[Unknown Location]

Grogar and Howard looked down at Clark as he patted Scorponok. “Poor pair of fools,” Howard began. “And now Gregory will no doubt be fully aware of everything.”

“Not entirely,” began Grogar. “They don’t know for an absolute fact. In fact even if there was one creature alive around the time of my first defeat even they won’t believe I'm still here. Now on to what could be the easiest part of my plan.”

Howard turned to him excitedly. “This sounds promising. What do we do?”

“Absolutely nothing. Nothing but watch the show about a man that will become a fool,” he said as he levitated a crystal ball to them. “It’s a good thing Clark decided to place that parasite in him. Now his demon will just be a real demon and not some actor in a costume.”

[Canterlot Castle - The Next Morning]

Gregory walked through the streets of Canterlot leading up to the castle. The next morning he decided to let Twilight, Starlight, Trixie and a few others investigate the last area where he felt Clark’s and his pet’s magic signature. He hoped they would find a clue or something.

He approached the entrance where a crowd was formed with mixed reactions. After getting through the crowd some guards let him through a barricade and there he saw the royal sisters. They both turned to see Gregroy walking up to them. Luna gestured to her sister. “Observe…”

Celestia walked up but just as she was about to set a hoof outside the castle she stopped as it looked like she bumped into some kind of window or glass shield. “Others can enter and exit,” Luna began. “But it seems my sister is the only exception.”

“And to add insult to injury…” Celestia said as she tried to take her tiara off. It wouldn’t come off even when Luna tried to tug it off.

“Well damn,” Gregory said, “that sucks. Any idea why?”

“We’re not sure, but should we discuss this more inside?” Celestia asked.

“Good idea,” Gregory said, “because it’ll give me a chance to tell you who’s back.”

Once they were inside they went to the dining hall where tea was being served. Gregory told them of his encounter the night prior. “No wonder there's too many coincidences. I knew those three would cause trouble and not just to Jason.”

Gregory nodded. “Something else is happening,” he said, “and I need the two of you to cast anti-scrying magic, the most powerful that you can.”

“Gregory this castle is already a giant anti-scrying in itself. We have had this since the spring purge.”

“And yet something is affecting Celestia,” Gregory said. “Just do it. I don’t know if it’ll work, but at the very least I need to tell you two something important that I can’t share with anyone else yet.”

The two sisters nodded and lit up their horns. Two huge bubbles began expanding until it fully concealed them and beyond. “Speak your mind,” Luna said.

He held up his hand, which was now sparking much more than he could control. He had been wearing gloves which hid it, gloves from his world, but now even those were failing. “My magic is growing beyond my control, so I need to take myself out of the equation.”

“What do you mean by out of the equation?” Celestia asked.

“I mean I need to stay away from everyone and have absolutely no contact with anyone I know,” he said. “Things have been happening too fast for me to concentrate on learning to master these growing powers of mine. I need to find a place that can conceal me from magical attacks and where I can focus solely on mastering the instability of my increasing magic.” He looked at Celestia. His expression may have been calm, but there was pure terror lurking beneath his eyes. “I absorbed the power of not just one Windigo, Celestia. I absorbed all the Windigos that were there that day. Karma has come to bite me in the ass, and I need to face it head on.”

“And you think exile to solitude is your answer? There are barely enough places in this world for that course of action my friend,” Celestia said.

“I know someplace where I can go,” he said, “and no, before you ask, I can’t tell you. I can’t risk things getting out.”

“Gregory, don't you think that's also what the enemy wants you to do? Abandon Haven City while something lurks in the darkness?” Luna asked with worry.

“I see no other alternative that would keep everyone safe,” Gregory explained. “Ladies, I am starting to lose it. I’m feeling intense paranoia and seeing enemies everywhere. Those dreams I’ve been having may have been planted inside me, but if my powers do keep on growing, then I need to focus solely on controlling them. That way I can come back and kick some major ass.”

“Don’t you have a list of contingency plans?” Luna asked.

“Unfortunately, my powers growing out of my control is something I couldn’t think of because Windigo powers aren’t something anyone truly knows about,” Gregory explained.

Celestia looked out the window as a thought came to her mind. “Anyone but one…” she murmured her voice speaking from experience.

“Let me guess, the Moochick,” Gregory said, eyes rolling as he mentioned the gnome from the My Little Pony G1 cartoons, knowing that was complete bullshit.

Celestia looked at him confused before shaking her head. “No, someone who has been dead long before we became Star Swirl’s students. The father of monsters himself.”

“And that’s who’s returned from the dead,” Gregory said. “He’s the one behind the attacks and everything else.”

The two sisters looked at him bewildered then to each other. They were silent until Luna spoke up. “Gregory, we were foals when we witnessed his demise. There was nothing left of him but his bones and his horns.”

“Believe me or not, it doesn’t matter,” Gregory said. “Grogar is back. Either that, or there’s something out there that is making itself appear to be him, but if there’s anything I know about magic, it’s that each creature’s magical signature is as unique as a fingerprint. It would take an immense amount of power to fake one. And there is absolutely no way I’m going to him for help. Nobody else knows how to control or harness these powers of mine, so I need to be as far away as possible and hidden away in a special place I know of.”

“And are you certain your family will be alright with this decision? You know how Ember would feel to be separated. The same goes for Twilight and the children.”

“Of course they wouldn’t be okay with it,” Gregory said, “but this is why I’m telling you. I can’t be around them at the moment. Our relationship right now is being threatened because I can’t control not just my powers but my emotions.”

“What about Jason and Andrew?” Luna asked. “I heard rumors something happened between them yesterday.”

“That’s something they should tell you if they want,” Gregory explained, “but it’s not my place. My point is that I’m too dangerous to be around anyone until I can fix this.”

