An Alternate Track

Gregory was floating in an ocean of water, but to him it felt as if he was floating on air. His eyes were closed and covered with a mask while his ears were covered in water. He knew where he was at that moment. It was a sensory deprivation chamber, one he had tried before coming to Equestria. It had been quite the experience for him, not that he’d have the chance to do it again, but it was still something he was glad he did.

He continued to float there, imagining that he was lying on a cloud like pegasi were able to do when the temperature dropped. He sat up immediately, pulling off the mask and staring into the darkness, the sound of water falling off of his skin into the tank itself. The darkness permeated everything, but he could still feel it. The water, which had perfectly matched his body temperature, was now covered in a thin sheen of ice.

“The hell…?” He stood up and slowly made his way to where he knew the door had been. Once he found it, he found the towel and thick bathrobe that had been hung up for him. Once he had quickly dried himself off and flung the bathrobe on, he fumbled for the door, which opened into a familiar looking sickly yellow empty office space. The smell was of moldy carpet, and the fluorescent lights above were loudly humming. “The Backrooms…?”

Quickly turning, he realized that the door he’d come through was now gone. In its place were a set of dark robes, his magic staff, magic rings, and a pair of boots. They were almost immediately on his body. He looked down in confusion as the robes had a rather…fantasy look to them. Almost like he was some sort of wizard or mage.

The humming of the fluorescent lights above began to warp and change. A few began to drop water, which froze upon impact with the carpet. He wasn’t sure just how long he was in the first level of the Backrooms, but eventually he found an icy blue door with white nonsensical runes on the doorframe. Feeling compelled to open it, he did so, stepping into his empty apartment. He felt relieved to be out of the craziness that was the Backrooms before any of the entities that resided there caught him. He closed the door and looked around, calling out for his new family. When he heard no reply, he went to the window and opened the sliding door to his balcony.

The cold air that blasted him was unlike anything he’d experienced before and it startled him. The entire balcony was covered in a thick blanket of snow, the sky was a dark gray, and snow was falling heavily. He exhaled, seeing his breath in the dim light. He looked down at the ground several stories below, but saw nobody, which was unusual. The Haven City weather team wasn’t like most Equestrian weather teams. They didn’t affect the weather unless there was a chance that a major storm would strike the school or the town. This sort of storm would count.

“The hell is the weather team just sitting on their asses for?” he wondered as he tried to get a good look at the ground, but an extremely thick fog had fallen, covering the entire area in its wake. He went back inside, deciding to go downstairs and see what was going on and if he could find his family.

Some time later, he’d scoured the entire campus, finding nothing out of the ordinary save for the lack of anyone. He’d almost shouted himself hoarse by calling out for someone. No students, no staff, and not even his family were there. The lights and heating system worked, but that was about it. Not only that, but it was also extremely quiet.

That is, until he heard and felt a soft breeze against his skin. His dark wizard robes, which he hadn’t bothered to change, fluttered in said breeze. He turned around, but saw nothing. Another breeze, this one stronger, came from behind him. When he turned, the scene had completely changed. He was in a massive throne room, but one where everything was made of some sort of glowing light blue ice. He stood suddenly in front of a raised dais where a hooded figure in black robes sat, a hood over their head.

Gregory raised his staff and aimed it warily at the figure. “Who are you?” he asked. “What’s going on?”

The tall figure stood up and slowly descended the throne. As it slowly walked towards him, it then raised a hand and all of a sudden the staff became encased in ice making Gregory drop it as it was now colder than anything he felt. The figure stopped just as it was six feet in front of him. He then reached for its hood and pulled it back revealing a familiar face with white hair and glowing blue eyes.

Gregory stood there staring in utter disbelief. It was like looking in a mirror. A mirror that wasn’t a glass sheet. The man that looked exactly like him stared into his eyes for what felt like a solid minute before his hand raised and pointed to his left. Gregory looked and saw a door labeled EXIT. “No way, I’m not leaving until you- Whoa!”

