---

Octavia Melody was sitting on the small hill where her home had once stood, a cello in her hooves. Where there had once been a small cottage split down the middle to accommodate both her and Vinyl Scratch’s tastes, now there was only a large white tent. Even the bush that had been cut in the shape of a musical note had been burned to the ground. The fence overlooking the town had been reduced to cinders. The only thing remaining was the brown cobblestone pathway that led up to the only part of the house that was still around: the front steps, their light blue and light orange paint split evenly down the middle just where the house’s exterior and interior had been split.

She continued to play her cello, trying to compose something to take her mind off of everything that had happened in the past three months, but all she could compose in her current state of mind was a melancholic melody. As she continued playing, her lips opened and she began to sing:

“From worlds unknown, a stranger appeared,
“a smile across his heart.
“But in Ponyville fair, he was shunned and feared,
“And his warm smile did depart.”

“In Everfree cruel was he forced to abide.
“Abandoned by harmony’s race.
“The years went past, and his gentleness died,
“and hatred he did chase.”

“One day in the fields of once fertile trees,
“the stranger did try to die,
“but fate stepped in, and from there he did flee,
“but that wasn’t his final goodbye.”

“Two years had passed, and once more he did meet
“all those who’d abandoned his calls.
“With all his revenge and destruction complete,
“the stranger left Canterlot’s halls.”

“Oh where, oh where, has that stranger now gone?
“Absconded to lands unsung?
“Will he return, or will he prolong
“his hatred against those now shunned?”

Octavia took a deep breath and exhaled shakily as she slowly put her cello in its stand. Ahead of her, she could see the sun rising over a snow covered landscape. What had once been thatched rooftops and a quaint idyllic township was now a sprawling wasteland full of nearly identical white tents that blended into the snow so that it looked like there were no signs of civilization around. If it weren’t for the ponies trudging through the streets and the partially ruined Castle of Friendship, it might have been mistaken for uninhabited territory on the edge of the Everfree.

“That was a nice song,” a familiar voice said from behind her.

Octavia turned and saw her roommate approaching, a small smile on her face. Behind her, she saw two other ponies she knew fairly well. Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon were standing a few trots behind Vinyl Scratch, both looking about as tired and exhausted as Octavia felt. Vinyl held some cheap looking tea set in her magic and she set it down on a nearby tree stump. Octavia smiled a bit as she joined the others who were sitting around the stump. “I’ve been writing it for a while…” she said as she took one of the cups in her hooves and sipped at the steaming beverage, one of the few luxuries still available. It wasn’t brewed in the way she was used to, but she wasn’t about to complain. Especially when Jason had nothing for three years.

“I’ve been writing one, too,” Lyra admitted solemnly as she lifted the plain white cup to her lips. “Although I don’t have as good a singing voice as you.”

Bon Bon put her hoof on Lyra’s back and rubbed it affectionately. “You have a lovely singing voice, Ly,” she said.

“Thank you,” Lyra said with a sad smile.

Vinyl looked around at the group. “So…how’s everypony doing? Hanging in there alright?”

Bon Bon nodded. “Mmm…more or less,” she said. “Today’s my day off, so I thought it’d be nice to visit you two.”

Octavia smiled a bit. The four of them had gotten together once or twice a week as friends for years, but for the past three months, they had not met up like this. Octavia had been helping to teach the young foals so as to supplement Cheerilee’s own overworked schedule. Vinyl had been going through the country doing gigs and earning money which she would mostly donate to the Ponyville Restoration Fund, keeping enough for food and supplies for herself. It was rare nowadays for her to be in Ponyville. Octavia had heard that Bon Bon was volunteering at one of the few soup kitchens in the camp, and Lyra was doing various odd jobs around town to help. Still, even Octavia could sense the varying moods in town. The town itself seemed to be divided on what to think about Jason. She knew a few ponies who were still in denial despite the evidence that they were responsible for what had happened to Jason.

“It is lovely to see you two again,” Octavia said with as much of a smile as she could muster. “I have missed our get togethers.”

“Me too, Tavi,” Bon Bon said.

Octavia smiled more genuinely now. She only allowed her closest of friends to call her that, and while Vinyl was her closest friend, the other two were definitely close enough to use her nickname. “And what about you, Lyra? How have things been with you?” she asked the aquamarine unicorn.

Lyra shrugged noncommittally. “Oh, I guess it hasn’t been too bad,” she said. “Right now I’m working as a street cleaner. I want to try and earn enough for a ticket to Manehattan where I’d like to try and find a better paying job and put most of my earnings towards the PRF.”

“You ever wanna job in a club, I’m your mare,” Vinyl said as she raised her hoof. “Besides, Bonny’s right. You have a great singing voice. With the right amount of remixing and reverb you’d be a star.”

“It’s a shame I only used it for shouting at…at him,” Lyra said as she lowered her head in shame.

Bon Bon moved closer and put her foreleg around her, pulling her close. “Sweets…you’ve got to stop doing this to yourself…we all fucked up.”

Octavia winced at the use of foul language, but she didn’t say anything. Crude or not, it was an accurate assessment of the situation. She, too, had actively participated in the abuse of the human by throwing stones and refuse at him whenever she saw him coming into town from the Everfree. And that had resulted in him taking his revenge by destroying everything and anything she had ever owned.

Vinyl, who had actually never met Jason Wright since every time he’d come into town she had been either out of town or not in the same part of town, looked at the three other ponies. She frowned and removed her shades, revealing her reddish purple eyes. In her deeper but feminine voice, she said, “Girls, come on. It’s been three months already. Shouldn’t we all try and move past this?”

“How can we forget this!?” Lyra asked suddenly, looking up and glaring at the former DJ.

“Whoa, I never said anything about forgetting this, so chill there, Ly,” Vinyl said, holding her hooves up in a placating manner. “I just said move past this. Nopony should forget what happened and what we did.”

“Vinyl, you never participated in Jason’s cruel treatment,” Octavia said with some confusion. “Why are you saying ‘we’?”

Vinyl reached over and put a hoof on Octavia’s foreleg. “Because you’re my friend, Tavi,” she said. “Because I think that if I’d seen him I’d probably have done the same.”

“I sincerely doubt that,” Octavia said. “You’re one of the sweetest ponies I know. You’re always smiling, and you might not talk much to others, but you say more with your mannerisms than your words.”

“Tavs, even I have my prejudices,” Vinyl said as she took a sip of tea, which she’d added milk to. “I’ve had my head in my music for a long time. I never took off my headset. I’d have probably ignored him. I’m not as nice as you think.”

