In the aftermath of the huge chase, there was still chaos at the museum for a little while longer. Based on the reports given by bystanders, a manhunt was on for the culprit responsible for all of the chaos, but strangely enough, she was never found, nor properly identified. There were good descriptions of her, but no positive identification.

A few others, including myself, vehemently insisted that the culprit that we'd been chasing was none other than General Stacy herself.

"I NEVER forget a face Don, and I'm TELLING YOU, that girl that I was chasing was none other than General Stacy!"

"Leopard, that's impossible. She died at Vegas."

"Don that was never confirmed. I also saw Carla, Demetria, and Leo today. They were HERE! At the museum!"

Don sighed, before putting a hand over his face. "Leopard, when was the last time that you saw a PTSD psychologist?"

I continued to try and argue my case, but Don wasn't listening. However, while it was easy enough to dismiss my testimony as being possible hallucinations, descriptions from Pony bystanders who had never heard of Demetria, Carla and Stacy, and then described them almost perfectly, weren't so easy to dismiss. The case remained open, and was still hotly contested.

It made front page headlines the next day. "Old Enemies Resurfaced?" "Believed Dead Futas Turn up at War Museum!" "Futas Spotted in Ponyville. Real or Hoax?" The papers were arguing the facts just as hard as the eyewitnesses were, and while some believed that we really did see Demetria, Carla, Stacy and Leo, others believed that either we were mistaken, or it was all one big hoax.

Dash, Spitfire and Daring all took my side in the whole debate, as they had seen what I saw, though not quite as clearly.

"I may not have seen it as well as you did Stud, but I know that you would never lie about something like this, so know that I do believe you."

"I agree with Dash Stud. You wouldn't have chased Stacy, or whoever that was down if you weren't certain, and she would have been screaming for help if she really was innocent. I believe you too."

"Like Spitfire and Dash, I believe you too Stud. I saw the girl that you thought was Carla, and based on those old pictures of her, I'm inclined to agree that that really was her."

I hugged all of them. "Thanks guys. I'm glad that you believe that I'm still sane, and not hallucinating like Don seems so convinced that I am."

Dash then gave me a kiss on the nose. "You're welcome Stud. It's our job to help you, and since we all saw what you did, we believe that you really did see what you think that you saw."

"And I know that Todd believes me too, as he was right there when it happened. He was right by my side when I saw Carla and Leo, and he also saw them and Demetria board a train at Ponyville Station."

I knew that Todd really did believe me, and eventually, when the blood that I had on me was examined by experts, they determined that the blood wasn't mine, and it didn't match anyone in the Battalion 4009 database. This, coupled with other eyewitness testimonies from reliable sources, was finally enough to convince Don that maybe I really did see what I claimed that I did. We did have DNA records of a handful of Futas on file in the Battleship Express's archives for post-mortem identification, and when they ran the blood against those files, it seemed to match that of Stacy's. The test results weren't fully conclusive, but now these arguments carried a lot more weight than they used to. The case was still open for investigation, but now it was taken more seriously than it was before.

Later that night, Carla, Demetria, Leo and their 2 guards slipped back into the Futa Empire, and then returned to New Vegas. They were exhausted, and while they had some good news, and had seen a lot of cool things, they hadn't managed to talk to me. They'd seen me, and Carla had been so close to finally getting to talk to me, but then some weird blonde girl started destroying a sign, and causing a panic. However, the blonde girl turned out to actually be Stacy in disguise, and once she realized that, Demetria had no choice but to take Carla, Leo and her 2 guards, and fall back with them immediately. They'd all made it back safely, and Demetria went up to talk with Minerva.

"Mini?" She asked once she was in her office.

Minerva looked up from Demetria's desk. "Oh, Dem, you're back! Did you have a good trip?"

Demetria sighed. "It was a mixed bag. Some things were good, some things were bad, and others were just downright depressing."

Minerva looked at her curiously. "Oh? And how so?"

"I can only tell you Mini if you promise that you'll not react, and keep what I'm about to tell you to yourself. What happened today is something that NO ONE ELSE can know about!"

Minerva was surprised. What had happened that had Demetria so worried? Finally though, she nodded. "You know that I would never spill a secret Dem. I am your head of security, and lifelong friend after all!"

"I know that Mini, but you can't really react to it either."

"And I won't react to it. Please Dem, just tell me what happened. I know that I can handle it."

