//------------------------------// // Chapter Six: The Last Walk // Story: The Titans' Orb // by Mister Horncastle //------------------------------// After a good twenty minutes of battling the constant ebb and flow of nausea and dizziness, the shock finally began to subside. It was of course, something I would still need time to properly process, but for now I was capable of burying the memory, and pressing on with the next task at hand. I got to my feet and picked up Chilli’s lead, which she reacted to by zipping around excitedly, her little stump tail wagging furiously as she prepared for her all-time favourite activity, a walk. Looking at her with a weak smile, it felt like a dagger to the heart to acknowledge she had no comprehension that this was the last walk I would ever go on with her. Taking a deep breath, I went over to Applejack, who had been giving Archer some loving attention. “This here’s a fine pooch.” she said upon me reaching her, “I wish Equestria had ones like him. I could see myself having two of them after Winona goes, accompanying me with chores and such, guarding the farm, and keeping me company when Apple Bloom flies the nest, know what I mean?” Maintaining just enough focus to reply, I tilted my head. “You don’t think Apple Bloom will stay on the farm?” “Pfft, not a chance!” she scoffed, letting out a one-syllable laugh, “Sure, she likes to help out now, but farm life ain’t for that filly forever. I reckon she’ll go adventuring with them Crusaders of hers, go see the wider world and make me worry about her.” Warmed by AJ’s loving, supportive, and somewhat maternal outlook to her little sister, I couldn’t help but smile. “Well depending on how things turn out on this adventure, perhaps we could find a way to send you home with a couple of pups?” I suggested, “You could raise them out there, and be the proud owner of Equestria’s one and only pair of Scottish Deerhounds.” “You know, I might actually take you up on that.” she hummed. She then got up to her hooves and allowed me to clip Archer’s lead to his collar. Tipping her hat to me, she wished me luck and went to finish up packing her things. Going over to Twilight, I thanked her for giving me the time to gather myself. Simply humming in response, she turned to Rarity and asked if she remembered how to use her pinging spell. “Oh don’t be so ridiculous, I’d sooner forget I’m a lady!” Rarity tutted loudly, “Honestly Twilight…” Trilling her lips, Twilight proceeded with casting the Pullie-Portal onto her fellow unicorn, followed by imbuing Fluttershy with the spell as well. She then cast it onto me, and as her horn flashed brightly, an intense vibration rippled through my body, and this time, it hurt. Like a million paper-cuts beneath my skin, I opened my mouth and tried to cry out, only for my vision to be taken up by a brilliant white, the purest white I had ever seen. All reality seemed to cease existing, and I felt more weightless than I had ever been. {What the hell is going on? Where am I?} I tried to say aloud, but the words only echoed in my mind as thought. I went to hold out my hands to look at them, only to find nothing there, and upon looking down, I found that I was lacking a body entirely. Had something gone wrong with the spell? Was I… dead? The irony certainly wouldn’t be lost if I was, having killed my clone just mere moments ago. Then a darker thought crossed my mind, if I was dead, had Twilight possibly done it on purpose? With how paranoid and frightened she was, it wasn’t all that unlikely that she may have given in to the fear, and taken me out before I could allegedly do the same unto her. But if that was true, then where was I? And for that matter, how was I still consciously thinking? Twilight had mentioned my soul when she explained how cloning spells work, meaning that souls really did exist, and mine had quite possibly just left my body. With how blindingly white everything was, I half expected to see some pearly gates, but in the end, no such thing presented itself. All around me, the empty bright world began to darken, and soon enough, where white had once been, blackness now dwelled, which like water to a flame, extinguished my consciousness. Slowly coming to, my first sensation was pain, in the form of an agonising pounding in my head. Following that, my whole body became riddled from top to bottom with paresthesia, and that didn’t just apply to my outer body; from tongue to testes, the sensation ran rampant. It was certainly a new experience, and a wholly unpleasant one at that. My ears rang and my very eyeballs prickled, it was horrible! After a few moments of trying to regain my senses, a faint voice spoke