//------------------------------// // Chapter One: My Life // Story: The Titans' Orb // by Mister Horncastle //------------------------------// My eyes flickered open, and I slowly sat up, inhaling deeply through my nose. With a yawn, I reached over to retrieve my phone and check the time; it was a little past midday. I’d slept a bit later than I had meant to, although it didn’t overly matter. Shrugging, I clambered out of bed and proceeded to get dressed, and once I was fully clothed, I stood in front of the mirror, taking a good long look at myself; I didn’t look half bad, for once… It had taken plenty of dedication, but I was finally somewhat happy with my image, and no longer repulsed by the overweight blob that I once was. That wasn’t to say that I was totally there yet, I still had quite the belly, and so I decided to take myself off to the nearby leisure centre for a swim. I would need to take the bus to get there, as driving wasn’t an option for me, for a handful of reasons. Firstly, I couldn’t afford the lessons, let alone a car. And secondly, even if I had the money, I lacked the confidence; the sheer thought of piloting a great big metal death trap, hurtling down the road alongside other great big metal death traps, utterly terrified me. For all that said, getting from A to B required either walking, or taking public transport. After packing my goggles, swimming trunks, and a towel into a small duffle bag, I made my way downstairs and opened the front door, not bothering to grab anything to eat. “Where do you think you’re going?” a voice barked. This voice belonged to that of my mother. It was safe to assume that most people would be comforted to hear their mother’s voice; that familiar maternal tone should by all rights evoke feelings of assurance, and safety. Well, things were rather different in this household. “I’m just heading out to the K-Two, I’m going for a swim.” I answered, turning to face her. Her eyes narrowed and she cast me a less-than-subtle look of contempt. “Fine, but I’m not taking you.” “I uh, never asked you to.” I replied awkwardly, “I’m taking the bus.” “Well, be back before six.” Raising my eyebrows and looking down at the floor, I obeyed the order with an exasperated mumble. “Yes Mum…” Oh how the woman did love to nag, especially when it came to me going out, she was always checking on what I did. She didn’t care for my safety, there was just this obsessive need to know what I was actually doing with my time. It seemed as though she was in a constant state of paranoia, as if there was some big secret to uncover. I was seventeen years old with barely a penny to my name, what did she think I got up to? Opening the front door, I stepped out into the driveway, and being the middle of a hot June, I was relieved to be greeted by a cool breeze. Truth be told, I hated the summer; I was a winter baby, born in early January and proud of it too; I thrived in the cold. The front door was slammed shut, and with a pensive sigh I began to make the short walk to the bus stop. Janice, my mother… where did I start? She was a narcissistic, self-centred old bat with a huge drinking problem. It was only mild at first, but she went completely off the deep end after my father disappeared. Now she was a borderline psychopath, ready to lash out at even the slightest provocation. On the total flip side, my dad, Clifford, had been the ideal parent. He was a good man, a kind man, caring, and thoughtful. He had all the time in the world for me, and filled my childhood with good experiences and memories. But nobody in this world was perfect, and my father met his downfall at the behest of a severe gambling addiction, which only became apparent during the last few weeks of his time in my family. At first, I had seen no ill in it, for he had claimed to only ever spend his winnings; he never gambled what he couldn’t afford to lose. And then, in just a single game of high-stakes poker, the bastard shed his virtues and refused to fold, throwing away his life and all of our family savings. I never heard from him again after that. As for where he went, I would never know, and my mum certainly wasn’t up for telling me; merely uttering his name rewarded me with bruises, and being sent to bed without supper. I also had an older brother. Once my best friend, now my personal tormentor, Oliver could be as bad as my mum at times. When Dad left, he stepped up to become a very twisted ‘man of the house’, by way of downloading every possible example of toxic masculinity to his brain, forging one of the most repugnant personalities known to man. Beneath it all however, it was very clear that he was just angry with Clifford for abandoning us, but unfortunately, I had become the outlet for that anger. Despite his obnoxious and thug-like persona, he was actually a fiercely intelligent person, and had learned how to avoid my mum’s cruelty by mimicking her lifestyle. He would bring her peace offerings of whiskey and scotch to remain in her good graces, and drink with her long into the night, ranting and raving