//------------------------------//
// 100 - Take Me Home, Country Roads 
// Story: An Extended Holiday 
// by Commander_Pensword 
//------------------------------//

Extended Holiday
Ch 100: Take Me Home, Country Roads
Act 16




Matthew stood silently as he looked around him. Pine trees and gnarled roots surrounded them, and instead of the path he’d hoped for, Discord had set them down just a little ways off to the edge of the railroad. He looked out at the sky and the ravine on their right. He could feel the breeze, and while he could tell the air wasn’t as good as Equestria, he knew the castle would be keeping a lot of the pollution from Denver reaching them.

The wind teased his and Lunar Fang’s manes. Insects and beasts roamed through the woods, and then, on the wind, he could hear it. He blinked once in shock, then again as a large goofy grin spread across his muzzle.

“Even here?” Lunar Fang asked incredulously as she caught the growing expression. All the same, she couldn’t keep a slight grin from her muzzle. “So, how far away is she?”

“Ten minutes. She is huffing, and that means she is running on the mule trail.”

“Mule Trail?” Lunar Fang asked.

“That’s what they call that part of the railroad. It switchbacks three times to go from the lower part of the valley to Scar Ravine.”

“Scar Ravine?”

“Well, one of the later cartographers looked on this area from…” he looked around and pointed to the east. “There we go. Outlook Ridge. He saw this ravine, and commented that it looked like a giant scar upon the Earth.”

“Well, how are you planning on getting to your home now?”

“Tower five,” Matthew answered as he moved to follow the rail bed. His cart creaked pleasantly behind him as he walked along. Enough trees had been cleared to allow a horse to travel by the track without fear of being hit by a train. “That is the name of the water tank about a half mile ahead.”

“And you think they’ll stay at the water tank once they refuel?”

“Are you kidding? The engineer will be poking his head out the cab window. He’s going to see two colorful ponies, and I am going to be waving at him with a wing. That should make him have to use the call box at the tower to report what he saw. Come on. Force march.” He continued to grin as Lunar Fang followed behind. She face-hoofed at the other comment. “It’s also where folks can get on or off, if they are hiking and camping in this area of the valley,” Matthew said.

“Why didn’t you say so first?” Lunar Fang cried out exasperatedly.

“Because I think my way is funner,” Matthew smirked playfully. “So, while we are waiting, I want to tell you, if we are really where I think we are, and I am ninety percent sure–” 

Lunar Fang shot him a skeptical look. 

“We’re talking about Discord. I cannot be a hundred percent sure.”

“Right,” Lunar Fang muttered. “Still, you are going to tell me some of your plans, aren’t you?” She flicked her ear to the back as they both heard the train approaching.

“I want to take you to Zephyr. It’s an ice cream parlor on Main Street, and then there's the Daylight as well. They make the best Reuben sandwiches I have ever tried.” He laughed as Lunar Fang blew him a kiss from behind. He knew she would kiss him when they both could face each other again, and he couldn’t wait, but for now, both had to worry about their wagons.

“Then there’s the place I worked before I got mixed up. I worked up here during the summers. It is a beautiful town. Reminds me a little of an Earth version of Mountainside Falls, just… different as well.”

“Different?” Lunar Fang asked with a chuckle. “Well, of course it’s different. It's populated by humans.”

“Right,” Matthew answered as they both heard the distinct clumping and sudden echo that heralded the arrival of the engine on the bridge a ways behind. Then the whistle blew a lot more. “And there goes the warning whis–.” He stopped and turned off the path with surprising speed and practically flew into the underbrush. “MOVE OFF THE PATH!”

Lunar Fang was already moving. They both turned around and watched as the train grew ever closer before trundling its way towards the water tank. As the steam engine drew close, Matthew let out a gasp. None of the usual engineers he, well, Matthew remembered, were driving.

“That’s… that’s my brother!” Matthew’s eyes widened. “She’s… He’s got the old gal running.” He gasped as the engine began to slow. “He got the Two-Eight-Two Black Gold running!” There was just enough space to edge at the side of the tracks, so he walked forward to see his brother fully. He snapped a wing out and saluted as the Steam Engine passed by. 

On the side of the train cab, gold stenciling proclaimed the engine number 10, and the train’s route name had been stenciled on the coal car. “It’s the Golden Pony Express!” A goofy grin had spread across the Pegasus’ face. The first car after the coal car was painted pine-green. The front part didn’t have any windows, while glimpses of passengers with various devices could be seen through the windows in the back half.

“That’s a mixed baggage car,” Matthew said as his eyes sparkled in excitement. If there was any doubt who was in control now, this confirmed it. Matthew was definitely at the forefront now. The next three attachments were old passenger cars that dated back to the 1800s, and the presidential car, which, according to Matthew, was owned by the Mustang Mine owner. There were six presidential cars the railroad owned, one for each of the five mine owners, and the railway owner himself. As for how he knew it was the Mustang Mine car, the name was emblazoned on the side, and he still remembered those bold colors. As the presidential car passed with its observation deck, the brakes engaged, causing the old wheels to screech as the engine slowed to a stop at the water tank. Matthew froze as he saw the black mechanism and the blank stares of a few men on the deck.

Matthew stared back as he turned to look at Lunar Fang. “That… was the photo train. We just got our pictures taken, and we are going to be on a film.” He chuckled. “Looks like our mugs are going to be showing up soon. Come on. We should move.” He was practically skipping as they pranced along. “My brother is driving! My brother is driving!” he repeated excitedly. Then his brow furrowed. “Why’s my brother driving the train?” The look only lasted for all of a few seconds before the grin replaced it again, and he increased the pace. “Come on! I haven’t seen my brother in ages, and now I finally can again!”





Conor stared, bewildered as he took in the familiar sights, sounds, and smells of his suburban home. The grass had browned with the passing time and seasons, and the sparse amount of trees that still remained in their front yard had already turned. The ground was littered with brown brittle leaves, and the cool tinge of frost hovered in the air. He was surprised to see his breath, and chuckled as he watched the white slowly dissipate. It seemed almost to sparkle, and he couldn’t help but smile as he got up from his place on the cold cobblestones. This was real. It was really happening. He was finally home.

The familiar bark of a small territorial canine only reinforced the giddy sensation. He watched as he heard the familiar sound of the doorknob turning. He saw the blur of tan and white mock fury that was his dog barking madly at the door. And then he looked up to see the familiar figure of a woman’s face. Her skin had been worn by the care of decades, and the edges of her hair had turned silver and white. She clutched at the knob with swollen fingers as she stared and gaped.

Conor stepped forward and pulled open the storm door. The dog barked frenziedly at his legs as she took in his scent. He paid her no mind. He felt the hot streaks fall fresh again.

“Mom? I’m home.”

The woman sobbed as she wrapped her arms around him. Conor returned the gesture in kind. He couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain she’d had to face over the last few months. He slowly led her and the dog inside and shut the door behind them. For now, neither needed to talk. All they needed was each other.





Taze took in a deep breath of air before his body reflexively began to cough violently as his lungs tried to expel what his brain first labeled as poison gas. After such a long time in Equestria's rich environment, it took a few minutes for his brain to realize he wasn’t suffocating and the air was just that bad. He looked around the park, taking in the families walking along in the autumn weather. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the piece of leather that, according to his memories, had been his wallet.

He sighed as he opened the wallet, finding an ID card that looked nothing like him, several plastic cards whose purpose and use were only sluggishly coming back to him, and a single five dollar bill nestled in the cash section.

He couldn’t turn into Grif right now. Winnipeg was too populated, and there was no way he wouldn’t be seen. He needed a map and a way to the closest jeweler or pawn shop. With surprising clarity, Taze cursed himself for not having a cellphone.

“Calm down and think it through,” he reminded himself. “Where there is a will, there is a way. Let's see…” He found a nearby bench in a mostly unoccupied area and sat down, taking several long, slow breaths as he concentrated, bringing his mind into focus. As he searched the depths of his memories, a box-like structure with a metal frame and glass came to mind. A bus stop! The memories flowed back faster now. A bus: a long human cart that was self-propelled. Humans could use it to get between places cheaply. The location of a pawnshop he had once visited came to mind, a sign declaring they purchased gold vivid in the window. With a smile, Taze got to his feet and wandered down the path. Once he found a street, he would find one of these bus stops and wait for the cart to come around. With the money he had, he would get as far as he could and make the rest of the trek on foot.

This wasn’t so hard!





Shawn landed with a faint thud, clearing the loose dirt around his feet. After regulating his breath, he sighed. “Jeez. I expected a harder time breathing, but this is ridiculous.”

Rolling his shoulders, he looked out into the distance, finding walls, walls, and a few buildings. Also sand and dirt, but that was expected. What wasn’t expected, however, was the amount of individuals pointing rifles in his general direction. After glancing over his shoulder, he determined that they were, in fact, aiming at him.

From behind he heard at least three people moving. “ON the ground!” came the barking order. “On the ground now. NOW! NOW! NOW!” The orders were short and constant. He just watched as the soldiers grabbed him. They tried to push him down, and he didn’t budge. A few of the younger soldiers were utterly baffled as three MPs strained behind him with their combined strength, and he still stood upright, acting like they were little kids trying to pull him down.

He did feel that his arms were zip tied as he had moved them back to scratch an itch. The MPs stopped as an older man walked forward. He was dressed in ACUs, and the rank on the front sternum showed the image of a bird. Either he was a Lieutenant Colonel or a full Colonel. “Who are you, and what are you doing on this live firing range? How did you enter Base Washington?”

“The name’s Shawn. I’m here because this is where I landed,” he said in his Russian accent.

The officer looked at Shawn. He looked then at the MPs. “What happened?”

“He just appeared in a flash of pink light,” The MP on Shawn’s left replied. “We don’t know if he has any identification on him or if he’s dangerous.”

“So, Mr. Shawn, is it? What’s a Russian from the Ural Mountains doing in an American Base?”

“Not Russian. Just haven’t used English in forty years.”

“And yet you use it flawlessly. If you haven’t spoken in forty years, what did you speak?” he asked skeptically.

“Let me think… I started with English, had to learn... “ He paused, thinking to himself. “Equish? Something like that.” A faint snap echoed through the air like a gunshot as he placed a hand to his chin in thought. “There’s also the Latin, but I have doubts anyone actually speaks that.”

The officer could see the shocked looks on the faces of his troops. It was mirrored to an extent on his own face. A zip tie couldn’t be broken that easily. “In that case… Superman, I’d like to ask you a few more questions. However, seeing as you entered the base without passing the main gate, have a Russian accent, and no form of identification whatsoever, I’m going to have to ask you to come with us to an interrogation room. It’d be easier if you could offer us some sort of passport, driver's license, anything along those lines.”

Shawn shrugged. “Sure, you can ask questions, though I don’t have much in the form of papers. Well, except…” He pulled out a few receipts. “I… have coupon good till December twenty-thirteen, but... I have a feeling you aren’t looking for that.”

“What’s this?” One of the MPs asked as he handled the papers. “This doesn’t feel like normal receipt paper, and the markings are like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Certainly not Russian or English. Maybe it’s some kind of code?”

The other officer spoke up. “This… is very unusual. It appears to be an expired walmart coupon for some electronics. It’s three years old, Sir, but it still looks like he got it yesterday.”

The Colonel nodded. “Right. Sir, I need you to come with us. Either that, or I’ll get a forklift to take you where you need to go.”

“Pfft. Forklift.” Shawn chuckled. “Sure. Lead way.”

The guards slowly led him away as a Master Sergeant barked orders to resume the exercise, and the peppering sound of gunfire echoed across the range once again.





Taze exited the pawn shop. He’d just sold ten thousand dollars worth of gold bits for a solid six thousand in cash. He exited the building and headed down the street looking for another jeweler or pawn shop to sell some more. Drawing on his knowledge of the neighborhood, he cut through a couple of alleys to save time, and ended up finding himself in a very interesting predicament.

He suddenly felt something metallic and round press against the back of his head. “No sudden movements. I want your wallet and phone.”

“Am I being mugged?” Taze asked.

“What’s it sound like, genius? Of course you’re bein’ mugged. Now hand them over!” The man replied as the pressure increased from the barrel of the gun.

“Can you take a few steps back, at least? It’s kind of hard to concentrate when you're pressing that thing into my skull,” Taze said as a false tremor ran through his hands.

“Empty those pockets. Now! Hurry up! Or we’re going to have a problem,” the assailant growled.

Taze sighed. “Suit yourself.” He made a slapping motion with his hand, and a sudden violent gust of wind suddenly blew down the alley, buffeting the mugger, and sending him staggering sideways. Taze took the opening to turn and face his would-be mugger, taking a few steps back.

After the mugger caught his balance, he raised his gun with the intent to fire, only for the unexpected to happen.

The feeling was natural to Taze as he let the world slow and delved into bullet time. Moving right to the mugger, he pushed the release, and the magazine began to slide to the ground. He then punched the mugger twice over the head before punching him twice in the gut. As the world began to speed up again, he returned to his point of origin just in time to hear the magazine clatter onto the pavement.

The mugger flinched back from the hits and knocked his head against the wall. His breathing was ragged, and his eyes wild as he tried to use his gun in vain. His eyes grew even wider.

Taze smiled smugly at the mugger with a vindictive glare in his eyes. “Care to try that again?”

Taze’s figure blurred as the figure ran away, then became visible again. He chuckled to himself as he moved through his new acquisition. The mugger’s wallet had plenty of cash to get him where he needed to go. After pocketing the bills, he threw the rest aside. Then he looked at the gun, wondering just how much he could sell it for, and how long it would take for his would-be assailant to realise they were gone.

The cry of dismay was music to his ears.

Taze took several steps forward before he knelt to the ground, panting. He could feel his Equestrian field regenerating, but it was a lot slower and more taxing on him than it had been in Equestria or even that other version of Equestria for that matter. He coughed several times into his hand and raised an eyebrow at the pink stain to his spit, but shrugged it off as he got to his feet and headed towards the streets.





The scene at the water tank was one of utter confusion as the train filled up on water. Steam puffed lazily from the stack as the engine drank its fill. The group of videographers and photographers were gathered around on the side of the railway looking over each other at a computer screen.

“Is that...?” one voice spoke before it was drowned out by another.

“It was, but how?”

“It has wings. What gives?”

“And what about the color? Did some girl dye it or something?”

“But the size.” 

“Enough!” The loud voice of Matthew’s brother carried over the rest as he walked up from one of the supply shacks. “You’d better squirrel away copies that matter to you and your families, because I doubt that particular footage and pictures are going to be kept in your possession for long.”

“And how are we supposed to be sure this isn’t some hoax?”