Demetria sighed, and after heading over to her desk, she sat down, and in a low whisper meant for Minerva's ears alone, she told her everything. From their trip to Las Pegasus, to the trip to Canterlot, the cavalry museum, seeing Iron Glory, learning about Armistice Day from Everglade, the ride to Ponyville, the Imperial War Museum, listening to me give my speech, and of course, what happened with Stacy at the very end.

When Demetria finished, Minerva did have to sit back in her chair, but overall, she didn't react much at all. "Wow......so Leopard really does live after all. And I suppose that somehow deep down you knew that he was still alive?"

"I'd always hoped so Mini, but I never had any proof until today. He and the rest of the Battleship Express's crew arrived here on the Battleship Express on the same day that we did, just in a wholly different area. He's alive, and he lives in the town of Ponyville!"

"I can't imagine what you must have felt once you realized that he was still alive Dem."

"Surprisingly, I largely felt a sense of relief. It felt like a great burden had suddenly been lifted off of me. Now I know what happened to my son, and I know that he's still alive!"

"And......what does this mean going forwards? What do we do about Equestria, Leopard and the Battleship Express?"

Demetria sighed. "Well, for the time being, I think that we should leave them be. Due to Stacy's DEPLORABLE actions today, she jeopardized EVERYTHING! We're going to have to wait for this to blow over safely."

"Yeah. She deserved what Leopard did to her. I'm just upset that he didn't KILL HER!"

"He tried to Mini, and if that train wouldn't have come when it did, he would have finished the job. And even though he was unable to, I doubt that Stacy will ever be able to walk normally again, considering how he not only shattered her right kneecap, but also probably ripped ligaments, tendons, and muscles too. He very well could have permanently crippled her. I knew that the teeth of those Apex Wolves were sharp, but I didn't know how sharp until today!"

Minerva laughed a bit, but then she stopped. "Yes, but the question remains; how much of Equestria did Stacy see, and how long was she following you?"

"I think that her goal was to follow us every step of our trip. I talked to my guards, and we all agreed that she saw Las Pegasus, Canterlot, and Ponyville, including the Imperial War Museum, just like we did, and then she had to flee. I was hoping that she bled out before she made it back here, but she didn't. She made it to the hospital here in New Vegas. I don't know where she is now though."

"And how.......how did Leo react to all of this?"

Demetria sighed again. "He was really upset that he didn't get to talk to his dad. But I do know that he's glad to know that his dad is indeed still alive."

"And where is he now? Oh wait, he's playing with Ahri, never mind!"

Both of them laughed at this, and then continued to talk about it for a while longer, all while trying to plan for the future.

Across the Luxor, Leo was playing with Ahri. As they sat talking at the kitchen table in Minerva's sort of apartment in the Luxor, Leo was telling his best friend all about what he saw in Equestria.

"It was so amazing Ahri! Equestria was so cool!"

"And what did you get to see?"

"We saw a really big city called Las Pegasus, and it was just like New Vegas! There were Ponies there, of all colors of the rainbow, and some could even fly!"

"What? They could fly?"

"Yeah! Then we got on a train, and headed to a city called Canterlot. It's the capital city of Equestria. It was built into the side of a mountain! I'll have to ask my Grandma Demetria for the pictures. But the city was so pretty. All of the buildings were white, and there was even a castle for the Princesses!"

Ahri's blue eyes were wide open. "Did.....did you get to see them Leo?"

He shook his head. "Sadly, no. We didn't even get to go inside of the castle 'cuz there were soldiers guarding it. However, we did get to see a really cool museum, and they even had these War-Beast things there!" Leo then told Ahri all about the cavalry museum, and the Caribou War-Beasts.

"We had to leave because of all the crowds, but then we went to the railroad station again. That's when Mom and Grandma learned something new about my Dad."

"Wait, what? What did they learn about your Dad?"

"They learned that he was still alive Ahri! He was alive, and living in a town called Ponyville! He didn't die in Vegas, he's still alive!"

Ahri was shocked. I was still alive? It didn't seem possible. "Are you SURE Leo?" She asked.

"Well, I wasn't sure either, but Mom and Grandma sure were excited. Grandma then bought tickets to Ponyville on another train, and we went to go find my Dad." Leo then explained all about Ponyville, and the Imperial War Museum.

"Wow, so that was the war that your Dad fought in when he came here with the Battleship Express?"

