, whom had fallen down here. Out of curiosity, I drew Vitra ‘Aku and placed the tip of the blade against his body, lightly cutting into him; sadly, I wasn’t awarded with his soul, I had to deliver the killing blow for that.

“Ssh, listen.” Rarity hissed, her ears twitching.

Tilting my head, I picked up the sound of a faint grunting, an individual in pain; the noise was coming from a ledge above, far out of reach to climb, we would have to find a way up. Working our way around the brownish gold ridge, we came across a much lower shelf that would lead up to the peak. Rarity drew her rifle and covered me while I clambered up, with no apparent threats, she then lowered it and joined me. It didn’t take long until we discovered the source of the noise.

“I can’t believe you shot his fucking arm off…” I sighed, tutting.

“Well, I’m aware that you need to strengthen your soul with that of others, so I thought it would be good to injure one of them for you! On the plus side, we can also ask him where the car is!”

The man looked up at us in sheer terror, which was understandable, having just lost his arm and was now subjected to an Englishman and an alien unicorn before him, both speaking in a foreign language.

“Firstly, he doesn’t speak our language. And secondly, Rarity, you shot his arm off!”

“Well, he was holding a gun, I didn’t want him shooting us upon our approach.”

Folding my arms, I shook my head in disappointment.

“Rarity, you shot a man’s arm off.”

“Okay, I’m sorry! What, are you expecting me to stitch it back on now?”

“Well you are very good at stitching!” I retorted.

“Har har, very funny.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the man reaching for the pistol in his waist holster, with a swift dash n’ slash, I severed his other arm; he cried out in pain and writhed side to side.

Callum!” Gasped Rarity.

“What?”

“Warn me next time, you imbecile! That’s utterly abhorrent!”

“He was reaching for his gun!”

“Oh, so it’s fine for you to dismember people, but if I do it, I’ve committed a crime?”

“Pretty much, yeah.” I replied with a grin.

“Ugh, just put the fellow out of his misery already, this is beyond cruel.”

“He literally tried to kill us, Rarity.”

“And you’re going to stoop to his level, are you? For Celestia’s sake, Callum, end his suffering already!”

Looking away from the scene, Rarity groaned loudly with distaste as I drove the blade into the man and finally put him down; I decided that it would be in my best interest to take his pistol, holster, and ammunition, there was no drawback to having a handy sidearm. There didn’t seem to be any further threats, but the car was still nowhere to be found.

“Let’s check around the other side of the ridge, the Landie might be around there.”

“I certainly hope so…”



After covering the sun scorched peak of the sandstone mound for the other men Rarity had killed, (just to ensure they were all dead, and to loot their bodies for pistol ammunition), we clambered down to ground level and surveyed each nook and cranny, eventually we found our prize tucked away in a shallow cave.

“At long last, got you.” I merrily muttered.

Not even needing to instruct her, Rarity had the intuition to switch the rifle to Piercing Shot mode and look through the scope to see through the vehicle’s body to make sure nobody was secretly cowering inside it; beckoning me over, I peered through it myself to find the rear cargo storage had a lone man squatted in hiding, a pistol aiming toward the door and evidently shaking like a leaf.

“What do we do?” Rarity hissed.

“Hm, I’m sure the car can live with a slight maiming.” I chuckled in response, withdrawing Vitra ‘Aku.

Noting exactly where the man was sitting, I approached the side of the jeep and thrust the blade into its hull as far as possible, piercing the metal wall and presumably the man’s torso beyond it; my presumption revealed itself to be true as I withdrew the blade to find it coated in fresh blood, along with the sound of his pistol clattering onto the metal floor inside the car.

“Got him.”

“Good job!” Rarity praised, lowering the rifle.

We approached the door to open it and found the man’s body slumped in a heap in the middle of the compartment, blood still oozing out of him.

“Ugh, this is going to need a good cleaning.” Rarity said with disgust.

“Definitely.” I agreed, grabbing the man’s body and dragging it out of the doorway.

Dropping the corpse next to the car, I took his ammo and found the Land Rover’s keys in one of his pockets and smiled, it was always a grand moment when a plan came together.

{Twilight, I can gladly confirm that the vehicle has been obtained!}

{Oh brilliant, that’s simply brilliant! Good work!} Commended a very excited Twilight.

{We’re on our way back, not sure how long we’ll be but you might as well start packing up the base.}

{Alright, I’ll give everyone the good news. And speaking of good news, Rainbow has remembered more about her father! Apparently, he was a trash picker.}

{A trash picker? Like a binman?} I asked.

{I’m not sure, she can’t quite remember the definition of the job. It sounds to me like he collects junk and stuff, and then either keeps it or sells it to others, but I couldn’t say for sure.}

{Well, whatever floats your boat, I guess. Good find though, keep trying to trigger more memories, we need to get a name, or a more accurate home address.}

{On it, see you later!}

“Right, let’s get out of here!” I announced.

“Here, here!” Rarity cheered.

Hopping into the driver’s seat, I instructed Rarity to sit beside me and use her gem finding spell to steer us back to the others; I put in the keys and started up the engine with no issues.

“Now, this may take a moment, I’ve never properly learned to drive.” I admitted.

“That’s not exactly what I needed to hear.” Rarity laughed nervously.

“I’m not atrocious, just be wary that I might stall it a couple times.”

Shifting into reverse, I backed out of shadowy inlet and around the ridge to where we’d come, where Rarity started pinging up the crystal dust trail. Thankfully it wasn’t too difficult to steer in the right direction, and soon enough we were on our way back towards the canyon.



“There’s the entrance, on the left side, dear!” Rarity sang.

Pulling the wheel and reaching the slope, I eased the car down until we found the other Land Rover in the same state we’d left it in. Turning off the engine, I hopped out and went over to see what we could retrieve together.

“Hm, well I can’t say there’s an awful lot to salvage, but there’s definitely a few bits and bobs here that we can use. The fuel is top priority though.” I hummed after scouting around the vehicle.

I hopped into the storage compartment and took a half-empty fuel cannister, a crowbar, and a large toolbox, (complete with a handheld drill). Rarity then helped me with her magic to siphon the diesel out of the jeep and into the cannister, almost filling it to the neck.

“Talk about lucky, we literally have an extra full tank now!” I exclaimed.

“How far will that take us?”

“I couldn’t tell you for definite, but trust me, it’s a long way.”

“Sounds good to me, let’s get back to the girls.”

Nodding in agreement, I tugged on my collar and began communicating with Twilight.

{Twi, you there?}

{Yes sir!}

{We’re on our way back, head on up to the surface.}

{Alright, see you soon!}

While I was moderately tempted at some of the undamaged remains of the weapon crates, while scarce, there were a few rifles, grenades and launchers scattered around; alas, there was easily a fifty-fifty chance that they had all been spiced as well, (which was a shame, as I would have utterly loved to fire a rocket at something), and so I sided with the mature half of my head and headed back to the functional Land Rover without giving the weapons so much as a sniff.

After packing all the salvage into the back of the jeep, I got in the driver’s seat and buckled up, as did Rarity beside me; I stuck the keys into the ignition and took the handbrake off, shifting into first gear.

“Shit.” I grumbled upon instantly stalling.

“Callum, language!”

Ignoring her, I went to neutral and tried again, only to stall for a second time.

“Fuck.”

“Language, please!” Shouted Rarity.

“Yes milady! Sorry milady!” I shouted back.

Chuckling, I eventually got a handle on the vehicle again and took off, easing my way past the wrecked car and faintly smouldering crates. Once I was clear, I shifted into second gear and rumbled along the gorge and back to my friends.



Heading up the sandy slope and into the sun, I pulled out of the canyon for good. Ahead was nothing but desert for miles and miles, it was time for Pinkie’s gadget to shine.

{Me again, I’m not too far off now, I need Pinkie to launch that flarework of hers, just so I don’t head the wrong way. Are you at the surface yet?}

{Not yet, we’ve just gone up the main stairwell, remember where that throne room was?}

{Yeah.}

{We’re there, so we won’t be too much longer.}

{Awesome, just let me know when you’re about to send it up, or I might miss it.} I advised.

{Oh don’t worry about that, according to Pinkie, you couldn’t miss this unless you were blind.}

{Sounds promising, I look forward to seeing it.}

Taking out the keys to save fuel, I leant back in my seat and sighed.

“Everything okay?” Rarity inquired.

“Yeah, everyone’s almost at the surface. Pinkie will send up her flarework so we don’t get lost, then we can be on our way.” I answered, yawning midway through my sentence.

“Tired much, darling?”

“A tad, yeah. The heat has always made me a bit drowsy.”

“You and me both, dear, I could easily take a nap about now.”

Huffing with mild amusement, I decided to further my study of Vitra ‘Aku and withdrew it from its sheath; all along the flat of the blade were strange artistic markings, all of which happened to be a much darker shade of blue than the rest of the sword. The pattern almost looked Greek in design, but I was certain that was a coincidence. The only part of the design that truly stood out was near the tip, which somewhat appeared to be a pair of feathered wings sprouting out from the rest of the pattern, it was very subtle; Hawnu Rey’eng’s involvement came to mind at first, but I quickly discarded the idea as I remembered this sword was thousands upon thousands of years old, with many different Champions from Equus; pegasi had feathered wings, as did griffons, not everything had to concern that old rust-bucket.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” I breathed.

“Simply mesmerising…” Rarity sighed back, gazing at the relic with sparkles in her eyes.

Without any threats nearby, I decided that it was about time I strengthened my soul for the first time; although I had no idea what to expect, I had the slightest hunch that it wouldn’t feel pleasant. After explaining to Rarity what I was about to do, she sat back and watched with anticipation.

Gripping the handle tightly, I closed my eyes and cleared my thoughts, and then mentally willed the sword to transfer the souls within to my own; akin to the healing process, the sword reacted to my wishes almost instantaneously, and began to glow brighter than usual. The orb which rested at the top of the hilt shone a brilliant white as it erased the memory and consciousness of the souls within, completely eradicating their existence and refining them into pure mana.
The mana then seeped out of the sphere and into the handle, where it was then absorbed through my hand and into my body, my veins glowed faintly beneath my skin as the mana travelled up my arm and into my chest, where it spread outwards to merge with my very being. My vision changed as even my eyes were affected by the adaptation, white and blue swirling patterns took up the majority of my sight as the mana passed into my eyeballs.

Gah…” I gasped faintly as the alterations began to take place.

The sensation I felt could only be described as strong growing pains, mixed in with severe nettle rash; all of my muscles began to ache heavily, and my skin seared from head to toe as my entire body had to adjust to permanently containing a larger amount of energy. Soon enough, the sensation faded, and everything returned to normal; the bright glow that Vitra ‘Aku normally emitted was far dimmer, no longer carrying the souls’ energy.

“Well, that was certainly something to behold. Are you alright, dear?” Rarity inquired, lightly touching me.

“I think so, but that felt bloody weird…” I breathed, blinking rapidly.

“Did it hurt? You appeared to be in pain, and your eyes were glowing.”

“My eyes were glowing!?”

Rarity nodded, and explained how it quite literally looked as though my eyeballs had been replaced with balls of white light for a few seconds.

“Well that sounds epic.” I stated, thrilled at the concept of having glowing eyes.

“It was quite the spectacle, I must admit.”

“Man, if I get the opportunity to do that again, please take a picture.” I requested.

Rarity chuckled, but before she could reply, our conversation was cut short. Twilight contacted me via the collar, signalling that they had reached the surface and that Pinkie was about to launch her flarework. I relayed the information to Rarity and ordered her to look across the desert on the left side of the car, while I looked across the right, that way it would be impossible to miss.

“Right, keep an eye out, it should go up any second now…”

“Don’t worry, darling, we’ll spot it.”

And spot it we did, and what a sight it was.
Glistening almost as bright as the sun itself, a flickering ball of light shot upward from beyond a dune in the distance, surrounded by smaller flares of various colours; reds, yellows, pinks, greens, dozens of fireballs flung out from the main flashing sphere. It was like an entire firework factory had caught fire, needless to say, it was very much impossible to miss, even in the light of day.

{Excuse me? Mister human? Can you see the enormous mass of light?} Twilight teased.

{Alright, alright, I stand corrected.} I replied dully.

Turning on the car once more, I trundled along towards the magnificent display, the jeep’s four-by-four design and large wheels made short work of the sand below, not many vehicles made for civilians could handle such terrain quite like a Land Rover Defender.

“I must say, I’m rather alarmed that Pinkie Pie had such a potent item in her possession. Contained within her mane of all places!” Rarity chuckled nervously.

“The thought that crosses my mind, is what else does she have stored in there?” I replied.

We both laughed loudly upon deciding it was for the best that such a mystery remained unsolved, and that for all we knew, a shard of the Titan’s Orb could be dwelling upon her head.



It took about ten minutes to reach the girls, it was both relieving and refreshing to see their bright colours once more. I turned off the engine, hopped out, and ran straight into Rainbow Dash’s embrace; the others joined in and I found myself at the centre of a girly group hug, (although I wasn’t complaining).

“Gosh, it sure is glad to see you both back in one piece!” Applejack exclaimed.

“And so soon, for that matter!” Twilight joined in.

“Yeah, we most certainly got lucky with finding a car so soon.” I agreed, pointing to the Landie.

“It looks so awesome, almost exactly like your brother’s one!” Rainbow Dash pointed out.

Everyone agreed, the only main difference was the colour, Oliver’s one was a dark olive green, while this one was a light tan, lightly sprayed with brighter yellow to help the vehicle blend in with the sandy environment.

“So, did you like my flarework? Did you? Did you? Huh, huh, huh?” Pinkie squealed.

The pink mare hopped around me, eager for my approval.

“Pinkie, it was incredible, I loved it!” I cheered, (a little over-enthusiastically in order to humour her).

Squealing with delight, she skittered around in the sand, gleefully kicking up clusters as she went.

{Attention whore.} I thought playfully.

{Callum!} Twilight thought back, shocked.

My eyes widening, I looked over at the unicorn to see her raising an eyebrow at me; shrugging innocently with a sheepish grin, I saw no need to continue wearing the collar as we were now in close proximity, and removed the accessory.

{Ha ha! I’m free to think at my own liberty, fuck you, Book Horse!}

Twilight tilted her head with confusion, at long last, unable to read my mind. Deciding to assist her in removing her own collar, I walked over to her and lent a hand while Rarity led the others to the back of the car, showing them all where they would be sitting during the journey.

“Thanks, it was starting to bother me.”

“No problem, Twi.”

Placing both collars into her satchel, we both went over to the car and prepared to properly embark.

“Why is there blood on the floor?” Fluttershy reluctantly asked.

“Decoration.” I bluntly replied, grinning.

“We ran into some trouble, but thankfully neither of us got hurt.” Rarity truthfully responded.

“Neither of us got hurt!? Rarity, I got shot!”

WHAT!?” Everyone yelled in unison.

Rolling my eyes, I explained how we’d bumped into some gun-wielding ruffians during our search, and that I was shot in the shoulder by one of them, nearly killing me. Before they could all freak out, I elaborated on how I’d used Vitra ‘Aku to heal myself.

“Whoa, you actually harnessed its power? You truly are the Champion…” Twilight breathed.

“That’s not all, I’ve witnessed him strengthening his soul.” Rarity gloated.

Her eyes nearly bulging right out of their sockets, Twilight zipped towards me in awe.

“I’ve only read of legends of such a thing…”

I couldn’t help but nervously laugh at her fangirling, slightly embarrassed.

“Well, next time I acquire some souls, I’ll do it again for you.” I offered.

Nodding energetically, Twilight looked up at me with a seething mass of questions.

“Do you feel different at all? More alert? Stronger? Smarter?”

“Honestly, not really.” I answered truthfully.

“Hm, perhaps it’s too subtle. Next time, you should store a whole cluster of souls before strengthening, then you might be able to notice a difference.” She instructed.

“I’ll do my best.” I replied, rolling my eyes with amusement.

“Hey dorks, can we go please? Burning up over here!” Rainbow moaned.

Remembering that we were all stood in the scorching desert, Twilight and I hopped into the car and I revved up the engine, it was time to get out of here. Reaching into my own bag, I retrieved my compass, and placed it on the dashboard until it confidently pointed in a particular direction, which happened to be south; after turning the car to face west, I turned in my seat to brief my passengers, whom were all contentedly sat upon the metal benches on either side of the cargo storage.

“Ladies and jelly-spoons, this is your captain speaking. We are about to embark upon our journey, but before we depart, I’d like to remind you all to keep your limbs inside the vehicle at all times.
Smoking and the consumption of alcohol is also not permitted on this vessel, if you are caught performing either of these activities, you will be removed immediately.
There are no toilets located on this particular model, so if you need to use the loo, please notify a member of staff so that we can pull over. Please refrain from relieving yourselves within the vehicle, nobody wants to be dowsed in shit, other than Applejack of course, whom is a filthy southerner.”

Hey now!” Applejack growled.

Once Rainbow Dash stopped screaming with laughter, I resumed.

“In the case of an emergency, please do not panic, nobody here wants to hear your screams of terror as you rapidly approach death. Instead, I implore you to simply place your head between your legs and kiss your bum goodbye. I understand this may be difficult for Twilight, considering that she’s about as flexible as the pencils she writes with.”

“Hey, I can get between my legs just fine!” Twilight protested.

“Yeah, only because no one else does!” Rainbow Dash yelled at the top of her lungs.

The laughter reached a new height, as everyone howled and hooted loudly, poor Twilight however was clearly feeling quite uncomfortable with Rainbow’s remark.
Continuing my comical briefing, I came to the unicorn’s aid with a remark of my own.

“Upon the very unlikely event of a rockslide or avalanche, please use Rainbow Dash’s rear end as a shield. Take it from the hundreds of males she’s slept with, myself included, that ass can take a beating!”

Rainbow piped down instantly, while Applejack shrieked louder than the rest of the group combined, she smacked the bench repeatedly with her hoof as she belly-laughed, simply unable to contain herself. Eventually she settled down and wiped her teary eyes, and I was able to conclude my announcement.

“Thank you all very much for choosing to travel with Champion Voyages today, I hope you all have a pleasant journey. Now then, is everyone comfortable?”

“No!” They all shouted teasingly.

“Perfect!” I shouted back.

Revving the engine loudly, I took my foot off the brake and the car lurched forward.

“Fuck.” I spat, upon stalling the vehicle.

“Are we there already?” Pinkie asked.

Everyone laughed, and I restarted the car.

“Okay, for real this time!” I cheered, once again releasing my foot from the brake pedal.

After finally being able to take off properly, we sped off into the sun-baked horizon…


Chapter Four: Setting Sail

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Time flies when one travels in a single direction for a seemingly endless duration, we had chased the sunset for almost a month; the vast number of bumps, rocks, twists and turns of the terrain had definitely affected the duration of the journey. If we hadn’t stockpiled on water from Hawnu Rey’eng’s old temple, we’d have died of thirst days ago. Although Rarity and Applejack still had plenty of food in their enchanted bags, supplies were being rationed to ensure we wouldn’t indulge ourselves and end up running out through sheer greed.

While we’d come across a number of towns and main roads, we adamantly stuck to travelling off-road as much as possible for the safety of solitude, the last thing we needed was to attain police or military attention; this had added a number of days to the journey, but it was definitely worth it for everyone’s safety and peace of mind.
We were now in Morocco and thankfully hadn’t encountered much trouble, we’d only encountered one bunch of angry Libyans along the way, whom had opened fire at us when we drove past, we had unfortunately acquired a couple of bullet holes on the right side of the chassis but had otherwise passed through unscathed.



Along the drive, the girls and I had devised a nifty plan on how to sneak everyone onboard a boat, or how to slip past people in general for that matter. Fluttershy generously emptied the contents of her bag into Rainbow Dash’s; with the bag being bigger on the inside, there was just enough room for everyone to slip inside along with their own bags and remain undetected, while I could then carry the single bag over my shoulder and smuggle everyone around when the situation demanded it. It was fool proof, as the bag also had an inner flap which could be pulled across to conceal the extra large compartment, essentially making it look like an ordinary satchel.

“Just don’t let anyone shoot, stab, or generally rip the bag while we’re inside it please.” Twilight requested.

“I’m afraid to ask why.” I replied cautiously.

“Well, as you know, our bags are unnaturally bigger on the inside because they’re pocket dimensions, many thanks to Discord’s unique magic. Having a single stable passageway into that dimension is fine, but just imagine a sudden rip in the very fabric of that dimension, forcing its entire volume outward into regular existence. In other words, it explodes with the force strong enough to level a castle.”

“Jeez, that’s mental.” I murmured.

“Indeed, so basica-”

“Hold up a second, you’re telling me you’ve all been carrying mini nukes this entire time!?” I interrupted.

“I’m not sure what a mini nuke is.”

“A very powerful bomb that can easily destroy a handful of buildings when it goes off.”

“Oh, well in that case, yes!”

Shaking my head with disbelief, I couldn’t believe that I’d been adventuring amongst seven magical explosives this entire time; all it would have taken was a bullet hitting any one of the girls’ bags, and we’d have all been killed. I recalled back in Brazil when we were being pursued through the sewers, bullets were whizzing past us until I got hit in the leg, any one of them could have hit a bag.

“I’m rather apprehensive to ask this, but what were to happen should a bag explode while you’re all hiding inside it?” I nervously inquired.

“Please don’t answer that Twilight, I don’t want to know.” Rarity butted in.

“I’m with Rarity, I’d rather not think about it.” Fluttershy agreed.

“Aw, come on, I’m curious!” Rainbow Dash protested.

Leaning forward into the front of the car, Twilight put her muzzle to my ear.

“We’d be forced outward with the rest of the pocket dimension, stretching us out in all directions into a very large mess. To put it bluntly, we would all explode as well, very violently.” She whispered.

Jesus fuck!” I yelped.

“Language, Callum!” Rarity scolded.

“What is it!? What happens? Come on, tell me!” Rainbow Dash demanded.

“Yeah, I’m not repeating that.” I spoke firmly with widened eyes.

“Twilight, say!”

“Ugh, fine.”

Sitting back down in her seat, Twilight leaned over to Dashie and also privately explained to her.

What the fu-

RAINBOW DASH, LANGUAGE!” Rarity shrieked before she could finish.

Every single one of us flinched as the piercing shrill of her voice ricocheted through our eardrums, everypony had their ears flattened for a brief moment,

“Sorry Rare…” She grumbled in response.

The sheer power of Rarity’s ear-splitting voice was simply incredible, I was entirely convinced that it could be weaponised under the right circumstances. To be fair, it was good that she’d interrupted, Pinkie was clearly stressed enough from being cooped up for so long, and bad language only made it worse.

“How long until we’re there?” Twilight asked, changing the subject.

“I can’t imagine it’ll be too much further now.” I sighed.

There was only so much enchanted clothing and water could do to combat the heat, I was exasperated from being sat behind the wheel for so long. The girls weren’t in such a good state either, they’d been packed like sardines in the back of the Landie, just melting away; they had taken hourly turns in the passenger seat to get some space, (Applejack was currently in the front). All seven of us reeked of sweat, which while Rarity couldn’t stand it, the rest of us had somewhat grown used to it.



“Oh crap…” I muttered as the car’s engine began to splutter.

Twilight popped her head back into the front, worried.

“What is it?”

“We’ve run out of fuel, the car’s going to die any second.”

“You mean we have to walk? Ugh…” She replied.

“You mean I finally get to stretch my legs? Woohoo!” Pinkie squealed.

To be fair on Pinkie, this would be our only opportunity to walk about before getting on a boat, to prevent going stir crazy, a walk might actually do us some good. The only two issues were the sun’s rays, and the risk of being seen by others, but it didn’t seem as though we had a choice.

The Land Rover kept fighting for another five or so minutes, before eventually coming to a slow halt and giving up on life entirely. Huffing with annoyance, I turned back to the girls and ordered them to prepare for a long walk. I opened the door and hopped out onto the sandy gravel, stretching dramatically, my arse had pretty much gone numb from sitting for so long. The girls hopped out of the back and all did the same, I couldn’t help but keenly stare at Rainbow Dash’s cat-like stretch, her wings splaying out to their full length (they were easily two metres in wingspan).

“Oy oy.” Applejack teased, elbowing me.

I quickly looked away and cleared my throat, to which AJ playfully tutted and rolled her eyes, chuckling and then putting her bag on. After we all donned our gear and took a few swigs of water, we embarked on foot once more, my compass leading us west to north-west.



We’d been trudging for about twenty minutes, and everyone was surprisingly chipper, being able to walk around was a pleasant change for the lot of us, regardless of the long journey ahead. With the pleasant mood around us, I began to hum a familiar melody to myself.

“What song is that?” Fluttershy asked me.

“Oh, it’s just the tune of my national anthem.”

“Wait a minute, humans have national anthems too? Wow, that’s really interesting, I presumed that it was just an Equestrian thing.” Said an astounded Twilight.

“Yeah, every nation has one. Despite faking my death and running from home, I consider myself a British patriot, so I’ve always been fond of it.” I admitted.

“Can you sing it?”

“Pfft, I don’t know.”

“SING IT!” Pinkie yelled.

“Jeez okay! Put me on the spot why don’t you?” I laughed.

Clearing my throat loudly, I made my best effort to do Britain proud.

“God save our gracious Queen, long live our noble Queen, god save the Queen!
Send her victorious, happy and glorious, long to reign over us, god save the Queen!
O’ lord our god arise, scatter her enemies, and make them fall…
Confound their politics, frustrate their knavish tricks, on thee our hopes we fix, god save us all!
Thy choicest gifts in store, on her be pleased to pour, long may she reign…
May she defend our laws, and ever give us cause, to sing with heart and voice, god save the Queen!”



As per usual with my singing, I had most likely grown a little carried away, for everyone was staring at me with intensity; Rarity (being her dramatic self), had tears in her eyes, most likely moved by the emotion and valour behind the anthem.

“Well, that sure was something.” Said Applejack, finally breaking the silence.

“Such majesty…” Rarity commended, wiping her eyes.

Twilight, (the autistic individual that she very evidently was), ignored the sentimental rhetoric of the anthem and simply focused on the lyrics, taking them far too literally; I was then instantly bombarded with a barrage of questions, which I knew had to be answered with equal enthusiasm, or I’d never hear the end of it.

“Isn’t it quite hypocritical to enjoy singing that anthem, when you know Earth doesn’t have a god?”

“Somewhat, yes,” I chuckled, “but our national anthem is very symbolic, we’ve always been a Christian nation and it’s a form of respect to our roots and heritage. For those that believe in the Christian and Catholic god, the anthem also implies that our nation is backed by god himself, essentially deeming us a strong and unbreakable country.”

“Bit arrogant.”

With a short chuckle, I admittedly agreed with Twilight, but then reinforced the fact that the anthem was mainly symbolic and wasn’t meant to be taken seriously word for word.

“Okay, so why does the Queen even need saving? Is she constantly in danger? For such a strong and hearty country, it doesn’t send a good message to your foreign neighbours if your royal family is in constant need of rescuing, especially via a divine power, it makes your royal security look incompetent.”

I couldn’t help but burst into laughter at that, and then explained to the best of my historical knowledge how the anthem was written in France for the recovery of one of their kings whom was suffering from a life-threatening illness; the British then adopted it for King George the Third after he recovered from a bout of madness. In the eighteen-hundreds, more verses were added, and it quickly became recognised as the national anthem for the United Kingdom, also known as the Royal Anthem in other commonwealth countries.

Despite giving Twilight such a lengthy explanation, it took no more than a few seconds for more questions to come tumbling my way; trust Twilight to turn a short song into a bloody history lesson.

“So, you have a ruling Queen, and a democratic government? How does that work exactly?”

“Well, while our parliament passes all the laws and maintains the country and such, a lot of legislations can’t officially be passed without the Queen’s approval, which is called Royal Assent.
She’s also the only person with the power to appoint knights, dames and lords, and has the right to consult the prime minister whenever she sees fit. So while she doesn’t run the country, she has a lot of power over the people that do run it.”

“I see…” Twilight murmured, before allowing me to continue.

“The royal family also have an incredibly symbolic role and duty to the country, The Queen formally opens parliament every year, and the royals visit many different countries to represent our national identity, unity, and pride. Oh, and don’t get me started on tourism, the royal family practically keep the entire country’s economy afloat with the amount income they generate from international tourists and whatnot.”

“Huh, that’s really interesting…” Twilight hummed, processing the information.

{Please stop asking me questions now.} I thought playfully, rolling my eyes.

“What happens when your Queen dies? Does the anthem change?”

{Goddammit. Well, at least this one’s easy to answer.}

“Yup, if the next ruling monarch is a man, the song changes to God Save the King, and vice versa.”

It appeared I wasn’t the only one getting a tad tired of the exposition, as Rainbow Dash emitted a groan.

“None of us asked for a history lesson, will the both of you shut up about it now?”

"Rude.” I uttered.

“Look, I’m tired, thirsty, boiling to death out here, and have sand stuck in places I really don't want sand to be stuck in! The last thing I need right now is a load of boring facts about human royalty bouncing around inside my head!”

Before Twilight could argue the toss, Fluttershy suddenly gasped loudly and flapped her wings with excitement, flinging sand all over Applejack and Pinkie.

“Everyone, look! Over there!” Fluttershy mumbled, pointing into the distance ahead.

I could smell it before I saw it, the faint (yet indisputable) scent of the salty ocean water.

“Whoa…” Rainbow breathed.



Just as we arose over the rocky uphill, we were blessed with a vast cerulean sight which we had not seen in what felt like forever, the ocean. Such a view was truly spectacular after so many weeks surrounded with nothing but the dusty yellows and beige browns of the desert; it was like looking upon a moving painting, the sun’s rays glistened and danced upon the blue horizon, while swirls of white wave caressed the pale sand below the image.

“Well it’s about time we had a change of scenery!” Rarity sang.

“Indeed, now let’s find ourselves a boat.” Twilight enjoined.

Rainbow Dash took to the air and glided down the hill towards the water, before swooping down and out of sight, indicating there was a cliff ahead; the rest of us ran down after her and stopped at the cliff’s edge, before finding a viable route to climb down. While Dashie waited, she shot upwards and tried to scout around to ensure there were no people nearby.

Eventually we all made it safely to the beach and put down our bags while we caught our breath, I decided to take off my socks and shoes to feel the sand below, as it appeared to be very soft, and very soft it was.

Last one to the water’s a rotten apple!” Applejack hollered unexpectedly.

After so long in the scorching desert, every single one of us were sprinting at full speed towards the water, Rainbow Dash caught sight of us from above and dived down like an arrow towards the sea as well; I pulled off my shirt and cast it aside while I ran, not wanting to get all my clothing wet. My feet made contact with the water at last and gosh was it cold, but I kept running anyway, as did the others; we kept going until a wave began to rise up above us, to which we all dived headfirst into it.

“Woohoo!” I shouted after resurfacing.

“Dear sweet Celestia, it’s so cold!” Rarity shrieked.

Blasphemy!” Twilight yelled wildly, diving onto Rarity and pushing her under the water.

I burst into laughter, and Rarity came up shrieking dramatically, she paddled away from Twilight while frantically apologising. That was when an icy cold Fluttershy leapt into my arms to avoid another large wave, I tossed her up into the air just as the wave knocked me over in order to keep her from being engulfed by it; when I re-emerged, I waded over to Twilight and allowed myself to float beside her.

“I needed a moment like this so badly.” She giggled, grinning at me.

Seeing such a pure smile from Twilight was warmer than the entire desert we’d crossed just to be here; after all we’d been through together, after so much pain, anger and confusion, it was a moment of absolute delight to witness the real Twilight returning from beyond the grave.
The next wave crashed over the both of us, and after wiping my eyes to regain vision, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter at Twilight’s new state; her soaking fringe now covered her eyes and a single strand of seaweed was now draped across her muzzle like a Fu Manchu moustache. She shook her head like a dog to remove both the moustache and the mane in her eyes, before looking at me sheepishly with her tongue sticking out slightly, which I believed was either known as a blep, or a mlem, depending on the context, in this case, I was certain that it was a blep.

“You alright there?” I asked teasingly.

“Pristine!” She replied, unashamed.

Chuckling, I wrapped an arm around her neck and ruffled her mane, to which she wriggled away and jumped backwards into the next wave. The laughter resonating from everyone playing in the water was almost overpowering, there was so much joy when it had been lacking for so long; while I was conscious that we needed to get out of plain sight and onto a boat sooner rather than later, there were no signs of people whatsoever, and I decided to let everyone enjoy the moment for a while longer.



Roughly ten, maybe fifteen minutes later, Applejack called out to the group, contented with the fun and now ready to continue onward.

“Alright y’all, don’t you think it’s time we get moving?”

“I couldn’t agree more, this water hasn’t grown any warmer!” Rarity concurred.

“Just a few more minutes?” Pinkie requested, giggling as a wave engulfed her.

“Methinks we need to get going now Pinks, we’re going to be spending a lot of time at sea and really ought to get a move on.” I added, agreeing with AJ and Rarity.

We waded out of the sea and back to our gear, which was when a strong breeze came by and fiercely chilled our damp bodies, my teeth quickly began to chatter and I rushed to put on all my clothes. Such a biting cold upon my bare skin almost made swimming regrettable, but the smiles amongst us were warm enough to keep us from such repentance.

“Can you please remind me what the mission is again?” Fluttershy asked through chattering teeth.

“We either smuggle ourselves onto a boat that’s heading for America, or we find a way to commandeer one and sail there ourselves.” I clarified, rubbing my biceps firmly in order to warm them.

{Implying I can successfully sail a boat across the ocean.} I thought to myself.

Nodding with understanding, Fluttershy continued putting on the desert cloth clothing; thanks to Hawnu Rey’eng’s enchantment, the apparel would warm us slightly. Once the lot of us were dressed and slightly warmer, we began trudging north, with the waves crashing in to the left of us; after she had warmed up a little more, Rainbow Dash took to the air to spot ahead for us, just in case any people showed up.

“See anything up there?” I called up to Rainbow after about half an hour.

“Nope, nothing! Just more beach!”

Rolling my eyes and puffing with annoyance, it irked me that we weren’t already on the sea, but I supposed one couldn’t be hasty, seeing as not all that long ago we had located Vitra ‘Aku and effectively brought a new Champion into the universe.

{One step at a time…} I thought.

Twilight looked at me with concern, reading my expressions and attempting to decipher my thoughts.

“Wait, I see something!”

Looking up, we all watched as Rainbow Dash shot forwards to get a closer look, before plunging back down to us to report her findings.

“Humans, buildings too, not all that far from here.”

“How far’s not far?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know, egghead!”

Ruffling her wings, the pegasus rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof.

“Like, a mile away, maybe more. They’re just up off the beach, on a dirt road.”

“Right, did you spot a boat at all?” I asked.

“No, but I wasn’t close enough anyway, I just saw the people.”

Nodding, I ordered Rainbow Dash to take to the skies once more and scout ahead, using the clouds for cover, and hopefully find a boat. I then instructed the girls that we’d be sticking on the beach and hope to slip by unnoticed, but that it would be best that they prepare to hide inside Fluttershy’s bag just in case. Twilight and I put our collars back on, just so we could converse telepathically if need be.

{Working all good?} I thought to her.

{Loud and clear.}

“Okay girls, let’s move.” Twilight directed, trotting to the front of the group with me.

Using the earthy cliff face as cover, we made our way along the beach. The continuous sound of cars could be heard in the distance, implying a main road, which further implied a town or city ahead. While that would certainly mean the girls would need to get into the bag, it also brought me hope that there would be a port. My suspicion was confirmed, as Rainbow Dash returned from her scouting mission.

“I’ve got good news, and bad news! Firstly, if you want boats, bitch you’ve got about forty of them to choose from. But the bad news is that there are humans like, everywhere!” She panted.

“Forty? Damn, must be a port city or something.” I hummed.

“Yeah, something like that, there were lots of fishing boats.” Dashie agreed.

“Well, everypony, you know what to do.” I reluctantly announced.

Fluttershy removed her bag, and everyone began moaning and groaning with annoyance.

“I’ll try to get onto a boat as soon as possible, I promise.”

“What if the bag breaks?” Fluttershy squeaked.

“What if you can’t get on a boat?” Twilight asked.

“What if there’s a fight?” Rainbow joined in.

“Jeez, girls, have a little faith in me. Under no circumstance will I let the bag break, I will find a way onto a boat, and if there’s a fight, I’ll handle it. Now play nice and get in the bag.” I ordered.

Holding it open for them, everyone took their turn squeezing into the small entrance, somehow fitting inside despite it being the size of a regular backpack; it was still bizarre to me to see the wonders of magic, even after literally seeing the Titans with my own eyes. I supposed some things would just never grow old, like unvaccinated children.

{Why are you chuckling in thought?} Twilight asked telepathically.

{No reason.} I replied innocently.

Rolling her eyes, Twilight crouched down and crawled into the saddlebag. I squatted down to look inside, the poor girls were a tad cramped, the space inside was not much bigger than a bathroom cubicle.

“I swear I’ll try to get this over with as soon as possible.”

“No no, take your time Sugarcube, I’m comfortable.” Applejack joked, squished between two pegasi.

“How does gravity affect you in there?” I inquired curiously.

Twilight went on to explain that it was a separate pocket dimension which somewhat had its own gravity, basically meaning that they wouldn’t ever fall out, even if the bag were to be turned upside down; desperate to test this, I lightly lifted the bag and held it up with the opening facing the ground.

“That, is, awesome.”

Holding the bag high above my head, I looked up to see the girls slumped against one particular side where the gravitational pull was, looking back down at me with faint exasperation.

“Finished?” Twilight asked dully.

Chuckling, I nodded and lowered the bag to eye level; Twilight then went on to implore that I didn’t shake the bag, as it would disrupt the pocket dimension’s gravity centre, causing it to change location.

“You mean like this?” I asked, lifting up the bag and giving it a light shake.

As expected, the girls tumbled into one another, resulting in six resentful glares.

“Asshole!” Rainbow Dash spat.

“I had to test it!” I replied innocently.

“All in favour of Callum going in the bag later, say aye!”

I gulped upon all six ponies (even Fluttershy), emitting a confident ‘aye’.

“Seriously though, good luck.” Twilight said, nodding to me.

Dipping my head in return, I playfully blew the group a kiss and sealed the compartment with the decoy flap, making the bag appear to have ordinary proportions, and placed a few miscellaneous items in it, such as apples, my ruined Blood Family clothes from Portugal, and a water bottle.

{Can you still hear me Twi?}

{Crystal clear, please hurry, the elbowing has already begun.}

With that, I put the bag over my shoulder and trudged onward.



After about fifteen minutes of said trudging, I started spotting people ahead, lots of people.

“Ugh, great…” I muttered to myself.

There were wind breakers, umbrellas, and the odd tent, to which I sighed with assurance that it was just a commercial beach with ordinary folk, enjoying a sunny day. To blend in, I took off my long-sleeved shirt and tied the sleeves around my waist, along with rolling up my trouser legs. I was cautious at first, but I trusted my gut and made my way towards the crowd.

Children playing, people surfing and body boarding, couples holding hands, dogs fetching balls, a guitarist strumming away and singing something pleasant in Spanish, it was both calming and surreal to be surrounded by so much positivity from other humans; it was almost enough to forget the horrors that I’d seen over my adventure. Humanity had such a broad and curious contrast, there was so much mirth and innocence here, while my time in Brazil and Portugal had nothing but malice, disdain and callousness. There was no doubt Morocco also had its fair share of bad going on, but it was very satiating to witness some good for a time regardless.

A pair of young girls were kicking a beach ball together, when one of them accidentally kicked it too far, causing it to catch the wind and plop down before me, they looked over to me anxiously, hoping I would return it to them; rather than make myself look like an idiot by kicking it back and possibly missing, I picked it up and jogged their way, before kindly tossing it to them with a warm smile.

“Gracias!” They both sang, and went back to playing.

It was so uplifting and heart-warming to be part of such a moment, it may have been a simple gesture, but I’d been so distant from the simple innocence of children playing, my life over the past eight months had predominantly revolved around killing, and almost being killed.

Moving on across the beach, I found some stairs that took me up to the main town and I was quickly greeted by cars and pedestrians, it was almost like some form of culture shock to be back in such an environment, there were so many people, I damn near had a panic attack.

“Right… Dock…” I murmured to myself.

Weaving past people and crossing a street, I kept walking until the docks came into sight; Rainbow Dash wasn’t bluffing, there were easily more than forty boats to choose from. The question was, which one should I choose?

{Twilight, conundrum.}

{Shoot.} The unicorn replied.

{I’m at the docks, and I need a group decision on a boat choice.}

{Well, why are you having trouble choosing?}

{We’ve got either fuel powered fishing boats or sailing boats. One is faster, but we obviously run the risk of running out of fuel, leaving us dead in the water. The other is much slower and more difficult to operate, but there’s no risk of getting stranded.}

Twilight didn’t respond, but I could hear muffled voices from my backpack, so I presumed she was asking the group for their opinion, soon enough, I got an answer.

{We think you should go with the sailing boat. A day on Equus is a year on Earth, so we can afford the extra time if it means eliminating such a big risk.} She concluded.

{Got’cha.} I replied.

Looking around, I figured that the best way to go about stealing one of these boats would be to either board one that’s about to leave, and knock out the owner, or simply to steal one from scratch and pretend like I owned it, and just pray that the real owner was nowhere close-by.

(Twilight, conundrum.}

{Oh for goodness sake, what now?}

Explaining my situation, Twilight thought it would be best to steal a boat just as it was leaving, so we could make a quick getaway without spending too much time getting the boat prepared and lingering on the docks for so long. Settling on that decision, I looked around and thankfully spotted someone getting onto one of the sailing boats, it was dark green with a chocolate brown trim, and had white sails. The fellow onboard was acting awfully suspicious; he was constantly looking around while hurriedly prepping the vessel for departure.

Upon carefully moving to get a better view, I noticed the individual was lugging a few black bags onto the boat; more surprisingly however, he had a pistol sticking out of his back pocket. He took one last look around, and then forcefully kicked open the door to the inside of the boat in order to gain access.

He was a smuggler, and he was stealing the boat.

“Well I’ll be damned.” I huffed with bewildered amusement.

This was a better chance than ever to get close, so I swiftly crept down the dock and then hid behind some fish barrels as he re-emerged; he hopped off the boat and took a mobile phone out of his pocket, and dialled a number, most likely to inform whomever he was working with that he was on his way. While his back was turned, I took a huge gamble and left my hiding place to board the boat; the gamble paid off, as I was able to hop onboard and get downstairs, I then hid in the sleeping quarters.

{What’s the situation?} Twilight asked.

{You won’t believe this, but someone else is stealing a boat, and I’ve been able to sneak onboard.}

{Wait, what?}

{You heard me, someone else is nicking a boat, and we’re now onboard.}

{No way, you’ve got to be joking… Are you sure?}

{Oh I’m sure, he kicked the door in! He’s currently in the middle of preparing the boat now, I’ll take care of him once we’ve embarked and made some distance.}

{Gosh, talk about coincidence? Okay, I trust your judgement, good luck.}

Taking the bag off my back and placing it in a corner, I patiently waited as the man came back onto the boat and finished loading up his mysterious (and most likely illegal) cargo. After a few brief moments, I felt myself swaying side to side as the boat began to move; I couldn’t believe it had truly been this easy, it was about time we received a stroke of luck.

Soon enough, we were out of the dock and the smuggler had seemingly left undetected, and it didn’t take long until we were properly drifting away from the last dry land that I’d know for the next few weeks.

At long last, we were at sea…


Chapter Five: The Young Boy and the Sea

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After about twenty minutes of twiddling my thumbs, I heard the man’s footsteps coming down the stairs, and I unsheathed Vitra ‘Aku as quietly as I could, ready to strike. He walked around the main downstairs area for a while, humming an unfamiliar tune, before sitting down and yawning loudly. Thinking about my best plan of attack, I slowly stuck my head out from the doorway so I could see him, only to discover that he had randomly decided to start masturbating.

{Are you being fucking serious right now!?}

{What is it? What’s happened?} Twilight yelped, alarmed.

{You don’t need to know.} I responded bluntly.

{What do you mea-}

{You DON’T need to know, Twilight.}

"Just... WHY!?" I silently mouthed to myself with widened eyes.

Rolling my eyes with disgust and annoyance, I supposed at least that I could catch him with his pants down (literally); emerging from the sleeping quarters, I strode towards the man with my sword held high.

“Cockblocking!” I shouted.

The man screamed in panic, shouted something madly incomprehensible in Spanish, and lunged for his gun, he was able to grab it and made an attempt to aim, only for me to reach him and jam my blade into his chest; gasping loudly, the man tried to cry out, only for a gurgled wheeze to emit from his lips.

BANG!

I was abruptly met with the all-to-familiar agony of a bullet wound yet again, the searing pain spread through my outer waist and I naturally lashed out horizontally in response, causing Vitra ‘Aku to effortlessly glide through flesh and bone alike and very nearly cut the man in two, dismembering his arm in the process, needless to say, he was dead very quickly.

OW!” I hollered at the top of my lungs.

Gritting my teeth, I looked down to inspect the damage, thankfully it was just a flesh wound on the outside of my hip, but it hurt like a bitch regardless. Wasting no time at all, I tightly gripped Vitra ‘Aku’s handle and repeated the same process from before, mentally commanding the sword to heal me with the newly acquired soul; my vision brightened and blurred as the mana flowed into my body and congregated around the injury. The pain soon subsided, and upon my vision returning I was extremely grateful to find a much lesser injury upon my hip, the bullet hole was now no more than a deep graze, and while it still stung, it was certainly an improvement.



There was suddenly a large thud and then a crash from the sleeping quarters, followed by a wild Rainbow Dash charging out of the doorway with her teeth bared and her hooves ready to strike.

“I heard a gunshot! Where are the bad guys, huh? Put ‘em up!” She growled.

The pegasus then looked down to see the mutilated body of the smuggler, including his nude lower half, completely soaked in blood. Her eyes widened drastically, and it took a few seconds for Rainbow to process what she was seeing; she looked up at me and blinked slowly, before tenderly walking up the stairs and then throwing up off the side of the boat.

“You were supposed to stay in the bag, Rainbow Dash!” I crossly called up to her.

“I thought you were in danger, asshole!” She shouted down back to me, retching a few times.

Rushing into the sleeping quarters, I found the other ponies crawling out of the bag as well, I sheathed the sword and folded my arms with immense disappointment.

“What part of ‘stay in the bag’ didn’t any of you understand?”

“We heard a gun go off and got worried about you! We were originally going to stay put, but then Rainbow Dash went out and we decided to follow.” Applejack explained.

“So what happened? Are you hurt? You’ve got blood all over you!” Shouted Twilight.

“It ain’t mine, well, at least not most of it anyway. Look, I’ll explain what happened in a moment, but for now I have a… mess… to clean up, so can you all please just stay there and not come out?” I insisted.

From the amount of blood on my body, the girls knew better than to question me, and patiently waited while I removed the mangled body; dragging the open carcass up the stairs, a portion of his lung fell out and I very nearly joined Rainbow Dash, gagging heavily. Thankfully we were far enough out at sea to dump the body (and additional pieces) overboard. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was sat at the front of the boat, watching the water go by, clearly trying to forget the image she’d just witnessed.

“Hey, thanks for being ready to defend me.” I praised.

“Not that you were in any danger.” She scoffed bitterly.

“Bollocks, I just got shot, if that’s not danger then I don’t know what is. It’s good to know that I have you to rely on. You never know, next time I might be in more danger than I can handle on my own, and it’s damn reassuring to know you’ve got my back.”

“It’s fine dude, but I wish I’d just stayed in the damn bag.”

“Aye, in this case, you should have.” I agreed.

Leaving her to calm down, I went downstairs and used one of the towels onboard to mop up as much blood as I could. After that, I explained roughly what had happened to the others, leaving out the smuggler’s last wank on Earth…



“Gosh, I’m so sorry you got shot again, I can only imagine how painful it must be! Thank Celestia you’ve got Vitra ’Aku to heal yourself from such a horrible wound.” Rarity exclaimed.

“Actually, I think I’ll thank the Titans, not Celestia, seeing as they literally made the sword.” I scoffed.

“Oh har har, it’s just an expression.” The unicorn replied, rolling her eyes.

“Anyway, boatman, are we on course?” Twilight spoke up.

“Not a damn clue, but I’ll make sure we’re going the right way once we’ve familiarised ourselves with the boat, we’ve got plenty of time and we’re on the move, so no rush.” I assured her.

“Extra time doesn’t warrant wasting it.” She muttered in reply.

“Quite right m’lady, I’ll get us on course shortly.” I repeated, albeit more submissively.

Heading outside, I found Rainbow Dash had mostly recovered from earlier, she was perched at the top of the mast with her wings splayed open, contently catching the wind. Upon seeing us all emerging onto the deck, she fluttered down and gave me a loud disgruntled huff.

“Oh really?” I replied dryly, raising my eyebrows.

This caused her to look away with a faint smile, slightly tickled by the response. She eventually dropped the attitude, joining the girls and I in exploring the boat and learning how it all worked; I’d learned the very basics of sailing back when I was seven when my dad would take Oliver and I to a sailing club, where we’d learn the fundamentals with other younglings of our age group, being on this sailing boat with the girls took me straight back to those old distant memories…

There used to be this nasty mother there called Madonna at the sailing club who would always put down the other kids in order to big up her own son, Josh. Madonna was one of those absolute madams who’d never stop flapping her gums about herself and her egotistical life, she was a classic case of an insecure possessive parent whom always thought that their child was a million times better than everyone else’s, and my father wouldn’t stand for it on the day she mentioned that I was a dysfunctional child due to my Asperger’s, I’d very rarely heard my father shout at someone, but it was safe to say that Madonna would never speak ill of the differently abled again; it was also needless to disclose that Oliver and I were no longer welcome to sailing club after that incident.
Turns out dad could be quite scary when he needed to be.

Retrieving my compass from my bag, I held it out in front of me and found we were heading southwest, we would need to be heading much further north if we wanted to get to America.

“Right girls, I’m going to steer us west by northwest, and then I need you to help me with these ropes so we can angle the sails properly, alright?” I announced.

With six voices of agreement in my ear, I went to the back of the boat and adjusted the rudder, keeping my compass facing to the front of the boat as I did so until we were headed west by northwest. After that, I walked the ponies through angling the sails in conjunction to the wind to ensure we were moving as efficiently as possible. Despite the odd rocking here and there, the sea was relatively calm, although it would probably grow rougher as we headed further out.

“Can we please establish this sooner rather than later, does anypony get seasick?” I inquired.

Everyone shook their heads, except for Applejack, whom uneasily rubbed the back of her neck.

“Well, I don’t exactly get seasick, but I must admit that I feel a little queasy without any dry land nearby.”

“Understandable from someone who’s always worked on a farm, all I’m saying is that if you think you’re going to hurl, please just make sure you do so overboard.”

“Must you be so blunt?” Rarity groaned.

“I’d rather it not go by as something unsaid.” I replied.

“Well you’ve made your point, can we all please stop talking about it now?” Twilight snapped.

Raising my eyebrows in shock, I realised that Twilight’s body language was very uptight all of a sudden upon me bringing up the subject, her shoulders were practically hugging her ears. Perhaps she was having another mild episode from the Fel’s long-lasting damage?

“Well anyhoo, let’s also establish the fact that we’re all going to be cramped on this boat together for quite some time, so let’s all try our best to not get on anyone’s nerves and to respect one another’s personal space, I’d rather we didn’t all come down with cabin fever.” I continued.

Nodding in agreement, we headed back inside the boat and started establishing who slept where, along with devising some sort of shift rota so we could all take turns in adjusting the rudder and angling the sails; whilst we’d usually be working together as a team, it would be good to have some form of structure during such a monotonous and cramped part of our quest.



“Rarity, what’s the situation with our food supply? How much do we have left? This is going to be a long haul journey and we need to make sure there’s enough for everyone.” I asked.

“The last time I checked, we’ve got enough to last us roughly a month, but I think we could comfortably ration it out to six weeks. Sadly it’s not the most delectable of pickings, it’s mostly nuts, beans, hay, daisies, potatoes, onions, leeks, rice, peanut butter, and apples.”

“That’ll do just fine, I won’t need much to eat anyway, my first two weeks in Portugal proved that, I didn’t have a single bloody morsel until some nice old granny fed me.”

“Goodness, that’s simply awful!” Rarity exclaimed.

Twilight dipped her head in shame and anxiously rubbed the back of her neck, for it was her corrupted self that teleported me to the wrong side of Portugal on purpose, in an attempt to get rid of me.

“Sorry about that…”

Playfully rolling my eyes, I assured Twilight that there were no hard feelings, and that the Fel was entirely to blame for the event; although she still blamed herself, she was comforted by the fact that I didn’t resent her for it.

Aside from food and the management of our shifts, we needed activities to do onboard to keep us all sane during the voyage. There was no doubt that one of the hardest parts, if not the hardest part of this particular leg of the journey, would be the lengthy duration it would take to reach America. Driving across the desert was one thing, because we could see where we were going. We were always moving forward with the horizon edging towards us, beckoning us further, encouraging us to keep going. No matter how tedious the journey, we could see with our own eyes that we were going somewhere; meanwhile out here on the open water, the only thing we could see for miles in any direction was more water, days could pass and it could seem as though we hadn’t moved an inch.

Sometimes the simpler adversities were the most difficult to overcome, and in this case, it was simply time; from the most patient to the most eager, this journey would test all of us equally.

Rainbow Dash would grow bored very quickly, but at least she could fly above whenever she needed to stretch her wings. Applejack, the hard worker that she is, would need a project to work on in order to feel productive, otherwise she’d most certainly become irritated and short tempered. Pinkie Pie was more than sure to go mental within at least a week, to be crammed into such a small space with such a hyperactive pony was a recipe for disaster.

Despite the heavy mental scarring from the Fel (giving her the potential to break at any mild friction), I had faith that Twilight would cope relatively well, for she still had a few of my old books from home in her saddle bag (to be honest I was amazed they had even survived this far), so at least she had something to keep her focused and absorbed; hopefully her inability to use magic wouldn’t interfere with this too much.

As for Rarity and Fluttershy, they were certainly the most patient and would fare much better than the rest of us, so long as they had decent conversation and a dash of activities here and there.



Unsurprisingly, Pinkie was to the rescue on that front, having packed a few board games in her bag prior to coming to Earth; upon getting them out to display, I came upon the dumb realisation that I didn’t recognise a single game as they were from Equestria, although there was one that caught my eye that looked somewhat similar.

“What’s this one?” I asked, tapping the cardboard box.

“Oh, this one’s a gem!” Pinkie giggled.

She slid beside me and pointed at the cover, which displayed four ponies sat around the board game.

“It’s called Sorry-Not-Sorry, or S-N-S for short, it’s a game for four ponies, and you all take turns to roll the dice to move your pieces around the board, you have to do a full lap around before you can get your pieces to the safe zone. If you land on somepony’s piece, it gets sent back to base. The winner is the first pony to get all their pieces into the safe zone!” She excitedly explained.

“Huh, that is scarily identical to Ludo.” I hummed.

“What’s Ludo?” Rarity inquired.

“It’s a board game practically identical to this one.” I told her, before explaining the concept of Ludo.

I had to admit, this Equestrian version looked much more fun, while Ludo had a basic square board with a simple route of tiles for one’s pieces, Sorry-Not-Sorry had an octagon shaped board with a much more playful tile route; the coloured pieces were designed to resemble unicorn horns, which was also a very nice touch, opposed to Ludo’s very simplistic cone shaped pieces.

“Well, I know what we’ll be playing later!” I joyfully exclaimed.

The girls giggled, and Pinkie put away the board games for later use.



About an hour or so had gone by, and the seas had been smooth sailing thus far, with only the odd wave that would send one or two of us into an unstable wobble for a few seconds. In the grand scheme of things, we hadn’t gone very far at all, but one couldn’t focus on that.

Whilst I had never really been one for fishing, I couldn’t help but enjoy the thought of casting a lure into the water and reeling up something for dinner; not that I had any idea of how to fish properly, it was one of the few things my father hadn’t taught me in my childhood.
But if humans had been doing it so proficiently for thousands of years, how hard could it be?

“Rarity?” I asked, clambering below deck.

“Yes darling?”

“So, I recall that you were the one responsible for packing essential gear for the quest, like camping equipment and such. I don’t suppose you’d packed a fishing rod or two by any chance?”

Humming, Rarity placed a hoof on her chin and pondered, before frowning.

“I’m sorry darling, but I’m afraid not. We don’t eat fish, so such equipment wouldn’t have been considered essential, even if I owned anything of the sort.”

Shrugging, I told her it was fine and that I’d just wanted to inquire as I’d have enjoyed the prospect of catching myself dinner, along with it being something to pass the time.
Just as I was walking away to check on Twilight in the sleeping quarters, Rarity gave a loud “Ah-ha!” and called me back.

“You know, you just might be in luck darling! Now, I know for a fact that Applejack would often go on little fishing trips with Applebloom and Big Mac to the Ponyville Reservoir for a bit of competitive angling, before releasing the fish back into the water at the end of the day. Now don’t you go taking my word for it, but I think Applejack might have brought her own rod, I’d highly suggest you go and ask her.”

“Oh brilliant, I’ll go check!” I exclaimed happily.

I headed back up above deck (trying not to bump my head as I did so), and emerged into the brilliant sunlight to find Applejack throwing up over the side of the boat.

“Well howdy there partner.” I deadpanned to her.

“Ugh, don’t mind me…” She groaned.

“I thought you didn’t get seasick.”

“Well clearly, I was wrong, wasn’t I?”

“Clearly.”

Rolling my eyes, I instructed her to keep the horizon in her field of view and to stay in the shade to help with the seasickness, along with absolutely not going below deck whenever she’s feeling queasy. I also implored her to try her very best to keep it down, as we couldn’t afford anyone getting dehydrated with our limited water supply.

“Yeah, I hear you pard...” She huffed.

“So, I hope it’s not a bad time to ask, but Rarity told me that you might have a fishing rod.”

AJ’s ears pricked up, and a sly smirk lit up across her face despite her nauseous state.

“I didn’t take you for an angler.”

Scoffing, I admitted that I wasn’t, (and not by any stretch of the imagination), but wanted to get into it now in order to pass the time.

“Well, you came to the right pony, I brought my lucky rod just in case!”

Practically forgetting the seasickness, the farm pony led me down into the boat and into the sleeping quarters where the saddlebags were stashed, alongside Twilight and Rainbow Dash having a private conversation about her adopted human father; it was so bloody uplifting to finally see them truly getting along after what happened in Portugal, from hating Twiley’s guts to having one-on-one conversations with her was beyond comforting to see, it was safe to say she’d found it within her heart to forgive Twilight and move forward from the months of pain and torment instilled by the Fel’s underlying corruption.

“S’cuse me girls.” I merrily emitted, stepping over them to reach Applejack’s bag.

Rainbow responded by playfully giving my arse a firm prod with a hoof, to which I retorted by releasing a small and squeaky fart, causing both her and Twilight to shriek and scramble to their hooves, fleeing to another section of the boat while shouting ‘Ew! Ew! Ew!’ together.

“That’s what you get!” I laughed after them.

Applejack chuckled to herself and then shook her head with a bemused smirk.

“The Champion of the Holy Titans, in all his glory y’all.”

Rolling my eyes, we dug through the bag until locating the fishing rod alongside her lures, and then clambered back out into the sun. A disgruntled Rainbow Dash glared at me as I passed her in the living quarters, to which I threatened to do it again if she didn’t give me a smile; this resulted in a cushion being thrown at me from Twilight, whom was trying to conceal the smile that clearly stated that she actually found the ordeal rather funny in all its crudeness.



“Right, you said that you ain’t into fishing, but have you at least held a fishing rod before?”

Confirming that I had, I went on to tell Applejack how I’d once caught a perch when I was about six or seven years old, and it was actually what put me off fishing for so long. Perches had two dorsal fins, one of which was tipped with small sharp spikes, and when a six (or seven) year old moron decided to grab it tightly, the obvious outcome was for those spikes to go right into his dipshit hand.

“And thus, I’ve never caught a fish since.” I concluded.

“Oh Sugarcube, I can just picture it now! A lil’ young’un Callum running around with a tiny fish stuck to his hand, hoo’wee that’s a good one!” Applejack hooted with laughter.

“It was not fun.” I replied dully, scowling at her.

“Heh heh, no… For you it probably wasn’t.” She chuckled, calming down.

Rolling my eyes, I gripped the fishing rod and allowed Applejack to reteach me the basics, before I eventually hooked up the glimmering lure and cast it into the water. The lure twinkled a few times as it sunk, before it eventually descended into the unseen depths; I eagerly awaited to feel a tugging, but no such tugging came for what felt like forever.

“I’ve just remembered the other reason I don’t like fishing, it’s boring as hell.” I grumbled.

“Oh shush you, waiting is all part of the fun!” AJ chortled.

“How in any universe is waiting fun?”

“It’s a part of the experience Sugar Cube, y’all have to be patient and enjoy the anticipation, wondering where the closest fish is and whether or not you’re within seconds of catching ‘er, or if you’ve still got some more time to wait. Fishing ain’t all about catching the fish hun, it’s about letting yourself go, whether it’s having a nice conversation, or spending some time woolgathering.”

“Woolgathering?” I asked, puzzled.

“Daydreaming and such, y’know? To zone out and think of sweet nothings?”

“Aah, got’cha.”

I’d never really thought of fishing that way, and after Applejack’s advice began to sink in (no pun intended), I found the activity to grow on me a little, and after a while, I was having a truly peaceful time just chatting with Applejack about life, whilst the rod sat loosely in my hands.

Equestria was the main subject of conversation, in which I learned that Sweet Apple Acres was utterly huge, making up just over a quarter of all the land in the entire Ponyville province.
The Everfree Forest for that matter covered almost an entire fifth of the country! It was so enormous that there had to be multiple stations for the Everfree Rangers which were dotted around the edges of the forest, in total there were forty-six Ranger stations, simply known as Forts.

“The monsters from the Everfree really cause that much of a problem?” I inquired, astounded.

“Oh you bet’cha! On average, more ponies die to that darn Everfree than they do to natural causes!”

“Blimey…”

She went on to explain that the forest itself continually attempted to expand, thus creating more breeding grounds and hotspots for monster attacks. To combat this, the Everfree Rangers had a specific division for lumber-ponies, whom went on regular logging expeditions to prevent the expansion, along with armed guards to protect them from whatever creatures may be lurking nearby.

“That’s absolutely mental, how did the show never mention this!?” I exclaimed.

Eager to learn, I demanded for more information about the Rangers, and found out that they were in fact a proper organisation which was personally backed by Princesses Celestia and Luna, whom funded them from the royal treasury and would even send soldiers to assist when they were required.

The Everfree Rangers had four divisions which one could sign up for…
There were the Pathfinders, a scouting division which specialised in mapping out the forest and keeping tabs on certain creatures, along with their migration patterns. The Pathfinders was a line of work for ponies who wanted to brave the depths of the forest and study it.
Then there were the Loggers, which (as previously explained) would cut down trees to maintain the spread of the ever-growing Everfree, a good role for strong ponies that weren’t discouraged by the prospect of hostile creatures lurking nearby while they worked, namely timber-wolves.
Thirdly, there were the Blockades, defensive rangers that garrisoned the Forts and specialised in guarding the edges of the woodland, along with escorting the Loggers on their expeditions. Decked with thick armour and portable ballistae, they were the shield that guarded the realms of ponies.

Lastly, and explicitly the most treacherous division of the Rangers, there were the Hunters.
The bravest of the brave, it was the sole job of the hunters to track down and eradicate the most deadly denizens of the forest, either by repelling them from nearby villages, or to slay them outright.
Needless to say, this division was not for the faint of heart, very rarely did a hunt end without a casualty or two, but apparently the pay was very much worth the risk.

{Well, it’s absolutely official, if I somehow did end up in Equestria for whatever reason, I’m signing up to become a Hunter in the Everfree Rangers.} I decided in thought.



We nattered for well over an hour, when suddenly I felt a light tugging at Applejack’s rod, at long last the moment had arrived; grasping the rod firmly, I looked to Applejack for guidance.

“Woohoo! We’ve got a biter! Now, the next time you feel a bite like that, tug the rod to one side, that’s called striking, which is how you get the hook in.” She explained.

Nodding, I anxiously awaited the next bite, lightly stimming my fingers across the rod’s handle.

{This is where a bloody shark comes along and eats the damn thing.} I thought to myself playfully.

The next bite came, and I swung the rod to the right, and very quickly it came apparent that the fish was hooked, as the rod was almost yanked out of my hands.

“Blimey!” I yelped.

Grabbing the rod and clutching it to my chest, I allowed Applejack to explain that I needed to pull the rod upwards towards me at first, and then reel in as I extended the rod back out, bringing the fish closer only in small increments.

“If you feel that blighter really putting up a fight, don’t fight back, or the darn line might break. Just hold the rod nice and steady, let the thing tire out before bringing it in.”

“Got it, thanks!” I replied.

Having the time of my life, I followed Applejack’s advice to the letter and slowly but surely brought the fish to the boat, and very soon it became visible just beneath the surface.

“Whoa, that’s a biggun!” Rainbow Dash emitted.

I looked behind me to find that the excitement had attracted an audience, all six ponies were now gathered around to witness the climax of my angle. Smirking to myself, I maintained focus and kept reeling until the fish was continuously breaking the water, still battling for freedom from the fishing line.

“That’s it, come to papa.” I growled keenly.

After a fifteen-minute battle, the creature lost its fight and drifted along behind the boat; I peered down with Applejack to find that it was a sea bass, a rather big one at that.

“Anyone have a net?”

“I’ll do you one better.” Rainbow Dash giggled, taking to the air.

She swooped over to the fish and scooped it out of the water, chucking it directly at me, forcing me to drop the rod and catch it with both arms.

“Damn it Dashie… Ugh, thanks!” I groaned, my wrists now coated in fish slime.

Placing it on the deck, I warned the girls that I was about to humanely kill the creature, to which Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy all shuffled back downstairs to avoid the event. The remaining three appeared to have a morbid curiosity as to how humans prepared once-living food, and watched me with unease as I withdrew Vitra ‘Aku and prepared to deliver the blow.

“O’ great bass of the sea, I hereby condemn you to die, for the greater good of my stomach.” I joked.

Other than lightly flopping its tail, the bass gave no response as I placed my blade behind its gills; at the sight of this, Rainbow Dash changed her mind and went downstairs.

“Anyone else?” I asked, issuing my last warning.

Twilight and AJ remained, and so I continued without hesitation. Firmly pushing and sliding the sword down, the fish’s head came clean off, with the body convulsing a few times out of nervous reflex.
Outstandingly, a small wisp of soul energy emitted from the creature and seeped into the sword.

“Whoa…” Twilight breathed, fascinated.

Applejack on the other hand, gulped.

“If you throw up on my fish, I’ll eat you instead.” I warned her.

Nodding, the farm pony quickly ran to the boat’s railings out of precaution, while Twilight watched me throw the head overboard and begin filleting the fish; while a crystal sword from another world was hardly an appropriate tool for such a task, the blade’s sharpness certainly did the job equally well.

“So which bits do you actually eat? Back in Brazil I recall you only eating the crocodile’s muscles, does that apply to all, uh, previously alive food sources?” Twilight queried.

“Yeah, the muscle is basically the only good bit to eat, unless you’re a bloody neanderthal.” I replied.

“Neander-what-now?”

“Don’t worry, it’s just that some people like to eat livers and such.”

“But that word, it’s awfully similar to Neighanderthal, which is a word fo-”

“Neighanderthal? Are you being serious?” I laughed, almost slipping with the blade.

I removed the first successful fillet, flipping the fish over to extract the other while Twilight explained to me that neighanderthals were ancient ponies from long before the days of Celestia and Luna, or even Champions for that matter. In turn, I explained to her that neanderthals were ancestral humans that lived millions of years ago, and had only just begun to use handheld tools, long before the days of metalwork and civilisation.

By the time we’d finished talking about the matter, both sides of the bass had been fully removed, along with the skin on the fillets, and thus they were ready for cooking.

“Rarity darling! I require cooking utensils!” I hollered.

“Yes dear!” She called back from within the boat.

While waiting for her to get the equipment and ingredients I needed, I cleaned up the fish blood on the deck and then dipped my hands in the sea water to give them a quick rinse, doing the same with Vitra ‘Aku before slotting it back into the void sheathe.



Rarity and Rainbow Dash emerged together with a portable grill, frying pan, and a small bag of spices between them; the pearly unicorn gave me a kind smile as I reached out to retrieve the instruments.

“Will this be all you need?” She inquired.

“That’s lovely, thanks. Don’t suppose you have any cooking oil?” I replied.

“Sunflower oil good enough?”

“That’ll do just fine! Oh, and a fork please.”

Dashing back down to retrieve the oil and fork, I set up the grill and was pleasantly surprised to find the pony equivalent of fire-starter blocks were runestones what would bleed some sort of magical liquid fire when activated, perfect for grills and campfires alike.

“They bleed for about half an hour before going out.” Twilight finished elaborating to me.

“That’s fine, these fillets will cook in about five minutes tops if the pan’s hot enough.” I replied.

Choosing to cut the fillets in half crosswise, resulting in four evenly sized chunks, I placed the runestone into the grill and allowed Rarity to activate it; cracking into multiple fragments, a vibrant array of flames emerged from the broken stone and lightly tickled the bottom of the pan. After applying the oil, I plonked the fillets onto the pan and they began to lightly sizzle.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack rejoined us to watch the meat cook, their curiosity returning.

“Is it safe to come out? Asking for a friend!” Pinkie giggled from the stairway.

“Yes Fluttershy, you’re all good.” I replied loudly, rolling my eyes.

Pinks hopped out to watch me cook, as did Fluttershy; soon enough everyone was yet again crowded around me to witness the activity. Opening the bag of spices, I decided simple was best, and went for the salt and just a touch of black pepper, the smell was already to die for, and I wasn’t the only one who thought so.

“So, nopony judge me, but this actually smells kinda good.” Dashie admitted.

“Oh good, I wasn’t the only one.” Rarity nervously remarked.

After a moment’s thought and a hum to myself, I suggested that the girls could all try a small bite.

“Oh, um, I don’t know about actually trying it, it was still alive a few moments ago!” Rarity exclaimed.

“And wouldn’t it be like, really bad for our digestion?” Rainbow Dash quizzed.

“Can I have sugar on mine?” Pinkie requested.

Pinkie!” Fluttershy yelped.

“Whaaat?”

“Look, it was only a suggestion, none of you have to try it,” I began, “but personally I don’t see the harm in just a tiny bit of fresh fish. For ponies that eat cakes, pies, and other processed foods, I can’t imagine your digestive system is actually that different from a human one.”

Twilight agreed, and being the most inquisitive creature in the multiverse, decided that she wanted to try some fried fish in the name of science; her vote swayed the majority, and soon enough everyone except Fluttershy were onboard with trying some.
Flipping over the four chunky fillets to cook the other side, I sliced one of them into five small cubes, not much bigger than a sugar cube; after a little bit of further sizzling, I took the pan off the flame and transferred the fish to one of the gold-rimmed plates that Rarity had stolen from the mansion.

“Right then, who’s first?” I asked eagerly, twiddling the fork.

“Well, as the expression goes, ladies first?” Rarity intreated, stepping forward.

Chuckling, I skewered the first cube and allowed her to levitate the fork out of my hand and pop the fish into her mouth without a moment’s hesitation; she recoiled in shock from the unfamiliar flavour but continued to chew and allow her tastebuds to adjust.

“Well? How is it?” I asked.

Swallowing the morsel and pursing her lips, the unicorn gave no indication as to whether she liked or disliked the flavour until she eventually clicked her tongue and stared at me intensely.

“Darling, I hold no shame in saying this, that was simply divine!

She looked around at everyone and insisted that they give it a try, to which they did, and one by one the girls all ate their respective cubes.

“Gosh, I was not expecting that, but dang I like it!” Exclaimed Applejack.

“Holy shit, this is good, like really good.” Rainbow Dash munched.

“Needs sugar.” Pinkie chewed.

“Hm, I could definitely get used to it, but it’s a bit too salty for my taste.” Twilight hummed.

“In that case, don’t try giving head.” Rainbow Dash teased.

Rainbow Dash!” I scolded.

Bursting into laughter, the pegasus narrowly escaped the fork that I almost stabbed her with, I scowled at her and finally began to eat the fish for myself, and damn it was good.

“Sure you don’t want a little bit, Flutters?” I asked.

“I’m sure it tastes lovely, but it just doesn’t sit right with me.” She replied, standing her ground.

Wholeheartedly respecting her decision, I finished the fish and threw the plate overboard.

“Hey! I was saving that!” Rarity shouted.

“Firstly, you stole it, and secondly, it’s less washing up to do.” I retorted.

“I have magic, you imbecile, washing up everything, grill included, takes about twenty seconds at most!”

“Oops.” I giggled.

“I want that plate back, mister.”

“Look, if you want to jump into the open ocean to retrieve a stolen dinnerplate, be my guest.”

Rarity looked out to sea, clearly thought of sea monsters, and looked back at me with a scowl.

“When we make landfall, you’re stealing me another plate.”

“Yes, m’lady.”

With the food fiasco behind us, we packed away the fishing rod and now-clean cooking equipment (minus one plate), and decided to play Sorry-Not-Sorry until the night time.
The board game session was truly a blast, the hours went by like minutes, and soon enough the moon had replaced the sun in the sky, and everyone was growing tired.

“I’ll take first watch if you like?” Rainbow Dash offered.

“That’s awfully kind of you, thanks Dashie.” I replied.

After giving the pegasus a kiss on the cheek, I retired for the night along with the other girls, heading to the sleeping quarters where we had to make use of the one bunk bed the small boat provided. To combat the limited options, we had devised a rotating system where the last pony to take watch had the liberty of the top bunk, while two other ponies shared the bottom bunk.
Twilight and myself on the other hand, had created a makeshift bed on the floor using the boat’s cushions and blankets, we were always comfortable sharing the small space together, with a night-time cuddle seeming to efficiently help in reducing her night terrors (or Spookies, as we’d secretly dubbed them).

“Night ladies!” Rainbow Dash called from the living quarters.

“Night!” We all called back.

Rarity blew out the candle and we all began to drift off, until an ungodly stench began to drift around the room, everyone else could clearly smell it, with grunts and moans of discomfort resonating around and Twilight literally convulsing in an attempt to prevent coughing.

“Uh oh… stinky!” Pinkie emitted.

“Right for fuck sake, who was it?” I groaned.

There was a long silence, before the culprit spoke up.

“Sorry y’all, that fish didn’t agree with me.”

APPLEJACK!

I said I’m sorry!

Hiding under the covers with Twilight until the smell dissipated, we eventually went off to sleep.
Until I was rudely awoken by the sound of crashing waves.


Chapter Six: The Wall

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Being practically launched onto Twilight, the mare cried out and instinctively sat upright to defend herself upon such a sudden awakening, to which her horn narrowly missed my left eye and jabbed me in the cheek; I apologised to her and scrambled to my feet.

“What’s going on!?” Fluttershy squealed from her bunk bed.

“Probably just some rough weather.” I grumbled in response.

Almost instantly after finishing my sentence, we were rocked sideways and Rarity rolled out of the top bunk, hitting the floor with a loud thud and a louder yelp.

“Jeez Rare, you okay?” Applejack called out.

“Been better!” The unicorn barked back.

“Rough? This is worse than rough! I’ve just had a human catapulted onto me!” Twilight growled.

“I said I was sorry, Twi!”

Slightly unsheathing Vitra ‘Aku, I used the brilliant cerulean glow from the relic to guide my way out of the sleeping quarters and into the main hull, where I found Rainbow Dash on the stairs and soaking wet.

“Shitty weather?”

“Shitty weather.”

Due to the boat’s broken door window, a fair amount of rain had entered the boat, with plenty more still splashing in, I’d have to board that up shortly.

“Tell the girls to put their bags up high, we’re going to have quite a bit of water indoors by the time this passes. I’ll take watch from here if you need some rest.” I offered.

“Actually I’m good thanks, I’ve got quite a lot on my mind at the moment.”

A bright light emitted from outside, followed by a crack of thunder almost instantly afterwards, indicating that we were very much within a storm, shitty weather indeed.

“Penny for your thoughts?” I asked, combing my fingers through Dashie’s soggy mane.

I leant up against the wall beside her and allowed her to divulge to me, all while I continued to stroke her mane softly to comfort her.

“Ugh, I don’t know, it’s hard to explain, there’s a lot of things.”

“Pick one.”

“Well, honestly, the biggest thing on my mind at the moment is what happened in Brazil.”

“With what happened to your wings?”

“Mostly, yeah.”

With hand now wet and lightly covered in shed hairs of many a colour, I stroked across her back to the joints of her wings, lightly massaging the muscles and tendons that powered the unbelievably strong limbs.

“I was so powerless, they just held me down and there was nothing I could do, they just kept pulling feather after feather, laughing at me while they stripped away the only talent I have.”

In the dim light my sword provided, I could see the tears welling up in her eyes as she looked onward into empty space, deeply recalling the incident.

“I didn’t even care about the pain, it was my flight being stripped away that really hurt, they took away my wings Callum, and I’m nothing, nothing, without my wings…”

“Dashie-”

“No, dude, don’t give me any BS about it. I’ve been completely useless throughout the majority of this damn mission after losing my wings. No magic, no earth pony strength, nothing to offer at all, just admit it, I was nothing but a liability.”

Squatting down to be on her level, I looked into her eyes and cupped her chin.

“I won’t admit something that isn’t true, you are far more than just your wings. You are Rainbow Dash for crying out loud, you’re one of the six representatives of the Elements of Harmony! You’re gifted with speed, agility, and more bravery than a whole bloody legion of soldiers.
In Chernobyl, you were at my side and stood fearless in the face of zombies, literal, zombies!

Saying nothing, Dashie looked deeply into my eyes, the watery eyes beginning to grow more hopeful; I continued before doubt had the chance to transpire within her.

“I know Brazil was traumatic, it was absolutely awful what happened to you, but they never took away your worth. Your loyalty and your endless courage has helped spur us on, no less so than Pinkie’s ability to stay upbeat and smile through it all.
We’ve always needed you Dashie, with or without your feathery back flaps.”

Breaking eye contact and dipping her head with a light chuckle, she insisted that I never called them ‘feathery back flaps’ ever again, before wrapping her forelegs around me in a tender hug.

“Thanks dude, I appreciate it.”

“Always. Now what else is bothering you?”

Before she could reply, the boat was viciously cast to one side, causing the both of us to cascade over into the puddle that was once the floor, causing the both of us to groan in unison.

“Ugh, I’ll head out and make sure the sail doesn’t get damaged or something.” She said, quickly taking herself out into the storm without a moment’s hesitation.

Shrugging, I got to my feet and drained some water out of my short hair by pressing my index fingers lengthways against my forehead and sliding them to the back of my head like a squeegee.

“So, how bad is it out there!?” Rarity called out from the sleeping quarters.

“Very bad! Put all your belongings high up, we’ve got water coming in!” I replied.

As though the universe wanted to prove a point, the boat collided with another big wave, sending a bucketload of water through the window and directly into my face.

“Right, I’m boarding that up.” I grumbled.

Getting to my feet, I looked for something to block the window hole with; there was nothing much to offer, forcing me to become extremely creative. The boat’s welcome mat was the only thing before me that could reasonably cover the hole and effectively keep the water out.
Grabbing some of the thin spare rope onboard, I stabbed four holes into the door around the window frame; Vitra ‘Aku pierced the aluminium effortlessly, it might as well have been made of sponge cake with the blade’s phenomenal sharpness. Making four equally placed holes into the welcome mat and cutting the rope at equal lengths, I threaded the holes and lashed them tightly, and at long last the water ceased to invade our vessel.

“Rarity! Magic user required please!” I beckoned.