over politics and such, cleverly agreeing with her opinions and appearing like-minded to her. I had to admit, for as much as I detested the person he had become, he knew how to play the game, and I respected him for that. In truth, I had been close to following the same path. All the bitterness and anger inside was certainly potent enough to make a monster out of me, but there was one thing that had allowed me to contain it. Though rather pathetic, and totally laughable by all rights, the thing that kept me going was a children’s cartoon, by the name of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. As all bronies would attest to, My Little Pony was more than just some silly show, it was a vibrant world with layered characters, genuinely entertaining premises, and valuable life lessons. It had made me appreciate the trivial joys in life, and had helped teach me to put people’s differences aside, and learn to love people for who they were. Beyond that, the show had provided me with a community, a mass of oddballs and outcasts from all different walks of life, many of whom I would chat with on the internet. From America to Japan, I had made connections with people like me, and bonded with them over shared experiences and mutual love for the show. These friendships, though mostly superficial and short-lived, had brought me a great deal of respite from the arduous day-to-day of my rather unfortunate life. That cartoon, along with the quirky coterie it provided, had helped me maintain the motivation to press on, and to be the best version of myself I could be, all while clinging desperately to my faint sliver of hope. Hope that one day I would make it in life, that I’d be successful, with good friends at my side, and that maybe, just maybe, I’d be happy with my place in the world; because right now, I was certainly not happy with that, or at all… Outside the community, I was very much a closet brony, having received my fair share of persecution for it at school. I had made the fatal error of telling my peers about it, hoping to share in the loving and wholesome experience it had brought to me, only to be met with relentless mockery. The entire school knew within a fortnight, and the merciless rumours came into circulation shortly afterwards. Callum Horncastle, the little girl trapped in a boy’s body; the freak, the degenerate, the faggot, the queer, the paedophile… For a good year, I was embellished on a near daily basis with all the slurs bronies often received, and it didn’t help that I had autism either; the word ‘retard’ was thrown around quite a lot. Thankfully the hysteria eventually died down, and as time went on, I was able to laugh about it with my classmates, with a small handful of them even watching the show for themselves! Though their numbers were small, the newfound bronies came to me with legitimate apologies for how they’d treated me, and I of course forgave them. But still, the experience had taught me not to be so forthcoming, and so my love for the show remained for the most part obscured, and wrought with ignominy. Overall, this life of mine wasn’t exactly a pleasant one. With a miserable home life, a hatred for myself, and a pitiful outlook for the future, I had developed depression on a clinical level. Every day was a challenge, to the point where the simple act of getting out of bed felt like running a marathon. It had been this way for a while now, and I had spent far too much time in a state of hapless limbo, growing fat and not even caring. Still, for as pessimistic as I could be at times, it wasn’t all hopeless. For my new-year resolutions, I had decided to take up boxing, both to lose weight, and to help manage the anger. It had been working a treat thus far, with my fortitude slowly but surely on the incline. Three days a week, I was training and sparring, and I had even begun to compete professionally! People had started to call me One-Right, on account of my fighting style; for most of the match, I would wear my opponent down with a flurry of small jabs and hooks with my left hand. And then, without any warning, I would deliver a fully charged right-handed strike, fuelled by every ounce of the bitterness and ire within me. It was the punch everybody feared, because it was the punch that won me the fight, every single time, without failure. Learning to fight and losing weight had definitely improved things, but there was no hiding the fact that at the end of the day, one cannot polish a turd. I was still unhappy, and no amount of boxing or My Little Pony was ever going to fix that. No matter how many fights I won, it never brought me joy, nor fulfilment. There were no amount of ‘good days’ that could quell the oppressing darkness that bled from the sea of shadows within my mind. There was a sickness in me, of which there was no cure. For years now, I hadn’t been living, not really, I had just been surviving. Day in, day out, all I yearned for was something that could set me free from the murky pit that was my life; a real purpose, a fresh