//------------------------------// // Chapter Eight: Summer Plans // Story: The Titans' Orb // by Mister Horncastle //------------------------------// Tutting, I put the atlas back into my rucksack and shook my head. How the bloody hell were we all going to get to Brazil? Taking note of my boggled state, Rainbow Dash tilted her head on one side. “I’m taking it that’s pretty far from here?” she guessed. “Uh, yeah it’s far!” I exclaimed, “Brazil’s like a good four-thousand miles away from here!” “Oh, so it’s like, really far…” Hoping to quell the growing panic over the distance, Rarity stepped forward to give her input. “Well, before we all get our tails in a twist, I would say we have two clear options. Option one, Twilight could attempt to teleport us there when her mana has replenished.” Twilight was about to protest, when Rarity took the liberty of explaining the complications herself. “But, if we’re talking thousands of miles, then such a distance would almost certainly spell disaster. We could be thrown off-course, or split up, or goodness-knows what! Plus, it would undoubtedly expend all of Twilight’s mana, so we’d be left vulnerable on arrival.” “Right, well that’s obviously the one we’ll be going with then.” I jested, “What’s option two?” With a knowing smile, Rarity turned around and pointed to the airport, just as a plane was taking off from the runway. “We use one of those…” Gasping, I realised that a plane was the perfect idea. “Rarity, you’re a genius!” I cheered. The others began praising her as well, until Twilight let off a bellow that made us all jump. “No she is not!” Strutting forward to assert herself further, she looked around at her friends with a scowl. “I’m sorry, but am I the only one here with a shred of foresight? This dimwitted ‘genius’ just suggested that we waltz into a highly secured location, heavily populated by humans, and board a huge metal tube that’s stocked with even more humans! Are none of you seeing how this ends with us being caught and captured, and then who knows what would be done to us!?” Swallowing, Rarity’s ears drooped and she looked at her hooves, admitting that she saw Twilight’s point. Trying to cheer her back up, I assured her that it was a good first draft, which resulted in a bout of mockery from our cantankerous leader. “Pfft, if you consider what is essentially suicide, a ‘good first draft’, then I seriously worry about our outlook for the success of this mission.” For all the negativity, she was right, trying to get onto a plane was a huge risk. It was then that Fluttershy bravely piped up, having now properly recovered from her panic attack. “Um, what if you used an invisibility spell on us? Like how you did earlier for me and Rarity?” “Ooh, then we could sneak on board without a hitch!” Pinkie squeaked in agreement. “It’s still too dangerous.” Twilight argued, holding her ground, “You said these things are packed with hundreds of humans at a time, I’m not letting myself get trapped in with them for however long it takes to reach this ‘Brazil’ place. Besides, there’s no way I could maintain seven invisibility spells for that long.” Again, she was right; there would be well over a hundred people on an international flight like that. But then it hit me, those people couldn’t reach every area of the plane. There was one place that was unmonitored, and unreachable throughout the entire duration of the flight, and if we could get there, we would be safe and secure without question. “How about the cargo hold?” I suggested. “The what?” quizzed Rainbow Dash. “The cargo hold.” I repeated, “It’s an area down in the bottom of the plane where passengers have all their luggage stored. It’s completely sealed off from the seating area above, so no one can get in there after take-off.” “Why do they seal it off?” Rarity inquired. Inhaling, I explained how the cargo hold was inaccessible mainly for safety concerns, but also because after take off it became an environment that was barely survivable. As the plane went higher, air pressure would drop, and the temperature with it, and although both the main cabin and the baggage hold were both pressurised, only the cabin was heated. This meant that the cargo area could potentially drop to below freezing temperatures, and in some planes, the hold wasn’t even pressurised, making the temperatures even colder, and the air too thin to feasibly breathe. Without hesitation, Twilight had processed the information and quipped back at me with