A slightly concussed white unicorn emerged, to which I asked her to clear the water out of the living quarters before it spread to the rest of the boat. She gladly obliged, and enveloped as much water as she could in her telekinetic grasp; I opened the door for her and she chucked it out as quickly as possible to prevent more rain coming in.

“Thank you dear!”

“Welcome darling!”

Another heavy wave struck the boat, resulting in Rarity cascading across the floor and into my arms.

“My my, a little forward, aren’t we dear?” I teased.

“Oh get lost! Unlike Rainbow Dash, it takes a little more than some average charm to woo me!”

“I believe foreplay should be at least half an hour.” I replied blankly.

MARRY ME, SIR!

We both burst into laughter, and I helped the unicorn to her hooves; she shook herself and pushed her mane out of her face and back into its usual position with her hoof. Escorting her back into the sleeping quarters, we joined the others in moving our belongings to the upper bunks.



“Well, this isn’t ideal.” I grumbled after our stuff was safe and dry.

Everyone mumbled in agreement, and we all sat around miserably hoping that the storm would pass over sooner rather than later.

“Say, where’s Rainbow Dash?” Applejack asked.

“She went out to secure the sail, I think she wants to be on her own.” I replied.

“Out there? In this weather? Is she crazy!?” Twilight exclaimed.

Shrugging, I told the girls that she was in a bit of a wobbly state at the moment, and was undoubtedly suffering some post traumatic stress from all the shit we’d been through.

“If she truly wants to be out in the rain on her lonesome, then that’s on her.” I finished, exhaling deeply.

“Well, each to their own I suppose.” Applejack hummed.

“Everyone has a different way of processing, I can imagine Dashie’s using the storm to block out unwanted thoughts and emotions, and if it’s working, then more power to her.” Fluttershy chipped in.

“I couldn’t agree more. In all honesty, I think I’ve been through some sort of processing of my own over the past month or so.” Rarity added.

“Care to share?” I offered.

“Sharing is caring!” Pinkie peeped loudly, before receding back into her duvet.

Clearing her throat, Rarity went on to elucidate how she felt like a completely different pony over the course of this journey, with her biggest eye-opener being the bear attack all the way back at the Romanian border. Despite being so long ago now, it was still a fresh memory to me; how could one ever forget the event with the thick scars that now ran down the back of her neck?

“Once my wounds had somewhat healed and I’d gotten over the shock, I realised how mortal I am, and it suddenly dawned on me that I was mere inches from never seeing Sweetie Belle again, nor my parents.
All I could think about was everypony at my funeral, and my boutique being sold away, perhaps even demolished. No more would ponies travel to Ponyville for my dresses, and Sweetie Belle would have to move back in with mum and dad. The name Rarity would fade into distant memory, and I’d eventually cease to exist forever, all because a bear wanted the food in my saddlebag.
Life is so very fickle. One moment you’re on an astonishing adventure with your closest friends…”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, before dipping her head and continuing with indignity.

“…And the next, you’re literally torn open, lying in your own blood and urine, gasping for air, while being in the worst pain you’ve ever experienced, terrified and confused, almost wishing you'd die just to make it all stop.
For a while the anxiety would gnaw at me in the night, I was constantly terrified of the next thing we’d encounter that could bring such a harrowing nightmare into reality, it was overwhelming.
It was the aftermath of the fight in Portugal that snapped me out of it, when we dug Callum out of the rocks and found that he was still alive, I saw with my own two eyes how much strength comes from emotion and purpose. From that day forward, I found a new inner strength and made a vow to myself that I’d do anything to get back home to Equestria, no matter the cost, nor the danger.
Hades will have to wait quite some time until we meet, because I’m not going down until I’ve fulfilled my duty, recovered the Titan’s Orb, and held my little sister again…”



Silence, wide eyes, and dropped jaws were the responses Rarity received; there was so much depth to her words that it had touched every one of us in a very personal way. She had been so raw with her words, and so honest. Prior to my knowledge of the ponies’ existence, I would have described this as a very human moment, but now I had no suitable word for it other than real, (or perhaps soulful?).

We had all experienced a lifetime’s worth of traumatic experiences, and we were all dealing with it in different ways, but Rarity’s fable had allowed us to reflect a little bit and be more honest with ourselves that we had all been changed by this quest, but that was okay.

Emitting a quiet cough, Rarity nervously looked from face to face.

“So, uh, to cut a long story short, I think I’ve done some processing of my own.” She repeated.

“Rarity, that was… that was beautiful, thank you for sharing all that with us.” Fluttershy finally spoke.

There were tears welling up in everyone’s eyes, even mine. I noticed Twilight slowly bury her face into her forelegs, clearly affected most by the divulgence, which was hardly a surprise to me; there were no words to describe, nor any amount of empathy that could comprehend the trauma she’d faced under Nah’Lek’s influence and nightly tortures.

{I wouldn’t mind using the collars again soon, see how her mindscape is getting on…} I pondered to myself.

Applejack swung a foreleg around Rarity’s shoulder, pulling the unicorn in for a tender cuddle.

“Sugarcube, I think I speak for all of us when I say it was really good to hear this, we’ve been on the move for so long that it’s hard to look back and realise just how much we’ve gone through together.”

“You can bloody well say that again…” I said, raising my eyebrows slowly.

“Brazil was, really, really scary…” Pinkie Pie murmured.

“Aye, it sure was, Pinks.” AJ agreed, allowing Pinkie to scuttle over and join in on the cuddle.

“So, anyone else want to share their tales of woe?” I offered playfully.

Before anyone chose to speak out, we noticed that the storm had almost completely died down; the rain was much quieter and the water felt almost entirely still. Although there was a sense of relief amongst the group, I couldn’t help but notice the look of fear in Twilight’s eyes, whom had risen up from her reclusive slump.

“What is it Twi?” I quizzed.

“The storm.” She murmured, more to herself than to me.

“I know, it’s fantastic, it’s finally passing!” Rarity replied merrily.

The lavender unicorn shook her head, frowning and looking down at her hooves.

“That’s just it… Storms don’t die down that fast, it’s not natural.”

She was right, Rarity’s conversation hadn’t simply distracted us whilst it died away, it was like the chopping waves had stopped almost abruptly, something was wrong, very wrong.
Getting to my feet, I stuck my head out of the sleeping quarters and called out to Rainbow Dash.

“Dashie? What’s going on out there?”

There was a pause, before her raspy voice finally called back to me.

“I don’t know, there’s so much fog. I can’t see shit out here!”

I was about to come out and join her, when I suddenly heard her call out once more.

“Wait! Something’s going on, it’s getting darker!”

Gulping, I placed a hand on Vitra ‘Aku and warned the girls to get to their hooves and prepare for anything, whatever was going on, it wasn’t good. Surely Nah’Lek hadn’t been able to find us, not out here on the open sea, and especially not after teleporting to the bloody Sahara Desert from Portugal and then travelling to Morocco via jeep; no, this was something else.

It was then that Rainbow Dash shrieked at the utmost top of her lungs.
And what she shrieked sent an ice-cold surge down every one of our spines.

WALL! THERE’S A WALL AHEAD!

Sprinting out of the sleeping quarters and out onto the deck, I grasped the railings and stood beside Rainbow Dash to observe the oncoming wall, and it became very apparent what the threat was; there was nothing supernatural nor sentient that loomed before us, it was quite simply mother nature and the raw power she possessed.

A rogue wave.

“Oh shit.” I murmured.

The others came rushing out behind me and all gasped at the tidal monstrosity before us, easily towering over sixty feet high, the wave advanced towards us with the clear resolve of engulfing the boat and sending it to the bottom of the ocean. It was far too high for our vessel to ride over; it was inevitable that we were going to be enveloped and thrashed by its force.

“What do we do!?” Rarity yelled, trembling.

“The saddlebags! Get into the saddlebags! It’s the safest place we have!” Twilight commanded.

She was right, being pocket dimensions with their own centre of gravity, it was the one thing that could stop us from being battered around the boat like pinballs. Everyone scrambled down below deck and rushed towards the sleeping quarters where the bags had been stashed, everyone except Rainbow Dash.

“I’ll fly above it!” She announced.

“Don’t be stupid, get into one of the saddlebags!” I barked.

“If this damn boat sinks, you’ll need someone outside the bags to get you out!” She protested.

“She’s got a point, Callum. If she can get above that wave, then by the Titans, let her!” Twilight ordered.

There was no time to argue, I gave Rainbow Dash the nod and she prepared her wings for flight.

“I’ll come with you!” Fluttershy bravely proclaimed.

With both pegasi charging outside, the rest of us opened up the first saddlebag and squeezed into the entrance one by one; the boat suddenly began to tilt upwards as the wave reached us.

“Hurry up! Hurry!” Rarity cried out, pushing the rest of Pinkie Pie into the bag.

Twilight went in next, leaving me and Applejack left.

“Go on, get!” The farm pony urged me.

I didn’t hesitate, grabbing the bag with both hands and essentially jumping into it feet first.

“Ow!” Rarity yelped as I accidentally kicked her in the shoulder.

Tucking my legs up and giving myself a firm wiggle, I slid into the bag and quickly turned around to help Applejack, grabbing her front hoof and attempting to pull her in.

Everything lurched suddenly and we all tumbled around inside the pocket dimension as the wave finally began to break, collapsing over the boat and sending it cascading into the air. To my absolute horror, Applejack was practically ripped out of my hands and sucked away and out of sight.

“AJ!” I screamed, frantically trying to reach out to her.

The wave finally struck in full force, sending me flying back into the girls. Rarity quickly used her magic to seal the compartment, enveloping us in darkness.

“What the hell are you doing!? She’s still out there!” I bellowed, turning to face her.

“You want us to drown in here? Because if this bag sinks underwater, we’re as good as fish food!”

“But Applejack!”

Twilight grabbed my shoulders with both hooves and tried to calm me down.

“What use are we if we all drown? She’ll be okay, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy will help her.”

Sighing heavily, I shut my eyes and scrunched up my face with frustration, they were right, but I hated it with every fibre of my being. Time felt like it had slowed down as we endlessly tumbled and tossed around the small compartment together, I could only imagine what it was like on the outside, it would be an absolute miracle if Applejack made it out of this unscathed.

At long last, the wrath of Poseidon subsided and gravity within the pocket dimension came to a standstill, we braced ourselves as Rarity’s horn lit up and opened the saddlebag, and almost instantly sealed it again as torrents of water came cascading in.

“Ah! Cold! Cold! Cold!” Pinkie Pie squealed.

“Great, we’re underwater.” Twilight grumbled.

“Well before we sink any further, let’s get out.” I replied.

“And fill our only air pocket with water? Are you mad?” Rarity exclaimed.

“What good is an air pocket if its at the bottom of the sea, huh?” I retorted.

“I’m sure Dashie or Fluttershy will get us out soon enough.”

“Oh, I hadn’t realised pegasi could breathe underwater. Fair enough, let’s just wait a few minutes until we’re nice and snug amongst the crabs until they arrive.”

Despite a laugh from Pinkie, the sarcastic reply had definitely unsettled the others, who agreed that I should get out and try to carry the bag upward above the water.

“Pinks, can you give me a boost when the bag opens?” I requested.

Nodding and giving a jolly “mhmm”, the earth pony arranged herself so that my feet rested against her back hooves so that she could spring me out at a moment’s notice. Tutting with doubt and fear, Rarity’s horn lit up and we once again prepared for more water.

“If we drown, I blame you.”

“Noted.” I replied, rolling my eyes.

As soon as the flap opened and the water came rushing in, I took a deep breath and Pinkie pushed me headfirst into the flow, propelling myself against the surge until I was fully out of the saddlebag; Rarity sealed the partition behind me and I grabbed the bag, before swimming blindly upwards. Soon enough I was able to touch the ceiling of the sleeping quarters, which was entirely underwater.

{Please don’t be deep… Please don’t be deep…} I begged openly in thought.

I opened my eyes in attempt to see where I was going, only to be met with darkness, there wasn’t a single light to guide my way; feeling my way out of the room, I was able to make my way into the living quarters and thanked my lucky stars to find air. Taking in a breath of air and opening my eyes, I found that the boat was almost completely on its side, with the lower end completely submerged.
We hadn’t sunk yet, but we were sinking.

Plonking the saddlebag down on a ledge and giving it a few heavy taps on the side to imply the girls were safe to emerge, I quickly began to search for Applejack. Moments into my search, I heard the clatter of hooves on the deck and was met by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

“Oh goodness, you’re okay!” Fluttershy cried out.

“Have you seen Applejack?” I shouted back desperately, not even acknowledging the greeting.

She wasn’t in the bag!?” Dash yelled, her pupils shrinking with terror.

“No, the wave hit before she could get inside!”

“Oh fuck! No, we’ve not seen her!”

Without uttering another word, Dashie ran back outside and took to the air, just in case Applejack had fallen into the sea during the mayhem; Fluttershy meanwhile helped the others clamber out of the bag.

“Rarity, give me a light!” I commanded, diving back into the flooded sleeping quarters.

A bright blue light appeared behind me as I searched the room, despite the sting of the strong salt water, I forced my eyes to remain open and search for our lost friend. Through the dim and blurred vision, I found the rest of our belongings, including Applejack’s hat, but no Applejack.

“She’s not here!” I called out, bursting out from the water.

“Oh gosh… Oh Celestia, I’ve killed Applejack…” Rarity breathed, falling back onto her rear in shock.

Don’t say that! Don’t say that!” Pinkie shouted, covering her ears and clamping her eyes shut.

Twilight wrapped a hoof around the now very distressed pink pony and frowned at Rarity.

“We don’t know that, she might have just gone overboard.” She said as some assurance.

“Dashie’s out there looking for her right now, we’ll find her, I promise.” I joined in.

“Rarity, you’re the only one here who can use magic, now buck up and get some of this water out before the boat goes under!” Twilight ordered sternly.

Shaking her head, the defeated unicorn protested that she didn’t have enough mana to siphon out such a large amount of water, it was then that I had a genius idea of how to save the boat from sinking.

“Don’t worry, I’ll sort it.” I announced.

Grabbing the already soaking saddlebag, I dived into the sleeping quarters once more and swam to the bottom and opened the bag. Being so much bigger on the inside, the pocket dimension drained enough water to raise the boat back to its upright position.

“Applejack! She’s here!” Twilight yelled loudly.

I rushed back into the main cabin to find an unconscious Applejack had fallen out of the storage cupboard in the corner of the room, drenched from ears to tail. The poor girl must have stuffed herself inside it to prevent being tossed around the whole damn boat like a ragdoll, which in all fairness was probably the smartest thing she could have done. Fluttershy instantly scurried to her side and began checking her over while I went outside to dump the water overboard.
Rainbow Dash landed down beside me with a look of utter hopelessness as I held the bag upside down and gave it a firm shake, unleashing torrents of water.

“I can’t find her anywhere!”

“It’s okay, we found her inside.”

“Is she okay?”

Choosing not to answer, I slung the saddlebag over my shoulder and headed back inside to see for myself if Applejack was okay, to find Fluttershy desperately thumping against her abdomen.

“Come on! Come on AJ!” She panted angrily.

Upon seeing me re-enter, she notified me that she wasn’t breathing; I rushed over and placed two fingers against her neck just beneath her jawline to check for a pulse. Thankfully I was able to find a very weak fluctuation of pressure in her carotid artery, Fluttershy’s compressions had almost certainly saved her thus far by keeping her heart pumping. Applejack wasn’t dead, but she was dying. With my neurons and synapses working faster and harder than ever before, I scooped up the farm pony and attempted an unorthodox manoeuvre that I’d seen once on The Yorkshire Vet; holding her upside down by her ankles, I jangled her up and down briefly before bringing her down vigorously onto the floor.
By some sheer miracle, the trick worked. The forceful shock of hitting the floor caused her to jerk violently and bring up the water that had dwelled in her lungs and stomach, all of which was followed by a ginormous gasp for air.

“Applejack! Oh thank heavens!” Rarity cried out, breaking down into a sob.

“You saved her… Callum, you saved her…” Fluttershy whimpered.

I looked to Applejack and gently lifted her head.

“Hey partner, still with us?” I asked softly.

Blinking slowly and shivering from the shock, a half-conscious Applejack did her best to make eye contact.

“I hate fuckin’ sailing.” She murmured, before passing out once more.

Scooping her up once more, I placed her on the soggy sofa which had thankfully remained intact.

“Is she going to be okay?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yeah, she just needs rest.” I replied, with Fluttershy giving an approving nod.

{God, that was fucking close…} I thought to myself.

The harrowing thought of me being unable to revive her sent a chill down my spine, despite being able to save her, we were very close to just losing a member of our party, along with the Element of Honesty herself; I sent a silent prayer of thanks to the universe for such a fate not unfolding.

“Well Rarity, if your talk of mortality didn’t stick earlier, it sure has now.” I spoke softly, yet deeply.

Gulping, the girls were most certainly thinking the same thing that I was after this event.
Clearing her throat, Twilight took charge once again and ordered us to start gathering our things and continue emptying water out from the boat; this ordeal would take some time to recover from, but thankfully we were still afloat and no lives had been lost, which was the most important thing.



We spent about an hour repairing the damage before Applejack finally came to, being her usual hardworking self, she instantly attempted to get to work as well, to which we all scolded her and ensured she stayed put for the time being.

“So, what even happened?” Rainbow Dash prompted her.

“Well, after the wave hit, I was sent flying out of the room, felt like I’d broken my darn back from the impact. Then I just made a mad rush into the cupboard and held on for dear life, then the boat flipped and everything went black, must’ve hit my head on something…” She explained.

“That explains the egg sized lump on the back of your head.” Fluttershy sighed remorsefully.

“Yeah, that’ll explain it…” She grumbled.

The thought of her unconscious in there as the small space filled up until she started unknowingly inhaling water made me shudder, it most certainly wouldn’t have been the best way to go.
Changing the subject, a very merry Pinkie Pie comforted us with the news that her bag had survived the flooding and that her board games were perfectly intact, we all had a hearty cheer at the prospect of winding down later with some Sorry-Not-Sorry once we had got our vessel back on track.

I went above deck with Rainbow Dash and Twilight to assess the damage to the sail, which had thankfully made it out in one piece thanks to Dashie securing the sail earlier. The metal mast had been bent out of shape slightly, but it was nothing that couldn’t be fixed, at least we’d be able to deploy the sail again once the remainder of the storm had passed.
It was still raining quite heavily, but the wind was certainly weaker and the waves weren’t too rough, I supposed the ocean had taken pity on us after just abusing us so violently.

“This one’s certainly going in the book.” Twilight mused to herself quietly.

“Book?” I quizzed, tilting my head onto one side.

“Oh, I’ve been writing a little book of poems since Portugal. Hawnu Rey’eng suggested it to me, he said it would help to channel the trauma, and I have to say it’s been very helpful.”

“That’s fantastic! I’d love to read them!” I emitted happily.

“Well, you won’t be able to yet, as I’ve not actually been able to write anything yet thanks to losing my magic, I’ve just been memorising them in my head.”

The tone in her voice told me that she was very much keen on having them on paper, and so I offered to sit with her in private on some occasions and write them for her.

“Really? You would do that?”

“Absolutely! I love poetry and would be honoured to hear what you’ve come up with.”

Rainbow Dash pretended to gag and rolled her eyes.

“Ugh, get a room you guys.” She groaned.

“Aren’t you the one with a sexual thing with Callum?” Twilight retorted.

“Oh absolutely, but it’s you who’s got a romantic thing for him.”

I do not!” The unicorn growled defensively.

“Aw, I’m heartbroken.” I teased, dramatically wiping away an imaginary tear.

I continued to untie the sail and get the rigging sorted out while Rainbow Dash and Twilight argued over what sort of relationship they were in with me, which was incredibly entertaining to be a bystander of.

Eventually the sail was back in business, and with perfect timing too, for the storm was finally breaking apart, revealing a few patches of violet dusk with stars faintly appearing as the darkness of night slowly conquered the day. We headed in and Rarity used her magic to help us all dry off, and then we all settled down with a much needed few games of Sorry-Not-Sorry. After that, Rarity and Applejack worked together on dinner, making a very comforting leek and potato soup.

Absolutely exhausted from the day’s aquatic anarchy, the girls went to bed, I had offered to keep watch for the night and went above deck. Getting myself comfy on the outside seating, I stared into the night sky and allowed myself to zone out for a while, before finding my eyes growing heavy.

“Looks like I came at the right time.” Twilight hummed from behind me.

Turning around, the unicorn was awkwardly carrying her pillow, along with her blanket draped over her back, before I could ask what she was up to, she simply grunted that Rainbow Dash’s snoring was keeping her awake, and that she’d rather camp out here with me.
She made herself comfortable beside me and then plonked her pillow onto my lap.

“I didn’t know Titan Champions could also be used as beds…” I muttered playfully.

“Oh yeah, it’s a little known fact, only the best historians know about it.” She teased back.

Rolling my eyes, I pulled her in closer and allowed her to rest up against me. She let out a long sigh and shut her eyes, letting the sound of the faint wind and ocean waves soothe her to sleep.

“Hey Callum?”

“Yeah Twi?”

“Thank you.”

“Whatever for?” I asked, tilting my head.

“Being there for me, after everything that’s happened. After all the damage I’ve done, after all the pain I’ve caused, you have no right to be as kind as you are to me, but you are, so thank you.”

Placing a hand gently onto her head, I started playing with her mane affectionately and slowly shut my eyes, replying to her with a single word that carried all the meaning it needed to.

“Always…”


Chapter Seven: Laughs and Legends

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I woke in the exact same position I’d drifted off in. I looked to my left to see that Twilight was still fast asleep, resting up against me, breathing softly and slowly. Her muzzle was right next to my wrist and I could feel her warm breath against my hand, causing me to smirk to myself. Blinking a few times to wake myself up more, I dotingly studied the unicorn as she peacefully slumbered, from the intricate detail on her spiralling horn, to the longer hairs at the tips of her ears that stood few and far between. I noticed her eyes occasionally moving beneath her eyelids, indicating she was possibly dreaming, but otherwise no other part of her moved besides the barely visible ribs beneath the skin on her side, which slowly rose and fell as she inhaled and exhaled.

A soft sea breeze rolled in and gently ruffled the extra soft fluff on her chest, which was only the slightest shade lighter than the rest of her fur, a feature that was only noticeable up close. However, when it came to softness, nothing compared to her nose, which had the exact same velvety smoothness that horses here on Earth had. I cast my mind back to when I felt said nose against my own in the Portugal mansion during that very interesting game of truth or dare, in which we had to make out in front of everyone.
That was definitely a weird experience to say the least, but we’d both seen the funny side of how the kiss was inevitable as soon as the game had started, after so many months of hostility and hatred for one another, the other five were just itching to ensure we had made up for good. In all fairness, it was a nice kiss too, albeit very awkward; thankfully we had moved past it without any sort of iffy atmosphere lingering when it came to feelings and whatnot.
At least, I hoped so.

My studious gaze soon made its way to her forelegs, observing her smooth and sturdy hooves, which were barely visible beneath the lavender fur that covered them, only underneath could they be seen properly, with the outer rims being a greyish purple, which melded into a much darker faded violet further in.
The inner V that was the frog of her hoof was even darker still, along with being practically devoid of colour entirely, it had a greyish brown tint to it, whether that was its natural colour or just a layer of dirt was beyond me, but either way, the hoof itself was baffling to observe; I now understood exactly why she had previously been so intent on examining my hands and fingers so thoroughly, the sheer amount of detail that revealed itself upon proper scrutiny was honestly quite mesmerising.

She truly was a beautiful creature, so were all the girls for that matter; while the cartoon I had watched once upon a time had portrayed the ponies to be as adorable as they were, it didn’t compare in the slightest to reality. Not even the Three-D models on the internet came close to capturing the intricacies of the six, I felt honoured (and honestly quite blessed), to be here among them for real.
Despite all the horror I had faced thus far on my journey, I was still certain that I’d made the right choice to forsake my old life in order to guide and protect these ponies, there wasn’t a shred of doubt in my resolve, and I don’t think there ever will be.

{These girls are mine to protect, so I suppose in some sense, they’re… my little ponies.}

The thought made me loudly exhale out of my nose in amusement, to which Twilight’s ear instinctively flapped as though it were batting away an insect, but otherwise, she did not move. The rogue wave’s wrath yesterday had exhausted everyone equally, so it came as no surprise to me that she’d be hard to wake until she’d had a decent amount of rest.

From within the boat, I heard the light tapping of hooves as someone else had woken up, to which I was greeted by a still half-asleep Applejack, upon seeing Twilight nestled against me, she placed a hoof against her chest and quietly gave me a heartfelt “aww”, before heading around to the back of the boat and out of sight to do her business overboard, as we had all been doing due to the boat not having a toilet onboard. Realising that I was busting for a wee as well, I ever so slowly moved away from Twilight and was eventually able to free myself from her without waking her up. I stretched my aching muscles and made various joints crunch and pop, before making my way to the side of the boat and unpacking myself.

“So that’s what it looks like.” Applejack remarked from beside me, causing me to jump out of my skin.

“Jesus, Applejack! Come on! Not cool!” I yelped.

“Oh c’mon, we’re all friends here.”

“Where I come from, friends don’t sneak up on each other to rudely observe them piss!” I growled.

Completely ignoring my statement, she proceeded to ask me more about my trouser noodle.

“So, does it always look like that? It just hangs around down there like a little worm all day?”

“Yes, unlike your male equine brethren, we don’t have those sheath things.”

Chuckling, Applejack found the concept beyond entertaining, and decided to probe further.

“Is it that small when you… well, you know?

“No, you eejit! It gets bigger then, obviously!”

“Hey, you never know! Different creatures come in all shapes and sizes, did you know that pigs have-”

“Corkscrew penises, yes, I’m aware.” I deadpanned, still unable to piss with her stood beside me.

“Exactly! They all look different, and you’re a darn alien, so how the heck was I supposed to know?”

“You didn’t really NEED to know! I didn’t exactly offer you to come and gawp at it, did I? Oh, and for the record, you’re here on my planet, which makes you the alien.”

“Yeah, I suppose so. But either way, I’m pretty sure you know how we look back there, thanks to a certain rainbow haired pegasus...”

AJ flexed her eyebrows at me with a knowing look, to which I cuffed her on the back of the head.

“You know it’s true, Sugarcube!”

“Okay fine, yes, but also because none of you wear any clothes. I catch a glimpse every now and then.”

“Yeah, funny enough, that happens a lot in Equestria.” She admitted, shrugging.

“No shit.”

“So, are you going to take a leak or not? Or did you just come over here to wave it around in the air?”

“I was trying to, then you came over and started this very unwanted conversation.” I grumbled.

“Okay, fine, conversation over. Take a leak.” She commanded, grinning.

“Not until you leave.”

“Aww, are you pee-shy?”

“No, I just don’t want to piss with you standing there.” I growled through gritted teeth.

“Oh my gosh, you are pee-shy! Now that’s adorable.”

“Shut up.”

“N’aww, the big brave Champion of the Holy Titans can’t take a leak in front of anyone.”

“Shut-”

“The saviour of Equus, chosen by the very gods themselves, can’t do his pee-pee if someone’s nearby!”

The farm pony was now howling and hooting to herself, it was a beyond me how she hadn’t woken Twilight up with such a ridiculous racket.

“Applejack, you are genuinely being an arsehole right now.”

“Babe, I will never take that word seriously with that accent of yours.”

Before I could retort, she proceeded to make a dramatically dreadful attempt at mimicking my voice.

Yew ah, gen-rally, being, an ah’s howl roigh’ naow!

“We are no longer friends, and I’m not resuscitating you next time you drown.” I deadpanned.

“I’ll take that to my grave…” She whimpered, pulling a dramatically miserable face.

Sighing loudly, AJ turned away and began to walk away very slowly, clearly trying to antagonise me further.

“Well, I suppose I’ll leave, so the poor baby can go pee-pee.”

“You stay right where you fucking are, I have to prove a point now.”

We both started laughing, and after a few seconds, I was finally able to force my bladder into cooperation.

“There, happy?” I spat.

“Very.”

She made hard eye contact with me until I was finished.

“I hate you.”

“Love you too, Sugarcube!”

Pleased with herself for causing such irritation and embarrassment this morning, Applejack took herself back indoors, with a spring in her step as she went. I gave myself a little shake and then went to retrieve the compass from the living quarters; after ensuring that we were still on the correct course, I got comfortable next to Twilight again and decided to doze off once more.


A couple of days went by with nothing noteworthy occurring, besides Twilight and I choosing to sleep outside together during my evening watches; despite her claiming it was solely to escape Rainbow Dash's snoring, we all knew it was to stay close to me.
Admittedly, I really liked having her close, she made me feel safe.

I woke in the early afternoon one day to find Twilight gone, had I been that deeply asleep that she’d not disturbed me when getting up? Perhaps I was more tired than I had previously thought. Hopping off the bench, I made my way below deck to find everyone playing one of Pinkie’s more engaging board games, called Ogres and Oubliettes, which was basically an Equestrian version of Dungeons and Dragons, albeit a bit more simplified than the human variant, there wasn’t even a dungeon master to set the scene or direct the story, the storytelling was more of a group effort, similar to a game of Chinese Whispers.

“Afternoon, sleepyhead!” Rarity sang to me, flexing a hoof to wave hello.

“I CAST FIREBALL!” Pinkie squealed, throwing a twelve-sided die at me.

I caught it and flung it back in her direction, causing it to land on the table in the middle of the room and display a quaint three, causing her to grumble.

“For the last time, Pinkie, you can’t play through the entire game using nothing but Fireball, you need to actually add to the story. Besides, it’s not even your turn!” Rainbow Dash scolded.

Rolling my eyes with amusement, I sat down beside Twilight whom was sipping from a mug of coffee.

“I take it you got up not too long ago?” I inquired.

“How’d you guess?” She deadpanned, taking another large sip.

“Just a hunch.”

Much to my surprise, the unicorn passed her mug to me; being a coffee lover myself, I knew the significance in sharing one’s first coffee of the day. I gladly accepted the offer and had a small sip, before plonking it onto the table in front of her, thanking her with a small cuddle.

Ew, cooties!” Rainbow Dash sneered at me.

Ew, Rainbow Dash!” I sneered back, causing everyone to giggle.

Sticking her tongue out, Rainbow declared that her character would take the group north to an abandoned tower in search of loot, she then rolled the dice and it landed on a three.

“Odd number, below six, negative outcome and a hostile encounter.” Rarity remarked.

“Ugh, sorry guys.” Dashie grumbled.

She then put a hoof to her chin and pondered, trying to come up with an addition to the story.
After a while of her looking stumped, I decided to jump in and aid her.

“You arrive at the decrepit old tower, it seems that you’re a few hundred years late if you’re hoping to find any loot, for it seems that every treasure hunter in the land has already been here to ransack the place, there’s nothing left besides empty crates, broken barrels and long-settled dust. After spending some time double checking just to be absolutely sure, you pack up your gear to leave, only to hear a rumbling growl from overhead. Turns out that you’ve gone and disturbed the wyvern that now roosts in the top of the tower, and she’s not happy. How do you proceed?”

The girls looked at me with wide eyes, astounded.

“Did you seriously come up with all of that just now? Just on the spot?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“Why? Why, because that was some incredible descriptive wording, and spoken with such confidence! Honestly darling, I’d have no trouble believing you if you told me that you’d rehearsed that.”

Chuckling, I simply replied that I just have a very vivid imagination and had a great fondness for the medieval fantasy genre.

“Well, it was very impressive. Do you have Ogres and Oubliettes here on Earth?” Applejack asked.

“Nah, but we have something very similar called Dungeons and Dragons, or DnD for short, and it’s almost exactly like this but more complicated, and one of the players doesn’t even have a character, they’re called the Dungeon Master, which is a person who’s solely in charge of the campaign and how the story goes. They’re a bit like an overseer who makes sure the game doesn’t run into thousands of crazy tangents and ends up never getting finished.” I explained.

“You mean like how every game ends? Seriously, we’ve almost never finished a game because we keep creating side stories and forgetting what we were even supposed to do.” Rainbow Dash complained.

“Oh, you mean like how you’ve just taken us on a tangent in order to loot an abandoned tower?” Twilight pointed out.

“Yeah exactly. Wait, hey!” Rainbow shouted.

We all chuckled for a bit, before Fluttershy looked over to me with a massive grin.

“Hey I know! Callum could be our Oubliette Master!” She emitted happily, clapping her hooves together.

Every head turned to me and gleeful hums and mutters of agreement could be heard across the board (literally), and so it happened that I became the first ever Oubliette Master.

“Before we get started, where’s my damn coffee?” I ordered.

“On its way, milord!” Rarity sang, reaching over to the kettle and putting it on to boil.

“You can just use my mug if you like? Saves searching for a new one.” Twilight offered.

“Ew, cooties!” Rainbow Dash shouted, again.

This time, I responded by pouncing at the pegasus and tickling her ribs until she begged for mercy, which everyone found amusing, besides Rainbow Dash of course, whom wriggled and squirmed viciously, occasionally catching me with a hoof, which hurt much more than any fist for sure.
One playfight later, we settled down and I began to get back into the game, now with a coffee in-hand.

“Where were we? Ah yes… The tower isn’t as abandoned as once thought, there’s a growl overhead as the wyvern that roosts in the top of the building is woken from its slumber, perhaps it’s still sleepy enough for you to make a quick getaway, what’s your play?” I began.

“I CAST FIREBALL!” Pinkie shrieked.

“Ignore her.” Twilight deadpanned.

It was Applejack’s turn next, who decided it would be best to leave the tower and flee to the woods before the wyvern properly got up, she rolled the dice and it landed on a five, which was quickly explained to me that it meant a negative outcome with an accompanying hostile encounter.

“You all grab your stuff and leave urgently, you’re a few metres away from the tower when there’s a gust of wind, followed by the sound of branches cracking, and then silence. You are not alone.”

Fluttershy emitted a small ‘eep’ of fear, which caused a bit of laughter amongst the group.
I continued, deciding to add more elements from Dungeons and Dragons.

“The wyvern is stalking you, waiting for a moment to strike. Roll for perception to see if you can spot it before it catches you off guard, any number higher than eight is a success.”

“Ooh that’s different, a roll to determine how the battle starts, I like it!” Rarity said with a grin.

Applejack tossed the dice, and lo and behold it landed on an eight.

“Ha ha! Yes!” She cheered.

“Out of the corner of your eye, you spot the creature just before it pounces, giving you enough time to ready your weapons. Roll for initiative to decide the order of combat, I’ll roll for the wyvern, and you can all roll for your characters separately, whoever gets the highest number gets to go first.”

The girls were hooked instantly, loving this new gimmick already; they all rolled, and Twilight scored the highest with an eleven. She decided to target the wyvern’s wings to prevent it from flying, she tossed the dice and got a decent seven, to which I described the attack landing successfully on the webbing on one of the wings, disabling its ability to fly.
I rolled for the wyvern, and got a seven.

“Enraged, the wyvern lashes out at you all with a sweeping barbed tail, roll higher than seven to evade the attack!”

Everyone rolled, and sadly Fluttershy ended up with an unfortunate three, whilst everyone else was lucky enough to get higher than seven, bar Rarity, whom scored a seven exactly.

“The tail slams into two of the party, Rarity was just able to block the attack, while poor Fluttershy is hit by one of the barbs, causing severe bleeding, you’ve taken a lot of damage.”

I quickly whispered into Twilight’s ear to ask how hitpoints and damage worked in this game, to which she explained that they just liked to use their imagination to dictate everything, and that they hadn’t ever actually played the game properly as the rulebook was too complicated for everyone besides herself.

{Makes sense I suppose, I could never wrap my head around that bloody Player Handbook…} I thought.



The wyvern fight went on for some time, and eventually ended with a hard-fought victory.

“Raising its head and giving out one final ‘screeeee!’, the wyvern collapses to the ground, and ceases to move, the battle is over, you have won!” I concluded.

Cheering loudly, the girls ecstatically bumped hooves with each other, with Pinkie literally doing a victory lap around us, additionally delighted that I had allowed her to cast a single fireball during the fight.
I then suggested that the party ought to check out the wyvern’s nest in search of any treasure, to which they all gladly got back into character; Rarity rolled the dice and scored a ten, to which I described them successfully finding a way to clamber to the top of the tower.

“You are met with a truly amazing sight upon reaching the nest, it turns out that the wyvern had been guarding a clutch of six gleaming eggs. You lift one of them up to find they’re made entirely of solid gold, perhaps the wyvern had adopted them in place of a lost clutch of her own, or perhaps they possess magical qualities? Either way, they’ll fetch a very fine price.”

“Let’s sell them!” Rainbow Dash hollered.

“No! We should keep them in case they’re magical, maybe they’ll hatch!” Fluttershy squealed back.

“We should take them back to the town and have the local wizard appraise them, then we’ll know for sure if there’s any more to them.” Twilight reasoned.

With everyone in agreement, a series of rolls took the party to the town they began in, to which they paid the town’s wizard to appraise the eggs, showing that they carried no magical merits, and so the girls agreed to sell all of them.

“Can I keep one? Just in case?” Fluttershy pleaded.

One dose of her puppy-eyes was enough to warrant a ‘yes’, and so the adventure came to a close with all but one egg being sold for a mighty sum of fifty-thousand Mora (the game’s fictional currency).
I took a deep breath, and then brought the game to a close with a final overarching statement.

“The adventurers share a few drinks in the tavern, celebrating their victory, and their newfound wealth. Despite an injury during a fearsome battle with the dreaded wyvern, you’ve all lived to tell the tale and to spend the rest of your days living lives of luxury.
Fluttershy on the other hand, chose not to live such a life, she chose to keep one of the six treasured eggs and protect it, much like the wyvern had done. She kept it close at all times, and never lost faith that it would some day hatch.
Days went by, suns rose and moons fell, and still it did not hatch. However, on a frightfully cold winter’s night, Fluttershy curled up by the fire with the egg nestled against her, and for some reason, whether it was down to the warmth of the fire, or the warmth of a mother’s love, or perhaps it was simply down to Fluttershy’s undying faith…
Cracks began to form upon its surface…”

Everypony gasped, staring at me intently with eyes like saucers, desperate for me to continue.

“The end!”

AWWWWWW!” Rainbow Dash bellowed.

“I knew you were going to do that.” Twilight hummed with a smirk.

“What a wonderful ending, oh Callum, that was such an incredible story!” Rarity sighed.

Standing up and taking a bow, I stated that it was an absolute pleasure to partake, and I would like to have the title of Oubliette Master written on my tombstone when I die, which produced a couple of laughs from the girls, whom were all mirthfully applauding such a delightful ending to the game. Changing the subject, a very merry Twilight decided to quiz me on wyverns whilst Pinkie packed up her board game and girls began to disperse from the table.

“So Callie, how do you know about wyverns? I didn’t think Earth had creatures like that.”

“What did you just call me?” I replied blankly, raising an eyebrow.

Responding with an abrupt nervous splutter, she apologised and broke into an anxious laugh.
Meanwhile, my mind was filled with rapid flashes of recollection, the memories of intense heat flooded my consciousness, along with that of rancid chemical scents, agonising screams, and my own cries of anguish.
It was the memory of a heart being crushed within a broken body.

“I didn’t think you’d mind, I’m sorry.” Twilight said, causing me to snap out of the flashback.

“It’s fine… It’s just… Bunnie used to call me that.” I murmured.

Saying Bunnie’s name caused my mouth to run dry for a moment; it had been many weeks since I’d thought of her. However, it seemed that I wasn’t the one who needed comfort now, for Twilight was visibly trembling from head to tail at the sound of the name, she was very clearly about to break apart.
My trauma came from the sudden loss of the girl I loved, meanwhile Twilight’s came from the fact that she was responsible for the event, on account of the Fel corrupting her mind. She was now burdened for life with the knowledge that she had once been a monster, a murderer, an unknowing agent of Nah’Lek.

“I’m… I’m… Ss… I’m so sorry…” She breathed, her eyes staring into empty space.

I could tell she was going into a flashback of her own, and the girls behind her all looked at me anxiously, not knowing what to do, nor if Twilight would blow up and revert to her old self. That wasn’t going to happen, not on my watch; I sat back down beside her and looked into her misty eyes.

“It’s okay...”

She instantly looked back down at the floor, to which I calmly ordered her to look at me, for I wanted to ensure that she was listening to me; I repeated myself and gave the unicorn a kind smile.

“I promise, it’s okay. Do you trust me?”

Nodding, she sniffed loudly and was able to calm down some.

“Now then, I recall you were asking me about wyverns? Well to answer your question, they don’t exist in real life, although they’ve been depicted in mythology since the seventeenth century, along with being portrayed in video games all the time.” I explained.

“Oh, okay.” She replied quietly.

“I take it wyverns exist on Equus, are they much different from dragons?” I continued.

Before Twilight could reply, it was Fluttershy who jumped in to answer.

“Oh goodness, they’re very different… And much scarier too…”

“Scarier than dragons, how so?”

Twilight perked up enough to answer, and went on to explain to me the main difference.
Dragons were both sentient and intelligent, (albeit in their own ferocious ways). They kept to themselves in their own kingdom and would only occasionally cause trouble when seeking treasure to hoard or a cave to slumber in.
Wyverns on the other hand, were nothing short of monsters; despite being so similar to dragons physically, they lacked sentience and were strictly feral in nature. Highly territorial and prone to violence, wyverns wouldn’t think twice before attacking anything unfortunate enough to cross its path.

“Huh, standard.” I replied with raised eyebrows.

After a moment’s thought, I asked how they were so different from dragons mentally, when the only difference between them was a pair of limbs.

“We don’t know for certain, it’s just the way they are.” Twilight admitted.

“Well you say that, but there’s always the legend of Eygon’s Curse.” Rarity suggested.

“I beg your fucking pardon?” Said I, with eyes now as wide as could be.

“There’s never been so much as a shred of evidence in that old pony’s tale.” Twilight replied, tutting.

“Screw evidence, I want to hear about it!” I exclaimed.

Rolling her eyes, Twilight told me about the legend with Rarity, which was apparently very popular among historians in Equestria.

Way back in Ancient Equestria, there was supposedly a dragon named Eygon, whom was beset by so much greed that he desired the entire continent as his roost. On a fateful night, he took to the sky and set the country ablaze, for an endless kingdom of ash was his only desire.
As punishment for causing so much death and calamity, the Titans imparted onto Eygon a most terrible curse, his mind became clouded with an undying confusion and sense of hopelessness. His greed grew further, but greed for what, he did not know, for he had lost the ability to think. Cast into a deep chasm where light did not reach, Eygon writhed mindlessly in the dark, now a maddened shell of what he once was, full of bitterness, hatred, and an endless greed which he knew not of how to satiate.

Then, deep within that cavern, swarms of hungry bats came to him and began to nibble at his flesh, and over the course of many days and nights, the mighty Eygon was consumed. But a curse is not so easily cured, and the bats soon undertook a transformation; changed by the flesh of the dragon, the bats grew into hideous dragon-like monsters, all of which possessed a single emotion.
Hatred.
Many of them fled the cavern in search of territory to claim, a desire that stemmed from the ancient memory of Eygon’s lust for an ashen kingdom. The survivors of Ancient Equestria found them, and named them wyverns, and since then the creatures have been hunted down in order to bring an end to the curse, for every living wyvern is nothing more than a manifestation of Eygon’s ire.

“And so, as you can imagine, it is often believed by ponies that wyverns are bad omens and the cursed creations of an ancient dragon named Eygon.” Twilight concluded.

It took me a while to respond, quite a while in fact, for my mind had drifted into the legend with sprawling questions; was the legend true? If so, what did Eygon look like? Was his skeleton still deep underground somewhere? How did historians even know his name was Eygon? Ah! So many questions!

“Callum!” Twilight barked.

“Ah! Oh, forgive me, I was absorbed in thought…” I replied with a hum.

“I asked you, do you think the legend is true?”

Humming some more, I went on to say that I’ve discovered many things that were once unbelievable during my journey; mana, souls, magic, and a multitude of dimensions which have literally crossed over with my own on multiple occasions, bringing forth books, movies and video games that unknowingly portrayed those dimensions as works of fiction.
A legend about a cursed dragon spawning wyverns into the world wasn’t a stretch whatsoever in comparison, so while evidence is always an integral part to any theory, I wouldn’t be so quick to deny the legend.

“Well said.” Rarity praised.

Our conversation was abruptly brought to a close by Pinkie giving a loud squeal, we sped into the sleeping quarters to find she’d opened up the black bag which the smuggler had brought when he stole the boat.

“Pinkie! What on earth are you doing?” I demanded to know.

“I got bored and went rummaging, and look! I found flour!” She emitted loudly.

She buried her head into the bag, and then pulled back to reveal a large plastic packet in her mouth, full of white powder with a striking resemblance to flour.

“Pinkie, for goodness’ sake… That’s cocaine.” I sighed, facepalming.

“What’s that?” She asked, dropping the bag.

“A very potent and dangerous narcotic, and no, you cannot use it as flour.” I deadpanned.

“Aw… I wanted to bake some cupcakes…”

“On a boat? With no oven?”

STOP CRUSHING MY DREAMS, CALLUM!

Playfully shoving her out of the way, I inspected the smuggler’s bag to find a few more wrapped bricks of the stuff, along with marijuana, heroin, needles, lighters, filters, and rolling paper.
There was also an old mobile phone, which was still on.

“Oh great, a burner phone that’s most likely being tracked.” I grumbled.

“Wait, you mean someone’s been tracking us?” Twilight exclaimed.

“Possibly, I mean why else would the smuggler have this in the stash and be stealing a boat?”

“Get rid of it then!”

Grabbing the device, I went above deck and hurled it overboard. With a satisfying ‘sploosh’, the phone was consumed by the deep blue, never to be seen again. I was about to head down below when I noticed something far in the distance behind the boat, another vessel, and it was heading in our direction.

{Surely not…} I thought.

“Rarity! Would you kindly join me up here? And bring the rifle!”

“Whatever for?”

“Now please!” I shouted back, choosing not to answer.

Rarity, the rifle, and all the others joined me above deck to see what all the commotion was about, and soon enough they also spotted the distant seacraft. Taking the rifle from Rarity and switching it to the Piercing Shot mode, I looked down the scope to investigate.

“You’ve got to be shitting me…” I murmured.

“What!? What is it?” Rainbow Dash quizzed.

“It’s the bloody dealers.”

A yacht, carrying seven or eight people, all armed and speeding straight towards us. It was no doubt the recipient of the smuggler’s cache, and they’d been tracking us with the very phone I’d just tossed overboard (talk about a damn coincidence).

“What do we do?” Twilight asked.

Handing the rifle back to Rarity, I gave her a grin.

“Send them to the bottom of the ocean.”


Chapter Eight: A Fearful Encounter

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“Whoa, now just hold on there a second!” Applejack ordered.

I turned to look at her, whom was looking at me with great concern.

“What is it?” I asked.

“What do you mean ‘what is it’? You’ve just given Rarity a gosh-darn kill order! We don’t know who these people are, we don’t know their story, they could have families, kids even! And you think it’s fine to just sink ‘em without so much as a second thought?”

Even after explaining to her that they were armed and quite literally after us, Applejack still protested.

“You can’t just cut down everyone that we come across, Callum. Can’t we just try to reason with them?”

“Firstly, they almost certainly don’t speak English. Secondly, the fact they’re armed is clearly proof that they aren’t here to reason with us. And thirdly, you think they’re going to just calmly have a chat with six alien ponies? What happened to our ‘no human interaction’ rule?” I retorted.

Sighing, the farmpony looked away and shook her head bitterly. I told Rarity to hold her fire and knelt down before Applejack to gain her eye contact.

“Come on AJ, where’s this coming from? Because I’ve had to take a lot of lives already and this is the first I’ve heard from you about it. What’s this really about?”

After taking a moment to gather her words, she asked me if she could be honest, to which I nodded.

“I don’t like what you’re becoming…”

“Okay… Elaborate?”

“Before you found that sword, you made a judgement call at every encounter. You knew when to engage, and when not to engage. When to kill, and when not to. I just don’t like the fact that you’re so nonchalant about sending a group of other humans to their deaths. I understand the Titans chose you to be the next Champion, but I just don’t want it to change who you are on the inside, because I like who you are on the inside. Please, please just don’t let the power go to your head.”

I remained there on one knee, thinking on her words. Was she right?
No, if anything I had been more humbled by finding the sword and facing the Titans, I realised how much bigger this all meant, becoming the Champion made me reject the idea of being a hero. My new title was simply a torch to pass on to someone else after my quest was complete, after I’d found the Titan’s Orb.
She was right about one thing, I had grown way too accustomed to killing, it had become a second nature to me, but it was all to protect the girls, it was always to protect them. Regardless, perhaps I should take her words onboard and try to avoid conflict more often.

{But, I need souls to strengthen my own, to become a stronger Champion…} I thought to myself.

Ugh, moral dilemmas aren’t fun.

“I don’t want to alarm anyone, but they’re getting much closer to us, and every one of them seem to have guns at the ready.” Rarity commented, peering through the scope of her rifle.

Keeping eye contact with Applejack, I commanded Rarity only to return fire if they attacked first.

“So, what? We’re just giving them the opportunity to shoot us? They all have guns!” Rainbow Dash growled.

“If they’re after the smuggler’s cache, perhaps I can just give it to them and they’ll leave us be.” I hummed.

“Unlikely.” Twilight grumbled anxiously.

“Well I think we should give them a chance.” Fluttershy spoke up, siding with AJ.

“You’re going to get us killed.” Dashie spat.

“Look, I’m just sick of everyone we come across dying!” Applejack shouted defensively.

“It’s a nice enough sentiment, but this is not the right time for it!” Twilight replied angrily.

“Not the right time? Is sentient life that expendable to you?”

“When the whole fate of Equus hangs in the balance? Yes!”

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing… You’re seriously telling me that it’s totally fine for Rarity to murder these people simply because they’re after a bag of stupid drugs?”

“Oh my gosh, even I’m not this stupid! They’re after us, you idiot!” Rainbow Dash added.

Leaving the girls to argue, I went below deck and grabbed the smuggler’s pistol just to be safe, my sword was hardly going to help if they were sat comfortably on their yacht. Putting the safety on and sticking it into my waistband, I grabbed the smuggler’s extremely problematic bag and headed back above deck.

“Dashie, take to the clouds, if you hear gunshots, you know what to do.” I ordered.

The order instantly broke up the arguing, and Rainbow Dash did what she was told and took off, flying high up and out of sight behind the clouds. The others made their way below deck, with Rarity using one of the side windows to stealthily aim out of, just in case.

“I am so getting shot at…” I grumbled.

This whole plan went completely against my judgement, as did it with Twilight and Rainbow Dash, but if an attempt at diplomacy was what Applejack needed to maintain faith in me, then so be it.
Grabbing the smuggler’s bag, I stood near the edge of the boat’s stern and raised a hand to wave at the yacht as it approached. Unsurprisingly, the seven men that were all staring at me from behind the railings of the front deck chose not to wave back as their enormous vessel slowly drifted beside ours.

“Hello there, gents! I presume you’re here for this?” I spoke boldly, holding up the black bag.

“Min hadha alfataa? ” One of them spoke to another.

“Lays tajirna.” The man responded.

“Ma allughat alati yatakalamu?” A third asked.

“Yatahadath alanjiliziatu.” The second spoke again.

The second man to speak was almost certainly the leader of the group, he was covered in countless tattoos and had multiple golden chains around his neck. He squinted at me suspiciously for a moment before gesturing for me to throw the bag to him, to which I obediently flung the bag up. He caught it and opened it right away to inspect the goods alongside his men. Once they were satisfied that the original amount of drugs were still inside, he zipped the bag up and peered down at me.

“Who are you?” The man growled to me in a thick Moroccan accent.

{Huh, he speaks English.} I thought, before innocently declaring that I was just a traveller.

“A traveller, with my drugs?”

“I didn’t want them, I only wanted the boat.”

“And my dealer?”

“Well he tried to kill me, so it was only fair that I killed him first.”

{Totally missing out the part where you went and stabbed him in the chest, without any attempt whatsoever to subdue him peacefully.} I thought to myself, almost cracking a smile.

After a tense moment of silence, the man inquired about where I was going, to which I honestly replied that I was crossing the sea in search of America.

“You don’t sound American.”

“I’m not, I’m English. Just fancied a holiday.”

Loudly huffing with amusement, the man said something to his men in Arabic, to which they all withdrew their firearms and pointed them at me. I groaned with annoyance as it seemed this entire exchange was a waste of time; the supposed leader itched the side of his head with his gun, which seemed to be some sort of submachine gun, most likely an Uzi, or possibly a Škorpion.

“Am I really expected to let off the one who kills my dealer, and then makes me spend many days on the sea to hunt back my drugs?” He asked rhetorically.

“I mean, you didn’t have to come after me.” I replied nonchalantly.

Ignoring my statement, he lamented on about how he now needed to find a new reliable dealer, and that I’d cost him thousands of dirhams (Moroccan currency) in business damages.

“Well at least I didn’t use any of your drugs. You’ve still got your product to sell, so how about we just part ways, and I’ll let you live?” I suggested, giving a toothy smile.

“Ha, I admire your spirit, boy! And I am not without a soul, someone like you deserves a chance at life, however slim, so I will not shoot you.” The man chuckled.

The man snapped his fingers, to which his men aimed away from me, and instead at the hull of our boat.

“I hope you are a good swimmer, traveller.”

“Shit.”

What followed was the deafening sound of gunfire, and the even louder sound of hundreds of bullets smacking into my vessel and tearing it apart, and amongst it all, a scream.
The girls.

I hit the deck and crawled into cover, before whipping out the pistol and taking pot-shots back at them, I was able to hit the lone guy up on the flybridge; the bullet caught him square in the chest, he keeled over and dropped into the water with a loud splash. A mighty crack then sounded off, followed by the leader’s hand exploding, Rarity most certainly hadn’t lost her edge with the Piercing Shot rifle.
Then, with the force of a damn freight train, Rainbow Dash descended from the heavens and smacked into the remaining men and knocked them all down, killing one of them instantly as hoof met skull.

I took the opportunity to leap at the yacht and grab the railing to clamber up. I withdrew Vitra ‘Aku and made no hesitation in slashing down the men as they were just trying to get back up, the lot of them were completely shell-shocked at the sudden occurrence of being attacked by a flying rainbow-haired pony; none of them put up much of a fight as I swiftly put them down. I caught the leader crawling away from me, still clutching his bleeding stump of a wrist; I grabbed him by the thick locks of hair upon his head and lifted him up to his knees, forcing him to make eye contact with me while he squirmed in agony.

“Sup, asshole?” I hissed.

Who… Who the fuck are you?” He cried out.

“He’s the Titan’s Champion, who the fuck are you?” Rainbow Dash spat from behind him.

Knowing that her job was done and that I planned to execute the man, the pegasus flew back to our boat to check in on the others, while I did the deed.

“So, you’re not without a soul? Good, I’ve been collecting those.” I hissed.

Gritting my teeth and exacting my vengeance, I jammed my blade between his ribs and gave it a small twist, he inhaled deeply in shock and the light then slowly left his eyes as he let out his final breath. His soul then seeped into the sphere at the hilt of the sword, I withdrew the blade and dumped his body overboard along with the other men that lay close by him.
I went down the stairs to the rear deck to find one man still alive, a gunman that had attempted to hide beneath the stairs as soon as Rarity’s rifle went off; I initially liked the idea of letting the man go, doomed to swim himself to death on the open sea as these men had intended for me, but I quickly dismissed the thought, I wouldn’t succumb to such a cruel act of revenge. Besides, his soul was of much better use to me.

“Turn around and look at the water.” I ordered.

Not understanding a word of English, the quivering man shrugged and shook his head in confusion.

“Ugh, never mind.”

Slicing upwards and splitting open his torso, the man dropped down and died within a couple seconds, interestingly, I noticed that Vitra ‘Aku didn’t even need to touch his body for his soul to be absorbed, the ethereal substance was simply drawn out of him and drifted through the air and into the blade; all that mattered was that the sword delivered the killing blow.

After chucking his body overboard as well, I leaped back over to our boat to inspect the damage, and it was bad. Despite surviving the rogue wave and a ruthless storm, the sheer amount of bullet holes had caused our sweet little sailing boat to be completely ruined beyond repair, and water was coming in fast.
On the bright side, a very nice yacht had just been made available for us to commandeer.

“Girls, grab your bags, we’re swapping vessels.” I barked.

Applejack ran up to me, tears streaming down her face.

“Callum, this was all my fault, I’m so sorry… I was just-”

“I said grab your bags.” I interrupted.

Rainbow Dash barged Applejack out of the way to inform me that Twilight had been hit.

“Oh god… How badly?”

“Pretty bad, she got hit in the foreleg I think, she’s hurting a lot.”

Dashie escorted me to the sleeping quarters, where Fluttershy was already tending to a sobbing Twilight.

“I can’t properly dress this until we get the bullets out.” She updated me.

{Bullets as in, bullets plural… Oh god…} I thought to myself in alarm.

“Well we can’t do it here, this boat’s going to be underwater soon, you need to pack up all your things and get onto the other boat, we’ll get the bullets out there.” I replied.

Nodding, Fluttershy wiped the blood from her hooves and grabbed her stuff, heading outside without uttering a word. Even after being shot at, there wasn’t a shred of fear in that pegasus, for whenever Fluttershy had a patient to take care of, there was nothing that could wane her courage.

Poor Twilight sat there shaking, her eyes clamped shut with blood trickling down her left foreleg from a deep pair of holes in her lower shoulder.

“Can you walk on three?” I asked softly.

“I… I can try… Oh gosh it hurts… Gaah! Oh, it hurts so bad…” She whimpered.

Hissing through gritted teeth, the mare shakily got to her hooves (minus one) and limped beside me out of the sleeping quarters, water was pouring into the hold like crazy, my shoes were already completely soaked upon crossing the room and reaching the exit.

“Callum, I really want you to know I-” Applejack began.

“Grab Twilight’s bag and get onto the other boat.” I spat.

Gulping and dipping her head, AJ said no more and did as she was told. Suddenly the boat tilted to one side as the water level rose high enough to weigh it down. I staggered to some degree and dropped to one knee in order to catch myself, while Twilight stumbled much further and slammed into the wall, causing her to let out a gut-wrenching wail of agony.; the cry was enough to weaken anyone with an empathetic heart, and tears instantly began to well up in my eyes.
Wading over to the trembling unicorn, I carefully slid my hands under her back legs and chest to scoop her up and carry her out of the sinking vessel before any further harm came to her.

Annoyingly, the yacht had drifted a fair distance, with Rainbow Dash zipping back and forth to transport our baggage, Applejack was just clambering up onto the lower deck.

“We’re going to have to swim, but don’t worry, I won’t let you go.” I promised.

Twilight nodded, unable to speak, and the two of us eased ourselves into the water.

“That’s bloody cold…” I muttered.

“It’s… actually… quite… nice…” Twilight whimpered through sharp breaths.

Using one arm to paddle and my legs to propel us forward, I tried to get us to the yacht as quickly as possible, which Twilight was able to help with by kicking with her own back legs. We were about three quarters of the way there when Rainbow Dash yelped out in fear from above.

“Shark! Shark!”

WHAT?” Twilight shrieked.

Instantly, the mare started to kick harder and faster, and I did too. Although panicked swimming was always advised against, the blood leaking from Twilight’s shoulder would surely grab the shark’s attention no matter how much we thrashed, so the sooner we got to the boat, the better. The creature had no doubt been attracted to the bodies I’d dumped overboard not too long ago.
Fluttershy flew overhead and shockingly made her way over to the shark, and proceeded to be an absolute genius; by flying just above the water’s surface and kicking down with her hind legs, the pegasus was able to cause enough splashing to grab the ocean predator’s attention, allowing us to swim less frenziedly and reach the yacht. Rainbow Dash helped us out of the water and we flopped onto the deck, Twilight let out a series of painful gasps as the fear began to die down, and the pain returned to her.

“Is that everything?” I asked Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah. Is she going to be okay?” She replied, pointing to Twilight with a worried look.

“Once I get the bullets out.”

“Okay, good.”

Twilight painfully crawled over to the wall of the rear deck and slumped against it, I sat with her and helped her keep the shoulder elevated and applied pressure to stem the bleeding.



Once Fluttershy had finished distracting the shark long enough for Pinkie and Rarity to swim over, she joined the two of us and thanked me for staying with Twilight.

“Good thinking with that shark.” I praised her.

“Sharks. There were three of them.”

“Three? Blimey, well thanks for keeping them occupied.”

Dipping her head and giving me a weak smile, Fluttershy directed her concern to Twilight.

“Can you help me get the bullets out? I don’t think I can do it myself.” She requested.

Nodding, I helped Twilight onto her side properly so that we could access her shoulder better, the poor mare kept her eyes clamped shut and continued to whimper to herself. Fluttershy quickly retrieved her bag which contained her medical supplies, while I soothingly stroked down the back of Twilight’s neck to keep her calm.

“I’d like to give her a sedative, it’ll make this easier for all of us.” Fluttershy hummed, mostly to herself.

“No… I… I don’t want one…” Twilight gasped.

“You need one, Twi. You’re in agony.” Flutters insisted.

I recalled back to one of our nights together in Portugal, when Twilight had divulged to me that she was terrified of anaesthesia and being medically put to sleep, as she feared the idea of having no control of her own body.

“It will hurt, a lot.” I said to her.

“I don’t care…”

Fluttershy looked at me with a frown, regretfully I gave her a nod to proceed.

“Fine, but try not to be too dramatic.” I teased.

“Screw you.” She chuckled through the tears.

Fluttershy retrieved some very odd-looking forceps that were clearly intended to be gripped in a pony’s mouth, but I was able to hold them with my hand just fine. Fluttershy used fresh water from her water bottle to clear the wound while I worked, as it was still weeping a plentiful amount of blood; she also helped by lightly pulling at the sides of the holes to allow me to get deeper in and locate the bullets. I had just found one of them and was trying to get a hold on it when Twilight flinched, causing the forceps to jab against raw flesh.

Gaaahh hah hah haah!” She screamed.

I quickly withdrew the pincers and gave her a moment to stop quaking.

“Oh Twilight, I do wish you’d let me give you the sedative.” Fluttershy sighed.

After shaking her head to protest, Twilight did everything in her power to remain still, but without anything to numb the pain it was nigh impossible to stay completely unmoving; the constant swaying of the sea also didn’t help, not one bit. Eventually I was able to get a grip on the first bullet and lift it out of the wound.

“There’s one.” I muttered.

Placing the bloodstained lead cylinder onto Fluttershy’s medical tray, I didn’t hesitate before heading back in to find the second bullet. All the other girls were anxiously watching from a distance, not knowing what else to do. After a few more minutes of carefully locating and gripping the second bullet, I finally was able to remove it and leave Fluttershy to apply some adhesive closure strips, which weren’t too dissimilar from the steri-strips that humans use, except that these ones were made from a plant-based material that would slowly be absorbed into the skin and provide further healing benefits; unsurprisingly they were one of Zecora’s products along with the Oozima, which Fluttershy also applied to the wounds after she’d placed the strips.

“Wasn’t so bad, was it?” I asked Twilight playfully.

Looking up at me with bloodshot eyes and a runny nose, the unicorn gave me a great big grin and told me that it was the best bullet removal she’d ever had, causing the both of us to laugh.

“You’re a fuckin’ moron.” I chuckled.

“I learned it from you.”

“I’ll try to take that as a compliment.”

Getting up to stretch my legs, I realised how much blood Twilight had lost, it had pooled all around her chest and was trickling off the back of the yacht; the girl had been extremely lucky that the bullets hadn’t gone any deeper, which had only been prevented by the hull of our sailing boat slowing them down, the boat in question was now completely on its side, and would be underwater very shortly. I was just washing the blood from my hands in the sea when one of the sharks suddenly appeared under the boat and swam awfully close to me, I retracted my hands and keenly observed the creature. It was too dark and too slim to be a great white, and seeing as there were four of them swimming together, they were most likely to be blue sharks which were known to be more sociable. Whichever breed they were, they were certainly going to eat well thanks to all the druggos that I’d just dumped overboard.



“Callum, I-” Applejack began from behind me.

“I don’t want to hear it, I don’t, want to fucking hear it, Applejack!” I snapped, not even turning to face her.

The adrenaline had died down, and the emotions began to kick in as I realised just how narrowly Twilight had evaded a fatal blow, and how idiotic I had been in letting a gang, an armed gang, approach us.
I finally had it in me to look at her, and turned around to glare at the farm pony.

“Your poor judgement just sank our boat. Your sentiment almost got us killed. Your lack of faith in me just put two fucking bullets into Twilight’s shoulder! She is now lying at the end of this yacht in sheer agony, with her blood dripping into the sea! All because you doubted me and my ability to make the right decision. All because, you valued the lives of some shitty narcos over our safety.”

“I know… But I-”

“Shut it. This entire ordeal is your fault. Twilight’s suffering is your fault. For fucks’ sake, how could I have been so STUPID!?” I boomed.

In a flash of anger, I whipped around and smacked the side of the yacht with an open hand, causing everyone to jump; but it wasn’t all anger, it was a whole cluster of emotions mixed together, from the fear of being shot at, to the shock of having just killed a bunch of people, to the sorrow of Twilight’s injuries and the excruciating pain that came with them.
I turned back around to face Applejack, now with tears in my eyes.

“My job is to keep you all safe. My duty, is to protect you, no matter the cost. The reason I kill is to protect you girls, and for a split second you had me doubt that reason, and that split second was all it took to get us all nearly killed. Do you have any idea how lucky Twilight is? If those bullets had gone just twice as deep, she could be dead right now, and that would have been on you!

Witnessing that I was just verbally breaking Applejack at this point, Rarity came up alongside me and told me that enough was enough. As emotional as I was, there was just enough self-control in me to speak no more and storm off inside the yacht. As I made my way inside and down the stairs, I heard Applejack burst into tears, and I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t care; I’d just pulled two bullets out of my best friend, and I didn’t know how to emotionally handle it, all I knew is that I was angry.

Strutting around in the lower deck, I took the time to investigate the cabins, and bloody hell was this yacht an upgrade from the sailing boat, the lower deck had four bedroom cabins, complete with four single beds and two doubles. Better yet, each cabin had its own restroom, with working sinks and toilets.

{No more shitting off the side of the boat.} I thought to myself.

Although this was definitely a very expensive yacht, it seemed that it had been stripped down to the cheapest necessities, there weren’t any televisions in the rooms despite there being cables poking out of the walls, and all the loose furnishings like chairs and tables had been removed; I highly doubted the drug gang had been minimalists, so I presumed they’d just removed and sold all of the amenities when they first procured the yacht.
Seeing as the six men had been sleeping on the beds, I took the time to strip the bedding and flip all the mattresses to distract myself from all the emotions currently flowing through me; two of the mattresses turned out to have even more drugs underneath them, along with a ton of cigarette packs.

“Why am I not surprised?” I scoffed.

With the biggest bedroom now somewhat tidy, and my mood substantially calmer, I decided to go back above deck and help Twilight get to the double bed, she needed somewhere comfortable to rest. Everyone had dispersed to the upper and top decks, besides Fluttershy and Twilight, who were still at the rear end. I made my way over to them and told them about the beds, which Twilight was instantly very keen on as she still lay on the wooden deck.

“Come on, you.” I tutted warmly, scooping her up.

I carried her down to the bedroom and attentively placed her onto the double bed after Fluttershy had put a towel down to prevent blooding up the mattress right away. Fluttershy decided to stay with her for a while still to keep an eye on her as she had lost a fair bit of blood.

“Try to get some rest, okay?” I said to Twilight, cupping her cheek with a hand.

After taking an exhausted breath and wincing, she told me that she didn’t like it when I shouted.

“You can be pretty scary sometimes, you know?” She murmured.

“Sometimes, I need to be.” I replied, winking.

Fluttershy gave me a quick hug before I took myself back outside to explore the rest of the yacht, nopony was in the upper deck, but we’d most certainly be hanging out here in the evenings, for there was a whole living room, TV, and kitchen; the sheer amount of space would be very helpful in keeping tensions low as everyone could take a break from one another where needed, which is something we all struggled with on the sailing boat.

I went up to the flybridge, where I found Rainbow Dash desperately trying to stop Pinkie from pressing all the buttons at the yacht’s navigational control panel.

“Let me press just one, please?”

“No Pinks, we don’t know what they do!” Dashie ordered, physically holding her back from the console.

A lightbulb lit up above my head, and I snapped my fingers to grab Pinkie’s attention; she zipped over to me like an excited dog, waiting for me to speak with bulging eyes.

“A big boat like this should have a manual, a big booklet with instructions for how to drive it. Find me that booklet, and I’ll let you press so many buttons.” I directed her.

In a flash, the mare was whizzing all around the yacht in search of the manual.

“That’ll keep her busy for a few minutes.” I chuckled.

“Good thinking.” Rainbow Dash praised.

I slung an arm around Dashie’s neck and asked if she was doing okay after such a nail-biting encounter, to which she replied that she wasn’t entirely sure.

“It’s not as bad as when I killed that guy in Portugal, but I feel really, I don’t know, strange? It’s like there’s a heavy ball of tension in my stomach and it won’t go away. And even though I just washed my hooves in the water, it still feels like there’s blood on them. Does that make any sense?”

“Makes perfect sense, I completely understand that, and I feel the same way honestly.”

I took a deep breath, and looked out the window to observe Rarity and Applejack chatting on the top deck at the front of the vessel. Sighing, I continued to tell Rainbow Dash that it took me a long time to accept that I was a killer, and that it felt like there was blood on my hands for months that I couldn’t wash away, but over time I’ve learned to rationalise it, and understand that the blood doesn’t actually exist, it’s just the brain’s way of processing the incident.

“I think I get it, thanks dude.” Dashie hummed.

“Of course. Just talk to me if you start feeling worse, don’t suppress it.”

“I’ll try. I could use a drink more than anything to be honest.”

“Heh, I feel you there, shame the only thing on offer is a fuckload of drugs.” I grumbled.

“Honestly, after the shit that just happened, I wouldn’t be opposed.”

“Dash!”

“Oh come on! Surely they’re not all that bad?”

I mean, she had a point. The cocaine and heroin were absolute no-goes, but I was admittedly a bit tempted by the marijuana, surely a bit of weed couldn’t do much harm. The sheer amount of alcohol I’d consumed in Portugal had probably been more harmful, and after just killing six people and then removing two bullets from Twilight, I think I’d earned the right to be a little experimental.

“You know what? Screw it, I’m down. Fancy a smoke later?”

“Wait, really?”

“Did I stutter?”

“Shit, okay! Sweet! I mean uh, cool. I look forward to it, I guess?”

Rainbow Dash attempting to be indifferent about taking drugs when she obviously wasn’t, was hilarious, and I was about to call her out on it when Pinkie returned with the manual suspended from her jaw.

“Ey, great job Pinkie!” I cheered.

Taking the booklet from her and giving it a quick flick-through, I learned that this whopping unit of a nautical vehicle was a Princess Eighty-Five Yacht, a very high-end boat that was no-doubt extremely expensive; the number of buttons, switches, and features were seemingly never ending; the damn thing had its own CCTV cameras for crying out loud! There was also a small heated pool up at the back of the flybridge, it was surreal to suddenly be in possession of what was quite simply a floating hotel. Needless to say, we would all have a much more comfortable journey for the rest of our time at sea, provided that there weren’t any more storms.

I allowed Pinkie to press all the buttons that wouldn’t cause problems, and then headed out onto the top deck to find Rarity and Applejack still chatting together, cleaning up all the blood that had been splattered around. Upon seeing me, Rarity smiled and approached me, giving me a quick squeeze.

“How’s Twilight?” She asked me.

“She’ll be okay, Fluttershy’s keeping an eye on her.”

“Good, the poor thing scared the life out of me when the shooting started, she dropped to the floor and didn’t make a sound at first, most likely in shock. I thought she might’ve been, well, you know.”

“Aye… That was a good shot by the way.”

“Why, thank you.”

I looked over at Applejack, whom had just mopped up the last bit of blood and was tossing the bloody rag off into the sea.

“She’s really sorry, you know?” Said Rarity.

“Yeah, I know.”

“I know Twilight got hurt, but Applejack had nothing but good intentions, it was a mistake that came from a place of goodwill. All she wanted was to preserve some human life, and she genuinely thought it was possible today. Those men were looking for violence, and that wasn’t Applejack’s fault.”

“But we knew… We knew, that they were looking for violence, and we let them approach us and attack anyway, solely because Applejack doubted me.” I protested.

“Oh for goodness sake, Callum, she just had an honest trice of uncertainty. She practically drowned just the other day, she’s feeling extremely emotional about that, and just had a moment where the thought of death was too much for her to handle.”

Rarity always knew how to get through to me, her way with words was very compelling. I gave a heavy sigh and dipped my head in accord.

“Okay, I’ll talk to her.”

“Good boy.”

Rarity strutted away, giving my rear a playful swat with her tail. Huffing, I walked beside Applejack and looked out to sea without making eye contact.

“Please, if you’re going to yell at me again, just get it over with.” She sighed.

“AJ, I’m not going to yell at you, and I’m sorry for doing so earlier.”

“Don’t be, I deserved it. I messed up and someone got hurt.”

“Look, I’m not going to pretend I’m not still upset, and I wish you had just listened to me, but I know you were just trying to do the right thing.”

“I was, I really was. Please, Callum, don’t think for one second that I don’t trust you, because I do. You just seemed so eager to give that order, and I panicked!”

“You realise I gave that order because I knew what was going to happen, right? I knew those men were looking for trouble, there was no way in hell that they were going to take the bag and leave peacefully, so I wanted to get it over and done with sooner rather than later. I wasn’t eager to take their lives, I was eager to protect you, and not drag out the danger.”

“I see that now. I just didn’t at the time, and I’m sorry, I really am.”

Turning to face Applejack properly, I let out a heavy sigh and opened my arms to offer her a forgiving cuddle, she was very quick to reciprocate and wrap her hooves around me; after a tight hug, I looked her in the eyes and sternly pointed at her.

“I forgive you, but don’t you ever doubt me again.”

“I won’t… Promise…”

“Good.”

We headed back to the flybridge together, where I hopped onto the driver’s seat and retrieved the yacht’s manual from Pinkie’s mane, where she had stored it for safekeeping. After a few minutes of scanning the booklet for the information I needed, I started up the yacht and was able to get the GPS up and running.

“Damn! We’re actually not that far now!” I exclaimed, looking at the map.

“How far’s not that far?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“At a steady pace, I’d say we’ll make landfall in about four, perhaps five days.”

“Really? That’s fantastic!” Rarity sang.

“Well, let’s get a darn move on then, I need dry land!” Applejack hooted.

She didn’t need to tell me twice, after a moment of getting used to the controls, I lightly pushed forward on the throttle and the engine growled, displaying the sheer power of the vehicle. Pushing the throttle even further, we started to speed forward.

“Oh my, this thing really moves!” Rarity called out.

“Hell yeah it does… Allons-y girls!” I cheered in response.

Gradually bringing us to max speed, we practically flew above the water’s surface as we headed northwest, riding the waves and chasing that glistening horizon towards our destination.

America, here we come.


Chapter Nine: Far Out

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After a few hours of driving at high speed, I gave both myself and the yacht’s engine a break and headed down into the middle deck, where I found everyone hanging out in the living room area. Upon seeing me, Rarity hopped off the sofa and approached me with a concerned look.

“So, I hear you and Rainbow Dash now plan to take narcotics?” She remarked.

“And I presume you plan to scold me?” I replied blankly.

“If you overdose and die, yes. What on Equus are you thinking?”

“I’m on Earth, and I’m thinking that a touch of weed isn’t going to kill me.” I retorted.

“Weed? What’s weed? Some slang term for all that junk in the smuggler’s bag? I want to know exactly what it is that you and Rainbow Dash plan to be injecting into yourselves!”

“Hey now, chill out Rare, I promise we’re not going to touch any of the hard stuff. Trust me, I don’t want any of that toxic manufactured shit going into my system. The only thing I’m going to let us take is a plant-based drug called cannabis, which is often referred to as weed. It’s not got artificial stuff in it, it’s literally just dried up parts of the cannabis plant, which you smoke just like a regular cigarette.” I explained.

Rarity didn’t seem all too convinced. Amazingly, Fluttershy came over to back me up.

“You know, we have something pretty similar in Equestria, there’s a plant called magickana that was discovered down in the Hayseed Swamp, it has both medicinal and recreational uses, and its often smoked. Although it gets you pretty high and has a rather potent smell, it’s actually quite harmless so long as you use it in moderation.”

After a short silence, Rarity simply raised an eyebrow and asked Fluttershy how she was so knowledgeable on the subject, to which she began to blush and recede back into herself.

“Well… I, um… I have a friend who grows it, and she’s told me all about it.”

Rarity continued to stare at Fluttershy with an iron gaze. She didn’t even need to speak, for her unblinking judgemental eyes were all that were needed to draw more information out of the pegasus.

“Okay, okay! We may or may not have smoked it together on a couple of occasions! Please stop looking at me like that, I promise it’s not a regular thing! It’s just something I partake in with her now and then to reduce stress, it’s not easy working three jobs you know?”

Tutting, Rarity rolled her eyes.

“Oh Fluttershy, I really thought better of you.”

The unicorn then planted a hoof on my chest.

“You are only to smoke outside on the top deck, you are not going to stink up this place if I have anything to say about it. And I swear to Celestia, if I catch you with white powder around your nose, I will personally strangle you, do I make myself clear?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“And put on some different clothes for heavens’ sake! You look dreadful.”

She was certainly right about that, I’d been wearing the same Desert Cloth attire that Hawnu Rey’eng had given us in Portugal, that was a little over a month ago! Despite being made from strong material, (enchanted material for that matter), they were now bloodstained from the fight and soggy from the swim over to the yacht with Twilight; they were a nice and comfortable set of clothes, perhaps I’d give them a wash soon.
Applejack changed the subject by declaring she was going to start cooking supper soon, which quickly got Rarity off our backs. I headed down to the lower deck and browsed the wardrobes of each bedroom in search of clothing, there were a few pairs of shorts that fit me reasonably well, along with plenty of underwear. Going into the master bedroom and continuing my rummaging, I was able to locate a nice pair of grey jeans with an elasticated waistband, nice and comfy.

“Those look nice.” Twilight murmured.

“I thought so too, how’re you feeling?” I replied.

“Awful.”

“N’aw…” I sighed.

After heading over and gently ruffling her mane, I continued to search through the drawers and wardrobes in search of a top, and at long last found a nice long-sleeved cotton tee, it was jet black with dark grey sleeves.

“Very trendy.” Twi remarked.

“Aye, they’ll go well with the jeans.”

“Maybe have a wash before putting those on, I can smell you from here.”

“Cheers Twi.” I grunted.

“Only being honest.”

Rolling my eyes, I took the clothes back up to the main deck and plonked them on the sofa, taking Twilight’s advice and hesitating before donning them.
I headed up to the flybridge and proceeded to consult the manual in order to see how to get the hot tub up and running; a good soak would do me well, both for relaxation and to get a little cleaner. After switching it on and stripping down to my undies, I slid into the pool and was instantly met with the soothing warmth of the water, it had been so long since I’d had a bath, the last time was during my time in Paulo’s compound in Portugal, months ago.

{I had one of Rarity’s magical bath bombs right before taking the portal to the Sahara, but that hardly counts as a bath, and it most certainly wasn’t relaxing!} I thought to myself with amusement.

“Ooh, got room for two?” Pinkie asked, approaching the pool.

“Hop on in!” I replied merrily.

Apparently, this became an open invitation for everyone else to join me, and soon enough I was sharing the pool with Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash.

“Oh, this is good…” Dashie hummed.

“Yeah, I needed this.” Fluttershy agreed.

This was indeed lovely, the soothing warmth paired with the stimulating water jets offered a much needed destress after today’s fearful encounter; it pained me however that Twilight wasn’t able to join us, she needed the respite more than the lot of us put together, and I couldn’t help but feel somewhat guilty for enjoying the pool without her.