start, something, anything! Just not this… Crossing the road, I walked over to the bus stop. The bus for the leisure centre always took forever to show up on a Saturday, and so I sat down on the bench and patiently waited, looking around at my surroundings with a sense of antipathy. The place I had the displeasure of calling home was a dismal suburban area by the name of Ifield. It was a lowly neighbourhood, with almost all the buildings being made up of cheap council houses, packed with slobs who thrived on benefit fraud. Half the bloody town were on jobseeker’s allowance, well aware that they weren’t seeking anything but an easy way to sponge off the taxpayer. My home was one of the few decent places for miles; a proper Victorian house from back when Ifield was an actual village, which was sadly abolished in the nineteen-thirties after being merged with the larger town of Crawley. The house had thankfully survived, and was accompanied by a generous four acre plot of land at the back, of where I would often take long, moody walks with the dogs. Doing my best to accept the way of things, I began to daydream while I waited. Returning to the usual fantasy, I envisioned a life in Equestria, and how wonderful it would be to live amongst the ponies there. A place far from here, without hatred or war, harbouring only love and harmony, where no one judged others for who they were. Somewhere I could be happy. My self-pity was soon forced away, as I saw the leisure centre coming towards me, I had arrived. Thanking the driver, I got off the bus and went inside, where I paid the cashier for entry to the swimming pools and went to get changed with a weak hint of excitement. I’ve loved swimming ever since I was little, for there was nothing quite like the freeing weightlessness of being underwater, unburdened by the weight of mind and body, able to sink physically instead of mentally for a change. Whenever I was submerged, it felt like my struggles remained at the surface, as though my ailing mind couldn’t swim. Perhaps it couldn't? Maybe in a roundabout way, that was why it always felt like I was drowning… After a good two hours of swimming lengths in the Olympic pool, my stamina waned and my muscles started to ache, and so I hopped out and went back to the changing rooms. I was just towelling myself off when I overheard a couple of teenage lads in the cubicle next to me, ranting on about a cheating ex-girlfriend or something of that ilk. There was some rather enthusiastic talk of stabbing someone, and I was left rolling my eyes, tutting loudly. Slipping into my clothes, I got out of there as quickly as I could, wishing to hear no more of it. The bus home didn’t arrive for some time, so while I waited, I leaned up against the bus stop and stared at the clouds in search of pareidolias. It was something my dad and I used to do together back when he was still around. We would lay out for ages during the summer, just staring up at the clouds. I would always look for animals and such; cloud cats, cloud dogs, perhaps a cloud dragon or two. Clifford on the other hand, would always look for people, and faces. My searching then came to an abrupt halt when I noticed something moving behind one of the clouds. It was light blue, almost perfectly blended with the sky that surrounded it. I wouldn’t have seen it at all, if not for the smattering of other colours at both ends. Squinting my eyes, I tried to make out what it was, but it was far too small to be properly identified. It was only there for a moment, and then in the blink of an eye, it had vanished. I tried to find it again, but to no avail it was gone. With a shrug, I guessed that it was just a trick of the light, and cast it from my mind. The bus then finally arrived, and I showed the driver my return ticket and sat down. Feeling better for the swim, I released a calm breath, and watched the world pass me by as I was taken home. When I got back, I found myself alone. I knew that my brother was away at a friend’s house, but I didn’t know where Janice had gone. I could only presume that she’d gone off to play bingo, as she often did in the afternoons. Scoffing, it was hard not to see the irony that she had banished my father for gambling, and yet so regularly gambled herself, albeit on a much smaller scale. Knowing that I would be alone for a few hours, I prepared something that crudely resembled a dinner for myself, consisting of a curry flavoured Pot Noodle, and the left-over sausages that I had missed out on from this morning’s breakfast. It was hardly fine dining, but it was all I could be bothered to make. I was a good cook, mind, but with how depressed I was, finding the motivation to prepare a more satisfying meal was hard to come by. After I had heated up the sausages in the microwave, I took myself into the lounge and began to eat in front of the television. The Jeremy Kyle show was on, which was unquestionably shite TV, but I couldn’t help but enjoy it; there were few ways to improve one’s self-confidence quite like watching low class hooligans squabble and scream