"Yeah. And about 4 years ago they built the Imperial War Museum. There were huge crowds there, and although we did get to see my dad give a speech, we had a hard time finding him afterwards."

"But did you find him?"

Leo frowned. "Yes, but my Mom and I didn't get to talk to him. He saw us, and we saw him, and he recognized us, but then some crazy lady started attacking other people, and my dad went to grab her. He got her, only to have her change form, and attack again!"

"She.....changed form?"

"Yeah. She had some kind of potion. She looked like Aunt Stacy, but Mom told me that it wasn't. She caused a lot of trouble though, and my dad and others went to chase her down. However, Grandma said that it wasn't safe anymore, and in the chaos, we had to leave. People and Ponies were running everywhere, and we ran for the railroad station. My dad eventually reached the platform, but he was too late. I saw him run to the end of the platform, and then stop, and seemingly start crying."

Ahri was silent for a while. Finally, she asked, "Why...did you have to leave?"

"Mom and Grandma wouldn't tell me. They just said that it wasn't safe, and that we could get hurt in the fallout, whatever that means. We got back here maybe 2 hours ago."

"That must have been so sad Leo. You found your Dad alive after all these years, only to have some crazy lady ruin everything."

"It was Ahri. I asked Mom if we would ever go back and try to find Dad again, but she said that she wasn't sure. She also said that it was really complicated, but I don't know what that means either. She wouldn't tell me. All the same though, even though I didn't get to meet him, I'm still glad to know that my Dad's still alive, and that he does know that I was born. He recognized us, and he was shocked, so that means that he still cares."

Ahri smiled a bit. "I'm happy for you Leo. It must be so happy to know that after all these years, your Dad is indeed still alive, and he does still care about you and your Mom. I hope that you get to see him again soon."

"Me too Ahri."

The 2 of them then continued to talk about Leo's trip to Equestria, as well as all of the cool things that he got to see.

After dropping Leo off at Minerva's apartment so that he could see Ahri, Carla had to take time to fully recollect herself. She was sitting in her room in the Luxor, still in a state of shock after the events earlier that day, and she didn't know what to think. She had just realized for the first time in 5 years that I was still alive and well, and had been living in Ponyville. She also learned that I had remarried, and while that did make her feel sad, she knew that I had more likely than not presumed her lost in the nuking of Vegas, and had simply married Rainbow Dash, the same mare that I had saved after her capture during the Imperial War.

"I'm happy for him, and I'm so happy that he's alive!" Carla then heard a bark coming from close by. She looked, and Radar came padding into the room. She looked up at Carla as if to say "Wait, what? Who's alive?"

Carla reached down and pet the almost 15 year old Radar, who had the physique of a dog half her age. "I still don't understand how you can be almost 15 years old, and still look and act like a dog who's only about 7. But at any rate, I found him Radar! He's alive!"

Radar gave her a look that said "WHO'S alive?! Can we not play 20 questions right now?!"

"Leopard! Your master whom you love so much! He's alive! I found him in Ponyville today!"

When Radar heard that, she at first looked at Carla in disbelief. Then, once she realized that she was indeed serious, she began to bark happily, as well as jump around a bit. She'd been waiting for my return for the past 5 years, and now it looked like I was going to be returning to her very soon.

Carla hugged her closely. "Yes, I know that you're happy too Radar. I'm so happy and relieved too. My husband's still alive and well, even after the nuclear hell that was the aftermath of the Battle of Las Vegas!" Carla then thought of 2 more people who would be glad to know that I was ok.

"I have to call Sam and Misty!" Carla then grabbed the phone next to her bed. Once she had it, she pushed the button for the operator.

"Where to?" The operator asked.

"I need you to patch me through to Creamy Dream Ranch in Hutchinson please."

"Right away Princess Carla." The phone then went silent for a few moments, but then it began to ring.

It rang for a long time, but someone finally picked up. "Creamy Dream Ranch, ranch manager Misty Barrow speaking. How can I help ya?"

"Hello Misty? This is Carla. Princess Carla."

Carla heard Misty gasp a bit. "Oh, Carla. It's so nice to hear from ya again. What can I do for ya?"

"I need to talk to Sam right away. Is she around?"

"Yeah, she's around here somewhere. I can go get her for ya. Can I ask why though?"

"It's.......about Leopard. And trust me, you're gonna want to hear this too."

Misty then went silent for a few moments. "I'll........I'll go get her." She then put down the phone, and went to go find Sam.