“Because, I assure you, it is not,” a new voice spoke up from the other side of the observation car. The accent was Queen’s English, cultured and refined. “I am proof enough.” A somewhat larger wooden cart bumped over the rails behind the caboose, revealing the same Pegasus from the film. “Now–” he looked at the group, even as they raced to take pictures. “Please, please. At least wait until I have my wife with me.”

That stopped everyone in their tracks. “Wife?” half the photo team shouted.

“Yes.” The Pegasus looked at the engineer. “I have a bundle for you, Mr. Conner, if you wouldn’t mind, that silk one there on the top of my cart.”

“How...?” Mark asked as he looked at the Pony. His head was pounding from the sudden spike in his pulse. “You look like you’re from a show my brother used to watch,” he grumbled as he moved forward. He paused as he saw the tag on the package. He whirled around to look at the Pony and approached him menacingly, but stopped dead when the Pony asked a single question.

“Do you want me to talk an hour about the Titanic? Because I can, and I’ll start when they laid her keel back on thirty one march, Nineteen-oh-nine. She was built almost in tandem with–”

“...How?” This time it was gentler, meeker.

“Simple, Mark. Very Simple. But I will only tell you in the cab.” He frowned. “But that means I will need to buy a ticket. You still charge twenty dollars for passage and use of the luggage car?”

“How did you–?”

“You should find forty US dollars, the last cash Matthew had in his wallet,” the Pegasus spoke as he moved and, to the shock of all watching, unhitched himself with his wings to grab the bundle.

“No. If you know what happened to him three years ago, I’ll personally eat the cost of transporting you and your... wife back to the George Park Passenger Station.”

Matthew smiled happily. “Great. Lunar Fang, you can have fun in the observation car. I will be up front in the cab. There should be plenty of space for somepony as small as I am.”

Lunar Fang just smiled as she circled around the caboose, pulling her cart behind her. She then proceeded to lean in and kiss him twice for the contradictions he’d used so far.





Conor sighed as he stroked the familiar books in his bedroom. He’d never thought he would see this place again, well, at least until Discord got blackmailed into helping find a way. He couldn’t help but chuckle as he recalled the goofy Draconequus. He really wasn’t all that bad a person, just a little mischievous and petulant. If anything, Discord seemed more like a child than he did an ancient entity of chaos and mayhem.

He sat down on his old bed and stared at the wall beside his door. He couldn’t help but recall the dream he’d had when Luna visited. It was hard to believe that he’d been in another world and taught how to fight. A sad smile crossed his lips as he remembered the training with fondness. Rook may have been a bit of a bully at times, but that was because he needed to be.

He fingered the band on his arm. In all the excitement, he’d forgotten to remove it. The blue metal glinted pleasantly as he gazed once more on its craftsmanship. The flawed diamond with its windigo pattern seemed a bit dull, but perhaps that was simply because his curtains were drawn. There would likely be many questions, one of which being where he’d gotten such a clearly expensive accessory.

He didn’t know how long he’d been sitting there before the knock sounded at his door. “Conor? Can I come in?”

“Yeah. It’s open.”

Conor’s mom opened the door and made her way to the bed to sit down with her son. “I just called your father with the news. He should be home in a few hours, once school is settled.”

“You know, Mom, I can still hardly believe this is all real. It’s like I’m stuck in an anime or some kind of story or something.”

“It’s a bit strange for us, too. You’ve been gone for nearly a year. Your sister’s in her senior year now.”

“A year…” Conor murmured to himself. “It was only a few months where I was.”

“You want to talk about it?”

“Yeah, but not until everyone’s together. There’s… a lot to talk about.”

She nodded. “You’re right. There are some people who’re going to want to interview you later, too.”

“You mean the FBI?”

“Yup.”

“Yeah, if things go the way I think they’re going to go, Mom, you might want to get used to people like them being around.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll explain when we’re all together. Have you called them yet?”

“I wanted to make sure it was alright with you first.”

“Yeah. Let’s just say this is sort of a world-shattering discovery…”





“Please remove your coat. I’m afraid we’ll need to sort through it to find any identification or other information. Without an ID, we need to be able to find something to help figure out who you are. For all we know, you could have a bunch of weapons stored in there,” one of the MPs at the interrogation room’s doors said.

Shawn shrugged as he removed his coat and held it out to them. “Sure. Have fun.”

One MP held it as another reached into the main left pocket and pulled out… a large box with a note in English that read, Thank you for taking care of Strikey for me. It was signed in a language none of them could read, but Shawn knew only too well that it was Pinkie’s signature writing. Said box was bigger then the coat pocket. Another MP looked up at the ceiling, hoping they got that on film.

“When did she sneak that in?” Shawn questioned aloud, clearly confused himself.

“You know who made that? And how did you get it to fit in?” the officer spoke. Shawn could now read that his last name was Stark.

“Little Pink Pony. Can’t remember English translation of name. I didn’t fit it in, she did. Somehow while I was wearing it, too…” He frowned.

“So you think this is funny?” Officer Stark asked. “I can tell you that no one is laughing. Do you have anything that could ID you? Maybe a phone?”

“I find it a little amusing, yes. She loves jokes. As for phone, I think I still have mine somewhere in the pockets.”

The MPs started putting their hands into the pockets looking for it. Stark sighed as he didn’t know what to do. “Okay, Superman… how is it that your coat–?”

“It’s empty,” One MP replied. He handed it back to Shawn. “Here. Put it back on.”

Shawn put on his coat and reached into one of the pockets. “It better not be empty. I had my good smithing hammer in here,” he said as he pulled out said large smithing hammer. “Oh, good.” He smiled, putting it back inside. After a moment of moving his arm around, he pulled out his phone. “Ah, there it is. Here you go.”

One MP took the phone while two others stared in shock before they shouted. “Remove the coat right now!”

“But you already looked through my coat.” Shawn frowned. “I would like to keep my coat.”

“It presents a security problem to the base, and till we can clear it, I’m afraid we’ll have to hold it in quarantine,” Officer Stark explained. “When we’re done examining it and its properties, you can have it back.”

Shawn frowned as he removed his coat once more. “Better return it. I only have the one…”

Underneath the jacket they saw that he was wearing a white shirt, a vest the same color as the jacket, and a cravat. “Okay, Mister Fancy Superman. If you’d just come this way,” Stark said as he motioned down the hall.

“Fine.”

As Shawn looked away, One MP moved, then paused. “Hawk, where’s your sidearm?”

“What?” Hawk asked as he moved and found that not only was his sidearm missing, but the holster as well. “Barrett… your sidearm is missing, too.” They both paused and looked at the coat as it moved a little. “We’d better get this thing under guard, stat. And nobody touches it, understand?” 

They nodded silently in agreement.

Shawn found himself in an interrogation room, but this one had padded chairs, so it must have been for the nicer prisoners. Perhaps for more friendly negotiations and discussion. “Take a seat. We’ve got a few questions for you,” Stark said, the first of which being, where are you from?”

“Originally, or from where I came?”

Officer Stark laughed. “Why not both?”





It was a grim sight. The blue hue seemed to absorb all the light in the room, and the faint specks of gold only came as a reminder that it was a cursed object, greedy in nature, as anything that came near it was gone, never to be seen again. 

It would twitch every now and then, taunting them as they could do nothing but watch from a distance, for any closer and they would be in danger… 

It wanted to consume everything… 

“Okay,” Officer Hawk spoke softly. “What are we at?”

“Um…” Barrett looked over the clipboard. “We’re missing two side arms, including holsters, three mags of ammo, two Kabar knives, one kevlar vest– we’re still working on how the vest went missing when the soldier's uniform was still in place; oh, and fifty dollars.” He proceeded to look up at the officer, then back at his hand to find his clipboard missing. “...Add another clipboard to list.”

“Should we expand the no-go zone?” the sergeant asked as he looked at the coat, holding his M-16 rifle tightly. “I feel like this is some science fiction alien movie.”

“Affirmative, Sir. Also, you should send for a new pair of combat boots… and socks,” Barrett said, pointing to Hawk’s now naked feet.

“Why do we have to be in the room?” 

“Brass wants the coat watched at all times until we confirm the origin of our visitor,” Barrett said.

“Well I’m backing up,” the sergeant said as he did just that.

“Permission to speak freely, Sir?”

Second Lieutenant Hawk nodded. “Granted. In fact, I’m giving everybody permission.”

“This is a scary-ass coat, Sir”

“Be quieter. It’ll hear you,” the sergeant whispered.

“You’re afraid of a bloody coat?” a staff sergeant asked as he entered carrying a SAW. “And why am I authorized with this for guard duty?”

Turning towards the coat once more however, revealed the chair and coat was now turned and facing them.

The staff sergeant was baffled at how the others backed up further away from the coat. “Why are you missing your ranks and name badges?”

“You're holding air,” one of the other sergeants on the guard detail replied.

The staff sergeant looked down and blinked in shock. “WHAT?” He looked back at the coat and he angrily marched forward. “You give that back to me right this second.” The lights flickered, sending the room into blackness.

Perfect…





Matthew smiled as he watched the carts get loaded into the baggage car and smiled. He was looking forward to spending time with his brother in the locomotive’s engine cab. He kissed Lunar Fang goodbye, and she smiled before she walked toward the observation car.

Mark looked at the men who had taken the ropes to help handle the carts, and then looked to Lunar Fang before finally settling on Matthew. He frowned as he moved to help this Pony who claimed to be his brother. With a little extra push from the Pegasus, the second cart was able to get loaded properly over the lip of the baggage car.

“I’ve got some questions I need to ask you,” Mark said bluntly as Matthew turned to face him. “Can we move to the observation car? We can let the Engineer finish the trip.”

“But, you are the Engineer.” Yeah, that was Matthew’s tone, alright… in the Queen's English accent. This was going to be a very confusing day.

“No, I run the entire company. I operate the whole system now.” He chuckled as the Pony gaped. “You have been gone a few years.”

“How many?” the Pony asked. “I… three to four years?” His ears suddenly dropped down and pinned themselves to the back of his head.

“Yeah, you’ve got a lot to catch up on. That’s why I’d rather not have the noise of the engine bother you.”

“Okay…” A moment later they heard screams from the observation car. “That’s my Lunar Fang.”

“What?” Mark asked as he started to race to the end of the car. “She knew?”

“Knew what?” the Pony asked. “Were you thinking that I was going to leave my wife defenseless with a bunch of aliens? If they tried anything, they would be facing a Commander from the Third Gryphon War, and the one that stole my heart. She can defend herself.”

Mark felt a shiver down his spine. “Matthew was never that blood thirsty.”

“I am not just Matthew. I am also Moonkissed Pensword.” He stopped as he looked at the steps. Grumbling about height differentials, he flapped his wings and leaped onto the step.

“Why don’t you just fly?” Mark asked as he climbed up after Matthew.

“Conservation of magic. This world is very different. I want to conserve what I can for as long as I can.”

Mark didn’t believe that, but let it slide as he opened the door to find that the five men and two women were either tied up, sprawled out from what he hoped were minor blows to the head by hooves, and were still breathing, although one man was clutching a hand. He noticed a red tint around the mare’s muzzle.

“Dumb city folk,” he muttered as he looked about the cabin. They felt the jolt and the train was on its way. “Think they know how to handle horses by watching TV.” He frowned and looked about the room. “Still, do you want me to do something?”

“Leave them be,” Lunar Fang responded. Let them suffer the slights and pains of trying to treat me like a common Gryphon prisoner.”

Mark stared blankly at Lunar Fang before looking at Matthew.

Matthew sighed as he put a hoof to the bridge of his nose. “Don’t worry. I’ll explain,” he promised before finding two sudden kisses on his lips. “Starting with why she just kissed me.” He settled down on the carpet, feeling the sway of the cars and locomotive as he marvelled at the sheer size of the car. It was bigger then the royal coaches in Equestria, and that was saying something. How strange it was to see Human things again from the perspective of such a smaller species. Meanwhile, Mark was busy untying the passengers and doing his best to calm them as he guided them to their seats or escorted them into the neighboring car with a stern rebuke and an assurance that they could file complaints later with the officials, though saying they got beaten by a winged Pony probably wouldn’t be the wisest choice on their part. He received a few murderous glares, but the passengers left it at that.

“Why she kisses me is due to the fact that I normally do not use contractions in my daily speech. They are only now showing up again after more than a lifetime. “He took a deep breath. “A lot has happened in the last few years I have been gone. You might not like some of it, but with Mom not here, I can tell you more about it, starting on that Halloween night. One minute, I was stepping out onto the doorstep, and then…” He continued forward, talking about his time in Equestria, falling through time twice, and the Third Gryphon War. There was a lot to cover before they arrived at the station.





Conor sat in the cushioned red chair in the family room next to the brick fireplace as his family looked on from the leather couch. He held the armband in his hands and absently flipped it end over end.

“So yeah. I’ve been living in a land of multicolored mythical ponies on a world filled with just about every creature from myth you can list, I nearly got turned permanently into one of said denizens of said world, and learned how to use magic, and I also basically wound up helping to save the world from death and destruction at the hands of a human that had been completely and totally corrupted by an energy source that basically shoved all his morals and good parts into a corner and let the anger and negative attributes take control. It wasn’t pretty. There’s a few other things besides, but I figure I can fill in the rest when the FBI gets here.”

“That’s… interesting?” Mrs. Vulpes said.

Conor shrugged. “It’s the truth. It’s weird, though. Their magic doesn’t come from spirits like magic here is supposed to. It’s like an actual energy that comes directly from the planet itself.”

“And you almost became–”

“A Unicorn, yeah. I could hardly believe it myself at first, but, well, you know, fantasy buff. It made the adjustment a lot easier.”

“And that’s how you grew back your hair? With magic?”

“Uh… not exactly. I guess you could say it was more of a biological renewal. When I was turning into that other form, my hair grew back thick and strong again. Then Luna and Celestia forged this for me, so I could switch forms, instead of being stuck between.”

“I guess that’s what you could call a hairy situation,” Mister Vulpes said with a chuckle. The man was mostly bald with a cul-de-sac of a head bordered by gray hairs. His blue eyes were just as piercing as his son’s, and his beard and mustache had grown out since Conor had last seen him. He wore a simple pair of bluejeans and an Underarmor shirt.

Conor groaned and chuckled. “Dad, I both missed and didn’t miss the puns.”

“Some things never change, Son,” he responded back.

“Clearly.” Conor smiled. “Well, on the plus side, I found out what happened to my friends. They’re perfectly fine, and I’m back for good, well, until I move out on my own anyways. Oh, and Discord sends his apologies, even if he didn’t exactly say it like that.”

“Discord?”