Before he could finish, he found himself levitated off the ground by his counterpart who held out his other hand. Gregory then felt himself flung through the door and soon found himself landing in snow. He got up to find the mysterious door gone. He looked around and realized he was at the Haven City train station. Then he looked to the platform and saw a line of coaches covered with a thick layer of ice and snow with the windows shattered. No one was inside but there was a lot of luggage on the platform.

He then looked towards the city and started walking towards it. As he entered town he saw a faint glow in the distance. He ran and saw three creatures surrounding a barrel on fire. A donkey, a minotaur and an earth pony. He ran up and tried to get their attention. “Hey! You three there!”

The three looked towards him and suddenly their faces were ones of fear. “It’s the Windigo God!” the donkey shouted in alarm.

“RUN!” yelled the minotaur as all three began running away disappearing into the snowy distance.

Gregory could only watch in confusion and try to follow them but then he noticed as he got close to the barrel the flames in it instantly started to shrink and die. He stopped as he looked in the barrel at the charred remains of wood and coal. He then saw how they started to become coated in ice. The ice was all glowing an icy blue color, similar to his eyes. Confused, he took a step closer and the ice only continued to get thicker. As he reached his hand out to touch it, he saw that the right hand ring on his hand was glowing. Quickly he stepped back, but the ice formation only stopped. It didn’t go away.

“No…no no no!” he shouted as he turned and began running out of town, fear driving him. However, he actually reached the center of town, where he noticed the square was littered with snowmen, snow ponies, and snow creatures of every kind with either pieces of coal or buttons for eyes and mouths. Terror shot through him as he went up to one of the pony shaped snow structures. The snow was soft, but it was clearly covering something hard. He nervously wiped off the snow to reveal a frozen and familiar bluish pinkish face. It was Pinkie Pie. Gregory jumped in fright and stumbled back into the snow.

“I control the ice, it doesn’t control me,” Gregory repeated to himself, as if it was a mantra. He tried to free Pinkie, but nothing he seemed to be trying was working. Desperate, he went to other snowmen, finding various friends and students all frozen. The Mane Six, Andrew, Stacy, Celestia, Luna, Jason, Chrysalis, even poor Suzie…all frozen in fear. The worst part was that their eyes seemed to follow him everywhere he went.

He then came to three sets of statues, two bipedal and one small pony. He was afraid to see who they were, but he had to. He wiped the snow away and saw, to his horror, Twilight Sparkle, Ember, and Cozy Glow. His family, all frozen, looks of fear on the ponies faces and a look of defiance on Ember’s face.

He fell to his knees, completely broken. The world swirled around him and he found himself sitting alone in the ice throne he’d seen his dark reflection sitting in. He felt a coldness around his heart. The pain began to recede, but so did everything else inside him. He looked up and saw wispy creatures, bipedal horse beings shrouded in darkness. His emotions began to seep away as he raised his staff, which was now a black scepter. Silently, he pointed to the door which led to the world.

If the world would take everything from him, then he would not let this world suffer as he had. He would freeze and free the people of Gaia. As the horse beings, the Shades, left the throne room, the world swirled around him and he felt himself being shaken…

“Wake up, Daddy! WAKE UP!” a terrified voice was pleading. Nearby, he heard what sounded like fire being breathed by a dragon.

“Damn it, he’s getting colder!” an older female voice said.

“Gregory…please be okay,” another older female voice called out.

With a heavy gasp, he sat up, realizing that he wasn’t in his bed like he had been. Instead, he was lying in his underwear in the apartment’s bathtub. The water was steaming hot and he saw Ember breathing fire into said water to make it even hotter. Cozy Glow was on his chest, hugging him tightly while Twilight was casting some form of magic onto the water and to him. He quickly took stock of his current situation and noticed that the room’s temperature felt like it was cooler than it should have been. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his beating heart. Cozy’s presence on his chest helped in that regard. The power of cuddly ponies was as magical as a kitten’s purr. Soon, it seemed as if the temperature in the room began to rise.