to me. “Callum?” I barely heard it, for it was muffled and echoey. The voice then spoke again, a little louder this time, and I felt a nudging against my arm. “Callum, can you hear me?” The voice was female, gentle and formal in tone, and so I could only presume that it was Rarity. I squinted my eyes tightly and then reopened them, to see a big white fuzzy blob in front of me, with a deep purple swirl on top. {Yeah, that’s Rarity all right…} I groaned in thought. Her hoof was resting on my bicep, gently trying to rouse me. And then without warning, a dark shape descended upon me, and my face was suddenly besieged by a massive, warm, wet tongue. Shaking my head and blinking repeatedly, I found the invasive shape to be Archer, lapping at me with concern. Emitting a husky grumble, I pushed his muzzle away with my hands. “Oh get off me, you hairy old parsnip…” Applejack pulled the dog away and Fluttershy helped me sit up. With my vision finally returning properly, I looked around to find myself on the ground, surrounded by the girls. Sighing with relief, Rarity put a foreleg around my neck, hugging me loosely. “Oh thank goodness you’re alright.” she fretted, “You gave us a real fright there!” “What uh… What happened?” I slurred. “You collapsed after Twilight cast the Pullie-Portal on you.” she explained, “You’ve been unconscious for the past few minutes!” Having the good grace to explain, Twilight stepped forward and cleared her throat. “This isn’t something that’s totally unheard of. There have actually been quite a few cases of ponies blacking out when exposed to strong spells. All the studies have shown that it’s caused by an individual’s inherent resistance to magic. It’s an educated guess, but seeing as you blacked out in the exact same fashion, I would presume that you have a resistance of your own. You’re not magic-proof, but you are more, let’s say difficult, to maintain a spell on.” “Right then.” I croaked, “Good to know.” “Either way, the Pullie-Portal is good to go now.” she told me, “Get up and get moving.” Still suffering from a touch of dizziness, I got to my feet with care, and then took the dogs from Fluttershy, who had kept them under control while I was out. Twilight then cast her invisibility spell onto the pegasus, and then onto Rarity. “Damn, that’s freaky.” I murmured, gazing at them. Both ponies were now rendered almost completely incognito, they didn’t even cast shadows. The only thing that could be seen of them was a very faint distortion of the light where they stood, not too dissimilar to how the Yautja’s active camouflage worked in the ‘Alien versus Predator’ franchise. “These will only last for about an hour, so make it quick.” Twilight commanded. Without another word, I led my invisible companions to the side gate on the land, which led out to a local field. I planned to lead the girls through the woods and fields as much as possible, which was the route I often took to Bruce’s house anyway. Beckoning the dogs by lightly tugging on their leads, we set off, marching at a steady, albeit hurried pace. Passing my dogs a fond glance, I watched as Chilli and Archer both enjoyed their final walk with me, their tongues lolling out without a care in the world. They seemed absolutely fine with two invisible alien ponies trotting along beside them, and I supposed that their now-familiar scents were enough to indicate that they weren’t threatening. Conversation was lacking as we made our way along, but the atmosphere was still pleasant, we were all just enjoying the walk. Archer lazily plodded along beside me, while Chilli excitedly pranced about in front of us, occasionally darting from side to side to investigate interesting smells. As we emerged from the trees and into the next open field, the summer sun greeted us kindly, wrapping us in its warmth, and the cooling breeze that accompanied it was the perfect balance. It didn’t take us all that long to cross the field, reaching the great oaks beyond them in just a few minutes. Up ahead was now the main road, and as we approached, Rarity commented on how wide the path was. And then, before I could say anything, the unicorn had stuck her head out from the trees and was about to step onto the asphalt, not realising until the last moment that a car was hurtling down the road. Before she knew what was up, the vehicle whizzed by at about fifty miles an hour, almost taking the poor unicorn’s head off. She emitted a loud yelp and jumped back, stumbling over and landing heavily onto her bottom, with enough force to dispel her invisibility. With an abrupt shimmer, the unicorn came back into view, looking at me with an expression of terror and confusion. “Bloody