Sorry for making you wait.

Count Fancy Pants stood in the main hall of the throne room, waiting patiently to speak to the Princess. He wasn’t the only noble there, of course. Others, like Viscount Cash King, Marchioness High Life, Baron Jet Set, Baroness Upper Crust, and other members of the House of Lords stood in the hall waiting for Princess Celestia. Rumor had spread of her return and many nobles had migrated to the throne room.

He inwardly sighed. He could already hear the group of aristocrats squabbling even among themselves, discussing things of no great importance to Equestria. His wife, Fleur De Lis, stood beside him and watched the bickering with him. She slightly shook her head and turned to him. “Dear, do we really need to be here?” she asked with a whisper, “I mean, you’re so much better than every other noblepony here.”

“It’s my duty to be here, love,” Fancy Pants replied softly. “I know you’d rather be out doing some shopping or something, but you agreed to this when you married me.”

Fleur gave him a frown. “I’m not the same spoiled mare I was when you first started officially courting me,” she said in a slightly hurt tone, “I know the value of a bit more than I did back then.”

Fancy’s muzzle broke out into a small smile. “I was just teasing you, Fleury,” he said with some amusement.

Fleur’s frown slowly morphed into a smile of her own and she nuzzled his cheek affectionately with her own. “I’m sorry, dearest. You know how sensitive I am about my old self.”

“You’re getting better with it, though,” Fancy replied, nuzzling her back.

He thought back to the past few years of his relationship with her. Back then, part of him knew she was hanging out with him mostly because of her desire to marry into wealth and prestige, but her dedication to the pursuit had impressed him. That, and the part of her that was actually really good with foals. He’d seen her in disguise visiting Canterlot’s orphanage a few times. He knew that there was some decency in her, more so than the flank kisser mares who were trying to get into his nonexistent pants. So, when he decided to give her a chance and pursue a relationship with her some time after he and Fleur first met Rarity, he took things slow and limited his exposure to some of the high life experiences his vast fortune could afford.

At the time, she was a bit more used to the finer things in life, but thanks to Fancy’s influence, she began seeing things from the more common side of life. The two had quaint picnics in some of Canterlot’s parks and even a few down in the White Tail Forest near Ponyville. They shopped at more local and cheap places when they were down in Ponyville as well. It had opened Fleur’s eyes and had made her more open in her kind-heartedness. While she wasn’t poor by any means (she had inherited a large sum of money from her great-uncle High Stakes after his death) she didn’t have the fortune that Fancy had.

When he heard that Fleur De Lis had secretly sunk the vast majority of her inheritance into founding an orphanage of her own, he finally revealed that he knew about her own visits to Canterlot orphanages. She revealed then that she visited because she knew orphanages in the city were not well maintained or staffed fully. Funds had been cut for them mostly by greedy nobles and by those who had bastard foals in the orphanages. The latter wasn’t as commonplace now, but it still happened.

Fancy put some of his own vast wealth towards the orphanage as well, hiring qualified ponies and didn’t only pay them a livable wage, but built free to live in dorms for them as well if they wanted. Soon, the Happy Acres Orphanage became known as a place where foals without parents wouldn’t go hungry or be abused by their caretakers.

Fancy smiled down at his wife. She might have been nearly twenty years younger than he was (he was pushing fifty and she was around thirty now) but he knew that she was the mare for him. Sure, she still had some tendencies to go on a shopping spree, but anytime she did that, she would sell some of her other belongings and donate the money to local charities or would use it to improve her orphanage. “I’m sorry you have to come to these events,” he apologized sincerely.

Fleur looked up at him with a warm smile that melted his old heart. “I’ll endure it. I married you and promised to be there in good times and in bad.” Her expression turned flirtations as she gave him a subtle affectionate lick. “But you’d better make it up to me later, my big, strong stallion.”

Fancy felt some color rising to his cheeks. It still felt strange to him that she found him desirable like that, but she kept insisting he had the physique of someone her age. “Yes, dear,” he said, pretending to bow his head in supplication.

Fleur giggled and gently nudged him. “Oh, stop it you,” she said as he raised his head and gave her a grin. “We’re equals here, remember?”

“Just like teasing you, is all,” he replied.

Just then, the door to the inner chambers opened. Princess Celestia strode in, followed closely by Luna. Fancy immediately knew something had changed about the both diarchs.

It wasn’t just Princess Celestia’s royal regalia that had changed, although those certainly had undergone some radical changes. She was wearing purple boots with golden flames painted on near the top, her mane had been combed back and curled, showing both of her eyes, her tail was tied back near the end with a band which had a golden flame tip coming out of the end which simultaneously resembled a scorpion tail, and her chest plate had a fiercer, fierier look to it. It was gold with the edges resembling stylized flames. Her cutie mark was emblazoned on the front instead of the purple gem while a purple collar came out of the top of the chest plate itself, a collar that was neatly pressed. The only part of her that seemed remotely familiar was her crown, but even that had changed slightly. The gem on her crown was no longer purple, but a fiery red. It was further held in place by a gold ring with a small red gem that had been placed around her horn.

No, Count Fanciful “Fancy” Pants the Fourth saw something in the eyes of the diarch. There was no smile there, not the motherly smile he was so used to seeing. There were only the eyes of a ruler. She looked down on the nobles with a placid but stern expression. The same expression that was now on Princess Luna’s face. The lunar diarch had changed her appearance as well.

Unlike before, she wore longer shaped hoofshoes which to Fancy were more reminiscent of those she wore as Nightmare Moon in shape, but not in color. The ones she now wore were black with dark red outlines along the edges. The same had happened with her chest plate. It was similar in shape to that worn by Nightmare Moon, but for the most part it was black with red outlines on the edge and surrounding the cutie mark recreation emblazoned in the center. As with her sister, her tail and mane had been tied back with red bands, her mane having been brushed back. On her head, instead of her usual crown was one of similar shape, only this one was pure red with a red ring around the front which was wrapped around her horn to hold it in place like Princess Celestia’s.

