//------------------------------// // Chapter Ten: Midnight Musings // Story: The Titans' Orb // by Mister Horncastle //------------------------------// As the revelry came to a close, we all settled down and Applejack got some food underway. I was offered some of theirs, but not wanting to be rude, I stuck with my own stock, using the campfire to heat up a tin of baked beans. Eating was almost difficult after the game of Stuffy Bunnies, for my cheeks ached and my jaw barely had the strength to chew; I couldn’t see myself wanting to play that again for quite some time. After some delightful conversation and a bit of banter, Applejack suggested we got some shut-eye, and considering how dark it was now, it wasn’t a bad idea. Twilight had already left, though that was more likely to avoid company than to get rest. Rainbow Dash said that she wasn’t tired, and despite how full-on my first day as an adventurer had been, I too, wasn’t all that tired. “That’s all well and good, but I’m off to bed.” Rarity declared, “Goodnight everyone!” We bid her farewell, and she went off into the largest of the three tents to get some sleep. Pinkie Pie then went to join her, with Applejack joining Twilight in the second one. Yawning, Fluttershy eventually turned in as well, making her way into the third tent. “And then there were two…” I said ponderously. “Anything on your mind?” Dashie inquired, turning her head to look at me. Come to think of it, there was an absolute mountain of things I wanted to talk about. For starters, I wanted to know more about this Orb, and the Titans who made it. I was also rather curious about the colt that had been mentioned earlier, which upon being brought up, had caused Fluttershy to become a blushing anxious mess. Starting with the Orb, I asked for more information, pointing out that I had thrown my entire life away to look for the damn thing. “When you put it that way, it feels like we shouldn’t have asked you to do this.” she muttered, her ears drooping. “Oh come off it.” I scoffed, “Let’s be honest, my life wasn’t exactly top-notch before you all came along.” This caused her to crack a smile, and she admitted that I didn’t seem to have much going for me. “So, what do you want to know?” she quizzed. “Well, a crumb of context would be nice.” I chortled, “It’s a fancy stone made by the Titans, but I don’t even know who the Titans are! Today’s been a whirlwind, and I know Rarity said more about them, but I’ve already forgotten half of what she told me.” Beset with empathy, Rainbow realised that I really was a fish out of water, and far more bewildered than I was letting on. Admitting that she didn’t really care for Equestria’s history, the pegasus knew little more than I did, but repeating some of what Rarity had said back at the house, I was given at least something of an explanation. Now in a much calmer state, I properly learned how Equus had been created by six gods, known as the Holy Titans of Harmony, one of whom went mad and ate the other five. During this event, one of the Titans had created Celestia and Luna to rule and protect the planet, which was vital now that the Titans had been dethroned and destroyed by one of their own. My eyebrows practically danced as I took in the information, actually digesting it this time. It baffled me to learn of the Princesses’ true parentage; I had always enjoyed the Fausticorn theory, but here I was, being told that they had been birthed into the world by the very gods. “What were the Titans’ names?” I asked, “Why did one of them go mad?” Pulling a face, Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Not a clue, dude. I’m the wrong pony to be asking about this stuff.” “Yeah, well the right pony wants me to Kurt Cobain myself.” “I don’t know what that means.” “Ugh, don’t worry about it…” I grumbled. It seemed that to learn the history of these Holy Titans of Harmony, I would need to talk to Twilight about it, as she would almost certainly know more about it than the other five combined. Perhaps it could serve as a trust-building opportunity, we could maybe bond over history lessons. Moving on to my other query, I lowered my voice, just in case Fluttershy was awake and listening. “Hey, I was also wondering. Earlier today, you mentioned some colt that Fluttershy knew, and the second you brought him up, she was blushing like a beetroot. What’s that all about?” “Ahh, him.” Rainbow snickered, “Yeah, there’s this dude she likes. She’s known him ever since she was little, we grew up with him in Cloudsdale. Dude’s practically made for her…” “Ooh, the plot thickens.” I murmured, my interest piqued, “What’s his name?” “It’s Midnight something.” she replied looking away thoughtfully, “Midnight Breeze maybe? No, it wasn’t that, uh… shit, I can’t remember. All I know was that it was Midnight something, Flutters always calls him ‘Middy’ so I never hear his full name.” Begging her for more information, I twisted on my cushion to face her properly, and asked what he looked like, and what Fluttershy liked so much about him. “Uh, he’s dark blue if I remember right, with a light blue mane.” she described, “As for why she likes him? Well I’ve only met the guy a few times, but from what I’ve seen, he’s one of those quiet types, real sensitive and soulful, you know? Oh, but the dude’s obsessed with birds, and I mean obsessed.” Readjusting herself, Rainbow Dash told me how Midnight had his very own aviary, full of owls, eagles, hawks, finches, ravens, and