A Renewed Ending

Friday, December 3, 1007 A.L., Gryphonia

“We want to leave somedragon behind as a liaison between Gryphonstone and the Dragon Lands,” Rhyo said the moment the last meeting between the Convocation and the delegates from Saddle Arabia and the Dragon Lands began.

“We concur with this,” Haakim added. “Saddle Arabia would like to leave somepony behind to help maintain this new trade agreement in real time.”

Gregory looked around at the delegates. Amira was giving the Convocation a nod alongside her brother, and he could just see the excitement on Silica’s face. He guessed that she wanted that job. The day after the creation of his new house had been a day off for most of Gryphonstone, and that meant that the negotiation meeting didn’t take place. That didn’t mean that Silica hadn’t visited Gregory to learn all that she could about humans. That Sunday had been a very fun one for her. His new housemates even joined in, and the conversation evolved to talk about the various cultures represented in the room.

What he learned about the myths of humans in this world was confusing and scarce, to say the least. Silica promised to bring him some books from her hoard to show him what she’d learned, but what he’d learned was that humans apparently lived on a small continent east of both Gryphonia and the Dragon Lands. They’d apparently been a powerful kingdom or empire, but some great calamity had caused them to go either near extinct or extinct. Silica had traveled to the continent a few time, and while it was devoid of sapient life, there was absolutely no evidence of past habitation. The human artifacts she had, few and far between, came from finding an ancient chest on the eastern shores of the Dragon Lands. That included the gifts she’d given him. Even the carvings on the sword were little proof. They could have been drawings of mythical figures for all anyone knew.

“Who would you like to stay here?” Geoffrey asked, leaning forward and taking on a curious but neutral expression. This brought Gregory back to the present after his brief thoughts back to the previous Sunday.

Haakim looked at Amira. “My sister has expressed interest in staying behind to help,” he said. “Three of her personal guards have volunteered to stay behind as well.”

Gregory exchanged looks with the Convocation, who were doing the same with each other. He realized he should have expected this sort of possibility, and then looked around at some of the members of the Convocation, wondering if any of them should travel to the other nations as representatives. At the very least, he wanted to at least visit and see what Saddle Arabia and the Dragon Lands were both like. He had an inkling as to what the Dragon Lands were like, but Saddle Arabia was a complete mystery to him.

It seemed like a few other members of the Convocation felt similarly to him, because Gael looked over at Geoffrey, who nodded. He then turned to the dragons. “I will travel to the Dragon Lands as a representative of Gryphonia,” he said. “I know the lands there better than most gryphons do, and I can help to smooth things over between our two nations.”

“Well, I hope you’re okay with sleeping in a cave,” Ember said.

“I once had a dragon girlfriend, remember?” he chuckled. “I got used to it very quickly.”

“We will provide you with a place to live and work from,” Scoria promised.

“I will travel to Saddle Arabia,” Ginna announced as well, looking over at Haakim. “I have been there a couple of times myself, and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of it and learning how we might be able to deepen this new treaty between our countries.”

Haakim nodded. “I’m sure the Sultan will be more than happy to provide you with lodging and a place where you can work as well,” he said.

“I do have to wonder, though, how will you all communicate with your fellow Convocation members if the need arises,” Amira asked curiously.

“Leave that to us,” Gwendolyn replied with a smile. “We can come up with something that will work for us.”

The way she said that made Gregory pause a bit. He wasn’t sure what she was referring to, but there was something in her tone that indicated she was hiding something. Still, he hid his suspicions and turned to Amira. “I’m sure that we can find a place for you to stay and work from. You too, Miss Silica,” he added, turning to the young dragoness.

“Can I stay with you??” Silica asked quickly. However, a glare from her mother quickly silenced her. “Ah, um…I’m sorry. That was rude.”

“Actually, that’s not a bad idea,” Grandpa Gruff said. “Young’un, you got those two empty bedrooms. Why not let our two new guests stay there?”

Gregory paused to consider. The two bedrooms on the first floor would likely be used as guest rooms anyway, and they were big enough for both the pegasus and the dragoness. “Honestly, I’m not sure about that,” he admitted. “For one, I just got the house a week ago and me and my housemates are just starting to get used to each other. However, I’ll ask what they think.”

“I don’t mind sleeping wherever you put us,” Amira said.