The two sisters looked at each other and nodded. “Very well, we’ll respect your decision,” Celestia said.

“But please,” Luna added. “Be careful.”

“I will,” Gregory promised.

[Yggdrasil - An Hour Later]

Gregory walked into Starlight Glimmer’s office where some of his unicorn friends were waiting. “Gregory, you're back. Is Celestia okay?” Starlight asked.

“She’s fine,” he said, acting as if nothing was wrong and as if he wasn’t about to secretly abscond elsewhere. “She’s somehow trapped in Canterlot Castle. Other than that, she’s not hurt or anything.”

Twilight sighed in relief. “Well that's good. We just got back ourselves from those coordinates you gave Ember. We searched the area for any signs of magic energy.”

“And what did you find?” Gregory asked. “Wait, let me guess, a whole lot of nothing.”

“Yes, the only thing we found in that area was some kind of deep hole that looked like it was dug up by diamond dogs,” Trixie explained.

“Of course it wouldn’t be that easy,” he sighed. He walked over to where Trixie and Starlight stood. He patted both of them on the backs. “I knew I should have chased that signature before Ember called me back. Ah well.”

“There's something else,” Twilight began. “A student was walking in that same area last night. He saw you spawn some ice and begin speaking. Only there was no one else there.”

Gregory frowned. “Damn it, they’re good,” he muttered to himself before he removed his hands from Trixie’s and Starlight’s backs. “Okay, I’m going to need to think a bit more about this. I’m going to head to the apartment for a bit, and I’d like to be alone for at least an hour, nothing more.”

Starlight looked at him confused. “Alone for an hour? What are you going to do?”

“Some magical meditation,” Gregory explained. “It helps me calm down, and since there’s a raging blizzard outside, I can’t do it in my normal spot.”

“Gregory? What's going on?” Starlight asked, becoming less concerned and more stern.

“Believe me, that’s what I’d like to figure out,” Gregory said as he looked at the ponies in the room before heading to the door. “I just need to be alone for a bit. Things are happening too fast for anyone to catch a break.”

Starlight stared at him in a way that could nearly rival Fluttershy’s stare. “Okay but please come back here when you’re done,” she said. “We need to talk about something else.”

He nodded before he headed out of the room.

Minutes later, he was standing on the balcony of his apartment overlooking the whiteout conditions around the school. Winter storms were a danger here, but he had managed to figure out a means of flying through the storms. Without a word, and without even packing anything up, he closed the door to the balcony, created his ice wings, and shot into the air, heading north.

Heading towards the only safe place he knew of. Mt. Everhoof.

Down in the gym, Andrew was punching a huge sandbag. “Don’t know a damn thing about him, he says. Grow the fuck up he says,” he groans as he swung another punch at the bag. “Like he knows a damn thing about me as well.”

He swung another punch, making it swing until he heard the doors open.“Geez, dude, another punch and we’ll need to replace that thing,” Rainbow called out from the door.

“Oh hey Dashie,” he says before giving a swift kick.

“Uh uh,” she shook her head before walking up and plopping down on a nearby bench. “No Dashie today. Not until you tell me what’s really bothering you.”

Andrew sighed and took off the boxing gloves he had on. “Remember that story I told you about? The one about Markus?”

She nodded somberly. “What about it?” she asked.

“His death on earth wasn’t the only suicide that resulted from Jason hurting you and your friends. There were others…”

Rainbow’s eyes went wide, then she facehooved. “Celestia-damn it…and you’re just telling me this now?”

“I wanted to tell you and others for some time now. Well, technically Gregory knew more about it. But every time I wanted to talk about it I either got too nervous or got too busy. I didn’t want any more emotions to run high especially after Howard.”

“Okay, first of all, that’s horseshit,” Rainbow said bluntly. “Those are dumb excuses. Let me guess, you were trying to protect our feelings?”

“In a technical sense, yes. But there was a bit more to it.”

“Celestia’s mane, you’re stupid sometimes,” Rainbow said. “Cute. Adorable. But stupid. That is incredibly selfish.”

“I know…the truth is I didn’t want to relive those memories. I wanted to move on. I was tired of seeing that memory play on in my head.”

She softened a bit. “I lost a good number of friends when Jason attacked Ponyville when he was possessed. I might not have been there, but I did see Ponyville afterwards. Move on? Look, I’m not the best at mushy crap like this, but I’ve learned that if you want to move past things, you gotta face them head on first before you can move on. You obviously haven’t done that.” She gestured out the door. “Have you spoken to a professional about this? Either here or back in your world?”

“I have on Earth but I couldn’t afford another session after the first. Around that time I could only do so much, especially in a bad economy.”

“Well, talk to Trixie then,” Rainbow said, “or I could ask Twilight if she could find somepony else who you could talk to. Trixie may be unorthodox, but she’s surprisingly good at being a counselor.” She reached up and gently booped his nose, much like he did with her often. “Gotta pull that bandage off fast, my guy.”

Andrew was silent for a long moment. After a bit he smiled. “How did I end up being with such an awesome fiancee?”

“You got the luck of the draw, dude,” she grinned. “Actually, come to think of it, maybe Stacy or some other humans could use some professional counseling. I mean, none of you are professionals like that, and Maritime Bay is still growing strong.”

“Well, the others didn’t lose anyone close to the suicide. I was the only one with a friend who died and those three escapees lost someone even closer.”

“That doesn’t mean they can’t get somepony or somecreature to talk to,” Rainbow insisted. “Come on, they can’t go back to your homeworld. That’s gotta be tough. I know I’d be super bummed if I was stuck in your old world.”

“You wouldn’t be bummed, you’d be worshiped,” he laughed.

“Yeah, right after your government takes me and tries to figure out how a supposedly fictional character came to life,” Rainbow deadpanned before grinning.

