Callum Horncastle

The main protagonist of The Titan's Orb, the entire story is written from his perspective, (besides Prologues & Epilogues)

Physical
A broad shouldered, long-legged teenage boy, with dark brown hair, olive skin, and forest green eyes.

Biographical
Adventurous and full of heart, Callum Tobias Horncastle was the human whom Princess Celestia chose to guide the Mane Six across Earth, to keep them safe and achieve their goal in locating the shards of the Titan's Orb.

Selfless and good-willed, he tries to do right by people, and will do anything for those he cares about, even if it puts himself at risk. A comical character at heart, Callum is often whimsical and humorous during tense situations in attempt to lighten moods, although his humour is often dark, due to suffering from an internalised battle with depression.

Backstory
Diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome at a young age, Callum grew up as a troubled child, never content with himself and always questioning his existence and purpose in life. This mindset developed a deep rooted depression that brewed within him from the mere age of nine. Suffering consistent bullying from his alcoholic mother, Callum became incredibly introverted, with nobody but his father and brother to develop his social skills.

After his father left the family, the bullying severely worsened; the abuse became physical as well as verbal, and his brother also joined in, tormenting him in order to establish dominance, eager to become the new man of the house. Callum grew into a repressed and submissve role, and lived each day searching for a strong enough reason to either end his life, or to preserve it, whichever came first.

Callum later attempted suicide via an overdose, but he was resuscitated at a hospital. Little did he know that his near-death experience had drawn additional mana to his soul, strengthening it. This new strength was subtle at first, showing itself in small bursts of motivation and drive to better himself.

As his confidence grew, Callum started boxing at the local gym to help battle with the depression, he grew in athletics and gradually mastered basic hand-to-hand combat as his physical prowess grew, soon becoming the local champion at the Crawley Boxing Club.

On a day of no particular importance, he discovered My Little Pony and was immediately drawn to it, striving to live by the show's morals. He later joined the Brony community, making a handful of friends and finally developing the social relationships that had been missing from his teenage life.

Unbeknown to anyone, Callum was being monitored by Princess Celestia, whom had detected the abnormal strength of his soul, and considered him a noteworthy candidate to guide the ponies. After observing his behaviour, mentality, and physical capabilities for some time, she was confident in deciding that he would be the right human for the job.

Meeting the Mane Six for the First Time
After finishing secondary school, Callum started up a YouTube channel in attempt to gain a following and potentially start earning money through comedy and gaming videos; his depression fuelled his dark humour which assisted in building a reputation. His ambition was thwarted however on a fateful night, when he heard familiar voices in his back-garden. Upon investigating, he was shocked to find none-other than the Mane Six camped behind his shed. After adjusting to their presence and being informed of their reason for being there, Callum accepted their request for him to guide them without a moment's hesitation, desperate to escape his current life.

This was the reason he had been looking for, this was his purpose.

Upon being given the full details of their mission and circumstances, Callum was stunned by the revelation that the My Little Dashie indicent was in fact something that had actually occurred. Aware their memories had seemingly been wiped on purpose, he chose not to explain his knowing of the event, but kept note of the time difference between the dimensions.

With the spare time he now knew was available, he bonded with the ponies over small talk, learning about one another's culture, he went to the extent of showing them an animated film to entertain them, along with introducing them to human technology.

Out of the blue, Twilight took a hostile approach to Callum, only ever keeping him at arm's length and refusing to trust him or his intentions, needless to say this took him off-guard. With his care and assurances rejected, he quickly learned that something was wrong with Twilight, but whatever it was, he could not say.

Changing as an Individual
Over the course of The Titan's Orb, Callum's personality evolves as he undergoes a series of events and challenges.

Upon meeting the ponies and recieving his newfound purpose, Callum's depression was reduced from a daily bane of life, to an occasional inconvinience as he began to see the beauty in life. For the first time in forever, he wasn't just surviving, he was living.

Callum's more serious changes of mentality mostly began when he killed his own clone; plunging a knife into the flesh of another human was no easy task, let alone a copy of himself, and it initially left Callum traumatised.

This would not last forever, not with the path that lay ahead of him. Upon reaching Brazil, he was forced to kill once more; a man had spotted the ponies and Callum had no choice but to subdue him and throw him from a bridge into the watery depths below. Confusion and fear began to brew within him from this point onward; his anger had always been internalised, only ever vented by boxing, which was done in a controlled environment, but here, Callum's actions had consequences, he would be forced to live with the fact he was a murderer.