“Don’t say that,” Octavia said, looking at her best friend with a frown. “You’re a really nice pony.”

She sighed. “Thanks for saying so, but back to what I was saying earlier.” She gestured down to Ponyville. “We really should, as Tavi says, address the elephant in the room. And not just with the four of us. I mean the entire town.”

Bon Bon looked at Vinyl with an arched eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Vinyl looked down at the town, eyes narrowed. “What I mean is that we need a town meeting and everypony needs to attend. And I mean everypony.” She turned back to the other three ponies. Octavia shuddered. Her normally reddish purple eyes seemed now to be a dark blood red. “It’s long past time the town faced our sins.”

---

---

Twilight Sparkle woke up an hour before everypony else in the room except for Princess Celestia, who had already gotten up to raise the sun. Truth be told, however, Twilight hadn’t slept too well ever since the day when Spike had been caught up in the banishing ritual that sent Gregory, Rarity, Spike and Lady Serenity (the third pony responsible for the banishing ritual) into Tartarus. That had been all she thought about when she and her friends sans Pinkie worked to rescue everycreature buried during the collapse of one of Griffonstone’s branches. She was scared and worried about Spike and worried for Rarity. And, she realized, she was worried about Gregory too, meaning that to her, Gregory was now a friend. A new friend she had hardly gotten to know, to be sure, but a friend.

However, thanks in part to the massive multiple day storm they’d found themselves in, there was nothing they could do but focus on the task at hoof. They’d worked their tails off. Fluttershy had remained behind with Pinkie to look after her during her recovery.

Twilight had finally gotten around to talking with Pinkie about her condition, and what she learned horrified her. Not only had Pinkie been starving herself as a punishment, but she’d been sleeping outside whenever she had the chance. Twilight had held the frail dull pink pony in her wings and forelegs when she’d finally broken down hard. Twilight then begged Pinkie to try and keep food down. It wouldn’t be much, since she was malnourished, but it would be a good step to recovery.

Twilight had even convinced a griffon doctor who specialized in non-griffon medicine, specifically pony medicine, to take a look at Pinkie. The doctor had basically confirmed everything that Twilight had guessed and gotten out of Pinkie. The doctor prescribed warm but not hot vegetable broth soup to start along with cool, but not ice cold, water. Any kind of extreme temperature might cause more harm than good.

Rainbow had been attempting to get her wings back into shape, but in the stormy weather that was easier said than done. She still had some self-loathing issues, but she was putting them aside to try and use her wings to help redirect the storm. Some of the pegasi who had moved from Equestria to Griffonia who hadn’t been injured volunteered to try and help. Rainbow might have not been able to fly very well at the moment, but that hadn’t stopped her from giving a few of the pegasi volunteers a crash course in cloud maneuvering. Some had already sustained injuries while trying to alter the course of the storm, but for the most part the impromptu weather team was doing their best to move the storm out towards uninhabited portions of Griffonia.

Applejack had volunteered not only to help move the snow off of collapsed houses, but to break up the massive branches with her powerful bucks. She’d also taken some of her spare time to make hastily prepared meals in the kitchen of The Green Dragon. Twilight had heard that the council had decided to store as much of the useable wood in the Griffonstone Keep, but as for why she could only speculate.

Princess Celestia had used her substantial magical power to help keep the storm over the disaster site as gentle as was possible. However, just like the storm up in the Crystal Empire during the Crystalling, she was having difficulties. Her magic helped a bit, but the storm was incredibly powerful. She worked with Rainbow Dash and the prototype weather team.

Twilight had even seen Garble and Smolder, along with other employees in their tavern, working exhaustively in their kitchen to make food for as many displaced ponies as was possible. The tavern floor was practically empty of tables as they had been pushed to the side to provide ponies with temporary places to sleep. The floor was covered with blankets and pillows most of the time with a small pathway from the door to the bar.

Twilight had never seen her mentor this exhausted before, or any of her friends. She was exhausted herself from trying to use her various skills in magic to lift heavy snowbanks or damaged buildings with her magic. However, due to the amount of magic being about twenty five percent or so less than in Equestria, it was hard going. She felt like she had when she’d been a unicorn, so she was having to relearn how to think like a unicorn. Even the pony Starlight Glimmer seemed to have less of an issue than she had. Then again, Starlight had a few months to get used to the amount of magic in this place, Twilight reasoned.

Twilight stood up and stretched her legs and wings, craning her neck side to side and hearing the popping it made when she cracked her neck. She’d gotten into that habit after Jason had left Ponyville after his invasion. Walking over to the window, she looked out only to see the storm continuing to ravage the landscape. However, it seemed as if it wasn’t as bad as it had been. The wind was blowing a little less and the snowfall had diminished.

She walked over to the bed that had been Spike’s. Looking down at it, she felt tears forming in her eyes. Too little, too late she realized how much she missed him. She’d taken him for granted for years and now she was afraid she’d never get the chance to properly apologize and repair their relationship.

She reached up to the pillow with her wing and pulled it back, revealing the journal that Spike used to write to Sunset Shimmer. Only to see that it was glowing slightly and vibrating. Her eyes widened and she grabbed a pen and ink quill. She opened it and turned to the last page with writing.

Twilight winced and grabbed the pen in her magic. Not wanting to lose contact with Sunset, she hastily scribbled:

Spike’s not here. He was sent to Tartarus by a rogue group of ponies.

It crushed her heart to even write those words, but Sunset was one of Spike’s friends. She deserved to know.

To Twilight’s surprise, the response was immediate.

Twilight took a deep breath.

Spike was caught up in a banishment ritual meant to banish the Griffonian Chancellor to Tartarus. He was trying to save the Chancellor. Rarity and another pony were caught up in it.

There was a short pause, and then:

We’re stuck in Griffonstone. There’s a large blizzard and the train is out of commission. We’re trying to help rescue a bunch of ponies and other creatures who moved here who were caught underneath a collapsed city branch.

I don’t know where it is. Besides, Princess Celestia wants us to stay here and help the injured.

I…I’m not sure. Oh wait! She just came in. I’ll go ask.

Twilight put the pen down and turned to Celestia. The solar princess looked tired despite having had a full nights rest just like the others. Twilight couldn’t blame her, though. This trip to Griffonstone had gone from bad to worse it seemed. She hesitantly approached. “Princess…um…does Princess Luna know about what happened to the Chancellor and the others?”

