My final day in Equestria was quite… interesting to say the least. After the confrontation with Plume and the rescue of the Princesses, I had been given a chance to finally rest. I was first housed in the hospital medical ward of Canterlot castle, where I met Twilight’s brother, Shinning Armour.
He was a really nice guy, severely bruised and battered, yet he still found the strength to welcome me to Equestria. He knew who I was from stories told by Twilight upon her return from Earth almost three years ago, saying that I was not like what he was expecting.
Unlike most of the ponies I had met, Shinning seemed to hold me in very high regard. Thanking me at almost every turn for having protected his younger sister. When he met Mark and Jack, his reaction was no different, praising them for all that they had done and personally thanking Jack for his help with treating his wounds.

My time in the hospital wasn’t just spent alone or with Shinning. Twilight had refused to leave my side the entire time as I laid in that bed to rest my drowsiness. It wasn’t until late in the evening that I got to finally meet all the others once more. Rainbow Dash, Apple Jack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy had come by to say their thanks. I even got to finally meet Spike the Dragon. The real one this time, not Chrysalis in disguise. He was an amazing little fella, adorably kind and very protective of his adoptive older sister, Twilight.
He had pointed at me a few times with a serious look and pointing back to his eyes in a very familiar gesture. He was clearly sceptical of me as of me as Twilight’s saviour, though he did warm up a little when Twilight asked him to do it for her. Trust issues might be quite frequent with the end of Plume’s reign, though hopefully Twilight could get him to loosen up one day.

Twilight’s parents had been another matter entirely however. Never before had I had to meet the family of the girlfriend before. Mostly because I never had a girlfriend before Twilight. Now suddenly I found myself almost incapable to even look them straight in the eye. It wasn’t until the conversation finally got going that any fears I had completely washed away. In fact, I began to feel some regret. They were not talking to me the way I had expected. The conversation always revolved around how great of a hero me and my friends were. They made me feel small, despite holding me up in such high regard.
Twilight Velvet almost strangled me to a choking point with hug so strong that Twilight had to pry her off of me.

Lastly the Doctor, Discord and the five girls all arrived to check in on me and the others for a little while. Very few words were said, neither of them having much to add to this happy reunion. Honestly, I was just glad that everyone was safe and relatively unharmed.

There was one absentee however.

“Where’s Chrysalis?” My question was answered by the same folding of ears to the backs of most ponies heads. Jack was the one to explain what had happened. As I had felt deep down, the queen had fled after Twilight and I had confronted Plume. With a couple of her still loyal drones, she took off and had not been seen since.

While my wartime experience had kinda prepared me mentally for this, I was still somewhat saddened by her leaving. Whether I believed that she was a good person or that she truly was a victim of this situation, I felt slightly ashamed for not having been more accommodating with her.

I hoped that she was well and, should she return, that she would be an ally and not an enemy.

Despite the news of Chrysalis, I chose to just rest easy for the time being. While the others were all asking questions about what had happened after I dragged Plume through the gateway, I explained to them that no matter what had happened, it was over. While that wasn’t enough for most of them, Mark and Jack got the idea and understood that I was just way too exhausted to even try to explain what I had done. Quite honestly, I wasn’t that tired, just really mentally exhausted. My body ached and my head hurt from time to time. Twilight had explained that it most likely came from using too much magic all in one go.

As the evening drew closer, the crowd at the end of my bed began to disperse. Doctors came and went and after about five hours, I was given the all clear. While they wanted to keep me over night, I was told that I could move about a bit if necessary.

I went for it! Taking shaky steps as I desperately needed to pee. Twilight had offered to accompany me, and blushed when Mark burst out laughing.

I was quite thankful for not being kept in a ward but in small individual hospital rooms with another pony. Going to the bathroom as an Equine was still as hard and as strange as it was when we first arrived. I was thankful that no one was there to see me almost face plant the shitter.

It was only as I was leaving the restroom that I passed a mirror above the sink. I got to take in my appearance once again. Golden eyes peering deep into my soul, seemingly filled with a spark that I had yet to see for a long while. My grey fur had been groomed, though would require a proper wash before I could call it perfect. What caught my attention however was my mane and tail. Long and golden, now highlighted with a few flecks of violet meshes running straight down. Only a dozen or so strands, but I was sure they had not been there before, though maybe one of the others had done something? Rarity did say that I could use some mane treatment during our time at the Everfree castle.