After a good half-hour or so chatting, soaking and scrubbing, the lot of us clambered out of the pool and decided to crack on with the narcotics, (pun intended), but first I needed to dry off and swap to the fresh clothes. I lightly towelled myself off and then turned my back to everyone in order to remove the soaking underwear I’d been wearing in the pool without flashing myself to everyone.

That’s a butt!” Pinkie shrieked.

“A very nice one at that.” Rainbow Dash added.

“Oh piss off.” I replied, grabbing the fresh underwear and putting them on.

I put on the new clothes and was quickly met with very positive reactions from everyone, it looked like this would be my new outfit for a while. Retrieving the smuggler’s bag and settling on the built-in sunbeds at the front of the yacht, I dug around and found the weed, tobacco, rolling paper, filters, and a lighter.

“So, what does this shit do again? You’ve smoked it before, right?” Dashie asked.

“No, it’s my first time actually.”

“Then I suppose you’ll need someone to teach you.” Fluttershy remarked from behind us.

The pegasus sat down beside us and educated us a little while I started to roll a few joints.

“So, the first thing you need to know, as with most things, is to pace yourself. If you smoke too much at once and don’t allow yourself to adjust to it, you’ll pull a whitey.”

“What’s a whitey?” Rainbow asked.

“You go pale, get the shakes, and will most likely throw up.”

Nervously giggling, she admitted that she’d pulled a whitey herself during her first time smoking the stuff with her friend.

“So, who is this mysterious friend of yours? Who’s your dealer?” I teased, elbowing her playfully.

“Oh, um, she’s somepony I met on one of my trips with the Equestrian Society for the Preservation of Rare Creatures, she noticed how shy and nervous I was and decided to talk to me. We got chatting and eventually she suggested smoking some magickana to calm my nerves. We’ve been meeting up and smoking it together now and then ever since.”

“That’s awesome!” Dashie exclaimed.

“So what’s her name?” I pressed.

Breaking eye contact, she said that she would rather not say as she didn’t want us to laugh, to which we both promised that we wouldn’t.

“Okay, well… Her name is Tree Hugger.”

It took every ounce of my willpower to not instantly burst into laughter, and I could tell that Rainbow Dash was in the same boat (pardon the pun). Raising an eyebrow, I simply stated that it was certainly an interesting name.

“Yeah, I know it sounds a little odd, her parents are huge environmentalists and weren’t really thinking of her when they named her. But she doesn’t mind at all, she grew up to be just like them so she actually quite likes the name now.” Fluttershy explained.

“Fair enough.” I hummed.

Moving on from the subject, I presented four relatively well-wrapped joints for us, thankfully I’d learned how to roll due to Paulo teaching me briefly back in Portugal.

“Well, let’s not stand on ceremony, to drugs!” I cheered, lighting up the first joint.

“To drugs!” Rainbow chimed in.

I took the first toke, and goodness me was it different from a cigar! The first thing I experienced was the flavour, it was earthy and somewhat sweet, almost as though I’d just put a small handful of dirt and sugar into my mouth; it wasn’t exactly unpleasant, but it was definitely a weird encounter.
Stifling a cough, I blew the smoke into the air and blinked a few times before giving my head a quick wobble. I then passed the joint to Fluttershy, who carefully took it with her wing and took a deep drag for herself, she closed her eyes and then allowed the smoke to slowly billow out of her nose like an absolute legend.

“Whoa… Fluttershy… I didn’t know you were actually cool, that was awesome!” Dashie exclaimed.

The yellow pegasus giggled.

“So, is it like your Equestrian stuff?” I inquired.

“Oh yeah, this is exactly the same.” She replied, taking another drag.

Blowing the smoke into the air above her, she passed the joint to Dashie, who simply took with a hoof.

“You know, I have to ask, how the bloody hell do you hold stuff like that?” I quizzed.

“Magic, duh?” Rainbow sneered, before taking her first toke.

The mare instantly made a fool of herself by choking and spluttering on the smoke, just as I had done when Paulo gave me my first cigar after finally earning his trust.

“Holy shit that stuff’s strong!” She exclaimed.

“You get used to it.” Flutters assured her.

After taking another toke, (this time a successful one), Dashie passed the joint back to me and I continued to quiz the girls on the supposed magic that allowed them to grasp things with their hooves.

“I don’t know exactly how it works, ask Twilight, she’s the egghead.”

Rolling her eyes at Rainbow’s statement, Fluttershy went on to explain to the best of her knowledge that it was a magic-driven ability that all ponies possessed, regardless of race. Basically, there was an inherent flow of magic running through their bodies, and that their hooves had a relatively strong concentration of the stuff, which generated a weak telekinetic grasp whenever they used their hooves for holding things.
This “hoof aura” could also be used to apply pressure to finer points on a surface, which explained how ponies are able to play musical instruments that would be more suited to fingers.

“Huh, that’s actually really cool.” I muttered, taking another puff from the joint.

“Yeah, I suppose it is, although it’s not very strong, it’s not like we can lift heavy objects with it, but it certainly helps for the more dextrous tasks in life.” She admitted.

I handed the joint to Flutters and at last felt the marijuana kick in, I began to feel strange and a little bit tingly; it was like my skin was vibrating ever so slightly, and everything in my peripheral vision now had a very faint chromatic aberration to it. My stomach also began to feel tight, the best way to describe it was as though my body was undergoing a small panic attack, despite my mind being completely relaxed.

“You feeling it?” Fluttershy asked.

“Oh, I can feel it.” I replied.

Rainbow Dash clearly felt it too judging from her expression, and as she passed back the joint to me, I could see that her eyes were already a little bloodshot, her face seemed rather pale too.

“If you’re going to pull a whitey, please for the love of Celestia, do it off the side of the boat.” I ordered.

“Nah, I’m good, I think…” She replied.

“The key is to relax, it’s a much better experience if you don’t think too hard on it.” Fluttershy instructed.

Nodding, I lay back in the sunbed and took a deep breath, shut my eyes, and then slowly exhaled and surrendered myself to the feeling, and almost instantly I could feel a difference; the knotted tension in my stomach released and I soon found myself feeling almost completely weightless.

“Oh yeah, now I’m getting it.” I hummed merrily.

Despite the buoyant feeling, I also found myself almost completely unable to move as though my muscles had melted away into a thick tar, which Fluttershy thankfully explained was completely normal.

As we finished the first joint and I lit the second, it dawned on me that this was going to be a very pleasant afternoon indeed…



“Well, well, well…”

I looked up and found Rarity peering down at me, and even when upside down I could make out her judgemental scowl, how long had we all been out here?

“You smell utterly revolting.”

“That’s not even the weed, that’s just Callum.” Dashie remarked.

Fluttershy started chortling through her teeth, emitting a ‘schh schh schh schh’ noise.

“The lot of you smell utterly revolting!”

“Okay fine, it’s probably the weed.”

We all cackled and Rarity rolled her eyes, sighing heavily.

“Well, I just came out to let you ridiculous catatonics know that dinner will be ready shortly, Applejack’s dishing up in five minutes, we’ve got pea salad tonight.”

“Woo! Protein!” Rainbow Dash cheered.

“Oh, I just love Applejack’s pea salad!” Fluttershy hummed approvingly, clapping her hooves.

Tutting, the unicorn trotted away, leaving us to make an utterly pathetic attempt of getting ourselves up and out of our phlegmatic state, which really wasn’t easy after having just smoked so much cannabis, but the promise of good food certainly powered our drive to get our arses in gear.

“It feels like my muscles are made out of jam.” Dashie groaned.

“Yeah, that happens, which is exactly why Tree Hugger has snacks close by before lighting up.”

“Clever.” I murmured, snapping my fingers.

We packed everything back into the smuggler’s bag and slowly shambled indoors, where we found AJ and Rarity just setting down bowls full of Applejack’s supposedly well-known pea salad, Pinkie was already sat at the table, bobbing her head from side to side without a care in the world, clearly lost in her own little universe while she waited for her supper.

“Smells delicious!” I praised, sitting down at the table.

“Why thank you kindly! Though I can’t say the same for you three, y’all smell like Winona when she done got sprayed by a skunk! How goes the substance abuse outside?” She replied with a chuckle.

“It’s going great, we are abusing the fuck out of those substances!” Rainbow Dash hooted, planting herself into the chair beside me and slumping against me.

Rarity sat down opposite me and stated that if Rainbow Dash used another vulgar word in her presence, that it would be her that would be getting abused, to which we all laughed.

“I don’t know Rare, I think she’d quite like that.” Applejack teased, raising her eyebrows.

“Oh shut up, Applejack! What makes you think I’m into that sort of thing?” Dashie barked.

To this, I laughed and gave it to her straight.

“You’re a hot-headed adrenaline junkie with a constant need for approval, riddled with daddy issues and a well-known sex drive. Need I mention the numerous guys you’ve slept with, myself included? You constantly put on a dominant façade in an attempt to appear strong-willed and independent, when it’s clear as day that you’re actually extremely submissive and enjoy having a dominant individual around to lead you. Oh and trust me, I’ve seen first-hand, that covers both out and inside the bedroom. So all in all, I think you'd enjoy being thrown around a little bit, especially by Rarity, who screams dominatrix behind closed doors, don't you think?"

After staring at me with her mouth agape for a few seconds, Dashie looked away with rosy cheeks and grunted that I may or may not have had a point.

“I rest my case.” I announced with a grin.

“Basically Rare, you can’t win.” Applejack teased.

“Ugh, animals! The lot of you! Filthy animals!” Rarity sighed heavily, shaking her head.

Moving on from the topic, I dug into AJ’s pea salad and it didn’t take me long to realise why it was so highly praised, it was absolutely delicious!

“Damn, this is good!

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” Rarity scolded me.

The multitude of flavours that danced upon my taste buds were so incredibly strong, they’d be overpowering if not for being so complimentary of one another.

“Seriously AJ this is incredible, what goes into this?” I demanded to know.

“Hehe, it’s an old family recipe, Granny Smith taught me how to make it. It’s made up of three cups of steamed peas, one cup of diced cheese, three boiled eggs, also diced. It’s also got broken up hickory nuts, three tablespoons of mayonnaise and a single tablespoon of vinegar. It’s Big Mac’s favourite, one of mine too for that matter, it’s chock full of protein so it’s good for putting on muscle.”

“Well, it’s absolutely scrumptious, I most certainly hope you’ll make this more often, it’s just as good as your leek and potato soup, if not better!” I exclaimed.

“Awh shucks, I’m so glad to hear that! I’ll be sure to cook it again another time, it’s so easy to make. If I had known you’d like it so much, I’d have made it sooner!”

Fluttershy then teasingly brought up the fact that it certainly helped to be high as a kite on weed, as it almost always rocked up an appetite; she then began to giggle to herself as she stared at the plethora of peas on her spoon.

“What on Equus is so funny?” Rarity asked with a dumbfounded expression.

The yellow pegasus then proceeded to tilt the spoon and allow a couple of peas to fall down and hit the deck, they rolled a few feet and then ceased to move, Fluttershy giggled even louder, before placing a hoof to her mouth and making her great amusement known.

“Oops, I pea’d on the floor…”

It was a joke so overwhelmingly stupid that it was actually quite funny, and Pinkie thought so too, for the pink pony burst into such an explosive laugh that she bombarded me with a mouthful of peas as though she were a living shotgun, the peas being the buckshot.

“Cheers.” I grunted.

A stoned Rainbow Dash found this ordeal even funnier than Pinkie found the joke, as she too burst into a violent laughing fit and somehow was able to unintentionally inhale a pea and shoot it out of her nose.

“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy gasped loudly.

“How… How is this my life?” Rarity moaned, burying her head into the table.

“I can’t believe you just did that…” Applejack sighed, rolling her eyes.

“My brother did that once, but with a chip.” I said, chuckling.

“What, a whole potato chip?” Dashie asked, astounded.

“No no, I mean like a long thin strip of potato that’s been deep fried, they’re sometimes called fries, but in England we call them chips.” I explained.

“Oh right, well we call those fries in Equestria too, made from either hay or potato.”

“I had a feeling.”

“So, how the heck did he do that?”

“Well, we were pretty young at the time, but if memory serves me correctly, it happened in an airport. We were on our way back from a family holiday in France, and we were at some fast-food place called Burger King. And I either said or did something that made him laugh, just as he’d stuffed a load of fries into his mouth, and lo and behold, one of them popped out of his nose! It just dangled there from his nostril. Bloody big old thing, easily as long as a finger.”

“That’s absolutely vile.” Rarity spoke sternly, wrinkling her nose.

“Nah, the vile bit is where he then proceeded to pull it out and eat it.”

“Oh Callum for goodness sake! I’m EATING!

Rainbow Dash smacked the table with a hoof and howled with laughter, to which Applejack smirked and shook her head in amused distaste, even Fluttershy was lightly giggling to herself over the anecdote.
The hysterics soon died down and the noise with it, as we all tucked into dinner once again.



After we finished up, I decided to take a bowl of the salad down to Twilight as she’d most likely be hungry, I found her curled up in a miserable heap, shivering.

“Hey, you alright?” I asked quietly.

The unicorn raised her head and looked at me with a listless expression, the poor thing looked absolutely dreadful; upon smelling the food she seemed to perk up, I came and sat down beside her and asked if she wanted help with eating, to which she reluctantly agreed to.

“I swear if you pull the ‘here comes the chariot’ nonsense, I’ll kill you.” She joked.

“Lucky for you, 'here comes the chariot' doesn’t exist on Earth.” I retorted.

I then proceeded to bring a spoonful to her face and used the human variant instead, just to spite her.

“But look! Here comes the aeroplane! Nyeeeooowm!”

Twilight pursed her lips and glared at me with the wrath of a thousand hells, to which I snickered profusely and then promised I wouldn’t do it again. Continuing to scowl at me, she opened her mouth and took the spoonful, to which she clamped her eyes shut and hummed merrily.

“Mmmn, it’s been far too long since Applejack’s done a pea salad.”

“Aye, it’s one of the nicest things she’s ever cooked.”

After quietly munching a few more mouthfuls, she looked up at me with a knowing smirk.

“You’re high as fuck, aren’t you?”

“How’d you guess?” I tittered.

“Well firstly, your eyes are so bloodshot that I can barely see any white. Secondly, they’re practically closed because you’re so relaxed. And thirdly, you reek of magickana.”

Dipping my head and grinning, I admitted that I’d cracked into the marijuana with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, just to take the edge off after such a stressful and exhausting day.

“I see.” The unicorn murmured, raising an eyebrow.

“Hang on a second… How do you know what magickana smells like?” I inquired.

“Science experiment, I wanted to know how my studying and writing would be affected while under the influence of a psychedelic substance.” She explained.

“And the conclusion?”

“Oh they were terrible. I forgot what I was actually meant to be studying, and half of my notes ended up being nothing more than a senseless rant on how best to consume string cheese.”

“That’s, fucking incredible!” I laughed.

“I suppose it was quite amusing.” She admitted.

“Well, what is the best way to consume string cheese?”

“Stripped into individual pieces and then equally placed on corn chips, resulting in a perfectly even bowl of nachos where each bite is full of flavour and satisfaction.”

“So, let me get this straight. You, Twilight Sparkle, got high on drugs, and wrote a dissertation on nachos?”

Nervously giggling, she stated that it wasn’t exactly her proudest moment, to which I replied that she should be incredibly proud of herself, for nachos were one of the greatest inventions known to man and ponykind alike.

“Sounds like I’m not the only one who likes nachos.” She giggled.

“Oh I absolutely love nachos, they’re my favourite snack!”

“Mine too!”

“Great, now I have the munchies for nachos.” I groaned.

“I’m not even high and I’ve got the munchies for nachos now.” She replied playfully.

It was then that I had an incredible idea.

“Yo, what do you think my mindscape would look like whilst being high?”

“Want to find out?”

She didn’t need to tell me twice, I bounced off the bed and dug through Twilight’s bag until I found the collars; I then shut the bedroom door for privacy and got back onto the bed. I then made sure my collar had the switch pointing towards the ‘host’ option, to make sure that we both went into my head and not Twilight’s, funnily enough this caused her collar’s switch to automatically flick away from host and instead point towards the ‘link’ setting, whatever magic Hawnu Rey’eng had imbued into these collars, it was strong.

“You ready?” Twilight asked.

“Send it.” I replied.

We put the collars around our necks and I made sure they were both clipped on, we then both got comfortable and I pushed the little button beside the switch. There was a humming sound, a flash of white light, and then complete and utter darkness.



I slowly opened my eyes to find myself lying on my back, and way up above me were the bare branches of the trees of my mindscape, swaying around and occasionally curling as though they were writhing tentacles.
Beyond them were stars twinkling at me from a cloudless night sky, although upon concentrating on them for a few seconds, they revealed themselves to be none-other than countless floating teeth.

“Well that’s odd.” I hummed to myself.

Upon speaking, I instantly realised that my voice was a few octaves higher; raising my hands up into view, I found lavender hooves in their place, and it dawned on me that I was yet again in Twilight’s body.

{Never thought I’d be doing this again.} I thought as I rolled over and got to my hooves.

I was officially in the Hollow Forest, so much was clear as the grass before me was pale and mostly yellow, and the trees were ensnared in the black vines that represented my depression; interestingly however, I noticed that the vines were much thinner than I recall from my last visit, and some of them weren’t even hugging the trunks anymore, they were snaking outward in a twisted and contorted manner.
Was this a result of the weed? Perhaps it had weakened them so drastically that they couldn’t even maintain a grip on the trees, it was a relatively well-known fact that natural narcotics had numerous benefits for one’s mental health.

Reaching out and brushing one of these outstretched vines, I found the texture to be quite rubbery. Without warning, it wrapped around my foreleg and caused me to yelp loudly in shock, I pulled back and the vine broke apart, dropping to the ground and scattering into a multitude of little scraps.

“Callum?” An anxious voice called out.

My keen pony ears instinctively twisted to the direction of the call, I turned around and saw some bushes rustling in the distance.

“Twilight? That you?” I replied.

The bushes were batted away and out came Twilight, inhabiting my body and stumbling around like a toddler, naked as a new-born, except…

“Now, I know what you’re going to say, but-”

“Why the fuck are you wearing a crown?” I blurted out.

“Can I please explain?”

“Hang on, is that… No... Is that Princess Celestia’s crown? Oh my god, it is!”

“It was an experiment, okay? And a successful one at that!”

“Explain yourself, wench!”

Rolling her eyes, Twilight explained that the last time we swapped bodies in the Frozen Forest, she had woken up completely nude, which Stardust had teasingly speculated that it was because she was picturing me naked shortly before putting on the collars and entering the mindscape, on account of the whole fiasco with me sleeping with Rainbow Dash.

“M-hmm?” I hummed judgingly.

“Well, I wanted to test the theory, by forcing myself to picture you in something specific, hence the crown.”

“Just the crown? And what about the full-frontal nudity I’m currently enduring?”

“Oh, well, I thought it would be funny.” She giggled.

“Firstly, bullshit. Secondly, please never giggle in my body again.”

Taking off the crown, Twilight placed it upon my head and smirked.

“Hm, I always wondered what I’d look like as a princess.”

“Funny that. And now you’ll never know again. Yeet!

I removed the crown with my telekinesis and launched it into the air and far away over the trees. After giving me a disgruntled expression for a moment, Twilight shook her head and started investigating the closest tree, examining the black tendrils that lightly wrapped around it.

“Well the drugs have certainly made a difference, these things barely have a grip!”

“That’s nothing, did you see the sky teeth?” I replied.

“Excuse me? Did you just say- DEAR SWEET CELESTIA THOSE ARE SKY TEETH!

“As I said, sky teeth.”

After getting over the shock from a sky full of glittering teeth, Twilight suggested we take a stroll through the woodland and see what other weird shit we could find in my mindscape, to which I agreed.

“Before we go though, can we please figure out a way to clothe you?” I implored.

“Yeah, good call. Admittedly I’m feeling a bit exposed.”

“It was your idea to picture me naked before we came here.”

“Well now I’m regretting it, okay?”

Chuckling, I shut my eyes and tried to envision myself in the clothes I’d recently found on the yacht. After a short while of focusing on them, I noticed a nearby tree groaning loudly. I opened my eyes again and found that the tree had split open its own trunk, and inside, were the clothes.

“Whoa…” I murmured.

Twilight swiftly went over and retrieved them, before putting them on and giving me a sheepish grin.

“Thanks!”

“Don’t mention it.” I deadpanned.

We set foot (and hoof) into the Hollow Forest, eager to discover the drug-induced anomalies that came next.



About an hour had passed, and boy had it been wild; the vast majority of the experiences had been vaguely connected to pleasant memories of my past, including my father showing up once or twice to tell me he that was proud of me; this would have been comforting, if he hadn’t had squid tentacles for fingers and vaginas for eyes. Needless to say, we had witnessed some absolute nonsense, some of it being utterly horrifying.

We had just waved goodbye to a legion of bipedal mushrooms, when we came across my old house.

“Where it all began.” I mumbled.

“Yeah…” Twilight sighed.

The lights were off and upon peering through the window, I found that the interior was completely empty, so I guessed that this fragment of memory was simply the outside of the place, so we strolled into the back garden and sat down together at the old picnic bench which I used to enjoy sitting at. It was then that we were both startled by a cartoon version of Pinkie Pie wearing a chef’s hat, whom appeared out of nowhere and demanded to take our order.

“Oh gosh, I forgot this is what we look like in the human cartoon.” Twilight groaned.

“Yeah, it’s pretty jarring after seeing what you really look like.” I admitted.

Orders please!” Pinkie shrieked.

“Okay! Okay! Um… I’ll have…” I started, trying to think of something.

“Two plates of nachos, with string cheese!” Twilight demanded.

Yes sir! Or ma’am! Or both! Or neither!

Pinkie Pie then proceeded to charge off into the night, repeatedly screaming ‘chimicherrychanga’ to herself until she eventually faded away into the night.

“Good thinking.” I said.

“Think she’ll actually come back with the nachos?” She replied.

“If I can summon you clothes in this place just by memory, it’s certainly possible. Perhaps she’s run off to dig up a memory from when I last ate them?” I suggested.

“Perhaps.” Twiley hummed.

While we waited for our order, we quite fittingly chatted about the past, and recalled how many close calls we’d had across our journey.

“I still can’t believe you started a revolt within a Brazilian drug cartel.”

“Well I wasn’t going to just sit there, I had to do something.”

“Yeah, but you managed to pull it off while being malnourished and after being recently tortured!”

Exhaling heavily, I thought back to that godawful time in Brazil, it was honestly the worst part of the adventure so far; I was an unprepared boy still bewildered by the ponies’ existence, not fit to be a guide or a protector. Everything I did back there was fuelled on adrenaline and panic, and if I hadn’t been so reckless, we’d have never been captured by Inigo’s cartel in the first place; so much time and pain would have been saved if I could just go back and do it all over again, knowing what I know now.

My thoughts were interrupted by Pinkie returning with two bowls of steaming hot nachos, generously coated in strips of mozzarella cheese. The more notable thing was that Pinkie’s head had been replaced by Nicole’s, the girl I’d met while a captive in Inigo’s compound whom had nursed me back to health.

“Uh, thanks… Nicole?” I nervously chuckled.

“Anytime!” The horrific human-pony hybrid replied.

She put the bowls down onto the picnic table, performed a curtsy, and then burst into glitter, cascading to the ground and ceasing to exist; I shrugged and used my magic to levitate a nacho into my mouth.

“Oh damn, this is good…” I moaned.

“Mmmmmnn…” Twilight replied, her eyes shut and her mouth stuffed full.

We munched and crunched, barely talking at all as we dined on nachos together, it tasted just as good as I remembered, which made perfect sense as they literally were a remembrance.
When we finally finished, we merrily strode into the middle of the garden and flopped onto the cool pale grass together, licking our lips and humming, savouring the last of the memory.

“I’m so glad we did this.” Twilight sighed, smiling warmly.

“Me too.” I replied.

Twilight stretched dramatically, before rolling over and cuddling up against me, pressing her cheek into my extra fluffy pony chest.

“Whoa, I didn’t realise I was this soft…”

“You didn’t?”

“No, I guess when you’re covered in fur from top to bottom, everything just feels like more fur.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

Continuing to lick my lips, I remarked that I now completely understood why Twilight had written a whole essay on nachos, to which she giggled and stated that nachos were a very important topic that she’ll someday get all academic institutes to appreciate. I followed up by insisting that one day in the future, when she was back home in Equestria, I wanted her to dig up the essay and somehow get it to me on Earth, for I very much wanted to read it. It was then that her face dropped, and her eyes grew clouded with emotion as they stared into my own.

“Is it that badly written?” I teased.

She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came forth, she just looked at me.
And then finally, she was able to lightly shake her head and breathe a phrase which passed straight through my skin and struck right into my heart.

“I don’t want to leave you.”

“Oh, Twilight…”

Tears welled up in her eyes and she sat up, gripping one of my hooves with a hand.

“After everything we’ve been through, after all you’ve done for us, for me, and we have to leave you behind. It just feels wrong, so overwhelmingly wrong!”

Sighing, I used my other hoof to cup her hand and lightly stroked the back of it, trying to comfort her.

“You know just as well as I do what will happen if I come with you, we both saw that vision, we both saw Ponyville being burned to the ground. No matter how hard it is, we know it has to be this way. We need to remember what’s truly at stake, and make the most of the time we have.”

“I know all that, but I don’t think I can leave you.”

“Twilight, what are you saying?”

There was a long pause, before she gave her answer.

“I want to stay here on Earth with you.”


Chapter Ten: Sentiment and Soap Suds

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I couldn’t speak, it felt as though I should have responded right away but I just could not speak.

Regardless as to whether it was the right decision or not, Twilight had basically just declared that she was willing to forsake her entire life back on Equestria to stay with me. Surely she wasn’t thinking straight, perhaps she was still in shock from getting shot in the shoulder this morning.

“Twilight.” I finally spoke, slowly.

“I… I know what you’re going to say, but hear me out.” She began.

Continuing to hold her hand, I closed my eyes and allowed her to speak.
And boy did she have a lot to say…

“I know I have a life back home, I know I have family, and friends, and Spike. My life back home was perfect, it was privileged, abundant in love and happiness. I couldn’t have asked for a better life, I’ll always love my homeland with every ounce of my being. But too much has happened, I’ve been changed by this journey, and I don’t think I can go back anymore, not after everything I’ve done. I suffered with Nah’Lek inside my head for months, he screwed with my head Callum, he did things to me that I will never be able to speak of, not to anyone, not even to you. There is so much trauma and darkness in my mind, I don’t know if I can go home with all these memories in my head, knowing that you’re still here.
You have saved my life countless times, you’ve saved me from other humans, from zombies, from the Fel, and from Nah’Lek. Heck, you saved me from myself, I owe my entire life to you, I’d be dead right now without you, so how could I possibly go back home and leave you behind?
Well the answer is simple, I can’t. After everything we’ve been through together, I can’t just leave you and simply go back to my old life, knowing that you’re still here, expected to somehow live the rest of your life as though we were never here.
If you can’t come to Equus with us by the end of all this, then I’m not going either.
We could live away from any populated areas, in a cabin in the woods somewhere, I could stay hidden and work on getting my magic back, while you got a job somewhere. Maybe your brother could visit sometimes, he knows we exist, we could trust him. It could work, we could make it work!”

Sighing heavily after such an offload of emotion, Twilight slumped into my chest and buried her face into my neck, using her free hand to delicately touch my fur. It took me a while to formulate a suitable response, but after a moment of silent thinking, I felt as though my reply was appropriate.

“Twilight, everything you’ve just said makes perfect sense, I completely understand, and I can’t begin to express how privileged I feel that you’d even consider giving up your old life for me. Trust me, the idea of never seeing you again weighs on me like a thousand daggers to the heart.
But I want you to listen to me with every ounce of your mature, logical, intelligent brain.”

I placed a hoof to her chin and raised her face so that her eyes met mine.

“You can not, stay here.”

The words that Celestia had spoken to Rainbow Dash’s adopted father rang out in the back of my mind, just as he had written it in the My Little Dashie story, which only I knew to be a true one.
He cannot join you in our world much like how you cannot stay in his. This was all never meant to be, and the world around us was not made to house you.

With these words in my mind, I carried on.

“This goes beyond you and me. Hell, this goes beyond the Titans’ Orb and our quest to find it. Your soul is bound to one of the six Elements of Harmony, the Element of Magic no less. Equestria is more than just your home, it is where you are destined to belong. Your destiny was written by the Titans before you were even born, you were bound to someday find the Elements and become who you are.
Don’t you get it? The very Titans have woven you into the fabric of Equus! And when that bastard Nah’Lek came from another dimension, his arrival on Equus created a tear in that fabric. He should have been executed when Celestia had the chance, she was a fool to imprison him, to attempt to contain an anomaly from beyond your plane of existence! This entire calamity happened because that monster remained on your planet, his very presence was a threat to the fate of your world, it was only a matter of time before he broke free and destroyed the orb. He’s ripped a gaping hole into the fabric that the Titans wove, and the whole point of this quest is to repair that damage.
If you stay here, a piece of that fabric will permanently be missing, what do you think happens then? What happens to the Element of Magic without you? What happens to the whole written fate of Equus, the legacy of the Titans? You would be endangering the stability of your world.”

Twilight furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes as she thought on these words, possibly thinking about the implications of her actions.
I chose to continue.

“Can you truly do that to the homeland you claim to love?
Could you willingly leave the whole future of Equus to chance? To forsake destiny itself?
My world is a godless one, it has no written fate, it’s just drifting around in a void until it one day ceases to exist, when our sun becomes a red giant and swallows it up. There’s no plan, there’s no reason to any of it. People are born, they exist for a while, and then they die, and none of it matters!
Are you willing to be the reason Equus meets the same fate?”

Exhaling, Twilight processed my words, before coming back at me with an argument.

“If you’re right, then the damage has already been done. When Nah’Lek came to Equus, it was a catastrophe, his actions caused the Repugnant War for crying out loud! There’s no repairing that damage, you can’t just right a wrong and expect the whole fabric of destiny to be alright again, it’s like stitching up a stab wound and neglecting all the vital organs that have been critically injured on the inside.
Equus is already well on its way to being a fateless one, just look at how Rainbow Dash accidentally ended up on Earth before, as a toddler for that matter! Destiny is fading, and it will continue to do so regardless if I go home or not. I’m not the reason Equus will someday end up without a written fate, Nah’Lek is, and there’s nothing we can do to stop that. And for what it’s worth, if everything were up to the Titans’ written destiny, I’d have never met you.”

“Twilight, c’mon…”

“You know I’m right, Callum! Nah’Lek had been imprisoned in Tartarus for thousands of years, yet the whole planet didn’t suddenly implode. Perhaps we don’t need destiny, maybe Equus needs to become a master of its own fate, instead of being part of an ancient story that was written by gods who are dead now!”

“I’ve seen them with my own eyes y’know?”

“Yes, in a memory, looped in time. Those are just fragments of the Titans that only exist within your sword to initiate the next Champion. Oh, and speaking of that, you’re the current Champion, so what happens when we find the Orb? That sword belongs to you now, and no one else can wield it, so how is it right that you’re supposed to abandon it at the end of all this?
I’ll tell you how, it’s not! It’s NOT RIGHT!

Shrugging me off and getting to her feet, Twilight continued to rant with tears in her eyes, her hands shaking as they clenched into fists.

“This whole thing is bullshit! For the first time in my life, I think Princess Celestia is wrong, she has no idea you’re the Champion, her very creator chose you to defend Equus! What right does she have to deny you a place in Equestria? She has no right, that’s what!”

I got to my hooves and tried to calm her down, she was beginning to lose control.

“Twilight, we cannot lose sight of why we’re here and why we’re doing this. Nah’Lek has an army, and he’s hellbent on laying waste to Equus with it. My purpose as Champion is to help you find the Orb shards and get you home. Once that’s done, my purpose will have been fulfilled, and you would have given me the best life I could ever ask for.”

“But that’s just it, you say it like your life will be over. If we go home and you stay here, what will you do? Are you going to return home? Announce you’re not dead? Start a new life? Kill yourself? What the heck happens to you if we leave you behind?”

I froze momentarily. Holy shit, what was I going to do when all this was over? She was right to some degree, when the girls went home, my life was over. How could I return to an ordinary life after everything I’d been through? Was I being a hypocrite for telling her that she had to go home?
No, I couldn’t have been. Twilight’s world was full of mythical and fantastical things, and she had friends and family back home that would be able to grasp the life we’ve lived, she’d have support and options for counselling, she could be rehabilitated into the world; meanwhile there wasn’t a single human being on Earth that could comprehend what I’d seen, or what I’d done.

“I don’t know.” I sighed.

“Exactly, which is why I have to stay.”

Twilight approached me again after calming down somewhat, and took one of my hooves in her hands.

“I renounce the Element of Magic, and my place as Princess Celestia’s student. As soon as I’ve fulfilled my duty of finding all six shards of the Titans’ Orb and saving Equus, I will remain here at your side, I’m choosing to be the ruler of my own destiny, and I choose to stay with you.”

She wasn’t going to back down, not like this. I hated myself for knowing it, but I needed to hurt her feelings in order to make her listen, I needed to break her heart.
Gritting my teeth and exhaling through them, I looked down and shook my head.

“Twilight, you need to get this through your head. You cannot stay here, and I cannot go with you. Just think about it, you’d have no life here, no friends, no family, and nothing to aspire to. You’d spend your whole life hidden away, with the constant potential of getting discovered and captured at any time. Do you truly want to complete your mission and save Equus, only to stay here and risk get stolen and experimented on by a bunch of human scientists? Not only would you disrupt harmony in your world, but you’d also cause havoc in mine, because if humans knew an alien unicorn from another world exists, chaos would be sure to follow. Religions would be shattered, whole ways of life would be altered. And that’s only if they aren’t convinced you’re some sort of demon, people would try to hunt you down. Do you want that pressure? For the rest of your life?
We would have only two choices, an entire life full of chaos as every human on the planet tries to get a piece of you. Or an entire life on the run and in hiding, constantly afraid of being found. And no matter what, you’d spend either of those lives as the only member of your species, with only a mirror and a fucking cartoon show to remind you of what your own kind looks like. You’d be an alien forever, doomed to die alone on a foreign planet.
That’s no life, and I will not let you disown yourself to live it.
Especially all for me.”

“But-”

“But nothing! For fucks’ sake Twilight you are not staying here! You don’t belong on this planet, and you never will, this is not your home.” I spat.

YOU, are my home!” Twilight bellowed.

Bursting into tears, she fell to her knees and resigned all strength, curling into herself and sobbing into her hands. I felt my lips quivering with emotion as I slowly padded over to her and wrapped my forelegs around her, holding her tightly.

“Twilight, you’ve given me a life I couldn’t have possibly imagined. You’ve given me a crazy, wild, horrifying, beautiful adventure. It’s been full of pain and it’s been full of wonder, I’ve lived several lifetimes already, and the story isn’t even over yet! By the time we find the Orb shards and you’re ready to go home, I’m certain that I’ll have lived several lifetimes more. So no matter what happens, I’ll have lived a fulfilled life, you can let me go, knowing that you’ve given me everything I could have wanted.
I’ve made the best friends I ever could have made, I’ve felt the thrills of danger, the heat of battle, the passion of lovemaking, the sights of Portuguese mountain tops and Brazilian jungles. I’ve experienced the impossible, the supernatural, I’m literally in your body right now! I’ve seen monsters, orcs, and radioactive zombies, I’ve been amongst drug lords and even been in the presence of an interplanetary demi-god guardian! And need I mention the Titans? I’ve literally stood before six gods and been proclaimed a holy warrior, and did battle with the Champion before me, whom I also had the privilege of calling friend.
I met Bunnie, I fell in love, Twilight! And despite how that came to end, I’m thankful that I had the privilege of being in love with someone before I die. I’ve experienced everything there is to life, and as painful as it will be to see you go, I’ll have a smile on my face when you’re gone.”

I had been cradling her from side to side as I told her all of this, and it had thankfully calmed her down and stopped her sobbing; she wiped her nose and looked at me, taking in my words.
Mentioning Bunnie definitely tugged at her heartstrings, but for once it had been in a good way, I had worded it in a way that told her it was okay to move forward.

“You… You mean that?” She stammered quietly.

Beaming at her warmly and slowly blinking, I nodded.

“I promise you, Twilight. No matter what, I will be smiling at the end of this story.
But you have to go home for that to happen.”

Pulling her in closer, I planted a kiss on her forehead, to which she sighed heavily and relaxed again.
After a long cuddle, she faintly breathed her reply, putting an end to her former decision.

“Okay…”

“So, are we clear?” I asked, giving her a painfully weak smile.

Dipping her head, she confirmed that she would return home, no matter how painful it was going to be.

“Good girl.” I murmured.

After a brief silence, Twilight proposed that we should leave the mindscape and return to our own bodies, to which I concurred.

“Yeah, I’d like to see how the others are getting on, I think the weed’s worn off a fair bit too.” I hummed.

“So, do we need to die to get out, like it usually is?”

“Probably, but first let’s just lay on our backs and try to mentally will ourselves out.” I suggested.

“Agreed, pain of death doesn’t really seem like a nice way to end such a DMC.”

“What’s a DMC?”

“Deep, meaningful, conversation. It’s a girl thing.” She clarified.

“Ugh, sometimes I forget that I’m travelling the world with six sissy girls.”

“Don’t let Applejack hear you call her sissy, she’ll have your head.”

We chuckled together and lay down, gazed at the sky teeth together, and allowed ourselves to zone out and concentrate on a single phrase, “wake up”.

{Wake up, Callum. It’s time to leave this place. Wake up.} I told myself internally.

Twilight did the same, and one by one, the sky teeth vanished; their disappearances slowly turned the night sky into a pitch-black void, barren of all colour and light; the abyss then proceeded to descend upon us in the form of a thick sludge, dripping down and enveloping the trees, swallowing the world around us. And soon enough, we were swallowed too, and both mind and matter capitulated to the liquid darkness.



My eyes slowly quivered open, and I found myself staring at the ceiling of the yacht’s lower deck, with my peripheral vision ever so faintly swaying side to side to the cadence of the ocean waves. Rolling my head to one side, I found Twilight next to me, also waking up and adjusting to being back in her own body.

“I miss fingers already.” She muttered.

“Yeah, fingers are great.” I replied, tightening my hands into fists as I stretched.

I sat upright, far too quickly, to which I was instantly met with the sensation of my blood rushing to my head, causing me great dizziness and a temporary loss of vision.

“Ah.” I groaned.

“What is it?” Asked Twilight, concerned.

“Nothing, just the blood rushing to my head.” I explained.

“From.” She said.

“Huh?”

“The blood rushes from your head, it’s called postural hypotension.”

“Of course you’d know the medical term for it…” I scoffed.

Taking things much slower, I got up and allowed my brain to fully adjust to being in a human body again, the sensations of my recent equine form faded away, and soon enough I was back to normal. I got to my feet and decided to go check on Dashie and Fluttershy, perhaps they’d sobered up too.

“I’ll come back and check on you later, okay?” I told Twilight, briefly patting her wrist.

“Alright, I’m going to rest some more.”

Nodding, I turned away and left the room, heading upstairs to the upper deck where I found everyone hanging out in the living quarters. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack were chatting on the sofa, meanwhile Pinkie pie was prodding a seemingly deceased Rainbow Dash, whom was in a slumped sitting position, barely able to even raise her head to see me, needless to say she was utterly zonked.

“Well look who it is!” Rarity called to me, waving.

“Hey guys.” I replied sheepishly.

“Have a nice nap? Lover boy?” Applejack teased.

Furrowing my brow slightly, I demanded to know what she meant, to which Rarity chipped in.

“Oh she’s just teasing, she came to check in on you both and found the door shut with the two of you fast asleep together. It’s not exactly difficult to assume you were after some alone time.”

Frowning even more, I shut down this untrue presumption before it could gestate any further than it already had, which seemed to be a fair amount.

“Right, well firstly, the poor girl just got shot! I wanted to spend some time with her because she’s both bedbound and in pain. And secondly, we weren’t asleep, we were using the magic collars to see what my brain looked like while on drugs.” I snapped back.

“Hmph, fair enough dear. It’s just that we were expecting you to come back after bringing food to Twilight, and then poof, you were gone for over an hour! Besides, it’s not exactly a secret that you’re awfully close to each other.” She hinted.

“Okay, and? What’s your point?” I growled.

“Darling, we’re only messing with you! There’s no need to be defensive about it.”

“Then stop trying to romanticise us then!”

“It’s hard not to do that when the two of you are cuddling each other all the time.” Applejack piped up.

“Pfft! What!? We are not cuddling all the time.”

Applejack simply looked back at me with a dull expression, one eyebrow fully raised. Rarity tagged in and brought up all the times I’ve supposedly been ‘snuggled up’ to Twilight.

“You’ve been sharing a bed with her almost every night since Portugal dear, and just the other day when we were playing Ogres and Oubliettes, she was practically your scarf the entire time!”

“And yesterday morning she was asleep on your lap, when you were outside keeping watch.” Applejack pointed out.

And she was the only one who freaked out when she found out that we boned!” Rainbow Dash merrily hummed, before returning to her comatose state.

Inhaling through my nose and slowly licking my bottom lip in frustration, after fighting the urge to snap at them, I then sat down on the closest chair and put my hands together.

“Guys, look…”

I exhaled slowly, before cautiously continuing.

“A couple of years ago, when my depression was at an all-time low, I tried to take my own life, I went into my family’s medicine cabinet and swallowed every pill I could find. Needless to say, I very nearly died. I went into cardiac arrest and was in the hospital for two weeks, being pumped with antidote for paracetamol poisoning. I felt so alone, and so lost, it just felt like the only way out. At the time, it felt like the right thing to do, it felt like the only thing I had control over.
When Twilight tried to kill herself in Portugal, it really got to me. I saw myself in her, I saw that desperation to escape all the endlessly cascading emotions, all that pain. It was like looking into a mirror of my former self, and since then I’ve felt connected to her in a way that I can’t really explain. But, she feels the connection too, and after everything she’s been through, she is extremely vulnerable right now.”

Noticing that my hands were shaking a little bit, I took a moment to breathe and focused less on the emotional lament, and more on the point I was actually trying to make. Sighing, I continued.

“Twilight is completely dependent on me right now, and feels like she owes her life to me, so I’m being there for her as much as I can be, which means yeah, we are awfully close right now, and I’ll hold her whenever she needs to be held.
But we aren’t an item, this isn’t some bloody romance, okay? It’s trauma. So, the next time you want to make some little off-comment about how close we are, maybe consider the fact that Twilight is incredibly broken right now, and I’m doing what I can to piece her back together, and it’s really fucking hard when you’re the only one who understands how much pain she’s been through.”

The tears finally left my eyes and I quickly wiped them away, but not before the girls noticed; before I could keep talking, Rarity stepped forward and put a foreleg around my neck.

“It’s okay, darling. It’s okay. You’re right, and we’re sorry.” She spoke softly.

“We really are, I didn’t realise it was that bad.” Said Applejack, hanging her head.

After Rainbow Dash clambered to her hooves and apologised as well, I expressed my thanks to everyone and gave an apology of my own for suddenly getting so emotional. I didn’t realise how sensitive I was about the matter, but I felt better for getting it off my chest.

“I didn’t know you tried to… Well…” Rarity trailed off.

“Yeah, it was at one of my lowest points. Thankfully I’ve not felt like that since meeting you all, the depression still likes to come around sometimes and I feel all blank and lethargic, but it’s nothing like it used to be.” I admitted.

“So, um, changing the subject. What was it like inside your head when you used the collars, with the marijuana affecting it?” Fluttershy queried.

I cast my mind back to everything that had just occurred inside my mindscape and chuckled to myself, before looking back to Fluttershy with a sly smile.

“Allow me to answer your question, with a question. Have you ever heard of sky teeth?”



Two days had passed since we had claimed the yacht, and we were well on our way to reaching America; I had absolutely no idea how we were going to get to Michigan upon arrival, let alone find this Alex fellow, but thankfully I wasn’t the only planner on this vessel.

“Remember back when we left your home in England, and you didn’t want your dogs to run away or get hurt, so you contacted one of your nearby friends to ask if he could keep them?” Twilight asked.

“Aye?” I replied.

“Didn’t he know about us? Wasn’t he one of those brony people who watched the cartoon like you did?”

“He was indeed.”

“Well, what if you were able to reach out to some other bronies in America? I’m sure someone out there will be able to help us find Alex, perhaps even provide us with transport? Do you think that’s something that’s doable?”

“Hm…” I hummed.

In all fairness, the idea was superb, there were tens of thousands of bronies across the states that could be able to help us out, although I’d need to find one capable of keeping their shit together upon discovering that Equestria was real, because for as many of them that were capable of helping us, there were a hundred fold more that would desperately beg to go to their world and be transformed into a pony or something of that ilk. We’d also need to find someone capable of keeping a secret, the last thing we needed was someone blabbing to the entire brony community that the girls were real, while unlikely that anyone would believe them, it was still something to be wary of.
Only two names came to mind, and neither of them were in Michigan.

Firstly, there was Josh Osburn, he was a chap based in Iowa and would be ideal for transport, he worked as a disaster relief worker and had his very own modified school bus that he used for the job, which was perfect for long-haul journeys; I didn’t know him incredibly well but I had always entertained his overly enthusiastic correspondence in respect for what he did for a living, not everyone in the world had the heart to drive from disaster zone to disaster zone in order to help survivors across the country.

Josh was a little bit of an oddball, well, in actual fact he was very much an oddball; odd to the point where he already believed that Equestria was a real place, regardless of having no evidence, and although I had once thought it delusional and childish, I suppose he had been right all along. Introducing him to the girls would hardly be all that difficult, seeing as he was already convinced they were real, but just as I had to subvert my expectations upon our first encounter, Josh would have to subvert his.

And then there was Rommel, (or Mel as he preferred to be called), thankfully far less odd than Josh, and while Mr Osburn had a modified school bus for us to use, Mel on the other hand, had guns.
Hailing from a small town in New Hampshire, Rommel Panzo was one of my first ever brony friends, and like any decent American stereotype, he loved his Second Amendment right to bear arms.
If it was a legal firearm, Mel owned it. If it was an illegal firearm, Mel probably owned that too. Although I was contented with my sword, and Rarity with the Piercing Shot Rifle, it couldn’t hurt to acquire some extra firepower from a reliable friend.

Upon making landfall, I’d need to get to a computer as quickly as possible and try to contact both of these people and hope at least one of them would be interested in helping us. I’d try to contact my brother too for that matter, it would be nice to hear how he’s been getting on.
Deciding to get a move-on, I took the helm and got the yacht moving at top speed again, the sooner we got to land the better, one rogue wave and one gang attack was plenty enough to call our sea-faring adventure a day.



Taking a break shortly after lunchtime, (which featured the leftovers of Applejack’s pea salad), I gradually brought the yacht to a halt just as Rarity had made her way up to the flight deck with a folded white towel floating beside her in her telekinetic grasp, along with a bottle of shampoo.

“How far to go, skipper?” She asked, brushing up against my side.

“At this pace, a day. Probably a day and a half to give the engine a break.” I answered.

“Wonderful!”

Turning away from me, Rarity went over to the hot tub at the back of the fly bridge and switched it on.

“A bit early for a soak, isn’t it?” I teased.

“It’s not for me. And besides, a lady can bathe whenever she wishes.” She retorted.

“Who’s it for then?”

Rarity didn’t need to answer as Twilight limped her way up the stairs and onto the fly bridge with Fluttershy at her side, the bandages from her shoulder had been removed, revealing a fair portion of dried Oozima, darkened by old blood.

“Now, I’m only going to say this once. Don’t itch it, okay?” Fluttershy instructed.

“Ugh, fine.” The purple unicorn grumbled in response.

Stepping back from the controls, I came over and asked if it was a good idea for Twilight to bathe an injury so severe this soon, to which Fluttershy assured me that the Oozima had done its job, and that the wound needed some fresh air after a good wash.

“Alright, well I trust in your medical expertise.” I conceded.

Before Fluttershy gave me a verbal response, she noticed Twilight already trying to itch the injury before she’d even stepped into the hot tub, and quickly went to give the unicorn a smack on the back of the head.

“Ow! Fluttershy!”

“What did I just tell you?”

“I’m sorry! I can’t help it, it itches so badly!”

Fluttershy turned to me and ordered me to babysit, to which I dipped my head and then got undressed down to my underwear.

“Um, what do you think you’re doing?” Twilight asked nervously.

“Babysitting.” I replied, stepping into the hot tub.

Immersing myself in the hot water, I let out a satisfied groan as the warmth surrounded me.

“That’s… not exactly what I meant, but so long as you keep her from itching that shoulder.” Fluttershy hummed.

“I will, don’t worry.” I replied, grinning.

“Guess I’ll fetch you a towel too then?” Rarity asked with an eyebrow raised.

“If you’d be so kind, oh and a fresh pair of boxers please.”

Rolling her eyes, Rarity strutted off back downstairs. Fluttershy then gave Twilight another cuff on the back of the head.

“Oww! What the hay, I didn’t even itch it that time!” Twilight squealed.

“That was for when you inevitably do.”

Giggling to herself, Fluttershy headed off, leaving the two of us alone. Twilight relaxed properly and lay back in the water, sighing heavily.

“Gosh, now this was what I needed.”

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” I asked, laying back as well and shutting my eyes.

“You have no idea.”

“Um, I think I do. I’ve been shot too y’know? More than once as a matter of fact, and I didn’t get a nice bath afterwards for any of them.”

“Yeah well, shut up.”

“Rude.”

Exhaling out of her nose with amusement, Twilight floated over and rested up against me.

“How many times have you been shot again?”

“Pfft, I haven’t kept count. Let me think…”

Casting my mind back, I thought of all the unfortunate times where I’d met a bullet. My first three were all at once back in Brazil when we were caught by Inigo, those were probably the nastiest as the wound in my shoulder got horribly infected, it was only thanks to Nicole that I’d not died from bloody sepsis. A bullet had also skimmed me when I first arrived in Portugal, but I otherwise didn’t take a hit until I was shot by Hoyt himself, with my heavily modified phone stopping the bullet. Following that, the only other time I’d been shot was after acquiring Vitra ‘Aku, which was a damn good thing as the bullet wound would have most certainly killed me, on account of it being from an AK-Forty Seven.

“Um… Six, I think?” I said after a moment of racking my brains.

“Well, I’m just four more bullets away from beating you.”

“Let’s not make that a competition.” I nervously chuckled.

“Only because I’d win.”

“Because we’d die you stupid girl.”

“I’m kidding, you dumb oaf.”

Ruffling her mane, I let out a nice long breath and zoned out a bit, allowing myself to take in the hot tub’s splendour.

“Oh yeah, I was going to wash my mane.” Said Twilight after a good twenty minutes of silence.

“Need a hand with that? Seeing as you have no magic?” I offered.

“Um… Okay, sure!”

I reached over and grabbed the shampoo bottle, reading the label I noticed that it was a brand from Canterlot, named Trèsimane.

{That’s just laughably close to TRESemmé.} I thought to myself in amusement.

“Lavender and vanilla scented?” I hummed, inspecting the label further.

“Yeah, those are two of my favourite smells, I’ve been using this stuff for years.”

Twilight shut her eyes and dunked her head under the water to soak her mane, and then turned away from me so I could get to work; squirting a fair portion into my hand, I slowly began to massage it into the back of her head and work my way down to the roots, as I did so, I recognised the scent more and more.

“Have you used this before while you’ve been on Earth?” I asked.

“Yeah, I used it once just before leaving Equestria, once when I returned from my solo trip to Chernobyl, and once in Portugal when we used Rarity’s bath bombs.”

“I thought it smelled familiar.”

Continuing to knead the shampoo into her mane, I worked my way to the top of her head, drawing a satisfied hum from her.

“I tell you, those hands of yours are just as good as magic, if not better.” She hummed.

“Oh, these old things?” I replied with a smirk, before applying pressure with my fingernails, lightly scratching her head and behind her ears.

“Gah…”

I scratched all over her head and down the back of her neck, causing her hind leg to twitch.

“You sure you aren’t secretly a masseur or something?” She groaned.

“Nah, just good with my hands.”

“I can see why Rainbow Dash is so… into them.”

Twilight!

Tutting and shaking my head while she giggled away, I continued lathering up her mane until it was all frothy, and then instructed her to tilt her head back so the hair was submerged and I could wash it all out. When I was done, she lay against me and sighed, thanking me for taking the time to help her.

“You know, no one has washed my mane since I was just a little filly, my dad used to do it for me.”

“That’s sweet.” I replied, wrapping my arms around her.

“Yeah, my mother was terrible at it, she’d always get soap in my eyes and make me cry. But dad? He would always take so much care in it, he’d cover my eyes and keep me safe, he really cared. Poor Shining Armor would always get so jealous.”

“How come?”

“Well, it was no secret that dad had always wanted a girl, so when I came along, he was all over me, and I think Shiny got left out a little bit. But the strangest part, is that he never resented me for it, and actually ended up just as protective over me as dad did.”

“Heh, big brothers can be that way. Before my dad left, Oliver was so protective over me, as a seven-year-old boy he was ready to fight kids twice his size and age just to protect me.”

“That’s adorable… I’m sorry that all went away for you, after your dad disappeared.”

“Eh, it was a rather shite ordeal, but we’re long past it now, ey?”

“I guess so.”

Tightening my grip on the mare, I gave her a good ol’ cuddle before laying back properly and enjoying the hot tub for myself, now surrounded by the pleasant aroma of lavender and vanilla.



Rarity arrived just as the sun was beginning to set, placing another towel and some boxers down close to the hot tub for me, to which I thanked her.

“You two having a nice time? You’ve been soaking for almost two hours!”

“It’s been splendid, thanks.” Twilight merrily hummed.

“Well, dinner is mushroom stir-fry, and it’s ready on the stove when you want it.”

“Thanks Rare, is that your cooking or Applejack’s?” I asked.

“Fluttershy’s actually.”

“Fair one, well I look forward to trying it.”

Rarity dipped her head and was about to head back below deck, when she spotted something out to sea.

“What is it?” I quizzed.

“Um… You might want to get out of the tub… Like, now…” She murmured.

Twisting around and looking out to where she was facing, I saw exactly what had got her so startled.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake.” I growled.

Twilight peered out to sea and saw it too, gulping nervously. I grabbed the towel and dried off as quickly as possible, before changing back into my clothes and frantically trying to think of what to do.

“Are they another gang?” She asked.

I shook my head.

“Pirates?”

“Worse…” I murmured.

“What could be worse than pirates while out on the open sea?” Rarity demanded to know.

Looking Rarity dead in the eye, I furrowed my brow and told her exactly what.

“Americans.”


Chapter Eleven: A Mad Dash to Safety

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Ahead in the distance, was a US Coast Guard ship, at least that’s what it looked like judging by the sheer size of the bloody thing, it was easily over four-hundred feet long. The vessel was as white as the clouds above us, with a large red strip by the front, and directly in our path.

“Rare, grab the rifle so I can get a better look at that thing.” I commanded.

“Right away!”

“What shall I do?” Twilight asked.

“Pack all of your things, and instruct everyone else to do the same, we need to be ready to move at a moment’s notice.”

Dipping her head, the unicorn limped down from the flybridge and went to find the others, just as Rarity returned to me with the Piercing Shot Rifle, I took it from her and switched the mode to maximum magnification, before resting it on the closest railing and inspected the ship.

My suspicions were correct, it was a US Coast Guard cutter, most likely here to intercept us, as they would (and rightfully should) do so for any unknown vessel approaching the country from the open sea.

“How on Earth are we getting out of this…?” I murmured to myself.

“I take it we can’t fight this one?” Rarity inquired.

“Well, if I switched to Piercing Shot mode, I could definitely fill it with holes and sink it, but you don’t understand, this is human military we’re talking about. If we fire on them, not only will they fire back, but they would call in reinforcements, we’d have multiple vessels and probably a helicopter or two on our ass, so no, we can’t fight this one.” I explained.

“So, we just flee? Can we outrun them?”

“Same issue, they’d probably call in a helicopter to pursue.”

“What’s a helicopter exactly?”

“It’s a flying vehicle.”

“Like an aeroplane?”

“Much different, it has a big spinning blade on top, along with one on the tail, which allows aerial agility. It’s also got vertical take-off and landing capabilities, so it’s all-round much better suited for pursuits and darting from location to location.”

“I’m struggling to picture it.”

“Okay, um… Imagine if an aeroplane was some sort of bird, with its two big wings either side of it. Well a helicopter would be more like an insect, like a mosquito or something. But as I said, it’s got a big spinning blade on top of it.”

“I think I know what you’re getting at.” Rarity hummed.

“Well, it doesn’t matter, because hopefully we aren’t going to meet one today. Gather your things with the others while I try to think of a plan.”

Nodding, she darted off, leaving me to irritably rub my temples with my fingers and try my hardest to formulate some sort of plan. My first draft seemed like the only option, have the girls hide inside one of the bags again, and surrender myself to them; from there I could just bullshit my way into the country by pretending to be a US citizen or something, perhaps claim to be one of the many people that had been captured by Inigo Montenegro’s cartel in Brazil, and that I’d finally found my way home upon this yacht that I’d admittedly stolen from them. Casting my mind back, there were plenty of American prisoners back in the Stock Heap, I perhaps could try to impersonate one of them?

No, they’d never buy that, but maybe they didn’t have to? I could just use any dumb name and say that I’d stolen a yacht to escape the cartel, and even if they didn’t believe me, they’d still take me back to the states for questioning, then I’d just need to escape with the help of the girls, and get as far away as possible.
But then they’d see my face, they’d take a mugshot and then I’d have the law searching for me, anywhere with a CCTV camera wouldn’t be safe, I’d probably end up on local news as a ‘dangerous fugitive’ or something, encouraging locals to report me if they recognised me. No matter what, I couldn’t let them take any pictures of my face, and what if they checked my fingerprints? That would lead directly back to a deceased British citizen, and then I’d have the US government aware that a supposed corpse had returned from the dead!

Oh god, and if they did a forensic inspection of the yacht, they would find literal alien DNA all over the place, the hot tub alone now easily contained a whole handful of shed hair from Twilight’s mane, not to mention all the other girls’ bedsheets and pillows! Oh, what to do? What to do? Did we burn the evidence? Yes, we needed to burn it, there was no way in a million years that I’d let the bloody Yanks become aware of the ponies’ existence.

As far as any human on that damn cutter would be concerned, this was a decoy ship for some cartel or something, rigged to go up in flames. I rushed down to the main deck and went into the kitchen, where I spotted Fluttershy’s mushroom stir fry on the cooker, despite the panic and sense of urgency, I couldn’t help but grab a small handful out of the pot and have a little taste.

{Damn, that’s some good shit.} I thought to myself, humming.

Returning to the task at hand, I opened all of the cupboard doors until I finally located the cooking oil, to which I grabbed the whole bottle.

“What are you doing with that?” Applejack asked, putting the last of her items into her saddlebag.

“Preparing to cook something, clearly. Find me something to start a fire! Oh, and please bag up that stir fry, that shit’s delicious and I’m not letting it go to waste!” I barked in response.

“You’re the boss!” She replied, giving a salute.

Zipping to the lowest deck bedrooms, I didn’t hesitate to empty all the cooking oil onto the beds, drenching every pillow in the stuff. I then ran back out to the rear of the yacht and hollered for Rarity to assist me, she rushed out to find me just as I was unscrewing the fuel cap.

“Remember how you siphoned the fuel out of that Land Rover, back in the desert?”

“Yes, why?”

“I want you to suck out every damn drop out of this yacht and carry it downstairs, splash it all over the lower deck, every single room, understand?”

“Got it!”

Rarity’s horn lit up and out came all the diesel, it all came together into a single floating blob of fluid and the white mare rushed away with the stuff to implement my command. I then darted to the storage room to grab the jerry can which had some extra fuel in it. Once the girls had finished packing and took their bags out to the rear of the vessel, I upturned the cannister to splash the remaining fuel all over the main deck floor, hopefully all of this would be enough to set the ship ablaze in no more than a jiffy.
Was I running almost entirely on panic right now? Absolutely.
Was I going to take any chances with the US government? Absolutely fucking not.



Applejack returned to me with a box of matches from her bag, to which I took them and thanked her.

“So, what are we doing now?” She asked.

“I’m thinking…” I muttered.

It was then that Twilight called to me from the rear of the yacht.

“Uh, Callum? If you’ve got a plan, now’s the time to hear it!”

Dashing out to join her, I looked out to the cutter and spotted a smaller black boat beside it.
A boarding party was being prepared.

“Fuck!” I growled.

“What if we all get inside one of the bags again? Just like we did before?” Twilight proposed.

“And then what?” I snapped back.

“I… I don’t know!”

“I’m scared…” Fluttershy mumbled.

Pacing in circles and repeatedly tapping my forehead, I stared at the floor and looked at our long silhouettes in the setting sun’s light, and amongst them, I spotted the answer. It wasn’t exactly the best of ideas, in fact, I didn’t even want to suggest it at all, but we didn’t have any better options, and we were out of time.

“Rainbow Dash.” I spoke softly.

“Yeah?”

Turning to face the pegasus, I sighed heavily as the words harrowingly left my lips.

“How long can you stay airborne?”

“My record is like five or six hours, why do you…”

She trailed off and her eyes widened, as she realised what I was asking her to do. After a few seconds, she gathered the confidence in herself and nodded, gulping.

“Wait, you can’t be serious! You said we were a whole day away, if not more, and that’s by boat! There’s no way you can expect Rainbow Dash to fly that far without a rest!” Rarity exclaimed.

“What else do you propose, Rarity? We have no choice, and no time!”

“There’s got to be another way!”

Ignoring her, I asked Fluttershy to get her bag ready, (as hers had the most space). She reluctantly obeyed and forced the contents into Dashie’s, just like last time. She held it open and Pinkie immediately dived in headfirst.

Weeeee!

“At least someone’s fine with this plan.” I uttered under my breath.

Everyone very reluctantly started clambering into the bag after her, along with their own bags, while Rainbow Dash started stretching her wings and taking some deep breaths.

I went back inside with the matches and found the smuggler’s drug bag, I took out the cigarette rolling paper packets and ran to the bedroom to dump them all into a pile on the floor, along with draping the corner of the duvet onto the pile just to ensure it caught light. I struck a match, and placed it at the bottom of the pile, to which the papers very quickly caught light, along with the back of my hand, which I didn’t realised had a small amount of fuel on it.

“Ow! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Hot! Fuck! Fucking! Hot! Fuck!”

I placed my hand under my armpit to smother the flame and fled the room as quickly as possible, I had made it out just as the flames spread across the bedroom floor and began to consume the room.

{Well at least that part of the plan worked!} I thought to myself.

Returning to the back of the yacht, I found only Rainbow Dash, with the last of Applejack’s tail disappearing into the bag. I approached the pegasus and placed my hands on her shoulders.

“Look, Dashie, I’m know what I’m asking you to do here is bloody extreme, but I don’t know what other choice we have. If there was another way, I wouldn’t be asking you to do this.” I told her.

“It’s okay, I know. I’ll do my damn best to get us there.” She replied, puffing her chest out proudly.

“I know you will.”

“Quick question though, which way do I fly?”

“The sun always sets in the west, so get above the clouds and follow the sunset. You chase that motherfucker for as long as you can, and after that, just pray you’ve stayed the course.” I instructed.

“Got it. Oh, and Callum?”

“Yeah?”

Before I knew what was happening, Rainbow Dash lunged forward and kissed me, hard. I was shocked at first, but quickly leaned into it and reciprocated, a couple seconds later, she pulled back with a gasp.

“That’s just in case we don’t make it. Now get in the damn bag, stud.”

“Y… Yup!” I stammered back, clearing my throat.

I squeezed my way into the pocket dimension and plopped down right into Pinkie’s lap.

“Your face is red!” She giggled.

“Your face is pink.” I retorted.

“Hm, touché.”

Dashie stuck her head into the bag after me and looked down at everyone.

“You all ready in there?”

“Yes, just please don’t drop us and kill us!” Rarity replied.

“Way to doubt the best flier in Equestria.” Rainbow tutted, rolling her eyes.

“You have every ounce of our confidence.” Said Twilight.

“I call bullshit, but thanks!”

Closing the flap and encasing us in near darkness, Rainbow Dash put the bag onto her back, tightened the straps, and took to the air. The sound of the rushing wind came through the thin gap in the top, which was also our only source of light.

“Whoa! Dude that’s awesome!” Dashie shouted.

“What?” I called back.

“The yacht’s already burning like crazy!”

“Brilliant! Now get out of there, that boarding party might see you!” I ordered.

“And stop talking, you’re wasting energy!” Twilight added.

“Yes, eggheads!”

Dashie shot upwards and took us into the clouds, enveloping us in complete darkness. About ten to fifteen seconds later, deep orange light flooded into the small space, indicating that we’d made it above the clouds; I’d have stuck my head out to take in the view, but I didn’t want to add so much as a hair’s weight onto Rainbow Dash, not even for a second.

“Do you think she’ll be okay out there?” Twilight asked.

“You tell me. You girls are the ones who have known Rainbow for years, how often have you seen her fly for long durations of time?” I replied.

“Only a few times, but she’s always ready for more.” Applejack said confidently.

“I’m more worried about her wings than I am about her stamina, it’s only been a couple of months since she’s been able to fly again, I hope they don’t give out on her after so long without proper use.” Said Fluttershy, anxiously biting her bottom lip.

“Nah, she’ll be fine in that regard. In Portugal, she literally lifted me off the ground and carried me above the treeline, and that was after she just started flying again.” I added, folding my arms.

Humming, Fluttershy leaned back and gave a shrug, suggesting we simply have faith in Rainbow Dash and try to get comfortable as it was going to be a long ride in the saddlebag. Agreeing, I unbuttoned my jeans as the waistband was quite tight in my current position, and then snuggled up between Twilight and Applejack, both of whom leaned back into me as we all tried our best to make do with the limited space available.



“So, how does this compare to travelling via hot air balloon?” I teased.

“I mean, the company’s good at least?” Twilight chuckled in reply.

“Awh, shucks.” I deadpanned, placing a hand over my heart.

“As lovely as the company is, I’d certainly appreciate it if someone would get their hoof out from beneath my rear!” Rarity barked.

“Sorry!” Pinkie squeaked, pulling her leg back and shuffling around to get comfy.

“This is going to be quite the ride.” Applejack mumbled.

“Well, at least we’re not in human captivity, ey? Because we were just moments away from being in just that, I’d much rather the bag.” I remarked.

“Hmph, I guess.”

“Let’s just try to make the most of the situation we’re in. As Callum rightly says, this is far better than being captives. So, how about a story? Does anypony have a good story to tell?” Said Fluttershy.

Pinkie instantly disrupted everyone’s vague comfort by uprooting herself yet again, clambering over us to reach Fluttershy.

“Ooh! Ooh! Me! Me! I have a story!”

“Sit back down, you buffoon, I had only just been able to get comfy!” Rarity scolded.

Whining like a dog, the pink pony sat back down, her puppy-eyes glistening in the ever-dimming orange glow of the sunset’s light.

“And yes, you can still tell your story.” I added.

“Oh, goodie!”

Pinkie rubbed her front hooves together in anticipation, before telling us all about the story of how back in Brazil, we were all captured by a “big ol’ meanie”, and then Rarity saved the day by poking a big man with a spatula. Needless to say, we all knew this story, and decided not to correct her on how Rarity had literally stabbed Vladimir in the back with his own knife.

“Um, Pinkie, we know that story, we were all there.” Said Applejack.

“Yeah, but you don’t know the best bit!” Pinkie protested.

“I think I can safely say the best bit was when we all escaped with our lives.” Twilight nervously chuckled.

“No, the best bit was when I got so scared that I tinkled on the floor, and one of the mean men slipped over on it when he was trying to put me in a cage!”

Silence followed such a statement for quite some time, before the lot of us roared into laughter in unison, between gasping for air, I demanded clarification.

“You… You mean to say… You pissed yourself? And then one of the bad guys slipped in it?”

“Yeah! Face first!”

The laughter only grew louder as we all envisioned one of Inigo Montenegro’s thugs slipping over in pony piss, albeit rather disgusting, the thought of the incident was every bit as funny and more.

“Okay, that was actually quite a decent story.” I admitted, still laughing.

“Yeah, it’s almost as good as when I stole a bag of cocaine from the building as we were escaping.”

The laughter stopped almost immediately, and I tilted my head on one side.

“I beg your pardon?”

“It looked like flour, and I wanted to bake some cupcakes with it. But they didn’t turn out very well, I tried one of them and it was disgusting, made me feel very strange too.” She admitted.

“I remember distinctly telling you not to touch that stuff!” I exclaimed.

“And I remember distinctly ignoring you!”

I rolled my eyes and sighed in disbelief as it dawned on me that Pinkie had literally ingested cocaine.

“When the heck did that happen?” Applejack demanded to know.

“When we got back to Callum’s old house and met his brother. You know, when Twilight went to the wobbly place by herself? I tried to bake them while Oliver and Callum were at the funeral.”

Ignoring the fact Pinkie had just described Chernobyl as ‘the wobbly place’, I went on to ask what Pinkie had done with the remaining cocaine cupcakes, along with the remaining cocaine.

“Oh, I put the whole lot of it in the trash.”

“Well that’s a relief.”

Reaching forward and giving the pink mare a playful cuff on the back of the head, I told her that what she did was very dangerous and that I’m glad she was okay. Pinkie responded by looking down and shuffling her back legs.

“So, you really can’t use that stuff as flour?” She asked me.

“Absolutely not.”

“Um… In that case…”

“Pinkie?” I growled in a low, authoritarian tone.

Pinkie shuffled even more, anxiously wiggling her back hooves.

“Well, you know how there was a black bag on the boat? With some white powder in it?”

Pinkie?” I growled even louder, and angrier.

“Please don’t be mad.”

“Oh for goodness’ sake, you’ve stolen more cocaine, haven’t you?” Rarity gasped.

May… be?

I outstretched my arm and opened my hand, gesturing for her to give it to me, to which she jammed a hoof directly into her mane and rummaged around, before eventually yanking out a wrapped block of cocaine.

“Jesus Christ…” I sighed, taking the block off her.

Standing up (with great difficulty) and spreading the opening of the bag above us, I tossed out the block and it was quickly whisked out of sight.

What the heck was that!?” Rainbow Dash shouted from outside.

“Don’t worry about it, just some very unneeded merchandise! Fly safe!” I called back, closing the bag.

I slumped back down beside Twilight and Applejack and frowned at Pinkie, whom apologised and gave her word that she wouldn’t ever take mysterious packets of white powder again. After enforcing her to make a Pinkie Promise, I relaxed, unlatching my void sheathe from my waistband and used the natural glow from Vitra ‘Aku to help light up the area as the sun’s light had almost completely faded away by now.

“Well, with that out of the way, anypony else have a story to tell?” Fluttershy suggested.

With a hum, I realised that despite being in possession of this sword, I knew very little about my predecessors except for Stardust Moonshimmer, whom was now dead and could offer me no insight on the matter.

“I want to know more about the past Champions.” I declared.

“Golly, that’s a good idea! What, with you being one now.” Applejack concurred.

“That’s actually a really good call, what did you want to know? I’ve done so many studies on the ancient history of Equus, and the Champions of Old show up all over the place!” Twilight blurted out, clapping her hooves together.

“Well firstly, the obvious question. Who was the first Champion?”

“Oh that’s an easy one. His name was Brighthorn, ancient texts describe him as a daring unicorn adventurer from before the Age of the Sisters, he was the first pony to reach the top of Mount Cantermore, which was simply known as the Great Mountain at the time.”

“That’s the mountain where Canterlot is, right?”

“Yup.”

Continuing, Twilight explained that Brighthorn had discovered Vitra ‘Aku at the very top of the mountain, and upon touching it, was spoken to directly by the Titans as they proclaimed him as their first Champion; he went on to live an abnormally long life and became one of the pillars of early civilisation.

“Right, so this was like, long before the Princesses?” I asked.

“Oh goodness yes, by thousands of years!” Twilight confirmed.

“Blimey, I didn’t think Equestria had much history prior to them.”

“Callum, more than half of our history predates the Princesses. It was only when Appelox turned on the other Titans did Twilus create Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, which funny enough, involved the Champion before Stardust.”

“Huh, and who was that one?”

Putting a hoof to her chin and humming, Twilight admitted that the Champion before Stardust was the most mysterious, to the point where no one even knew her name. The only title she ever had was the Regal Mother, which was where the name came from when referring to Regal Souls. With my head already whizzing, I asked if she could tell me about the Regal Mother another time, and cover the Champions in chronological order instead.

“Yeah, that’s probably for the best.” she chuckled.

Clearing her throat, Twilight went on to enlighten me on how Brighthorn the First used his new position to appoint himself as a monarch, and founded the most basic of societal infrastructure for whomever chose to follow him and his rule. He was sometimes referred to as the Lonely King, due to him never taking a wife. Without an heir to inherit his throne, order gradually collapsed after his death, and his kingdom slowly reverted back into a divided tribal nature.

“How did Brighthorn die?” I inquired.

“Well, the Lonely King wasn’t a lazy one, his thirst for adventure never dulled during his time on the throne, and one day he went spelunking into a cave system down south, where he was killed by a pack of Diamond Dogs, or as they were called back then, the Hounds of the Deep. The poor stallion’s body was never recovered.”

“Jesus…”

“Yeah, those creatures are not to be messed with.” Twilight hummed.

“Don’t remind me.” Rarity grumbled.

“Well, the cartoon just showed them as brutish underground dog-people that like gems. They were ill-mannered, but otherwise didn’t seem too dangerous. What are they like in real life?” I asked.

“Worse, so much worse!” Rarity practically howled, resting a foreleg against her brow.

The white unicorn went on to elaborate further about the time she was been kidnapped by the dreaded Dogs of the Deep, and despite her flair for drama, I could hear the very legitimate trauma in her voice.

“Those wretched things taunted me day and night, endlessly barking and gnashing at me. They only spared my life and dignity because of my ability to find gemstones with magic. I’ll never forget what their pack leader said to me when we arrived back in their den, I can remember it like it was yesterday, along with that deep, rumbling voice of his…”

“What did he say? If you don’t mind me asking, of course.” I probed.

Rarity shut her eyes and then recited what the pack’s leader, Rover, had said to her.

"Have you ever felt true dread, with your whole being? No, apparently not. You are but a lamb, a stranger to the Deep, ignorant of your own ignorance. You know how to find them, the stones that shine in these tunnels of mine, you can see them in the walls. Be thankful of your gift, it is all that keeps your death and defilement at bay.
Ah, now you feel it, the dread... the realisation that you are no longer safe, and no one is coming to help you. I can smell it on you, on that fear-ridden sweat, leaking from that tender skin. Down here in the Deep, there is nothing quite so delectable as a fresh pony, ripe and waiting. So don't you go testing my patience, you will find the gemstones, or I will have my way with you, and then devour you, while you're still warm, and struggling."

“Bloody… hell.” I murmured.

“Yeah, it wasn’t the best of experiences to say the least, that’s for certain. I had to make myself abundantly clear that I would only find jewels for them, if they didn’t touch me. And even then, they were basically ravaging me with their eyes, panting and sniffing at me, the filthy beasts! They had me locked in a cell for three days, with only water and a bucket to do my business in, and yes, they watched me the whole time for that too. Diamond Dogs are absolute savages, you’d have better luck taming a wyvern than one of those monstrous cretins. At least they were a civilised pack, capable of speaking the common tongue. Otherwise, I really don’t know what they’d have done to me.”

“That… That was considered a civilised pack?” I blurted out, legitimately astounded.

Twilight joined in on the conversation and decided to put it awfully bluntly, much to the distaste of the others.

“Sadly, yes. A lot of packs can’t even speak our language, and the ones that can? Well, I assure you, they are not interested in dialogue. If they catch you, they’ll rape you to death, eat your flesh, and sew your skin into their clothes. And if you’re very, very lucky, they’ll do it in that order.”

Twilight!” Applejack gasped, her eyes wide as dinnerplates.

“What? It’s true!”

“Still, some things go without saying, Twi!”

“Well, I just wanted Callum to understand just how dangerous they really are.”

“Oh, trust me, I very much understand now.” I said, gulping.

“I can’t believe you just said that aloud, especially with Pinkie in earshot.” Applejack tutted.

After glancing at Pinkie Pie, who seemed to be unbothered and practically zoned out, Twilight shrugged and continued to explain that Diamond Dogs were simply too savage in nature to befriend, and that every single attempt at diplomacy with them had failed, even when one of them was a Champion once.

A Diamond Dog was a Champion!?” Rarity and I both exclaimed in unison.

“It’s hard to believe I know, but yes. In fact, it was none other than Brighthorn’s killer whom took the sword and was chosen by the Titans to succeed him. His name was Shep Two-Furs, and I’ll give you one guess as to how he earned that name…”

“I don’t think I want to know.” Rarity muttered with a grimace.

“Me neither…” Fluttershy whimpered.

Rolling her eyes playfully, Twilight leaned over and whispered into my ear how Shep had killed his own brother and skinned the body, before sewing the pelt into his own skin, wearing his brother's remains like a cape, establishing unquestionable dominance over the rest of his pack. A very small handful of records had even mentioned this cape bearing the cutie mark of a pony sewn into it as well, presumably Brighthorn's.

“Right then! So basically, Shep Two-Furs was as mad as a box of frogs?” I said with wide eyes.

“Oh terribly so, he was the most violent Champion we’ve ever had." Twilight confirmed, "But that said, in his defence, such unmatched ferocity was exactly what was needed to help build Equestria into the nation it is today.”

“Go on?”

“Well, without Brighthorn's influence, ponies were back to living in simple clans, divided, raiding and pillaging one another! Among all that chaos, there was a relatively large group that had remained loyal to Brighthorn’s old kingdom, led by several ponies called the Unicorn Lords. They were basically trying establish a new kingdom that spanned across the whole country. They were constantly at war with the countless clans that resisted. When Shep Two-Furs arrived, it was quite literally a godsend, for he had been instructed by the Titans to serve as a living weapon for the Unicorn Lords. Being a creature born for violence, he gladly obliged, and was sent into countless short-lived wars against the rebellious pony clans, and anyone who didn’t coalesce with the kingdom were decimated. Legends tell of Shep’s wolf-like battle cry before every skirmish, it would spark terror into thousands of ponies. Heck, some clans would just surrender upon hearing it, and over time, Shep would come to be known as The Howling Warlord.”

“Fucking, awesome.”

“Language, Callum.” Rarity growled.

“C’mon, that’s so awesome though!” I argued.

“I’ll admit, that does sound quite cool.” Applejack joined in.

“Well, cool as it may be, I’m tired, stressed, cramped, worried about Rainbow Dash, and don’t need you foul-mouthing over a grim tale about tens of thousands of ponies being slaughtered by a Diamond Dog!”

“Okay Rare, well how about I just finish up about Shep and then we get some rest?” Twilight suggested.

“Fine.”

Applejack looked at me and rolled her eyes in playful annoyance, to which I lightly chuckled, and then allowed Twilight to continue educating me about Shep Two-Furs.

“Eventually, the warring clans were subjugated, to which they agreed to live by the laws and standards set by the Unicorn Lords. Villages had to agree to meet the supply and demand of one another’s resources, along with a small portion of those goods being donated as tax to the Lords, so that they could effectively manage the kingdom.”

“Huh, so they were basically medieval England at this point.” I hummed.

“How so?”

“Well, that’s almost exactly what happened in the early nine-hundreds. All the various warring Anglo-Saxon clans and kingdoms were unified by King Æthelstan into the singular kingdom of England. All territories were made to follow the same exact laws, follow the same religion, and use the same coinage. Æthelstan was the first Saxon king to command loyalty from the whole of Britain, and he was basically the foundation for the later establishment of the United Kingdom.”

“Hm, I’ll admit that’s awfully similar.” Twilight said by her own admission.

