Introduction from Star Swirl the Bearded’s A Treatise On Mankind

The time I spent among the strange primate-like species known as humanity or mankind was a most informative venture. Utilizing the magic of the magic mirror I created with the help of my companions, I have come to find that our world is not the only one. Other versions of Equestria exist where past events have diverged either ever so slightly or so much so that the worlds I saw were unrecognizable to me.

But none were so strange and unusual to me as the world of the humans.

By some strange miracle, if one can call it as such, after I adjusted the mirror to traverse to yet another new world and stepped through it, something happened that had not happened before to me. My body felt as if I was being stretched apart. When I stepped out of the other end of the mirror, I was standing between two wooden buildings with the sun directly over me. Unlike the weather back in Equestria, where it was Spring, in this world it was Autumn. My body had also undergone a strange metamorphosis, which greatly confused me. I was wearing similar clothes to my own and held a staff in what I later learned were called hands.

I was in a town, that was for sure. The houses were relatively simple, with wood for walls and doors, glass for windows, and shingles on the roof. The town was surrounded by a large mountain range. Strangely enough, when I passed through the mirror, I learned an entirely new written language that never left me.

I was captured and taken to a cell the moment a younger human spotted me. My magic failed me. My only thoughts as I fell asleep in the prison cell was of home…

The moment the words left the unicorn’s mouth, Gregory’s eyes went wide. Instantly, he stumbled backwards and fell onto his ass, stunned. He could barely hear the freak out that came from the fashionista unicorn or the shouts that came from a dragon child nearby.

Tartarus. He was in Tartarus now.

Strangely enough, his first thoughts were of what might happen back home. Home…in Griffonstone. Especially Gabby’s reaction.

Gabby. Gabby! She’ll be devastated! Worse, if she finds out what happened, she might fly into a murderous rage! Not to mention how my other friends will react! Gilda might assault Rainbow Dash and the others! Oh shit, and then the Council! And our allies the dragons! War could easily break out! It will be a bloodbath! Maybe I shouldn’t have taken on the mantle of Chancellor! No, that’s a stupid thing to think. I knew the consequences of this position and took it. Okay, Gregory, just calm down and take deep breaths. There’s nothing you can do about the situation back home. Just focus on the here and now. Breathe in…then breathe out…okay…let’s focus on getting out of here.

“..cellor…Chancellor…Chancellor! Are you alright?!”

Gregory jumped, looking up at the source of the shouting. His heart dropped even more when he saw that it was Spike that was standing in front of him. He was wearing all manner of warm clothes like he was and his eyes were wide and full of concern. Forcing the worries out of his mind, especially since there was currently nothing that could be done about it, he slowly nodded his head, stood up and holstered his gun. “I’ll be alright in a bit,” he told the young dragon as he looked around, brushing the dust off of his pants.

Aside from himself, there were four others with him. The pony who’d been part of the group who’d just managed to banish him to Tartarus, Rarity, Spike, and a still unconscious Daenerys. Seeing the latter gave him a sense of relief and worry. He rushed over to his drake and put his hand on her head. “Dany? Daenerys? Are you okay?”

Slowly, much to his relief, the young drake opened one purple eye, then the other. There was a rumbling sound from her throat as if she was clearing it, then she stood and stretched, shaking the dust and remaining snow off of her before looking around with a confused expression on her face. When she gave Gregory that same look, he couldn’t help it. He chuckled as he said, “We’re in Tartarus, a place for criminals. Just give me a moment and don’t go anywhere, okay? Stand guard.”

“This is Tartarus?” Spike, who’d joined Gregory at his side, looked around in confusion. “This is where Tirek is?”

“Tirek, the Bug Bear, Cerberus and a bunch of other animals and criminals I’m betting,” Gregory said. “Hold on, let’s get some answers from that one over there,” he added, pointing to the strange pony who’d been a part of the group to help banish him. She was still sitting on the ground, looking blankly at the dusty plain with an emotionless expression. Holding back his anger, since it would do little good, he walked over towards her with purpose, Spike by his side. When he stopped in front of her, he looked down at her sternly. “Young mare, what’s your name?”

“…Lady Serenity…” she replied emotionlessly.

Kneeling down, he grabbed the teardrop jewel around her neck. “And this. What is this? It brought us here, can it bring us back?”

“It’s…it’s the Hades Teardrop,” she replied, “and it can’t get anypony back now.” She removed it with her magic and placed it on the ground near Gregory’s feet. “Here…it’s useless.”

“Why not?” Gregory asked, a chill running down his back as he gingerly lifted the Teardrop off of the ground and examined it. It was a simple teardrop shaped gem around a gold chain, hanging through a small hole in said gem. It was heavy but other than that it didn’t seem to be emitting any light or power as it had before.

“It…It needs all three to summon anycreature back,” she said in a trembling whisper.

“Fuck,” Gregory said as he stood and bit his lip, trying to think of ways out of Tartarus. He thought back to the few episodes of the show featuring the dark realm. Looking up at the vast ceiling of rock and from what he saw, the four of them were underground. Looking down at the Hades Teardrop, he slipped the chain over his neck, not sure what to do with it for the moment. He doubted he could shoot it apart with his gun or blast it apart with any of the magic from the unicorns with him. He’d deal with it later, though.

Suddenly, he had an idea in regards to them getting out of Tartarus, or at least getting a message to the outside world. He turned to Spike. “Spike, you can send messages with your fire, right? I think I might have a pen and some paper in my backpack, so-”

“I can’t do that anymore,” Spike said sadly.

Gregory paused. “Wait, what do you mean?” he asked.

“I mean that I can’t,” Spike said. “Princess Celestia broke the spell she cast on me that let me send messages with my fire.”

Gregory’s mouth dropped. “What…it was a spell?!” Spike nodded. “She cast a spell on a baby dragon so that she could use you as a fax machine?!”