“Thank Celestia…” Twilight said as she reached over and gave him an affectionate nuzzle and a kiss.

“What in Tartarus was going on with you?!” Ember asked as she got into the tub and plopped herself down on his stomach, looking at him with a mix of frustration and a hint of what to her constituted a worried look.

Gregory looked at his hands, seeing nothing on them save for the slight outline of the rings he wore to boost his power. He let them fall back into the tub. “A nightmare…another one,” was all he could say. He noticed for the first time that his voice was hoarse. He rubbed his neck and coughed a bit.

“You’ve been screaming for the past ten minutes,” Twilight explained.

“These nightmares of yours are becoming a problem,” Ember scowled as she stood up, pulling him to his feet. He still held the crying Cozy close to his chest as water dripped from his body into the tub. “Why hasn’t the blue Celestia helped you?”

Despite the situation, Gregory smirked a bit. “Luna may have been able to see into my dreams in the beginning, but lately, it seems like she’s been unable to enter my dream state. It’s strange. She’s been looking into it, but she’s also the princess of Equestria.” He got out of the tub and grabbed a towel from the rack, wrapping it around his waist. “What happened out here?”

“We just said you started screaming and waking up the place,” began Ember. “Cozy got the water, I heated it up, and Twilight got you inside. Anyway it’s almost five in the morning. Spike has your list. You’re supposed to go to Canterlot today but something tells me you shouldn’t be wasting your time with the remaining three today.”

“No,” Gregory said as he went into the closet and started slipping into some clothes. “I have to do something today. Besides, I might as well visit Luna while I’m there.”

“We understand, but even yesterday you weren’t acting like your usual self. We’re just worried about you,” Twilight said.

Gregory sighed and placed a hand on Twilight’s back. “I know, and I promise I’ll look into this. Now, how about an early morning breakfast?” Before anyone could reply there was a knock at the door. Gregory went over and opened the door to reveal Rainbow Dash. The mare looked exhausted and her eyes looked bloodshot. “Rainbow, what are you doing here so early?”

“I need your help,” she said. “It’s Andrew.”

The two of them were walking through the street moments later. The sky was partly cloudy with some light snow forecasted for later that afternoon, nothing that the weather team needed to worry about. Gregory was wearing his normal winter gear as he walked with Rainbow to the office where Andrew normally worked. “It’s one thing to come home late but to not come home at all and sleep in that office is another,” Rainbow complained.

Gregory sighed. “Dude needs to learn how to manage his time better,” he said. “I’ll lay the smackdown on him.”

The two soon reached a building that was called the EGR North Regional Office. Luckily the door was unlocked and they were greeted by the secretary at her desk, a young jenny named Muriel. “Oh good morning, do you have an appointment?”

“Does Andrew’s marefriend need one?” Gregory asked with a frown.

“Oh no, Andrew always makes an exception for her, so go right ahead,” she said pointing to the hall.

Gregory and Rainbow walked straight into the office where they found the man head down on his desk surrounded by paperwork. With a groan, Gregory began using his magic to cool the room down to wake him up. He even created a small piece of ice to place on the back of Andrew’s exposed neck. That did the trick, and Andrew shot awake. “AH! I DIDN’T MEAN TO!”

Gregory crossed his arms. “It’s about fucking time you woke up,” he snapped angrily.

“Oh, Gregory? Rainbow? What are you doing here so late?”

“Getting your neglectful ass out of here and down to get some breakfast, you jerkwad,” Gregory said, lifting Andrew up and beginning to drag him out of the office.

“Wait, breakfast?” he said before looking at the clock. “Oh…crap.”

“Crap indeed,” Gregory snarled, grabbing his coat off of the rack and tossing it to him. “Put this on right now,” he ordered.

The three of them soon found themselves in a small café not too far from the office run by a former pony from Ponyville named Coffee Bean. The mood was considerably tense. Andrew could only look down in shame at his latte.