A while later, Carla heard the phone pick up again. "Sam here."

"Sam? It's Carla."

"Yeah, I know that. Misty said that you had somethin' to tell us 'bout Leopard?"

"Yes, I do. Is the phone on speaker?"

Carla heard a few clicks. "Yeah, it's on speaker now. Can ya still hear me?"

"And me too?" Misty added.

"Yeah, I can hear both of you. Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, we can hear ya. Now what's this about Leopard?"

Carla sighed a bit. "Earlier today, my Mom, my son Leo, 2 guards, and of course me, went on a trip far to the East to see the land of Equestria. However, that's not important right now. What's important is what I found out over there."

"Which is what?"

"You're both gonna want to sit down for this one."

"We're sittin' Carla." Misty informed her. "Now can ya please tell us what's going on?"

"Yes, as long as you BOTH promise to keep quiet about what I'm about to tell you. You CANNOT react to this! Are you alone right now?"

Sam then spoke up. "Yeah, we're alone. It's just the 2 of us in the ranch office. Now either tell us, or we're hangin' up. We ain't got all night here for beatin' 'round the bush!"

"Ok, ok, I'll tell you. I found out something about Leopard that I didn't know before today. It shocked me to my core, and I knew that I had to call you two, since you were so close to him as well."

"And what.......what did ya find out?" Sam asked nervously.

Carla then sighed. "Sam, Misty........Leopard.........Leopard is alive!"

For the longest time, there was only silence on the other end of the phone. Carla thought that the call had dropped, but she could still hear noises from the other end, though she couldn't make out what the noises were. Finally though, Sam spoke up.

Carla.......I need to verify that we heard ya correctly. If we heard ya right, y'all just told us that Leopard is alive?!"

"Yes! He's still alive guys! He's alive and well, and has been for the past 5 years!"

"WHAT?!?!?!" Misty screamed, before seemingly slamming a hand over her mouth. "Right, no reacting! Sorry!"

"He's alive Carla?!" Sam asked her.

"Yes! He's alive and well in the town of Ponyville, where's he's been living for the past 5 years! He was on the Battleship Express when it was sent to Equus the same day that we were, June 8th, 2029, although while we wound up in the Undiscovered West, he wound up in the Everfree Forest, which is just outside of Ponyville!"

"And are ya sure that it was him Carla?"

"I'm POSITIVE Sam! I saw him with my own 2 eyes, heard him give a speech with my own 2 ears, AND I took pictures and video of him! And if that's not enough to convince you, I finally found him personally, and when I called out his name, he turned around, and thanks to the look of pure shock on his face, I know that he recognized me!"

"And is he there with you now?! Can we talk to him?!"

Carla sighed. "Unfortunately, no. I didn't even get a chance to talk to him either. It was so devastating. He was right in front of me, but then my horrific brat of an ex-sister got in on the act....." Carla then went on to explain what Stacy had done. "......However, she paid for her actions dearly. Leopard got a handle on her right leg with his teeth, and not only shattered her kneecap, but also tore ligaments, muscles, tendons, and possibly chipped her femur too! The doctors at the hospital told my Mom that she ain't gonna be walking again without the aide of a crutch, or an armored leg casing for the rest of her life! Leopard crippled her!"

When Sam and Misty heard that, they were at first sad and upset that Stacy had prevented Carla from talking to me, but they were laughing darkly that she'd gotten her Karma for her actions at the museum. "Heh, so she ain't gonna be walkin' anymore, her wife Jasmine's all wracked with them sexual diseases, and Face is still the little freaky little freak that he's always been? Sounds like misery sure loves company!"

"Eh, I'm not sure if Jasmine does have STD's, as I don't think that Stacy would be having sex with her if she did, but I know that she's definitely physically (and mentally!) sick with something. But yes, my ex-sister sure does keep some miserable company! And it serves her bitch-ass right for what she did! I'm just mad that Leopard or that train didn't kill her! I know that Leopard would have gotten her if the train didn't come!"

"But he still lives!" Misty broke in. "Our Leopard is still alive!"

"That's what I'm happy about." Sam added. "I kept prayin' that he was still out there somewhere, and I guess that my prayers were finally answered! And where is he again?"

"He lives in a town called Ponyville. It's located close to the center of Equestria, and it's also home to the National Imperial War Museum, dedicated to the Imperial War that he and the rest of Battalion 4009 fought in when they first arrived here. It's also where the Battleship Express is housed."