Celestia turned to face her former student, and Twilight was struck by how suddenly old the princess looked. She still looked young, but there was something in her eyes that screamed older than her appearance. Twilight couldn’t quite describe it. However, Celestia straightened, and the leader who she had looked up to for the longest time was back. The exhaustion was still there, but the age in her eyes seemed to be gone for the moment. “She’s aware of the situation, yes. She told me just now that she’s assembling the best soldiers and magic users to lead an expedition down there. She says they’ll be leaving later this afternoon.”

Twilight felt a wave of relief washing over her. Trust Princess Luna to take action like that, she thought to herself. She was a product of an earlier time, after all. “Sunset will be happy to hear that.”

Princess Celestia’s ears twitched at the name. “You’re speaking with Sunset Shimmer?”

Twilight gestured over to the still open journal sitting on Spike’s bed. “She and Spike are good friends.”

Princess Celestia slowly nodded, a brief smile passing over her lips. “I’m glad to hear he’s making new friends.”

Twilight nodded as she grabbed the pen.

Princess Celestia says there’s a group of ponies heading to the gate today.

Twilight blanched at the casual nickname. However, from behind her, she heard snickering. Turning, Twilight saw the Princess giggling behind one of her wings. Before Twilight could say or do anything, Princess Celestia picked up the pen and approached the journal without hesitation.

---

Despite her earlier giggling, Celestia herself was nervous. It had been many years since Sunset Shimmer had left through the portal which she now knew was the human world. She had waited for Sunset to write, but after a while she’d sent the journal to Twilight. When she’d heard about how Sunset had attacked Twilight in anger after the former had heard about Jason Wright, Celestia had all but given up on ever trying to reconcile with her former student, especially after hearing what Sunset had said about her from an injured Twilight.

Judging from what Twilight had told her about their brief interaction two months ago, Sunset had probably taken this personally, especially when she’d heard about the fact that Jason was a human like her friends. Celestia knew she had a fiery personality and was quick to anger, and it seemed that hadn’t changed. Steeling herself, she lifted the pen, dipped it in the ink bottle, and began:

Some things never change, do they?

I wanted to talk with you. If you have the time and the inclination to hear what I have to say.

I’m not surprised you’re angry at me, and I deserve it. Losing my temper with you was the wrong thing to do. I know that now and acknowledge that. I also apologize for my own actions. They were both unbecoming of a princess and a pony.

Sunset?

Sunset, I could never hate you. Even after all these years apart, I’ve never stopped loving you.

Someponyone once asked me ‘Are you and those ponies going to wallow in your despair and grief all this time or get your heads out of your asses and DO something about it?!’ I should have written to you much sooner. It’s been fifteen years since you left, Sunset Shimmer. At least on this side of the portal.

Celestia suddenly saw some of the ink on part of Sunset’s message smearing a bit. Then another part of the paper darkened. When Celestia touched it, she found it wet. Worried, she continued:

Sunset? Are you okay!?

Sunset, you think some harsh words is enough to get me to stop caring about you? Yes, I was angry at you for disobeying me, but I took it too far. I’ve wanted to apologize for a while, but I’ve been too much of a coward to do it. I hate that it took the circumstances over here to do it. It seems even I never stop learning.

She is.

I forgive you, and I’m pretty sure Twilight does too.

That’s understandable. But we shouldn’t be bothering you while you’re busy.

We’ll bring him and everyone else back, Sunset.

Sleep well, Sunset Shimmer.

When there was no reply, Celestia put the quill pen down once again and looked over at Twilight. The younger alicorn was looking at her with worry in those purple eyes of hers. Celestia drank in her appearance more closely now. Twilight looked as if she had aged greatly since the events of the invasion. She still looked young, but there was something in her manner that spoke of her own experiences with Jason affecting her. There was uncertainty in her eyes now, more so than Celestia had seen in them before the invasion three months ago.

She hated to do what she was about to do to her former student, but things had to happen this way. She stood taller. “Twilight, I’m afraid I have to return to Canterlot today.”

Twilight’s eyes widened in alarm. “Return? But why??”

“Luna contacted me this morning,” Celestia said. “One of the noble houses seems to be responsible for the mercenary attack on the Chancellor. I need to return and deal with them once satisfactory evidence had been gathered.” She narrowed her eyes. “I’ve been too lenient with them. It’s time they remembered the reason why I was once known as Daybreaker.” She began to pack her things. The nobles had long since earned a harsh reminder of what their jobs really entailed. And Daybreaker was the one to show them the way.

---

---

Spike had never slept in a bed as big as the one he’d slept in the night before. Even the bed he had in the Castle of Friendship couldn’t compare to the size of the bed he’d slept in. And the comfort? It was majorly better than any bed he’d slept in ever. Even when he slept in a basket in the old library and when he was being raised by Twilight’s family, the cushioned basket wasn’t nearly as comfortable as this bed.

He sat up and stretched, looking around the room as well. Even his room back in Ponyville hadn’t had a private bathroom like this.

Climbing over the side of the bed, he jumped down and walked over to the small table next to the dresser. Sitting on the chair were a set of clothes the novans had left for him since his old clothes had not exactly survived the fall. All except the scarf Sweetie Belle had knitted for him. Despite the tears in it, he refused to give up that particular piece of fabric. He headed to the bathroom first to wash and relieve himself. To his great relief, the toilet he used seemed to be better suited to his body type. Pony toilets were ones he had to squat over unfortunately, but the ones the novans used were much more convenient.

After taking care of business, which included a scrub down with a soapy washcloth and brushing his teeth, he pulled off the pajamas he’d worn to bed and got dressed. The novans had generously provided him with brown trousers, a cream colored undershirt, a button down long sleeved shirt and a black leather vest. He also had a brimmed hat which one of the novans had altered so he could wear it. They’d done the same with the trousers, which now had a larger hole for his tail. They had apologized for not being able to make shoes for him, but his feet were tougher than any kind of shoes so he was fine.

When he was finished and after he’d tied the scarf around his neck, he opened his door and looked out. Coincidentally, one of the neighboring doors was also open and a certain purple maned pony was sticking her own head out. The two locked eyes, and Rarity slowly raised a hoof, smiling a bit nervously at him. “Good morning, Spike. You look quite handsome in that.”

He resisted the urge to say something snarky to her. After all, after Gregory had snapped at her earlier, she seemed to have made a complete turn around in personality. He was still angry with her and hurt, but he was sick and tired of feeling that way. Despite everything, a part of him wanted to try and really become friends with Twilight and the others. He adjusted his scarf. “Thank you,” he said with sincerity.