more. If it was a bird, then it was more likely than not in Midnight’s collection. Scratching my chin, I was intrigued, and even more so when Dashie leaned over and whispered to me. “Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but Fluttershy even brought pictures of him. She looks at them sometimes when she thinks no one’s watching. She keeps them in her diary.” For as much as Rainbow was betraying Fluttershy’s trust, I couldn’t help but find myself riveted by the rumour, eager to be privy to something that was shrouded in mystery. Personally though, I found the whole ordeal to be more adorable than anything else; Fluttershy had a crush, and an intense one by the sounds of things. Knowing how shy and reticent she could be, I wondered how Rainbow Dash knew so much. “So how do you know all this?” I spoke my mind, “Did she tell you?” “Well duh.” Dashie laughed, “Flutters and I have known each other since we were little fillies! We played together, we went to flight school together, we practically lived together! Until she moved to Ponyville, we were basically sisters. With a bond like that, she’d trust me with her life, let alone some secret crush.” Raising her chin, Rainbow Dash clearly took a lot of pride in this bond. “Aww, that’s lovely.” I tutted, “I’m really glad you both have such a connection.” “Thanks.” she hummed warmly, before breaking into a faint chuckle, “I’m sure you and her will get plenty close too. She’s already warmed up to you, and I mean like, a lot!” “Why is that do you think?” I pondered. “Oh that’s easy, she loves getting to know new species. With how much she loves animals, if it ain’t a pony, chances are it’ll be her friend before too long.” Rainbow’s eyes then widened as she realised what she had just said. “I uh, not… not that I’m saying you’re an animal or anything! That came out wrong, I just meant that-” “I know what you meant.” I interrupted her, giving her a friendly wink. Throwing her head back, the pegasus let out a sigh, clearly relieved to have not offended me. Ironically, I quite liked the sentiment. For all my life I had felt different to other people, and it had always been a bad thing. But now, simply because I wasn’t a pony, which by their standards meant that I wasn’t normal, I basically had a free pass to befriend a pony who was nervous around those like her. To some extent, I was an animal to them, or an alien at least. Either way, it meant that the first time in my life, being different wasn’t all that bad. Eventually, the exhaustion from everything I had experienced today caught up to me, and I was struck by waves of tiredness. With a big stretch, I asked what the sleeping arrangements were, as I would probably turn in soon. “Well, AJ and Twilight sleep together in that tent.” she said, pointing to the smallest one, “Me, Pinkie and Rarity are in that big one there, and you’re in that one with Fluttershy.” Tilting my head, I theorised that Rainbow would share with Fluttershy, seeing as they were ‘basically sisters’, as she had put it. To that, she gave an amused huff and rolled her eyes. “Pfft, oh spare me. We have a great bond and all, but I’d rather be in with that miserable egghead than spend the night with Fluttershy.” “Elaborate?” I requested. “Oh, camping with her is impossible.” she huffed, “Firstly, she’s a cuddler. You can’t be near her for ten seconds without her latching on to you. Secondly, she’s got the bladder of a damn parasprite! She gets up like six or seven times in the night to go pee.” “I mean, that doesn’t sound too awful.” I hummed. “Oh it gets worse!” she went on, “Because half the time, she’s too scared to go out by herself, so she wakes you up and drags you out to keep her company. That’s been my job since we got here, and from here on out, it’s yours.” “Right.” I murmured, “So me sleeping in her tent was your decision then, huh?” “Not even going to beat around the bush, yeah, it was.” she confessed, breaking into a small laugh, “Sorry dude, but I can’t handle it any more.” Rolling my eyes, I gave her a sarcastic ‘thanks’ for assigning me to be the new babysitter. It wasn’t all bad though, as apparently there was a sleeping bag and a pillow in there for me, both of which were supposedly silkier than I could possibly imagine. As a part of the official ‘Twilight’s Company Itinerary’, each member of the party was to have the finest bedding, and much to my excitement, that included me. “Well, seeing as I’m used to cheap bedding from Bargain Buy, I’m sure it’ll be heavenly, even with a few disturbances from Flutters.” I scoffed. Dashie huffed with amusement, and then we both flopped onto our backs, taking a moment to look up at the night sky. It was a lovely night, without a cloud to be seen, and the two of us stopped talking for a while and just gazed at the stars, taking in its splendour. “Beautiful, aren’t they?” I asked after a few minutes of silence. “The stars?” “Yeah.” “Eh, I guess.” she muttered, “They’re just glowing dots to me.” “Oh come on, just look at them!” I implored, “Aren’t you even the least bit enthralled by them? Each one of those little buggers is a sun, saying hello from billions of miles away!” “Now you sound like Twilight.” “Ugh, I do?” “She loves the stars.” Rainbow told me, “She used to talk about them for hours back home, back before she turned into such an asshole.” “Well, now you’ve got me talking about them, and I’m certainly not one of those.” We both chuckled