“I’ve seen some caves in the mountains nearby where I could live if I need to,” Silica said with a soft smile. “A few are big enough for some of my hoard.”

“We have several bedrooms here that can work for you two,” Gwendolyn said, “so we can place you in them for the time being.”

Silica shook her head vehemently. “No,” she said. “You need those spaces for homeless gryphons. I’m fine with staying in a cave.”

“We have a campsite on the opposite side of the gorge,” Amira said, “so I can stay there with my guards. We’ve been warm and secure there so far.”

Gregory’s respect for Silica and Amira instantly grew in that moment. He smiled as he said, “Once this meeting is over, I’ll go and speak with my housemates about you two staying in my home. Winters in Gryphonstone are apparently pretty harsh, and this Convocation wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

“And for the time being, we insist on the two of you staying in the Eyrie,” Geoffrey said. “We can rearrange if need be.”

“Are you sure about that?” Amira asked. Silica looked equally as concerned.

“We dragons are tougher than we look,” Silica added, pounding her chest. “Trust me, I’ll be more than fine in the caves.”

“Quit bein’ stubborn,” Grandpa Gruff said. “We ain’t about to let you two sleep in anything but the finest we can offer!”

Amira raised her hooves in surrender. “Since you insist, we’ll stay here.”

Silica nodded as well. “Thank you for the hospitality,” she said with a short bow.

Ember sighed at this. “I wasn’t going to have you stay here, Silica, but…you’ve been helpful this past week. So sure, you can stay.”

Silica bowed to Ember, but Gregory could see the excitement on her face. “I will make sure to behave in a manner befitting of a representative of the Dragon Lands,” she said.

“Make sure you do,” Rhyo said sternly.

“I will, father,” she said.

“Well, now that that’s out of the way and settled,” Geoffrey said after a few seconds of silence, “are there any other topics you would like to discuss before we conclude this final meeting?”

The delegates looked at one another, then began whispering to each other. Gregory couldn’t hear what they were saying since his hearing wasn’t quite as good as those of the others, but he doubted any other gryphon could hear them anyway. After a few small discussions, the dragons finished first. Moments later, the Saddle Arabians finished as well. Geoffrey looked at them and said, “Judging from the looks on your faces, you must have something to say.”

“It’s about the changelings for us,” Ember blurted out.

“We have our own concerns regarding the changelings and their new emperor,” Haakim added.

The Convocation, including Gregory, exchanged concerned looks. Gregory had told his housemates that didn’t know about Jason Wright and his treatment by the ponies of Ponyville earlier that week. Sunset, Starlight, and Trixie had all been there too to help explain what little they knew. Gabby already knew, but it still saddened her to know this. Gallus was upset, but did his best not to show it. Gilda had been pissed and had wanted to fly to Ponyville to give Rainbow Dash a piece of her mind and perhaps more, but everyone had calmed her down. She was still pissed, but they managed to convince her not to do anything rash.

He had told the Convocation about the Emperor’s true identity a few days prior before the delegates arrived for that meeting. Grandpa Gruff had been the most upset that he hadn’t told anyone on the Convocation, but none of them were angry enough to kick Gregory off of the Convocation. He did mention there were other things about Jason that he wanted to keep to himself for the time being, but he had promised that in time he would share the truth.

He leaned forward and was about to say something, but Gwendolyn suddenly put a claw over his hand. He looked at her with confusion, and saw her give him a reassuring nod before she turned to the delegates. “Do you fear them because their Emperor is a human like our own Gregory?” she asked.

That caught the attention of the delegates in the room, who all looked at her in shock. It was Silica who spoke up first. “There’s…another human on Gaia?” she asked, sounding shocked.

Gwendolyn nodded, releasing Gregory’ hand. “I have some sources that have informed me that five years ago, a human named Jason Wright appeared in Equestria. He went to live in a small town called Ponyville where he was subsequently tormented, abused and neglected, and this led to him nearly committing suicide. He was quickly found by the then Queen Chrysalis who took him in. He overthrew her, became Emperor of the changelings, and then subsequently led an invasion of Canterlot. He then left after a few days and left the ponies to pick up the pieces.”