fake enthusiasm. “Oh yes, wonderful. What a great idea! So instead of suicide via human capture, we instead kill ourselves with hypothermia, and a side of possible asphyxiation? By the Titans, you are thick…” Before I could think of an argument, Rainbow Dash stepped in and set her straight. “Whoa-whoa-whoa, hang on there Egghead, aren’t you a freaking unicorn? Like, the most powerful unicorn of our time? I know your mana’s low and all, but don’t you have a bunch of spells that can bypass all that stuff?” Humming with keen agreement, I guessed that Twilight would have a plethora of spells up her sleeve that could help us out. Thinking about the My Little Dashie event, it was a hard fact that she had access to a spell capable of manipulating the very weather! Although, that had been an experiment, and I didn’t feel like being sent to another world as a newborn baby any time soon. Still, surely she had something to negate the change in temperature, and the air pressure if needed. “Ooh, what about that warmth spell you use during the colder months?” Rarity spoke up, her confidence renewed, “What was it called again? Thermal, uh… oh, Thermic Hide! Yes, surely that one ought to do the trick, shouldn’t it?” Hearing this, I put my head to one side, now puzzled. Had Rarity just verbally given a spell a name? So spells had names then? I thought that they were just… well… spells! Yet again I was dumbfounded by a new discovery between cartoon and reality. This also posed the question, how on earth did Twilight remember all of them? If they had individual names, then an adept mage like her would need to memorise hundreds of words! One could say what they liked about the mare’s unforgiving demeanour, there was absolutely no questioning her intelligence. “Heat is one thing, air pressure is another.” she growled, “I may have a spell for that, but it’s not easy to uphold, and I’m not wasting all my damn mana on such a risky endeavour! We’ll find another way to Brazil, but we are not getting inside one of those metal abominations!” “You’re not the boss of me!” Rainbow Dash challenged. Whipping around to face her, Twilight didn’t miss a beat to spit her scathing reply. “Excuse me? I think you’ll find that by royal decree, I am the boss of you. What I say goes, so unless you want me to tell Princess Celestia that you disobeyed her, shut your mouth and know your place.” {Yikes…} I rumbled in thought, gulping. With the power clearly going to Twilight’s head, I chose to knock her down a few pegs. Sure, the Princess may have put her in charge of the party, but she had neglected the fact that Celestia had also appointed me as the ponies’ guide. Pointing this out to her, I dared to suggest that it would be rebellious to ignore my decisions when it came to getting from A to B. “You’re in charge, it’s true.” I went on, “But by that very same ‘royal decree’ as you put it, I’m the one in charge of guiding you, so I have the authority when it comes to getting around. By all means, I’ll heed your commands, tell me to jump and I’ll jump for you, tell me to dance and I’ll dance. But if I say, ‘we are getting on that plane’, then you can bet your bollocks to a barn dance that we’re getting on that plane.” Completely and utterly stunned, Twilight stared at me with wide eyes. There was no comeback, for Princess Celestia had indeed ordered her to heed my instruction when it came to navigation. In essence, I could issue my very own ‘royal decrees’, whenever I saw fit. With her nose scrunching up, Twilight gritted her teeth and finally let out a wrathful grunt. “Ugh, fine! But just know that if we die up there, it’s because of you.” “Duly noted.” I replied mirthfully. Turning to face the others, I gave them a toothy smile, to which they giggled, nodding faintly with fervour and approval. The fact that I could win an argument with Twilight in her current state seemed to impress them, and honestly, with how intelligent and stubborn she was, I was impressed too. Confrontations had never been my thing, but since stepping out from that gate and knowing that I would never see Janice again, I felt a surge of confidence that had never been there before. Clearly eager for some action, Rainbow Dash asked when we would be getting on board, which I responded to by suggesting we set up camp and rest for the night first. Twilight needed to recover her mana, and I needed more time to formulate a proper plan. With how many planes came and went from Gatwick Airport, I would need