“The one who pulled me into Equestria in the first place. He’s a Draconequus. Body of a brown horse, head of a goat, one long fang, yellow eyes with red pupils, a black donkey’s mane, a white goat beard, one goat horn, one deer antler, one lion’s paw, one taloned hand, a deer hoof, a green lizard’s leg, a purple bat wing, a bluebird wing, and a red dragon’s tail with a white tuft at the end. Oh, and he sounds like John Delancey. He’s literally the Q of Equestria.”

“And… he didn’t do anything to you?”

“No. I’m still me. He has been known to turn people into the exact opposite of their personalities in the past, but that was before Twilight and the others reformed him.”

“Who?”

“They’re called the Mane Six in the brony community here. Basically, they can wield one of the greatest magical forces known in all Equis to defend their country. That’s how Discord was bound the first couple of times, and his magic undone.”

“You do realize how crazy that’s going to sound, right?” Karyn, Conor’s little sister, said as she looked up from her iphone. Her blond hair shone in the light 

“Which is why I have proof.”

“And that is?”

“Wait till the agents get here, and I’ll show you.”





Taze signed the agreement quickly. He’d managed to sell most of his gold, and had enough money to buy things he thought necessary, as well as rent a place to stay and purchase food. Having already booked a hotel room, he was currently in the act of renting a Uhaul truck. With the mass of items he was planning to buy, it could be suspicious for him to leave with only a backpack, so, to circumvent this, he would load the things he bought into a truck, and then, later, away from prying eyes, he would load his bag from inside the truck. He’d paid the deposit and the charge up front, and while the man in charge was surprised to see it paid for in cash, he cleared the deal with the addition of a minor sum on top of the surcharge. Now it was time to relax and prepare for the next day. With that in mind, he casually made his way to the hotel.

After a barely edible meal, – the food of earth, much like the air, didn’t compare to the quality of Equestrian food – Taze laid on his bed, casually flipping through channels, trying to catch up on pop culture updates in the last few years. He stopped with a nostalgic smile as he came across a late rerun of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. Laughing at the irony of the situation, he wondered where the episodes had gone in the time they were away. As the colorful characters ran through the opening sequence, Taze took gulps from a bottle of refined water. When twilight's balloon landed on the ground, he spat violently into the air as he saw three characters jump off the train behind her and walk off the scene. A Unicorn soon followed after, tripping on his hooves before the transition to the next portion of the opening.

“No…”

He didn’t have the ability to rewind the scene, and he cursed himself for not having some way to use the free wi-fi, but he was sure he recognized the three characters.

A black furred Gryphon with green feathers on its breast, a deep blue Pegasus, a large Earth Pony wearing something blue and gold, and the clumsy Unicorn that looked a lot like Blueblood.

“Holy sh–” 





Another officer in ACUs walked into the quarantine. His two silver bars glinted in the light, having been polished recently. He then handed Colonel Stark a file.

“Thank you, Captain Rogers.” Stark nodded as he took the file and opened it. “Okay, Shawn Octo Viginti.” He chuckled. “That has to be one of the weirdest names I have ever heard.” Then he moved on. “It seems the phone you have on your person belongs to a man reported missing three years ago. We have some information here that he should only know, but let’s start with the easy stuff first. I like to give people a sporting chance, after all, and you’re the only thing keeping me away from an incredibly boring job, so please don’t disappoint me.” He smirked. “Who are your parents, where did you live, and, finally, what is your birthday?”

“Let me think. Hans and Mary, I used to live in Palmetto, and I was born in Nineteen eighty-seven,” Shawn replied after a moment to recollect. It was rather difficult sifting through all of those old memories, but it helped being in more human surroundings.

“Okay.” Stark checked off something on his clipboard. “So far, so good. We still don’t know it’s really you, mind you, but we’ve notified the proper authorities. If you really are who you say you are, you fall under FBI jurisdiction. They should be arriving here with your parents in a little bit. Once they get here, we’ll put them in the same room with you, so they can testify whether you are or are not who you claim to be. If they verify your identity, you get to leave the base scott free, but… if they don’t verify, well, that’s another matter entirely now, isn’t it?” he asked as his eyes narrowed. “Assuming you are who you claim to be, I’m looking forward to hearing how it is you managed to break into a military base without access or prior authorization, and , of course, where you’ve been the last few years. I’m certain you’ll have a rather… creative story.”

Shawn frowned. “I thought I already answered that one…” Shawn replied confused.

“To us, yes. However, the FBI is going to ask you those same questions as well. I can’t wait to compare notes.”

“All right,” Shawn said, leaning back in his chair. “I don’t think I like you very much. So… when can I have my coat back?”

Stark shrugged. “Join the club. As for when you get the coat back, you can have it once you’re released into FBI Custody.”.

“Delightful.” Shawn frowned. “So what now? More questions? Another test? I show you magic? Or do we just sit here? Correction. I sit here, staring at the wall, questioning if I should just walk out or not...”

“Private Wilson will come in to keep you company. Mind you, he’s a bit of a magic nut, but that should fit you just fine.” He smirked as he rose. “Just a warning. He never shuts up.” Then he made his way to the door and headed back out.

Fifteen minutes later, during which Shawn learned the new President’s name, the number of votes he got, the fact that ten people voted for a goat in California, along with the fact that goats were also being considered to be used to mow the grass in the LA region, which went onto information about grass growing. It was bleeding together. Private Wilson was currently talking about MRE’s as he dug into one. Then he threw one at Shawn. “Eat. I know they should give you something, but I brought some to share. They really are unfit for human consumption, but that doesn’t stop them feeding us this stuff.”

“Don’t need food.”

“Hey, I know it sucks, but I’m sure once we get this all settled, you’ll be able to go out and get yourself a nice chimichanga, or a taco!”

“No, I really don’t need to eat, I do it for fun now,” Shawn replied, questioning whether it would be edible or not, considering his reaction to the air alone.

“That sounds boring.” The soldier pouted. “What's the good in life if you can’t enjoy food? We even use taste to describe life! I mean, you think the guy who said ‘variety is the spice of life’ wasn’t a fat guy?”

“I didn’t say I can’t or don’t eat anymore. I just said I do it for fun,” Shawn replied. “Then again, most of their stuff tends to be sweets…” He looked to the MRE once again, tossing the idea around in his head.

“You mean they don’t have TACOS?” Private wilson seemed an odd mixture of shocked, horrified, and heartbroken at the possibility.

“Nah, they have those. They just like their sweets.”

“Oh.” He sighed in relief. “You can’t joke about tacos, man.”

“I hardly ever joke. I think I lost my sense of humor after the third time I nearly died.” Shawn paused, thinking for a moment. “Or perhaps the second time… Or the torture session...”

“What? Torture sessions are fun, though!” Private wilson said as he rolled up a sleeve to reveal an arm that resembled ground beef.

Shawn stared at the man for a minute. “Wow… and I’m considered insane…” He muttered the last part to himself.





The monstrosity stared at them with empty eyes. They could feel the vast emptiness that accompanied it, both figuratively and literally. But they weren’t just empty…

They were hungry…

“I just wish we knew where it put Corporal Jones,” the same mouthy sergeant moaned as they pressed up against the walls.

“Ignore that. That thing took the keys, and the door’s locked.” Second Lieutenant Hawk moaned in his boxers. That thing in the chair had even taken his dog tags.

“Somebody’ll find us when shift changes, right, Sir?” Barrett asked. He had also been stripped down to his boxers and a white undershirt.

“That started five minutes ago,” a trembling private said as he looked at a watch. He didn’t dare remove his eyes from it, lest he lose it to that thing. “What I want to know is why they aren’t sending backup. They have cameras. They should be able to see what’s happening.”

The door opened, and five guards with two techs walked in. They took one look at the five soldiers in their skivvies, then up to the blushing men. “Why are you out of your uniforms?” 

The Captain then looked to the wall. “WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO THE SECURITY CAMERA?” The spot where the security camera had been was barren, as though there had never been anything in the corner of the room, not even a hole was present for the wires. It was just walls and a ceiling.

“That would explain the static…”

“As long as we don’t look away, everything will be fine, Sir,” Barrett said, staring intently at the coat. Suddenly the lights overhead flickered several times. When they finally stopped, the coat and the chair it had been on were gone.

Everyone in the room were now in just their boxers. Their military undershirts were missing, and so were the dog tags. The Captain looked at the Room. “WHAT DID IT TAKE?” he bellowed.

“We’re missing Corporal Jones, Sir.”

“I love to see you smile,” a familiar voice sang. As they looked to the corner of the room they found the corporal in his boxers, lying in the fetal position, muttering to himself. “Come on, everypony. Smile, smile, smile. Fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine ... all I really need’s a smile, smile, smile from these happy friends of mine.” He proceeded to keep singing his strange song, starting over whenever he came to the end. He stared forward with blank eyes as the haunted voice continued to repeat.

“Medic!” Hawk bellowed. “Medic!”

“Where did the coat go?” the mouthy Sergeant muttered in horror.

“I don’t know, and I don’t want to know, Hughes,” came the reply. A moment later, the group was trying to figure out who said those words. Things just weren’t making sense anymore.





Shawn had been left alone by this point. Apparently company had arrived, and they were going to be standing behind the one-way glass momentarily. He sighed aloud, leaning further back into his seat as he questioned where they were keeping his coat. Looking over his white shirt once again, he made note of parts he needed to re-sew, as they looked out of place.

He kept all his stuff in his coat. Why bother carrying things in limited pockets when you had unlimited space?

Meanwhile, on the other side of said glass…

“Thank you for joining us,” Colonel Stark spoke as he stood up. “We have the man who has your son’s phone, and I want you to take a look at him, ask him questions through the intercom.” He shot a look at the two FBI agents. “At the moment, this is still our jurisdiction, due to the nature of the subject’s arrival. If we get a positive ID, you can have him.”

Mary Viginti wore her red hair in a ponytail that accented her black shirt and jeans. After a moment, she walked up to the window and stared at Shawn. Her blue eyes shone with the tears that wanted to be shed, but were kept in check by her more rational mind. She couldn’t afford to get her hopes up too high. Not yet.

Hans, her husband, was a larger man with blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore a green t-shirt and blue jeans, and laid a supportive arm around his wife as the two stared intently at the man in the room. The garb was different, most assuredly, but its fashion was nigh identical to the costume Shawn had worn on the night he disappeared. Even if he had changed from the last time they saw him; that same bored, blank expression, that familiar sigh, the way he folded his arms...

“It’s…” Mary started. This time, she let the tears fall. How could she not? She would have said more, but an involuntary sob stole her speech.

Hans had to speak for her as he pulled her into an embrace. “It’s him,” he choked out with a curt nod. “What happened to him?”

“That… is a story he’ll have to tell you himself,” Colonel Stark answered in a roundabout way.

“What? Can’t you just tell them?” Shawn questioned as he faced the glass.

“How...?” Colonel Stark asked, his mouth agape as just a hint of a smirk twinged at the corners of Shawn’s lips. Stark shook his head in disbelief and pushed the talk button. “Legally, I could, but then I’d be court martialed. There is nothing in the books that says you can’t tell them on the ride home.”

Shawn looked confused. “Wow. Strict military…” He shrugged. “All right. So, now what?” He questioned as he stood up and brushed his coat off.

“How...? Where did your…?” Colonel Stark started before he looked to the agents and shook his head. “I don’t care. You’re their problem now. Have a nice time, and next time, use the front gate.”

“I’ll try and tell Discord to open the rift at the front door,” Shawn replied, rolling his eyes as he moved towards the door. “So... unlocked?” he questioned as he turned the handle. There was a distinct crack, followed by the sound of grating metal.

Colonel Stark sighed. “It is now.”

“Good. I don’t think a broken lock would have been appreciated,” Shawn replied as he stepped out of the room, and soon after into two sets of arms that probably would have squeezed him to death, had he not already been so well conditioned by his time in Equestria. “It’s good to see you, too.”





Taze tossed the empty McDonald's wrapper away nonchalantly as he walked through the mall. “Tasted like ash in my mouth, but at least it was filling.” He decided his first order of business was to get some proper fresh clothes for the next few days, as well as a pair of.... Okay, that was odd, why would they call them ‘Air Jordans’ if they were used for walking on the ground? With a shrug, he entered the shoe store and came out fifteen minutes later wearing a pair of black and red sneakers. He purchased a few pairs of jeans, and, later, a few t-shirts with recognizable people on them. An hour later he still wore the N7 hooded sweatshirt, but under it was a red shirt with a familiar red-and-black spandex-covered man upside down firing two automatic pistols. A speech bubble boldly declared, “Tacos,” in large black letters.

He visited an electronics store and proceeded to outfit himself with a tablet, the best laptop he could find, and a cell phone. It took almost an hour for him to sign the necessary contract and assure the details, before paying several years up front. He figured they’d get another trip eventually, but he wasn’t sure when, so why not be on the safe side? 

Properly outfitted at last, Taze found himself ready to begin acquiring the necessary things he’d decided on. He would spend the day purchasing, and then he’d make his way home that night, spend said night staking the house out, and then proceed to retrieve his things when his parents went to work and his brother went to school. Things began coming back clearer to him as he visited the His Master’s Voice store and acquired dozens of DVDs, including the entirety of several series. He also bought a wide variety of music: classical, rock, country, parody, and most other genres. When this was done, he moved these to the U-haul truck before heading to a much larger blue-and-yellow building and buying more DVDs, as well as several components for computers and game systems. He then purchased a smaller portable DVD player. Once he had all of this loaded, he visited a bookstore, and this was where he truly went wild: fiction, non-fiction, history, how-to science fiction, manga, comic books, even self help books were acquired and purchased. The books he didn’t take with him were few and far between. Several times he’d had to claim he was stocking a library just to avoid the questions from the store owners. After he’d thoroughly cleared out most of the main retail stores, he spent another two hours searching for a specialty bookstore to acquire one specific book: The book of five rings by Miyamoto Musashi. He swore Twilight would have fainted from the sheer number of books he’d acquired in such a short span of time. He couldn’t wait to see that.

Finally, Taze visited a few home improvement stores, and proceeded to purchase machine-made precision tools he figured would be useful. It would be a few months before Shawn would have anywhere set up for anything advanced either in the way of tools or the other technical goods, so he kept mostly to low-tech things. Once he was satisfied, he drove the U-haul around until he found an out-of-the-way area, and got to work packing everything into his pack of holding.





Everyone stared at Conor as he literally conjured a snowball out of the air and hovered it in place while maintaining the field in question. The Vulpes family gaped in utter disbelief. Agent Simmons remained staunch and emotionless as he filmed the event with his camera, while Agent Mulder simply grinned triumphantly as he ran a hand through his brown hair. His hazel eyes seemed almost to glow with his giddiness.

“Just wait till I tell Scully about this,” Mulder said. “She’ll never believe it.”