Rarity seemed surprised that Spike had spoken to him in such a genuine manner. She left her room and for the first time Spike noticed that her mane had returned to its former glory for the most part. It was still wet, though. She smelled of the same type of soap Spike had used earlier, meaning she’d probably washed up the same way he had. His room had a tub, but he hadn’t felt the need to use it since he’d taken a long soak the night before. Rarity stopped in front of him and lit up her magic. Spike felt his clothes slightly adjusting. Inwardly, he smiled. Despite everything, some things never changed.

As she adjusted his clothes, she said, “Did you sleep well? You look well rested, at least.”

Spike nodded. “Slept like a foal. Or hatchling in my case,” he replied.

Rarity nodded with a relieved expression. “I’m glad to hear it.” She finished her minor adjustments. “There.”

Spike looked at himself in a nearby wall mirror. He did look much better than before despite Rarity not seeming to do much. She’d even made his scarf into something like a cravat. He smiled as he turned and looked at himself from as many angles as he could. Turning back, he nodded gratefully at her. “Thanks.”

She nodded. “You’re welcome.” She lapsed into silence, and Spike saw she was working her jaw ever so slightly. A minute of increasingly uncomfortable silence passed before she asked, “Spike…I want to apologize to you for a number of things.”

“Like what?” he asked in a tone that sounded much harsher than he meant it to be. Clearing his throat, he calmed his beating heart with a few deep breaths before repeating, in a calmer tone, “Like what?”

Rarity pursed her lips and replied, “For the way I’ve treated you ever since you and Twilight arrived in Ponyville. For purposely leading you on…for…” Spike saw tears coming to Rarity’s eyes, but not the melodramatic type of tears she was known for. “F-For using you as a pincushion and manual labor…for lying to you…and for all other actions I took unbecoming of a lady-no, unbecoming of a pony…” she was holding back tears as best she could, but one single tear fell to the floor. “I’ve been a horrible pony to you…and I want to make it right somehow…”

Spike was blown away. He’d seen Rarity crying before, but unlike the many other times she’d collapse onto her fainting couch with dramatics, this time she was weeping. No dramatics. No wailing. Just sniffling and tears forming in her eyes. He wasn’t quite sure how to respond. One the one hoof, he was still angry at her for what she had done, and not just to him, but to Jason as well. However, he remembered his conversation with Princess Celestia back in the Green Dragon’s tavern. He wanted to move past this anger, especially since it seemed to be causing him to lose control of his flames every so often. But more importantly than that, he wanted to be happy again.

It took him a moment to search for the right words. Finally, he started. “You really hurt me, you know. You and the others. I was just your lap dog. Twilight’s assistant. I was even used during that competition between Rainbow Dash and Applejack.”

“I can assure you they all feel as badly as I do now-”

He held up his claw to silence her. “I’m not done.” She clamped her mouth shut as Spike continued. “I don’t hate you all. I really don’t. But I’m still not ready to forgive you. Maybe someday I will. I hope I will. You girls really hurt me.”

“Spike, I promise that I will do anything I can to mend the broken friendship between us,” Rarity said.

Spike shook his head. “We weren’t really friends,” he said. “Not like you girls were.”

“Then I want to become that kind of friend with you,” Rarity said through sniffles. “I know things will be a bit…rocky at first, but I want to re-earn your trust. If that’s even possible.”

“Never say never,” Spike said with a sigh. He took a slight step closer to her. “I loved you with all my heart. I wanted to be your very special somepony someday. Right now, though? I’m still upset at how you treated not just me, but Jason Wright too.”

Rarity’s ears flattened even more and she looked at the ground. “My…my actions were beyond atrocious…” she said, “and not just these past three months, but the past five years and more. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jason never forgave me and the others…I’ll have to live with that…Maybe someday I’ll get the chance to apologize to him and try and make things up with him as well. But until then, I want to start with you.” She stood up straighter and looked at him square in the eyes despite her tears. “If you’ll let me.”

Despite himself, Spike was touched by her words. There was a sincerity within that voice he’d never heard from her before. Sure, she’d had moments where she’d realized the error of her ways and apologized, but this was on a whole other level. Not only that, but she was looking at him with respect. He took another step forward. “It’ll take a while for me to forgive you, you know?” he said.

Rarity took a step forward as well. “I’m prepared to spend the rest of my life atoning if that’s what it takes.”

“Dragons can hold grudges for a while,” Spike said again as he took another step forward.

“I can endure whatever time you require,” she replied, mirroring his movements.

“I’d like to forgive you,” he admitted as he took one more step forward, “but it still hurts.”

“I’ll do whatever I can to mend that wound I placed on you,” Rarity promised, taking one more step forward, making it so the two were close enough to touch.

The two stared at each other for a bit before Spike, overwhelmed with emotion, slowly wrapped his arms around Rarity. He felt her return his hug. She began to cry softly, and Spike himself began shedding a few tears of his own. His crush on Rarity might have evaporated, but parts of him still missed spending time with her. Of course, things wouldn’t be quite the same between them, but he hoped that someday he could forgive her. He could hear her whispering, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry Spike,” over and over again.

After a few minutes, the two broke apart. Rarity looked a bit more refreshed than she had before despite her bloodshot eyes. Spike felt like some of the weight of his anger had lifted. There was still plenty there, but it felt more manageable. He promised himself that when he returned, he would confront everyone who he felt had done him wrong, including his so-called parents, Twilight Velvet and Night Light.

Rarity chose that moment to speak up again. “By the way, Spike, my sister tells me you two have been spending a lot of time together.” There was a hint of sisterly protectiveness in her tone now, but in a playful way.

Spike nodded. “I’ve spent a lot of time with foals my own age,” he replied.

Rarity nodded. “I’m glad to hear it,” she said. “I think, however, that you’ve taken quite a liking to my sister.”

“Is this one of those ‘hurt her and they won’t find your body’ type of speeches I’ve heard about?” Spike asked with a raised eyebrow. “Because if so, I promise I won’t hurt her.”

Rarity giggled a bit, covering her mouth behind her hoof. “Spike, I know you well enough to know you would never do anything to deliberately harm Sweetie Belle or any of your new friends,” she said in a reassuring tone. “I just wanted you to know I’m happy you’ve found somepony to make you happy the way I never did. Yes, I’m worried about her, but she’d a teenager now. She’s becoming a mare.”

Spike nodded with a small smile. “She definitely is,” he said, “and I’m still a baby dragon.”