to find one that actually went to Brazil. As much as the pegasus seemed disappointed with the decision, she accepted it with no complaint. Much like her, I was thirsty for adventure, but realistically it was getting far too late into the day now, it would be much more sensible to depart in the morning when we were all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Walking over to Rarity, I inquired as to how the group’s portable camp worked. Clearing her throat, she explained how the tents, sleeping bags, and pillows had all been enchanted. With just a touch of magic, they could be shrunk down to a mere fraction of their ordinary size. The tents were self-erecting too, meaning that all one needed to do was place them on the ground, tug a cord, and they would deploy themselves in seconds. “Heh, erecting.” Rainbow Dash snickered. “Inappropriate!” Rarity barked. Rolling her eyes, the unicorn retrieved one of the tents from Rainbow’s saddlebag. They were no bigger than an average dinner plate, and much to my excitement, she gave it to me and allowed me to pull the cord. I tugged on the little string, and to my sheer amazement, the little thing unfolded and propped itself up in my hands, becoming roughly the size of a bowling ball. She then instructed me to place it onto the ground, and used her magic to activate the enchantment, causing the tent to grow bigger and bigger until it reached its full size. It may have been a simple tent, hardly any different to the pop-out tents we humans had on Earth, but the mere addition of magic completely enthralled me. Witnessing genuine unicorn magic, especially having now learned how it worked, completely and utterly blew me away; I was dead certain that I would never tire of seeing it in action. “So, how do you shrink it again?” I asked, “Do you just reactivate the enchantment?” “That’s the most bothersome part.” she started, rolling her eyes, “Yes, using magic will shrink it again, but as far as folding it back up? Well, somepony has to do that by hoof, and let me tell you, these pesky things most certainly do not play ball.” With a chuckle, I explained that we had tents just like that on Earth, albeit without the magic. “They’re a bloody nightmare!” I laughed, “You’ll be so close to having it put away and then suddenly it’ll just spring back open and hit you in the face!” “Oh at last, someone who understands my plight!” she gasped. We both broke into a proper fit of giggles over it, and then she went digging into Rainbow’s bag to search for the other two. It was then that I heard something in the distance, and gestured for Rarity to stop for a second, putting a finger to my lips. “What is it?” she asked. “Sshh!” “That isn’t very polite, you know?” “No, seriously, shush!” Realising that something was genuinely wrong, Rarity kept quiet and allowed me to listen out. I turned my face to the side, and soon enough I could hear it, the rumble of a car engine. With my eyes flaring open, I realised that we needed to hide, and fast. The others came rushing over to me, with Twilight demanding to know what was going on. “We’ve got company.” I told her. “What!?” she gasped, “But you led us here, I thought we were safe!?” “Yeah, well that was before you summoned a lightning bolt from the bloody heavens!” “I had to cast that spell, or else we-” “It doesn’t matter.” I cut her off, “We need to hide, now! Someone from the airport probably spotted the light show and called the police to check it out. Can you cast a cloaking spell on us?” Shaking her head, she professed that she wouldn’t be able to cast one on all seven of us. “As I mentioned earlier, I think you’re resistant to magic. It takes a lot of mana to manipulate you. That Pullie-Portal earlier cost more mana for you than it did for Rarity and Fluttershy combined!” “Think you could have mentioned that sooner!?” I snapped, gritting my teeth. “We don’t have time for this!” Applejack cried out. She was right, we didn’t have the time. Looking around frantically, I ordered Twilight to cloak herself and the others at least, along with the tent. Meanwhile, I would find somewhere to hide. At the end of the day, I had committed no crime, nor was I trespassing. Even if I did get discovered by the authorities, the absolute worst-case scenario was that I would be questioned at the local police station. After that I would be let go, and I could quickly come back here to regroup with the girls, pressing on as normal. “Are you sure?” asked Twilight. “Yes, I’m