“And she’ll never hear about it either, Mulder,” Simmons said brusquely as he glared Mulder’s way. His red eyes burned with loathing as his bushy brows furrowed together. “You know the rules. The Director may have insisted you join me on this case thanks to your more… unique experiences, but that doesn’t mean you can treat this like some of your other little stunts. Until the boys upstairs decide how to handle this, when and if they go public, then you can tell her.”

“You know, you really take a lot of fun out of the job, Simmons.”

“And you don’t take it seriously enough.”

“Um, do you guys have enough? This isn’t Equestria, you know, and that makes doing this a lot more difficult.”

 Simmons eyed Conor carefully, then pressed a button on the camera and closed the recording device down. “We’ve got enough. Take a seat, kid. Mulder, get him some water.”

“But–”

“Water, Mulder. Now,” Simmons snapped. His salt-and-pepper hair had been carefully styled and shortened, so as not to allow potential adversaries a hold they could use against him. He rubbed his eyes, then put his sunglasses back on as he pulled out a notepad.

“So just to clarify here, you’re telling me that the government on this other world is divided amongst a multitude of nations, each governed by their own laws and cultural tendencies, and they’re all mythical or magical in one way or another.”

“Essentially,” Conor confirmed as Mulder returned with the glass. “Thank you,” he said after taking a sip. “In their world, everything is governed by magic, even the movement of celestial bodies.”

“And that’s where the connection to My Little Pony comes into play.”

“Exactly.”

“Mulder, make a note. I think we may need to have Ms. Faust tested for psychic potential.”

“Empathic or clairvoyant?”

“The whole spread.”

Mulder whistled. “Isn’t that a bit much?”

“Considering the parallels between the show and his story, it’s highly probable she has multiple manifestations. You’ve seen enough of what happens to most when they don’t get the help they need in time.”

Mulder sighed. “All right, Simmons.”

“Did you two have any other questions for me?”

“The powers that be. You said that these two rulers, Celestia and Luna, are the strongest?”

“Magically? Well, yes, I suppose so. I suppose Cadence is just as powerful in her own right, since she has the power to make and utilize love as an energy source. Twilight’s sort of new to the role, but once she’s been trained and adjusted to it, she’ll probably be just as powerful, if not moreso. They all had a missive of sorts to give to the government here, but Matthew… I mean, Matthew, is the one who had it.”

“And you’ve all returned at the same time?”

“Yes.”

Mulder immediately began packing up the camera and other equipment they’d brought with them for the interview.

“Thank you for your time, Mister Vulpes. We’ll be in touch,” Simmons said as he pulled out his cell phone. “In the meantime, do us a favor and don’t leave town.”

“Am I in trouble with the law or something?”

“No, but there’s likely going to be a hearing over this. There are certain protocols that have to be followed, and we’d rather keep you safe at home until then.”

“So you’re putting me under house arrest?”

“More like keeping you under surveillance. For your own protection, of course.”

“...Of course,” Conor said sardonically. “I feel safer already…”

“Good. You can expect us to contact you in about a week or so with more details.”

Mulder facepalmed as he finished disassembling the tripod.





“So that was when–” Matthew continued, talking this time about the fact that he’d been a General. They stopped when they all heard and felt the breaking of the train. A moment later it was almost like seeing an excited puppy as Matthew zipped to the windows on the right side of the train as it slowly approached the platform and the yellow wooden structure that was its ticket area. “This is so exciting! Much easier than showing up down on the plains.”

Lunar Fang looked to Mark. “Did he act this way when he lived here?”

Mark laughed. “Worse. I think he mellowed out. Did you know he could name the engine whistles on mainstreet?”

“And who taught me?” Matthew snapped back. “You got to live your dream. You run the Railroad. You run the Golden Pony Express.”

“Touché,” Mark replied with a chuckle. He frowned. “That’s odd. Agent Green is on the platform. You two stay here, and I’ll make sure the Police get on board. This is going to be a long afternoon.”

A minute later, Agent Green stood in a spare room within the ticket house, looking at the two small Ponies in almost utter disbelief. “You’re telling me, Mr. Conner, that that bat Pony…” He stopped when Lunar Fang crouched and flapped out her wings as an angry hiss left her mouth.

“Don’t you dare call me that. How would you like it if I called you…” She stopped. “What is a derogatory word to call that man?”

Matthew laughed as he looked between Agent Green and Lunar Fang. “We like being called Thestrals, not bat Ponies. Back in Equestria, that particular form of address is viewed as a form of racism. You could say that we are the blacks of the Equestrian community.”

Agent Green wrote that information down into the little notebook he held. “I will make note for all agents to know.” He looked at the car. “So, this... Thestral?” He sighed as she made another noise. “Lunar Fang.” He paused to make sure he wasn’t making another mistake. When Lunar Fang didn't object, he continued. “So Lunar Fang tried, and succeeded in, keeping from being… kidnapped? Horsenapped? I don’t know what to categorize this under.”

“She is my assistant, and wife, or mate, if you prefer. We are here on official delegation business to represent her Royal Highness Celestia and High Chieftess of all Thestrals, Patron of the moon.” Lunar Fang smacked him with a leathery wing. “...Princess Luna,” he finished quickly. “I have royal writs to be handed over to the United States government for both official reports of what happened to Matthew, and the public report that will be released, as we do not want an influx of humans trying to immigrate to Equestria, let alone a panic.” He smiled as he flicked an ear. “Then the US UN diplomat will deliver writs to the UN Council for them to start first contact.”

Lunar Fang smirked as she added the next lines. “We wish to rest and make this town our base of operations for the time being, and to meet the family members of Matthew Washington Conner to thank them for their son’s service, and to tell them the true story of what happened.” Her eyes flicked to the back as a large woman in a business suit walked onto the car. She had an FBI badge sticking boldly out of her left breast pocket, and she looked almost as though she were sucking on a lemon the way her lips puckered when she laid eyes on the Ponies, Mark, and Agent Green.

She cleared her throat in a high-pitched and instantly annoying fashion. “Hello, dears.” Regrettably, her voice was equally high-pitched. “So nice to have the chance to meet you.”

“Good to meet you, Agent...?” Matthew began, noticing the subtle change in Mark’s body language. Considering how tense the engineer had become, it was pretty clear this particular agent was not one to be trusted easily, let alone liked.

“Umbridge, dear. Darla Umbridge,” she said, giving him the fakest smile he’d ever seen. “And you are?”

“My name is Matthew. That is what I go by. I will not bore you with my titles, nor ranks. This is my wife Lunar Fang,” he answered with a grin. 

“And which of you claims to be the missing party?” she asked.

“That would be me,” Matthew said. “I have papers and documentations as well as knowledge that will prove that I am, in fact, the same Matthew Conner who went missing approximately three years ago,” he said as he shot a dramatic wing at Umbridge. He had no clue why he’d just acted like Phoenix Wright, but he couldn’t take back his action now.

Mark groaned. “You never did get theatre out of your blood.”

“We’ll see soon enough, won’t we, dear?” Umbridge said a little too sweetly.

Matthew smiled happily, not catching her tone. “Indeed. And then I can find out what has happened.”

Lunar Fang looked at Umbridge. She didn’t like this woman for some reason. It unnerved her because she couldn’t place why.

“Oh, and Agent Green, we have some passengers you might want to have a word with. There was a brief misunderstanding, and Lunar Fang here had to defend herself.”

“My men are already on it,” Agent Green promised.





Agent Scully looked out the window. “Why didn’t they put Mulder on this case? I’m the doctor.” She cleared her throat. “Okay, Mr. Viginti. I hope you have a clear afternoon, because we have some questions for you that need to be answered.” 

Agent Bubbles looked over at Scully with a raised eyebrow as he went back to watching the security footage dealing with Shawn and the coat. He paused to crack his knuckles before going back to work on the computer.

“As clear as can be, I guess.” Shawn frowned.

Agent Bubbles looked up, his black glasses covering his eyes. “Then we’re going to stop at the field office for a medical check up, at which point we’ll be taking you home, so you can reunite with the rest of your family for the night. Tomorrow morning, we’ll be doing interviews to find out where you went, why you came back now, if you plan to stay or leave, that sort of thing.”

“Medical check-ups?” Shawn questioned. “I’m not that scarred, am I?” he finished, bringing a hand to his chin.

“Sir, I can see multiple leftovers from lacerations, and it’s fairly obvious something happened to your right ear that required some form of skin graft. We just want to make sure everything’s shipshape before we go any further,” Scully said.

“Well, most of the damages happened a while ago, so I can assure you that I’m not going to die from these injuries anytime soon.”

“They still weren’t in the report from when you went missing. We need to make sure we have a story for each scar. Also, just for your peace of mind, your parents will be in the waiting room.”

“You want to know how I got each scar?” Shawn questioned. “That’s a bit much for me to remember…”

“Just… let us do it already. It’s typical procedure. Besides, you just came back from what, for all intents and purposes, is a foreign country. We need to test you for any foreign diseases.”

The rest of the car ride passed in silence, even with the two trying to talk and ask Shawn questions. Shawn’s parents were following behind in a second armored SUV.

Scully sighed as she peeked out the window and flicked back her red hair in an annoyed manner.

“Do we seriously have to come here? I have all the requisite materials back at my office.”

“Headquarters wants someone more… open minded at the head for this one. They believe that in your need to be skeptical, you may overlook details”

“Fine, but you’re still letting me on that team, Bubbles,” Scully responded. “They need someone with a head on their shoulders.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Bubbles said without a hint of mirth.

“Fine,” she grumbled as she turned to Shawn and sighed. “You can either leave your coat with your parents or on one of the chairs in the examination room when we get there.”

“I think I’ll keep it near me,” Shawn replied simply.

“Headquarters also radioed ahead to warn us the military contacted them. Under no circumstances is he ever to be separated from that coat for any period of time.”

“They what?” Scully asked before shaking her head. “Fine. He can use one of the coat poles in the exam room.”

“The coat’s not to be separated from his person for any reason, Scully. The details are above your pay grade.”

Scully rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Bubbles. Let’s just get this over with.”

“And remember, Scully, we don’t need a repeat of the hospital incident. You find any artifacts, you report them immediately, are we clear?”

“Bubbles, I’m a doctor, not an archaeologist.”

Bubbles looked down at her and pulled his sunglasses down to reveal his deep-set beady black eyes with one eyebrow raised high.

The Driver kept driving, but his shoulders shook from suppressed laughter.

Thirty minutes later they were each seated inside the medical facility. The room contained plenty of tools and other pieces of medical equipment that would be needed for any situation, including an X-ray machine, CAT scanner, and others in adjoining chambers.

Shawn pulled off his coat and folded it neatly to his side. After a moment he carefully undid his vest and dress shirt, placing them on the table next to him. “So, who tries using the needles first?”

“Tries?” Scully asked with a raised brow. “You’re saying you don’t like needles?”

“Pfft. I’ve dealt with worse. I’m just wondering how the needles are going to turn out.”

“Good god, what did you do to yourself?” Scully gaped with the other physicians.

Shawn looked down at his torso. “What did I do to myself? You act like I wanted all these scars.”

“I believe the good doctor means to ask what happened to give them to you,” Agent Bubbles clarified.

“A few battles, a war or two, and a torture session,” Shawn replied simply.

“Wars? Just who with?” Bubbles asked intently as he removed his shades.

“The Gryphon Empire.”

“I think you’re going to have a lot to tell us.”

Shawn sighed. “I’ll tell you more after the check-up, yeah?”

The doctors proceeded to tie up Shawn’s arm using the typical rubber tie, only to discover that Shawn’s skin wouldn’t give.

“... These must be old,” one doctor casually stated.

“We don’t do old supplies, Doc,” Bubbles said pointedly.

“Try putting more pressure,” Shawn shrugged.

“We already have,” the doctor pointed out. Three more bands had been tied over the first.

“Try more pressure.”

“Look, try using this pressure ball, okay?”

Shawn simply looked to the pressure ball before applying pressure. “So, I just put-”

The pressure ball burst apart with a loud pop.

After a brief moment he opened his hand to reveal the remains. “I thought it was supposed to take a lot of pressure before bursting…”

“It was,” Scully said, shocked. “Doctor, just how much pressure was that ball manufactured to take?”

“Something far more than humanly possible,” the doctor said. “Just how did you get so strong?”


“By working out, and additional help from a thaumic field.”

“A what?” Scully asked.

“A field of natural energy surrounding myself allowing manipulation of the base properties of natural forces, primarily creation and destruction,” Shawn explained as though it was simple. “It can also enhance the wielder in strength, speed, and endurance.”

“Seriously?” Scully asked skeptically.

“Yes. I mean, there is more to it, but I feel this is enough to explain the situation.”

“Energy manipulations aside, I believe it’s time we just went with the old fashioned approach,” the doctor said as he prepped the clamp and got the biggest needle he could to prep for the insertion. “Would you mind clenching your hand into a fist a few times? Just to get the blood flowing. I need to feel where your veins are.”

Shawn did as requested.

After a time, the doctor prepared, placed the needle against the skin, and shoved. He hovered there with his back turned for a good minute or so.

“Is there a problem, Doctor?” Scully asked.

“It seems the troops may not have been far off from the mark when they named him,” the doctor said as he turned to reveal a blunted tip that had curled in on itself, and a very much twisted needle.

“Seems a more... practical solution may be in order,” Bubbles said.

“Just take little knife and cut into my arm… jeez,” Shawn sighed. “At least that would work easier.”

“You’re asking us to cut into your veins, where one of your main arteries is located, just like that?” the doctor exclaimed.

“I won’t die from it, so go for it.”

“Your parents would kill us. You’d need to sign a waiver before we try anything like that,” Scully said pointedly.

“If you don’t do it, I’ll grab one of my knives and do it myself,” Shawn replied.

“We’d be obligated to stop you before you could,” Scully said pointedly.

“Then bring me a waiver so we can get this over with.” Shawn groaned.

One waiver later...

“There. Now cut me open.”

“You’re sure you don’t want any anesthetic?” Scully asked.

“I lost most feeling after the torture session. Just get on with it.”

The scalpel ran across his skin, but no blood was drawn. It hardly left so much as a scratch.

“It’s… dull,” Scully said, her eyes wide as she tested the edge.

Shawn groaned once more as he grabbed his coat and reached deep into one of his pockets. After a moment he pulled out a sharp knife before placing it on the table. “There! Real blade!”

“...Did he just…?”

“Don’t question it, Scully. Pay grade, remember?” Bubbles reminded her.

“I’m going to find out how you did that one day, you know,” she said pointedly as she grabbed the dagger’s hilt and ran it over Shawn’s skin. As she did so, a red line began to form as the blood welled out before steam rose up to fill the air. More than a few of the doctors either looked on in interest or fainted outright.