hell!” I exclaimed, “Rarity! Are you alright?” “Wha-What in Tartarus was that?” she panted, still getting over the scare. Rushing over to her, I knelt down and checked her over, replying as I did so. “That was a car, and one going well over the speed limit… This is a road, Rarity, not a walking path, they’re made specifically for cars, so they can get around with speed.” “Goodness.” she muttered, still shaking, “If I was any further out there, it would have hit me.” “That’s why we don’t cross roads without looking both ways first.” I told her, shaking my head, “Cars very rarely stop, especially at that speed, and most assuredly not for invisible ponies!” “I'll certainly keep that in mind,” she sighed, calming down, “Obviously, I’ve seen a few cars since we arrived, but never up close. They’re so much faster than I thought…” “Well, let’s just hope you never see one that close again, ey?” I suggested, “The damn thing almost splattered you!” Gulping nervously, she nodded in agreement. This had caused one hell of a problem; with her invisibility dispelled, Rarity would have to remain here in the treeline until me and Fluttershy returned, and she was not happy about it. I assured her that we would be as quick as possible, and she sullenly plonked herself down amongst the thickest bushes, muttering bitterly to herself. Fluttershy and I then approached the road together and prepared to cross, and now that she had seen how fast they could be first-hoof, she stuck to me like glue. After checking that the coast was clear, we made our way across. We were now on the street, and although there weren’t any people, I was a bit disconcerted by the sound of her hooves clopping on the pavement. I asked if she could step any quieter, which caused her to inhale sharply. “Oh goodness, I hadn’t even thought of that, I’m sorry!” The clopping sound stopped and I felt a faint gust of wind, accompanied by even smaller gusts every few seconds, indicating that she had taken flight. “Is that any better?” she whispered. “Much better.” I confirmed, playfully winking at her. We continued onward to Bruce’s house, and along the way, Fluttershy tried to apologise for Twilight’s behaviour. She assured me that Twilight wasn’t this kind of pony back in Equestria, and that it was breaking her heart to see her friend become so unkind, and so unlike herself. Unable to see her still, I smiled warmly in the general direction of her whereabouts, hoping to show my gratitude. “Thank you Fluttershy, that’s really nice of you to say, but I’m afraid it’s not your apology to make, you’ve got nothing to be sorry for. As I said earlier, I don’t need her to be my friend, I just need her to cooperate with me as much as she can, so we can get through this mission together.” She hummed quietly, not knowing how to respond. “Oh, but I have to ask.” I went on, “Earlier, she called me a… what was it, a pygmy pink-skinned flesh-golem? I’m guessing that it was supposed to be some sort of horrible insult, but honestly, it bewildered me more than anything. I get that the pink-skinned bit was just a jab at my furlessness, but could you elaborate to me as to what the hell a flesh-golem is?” Bursting into a giggle, Fluttershy said that it was a dreadfully thought-up insult. “She was basically trying to say you were a little golem, just because they walk on two legs. They’re usually made from clay or rocks, so she just blurted out that you were a flesh one, it was so silly! Oh, but I hope it didn’t hurt your feelings, did it?” “Not really.” I chuckled, “So, golems are a real thing in Equestria then?” “Oh yes!” she confirmed, “They’re quite peaceful most of the time, but they’re very scary when they’re in a bad mood.” Astounded, I demanded more information about them, to which she explained that golems were naturally occurring magical constructs that dwelled in the Everfree Forest. They were great big bipedal beings that fed on metal ores and such. Though they mainly kept away from civilisation, some of the more avaricious ones would sometimes leave the forest in search of more concentrated metals to eat, posing quite a danger to ponies. “Man, that’s wild…” I hummed, “Well, thanks for telling me about them, I’d love to know more about the creatures in your world. As you’ve probably gathered by now, our world has no magic, so there aren’t many fantastical creatures to gawk at.” “Of course, I’d be happy to tell you about all the creatures I know!” she sang. Grinning, I said that I would love that, and we agreed that by the time the girls went home, I would know as much about Equestria’s fauna as I did about Earth’s. At long last, we arrived at Bruce’s, and I walked up to the door