Fancy knew then that these two were not to be underestimated, so he immediately bowed low in reverence, Fleur following suite. She might not have been as adept at reading faces as he was, but it seemed even she knew that this Celestia, whoever she had turned into, was NOT to be messed with.

The same could not be said of the other nobles nearby, however. Fancy heard someone stepping forward. “Your Highness,” Fancy heard Cash King speaking in that haughty tone that was disguised as reverence, “It’s good to see you back home. I do hope your sudden trip to Griffonstone was pleasant despite the inevitable unpleasantness.”

Fancy winced. He’d heard rumors of Griffonstone’s poverty and how low the life expectancy was, but that wasn’t why he had winced. It had been Cash King’s tone. Like he was looking down on the griffons and where they lived. However, Princess Celestia’s first words were, “Count Fancy Pants, Countess Fleur De Lis, you may raise your heads.” When he did so, Fancy saw that she was looking down at Cash King with the same unreadable expression. She then continued in a more regal tone than Fancy had known her to use. “My journey to Griffonstone would have lasted longer, Viscount, but for an issue which has arisen which requires my immediate attention. And it started here.”

Cash King tilted his head in confusion at her tone. “Your Highness? I’m not aware of any issues here that would require your attention.”

“Then the House of Lords’ network of information gathering ponies is less competent than you believe,” Celestia replied without missing a beat.

Cash’s eyes went wide, his jaw went slack. “Y-Your Highness? W-We have no network of-”

“Do not insult my intelligence, Viscount,” Celestia replied with narrowed eyes at the now trembling noble before she turned to the others. “I’m well aware that the House of Lords gathers information throughout all of Equestria to keep tabs on the market so you can better line your pockets with bits and protect your investments. No, I called them information gathering ponies earlier, but I should have called them spies. I never said where I was going when I left, and it seems your spy network reaches outside of Equestria now. How else would one of you know that Griffonstone’s new Chancellor was human? And I know it was one of you who made an assassination attempt on the Chancellor.”

Everypony was slack jawed. This was NOT the same Celestia they’d come to know. Fancy’s first thoughts as they came back to him was that both princesses had been replaced with changeling spies, but he immediately dismissed the idea. Changelings were not stupid, he knew. If they wanted to replace the Princesses, they wouldn’t have given both of them makeovers like this. He stepped forward, his curiosity getting the better of him as he asked, “Your Highnesses, I’m afraid I’m out of the loop. Could you tell me what’s happened?”

The Princess turned to him, and a shudder went down his back. She didn’t spare him from her gaze, either. Still, he stood his ground as she replied, “As I told everypony here before I left, I was summoned by the Cutie Map in the Castle of Friendship. It led me and the others who were summoned alongside me to Griffonstone. We discovered the city being rebuilt and revived, with many different species living there aside from griffons. Even ponies were living there. They have an Imperial Council led by a Chancellor, a human. Recently, some ponies infiltrated Griffonstone and used three stolen ancient magical relics to banish the Chancellor to Tartarus. They did so on the orders of somepony else. Somepony rich enough to hire these assassins.”

“With all due respect, your Highness,” Jet Set said, “why are you suspecting one of us of an attack on this Chancellor?”

“Because I am well aware of the House’s general disdain for those of other races, Baron,” she replied without hesitation, “and especially humanity because of the actions of one. Not only that, but I know about ponies general fear of other races not their own. The Maker made us all equal in her eyes, and yet non-ponies in our kingdom suffer much more than anypony else. And no, she did not make anycreature more equal than others.” She stood and towered over the nobles gathered. “Make no mistake. The Princess Celestia you knew isn’t here anymore, so expect some changes around here. Some big changes.”

As he watched, he saw a change come over her mane. While it was tied down, it hadn’t been moving like it had before, but suddenly there was a slight disturbance, as if there was a wind coming from her. No, he realized, not a wind, a flame. Her entire being seemed to glow like the sun itself and a slight wave of heat seemed to emanate from her, causing Fancy to wince. Beside him, his wife pressed herself slightly against him and he could feel her trembling a bit. Not that he could blame her. He had never felt such intensity before. This wasn’t the motherly Celestia he knew. No, this was the real Princess Celestia in all her royal glory. Once again, he bowed his head in reverence and Fleur did the same. He glimpsed over at the others, who were still staring at the princess in awe and fear. Finally, High Life lowered her head. The others did the same swiftly.

“For the time being, you are all dismissed,” Princess Luna said, and Fancy felt a chill like that of standing next to ice.

“B-But what of our requests-?” Cash King stammered.

“My sister said you were dismissed, so you are dismissed,” Princess Celestia said with finality. “We will hear your requests and concerns tomorrow. They can wait one more day.”

Cash was about to say something, but Marchioness High Life interrupted him before he could by bowing and saying, “We hear and obey, your Highnesses.”

“At least somepony remembers the old manners,” Princess Luna said as the nobles headed out.

Once the doors were shut behind them and when they were out of earshot of the now four guards stationed at the door to the throne room, Jet Set immediately spoke out. “What in Equestria was that all about? What sort of madness has come over the Princess??”

“Indeed, I’m in agreement with you,” Cash King said with a frown as he looked back at the door. “The Princess isn’t quite acting like herself.”

“You don’t think she was replaced by a changeling, do you?” Upper Crust asked with a hint of fear mixed with revulsion.

“Oh, don’t be so daft,” High Life said, looking at the three gathered nobles, “changelings might be the lowest form of life out there, but they aren’t fools. If they were successful in replacing the Princess, which is impossible with our new anti-changeling measures to begin with, they wouldn’t be so blatantly obvious about it.”

Fancy Pants looked at High Life. She was a young unicorn mare of ancient ancestry. Her ancestor, Handy Ford, had built the ancient mansion High Elm near the palace itself. She was a tall picturesque unicorn mare with a cream white coat, a bright red curly mane and tail, bright green eyes and a wine glass as a cutie mark. Currently, she wore a bright red dress and a light blue jacket. She was one of the richest ponies in Equestria and had been nominated as one of the top five most desirable mares for the past four years. Fancy nodded. “I do agree, Marchioness,” he said, “it does seem quite impossible for a changeling infiltrator to behave in such a way even if they did get passed our screening.”