"The Imperial War? Is that that war that the Caribou and their allies keep bitchin' and moanin' 'bout losin'?"

"Yeah, the same one!"

"And......are you gonna try and go see him again?"

Carla sighed. "I.....I don't know Misty. I want to, but after what Stacy did today, she may very well have stirred up a hornet's nest. Now they might know that we're here too, and that could lead to them finding us, and then nuking us out of existence, even despite Leopard's objections!"

"Wait, we could be facin' the threat of nuclear war now?!"

"The possibility isn't too high, but yes, it IS still there! We'll be watching Equestria very closely for any signs of anything, though as of right now, nothing has been done. However, it's still too early to tell. If I had to guess though, Stacy's return will seem too fantastical to be true, and most might dismiss it as a hoax, or a case of mistaken identity."

"I certainly hope so Carla. I mean, we just escaped from the aftermath of WW6, and I saw the other world wars first hand. I hid in a fallout shelter during WW4 and WW5, and I do NOT want to have to live through another nuclear war!"

"Neither do I Sam. And don't worry. Even if we are discovered, of which the chances of happening are VERY low right now, I know that my Mom will do everything in her power to prevent us being wiped off the map. I know that she'll work out a deal so that she and anyone else loyal to her can manage to escape Death. And yes, if that happens, I WILL be making sure that you, Misty, and Rebecca, as well as anyone else that you want to save will be on the list of those who will be saved!"

Carla heard Sam sigh. "I appreciate that Carla. Just as Misty and I also really appreciate you finding out that Leopard is indeed still alive. You don't know how much this means to us."

I think that I have a pretty good guess, but I'm happy that you're happy. I know that it'll be easier for all 3 of us to sleep at night now knowing that he's ok."

"Yes, yes it will be. And be sure to call us as soon as you hear anything else about him, ok?"

"Yes, I'll do that Misty. It was nice talking to you and Sam again."

"Just as it was nice talking to you as well. Goodbye Carla."

"Goodbye Misty. Goodbye Sam."

"Bye Carla." All 3 of them then hung up.

They were all able to sleep well that night knowing that I was still alive and well, and they were all hoping that they would be able to see me again soon.

By the time that she got back to the Futa Empire, Stacy was in SEVERE pain. Her right leg felt like it had been boiled in acid from where I bit her, and after convincing the staff at the hospital in New Vegas that she'd been attacked by a Timber Wolf, they examined her.

Her right leg had been messed up pretty badly. She had to have surgery to have her kneecap reset, and there was severe ligament, tendon, cartilage, and muscle damage, to say nothing of almost crippling blood loss. And even once everything was complete and her leg was all stitched back together, Stacy was still unable to walk on it. The doctors told her that her condition was extremely serious, and she very well could have been killed by that wolf.

"You're EXTREMELY lucky to even still be alive General Stacy! It was just your leg, but it could have EASILY been your life!"

"And how bad is my leg? I still can't walk on it."

"That's the thing General; your military career may be over now because of this."

Stacy was concerned. "What?! What does that mean?!"

"It means that although we've patched up your leg as best we can, the damage done is permanent. You'll sort of be able to walk on it once it's all healed up, but you'll be partially crippled for the rest of your life. However, there are options for an armored shell casing that can cover your leg, and allow you to walk normally."

"But I'm......crippled?! For the rest of my life?!"

"Partially crippled. You won't be able to keep your full weight on your right leg for long periods without an armored shell casing covering your leg to allow you to stand on it, or the aide of crutches if you don't have that. You'll barely be able to walk without it, and you definitely won't be able to run."

Stacy was furious because of what the doctor told her, and after telling her what she REALLY thought, she took her crutches, placed an order for an armored right leg shell casing, and stormed out of the hospital. Once she was back at the Luxor, she vented to Jasmine and Face for nearly an hour straight about everything that happened, before disappearing to a hill outside of New Vegas, where she remained for the next 22 hours straight!

Jasmine and Face were shocked and horrified by what happened to Stacy. Jasmine was more concerned about her leg, but Face was more concerned with the fact that I was still alive and well.

"How can he still be alive Mistress Jasmine?"

"I don't know Face. Maybe the Battleship Express was sent here by the same anomaly that overtook us."

"That's possible. I just wish that we could hear more of what Stacy said. It was so hard to hear her considering how fast she was talking, and how angry she was, not to mention the pain from her shattered leg."