“I know right? Well anyway, what happened next with Shep?”

“Okay so, with his holy work complete and with no more wars to fight in, Shep left the continent, heading eastward in search of new battles. He eventually reached the Griffon Kingdoms, and supposedly offered himself as a mercenary, where he was eventually killed in combat by a griffon named Qhe'keck.”

“Who… became the next Champion, right?” I quizzed, already guessing the answer.

“That's right!”

“Wonderful... from the paws of one savage beast, to the claws of another. Now can I please get some sleep?” Rarity groused, loudly huffing with annoyance.

“Did you seriously just take in all that history, only to insult two of the most important individuals our planet has ever had?” Twilight snapped back, tutting.

“Ugh, I’m sorry darling. Like I mentioned just a moment ago, I’m tired, stressed, a tad claustrophobic, and really don’t like that we’re being carried across the open sea, by a pegasus with wings that weren’t even capable of flight a couple of months ago!”

Placing a hand on one of her ankles and giving it a gentle squeeze, I assured Rarity that we would be okay and to simply have faith in Dashie. Soon enough we’d reach the states, and then I’d take charge again and figure out a safe place to crash for the night. But for now, there was nothing we could do but rest, and so I properly sheathed Vitra ‘Aku and darkness enveloped our cramped fibrous capsule.

After a few moments of silence as everyone tried (and mostly failed) to get comfortable, we shut our eyes and attempted to drift off to sleep, most succeeded, but I lay there wide awake, thoughts about the past Champions whizzing around the inside of my skull.


Well over two hours later, and I still couldn’t sleep, and it seemed I wasn’t the only one, for Twilight was very quietly mumbling something to herself under her breath. Choosing not to startle her, I gradually moved my hand to one of her forelegs and lightly gripped it, caressing it back and forth with my thumb. Upon realising I was awake, she leaned forward and whispered into my ear.

“I’m not sleepy in the slightest…”

“Join the club.” I breathed back quietly.

“Want to put the collars on? We could have a nice chitchat via telepathy.”

“That’s not too bad an idea, alternatively, we could see how your mindscape is getting on?”

“But then we’d be unconscious, and I’d rather be able to react quickly when Rainbow Dash makes landfall.”

“Actually, yeah, that’s a good point. Good thinking.”

“Well you know, being the smart one is kind of… my thing.”

“Oh shut up.” I teased, poking her chest.

Twilight carefully opened her own bag to retrieve the collars, when suddenly we were all startled by the entire pocket dimension shaking, causing us to wobble from side to side, jarring everyone awake.

“For goodness’ sake, I had only just drifted off!” Applejack barked.

Rainbow Dash? Everything okay up there?” I hollered.

After hearing no response, I stood up and pulled apart the opening, the wind was still rushing above us, but far quieter than before, Dashie had slowed down quite substantially.

Dash?” I called out to her.

“L… La… Land… ahe… ahead!” The pegasus wheezed, panting heavily.

Raising just the top of my head out of the bag, I looked ahead and saw lights in the distance, and relief flooded over me as it dawned on me that Rainbow Dash had done it, she’d flown us from Christ-knows where in the open sea, to the United States of America.
But even with our destination on the horizon, Dashie was exhausted, the poor thing was struggling to fly straight and was continually dipping and then catching herself mid-fall, which explained the shaking we’d just experienced.

“Come on, just a little further, you can do it!” I encouraged.

The girls beneath me all called out too, shouting words of inspiration and praise, and it was just enough to get the shattered pegasus through as she continued to flap her wings defiantly and bring us closer and closer to the shores of the country. We were nearly there when Dashie began crying through her gasps for air, her poor wings must have been in agony, and were most likely cramping too.

“You’ve got this, Rainbow Dash. You’ve got this!” I yelled.

“Where… sh-should… I land…?”

“Anywhere on the beach, somewhere without any buildings or lights.”

Nodding, Dashie began her descent, only for one of her wings to completely seize up as it cramped beyond her control, I stuck my arms out of the bag and forced it back open, holding it in position so she could at least glide down, but it was almost certainly going to be a crash landing. Crossing my fingers and uttering a plea to the universe, I prayed she wouldn’t end up with any broken bones.

“Everyone, brace yourselves!” I shouted below.

I kept a firm hold on Dashie’s wing, gritted my teeth, and prepared for a very unpleasant touchdown.


Chapter Twelve: Adults in America

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The wind began to whistle in my ears as Rainbow Dash hurtled faster and faster towards the ground, the poor thing was barely able to flap her only available wing as I clutched onto the other one, desperately holding it open to allow at least somewhat of a glide. A few moments later, we met the ground, hard; with an almighty smack, Dashie collided with the beach and tumbled over and over multiple times, taking my arms with her and twisting one of them forcibly, and with one tumble too many, I felt it.

SNAP!

Uh… Ah… Ah! AHH! AAAHHHHHHH!!!!” I bellowed, unable to hold in the pain as I felt my forearm break.

Rainbow Dash finally came to a halt and lay motionless, to which I quickly clambered out of the bag and knelt down in the sand, clutching my wrist and emitting a gut-wrenching growl of agony.

“Oh gosh… Oh gosh… Callum! Your… Your arm! Oh fuck, oh gosh I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!” Dashie cried through her desperate gasps for air.

The poor mare was too exhausted to even stand. Meanwhile, the bag she was carrying gave violent birth to the other five ponies, urgently seeking to find out what the hell was going on. Rarity’s horn lit up to allow us all to see better in the dark, and honestly, it would have been better if she hadn’t.

Gaaahhhh…” I rumbled.

“I think I’m going to be sick…” Applejack spoke, gagging.

My left hand was completely back to front, limp and unresponsive to my input; worst of all however, was the sharp broken bone that was protruding out of my arm’s exposed flesh. Fluttershy raced over to me to inspect the injury, and then immediately rushed back to her medical bag.

“Don’t… bother…” I hissed through gritted teeth.

Unsheathing Vitra ‘Aku, I decided the best course of action would be to use the souls of the gang men from the yacht to heal my wounds, it seemed strengthening my soul would have to wait. As not to waste needless mana on correcting the break, I clenched my jaw and began to perform the unspeakable.

“No… Callum no, stop!” Fluttershy gasped.

“Oh jeez…” Twilight murmured in disbelief.

“I can’t watch…” Said Rarity.

Then don’t fucking watch!” I snarled back.

Grabbing my limp wrist, I twisted the hand back around and forced the broken bone back into where it had come from, slotting my hand back into its vaguely correct position. Needless to say, this was absolutely excruciating, I was on the cusp of sobbing throughout the whole ordeal, snarling like an animal as I fought to suppress the agony. Once my hand was reasonably in place, I grabbed the sword and immediately willed it to heal me; the orb at the hilt glowed brightly, and I felt the energy flowing into me, followed by the sensation of pins and needles in the damaged area.

“What does that feel like?” Twilight asked.

“Is now the time?” I bit back.

“Yes? I mean no! Like, maybe?”

“It feels like fizzy sparkling water on your tongue, only, in my damn arm! And it’s both hot and cold at the same time, it’s hard to explain. I can actually feel the shattered bone shifting back to where it should be, and literally unbreaking itself. And it still really hurts, so shut up!”

After a few more seconds, the pain finally subsided, with the wound being almost totally healed, there was nothing but a faint bruise to indicate that an injury had even occurred in the first place. Twilight immediately slinked forward to get a closer look, enthralled by the power of the Titans’ magic.

“Whoa…”

“So, um… That was bloody painful.” I announced, pulling away from the unicorn.

“I can’t even begin to imagine how much that hurt.” Said Applejack.

“Oh, tremendously.” I replied grimly.

After clenching and unclenching the hand a few times to ensure I was properly intact, I went to inspect Rainbow Dash, whom was still lying on the ground, panting and drenched with sweat.

“Hey Rainbow Dash, y’alright?”

“I… I… Heh… Yeah… I just need a moment… To catch my breath… How’s the hand?”

“Still a bit stiff, but I think I’ll live.”

I crouched down and felt along the mare’s legs and wings, just to ensure she hadn’t suffered any breaks for herself, which thankfully she hadn’t, although I could imagine her wings would be out of commission for a few days from the strain they’d just been through.

Getting up again, I looked around to inspect our surroundings properly, we were on an incredibly long beach, thankfully devoid of all human life. To the left, the beach continued way off into the distance, and to the right, the beach went up to an unnatural cut-off to what appeared to be the mouth of a river, with even more beach on the other side, along with a large series of buildings and lights.
A beachside city.

“Excellent.” I said, mainly to myself.

“What’s the plan?” Twilight asked.

“Beachside cities have hotels, plenty of them. We just need to creep into one of the empty rooms, and boom, we’ve got ourselves a place to rest up for the night.”

“What about contacting your friends?”

“One step at a time, Twilight, jeez!”

“Hey, there’s no need to get bitey with me.”

“Well pardon my short temper, my arm just snapped!”

“Okay, point taken.”

Looking down at Rainbow Dash, whom was still wheezing, I proposed to everyone that best course of action was for everyone to stay put while I entered the city and found a hotel, and then communicated to Twilight via the collars when it was time to join me. Fluttershy then cleared her throat, before completely invalidating my plan.

“Um, I’m not sure if this is a stupid question, but why don’t we just keep using the bag to get around? We’ve literally got a portable disguise you can wear on your back, so why not use it?”

“I mean, firstly, shut up. And secondly, that’s actually a really good plan and I wish I’d thought of that first, instead of making myself look like an idiot.” I playfully replied, ruffling her mane.

Fluttershy giggled and helped me unlatch the bag from Rainbow Dash, I then upturned the bag just to let out some of the sand that had cascaded in during our crash. After Rarity helped dry off Dashie with a spell, we got her into the bag along with the others, all except Fluttershy, whom I’d requested to remain at my side in order to fly across the deep gap in the beach, which turned out to be an inlet.

We made our way along the beach at a leisurely pace, and it reminded me of one of my fondest memories with the pegasus.

“Hey Flutters, do you remember that time we went for a stroll, just after Ukraine? We found that little stream in the forest and had a nice chat there.”

“Oh gosh, I do remember that! You’d just had a big argument with Rainbow Dash and Rarity, and I could tell you were in a bad way, so I wanted to take you out of the situation for a while.”

“Heh, yeah. I can’t even remember what that argument was about…”

It was tent pegs!” Rarity called out from inside the bag.

“Firstly, thanks! Secondly, stop eavesdropping!” I called back.

Fluttershy and I continued to walk and talk, reminiscing over the fond memory we shared.

“Do you remember how strong the smell of tree sap was? It was so relaxing.” She hummed merrily.

“And how soft the mossy ground was?” I added.

“Oh yes! It was heavenly!”

Sighing, I expressed that I missed having moments like that, to which Fluttershy agreed. The conversation came to an end just as we approached the gap. I temporarily hopped in the bag and allowed Fluttershy to carry us all across, and then we switched places so I could freely enter the city without the girls being detected.

“Please don’t take forever, it’s the early hours of the morning and I’m exhausted!” Rarity implored.

“Do my best!” I replied, shutting the compartment and covering it with the flap.

Slinging the bag onto my back, I made my way off the beach and up to the pavement, where I was met with a large car park; there was a small Ferris Wheel and ride tracks to my right. Continuing inland, I tried to locate anything that could help me establish where I actually was, but all I found was a museum and a plethora of souvenir shops. The East Coast was massive, I could be anywhere from Maine to Florida, and until I found a sign or something, I was entirely lost. Soon enough I reached the Ferris Wheel, which clearly belonged to the Pepsi brand, judging by the massive logo on it.

The park it was stationed in was called Jolly Roger at the Pier, hardly helpful in telling what state I was in, I decided to continue beyond it and follow the road, until I eventually came across a hotel.

“Belmont Towers, hmm… Yeah, this’ll do.” I said to myself.

After forming a somewhat reasonable plan in my head, I went to a secluded area and made sure there were no CCTV cameras around that could see me; I then dipped my head into the bag to confer with the group. Poor Rainbow Dash was already fast asleep in there, completely wiped out by the most demanding flight she’d ever experienced.

“Right team, I’ve found a hotel, and we’ve got two options.”

“Go on?” Twilight spoke.

“Option one, I use the Piercing Shot Rifle to see through the walls and find an empty room, which we’ll then break into. The only downside is that we might unexpectedly have people arrive the next day, as the room might get checked into by guests.”

“What’s option two?” Fluttershy asked.

“Option two entails me being the bad guy. I can break into a room that’s already occupied, and end a life or two. Obviously I know it’s a shitty thing to even suggest, but it would also mean access to their phones, which would allow me to contact my brony friends a whole lot easier.”

“Jeez, Callum! Option one! Option one!” Twilight barked angrily.

“How could you even suggest the latter?” Rarity exclaimed.

“Innocent people, Callum! Innocent!” Applejack added.

“Look, I just wanted to throw an extra choice out there!” I replied defensively.

Twilight literally lunged out from the bag and grabbed me by the collar of my shirt.

“How on Earth and Equus combined is that a viable choice? Have you no foresight at all? Even if we chose to go down that route, after we left, room service would find the bodies, and then there would be an investigation, and while I’m no expert in humans, I’m certain your criminology department is far more advanced than ours. What happens when they find the DNA of six extra-terrestrial ponies and a dead man from another nation? Huh? Isn’t that why you burned the boat earlier? To avoid that very issue?”

Humming, she was absolutely right, and I very happily backed down, I hadn’t even been keen on the idea. As I had honestly said, I was just throwing out an extra choice, should the group prefer that I got my hands on a phone sooner rather than later.

“You used to be quite scary, but these days, it’s actually really cute when you’re angry.” I teased.

Twilight frowned at me, before bonking the top of my head with a hoof, which actually hurt a tad; I responded by shoving her back down into the bag and asking Rarity to provide the Piercing Shot Rifle, whom happily provided. I looked up to the hotel building and peered down the scope, making sure to change the setting to Piercing Shot Mode to allow sight through walls, along with the illumination of living creatures. The hotel was certainly well off for clientele, more than half the rooms were occupied.

“What do you see?” Applejack asked.

“Anyone having a party?” Pinkie added, her voice full of hope.

“Sorry Pinks, no parties, just a lot of people sleeping, a few people watching TV, and oh! Okay, those people are having a late-night shag, delightful.”

“What’s a shag?” Pinkie innocently inquired, tilting her head on one side.

“Never you mind!”

“Is it a bad thing?”

Applejack pulled the pink mare back into the bag and allowed me to focus, and soon enough, I located a room without anyone inside.

“Right, I’ve spotted an empty room, Fluttershy, can you fly us up there if we swap places?”

“Um, okay!”

The pegasus got out of the bag, and I pointed to the balcony where there was an empty room.

“Just there on the far right side, second balcony from the top, got it?” I instructed.

The pegasus nodded, and I got into the bag, making sure not to disturb Rainbow Dash; as soon as I was inside, Fluttershy grabbed the bag and flew us up to the balcony, where I hopped back out the bag and tried pulling open the sliding door.

“Locked, bugger.” I muttered.

I began to unsheathe Vitra ‘Aku, the blade’s insane sharpness would effortlessly go through the metal catch, it was then that a hoof caught my wrist, stopping me.

“Not everything has to be so boorish, darling.”

Rarity’s horn lit up, as did the entire handle of the sliding door, following that was a loud click. I pulled a second time at the handle, and the door came sliding open, allowing us entry.

“Show-off.” I said.

“If you say so, dear.” The unicorn replied smugly.

After waking Rainbow Dash, everyone got out of the bag and we entered the hotel room; it was quite spacious, there were two bedrooms, one of which had a double bed, while the other had two singles. There was an open-plan living space which connected to the kitchen area, complete with an oven, a microwave, an electric kettle, sofa, and television; the bathroom had a lovely big tub too, which I was sure a couple of us might use at some point.

“This’ll do, don’t you think, girls?” I stated.

Everyone was in full agreement, our only hope now was that nobody came by in the morning, it was relatively unlikely as it wasn’t summer yet; if Twilight’s memory was anything to go on, we were in the first few days of May. Regardless, it was still something to be aware of, and so I decided to stay awake and keep watch while the girls rested, just in case someone came by in the early morning.

“Do you think I could joi-”

“Yes.” I replied bluntly, cutting Twilight off.

Delving into her bag and retrieving her pillow from home, Twilight merrily made her way to the living area and hopped onto the far end of the sofa, curling up and patiently awaiting my company. I rolled my eyes and smirked, shaking my head with amused endearment; how was it that she could be so adorable, especially after so many months prior of practically being my mortal enemy? It almost seemed impossible that I had once hated the mare, that we had been at each other’s throats to no end. But now, I was certain that I would never tire of her; for as platonic as our relationship was, there was no doubt that we had a connection well beyond that of a normal one, and it slowly dawned on me for as much as Twilight needed me, I needed her too.

{God, saying goodbye to her is going to fucking kill you…} I thought to myself.

I shook the thought from my head, now wasn’t the time for such notions, I was absolutely not going to let my depressive mentality return, not now. Besides, as I had said to Twilight just the other night, this journey was far from over, and there was a lot more living for us to do before we had to part ways.


After taking turns to use the bathroom, the others went into the bedrooms and unpacked their sleeping bags, before finally clocking off for what remained of the night. I sat on the sofa and turned on the television, making sure that I kept the volume low, and flicked on a news channel.

“Let’s see what’s going on in the world…” I hummed.

The main headline which seemed to be getting the most attention was something about North Korea, apparently their government had announced plans to increase its development of nuclear weapons to ‘maximum pace’, and would conduct a nuclear test in the near future.

“Hm, not ideal.” I hummed.

“I take it they’re not a very good nation?” Twilight asked.

“Oh goodness no, they’re bloody awful.”

“How come?”

“Well, they’re an oppressive hermit kingdom, run by a ruthless dictator called Kim Jong-un, whom inherited the position from his father, Kim Jong-il. In fact, the country has only ever been run by the Kim family, so needless to say, they hardly play fair. They’re military focused and are extremely repressive to their own people, not to mention their hostility to the rest of the world. They have literally killed foreign journalists in the past, who’ve just tried to uncover how messed up their country really is. They’re widely accused of having the worst human rights policies in the world.”

“Gosh… That’s… That’s horrible!”

“I know. So let’s hope they don’t actually start testing nukes anytime soon, I don’t want to know how that’ll end up panning out.” I hummed.

“Would it affect our quest?”

“I doubt it, but still, it wouldn’t bode well for humanity overall.”

Humming, Twilight looked at the TV again and took in all the information present, clearly trying to learn and understand more about human civilisation. The screen then switched over to some loud-mouthed candidate for the next President of the United States, some guy called Donald Trump, addressing journalists about the North Korea situation and what he’d do about it if he was elected.

“Cor, he looks a tad orange, doesn’t he?” I scoffed.

“Is that his natural skin colour?” Twilight asked.

“Unless there’s a new breed of orange-skinned humans I didn’t know about, probably not!”

We chortled about the strange orange man for his duration on the screen, before Twilight pointed out that we hadn’t actually eaten anything all day.

“Oh yeah, we never ate Fluttershy’s stir fry!” I exclaimed.

“Sshh! You’ll wake the others. But yeah, I would love to eat some of that right about now.”

“Well, I asked Applejack to bag it up and keep it fresh, so if it’s in Rarity’s time-locked bag, it should still be hot and good to eat, right?” I posed.

“Then go get it, quietly though!” She hissed.

Getting up, I tip-toed over to the bedroom where Rarity was sleeping. I felt like a little school-boy again, sneaking around in the night, it reminded me of how I used to creep down the stairs as a child in search of midnight snacks; nine times out of ten my dad would catch me, but every so often I would make it successfully, and happily munch on whatever treats I could get my hands on.

I found the saddlebags, and felt along their surfaces with my fingertips until I made contact with the patch in the shape of Rarity’s cutie mark, just to confirm that I was nicking the right bag. I carefully lifted it up and was able to get back out of the room without disturbing anypony. Sitting back down with Twilight, we opened the time-locked compartment and found the stir-fry, sitting in a plastic bag just next to the refrigerated section.

“Ooh, it’s still really warm.” I said.

I removed the food and prudently closed Rarity’s bag to ensure the time-lock reactivated, I then went to grab a couple of bowls from the kitchen area. Giving them to Twilight, I allowed her to evenly distribute the food while I searched for something more entertaining to watch on the television.

“Ugh, there’s nothing good on at four in the morning. Just late-night news and adult channels.”

“What’s on the adult channels?” Twilight quizzed.

“Take a guess.”

Her eyes widened as she realised what I meant.

“Oh… Oh!

“Yeah, it’s almost always just some naked woman with a phone, teasing her assets, and waiting for some lonely sod to spend his money to call her and be verbally seduced for a few minutes.”

“Not going to lie, kind of curious… Also, how do you know that?” She probed.

“I’m a teenage boy, I think that explains enough.”

“Did you ever make a call?”

“Goodness no, I was just a fourteen-year-old boy who liked looking at boobs.”

“Can we… take a peek?”

“What, at the channel? N-No! Absolutely not!”

“Come on! Just for a few seconds!”

“Not happening, Twi.”

“Please? I’ve never seen a female human without clothes on, and I never will again once I go back to Equestria, you know how curious I am, I just want to know what they look like!”

“It’s awkward enough that you’ve seen me in the nude, now drop it!”

“That was a totally different scenario, we swapped bodies. Please?”

“I refuse to eat Fluttershy’s stir-fry to softcore porn, Twilight, you fucking imbecile!”

“Now that’s a sentence I thought I’d never hear.”

Playfully smacking Twilight on the back of the head, I continued trying to scroll through the channels until we found something appropriate to watch, and eventually found a channel showing episodes of The Big Bang Theory.

“Well, it’s better than porn, I guess.” I grumbled, flicking on the channel.

“Ugh, you’re no fun.” Twilight muttered.

The two of us munched on stir-fry together and sat through two episodes, and in all fairness, they weren’t dreadful, Twilight got a huge kick out of the Sheldon Cooper character. After putting the bowls in the sink, I crept into the bathroom and went for a wee. I came back to find the purple unicorn with eyes like saucers, gawking at the TV with her mouth agape.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Twilight!”

Rushing forward and snatching the remote from her, I switched away from the channel she had swapped to, which had content far more explicit than the adult channels I’d seen in the UK.

“You… You said it would just be a woman, holding a phone…” She murmured.

“Well clearly, America is far more lenient on what they can show on late-night TV.”

“They… They were… Really going at it.”

“I noticed.”

“I was just, curious… I didn’t mean to see… All that…”

“Yeah, well now you have, and you’ve officially made things awkward as hell. So, now that you’re fully aware of how humans reproduce, go, the fuck, to sleep.” I ordered.

Almost immediately, and quite out of the blue, Twilight started crying. Shaking my head in sheer disbelief, I sat down next to her and tried to reassure her, albeit awfully confused.

“Okay, it was just sex, Twilight. You don’t need to cry about it.”

“It’s not that… You idiot…” She whimpered.

“Well, care to enlighten me then?”

“I don’t want to make things awkward between us!”

Burying her face in her hooves, she continued.

“I know we’re super close, closer than friends should normally be, but I need this, I need us! After what Nah’Lek did to me, you’re the only thing that makes me feel safe, and now I’ve gone and made things awkward because I couldn’t help my stupid curiosity!”

{You really are still so fragile, aren’t you Twilight…?} I thought, with a tinge of sorrow.

Pulling the mare closer, I wrapped my arms around her and told her that it was okay.

“Remember in Portugal, when we all got drunk and played Truth or Dare? We were dared to make out, and the next morning, you got into this exact same panicked state, because you thought it would hurt our friendship. Remember that?”

Twilight nodded, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

“I promised you that it wouldn’t affect our friendship, that it was just a bit of harmless fun. Well, I’m promising you now, things are totally okay between us, you don’t need to worry.”

“B-But, you said it was awkward…”

“It just caught me really off-guard. Can you really blame me? I was hardly expecting to come back and find you watching porn, that makes for an uncomfortable situation for even the closest of friends.”

“I was just curious…”

“I know, and it’s time to forget about it now, it’s almost five in the morning, and it’s time for you to get some rest, alright?”

Sighing, Twilight nodded again, before curling up in the corner of the sofa, still clearly ashamed of herself for potentially bringing unease to our relationship. I got comfortable beside her and continued browsing the TV channels until I found some mindless nonsense about ghost hunters to zone out to.

“Night Twiley.” I spoke softly, gently stroking the mare’s back.

“Night Cal.”

Moments later, the mare was sound asleep, not realising how tired she’d actually been; I smirked and leaned back, watching the TV and patiently waiting for what remained of the night to pass.



“Um, weren’t you supposed to be keeping watch?” Rarity barked, waking me.

“Huh?” I mumbled, slowly opening my eyes.

I was still sat in the sofa, albeit slumped backwards, with one arm draped over Twilight, whom was already awake, contently watching a talk show on the TV.

“Shit, what time is it?” I asked.

“A little past ten o’clock in the morning, everyone bar Rainbow Dash is already up and awake!”

“Bugger… I must’ve dozed of…”

“No shit.” Applejack remarked from the kitchen area.

“Why didn’t you wake me sooner?” I demanded to know.

“Because Twilight insisted that you needed the rest.” Rarity informed me.

I looked over at the purple unicorn, whom returned my gaze with a sheepish grin; she elaborated that it was highly unlikely that anyone was planning on coming by after nine o’clock, so there was no harm in letting me rest a little. Shrugging, I noticed the most pleasant aroma coming from the kitchen, to which Pinkie and Applejack cheerily announced that they were making pancakes.

“Speaking of food, I woke up this morning to find my bag missing. And upon coming out here, I find it beside you, now lacking of the stir fry that Applejack had put there. Would you happen to know anything about that, mister?” Rarity queried with a stern frown.

“I… Uh… Sleepwalk, question mark?” I replied with a curious shrug, giving her a toothy grin.

Using her magic to conjure a telekinetic mass in the shape of a rolled-up newspaper, Rarity smacked me in the side of the head repeatedly, to which I laughed and admitted that Twilight and I were hungry. Changing the subject, Twilight asked what the plan was for today.

“Methinks I’ll take a walk around the city, do a little reconnaissance and see if I can actually figure out where the hell we are. I can wear the collar and stay in touch, maybe find an internet café or something like that, then I’ll just need to get my hands on some cash and job’s a good’un.”

“Job’s a good’un?” Rarity repeated, confused.

“It’s just an English saying, means to successfully complete a task in an acceptable manner.” I clarified.

“Ah, got’cha.”

“How are you going to get money?” Applejack asked.

“Still working on that part.” I responded.

Standing up to stretch, I went over to the sliding door and peaked down at the beach below, there were plenty of people around, perhaps Rarity could use her magic to steal a wallet from one of them? I wasn’t sure, I’d think about it while I explored the city.

“Um, if I may… What’s the emergency plan, if room service come by?” Asked Fluttershy.

Before I could offer a suggestion, Twilight spoke up.

“I mean, cramped as it is, the bag technique has been working like a charm for us. In the unfortunate case that room service come by, we hop in the bag, which Rainbow Dash can quickly grab and fly off with.”

“What if we are to be seen?” Rarity posed.

“Then you all get in the bag, double time, while Rainbow Dash fends them off. And so long as you don’t get seen by anyone else, it’ll be fine. Because let’s be real, who is really going to believe that some hotel staff saw alien ponies, with an uncanny resemblance to the My Little Pony cartoons?” I interjected.

“Yeah, that’s fair.” Twilight hummed.

“And if there’s more than one human? What if Rainbow is attacked by a group?”

“Why, Rarity, would there be a group of hotel cleaners? And even if there was, I’m pretty sure Rainbow Dash could quite easily take a couple of humans at once.” I replied confidently.

Phrasing!” Dashie hollered, bounding out from the bedroom.

“Ew.” Rarity muttered.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, Rainbow Dash.” Applejack chuckled, rolling her eyes.

“Sleep well?” I inquired.

Nodding enthusiastically, the pegasus strutted into the room and sat down beside me, eagerly awaiting pancakes, which Applejack and Pinkie soon dished up, resulting in a very pleasant start to the day.



With the collar around my neck and my belly full of a delicious breakfast, I tucked Vitra ‘Aku’s handle underneath my shirt to keep it well hidden, and then headed out the door.

“You don’t think I’ll get a load of weird looks, do you? Wandering around with a black collar around my neck?” I asked the girls, turning to face them.

“Does it matter?” Applejack replied, shrugging.

“Hm, I guess not.”

“Maybe it’ll start a conversation, I’m sure some humans are into collars.” Twilight teased.

“Oh, piss off.”

“Just… Find a way to get some money, okay?”

“You got it.”

Pulling the door shut before they could continue conversing with me, I cleared my throat and marched down the hallway in search of the elevator, I rode it down to the ground floor and left the hotel.

Stepping out into the street, I found myself immediately almost going into a panic attack upon realising just how many people there were. After all I’d been through, I hadn’t been around normal people for ages, the closest thing I had to grouped social interaction was my time with the Blood Family, and needless to say, that wasn’t comparable in the slightest to being around ordinary folk.

{Oh god, is this what it’s like as a killer? I feel like a bloody alien around these people…} I thought to myself.

{What does that make me then?} Twilight’s voice echoed in my mind.

Oh, right, the collars.

{A double alien?} I teased back.

{Firstly, that makes no sense. Secondly, buck up, if you can socialise with six ponies from another world, one of which has tried to kill you, sorry about that… Then you can quite easily socialise with ordinary folk within your own kind. Get a grasp of the area, get some money out of someone, and see if you can get access to the internet somehow.
You’ve got this, Callum. I believe in you.}

{Okay, fine! And thank you…} I droned back, grumbling.

Taking a deep breath, I reminded myself that these people were no threat to me, and bravely strode along the street.

After nearly an hour of drawing together information from buildings and signs, I gathered that I was in a place called Ocean City, in the state of Maryland, and although my American geography wasn’t all that great, I knew that it bordered West Virginia at least, which in turn, bordered Ohio; this meant that it wasn’t unbearably far from Michigan, so long as I had reliable transport. Once I had access to the internet, I could contact Josh and Rommel, to which I would hopefully wind up with said transport, along with armed backup.

“Nice collar.” A young man spoke to me as he passed.

“Cheers, I’m trying to start a trend.” I deadpanned in response.

“Wait a moment, are you… um, are you British?”

The lad was my height, with short sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes, which were practically sparkling upon hearing my middle-class English accent.

“I am, but don’t worry, I don’t intend to colonise you.” I joked.

“Good to know! I’ve always wanted to meet a British guy.” He laughed back, grinning.

“Well, you’ve met one. The name’s Callum.”

I extended my hand, to which he merrily shook it.

“I’m Phoenix, Phoenix Storm. It’s a real pleasure to meet you.”

“Now that’s a name to remember!” I exclaimed.

“Heh, thanks. So, uh, what’s a Brit like you doing out here in Ocean City?”

Thinking on my feet, I simply told him that I was here for work, on a business trip of sorts.

“Oh cool, what do you do?”

{Jeez, you like to ask questions, don’t you?} I thought.

{Making friends already?} Said Twilight.

{Yeah, someone saw my collar and commented on it, and are now obsessively talking to me simply because I’m British, and wants to know what I do for a living.}

{Well that’s an easy one, you’re a bodyguard! And stick with it, maybe this is your way into some money!}

{Ugh, fine.} I replied.

Clearing my throat, I cautiously answered Phoenix’s question.

“I work for a protection agency, I’m here to safeguard a client on holiday.”

“So you’re a bodyguard? Whoa, that’s cool! Who for? Someone important? Someone royal?” He gasped.

“I wouldn’t really make for a very good protection agent, if I told a complete stranger whom I was protecting, now would I?” I replied, winking.

“Oh yeah, sorry. I’m just really excited to meet a British guy, it’s not like you meet one every day.”

“You do in England.” I retorted, chuckling.

“You know what I mean!”

“I know, I’m just taking the piss.”

“That’s a British saying, I’m guessing?” He quizzed.

“Yeah, it just means I’m messing with you.”

“Got’cha.”

After a slightly uncomfortable silence, Phoenix asked if I was busy today, and if I would like to grab lunch or something, to which I had to conduct another lie.

“I’d be utterly delighted to, however I haven’t any money on me. You see, my whole business trip is on a prepaid package, and my client manages all the payments for my meals and such, they’re very particular about loose ends.”

“Oh, okay, that kind of sucks.”

Humming to himself, Phoenix studied me silently, and after taking another look at my collar, he tutted once and smirked at me.

“Tell you what, how about you meet me here at six tonight? I’ll show you around the city after I run some errands, and we can grab a bite to eat and a few drinks. I know all the best bars around here, they know me personally and never ask for ID. And before you say anything about money, yes, it’s all on me.”

“I… Um…” I began.

It dawned upon me that this guy had just asked me out, and although I was completely taken aback, the fact he’d offered to pay meant one thing, he was generous; perhaps I could borrow his phone and contact my friends that way? Either that, or perhaps he could straight-up give me some cash if I explained my situation a little more earnestly, from what I could gather, he was a genuinely nice bloke.
And for what it was worth, he wasn’t bad looking, for a guy that was. His body was slender, yet muscular, and his face was pleasing to look at. Interestingly, I noticed that there was barely a shred of facial hair on the lad, only a few patches of shaved stubble here and there, it seemed the poor guy couldn’t grow a beard all too well.

“You know what, Phoenix? I would absolutely love to take you up on that, I’m sure my client can get by a single night without me. Thank you for such a kind offer.” I finally replied.

“As I said, it’s not like you meet a British guy every day. And seeing as I’m the one who stopped you during your busy day, it only seems right that I treat you with a nice night out, you know?”

“Well, if free drinks are involved, how could I possibly turn you down?” I chuckled.

“That’s the spirit!” He laughed back.

“Six o’clock, yes?” I asked.

“Yeah, meet me over there by that water tower.”

He directed my attention to the massive water tower just down the road, it was painted to look like a beach ball and was impossible to miss. I nodded confidently and gave a warm smile.

“Very well then, Phoenix. I’ll see you later!”

“Awesome, I can’t wait!”

After very awkwardly patting me on the arm, Phoenix turned away and headed off to run his errands, looking back at me twice to see if I was still there, goofily smiling like an idiot.

{Twilight, I think I’m a whore.} I thought.

{Um… Okay… Elaborate?} She responded, concerned.

{Well, it just so happens that I’m going on a date tonight, and I don’t have to pay a penny.}

{What!? How… Um… Okay! Jeez, that was not exactly what I meant when I suggested you meet someone for the sake of getting money out of them. But, uh, if it gets you some money, go for it, I guess. Best not tell Rainbow Dash, she might get jealous!}

The mare was clearly quite gobsmacked at such a rapid turn of events, and honestly, so was I.

{So uh… Who’s the lucky lady?} Twilight quizzed.

Gulping, I replied with words I never thought I’d find myself saying.

{Well that’s just it, Twilight… I’m going on a date with a guy…}


Chapter Thirteen: Firebird - Part One

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I stepped through the doorway and back into the hotel room, only to be immediately surrounded by the girls and violently seized at the collar by Rainbow Dash.

“A guy! A guy!? Seriously!? But… But… You’re not into guys! You’re straight!” She exclaimed.

“Well, I see you’ve told everyone.” I said to Twilight, raising an eyebrow.

“I couldn’t resist.” The purple unicorn giggled.

Pushing Dashie away and sitting down on the sofa, I rubbed the back of my neck anxiously.

“Trust me, I wasn’t expecting it to go this way, I am straight! But it’s just a date, it’s not like I’m going to hold hands with him all night and then jump into bed with the lad. It’ll be nothing more than a decent night out and a few drinks with another bloke, and it’s also a possible way of getting some cash. So why not, I suppose?”

“But what if things get… Intimate?” Rarity asked.

“Jeez, I don’t know Rare! Pretend he’s a girl, I guess? I don’t bloody know! Hopefully it won’t go that far, but if he starts trying to get things on with me, I suppose I’ll just try to keep an open mind and go with it, it’s not like I can do much else if I’m trying to get money off him.”

“You could just be honest and tell him you don’t swing that way?” Applejack posed.

“Well because, again, I’m trying to get money off him. If I can just suck it up and romance the chap, I’m sure he’ll be generous, he seems like a genuinely nice guy.”

“Heh, you’ll be sucking something up alright…” Rainbow Dash chuckled.

I partially unsheathed Vitra ‘Aku and glared at the pegasus.

“I will use this.” I threatened.

Chuckling nervously, she piped down and I slotted the sword back into its sheath. Sighing heavily, I buried my face into my hands and groaned.

“Am I way in over my head here? Or am I completely overthinking this? It’s just a few drinks, that’s all he offered, perhaps I’m being too bold to presume it’ll go further than that.” I huffed.

“Maybe, but it’s good to be prepared in case things do end up going further than that.” Said Twilight.

This immediately caused me to spiral back into over-worrying about it again.

“Oh god, what if it comes down to butt stuff?”

“Need a few tips?” Dashie asked, winking at me.

“I’m good, thanks.”

“Fair enough.” She shrugged.

With the lot of us actively ignoring the fact that Rainbow Dash had just very openly admitted that she was into anal, the others tried their best to calm me down and put things into perspective. Quite surprisingly, it ended up being Pinkie Pie that helped me the most; in an astonishing spectacle of maturity and wisdom, the mare took one of my hands in her hoof and smiled warmly at me.

“Look Cal, you’re thinking way too hard on this being about a guy. It sounds to me like you’ve been asked on a date by a nice person! Forget about if it’s a boy or a girl, and heck, forget about the money. Don’t you think you’ve earned a nice night out? We’ve overcome so many challenges, finding money’s going to be a breeze, so stop thinking so hard on it and just go to have fun. We’ll find another way to get what we need, but as for tonight, just go to make some memories and experience something new.
After all, life’s for living.”

I looked into those bright blue eyes of hers, so full of wholesomeness, innocence, and goodwill.
She was right.

Reaching forward, I wrapped my arms around the mare and hugged her tightly.

“Thanks Pinkie. You know, you’re actually incredibly wise when you want to be.”

“Me? Nah!”

“I mean it, I think we should look to you far more often than we do.” I insisted.

Blushing, Pinkie rolled her eyes and giggled, persisting that she was just ‘simple old Pinkie Pie’ and nothing more. Moving on, I took another deep breath and stretched.

“So, who even is this guy?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yeah, tell us about him!” Added Pinkie.

Shuffling uncomfortably on the sofa, I insisted that they knew just as much as I did, seeing as I had only just met the guy. Rarity pressed the matter however, demanding to know his name and what he looked like.

“He’s called Phoenix. Phoenix Storm.”

“Now that’s a name to remember!” Twilight exclaimed.

“That is literally, word for word, what I said to him.” I laughed in response.

Fluttershy eagerly hopped onto the sofa with me, her eyes now full of curiosity.

“I didn’t know phoenixes existed on Earth!” She gasped, quizzingly.

“They don’t, they only existed in old Greek mythology. In fact, they were probably inspired by glimpses of Equus, as they were with much of their stories and depictions.” I muttered ponderously.

“Greek-shmeek, what does Phoenix look like?” Dashie demanded.

Laughing, I described the lad to everyone, to which they all agreed that he sounded like a good catch.

“So, what should I wear? Do I dress up for this date?” I asked outwardly, shrugging.

“Honestly, the clothes you stole from the yacht suit you really well. Personally I’d just stick with what you’re already wearing.” Twilight answered.

“I concur, and besides, your only other option is the desert cloth getup that Hawnu Rey’eng provided for us, and that’s hardly suitable for an evening out in an urban environment.” Rarity added.

“You could always go pony-style and wear nothing?” Rainbow Dash teased.

“And you could always shut up?” I suggested in reply.

“Okay, I will. Bye.”

Dashie stuck her tongue out and trotted off into one of the bedrooms, declaring that she was going to take a nap, which hardly surprised me after how hard she’d worked herself yesterday. Despite all her moronic comments today, we practically owed her our lives after last night’s flight.

“My my, she is so jealous.” Applejack chuckled.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Of you, going on a date with someone that isn’t her.” She replied, chuckling.

“Oh that’s just bollocks, she’s not jealous. We aren’t sleeping together anymore, and even back when we were, it was strictly physical, she’s never been into me romantically.”

Chuckling even more, the orange mare sat beside me and slung a foreleg around my back.

“My sweet summer child, if you believe that, then you don’t know Rainbow Dash all too well. That ol’ pegasus is as jealous as can be… Once she’s been with a guy, even if it’s just for one night, she’ll forever more hate the idea of someone else having them afterwards. She’s got it in her head that sleeping with somepony claims them as her own, and she don’t like it when someone else tries to, well, unclaim them.”

“So basically I’m one of her trophies?” I queried, frowning.

“Something like that. And seeing as you’re the only human she’ll ever, claim… Well, someone else having you, especially another guy for that matter, let’s just say she could’ve killed someone when Twilight broke the news.”

“I see.” I murmured, still frowning.

“Hey, don’t let it get to you too much, she’s just being immature about it. If anything, take it as a compliment, what I wouldn’t give for somepony to be that possessive over me!” She laughed.

“You not been in the dating world much then?” I asked.

“Gosh no, I’ve never had the time, what with running the farm and caring for Applebloom and Granny Smith… I probably won’t find someone until Granny passes and Applebloom’s old enough to help run things, there’s just too much responsibility to divert the time to my love-life.”

“That’s pretty sad to be honest.”

“Eh, not really. There comes a point where you stop thinking about it, and you just commit to the life you already have. I’ve got my farm, I’ve got my family, and I’ve got my friends, and that’s all I need to be happy in life, so why spend time longing for something more?”

“Aww, Applejack, that’s really sweet…” Pinkie Pie moaned, lunging forward and hugging the farm pony.

Rarity then sighed heavily, resting a foreleg against her brow in a theatrical manner.

“And then there’s little old me, hopelessly longing for my Prince Charming on a daily basis, knowing I’ll never be complete in life without him…”

We all laughed, and before we knew it, the lot of us were all on the subject of dating and whom all of our dream partners would be. Applejack went first, and as expected, she’d want someone honest, dependable, and no stranger to a hard day of work. The ability to cook was also preferred, but not required.

Rarity was also predictable as hell, her dream fellow needed to be visually appealing, have an appreciation for fashion, knew how to treat a lady, and eager to shower her with romantic gestures.

“Fond of animals, and good with them, obviously.” Fluttershy declared.

“Well duh? That’d be like Twilight saying she wants someone literate.” I laughed.

“Hey! I wouldn’t mind if he was literate or not!”

Sniffing loudly in Twilight’s direction, I asked if anypony else could pick up the scent of bullshit in the air. Everyone laughed, besides Twilight of course, whom responded by poking me firmly in the arm with her hoof and arguing the point, scowling at me as she did so.

“I’ll have you know, that while having something in common is definitely an important factor, it’s also been proven many times that opposites attract. If my future partner ended up being unable to read, I would either help him learn, or simply read to him, it wouldn’t be a deal-breaker for me.”

“So what would be a deal-breaker then?” Rarity inquired.

“A lacking of emotional depth, for sure. I want someone whom I can talk about life, death, the universe, and all things in between with. I need a guy with a passion for the deeper aspects of life, and even if he isn’t literate, I’d still hope he has a mind for poetry, and an appreciation for it.”

We were about to say something when she quickly added that he would also need to have good dental hygiene, which made us all laugh.

“What? That’s a perfectly valid thing to want in a partner!” She whined.

“It’s not that, it’s just funny how much contrast there is between those two points.” Rarity giggled.

Crossing her hooves and shuffling uncomfortably, Twilight raised her muzzle and huffed defensively.

“What about you, Pinkie? What would you desire in a special somepony?” I put forward.

“Um, well he’s got to love parties, he’s got to love cake, and he’s got to love Gummy! And it’s also super important that he can keep up with my energy, like, I’d feel really bad if I was constantly wearing him out, because I know I can be quite a lot to put up with sometimes, and I don’t want to constantly exhaust the poor guy, so yeah, the most important thing is that he’s as extroverted and excitable as me.”

“Good luck finding a guy like that!” Rarity scoffed, chuckling.

“I know it won’t be easy, but I know he’s out there somewhere, and I know there’s something special about him, I just know it!” Pinkie protested.

“Something special? What do you mean, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t know exactly, but I do know for a fact that whenever I eat cheese, I always have really romantic dreams, so maybe cheese has something to do with it.”

“Isn’t eating cheese before bed quite well known for conjuring odd dreams?” I pointed out.

“Well yes, but actually, no.” Twilight interjected.

The purple mare went on to explain that although eating cheese before bed did indeed increase the potential of dreams and nightmares, it wasn’t specifically cheese that caused it, and that eating any food that was harder to digest would cause it. Digesting food while asleep would disrupt one’s deeper rest, allowing dreams to occur more often and more vividly, on account of the brain being forced back into REM sleep.

“Thanks nerd.” I teased.

Pinkie thanked her for the explanation, but insisted that her experience was something different, as it was specifically cheese before bed that would bring on bouts of romantic and intimate dreams, which were always of the exact same stallion, and yet she would always wake with no memory of what he looked like.

“When you say… intimate?” I began.

“You know exactly what I mean and I’m not saying anything else about it! Talking about that sort of thing makes me kind of uncomfortable, I’m still really shy about that stuff and it just makes me feel all weird and confused!”

“Noted, filed, and shan’t be brought up again.” I replied, dipping my head respectfully.

Moving on from the subject, the girls turned to me and asked who my ideal partner would be.

“Other than strange men on the street of course.” Applejack added, winking.

I lunged forward and playfully tried to swipe at the mare with an open hand, she dodged back and stuck her tongue out at me. Rolling my eyes, I sat back and hummed, before giving my answer.

“Well, that’s quite a tough one, because the person I wanted is gone now. But uh, moving forward, I think I’d like someone who knows how to laugh in the face of adversity, to roll with the punches and be unafraid of throwing themselves into a new adventure. A durable sense of humour would be pretty ideal too, as you all know, I’m no stranger to cracking some darker jokes every now and then, and I don’t think I could settle down with someone that gets offended at every little off-comment I make.
And honestly, I’d need someone with a lot of patience, because after all I’ve been through, adjusting to a normal life, let alone a romantic one, is going to be hard. So yeah, someone with the patience and empathy to understand me, along with all the trauma I’ve been through, is going to be a must.”

I sat back and nodded my head, satisfied with the response I’d given.

“Well, let’s hope this Phoenix fellow is something along those lines, because it won’t be long before you have to go and see him.” Rarity sang, grinning.

“Oh don’t be so bloody ridiculous, it’s just a date!” I spat defiantly.

“And that’s how so many wonderful, committed, happy, long-term relationships begin…”

“Rarity, don’t make me turn the Mane Six into the Mane Five, I swear…”

“Oh darling, I’m just having a little fun with you.”

“Well put an end to it, it’s clearly making him uncomfortable!” Applejack butted in.

After a moment’s silence, she then added…

“Besides, it’s Phoenix that’s going to be having fun with him later.”

That’s it!

Jumping to my feet, I dived forward and tackled Applejack to the ground and started relentlessly tickling her just below the ribs, causing her to yelp and flail around wildly until she eventually begged for mercy.

“There is no mercy.” I croaked with a Sheev Palpatine impression, before pouncing on her once more.

After tickling a few more pleas for forgiveness out of her, I finally relented and released the mare, whom scrambled away from me and rushed to the bathroom without a moment’s hesitation.

“You nearly made me piss myself, you darn bastard!” She wailed as she left.

“Good!” I hollered after her.

Chuckling, I dusted myself off and made sure there wasn’t any fur on my clothes, although the girls didn’t shed all that much, I had always noticed a few short hairs here and there on my clothing throughout our travels, let alone their bedding.



After about forty minutes of freshening myself up and making idle chit-chat with the girls, it was time to leave, I tucked Vitra ‘Aku’s handle under my shirt, with the rest of the relic remaining well hidden, thanks to the void sheath.

“Not planning on killing your date, are you?” Twilight jested.

“It’s just for emergencies. For all I know, this guy could be leading me into a trap.”

“Paranoid much, dear?” Said Rarity.

“Hey, with all we’ve faced, you never know.” I hummed.

“Well, regardless, that thing is hardly well concealed, you’ve got a great big bulge coming out of the side of your shirt from the handle.”

Looking down and to my left, Rarity was right.

“Huh, didn’t think it was that obvious.”

Thinking about it, people in the states were allowed to carry arms, so I could potentially pass it off as my handgun or something, but on the other hand, why would I be bringing a gun to a bloody date?

“Oh, I’ve got an idea!” Rarity sang, and then used her magic to levitate her bag over.

Rummaging around through her belongings for but a second, Rarity pulled out a long turquoise sash.

“Shirt up.” She ordered.

Lifting up my shirt, I allowed Rarity to levitate the sash over to me and wrap around my belly, sword included, binding it to me and making it almost impossible to perceive after putting my shirt back down.

“There we go!”

“Nice one, thanks Rare!”

Picking up my collar from the kitchen countertop, I put it around my neck and headed to the doorway.

“Are you all going to be okay without me tonight?”

“We’re fully grown adults, we’ll be totally fine, go have some fun!” Applejack called over.

“What if-”

“Callum, we’ll be fine.” Twilight interrupted.

She approached me and looked up into my eyes with a confident smile.

“You may be our protector, and a fearsome warrior, but as Rarity says, we are fully grown adults, three of which have all had to take lives too during this journey, we can handle ourselves for just one night.”

“Alright then, well in that case, wish me luck.”

“Have a great time. As Pinkie said, don’t think about the money, just have a good time for the sake of having a good time. Oh, and don’t feel like you need to keep that collar on all night, it might make things weird, or not, who knows?”

I nodded in affirmation and stepped out the door.

“No adult channels while I’m away, alright?”

“We are never bringing that up again, ever.” Twilight growled.

“Adult what?” Applejack inquired.

Byyeeee!” I sang, shutting the door in Twilight’s face and skipping down the corridor.



After making my way down the corridor and down the elevator, I emerged from the hotel and began retracing my steps back towards the colourful water tower; I only got lost once, but upon asking a friendly old man along the way, I was thankfully pointed in the right direction.

I was the first to arrive, and so I sat on a short stone wall that was close by and patiently waited.

{Everything okay?} Twilight’s voice echoed in my mind.

{He’s not here yet, but all’s good for now.} I responded.

{Okay, well, let me know when you’re with him.}

{Yes ma’am!}

{Hey! I’m not your mother!} She barked back defensively.

{No no, I said yes ma’am! It’s a short way of saying madam.}

{Ooh right! It just sounds really different with your English accent.}

{Ugh, get lost, you numpty!}

{Yes sir!}

Twilight went completely silent from then on, most likely from embarrassment from the misunderstanding, I lightly chuckled to myself and then looked around anxiously for Phoenix, it was certainly after six o’clock now and there was still no sign of him.
Five minutes went by and I couldn’t help but start to feel a little anxious, paranoid even. What if I had gravely misunderstood the situation, what if this was some sort of trap? Gulping, I chose to remain steadfast and wait for him, and if it was indeed a trap, I would face it with sword in hand.

But it was no trap, and it was no grave misunderstanding, for at long last I spotted Phoenix rushing down the street, waving as he spotted me. He was wearing the same outfit from before, but I could already spot from a distance that he was now wearing a necklace and had put some product in his hair.

“Hiya! So sorry for being late! I got stuck at work!” He panted upon reaching me.

“It’s not a problem, don’t worry. Although I must admit, I was beginning to think you’d never show.” I replied.

“Truth be told, I was scared you wouldn’t be here either.” He admitted.

“Well, here I am!” I announced with a grin, taking a little bow.

“Then may I have the pleasure of asking you to accompany me tonight?”

Taking a couple of seconds to study the giddy young fellow, I let Pinkie Pie’s words of encouragement resonate with me once more, before confidently giving my answer.

“Lead the way.”



After about ten minutes of walking and making small talk, (which also involved me telepathically informing Twilight that I was safe and sound), we arrived at a bar called the Pickles Pub.

“This is the place! You’ll love it here, they’ve got pool tables, live music, and they’re LGBT friendly. It’s one of the finest spots in the city for a good night out.” Phoenix announced.

“Sounds grand.”

He pushed the door open and went in, being sure to hold the door for me as I entered; the guy wasn’t kidding, the warmth, live music, clinking of glasses and scent of pub grub hit me all at once, it was like I’d stepped through a portal into a different world.

“Oh no… I feel a Storm approaching!” One of the bartenders hollered over to us.

“Sup Sammy!” Phoenix called back.

Letting him take the lead as I adjusted to the new environment and atmosphere, we went over to the bar and met Sammy the bartender, whom was seemingly a good friend of Phoenix’s.

“And who’s this handsome fellow then?” Sammy asked.

“Name’s Callum, nice to meet you.” I replied with a smile, reaching over to shake his hand.

“Ooh, is that a British accent I hear?”

“It is indeed.”

“Well get you, Phoenix! Out here catching the exotic ones!”

Laughing nervously, Phoenix demanded that Sammy stop embarrassing him and to get some drinks underway, which the bartender happily obliged to.

“What can I get you both then? First drink’s on the house, I’m feeling generous today.”

“Oh how you spoil me, Sammy! I’ll have a Smirnoff Ice.” Phoenix announced.

“And you? Something British, I’m sure? You look like a Guinness sort of guy.” Sammy suggested.

Personally, I never tried a Guinness, but I knew for a fact that my brother was highly fond of it, and had always advocated it as the perfect drink for the British gentleman, so I decided to place my faith in him and concur that a Guinness would be lovely.

Sammy poured and served our drinks, and then we made our way over to a free table in the far end of the pub, where the live music wasn’t quite so loud.

“Hope you don’t mind if we sit in the corner, I’m a bit hypersensitive to loud music, it’s the one part I don’t really like about here.” Said Phoenix.

“Don’t worry about it, I actually prefer corners, they’re safer.” I replied.

“I get that, sometimes it’s nice to know nobody’s going to come up behind you, ey?”

“Exactly.”

“Well, here’s to two paranoid guys, sitting in the corner!” He laughed, raising his glass.

I raised my own and we lightly clinked them together, before taking our first sips of the night; Oliver was certainly not wrong about Guinness, it was hearty stuff and very strong, I didn’t even like it at first until taking a few more sips to get used to it.

“I’m glad you were able to get the night off, is your client going to be okay without your protection? Or is it going to be my fault when they end up in trouble?” Phoenix joked.

“Nah, they’ll be fine for one night, I’ve been given permission to switch off for once.” I replied, chuckling.

“Sounds like quite the tough job.”

“Aye, it comes with its challenges.” I sighed with a shrug.

The sheer gravity of that understatement almost made me laugh, but I composed myself and decided to turn the questions on him instead.

“So what do you do? You mentioned earlier that your job kept you a little late?”

“Yeah, sorry about that. It was just because the dog I’m looking after was being a nightmare just before I was about to leave. I’m a professional pet sitter, I basically stay at people’s houses and look after their animals while they’re away on holidays, business trips, that sort of thing.” He explained.

“Oh right, that’s pretty cool.” I hummed.

“It’s not too bad, I’m actually quite anxious when it comes to socialising, so it’s nice having a job where I can be all by myself and take a break from it all, you know?”

“That’s pretty understandable. Although, I wouldn’t have guessed you were an introvert from what I’ve met so far, you seem really confident and easy-going.” I replied, smiling.

“Thanks, I appreciate that. I’ve been trying to push myself to be a bit more outgoing and adventurous in life, and when I saw your collar, I thought I’d take a chance and say hi. And then when you spoke and I realised you were British, I just had to shoot my shot! There was no way I was going to let the opportunity to take a Brit out for the night pass me by.”

Understanding the guy a little better, I found myself even more comfortable in my situation. It seemed that at his core, Phoenix was just an anxious young lad in search of some fun memories, and he was bold enough to take a chance; letting my guard down, I decided to take a chance of my own.

“Well, for what it’s worth, I don’t get a lot of human contact either, not in my line of work, so it’s actually quite refreshing to just have some fun on a night out with a regular person.” I admitted.

“Oh, really? That’s so great to hear! If I’m telling the truth, I was a little nervous that you were just humouring me to be polite. I mean let’s face it, what are the chances of bumping into someone on the street who is A, British? B, attractive? And C, gay? Like, seriously, what are the odds?”

“Pretty low. Although, I never said that I was gay.” I replied cautiously.

This completely caught Phoenix off-guard, he analysed my face briefly before slowly beginning to speak.

“I… Um… Have I read this whole thing wrong…?”

“No. Thankfully, I never strictly said that I was straight either.” I teased slyly.

“Oh my gosh, don’t do that to me! You had me so worried!” He exclaimed.

Taking a massive sigh of relief, Phoenix took a massive sip from his drink while I laughed, as much as I felt a little bad for spooking him, seeing him so adorably agitated was also incredibly amusing.

“Thanks by the way, for so forwardly saying that you find me attractive.” I spoke, teasing him further.

Now blushing beyond belief, the poor guy was practically hiding behind his drink, an anxious grin plastered across his cherry-red face. I decided to tantalise him no further, but not before delivering the kill-shot that almost made him choke on his drink.

“You don’t look so bad yourself, especially in red.”

Barely able to gulp down his drink without spluttering on it, Phoenix plonked down his glass and looked at me with the most flustered of expressions.

“Going straight for the jugular then, are you?” He giggled.

“Well you tried shooting your shot earlier, as you put it. I thought I’d shoot mine.” I chuckled back.

“Consider it well placed, I think we’re going to need another round.”

Phoenix got up from the table and went over to the bar, I kept an eye on him and smiled as he went; this evening was going wonderfully.



While I waited for Phoenix to return, my concentration drifted to a television that hung just above the bar, it was currently displaying the news headlines, and upon realising what was on the screen, my whole damn jaw almost dropped into my drink.

Helicopter footage showed a boat, a yacht to be specific, billowing smoke as it slowly sunk into the sea.

“No, way…” I muttered to myself.

The headline read, ‘Mystery Yacht Catches Fire Out At Sea!’, and it very clearly showed the smouldering remnants of the same Princess Eighty-Five Yacht we had sacrificed to get here.

{You there, Purple Smart?} I called out in thought, deciding that I should tell the girls about it.

{The heck did you just call me?}

{You heard me. Turn on the TV, there’s a cinematic cliché happening right now!}

{What do you mean?}

{Okay, so there’s this huge cliché in loads of movies and TV shows, and I mean loads… The main character will be on the run from the law, he’ll be sat in a bar or something, and then he’ll notice there’s a TV displaying the news channel. And then, to his utmost shock and horror, his face will appear on the screen, branding him a fugitive from the law, with citizens being urged to report him if they see him.
It’s one of the most overused clichés in crime drama.} I explained.

{I see… Wait, hang on! Are we on the TV!?} She shrieked in fear.

{Not exactly, but the boat I set on fire is. Check the news!}

There was a brief silence as Twilight was presumably seizing the remote and searching for the channel.

{Found it! Whoa, that’s a lot of smoke!} She exclaimed.

{What are they saying? I can’t hear the TV here.} I requested.

{Um, apparently it’s really confusing everyone. Nobody can tell where the yacht came from, nor who owned it. The Coast Guard Cutter that attempted to intercept the yacht are saying it just burst into flames as soon as they tried to approach it, without any sign of anyone trying to escape, no bodies were found inside the wreckage either, suggesting there was never a crew at all.
The news story has already gone international, and they’re saying that there will be an ongoing investigation. Now they’re saying that if the data on its Voyage Event Recorder can’t be recovered due to damage from the fire, it will quite possibly go down as one of the strangest maritime mysteries in history.}

{Aww, how flattering, I’m an international mystery now!} I joked.

{At least nobody from the Cutter saw Rainbow Dash flying away, that’s what matters.} Said Twilight.

{Yeah, one-hundred percent.}

{How’s your evening going anyway?}

{Oh it’s going fantastically! We’re at a bar, a fun little place called the Pickles Pub. There’s live music and stuff, really nice atmosphere. Truth be told, I’m actually really enjoying myself, he’s a really nice guy.}

{That’s awesome news, I’m really happy for you! Think it’ll go anywhere?} She hinted.

{Um, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we?}

{Fair enough. Well, I hope it continues to go well for you.}

{Thanks Twi. Are you all okay back there?} I asked.

{Yeah, we’ve all been taking turns to change channels on the TV and watch different genres of human media, it’s really fun actually, educational too!}

{No adult channels I presume?}

{Go away!}

Chuckling to myself, I returned my focus to the pub and hummed along to the live music until Phoenix returned with the second round, to which I thanked him graciously.

“Sorry I took so long, Sammy wouldn’t stop talking my ears off…” He apologised, sitting down.

“No worries at all, I was just happy vibing to the music.” I replied with a warm smile.

I delved into my second pint of Guinness and decided to get to know Phoenix a little more.



We spent the next forty minutes exchanging pasts, and boy had Phoenix lived a life…

Born into a devout Christian community, personally run by his mentally disturbed grandfather, the poor dude had basically grown up in a cult. The bible had been hammered into him with full force from the day he was old enough to comprehend words. To make matters even worse, he was the first and only child in the hamlet, which meant he had basically been treated as a project by everyone, to create the perfect little obedient Christian child.

“Well that didn’t pan out very well, did it, with you being gay and all?” I joked.

“Yeah no kidding, they did not take my coming out very well.”

“Conservative American Christians, being judgemental and homophobic? No way!” I gasped.

“I know right, who’d have thunk it?” He huffed back, rolling his eyes.

He went on to say that although it took many years to overcome such an intensive upbringing, along with having to unlearn many toxic beliefs and behaviours, he still had no contempt for his family, even though he had been cast out choosing to ‘live a life of sin’, as his family had so eloquently put it.

“As much as it hurts, I know they’re only staying true to what they believe is right, it’s not from a place of hatred. They still love me, at least, my parents and my siblings do, it’s just that they don’t feel able to support or accept me as who I am.” He explained.

“That’s sad, really sad. But I totally commend you for being so benign about it, I don’t think I’d be able to forgive my family if they’d raised me like that, only to then give me the boot upon making a life decision they didn’t agree with.” I hummed.

“It took me a long time to get to that point, but it was only after forgiving them that I found peace within myself, there was a lot of anger, and letting bygones be bygones allowed that anger to fade away. Sometimes forgiveness isn’t about the forgiven, but rather, the forgiver.”

“That’s, really poetic.” I said, smiling.

“Heh, thanks.”

Changing the subject, Phoenix asked about my family instead, to which I told him the truth.

“I grew up with my parents and my brother, and then one day my dad never came home. My mum took full custody of us, only to discover later down the line that she wasn’t my real mum! My real mother was dying of cancer somewhere here in America, and my dad abandoned us to stay with her during her final days, in which he stopped eating, drinking, and literally died of a broken heart.”

“What the crap? That’s insane!”

“Yeah, it was pretty fucked up. The authorities found his diary and it explained everything. My fake mother was just an old friend of my dad’s who had agreed to step in and help raise us, it was some flawed attempt at giving us a normal childhood. How that backfired, right? Anyway, she got arrested, my brother went and joined the army, while I got into this line of work, serving others as a loyal protector.”

“Wow, that’s like, one of the craziest stories I’ve ever heard. That could easily be a plotline for a movie, or a book, or something like that.” Phoenix said enthusiastically.

“Hmm, perhaps I’ll get into writing when I retire.” I laughed.

After taking turns exchanging more details about our life stories, (with me taking extra care not to mention the technicolour alien ponies from another dimension), we decided to play a few rounds of pool together, which was mountains of fun, we played for well over an hour and after constant competitive taunting of one another, a fair amount of tension had begun to grow between us, and although I was nervous to admit it, I was enjoying that tension.



As this evening had progressed, I found myself liking Phoenix more and more, not in the same way that I was immediately infatuated with Bunnie, but I found myself already being very comfortable with his companionship. There was no denying the fact that he was attractive, and I didn’t know if it was just the alcohol talking, but I was beginning to notice that on a more personal level.

“So, not that I’m not enjoying myself, but how long are we planning on staying here?” I asked.

“Are you getting bored?” Phoenix replied anxiously.

“Not at all, I’m just wondering where you’ll take me next.” I hinted with a sly grin.

“Oh, uh, well… Did you have anything in mind?”

“Rebounding the question are we?” I teased.

“A little bit, yeah.” He confessed with a chuckle.

Taking a swig of my Guinness, I took the time to ponder for a moment before suggesting we took a night-time stroll at the beach, before perhaps heading back to his place. Blushing a little, he nodded his head and said that sounded like an excellent plan, except for one thing.

“I house-share with my friend Kimberly, so we wouldn’t be alone if we went back there. Plus, I’m in the middle of a pet sit, so we’ll have to go back to my client’s house. You don’t mind dogs do you? Big dogs to be specific?”

“Not at all, I’m a huge dog lover, especially when bigger breeds are concerned. I used to have a deerhound called Archer and he was absolutely massive!” I answered merrily.

“Sweet, because there’s a German Shepherd at the property called Saxon.”

“Oh nice, Shepherds are awesome dogs.”

“I’ll say, they’re my favourite, I have one of my own back home, his name is Trooper.”

“Trooper? Cool name, very fitting for a Shepherd.”

“Yeah, he’s my boy, although he’s not the first one I had. Back when I was younger, I had another called Shep, but sadly he got hit by a car and we had to put him down. Trooper was his replacement, I guess, not that you can replace a friend.”

“I know what you mean, don’t worry.” I assured him.

{Shep huh? Interesting.} I thought to myself.

{What?} Twilight asked.

{Phoenix used to have a dog called Shep, pretty cool coincidence right?}

{Wow, what are the odds? Although I’ll go out on a limb and guess this Shep didn’t fight in battles and help establish a nation via decades of war and bloodshed, right?} She giggled.

{Most likely not.} I agreed.

{Well, thanks for that fun little piece of information. I’m going to go to bed soon, feeling pretty tired.}

{No worries, goodnight!} I replied.

{Night!} She sang back.

“You okay?” Phoenix asked.

“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine, sorry. Just blanked out for a moment.” I lied.

“Oh, okay. Well I asked you if you wanted one more drink before we get out of here?”

“Sure, I’m sure I won’t be having another pint of Guinness any time soon after this, so I might as well make the most of your generosity.” I chuckled.

Nodding, Phoenix went over to the bar to order our final rounds, and I watched him as he went, admiring his figure with a smile. Thinking back on the advice I was given earlier once more, I was finally convinced once and for all; I was attracted to Phoenix, and I liked it.
Exhaling out of my nose with amusement, I muttered under my breath to myself.

“Dammit Pinkie Pie, you’ve made me like men…”


Chapter Fourteen: Firebird - Part Two

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After some time alone, Phoenix returned with the drinks, and instead of the Smirnoff Ice he’d been drinking all night, he instead possessed a brightly coloured cocktail of sorts.

“Sorry I took so long, my friend Alex just started working the bar and wanted to catch up with me.”

“No problem, I take it he’s in league with Sammy?” I guessed.

“Yeah, they’re best friends and are basically married to each other with how inseparable they are, they work together, drink together, and although they consistently deny it, I wouldn’t be surprised for a second if they slept together too.” he laughed, sitting back down.

Chuckling as well at the implied connection between the two bartenders, I waited for Phoenix to get comfortable before pointing to his drink, inquiring as to what it was.

“This, Mister Hardcastle, is a Strawberry Daiquiri.” he announced.

“Looks interesting. Also, it’s Horncastle, by the way.” I corrected, smiling.

“Oh shoot, I’m sorry!”

“It’s all good. You’d actually be amazed at how many people have called me Hardcastle over the years, it’s surprisingly quite common.” I chuckled.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I although can’t fathom why. The words horn and hard are barely alike.”

“I guess it’s just because it’s such an uncommon name. People probably forget the first part and try to fill in the gap with another word beginning with H.” Phoenix theorised.

Humming in agreement, I asked again what his drink was called as I hadn’t fully memorised the name.

“A Strawberry Daiquiri.”

“Uh huh.” I mumbled, analysing the beverage.

Not well-versed in the world of cocktails whatsoever, I was dumbfounded by the drink; the only Daiquiri I’d ever heard of was the Deadshot Daiquiri in Call of Duty Black Ops, so needless to say, I was completely unaware of what a Daiquiri really was, nor how it tasted.
Phoenix explained to me that it’s a cocktail whose main ingredients are rum, citrus juice, and sugar, and in this case, strawberries too.

“Fancy a taste?” he offered.

Nodding, I took the glass from Phoenix and took a little sip; the drink was very strong and the pungent fruity flavour was almost too sweet for me, especially after drinking Guinness all night. I blinked a few times and shook my head as the explosion of flavour heartily shook my senses; there was no doubt that if Pinkie Pie ever got into drinking in the future, a daiquiri would be the right drink for her.

“Your thoughts?” said Phoenix.

“Zingy. Very zingy.” I chuckled.

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“I’d say good, but not right after a Guinness.” I admitted.

“Well good thing it’s mine then.”

We both laughed, and with one last clink of the glasses, we sipped away at our final drinks of the night, continuing to exchange tales from our lives and learn more about one another. Where this evening was going to lead beyond the Pickles Pub was still unknown to me, but so long as it was with Phoenix Storm, I knew that I was going to enjoy myself.



“So, shall we?” I asked, finishing my drink at last.

“We shall.” he answered with a grin, finishing his own.

Getting up from the table, Phoenix and I went over to the bar and he got out his wallet to pay; what followed was the most unexpected phenomenon from the bartender.

“Get lost, both of you.” Sammy ordered, winking at Phoenix.

“Uh uh. No way am I letting you pay for all those drinks!” Phoenix argued.

“I’ve not seen you this happy with someone, ever. Seeing that smile of yours all evening was all the payment I needed from you tonight, now get out of my bar and enjoy yourselves.”

“Sammy, I can’t let you do this.”

“Phoenix, yes you can.”

“Seriously, I can’t!”

“Seriously, you can!”

This went on for some time, before Phoenix eventually admitted defeat to, as it happened, the nicest bartender on the face of the Earth.

“I’m getting you back for this, just you wait…” Phoenix growled, sticking his tongue out.

“Oh, how I tremble with fear!” Sammy wailed back dramatically.

“Whatever…”

We started to walk away from the bar and towards the front door, when Sammy decided to publicly embarrass the both of us in front of all his patrons.

Don’t forget to use protection!” he hollered at the top of his lungs.

Blushing more than ever before, a beetroot red Phoenix whipped around and scowled at the barman.

“Sammy, I hate you so damn much!”

“Mwah!” he replied, blowing the kiss over to us.

We left in a hurry, now both aware of the various eyes in the room that were now fixed on us.



The cool, fresh evening air was one hell of a refreshment after the toasty and somewhat humid environment of the Pickles Pub. Phoenix and I, almost in perfect sync, took a gasp of fresh air and then creased up laughing together over the sheer embarrassment of our exit.

“Sorry about Sammy, he’s a nightmare sometimes.”

“I gathered. Still, I can’t believe he put all our drinks on the house.” I hummed in response.

“Me neither, but I’ll get him back for that though, don’t worry.”

“How will you do that?”

“I’ll leave him a hundred dollar tip or something, and run away before he can do anything about it.”

“Sounds like a solid plan.” I hummed.

After another deep lungful of fresh air, Phoenix stretched.

“So, beach?” he suggested with a loud exhale.

“What did you just call me?” I gasped dramatically, implying that he had called me a bitch.

“N-no! I meant, do you still want to go to the beach?” he stammered.

“I know what you meant, I’m just being an asshole. Lead the way.” I snickered.

“You’re so mean…” he whined.

Now giggling amongst ourselves, we merrily made our way to the soft sands of Ocean City’s beach, and along the way, Phoenix tentatively asked if he could hold my hand. The sheer fact he felt the need to ask was one of the most adorable things that I’d witnessed in a long while. Without uttering a word, I answered his question by taking his hand, locking our fingers together and giving a light squeeze; Phoenix emitted a sigh of happiness and we continued walking. As we went, I took a moment to glance over at Phoenix and noticed that he hadn’t stopped smiling since I had taken his hand, it was then that I came to a wonderful realisation. For all the hardships I had faced, for as many terrible people that I had fought and killed, and for as hard as losing Bunnie was, not all humans were monsters.
And someday, when all this was over, I would come to love again…


When we arrived, we found the beach almost completely isolated, after all, who would come to the seaside at almost eleven o’clock at night? Not many, that’s for sure. We took off our socks and shoes and ran out to the where the waves came in, laughing as we went.

“That’s a bit nippy, ey?” I exclaimed as the water rushed over my feet.

“Your British accent is so damn cute!” he laughed in response.

He danced around playfully before the next wave came in, to which he then performed the worst mock British accent I’d ever heard, it was worse than Applejack’s!

“Cor blimey, that’s a bit nippy eh?”

I couldn’t help but burst into laughter and point out his terrible attempt at mimicry.

“How did you end up sounding both Australian, Indian, and Russian all in one go?” I cackled.

“Shut up! I’m not good at impressions, okay?” he laughed back.

He kicked some seawater at me, to which I playfully gave chase, he squealed like a girl and ran off. I easily caught up to him and pounced, latching onto the lad as we cascaded into the sand together. I wrestled with him until I ended up on top, pinning him down and staring at him. It was then that we both immediately froze, suddenly aware of the tension that hung in the air. Panting heavily from the play-fight, we gazed into one another’s eyes; even in the low light, the brilliant blue of his irises was perfectly visible to me, as the stars above twinkled across the reflection of his lenses.
Without thinking, I leaned forward and kissed him…

My former self would have been shocked, horrified even, I was kissing another guy! Even just yesterday, I’d have been in complete and utter disbelief, perhaps even disgust. But in this moment, and with this person, it just felt right; his lips felt so good against mine, they were warm and soft, and slightly fruity after his recent Strawberry Daiquiri. Phoenix too, seemed to be revelling in the kiss, as his lips lightly quivered in both anxiety and bliss.

We eventually broke apart and pulled back, to which we both grinned anxiously at one another, before going back in for another, much calmer kiss, now completely relaxed and adoring of one another. As we made out against those cool sands, I felt what little of his patchy stubble existed, rubbing against my jawline; the sensation threw me off initially, but I soon grew used to it and eagerly continued.

And then, very abruptly, Phoenix shifted uncomfortably, causing me to pull away. I got off him and allowed him to sit up, to which I asked him what the matter was. Looking at me with troubled eyes, he let loose a very heavy sigh, one filled with remorse, and shame.

“I’ve not… I’ve not been totally honest with you, Callum.” he spoke softly.

“Go on?” I replied slowly.

Taking a deep breath, Phoenix shut his eyes and began to nervously run his fingernails against the seams of his jeans. He exhaled, before opening his eyes and staring into mine.

“I like you, I really like you. But before we go any further, I need to tell you something, it wouldn’t be fair otherwise. And I’m scared that when I tell you the truth, tonight’s going to end, and I really don’t want tonight to end, because this is the best night I’ve had in a very, very long time…”

Remaining silent, I gave Phoenix the opportunity to gather himself.

“I’m…”

He took a deep breath, before finally breaking the news to me.

“I’m trans…”

My first impression was to ask him ‘You’re what?’ Truth be told, I had never heard of this phrase, I had started my journey with the six almost a year ago now, without a shred of the internet to educate me on the ins and outs of life in Twenty-Sixteen. Did I make a joke about it to lighten the mood? Trans, what? Transformer? Did I ask if he was with the Autobots or the Decepticons? No, judging from how anxious he was, joking could make the situation worse, so I decided to be straight forward about it.

“Could you, uh… elaborate?”

“I’m… transgender.”

“Oh…? Oh!” I exclaimed, finally understanding the situation.

He went on to explain that he had been born as a girl, but ever since he could remember, Phoenix felt like a boy trapped in the wrong body. He spent many years suppressing those feelings, but not a day went by where he didn’t feel enraged and sickened by the sight of himself in the mirror; he had been grievously self-harming since he was just thirteen years old, perpetually in emotional turmoil due to the physical form he had been cursed with. One day it all came to a breaking point and he ran away from home. He came to Ocean City, and met Sammy the bartender, who housed him for a while and helped him get some therapy to process everything. The therapist diagnosed him with an extreme case of gender dysphoria, and under the pretext that it had been a lifelong condition, recommended he undergo gender reassignment.
After changing his first name, beginning hormone treatment, and undergoing a double mastectomy, he came out to his family as Phoenix, which obviously didn’t go well. The poor guy was expunged from his family, and so he changed his surname to Storm, and remained in Ocean City to begin his life anew.

“Blimey. That’s quite a lot to take in.” I breathed.

“I know, I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you sooner." he sniffed, "But I was so scared that you’d run off, and I’ve really needed a night like this. It was selfish of me, and I'm truly sorry. If you want to leave, just do, I completely understand.”

Never had I expected to find myself in a situation such as this, but at the same time, was it really that big of an issue? Sure, it was a little startling at first, but as Pinkie Pie had said earlier, it didn’t matter if Phoenix was a boy or a girl, what mattered was the person. I had enjoyed tonight, very much, and it was solely because Phoenix had been such a wonderful person to be around. He was fun, engaging, witty, poetic, and emotionally invested with our conversations. He had made a really good impression on me, and I was unashamed to admit that I liked him very much, and that perhaps in another life, I could see myself getting into a relationship with him.
As for the whole transgender thing, what leg could I possibly stand on to judge when I’m the one who had slept with Rainbow Dash, an alien equine? So truly, what concern was a guy with a female origin, to the interplanetary pony-pounder?

{Write that down! Write that down!} I joked to myself in thought.

Bringing my attention back to Phoenix, I cupped his face with one of my hands.

“Thank you for being honest with me, that must’ve been pretty hard for you.” I spoke softly.

“I’m just a freak to you now, aren’t I?” he murmured, looking down.

“No…” I said, pausing.

Waiting until he returned eye contact, I stroked across his cheek with my thumb and smiled warmly.

“You’re just a guy to me.”

His eyes immediately began to well up with tears, and before he could start the waterworks, I leaned in and kissed him once again; he burst into the biggest grin and kissed me back. After a few moments of gayly snogging (pun intended), we sat side by side and talked things over some more, to which I clarified that I had absolutely no quarrels with him being the way he was, although I appreciated that he had told me.


After some time watching the flickers of moonlight dancing upon the waves, we eventually got up and decided to move on to his client’s house.

“It’s only like a twenty-minute walk, hope you don’t mind?”

“Not at all.” I assured him.

We left the beach and got walking, and along the way Phoenix continued to thank me for being so accepting of him, adding that the only people who openly accepted him for the truth were just Sammy, Alex, and his housemate, Kimberly.

“Sounds lonely.”

“A little, I guess." he hummed, "But trust me, it’s nothing compared to the loneliness I felt back in my old life.”

“Makes sense… So who is this Kimberly anyway?” I inquired, changing the subject.

Gleeful that I wanted to know, Phoenix told me a little more about his best friend and housemate. Kimberly Henry was an old college friend of Phoenix’s back in South Carolina, and was the first person to know the truth about him, and the only one to accept him. They were the closest of friends, and shared a love for arts and crafts, thus dubbing one another as 'Artners in Crime', which I found to be greatly amusing. They had been inseparable for years, with Phoenix regularly staying over to watch movies, play videogames, and craft decorations for upcoming holidays; he shamelessly added that they would often start making Christmas decorations as early as July. Upon hearing this, my lips raised into a disgusted snarl.

“I won’t judge you for being trans, but that, I am judging you for.”

The both of us laughed hysterically, and Phoenix continued to explain that the two of them thrived off creativity, there was something about making something new and colourful that helped calm Phoenix’s ever-turbulent mind, with the colours of Christmas being the most soothing for him.

“Fine, it’s an outlet for you, so I’ll forgive you.” I teased.

“Much appreciated.” he chuckled.

Continuing to educate me about his housemate, Phoenix told me that upon being basically banished from his family and fleeing to Ocean City, Kimberly decided to move there too, ever loyal to her Artner in Crime. They moved in together to split rent and bill costs, and have been happily living together ever since.

“That’s really sweet, it sounds like you’ve got yourself a true friend there." I said warmly, "I’m really glad you’ve had someone like that to help you through the darker times.”

“Yeah, I don’t know if I could’ve got through all this without her. Although I may never say it to her face, I’ve needed her friendship to survive.” he confessed.