They both laughed for a while before Andrew frowned again. “You think Jason will forgive me? He did have to find out in a rather… brutal way.”

“Well, he forgave us, but it took a while,” Rainbow said, “but I think he might if you show you’re really sorry.”

He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you Rainbow. So, are we still having dinner with your parents tonight?”

“Thankfully, they made it here before the storm broke, so yeah,” Rainbow nodded before standing up gently. “You good now or do you need to punish some sandbags some more?”

“I think I’m done punching but I don’t think I cuddled enough today,” he said grinning.

“You’re lucky I’m grounded because of this foal,” she teased. “Although I think by the time we get back home, we’ll be soaked, so better prepare to cuddle in the bath.” She gave him a sultry wink.

Andrew smiled, knowing he had somepony to once again count on to give him color in a gray world.

[Mt. Everhoof - That Same Time]

The snowy mountains were treacherous at best for almost any flying creature. The winds whipped hard around Gregory’s overcoat as he landed on a pathway leading to the top of the mountain. He was short of breath from the altitude and had to take a breather in order to adjust to the new oxygen content. After a while, he took a sip from the water in his pack and looked around. The snowdrifts on the pathway he’d landed on were high, almost to his hips, so he lifted off of the ground again, created some makeshift snowshoes out of ice, and walked gingerly up the pathway, sticking to the mountainside so as not to fall over.

The climb took him hours, and he had to refill his bottle with ice cold water he created several times, but eventually the pathway began to even out, leading him to a large ledge. He looked at an image on his phone, then back at the ledge where the cavern was. It looked remarkably similar to the cave at the top of the mountain in the Season 9 episode Frenemies. There were rocks with glowing swirls carved into it, a cave blocked by some sort of magical barrier, and whipping winds around him.

Cautiously, he approached, reaching out towards the cavern entrance. He expected to touch some glowing magical shielding, but when his hand continued going in, he paused, pulling back. Looking around, he saw a number of smaller rocks just sitting near the edge of the cliff. Picking one up, he tossed it at the cave, only for it to bounce off of a golden shield. What startled him was that the shield was out farther than his footsteps. He tossed a few more rocks at it with the same results. Walking back up, he stepped past where the shield was, utterly confused.

He took a few steps in, then walked back out. He did this a few more times before he was satisfied, then he headed deeper into the cavern. To his surprise, it was warmer in the cave than it was outside. There were several small holes in the ceiling where snow did fall through, but it always melted before it hit the ground. He created several enchanted ice patches in those holes, creating windows and skylights.

The cavern itself was enormous, a large natural dome shaped structure with stalactites and stalagmites on the ceiling and walls. The ground was a uniform layer of dust save for a circular pool in the center with a pedestal coming out of it. He guessed, judging by an indentation on the pedestal, that this was where Grogar’s Bell had been before it had been claimed. There were two exits from the room, one the way where he’d come, and the second on the opposite side of the first.

Delving forward, he found that the second pathway led to another room, only this one showed ancient signs of habitation. Judging by the size of the ancient bed, it had to have been a pony who had lived there. The bed was made of stone. There was a small fireplace carved into the wall of the secondary chamber along with an empty bookshelf. Other than that, there was nothing else.

Gregory set down his backpack and began to unpack, first laying his winterized sleeping bag on the ground, then placing some of his most prized possessions on the empty shelves. He turned around and faced the first chamber. Sitting down on his sleeping bag, he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly. A single, solitary tear fell down his cheek as he opened his eyes once more. “It’s time,” he began, then closed his eyes once more, falling into magical meditation.

There was darkness for a moment but slowly sounds could be heard. It almost sounded like a riot or a battlefield just like the vision he had on the day he met Andrew and Stacy.

He delved deeper, ignoring the sounds as he searched through himself, looking for what he knew would be there: something akin to a magical infection or virus. The sounds only got louder, but he ignored them until he found what he was looking for, and when he did, he couldn’t believe what he found. There was a small almost microscopic portion of the Timberwolf poison still inside of him. It was small enough that he didn’t even notice it, but it was a link to whatever or whoever had infected him.

He concentrated hard on it, creating an impenetrable shield of ice around it, but being extremely careful not to damage his own body. He thought he heard a deep voice growling the word “No…” before he felt the sudden urge to vomit. Opening his eyes, he jumped up and rushed over to the cavern’s entrance, puking up a small piece of ice onto the cave entrance floor.

He looked down at it in disgust, then lifted his boot and smashed the ice, stomping out the last remaining bit of Timberwolf poison forever. He felt freer than he had in a very long time, but he knew there was still work to be done. Turning back, he returned to his spot, sat down, and resumed the meditation. This time, there were no interruptions.

The connection between Gregory and his attacker had been permanently severed.

[Gregory’s Apartment - That Evening]

Cozy Glow looked out the window at the snow lightly falling, her face full of concern. She sighed as she went to the kitchen where Twilight and Spike were preparing dinner. “When’s daddy coming back?” she asked.

Twilight stopped stirring the pot, her expression going from focused to worried. A deep dreaded feeling started crawling up her spine as she looked down at the filly. “I’m sure he’ll be back any minute now,” Twilight said. But deep down she felt like she was lying to herself.

“But where did he even go?” Cozy asked.

“Probably gone to deal with some issues,” Ember said as she strolled into the kitchen after taking a shower.

Twilight nodded in agreement. ‘He better get back here soon. Gone for an hour? More like gone for the day,’ she thought. “Hey Ember can you stir this? I just remembered I have to make a call to Starlight in regards to… something,” she said.

“Huh? Oh sure,” she said as she grabbed the spoon from Twilight. The alicorn left the kitchen and into the bedroom where she picked up a communicator. “Come on Gregory, pick up,” she pleaded to herself. There was no reply.