“I don’t think Rarity did anything though you might be able to ask her later before she catches the train with the others back to Ponyville!” Twilight suggested.

“Nah I won’t bother her with that. You’re going with them?” I asked her as she escorted me through the hospital halls back to my room.

“No.” She sighed, looking ahead, blowing a few strands of mane from her eyes. “I’m here to help the Princesses with the peace negotiations.”

“Is that what they’ve been dealing with today?” Moving towards my bedroom door, Twilight was prepared to answer me, only to stop as she noticed who was talking with the room’s occupants.

“… we shall handle most of the negotiations, though I would really appreciate your presence if you feel up to it. There are no obligations here, though I have a feeling that your presence may help deal with any tensions that may arise.” Celestia stood by my bed, talking to my friends who were both contemplating what the white alicorn with the etherial mane had just said.

“I’m not sure that we can help you, your highness. Technically, Lou is our commanding officer here, it might be best to check it out with him.” Mark said as he turned his attention from me, back to Celestia. The white pony turned to face me, a smile adorned on her features as she observed Twilight and I.

“Mister Conlin! I’m thankful for your return so soon. Could you perhaps spare me and my sister a moment?” Moving over to my bed, I looked at her and prepared to rest myself and talk this through before she adding:
“In private.”

“Sure” The only response I could blurt out in the typical manner that tended to get me into trouble. Especially on Guadalcanal.

It was rather taxing to walk all throughout the castle, following Celestia at her side, flanked by two guards and Twilight. In private had not excluded Twilight from the conversation and she was rather eager to hear what was going on. As a princess, she was a ruler and as my “special somepony”, that gave her a pass on hearing what was being asked of me and the others.
“You appear to be looking better.” Celestia said after we left the medical wing. Moving throughout the halls, softly illuminated by torch light, hanging from braziers on the wall.

“Your… staff were very accommodating.”

“I trust that they were. I do hope that being with prince Shinning Armour isn’t going to cause you to much trouble.” She nodded, turning to the left and making our way along large stained glass windows that overlooked some gardens.
“I also trust that your new accommodation will be to your liking. I have had the castle staff preparing your suite for you and your comrades.” I stopped in my tracks and both Twilight and Celestia turned with confused expressions.

“With all due respect ma’am. My friends and I were rather looking forward to going home.” Twilight’s head dropped at that, I felt bad, but I had been telling her that all this was going to have to wait for a while.

“You know of a way back?” Celestia asked, brow raised in surprise.

“Yeah… there’s a gateway under the waterfall in the forest. I was going to send--” I stopped when a figure approached from down the hall. Tall and dark, easily a head higher than me though still smaller than Celestia, princess Luna made her first appearance. She approached in silence, not uttering a word as the came to a stop and observed me.

“Mister Conlin, this is my sister, Luna. Ruler of the night and guardian of the dream realm.” Luna just stared at me before holding out a hoof to me. Unsure of how to grasp it, I put my paw to the side and prepared to shake.
“Luna, this is Louis Conlin, the leader of the human trio.” My brow raised at that, she had known that me and the others were human? Maybe the others had told them.

“It is a pleasure, young Fire Fly.” Luna shook my paw. Her voice was quite different to that of her sister. Unlike what I had expected, Luna seemed far more… posh and upper class than her older sister at the time. The moment she spoke the name that Squire and Galaxia had given me, I understood just who she was.

Squire had spoken of Luna, though I had yet to meet until now, he had made me understand that Luna was very important to the dream realm. A guardian, as Celestia had introduced, but the bringer of sweet dreams is what Squire normally refers to her as.
“The pleasure is mine your highness.”

“Fire Fly?” Celestia asked, looking between me and the lunar princess.

“It is the name that Harmony has bestowed upon him.” Luna replied, shrugging her wings. “I do believe that many of the Thestrals will also be calling him by that name. Though I am hopeful that it is to your liking?” She asked and I nodded slowly. While I wasn’t against the name, I was still Lou Conlin. And I ain’t changin’ it!
“It has been a long while since my eyes have seen imperial alicorns. This has Galaxia’s hoof prints all over it.”
“Imperial alicorns are a product of Galaxia?” Twilight finally spoke up, looking between me and the princesses.