“Well, you know what they say, Friendship is Magic…” I replied, winking.

Sadly he didn’t catch the reference, instead he simply chuckled and agreed with me, continuing in his stride. After a moment, he thanked me for listening to so much of his life story, to which I assured him that I didn’t mind. I went on to add that my life has been filled with a lot of unfortunate events with a lot of bad endings, and it was refreshing to hear someone’s tale where it turned out okay in the end.

“Huh, I hadn’t thought about it like that.” Phoenix hummed, mostly to himself.

“Well maybe you should.” I began encouragingly, “Although your story doesn’t have the best beginning, you’re now living your best life, with your best friend, with the support of the world’s best bartender.”

Phoenix grinned like a gibbon and playfully nudged me with his elbow.

“And, for tonight, I’m being accompanied by the best guy.”

“Oh stop it, you.” I droned.

Chuckling, we continued onward, until we finally reached the house.

“This is the place!” Phoenix announced, stopping.

He pulled out a house key from his pocket and unlocked the front door. I then almost jumped out of my damn skin as the client’s dog started barking inside. Noting my surprise, Phoenix assured me that the dog wasn't vicious, it was just a little over-protective, as most German Shepherds were. He called out to the dog to calm it down, but the barking continued until Phoenix pushed his way inside, I followed him in and was immediately bombarded by the animal as it jumped up and planted its front paws on my chest, sniffing me intensely and glaring at me with immense caution.

“Well, hi there.” I greeted anxiously, raising the pitch of my voice to appear friendlier.

“Saxon, get off him! He’s a friend!” Phoenix commanded urgently.

Sniffing me some more, the dog eventually decided that I wasn’t a threat. Dropping down to greet his sitter, Saxon went and headbutted Phoenix in the leg, who started scratching him behind the ears.

“Well done Saxon! Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy?”

Phoenix then went to a nearby countertop and took a treat out of the jar that sat there, before commanding Saxon to sit, then lie down, and then sit again, before finally tossing him the treat and praising him once more.

“He’s well trained, I see.” I observed, impressed.

Phoenix led me into the kitchen while explaining that he’d been looking after Saxon for the past two years, and had done plenty of training together, the dog was just as obedient to him as it was to its owners. Saxon came up to me and lifted his paw for me to shake, panting excitedly. I took his paw and gave it a hearty shake and patted him on the head, to which he wagged his tail and then turned around, backing into me and pressing his rear against my shin.

“Aww, he’s giving you a butt-hug!”

“A what?” I snorted in surprise.

“It’s a thing German Shepherds do if they really like you. They press their butts against you and give you a hip nudge, it’s a huge compliment that means they trust you and acknowledge you as a friend!”

Responding with an emphatic hum of understanding, I bent down and gave the Shepherd a scratch behind the ear as well, appreciating the furry friend’s immediate trusting of me.

“I’ve never seen him bond with someone so quickly before, it normally takes him hours to adjust to a new person. You weren’t kidding when you said you’re a dog lover.” Phoenix muttered, astounded.

“What can I say? I have a knack for making friends with those of the furred variety.” I chuckled.

{Ain’t that the truth…?} I remarked in thought.

“Well, it might also be because you’re a bit like a German Shepherd yourself.” said Phoenix.

“Um, how so?”

“Well, for starters, you’re evidently very self-assured in wearing a collar. Not only that, but you’re also a loyal protector for a living. Perhaps he’s resonated with that?”

“That’s most certainly, a theory.”

To be fair, I quite liked the analogy. My loyalty to the girls was unparalleled, I would give my life for them at a moment’s notice, and I wouldn’t hesitate to rip anyone apart who would do them harm. As far as dog breeds went, a German Shepherd certainly did fit that bill. The subject changed as I began to realise just how itchy my head and neck was, thanks to all the sand from our tumble on the beach; and after my exploits in the desert with the girls, I knew that sand and one’s orifices most certainly did not mix.

“So uh, I don’t know about you, but I’m still pretty sandy. Does this place have a shower?” I inquired.

“Well you’re awfully eager aren’t you? You’ve not been here for five minutes and you already want to get your clothes off?” Phoenix jested in response.

“Oh har har. No, I’m just itchy.”

“Itching to get naked, more like.”

“Definitely.” I deadpanned.

“Well, let me sort out feeding the dog and putting him to bed, and then I’ll show you where everything is. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen, I won’t be long.”

Dipping my head in understanding, I let him do his job and wandered around the kitchen until I found something to munch on; delving into a packet of Doritos and relaxing in the living room, I patiently waited until Phoenix returned.

“I see you found the Deenos.”

“The what?” I asked.

“It’s what I call Doritos.” he giggled.

“You’re a numpty.”

Both laughing, Phoenix guided me through the bedroom and showed me where the shower was, along with a spare towel to dry off.

“You know… seeing as we’re both sandy and in need of a shower…” I suggested, smirking.

“I was wondering if you were going to ask.” he chuckled back.

Plucking up the confidence to take off my shirt first, I began to strip down, which was when Phoenix noticed the handle of Vitra ‘Aku lashed to my chest.

“What the heck is that!?”

{Shit.}

“Uh…” I began.

Thinking on the fly, I blurted out that it was a one-of-a-kind piece of equipment that belonged to my employer, and that I had been tasked with protecting it, so I kept it tightly secured to me at all times.

“It’s actually one of the main reasons why I’ve been so secretive about my job tonight, nobody’s really supposed to know about it.” I finalised, trying to look poised in my answer.

“Can I see it?”

{Ugh, great.}

“Fine, you can look, but you absolutely cannot touch it. Okay?” I said firmly.

“We’re still talking about this, right?” he asked teasingly, pointing to the relic.

“Oh shut up!” I laughed.

After getting Phoenix's word that he would only look, I unbound the handle from me and showed him the void sheath, before grasping the handle and unsheathing Vitra ‘Aku. The bright blue glow of the crystal blade illuminated the room, and Phoenix’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

“Wha… woah… that’s… that’s incredible!” he exclaimed.

“It sure is.” I agreed, allowing him to closely observe the sword.

“How did you get this? And how the heck does it fit inside that?”

Quickly coming up with a half-truth, I explained to him that my employer was an explorer of sorts, and that we had stumbled upon the sword in an underground ruin, deep within the most inhospitable part of the Sahara Desert, close to the border of Libya.

“Until we perfectly understand how it works, I’ve been charged with safeguarding it and keeping it hidden away from the world.” I spoke, sheathing the weapon once again.

“That makes sense, a whole lot of people would lose their minds over something like this, I can barely believe it myself. Bet my bottom dollar that it’s an alien artefact or something.” Phoenix hummed.

{That is… literally what it is.} I thought with amusement.

“So you’re one of those people who think aliens helped build the pyramids then?” I quizzed.

“Not the pyramids, no." he clarified, "But I totally believe that aliens exist, and that they had a part to play in some ancient civilisations at least. There’s no possible way we’re alone in this universe.”

“Well, with where I found the damn thing, and its seemingly impossible qualities, I’m very much inclined to agree with you.” I said, playing along.

“Hm, well, if you happen to make any discoveries about it, you'd better give me a call.”

“You’ll have to let me leave with your number then.” I replied with a wink.

“Then prove to me that you’re worth giving my number to.” he retorted, biting his lip.

I didn’t hesitate to lean in and kiss him, immediately reigniting the tension that had been brewing all night, he broke it off briefly to turn the shower on, and for the two of us to undress fully. The first thing I noticed about his upper body was the obvious, two evenly sized scars across his chest from where he’d had his top surgery, but otherwise, his broad shoulders and muscular build was no different from any other man; in actual fact, (and quite reluctantly to admit), his chest was hairier than mine.

{Damn, maybe I need some of that extra testosterone!} I joked in thought.

Now both fully nude, we got into the shower together and it very quickly became difficult to know what was causing more steam, the hot water, or us? Although neither of us were confident enough to get straight to the business, there was a lot of heavy petting involved…
Exploring a trans man’s body was definitely a confusing experience at first. For all intents and purposes, Phoenix was a man, as much was certainly true from head to waist, but I would be lying if I didn’t admit that it took me a little while to adjust to some of him. Although, having been undeniably straight up until tonight, it actually made things easier for me.
At least here, I was in familiar territory… mostly…


One incredibly passionate shower later, Phoenix and I decided to move things to the bedroom, the tension between us now burned so intensely that unlike jet fuel, it could most certainly melt steel beams.

“Ooh, I have an idea!” Phoenix emitted.

“Please tell me this isn’t going to end in ropes and ball-gags…” I grumbled anxiously.

“No, I’m not into that sort of thing." he giggled, "I was going to say, what if we use your sword as a mood light? That damn thing has some serious luminescence to it!”

“You know, that’s actually not a bad shout.” I murmured, impressed.

Grabbing the void sheathe, I slowly pulled out the sword and the whole room began to faintly shimmer in the relic’s bright blue brilliance.

{Am I seriously about to use a sacred holy relic from Equus, wielded by the Champions of Old for tens of thousands of years, as a mood light for my first night sleeping with a guy?} I thought to myself.

Looking at the light dancing in Phoenix’s mesmerised eyes, I smirked.

{Abso-fucking-lutely.}

Phoenix went to the light switch and turned the dial until the room was just dim enough to add some burlesque to the mood, but still allowing us to see clearly. I placed the blade onto the bedside table and then gently pushed Phoenix back onto the bed. Straddling on top of him, I gripped his shoulders and pinned him down. Straining to control my desire, I lowered my lips towards his until I could feel his warm breath against them. Then, in a gentle instant, we were joined. His lips were so much softer and smoother since our foreplay in the shower, I wanted more, I needed more. Something had awakened in me, it was the same passion I had felt for Bunnie during our first night together.
It was the spark of love.

I pressed harder against him, deepening our kiss and caressing his lips with my own. And then, quite unexpectedly, Phoenix wrestled me for dominance and somehow wound up on top. He then proceeded to plant little kisses along my jawline, and then down the side of my neck, sending small bolts of electricity down my spine, causing me to involuntarily arch my back.

“Sensitive neck?” he growled, grinning.

“Mhmm…” I quietly mewed back, gulping.

“Good.”

Tenaciously plunging back down into my neck, Phoenix kissed and nibbled into me until I was lightheaded, seeing stars, and littered with love-bites that ranged from beneath my earlobes, all the way down to my collarbones. Reaching forward after regaining my senses, I placed my hands on his waist, and then eventually plucked up the courage to reach even further. I slid my hands onto Phoenix’s backside and gripped him firmly, which brought forth an enfeebled moan, putting an end to his authority over me. I seized the moment to claim back dominance and flipped him over, taking back my original position and letting him know that he belonged to me tonight, and not the other way around. Hesitating only for a second, I got to work on returning the favour and painted his upper body with love-bites of my own, ensuring that he became just as lightheaded and breathless as I had been. After giving Phoenix a moment to catch his breath, I cupped his cheek and searched his deep blue eyes for the answer to my unspoken question, and in the form of an almost imperceptible nod, I received my answer, and my permission…

At long last, I would have the prize that we had both been building towards through the entire night.

Without breaking eye contact, I leaned in, and claimed the Firebird…


Chapter Fifteen: Recruitment Drive

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I rose from my slumber to find Phoenix already awake, sitting beside me and scrolling through Facebook on his phone. He turned to look down at me and smiled warmly.

“Hey there sleepyhead.” He cooed.

“Morning.” I mumbled back.

Giggling anxiously, he said that he was just about to get up and make breakfast, and if I wanted anything.

“Do you count?” I teased.

“Very funny. Alas, I’m never up for anything in the morning, thanks to my hypoglycaemia.”

“Hypo-glabba-what-now?” I babbled, tilting my head.

“It’s a condition concerning my blood sugar, it gets super low and I wake up pretty much every morning feeling dizzy, nauseous, and shaky. In other words, it’s a massive mood killer, sorry.”

“No worries at all, I was only being half serious anyway. So, isn’t that like diabetes?” I hummed.

“It’s quite literally the opposite.”

He explained to me that diabetes was when one’s blood sugars was too high, meanwhile hypoglycaemia was when their blood sugars were too low.

“Oh I see…” I murmured in understanding.

“People with diabetes can get bouts of hypoglycaemia, and people with hypoglycaemia have a risk of becoming diabetic if they don’t manage their diet, it’s a vicious old cycle.”

“Heh, sounds it.”

Getting up and stretching, Phoenix went to get dressed, to which I unashamedly watched until he was fully clothed.

“You’re not very subtle, you know?”

“I mean, with a body like yours, can you blame me?” I replied slyly.

“Oh stop it!” He giggled.

Reiterating the question if I wanted breakfast or not, I happily confirmed that I’d love some, along with a cup of coffee. He left the room and I looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

{Man… Last night…} I thought to myself, closing my eyes.

My time with Phoenix had been truly blissful, and not just because of the sex, I had genuinely enjoyed every second of the night. From drinking at the Pickles Pub, to running around and wrestling on the beach, to holding hands as we walked and talked, and of course, the incredibly passionate intimacy at the end.
All of it had been so perfect, and it was all thanks to Phoenix; he truly was a wholesome person, a kind soul, with a pure and gentle heart.

In my mind, I saw glimpses of myself beside him, older now, growing, talking, playing, loving.
We lived together, he had moved in with me, and his old housemate Kimberly was my friend too now.
We had a car, and would go on long drives together, often to the seaside.
We played videogames together, we read story books to one another, we cooked for one another and watched films side by side on a couch that neither of us really liked, taking turns to give one another back rubs, playfully arguing over who’s turn it was to do the dishes, it was usually mine…
These glimpses flashed faster and faster before my mind’s eye, as I saw hundreds of snapshots of a life where Phoenix was mine, and I was his, and we were happy together.

But this was not my life.
Whether it be a mere fantasy, or the echoes of my life in another dimension, my life was not that peaceful, nor would it be spent beside this man. My loyalty lay with the girls, and with the girls only. And my duty, to reclaiming The Titans’ Orb.
I cast my mind back to my audience with those six gods, and remembered the words that those magnificent beings had spoken to me. Since becoming their Champion, my function was now solely to prolong life and harmony on Equus, before eventually passing on the mantle to someone else and fading away into ancient history, it was a purpose not too dissimilar to Hawnu Rey’eng’s. And although it was perfectly fine to have passions and desires, nothing could ever come before my responsibility as Champion.

Opening my eyes with newfound clarity, I breathed in deeply, and got out of bed.



“Tah da!” Phoenix sang, passing me a cup of coffee and a toasted sandwich.

I thanked him and took a bite, it was ham and cheese, with a dash of black pepper. Closing my eyes and munching merrily, I savoured the flavour before swallowing and then taking a sip from my coffee.

“So uh, I would imagine you’ll need to go at some point?”

Sighing and dipping my head, I confirmed that I would, but if he could perhaps do me a favour before I did.

“Of course, what can I do?”

“I’ve not had any contact with anyone from my old life, not for a very long time. So I was wondering, if it’s not too forward of me. Would it be okay if you could lend me a few dollars so I can stop by a library or an internet café to use one of their computers? Just so I can send some people a few messages and let them know I’m doing okay.” I requested.

“Oh don’t be so silly! You can just use my laptop!” He exclaimed.

“For real? Blimey, that would make things so much easier…” I breathed a mighty sigh of relief.

“It’s no problem, really! I always bring my laptop so I can write poetry and play games while I’m away on sits, it’s already hooked up to the WiFi so feel free to hop on whenever you like.”

“Thank you Phoenix, so much.”

“Honestly, it’s no big deal, you’re most welcome!”

He finished his own breakfast and then went into the living room, where he retrieved his laptop, it was an MSI gaming laptop. Upon turning it on, the keyboard lit up in a fiery red, it was a top tier piece of kit for sure.

“This is Cynder, she’s my pride and joy.”

“She’s awesome.” I hummed.

Phoenix opened up an internet browser after logging in and proceeded to sign out of his Facebook account, along with his Skype profile upon me indicating that I’d probably contact people there too.

“All yours!” He chirped happily.

Thanking him once again, I hopped onto Facebook and put in my credentials, only to be greeted by a message stating that my account no longer existed.

{Ugh, because I’m legally dead.} I grumbled.

As it happened, I had an alt account, under the woefully unimaginative name of Guy Man; it was a practically useless profile that I had only ever used for sharing offensive memes, and more importantly for having another account’s farm to visit for extra rewards in one of Facebook’s browser games, called Farmville. This came to my advantage, for Josh also played Farmville, and was already friends with my alt account for the extra rewards too.

Phoenix went to let Saxon out into the backyard, while I logged into the account and began typing a message to Josh.

Hi Josh, it’s me, Callum.
My main account got deleted so I’m messaging you here.
I’m sure that reading this is going to come as quite a shock to you, given that I’ve been reported as deceased for almost a year. But once I explain things to you, everything will make sense.
I’m also going to need your help.
Again, once I explain, it’ll make sense…
You there bud?

It took a little while of anxiously waiting, but soon enough a little green circle appeared by his profile picture and the message soon displayed ‘Read’ at the bottom. And then, three little dots to indicate he was typing a response.
While I waited, Phoenix let Saxon into the rest of the house, to which he scrambled over to me and jumped up at me, sniffing my face intently before giving my cheek an almighty lick.

“Thanks boy…” I grumbled, wiping the slobber off my face.

Phoenix came over and scolded the Shepherd for jumping up.

“I’m going to take him for a walk, I’ll probably be gone for an hour or two.”

“Okay, no worries.”

“Will you, um… Be gone, when I get back?”

The puppy-dog eyes could’ve given Fluttershy a run for her money, I smiled warmly and chuckled as I told him that unless work decided that I urgently needed to get back, I could stick around to say goodbye properly. He broke into a huge grin and dipped his head, he then went to get a lead for the dog, but not before refilling my coffee mug for me and putting it at the table beside the laptop.

“Would it be weird to give you a quick hug?” He anxiously put forward.

“After last night, it would be weird if you didn’t.” I teased.

Laughing, he wrapped his arms around me from behind and gave me a squeeze, he then boldly pulled down the back of my shirt’s collar and kissed the back of my neck, making me shiver and covering my skin with goosebumps.

“See you later.” He breathed into my ear.

Sighing heavily and emitting a grin of my own, I said nothing and savoured the intimacy, before he backed away and clipped the lead onto Saxon’s collar, waved goodbye to me, and then left the property.

“Damn, I did not realise my neck was so bloody sensitive…” I reflected, rubbing away the goosebumps.

After taking a sip of my new cup of coffee, I looked to the laptop to find that Josh had replied.

Dear Sweet Celestia!!! CALLUM!?!?
Dude, I tried to wish you a happy birthday in January but it wouldn’t let me send you a message, I tried checking your profile and it said your account was now on a timer to be deleted due to the user passing away, I don’t know any of your family or other friends so I couldn’t ask anyone to be sure, but after a while I guessed you really had died…
What is going on!? Did you die and come back to life? Were you abducted by aliens?
Did you go to Equestria!? OH MY GOD, DID YOU GO TO EQUESTRIA CALLUM!?
Seriously though, please tell me what is going on!
And I’ll help in any way I can, unless it’s helping you rob a bank or something, I can’t even steal a pen without fessing up, LOL!

Exhaling loudly through my nose in amusement, I immediately typed my response.

Okay, well for starters, I don’t need your help robbing a bank! xD
Although there’s technically some smuggling involved.
And no, sadly I didn’t go to Equestria, however, you aren’t far off…
Let me start by owing you a massive apology, I always thought it was utterly ridiculous how you’ve always believed Equestria was actually real, because let’s be honest, it SOUNDS absolutely mad.
But it turns out, you were right. You were RIGHT Josh! IT’S REAL!!!
The reason I “died” is because I received some visitors in June last year, six visitors…
I’ve met them Josh, the Six are real, and they’re here on Earth.
They need my help in retrieving a very important Equestrian artefact, I can explain the full situation in person, but basically, I faked my own death so nobody would look for me while I guide and protect them as we journey across the globe in search of the artefact.
I’m in America right now, Ocean City, in the state of Maryland, and I need help getting to Michigan as we’re following a lead, and after that, we need to get to the West Coast.
Obviously, travelling with the girls, every move we make has to be incognito, and it’s a LONG way to go, so rather than taking risks, I’ve decided to reach out to someone I can trust.
Do you still have that modified school bus of yours? It would be perfect.
I know this is a huge ask, and I can’t offer much in return, but this is something I really need someone’s help with, and it would be for a cause that’s too important to put into words.
Plus, you’d be able to meet the girls for yourself, and you’d know for sure that I’m telling you the truth.
I know this must be a LOT to take in, especially so suddenly, but I can’t even begin to emphasise the importance and urgency in the situation…
So what do you say? Can you help us?
/)

Sighing heavily after typing all that out, I sent the message. I wasn’t sure if adding the brohoof at the end was too corny or not, but there was no deleting it now, especially as he’d seen the message almost immediately after I had pressed Enter. After a while of anxiously sipping at my coffee and rapping my fingertips against the table, Josh finally replied.

Um, wow… Like… WOW! Is this for real? This isn’t a prank, right?
Surely it can’t be, this is far too elaborate to be a prank, Facebook literally said that you DIED!
Holy mackerel, this is really happening isn’t it?
Okay, yes, I’ve still got my bus, and I can help you. But Ocean City’s quite the journey, I’m all the way in Iowa, so it’ll easily be like seventeen hours, and that’s not including the traffic. Basically, I wouldn’t be able to get to you until tomorrow if I set off today. But if I’m really doing this, then I’m going to need to pack some things, and make sure I’ve got enough fuel and stuff. Can I get all my stuff together today and actually feel prepared for this? Then leave tomorrow morning? I’ll drive most of the way, take a pit-stop and sleep for the night, and then get to you by midday the day after.

“Yes…” I hissed to myself, I had him hooked.

The girls were going to be absolutely thrilled once I told them that I’d secured some transport, I couldn’t even imagine how long it would’ve taken to get to Michigan without it. We’d have most likely used the bag technique the whole time, uncomfortably squished together for days on end, with me walking by day, and Rainbow Dash flying by night.

Oh mate, this is such a bloody relief, you have no idea how much it means that you’re doing this, thank you Josh, thank you SO much! By all means, leave tomorrow morning and we’ll see you in two days. Annoyingly I’m not going to have any internet access after this, so we need to set up a meeting spot.
On the south-most part of Ocean City, there’s a little fairground called the Jolly Roger at the Pier, how about we meet there? There’s a car park so you can put your bus there, then we can hop on and quickly get somewhere less populated ASAP so we can do proper introductions.

Josh happily agreed to that, and I let him know that I needed to contact someone else about what was going on in the hopes of getting some fire support. Thanking him once more, I said that I’d see him in two days, and we left it at that.

“Right, now on to Rommel.” I sighed.

Booting up Skype, I logged into my account, which was thankfully still active.

“Oh…” I murmured.

Before my eyes, were dozens of messages from my old social contacts, mainly brony friends of mine that I’d made throughout the couple of years leading up to my ‘death’. I scrolled though the messages, and I realised just how many people actually used to like me…

“Bro? You there?”

“Where have you gone?”

“You’ve been away for so long, hope you’re okay!”

“Miss you…”

“Are you mad at me?”

“Did I say something wrong during our last gaming sesh?”

“Um… Facebook says you’re…”

“RIP Callum”

“Tried to wish you a happy birthday on Facebook and now I’m crying…”

“Please say it ain’t so.”

“Really hope Facebook was pranking, you’re not really dead, right?”

“It was nice knowing you…”

“I wish I’d talked to you more.”

“Can’t believe you’re gone.”

Now misty-eyed, I continued going through my contacts until I finally found Rommel’s profile, under the name of Ranger Redstar, which was the name of his OC character. I typed up a hello and pretty much said the same thing I’d said to Josh, and soon enough, he replied.

Damn, you’re not dead? That’s cool.
I’m at work at the moment, can we talk later?

“That’s all you have to say?” I grumbled aloud, rolling my eyes.

Chuckling, I remembered that Rommel was always better to speak with verbally over a call.

I wish I could say yes but I won’t have access to the internet for long, I’ve reached out because I really need your help, it’s something really important. Can you step away from work for a quick call?

It seemed that he didn’t quite understand the gravity of the situation, so hopefully I could explain things better if he called me, which thankfully, he did. Skype started ringing and I quickly answered it, and then realised that he was video calling, not just audio; his face popped up on my screen, and I became visible on his.

“Oh shit dude, you really are still alive! I honestly thought you might have been a hacker on Callum’s account or something.” He spoke, his eyebrows raised.

“Nope, it’s really me.” I replied.

“This is crazy, so you’ve been pretending to be dead for nearly a year? Why? What’s going on, and why do you need my help so badly?”

“Okay, so this is going to sound absolutely mad, but please try to keep an open mind.”

“Alright, I’m listening…” He responded, cautious.

“I didn’t just pretend to be dead online, I faked my death in real life. As far as the world is concerned, including the government, I’m deceased. The reason why is, again, going to sound absolutely mad, but I came into contact with some visitors, from afar, if you catch my drift…”

“Aliens?” Rommel speculated, quite blankly in tone.

“I guess you could say that, yeah. Although, you know them, somewhat.” I implied.

He opened his mouth to guess, but then receded to think some more on what I had just said, his interest now heightening. Choosing not to play guessing games too much, I helped him out.

“At least, you know the cartoon versions of them.”

With the penny dropping, Mel squinted at me and itched his black beard.

“So let me get this straight. You expect me to believe that you met the Mane Six, and faked your death to hang out with them? Am I getting that right? Okay, so what’s next? Are you going to tell me that you have a nice cosy house somewhere in Equestria?”

“No, I don’t have a house there.” I replied, rolling my eyes, “Look, I appreciate this sounds ridiculous, but I did try to warn you, so please bear with me on this.”

Sighing, I had a feeling that Mel would be harder to convince, not that I blamed him though; who in their right mind would believe that the world from My Little Pony was a real, tangible place, especially just off the back of hearsay? It was only thanks to Josh being a fantasist that he was so easy to get on-board. It was mere dumb luck that he already believed in Equestria’s existence. But as for Rommel, I needed a way to convince him, something I could show him…

{The gay-sex nightlight!} I hollered in thought, mentally cheering at the idea.

Inhaling, I explained to Rommel how the girls had come to this world in search of two artefacts that have been wrongly sent here by an escapee from Tartarus.

“The first one is an orb.” I started, “It protects their planet from all sorts of interdimensional shit. It broke into six pieces when it was sent here, and it’s been scattered across the globe. For almost a year, we’ve been hunting them down, and it’s absolutely vital that we retrieve every single piece. As for the other artefact, it’s a sword, made from crystal. It glows in the dark and has more cultural significance that you can possibly imagine.”

Intrigued by my description of the artefacts, Rommel squinted at me in thought, biting his lip as he did so. Eventually, he asked if I had any evidence to back up a word of what I was saying. Confirming that I did, I rushed into the bedroom to grab Vitra ‘Aku. Upon returning, I unsheathed the blade and brought it up close to the camera, giving him a good long look at it. I then explained the void sheathe to him, slotting the sword back into it as I did so.

“It’s bigger on the inside.” I told him, “It’s a pocket dimension, where the blade can be safely hidden, without giving away its glow. You’re literally looking at magic, and this is a live Skype call, it would be completely and utterly impossible for me to edit or manipulate what you’re seeing.”

“Okay, I’ll hand it to you, that’s impressive.” he hummed, “But that could just as easily be a very expensive toy, just like those fake knives they use in movies, where the blade just goes back into the handle.”

“Dude, look at the size of the blade compared to the size of the handle.” I argued, “This is absolutely nothing like that! Besides, why on Earth would I fake my death, just to call you and show off a trick prop!?”

Humming again, Mel admitted that was a fair point.

“So why have you called me then?” he went on, “You’ve not actually said what you need my help for yet.”

“Well, having a sword is all fine and dandy,” I began, “but I need better protection. I’m in America right now, and the next piece of the Orb is on some random island in the Pacific. I have no idea how much danger lies ahead of me, but I need to keep the girls safe.”

“And how does that involve me exactly?” he said, peering down his nose at me, still not quite buying it.

Clearing my throat, I reminded him that for as long as we had been friends, Rommel had consistently sent me boastful pictures of all the guns he owned, and how proficient he was with them. Following this, I reminded him of how he had always stated his desire to use them beyond the firing range, preferably for a good cause. I knew in my heart that Rommel was good man, but he was also plagued by a glaring hero complex; above all else, he wanted to be the one to save the day. If he could do something that would contribute to the saving of lives, and be recognised for it, he would be more inclined to get involved, and I chose to prey on this weakness to sway him.

“Come on Mel, what could be a greater cause than the protection of one’s friends? You’d be saving lives.”

He looked away from the camera and sniffed, and after a moment of thought, it seemed that I had made some headway.

“Where are you? In America, I mean. And where are the ponies?”

“Ocean City, Maryland, but I won’t be for long.” I told him, “I’ve been able to secure some transport to Michigan, where we’ll be staying for a short while. The Six are hiding in a hotel room, just a few roads away. I’m using someone else’s laptop just to get some WiFi to talk to you, and then I’m going back there.”

“Right…” he muttered, stroking his chin and then pointing at me, “So you’re basically asking me to drive all the way to Michigan, with all my guns, and all my ammo, so you can take them? Then what, I just leave?”

“Well, you can come with us if you like?” I offered.

Should I have said that? The sudden thought of another person joining our quest caused me to frown for a moment. The suggestion immediately felt wrong as soon as the words had left my lips. After all we had been through together, protecting the girls had been my job, and my job alone. I was their guide. I was their one, singular human companion. But no, this was my own hero complex talking; having Mel with us would ensure an efficient gunman at our disposal, even if he joined us for just a little while, surely it wouldn’t be a bad thing? Once I had finished battling my inner turmoil on the matter, I doubled down on my offer, further tending to Rommel’s inner wants.

“Let’s be honest, you’re not all that fond of your job anyway. What is it you do again? Some meritless job with Henkel, right? I know for a fact that you want to do something bigger than that. You’ve wanted to do something adventurous and fantastical ever since we became friends, well now I’m presenting you with that opportunity. Obviously I can’t force you to do anything, but if you’re willing to help us, I can promise you an audience with the living, breathing, Mane Six, from an Equestria that very much exists. And if you’re willing to put your life on hold for a few months, you could join us in an adventure that you’ll never forget, and you’ll go down in the annals of Equestrian history as someone who helped keep their home safe. You’d be a hero in their world.”

Hook, line, and sinker.
Mel smirked, the temptation far too much for him to contravene. Shaking his head and sighing, he at long last proposed that if I called him when I got to Michigan, and he could see the ponies for himself over that call, then he would come to our aid with his guns and ammunition.

“But you listen here. If this all turns out to be one massive prank, you’ll be very lucky if I don’t shoot you with every damn gun I bring.” he warned me, winking.

We laughed, and I promised him once more that I was telling the truth, he nodded and said he was willing to believe me, and looked forward to receiving a call when I got to Michigan. He then needed to get back to work and so we brought the call to a close and said goodbye to one another.

“Oh, and Callum?” he said at the last moment.

“Yeah?”

“Even if this does end up being a stupid prank, I’m glad you’re still alive.”

Mel then hung up before I could respond.

“Always a flare for the dramatic.” I chuckled, rolling my eyes.

This was perfect, absolutely perfect. Not only had I gained safe transportation across the country via Josh, but Rommel was now willing to provide fire support once I got to Michigan.
It was then that a question dawned on me… WHERE in Michigan?

“Right, time to find Daddy.” I muttered, opening up a web browser.

The first thing I did was try searching at the source. Going to a website called Fimfiction, I searched for the notorious story which had brought to tears to so many eyes over the years; My Little Dashie… Annoyingly, ROBCakeran-Fifty-Three’s account didn’t yield much information, but after going through the finer details and finding a link to his DeviantArt account, I was able to confirm that this person truly was Rainbow Dash’s adopted father. Back in the Sahara, Rainbow Dash had told Twilight that her dad’s name was Alex, along with something about him being a trash picker, and here before me was a bio that lined up perfectly.

Hi diddly ho there!
The name is Alex, though most call me ROB. Either/or is fine with me. I write fan fictions and as of last may I’ve dove into the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic stuff. So, well, that’s what I write now-a-days. I also aim to start my own original work, but for the mean time I’m learning by writing fan fics. I also have several hobbies, my biggest ones are that I am a trash picker and I listen to classical LP and ceramic records.

Annoyingly, I couldn’t find anything to narrow down his exact location. However, given from his account bio, he seemed quite open to be contacted, as he’d quite freely given out some usernames to various platforms, including a Skype username.

{Hm, I could contact you and outright ask where you live?} I thought.

It was a better idea than none, but if I didn’t play my cards right, there was every possibility that he would just take me for a stalker and block me.

“I need an egghead’s take on this.” I decided aloud.

It had been ages since I’d put the collar on anyway; hopefully Twilight wouldn’t be angry with me for my absence and lack of communication. Heading to the bathroom and retrieving the enchanted accessory, I put it around my neck and clipped it on, shuddering slightly as I sensed the enchantment tapping into my brain, linking it to Twilight’s.

{Comms check, one two, one two, you there Twilight?}

{And where the FUCK have you been!?}

Gulping, I nervously explained that I took the collar off last night before taking a shower and just hadn’t remembered to put it back on until now.

{Well, while you were absent-mindedly ignoring me, guess who had to urgently organise an escape when hotel staff came knocking at the door and tried to come in?}

{Oh SHIT!} I shrieked in thought.

{Yeah, shit indeed! Rainbow Dash was still asleep, and nopony knew what the heck to do, so I had to make everyone rush around as quickly and quietly as possible, before escaping via the balcony!}

Burying my face into my hands, I couldn’t believe that I’d abandoned the girls for just one night, and they were already put at such an incredible risk.

{What happened? Where are you now? Are you safe?} I demanded to know.

{They tried opening the door without even knocking! My intuition kicked in and I just rushed for the door and locked it. Then I pretended to be a human and just shouted that I was naked, the people apologised and then said the room wasn’t supposed to have anyone in it. I said that certainly wasn’t true because I booked and paid for the room, and they went off to double check their records. While they were gone, I got everyone organised and we got into the saddlebag, then I had Rainbow Dash fly us out and into the clouds as fast as possible!}

Puffing loudly, I closed my eyes and groaned loudly as stress and anxiety washed over me like a great wave of thick tar, bogging me down and sapping out all the confidence and respite I had been feeling this morning.

{Bloody hell, that’s insane. Where are you now?} I asked.

{Hiding out where we crash landed. Away from the city, in that bushy area.}

{Okay, I’m glad you’re safe. I’m really sorry I wasn’t there, I feel awful.}

{Don’t be stupid, we all told you to go. I said we could handle ourselves, and that’s exactly what we did. However, you should feel awful because you made me worry about you! It’s been hours and hours and I’ve not heard anything from you all morning, now it’s the afternoon and I’ve been panicking for ages!}

{I’m sorry. Honestly, I just completely forgot to put the collar back on.}

Twilight continued to scold me, but it was obvious that she had simply been worried about me and was now making me pay for it, so I happily endured her angry rant. When she calmed down, I told her the good news that I’d been able to get both of my brony friends to help us.

{Oh, that’s incredible news! Fine, I forgive you.} She said merrily.

{Yeah, Phoenix is letting me use his laptop so I can message everyone. I’m now using it to try and track down Rainbow Dash’s human father, and I might have found something.}

{Oh? Go on?}

I explained to her that I might be able to message him directly, but I didn’t want to blow it by coming across like a creepy person trying to track him down.

{But you are a creepy person trying to track him down…}

{Focus, Book Horse. I need intelligent suggestions.} I retorted.

{Firstly, shut up. Secondly, that’s an easy one. And thirdly, shut up.}

Remaining silent, as per ordered twice, I took a sip of my coffee and grimaced upon finding it was now lukewarm. Meanwhile, Twilight elaborated.

{This guy wrote about his time with Dashie, didn’t he? He disguised it as a fantasy story, and it became really popular with all you brony people, right? Well, just message him and say that you’re a huge fan of his, and that you happen to be on vacation to Michigan, and you were wondering if he’d give you his autograph.}

{That’s actually genius, thanks Twi.}

{No problem. So how was your night with Phoenix anyway?}

Although she seemed earnest in her asking, I noticed a faint twinge of resentment in that question.

{I’ll tell you about it when I get back to you, but it went well, really well actually.}

{Good to know. I look forward to hearing all about it later.}

I opened Skype back up and copy-pasted the username into the search bar, Alex’s profile showed up and I began to type a message, and when I was done, I relayed it to Twilight to see if it sounded good.

Hello Alex, (or should I call you Rob?)
My name is Callum, I’m a huge fan of yours and have loved all your fanfictions, especially My Little Dashie, your ideas, along with your keyboard have made hundreds of bronies cry bittersweet tears, myself included.
Anyway, I’ll get to the point as not to get on your nerves…
So, I’m from England, but I’m on vacation at the moment and will be coming to visit Michigan, and I noticed on your DeviantArt that you’re also in Michigan. If it’s not too forward of me to ask, I was wondering if while I’m there, I could get your autograph? You’re such a huge inspiration to me and have inspired me to write stories of my own, and having an autograph or something would honestly be one of the most amazing things ever!!!
Is this something that you’d be okay with?
If so, please let me know.
Best regards, Callum.

{Sounds excellent, send it.} Twilight ordered.

{You sure?}

{Yes. You come across very innocent, like an authentic young fan who’s genuinely just hoping to get an autograph, I’d be surprised if he says no to that.}

Happily humming to myself, I sent the message and sat back in the hopes of a response.


Twenty minutes went by and there was no reply, I guessed Alex was busy during the day and didn’t have Skype on his phone. I heard the jingling of keys, followed by the front door opening; Saxon came into the room and immediately came over to headbutt me in the leg, before running off to get into his bed.

“I’m back!” Phoenix sang.

“I’m front!” I sang back.

Tutting, Phoenix came over and gave me a hug.

“Message everyone you wanted to?”

“Yeah, thank you for letting me use the laptop, I really appreciate it.”

Phoenix insisted that it wasn’t a problem, while he took off his shoes. I decided to log off and would see if I could perhaps log into Skype with Josh’s phone when he arrived to see if Alex had messaged back; for now though, it was high time that I got back to the girls.

“Guess you’re off now then?”

Dipping my head, I confirmed that I was. Sighing, Phoenix showed me to the front door and gave me another, much more tender hug. I held him back and we gently rocked side to side for a moment.

“I’m going to miss you. I know it was only for the night, but I felt really close to you.”

“I felt it too." I breathed back, "I’m really glad you decided to ask me out.”

“Will I ever see you again?”

I looked into his watery eyes and gave a melancholy smile, we both knew the answer to that question, and it was hurting him to acknowledge it. There was no denying the fact that Phoenix had already fallen for me, and if I had the luxury of falling for him too, I would have.

“You’ll see me every night. Just look for the moonlight upon the waves.”

Beginning to cry, Phoenix leaned in and planted his lips against mine. I passionately reciprocated as I gave him one last goodbye, telling him without words that we really had something here. When we finally broke apart, he spluttered that he had never given me his number.

“I don’t need it." I told him, "Should my life give me the chance to choose another path, I’ll find you.”

Smiling through the tears, Phoenix joked that I would have to be quick about it, in case someone else came along and beat me to it.

“I’ll see what I can do.” I huffed back.

Deep down, we both knew that we would never be seeing one another again, but it hurt less to pretend. There was something special about him, and for some reason, it was agonising to part ways, it was like a part of me was actively rejecting this choice. But it was the choice I made, and with one final kiss, I turned around, and walked away.

“Goodbye, Phoenix Storm. Perhaps in another life, ey?” I quietly murmured to myself.

“Perhaps in another life…”


Chapter Sixteen: A Frigid Burial

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After nearly two hours of walking, ruminating over my farewell with Phoenix all the while, I made it to the Jolly Roger at the Pier. The girls weren’t too far away now, but without a void bag and a pegasus to cross the deep watery gap; I’d have to make the long way around if I didn’t want to get wet, but there wasn’t an easy way to access the inlet by the looks of things. Deciding to reach out to Twilight via the collars, I queried her for an idea.

{Hey Twi, I’m not far, but I can’t get to you without walking a long-ass way. Suggestions?}

{Well, it’s already getting a little dark. If you can hold out over there for a little bit, Rainbow or Fluttershy can pick you up when it’s a little safer.}

{Okay, sounds good.}

I went down to the beach and found a wooden bench to sit on while I waited, and took in the last light of the sun as it glimmered on the water’s surface. It had been a good fifteen to twenty minutes, when Twilight spoke to me again, sounding somewhat timid.

{Hey, Callum?}

{Yeah?}

{Do you remember back when we were on the yacht, you offered to write down some of my poems for me?}

{Yeah, I do.}

{Well, I had another one of those realistic night terrors last night, the ones where I can… feel… what’s happening to me. Didn’t we start calling them my Spookies back when we were in Hawnu Rey'eng's underground sanctum?}

{Oh I’m sorry, that must’ve been horrible. And yes, I do remember us called them Spookies.}

{Okay, well I had a Spooky. I was feeling really angry and upset, so I basically wrote down in my head how I was feeling, and I was wondering if I could share it with you later for you to write down? It’s not really a poem, but I just wanted to have a physical writing of it, just so I can get it out, you know?}

I looked across to where the girls were hiding out across the water and sighed, all I wanted was to wrap my arms around the unicorn and reassure her.

{No problem at all Twi, of course I’ll write that down for you! As soon as we’re alone and have the resources, I’ll happily write that down for you!}

{Really? You don’t mind? It’s just that, it’s quite dark and I say some pretty horrible things about what happened, and I don’t want to upset you or anything.}

{Twilight, sweetheart. After everything we’ve been through, there’s very little you could say that would catch me off-guard. Although I don’t know the exact details, I am aware of what Nah’Lek did to you, and it would be an honour to help you process it and move forward. So whatever you have to say, I can handle it.}

After a few seconds of silence, Twilight thanked me and said that I didn’t know how much those words meant to her, especially after how things once were between us. Finally, the sun breeched the horizon and slowly sank beneath the waves, and in the obscurity of the darkening eventide, Rainbow Dash fluttered over with the empty saddlebag.

“Dude, what the heck did you say to Twilight? One moment she was fine, and then the next, she’s running off and crying!” The pegasus exclaimed.

“Um, I just offered to write down some personal stuff for her. She sounded absolutely fine over the collars, so I genuinely don’t know what to tell you.” I replied honestly.

“Well, she’s definitely not fine! Hi, by the way.” She droned, giving me a hug.

“Hi.” I huffed, returning the hug, “I’ll talk to her and find out what’s really going on.”

We broke off the hug and I clambered into the bag, Rainbow took off and carried me across to the inlet, where the girls were all hanging out amongst the bushes, except for Twilight.

“Good evening, ladies!” I announced, crawling out of the pack.

Eek! Stranger danger!” Pinkie playfully shrieked, hiding behind Rarity.

I got to my feet and was immediately bombarded by the group, and the questions that came with them.

“How was your night?” Asked Rarity.

“How’s the hangover?” Teased Applejack.

“What was Phoenix like?” Quizzed Fluttershy.

“In bed?” Added Rainbow Dash.

“What does a Strawberry Daiquiri taste like and when can I have one!?” Pinkie yelled above the rest.

Rolling my eyes, I batted the girls away and fired back short answers of my own, pointing at each of their faces as I answered their individual queries in a single breath.

“It was lovely, I didn’t drink enough to get a hangover, he was great, he was superb, and I how on Earth do YOU know about the Strawberry Daiquiri, Pinkie?”

Before she could reply, I raised my hands into the air and shook my head.

“Actually, you know what? I don’t want to know, your Pinkie Powers are genuinely beyond my comprehension. Now where is Twilight?”

Pinkie gave me a sheepish grin and pointed to the beach, where I could just about catch a glimpse through the bushes of Twilight a good distance away, staring out to sea.

“She’s been a little on-and-off while you’ve been gone.” Rarity admitted, tilting her head.

Giving a thoughtful grunt in response, I told the girls to give me a moment with her to figure out what was going on, I then made my way out from the foliage and towards the mare. She was stood far out enough for the waves to lap at her hooves, so I took off my socks and shoes on the way.

“Oh Twi…” I quietly breathed upon reaching her.

The poor thing was gazing out to sea with tears streaming down her cheeks, her breathing was rapid and shaking through her gritted teeth. She barely even seemed to notice as I gently placed my hand on her lower neck and began to stroke along her back to comfort her.

“Hey, I’m here.”

Continuing to convulse with emotion, Twilight did everything in her power not to completely crumble.

“I can’t… stop… seeing it!” She hissed, gasping deeply.

“It’s because I said his name, isn’t it?”

She clamped her eyes shut and dipped her head. I sighed, now full of regret; this was my doing, the mere mention of the Defiler’s name had sparked this flashback.

“I’m really sorry, Twilight. But please, stay with me, what you’re seeing isn’t real, whatever you’re feeling isn’t real either. It’s just a memory, it can’t hurt you.”

I could only imagine what she was currently experiencing. Having seen Nah’Lek with my own eyes in our dreamscapes, I knew how truly terrifying he was, just his voice alone had given me my own nightmares; to be tormented and viciously assaulted by him on a nightly basis for months on end? And now to relive it in her dreams, and even sometimes in her waking moments? I honestly couldn’t fathom it, and even if I somehow could, I wouldn’t want to. At best, I could only imagine that it felt like hell in the most literal sense, forevermore subjugated to suffering and anguish.

“Focus on your surroundings.” I told her, “Listen to the wind lightly blowing in your ears, feel those gentle ocean waves against your hooves, and feel my hand on your back. Look at the clouds as they hold onto those very last orange rays of the sun, as it turns from day to night. Do you see the faint tinges of purple in the sky? That’s the twilight of the day, your very namesake. This is your reality, Twi, please hold onto it, and let those horrible, horrible memories rest for a while.”

She followed my directives and took in her surroundings, and slowly but surely, she was able to shake free from the flashback.

“Bad…” She wept, burying her face into my chest.

“Yeah… Bad…” I agreed, combing my fingers through her mane.

I held her for a few moments and let her have a good cry, before we headed back to the others together.



We got back to find the five of them sat in a huddle, clearly not in favour of the lowering temperature. Applejack got up first and came over to give Twilight a hug, making sure that she was alright now; the others came along and followed suit, and Rarity leaned over to ask me what had actually happened, to which I whispered that she had suffered from a flashback.

“Ah, I see…” She whispered back, nodding.

“So, what’s the plan here exactly? Are we setting up the tents and camping here?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I hope not, it’s only going to get colder…” Fluttershy remarked.

Applejack shrugged and suggested that we just go back to the hotel and sneak into another room, to which I crossed my arms and frowned.

“You guys almost got seen today, and you think it’s wise to go back there? The hotel staff are now aware that someone was illegally dwelling in one of their rooms, and then suddenly disappeared without a trace. What, you think they aren’t going to sweep the building now? They’ll be on high alert for days!”

“Alright, alright! You make a fair argument, there’s no need to hammer it home so darn hard, Sugarcube.” She chuckled.

Twilight interjected and made the point that the staff surely wouldn’t be searching all night long, so we could sneak into a room for just one night, leave in the morning, and do the exact same thing the following day.

“It’s a better alternative to being stuck out here in the open for two days straight, especially without my cloaking spells to obscure the camping equipment. Plus, if we did get seen out here, it would take ages to properly pack up the tents and be ready to move out, we’d be totally screwed! Meanwhile, the worse scenario in the hotel is a repeat of this morning, which ends in us getting away safely.”

Rolling my eyes, I admitted that it was a good plan and conceded to it.

“Still, it’s far too early to consider doing that. What shall we do to pass the time?” I said.

“Um, duh? You’re going to tell us about your time with Phoenix of course!” Rainbow Dash declared.

“Yeah!” Pinkie agreed, bouncing up and down.

“Fair enough…” I sighed, sitting down cross legged.

Everyone gathered around me and got comfortable, before I told them about my time at the Pickles Pub with Mister Storm. I was honest with them about how I had grown so quickly to like him, and that quite literally overnight, I had found myself quite comfortable with the idea of being with another guy.

“So… You’re gay now?” Dashie alluded, frowning and tilting her head to one side.

“What? No! No, of course not! I’m just saying he was really nice and helped me develop a more open mind, I guess I’m bi now or something? I don’t know. To be perfectly honest, I followed Pinkie’s advice and found myself not really caring about what gender he was at all.”

“That sounds more like you’re pan than bi.” Twilight hummed thoughtfully.

“Pan?”

“Pansexual, it basically means that gender doesn’t matter to you when it comes to a partner. Essentially, your attraction to someone lies almost exclusively in their personality.”

“How is that any different to being bi?” I probed, shrugging.

“Because bisexuality still takes gender into account, you can have preferences towards male or female, and be more or less attracted to one sex or the other. Pansexual on the other hoof, is completely and utterly based on attraction to one’s personality, and visual appeal simply varies from individual to individual, without depending on gendered characteristics.”

“Now I feel silly. All this time, I just thought it meant that a pony was attracted to kitchenware…” Fluttershy giggled, causing us all to burst into laughter.

“Twilight, you are, and I can’t stress this enough… An EGGHEAD!” Rainbow Dash yelled over the laughs.

As long-winded as the unicorn’s explanation had been, it had actually described my experience with Phoenix pretty well. The more I bonded with him emotionally, the more attractive I ended up finding him. It would also explain why I had come to like him so much, because he ended up being a really sweet guy with such a likeable personality.

“Huh, guess I’m pansexual then, because that’s exactly how I felt last night.” I hummed.

Just as the laughs over Fluttershy’s comment had died down, Applejack started chuckling loudly to herself, to which I asked what she’d found so funny.

“Well, can we just take a moment to focus on how Rainbow Dash was so worried that Callum might be gay now? The genuine fear in her voice, like she’d never get another shot with him!” She pointed out, lowering her head and letting out hoots of laughter.

Hey!” Rainbow Dash shouted, mortified.

“I don’t see you denying it.” I teased.

Sh-Shut up!

“Alright, alright… You’re both torturing the poor mare, leave her be.” Rarity giggled.

Rainbow Dash blushed and refused to make eye contact with anyone, and I moved the subject along by returning to my explanation of how the night with Phoenix went. I told them all of how we eventually left the pub and went to the beach for a stroll, which was when we finally kissed under the stars.

“Aww!” Fluttershy emitted.

“That’s not even the most interesting part.” I chuckled, “After that, he got quite upset and finally decided to tell me something I hadn’t quite expected.”

“Which was?” Applejack gestured for me to continue.

“He came out to me as trans.”

Everyone looked around, confused, before Rarity finally asked, “Trans what, exactly?”
I took the time to explain everything that Phoenix had told me last night, and the girls all raised their eyebrows, giving hums and murmurs of understanding.

“So, after all that, you still banged a chick?” Said Rainbow Dash.

Dashie!” Fluttershy gasped.

“What? I just mean physically!”

Trying to be the educator on Phoenix’s behalf, I explained to Rainbow that even physically, he was very much still a man, thanks to corrective surgery and hormone treatments. Having spent the night with him and listened to his first-hand experiences and knowledgeable explanation on the matter, I was able to properly convey how mentally, Phoenix had always been a boy, but he just had the misfortune of being born with a body that didn’t match his brain.

“People are born malformed all the time, from imperfect eyes, to warped bones, to defective inner ears. And as science has advanced, we can repair those things with stuff like laser eye surgery, titanium bone replacements, cochlea implants, and so on. Phoenix’s issue was just a little more complicated, and a lot less understood. But although he unfairly had a late start to his manhood, he’s still a man.”

My elaboration had very much helped everyone to understand, Rainbow Dash included, but she still couldn’t help herself from directly asking if Phoenix had guy parts or not.

“Well, not exactly, no. But he didn’t strictly have girl parts either…” I hinted.

“Uh, elaborate?” Twilight demanded.

“Wouldn’t you like to know…” I retorted, choosing to torment her ever-curious mind.

“N’uh uh, you can’t just say something like that and then not explain what you mean!”

“Well I can, and just did. Perhaps I’ll tell you another time, but for now, I’ll leave it to your imagination. I’m sure that your scientific mind can form at least some idea.”

Applejack insisted that I got back to the story, eager to know how I handled such a piece of news, to which I told them the truth, it simply didn’t matter to me.

“I said he was just a guy to me, and I kissed him. After the poor fella had a little cry, we went back to where he was staying and, well…”

Grinning and lightly tugging at my shirt’s collar, I simply said that they didn’t need to know the details about what happened next. However, looking from face to face, it seemed that they were all practically gagging for more information, to which I ever so slightly indulged them.

“Well, let’s just say that we ended up taking two showers that evening. One was to get all hot and bothered at the beginning, and the other one, was to clean up afterwards...”

“Gah.” Rarity emitted uncontrollably, before coughing and composing herself.

“Eww!” Pinkie squealed, giggling.

“Sounds like you, uh, had a swell night.” Applejack added.

“Yeah it wasn’t too bad.” I agreed smugly, raising my shoulders and chuckling.

I took a moment to merrily reminisce, before getting to the far more important news, about how I had acquired transport and backup, and that I had sent a message to Alex.

“You contacted my dad?” Dashie asked, her eyes wide.

“Just a brief message,” I answered, “I pretended to be a fan of his stories and that I wanted an autograph from him. Hopefully he’ll respond positively and get back to me with an address or something. Even if it’s just the city he’s in, it’ll massively help in narrowing down where in Michigan we need to be.”

“Oh, okay.” She replied, looking down and furrowing her brow.

“You’ll be seeing him pretty soon, are you excited?” Asked Rarity.

“I don’t know, it’s really confusing now that I have two childhoods. I remember my parents and my upbringing in Cloudsdale, and I remember my dad here on Earth and all the memories we made together here too! It’s really strange to have two dads from two completely different lives, I’m scared that seeing him is going to screw my head up even more.”

“Oh Dashie…” Fluttershy sighed.

I lightly pressed up against the pegasus and placed a hand on her shoulder, I reassured her that it would be okay and that we’d get through it together, no matter what happened or how it affected her mind. She wrapped her forelegs around my waist and thanked me, and we got to chatting about what she really remembered about her human father, what he looked like, what he fed her growing up, that sort of thing.

“Did you ever wear his clothes? Surely it would have been weird for you to be raised by a creature that always wore clothes, and yet you’d go without putting anything on for yourself?” I inquired.

“Actually yeah, you saying that’s just reminded me! I used to wear a hoodie, it was dark grey with white strings. I wonder if my dad kept it…”

“Well, you can ask him in a few days.” Applejack remarked.

At that, Dashie’s ears drooped and her eyes went wide; the realisation kicked in that she was about to confront one of the most confusing experiences of her life, the poor girl would have to intimately make contact with a very strange and unnatural past, the second childhood that should never have been.

“Geez, I don’t know if I’m ready for this.” She whimpered.

“Uh, you’d better be, because we’ve put off the search for the next Orb shard for this.” I teased.

“Make me sound like a massive inconvenience why don’t you?”

“Oh shush, I’m just messing with you. Seriously, it’ll be okay, and all six of us are going to be at your side to make sure that not only are you ready for this, but also that you’ll be supported throughout.”

Sighing, Rainbow Dash thanked me for a second time, and we all decided that it was late enough to find a hotel room to sneak into for the night.



Just like the night before last, we stealthily crossed the water and reached the hotel by using Fluttershy’s empty saddlebag, which by now, we had all agreed was the group’s mobile camouflage due to its effectiveness. We then repeated the steps of finding an empty room using the Piercing Shot Rifle, being flown up by Fluttershy, and finally having Rarity unlock the balcony door with her magic.

The room was completely identical to the last, and we quickly got ourselves comfortable after I’d made sure to lock the door. We watched some TV for a bit, and then the girls began to tire and decided to wrap up and get some rest; Twilight took the opportunity to request if I could do some writing for her, to which I gladly obliged.

“Could we maybe put the collars back on and do it that way? I don’t want the others to overhear it, the last thing I want is for them to think that I’m on the verge of crumbling apart all the time.”

“But you are on the verge of crumbling apart all the time.” I replied with a smirk.

“Okay fine but I don’t want them knowing that, and shut up!”

We chuckled and I said that it would be totally fine to use the collars, we put them on and linked up our minds. Twilight then retrieved her saddlebag and took out some parchment, a quill, and some ink.

“Oh blimey, I’ve never written with a quill before.” I mentioned anxiously.

“What are you used to writing with then, pencils?”

“Yeah, and pens, which are like pencils, but full of ink instead of graphite. They’re essentially the modern day quills and are a whole lot more efficient.” I replied.

“I know what pens are, silly. We have them in Equestria, but they’re still quite new in society, so they’re quite difficult to get a hold of. I actually considered getting one when I first moved to Ponyville, but I prefer the quill as it’s more traditional and has a finer print.”

“Fair enough. Well, I apologise if my handwriting is atrocious, it’s been ages since I’ve even written something by hand, let alone with a new instrument.”

“That’s fine, just so long as it’s not like a doctor’s writing, I don’t mind.” She giggled.

“You mean the ‘epileptic seizure during an earthquake’ font?”

Snorting heavily, Twilight tried not to laugh aloud and disturb the others. I took the ink, quill and parchment, and briefly practised by writing my own name and my signature; although it took some time to find the right way to hold the quill, I eventually found myself enjoying it and agreed that the traditional method and finer print was far more gratifying than the modern pen.

“Alright then, fire away.” I said with a warm smile.

Twilight dipped her head and closed her eyes, and within my mind, her voice sounded.

{Okay, I’ve decided to call this piece, A Frigid Burial...}

Lightly swallowing as I prepared to hear some rather difficult things, I dipped the quill into the ink, and forevermore stained the paper with Twilight’s pain.

Close the eyes, dread the dream.
Where I am given a frigid burial.
Open the eyes, prepare for pain.
I am in my icy tomb.

The hunt has begun, and I know in my heart, my death is very near.
Wandering timidly in this frozen land, I know he’s already here.
But not before he toys with me first, not before I’m broken.
My body is his plaything tonight, my very virtue, his token.

The hunt is afoot, I run and I hide, praying that he won’t find me.
My prayers will never be answered, and I feel in my bones, he will.
To every creaking branch I jump, every gust of wind, I shiver.
There’s no doubt he’ll find me soon, there’s no doubt that he’ll deliver.

The hunt is equidistant, my tears freeze upon my cheeks.
I see his eyes, they glimmer faintly, excited, yet dead and lifeless.
He has found me, but running is fruitless, that’ll only please him more.
His mouth clicks and chatters with anticipation, and I’m frightened to my core.

Twilight paused, and I looked up to face her.

“Are you alright?”

“I was going to ask you the same. The next part is pretty hard to listen to, and I just wanted to make absolutely sure that you’re okay to hear it.” She sighed.

Obviously, I wasn’t totally alright, this was already incredibly heavy stuff to hear, knowing it was only going to get worse was hardly comforting. But Twilight needed to get it out far more than I needed not to hear it, and so I confirmed that I was okay, and after a deep breath, she continued.

He waits to touch me, he likes to build the tension and heighten my panic.
He speaks to me, and the sound of his voice alone makes me weep.
The ripple of his voice is like needles in my skin, like insects in my ears.
Like the primal ululation of a dead child’s mother, resounding in my soul.

When he strikes, it’s quick and precise, to shock my senses and evoke my dread.
My hide splits and blood spatters the snow, speckling the white with crimson red.
The gentlest of touches, to what the rest of the night entails.
My breath quivers, I’ll never be ready for what’s to come, but I’ll always try to be.

For every question I answer faithfully, he strikes me once.
For every question I don’t, he’ll strike me thrice, then thrice again.
And when no further knowledge is gained, he’ll strike me tenfold more.
My bones will break, the snow will stain, and my will to live will wane.

Crying rivers of blood from my mangled eyes, I wail as he enters me.
Thorns and barbs rip away inside, my final shred of dignity, torn asunder.
If my screams aren’t loud enough to please him, he’ll make it worse for me.
By separating skin from flesh, unwrapping my pelt for all to see and bewonder.

He’ll web my limbs and string me up, his perfect work of art.
A dangling heap of pony meat, with a barely beating heart.
I hang between the withered trees, peeled, cold and broken.
A pathetic bloodied whelp, devoid of any motion.

The hunt is over now, but this is not the end.
The Defiler’s work is never done, I only need to mend.
Together on this sticky web, we know it to be true.
“I’ll hunt you again tomorrow.” he says, “No matter what you do.”

After hanging there a while, he’ll push a blade through my chest.
I’ll sigh him thanks, the pain will fade, and I’ll finally have my rest.
The day begins, as does my duty, to lead my faithful troop.
The day concludes, as does my strength, my resolve begins to stoop.

Close the eyes, dread the dream.
Where I am given a frigid burial.
Open the eyes, prepare for pain.
I am in my icy tomb.

And the hunt has begun.

Putting the cap back onto the inkwell, I lay the quill to rest and inhaled deeply through my nose, before exhaling and wiping away the tears on my face. I unclipped the collar and looked over to Twilight, whom was looking at me with glassy eyes.

“Was it too much?” She croaked.

I shook my head, and got up so I could come over and give her a cuddle; she rested her head against my side and I ran my thumb back and forth across one of her forelegs.

“I am so proud of you, Twilight Sparkle.” I whispered.

Looking up to face me, she asked why, to which I told her that I understood the poem, and how it helped me realise just how much she’d suffered during those truly awful first six months of our journey. The sheer amount of torment she’d experienced, along with the undergoing corruption of the Fel, explained exactly why she had once been so callous and cruel towards me.
She had been reliving that poem on a nightly basis, for half a year…

“I can’t even begin to fathom how you kept going. Even now, free of that monster’s hold, you have to live with all those memories. Yet here you are, still surviving, pushing onward, staying positive, and remaining vigilant in your duty, and better yet, yourself.”

Pulling her in tighter, I sighed heavily.

“You are a bloody inspiration. I know it was hard to tell me everything you just did, and it was admittedly pretty hard to hear it too, but I’m really glad you shared it with me. Thank you, Twilight.”

Sniffing, she clutched at me tightly and nuzzled into my side, admitting that it was really good to let someone hear it, whimpering that she felt a little less alone now. We held each other for a good twenty minutes or so, before Twilight eventually got up to put away the ink, quill, and parchment. She then got back onto the sofa and nestled into me, and soon enough we drifted away into a calm sleep, without a Spooky in sight…


The next two days were thankfully peaceful ones; we had decided to chance it with the hotel staff and remain hidden in the room, and to our luck, nobody had ever come knocking. It was now the day of Josh’s arrival, and we were all looking forward to getting on the move again.

“I can’t wait to see what another brony is like in contrast to you.” Rarity said eagerly.

“Oh, we’re quite different. Just be mindful that he’s quite an excitable chap, he’ll be wanting to talk your ears off for the rest of your days if you don’t tell him to give you some space.” I chuckled.

“I mean, we’ve got Pinkie Pie, so I can’t imagine he could be any worse than that.” Rainbow Dash giggled.

“You know it!” Pinkie sang, before realising what Dashie was implying.

Hey!

She playfully pounced at Rainbow Dash, and we all laughed, then got ourselves prepped to leave the hotel. Clipping the collar around my neck, we decided that it would be best if I simply walked out of the building normally, just as I had when leaving to meet Phoenix; the girls could then leave via the balcony and have Rainbow Dash zip them over to the inlet and stay put until further notice, while I made my way to the meeting place.

“Alright team, let’s roll out!” I announced.

Everyone bar Rainbow got into the saddlebag, and I unlocked the front door. With one final wave goodbye to the pegasus, I shut the door and made my way down the elevator and out of the hotel.



When I got to the meeting spot, I was amazed to find that Josh was already there, it was only ten o’clock in the morning and I hadn’t expected him for hours. His modified school bus stood out like a sore thumb amongst the handful of cars dotted around. Knowing what American school buses usually looked like, I had expected it to be that cliché shade of glossy yellow, and yet Josh’s bus was a matte black, with stylish blue flames painted on the sides. It was also adorned with a number of logos and warning signs, and there were even solar panels on top, Josh most certainly hadn’t been lying when he said the bus had been modified.

I made my way over and gave him a friendly wave, to which he realised it was me and opened the bus doors, hopping out and running over to me. I’d expected him to be shorter, he was certainly a little taller than me by the looks of things. He was a fair bit wider than I’d presumed too, but that was just how things were when it came to meeting online friends; no matter what, they were never quite how you’d expect them to be visually, expectations and reality very rarely aligned in life.

“It’s you! Holy mackerel, it’s really you! This is really happening…” He exclaimed with his hands atop his head.

“Yes indeedy, I told you I was serious.” I merrily confirmed, slinging my arms around him.

“Man, it’s great to finally meet you in real life.” He grinned, hugging me back.

“You too buddy.”

Pulling back, he looked around and then asked where the girls were, to which I explained that they were over on the inlet close by, just across a watery gap from the city.

“Oh, Assateague Island? I saw that on Google Maps during the drive in. If they’re near the city, then they’ll be somewhere on the Six Mile Beach! There’s a way to drive over to it, but it’s quite a drive, we’ll have to leave the city and take the Six-Eleven down to it.”

“Sweet. Well, I’ll reach out to them and let them know you’re here. Then we can head on over and pick them up.” I replied, nodding.

“Reach out to them? What do you mean?”

Before I could reply, Josh gasped loudly and asked if Twilight and Rarity had taught me how to use magic, to which I chuckled and shook my head. Tugging at the collar around my neck, I explained how it worked and that it gave me direct communication to Twilight, whom was also wearing a collar just like it.

“Oh, that’s so cool… Can you hear all her thoughts then? Ooh! Has she ever thought of anything embarrassing that she didn’t mean for you to hear?”

“No, but that happened the other way around once. Back in Portugal, Rarity introduced me to these runestones called Bath Bombs, it’s basically like a shower hitting you from all directions and it cleans you very efficiently. I stupidly forgot to take off the collar, and Twilight overheard me yelling about how it tickled my balls.” I admitted.

Josh bellowed in laughter and slapped his thighs, clearly very amused by the tale. Thinking back on that incident, I recalled that it was actually Stardust whom had cried out “Tickles his balls! Tickles his balls!”, but I was hardly going to start trying to explain to Josh about how a literal Champion of Old’s soul lived on inside my head for a large portion of our journey.

I looked over to the island and told Twilight that our ride was already here, and that we were going to drive around so they didn’t need to leave their hiding place in broad daylight.

{Fantastic!} She called back to me.

{You might have quite a long walk ahead of you, apparently you’re somewhere called the Six-Mile Beach, so chances are, you’ll be walking six miles. I’ll try to get Josh to drive as far up as he can, but you might want to start heading south now. Just thought I’d make you aware.}

{Alright, thanks Cal. See you soon.}

I smirked warmly at her calling me Cal, nobody ever called me that, nor did I want them too, but for some reason, I quite liked it coming from her. I hopped into the bus with Josh and looked around at the interior, to which I was very surprised indeed; there wasn’t a single bus seat in sight, there were instead two large couch seats either side. The back half of the bus was almost entirely taken up by boxes and equipment, along with what appeared to be four gigantic batteries, which I could only guess were charged by the solar panels on the roof. There were compartments under one of the couch seats that had a cooler, a safe, some bottled water, and at least forty granola bars.

“Damn, this thing is well stocked!” I loudly evaluated, giving an impressed hum.

“Uh huh, I always keep it supplied and ready to go, just in case anything sudden happens and I need to get there ASAP, which in this case, is helping ALIEN PONIES GET TO MICHIGAN!” He shrieked.

“Inside voice, Mister Osburn. This is supposed to be a secret endeavour, remember?” I laughed.

“Oh right, sorry! Ah, I’m just so excited! I’ve not even met them yet and this is already the best day of my whole dang life.” Josh chuckled.

“Well, let’s not squander it then, let’s get a move on.” I ordered, taking a seat.

He got into the driver’s seat and put in the keys, the large engine rumbled to life, and off we went.



It didn’t take too long to leave the city, but it would have been an absolute nightmare to walk, especially as there were no sidewalks along the way, so I was glad that I’d chosen to wait for Rainbow Dash to fly me over the other night.
Using Google Maps on Josh’s phone, we made our way to the Six-Eleven and headed towards Assateague Island, which turned out to be much bigger than I’d realised, the barrier island went so far south that it crossed the state line into Virginia! And that wasn’t all...

“Huh! Get this, Josh… According to Google Maps, there’s a state park on the island that has wild horses, along with a gift shop called the Pony Express! How crazy is that!?” I exclaimed.

“For real? Dang, that’s one heck of a coincidence!” Josh replied, sounding just as astonished as I.

At last, we crossed the bridge to the island, and found a thin dirt road which took us a little way up towards the girls. The road merged with the beach itself, but thankfully we spotted an even thinner path to the left, which we turned onto and drove back into the brush to remain out of plain sight. Thankfully, there were no people to be seen, it was far too early in the year for beachgoers.

A good hour later, Twilight informed me that they were close by.

{How can you tell?} I asked.

{Because I just had Rainbow Dash quickly fly up and look around, and she spotted the bus, presuming it was the bus she saw, right? The great big black vehicle, parked on a thin dirt road?}

{Yep, that’s us. See you in a hot sec!} I confirmed happily.

Nudging Josh, I let him know that the girls were about to arrive.

“You ready to meet them?” I inquired.

He responded with an excited nod, and a few moments later, I spotted a fluffy pink mane bouncing up and down beyond the bushes in front of us.

“Oh my god… Oh my god, I saw Pinkie!” Josh exclaimed, also spotting the mane.

“Just try your best not to freak out, you wouldn’t want to spook them, ey?”

“I’ll do my best… Oh my god, there they are!

One by one, the girls timidly emerged from the foliage. I hopped out to greet them and calm their nerves; it dawned on me that meeting another human being at this point in our journey would be absolutely horrifying for them, the only other person they’d properly met was my brother.

“G’day ladies!” I called to them, grinning.

“Howdy, Sugarcube!” Applejack called back.

I came and gave Twilight a quick hug, whom was looking the most uneasy. I then beckoned for Josh to get out of the bus and I turned around to gesture at him.

“Girls, I’d like you all to meet Josh Osburn.”

Josh looked from girl to girl, his mouth agape as he waved at them with delight, he swallowed his shock and was just able to get his words out.

“Hi everyone! It’s a pleasure, no, an honour, to meet you all.”

“Heya!” Pinkie sang, bouncing forward to better inspect the guy.

She looked him up and down, squinted, and then let out a mighty hum.

“Hmm… You’re big!”

“Uh... Thanks, I think?” Josh nervously laughed.

“Oh don’t mind her, she couldn’t politely greet someone if her life depended on it!” Applejack remarked, coming forward and taking off her hat, she pressed it to her chest and dipped her head to say hello.

The others came forward and surrounded Josh, exchanging greetings with him before hopping into the bus with me; once everyone was inside and no longer at risk from potential onlookers, the girls relaxed significantly. There wasn’t enough room for all seven of us to sit on the two couch seats, so Applejack and Rainbow Dash sat on the floor. As soon as we were settled, Josh immediately started peppering us with questions.

“Okay, so Callum’s only given me the most basic explanation about what’s going on, but I’ve just got to know more! Why are you six here? How long have you been here? Will Callum be going back to Equestria with you after you’ve found the relic thing? What makes the relic thing so important? Do you guys like Earth? How old are you guys? Are pony years the same as human years? Why does Applejack’s hat have a bullet hole in it? Have you guys been shot at before? That would be horrible! And how come Rarity has those big scars on her body? What happened? Tell me everything!”

{I didn’t realise we would be meeting a human with Pinkie’s temperament.} Twilight thought to me as Pinkie started to answer some of the questions; the unicorn raised an eyebrow as we made eye contact, to which I exhaled from my nose with amusement and smirked sympathetically.

{He’s just really excited, you six have a lot of meaning to him. This encounter will be the most incredible moment of his life. He’ll never forget this, so although it might be a little awkward, just let him have this.}

{Ugh, fair enough…}

While Pinkie explained more about the Orb in her own eccentric fashion, I put a hand on Rarity’s shoulder and petted her gently; I knew Josh’s comment about her scars would have knocked her confidence, it was no secret that the mare took great pride in her beauty, and the disfigured claw marks across her left side would now haunt her forever. She twisted her head to look at me and slowly blinked her eyes, lightly dipping her head to subtly express her thanks for sensing her inner discomfort.

“We’ve already found half of the shards, which Twilight has stored in her saddlebag. But we can’t go home until we find the other three! It’s like, the most intense treasure hunt ever!” Pinkie giggled.

“And three shards isn’t all we found… Show him, Callum!” Dashie added.

Feeling obliged, I reached to my waist and grabbed Vitra ‘Aku’s handle and unsheathed the blade, the captivating crystalline ‘shing’ of the sword sang out and caused Josh to gasp, he clapped his hands as he giggled loudly, unable to contain his excitement.

“This is Vitra ‘Aku, the Titans’ Sword. We found it in the Sahara Desert, deep within an underground ruin, filled with traps and secret passages. It was like, full-on Indiana Jones shit.” I explained.

“Whoa, that’s so cool… Can I touch it?” Josh asked.

“Only the flat of the blade, the edge is sharp enough to cut through stone. Let’s not be having any missing fingers today, ey?” I replied in warning.

Leaning forward, Josh placed two fingers onto the surface of the relic, and then immediately pulled back.

“Ow!”

Looking at where he’d touched the sword, I spotted faint red finger marks, which quickly faded away.

“Huh, didn’t know it could do that.” I mused, pulling a face.

“Are you okay?” Pinkie asked.

“Did it burn you or something?” Rarity followed.

Shaking his head, Josh revealed that the opposite had happened.

“It was so cold! It was like touching dry ice or something!”

Humming, I speculated that it was some form of defence mechanism; only the currently living Champion was supposed to wield Vitra ‘Aku, so it would make sense if the blade had a way to prevent others from using it. My theory held even greater weight when I cast my mind back to Portugal, when I found the group of Americans attempting to break open the crystal pillar that housed the Orb shard there; even as a mere fragment of the holy relic, it possessed the ability to shield itself.

“Well, let’s take note of this. Nobody touch my sword!” I hollered, sheathing the blade once more.

“Good plan!” Josh laughed.

Clearing her throat, Twilight suggested that we got a move on, which we all agreed on. The drive to Michigan would take a great many hours from here, with fuel stops and toilet breaks on top, it would easily take the entire day to get there.

“Alright then everypony, next stop, Michigan!” Josh announced merrily.

The bus’s engine deeply rumbled to life, and soon enough we were on the road. We hadn’t been going for long when I noticed that Rainbow Dash was looking rather pale, and seemed to be spacing out.

“You okay?” I asked, moving down to sit next to her.

“I’m not sure, my chest feels all tight and I can’t breathe all the way in.” She mumbled.

“Sounds like you might be having a little panic attack, dear.” Rarity suggested.

Slowly putting an arm around the pegasus, I gave her shoulder a light squeeze. Pinkie Pie then jumped up, and in her blissfully ignorant manner, chose to be most unhelpful.

“Is it because the next time you step off this bus, you’ll most likely be meeting your human father again, and suddenly have like twenty years’ worth of memories come crashing back into your mind?”

“Pinkamena! Read the room!” Rarity gasped, intensely glaring at Pinkie.

“Um, y-yeah… That would… Be it…” Rainbow replied woozily, her eyes glazing over.

“How about you lie down for a bit?” Applejack suggested.

Nodding, the cyan pegasus slowly got to her hooves, her legs shaking like jelly. She took one step towards the couch seat, and then proceeded to pass out. With lightning quick reflexes, Fluttershy shot forward and caught Dashie mid-fall, and helped ease her to the floor again.

“Oh, bless her…” Rarity sighed.

We all looked to Pinkie and frowned at her, to which she nervously giggled, rubbing the back of her head.

“Oh, was it something I said?”


Chapter Seventeen: Road Trip

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Poor Rainbow Dash didn’t come to for quite some time, and when she finally did, Pinkie apologised at least sixty times for being so inconsiderate in the way she’d spoken.

“Ugh, it’s fine…” The pegasus mumbled.

Fluttershy passed her a bottle of water, which she gladly accepted. I helped her get to her hooves so that she could come and have a proper lie-down on the couch seat. The rest of us went on to answer more of Josh’s questions, giving him the basic rundown of our journey.

“Damn, you must have tons of scars and stuff!” He exclaimed, upon being told about my torture in Brazil.

“Oh I used to be absolutely covered with them, but one of the wonders of this sword, is that it can heal my wounds, including scar tissue.” I explained, tapping Vitra 'Aku’s handle.

Josh gasped in amazement, before begging for us to continue with the story. Retelling him our adventure so far, even as an abridged version, took about an hour; needless to say, he was completely blown away by what we’d gone through.

{To think, we’ll most likely be retelling all that again soon, to Rainbow Dash’s dad.} Twilight privately said to me through thought.

{Yeah, that’s true. I guess we can consider this as practice?} I replied amusedly.

After rolling her eyes, Twilight agreed with me. With Alex in mind, I remembered that I needed to see if he’d ever sent me a reply.

“Hey Josh, might I have your phone for a moment? I need to log into my Skype account and check if Alex ever got back to me.” I requested.

“Sure!” He merrily replied, passing the device to me.

Thankfully, he already had the app installed, so I simply needed to log out of his account and back in with my own. To my delight, the first thing I saw, was an unread message.

Hello Callum, glad to know my stories have made you feel so inspired.
I’m flattered that you’d like to meet for an autograph. I’d usually say no to such a request, as I’ve had quite a few creeps attempt to meet up with me recently and it’s made me pretty uncomfortable. But seeing as you’re from out of town and only here on vacation, I’ll happily make an exception for you.
When would you be arriving to Michigan? And where? I’m based in Owosso so hopefully you aren’t too far out from there. There’s a McDonald’s not far from me where we can meet, we could make it a lunch & chat sort of thing if you like?
I’d be thrilled to know about you and your life in England, you British have always been interesting to me.
Best wishes, Alex.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a location!” I cheered loudly.

Everyone let out cheers and whoops, and I punched Owosso into Google Maps. After briefly scanning the town to get a gist of the area, I picked a convincing nearby city as my fake place of stay, and then got back to Skype so I could send a reply back to Alex.

Hi again, thank you so much for agreeing to meet up, I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am. Sorry you’ve experienced some creeps troubling you, I guess that’s the downside of having a big reputation online?

I arrived just yesterday actually, so I’d be delighted to meet in a day or two after I’ve settled in, funnily enough I’m not too far from Owosso! I’m in Saginaw to visit some extended family that live by the Wildlife Reserve, that’s totally close enough to come to you. I do love a McDonald’s, so I’d be delighted to meet there for a chat!
This will probably be the highlight of my holiday, I’m absolutely stoked!

“And, send.” I murmured as I finalised the reply.

“So what’s the plan exactly?” Twilight asked.

Humming, I suggested that we took things one step at a time. For starters, we needed to sort out sleeping arrangements for tonight. After that, we needed to wait for Alex to respond, so that I could liaise a time for us to meet up, where I could finally tell him the truth about Rainbow Dash.

“What if he doesn’t believe you? When you meet him?” Dashie inquired, looking anxious.

“Doesn’t matter.” I replied.

Elaborating, I explained that it wasn’t important if he believed me or not, because once I’d met him, we could simply follow him back to his home, where Rainbow could confront him directly. I proposed that from there, we’d let the two of them have a few days together, and I’d give Rommel a call to get him properly on board. Then once he had arrived, we could finally get a move on to the West Coast, and continue our search for the next Orb fragment.
Seeming contented with the plan, everyone gave affirming hums and nods.

“So, is this Rommel person really going to be joining us?” Rarity asked.

“I offered, so the ball’s in his court now. But if he ends up wanting to join us, I think it would be a good thing. Mel’s a decent bloke with a good skill set, and if nothing else, he’s a well-armed ally that we can use.”

Twilight frowned and opened her mouth to speak, but I quickly added that it wouldn’t be a permanent thing. Despite saying this, she still had an objection.

“We’ve come so far without anyone else, I really don’t know how I feel about suddenly travelling with another human who we don’t know. The Princess sent us to you, and you’re all that we need!”

