My father stood up and slowly walked over to me, slightly smiling like a little kid that got the toy he asked for on Christmas morning and just couldn’t believe it. I, on the other hand, was staring at him like somebody who found a hair in their salad and was getting ready to call the waiter.

“Allen, I… what are you doing? How did you get here?” he asked me so many questions all at once, barely giving me time to answer. I probably wouldn’t have answered them anyways; I was so angry. This man had completely walked out on me and my mother and went ghost for twelve years.

And here he was now, asking me questions like he had been away on a week-long vacation and wanted to catch up with his pal.
I sat there, glaring at him in the dim lamp-lit light as he went on and on and, without noticing, I started curling my fingers into a fist.
He quickly wiped his glasses with his sleeve as he got down on his knees and placed his hands on my shoulders.
“Son,” he said, suddenly getting over the initial shock of seeing me and taking on a serious expression, “I know you must be pretty upset with me, and I understand that, but if you just hear me out-”
I held up my flat hand, struggling to keep a steady arm and voice.

“No, no, I get it. It’s fine,” I lied, and my father’s sudden change in expression told me I had done a good job at acting.
“Son, I just want to let you know that-” he began, but was cut off when I swung my clenched fist, catching his jaw and knocking to the side. Right then, all my anger that I was struggling to contain, the anger that had been building for twelve years, came exploding out.
“Do you know how long I waited?” I screamed at him as he stared at me in terror, holding his jaw with his hand and peering between his fingers. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to sit on your porch for years and years, waiting for a father who you know is never coming home, but that small, hopeful part of your mind tells you he will?”

The General sat in the entrance to the tent awkwardly while I had my little outburst. After several minutes, I collapsed in the folding chair, panting and glaring at the dull green wall as I recomposed myself.
The General stepped over to me and placed a careful hand on my shoulder. “I’m going to have to ask that you don’t do that again. It’s only because we aren’t on American soil, and because I can sympathize with what you’re going through right now, that I won’t have you locked up and punished. Doctor Greathouse,” he said, turning to the middle-aged man that was shakily getting to his feet. “Are you alright?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said as he rubbed his jaw a little, “glad to know my son’s got a good arm, though!” he added jokingly. I rolled my eyes and stood up.

“Anyways, General Warrens, thank you for the info, but I actually have something I’ve got to be doing. Which reminds me, when the train I was on came past, it was stopped by some energy surge from your portal. What was that?” I asked, refusing to look at my father.
The General nodded. “The portal’s frame is still fragile, and a lot of the parts are wearing out incredibly fast. If they aren’t replaced right away, some of the energy shoots out of the portal. We still haven’t completely figured out what it does, but we have recorded strong electromagnetic pulses,” he explained.

I nodded, finally satisfied. “Well, that’s all, I guess. If you’d excuse me, I’ve gotta go.” I exited the tent and started back for the train, but General Warrens ran out after me.
“Actually, Allen, before you leave,” he said hopefully, “I was wondering if you’d be willing to take a few of our men with you, so they can record and document some things in this world.”

I thought about this for a moment. Perhaps if humans were able to get to know more about Equestria and its inhabitants, than things would go better this time around, and we could all live in peace.
“Yeah, I guess that would be alright,” I said, nodding, “the train is over that hill just south of here. Send ‘em over when you have it all sorted out, and we should be ready to go. Just warn them they won’t be dealing with… humans.”
The General nodded, pleased. “Great. I’ll have a team there in about ten minutes. Good luck on your mission, Allen!” he called as I ran back to the train, glad to finally be away from that man I called my father.

~-~-~-~-~

“Well, that could have gone better,” Robert said humorously as he stood next to General Warrens with his hands behind his back as he watched Allen run off.

“On the contrary, I think that was your best-case scenario,” the General said slowly, smiling as he turned to Robert, and saw his expression had saddened as the doctor sat down, suddenly looking much older than the energetic doctor who had started this innovative project.

“He hates me,” he said quietly, staring down at his lap. General Warrens frowned and walked over to Robert’s side, placing a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder.
“All children hate their parents at some point or another; that’s only natural. All you can do is wait and hope he will eventually forgive you.”

Robert nodded, but Warrens could tell that the doctor was unconvinced. Sighing, he added, “I suppose I could throw you into that little research group, and you could try and get a little closer to your kid.”
Robert wasted no time in jumping up and rushing out of the tent to gather his things for the trip. “No need to thank me,” the General said, laughing as the scientist disappeared behind the flap of one of the other tents.

~-~-~-~-~

Sanguis stalked the edges of the Crystal Empire’s magical barrier, dragging his skeletal fingers along the near-invisible wall. The ponies had seen him, and would watch him in fear as he would give them a horrifying, toothy grin. He loved that look of unfiltered terror on their faces when they watched him pass. It only enhanced the thrill of what was yet to come.
He had read through his ancient tome on the way to the Crystal Empire, memorizing a few of the more useful spells, and then incinerated the book to ensure its ancient secrets were safe from any possible foes that might rise to challenge him.
As he continued to torment his quadrupedal prey, he knew there was no way he was getting in just yet. So he waited, like a predator circling its trapped prey, with literally all the time in the world to spare.

~-~-~-~-~

“No, no, NO!” I protested when I saw my father approaching the train car, and I quickly went to the back and sat in the booth, putting my head down on the table. My friends and the princesses all stared at me in confusion, except for Applejack, who could tell what I was dealing with. During my initial stay in Equestria, she was the only one of my friends I had spoken to about my family.