“Oh, it’s not boiling anymore.”

“How do you even function?” Scully cried.

“Very easily. Now collect some of this before it sears shut.”

“...You’re serious.”

“Very.”

Scully quickly jabbed a needle into the site and the blood began to flow up the thick plastic to the tie. She then attached the first of a series of beakers to the tube before releasing the clamp and letting the hot blood flow. In a matter of minutes, and after more than a few re-openings of said site, they finally had a full panel to test.

“Get this down to the labs ASAP,” Scully ordered. “And as for you,” she said with a glare. “I have some questions.”

Shawn shrugged. “Go ahead.”





Taze did one last check of the U-haul before he left it, making sure all his things were removed, and the truck was in the same condition as when he rented it. Once he was satisfied, he closed the vehicle and dropped the keys in the slot left for late returns. After that, he headed to the taxi he’d hired to meet him at the hub, and told the driver where to drop him off. He also offered a hefty tip to get him there quickly with no questions asked.

He arrived a quarter of an hour later at a small restaurant a few miles outside the city. He’d never known the place’s actual name. It wasn’t on the buildings outside, just an advertisement for snacks and food. It was remote enough to be away from prying eyes. Behind the building, he stowed his shoes, and then flipped his ruby. Several minutes later, Grif took to the air headed northwest of the city as he gained altitude.

It was the first time Taze had ever had a chance to look down at the countryside from above. And while the wind here was thicker than Equestria, Grif still found the feeling freeing as he propelled himself above the fields and small bluffs between them. He enjoyed the feeling of his wings and feathers, as well as the feeling of speed blasting across his face.

Vast stretches of farmland and countryside with bluffs of trees and only small settlements dotted the area North of Winnipeg. This late at night, Grif was fairly safe from prying eyes as he passed the countryside. He landed on a farm a mile north of his home town, and, after changing back, googled a name using his new smart phone. When he had the number, he called it, hoping above hope the person who would pick up still lived here.

“Hello?”

“Nathan?” Taze asked faintly, almost surprised.

“Yeah?” the voice was confused. Taze then remembered he had used English so sparingly, his accent had made him sound Turkish.

“Nathan, you're not going to believe this, but it’s Taze. I need a place to stay.”

“Taze? Taze wasn’t Turkish, and he went missing years ago. I don’t know who this is, but this is si—”

“James Nathaniel Hanson. We were friends from fourth grade, and I lent you more money than any of us willingly would ever admit. You’re not going to hang up that phone.”

“You’d better be Taze, or I’m going to have to kill you,” he said. “No one outside my family knows that name.” The voice grunted. “Fine. Give me your location, and I’ll come get you.”

Taze sighed, looked up his location with the cell phone’s GPS, and told the address. Then he hung up the phone and took several deep breaths. He was most definitely not looking forward to the long explanation that was to come.





Matthew sat in the most absurd situation he could ever dread experiencing. His Great Aunt Selma had arrived… in her reproduction horse-drawn farm wagon. So here he was, sitting with Lunar Fang, facing agents Green and Umbridge in the straw-covered back. His brother was sitting up with his Great Aunt, and his niece Elizebeth was currently braiding Lunar Fang’s mane while giggling and speaking, and he couldn’t understand her. Of course, the girl was only about four years old, so it made sense that she hadn’t quite developed enough to speak properly yet. He did catch her singing My Little Pony, though, so she must have watched the show.

“Mark taught you well.” Matthew sighed.

Agent Green chuckled as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a candy bar.

“Green, don’t go spoiling my daughter,” Mark said pointedly without turning his head.

“Whatever you say, cousin,” Green replied with a chuckle.

“COUSIN?” Matthew yelped.

“Oh, right,” Mark started with a laugh. “Agent Green is engaged to Cousin Sally.”

“Sally, you mean little Sally who wanted to become a deputy sheriff?”

“Oh she’s been deputy sheriff for a while now. She plans on running for sheriff this election,” Selma said with a kindly laugh that brought a yellow brick road and a woman floating in a bubble to mind. 

“Hrm hrm.” Umbridge was clearly faking clearing her throat. “Agent Green, while I am happy things are going so well for you, you should remember we’re here on government business first.”

“I know.” He pointed to his pocket. “I just thought it would be good to test a few things,” he said as he stretched.

“I can hear the whirring of the tape recorder,” Matthew answered flatly. “As well as… well, I cannot describe the sound that I…” he paused. “Digital,” he said rustily. “The digital recorder that is in your handbag, Agent Umbridge, and another one is up with my Great Aunt Selma.”

Elizebeth, having grown bored with styling Lunar Fang’s mane, immediately shifted her attention to Matthew. Her eyes grew wide as she noticed his wings. “Fly Pony? Bird Pony! Bird Pony!” she shouted with glee as she moved to touch them.

Matthew quickly moved his wing out of the way. “Gently, Little Liz. Gently,” he told her. He was surprised to feel the sensation of her hand running over his feathers. Elizabeth simply giggled as she continued to pet the feathers and enjoy the soft tickling sensation they provided.

“Pony fly ride?” she asked. In the ensuing silence, with her young mind, Elizabeth took her chance and started to climb on Matthew’s back. After all, nobody had told her she couldn’t.

“Not now,” Matthew spoke quickly as he did his best to shy away from her, only to feel the weight as she laid down on top of him.

“Okay,” Elizabeth said disappointedly. She didn’t get off, however, and continued to run her hand lazily through his feathers and fur. “Soft…” she sighed. Her strokes gradually grew slower and slower until she nodded off entirely.

“Shush,” he grumbled as he glared at the old brown stallion pulling the cart. It had snorted and whickered at the sounds, almost as if it were laughing at him and his indecision. On the one hand, he was a Pony who didn’t like being ridden. On the other hand, this girl was also his niece, and he loved her. The two parts of his mind immediately began to debate over the pros and cons of their situation.

“Just to let you know, she still likes flying. She gets excited whenever a plane lands at Lorimer Field,” Mark said.

“So Uncle Cloud won the vote to keep that up?” Matthew asked. 

Mark and Selma shared a wince, and Matthew’s ears wilted. 

 “Oh...”

“Excuse me, but we have tests to perform,” Agent Umbridge said. “We need to confirm the subject's identity.”

“Then ask away and test away. I doubt a DNA test would work, though,” Matthew quipped with a chuckle, which Mark promptly joined.

“Lady, you have no idea what you’re stepping into,” Mark warned, then chuckled again as Umbridge fixed him with a glare before returning her gaze to Matthew.

“What was the year the United States officially declared their independence?” she began.

“The fourth of July, year of declaration 1776; however, the full document was signed on the second of August of that same year.”

“What was the flooring of the Titanic discovered to be?”

“Which part? The Grand Staircase was linoleum. Parts of the deck were teak, other parts were steel. Then others were hardwoods covered by carpeting. She is a large ship, so she had many different types of flooring, including the famous floor tiling that came from Germany. Not only did they use it on the Olympic class ships, but you can still find examples of it in the Harland and Wolff Shipyards. Also…”

“I think we get it, Matt,” Mark answered with a laugh. “You sure you want to keep asking the Titanic questions, Ma’am?” he asked as he turned to look at Agent Green and Agent Umbridge.

Agent Green laughed. “One last question. Was it true that the fault of the wreck was solely on the shoulders of the Capta–” He didn’t even get to finish his question as, for the rest of the journey, the Pegasus gave a spirited defense over Captain Smith, Murdock, and the rest of the crew and company for the Titanic and the White Star Line. Lunar Fang stared in wonderment. She hadn’t seen her husband this worked up since Mountainside Falls.

Agent Green smiled as he leaned back midway through the rant and looked to Umbridge with a victorious smirk. “I think this is our guy.” He would later regret choosing that particular subject, as the journey took another hour, and Matthew had no end of resources and historical facts to use in his argument in defending his heros.





Conor sighed as he added the chocolate chips to the cookie dough and flipped the mixer on to blend everything together for the dough’s inevitable trip to the oven. A sad smile traced across his lips as he recalled the familiar giggle of a certain pink Earth Pony and her crazy antics since his first arrival in Equestria. That inevitably led to his memory of the Demos and the rest of their mercenary bands. His cookies were a real hit on that front, and he couldn’t help but laugh as he recalled how Advanced Scout and his doppelganger kept harassing him about the baking taking so long. He quickly wiped the tear streak before it could drop and spoil his recipe. He was home now, and there were responsibilities he had to take care of here.

“You doing alright, Son?” Conor’s father asked from his place in one of the ottomans in the adjacent room. He’d laid aside the guitar he’d been playing and placed it on a stand to look Conor over.

“Fine, Dad. Just… thinking about some friends is all.”

“From that other place?”

Conor nodded. “We had some good memories there, and… maybe some not-so-nice ones, but it felt a lot like a second home.”

“You’re lucky they found you.”

“I’m thinking luck had little to do with it,” Conor said as he turned off the mixer and removed the beater from the bowl before scraping the extra cookie dough off the beater to add to the rest. “I think someone or something wanted me there.”

“And that someone or something helped you to save a life?”

“Maybe. I didn’t really do all that much.”

“You jumped off a wall that had to be at least two or three stories high. That’s not exactly nothing.”

“Fair point,” Conor agreed as he started to scoop the dough onto the cookie sheets. “I don’t know. I guess I just feel sort of lost. It’s like I left a piece of myself back there.”

“Maybe you did. You have a tendency to invest yourself in people once you develop a proper relationship with them, Son. And more often than not, those people are changed for the better because of that relationship. I don’t think you’ll need to worry about them forgetting you, and you certainly won’t be forgetting them any time soon,” he noted. “Is there a reason why you decided to shape your cookies into frizzy Ponies?”

“Do what now?” Conor did a double take as he stared down at the cookie sheets. Sure enough, there was a perfect outline of a grinning Pinkie Pie staring at him in fifteen perfect copies. Then he chuckled, and then he broke into a full blown laugh, even as tears fell down his cheeks.

“Conor?”

“It… it’s Pinkie Pie, Dad. It’s better not to question it,” he said between chuckles. “Thanks, Pinkie,” he said to himself as he scooped out the second tray and put both into the oven. “I needed that.”

Conor’s father chuckled. “Whoever this Pinkie is, she sounds like quite the character.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Conor replied.

“Come on. Why don’t you go relax with your mom and sister. Another episode of Miss Fisher is on tonight, and I think you could use the break. I can finish up here.”

“Are you sure, Dad?”

“Positive. Now go. Have some fun. Your mother wants to spend some time with her son again.”

Conor hugged his father. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Any time, Son. Any time. Now get.”

“Yes, Sir.”

And with that, Conor made his way to the television room to enjoy the companionship of two of the most important people in his world.

Conor’s dad turned back to the spare pans, only to gape as the balls of dough had been reshaped into more figurines, including a Gryphon, a Minotaur, a Dragon, a Pegasus, a Unicorn, four different alicorns, a zebra, and what looked to be five Kitsune.

“How did…? When…?” He scratched his head as he took the pans and placed them in the ovens before setting the timer and going to join his family. As he left the kitchen, a playful giggle tinkled in the air, just beyond their range of hearing.

“Mission accomplished, Gummie. Great job!”





That one time the borders of Equestria had been guarded by a proud corps of warriors who had been specially trained to keep all intruders out of Equestria. Sadly, when the demilitarization happened, the border warriors had been reduced to a handful of ill-trained guards who, for the most part, sat around playing cards. It was because of this that none of them felt the faint but present rumbling from the ground as Changelings tunneled with a single willed passion in the direction of New Unity. One hundred thousand drones strong, the army moved masses of dirt at astounding speed as it sped towards the home of the enemy.

<Tell me, Tunneler,> Chrysalis’ thoughts echoed through the hive mind, drowning out the myriads of small humming voices that filled it with their shallow thoughts save for the few small pinpricks that made up the drones Chrysalis allowed intelligence for her purposes. <How long before we can breach the surface?>

<Not long, my queen,> tunneler responded with fanatical fervor. <A day and a half at the most, and then we shall be able to break the surface and proceed at a march less than a day from the destroyer’s fortress.>

<Good. Very good,> Chrysalis’ thoughts purred. <Soon we will take our enemies’ fortress by storm. And then, with such a mighty hive, Equestria will be ours for the taking! Dig onward for my glory!> Chrysalis ordered from her place at the rear of the swarm. The changeling queen stood on a chariot of reformed chitin pulled by two behemoths.

<All glory to the queen!> Tunneler agreed as he pressed his will to his siblings, bidding them to dig all the faster.





“So, what questions have you got?” Shawn asked as he stretched.

“How do you function? Your temperature doesn’t make any sense,” Scully spoke. “I have tried six thermometers in five different locations

“They only said it was One forty-seven,” Shawn replied, confused. “Wait, what was considered normal temperature?”

“Ninety Eight degrees Fahrenheit, or thirty-six point six six seven degrees Celsius.”

“...Wow. That’s low.”

“That’s normal for humans,” One of the doctors replied, not seeing the disapproving look he got from Agent Bubbles

“I’ve had the high temperature for ages now. I think since the first year I arrived.”

“How?” Scully asked. “For all intents and purposes, you should be dead. Your organs should have overheated by now and shut down. For all we know, they still are. We need another round of tests at this rate, figure out the genetic makeup, see if we can’t get you back down to normal again.”

“Most likely from the disguise transformation. As for more blood, I thought you got plenty?”

“We’ve already had to use unusual methods to acquire the blood we already have, Scully. I don’t think headquarters would approve of taking more,” Agent Bubbles said as he fixed Scully a glare.

“The agent does have a point, but how about some hair? We should still be able to get a genetic map from that,” one of the other doctors said.

Shawn shrugged. “Go for it. Just try to keep things even.”

“Do you have sheers we can use to cut it?” a scientist asked. The other doctors remembered only too well what Shawn’s skin had done to the needles and scalpels.

“Just use scissors,” Shawn replied, completely confused. “It’s just hair, man.”

To their shock, scissors worked. They quickly took the hairs away to test.

Scully sighed as she sat down in one of the rolling chairs. “Bubbles, please get the parents. I think we should start the questions. Those tests will take a while, at least a couple days.”

“Smart move, Scully.” Bubbles responded. “We should only keep him till dinner, and then let them go with some money for their troubles. Give them time to catch up in a more intimate setting.” He returned moments later with Shawn's parents, and everyone sat down. “So, Mister Viginti, let’s start with something basic. What was your age at the time you vanished?”

“I think I was twenty-six,” Shawn replied after a moment. “Or something close to that. Been a long time for me since then.” 

“And what is your age now?”