When he was later captured and tortured by Ingeo, Callum underwent a very drastic change in terms of his pain threshold; the extent of the torture left him with the ability to tolerate physical pain, to the point where standard injuries were barely interpreted as painful to him.

Bonding With the Ponies Individually
One advantage of Callum's adaptive and varied personality, was that he could comfortably bond with each of the ponies on an distinct level, rather than just befriending them as a group.

Rarity
Proud of his Britishness, Callum found it very easy to talk to Rarity, enjoying the more upper class discussions and behaviours; he found her very easy to talk to, thanks to their shared well-spoken. Also vaguely fond of fashion, Callum wasn't bored by Rarity's enthusiasm for the subject, and often enjoyed hearing her take on the outfits he wore, along with the main fashion trends of human pop-culture.

Their relationship was smooth from the start, and has never seen much of a falter.

Callum viewed Rarity like the group's mother-like figure, and in turn, he grew a strong sense of dependance and trust towards her.

Rainbow Dash
He might have been a gentleman, but Callum was still a boy at heart, and enjoyed every moment of being innapropriate with Rainbow Dash, making their relationship easy-going as they playfully bonded over sexual innuendos and childish toilet humour.

Later on in the story, Callum is made aware of Rainbow Dash's affections for him, bringing an entirely new element to the story; his moral perceptions of the ponies, and if they were to be considered equal to humans. During the chapter "Blood is Thinner With Alcohol", Callum sleeps with Rainbow Dash while blind drunk, bringing a climax to the controversy. This brings Callum to the conclusion that human culture is the issue, and that the ponies are equal to humans. Regardless, he makes it clear that he isn't interested in a committed relationship with her, and they remain close friends, with occasional benefits.

Fluttershy
Sharing a mutual love for animals and nature, Callum and Fluttershy hit it off from day one, understanding anxiety and mental health, Callum was easily able to sympathise with Fluttershy's nervousness, and always tried to be accommodating for her.

One of Callum's greatest fears upon first meeting the ponies was how they'd react to his diet, and Fluttershy was his biggest concern; how would she react to him being a meat eater? But it turned out that she knew from their first day together that his was an omnivore, after noting his canine teeth. She wasn't bothered in the slightest, knowing different species have different dietary needs; and only requested the animals he consumed felt little or no pain, to which he agreed wholeheartedly.

Twilight Sparkle
O' the tale of Callum and Twilight...

Such a relationship was a complex and vicious one, led by fear and confusion.

When Callum first met Twilight, it was clear to him that something was amiss, and he was hellbent on finding out what it was, but when Twilight didn't even know for herself, it was going to be a challenge. Having been used to verbal and physical abuse from his own family, Callum often let things slide when Twilight's cruelty was unleashed upon him. He would willingly endure, and hope to someday discover the reasons for her torment.

Still unaware of the Fel's corruption, he believed Twilight to be unstable in mind. However his tolerance for this would be pushed to the very limits after she sent him to the other side of Portugal, hoping he'd die on his own; he knew her behaviour needed to be put to an end, one way or another.

The pinnacle of this vicious dispute occured when Twilight left Bunnie to die; upon discovering it was the unicorn's spiteful intention, Callum flew into a frenzied rage, chasing Twilight outside to the nearby cliff where their showdown began. They fought brutally without hesitation, nor shred of remourse for the damage they caused to one another. Twilight's spells caused the unstable cliff to collapse, and the fight ended with Callum falling to his supposed death; as he fell, he noticed Twilight's eye glowing green, and was finally made aware that she had been posessed by the Fel.

This shocking revelation instantly dispelled Callum's rage and hatred, for he finally understood why she'd treated him the way she had, it hadn't been her fault, she had been a slave to the demonic magic. Surviving the fall thanks to Hawnu Rey'eng's assistance, he was informed that the Frozen Forest was in fact Twilight's brain, manifested as a dreamscape. Using the magic collars provided by the guardian, he delved deep into her mind and saved her from Nah'Lek's torturous clutches, purging the Fel from her once and for all.

After curing her, Twilight's fragile mental state led her to attempt suicide, riddled with guilt of what she'd done; Callum saved her life and came to yet another resolution, Twilight was just like him. They were equals in mind and soul, and Callum vowed to protect and care for her as she slowly recovered, they made amends and became close, their relationship reinforced by the history they share.