“Neigh, they are a product of interdimensional travel. Our realm tends to have strange side effects on those crossing the veil. Imperials are those that are deemed chosen by Galaxia back during her reign. Many races were taken, from simple creatures bestowed with intelligence. To Krigelians from across the stars.” Luna explained looking down at Twilight and gave her a smile.
“We have had humans come here before, but most likely not from the same realm as our guests.” She continued, gesturing to me with a hoof as she gave me an approving smile.
“I do believing that you were explaining something to my sister and her protégée, please continue.”

“Uhm… yeah, my friends and I were hoping to get going by early morning. But I think I can hear a request on all of your lips.” I explained, looking at them expectantly. There was a short moment of silence as both Celestia and Luna shared a look before gesturing me to a door that was situated in the wall facing the garden windows. With a golden shimmer, the door swung open.

The room was an office space, lavishly decorated with reds, whites and guilded metal along the edges of the furniture. The walls were covered in varnished wood panelling and bookcases filled with old tomes. The room had a very homely smell to it, light only by a couple of sconces and the flickering light coming from a fireplace that sat near to the back of the room.
“Mister Conlin, if you would be so kind to take a seat. I believe that I have something to ask of you and your friends.”

XXX

It was late at night as I made my way back to the medical ward. Twilight kept up at my side, never wanting to leave me even as we made our way in silence back to my bed.

“Are you alright Lou?” The question made me stop to think. Ever since we both left Celestia and Luna to tend to their duties, I was slightly worried about tomorrow.

The princesses had been blunt, straight to the point and very abrupt with what they wanted my friends and I to do. This evening, dignitaries from the other great powers who had been at war with Equestria for almost three years had arrived for negotiations. The war was over, the threat had been vanquished and chased away with no culprit other than the changeling drones that were being held prisoner within the castle dungeons.
Plume, however well intentioned she had tried to be within her fits of anger, had now left Equestria at the mercy of three warring powers that had now converged upon the capital. The Yaks, the Dragons and the Griffons had all come to claim back what Equestria had tried to take from them.

Tensions had always been high according to Luna, but with the defeat of Plume, Equestria no longer had an army strong enough to maintain stability throughout its cities. Equestrian industry had been completely toppled onto its head. Ponies were jobless, as society slowly made a full u-turn back to becoming a civilised state where ponies could live together in peace and harmony.
Now it was all out the window as mediatory requirements had made outrageous claims according to Luna and Twilight. Celestia had been a bit more silent on the matter.

“Worried.” Was my only reply.

The princesses expected quite a lot from me and the others. Apart from appearing at the summit, they were also hoping that we could help ‘dissuade’ any aggression from the neighbour states as mediators from a different world. The fact that we had been the ones to free the Princesses and banish the Shadow back to the void, Celestia hoped that it would the negotiations far less one sided.

“I’m right here Lou. I’ll always be right by your side.” I felt Twilight snuggle up against me, rubbing her cheek against my neck as she hummed contently. Her sent was strong once more, the smell of lavender filled my nostrils and eased the worry that built up within me.

“I’m coming back you know.” I said and she stopped, removing her head away and looking at me with slight shock.
“I never said I was leaving for good. Once I’ve figured out how to deal with my family problems, I’ll come back.” A bit vague at best, but I hoped that the idea of my return would make her understand that while I couldn’t live here full time, I could still hopefully come over from time to time. I still wasn’t sure how to explain this to my family. Magical talking ponies, magical gateways in their living room and a son who was going out with a princess from a mystical land unknown to humanity, was definitely going to be hard for me to explain.

But after so long of not feeling lost, confused and outcast by those that I had worked with after the war. Maybe I had found my therapy. A place where I could escape to rebuild my life whenever I’m feeling down, a place to call my safe haven from hell. If the nightmare’s were to persist, I might just end up moving back here to sleep my nights away with Plume and Squire.

“I’d come and live on Earth if you want me too. I’d go wherever you go!” She quipped and I chuckled. Twilight was honestly perfect in every way and if only I could bring her back, but I still had no idea how I was going to explain this all to my family.

XXX

Mark and Jack were still awake by the time we got back to the room. Both had apparently refused to take Celestia’s offer of a large bedroom with sheets. Electing to sleep on the floor, they had both made they’re little beds in the corner of the room, leaving the chair for Twilight to sleep on. I could tell that Twilight wanted to sleep with me, but I was in no hurry to leave the medical wing without the doctor’s approval. Plus I wasn’t sure what would happen if Twilight and I did get a private room together.