“Physical, or true age?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s see, I’m still physically twenty-six, but I dealt with a process that kept me from aging for… awhile. Like, an additional forty years I think it was,” he hummed aloud.

“How? That makes no sense. You can’t be mentally older than you are physically,” Scully objected.

“Nothing about me makes sense,” Shawn replied. “You think that’s strange, you should hear about the transformation charm on my wrist!” he finished, holding up his arm to reveal the golden bracelet with an anvil-shaped ruby.

“Transformation?” Scully scuffed. “You’re pulling our legs. The mass–”

A flash of light later revealed Shawn as a Pony. Hammer Strike sat on the table with a frown on his face. “You think that’s crazy? I’ve got more.”

Scully just stood there looking at Bubbles, and then at the parents, and then back to the Pony on the table. It became all too clear that most of the damage they saw on him before happened in this different form.

“What, did you expect the locals to look Human in another reality?”

Mary and Hans stared in shock.

“But the… damage. It looks worse here,” Scully said, before saying her first legitimate question. “Is this where it all came from?”

“Yeah. This is where it happened.” The ear with the missing tip gave a faint twitch. After a moment he turned the gem once again, and transitioned back into his human form.

Suddenly, he found his mother’s arms hugging him tightly around the neck as she cried, kissing his forehead. “Did you at least bury them in your blueprints? Or did you take after my mother?”

“I’ve done a bit of everything.” He reached over to his coat and searched through his pockets.

“Well, good thing I called the family for dinner tomorrow,” Hans said with a laugh.

After a moment, Shawn grinned. “There it is. My first–” he pulled out a Colt 1911. “...That’s not my first gun. I made something else…”

“Well Mom would still be impressed,” Hans chuckled.

“If you don’t mind, we’d like to take possession of that. The base wants their weapons back,” Scully said.

“What?”

“The base is missing at least ten M9 Berettas, five M-16s, three M4s, one SAW, and even an old M-1911 Government Model pistol.”

“I don’t even know where to start searching for them… The pockets are kinda… endless?” Shawn said as he placed the 1911 down. A moment later, it was gone, and no one knew where it went.

Scully huffed. “I don’t believe you.” She moved to reach her hand into the pocket.

Before she could make it anywhere near, Shawn proceeded to grab his coat and push his entire arm into the pocket, up to his shoulder.

“Well, now you really can clean your room,” Mary laughed. “Although moving would be a breeze for you, I bet.”

After a few moments of shuffling around, Shawn pulled out his flintlock pistol. “There’s the first firearm!”

“Yeah, your grandma would be impressed. Might give you tips on how to improve it, but that looks like it can survive being used.”

“I made it to match the … current arms tech level of society for Equis. Next comes a revolver…”

“What? No plans on bringing them into the 21st century?” His father asked with a flat expression.

“I could barely remember how to put an engine together, let alone make one from scratch again.”

“Come on, how do you plan on fixing up anything mechanical if you can remember the basics?”

“An internal combustion engine is not basic!”

Scully looked to Bubbles. “Are we sure this family was normal to begin with?”

“The entire family has careers in crafting pretty much anything,” Bubbles said with a shrug. “In fact, he was a carpenter before he vanished.”

“Anyways,” Shawn diverted from the conversation, “what else do you guys want to know?”

“Were the locals hostile to you in any way?” Bubbles asked. 

“No. They were worried at first, because there are no Humans there, but they were friendly. The only problem I had was we arrived near the time of a wedding when a group of infiltrators showed up and tried to take over the capital.”

“Did they conscript you to fight, or did you fight of your own accord?”

“I fought on my own, funny enough, with the decorative blade I showed up with. They thought it was real and dull, so they sharpened it.”

“Were you alone?” Scully asked as she looked at a clipboard.

“No, I arrived alongside two others.”

Scully paused as she looked at another paper, before looking at Bubbles.

“And I’m going to assume you won’t be sharing any information regarding those two?”

“Perhaps next time, eh?”

“What do you mean?” Scully asked, not knowing that Bubbles had already guessed the reason why.

“I can’t stay here,” Shawn replied. “My internal organs are being held together by the field of energy I mentioned earlier. Enough damage happened to where the field is the only thing keeping me alive, and it’s slowly dying here.”

“How long do you think you have?” Scully asked

“I have a couple days that I’ll be here before I’m pulled back to Equis.”

Agent bubbles looked at him, then to his parents, who had surprised and worried looks. He retrieved some papers from somewhere in his massive black suit jacket and handed them to Shawn. “Fill these out when you have time, and go spend time with your loved ones.”

“You can’t do that. We can’t just let him walk into the world. We need more facts, more data before we can–” Scully stopped abruptly as Bubbles glared at her through his sunglasses.

“I am well within my rights, Agent Scully. I’ve been put in charge of this investigation, and I don’t see the sense in forcing undue stress and pain on him and his family. He says his time is limited, then I won’t stand in his way. Should he be lying, we’d be well aware. Now stand down, agent.”

Scully looked at the group before sighing. “Very well, but can we do another scan tomorrow night outside?”

Shawn shrugged. “Sure, whatever works for you guys.”

“So... “ Hans started. “Dinner?”

“...Can we go for a burger? I haven’t had a cheeseburger in years,” Shawn said as his mouth watered at the thought.





Matthew had taken a merciful breath, granting his captive audience relief as Agent Green watched the sleeping girl on the Pegasus’ back. The agent braced himself for the next volley in the Pegasus’ spirited defense, when they pulled up to a large three-story building with a white wrap-around porch. A woman stood up there with her hands on her hips as she glared in the cart’s direction. “You stop talking about the Titanic right now! I could hear you from half a mile away.”

Mark broke up laughing. “Oh man. I haven’t heard her do that in years.”

Matthew blinked in surprise, and craned his neck up over the edge of the wagon. “How? I wasn’t that loud!”

The woman made her way down the steps. She was dressed in jeans and a dusty T-shirt, and was busy wiping her hands on a towel. Her face had been lined by age and worry, but some of them disappeared as her mouth pulled up into a knowing smile. “Because I read half of those questions, and all of them would have set Matthew off. Honestly, were you two trying to lose your minds?” She looked to Agent Umbridge and chuckled. “I warned you about the Titanic.”

“You also said it was the best subject to identify your son,” Umbridge retorted.

“One of. One of. I said the Titanic would get the most animated response, but then again, so would insulting the founding fathers, or talking poorly about the military.” She paused. “History, for my son, was a very passionate subject.”

“Well,” Agent Green responded as he hopped out of the wagon and moved to lower the back like he would the gate on a pickup truck. “I have to warn you. Your son has changed.”

“Changed? What do you–?” She cut herself off as the back flipped down and the two equines were revealed. The one of the left had her granddaughter sleeping on its back. It perked both ears up, and it smiled as it spoke up in its British accent. “Hello, Mom. I’m ... I’m home, and … well, a lot has happened.”

To Agent Umbridge’s annoyance, Matthew’s Mother did not faint. Instead, she put both fists on her hips. “You tell me what happened to you right this instant, young man.”

“I almost died, and I am stuck in this body,” Matthew responded bluntly. He looked down, and his ears twitched as they picked up his mother’s footsteps as she raced towards him. Then the wagon shifted as she climbed in and threw her arms around his neck. This act woke young Elizebeth up, who, upon seeing her grandmother hugging the Pony, joined in as well.

“Mom … you’re strangling me,” he wheezed. The death grip loosened, but she didn’t let go, even as he felt the tears on his fur. “I’ll tell you what I can.”

“You will tell me everything,” his mom insisted.

Selma got down from the driver’s bench. “He saw battle, Nancy.”

“He what?”

“I know that look,” Selma said. “His eyes are like Scott’s. He’s seen combat.”

Nancy looked down at the Pony in her arms. “You’re going to tell me everything, young man. We’ll make an exception to the war rule just this once.” She looked at everyone in the wagon. “Alright, everyone out. I want to spend time with my son. And Mark, tell your father he’s cooking dinner tonight.” She looked at the Ponies. “How much meat can you stomach?”

She watched the Pony next to her son smile and bare her fangs. Her southern belle accent rang lightly on the air. “We eat meat, and we hunt meat as well. You see, I’m what we call a Thestral. Not sure if y’all have heard of us before, but we do eat meat. That’ll be part of the story.”

“And who are you?” Nancy asked.

“She’s my wife,” Matthew answered.

Nancy turned around, and the look she gave him chilled his bones, before she turned to look at the mare more closely. “So, how long?”

Lunar Fang smiled. “You have one grandfoal, with another on its way.” She put her hoof on her belly.

The expression Nancy went through ranged from disbelief to annoyance, to a grin. “I have to see. Where is my… grandfoal, was it?”

“Uh,” Matthew began, “she couldn’t come for security reasons.” He chuckled nervously. “That is another reason why I need to tell you what happened.”

“I think we’d all appreciate knowing this story,” Umbridge said almost greedily.

“I'll go get Green’s fiancé,” Mark started with a chuckle, before Aunt Selma raised a hand. “Get the whole clan. We’ll meet at Cloud’s outdoor bleachers.” Her eyes turned flinty. “I don’t think we’d do Matthew any favors if we make him repeat his story every fifteen minutes.”

The Niece associated Cloud with flying, and immediately jumped back to her original desire as she bounced up and down on Matthew’s back. “Up. Up. Fly!” she cried.

“Not till you get a harness, young lady,” Matthew muttered sharply. He grunted as he felt her bouncing disturbing his feathers. “Also, be still, or you’ll get no Pony ride at all.” 

With that threat understood, she immediately stopped.

“You?” Lunar Fang whispered, forgetting she was wearing the pendant. “How can you degrade your post?”

“Because she’s my niece, and she wants a Pony ride. I gave them when I was human. Now I will give the best Pony rides of all her uncles and cousins.”

Lunar Fang slapped her leathery wing to her muzzle. 

“Besides, by the time we get set up, she’ll be going back to sleep. At least, I hope.”

Matthew looked around and caught the unpleasant expression on Umbridge’s face. He decided he was going to keep an eye on this one. He moved and wrapped his hooves around his mother and smiled as he closed his eyes. “We are very happy to have a mother to hug again.”

Nancy was startled and looked at the two. The words sounded much more painful than just being homesick for a few years. “You tell me what that means right now, young man. No waiting.”

Lunar Fang immediately realized where Matthew got his fangs from. “It’s… hard to explain. Due to circumstances involving some very strange creatures, he ended up living a second life from the age of a foal, and grew to be a stallion. He was also flung back in time, so he lived during a bloody part of our history. Unfortunately, he lost the entire village he was raised in, and all his adopted family with it.” She tried to grasp words, before shaking her head. “A brother, a sister, his parents, his mayor, the baron of the land, everything he grew up with. He only had a grandmother and his Thestral tribe to fall back on, and…” She found her own eyes watering as she looked at his smile, “I haven’t seen him this peaceful ever.”

His mother looked down and kissed him between the eyes on his equine head before running her fingers over the wet streaks on his fur. “Come on. Dry those tears. We have to hear your story. You can cry all you want when we’re back inside the house.”





“You know,” Nathan said, looking at Taze as he sat back on the couch. They were at his apartment building, and Nathan’s roommates were conveniently out at the moment, which allowed Taze to spill his story. “This sounds completely impossible, but honestly, that's why I can’t be sure it’s not true.”

“Nathan, I can lie better than this. You know I can. I have proof, but I think we’ve been through far too much together for you to need that,” Taze replied. “I just need a bed tonight, and for you to keep the fact that you saw me quiet. I don’t think that's too much to ask for.”

Nathan stared at him quietly. He was a chubbier, but well-built man only slightly younger than Taze with reddish blond hair and a large scruffy beard. His eyes held a strange light to them, like there was always something he knew that others didn’t. 

“Fine,” he sighed, “but you’d better keep a low profile. I’m not sure if you could keep anyone else quiet.”

“I’ll be fine. Here.” Taze placed some cash on the table, then grinned. “I’ll even pay for supper tonight.”

That seemed to ease any questions. An hour later, the two were enjoying video games and pizza. Well, Nathan was enjoying the pizza. Taze was doing his best to act like it. It was around ten thirty when he made his exit, claiming he’d be back later.

Making his way outside, he moved behind a bush and twisted the ruby on his gauntlet. Fortunately, Nathan’s apartment building was on the outskirts of town, and with the lessening light, no one could make him out as he took to the air and flew west. Rather than make a Beeline for his home, he first took a few flights around the countryside. He needed to eat something halfway decent, and too his luck, he managed to slay a deer in one of the fields using the shortbow he’d stowed in his pack. After dressing and cleaning the kill, he buried the refuse and carried the rest off to a small clearing in a wooded area. Then, using some equestrian salt and a few other herbs he’d stowed, he managed to make a passable stew. He feasted readily on the fresh meat until he was satisfied before wrapping and stowing the remains. 

With his real dinner finished, he performed several flybys of his home, a large farmhouse with an attic and a basement surrounded by four square acres of yard. Several tin-covered sheds were placed sporadically by the previous occupants, as well as a small single-car garage and a large red barn. The front and sides of the yard were closed off by a row of tall proud evergreens, and the back was separated from the adjacent field by a mass of thin poplar trees. A single large white figure stood out in the dark, making out the family’s great bernese.

Deep in Taze’s mind, a longing to go down and just enter the home burned small, but intense, yet he knew it wasn’t the time. He wasn’t ready, and if he saw his family now, he might not have the strength to turn away.





“Yours is the path of the lynchpin,” a familiar voice said with a giggle.

Conor darted around to see the familiar muzzle of a certain fortune teller. What he did not expect to see was the human outline that stood around it like an aura.

“Angela?”

“Are you ready?” She giggled, then danced out of sight with the sound of tinkling bells.

“You need to concentrate, Vital Spark! That water won’t sculpt itself.” A familiar work table appeared before him, and suddenly Conor found himself standing on all fours in the magic lab.

“Clover?”

“Of course it’s me. Who else were you expecting? Celestia?”

“But …”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “If you can’t even get this right, how can you expect to do the bigger things down the line?”

“What bigger things?”

He didn’t get the chance to hear her answer as the familiar room blurred to become the cozy wooden hut Zecora kept within her tree. He stared into the green vapors coming from the stew. The vapors filled the room, and when they cleared, he found himself playing his violin under the moonlight in the Everfree.

“It seems you are troubled by something not done. Perhaps it is best to just let the course run.”

“Zecora?”

The wise Zebra smiled. “It is good to see you, Vital Spark. Your kind smile always lights up the dark.”

“What’s going on? Why am I dreaming about all of you? Why can’t I wake up?”

Zecora simply smiled sadly. “That is something I cannot say. Look to your heart. It knows the way.”

“Seriously? That’s what you have to tell me?”