at each other over who cheated on whom, or who the baby’s real father was. It was essentially the British version of The Jerry Springer Show, all mediated by a man by the name of Jeremy Kyle, or Jezza, as most people liked to call him. The programme was almost over, and just as the DNA results were about to be revealed, there was suddenly a loud whooshing noise in the back garden, startling me. One of the family dogs, Chilli, started to bark like crazy, speeding out of the lounge and out through the cat-flap before I could even stand up. My other dog, Archer, raised his massive head and looked around, showing concern for no more than a few seconds, before losing interest and lowering himself back down again. Rolling my eyes at the Deerhound’s laziness, I got up and made my way to the back door. I was almost there, when I heard a loud cracking noise, followed by a yelp. My eyes flared wide open and I started to panic; that was Chilli’s yelp. Quickly opening the door, I sprinted out into the garden and started looking around for her, frantically calling out her name. “Chilli, where are you? Here Chilli!” There was no response. Now I was really getting worried. I loved that damn dog more than anything, if anything happened to her, it would probably be the last straw for me… Swallowing nervously, I started whistling and patting my thighs emphatically, desperately beckoning the dog to me. “Chilli come!” I called out, before whistling as loud as I could. At first there was still no response, but after a moment of silence, I heard a whimpering in the bushes. Charging over to them, I finally found her, eyes wide and cowering with fear. She was pressed up against the base of the hedge, but upon seeing me, she crawled over for protection. As I scooped her up and checked her over, I realised that her whiskers had been singed at the tips, as if they had been set alight by a match or something. What the hell had happened to her? Gulping, I stood up properly and looked all around, still cradling the quivering bundle in my arms. Casting my eyes over to the chickens on the land, I noticed that they seemed to be rather spooked as well. Yes, we also had chickens, with there being four acres of land, it seemed silly not to have any livestock; it was certainly nice to have an endless supply of eggs, that was for sure. We had ten hens and a cockerel named Bronson, and all eleven of them were bunched up together and clucking nervously, when they normally liked to roam around separately. They were evidently disturbed by something, and so I took it upon myself to investigate. After putting Chilli inside, I beckoned for Archer to accompany me as I went back out to have a look around. Being a sighthound, he was perfect for something like this, if there was anyone hiding out here, he’d spot them far sooner than I ever could. Alas, no such spotting was to occur, and after a good ten-or-so minutes of searching, I found nothing to suggest that there was anyone in the garden, or anything out of the ordinary at all. The chickens had calmed down, and all seemed as it ought to be. Frowning, I folded my arms and exhaled heavily from my nose. What was going on here? What the bloody hell had singed Chilli’s whiskers? As the mystery weighed more and more on my mind, I started to develop a sense of paranoia. Was someone watching me? Turning all around, I was unable to shake the uneasy feeling that I was being observed. A shiver ran down my spine, and without the ability to figure out who, or what, or where my observer might be, I anxiously hurried back inside, being sure to lock the door behind me. Now terribly uncomfortable, especially as I was home alone, I went up to my room and played on my Xbox, trying to forget about the whole thing. With the both of us in need of some company, I let Chilli come upstairs with me, who curled up in my lap while I played. A couple of hours later, I heard the front door slam; Jan was home. Within seconds, I could hear my mother stomping her way upstairs, and the door to my bedroom was shunted open. “Why the fuck is the dog on the bed?” she demanded as she stepped into my room. She grabbed Chilli by the collar and yanked her off of my bed, and then without an ounce of humanity, quite literally kicked her out of my room. With a yelp, the poor little spaniel ran downstairs, now frightened and confused. Looking up at the callous old hag, I gave my mother a solemn, defeated look. “Why did you do that?” I begged, clenching my jaw. “You know I don’t like her up here.” she snapped in reply. “Okay, but you don’t have to kick her like-” My words were cut off by her hand, as it slapped me across the face. “Don’t answer back, cocky little boy.” she spat, turning away to leave. She shut my door and marched off, to which I let out a heavy sigh and allowed my head to hang low. Sniffing angrily, I wrinkled my nose in response to my now-stinging cheek. I didn’t cry, for this was a common occurrence; I was wholly used to this kind of treatment. No, for me, the real pain came from how she’d kicked the dog. The