And yes, this is a flashback. For a while, at least, I'm gonna be going back and forward in time, switching from Griffonstone to Equestria. It hopefully won't take too long for things to sync.

“Love me or leave me, make your choice but believe me, I love you! I do, I do, I do, I do, I do! I can't conceal it, don't you see, can't you feel it? Don't you too? I do, I do, I do, I do, I do!”

Gregory opened his eyes as he woke to the alarm on his phone. Blearily, he slowly sat up and looked around the room he was in. He was in a small square room, sleeping in his sleeping bag on a wooden couch. His phone was sitting on a nearby endtable next to an unlit candelabra which he’d used the night before to get his stuff set up before going to sleep. Next to the phone was a solar powered charging port which was currently being used to charge the phone. Despite how tired he was, Gregory could only smile as he reached up and turned off the alarm. Unzipping his sleeping bag, he swung his legs over and stretched. He’d had a very strange and long day yesterday.

He could remember pretty much everything that happened ever since he’d stepped through the portal from Earth to Equestria. The way he’d tumbled out of the portal, causing him to drop all his belongings only to fall over the cliff. His finding of the Idol of Boreas. His rescue by the last being he’d expected to see. His returning the idol to the Griffonstone Keep. Then there was the massive celebration throughout the entire city. Which, to his human ears, sounded like it was still going on.

“When griffons party, they party haaard,” he said as he stood and arched his back, hearing some popping as he did so. He looked around the room of his surprising host. Unlike houses back on Earth, the ceiling was only about seven feet high, and the room itself was about as small as about one and a half times the size of his old studio apartment.

Then again, that’s pretty much all it was, except for the ladder that led up to a second story loft. The loft where his host, Gabriella, had just woken up and was looking down at the human. “What was that I just heard?” she asked as she stretched her wings. “Sounded like a song.”

“Oh yeah, it was,” Gregory said as he began cleaning up his sleeping bag, zipping it up and folding it so he could roll it back up. “It’s from one of my favorite musical groups.”

“About love?” Gabriella, who had insisted he call her Gabby, asked as she climbed down the ladder.

“Heh, yeah,” he said as he put the straps on his sleeping bag, grabbed the bag it came in and slipped it in. He set it in the small corner along with his other bags. “Alright, all packed away.”

Gabby was now down on the ground floor, staring at his bags. Looking back at him, she said, “What’s all in there, anyway?”

“Clothes for all weather, some toiletries, my electronics and means to keep them charged, and a few other miscellaneous knick knacks.” Gregory said as he stared at the bags with her. “I wonder if Twilight will be interested in the books I brought on my Kindle,” he muttered to himself happily. Turning to Gabby, he smiled. He was glad that out of anyone he could have met in Griffonstone, she’d been the first. “I can’t thank you enough for letting me stay here, Gabby. I was fully prepared to rough it, you know.”

She waved her claws, smiling widely. “Hey, you found and brought back our Idol!” she said happily. “It’s the least I could do! You can stay here as long as you want, too!” So saying, she went to her small kitchen and began gathering ingredients for breakfast.

“Hey, lemme help with that,” Gregory said, walking over to where she was.

“Nonsense! You’re my guest,” Gabby said with a smile and a friendly wave. “I’ll make something for us. Let’s see what I have here…” she looked through a few of her cupboards, pulling out a small basket of brown eggs, some old looking bread, a nearly gone wheel of cheese, a can with a worm logo on it, and a corked jug of something liquid. She turned to Gregory. “Sorry, I don’t have too much. I was gonna go shopping yesterday, but then…you know, stuff happened,” she said sheepishly.

Gregory smiled. “It’s fine,” he said. “What kind of eggs are those?”

“Chicken eggs, silly,” Gabby giggled.

“Well, eggs does sound good, but what’s in that can?” he asked, pointing at the sealed can worriedly.

“What? Don’t like canned worms?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Humans don’t eat worms normally unless it’s to survive. Or if you’re really drunk and taking on all dares,” he said warily.

“Well, no worms then!” She quickly put it away. “Could we sit down sometime today and talk about what you do eat? I don’t want to make you something you can’t eat.”

“Sure, I can do that,” he said, “but I was hoping I could go out sometime and look for a job.”

Gabby chuckled then pointed out of her window. “I doubt you’ll be able to find anything with this party going on,” she said.