“Okay, dumbass,” Gregory said between clenched teeth, “what’s so damned important that you start to neglect the mother of your children, huh? There’s absolutely none!” He slammed his fist on the table, startling Rainbow, Andrew, and the other patrons.

“Even here I can’t escape my other problem,” Andrew sighed. “Let’s just say even before I became a brony with friends I was sort of a workaholic.”

“Not an excuse I am gonna accept from you,” Gregory said testily as he took an alarming gulp of his still steaming black coffee before slamming it back down. “You need to be babied, huh? You want me to send someone down to drag you from your office? I’m sure Ember would love to do that. I know I would.” Gregory was clearly in a bad mood.

Andrew then decided to pluck up courage. “How about you come and work for me and see how it is to manage the responsibility of a bloodline that is supplying our world. I know it's not an excuse but sometimes it's difficult when you have to make a lot of decisions.”

“Or you could, I don’t know, hire more people,” Gregory snapped back. “I only saw you and that jenny in there. You strike me as the type to micromanage. Get the fuck over yourself. You’re gonna be a father soon. You’re gonna have more responsibilities, and even if we all have new magic, we have our mental limits.”

“What do you think I’ve also been doing?” Andrew asked with anger in his voice. “I have been hiring more help but it's slow considering the applicants either have no experience or they are xenophobic. Even Golden can’t find me enough help.”

“Then you’re gonna have to slow the work down,” Gregory said, apparently reaching the limits of his patience. “You can’t make Rainbow worry like that. It’s not fair to her, not fair to you, and certainly not fair or healthy for the child.”

“Whoa, did someone leave the door open?” a nearby voice said. “It's getting cold in here.”

Gregory seemed to snap out of his anger, a tinge of fear passing over his face as he sat back and downed the rest of his mug before pouring another. “Andrew, no more overworking. I don’t care if you’re not done with the work, you’re not pulling that shit here. You have more pressing responsibilities, and your mind needs the rest.”

Andrew looked to Gregory with a slight hint of fear. Then he felt a hoof touch his hand and saw Rainbow who was giving a pleading look. After a bit he sighed. “Alright, I’ll have Muriel give me a schedule for lighter work, but I don’t think the clients from the other nations will be happy about this.”

“Then they can send people to work,” Gregory said, now sounding even more exhausted than Andrew felt. “If they’re that hard up for whatever your business does, they can get their own people down to help you.”

Andrew looked to his fiance. “I’m sorry, I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

Rainbow smiled and then pulled him into a hug with her wing. “How about you make it up to me tonight?”

That made Andrew smile. “Deal.”

Gregory saw that his work was done, so he downed two more cups of hot boiling coffee in succession, then stood. “Welp, you two have fun. I’ve gotta get moving.” He set down a number of bits to pay for all of them then made his way towards the door, his steps a bit uncertain. He rubbed his head and groaned. “Damn it…”

But before he could reach the door he was suddenly shoved aside as Muriel came racing in holding a crystal. The jenny looked panicked. “Sir! We have an issue. Golden Spike needs to speak to you.”

“Take a message. I’m busy,” Andrew said.

“Sir, it’s an emergency,” the donkey said as she placed the crystal on the table.

Golden Spike soon appeared on the holographic image. “Andrew, I’m sorry to bother you like this, but we have a problem.”

Andrew groaned then looked up to his boss. “Sir, no offense, but your recent assignments have kept me away from my fiancé. Can’t this wait?”

Gregory got up and even from a call he could sense Golden Spike’s emotions. “Oh, shit,” he muttered.

Andrew noticed Gregory’s reaction and looked back to Golden. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Connie…she crashed along the main line near Canterlot.”

Andrew’s eyes nearly shot out of his skull. Whatever fatigue he felt was gone in a flash. “What?”

“I don’t have all the details, but me and several ETSB members are on our way to the crash site.”

Rainbow looked at them, her own panic growing. Andrew looked back at her. “Look I know I said we could-”

“Go,” Rainbow said.