sure. Take my bag, get by the tent, and cast the spell.” Nodding, the girls all rushed over, all except for Rainbow Dash. “I’ll fly to the clouds, I can keep watch from above. It’ll be less mana for Twilight to use.” Upon receiving my nod of approval, the pegasus shot into the sky and disappeared in mere seconds. The car’s engine was much louder now, though I couldn’t see the vehicle itself just yet. Whoever was coming to investigate was clearly going off-road, so it would take them a while to reach this spot. But that was no reason to dally, after giving my bag to Pinkie Pie, I looked around in search of a hiding place. Picking one of the nearby oak trees, I decided that it would be best to hide up high. The car’s engine then came to an abrupt halt, followed by the opening and slamming of two doors. Without a second to think, I shot up the tree like a squirrel on Red Bull, clambering all the way up to the point where the trunk split off into other branches. I didn’t even think about how high up I was, I didn’t have time to, I just hugged the highest branch that could support my weight, and listened carefully. There was then the sound of footsteps among the leaves, followed by the voice of a man with a West Country accent. “The caller said the light was coming from right around here.” I slowly peeked out to see two police officers standing not too far away. One of them was pointing to the spot where Twilight had used her spell. He was slender in build, had blonde hair, and was of an average height. The other man was a fair bit shorter, with much darker hair, and was a lot more on the portly side. “Well Danny, I’m not seeing any signs of scorched earth, nor any damage to the surrounding leafage.” the taller man said, whose accent was a standard London one, “Are you sure this was the place?” “Yes, I’m sure! She said it was on the other side of the fence just at the edge of the woodland, not far from the flight tower. If there was anything noteworthy, we’d find it right here!” The shorter man, presumably named Danny, stamped the ground with his foot to emphasise the point. The taller officer then squatted down to mockingly match his height, indicating that they were no strangers to bantering with each other. “Well there’s very clearly nothing here, is there?” he spoke, “But if you insist that we set up a perimeter and call this in as a genuine incident, then we can.” Shaking his head, Danny clearly didn’t like the idea of being stuck in the woods for hours. “Maybe it was aliens?” he suggested. At that, the tall one burst into a loud scoff. “If you say so.” Despite the notion being brushed off, Danny continued to theorise, clearly more imaginative than his blonde-haired colleague. “Oh come off it Nicholas, it totally could’ve been aliens! Just think about it, a lightning bolt strikes the ground, right by the airport, on a day when it’s not raining, followed by no signs of impact. Don’t you think that sounds off? It might be like in War of the Worlds, you know, the one with Tom Cruise!” “For as much as I love your boundless enthusiasm, I think it’s far more likely that this is a false report.” the tall one replied dryly, “But if you happen to see any massive tripods walking about, vaporising people and destroying civilisation as we know it, by all means, I’ll reconsider.” Ignoring the blunt assessment of this Nicholas fellow, Danny practically danced around his colleague with yet another bizarre theory. “Hey, what if it’s like a Jedi mind trick? What if we’re being duped into believing there are no aliens here, when in fact we’re surrounded by them? Or better yet, what if they’re using some kind of cloaking device?” Sighing heavily, Nicholas shook his head with exasperation. “Look Danny, I’ll happily enjoy a sci-fi film as much as the next man, but keep the conspiracy theories to a minimum. As I said, this is clearly a false alarm. Someone either saw a trick of the light, or they decided to spice up their day with a woefully unfunny prank on the police while waiting for their flight.” To this, Danny grumbled and kicked at the ground. “You’ve got no imagination whatsoever, do you know that Nick?” “I am more than capable of having an imagination, thank you, but I’m far more inclined to properly do my job. Now, let’s call this in and head back to the station, yeah?” Huffing, Danny gave a shrug and conceded. “Fine, I was just hoping we’d find something interesting. This place is duller than Sandford.” “Yeah well, Crawley