“Even so, it is quite curious that she suspects one of us to be behind this plot against this apparent new human on Equus,” High Life said. She turned to the others in the House of Lords. “I do believe it’s time we meet with our beloved Prince Blueblood once again. Perhaps he, too, will have something to say about this.”

Jason stood at the window of his guest room in Atlantis, looking over the city from the vantage point of the palace as the sun set below the horizon, leaving the sky full of the colors of sunset. He had to admit that this place was an impressive feat of magical and technical engineering, especially if it was as old as the town’s mayor, a man named Clifford Cunningham, claimed.

They had all arrived around the mountain only to be greeted by a group calling themselves the Tartarus Rangers. After explanations were given, they were welcomed into the city after they learned that the human they’d come to find had already made it there and was in their company.

The pony named Starlight was in immediate awe of the place and began spouting random hypotheses about how things might have worked in the city. In a way, it reminded Jason of his memories of Twilight from the show. The others, himself included, were more interested in meeting with Gregory and returning him to the surface unharmed. However, when they learned that he had collapsed and was unconscious, they’d all reluctantly accepted the doctor’s recommendation that they stay away from him until he recovered, especially Jason.

His treatment by the remarkably demonic looking novans was the complete opposite of how Ponyville had treated him. It was almost as if he was royalty. Well, technically he was, but the novans, despite their appearance, were very welcoming to each and every one of them. Even the Pinkie Pie clones he saw were welcoming and kind. The more Jason learned about the novans, the angrier he grew. It even seemed that the dragons would have treated him much better than the ponies would have. Something that made him angrier than he’d felt in a long while.

He was further surprised, however, when he found they were descendants of humanity who had found themselves banished to Tartarus by unknown means many generations ago. Humans who had become friends with the dragons of their time. The story he was told of their transformation into novans was definitely one he hadn’t expected to hear, but now a part of Celestia’s letter to him made sense. The part about humans being a myth even in this world, that is.

While Jason had wanted to see Gregory right away, the mayor along with the physician who had been attending to his fellow human had asked that he wait until whatever disease he had contracted had run its course. For the time being, they were given rooms in the large palace to stay in for the time being. Many of them had to double up since there weren’t many inns available, but nobody had any complaints about that. Chrysalis had insisted her room be near to Jason’s own, which he also had no issues with.

He looked up at the fake sky above the city next. Despite everything, the fact that the false sky above apparently utilized some form of ancient magic astounded him. Magic was truly a wonderful thing when it wasn’t used to beat him down. The stars that were beginning to come out looked extremely realistic. He could see them twinkling in the evening sky along with some passing clouds, one of which was covering the rising moon. It was hard to believe that they were underground in some vast cavern made for the worst of the worst criminals. From what he’d seen of this land, the entire floating island was like a paradise in a desert. Eden, for lack of a better word.

He hoped that tomorrow he’d have the opportunity to at least see Gregory, and not just to make sure that he was safe and cared for, but also because he hadn’t seen another human face in the past five years. He had a hard time admitting it to himself, but he really wanted to talk to someone of his own species. He had left his world in 2014, and if time between worlds moved back to back, he’d love to have been able to hear about the passing of time and current events on Earth. Sure, there were the novans, and it felt strangely nice to talk to them, but it wasn’t quite the same.

He was brought out of his musings by a small knock at the door. It was just past eight according to the local clock hanging from the wall, so it wasn’t too late. Still, he had just about to head to bed before the knock. Walking over to the door, he peered out at the hallway. “What is it?” he asked in a tone a bit more tersely than he’d meant it to be.

Standing at the door, looking a bit nervous, stood one of the novan guards. “Uh, beg pardon fer disturnin’ ya, Mr. Wright,” the guard said in a heavy southern accent, “but somebody wanted ta met ya.”

He sighed. “Can it wait until tomorrow?”

“It can,” a second voice said behind the guard, the owner of said voice stepping aside to reveal himself, “but I felt called to be here at this moment.”

Jason raised an eyebrow. He was staring at Father Peter McKay, one of Atlantis’ lead religious leaders. He was young, younger than Jason’s thirty-eight years, but he had a warmth and kindness in his eyes that Jason knew was long gone from his own. “Felt a calling?” Jason repeated.

Father McKay nodded. “Correct,” he said, “but if you wish to speak at a later time, we can. I just felt like I needed to be here at this moment.”

Jason looked at the younger man. Sure, he had almost ten years on the priest, but he had a warmth and kindness in his remarkably human-like eyes. He pulled the door open. “I have some time before I was about to head to bed. Sure, come on in.”

The guard excused himself as Father McKay came walking in. Jason shut the door behind the two. He watched as the novan pastor walked over to the window and looked out at the city below. A breeze blew through just then, causing his robes to billow slightly before he turned and looked around at the room Jason was staying in. “This is a lovely room,” he said. “It’s slightly smaller than my entire house down in the city. Not that I need much anyway.”

Jason inwardly sighed. He seemed to be the type of pastor who would espouse the benefits of spiritual riches instead of physical belongings. Still, he just nodded. “It’s a decent enough room.”

Father McKay turned to him, then reached into the bag that was slung over his shoulder. He pulled out a dark green glass bottle with a cork on it. “I brought some of our local wine for you if you want a small drink before bed.” Jason looked at the wine, then back at Father McKay. He was watching Jason with expectant patience. Slowly, Jason nodded, causing the pastor to smile. “Perfect!” He set the wine down on the room’s desk, then pulled out two small shot glasses from his bag, set both of them down, popped the cork and filled both of them halfway with a dark red liquid. The pastor handed one to Jason and held up his own glass. “Cheers, as the old Brits would say,” he said as he moved his glass forward to clink with Jason’s own.