Rarity shook her head. “You may still be young, but I can tell you’ve matured a great deal over these past three months. I know right now it doesn’t mean much, but you have my blessing to date her if that is what she wants.”

“I’m glad you approve,” Spike said as he scratched his cheek.

Rarity was about to say something else, but just then they heard someone running down the hall. Both turned and saw a small number of novans, some flying and others running. Both moved out of the way. Spike noted their sense of urgency and the worry in their eyes. “Is something wrong?” he asked as they passed.

“Mr. Graystone’s drake collapsed,” one of the novans, a younger male, replied. “She’s still breathing, but she’s ice cold!”

That got his attention. He turned to Rarity and saw that she had a look of concern on her face as well. As one, the two ran after the novans. He felt himself be lifted up by magic and placed on Rarity’s back as she galloped after them faster than his short legs would be able to do. “Hold on!”

Spike smiled a bit despite himself. It had been a while since he’d ridden on Twilight’s back. He was taller now, so riding on her back was a bit harder, but since Rarity had no wings, it was easier for him than it would be if it had been Twilight.

Rarity followed the novans down a few flights of steps and out into the morning sunlight. Spike was still confused as to how there was sunlight down in a cave. He thought back to some of his comics. There were otherworldly dimensions in them, different planets, and more. But he couldn’t well focus on that mystery. At the moment, it wasn’t as important as getting back to the surface with everyone else.

They were led to a large arched set of doors at the side of the large palace. A few other novans and even a few of the Pinkie Pie clones were standing near the door looking in, worry spread across their faces. Spike jumped off of Rarity once they entered through the doors. They were standing in what was probably a place where animals could sleep. A stable or something like it. A few novans stood near the drake who was lying in soft looking grass. And right by her head, a worried looking Gregory had his arms wrapped as much as possible around the massive head of his drake companion.

As Spike approached, the light from the morning sun reflected off of his face. Spike saw that his face was red, and his skin and hair were almost drenched with sweat. He was pressing himself close to the drake. Spike could see her large wings quivering as a few novans covered the young creature with thick blankets. There was even an extremely fluffy and puffy version of Pinkie Pie with no mane or tail snuggling up to the drake, making raspberry noises with her mouth in what might have been an attempt to comfort the young drake.

Spike walked up hesitantly to the drake’s side and reached out. When he touched her scales, he pulled back in alarm. He didn’t know anything about drakes, but if they were anything like a dragon, having ice cold scales was never good. He looked around at the straw and began gathering some in front of the drake. Using his fire, he started a small blaze.

“What are you doing?!” a familiar voice asked in alarm as a blue magical aura surrounded the blaze, putting it out immediately.

Spike turned and saw one of the Pinkie clones, only this one had a unicorn’s horn. She was casting a spell using her magic which was the same color as the aura that had put the blaze out.

“Trying to warm her up, what does it look like?” Spike asked.

“By lighting a fire so close she’d burn?!” the unicorn Pinkie demanded.

Spike made a fist and smacked his chest. “If dragons can bathe in lava, a little bit of fire won’t hurt a drake. She can’t be this cold.”

The unicorn looked at the drake, then back at Spike. She pursed her lips, then nodded. “We need to move her out into the sun and start a fire near her,” she said. Turning to a few of the other novans, she said, “We need more blankets, too.”

“On it, Aurora,” one of the novans said. He pointed to a couple other novans and a pegasus version of Pinkie. “Jacob! Carol Ann! Amethyst Sky! Come with me and let’s get some more blankets! The rest of you try and get the drake out into the open air underneath the sun!”

It took a little while, but eventually Daenerys was lying out in the middle of the palace gardens, covered with thick blankets. The fluffy version of Pinkie Pie was snuggling up closer to the drake, still making those strange raspberry noises with her tongue. Gregory was sitting next to Daenerys’ head, running his hands over her cheek gently and whispering to her.

After creating a large fire near the dragon’s midsection, Spike walked up to Gregory. Despite the cool morning air, the human looked like he was sweating more than before. He had removed his shirt and was pressing his bare body against Daenerys’ head. She seemed to be leaning in against him, perhaps in an attempt to get warm from Gregory’s own body heat. When he was within speaking distance, he asked, “Mr. Graystone, are you doing okay?”

He turned to face Spike. There was a look of worry in his eyes, but even so he still smiled at the young dragon. “Ah, I’ve…been better, to be honest,” he admitted. He turned back to Daenerys and ran his hand along her cheek. “If I’d known it would get this bad, I’d have spent the night trying to keep her warm.”

“You do look like you’re burning up,” Spike said with concern.

“I have been feeling a bit warmer since coming here, but I can manage,” he said. “I ran all the way down here, so that’s why I’m all sweaty still.” He wiped at his face with a damp towel he’d been given, then leaned back against his drake. “Nobody here knows what the matter is with her,” he continued.

“Nobody’s heard of a drake being this cold before,” the fluffy Pinkie clone said, stopping her raspberry noises for a bit and opening her eyes to look at them. Spike noticed she had a pair of darker cyan eyes as opposed to Pinkie’s normal lighter cerulean. Even her fur was a slightly different shade of pink. She stood and walked over to the two. “I heard Aurora saying that she couldn’t even find anything even in their ancient historical records from when Esther and Helen Starr helped lead the humans across a vast ocean when they first appeared in Tartarus.”

“It has been a while, so records were probably lost,” Gregory said. He looked at the new pony. “Thanks for trying to keep her warm.”

The clone smiled widely at him. Spike had never seen Pinkie smile quite like that. There was a hint of childlike innocence there, but it wasn’t quite the same as Pinkie’s. “Well, I’m all fluffy now, so why not put my fur to good use.” She then turned to Spike, walked over and hugged the young dragon. “It’s good to see you again.”

The pony’s fur was incredibly soft and warm, and Spike hugged the clone back. “I’m sorry about what we did to you all,” Spike said apologetically. “If we had known-”

“Don’t worry about that,” the Pinkie clone said as she broke the hug and looked at Spike with that same childlike innocent smile. “All of the clones who made it here now know why you had to do that. I mean, come on! We’re all Pinkie Pie deep down somewhere. We can’t really keep a grudge to save our lives.” Her smile faltered a bit. “I can’t really say the same for those who were separated from us.”

“Wait, separated?” Spike asked.

The fluffy Pinkie nodded. “We were attacked and most of us ran in one direction. I was with the group who came here. But when we were rescued by the novans and counted, there were only thirty-nine of us. Eleven others got separated. Search parties have found nothing yet, but a group of clones still go out and search.”