needed more officers. I’m sure we’ll get to go back eventually.” “Hope so.” Danny huffed, “Alright, call it in. Do you fancy doing something tonight after our shift?” “What did you have in mind?” asked Nicholas. “I don’t know… pub?” The officers laughed, and then got back into their police car to inform their superiors that the report was nothing but a false alarm. The car then started up and the two of them drove away, allowing me to finally relax, emitting a heavy sigh of relief. Peering down at where the girls were, I noticed that they were still under the invisibility spell. “Alright, it’s safe to come out now!” I called down to them. “Are you sure?” came Twilight’s fretful voice. “One-hundred percent!” With a faint crackle, the girls all reappeared. Looking up at me, they watched as I began to climb back down, which was when the branch I was standing on began to creak loudly. “Ah…” I muttered to myself, “That’s not ideal.” I tried to slide myself backwards, which was when the entire branch snapped. “Shiiiiiiiiiiiit!” I hollered as I fell to the ground below. Thankfully there were branches on the way down to slow my fall, but they hardly welcomed me with kindness. “OOF!” I bellowed as I hit the first branch. “ARGH!” I shouted upon hitting the second. “GOD!” branch number three, “SHITTING!” branch number four, “DAMMIT!” branch number five. A particularly fat branch then shot up between my legs, striking my tackle like a hammer to an anvil. Momentarily suspended, I emitted a husky, sonorous wail. The branch then snapped like the others, and I continued my descent, smacking several more branches along the way until I finally met the ground, smacking into a mossy patch of wet earth with a hefty splat. The girls came rushing over to me in a panic, desperate to make sure I was okay. Meanwhile, I simply lay motionless, needing time to process the fact that I had just fallen from the top of a bloody tree, which needless to say, bloody hurt. “Callum, are you alright!?” Rarity cried out to me. With my face still planted into the ground, my response was that of a muffled wheeze. “I don’t think I can have children any more…” I was then suddenly grabbed by a pair of hooves and forcefully rolled over, as Pinkie Pie took it upon herself to shake me back to life, shouting at me wildly as she did so. “Callum! Callum!? Don’t go into the light! You can’t die yet, we still have like five more books to go, maybe six, we’ll see! You’d better call me Jeor Mormont, because I forbid you to die!” “Jeez Pinkie, I’m alive, get off!” I groaned at her angrily, “Stop it before you give me bloody whiplash!” Realising that she was doing more harm than good, she apologised and let me go, giggling awkwardly. Slowly sitting up, I began to dust myself off and check for damage. “Dude, are you okay?” asked Rainbow Dash, returning from the skies. “Anything broken?” added Applejack. Finally summoning the strength to get to my feet, I gave myself a little shake-down and wiggled all my extremities. I then lifted my shirt and found that a bruise on my hip had already started to form. However, aside from that, and the overall pain from the impact of course, it didn’t seem like anything was terribly damaged. “I mean, that bloody hurt, but I think I’m all good.” I murmured shakily. “Are you sure, Hun?” pressed Applejack, “That was some fall…” “Yeah, I’m fine, really.” I chuckled, brushing off her concern, “I just need to work on my landings.” Rarity then came forward and began to fuss all over me, refusing to hear my assurances. “You’re not fine darling, just look at the state of you! You’re an absolute mess!” Looking down at myself, I was indeed a mess. I was coated with leaves and bits of bark, and one whole side of me was covered in dirt; it seemed that I had hit the ground with enough force to practically merge with the very Earth. Tutting loudly, Rarity used her magic to summon a shimmering telekinetic blob. She then reshaped it to take on the form of a feather duster, using it to sweep at my body and clear away the leaf-litter. “At least I didn’t land face first, I quite like being pretty.” I quipped, evoking a laugh from some of the group. “Pfft, as if!” sneered Rainbow Dash. “That’s bold talk, coming from you, have you seen a mirror lately?” I retorted with a wink. “Uh dude, I hate to break it to you, but I’d still look better than you even on my worst day! Have you even seen yourself? You look like a monkey and a diamond dog had a baby together and then