“Cheers,” Jason said as he took the glass and took a small sip. He wasn’t an alcohol expert by any means, but he could tell that this was an excellent wine. He could still somewhat taste the grapes that the wine was made from. It went down rather smoothly and was surprisingly sweet.

“Oh! I almost forgot about one of the best ways to enjoy this wine,” the pastor said as he reached into his bag and pulled out a small loaf of bread. He broke it into two and handed the larger half to Jason. “I know it might sound strange, but pour some of the wine onto the bread and eat it quickly before it gets too soggy.”

Jason wasn’t too sure what was going on, but he obliged, pouring a few splashes onto the bread and taking a bite. The bread was warm and soft, probably freshly made, and the wine that he’d splashed onto it only seemed to enhance the taste. He took a bite of purely bread, and it tasted quite delectable. He looked up at the pastor. “Thank you for this,” he said, “it’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed something as simple as freshly baked bread.”

The pastor smiled sympathetically. “You certainly look like you haven’t had a kind life,” he said with an empathetic tone.

“That’s putting it mildly,” Jason sighed as he took a bite of the bread again and downed it with the rest of the wine.

“More?” the pastor asked, holding up the bottle.

“One more, please,” Jason said as the pastor poured another half glass.

“I know we just met,” Father McKay said, “but I want you to know that, as a man of God, I’m more than willing to listen to what’s troubling you. Nobody will know, since my lips are sealed.”

Jason looked up at the pastor. He wasn’t a religious man by any means. His old family back on Earth were what he called soft religious. They went to church on days like Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter, and Christmas Eve. Jason went with them until he was thirteen, then his parents gave him the choice to come with them or stay. He chose to stay home most of the time except on the Christmas Eve services. One thing he did know, however, was that pastors in the modern day at least could be trusted to keep a secret like a counselor or therapist. He wasn’t too sure about how it was back during the time of the Old West, though. “It’s a pretty long story,” he said as he took a small gulp of the wine again.

“I’m willing to listen if you want,” Father McKay repeated. “I won’t force you, though.”

The two stood in silence for a couple of minutes, simply eating bread and drinking wine. The irony of what they were doing wasn’t lost on Jason. He knew right away that he’d just been offered Communion. He did so mostly for the nostalgia factor that it brought back. Out of all of the unfamiliar things in this world, having someone offer him a Communion was the last thing he’d expected. Still, it was a nice gesture from the pastor. He took a deep breath, then gestured to the small table near the window. “Why don’t you have a seat? It’s a really long story.”

The pastor nodded and took a seat at one of the two chairs at the table. Jason took the other seat and faced him. With Father McKay’s attention focused solely on Jason, the latter began his tale. He started with his discovery of My Little Pony, then how four years after he started watching it, he found a strange website that could take him to other fictional lands. He described his meeting with Princess Celestia, and then his trip to Ponyville, and then his subsequent three years of torment and abuse from said ponies. Finally, he described his suicide attempt, his joining up with the changelings, his ascendency to changeling emperor, and his invasion of Canterlot and destruction of Ponyville as well as the aftermath, minus his having cancer.

All the while, the pastor listened, giving Jason his full attention. When Jason finished, there was silence in the room. Jason himself was holding back his angry tears and clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles were a pure white. The pastor leaned forward after a while, folding his hands on the table and looking deeply but kindly at Jason. “You’re right. My words were putting what you have gone through mildly. You’ve suffered for so long and it seems you’re still suffering. I can’t say I understand everything completely, but I know one thing for sure. The one you called Rarity is here with us. I’ve heard that she’s been doing her best to help treat Gregory in her own way. I know forgiveness is between you, God and those who have done you wrong, but may I give you some advice?”

Jason exhaled slowly and looked out at the setting sun. It illuminated the rooftops of the city. He could see a couple of stars in the faux sky, shimmering with atmospheric disturbance. “I have a feeling it has to do with the seventy times seven verse in the Bible,” Jason said tiredly.

The pastor didn’t respond for a bit. Finally, he said, “Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Matthew 18:22. It’s a favorite verse of mine. I can’t tell you to forgive these ponies for what they did to you. That’s your decision. However, from what I’ve heard about Miss Rarity, it seems as if she is truly repentant. I can’t say for certain, though, but I advise you to take that into account if you see her or any of these other ponies again.”

Jason turned and glared at the pastor. “You expect me to forgive them just because they feel guilty?”

“Not at all,” the pastor replied patiently, “you’re within your rights to not forgive them for what they did to you.”

Jason let out a long sigh. He still couldn’t just forgive and forget. He found it hard to even think about them without getting upset and angry. Still, lately he’d been feeling more and more tired whenever they came into his mind. The anger was still there, but it was slowly being replaced with exhaustion. The pastor noticed this, and his face softened. He leaned back, gesturing to the window. “You know, I believe that, if you want to stay here, the mayor won’t object. God has blessed Atlantis greatly ever since we came here. Our harvests are plentiful, the land is peaceful and whatever power that surrounds us has protected us from the ravages of Tartarus outside. You would be more than welcome to make a life here.”

Jason looked at him. He found the offer sorely tempting. Just the thought of having a simple and quiet life on a farm out in the country sounded very peaceful. Still, the obligations he had to the changelings came crashing back down on him. He looked down at the now empty glass and the bread that was nearly gone. To his mind, duty came before pleasure. Days after the invasion was called off, he wasn’t too sure about how he felt leading the changelings. However, as time went by, he began to accept the role he’d chosen for himself. It might have started out as a means to an end, but he knew that it wouldn’t be the right thing if he just gave up after all he did. He’d been the same back on Earth. He had a strong sense of responsibility which he used in his job. Unfortunately, it meant others would take advantage of him. It was one of the many reasons he wanted to come to Equestria. With a heavy sigh, he shook his head. “I wish I could say yes, but I can’t,” he replied. “I’m the changeling’s emperor. I can’t just abandon them out of a selfish desire.”

The pastor nodded in understanding. “I understand,” he said, “and I hope God goes with you in your endeavors.” He placed the wine bottle down and put the cork back in. “A gift for you, Jason,” he said. “I hope you won’t mind if I add you to my prayers.”