Gregory was floored by how much Gwendolyn knew, as was everyone else. He’d only said that Jason had experienced a bad life since coming to Gaia and it had been because of pony actions against him that he had become Emperor to invade Equestria. He hadn’t told any of the specifics. Silica was still in shock, gaping at Gwendolyn. Gregory then felt all eyes on him. He looked back at the delegates and the Convocation. He sighed. “It’s true. The Emperor of the changelings is Jason Wright, a human who’s likely from my old homeland. I didn’t know he was here when I got to Gryphonstone. I’ve never met him before.”

“Mr. Gregory,” Amira said, looking at him curiously now, “in the event that you are at odds with this other human, what will you do?”

Gregory looked at the group of gathered creatures around him. He’d been asking himself that question a few times, and with the help of Gabby acting as a sound board, he already had his answer. “Everyone, Gryphonia is my new home,” he said. “I don’t take my position on the Convocation lightly. If for some reason this Jason does try and invade us, then I will do what I must to protect the citizens of not only this city, but of this continent.”

Amira nodded in approval. “Thank you,” she said.

He nodded back at her, giving her a somewhat relieved smile before he turned to the other delegates. “What exactly are you concerns in regards to the changelings?”

“Their military force for one,” Haakim said. “No nation really has a big military.”

“We do, more or less,” Rhyo countered.

“Don’t forget, the changelings main strength is their ability to blend in with their shapeshifting abilities,” Geoffrey reminded everyone. “Physically, they may not be the strongest, but they have access to magic that can bolster their own abilities if they do fight.”

“So what should we do to counter them?” Haakim asked.

Gregory instantly thought about the strange substance that Zecora had created in the alternate timeline with Starlight Glimmer’s effort to get revenge on Twilight, and wondered if the current version had something similar. “I’ll tell you what we don’t do,” Gael said suddenly, leaning forward. “We don’t take away the freedoms of our kind out of fear.”

“You’re saying we do nothing?” Ginna asked incredulously.

“No, but I am saying we shouldn’t do anything rash,” Gael said.

“Paranoia will only serve to embolden them,” Gwendolyn agreed. “Haakim, Amira, do you know of a way to detect changelings?”

Haakim and Amira both shook their heads. “Unfortunately, no,” Haakim said.

“There has to be a way,” Scoria said.

“If one of us discovers a means by which we can detect changelings, we should share it with each other,” Silica said.

Gregory’s eyes widened and he leaned forward. “What if, and this is just a hypothetical, but what if we invited a fourth nation to join in this little trade agreement of ours?” he asked.

That caught everyone’s attention, and their gazes fell on him. “Which nation are you referring to?” Geoffrey asked patiently.

Gregory took a breath, then exhaled. “The Crystal Empire.”

Several hours later than was expected, the three nations had agreed to tentatively consider inviting the former satellite state of Equestria to come to the negotiating table. Gregory had explained his reasons, mostly the fact that at the wedding of Shining Armor and Empress Cadance, the changelings had infiltrated Canterlot and had nearly taken it over. Not only that, but the love spell cast by the couple could be useful if it could be replicated, as could the shield spell that was used against the changelings before it was shattered.

As the groups were saying their goodbyes, Gregory kept a bit of an eye on Gwendolyn. She was at the table busily organizing her papers. She’d already said her goodbyes to the delegates and had already gotten two of the city watch who were now acting more as guards in the Eyrie to escort Amira and Silica to two bedrooms where they could stay for the time being.

Gregory was listening to a surprising story about how the dragons got airships from none other than Dragon Lord Ember. “…that Storm King bastard didn’t even know what hit him,” Ember boasted with a grin. “He thought we had something he wanted for his world domination, blah, blah, blah, but we didn’t and so he sent those airships to try and enslave us. As if that would work, the idiot!” She laughed at that. “We showed him that you don’t mess with dragons!”

Gregory whistled in appreciation. “Well, now you have access to dirigible technology,” he said, “and I’m kicking myself for not thinking about asking for a look-see at the technology.”

Ember laughed. “I’m sure your brand new human obsessed representative can think of something,” she teased.

“I’m sure she can,” he said. “Still, I’m impressed you were able to defeat someone like this Storm King. Where is he now?”

“Oh, he’s dead,” Ember said nonchalantly. “His flagship exploded with him aboard. His second in command surrendered to us, and she’s in our custody.”

“You’re talking about that pony with the broken horn, Tempest Shadow?” he asked.