However, after a few seconds, the sound of a message being played could be heard. It was Gregory’s voice. “Hello. By now you’re probably wondering where I am. Rest assured that I am in no danger at the moment. I cannot reveal where I am for security reasons because all of our minds are being tapped by Grogar, so please believe that I am far enough away that I will be no danger to anyone. I will only repeat this message once because afterwards, the message won’t play again. I have messages for Cozy, Ember, Twilight, Jason, and Andrew, so whoever is receiving this message either find them right away or write down the messages. Hang up and call again and I will repeat these messages.”

Twilight quickly ripped a blank page from a notebook and a pen. “Ember! Cozy! Hurry up and get up here!” she called after cutting the call short and waiting for them so she could call again.

“Why is it always me?” Spike groaned as he took over for Ember as she and Cozy entered the bedroom.

“You come up too, Spike,” Twilight quickly added.

The two ponies and two dragons gathered around the crystal communicator as Twilight called again. The first message played, then there was a ten second pause before the message continued. “To Cozy Glow, my first family in this world and my beloved daughter. I love you so much, sweetie, and I am proud of the filly you are. I will not be gone forever, only until I have mastered this increasing magical ability I have. Until I return, know that I will think about you every day. I have a picture of us with me that I will look at until I return to see you.”

Cozy Glow had tears welling up in her eyes as Ember picked her up and held her close.

“To my beloved wife Ember. I know you’re probably seriously pissed off at me for running away, and you have every right to be.”

“Damn right I am,” she murmured.

“When I do return, and I promise you that I will return,” Gregory’s voice continued, “I give you permission to slug me as hard as you want. I want you to know I didn’t make this decision lightly. I know everyone around me was eventually going to put me in magical restraints, and they would have been right to do so. Still, I had to leave to learn to control this magic far away. I couldn’t risk hurting you or anyone else that I love. You will always be in my thoughts and dreams. I love you so very much, my azure princess and I promise that I will return to you.”

Ember held Cozy tightly as she tried her best to keep her own tears from streaming down. But those efforts were worthless. Twilight could only imagine what he would say to her.

“Twilight Sparkle: my first friend in this world, my first magic teacher, and newest member of my family. I owe you a lot for teaching me about how to control my magic up until now, and I will be forever grateful for what you’ve done for me. I love you so very much, and I promise to return to you and everyone else. I can’t wait to see all of you.”

Twilight now had a look of sorrow as she then held up the pen and paper with her magic. He knew what she was about to hear would be both a message to deliver and a letter to the changeling hive.

“To Jason Wright. I can only imagine how pissed you are at me now, too. I don’t blame you. I encourage you, however, to stay the course and be strong for your wife, your child, and the changeling hive. They are your family and you deserve that much after everything you’ve gone through. I also encourage you to try and make amends with Andrew and the others. Don’t do it for my sake, and if you can’t, don’t. I look forward to seeing you again.”

“Only one left,” Twilight said.

“To Andrew, my attitude against you lately has not been the kind I can tolerate in others, and for that, I do apologize. No excuses can be made, and if this has damaged our friendship, then I can’t blame you. Still, please remain strong and help to protect Haven City and your friends.”

Twilight wrote it all down not missing a single word.

“Oh, and before I go, I do have one more message, this one for young Spike,” the voice of Gregory said. Spike perked up at this. “I remember our conversations about mine and Twilight’s relationship, and I know from my empathic abilities that you’ve desired to have a bigger family. In the top drawer next to my bed is a piece of paper. I want you to go get it right now if you are there. If not, can whoever is hearing this give it to him?”

Spike immediately ran to the drawer and began rummaging through it and soon pulled out a sheet of paper. The piece of paper was a complete adoption form with Spike’s name on it, only with a new surname. The name read Spike Graystone. Spike had tears welling up as he looked back to the others.

“If you don’t like having my last name there, we can discuss it when I get back, but you’ve become part of my family over the past few months, and I know Cozy sees you as a brother. When I come back, I will deliver this paper, unless you want to deliver it now. I won’t stop you. I’m glad to know you, young dragon. Stay safe and protect our family.”

As the call came to a close everyone gathered in a group hug all of them crying. But deep down they all knew he would come back. When exactly they won't know.

“In conclusion, I make this solemn vow,” Gregory’s voice said, and this time there was determination in his voice. “I will return. I will help defeat our enemies and bring peace to this land. If there are any children there, I’m sorry for what I’m about to say, but nobody, and I mean NOBODY, fucks with my family and friends and get away with it! I love you all, and will see you all again.”

Meanwhile outside a figure watched the scene through binoculars. They couldn’t hear the voice on the communicator crystal, but noted how distraught they seemed to be. The figure flew away, completely missing the smiles on the faces of the group. He assumed that they had just received some bad news about one of their primary targets, one Gregory Graystone, and smirked to himself. “Clark to Howard, it would seem the stubborn one has abandoned his home much sooner than we predicted. Shall we make arrangements for the next phase?”

“No…Grogar’s orders. We must wait but they don't have to know whatever happens it's on us,” Howard responded.

“What are you suggesting, bossman?” Clark asked.

“You don't have to do anything, but your new pet can.”

Clark grinned as he dropped a ball on the dirt ground. Scorponok spawned next to him. “My pet… hunt and destroy but make your noise… quiet once in a while.”

The giant robot scorpion nodded and tunneled underground using its claws like drills.

[Rainbow’s House - That Same Time]

It was a bit quiet in the dining area as Andrew stared down at the food before him. A pasta and potato sandwich on sourdough. He picked it up with his hands and took a big bite. After a bit of chewing he swallowed. “Mmm this actually tastes better than I thought it would,” he said.

“Well, our little Dashie always had the best taste in food,” Windy Whistles said with glee.