“Um, what’s a fax machine?” Spike asked.

“Never mind, not important,” Gregory said. He could now understand Spike’s own anger that was directed at the other ponies, if his actions were any indication. “Damn, Discord’s first release must have been hell…”

“Nothing tasted right for two weeks,” Spike said with a small sigh.

Gregory looked down at the young dragon. He looked older, like he’d aged considerably since Jason’s invasion. Of course, he only knew about the television show version of him, and while physically the young dragon still looked young, there was something in his eyes that spoke of forced maturity. Or perhaps it was heartbreak. Kneeling down, he got at eye level with Spike, reached out and put his hand on Spike’s shoulder. “That should never have happened to you.”

Spike nodded, not taking his eyes off of Gregory’s. A small and sad smile formed on his face. “A lot shouldn’t have happened to me.”

“If you want to talk about it, you can talk to me,” Gregory offered.

Spike took a deep breath. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Gregory said as he stood. “There’s got to be another way-wait, I have it!” Just then, another idea came to him. It was a longshot, but it was worth it. Remembering the Eye of Orisis and how it worked, he decided to try and send Gwendolyn a message. He looked up at nothing, but focused his attention as if he was looking at someone a few feet away. “Gwendolyn! If you can hear this message, listen to me! Call a meeting of the Imperial Council as soon as you see this! Tell them that I am locked in Tartarus with the Element of Generosity Rarity, a unicorn named Lady Serenity, Spike the Dragon and Daenerys! Tell the council not to take any rash actions against Equestria, not until everything is sorted out and answers are found! Do not vilify the ponies in Griffonia! Do not mistreat them! Is that understood?”

“What…are you doing?” Spike asked, looking at Gregory as if he’d grown a third arm.

Gregory looked down at Spike and exhaled. “Something that I hope will be helpful in our escape. But for now, we can’t stay here.” Feeling a renewed sense of hope, one that he swore never to relinquish until the bitter end despite how cliché that sounded, he walked over to where his bag was and opened it up to see what he had inside. He’d given out about a quarter of the food that he’d packed and his water bottle was half full of water and ice, but with the temperature of Tartarus being much warmer than above, he had no doubt that it would warm up and melt. He gathered some of the clean snow that had fallen off of Daenerys and stuffed it into his bottle as full as he could make it then sealed the cap.

He walked over to Daenerys, who he finally realized was wearing his saddle. “How the hell did you put that on without help?” he asked as he removed some of his clothes and put them in the large bags on her back. All he got in response to his question was a small smirk and an affectionate nuzzle and lick. Gregory rolled his eyes, rubbed her cheek affectionately and looked back at the other three beings with him. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found a half full water canteen inside one of the bags along with some pieces of jerky, bread and some dry cheese that he kept inside just in case he went to his private island for a while. He quickly filled the canteen with more of the clean snow and set it back inside. When he finished, he began thinking about their situation a bit more calmly. “All I know about Tartarus is that there’s a gate that leads to the outside and that Tirek and a few other monsters are locked away in here,” he said, then he turned to the others. “Does anyone else here know anything about Tartarus?”

“Only that it’s where the worst prisoners are kept along with the most dangerous creatures,” Spike spoke up. “There’s apparently a race of creatures called demons that live down here.” When Gregory gave Spike a look of surprise about the latter’s knowledge of the place, Spike smiled. “I read a book that said it was a pretty big and barren wasteland with hardly any food or water in it. It wasn’t really explored except for the parts near the sealed entrance.”

“And the only one I know of who’s been down here is Twilight when she returned Cerberus during that time loop incident,” Gregory muttered. He began pacing, thinking to himself about the possibilities. With Cozy Glow surprisingly living in Griffonstone for whatever reason, and with the Storm King having not invaded Equestria if the Staff of Sacanas locked up in Griffonstone Keep was any indication, then it was possible that he’d locked down the time frame in which the world was. It was definitely before the School of Friendship opened, meaning the School Raze episodes hadn’t happened yet, so Rarity wouldn’t know anything.

Still, they couldn’t just stay there. He stopped and looked back at the other four creatures with him. Daenerys was doing a good job of imitating a guard dog, keeping her purple eyes looking towards the horizon around him. Spike was watching Gregory expectantly, while the two ponies were now just sitting as far away from each other as was possible, each staring at the ground despondently.

Sighing, Gregory opened his pack again, grabbing two of the bars he’d packed, opening them and breaking them in half. He took one for himself, gave one to Spike (who took it gratefully and took a few bites before putting the rest in his pocket), then handed the other two to the two unicorns. “Take this and eat,” he said, “we’ve got a long way to go.”

Lady Serenity looked up at him incredulously. “A long way to go? Where are we going?”

“Where else? We’re gonna find a way out of here,” Gregory replied, holding out the bar again.

Slowly, she took it and nibbled on it while Rarity sullenly ignored the offered snack. “Find a way out…you think that’s even possible?” the fashionista asked.

He ignored the biting tone in Rarity’s voice as he continued holding out the bar. “To quote a sci-fi hero back where I’m from, I don’t believe in a no-win scenario. If there’s one thing humans are good at, it’s getting out of seemingly impossible situations.”

She looked up at him with anger filled eyes, then down at the half bar. She looked like she was about to say something, but stopped herself. Slowly, she lifted the half bar in her magic and began to nibble at it. Pleased that she was being at least a little cooperative, he turned back to the others. “Listen up, everyone!” he said louder so he would get their attention. When they were all looking at him, he continued, “I don’t know which direction we’ll be heading, or even how to get out of here,” he said, believing in being honest with people when in dire situations, “but I’m not going to give up because of that. I have food enough for the four of us for a while and some water, too, but we’re gonna need to ration it. We’re gonna make it out of this.”

“Are we…?” he heard Rarity muttering.

He turned to Rarity, a determined expression on his face. “We are.”