“Yep,” Ember said. “We did give her some élanite to help replace her horn. We’re not monsters. She’s not in some dark and damp dungeon rotting away. She’s actually been helping us to understand how the airships work so we can build more.”

“Whoa, that’s really impressive,” he said. “Well, I just want to say thank you for coming and for enduring this week with me,” he added with a grin as he unconsciously extended his hand to her for a handshake.

Before he realized what he’d done, she reached out and grasped his hand with her claw. Her grip was strong, and her scales felt warm. She shook his hand with a smile. “Good to know I’m not the only one who gets bored at these things,” she chuckled. “Maybe we’ll see each other again.”

“I certainly hope so,” Gregory said, shaking her claw back before the two released. “Have a safe trip back!”

Some time later, the room was empty save for Gregory and Gwendolyn. She was finishing up her paperwork and Gregory was sweeping the floor. Outside, it was raining so the only noise that could be heard in the room was the fireplace crackling and the raindrops on the patched up windows and the roof. As he finished, he looked over at Gwendolyn. “Hey, could I have a word with you?” he asked.

She paused what she was doing, then looked over at him. “I think I know what you want to ask,” she said as she slowly stood to face him. “You’re wondering how I knew about Jason Wright.” When he nodded, she closed her eyes. “I understand. Well, I was going to reveal this at our next Convocation meeting next Monday, but I think I can tell you know. Or better yet, I can show you.”

Gregory nodded again. “Thank you,” he said.

Gwendolyn held up her index talon. “However, before I do that, you must swear, by all you hold secret, whether by the Maker or whatever is the strongest form of promise you can muster, that what I am about to show you will only be known to you and me. Not even your friends can know about this.”

Gregory looked at her curiously. He knew she’d probably make the other swear not to tell anyone, and it was a bit concerning. Still, he knew that his new friends would understand that he couldn’t tell them anything confidential. He raised his hand. “Even though I don’t believe in this Maker of yours, I will swear by her and hold that promise close to my heart.”

Taking a deep breath, he used an ancient bonding promise he’d learned from Gabby a few weeks ago. He raised his middle and index finger and held the others closed while he said, “By the great Maker Eurynome Herself, she who was born from the primordial Chaos, Creator of All under sea and sky and she who hatched the Universe Egg from which earth, sea and sky came from, I do swear this oath: that what will be shown to me by the gryphon Gwendolyn before me shall never escape my lips, shall never be recorded in any tome, and will be kept secret until either the day I die or until I am released from this oath by Gwendolyn.”

Gwendolyn raised both eyebrows in alarm. Gregory knew that this oath, at least according to those who believed in this Maker, was stronger than any other oath in the world, possibly even more than a Pinkie Promise. From what he had heard in tales, if this oath was broken, woe be to them who broke it. Gwendolyn’s alarm only seemed to grow, but she cleared her throat and forced her expression to become more serious. “I never imagined that you’d know the oath,” she said, “or that you’d even invoke it.”

“My friend taught it to me and I’ve memorized it,” Gregory said. “My belief in this Eurynome might be lacking, but I know how highly you regard her, even those of you who don’t believe. I’d be a fool to simply ignore it. I’m a citizen of Gryphonia now.”

Gwendolyn sighed softly, then looked up at him. “I…wow, Mr. Gregory, thank you.”

“Just call me Gregory, please,” he said with a chuckle. “The mister part is a bit odd to hear.”

With a smile, Gwendolyn turned. “Then follow me, Gregory.”

“Right behind you.”

She left the throne room, but not before grabbing an unlit torch from the spare torch sconce near the entrance to the throne room. She lit one and then began heading down the main set of stairs. Gregory had explored a bit of the Eyrie itself, but had never gone this far down into the Eyrie before. The farther down he had gone, the darker and danker it had gotten, and he’d always had a slight fear of the dark, especially after having watched shows like Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction. It was one reason why he liked sleeping with an eye mask.

The further they went down, darker it got. Gregory pulled out his phone and turned on the light, helping to further illuminate the stairs. There was a musty smell coming up from the bottom, but it wasn’t completely overpowering. Still, he pulled out a facemask and put it over his nose to block the smell and anything else that might be down there.