"I love her."

Applejack
Callum's relationship with AJ began with a wobble, as the Southerner kept trust in Twilight, regardless of the unexplained behaviour; when Twilight showed constant mistrust of the human, Applejack had a hunch that the unicorn was onto something. It took a while for Callum to prove her wrong, which finally happened in Brazil when Twilight allowed Callum's clone to feel pain when being used as bait for crocodiles.

When the mutual trust settled in, Callum and Applejack had a very mother-son relationship, this was due to her natural motherly persona since standing in as a mother for her younger sister.

After Callum fell into despair at the death of Bunnie, Applejack felt a connection to him than she hadn't felt with any of her other friends, for she knew exactly how he felt; she went on to explain to him how her parents had perished in a fire, and that she truly understood his anguish. Since then, Callum and Applejack have established a strong relationship, based on trust and empathy. Callum would often turn to AJ for advice and support on matters he couldn't open up about to the rest of the group.

Pinkie Pie
Being a depressed comedian, Callum saw the true value in entertaining others and making them smile, this value was reflected in Pinkie, who maintained the group's morale and spirit relentlessly. They both shared the quality of borderline-chaotic randomness, making jokes and pulling spontaneous pranks on one another and members of the group, Callum respected Pinkie and her unwavering bravery in such a hostile world; how she remained joyful and enthusiastic after all they endured was beyond him.

As much as Callum cared for Pinkie, he felt it wrong to have her part of such a perilous mission, her hyperactive innocence was dangerous for both herself and for those around her. Callum viewed Celestia's choice to include her on the mission as a terrible, and ill-thought action.

Regardless, Callum was glad for her good company, and perceived her as the glue that kept the group together throughout all and any circumstances.

Romance and Tragedy
A romantic at heart, Callum was very quick to fall for Bunnie when meeting her, so deeply that he risked his life to divert from his main objective and rescue her from the clutches of her vile father. He went to the extent of infiltrating her father's gang and carrying out tasks to secure the gang's hold over Portugal, killing countless people and even drinking a pint of fresh blood to pass an initiation.

Thankfully, the love was reciprocated, and Bunnie became heavily attached to Callum, in her eyes, he was her absolution and resolve to the torment she'd suffered from her father; he was her saviour.

The following weeks they shared together were mostly spent making love whenever they had a moment alone, which neither of them had previously done; taking one another's virginity indefinitely added to the intensity of their relationship. In most circumstances, their coupling would have been judged for its quickness, it was indeed very forward and there was no friendship foundation, so for such a deep and passionate relationship to form at such a fast pace could easily be deemed unhealthy. But for the situation they both found themselves in, a "normal" relationship was out of the question.

When Hoyt arrived and laid waste to Paulo and his organisation, Callum was willingly prepared to give his life for Bunnie, which almost occurred as he sustained a gunshot to the chest, his upgraded phone only just stopping the bullet. Believing Callum to be dead, Hoyt set the timer for the compound's destruction and left in a helicopter; a pained Callum frantically searched for the key to Bunnie's cage, desperate to save her. When Twilight arrived and teleported him out of the compound, he watched in absolute horror as the timer went off and napalm engulfed the building, killing Bunnie instantly; in a hopeless attempt to rescue her, Callum attempted to enter the building, receiving borderline third-degree burns.

Callum's devotion showed for itself, and while his task failed in delivering Bunnie to safety, the effort he put into rescuing her was the exact quality Celestia had chosen him, she knew he would do anything to ensure the group's success, even if it cost him his life...

Connection to the Shards
Since touching the first Orb shard in Brazil, Callum was permanently woven into the fate of Equus.

With each new shard Callum collects, an event is triggered.
 * Shard One - Stardust Moonshimmer's soul enters Callum's mind; sensing the greatness of his soul, Stardust deemed him worthy as his successor, and guided him towards Vitra 'Aku to achieve direct approval from the Titans.
 * Shard Two - The mana within the shard combined with the surrounding radioactivity, temporarily enhancing Callum, granting him faster reflexes and physical strength, allowing him to kill a Deathclaw in melee combat.
 * Shard Three - Callum's soul is taken to Celestia's Vision of the future, where he sees what the princess told Twilight, and the fate of Equus should they fail to retrieve the Orb in time, and if Callum should return to Equestria with them afterwards.
 * Shard Four - ???
 * Shard Five - ???
 * Shard Six - ???