a little at that, and then we decided to call it a night. Thanking her for being a part of the best day of my life so far, I dipped my head to her, and she responded with a grin. “I mean, I’m awesome, so I guess it makes sense that meeting me would be the best day of your life.” “Oh bugger off.” I teased, “Goodnight, Rainbow.” “Night, dude.” Heading to my tent, I took off my shoes and clambered into the little entryway, where I found Fluttershy’s dim form quickly scrambling to stuff something into her saddlebag. “Oh! Um, hi Callum!” she greeted me, trying to hide how flustered she clearly was. Sparing her the embarrassment, I went along with it and pretended to see nothing, though I could only presume that she had been coddling the supposed pictures of this ‘Middy’ I had heard so much about. “Didn’t wake you, did I?” “No, I was still awake.” she whispered. Getting properly inside, I found the sleeping bag and pillow. Fluttershy had kindly prepared them for me, and so all I had to do was slip in and get comfortable. The second I felt the silk, I realised just what the ‘finest bedding’ truly meant. Stifling a gasp, I ran my hands over the bedding to find that it was like butter, smoother than butter! Sighing with euphoria, I got myself comfortable and told Fluttershy that I hoped she was okay with us sharing a tent together. “Oh, it’s alright.” she murmured. Hearing the lie in her voice, I decided to make her a little more at ease by telling her that she wasn’t the only one who was anxious. This was the first time in my life that I was sleeping in such close proximity to someone, and admittedly, I was genuinely nervous. Realising that we were both a bit uneasy for this first night together, Fluttershy visibly relaxed, and performed something of a complete one-eighty. “It’s okay, I’ll keep you safe.” she giggled. {Oh Fluttershy, you adorable little so-and-so…} I thought to her, breaking into a grin. “Thanks, I appreciate it.” I whispered to her. Getting myself more comfortable, I emitted a heavy drawn-out sigh. This had been a long day, a very long day indeed. I had experienced teleportation, I had hidden from the police, and I had claimed Pinkie’s title as the Stuffy Bunnies Champion. I had given away my beloved Chilli and Archer, and I had vandalised my own home, of which was now no longer my home. Above all that, I had killed my own clone, sticking a knife into a replica of my own flesh; the very thought made my stomach turn. All I wanted now was a good long rest. Shutting my eyes, I was about to achieve such a rest, when I was suddenly being prodded by a hoof. I rolled over to see Fluttershy looking at me awkwardly, bouncing up and down lightly in child-like discomfort. She didn’t have to say anything for me to know what she needed; Rainbow Dash hadn’t been bluffing. “Um, Callum? I hate to ask, but…” “Come on.” I replied drearily, rolling my eyes, “But I’m not holding your hoof while you go.” With one of my old responsibilities being to let chickens out at half-past five every morning, I had become quite the early bird, so when I woke, the sun had only recently come to greet the day. There was birdsong outside, and in one of the adjacent tents came the sound of somepony snoring loudly; if the cartoon was at all accurate, I could only presume that it was Rainbow Dash. I rolled over to see Fluttershy, who was still fast asleep, and my naïve expectations had foreseen her as an adorable sleeper, all tucked up in a little ball of innocence. The reality however was far less eloquent, as the butter-coloured pegasus lay sprawled out on her side with her mouth wide open, drooling down one side of her muzzle. Her legs were all at different angles, and one of her wings was stretched out while the other remained closed. It was as though she had been positioned by a drunken puppeteer, with a mind to display her in the most absurd way possible. With an open-mouthed smirk, I shook my head and quietly left the tent. “Well, it seems I’m not the only early bird for once.” Sitting on her cushion, with a cup of tea floating beside her, was Rarity. Giving her a little wave, I put my shoes on and came to sit with her. “Tea?” she offered, retrieving a second cup from her saddlebag. {Trust Rarity to bring multiple teacups on an adventure to another planet.} I mused in thought. “I’m British, of course I want tea!” She tilted her head to one side, confused. “Sorry dear, but what does your country of origin have to do with wanting tea?” “Oh, it’s just a stereotype.” I told her, “We Brits are renowned for loving it.” “I see…” she hummed, “And why is that?” “It’s a cultural thing.” I explained, “Our relationship with tea goes back for hundreds of years, so it’s kind of entrenched in our way of life, you know?” Taking the cup from her telekinetic hold, I explained that having a cuppa tea has been one of the few experiences through British history that had cut across all divides, whether it be ethnicity, social class, or otherwise. From the richest of snobs to the poorest of street rats, tea was accessible and comforting to all. On top of that, it was very simply a good displacement activity, being the perfect thing for so many situations. Meeting a new person and need to break the ice? Experienced trauma and need to calm the shock? Need to warm up on a rainy day? Perhaps a family member had died, and one was in need of a home comfort to ease the grieving process? All can be achieved, with a cup of tea. “Some