Jason shook his head. “I don’t mind,” he said.

“Thank you,” he said. Standing, he gave Jason a small smile. “I should get going. I’ve imposed on you long enough. I’m sure you’re tired still after your search for Mr. Graystone. It’s getting late, after all.”

Jason stood, extending his hand towards the novan pastor. “Thanks for stopping by,” he said.

Father McKay shook the offered hand. Jason noted that his grip was strong and firm, and rather warm in more than one sense of the word. “It was a pleasure to speak to you, my son. I pray that your days going forward are blessed.”

Jason nodded in gratitude, then walked the pastor to the door. As he opened it, however, he saw the last person he’d expected to see standing at the door. Her hoof was raised as if she was about to knock. Her azure eyes widened when she saw Jason looking down at her. She backed away to let the pastor through. “I…I’m dreadfully sorry for disturbing you,” she said in a quiet voice. “If this is a bad time-”

“Not at all,” the pastor said as he walked out past her, “I was just about to head home.” The pastor then looked up at Jason, who was feeling the old anger rising inside him at the sight of one of his chief tormentors. Father McKay then said before leaving, “May God’s light shine upon the two of you.” So saying, he turned and began walking towards a nearby open window. He spread his wings and flew through.

Jason slowly looked back down at a nervous looking Rarity. Unlike before, she had more or less returned to the look he was most familiar with. Her mane was mostly the same as before, albeit with less of the lift that it normally had. Her ears were flattened and her eyes were brimming with tears. The same sort of tears she had during the time he’d forced them to watch their town burn. The two of them stood there for a while in the darkening hallway, the torchlight on either side of the corridors dancing on the walls around them.

Jason maintained his angry glare down at the unicorn mare, but inside he was conflicted. He kept on replaying the words that she’d shouted at him when they’d last seen each other. Are you happy now, Jason!? she’d shouted, Do you finally feel better about all these years!? Or do you need to burn down another village!?

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of the two of them standing in the hallway just staring at each other, Rarity lowered her head and looked at the ground before she opened her mouth. “J-Jason…I…I know you p-probably won’t believe me, and I don’t blame you…but I wanted to say how sorry I am for everything I did to you.” She looked back up at him. “I’m sorry for turning you away when I could have helped you…for being part of the ponies who chased you out of town all those times…and for my last words to you before you left. I said them in anger and I shouldn’t have said them.” She took a deep breath. “I know you hate me, and I understand that won’t ever change. I just wanted to properly apologize.”

The two stared at each other for a while. Finally, Rarity lowered her head. “I understand…I can’t blame you for not wanting to forgive us…I’m sorry I bothered you. Have a good night.”

As she turned to walk away, Jason watched her go. That old anger came flooding back with a vengeance. How dare she? How dare she try and apologize for three long years of torment and hell?! How dare she think that those simple words would make everything all better?! It sure as hell couldn’t bring back his eye. It couldn’t undo the lightning scars on him. It couldn’t erase the memory of hanging from that tree two years ago, and it certainly couldn’t heal him of the life-threatening disease that was eating away at him. After she’d taken a few steps, though, he felt that anger replaced with exhaustion. He knew he wasn’t the only one suffering from this. She and her friends had definitely suffered. He’d had months to think about it in bed. That is, when he wasn’t trying to stop Chrysalis from sneaking into his room. He watched Rarity as she plodded away sadly. She might not have been his favorite pony, far from it, but there was always a part of him that still loved the characters from the show. Before he could stop himself, he called out, “Hey, Rarity?”

She paused, then slowly turned towards him with eyes wide. “Y-Yes?”

Jason and Rarity stared at each other for a while. Jason wasn’t sure what he wanted to say to her. He finally latched onto something that Father McKay had said earlier. “…How’s Gregory holding up?”

Rarity’s ears twitched a bit. “H-He was still asleep when I left to come here,” she replied.

“Someone told me you were looking after him?” Jason asked.

Rarity’s ears perked up ever so slightly. “Yes…”

Jason nodded, then turned back to his door. He paused as he grabbed the door handle. “Good. Keep doing that,” he said as he opened the door.

As he walked in, he thought he could hear Rarity saying something like “I will” but he didn’t quite catch it. He closed the door, trudged over to the bed and collapsed onto it. His head hadn’t even hit the pillow before he fell into a deep slumber.

The star ahead of him and Daenerys had grown larger and the little bit of light on the horizon had grown brighter as well. The light turned the sky from its normal dark blue to the beginning colors of dawn. The temperature remained constant, however, and excluding the feeling of wind on his face, the actual breeze was nonexistent. The two had been flying for what seemed like an eternity. The water below them also remained constant, perfectly reflecting the stars above and giving the illusion that they were flying through space.

All through that, it seemed as if neither of them grew tired, which made sense to Gregory, since this was some kind of shared fever dream or something akin to it. They continued to fly, not really saying a word to each other. That didn’t mean the silence was uncomfortable. Gregory could tell that she was comfortable not speaking, and he was as well. The two just enjoyed the presence of the other.

Finally, Gregory began noticing a strange shimmering in the night sky, almost like some rainbow-colored version of the Aurora Borealis. He kept an eye on it while at the same time keeping his eyes ahead of him.

About ten or so minutes after he spotted the strange colors in the sky, Daenerys began descending. Confused, Gregory was about to lean down and ask what she was doing, when a sudden impulse came over him. The impulse to get out of the air and land. He wasn’t sure where it came from, but the impulse was strong and seemed too powerful for him to resist. As they continued to land, he tried to determine what might happen if he resisted the urge. However, when he tried to gently lead Daenerys up again, a sudden sharp pain made him cry out in pain. Daenerys roared at the same time, so he decided to listen to this impulse for the time being. When he did that, the pain subsided.

The two landed and Gregory dismounted, landing in the same foot of water he’d experienced before. The light on the horizon seemed to now match the colors of a sunrise. The stars in the sky, however, remained in the brightening sky above and behind them, brilliant and shimmering. The strange rainbow light moved around slowly.

