[Train Tracks To Ponyville - Morning]
The sun rose high over Equestria as the train rolled along the tracks. Andrew smiled with excitement as he took in the scenery. He was finally here. No, they were finally here in Equestria. The land where many stories were made and friendships were forged. They were currently heading towards a town that suffered a great loss from a man seeking vengeance. Andrew frowned, hoping he could help the ponies in any way he could. He looked down at the map he’d printed up online before coming to Equestria. There was only one more curve and Ponyville would be straight ahead.
He was excited but then the thought of suffering to two ponies came. A certain blue pegasus and an orange earth pony that were not only suffering aches but constant strikes of pain at certain times during the day. “Don’t worry AJ and Dash. Just hold on a little long- huh? What the…?”
Back in the caboose, Howard was reading over some notes as Stacy typed something on a laptop. “What are you doing, Stacy?” Howard asked.
“I figured I could write in my diary a bit,” she explained. “I mean with all we’re doing, I feel I should document certain events. Who knows, this might make a great novel or something.”
Howard chuckled as a certain lavender alicorn crossed his mind. “You’re just like her in a way. Like Twilight. Soon I will- I mean we will make her dreams come true. She’ll get to open that School of Friendship and make her the true-”
Before Howard could finish he heard Andrew on the radio. “You guys might want to hang on to something!”
The two people in the caboose grabbed onto something as the train came to a screeching halt. Howard wasn’t fast enough and fell over on all fours. He got up and picked up his radio.” What the hell, Andrew?! Why did we stop!? Are we at least close to Ponyville?”
There was a brief silence until Andrew came back on.” That’s one of the two problems, sir. There aren’t any more tracks to Ponyville, because there is no Ponyville.”
Stacy’s and Howard's eyes widened as they both had the same reaction. “WHAT?!”
Everyone filed out of the train only to find a shocking site. The place that had once been Ponyville was now a lifeless landscape. Nothing seemed to be growing anywhere. The silence was eerie as they wandered around, taking in the desolation.
Some started wandering around mostly to either stretch their legs or find clues. The end of the tracks looked like they were torn off by something. Howard looked at the map, his expression becoming a mix of shock and frustration. “This is impossible. We should be close. This area can’t be Ponyville. It’s practically bare.”
Just then another member ran up frantically pointing towards what must have been the center of town. “Sir, look what I found!”
Howard and the others followed him. They were led to what looked like a glass podium encased around some sort of plaque. However, on closer inspection, they discovered that the glass was actually some kind of ice. They all looked at what was written on said plaque as Howard read it aloud. “Ponyville; a town that tried to live in harmony but was lost in the storm. While the citizens have moved onward, we shall never forget the rise and fall.” By the time he finished reading it, everyone had a look of horror on their faces. Howard trembled before he hit his fist on the ice. It didn’t break and only served to make his hand hurt. “It's worse than I thought. It would seem Ponyville’s bits weren’t enough punishment to him so he decided to outright erase it.”
“What are we gonna do?” Andrew asked. “If the ponies moved on they must still be out there somewhere.”
Howard thought for a long moment he then turned to his fellow bronies and pegasisters. “Let’s set up shop nearby and lay some tracks. Get the materials and start pitching up the tents. Andrew, once a siding has been laid, I need you and Stacy to take the engine, drop the cars and explore Equestria. The rest of us will stay and set up base and explore the area. The Everfree Forest must still have something we can use. Oh, and take one of the fuel tankers. You may need it.”
“Yes sir!”
[Yggdrasil - That Same Time]
Gregory was walking with Cozy Glow down the stairs from their apartment to school. The stairs were wide enough that the two of them could walk down side by side. Cozy seemed excited for another day of school, but Gregory was preoccupied. He had felt some kind of disturbance. An emotional disturbance. He knew he had the ability to sense emotions thanks to his Windigo abilities. Nothing quite like the changelings, but it was there.
After dropping Cozy off at her normal classes, he headed to Starlight’s office. It was normal for her to have meetings with the staff every morning, and he loved to be early. Today was no exception as he walked into Starlight’s office to see her sitting behind it looking over some paperwork. He raised his hand in greeting. “Sup, boss lady?” he asked as he took his traditional seat in the chair made specifically for him.
Starlight looked up from her paperwork at him. “Oh, good morning Gregory. You’re here early as usual.”
He nodded, but his smile faded quickly. “I actually hoped to catch you before the others came. I needed to talk to you.”
She seemed to catch his tone and put her paperwork down. “What is it?” she asked.
Gregory knew how he would sound, but he said it anyway because it was the truth. “I’ve felt a great disturbance.”
Starlight frowned for a moment before giving him a deadpan look. “Is this one of your Star Wars jokes? Because I hardly find that amusing anymore.”
“You know, I wish it was a joke,” Gregory replied, “but something has felt off ever since last night. I wish I could understand what it is.” He took a deep breath. “It’s like something’s coming, or…” He trailed off before letting out a breath. “Honestly, I’m really concerned.”
Starlight listened and nodded in understanding. “I think I understand what you’re saying,” she said, “but have these feelings brought other things to you? Like dreams that maybe Luna can help you understand or maybe visions?”
“This feeling started last night when I was having dinner with my family,” he explained. “Other than that, nothing. I didn’t have any dreams last night.” He pursed his lips. “I was actually gonna go to the Briarwood before my classes today and meditate.” Magical Meditation was something that Celestia and Luna had taught him about after he’d expressed concern about his emotional state being affected by his new magic. They both used it sometimes and had encouraged him to use it if he felt the need, so after Ember had proposed to him he’d begun practicing. “Maybe I’ll find something during that.”