Gregory turned and looked out the window. It looked out towards the old Griffonstone Keep, but it was the street below that held his attention. It had plenty of griffons eating, drinking and talking to each other with big smiles. There were fewer than there had been when Gabby had brought Gregory to her house near midnight, but there were still plenty. “Is this normal?” he asked, pointing down at the scene before them.

Gabby, who had cracked a few eggs into a bowl already, came over to the window and looked down with him, still whisking the eggs. “Yeah…no it’s not,” she said. “The only real time we’re ever celebrating anything is the Blue Moon Festival during the winter.”

Gregory nodded. He knew about that episode from season eight, of course. He’d actually thought he’d seen Gallus the night before, but the griffon had disappeared before he could get a closer look. “Your kind must really care deeply about that Idol,” he said as he turned away from the window and headed back to the couch.

“We might not have said it to outsiders, but we all reeeeally wanted to see the Idol returned to the Keep,” Gabby said as she began grating the cheese into the bowl before she stopped. “You can eat cheese, right?”

“Can I try some?” he asked, changing direction to head over to the counter where she was working.

She broke off a small piece and handed it to him. Taking it, he sniffed it, then took a bite. The taste reminded him of cheddar, but with a hint of nuttiness to it. He nodded. “This cheese will work, thanks.” He stopped and immediately felt sheepish. “Sorry, that came out wrong,” he apologized. “Humans do eat cheese, but I was just making sure I could eat this one.”

Gabby smiled and continued grating it. “Which means we need to sit down and talk about what you can eat. I don’t think you’ll be going anywhere today.”

“Not without being mobbed by griffons,” Gregory laughed, remembering how almost the entire city had wanted to talk to the sudden hero of Griffonstone. He was even sure he’d heard some younger female griffons proposition him with the thought of bearing his young. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I should stay inside. And I actually have some food I can eat if worse comes to worse.”

“Oh? I’d like to see them later! Please?” Gabby asked.

“Sure, that’s fine with me,” he said. “Are you sure I can’t help?”

“It’s fine, I promise!” Gabby said. “I’m just making some scrambled eggs and maybe some toast. At least, I’ll try.”

“Well, if you’re sure, then do you mind if I read one of those books on the wall there?” he asked, pointing to a wall shelf where about ten books were situated. He’d been surprised that he could actually read the words on them, seeing as they looked nothing like English.

“Sure, go ahead,” she said with a wave. “This’ll take me a bit, anyway. This oven takes a long time to heat up.”

Gregory walked over to the wall and grabbed one titled EARLY GRIFFON FAIRY TALES, sat back down on the couch, opened it up, and began reading.

A few hours later, after a breakfast of scrambled eggs, some buttered toast and a sweet purple juice that Gregory couldn’t quite identify, the human and griffon duo sat down. Gabby had the day off thanks to the impromptu celebration, so she wanted to know as much as she could about the strange human’s diet. He explained as much as he could to her, at least about his own dietary requirements. He thankfully had no allergies and wasn’t much of a picky eater. As long as he got a healthy diet of cooked meat, dairy, vegetables, fruits and the other basic food groups, he would be okay.

“So you’re more like us than I thought,” Gabby said as she closed her notebook after the long discussion had finally come to a close.

“Omnivores, you mean?” Gregory asked.

“Yeah, that!” Gabby said.

“Well, aren’t griffons a mix of eagle and lion?” he asked.

However, the moment he did, he knew it was the wrong thing to say, because Gabby’s smile quickly vanished and she put her claw to his mouth, startling him. “Don’t go around saying that,” she said in a low voice. “If anygriffon heard that, you’d be thrown back into the Abyss.”

He swallowed nervously. “Is it really that bad?” he asked once she removed her claw from his mouth.

Before answering, Gabby got up, closed any windows that were open, pulled the blinds shut, then went and sat back down. “It’s a racial slur around here to call anygriffon either eagle or lion,” she explained. “Back before the Idol appeared, griffons were greedy and vicious. We hoarded our gold and many various tribes fought for control of the land. It was pretty common for the winners to enslave the losers, treating them like chattel.”

This got Gregory’s attention. He had no idea that anything like this was even possible in Equestria, even to griffons. “My God…really?” he asked, not sure whether to believe her or not.