“What do we do now, I wonder?” Gregory wondered aloud.

“Walk?” Daenerys suggested.

“We can try to walk,” he replied. However, after a few steps, he fell to his knees, holding his head as he felt that same pain returning. He gasped in pain, and from behind him Daenerys roared in pain again. He felt something strong wrapping around his waist and he was pulled back. Immediately, the headache stopped. He slowly got to his feet, looking around in worry, looking for Daenerys. She was lying on her stomach, one claw on her head as she made a rumbling noise of pain. However, that didn’t last long as she stood, looking visibly better.

She turned back to the light on the horizon. “Why does it hurt?” she asked, turning back to Gregory with a questioning look in her eye.

Gregory gave a shrug, then turned back to the light. “I don’t know, but maybe we were going the wrong way all along?”

“Go other way?” Daenerys suggested, looking back.

“I guess that’s our only other option,” Gregory replied with a shrug. He was more than frustrated now. He’d hoped that he’d have woken up from this stupid shared dream or whatever it was just by reaching whatever destination they were supposed to reach. “Let’s go the other way.”

However, after climbing back into the saddle and launching back into the air, they didn’t get far before they were assailed by the same pain. They landed and Gregory climbed off, swearing left and right. After calming down, he sat down in the strangely dry water, staring down at the rippling liquid that was both wet and dry. He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. Daenerys came and lay down, placing her cheek gently against his, licking his face a couple times in an effort to reassure him. “Friend, what do we do now?” she asked.

Before he could answer, the rainbow colored lights in the sky suddenly brightened. Brightened and came down fast towards them. Even before either of them could react, they were encased in a large circular wall of multicolored light. The lights had a firelike quality to them, flames licking up and roaring like a fire. Strangely enough, there was no heat from the flames themselves, just light. As contradictory as it was, while there wasn’t a heat from the flames, there was a strange warmth that swept over him. Even so, they couldn’t pass through it since it caused both of them great pain. The flames reached up and formed a dome above the two of them the moment they tried flying up and over.

Gregory paced the water below, thinking hard. They couldn’t move in any direction. They’d even tried going down, but Daenerys’ claws couldn’t penetrate whatever smooth surface they were walking on. Still, he tried his best to maintain some sense of calm. He went through several scenarios in his head. He didn’t want to put Daenerys through the pain of trying to just push through the pain to escape. He wasn’t sure what would happen if he jumped off of Daenerys when she was flying and allowing himself to just fall into one feet of water, and he didn’t want to become a pancake even in a dream.

Daenerys, on the other hand, was simply lying in the water, her head resting on her claws as she watched the flames. The rainbow colors reflected in her reptilian eyes, giving off the illusion that her eyes themselves were the ones changing colors. She had a strangely contented look on her face, which only increased when she spread her wings and placed them in the water. Gregory figured he’d do the worrying for both of them.

He sat down in the water, letting the comforting pressure of the water against his skin calm his mind. Slowly, he lowered himself into it, looking up high at the fiery dome that surrounded them. As he lay there, floating on the water, he realized that the fire was calming in a way. Almost hypnotic. He closed his eyes and focused all of his thoughts on his current predicament. He took a few deep breaths. Panicking wouldn’t do him any good, he knew, so he focused more on the task at hand.

The more he focused, the clearer his mind became. He realized that to worry about what was happening outside wasn’t important in the present. He had to focus on one problem at a time before dealing with the next. If he was indeed trapped in this place, he had to focus all of his mental powers, such as they were, on the task at hand. The only problem was, he had no idea what was happening. Many different scenarios went through his mind, but none really seemed to be the right answer.

At one point, he felt a weight pressing down on him. Opening his eyes in alarm, he saw that Daenerys had placed her claw on his chest. She was looking at him with a look of concern on her face. He reached down and touched one of her digits. “It’s alright,” he said as he sat up, “we’ll find a way out of this place.”

Daenerys reached up and with one of her claws, touched his forehead. Her claw was coarse and rough, but it was warm. He put his hand on said digit, leaning into it and closing his eyes. However, instead of the normal back of his eyelids, he saw a bright white light in his mind’s eye. Opening his eyes, the light vanished. Frowning in confusion, he slowly closed his eyes once more. The light reappeared.

“Friend? What’s wrong?” Daenerys’ voice asked, but it sounded far away.

Gregory opened his eyes. The light vanished, but this time leaving the imprint that any light would make on his eyes. It quickly faded as he looked up at his drake companion. “I’m seeing something when I close my eyes,” he said.

Daenerys tilted her head in confusion, then slowly closed her eyes. He saw her jaw drop instantly, then her eyes opened. “I see light,” she said. “White light.”

A sudden inspiration struck him. He grabbed onto Daenerys’ claw tighter. “Don’t let go of me and close your eyes at the same time as me,” he instructed her.

Daenerys didn’t argue, but wrapped one of her claws around Gregory’s hand. The two of them closed their eyes. Gregory saw the light once more, but it had doubled. There were now two lights. As he watched, their hue began to change. One became a sky blue, the other a light indigo. Their forms became clearer and he fancied that they looked like two strangely colored stars in a black void.

As he watched, he saw what looked like stellar prominences begin to reach out of both. A purple one lanced outward and wrapped around the blue one. A warmth spread through his body at the same time. Moments later, the same thing happened, but in the opposite direction. He felt Daenerys’ grip on him tightening. He reached up and put his remaining hand over the other claw. Another prominence leapt out of the blue light and enveloped the purple. He felt another claw placed onto his other hand, and in accordance with said action, something shot out of the purple light and enveloped the blue. He felt an inner and outer warmth enveloping him.

It didn’t take a genius to understand that the two lights he was seeing were some sort of metaphysical representations of himself and Daenerys. Still, he wasn’t entirely sure just what was happening. He looked between the two and noticed that there were smaller prominences and beams being shot outwards towards each of them. Each was small, but Gregory could feel like there was a strength there.