Shinning and Cadence were both asleep on their side of the room. The light pink alicorn was resting easy on the other chair while her husband snored softly, his breathing still a little ragged as he slept.

Sat together in the corner of the room, Twilight and I explained what had been discussed with the princesses. My original plan had involved sending both my friends back home early with Twilight’s friends. Having now mulled over what Celestia had said, it was now in our best interests to stay a bit longer and help with the primary negotiations.
Twilight had explained that such talks could go on for very long periods of time. Months, maybe even years. We could never stay that long, but maybe we could find a solution early?

Each of them gave their ideas, and out of all of them, Mark and I seemed to have the same train of thought. An idea that could be a bit violent, but hopefully wouldn’t declare war. That fact alone made me promise Twilight that we would only use it if the negotiations were not going anywhere.

The morning came rather quickly despite not getting as much sleep for the nerve racking feeling of having to be a mediator between two factions that I knew almost nothing about. Twilight had been kind enough to bring us some books on the different species that inhabited this land. Griffons were the ones that interested me the most. Warlike with a very quick tendency to hurl insults at those they see as inferior. They felt like something that, as a human, was quite relatable.

The Yaks and Dragons were a different story all together. Twilight insisted that we really didn’t need to worry about the customs of each race just yet as we were only there to stop any arguments from descending into anarchy.

We were offered breakfast at the hospital, before being taken back to the office that Twilight and I had visited yesterday. The entire table was covered in tons of food fit for kings and queens alike. Pancakes staked higher than Celestia, maple syrup and chocolate sauce in small silver pots on the table.
Twilight’s friends were already there and had seemingly finished their half. We all shared a good moment all together, listening to what each of the girls were going to do. Each were overjoyed on the prospect of returning home, to be with their loved ones and had hopes of just returning to a normal life, though Rarity was still quite eager to have us come see her to test out some of her new ideas for pony clothing.

A knock on the door interrupted our breakfast as a pony dressed in gold plated armour called for us to follow them. Biding our friends farewell, the four of us finished up our halves of the food before rushing to follow the guardsman. The girls waved us off out into the hallway and Rainbow called over to Mark and nodded her head at him. He nodded back with a smile and she giggled into her hoof before disappearing back into the office.

“What’s that about?” I asked. He just raised his eyes to the ceiling and tilted his head from side to side comedically.

“My ears only, captain!” He quipped, his steps now accentuated by a small bounce. The genuine smile I saw on his face brought me so much relief, especially after all of his initial reactions to Equus. Jack looked at us before rolling his eyes and smirking mischievously.

“Kids gonna get laid, Cap’n!” This caused the rest of us to sputter and Mark to slap us all upside the head with a flare of his magic. His smile was still there though.

“Not really, but this concerns only her and I.” He continued, allowing us all to share looks. Jack looked at him before cracking another large grin.

“Yep! He’s getting lai—OW!”

XXX

“...I will not tolerate any talk of a peaceful negotiations unless Equestria surrenders unconditionally! You and your little ponies have been in control of the Badlands for far too long! The foal mountains are ours and so are the lower southfold by natural right! I demand the full occupation of Equestria by the Griffon empire for compensation of this war that YOU have brought upon us! This meeting will go nowhere without the total occupation…”

It had been less than an hour into the meeting and I could feel my military façade falling away. For the past minutes or so, we had heard everything that I could imagine from peace talks post war back on Earth. The Griffons, the Yaks and the Dragons had a basically proved Luna’s and Twilight’s point. They were insufferable!
While each were able to refrain from cutting each other off as military alliances, they were not above cutting off the princesses as they tried to negotiate a deal that would be beneficial for all parties.

Despite this, the Griffons above all else, were rather eager to place their demands and refuse to listen to the Ponies. I was very uncertain of weather or not I should intervene to help out Celestia, but the few moments I got to open my jaw were immediately squished under the barrage of rather egregious demands from those present at the table.

“…You and your little ponies will be given ample treatment! You have much farmland that can be more productive under a new rule if you were not all so incompetent! Should you have not attacked us from the start we might have been more accepting of other terms but I speak for all of the empire when I say that your aggression has been enough for the past two thousand years! And, might I add, you have…”

The whole conversation seemed to have driven me to ultimate boredom as my eyes slowly drifted across the room and took in all the elements that interested me far more than these selfish negotiators trying to squeeze my patience to a breaking point.
The room was not dissimilar from the office that we had used for breakfast. The main difference being the lack of bookcases and the obviously larger space that made accommodating a big dragon easily the size of truck. A large rococo style chandelier hung high upon the ceiling, right over a large round oak table, softly illuminating the enclosed room that lacked windows.