“Mom…” Rainbow groaned.

“Sorry old habits die hard.”

The small family continued to eat but Andrew looked over and saw Bow Hothoof watching him carefully. He felt a little uneasy about it but didn’t let it bother him that much. “So uh, how was your journey here? I assume the EGR made good on their travel discounts?”

“Oh yes, the family discounts you gave to us were great and those first class coaches were warm and comfortable,” Windy said. “Never thought traveling by train would be more luxurious than flying on a breeze.”

“And we’ll be doing more to improve,” Andrew said, appreciating the feedback.

“Yeah, like wearing protection,” Bow said.

“Excuse me?” Andrew asked.

“You heard me!” Bow said, slamming his hoof on the table.

“Dad!” Rainbow snapped.

“Honey, we talked about this,” Windy said, trying to put a hoof on her husband’s.

“No! I won’t stand for this. This man came from a species that was tartarus bent on destroying us and crippled our daughter! And to add insult to injury he got her knocked up!”

“Technically that was Howard for destroying and an angry Jason for crippling her,” Andrew corrected.

“Which was deserved,” Rainbow added.

“But the knock up part, yeah that's on me,” Andrew finished scratching the back of his head.

“Regardless, while I’m glad our daughter has been healed by you, what's to stop your kind from hurting her again?”

Rainbow and Andrew looked at each other and leaned in. “Should we tell him it was Jason forced to heal you?” Andrew whispered.

“I don’t know if that would make it worse or better.” Rainbow whispered back.

They both turned back to the father. “Sir, I didn’t play a part in removing the scar from your daughter or giving her flight back. But please understand I would do anything to protect her and the baby she’s now carrying.”

“So if she gets her painful punishment back will you just let her have it and let her continue to suffer with it?”

“Dad-”

“I want to hear it from him, Dashie!”

Andrew was silent as the words sank in. He looked to his fiance who stared back at him. Would he let her have it back? He inhaled, then turned to Bow. “Mr. Hothoof,” he said stalwartly, “your daughter made it crystal clear when Jason first offered to take the punishment away that she would refuse. They all did. They said they deserved what they got, and it would be unfair to get off early. If Rainbow Dash says she wants it back, then I will respect that decision. Same if she doesn’t want it back. It’s her body, so it’s her choice. And frankly, that’s all that should matter to those who love her.”

There was silence between all four of them. It was so tense that even the breeze from the outside could be loud. After a while Bow sighed. “I swear if anything happens to my daughter or grandchild because of any pain you or any other human gives her. I’ll be coming after you.” He said with a menacing look. “And that's not a threat. It's a promise.” He then sat back down and sighed. “But I can tell you're a decent human. So tell me how would you rate our daughter on an awesome scale?”

“Twenty- no one hundred and twenty percent cooler,” Andrew said.

There was a tense silence until Bow Hothoof sighed. “Well that's something we can agree on. Consider my blessings given. Even though you already proposed to her.”

That made everyone smile. To Andrew that was a huge relief. A while later he was in bed with Rainbow. Her parents were lucky to be a short walk away from an inn. The two stared at each other lovingly. Andrew rubbed Rainbow’s belly. “You know I have to wonder since Chrys and Jas have a hybrid does that mean we have a hybrid too?”

“I don’t know,” Rainbow said. “When I went to the doctor he said it was too early to tell. I have an ultrasound coming up soon, maybe we’ll find out more then.”

“Even if the child is a hybrid I’ll still love him or her no matter what.”

Rainbow kissed him. “So will I.”

Gregory lay down on the floor of his current sleeping cave, breathing in regularly as he attempted to fall asleep. However, his mind wandered. It hadn’t taken him long to realize that the cave he was in acted like the event horizon of a black hole, but in reverse, that is, that time inside the cave moved along at a faster pace than it did outside. Already, several days had passed for him while only about an hour or more had passed in the outside world. It was nighttime now, and it would be for a long while. In the relative days since he’d entered the cave, he would go out regularly and scoop up snow to melt for water, not wanting to use the cave’s pool. Strangely, it seemed as if the time dilation effects were only present if he was in it. He was happy about this, and had decided that he could possibly use this to his advantage.

During one of the times he had been outside, he had discovered a smaller cave that didn’t have this time dilation effect, so he decided that when night would eventually come, he would sleep in that cave for that one night, then return to the first cavern. He was currently in the second cave, which was much warmer than the outside. He curled up in his sleeping bag, conserving his warmth. The sleeping mask over his eyes and the beanie he wore helped keep heat in tremendously, as did the long johns he wore. He would have started a fire, but knew that was a foolish idea as this cave didn’t have a fireplace, so he would need to sleep without one.

Slowly, he began drifting off to sleep, the constant sound of wind easing his mind. However, it didn’t feel like he fell asleep. The next thing he knew, Gregory felt himself in some sort of void. Slowly, light began to form around him. He found himself standing on nothing despite there being something solid beneath his feet. His body also appeared to be a silvery translucent version of his normal body.

He looked around, and the scene shifted. He now saw that he was standing in a vast, seemingly endless prairie with perfectly circular pools of still water scattered throughout. His body remained almost ethereal, but felt solid to the touch. He began walking along, looking into the pools, only to start seeing strange things in each of them. Each one looked like they were first person videos of wild and dreamlike scenes.

As he watched, he noted that a few of them would vanish while new pools would simply appear out of nowhere. Above him, the sun shone down and a light mist spread everywhere.

He took a step, only to realize far too late that he had stepped into a pool itself. He fell in, only instead of feeling himself get wet, the world around him dissolved, then reformed. He then felt his feet touch something like gravel. When his vision cleared he found himself standing under a floodlight. He looked around and realized he was in the middle of a train yard on Earth. His body still retained its ethereal translucent appearance, however.

