The day after the video call with the families, (and yes, 7 months before Gilda gave birth!) she and I, as well as Shining and Twilight, were sitting in an upstairs room in the Crystal Castle. We were discussing the feasibility of a portal, and if such a thing had ever been done before.

"What do you think Twilight? Have any portals ever been created?"

She nodded. "Yes, but not like what you're thinking. Yes, we have been able to create 'portals', but yet they were used as a form of teleportation."

"You mean like from one location to another in Equestria without using a teleportation spell?"

She nodded. "Yes. Like a temporary doorway from one spot to another, with both locations still being within Equestria. And those portals were either spells, or created by Magical artifacts; there's NEVER been a machine to create portals.......well, technically that's not true, but......" She frowned a bit.

"What do you mean by that Twilight?" Gilda asked her.

Twilight sighed. "Well, the truth is, there WAS another portal between our world, and one a lot like yours. It was called the 'Magic Mirror Portal', and it went from a mirror here in the Crystal Empire, (later relocated to my Castle in Ponyville) and it came out in the base of a statue in the other world. It was like a parallel Earth, but those who lived there were simply Human copies of us Ponies. They had our same eyes and manes........or rather 'hair', and they wore almost the same clothes that we do, but they have skin instead of fur, though their skin is the same color as our fur."

I was greatly surprised, as was Gilda. Another world that was like Equestria mixed with Earth? It seemed impossible, but Twilight was being serious.

"And what.....happened to the portal?" I asked her.

Twilight frowned again. "Well, that's the thing Ben, it's been destroyed. It HAD to be done to protect that world from the Zebras! On the Night of Fear, with some of my last ounces of sanity away from Zuko's influence, I got in contact with Sunset Shimmer, who was a Pony here, and a fellow student of Celestia, but she now lives in that other world. I told her what was going on, and we both agreed that the portal HAD to be destroyed at all costs, so as to protect her world. I was going to destroy the mirror on my end, and she would destroy the statue on hers. Long story short, she did so, just as I did too. The portal was destroyed, and the technology was destroyed too. Oh sure, Zuko and I tried to reopen the portal on our end, so as to give the Zebras another world to conquer, but thankfully, we failed. I'm not sure if Sunset Shimmer had a hand in this too, or not. Thankfully, I was able to get a message to her to tell her that the war was over, and that everything was ok again. I used a few coded phrases to tell her that it really was me writing to her, and that everything was indeed ok."

"And, what did she say?" Shining asked.

"Well, she told me that the statue has since been rebuilt, and she asked me if the Mirror Portal had been repaired. I told her that unfortunately it hadn't, and that it would be VERY hard to rebuild without the technology."

Meanwhile, the wheels in my head were spinning. "Here's an idea Twilight. What if we helped you rebuild the Mirror Portal, and then that would serve as a prototype for the portal that we want to build to return to Earth? Think about it. The technology really isn't all that different! Assuming of course that the Mirror Portal even COULD be rebuilt."

Twilight looked over at me. "That is a really nice idea Ben, and it would work if I had the technology, as well as a number of specialized parts. However, while I do have some transcripts of notes on the Mirror Portal, most of the parts that it was made up of were one-of-a-kind, specialized-parts. Those would ALL have to be rebuilt from scratch, and they were NOT easy to make the first time! Yes, I did have spare parts, but on the Night of Fear, I destroyed them too."

I sighed. "So we'd be starting almost completely from scratch, and with no clear readout on if our efforts will even be successful."

"Yeah, that's the gist of it anyway. But look at it this way, if all of us working together were able to build an inter-dimensional radio, plus a video-screen for said radio, then maybe we actually stand a chance at first rebuilding the Mirror Portal, and then building another one for Earth!"

Shining, Gilda and I agreed to this, and then once we had Rick, Evan, Jake, Frank, Jon and their marefriends present, we began to look over the notes that Twilight had, and see about how we were going to go about this.

In the end, we decided to build 3 portals. The first would be the Mirror Portal, and be our prototype, the second one would be for the transport of people/Ponies to and from Earth, and the 3rd would be a large cargo portal hopefully capable of transporting 4449 back to Earth, so that we could give her back to the Southern Pacific Railroad. While we were confident that we could one day rebuild the Mirror Portal, it was the 2 other portals that we were so unsure on.

We all spent long hours working on the designs, as well as trying to build the new parts under Twilight's direction. She was still in contact with Sunset, and she was trying to help rebuild the portal on her end, but while that world did have Magic too, it was wild and unpredictable, and she wasn't able to do too much.

However, by late July of 2025, the Mirror itself was all put back together again, and Twilight was able to charge it up with her Magic.

"How's it holding Twilight?" Evan asked her.

"It seems to be holding together so far Evan. Of course, my Magic is just low-power right now. We'll have to put in the rest of the crystals that power it, as well as me charging it up with more of my Magic, not to mention us running it through the Magic of the book that I use to communicate with Sunset, but if all of that works successfully, THEN we can try and test the Mirror Portal."

"And when do you think that that will be Twilight?" Frank asked.

Twilight shrugged. "Hopefully not too much longer Frank. I'd say maybe another month or so."

Sure enough, on August 18th, everything was ready. All of the crystals were in place, the book was all ready, and Twilight sent Sunset a message saying that she should be waiting on her end of the portal, as we were about to try and reopen it on our end.

"That's great news Twilight! Here's to hoping that we can get it reopened again!"

"Yeah, I hope so too Sunset. Here we go. Standby!" She then got ready to charge up her magic.

We all stood a healthy distance away from the Mirror Portal, just in case anything exploded, or somehow malfunctioned. Twilight then charged up her Magic, and once she was ready, she sent a beam of it into the crystal at the top of the Mirror Portal. Once she did, the Mirror began to absorb her Magic, and seemingly use it to begin to charge itself up. We were all standing behind various desks, and other objects that we were using as barricades, and we all had our fingers crossed that our hard work was going to pay off!

Soon, we could hear the Magic humming, and then several arcs of Magic began to come out of various parts of the Mirror's frame, before the arcs began to bleed into the glass of the Mirror. Eventually, the Mirror gave of a brilliant white light, and after a few moments, there came the sound of a Magical blast, and when Twilight and the rest of us looked again, the Mirror was shimmering with Magic.

"Did.......did it work Twilight?" I asked her.

"I......I think so Ben. I'll go check." She then walked up to the Mirror.

After placing her hand on it, we all saw the glass of the mirror ripple like water!

"I think that it's working. Give me 10 more seconds to check." Twilight then stepped through the portal. We all held our breath for 10 seconds, and exactly 12 seconds later, Twilight stepped back through. She looked up at us, and nodded, smiling.

"Yep, it works guys! We just successfully rebuilt the Mirror Portal! It connects to the other world once again, and Sunset and the others were SO HAPPY to see me again! They also said that they wanted to meet you all if you wanted to walk through the portal."

We all agreed, and we too stepped through the portal. The 6 of us, plus our marefriends and Gilda spent a few hours on the other side of the portal. Sure enough, it really WAS a world almost identical to ours, though the inhabitants were Humanized-Ponies. We found ourselves outside of a school called Canterlot High School, and we were soon introduced to Sunset Shimmer, and that world's versions of Twilight, Pinkie, Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity. We also met a guy named Flash Sentry, and he was pretty cool too. It was also really strange for Derpy, Roseluck, and Lyra to meet the other versions of themselves, and Gilda, Amethyst and Night Glider asked where their counterparts were.

"Oh, well I don't know for sure, but if I had to guess, I'd say that your counterparts either go to Crystal Prep, the other major school around here, or have already graduated." Sunset explained.

The others were a bit disappointed that they probably weren't going to be able to meet their counterparts, but they got over it.

Meanwhile, the other girls from this world, and the guys too, were REALLY interested in hearing how we cleaned house on the Zebras. We told them stories about our experiences in the Last Zebra War, and they all told us that they were REALLY glad that we were able to take care of the Zebras, and how Sunset and Twilight were able to keep them from figuring out how the portal to their world worked. They were so thankful that they were all still safe.

I sighed. "We just did what we had to do. The Zebras COULD NOT be left unchecked, so we took out the bad ones, and took care of those who surrendered peacefully. The Zebras will NEVER AGAIN be a threat to Equestria; we made SURE of it!"

Sunset nodded. "Yes, and we REALLY thank you for it Captain Anderson, and the rest of you Rick, Frank, Evan, Jake and Jon."

They all thanked us again, and after talking for a little while longer, we all returned to Equestria.

Following the success of the restoration of the Mirror Portal, as well as the continuing research and development of the 2 other proposed portals, there came a few other announcements from the marefriends, and fiances of the other Marines.

One afternoon, Evan was out for a walk with Night Glider. They were in a park in the Crystal Empire, sitting on a bench, and feeding some bread crumbs to some ducks close to a pond.

"So peaceful here." Evan said quietly.

"Yes, yes it is Babe. However, it might not be for much longer."

Evan turned to her, confused. "Huh? Why's that? The Last Zebra War is over, and there's no other wars on the horizon."

"Yes, but it might cause a bit of a disturbance."

"What might cause a bit of a disturbance?"

Night Glider looked up at him, before smirking a bit, taking his hand, and placing it on her belly. "Babe, I'm a month pregnant!"

When Evan heard that, 2 things happened. First, his jaw hit the ground, and then he jumped up from the bench, and the ENTIRE park heard his screams of joy!

"YEAH!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!! I'M GONNA BE A DAD!!!! YES!!!!!!"

Night Glider laughed a bit at Evan's celebration. "Yeah, I know Babe. I had the same reaction when I saw my pregnancy test!"

Evan then hugged her, and the 2 of them were also congratulated by others in the park.

Just after this, after a nice date night, Jake and Roseluck were coming home to the freight depot. Just before they went inside though, Roseluck decided to spill her secret.

"Hey Jake?"

"Yeah Rosie?"

"I have to tell you something."

"What?"

Roseluck then hugged him. "Babe, I'm pregnant. I wanted to tell you earlier, but I couldn't quite bring myself to do that at the restaurant, just in case you freaked out like Evan did! I'm almost 3 weeks along now."

When Jake heard that, he slammed his hands over his mouth. However, after this, all he did was hug Roseluck. "Babe......that's.......so..............so awesome!" He was trying to resist the urge to cry.

"Jake.....are you.......are you crying?"

He nodded. "I'm.......I'm trying not to! This is just..........it's just so..........I don't even know what to say right now!"

"I'm trying not to cry too Babe. "We're gonna be parents!"

"Yes, yes we will!"

They both kept hugging, and prepared to tell the rest of us.

However, out of all of us, Frank's reaction to becoming a dad was the most memorable, even more so than Evan's public-freakout!

Frank was cooking dinner in the tiny little kitchen at the freight depot, and Lyra was helping him.

Lyra looked over at him. "Hey Babe?"

"Yeah Ly?"

"Do you........do you ever want to become a dad?"

He nodded. "Of course I do! It's been my dream for a long time to find a nice girl, settle down with her, and raise a family. I've already done 2 of those things, and I guess we'll just keep waiting for the 3rd."

"Yeah, I guess that we will." Lyra was messing with something in her pocket.