“But I might be gone until-”

“We’ll meet in Canterlot. Go!”

Gregory watched this and sighed. Things were never easy. Once more, the temperature in the room began to drop as his frustration grew. “What if I go check in on her instead?” he suggested. “I’m going down there anyway, so I might as well kill two birds with one stone.”

“No, Connie is like my sister. I have to be there. This isn’t business, it's a friendship emergency,” Andrew said as he slipped on his jacket.

“Well, the first thing you’re gonna do before that is escort your fiance back home,” Gregory said. “I’ll meet you at the train station in half an hour.” With that, he left the room and the temperature shot back up to normal.

[Somewhere Outside Canterlot - Hours Ago]

The mail train traversed the track, fighting her way through the snow and cold. The pony in the cab shivered. Even the firebox wasn’t enough to keep him warm. “Connie, how far are we from Haven City?” he asked

“We’re just barely passed Canterlot. If the tracks are cleared then it should be another half a day or more,” the engine replied. As she was faster than most trains of the line, she could make the trip to the Neutral Lands much faster than others.

They soon passed a yellow signal, indicating a possible red signal ahead so they began to slow down. “Perfect…more time in this weather,” the stallion groaned.

However, the next signal came and it was a green light for all-clear. “Huh, looks like the next train cleared the siding,” Connie said as she began speeding up again, crossing over a switch track that made the mainline split into two.

Meanwhile, up ahead a freight train was waiting to let the mail train pass and two members of the crew were in the caboose. The conductor, who was a white unicorn, looked at the dragon that was sharing hot cocoa with him. “So, how are you and Sludge doing? I know you two are new to the night shift.”

The black and purple dragon sighed. “It was difficult, and you know how Sludge is with change. But I think he’s used to it. I think he likes it now.”

Meanwhile up front in the engine, the fat yellowish green dragon shivered and groaned. “I hate this! I HATE THIS!”

The two in the caboose shared a laugh as they both sipped their mugs. “Wow, conductor, this cocoa is amazing. You made this?”

“Oh yeah, it's my Grandma’s secret recipe. I’m glad you like it,” he said as he looked at the clock. “Hmm, the mail train’s due any minute. You should probably get back to Sludge.”

“Oh come on, this is delicious and it's freezing out there,” he complained.

“You can take the cocoa back with you. I’ll even make an extra hot mug for Sludge,” he said as he poured a third cup.

The dragon looked out of the back door of the caboose. His eyes soon went wide as he saw a light. “Dear Torch… she’s on our line!”

“Wait what!?” asked the conductor as he looked out. His eyes shot open. “Oh Faust, she is! GET OUT!”

Outside, Connie was speeding along the tracks when she noticed something in front of her. “Oh shit! BRAKES! HIT THE BRAKES NOW!”

“What?” the stallion asked as he looked up ahead at the caboose with the fleeing dragon and unicorn. “Whoa!”

The sound of chuffing was replaced by screeching brakes as Connie’s wheels slid along the tracks with sparks and ice bits flying from her wheels. “It’s too late!”

Meanwhile back up front Sludge is still moaning. “I don’t even know how I can survive another-”

CRASH!!

“What in Tartarus?!” he exclaimed as he felt the ground beneath him jolt forward a bit. He immediately spread his wings and flew out of the front engine towards the back despite his corpulent body and his hatred of the cold. As he got closer he started seeing the freight cars showing signs of damage. “Did you guys blow up the caboose or something? What was all that?”

He then saw the worst of the wreck. Mangled up cars and an engine laying on her side. “What the heck?” he asked as he saw an earth pony stallion limping towards the unicorn conductor and dragon stoker.

The unicorn then looked up at Sludge who was hovering. “Don’t just hover, get back to the engine and call for help!”

Soon many creatures were at the crash site either clearing away debris or talking to the various crew members. Andrew and Gregory arrived at the scene. Andrew immediately found the crew members his mind full of rage. “Which one of you was driving Connie!?” he snapped.