old bat could do to me as she liked, but poor Chilli didn’t understand, and under no grounds did she deserve such needless abuse, and for what, lying on my bed? One would think she’d shat in my mother’s cereal for the way she was so often despised by the woman. And then, just as I thought that was the worst of it, the wrath of my mother’s return continued, as the kitchen fridge was opened. “Who took the sausages from this morning?” Her sharp, booming voice rippled through the house, to the point where I could physically feel the vibration through my bed frame. Swallowing, I took a deep breath, before venturing miserably downstairs to confess. “Sorry Mum, I thought those were for me because I missed breakfast.” Casting me a fierce look, she raised one side of her lip, disgusted with me. “Right, so you thought you could just sneak into the fridge while nobody’s home and eat whatever you like, hm?” “I just… I just wanted something for dinner, and I didn’t know what else to eat.” I sighed. Leaving the fridge wide open, she strode towards me and I haunched my shoulders, knowing what was about to happen. Grabbing my face with an open hand, she clamped my cheeks like a vice and said that I was never going to get into shape, because I was a gluttonous, greedy little runt. Saying nothing, I met her piercing glare, to which she smacked me in the face and ordered me to make myself useful by putting the chickens to bed. I didn’t argue with her, and drifted sombrely to the back door. She followed me there, looming ominously behind me, knowing full-well that I was afraid of her. As I stepped outside, she slammed the door shut and I heard the lock click, indicating that I would be stuck out here for a while. With another loud sniff, I wiped at the tears in my eyes and made my way down the garden to the chicken coop, now feeling bleak and lifeless. As though they wished to ease my burden, most of the chickens had thankfully turned in for the night already, and after escorting the last two hens into the hutch, I closed the door. This was my duty on a daily basis, to prevent foxes from getting at them in the night, as they had done so many times before. Over the past few years, we had lost a good nine hens, along with our previous cockerel, named Bruce. Of course, I had been blamed for this, and so it was now up to me to secure them at night, with Janice promising that if any more chickens were killed, I would be made to sleep in the coop with the surviving flock, not to return indoors until I myself had laid an egg. Having been locked out, I saw no point in heading back, and so I wandered aimlessly up the land. I had only gone a few paces, when I suddenly heard a faint voice from behind the concrete car shed further up the land, used for Dad’s old sit-on lawn mower. Immediately on high alert, I clenched my fists and crept on over. Upon reaching the shed, I crouched down low and craned my neck, listening carefully, and it quickly dawned on me that there were multiple voices speaking. More concerning than that, was that they were talking about me. “Oh, how I feel for the poor boy.” one of them spoke, “How can she treat another of her kind like that, her own son for that matter?” The voice was female and carried a stern elegance, and somehow, I recognised it from somewhere. Furrowing my brow, I carried on listening as another voice spoke, of which I recognised as well. “Yeah, I feel for him too. I honestly couldn’t even watch when she went to hit him…” And then, a third voice spoke, in the form of a gentle, concerned whisper. It was so quiet that I almost didn’t hear it at all. “Um, Twilight, I was wondering… Was it, um… really necessary to zap poor little Chilli? I feel so bad for the poor thing!” Twilight… Twilight… That voice, saying that particular name… It couldn’t be, it couldn’t be. Surely not… “Oh Fluttershy, I know, and I’m sorry. However, I’m afraid it was necessary. If it kept barking at us, the human might have found us.” {Oh… my… god.} I thought to myself, my eyes bulging. I realised who I was listening to, but it didn’t make any sense. How was that possible? I had to have been dreaming, surely. Shaking my head with disbelief, I continued to eavesdrop, just to confirm that I really was hearing them. “Look, Twilight, how long are we going to be out here monitoring this dude? We’ve been here for two weeks already, I’m so bored! Can we please just get this show on the road already?” “Keep it down, Rainbow! Look, I know you’re bored, but we can’t take any chances. Not only are we on a new planet, we’re in a whole new dimension! There’s just no telling how many dangers there are here, things could go south real fast if we aren’t careful. I want to learn as much as I can about these humans before we take the next step.” Hearing this, my mouth went dry and I began to feel dizzy. They had been here for two whole weeks? {What is happening?} I thought to myself, {What the hell is going on?