"Oh, hey Babe?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you hand me the salt? I need to add some to this mac n' cheese."

"Sure Babe." Lyra then reached into her pocket, and handed it to Frank instead of the salt shaker.

"Thanks." Frank then tried to use it, unaware that it wasn't a salt shaker! He kept shaking it, but no salt was coming out. "Huh?" He then realized that the object he was holding was too long and slender to be a salt shaker. "What's this?" He then began to look at what he was holding.

Lyra giggled a bit. "It's our future Frank!"

Frank's eyes then got to be about the size of dinner plates when he realized that he was holding a pregnancy test, and that it was positive! When Frank realized that Lyra was pregnant, and that he was going to be a dad, he was so shocked that he fainted! He fell back from the stove, and ended up on the kitchen floor!

"Whoa!" Lyra then had to help revive Frank after he passed out.

Once he was conscious again, he looked up at her. "We're gonna be parents?" He finally asked her.

She nodded, smiling. "Yes, we're gonna be parents Frank!"

Frank was still in shock, but he did sit up and hug his marefriend. "That's so great Lyra! I'm SO happy right now!"

Lyra was trying to keep from crying. "I know. So am I Babe!"

A few months after this, in October of 2025, Shining told me that Cadence told him that she was pregnant too!

"Really?"

"Yeah! I'm gonna be a dad like you Bro!"

I hugged him. "That's so great Shining! I'll bet that Cadence is really excited too, right?"

"You bet that she is! She screamed when she got the positive pregnancy test, and I came running when she screamed to see what was going on! Imagine my shock when I found out!"

I laughed a bit. "Yeah, I can imagine Shining. And now that Gilda has maybe a month left until she gives birth, I'm REALLY on pins and needles, as is Gabby."

"I can imagine. And have you decided on godparents yet?"

"Yeah. Gilda and I decided that we wanted you and Cadence to be our kids's godparents."

Shining's face lit up. "Really?"

I nodded. "Of course. "You're my best friend. We've been through Hell and high water together. Of COURSE I want you to be the godfather of Daylight and Glacier, as well as any other kids that I have."

Shining hugged me again, and we talked about this for a little while longer. He also told me that he and Cadence wanted Gilda and I to be their kids's godparents, to which I said that we both would be.

One can only imagine the shock of the families of the other 5 marines when they heard that they were going to be grandparents, great grandparents, uncles and aunts!

Using the special phones linked through the fax machines, one by one the other guys began to tell their families the great news.

Rick and Amethyst went first.

"Hey Dad?"

"Yeah Rick?"

"Are Garret and Jimmy around? Something has happened, and I want ALL of you to hear it!"

Chester was worried, but he was able to call Garrett and Jimmy to the phone.

"What's going on Rick?"

"Dad, Garrett, Jimmy, Amethyst and I wanted to tell you.............Dad, you're gonna be a grandpa, and Jimmy and Garrett, you're gonna be uncles!"

When they heard that, all 3 of them were silent for a moment, before both Rick and Amethyst became aware of VERY loud cheering! It was pretty clear that his family was VERY glad at the news, and while they did ask if they were having a boy or a girl, Rick had to tell them that it was too early to tell.

Later on, it was Evan's turn to talk to his mom and brother.

"Mom, Hank, Night Glider and I have something to tell you. Something's happened, and......"

"I'M GONNA BE A GRANDMA?!?!?!?!" Lillian interrupted.

Evan was shocked that his mom figured it out so quickly. "Yes! How did you know?"

"I'm a mom Evan, I ALWAYS know!"

"Congrats Little Bro!" Hank told him. "Am I gonna have a niece, or a nephew?"

Evan shrugged. "It's too early to tell Hank. We're hoping for a colt, (or a boy!) but we'll be happy with a filly, (or a girl!)"

"So will I Evan."

"I can't WAIT to see them when they're born!"

Evan laughed. "Yeah, I know Mom. I can't wait either!"

As soon as he'd recovered from his fainting, Frank got on the phone with his Grandpa and little brother Joel.

"Grandpa! I have to tell you and Joel this, and I have to tell you this right now!"

"What? What happened Frank? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, but you're gonna be a great-grandpa Grandpa, and you're gonna be an uncle Joel!"

"WHAT?!?!?! I'M GONNA BE AN UNCLE?!?!?!"

"YES!!!! Lyra just told me that she's pregnant!"

"That's.......I don't even know what to say Frank............other than........I'm SO proud of you! Are you gonna have a boy or a girl?"

"We don't know yet Grandpa, it's still too early to tell."

"Hope for a girl Frank!" Joel told him. "Grandpa says that we need one around here!"

"Joel!" Dakota hissed at him. "Uncalled for!"

Frank laughed a bit. "Well, if it makes you feel any better Grandpa, Lyra's hoping for a filly, (or a girl) too!"

Dakota laughed a bit now too, and he and Joel continued to talk to Frank about this new development.

In Tucson, AZ, Jake's family was learning the news from him and Roseluck. His parents were SO excited that they were going to be grandparents, his grandpa was so happy that he was going to be a great-grandpa, and his sister Betty was excited that she was going to be an aunt.

"This is SO exciting Jake!" His mom Debbie was saying. "I'm SO excited!"

"As am I!" Betty added. "I've ALWAYS wanted to be an Auntie, and now I can!"

"It it gonna be a guy or a gal?" Jeremiah asked.

"We're not sure yet Grandpa. We're hoping for a boy, but we'd be happy for a girl too."

"I'm just still SO happy that I'm gonna probably live to see my great-grandchild, or even great-grandchildren!"

"So am I Grandpa!"

And last, but certainly not least, Jon was telling his huge family the good news too. Just like all of the other families, they were shocked at first, but that shock quickly gave way to ecstatic joy.

"Mom and Dad, you're gonna be grandparents, Grandma and Grandpa you're gonna be great-grandparents, and you Peyton and Bertha are gonna be an aunt and uncle!"

Jon's family was MASSIVELY freaking out.

"We're SO happy for you Jon!" His Dad Brad told him. "You're mother and I were REALLY hoping that you would make us grandparents soon, and now you did!"

"And now we're gonna have a new niece or nephew to play with once their old enough!" Bertha added.

"Or maybe even a few! Is it possible that you're gonna have more than 1 kid Bro?" Peyton asked.

Jon nodded. "Yes Peyton, Derpy and I were planning on having at least a few kids, hopefully a few boys and girls, or as they call them around here, colts and fillies. And what do you think about all of this Grandma and Grandpa?"

Grandma Muriel then took the phone. "I kept prayin' that I would live to see this day Jon! Now Ethan and I are gonna get to see our great-grandkids!"

"Yes, yes you will! Derpy and I are SO excited, and I know that all of you are too!"

"And how's that portal coming?" Brad asked.

Jon sighed. "It's coming along. It's taking longer than we thought that it was going to, but our target date is the first quarter of next year (2026). That's all I can tell you right now, as the work is still ongoing."

He and his family talked about this for a little while longer, and then Jon hung up, as he had to get back to work, but he promised to talk to his family again soon.

From October of 2025, to November, and on into early December, all of us who were willing and able continued to work on the portal. Using the Magic Mirror Portal as a template, we began to build a second sort of mirror, as well as a means to power it.

Thanks to my Dad, I learned that on the other end at Wright-Patterson AFB, a "doorway" was being built against the wall in a disused mess hall that used to be used for meetings between soldiers and family, until a new and better facility was built. Now this old facility was used for overflow, if that. Now though, it was closed off, allegedly for maintenance, but in reality, this was where our portal was going to come out if everything worked out correctly. Like I said before, a literal 4' by 8' doorway was being built against one wall, but the doorway lacked a door, and it didn't go anywhere. Our portal would (hopefully!) link up with this doorway, and it would be where we would return to Earth.

"The doorway is done now Ben. How are things going on your end?"

"Well, they seem to be going well enough. It's all coming together, but the real question is, will it work? And a better question would be, will we be able to connect it with that doorway there in that old mess hall if it does work?"

"That's what we don't know, but we're hoping for too Ben. I have full faith that you, your comrades, and those Ponies helping you will be able to get this portal done, and hopefully soon."

"Yeah, me too Dad. Like I said before, our target date is still the first quarter for 2026, and we're still on target for that. We're running a little bit behind, but that's for the best since we HAVE to test EVERYTHING as we go along!"

"Yeah, no kidding!"

Starting in mid-November, I had to take a break from the project, as I had to be home helping Gilda take care of Daylight and Glacier.

"So how's the portal going?" Gilda asked me one day.

I sighed. I was holding Glacier on my lap, holding a rattle for her. She loved to play, and it was seemingly already clear that she was showing tomboyish tendencies, very much like Gilda.

"You're so cute Glacier." I whispered as I held her close. Glacier giggled a bit, and snuggled close to me. "Yes you are!"

"The portal?" Gilda asked me again, somewhat more annoyed this time.

I looked up at her. "Huh?"

Gilda rolled her eyes. "How is the portal going?"

"From what I heard from Twilight, it's going pretty well. Our target date for activation is sometime in late February of next year, 2026." I then looked down, and I saw Daylight sleeping in her arms. "You're so good with kids Gilda."

She shot me a look. "What? Me good with kids? Look at you and Glacier! She totally adores you!"

I then looked down at Glacier again, and I saw that she'd fallen asleep snuggled against me, just like what Daylight had done to Gilda. "Yeah, and Daylight adores you too. Our twins may have been a mistake Gilda, but you've got to admit, they're the best mistakes that we ever made!"

Gilda sighed. "For once, yeah, I agree with you Babe. Daylight and Glacier, while VERY unexpected, now that they're in the world, I must say that they're not unwelcome!"

I then stood up with Glacier in my arms, and walked over before sitting down next to Gilda. I then kissed her, and she kissed me back. We both then looked at each other, and then down at our sleeping twins. Neither of us had to say anything, as we both already knew what the other was thinking. We loved each other, and our twins were the cutest Lycan-Griffs of all time!

From November to December, the portal's basic construction was done, and now all that remained to do was power it up, and of course, calibrate it, test it, and make sure that it connected to that doorway at Wright-Patterson. However, that was the biggest challenge yet. The portal needed a LOT of energy, and not just from a power source, but also from Magic, and rune stones as well. All of this combined would be enough to power 15 inter-dimensional radios, or the entire city of Canterlot for a week!

Just like with the radio, a number of special power crystals were secured, though this time 60 were needed! Also secured from contracted rune-carvers were 6 special rune stones that would go into the frame of the portal, and help to power it with their Magic. It was all coming together now, and we were still on target for our planned activation date.

Another challenge to be overcome was how to hook the power crystals up to the portal. We planned to do this just like the Mirror Portal, and use a series of cables, but we had to find cables that were thicker, and more well-insulated, or else they would overload, and burn to a crisp! After several near-fires, we FINALLY figured out what kind of cables to use, and how to properly hook them up!

"Well, THAT was a lot harder than I was expecting it to be!" Evan sighed as he wiped some sweat off of his forehead.

"Yeah, no kidding Evan!" Frank agreed with him. "And I thought that trying to power up the radio was hard!"

"It was, until we had to build this portal!"