Zecora embraced him. “You should know that I am not truly here. I am a ghost sent to help calm your fear. You yet have a choice to make, and your nerves drove your dreams to this form to take.”

“The prophecy.”

“Exactly,” Zecora agreed. “Some will win, and some will lose, but how much and how long is for you to choose.” Then she stepped back a ways. “I know you are ready. Stand firm. Be steady.”

“Zecora!”

The world was shrouded by mists for a brief time as the world blurred and reformed again. This time, Black Rook glared down at him as he pushed up against the ground.

“A soldier doesn’t hesitate when a decision comes. He can’t afford to.”

“But I’m not a soldier!”

“You trained like one. You worked hard, you did your best, and you had faith in a future you didn’t know could happen. So stop being so scared and just do what you think is right.”

“But how will I know when the time comes?” Conor panted.

Rook shrugged. “Maybe you won’t. Maybe it already happened. Maybe it’s right around the corner. Does it really matter?”

“It does to me!” Conor lurched to his feet. He felt the tears run down his cheeks. “I don’t want the people I love to get hurt.”

“You don’t know that we will.”

“Is that a chance I can take?”

“Every choice is a chance. The question is, are you courageous enough to make it when the time comes, or will you shy away from it?”

“I… don’t know.”

“Let me level with you, Conor. I know how hard it is to make a big call. I’ve had to do my fair share as a commanding officer with the cadets. It’s better to make your decision and face the consequences than to never make the decision at all.”

“But–”

“No buts,” Rook cut in. “Just act.” He rose up and yanked Conor down to his level. “Now answer me. Are you ready?”

“I… I don’t feel ready.”

Rook chuckled. “Good. That usually means that you are.”

“What?”

“You know what, colt. Now fall out. You’ve got more to see tonight. Men, let’s run!”

Conor’s world was enveloped by dust as the Ponies raced across the dirt. When it cleared, he was surrounded by four thrones, and on each sat a princess.

“It is difficult, is it not, when one feels the burden of fate?” Celestia asked with her kindly smile.

“Now now, dear sister, fate has little to do with this. He simply has a decision to make. That is all.”

“But what do I do if I choose wrong?”

“You already know the answer to that,” Cadence said with a giggle.

“Indeed,” Luna agreed. “You learn from the mistake, as I have, as we both have,” Luna said as she flared her wings. The shadow of Nightmare Moon rose up behind her before her horn glowed and the shadow returned to normal.

“Conor, take some advice from a girl who’s already been where you are now. The worrying is only going to make things worse in the long run. I can’t tell you how many times Spike’s had to threaten to burn one of my books to get me to take some time to relax.”

“Seriously?” Conor cocked a brow.

“How should I know? It’s your head. I’m just saying what the real Spike would probably do to get the real me to actually take a breath for once. And he’s usually right.”

“And what about all of you? What if I never get to see you again?”

“Oh, now don’t be ridiculous,” Rarity said as she barged into the council room. “You, of all people, should know Shawn wouldn’t leave it like that. It might take some time, but he’ll find a way for us to keep in touch. Besides, we’ll want to be able to send you pictures of the wedding.”

Conor chuckled. “You’re relentless.”

“Naturally. Anything for a friend,” she said proudly. “Now, are you ready to stop being so worried about all this? You said so yourself before, sometimes you just have to believe things will work for the best, and work hard for that outcome. That’s what I did with my shop, and look where it’s gotten me. And I do believe Princess Luna already pointed out what happens when things don’t work out.”

“I believe it’s time for him to move on,” Celestia said.

“Yes, I quite agree, Sister,” Luna said. The other princesses nodded their heads. Their horns glowed, and the room was suddenly encompassed with light. When it faded, everything was gone, and Conor stood on a plain wooden floor.

The familiar form of a large housecat sat lazily on the floor with his tail flicking behind him. He smiled at Conor, revealing his pointed teeth. 

“It seems your mind is everywhere tonight.”

“And now I’m facing you.”

“Yes. Strange that I should come up, isn’t it? What kind of help could I be?” he wondered. “Still, I guess I could ask what your mind is trying to show you.”

“Honestly, I don’t exactly know. I guess part of it is the anxiety of fate. No matter what I do, I’m going to impact someone heavily, and I’m worried it could ruin things for them.”

Yes. I suppose the smart move would be to put aside everyone else, think about what you want, and what you can live with. Either path has its advantages.”

“I don’t even know if that choice is the choice,” Conor countered. “And besides, the others wouldn’t let me come back with them. They don’t want me to be trapped there like they are.”

“If you really believed that, you wouldn’t be here right now.” The cat licked his paw nonchalantly. “Without choice there is little reason to worry.”

Conor sighed. “I guess that’s the toughest part.”

“Besides. What will your true love do if you leave her behind?” 

Conor groaned. “I’m human!”

“And I’m a werecat!” he rolled his eyes. The difference is I’ve always been a werecat and will always be a werecat. You haven’t always been human, nor, if you choose the correct path, will you always be a human.”

“And by correct, you mean …?”

“I mean if you choose a specific path, you will spend significantly less time as a human than if you pick the other.”

“Well, I guess that’s true.” He sighed.

“There is no shame in turning away from it,” the werecat offered. “Your path should be your own.”

“I just don’t know what path I want.”

“Well, seventy two hours remain,” Solumbum purred. “Dawn of the first day.” And then he was gone.

Conor awoke to see familiar, yet unfamiliar surroundings. The pillowcase felt rough against his skin, and his neck was killing him, but despite the pain, the first words out of his mouth were, “Did Solembum just take from Zelda?”





Shawn sighed as he took a seat. Having eaten dinner, and questioned why nothing seemed to taste quite right, he was now home, in a way.

“So, I guess I’m staying here for the next few days,” he said. “Considering my stuff most likely went to you guys when my bills suddenly stopped being paid, did you happen to keep any of it this long?”

“The guest bedroom has your computer as the guest computer,” Hans offered.

“Did you…” Shawn paused, rolling his hand as he tried remembering the words, “reformat it?”

“No. We also have all your notebooks, if that’ll help with anything.”

“That’s wonderful,” Shawn replied as a small grin started to pull at his lips.

After a few minutes of nothing being said, Hans finally broke the silence. “So, we’ve been waiting to ask this because of all the drama with the FBI, but…”

“Who’s the lucky gal?” Mary questioned bluntly.

“I’m sorry?”

“The ring!” Mary said, pointing to his hand.

After a moment, it finally clicked. “Oh yeah! That’s right, I’m engaged! Ex Divinia Etiam, she would kill me if I forgot to mention this.” Shawn chuckled. “Her name is Rarity. She would have come with, but out of worry for what I was stepping into, I requested she stay behind.”

“I guess that makes sense, but you will be bringing her on your next trip, right?”

“Of course. I already promised her that.”

“Well what’s she like?” Hans asked. “I’d assume she’s like that other… form or whatever of yours, yes?”

“Yes… and no,” Shawn replied. “The species is basically Ponies, really colorful Ponies: regular, on Equis, they’re called Earth Ponies, then you have Unicorn and Pegasi.”

“...And you lost us,” Mary commented.

“Yeah, I felt pretty lost, too, when I arrived. Going to sound odd when I explain it, too, considering I’ve lived longer as… my other half? Whatever you count it as,” Shawn finished, tapping the bracelet on his wrist. 

“So you’re a regular Pony?” Hans questioned, unsure of what he was asking.

“Kinda?” Shawn replied after a moment. “I have a field of energy that enhanced my strength to absurd levels, my temperature tolerance is almost to the point where I can’t feel temperature at all, and I have literal magic contained in said field from my … adopted daughters.”

Hans and Mary stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to continue.

“Yeah. I may or may not have… raised the rulers of the nation.” Shawn nodded after a few moments of silence. “Yeah, that caught me off guard the most.” He chuckled. “You should hear about the time I–”





Agent Green looked at his watch as a black SUV with a black trailer pulled up. The bold yellow letters on the sides indicated louder than words ever could just who owned the vehicle. He stepped off the front porch as the SUV pulled up and stopped on the gravel Driveway and walked up to the passenger window, showing his badge. He saw the flick of the headlights. He started walking to the back of the trailer as he fished out a set of keys from his pocket. He got to the back and put the key into the lock and turned it. The padlock clicked open, and he removed it. He then proceeded to open the back of the trailer to reveal the two Pony carts. He looked to the wall, picked up the clipboard, and looked at it. He frowned as he noted some of the items that had been catalogued. “Okay, so those items were meant for us,” he muttered as he put the clipboard away and heard the steps of a four-legged creature behind him. He turned around.

“So, I assume that you had to check and inventory our gear?” Lunar Fang asked with a cocked eyebrow. 

“That, and I think you two can keep better watch over it than some of our own men.” He paused as if debating something. “Just be careful. Not every human is as nice as the Conners.”

“Oh, I know,” Lunar Fang said with a grin. “I just don’t want to ruin Matthew’s reunion with his family. Don’t worry about missing the story. The nieces and cousins are kind of putting it on hold due them just asking questions. That, and his father wants a family dinner.”

“So what do you plan on doing with all this stuff?” Agent Green asked as he touched one of the carts. Lunar Fang was just finishing hooking herself up to the other.

“Well, presents. The visiting uncle and aunt must always give gifts to their families.” Lunar Fang winked as she pulled the cart. “Now come along. Matthew can’t get his cart, so you’ll have to pull that one. And no, you won’t turn into a Pony.”

“I wasn’t thinking that,” Green answered hastily.

“Sure you weren’t.”

As for Matthew, he was busy dealing with his two nieces and a nephew who couldn’t seem to leave him alone. The rest of the children on the Cloud side of the family were also combing his mane. He snorted once, which only brought giggles from Elizabeth.

“Okay, okay…” he said, trying to get some handle on the situation. “Can we at least get to the questions? At this rate, I am guessing story time won’t be happening until tomorrow.” He looked at the feed bag and plates of food, but he couldn’t eat just yet. The steaks weren’t grilled, and that was what he really wanted right now. “Also, no more pony rides,” he said with a firm glare.

One of the older kids raised a hand and waved it about, while others shouted questions at once, causing Matthew to wince. 

“One at a time, one at a time!” he protested as he struggled to raise his voice over the cacophony. 

“No need to shout,” his sister-in-law said as she fixed him with a look of annoyance.

Matthew ignored that comment, and used a wing to point at the cousins waving their hand around. “Put your hoof–” he stopped, then facehoofed. “Hand. Put your hand down before it falls off.” He didn’t catch the wide-eyed look a few of his cousins gave each other. When the children had calmed as much as it was going to be possible to get them to, he picked someone to ask a question. 

“Can you really fly? Because your wings look so small.” 

Matthew was surprised at the rather focused question, but then again, his cousins were big on flight. “Well, yes, but because of natural manipulation of the air around me, and the use of techniques passed down by previous generations…”

“Can you use magic?” one of the kids blurted out. “Like the the show isn’t lying about that?”

“Well...” Matthew could see the frown on some of the older relatives in the room before nodding. “Yeah we call it magic, but it’s not like the magic you read about in the books on Earth. It’s more like, well, it’s a science. I actually have some Pegasus flight books that talk about the formulas for flight, though I will have to translate them first. I didn’t have the time to do that before I came over.”

Several family members stared at him incredulously as another child spoke up before anyone else could. “Can you really sit on clouds?”

Matthew laughed. “Yes, I can, and tomorrow I can even show you.” He continued to chuckle. “After all, I do wonder what Earth clouds feel like. Tomorrow we can have a fun experiment.” He waited for the kids to whine, and true to expectations, they did. “Hey, part of that is to see if I can actually wrangle a cloud down to ground level for you to touch it.”

“But their hand will just go right through,” Umbridge muttered. “You can’t touch clouds.”

“Yes,” his sister-in-law agreed, “but how many kids can say they they got to put their hand through a cloud? I’d consider that touching.”

Matthew looked back at Elizabeth, before looking at her sister. “Do you have a question, my inquisitive little niece?”

“You’re not Uncle. You’re a Pony,” she spoke in her limited vocabulary. She had crossed her arms and looked very grumpy. “Not Matthew,” she said, turning to look at her mother, but she didn’t move from her spot. After all, the Pony was warm and odd looking. It had wings.

“Is that so?” Matthew asked as he opened his navy blue wings and stared with his icy blue eyes. “Then why do I know this?” he asked as he used his left wing tip to tickle her right in the special spot that only family members knew was her squeal button.

She squeaked and squealed, and then began to laugh. “Uncle Matthew! Uncle Matthew!” she cried. The Matthew was pronounced more like a Mathu.

“Is she really my aunt?” A twelve-year-old cousin asked. “Are you really married?”

Lunar Fang laughed. “Yes, I am your aunt.”

“Yeah,” Elizabeth cried as she moved from Matthew to Lunar Fang. “Aunty Luna… Aunty Moon!” she cried.

“She knows what Luna means?” Matthew asked, surprised.

“She likes Celestia, but Luna is okay,” Mark answered. “I taught her what the words mean. 

“Not Luna, little one,” she said. “Aunty Fang, okay?”

She was shocked to hear so many children call out at once, “Nice to meet you, Aunty Fang!”

Matthew smiled at the antics. He looked around the group. “So, next question?”

“Did you meet Rainbow Dash?” Matthew looked up and found himself looking at a teen who he was shocked to find wearing a T-shirt with said Pegasus on it.

“Well, yes, and I have also meet the entire town of Ponyville, the Royal Guard, as well as the two Princesses, oh, and Princess Cadence, and Prince General Shining Armor, though when I first met him, he was the captain of the Royal Guard.” He looked at the others. “I wanted to catch those questions before they got asked.” He looked at the Pony-loving teen again, who was just burning to get another question off. Matthew swiftly snuffed that. “You need to wait for the others to ask a few more questions.”

One of Mark’s little ones spoke up next. He was younger than his sister, but he’d developed his speech patterns faster. “Fly?” he asked holding his arms out like wings. “Fly!” he repeated. Matthew looked inquiringly at the child’s parents.

Mark laughed. “He wants to go flying.”

Matthew moved and ran a wing tip under his Nephew's chin. “Maybe when we figure out a harness, but I am not going to be taking anypony… excuse me, anyone flying bareback. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Uncle Matthew,” they all replied.

“Can you do a rainboom?” another little boy asked.

Matthew laughed as he shook his head. “No, only Rainbow Dash can do a rainboom. It is a very hard maneuver, and impossible by most minds; however, I have seen it with my own eyes.”

One of the older children raised a hand. “So, if you can move clouds and fly, does that mean you can control the weather, too?”

Matthew laughed. “Yes. Yes, we do. We actually have the weather printed in our papers to let folks know what it is going to do, with a weekly schedule, so folks know what to expect and how to plan around events.”