say it’s the very lifeblood of our nation.” I chuckled, “I don’t know how accurate that really is, but either way, it goes a lot deeper than a mere stereotype.” Smiling warmly, Rarity poured said lifeblood into my cup. “Well, that was lovely to hear, thank you for explaining it to me. I certainly hope our Equestrian tea can compare to what you’re used to. Would you like any milk at all?” “I’m sure it’ll be delicious.” I replied with a grin, “Yes please, just a splash.” “Any sugar?” “No thank you Rarity, I’m sweet enough.” My cheeky response drew a high-pitched giggle from the unicorn as she put the milk in. Grinning to myself, I looked down at the nutty brown beverage and took a small sip. It was delicious, and not too unlike Earl Grey tea. Rarity then presented something else to me, a cookie of some sort, not much different to an ordinary British biscuit. “What’s this?” I asked her. “Just try it.” she said. Shrugging, I took it from her and had a nibble. The flavour was nice and chocolatey, not unlike the Bourbon biscuits we had here in the UK, but as I continued to slowly chew, the flavour began to change. Soon enough it was rife with the taste of cinnamon, and upon swallowing the delicious treat, I was astounded even further as I was left with a vanilla aftertaste. “Blimey…” I mumbled, clinging on to the experience, “Rarity, this is divine! What is it exactly?” Grinning, she explained that the absolute marvel I had just consumed was an extravagant treat known as a Threezie. Taking a bite into one of her own, she explained that Threezies were cookies infused with tiny edible crystals, which released a different flavour when they made contact with the enzymes in one’s saliva. When swallowed, the crystals would then release yet another burst of flavour when introduced to the mucus in the throat, leaving a completely different aftertaste. All in all, one would end up getting three different flavours, hence the name. Supposedly they were a very popular treat in Canterlot’s high society, as they were much more expensive than conventional snacks. “That’s outstanding!” I exclaimed. “What’s outstanding?” another voice asked. Hearing the thick accent, I knew that it was Applejack, and turned my head to wish her a good morning. Rarity greeted her as well, and explained that she was introducing me to Threezies. “Would you like one, darling?” she offered, levitating one in the air for her. “Nah.” the farm pony replied, “I don’t need no fancy cookie for breakfast, I’m good with apples.” Digging into one of her saddlebags, she retrieved a shiny red apple and began to munch away. Rolling my eyes and chuckling, it made sense that she would be satisfied with the humble fruit of her namesake. “So, when are we heading off?” she asked with her mouth full. “Once the others are up I suppose.” Rarity hummed after a sip of her tea. She then looked at me and asked how we intended to board the cargo hold of a plane, or how we would know it was even going to Brazil in the first place. {Crap.} I thought to myself. “I’m uh, still working on that.” I told her, drinking some of my own tea. How had I not thought of this yet? How on earth would we know which plane to catch? Obviously the airport would have a system with all the information we required, flights, gates, departure times, etcetera. It would all be there somewhere on a database, but getting access to that database wasn’t going to be easy, especially while remaining completely undetected. Hell, even if I somehow got to a staff computer, I likely wouldn’t have a clue how to navigate it and pull the info needed to find the right plane. Unless… “This is a shot in the dark, but do you or Twilight have any spells for searching large documents? Searching for specifics I mean, using keywords and such.” “Hmm…” she hummed thoughtfully, “I don’t have any spells of that ilk, but I’m sure Twilight does. With how rapidly she can search that library of hers, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she was using a spell to aid her.” Finishing my cup, I gave a slow nod and said that I hoped she did know such a spell, as it could potentially be very beneficial to us. Rarity asked me to elaborate, and I explained that if Twilight had a spell like that, then I could potentially get her to an airport computer, where she could then extract the necessary information by force. “Again, it’s a shot in the dark.” I muttered, “But it would be better than Plan B.” “What’s Plan B?” said Applejack. “Going into the main part of the airport and looking at the information board.” Tilting her head, AJ asked what was so bad about that, to which I pointed out that in just a few hours, Janice would come home and find my body. By tonight, my face would be all over the news, with the nation informed that a seventeen-year-old boy had been stabbed in his own home. Entering the main part of the airport meant presenting my face to people, and the many CCTV cameras dotted around. Although I’d be long gone by the time the news came out, I didn’t want there to be a shred of evidence that I was still alive. Otherwise, my little stunt with the clone would have all been for nothing. Applejack and Rarity both hummed with understanding, realising why I hoped to avoid such a plan. With the focus returning to Plan A, we discussed things at length, and I formulated the idea that perhaps Twilight could infiltrate the Air Traffic Control Tower, as it would be significantly less