Rick then walked by. "Yeah, but look on the bright side Evan, now that we know how to build a portal, building the 3rd one so that the Southern Pacific can get back 4449 will be a WHOLE lot easier!"

Jake looked over from where he was working with the power crystals. "Yeah, but I'm going to be sad to see 4449 go. I mean yes, the SP DOES have to get her back, but do you think that they'd be open to sharing?"

"What do you mean by that Jake?" Frank asked.

"I mean that she goes back and forth. We use her for a while, and then send her back home for a while."

"That might work, but what would we use for an engine for the Daylight Freight and Shipping Company? We can't work without an engine!"

"And that's the real catch too. You guys would need an engine that A, can be fully restored to operating condition, B, can be delivered to Equestria quickly and quietly, and C, and most importantly, would be an engine that few know about, and it wouldn't be missed if it 'disappeared'. Finding an engine that would fit that bill would be the hard part."

Jake, Evan, and Frank knew that Rick was right. Where would they find an engine to partially replace 4449, or wholly if the SP wasn't open to the idea of sharing?

"Scar might know". Jon spoke up suddenly. "After all, HE'S a big railroad fan. He might know of an engine that fits the bill."

Evan looked over at him. "Yeah, you're right Jon, he might know! Of course, the first step in this is even reestablishing contact with our old bosses on the Southern Pacific, who might NOT be very happy to hear from us, ESPECIALLY since we've been missing with THEIR special train for 3 years!"

The other 4 winced when Evan said that. Up until right then, that was NOT something that they'd thought about. No doubt our old bosses on the SP Railroad were REALLY pissed about us going missing with 4449 for almost 3 years now, and might not be open to talking to us again. Heck, we might even wind up in prison if they were mad enough! The loss of 4449 by itself, ESPECIALLY in the way that she went missing was no doubt a HUGE public relations nightmare, but then couple in the fact that their rivals on the Santa Fe Railroad almost had Santa Fe 5000, aka Madam Queen up and running again, it could be a REAL disaster for EVERYONE if 4449 was not returned to them, and then if they pressed charges against us for theft, misuse of company property, AND cheating on our time-cards! (We'd clocked in the day that we left Earth, but we'd never clocked out!) Yes, we'd probably been clocked out a LONG time ago, but we could still get into trouble for not clocking out!

The plan was get the portal up and running, go to Earth, meet with our families for a day or so, then return to Equestria, contact the Southern Pacific, give them the full rundown on the situation, try to get on their good sides, get the 3rd and final portal up and running, and then try to get 4449 back to her rightful owners. It seemed simple enough on paper, but in reality, we had a feeling that it was going to be anything but!

In January of 2026, everything was all complete, and testing could finally begin. This included powering up the portal, calibrating it to connect with that doorway at Wright-Patterson, and then making sure that a living being could safely pass from one world to another. We assumed that this was possible, but in reality, this was only theoretical.

The first order of business was powering up the portal, and testing all of its systems. These included the power crystals, as well as all of the main cables. The next order of business was testing the rune stones, as well as the Magic within them. After this, it would be time to combine Magic with engineering, and see if the portal could stand up to both the runes and the energy from the crystals being used on it at once. If it could, then we could power the portal up, and finish the calibrations. Then, if all of this went successfully, we all decided that someone would toss a hat through to Wright-Patterson, followed by a banana, and then finally, a rat on a LONG leash. If all 3 of these objects survived, then we would know that the portal was safe. However, if we lost one of the items, then we would know what to fix. (We also all promised NOT to tell Fluttershy if the rat died crossing through to Earth!)

For the tests of the power crystals and cables, everything seemed to be going well. They, and the control panel that they were attached to, powered up and powered down as they should, and everything was within normal levels.

Twilight was looking at her clipboard. "Ok, so far so good. We know now that the crystals and the cables are ok. Now it's time to test the rune stones, as well as the Magic within them."

This was the next test, and it had a few of our guys, plus a few technicians, somewhat worried. Rune stones had NEVER been used like this before, (at least, not for a long time!) and no one knew what was going to happen. However, to everyone and everypony's relief, the runes fed their Magic to the portal, which in turn held together nicely, and glowed lightly. The glass of the mirror in the center of the portal even rippled slightly.

"Ok, now that's all going good." She then talked with a few of the technicians, and they all agreed to wait a few more days before testing the rune stones and the power crystals together, so as to be able to take VERY strong precautions in case something went wrong.

Over the course of the next few days, Magical and Crystal shields were installed in the area of the basement of the Crystal Castle where the portal was being built, more Magical and Crystal Shields were used to protect our original inter-dimensional radio equipment in the room next door, and a series of circuit breakers were installed so that the power could be cut just in case anything overloaded.

I was there for this test, as were the other 5 guys, Shining, and Cadence. Twilight and a few technicians were inside the room with the portal, while the rest of us waited outside, safely protected behind all of the shields. We could still fully see what was going on inside, though we were still fully protected.

"Do you think that it's gonna work Bro?" Shining asked me.

"I REALLY hope Bro. This is our ONLY chance at ever getting to see our families again, so yes, I REALLY hope that we can get this right!"

Shining looked inside the room at Twilight as she was setting everything up with help from the technicians. "Well, as long as Twilight is still heading this project, I don't think that we have anything to worry about. Even if it doesn't work the first time, I can tell you with a fair amount of certainty that we'll all still be here to try again the next time!"

I looked over at him. "Yeah, I hope so Shining, otherwise they'll be scraping bloody hamburger off of the walls down here!"

The others looked over at me with fear and worry when I said that. They all knew that there was a bit of a real chance that someone could get hurt if something went awry during these tests, which was yet another reason that we were REALLY praying that nothing did!

I then got on my radio with Twilight. "How are things looking in there Twilight?"

"We're almost done Ben! And if this test works, then all we have to do is power everything on fully, and then finish calibrating everything. Then we can begin the final tests; sending the hat, banana, and rat from Equestria to America!"

"If the combining Magic and power crystals work, are you going to turn it on today, or not?"

"No, we'll have to wait a little bit longer on that. More things will have to be tested first, and more safety precautions will have to be taken."

"Ok, I understand Twilight. And how much longer until you guys are done in there, and can begin the test?"

"Almost. We're all getting into position now!"

"Ok, roger that!"

I then watched as all of them got into their positions, pulled down their goggles, and got ready to go. The power crystals were turned on first, and they began to feed their energy into the portal. Once this had been going on for a few minutes, then Twilight ordered the runes to be activated too. She herself, as well as 2 Unicorn technicians were responsible for this, and soon the 6 runes in the portal's frame were glowing bright pink, meaning that they were powering up nicely.

"So far so good guys! Everything is holding steady!"

We all kept expecting something to blow up, or catch fire, but to our slight surprise, nothing did. Everything continued to hold steady, and power up like it should.

"Wow, it's actually holding steady this time without any problems!"

I nodded, but frowned. "Yeah, but everything is still in the 'off' position Frank. This is still to be considered 'low power mode'. The REAL test will be once everything is turned on to full power!"

Frank realized that I was right. Everything was still technically in 'low power mode', and while it was holding steady so far, that could change when everything was turned on for real. The rest of the test went remarkably well, and there were no problems.

On January 29th, 2026, it was time for the REAL test; powering everything on at full power, and making sure that everything worked as it should. Also during this test, some of the calibrations would be performed, hopefully bringing the portal to the doorway at Wright-Patterson, and if it didn't, finishing the rest of the calibrations shortly afterwards.

We all held our breath as everything was turned on again. This time however, more control levers and switches were thrown, and as we all watched in awe, the glass of the mirror began to ripple like water, before it began to swirl in a bright blue vortex of energy.

"Everything still holding steady!" Twilight told us. "It's all holding together, and from what we can tell so far, the portal does come out at Wright-Patterson. What's your dad saying Ben?"

At this same time, I was on the phone with my Dad, who was directing efforts on their end to make sure that the portal came out where it was supposed to.

"What's going on over there Dad?"

"You're a little off-target. There's some shimmering energy coming from a wall, but it's almost 500 feet away from where it should be!"

"And which direction do we need to go?"

"Left! Move it 480 feet to the left, and 20 feet back!"

"Ok." I then relayed this to Twilight.

She and the technicians adjusted a few knobs, as well as used their Magic to move the runes a bit.

"How about now?"

"Now what's it doing Dad?"

"The waves of energy are still off target. 10 feet to the right, 3 feet back!"

I relayed this to Twilight, and they tried again.

After more maneuvering, I talked to my Dad again. "Now?"

"Now the waves are right where they need to be. They're right in the center of the doorway, and are holding steady!"

"Ok, I'll relay this to Twilight." I then grabbed my radio. "Ok Twilight, you guys got it! The portal seems to be right where it needs to be now!"

"Ok, roger that Ben!" She and the techs then fully activated everything, and still the portal held steady.

We all went to bed that night knowing that everything was seemingly in place, and that the portal was fully steady. Within 3 days, the final 3 tests would happen with the hat, banana and rat, and if they too were fully successful, then my Dad would contact the families, and they would return to Wright-Patterson, this time to see their sons/brothers/grandsons in person!

On February 3rd, it was time for the final tests. My Dad, a few other Air Force officers, and a few scientists were waiting on the Wright-Patterson side of the portal, while Twilight, Shining, and the 6 of us guys were on the other side. Rick was holding the hat, (it was a Marines cap), Evan held the banana, (It was fresh from the local market), and I held the rat. The rat had been named "Ben", though oddly enough, it wasn't named for me, but rather for Ben, the rat from the Michael Jackson movie from 1972 by the same name. (Who also gets a song, but that's besides the point!) What mattered was that the final tests were just moments away, and if they all succeeded, then it would mean that the portal was safe for use to travel between Equestria, and Wright-Patterson AFB.

"Are you all ready over there Dad?"

"Yeah, we're all ready here Ben. How's it looking on your end?"

"Everything looks ok so far. Rick, Evan, Twilight, Shining and I are in the room with the portal, Frank, Jake and Jon are just outside watching, and all of their mares are here too. Not Gilda though."

"Why?"

I thought fast. "She has something that she has to take care of. She wishes us the best of luck though, and she'll be here for the 'real' opening of the portal once these tests are done."

"And do you have the 3 objects?"

"Yeah. Rick has the hat, Evan has the banana, and I have the rat!"

"Eh.......why a rat again? Why not something else?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I think that it has something to do with how a rat's systems are at least somewhat close to a Human's. That way we'd have a better chance at knowing if a Human could survive portal travel. And if we could survive it, then most likely a Pony could too."

"Well, I guess that that makes sense. And are you ready to begin the tests?"

I checked in with the other guys. "Yeah, we're all ready."

Twilight then looked at Rick. "Ok Rick, step up to the portal, and just toss the hat through."

Rick nodded. "Ok." He then stepped up close to the portal.

As we all watched, he tossed the hat through. It hit the portal, before seemingly going through it in a shimmer of blue energy. We all kept watching after the hat disappeared, but the portal remained stable.

"Is the hat over there Dad?" I asked him.

"Affirmative, the hat is here. It's lying on the ground in front of the portal, and one of the scientists is picking it up." After a few minutes of silence, my dad added, "And the hat is still perfectly intact! It survived the trip just fine! Hang on, we're going to toss it back through, just to make sure that it works both ways."