“And what if we die?” Rarity asked, glaring at Gregory now. “What happens when we run out of food and water?”

“We have food enough for a little while at least, and since you two haven’t met, allow me to introduce you to Daenerys, drake extraordinaire and capable of flying long distances,” Gregory replied, gesturing to said drake. “She might be less than a year old, but she is strong, can breathe fire, and is more than capable of helping us with escaping. She’s physically the strongest being among us.” Despite the situation, he had to bite his lip to keep from smiling at the reference. Now was not the time for memes, after all.

Rarity grit her teeth. “What, is she supposed to carry us all? I don’t see any other seats on that saddle except for the one Spike sat on.”

“She has two large claws, doesn’t she?” Spike asked before Gregory could say anything in rebuttal.

“Correct,” Gregory said, trying not to lose his temper, “she could carry two of us easily and securely while one of you could sit in my lap. We could switch it up every so often, too, and walk when Daenerys is too tired.”

“You expect us to be carried around like baggage??” Rarity nearly shrieked.

“If it means our survival, we should do anything we can,” Gregory replied calmly, but she was starting to grate on his nerves. There was just something about seeing her acting like this that was getting under his skin. Still, he wanted to be the better man. “We’re in an unknown location and an unknown distance from the only known exit to this place.”

“Stop acting like a hero,” Rarity said, glaring at Gregory and asked, in a taunting tone, “You think you can do what no other creature locked up in here has been able to do for hundreds of years? You think you’re a Maker-damned hero in this? Face it, Chancellor, we’re not getting out!”

Gregory felt something literally snap in his mind. It was like something had tapped his brain, a physical sensation. To his credit, he tried his best not to do what he was doing, but he felt the anger rise quickly to the surface. He’d always had a handle on his emotions and would vent to his friends back home or deal with his frustration and anger in ways he hoped were healthy.

But with his anger came a strange clarity: he realized something immediately: if he didn’t straighten out Rarity’s behavior immediately, her behavior would only become a detriment to their survival. In the outside world he’d only had a brief glimpse of her anger and bitterness and had he seen more, he would have done his best to graciously ignore it. But now, lives were at stake. They were in a dangerous place, and feelings aside, if they wanted to get out of Tartarus, they needed to work together, setting aside their differences for their mutual survival.

And he knew that to do that, he needed to nip Rarity’s behavior in the bud right then and there.

Quickly, he raised his hand and brought it down, impacting Rarity’s cheek with enough force to send her sprawling. Not wasting any time, he rushed over, grabbed her ponytail and lifted her up, glaring down at her with rage in his eyes. He saw her angry look now gone, replaced with utter fear as he shouted, “Rarity, I’m only going to say this once: grow the fuck up! I don’t know why you’re so angry at me and frankly I don’t give a shit! Right now, you’re acting like a first-class bitch! Right now, you either bury that shit you’re feeling far down and help us all to get out of here or you tell me right here and right now what you’re so bitter about!”

Her eyes had been reduced to pinpricks and she was trembling in terror. Spike was beside Gregory now, pulling on his pants leg desperately. “Chancellor, please stop! I know she’s being super rude, but let her go please!”

Having vented some of his frustration at Rarity, he released her, letting her tumble to the dust in a heap, her eyes never leaving him. Slowly, he took a few steps back, closed his eyes, took a deep breath and looked at Rarity with an apologetic look. He did feel terrible for losing his temper at her and he let it show in his tone and posture. “Rarity, I apologize for striking you and for the foul language I used,” he said. “It was rude and wrong of me, and it won’t happen again, I swear to the Maker herself.”

He barely caught a glimpse of Rarity’s eyes widening even more in shock as he slowly turned away and looked around at the surrounding landscape. He took in what he saw more carefully this time. The massive stalactites and stalagmites that came from the floor and ceiling might have been indicators of water seeping through the earth like they had been on Earth or there could be another explanation, but as he looked closer, that seemed to be less likely. He’d wondered for a while where the light had come from, and as it turned out there were massive glowing crystals in the stalactites, all glowing that same mauve color. This cast a number of different shadows around them. There were small black dots on the ceiling, but they were so far away that it was hard to tell what they were. As he looked closer, he saw something odd. While the ceiling did have a mauve glow coming from the massive crystals, there was something different about the way the color looked in one direction. He narrowed his eyes, trying to get a good look at any differences. However, seeing nothing, he turned to Spike. “Spike, look over there, would you? Can you see any difference in color? Your eyes are probably better than mine.”

Spike turned and looked in the direction where Gregory was pointing. Narrowing his eyes, he frowned. “What do you mean?”

“The light in that direction looks different, but only very, very slightly,” Gregory explained. “Almost like it’s a tad bluer than the other light.”

“Ummm…I don’t know if I see it,” Spike admitted after a little while.

“Hmm,” Gregory narrowed his own eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of the color change. Sometimes it seemed as if there was a clearer distinction between the bluer color, but then it was gone. “What is going on? What am I seeing…?”

And suddenly, with absolutely no warning, there was a loud noise. Putting his hands to his ears to block out the deafening sound, he looked around, only to see a small light streaking above them, shooting towards the same direction as the slightly different colored ceiling. As the light, which resembled a meteor streaking through the night sky, disappeared over the horizon, the noise went with it. The noise itself was loud, but it was deep and reverberated around his entire being. It reminded him of those videos he’d seen back on Earth of those strange atmospheric sounds that some thought were the horns of the Biblical Apocalypse, but which was more likely some atmospheric phenomenon. Still, to hear it down here was confusing and to have it follow the light was even more confusing. Was it a normal occurrence down here?

As the light reached the horizon, it seemed to strike something. The colors changed drastically, revealing what looked like a dome. Large white bolts of lightning scattered across the blue dome with bright repeating flashes, some of which arced along the large stone ceiling and caused cracks to form there. One even struck a stalactite, causing it to detach from the ceiling. The way he was facing had a light blue tint to it suddenly, as if there was something glowing from the distant land. And he wasn’t the only one to see it. Beside him, Spike gasped. “What in Celestia’s name is that…?” he asked.