They went down level after level until they finally reached the bottom. There was a single solitary door down there. Gwendolyn reached into her saddlebag, pulled out a keyring full of varying keys, stuck one older looking key into the lock and turned it. Gregory could hear a creaking noise from the keyhole, then the sound of a door unlocking echoed through the area around them. Pulling out the key, Gwendolyn grabbed the door handle and pushed it open.

As the hinges creaked open, the light from the torch and Gregory’s phone illuminated a small room. There was only a table inside with an unlit candle standing directly at the center of it along with a fully stocked bookshelf against one wall. There were no windows as the room was below the mountain itself, according to Gwendolyn. Lifting up the keyring again, the gryphon turned and closed the door behind her, locking the door from the inside, then putting the bolt on along with a wooden bar against the door. Then she walked up to the bookshelf. Following close behind, Gregory watched as she reached out with her claw to the second highest shelf and pulled a nondescript gray leather-bound book from its place, then reached in and pressed the back of the bookshelf in. There was a click, then a dull thud from behind the bookshelf. She gave a push and the bookshelf moved inward, revealing a dull red light behind, and a hallway lit by some sconces with glowing red light within.

“What is this place?” Gregory asked.

“Not here,” Gwendolyn said. “Even the walls have ears. I’ll explain later.”

Gregory nodded and followed her down a low hanging hallway after she pulled a lever on the side of the wall which made the bookshelf slowly move back into position. The hallway itself had many different doors on either side, giving it a creepy dungeon look to it. Each door was closed, but he could see some symbols on each door. They looked, strangely enough, like Nordic runes or something like them.

At the end of the corridor, they came to a large wooden door. Lifting the set of keys again, she put a key in the lock and turned it. Unlike the door at the other end of the hall, this one didn’t creak or groan. All Gregory heard was a soft click as the door was unlocked. She pulled the key out again and pushed the door open into darkness. Lifting the torch in her claw, she headed into the room and lowered it towards a large circular stone table with a large set of crystals sitting on the center of said table. The moment the flame touched the crystal, the torch went out, but the same glow began emanating from the crystal. In fact, the ruddy firelike glow was double in brightness.

Gregory turned off the light on his phone and slipped it into his jacket pocket, zipping it up so it didn’t come out. He was standing inside a massive room. It was circular in shape with a domed ceiling. Hanging from the apex of the dome was a large chandelier that resembled an upside-down tree with various crystals acting as leaves.

Around the room were various bits of furniture and other objects. There were bookshelves full of ancient looking books and scrolls, a desk with papers strewn about, a large table with vials of different colored liquids inside, a cauldron, a small section of wall with different sized staffs and swords, and various other instruments that might very well belong to a witch or wizard.

Turning, Gwendolyn walked over to one of the work tables against the wall. Sitting in the middle of it, without anything else on it, was an opaque white sphere sitting on a pedestal that resembled a golden tree. Turning, she beckoned him to follow, which he did. When he was standing next to her, she turned back to the sphere. “This is the Eye of Osiris,” she said. “It was found a thousand years ago it in the ancient ruins of a city in Egrypt called Clawbydos.”

“Egrypt? Isn’t that the ancient fallen kingdom east of here in the Sahayra Desert?” Gregory asked. He had been trying to spend at least thirty or so minutes per day learning more about the geography of Gaia, but especially the continent of Gryphonia. He learned that ancient gryphons once had a powerful kingdom to the east of Gryphonstone called Egrypt in the modern tongue, and Clamet in their old tongue. The kingdom had long since been abandoned and only a handful of ruins remained along the shores of the Baḥr Al-Naīl river, or the Naīl River as it was called. Much like its Earth counterpart the Nile, the Naīl flowed south to north with its origins coming from the same inland ocean where Nova America had once existed.

“That’s the one,” she said. “It was found in a hidden chamber in the Temple of Osiris,” she went on to explain. “There was a stone tablet next to it which told that this was a gem which was used by ancient gryphons and sphinxes who lived together during those times to look into the past. Well, I say both races used it, but in truth only a sphinx was able to utilize the sphere. It was used in times of great need. Listening in on enemies during wartime in order to learn their plans, looking back at heinous crimes, things like that.”

“That’s a powerful artifact,” Gregory said in awe. “And if it was ever lost or got into the wrong hands, it could be used for nefarious purposes.”