I couldn’t even throw myself out a window...

Twilight had explained that negotiations were normally held in the throne room. Due to obvious battle damage, we were not able to use that room. Instead, we now had to bare this whole argument with a group of creatures that were easily making my imaginary trigger finger itch in a tiny room with no windows.

“...Yaks do not accept your terms! Yaks will not allow ponies ruin their lands by denying angry jumps! You cannot say what Yaks can do or refuse to give us Crystal pony palace. Crystal empire land belong to Yaks! Equestria belong to Yaks! Ponies cannot live...”

It had been out of professionalism that me and the others wore our uniforms, and there had been one or two instances where I had wanted to grab my gun and start threatening these people with two words: “SHUT UP!”.
Sadly, I was too professional and my desire to understand this world had kept me from making any more rash decisions.

So for the moment, I was still trying to figure out who was the most annoying out of the three ambassadors. The Dragon, a young woman named Arcelienna was probably the one that annoyed me the least. She, compared to the others, wasn’t always trying to twist Celestia’s words to form a completely different meaning. In fact, I saw a few times whispering to Spike who had joined us halfway through the hour with a stack of books on laws and justices from across the allied nations. Whatever the young kid had said to her, it had made her far less threatening than the Yak or the Griffon.

Ambassador Sharpclaw was easily becoming my least favourite because unlike the Yak, he was coming out with full sentences that honestly made him sound arrogant, but also cunning. His verbal traps were hard and I would have certainly fallen for them a hundred times over if it weren’t for Celestia’s delicate handling of the situation.

The Yak ambassador had a name that was way to hard for me to pronounce. It sounded so foreign and honestly, even hearing Celestia say it made me feel overly impressed by just how calm and diplomatic she was. Out of all of them, I would have probably got their names wrong five times over by now.

“… That I agree with my colleagues here, the idea that Equestria should be shared amongst us all is definitely worth the investments of all our nations to work under a union or an alliance!”.

“What?! Pony land belongs to Yaks!”

“To you?! You bumbling hairy bumblerumps are fools if you think that we will ever let you have a part of Equestria! The empire did more than any of you!”

“Quiet pony bird! Yaks help win victory!”

“Pony bird?! You airheads are have more fat than honour!”

“Please calm down…” The princesses tried to say, to no avail.

“Griffons are fools if they think that Equestrian aggression was handled only by them! Do not forget who supplied you with lava for your armour industry!”

“Your lava was low quality, we could have gotten a better deal from the Barlocks!”

“Please be quiet” I mumbled, my head beginning to hurt and I saw Celestia shoot me a strained smile.

“Our lava?! Low quality?! Ambassador your empire still has yet to refund that lease! Should I remind you of our agreements!”

“Scaley bird and pony bird make me mad! No recognition for Yak help!”

“Shut up, wool head!”

“Pony bird!”

“Please! This is an important meeting--” Twilight began to try and appeased the situation, only for her to be cut off by the others who all yelled at her, but the one who stood out the most was Sharpclaw.

“Quiet concubine!”

Those two words were the drop of shit that overflowed the toilet. My frustration at these pathetic creatures all bickering when the ones who had tried to help were standing right in front of them really ground my gears to a boiling point!
Calling Twilight a concubine was a no go however. How the ambassador had found out that information was unknown to me and still is to this day. But the action itself of insulting Twilight while in my presence awoke some sort of pride within me to defend her with all my heart.

And so, with a gentle motion I placed my foreleg on the table and glared at the Griffon until he turned his attention to me. My original intent was to strike him with my paw, but the simple stare caused him to flinch in shock. My magic was running and my holstered 45 was slowly inching its way out of my pocket.

“You insult her again, I’ll break your fucking beak you miserable fuck.” I growled at him, eyes stuck on him as he retreated slightly when Mark came to back me up.
“All of you are insolent little children! My only respect here is holding on by a thread!” I raised my voice slightly and lowered my paw. Enough to cut the Yak off before he could start rebuffing me.
“In all my time here I have yet to meet creatures with the lowest amount of respect as you lot. This room is for negotiating a peace deal, not a surrender, not an occupation! A peace deal ladies and gentlemen!”