However, just as clearly as it appeared, it vanished. A few seconds later, a low rumble spread across the land, followed by sounds of loud thunderclaps and an ear splitting crash seconds later. Gregory stumbled back as the ground shook beneath his feet. He heard Spike shout out something in alarm and Daenerys’ wings spreading so she could hover above the ground. There was a rush of wind that kicked up some dust, but he covered his eyes with his goggles just in the nick of time.

As the rumbling and motion subsided, he realized that the others were not quite so lucky. The two ponies and dragon were on the ground, disoriented and blinking dust from their eyes but not injured thankfully. He made his way over to Lady Serenity and helped her to her feet while Spike did the same with Rarity. The moment everyone was on their feet, he turned back and faced the direction of the crash or whatever had just happened. The dome had vanished, leaving only a dark black cloud that seemed to be dissipating. The dark discolorations on the ceiling where the massive bolts of electricity had struck remained however. “Mr. Gibbs, we have our heading,” he muttered to himself.

Making his decision, he looked back at the others who were still gazing in the direction of the explosion with varying looks of confusion. All save for Daenerys, who just looked expectantly at Gregory. Taking a deep breath, he cleared his throat, getting the attention of the three. Rarity still had a look of trepidation on her face, Lady looked resigned to her fate and Spike had a somewhat expectant look on his face. “We’re going towards that for now,” he said, pointing towards the cloud of smoke and the discolored ceiling. “We all saw that there’s some kind of barrier there, so it’s as good a place to start as any. It could be a barrier between us and the exit.”

“Can that drake carry us that far?” Lady asked.

Gregory turned and looked at the distant vanishing smoke cloud. “I don’t know how far away that dome is,” he admitted, “but Daenerys is a young drake. She has plenty of stamina and strength to burn. Still, she is young…” he turned to her and pointed in that direction. “Dany? You think you can carry all of us for a while in that direction?” Daenerys seemed to understand the question as she looked and peered in the direction of the smoke. Gregory saw her eyes briefly glow before she stood up taller, turning back to him and nodding. “Perfect,” Gregory said, “but do you know how long?” A shake of her head. “Alright, just try and fly for as long as you can. When you get tired, land us alright? I don’t want you overworking yourself.” She nodded. Gregory smiled, gave her a thumbs up and then turned to the others. “Two of you should probably get ready to be carried. It doesn’t matter to me who it is just as long as you’re prepared. Oh, and Dany?” He turned back to her and gained her attention once more. “Let’s not fly too far off the ground. Just far enough that the dust won’t bother any of us.” When she nodded, he turned back to the others. “Who’s gonna fly with me?”

Gregory was surprised by Spike looking over at Rarity, then looking back at him as he pointed to the blank faced mare. “I think she should,” he said. “I don’t mind being carried. Even if I don’t have wings, I’m a dragon. My body can take the height and wind.”

Surprised by this, Rarity turned to the young dragon. “But…are you sure?” she asked. Spike turned, walked over to Rarity and whispered something in her ear. A look of shame came over her face as she took a glance at Gregory. She looked back at Spike and nodded slowly. “I…yes, I think so…you’re right…”

“I don’t mind being carried…even if I don’t deserve it,” Lady Serenity said solemnly.

Gregory frowned at the defeatist attitude that seemed to be creeping into the unicorn’s behavior, but just nodded. “Okay, then let’s get moving.”

Ten minutes later, and with some fenagling, the group was airborne, giving Gregory the chance to look around at the landscape below them. Despite his earlier words, Daenerys had to fly a lot higher than he thought because the sand around them was way too fine to escape the wind that her powerful wing strokes created. It also took a few minutes for Gregory and Rarity to be seated in the saddle. While Spike and Lady Serenity had protection from the wind thanks to Daenerys having webbing around her claws that she could extend, Rarity didn’t, so Gregory used some of the extra clothes he’d taken off to wrap around her while she was seated in his lap. She was facing him with his overcoat wrapped around her to keep her protected from the wind. The straps managed to hold them in.

With an aerial view, Gregory looked around carefully. The direction they were heading towards had a massive mountain range in front of whatever the dome was protecting or keeping in place depending. Still, the look of the roof above where the bolts of electricity had struck began to worry him. A few times he caught glimpses of the ceiling falling away, leaving large gaping holes. He was forced to direct Daenerys towards the left in order to avoid the falling debris as best as he could. A few times, the debris struck the shield, illuminating it once more and showing just where it was.

They flew for about four hours and thankfully they made good time. Eventually, Gregory noticed that the crystals in the stalactites began to dim and become a deep red like a sunset. When the light began to dim faster, he directed Daenerys down towards the bottom of the mountains surrounding the shield. They’d come close enough for him to notice that the mountain peaks seemed to be right at the border of the shield. He caught a glimpse of something gleaming in the light beyond the circular mountain range, but it was too far away to see.

They landed near the bottom of the circular range near a few tall mounds. After everyone was on solid ground again, Daenerys walked over to the nearest mound and began to dig at it. To Gregory’s shock, and Spike’s delight, the dirt below revealed a large number of gemstones of different colors, shapes and sizes. Unlike the ones above, however, these were not faceted or cut. Instead, much like the ones on Earth, they had a more natural look, but that didn’t stop Daenerys and Spike from eating them.

Gregory removed the saddle from Daenerys’ back and lay it down on the ground in a line, intent on using it as their pillow for the night. He also gathered some of the red gems and placed them in a pile near the saddle. Breathing hot flames onto the gems, they melted slightly and began glowing, providing some heat and light against the strangely cooling air around them. Spike and Daenerys ate gems while Gregory passed around some cheese melted over some bread and some water, which had melted completely by that time but was still refreshingly cold.