somepony shaved its fur off!” Pinkie burst into a loud snorting cackle, while Rarity gasped with shock. “Rainbow Dash!” “Oh come on Rare, I’m kidding, obviously! Callum here knows how to take a joke! Right?” Thanks to my relationship with Oliver, I was indeed no stranger to banter, and decided to clap back at her with a diss of my own. “Of course I can take a joke. I can also take a walk in public without scaring the children.” That got everyone, even Twilight, and with laughter now running amok, Rainbow Dash tried to one-up me. “Oh yeah? Well… uh… you look like a pile of crap ate a second pile of crap, and then crapped out a third pile of crap.” “Wait, which one am I?” I asked, confused. “The third one!” “What!?” I gasped, “That’s the worst one!” The giggles and cackles reached a new height, when then doubled upon my following response. “Well you, my dear Rainbow, look like you were tied to the back of the Ugly Wagon, with the Ugly Rope, and were then dragged down Ugly Street, for fifty ugly miles.” With everyone almost belly-laughing at this point, Rarity continued to brush me down, which was when she brushed my wrist, causing me to wince with pain. Immediately serious again, she continued to fuss over me. “See? You’re not fine, you’re clearly in pain!” She prodded my wrist with a hoof, causing me to recoil from her. “Ow! Yes, it tends to hurt when you poke a sore spot after a big fall!” I complained, batting away her invasive prodding, “You’re not going to make it any better by poking it, so stop that!” “But you’re absolutely sure there are no breaks?” Applejack queried, now also worried about me. “Yes, I’m sure.” I assured her, “Believe it or not, that’s not the first tree I’ve fallen out of. I’ve never once broken a bone and I certainly don’t plan on changing that any time soon. Now quit jabbing me, Rarity!” The unicorn finally backed off, and I asked Pinkie Pie for my rucksack so that I could retrieve my water bottle; there was still a fair bit of dirt stuck to me, and I wanted to wash it off before settling down. “Oh don’t waste your drinking water, I’m pretty sure there’s a small stream just over there!” Pinkie pointed over to a more dense patch of woodland and I looked at her, puzzled. “Really?” I asked her, “How do you know that?” “Hmm, just a hunch.” she hummed, shrugging. Curious as to whether Pinkie’s infamous hunches were accurate on Earth, I headed over in search of this supposed stream. Rarity and Rainbow Dash accompanied me, while the others remained to set up the other tents. Lo and behold, there was a little stream, confirming that interstellar location had no influence on Pinkie’s abilities. I made my approach and started scooping water to wash the dirt from my face and arms. I had barely begun when Rarity emitted a small shriek, and I whipped around to see what on earth the matter was. “You’re bleeding! Callum, your leg is bleeding!” Rarity bleated in a panic, prodding my right calf muscle. As soon as her hoof made contact, a stinging pain shot into my leg, making me jump. “YOW!” I yelped. Arching my back, I twisted my head to get a look. Sure enough, there was a section on my calf where my jeans were ripped, with the surrounding area being damp with a generous helping of blood. “Aww sweet, let’s see it!” went Rainbow Dash, clearly possessing a morbid curiosity. I meanwhile, grumbled bitterly. “Bugger, I liked these jeans.” “Oh forget the clothes, I can stitch that up in a heartbeat.” Rarity assured me, “But your leg, dear! Your leg is bleeding!” Reaching forward, she was just about to prod the injury again, and this time I stopped her physically, seizing her wrist and raising my eyebrows at her. “If you poke me one more time, I swear to your damn Titans…” With a bashful chuckle, she got the message and withdrew her hoof. I then rolled up my trouser leg to inspect the wound properly. Applejack and Fluttershy then arrived at the scene, alerted to Rarity’s scream. “What in tarnation is going on?” AJ demanded. Turning to look at her, I put my head to one side and pulled an amused expression. “Well, if Rarity’s reaction is anything to go on, it would seem that I’ve been dismembered.” “Oh, you cheeky little…” she hissed under her breath, “It just… It just caught me off-guard, alright?” She then pointed at my leg, rolling her eyes. “He’s bleeding!” “Ooh, that looks pretty deep.” AJ hummed, grimacing. Fluttershy came over and nudged Rarity aside, and after looking at it for a few seconds, gave a nod. “It won’t need stitches, but yeah, it’s pretty bad. I’ll put some Oozima on it.” {Oozima?