“This is between us and the princesses, pony!” Sharpclaw finally regaining his pride. My attention returned to him and so did Mark’s as both of us stared him down.

“You make false assumptions ambassador. As princess Celestia presented us at the beginning, we are a third party to this whole debacle. You think that you have the final say in this whole discussion? You three really are nothing. You couldn’t even defeat the Shadow without our intervention!” They all looked at each other before easing their inner tensions and giving me their attention. I dared not spare a glance at the ponies however. I was far too committed to this ‘debate’.
“I am Captain Lou Albert Conlin of the United States Marine Corps. This is here Sargent Mark and Sargent Jack also here to represent the interests of our country the United States of America in their fight against the Shadow!”

“You didn’t do anything! We’ve never even heard of you or this America!” Arcelienna spoke up, eliciting nods from the other two pea brains.

“We come from a realm outside of this one. Here on behalf of princess Twilight Sparkle to help defeat the Shadow.”

“You expect me to believe that three ponies trying to lie, managed to stop the Shadow?! I don’t know where you got these fools from Celestia, but I can assure you that you can expect our invasion force to be here within a few--” Sharp claw was cut off as I shifted my wings free from under my cloak and spread them wide above for all to see. I was careful not to smack mark on the head and so was he when both he and Jack followed suit, spreading their wings wide for the three cuckoo’s to see.

It had the desired effect, all three backing away from their seats as they looked at us in shock. I was sure hoping that what Celestia and Luna had told us last night applied to alien cultures too.
I did see Arcelienna mutter ‘impossible’ under her breath as her eyes widened too.

“Yes ambassadors, they are imperial ponies, come from another realm as they claim.” Luna finally spoke, a smug grin on her face as the ponies saw the situation turn on its head.
"Any attempt of an invasion against Equestria’s current legal borders will be met with severe retaliation from my country. While I cannot guarantee what the borders will look like if you try, I can definitely give you an idea.”

“Yaks want back our land! No compromises!”

“We stand with the Yaks!” Sharpclaw said defiantly. Glaring at me with destain as he tried to lever a way out, but I wasn’t going to. Not now.

“You’ll have to face off against multiple armies to confront us!”.

In silence I pulled out Mark’s revolver, loaded and ready, placed neatly on the table gave an annoyed look at the ambassadors. All of them.
“This is one of our weapons. It’s not a sword, no. It’s a piece of metal, capable of spewing out a piece of lead faster at the speed of sound. A single round! Capable of putting you down dead.” I snarled as my eyes rested on the Griffon.
“It holds six of these metal projectiles, but many of our other weapons can fire more rounds and fasted than this puny thing.” Lifting the revolver and twirling it in my magic, I then pointed it at each of them in turn before resting it pointed at the Griffon.
“You dare declare an invasion of Equestria, you’ll have weapons like these to deal with.”

“Liar!”

“I have 145 thousand troops awaiting on our side of the gateway, our armies combined make up much more. Should Equestria be attacked, our common defence pact with the ponies will be put into question. Believe me that while you can believe that you have the advantage, we will have airial supremacy. We will have ground supremacy. Hell, we’ll even have naval supremacy if need be! The question is, do you really want to negotiate your own annihilation? Or maybe we can find some common sense and put our weapons away and start discussing like adults.”

The three of them looked at each other as they contemplated they’re next move. Opposite me, I saw Twilight break a quick smile that I returned with a wink. A wink that Celestia and Luna saw too and were quick to share their own thankful smiles.

XXX

“That was awful.” Mark complained as he stretched himself out as we left the office room once the Ambassadors had gone back to their rooms to deliberate with their assistants.

“I have had worse.” Celestia tutted as she joined us and gave us all a thankful smile.
“I am very thankful for your assistance there mister Conlin, you truly are a master of diplomacy.”

“That wasn’t diplomacy!” I grumbled, my mood was rather low after having endured that for over four hours straight. At least more progress was made between the last hours than in the first two. My mood could have remained sour had it not been for Twilight’s constant affection that was clearly making Cadence very excited as she clicked her hooves together as she watched us cuddle.

“Is it over?” Jack dared to ask. Celestia sighed and looked on out past the frosted window out into the distance for a moment.