Gregory frowned. “I hope they’re all okay. Clones or not, I would hate to see any Pinkie Pie be killed.”

Spike looked back at the fluffy Pinkie. “Hey, by the way, what’s your name? I’ve noticed that the Pinkies around here got new names.”

The clone gasped. “I’m sorry! I didn’t introduce myself!” She took a step back and smiled again. “My new name is Fluffle Puff.”

Spike thought he heard Gregory say something to the effect that he’d already known her name, but that seemed impossible. “Well, I know you know me, but I’m Spike the Dragon.”

Fluffle giggled, then seemed to prance over and hugged him again. “Nice to meet you again!” Turning back to look at Daenerys, she gasped again. “Poor girl’s getting cold. Back at it!” She bounded over, snuggled up close to the drake, and resumed making her raspberry noises.

“Why’s she making those noises?” Spike asked himself.

Apparently, he hadn’t been quiet enough because Gregory replied, “She says it’s because the sounds are soothing for the young drake. Or maybe it’s her way of comforting someone.” He wiped his brow again. “Hah…is it summer down here? The sun really feels hot on my skin.”

Spike looked at the bare-chested human and frowned. “Um, Mr. Graystone? You’re not in any sunlight,” he observed.

Gregory looked down at himself, then back up at the source of the shadow he was in, a large tree. “Oh…” he said. He wiped his brow again, then looked over at Spike. “Hey, Spike?”

“Yes?” Spike asked.

“I think…I think I’m in trouble…” was all he managed to get out before the arm that was raised with the damp towel went limp, falling to his side. His eyes became unfocused as at the same time, Daenerys also seemed to go limp, passing out.

Spike approached him unsteadily. “Mr. Graystone? Are you okay?” The young dragon put his claw to the human’s forehead. Now, while dragons had scales that could survive a dive into lava, they could still detect heat. And it seemed as if the human was burning up. He turned and shouted, “Help! He’s burning up!”

Two novans in nearly identical light blue clothes came rushing over and knelt beside him. One of them, an older female, put her hand to his forehead. “Dear God…we need to get ‘im cooled down now!”

“Spike? What’s going on?” Rarity asked, appearing beside Spike and looking over at the now delirious human who was mumbling somewhat incoherently.

“He’s got a really bad fever!” Spike said worriedly.

Rarity looked back over at the human in alarm. “I did notice he seemed to be perspiring lately, but I assumed it was due to us all walking,” she said.

“A stretcher! Git me a stretcher!” the younger female novan shouted at a group of nearby novans.

“You think they’ll know what to do?” Spike asked Rarity uncertainly.

“I’m sure they do,” Rarity said reassuringly.

“If Applejack were here, do you think she’d say you were lying?” Spike asked.

Rarity didn’t answer. Instead, she approached the human. All of his clothes had been stripped off, leaving him bare. His entire body was drenched in sweat and his skin was red. Spike followed behind, worried for Gregory and Rarity as well. He didn’t know if whatever Gregory had was contagious, but he didn’t want anyone else to get sick. Rarity grabbed a nearby damp towel with her magic, wringed out the excess water, and placed it on Gregory’s forehead. “You should try and sleep, Chancellor,” she said softly. “You’re in good hoov-I mean, hands now.”

Gregory’s eyes were even more unfocused now. Spike couldn’t tell if he was conscious of anything around him or not. At that moment, two novans flew down with a stretcher in their arms. They gently lifted the human up and placed him on top of it. Aurora came running up again and pointed at the two. “No flying,” she said. “Take him back to his room and put him in a cold bath! Hurry!”

“Can I come and help?” Rarity asked, stepping forward. “I can use magic, and no offense to you, darling, but I’ve had it my whole life. I know more spells than you probably do.”

Aurora looked at Rarity, then quickly nodded. “Alright, go with the others. I have enough of Pinkie’s memories to know about your generosity, at least.”

Rarity winced slightly, but nodded as she turned back to Spike. “Spike? Can I ask for your help?”

Spike nodded without hesitation. Rarity lifted him back onto her back and she followed close behind the two novans as they rushed back into the palace. All the while, Spike could hear the human mumbling incoherently, laughing and singing some strange tunes.

Once they reached Gregory’s room, the novans placed him in the bath before beginning to fill it with tepid water. Rarity used what magic she knew to create small ice cubes that she placed in a nearby container which the novans, who identified themselves as nurses, filled with water, dipped small towels in it and placed said ice cold towels on his forehead. When the water in the tub began to actually heat up too much, Rarity would create more ice for the tub and Spike would pour the ice in to bring the temperature back to tepid. All the while, Gregory was half delirious with whatever fever he had.

“Is the bath helping?” Spike asked after about fifteen or so minutes.

One of the novans, the older female who’d identified herself as Abigail or Abby, placed one of her hands on his forehead, then placed two fingers on his neck. “It might be helping,” she said, “but I’m not sure. His heartrate is a bit higher than I’d like.”

“Rubber ducky, you’re the one…” Gregory said in one of his more coherent moments. “You make bathtime so much fun!” He lifted his hands up and splashed.

“He’d definitely delirious,” the younger novan, named Rosalee, said worriedly. “The fever isn’t going away, but Abby’s right. We can’t tell if the bath is helping.”

“You want more ice in the bath itself?” Rarity asked.

“Better not,” Abigail said. “Ice cold baths ain’t good fer a fever.”

“Abby, we should get ‘im to bed,” Rosalee said as she removed one of the towels from Gregory’s forehead.

“Git him some new clothes,” Abigail ordered.

Rosalee nodded, spread her wings and flew out of the door. A few moments later she returned with some long sleeved and warm looking silk clothes. The two novans lifted him out of the bed, wiped him dry, then dressed him. They carried him gently back to the bed and lay him down. Spike then saw Rarity jump into bed beside him and press herself against him. “Rarity, what-?”

“Whenever Sweetie Belle or I had a fever, my mother would do the same for me, and I’ve done it whenever Sweetie Belle had a fever when she moved in with me,” Rarity replied. “After all I’ve done to him, it’s the least I can do.”

Abigail nodded sagely. “He will need that sort of body heat,” she said. “I’ll brew up some medicine to give ‘im when he wakes from the nap he’s ‘bout to take.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Spike asked worriedly.

“I think they might need your help with his drake, if you really want to help,” Rosalee said kindly, “but you don’t have to. Yer our guests.”

“She’s right, Spike,” Rarity said as she moved closer to Gregory’s body. “You’ve been very helpful today, but you should take the time to relax.”