“Correct,” Gwendolyn said. “Which is why my family has kept it and other ancient artifacts from Gryphonian history safe down here for the longest time. Only once every five to seven generations is somegryphon from my family born who can wield this ancient magic and utilize the Eye.”

Gregory looked at her with a stunned expression. “Wait…your family…?” he said.

Gwendolyn looked at him fully before she spoke. “I may look like a gryphon, and I am one, but the blood of the ancient sphinxes run through my veins. My ancestors lived in Egrypt ages ago.”

Finally, realization dawned on Gregory as she looked at the orb, then back at her. “And you can use it, can’t you?”

“Somewhat,” she explained. “A well-trained user can use it to pinpoint events rather precisely. I can’t do that yet. I’ve managed to hone in on certain events, and that was how I learned what happened to Jason.”

Curiosity got the better of him. “Can you show me?”

She paused. “It’s…not a pretty sight,” she said. “Are you sure?”

Gregory paused a bit. Did he really want to know what happened? Wouldn’t it be an invasion of privacy. He frowned. If this Jason Wright ended up becoming an enemy of Gryphonia, he needed all the information he could get. He nodded. “Do it,” he said

She nodded and then placed her claw on the sphere. The opaqueness vanished, to be replaced with a dark swirling interior almost identical to the way the idol’s gem constantly moved. In a way, both reminded Gregory of those swirling globes full of liquid that looked like gas giant planets he’d seen in places like Spencer’s. A bright light suddenly shot out of the top of the orb, going through Gwendolyn’s claw and stopping about a foot and a half above the orb. A larger orb formed and a scene began to form.

The scene showed a young and well-dressed human male walking through a small town full of ponies. The human, presumably Jason, was about Gregory’s height, probably in his early thirties, clean shaven, brown eyes, well-trimmed brown hair, had a grin on his face, and even had some pep in his step. He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a dark green t-shirt, an unzipped jacket, and had a bag slung over his shoulder. Gregory watched as the human walked up to the front door of a houseoak tree. Jason had a hopeful smile on his face as he knocked. Finally, the door opened and Gregory saw, for the first time, the real Twilight Sparkle. The past version of the human opened his mouth to speak, but the past Twilight held up her hoof. “I've already seen enough of humans,” she said with a frown before slamming the door in Jason’s face, startling the human.

The scene then shifted. Jason was now walking up a well beaten pathway towards what looked to Gregory to be Sweet Apple Acres. His hopeful expression was a bit less hopeful than before and more confused than anything. He passed through the gate and looked around. “Hello? Anyone here?” he called out.

From the barn, a familiar orange earth pony poked her head out. Her eyes widened when she saw Jason. Before the human could say anything, Applejack whinnied and charged at Jason. Jason’s expression became completely confused, but before he could react, Applejack had bucked at his chest, sending him flying. Everyone winced at the sound of broken bones. He slammed into the ground, coughing up blood as he looked at Applejack with an expression of hurt and confusion. “What…why?” he asked through painful gasps.

“Git off mah farm, yah freak of nature!” she shouted, “Git goin’, or ah’ll sic Winona on ya!”

“Please, I just want a job-” Jason started, but Applejack wasn’t hearing of it.

“Ah said git!” She walked towards Jason in a threatening manner.

With a terrified look on his face, Jason fled. Once more the scene shifted. He was cradling his broken rips, coughing up blood and trudging along. Any pony he tried to ask for help gave him a wide berth. Finally, he reached a familiar looking treehouse. He walked up and knocked on the door. “Fluttershy, are you in there? I need help…please…”

“Oh my, you need help? I’m coming,” said the kindly sounding voice of the pegasus. Jason looked relieved to hear that, but the moment that the door opened and Fluttershy got a first look at the human, her eyes went wide and she completely passed out.

Upon seeing their caretaker’s reaction to Jason, the animals in the house behind her all turned and glared at Jason, who backed away slowly. “I didn’t mean to scare her that bad,” he said in a disarming voice, “I just wanted help. Please!”

A familiar small bunny launched himself at Jason, biting at his face with a ferocity Gregory hadn’t known was possible. Jason yelped and dislodged the bunny, running away and heading towards Ponyville. The scene shifted once more. Jason was now heading towards Rarity’s boutique, the ponies in town still giving him a wide berth. Slowly, painfully, he reached the door and walked inside. There wasn’t anypony there, so Jason called out in a hoarse voice as he clutched his chest, “Hello? Is anyone here?”