The brown stallion with a black mane stepped forward. Andrew was about to snap at him when he heard a groan and a voice. “A-a-Andrew?”

Andrew watched as two railroad cranes hoisted Connie from the wreckage. Her body had numerous dents and scratches. Andrew turned back to her engineer. “Oh God…Promontory, what did you do?”

The brown stallion stammered. “I-I didn’t do anything. We were just going along at the limits-”

“And you caused her to crash,” Andrew said, cutting him off. “This is why I didn’t want her being operated by anyone else!”

“I didn’t!”

“No!” Connie snapped. “Promontory didn’t cause this. It must have been… I must have… the last signal. It was green, I don't understand.”

Everyone was silent until the Sludge spoke up. “Maybe it malfunctioned from the cold.”

“Oh that's just ridiculous,” the conductor said. “It’s not cold enough to short out signals or even freeze switch tracks.”

“What is this, the Flying Kipper episode of Thomas the Tank Engine?” Gregory muttered to himself before he walked up to Andrew. “Stop. Micromanaging. Things,” he said slowly. “And don’t be possessive of Connie. If you’re gonna be like this with her, what’s gonna happen when you have kids? Especially if it’s a daughter. Loosen up.”

“Well how would you react if Cozy was in a similar situation?” Andrew asked as he took a deep breath. “And I’m not micromanaging, I'm upset about all this,” he said waving at the pile of wreckage.

Golden Spike approached him. The old stallion raised his hoof at him. “Gregory’s right. I had some mechanics look her over. The damage isn’t too severe but she will need some repairs. Which is why we’re taking her to the workshop back in Canterlot where she should be fixed in no time.”

“Good,” Andrew sighed as he turned back to Gregory. “Any chance you can convince Luna to let me and Rainbow sleep in the castle tonight? Because something tells me all three of us will be there all day. Also I need to see Luna for another reason entirely.”

Gregory scowled at this. “You want to move a pregnant mare to Canterlot from Haven City? No, you’re going back home. Connie is the fastest train you have, and from here to Haven City is too long of a trip. By the time you get back to Haven City and you and Rainbow get back to Canterlot, it’ll have been a day and a half.” He firmly jabbed his index finger into Andrew’s chest. “You can talk to Luna using the new crystal network.” The crystal network was something that was being quickly placed around the continent inspired in part by the changelings' own instantaneous communications devices. Twilight, Sunset, Starlight, and other magical geniuses had quickly figured out how to make something similar on a bigger scale, and the new network was quickly being spread across Equestria. “Besides,” Gregory added, “this’ll help you with your workaholic nature. And who will keep that town safe in case something happens? I’m already going there on my own business, so I can keep track of things.”

“Are you blind and deaf to what my boss said?” Andrew snapped. “Connie is in no shape to get back to Haven City without hurting herself more and Canterlot is closest. Plus it looks like this mainline won’t reopen until all this wreckage is cleared. Plus, Rainbow is barely pregnant. She’s not even a full month along. But I’ll talk to her over the crystal network.” He sighed as he rubbed his head. “And besides, I need to speak to Luna about this hellish nightmare she didn’t intervene for me last night.”

“You and me both,” Gregory muttered. “Fine, let’s go.”

[Canterlot- Two Hours Later]

“We’ll be back later to check on you, Con,” Andrew said as he and Gregory walked out of the engine workshop and began to make their way to the castle. “So what was your nightmare about?”

Gregory stiffened a bit, but sighed. “Me losing control of my magic and killing everyone I know by freezing them in ice,” he said as they walked closer to Canterlot Castle.

“Well that’s scary,” Andrew said with a shudder, “but you have control right? Robbie tells me you’re one of the best.”

He held up a hand and a shard of ice that looked like a diamond appeared. Inside, there was what looked like a perpetual arc of electricity bouncing around. He tossed the ice diamond to him. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said.

“Great… just be glad your nightmare wasn’t a bad flashback with a twist,” Andrew said as he looked ahead with an unreadable expression.