“It will take time for them to make up their minds on whether they accept our peace plan or not.” She then turned to face us all and sat down on a cushion that was carried by one of the guards.
“Yes, I do believe that today is at an end. While I believe that there are still more hurdles to cover, we should be able to complete the next few sessions on our own.” My friends both gave a silent cheer and I watched as Mark also gave a silent prayer, his eyes closed as his paws tapped together as he sat on his haunches and gave his faux thanks.

“Are you sure, sister? They could prove instrumental in keeping those foals from making any more wild claims.” Luna quipped as she approached to give Jack a back rub. The poor guy was still trying to get comfortable from standing so long.

“Yes sister. I think we have it safe hooves.” Giving us all a caring smile and a confident nod, she continued.
“Be at peace, my fellow humans. And know that you are always welcome back to Equestria.”

XXX

We were now all on a train back to Ponyville. The place where this whole thing started. The soft clatter of the train on the tracks were quickly sending me and the others off to sleep. I remember distinctly looking out the window just as my vision began to blur and saw one of the most majestic sights I had ever seen.

Equestria, the land of little ponies was laid out before my eyes once more and I could see what this place truly was. The horizon was beautiful, colours all blending in to each other as I saw mountains and rivers off in the distance. From time to time you could make out some settlements off in the distance. The autumn winds forcing some households to light fires despite not being in winter yet.

The rolling hills, the yellow fields and swerving rivers were absolutely mesmerizing! A definite sight to see and one I would have enjoyed longer had I not fallen asleep.

I did not go to the dream realm for once. This time, my mind was led astray by a rather nerve racking thought. One that had been bothering me since we first arrived. How was I going to explain my disappearance to my own parents?

I could already tell that my hopes of actually explaining this as me and my friends running off would be not very easy. My only hopes is that we could get back to the gateway before the evening time. Maybe while my parents were out at work, we could just get home and sort ourselves out before they got back.
My sister too, she was still finishing her studies so surely we could do this before they got home. So long they hadn’t got the Police Department involved. I sure hope I wasn’t being considered a missing person right about now.

My fears could have been left to fester for a little while longer had Spike not woken me up. We were nearing Ponyville and the already absurd journey was coming closer to an end. My final day in Equestria had me feeling exhausted and nostalgic of the mundane janitorial life I had been living back home.

I wonder if I have been fired yet? I thought.

I think my jaw dropped when we descended the train and gazed upon the small town. Everything was so much brighter. The dulled colours of the houses, the signs even the ponies just looked uniformly brighter.

We walked slowly throughout the streets, eyes on us all. Twilight was leading the way with a happy spring in her step. Ever so often, she turn and wave to passing ponies. All of them biding her a happy return. Entering her library, Twilight deposited Spike from her back and tasked him with a little cleaning. The young drake agreed after Twilight had told him that he would get a special reward of gems. Quite honestly, I still would have said no. This place was trashed and was in no way cleanable by one solitary dragon. Lucky for Spike, the five mares that had been with us from all the way back from the start had also stopped by.

Not just them however, outside the house was a crowd of ponies and creatures that I had never seen before. I did notice the cute little filly with the bow in her hair who was riding Apple Jack’s back. She and many others came over to cheer us on. Mark backed away slightly, but still happily thanked the ponies for all the praise. Jack and I were just shocked.
So many people all here to thank us for our service. Our help and our friendship. I cried a bit, I felt the tears in my eyes as I realised that this was what I never got when I arrived back home. I had received no praise, no hero’s welcome. I hadn’t wanted one.

And yet here I stood, happily thanking all the creatures here for all their kind words in these trying times. I was so glad to have helped, and with no casualties, I was so pleased to be welcomed here. If only it could have been the same with Chrysalis.

Zecora was there too! She had caught wind of our arrival earlier and decided to drop what she was doing to come say her thanks. I was still not sure how these guys ever found out about what we did but it soon became apparent that this was a Pinkie Pie thing.
The pink pony had gathered the entire town after their arrival this morning and told the news to everyone.

The fact that we were aliens spawned from another world did not even seem to frighten these creatures, in fact we were each overwhelmed with tons of questions about where we were from, what was our world like and if we were planning on staying.

But time was getting on and we would soon lose the light if we waited any longer. While all these creatures were very kind and respectful, I didn’t want to leave it any longer. So within a few brief moments, we grabbed our things and bid our farewells to everypony. Our time here was coming to an end. And so, with cheerful smiles and waving paws, we exited the library and made our way back into the Everfree with Twilight as our guide.