As the gems began cooling off, Gregory handed the two unicorns some of his spare clothes to use as covers against the cold. Spike said that he would snuggle close up to Daenerys, who had seemed to grow close with Spike. Gregory went out a few meters away from the camp to try and send another message to Gwendolyn before returning. However, he wasn’t tired. Instead, he stared into the glowing gems while the other four slept. Had this been Earth or even the surface of Equestria, he would have expected some blazing stars in the sky. As it was, all he saw was blackness.

He thought back to the events of the day. The massive storm, the collapse of one of the oldest and damaged branches (which still ate away at him), the discovery of Cozy Glow and her mother living in the city itself instead of in Equestria, the ponies who’d sent him to Tartarus, Rarity’s hate filled words and his, admittedly, poor reaction to it despite his intentions, and their flight.

The flight, while uneventful, was weighing more heavily on his mind than any other part of the day, mostly because of Rarity, the mare who had sat in his lap the entire time. Not only had she barely moved, but anytime he’d looked down to make sure she was okay, she would avert her eyes away from him, and anytime he’d ask her if she was okay, all he got was a somber nod. She hadn’t spoken during their meager dinner, but then again none of them had since presumably their minds were elsewhere. Not even Gregory knew what could be said. Even now, he wasn’t sure what he was to do. Some of that hope that he still stubbornly clung to felt like it was seeping out of him. So, in order to try and lift his own spirits, he did what he always did.

He sang. And the moment he began to sing one of his favorite Christmas carols, he felt a small smile form on his lips.

“O come, o come, Emmanuel
“and ransom captive Israel,
“that mourns in lonely exile here
“until the Son of God appear. ”

“Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
“shall come to thee, or Israel. ”

“Ooooooh…”

“Veni, veni Emmanuel
“captivum solve Israel,
“qui gemit in exilio,
“privatus Dei Filio. ”

“Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel,
“nascetur pro te, Israel…”

Gregory was smiling a bit more now, a small tear forming in his eye. He wasn’t religious by any stretch of the word (not anymore, at any rate), but he’d always loved singing that song. And it seemed like a fitting holiday song to sing. They did need a deliverer in that moment.

“What song is that?” a quiet voice asked from nearby. Gregory turned to find that Rarity, of all ponies, was sitting up and looking at him with a bit of a curious look on her face. “I’ve never heard it before. Is it from your world?”

Gregory nodded. “It’s called O Come O Come Emmanuel. It’s a Christmas song. Oh, and before you ask, Christmas is to humans what Hearth’s Warming is to ponies. It’s celebrated almost the same way, decorations, lit trees, presents, songs, eggnog, and more. The song I was singing is based around the religious beginnings of Christmas.”

“It’s a beautiful song. You have a very handsome singing voice,” Rarity replied to the shock of Gregory, not that he showed it.

“Thanks for saying so,” he replied and meant it.

Rarity nodded in his direction, then slowly pulled off the coat she was lying under, set it down with a surprising amount of respect on the saddle and walked over towards him. She sat a few feet away from him, staring at the slowly dimming gems. Gregory stared at the gems as well. It wasn’t a fire, but he could still trick his mind into finding changing shapes in the gemstones since the insides seemed to move with an inner fire of their own. Finally, Gregory heard Rarity taking a deep but shaky breath. “I…want to apologize…for how I spoke to you earlier and how I’ve treated you since we met.”

Gregory turned and saw a remorseful looking pony looking back at him. Unlike how he’d seen her cry in the show, her tears were somewhat silent as they moved down her eyes, mascara running down with it. “Miss Rarity, I-”

She held up her hoof. “Please let me finish this,” she implored as she turned to face him fully. He did the same and she continued, “I…I need to talk to somepony-well, anycreature, I guess…just to get it out in the open.” She swallowed, cleared her throat, and continued, “When Jason killed Discord three months ago…I was angry at him. Before, during the invasion, I remember the guilt and shame of what I did. I, well, I hated myself for what I did. How could-” her breath caught at that, and her voice began to tremble, “…how could I c-call myself a generous p-pony when I abandoned that very principle with…with J-Jason, and even others?”

She took another deep breath, steadying herself and continued, “But…but when Jason killed Discord with that weapon of his…all I could feel was…was rage. What Discord did to Jason didn’t mean he deserved death!” She was gritting her teeth now, looking down at the ground. “Ever since then, those two emotions have been a part of me. Anger and hatred of Jason for what he did, and the crushing guilt. Lately, that hatred began to win, I admit it. It felt good not to feel that guilt. Especially when I began losing my livelihood. It felt easier to blame Jason for that instead of…myself.”

Licking her lips, she turned and looked back up at Gregory. “When I first saw you that day giving your speech, all I could see was Jason on that day when he tied up Twilight and showed her to Canterlot. I couldn’t separate the two of you…at least until earlier when you slapped me.” She put her hoof to the cheek which Gregory had slapped earlier. “It was the wake-up call I needed, definitely.”

Gregory pursed his lips as he opened his mouth to say something, but Rarity once more held up her hoof. “Please, I’m not finished.” Taking a breath, she moved closer and stared deep into Gregory’s eyes. “My actions against you and Jason and others are my own fault. My anger at Jason for killing Discord may have clouded my senses, but that is no excuse for my atrocious behavior. I realize now I was acting like a complete foolish foal. No, I was being a bitch, as you called me.”

“I shouldn’t have sworn at you, still,” Gregory replied.

She waved her hoof. “Your language aside, I deserved the sentiment behind what you said. My frie-companions have tried to get me to see reason, but none of them struck me like you did.” Gregory saw her lower lip quivering slightly, but she pushed on. “I-I don’t know why I was chosen to b-be the Element of G-Generosity,” she started, “but c-clearly I don’t de-deserve it.” She lowered her eyes to the ground again, holding back what Gregory felt were genuine tears.