We all watched on our side, and soon the hat came back. It landed on the floor, and Rick picked it up before handing it over to Twilight. After taking a few minutes to examine it, she gave me the signal that it was perfectly intact.

"We got the hat back, and it's perfectly intact. So now that we know that inorganic items can survive, let's see about organic ones."

"Is it time for the banana?"

"Yeah, it's time for the banana. Hang on, it's coming through." I then looked over at Evan. "Ok Evan, send the banana through!"

"Roger that Scar." He then walked over to the portal. "Banana incoming!" He then tossed it through with an underhanded pitch.

"Did you get it Dad?"

"Affirmative! The banana is here, and since it went a little bit farther than the hat did, we were able to catch it. The scientists are looking at it now." A few minutes later, my dad contacted us again. "Ok, and the banana is still perfectly intact. Hang on, we're sending it back through!"

We all then waited to catch it. Sure enough, the banana came back. Evan caught it, before handing it over to Twilight for analysis.

"The banana looks ok to me. You can tell your dad that it's ok Ben."

"Ok Twilight." I then contacted my Dad again. "Ok, the banana is still intact Dad. Now we know that both inorganic, and organic objects can survive, but now comes the REAL test. Can living beings survive portal travel?"

"And that means the rat, but how are you going to do this exactly?"

"Well, We'll attach a sort of harness to the rat, and then tie some string to that, before sending the rat through. We'll then use the string to retrieve it once the test is over. Do you have the bit of peanut butter on your end?"

"Yes. One of my guys is putting it on a cracker, and setting it on the ground maybe 5 feet in front of the portal."

"Ok, and standby, here comes the rat, I hope!"

Twilight then helped me attach the harness to Ben the Rat, to which we then tied some string. I then looked at Ben. "Ok Ben, now it's time for the final test. If you survive this, then you've just help prove once and for all that living creatures really CAN survive portal travel! Go on Ben; become the first living portal traveler!" I then set Ben on the ground.

Once he was on the ground though, Ben didn't quite want to cooperate. He was content to just run around on the floor, and not go through the portal.

"Oh come on! I thought that rats were supposed to be really smart!"

"Maybe he IS smart, and isn't going through the portal because he knows that he'll die!" Twilight pointed out.

I winced. "Yeah, maybe so Twi, or maybe he just needs a little bit of incentive." I then had Shining hand me a bit of cheese, and after breaking off a small chunk, I held it where Ben could smell it, before tossing it through the portal.

"Go get it Ben!"

"Um, what just came through the portal?" My Dad asked.

"That was just a bit of cheese. We were having some problems with Ben the Rat, and we had to resort to tossing the cheese through the portal. And here he comes!"

Ben the Rat then ran across the crystal floor of the Portal Room, before running up to the portal, and then through it. We were all holding our breath. Was he going to make it? And more importantly, was he going to survive? I kept feeling the string get pulled, which I took to be a good sign.

A few moments later, I heard my Dad over the radio. "We just received the rat, and not only did he survive, but he's now eating both the cheese, AND the cracker with peanut butter on it! The rat arrived alive! I say again, the rat arrived alive!"

When we heard those words from my dad, those of us involved with the portal experiment, as well as the other guys just outside were BESIDE ourselves! We had just transported a living being from one world to another instantaneously via a portal, and the being stayed alive! A minute or so later, Ben the Rat finished his food, and I gently pulled the string to bring him back through the portal. We had more cheese waiting for him on our end, and he came back through, ran to the cheese, and began to eat it.

I then looked over at the portal with wonder. "Well, if a rat could do it, what would happen if a Human did it?"

Twilight was looking at her notes. "Well, presumably, they would arrive alive too, but....." She then heard a noise, and looked up just in time to see me step through the portal!

"BEN!!!!!" She screamed. She then ran over to the portal, as did Rick, Evan, and Shining, while Frank, Jake, and Jon watched from just outside with looks of panic on their faces. What had I just done?

On the other end at Wright-Patterson, my Dad, the few other officers, and the scientists, since they weren't expecting any more tests that day, began to get ready to leave the room that the portal was in. However, before they could, they all heard a *Whoosh!* behind them, and they and my Dad turned to see me standing in front of the portal!

"I......I MADE IT!!!! I'M HOME!!!! I MADE IT BACK TO EARTH!!!!!" I then began to feel myself all over, just to make sure that I was ok. To my shock though, I could no longer feel my wolf ears, my wings, or my wolf tail, and to my further shock, my wolf legs and paws were Human legs and feet again, and my wolf's junk was now a Human's junk instead!

"Wait.....I'm fully Human again?!"

Before I could say anything else though, my Dad had reached me, and pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back, though neither of us could say anything. It had been almost 3 years since we'd last seen each other, and 2 of those years were without any contact at all. Now here we were, FINALLY able to see each other again.

"I missed you so much Ben!" My Dad whispered softly.

"I know, and I missed you too Dad. I NEVER meant to just up and disappear like that, but it seems that the Universe had different ideas in mind!"

"You fought the Last Zebra War, saved Equestria, and found your soulmate, but that doesn't matter right now. What matters is that you're here, you're safe, and you're...........fully Human?!" My Dad then realized that I was fully Human again too.

I nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. I can't really understand it either. Maybe this is because of the portal? I don't know."

"Or maybe it was because you were fully drained of your wolf DNA here on Earth, and only regained it once you reached Equestria. Now that you're here, it's all drained out again."

"Yeah, that makes sense Dad."

Before I could say anything else though, the portal sputtered again, and to our shock, a Human female stepped through! She was wearing a purple school uniform, but she had purple hair, and lavender eyes.

"Wait......Twilight?! Is that you?!"

She gave me a strange look. "Yeah. What do you mean by that?"

"Look down at yourself right now Twilight. And PLEASE don't scream!"

She did so, and while I could tell that she was shocked, I then remembered that we'd already paid a visit to Canterlot High, where she became a Human then too. However this time, instead of being a Humanized-Pony, she was a Humanized......well Human, though she still had her purple hair (mane?) and lavender eyes. She also checked under the skirt of her school uniform, and she found that she still had her Cutie-Mark.

"Huh......well, I wasn't expecting this! But yet, maybe it does make sense, since we would stick out like sore thumbs here on Earth! It also seems that while our clothes remain the same, they change color a bit to match what our fur used to be. This is all SO fascinating!" She then noticed that I'd found my Dad.

She then walked over to us. "Allow my to introduce myself. I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. You can just call me Twilight though, and I assume that you're General Stan Anderson?"

My Dad nodded. "Yes, I am General Stan Anderson, US Air Force. And it's an honor to finally meet you in person Twilight." He then shook her hand.

"The honor is mine General. I'm just so amazed to finally be able to meet the father of such an incredible Human."

"Thank you Twilight."

Twilight then took a moment to step back through the portal, (where she was instantly transformed back into her normal Anthro-Pony self) and she quickly reassured the others that she and I were ok. Once she came back, she then began to talk to the scientists for a little bit longer, before it was time for us to head back to Equestria for the time being.

I hugged my Dad one last time. "I'm sorry that I have to go Dad, but we'll be in touch."

"Yeah, I'm sorry too. However, we'll see each other 1 week from today once we have all of the families up here again. Then we'll ALL finally be able to see each other again!"

I nodded. "Yeah, and I know that ALL of the guys and their mares are REALLY looking forward to that, ESPECIALLY now that we've proven that portal travel is indeed safe!"

My Dad and I then said goodbye one more time, and then Twilight and I returned to Equestria again.

Sure enough, one week later, on February 10th, 2026, ALL of the families of the 6 of us Human Marines were once again all gathered at Wright-Patterson AFB. This time though, instead of that room where we'd all chatted through the video screen, the families were ushered into the cafeteria meeting hall where the portal was located. Tables were set up, and there were tables with food on them, (sandwiches, chips, salads, other side dishes, lemonade and soda, and desert items), as well as plenty of tables to sit at. It was a big lunch meeting for us all, and all of the families were eagerly waiting on their end for all of us to finish getting ready.

Sure enough, at about 12:30, my Dad's radio came to life. "Dad? Are you there?"

"Right here Ben. Are you guys all ready over there?"

"Yeah, we're ready over here. What's going on on your end?"

"We're all ready here. All 18 of us are VERY eager to see all of you!"

I laughed a bit. "Heh, yeah, I can imagine! Well, hang on. We're almost ready to come on through, and when we do, we'll be in pairs. First Rick and Amethyst, then Jake and Roseluck, Evan and Night Glider, Frank and Lyra, Jon and Derpy, and then finally Gilda and I. And don't worry, we've briefed all of them on how they'll change when they come through the portal, and we'll also be joined by Twilight, as well as her brother Shining Armor, and his wife Princess Cadence. They rule the Crystal Empire where we all live at the current moment."

My Dad nodded. "Ok, sure, that works. And is it time yet?"

"Yep, we're ready. Hang on, we're starting to come through."

After I said this, all eyes were VERY eagerly glued to the portal at the far end of the room. Soon there was a flash of blue energy, and moments later, Rick and Amethyst walked through. They were followed moments later by Jake and Roseluck, and then Evan and Night Glider, Frank and Lyra, Jon and Derpy, and then finally, Gilda and I stepped through, followed closely by Twilight, Shining and Cadence.

As soon as we were in that cafeteria, the room was FILLED with applause, cheering, some whistling, and then the families broke into their units, and made their way over to their respective loved one, as well as his bride-to-be.

Rick and Amethyst were first. Rick hugged his dad Chester, and his brothers Jimmy and Garrett. They all hugged him back just as hard.

"Rick, Son! I'm SO happy to FINALLY be able to see you in person again!"

"Me too Dad."

"Hey, you don't have your ears and tail anymore!" Garrett pointed out.

"You're right Garrett, I don't. Now I'm 100% Human again, though this only lasts while I'm here on Earth."

"Well, no matter, you're here, and that's what REALLY matters!" Jimmy added as he hugged Rick.

Chester then looked over at Amethyst. "And it's nice to finally be able to see my future daughter-in-law." He then lightly hugged Amethyst, only to remember that she was pregnant! "And I was going to ask you, is it a boy or a girl?"

Amethyst blushed lightly. "It's a girl, or a filly as I would say. Rick and I are going to name her Drizzle Belle."

"Such a nice name. And how far along are you?"

"A little over 7 months now. And don't worry, we WILL have the wedding before she's born!"

Chester laughed a bit at this, and Jimmy and Garret were both surprised and glad that they were soon going to have a niece.

When Evan and Night Glider found Lillian and Hank, Lillian IMMEDIATELY hugged her son. "Evan, I'm SO glad to see you again!"

"Yeah, so am I Mom. I missed you and Hank SO MUCH!"

"We missed you too Bro!"

Lillian then looked over at Night Glider. "Wow, you're even prettier in person Night Glider!"

She blushed a bit. "Ngh, thanks Mrs. Lillian."

"Oh none of that Dear. You can just call me 'Mom', since you'll soon be a part of our family too!" She then looked down at Night Glider's belly. "And I've been DYING to know. I know that you're 5 months along, but what are you having?! PLEASE tell me!"