populated. From there, she could find a computer and search for anything concerning flights to Brazil, and hopefully get her hooves on some useful information. Rarity then pondered allowed as to whether Twilight’s magic was even compatible with human technology. “Oh, I’ve got a pretty good hunch that it is.” I told her. “Do tell?” Clearing my throat, I made my reasoning known, gesturing with my hands to emphasise my points. “Yesterday, Twilight was able to sense the electrical frequencies from the airport, despite it being a good three kilometres away. And then, upon getting here, she used those frequencies to amplify the gem finding spell. That tells me she has the innate ability to hook onto electricity and manipulate it to some degree. Well, all our modern devices run on electricity, and communicate with frequencies and signals. From all that, I’m quite certain Twilight might be able to tap into them.” Both ponies sounded off with an allured ‘ooooohh’, taken by the theory and eager to know if it held any weight. It was then that an idea popped into my head, which I suggested aloud. “We could test it with my phone.” I posed, taking it out of my pocket, “I could write some random nonsense on my notepad app, and include a few keywords for Twilight to search for. If it works, then we’ll know for a fact that magic and technology can get along!” “That’s a fantastic idea!” Rarity cheered. With all three of us champing at the bit to test the idea, Applejack went to wake Twilight. She opened the tent and disappeared inside, with me and Rarity falling silent to listen out with anticipation. “Hey Twilight, wake up.” we heard Applejack whisper. No response. “Twi, wake up.” she said, a little louder, “We’ve got a neat little science experiment for you!” Still no response. “Oh come on now, get up Twi! Come on girl, wake u-GYAAH!” With a yelp and a shriek, the tent shook savagely as some sort of scrap took place within. Rarity and I sprung up and went over just as a flustered Twilight burst from the tent. Her mane was untidy and her breath was ragged, as though she had just been woken from a most horrific nightmare. “What… is… wrong with you!?” she bellowed, glaring at the tent. Applejack clambered out after her, now with a red mark on one side of her muzzle. “I was just trying to wake you! Geez Twilight!” Applejack shouted back. “Well don’t wake me by prodding me roughly while I’m unconscious!” Twilight spat, visibly shaking, “For all I know, you could have been that damn human trying to kill me!” “Hello…” I sang softly. With a jump, she whipped around to face me, and I gave her a friendly little wave. Applejack then stormed up to her and clenched her jaw. “The only one around here trying to kill anything is you, trying to kill me! And for goodness’ sake, his name is Callum and you know it, so stop calling him ‘the human’ just to spite him!” At this, Twilight loudly scoffed, and spat her response as though the words were poison. “That thing’s name is irrelevant to me, and it should be to you too!” Both Applejack and Rarity let off a shocked gasp, with the former looking as if she was about to knock some sense into the unicorn. “You vile little… ugh! What in fresh Tartarus has gotten into you!?” Deciding that I didn’t want the day to start with more conflict, I stepped in and cleared my throat loudly. “Uh, ladies, if I may…” “Did I give you permission to speak?” Twilight growled. “I have a scientific endeavour for you.” She opened her mouth, presumably to ordain my silence, but as the prospect dawned on her, she simply glared at me. With a loud sniff, she glanced at Applejack and began to calm down, and muttered something resembling an apology for hitting her. “Well I ain’t forgiving you!” AJ barked back, “That really hurt!” “You freaked me out, okay?” In all fairness, if the unicorn had been having a nightmare, then to be suddenly shaken awake would have rattled her terribly, especially considering how afraid she was. Applejack stormed off, with Rarity going over to settle her down and check on the now-darkening blemish on her face. Twilight watched them go, clearly feeling bad for lashing out. Eventually, she took it upon herself to go over and apologise properly, which was when Rainbow Dash and Pinkie came stumbling out of their tent. “What’s going on?” Dashie slurred, having been woken by the commotion. “I smell violence…” said Pinkie, sniffing the air, “Ooh, and Threezies!” Rolling my eyes, I went over and explained what had happened, along with my plans concerning the airport and the control tower. Yawning, she was clearly too sleepy to process much information, and just wanted to know why there had been conflict. Leaving her and Pinks to wake up more, I went over to find Rarity in the middle of verbally throttling Twilight for her behaviour. “… and from day one, you’ve been spouting ridiculous notions and accusations about him without so much as a hint of proof! Meanwhile, he’s gone and put in more effort than you have, towards our mission! From the moment he woke up, we’ve been brainstorming together, and he’s just theorised a way for us to get to Brazil. Yet here you are, badmouthing him like you always do! Haven’t you a shred of decency, Twilight Sparkle? Now, you are going to apologise to him, and then you are going to listen to his idea, because it’s a damn good one, and you owe that to him, do you understand me!?” With her head hung low, Twilight gave a reluctant nod. They then all