Gregory frowned at her. She was falling back into the same pits of despair that ponies seemed to fall into when a negative life changing event took place to them. “Miss Rarity, look at me,” he said. When she didn’t comply, he reached down, took her chin in his thumb and forefinger, and lifted her to face him. “I’m not a counselor,” he said. “I can’t tell you what to do, but I can give you some advice.” Her ears snapped forward at that, focusing entirely on him. Her eyes locked onto his, her bottom lip trembling and more tears flowing. Gregory chose his next words as carefully as he could. In her emotionally fragile state, anything he said would affect her quite thoroughly. “One word: learn. Try your best to learn from this. Learn to be a better individual. Look at the reasons for why you did what you did. Isolate those reasons. Question them and why they exist? Were they an instinctive response or were they taught to you? Then compare them to what harmony is meant to represent. What makes me different from you? We’re both living, breathing creatures. We feel the same emotions. Love, joy, sadness, anger and more. All that’s different between us is our appearance.”

Slowly, he released Rarity’s chin, but he wasn’t done. “Can I tell you a story about my nation?” She nodded quickly, leaning forward slightly. “My nation is called the United States of America. We’re younger than Equestria, but we’re known as being the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. We espouse freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and many other freedoms that many nations hadn’t espoused for thousands of years. However, America is not a perfect nation.” He coughed a bit, a little tickle forming in his throat. “Where I’m from, humans are the only species who can speak and who can think like you and I can. Every other race of creature in my world, including ponies, are basically animals. We are the only sentient and sapient race on our world. Now, humans have their good points and their bad points. One of our bad points is our propensity to look down on others we think of as lesser. For hundreds of years in my old nation, humans of my skin color enslaved humans of a darker skin hue. Just because of their skin color. Something so innocuous and something uncontrollable was the only reason that they became chattel slaves. They were treated as less than animals. A civil war broke out in my nation because of it. Slavery is now illegal in my old nation. It’s a dark part of our history. A part that my people have tried to fix. But even now, in a day and age where people think themselves civilized, there is still racism among certain groups of my people.”

“Why tell me this?” Rarity asked.

“To show that your kind and mine aren’t so different,” Gregory replied. “Don’t forget, before Equestria was formed, the three tribes were at constant odds with each other. The unicorns once looked down on earth ponies. Some still do, such as the elite at Canterlot. The one you aspire to be like.” Gregory saw her ears flatten, but he wasn’t finished. He didn’t know when he’d gone from advice to lecture, but he wanted Rarity to have this lesson stick. “I’ve seen a possible future for this world, a future where the three tribes are split up due to their ingrained speciesism coming to the surface over something stupid. Fortunately, it won’t happen for years, so you can use that time to learn further.”

She looked horrified at the possibility. “I…are you sure?”

“Very sure,” Gregory said. “You played Princess Platinum during that one Hearth’s Warming Eve play. Weren’t you all arguing for real before and after?” She looked stunned at that, but nodded slowly. “How easy was it to slip into her mindset? The mindset that earth ponies and pegasi were beneath you?”

Rarity bit her lip, looking ashamed as she looked down at the ground. “All…too easy,” she finally whispered out.

Gregory reached down once more, lifting Rarity to face him. He softened his features and his voice as he said, “I came to this world because from mine, this one was paradisiacal in nature. The images I saw of Equestria and the stories I’ve heard lead me to want to escape my own world and live the remainder of my days here, in a land where peace and harmony exist. A place where I could be happy. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it wasn’t Equestria where I ended up, but Griffonia. And imagine my reaction when your Princess and your friends told me that you were responsible for the systematic abuse and near torture of a fellow human?”

Rarity’s ears flattened at that and she looked down in shame. “I’m sorry we disappointed you,” she said in a near whisper.

“You’re the second pony to say something like that to me,” Gregory replied, once more lifting Rarity’s chin to face him. Slowly, her ears and eyes refocused on him. “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to. But even if he never forgives you, you can become better from this experience. Learn. That is the key word. That is my advice to you, Rarity.”

She sniffed, pulled back from him and nodded. “I…I have a lot of ponies to apologize to,” she admitted. “And some other creatures as well,” she added. Turning to Gregory once more, she continued, “I know I have acted quite atrociously towards you, and I am very sorry. I’ll do my best to prove that, as Celestia is my witness, or rather the Maker herself, that I want to be a better pony. I want to learn from this…I just don’t know where to start.”

“How about that young dragon over there?” Gregory asked, pointing over to Spike, who was sitting up and looking over at the two.

Rarity turned and her eyes widened at the sight. “Spikey-ah, no, I mean Spike! Did we wake you?”

Spike shook his head. “No, I haven’t fallen asleep yet. Guess I’m too used to pillows and mattresses.”

Gregory chuckled. “I am too,” he admitted.

Rarity turned and faced Spike fully. Gregory watched as the suddenly nervous unicorn opened her mouth, then closed it again. She did this a few times while Spike watched her impassively. Finally, she cleared her throat. “Spike, I have a confession to make. I…I knew about your feelings for me for years. I also admit to…” she began shedding tears anew as she sniffed and forced the words out of her mouth, “I admit that I took…a-advantage of those f-feelings…”

Spike crossed his arms and looked at her with a slight scowl. “So I meant nothing to you?”

She almost objected, but stopped herself. Composing herself, she continued after a few more false starts and said, “I am the worst pony alive for u-using you like that,” she admitted. “I-I called you friend, but failed t-to even behave like one…”

Spike stood, slowly walked over to Rarity, who was looking away. He looked down at her with a distrustful look in his eyes. “How do I know this isn’t an act, Miss Belle?” he asked. “You’re a good actress, so how can I believe you?”