Night Glider giggled a bit. "Well, Evan and I are having twins, one colt and one filly, or as you would say, one boy and one girl!"

Lillian started bouncing up and down after she let go of Evan. "EEEE!!!!! This is SO exciting! And what are you going to name them?!"

"Night Glider and I decided to name our son Golden Crescent, and our daughter Gleaming Pearl."

Hank spoke up. "Wow, I like those names. I bet that they'll be PERFECT for my niece and nephew!"

"I know that they will be Hank."

Lillian then hugged both of them again, and then she began to gently feel Night Glider's belly, which caused Night Glider to giggle a bit.

Next, it was Jake and Roseluck's turn. Soon, they found Jake's parents, as well as his older sister Betty, and his Grandpa Jeremiah.

He hugged his parents as soon as he saw them. "Mom! Dad!" He then hugged his sister and grandpa. "Betty! Grandpa!"

His parents hugged him back, as did Betty and Jeremiah.

"It's SO good to have you back Jake."

"Yes, you're Mother and I missed you so much. We were SO GLAD that you guys FINALLY figured out a way to come home!"

"Yeah, so now you can come and see us, and we can come and see you Little Brother!"

"I'm so happy to see you again Jake!"

"Me too Grandpa. And yeah, you will be able to come and see us now Betty!"

Betty then looked over at Roseluck. "Well? Don't keep us in suspense and longer, am I getting a niece or a nephew?"

Roseluck blushed a giggled and blush a bit. "Well Betty, you're getting both plus 1. I'm pregnant with triplets, 2 sons and a daughter!"

When Jake's family heard that, their jaws were on the floor! Their son and his soon-to-be wife were having TRIPLETS?!

"What are you going to name them?" Martin asked.

"Well Dad, Rosie and I decided to name our sons Oliver and Silver Night, while our daughter will be named Harmony."

"Aww, those are such nice names. I'll bet that your babies will be SO cute!"

Jake nodded. "Yeah, I hope that they will be Mom. I mean, they have me for their dad, and Rosie here for their mom, so shouldn't that be enough to make them cute?"

"Yeah, it should be Jake!" They all continued to talk about this for a while longer.

At this same time, Frank and Lyra were making their way over to Dakota and Joel.

As soon as he saw his big brother again, Joel immediately hugged him. "Frank!"

Frank hugged him back. "Hey Buddy. How are you?"

"I'm good. And I'm SO happy to see you again!"

"Me too Joel." He then looked over at Dakota. "Just as I'm also really glad to see you too Grandpa." He then went over to hug his grandpa.

"So am I Frank. 3 years with only being able to talk to you by phone for 1 of those years is WAY too long!"

"Yeah, but no more! Now that the portal is fully up and running, now we'll never have to deal with that problem again. Now I'll be able to come and see you, and you'll be able to come and see us."

Joel meanwhile was hugging Lyra. "Wow, you looked a little bit different on the video call Lyra. Now you look like a Human instead of a Unicorn!"

Lyra laughed a bit. "Yeah, I do Joel. It's all because of the portal. It changed me into a Human, just as it changed Frank back into one too!"

Dakota then looked over at her. "And I know that I'm a great-grandpa, and that you're 5 months along, but am I going to have a great-grandson, or a great-granddaughter?"

Lyra blushed a bit. "Well Grandpa Dakota, you're going to have 2 great-grandsons! Frank and I are having twin colts, or boys, take your pick. We've decided to name them James and Thunder."

"Thunder? Is that an Equestrian name?"

"Yes. It was the name of my grandfather, and now I pass it on to one of my sons."

Dakota nodded. "Yes, it's certainly a strong-sounding name. I like it!"

"And so do I!" Joel added. "I like it too!"

The 4 of them then talked about this while the last 2 families got to talk to their male family member, as well as his future wife.

Of course, once it was time for Jon and Derpy to meet his family, like always, because his family was so large, this was a VERY big affair, since Jon had his parents Brad and Lindsey, grandparents Ethan and Muriel, and his younger twin brother and sister Peyton and Bertha!

As soon as he saw them, Jon ran over and hugged his family. “Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Peyton, Bertha!”

They all hugged him back.

“I’m SO happy to see you again Jon.” Lindsey whispered. “The video call, plus the other phone calls were nice, but they just can’t replace the real thing. I’m SO glad that you guys got that portal working!”

“Me too Mom.”

“Wait, you don’t have any wolf or Pony parts! Where did your wolf and Pony parts go?!”

Jon looked over at her. “I don’t know Bertha. Scar was the first one to discover that once we step through the portal, we become fully Human again. However, once he stepped back through, he became a Human-wolf with wings again.”

“Will we get those parts if we step through the portal?”

“Eh, I actually doubt it Peyton. It only works for the 6 of us Marines, and of course any creatures from Equestria. And before you ask why, it’s because you were fully Human to start with, and they weren’t.” (Jon had to be VERY careful with how he worded his answer, as he STILL couldn’t reveal any information about Wolf Pack Battalion!)

Peyton however seemed to accept this answer. “Oh, well that’s good. I didn’t want to look like that anyway!”

“Oh, well ok then!” Jon then looked over at his dad and grandparents. “And how have you all been?”

Brad spoke first. “I’ve been good Jon. I’ve really been missing you though. It’s SO good to have you back!”

“Just as it’s good for us to have you back too.” Ethan added.

“It’s good to have you all back too.”

Muriel then looked over at Derpy. She was surprised to see that she was a Human, though she still had her blonde hair (formerly mane!) yellow eyes, and was wearing a gray sun dress with bubble patterns on the sides. “And how have you been with your pregnancy Miss Derpy?”

Derpy blushed a bit. “It’s been ok so far Grandma Muriel. And no doubt you also want to hear about what I’m going to have?”

Lindsey perked up when she heard that. “Yes, I for one have been VERY eagerly waiting for this!”

“As have I!” Bertha added. “I REALLY want to know if I’m having a niece or nephew!”

Derpy then giggled a bit. “Well, you don’t have to wait any longer. I’m now 7 months pregnant...............with triplets! Jon and I are having 3 sons, and we’re naming them Jon jr., Billy Hooves, and Graystone.”

When Jon’s family heard that, their jaws were on the floor! They were NOT expecting news like that!

“Wow, your Dad and I are getting 3 grandsons?!”

“3 nephews?!”

“3 great-grandsons?!”

Jon nodded. “Yeah, that’s the gist of it anyway. And I take it by those reactions that ALL of you are really excited by the news?”

“YES!!!” His family answered together.

They all then hugged Jon and Derpy, before talking about their triplets once again.

And last but not least, it was time for me and Gilda to see my Dad. Twilight discovered that she could still use her Magic to a limited degree on Earth, and she was using it to help Gilda and I hide our twins. They were in a carrying pack on Gilda’s back, and Twilight used her Magic to hide both them, and the pack.

Once we reached my Dad, I hugged him again, and for the first time, he also got to hug Gilda. “Wow, you REALLY don’t look like your profile picture Gilda”, My Dad joked. “I was expecting a Griffon!”

Gilda laughed at this. (Once I explained to her what the joke meant anyway!) She then looked down at herself. Sure enough, she was Human now. Her skin was rather pale, her hair was white with purple highlights, her eyes were yellow, and she was wearing jeans, low-heeled shoes, and a brown leather jacket with a white T-shirt underneath.

“Yeah, I guess that I don’t General Anderson!”

“You can just call me Stan Gilda. Or even Dad, since we are going to be family soon.”

“Ok, sure.”

My Dad then turned to me. “And I heard all of the other pregnancy announcements from the other 5 Marines and their mares, but what about you guys? Do you have a pregnancy announcement?”

I shook my head. “Nope. We don’t have one.”

My Dad frowned a bit. “Oh. I guess that you guys can’t have kids because of the whole ‘hybrids’ thing?”

Gilda then smirked ever so much. She was about to reveal her secret, but she got interrupted before she could.

“Oh, there you are Bro, I was looking for you!”

I then looked up, and I saw Shining. He was now Human, though his blue hair and blue eyes were the same. He was also wearing his old military field uniform, which was a mixture of purple and gold.

“Oh, hey Shining. And I’d like you to meet my Dad. Dad, this is Shining Armor, my best friend, and he rules the Crystal Empire with his wife Princess Cadence. Shining, this is my dad, Air Force Brigadier General Stan Anderson.”

Shining then shook hands with my Dad. “It’s nice to finally be able to meet you in person Sir. Scar’s told me a LOT about you!”

“Just as it’s nice to finally be able to meet the stallion, (or man at the current moment!) who fought beside my Son in the Last Zebra War.”

“Yes, I owe Scar my life. He helped save me from that Zebra Quarantine Camp in the Smoky Mountains, and we fought side by side through most of the remaining battles of the war.”

“Ahem!” Gilda suddenly interrupted.

Shining turned to her, only to realize that he had accidentally interrupted her just as she and I were about to show our kids to my Dad!

He winced a bit. “Oh, sorry Gilda! I’ll give you the spotlight again!”

“It was nice meeting you Shining.” My Dad told him. It’s nice to know that my Son has a friend like you.”

Just as it was nice to be able to meet you too Sir.”

My Dad then turned back to Gilda. “What were you going to say before he walked over Gilda?”

Gilda smirked a bit again. “Well, Ben and I were about to explain why we didn’t have a pregnancy announcement. As it turns out, there was no need for an announcement............since I already gave birth!”

Then, before my Dad could react, I signaled Twilight, and she dropped the illusion spell that she was using.

Gilda then turned to the side a bit, revealing the carrying pack on her back. “Dad, meet Ben and I’s twins, your grandchildren, Daylight and Glacier!”

When my Dad realized that we already were parents, and had been hiding it from him, he SLAMMED his hands over his mouth in shock! He looked like he was about to FAINT he was so shocked!

“Wha..........WHAT?!?! HOW DID...........?!?!?!”

Gilda laughed. “I actually got pregnant last February, just before the end of the war! I gave birth last November, and our twins are now 3 months old.”

My Dad then came closer, and he saw Daylight and Glacier better. They were both fully Human at the current moment, but they were not quite normal. Daylight had brown hair, but his eyes were yellow like Gilda’s. Glacier meanwhile had Gilda’s white hair, but my blue eyes. Both of them were also wearing matching outfits of blue shirts, and gray pants.

“Wow........they’re so........they’re so cute!”

I shifted a bit. “Eh, well, if you think that they look cute now, you should see what they REALLY look like! They’re the first of their kind, a sub-species that’s been dubbed ‘Lycan-Griff’, due to them having elements of a lion, an eagle, a Human, AND a wolf in them!” I then showed my Dad a picture of what the twins really looked like.

When he saw the picture, my Dad, like so many others, truly had no words. He had no idea what to say, however, he DID ask why we kept them hidden from him.

“Well, Gilda and I wanted to tell you, but yet we wanted to make it a surprise at the same time. That’s why Gilda was wearing a baggy tank-top, and was sitting down during the video call, so that she would be able to hide her baby-hump! This is also why we never made any pregnancy announcements, and why Gilda wasn’t present during the final tests last week; she had to take care of our twins!”