She nodded. “They were called cruel names, but calling them eagle and lion was the worst. It basically means that if you were an eagle, all you were good for was hard labor. If you were a lion…well…you were just there to pleasure your masters with your lion half. Male or female.”

“That’s fucking disgusting!” Gregory shouted, now appalled at the extended history lesson that the show had glossed over.

Gabby nodded, looking down at the floor with a sigh. “Even after the Idol fell, we never forgot that part of our history. It’s just…too horrible to forget.”

Gregory leaned back in his seat, looking up at the wooden beams of the ceiling. They were old but still study enough to hold Gabby’s weight, and the patterns in them were intricate. Just like the patterns of wood back on Earth. Everything to him looked as real as if it had been reality itself, unlike the show which showed flash animation versions of the characters. “I don’t blame you,” he said. “And it’s a good thing that you didn’t forget. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, anyway. Sorry I said something so insensitive.”

Gabby looked at him with a sad smile. Putting her claw on his shoulder, she said, in a small voice, “It’s alright. You didn’t know. But now you do.”

“I’m gonna have to learn more about your culture if I’m gonna be living here for a while,” he admitted.

“Then I’m your griffon!” Gabby said, instantly smiling wide again.

He smiled. “Glad to hear it. So…where should we start, anyway?”

Lunch came and went, consisting of some bread and some beef jerky sticks that Gregory had shared with Gabby. She’d been a huge fan of them, but had told him that he shouldn’t give out that food so readily since he might need it. At around one that afternoon, the streets had actually cleared enough that Gabby said they could go out after all.

“Do you have a place where I can at least hide my things while we’re away?” Gregory asked as he grabbed a jacket from one of his larger bags. “The griffons might be in a good mood now, but after what you’ve told me, I don’t wanna take any chances.”

“Griffons don’t really steal anything, silly,” Gabby chuckled, “but if it’ll make you feel better, I do have a small cellar where we can take you stuff.” She pointed to a corner of the room where a small square piece of floor stood out. There was a bolt that was locked, keeping the door from being opened. She grabbed a set of keys, walked over to it, unlocked it, then pulled the loud creaking door open.

Gregory walked over and pulled out his phone. He turned on the phone’s light and peered down into the dark. The cellar was indeed pretty small, seeing as it was packed full with various objects. However, there was a small space in one corner where he could comfortably place his luggage. Turning back to Gabby, he asked, “Can I put them there for now?”

Gabby, who had been more focused on Gregory’s phone than anything else temporarily, looked back at him. “Huh? Oh sure!” She rushed over to go grab them.

“Whoa there, simmer down, Sally,” Gregory said, rushing over to where she’d begun grabbing a few of the bags, “A lot of the stuff in there is delicate, and I’d rather it be handled carefully.”

Gabby slowed down and gave him an apologetic smile. “Right, sorry.” She looked at the cellar door, then back at Gregory. “Why don’t you go down there and I hand them to you?”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Gregory said as he walked over, got onto the ladder and climbed down. When he reached the bottom, the two began moving Gregory’s bags down into the dim room. Now that he got a better look at it, there were at least two shelves against the walls, each with varying objects haphazardly placed on them, like jugs, a few old oil lamps, old pictures, cookware, and other random objects.

After Gabby had handed him all his luggage and he’d placed all of them in a secluded corner, he grabbed his backpack, phone, solar charger and chord, and a small pocket knife and climbed back up the cellar ladder. Gabby locked it up, grabbed her saddlebag, put the key in it, then headed quickly to the door. “I have an idea where you can work!” she said excitedly.

“Oh yeah? Lead on, then,” Gregory said, following her out into the early afternoon.

The sun was just making its way to the west. The weather was cool and reminded Gregory of early fall. He’d found out the day before that it was actually the very end of September. He’d been surprised that the name of the calendar months were identical, although the year, 1007 Anno Luna, was strange to him. It did give him a sense of where in the timeline he was, if the way the years were counted meant anything. That is, if each season was about a year in length. Not counting the first season before Lesson Zero, of course. As he followed Gabby down the street, he went over things in his mind. If the year indicated the season, it was just around at least one of the later seasons, he reasoned. If that was the case, then Twilight had probably already released Starlight from her friendship studies, the Pony of Shadows had either already made an appearance or would eventually along with the Storm King. At the very least, he guessed that he’d arrived before Celestia and Luna both retired and Twilight took over rule of Equestria, especially since Gabby referenced the two as ruling the kingdom during their talk about griffon cultural dos and don’ts.