XXX

“Well… this is it then.” Mark said as he approached the pool of water. The soft waterfall crashed at the side. The ground was still marked with our first arrival. Tracks and signs of our first tumbles as we learned our footing, now it was time to go as the afternoon turned back into evening.

“Damn right! Can’t wait to get back on my own two legs!” Jack laughed.

“But you’re standing on your own four legs Jack!” Twilight teased happily, giggling as he rolled his eyes in her direction. She then turned to me and gave me a small smile.
“You sure you know what you’re getting into?” I nodded, she sighed and sat down and looked at all of us in turn.
“I can’t really remember what my final words were to you back when you all saved me the first time, but hopefully reminding you that you are always welcome to Equestria at any time will be enough to entice you to not let this be a final farewell.”

“You’re not the one who was saved Twilight.” I smiled and hugged her tightly and so did the others. A group hug reuniting us all once more as the last four of the original Raiders.
“You saved us back on Guadalcanal.” I heard her sniff as I said that. Her eyes were starting to fill with tears as she fought back her urge to start crying.

“Thank you… all of you.” Releasing our hug, Twilight retreated as we all checked that our bags were properly attached. Making our way over to the portal, I turned once more and felt my heart ache as I saw her give a sad wave, still wiping her eyes on her forelegs.

“You two go on ahead. I’ll be right there.” Both of them shared look before wading through the water and pushing their heads through to the waterfall. With a slight flash, I watched them disappear into nothingness. Moving back to Twilight, she looked up at me and opened her mouth to say something. I cut her off. Our hug wasn’t the best, but the action was of reassurance. To reassure her that I would not leave her hanging.

Turning around, I grabbed my bags and placed them on my back and followed after my friends. Twilight stood up and watched as I stood in front of the water fall and in that moment. I could almost make out a full reflection. There stood me, Imperial pony gifted with wings and a horn. A grey coat with a delightfully long golden mane that was highlighted with long violet meshes. I was sure I didn’t have them before before coming here, yet my tail in mane were definitely improved in my opinion.

Moving forward, I expected to get my head soaked by water, but the portal appeared right in front of the fall. And as my face passed through, my entire body was taken through for a stomach churning experience more violent than last time.

And as I emerged from the portal, I felt myself get thrown to the ground and suffer from terrible shakes in my bones from world travel. My head was a mess of confusing emotions as I fought against the growing migraine that had started to make it’s presence known.
Cracking my eye open, I became faintly aware of talking. I heard voices, muffled and indistinguishable. As my eyes began to focus on the room I was in, I slowly began to recognize my living room.

But my gut began to twist as something seemed very off about this room. The mantle piece, the fire place were bare. No trinkets, no family photos, all the bookshelves were empty. The entire room had been emptied, no furniture, nothing.

The voices that I heard were much louder now, but the ringing in my ears was still far too mind numbing that all I could do was turn my head slowly towards the door. To my hallway, there I saw my friends, back to normal but both were on the ground. Mark was lying on the floor, holding his face and jack was sat there rubbing his legs and looking up and talking.

I felt happy at that moment, my friends were back and they were lucky enough to no longer have the wings and pony ears that they had been gifted with at the very start of our reunion.

But then I saw it. Two large figures stood in the doorway, looming over all of us like giants. Though these were not my parents like I had feared. They were intruders. Armed with rifles, both aiming at my friends. They wore brown army boots and olive drab uniforms. Both wore helmets styled to the ones that I had once worn, but what were they doing in my house? And why were they looking at me like that?

It was then that my mind caught up. My friends were back to normal, now deprived of the creationist magic, they were now back. Back to being crippled. I croaked out for a little help, but something was off once more. I still feel like…

I tried to stand, but my legs were still grey and my mane and tail were still there.

“Get on the ground!” Yelled one of the intruders. I heard Jack say something back, but right then and there, I felt myself growing weak. I saw Jack turn to face me, a look of surprise on his face at my still ponified appearance and then he screamed at me.

“Lou, go back through!” I span around, trying to get back through the portal, but my legs failed me and I stumbled. I reached up, only for something very hard to hit me and I felt all my strength leave my body. With a groan I crashed to the floor and everything went dark.

Author's Note

This chapter is to be the last for a short while. Upon further review of the story I was considering writing a third and final installment as a "Slice of Life" following Louis Conlin's life after his forced change.
I have decided not fall down that route and squander the opportunity to give this story an open end and hopefully the following chaper(s) will suffice.