Curious, he started to wander around and soon found himself in a workshop that had a few diesel locomotives parked inside. They were all blue with the word Conrail in white letters across them. He then heard static and saw a radio on a nearby desk. He walked over and the static stopped only for a voice to be heard.

"Conrail is officially extinct. Goodbye Conrail."

"That's a 10-4 roger."

"Good axle count. uh, this will be your final Conrail Youngstown Line Out."

"NS Youngstown Line out..."

“So what? You’re just gonna leave?” a female voice spoke from behind. He looked back, only to find that there was no one until he noticed the cab lights in one of the engines was on with a man fiddling with the controls.

“You and I both knew this day would come,” a male voice replied. “I’m needed on a different line and that's just business. The only thing that'll happen to you is either a new paint job or a transfer like me.”

“Like hell it is,” the female voice replied. Gregory then realized it sounded like a younger Connie. “You’re just letting these corporate pigs take you away from me and we both know we’re slowly being replaced by newer models. I might be sent to a junkyard by the end of the year. We can still stop this, we just need to fake our breakdowns, lock our brakes, and that’ll be us going on strike and the humans won’t even know it's-”

The second voice cut her off. “Are you even listening to yourself? That’s just…” the voice trailed off as one of the diesels began moving forward towards the big doors. “You know what, forget it. Your next train is bound for the east interchange and I’ll be there to be transferred to the CSX until then. You can say goodbye there if you want.”

“Fine then! Screw off to God knows where. You're dead to me, you hear me? Dead!”

The scene shifted and Gregory then found himself in a scrapyard. Rusting automobiles, old broken locomotives, and scrap metal laid everywhere. He then saw the familiar shape of Connie’s old body sitting amongst the wreckage. He then heard what sounded like crying. “I’m sorry…I hope you made it out there. Wherever you are.”

“Who were you talking about?” Gregory asked without thinking.

“Who’s there!?” Connie asked in alarm.

Gregory jumped. “Shit,” he muttered as he stepped out in front of Connie and waved sheepishly. “Um…sup?”

The rusting hulk of a machine suddenly flickered her cab lights on. To Gregory it felt like a pair of eyes were looking down at him. “Who are- wait Gregory?” There was a brief silence until Connie spoke again. “This is a dream isn't it? How are you here?”

Gregory reached out, then snapped his fingers. Connie’s bulky form began to shift and warp until she became a human. Her new form had jet black hair, wore a conductor’s hat, a pair of blue jeans, a black sweater, and had deep yellow eyes that glowed. He figured that it would be easier to talk to someone in a human form rather than a train. “Honestly? I wish I knew,” he said. “This shouldn’t be happening. Only Princess Luna has the power to enter dreams, but if this really is your dream, then somehow I gained this ability since I left.”

Connie took a moment to look over her new dream body. “How?” She then shook off her shock as she looked up into Gregrory’s eyes. “Wait a minute, you left? Is that why I heard Ember yell out in rage? I could hear her all the way from my shed.”

“Yeah…I left town and headed…somewhere else for a while,” he replied.

Connie’s eyes became narrow and she crossed her arms. “Define while and somewhere?”

“I can’t do either of that,” he said, “mostly because I don’t know how long, and as for the where, I can’t risk it. I’m both being targeted by ancient enemies of the world and my powers are growing faster than I can control them. I need a place to learn to wield these new abilities without harming those I care about.”

“And you’re doing this alone?” she asked in alarm. “Why can’t Twilight or even Celestia help you?”

“Again, I don’t want anyone being hurt by what’s going on inside me,” he explained. “Celestia is unable to help as it is, and Twilight? Well, again, I don’t want her being hurt because of me. She still can’t use her magic thanks to the Gjallarhorn.”

“I can’t tell if you're being outright stubborn or being paranoid because you are hurting the ones you love right now.”

Gregory held up his thumb and forefinger. “A little bit of both, to be honest,” he said, “but where I am right now is perfect because it means I’ll likely be home much sooner than I expected.” He stroked his chin, remembering that he hadn’t shaved in what to him was days, and he was growing a silvery white beard because of it. “I can’t risk the enemy finding me and tormenting me. It’s a distraction I can’t afford.”

Connie just shook her head. “I’m not sure if I agree with your methods but I won’t question it. But seriously you need to stop keeping your family in the dark. I had to learn that the hard way.”

He sighed. “Yeah, that’s why I left them messages. Look, right now, I know I made a good decision. Maybe not the best, but it’s definitely helping. I’m starting to regain some control and am learning more. Besides, when I did leave, things were already a bit tense between me and a few people, including Ember and Twilight. I saw how afraid they were of me. I need to learn to control these new abilities.”

Connie was silent for a bit but nodded eventually. “Well whenever you decide you do need help I’ll be waiting.”

He chuckled. “Thanks. Also, please keep this conversation to yourself. We don’t know who else might be listening.”

“Sure. Oh, before you go, how much of my dream did you see?”

Gregory took a deep breath. “I came in when someone said Conrail was officially extinct.”

Connie frowned and looked down in sadness. “I can still hear that radio call to this day. The ending of a railroad that saved the industry only for a more corrupt one to take over.”

He walked over to her. Now it was his turn to comfort her. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to his solid but still ethereal and translucent form. “You’re in a much better place now,” he reassured her softly.

Connie was surprised. “So this is how it feels to be hugged. I see why Andrew and Rainbow love it so much.”

Gregory chuckled. “You know,” he mused, “when this is all over, perhaps there’s a way you can be given the ability to switch between a human form and your train form. Or even a pony form, a griffin form, dragon form, the sky’s the limit.”

“Well, we were called iron horses for a reason,” she chuckled. “Anyway I should rest. I have a train to take to the badlands tomorrow. Does Jason know you left?”