Jasmine clenched her fists. "Oh believe me Face, I WILL make sure that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named pays through his ASS for hurting my wife like that! I will NEVER rest until justice has been served and I shatter BOTH of his knees for what he did!"

Face agreed with her, and then he went to see how Stacy was doing.

When he didn't come back 3 hours later, Jasmine went to see what was going on. She found the hill that Stacy was sitting on, and Stacy was looking out over New Vegas, mumbling to herself. Face was sitting on a tree stump about 20 feet behind her.

"How is she Face? It's almost 3am. She's been out here for 22 hours now."

Face shook his head. "Not good Mistress Jasmine. She hasn't spoken a single coherent word since I've been here, and she hasn't really moved either."

Jasmine went over to Stacy, and sat next to her. "Babe?" She asked her quietly.

"What?" Stacy muttered angrily.

"I KNOW that you're upset about your f@#ked up leg. Believe me, I would be the same way, but you need to snap out of it. You've been out here for almost 23 hours now!"

"Yeah, so?"

"So, we HAVE to start thinking about the future! If you're too busy moping about your leg, how are we ever gonna overthrow your Mom? I can't do this by myself Stacy, I need your help with it!"

Stacy turned to look at her wife. She sighed. "Yeah, you're right Jasmine. I need to pull myself together. I'll probably need you to help me around until my new armored shell casing for my leg and knee is ready, as I won't be able to stand on it for very long."

"Which is something that I can do Babe. So what's the plan now?"

"Well, our ultimate goal remains the same; take the throne from my mother. However, now that I've seen what lies beyond the Undiscovered West, I see that we'll one day have to invade Equestria. We need its natural resources, its land, and its population as our slaves. We let the Caribou take back the Caribou Empire and the Zebra Empire, (under our umbrella of course!) and we figure out a way to FINALLY take down the Battleship Express, and of course, deal with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named! He f@#ked up my leg, so I'll f@#k him up MUCH worse than that!"

Jasmine laughed a bit. "Sounds like a plan to me Babe! However, how are we gonna go about it?"

"I'm still figuring it out Jasmine. We're going to need more time to build up our military, and we'll need to send in more spies to scout out key locations. And even before this, we'll have to have the throne, and to do that, we'll have to finish turning the hearts and minds of the rest of the Futas away from Demetria."

"And how long do you think that that will take?"

Stacy sighed. "It'll take a while unfortunately. We're getting there, but we're not quite there yet. However, now that I know that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is still alive, and he knows that I'm still alive, we're going to have to work as fast as we can with this. No more waiting around!" She pointed to New Vegas down below them. "This all HAS to be ours one day!"

She continued to talk with Jasmine a little while longer about this, as well as what she saw during her time in Equestria.

Watching them from the shadows though, Sombra smirked to himself. So far, everything was still going according to his plan. The Americans and Equestrians knew about Stacy, just as she knew about them, and just as he'd hoped, Stacy wanted to wipe them out. He was gaining more and more power all of the time, and he was almost back to his regular strength. He could return to the physical world whenever he wanted, and stay there for as long as he wanted. However, the only things that he still lacked were his horn, and with that, his Magic, and his full powers. And of course, he was still missing his armor, crown and cape.

"Good, very good. This is progressing even better than I'd hoped! Now Stacy and Jasmine are determined to work even HARDER to overthrow her mother, as well as working with the Caribou and their allies to overthrow Equestria!" He then mused about how great and amazing his plan was. "Use the Futas and Caribou as pawns to wipe out Equestria, and then have them take over the rest of Equus, before turning their attention back to Earth. With my help, they take over the Earth, and then I pull the rug out from under THEM, wipe THEM out, and then I'll rule 2 worlds supreme forevermore! Discord, Chrysalis, heck even Tirek were impressive villains, but even they NEVER had SHIT on me! And soon, the whole world will know that I, King Sombra, the TRUE King of the Crystal Empire, and the Lord of the Shadows, is the greatest villain of all time! No one will EVER rival me, nor EVER overthrow me! Now if I could only have Leopard as my personal harem slave. THEN my life would be complete! Have his wives as my broodmares, and him as my personal love-slave, broken under my power; oh yes, THEN I would have everything that I ever wanted!" Sombra then began to laugh cruelly to himself as he vanished back into the shadows.