“I um, think I have to agree with Twilight.” Fluttershy murmured, “Meeting someone new and being stuck with them for an unknown length of time sounds pretty scary.”

“Oh come on everypony, it’ll be fun! We get to make a new friend!” Pinkie sang.

“Friendship is magic, right?” Josh said enthusiastically from the driver’s seat.

Rarity suggested that everyone thought practically over thinking emotionally, and that if he was a capable individual whom I trusted, then we should welcome him to the company.

“You’ve never doubted your ability to keep us safe by yourself until now, what’s changed? Is it because of the hotel incident, when you were away with Phoenix?” Twilight asked.

“It’s not that.” I denied, shaking my head.

“Then what is it?” Applejack quizzed, joining in on the conversation.

Looking out the bus window, I reminded the girls of where the next Orb fragment was, and how I’d seen the mysterious island with my own eyes while under the influence of Rarity’s enchantment.

“I have no idea what we’re going to find on that island, but the creature I saw in that vision had big yellow eyes, a lot of teeth, and it was fast. Now, I’ve been thinking about it on-and-off over the past few weeks, the Titans’ Sword was guarded by a kirikan, a creature from the Everfree Forest. Our running theory is that Hawnu Rey’eng put it there, and who’s to say he wouldn’t do something like that again? For all we know, that island is swarming with a whole mob of beasties from your world…”

Unsheathing Vitra 'Aku, I continued to emphasise my point.

“Now I may be pretty good at offing other humans, but if that island has shit that I don’t know how to fight, then I don’t feel confident going into it alone. Not without some guns, and someone trustworthy that’s capable of operating them.”

Sighing and putting the sword away, I relaxed as everyone seemed to agree with the idea after listening to my argument. Twilight eventually conceded and said that Rommel was welcome to accompany us if he wanted to, which thankfully brought the others on-board too.

“For what it’s worth, I’m looking forward to meeting him.” Said Applejack.

“Me too!” Pinkie squealed.

“So what am I, chopped liver?” Josh laughed.

“What does that mean?” Twilight quizzed.

“It’s a saying.” I explained, “Chopped liver is a small dish that’s often cast aside quite quickly for something better. Basically, Josh thinks that Mel is already replacing him as the novelty addition to our quaint little adventuring party.”

At this, Rarity chuckled softly and laid his concern to rest.

“Oh don’t you worry darling, you’re just as important to us! We’d still be stuck in a hotel room without you, and this remarkable carriage of yours.”

“Yeah dude, this is basically a little fortress on wheels!” Dashie added.

“Did I just get officially called darling by Rarity?” Josh gasped, before emitting a squeal of delight.

Giggling, Rarity reflected on how she did indeed say ‘darling’ a lot.

“I remember the first time she called me darling, I had to fight very hard to compose myself.” I laughed.

“You did?” Fluttershy asked.

“Oh yeah, that and the first time Applejack called me Sugarcube.”

“Gosh, I do call everyone that, don’t I?” AJ tutted, shaking her head with amusement.

“You really do.” Rainbow Dash laughed.

“Don’t know why you’re laughing, Rainbow.” I said, “You call everyone dude!”

“What? No I don’t!” Rainbow Dash denied.

“You really do though.” Twilight joined in, “You call everypony dude back home.”

“Can confirm!” Pinkie shouted.

“I’ve genuinely lost count of how many times you’ve called me dude throughout this trip. You even called me dude when we-” I stopped myself, clearing my throat, “Uuh, never mind.”

Tightly pursing her lips and staring at me intensely, Rainbow’s cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Applejack and Rarity both trying their hardest not to burst into laughter, and the others all refused to make eye contact. Needless to say, we all went rather quiet after that, and allowed our driver to properly focus on the road…



A good few hours had passed, and after plenty of small-talk (and a side of napping), we decided to make our first pit-stop, as everyone was direly in need of a toilet break.

“What’s the play here? Should I park at a service station or something?” Josh asked.

“Hm, what if you leave the interstate for a few and drive close to a wooded area? Then everyone can quickly hop off, stretch their legs, do their business, and then we can continue” I suggested.

The plan was set into motion, and after eventually getting to a more secluded road beside some woods, we all hopped off and went our separate ways to relieve ourselves in private. Josh and I got back to the bus first, and we leaned against the outside and chatted for a bit while we waited for the others to get back.

“So you really got to see the inside of Twilight’s mind? With that collar?” He inquired, pointing at my enchanted necklet with one hand, and rubbing at his own throat with the other.

“Yup, and I saved her life while I was at it.” I replied, “Although, it did cost her the ability to use magic.”

“Really? Jeez, I was wondering why she hadn’t used any magic yet. Explain to me what happened again? Pinkie was so erratic earlier that I could barely make any sense of it.”

“That’s Pinkie Pie alright.” I chuckled.

Clearing my throat, I recalled how Hawnu Rey’eng had given me the collars in Portugal, and upon understanding that Twilight had been poisoned by the Fel, and was being tormented by Nah’Lek’s shade, I realised that I would have to help her from the inside, literally. After our fight at the mansion, the unicorn was restrained, and I used the collars to enter her mind.

“Whoa… So, how does that work exactly? Going inside someone’s brain?” Josh breathed.

Tilting my head and puckering my lips, I tried my best to explain how it placed me in a dreamlike forest, with each tree essentially representing a neuron.

“Whatever enchantment lies in those collars, it’s strong.” I said, “Doing stuff in the forest can literally affect the brain on a cellular level. Cut down the right trees, and you could literally put someone in a coma.”

At this point, Josh was staring at me with dinner plates for eyes, he practically looked like a bush baby as he drank in the tale of my metaphysical journey within Twilight’s skull.
I continued to explain how due to the Fel’s corruption, it had transformed her forest into a bitter place, blanketed in everlasting frost and howling winds. Deep within this icy land, lay her mana well, an organ within the brain which stored mana, the very lifeblood of the universe, and the energy source for all magic.

“Since she’d been corrupted,” I continued, “Twilight’s mana well didn’t contain mana as it should. Instead, it contained Fel, which for all intents and purposes, is the evil version of mana. It’s a powerful substance that feeds on life itself. Fel grants the user great power, but it slowly strips away the goodness of their soul and eventually transforms them into a demon.”

“Holy mackerel…” Josh gasped, “Did that happen to Twilight?”

“Almost,” I replied, “I genuinely don’t think she’d have lasted another week, she was a raving lunatic towards the end, full of blind hatred and malice. She literally tried to kill me during our fight, there was barely a shred of the real Twilight left.”

Sighing, I closed my eyes and remembered that god-awful night. From hurling me into trees with her telekinesis, to shooting fireballs that had burned away almost every layer of skin from my chest, the mare had scarred me from head to toe, with every intent to end my life; and I in return, full of rage and grief from Bunnie’s death, had beaten her senseless and probably shattered every rib she had.

Had it not been for the other girls’ cries for me to stop, I honestly couldn’t say if I’d have killed her or not…



By the time I had finished explaining about Nah’Lek’s shade, and at last the purging of Twilight’s mana well, my throat was beginning to itch from all the talking, and yet Josh was still as eager as ever.

“That’s incredible, absolutely incredible! Wow! So what was it like, being in her body? What was it like running on four legs, and not having any hands?”

“Oh, it was so weird at first.” I laughed, “But you get used to it pretty quickly, I just trusted in Twilight’s body and let her muscle memory do half the work for me.”

Humming, Josh looked down, and then spoke softly, his eyes darting from side to side.

“And what was it like, having… You know… Mare parts?”

Raising my eyebrows and blinking rapidly, I found myself caught off-guard by the question. Although in hindsight, it was a perfectly reasonable question for him to ask; who on Earth didn’t ponder about what it felt like to be in the body of the opposite sex, even if for but a moment?
Alas, Josh would find my answer to be rather lacklustre.

“In all honesty mate, I couldn’t tell you. There was so much urgency in my mission that I didn’t stop to take in all the details of the experience. Not to mention the sheer amount of adrenaline that was coursing through me. All my focus was on draining that mana well, the fact I had a female body at the time wasn’t even an afterthought for me.”

To this, Joshua shrugged.

“Well that’s dismaying, but I guess it makes sense.” He replied, tilting his head.

“Dismaying? Dude, I saved Twilight’s life!” I retorted firmly, somewhat irked by his response.

Shaking his head, he quickly backtracked and tried to explain himself.

“No no, I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just, you’re the only dude in existence to swap bodies with a girl, a pony girl for that matter, and you can’t even remember the difference. I just meant that it would have been really cool to know what it was like.”

Exhaling through my nose, I conceded that he had a point.

“Can you go back there? To her mind I mean?”

“Yeah,” I replied, “we’ve visited one another’s minds a handful of times now. Although, we don’t always swap bodies, it seems to happen at random.”

“Well, the next time you do swap bodies with her, you should totally experiment a little. You’d be the only guy in the world to know what it’s like…” Josh encouraged, smirking.

I remained silent and frowned at him, to which he nervously added that it would just be for science. Rolling my eyes and tutting, I forgave his morbidly inquisitive nature and spoke my mind.

“Look, I’m just as curious as the next fellow. But I don’t think it would be right to objectify Twilight’s body like that. Trust me, she’s been used enough.” I said, bitterly spitting those last words like they were poison.

“Okay, but what if she wanted to experiment with your body?” Josh pressed on, “You could do swapsies or something! If Twilight’s anything like she is in the show, you know for a fact she’s curious. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s already thought about it, but just hasn’t brought it up!”

Come to think of it, she had appeared naked the last time we swapped, implying that she had indeed thought about it, even if it was just briefly. Regardless, I shook my head and chose not to tamper with our already very delicate relationship; the last thing I needed was some sort of weird self-exploratory body-swap experiment making things awkward for us.

“Look, I’m not going there.” I told him, putting my foot down, “If she were to ask me, I’d at least consider it. But until then, I’m more than happy just knowing what my own body’s like.”

“Fair enough.” Josh replied, dipping his head.

Eventually, the girls returned to the bus and quickly hopped on. Once we were all comfortable, we got on the move again and continued our long journey to Michigan.



“Right then, it’s about time we got you more prepared to see your dad.” Rarity announced.

“O-kay… Where’s this going?” A very unsure Rainbow Dash murmured back.

“Oh don’t be so sullen, darling! You’ll feel much more confident afterwards.”

Gathering everyone in a circle, Rarity devised that Rainbow Dash should give us some anecdotes about her time with Alex; and between each anecdote, the rest of us could share an account of our own, so we could help normalise the memories she now had.

“Fine, where should I start?” Dashie agreed, awkwardly shuffling her hooves.

“At the beginning!” Pinkie sang.

Pursing her lips, poor Rainbow already looked like she was about to implode, so I tried to ease her into it with a suggestion.

“How about you tell us about bedtimes as a kid? Did you have any bedtime routines? How about sleeping arrangements? Did you have your own bedroom?”

Thankfully, my gentle tone and certain line of questioning was able to blandish her out of her shell, and she finally began to open up.

“Um, well… Starting off, I slept in a crib, not that I remember much of it. When I got a little older, I’d start climbing out and getting into his bed, so for a few years we’d just sleep in the bed together.”

“Aww…” Pinkie sounded off, clutching her chest.

Ignoring her, Dashie continued to explain how they kept that arrangement for quite a few years, until she started to get claustrophobic amidst the bed covers, (that, and her father’s ceaseless cuddling.)
There was in fact a spare room, but it had been used for storage, it was chock-full of boxes and old school things. As an alternative, Rainbow took to sleeping on a recliner in the living room. This suited her just fine, as she preferred having a smaller, firmer place to perch upon, opposed to having a big soft bed to swallow her up.

“That’s the pegasus in you alright.” Twilight mused aloud.

“Um, but I’m a pegasus and I really enjoy cuddling. Especially in big warm nests.” Fluttershy pointed out.

“Yeah, but you’re you.” I teased.

Attempting to hide her knowing grin by looking down at her hooves, Fluttershy admitted that I had a point, which brought forth giggles and chuckles from the lot of us. Once the laughter had died down, Rainbow continued to explain how Alex had chosen to sleep on the couch to keep her company in the living room. This is something that continued until he eventually cleared out the spare room, and bought her a real bed for herself.

It was awfully strange to hear the mare’s retelling of her childhood like this, for I already knew all this information, albeit more simplified. The number of times I had read My Little Dashie was frankly quite embarrassing, I knew every detail. Now here I was, listening to what was essentially the extended edition of the story.

Once she was done talking, everyone else brought up their own sleeping habits as little foals, which ended up being quite bittersweet for poor Applejack; thankfully the farm pony was able to remain selflessly positive through her reminiscing, keeping the priority on Rainbow Dash.
I in turn, talked about my night-time quirks as an infant, along with how Clifford had been such a patient and attentive father back in the day. Following that, I decided to ask something that had been bothering me since learning of her dad’s real name.

“So, on the internet, the guy has almost always referred to himself as Rob, despite his name being Alex. Have you got any idea about why he does that?”

“Yeah, that’s just something silly. He used to play online video games with some friends, and they had a little group together, a clan I think it was called. My memory’s still a little fuzzy, but I’m pretty sure it was called the Republic of Bacon, or something like that. It basically had the letters R-O-B for short, and he used it in all his internet names, so people started calling him Rob, and he stuck with it.”

“Huh, so it’s just an acronym. How interesting…” I murmured.

With that mystery put to bed, we continued coaxing more Earthly childhood memories out of the pegasus, and the more she told us, the more perky she became. Soon enough, the stories and anecdotes practically came tumbling out of her! Rarity’s idea had worked flawlessly, and she knew it, for the pearly unicorn sat there comfortably with a very contented smile on her face.



A good forty or so minutes had passed, and with her hooves dancing in the air, Dashie had now completely come to life, excitedly gushing about her fifteen years on this planet as Alex’s daughter; it was truly wonderful to see the mare back to her old self again.

“Okay, so when we finally moved away from the city, dad had quite a lot of extra money. At this point, I was old enough to watch him play video games, and I really wanted to join in. So after doing a load of research and stuff, he got me my very own Xbox, with this really cool controller that you could change around. Like, you could plug different things into it and they’d act like the buttons of a normal controller.”

“Holy shit, that’s awesome!” I exclaimed, genuinely taken aback.

“Yeah, it allowed me to play a bunch of games! There were loads of custom-made buttons and stuff that I could use with my hooves, my mouth, and even my wings! It took me ages to learn how to use it, but I eventually got really good!”

Once she’d finished talking about her gaming experience, she went on to talk about her dad’s impressive collection of VHS tapes, including the original Titanic, which came on two separate tapes that you had to switch out halfway through the film.

“Wasn’t the Titanic that massive ship that hit an iceberg and sunk?” Twilight asked.

“How’d you know that?” I inquired, tilting my head.

“I remember reading about it in Humanity's Tragedies, it was one of your books back in England. It described the Titanic as the deadliest peacetime sinking of an ocean liner or cruise ship, over fifteen-hundred people died.” She elaborated, grimacing.

“Hang on, that’s how it ends?” Rainbow Dash blurted out, “Dad never let me watch the second tape, he said it was just full of boring mushy stuff and that they all lived happily ever after! You’re telling me after all that, the boat sank!?

Dashie shook her head in disbelief, before giving a bemused huff.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting that.”

After giving her a few seconds to process, I changed the subject and asked if she had really performed a sonic rainboom here on Earth. Immediately springing back to life, she sat back and crossed her hooves.

“Yep! Easily one of the coolest days of my life.”

“Damn, that’s mental…” I sighed, hanging my head low.

As though she could read my mind, Twilight spoke up and suggested that she and I could pay a visit to her brain with the collars at some point. From there, she could perhaps find a way to replay the memory of when Dashie performed one in Cloudsdale, which would allow me to witness one for myself.

“That’s an excellent idea!” Rarity cheered.

“It really is quite something to see…” Applejack added.

“You really think that would work?” I hummed.

“Well, you were able to recreate your old house last time. We ate nachos in your backyard for crying out loud! If you were able to do that, then I’m sure there’s a way I can recreate a memory of my own too. We’ll just have to experiment with it and find a way to make it work.”

Thanks to Josh’s earlier comments, the last thing I needed to hear was the word ‘experiment’ in the same context as visiting one of our brainscapes; I was more than happy to delay seeing a sonic rainboom until long after I’d forgotten all about the subject of switching bodies and ‘doing swapsies’, as he had so eloquently put it.

“It’s a good idea for sure, but let’s put a pin in it for now.” I said, before swiftly changing topics, “So Josh, how far do you think we’ll get today? It might be worth looking into where we’re staying tonight.”

“Well, it’ll probably start getting dark by the time we get through Pittsburgh, so we could stay somewhere between there and Cleveland?” He suggested.

“That works.” I concurred.

From there, we discussed the two choices available to us; we could either sneak into a hotel again like we had in Ocean City, or we could all sleep in the bus together in a less densely populated area, which had a lower chance of the girls getting seen.

“Uh, do you think we can all fit in this bus together?” Twilight pointed out.

“Oh there’s tons of space, it’ll be fine!” I scoffed.

“I don’t know, I’d feel pretty uncomfortable if we all had to sleep so close together.” Fluttershy murmured.

We all knew immediately that she wasn’t referring to physical comfort. It was obvious that she was anxious at the thought of sleeping in such a tightly packed space with Josh included, which made sense as he was still somewhat of a stranger to her. Much to my surprise, Josh very thoughtfully proposed that we could park close to a motel, and that he could stay in a room there while the rest of us slept in the bus. Although I felt a little bad for essentially hijacking his vehicle, I took him up on the offer, as it would make the girls more comfortable.

Scanning Google Maps for somewhere within Josh’s budget, I eventually found a modest little highway hotel called the EconoLodge, just on the outskirts of a city by the name of Akron. The place had free parking and Wi-Fi, so I would be able to continue talking to Alex and organise a meetup.

“Job’s a good'un!” I declared.

After adjusting the GPS to direct us to the EconoLodge, I passed the phone back to Josh, and we continued on what had been thus far, a most enjoyable road trip.



The sun had set, and after a couple more toilet breaks and a fuel stop, we soon closed in on the city of Akron. Seeing as it didn’t cost anything extra for a room with two single beds, I offered to board the night in the lodge with Josh; I felt like it would be nice to give him some company, especially seeing as he had so selflessly become our personal free taxi service across the whole bloody country. As a plus, it would also give the girls a little break from humans for a bit.

“What if people try to look into the bus in the night?” Rainbow Dash pointed out.

“Not to worry, darling. I can handle that issue.” Rarity responded.

I gestured for her to elaborate, to which she explained that she was capable of a spell that could tint glass.

“Why the heck do you have a spell like that?” I asked, bewildered.

“Because dear, I’m a fashion designer. Occasionally, I’ll include faux gemstones in some of my more affordable stock, which are made of glass. Before I order real stained glass for the final product, I’ll use clear glass and tint it with the spell, so I know if the colours clash or not.”

Holding my hands up, I admitted that it was a very valid use for such a spell.

“It won’t stain them permanently, right?” Josh asked, somewhat nervously.

“Not at all, darling! The spell lasts for about nine hours, give or take, and I can always force it to wear off sooner too.”

With that issue sorted, there was little else to discuss. Soon enough we arrived at the EconoLodge, and it was a lot nicer looking than I’d expected. Fastening my collar back onto my neck, I told Twilight to stay in touch and that I’d be just a few yards away from her.

“We’ll be fine, go have a good night.” She replied, smiling warmly.

“And thank you Josh, for letting us stay in the bus while you sleep elsewhere.” Said Rarity.

“Yeah, it’s highly appreciated!” Applejack added.

Josh insisted that it was no problem, and clambered out of the driver’s seat, but not before reaching into his glove box and retrieving a revolver.

“Holy shit, you have a gun!?” I blurted out.

“Yup, this here’s my Peacekeeper, the lawman’s gun of the Wild West, still fully operational!”

“Impressive.” I hummed.

After clarifying that he had a permit for the firearm, he put on the accompanying holster and put the weapon away. We hopped off the bus, and with one last goodnight to the girls, Josh locked the doors and Rarity cast her tinting spell; all the windows grew darker and darker, until it was completely impossible to see within the vehicle.

“Whoa, that’s amazing.” Josh breathed.

“Never gets old, magic.” I agreed.

We headed into the foyer together and booked a room with the receptionist, she gave us a key and we found our way to the room, which was actually rather nice for such a cheap hotel.

“Here I was, expecting blood-stained mattresses and a corpse under the bed.” I chuckled.

Laughing, Josh and I took our shoes off and got comfortable. He decided to take a shower, and I took the opportunity to use his phone to see if Alex had responded, which thankfully he had.

“Excellent!” I said to myself, reading the reply.

Oh cool, Saginaw’s a nice place from what I’ve heard.
Well, if you really don’t mind making your way down from there, how about we meet on Saturday at around two-pm? It’s the McDonald’s at Six-O-One, West Main Street.
Does that work for you?

Not hesitating for a moment to reply, I quickly confirmed that Saturday at two o’clock worked perfectly, and that I very much looked forward to meeting him. He was still online, and got back to me immediately.

Great, see you then. Oh and just so you know who to look for, I’ll be wearing a cap, a button-up shirt, Dickies work pants, and suspenders.

I hadn’t a clue what Dickies work pants were exactly, but I was sure to keep the suspenders in mind. In turn, I told him what I’d be wearing, and I wrapped up the brief conversation with another bout of excessive thanks, which he ended up not replying to.

“Man, I am nailing this annoying fanboy act.” I hissed to myself, grinning.

Saturday, that was just two days away. The day after tomorrow, we’d finally meet the man who fathered Rainbow Dash for fifteen years, and kept her safe all throughout. How the man had kept her hidden for such a long amount of time baffled me, he must have been an incredibly meticulous individual.

I was about to reach out to Twilight and give her the good news, when she reached out to me first.

{Hey uh, Callum? Can I ask you something, about Josh?}

{That’s funny, I was just about to tell you the good news! Alex has just confirmed a time to meet up, we’ll be seeing him on Saturday, just two days from now.}

{Oh that’s fantastic news, I’ll tell the others in a moment!} She cheered.

{So what’s this about Josh then?} I inquired.

{Well, it’s a bit awkward… We’re all trying to get comfortable right now, and Pinkie went to the back of the bus to look for an extra pillow or something, and uh…}

Pulling an awkward face as Twilight paused, I had a haunting feeling that Pinkie had found something of a more provocative nature, and what she said next all but confirmed it.

{Is he… Is he, like… Attracted to us?}

Inhaling through my nose and then sighing, I most certainly didn’t want to worsen the situation by saying that he was; but knowing the kind of person that Josh was, I couldn’t outright say that he wasn’t.

{Um, I would say attracted is the wrong word…} I began.

{Go on?}

Choosing my next words very carefully, I tried to rationalise things with her.

{Okay, well as you’ve probably guessed by now, even with your limited contact with humans, Josh is a bit of a quirky fellow compared to others. He’s a good person, no doubt about that, but he’s an oddball that doesn’t fit in with most crowds. Watching the My Little Pony cartoon is a huge source of solace for him, as it once was for me, so I would say that he’s grown quite attached to you girls as comfort characters.}

{So, it’s more like having a celebrity crush or something?} Twilight suggested, also trying to rationalise it.

{Yeah, that’s a great way of putting it! He’s spent a lot of time seeing you girls on a screen, and it’s brought him a lot of happiness. So he’s just become a bit, well… As I say, attached.}

{I see… Well I guess that makes sense, awkward as it may be.}

Rife with curiosity, I simply had to inquire.

{So uh, what is it exactly that Pinkie found?}

{It’s a life-size plush of Fluttershy.}

Thankfully, Twilight wasn’t there in person to see me put and hand to my mouth and break into silent laughter. With bulging eyes, I tried my hardest to maintain a serious tone with her.

{When you say life-size…}

{Oh I’m not joking, Callum. It’s as big as we are.}

Keeling forward and vigorously fighting the laughs, I pictured what the girls had just come across, along with the absolute horror in their faces. Awkward as it might have been for them, there was no denying that this was funny as hell, at least to me it was.

{Well, at least it wasn’t a dakimakura…} I thought.

{Say again?} Said Twilight.

I went on to explain how dakimakuras were a type of body pillow that had the print of someone on it, usually a fictional character, and often in sultry poses.

{Oh, yeah... I’ve seen something similar to that at a Daring Do convention once.}

After a moment of silence, Twilight told me that Fluttershy was (quite understandably) freaking out over the whole ordeal, and was scared that Josh would try to ‘get it on’ with her or something.

{Look, he’s not that type of guy.} I assured her, {He’s just a lonely oddball, and the cartoon version of Fluttershy helped him feel less alone. Remember that just a few days ago, he didn’t even know that you all really existed. You were fictional characters, that brought him a great deal of comfort. Surely you can understand that?}

I sensed that Twilight was about to respond, when I added that I had once been in Josh’s shoes; My Little Pony had been something that comforted me greatly, and when my living situation turned from bad to worse, it was that damn cartoon that had kept me going. Despite being abused for years by that vile wretch of a fake mother, and enduring my relentless depression, I had been able to cling on to life through dumb fantasies of going to Equestria one day, and living alongside my pony friends.
Whether it was partying and pranking with Pinkie and Dashie, helping Applejack on the farm, tending to animals with Fluttershy, trying on fancy outfits with Rarity, or stargazing on a balcony with Twilight, there was no denying that my life had been saved by the show, and I wasn’t afraid to admit that anymore.

{Callum, that’s…}

{Yeah I know, it’s dumb and pathetic, but that’s the truth. So if you’re going to judge Josh, then you have to judge me in the same light. Because I wanted to wrap my arms around you, long before I knew you were real.}

Where my burst of sentiment had come from, I didn’t know, but I was glad that I’d been honest about this with someone, even if it meant confessing something so abnormal, and well, sad.
And yet, Twilight’s response was not of mockery, nor of pity.

{Cal, that’s so sweet…}

Remaining silent, I blinked rapidly in confusion. Sensing my bewilderment, she continued.

{Come on, how many hopeless romantics have been spurred on by dreams of the lover they’ll never hold? How many of the destitute push on in desire of the riches they’ll never have? And how many storybooks do you think are written by those who wish to be sucked into the pages, and become part of the tale?
Everyone fantasises, Callum, and you’re no different from any of them. And for what it’s worth, nor is Josh.}

I released a heavy sigh at these validating words, and try as I might to stop it, my lips began to quiver with emotion as Twilight continued.

{Impossible desires are what drive so many of us, and that’s okay, just so long as you don’t lose yourself to them. There’s no wrong way to fantasise, and that includes wrapping your arms around some silly cartoon version of me.}

I sniffed loudly, and wiped at the tears in my eyes.

{But hey, now that you’ve hugged the real me, I’ve got to ask… Did I meet your expectations?}

Bursting into a great tearful grin, I told her that she’d not only met them, but exceeded them beyond anything my stupid brain could ever conjure.

{I had a feeling, I give good hugs.} She giggled.

{It’s true.} I chuckled in agreement, still wiping my eyes.

Josh at long last got out of the shower, so I decided to wrap things up with Twilight before he came out of the bathroom.

{So, think you can sort out this plushie situation?} I asked.

{I’ll handle it, go get some sleep.}

{Thanks Twi, goodnight.}

{Goodnight Cal.}

I shuddered, for some reason that ‘goodnight Cal’ had struck me in some way. Before I could dwell on it further, Josh opened the bathroom door and torrents of steam came billowing forth; it looked as though Darth Vader was about to step out, with how obscured Josh’s silhouetted body was amidst the illuminated haze.

“Dude, did you leave any hot water for me?”

“Oh, you wanted a shower too?” He chortled innocently, “Sorry, I take pretty long ones.”

“Don’t you just…” I droned, rolling my eyes.

Getting up, I went over and playfully shoved him aside to get into the bathroom.

“If this water’s cold, Celestia help me.” I tutted, shutting the door.

“Sorry!” Josh’s muffled voice called out.

Stripping down and unclipping the collar, I hopped into the shower. By some bloody miracle, there was still some hot water left, and I quickly got to work on lathering up before it ran out. As the water cascaded over me, I spent some time reflecting on everything Twilight had said, smiling warmly and feeling a whole lot more comfortable with the person I used to be, before this adventure began.

As I rubbed shampoo into my hair, my thoughts drifted to Alex and Rainbow Dash. It was then that something quite odd began to dawn on me; I realised that the My Little Dashie story had surfaced on the internet years ago, back in Two-Thousand-and-Eleven.

“That doesn’t make sense…” I murmured, massaging at my scalp.

If fifteen years had past, Alex must have started raising her from at least the year two-thousand, which couldn’t have made any sense either, as his story explicitly mentioned the two of them watching My Little Pony together, with Alex even mentioning how the show itself eventually stopped airing!
However I looked at it, it just didn’t make any sense.

“Unless…” I whispered.

My eyes flashed wide open, and I dropped the bottle of shampoo in shock. The realisation washed over me just as the now-lukewarm water did; there was only one way all of this could have been possible.

Alex had been to the future.


Chapter Eighteen: The Reunion

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I kept the theory to myself initially, the last thing I needed was Josh bouncing up and down on his bed all night in excitement over the prospect of Alex potentially being a time traveller. I did tell him about the Fluttershy plushie incident though, which he was immediately very apologetic for, as the last thing he wanted was to make anyone feel uncomfortable. With the knowledge that Twilight was going to handle it, we were able to get a decent night’s sleep without much interruption, besides the EconoLodge’s air conditioning turning the room into something of an icy tundra for no good reason. Once I’d switched it off though, Josh and I slept well, and awoke in the morning at roughly the same time.

“You sure they won’t be mad at me?” Josh asked, still nervous about the girls finding the plushie.

“I’m sure Twilight’s handled it, it’ll be fine mate.” I assured him, getting properly dressed.

I tried reaching out to the unicorn via the collars, but upon receiving no reply, it was clear to me that she was still asleep. After helping ourselves to the instant coffee in the room, we checked out and left the building. As not to spook the girls too badly, I gave the side of the bus a few knocks of increasing volume, letting them know that it was me.

“Good morning, ladies!” I called out as Josh unlocked the doors.

I winced intensely as my vision was briefly replaced with bright flashes, bloodstained snow, and glimpses of Nah’Lek. There was a loud yelp from within, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that Twilight had been having one of her Spookies. The thin line between dreaming and waking had transferred over the collars to me, as it had done so in the past for us.

“Hey, Twilight! It’s okay, you’re just having a bad dream!” Applejack called out.

{If only it was just a bad dream…} I thought, full of sorrow.

{Yeah, tell me about it…} Twilight’s bitter voice resonated from within my head.

Josh opened the doors and then jumped back in shock, gasping loudly. I looked in and immediately burst into raucous laughter upon seeing what had spooked him. The life-size Fluttershy plushie stood in the doorway, staring lifelessly out at us.

“Ha! Got’cha!” Pinkie giggled.

“Okay, I’ll admit it, that got me good!” Josh laughed.

“I take it you girls got over the shock then?” I chuckled, hopping onto the bus with him.

I went over to check on Twilight while Rarity answered me.

“Oh, we ended up having such a laugh over it. Yes it was a little strange at first, but once we got over the initial shock and had a long conversation about it, we found it most amusing!”

“Well, I’m glad you were able to see the funny side in it.” I grinned, giving Twilight a thankful smile, knowing full-well that it was her that had helped them come to terms with it.

“Heck yeah we did, Fluttershy sat next to it for like an hour while we talked, and Pinkie kept getting the two of them switched up!” Cackled Rainbow Dash.

They look the same, alright!?” Pinkie shrieked, sticking her tongue out.

Rarity’s horn lit up and the tinted windows returned to their usual state. The morning light poured into the bus, which resulted in a very disgruntled groan from Twilight.

“I want coffee.” She grumbled.

“We’ll stop somewhere along the way to get you a coffee.” I replied, lightly patting the mare’s head.

Muttering something under her breath, Twilight curled up and buried her head into her pillow, not yet ready to interact with the world, which was understandable after the Spooky she’d just experienced. Josh gave me a confused look and I mouthed to him that I’d explain later. He nodded and hopped into the driver’s seat, and we prepared to embark once again.

“Can we have a toilet break before getting on the main road? I’m busting.” Applejack requested.

“I’m hardly surprised, the lot of you have been cooped in here all night. Call me psychic, but I’m guessing that you all need to go?” I suggested, which very quickly received frantic nods from everyone.

“You got it!” Josh called out, turning the keys in the bus’s ignition and bringing the vehicle to life.

We pulled out of the car park and were on our way, and after a quick stop on an isolated woodland road to relieve the call of nature, we got onto the main road and resumed our road trip.



After a good twenty or so minutes into the drive, I announced that I had some news to share with the group, they crowded around me with great curiosity.

“Well, it’s less news, and more of a theory that came to me last night in the shower. But honestly, I can’t see how it makes sense any other way.” I said.

“Go on?” Rarity insisted.

Clearing my throat, I explained how My Little Dashie had surfaced on the internet back in Two-Thousand-and-Eleven, which couldn’t be possible if some of its elements were taken into account.

“And so, it’s become pretty clear to me, that Alex, travelled through time!” I declared, spreading my hands out in front of me to emphasise the point.

“Say whaaat!?” Josh cried out from the front.

“Surely that can’t be true, can it?” Rarity gasped.

“I don’t know, that’s quite the claim to make.” Twilight tutted, “The functionality of time itself is almost impossible to comprehend, let alone magic capable of altering it.”

“Didn’t you travel back in time? As far as the cartoon depicts it, you went batshit insane because your future self from a week in advance tried to tell you to not go batshit insane.” I pointed out.

“Okay firstly, shut up. Secondly, yes. That was a weaker time spell that thankfully pulls you back to your original time after a short period, I was completely out of my league with that stunt. The Princess was absolutely furious with me! That spell was designed for the brief observation of past events, and nothing more. Oh and thirdly, shut up.”

“Huh, interesting.” Josh remarked.

“Quite.” I agreed.

Twilight continued, elaborating that there were numerous spells that influenced time, but none of them were safe; improper use could cause paradoxes, infinite loops, and fractures, none of which could be rectified without a very strong magic user that knew what they were doing.

“Well, I’m not saying Alex has the know-how to travel through time. I’m suggesting that Princess Celestia possibly took him back to an earlier time after retrieving Rainbow Dash or something. I’m sure if anyone knew how to safely alter time, it would be her.” I said.

“That’s certainly a possibility. I guess we’ll just have to ask him later.” Twilight hummed.

“Man, I can’t wait to find out for sure!” Josh exclaimed, “If you’re right about this, it’ll be so frickin’ cool!”

“Absolutely.” Rarity concurred.

Oh I couldn’t agree more! It would be, um, so cool!” The Fluttershy plushie sang out in a high-pitched voice, dancing from side to side.

The real Fluttershy then emerged from behind it, giggling to herself like an idiot.

“I see you’ve made friends with your doppelgänger?” I pointed out, chuckling.

Nodding with a grin, Flutters continued to puppet the plushie and perform the silly voice for it.

We’ve become the best of friends!

Everyone erupted into laughter, except for Twilight, which reminded me that we should stop for coffee at some point to cheer her up. This ended up working out well, as Josh wanted to stop for fuel in order to refill the additional jerry cans in the bus. We pulled into a service station, and Josh gave me some cash while he filled up the cans. The Starbucks was closed for renovation, so I went into the Chick-Fil-A as that was the only other option. I ordered two white coffees, and seeing as I was hungry, I also ordered their most generic sandwich.

“Special delivery!” I called out upon re-entering the bus.

“Welcome back!” Said Josh, sat in the driver’s seat and munching on a granola bar.

“What is that?” Pinkie called out, pointing at the Chick-Fil-A bag.

“Chimpkin.” I hissed back deviously.

“Wait, that’s chicken meat?” Rainbow Dash asked, her mouth agape.

“Mm-hmm.” I confirmed.

I sat down next to Twilight and passed her coffee to her, then opened the bag, which very quickly filled the bus with the scent of fried chicken. Everyone watched with curiosity as I sank my teeth into the sandwich and clamped my eyes shut, humming merrily to myself at the exquisite flavour.

“Damn, that’s good.” I munched, slouching into the unicorn.

“It smells it, can I have a bite?” She muttered.

Josh whipped around and stared at Twilight in shock, gasping.

“Um, but Twilight, it’s meat!”

Still bitterly reeling from her traumatic night terror, Twilight wasn’t exactly running on her normal morals, her post-Spooky mentality was always that of a depressive one, rife with dry nonchalance.

“Don’t care, smells good, want bite.” She grunted.

“Twi, I’d really rather not risk you having an upset stomach.” I said.

Squinting at me sternly, Twilight made her stance very clear.

“Gib, chimpkin.”

Rolling my eyes and emitting an unsure huff, I tore off a reasonably sized piece of the sandwich and gave it to her. She popped it into her mouth and very clearly enjoyed it just as much as I did, as she sighed heavily and slumped into me, just as I had into her.

“Chimpkin good.” She mumbled, savouring the morsel.

“Yes, and also not for otherworldly herbivores.” I tutted, “Too much meat could seriously screw up your digestive system you know?”

“I learned that lesson the hard way, I’m never touching fish again.” Applejack chuckled.

“Yeah, no kidding.” Rainbow Dash agreed, “Those farts of yours traumatised me more than Brazil did!”

After almost choking to death on my coffee from laughing, I explained to a very curious Joshua how I’d let everyone try some fish during our time at sea, which had not agreed with the farm pony whatsoever.

“Dang, that’s hilarious.” He giggled, starting up the bus once more.

We got back onto the main road, and with some coffee and a bite of ‘chimpkin’ in her belly, Twilight’s mood began to improve, much to the relief of everyone else onboard; despite how supportive everyone had been with Twilight, there was no secret that her low moods still put everyone on edge. Deep down, they still feared her, and I hated that fact…



Hours passed, and after a plethora of naps, toilet breaks, riveting conversation, and cheerful singsong, we were finally closing in on Owosso just as the sun was beginning to set. Along the way, we had decided to all sleep in the bus together, opposed to finding another hotel; Josh was most pleased at this news, as he’d already spent far more money than he’d expected to on this journey, which I had admittedly felt a little guilty about. We were parked in an isolated lay-by near some farmland, the chances of people walking by were practically zilch, so we decided that it wasn’t necessary for Rarity to tint the windows again.

“To think, this time tomorrow…” Twilight mused, looking out at the cloudy night sky.

“Ugh, I’m so anxious!” Rainbow Dash groaned, burying herself into her hooves.

“C’mon, you’ll be fine.” I assured her, nudging the pegasus with my elbow, “Don’t forget, he doesn’t even know you’re here yet. The guy’s probably going to be a whole lot more lost for words than you are.”

“That’s true.” Applejack agreed.

You’ll be okay Dashie, I’m with you every step of the way!” Sang the Fluttershy plushie.

“Okay Flutters, you’ve really got to cut that out.” I laughed.

We all had a little chortle together, and then got ourselves comfortable. Rarity and Pinkie Pie slept on one of the couch seats, Applejack and Rainbow Dash slept on the other; Josh slept closer to the back, shamelessly holding onto the Fluttershy plushie, meanwhile the real Fluttershy piled up in the middle with me and Twilight.

“Do you guys normally sleep like this?” Asked Josh.

“Not often, it depends on the situation.” Rarity replied, “We have three camping tents which we like to split up in, but we’re happy piling up together when the circumstance demands it.”

“The circumstance has demanded it quite a lot.” Dashie added, chuckling.

Humming, Josh suggested that the girls must have grown a lot closer over this adventure, which everyone was in full agreement that they had, which now very affectionately included me as well. As though to emphasise the point, Fluttershy and Twilight both nestled into me as we got ourselves more comfortable, which brought forth a less-than subtle sigh of envy from Josh; I huffed with fond amusement and rolled my eyes, before slowly closing them and allowing the call of slumber to come to me.



I was woken by the light of the early morning sun, as it emerged from the horizon and poured into the bus. The only noteworthy sounds were the heavy breathing of the sleeping bodies around me, and the faint birdsong outside. It then dawned on me that Fluttershy was no longer amongst Twilight and myself, and I had to do a triple-take to realise where she had gone; at first it seemed like she had gone to sleep by herself near one of the couch seats, but on closer inspection, I realised that it was the bloody plushie. The real Fluttershy, most bewilderingly, had taken the plushie’s place! The pegasus was contently nestled into Josh, with his arm draped over her middle.

{Huh, well I wasn’t expecting that…} I thought to myself.

Rarity was the next to wake, her eyes slowly blinked open and I dipped my head to her in silent greeting. She reciprocated the gesture, and then upon noticing Fluttershy’s whereabouts, did the exact same triple-take I had done. Looking back to me, she mouthed “Did you see her go over there?”, to which I shook my head and mouthed back that I had no idea when it had happened.

One by one, the girls woke up and all did multiple takes at Fluttershy, all except for Pinkie, whom still could not tell the difference.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting that.” Twilight whispered to me.

“I thought the exact same thing.” I hissed back.

At last, Flutters was roused from sleep, which we attributed to light levels and birdsong, and definitely not from the six of us intently staring at her in disbelief; the mare immediately went beetroot red and gave a sheepish grin. Josh woke soon after and released the pegasus, he sat bolt upright and slapped his cheeks to properly wake up.

“Oh, hello everyone!” He sang cheerily.

“Gee, I wonder what’s got you so chipper this morning.” I deadpanned, smirking.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He giggled.

Getting up properly, Josh professed that he needed the bathroom and unlocked the bus in order to find a nearby bush, and the second he was gone, we all whipped round to stare at Fluttershy again.

“So, care to explain?” Said Rarity.

“Well, um, y-you see… Okay, I just felt like it would be nice of me, okay?” She began, practically babbling her words at first, “It’s pretty obvious that he’s very fond of me, and so I just thought, it might be nice to give him the opportunity to cuddle the real thing for one night, instead of that plushie! He’s obviously very lonely, so I decided to pluck up the courage to give him something he’ll never forget. Now please stop judging me!”

Stamping her hoof, Fluttershy then hid beneath her mane, unable to handle our gaze any longer; Twilight stepped forward and de-escalated the situation, calming the pegasus down.

“Hey, we’re not judging you, we were just caught off-guard, that’s all, I promise! And actually, I think it’s really brave of you, just yesterday you were feeling really uncomfortable around him. You pushed past something that was giving you a lot of anxiety, and did something really kind in the process!”

The rest of us chipped in, telling her that she should be proud of herself, and that there wasn’t a shred of judgement coming from us. Upon hearing our words of reassurance, Fluttershy quickly began to relax, so much in fact that she boldly admitted that she had actually enjoyed Josh’s close company.

“It reminded me of those early days when Callum and I shared a tent together, before we went to Portugal. I guess, um, I forgot how nice it was, to be held at night.” She sighed.

“That’s actually adorable.” Applejack tutted, smiling warmly.

Changing the subject, Pinkie chimed in.

“Can I just say, I have no idea what’s going on here! Is this still about the fake Fluttershy? Because it’s right there, guys!” She shrieked, pointing a hoof at the very real Fluttershy.

We all shook our heads and Rainbow Dash seized the pink pony to playfully ruffle her mane. Josh then returned, and we all acted as casually as possible. He hopped into the driver’s seat and I came to stand beside him.

“Right everyone, we need to plan exactly what we’re doing here. If Alex doesn’t believe me when I tell him about Dashie, chances are he’ll probably take off. We need to make absolutely sure that we don’t lose him if he drives away or something. So, any suggestions?” I stated openly.

“I could fly above the clouds and watch him from above?” Rainbow suggested.

“That could work.” Josh concurred, nodding.

“Hm, but what if there aren’t many clouds? And what if you get spotted when you take off?” Twilight speculated, frowning.

“And, how would you know which car is your dad’s? You could accidentally get vehicles mixed up while you’re following him, and then he’s gone.” I added.

Shrugging, Dashie grumbled that it was just a suggestion.

“It was a good one!” I assured her, “I just want to make sure we do this right, so that there are no chances of losing him. If only we had a tracking device or something…”

Snapping his fingers, Josh loudly emitted an almighty “Ah-hah!

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re about to provide us with a solution.” I said.

Opening the bus’s glove box, he pulled out a secondary mobile phone.

“What if you could hide this in his car? And I tracked it using Find My Phone?”

I raised my eyebrows, that was actually a really damn good idea.

“Josh, that’s actually brilliant! But why the hell do you have two phones?”

“Oh, I’ve got three actually. I play a lot of Ingress, so I made three accounts and bought a couple of extra phones, so I can capture portals and stuff really easily.”

“Fair one.” I hummed, “Follow-up question, what the bloody hell is Ingress?”

Beckoning everyone to come and have a look, Josh opened Ingress on his main phone and explained how it was a GPS-based mobile game, where you could join one of two teams, and had to go around capturing portals, which appeared at real-world landmarks and significant public buildings.

“It’s basically a giant digital game of Capture the Flag, and the whole world is the playing field!” He finished, closing the app.

“That’s so awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

The rest of us agreed that the game was nothing short of a marvel, and that it was something truly innovative and unique.

“Yeah, shame it won’t be for long though.” Josh sighed.

“What do you mean?” Asked Twilight.

“Well, the makers of Ingress are collaborating with The Pokémon Company, and they’re basically going to release a game just like it, called Pokémon Go. Instead of capturing portals, you go around catching Pokémon. It’s set to release in just two months. Well, if the beta tests go well.”

“That sounds pretty cool actually, I’ve always enjoyed a bit of Pokémon.” I murmured.

“Yeah, I guess it’s going to be good.” Josh admitted, “I just really hope it doesn’t mean they’ll ditch Ingress, because I love this game to bits.”

“I guess time will tell.” I shrugged.

Josh plugged in the second phone to make sure its battery was charged, and then double-checked that its location services were running, so that we could trace it using Find My Phone.

“What if we can’t get it inside his car?” He quizzed.

“I don’t know, duct tape it to the underside?” I suggested, “Or up inside one of the wheel arches?”

At this, Josh nodded.

“That’ll work.”

I speculated that we’d have to stop by a hardware store on the way then, in order to buy some tape that was strong enough to do the job. But in his seemingly unending resourcefulness, Josh revealed that he already had some duct tape stored in the bus. With that, I clapped my hands together and smirked.

“Well then, let’s go and scope out this McDonald’s.”



It didn’t take long to drive over there, and thankfully it had a decently sized car park.

“Here I was thinking we’d have to park across the street by that funeral home. This is perfect!” Josh cheered.

“Yeah, well let’s not stop here just yet. We still have a few hours to kill, and we don’t need anyone getting suspicious at a big black bus parked by a Maccies for ages.” I replied, thinking ahead.

Nodding, we continued to drive past and circled around until we were back where we had slept the night. Josh and I spent the spare time educating the girls about what Pokémon was, as they had been curious about it from the moment Josh had mentioned it earlier.

“It’s a shame Equestria doesn’t have DVD players or anything like that. Otherwise Callum could send you home with a few Pokémon box sets or something.”

“I’m sure we’ll survive.” Rarity replied blankly, obviously not that keen on the anime’s premise.

Fluttershy too, wasn’t much of a fan after being told what it was about; this hardly surprised me, seeing as Pokémon’s entire plot, both in the games and in the anime, was to capture wild creatures and force them to brutally fight against one another until one collapses from exhaustion and injury.

“Man, when you really think about it, Pokémon is seriously messed up.” I laughed.

“I guess that’s one way of looking at it.” Josh muttered, clearly very invested in it.

After a little more chit-chat about various topics, it was finally nearly time for my meeting with Alex; the bus revved to life, and we were once again on the move. Sitting beside Rainbow Dash, I put an arm around her and kept her calm as her anxiety started getting the better of her.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay.” I whispered into her ear.

“It feels like my heart’s going to pop…” She said quietly, her voice lightly shaking.

“Alright, well just remember that it’s not going to pop.” I gently replied, “We’re just going for a little drive, and then I’m going to get out and have a little chat with your dad. Chances are, he’s going to drive away, and then we’re going to go pay him a visit.”

Stroking my thumb back and forth across her shoulder, I lowered my head and was able to lure some eye contact from her.

“Look around, all your friends are all here, and we’re going to be with you every step of the way, and that’s a promise. You’ve got this, Dashie.”

Gulping, the pegasus gave me a weak nod and tried to steel herself. Twilight approached me and inquired as to whether I’d be wearing my collar or not, to which I shook my head.

“I don’t want him thinking I’m a total weirdo the second he sees me.” I chuckled, “I’ll leave Vitra ‘Aku on the bus as well, I hardly see myself needing it.”

Nodding, Twi sat back down and left me to continue comforting Rainbow Dash. Shortly after, we were back in central Owosso, and Josh pulled into the McDonald’s car park. I sucked in a large breath of air, before releasing it all in one loud huff.

“Alright guys, here we are, the moment of truth.”

We all peered out of the side windows, and Rainbow Dash almost immediately emitted a shaken gasp; she opened her mouth to speak, but not even a breath could escape her lips as her jaw quivered. Following her gaze, I saw a man stood beside a pickup truck, wearing a red and black plaid cap, a button-up shirt, suspenders, and what I could only guess were Dickies work pants.

It was him.

“D… Da… D-Da…” Rainbow stammered, her eyes already welling up with tears.

“Alright, alright…” Applejack cooed to her, pressing up against Dashie for support.

“He drives around in that?” Josh scoffed, rubbing the back of his neck.

Taking a closer look, I could totally understand Josh’s attitude; the pickup truck Alex had arrived in was a rusty old silver Chevrolet, lightly garnished in dents and scratches.

“Dash, I know you said Alex was a trash picker, but I didn’t think you meant his cars.”

I got a laugh out of Pinkie and Josh, but the others all scowled at me, to which I cleared my throat and cut it out; I was only trying to lighten the mood, but it hadn’t gone down too well.

“You know what? The pickup truck works perfectly!” Josh pointed out, “Now we don’t need to duct tape the phone underneath or anything, we can just put it in the back.”

“Ooh, good thinking!” Rarity praised.

“Top man, you’ve just made your job easier.” I said, giving his arm an affirming pat.

“Wait, m-my job? What do you mean?”

“Well I can’t do it, can I? I’m not going to just walk over there, say hello, and then slip a phone into his truck right in front of him. I need you to do it once we go inside.” I explained.

“Gosh, uh, right, okay!” He agreed, clearly nervous.

“You’ll be fine mate. Once I get inside the building with him, just hurry over there and pop it in, then get back to the bus and job’s a good'un.”

Nodding, Josh mentally prepared himself for the task; he also handed me some cash for the McDonald’s, which I thanked him for. I took one last look at the girls and grinned.

“Well, off I go.” I said as Josh opened the doors for me.

Everyone wished me luck, except for Rainbow Dash, who was still completely shell-shocked. I gave her a sympathetic smile and stepped out of the bus. I went around the back and distanced myself from the vehicle, not wanting Alex to see where I had come from. Taking a deep breath and steadying my racing heart, I made my way across the car park and we made eye contact; he realised it was me and immediately broke into a friendly smile, striding towards me with confidence. Holy shit, this was really happening, I was actually meeting the Alex Griffin himself, in the flesh!

“Callum, right?” He inquired upon finally reaching me, extending his hand.

“That’s me.” I replied, accepting the hand and giving it a hearty shake.

Now that he was up close, I was able to inspect the man properly, and he wasn’t what I imagined at all; I had always pictured Rainbow’s father as this tall, slim, well-built fellow with pale skin. I was instead met by a man shorter than myself, and respectfully, much plumper. Not that there was anything wrong with that, I had simply expected someone more akin to Josh Radnor or Paul Rudd in appearance, and less, well, Danny DeVito.
Looking at his cap, I noticed that it possessed a large logo in the middle, which read the word O'Neill, along with two identical pins either side of it, fashioned after Big McIntosh’s cutie mark.

{Guess we know who your favourite pony is then.} I mused in thought.

Shaking my head with awe, I emphasised how incredible it was to finally meet him in person, to which he humbly accepted and gestured to the McDonald’s.

“Well, want to go sit down and get a bite?”

Nodding, I eagerly followed him into the building, where I was immediately blown away.

“Are people ordering from touch screens?” I gasped.

“Yeah, they started rolling them out last year. I take it they’ve not reached the UK yet then?” Alex remarked, approaching one of the free screens to begin our order.

Telling him that I didn’t think so, (not that I would know), I watched as Alex tapped on the screen and selected what food he wanted, which I honestly found to be extraordinary. As he ordered, I took a quick look behind us and out the front door, where I was just able to spot Josh slipping the phone into the back of Alex’s truck, and then scampering off back to the bus; mission accomplished.

“So you just tap on the items you want, and it places the order?” I asked, returning my focus to Alex.

“Eeyup, give it a try!”

He stepped aside, and gestured to the massive screen before me.

“Go ahead, I’ll pay for it.”

“Are you sure? I brought my own money.” I asked in disbelief.

“Of course! It’s the least I can do after how far you’ve come just to pay me a visit. Seriously dude, order whatever you want.” He insisted.

Thanking him profusely, I got myself a Quarter-Pounder meal, with a white coffee and a side of fries. Alex collected it once it was ready, and we found ourselves a comfortable spot at the back, far away from anyone else.

“Damn, it’s been ages since I’ve had a burger…” I munched happily.

“You don’t get fast food much back home?” Alex asked, popping some fries into his mouth.

Shaking my head and briefly talking from the perspective of my former life, I explained that I lived in a scummy little town called Ifield, and the only available food joints were an overpriced Indian Restaurant, and a tacky Chinese shop called the New Rainbow House.

“And the last time I ordered something from there, I found a piece of metal in my food! So long story short, I don’t have many fast food options.” I laughed.

“For real? Damn, did you try to sue them?”

“Nah,” I replied, shaking my head, “It was just a piece of those metal scrubbers you get for cleaning skillets and grills, hardly worth a lawsuit. I just called them up to complain, got my money back, so there wasn’t really a need to take it further.”

“Fair enough I guess.” Alex hummed, taking a sip from his drink.

We chatted for quite some time, even after we’d finished eating. It seemed that he’d actually quite enjoyed my company, despite my ‘slightly obsessed fan’ persona; but all good things came to an end eventually, and he inhaled in a manner that clearly indicated that he’d like to leave soon.

“So uh, did you have something for me to sign? You did come all this way for an autograph right?”

“You know what? I completely forgot to bring something!” I laughed, before ditching the façade, “But that’s alright, because I didn’t really come here for an autograph.”

Blinking twice and furrowing his brow, Alex remained perfectly still, trying to understand what I was implying. Leaning forward and speaking in a lower tone, I told him the truth.

“I’m here about your daughter.”

After looking puzzled for a moment, Alex gave his head a quick shake and spoke very quickly.

“I don’t have a daughter.”

Giving a look of false surprise, I lightly tilted my head forward.

“Really? See, the rainbow-haired girl who I’ve been travelling with for almost a year, says otherwise.”

Visibly tensing up, Alex sniffed loudly.

“What are you talking about?”

“You heard me. She arrived here last year in June, along with the other five. They’re here on a mission, and for some reason, I was chosen to accompany them as a guide.”

I took a sip from my coffee, keeping eye contact, before continuing.

“Now, I’m sure you can imagine my surprise when one day, she falls apart, I’m talking a complete and utter mental breakdown. Why? Because she’s just remembered that she was raised for fifteen years, by you.”

Scratching at my stubble, I explained how she had demanded to see him, and so we’d quite literally travelled halfway across the globe, so that she could come and pay a visit to dear old dad. Once I’d finished speaking, I gulped down the last of my coffee and let Alex process the information; he briefly smiled and let out a small huff, before giving me an expression of sheer disgust.

“Are you for real? You seriously came all this way, just to give me some big fairy-tale speech? I’ve had to put up with a lot of delusional people who think that dumb story is for real, but this really takes the cake.”

The hostility in his tone began to show, but I maintained my composure, and allowed him to keep talking.

“Do you have any idea how many people message me, thinking it’s some real-life personal account of how I raised a fucking cartoon character? Here’s a hint, you’re not the first! I get people on a bimonthly goddamn basis, asking me what it was like to raise her and shit like that! Jesus Christ dude, did you really think I was going to fall for this? See, now this is why I was hesitant to meet up, I’ve had freaks like you trying to meet up with me for weeks now! So what do you want, huh? What the hell do you want?”

Leaning back in the booth and remaining as cool as a cucumber, I calmly replied that I wasn’t interested in what it was like for him to raise Rainbow Dash.

“You see, I’ve already been told the far more riveting perspective of what it was like to be raised by you. Like how you had to bribe her with her favourite snacks just to trim her hooves, or how you kept her second baby tooth when it fell out. You’d have kept the first one, but she swallowed it by accident.”

“Now you’re just embarrassing yourself, I’d like you to leave now.”

Undeterred by Alex’s demand, his quivering voice and facial expression told a very different story, because we both knew that there was no possible way I could have known the things I was saying, unless...

“Oh, and her favourite meal was mashed potatoes mixed into Mac and Cheese, with a big old dollop of butter!” I continued, wagging a finger at him. “But you’d only let her have it on the weekends because it was too carby, and you didn’t want her getting fat, especially seeing as she was cooped up indoors most of the time.”

“Okay we’re done here.” Alex said urgently, getting to his feet.

Before he could walk away, I made one final statement.

“Do you still have that hoodie she liked to wear? The dark grey one with the white strings? She was wondering if you’d kept it or not.”

Without warning, Alex lunged forward and seized my shirt with both hands, tugging me towards his face.

“I don’t know who the hell you are, but stay the fuck away from me.” He spat.

I remained expressionless, and he promptly released me, before storming out of the restaurant and power-walking towards his truck. I calmly tidied up my shirt, and then watched as Alex slammed the door shut, started up the vehicle, and drove away.

“Well that went well.” I hummed to myself.

I then reached into my pocket and pulled out the cash that Josh had given me.

“Hm, yeah, that’ll be enough.” I muttered, getting up.



Upon hopping back into the bus, Rainbow Dash zoomed up to me faster than I could blink.

“Dude, what the heck happened?”

“He left so quickly!” Fluttershy joined in.

“Yeah, and he looked pissed!” Josh added.

“What did you say to him?” Asked Twilight.

“I smell something yummy!” Pinkie squealed.

“Alright, alright, chill out everyone, let me sit down for Christ’s sake! Here, I brought you all a little something.”

I sat down on one of the couch seats and opened up the McDonald’s takeaway bag I was carrying, before revealing six orders of fries for each of the girls, and a cheeseburger for Josh. Everyone tucked into their food while it was still hot, and I very quickly became the most popular man on Earth.

“Gah… These are so good…” Twilight moaned with her mouth full.

“Mmn hmm…” Rarity agreed, savouring every bite.

“So can you tell us what happened already? You’re killing me here, dude!” Dashie demanded, frowning at me as she nibbled at what little she could stomach while in such an anxious state.

“Alright well, it went better than expected, but it also went worse.” I began.

“Um, how does that make sense exactly?” Asked Fluttershy.

I went on to explain that Alex couldn’t find it in himself to believe me, but he also knew that I was telling the truth, as I had told him some of Rainbow’s anecdotes from yesterday, stories that I couldn’t possibly have known without being told about them by her.

“He told me to leave, but it was clear that I’d shaken him up. Then I mentioned the hoodie and he completely snapped, got up from the table and grabbed me, essentially told me to fuck off, and then he left.”

“So it went awfully, is what I’m hearing.” Dashie whined, hanging her head in despair.

Shaking my head, I gently placed my hand under her chin and raised her head again to face me.

“Not at all. I only say it went worse because I wasn’t expecting him to get so hostile. But otherwise, we’ve got this in the bag, Dash. Don’t you get it? He knows now!”

Grinning as I pinched one of her fries, I sat back and guaranteed that Alex was now headed straight home, where he’d dig up his old photo album, which contained pictures of ‘his little Dashie’.

“He’ll flip through a few pages, think about what I said, and then he’ll get over the initial shock and realise that this is for real. Don’t forget that he wrote My Little Dashie in Two-Thousand-and-Eleven, maybe even in Twenty-Ten, so for the past five to six years, he’s had to move on with his life and accept that he’ll never see his daughter again. Now some complete stranger’s cropped up to tell him that she’s back? Of course he wasn’t going to believe me at first!”

Shutting her eyes and nodding, Rainbow took in my words and knew that I was making sense.

“So, what happens now?” Twilight asked from beside me.

“Now, ‘Mister Three-Phones’ over here is going to track him down.” I commanded, gesturing at Joshua with my thumb, “Then we’ll swing by in an hour to say hello, once he’s had a moment to gather himself.”

“On it!” Josh gleefully accepted.

He bounced into the driver’s seat and got to work, clearly very pleased to have such an important job, especially after successfully planting the phone in the first place, the lad was confident now.
Once everyone had finished their fries, I put all the empty containers into the takeaway bag, and hopped back out of the bus to put it in one of the nearby rubbish bins. Upon getting back in, Josh had got Find My Phone up and running, and we had a clear view of where Alex was heading.

“He’s going south out of town, I guess he lives closer to the farmland?” Josh hypothesised.

“Guess so.” I agreed.

We watched the blip on the map move further and further down, until it eventually stopped near a more wooded area, close to the Maple River. It was no more than a ten minutes drive, but we decided to get a move-on anyway as it would be better to leave the city. Josh brought the bus to life, and we made our way down until we were just a minute or two away, where we waited in a lay-by.



“Jeez, what am I going to say to him?” Rainbow Dash asked aloud, her head faintly swaying back and forward.

“Hello, would be a good start?” Rarity suggested playfully.

“Har har, very funny.”

“I don’t think you can plan this, Dashie.” Twilight chipped in, “When you both see each other, I think the right words will come to you.”

“What if they don’t?” Rainbow whimpered, gritting her teeth.

“Then we’ll help you.” I said, jumping into the conversation, “I’ve already spoken to him now, so it’s no biggie for me. Once we get there, if you lose your words, I’ll do the talking until you find them again, alright?”

Clamping her eyes shut and blowing out a long breath to calm herself, Dashie nodded.

“Okay… Okay, I trust you.”

As a group we all came together and gave the pegasus a supportive group hug.

If only Josh had a Rainbow Dash plushie like me! Then I could do the talking for you!” Fluttershy sang from behind her fabric doppelgänger, wiggling it to and fro.

This thankfully brought a much needed laugh from the mare, to which we all heartily joined in upon.

“I honestly think Fluttershy might love that thing more than you do.” I told Josh, still chuckling.

“You may be right.” He tutted in agreement.

We spent the next half-hour keeping Dashie’s spirits high, before we decided it had been long enough; it wasn’t much trouble finding the long driveway that led up to Alex’s house.

“Holy mackerel, the guy really likes his trucks huh?” Josh exclaimed.

Parked beside the building were four different pickup trucks, including the one he’d driven to the McDonald’s, which was ironically the best looking of the bunch; the others were all terribly rusted and banged up.

“Maybe it’s a hobby?” Twilight posed.

“I guess that’s not out of the question.” Josh hummed.

“Yeah, maybe he buys them, does them up, then sells them on?” I agreed.

“Or perhaps he just collects them?” Rarity added.

Shrugging, Josh brought the bus to a stop and killed the engine. He opened the doors for me and I stepped out, but not before assuring Rainbow Dash one more time that everything was going to be fine. I then made my way towards the house, and went up the steps that led to the porch. Giving the front door a firm set of knocks, I waited patiently until it eventually swung open, and Alex’s face quickly became contorted with horror as he realised that it was me.

“Hello again!” I chirped, smiling cheerfully.

It was then that I realised that Alex was holding a pistol, he stepped out of the doorway and pointed the barrel directly at me. My expression became, quite understandably, less cheerful, and I made sure not to make any sudden movements as he glared at me with fearful eyes.

“Okay, who the hell are you? How the fuck did you find my house!?” He snarled.

“That’s a nice gun you’ve got there, although I wouldn’t recommend using it.” I hummed, “You wouldn’t want to murder someone. Not right in front of, her…”

I used my head to beckon to the encroaching hoofsteps behind me, and then I slowly stepped to one side, allowing father and daughter to lock eyes, after all these years. The gun clattered to the ground, and Alex froze like a block of ice, unable to even breathe; the only sign that he was still alive were the tears that swiftly welled up in his eyes. Rainbow Dash stood at the bottom of the steps and looked up to him, tears of her own already streaming down her face, as she burst into the widest grin I’d ever seen.

“Hi dad…” She mewled, shaking like a leaf.

Finally able to take a breath, Alex stumbled forward and slowly made his way down the steps, clutching onto the handrails for dear life to support himself. Upon reaching the bottom, he fell to his knees and stared into his daughter’s eyes.

“Dashie?” He breathed.

The pegasus gave the faintest of nods, to which they both completely broke down into each other, Alex lunged forward and embraced his child, and Rainbow reciprocated, sobbing so heavily that merely witnessing it moved me to my very core. For what felt like several minutes, they remained like this, bawling their eyes out, and they deserved every damn second of it. I slowly eased myself down the steps to them, and eventually Alex looked around to face me, his poor face now sopping wet with tears.

You… You!

Scooping up his blubbering daughter with ease, he staggered to his feet and waddled to me, slamming an open palm into my torso and gripping my shirt. He gasped heavily, fighting to get the words out as he tugged at me with raw emotion. There was little else I could do but smile kindly as he practically clawed at my chest in emotional bedlam. And at last, he was finally able to weep just a handful of words, which was all he needed to say.

You brought… You… You brought me, my Dashie…


Chapter Nineteen: It's About Time

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I beckoned for the others to come out, and one by one they stepped out of the bus, Josh included. Still carrying a sobbing Rainbow Dash and wiping at his eyes, Alex saw them and shook his head.

“You, really were telling the truth…” He wheezed, looking back to me.

“You were never going to believe me, until you saw for yourself.” I replied.

Setting Rainbow down, he wrapped both of his arms around me and hugged me tightly, thanking me profusely. Once he had calmed down some, he took a step back and asked how we’d found him, along with why we were here.

“The first bit was easy.” I said, shrugging, “Slipped a phone in your truck while we were in the McDonald’s, then we just tracked it. As for why we’re here, you might want to invite us in for a chat.”

Dipping his head, Alex wiped at his remaining tears and loudly cleared his throat. He then turned to face the other girls and sighed in disbelief. Dashie meanwhile, buried her face into his side, still totally overwhelmed by all of this.

“I never thought I’d be seeing you all again.” He croaked.

“We’ve met before?” Applejack quizzed.

To this, Alex tilted his head.

“You don’t remember?”

Hopping forward to stand beside Alex, I quickly explained that it was only Twilight and Rainbow Dash who had recovered their memories, and that the others still had no recollection of ever coming to Earth. Nodding in understanding, he sniffed again and shakily greeted everyone, shaking Josh’s hand and then returning to Dashie, of whom was still trying her best to stop crying, her whole body trembling like jelly. He scooped her up for a second time, and she instinctively wrapped her limbs around him like a koala, letting him carry her indoors. We all followed him, with Josh quickly scooting over to collect his extra phone from the pickup truck. I also collected Alex’s pistol from the deck, and noticed that the safety was on; I huffed with amusement, knowing that he never had any intention of actually shooting me. I placed it on the countertop just as we entered the building.

“Damn, nice house…” I murmured.

The outer appearance didn’t do a shred of justice for the inside, the building had a massive open plan entryway with a plethora of modern furniture and technological gismos; we were escorted into the living room, where there was a huge contemporary L-shaped couch, two reclining armchairs, and an enormous plasma television mounted to the wall, which was hooked up to a handful of games consoles, and in one corner was a bar with a very sizable selection of alcohol.

“My chair!” Rainbow cried out, getting tearful again.

Alex broke into a laugh and set his daughter down onto his father’s old recliner; she immediately reverted to a childlike state and squashed her face into the chair’s armrest, rubbing her cheek against it like a cat. Josh and I clutched at our chests in perfect sync, both struck by the sheer wholesomeness of the sight before us. It was truly larger than life to see the chair for itself, after reading about it in My Little Dashie, especially after hearing about it further from Rainbow’s perspective just a few days ago.

“So, can I uh, get you guys anything? Tea, coffee, water? Um…” Alex began, stumbling over his words.

“How about we get a big pot of tea underway? Earl Grey if you’ve got it.” I replied, sitting down, “This isn’t going to be the jolliest of chinwags, so I’d say hot drinks all-round are in order.”

Inhaling deeply, Alex looked at Rainbow Dash one last time, as though he was expecting her to be gone upon his return. He then puffed heavily and stepped away into the kitchen. Everyone sat down with me on the couch, and I quickly reached over to Dash to give her shoulder a quick rub.

“You alright?” I whispered.

Tightening her lips and nodding frantically with glistening eyes, it was clear that she’d start crying again if she were to speak. Alex came back and forth from the kitchen with teacups for us all, setting them down on the coffee table in front of us. He then finally brought out a big pot of tea once it was ready, to which I offered to pour, as his hands were still visibly shaking. I took the pot from him and he went to sit down, moving the second armchair to be closer to his father’s, so that he could sit beside Dashie.

“Okay so, can someone please explain to me what’s going on? Because I was told by the Princess that I would never see any of you again. She made that very clear to me.”

“Yeah well, that was before… He, escaped…” Twilight sighed, closing her eyes for a moment.

I spared Alex of his confusion by jumping into the conversation, to tell him of the living nightmare, whose name Twilight could not utter.

“To skip the pronoun game,” I began, “Equestria is in immeasurable danger, at the behest of an ‘orrible cunt, by the name of Nah’Lek, the Defiler.”

Twilight flinched, but remained steadfast; I hated having to say his name in front of her, but it was going to come up at some point in this conversation, so I’d decided to get it out of the way sooner rather than later.

“He’s a demigod, more evil and more horrifying than you can possibly imagine. Now long ago, he was imprisoned in Tartarus for bringing about the most violent slaughter in their world’s history.” I continued, nodding to the girls, “And for thousands of years, he was left to rot, to the point where everyone forgot about him. Recently however, he broke free, and he’s put their whole world in danger, by sending a very powerful artefact here, to Earth.”

Trying to wrap his head around this information, (which was a mere droplet in comparison to everything else we were about to tell him), Alex slowly inquired as to what this ‘powerful artefact’ was. I took a large sip from my tea, and smacked my lips together with a little gasp.

“That, my friend, would be a little-known thing, called The Titans’ Orb.”

And thus, between the girls and I, we told him the entirety of our tale…


“Once Josh arrived to pick us up, I used his phone to arrange our meeting at the McDonald’s. We then drove for two days straight to get here, and lo and behold, here we are.”

Slumping back into the sofa with my fourth cup of tea, I concluded the entire recollection of our journey so far; from the evening I had met the girls in my garden, to the morning we had left the Belmont Towers hotel, and everything in between, warts and all.
There were only two details which I had chosen to neglect…

Firstly, I didn’t tell him how severely Twilight had been abused by Nah’Lek, for that was something she didn’t wish for the other girls to know about. Having assisted her in writing her poem, A Frigid Burial, I could fully understand why; I wouldn’t want people knowing if I’d been tortured in such a way…

Secondly, I decided not to tell Alex of my more salacious history with Rainbow Dash. He had already been through an absolute whirlwind of emotions today, just hearing about what happened in Brazil nearly broke the poor guy; the very last thing he needed to know right now, was that I’d slept with his daughter.

“Shit… You guys have, really been through hell, huh?” Alex sighed, visibly exhausted from the tale.

“You can most certainly say that again.” Rarity replied, tutting.

“I almost can’t believe it to be honest.” He said, “It’s just so, awful. Like, I’m under no delusion that this world can be a horrible place, but it’s like you’ve all been thrown straight into the worst of it. And you’re saying that you’ve only found what, three, of the six pieces of the Orb? So after all the shit you’ve been through, you’re only halfway?”

“Well blimey, don’t give us any words of encouragement!” I laughed in response.

“Sorry, I’m just, um… I can only imagine how much more lies ahead for you guys, that’s all. Like, I feel bad, I just want this all to be over for you!”

Dipping my head in understanding, I shrugged.

“Well it’s just the way of things. All we can do is keep pushing forward, and steering clear of danger whenever we can get such a luxury.”

“And, for what it’s worth…” Rarity interjected, “We may only have three pieces, but we’re most certainly past halfway. Not only did we also retrieve the Titans’ Sword, which one could argue is no less important than the Orb itself, but we also made this detour to visit you, for Rainbow’s sake.”

“That’s true!” Twilight chipped in, “The Orb may have six pieces to find, but this has turned out to be an eight-step mission, and as of today, we’ve just reached our sixth step, meaning we’re actually three fourths of the way!”

“When you put it like that, it almost feels like we’ll be going home soon.” Added Fluttershy.

“I wouldn’t say almost, not by a long shot.” Applejack said, shaking her head, “But Rare ain’t wrong, we’re over halfway for sure.”

Putting down my teacup, I decided to change the subject.

“Well, we’ve told you our story, now how about you tell us yours? Because I’m betting my bollocks to a barn dance that it’s very interesting…”

“Oh, and what gives you that impression?” Alex chuckled innocently.

“Because recently, I came to a realisation about you.” I replied, wiggling my finger in his direction, “Now, it started off as a theory, but I knew I was right from the second I stepped in here.”

Looking around, I pointed out Alex’s vastly expensive home, from the massive TV, to the varying games consoles, to the furniture and the personal bar.

“There isn’t a square inch of this place that doesn’t cost a fortune, and there’s not a speck of dust around here either, meaning you almost certainly hire a cleaner. Now, everything in here shouts ‘swanky businessman, probably owns a company and does cocaine’, but we all know that’s not who you are, so something’s not adding up.”

Everyone started looking around to analyse the living room, and realised that I was onto something, upon taking in the sheer quality of the place.

“That vinyl record player over there, surrounded by boxes of LPs?” I continued, “And all those beaten up trucks outside? You’re a hobbyist, meaning you probably don’t work much harder than the average Joe, if you even work at all. So how does a fellow like you, live in a house like this?”

The penny dropped for Josh, and for most of the girls, all finally understanding where I was going with all this; Pinkie Pie on the other hand, bless her, was virtually chewing her own hoof off trying to figure it out.

“Nobody gets this rich without being lucky, and I mean very lucky… I’m talking about the kind of luck where a guy goes gambling for the night, and for every single bet, he goes all-in, and every single time, it pays off. Almost like, he knew what was going to happen…”

Opening his mouth for a moment and then closing it again, Alex knew that he’d been had.

“And here I thought Twilight was the smartest one in the room.” He tutted.

Hey!” Twi whinged.

Chuckling, he asked how I’d figured it out, to which I pointed out his fatal flaw.

“You published My Little Dashie in Two-Thousand-and-Eleven, in which you mentioned how My Little Pony stopped airing after eight seasons. But when this lot showed up last year and our adventure began, Season Five hadn’t even finished airing yet. It’s not that hard to suss out really, you just have to connect the dots.”

Impressed, Alex gave a huff of amusement and clapped, shaking his head with approval.

“Well done, you got me. Although, I’d like to point out that I don’t hire a cleaner, I just have a lot of spare time, with which I like to spend keeping my house clean.”

Conceding, he bowed his head and told us his side of the story.

“I may have tweaked one or two details when writing about my time with Dashie. For starters, it doesn’t stop airing at eight seasons, it stops airing at nine. Before publishing the story, I decided to scratch one off, just to make sure I don’t get thousands of bronies going nuts in a few years, demanding to know how I was able to predict the future or whatever.”

OH MY GOSH, I’VE GOT IT!” Pinkie Pie shrieked, flinging her teacup halfway across the room, “YOU’VE BEEN TO THE FUTURE!

“For goodness’ sake, Pinkie!” Rarity barked, upon witnessing the cup shatter.

Bursting into laughter, Alex insisted that it was fine, and continued his story.

“At the end of My Little Dashie, I said that Twilight had cast a spell, and then they were all gone. This was, a lie. By that point, I had already told my truth, and I needed to end things on a nice simple note, which is why I ended it how I did.”

“Wait…” Twilight breathed, “I remember this! The Princess told me to use a memory spell on Rainbow Dash, the same one from when Discord returned. And once I did, she opened a portal and sent us back to Canterlot, and when we stepped through, she was already there on the other side! That was when she gathered us all together, and I guess, removed our memories. I woke up in my bed with Spike next to me, and that was the end of it.”

Without warning, Rainbow Dash started to cry again.

“Dashie? Oh Dashie, what’s wrong sweetie?” Alex sighed.

Clenching her jaw, the pegasus looked at Twilight, shaking.

“I remember it too, and I remember hating you, so much, because I knew that you were taking me away from…”

Clamping her eyes shut and hissing through gritted teeth, she went silent for a moment, before opening her mouth and releasing the most heartbreakingly broken cry I’d heard from her since the mutilation of her wings in Brazil.

You took me away from my daddy!

Burying her face into her hooves, Rainbow completely broke down again, with her words causing a knock-on effect on both Alex and Twilight, with the latter biting her bottom lip hard enough to break the skin. Dashie then clambered over into Alex’s lap and buried her face into his chest, practically bellowing into his torso.

I didn’t want to go! I didn’t care that I didn’t belong here, or that we were different! I just wanted to stay here with my daddy!

Fighting back his own tears, Alex tried to console his daughter, rocking her gently and stroking the back of her head, hushing softly to her. Gripping Twilight’s wrist, I tried to calm her down as well, for the unicorn was now rigid as a statue.

“Alright y’all, I’m putting my hoof down.” Applejack announced loudly, “We’ve been talking about a lot of heavy stuff, and it’s time for a little break now. Twilight, you go out with Callum for some fresh air, while Rainbow has some time with her dad. The rest of us are going back to the bus. Come on now, chop chop!”

Looking to Alex, we gave an understanding nod to one another, knowing that Applejack was right. After getting up and stretching, I gently ushered Twilight to her hooves.

“Your land’s not overlooked or anything, is it?” I asked Alex, who shook his head.

“It’s all private, feel free to go wherever.”

Dipping my head in thanks, we all left the building. I gave Applejack a quick hug and thanked her for making the call, to which she squeezed me back, and told me to do what I did best.



We went around to the side of the house, and as soon as no one else was in eyeshot, Twilight fell apart and crumbled to her knees. I sat beside her in silence for a good few minutes while she cried, with a hand on her foreleg, drawing little circles on it with my index finger.

“I’m so horrible.” She finally spoke, still weeping.

“Go on?” I replied, reserving my own emotions.

“When she said that just now… That I took her away from her dad, you know what I saw?”

Her body twitched and she threw her head to one side, before continuing.

“I saw you, in Portugal, beating me half to death for what I did to Bunnie. The others were trying to stop you, and you screamed at the top of your lungs, that I had taken away the only person who’d ever really love you.”

I stopped tracing circles, and held her foreleg tightly.

“Twilight, no…”

“I traumatised Rainbow Dash in those last moments. I ripped her away from a fifteen-year relationship, from the only one on this planet that loved her, and I knew that’s what I was doing…”

Her body continued to twitch lightly, as she cast her mind back.

“When you were screaming at me to save Bunnie, I knew that leaving her to die would ruin you, and I knew that, because there was this look in your eyes, this desperate look… And even if I didn’t consciously know it at the time, I knew I had seen those eyes before, and now I know where from. It had been Rainbow’s eyes, silently begging me not to change her memories, to let her stay with her dad.”

Raising her chin briefly, Twilight let out a shaky breath before continuing, trying to maintain control over the bubbling mass of emotions which strived to consume her.

“I was knowingly ripping apart a loving relationship, and I was ready to do it without hesitation… And as for Alex? Well, I did to him exactly what I did to you, I took away the most treasured individual in his life. And this was all before that monster got inside my head, before the Fel started, changing me… What if it never had anything to do with that? What if it’s just who I am, Callum? What if I’m just, bad, deep down?”

Her eyes widened, and she looked to face me.

“Am… Am I a bad pony? Like, am I just inherently, bad?”

“Oh, Twi…” I exhaled heavily.

Scooting around to sit in front of her, I stared into those big almond eyes of hers and cupped her cheek.

“Sweetheart, no… You aren’t bad, and don’t you ever think otherwise. Twilight, right now you are reeling from a lot of trauma, and you’re trying to rationalise it by making yourself the bad guy. You had been given a direct order from the Princess, to do the right thing, and you obeyed her.”