“I left him a message, so hopefully he does,” Gregory replied. “In the meantime, however, here.” He waved his hand, and the scene shifted. The two of them stood in Connie’s own train body as they rushed down a track. They were traveling through an idyllic looking meadow with snow capped mountains on either side. Gregory smiled and put Connie in command of the train. “Here, you should enjoy the rest of your dream.”

Connie sat in the driver seat and placed a hand on her own throttle. She leaned out the window to look down the track and then back to Gregory. “Thank you…”

He smiled. “Have a better and pleasant dream, my friend. I’ll leave you to it.” With that, he flew out into the air, and instantly found himself back in the valley of pools. Looking around, he spotted a tree and walked over to it. Sitting beneath it, he closed his eyes, and fell once more back into a meditative state.

[Changeling Guard Outpost – The Next Day]

Jason looked over the scroll that was sent to him. Thanks to Spike’s breath he received it without waiting. As he read his part of the message, he didn’t know what to feel. Eventually he groaned. “Gregory, you stubborn asshole.”

Eventually the chariot landed outside a camp with a guard tower and a few tents. The changeling guards saluted as Jason stepped off. “Good morning, Emperor. How was your journey?” asked one of them. Jason said nothing as he approached the camp. The same guard spoke up again. “Sir? Are you okay? You seem agitated and you look like you didn’t sleep well.”

“Oh I’m just feeling peachy,” Jason said sarcastically. “Just had another nice night of terrors where I saw myself becoming possessed again and killing every single ling. Does it LOOK LIKE I SLEPT AT ALL?!” The guards jumped at his sudden outburst. Jason soon calmed down. “No no I’m sorry. I’m just stressed. Let's just get this over with. Have there been any signs of unusual activity out here?”

“No sir,” another changeling drone replied. “All is quiet. Too quiet, one would say. We however have been told of the freight train passing by later.”

As they spoke something rose from the ground beneath the guard tower. Something metal and sharp began picking at the wood. A few seconds later there was a groan followed by a creaking noise and a snap. One changeling looked back. “WATCH OUT!”

Everyone moved out of the way as the tower fell over with a crash. Everyone looked at the remains of the tower. “What the hell was that?!” Jason asked.

“Maybe the wood is old. It is an old tower,” the drone responded. The others began inspecting the debris as Jason watched. What he didn't see was the long metal sharp tail emerging from the ground behind him. Its tail extended a sharper blade from the end. That was when the same drone looked back. “WHOA!” he yelled as he fired a beam. Jason immediately jumped to the side as the beam nearly missed him. The tail meanwhile was also missed and reverted back into the ground.

All changelings started firing randomly at the ground around them. Jason looked all around him but couldn’t see anything. “All is quiet, huh?”

Suddenly something jumped from the ground and stabbed a random drone. It was then all saw what was before them a large robotic scorpion about the size of a tank. A barely alive changeling impaled on its tale. To Jason it almost looked familiar.

“All drones ATTACK!” Jason commanded.

The drones wasted no time as they fired beams at Scorponok. Despite all beams making direct contact with him. He was somehow unaffected. It wasn't long until it began fighting back much to Jason’s horror. It shot projectiles from its claws and tail. He couldn't believe how strong it was. “Grrr… All units fall back!”

The drones flew off while Jason quickly climbed into the chariot. But the moment he was airborne the chariot was blasted and it crashed into the ground.

Meanwhile Connie was making her way up the line with a small train. She stopped as she heard what sounded like gunfire. “What's that?”

She then saw a figure run over the hill and straight towards her. “Get us out of here!” he yelled as he jumped in her cab.

“What's going-” but before she could finish she saw Scorponok scuttling over the hill and jumped onto the tracks in front of her.

“JUST DRIVE!” Jason yelled as Connie began moving backwards as fast as she could. Fortunately she was able to outrun the scorpion.

A couple hours later she was back in Haven City. Many royal guards and an ambulance carriage were at the station. “Emperor Wright, I need you to calm down and tell me again what did you see?”

“Oh for the fifth time. It was a GIANT METAL SCORPION!” he screamed at the guard. “It was like something out of a sci fi movie or maybe something out of robot hell. It took out a few of my guards and the two drones who were pulling my chariot.”

“Well you're safe now. We will organize a military escort for you back to the changeling hive after we get you examined at our hospital. We’ll even send a team to find the changelings that were attacked.”

“If they’re even still alive…” Jason groaned as he left the platform following the guards.

As he left two humans looked at each other in concern. “A giant robot scorpion? Doesn’t that sound like-”

“Katy, MLP may be owned by Hasbro who also owned Transformers but I doubt Gaia will be given the avengers or justice league treatment,” Derek responded. “The poor guy is probably confused.”

Meanwhile Rainbow and Andrew were in the hospital. They decided to get the ultrasound to check on the baby. Andrew received his message from Gregory this morning while getting the paper but knew it would be best to not show any concern. Rainbow had a small look of annoyance as her pregnant belly was now starting to show. “And here I thought this was from dinner. I’m gonna hate this. The gel they use is so cold.”

“Aw you want to trade places,” Andrew teased as he stood up and held his breath making his stomach stick out.”I mean with how much that sandwich was I gotta be half your size by now.”

That got Rainbow laughing hard. “Ha ha you clown.”

“Hold still,” the nurse said as she applied some gel to Rainbow’s stomach. Rainbow flinched at the sudden cold. “Geez, it feels like Gregory’s ice.”

The mention of his name nearly made Andrew frown but tried not to show it in front of her. The nurse then began to place an ultrasound device on her. Both Rainbow and Andrew looked to the monitor until they noticed a form taking shape they both looked carefully at the screen. As the shape of the fetus became more clearer all three in the room were in complete shock. “I don't believe it…” Andrew muttered.