} I echoed in thought, {What the heck is Oozima?} Rainbow Dash then took a look, and upon seeing it she let off an impressed whistle. “Now that’s a cut! But I’ve had way worse.” “Oh spare me, you ain’t never had a cut that deep.” Applejack scoffed. “Have so!” she argued, “Remember when I broke my wing that one time? I went straight into a pile of rocks and got a huge cut on my shoulder!” At that, Applejack let off a one-syllable laugh and gave the pegasus a shove. “You call that puny little scratch, a cut? Ha! I’ve been given worse scrapes than that from my own darn farm tools! That nick on your shoulder was nothing!” “Was to!” “Was not.” I stood there and watched with amusement as the two mares squabbled over the severity of Rainbow’s past injury. I then felt a stinging sensation on my leg and tensed up, before closing my eyes with annoyance. “Rarity, for the last time…” Turning around, I found that it was not Rarity, but Fluttershy. With a hoof lightly keeping my trouser leg raised, the little pegasus was innocently inspecting the wound. “I’m sorry,” she sighed, “but I just want to check if there are any bits of wood still in there.” Nodding with understanding, I let her carry on. The others went back to the camp to give her some space, and after making sure the gash was clear of debris, Fluttershy went after them, leaving me in peace to continue washing away the remaining dirt. She had offered to stay with me, but I had insisted for her to leave me be for a moment. It wasn’t that I didn’t like having the girls around, I was just so uncomfortable with all the attention I had been getting from them. The last time I had been genuinely injured, my family had simply told me to man up and deal with it. Now, I suddenly had a group of girls around me, doting on me, and I wasn’t sure how to handle it. I was sure that I would eventually get used to it, but for now, I just wanted to treat it with a degree of nonchalance. When I was finished cleaning up, I gave the leg wound a proper inspection. I had thought the girls had been overreacting at first, but it was actually quite deep, with blood still oozing out of it. Still, as long as I made sure to bandage it, I was sure it would heal up in a good few days, perhaps faster if Fluttershy put that stuff on it that she had mentioned. What was it called again? Oozie-something? I looked up to the sky and noticed that it was getting darker. Dusk was here and the night would soon follow. Standing up straight, I headed back to the others, or at least, where the other should have been, for I arrived only to find they were gone. “Uh, guys? You there?” I asked out loud. I listened and looked around, nothing. And then at last, there was a small fizz of energy, and Applejack materialised a small distance away, as though she had come out of thin air. She smiled and beckoned for me to come over to her. “Over here Sugarcube, we got the camp cloak working!” She took a few steps back and quite literally faded out of existence again. Smirking, I walked over to where she had been and started to feel a warmth radiating from the area in front of me. Continuing my approach, everything shimmered for a split second and I passed through the invisible barrier. Before me now was a breathtaking sight, and I couldn’t help but mutter my amazement. “Wow…” “Pretty cool, huh?” Rainbow Dash called over to me. All three tents were now deployed, and in front of them was a flickering campfire, which certainly explained the warmth. I may have already seen this camp, but to see it at night with the fire going really brought it to life. The girls were sitting around the dancing flame on six large square pillows, with a seventh on the ground just for me. Rarity pointed to it and insisted that I took a seat. Grounding myself from the whizzing thoughts, I stepped forward and decided to kneel on it, preventing my bleeding calf from soiling the cerulean cloth. It was then that a scent wafted into my nose, it was sweet, and vaguely familiar. “Do you have a sweet tooth at all, darling?” asked Rarity. With my mouth salivating, I nodded enthusiastically. “That’s good to hear, because you, my dear, are about to taste a sweet treat from another planet!” My eyes widened, and everyone looked at me with excited expressions. Clearing her throat, Rarity tilted her head and gave me a merry, almost nurturing smile. “Are you by chance, fond of marshmallows?”