Despite the party practically ending around him, many griffons stopped and stared at him, wide eyed with either astonishment or gratitude. He would wave at them before rejoining Gabby, who couldn’t help but smile at the various interactions between Gregory and other griffons.

At one point, they passed a small cart full of untouched scones. Gregory stopped and stared in wonder at the griffon female who was just sitting there, a surprisingly grumpy expression on her face. It was surprising to him since the majority of griffons he’d seen that day were in lighter spirits. Gabby noticed him staring and came up beside him. “Don’t mind Gilda,” she said softly, “She’s always been one sourpuss.”

Gregory looked around. There were other carts near where hers were, but they were either nearly empty of products or were completely out. Only Gilda’s was empty. The scones he saw were a bit more than brown, with a few sticks in them. When he saw this, he grew confused. Had he come back farther in time than he thought? Had the Cutie Map not yet sent Pinkie and Rainbow Dash to Griffonstone? If it had, it would have explained why the Idol of Boreas hadn’t fallen deeper into the ravine.

Too late he realized he’d been staring at Gilda, who had noticed him by now and was glaring back at him. “You got a problem?” she asked in the very same voice he’d remembered.

“Oh, my bad,” Gregory said apologetically, “I just spaced out.”

“Well, now you can peace out,” she said, pointing down the street. It might have been his imagination, but her gruff behavior did seem a bit more subdued than he remembered from the episodes featuring her.

“Yeah, will do,” he said, turning back and following Gabby back down the road. Once they were out of earshot, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “She’s a real ray of sunshine.”

“Don’t let her get you down,” Gabby said. “She doesn’t mean it most of the time. I did see her at least buy some of the grog during the celebration last night.”

“That was some really good shit,” he admitted, “and I normally don’t drink much.”

“If there’s anything that’s kept clean in Griffonstone, our bars are,” Gabby said. “At least, they always are when I deliver mail to the ones on my route.”

“Hmm, I see,” he said thoughtfully. He’d hardly been in Equestria an entire day and already he was learning so much more about the world than had ever been shown in the show. The world was actually a world, not just some cardboard cutout perfect set piece on a screen for little girls. There was alcohol, there had been darker times in the past, and of course, during the celebration the night before, he could have sworn he saw a few griffons actually getting frisky in an alleyway. An alleyway he quickly fled from so as not to interrupt.

Of course, the more he did think, the more he realized that even in the show, there had been events shown that would be considered dark. The pre-reunification Equestria, King Sombra, Tirek, Chrysalis, even Cozy Glow and Neighsay were grim reminders of the less than perfect side of the world. Still, he couldn’t help but be excited to be in this world. He had nothing back on Earth anymore. He’d left behind a less than stellar family, a cheating ex-girlfriend, his former coworkers who shat all over him because of his work ethic, rising gas prices, a climate disaster, insane world leaders going to war over stupid shit and so much more. Now he was in Equestria.

“Hey, we’re here,” Gabby said, interrupting his thoughts as they made their way towards a larger thatched roofed building. Gregory paused and looked up. It was two stories, looked old and a bit unstable, had plenty of windows on all sides and, written in Equestrian, he read the words Griffonstone Post Office.

Turning down to Gabby, he smirked. “You sneaky griffon. This is where you work, isn’t it?”

She chuckled. “Yep! I know we can use mail sorters and delivery mailgriffons like me. We’re always a bit short staffed.”

“Well, I could probably do sorting well enough,” Gregory admitted, “but delivery? I don’t know if you noticed, but I can’t fly.” He pointed to his back, showing his lack of wings. “Humans don’t have wings or magic.”

“Well, let’s go talk to my supervisor!” Gabby said, quickly heading into the building. Gregory chuckled and followed close behind her. He figured this would get interesting really fast.

“So…you’re the stranger who returned our Idol to us,” the post office supervisor, an older griffon male named Gus said a few minutes later in his office. Gabby and Gregory were both seated in stools at Gus’ desk, which was a repurposed old stump like most other tables were in Griffonstone. Gus was a dark gray furred griffon with white feathers and orange eyes. He had a few scars on his right arm which his fur covered decently enough, but not completely. “I didn’t expect to see you here. Wouldn’t you be off celebrating?”