She looked up at him suddenly, a determined look in her eyes. “I will work the rest of my life to prove it to you!” she almost shouted. “I want us to start fresh as friends!” She took a deep breath. “I should have apologized to you much sooner, and I apologize for that as well,” she continued in a quieter tone, “and I refuse to take advantage of your own generosity ever again. I swear that by the Maker herself.”

Spike looked at her carefully, keeping his expression stoic for a few seconds. There was tension between the two of them, a tension that Gregory could almost feel. He exhaled slowly as he said, “I…I want to believe you, Miss Belle, I really do. I might not love you like I used to, but I want to be friends with you all again despite how you’ve all treated me.” Rarity winced at the accusation, but didn’t take her eyes off of Spike. He continued, “But! But, it won’t just take honeyed words and an apology. I want to see proof. I want you to prove it, Miss Belle.”

Rarity’s ears flattened at this, but her expression remained stalwart. “I will.”

Spike slowly seemed to relax. “I hope so…Rarity. I really hope so.” He yawned and stretched at that moment. “Now, I’m tired and my throat is sore from breathing all that fire in the snow earlier.”

“I’m about to head to sleep myself,” Gregory said with an apologetic smile. “We all should. There might not be stars or a moon, but this place apparently has a day and night cycle. Let’s try and rest before we head out.”

“Yes…that’s a good idea,” Rarity said, turning and returning back to the spot where she’d been sleeping.

Standing, Gregory brushed off his pants and walked over to where a spot had been left for him between Rarity and Lady Serenity. The saddle wasn’t the most comfortable of pillows, but he had used it before, so it wasn’t like he wasn’t used to it. He had no covers this time, but he was wearing enough layers to remain warm. That, and Daenerys was lying a few feet away from him, blocking any wind that might pick up.

As he looked up at the black inky expanse above him, something caught his eye. A silvery pinprick of light as the last of the crystals finally went dark. He raised an eyebrow as another light blue light appeared, then another, then another. His jaw dropped as what looked like stars began winking into existence above their heads. “My God…” he muttered.

Rarity, who was lying on her back with her eyes closed, stirred and opened one eye. She froze as more of the “stars” began appearing. “Sweet Maker above…what are those?”

“Small gems,” Spike said from his place underneath Daenerys’ wings. “I can see them from here. The rock above us is covered with them.”

“Those black dots,” Gregory realized, “that’s what they must have been. Those gems.”

“Who would have thought a place like this could show so much beauty?” Rarity whispered in awe.

Gregory smiled and nodded in agreement before he took a deep breath, coughed a little bit, and put his hands behind his back. “As beautiful as these gem stars are, we really need to get some sleep.”

“R-right, of course,” Rarity said, curling up underneath my coat and closing her eyes. “Good night.”

“Good night, everyone,” Gregory replied as he closed his eyes as well. A part of him was worried that he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep due to the events of the day, but only a few minutes later, he felt himself drifting off into peaceful slumber.

On the side of a large mountain face, two figures stood near the edge of a large cave, looking down at a dull red glow near the bottom of the mountain. They were cloaked in black cloth, save for their eyes, both of which glowed with an inner light, and their dark red leathery wings which were behind their back. Both figures were bipedal in appearance, with large goatlike hooves for feet, clawed handlike appendages, long black hair, goat-like horns growing from their heads, thin forked tails, and the aforementioned glowing eyes. One had deep red irises with slitted pupils, while the other had bright yellow irises with the same slitted pupils.

“Whatcha reckon that light is?” one of them, the yellow eyed one, asked in a light female voice.

“Can’t say fer sure,” the other, an older male voice replied. “Never seen anythin’ like it before.”

“We should go down and look,” the female whispered in a suspicion laden voice. “Could be one of them prisoners.”

“Doubt it,” the older male replied, “they’re too far away. Besides, it’s too late to go look. We’ll go down tomorrow.”

“Whatever’s there might be gone by then!” the female insisted.

“We know where the light is,” the male insisted, “so don’t worry. Come on, let’s go back home. We’ll come back tomorrow mornin’ and see what there is to see.”

The female sighed, then looked up at the taller and older male beside her. “Fine. Let’s go back home. Ma’s probably wonderin’ where we are, anyway.”

The older male chuckled, put his claw on the younger one’s shoulder, and nodded. “Yeah, and the soup’s probably on. Let’s get goin’.”

“After you, Pa.”

And with that, the two turned and headed into the inky blackness of the cave, their hoofsteps echoing down the cavern until there was nothing to be seen or heard.

Jason Wright, Emperor of all the changelings, stared at himself in the mirror in his personal room. His one good eye drank in the scarred features of his face, including his milky white eye which stared at nothing. The scar that was formed by the falling stone and the scar that ran from his chest to his left foot from when Rainbow Dash had struck him with lightning and nearly killed him.

Taking a deep breath, he exhaled as he buttoned up his coat and grabbed the mask, the same one he’d worn three months ago during the invasion of Equestria. Sliding it onto his face, he took another deep breath before he reached off to the side, grabbing one of the changeling’s newest creations: a bolt action rifle. He slipped it over his back, grabbing a handful of the bullets and stuffing them into his pocket.

Three hours ago, the report had come in. Agent O had not only been discovered, but three ponies had attacked the human Chancellor of Griffonia in the middle of a massive snowstorm that the griffons called a nor’wester. Agent O, according to Agent T, had been taken into Griffonian custody and the Chancellor had vanished. According to the brief mental link between Agent O and Agent T, the ponies who had attacked Gregory Graystone had been wearing some sort of teardrop gems which Chrysalis had quickly identified as an artifact known as the Hades Teardrops, relics that would send anycreature they were used against to Tartarus.

When Jason had heard about this, he felt something stirring within him. Something that he hadn’t felt in three months. Righteous anger. Only this time, there was no spell cast on him by some asshole chaotic being. No, this was pure fury.