} There was no doubt about it now, I was listening to the Mane Six. These voices belonged to the six ponies from the show, they were here, right here in my garden, just on the other side of this shed. That’s what had spooked the chickens, Chilli had found them, and it had been Twilight Sparkle that singed her whiskers, in a bid to remain hidden. I almost dropped dead from astonishment there and then. With my mouth agape, I also realised that that was why I had felt like I was being watched earlier. But it still didn’t make any sense, how could six cartoon ponies be behind my garden shed? It just wasn’t possible. As I tried to make heads or tails of the situation, the mixture of confusion and joy within me became twinged with a hint of nausea. Was any of this even real? Had I lost my mind? I certainly hadn’t taken any drugs, so maybe I had actually gone doolally tap? Perhaps all the abuse, and persistent longing for an escape, had at long last driven me over the edge, spurred on by my frequent daydreaming about going to Equestria. It was as though my brain was trying to take me there manually. I started to feel angry with myself; how dare I be so weak-willed and openly deluded. Refusing to be driven mad, I pinched myself over and over and gave my head a hard jolt. But try as I might, the ponies continued to speak to one another, with the sound of Applejack’s voice now taking the forefront. “I’ve gotta say Twi, this whole shebang about dimensions and aliens is whizzing over my head. All I know is that the Princess sent us here to find that darn Orb, and that this human fella can help us. If she said Callum’s the guy for the job, then we may as well bring him into the fold already. Surely even you can agree with that logic?” {Wait-wait-wait… Princess Celestia!?} I shrieked in thought, almost crying it aloud, {She knows me? She sent them here to find… me!?} How could she have known me? Had she been spying on me? This was all too much to handle, it was too confusing and too impossible to remain idle. The urge to actually see them for myself was so overpowering that I was shaking. Clutching the sides of my head, I trembled as I kept on listening. Twilight was now arguing with the Applejack, clearly trying to hold on to her decision to remain hidden. Rainbow Dash then jumped back in, pointing out that they would learn more from me in a few minutes than they had in the past two weeks, and eventually, it seemed like they were winning her over. “Come along Twilight!” Rarity’s voice piped up, “If we were to have just one little chat with him, we’d learn more in that conversation than we would in a whole month of watching him like this! It’s hardly like we have much to fear from him, considering all we’ve been through together.” “Yeah!” Rainbow Dash loudly agreed, “Are you forgetting who we are? We’re the frickin’ Elements of Harmony! We’ve saved Equestria like, loads of times! We’ve dealt with Nightmare Moon, Discord, the changelings… Face it, we’re badasses! Are you seriously afraid of some big furless monkey? Come on, let’s just talk to him already!” To this, I shuddered. I may have been just one ‘big furless monkey’, but if these girls knew just how dangerous my species could be, they would be backing Twilight’s approach without question. From our numerous wars, to crime statistics, to slavery, to terrorism, oh, the list was endless. It would take a lifetime to list all the abhorrent things we humans had done, both to this world, and to each other. That said, they thankfully wouldn’t be finding such things in my garden, and after a time, Twilight seemed to think so too. With a loud sigh, she at last gave in to the pressure of her friends. “Look, you all have some good points, I just think… I guess that… Oh, you know what? Fine! We’ll talk to him, okay? But I don’t know when exactly… If we are going to talk to him, then we still need to find a way to get him out here alone.” I couldn’t take it any more, this was my moment. With a deep breath, I stood up and came out from around the shed to face them; to face a dream in reality. “There’s no need, Twilight. I’m already out here.” All six of them gasped, turning to stare in shock as I revealed myself to them. I too, inhaled deeply as I saw them at last. It was… It was like nothing I could possibly imagine. How one might go about describing this moment was beyond me, for I was looking at something truly inconceivable. Even in the low light of the setting sun, they stood out to me like six bright candles in an otherwise pitch black room, their faces dancing with fright and caution, unsure what to make of my sudden appearance. They looked like… well, I couldn’t quite describe it, they were just so real! And yet, they were just like they were in the show; Rainbow Dash’s mane and tail were the same bright vivid pastel colours, Pinkie Pie was indeed a bright hot pink, and Rarity’s purple mane was curled in its usual fashion. Applejack was wearing her signature cowboy hat, and Fluttershy was watching me anxiously from behind the cover of her large salmon pink mane. Come to think of it, they looked quite similar to their three-dimensional counterparts in Source Filmmaker, just