As this was happening though, back in Equestria, something else was happening that was going to trigger and event that would not only change Equestria forever, but it would also change the course of American history. Up in the Golden Oak Library, while she was snuggled up close to her beloved husband Don, Twilight had a dream.

In her dream, she was standing in the middle of what appeared to be a huge warehouse. The warehouse was dark, and she seemed to be all alone. Suddenly however, the lights in the warehouse came on, revealing piles upon piles of parts. There were gears, valves, gauges, wires, pipes, levers, buttons, drive belts, drive shafts, bolts, nuts, screws, rivets, and various other metal components. Suddenly, as Twilight watched, the piles of parts began to rattle and clank.

"What in the world?" Twilight wondered. As she watched though, the piles of parts began to shoot their parts into the air, where they hovered in midair. "What's going on?"

Then, the parts began to connect with each other. Soon a large machine of some sort was taking shape, but it was unlike any machine that Twilight had ever seen before. It was very Steampunk-looking, but yet it was still modern as well. It had a metal outer casing, visible gears, pipes, valves, gauges, levers and other control features, and it stood maybe 4 1/2, almost 5 feet tall. The machine was also maybe 8 feet wide, and 2 1/2 feet long. As soon as the machine was complete, it suddenly roared to life. Twilight moved closer to the machine, as she felt that its purpose was not for ill.

Once she was close enough to it, she realized that most of the components were for providing power to the machine, but what about the rest of it? Twilight soon found her answer. On the back of the machine was what appeared to be an ancient computer terminal. On the terminal's screen were the words "Location, Date, Time", and there was space below each to type something in.

On a hunch, Twilight typed in "Las Vegas, Nevada, June 6th, 2029, 11:30pm", 2 days before the Battle of Las Vegas. Suddenly she was surrounded by a blinding white light, and when she opened her eyes again, Twilight found herself standing next to the machine outside of Las Vegas, Nevada, ad that exact date, and at that exact time. She also saw that the Battleship Express was present, and that some soldiers were sneaking into the city on a mission to disarm a LOT of the nuclear weapons that wiped out Nevada.

Moments after this, Twilight found herself with the blueprints for the machine into her hands. Then, all of a sudden, after carefully studying the blueprints, Twilight woke up.

"Huh?" She looked around. She was still in her bed, Don was asleep next to her, and she saw little Dusk still asleep in his crib at the foot of their bed. "Wait......was that just.......a dream? Or was it something more?" In her head though, all of the pieces suddenly fell into place. She'd just had a dream about how they could save so many American lives in Nevada during WW6, and she HAD to tell Don about her dream before she forgot it! How would be react to it though? Would he take her seriously, and if so, what would happen next? Would they save lives, or would it wind up being a huge mistake? Twilight didn't know, but she did know what she had to do next. She then turned to her husband Don, and began to try and wake him up.

(THIS SAGA IS NOT OVER YET!!!!!!!)

And, that was the Epilogue.

Like I said, I tied up the last remaining loose ends, and gave you some things to wonder a bit for the future. Alas my dear readers, "Beyond the Express" has come to an end. I really appreciate you reading this story, as well as all of the likes and comments that it received as well. It was a really fun adventure, but yet, this one has come to and end.

However, please don't fret. The saga of the Battleship Express isn't over by a LONG SHOT!!!!! The REAL adventures of the crew, and the rest of Battalion 4009, haven't even BEGUN yet! Twilight's dream here is about to set off a chain reaction that sets up the next 3 stories in the series. These stories are "Tracks Backwards", "Tale of 2 Big Boys", and "Stitches in Time". They're all about to learn that there are some things in this world that were not made to be messed with, and that Time Travel is one of those things! What happens when you mess something up, and then have to move Heaven and Earth to fix it? What happens if a war has to be fought over it? And even when its all over, was everything reversed back to normal with nothing ever happening, or did it really still happen, and everything is back to normal following the events? Well, I guess that you'll just have to wait and find out!

For the last time, comments, feedback, questions, as well as spreading the word about this story are always appreciated, and I hope that you enjoyed "Beyond the Express, and I'll see you all again in the sequel story, "Tracks Backwards!"

ScarFox out for now!

And for the next story, "Tracks Backwards", just keep an eye out for my upcoming blog entry about it. It won't be a very long story, but it has to be a bit short so that it can set up its sequel story. I'll explain everything in the blog entry, so keep an eye out for that, as well as for "Tracks Backwards", coming soon to a FIMFiction bookshelf near you!