“Well, even humans need to sleep sometimes,” Gregory said. “And we need work, too. Gabby here was kind enough to suggest I apply for a job here.”

“Is that right?” Gus asked, looking at Gabby with a raised eyebrow.

“He’s hoping to get enough bits to go traveling,” Gabby explained.

“Aaah, so you won’t be here long, then,” Gus said, sounding a bit disappointed.

Gregory felt a bit badly now. At his old job back on Earth, he knew the pain of being short staffed and had most of the time worked longer than his scheduled shifts so the store he worked in wouldn’t be behind. “Well, I’ll probably be here a bit longer than you’re thinking,” he said. “Gabby graciously let me stay at her house, and I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t pay rent. So if you did hire me, I might be here for a while. Months, even, depending on costs.”

“Hmm…I see,” Gus said. “And I take it that you can’t provide any references?”

“Not anymore,” he said. “All my references are permanently out of reach. And they were all dicks anyway.”

Gus threw back his head and roared in laughter. “Were all dicks here, Mr. Graystone,” he said with clear amusement in his tone. “Well, if you’re really serious about working for the post office, you’re in luck. One of our main sorters just quit a week or so ago and moved out of the city. We’ve been running ragged since then. Can you quickly sort out addresses and place them in their proper slots so our mailgriffons can deliver them to the proper houses?”

“I can learn easily enough,” Gregory said. “I can read pretty fast.”

“Eh, I’m desperate enough, I won’t deny it. That’s good enough for me. When can you start?”

“Does tomorrow sound good to you?” the human asked.

“That sounds good to me,” Gus said. “Does the morning shift work for you? It’s six to two thirty, with a half hour lunch every fifth hour. You’ll be working in the sorting room, looking through mail and placing it in proper slots. The pay is thirty bits per shift for the first three months, and after that it goes up to forty.”

Gregory had no idea how much a bit was worth when compared to his old world’s currency, but he counted his blessings. Gabby had promised that he could stay with her for as long as he needed, and he was being offered a job. He knew he had the time to figure out what money was worth in this world. After all, Ponyville wasn’t going anywhere. “Alright, you’ve got yourself a deal, boss,” Gregory said, extending his hand.

Gus nodded, shaking Gregory’s hand with his claw. “Be here bright eyed and bushy tailed,” he said. “I’ll have Griselda teach you the ropes.”

“I look forward to it,” Gregory said. “Thank you, sir.”

“Hey, you saved our Idol,” he said, “it’s the least I could do. See you tomorrow! It’s probably going to be busier than normal since today’s an impromptu holiday.”

“I’ll be ready,” Gregory said as he stood along with Gabby. “See you tomorrow.”

“See you two later,” he said, then he went back to his desk, reading over a small stack of papers.

“My luck is going through the roof,” Gregory said a few minutes later as he and Gabby walked down the still somewhat crowded main thoroughfares towards the city marketplace to go shopping. “I honestly wasn’t expecting things to go this well so soon.”

Gabby smiled widely. “I’m really happy for you,” she said sincerely as she hovered next to him while they took a turn to head up to one of the upper levels of the city itself.

“Helped Griffonstone without meaning to, partied harder than I ever have, and now I have a job,” he said with a happy smile. “If I keep on smiling, my face is gonna be stuck like this.”

Gabby giggled. “You’ve got a nice smile! I’d hate to see it go away.”

Gregory chuckled. “Well, I can’t smile all the time, but for this moment, I don’t think I can stop.” He began humming a fast paced song, a pep in his step, then began singing, “Yeah I own this beat! You can call me the king or the ruler, felon on base, getting hoarse at the mic! We’re getting twenty percent cooler! We had a great day out! Calling my name like Ferris Bueller! It’s time to wrap this up! We’re getting twenty percent cooler!”

“What song is that?” Gabby asked. “We don’t sing here. It’s illegal.” She pointed to a sign that had a crossed out image of a singing griffon with musical notes coming from their mouth.

“Oh my bad, sorry,” Gregory said. He’d nearly forgotten about that rule. “How come singing isn’t allowed?”