“B-But, if it was the right thing, then why did it cause so much pain?”

Another wave of tears began to flow from her eyes, slowly rolling down her cheeks until they were absorbed into her velvety fur. Combing my fingers through her mane, I assured her that she hadn’t done a damn thing wrong, and reminded her that sometimes the right thing, wasn’t always the good thing. For as wholesome as Rainbow Dash’s life with Alex had turned out to be, it was no less of a mistake, which needed correcting. A reminder of this helped Twilight to calm down, and after a moment of silence, she looked into my eyes.

“I just, wish there could have been another way.”

“I know…” I replied softly, “But there wasn’t, and that doesn’t make you a bad pony, okay?”

She dipped her head, and I lightly massaged the tips of my fingers into her scalp.

“Promise?” She whimpered.

Placing a finger under her chin and gently lifting it, I gained eye contact, and brought my face closer to hers.

“I promise.”

At last, she was able to stop crying, and began to slow her breathing, gradually calming down. Thankfully, she was able to take what I was saying on board; this came at a good time, for Alex and Rainbow Dash had come outside and were walking towards us.

“Twilight, your lip…” I murmured, noticing the blood.

Quickly licking some of it away, she told me that she was fine, and that it didn’t hurt. Whether she was lying or not, I couldn’t tell, nor could I further inquire as the other two reached us. Rainbow was the first to speak, hanging her head shamefully.

“Twilight, I’m really sorry for what I said. I just got so caught up in the memories, you know? I was pulled straight back to that moment and I just, blurted that out without thinking. Please, I know you were just doing what you needed to do, I don’t hate you, I promise!”

{Looks like Twi wasn’t the only one having a trauma response…} I mused to myself in thought.

Sniffing, Twilight accepted the apology and the two ponies made up with a tender hug. Alex looked at them fondly, before inviting us back indoors.

“Applejack definitely made the right call.” He said, as we walked back around to the front of the house.

“Yeah, she’s good at reading the room and knowing what to do.” I agreed, “And when she switches on ‘mum mode’ like that, you listen to what she says, no arguments.”

“Yeah, that’s AJ alright.” Dashie chuckled.

Spotting the four of us together, the others left the bus and made their way over to join us, and we all returned to the living room to pick up where we’d left off.



“So, I believe you were about to tell us how you’ve won life by travelling through time.” I teased, sitting back down on the sofa; Twilight hopped up beside me and leaned heavily against my arm.

“Hey, just so you know, it wasn’t my idea, it was Celestia’s.” Alex retorted.

“Whoever’s it was, spill the beans already!” Dashie demanded, shaking at her dad’s arm with both hooves.

Playfully batting away his daughter, he inhaled deeply through his nose and rolled his shoulders.

“Okay, so after Dashie’s original memories were restored, the Princess sent them through a portal and then promptly closed it, without going through it herself. Obviously I asked what she was doing, and that’s when she sat down and had a long talk with me. She asked me a bunch of stuff, like how well I’d kept Dashie hidden away and things like that, so I think she was worried that someone might have seen her.”

“Makes sense.” I shrugged.

“Yeah I guess so.” Alex agreed, “Well anyway, I swore that I’d kept Dashie well-hidden, but I don’t think Celestia wanted there to be any loose ends, at all. After promising that I could keep my photo album and Dashie’s letter, we went to my old house, back in the city. That’s when she told me to place a hand on her peytral, and under no circumstances was I to let go.”

“Her what?” Asked Josh.

“Her golden neck, chest thingy.” Alex clarified, gesturing to his neck.

“Oh, so that’s what that thing’s called…” I mused loudly.

Letting Alex continue, he went on to explain how he did as the Princess instructed.

“I held it tightly, and she began to use some sort of magic. Now I’m telling you, this shit was creepy as all hell to watch. Her horn went black as night, and these dark crystals started to grow all over it, and when they stopped growing, they started oozing this deep purple smoke.”

“That sounds like dark magic…” Twilight murmured.

“I thought that was called alicorn magic?” Rarity replied.

“Well, they’re one and the same.” Twi explained, “In truth, it’s dark magic, but unicorns are forbidden from using it, on account of it being too dangerous. With only the princesses being permitted to use it, the EMA publicly labelled it as alicorn magic.”

“Ah, I see.” Hummed Rarity.

“Uh, what’s the EMA exactly?” I inquired, tilting my head.

“The Equestrian Magic Administration.” Said Twilight, “They’re the ones who oversee all magical matters in the country. They decide the names for spells, whether they’re legal or not, and which ones should be taught in schools. Oh, and they also investigate any unlawful use of magic, and have Princess Celestia’s permission to make public arrests, if there’s enough incriminating evidence.”

“Oh my god, you guys basically have a magical FBI!” Josh pointed out, putting his hands atop his head.

“That’s actually amazing.” I chortled.

“Magic shmagic!” Rainbow Dash scoffed, “What happened next, Pops?”

Agreeing that we’d gone a little off-topic, Alex cleared his throat and told us what happened next.

“So, as Celestia started using this magic, the world around us began to distort. It was like, existence itself was shaking, glitching almost! Everything in the house kept changing properties, turning from solid objects to liquid and dust, swirling around in all directions, before eventually reforming back to normal. It was like some sort of drug-induced fever dream, but that wasn’t even the worst of it. The worst part, was Celestia herself.”

To this, Twilight gasped loudly, demanding to know what he meant. Shaking his head, Alex continued, blankly staring at the coffee table as he cast back his mind.

“Something was wrong with her, she was in pain, so much pain! It was like she was silently screaming, her whole body was writhing in weird directions, and I could literally see the muscles under her skin convulsing. And what’s worse, was that it looked like her skin was bubbling or something! Jeez man, one reason I didn’t write about this, was because of how goddamn terrifying it was…”

Every single one of us stared at him with our mouths agape. Never in a million years did I see this coming; My Little Dashie had always been nothing more than a melancholy story, between a father and a daughter, with a straightforward ending. But now, I was learning about this most horrifying twist.

“When at last things returned to normal, she straight up collapsed, and I had to help her onto the couch while she recovered. I fetched her a glass of water, which was when she explained to me what had really happened.”

Alex paused for a moment to clear his throat, which caused the lot of us to lean in, desperate to hear the rest; he savoured the suspense for a moment, before continuing.

“You see, Celestia didn’t just rewind time, because if she had, it would have messed things up. I don’t know exactly what she meant, but she said something about a paradox and possibly damaging the workings of time itself. No, what she did was far more incredible, she somehow found a way to make time continue normally, but for fifteen years, it continued, backwards.

“Oh my gosh… Oh my gosh! That makes so much sense!” Twilight shouted, throwing her hooves up into the air.

“I, what?” I blurted out, dumbfounded.

Everyone else, bar Twilight, was just as confused.

“It’s okay, I didn’t understand it at first either.” Alex laughed, “To be honest, I still don’t really get it. It doesn’t matter though, because what I know for certain, is that she was able to bring me back by fifteen years, to just a few days before I found Dashie. But this time, I wouldn’t find her in that box, because it had already happened!”

“Uh, is it just me, or did that make it even more confusing?” Applejack asked.

“It’s not just you darling.” Rarity assured, rubbing at one of her temples.

“What about you, Cal? Figured it out yet?” Twilight probed, grinning from ear to ear.

“If I say yes, do I have to elaborate?”

“Yes.”

“Then no.”

Giggling, a very excited Twilight tried her best to explain things as simplistically as possible.

“Okay, so time normally flows in a straight line right? Imagine a line of chalk being drawn on an endless blackboard. Normally, tampering with time means erasing the chalk, and redrawing it, which can be disastrous if you don’t know what you're doing.”

“Alright, I’m following so far.” I murmured.

“Well, instead of erasing the chalk and tampering with the timeline that way, whatever spell she used, made it curve backwards. This means that time went in the opposite direction, which is not the same as reversing it.”

“How are those not the same thing?” Said Rarity, now completely and utterly bewildered.

“Because rewinding time would be like erasing the chalk on the blackboard, you’re just forcing everything back to a previous point in time. If you retain your future memory, you might be able to do a few things differently, but inevitably, everything’s pretty much going to play out in the exact same way.”

“And that would be a time loop, correct?” I added for clarification.

“Correct!”

Bouncing up and down like the adorkable numpty she was, Twilight was finally back in her true element, with her scientific mind finally getting a complex subject to dive into. Absolutely beaming, she continued to educate me.

“By naturally continuing the flow of time, just in the wrong direction, the Princess could allow everything to return to its state before Rainbow’s arrival, without causing a loop, because Equestria’s timeline was allowed to continue normally. This meant that Alex would never find Rainbow in that box, because it had already happened fifteen years ago, in the past, on the exact same timeline!”

“Holy shit, I actually think I’m getting this.” I muttered, more to myself, “So, it’s almost like there have been two pasts? Rainbow Dash came to Earth and Alex raised her in the past-past, and then Celestia took him back to a future-past? And our timeline is now something of a zigzag, or an ‘S’ shape, am I getting that right?”

Twilight squealed loudly and lunged forward, wrapping her hooves around me and shaking me around like a bloody rag doll.

“Yes! Yes yes, yes yes!

“I have the smarts!” I wailed as she shook me, laughing.

“I’m still completely lost.” Applejack groaned, rubbing the back of her neck.

The others were still struggling to get to grips with the concept, but as Alex had said, it didn’t really matter; what was important was that it had worked. Still, Twilight tried, and failed, one further attempt to help the others understand, before she allowed Alex to finish up his side of the tale.

“After resting on my couch for a while to recover, the Princess bid me farewell. She opened a portal, and stepped through, and that was that. From there, I started a brand-new life, I spent a few weeks gathering myself and trying to remember exactly where my life was at fifteen years prior. Then, once I got my bearings, I took out a loan, and started making hefty bets on future events. I’m talking presidential races, talent show winners, winning sports teams, stock options, you name it.”

“Called it.” I spoke, snapping my fingers.

“Hell yeah you did, I’ve been raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars on a monthly basis for the past few years now, I can basically pull money out of thin air. Whenever I want to get something expensive, or just feel like my bank needs topping up, I’ll put half a million bucks on whichever upcoming bet has the best return rate, if I remember the outcome of course, and boom! A few weeks later, I have enough money to buy a private island in the Bahamas!”

“Hah! My daddy’s rich, suck it chumps!” Dashie hooted.

Every one of us exploded into laughter, with Pinkie almost falling off the back of the couch where she had been perched. Tutting and shaking his head, Alex reached over and ruffled his daughter’s mane.

“Well, I’m not going to say that I’m not.” He admitted, “But it’s never been about that, not really. I’ve just taken full advantage of the situation. In truth, I’m just happy with my hobbies. Working on my trucks, listening to my records, drinking the finest whiskey you ever did see, and writing stories.”

“So, dumb question, but speaking of stories, you’ve written a bunch of them on Fimfiction. I’m guessing none of those are real?” Josh quizzed, shrugging.

“Oh god no!” Alex laughed, “No, I wrote My Little Dashie as a way of preserving the memories, so that I could look back and relive some of the best days of my life. Then there came a point where I wanted to tell my story to the world, I wanted them to know somehow, but I also couldn’t have them actually believe me! It had to be a work of fiction, nothing more. So after a few weeks of tweaking, I uploaded it, which is when I got such a huge response from the brony community! In just a few months, I got what I wished for, the world finally knew my story.”

Smirking, Alex looked at Rainbow Dash and corrected himself.

Our story… That’s when I realised how much I loved writing, and I didn’t want to stop. So, with my truth already written about, I took to writing actual fanfiction. Since then, I’ve put out a handful of other little silly tales and one-shots. Nothing as significant as My Little Dashie, but it’s fun to write them.
But anyway, that’s the story, pardon the pun.”

Taking in a big breath of air and stretching, Alex concluded his account; and after a moment of everyone silently taking in all the details, I snapped my fingers and grinned.

“I told you it would be an interesting story!”

Everyone chuckled, before Alex brought things back to the present.

“So, what’s your plan exactly? Were you wanting to stay here for a while? I’ve got two guest bedrooms, and this couch is comfy as heck to sleep on, so you’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like.”

“That would be great.” I replied, dipping my head, “We were wanting to give Rainbow Dash at least a week with you before we took off again.”

“Of course, mi casa es su casa! I’ll go make the beds!”

With the plan set, the girls went back to the bus to retrieve their bags, gearing up to move into our new base. Once we’d been given the house tour and had settled down, Alex asked if there was anything in particular we’d like to do for the evening. Not even missing a beat, Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest, fluffed up her wings, and scowled at her father.

“Order some pizza, and get the VHS ready.”

Storming up to Alex, she plonked a hoof against his chest and glared into his eyes.

“We’re watching Titanic, and this time, we’re watching both the damn tapes!


Chapter Twenty: For Future Reference

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“No, not that.”

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

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

Exhaling heavily, I realised what he meant.

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

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

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

“What are you smiling at?”

“Nothing.” she lied.

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

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

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

“It’s stupid.” she muttered quietly.

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

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

“Mm-hmm.”

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

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

“I don’t know, I guess…”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Goodnight Twi.”

“Goodnight Cal.”

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

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

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

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

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

“Yeah…” I replied, “Never better…”



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Wait, what!?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I won’t, promise.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Sounds like a plan.” I replied.

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Ugh, the red hats…” Rainbow grumbled.

“You remember, Dashie?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dashie!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Jeez…”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Toilet paper, why?” I asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Oh…”

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

“Should I have not told you?”

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

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

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

“Oops.”

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

“How come?” Josh asked.

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

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

“That’s, really beautiful actually…”

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

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

“Yeah, we all are.” Fluttershy added.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Our place by the woods?” said Rainbow.

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

“Goodness…” Fluttershy whimpered.

“When did this happen?” asked Rarity.

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

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

“Really? You’d do that?”

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

“What if I went tomorrow night?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Uh, absolutely!”

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Sure!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“For real?” I laughed.

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

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

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

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

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

“Ah, I see.”

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

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

“I can see that.” Twilight giggled.

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

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

“Correct.”

Bursting into laughter, Twilight snatched the controller from me.

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

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

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

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

“Get good, bitch.”


Chapter Twenty-One: Man to Man

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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.”


Chapter Twenty-Two: The Night Terror

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Twilight and I slept in until it was almost midday, and we came downstairs to find everyone else pottering about here and there, doing their own thing. Applejack was outside with Alex, learning more about his trucks, Rainbow Dash was taking a nap in her chair, and the others were in the living room, listening intently to Josh as he told stories of his work, and some of the worst disaster zones he had been to while providing relief aid.

“Well, look who’s finally up!” Rarity sang upon spotting us.

Yawning, I gave everyone a groggy wave, while Twilight grumbled that she needed coffee. Alex was just coming indoors with Applejack and overheard the mare, in which he offered to brew a pot for us both.

“That would be lush, cheers.” I said with a friendly smile.

Dipping his head, he zipped into the kitchen and I hopped onto the sofa, at which point Twilight asked if we could play some more Dark Souls, which I was more than happy to do. I fired up the Xbox and we sat on the couch together, and once Alex had brought us our coffee and some late breakfast, we both perked up and had a very enjoyable start to the latter half of the day.

“So, I’ve just had a thought.” Josh hummed.

“Do tell?” I replied.

“The next piece of the Orb, it’s out somewhere in the Pacific, on an island right?”

“Yeah?”

“How exactly are you going to get to it?”

Still focusing on the game, I summed up to Josh that he was going to drop us all off at a dock somewhere on the West Coast. From there, we would find a boat, and just as we reached America from Morocco, we would sail our way to the island.

“And hopefully not come across any gun-toting pirates this time.” Twilight grumbled, rubbing at her lightly scarred shoulder.

“Hopefully not, no.” I tutted, exhaling heavily from my nose.

Casting my mind back, I shuddered at that haunting moment, when Rainbow Dash had informed me that Twilight had been hit; she was very lucky not to have been killed that day…

“Shame you guys can’t just fly there or something.” Alex tutted, bringing me back to the present.

“That would be faster.” Rarity agreed with a huff of amusement.

“Well don’t look at me.” Dashie chuckled, stretching, “I’ve already done my fair share of carrying your butts across the ocean for hours.”

Chuckling, Alex stated that he was thinking more along the lines of an aeroplane, which was when I hummed thoughtfully.

“You know, I think I recall Rommel being able to fly a plane.”

“Really?” said Twi, tilting her head.

Nodding, I explained that I quite distinctly remember Mel once claiming to know how to fly planes, and that he had spent years learning how. This was when Alex came up with an absolutely revolutionary idea.

“Tell you what, let’s say this guy can fly a plane…” he started, “What if I bought you guys a seaplane or something? I could get it stored at an airfield near the West Coast, and pay to have it stocked up with extra fuel. Then once you get down there, you can just hop aboard and Rommel can fly you wherever you need to go!”

Everyone started nodding and murmuring in agreement, all very keen on the idea, myself included. With a thoughtful grunt, I passed the Xbox controller to Twilight, who continued to play Dark Souls in my stead. Meanwhile, I took Alex’s laptop and logged into Skype, deciding to get in touch with Mel as quickly as possible to confirm whether he was actually capable of flying or not.

Hey Mel, how goes prepping for the mission?

I pressed enter to send, and it didn’t take long for him to reply.

Going good, my boss was sad to see me quit, and has offered me my position if I ever decide to come back, so that’s good. I’ll be on the road in like a day or two.

After congratulating him on having a job to return to, I decided to get to the point.

That’s bloody fantastic mate, happy for you!
So, a new potential prospect has come up… Our next stop is an island out in the Pacific, and Alex is possibly going to get us a seaplane to get there quicker, but we need a pilot.
I can’t remember if I’m imagining this or not, but aren’t you able to fly a plane?
Correct me if I’m wrong.

After a good five minutes, we received our answer.

You remember correctly!
I can fly all sorts of planes, seaplanes included.
Might be a little rusty, granted, but I can for sure fly one.
If you need a pilot, I’m your guy.

“We have ourselves a pilot!” I hollered loudly.

Everyone responded with hoots of celebration, and Alex clapped his hands together.

“Right then, guess I have a few phone calls to make!”

Pouring himself a glass of whiskey, Dashie’s father excitedly went off to his study, where he proceeded to research how to acquire a seaplane, and all the other errands and tasks which would need orchestrating. I thanked Mel for confirming so quickly that he was up for the job, and closed the laptop upon receiving his simple reply of “no problem”.

“This is so exciting, we get to fly again!” Twilight squeaked.

I chuckled, and pointed out that this time around, everyone would get to look out of the windows and actually enjoy the flight, instead of being shut inside the cargo hold for the whole time.

“What about the pressure spell we needed last time?” Rarity pointed out.

I plonked myself back next to Twilight and explained how seaplanes didn’t go as high as airliners, so pressurised cabins and such weren’t necessary. Everyone hummed in understanding, and I took the controller back from Twilight after she died to a tough enemy in the game. We took to taking turns after every death, which ended up being a lot of fun, and we continued playing for a good few hours.

Eventually, we decided to let the others watch regular television, at which point Alex emerged from his study to inquire as to when I planned to visit his old house to investigate the missing persons case.

“I’ll head out when it starts getting dark.” I told him, “How goes it with the plane?”

“It’s going good.” he replied merrily, “I’ve been on the phone to some specialist, who’s been walking me through all the best models and stuff, along with airstrips on the West Coast that’ll be willing to hold a private plane. I’m disguising things as a scientific expedition of sorts, so if anyone asks, you and Rommel are ambitious explorers with a wealthy benefactor.”

Giving him a thumbs up, I praised the clever façade.

“I still need to tie everything together.” he continued, “But by the sounds of things, this is totally doable!”

The thought of comfortably flying across the sea together had all the girls rife with excitement. I was excited too; for as much as Alex’s hospitality was a much-needed break from the mission, I couldn’t wait to get back into the action.


A couple more hours passed, and as the sky began to darken, I chowed down on an early supper, before gearing up for my voluntary detective work.

“Think you’ll actually find anything?” asked Twilight as I came back downstairs.

Shrugging, I told her that I highly doubted it, but if there was something I could do to put Alex’s mind at ease, I’d happily investigate. Both Josh and Alex offered to drive me closer to the address, but I declined, insisting honestly that I could do with a nice long walk. They both shrugged and dipped their heads in understanding.

“It’s only two hours away on foot, and the Titans' Champion really ought to get his steps in.” I joked, stretching.

The others laughed, and I added that I also didn’t want to get too accustomed to being driven around everywhere, as I wouldn’t have that luxury upon reaching the West Coast. Alex hummed in understanding, and I knelt down to put my shoes on. Twilight asked if I would be wearing my collar, clearly wanting to check in with me while I was gone. Wanting to have my thoughts to myself for a little while, I shook my head.

“I’ll take one of Josh’s extra phones and give you a buzz if anything happens.”

“Okay fine, but can you at least take your sword?”

Lifting my shirt and giving her a sly look, I revealed Vitra ‘Aku’s handle, already slotted into the void sheathe and clipped to my belt. Rolling her eyes with a smirk, Twilight tutted.

“Aww, did da dumb-dumb hooman fink of somefing before da smarty-pony-pants did?” I teased, cupping my hands together and putting on a deep toddler-talk voice.

“Ugh, shut up!” she giggled, playfully shoving me, “I’m just worried about you.”

“I’m going to be fine, quit your worrying.” I said, ruffling her mane.

“Ooh, I have an idea! What if you took my bag?” Fluttershy suggested, “That way, for Twilight’s peace of mind, you’ll have a hiding place for emergencies. And, if you find anything important, you can bring it back to show us!”

“That’s a great idea!” Dashie exclaimed, giving Flutters a hefty pat on the shoulder.

The yellow pegasus raised her chin and beamed with pride, ruffling her wings with delight; we all agreed that it was a superb idea, and she zipped off to retrieve it. Shuffling with annoyance and blinking rapidly, Twilight muttered that she was about to propose the idea herself. Turning to face her, I puckered my lips and put on the deep toddler-voice once more.

“Aww, did da shy widdle pegasus come up with da smarty-bookie-pony’s plan first?”

“Uugghh!”

After giving me a much firmer shove, Twilight strutted up to me and pressed herself against my body, looking up to face me and blowing a big raspberry, to which everyone laughed. I responded by blowing at her face as hard as possible; she flattened her ears and backed away from me, pretending to cough and gag.

“Stinky breath!” she spluttered.

“Stinky face!” I retorted childishly.

“Stinky, uh…” she trailed off, trying to think of something witty.

Clearing her throat loudly, Rarity interrupted our playful spat and insisted that I should be going. Nodding with a grin, I caught Fluttershy’s bag as she gently tossed it to me, and I slung it over my shoulder, putting my arms through the straps. Josh then passed me one of his phones, to which I opened Google Maps and put in the address of Alex’s old house. Heading to the front door, I gave the girls each a little hug and bid them farewell.

“Hey, thanks for doing this for me.” said Alex, “I really do appreciate it.”

“Of course mate.” I replied, “I’ll see you all shortly.”

I made my way onto the front deck and down the steps, before taking myself on a lovely little evening stroll…


Taking my time, I slowly trekked along the long rural road, which went on for miles, literally. Along the way, I pondered to myself about how far I had come, and how vastly I had changed as a human being. I was very much not the awkward fat kid in Ifield anymore, hopelessly trying to find a direction in life, with the plan to inevitably take my own life when things didn’t shape up. My confidence was at an all-time high, and where I would once cower in fear at high-intensity situations, I now thrived in them, knowing how to take charge and manage not only myself, but others as well.
Never had I liked social situations, I could barely handle a lengthy conversation with my own dad back in the day; my solitude was my safe place, where I was happy to dwell at all given times. The only exceptions were my online friends and a handful of schoolmates, like my old pals Harry, Scott, Bruce, and George.
But here I was, not even a full year into my new life, and I genuinely revelled in a good chinwag; I actually looked forward to a verbal exchange. It was obvious that I owed it to the girls, for they had allowed me to emerge from my shell and genuinely enjoy the art of conversation.

As for the elephant in the room, I was now truly at peace with being a killer. Everything that happened in Brazil and Portugal had certainly given me the capability to take human life with ease, but there had still been an inner turmoil that dwelled within, secretly gnawing away at me. I used to think about the lives of everyone I had cut down; what their names might have been, who their parents were, what flow of circumstances had brought them to someday die by my hand, and what lives they would be living now, had I not parted them from their mortal coils. I used to feel like there could have been another way, that if I had done things differently, then maybe, just maybe, I could have spared them all.

The toughest part of the mental battle had been when I had entered my own brainscape with Twilight and Hawnu Rey’eng, to bring an end to Nah’Lek’s shade. I had awoken inside a malformed version of the mansion in Portugal, where I was confronted with all the people I had killed thus far, their faces still as fresh as when I had last seen them. After that harrowing encounter, I had dissociated from the concept of killing for a good while, pushing away all and any emotion I felt about the subject. But upon acquiring the Titans’ Sword, I was forced to connect with it again, when I was ordained to kill my ally-turned-friend, Stardust Moonshimmer, in ritual combat. When I emerged victorious from that battle, and pushed Vitra ‘Aku into his trachea, I crossed a threshold with my place as a taker of life. As I watched the light leave my friend’s eyes, it dawned on me that life, treasured as it ought to be, was also as fleeting as the wind. Nobody was to live forever, even the very Titans had been consumed by one of their own, living on only in falsehood, as a looped memory within their holy blade; if even gods had their time to die, then so did people. Life was a stage, and men were props upon it. They were nothing more than conscious mounds of meat and blood, with a bit of bone to keep it all standing, and if their choices in life led them to pose hindrance or harm to myself or those I cared for, then at no one’s fault but their own, would they find themselves at my mercy, with which I had every right to deny.

This wasn’t to say that I enjoyed killing, not anymore. In truth, I had once felt a rush, a sense of euphoria as I manually outlived another human soul. I was like a teenager with sex on the brain, as though nothing else in life could possibly be better than that sweet adrenaline-fuelled finish. As I had once said to Rainbow Dash, taking another life had felt like winning. But I was over that now, at last on the other side of a long and arduous mental tug-of-war. My mind was finally clear, and I could see everything from a broader, wiser perspective. I no longer craved that animalistic drive to ‘win’, but I also no longer feared it…


Nearing Alex’s old house, I put my inner thoughts to bed. I turned into the dirt road that led up to the property and got my head in the game. Thankfully the moon was out, allowing me to see quite clearly as I approached.

“Huh, so this is where Dashie grew up.” I mumbled to myself as the house came into view.

Seeing the place, even under the concerning circumstances, was mind-boggling for me. To think, Rainbow Dash literally grew up in this house, and flew around in the fields, and wandered the expansive woodland just behind the building.

Wanting to be thorough in my search, I decided to check the mailbox, where I found plenty of correspondence addressed to the missing residents, but nothing for Alex. If the fan-mail had been sent, it surely would have been here by now, meaning that it had either been taken, or that it didn’t exist in the first place. Looking to the front door, I noticed that it was slightly ajar, which had me immediately on-guard. I put my hand on Vitra ‘Aku’s handle and slowly made my advance. Listening carefully, I heard nothing but the wind, lightly whistling through the trees behind the house. After a good twenty-odd seconds, I gradually opened the door and slipped inside, making sure to return it back to its original position, just in case.

The first thing I noticed was the sheer state of the place. There was dirt tracked all around the entryway, with belongings and debris scattered all over the floor, it was like a bloody hurricane had been to visit. The next thing I noticed was the smell; wrinkling my nose, I picked up the thick scent of mildew and black mould, along with rotting food. I went into the kitchen to find the fridge was unpowered and wide open, with decomposing fruits and vegetables inside. The back door which faced the woodland beyond, was wide open, where a great deal of loose cobwebs could be seen; they drifted to and fro in the languid nighttime breeze, as though they were reaching out for something to cling onto. On the countertop by the stove, there was a large raw chicken, half-eaten and now spoiled, accounting for a great deal of the repugnant stench in the air.

“What the fuck happened here?” I muttered.

Continuing to snoop around, I made my way up to the bedroom, gritting my teeth anxiously as the stairs creaked loudly. Both bedrooms were just as messy and ransacked as the downstairs was, it was like someone had gone from room to room, savagely pulling everything apart. Had they done this out of mindless bedlam? Or were they looking for something, or someone?
Had they been looking for Alex?

Making my way back downstairs and into another room, I picked up a far worse smell, and it wasn’t coming from the kitchen; it smelled like bile and human waste. I reluctantly followed my nose and found a door which led down into the basement, and upon opening it, the smell quadrupled in strength. Putting the back of my hand to my mouth, it took every fibre of my being not to wretch. Edging down the narrow stairwell, I picked up the sound of buzzing flies, and upon reaching the bottom, it grew too dark to properly see. I withdrew Vitra ‘Aku for a light source, and quickly spotted what was causing the smell. My eyes practically bulged out of their damn sockets, and I was left briefly petrified by the sight before me, unable to even breathe.

Bound in rope and suspended from the back wall, were two people, of whom I could only presume were the missing homeowners. Their wet lifeless bodies glistened in the low light, and as I grew closer, I realised that they had been completely stripped down.
Not of clothing, but of skin

“What… the… fuck?” I murmured.

The flayed couple had presumably been dead for days, with the stink of rot being so strong that I could barely think straight. My eyes glossed over, and my stomach began performing somersaults. Gagging a handful of times, I held my blade up to the bodies to get a better look at them, shaking my head in disbelief. Their faces were frozen in place, contorted with terror and anguish, their final moments had most assuredly been more unbearable than anything I could have possibly conjured up.
Looking down at their bloodstained and mangled skin, piled on the floor, I shuddered. It legitimately terrified me to imagine what inhuman thoughts dwelled within the person capable of doing this, what reveries of chronic and sustained cruelty. Not even Inigo and his cartel were this sinister, nor was Hoyt and his Privateers. No, whoever did this was a truly sick-minded and exceptionally dangerous individual.

Studying the bodies further, my attention was drawn to the rope which bound them to the wall. It was incredibly thin, yet evidently strong enough to suspend a corpse without stretching or breaking. I touched it lightly with my finger and thumb to find that it was incredibly sticky, as though it had been doused in clear tar, and it dawned on me that this wasn’t rope.

It was web…

The pieces came together, and every hair on my body stood on end, and hundreds of icy needles prickled along my spine. Aside from my quivering jaw, I became as rigid as the faces of the victims before me, their perpetual terror, rippling through my very soul. Swaying slightly, I realised that I needed to get out of here, right now. Tightening my grip on Vitra ‘Aku, I turned around and practically fell up the stairs, which was when I heard the rumble of a car engine. Darting into the living room, I looked out the window and spotted a vehicle outside with its headlights on; the engine was then cut and the doors opened.

{Bag, the bag!} I thought rapidly. {Get in the fucking bag!}

Sheathing my blade, I took Fluttershy’s saddlebag off and rushed to the far end of the room, taking no time at all to place it on a cluttered waist-high cabinet and clamber inside. I then stuck my arm out to squash the bag down, rendering myself almost completely undetectable. The front door was pushed open, and three men entered. Their boots thudded around from room to room, before they gathered in the living room, which was when one of them spoke. His voice was raspy, more than raspy, the man sounded like he had smoked ten packs a day for the past sixty years.

“I don’t see why we all had to come here. You’re seriously telling me that with all that damn power, he can’t just send us a fucking memo?”

“Hey, if you want to complain, be my guest.” another spoke, “But personally, I’d rather not end up like the old prunes downstairs.”

That was when the third joined in.

“Shut it, the both of you. Look, none of us want to be here, so let’s just find out what it wants, and then we can all be on our way.”

All three men had unnaturally deep raspy voices, but for as unsettling as they sounded, none of them compared to the fourth voice, as it rippled through the room.

What I want... is closer than it has ever been.

Stifling a gasp, I looked out through a thin gap in the bag, where I spotted the men facing the kitchen door, bowing their heads in reverence toward the owner of the voice, of whom I knew all too well. With a multitude of heavy clacks, the inky bewhiskered limbs came into sight, with the chitinous shell faintly glinting in the moonlight. And then at last, in all his bone-chilling eminence, Nah’Lek the Defiler revealed himself.



Tears formed in my eyes and my hands began to tremble at the sight of him; seeing his shade in a brainscape had been one thing, but to witness him here in the flesh, in the waking world? To put it simply, I had been thankful not to have had a full bladder, for I had lost all control of that.

“We’ve been trying our best to find him.” one of the men began, “We keep making new accounts online to message him, but he just won’t take the bai-euuh!

Without warning, he was seized by the throat and lifted into the air, where he began frantically kicking out and wheezing loudly. The other two men watched silently as their compatriot was strangulated, before being released just milliseconds from the point of blacking out. Coughing and spluttering, he scrambled away from the looming monstrosity, cowering in fear.

“We’ll search harder.” one of the others spoke, refusing to look up.

Not responding, The Defiler strode past them and towards my hiding place, where he looked out of the living room window and clicked his mandibles loudly.

“I am relocating.” he began, “There have been whisperings that he may dwell in the adjacent town, Durand. I’m taking my orcs there, where I shall acquire some more competent thralls.”

{Orcs? He’s travelling with orcs?}

Continuing to quiver uncontrollably, I lay there in the bag with my mouth loosely agape, my heart practically in my throat, thudding like it had never thudded before. I was breathing so fast that my lungs were practically vibrating.

“And what of us? Are we to keep searching for Alex?” the second man spoke.

{So they were looking for him…} I thought, gulping.

“You are.” Nah’Lek confirmed, “You have a week to bring me something worth my attention, before I return to claim back the gift that has been bestowed upon you, in addition to your worthless lives.”

Coughing, the first man rubbed at his throat, and asked how they were supposed to contact him if he was relocating. Nah’Lek drew the staff from his back and there was a bright green flash; it was Fel magic. I then watched as he slipped a shiny black stone into the man’s hand.

“What is this?” he quizzed.

“A rune.”

Walking past the man and conjuring another two stones for the others, Nah’Lek explained that he could sense magic, permitting that it was potent enough.

“It is how I know they are close.” he elaborated, “The unicorn, Rarity, has been casting spells, weak ones. For many days, I have sensed them growing closer. She need only cast a more prominent one, and then I will have them.”

Placing his staff upon his back, Nah’Lek explained that forcibly breaking apart their runes would release a strong magical burst, of which he would detect, and then arrive swiftly to their location.

“Should you break your rune, and have nothing for me…” The Defiler began, before trailing off.

“The folks downstairs, I get it.” the third man huffed.

“Be sure that you do.”

It was then that a text came through on Josh’s phone, causing it to vibrate in my back pocket. Nah’Lek’s head twitched, and he ordered his enslaved lackeys to be silent; I cupped my mouth to mask my shaky breath, and I clamped my eyes shut in terror. The Defiler remained perfectly motionless for a good few seconds, before he spoke at last, and his choice of words filled me with dread.

“We are not… alone.”

Slowly moving my hand to Vitra ‘Aku, I prepared myself; not that I would pose much of a threat to the demigod, but if I was going to die, it would be with sword in hand. Nah’Lek ordered one of the men to investigate the kitchen, who obeyed without hesitation. For an abysmally uncomfortable moment, there was silence, before the man could be heard screaming out in panic.

“Oh shit! Bear! Bear!

There was an almighty crash, and the man came running back into the living room, with an enormous black bear charging after him; it must have come from the woodland behind the house, drawn to the potent smells in the kitchen. Slinking across the room in the blink of an eye, Nah’Lek unsheathed his blades and skewered the animal in two places, lifting it into the air. Then with his powerful mandibles, he tore out half of the poor creature’s throat, bringing an end to the sudden and unexpected encounter.

“Holy shit!” the first man wheezed, still clutching at his neck.

After removing his blades from the body and sheathing them at his sides, Nah’Lek seized the bear by its head, skewering one of its eyes in the process. Scooping it up like it weighed nothing at all, he coiled inward and began rotating the animal with his legs, encasing it in a cocoon of webbing.

“This will conciliate my company for a time, the orcs’ demand for meat never yields.”

Coldly announcing his departure, Nah’Lek reached for his staff once again and pressed the lower end into the wall, muttering some sort of incantation. Within seconds, a large shadowy portal manifested, and from my hiding place, I was just able to witness the two hulking figures on the other side, sitting on a log by a campfire; their skin, green as grass. Nah'Lek then clambered through, dragging the webbed carcass behind him. Without looking back, he reminded his three servants of what little time they had.

“Seven days.”

The portal closed, and all three men emitted great sighs of relief. I too, released a sigh, blinking away the tears in my eyes. Slumping against the wall and sliding down to a sitting position, the strangled man began to weep to himself. The other two remained standing, with one of them pacing around the room anxiously.

“How the hell are we supposed to find this guy in one week?”

“We’ll go from door to door if we have to.” another replied.

“Every door in Owosso? Within a week, yeah?”

“If that’s what it takes man!”

{I can’t let them get away.} I thought to myself, {I have to kill them, here and now.}

Continuing to pace around, the third man suggested running away as far as possible, to which the second one scoffed loudly.

“Did you miss the part where it can open portals to wherever the fuck it wants? There’s no running from this, we just need to do what it tells us to do! That way, we might actually get our goddamn lives back!”

“I just want to see my kids!” whimpered the first man.

Why? Why did he have to say that? Exhaling slowly and clenching my jaw, I forced myself to commit, knowing that Nah’Lek wouldn’t spare these men anyway; never would that monster be so merciful. With the real danger out of the way, I stealthily reached out of the bag and removed the clutter above me, before clambering out while no one was looking.

“I just can’t believe a bear came in like that.” the third man murmured.

“Well I’m glad it did, otherwise I think Nah’Lek might have caught on to me.” I said dryly, making my presence known.

“Huh? Who the fuck are yo-”

Before he could finish, I thrust Vitra ‘Aku into his throat and slid the blade sideways, severing his spine and killing him immediately. Not giving the others a chance to react, I darted towards them and dispatched the second man, slicing downwards to open him up from shoulder to belly-button. The last one scrambled to his feet, and I held the blade out to rest at his throat. Realising that this was a fight he couldn’t win, he lowered his arms and looked at me with desperation, and in the faint blue glow of my sword, I came to understand why their voices sounded so unnaturally raspy.
The man’s frightened eyes shimmered with an emerald green hue, and his skin was as grey and colourless as a pile of soot. His fingernails and teeth had grown out into unevenly warped, pointy dark prongs, and his clothes were stretched and torn, no longer able to fit his forcibly enlarged frame. These poor men had been infected with the Fel, warping their very flesh, making them more demon than man.

“I’m so sorry.” I sighed.

“Are you… going to stop him? That… thing?” he croaked, tears rolling down his ashen face.

“Yes, I am.”

“Good… That’s good…”

Closing his eyes, the man fell to his knees and allowed me to strike him down, swiftly and painlessly separating head from body. His soul, tarnished with Fel, drifted from his neck and into the sword, where it was immediately purified, now ready to either heal me, or become a part of me; one way or another, these men were no more.

At some point, the authorities would come here and find the bodies, and the last thing they needed was to accidentally summon the living incarnation of death. Rummaging through their pockets, I took the runestones Nah’Lek had given them and slipped all three into Fluttershy’s bag, before sealing the compartment and putting it on my back. I emerged from the front door and dizzily stumbled away from the house. The adrenaline quickly began to subside, with intense shock taking its place, and after just several steps, I keeled over and proceeded to be violently sick. Shivering profusely, I forced myself to put one foot in front of the other, and made the long walk back to Alex’s house.


By the time I eventually made it back, I had thrown up at least three more times. My vision was blurred and my teeth were chattering, to the point of nearly cracking against one another. The door was already unlocked, and I stepped into the entryway.

“Did I just hear the door?” Alex’s voice came from the living room.

“Ooh, I think Callum’s back!” Rarity sang.

I stepped into the lounge, and everyone’s faces rapidly turned to a unanimous expression of absolute dread upon seeing the state of me. They rushed over, gasping loudly and demanding to know what happened.

“Talk to us man!” Alex insisted, “What happened? What did you see?”

“Is that… Is that blood on you?” Josh gasped.

“Oh goodness, he’s been sick!” Rarity cried out, “Someone get him some water! Sit him down!”

Alex rushed to the kitchen, and the others escorted me to the armchair beside Dashie’s, where I slumped down into an exanimate heap, staring out into space. Fluttershy grabbed some tissues and wiped at my mouth, and the others frantically tried to figure out how else to be helpful.

“He looks like he’s seen a ghost!” shouted Dashie.

“Has he been drugged or something?” said Josh.

Applejack nudged me gently, and lowered her head in an attempt to garner eye-contact from me.

“Babe, can you tell us what happened?”

I looked straight through her and continued to stare out into nothingness; I felt as dead as the bodies in that house. Rife with confusion and panic, everyone took turns in trying to prompt a response from me.

Everyone but Twilight.

“No…” she breathed, taking a step back from me.

“What is it Twi?” said AJ.

Looking at me intensely and shaking her head, Twilight continued backing away from me, repeating the word ‘no’ over and over again, louder each time. She began to hyperventilate, descending into a full-blown panic attack, until she was in a state even worse than mine, glaring at me with wild unblinking eyes and shrieking at me at the top of her lungs.

NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!

I slowly raised my head to look at the mare with a vacant expression, and as my friend bellowed at me with such hysteria, I thought back to the bodies in the basement. The looks on their faces, the anguish, the torment, the unparalleled agony; Twilight had the exact same expression.

The utter despair set in, and my face began to scrunch up as I started sobbing uncontrollably, and it finally dawned on the others as to what was happening here, at last they understood…

Nah’Lek was here.


Chapter Twenty-Three: A Waking Nightmare

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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.


Chapter Twenty-Four: A Bumpy Ride on the Road to Recovery

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Looking up from the map on Josh’s phone, I noted that we had a long old journey ahead of us. With a good thirty to forty hours of road between here and the airstrip in California, there was no way that we would be making the trip in one continuous drive.

“How many stops do you think we should make?” I asked openly.

“As few as possible.” Twilight grumbled with her head drooped, lightly swaying from side to side.

Turning my head to the exhausted unicorn, I reminded her that she wasn’t the one driving. Looking to Josh, I asked how long he was comfortable staying behind the wheel. He proposed that we broke the trip down into four parts, with three overnight stays in hotels, before making the last leg to the airstrip. Being in full agreement, the girls and I looked at one another with enthusiasm, while Rommel gave a perplexed frown.

“Uh, how exactly are we going to get six ponies into a hotel with no one noticing?” he asked.

Looking to him with a smirk, I tilted my head towards Fluttershy, who opened her saddlebag and squeezed inside it. To emphasise the point, Pinkie, Rarity and Applejack all joined in on the fun and slipped into it as well, leaving our new companion in a state of utter bewilderment.

“Never gets old.” I chuckled, grinning.

Shaking his head, Rommel broke into a laugh and went over to look in the bag, astounded and amazed at the impossible sight before him.

“I thought you couldn’t use magic now?” he pointed out, “What if… it… catches on?”

“It’s an enchantment, not the same as casting a spell.” I explained, “Thankfully, it doesn’t give off a signal for him to pick up.”

“Ah…” he murmured, nodding with understanding.

“Tell you what…” Josh began from the driver’s seat, rapidly snapping his fingers, “Instead of a hotel, what if we booked somewhere on Airbnb? We could find one of those big places where you get the whole house to yourself?”

“You mean like a holiday let?” I asked.

“Yeah, one of those!” he chirped merrily, “Then we wouldn’t need to worry about other people, we’d just have the whole place to ourselves!”

The idea was perfect, and everyone was wholly in agreement with it. Despite being scared out of her wits and exhausted beyond measure, even Twilight was able to smile at the thought of some stress-free nights in a private place, without the constant worry of remaining hidden from the public eye. Using one of Josh’s spare phones, I perused Airbnb for some nice-looking places without any overlooking properties. After browsing for some time, I found and booked three properties in Iowa, Colorado, and Utah. Each place was a contemporary house with six bedrooms, and the one in Colorado even had a swimming pool! Needless to say, we were all excited, and we most certainly deserved it before the luxuries went away. It would give Josh some more pleasant memories as well before we parted ways. Plus, it would give Rommel some time to properly get to know the girls.

“Oh I’m most excited!” Rarity sang, grinning from ear to ear.

“I bet you’ll be looking forward to that pool, ey Dash?” I said, nudging the pegasus with an elbow.

Rainbow shrugged in reply, trying her best to be excited, but remaining understandably worried about her dad. Slinging an arm around her, I reminded her that Alex wasn’t an idiot, and that he would be perfectly safe in dealing with those runes. With a tenuous shake of her head, Twilight gave me a look from the opposite side of the bus, as if to say that my words were full of shit, and in truth, I doubted them myself. But still, Dashie needed to hear it, and I flashed the unicorn a scolding glance, subtly reminding her of that fact.

“Speaking of Alex, I’m amazed he was able to find a plane and a private airstrip so quickly!” said Rommel.

“Yeah, you and me both.” I agreed, “But I guess that goes to show what money can do for you. So long as you can pay, the world provides.”

“You say it like my dad’s one of those rich snobs.” Rainbow growled.

“Oh not at all!” I insisted, “I just mean that he’s a very resourceful person, and with money on his side, he was able to quickly help us out.”

Huffing, she let the comment slip and leaned against me. In almost perfect unison, Twilight leaned sideways as well, mirroring Dashie’s movement. With nothing to lean against, she stumbled and let out a sharp gasp, causing everyone to look at her. Immediately beginning to blush, the unicorn sheepishly cleared her throat.

“Go to fuckin’ sleep, Twi.” I droned, tutting.

“I must concur, despite the foul language.” Rarity added, “You look positively dreadful, darling. Why don’t you hop into Fluttershy’s bag and get some kip?”

“I’m fine.” she spat, sniffing.

Knowing she was in one of those places, we chose not to press the matter, as it would only lead to conflict. The poor thing eventually drifted off anyway, and quite pitifully too, slumping backwards and nodding off while she was still sitting upright. Gesturing for Fluttershy to pass me the bag, I gently picked up the unicorn and slipped her into it with AJ’s assistance; the fact she didn’t even wake was a testament to how exhausted she really was.

“Bless her…” Rommel muttered quietly.

“She’s really bad off, huh?” Pinkie sighed, tilting her head.

Nodding, I closed the flap to give the mare some darkness to snooze in, and kept it at my side. Slammed by a wave of emotion, I was unable to ward off the thoughts of what Nah’Lek had done to put her in this feeble, haggard state. Even after curing her of the Fel, and purging that monster’s shade from her mind, he still had so much power over her. Tears started to form in my eyes, as did a painful lump in my throat, and I was forced to subtly hold my breath, lest I was to cry in front of everyone. Fluttershy noticed, and slowly dipped her head to me with a weak smile, silently telling me that I wasn’t alone. Returning the gesture to express my thanks, I leaned against Rainbow Dash and sighed.

Hours passed, and a little while after the sun set, we arrived at our first stop in Iowa. The host had left a key under the mat as they weren’t present, and we let ourselves in. Immediately heading to the kitchen, Josh investigated the food situation, where he found the fridge to be completely empty, bar a small carton of milk. He offered to go out and get us some food, to which I shook my head.

“Let’s just order a delivery from somewhere.” I suggested, “I’d rather we all stuck together from now on.”

Nodding, he got onto his phone in search of places that delivered, while I took Fluttershy’s bag upstairs and picked one of the bedrooms for me and Twilight. I was certainly spoiled for choice, as each room was massive, and the beds were all queen-sized. It was certainly a step up from that EconoLodge just the other week. Once I had chosen a room, I closed the door and gradually pulled the unicorn out, gently placing her on the bed and putting the soft throw over her lower half. Looking down at the unconscious heap, I let out a heavy, pensive breath. It hurt to see her like this, so broken and exhausted that she couldn’t even comprehend being moved around like a bloody rag doll. The girl deserved all the rest she could possibly get, and so despite the time, I did not wake her. Heading back downstairs, I joined the others to find them placing food orders. With pizza from Domino’s on the menu, I elected for the meatiest pizza they had, which brought forth an alarmed expression from Mel.

“Chillax bud.” I assured him, “They know we eat meat, it’s not a big deal.”

“Oh, right.” he chuckled nervously, “Well in that case, I’ll have what Callum’s having.”

Everyone laughed, and Josh finalised the order. While we waited for it to arrive, we sat Rommel down and went over some cultural exposition, making sure he knew the difference between the make-believe elements of My Little Pony, versus the gritty and at-times-unpleasant reality of Equus. Watching another brony receive such enlightenment was nothing short of a treat for me, and the questions he asked ended up teaching me a thing or two as well. For instance, I learned that unicorns wishing to learn new magic could purchase spellbooks from the Equestrian Magic Administration, known as grimoires. These grimoires contained a small selection of learnable spells, pertaining to a specific field of magic.

“So basically, any unicorn can learn any spell?” Mel pressed, craning his neck.

“Not quite.” Rarity replied, “Some spells are of course, very powerful. More than half the spells Twilight’s capable of would have me bluing out immediately!”

{At least, the spells she was capable of.} I thought, bitterly exhaling through my nose.

Continuing, Rarity explained that with such magic being potentially dangerous in the wrong hooves, the EMA refused to sell grimoires unless the buyer presented a special permit, known as a Constel. Being derived of course from the word ‘constellation’, a Constel was a thin silver wire which housed a number of enchanted beads, called Asters. Each Aster represented a different field of study at a magic school, which would be awarded upon passing the field’s exam with an acceptable grade.

“Damn, this goes deep.” Rommel breathed.

“In essence,” Rarity continued, “grimoires can only be purchased if you have the matching Aster. You could be a fiercely powerful unicorn, but if you lack for instance, the Auramancy Aster, then you would be forbidden from purchasing any Auramancy grimoires.”

“Ah, right.” I hummed, leaning forward with interest, “So, I’m guessing there’s dozens of Asters, which all together complete the Constel?”

“Why yes, that’s exactly right, dear!”

Her praising voice brought a smile to my face, and I inquired further as to how many Asters she had, to which the unicorn humbly professed the ownership of two; the Illusory Aster, and the Enchanting Aster. I asked why those two, to which she explained that there were a handful of spells in those respective fields that had vastly aided her in her profession as a high-end couturier.

“Along with saving our hides a few times!” Applejack said with a chuckle, “Remember in Brazil when you conjured that big old smoke cloud?”

“I’ll be honest darling, I try to forget about our time in Brazil as often as I can.”

“Fair point.”

Moving on from the subject, we decided to find a film on the host’s Netflix account, so we had some entertainment with our soon-arriving pizza. In dire need for something light and easy, we settled on the live-action Paddington movie. When the food delivery at last arrived, Josh went out to collect it, and then we got ourselves comfortable and pressed play. It was admittedly a little strange to not have Twilight at my side throughout the film, but in her absence, Rainbow Dash took the opportunity to sit beside me, clearly in the need of some close comfort.

As the credits came up, the weariness kicked in, bringing forth yawns from all eight of us. We took ourselves off to bed, and I brought the leftover pizza up for Twi, knowing that she would likely be awake soon. Putting it on the bedside table, I got under the covers, which was when the unicorn opened her eyes and sniffed heavily, before mumbling to me in a barely coherent manner.

“Huh… What’s… Where’s? What time is it?”

“It’s nearly midnight.” I told her, reaching over to rub her upper foreleg, “You’ve been asleep for a while.”

Groaning, she sat up and asked where we were, and I explained that we had arrived at the first stop. Pointing to the pizza and saying it was for her, the mare’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. Not hesitating, she seized the box and began chowing down.

“Oi, pace yourself.”

“I’m hungry!” she munched back, frowning at me.

“Yeah, because you’ve been too anxious to eat anything for the past two days!” I snapped back, “And if you wolf down that pizza too quickly, you’re going to end up feeling sick.”

Reluctantly grunting that I was right, she slowed herself down, and began to eat with a sense of modesty.

“Anything happen while I was out?”

“Nothing much.” I replied, “Chatted a bit and watched a film. Oh, Rarity told us all about Constels and Asters. That was pretty cool.”

“Oh yeah, I never told you about those, did I?”

Shaking my head, I asked how many Asters she owned, to which Twilight raised her chin proudly and said that she had earned every single one of them.

“Holy shit, that’s incredible!” I exclaimed.

“Yeah, it was…” she uttered solemnly, looking down and sniffing.

“Hey.” I spoke firmly, “It’ll come back.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes I do.”

Reaching forward to cup her cheek, I locked eyes with her and told her that even if her magic didn’t come back naturally, there was no doubt in my mind that the Princess would know how to restore her abilities upon returning to Equestria. Shrugging, she tried her best to believe that. Moving my hand upwards, I slowly traced a finger up the spirals of her horn, while telling her that she was the most incredible unicorn that had ever been.

“You will get your magic back.” I told her, “Be it tomorrow, or years from now, it will happen.”

Shivering at my touch, she closed her eyes and took in my words. With a nod, she perked up slightly and carried on nibbling away at her pizza.

“I’m going to get some sleep now, okay?” I said, yawning.

“Alright, but can I wake you if I need you?”

“Of course you can.”

Smiling, she put her hooves around me for a quick hug, before I rolled over and got myself comfortable. Uttering my usual goodnight to her, I couldn’t help but smirk as her reply came to me in the form of a muffled munching, with her entire left cheek stuffed with pizza.

Goo-might Cuhr.


Upon the first light of the day, I was rudely woken by a blunt pain in my ankle. Rolling over, I found Twilight asleep beside me, but it was far from peaceful. The poor girl was twitching and kicking out, and her face was strained, and her cheeks wet with tears; another Spooky.

“Oh Twi…” I groaned.

Giving my head a shake to properly wake up, I pulled her towards me and spoke softly to her, letting her know that she was safe, and that I was close by. Hearing my voice but still trapped in the night terror, the mare damn-near broke my heart, as she started reaching out and whimpering my name, desperately trying to find me.

“I’m here, I’m here.” I cooed into her ear, “I’ve got you.”

With a gentle nudge, her eyes shot open. Gasping repeatedly, she latched onto me and buried her face into my chest. Pressing my fingertips into her back and lightly kneading, I was able to relax her, and as per the usual outcome of these Spookies, she wept for a while. Once she had settled, we went downstairs for an early breakfast, and for some much-needed coffee. We watched the sun rise together, and as we sipped away at the morning brew, I noticed her once again enacting patterns of four. After every four sips, she would lightly tap her mug four times with the tip of her hoof, before taking another four sips. With no one else awake yet, I finally plucked up the courage to ask about it.

“Twi, what are you doing exactly?”

Gulping, she looked down into her coffee and refused to make eye contact. After a few seconds, she told me that it was nothing.

“Cut the bullshit.” I ordered, “What’s going on?”

“I…” she began, swallowing, “It’s dumb.”

“Twilight, it’s me.”

Sighing heavily, she looked back to face me, and at last divulged as to what was happening.

“I can’t really explain, but if I don’t do it, he’s going to find us.”

Him, you mean?”

Shuddering, she nodded, and I asked her to elaborate.

“I keep getting these thoughts, little flashes in my mind…” she told me, straining her brow, “Flashes of him finding us, torturing us, killing us…”

Pausing to take a sharp breath, she clamped her eyes shut, and then took four small sips of her coffee.

“I’m having them right now, and they’re going to come true, if I don’t do it.”

“Do what?” I pressed gently, “Stuff in fours?”

“Yeah.” she murmured, her eyes welling up again, “It’s like, my brain is literally telling me, if I don’t tap this mug four times, he’s going to skin me alive.”

“Blimey…” I whispered, “Twilight, that’s not going to happen.”

“But it will, if I don’t do it!” she insisted.

Taking the mug from her, I put it down by my feet and then rested my palm on one of her front hooves. After taking a second to inhale and gather my words, I told her with the upmost kindness that she was beginning to lose her grip on reality.

“We’re safe, okay?” I said with a degree of sternness, “We’re miles away from him now, and we’ll be leaving the country soon. There isn’t a hope in hell that he’ll ever find us, and your brain, phenomenal as it is, cannot change that fact, alright?”

“But, it feels so real in my head.” she protested, “I know it doesn’t make any logical sense, but I can’t stop thinking about it. No matter what I say to myself, the voice in my head is so much louder, telling me over and over that all the horrible stuff I keep thinking about is going to come true! The only way I can make it stop is by listening to these urges to do things in fours!”

“Oh jeez…” I muttered, putting down my own mug, “Twi, I think you’re developing OCD.”

“What?” she asked nervously, “Wh-What’s OCD?”

“You don’t have this in Equestria?” I asked, narrowing my eyes, “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?”

Shaking her head, she claimed to have never heard of it, and so I explained. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder was a mental and behavioural disorder, in which one would routinely suffer from unwanted and unpleasant intrusive thoughts. These thoughts could be unrelenting at times, and bring on crippling levels of distress. The only alleviation from them would be to act on repetitive behaviours, called compulsions. This could range from excessive cleaning, to repeatedly checking if doors and windows were closed, to performing actions in multiples.

“There was a kid at school who had it.” I told her, “He was called Miles, and he genuinely couldn’t leave a classroom without zipping and unzipping his pencil case five times. It was always five, it had to be five, otherwise he was going to fail his exams. That was what he said. Sound familiar?”

Staring at me with wide eyes, the unicorn swallowed.

“Um, everything you just said, describes what I’ve dealt with… my whole life.”

Still staring at me, she beckoned for her coffee, which I passed to her. After taking a big sip, she explained that ever since she was little, she had been terrorised by thoughts of bad things happening, which she could prevent by obeying the compulsions in her head. Before I could say anything, she sprang into giving me examples.

“Okay so, I feel the need to clean the library and reorganise the books four times every month, which I always do on a Thursday, because it’s the fourth day of the week. And, whenever I don’t do it, I feel like something awful’s going to happen, like I’m going to choke on my food and die or something. Oh, and when I was little, I couldn’t go to sleep until somepony told me that I was going to be alright.”

Practically necking the rest of her coffee, Twilight explained that the number four had always felt safe to her, and if she was ever stressed or scared, patterns of four could comfort her. Adding to that, she expressed how terribly anxious she was about time; the very notion of being behind schedule horrified her, and was one of the main catalysts for her intrusive thoughts. Casting my mind to the cartoon, I thought about her obsession with checklists, and avoiding tardiness. Slowly but surely, it all started to make sense… Thinking directly to one particular episode, I recalled how Twilight had once been so obsessed with getting a letter to the Princess on time, that it had driven her to the point of madness. The letter in question needed to cover a resolved friendship problem, and without one at hand, she went to the extent of creating one just to solve it. While I didn’t know how closely that episode represented true events, it was certainly enough to add to my conclusion.

“Oh Twilight…” I tutted, shaking my head, “You’re not developing OCD, you have OCD!”

Cursing under her breath, she admitted that I may have been right.

“Wait, n-no…” she stammered, blinking rapidly and shaking her head, “Self-diagnosis is seldom correct, especially for hypochondriacs, of which I am. I need to speak to a doctor when I go home and get a professional opinion.”

“If it doesn’t exist in Equestria, how are you going to get diagnosed with it?” I pointed out, “Look, I’m no professional, but I’ve seen OCD with my own eyes, and I know its symptoms, and you’ve just described to me a very clear-cut case of it.”

“But how?” she argued, “How can I have a condition that doesn’t even exist in my world!?”

“Well obviously, it exists.” I retorted, “It’s just not something that’s been documented enough in Equestria to warrant a name and diagnosis, which baffles me honestly, with how seriously you responded to me having depression.”

Clenching her jaw, Twilight conceded with great reluctance that I wasn’t wrong, and that she may as well accept the reality of the situation; she had OCD. Hanging her head with a sense of dismay, she professed that her obsessive behaviours now made a lot more sense, and that it confirmed her inner fears that she wasn’t normal. I was about to speak, when she whipped up to look at me.

“Is there like, a cure? Treatment for it? Can it go away?”

The desperation in her eyes brought a pang of agony to my soul, because I knew exactly what she was feeling. Being autistic, I knew all too well what it meant to be born different. I had wondered for years if my abnormal brain could be corrected, if there was some drug or surgery that could fix me.

“It doesn’t work like that.” I breathed with a touch of remorse, “Aside from antidepressants, or some behavioural therapy, it’s just something you have to learn to manage.”

After a moment of silence, Twilight sniffed loudly, visibly angry at her predicament. She then requested another cup of coffee, and I went to retrieve the pot from the kitchen, as it still contained a few cups’ worth. We continued to speak at length about the condition, and I was able to slowly convince her that she wasn’t broken, or worth any less.

“Don’t forget, I’m different too.” I told her, giving a weak smile.

“I know…” she replied, before exhaling sharply through her nose, smiling, “You know, for what it’s worth, I actually like you the way you are.”

With a sheepish grin, I thanked her, and said that it wasn’t all bad being a little wonky, especially now that it meant we were a little more the same. Thankfully taking that as a compliment, the unicorn flopped into my lap and released a heavy breath. She remained quiet for a while, deep in wistful thought, before she finally spoke up again.

“How can I beat this, Callum?” she sighed, pressing the side of her head against my body, “I don’t want it to have this much power over me.”

Humming, I thoughtfully moved my mouth to one side, holding her a little closer as I did so.

“Well…” I started, “It’s obvious that the other night made it worse, much worse. It’s like you’ve picked up trauma-induced OCD on top of your regular one, if that’s even a thing. The thought of him being close by, in the flesh, is sending that noggin of yours into overdrive.”

Wincing at the very suggestion of Nah’Lek’s presence, Twilight shifted with unease, almost dropping her coffee as she did so. Taking the mug from her until she was ready to hold it again, I went on to speculate that this revelation could serve as a tool for her.

“From now on,” I began, “when you get those horrible thoughts and your brain starts telling you shit, try to remember this conversation. You know now, indisputably, that this is a mental affliction. It’s quite literally all in your head, and for as special as you are, you’re not special enough to actively worry things into existence. That smart little brain of yours needs to acknowledge that fact.”

Repositioning myself so that I could properly cradle her in my lap, I continued.

“You’re a bit messed up in the head, I’m afraid, but that doesn’t make you bad. Once you accept the things that are so-called ‘wrong’ with you, and you make peace with them, they can no longer be used against you. This isn’t something you can cure, Twilight, but it is something you can control.”

After a moment of thought, she looked into my eyes and strained her brow.

“Promise?”

Smirking, I answered by asking her if she had ever seen me have a screaming fit, or smack my head repeatedly against a wall while having a meltdown in front of everyone. Giggling at the thought, she confirmed that she hadn’t.

“That’s because I’m in control of my autism.” I told her, “Over time, I became more aware of my own behaviour. It took a while, granted. But with time, I learned that the way I was behaving wasn’t acceptable, and that I needed to take a long hard look at myself, and get a bloody grip.”

“So, you’re basically telling me to get a bloody grip?” she asked, mocking my accent.

“I mean, it’s not exactly the same, but you do need to try and ground yourself in reality.” I said, giving a sincere expression, “You’ve been through enough already, you don’t deserve more torture, especially not from yourself.”

With her ears drooping, she said that she would try her best, and we decided to leave things there. After finishing our coffee, we cuddled on the sofa until the others were up and awake, and after they'd all had their breakfast, we got onto the bus and embarked on the next leg of our journey.


Although Twilight’s tapping did continue, I noticed a few instances where she stopped herself, closing her eyes and silently telling herself to remain logical. For the whole trip, she wrestled with her brain for dominance, and over time, it seemed like she was winning. It helped that she wasn’t quite so tired, we all noticed that she wasn’t quite so snappy today; it was no secret by now that she struggled more when she hadn’t slept.

As the hours went by on the road, the lot of us had mountains of conversation, and Rommel really started to blend in with our dynamic. At first, he had just sat back and listened in, but by the time we reached the next stop in Colorado, he was nattering away with us as though he had been a part of the group for weeks. It was clear that he had gravitated mostly to Applejack, of whom I knew was his favourite pony in the show, so it made sense. On a more sombre note, it seemed as though Rainbow Dash was more in need of support for once, as for the whole drive she appeared to be on the cusp of blowing a gasket. Every so often, she could be seen frowning and wiggling her jaw with irritation. Being sat next to her, I could even hear her grinding her teeth. Nobody made any comments, but we were all well aware that she was pent-up. We went indoors, and unlike the last place, the fridge and freezer were stocked up with goodies, there were ice creams, microwave meals, plenty of milk, and a couple bottles of prosecco.

“We have alcohol!” I announced, shutting the fridge door.

Much to my amusement, the girls cheered from the living room, and I went in to join them as we continued exploring the house. The bedrooms were a little smaller, but still more than adequate for us. Once we had chosen our rooms and were all settled in, we sat around and watched some TV, until we were all startled out of our wits by a knocking at the door. Everyone sprang up, with Fluttershy almost hitting the bloody ceiling.

“What do we do!?” she squeaked fearfully.

Ordering the girls to hide upstairs, I prepared myself for anything. That was when Josh emitted a gasp, as though he had just remembered something, which as it happened, he had.

“Oh, that’ll be my order!”

Whipping around to look at him, I glared intensely.

“What?”

Ignoring me, he went to the living room window and looked outside.

“Yup, that’s my order!”

Grinning, he skipped merrily to the front door and opened it, where he heartily greeted the mysterious knocker. Rommel and I zipped over to the window and realised that it was just a delivery driver, and in the driveway, was a dark blue truck with the Amazon logo on it. Puffing with relief, I shook my head and pursed my lips. What on Earth had Josh gone and done? Once the front door closed and the driver was back in his truck, I stormed into the entryway, where I found Josh surrounded by parcels and boxes.

“Care to tell us what the bloody hell’s going on here?” I demanded, folding my arms.

Looking up from all the cardboard, he gave me a sheepish grin.

“Well you see, after you booked this place, I took the address, and I may have made a few little online purchases…”

Opening up one of the boxes, he unveiled a collection of romance novels, some of which I recognised the titles of, namely The Princess Bride, the Fifty Shades trilogy, and The Fault in Our Stars.

“Before you ask, they’re not for me!” Josh insisted, before leaning into a whisper, “They’re for Rarity.”

Dropping my shoulders and exhaling, I realised exactly what was going on here, and my previous state of alarm and anger completely dissipated.

“Josh…”

“I wanted everyone to have something to remember me by.” he cut in, “So with tomorrow being our last full day together, I thought I’d get some surprise gifts for everyone.”

“Dude, that’s so kind of you.” said Mel, tilting his head.

Coming forward to hug him, I told Josh that he really hadn’t needed to do this, but it was incredibly sweet of him all the same. Rommel helped him smuggle the gifts onto the bus, while I went upstairs to assure the girls that we were totally safe, and that it was a false alarm.

“Then who was at the door?” asked Twilight.

“Just a postman.” I told her, which was technically true.

We came back downstairs and slowly relaxed again, and just as the day before, we used the host’s Netflix to watch a film with dinner. Settling on How to Train Your Dragon, we tucked into the microwave meals and washed it down with prosecco. After that, a handful of us decided to take advantage of the pool. Mel and Josh chose not to partake as they lacked swimming trunks, and although I did as well, I was more than comfortable just swimming in my underwear. Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash all hopped in, and although Twilight was too sleepy to swim at this point, she happily sat by the water’s edge. Fluttershy and Rarity weren’t in the mood for getting wet, and so they elected to stay indoors and watch TV with the guys.

“So, how are you guys finding Rommel?” I asked, floating on my back.

“Ooh, I like him, he’s nice!” Pinkie squeaked.

“You think everyone is nice.” Rainbow teased, splashing water at her.

“Nuh-uh!” she protested, splashing back, “There have been some real meanies on this trip!”

Rolling her eyes with amusement, Applejack joined in the conversation to admit that Mel was a fine addition to the group, and that his straightforward and no-nonsense demeanour was awfully refreshing.

“Am I not straightforward?” I quizzed, spinning around in the water to face her.

“Not always.” she laughed, “You’re honest, for sure, but you take a while to get to the point. But that Mel? His words are as blunt as the broadside of a barn door, and I like that.”

“I second that.” Rainbow chipped in, snickering, “You can turn small-talk into a whole dang essay, dude.”

“Oh… do I?” I murmured, my mirthful demeanour dropping almost immediately.

Realising that she had upset me, Dashie swam over and assured me that it wasn’t a bad thing.

“Well you made it sound like a bad thing.” I retorted quietly.

“It ain’t!” Applejack insisted, “We just mean that with Mel being new and all, it’s nice to know exactly where we stand with him. He’s nice and direct, you know?”

Exhaling through my nose and raising my chin, I turned my head away.

“Hmph, fair enough.”

Knowing that I was being playful, Dashie rolled her eyes and splashed some water at me. I looked over to Twilight and realised that she was falling asleep sitting up again. Rainbow noticed too, and I immediately spotted the devious look in her eye.

“Don’t.” I warned her before she could splash, “You know she doesn’t need that right now.”

“Ugh, you’re no fun.”

Huffing with amusement, I swam over and gently roused the unicorn, instructing her to take herself off to bed. Yawning, she obeyed and stumbled indoors and up to our room. With the rest of us still enjoying ourselves, we remained in the pool, floating around listlessly as we reminisced on our adventure. As time went on however, I noticed Rainbow getting more and more bothered again, to the point where she was aggressively doing laps in the pool without even realising it.

“You alright there, Sugarcube?” AJ chuckled.

“Fine, why?” she spoke back angrily.

“Because you’re about to turn this pool into a bloody maelstrom!” I laughed.

“Yeah Dashie!” Pinkie chipped in, “You’re getting all frowny!”

“I said I’m fine!” she barked, before stopping mid-paddle to glare at us, “Gee, it’s not like my dad’s gone off to blow up some runes that’ll summon that… that… thing! What if it gets him? What if it gets in his head and stuff, like he did to you and Twilight?” she blurted out, pointing a hoof at me.

Emitting an empathetic sigh, Applejack swam over and put a foreleg around the back of the pegasus’ neck.

“Oh hun, you’re still this worried about him?”

“Uh, duh!?” she drawled loudly, sticking her tongue out as she did so.

Smacking the water with a hoof, she lamented over the fact that she had never wanted Alex to go through with his plan, and that we had all agreed to it so hastily, without a shred of care for his safety. Copying Applejack’s approach, Pinkie swam over and tried to comfort Rainbow with a big hug, only to be shaken off. Crossing my arms, I reminded her of what I had told her yesterday, that Alex wasn’t stupid. Giving her a warm smile, I assured her that he would be careful, and that he was going to be absolutely fine. Shaking her head defiantly, Rainbow Dash bared her teeth.

“I really want to believe that, but I’m just so worried about him!”

“I know, Sugarcube, I know.” Applejack cooed, giving the pegasus a nudge, “I don’t think it helps that we’ve been on the bus for so long, and now we’re stuck in and around this here house. You’re an active gal even on a slow day, you must be going stir-crazy!”

“Exactly!” Rainbow exclaimed, throwing her hooves into the air and showering us with water, “When I get stressed, I need to be doing something! Sitting around with nothing to do just makes it a million times worse. I’m up to my ears in stress and there’s nothing I can do to get rid of it!”

Letting out an angry grunt, the pegasus hit the water once more. Still frowning bitterly, she looked over to me, and after a few seconds of staring at my face, a new expression began to form. Still glaring with questionably hostile intent, the corners of her lips slowly began to raise, and I gulped.

“Uh, why are you looking at me like that?”

Choosing not to answer, she paddled over to me and started forcefully shoving me towards the steps at the shallow end.

“Out the pool,” she ordered, “right now!”

Confused and bewildered, I did as she said. We clambered out together and she shook herself like a dog, sending water in all directions. Then without warning, she gripped my wrist with one of her wings and marched me back towards the house.

“You’re coming with me!” she growled, her tone rife with authority.

“Wh-Where are we going?”

“To have sex!”

“Err, wha… I… uh… um… o-okay!” I bleated, my voice cracking.

Without giving me a chance to look back at Pinkie and AJ, Rainbow opened the door to the house and shoved me inside, not caring in the slightest that we were still dripping wet from the pool. As we passed through the living room, Rommel asked if something was wrong, noting the contorted expression of fear and excitement on my face.

Nothing’s wrong, can’t talk, busy!” Rainbow Dash shouted, headbutting me in the back, “Keep moving!

I was shoved out of the room and up the stairs before I could say anything, and once we were in Rainbow’s bedroom, she slammed the door shut, hard enough to make the house shake.

“S-So um, I…” I stuttered, raising a finger, “I thought this was something we weren’t doing anym-”

Silenced by her lips, she kissed me, and then pushed me onto the bed. Pouncing on top of me, her feral eyes gleamed with ravenous intent. With her gritted teeth on full display, she made her stance on our previous agreement very clear, seizing my soaking wet boxers with one of her hooves.

“Take… these… off…


Staring at the ceiling, we lay there on the bed, still out of breath and drenched in sweat. With a gulp, I slowly raised the damp sheets to cover myself.

“So that was, uh…” I trailed off, clearing my throat.

“Yeah…” Rainbow exhaled loudly.

“I wasn’t erm, prepared… for things to get that rough.”

“Heh, I didn’t even know I could be that rough.” she replied, chuckling, “Sorry I bit you so hard.”

Upon her mentioning it, the dark reddish-purple bruise on my lower neck throbbed with a blunt pain. Clearing my throat for a second time, I told her it was fine. Rolling over to face her, we studied each other’s faces for a few seconds, before breaking into a fit of snickers and laughs.

“I really didn’t think we were going to be doing this again.” I wheezed, shaking my head from side to side.

“Me neither.” she replied with a sheepish grin, “I don’t know what came over me. I was just so stressed, and you were floating there in your underwear, and my body kind of, took over.”

“Well, feel less stressed now?” I inquired, pulling a face.

She nodded enthusiastically, and we continued to laugh for a while, before realising just how bad the state of the bed was. It was soaked down to the mattress protector, and although it was mainly just water from the pool, there was also a lot of sweat; we had been going at it for quite some time…

“We can’t leave the bed like this.” I muttered, still chortling, “We need to strip it all down and put it through the washing machine.”

“Where are we going to sleep then?”

Humming, I suggested that with this being an Airbnb, there were probably some spare sheets in the airing cupboard. At the mention of us sleeping together, I found myself struck by a wave of confusion. Despite how great this had been, it had been a long old time now since Rainbow and I had slept together, and now that I had assigned myself to looking after Twilight, I admittedly felt quite torn. If I ditched Rainbow now after having just, well… it wouldn’t be very fair on her. To do so would run the risk of coming across like I was only interested in her body, without a care for her company as a friend. But on the flip-side, I didn’t want Twilight to wake up alone and worry about where I might be.

{And what if she has a Spooky?} I thought.

No, I was overthinking this. For as much as Twilight needed me, she wasn’t a child, she was more than capable of surviving a night without me, just as she had done during my night with Phoenix back in Ocean City. Tonight, I would stay with Rainbow Dash, and that was final. With my inner conflict concluded, I put an arm around the pegasus and gave a roguish smile, and she in turn pressed up against me. We took a few more moments to revel in our lascivious antics, before we stripped down the bedding, giggling to ourselves all the while. Noting how sweaty we still were, we made a quick trip to the bathroom in order to rinse off in the shower together. After getting dry, I realised that all my clean clothes were still in my room, where Twilight was currently sleeping. Refusing to go downstairs without anything on, I temporarily slipped back into my soggy boxers and crept into the room, where I found the mare still sound asleep on the bed. I retrieved my backpack and made an attempt to sneak back out, which was when the unicorn opened an eye.

“Callum?” she mumbled groggily, “That you?”

“Yeah, just grabbing my bag.” I whispered, “Go back to sleep.”

“Mmn, okay… You coming to bed soon?”

I froze on the spot, not quite ready to profess that I was sleeping with Rainbow again. Rapidly thinking up something to say, I told her that I was feeling restless, and probably wouldn’t be coming to bed. Giving a sleepy grunt of understanding, she curled up and went back to sleep. With a gulp, I took my bag back to Rainbow’s room and shut the door, quickly slipping off my wet undies and changing into some dry clothing. Dashie and I then took our damp bedding and made our way downstairs. Upon entering the living room, we found everyone bunched up on the sofas, watching TV. They all looked at us in unison, and I could genuinely feel the blood rushing to my face as I became flushed with embarrassment. Our journey to the washing machine became that of a walk of shame, or at least, it did for me; Rainbow Dash on the other hand raised her chin and smugly strutted into the room with a great sense of pride.

“Good evening, you two.” Rarity sang, fighting to retain a straight face, “I trust you’re both well?”

“Yeah, just grand, thanks.” I replied hastily, only glancing at her momentarily.

The piercing stares from all six individuals had me passing through the room very swiftly, with Rainbow Dash scampering along behind me, unable to hide her devilish delight in our little scandal. After bunging everything into the washing machine and setting it on a cycle, I re-entered the room, where I was yet again pelted with intense looks. Unable to resist, Rarity raised a hoof and pointed towards the kitchen, doing everything in her power to remain composed.

“There’s ice cream left in the freezer, if either of you need to… cool off?”

“And water, if you’re feeling dehydrated.” Applejack added.

Tightening my lips with annoyance, I frowned at them and remained silent.

“You know, I am kind of thirsty.” Rainbow Dash piped up, grinning from ear to ear, “Thanks guys!”

We went into the kitchen together, where we both necked a pint of water, exchanging amused glances all the while. I then opened up the freezer and found the ice creams; they were called Drumsticks, and reminded me an awful lot of Cornettos, of which were a personal favourite of mine. Helping Dashie to unwrap her one, we went back to the living room and sat down on one of the sofas beside Pinkie Pie.

“So…” I began awkwardly, gesturing to the TV, “What have you guys been watching?”

Still looking at me funnily, Josh explained that they had all been taking turns to change channels, letting each pony select a different show of their preference. It was then that Rarity cupped her mouth with her hooves, finally unable to contain herself. With her eyes flittering between me and Rainbow, her lips formed into a tightly pursed smile.

“So, in other words…” she began, lightly convulsing with suppressed laughter, “You could say we’ve been going… repeatedly back and forth for a while.”

She burst into a loud giggle, and everyone else joined in as well, including Rainbow Dash. They released an array of titters and cackles, while I huffed loudly with annoyance, far less amused at the ongoing humiliation.

“Okay, I get it.” I droned, rolling my eyes, “Har har, two grown-ups did grown-up things, very funny!”

“We’re just poking fun!” Applejack said dismissively, batting a hoof in my direction.

“Yeah, well forgive me for thinking we had left these jokes behind in Portugal.” I grunted.

“Wait, you two have been boning since then!?” Josh exclaimed, his mouth falling open.

With a dumbfounded expression, Pinkie Pie whipped around and looked at us with a gasp.

“Ohh, so that’s what you two were doing up there…”

After taking a second to process the information, her face became contorted with disgust.

“Ew.”

Ignoring her, I explained to Josh that it had been an on-and-off thing, which had stopped immediately after Rainbow had recovered her memories of Alex and her time here on Earth. Boldly joining in on the fun, Fluttershy made a quip of her own.

“Well that certainly isn’t the case anymore!”

If it were anyone else, I would have been angry, but the comment coming from Fluttershy was enough to break away my defensive shell, and after releasing a weighty huff, I finally joined in on the banter.

“Zip it, Shy.” I warned, pointing at her, “I’ve acquired a taste for pegasus.”

Applejack and Rainbow burst into laughter, while Pinkie gave a much louder, whinier ‘ewww!’ and shoved me away from her. Shocked by the insinuation of my threat, all the others looked at me with a mortified stare, while Fluttershy receded into her mane, now blushing like a beetroot. Noting the piercing glare from Rarity, I insisted that I was just joking, and she let me off the hook, tutting loudly.

“So, are you two a thing then?” Rommel asked, shrugging, “Like, are you dating or something?”

“Oh heck no!” Rainbow laughed, “I don’t do dating.”

Draping a wing over my shoulder, she declared that we were strictly friends, but just as our time in Portugal had been, tonight was simply a bit of consensual fooling around between two adults.

“Oh, that was consensual, was it?” Rarity inquired, raising her eyebrows, “With the way you shoved the boy through here and up the stairs, I wasn’t sure if he had a choice in the matter.”

“I didn’t.” I uttered dryly, causing everyone to laugh.