and rang the doorbell, instructing Fluttershy to remain as silent as a mouse. Hearing the lock click, I turned back to the door just as it swung open, revealing my dear friend. “About bloody time you showed up!” he squawked, “You said you’d be here in an hour, two hours ago!” He then came forward and wrapped his arms around me, while I apologised and explained that there had been a couple complications. He then let me go and tended to the dogs, greeting Chilli in his usual high-pitched baby voice, fussing over her until Archer grew jealous, lumbering forward to plant his massive head into Bruce’s chest. “Yes-yes, hello big boy! Hello! Yes, I know you exist, you magnificent handsome beast!” Fluttershy emitted a small giggle, causing Bruce to look up at me. “Callum, has anyone ever told you that you laugh like a five-year-old girl?” “No, but my mother says I cry like one.” I clapped back with a dull expression. Trilling his lips, Bruce stood up and shook his head. “Bro, don’t even mention that wrinkly old necromorph, she makes my blood sizzle.” Huffing with amusement, I suggested that we went inside. Nodding, he took the dog leads from me and took them in. I headed after him and beckoning Fluttershy in as well, putting a finger to my lips, silently ordering her not to make another sound. She whispered an apology and remained close to me. Bruce led us into his spacious living room, which was cluttered with paraphernalia pertaining to animal care. There were leads, toys, big bags of dry food, a few bags of cat litter, and a huge sack of bird seed. In the far corner was a metal cage, where an African Grey parrot was watching us keenly. “Rrrr?” it rasped, looking at me, “Shrek?” “No Apollo, that’s not Shrek.” Bruce laughed, batting a hand in the bird’s direction, “This is Callum!” The parrot made a gruff barking sound at me and turned away. Bruce then escorted the dogs to a different corner, where there were two massive dog beds, each of them with a big bone sitting in the middle. Taken with them immediately, both dogs settled down and began gnawing on their treats. Seeing them already so at home was comforting, and a fond smile slowly made its way to my face. “Talk about hospitality!” I chuckled. “You know it.” Bruce grinned, “I love these two about as much as I love Apollo!” “Pistash?” the parrot chattered in reply, hearing its name. Rolling his eyes, my friend waltzed over and fed the bird a pistachio nut, of which it very eagerly consumed. It then hopped onto his shoulder and nibbled his ear. “Oi, no biting!” he shouted. Apollo bobbed up and down with amusement and then returned to his cage. “So, I see you have a parrot now?” I tutted with a smirk. “Four actually.” Bruce replied with his back turned to me. “Ooh, can I see them?” Fluttershy called out. With a frown, Bruce whipped around to stare at me with narrowed eyes, pointing at me with a finger. “Bro, was that meant to be a Fluttershy impression? Because that was terrible.” Opening my mouth, I almost gave it away, but was able to stifle my laugh and request a cup of tea, as I really needed to explain what was going on. Snapping his fingers, he zipped into the kitchen to put the kettle on, and I turned to Fluttershy with a piercing glare. “What the devil are you doing!?” “I’m so sorry!” the pegasus whimpered, “I couldn’t help it!” “Yeah well, next time you feel like giving yourself away, I implore you to help it!” I hissed. Gulping, she apologised for a second time and promised that there wouldn’t be any more outbursts. Bruce then returned with the tea, along with a side of custard cream biscuits. Eyeing them up, I took a few and sat down in one of the living room chairs. I then looked over to Chilli and Archer, both chewing at their bones as though their lives depended on it. With a heavy sigh, I knew that I was on the cusp of never seeing them again. “Right, spit it out already.” Bruce ordered, “What the hell have you got yourself into?” Rubbing the back of my neck, I tried to figure out how best to articulate the situation. “It’s not easy to explain, so please bear with me okay?” Nodding, Bruce munched on a custard cream while I thought up how best to describe the unbelievable prospect that I had just willingly thrown my entire life away for. “Well… I uh…” Sighing, I didn’t really know how to say it without being blunt, and so I bit the bullet and told him. “I’m faking my death.” Bruce plonked his teacup back down and asked me why, raising his eyebrows as he did so. Swallowing, I fumbled over my words as I tried to explain it. “I’ve uh, signed myself up for a certain… opportunity. Let’s call it a job offer, but it requires me to leave my life behind. I can’t