Starlight smiled upon hearing that. “That’s probably a good idea. Maybe some meditation would also help ease your mind of any stress or anxiety. Should I let your class know you might be a bit late?”
Gregory couldn’t help it. He smirked and shook his head. “I’ve gotten decent at Magical Meditation so I shouldn’t be late.” Slipping into a gravelly voice similar to Yoda’s, he said, “Teach my class on time, I will, hmm, yes.”
Starlight rolled her eyes and went back to her paperwork.
About an hour, after the normal meeting with the other teachers and staff, Gregory was in the Briarwood. He sat in a large circular area on a flat stone with his eyes closed, legs crossed and his mind delving deeper into himself. He might have been his usual nerdy self when he slipped into Yoda’s speech, but he took the Magical Meditation seriously whenever he did it. It was one of the few times he had to himself and it definitely was a relaxing experience.
One moment he was seeing the darkness of his eyelids. However, the deeper into his meditative state he fell, he began to see and hear something else as well. It was dim at first, but with some sudden crystal clarity it appeared before him from the dark. He heard various yelling and screaming and saw nothing but fire. It sounded like a riot or a battlefield.
He concentrated, trying to figure out what he was seeing. Visions during Magical Meditation were rare, but they did happen. He trusted what Twilight had taught him about Magical Meditation and let his magic flow. His magic might not be like that of a unicorn, alicorn or changeling, but it was similar enough that his teacher, Twilight Sparkle, was extremely helpful in teaching him the basics of what to do in the event of some sort of vision.
Suddenly through the fire he saw something emerging above it. The shape was almost hard to make out but it looked human and gigantic. The figure was holding something in one of its hands. Before anything else could happen, a strange but familiar sound came from the fire. Something big and black came charging out of the fire and straight towards Gregory. There was a blaring horn coming straight from it as it raced towards Gregory.
Gregory was flung from the vision down onto his back onto the cool grass in the forest, panting. He couldn’t quite understand what he’d just seen. He knew Equestria had a train system, especially since one of the stations led near Haven City, but this sounded more like a train from Earth. An older train, to be sure, but a train from Earth nevertheless. He was also not alone anymore. Celestia of all people was hovering above him, looking down with some concern. He looked at her and waved his hand. “Sup, Sunbutt?”
Celestia sighed in relief before letting out a chuckle. ”I had a feeling you had that joke too. I always thought it was just Jason that had that nickname for me.”
“You do realize I called you that during our snowball fight this past winter, right?” he replied as he accepted her hoof. After she pulled him up, he stood and stretched. “Besides, lots of fans of My Little Pony love that nickname for you. And it’s not like you mind. Remember when I called Luna Moonbutt?”
“Yes I do,” Celestia giggled before frowning in concern. “While I'm glad your sense of humor is still intact, I must ask you in all seriousness, what happened? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Gregory sighed. “I was doing some Magical Meditation. The stuff you told me about and the one that Twilight taught me.” Once more, he proceeded to explain just what he’d told Starlight earlier before adding on what he had seen in his rare magical vision. When he finished, he looked back up at the former monarch. “Thoughts?”
Celestia pondered for a bit, trying to process everything he described. “That’s quite a vision, Gregory. Are you certain of all the details?”
“Honey, if I can never forget everything that the Gjallarhorn showed me about Ponyville’s sins, I’m fairly certain that anything magical will stick with me forever,” he replied. “So yeah, I’m fairly certain.”
“Well if it makes you feel better, I’ll send a letter to my sister to keep a close watch on things,” Celestia said.
“Yeah, good call. Better to be safe than sorry.” Gregory smiled. “I have a fiancée and a daughter now. I can’t just let them be hurt.”
Celestia nodded in understanding, then looked to the entrance to the forest. “Indeed.”
[Everfree Forest - A Little Later]
The sounds of the forest were interrupted as the rumbling of a bulldozer could be heard coming in from the north. Howard held tight to the side while Bubba was in the cab handling the controls. “Steady as we go, Bubba,” he said, “we don’t want to run over anyone like Zecora. If she’s still here that is.”
“You got it boss!” Bubba replied.
The dozer continued on until the two noticed something along the other side of a river they were treading alongside. “Hey, is that a cave?” Bubba asked, pointing to said cave.
“It must be his cave from when he was hiding,” said Howard as he climbed off and started trudging across the shallow river. “Stop here! I’m gonna check it out.”
Upon reaching the cave entrance he took out a flashlight from a backpack and turned it on, illuminating the darkness. It was a decent sized cave, but it was also full of what he could only describe as death and despair. He then flinched as the smell hit him. ”Geez no wonder you went mad,” he muttered to himself. “With this odor I’d run all the way to Canterlot with no train.”
He continued looking around the cave, seeing nothing but the tattered shreds of clothing and fish skeletons. He cringed at the sight until he noticed something odd. Something emitting a faint glow seemed to be coming from behind some rocks. Curiously he went over and carefully moved the rocks out of the way. After he removed the last stone he could only stare at the sight before him. “This…It can’t be…”
In front of him was a jar that was glowing with the most unusual color pattern. It almost felt like a piece of art that was abstract or rather chaotic.
“Hey Boss! Have you found anything?” Bubba called from outside.
Howard quickly picked up the jar and placed it inside his backpack before turning to the cave entrance. “Uh, no Bubba, there’s nothing important in here! Just some old fish bones and tattered clothes.” He began walking out of the cave, grinning somewhat. ”For now at least,” he muttered to himself.