Spike frowned. “I still want to help.”

“Then we won’t stop you,” Abigail said.

Spike looked back at Rarity, who was now pulling the covers over the two of them. “It’s time to sleep now, Chancellor. You need a nice long nap to heal your body.”

He did seem to have heard what Rarity had said, however, because he shook his head and waved his hand. “Ah, ah! No sleeping yet! You have to sing the Sleep Song before you go to sleep!”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “The Sleep Song?”

Gregory looked in the general direction of where Rarity was. “Come oooon! You know the words!” Clearing his throat, he launched into a slurred vocalized song as he jostled around in bed. “I am not messing up the covers. Sliding in, so as not to wrinkle all the sheets making sure the quilt stays nice and clean. Have you ever seen a bed so neat? I'm getting into bed. Sleep, sleep, sleep, time to go to sleep now. It is night and I need to sleep while it is dark. I am really tired, time for sleep now. Tired, tired, tired, sleep, sleep, sleep. I'm getting into bed. Biscuits and gravy!”

With that, Gregory took a deep breath. Rarity and Spike looked at each other with incredulous expressions before they heard Gregory exhale. Spike turned back and saw the human’s eyes locking onto Rarity. “God, you’re beautiful,” he said.

Despite the situation, Rarity blushed a bit, but not for long as his eyes began to flutters shut. However, before they were completely shut, Spike could have sworn he saw the human’s eyes change color from their sky blue to a light purple.

---

---

Gregory was floating in a warm abyss. That was all he knew. He was formless, shapeless, purposeless. He could see nothing, smell nothing, taste nothing, and feel nothing other than the warmth that enclosed him. All he could hear was a soft thrum, thrum, thrum of a steady beat that kept time. Like the constant thrumming noise of some massive starship engine.

He let himself hover or float there, wherever there was for him. Had he always been in this place? It didn’t matter now. It was comfortable. Here, he didn’t have to think. He didn’t have to worry. Here was true peace. True contentment. It was so tempting to get lost in the aether. To just let go. The stresses of leadership had done a number on him already…

Wait, leadership? What leadership? Hadn’t he been there for an eternity already? What kind of leadership had he endured thus far? For the first time in what felt like forever, Gregory allowed coherent thought to pass through him. Well…his name was Gregory Graystone, that much he knew now. He was a…what was he again…what species? Oh yes! Human. He was a member of the human race. A species that had just reached a total of eight billion strong on Earth less than a year ago.

The temptation to succumb to the oblivion returned, and initially he started to give in, but a still, soft, female voice called out from a great distance and startled him back into coherency, “Come to light, friend…”

Friend…yes. He had friends back where he came from. He had a girlfriend…and a job. Job as…what? What kind of job did he have again?

President? No.

Emperor? Nope.

Chancellor?

Yes, that word had a familiar ring to it. What was a chancellor? Some kind of leader, right? Chancellor…chancellor…was it Palpatine? No, wrong chancellor. Chancellor…oh! Yes! He remembered now! He’d taken on the job of a chancellor.

But why had he? And for whom? It definitely wasn’t the chancellor in the Star Wars universe. So which one was it?

Wait…why would he assume he was a chancellor in a fictitious universe? He furled his brows and concentrated harder. He felt his head begin to hurt. Wait, head? He had a body now? Nnng…it hurt…would the pain stop?

He took a breath. Yes…he had a head now. He reached up and felt his returning body. Torso. Stomach. Hips. Legs! He still had legs! Arms, hands, fingers! Lots of fingers! Mouth, two eyes, nose…he’d had worse. Hair…he was a girl! No, no…not a girl! Ah! And still not ginger!

He looked around, confused. He tried to remember what had happened before he’d come to this place, wherever he was. He had been talking to someone…or a couple of someones. Who? He concentrated, ignoring the pain. Two faces popped up in his memory. One was of the young but clothed version of Spike the Dragon. The other was a pony who shouldn’t have been in that world, mostly because she was only a fan-based character.

How the hell had one of the biggest and most well-loved fan based characters of the My Little Pony fandom been created from an altered Pinkie Pie clone, anyway?

Memories came pouring back in at an alarming rate. He endured the pain they brought, both physical and mental. He heard some more indistinct voices as the memories continued to re-emerge from wherever they had been buried.

He remembered his childhood, growing up with parents who just didn’t seem to care about him. Never really praised him, put him down in subtle ways. He remembered finally gaining financial independence only to fall victim to a woman so manipulative he couldn’t see it.

He remembered their loud fight when he decided to step up and break things off with her after he learned of her infidelity. He remembered the subsequent depression he’d fallen into before he found a non-profit counseling place where he could see a counselor for free. He remembered his counselor, David, gently helping him through his shortcomings and helped him set small goals, which Gregory accomplished with flying colors. He remembered his discovery of My Little Pony while it was airing its last season. He remembered devouring every piece of media devoted to the show and how it had actually been a huge help in his recovery. David had even said that if MLP helped, then it wasn’t embarrassing to watch. He apparently had twin girls who loved the show and had watched it ever since it started airing.

Gregory then remembered finding a secret website on the Dark Web when he was exploring it one Saturday afternoon. The website described a procedure which could enable anyone to be transported to any fictitious universe. Ironically, the name of the website on the Dark Web where he’d found the instructions was RealZombo.com. Figuring it might be kind of cool to pretend, he made preparations and managed to open a portal to Equestria. Not wanting to go through without preparations, he stuck a camera through with the video recording. He remembered seeing a vast swathe of trees in the recording, and then when he’d turned the camera, the recording had seen a familiar looking array of thatched roofed and colorful buildings. However, unlike the show everything looked just as realistic as if it were in the real world.

As the memories returned to him slowly, he saw screens appear in the void. He saw his other brief attempts at creating portals, and not just to Equestria. He had taken images and videos of places like Coruscant, London with an old style blue police box sitting nearby and zeppelins in the sky, a certain empty classroom with a single desk sitting in the center, a certain keep made of red bricks and other various places that were fictitious.