have anything linking back to my old identity, no records, no family, no name. I’ll be seeing the world, and with the start I’ve had, it’s nothing short of a miracle, so I’m going for it.” “You’re serious.” he murmured, “You’re actually being serious. Jeez Callum, what the hell are you getting into? Is this a crime thing? Are you joining a gang? Specifics man, tell me!” Then without warning, Apollo let off a loud squawk, startling Chilli. Rushing out from her new bed, she began barking at the bird, which in a panic, flew from his cage and smacked straight into Fluttershy. Caught off-guard, the pegasus let off a shriek and sprang away, colliding with a shelving unit and dispelling her invisibility. Apollo then landed on one of the shelves and looked down at her, craning his neck with curiosity. “Shrek?” Gulping, I looked at Bruce and let off an awkward chuckle, knowing that I now had even more explaining to do. “So uh… how’s that for specific?” Needless to say, Bruce was in a state of shock. Standing bolt upright, he stared at Fluttershy with eyes like saucers, his jaws practically on the floor. His lips began to quiver, and he tried to murmur her name. “F… F-Flu… Flutter… Oh… Okay…” He then fainted, thankfully falling backwards and onto the sofa where he had been sitting. The pegasus hung her head in shame, and for the first time in front of the ponies, I swore. “Oh for fuck’s sake…” I murmured. Wincing, Fluttershy apologised profusely, and I grumbled that it was fine. Thankfully, Bruce was a brony, and we had spoken at length on ‘what if Equestria was real’ scenarios. I would be able to talk him into comprehending this, and he would still keep his mouth shut as a bonus. The only real annoyance was that I now had to tell him everything, and I didn’t want to keep Twilight waiting. Eventually Bruce came to, and with Fluttershy now sitting beside me, I explained everything to him. I told him about the Titans’ Orb, and that I had been chosen to guide the ponies across the globe in search of it. At first, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, or seeing for that matter, but for every second that he gawked at the yellow pony in his house, he became more and more accustomed to her. “Do you understand now why this needs to stay between us?” I said to him. “Yeah…” he murmured, “Yeah I get it.” We talked about things at length with him, and eventually he became more excited than freaked out. Soon enough he began asking questions about Equestria, and some of them were utterly bizarre. For instance, he had asked if ponies needed to pay taxes, either to their local governments, or directly to the crown. Following that, he asked if the world of Equus was flat. Fluttershy, bless her, answered all his queries to the best of her ability, and then I reminded him that he wasn’t ever to mention any of this to anyone. “Of course!” he promised, “I’m sworn to secrecy, from here to the grave.” He then saluted, and declared his allegiance to the New Lunar Republic. “Bruce, real world.” I reminded him, snapping my fingers twice to gain his focus, “The NLR doesn’t exist. At least, I don’t think it does…” Leaning over to face Fluttershy, I asked if there was a New Lunar Republic at all, to which she simply shrugged and said that she had never heard of such a thing. I then finished my tea and gave Bruce a long sigh, telling him that it was time for us to get a move on, as the others were patiently waiting. Though saddened by this news, he understood and showed us to the door. Now that Fluttershy’s invisibility had been dispelled, we decided that she would stay at Bruce’s, where she could chat to him for a little while longer. However, I made it perfectly clear that Twilight would teleport her via the Pullie-Portal at any given moment, so they ought to be prepared for that. They both nodded, and Bruce asked how long I was going to be gone for. “Months, maybe even a year or two.” I huffed, “We have no idea where these shards are going to be…” At that, Bruce gave a whistle. “So, I’m holding onto the dogs for good then?” “Not necessarily.” I assured him, “I know Oliver will miss them, it’s just Jan I’m worried about. Maybe return them in a couple of weeks, after the dust has settled. You can either sneak them in by the back gate, or just say you found them wandering the street, either or.” He gave me two thumbs up in reply, and asked if he would ever hear from me again. I said that he probably wouldn’t, not for a very long time, but if I made it out of this adventure alive, I would be sure to pay him a visit and tell him how it all went. With that, he wrapped his arms around me and gave me a tight hug. “Well, I wish you all the