However, as much as he wanted to make Equestria pay for this act against a fellow human, the cooler side of his emotions eventually prevailed. Rescue was the bigger priority. He could deal with the ponies once more when the safety of Gregory was assured.

“Going somewhere? And without me by your side?” a familiar voice asked from the direction of his door. “For shame, my Emperor. You think I’d let you go alone?”

Jason turned, only to find himself staring at a human woman with hauntingly green eyes. She was dark skinned, almost impossibly so, possessing dark cerulean hair and wearing a dark green skintight jumpsuit which hugged her curves. Had this been back on Earth, Jason would have been incredibly attracted to her, but he knew who this human really was. She’d been “practicing” her human form, as she put it, for the past two months. “You’re not coming with me, Chrysalis.”

The human formed Chrysalis crossed her arms and gave him a knowing look. “And you think I’m letting you take care of this alone?” Walking up, swaying her hips as she did so, she stopped so she was face to face with him. She poked his chest and frowned at him as she added, “I’m not being left out again. You owe me that much, Emperor.”

Reaching up, Jason grabbed her hand and firmly removed it from him, not looking away from her. “As I recall, I’m the one who defeated you at your old castle. Do I owe you anything?”

Chrysalis scowled at him. “I won’t be left behind, Jason,” she hissed, leaning closer, glaring into his good eye. “I won’t.”

“Eh, why don’t you let her go with you?” another female voice said from his door. Both turned, seeing Cheery leaning against the door with a smirk on her face. “Phary can keep us all in line, I bet. Just as long as he uses that sexy whip of his.”

Jason rolled his eyes. Cheery had been the changeling he’d sent to keep the Crystal Empire from interfering. She was pretty much the textbook definition of horny slut. She couldn’t go one sentence without using some kind of innuendo. However, she was also good at her job, which was why he had made her the head of the foreign affairs department. “Down, girl,” he cautioned with a tired wave of his finger.

“Yes, sir,” she said with a mock serious expression and a very human-like salute with one of her front hooves.

Jason looked back down at Chrysalis, who was now looking back at him. There was a determination in her eyes, along with some of that excitement that he remembered from their campaign in Equestria and from the show during the Canterlot Wedding episode. The two stared at each other before he sighed, his shoulders slumping tiredly. “You’re serious, aren’t you?” he asked.

Chrysalis held out one of her hands towards the desk where a few of the newer weapons were sitting. Two of the pistols were encased in a green glow and floated over to the human Chrysalis. She grabbed them out of the air and, with a surprising amount of skill, twirled them in her fingers like she was some sort of gunslinger. Stopping, she aimed the pistol at a nearby wall and mimed shooting it before she lowered it and looked back up at him. “I can handle this weapon the same as you. My magic is strong. If you think I’m letting you have all the fun this time around, you’re mistaken, your Majesty.” She smirked up at him and winked as she stepped back and bowed slightly.

Jason knew she wasn’t being too sincere about those last words. Even if she was reduced in status to a duchess, she hadn’t lost any of her royal attitude. He let her act like that because he relied on her knowledge of the changelings. He also knew that Chrysalis could be stubborn when she made up her mind. She had been slow to surrender and had fought down to the last before finally giving in. Jason brought his hand up to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling yet another one of his headaches coming on. “You’re not taking no for an answer, are you?” he asked tiredly.

He felt a hand squeeze his shoulder. Opening his eyes, he found himself staring into those deep evergreen eyes which were glaring at him. “Not by a long shot.”

He took a deep breath, exhaled, and nodded. “Fine. You win.” Looking past the now grinning Chrysalis, he locked gazes with Cheery. “Tell Pharynx that until Chrysalis and I return, he is in command. He is not to try any invasion of any nation and is only to use force to defend the Hive. Is that understood?”

“Yes sir,” she grinned with another salute. Turning, she walked away, but not before she lifted her tail in his direction, showing off the goods, as she called them.

Jason ignored that as he looked back at Chrysalis. “Go get ready. Our portal to Tartarus hasn’t been opened in hundreds of years, and I want to be prepared.” Chrysalis’ smile grew more predatory, revealing her sharp and extended canine teeth. With a flash, she vanished, leaving Jason alone once more.

He turned and briefly removed his mask, looking back to the mirror once more, looking at the torn and battered face that he’d seen for years in reflections of water in the Everfree Forest. The same dead eye and living eye, the patches of scars along his body.

And then the mirror became stained, stained by specks of blood that Jason had coughed up thanks to that constant soreness in his throat and the dull pain in his chest. He reached over and grabbed the desk to keep from falling over. He clutched his chest and took deep breaths to calm the pain. Grabbing a small bottle on his desk, he popped the cork and downed it. Eventually, the pain began to recede as did his cough. Not that the contents of the bottle was a cure. It was just a way to relieve the symptoms.

Of course, he knew precisely what he was suffering from. His father and grandfather had suffered from the same deadly disease. And neither of them smoked.

Cancer. At least, if the blood in his urine as of late was of any indication.

Steadying himself, he put his mask back on, grabbed a towel from his private bathroom, cleaned off the blood and set the towel back. He couldn’t worry about his health. He had some time left. Time for him to rescue Gregory.

“I won’t let you go through what I did, Gregory…that’s a promise…”

Chapter One from Star Swirl the Bearded’s A Treatise On Mankind

Humans are a species of contradictions, it seems. If ancient records from pony historian Past Map are accurate, there was once a settlement of them located in the Dragon Lands before the founding of Equestria. Their disappearance is a mystery, although many theories abound as to what happened. However, from Past’s writings, they were a bipedal and omnivorous species. They could be at one time cruel and unfeeling but could also be capable of some of the kindest actions possible.

What surprised me when I first encountered mankind, however, was the fact that I found human counterparts of ponies that I knew very well there.

Including our dear princesses.

Phew, finally! This is gonna be an interesting arc. Look forward to it!

Not sure how well I did with the Rarity/Gregory scene, tbh.