Deciding to experiment a little, he thought about his relationship with Daenerys and how much he cared for her and trusted her with his life whenever they flew. A small strand lit up in reaction. Next, he squeezed onto Daenerys’ claws again. Another strand lit up.

As he watched, however, he noticed that the two lights seemed to be moving closer together. He was aware in that he was beginning to float on the outside. Daenerys seemed to have noticed this too, because she put another claw around Gregory’s back. He felt himself being pulled forward closer to him. Daenerys’ claws were trembling a bit, and in response the purple light in their mind’s eye dimmed and brightened. “Friend, what’s happening?” he heard her say.

“I don’t know,” Gregory replied, “but don’t panic yet. Take deep breaths and calm down.”

He heard her taking a few deep rumbling breaths. Slowly, the light that represented her began to calm. The dark void that surrounded the two lights began to brighten, and soon he realized that at some point he’d opened his eyes. He was looking now at a floating and nervous looking Daenerys. Between them, two small orbs now hovered, and around them a sphere of multicolored fire surrounded them. In front of him was the purple orb, while the blue one was in front of Daenerys.

The young drakeling looked at Gregory with a pleading expression in her purple eyes. “Friend? What do we do?”

Gregory didn’t reply right away. He was looking at the purple orb in front of him. Slowly, he reached out and placed his hand near it. He didn’t feel any burning heat as he had expected. Instead, the prominences reached out and surrounded his hand. Pulling away, the prominences retreated. Once more, he reached out and placed his hand around the orb of light. Looking up at Daenerys, he said, “I think…I think we’re supposed to touch them.”

Daenerys looked at the orb in front of her with uncertainty, but then looked back at Gregory with a look of determination on her face. She didn’t look away as she reached out towards the light. “I trust you.”

Without looking away from each other, both drake and human reached out and grabbed the orbs in front of them. The world around them dissolved in light…

In the stables, Fluffle Puff was snuggling up to the still sleeping drake. She’d taken it on herself to try and comfort and keep the poor drake warm. There were large blankets wrapped around the drake and a fire which two of the novan guards, who were assigned to the drake, kept burning, but that seemed to do little to keep the cold away. Still, she persisted. She might have been a Pinkie Pie clone, but she always had a soft spot for those who were sick and injured, and especially children. She loved spending time with the novan children whenever she had the time because they were innocent and carefree. Many adults in the city knew of this and trusted her with their children.

She pressed herself up against Daenerys more, trying in vain to warm her even one degree. One of the novan guards looked over at her and gave a small smile. “Thank you for staying and helping,” he said.

Fluffle smiled and said, “This little drake needs as much warmth as she can get, and I’m plenty warm.”

The novan, named Timothy Baker, chuckled. “Plenty warm and plenty fluffy,” he said.

Fluffle giggled and made a raspberry noise, something she often did. “Yes, why do you think I picked my new name?”

Timothy was about to reply when a sound caught both of their attention. It sounded like a slight rolling of thunder from a great distance. He and Fluffle turned towards the entrance. “Did you hear that?” the novan asked.

Fluffle nodded. Thunderstorms weren’t unheard of, but they were rare, and the weather hadn’t seemed like it was preparing for a storm. There weren’t many pegasi clones, but they had gained the abilities of normal pegasi. They’d been able to help their food production by creating rainclouds to water plants.

Paul Abbot, the other novan guard, suddenly came in. He looked confused and a bit worried. “Somethin’s a’happenin’ up in them their clouds,” he said, turning and pointing up into the sky. “I ain’t seen anythin’ like it before.”

Fluffle, ever curious, stood and followed Paul and Timothy out of the stables. In the sky directly above the Atlantean palace, a large cloud had suddenly formed, blocking out the stars above. The moon was also hidden. There were flashes of light coming from the cloud itself, followed swiftly by rolls of thunder. Fluffle noticed that the frequent flashes were of every color of the rainbow. Fluffle and the guards weren’t the only ones to notice. She saw lights in houses turning on and novans looking up at the sky in confusion. Some were even flying up to their rooves to get a better view.

From behind her, a bright light began shining out of the stables. Momentarily forgetting the strange storm above, Fluffle turned and ran back in, worry for the drakeling overpowering her curiosity. When she reached the stables, she saw that the young drake was still lying there.

However, her entire body was glowing.

Rarity was sitting up in the bed next to Gregory, who was still unconscious and sweating. She had a candle lit beside the bed and was writing on some pieces of paper she’d been given by the novan guards. Nearby, Diane was curled up fast asleep, her medical kit nearby in case of some emergency.

Rarity took the pen she’d been given, dipped it in the nearby ink, and began to write:

Dear Diary,

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything in here, but since my real diary is back in Ponyville, these papers will be more than sufficient to get my thoughts out.

I don’t remember precisely when I last wrote in this book, but I know it was before the destruction of Ponyville. I’ve been too stubborn and prideful to admit when I was wrong. I thought I had during that time when I was Jason’s prisoner. Even then, there was something in the back of my mind that was so full of hubris that my apology wasn’t quite genuine. A great deal has happened since I last wrote in this book, but I wanted to focus more on the chief event currently on my mind.

I saw Jason again today. He looked more or less the same as when I last saw him. Maybe a bit paler, but I can’t judge because I know nothing about humans. I tried to apologize to him, more sincerely this time. I don’t know if he will ever forgive me for what I did, but I will have to live with that.

Now, I don’t want to make it sound like I apologized for my own sake. I did some horrible things to him, Discord’s influence be damned. Things I wish I could take back with all my heart. Even so, the words are out there, and if he chooses not to forgive me, I have resolved in me to accept that. I can’t imagine him ever wanting to forgive me or the others. I can’t blame him for that. Even if he doesn’t, I promise to the Maker herself that never again will I do the things I did, and not just to Jason, but to others in my life, with Spike being one of the chief beings I’ve wronged.

Rarity was about to write something more, but she paused. There was a slight rolling of thunder coming from outside the window. She placed the papers down on the nightstand next to her, softly climbed out of bed and made her way over to the window. Opening it, she looked up at the sky. There, she gaped at the strange looking cloud that flashed with frequent multicolored lights.