Apologising a second time for being so belligerent with me, Rainbow Dash chuckled and said that I could have tapped out at any time if I really needed to. Without missing a beat, Rommel leaned forward and smirked.

“You know, this takes horseplay to a whole new level.”

Ha!” I bellowed, pointing at him and then clapping my hands together.

The room was met with a confused silence, and I had to explain to the girls what ‘horseplay’ meant. Thankfully they then joined in on the laughs, and we then finally began to move on from the situation, quite ironically putting the subject to bed, as it were…

With it being Fluttershy’s turn to select a channel on the TV, we sat through one of Sir David Attenborough’s nature documentaries, and then headed off to bed. Rainbow and I collected some spare bedding from the airing cupboard, and after bidding the others goodnight, we departed to her room.

“Well that was bloody awkward.” I moaned after shutting the door.

“Oh quit whining.” Rainbow teased back, “It was funny as heck and you know it.”

Blowing a raspberry at her, I got to putting the fitted sheet on, while she put on the pillowcases. After switching off the light and getting undressed, I hopped into bed. She did the same, and was quick to nestle against me. We talked for a while before she eventually rolled over to let me spoon her. A fair few minutes went by, and for whatever reason, I started feeling more and more haunted by a sense of unease. Try as I might, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that I wasn’t supposed to be here, as though I were meant to be somewhere else. Sensing the malaise, Rainbow asked if I was okay, briefly snapping me out of it.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I murmured, not wanting to get into it.

“If you say so.” she hummed, “Oh, can you hold me a little lower? Your arm’s squishing my wing.”

“Oh, sorry.”

I obeyed her command and moved my hand down her belly, and then immediately recoiled it upon accidentally reaching a little too far down.

“It’s okay, dude, you can touch those.” she assured me with a giggle, “I’m fair game, remember?”

Taking my hand with both of her hooves, Rainbow slowly moved it back, causing me to gulp. I allowed her to guide me, until she began emitting soft, satisfied groans, evidently loving what human hands were capable of. However, even in spite of what we did earlier, I still couldn’t escape the looming guilt. It was like I was going to get in trouble for this somehow. I spent a good while in this befuddled state, half-fondling, and half-warring with myself, until Rainbow eventually stopped me.

“Callum, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know.” I told her honestly, “I’m just a bit stressed too, you know? I’m more in my head than anywhere else right now, it’s like a hurricane in there. I’m sorry, I just… I can’t focus.”

Rolling over to face me, the pegasus smiled, which I could only just perceive in the low light.

“It’s all good, I totally get it.”

Gently nudging me onto my back, Rainbow Dash began to clamber on top of me, and despite us being cloaked in darkness, her intentions were as clear as day.

“Err, Rainbow… I just said I can’t focus. Not sure I’m going to be much good at whatever you’re thinking.”

The nigh-imperceptible glaze of her eyes flashed with impish delight, and she leaned forward to whisper into my ear, lightly nibbling at the lobe as she did so.

“Oh, you’re not going to have to focus for this…”

Lowering herself down, she kissed me, far softer than her usual, untamed manner. She then planted more kisses down my body, until she eventually disappeared under the covers, where she hissed deviously.

“Now then… how about I give you a real apology for being so rough earlier?”

There was a moment of silence, before a new sensation suddenly had my eyes nearly bulging from their sockets. Tightly clasping the bedsheets, I let out the faintest, daintiest, most high-pitched sound I had ever made.

Meep!


Chapter Twenty-Five: Dash Away

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My slumber was abruptly disturbed by the sound of Rainbow’s clamorous snoring, but I hardly cared. Having slept like a rock until now, I was perfectly well-rested and ready for the day; there was no secret that an intimate night always helped in getting a reposeful sleep. Pouring in through the window was the morning sun, and I basked in it for a short while before getting up for breakfast. Shutting the door behind me, I began making my way to the stairs, but had gone no further than halfway when the door to Twilight’s room swung open. Stepping out and scowling, the unicorn strode up to me and raised her lips into a snarl, her eyes visibly bloodshot. By the looks of things, she had been distressed for quite some time.

“Have a nice night?” she snapped.

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Sighing disdainfully, Twilight shook her head.

“I looked all over for you. I checked the bathrooms, I checked the kitchen, I checked the washroom, and I even went outside in case you were in the pool. I have been awake since two o’clock in the morning, not knowing what the heck was going on. For nearly seven hours, I’ve been freaking out! Rarity came downstairs a while ago and finally told me where you were. After what happened the other night, I thought maybe he had found us, that he had taken you away or something.”

“Oh Twilight, no…” I breathed, shaking my head, “No, not at all.”

“I trust you, so much.” she said with tears forming in her eyes, “And you told me that you weren’t coming to bed because you were restless, implying that I’d find you downstairs. So when I wake up from another damn Spooky, and come rushing down to find the one person I can depend on, you can imagine the fucking dread I felt when you weren’t there!”

“Twilight, I am so sorry.” I murmured, hanging my head.

Blinking away the tears, she planted a hoof against my chest and did everything in her power not to cry.

“Why?” she begged, “Why did you lie to me?”

Dropping my shoulders, I allowed my arms to hang loosely as I gave my head a shameful, languid shake. Struggling to find the right words, I confessed.

“I was… embarrassed. Rainbow and I had, well… we had just… y-you know… and I didn’t know what to say at the time. I’m still not fully comfortable with everyone knowing, and I was scared you would judge me.”

After pausing to release a sigh, I added that with how often I spent nights with Twilight these days, I didn’t want her to assume that I was suddenly casting her aside. The moment I finished speaking, she stepped forward to bring her face closer to mine.

“I don’t give a fuck, what you do with Rainbow Dash.” she spat, her eyes flashing with anger, “Spend every damn night with her for all I care, but never lie to me, do you understand? You can’t do that to me, Callum, you just can’t. I need to know where you are, always!”

“Twi, if you got this worried about me, you could have just, I don’t know… checked the bedrooms?” I suggested, raising my shoulders.

“I was going to…” she growled, before looking away, “I got stuck.”

“Stuck?” I replied, tilting my head, “What do you mean, stuck?”

Exhaling, Twilight explained that as her panicked state had worsened through the night, she had reached a threshold where she completely shut down, and could no longer think straight, or heed any rational incentive. By the time Rarity had come downstairs, Twilight had been sat for hours on the sofa, just quietly hyperventilating and staring at her own hooves, not knowing what else to do. With her ire subsiding, the terrified undertone slowly broke through and her demeanour began to soften. Sniffing, she reiterated that my business with Rainbow was my own, and that the only thing she cared about, especially after my close call with Nah’Lek, was knowing that I was safe, and in the case of emergency, reachable. Dipping my head, my heart sank as I realised that, intentional or not, I had hurt my closest friend. Getting onto my knees, I opened my arms and she fell into me, unable to hold back the tears any longer.

I didn’t know where you were!” she wept.

Burying her face into my collar, her horn jabbed the bruise that Rainbow Dash had given me, sending a jolt of blunt pain into my neck, of which I thoroughly deserved. This was what I had been feeling so guilty about; from the moment I had chosen not to tell Twilight where I’d be for the night, I had been plagued by the thought of her waking from a night terror and not knowing where to find me. Now here we were, with that being exactly what had happened.

{Why didn’t you just tell her the truth?} I thought to myself, {You idiot, Callum… You fucking idiot!}

This may have been over something so silly, with no real malicious intent, but it went beyond that. This wasn’t about me and Rainbow, this was about trust; I had deceived someone who depended on me, all because I was too insecure just to admit that I had slept with Rainbow again. My deceit had directly caused hours of panic and distress for the poor mare, and I felt absolutely awful for it… Holding her tighter, I promised that I would never lie to her again, and that I truly was sorry. With a loud sniff, she pulled away and wiped her eyes.

“It’s okay…” she croaked, “I just got really scared. And it’s so stupid, because you were just down the hall.”

“It doesn’t matter where I was.” I replied, “I should have just been honest with you.”

“Yeah, you should have…” she whimpered.

“I wasn’t going to hide it from you, if that means anything.” I said with sincerity, “I’d have told you this morning over coffee, I just… I just froze in the moment, you know?”

Repeating herself for a third time, she expressed that she did not care about what I did with Rainbow Dash, only that she knew where I was, and that I was safe. Attempting to sprinkle in some humour, I joked that I wasn’t sure if I was totally safe last night, considering how aggressive the pegasus had been with me. The joke didn’t go down too well, and the unicorn recoiled with disgust and then delivered a firm punch into my gut.

Yep… Deserved that…” I wheezed.

“Go make me a coffee.” she demanded through gritted teeth, a hateful glower now painted upon her face.

Yes ma’am…

Staggering downstairs and into the living room, I found the others already up. Having overheard the scolding, they all looked at me with uncertain expressions, and I shrugged awkwardly before plodding into the kitchen. Rarity followed me in, and before I knew what was happening, I was seized by the ear, now firmly pinched by the ‘hoof aura’ that allowed ponies to grip things despite their lack of digits.

“Ow-ow-ow-ow!” I yelped as the unicorn pulled me down to a squat.

“What in Equus is wrong with you!?” she hissed, her tone utterly seething, “Do you know what trembling mess I came down to this morning? Honestly, Callum… you should have seen the state of her!”

She released me and I quickly backed away. Turning to face her, I clenched my jaw and bitterly grumbled my response, all while rubbing at my now-throbbing ear.

“Yeah, I know… I wasn’t thinking, okay?”

“Oh, you were thinking alright.” she barked back, “Just with the wrong head!

Lashing out, the mare smacked me in the groin, catching the full set and sending cascades of excruciating pain and nausea through my body. Coiling into myself and almost keeling over, I gripped the countertop to steady myself and emitted a husky groan.

Yep… deserved that too…

“Too right you deserved that.” she snorted, “Now, I appreciate you’re on the private side when it comes to your little ‘escapades’ with Rainbow Dash, but outright lying? To Twilight? Of whom you know is more frightful than even Fluttershy these days!?”

“I heard that!” Fluttershy’s voice rang out from the living room.

“Shame on you, Callum Horncastle.” Rarity continued, shaking her head, “Shame on you!”

Once she had finished reprimanding me, she rolled her eyes and huffed, choosing to scold me no longer. Stepping forward to put her forelegs around me, the unicorn lovingly hugged me, with her demeanour and tone now suddenly as friendly as could be.

“Well, with that out of the way, good morning dear. I expect you slept rather well, hmm?”

“I… uh… y-yeah?”

“Good, I’m sure you’ve been in need of a good rest after that dreadful encounter the other night. Now, hurry along with Twilight’s coffee, we don’t have much time before we have to leave.”

Turning around, she strutted off, leaving me emotionally whiplashed and weak in the knees from a very sore pair of bollocks. With the coffee brewed, I brought a mug to Twilight and then went to wake Rainbow Dash, skipping breakfast altogether. Once the pegasus was awake, I told her about the incident with Twilight, to which she shrugged and suggested that although I should have been upfront, it was hardly the crime of the century.

“You’re a grown-up, you can do what you want.” she murmured sleepily, “And besides, if she really thought you’d been taken by Nah’Lek, she would have woken us up with a great big screaming fit, and you know that’s true. Sounds more to me like she was just upset because she had a night terror, and you weren’t there to calm her down. With the best will in the world, Twilight’s not exactly the most stable pony at the moment.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I grumbled with uncertainty.

Picking up on my tone, Rainbow cuffed me on the arm and assured me that Twilight would get over it, and that I didn’t need to be so hard on myself.

“Give it a few hours, tops, she’ll come crawling back to you.” she said, confidently raising her chin, “Twilight needs your support more than she wants to be mad at you.”

“That’s… surprisingly profound of you, Rainbow.” I remarked, furrowing my brow.

“Oh whatever!” she scoffed, throwing her head to one side, “I don’t even get why this is such a big deal, it’s not like you were covering up a murder or something.”

“Well…” I chuckled, “You kind of murdered me last night.”

Snorting with amusement, Rainbow playfully shoved me and then clambered out of bed. She went downstairs, while I went to the bathroom, not wishing to be seen with the pegasus for a while. After Dashie had eaten, we neatened up the rooms and promptly checked out, hopping aboard the bus and continuing westbound. In need of comfort after last night’s Spooky, Twilight eventually warmed to me again, coming over to lean against me. From the corner of her eye, Rainbow Dash glanced at me and smirked, giving a look which very blatantly said ‘I told you so’. Tutting quietly, I rolled my eyes and gave a look back to say ‘you were right, but shut up’.


Making our way out of Colorado, we crossed over into Utah, and soon enough, we were all gawking out the windows to take in the sights. Muttering our amazement, we gazed at the ever-changing landscape as it constantly warped from bushy flats, to rocky crags, to vast deserts of brown and orange hues. We were now a good quarter of the way into the state, and were utterly blown away as we passed Black Dragon Canyon and approached the San Rafael Reef. From our angle of approach, it was hard not to envision some almighty creature of colossal proportions had once burst from the earth, uprooting the very ground and leaving behind these incredible, jagged, gargantuan cliffs, spanning for dozens of miles.

After a few pit stops for food and bathroom breaks, we eventually made it to our last Airbnb, and once everyone was settled, Joshua decided to unveil his gifts for the girls. Mel and I helped collect them from the bus, and one by one, the parcels were distributed.

“Oh darling, this is so very thoughtful of you!” Rarity exclaimed, being the first to open her gift.

Eyeing up the books and taking the time to read the blurbs on the back, she grinned wildly at the enticing, albeit rather titillating material. Knowing her tastes, there was no doubt that she would thoroughly enjoy the lot of it. The next to open her gift was Pinkie Pie, who began squealing and whooping upon receiving a complete set of cooking utensils, and some non-stick pots and pans.

“Do you know how often I have to borrow Mr and Mrs Cake’s?” she squeaked, “This is perfect!”

Launching herself forward, Pinkie thanked Josh by way of clinging to him with all four legs, almost taking the poor lad to the floor. Applejack then proceeded to open her present, and although it was far smaller than anyone else’s, it carried no less meaning. To the farm pony, Josh had given a survival seed vault, containing well over a hundred different seeds for fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

“This way,” Josh began, “you can have a little patch of Earth on your farm.”

Welling up, Applejack sniffed loudly and said that this meant more to her than he would ever know. She then got up and gave him a hug just as Pinkie had done, albeit with a little more propriety.

“I’ll set aside a whole plot just for these.” she promised, “I’ll plough the whole dang field myself!”

Grinning from ear to ear, she went back to her seat and let Josh give out the next gift.

“Twilight, these are for you.”

Curiously tilting her head, the lilac unicorn took the two large boxes that were handed to her. Upon opening the first box, Twilight’s eyes widened, realising what she had been given.

“Oh my gosh!” she gasped, “Josh, this is… thank you!”

Clapping his hands together, Joshua found it hard to contain his delectation.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d like it.” he admitted, “You and Callum seemed more fond of the Xbox when we were at Alex’s place.”

With her mouth agape, Twilight stared excitedly at her brand new PlayStation Four, still sealed in the box. The second package revealed a handful of popular games to go with it, such as Minecraft, The Witcher, Bloodborne, The Last of Us, and much to Twilight’s delight, the Dark Souls games.

“You didn’t get to finish that one.” Josh murmured, pointing to Dark Souls Three, “Well, now you can!”

Without uttering a word, Twilight’s eyes quickly began to water. She went over and gave Josh a very emotional hug, squeezing him even tighter than Pinkie had. This gift meant everything to her… Now, when Twilight was back in Equestria, missing me and longing for my company, she could play these games just as we had done at Alex’s house. She could lose herself in these great human-made digital adventures, all while imagining me at her side.

“How are you going to play without electricity?” asked Rommel, raising an eyebrow.

Looking at him just as the tears began to flow, she spluttered that she would find a way to make it work. Realising that Josh hadn’t included a television, I made a mental note to acquire one closer to the end of our journey, as without one, a console was little more than an expensive brick.

Following Twilight, Rainbow Dash opened her present, who had been waiting very patiently. Just as Twilight had two separate parcels, so did she, and opening the first one unveiled a device of some sort, only a little smaller than a laptop.

“Whoa, sweet!” she cried out, before craning her neck, “What is it?”

Laughing, Josh explained that she was now in possession of a portable DVD player. Equipped with its own built-in screen, it would allow her to watch films and TV shows, both at home, and on the fly, which could be taken literally if she so desired.

“Just don’t drop it.” Rommel pointed out, causing us all to giggle.

The second parcel revealed a plentiful collection of action flicks, such as Die Hard, the Indiana Jones films, The Dark Knight trilogy, and many more.

“There’s a USB slot too.” Josh said to me, “So if you think of anything else, just put it on a flash drive and it’ll work just fine.”

I nodded, while an overjoyed Rainbow Dash sprung up and delivered Josh’s fourth hug, thanking him profusely; needless to say, he had done very well indeed. Lastly, he presented his gifts for Fluttershy, which came as a handful of encyclopaedias, covering all the different categories of the animal kingdom. As something of a friendly joke, he also gifted her the enormous plushie of herself, as she had ironically grown quite fond of the damn thing. Along with that, he also gave her a sealed letter, which he requested she only read upon returning home. Of course, we were all eager to learn the letter’s contents, but none of us pressed the matter, allowing it to remain a mystery.

With the gift giving out of the way, the rest of night was a very pleasant one, with another round of Domino’s for dinner, and at Joshua’s request, a few episodes of Doctor Who, specifically from David Tennant’s era. I gave the girls a short-but-thorough explanation about the series, so they could enjoy the show without being utterly befuddled by it. Twilight, as expected, was hooked immediately, and the others enjoyed it as well, all captivated by David Tennant’s boundless energy and charisma.


When it was time for bed, things grew uncomfortable once more, upon learning from Fluttershy that some members of the group had been secretly placing bets on whether I would be sleeping platonically with Twilight tonight, or intimately with Rainbow Dash. Quite understandably, I was both angered and hurt; they all knew that I felt bad about upsetting Twilight this morning, and to turn things into some heartless wager left me incredibly riled up.

“If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t place any bet.” Fluttershy told me, trying to calm me down, “It was just Applejack, Rarity, and the guys. Oh, and uh… Rainbow Dash.”

“Oh of course she would be in on it.” I grumbled, “Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if she was the one who started it.”

Remaining silent, Fluttershy broke eye contact and quietly cleared her throat, indicating that Rainbow was indeed, the one who started it. Huffing with annoyance, I threw my head to one side and folded my arms. It was then, with an adorably devious expression, Fluttershy suggested that we one-up the lot of them.

“And how might we do that?” I inquired, frowning.

“Well, um… you could always stay with me tonight?”

With my eyes widening, my irritated demeanour rapidly dissipated; what a perfect idea! Fluttershy and I had spent many a night together at the beginning of our adventure, so there wouldn’t be a hint of awkwardness. In fact, it wasn’t all that long ago since she had mentioned missing those old days. This would make for a nice opportunity to rekindle that closeness we used to have. There was no secret that I had drifted away from the other girls to some degree, with caring for Twilight becoming my main focus. Fluttershy and I used to have so many laughs together in the night, gossiping over our secrets and telling one another stories. It dawned on me how much I also missed those nights, and I broke into a huge grin.

“That…” I began, pointing to the pegasus with a finger, “is a bloody good idea.”

“Oh, you think so?” she replied, her ears perking up, “I wasn’t sure if you’d want to or not.”

“No-no, I’m totally down!” I insisted, “It’d be just like the old days.”

Beaming, Fluttershy was unable to hide her excitement, and we went into the living room to rejoin the others, where we mutually decided to savour the secret plan. Enjoying some TV in silence, we continually exchanged knowing glances, eagerly awaiting the group’s unanimous decision to go to bed. Every so often, the witless betters would look my way, trying to gauge me, and it was excruciatingly difficult to keep a straight face. Eventually, the time arose, and Twilight was the one to ask, wishing to know if I would be joining her tonight.

“I thought you might want some space.” I told her, “You were quite upset with me this morning, and understandably so of course, so I thought I ought to sleep somewhere else tonight.”

For what it was worth, I was being totally honest in what I said; for as much as my decision was driven by the insensitive betting, I was also legitimately anxious about going to bed with Twilight after what had happened. Still, it was clear that she was disheartened, as her ears very subtly began to droop, and she dipped her head with reluctant understanding.

“Oh, I guess that makes sense…” she muttered, “Well uh, I suppose you’ll be… staying with Rainbow then?”

Looking over to the cyan pegasus, I watched as she flexed her eyebrows and smirked, believing that she had won her gamble. Her eyes twinkled with the confident presumption that she was to have another night with me, receiving all the ‘stress relief’ she could ask for. As clear as day, she was already fantasising about what we might get up to, and she licked her bottom lip with anticipation. Narrowing my eyes, I returned the expression, wordlessly egging her on to climb up this hill of salacious expectation, only to unexpectedly trip and tumble down into the fiery pit of failure. With a sly look, I took a big stretch and shattered the mare’s prospects, a punishment well-deserved for treating my predicament like a game.

“Nah, I’d rather not put up with her snoring tonight.” I answered Twilight with a nonchalant shrug, “Fluttershy, you feel like bunking up?”

“Ooh, I’d love to!” she exclaimed triumphantly, knocking her front hooves together.

She got up, and the two of us made a quick escape, refusing to stick around and be subject to questioning. However, just before leaving the room, I turned to Rainbow Dash and smirked.

“Didn’t bet on that, did you?”

Winking, I fled the room and scampered upstairs with Fluttershy, where we quickly entered her room and shut the door. We looked at one another for a split second, before we both broke down into a fit of giggles.

“Did you see the look on her face!?” she squealed, almost keeling over.

“She didn’t know what to do!” I cackled, “Her face dropped like a sack of spuds!”

Flopping onto the bed together, we laughed and laughed, until we eventually settled down and switched off the light. Still chuckling every so often, we made a little bet of our own, speculating over just how grumpy Rainbow Dash was probably going to be in the morning.

“I bet she won’t even speak to you.” she tittered.

“I bet…” I sniggered back, “she won’t even look at me until we’re on the bus.”

“Ooh, without a doubt!”

The two of us were like giddy children, buzzing with glee. That was when I suddenly fell silent, and kicked out no longer.

“Oh god… Fluttershy, you know what I’ve just realised?”

“What?”

“They might think that… you and I…”

Her mouth fell open, and then she reached forward to shake my arm with her front hooves.

“Oh gosh, you’re right!” she gasped, “Especially since you made that comment yesterday!”

“What, about acquiring a taste for pegasus?”

“Yeah!”

“Fuck…” I wheezed loudly, cupping my mouth with my hands.

“You really shouldn’t have said that, Callum.”

I was joking!

“Yeah, well now everyone’s going to think you were being serious.”

Rolling my eyes, I responded by saying that they could think what they liked, and that I was just glad to have blown Rainbow Dash out of the water with this little stunt. Immediately thinking of her dumbfounded face, we both broke into yet another bout of snickering. Once we had calmed down, I let out a long, heavy breath.

“I’ve missed this.”

“Yeah, me too.” Fluttershy sighed back.

Deciding to honour our old tradition, we told one another a story. Fluttershy began, telling me of an old legend about a creature that supposedly lived in the Everfree Forest, a terrifying yet misunderstood being, of which was half-pony, and half-spider, the ever-elusive Arachnapony. She told me about it for a good while, until her knowledge of the story reached its end. I in turn then picked a fable for her. For almost an hour, I spouted to her the legend of Robin Hood, the fabled arrow-slinging outlaw who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Never seen without his band of Merry Men, he would travel from town to town, aiding those in need and bringing justice to the corrupt, all while evading the forces of his arch-nemesis, the tyrannical Sheriff of Nottingham.

With our stories both told, Fluttershy and I called it a night, and after shifting around for a bit to get comfy, I held the mare close to me and slowly began to drift off. However, until I was fully unconscious, I was yet again stalked by a feeling of unease. I couldn’t place it, but even now that Twilight knew where I was staying tonight, I felt as though I were committing some form of misdeed by spending the night with Fluttershy. It certainly wasn’t as intense as last night with Rainbow, but the feeling existed nonetheless. Frowning, I desperately tried to reason with myself and get to the bottom of it, but the only thoughts that returned to me echoed the same simple notion…

I wasn’t supposed to be here.


Come dawn, Fluttershy and I were both startled by a light knocking at the door, causing us both to sit bolt upright, unsure as to what was going on. Clearing her throat, Fluttershy asked who it was, and Twilight’s voice replied, asking if she could come in. Upon receiving confirmation, the unicorn entered the room and approached the end of the bed. She didn’t look well, not at all; her face was pale and it was clear that she hadn’t slept again. With a pained expression, she clambered onto the bed and flopped down, right in between me and Flutters.

“Make yourself at home then.” I chuckled, patting her on the head.

She responded by letting out a croaky, drawn-out groan. I glanced to Fluttershy and gave her an unsure expression, to which the pegasus shrugged back at me, and then asked if Twilight was okay.

“Do I look okay?” she huffed bitterly, raising her head out from the gap in the pillows.

“Mate, you look like a shit took a shit.” I told her honestly, grimacing.

“Thanks, Cal.”

“You’re welcome.”

Sighing, she answered Fluttershy by admitting that she was very much not okay. With a pensive breath, she asked for permission to get inside the pegasus’ saddlebag, as she was direly in need of some sleep.

“Oh Twilight, you poor thing…” Fluttershy sighed, wrapping her friend a tender cuddle, “Of course you can, go right ahead!”

Quietly uttering her thanks, Twilight slithered miserably off the bed and staggered over to the bag. Despite the early awakening, I was glad that she had come in to make the request. This way, she could finally get the rest she so-desperately needed, and when it was time for us to leave, I could simply carry the bag onto the bus with her still inside, without having to wake her. Crawling out of bed and emitting a lengthy yawn, Fluttershy sheepishly professed that she needed her morning wee and left the room. The second she was gone, Twilight turned to face me, raising an eyebrow.

“So, you and her too?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” I retorted, shaking my head, “It’s Fluttershy, I would never.”

“Hmph.” she huffed, sniffing, “Well, either way, it for sure pissed off Rainbow.”

“Good.” I replied, getting to my feet, “That was kind of the point.”

Tilting her head, the unicorn asked what I meant, and I enlightened her on the ‘betting’ situation while I got dressed. Rolling her eyes, Twilight couldn’t help but scoff with mixed annoyance and amusement.

“Ugh, that is so Rainbow Dash.” she muttered, “Wait, so are you telling me that you didn’t spend last night with me because of that?”

Shrugging, I told Twilight that it was partly that, but also because I was genuinely still worried that she was still secretly mad at me. Looking away, she admitted that she in fact was still mad at me, but she didn’t want to be. She didn’t want something so incredibly silly to come between us, and nor did I. Helping her into Fluttershy’s bag, I apologised once again for my dishonesty, and for the whole ordeal getting so blown out of proportion. Giving me a hug, she properly forgave me and then receded into the bag. I watched as she curled up into a ball, and slowly began to fall asleep.

“I know it’s not exactly nighttime anymore, but…” I began, smiling.

Knowing exactly what I was going to say, she peered up at me and smiled back.

“Goodnight Cal.”

Upon hearing those words, a sense of peace washed over me, now knowing that she truly wasn’t mad at me anymore. Smirking, I closed the flap and allowed her to finally get the rest she needed. I then left the room and went downstairs for breakfast with Fluttershy. After that, I decided to have a shave while we waited for the others to wake. It had been a long time since I had been clean-shaven, and it was nice to look in the mirror and see a much younger self when I was finished. The others eventually came down to join us, and once they had all eaten, we were on the road again for the last time. Our next stop would be the airstrip in California, where we would part ways with Josh, of whom despite his temporary role, had very much become a beloved member of our troop. For almost an hour, Rainbow Dash scowled at me from the other side of the bus, blatantly annoyed that I had shown her up in front of everyone. Rarity eventually forced her to pack it in, and the pegasus apologised for orchestrating the betting. Forgiving her, as Twilight had forgiven me, we ended up having a laugh over it, with Dashie admitting that Fluttershy had well and truly out-pranked her by stealing me for the night, denying her of a good lay.

“Okay, seriously, TMI.” Rommel cringed, putting his hands up.

We all laughed, and mercifully decided to change topics, sparing poor Mel from a subject that was understandably very over-personal for a newcomer in our group. For the rest of the journey, we chatted and bantered, and just as we had on the way to Owosso, we even had a little singsong. We made for good time, and by the late afternoon, we were approaching Stallion Springs, where the private airstrip lay in waiting, and with it, our seaplane. With the next leg of our journey being in a confined cabin, hurtling through the air, we took one last stop by some woodland for a toilet break. Just as before, the girls took a little longer to return, with Rommel being the first one back and heading into the bus to take his seat. Taking the opportunity for our last one-on-one, Josh approached me tentatively.

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Go for it lad.” I replied, leaning against the bus.

With a solemn expression, as though he already knew the answer, he asked me if there was ever a chance that the ponies could come to Earth again, after the Titans’ Orb had been recovered.

“Like, I know we’re not allowed to visit Equestria,” he muttered quietly, haunching his shoulders, “but is there any way I could see Fluttershy again?”

Raising my eyebrows at the very direct usage of Fluttershy’s name, I thought about the life-sized plushie, along with the sealed letter he’d given the pegasus yesterday, and I very quickly guessed its contents.

“You really like her, don’t you?”

Nodding, he professed that he had always gravitated towards her as a cartoon character, but now that he had laid eyes on her in person, in the flesh, he was totally and utterly captivated by her. The poor lad was smitten, and I rapidly tried to find the words to gently let him down. But before I could speak, he continued, very humbly acknowledging that his feelings were born of an unsound fixation, one that had stemmed from a lack of any real people paying him affection. Alas, one way or another, he felt how he felt, and regardless of how bleak or pitiful it may have come across, he desired Fluttershy. Without so much as a hint of judgement, I huffed fondly through my nose. In truth, I felt nothing but sympathy for his predicament; I was a hopeless romantic myself, falling hard for Bunnie back in Portugal, and even just a fortnight ago, I had felt an abnormally potent spark with Phoenix. With an expression of melancholy, I decided that it would be best to give Josh an honest answer.

“Look buddy, I’m going to be straight with you. They won’t be coming back. None of this was ever supposed to happen. The only reason they’re here is to fix a mistake.”

Pressing on, I told him that he needed to make peace with that, and to focus on what he had been given, not what he was lacking. With how anxious Fluttershy was around new people, it was nothing short of a miracle that she had allowed him to cuddle her during that night in the bus, prior to reaching Owosso. As she had said to us privately, she knew that he was a lonely fellow, and after getting over the plushie incident, she genuinely wanted to set aside her personal discomfort to pay him that kindness. Continuing, I reminded him that he was the only person on this planet who would ever have the pleasure, nay, the privilege, of lying beside Fluttershy and holding her for the night.

“Well, the only person besides you.” he said bitterly.

“Yeah but that goes without saying.” I retorted, “I meant under conventional terms, you are the only ordinary person who’ll ever have that experience. That’s something you, and you alone will have, for the rest of your days. You need to hold onto that memory, and treasure it dearly. It won’t happen overnight, but you do need to move on.”

Dipping his chin and smiling weakly, he knew that I was right, and thanked me for hearing him out. The others then returned from the woods, and our conversation was brought to a close. We embarked on the last leg, and very soon after that, Twilight woke up, groggily clambering out the bag to join us. Remaining non-verbal, she slouched against me and watched the world go by out the window while I gently combed my fingers through her mane. From across the way, I noticed Rarity and Applejack staring at the two of us, both of them clearly in thought. I tilted my head to them in curiosity, to which they smiled warmly and then looked away.


We finally reached Stallion Springs, and after losing phone signal and temporarily getting lost, we reached our destination. Turning into the dirt driveway, we approached a large wooden cabin, and just beyond it was the airstrip.

“Bloody hell, we’re flying in that!?” I gasped.

“Holy mackerel!” Josh exclaimed after me.

Although still quite a distance from us, the aircraft was perceivably gigantic. When I had thought of a seaplane, I had been envisioning something along the lines of those traditional, dinky floatplanes. But here we were, staring at one absolute unit of a flying contraption.

“So, what’s the plan?” asked Rommel.

“Well, I think the girls ought to hide in Flutters’ bag just in case, and then we’ll go meet the owner of this place.” I replied, “After that, Josh can bring the bus alongside the plane and we can offload the gear.”

Giving a thumbs up in agreement, Mel stretched and then got to his feet. The girls all slithered into the bag, and I made my way out of the bus and towards the cabin. With Josh and Rommel just behind me, I approached the front door and looked for a doorbell; without one to be found, I lightly rapped my knuckles against the door, to which I heard movement from within. A good twenty or so seconds later, a bolt lock was undone and the door began to open, followed by the emergence of a double-barrelled shotgun.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” a voice grunted.

“Well hopefully, not getting shot.” I countered with a degree of nonchalance, “I’m here for the plane on your airstrip.”

“Ah, I see…” he croaked, “Then you’ll know there’s something you’re supposed to say.”

Knowing that he was referring to the passphrase Alex had set for this exchange, I looked at the glaring eye through the crack in the door and cleared my throat.

“Dash Away.”

The gun was withdrawn and the door opened properly, revealing a thin elderly man with a wispy grey and white beard. His face was wrinkled and decrepit, and as the door opened wider, my nose picked up on the infamous ‘old people smell’. Looking us all up and down, he narrowed his eyes and frowned, maintaining his grip on the shotgun.

“I was told there was only going to be two of you, who’s the third?”

Giving an anxious wave, Josh explained that he was merely our transport. Nodding with understanding, the man beckoned me and Rommel indoors, while Josh went to move the bus over to the airstrip and privately say his goodbyes to the girls. Leaving the shotgun to rest on a mantelpiece, the man welcomed us into his home and offered us some tea. We accepted the offer, and found ourselves sat in his living room on a worn couch. When it was brewed, the man brought us our cups and then shakily sat down in an armchair.

“So, I was told by your friend that you’re explorers of a sort?”

“Yeah, we are.” I replied.

Leaning forward, I entertained the story with a half-truth, explaining that Rommel and I were keen on finding an island that hadn’t yet been discovered somewhere out on the Pacific.

“We’ve examined flight paths and found an area which nobody’s flown yet.” I told him, taking a moment to sip from my cup, “We’re hoping to find something out there, and make our mark on the world.”

Blinking slowly, the man listened to my words with his mouth slightly ajar, revealing crooked yellowed teeth. After I had finished talking, he inhaled sharply and gave a nod.

“Few cartographers these days.” he rasped, sipping from his own tea, “Nice to see they’re still around, trying to chart this old ball of dirt.”

Rommel and I gave quiet laughs in amused agreement, and then I decided to ask about the aeroplane; I asked what type it was, and how long he had owned it for. Upon receiving these questions, the man professed that he didn't own the plane, and that he had merely agreed to let it land on his airstrip, and to look after it until we arrived to collect it.

“I nearly said no.” he muttered on, leaning back and tilting his head, “I wasn’t sure if it was some sort of government transaction that I wanted no part in. Normally, when two men in fancy suits come knocking, it’s about something government related. I told them I would think about it and return their call, but really, I was just trying to get them off my property.”

“So what changed your mind?” Rommel inquired.

With his mouth still ajar, the man gazed off into space, as though he was processing the question, or deeply recollecting something. Eventually, he leaned forward in his chair and pointed to the ceiling with a finger.

“The Lord, changed my mind.”

Stifling my inner amusement, I remained silent and gave him an expression of sceptical interest. Looking back and forth between me and Rommel, the man craned his neck and put down his teacup.

“Which one of you boys is Callum?”

Clearing my throat, I met his gaze and took the credit for being one Mister Callum, to which he leaned even further forward and squinted at me.

“I’m going to ask you a question, Callum… what is your faith?”

My eyebrows lightly jumped at the query, and I did my best to give a reply that didn’t offend the old man.

“Err, well… I’m not a believer myself, but I’m not opposed to those who are.” I began, attempting to remain positively neutral, “My stance is that I’m welcome to the concept of a higher power in this world, but I’m simply not convinced by the beliefs currently on offer.”

Seemingly displeased with my answer, but respectful all the same, the man stared at me silently, before eventually replying.

“So, you’re a seeker?”

With my sacred task being to aid the girls in ‘seeking’ the Titans’ Orb, the man was ironically quite correct. Shrugging, I said that I supposed I was in some sense.

“Well Callum, whether you believe or not,” he continued, “the Lord has big plans for you. Not many in this world are so blessed to witness the Holy Spirit assume a mortal form and act in hand.”

Shifting in his seat, he looked back to Rommel and chose to be direct.

“To answer your question, I was visited by a divine servant of God, an angel, sent from above to guide my path, so you may continue on yours.”

Almost immediately, the penny dropped for me.

“What did he look like, this angel?” I inquired calmly, just to be sure.

“He appeared to me as a man, youthful, and kind.” he replied, looking just past me, “He was no less human than you or I, except of course for those graceful, perfect wings. Oh, and his eyes…”

“His eyes?” I hummed, tilting my head, “What of them?”

Blinking rapidly, the man’s mouth opened wider, before he finally spoke.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I sure ain’t seen no normal man with purple eyes. They were a soft purple, like periwinkle… and even in the low light, they shone like the moon. It was truly a sight to behold. I wept for hours after he was gone. Not with fear, no… I wept with joy… such blessed, hallowed joy… for I had seen a messenger of the Lord!”

Religious theatrics aside, I was now certain. For some reason, this old man had been visited by none other than Hawnu fucking Rey’eng, and without his metal suit for that matter… This was the first real description of what the Guardian looked like, and despite his eyes being the only revealing feature, I was fascinated all the same. Once the man had calmed down from his euphoric recollection, he explained that my ‘angel’ had convinced him to allow for the seaplane to be stored here, and to have it stocked with as much fuel as it could sensibly carry. Believing the Guardian to be a literal messenger of God, he had obeyed without question.

{Just wait until Twilight hears about this…} I thought to myself, biting my inner lip.

After taking a moment to finish his tea, the elderly man inhaled sharply and pointed at my chest with his finger, which was visibly shaking.

“He had a message for you.” he rasped, “Something you must remember, for when the time is right.”

{Oh great, more riddles.}

I politely gestured for him to continue, to which he beckoned me closer. Obeying, I brought myself as close to him as possible without sliding off the sofa. The man’s eyes then widened, as though he were speaking his final words, and I couldn’t help but be gripped by what he had to say.

“You may not believe, Callum, but these are the words of God. This message, and the charge I bestow upon you, come from the Lord himself, and you will listen…”

The severity in his tone unnerved me, and I found myself genuinely believing that I was about to hear the words of the divine. Although, come to think of it, it wasn’t out of the question to consider Hawnu Rey’eng as a godlike being; the underground temple in the Sahara sure had him depicted as such. So, in a roundabout way, his words were divine. With a gulp, I met the old man’s eyes and allowed him to deliver the angelic commission, and in Hawnu Rey’eng’s signature style, it came in the form of an enigma.

“As the dim of the flickering sapphire draws near, heed the plea of the fading soul.”

The phrase etched itself into my mind and I could feel my heart begin to race. What on earth did that mean? Gulping for a second time, I sat back and nervously cleared my throat.

“I don’t… I don’t understand.”

“Nor do I.” the old man replied, “But the angel spoke those words, and they in turn, came straight from the Almighty. No matter what, you must remember them. Only in time, God’s plan for you will be revealed, and someday, somehow, those words will make sense, and you’ll know what to do.”

Clenching my jaw, I fixated on Hawnu Rey’eng’s message, desperately trying to decipher what it meant. Knowing that Twilight would be the best one to ask, I thought it best to wrap things up and think on it during the flight. Promising that I would remember what I had been told, I asked the man if we could see the plane now, to which he dipped his head and got to his feet. He retrieved the seaplane’s keys from an empty fruit bowl and took us outside, where we found Josh leaning against his bus. Upon reaching him, I noticed that he had tears in his eyes, indicating that he had given the girls a less-than-stoic farewell. Exhaling through my nose, I gave him a kind smile. The man then showed us to the side hatch of the plane, opening it up and then passing me the keys, which I immediately tossed to Rommel.

“So, you know how to fly one of these, huh?”

Answering the old man, Rommel professed that while he hadn’t flown this particular model, he could handle it. Apparently, once you had flown one of these things, you had flown them all. I didn’t know how accurate that was, but I trusted in Mel and knew that he wouldn’t let us down. Asking more about the plane itself as we clambered inside, I came to learn that this was a Consolidated PBY Catalina, and a heavily modified one at that, designed specifically for long-haul flights. Rommel and Josh were both eager to explore the innards of the impressive craft, meanwhile my enthusiasm had been totally extinguished, for I simply could not take my mind off Hawnu Rey’eng’s message.

{As the dim of the flickering sapphire draws near, heed the plea of the fading soul.}

I repeated the phrase over and over in my mind, but try as I might, I couldn’t even begin to fathom what it meant. The sooner I could ask Twilight, the better.

“Well then,” I began, clearing my throat, “I suppose we’ll be going now.”

Laughing faintly, the elderly man could tell that I was rattled, seeing straight through my attempt to remain composed. While Josh and Rommel moved our supplies across, he took me to one side and rested a hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t be afraid, child.” he rasped, “The path is already laid for you, all you need to do is walk it.”

Regardless of his personal faith, the old man had a point; if Hawnu Rey’eng had left me with instructions for something yet to come, then I had no choice other than to move forward and tackle whatever came my way. Thanking him for his words, I shook the man’s hand and he bid me farewell, shambling back into his cabin and closing the door behind him, his part to play in ‘the Lord’s plan’ for me, now finished.

With all the gear onboard, I wrapped my arms around Josh and thanked him deeply and sincerely for everything he had done for us.

“You’ll let me know how things go, right?” he asked, “Like, when you find the piece on the island and make your way to somewhere civilised?”

“Of course.” I told him, “As soon as I have internet again, I’ll ping you a message.”

After giving him a firm pat on the back, I stepped away and clambered aboard, where I found the girls crawling out of Fluttershy’s bag and taking in their new metal enclosure. Rommel said goodbye to Josh as well, and then we closed the hatch. Hopping into the pilot’s chair, Mel accustomed himself to the dashboard in front of him, and after a few minutes of noting where all the switches and buttons were, he got the engine started and the aeroplane rumbled to life.

“So, how exactly does one learn to fly one of these things?” asked Rarity.

“Well, you normally have to take lessons from a flight instructor.” Rommel explained, “It’s pretty hard getting a licence that way though, as it’s a bitch to pass the tests. Thankfully I know the right people, so I was able to get a licence forged for me.”

With my eyes widening, I asked if that meant that he didn’t actually have a real licence.

“No, it’s a real one!” he quickly replied, chuckling, “It just found its way to me in a slightly less legal manner.”

“But you didn’t pass the flight exams to get it?” I pressed on.

“Well, not exactly.”

Fiddling with the controls, he was able to get us moving, and as we began making our way down the runway and picking up speed, I had just one thing to ask.

“Mel… where did you learn to fly a plane exactly?”

Laughing nervously, Rommel chose not to reply for a moment until we were moving fast enough to prevent an emergency stop, and just as we began leaving the ground, he answered.

“Well, I kind of picked things up on Microsoft Flight Simulator.”

A FLIGHT SIM?” I shrieked out loudly, “YOUR ONLY EXPERIENCE IS A FUCKING FLIGHT SIM!?

The plane tilted upwards and we all slid back, followed by it rattling from side to side until Rommel was able to regain control and keep us steady. Livid beyond words, I reached forward and grabbed Mel by his shirt, glaring at him intensely.

“Do you have any idea how far we have to fly!?” I barked, “If we crash because you can’t really pilot this thing, I swear to the Titans, I will fucking kill you!”

“Well if you don’t let go of me and let me focus, we will crash!” he yelped, clearly taken aback.

Releasing him, I stumbled back and gripped onto a nearby metal bar. Letting out an aggravated sigh, I accepted that there was no choice now. We were in the air and picking up speed with every passing second, well beyond the point of no return. Mel’s sketchy promise of being a capable pilot was all we had, and despite being utterly furious with him, there was little else I could do but trust that he wasn’t going to send us to the bottom of the sea as soon as we hit the first patch of inclement weather.

At least he had come through with the weaponry; permitting that we actually made it to the island, I had a pretty bad feeling that we were going to need it…


Chapter Twenty-Six: Into the Unknown

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Settling down after my utterly furious outburst at Rommel, I made my way out of the cockpit, leaving him to focus on the controls and fly us westbound. After getting comfortable amongst the girls, I relayed to them what had happened with the old man, and told them of Hawnu Rey’eng’s message. Twilight was of course immediately on the case, using her poetic mind to run through all the possible meanings of the phrase. The others were more astounded that the Guardian had made an appearance in the first place. We hadn’t seen him since Portugal, and so it was a shock for them to hear his name again, let alone news of his presence.

The plane ride was a little shakier than we’d hoped for, but all credit to him, Rommel had been able to keep the damn thing in the air. As we reached the coast and left America for good, he inquired as to what direction he was actually supposed to be going in. Withdrawing Vitra ‘Aku, I passed a glance to Rarity, my expression brimming with confidence. Beneath the surface however, I couldn’t help but worry; this was the first time since learning that Nah’Lek could track magic that we would be using it.

“Well, here’s to hoping Alex has done his part by now.” I huffed.

“And, oh I don’t know, hoping that he’s safe?” Rainbow butted in angrily.

“He’ll be fine.” I replied, smiling warmly, “By now, he’s probably blown up the second rune, and once he’s done with the third, he’ll lay low somewhere. In fact, I bet Josh has already sent a message to let him know we got in the air okay. Once we’re off the island, we can check in with them, alright?”

Giving a mostly satisfied nod, Rainbow backed away and allowed me to have some space. Tightening my grip, I prepared to absorb Rarity’s enchantment, and if it was anything like the first time, I was going to be in for one hell of a ride.

“Ready dear?” the unicorn asked.

“Do it.”

Her horn lit up, basking us all in a brilliant azure glow. It was so good to see magic again, it may have only been a few weeks, but I’d missed its absence all the same. However, from the corner of my eye, I couldn’t help but notice the seething look of jealousy from Twilight. Magic was her special talent; no, more than that… it was a core part of her very identity! And now here Rarity was, stepping into her role, and performing the abilities that had been so unjustly stripped from her. My mood dropped for a moment as a sharp pang of empathy coursed through me, but I quickly cast it aside; for as heartbreaking as Twilight’s predicament was, I needed to focus. Rarity shut her eyes, and the enchantment was cast. Almost immediately, I felt the energy surging from the handle and into the palm of my hand, physically paining me as it did so. It then raced up my wrist and into my body, until it finally reached my head, where just as before, my vision was replaced by a blinding white.

“See anything yet?” Applejack asked.

Her voice sounded distant, and I ordered her to be patient. After a few seconds, my vision began to clear, where I was met yet again with the most breathtaking view a human could experience; Planet Earth. After being suspended above the globe for a short while, I began to drift downward until I found myself floating above the ocean, just off North America’s West Coast, until…

“Holy shit, I can see the plane!” I exclaimed, my mouth falling open.

As though I were playing a video game in the third-person perspective, I was drifting a good few metres behind the aeroplane, witnessing ourselves from a very literal out-of-body experience. Moving beyond the excitement, I calmed my mind and focused on where we needed to go, and I shot forward in front of the plane, drifting to the left and whistling through the air like a bullet. It was then that I felt my arm begin to raise uncontrollably, until I was pointing the blade out to my left, in the same direction as the vision before me. To put it more plainly, I had become a living compass.

“Hey, careful where you point that thing!” Rainbow Dash bleated, backing away.

Apologising, I explained that we needed to follow the sword’s direction. Noting which way the tip was facing, Fluttershy rushed to the cockpit and relayed the instruction to Rommel. The plane leaned to the left, and as predicted, my arm slowly drifted to the right, until I was pointing directly at the seaplane’s nose.

“Hold it there!” Applejack called out.

Mel did just so, and for now, the course was set. Letting go of Vitra ‘Aku, I gasped as the pain in my head rapidly flushed through my body, leaving me with a severe bout of pins and needles. It thankfully passed rather quickly and my eyesight returned soon after.

“Well, good thing that still works.” said Twilight, staring keenly at the sword.

“Aye…” I muttered, flexing my muscles to remove the last of the unpleasant sensation.

With the inside of my mouth still feeling a little strange, I asked Rarity for some water, who dug my canteen out for me from her cold storage bag. I took a few sips before passing it back to her, dipping my head in thanks. Beyond that, we had little else to do other than to kill time, so we nattered away with each other, diving into various conversations and occasionally looking out the windows to watch the ocean below us.

We spent ages mulling over many a topic, although admittedly, most of our time was spent hypothesising on Hawnu Rey’eng and his incredibly cryptic message. Twilight came up with a few theories, but nothing concrete. It was mutually agreed upon that the ‘sapphire’ was the key to the puzzle, as it seemed to be the focal point of the message; all we needed to do was figure out what the sapphire actually was.

“Perhaps it’s an actual sapphire?” Rarity speculated, shrugging.

“Do you honestly think that tin-can dick-wad would ever be so direct?” I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

Tutting loudly, Twilight scolded me for being so insulting towards the Guardian, reminding me that he had saved our lives on multiple occasions, and had helped get us to the Sahara with a portal, cutting months off of our journey. With a wince, she also reminded me that Hawnu Rey’eng had very directly kept us out of Nah’Lek’s clutches. Responding with something of a snort, I defended my loathsome stance towards him.

“Oh I’m well aware that we’d be dead without him, but I despise him regardless. He shows up unexpectedly, speaks in riddles, and then he fucks off again! Look, it’s all well-and-good that he’s saved our lives a bunch of times, but you know he could tell us more. He’s needlessly enigmatic for his own sense of enjoyment, and it pisses me off to no end.”

Seeing my point, Applejack and Rainbow Dash both hummed in agreement. Twilight stood her ground though, arguing that it wasn’t our place to know all the answers.

“Hawnu Rey’eng is the reason we’re all still here.” she reiterated, raising her chin, “He’s watched over us since Ukraine, and since then, I could list two-dozen ways that his actions have directly saved our skins. He’s even fought Nah’Lek for us. That kind of selflessness demands nothing more than the highest esteem, and I won’t stand for you disrespecting him in the way that you do.”

“Okay, okay, I get it…” I droned, “I won’t disrespect the flappy tin cun-”

CALLUM!

Sealing my lips, I gave up on making one last quip, and gave the Guardian credit where it was due. For what it was worth, it was him who had allowed me to save Twilight’s life. If not for the collars he had given me, Twilight would have succumbed to the Fel, and I would have had no choice other than to strike down the demon she would have become. She would be dead, and I would never have had the opportunity to care for her as I did now; I would have never found my closest, dearest friend. For that reason alone, I chose to forsake my ire towards his secretive nature, and bow my head in apologetic reverence, appreciating what he had done for us; what he had done for me


Moving on to lighter topics, we talked about Joshua and his emotional goodbye, along with the thoughtful gifts he had bought for everyone. By the end of our time together, Josh had really grown on the girls. His easygoing and eager-to-please mentality would be sorely missed. We of course yearned to know what was written in his letter to Fluttershy, but just as before, we didn’t press the matter.

We were now flying in the dead of night, and Rommel needed my directions more than ever. Over the course of several very rickety hours, Rarity’s enchantment was cast a few more times. Twilight was visibly more relaxed now that we were airborne, but I noticed her anxiously tapping whenever Rarity’s horn lit up. After a fifth trip outside my body, I confirmed that we were close.

“And not a moment too soon!” Rarity piped up, “I feel like I’ve been rattled half to death!”

“Well, at least the tickets were cheap!” Pinkie sang in reply, smiling widely.

Rolling our eyes with amusement, we all looked at Pinkie with a sense of fondness. Fluttershy then spoke up, looking around from pony to pony and breaking into an anxious look.

“So, um… is anyone else feeling nervous about this island?”

“Nope!” Dashie clapped back with a grin, “I’ve been sitting on my butt for way too long! Dangerous or not, I need some damn adventure!”

“I’m with you there, Rainbow.” Applejack agreed, “For days now, my darn legs have been getting as jittery as a jumping jackrabbit, I need something to do!”

“Well don’t look at me!” I exclaimed, “Rainbow’s already played that card.”

Laughter filled the plane, and Applejack teased that she had already seen what I had to offer, and that she wasn’t impressed. This of course, sparked the group to laugh even harder, and through their cackles and giggles, Rainbow Dash asked when this had occurred. Still frowning at the farm pony, I explained that she had caught me taking a leak off the side of our sailing boat, back during our journey across the Atlantic.

“And as I said then, it gets bigger!” I insisted, folding my arms.

“Can confirm!” Rainbow hooted.

Giggling profusely, the ribbing went on for a while until the plane suddenly shook, and far more violently than usual. I was about to have a go at Mel for his barely passable piloting skills when he called out for me, urgently beckoning me to the cockpit. Before I could even speak, I could see what had him so concerned. Glancing at me with wide eyes, he gulped.

“So uh, my knowledge of weather events isn’t exactly the best, but I don’t think clouds normally form a bubble like that…”

“No, I don’t think they do.” I replied, grimacing.

Before us, out on the rampant dark sea, was an enormous sphere of dense black cloud. It easily spanned a few kilometres in diameter, it was utterly massive! The island was almost certainly inside, and if it was, then I could only imagine that this bubble was a defensive measure, set by either Hawnu Rey’eng or perhaps by the Orb shard itself. Just to be sure, I rushed over to Rarity and ordered her to cast the enchantment one last time. Without a moment to lose, she imbued the sword with the spell and I honed in on our location. Zipping through the atmosphere faster than ever before, I reached the plane and shot forward, diving head-first into the cloud, and after a few seconds, I broke through.

“Yup, this is it!” I called out.

Beyond the unnatural stormy barrier, the island lay waiting. As predicted by the size of the bubble, it was a handful of kilometres in each direction, with only a smattering of forests, tall rocky outcrops, and a lonely mountain. It was there that we would find the next piece of the Orb. With the island being this small, finding the fragment would be a piece of cake; the hard part would be landing. Gritting my teeth, I focused on the plane in an attempt to guide us down, but try as I might, I couldn’t control the enchantment, and released Vitra ‘Aku to break the enchantment.

“How much water do we have after breaking through?” Mel cried out, struggling to control the plane.

“Not much, but enough to land on!”

Turning away from him, I ordered the girls to get into the bag once again, where they would be safest in the event of a crash landing. They did as I told them, and I slung it over my shoulder once they were all inside. The plane jumbled up and down as Mel desperately tried to lower our altitude at a steady pace. We then breached the black cloud, and were shrouded in complete darkness.

“I can’t see the damn controls!” Rommel yelped, “I’m flying blind!”

“Just keep it level!” I shouted back, “Even if we hit the land, it’s better than nosediving to our graves!”

“Okay!” he hollered back, “You should strap in!”

He was right, hitting the water at this velocity could very well send me through the bloody roof! Without a moment’s thought, I rushed to one of the seats in the main hull and fumbled around with my fingers until I located the belt. I buckled myself in and braced for impact. The sound of the rain outside was like gunfire, and mixed with the plane’s engines and the roaring winds, I could barely hear myself think.

Come on!” Rommel yelled at the top of his lungs, “Come on! Come on!

We were tossed around and shaken like a Vesper Martini, but through some sheer bloody miracle, Rommel was able to keep us steady enough to ensure our survival. At long last, we punched through the bubble, which was when the plane’s engines suddenly cut out. Thankfully, we were low enough to prevent going into a dive, but the sudden drop was enough to send the both of us into screams of terror. Smacking the water at quite some speed, we were violently shunted downward. The belt of my seat yanked up into my belly with a tremendous amount of force, hard enough to shift something internally. A sharp pain went into my gut, and I immediately felt sick to my stomach. The plane came to an uneasy standstill, and I quickly unbuckled myself and reached for Vitra ‘Aku. I wasn’t sure if anything had actually ruptured, but with how intense the pain was, I didn’t want to take any chances. Willing it to heal me, a small portion of mana was dispensed into my body, indicating that something needed fixing.

“Is it safe to come out?” asked Rainbow Dash, sticking her head out.

Grunting loudly as I nodded my head, I placed the bag down and let the girls clamber out. Once I had properly recovered, I sheathed my blade and made my way to Rommel, where I put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it firmly.

“Mate, I’m sorry I doubted you. What you just did, was fucking incredible.”

“Thanks…” he panted, his hands quivering violently.

Looking out of the cockpit window, I gazed upon the exotic new landscape before me. Even in the dark, the swaying palm trees and misty woodland beyond them, ominously silhouetted against the swirling inky blue sky, filled me with cascades of excitement. After all this time, our true mission was finally ready to continue. I had found the Titans’ Sword in the Sahara, and in America, Rainbow Dash had been reunited with Alex; but now, the quest to recover the Titans’ Orb was at last resumed.

We had reached the island…



Opening the hatch, the briny scent of the sea wafted up into my nose. Looking down, I was met with dark waves, churning and sloshing against the lower hull; thankfully, by nothing short of a miracle, we were still in the water. It was certainly cutting it fine however, as just a few metres beyond us was the shore, which now housed a large uneven mound of wet sand, caused by our forceful landing. We were firmly beached in the shallows, and it would take a good amount of digging to get ourselves back out to sea. For now this played in our favour, as we wouldn’t need to worry about the plane floating away. Once we were in possession of the Orb shard however, this was going to prove itself quite the problem.

With it still being the dead of night, I suggested that we slept in the plane for the night. Not knowing what was out there, it seemed like the safest option. Everyone agreed, and I closed the hatch.


With the cloudy bubble still surrounding the island, the morning sun was unable to properly greet us, but it brightened the nebulous dome enough to shed light on our mysterious frontier. We were doused in a desaturated grey luminance, akin to a stormy winter afternoon. We hadn't a clue what time it actually was, and since passing through the barrier, Rommel's phone had stopped working, so we couldn’t even check; we had been completely disconnected from the modern world. Tightening the straps of our bags, we readied ourselves to disembark. The girls hopped out first, while I armed myself from our selection of weaponry. I took the M-Four carbine and the Glock, while Rommel took the AR-Fifteen and the Uzi. We split the grenades between us, and Mel offered to carry the ammo bag. Now kitted out and feeling infinitely more prepared, we clambered out to join the girls, reluctantly getting our lower halves wet as we stepped down into the shallows.

“Think I should bring the keys with me?” Mel suggested before shutting the hatch.

“I hardly think anyone’s going to nick ‘em.” I teased, “Leave them onboard, then you won’t risk losing them.”

Nodding, he tossed the keys into the plane and then shut the hatch. We then waded towards the girls, of whom were already on the land. Once we reached them, I pointed to the mountain.

“Well ladies, let’s go on an adventure.”

Despite the underlying fear of this unknown place, everyone responded with grins and nods, confident that as a team, we would be alright. Under the pale blue light of the unnatural swirling sky, we made our way off the beach and towards the mountain, entering the woodland and disappearing into the brush…


For a good few hours, we trudged and trudged, until eventually we decided to stop for lunch. Plonking ourselves down in a clearing, Applejack unpacked her saddlebag, which was now brimming with food again. During our stay in Owosso, Alex had very generously gone shopping for us, refilling the farm pony’s stock with all the food we would need for the next year.

“You know something I’ve just noticed?” Rarity hummed after taking a swig from her canteen, “There aren’t any birds. Listen… There’s not so much as a hint of any birdsong.”

“And your point is?” Rainbow Dash replied, her mouth full of sandwich.

“My point, Rainbow Dash, is that with this amount of woodland, wouldn’t you expect there to be at least some wildlife? We’ve been walking for quite some time now, and yet we’ve come across no evidence that anything even lives here!”

She was right, other than the light whistle of the breeze, there wasn’t a sound to be heard. No buzzing of insects, no animal calls, and as Rarity had already pointed out, no birdsong. This island seemed to be completely deserted, but I knew that wasn’t true. What I saw in that vision back in the Sahara was as clear in my mind now as it was then; something had lunged at me, and it had bright yellow eyes, and rows of sharp teeth. Thinking back to how Pinkie had shouted ‘big scary lizard’, I couldn’t help but wonder if we would find ourselves coming face to face with a dragon on this island; after all, Hawnu Rey’eng had mentioned there being an ‘ice dragon’ somewhere in Antarctica, so it wasn’t the most outlandish theory. Considering the stormy barrier that surrounded this place, it made sense that no birds or insects could settle on the island, but a dragon? A dragon could get through easily. This uncharted island in the middle of nowhere would be the perfect place for it to roost, with no possible way for it to be discovered. However, for my theory to bear any weight, it begged the question; what would the dragon eat? If nothing lived out here, then how did it feed? No, I was getting ahead of myself. But still, whatever it was, something was on this island with us, and with five guns between us, counting Rarity’s Piercing Shot Rifle, it had better not stand in our way.

After we all finished eating, we got moving once again, and while we walked, Twilight and I continued trying to decipher Hawnu Rey’eng’s message.

“Maybe Vitra ‘Aku is the sapphire?” I suggested, “I mean, it’s made from blue crystal?”

“Hm, I doubt it.” she muttered, “That sword, like the Orb, is made from titanstone, and Hawnu Rey’eng doesn’t seem the type to get his minerals mixed up. I’m all for considering the ‘sapphire’ is a metaphor for something, but I don’t think the sword is it.”

“Yeah, fair one.” I murmured.

“However,” she continued, “I do wonder if the sword has a part to play. Because the latter part of the message refers to a ‘fading soul’, and your whole shtick as the Titans’ Champion is using Vitra ‘Aku to strengthen your soul by consuming those of others.”

“Ooh you might be onto something there.” I told her, snapping my fingers.

Her ears perked up at that, and I couldn’t help but smile warmly in response. Exhaling fondly through my nose, I egged her on by telling her that if anyone could figure out this riddle, it was her. We kept theorising, walking side by side at the back of the group, while Rommel took point at the front with Applejack and Rainbow Dash. After eyeing up the pegasus for a while, Twilight furrowed her brow and then looked at me.

“Hey, can I ask you something, O’ Champion of the gods?”

With an amused scoff, I said that she could ask me anything, especially when she addressed me like that. She let out a most adorable chuckle, before awkwardly tilting her head.

“Well, I’m just curious… about… you and Rainbow…”

Inhaling sharply, I slowed my pace to distance myself from the others, guessing ahead of time that this conversation ought to remain a private one. Leaning towards Twilight slightly, I gave a sly grin.

“Did your parents never give you the talk?” I teased, “Well you see, when two individuals-”

That’s not what I meant!” she hissed, batting at my leg with a hoof and scowling, “You know what, just forget I said anything.”

“No-no, come on, tell me.” I insisted, dropping the goofy attitude.

Huffing, she dipped her head and continued.

“Okay, well… I’ve just been wondering if you two… I don’t know, like… is there anything more serious going on with you both? Is it really just sex, or are there any… stirrings?”

“Stirrings?” I repeated, raising an eyebrow and trying not to chortle, “So not ‘feelings’ then, huh? Your word of choice here is ‘stirrings’ yeah?”

“Oh, shut up.” she grumbled, “You know what I mean!”

Exhaling heavily through my nose, I reinforced what Rainbow had said the other night.

“It is one-hundred percent physical.” I promised, “She is a wonderful friend, and I love her to bits, but I don’t feel a shred of romantic interest, none in the slightest.”

“Hmm… is that because she’s a pony?” she hummed, her inquisitive voice wavering anxiously, “As far as an actual relationship goes, would you rather just be with one of your own kind?”

With a high-pitched hum of my own, I shook my head. For as much as I didn’t feel that kind of attraction to Rainbow, sleeping with her had certainly opened my mind. For all the time that I’d spent with the girls, along with the discovery of my pansexuality in Ocean City, the idea of a pony partner was just as normal to me as a human one. The very simple fact of the matter was that Rainbow just wasn’t my kind of girl. As a friend, she was fantastic, and the sex was undeniably breathtaking, but at the very core of it, the spark was lacking.

“Make no mistake,” I went on, “I think she’s incredible. But she’s just not… me, you know? She may be a girl that speaks to my mind and my body, but…”

Closing my fist and lightly banging it twice against my sternum, I told her that I needed someone that spoke to my soul, woefully corny as that was. Breaking into a smile, she insisted that it wasn’t corny at all, and that it was poetic. Smirking back at her, I wrapped up the subject by reiterating that Rainbow Dash just wasn’t for me, and that we were both incontestably uninterested in anything further than occasionally tending to one another’s carnal needs. With a faint grimace at that last part, Twilight nodded and thanked me for my honesty and for entertaining her curious mind. Picking up the pace again, we caught up to the others and rejoined the group, speaking no further on the matter.

As we neared the mountain, Rommel and I kept our rifles in hand, but as we finally emerged from the thickest part of the forest, we came across something far more mind-blowing than any creature, dragon or otherwise.

“Uh, Callum…” he said, “I don’t think we were the first ones on this island.”

Before us, almost totally smothered in vines and moss, was an abandoned campsite. It was complete with a deep firepit and a handful of dirty beige tents that had long-since collapsed. Judging from how overgrown it was, the camp hadn’t seen any use for a very long time. The same question dwelled on all our minds, who on Earth had been here before us, and where were they now?

“Holy shit, what if they got to the Orb shard?” Rommel blurted out.

“Then let’s hope the creature I saw kept it safe.” I replied, tightening my lips.

Pulling away at the vines, we decided to give the camp a full inspection, hoping to find anything that could tell us who these previous visitors were. The tents were a big hint, as they were made from a waxy canvas material and had rotted wooden frames. I likened them to the old safari tents used by British explorers back in the day, which meant that unless these people had miraculously happened upon the Fountain of Youth, they would either be very very old, or very very dead. Without anything to truly confirm who they were, we left the camp and made our way to the grassy upward slope, where the long climb would begin.

“How far up do you think we’ll have to go?” said Twilight, clearly dreading it.

“I’ll check.” Rainbow replied, spreading her wings.

With a jumping start, the pegasus shot up into the air. We watched as she soared upwards and scanned the rocky mass for the cave. After about a minute or two, she finally returned to us, where we were informed that the cave was roughly two thirds of the way up. In other words, we would be climbing for a while. However, despite being incredibly steep, the mountain was more than generous in providing plenty of wide ledges and firm footholds, and although exhausting, we were able to slowly zigzag our way up without much difficulty. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were an enormous help, as they were able to take our bags and carry them up, along with guiding our path, pointing out the most traversable routes for us.

“Whoa, there’s a dead guy up here!” Dashie cried out.

What!?” Pinkie shrieked, losing her grip and almost throwing herself from the rocky wall.

Fluttershy too, emitted a terrified squeak, and her wings temporarily seized up, causing her to drop a few metres, before catching herself and flying back up to us, now pale as a sheet. Clambering up to the next wide ledge, we found the body in question. Frowning at Rainbow, I told her that she could have specified that it was just a skeleton, instead of spooking the less hardy members of the group.

“I mean, was I wrong?” she retorted, raising an eyebrow.

“No, but you could have been a little more subtle about it.”

Rolling her eyes, she inspected the skeleton with me. The bones were deeply yellowed, with cracks and fissures running through them. It was a large body too, with incredibly broad shoulders, so it was safe to assume that it was a male. Upon reaching the ledge to join us, Twilight came to take a look as well. After a very brief examination, she said that if human bones were any similar to pony ones, then the condition of this skeleton suggested that it was anywhere between one-hundred, and three-hundred years old.

“You can tell that just by looking at it?” I asked her, amazed.

Lifting her chin, the unicorn explained that when bones were exposed to the air for long periods of time, they would undergo decomposition. The longer they were left out, the more yellowed and cracked they would become.

“I went through an archaeology phase, okay?” she giggled.

Egghead! Egghead! Egghead!” Rainbow hollered, taking to the skies once more.

Rolling our eyes in unison, Twilight and I went back to check the body for clues.

“Well, there’s no mystery as to how he died.” I remarked, pointing to the gaping hole in his skull.

“Poor guy must have fallen.”

“Mm-hmm.”

The man’s outfit was in no better condition, although slightly preserved by the dry mountain air, the aged khaki shirt and trousers were both deeply marred with old rot, and had fallen away in places. His dull leather boots came all the way up to his knees, and were as stiff as the mountain itself, and at his side was an empty pistol holster, also made from leather. With enough evidence at hand, I looked at Twilight and confidently theorised that these people were a team of explorers from the Victorian era.

“Not that I doubt you, but how can you tell?” she quizzed.

“Well,” I replied, “the khaki outfit and the safari tents match the time period, and if you’re saying this body is one-to-three-hundred years old, then that lines up perfectly, as the Victorian era was a little under two centuries ago.”

“Huh, I see.” she murmured, narrowing her eyes.

“I went through a history phase, okay?” I said with a wink, echoing her words from just a moment ago.

Scoffing, she lightly shook her head and continued to climb. Looking at the skeleton one more time, I dipped my head to it, before leaving its owner to return to his eternal rest.


At long last, we hauled ourselves onto the final ledge, reaching the mouth of the cave. We took a while to catch our breath, before we prepared to step inside. Rommel and I once again readied our rifles, switching off the safeties and keeping the barrels pointed firmly into the shadowy depths.

“Alright team, be ready for anything.” I commanded.

We took our first steps into the cavern, and it wasn’t long before we found another skeleton. This one however, was in a far worse state than the one outside.

“I don’t think this one fell, Callum.” Twilight whispered to me, gulping.

Shaking my head to agree with her, I crouched down to take a closer look. The skeleton’s shirt had been violently shredded across the torso, either by a blade, or by a substantial set of claws… The deeply rotted fabric surrounding these tears were also much darker than the rest of the uniform, indicating that it had been heavily stained with blood at the time of this man’s death.

“Please don’t be a fucking dragon…” I quietly muttered under my breath.

Leaving the body be, we pressed on, until I heard a peculiar sound which caught my attention. It was a faint metallic clinking sound, followed by that of a quiet snickering from Pinkie Pie. Ordering everyone to stop, I crept over to her and locked eyes with her.

“Pinkie, why are you giggling to yourself?” I asked her sternly.

Grinning, she stuck a hoof into her mane and retrieved the cause of the clinking sound. Into my hand, the lovable goofball deposited half a dozen bullet casings. Looking around the cave floor, I realised that there were more of them; the damn pony had been picking them up as we went. Showing them to Rommel, he said that they looked like revolver casings, but in the low light, he wasn’t sure what calibre they were. I didn’t either, although my aforementioned ‘history phase’ was enough for me to confirm that these almost certainly belonged to a howdah pistol.

“What’s that?” Twilight asked.

“A type of pistol from the nineteenth century.” I explained, “The British Empire used them for defence against wild animals in India and Africa. This all but confirms it, these people were Victorian explorers, and something attacked them in this cave.”

“Maybe d-don’t say that while we’re s-still in the cave?” Fluttershy whimpered, pressing up against Applejack for protection.

“Fair point, sorry Flutters.”

Telling Pinkie that she could collect as many casings as she liked, so long as she remained quiet, we went deeper and deeper into the cave. As we delved further, the layout changed. The once-wide space quickly began to grow thinner, and either side of us we noticed more and more stalagmites, standing tall like frozen sentinels, silently guarding the inner sanctum of the mountain’s gullet. Eventually the narrow passage started to slope downward, and we found ourselves struggling to maintain our balance. Before long, we were practically climbing again, but this time, we were climbing down. Along the way I noticed a thick rope, tightly lashed to one of the natural formations and leading further down into the darkness.

“Well, looks like the explorers made it this far.” I murmured.

Giving it a few tugs to ensure that it was sturdy, I decided to use the rope to aid in my descent. At this point, we couldn’t see a damn thing, and so Rarity kindly used her magic to illuminate the way. After what felt like forever, we reached the bottom of the slope and found ourselves standing in a large circular pit, where we found… nothing.

“Um, aren’t we supposed to find something here?” asked Rainbow Dash, “You know, like a big shiny piece of the Titans’ freaking Orb? Because I don’t see shit!”

“Ooh! Ooh! And where’s the big scary lizard?” Pinkie added.

Shushing the both of them, I started looking around. Where the hell was it? Surely those damned explorers hadn’t found it, had they? No, they couldn’t have, Rarity’s gem-finding enchantment took me straight to this bloody island, to this very cave! It had to be here, it had to be!

“Wait a minute…” said Twilight, grabbing our attention, “This cave floor, it’s not made of stone.”

We all looked down, and it very quickly became apparent that she was correct. The floor was bumpy and pale, and had a wavy grain that flowed in one direction. Rarity tapped against it with her hoof a few times, and the resulting sound was far too quiet to be stone, it was dampened, indicating that the material below us was far less dense than any rock could be.

“Goodness, you’re right!” Rarity exclaimed, “What in the world are we standing on?”

“Let’s find out.” I announced, unsheathing Vitra ‘Aku, “What was it you said about this sword once, Twilight? That a shield of metal is met like a disk of parchment, and a mountain is all but a carving block? Well, let’s put that to the test…”

Stooping down to one knee, there was barely any resistance at all as I thrust the blade hilt-deep into the floor. With four even movements, I was able to cleave out a large block of the stuff. I skewered it at one side and began to lift, to which it crunched loudly as I pried it free.

“What the heck is that?” said Rainbow Dash, craning her neck.

Feeling the splintered underside with my free hand, I was baffled to find that it was moist. The sides of the block carried the same grain as the top, but they were curved and ran in the opposite direction, indicating that the innards of this structure had rings.

“It’s wood.” I remarked, the penny dropping, “We’re standing on wood.”

“Man-made?” asked Mel.

“No, it’s natural…” I uttered back to him, shaking my head, “It’s like we’re standing on a giant tree branch or something.”

“It’s a root!” Twilight gasped upon inspecting the block for herself, “We’re standing on a giant root!”

Dancing over to us, Pinkie broke into an almighty grin and started elbowing my side.

“Glad we got to the root of that mystery!”

“Hah!” shouted Rommel, followed by the laughs of Applejack and Fluttershy.

Boooooooo!” Rainbow groaned loudly, funnelling her mouth with her hooves.

Rarity, Twilight and myself all rolled our eyes, and I ruffled Pinkie’s mane playfully, sending revolver casings all over the place. Tutting, I saw no alternative other than to keep cutting away, and so I pierced the pallid root once more, slowly but surely carving out a crude-yet-effective little stairway.

“Mind out when you come down here, it’s slippy.” I warned, making note of how wet the root’s core was.

After slaving away for quite some time, I spotted traces of light shining in through the gashes I had made; I was almost through. Jamming the blade in one last time, I sliced out a large hexagonal shape, and then kicked out with both my legs. It burst away and I was suddenly blinded by a torrent of light. That’s when I slipped, sliding forward and tumbling out of the root, dropping the sword in the process.

Callum!” Twilight and Pinkie cried out in unison.

Without enough time to right myself in the air, I smacked into the ground below with a heavy thud. The wind was knocked from me, but much to my relief, the surface I had landed upon was reasonably soft, breaking my fall. Quickly giving my head a shake, I looked around for Vitra ‘Aku and found it halfway embedded into the dirt. After pulling it out and getting over the shock of the fall, it suddenly dawned upon me that I was outside, or at least, it seemed that way. There was grass beneath my feet, and all around me were massive ferns. With great care, the others dropped down to join me, and together we took in our surroundings.

“Bro…” Rommel breathed, “Where are we?”

“It’s like we’ve stepped into another world!” said Rarity.

And she was right, it really was like we had found ourselves on a new planet. The grass was at knee-height and bore a bluish tint, and most of the ferns were bigger than ourselves. The air was warm and humid, and carried with it a musky, earthlike scent, not unlike the smells of the jungle in Brazil, only stronger. The island above had been almost totally silent, but down here, the sound of buzzing and birdsong was almost deafening, and in the distance came the hoots and howls of creatures unknown. Close by was a cliff edge, and upon making our way there, we could really take in where we were.

“Holy shit…” I mumbled to myself, awestruck by the impossible sight before us.

The enormous open cavern truly was a whole world of its own, there were forests, rivers, swamps and plains, all of which went on for miles in every direction. And far off in the distance, providing light for this breathtaking landscape, was a white tree. Unlike anything I had ever seen, the towering giant went all the way up to the cave roof, its bark and its leaves glowing with a silvery radiant light that shone almost as brightly as the sun.



It was… indescribable, and not just visually; bearing witness to such a fantastical scene sent torrents of ineffable emotions through me, almost bringing me to my knees. For all my life, I had believed that the magic in this world was gone, that all of Earth’s secrets and wonders had been explored and documented. Yet here we were, staring with wide eyes and open mouths at a natural marvel that seemed by all accounts impossible. I turned around to look back at where I had fallen from, and it dawned on me that the root I had cut through belonged to this tree. Thicker than Joshua’s bus, the almighty white tendril twisted and turned along the jagged stone ceiling, before burying itself into the rock. Now out of sight, it motionlessly snaked all the way back to its massive glowing body, dozens upon dozens of kilometres away.

As far as I was concerned, we had just found the heart of the world…

“So, call it a hunch,” Rainbow started, pointing out to the tree, “but I think the Orb shard’s going to be right there…”

“Hunches are normally my thing, but I’m with Dashie.” Pinkie said in agreement, “If we’re looking for a big glowy rock, then the big glowy tree is probably the best place to look!”

“Can’t argue with that logic.” I huffed, still staring beyond the cliff.

Our amazement at such a sight was then brought to an abrupt end, as we heard a rustling behind us. Whipping around, we saw the ferns lightly swaying back and forth, indicating that something had just disturbed them. Mel and I raised our rifles, and we stood perfectly still, our eyes darting from side to side to scan the environment. To the right came another rustle, and as the ferns quivered, I spotted them.

The yellow eyes…

“Big scary lizard, two o’clock…” I spoke softly.

Rommel rotated slowly, and just as he set his sights on the creature, it bolted. Without thinking, we both took shots at it, sending two bullets each downrange. The girls, caught unaware, cried out in shock at the sudden bangs. Getting to our feet, we ran over to where the ferns were, and in the distance we could hear a bird-like screeching, like a crow in distress.

“We hit it!” Rommel gasped, pointing to a spray of blood against the greenery.

Quickly running towards the screeching, we found the creature not too far from where we had first dropped down. My eyes widened upon getting a proper look at the damn thing. Writhing on the ground and frantically biting at the bullet wound it had sustained, was a large bipedal reptile, not much smaller than myself. Its body was made up of dark washed-out indigo scales, but its legs, forelimbs, tail, and head were all covered in a much more vivid azure plumage. Spotting us, it attempted to scramble away, only to collapse onto its belly and continue emitting loud raspy shrieks. Too nervous to approach it for a sword kill, I nodded at Rommel, instructing him to finish it off. Obeying without question, he swiftly took aim and put a round into its head. It thrashed violently for a second, before coming to a halt, quivering as it did so. The girls weren’t happy at all with how quickly we had resorted to violence, but pointing out that it had been stalking us, I stood by our quick call to eliminate a potential threat. Still mostly in disapproval, they at least respected my choice; after all, we didn’t know a thing about this place, meaning that we couldn’t take any chances.

“Now to find out what this thing actually is…” I said, mostly to myself.

Getting in close, I examined the creature from head to tail. It was definitely a predator, as its legs and forelimbs were kitted out with sturdy curved claws. Boldly prying open its mouth, I was greeted by a plethora of pointy backwards-curving teeth. The underbelly of the creature was an earthy brown, and upon closer inspection of its feathers, the deep blue plumage also had a plentiful number of mossy green ones, aiding its ability to blend in with its surroundings. Every single feather, even the ones on its head, were perfectly streamlined, flowing back towards its girthy tail.

“You do realise what we’re looking at, right?” Mel asked rhetorically.

Shaking his head in sheer disbelief, Rommel’s eyebrows were raised so high that they were practically a part of his hairline. Knowing exactly what we were looking at, I didn’t blame him.

“Yeah…” I replied, nodding my head slightly and getting to my feet.

Curious as to what we were on about, Twilight came forward and demanded to know what was so bewildering. Still unnerved by the wider implications, I glanced at her for but a moment, before pointing at the feathery creature and telling her exactly what it was, my voice brimming with shock.

“That, Twilight Sparkle… is a dinosaur.”