“Well, I can certainly say that I was VERY surprised! I STILL don’t know what to say about this!” My Dad then asked a very serious question though. “However, I do have to know, what is your current marital status?”

I sighed. “Well, Gilda and I are engaged, but we’re not married. Yes, Daylight and Glacier were born out of wedlock, but this will be rectified here shortly. We’re planning for a Spring wedding, and then our twins will be in wedlock.”

My Dad sighed. “Ok, just as long as your married here before too long. I want both of my grandchildren to be in wedlock.”

“I know Dad, and they will be soon.”

“And.......can I hold them?”

Gilda nodded. “Of course you can.”

My Dad then sat down on a nearby chair, and with my help, Gilda lifted Daylight and Glacier out of their carrying pack, and gently handed them to my Dad. Unlike what I was half-expecting, both Daylight and Glacier seemed to immediately sense that my Dad was family, and instead of crying, both of them seemed perfectly content to let him hold them.

“They’re........they’re perfect. I wish that Maggie was here to see this. She would be completely fawning all over both of them!”

I nodded. “Yeah, I know that Mom would be Dad. She would be so............so happy.” I then had to sit down too, as I didn’t want to start crying.

Eventually, Gilda did have to take the twins back, as it was time for her to feed them, and it was time for the rest of us to eat as well.

While we were eating, I did get the chance to talk to my Dad a little bit more.

“Have you gotten in contact with the Southern Pacific Railroad yet?”

He shook his head. “No, not yet. How’s that 3rd portal coming?”

“Well, the plans have been finalized, and while we have all of the parts for it, we haven’t built it yet. Coming home to see you and the rest of our families was the top priority.”

“I can understand that.”

“And has the SP calmed down any yet, or are they still going bonkers?”

My Dad sighed a bit. “Nope, they’re STILL going bonkers, though now it’s because of the Santa Fe’s great triumph.”

“Great triumph? Has Madam Queen returned to steam yet?”

My Dad nodded. “Yes, she has. Santa Fe 5000 has run again under her own power. She’s made 2 excursion trips so far, and she’s about to be put to work on the freight circuit. I haven’t heard anything more about this yet, though I have heard that the Santa Fe is looking for new crews for Madam Queen. Her current crews are getting close to retirement age, and they’re looking to pass the mantle on to the next generation.”

“Oh, well that’s good of them to do that. I hope that they get some takers here pretty soon.”

“Yeah, me too Ben.”

I then glanced around us. All of the other families were eating, and talking to each other, Twilight, Shining and Cadence were at their own table, and Gilda was sitting a little ways away from us feeding Daylight and Glacier. I could see that she was breastfeeding them, though she was covered by a modesty blanket. I then knew that the time was right to talk to my Dad about Wolf Pack Battalion, and what he knew about it. The 2 years were up, and now it was safe to talk about it with him.

“Hey Dad?”

“Yeah?”

“With me being out of it, and the 2 years having run out, I think that it’s time you and I talk about ‘WPB’, or more specifically, how much you really know about it, and how you know so much about it.”

My Dad sighed. I could tell that he knew that this conversation was coming, though I couldn’t get a feel for how he felt about it.

“What do you want to know?”

“How much do you know about it?”

“A lot. Granted, I don’t quite know everything, but I do know that they took you guys, gave you wolf DNA, made you into werewolf super-soldiers, and then unleashed you on the battlefield. Granted, I don’t know about your missions, or how exactly you were made, but I do know a lot about it, based on what I just told you. I also know that at the end of it, you all have your wolf DNA fully extracted, and once you're fully Human again, you’re given your paperwork from Hearthstone Battalion, aka the cover-story for Wolf Pack, and then you’re free to return to civilian life, provided of course that you don’t talk about something that doesn’t exist.”

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s pretty much the gist of it. And how do you know all of this? You’re Air Force, not Marines.”

“No, but I wasn’t left out of the briefings. Granted, I wasn’t present for all of the briefings, but I was present for at least 60% of them. Those behind Wolf Pack informed the President, the top-brass in the Department of Defense, FBI, and CIA, as well as those higher-ups who needed to be in the know in the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. I was one of the ones who needed to be in the know, so I was informed about Wolf Pack, and what they were created for. I had a hard time believing that all of it was real, but yet if I was being informed about such a project in a top-secret briefing, then there was no way that it was just a joke!”

I shook my head. “No, it’s no joke Dad. Wolf Pack is still out there somewhere. They’re still doing their duty to America, still in their werewolf forms, and still in the greatest of secrecy. They were before, and I hope that they continue to do so for a LONG time to come!”

“Me too.”

My Dad and I continued to talk about this for a while longer as we ate.

A little later that day, there was something that my Dad and I knew that we had to do, and we decided to take Gilda and the twins along too. It was something that my Dad and I hadn’t done in a long time, but it was something that we had to do.

Even though it was cloudy, and cold that February 10th, the 5 of us took a car from Wright Patterson AFB, drove to Dayton, and then drove out of town a little ways. Eventually, we arrived at a cemetery. After pulling in, we drove to a spot towards the back of the cemetery, and after parking, we began to walk to a spot close to a tree.

Finally, my Dad and I found what we were looking for. Close to a maple tree, there was a large bluish-gray stone with these words on it.

"Margaret ’Maggie’ Anderson.

B. April 23, 1976 D. September 8, 2005

Maggie was a loving wife and mother, taken before her time. She was a good woman, and God called her home early. Survived by her husband and son, she will be dearly missed."

When I read those words again, I felt very sad. My Dad felt the same way. It had been a long time since either of us had been here, but now that we were here again, we felt very sad.

“This..........this is where your Mom was buried?” Gilda asked me quietly.

I nodded. “Yes, she was buried here. It’s been almost 10 years since I was last here. The last time I was here was just before I was deployed with Wolf Pack for the first time. Then it was 8 years as a Marine, and 2 more in Equestria. Now I’m finally back again.”

I could tell that Gilda felt sad too, though she was better at not showing it. “And where’s........where’s your Grandpa buried?”

I pointed to a stone just behind my Mom’s. “Right there.”

Gilda then walked over to it. My Grandpa’s stone was a white marble, military-style stone with black letters.

“Major Thomas ‘Tommy’ Anderson, US Army, Baker Company. WWII Veteran.

B. August 12th, 1918 D. May 4th, 2017.

Major Anderson was one of the few men who survived Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6th, 1944. He stormed Omaha Beach with the rest of his company, and managed to survive the day. He helped with the Liberation of France, and fought in Holland, Belgium, and Germany. Retired from the Army as a Major in 1948. May his courage and sacrifice never be forgotten.”

“Wow, your Grandpa was an amazing man Stud. I wish that I got to meet him before he passed.”

“Me too Gilda. I know that he would have LOVED to have met you though. He was such an amazing guy.”

“I wish that I could have met your Mom too.”

“I DEFINITELY know that she would have loved you too Gilda. My Mom loved just about everybody, and she loved me, my Dad, and my Grandpa Tommy the most. I miss them so much.” I leaned on my Mom’s grave ever so much, and began to cry a bit.

I felt my Dad’s hand on my shoulder, and I could tell that he was almost crying too. A moment or so later, I felt Gilda pull me into a hug.

“Shh, it’s ok Babe. I know that you miss your Mom and Grandpa, but I also know that you’ll see them again one day. As both you and your dad have said before, they’re both looking down from Heaven right now, and couldn’t be prouder of you. I know that they miss you too, and can’t wait to see you again either.”

I then hugged Gilda back. I didn’t say anything, but Gilda could tell that I was glad that she was there to comfort me. We spent a little bit longer at the cemetery, though we did have to leave eventually to get back to Wright-Patterson to rejoin the rest of the group.

After a day or so of being back on Earth, it was decided to bring our families with us back to Equestria for another day or so. That way they could see where and how we all lived, as well as the actual sites from the Last Zebra War. Princess Celestia had given her approval for this, as had Shining and Cadence, (which was important, since the portal was located within the boundaries of the Crystal Empire!) and the families were to be given space to live in the Crystal Castle for the time that they stayed in Equestria.

Once everyone was ready again, we all lined up, and walked back through the portal. Sure enough, once we Human-wolves stepped back through, we regained our wolf features, as well as our wings, horns, or super-Human strength. Our mates turned back into Ponies, as did Shining, Twilight and Cadence, Gilda became a Griffon again, and Daylight and Glacier became Lycan-Griffs again.

Once we arrived back where we started from, my Dad look around the room. "Wow, so this is the basement lab where you guys built the portal?"

I nodded. "Yeah, at least, this is the main one. A few components were tested in labs nearby, and in the room next door to this one is where all of the radio equipment that we used to communicate with you the first time is."

"And what basement are we in right now?"

"We're in the basement of the Crystal Castle, which is the centerpiece of the Crystal Empire, which is the northernmost territory in all of Equestria. It's ruled over by Princess Cadence, and Prince Shining Armor."

My Dad nodded, and as we were all walking upstairs to the main levels of the castle, my Dad looked over at Gilda.

"Well, it's nice to see you looking like your old self again Gilda. You wouldn't happened to have seen a Human girl with white hair and yellow eyes around here, would you?"

Gilda turned to him annoyed, but she did smirk. "No, I have no idea where she might be. Have you checked the portal to Earth?"

My Dad laughed at this a bit, and once we were up on the main level, while the other families began to fan out and look around, my Dad finally got to see Daylight and Glacier in their true forms.

"Wow. They're so............so...........unique. What do you call them again?"

"Gilda and I decided to call them 'Lycan-Griffs'. They're part Human, part wolf, part eagle, and part lion. Quite literally 4 creatures in 1!"

"And............how is that even remotely possible again?"

Both Gilda and I shot my Dad a "Really Bruh?" look, and we ended up answering at the exact same time. "You're REALLY asking us that?"

"It's all YOUR FAULT for not wearing a condom!" Gilda spat at me.

"YOU didn't use birth control Gilda!" I shot back.

"That shouldn't have been a problem. We're 2 COMPLETELY incompatible species Scar; there should be NO WAY that Daylight and Glacier even exist!"

I sighed, and put a hand over my face. "Yeah, but they do, and no one, not even Twilight or the other Princesses are ANY closer to figuring out why they do, or even how the heck they were conceived in the first place!"

My Dad could tell that both of us were still at each other's throats over how Daylight and Glacier came to be, so he decided to change the subject.

"Not to get too far off topic, but where's the Daylight Freight and Shipping Company building located at? I'd really like to see that."

I looked at him. "It's only about a few blocks from here. We can stop there on the way to our house, assuming of course that you want to see our house."

"Of course I do."

"Ok then, follow me." I then began to lead the way from the Crystal Castle over to the Daylight Freight and Shipping Company.

When we arrived there a few minutes later, I could see that some of the other families were looking around too.

"Wow, so this is it?"

I nodded. "Yep, this is it. We started this company when we first arrived here, and up until recently, all 6 of us, plus our mates, all lived here too."

"And how did you do that?"

"Well, on the ground floor is the main freight warehouse, though off to the side of it is a small kitchen, sitting area, and a bathroom, and the sleeping quarters are upstairs. This whole building, plus the engine house behind it, survived the entire Zebra occupation with very few scars to show for it." I then explained a bit more about how that happened, including the Night of Fear.