Gabby shrugged. “You’d have to ask Grandpa Gruff about that. He’s the closest thing we have to a ruler here.”

“I’ll go have a talk with him when I can,” Gregory said as Gabby took one more turn into a large wide street. He stopped and gaped at what he saw before him.

“Here we are! Welcome to Griffonstone Marketplace!” Gabby said.

Gregory took in the entire street before him. The streets were cobblestone, much like every other street he’d seen so far. On each side of the street were large and small food carts, each selling various types of foodstuffs and even non-food items. He saw large slabs of raw meat surrounded by a few flies, cheese wheels, various fruits, large bowls of what looked like wriggling worms, other bowls of eggs, jugs of what he could only assume was wine or some kind of alcoholic beverage, cooking utensils, pots and pans, and more. If it hadn’t been for the unsanitary conditions he saw, he might have been salivating. Then again, he noticed that a lot of the foodstuffs like the cheese were covered in paper to keep the flies off. That, and a few griffons were waving their wings to shoo the flies as well. “Wow,” was all he could say.

“Isn’t it?!” Gabby said excitedly. “I’ve never seen it so packed before! Come on! Let’s get the good stuff before they’re sold out!” So saying, she rushed forward, flying towards the meat section.

Gregory followed, not wanting to seem rude. He was still a bit iffy about the food, but he reasoned that if he cooked the meat long enough, he could kill off any germs that were in it. He didn’t know how griffons ate their meat, but the way Gabby licked her lips after being handed a thick slab of meat told him that they could eat it raw. To his surprise, however, she didn’t just stop at that slab. Instead, she added a few other portions as well, stuffing one side of her saddlebags with meat before heading to grab a basket of fresh eggs. She would have carried it in her beak had Gregory not taken the basket from her and insisted on carrying it for her. They continued shopping, purchasing enough food to last a couple of weeks at least. They stocked up on somewhat fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, and more.

Just as they were finishing up, Gregory heard a commotion coming from down the street towards the main intersection. He had just lifted a large paper bag full of bread from where Gabby had just purchased it when the heads of a lot of the griffons turned their attention down to the east where the Marketplace street started. Gregory could hear someone talking loudly and with panic in his voice.

Curious, he turned to Gabby. “What’s going on? Did something happen?”

Gabby flew a bit higher up to look towards the commotion. When she came back down, her face was grave. “It’s Ambassador Geoffrey. He looks pretty upset.”

“You guys have an ambassador?” Gregory asked, surprised at this piece of news. He’d guessed that, judging from the previous way griffons had acted that they wouldn’t really bother themselves with outsiders as much.

“Yeah,” she said. “We’ve had one for as long as I can remember. The last one retired not too long ago and Geoffrey took over. I’ll explain the details later. Right now, I wanna hear what he’s doing back so soon. He was trying to get the changelings to relinquish their hold on some territory the griffons own in the Southern Badlands. And he looks injured.”

Gregory’s eyes went wide. “Damn, let’s go see what’s happening, then,” he said, hoisting the bread bag over his shoulder and running down the street towards the gathering crowd of griffons.

Once he reached the edge of the crowd, he could see an older griffon who was clearly a bit heavier set than the average griffon he’d seen. He was wearing a fez and had dark gray claws, very dark brown eye feathers and plume, orange eyes, yellow beak, a light beige set of fur and a darker beige set of wings. One of his claws was in a cast and he cradled it. As they approached, he started to overhear what he was saying. “…their new emperor is ruthless! He isn’t giving back the lands and he stole from us in the Southern Badlands! He did allow the griffon colonials to come back here, but they don’t have anyplace to go!”

“What gives him the right to steal from us!?” a proud voice called out angrily.

Geoffrey sighed and shook his head. “He has an army to back him up! We don’t yet! Besides, if he’s powerful enough to conquer their old queen and successfully invade and subjugate Equestria, then voluntarily leave, we shouldn’t mess with him! Not until we’ve gotten stronger ourselves!”

“What’s this new emperor like?” another random voice called out from the crowd.

“I don’t know,” Geoffrey admitted, “but my sources say he’s bipedal, wears a mask to hide his face, and is very cruel to ponies. Even more so than their old queen!”

“Did you just say someone invaded Equestria?” Gregory called out.