best. Try not to die.” “Do my best.” I told him, hugging him back. Huffing loudly, he let me go and led me to the front door, which was when both dogs came over to me, aware that I was leaving. Chilli started to whine and Archer nosed at me, and it took everything in me not to start crying. “It’s alright…” I told them, giving them both their last bout of love from me. I picked Chilli up and cradled her for a moment, and as she licked my cheek, I couldn’t hold back the tears. Crying into her fur, I told her just how much I loved her, and then I put her down and did the same to Archer. Fluttershy then helped me out the door, using one of her wings to create a barrier between me and the dogs. She was emotional too, clearly knowing just how hard it was to say goodbye to a pet forever. Forcing myself out the door, I clamped my mouth shut, trying to remain strong, but as Chilli began whining even louder, I started to sob. “Oh Callum…” Fluttershy mewled, breaking into tears of her own. “I’ll… I’ll see you soon…” I wept, turning away. The front door was promptly closed to spare me the agony of hearing the dog’s confused whining, and I made myself put one foot in front of the other, whimpering to myself as I went. The crying had stopped by the time I reached Rarity, though she could tell from my bloodshot eyes that it hadn’t been an easy farewell. She asked where Fluttershy was, and I told her what had happened. Rolling her eyes fondly, she went ahead and pinged Twilight. The spell was so weak that her horn didn’t even light up, I didn’t hear the ping either, indicating that it was purely a magical frequency, and not an audible one. “Try not to black out this time.” she teased. Scoffing, I said that I would endeavour not to, and as Twilight reciprocated, I felt the Pullie-Portal’s effects. The pins and needles returned, and I focused on letting the magic within me flow, willing my body to accept it. I began to feel weightless, and then I was suddenly blinded by flashes of whites, blues and reds. My vision then quickly returned, and I very rapidly found that I was somewhere else, suspended briefly in mid-air. Gravity then followed suit, and had I been a cat, I would have landed perfectly on my feet. But as it happened, I was not a cat, and found myself smacking into the grass with a hefty ‘oof’. Now winded and in pain, I lay there motionless for a moment. Hearing the thudding of hooves, I slowly rotated my head to find Pinkie Pie zipping up to me. “Wow, you really suck at flying!” “Hmm, I disagree.” Twilight muttered, stepping along beside her, “For a brick, you flew pretty good.” “Mmmmmnnn…” I rumbled in reply. Getting to my feet, I wearily told her to laugh it up, and then asked why it felt like I had just fallen from a great height. Clearing her throat, Twilight put a hoof behind her neck and itched it awkwardly. “Well uh, Pullie-Portals have a tendency to skew a little when it comes to the actual destination. It’s not by much, but it’s enough to cause complications, such as arriving with your legs partially underground.” “That’s happened before?” “Yes, and trust me, it’s not pretty.” she replied, “So to compensate, I made sure that you arrived a little higher up.” “A little?” I blurted out, “I could have broken something from that height!” “Would you rather the ground merge with your legs?” “Fair point!” Scoffing, Twilight used her magic to launch my rucksack at me. I caught it with ease and put it on, and once Rarity and Fluttershy had donned their own bags, Twilight said that we were to head north-east. I asked why, and she grumbled a revelation. “I tried the gem finding spell while you were gone. It worked, but it didn’t pick up any of the Orb shards. I want to go north-east because I’m detecting a huge surge of electrical frequencies that way, and I might be able to use them to amplify the spell.” “Oh, that’ll be Gatwick Airport.” I hummed emphatically. “I don’t care what it’s called.” she spat in reply. Rolling my eyes, I let the remark slip, not bothering to respond to her negativity. I asked if everyone was ready to go, to which they all nodded, with Pinkie excitedly bouncing in her usual manner. I opened the side gate for them, and one by one they passed through. Taking one final look at my old home, I broke into a smile. Yes, saying goodbye to the dogs had been hard, but they were safe and happy now, and the path ahead filled me with enough excitement to feel at peace with my choice to let them go. Stepping out after the girls, I shut the gate behind me and took in my very first breath of freedom. My adventure had begun, and from here onward, every step I took was a step into the unknown. And I was ready for it.