All while I was talking, Gilda was looking at the ground. It was clear that she was in shock from the memory of the whole affair, especially from the Night of Fear.

Once I finished my explanation, my Dad looked up at me. "Wow.........that's..........I don't even know what to say right now Ben. To have lived through all of that.........I mean, you weren't here at the depot when it was raided, but the others who were............"

"It was the scariest few minutes of my entire life up to that point." Gilda said softly. "The Zebras came, ripped the place apart, stole all of our clothes, and anything else made out of fabric, and then left again. For those few minutes, none of us knew if we were going to live or die, or if we were going to be taken away."

Gilda then began to cry a bit, and I sat down next to her to comfort her. She hugged me, and leaned her head against my shoulder. I gently nuzzled the top of her head, and calmly reassured her that everything was ok. My Dad was still looking around the freight depot in quiet awe. There was still some damage, as well as other signs of the Last Zebra War, and it just seemed so surreal to him, and to the rest of the families as well. He still could barely fathom the beginning of the Zebra conquest of Equestria; from when they first arrived, leading up to the Night of Fear, much less the immediate aftermath of that night. We all survived it somehow, and that just made it that much more seemingly unbelievable. However, there was hard evidence that it really did happen, which meant that we weren't crazy, and really did survive what we said that we did.

"Thank God that you 6, and your mates, were able to turn the tide before this got out of control." He finally said softly. "6 retired US Marines, 5 mares and 1 Griffon, working out of a freight depot with SP Daylight 4449, united 2 resistance groups, turned them into a VERY effective fighting unit, and began to take back Equestria from the Zebras. It all seems so fantastic, but it's all true!"

I nodded. "Yeah. But if you think that this freight depot is cool, just wait until you see our house. I have plenty of other war-trophies in there from the battlefield."

We all looked around for a little bit longer, and then we all moved on to our house.

When we arrived, it was time for Daylight and Glacier's naps. After feeding and changing them one more time, Gilda quietly went upstairs to put them in their crib. While she was doing that, I showed my Dad the downstairs of our house.

"I bought this house towards the end of Gilda's pregnancy. We both live here, as does Gilda's little sister Gabby. She's out with her friend right now though, otherwise I would call her in to meet you. You'll love her when you do meet her though, she's such a sweet girl."

"She sounds like it. And was she here during the war?"

I shook my head. "No, she was still living in Griffonstone with her and Gilda's grandpa, Grampa Gruff. After the war, and once we had this house, we invited her to come and live with us, and she accepted. It was a little bit of an adjustment for her, but she's adapted quite well."

My Dad was looking at a few pictures of the 3 of us on a nearby wall. "From the looks of these pictures, it sure sounds like it. It also looks like Gabby is SO happy to be an aunt."

"She is. She's the PERFECT auntie to Daylight and Glacier, and they seem to love her just as much as she loves them."

After looking at the pictures, I then showed my Dad the room where I kept my war trophies. Inside were Zebra weapons, a few cloaks, and even a number of hides, tails, hooves, and even a few heads mounted to the wall!

"Wow, you guys were REALLY not playing around with the Last Zebra War!"

I laughed dryly. "No, no we weren't! We DEFINITELY played for keeps!"

My Dad then noticed a glass case that contained a black armored suit of some sort. The suit was bristling with guns and other weapons, and looked quite dangerous. "Whoa! What is this thing?"

I smiled. "This is called a 'Terror Suit'. Only 5 of them were ever made, and this is the only one still operating today. They were designed to turn a single soldier into a one-man army, and from my time of using it in combat, first for the raid on Canterlot, and then later for the Battle of Canterlot, I can tell you that that description is MORE than accurate! I killed more Zebras with this suit than I EVER did without it!"

"And how did it get here?"

"Well, after the war ended, I cleaned it up just enough, and it used to be on display at the freight depot, but once we had this house, I moved it over here to my trophy room. Sure, its weapons are unloaded, and it lacks a power cell, but if it had those, then it could easily be brought back online again. I keep it in serviceable condition just in case some other group tries to invade Equestria. Then THEY can meet the Terror Suit!"

My Dad laughed at this a bit, and he and I kept looking around the trophy room for a little while longer.

For 2 days more the families stayed with us in Equestria, but all too soon, they had to head back home again. We all promised to be in touch thanks to the fax-machine phones, and we promised to visit them, just as they promised to visit us. The families were SO glad to have gotten to see how we lived in Equestria, just as we were really glad to have been able to head back to Earth for a brief time. They were happy, we were happy, there was just one group that wasn't happy; the Southern Pacific Railroad.

For 3 years now, 4449 had been missing without a trace, and they were PISSED! Now the Santa Fe Railroad had brought back Madam Queen, aka Santa Fe 5000, and they were threatening to overshadow the SP forevermore. We REALLY wanted to apologize to our old bosses, as well as give them back 4449, but first things first, we had to get into contact with them again, and we already knew that THAT was going to he a HUGE battle in and of itself!

Thanks to my Dad, Rick, Jake, Frank, Evan, Jon and I were finally able to talk to our old bosses at the SP Railroad again via Skype. We already knew that we were in for a REALLY tough conversation, but what we were NOT prepared for was the conversation when it came.

Imagine the shock of the SP Railroad’s Steam Division when they suddenly received a call from General Stan Anderson of the USAF out at Wright-Patterson AFB. And THEN imagine their shock when he reveals that not only are the 6 of us still alive, but that we also have 4449 with us, she’s completely intact, (he failed to mention her service in the Last Zebra War!), and most importantly, we did NOT steal her, but were instead blasted into another dimension via lightning striking a set of lay-lines that were underneath the train tracks on top of Sherman Hill. We were fully ready and willing to give her back to the SP, once we had all of the wrinkles ironed out anyway.

“So, all 6 of you, plus the Daylight, are indeed ok?” Our old boss Andrew Pike asked me.

“Yes Sir, we are. All 6 of us, plus the Daylight, are ok. We have been using her on a regular basis for the past 2 years, but we’ve cared for her every step of the way.”

“That’s nice to hear. We’ve REALLY been on the rocks without her. I mean, the Norfolk and Western has 611, and are currently trying to restore 1218, Union Pacific has 844, 3985, 4014, and NOW they’ve reacquired, and are trying to restore Challenger 3977, and of course, those down at the Santa Fe have brought Santa Fe 5000, aka Madam Queen, back to full working order, and have been using her ever since. Yes, they are in need of new crew, but that doesn’t cover the fact that we lost 4449, AND in the way that we did!”

I winced. "And what happened after we disappeared? We never heard about it."

Pike sighed. "It was pretty bad. At first, we all thought that you boys were just delayed in getting back from the maintenance run due to the weather, and we kept trying to contact you, but we never received any replies. We then began to hear rumors from train-spotters up on Sherman Hill that you all just up and disappeared following a lightning strike. We dismissed these rumors, until you all were not found."

"And......did you think that we stole the train?"

Pike shook his head. "No, at least, I didn't. I knew that you 6 were good men, plus, how would you steal a train that's THAT recognizable, and get away with it? I didn't know what happened, but others were DEMANDING that we find 4449, and do so at once! We kept looking, but we weren't finding anything. Around this same time, the press began to catch wind that something big was happening. We told the public that 4449 was down for extensive boiler and firebox maintenance, but somehow they found out that we were lying, and called us out on it."

"And that's where the public relations nightmare started?"

"Yes. People were DEMANDING to know where 4449 was, just as our financial backers, not to mention that museum in Oregon where 4449 is kept were also demanding to know. We kept telling them that she vanished without a trace, and they of course all told us that that was impossible. It kept getting worse as time went on, and of course, the Santa Fe took FULL advantage of this. Union Pacific was kind enough to keep quiet about it, same with the N&W, but not them."

"They started flaunting Madam Queen?"

"Yes! At least, to a large degree. They were ALWAYS using the disappearance of 4449 to make us look bad, and they kept the public up to date with each and every new thing that they did with Madam Queen while she was being restored. Finally, earlier this year, Madam Queen ran again, and has been put on the SF freight circuit. The only silver lining is the fact that they need new crew for her, since the guys who work with her now are getting older, and they need to start training the younger generation."

I sighed. "Yeah, that must have been pretty hard for you, and for the others who were backing you, not to mention the fans of 4449. However, your worries are over. We have the train with us here in Equestria, though that leaves 2 VERY critical challenges to overcome; how to get the train back home, and how to cover up this INSANE PR nightmare!"

Pike agreed. "Yes, both of those are serious challenges alright. Do you have any ideas for them?"

I talked with Rick and the others for a minute or so. "Well, we are in the process of building a portal large enough to get 4449 home, and after talking to the guys, we just got a REALLY great idea that no only will cover your PR disaster, but it will also steal the spotlight from Madam Queen, and keep the public focused on the SP, and 4449 for a good long while!"

Pike was surprised. "Ok, you have my interest. What are you guys have in mind?"

I then smirked, and explained what we had in mind for this.

When Pike heard our plan, he was STUNNED. It was a bold, and VERY daring plan, but if it worked, and the chances of that happening were more than good, it would COMPLETELY reverse the damage, and cover the nightmare!

"But yet, therein lies another problem Ben. While you need 4449 for our freight company, we need her just as much. How do we cross this impasse?"

I thought for a second. "Well", I said at last, "We might be able to compromise. What if the SP Railroad acquired another steam engine, one that's not very well known, and you gave it to us to restore, while you pretend to restore it on your end? Then, once we're done, we rotate the engines back and forth between us. That way the public doesn't become too suspicious, we both get 4449, and we get a new engine to use as well."

Pike was stunned. "Yes. Yes, that just might work! However, what steam engine would that be?"

"Well, what about an engine like C&O 1601?"

"Wait. Was that that engine that survived that flood on November 4th, 1985 at that railroad museum in Roanoke, VA?"

"No, that was 1601's sister, C&O 1604. Very few people know about 1601 aside from a few railroad enthusiasts, and I don't think that anyone would really notice or care if she was withdrawn from display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI for 'restoration'. Sure, she really will be restored, but in a different world!"

Pike thought about that, and quickly told me to tell the others. Once we'd discussed it, we in turn got in touch with Cadence and Shining, who also informed Princess Celestia. After talking to Luna, Celestia gave her answer to Cadence and Shining, who in turn informed us, and then I told Pike.

"After talking it over with the Princesses and Prince Mr. Pike, I'm pleased to inform you that not only would we be willing to take 1601, but we'd also be able to cover the costs of buying her, as well as fully restoring her. We'd just need to go over the fine points, not to mention the red tape, and other agreements between Equestria, the SP Railroad, and of course, the current owners of 1601, the Henry Ford Museum, though they won't know about Equestria."

Pike agreed, and he and the Princesses, as well as Shining, not to mention other officers of the SP Railroad, spent the rest of that day hammering out details, putting together agreements, and working out the fine points of how this sort of "railroad exchange program" was going to work. Then Pike and the officers of the SP spent the next few days working out a deal to acquire 1601, and then arrange for transporting her by rail to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where she would be temporarily kept while being prepared for the final leg of her trip to Equestria.