“Can I be a Pony?” one little girl asked.

Matthew stiffened. “No,” he whispered. He shook his head. “No. If you tried that, you wouldn’t be able to return to being human. I am stuck as a Pony. This is something that is a one-way street. I don’t want to have to explain to the world why we suddenly have a herd of foals with coats colored like the rainbow.”

Lunar Fang looked over at Agent Umbridge. The woman had made three faces one after the other in lightning succession, and Lunar Fang wasn’t sure if she was pleased or not about what might have gone through her mind.

“But I want to fly!” Elizabeth complained.

“When I get a harness, I’ll take you flying,” he promised. “And all the others,” he relented.”

A combined cheer rose from the gathered youth.

“Could I get a photo for EQD?” one teen asked with a grin. He wore a shirt with Doctor Whooves on it instead.

“What is EQD?” Matthew asked with confusion. Not knowing this particular acronym left him feeling very uneasy.

“The brony news site?”

“You... so there is a news site?” He sighed and shook his head. “I will have to see this show… again, I suppose. I wonder what they got right and wrong.” He looked up at the group. “Yes, you can take a picture and submit it to that site. Doubt you’ll get anywhere else with those photos.”

The second the words were out of his mouth he found himself swarmed by eager children trying to pull him towards the TV room. “Not yet. Not yet! I FEEL WE HAVE MORE QUESTIONS!” Matthew roared. He was shocked as the house went silent. Umbridge’s glasses had been blown clear off, and her hair had been disheveled. Papers and other lighter objects had been scattered about the room, and more than one member in the family gaped at him.

“That… Was that a Royal Canterlot Shout?” the boy with the Rainbow Dash shirt asked.

“I think it was,” the sibling with the Doctor Whooves shirt replied. Standing together, the two could hardly be told apart.

“Do it again! Do it again!” the children shouted.

“Maybe when we are outside, okay?” Matthew asked

“Yeah!” The cheers were nothing compared to the shout, but it was still loud enough.

Rachel, Mark’s wife cleared her throat. “So, do you and your husband have any... what do you call offspring?”

“Foals,” Lunar Fang replied. “We have one rambunctious daughter who is a treat to watch hunt, and I am carrying another right now.”

“Can I touch your belly?” three children called out quickly.

“I... I guess?” Lunar Fang asked, looking fearful, only to find light hands rubbing her belly and Elizebeth putting an ear to the spot to try and hear the baby forming.

“So,” Mark said amicably. “What do you do for work? Or do you get to just lounge all day and magically make bits?”

“Well,” Matthew pawed the ground nervously. “I am the Commander of the entire Equestrian military, or rather, I was a thousand years ago. Currently, I get tax from lands I own.” He shook his head. “I am still adjusting to that. Then I pay tax on that money to the Lunar Princess. At the moment, my main work is helping revitalize the military to be more than just the guard and a couple of Dragons.”

“Hold on.” Great Aunt Selma interrupted. “Did you say Commander?”

Matthew nodded.

“Well, congratulations on fulfilling your dream then.” The elderly woman chuckled. “Though I’m guessing you weren’t expecting to serve as a Pony.”

“Thank you, Aunt Selma.”

“And you?” Mark asked Lunar Fang, even as the majority of the Cloud clan swarmed Matthew in various shows of admiration and respect. This proved more than a little unnerving for the commander.

“Oh, I am second in command of all Equestrian Forces; High Duchess to the city of Ys, which is the capital of the Lunar Courts; and head wife for the Pen Clan of the Dream Clan in the Bear Tribe for the Thestrals.”

“We’ll explain that part later,” Pensword said firmly as he looked towards the children. Nancy puckered her lips, but didn’t say anything more on the matter.

One girl spoke up, asking a question that, while a repeat, still was important for her to get an answer to. “Why aren’t you like us?”

Matthew opened, then closed his muzzle. “That… is a long story, and one that I cannot tell tonight, but I will tell it later, okay?”

“Okay,” she cooed before yawning.

“I think we’ll take one last question from you rascals, and then it’s off to bed. we can watch the show tomorrow morning, okay?” Mark said.

The children cheered at the suggestion.

“Wait, we have cable?” Matthew asked as he whipped his head around to face the other adults.

“Well, I do.” Aunt Selma replied with a grin. “But I don’t think binging on the documentary channel would be healthy for you all.”

This caused laughter from the adults. “Didn’t stop you in the past,” Mr. Conner chuckled from the back.

“Dad… when did you get here? Did you have to teach late? How was the drive?” Matthew asked as he focused on his father.

“Well, actually, I’m the Superintendent for the Gold County School System now. We were just getting things set up for the Halloween party tomorrow night.”

“Wait, you–.” His jaw dropped, then turned into a big grin. “That is awesome, Dad. Congratulations! That is great news!”

The kids moaned and made noise. “Okay, okay, one last question,” Matthew said. “Then it’s off to bed with you, just like Mark said.”

Umbridge cleared her throat. “Forgive me for interrupting, but just how many years were you gone in this… Equestrian time?”

“By Pony standards, I am over one thousand years old. I lived right before the fall of Luna, then I helped with the Crystal Empire right before Sombra took power, and I have lived in modern time for… oh, about a year. Now, I was two years old when they found me in the past, and I lived to be twenty two, and before that time travel, I was twenty three at the Crystal Empire.” He looked down. “I think I am somewhere around twenty four or twenty five now.”

Umbridge stared at him in a mix of disbelief and confusion.

“Okay, last child question,” Matthew spoke as he eyed Umbridge pointedly.

“Can I ask three questions? They’re all sorta linked,” one of the younger relatives asked. She wore two identical tiny patches sewn into the left and right sleeves of his shirt and was clearly struggling to hold back some laughter.

“Sure.”

She grinned. “What is your name, what is your quest, and what is your favorite color?”

Matthew paused before he started to laugh loudly. Soon enough, he was rolling around on the floor in a fit of giggles that confirmed far more than any words could have, just who he really was at heart. Nobody could laugh like Matthew. Somehow between the bouts and tears, he managed to respond. “My name is Matthew. My quest is to see my family and regain some of my old things from home, and my favorite color is blue.”

“She’s been doing that to everyone,” Selma said as she shook her head good-naturedly. A hint of a smile pulled at the corners of her lips.

“Right. Bedtime everyone,” Mark said.

“Shouldn’t it be Everypony?” the twin in the Rainbow Dash shirt asked.

“Shush, Robert. And don’t say a word, Fredrick. Both of you help out getting everyone to bed.”

Matthew filed that information away for later use to identify the twins. Robert was Rainbow Dash, and Frederick was Doctor Whooves.

“If you go to bed and be nice, you’ll get presents tomorrow,” Matthew said in a sing-song voice. The children were gone faster than the parents could herd them, which led to a bit of a blockage on the stairs, but they were able to sort it all out eventually. When they returned, he got a full round stink eyes from them, but he didn’t care. “What? I’m an absent relative, and I have to spoil them. How else can I make up for being gone for three years.”

After an exhausted roll of the eyes, many of the parents excused themselves to get to bed to prepare for airport runs, leaving Mark, Rachel, Nancy, Mr. Conner, Great Aunt Selma, and the two agents. 

“Okay, you each get one question, then I am going to bed, and we can talk tomorrow morning at oh, zero-five-thirty.”

“Good, because the kids will be up at nine, breakfast is at nine ten, and Pony rides will be at ten,” Nancy answered.

“Right. Thanks, Mom. Now who wants to go first?” Matthew asked.

“Yeah.” One of his older aunts walked into the room dressed in her uniform for the airport. “What was that your wife was saying about being the first? Are you, well, is your society structured like the wild horses here on Earth?”

Matthew sighed and nodded his head. He knew the elephant was going to have to be addressed eventually. “Yes, in the older families and older traditions, it is appropriate for a stallion to build a herd with more than one wife, if he so desires.” He did his best to avoid eye contact as he explained. “I have two mares. Well, the papers say three, but that is due to time travel issues, and the issue between Lunar Fang’s birth name and her assumed name during the war.”

“Okay…” She looked at her wrist watch, patted her left breast pocket, which had the emblem of a radar dish you would find at an airport, smiled, and left. “I’ll ask more later, young man.”

Matthew smiled nervously and looked at the group. It was a great relief to have that over and done with. “Who’s next?”

His mother spoke up. “When do we meet your second wife and our grand… foals?” she asked. Despite the confusion in her tone, the grin on her face surprised Matthew more than anything else. “I want to spoil my first granddaughter. We grandparents do have rights, too, you know.”

“I do not know when we’d be able to visit next. It is our hope that we can bring little Moon River with us next time, but in the meantime, I do have a family picture for you to display and hold onto, and make copies with.”

Agent Green raised a hand. “You do approve of my marriage, so, you’re okay that you won’t be getting rid of me?”

Matthew frowned and furrowed his brow. “I have no say over what you do or whom you date in this family. However, seeing as this is first contact, well, I am okay with that. Just keep in mind I might use your contacts to get in touch with officials when I visit, as well as if I need to get in touch with a friend.”

“Okay,” Agent Green answered with a smirk as his eyes shifted over to look at Umbridge.

“Is this world of yours a threat? Are more coming?” Umbridge asked.

“A smart question,” Matthew said, shocking all in the room. “A good question to be asked as well.” He smiled. “No, no more are coming across. We don’t want any Earth technology getting into Equestria, and as for the first part, I’ll start off with a question of my own. Is your world a threat? Yes. Is our world a threat? Yes. You have advanced military technology, and we have magic. Both are powerful tools for good or evil. So to answer your question, we both are threats to each other. That doesn’t mean we cannot become friends and allies.” He held up a wing as Umbridge opened her mouth. “Ah-ah-ah. One question only. You can ask more tomorrow.”

His father spoke next. “How much education did you get?”

Matthew looked at his father. “We didn’t have schools like here on Earth, but we had small one-room schools. Unfortunately, due to my looks and heritage, I was forced out, and had to be home schooled. I also attended a military academy. I am a graduate for this world, obviously, but I am admittedly still learning, reading books, and conversing with two ancient beings on a regular basis about Equestria and its history. And yes, they really are over a thousand years old.”

He looked to his great aunt. 

“I think it’s you who has a question for me,” she said knowingly, though her smile had turned a little sad.

“Where is Uncle Cloud?” Matthew asked. He folded his ears as he saw the looks.

“It happened about six months ago,” Aunt Selma, began. “We buried him in a plot in the cemetery in town. Before he died, he left instructions to be opened and followed when you came back. He firmly believed you would return. The FBI hounded him the whole time, trying to learn more, but he wouldn’t say.” She stood up. “Now that you’re here, that time’s come. I have papers to open and get ready for tomorrow. You lot can carry on without me.”

“Okay, Aunt Selma.”

Selma nodded, then left the room as she made her way to the stairs.

“I have to ask this question, Matthew. How was your family on the other side? You said you were two years old when you were found, so you had to have been adopted,” Nancy said.

Matthew smiled as he did his best to keep reduce the pain. “Yes, I was adopted. I had a great family, a good home, a great village, an extended family of Thestrals…” he frowned. “Like Lunar Fang told you, they were all killed during the Third Gryphon War. It was… difficult losing them. All had left were the Thestrals on my adopted mother’s side. The rest… I don’t think you would like to hear, since it has to do with the war.”

“I already told you, Matthew. This time, that rule’s been lifted.” She knelt down and hugged him around the neck. My baby was hurt, and I intend to be here for him.”

Matthew’s eyes widened in surprise. Then he felt the warm streaks running down his cheeks. “O-okay, Mom. I… I am looking forward to talking to you and Dad about it, as well as the others that want to join in.”

Lunar Fang smiled. “Now, you’d better get to bed. We’ll go out to the fields to sleep.”

“No, you won’t,” Nancy insisted. “You two are going to spend the night right here with us. You’re family, after all. I just… don’t think your old bed would hold both.” She paused as she broke off the embrace and looked down at the two. “You are smaller than you used to be, though, so it might work.” She nodded. “Alright, you two are going to spend the night in Matthew’s old room. You remember that one, don’t you, Matthew?”

“Y-yes.”

“Actually,” Aunt Selma called from her place on the stairs, “Cloud turned the upper part of the library into a room. You two can spend your time there while you visit.”

“Are you sure, Aunt Selma?” Matthew asked.

“Of course I’m sure, boy. Now why don’t you be a good nephew and help this old woman up the stairs?”





Shawn stared at a large black rectangular object. The side panel was translucent and revealed complicated circuits with a few cables and tubes. He trailed the cords towards a few other devices connected to the object. After looking over the device a few times, he was happy to find the power button.

As soon as he pressed it, the machine whirred to life. The faint sound of a fan starting up reached his ears as two large flat reflective surfaces suddenly burst with light. A series of letters and numbers passed by him before switching to a symbol showing four squares in different colors. After a moment, two other pieces burst with light, one displaying every number and letter in the english alphabet; and the other containing a bunch of numbers, a wheel, and two additional buttons on top.

He faintly heard a jingle come from a pair of headphones sitting on a stand. He didn’t remember his computer being this complicated when he left...

Login: ________

“Uh…”

After looking to the piece of paper his father had given him, he slowly began typing the password into his computer, thankfully remembering to add capital letters when needed. As soon as he typed in the password and hit enter, it revealed his old desktop, cluttered with a series of folders, each labeling a type of project or group of projects.

‘Drawing Programs.’

‘Floor Layout with Measurements.’

‘Drawings.’

‘Halloween outfit instructions.’

“Ooh, I remember that one,” Shawn said as he gingerly grabbed his mouse, attempting not to crush it by accident.

Suddenly several windows popped up, including a blue window with a circle loading something and the word Skype at the top bar. A dark window with the word Steam at the top raised a few questions as he jogged his memories for what it was and why it was named after hot water vapor. Then a small square in the bottom right of his screen asked if he wanted to do this thing called ‘updating’ that, for some reason, annoyed him.

Eventually the windows disappeared, leaving just two behind. After scanning them briefly, he determined that he had, in fact, over a thousand messages in both programs.

“I’ll… uh… get to those later?”

Grabbing his notebook, he opened it to reveal a few designs for random parts and equipment. He even had drawings of motors. Eventually he found himself looking at old drawings of his ideas for guns and swords.

“Wow, I actually thought these would work?” He chuckled as he moved his hand over a few of the designs. “So… overly complicated.”

He rolled his eyes as he looked through the pages of his past. A few notes were left for himself mentioning important meetings he needed to be at, a few bills that needed to be paid by what day, and some few notes questioning what he would do in certain situations and instructing him to write them somewhere else in his notebook.

Looking to his clock, he chuckled as he realised how much he had to catch up on, and how he had plenty of time to do it. The digital face read 1:48 AM.