“Coming, darling!” Rarity’s voice called from a different room. She opened the door, eyes closed and a smile on her face as she said, “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique and magnifi-” and that was when she stopped. She opened her eyes and took in Jason’s appearance. Her eyes continued to widen in alarm.

Jason, seeming to misinterpret this as a good sign, spoke. “Can you please help me? I need a job.”

“Get out of my boutique,” Rarity growled, ears flattened and her previous friendly attitude gone.

Looking stunned by this, Jason raised his hands. “Please, all I want is a job! You can put me to work where nobody will see me, but I just need some bits to survive!”

“You think I would employ a filthy disgusting monkey like you!?” Rarity shouted as she used her magic to pick up a nearby pair of scissors. She aimed them threateningly at Jason. “I said to get out! I will not have such a boorish, lanky creature in my shop and around my Sweetie Belle!”

“Please, Rarity, I just need some work!” Jason was on his knees pleading now.

“I said to get out!” she shouted, bringing the scissors closer to Jason.

Seeming to realize it was a futile effort, Jason quickly got to his feet and fled the boutique. The scene shifted once again, and this time a tired Jason was looking around Ponyville. Every so often he brought a hand to his lips and was calling out Pinkie’s name. There was a look of pain and despair in his voice. The scene rotated to show said pink pony. She was watching Jason with wide eyed fear. Her tail was twitching, something Gregory recognized as her Pinkie Sense.

Just then, a small cloud began passing over Jason. Gregory saw a brief glimpse of a rainbow tail twitching. A bolt of lightning reached out and struck mere inches away from Jason, who screamed in terror as he was flung off of his feet, landing on his back a few feet away. He looked up and saw Rainbow Dash grinning down at him. “Hah! Gotcha, you freak!”

Jason had a look on his face like he had been betrayed. “Why…?” he asked.

Rainbow’s grin darkened. “Next time, I won’t miss,” she said with glee.

Jason immediately turned and got on his feet as fast as he could. Another bolt of lightning hit the ground, followed by a laugh. A piece of garbage flew after the fleeing Jason as he ran into the Everfree Forest.

“And that was just his first day,” Gwendolyn said as the scene shifted again. Gregory watched in stunned silence as more scenes played out before him. Flash mobs of ponies beating him and throwing stones and garbage at him, Rainbow striking him with lighting at one point, getting bucked in the chest another time by Applejack, being blasted by magic by Lyra Heartstrings of all ponies, him starving and avoiding timberwolves and other Everfree monsters, and then his suicide attempt.

Jason was sitting on the branch of a dying tree at the edge of the Everfree Forest next to Sweet Apple Acres. He was looking at the town past the mangled branches. A look of despair was on his face as he slowly put a noose over his neck. Gregory watched, stunned, as he closed his eyes and began falling off of the tree. However, a rope caught him before he could fall completely. Jason opened his eyes to see Applejack, the other end of the rope in her mouth. She looked at him with shock and confusion as she asked one word. “…Why?”

A look of anger passed over Jason’s face as he looked at her. “Applejack, you want to know why? You've kicked me off your farm, sometimes literally. The ponies in town treat me like a monster, treat me with fear and hatred. I live in a cave, eat out of the trash, bathe in the lake. None of you gave me a chance. So, I'm going to teach you all a lesson.”

Quickly, he slipped the rope off of him, not giving Applejack a chance to speak. He continued to fall, and the rope went taut. His eyes bulged wide as his neck didn’t snap. Instead, he struggled a bit. Applejack quickly broke from her reverie, running over to the tree and bucking at it furiously. This caused the branch on which Jason was hanging to snap, making him fall to the ground, gasping for breath.

Applejack slowly and hesitantly walked over to Jason, a look of trepidation on her face. “Hey, are yah alright?” she asked as she came closer.

Jason’s expression turned to fury as he sat up, removed the rope from his neck and tossed it away. He then launched a fist at Applejack, catching her square in the snout. She stumbled back, blood beginning to flow from her nose as Jason clambered to his feet and ran past her into the Everfree.