At this same time, the 6 of us, plus Twilight, and a number of other technicians got to work on putting together our Railroad Portal, and then testing it. It didn't take nearly as long as it did the first time with the portal to Earth, though it did take a while. Finally, on April 5th, 2026, after almost 2 months of solid work and testing, we were finally ready. The next day, April 6th, we put our plan to save the SP Railroad from its public relations disaster into effect.

That day, April 6th, 2026, was a bit of an overcast day in Wyoming. There were some chances of rain, but a few train-spotters were at their posts on Sherman Hill, waiting to see the trains that came by. Big Boy 4014 came by on one of her excursion trips at Noon, and the next train wasn't due for a bit. However, as they watched, some of their electronics equipment began to go crazy.

"Huh? What the heck? What's going on?"

Suddenly, there came a flash of bright blue light, and then a train appeared out of nowhere! It was bright red and orange with a black boiler, and it came pulling a long line of coaches that were also red and orange, and had black roofs. The train blew its whistle as it raced past them, and on down the other side of Sherman Hill.

"WHAT?!?!?! 4449?!?!?!"

"BUT THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!!! SHE WENT MISSING!!!!"

"Well, it looks like she's back now!"

The train-spotters then got into their cars, and all raced after 4449. Sure enough, the train pulled into a station in Cheyenne, and came to a complete stop. 6 crewmembers disembarked, and were going about filling up their engine's tender with more water and oil. (We discovered during portal testing that once 4449 returned to Earth, she would reconfigure herself to burn oil instead of coal). The 6 were going about their business, almost as if nothing was wrong.

When they were surrounded by reporters, railroad staff, and steam-enthusiasts, the 6 crew were "shocked" to find out that they'd been missing without a trace for 3 years! It was now April 6th, 2026, and NOT April 6th, 2023! The crew "couldn't believe it". 3 years had gone by since they went up Sherman Hill on a maintenance run?! How had that happened?! When asked, the crew insisted that they had no idea what happened.

"I don't know!" I told the reporters. "We were racing up Sherman Hill in the midst of that rainstorm, and then all of a sudden, we saw a BLINDING flash of white light! Moments later, the flash was gone, and we were going down the other side of the hill. Nothing seemed to be different, though we were glad that the rain stopped. We had no idea that 3 years had passed since we'd gone up the hill, at least until all of you just suddenly surrounded us!"

Rick, Jake, Frank, Evan and Jon told similar stories. None of us "had any idea" that any time had passed. The press was having a field-day with this. Stories of time-travel, wormholes, and even alien abduction were quickly hitting the news, and just like we'd hoped, ALL attention was on the Southern Pacific and 4449, and NOT Madam Queen for once! Some were pretty upset about this, though many were glad to know that 4449 was still ok.

After the investigations, the official explanation for the disappearance was the appearance of a mysterious anomaly caused by lightning when it struck the lay-lines that existed under the tracks at the top of Sherman Hill. This anomaly swallowed the train and its crew whole, and then spit them out 3 years into the future. The trip was instantaneous for us, but 3 years for the rest of the world. Many accepted this answer, though many more were demanding to know more about the lay-lines, and the anomaly. Some questions were answered over time, but the whole affair largely sunk into "Conspiracy Theory" territory.

Some still insisted that it was aliens, while others said that it was another version of the "Philadelphia Experiment", or some other new aspect of "Project Rainbow". Others said that Sherman Hill was cursed, and that only trains from the Union Pacific Railroad could use it.

"Sherman Hill is cursed! If ANY other train not from the UP tries to use it, they'll disappear too!" No one really bought this story, but the media ran with it to make fun of it. Some thought that it would die out, but the "Curse of Sherman Hill", as it soon came to be known, is still a talking point in railroad lore, even to this day. The story was "proven true" in March of 2028, but that's another story..............

At the same time 4449 reappeared on Earth, another story hit the news. C&O 1601 had been acquired by the SP Railroad, and was going to be taken away for restoration. The story hardly caused a splash, though some were glad that the proud 2-6-6-6 Allegheny was going to be given new life. It did take a while to get her out of the museum, but once she was, she was hooked up behind another train, a Southern Pacific one, and began her journey; first south to Kansas City, and then West to Cheyenne.

At this same time in Cheyenne, people were STILL all over 4449 and her crew, and no one really noticed when 1601 and her train rolled into town. A few did, and they clapped and cheered for the Allegheny, but most were still so focused on 4449. The engine was taken to a yard close to the Cheyenne Roundhouse, and was left there for the time being. A few people came to see her, and take pictures of her, as few had ever seen a 2-6-6-6 locomotive before, though some did wonder why the SP Railroad was restoring her, and not the C&O, or another railroad in the East. The official answer was that it was a business agreement between the Henry Ford Museum and the SP Railroad, though there weren't really any details on what the agreement was, due to a business confidentiality policy.

However, later that night, at almost 3am, a diesel locomotive came to 1601, and after hooking up to her, began to tow her away from the yard. The locomotive was taken outside of Cheyenne, and out on a side track, in the dead of night, the mouth of a portal appeared in front of the train. A few Humans with oddly colored hair and eyes appeared from out of the portal, and guided the driver of the diesel as he pushed 1601 through the portal. Then, once the train was through, the diesel was unhooked from 1601, 1601 was then grabbed from the front by 2 Equestrian locomotives, the odd "Humans" thanked the engineer for bringing 1601, he said that they were welcome, and he then left. The "Humans" then walked back through the portal themselves, and it quickly closed behind them. 1601 was now no longer on Earth, though it would return sometime in the near future.

After she arrived in Equestria, 1601 was moved to the steam shops in Fillydelphia, where she was to undergo her restoration. Her restoration was scheduled to take maybe 2 years, and this was due to the Ponies being able to use Magic to help speed up the process of her restoration. Like what had been done previously with engines like Big Boy 4014, 1601 had to be almost fully taken apart, cleaned, have a number of her parts replaced, her boiler and firebox redone, given a few upgrades, such as modern radio, and then put FULLY back together again. This entire process was slated to take 2 years, and sure enough, by Summer of 2028, 1601 rolled out of the steam shops in Fillydelphia a brand new engine! She looked just as good as the day that she was made, and the rest of Equestria was pleased with the result as well.

When those of us from the Daylight Freight and Shipping company saw the Allegheny locomotive that we would be working with when we didn't have 4449, we were just as proud.

"Wow, she looks AMAZING!"

"Yeah, no kidding Evan. She looks brand new!"

"The boys over there in Filly did such an amazing job of restoring her."

"And thanks to that, she looks just as good today as she did when she was first put into service."

Rick then turned to Jake and I. "And what do you guys think? Do you think that you can drive 1601 when you don't have 4449?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that we can."

"Well, I'll have to relearn how to be a fireman on a coal-fired locomotive like 1601, but I don't think that that'll be too hard. Yeah, I think that it can be done."

We all talked about this for a little while longer, before heading back home for the day.

Later that night, I was lying in bed with Gilda. Our now 2 year old twins Glacier and Daylight were lying in their crib in their nursery next door, within easy walking distance if they started crying. Gilda had her arms wrapped around me, and she was sighing contentedly.

"So peaceful for once Stud. Hopefully they'll sleep through the night this time."

"Who, Daylight and Glacier, or Aubrey and Emerald?"

She looked at me. "Our twins that are in the world Stupid!"

I winced a bit, but yet, I had been asking for it. Now that we were finally married, Gilda had gotten pregnant once again. This time we were having twin daughters, though although we knew that they were going to be Lycan-Griffs like their brother and sister Daylight and Glacier, we weren't sure what they were going to look like until they were born. Gilda was now about 5 months along in her pregnancy, and it was just like before; she was moody a lot, she had to pee a lot, she had weird food cravings, her ankles felt like rubber, and she was being kicked a lot too.

"Ngh, Stud?"

"Yeah Babe?"

"Could you.............maybe rub my ankles a bit, as well as my paws? They feel REALLY worn out."

I nodded. "Sure." I then got up, and after walking around to Gilda's side of the bed, she pulled back the covers, revealing her nude, pregnant Griffon body. I then smiled a bit, before sitting close to the foot of the bed, grabbing her left paw, and beginning to massage it gently. I still found it a bit unusual that Gilda had the body of a lion, but I loved massaging her paws. Her paw-pads were SO fun to play with, though I did have to watch out for her claws, since she could bring them out and retract them at will!

"How does that feel Babe?"

"Mmmm......so good." I heard her mutter. "You take such good care of me Stud. Thanks."

"You're welcome Gilda. You are my wife after all. It's my job to please you." I then began to massage her right paw. I played with her paw pads for a bit, which did get a few giggles out of Gilda, before I finished, climbed back up into the bed, and pulled the covers over our nude bodies again. I then held my wife of 2 years, and my mate for almost 5 years close to me, and she held me back.

As I lay there, gently rubbing Gilda's pregnant belly, I heard a sound that was so rare for Gilda to make. She was purring! Griffons are capable of purring, (due to the lion in them) though it's pretty rare to hear one purr. I hadn't heard Gilda purr in so long.

"Aww, are you purring Gilda?"

She looked at me. "ONLY because you make me feel so relaxed and content Stud! I ONLY purr when I'm around you. It's not easy for us to purr, since we are only about half-lion, but we still can. It just shows you how much I love you."

I blushed a bit. "Aww, thanks Gilda. I love you too." I then leaned in, and after Gilda opened her beak, we both mixed our tongues for a passionate kiss.

"I love you Stud. So, so much. I NEVER want to live without you!"

"I know, and I love you too Gilda, more than you can POSSIBLY imagine! I never want to live without you either."

We both then continued to lay there in each other's arms, slowly falling asleep. We had our arms and legs wrapped around each other, and we had our wings wrapped around each other as well. Heck, we even had our TAILS intertwined too! How much more perfect can it get than that? I'll tell you, it CAN'T!

Author's Note

And, that was Chapter 6 Part 2.

I'm SO sorry that this took SO LONG to get out, but it was a LOT harder to write than I thought that it was going to be! There were a LOT of characters to write scenes for, a LOT of scenes had to happen, and there was SO MUCH to pack into this chapter! This is on top of my job, not to mention writer's block, and me just not quite knowing what to write. However, I got it done, though I didn't do it alone.

I would like to once again extend my thanks to my good friend Terry the Human. He was the one who helped me brainstorm this chapter, and once I had a handful of scenes complete, I would send them to him to look at. He'd then tell me what he thought of them, and then we'd brainstorm some more for the next few scenes, before I wrote them. It took a VERY long time, almost a month to be exact, but I got it done, and what you just read was the final result!

Thank you SO MUCH for sticking with this story while I hammered out this chapter, which was the last one. Now all that remains to do is tie everything up in the brand-new Epilogue, and then everything will be done, and "Fear from the Rails" will FINALLY be considered overhauled! It was an INCREDIBLE journey that we've taken together with this story. From the now non-canon "Original Timeline", to the brand new "New-Timeline", with all of the new things that I packed into it to give you all the story that you deserved.

In the meantime, as always, comments, feedback, questions, as well as spreading the word about this story are always appreciated, and I'll see you all again one last time for the new Epilogue!

ScarFox out for now!