more real. That was the only way I could describe it, they looked real, because they were real. No one said anything, and I noticed that they were all slowly backing away from me. “Please don’t be afraid!” I blurted out, “I’m not going to hurt you!” Gulping, Twilight was the first to speak. “Callum? Uh, you… were you spying on us? How much of that did you hear?” Her pupils and irises had shrunk in size, just as they did in the show when ponies were afraid. If I weren’t so shocked myself, I’d probably have pointed out the irony that she had been the one spying on me. Glancing past her at the others, it dawned on me that they all had the same expression. Well, all except for Rainbow Dash, who seemed quite calm after getting over the initial surprise. However, with how nervous the rest of them were, I realised that I needed to say something, and quickly. With a gulp, I forced myself past the shock and spoke as calmly as I could. “I didn’t hear much, only that you’ve been here a couple weeks and want to learn more about me, that’s all I heard.” Exhaling, I fought to remain composed. My heart was pounding in my chest, and the urge to run towards them in excited greeting was almost overpowering, but I had to stay put, and show them that I was harmless. And then, an idea came to me. Clearing my throat, I decided to quote the cartoon, hoping that I could spark a sense of familiarity. “Look, I’m not sure how well you know me, but I promise, I’m no threat to you… I Pinkie promise.” It seemed to work a treat, as the corners of Pinkie’s lips turned up into a little grin, and everyone seemed to relax a bit. Rainbow Dash even took a step towards me, now totally calm and confident. “You see Twilight, what did I tell you? Nothing to be afraid of.” Nervously looking her way, I dared to ask what any brony in my shoes would have asked. “This probably sounds a bit ridiculous to you, but… are you… are you actually real?” Smirking, the pegasus walked right up to me and held out her hoof for me to feel. “Really real, dude.” With a shudder, I lifted my arm and prepared to make my first physical contact. I hesitated at first, not wanting this dream to end, but I persisted and gradually reached out, finally touching it. The tip of the hoof was firm, and the surrounding fur was short and velvety. I’d have tried to feel the underside of it too, but I didn’t want to be impolite or intrusive, especially as the show had depicted Rainbow Dash as having sensitive hooves. The dream didn’t end, and as I respectfully let go and looked into Dashie’s eyes, I was struck in full force by a rushing cascade of emotions. My eyes started to water and my heart swelled with joy, more than joy; this experience was rapturous to me, as though I were a man of faith, looking upon the very face of God. My world, from this moment, was forever changed. Overjoyed, I couldn’t stop myself from breaking out into a huge grin, and the tears finally began to flow. {This is really happening…} I thought to myself, {They’re real! This is all real!} Aside from Twilight, who continued to keep her distance, the others relaxed and came forward to greet me, now convinced that they were safe in my company. They all stood together in front of me, with Rarity being next to speak. “We’ve been keeping an eye on you for quite some time.” she said with a flick of her mane, “However, Twilight’s magic can only gather so much information, we’ve all been dying to meet you properly! Please, tell us more about yourself.” To that, I didn’t know how to reply, it wasn’t every day one was questioned by Rarity for crying out loud! I had to say something though before it got awkward, and so I used Spike’s handy line from the very first episode of the show. “Well, what do you want to know?” As I waited for a response, I looked from pony to pony, and noticed a strange look in Rainbow Dash’s eyes. I had no idea what she was thinking, but I could tell that she was clearly thinking hard, for her whole demeanour had changed, like she was studying me for some reason. For a brief moment, it was like the world didn’t even exist to her as she searched desperately for something in me, not that I knew what that was. Just as I began to feel uncomfortable, my attention was drawn back to Rarity as she gave her answer. “Well, thanks to Twilight’s magic we know your name is Callum, and that you share the latter name of Horncastle with your family. We’ve learned that you live with your mother and your brother, and that you spend a lot of time interacting with those curious gadgets of yours, watching moving pictures, and sometimes interacting with them. We’ve also come to gather that you’re athletic to some degree, having seen your swimming abilities, and also that fighting sport you partake in, boxing, is that right?” I gave her a nod to confirm, only for her to confess that that was as much as they knew. Furrowing my brow, I thought about my swimming session earlier, and then my eyes shot wide open. It was Rainbow Dash I had seen in the clouds, she had followed me to the K-Two and watched me