“Damn,” Gregory said with a frown, but that was all he said.

They were let into the castle without any incident. Once inside, they asked to be taken to the princess if she was free. They had to wait about half an hour before she was free, and when she was they were both escorted into the throne room. Princess Luna sat on the throne in front of them. Gregory bowed his head politely. “Hello, Princess,” he said quickly.

“Ah, Sir Gregory and Sir Andrew, what brings you two here? Is this about what happened to Connie this morning?” she asked

“That’s what Andrew came here for,” Gregory said as he pushed Andrew forward.

“Well, she’s going to be fine because I have full faith in those mechanics,” Andrew said, “but we’re also here to discuss something that happened to both of us last night.”

“Oh what else happened?” asked the Princess.

“Dude, do you know how many dreams people have in the world?” Gregory asked with a hint of testiness in his voice. “Two missed nightmares isn’t that major in the grand scheme of things.”

Luna raised an eyebrow “Missed nightmares? I never miss a single nightmare.”

“Eh, I’ve had a few since being in this world,” Gregory said with a shrug, “and we humans have lived our entire lives up until now without needing interference. Nightmares happen. We can deal with a few that you might miss.”

“Gentlebeings, I never detected any nightmare auras from Haven City for the past few nights,” Luna insisted.

Gregory shrugged. “Eh, well I definitely didn’t dream about sugarcane and lollipops last night,” he said. “Neither did Andrew over here.”

“Then, what were your nightmares?”

“Seeing my childhood friend kill himself in a more horror movie fashion,” Andrew said.

“Seeing my magic overwhelm me so much that I froze the entire world and became the only living survivor,” Gregory added with a shrug.

Luna’s eyes went wide with horror. “That’s impossible, dreams like those would’ve been like a huge lure to me. It would be like what you humans call an air raid siren. I would’ve intervened in a flash.”

“Hey, I’m not the one making a big deal about it,” Gregory said. “Like I said, I’ve had a few nightmares since I came to Gaia, and I’ve been fine so far. Humans have nightmares all the time, and we can work through it.”

“And when your nightmare concluded, did you wake up normally or were you having spasms, seizures or any abnormalities?”

Gregory shrugged. He was exhausted and not thinking clearly. All he wanted to do was get this conversation over with and ask for a bed to crash into. “I was in my bathtub with my family trying to wake me up and heat me up,” he said. “Guess I was just that fast asleep that they couldn’t wake me.”

“Sir Gregory, this doesn’t sound normal. What is happening in your life?” Luna asked, seemingly worried.

He took a deep breath and exhaled. “It’s just stress,” he said. “I’ve been worried about my magic becoming too strong for me to control, but I had a talk with that Robbie guy and I can deal with it.” He rubbed at the bags under his eyes.

Luna stared at him for a long moment but eventually sighed. “Very well, I won't press this issue anymore.”

“Thanks,” Gregory said. “I just need a good night’s sleep and I’ll be right as rain. But before I do, I came here for another purpose. I was hoping to try talking to those human prisoners one last time. If they refuse, then I won’t try again, but I need to know I tried my best.”

Luna’s expression immediately went back to worry. “Uh, no one told you? I thought that letter I sent Spike would go through.”

“I didn’t get a letter,” Gregory said, eyes narrowing. “What happened?”

Luna got up from her throne. “Follow me, both of you.”

The three soon found themselves in the dungeons where several guards were examining one of the cells like it was a crime scene. To Gregory and Andrew this would mean one thing. “Oh God, tell me they didn’t…”

The cell was empty and there was a huge slab of stone that was once part of the floor leaning against the wall. The floor had a shallow hole of dirt. Andrew then faced Luna. “How and when did this happen?” he asked

“The guards discovered it around the early hours of yesterday.” Luna explained. “We assumed they secretly dug their way out but this hole doesn't show signs of a cave in.”