From behind her, Rarity heard Diane stirring as a particularly loud rumble passed through the air. “Nnng…is that a thunderstorm I'm hearing?” the half sleepy pony asked.

“If it is, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before,” Rarity replied.

The sleepy pony walked over and looked up at the sky. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. “Um…I’ve never seen anything like that. I know Pinkie hasn’t, either. At least, the memories I have of hers don’t have anything like this.”

Rarity was about to say something, but a bright light caught her attention. She whirled and saw that Gregory was now glowing slightly. “Diane!”

The nurse turned, saw what Rarity was seeing, and rushed forward. She placed her hoof on his forehead, but drew back as if in pain. She tried again, but the same thing happened. She stepped back as the light surrounding Gregory increased. She rushed to the door and opened it, looking out and saying, “Go get the doctor, hurry!”

One of the guards outside the room nodded and flew off to do as Diane ordered. The pink pony nurse came back in and looked at Rarity. “You’ve got magic. I know you’re no Twilight Sparkle, but you’re a unicorn. What kind of magic is being used on Gregory?”

Rarity frowned, turned, and lit her horn up. She tried to reach out with her magic and touch Gregory, but the moment her magic touched him, she recoiled. She’d felt some sort of pain in the magic surrounding him, if magic it was. “I…have no idea,” she admitted. “I can’t touch him with magic. Whatever’s making him glow won’t let us touch him,” she concluded.

Diane nodded, looking more nervous now. “I just hope it’s nothing bad…”

There was a knock at the door. From behind it, Rarity heard the last voice she’d expected to hear calling out, “Hey, everything okay in there?!”

Rarity opened the door with her magic, letting Jason run inside. Behind her, Rarity saw Chrysalis running in, although the former changeling queen had a more human look about her than before. Chrysalis took one look at Gregory and frowned. “Well…that’s different.”

Jason turned to Rarity with a glare. “What’s going on here?” he asked with a hint of suspicion.

Rarity raised a hoof in defense. “I don’t know! I was just writing a diary entry when this started!”

“She’s telling the truth,” Chrysalis said, putting one of her hands on Jason’s shoulder.

He frowned deeper, but sighed and looked back at Gregory. “What the fuck is going on, then?” he asked.

There was a bright flash from outside, followed immediately afterwards by a sharp clap of thunder which shook the room. At the same time, the light around Gregory flashed brightly, then dimmed, leaving the room in darkness as the candle had been blown out. Immediately Rarity raised her horn and cast a light spell. Chrysalis did the same, bathing the room in a mixture of purple and sickly green. Gregory lay in bed, a more peaceful look on his face. There was still a sheen of sweat on his brow, but something told Rarity that he wasn’t producing fresh sweat.

Nobody moved for a while. Nobody spoke, either. Slowly, Diane moved forward, climbed onto the bed, and felt his temperature. This time, she didn’t recoil. Instead, she placed her hoof on Gregory’s forehead. When she turned back, there was a look of relief on her face. “The fever’s broken,” she said.

At that moment, Gregory took a sudden deep breath, causing Diane to leap off of the bed. His body arched up, and his eyelids fluttered. As that was happening, Rarity noticed that something was off about him. Something about Gregory had changed. She used her magic to relight the candle and the other lights in the room.

Those who had seen him before gasped in alarm when the light was cast on him. His once brown hair had undergone some sort of transformation because it was now a bright blonde. The same bright blonde as the spines on Daenerys.

Before anyone could speak, Gregory’s eyes shot open and he sat up, taking in great gulps of air as if he was surprised. Rarity’s own eyes widened even further. His eyes were glowing a bright purple color. He took in great gulps of air. The glow behind his eyes lessened and it eventually went away, leaving him with the same purple eye color as that of Daenerys as well. He looked around the room, eyeing everyone in turn. “Um…not to sound rude,” he began, “but why are you all in my room?”

Rarity felt a bit of relief pass through her. He sounded the same at the very least. When nobody else spoke, she walked up and put her front hooves on the side of his bed. “It’s a long story,” she said.

“How are you feeling?” Diane asked as she approached.

Gregory put his hands on his body, looking down at himself. “Well…I feel fine now,” he said. “Better than fine, actually.” Looking around, he spotted Jason and Chrysalis for the first time. He froze when he looked at the changeling. “Wait…are you…Chrysalis?”

She glared at him. “Don’t make my name sound like an insult,” she snapped at him.

“Okay, okay, sorry,” he said as he looked at the human beside him. Unlike most times before, Jason was unmasked. Everyone could see the scars on his face and the lightning mark from when Rainbow had struck him. There was silence in the room. Finally, he said, “…Jason Wright…?”

Jason nodded. “I see you’ve heard of me, Gregory Graystone,” he said.

“I’d ask how you know about me, but I think I already know,” he replied, looking briefly at Chrysalis. Suddenly, he stiffened and looked back at Rarity. “Daenerys…is she okay?”

“When I last heard, she was still unconscious,” Rarity said, “but I can ask someone to check.”

“Could you, please?” he asked.

At that moment, Dr. Riley came rushing in, skidding to a halt when he looked at Gregory. His eyes widened in alarm as he stared at the human. Gregory seemed to notice this, and his expression became grim. “Um…is something wrong?” he asked.

Dr. Riley walked up and looked at him warily. Guessing what he must have been thinking, Diane spoke up. “Doc, he really is Gregory. He’s just undergone some cosmetic changes, that’s all.”

Gregory’s face paled when he heard that. “Um…cosmetic changes?” he asked worriedly.

Rarity spoke up immediately. “Nothing bad! It’s just….well, does anypony have a mirror?”

Riley grabbed a small hand-held mirror from the desk and handed it to Gregory. He grabbed it and looked at his reflection. Rarity wasn’t sure what kind of reaction he would have, but she hadn’t expected him to shout out, “Okay, who gave me a fucking Targaryen makeover?!”