heard my approach and I gave them a weak smile. Rarity then prodded Twilight’s flank with a hoof, pressing her to apologise. She plodded towards me and gritted her teeth, and with disgust in her eyes, she looked at my feet. “Sorry.” she grumbled quietly. Though she so clearly wasn’t, it was better than the treatment I had received thus far, and with a merry smile, I said that it was alright. “I’m sure you’ll go back to vituperating me before too long.” I hummed, “But hey, for the time being, would you like to do some science with me? If all goes well, you may even get an Orb shard out of it.” Swallowing, she dipped her head in accord, and I decided that everyone ought to be present for the experiment. Clearing my throat, I raised my chin and spoke loudly. “Rainbow Dash, would you be a lamb and wake Fluttershy for me?” There was a rustle in the leaves above us, and everyone looked up to see the pegasus staring at me sheepishly. Without uttering a word, she zipped off to retrieve her fellow pegasus. Everyone then looked at me, with Rarity narrowing her eyes and smirking at me. “How did you know she was up there?” “Because the only thing bigger than Rainbow Dash’s pride is her nose, but unlike Pinkie Pie, she’s not very good at eavesdropping.” This brought forth giggles from everyone, with even the petulant purple pessimist failing to stifle a laugh. Dashie then returned with a sleepy-eyed Fluttershy stumbling after her. Pinkie came along as well, crawling low to the ground with her limbs outstretched. I was about to ask what she was doing, when she jumped up and began to fire questions off at me like they were bullets. “So what’s the plan, huh? Are we going to be like spies? Ooh! Ooh! I know! Is somepony going to sneak into a restricted area and extract some super vital data? Ooh, I bet it’s Twilight! I mean, it’ll have to be, because nopony else has magic that strong. Are you going to go with her? You’ll probably have to, otherwise she won’t know what to look for, and she’d probably be too scared to go by herself anyway.” I tried to get a word in, only for her to launch herself forward, planting her hooves on my chest and pressing on without relent. “Oh-oh, I know, are you both going to sneak into the Flight Control Tower together and download the flight plans to Twilight’s brain? That would be so cool! I mean, that’s what I would do. What happens after that? Are we going to cloak up and stealthily board the plane and fly all the way to Brazil? Huh? Come on, tell me! What’s the plan!?” Looking at her dryly, I tutted once, and let out an exasperated sigh. “You just… said the plan.” Springing away from me, she began to dance around the camp, giggling loudly to herself. “Yippee! I guessed it! I guessed it!” “Can you explain all that in words we can all understand?” Rainbow requested, rolling her eyes. Scoffing, I gave the ponies a much more thorough breakdown of my proposal. Once everyone was up to speed, Twilight exhaled heavily through her nose. “Even if I agreed to sneaking into this ‘Flight Control Tower’, what makes you think I can operate your human technology?” “That’s where our experiment comes in.” I told her, “I’ve said this to Rarity already, but I think you might be able to control our technology. Based on how you could detect the airport’s frequencies yesterday, and manipulate them, I think you might be able to link up to man-made devices, and if I’m right, then you’re about to become the most efficient tech user on this planet.” For all her grouchiness, this prospect excited the unicorn, and with the most eager expression I had seen from her so far, she asked me what I needed from her. Showing her my phone, I asked her if she was capable of searching for keywords in books or hefty documents. Nodding, she confirmed to know such a spell, and with that, the experiment began. Opening my Notes app, I began to write bland and generic nonsense, such as ‘the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog’, and ‘she sells seashells, by the sea shore’. And then, amongst all the meaningless jargon, I wrote up some information about a made-up flight, including a departure time, a gate number, and a destination, of which I wrote Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “How does that thing work?” Twilight inquired with a tilt of her head, “All you’re doing is tapping it with a finger, and yet it responds the way you want it to.” “It’s a touch-screen device.” I explained, “The screen’s made to receive the electrical charge in my body, so when I tap it, it sends information based on where I’ve touched. The phone then processes this information, and responds accordingly.” “That’s… quite remarkable.” she hummed. “And that’s the nicest thing you’ve said so far.” Twilight looked to the side with annoyance, while Rainbow Dash chuckled awkwardly and admitted to thinking I was controlling the phone with my brain. With enough nonsense to obscure the flight details, we were ready to conduct the experiment, but before we could, there came a tremendous gurgling noise. “Um, Twilight?” Pinkie murmured, “I think there’s a monster in your tummy.” Mortified beyond belief, Twilight refused to look at anyone. Then it dawned on me that I hadn’t seen Twilight eat a thing since meeting her; she had skipped dinner last night, and so the poor girl must have been starving! Daring to take authority, I said that the experiment could wait, as an empty stomach made for a sloppy scientist. She