“Neither do I,” the nurse said. “Your offspring…is a-”

“-Is a human!?” Rainbow finished.

“Wait, not entirely, look,” Andrew said as he pointed to the screen and they noticed strange appendages on the back. “Wings…”

Everyone was silent until the nurse broke the silence. “So… Do you two want to know the sex of your baby?”

“You can tell that early?” Andrew asked.

“Wait, let's reveal it at one of those gender reveal parties,” Rainbow suggested. “Pinkie would have the best gender reveal methods.”

Before anyone could say anything else there was commotion coming from outside. There they saw Jason walking through the halls following a doctor to another room. “Whoa, what happened to him?” Rainbow asked.

“I’ll go speak with him,” Andrew said as he went to the door to follow him. “I won’t be long.”

He walked and saw Jason through another door being examined by a few doctors. He had a few more bandages than last time being applied. “I would strongly advise staying in your home for a while sir,” the doctor suggested.

He grunted. “Sure, I doubt I’ll be let out anyway,” he grumbled.

Andrew then entered the room. The two stared at each other. The doctor looked at each of them before speaking. “Oh should I leave you two alone or would you like me to escort this man out?”

“The former,” Jason replied.

The doctor left, leaving the two humans alone in the room. “Okay I know you heard this question too many times today but what happened to you?” Andrew asked.

“Oh, the usual shit,” he said sarcastically. “Had nightmares, got a message from Gregory saying he’s going AWOL, then got attacked by some freaky metal monster, strangely identical to the one Gregory described, if you want to know.”

“Freaky metal monster? He never told me that.” Andrew said, raising a brow.

“Oh yeah. Starlight told me about it.” He went on to describe what Starlight had mentioned.

“Whoa whoa did you mean…” he then pulled out his phone and pulled a picture. “...this guy.” The picture was what looked like a screenshot from a movie. It had the exact same monster that was described. “Did he look at all like this?”

“That’s the one,” Jason said.

“This is Skorponok from the Transformers movies by Michael Bay. There's no way in hell this guy could exist here. Unless this world has some connection like in those avenger movies.”

“Or if someone recreated it, like say, Grogar,” Jason replied with a frown.

“Yeah, that is a possibility but everycreature keeps saying he’s dead and nothing but bones,” Andrew said.

“Un huh, and since when has that stopped anyone from coming back in this world, dumbass?” Jason snapped. “Sombra was technically dead and came back. The Pillars are still out there. Discord was trapped in stone and came back. Think maybe we should have actually believed Gregory instead of dismissing his claims as ramblings?”

“I try to accept his claims but lately the guy has been quick to anger like one of those conspiracy nutjobs from Q-anon.”

“And maybe that has to do with some outside influence, huh?” Jason retorted. “Like our nightmares?”

Andrew frowned at this but then remembered something. “Strange, I haven't had any nightmares as of late.”

“I have,” Jason replied. The two fell into another awkward silence. It wasn't until Jason remembered what Gregory told him to try and do. “Look, let’s change the subject.”

“Oh what about? Is this about any future weddings?”

“It’s about what you hid from me,” Jason replied. Andrew frowned and looked away. To him it felt like a small punch. Jason continued, however. “Look, I get why you did it, but you had plenty of opportunities to tell me. If you did it because you wanted to protect me or something, then you really shouldn’t have thought that way. I’m more hurt that you didn’t tell me. Sure, it’s upsetting to know people have ended their lives because of what happened here, but like I’ve said, that was not in my control, nor was it in your control.”

“It was more than that,” Andrew muttered. “Albeit a slightly more selfish reason.”

“Explain it, then.”

“Because I wanted to forget what happened to my friend. While me, Stacy and Robby saw him jump I saw him get run over by that Acela train. Everytime I think about that tribunal I think of that day I lost someone closer to me like a brother. Sure, you went through hell but people like us went through an even deeper emotional hell. Sure, it was selfish but I didn't want to bring it out again. So don’t tell me to just grow the fuck up because its hard to do just that when you’re going through so much.”

“That…seems like it would be disingenuous to his memory,” Jason stated. “And you think you’re going through so much? Everyone has gone through their own shit. You, me, Chrysalis, Rainbow, everyone. You haven’t fully faced your trauma. I’ve more than faced mine. I don’t know what this friend was like, but I can only guess he’d be upset at how you’re handling this. You need to face this and talk to someone instead of ignoring it and hope it’ll go away. Trust me.”

Andrew was silent as the words sank in. He then faced him with a small smile on his face. “It's funny, isn't it? I spent a good few months wishing you were in hell. Then I came to help you. Then you acted a little like a jerk last night and now you're a voice of wisdom.”

“Guess who told me to do this?” he asked with a smirk.

“No need, even if I hadn't read Twilight’s transcript I would’ve assumed it was him,” Andrew said. “Still, are you still sour at me for it?”

“More so that you didn’t tell me, but I’ll get over it,” Jason replied.

“Well I’m still sorry for that. Can I at least get an apology for what you said last night?”

“I’ll apologize for how I said it, but I just repeated what I said in a nicer way right now,” he replied. “So yes, sorry for how I acted.”

“Alright then now it's my turn to change the subject. I’m here for Rainbow’s ultra sound and you're not gonna believe it. Take a guess what our child is going to look like.”

“Draconequus?” Jason guessed.

“No, it's almost completely human,” Andrew replied.

Jason raised an eyebrow. “No shit?”

“Well imagine a baby angel without a halo. The offspring looks human but it has wing appendages on its back.”

“Damn, a freaking angel,” Jason muttered.

“A Gaian angel,” Andrew thought. “A new species we’re about to see.”

Author's Note

Funfact: The radio call about Conrail is real.

Anyway next chapter will be a while since both me and my co writer will be busy since the holidays are coming.