Once Applejack recovered, she turned and caught a glimpse of Jason in the woods. “Come back! Wait please!” Applejack shouted as she galloped after Jason. “Ah ain’t mad ‘bout the rope, honest!” she called out as she continued chasing the strange bipedal creature. Broken branches swayed slightly, indicating something had struck them recently. She caught a glimpse of the creature through the trees, only now he was farther away. “Please come back!” she shouted again.

Tripping over a branch, she tumbled over and hit the ground hard, faceplanting into the dirt She groaned as she got up as quickly as she could and continued running after him. “Wait fer me! Ah can git ya some vittles! Would ya like that? Please come baaack!”

She hit another root and fell, hard this time. That seemed to cause her to black out. The scene briefly shifted to show Applejack lying in a soft comfortable bed. Her mane was a mess and her hat was hanging on a nail next to the bed. Fluttershy was sitting on a stool next to the bed, looking with worry at Applejack as the earth pony stirred and opened her eyes. “You’re finally awake,” she said with relief.

Applejack groaned as she sat up, or tried to. “Nnng…what…?”

Fluttershy pushed her down gently. “No, you need to rest,” she said. “You hurt your head pretty bad. I didn’t want to take you to the hospital before I was sure you were alright.”

Applejack reached up and touched her head wincing as she did so. “What happened?” she asked.

“That’s what I was going to ask you,” Fluttershy said. “A few of my animal friends found you unconscious in the Everfree Forest. What in the Maker’s name were you thinking going in there alone?”

“Ah was-” Applejack stopped, then tilted her head. She frowned, as if trying to remember something. “Ah…Ah don’t remember, now,” she said.

“Oh dear, I was afraid of that,” Fluttershy said worriedly. “You did hit your head pretty hard. What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Ah was headin’ tah the barn tah get mah rope,” Applejack explained, “then ah saw it was gone. Everythin’ is a bit fuzzy after that. How long was ah out?”

“Only a couple of hours since you got here,” Fluttershy said. “Harry found this near where you collapsed.” She handed Applejack the two ropes. “This was all he could find. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, sugarcube,” Applejack said as she took the rope and looked at them as if trying to remember. “Well, ah guess if it’s anythin’ important, ah’ll remember.”

The scene shifted again, and for the next few hours, Gregory watched the events of the invasion of Canterlot and the utter destruction of Ponyville. Jason had horrific scars all around him in these recollections. There was a large scar that ran down one of his eyes which was a milky white. He had a terrible scar from a lightning bolt that stretched across his chest. There were also larger scars that matched a hoofprint.

He watched with shock as the enraged Emperor of the changelings confronted a temporarily powerless Discord in the Canterlot dungeons. He watched the struggle for the gun, something that brought fresh worry to Gregory since firearms were as of yet an unheard of technology in this world. He hated to think that he might have to share firearm tech with the gryphons to level the playing field. And then he watched as the gun went off in the struggle, catching Discord square in the chest as he defended Fluttershy, who the gun was being aimed at during the struggle. He watched the anger melt from his face as he walked away after being yelled at by Rarity (that bitch, he thought) and semi-confronted by Celestia. He listened to Jason's terms, then watched him leave the prison cells, leaving a teary eyed Celestia behind, showing that she was reaching out to him, but in the end she lowered her hoof, a look of despair and hopelessness on her face as the cries of the Mane Six from below echoed through the replay.

“I’ve seen enough,” Gregory said tiredly, looking away.

Gwendolyn slowly removed her claw from the orb. The scene above vanished and the orb returned to its normal state. Slowly, she turned back to him. “That’s all I’ve been able to see since I began trying to use it.” She looked up at Gregory with an apologetic look in her eyes. “I’m sorry I had to show you everything there.”

Gregory slowly shook his head. “No, it’s alright…” Looking back at the orb, he walked up and put his hand on it. It was cool and smooth to the touch. “Can I…pick it up?”

“Go ahead,” Gwendolyn said.

He did so, slowly lifting the orb in his hands and looking it over. There wasn’t a single blemish on it from what he could see. Placing it back on its pedestal, he took out his phone, turned on the light and got a better look at it. Even in the bright phone’s light, there was nothing there but the milky white surface.

Finally, he put his phone away, turned back to Gwendolyn, and looked at her carefully. “Who are you, Gwendolyn?” he asked. “And what are you?”

She smiled, then turned and gestured to the room around her. “Me? I am the only remaining Imperial Mage of the Gryphonian Empire.”