opened her mouth to protest, only for her belly to gurgle for a second time. “Ugh, fine…” she huffed. Pinkie Pie jumped up and down at the notion of food, and we all went to sit by the firepit for some morning grub. Amazingly, Twilight actually sat beside me while we ate; it would seem the prospect of a science experiment had put me in her good books for now. As Applejack dished out the food, I was blown away to learn just how many supplies they really had. From three bushels of apples, to a whole barrel of oatmeal, they had enough provisions to eat for months, and that was just their breakfast items! “How the hell do you have this much stuff?” I demanded to know. “Void magic.” Twilight bluntly replied with her mouth full of cereal. “Say again?” After swallowing her bite, the unicorn went on to explain that their bags had all been enhanced by Discord with void magic to make them bigger on the inside. The inside of every saddlebag was about the size of a Porta-Potty, and with all twelve satchels combined, there was plenty of room for resources and personal belongings. “Some of our bags have specific roles too.” the mare went on, “Applejack’s bag has most of the food, with Rarity’s having a refrigerated section for the cold stuff. Rainbow Dash has all the tools and camping gear, and Fluttershy’s has all the medical supplies, like Oozima.” {Called it.} I thought, stifling a smirk. “That’s absolutely incredible.” I breathed, “Genuinely, I’m blown away. Also, did you mention Discord?” Nodding, Twilight explained that just a few months ago, Princess Celestia had charged the group with reforming the Spirit of Chaos, which Fluttershy had achieved by showing him friendship and compassion, as opposed to reforming him by force. He had since agreed to live under the Princesses’ rule and use his magic for good, instead of evil. This information was crucial to me, as it told me exactly where these ponies were in their timeline. Discord was reformed in Season Three, shortly before Twilight finished a spell by Star Swirl the Bearded. Following that, she ascended to godhood, being reborn as an alicorn and beginning her life anew as the Princess of Friendship. This explained why she was still a unicorn, she hadn’t yet been given the chance to finish the spell. With a gulp, I realised that if I failed to help her locate the Titans’ Orb and get back home, then Equestria’s fourth princess would never come to be. After we had all eaten, we were ready at last to conduct the experiment. I sat down in front of Twilight and held up my phone, making sure she couldn’t see the screen. “So, what am I searching for?” she asked. “Try looking for a flight to Brazil.” I told her, “Anything pertaining to gate numbers, or times. You can also try searching for the word Rio, spelled R-I-O.” With a nod, Twilight’s horn lit up, and the device was enveloped in a magical pink aura. Nothing happened at first, and the others looked up from the phone, perplexed. After a few more seconds, Rainbow Dash gave an impatient sigh. “Great, it doesn’t work.” “Patience.” I said. Looking at Twilight and straining my brow, I told her to stop searching for words, and instead to focus on bonding with the device itself, to feel the electricity mingle with her magic and let it resonate with her. “Communicate with it, then tell it what to do.” I whispered. The unicorn closed her eyes, took a breath in through her nose, and she tried with this new approach. {Come on, please work…} I thought desperately. And then, quite literally by magic, the phone’s screen began to flicker. With a raised brow and bated breath, I watched as the Notes app opened by itself, followed by each word being rapidly highlighted one-by-one, as though I had pressed and held on them with a finger. Still flickering, the screen scrolled down, scanning all the muddled text faster than any human ever could. And then, with her eyes still closed, Twilight began to murmur. “Gatwick… to… Rio de Janeiro… Terminal Three… Gate Seventeen… Time… Four-Fifteen in the afternoon…” All of us stared at her, with half of us inhaling deeply with amazement. Twilight then opened her eyes and began to smile wider than I had ever seen before. “I did it, I really did it! It worked!” Everyone congratulated her, and for just a moment we all forgot about how horrible she had been. With a wide grin, I told her that I knew she could do it, and for the tiniest fraction of a second, she looked at me with a twinkle of affection. It was gone in an instant, but for half an eye’s blink, we were friends. The excitement of the scientific breakthrough came to pass, and we decided to get this show on the road, or to be more specific, in the air. Twilight consented to infiltrating the Control Tower, and with her mana stores fully replenished, she agreed to go with me, so that I could guide her once we were inside. We made our way back to the chain-link fence just as another jumbo jet came in to land, causing the girls to flatten their ears in the wake of the roaring engines. Less scared than before, they gawked at the mechanical marvel as it met the runway and came to an eventual halt after taxiing over to one of the gates. “I just can’t believe how big they are…” Rarity murmured. “That’s what she said!” Rainbow Dash blurted out. Applejack burst into laughter and I stared at the pegasus in disbelief. Rarity meanwhile, was furious. Visibly mortified, she made a lunge for the pegasus with her hoof. “Oh come