from above! “I saw you.” I breathed, pointing to the cyan pegasus, “Today. You were up in the clouds. I saw you, but I didn’t realise it was…” Trailing off, I let out a small huff, totally gobsmacked. Grinning proudly, she shamelessly admitted that it was indeed her, and that Twilight had been using her as a portable set of binoculars, tracking me wherever I went and observing my activities. Tutting, I shook my head, utterly baffled. I then tried to reply to Rarity, only for Pinkie Pie to launch herself forward and start bouncing in front of me. “Ooh, what kind of food do you guys eat? Huh? Huh?” I opened my mouth, only to be halted by a harrowing thought. If she was asking this, then the ponies weren’t yet aware that I ate meat. How would they respond to such a thing? The last thing I wanted was to horrify them with the revelation that humans were meat-eating omnivores. The thought of Fluttershy’s reaction alone was enough to make my skin prickle. “Well, erm… I’m pretty sure we eat mostly similar foods?” I said at last, telling only half the truth, “You know, bread, grains, fruit, vegetables, nuts, cheeses, that sort of thing.” Thankfully, before I had to elaborate any further, I heard the door open back at the house, followed by my mother’s dreaded voice booming across the garden. “Oi Callum! I told you to put the chickens away, not go fucking camping!” Hanging my head, I looked at all the ponies, and they all looked at me; they knew that I had to go. But, I had an idea. I knew for a fact that Jan was off to pay a visit to my uncle tomorrow, and my brother wouldn’t be home for another few days yet, as he was staying at his friend’s house. Explaining this to the girls, I asked if they would like to come in tomorrow. Twilight opened her mouth, clearly about to refuse, when Pinkie Pie suddenly broke out into a hyperactive fit, utterly possessed with glee. “Ooh yes, yes! I would love to! I can’t wait to see the inside of an alien’s house! What’s it like in there? Is it all snuggly-wuggly with big alien furniture and a massive alien kitchen full of tasty alien food and-” “Alright-alright now, simmer down, Pinkie.” laughed Applejack, giving her frenetic friend a nudge. She then looked at me sternly, and asked if it was well and truly safe to come in. “It’ll be safe, I promise.” I replied, dipping my head, “You could just come in for a few hours, plenty of time to talk and get to know each other better. Oh, and I have tons of books, so even after you leave, you can take those with you if you like?” That’s what got Twilight’s attention, there were books. Now, she couldn’t refuse. “Ugh, alright!” she huffed, “Just be sure to call for us when you’re absolutely sure it’s safe. Oh, and before you go, can I cast a monitoring spell on you? It’s just for vitals, body temperature, heart rate, electrodermal activity, that sort of thing. Oh, and it’ll allow me to see through your eyes, so I can observe what you’re doing.” “Oh, uh… sure I guess.” I murmured, caught off-guard. “Thanks.” she replied, “I’ve been able to cast one on you before, but I wasn’t able to get very good results. It’s quite a delicate spell, and sadly it dissipated shortly after I cast it, after your mother, uh… hit you.” The ponies all grimaced, and Rainbow Dash came up to me with a sorrowful expression on her face. “How can she do that to you? How do you just… take it?” I looked at her and gave her an assuring smile, to show her that I wasn’t in any pain. “It’s just the way things are. It’s fine, I’m used to it.” “That don’t make it right though!” Applejack protested. Moving beyond the sentiment, Twilight stepped forward to proceed with casting the spell. She closed her eyes and her horn started to glow, and I began to feel a warm sensation run across my skin. Holding my hands out in front of me, I watched as my skin faintly glowed a chalky white colour, which then sank beneath the surface and filled me with tiny buzzing sensations. And then, just like that, it all faded away, leaving me feeling completely normal, save for the excitement that now rushed through me. {Holy shit… that was magic!} I thought to myself. {Real, legitimate, unicorn magic!} This was insane… With a gulp, I stood back and blinked rapidly, still finding this all very hard to believe. “You’d better go now.” said Twilight. Agreeing, I took one last look at the ponies, savouring the moment. I then inhaled deeply through my nose and dipped my head in farewell, before turning away and making my way towards the house. “Are you positive it’s safe for us to come in tomorrow, dear?” Rarity called after me. Whipping around, I grinned merrily and called back to her. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” I performed the accompanying gesture and they all burst into happy smiles, with Pinkie Pie gasping loudly. “He knows my thing!” she squealed, bouncing up and down, “Did you see that, girls? He knows my thing!” Turning around once more, I walked away for good, with my face now sporting a grin of my own that stretched from ear to ear. Was this… my new beginning?