The moment Gregory stepped into the cell, he faltered, grabbing at his head. “Fucking hell…” he swore as he fell to his knees. He sniffed in sharply before a small bit of blood came out of both of his nostrils. He put a trembling hand to his nose to stop the bleeding as he tried to stand up.

Andrew noticed this and walked up. “Hey, you alright?”

Gregory looked up with a flash of anger. “Oh sure,” he snapped, “bloody noses happen all the fucking time to me. Thanks for the help, jackass!” He put a hand to his forehead and tried rubbing. “Goddamnit…the hell did that come from…?” That last question sounded more like a self question than anything else.

“Geez, fine, if you're gonna be like that don’t bother asking me to help out at all,” he said. “Sorry for being concerned about my friend.”

In an instant, Gregory was in his face, hands on Andrew’s collar as he slammed his fellow human into the wall. “Then don’t ask fucking stupid questions!” he shouted. For the briefest of moments, Gregory’s eyes flashed a bright blue color, as if they were being illuminated by an inner glow.

The guards were shocked as was Luna, who immediately lit up her horn and got between them. “Gregory! That's enough!”

Gregory was breathing heavily, but when he looked at what he was doing, he slowly released Andrew, stepping away with a look of self loathing, regret, and shame in his eyes. “I…I need some sleep,” he muttered. “I’ll go sleep outside tonight…”

As he walked out, Luna helped Andrew onto his feet. “What has gotten into him?” Luna asked.

“He says it’s stress, but even I’ll admit he’s not acting like his usual jovial self. Not once did he crack a joke since New Year’s.”

[Outside Canterlot - Thirty Minutes Later]

Having used his ice abilities, Gregory had created an igloo of sorts with which he could keep out of the cold. He knew Luna didn’t want him in the castle, so he decided the best place would be outside. He probably couldn’t blame her. His actions inside had been abhorrent. He was just about to create a bed made of ice, there was the sound of teleportation coming from behind him. He turned and when he saw who it was, he looked away. “Hey…” he said.

He soon felt a hoof touch his shoulder. “I’m not here to reprimand you if that’s what you’re thinking,” Luna said.

He let out a breath, which was clearly visible in the darkened light of his temporary igloo. “I’d certainly deserve it,” he said as he spread a blanket on his ice bed before getting out another thicker blanket. Outside, a heavy snowfall had just begun.

“No, you don’t. Andrew doesn’t blame you but he thinks it's best you two don't share this bit with Rainbow.”

He sat on the bed of ice and sighed. “Alright. I won’t tell Rainbow,” he said as he put his hands together, breathing onto them to warm them up. Despite being out of the wind, the inside of his igloo was still cold.

“Gregory, I understand your fears and I know you have been having trouble adapting, but if you need anyone to help you combat this then I can,” Luna explained.

He took in a few deep breaths, exhaling slowly. “I know,” he said softly. He took out a tissue and blew his nose, which showed some remnants of blood on it. He put it in his pocket to throw out somewhere later and continued, “I need some sleep right now, though.” He began to prepare his ice bed for sleep.

“Then let me help you by giving you a more proper place where I can watch your dreams,” she said as her horn lit up and began surrounding Gregory and all of his belongings in her aura.

The jarring temperature change from ice cold to room temperature warm made Gregory feel a bit dizzy, but he quickly recovered as he looked around, seeing that he was now in a guest bedroom in Canterlot. He sat on the edge of his new bed. “Thanks,” he said as he looked down at the floor.

“Think nothing of it my friend, I’ll see you in your dreams,” she said as she left the room.

Gregory could then hear muffled voices from the wall. He tried to listen in and soon learned it was Andrew on crystal call with Rainbow. “Me and Connie should be back in time for dinner tomorrow. I love you too.”

Gregory quickly pulled away, collapsing in his bed. He probably should have called his family, but exhaustion overtook him and he was instantly asleep.

Outside the city two strange looking beings were watching through binoculars. “Hey Jamie, does Gregory seem to be losing it?” Benson asked.

“A bit,” said Jamie. “All according to plan.”