The ambassador finally took notice of the lone human and froze. “What are you?” he asked, sounding a bit scared suddenly.

“He’s the Bearer of the Idol!” one of the griffons called out. “He found the idol yesterday and brought it back to us!”

Geoffrey stared at me with narrowed eyes, then seemed to relax. “Well…it’s good to see somecreatures have some common decency even when you didn’t need to.”

“It was the right thing to do,” Gregory said, “but please, could you tell us what happened to Equestria?”

The ambassador sighed. “This emperor and his brood completely blindsighted the ponies by invading with his army of changelings and taking over the capital, at least for a week or so,” he said. “I don’t have all the details, but apparently this happened all two weeks ago.”

“What do you know?” Gregory asked, a knot forming in his stomach and a lump forming in his throat simultaneously.

“I don’t know much,” Geoffrey repeated. “Only that a few weeks ago, the changelings invaded Canterlot, captured the city, the princesses and their national heroes, the Elements of something or other. Then their leader, somecreature calling himself Emperor Jason Wright, burned down a small town near Canterlot. I mean completely destroyed every building! But he left after that, just leaving the ponies alone. We’ve got to prepare just in case he comes for us next. Who knows what…”

The voice of the older griffon faded away as Gregory stumbled back in complete stunned silence. The name struck a chord with Gregory. Not because he knew who it was, but because the name was one that could only belong to a human. Gabby saw this and rushed to his side, calling out to him with concern, then fear on her face as she couldn’t get a reaction out of him.

His thoughts were all a jumble as Gabby pulled him out of the street, heading back down towards her house on the lower levels of the city. He barely noticed what was happening around him as he tried to process this new information. Jason Wright…Jason Wright…it was a human name, or the closest thing to one he’d heard of even in Equestria. The griffon names were human enough, but they all started with the letter G. Then again, he thought, Steven Magnet was a name in Equestria, too, but it belonged to a sea serpent, not some bipedal creature. It was definitely not a diamond dog’s name, since theirs were typical dog names.

That left him with one conclusion, one he very much didn’t want to believe. Even now, he continued to deny it and thought harder and harder about other possible alternatives to the ever increasing inevitable truth.

Suddenly, he was keenly aware of cold water being splashed onto his face by a scared looking Gabby. He coughed and sputtered as he looked around, coming out of his reverie and realizing that he’d somehow been taken all the way back to Gabby’s house. “Guh! What…how’d we get back here?” he asked in a daze.

“Thank the Idol!” Gabby said, looking incredibly relieved to hear Gregory actually talk, “we got back ten minutes ago! I’ve been trying to talk to you ever since you heard about that Jason Wright!” She approached and cupped his cheeks with her claws. “Are you alright? Do I need to take you to our hospital?”

Gregory shook his head. “No, that’s alright,” he said. “I think I just need to lie down for a bit.”

“What happened?” she asked worriedly. “Why did you space out like that? Do you know something about what Ambassador Geoffrey was saying?”

“I…I don’t really know,” he admitted as he slowly pulled out his sleeping bag once again, “maybe…it’s just the name.”

“What about the name?” Gabby persisted, sitting down on the wooden couch next to him. “Do you know the name?”

“If you’re asking if I know this Jason Wright, no. No I don’t know him,” Gregory said. “But it’s just…” He straightened and turned to his new friend. “You know how griffons have names that start with G and how ponies have names that describe them, like how Princess Luna moves the moon and her name literally means moon?”

“Yeah…I think I do,” Gabby said, then waited for him to speak.

“Well here’s the thing, Jason Wright, the name, wouldn’t seem out of place back where humans exist,” he said. “It sounds like a human name. And…if what Geoffrey is saying is true, then…something terrible must have happened to the ponies I came to see.”

Gabby looked stunned when she heard that the name Jason Wright might belong to a human, but she quickly put a comforting arm around Gregory’s shoulder. “You don’t look so good,” she said softly. “Why don’t you lie down for a bit? Take your mind off of things. I’ll be right here if you need anything, okay?”

Gregory nodded gratefully, and when Gabby vacated the couch, he put his pillow and sleeping bag on the couch, got into it, grabbed his sleeping mask, put it on, and shut out the world. Right now, he didn’t want to see anything. Not even the truth.

The truth that he wasn’t the only human in Equestria.