“What’s the matter, Allen?” Pinkie inquired.
Applejack spoke up. “That’s your dad, isn’t it, Allen?” she asked gently.
I nodded, my forehead pressed against the table, and Luna placed a comforting foreleg around me.
“What happened back there?” she asked soothingly, and I sighed as I explained my encounter at the camp.

“Well, I found out my father is the head of a secret organization that opened a somewhat-unstable portal between Earth and Equestria, and he acted as if he hadn't disappeared from my life twelve years ago. So I…” I trailed off, feeling a little ashamed about admitting my violent outburst to my friends.
“What did you do?” Luna asked quietly.

I looked up and stared at the opposite wall blankly. “I punched him in the face,” I said in a monotonous voice. The others all gasped when the words left my mouth.
“Allen!” Fluttershy cried scoldingly, “I know you’re angry with him, but that is no reason to-” the yellow mare was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

“Amazing!” my father cried as he stared at the ponies, followed by a few scientists and soldiers who sat down at one of the booths at the other end of the room, “this is… incredible!” He ran over to Rainbow Dash and carefully stretched her wing. “Bird-like wings? Capable of flawless aerial support?” He shot over by Rarity and stared at her horn. “Unicorns?” he gasped in disbelief, and saw Luna and Cadence. “Fusions of the two? Allen, what is this wondrous world we've found?” he asked, smiling broadly, but stopped when he saw my scowl.

“If you’ll excuse me,” I growled, “I have some very, VERY, important things to attend to in the next car over.” Saying this. I stormed to the door at the end of the room and quickly exited, finding myself in the bedding car. I lied down on one of the fluffy mattresses and silently fumed.

~-~-~-~-~

Robert Greathouse stared after his son sadly, and noticed the other ponies were staring at him strangely. An orange mare with a brown, cowboy-style hat was the first to speak.
“Excuse me, sir, but, you’re Allen’s father, right?” she asked slowly. The tone in her voice told Robert that his son had told them what had happened in the past.

“...Yes,” he said after a long pause, “but I can explain why I did what I did.” He looked at the ponies, relieved that they were more willing to listen than his son was.
“I know what I did was wrong, and I’ve felt bad about it since day one. But I left because I wanted to be able to do something big, and I was offered a position in a very important, very secret scientific group, and I wasn’t allowed to tell my family about it,” he looked up desperately at the ponies surrounding him. “I swear, looking back now, I realize that if I could take it all back, I would have rejected the offer. I would have done my best to be a better father.”
The mare narrowed her eyes, studying him for a few seconds, but her gaze suddenly softened.

“I believe you,” she said softly, and Robert smiled as the others suddenly softened their expressions. “My name’s Applejack,” she said, holding out a hoof for him to shake.
“Robert,” he said thankfully, and the others introduced themselves. He was surprised to find the two hybrids were considered royalty in this world. “So, you’re all my son’s friends?” he asked casually, and a midnight-blue hybrid-pony, who he learned was named Luna, nodded enthusiastically.

“Oh, yes. Well, not as much with Cadence,” she added, motioning towards the pink princess, “but yes, we’re all very close.”

Something about the way Luna said that seemed… off, like there was more to it than she was letting on.

Ignoring this, he continued asking questions. “How did you all meet him?” he inquired, folding his hands and taking a seat in one of the booths.
The six smaller ponies all smiled at each other broadly, and the cyan pegasus, called Rainbow Dash, spoke up.
“It’s a pretty long and confusing story, but luckily for you, you’ve got the six mares perfect for the job. It all started about a year ago…”

As Rainbow Dash and the others told Robert the story of his son’s accomplishments, Cadence couldn’t help but feel sorry for the boy. She didn’t know him very well, but she couldn’t stand seeing a son have so much hatred for his own father. She crept away and slipped into the car that Allen had sneaked into.

~-~-~-~-~

I heard the door latch click as someone entered the room, and I looked over to see Cadence quietly trotting over to me.
“Hey,” I said quietly, looking back at the ceiling. “What brings you here?”
I heard her sigh as she sat on the bed across from me. “It doesn’t seem right for a son to hate his father,” she said quietly.
I glanced over at her, narrowing my eyes. “I think the fact that he left without a word twelve years ago kind of justifies that,” I said flatly.

“Allen, he’s your family, and he feels horrible about what he did. Can’t you-” she started, but I cut her off.
“Good! I hope he feels horrible, because he deserves that much,” I snapped, rolling over so my back was facing the pink alicorn, and added, “he may be biologically related to me, but as far as I’m concerned? That man is NOT my father.”
Cadence started to protest. “How can you say something like that about him?” she asked, shocked.
I didn’t respond; I had made up my mind on the subject. If he wanted forgiveness, he was going to have to work pretty damn hard for it.

Just then, I heard the conductor call over the speaker, “We will be arriving at the Crystal Empire in just a few minutes. Make sure you have your things gathered before we reach the station.”
I sighed and got up, reaching under the bed for a large suitcase that held my armor, and looked up at Cadence.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but I kinda need some privacy,” I said awkwardly, and she nodded as she stood up and headed for the door.

“Please think about it,” she said pleadingly as she exited, and I scowled in my solitude.
“I already have,” I said darkly as got undressed, slid into my bodysuit, strapped on my armor, and left the train, eager to solve whatever problem I had been called in to solve. Anything to get my mind off of the events of the past hour.