Finally, he began remembering how he had begun stocking up provisions for a permanent trip through a portal to Equestria. He’d bought all sorts of advanced electronics, such as solar panel powered chargers that could help keep his electronics charged in case Equestrian tech was incompatible with his tech. He’d bought e-readers and filled them with many different types of books, fiction, history, technical diagrams for advanced human technology he hoped to introduce to Equestria, and much more. He’d bought the latest iPhone and downloaded each and every episode of MLP onto it. He’d also downloaded as many fandom MLP material as he could, from fan animation by ForgaLorga and AgrolChannel videos, to Magpiepony comic dubs to Friendship Is Witchcraft and everything in between. He’d bought the latest gaming laptop and put all manner of video games on external hard drives so he could play them whenever he was feeling homesick along with entire TV shows, some of which he hadn’t yet watched that he’d meant to in his spare time. He bought some spare parts for said laptops. He refurbished his two older laptops as well just in case his new one broke. He’d vacuum sealed some meat products he’d never be able to eat again, like steaks, hamburgers, and bacon.

He’d liquidated nearly everything of his, then made his way to an empty field after he’d sold his car and had one last major fast food meal. There, he’d initiated the procedure, and with his hands full of many fully packed bags of clothes, vacuum sealed food, electronics, and even a few actual paper books, he’d stepped through the portal with all his bags, and had promptly nearly died thanks to his stepping out a few steps away from the Abysmal Abyss.

“Wake up, friend…” the same female voice from before said.

Gregory looked around, the screens from before which had shown his various memories of his new life on Gaia vanished, leaving him once more in a dark and empty void. Looking around, he thought he saw a pinprick of light in the distance. The same voice called out “Friend come! Come to light!”

Gregory frowned. The voice sounded familiar, but a part of Gregory felt like it didn’t belong in this world. Still, he felt like he should heed the calls of the woman.

Or should he?

Going towards the light? Wasn’t there a stigma about that in stories? Shouldn’t he go back towards the darkness? Or was the light the way back to where he’d been. Wait, where had he been again? Oh! Tartarus! And Atlantis, no less! Which would be the better choice here…?

Fortunately, the choice seemed to have been made for him when a light purple mist appeared suddenly in front of him. The mist was studded with multicolored points of light that seemed to resemble twinkling stars. He felt something wrap around his waist and before he could do anything, it tightened. In the distance, he heard the familiar voice say something in a tone of triumph. He felt himself being pulled at an incredible speed towards the light. He screamed in fear as he was pulled closer to the light. He closed his eyes…

…only to find found sitting in cool water. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked down at the ground. He was indeed sitting in water about a foot above the ground. However, when he stood up, he found that he was completely dry. He looked up and saw that he was underneath a large night sky full of stars. The water seemed to go on forever. The horizon he faced had a large column of what looked like the Milky Way and whatever galaxy Gaia was a part of, but which had a different shape than the two galaxies he was now familiar with. About thirty degrees above the horizon he saw a large star that was brighter than the rest. It illuminated the water around him which was mostly still save for the area around him that was disturbed by his motions.

And the area that was disturbed by whatever was behind him. Gregory turned to find himself looking up at his drake. In the night, her eyes seemed to glow their signature color, their bright purple luminescence briefly startling him before he realized who it was. “Dany? Where are we? You have any idea?”

Daenerys shook her head, then to his confusion, she actually spoke. “Don’t know where we are, friend.”

The shock of hearing a clear adult feminine voice coming out of a massive but young drake’s mouth made Gregory pause. He knew the voice was the same as the one he’d heard earlier, but he also knew that he’d heard it even earlier. At the moment, he couldn’t determine just where he’d heard it, so he decided to forget it. “I…had no idea you could talk,” he said. Then he had a realization and he chuckled. “Oh wait…this is a dream. Duh.”

“No, not dream,” Daenerys rumbled as she stood and spread her massive wings. “This not dream. Not sure what water place is.”

Gregory had some experience in lucid dreaming, so he attempted to perform the normal test he did whenever he was dreaming. He’d been inspired by a similar trick from the movie Inception. However, when he tried to create a small metal top to spin on the end, nothing happened. Frowning, he tried it again, then one more time. When he failed all three times, he reached down and pinched himself to try and shock himself awake. When nothing happened again, he looked around the sky once more. The alien galactic arc reached across the sky directly above them and sank into the body of water behind Daenerys. The light of the single star behind him along with the sea of stars in the heavens was the only light he could see by. He reached down, scooped up some water and splashed his face with it. The water was cool to the touch, but like before it didn’t leave him wet. It did leave behind a cool sensation, however. The ground below the water was smooth like marble, but in the light provided by the two stars he couldn’t see what it was made of at all.

Standing back up, he looked back at Daenerys. “I don’t know where we are either.”

“Water feel warm,” Daenerys replied, slowly lying down and splashing herself with it.

“Really? It feels cool to me,” he said as he splashed himself again, letting the cool sensation wash over him. “But that’s not important right now. If this isn’t a dream and you’re really Daenerys, how are you talking? And are you feeling okay now?”

Daenerys looked at him and tilted her head. “I talk in dream place. I talk with blue pony who wanted to see friend’s dreams. Tell her to stay away.”

“Blue pony? Are you talking about Princess Luna?” Gregory asked.

“Yes. I do okay? Telling her to stay away?”

Gregory nodded. “Yes, Dany. Thanks for telling her to stay out of my dreams.”

Daenerys looked proud of herself. “I do okay,” she said.

Gregory nodded, then stroked his chin. “So, you can talk in your dreams, but not in the real world. So, we’re either in some sort of shared dream or in some weird dream realm altogether.”

“What we do now, friend?” Daenerys asked with an expectant tone.

Gregory was about to answer when there was a sound all around them. A sound like a horn which echoed everywhere for what must have been a good half minute before the reverberations ceased.

However, despite that, Gregory could narrow down the direction which the sound came. He turned towards the bright star which he’d first seen when he’d looked up at the sky. Turning back to Daenerys, he pointed. “I think we go that way. Can you fly?”

Daenerys spread her wings and shot up into the air. She circled around him a few times before landing and splashing him with the water. “Yes,” was her simple response.

Gregory approached, and as he did so he was surprised to see the custom built saddle start to appear on her back. As he approached, he felt himself becoming more and more clothed until he was wearing the gear he normally wore whenever he flew on her back. He climbed up after she lay down so he could get up to the saddle. After strapping himself in and putting his goggles on, he grabbed the reins. “You ready, Dany?”

“Ready, friend,” she replied.

“Alright then. Giddy up.”

And with that, the drake leaped up into the air as Gregory steered her towards the direction of the star. He couldn’t be sure why, but there was just something about that direction that seemed right. At the very least, he hoped that he’d wake up whenever he reached his destination.

This shared dream bullshit was cutting into his time to return home and help avert a war.

Next Chapter: 35: Beginning of Change? Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 59 Minutes