on!” Dashie protested, giggling as she evaded the attack, “That was perfect timing!” “What that was, was highly inappropriate! Pinkie Pie is stood right behind you!” “Yeah Dashie, I’m right behind you!” Pinkie shouted, “What are we talking about exactly?” “Never you mind!” Rarity barked. “Okie dokie lokie!” Bouncing away, Pinkie went to stare at the planes with Twilight. Rarity then made a second lunge, this time punching Rainbow Dash square in the shoulder. “What is the matter with you?” she hissed. “Ow! Come on, it was just a joke!” Marching around to stand in front of Dashie, Rarity blocked her path and glared at her. “There’s a time and a place for those dirty little jokes of yours! You know just as well as I do that Pinkie is still innocent in that department, and you will not pervert her mind while we’re away on this trip. Are we clear?” “Alright, alright!” Rainbow conceded, backing down, “I won’t do it again.” Pressing her nose up against Rainbow’s muzzle, the unicorn let out a most vicious hiss. “See to it that you don’t…” As humorous and well-timed as Rainbow’s comment was, Rarity was right; if Pinkie was still pure in nature, then the pegasus shouldn’t have said it, or at the very least, she should have whispered it to those with the appropriate maturity to hear it. Turning to Applejack, Rarity instructed the farm pony to give the pegasus a good wallop if she did it again. “It’d be my pleasure.” she chuckled, tipping her hat. Moving on, Twilight looked out at the Control Tower in the distance. From our current hiding place on the woodland outskirts, it would be one hell of a dangerous trek. Putting her mouth to one side, she asked how I was planning to get us inside the Tower once we reached it. “I’d say we’ve got two options.” I speculated, “We could either go in the main building at the bottom of the Tower, or we could sneak into the Tower itself via the back door. The main building will likely have more computers, but there’ll be more people too. The back door will be riskier, but you’ll be away from the main bulk of the people.” “Okay…” Twilight hummed, thinking on her options, “Why is using the back door risky?” “That’s what she sai-OW!” Turning around, we both glowered at Rainbow Dash, who was now clutching the back of her head and wincing, while Applejack, having just given her a good smack, slowly lowered her hoof back down. Unable to stifle an amused huff, I rolled my eyes and continued. “Because going up the Tower will put you in a more confined space. We won’t be able to move as quickly, nor as freely. I’m going to guess cloaking the both of us at the same time is going to eat that mana of yours, so we’ll need to be fast. Getting caught in that Tower would be as bad for me as it would be for you.” Twilight’s eyes widened, and the fear began to manifest in her once again. “What would happen to me, if I were to be caught?” I tried to reassure her that she needn’t worry about that, but to my dismay, her confidence waned. “I can’t do this. For all I know, this could be a trap!” “It isn’t.” I promised her, “You just need to keep us both cloaked.” “But what if I run out of mana?” Raising an eyebrow, I asked her if she truly believed that was a possibility, to which she shrugged. “I mean, I guess not… not during this step at least, but the flight afterwards? I don’t know. Seven warmth spells might be okay, but if I need to regulate air pressure on top, I’ll almost certainly be blued out by the time we reach Brazil.” “What does that mean?” I asked. Clenching her jaw, Twilight explained that a ‘blueout’ was a symptom unicorns experienced upon using up all their mana. It was a horrific experience, in which the afflicted unicorn would become vastly dehydrated, and lose the ability to use magic for a while. A blueout could last anywhere from a day or two, to several weeks! It was essentially like having an intense hangover, bringing about dizziness and nausea for as long as the blueout lasted. “That sounds… awful.” I said, grimacing. “Yeah, so you can imagine why I don’t want to do this.” Sighing, I knew that Twilight was perfectly valid in her reasoning. However, between possibly bluing out and not getting to Brazil at all, the risk of a blueout wasn’t enough to deter the plan. Getting to one knee, I told her that we needed to do this, and she knew in her heart that I was right. She looked into my eyes for a moment and took in my earnest expression, before finally dipping her head. “Okay, let’s do this.” Gritting her teeth, she opted to take the second route via the Tower’s back door, and after taking some time to gather herself, she was ready. Taking off my rucksack, I left it with the others while Twilight used some sort of spell on the chain-link fence, temporarily transforming a small section of it into a dull mist, allowing the two of us to pass through. The mist didn’t last long, and within seconds, the fence returned to its normal condition. “Stand still.” Twilight ordered. I did just so, and the unicorn cast her invisibility spell onto me. For once, I didn’t feel anything upon receiving the magic’s effects, but as I looked down at myself, I found that I was wreathed in a curious shimmer, indicating that to everyone else, I was completely and utterly imperceptible. “Good luck!” Pinkie called out to us. Choosing not to reply, Twilight cast the spell onto herself, and with us both wholly unseeable to the naked eye, we made our way to the flight tower together.